JP2001122473A - Sheet sensing device and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet residual amount sending device and recording device equipped with it embodied in such a way as not obstructing setting of a cassette and composed only of simple mechanical components with no use of electrical components. SOLUTION: The sheet sensing device to sense the residual amount of sheets stored in a cassette 201 mounted removably on a device body is equipped with a lever 309 arranged as abutting to the sheets stored in the cassette and capable of taking two positions, the sensing position for sensing the sheet residual amount from the height of stacked sheets and the retracted position not obstructing cassette setting in the device body, a cam 311 to retract the lever 309 to the retracting position when no cassette is set in place, and a releasing means to release the cam 311 when a cassette is set and moving the lever 309 to the sensing position to establish the sheet residual amount sensing condition.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet detecting device capable of detecting the remaining amount of sheets in a cassette and a recording device provided with the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is often difficult to externally check the remaining amount of sheets in a printer which stores sheets in a cassette, mounts the sheets on a printer body, and feeds the sheets. For this reason, there has been manufactured a device having a mechanism for detecting the remaining amount of sheets and displaying the detected amount.

FIG. 79 shows an example of a conventional printer having a sheet remaining amount detecting / displaying mechanism.

The sheet 1 is attached to the printer body 1001.
The cassette 1002 loaded with 004 is
01 from the front surface 1001a in the direction of arrow 1013. The cassette 1002 has a pressure plate 1005 as a stacking surface of the sheet 1004, and the top surface of the sheet 1004 has a constant height 1 from the back side of the pressure plate 1005 by a pressure plate spring 1006.
007. That is, sheet 10
The angle of the pressure plate 1005 changes according to the change in the amount of No. 04. The sheet 1004 thus urged
Are conveyed one by one to the printing device 1003 by the paper feed roller 1010 in the printer main body 1001 along the path indicated by the arrow 1012.

[0005] In order to rotate in conjunction with the movement of the pressure plate 1005, the sheet remaining amount display member 1 is provided in the cassette 1002.
008 is provided to be urged in the direction of arrow 1009. When the number of sheets 1004 is large, since the pressure plate 1005 is below, the rotation of the sheet remaining amount display member 1008 is small. As the sheet 1004 decreases, the position of the pressure plate 1005 moves upward, and the rotation of the sheet remaining amount display member 1008 increases. . The movement of the sheet remaining amount display member 1008 can be confirmed through the opening 1011 provided in the cassette 1002, and the remaining amount of the sheet 1004 can be confirmed without removing the cassette 1002.

FIG. 80 is a diagram for detecting the remaining amount of sheets by another method.
It is an example of a printer having a display mechanism.

Unlike the previous example, a pressure plate 1006 is provided on the back surface 1001b side of the printer main body 1001. A sensor 1015 for measuring a distance from the sheet 1004 is provided on a control board 1014 disposed in the printer main body 1001. The distance between the sheet 1004 and the emitted light 1016 emitted from the sensor 1015 and the reflected light 1017 are measured. The requested sheet 100
4 on the control board 1014 based on the distance to
Is calculated, and the LE provided on the display substrate 1018 is calculated.
D1019, the front 100 of the printer body 1001
1A, the amount of sheets 1004 can be confirmed without taking out the cassette 1002.

[0008]

However, in the former mechanism for detecting and displaying the remaining amount of sheets, the mechanism is provided in the cassette, which contributes to the enlargement of the cassette, and the cassette is frequently removed. Handling was worse.

When the tip of the pressure plate is located at the front of the printer, the remaining amount of sheets can be displayed in an easy-to-check place such as the front of the printer body by a simple mechanism. In order to transmit the angle of the pressure plate to the display unit on the front of the printer body, the mechanism becomes complicated, and the mechanism occupies a large amount of space in the cassette, resulting in further enlargement of the cassette. It was to exacerbate the above reasons.

Further, at the time of actual paper feeding, the vertical movement of the pressure plate due to the pressing of the sheet by the paper feed roller is transmitted to the sheet remaining amount display unit, so that the sheet remaining amount display unit frequently moves at the time of paper feeding. there were.

Further, since there is almost no difference between the pressure plate angle when there is only one remaining sheet and the pressure plate angle when there is no sheet, it is difficult to accurately distinguish the display between the two.

On the other hand, the latter embodiment requires a sensor for detecting the remaining amount of sheets, an electric processing means for the output thereof, and an LED for displaying the remaining amount of sheets. Had become.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet remaining amount detecting device which is constituted only by simple mechanical components without using electric components and does not hinder the mounting of a cassette, and a recording device provided with the same.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, a typical configuration according to the present invention is a sheet detecting apparatus for detecting the remaining amount of sheets stored in a cassette detachable from an apparatus main body. Detecting means for abutting on a sheet stored in the cassette and detecting a remaining amount of the sheet based on the stacking height of the sheet, and a retracting position which does not prevent the cassette from being mounted on the apparatus main body; Evacuation means for evacuation of the detection means to the evacuation position when not mounted, and cancellation of the evacuation means by mounting the cassette on the apparatus main body, and moving the detection means to the detection position to enter the sheet remaining amount detection state Means.

In the above configuration, when the cassette is not mounted, the cassette can be easily attached and detached since the detecting means is retracted to the retracted position. Further, by setting the sheet contact position by the detection means outside the range of the sheet urging by the pressure plate, it is possible to eliminate the influence of the sheet stacking surface fluctuating up and down during sheet feeding.

Further, by providing the detecting means and the retreating means in the apparatus main body and providing the releasing means in the cassette, it is possible to provide all the complicated mechanism parts on the main body side and to reduce the size and weight of the cassette. Become.

Further, the detecting means comprises an arm portion rotatable by contacting a sheet stored in the cassette, and a gear portion for transmitting the rotation, and the display means can be engaged with the gear portion of the detecting means. And a drum capable of displaying remaining sheet information, and the drum is configured to rotate with the rotation of the arm, so that the remaining sheet can be reduced with a simple mechanical configuration. In addition to the detection, the display can be performed, and the increase in cost due to the use of the electric component can be suppressed.

Further, by configuring the gear portion of the detection means and the gear portion of the display means to be engaged only when the arm portion is at the sheet remaining amount detection position, one gear can be achieved as compared with the case where the gear is always engaged. Since the gears of the gears can be omitted, the gears can be made smaller, and the material cost can be reduced, and the mechanical space can be made smaller by reducing the dead space occupied by the rotation of the gears.

Further, the gear portion of the detection means and the gear portion of the display means are connected by an elastic member, and the arm member of the detection means is brought into contact with the sheet in the cassette by the elastic member. The means is configured to be urged to generate a rotation in a direction opposite to the urged rotation direction of the detection means in a state where the gear portions are in mesh with each other, so that two elastic members are interlocked by one elastic member. In addition to urging the members in the opposite direction, it is possible to always urge the members to one side in a combined rotation system, and the number of parts can be reduced.

Further, by providing a stopper for restricting the rotation of the display means urged by the elastic member, when shifting the gear which is not meshed in the standby state to the detection state, it is ensured that the gear is properly regulated. Can be engaged at the position.

Further, by providing a recess at the bottom of the cassette, into which the arm of the detecting means enters, the remaining sheet can be removed.
The difference in the amount of rotation of the detecting means between a sheet and when there is no sheet increases, and it is possible to reliably display the absence of a sheet.

[0022]

Next, an embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the above-mentioned means is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

The present embodiment will be described using a serial type ink jet recording apparatus, and a recording apparatus using a detachable disposable type recording head will be described as a recording head used in the recording apparatus.

[Overall Structure] FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a recording apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a right sectional view showing a sheet conveying path of a recording sheet of the recording apparatus.

First, the basic configuration of the recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a base (bottom case), which together with the main case 102 constitutes a housing and a chassis of the recording apparatus main body.

Reference numeral 101a denotes an indicator for displaying the remaining amount of sheets, and displays the remaining amount of recording sheets stacked in the sheet cassette 103.

Reference numeral 102a denotes a selection switch, which is a device (computer or STB) for sending data to the recording apparatus.
Etc.), two types of modes "A / B" can be selected.

A recording sheet discharging section 102b is provided above the sheet feeding cassette 103, and a rib 102c (3) serving as a discharge receiving rib is installed in the recording sheet discharging section so as to extend in the sheet discharging direction. The recording sheets are discharged along the top of the book) and 102d (two), and the recording sheets discharged thereafter are stored on the previously discharged recording sheet.

Reference numeral 201 denotes a base cassette which is a base member of the paper feed cassette 103, which is detachably attached to the main body of the recording apparatus, stacks a plurality of recording sheets in the paper feed cassette, and stores the recording sheets in the recording apparatus. The paper is separated and supplied one by one by a paper feed mechanism.

An operation panel 104 includes a power switch 104a, a reset switch 104b, and a power display 10.
4d, data transfer display 104e, error display 104f,
And an ink remaining amount display for displaying the ink remaining amount for each of the black ink and the color ink.
04c are provided in the remaining amount display for black ink.
Two sets of 04g are provided for the color ink remaining amount display, and each color has a three-stage display mode of "non-lighting", "only one light", and "two light" corresponding to the amount of ink used. In this case, the remaining amount of ink is expressed, and when there are two types of tank capacities, the meaning of the display is made different depending on the respective capacities.

Note that the method for detecting the remaining amount of ink in the present invention employs the following method for each of color ink / black ink.
The total number of dots ejected by the recording operation or the recovery operation is counted, and the number is detected by comparing with a preset total ink capacity value (total number of dots).

In the main case 102, a dot count reset key (not shown) for resetting the above-mentioned dot count at the position where the access cover 106 is opened is set to one for color / black.
When the ink tank is replaced and a new tank is used, the counter is reset by pressing the switch corresponding to the replaced tank. If it is turned off.

Reference numeral 105 denotes a paper discharge cover, which covers the above-described recording sheet discharge section 102b in which the recording sheets 111 discharged from the printer are stocked,
02 is detachably attached to the main case 02, and most of the area on the upper surface of the paper discharge cover is substantially flat, and is configured to be substantially flush with the upper surfaces of the main case and other components.

A plurality of ribs are provided on the back surface of the paper discharge cover in the sheet conveyance direction. When the discharged recording sheet curls upward, the conveyance of the recording sheet is guided by the ribs described above.

Reference numeral 106 denotes an access cover. When a disposable type recording head cartridge or ink tank according to the present embodiment is newly attached or replaced, the access cover 106 is unlocked by the access cover lock 107, and the access cover 106 is opened. To perform the replacement work.

The access cover 106 has a lever 106
is provided, and when the access cover 106 is opened, the lever of the cover switch 501 is turned on by turning the switch of the cover switch 501 via the cover arm 500 rotatably attached to the printer unit as the recording means. The access cover is recognized as open, the carrier is automatically moved to the cartridge replacement position after the specified time has passed since the cover was opened, and the access cover was closed. A sequence is provided for automatically moving the carrier to a prescribed position (such as a home position or a recovery operation position) when the carrier is detected by the aforementioned means. (FIG. 2) Reference numeral 108 denotes a manual feed cover, which performs a recording operation on a sheet that is not conveyed from a sheet cassette such as an envelope or a postcard.
The manual feed cover 108 is opened to expose the manual feed slot 102e of the main case, and a sheet is inserted into the recording position from the manual feed slot.

In this case, the recording sheet to be manually fed is supported from below by a plurality of ribs provided on the back surface of the manual feeding tray and guided to the paper feed port. Reference numeral 108a denotes a manual feed sub-tray, which is stored in a folded state when the manual feed tray is closed, is held in a state where the manual feed tray is opened to assist the length of the manual feed tray, and supports sheet insertion.

Reference numeral 114 denotes a sheet passing guide, which is a member constituting a recording sheet conveyance path described later, and is attached to the printer unit 600.

Reference numeral 502 denotes a flapper, which is a sheet passing guide 11.
4, and serves to guide the sheet to a sheet insertion portion of the printer unit 600 at the time of manual sheet feeding described later. (FIG. 2) Reference numeral 109 denotes a U-turn cover, which is a member constituting a recording sheet transport path to be described later, and which turns the U-turn when a recording sheet is jammed in the recording sheet transport path for some reason (at the time of a jam). It is used when the cover 109 is opened to take out a jammed recording sheet.

Reference numeral 110 denotes a paper discharge tray for preventing the recording sheet from dropping off from the apparatus main body (front side) when the recording sheet discharged from the printer unit is discharged to the recording sheet discharge section 102b. Seat support (auxiliary)
It is a member that is normally housed in the apparatus main body, but is pulled out from the main body as needed and used. (FIG. 2) [Recording Sheet Conveying Path] The sheet conveying path in the recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present invention, a sheet feeder is used as a sheet supply unit.
Alternatively, there are two methods, “manual feeding”.

First, the recording sheet conveyance path by the sheet cassette will be described.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 111 denotes a stacked recording sheet, which is mounted at a predetermined position of the paper feed cassette 103, and holds the recording sheet upward below the stacked recording sheet 111. A pressure plate 202, which is a member, is rotatably attached to the paper feed cassette, and is urged upward by a pressure plate spring 203 composed of a pair of coil springs. A pair of separation claws A207 and separation claws B208 are installed near the paper outlet of the paper feed cassette so as to cover the uppermost corner of the stacked recording sheets.

Reference numeral 112 denotes an ASF (Auto Sheet Feed) unit, which plays a role of separating and transporting the uppermost one of the recording sheets stacked in the sheet cassette to the printer unit 600.

The details of the ASF unit 112 will be described later.

In the ASF unit 112, 112e
Reference numeral denotes a paper feed roller, which separates and conveys only the uppermost recording sheet of the stacked recording sheets 111. 112a
Reference numerals 112b and 112b denote a guide surface which forms a paper feed path. The guide rib 109a which forms a paper feed path provided on the U-turn cover 109 and the guide rib 114b provided on the paper feed guide 114 form a paper feed path. are doing.

The above-mentioned path has a substantially U-turn path, and the sheet is conveyed in the direction of taking out one sheet from the cassette and conveying it away from the printer unit, but is formed by the guide surface and the guide rib. The transport direction is turned by approximately 180 degrees with a smooth curvature by the substantially U-turn-shaped paper feed path, and the recording sheet is transported toward the recording start position in the printer unit.

The sheet conveying path ahead of the U-turn path is constituted by a guide surface 114a provided on the sheet passing guide 114 and a rib 622b (see FIG. 61) described later provided on the platen 622. It is guided to a paper feed roller that constitutes a transport unit.

In the ASF unit 112, 112d
Denotes a U-turn roller, and a pinch roller 113 rotatably attached to the base is urged by a U-turn roller 112d by an appropriate spring force.
The recording sheet is rotated by the rotation of 12d, and the recording sheet is nipped and conveyed.

The recording sheet 111 is stored in the sheet cassette 103.
Are loaded into the main body of the recording apparatus, and AS
The sheet feeding roller 112e installed in the F unit 112 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure according to a preset sequence (hereinafter referred to as “CCW rotation”), so that the sheet is positioned on the uppermost surface of the stacked sheets. Only one recording sheet is separated by the separation claw A 207 and the separation claw B 208 installed in the sheet feeding cassette 103, and at the same time, the sheet conveyance is started.

The details of the paper feed cassette 103 will be described later.

The recording sheet 111 separated from the paper feed cassette 103 is further conveyed by the above-mentioned paper feed roller, and when reaching the U-turn roller 112d, is conveyed by the above-mentioned U-turn roller 112d and pinch roller 113 to be pinched. The recording sheet 11 via the U-turn sheet feeding path
1 is conveyed to a paper feed roller 620 rotatably attached to the printer unit 600. At this time, the flapper 502 is flipped up by the recording sheet to open the recording sheet transport path.

The pinch roller 625 rotatably mounted on the printer unit 600 is urged by the paper feed roller 620 by an appropriate spring force.
The recording sheet that rotates following the rotation of 0 and reaches the paper feed roller 620 nips and conveys it.

Reference numeral 626 denotes a paper discharge roller (two rows), which is a spur 6 rotatably attached to the printer unit 600.
28 have respective spring rollers 626 by appropriate spring force.
And is rotated by the rotation of the paper discharge roller 626 to convey the recording sheet by nipping.

Printer unit 60 constituting recording means
Details of 0 will be described later.

The recording sheet 111 conveyed by the paper feed roller 620 is further conveyed in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 2 by the paper discharge roller 626, and finally, the ribs 102c and 102d serving as the paper discharge receiving ribs. Are discharged along the top of the sheet, and the sequentially discharged sheets are stocked on the previously discharged sheet.

The recording sheet conveyance path by the above-described series of paper feed cassettes is represented by a two-dot chain line (503) (FIG. 2).

Reference numeral 629 denotes a paper sensor, which is a sheet sensor, which is used as a means for detecting the position of the leading edge of the recording sheet, and has a rotatable lever. 112
The arrival of the recording sheet 111 is detected by being rotated and pulled up by the leading end of the recording sheet 111 conveyed by d. After the sheet is detected by the sensor, the recording sheet 111 is conveyed by a specified amount to set the recording sheet 111 at the recording start position.

Reference numeral 604 denotes a carrier on which a recording head cartridge 601 is removably mounted. The recording head cartridge 601 has a replaceable color ink tank 6.
03a and the black ink tank 603b are mounted,
The carrier 604 is held by a guide shaft 606 and a guide rail 607, and is configured to be able to reciprocate in the main scanning direction.

The details of the carrier will be described later.

Next, a description will be given of a recording sheet conveyance path by manual feeding.

In the case of manual feed, the manual feed cover 108 is opened, and a recording sheet is inserted through the manual feed slot 102e.
The sheet is pushed through the sheet path formed by the guide surface 114 a provided on the sheet passing guide 114 and the rib 622 b provided on the platen 622 until the leading end of the sheet comes into contact with the sheet feed roller 620.

At this time, the flapper 502 is grounded by its own weight to the prescribed position of the platen, and supports the insertion of the recording sheet from below.

When the sheet collides with the paper feed roller 620, the paper sensor 629 installed in front of the paper feed roller 620 is turned on to detect that a recording sheet has been inserted. Roller 6
After the recording sheet is conveyed by a predetermined amount by driving the recording sheet 20 by a predetermined amount, the paper feed roller 620 is rotated in the reverse direction to convey the recording sheet in the reverse direction (upstream direction) and set the recording sheet at the printing start position.

In this series of operations, the paper feed roller 62
0, the recording sheet is reliably fed to the paper feed roller 620 by detecting ON of the paper ejection sensor 630 attached downstream of the sheet feed roller 620.
If it is not turned ON, it is judged that the recording sheet is not set properly and an error condition is detected, and the specified error processing is performed to print out a place other than the recording sheet. Prevents ink stains.

In particular, when a recording sheet having a short dimension (for example, a postcard) is manually inserted, the rear end of the sheet completely enters the manual insertion slot when the recording paper is fed (in the forward direction) for confirming the sheet insertion described above. However, when the recording sheet is conveyed in the reverse direction, the trailing edge of the sheet is guided toward the manual feed slot 102e by the slope of the flapper, and the trailing edge of the sheet enters an irregular portion such as the U-turn path described above. It is configured to avoid jams that can occur.

The above-described recording sheet conveyance path by a series of manual feeds is represented by a two-dot chain line (504) (FIG. 2).

The recording operation after the recording sheet is set at the printing start position is the same as that at the time of feeding the cassette.

Hereinafter, each unit will be described in detail.

[Base / Discharge Tray] Discharge tray 110
2 is held between the tray slide surface 101o of the base 101 (see FIG. 3) and the rib 102h of the main case 102 when the drawer is pulled out as shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the claw 110a of the paper discharge tray 110 is engaged with the tray stopper 101p of the base 101 to prevent the tray 101 from coming off in the pulling-out direction. When the paper discharge tray 110 is stored, the latch 102i attached to the main case 102 is attached to the projection 102 of the paper discharge tray 110.
10b (see FIG. 3) is engaged and fixed. The user once pushes the front surface of the discharge tray 110 to release the engagement with the latch, and pulls the discharge tray 110 to a predetermined position (the position in FIG. 2).

FIG. 13 shows the base 101 and the paper discharge tray 110.
It is sectional drawing which shows the slide part of. The discharge tray 110 is provided with a rib 110c so as to sandwich a tray slide surface 101o provided on the base 101. Here, at least one of them is designed so as to have as little a gap as possible, so that the play of the discharge tray 110 with respect to the base 101 is eliminated. The tray slide surface 101
A slide rib 110d is provided between the above-described ribs 110c so as to abut on the upper surface of the sheet ejection tray 1c.
At the time of pulling out 10, the part always contacts and slides.

[Base / Components] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing internal components with the upper case such as the main case 102 removed. Here, the printer unit and the ASF unit (not shown) incorporated in the base 101 are actually removed. A space is provided on the lower surface of the center of the base 101 for mounting the sheet cassette 103 on which the recording sheets 111 are stacked.
Reference numeral 01 denotes a surface 101b that covers the upper surface of the sheet cassette 103.

The main board 302 for controlling the printer is similarly mounted on the metal component PWB chassis 303 with the mounting surface covered with the metal component PWB guard 304.
It is fixed to the base 101. The PWB guard 304 prevents the spread of fire on a housing such as the base 101 against ignition of a capacitor or the like on the main board 302. Further, since the main substrate 302 is surrounded together with the PWB chassis 303, the main substrate 302 also has a shielding effect of suppressing noise emitted from the main substrate 302.

Main board 302 and cable (not shown)
Is fixed to the base 101 with the mounting surface thereof facing the front of the apparatus main body 100.

A lock nut 306 having a female thread is press-fitted into the rear portion of the base 101 so that the main case 10
By being fastened with 2 and a screw, the engagement of both is strengthened.

On the back side in the insertion direction of the sheet cassette 103,
A path for reversing the transport direction of the recording sheet 111 is provided. A plurality of guide ribs 10 provided on the base 101
1g and a plurality of guide ribs 109a similarly provided on the U-turn cover 109 form a path. Since the guide ribs 101g and 109a are alternately arranged in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the recording sheet 111, the recording sheet 111 is transferred between the two parts without being caught, thereby enabling smooth conveyance. . The U-turn cover 109 has a shaft 101b provided on the base 101 as described later.
(See FIG. 5). For this reason, even if a trouble such as the recording sheet 111 being left in the transport path occurs, the user can easily remove the sheet because the part of the transport path described above is opened by rotating the U-turn cover 109. It is possible to remove it.

A U-turn pinch roller 113 is arranged in this transport path. U-turn pinch roller 113
Is freely rotatable with respect to a pinch roller shaft 305 which is a close contact spring. Since the shaft itself is a spring, an appropriate pressure is always generated when the U-turn roller 112d is pressed against the recording sheet 111 (see FIG. 2). Has realized stable conveyance.

On both sides of the cassette 201 mounting portion, a cassette support surface 1 for supporting the rail 201d of the cassette 201 is provided.
01q is provided. The cassette support surface 101q
A tapered surface 101r is provided at the tip of, so that the cassette 201 can be easily inserted (see FIG. 14).

[Holding of Base / Cassette] As shown in FIG. 3, the base 101 incorporates a torsion coil spring and a cassette side retainer 307 for preventing the paper feed cassette 103 from dropping off and urging the paper cassette 103 to the printing reference.

FIG. 4 shows a base 101 of the sheet cassette 103.
FIG. 4 is a plan view (partially transparent view) showing a state of attachment to the camera. The cassette side retainer 307 has two arms, a fixed end 307a regulated by the base 101 and a free end 307b protruding so as to contact the cassette 201. The free end 307b bends when the cassette 201 is attached and detached, and gives an appropriate click feeling.
Can be surely recognized as being mounted at the correct position.

When the cassette 201 is mounted at the proper position, the reference surface 201i of the cassette 201 is urged by the cassette side retainer 307 to the cassette abutting reference surface 101m of the base 101. Here, the concave portion 201h provided on the cassette 201 engages with the cassette click convex portion 101n provided on the base 101, and the cassette side retainer 307 engages with the concave portion 201l provided on the side wall of the cassette 201. The paper cassette 103 is held without falling off the base 101.

[Base, Back and Quick Sheet] FIG. 5
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a back surface of the apparatus main body 100. Base 101
Ribs, rubber foot positioning projections 10
A rubber foot 315 is attached in 1i. In the installed state, the rubber feet 315 support the apparatus main body 100, but separately therefrom, dummy feet 101l are arranged at various places. The dummy foot 101l is formed lower than the rubber foot 315 and is not normally grounded. However, when a load is applied to the apparatus main body 100, it is grounded to prevent deformation of the apparatus main body 100. On the back side of the front surface of the base 101, pull-out clues 101j are formed on both sides, so that the base 101 can be easily pulled out to the front. The transport cue 10 is located substantially at the center of gravity of the apparatus body 100 in the front-rear direction.
1k is provided with a certain amount of space so that the hand can be easily accessed.

At the rear of the base 101, a U-turn cover 1 is provided.
09 is provided, and the shaft 101b of the U-turn cover 109 is rotatably supported.

A quick sheet 316 as a simple manual is rotatably held using two rubber feet 315 arranged in front of the base 101. The rotation hole 316a provided in the quick seat 316 is attached to one of the rubber feet 31.
5 (right side in the figure) and rotate around here. A quick seat 316 is provided on the other rubber foot 315 (left side).
Cue part 316b abuts and regulates rotation. For this reason, the clue part 316 of the quick sheet 316
5B, the cue portion 316b always projects to the outside as shown in the figure without entering the back from the state of FIG. 5, so that the user can rotate the quick seat 316 in the direction of the arrow 316d to easily pull it out. Become.

FIG. 6 is a rear view showing a state where the quick sheet is rotated and pulled out. After a certain amount of rotation, the stopper 316c of the quick seat 316 abuts on the left rubber foot 315 to restrict the rotation.

[Explanation of Base / Sheet Remaining Amount Detection and Display Mechanism] FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the remaining sheet amount detection and display unit. The same portion includes a lever 309 as detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the recording sheet 111, and the drum 3 as a remaining amount displaying means for displaying the remaining amount of the recording sheet 111.
10, a tension spring 313 for connecting the lever 309 and the drum 310, and the lever 309 is operated and retracted in accordance with insertion and removal of the cassette 201, that is, the cassette 2
01, a cam 311, which constitutes a retracting means for retracting the lever 309, a torsion coil spring 312 for urging the cam 311, and a frame 30 for holding these components.
8.

Lever 309, drum 310, cam 311
Are rotatably held, respectively, and lever 309, cam 3
One of the shaft ends 309f and 311e of 11 is held by bearings 101c and 101d provided integrally with the base 101, respectively.

The lever 309 is provided with an arm 309a, which can be rotated downward from the hole 101e of the base 101.
The recording sheets 111 protruding and stacked on the cassette 201
To come into contact with the upper surface. This rotation is performed by the gear 31 provided on the drum 310 through the gear 309b.
0b. Similarly, a cam portion 309d is provided integrally, and abuts on the cam 311 to restrict the rotation of the lever 309.

Outer peripheral surfaces 310c, 310d of drum 310
Are painted in different colors. In the present embodiment, the outer peripheral surface 310d is white and the outer peripheral surface 310c is dark. There is no particular limitation on the color scheme, and various colors (the outer peripheral surface 310d is of a white color in the present embodiment for the reason described later), or if one of the colors is the material color of the drum 310, it is effective in reducing the printing cost. Something is easily conceivable.

The indicator portion 101a for displaying the remaining amount of sheet provided on the base 101 is covered with a display window 314 formed of a transparent material.
0c and 310d can be visually checked and confirmed, and at the same time, foreign substances are prevented from entering the inside.

The cam 311 is provided with a first cam portion 311a and a second cam portion 311b. First cam part 31
1a protrudes downward from a hole 101f provided in the base 101. When the cassette 201 is mounted, the cassette 2
The entire cam 311 is rotated by a step 201x which is provided on the side wall of the cassette 01 and constitutes a releasing means for releasing the retracted state of the lever 309 when the cassette 201 is mounted. The second cam portion 311b comes into contact with a cam portion 309d provided on the lever 309 in the assembled state. A torsion coil spring 312 is attached to the cam 311 and is urged in a direction for restricting the rotation of the lever 309 as described later.

FIG. 8 shows a case where the cassette 201 is not mounted, and a case where the lever 309 is being mounted while the cassette 201 is being mounted.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view (partially see-through view) showing the state of the cam 311 and the cam 311. The cam 311 is urged in the direction of arrow 311f by the above-mentioned torsion coil spring 312. Therefore, the cam 31
The cam portion 3 of the lever 309 by the second cam 311b
09d is pressed, and the arrow 309 of the lever 309 is pressed.
The rotation to g is regulated. That is, the arm 309a of the lever 309 when the cassette 201 is not mounted.
Does not protrude downward and is located inside the base 101 (surface 101
(above b), which protects it from damage and the like, and keeps this posture even during the mounting of the cassette 103 so as not to hinder the mounting of the cassette 201. It should be noted that the cam portion 309d of the lever 309 and the second cam portion 311b of the cam 311 are actually
It is arranged at a position where it does not protrude from the first surface 101b, that is, at a portion where there is no surface 101b in both axial directions.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view (partially transparent view) showing the state of the lever 309 and the cam 311 when the cassette 201 is completely mounted on the printer main body. Paper cassette 10
The first cam 311a of the cam 311 is pushed by the step 201x provided on the side wall of the cam 311.
It rotates in the opposite direction to f. Thereby, the second cam 311
The cam portion 309 of the lever 309 pressed by b
d becomes free, and the lever 309 is extended by the tension spring 313.
Is rotated in the direction of arrow 309g by the tension of
9a comes into contact with the upper surface of the sheet 111, and the remaining sheet detecting mechanism as the remaining sheet detecting device operates. Here, the recording sheet 1 on the arm 309a of the lever 309
As shown in the drawing, the contact portion for the sheet 11 is set on a plane that is not affected by the operation of the platen 202 at a place deviating from the platen 202.
Is not transmitted to the lever 309, so that the drum 310 associated therewith is not affected by the movement of the pressure plate 202.

FIGS. 10 to 12 are sectional side views showing the operation of detecting the remaining amount of sheets by such a configuration, and FIG. 10A is a view showing a display state of the remaining amount of sheets at that time. First, FIG. 10 shows a state where the cassette 201 is not mounted. In FIG. 10B, the lever 309 is connected to the cam 31.
1, the rotation is restricted to a position where the arm portion 309a does not protrude downward from the upper surface 101b of the base. Lever 30
A tension spring 313 is hung on the spring hook portion 309c of No. 9 and a force rotating in the direction of the arrow 309g is applied. Therefore, while the rotation is restricted by the cam 311, the lever 309 is urged in the direction of the arrow 309 g by the extension spring 313 to maintain a stable posture.

The other end of the tension spring 313 is also hooked on the spring hook portion 310a of the drum 310, and is urged in the direction of the arrow 310f. Drum 310
The rotation of the edge portion 301e is restricted by a stopper portion 308d provided on the frame 308. As a result, similarly to the lever 309, it is urged to one side and can maintain a stable posture. Also, by holding at this position, when the lever 309 described later rotates, the gear portion 309c and the gear portion 310 of the drum 310 are surely rotated.
b can be engaged at a regular position. Since the gear portion 309b of the lever 309 and the gear portion 310b of the drum 310 are prevented from meshing with each other when the sheet remaining amount detection mechanism is not operating,
Compared to a case where the two gears are always meshed with each other, the gears of the two gears can be minimized, so that the material cost can be reduced, and the space for the rotation of the gears can be reduced.

The remaining sheet display in this state is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), a white outer peripheral surface 310d is displayed on the whole.

FIG. 11 shows a case where the cassette 201 is mounted and the recording sheet 111 is present. The arm 309a of the lever 309 as shown in FIG.
Is shown in a perspective view. As described above, since the cam 311 is retracted by mounting the cassette 201, the regulation of the lever 309 is released and the tension spring 31 is released.
The lever 309 rotates in the direction of the arrow 309g by the tension of 3, and stops when the arm 309a contacts the upper surface of the recording sheet 111. The gear 309b of the lever 309 meshes with the gear 310b of the drum 310, and both rotate in conjunction with each other. Drum 310 rotates in the direction opposite to arrow 310f.

The remaining sheet display in this state is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), when the drum 310 rotates, the white outer peripheral surface 310d is hidden, and the dark outer peripheral surface 310c starts to be seen. Here, if many recording sheets 111 are stacked, the rotation amount of the lever 309 is small,
Therefore, since the rotation amount of the drum 310 is small, the white outer peripheral surface 310d is largely exposed. When the number of recording sheets 111 decreases, the rotation amount of the lever 309 increases, and the rotation of the drum 310 also increases, so that the white outer peripheral surface 310d decreases.

Considering that the recording sheet 111 is mainly white, the outer peripheral surface 310d of the drum 310 in the indicator portion 101a decreases as the number of the recording sheets 111 decreases. It has become.

FIG. 12 shows a case where the cassette 201 is mounted and the recording sheet 111 does not exist. As in FIG. 11, the state of the arm 309a of the lever 309 is shown in a perspective view in FIG. The cassette 201 has a surface 201w which is one paragraph from the sheet stacking surface.
And the arm 30 of the lever 309 is provided.
9a is designed to enter the recess. For this reason, the change in the rotation amount of the lever 309 between the case where there is one remaining recording sheet 111 and the case where the recording sheet 111 has run out is large. Therefore, the change in the rotation amount of the drum 310 interlocking is naturally large, so that the dark outer peripheral surface 310c of the drum 310 is reliably exposed (the white outer peripheral surface 310d of the drum 310 is completely hidden) and recorded to the user. It notifies that sheet 111 has run out.

Further, since the change in the rotation amount of the drum 310 is made large, the dark outer peripheral surface 310c of the drum 310 can be reliably connected to the base 101 even when, for example, play at the time of mounting or component tolerance is taken into consideration. It can be displayed on the entire indicator section 101a.

Here, in the series of operations shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, the tension spring 313 is designed and arranged so as to always have tension. Gear part 309 of lever 309
Considering the case where the gear b and the gear portion 310b of the drum 310 mesh with each other, both are urged by the tension spring 313 in opposite rotational directions. In order to always rotate this system in a fixed direction, that is, in the direction of arrow 309g shown in FIG. 11, in the present embodiment, the spring hooking position of the tension spring 313 is set at a position far from the rotation center on the lever 309 side, and the tension spring 313 is used. On the other hand, in order to increase the generated moment, in the drum 310, the spring hooking portion 310 is set to reduce the moment generated in the drum 310 while maintaining the biased state as shown in FIG.
a is set near the rotation center. That is, lever 309
Are designed to rotate in the direction of arrow 309g and to pull back the drum 310 at the same time, while the tension spring 313 is designed to bias the entire system in one direction.

[Paper Feed Cassette] FIG. 15 is an overall perspective view of the paper feed cassette 103 according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the paper feed cassette 103, and FIG.
7 is a plan view.

The paper feed cassette 103 according to the present embodiment is configured to be detachable from the apparatus main body 100, and as shown in FIGS. Two substantially horizontal rails 201d and 201e that are slid and guided on the cassette supporting surface 101q of the apparatus main body 100 are provided. The cassette support surface 101q has a tapered surface 10 near the front surface of the apparatus main body 100.
1r, the downstream end of the cassette 201 in the transport direction of the rails 201d and 201e (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 17) is guided by the tapered surface 101r, and the operability when the paper cassette 103 is inserted into the apparatus main body 100. Has been effectively improved. Also, tapered portions 201f and 201g are provided at the downstream ends in the transport direction of the rails 201d and 201e, and the insertability of the sheet cassette 103 into the apparatus main body 100 is further improved.

The rail 201 is placed on the cassette support surface 101q.
d and 201e, the sheet 111 loaded in the sheet cassette 103 is warped upward due to the temperature and humidity when the sheet cassette 103 is inserted all the way down by sliding the lower surface of the sheet cassette 103e. May come into contact with. When the sheet 111 comes into contact with the paper feed roller 112e,
The leading end of the sheet 111 may be turned up, or the end of the sheet 111 may be disengaged from a separation claw A207 or separation claw B208, which will be described later.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 25, the sheet feeding roller 112e on the cassette support surface 101q of the apparatus main body 100 is provided.
Notch portion 10 partially without cassette support surface 101q
1 s is provided. In the cutout 101s, the sheet feeding cassette 1
Since there is no cassette support surface 101q supporting the own weight of the sheet feeder 03, the downstream end of the sheet feeding cassette 103 in the transport direction is retracted by its own weight in a downward direction away from the sheet feeding roller 112e. More specifically, the paper feed cassette 103 is connected to the cassette support surface 101.
The gap between the upper surface of the stacking sheet 111 and the paper feed roller 112e when sliding on q is H1 (FIG. 25A).
When the sheet cassette 103 passes through the notch 101s, the sheet cassette 103 retreats downward by its own weight, so that the gap between the sheet 111 stacked on the sheet cassette 103 and the sheet feeding roller 112e is widened and H2. (Fig. 25
(b)). Therefore, even when the sheets 111 stacked on the paper feed cassette 103 warp upward due to the influence of temperature and humidity and the gap with the paper feed roller 112e disappears, the paper feed cassette 103 is retracted downward. As a result, the gap between the stacked sheet 111 and the sheet feeding roller 112e is increased, and the sheet 111 and the sheet feeding roller 112
e, turning of the leading end of the sheet 111 due to contact with the sheet, separation from the separation claw A207 and separation claw B208, double feeding, skewing,
Poor transport such as paper jams is effectively prevented.

The sheet cassette 103 once retracted downward in the notch 101s is guided by the tapered surface 101t in front of the cassette support surface 101w at the back of the notch 101s, and returns to the original height again. Face 10
1w is guided to a predetermined position, and the mounting operation of the paper feed cassette 103 ends. The cassette support surface 101q and the cassette support surface 101w have substantially the same height, and also have a function of positioning the sheet feeding cassette 103 in the height direction after completion of the mounting (FIG. 25C).

The paper feed cassette 103 is provided in the main body 1 of the apparatus.
4, the reference side 201i of the reference side rail 201d of the cassette 201 is moved to the apparatus main body 100 as shown in FIG.
The paper feed cassette 10 is brought into contact with the
3 is performed in the sheet width direction. At this time, in order to give a click feeling when the paper cassette 103 is mounted, the cassette 2 of the portion corresponding to the cassette side presser 307 is provided.
A recess 201l is provided on the side wall of 01. Also,
A recess 2 is provided on the rail 201d opposite to the recess 201l.
01h is provided, and has a function of fitting with the convex portion 101h of the apparatus main body 100 to prevent the paper feed cassette 103 after being mounted from falling off.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A spacer 201n is provided in the vicinity of the upstream end in the conveyance direction of e, to effectively prevent rattling after the sheet cassette 103 is mounted. In addition, a hand grip 201m is provided on the front surface of the cassette 201 so that the operator can put his hand on the attachment / detachment of the sheet cassette 103, thereby effectively improving the operability when attaching / detaching the cassette.

The sheets 11 loaded in the cassette 201 are
A reference guide member 201a that regulates one end (reference end) in the width direction is provided. The reference guide member 201a is substantially in the same phase as the sheet reference of the apparatus main body 100 in the sheet width direction when the sheet feeding cassette 103 is mounted on the apparatus main body 100, and is a reference in the width direction of the sheets 111 stacked in the sheet feeding cassette 103. It has become.

Further, a sheet front end abutting surface 201b for positioning the front end of the sheet 111 when the sheet 111 is stacked is provided on the downstream side of the cassette 201 in the conveying direction. The sheet leading end contact surface 201b is a surface substantially perpendicular to the guide surface of the reference guide member 201a.
There is a bank 201c (see FIG. 18) constituted by a slope for guiding the sheet 11 to the sheet conveying path 503 (see FIG. 2).

The regulation of the rear end of the sheet 111 is different between the A4 size sheet and the letter (hereinafter referred to as "LTR") size sheet.
In a state where the cassette 09 is tilted, the rear end of the sheet 111 is regulated by the rear end regulating rib 201v on the upstream side in the transport direction of the cassette 201. The rear end regulating rib 201v is A4 size vertical dimension (297 mm) + α from the sheet front end abutting surface 201b.
Even if the size of the A4 size sheet varies at the position of (a variation amount of the sheet 111), the rear end portion of the sheet 111 can be suitably regulated. In the case of an LTR size sheet, the rear end regulating plate 209 is raised, and the rear end regulating plate 209 is raised.
The rear end of the LTR-size sheet 111 is regulated by the guide surface 209a.

On the cassette 201, there is provided a pressure plate 202 for urging the stacked sheets 111 against a sheet feeding roller 112e disposed in the apparatus body 100 facing the sheet. The pressure plate 202 is a pressure plate mounting shaft 201o, 2 of the cassette 201.
01p, and is always urged by a pressure plate spring 203 in the direction of pressing against the sheet feeding roller 112e. The surface of the pressure plate 202 is plated with zinc, and a separation sheet 204 (see FIG. 17) for preventing double feeding of the sheet 111 is provided immediately below the sheet feeding roller 112e.
The separation sheet 204 is formed of artificial leather, and the friction coefficient μ2 of the surface of the separation sheet 204 is

Μ1 <μ2 <μ3

Μ1: sheet-to-sheet coefficient of friction (0.7
degree)

Μ2: Coefficient of friction between sheet and separation sheet (approximately 0.9)

Μ3: Coefficient of friction between sheet and sheet feed roller (approximately 2.0)

Has been obtained.

The side guide 205 shown in FIGS. 20 and 21
Is a member that regulates the non-reference end of the stacked sheets 111. The cassette 2 is designed to cope with variations in each sheet size (A4, LTR), sheet cutting in the width direction, and the like.
01 is slidably provided in the sheet width direction. The regulation of the non-reference end of the sheet 111 is performed by bringing the guide surface 205e into contact with the non-reference end of the sheet 111. The operation unit 205b of the side guide 205 has a spring property,
A latch 205a is provided in a part of the sliding portion below the cassette 05b with the cassette 201. The latch 205a normally fixes the position of the side guide 205 in a state of being engaged with the corresponding latch 201q (see FIG. 19) of the cassette 201 by the spring property of the operation section 205b. The latch 205a is latched by bending.
The side guide 205 is retracted from 01q so as to be slidable in the sheet width direction.

The side guide 205 is provided with a tip pressing spring 206 (see FIGS. 15 and 16), which constantly urges the stacked sheets 111 against the reference guide member 201a to keep the sheets 111 in a uniform position. Can be loaded on The stroke amount of the tip pressing spring 206 is determined by the latches 201q and 205a.
Is set substantially equal to the fixed position interval (latch interval), even if the width direction of the sheet 111 varies at the time of cutting, the sheet 111 is effectively urged to the reference guide member 201a, and the stacked sheet 111 Can be positioned in the width direction. Further, the front end presser spring 206 installed in the paper feed cassette 103 has two upstream and downstream sides in the transport direction.
It has the pressing portions 206a and 206b at the points, and the relation of the pressing force of the tip pressing spring 206 is as follows.

The downstream pressing portion 206a (196m
N (20 gf)) <upstream pressing portion 206b (3
92 mN (40 gf)

It is assumed that: This is because when the pressing portion 206a on the downstream side in the transport direction of the tip holding spring 206 near the separation claw B208 urges the sheet 111 with a smaller number of stacked sheets, the leading end of the sheet 111 holds the tip holding spring 2
This is to effectively prevent the non-reference side end of the sheet 111 from coming off the separation claw B208 due to deformation such as bending or buckling due to the bias of No. 06.

The pressing portion 20 of the tip pressing spring 206
Reference numerals 6a and 206b denote guide surfaces 205 of the side guides 205 by the strokes of the pressing portions 206a and 206b when the sheets 111 are not stacked in the sheet feeding cassette 103.
e. In this state, the pressing portions 206a and 206b protruding from the guide surface 205e of the side guide 205 that regulates the non-reference end of the sheet 111 when the sheets 111 are stacked are obstructed, and the operability is deteriorated, the pressing portions 206a and 206b are damaged, and In some cases, a problem such as breakage of the non-reference end of the sheet 111 may occur.

For this reason, in the paper feed cassette 103 according to the present embodiment, the eaves 205g (see FIG. 20) are provided on the side guides 205 on the pressing portions 206a and 206b to cover the pressing portions 206a and 206b protruding from the guide surface 205e. By doing so, problems such as deterioration in operability when stacking sheets are effectively prevented.

Then, on the downstream side in the transport direction of the reference guide member 201a, a separation claw A207 on the reference side, in which the separation portion 207a has a predetermined hook amount with respect to the sheet 111, has a shaft 201r (see FIG. 19). Separation nail A2 shown in FIG.
07 is fitted in the gap 201t (see FIG. 19),
The backlash in the sheet width direction and the twist direction is suppressed,
The hooking amount of the sheet 7a to the sheet 111 is always constant.

A separation claw B208 on the non-reference side is rotatably supported by a shaft 205c (see FIG. 21) on the downstream side of the side guide 205 in the conveyance direction. Separating claw B shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 208 denotes a fitting of the rib 205d (see FIG. 21) of the side guide 205 and the groove 208b of the separation claw B208.
The play in the seat width direction and twist direction is suppressed. The rotation angles of the separation claw A207 and the separation claw B208 are restricted by stoppers 201s (see FIG. 18) and stoppers 205f (see FIG. 20), respectively, and are rotatable within a predetermined rotation angle.

The separating portions 207a and 208a of the separating claw A207 and the separating claw B208 are located on the pressing plate 202 and the stacking sheet 111 on the pressing plate 202, and have a function of regulating the upper limit of the rotation of the pressing plate 202. Separation claw A207 and separation claw B208 controlled by stopper 201s and stopper 205f
The upper limit of the rotation of the sheet feeding cassette 103 is determined when the sheet feeding cassette 103 is attached to or detached from the apparatus main body 100.
1. The separation claw A 207 and the separation claw B 208
Is set at a predetermined position that does not come into contact with the paper feed roller 112e.

Here, the reference end of the sheet 111 is pressed by the reference guide member 201a by the urging of the tip pressing spring 206, and is always determined to be a uniform position.
7a is always constant, while sheet 1
The non-reference end of 11 is caused by variations in the size at the time of cutting the sheet, variations due to expansion and contraction of the sheet itself due to moisture absorption, variations in the way the operator sets the side guide 205, and the like.
The separation portion 208a of the separation claw B208 when the sheets 111 are stacked
In some cases, the amount of hooking on the surface may change. As shown in FIG. 26, the non-reference end of the normal sheet 111 abuts on the guide surface 205a of the side guide 205 and the hook amount on the separation claw B208 is W2. The non-reference end 111 is a tip holding spring 206
At the sheet reference side (in the direction away from the separation unit 208a)
, The non-reference end position of the sheet 111 is shifted toward the sheet reference side by ΔW, and the hook amount on the separation claw B208 is also reduced by ΔW to W1. The amount of hooking on the sheet 111 is changed between the separation claw A207 and the separation claw B208, and the sheet 111 having an insufficient hooking amount causes a double feed due to an insufficient loop amount for separation or an excessive hooking amount. The sheet 111 has an increased resistance to nail removal, and the sheet 11
In some cases, misfeeds such as corner breaks, skews, and paper jams occurred.

In the present embodiment, the hooking amount of the separating portion 208a of the separating claw B208 to the sheet 111 is substantially the same as that of the separating claw A207 in the sheet conveying direction, but the nominal size of the hooking amount in the sheet width direction is In consideration of the above variation ΔW, it is slightly smaller than the separation claw A207 (about 0.3 mm).
It has been enlarged. Therefore, separation claw A207 and separation claw B
208, the difference in the amount of hooking on the sheet 111 is reduced, and the separation operation of the sheet 111 is suitably performed to perform multi-feed, skew,
Corner breaks and paper jams can be effectively prevented.

The rear end regulating plate 209 shown in FIG.
At b, it is rotatably fitted to the bearing 201u (see FIG. 19) of the cassette 201, and the cam 209c allows the user to select between two positions: a state where the cassette 201 is tilted substantially horizontally and a state where it is raised substantially vertically. As described above, when stacking A4 size sheets, the rear end regulating plate 209 is tilted substantially horizontally, and when stacking LTR size sheets, the rear end regulating plate 209 is substantially vertically raised. The rear end of the LTR-size sheet 111 is regulated by the guide surface 209a. When the rear end regulating plate 209 is raised, the guide surface 209a is separated from the sheet front end abutting surface 201b by a vertical dimension (2
79.4 mm) + α (variation of the sheet 111), and the rear end of the sheet 111 can be suitably regulated even if the LTR size sheet varies in size.

[Pickup / Separation Operation] In the standby state, as shown in FIG. 25C, the half-moon surface of the paper feed roller 112e is substantially horizontal with the stacked sheets 111. Further, the pressure plate 202 and the stacked sheets 111 on the pressure plate 202 are urged by a pressure plate spring 203 and are fed by a paper feed roller 112e.
However, the rotation of the pressure plate is restricted by the separation claw A207 and the separation claw B208. At this time, there is a predetermined gap H1 between the half-moon surface of the feed roller 112e and the stacked sheets 111.

When the paper feed roller 112e starts rotating and driven by the paper feed command, the arc-shaped outer peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 112e pushes down the pressure plate 202 and the sheet 111 on the pressure plate against the urging of the pressure plate spring 203. At this time, the sheet 111 on the pressure plate 202 is
A pressing force acts between the arc-shaped outer peripheral surfaces of 12e. Thereby, a frictional force is generated between the arc-shaped outer peripheral surface of the rotationally driven paper feed roller 112e and the uppermost sheet 111a. As described above, the feed roller 112e and the uppermost sheet 1
The coefficient of friction μ3 with 11a is the coefficient of friction μ1 between the sheets.
Therefore, the uppermost sheet 111a is conveyed in the rotation direction of the paper feed roller 112e by the frictional force.
At this time, the two corners of the top end of the uppermost sheet 111a are the abutting walls 207b and 208 of the separation claw A207 and separation claw B208, respectively.
c (see FIGS. 22 and 23), the left and right sides of the sheet 111a are separated from the second sheet 111 by forming substantially the same loop as the center of the uppermost sheet 111a is conveyed. Prompted, top sheet 111
When the loop a reaches a predetermined amount or more, the sheet end begins to slide along the oblique sides 207c and 208d of the separation claw A207 and the separation claw B208, comes out of the separation claw A207 and the separation claw B208, and is conveyed to the downstream side.

[ASF Unit] Next, referring to FIGS. 27 to 59, the ASF unit 11 which is a paper feed mechanism system will be described.
2 will be described.

First, the schematic configuration of the entire ASF unit will be described.

FIGS. 27 to 30 show the configuration and appearance of the ASF unit. The ASF unit is housed and fixed in the device body. FIG. 27 is a front view, and FIG. 28 is a top view. A U-turn inner guide A403 and a U-turn inner guide B404 are screwed to the frame A401 and the frame B402. The paper feed shaft 405 and the cam shaft 451 are rotatably supported by the frame A401 and the frame B402. In two places of the paper feed roller part of the paper feed shaft 405,
A separation roller rubber 112c that rotates integrally with the paper feed shaft 405 is adhered around the two sections, and the two sections have the same cross-sectional shape.

FIG. 29 is a right side view of the ASF unit as viewed from the direction indicated by the arrow B in FIG. ASF motor 406
Are supported by the frame A401 by two motor flange retainers 408 formed integrally with the frame A401, and the holes of the motor flange are locked to the flange fixing projections 410 at the tips of the elastic portions 409 of the frame A401. The ASF motor 406 is connected to the main circuit board. Reference numeral 407 denotes a bearing A, which rotatably supports a cam A 420 described later, and is fixed to the frame A 401. FIG. 30 is a diagram showing the ASF shown in FIG.
It is a unit left side view. The bearing B411 rotatably supports a cam B421, which will be described later, and a frame B40.
It is fixed to 2. The bearing C413 is provided with a sheet feeding shaft 405.
Are rotatably supported and fixed to the frame B402.

FIGS. 31 to 33 show a guide A in a U-turn.
And the ASF unit from which the guide B in the U-turn is deleted. FIG. 31 is a front view, FIG. 32 is a top view, and FIG. 33 is a rear view. The pair of U-turn rollers 112d are fixed to the U-turn roller shaft 414, and rotate integrally with the U-turn roller shaft 414. The U-turn roller shaft 414 is rotatably supported at both left and right ends by a U-turn roller holder A 416 and a U-turn roller holder B 417, respectively.
The U-turn roller holder A 416 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 418 of the frame A 401, and the U-turn roller holder B 417 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 419 of the frame B 402.

FIG. 34 and FIG. 35 are D-
It is D sectional drawing and EE sectional drawing. In FIG. 34,
422 is an up cam follower, 423 is a down cam follower, and both are U-turn roller holder A 416.
And oneness. Reference numeral 420a denotes a cam surface of a cam A420 which is rotationally driven by an ASF motor. The cam surface 420a acts on the up cam follower section 422 and the down cam follower section 423 to swing the U-turn roller holder A 416 around the support shaft 418 as a center of rotation. In FIG. 35, reference numeral 424 denotes an up cam follower, and 425 denotes a down cam follower, both of which are integral with the U-turn roller holder B417. The cam surface 421a of the cam B421 acts on the up cam follower portion 242 and the down cam follower portion 245 to swing the U-turn roller holder B417 about the support shaft 419 as the center of rotation. Cam A420 and cam B42
Numeral 1 is connected by a cam shaft 451 and rotates integrally. In this example, the camshaft 451 uses a metal pressed product having a U-shaped cross section.

The cams A420 and B421 have the same cam shape and rotate in the same phase. The shape of the cam follower is the same for the left and right U-turn roller holders. In FIG. 34, reference numeral 450 denotes an ASF sensor described later, which is positioned with respect to the frame A401 and connected to the main circuit board.

Before describing the mechanical components of each section, an outline of the sheet feeding operation of the present sheet feeding system will be described.

FIGS. 36 to 39 show the F-
It is a block diagram in F section. The state progresses in the order of FIG. 36 to FIG. FIG. 36 shows a state in which the paper feed cassette 103 is mounted on the apparatus main body and the paper feed is waited. The cross section of the separation roller rubber portion is substantially semicircular, and a space is secured between the separation roller rubber portion and the upper surface of the stacking sheet. The inside of the paper feed path to the printer unit is the guide surface 112b of the guide A 403 in the U-turn.
And the guide surface 112a of the U-turn inner guide B404 and the platen 622.

The outside of the paper feed path is the bank 2 of the paper feed cassette.
01c and guide ribs 101g and U of the bottom case
A guide rib 109a of the turn cover 109, a guide rib 114b of the paper passing guide 114, and a guide surface 114a are formed.

In the paper feed waiting state shown in FIG. 36, the U-turn roller 112d is at a position separated from the U-turn pinch roller 113 and the guide surface 1 of the U-turn inner guide A403.
It is retracted inside from 12b.

FIG. 37 shows a state in which the sheet feeding operation is started, the uppermost sheet 111a is picked up, and is sent to the sheet feeding path. The separation roller rubber 112c rotates in the direction of the arrow, abuts on the sheet 111a to pick up the sheet 111a, and the U-turn roller 112d is pressed against the U-turn pinch roller 113 while rotating in the direction of the arrow. Due to the deformation reaction force of the pinch roller shaft 305,
U-turn roller 112d and U-turn pinch roller 113
A conveyance force acts on the sheet that has reached the nip, and the sheet feeding operation further proceeds. Here, separation roller rubber 112
The drive reduction system is configured so that c and the peripheral speed of the U-turn roller 112d are the same.

Paper Feeding Shaft 405 and U-Turn Roller 112
d continues the paper feed rotation, and when the paper feed shaft makes one rotation, FIG.
As shown in 8, only the U-turn roller 112d keeps rotating to advance the paper feeding. Thereafter, when the predetermined paper feeding is completed in cooperation with the paper feed roller 620 of the printer unit, as shown in FIG. 39, the U-turn roller 112d rotates the paper in the arrow direction while rotating the U-turn pinch roller 11d.
Go away from 3. Then, the paper feeding mechanism system returns to the paper feeding waiting state in FIG. At this time, the sheet is released from the load on the upstream side of the printer unit. Thereafter, when the printer unit performs a paper feeding and printing operation, the ASF
There is almost no paper passing load or so-called back tension remaining in the paper feeding system, and the sheet conveyance of the printer unit is stabilized, and good recording performance can be obtained.

In the following, the mechanical elements of each section will be described. Each mechanism description shows only relevant parts. The overall arrangement of the components is shown in FIGS.

First, the driving system of the paper feed shaft 405 will be described. FIG. 40 shows a gear train for driving the paper feed shaft 405. 415 is an ASF motor 40 which is a power source
6 is a pinion gear on the output shaft. Reference numeral 426 denotes a motor reduction gear rotatably supported by the frame A401, and an input gear 426a and an output gear 426b are integrally formed. Reference numeral 427 denotes a paper feed reduction gear rotatably supported by the frame A401, and an input gear 427a, an output gear A427b, and an output gear B427c are integrally formed. Supported feed idler gear 42
8 to transmit the rotation. 429 is an ASF clutch having an input gear 429a. Pinion gear 415
Rotates clockwise toward the drawing (hereinafter referred to as “CW rotation”), the input gear 429 a of the ASF clutch 429.
Rotates CW and the pinion gear 415 moves C
When the CW rotation is performed, the input gear 429a of the ASF clutch becomes C
Perform CW rotation.

Next, the swinging system of the U-turn roller holder A 416, that is, the operating system for the U-turn roller 112d to move in and out, will be described. Since the left and right U-turn roller holder A 416 and U-turn roller holder B 417 oscillate synchronously and in the same phase, the drive system of the U-turn roller holder A 416 on the driving side will be described.

FIG. 42 shows the retracted state of the U-turn roller, and FIG. 43 shows the retracted state of the U-turn roller.

The gear train for driving the cam A420 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 42 (c) shows a gear train from the pinion gear 415 of the driving source to the feed reduction gear 427 via the motor reduction gear 426. In FIG. 42 (b),
4 shows a gear train from a feed reduction gear 427 to a cam gear 433. In FIG. 42B, the feed reduction gear 427
The output gear A 427 b is connected to the cam sun gear 430. The cam sun gear 430 is rotatably supported by the frame A401 on the same rotation shaft as the motor reduction gear. The cam sun gear 430 includes a cam planet gear A431.
And the cam planet gear B432. The cam planet gear A431 and the cam planet gear B432 are held so as to be integrally rotatable with the cam sun gear 430 by a cam planet holder 434 having the same rotation center as the cam sun gear 430.

Reference numeral 435 denotes a cam planetary holder spring for applying a holding load to the cam planetary gear A 431, which rotates as the cam sun gear 430 rotates. A cam planet gear A431 or a cam planet gear B432 is engaged with the cam gear 433. Here, FIG. 44 shows the phase relationship of the cam planet holder 434, the cam sun gear 430, the cam planet gear A431, the cam planet gear B432, and the cam gear 433 in the direction of the rotation axis. 430a is a flange portion at the center of the face width of the cam sun gear 430. The cam gear 433 is formed integrally with the cam A420. Cam planetary gear A4
31 is a cam gear A43 in the right half of the cam gear 433 in the width direction.
3a, and the cam planet gear B432 can be connected to the left half cam gear B433b of the cam gear 433 in the width direction.

The cam gear A433a has a missing tooth portion A433c shown in FIG. 42 (b), and FIG. 42 (b) shows an HH section of FIG. The cam gear B433b is provided with a missing tooth portion B433d shown in FIG.
43B is shown in FIG.

Based on the above, the swing of the U-turn roller holder A 416, that is, U
The emergence and retreat of the turn roller 112d will be described. FIG. 42 shows the retracted state, and FIG. 43 shows the retracted state.

The retracting operation of the U-turn roller 112d is an operation until the state of FIG. 43 becomes the state of FIG. In the retracted state of FIG. 43, when the pinion gear 415 rotates CW, the drive system is sequentially driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. In FIG. 42, the cam planet gear A
431 drives the cam gear A 433a, and the cam 420
CW rotation causes cam surface 420a to move down cam follower 4
23, the U-turn roller holder A 416 is driven to rotate CW about the support shaft 418. The U-turn roller 112 d is pressed against the U-turn pinch roller 113. FIG. 42 shows that the cam planet gear A431 is the cam gear A.
433a is driven to the missing tooth portion A433c, and even if the pinion gear 415 continues CW rotation, the cam 420
Does not rotate, and the posture of the U-turn roller holder 416 is stable.

The overcam A 420b has a cam surface 420a.
And has an action of slightly over-rotating the cam 420 by utilizing the reaction force from the U-turn pinch roller 113. The cam planet gear A431 is the cam gear A433
a to the toothless portion A433c, the final tooth A433e of the cam gear A433a is changed to the cam planet gear A43.
It has the effect of preventing being hit by one tooth. 434a
Is a planetary stopper which is a part of the cam planetary holder 434, and abuts against a stopper rib 436 provided on the frame A <b> 401 to restrict the maximum rotation amount of the cam planetary holder 434. That is, in FIG. 42, the planetary stopper 434a comes into contact with the stopper rib A436a, so that the cam planetary gear A431 becomes the cam gear A.
43 is prevented from excessively slipping into the missing tooth portion A 433c. In FIG. 43, the planetary stopper 434a abuts against the stopper rib B 436b, so that the cam planetary gear B
432 is prevented from excessively sneaking into the missing tooth portion B433d of the cam gear B433b.

The retracting operation of the U-turn roller 112d is an operation until the state of FIG. 42 becomes the state of FIG. 42, the pinion gear 415 is in the CCW state.
When rotated, the drive system is sequentially driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 43, the cam planet gear B432 drives the cam gear B433b, the cam 420 rotates CW, and the cam surface 420a
24, the U-turn roller holder A 416 is driven to rotate CCW about the support shaft 418. Then, the U-turn roller 112d is separated from the U-turn pinch roller 113.

FIG. 43 shows that the cam planetary gear B432 drives the cam gear B433b to the toothless portion B433d, and even if the pinion gear 415 continues CCW rotation, the cam 420 is no longer driven to rotate and the U-turn roller holder 416 is driven. Represents a state in which the posture of is stable. Overcome B
Reference numeral 420c denotes a reverse tapered portion of the cam surface 420a, which has a function of slightly over-rotating the cam 420 by utilizing a reaction force due to the weight of the U-turn roller 112d and the U-turn roller shaft 414.

[0158] The cam planet gear B432 is the cam gear B433.
After driving b to the toothless portion B433d, the final tooth B433f of the cam gear B433b is changed to the cam planet gear B43.
It has the effect of preventing being hit by the second tooth. 420d
Is a cam stopper integrated with the cam A420. When the U-turn roller retracts, the driving reaction force is
Since only the effect of the weight of the 12d and U-turn roller shafts 414 is weak, the cam A420 and the U-turn roller holder A416 may over-rotate. That time,
The cam stopper 420d and the down cam follower portion 423 interfere with each other, thereby preventing mutual over rotation.

Next, the gear train related to the rotational drive of the U-turn roller 112d will be described. FIG. 45 and FIG.
6 shows the drive system of the U-turn roller 112d.

In both figures, the pinion gear 41 of the driving source is shown.
5 rotates through the motor reduction gear 426 to the frame A
U-turn reduction gear 449 rotatably supported by 401
Is transmitted to The U-turn reduction gear 449 is the input gear 44
9a and the output gear 449b are integrally formed.
The rotation of the U-turn reduction gear 449 is transmitted to a U-turn sun gear 437 via a U-turn idler gear A 412 having a cam A 420 as a rotation axis. U-turn sun gear 43
7 is the same support shaft 41 as the U-turn roller holder A 416
At 8, it is rotatably supported by the frame A 401.
The rotation of the U-turn sun gear 437 is based on the U-turn planet gear A
438 and the U-turn planetary gear B439.

The U-turn planet holder 442 is rotatable about the same rotation center as the U-turn sun gear 437.
U-turn planetary gears A438 and U438
The turn planetary gear B439 is rotatably held. 4
Reference numeral 43 denotes a U-turn planetary holder spring for applying a pinching load to the U-turn planetary gear B 439, so that the U-turn planetary holder 442 rotates as the U-turn sun gear 437 rotates.

The U-turn idler gear B440 is rotatably supported by a U-turn roller holder A416.
The U-turn roller gear 441 is a U-turn roller holder A
416 are rotatably supported. The U-turn roller shaft 414 is supported by the U-turn roller gear 441 so as to rotate integrally with the U-turn roller gear 441. U
As described below, the turn roller 112d always rotates in the CW rotation, that is, in the paper feed direction, regardless of whether the pinion gear 415 is in the CW rotation or the CCW rotation.

FIG. 45 shows the driving state when the pinion gear 415 rotates in the CW direction. At this time, U-turn sun gear 43
7 and the U-turn planetary holder 442 rotate CW, the U-turn planetary gear A 438 bites into the U-turn roller gear 441, and rotates the U-turn roller 112d CW.

FIG. 46 shows a driving state when the pinion gear 415 rotates CCW. At this time, U-turn sun gear 4
37 and U-turn planet holder 442 rotate CCW,
U-turn planetary gear B439 is U-turn idler gear B4
40, and the U-turn roller 112d rotates CW.

Next, the structure and operation principle of the ASF clutch 429 and a lock mechanism for the ASF clutch 429 will be described. First, the ASF clutch 429 will be described, and based on this, the lock mechanism will be described below.
FIG. 41 shows the structure of the ASF clutch 429.

429a is an input gear, and 429b is an output shaft. A clutch spring 429d is wound around the input gear 429a and the output shaft 429b. 429
c is a release collar, which is rotatably attached to the outside of the clutch spring. One end h of the clutch spring 429d on the side wound around the input gear has the release collar 4
The other end 429i of the side wound around the output shaft 429b is engaged with the hole 429j of the output shaft 429b. Input gear 4
When CW rotation is input to 29a, clutch spring 429d
Is tightened, and conversely, when the CCW rotation is input to the input gear 429a, the clutch spring 4 becomes loose.
29d is wound. That is, the input gear 42
When there is a CW rotation torque input at 9a, the clutch spring 429d is tightened and is capable of transmitting sufficient torque to the output shaft 429b. On the other hand, even if the input gear 429a receives a CW rotation or CCW rotation torque input, the input gear 429a can be idled without transmitting torque to the output shaft 429b. If a rotation preventing load is applied to the locking portion 429e of the release collar 429c when the CW rotation is input, the one end 429h of the clutch spring 429d is loosened and only the input gear 429a runs idle. In addition, when a CCW rotation is input, if a rotation preventing load is applied to the flange locking portion 429f of the output shaft 429b, the other end 429 of the clutch spring 429d is turned on.
i has a loosening effect, and only the input gear 429a
Idling in the CCW direction. The output shaft 429b is attached to the paper feed shaft 405 so as to rotate integrally with the paper feed shaft 405.

Next, the lock mechanism of the ASF clutch 429 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 47 to 50 also show the rotation phase of the paper feed shaft 405. FIG. 47 shows a standby state before the sheet pickup.
Ends with CCW rotation. The ASF lock 444 is rotatably supported by a lock claw shaft 448 of the frame A401. Reference numeral 444a denotes a lock claw integrated with the ASF lock 444. In the standby state shown in FIG.
The 29 flange engaging portions 429f are in contact with each other. 444
b is a lock elastic part integrated with the ASF lock 444,
It has a spring property in the direction perpendicular to the paper. Lock spring 445
Is a torsion coil spring wound around the rotation shaft 444d of the ASF lock 444, one arm is locked to the frame A, and the other arm is locked to the ASF lock.

By the action of the lock spring 445, the ASF lock 444 is urged clockwise, that is, the lock claw 444a is urged by the notch 429k of the output shaft 429b of the ASF clutch.

FIGS. 51 and 52 are enlarged views of a portion K in FIG. FIG. 51 shows the lock elastic portion 444b of the ASF lock 444, and FIG. 52 shows the U-turn roller holder A41.
No. 6 drive projection 447 is shown.

In FIG. 51, reference numeral 446 denotes a lock elastic portion 4.
The driven projection is integrated with the driven projection 44b and has a driven ridgeline 446a and a driven slope 446b. In FIG. 52, 4
Reference numeral 47 denotes a drive projection integral with the U-turn roller holder A 416, which has a drive slope 447a and a drive ridge 447b.

As described above, when the pinion gear 415 is
When the W rotation starts, the U-turn roller holder A 416 starts the CW rotation, and the input gear 4 of the ASF clutch 429.
29a starts the CW rotation, and this state is shown in FIG. The drive protrusion 446 of the U-turn roller holder 416 and A
Due to interference with the driven projection 447 of the SF lock 444, A
The SF lock is driven counterclockwise against the urging force of the lock spring 445. That is, the lock claw 444a comes out above the notch 429k. As a result, the output shaft 429b of the ASF clutch enters a CW rotatable state. This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 53 is an enlarged view of a portion L in FIG. U
When the turn roller holder A 416 rotates in the direction of the arrow I, the driving slope 447 a of the driving projection 447 is changed to the driven projection 44.
The 6 driven ridge line 446a is pushed upward, and the ASF lock 444 is driven in the I direction. When the pinion gear 415 further continues the CW rotation, the state shown in FIG. 49 is obtained. In this state, the paper feed shaft 405 continues the CW rotation drive, and the pair of separation roller rubbers 112c picks up sheets in the cassette.

U-turn roller holder A416 and AS
The F lock 444 is in a stable position and does not operate. Since the lift-up stroke of the driven projection 446 by the driving projection 447 has been completed, the ASF lock 444
5 can be rotated clockwise by the urging force, and the lock claw 444a is moved to the outer periphery 429 of the flange portion of the output shaft 429b.
The posture is stable when it comes into contact with m. When the pinion gear 415 further continues the CW rotation, the state shown in FIG. 50 is obtained.

The input gear 429a of the ASF clutch 429
Continues the CW rotation, but the paper feed shaft 405 completes one rotation stroke and no longer rotates.
Clearance between c and the sheet is secured. Paper feed shaft 4
05 does not rotate, that is, the output shaft 429b does not rotate because the lock claw 444a is locked to the locking portion 429e of the release collar 429c, as described in the description of the ASF clutch. In this state, FIG.
As described in 5, the sheet is conveyed only by the U-turn roller 112d. The state in FIG. 50 is continued until the predetermined sheet conveying operation is completed. Then, at the final stage of the sheet feeding operation, the pinion gear 415 rotates in the CCW direction to perform the retreating operation, and returns to the state shown in FIG.

When the pinion gear 415 rotates CCW from the state shown in FIG. 50, the input gear 429a of the clutch rotates CCW as shown in FIG.
416 rotates CCW. At this time, the driving projection 447 and the driven projection 446 interfere with each other, but the interference load is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the lock elastic portion 444 b, the ASF lock 444 does not rotate, and the lock claw 444 a becomes the notch 429.
It remains biased to k.

FIG. 54 shows a diagram indicated by the arrow M in FIG. At the time of the evacuation operation, FIG. 54 (c) changes from FIG. 54 (a) through FIG. 54 (b).
State. When the U-turn roller holder A 416 performs the retreat operation from the state of FIG. 54 (a), the drive ridge 447b acts on the driven slope 446b as shown in FIG. 54 (b), and the lock elastic portion 444b is elastically deformed and escapes. When the retraction operation of the U-turn roller holder A 416 further proceeds and exceeds the interference area, the lock elastic portion 444 as shown in FIG.
b returns to the original state and reaches the state of FIG.

On the other hand, even during these operations, the input gear 429a of the ASF clutch continues CCW rotation. However, at this time, as shown in FIG.
Since f hits the lock claw 444a, the output shaft 429b does not rotate CCW due to the clutch mechanism described above. That is, the paper feed shaft 105 does not rotate and continues to maintain the standby state. When the predetermined operation is completed, the driving of the ASF motor is stopped, and the evacuation operation is completed.

In FIGS. 47 to 50, reference numeral 444c denotes a lock sensor plate integrated with the ASF lock 444.
It moves up and down by the rotation of the SF lock. FIG. 32 and FIG.
4, the lock sensor plate 444c and the ASF sensor 45
0 indicates a positional relationship. The ASF sensor 450 is a transmission type photo sensor, and in the standby state shown in FIGS. 34 and 47,
The lock sensor plate 444c blocks between the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit of the ASF sensor 450, and the control logic recognizes that the ASF sensor is ON.

Further, as shown in the sheet pick-up state of FIG.
When the lock 29b is in the unlocked state, the lock sensor plate 444c is located above the ASF sensor 450 and the ASF
The light emitting part and the light receiving part of the sensor 450 are not blocked.
At this time, the control logic recognizes that the ASF sensor is OFF.

The above is the description of the mechanical elements of each part. Although the outline of the sheet feeding operation has been described before the description of the mechanism elements, a state in which the mechanism elements perform the basic sheet feeding operation in conjunction with each other will be described below.

FIG. 34 shows a standby state, which is an initial state, and corresponds to FIG. 36 for schematically explaining the operation. When the sheet feed command is executed, first, the ASF motor starts normal rotation, that is, the pinion gear 415 starts CW rotation. The U-turn roller holder A 416 is released to the position shown in FIG. 42 by the cam A 420, and in the course of its operation, as shown in FIG.
The lock 444 is driven upward, and the lock claw 444a is released. Output shaft 4 of unlocked ASF clutch
As shown in FIG. 49, the sheet feeding shaft 405 that rotates integrally with the sheet 29 rotates forward in the sheet pickup direction, and the sheet in the sheet feeding cassette is picked up. On the other hand, the U-turn roller 112d is pressed against the U-turn pinch roller 113 as shown in FIG. 42, and at the same time, the U-turn roller gear 441 rotates forward in the paper feed direction as shown in FIG. Subsequently, the ASF motor rotates forward, and the U-turn roller 112d keeps rotating forward while maintaining the position in contact with the U-turn pinch roller 113. The paper feed shaft 405 continues to rotate forward, and the sheet picked up by the separation roller rubber 112c reaches the nip between the U-turn roller 112d and the U-turn pinch roller 113. For a while, the sheet is conveyed by the separation roller rubber 112c and the U-turn roller 112d having the same paper feed speed, which is the state shown in FIG. 37 for the schematic explanation of the operation.

Further, the ASF motor 406 continues to rotate forward, and the U-turn roller 112d continues to convey the sheet. The paper feed shaft 405 also continues to rotate forward, but after one rotation, as shown in FIG.
Into the notch 429k provided on the output shaft 429b of the release collar 429e.
a. Thereafter, even if the input gear 429a of the ASF clutch 429 rotates forward, the output shaft 429b does not rotate, the rotation angle phase of the paper supply shaft 405 is constant, and the separation between the separation roller rubber 112c and the sheet of the paper supply cassette. There is a space between them. It is a state shown in FIG. 38 for the outline of operation.

Further, the ASF motor 406 continues to rotate forward,
The U-turn roller 112d keeps feeding the sheet, and temporarily stops the sheet conveyance to the printer unit 600.
6 rotates forward. When the predetermined sheet conveyance is completed, the rotation of the ASF motor 406 is temporarily stopped. Thereafter, the ASF motor 406 starts reverse rotation, and the pinion gear starts CCW rotation. The U-turn roller holder A416 has a cam A42.
As a result, the driving projection 447 kicks the driven projection 446, and the ASF lock 444 does not operate, as shown in FIG. 54. At this time, as shown in FIG. 46, the U-turn roller 112d is separated from the U-turn pinch roller 113 while rotating forward in the paper feed direction, and no back tension is generated on the sheet by the drive system. .

At the same time, the input gear 429a of the ASF clutch 429 is rotating CCW, and tries to reverse the output shaft 429b in the paper reverse feed direction. At this time, as shown in FIG.
Therefore, the output shaft 429b does not reverse, and only the input gear 429a continues CCW rotation. The rotation angle phase of the paper feed shaft 405 is constant, and a space is secured between the separation roller rubber 112c and the sheet of the paper feed cassette. The ASF motor 406 stops after a predetermined amount of reverse rotation, and enters a standby state. It is a state shown in FIG. 39 for the outline of operation.

In the standby state, as shown in FIG.
The lock claw 444a has a notch 429k of the ASF clutch.
And even if the paper feed shaft is rotated due to some disturbance, the locking portion 429e of the release collar or the flange locking portion 429f of the output shaft is locked by the lock claw 444.
a, the paper feed shaft does not rotate excessively and the phase is stable. The above is the description of the interlocking of the mechanism elements.

Next, the flow of the entire sheet feed control will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 55, FIG. 56
57 shows a basic flow of automatic paper feed, FIG. 57 shows a forced paper discharge flow, and FIG. 58 shows a retreat flow of the U-turn roller. Note that these flows are performed by the CPU, the controller, and the R
This is realized by a main body control circuit including an OM, a RAM, and the like, and a block diagram will be described later. Hereinafter, the flow of the sheet feeding operation will be described.

First, the basic flow of FIGS. 55 and 56 will be described. When the automatic sheet feeding is started, first, the number of sheet feeding tries is initialized, and the first try is started (S10).
1). Then, the rotation amount counter of the ASF motor 406 is reset. In this example, the ASF motor 406 uses a stepping motor, and counts the number of drive pulses (S102). The ASF motor 406 is rotated forward to start the sheet feeding operation (S103). The forward rotation is the rotation of the pinion gear CW at the time of explanation of the mechanical system.

When the paper feeding operation is started, the state of the paper sensor is monitored (S104). Figure 2 is a paper sensor
629 shown in FIGS. 36 to 39, which is in the OFF state when there is no sheet, and is in the ON state when the sheet passes. The ASF motor 406 continues to rotate forward until the paper sensor 629 is turned on, with a predetermined allowable driving amount P1 pulse as a limit (S104, S1).
07). Paper sensor 6 by the allowable driving amount P1 pulse
When 29 is turned on, the ASF motor 406 is temporarily stopped, and the process proceeds to the next sequence (S105). If the pulse counter value exceeds the P1 pulse while the paper sensor 629 is off, the ASF motor 406 is stopped (S10).
8), execute a save sequence (S109).

The retreat sequence is for reversing the ASF motor 406, retreating the U-turn roller 112d, and returning the drive system to the initial state. FIG. 58 shows the flow. The number of evacuation tries is initialized (S301).
The SF motor 406 is rotated in reverse by a preset Pd pulse (S302). The reverse rotation is the rotation of the pinion gear CCW at the time of explanation of the mechanical system. Here ASF sensor 4
If 50 is ON (S303), the evacuation operation is normal, the ASF motor 406 is stopped (S306), the process ends, and it is possible to shift to the next sequence. ASF sensor 4
If 50 is OFF, the evacuation retry is performed once (S30).
3, S304, S305). Still ASF sensor 45
If 0 is not ON, the sequence is terminated as a save error.

Returning to the description of FIG. 55, when the retraction sequence is completed (S109), a paper feed retry is executed once (S110, S111). If the paper sensor 629 is not turned on even after the retry, the sequence is terminated as a paper feed error (S104, S107 to S111).

When the sheet is conveyed to the paper sensor 629 and the paper sensor is turned on, the ASF motor 406
Is stopped (S105), the registration operation is performed after the determination in S106. In S106, the pulse count value is compared with a preset slip feed determination reference value P2,
The degree of slip of the seat is determined. When it is determined that the sheet has been relatively smoothly conveyed, the process proceeds to FIG.
Make a cashier taking into account slippage. If it is determined that the sheet has been conveyed without slipping relatively, the flow shifts to FIG. 56A to perform normal registration. Each registration is performed by generating a sheet loop.

In FIG. 56A, first, the paper feed motor 6
09 is reversed in the direction opposite to the sheet conveyance (S116).
The SF motor 406 is rotated forward to strike the sheet against the nip of the paper feed roller 620 to generate a sheet loop (S1).
17). Here, the number of feed pulses P of the ASF motor 406
a is the number of pulses set in advance to obtain a desired sheet loop amount. Stop the ASF motor 406 (S1
18), the paper feed motor 609 is stopped (S119),
The checkout is over.

In FIG. 56B, S112 to S115
At the cash register, but the flow of (A) is ASF
The number of forward rotation pulses of the motor 406 is different. In S113, the number of ASF motor normal rotation pulses is incremented to f pulses in consideration of the slipperiness of the sheet. Paper sensor 6
The value obtained by dividing the feed amount count value actually required up to 29 by the preset theoretical feed amount P0 up to the paper sensor 629 is the slip increment rate. The value obtained by multiplying the increment rate by the loop generation pulse Pa during normal feeding is f. f
By incrementing to a pulse, a proper loop amount is secured. Steps S120 to S125 are a sequence for leading the sheet to the printer unit and retracting the U-turn roller 112d. The ASF motor 406 and the paper feed motor 609 are driven in synchronization. In S120 and S123,
The ASF motor 406 and the paper feed motor 609 start driving simultaneously, and the U-turn roller 112d and the paper feed roller 6
20 are rotated forward at the same rotation speed at the same paper feed speed, and are driven by Pb and Pc pulses set in advance so as to have the same paper feed amount. In S121 and S124, both motors are temporarily stopped. As a result, the sheet is stably engaged with the paper feed roller, and thereafter, the cueing is performed using the paper feed motor 609 as a main driving source.

At S122 and S125, AS
At the same time as the F motor 406 starts executing the retraction sequence, the paper feed motor 609 executes a cueing sequence that is set in advance according to various printing conditions. At this time, AS
The F motor 406 rotates reversely at a preset desired speed, and the U-turn roller 112d retracts while rotating forward in the paper feeding direction at the same paper feeding speed as the paper feeding roller 620. Therefore, no load is generated by the U-turn roller 112d at the time of sheet cueing by the printer unit, and the cueing accuracy is improved. Finally, ASF sensor 45
When the ASF sensor 450 is ON, it is normal and the automatic sheet feeding is completed (S126). Thereafter, the recording operation is performed, but since the U-turn roller 112d is retracted, no back tension occurs, and good recording image quality can be obtained.

Next, forced ejection will be described. When the ASF sensor 450 is OFF in the last step S126 in FIG. 56, the paper feed shaft 405 is not at the original standby position, and stops at a halfway rotation phase. For example, if the paper feed shaft 405 is located at a position as shown in FIG. 37, the separation roller rubber 112c presses the sheet 111a of the cassette, and back tension is generated in the printer unit after cueing. Such a state can occur in the case of the paper feed retry in FIG. That is, in the first sheet feeding, the sheet slides and reaches just before the paper sensor 629, reaches the paper sensor 629 with a small feed amount by retry, and ends the cueing operation and the retreat operation of the U-turn roller 112d. It is in a state where it is. At this time, the feed shaft 40
5 is stopped during rotation.

In the present embodiment, in order to ensure recording performance and to take care of unexpected attachment / detachment of the cassette, in such a state, the sheet is discharged and the sheet feeding system is completely returned to the initial state. FIG. 57 shows the flow of forced paper ejection. Figure 56
ASF sensor 450 is turned off in last step S126
In the case of, as shown in FIG. 57, the sheet whose cueing has been completed is discharged by cooperation of the ASF motor 406 and the paper feed motor 609. First, the ASF motor 406 is rotated forward (S201), and the paper feed motor 609 is rotated forward (S20).
7) Start feeding the sheet. When the ASF sensor 450 is turned on (S202), the ASF motor 406 stops the normal rotation (S203), and executes the evacuation sequence (S2).
04). In this state, the lock pawl is engaged with the output shaft of the clutch, that is, the position of the paper feed shaft 405 has been initialized. Since the U-turn roller 112d has been retracted, the subsequent forced discharge is performed by the transport system of the printer unit.

Even if the driving amount of the ASF motor 406 reaches the preset upper limit Pf pulse, the ASF sensor 450
If N is not performed, a sheet jam or the like may occur, and the sequence is terminated as a forced paper ejection error (S205, S20).
6). On the other hand, the paper feed motor 609, which has started to rotate forward with the ASF motor 406,
When it reaches F (S208), the sheet is rotated forward by a preset Pe pulse (S209), and the sheet is discharged from the discharge roller 626. Even if the driving amount of the paper feed motor 609 reaches a preset upper limit Pg pulse, the paper sensor 629 is turned off.
If not, there is a possibility of sheet jam, and the sequence is terminated as a forced paper ejection error (S213, S21)
4).

After the Pe pulse is sent in S209, the paper discharge retry counter is reset (S210), and the paper discharge sensor 63
If 0 is OFF (S211), the paper feed motor 609
Is stopped (S212), and the process ends. Discharge sensor 630
Is ON (S211), since the sheet remains in the sheet discharge sensor unit, additional feeding is performed by a predetermined amount of Ph pulses while counting up the number of retries. Is ON, the process ends with a forced paper ejection error (S215, S216, S21).
7). The above is the description of the flow relating to the automatic sheet feeding.

Referring to FIG. 59, a block diagram relating to the sheet feed control and its periphery will be described.

Reference numeral 701 denotes a controller for executing various programs, including a gate array circuit for performing high-speed data arithmetic processing, and various timers and counters for performing various timing controls. The ROM 704 stores various reference information such as a control table and setting value information. The MPU 702 performs various operations and the like.
This is a so-called central processing chip. 703 is an R mainly used as a work area of the controller and the MPU.
AM. Controller 701, MPU 702, RA
Various calculations and instructions are executed by the cooperation of the M703, the ROM 704, and the devices are controlled. ASF sensor 4
The states of the paper sensor 50, the paper sensor 629, the home position sensor 613, and the paper discharge sensor 630 are used for determining conditions in various controls as necessary. The ASF motor 406 is driven via an ASF driver 705, the carrier motor 608 is driven via a carrier driver 706, and the paper feed motor 609 is driven via a paper feed driver 707. The recording head 602 receives the output of the gate array circuit of the controller 701 and performs a recording operation.

[Printer / Carrier Scanning Unit] FIG.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an internal configuration of a printing apparatus printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from a sheet discharging side.

The present apparatus uses a recording head cartridge 601.
And a carrier 604 for detachably holding the carrier. The carrier 604 includes a recording sheet (a recording medium including a recordable flexible sheet such as a plastic sheet) on a guide shaft 606 and a guide rail 607, both ends of which are fixed to the printer frame 605 and arranged in parallel with each other. And is slidably supported in a main scanning direction which is orthogonal to the conveying direction of the recording sheet and parallel to the surface of the recording sheet.

The guide shaft 606 is a solid shaft having a smooth surface, and has a groove at one end for fixing the guide shaft 606 to the printer frame 605.

The carrier 604 includes a drive pulley 610 that is driven to rotate by a carrier motor 608 fixed to the printer frame 605, and a guide shaft 606.
The belt 6 looped between an idler pulley 611 supported by a printer frame 605 via a spring (not shown) so as to be slidable and rotatable in a direction parallel to
12 and is connected to the carrier motor 608
, The belt 612 is driven, and the carrier 604 is moved by the guide shaft 606 and the guide rail 607.
Reciprocating in the above-mentioned direction. In the present embodiment, the belt 612 is provided with a belt stopper formed of a urethane-based flexible member, and the shaft-shaped part of the belt stopper is used as the carrier 60.
4 is rotatably and slidably fixed in a minute range.

An ink tank 603 is removably mounted on the recording head cartridge 601. When ink is exhausted by recording, the ink tank 603 is installed.
The next recording can be performed by exchanging.

A home position sensor 613 for detecting the position of the carrier 604 by detecting the passage of the carrier 604, a recording head cartridge 6
01 has a flexible cable 614 for transmitting an electric signal from the main board 302.

A flexible guide 615 made of a flexible member is provided near the outlet of the carrier 604 in order to regulate the posture of the flexible cable 614.

[Printer / Paper Feed Unit] Next, the configuration for transporting the recording sheet 111 will be described with reference to FIG.

A paper feed roller 620 is rotatably supported by the printer frame 605.
An LF (paper feed) gear 621 is fixed to the 0 axis end. The paper feed roller 620 is a solid shaft with an outer diameter of 7.561 mm, which is coated with urethane to increase the coefficient of friction with the recording sheet 111.

[0211] The paper feed roller 620 is driven to rotate by the paper feed motor 609 via the LF gear 621.

FIG. 62 is a side sectional view of a recording apparatus printer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0213] As shown in this figure, the lower side of the paper transport surface is mainly composed of a platen 622. The platen 622 is fixedly incorporated into the base 101, and forms a box structure having a gap between the base 101 and the waste ink absorber 623 described later. By screwing the platen 622 and the base 101 in this state,
It corrects the warpage of individual parts and improves the rigidity of the device.

On the surface of the platen 622, projecting ribs 622b for reducing a sliding load during conveyance are formed in a plurality of rows along the recording sheet 111 conveyance direction.

The pinch roller 625 held by the pinch roller holder 624 rotatably mounted on the platen 622 is moved by the spring (not shown) to the paper feed roller 6.
20 from below, the paper feed roller 6
The recording sheet (not shown) sandwiched between the sheet feeding roller 20 and the pinch roller 625 is conveyed by driving the paper feed motor 609.

[0216] The pinch roller 625 is the paper feed roller 62.
0, the diameter of the outer peripheral portion that sandwiches the recording sheet 111 is
It is almost the same as the paper feed roller 620 and slightly smaller, and has an outer diameter of 6 mm. Also, the pinch roller holder 624
Outer diameter of the rotating shaft held by the pinch roller 6
The ratio of the diameter of the outer peripheral part of No. 25 is 1: 7.5, and the shaft diameter is 0.8 mm. Thereby, since the rotation load is light, the recording sheet 111 can be transported with almost no loss. Also, the outer diameter of the pinch roller 625 and the outer diameter of the paper feed roller 620 are almost the same.
゜ When the paper is fed, the pinch roller 625 and the paper feed roller 6
It is easy to guide the recording sheet (not shown) to the 20 contacts (nips), and it is possible to reduce the force for pushing the leading end of the recording sheet into the nip.

Also, the outer peripheral portion of the pinch roller 625
Both the shaft portions are subjected to nickel plating, and are discharged from the recording head cartridge 601 to be corroded by ink mist contained in the atmosphere inside the apparatus, or to be worn when sliding with the pinch roller holder 624 for a long time. The pinch roller 6 even after long-term use.
The rotation load of 25 is hardly increased.

On the opposite side of the paper feed roller 620 with the recording head cartridge 601 interposed therebetween, paper discharge rollers 626 for discharging the recording sheet after recording out of the apparatus are attached to the platen 622 in two rows. Discharge roller 62
The driving force is transmitted from the paper feed roller 620 via the idler gear train 627 to the paper feed roller 6.
It rotates in synchronization with 20. A spur 628 attached to the guide rail 607 is disposed above the paper discharge roller 626. When the paper discharge roller 626 is pressed against the spur 628 from below by a spring (not shown), the recording sheet is discharged. 626 and the spur 628 are conveyed.

A paper sensor 629 is provided on the side of the manual feed slot 102e opposite to the recording head cartridge 601 with the paper feed roller 620 therebetween, and a paper discharge sensor 630 is provided between two rows of paper discharge rollers 626. Of the recording sheet 111 is detected.

The platen 622 is located at the left end of the recording sheet 111.
Has a paper guide portion 622a, which serves as an approximate reference when inserting a sheet. Further, among the plurality of protruding ribs 622b formed on the surface of the platen 622, the paper guide portion 622a is formed.
The rib closest to the paper guide portion 622a prevents the recording sheet from being caught when approaching the paper guide portion 622a.
A gentle slope is formed on the slope opposite to a (see FIG. 61).

From the ASF unit to the printer unit 60
0 is conveyed to the intermediate roller 1
Since the sheet is conveyed while being held at the position 12d, it does not positively come into contact with the paper guide portion 622a. However, when the recording sheet is manually fed from the manual feed slot 102e, it depends on the insertion degree of the operator. Is configured in this manner because it may be inserted diagonally and come into contact with the paper guide portion 622a.

(Sheet Detection by Paper Sensor) Further, as shown in FIG. 61, the platen 622 forming the sheet conveying surface has a concave portion 622c. It is stored. The ribs 622b described above are provided on both sides of the concave portion 622c of the platen 622 (near both sides in a direction intersecting with the sheet conveying direction).
The height of the rib is 0.5 mm higher than that of 2b. As a result, the sheet conveying surface rises toward the rotation center of the lever of the paper sensor.

With this configuration, the leading end of the paper sensor 629 can be securely accommodated, and the sheet can be prevented from being partially dented by the lever pressing force of the paper sensor 629 and erroneously detected.

Further, the recording sheet 111 is
When the recording sheet 111 is conveyed in a direction opposite to the normal sheet discharging direction in a state in which the recording sheet
May be forced into the recording sheet 111 and be returned to the state where the recording sheet is not detected. However, since the rib is raised, the angle between the lever of the paper sensor 629 and the recording sheet 111 may be reduced. Since it becomes shallow and does not reach the above-mentioned biting state, damage or erroneous detection of the paper sensor 629, scratching of the recording sheet 111, and the like can be prevented (see FIG. 61).

As shown in FIG. 62, the platen 62
Since only the ribs 622b on both sides of the second concave portion 622c are higher than the other ribs, the vertical width of the paper passing path formed between the rib 622b and the paper passing guide 114 is narrowed by that portion. When the paper passage path becomes narrow, the recording sheet 111
And the possibility of contact with the wall (or ribs) increases,
When the contact occurs, the recording sheet conveyance accuracy may be deteriorated due to the sliding load. However, in the present embodiment, the paper passage path is narrowed only partially when viewed from the entire sheet width. Since the resistance hardly increases, there is no adverse effect on the conveyance accuracy of the recording sheet.

When the recording operation on the recording sheet 111 is completed according to a procedure described later, the recording sheet 111 is sandwiched between the discharge roller 626 and the spur 628, and the discharge roller 62
6, the discharge tray 1 is driven by a so-called discharge operation.
10 is discharged. At this time, if the recording sheet 111 is not completely discharged onto the discharge tray and remains on the discharge rollers 626, the recording sheet 111 comes into contact with the previous recording sheet when the recording operation by the next recording sheet 111 starts. Therefore, there is a possibility that a so-called jam occurs, so that the next recording sheet is fed after the paper ejection sensor 630 confirms that the recording sheet has been completely ejected.

[Printer / Recording Unit] The function of this device as a recording device is that the recording head cartridge 601 discharges ink downward in FIG. 62 in response to a recording signal in synchronization with the reciprocating movement of the carrier 604. By
One line is recorded on the recording sheet. That is, the recording head cartridge 601 generates a fine liquid ejection port (orifice), a liquid path, and an energy action section provided in a part of the liquid path, and generates droplet forming energy to act on the liquid in the action section. Energy generating means.

As an energy generating means for generating such energy, a recording method using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element, an electromagnetic wave such as a laser is irradiated to generate heat, and a droplet is discharged by the action of the heat. There are a recording method using an energy generating means, and a recording method using an energy generating means for discharging the liquid by heating the liquid with an electrothermal converter such as a heating element having a heating resistance.

Among them, a recording head used in an ink jet recording method for discharging a liquid by thermal energy has a high density of liquid discharge ports for discharging a recording liquid to form a discharge droplet. This makes it possible to record at a high resolution. Among them, a recording head using an electrothermal transducer as an energy generation source is easy to make compact, and has the advantages of IC technology and micro-machining technology, which have recently made remarkable progress in technology in the semiconductor field and markedly improved reliability. This is advantageous because it can be used for two reasons, high-density mounting is easy, and the manufacturing cost is low.

Further, the recording head cartridge 601
When one-line recording is performed by moving the recording sheet 111, the recording sheet 111 in FIG.
It is configured to be conveyed by one line in the direction of the arrow indicated as the conveyance direction above and to record the next line.

[Printer / Recovery Unit] The present apparatus has a recovery mechanism to be described later, which removes ink and foreign matters accumulated in the nozzles of the recording head cartridge 601 by suction. In addition, an operation called a preliminary ejection operation is performed to remove a small amount of foreign matter and ink remaining in the nozzles even when the recovery operation is performed. In the preliminary ejection operation, the recording head driving for normal printing is performed at a predetermined position other than on the recording sheet. The waste ink discharged by these operations is stored in a waste ink absorber 623 incorporated in the inner wall of the platen 622.

FIG. 63 is a diagram showing a piston drive transmission path from the paper feed motor to the recovery system of the recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The rotation of the paper feed motor 609 is transmitted from the LF motor gear 609a and the LF double gear 631 to the LF gear 621 to rotate the paper feed roller 620. When the carrier 604 reaches the non-recording area and the trigger gear 632 (coaxially slidably and rotatably mounted on the paper feed roller) is pressed by the clutch switching protrusion 604c formed on the carrier 604, the trigger is released. Gear 63
2 moves in the direction of the LF gear 621, and the driving of the LF gear 621
32. Trigger gear 632 and pump gear 6
33 is engaged in this state, so that the drive is transmitted to the pump gear 633. Normally, the trigger gear 63
2 is separated from the LF gear 621, and the pump gear 633 is provided with a notch at a position where the pump gear 633 meshes with the LF gear 621, so that the drive from the LF gear 621 is not transmitted to the pump gear 633.

At the same time when the LF gear 621 and the pump gear 633 mesh with each other, the carrier 604 moves to the capping position and the cap 636 causes the recording head cartridge 6 to move.
01 ink ejection port is closed. The pump gear 633 is
The piston in the cylinder 635 is moved via the cylinder gear 634, and accordingly, ink is sucked into the cylinder 636 from the ink ejection port of the recording head cartridge 601 via the cap 636, and the ink is ejected from the recording head cartridge 601. Function is restored.

Thus, the transmission of the driving force from the paper feed motor 609 to the pump gear 633 is
4, controlled by the movements of the LF gear 621, the trigger gear 632, and the carrier 604.

FIG. 64 is an enlarged view around the switching mechanism of the recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 64, the trigger gear 632 is provided concentrically and slidably on the paper feed roller. The trigger gear 632 and the pump gear 633 are in an engaged state. In this state, the trigger gear 632 and the L
The trigger gear 632 is separated from the F gear 621.
From the LF gear 621 is not transmitted. In addition, the pump gear 633 does not receive the driving force of the LF gear 621 because the portion that meshes with the LF gear 621 is missing (missing teeth). When the carrier 604 moves further in the direction of the LF gear 621, the trigger gear 632 further moves to the LF gear 62.
The trigger gear 632 and the LF gear 621 come into contact with each other.

The contact surfaces (opposite surfaces) are provided with triangular teeth that mesh with each other. FIG.
5 is a diagram showing an engagement shape between the LF gear 621 and the trigger gear 632; FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a shape of a contact surface of the LF gear 621 with the trigger gear 632;
(B) is a cross-sectional view of the contact surface 621a of the LF gear 621 in (a), (c) is a diagram showing a contact surface shape 632a with the LF gear 621 provided in the trigger gear 632, and (d) is a trigger gear. 632 is a cross-sectional view of the contact surface 632a.

As shown in FIGS. 65 (a) and (b),
The contact surface shape 621a of the LF gear 621 is a triangular tooth (hereinafter, referred to as "triangular tooth"). The pitch of the gear 621b is the same as that of the gear 621b.
It is set to be the same as the peak of b. FIG.
5 (c) and (d), the trigger gear 63
The second contact surface shape 632a has the same triangular teeth as the contact surface shape 621a of the LF gear 621. The pitch is the same as the gear 632b, and the peak of the triangular teeth is set to be the same as the peak of the gear 632b.

With the above configuration, when the LF gear 621 and the trigger gear 632 come into contact with each other, the contact surface 6 of the LF gear 621
Contact surface 6 between triangular tooth valley 21a and trigger gear 632
The ridges of the triangular teeth 32a mesh with each other, and the LF gear 621 and the gears 621b and 632b of the trigger gear 632 have the same phase. Accordingly, the trigger gear 632 rotates with the rotation of the LF gear 621. Trigger gear 632 is L
Even when the gear 621 moves to the F gear 621 side, the engagement between the pump gear 633 and the trigger gear 632 is not released, so that the rotation of the trigger gear 632 causes the pump gear 633 to rotate.

However, in such indirect driving of the pump gear 633 by the LF gear 621 via the trigger gear 632, the driving force is limited.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 64, a wide cutout portion 633a extending in the radial direction is formed on the peripheral portion of the pump gear 633. That is, the pump gear 63
3 has a portion formed thicker than the trigger gear 632 and the LF gear 621, and further has a pump gear 633.
Has a cutout portion 633a in which a part of the carved tooth is cutout from the vicinity of the center in the axial direction toward one end (arrow E in FIG. 64).

FIGS. 66A and 66B are diagrams showing the arrangement of the pump gear 633 and the trigger gear 632. FIG. 66A is a diagram viewed from the right side, and FIG. 66B is a diagram viewed from the left side.

As shown in FIG. 66 (a), the width of the notch (arrow F in the figure) depends on the pump gear 633 and the LF gear 62.
Even when the notches 1 and 2 are located at positions where they engage with each other, the width is at least such that the notch does not contact the teeth of the LF gear 621.

However, when the trigger gear 632 rotates a little, the pump gear 633 rotates and the notch moves, so that the pump gear 633 and the LF gear 621 directly mesh with each other, whereby a large driving force is obtained.

In this state, the carrier 604 is connected to the LF gear 62.
Even when the pump gear 633 and the LF gear 621 are disengaged from each other by moving the trigger gear 632 and the LF gear 621 by a mechanism described in detail later, the driving force is continuously transmitted.

The trigger gear 632 is connected to the pump gear 6.
33 while being engaged with the LF gear 621.
Is disengaged, so that a problem such as a collision of the tooth surface due to the movement of the trigger gear 632 does not occur.

Also, the pump gear 633 and the trigger gear 6
32 meshes with the pump gear 633 and the LF gear 6
Since the gear 21 is not required at the time of the meshing state, the meshing region of the pump gear 633 with the trigger gear 632 is at least the meshing portion (hatched portion, It is only necessary to provide the arrow G).

As a result, the tooth width can be reduced at portions other than the portion where the pump gear 633 meshes with the trigger gear 632, so that different mechanical parts can be arranged in that region.

Next, the pump gear 633 and the LF gear 621
Trigger gear 632 and LF gear 62 after
1 will be described.

As described above, the trigger gear 632 and the L
When the F gear 621 is engaged, the triangular teeth formed on the contact surfaces of both gears are in the engaged state. Even if the carrier 604 is separated from the trigger gear 632 from this state and further rotated, the driving force is maintained at the pump gear 633 and the LF gear 62.
1 and directly transmitted to the trigger gear 632
Trigger gear 632 is L
An attempt is made to maintain the meshing state with the F gear 621 (actually, the meshing may be released by vibration or the like).

From this state, the LF gear 621 is used to cancel the drive transmission from the LF gear 621 to the pump gear 633.
Is rotated in the reverse direction. Then, the cut-out portion 633a of the pump gear appears again, and at the same time, the gear portion (FIG. 66 (b), G portion) of the pump gear 633 that meshes with the trigger gear 632 is again meshed with the trigger gear 632. When the LF gear 621 is further rotated, the direct drive transmission between the pump gear 633 and the LF gear 621 is stopped, and the rotation of the pump gear is stopped. However, since the trigger gear 632 meshes with the LF gear 621, the trigger gear 632 further rotates, so that the pump gear 63
3 is transmitted through a trigger gear 632. At this time, as shown in FIG. 66 (b), the pump gear 633 does not rotate in the missing tooth position because the arm 635a of the cylinder 635 collides with the concave wall surface 633c of the pump gear 633 to prevent the rotation. Therefore, a force in the thrust direction acts on the trigger gear 632 along the tooth surface of the gear of the pump gear 633, and the trigger gear 63
2 is separated from the LF gear 621.

Next, referring to FIGS. 67 to 72, a detailed description will be given of the recovery means including a cap and a cylinder.

FIGS. 67 to 72 are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the recovery system in the recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The cap 636 made of chlorinated butyl rubber or another suitable elastic material is integrally held by the cap holder 637. And cap holder 63
7 is rotatably held by an arm 635a extending integrally from the cylinder 635.

The cylinder 635 has a piston 641 made of an elastic material such as rubber inside.
By driving 0, a negative pressure can be generated in the cylinder 635. The movement of the piston shaft 640 and the piston 641 will be described later in detail.

The cap 636 is provided with a joint portion 636a formed integrally with the cap 636. The joint portion 636a is press-fitted into a joint portion 635b provided on the cylinder 635 with an interference, so that the cylinder 635 and cap 636 are joined in a sealed state. In addition, an ink suction port 635c is provided inside the joint portion 635b provided in the cylinder 635, and the cap 636 communicates with the inside of the cylinder.

Next, a method of pressing the cap 636 against the recording head cartridge 601 and releasing the cap 636 will be described with reference to FIG.
7 and FIG. 68 and FIG. 69.

As described above, the cap 636 integrally held by the cap holder 637 is hermetically connected to the cylinder 635, and the cap holder 637 is rotatably held by the cylinder arm 635a with respect to the cylinder 635. ing.

Here, the cap 636 and the cylinder 635
Are connected by the joints 636a and 635b, but the joint 636a is made of an elastic body, such as chlorinated butyl rubber, integrally with the cap 636.
Further, since the cap holder 637 is formed so as to be freely deformable, there is no obstacle to the rotation of the cap holder 637 (see FIG. 68).

As shown in FIG. 68, the cap holder 637
A compression cap spring 638 having a different diameter is provided below the platen 62.
2 and the cap holder 637, and constantly biases the cap holder 637 toward the recording head cartridge. Here, the cylinder 635 is rotatably supported on a cylinder axis by a platen 622.

Therefore, a rotational force is applied to the cylinder 635 and the cap 636 about the cylinder axis by the compression cap spring 638 of different diameter. As shown in FIG. 67, a cylinder control unit 635d is integrally formed with the cylinder 635, and a tip of the cylinder control unit 635d is a cap control unit cam unit 633b serving as a first cam member of the pump gear 633. Is in contact with

Therefore, the rotation of the cylinder 635 is controlled by the cap control cam section 633b of the pump gear 633 via the cylinder control section 635d.

That is, when the cylinder control section 635d moves up and down along the cap control cam section 633b of the pump gear 633, the cap 636 can be capped and released from the recording head cartridge 601 via the cylinder 635.

FIG. 68 shows a state in which the cap 636 is pressed against the recording head cartridge 601, and FIG. 69 shows a state in which the cap 636 is released. In FIG. 68, reference numeral 639 denotes a cap control spring. The entire length of the cap control spring 639 is limited by the spring restricting portion 622d of the platen 622 and is separated from the lower surface of the cap holder 637. Therefore, the cap 636
Has no effect on the pressure-contact state.

FIG. 69 shows a state where the cylinder 635 is rotated by the rotation of the pump gear 633, and the cap 636 is separated. In this state, the cap control spring 63
Reference numeral 9 abuts on the lower surface of the cap holder 637 to apply clockwise turning power to the cap holder 637. Accordingly, the cap holder 637 rotates clockwise, but the stopper 63 provided on the cap holder 637 in a protruding state.
The rotation stops when 7a comes into contact with cylinder arm 635a.

At this time, the stopper 637a is set so that the cap 636 and the recording head cartridge 601 are parallel.
If you set the position of
36 and the recording head cartridge 601 can always be kept parallel.

As described above, since the posture when the cap is released is stabilized, even if the amount of movement for opening the cap 636 is reduced, the cap 636 and the cap holder 63 can be moved.
Since the cap 636 and the recording head cartridge 601 do not come into contact with each other due to the inclination of 7, the apparatus can be downsized.

Note that the pump gear 633 is connected to the LF gear 621.
And the driving force of a paper feed motor (not shown) can be selectively connected to the LF gear 621 via a gear train (not shown).
After that, when the clutch operation is performed by the movement of the carrier 604, the driving force transmitted to the LF gear 621 is transmitted to the pump gear 633. Here, if the carrier 604 does not perform the clutch operation, since the pump gear 633 is partially cut, the transmission of the LF gear 621 is cut off, and the driving force is not transmitted to the pump gear 633.

Here, the piston shaft 640 and the piston 64
1 will be described.

In FIG. 67, the pump gear 633 is connected to the cylinder gear 634. That is, the above-described carrier 604 performs a clutch operation, so that the LF gear 6
21 is transmitted to the pump gear 633 and further transmitted to the cylinder gear 634. Further, a boss 634a provided on the inner wall of the cylinder gear 634 is connected to the piston shaft 64.
0, and the guide 635e provided on the cylinder 635 is fitted into the groove 640b provided at the tip of the piston shaft 640 to stop the rotation of the piston shaft 640. Pump gear 6
It is possible to convert the rotational movement of 33 into a linear movement of the piston shaft 640.

The piston shaft 640 is provided with two flange portions 640c and 640d formed integrally with the shaft.

Silicon rubber, N
A so-called donut-shaped piston 641 made of an elastic member such as BR rubber and having a through hole in the center is set. Naturally, the cylinder 635 and the piston 641 have a cylindrical shape, and the outer diameter of the piston 641 is larger than the inner diameter of the cylinder 635, and a certain interference (approximately,
(About 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm).

Therefore, even when the piston 641 moves, the inner wall of the cylinder and the outer wall of the piston can maintain the sealing property.

The cylinder seal 642 also has a donut shape. The outer diameter of the cylinder seal 642 has sealing properties with the inner diameter of the cylinder, and the inner diameter of the cylinder seal 642 maintains sealing properties with the piston shaft 640. The cylinder washer is locked by a step provided on the cylinder 635. A rib 641 is provided on the side of the piston 641.
a is provided facing the flange portion 640 c over the entire circumference, and the inner diameter of the piston 641 is larger than the outer diameter of the piston shaft 640, and the backlash is provided.

The width of the piston 641 is smaller than the distance between the two flanges provided on the piston shaft 640. These play are for discharging the sucked ink and will be described later.

In the initial state of the pump, as shown in FIG. 67, the piston shaft 640 is pulled up, that is, the piston 641 is also pushed by the flange portion 640d, and as shown in FIG.
In the position.

Next, when the suction signal is output from the control unit,
The carrier 604 performs a latch operation, and the LF gear 621
The drive is transmitted to the pump gear 633 and the cylinder gear 634 from the transmission, and the rotation to the cylinder gear 634 becomes a linear motion of the piston shaft 640.

When the piston shaft 640 moves to the left in FIG. 67, as shown in FIG.
c is pressed against the piston side rib 641a, and the piston 64
The space 635f on the right side of 1 is closed.

Further, when the piston shaft 640 advances to the left, the volume increases while the space 635f is kept closed, so that the space 635f gradually becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure (negative pressure state).
This negative pressure gradually increases as the piston shaft 640 (piston 641) moves, and becomes maximum when the end of the side surface of the piston 641 passes through the ink suction port 635c (FIG. 71).

The reason is that the space 635f and the ink suction port 6
This is because the communication of 35c allows ink or air to flow into the space 635f from the outside via the ink suction port 635c and the cap 636, so that the negative pressure in the space 635f is eliminated. Here, when the piston 641 passes through the ink suction port 635c, the pump gear 633 is closed so that the cap 636 hermetically seals the recording head cartridge.
By forming the cap control cam portion 633b provided in the above, ink suction becomes possible.

Next, the discharge of ink in the cylinder will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the ink sucked from the recording head cartridge 601 is applied to the space 6 in the cylinder.
When the piston shaft 640 is pulled up next by reversing the motor (in the direction of the arrow B in FIG. 72), the width of the piston 641 is smaller than that between the flanges of the piston shaft 640. Since the inner diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the piston shaft 640, the ink that was in the space 635f passes through the play between the piston 641 and the piston shaft 640 as the piston shaft 640 (piston 641) is lifted, and moves to the space 635h on the left side of the piston 641. It will move (flow of arrow C in FIG. 72). Therefore, as the reciprocating operation of the piston shaft 640 (piston 641) is repeated, the cylinder 635 is gradually discharged from the end 635g.

A cylinder absorber 643 is inserted into the cylinder end 635g. The cylinder absorber 643 is formed of a foamed sponge, and a material having good ink transmission properties is selected. That is, a performance of efficiently discharging the ink in the cylinder 635 to the outside is required. In the present embodiment, a melamine resin-based foam material is used.

[0284] The cylinder absorber 643 is in contact with the waste ink absorber 623 contained in the platen 622. As the waste ink absorber 326, a material having a high ink holding ability such as a laminated sheet of paper or a polymer absorber is selected.

With this configuration, the waste ink sucked from the recording head cartridge 601 reaches the waste ink absorber 623 via the cylinder 635 and the cylinder absorber 643, and is held there.

[Printer / Head Mounting Unit] Next, the head that can be mounted on this apparatus will be described.

In the above description, the recording head cartridge 6 is detachably mounted on the carrier 604 of the recording apparatus.
Although the description has been made in the example in which 01 is mounted, that point will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 73, 74, 75, and 76.

The recording head cartridge 601 has two types, that is, a monochrome recording head section 650 shown in FIG. 74 and a color recording head section 651 shown in FIG. 75. Further, the recording sheet 111 shown in FIG. Instead, any one of a total of three types of head units, capable of reading an inserted document, such as a scanner head 652, can be mounted on the carrier 604 of the present apparatus. Hereinafter, when the three types of the monochrome recording head unit 650, the color recording head unit 651, and the scanner head 652 are collectively referred to as a head unit.

First, a description will be given of FIG. 73 for mounting the above three types of heads in a detachable manner.

FIG. 73 is a perspective view of the carrier 604 when no head is mounted.

At one end of the carrier 604, a cable terminal portion 614a of the flexible cable 614 is provided. The cable terminal portion 614 a is provided on the carrier 604 with the monochrome recording head portion 650 and the color recording head portion 65.
1. When one of the scanner heads 652 is attached,
The head terminal portion 653 of each head portion (FIGS. 74 and 75)
Abutment), thereby making an electrical connection with the head portion.

[0292] Cable terminal portion 614a of carrier 604
Is located on the surface where two head part positioning projections 60 are located.
4a and 604b are provided integrally. Carrier 6
In a state where the head portion is mounted on the head portion 04, the head portion positioning protrusion 604a is positioned by the positioning notch 654 on the head portion side.
In addition, the head portion positioning protrusions 604b are fitted into the positioning holes 655 on the head portion side, and accurate positioning of the head portion with respect to the carrier 604 is performed.

Further, a contact spring 656 is provided on the carrier 604 at a position facing the cable terminal portion 614, and a head guide 657 made of resin is fixed to the tip of the contact spring 656. That is, the head guide 6
57 is elastically supported by the carrier 604.

When the head section is mounted on the carrier 604, the head guide 657 urges the head section 649 toward the cable terminal section 614a, thereby realizing the electrical connection between the cable terminal section 614a and the head terminal section. are doing.

Also, the head guide 657 has a function to be able to be attached and detached by flexing when exchanging the head part, and to hold the mounted head part so as not to come off upward.

With this configuration, when the user replaces the head, the head terminal 653 side of the head is connected to the cable terminal 614a of the carrier 604.
Then, the head guide 657 bends by pressing the upper surface of the head portion downward, and the mounting of the head portion is completed with a click feeling. At that time, the electrical connection is completed.

When removing the head, the head attachment / detachment operation parts 658a, 659a, 6
When the finger 52a is pulled up with a finger, the head guide 657 bends, and the head portion can be removed from the carrier 604.

[Printer Head Unit] Next, the above head unit will be described with reference to FIGS. 74, 75 and 76.

FIG. 74 is a perspective view of a monochrome recording head section 650 for performing only monochrome printing (usually black). In FIG. 74, reference numeral 658 denotes a monochrome recording head cartridge.
An ejection port surface 658b having a nozzle for ejecting ink for recording is formed in a portion before 58. 65
Reference numeral 3 denotes a head terminal for receiving an electric signal for performing ejection. By supplying an electric signal from the printer unit 600 to the monochrome recording head cartridge 658 via the head terminal unit 653, ink can be ejected downward from the nozzles provided on the ejection port surface 658b in FIG. 74 to perform recording. Reference numeral 654 denotes a positioning notch, and reference numeral 655 denotes a positioning hole. These positioning notch 654 and positioning hole 655 correspond to the head positioning protrusion 604 provided on the carrier 604 shown in FIG.
The positioning with respect to the carrier 604 is ensured by fitting with a and 604b.

Reference numeral 603c denotes a monochrome ink tank.
The inside contains ink. The monochrome ink tank 603c is detachably fixed to the monochrome recording head cartridge 658 by a latch section 603d formed integrally and elastically with the monochrome ink tank 603c. The monochrome ink tank 603c and the monochrome recording head cartridge 658 form an ink flow path by a detachable joint (not shown).

Therefore, ink is consumed by recording, and
When the ink in the monochrome ink tank 603c is exhausted, the latch unit 603d is bent to move the monochrome ink tank 603c to the monochrome recording head cartridge 658.
The recording can be continued by detaching and installing a new monochrome ink tank 603c.

FIG. 75 is a view for explaining color printing.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a color recording head unit 651.

Only the differences from the monochrome recording head section 650 will be described. The discharge port surface 659b is provided with four independent nozzle groups for discharging four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, respectively, in order to perform color printing. Reference numeral 603b denotes a black ink tank. The black ink tank 603b contains black ink therein and is connected to a group of black nozzles provided on the discharge port surface 659b via a detachable joint (not shown). I have.

Reference numeral 603a denotes a color ink tank, and the inside of the color ink tank 603a is an independent three-color ink tank.
Divided into two volumes, each containing a yellow ink, a magenta ink, and a cyan ink. The color ink tank 603a is also the black ink tank 60
Similarly to 3b, the yellow ink is connected to the yellow nozzle group, the magenta ink is connected to the magenta nozzle group, and the cyan ink is connected to the cyan nozzle group via three independent detachable joints (not shown). I have.

The 603 on the black ink tank 603b side
“d” indicates a latch unit for replacing the black ink tank 603b, and 603d on the side of the color ink tank 603a indicates a latch unit for replacing the color ink tank 603a.

As described above, the color recording can be performed by attaching the color recording head unit 651 to the printer unit 600, and when the black ink runs out, only the black ink tank 603b is replaced, and yellow and magenta are replaced. When one or all of cyan and cyan are exhausted, the color ink tank 603a
It is only possible to exchange.

FIG. 76 is a perspective view of the scanner head 652. FIG. A detailed description will be given later.

In FIGS. 74 and 75, X represents the distance from the positioning notch 654 to the discharge port surfaces 658b and 659b, and is the same value in the monochrome recording head cartridge 658 and the color recording head cartridge 659. In the case of the form, it is about 13 mm. On the other hand, in the scanner head 652 in FIG. 76, Y is positioned from the positioning notch 654 to the reading surface 652.
It represents the distance between b and is set shorter than X, and is about 9 mm in the present embodiment.

From the Y value, the difference between the position of the ejection port surface and the horizontal line of the reading unit surface in the vertical direction is 4 mm, which is the difference between the above 13 mm and 9 mm.

For this reason, when the scanner head 652 is mounted, even when the capping operation and the wiping operation are performed, neither the cap 636 nor the blade 644 touches the reading surface 652b of the scanner head 652.

[0311] As a result of this configuration, when the scanner head 652 is mounted, the cap 63 that is soiled with ink is removed.
6 and blade 644 read surface 652b
Can be prevented from becoming dirty.

[Printer / Scanner Unit] Next, the scanner unit, which is one of the features of the recording apparatus of the present invention, will be described.

FIG. 77 shows a schematic sectional view and a perspective view of the scanner head 652.

In FIG. 77, reference numeral 670 denotes an LED for illuminating the document surface 675, and L emitted from the LED 670.
The ED light 672 passes through the LED opening 673 and the original surface 67.
5, the image light 676 on the document surface 675 passes through a field lens 677 provided in the sensor opening 674, the optical path is bent at a right angle by a mirror 678, passes through an imaging lens 679, and forms on the sensor 671. Image.

The center of the sensor opening 674 is larger than the distance between the ink ejection port 660 of the monochrome recording head cartridge 658 and the color recording head cartridge 659 from the surface where each recording head cartridge contacts the carrier 604. In the present embodiment, it is shifted by about 4 mm.

The LED 670 and the sensor 671 are electrically connected to each other and are drawn out to the outside by the wiring board 680. Electrodes are formed on the head terminal portion 653 of the wiring board 680, and the electrodes are brought into contact with the electrodes of the carrier 604 (not shown) by pressure contact, so that signals can be guided to the main body side control circuit.

The appearance of the scanner head 652 is the same as that of the recording head cartridge 601 with the ink tank 603 mounted thereon, and similarly to the recording head cartridge 601, the claw portion 681 which is a part of the exterior is transferred to the carrier 604.
It can be mounted by the latch of. In addition, when removing, the head unit attaching / detaching operation unit 652a is lifted and the claw unit 6 is lifted.
The latch 81 is released and can be easily removed.

When mounted on the carrier 604, the control unit automatically identifies the scanner and enters the scanner mode.

When a scanner read signal is input from a host computer or the like, the control unit conveys the read original to a predetermined position by driving the paper feed motor 609, turns on the LED 670, and then turns on the carrier motor. While driving the 608, the image signal is read via the scanner driver unit.

Here, the driving speed of the carrier motor 608 can be changed depending on the original reading mode of the scanner head 652. The mode is a combination of the reading resolution and the gradation of each read value. The main scanning direction, which is the paper transport direction, has a resolution of 360 dpi, and the scanning direction of the scanner head 652 is the sub scanning direction, which is the scanning direction of the carrier 604. Since the resolution of the sensor 671 is 360 dpi and an output of 64 gradations is obtained, for example, 360 dpi in the main scanning direction and 360 dpi in the sub-scanning direction
From the reading at 64 gradations, 90 dpi in the main scanning direction,
Reading in two gradations at 90 dpi in the sub-scanning direction, reading at a resolution of 200 dpi in the main scanning direction, FAX
There is also a mode that considers consistency with Main scanning direction 360
In a mode having a large amount of data, such as reading in 64 dpi in the sub-scanning direction of 360 dpi, it takes time to process and transfer data. In the gradation reading, the carrier driving speed can be increased.

When reading of one line is completed, the sheet is conveyed by one line by the paper feed motor 609 to read the next line.
Such an operation is performed until the end of the document.

As described above, the recording apparatus of this embodiment can perform recording on the recording sheet 111 by the recording head cartridge 601 and reading of the original by the scanner head 652. In the case of the sheet 111, a manuscript is also included, except for the case of only recording.

[Recovery Operation During Printer / Printing] Next, the recovery operation during printing of the recording head cartridge 601 of the recording apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

The ink ejection of the recording head cartridge 601 is controlled by the MPU 702 and the controller 701. When recording is started according to the recording command, the recording head cartridge 601 is moved to the monochrome recording head cartridge 65.
It is determined whether the cartridge is 8 or a color recording head cartridge 659 (S601). Recording head cartridge 601
Is determined to be the monochrome recording head cartridge 658, it is determined by the wiping timer whether or not the elapsed time from the previous wiping exceeds a preset time T1 (S602). The preset time T1 is set to, for example, 120 seconds.
If the elapsed time from the wiping exceeds the preset time T1, the ink adhered to the discharge port surface 658b of the monochrome recording head cartridge 658 is fixed, and it is difficult to remove the ink. Then, the ink adhering to the ejection port surface 658b of the monochrome recording head cartridge 658 is wiped off by the blade 644 (S603). When the wiping operation is completed, the wiping timer is set to 0 seconds (S60).
4). Then, thereafter, a dot counter during wiping described later is set to 0 (S605).

By the wiping operation, the ink adhering to the discharge port surface 658b of the monochrome recording head cartridge 658 is removed by the blade 644. When the blade 644 passes through each discharge port, the removed ink becomes There is a risk of being pushed into the discharge port. If printing is performed in this state, the print quality will be degraded. Therefore, after the wiping operation, preliminary ejection B1 is performed to remove the pushed ink (S606). The number of ink ejections from each ejection port in the preliminary ejection B1 is, for example, the same for each ejection port, 250 times, and the ejection frequency is 2 kHz. After the completion of the preliminary ejection B1, a preliminary ejection timer, which will be described later, is set to 0 second (S607), and the process ends. On the other hand, if the elapsed time from the previous wiping does not exceed the preset time T1, the number of inks ejected from each ejection port from the previous wiping is counted by the dot counter during wiping, and this value is calculated. Is a preset number C
It is determined whether the value exceeds 1 (S608). The preset number C1 is set to, for example, 24,883,200.

When the number of inks ejected from each ejection port exceeds a preset number C1, ink mist generated during printing adheres to the ejection port surface 658b,
Since there is a possibility that the ink around the ejection port is wet with ink and the landing accuracy of the ink is deteriorated, the above-described steps S603 to S607 are executed and the process is terminated.

On the other hand, if the number of inks ejected from each ejection port does not exceed the preset number C1, the elapsed time from the previous preliminary ejection (the elapsed time measured by the wiping timer) is determined by the preliminary ejection timer. Is different from the preset time P1 (S6).
12). The preset time P1 is set to, for example, 12 seconds.

If the elapsed time from the previous preliminary discharge exceeds the preset time P1, the preliminary discharge A1 is performed (S613). The number of ink ejections from each ejection port in the preliminary ejection A1 is, for example, the same for each ejection port, and is 9 times, and the ejection frequency is 2 kHz. After the completion of the preliminary discharge A1, the preliminary discharge timer is set to 0 second (S607), and the process ends. On the other hand, if the lapse of time from the previous preliminary ejection has not exceeded the preset time P1, the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the recording head cartridge 601 is the color recording head cartridge 659, it is determined by the wiping timer whether or not the elapsed time from the previous wiping exceeds a preset time T2 ( S622). This preset time T
For example, 2 is set to 60 seconds. If the elapsed time from the previous wiping exceeds the preset time T2, the ink adhered to the discharge port surface 659b of the color recording head cartridge 659 sticks and becomes difficult to remove. The operation is performed, and the ejection port surface 659b of the color recording head cartridge 659 is operated.
The ink adhering to is wiped off by the blade 644 (S623). When the wiping operation is completed, the wiping timer is set to 0 seconds (S624). Then, after that, the Bk dot counter during wiping and the color dot counter during wiping described later are set to 0 (S625).

By the wiping operation, the ink adhering to the ejection port surface 659b of the color recording head cartridge 659 is removed by the blade 644. When the blade 644 passes through each ejection port, the removed ink becomes There is a risk of being pushed into the discharge port. If printing is performed in this state, mixed color ink is ejected from each ejection port,
Since the recording quality deteriorates, after the wiping operation, preliminary ejection B2 is performed to remove the mixed ink (S62).
6). The number of ink ejections from each ejection port in the preliminary ejection B2 is, for example, 90% for all black ink ejection ports.
And the ejection frequency is 2 kHz. Further, the ejection ports of the yellow ink, magenta ink, and cyan ink are the same for each color ejection port, and are 200 times, and the ejection frequency is 2 kHz.
And After the end of the preliminary ejection B2, a preliminary ejection timer described later is set to 0 second (S627). And it ends.

On the other hand, if the elapsed time from the previous wiping does not exceed the preset time T2, the number of black ink ejected from each ejection opening of the black ink from the previous wiping is determined by the Bk dot counter during wiping. And this value is set to a preset number C
It is determined whether the number exceeds 2 (S628). As the preset number C2, for example, 6,220,800 is set. When the number of black inks discharged from the respective black ink discharge ports exceeds a preset number C2, ink mist generated during printing adheres to the discharge port surface 659b, and the periphery of the discharge ports is reduced. Since there is a possibility that the ink may become wet and the landing accuracy of the ink may be deteriorated, the above-described steps S623 to S627 are performed and the process is terminated.

On the other hand, when the number of black inks ejected from each ejection opening of the black ink does not exceed the preset number C2, the color ink (yellow ink, yellow ink, The number of color inks ejected from the respective ejection ports is counted, and it is determined whether or not this value exceeds a preset number C3 (S6).
29). The preset number C3 is set to, for example, 2,488,320.

If the number of color inks discharged from each color ink discharge port exceeds a preset number C3, ink mist generated during printing adheres to the discharge port surface 659b, and the discharge port Since there is a possibility that the surroundings of the ink may become wet with ink and deteriorate the ink landing accuracy, the above-described S6
Steps S23 to S627 are performed, and the process ends.

On the other hand, if the number of color inks discharged from each color ink discharge port does not exceed the preset number C3, it is determined whether the print mode is fine printing (S630). If the printing mode is fine printing, the preliminary ejection A2d is performed to further improve the printing quality (S631).

The number of ink ejections from each ejection port in this preliminary ejection A2d is, for example, the same for all black ink ejection ports, and is three times, and the ejection frequency is 2 kHz. Further, the discharge ports of the yellow ink, the magenta ink, and the cyan ink are the same for each of the discharge ports, that is, nine times, and the discharge frequency is 2 kHz. The reason why the number of times of preliminary ejection of the black ink and the color ink are different is that unevenness of the color ink is easily noticeable with respect to the recording quality, unevenness of the black ink is hardly noticeable, and ink consumption is suppressed as much as possible. It is. Then, after the end of the preliminary discharge A2d, a preliminary discharge timer to be described later is set to 0 second (S627), and the processing ends.

On the other hand, when the printing mode is not the fine printing, the elapsed time from the previous preliminary ejection (different from the elapsed time measured by the wiping timer) exceeds the preset time P2 by the preliminary ejection timer. Is determined (S632). The preset time P2 is set to, for example, 10 seconds. Then, the elapsed time from the previous preliminary ejection is set to a preset time P2.
Is exceeded, the preliminary ejection A2 is performed (S63).
3). The number of times of ink ejection from each ejection port in the preliminary ejection A2 is, for example, the same for all ejection ports, that is, 9 times, and the ejection frequency is 2 kHz. After the completion of the preliminary ejection A2, the preliminary ejection timer is set to 0 second (S627), and the process ends. On the other hand, if the lapse of time from the previous preliminary ejection does not exceed the preset time P2, the process ends.

The above flow is repeated for each line until a print end command comes.

[0338]

The present invention is constructed as described above.
Regardless of the sheet remaining amount detecting means, the cassette can be easily attached and detached. In addition, it is possible to eliminate the effect of the sheet stacking surface fluctuating up and down during sheet feeding, and to further reduce the number of components and downsize the apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a base component.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a mounted state of the cassette.

FIG. 5 is a rear view showing a stored state of the quick seat.

FIG. 6 is a rear view showing a use state of the quick seat.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a remaining sheet amount detection and a configuration of a display unit thereof.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a sheet remaining amount detection unit when a cassette is not mounted.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a sheet remaining amount detection unit when a cassette is mounted.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a cassette installation, detection of a remaining sheet amount when sheets are fully loaded, and a display unit thereof.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the cassette mounting, detection of the remaining sheet amount when the number of sheets is reduced, and a display unit thereof.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a state where a cassette is mounted, a sheet remaining amount is detected when there is no sheet, and a display unit thereof;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing a slide portion of the tray.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing a cassette insertion portion (rail) of the base.

FIG. 15 is an overall perspective view of a sheet feeding cassette.

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the sheet cassette.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a sheet feeding cassette.

FIG. 18 is an overall perspective view of the cassette.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of the cassette.

FIG. 20 is an overall perspective view of a side guide.

FIG. 21 is a side view of a side guide.

FIG. 22 is an overall perspective view of a separation claw A.

23 is an overall perspective view of the separation claw B. FIG.

FIG. 24 is a side view of the rear end regulating plate.

FIG. 25 is a conceptual diagram when a sheet cassette is mounted.

FIG. 26 is a conceptual diagram of a non-reference end of a stacked sheet.

FIG. 27 is a front view of the ASF unit.

FIG. 28 is a top view of the ASF unit.

FIG. 29 is a right side view of the ASF unit.

FIG. 30 is a left side view of the ASF unit.

FIG. 31 is a schematic front view of an ASF unit.

FIG. 32 is a schematic top view of the ASF unit.

FIG. 33 is a schematic rear view of the ASF unit.

FIG. 34 is a sectional view of an ASF unit.

FIG. 35 is a sectional view of an ASF unit.

FIG. 36 is a schematic diagram of a sheet feeding path (sheet feeding waiting state).

FIG. 37 is a schematic sectional view of a sheet feeding path (sheet pickup).

FIG. 38 is a schematic sectional view (sheet conveyance) of a sheet feeding path.

FIG. 39 is a schematic sectional view of a paper feed path (U-turn roller retracted).

FIG. 40 is a gear train diagram of a feed shaft driving system.

FIG. 41 is an ASF clutch configuration diagram.

FIG. 42 is a view showing a U-turn roller retracted state.

FIG. 43 is a U-turn roller retracted state diagram.

FIG. 44 is a phase relationship diagram of a cam planet holder, a cam sun gear, a cam planet gear, and a cam gear.

FIG. 45 is a U-turn roller drive system diagram (pinion gear CW).
Rotation).

FIG. 46: U-turn roller drive system diagram (pinion gear CC)
W rotation).

FIG. 47 is a lock mechanism diagram of the ASF clutch (CCW rotation locked state).

FIG. 48 is a diagram illustrating a lock mechanism (unlocking operation) of the ASF clutch.

FIG. 49 is a lock mechanism diagram of the ASF clutch (clutch output shaft CW rotating state).

FIG. 50 is a lock mechanism diagram (CW rotation locked state) of an ASF clutch.

FIG. 51 is an enlarged view of a lock elastic portion of the ASF lock.

FIG. 52 is an enlarged view of a driving protrusion of a U-turn roller holder A.

FIG. 53 is an enlarged view (release operation) of a lock release unit.

FIG. 54 is an enlarged view of a lock release section (a kick elastic section kicking operation).

FIG. 55 is an automatic sheet feeding flowchart (basic flow).

FIG. 56 is an automatic sheet feeding flowchart (basic flow).

FIG. 57 is an automatic sheet feeding flowchart (forced sheet ejection flow).
It is.

FIG. 58 is an automatic sheet feeding flowchart (evacuation flow).

FIG. 59 is a block diagram of a control system.

FIG. 60 is an exploded perspective view of the internal configuration of a printing apparatus printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the paper discharge side.

FIG. 61 is an enlarged perspective view of a platen of a printer of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from a sheet discharging side.

FIG. 62 is a side sectional view of a printing apparatus printer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 63 is a diagram illustrating a piston drive transmission path from a paper feed motor to a recovery system of the printing apparatus printer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 64 is an enlarged view around a switching mechanism of a printing apparatus printer unit according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 65 is a view showing a meshing shape of the LF gear and the trigger gear shown in FIG. 64;

FIG. 66 is a diagram showing a configuration and arrangement of a pump gear and a trigger gear shown in FIG. 64;

FIG. 67 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of a recovery system in the printing apparatus printer unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 68 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of a recovery system in the printing apparatus printer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 69 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of a recovery system in the printing apparatus printer unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 70 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of a recovery system in the printing apparatus printer unit according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 71 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of a recovery system in the printing apparatus printer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 72 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of a recovery system in the printing apparatus printer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 73 is a perspective view of the carrier when no head is mounted.

FIG. 74 is a perspective view of a monochrome recording head used in the printer unit of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 75 is a perspective view of a color recording head unit used in a recording apparatus printer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 76 is a perspective view of a scanner head used in the printer unit of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 77 is a schematic cross-sectional view and a perspective view of a scanner head used in a printing apparatus printer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 78 is a flowchart showing a recovery operation during printing used in the printer unit of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 79 is a cross-sectional view of a printer having a conventional sheet remaining amount detection / display mechanism.

FIG. 80 is a cross-sectional view of a printer having a sheet remaining amount detection / display mechanism according to another conventional method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Device main body 101 ... Base (bottom case) 101a ... Indicator part 101b ... Surface 101c, 101d ... Bearing 101e ... Hole 101f ... Hole 101g ... Guide rib 101h ... Bearing 101i ... Convex part 101j ... Pull-out cue part 101k ... Cue part for carrying 101l ... Dummy feet 101m ... Reference surface 101n ... Cassette click convex portion 101o ... Tray slide surface 101p ... Tray stopper 101q ... Cassette support surface 101r ... Taper surface 101s ... Notch portion 101t ... Tape surface 101w ... Cassette support surface 102 ... Main case 102a... Selection switch 102b. １０４ 104a 電源 Power switch 104b リ セ ッ ト Reset switch 104c 残 量 Black ink remaining amount display 104d 電源 Power supply display 104e デ ー タ Data transfer display 104f エ ラ ー Error display 104g カ ラ ー Color ink remaining amount display 105 排 Discharge cover 106 ア ク セ ス Access cover 106a レ バ ー Lever Part 107: Access cover lock 108: Manual feed cover 108a: Manual feed sub-tray 109: U-turn cover 109a: Guide rib 109b: Shaft 110: Discharge tray 110a: Claw 110b: Protrusion 110c: Rib 111: Recording sheet 111a: Top sheet 112 ASF units 112a, 112b Guide surface 112c Separation roller rubber 112d U-turn roller 112e Paper feed roller 113 Pinch roller 114 Paper guide 114a Surface 114b Guide rib 201 Cassette 201a Reference guide member 201b Sheet abutting surface 201c Bank 201d, 201e Rail 201f, 201g Tapered portion 201h Concave portion 201i Reference surface 201l Concave portion 201m Hand grip portion 201n Spacer 201o, 201p… shaft 201q… latch 201r… shaft 201s… stopper 201t… gap 201u… bearing 201w… surface 201x… step 202… pressure plate 203… pressure plate spring 204… separation sheet 205… side guide 205a… latch 205b… operating portion 205c ... Shaft 205d... Rib 205e... Guide surface 205g... Eaves 206... Tip holding springs 206a and 206b. ... Abutting wall 208 ... Separation claw B 208b ... Groove 209 ... Rear end regulating plate 209a ... Guide surface 209b ... Shaft 301 ... Operation panel board 301e ... Edge 302 ... Main board 303 ... Chassis 304 ... Guard 305 ... Pinch roller shaft 306 ... Lock nut 307: Cassette side holder 307a: Fixed end 307b: Free end 308: Frame 308d: Stopper part 309: Lever 309a: Arm part 309b: Gear part 309c: Gear part 309d: Cam part 309f, 311e: Shaft end 310: Drum 310a ... spring hooking part 310b ... gear part 310c, 310d ... outer peripheral surface 311 ... cam 311a ... first cam part 311b ... second cam part 312 ... torsion coil spring 313 ... tension spring 314 ... display window 315 ... rubber foot 316 ... quick switch G 316a ... Rotating hole 316b ... Cue part 316c ... Stopper part 401 ... Frame A 402 ... Frame B 403 ... U-turn inner guide A 404 ... U-turn inner guide B 405 ... Paper feeding shaft 406 ... ASF motor 407 ... Bearing A 408 ... Motor flange retainer 410 ... Flange retaining projection 411 ... Bearing B 412 ... U-turn idler gear A 413 ... Bearing C 414 ... U-turn roller shaft 415 ... Pinion gear 416 ... U-turn roller holder A 417 ... U-turn roller holder B 418 ... Support Shaft 419 ... Support shaft 420 ... Cam A 420a ... Cam surface 420b ... Over cam A 420c ... Over cam B 420d ... Cam stopper 421 ... Cam B 421a ... Cam surface 422 ... Up cam follower 423 ... Down cam follower 424 ... Up cam follower section 425 ... Down cam follower section 426 ... Motor reduction gear 426a ... Input gear 426b ... Output gear 427 ... Paper reduction gear 427a ... Input gear 427b ... Output gear A 427c ... Output gear B 428 ... Paper idler gear 429 ... ASF clutch 429a ... input gear 429b ... output shaft 429c ... release collar 429d ... clutch spring 429e ... locking part 429f ... flange locking part 429g ... notch groove 429h ... end part 429i ... end part 429j ... hole part 429k ... notch Part 429m Flange outer circumference 430 Cam sun gear 430a Flange part 431 Cam planetary gear A 432 Cam planetary gear B 433 Cam gear 433a Cam gear A 433b Cam gear B 433c Missing tooth part A 43 3d ... tooth missing portion B 433e ... final tooth A 433f ... final tooth B 434 ... cam planet holder 434a ... planet stopper 435 ... cam planet holder spring 436 ... stopper rib 436a ... stopper rib A 436b ... stopper rib B 437 ... U-turn sun gear 438 ... U Turn planet gear A 439 U-turn planet gear B 440 U-turn idler gear B 441 U-turn roller gear 442 U-turn planet holder 443 U-turn planet holder spring 444 ASF lock 444a Lock pawl 444b Lock elastic portion 444c … Lock sensor plate 444d… Rotating shaft 445… Lock spring 446… Driven protrusion 446a… Driven ridgeline 446b… Driven slope 447… Drive protrusion 447a… Drive slope 447b… Drive ridgeline 448… Lock claw shaft 449… U Gear 449a ... input gear 449b ... output gear 450 ... ASF sensor 451 ... camshaft 500 ... cover arm 501 ... cover switch 502 ... flapper 503 ... transport path 600 ... printer unit 601 ... recording head cartridge 602 ... recording head 603 ... Ink tank 603a Color ink tank 603b Black ink tank 603c Monochrome ink tank 603d Latch section 604 Carrier 604a, 604b Projection 604c Clutch switching projection 605 Printer frame 606 Guide shaft 607 Guide rail 608 Carrier motor 609: paper feed motor 609a: motor gear 610: drive pulley 611: idler pulley 612: belt 613: home position C 614 Flexible cable 614a Cable terminal 615 Flexible guide 620 Paper feed roller 621 LF gear 621a Contact surface 621b Gear 622 Platen 622a Paper guide 622b Rib 622c Recess 622d Spring control 623 ... waste ink absorber 624 ... pinch roller holder 625 ... pinch roller 626 ... discharge roller 627 ... idler gear train 628 ... spur 629 ... paper sensor 630 ... discharge sensor 631 ... LF double gear 632 ... trigger gear 632a ... contact surface 632b ... gear 633: Pump gear 633a: Notch 633b: Cap control cam 633c: Concave wall 634: Cylinder gear 634a: Boss 635: Cylinder 635a: Arm 635b: Joy Port 635c Ink suction port 635d Cylinder control 635e Guide 635f Space 635g End 635h Space 636 Cap Cap 636a Joint 637 Cap holder 637a Stopper 638 Cap spring 639 Cap control spring 640 Piston shaft 640a ... Lead groove 640b ... Groove 640c, 640d ... Flange part 641 ... Piston 641a ... Rib 642 ... Cylinder seal 643 ... Cylinder absorber 644 ... Blade 650 ... Monochrome recording head part 651 ... Color recording head part 652 ... Scanner head 652b … Reading surface 653… Head terminal 654… Notch 655… Hole 656… Contact spring 657… Head guide 658… Monochrome recording head cartridge 58a, 659a, 652a head detachable operation section 658b discharge port surface 659 color recording head cartridge 659b discharge port surface 660 ink discharge port 670 LED 671 sensor 672 LED light 673 LED opening 674 sensor Opening part 675... Original surface 676... Image light 677... Field lens 678. Driver 707… Paper feed driver

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A sheet detecting device for detecting the remaining amount of sheets stored in a cassette detachable from an apparatus main body, wherein the sheet detecting device abuts on the sheets stored in the cassette and detects the remaining amount of sheets from the stacking height of the sheets. Detecting means capable of setting a detection position at which the cassette is mounted and a retreat position which does not prevent the cassette from being mounted on the apparatus main body; evacuation means for retreating the detection means to the retreat position when the cassette is not mounted on the apparatus main body; A sheet detecting device, comprising: releasing means for releasing the retracting means by mounting the main body, and moving the detecting means to the detecting position to enter a remaining sheet detecting state. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cassette has a pressure plate for urging the stacked and stored sheets, and said sheet detecting means abuts on a sheet outside a sheet urging range by said pressure plate at a detection position. The sheet detecting device as described in the above. 3. The sheet detecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said detecting means and said retreating means are provided in an apparatus main body, and said releasing means is provided in a cassette. 4. The sheet detecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying information on the remaining amount of the sheet detected by said detecting means. 5. The detecting means has an arm part which rotates and abuts a sheet stored in a cassette, and a gear part which transmits the rotation, wherein the display means meshes with a gear part of the detecting means. The sheet detecting device according to claim 4, further comprising a gear unit capable of displaying the remaining sheet information, and a drum capable of displaying remaining sheet information, wherein the drum rotates with the rotation of the arm unit. 6. The sheet detecting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the gear section of the detecting section and the gear section of the display section mesh only when the arm section is at the remaining sheet detecting position. . 7. A gear portion of the detection means and a gear portion of the display means are connected by an elastic member, and the arm member of the detection means is brought into contact with a sheet in a cassette by the elastic member. 6. The sheet detecting device according to claim 5, wherein the means is urged to generate a rotation in a direction opposite to a direction in which the detecting means is urged in a state where the gears are engaged. 8. The sheet detecting apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a stopper for restricting rotation of said display means urged by said elastic member. 9. The sheet detecting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the cassette bottom has a concave portion into which an arm of the detecting means enters. 10. A recording apparatus that conveys sheets in a cassette and records an image, wherein the sheet detection device according to claim 1 and one sheet in the cassette are provided. A recording apparatus comprising: a sheet conveying unit that separates and conveys; and a recording unit that records an image on a conveyed sheet.