JP2002249244A - Sheet feeding device and image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet feeding device capable of preventing sheets stored in the device from becoming dirty with a simple and small structure, and an image forming device using it. SOLUTION: A flat ceiling part 54 and a stack wall 55 are provided on a paper feeding arm 40 to rotatably support a paper feeding roller 10, and the upper part of a sheet feeding opening part provided in the upper part of a cassette 9 is covered with them.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for recording an image on a sheet separated and fed from a stacked sheet bundle, and is preferably applicable to such an image recording apparatus. The present invention relates to a simple sheet feeding apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of image recording apparatus,
For example, an ink jet recording apparatus having a configuration as shown in FIG. 15 is known.

A sheet 1001 as a recording medium is loaded and accommodated in a cassette 1002. A paper feed roller 1003 rotatably supported by a paper feed roller support member 1004 is provided in an opening above the cassette 1002. The paper feed roller 1003 abuts on the sheet surface of the sheet 1001 and is rotated by a motor (not shown) to feed only the top sheet.

[0004] From the cassette 1002 to the paper feed roller 1003
The sheet 1001 pulled out by the sheet feeder is fed by a U-turn roller 1007 forming a transport path and a sheet feed guide 1008.
Guided between. Further, via the U-turn roller 1007 and the jam processing cover 1009, and via the U-turn roller 1007 and the pinch roller guide 1010,
It is guided between the paper transport roller 1011 and the pinch roller 1012. The sheet 1001 that has been jammed near the U-turn roller 1007 is removed by opening the jam processing cover 1009 in the direction of the arrow in the figure.

[0005] The platen 10 is moved by the paper conveying roller 1011.
13 is conveyed to the carriage 101
Printing is performed by the recording head 1015 mounted on the recording head 4. While the carriage 1014 moves along the guide shaft 1016 and the sub guide shaft 1017 in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 15, printing is performed by the recording head 1015.

[0006] The printed sheet 1001 is a sheet discharge roller 10
18 and the paper ejection pressing roller 1019, and is guided to the paper ejection stack 1020 to complete the paper ejection operation.

The platen 1013 usually has a shape in which a rib 1022 is provided on a flat member 1021 as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 17, a platen 1013 'having an opening 1023 between rib-shaped portions 1022 has been proposed. Platen 10
According to the configuration of 13 ', the production accuracy of the platen itself is ensured, and the preliminary ejection during printing is performed.
Ink ejection on the upper side), printing without borders (printing on the edge of the sheet), and the like can be realized.

[0008]

However, in the case of the above-described prior art configuration, the paper feed roller 1003
The upper portion of the cassette 1002 needs to be opened in order to install the sheet. However, dust and dirt and ink mist generated during printing enter through the opening of the cassette 1002, and the sheet bundle stacked in the cassette 1002 is removed. Sometimes it got dirty.

In particular, FIG.
7 type platen 1013 'is used,
Platen 101 instead of on sheet 1001 due to erroneous printing
When printing is performed on 3 ′, the ink droplets reach, for example, the sheets stacked in the cassette 1002.

In an apparatus for performing borderless printing, ink is positively ejected onto the platen 1013 'so as to be applied to the edge of the sheet, so that it is necessary to process the ink droplets. During printing, the platen 1 near the sheet side edge
When performing the preliminary ejection on 013 ', it is necessary to process the ink droplet.

In order to solve such a problem, it is conceivable to separately provide an ink receiving member below the platen 1013 '(1013). However, the addition of the new member increases the cost. . In addition, there is also a problem that the height of the apparatus itself increases due to the installation of the member.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a simple and small-sized sheet feeding apparatus capable of preventing a sheet housed in the apparatus from being stained. An object of the present invention is to provide a feeding device and an image recording device.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a storage means for storing a sheet, and a paper feed for feeding the sheet from an opening provided at an upper portion of the storage means. In a sheet feeding apparatus including a roller and a support member rotatably supporting the paper feed roller, the opening of the storage unit is covered by the support member.

It is preferable that the support member covers at least a portion of the opening portion upstream of the sheet feeding roller over the entire area in the sheet width direction.

[0015] The supporting member may be provided so as to be swingable, and may support the sheet feeding roller so as to be able to contact and separate from the sheet stored in the storing means.

In the image recording apparatus of the present invention,
Accommodation means for accommodating the sheet, a paper feed roller for feeding the sheet from an opening provided in the upper part of the accommodation means, a support member for rotatably supporting the paper supply roller, and a paper supply roller Transport means for transporting the fed sheet onto a platen disposed substantially above the opening, and recording means for discharging ink onto the sheet transported on the platen to record an image. The image recording apparatus is characterized in that the opening of the storage means is covered by the support member.

Preferably, the support member covers at least a portion of the opening on the upstream side of the sheet feed roller over the entire area in the sheet width direction.

A storage means for storing the sheet, a paper feed roller for feeding the sheet from an opening provided in an upper part of the storage means, a support member for rotatably supporting the paper feed roller, Conveying means for conveying a sheet fed by a paper feed roller onto a platen disposed substantially above the opening, and recording means for ejecting ink onto the sheet conveyed on the platen to record an image Wherein the support member is disposed between the opening and the platen, and the support member is provided with a receiving portion for receiving the ink ejected from the recording means. And

The receiving portion may have a size including a projection when the ink discharge range of the recording means is vertically projected.

The receiving portion may have a size including a projection when the platen is projected vertically.

Preferably, the platen has a through-hole through which ink discharged from the recording means passes downward.

It is preferable to provide an absorber for absorbing ink above the support member.

It is preferable that the supporting member is provided so as to be swingable, and supports the sheet feeding roller so as to be able to contact and separate the sheet stored in the storing means.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a tube supply type ink jet recording apparatus will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a tube supply type ink jet recording apparatus according to a representative embodiment of the present invention (showing a state in which an outer cover is removed).
2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the lateral direction, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from above. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of the overall plan view shown in FIG.

First, the outline of the mechanism of a tube supply type ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be sequentially described with reference to FIGS.

An ink tube 3 extending from an ink tank 2 for supplying ink to the recording head 1 serving as recording means in the present embodiment is connected to the recording head 1.

The recording head 1 is provided with a means for generating thermal energy as energy used for performing ink ejection, particularly in an ink jet recording system. By using this, high density recording and high definition recording are achieved.

As shown in FIG. 2, the recording head 1 is mounted on the carriage 4 in a posture for discharging ink toward the sheet 6. Then, ink droplets are ejected while moving the carriage 4 in the main scanning direction along the guide shaft 5 to form an image on a sheet 6 such as recording paper. The carriage pulley 13 is driven by the rotation of the carriage motor 12, and the carriage 4 moves left and right (reciprocates) via the timing belt 25.

The recording head 1 mounted on the carriage 4 is connected to the ink tank 2 by an ink tube 3 extending from the ink tank 2, and the ink is constantly supplied from the tank. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the ink tank 2 has four color ink cartridges 2a, 2a.
b, 2c and 2d. The four color ink cartridges 2a to 2d are of a type that can be replaced independently. The recording head 1 is also composed of recording heads of four colors. The ink tubes 3 are also formed of four tubes, and are configured to supply the above-described four colors of ink, respectively.

The sheets 6 separated and fed one by one from the sheet bundle stored in the cassette 9 installed at the lower part of the apparatus by the paper feed roller 10 to the transport roller 8 via the U-turn transport path 11. Is carried. The sheet 6 is conveyed between the platen 7 and the recording head 1 while being nipped by the pair of rollers of the conveying roller 8 and the discharge roller 23.

At this time, the sheet 6 is intermittently transported by a transport amount corresponding to one scan of the recording head 1. That is, when recording for one scan is completed by the recording head 1, the recording operation is temporarily stopped, and the sheet located on the platen 7 is driven by a feed motor (not shown) by a predetermined amount in the sub-scanning direction by the conveying roller 8. Then, the carriage 4 is again moved in the main scanning direction along the guide shaft 5 to form an image for the next one scan.

The sheet 6 on which the image is formed as described above is
After the printing is completed, the paper is discharged from the platen 7 toward the upper surface of the cassette 9 by the paper discharge roller 23.

On the right side of the main body of the apparatus, a recovery device 1 for performing a recovery operation for maintaining a good ink discharge state of the recording head 1
The recovery device 14 has a cap 15 for capping the recording head 1, a wiper 16 for wiping the ink ejection surface of the recording head 1, and a device for sucking ink from the ink ejection nozzles of the recording head 1. , Etc. are provided.

The lower case 27 covering the lower surface of the apparatus main body is provided with a jam processing opening 56. The jam processing opening 56 is disposed substantially below the paper feed roller 10 and the transport roller 46, and is closed by the lower surface of the cassette 9 when the cassette 9 is mounted. If a jam occurs during sheet feeding or conveyance, the cassette 9 can be pulled out to easily perform the jam processing.

Guide shaft 5, platen 7, and transport roller 8
As shown in FIG. 3, a control board 18 of the recording apparatus is installed on the back side of the chassis 17 on which the is mounted. An interface for inputting a recording signal, M
RO for storing control programs executed by PU and MPU
M and a DRAM for storing various data are mounted.

A power supply 19 for supplying power for operating the control board 18 of the recording apparatus is provided on the left side of the apparatus main body. Power supply cable 2 from power supply 19
0, power is supplied to the control board 18 described above. Further, from the control board 18, for example, a signal for driving the recording head 1, a recording head flexible cable 21 for supplying power and the like, a signal for driving the recovery device 14, and a recovery device driving cable for supplying power 22 and so on.

The recording head flexible cable 21 is mounted on the carriage 4 from the control board 18 through the chassis 17 and is electrically connected to the recording head 1. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an ink tube 3 is connected to the front of the recording head 1 and a recording head flexible cable 21 is connected to the rear. It is divided by.

A panel operation section 24 is provided above the power supply 19, and serves as a portion for displaying the operation of the apparatus user and the state of the apparatus.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views showing the entire appearance of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 shows a normal use state, and FIG. It is a figure showing a state.

The above-described mechanism incorporated on the lower case 27 is entirely covered by the upper case 26. The panel operation unit 24 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 appears in the upper left portion of the recording apparatus.

The cassette 9 is also mounted on the recording apparatus so as to protrude from the upper case 26 and the lower case 27.
Incidentally, the upper surface of the cassette 9 is covered with a cassette cover 32, and the paper is discharged onto the cassette cover 32. When the length of the sheet discharged onto the cassette cover 32 is short, the discharge cover 29 is opened and taken out. FIG. 6 is a view showing a state where the discharge cover 29 is opened.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the discharge cover 29 is opened, the manual feed lever 30 can be operated. By pulling up the handle portion in front of the fulcrum about the manual feed lever rotation fulcrum 31, it becomes possible to insert a manual feed sheet (to be described in detail later).

The replacement of the ink tank 2 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 is performed by opening the ink tank cover 28.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show an ink jet recording apparatus corresponding to an A3 size sheet.
As a modified example, a recording apparatus corresponding to, for example, an A4 or letter size sheet is shown in FIGS.

The cassette 9 is accommodated in a line on the front of the entire apparatus without protruding from the upper case 26. Since the depth of the entire apparatus is short, the manual feed lever 30 is attached to the discharge cover 2.
9 is in a position where it can be seen even when it is not opened, but when performing manual feeding, it is performed with the discharge cover 29 opened.

Next, the essential parts of the tube type ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a schematic configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment.

The recording head 1 mounted on the carriage 4 includes an electric contact portion 33 and an ink joint portion 34, and the electric contact portion 33 and the ink joint portion 34 are provided at opposing positions.

By inserting the tube joint 35 connected to the ink tube 3 in the direction of the arrow in the figure, the tube joint 35 can be connected to the above-described ink joint portion 34, and the ink in the ink tank 2 is always supplied to the recording head 1. It becomes possible to supply.

On the other hand, the head connector 37 provided on the carriage board 36 mounted on the carriage 4 and the above-mentioned electrical contact portion 33 of the recording head 1 are pressed against each other, so that electrical connection is established. A flexible connector 38 is also provided on the carriage board 36, and the printhead flexible cable 2
It is connected to 1.

The recording head 1 is detachably mounted on the carriage 4, and the tube joint 35 is first pressed and inserted from the rear in a state where the electric conduction is established. Since the insertion direction coincides with the pressing direction of the electrical connection, there is no adverse effect on the previously connected electrical connection.

A sheet feeding section is disposed below the recording means having the above-described configuration. The sheet feeding unit generally includes a cassette 9 for storing sheets, and a paper feed roller 10 for feeding sheets from a sheet bundle stored in the cassette 9.
And a feed arm 4 that rotatably supports the feed roller 10
0.

The cassette 9 is provided detachably with respect to the main body of the recording apparatus. A portion of the upper surface of the cassette 9 which is located outside the apparatus when the cassette 9 is mounted (the state shown in FIG. 9) is almost covered with the cassette cover 32, and dust or dirt enters the cassette 9. Has been prevented. On the other hand, a portion of the upper surface of the cassette 9 which is located inside the apparatus is not covered with the cassette cover 32, and serves as an opening for feeding sheets.

Above the opening, a paper feed arm 40 is swingably supported by a swing fulcrum 41 provided on the apparatus main body. The paper feed roller 10 is provided at the front end (the end in the sheet feeding direction) of the paper feed arm 40, and the end opposite to the swing fulcrum 41 is engaged with the action portion 39 of the manual feed lever 30. A corresponding release projection 42 is formed.

FIG. 9 shows a state in which a handle portion of the manual feed lever 30 shown in FIG. At this time, the action portion 39 of the manual feed lever 30 shown in FIG. 9 rotates downward, and pushes down the release protrusion 42 of the paper feed arm 40. Then, the paper feed arm 40
Is rotated counterclockwise about the swing fulcrum 41, and the paper feed roller 10 is separated from the sheet 6 set in the cassette 9. When attaching and detaching the cassette 9,
Alternatively, when a manual sheet is supplied, the manual feed lever 30 is operated in this way to separate the sheet feeding roller 10 to the retracted position (retracted state).

FIG. 10 shows a state in which the manual feed lever 30 is released. In this state, the paper feed roller 10 is always in contact with the uppermost surface of the sheet 6 in the cassette 9 (operating state) under the load of the paper feed arm 40.

In this operating state, when a signal for starting the paper feed operation is issued from a controller (not shown), the paper feed drive shaft 43 is rotationally driven by a drive source such as a motor.
The rotation driving force is transmitted via the first transmission gear 44 and the second transmission gear 45, so that the sheet feeding roller 10 rotates counterclockwise in the drawing and feeds out the sheet.
The sheet fed by the rotation of the paper feed roller 10 is bent at the leading end by abutting against the separation slope 59 of the cassette 9, and only the sheet that is in contact with the paper feed roller 10 is separated.

In order to increase the pressure contact force (biting force) of the paper feed roller 10, the paper feed roller 10 is rotated so as to feed the sheet away from the swing fulcrum 41, and the cassette 9 is fully loaded with sheets. In this state, it is preferable that the sheet supply arm 40 is set to be inclined with the sheet supply roller 10 down. This is for the following reason.

When the paper feed roller 10 rotates, a frictional resistance is received from the sheet surface. A component of the frictional resistance in a direction perpendicular to the paper feed arm 40 acts on the paper feed arm 40 as a rotational moment. This rotational moment acts as a force for rotating the paper feed arm 40 in the clockwise direction in the drawing, that is, a force for pressing the paper feed roller 10 against the sheet surface. In this way, by applying the pressing force to the paper feed roller 10 in addition to the load of the paper feed arm 40, the pressure contact force of the paper feed roller 10 can be increased, and a sufficient sheet conveying force can be secured. .

The pressing force due to the rotational moment varies depending on the angle between the sheet supply arm 40 and the sheet surface. That is, the angle is 0 when the angle between the sheet supply arm 40 and the sheet surface is 0 ° (parallel), and becomes maximum when the angle is 90 °. Therefore, when the sheet stacking amount of the cassette 9 increases or decreases, the pressing force of the sheet feeding roller 10 changes accordingly. This is also not preferable because it causes factors such as defective sheet feeding and sheet damage.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the paper feed arm spring 53 is attached as a pressing force adjusting means, and the paper feed arm is provided in the direction against the load of the paper feed arm 40 (the direction in which the paper feed roller 10 is separated from the sheet surface). 40 are energized. The spring stiffness of the sheet feeding arm spring 53 may be set so as to generate a restoring force having substantially the same magnitude as the amount of change in the pressing force based on the angle change of the sheet feeding arm 40.

As a result, the pressure contact force of the sheet feeding roller 10 is appropriately reduced according to the change in the sheet stacking amount, and the pressure contact force of the sheet feeding roller 10 can be kept substantially constant regardless of the height of the sheet surface. It becomes possible. (The pressing force of the paper feed roller 10 does not need to be kept strictly constant, as long as it can be adjusted within a range that does not cause the above-described poor paper feed or sheet damage.)

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
Has been arranged. According to this configuration, since the right and left balance of the pressing force of the sheet feeding roller 10 against the sheet surface is improved, the sheet is sent out by the sheet feeding roller 10 and is separated from the separation slope 59.
The right and left abutment forces of the sheet hitting the sheet are almost the same, so that the separation property is improved, the skew is prevented from occurring, and the sheet can be stably fed.

As described above, since the paper feed roller 10 is always in contact with the sheet surface in the operating state, there is no need to mechanically raise and lower the paper feed arm 40 every time a paper feed operation is performed. A drive mechanism is not required and the configuration is simplified. Further, it is possible to eliminate a time loss required for elevating and lowering the sheet feeding arm 40, and to shorten a total printing time.
Further, the mechanical driving sound of the paper feed arm 40 and the paper feed roller 10
Since no impact sound is generated when the vehicle collides with the sheet surface, the device can be silenced.

In this embodiment, the sheet feeding arm spring 5
3, the sheet feeding arm 40 is pulled upward. However, as shown in FIG. 12, a screw coil spring 58 may be provided at the pivot 41 of the sheet feeding arm 40. According to this configuration, in addition to the above-described effects, there is an effect of further space saving.

Returning to FIG. 9 again, the configuration relating to the sheet conveying and printing operations will be described.

The sheet 6 separated and fed by the feed roller 10 is sent to the U-turn conveyance path 11. The U-turn transport path 11 is formed by an inner U-turn roller 46 and an outer U-turn guide 47, and guides the sheet 6 separated and supplied from the cassette 9 between the transport roller 8 and the pinch roller 48.

The paper feed roller 10 and the U-turn roller 4
6 is overlapped in the cross-sectional direction, and between the U-turn rollers 46 divided in the axial direction,
0 is arranged. For this reason, the cassette 9 can be inserted deep into the apparatus, and the cassette 9 can be inserted to a position covering substantially below the U-turn roller 46.

The sheet 6 nipped by the transport roller 8 and the pinch roller 48 is transported onto a platen 7 disposed substantially above the opening of the cassette 9. And the transport roller 8
The printing is performed by the recording head 1 while being intermittently conveyed by the pair of rollers of the paper discharge roller 23.

The platen 7 has a through hole through which ink droplets discharged from the recording head 1 can pass. Therefore, even if the ink is directly ejected onto the platen 7, the ink does not stay on the platen 7, and the back surface of the sheet is not stained. This makes it possible to perform preliminary ejection (printing ink on the platen 7 near the sheet side edge during printing to maintain the state of the recording head 1 in a good state) or printing without margins (printing over the sheet edge and the platen 7). ) Can be performed.

The sheet feeding arm 40 is provided with a flat ceiling 54 substantially parallel to the opening of the cassette 9 and a stack wall 55 orthogonal to the flat ceiling 54. Flat ceiling 5
Reference numeral 4 denotes an area substantially equal to or larger than the projection when the ink ejection range (or the platen 7) of the recording head 1 is vertically projected, and the ink droplets passing through the through holes of the platen 7 are Has the role of receiving. Further, the stack wall 55 separates the inside of the apparatus from the paper discharge stacking section,
This prevents ink mist and the like from being separated from the inside of the apparatus, and prevents dust and dirt from entering from outside the apparatus.

The flat ceiling portion 54 and the stack wall 55 cover the entire portion of the opening of the cassette 9 upstream of the sheet feeding roller 10 in the sheet width direction, so that ink droplets or ink droplets ejected from the recording head 1 are formed. Mist, dust, and dust can be prevented from dropping onto the sheet 6 stored in the cassette 9. In addition, by providing these on the paper feed arm 40, it is possible to simplify the apparatus configuration and save space.

FIG. 13 shows a modification of the present embodiment, in which an absorber 57 for absorbing ink is provided above the flat ceiling of the sheet feeding arm 40. By providing an absorber 57 such as a sponge having excellent liquid absorbability, ink droplets passing through the platen 7 can be positively received.

Next, the configuration relating to the manual feeding and discharging operation of the sheet will be described.

FIG. 9 shows a state in which manual insertion is possible. A portion of the opening of the cassette 9 outside the stack wall 55 serves as a manual sheet supply port. That is, when performing manual sheet feeding, first, the manual feed lever 30 is operated to set the sheet feeding roller 10 in a retracted state, and then sheets are inserted into the cassette 9 from the supply port. When the manual feed lever 30 is released with the leading edge of the sheet abutting the separation slope 59 of the cassette 9, the paper feed roller 10 comes into contact with the manual feed sheet. Is performed.

The paper feed arm 40 is provided with a paper discharge stack lever 50 so as to protrude above the manual sheet supply port. The discharge stack lever 50 is made of a film-like flexible material. The discharge stack lever 50 is a rotation fulcrum 5
The stack lever spring 52 is attached to the sheet feed arm 40 so as to be rotatable around the center 1 and is urged to rotate clockwise in the drawing.

In the normal state (when no force is applied), the discharge stack lever 50 is inclined along the supply direction of the manual feed sheet, so that the supply port is largely opened and a guide as a guide for guiding the manual feed sheet is provided. Plays a role,
The manual feed can be easily performed.

The discharge stack lever 50 also serves as a receiving member for receiving the sheet discharged from the discharge roller 23. The sheet on which an image has been recorded on the platen 7 is discharged from the discharge roller 23 and the discharge spur 49.
Is discharged out of the apparatus, and stacked on the cassette cover 32 and the discharge stack lever 50. At this time, the discharge stack lever 50 is bent by the weight of the sheet, and the sheets are easily stacked.

The urging force of the stack lever spring 52 for urging the paper discharge stack lever 50 is set to a weak urging force that balances when a predetermined number (several to ten and several) of sheets are stacked. . FIG. 14 shows the discharge stack lever 5
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the sheets are stacked at 0. When the stacking amount of the sheets discharged onto the cassette cover 32 and the discharge stack lever 50 by the discharge roller 23 and the discharge spur 49 becomes equal to or more than a predetermined number, the urging force of the stack lever spring 52 is applied to the sheet as shown in FIG. Due to the weight, the stack lever 50 is rotated counterclockwise to the height of the cassette cover 32.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the supply port of the manual sheet from being closed and prevent the discharged sheet from being re-fed into the cassette 9 and to secure a sufficient stacking space for the discharged sheet. It becomes possible.

Further, since the paper discharge stacking portion is constituted by (the paper discharge stack lever 50 of) the paper feed arm 40 and the upper surface of the cassette cover 32, it is not necessary to separately provide a paper discharge stack, and the size of the entire apparatus is reduced. Can be reduced in size, and the cost can be further reduced.

In this embodiment, the sheet feeding arm 4
Although the movable paper discharge stack lever 50 is provided at 0, effects such as reduction in size of the apparatus and cost reduction can also be obtained by integrally forming a discharge stack protrusion member on the paper supply arm 40 itself. Alternatively, a member having the same function as the sheet discharge stack lever 50 may be attached to the cassette cover 32, the apparatus main body, or the like instead of the sheet supply arm 40. Such a receiving member does not necessarily need to be inclined along the feeding direction of the manual feed sheet. If the receiving member is provided with a predetermined step from the upper surface of the cassette cover 32 and projects above the feed port of the manual feed sheet, And the effect of preventing re-feeding of the discharge sheet is obtained. In this case, it is also preferable to provide a rib or the like for guiding the sheet on the lower surface of the receiving member.

In the present embodiment, the sheet accommodating means is constituted by the detachable cassette 9, but may be constituted by a sheet accommodating portion fixed to the apparatus main body.

In the present embodiment, only an example in which the present invention is applied to a tube supply type ink jet recording apparatus is shown. However, other types of ink jet recording apparatuses, electrophotographic / electrostatic recording type image recording apparatuses, etc. It can also be suitably applied. The image recording apparatus can be applied not only to a printer but also to a facsimile, a copying machine, etc., and is particularly suitable for a small-sized image recording apparatus.

[0085]

As described above, according to the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention, since the opening of the storage means is covered by the support member of the feeding roller, the sheet is stored in the apparatus with a simple and small configuration. It is possible to prevent the sheet from being stained.

Further, according to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, the ink ejected from the recording means can be received by the support member of the feeding roller, so that the sheet accommodated in the apparatus by a simple and small configuration. And ink can be positively ejected onto the platen for preliminary ejection, borderless printing, and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of an image recording apparatus (with an outer cover removed) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the image recording apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of the image recording apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration of a main part of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the external appearance of the image recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state of the image recording apparatus of FIG. 5 at the time of a manual insertion operation or at the time of paper ejection.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of an external appearance of an image recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state of the image recording apparatus of FIG. 7 at the time of a manual insertion operation or at the time of paper ejection.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a main part of the image recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an operation of a sheet feeding arm of the image recording apparatus of FIG. 9;

11 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a main part of the image recording apparatus of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet feeding arm of an image recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet feeding arm of an image recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a view for explaining the operation of a paper discharge stack lever of the image recording apparatus of FIG. 9;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a main part of a conventional image recording apparatus.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a platen of a conventional image recording apparatus.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a platen of a conventional image recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording head 2 Ink tank 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d Ink cartridge 3 Ink tube 4 Carriage 5 Guide shaft 6 Sheet 7 Platen 8 Transport roller 9 Cassette 10 Paper feed roller 11 U-turn transport path 12 Carriage motor 13 Carriage pulley 14 Recovery device DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Cap 16 Wiper 17 Chassis 18 Control board 19 Power supply 20 Power supply cable 21 Recording head flexible cable 22 Recovery device drive cable 23 Discharge roller 24 Panel operation unit 25 Timing belt 26 Upper case 27 Lower case 28 Ink tank cover 29 Discharge cover REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 30 manual feed lever 31 manual feed lever rotation fulcrum 32 cassette cover 33 electrical contact part 34 ink joint part 35 tube joint 36 carriage board 37 Feed connector 38 flexible connector 39 manual feed lever action section 40 paper feed arm 41 paper feed arm swing fulcrum 42 paper feed arm release projection 43 paper feed drive shaft 44 first transmission gear 45 second transmission gear 46 U-turn roller 47 U Turn guide 48 Pinch roller 49 Discharge spur 50 Discharge stack lever 51 Rotation fulcrum of discharge stack lever 52 Stack lever spring 53 Feed arm spring 54 Flat ceiling of feed arm 55 Stack wall of feed arm 56 Jam opening 57 Absorber 58 Torsion coil spring 59 Separation slope

Claims (11)

[Claims] An accommodating means for accommodating the sheet, a feeding roller for feeding the sheet from an opening provided in an upper portion of the accommodating means, and a supporting member for rotatably supporting the feeding roller. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the support member covers an opening of the storage unit. 2. A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said support member covers at least a portion of said opening portion upstream of said feed roller over an entire area in a sheet width direction. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said support member is provided so as to be swingable, and supports said feeding roller so as to be able to contact and separate from the sheet stored in said storage means. The sheet feeding device as described in the above. An accommodating means for accommodating the sheet, a feeding roller for feeding the sheet from an opening provided in an upper portion of the accommodating means, a supporting member for rotatably supporting the feeding roller, Conveying means for conveying a sheet fed by a feeding roller onto a platen disposed substantially above the opening, and recording means for recording an image by discharging ink onto the sheet conveyed on the platen The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support member covers an opening of the housing unit. 5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said support member covers at least a portion of said opening portion upstream of said feed roller over an entire area in a sheet width direction. 6. A storing means for storing a sheet, a feeding roller for feeding a sheet from an opening provided in an upper part of the storing means, a supporting member for rotatably supporting the feeding roller, Conveying means for conveying a sheet fed by a feeding roller onto a platen disposed substantially above the opening, and recording means for recording an image by discharging ink onto the sheet conveyed on the platen Wherein the support member is disposed between the opening and the platen, and the support member is provided with a receiving portion for receiving ink ejected from the recording means. Image recording device. 7. The image recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the receiving portion has a size including a projection when the ink discharge range of the recording means is vertically projected. 8. The image recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said receiving portion has a size including a projection when said platen is projected vertically. 9. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said platen has a through hole through which ink discharged from said recording means passes downward. 10. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an absorber for absorbing ink is provided above the support member. 11. The support member is provided swingably,
The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein the feeding roller is supported so as to be able to contact and separate from the sheet stored in the storage unit.