JP2003104578A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording device for preventing the collapse of recording media during setting the recording media. SOLUTION: The recording device comprises stopping means 100 for stopping separating and returning means 42 at a position of the separating and returning means in the state of returning a recording media in a lower layer to a hopper 3. Thus, if the recording media are strongly pushed therein during setting the recording media, the separating and returning means is prevented from falling down, therefore preventing the collapse of the recording media and permitting the stable supply of the recording media.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hopper for feeding and feeding a stacked recording medium to a feeding roller for feeding the recording medium, and an uppermost layer of the stacked recording media. The present invention relates to a recording apparatus including a separation / returning unit that separates a recording medium from a lower recording medium and returns the lower recording medium to a hopper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recording apparatuses have been developed which can use both so-called cut sheets and roll sheets as recording sheets. For example, when printing on cut paper, the leading ends of the stacked cut papers are brought into contact with the contact portion and aligned, and the cut papers are moved up and down with respect to the paper feed roller by a hopper that cam-drives. Then, the uppermost cut sheet is separated from the lower cut sheet by the separation pad / paper return member, and only the uppermost cut sheet is fed to the transport section and transported to the recording section by the transport section, while the lower layer cut sheet is fed. The cut paper is returned to the hopper by the separation pad and paper return member. Further, when printing on roll paper, the roll paper pulled out from the roll paper holder passes through the paper feed unit to reach the transport unit, and then is transported to the recording unit by the transport unit.

[0003]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
The paper return member is biased upward by a spring so that the paper does not collapse when the paper is set. However, if the user presses the paper forcibly or strongly presses a strong paper such as a postcard, the separation pad / paper return member cannot be urged upward only by the spring force, and the separation pad / paper return member falls down. The paper may collapse due to the load. As a result, it becomes impossible to separate the paper by the separation pad / paper returning member, and the paper cannot be fed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a recording apparatus capable of preventing the load collapse of the recording medium when the recording medium is set.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, in a recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention, the stacked recording media are raised and lowered with respect to a feeding roller that feeds the recording media. And a separating / returning means for separating the uppermost recording medium and the lower recording medium of the stacked recording media and returning the lower recording medium to the hopper. In the recording apparatus, the separating / returning means is provided with a stopping means for stopping the separating / returning means at the position of the separating / returning means when the lower layer recording medium is returned to the hopper. As a result, even if the recording medium is strongly pushed in when the recording medium is set, the separating / returning unit does not fall down, so that it is possible to prevent the load of the recording medium from collapsing and to stably supply the recording medium.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the stop means is arranged so as to be retractable / protrudable with respect to the feeding roller. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus according to the second aspect, the stopping means includes a main body that pulls in / projects from the feeding roller, and a biasing means that biases the main body in the projecting direction. It is characterized by that. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus according to the third aspect, the main body has a support surface that supports the separation / returning means to stop, and the separation / returning means to retract from the feeding roller. It is characterized by having two pushing surfaces which are pushed by. Accordingly, the stop means can be configured to rotate together with the feeding roller, project from the feeding roller when the stopping function is required, and retract from the feeding roller when the stopping function is not required. It is possible to reliably stop the separating / returning means without interfering with the feeding operation.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus according to the third or fourth aspect, the urging means is a compression spring. With this, the biasing means can be configured with relatively simple parts, so that the cost increase can be suppressed.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are perspective views of the entire exterior structure of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from diagonally front. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the recording apparatus 1 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 10 whose entire body extends in the width direction. A discharge stacker 51, a switch unit 52, and the like are arranged on the front side of the housing 10, and a paper feed port 53 and the like are arranged on the rear side of the housing 10. Further, a window portion 55 covered with a transparent or semitransparent curved plastic cover 54 is formed from the upper portion to the front surface of the housing 10.

The sheet stacker 51 has a function of accumulating discharged sheets, and the stacker member 51 of the first stage on the base end side.
a and a second stacker member 51b on the front end side which is provided in the first stacker member 51a so as to be retractable and retractable. The discharge stacker 51 is attached to the front surface of the housing 10 so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 1 about a rotation shaft in the lower part thereof, and when used, it rotates in the fall direction as shown in FIG. The paper ejection port 56 is moved to open the paper ejection port 56, and is rotated in the upright direction to close the paper ejection port 56 during storage.

The switch section 52 is provided with a power system switch 52a for turning on / off the power, and three operation system switches 52b for operating the cueing of the paper and the like, and the ink flushing and the like. This switch section 52
Are arranged on the right side of the paper discharge stacker 51 on the front surface of the housing 10.

Guide walls 53a, 53b, 53c are formed in the paper feed port 53 so as to surround the rear edge and both end edges. The guide wall 53a has a function of guiding the surface of the paper, and the guide wall 53c has a function of guiding one side edge of the paper. The edge guide 22 that guides the other side edge of the paper is provided with a paper feed port 53 so that the paper can be reliably guided even if the paper size is different.
It is mounted so as to be movable between the guide walls 53b and 53c formed at both end edges of the same along the guide wall 53a formed at the rear edge.

The plastic cover 54 is attached so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow b in FIG. By lifting the plastic cover 54 and opening the window 55, the user can perform the work of replacing the ink cartridge housed on the carriage, which will be described later, and the maintenance of the internal mechanism through the window 55.

Further, the recording apparatus 1 is capable of printing discontinuous paper, that is, cut paper P shown in FIG. 1, and continuous paper, that is, roll paper R shown in FIG. As shown, when printing the cut sheet P, the paper support 21 that holds the cut sheet P is attached to the spine of the paper feed port 53, and as shown in FIG. Roll paper R on the back of the paper mouth 53
The roll paper holder 60 holding the is attached. Note that the paper support 21 and the roll paper holder 60 are configured to be removable, and either one of them can be attached.

As shown in FIG. 1, the paper support 21 has a function of holding the surface of the cut paper P, and has a paper feed port 53.
It is disposed so as to project obliquely rearward near the rear edge. As shown in FIG. 2, the roll paper holder 60 includes a shaft core 61 and a shaft core 61 which are inserted into the center shaft hole of the roll paper R.
A pair of covers 62 that rotatably support both ends of the roll paper 1 and cover both ends of the roll paper R are provided. Cover 62
Is detachably attached to the rear of the paper feed port 53.

3 and 4 are cross-sectional side views showing an example of the internal structure of the recording apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 3, in the recording apparatus 1, the cut sheet P inserted from the sheet feeding port 53 is fed by the sheet feeding device 20. The sheet feeding device 20 includes a unit 30 in which the sheet feeding roller 2, the total amount regulating unit 70, the idle roller 80 and the like are assembled and integrated in a frame 31, and a sheet returning member 42 having a hopper 3, a separation pad 4 and the like in a frame 41. And a unit 40 that is integrated and integrated. The unit 30 is fixed to the rear surface of the frame 13 that partitions the carriage, and the unit 40 is a frame 4 having a chevron cross section.
The hem 1 is attached to the main frame 12 so as to be on a substantially extended line of the paper transport path connecting the transport roller 6 and the discharge roller.

The plurality of cut sheets P stacked on the hopper 3 are pushed by the separation pad 4 against the sheet feed roller 2 as the sheet feed roller 2 is rotated and the hopper 3 is raised. The sheets are separated from P one by one, and are fed to the conveyance roller 6 along the paper guide 49.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
The roll paper R pulled out from the roll paper holder 60 and inserted into the transport roller 6 from the paper feed port 53 via the idle roller 80 is nipped by the transport roller 6 and its driven roller. Roll paper R pulled out from the roll paper holder 60
Is bent at the upper edge of the guide wall 53a of the supply port 53 and then goes to the transport roller 6 via an idle roller 80 arranged below the guide wall 53a. It is arranged so that the direction of pulling out R is always downward.

That is, in the roll paper holder 60, the surface of the roll paper R, which is stretched from the roll paper holder 60 to the upper edge portion of the guide wall 53a of the supply port 53, is always a horizontal surface or an inclination with the guide wall 53a side facing downward. It is arranged so that it may become a surface. Temporarily, the roll paper holder 60 to the supply port 53
When the roll paper holder 60 is arranged so that the surface of the roll paper R that is hung on the upper edge of the guide wall 53a is an inclined surface with the guide wall 53a side facing upward,
It is necessary to temporarily pull up the paper at the upper edge of the guide wall 53a of the supply port 53 and then feed it downward, and the feed resistance of the roll paper R at this time, so-called back tension, increases. However, according to this embodiment, the roll paper R is always pulled out in the downward direction.
The back tension is smaller than the back tension.

The recording apparatus 1 sends the cut sheet P shown in FIG. 3 or the roll sheet R shown in FIG. 4 by the conveying roller 6 to the recording head side mounted on a carriage (not shown) for printing. At this time, the control unit of the recording apparatus 1 supplies each color ink to the recording head from four color ink cartridges, for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, and controls the ejection timing of each color ink and the drive of the carriage and the conveyance roller 6. By controlling, high-precision ink dot control, halftone processing, etc. are executed. Finally, the recording apparatus 1 discharges the cut paper P or the roll paper R from the paper discharge port 56 by a discharge roller (not shown).

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the peripheral portion of the unit 30 and the unit 40 in the recording apparatus 1 as seen from the back side, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the peripheral portion of the unit 30.
8 is a perspective view of the unit 30 shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a plan view of FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a side view taken along the line II of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the bearing portion 3 of the roller holder 31.
A roller shaft 32 is rotatably supported by 1a.
The roller shaft 32 is integrally provided with a paper feed roller 2, an auxiliary roller 33, a hopper up / down cam 34 that constitutes a hopper cam mechanism for operating up and down of the hopper 3, and a transmission gear 35 for rotational driving. Further, the idle roller 80 is rotatably inserted.

As shown in FIG. 9, the paper feed roller 2 comprises a circular arc portion 2a and a flat portion 2c, and a friction material is attached to the circular arc portion 2a for feeding the cut paper P. The arcuate portion 2a has the arcuate portion 2b that has traveled to the flat portion 2c to increase the overall arc length. The arcuate portion 2b acts so as to reliably feed the paper to the conveyance roller 6 even if the stacking amount of the cut paper P in the hopper 3 changes.

For example, when there is one sheet of cut paper P in the hopper 3, it takes the longest time to raise the hopper 3 from the lower limit position and bring the sheet of cut paper P into contact with the paper feed roller 2. That is, since the paper feed roller 2 rotates by a predetermined angle until the cut paper P comes into contact, the length of the arc portion 2b is set so as to reach the transport roller 6 by feeding from the contact position of the cut paper P. To be done. Thus, the flat portion 2 of the paper feed roller 2
By providing the arcuate portion 2b on the c side, the entire arcuate portion 2a can be lengthened without increasing the diameter of the sheet feeding roller 2, and the size of the apparatus can be reduced.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the auxiliary roller 33 is arranged near the center in the width direction apart from the paper feed roller 2. The auxiliary roller 33 functions to press the cut sheet P by the auxiliary pad 4A of the sheet returning member 42 described later, and wind the cut sheet P near the center in the width direction in the same manner as the paper feed roller 2.

For example, when the cut paper P stored in the hopper 3 is fed by only one paper feed roller 2 arranged on one side in the width direction, one side of the cut paper P is fed to the paper feed roller 2. The side of the paper curls up and enters. On the other hand, on the other side of the cut paper P, the paper feed roller 2
Since there is no, there is a straight approach. As described above, when the sheet is conveyed based on different approaches in the width direction of the cut sheet P, a skew occurs and the sheet jam easily occurs. The movement of the edge is suppressed, and skew is less likely to occur.

The side surface of the hopper up / down cam 34 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, a small cam 36 that performs an initial tilting operation in a tilting operation of the paper returning member 42, which will be described later, and a stop member 100 that stops the paper returning member 42 at the standing position are provided. As shown in FIG. 7, the transmission gear 35 is linked to the drive gear 16 of the paper feed motor 15 via the intermediate transmission gear 17. The hopper up / down cam 34 and the transmission gear 35 are connected via a clutch mechanism 18, and the clutch mechanism 18 can be switched between on and off by a switching lever 19 provided in the intermediate transmission gear 17. It has become.

Here, FIG. 10 shows a cam 3 for the hopper up and down.
4 is an enlarged side view of FIG. The stop member 100 disposed on the hopper up / down cam 34 includes a main body 101 that supports the paper return member 42 in the upright position, and a biasing means 102 such as a compression spring that biases the main body 101. Body 101
The one end side is swingably locked to the pedestal 34a of the hopper up / down cam 34, and the other end side is urged by the urging means 102 arranged on the pedestal 34a of the hopper up / down cam 34.

As a result, the one end side of the main body 101 is urged by the urging means 102 so that the hopper up / down cam 3 is moved.
Outside the hole 34b provided in the base 4, that is, the pedestal 34a
It is configured to project to the side opposite to the side and to be retracted into the hole 34b, that is, the pedestal 34a side by an external force against the biasing force.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing details of the main body 101. On one end side of the main body 101, a locking portion 103 that is rockably locked to the pedestal 34a is formed to project.
On the other end side of 1, the abutting portion 104 that abuts on the peripheral edge of the hole 34b is formed so as not to jump out more than necessary when protruding from the hole 34b.

Further, on the other end side of the main body 101, in order to stop the paper returning member 42 at the standing position, a supporting surface 105 for supporting one end of the paper returning member 42 and a standing surface are provided. In order to prevent the paper returning member 42 from interfering with the existing paper returning member 42, the inclined first pressing surface 106 pushed to one end of the paper returning member 42 and the paper returning member 42 immediately before the paper feed roller 2 is stopped. A second inclined pushing surface 107 is formed on one end portion of the paper returning member 42 so as not to interfere when the paper sheet stands upright.

As described above, the paper returning member 42 serves as the stopping member 1.
Since it is stopped by being supported by the supporting surface 105 of the main body 101 of 00, even if the paper is strongly pushed into the hopper 3 when the paper is set, the paper returning member 42 does not fall down, the collapse of the paper is prevented, and the paper is stabilized. Can be supplied.

As shown in FIG. 10, the hopper up / down cam 34 is formed such that the radius of curvature of the arc portion 34c is larger than that of the conventional hopper up / down cam. As a result, the conventional hopper up / down cam pushes the hopper with a force in a direction inclined with respect to the vertical movement direction thereof, whereas the hopper up / down cam 34 of the present embodiment does not.
Can be pushed by a force in a direction parallel to the vertical movement direction. Therefore, the rotation torque of the hopper up / down cam 34 can be reduced as compared with the conventional one, and
It can be pushed by the vertical movement of the hopper 3 without being twisted.

12 and 13 show the clutch mechanism 18,
FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of an intermediate transmission gear 17 and a switching lever 19. As described above, the clutch mechanism 18 is configured so that the switching lever 19 provided on the intermediate transmission gear 17 can switch between on and off. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, when the pawl portion 19a formed at the tip of the switching lever 19 is disengaged from the pawl portion 18a of the clutch mechanism 18, the clutch mechanism 18 is in the connected state,
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13, the claw portion 19 of the switching lever 19
When a is hooked on the claw portion 18a of the clutch mechanism 18, the clutch mechanism 18 is in the disengaged state.

This intermittent operation is performed by turning the switching lever 19 in accordance with the rotation of the intermediate transmission gear 17, but when the switching lever 19 turns indefinitely, the claw portion 1 of the switching lever 19 is turned on.
9a excessively bites the claw portion 18a of the clutch mechanism 18, and the claw portion 19a of the switching lever 19 is engaged by the clutch mechanism 1.
8 may not come off from the claw portion 18a of No. 8. Therefore, a restricting member 19c that abuts the protrusion 19b at the tip of the switching lever 19 and restricts the turning range of the switching lever 19
Is provided on the roller holder 31, for example, to prevent the above bite.

The idle roller 80 is arranged between the auxiliary roller 33 and the bearing portion 31a, as shown in FIGS. The idle roller 80 functions to reduce the back tension of the paper. In other words, the paper that has been fed to the transport roller 6, particularly the roll paper R, is being pulled by the roll paper holder 60, and therefore tries to take the shortest path. Therefore, the roll paper R comes into surface contact or line contact with the roller holder 31, for example,
The back tension increases. Therefore, the idle roller 80 is brought into contact with the roll paper R in a state as close as possible to a point to reduce the surface contact or the line contact between the roll paper R and the roller holder 31, thereby reducing the back tension.

The idle roller 80 as described above has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the paper feed roller 2 (auxiliary roller 33), and the arc portion 2 of the paper feed roller 2 in the state where the feeding is completed.
The roll paper R is formed to have a diameter larger than that of b. Further, the diameter is formed so as not to interfere with the rotation trajectory of the separation pad 4. However, when the interference cannot be avoided, a slit into which the idle roller 80 can enter may be formed in the separation pad 4 portion where the idle roller 80 interferes.

In the above embodiment, one idle roller 80 is rotatably arranged between the auxiliary roller 33 and the bearing portion 31a, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, two or more idle rollers 80 may be arranged. Further, it may be arranged at an arbitrary position, for example, between the paper feed roller 2 and the hopper up / down cam 34.
Further, it may be fixed to the roller shaft 32, for example, integrally formed with the roller shaft 32.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 9, the roller holder 3
On the wall surface 31b of the first sheet feeding port 53 side, a total amount restricting portion 70 is disposed so as to project to the rear side of the apparatus main body.
The total amount regulation unit 70 is provided on the wall surface 31b of the roller holder 31.
A wall surface 71 provided substantially parallel to the wall surface 71, a wall surface 72 continuous to the wall surface 71 and inclined toward the sheet feeding roller 2 as it goes downward, and a predetermined interval is provided on the boundary between the wall surface 71 and the wall surface 72. Small roller 73 arranged in two rows and the wall surface 7
Similarly, small rollers 74 arranged in two rows at predetermined intervals are provided on the lowermost end of 2. The widths of the wall surfaces 71 and 72 are formed to be substantially the same as the width of a recordable minimum size sheet, and interference with the edge guide 22 can be prevented.

The total amount regulating section 70 having such a structure has a function of regulating the total amount of the cut sheets P inserted from the sheet feeding port 53 and stored in the hopper 3, and, like the idle roller 80, reduces the back tension of the sheets. Have the function to That is, if the total amount regulation unit 70 is not provided, it is possible to insert as much cut paper P as possible into the paper feed port 53. Therefore, a part of the cut paper P may cross the paper contact portion of the frame 41 and enter the paper guide 49 side to cause printing failure or the like.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14, the total amount regulating portion 70 is arranged so as to project toward the guide wall 53a side of the supply port 53, and surrounds the small rollers 74 arranged on the lowermost end of the wall surface 72. The straight line L connecting the surface and the upper edge of the guide wall 53a of the supply port 53 is arranged so as not to exceed the sheet contact portion of the frame 41. As a result, the number of cut sheets P inserted into the paper feed port 53 is regulated to the number determined by the distance between the wall surface 72 of the total amount regulation unit 70 and the guide wall 53a of the feed port 53, and the cut paper P is inserted into the paper feed port 53. Even if one or more sheets of paper P are held, they are all held at the paper contact portion of the frame 41, so that some cut paper P goes over the paper contact portion of the frame 41 and the paper guide 49. It is possible to prevent the risk of invasion into the side and causing a printing defect or the like.

When the small rollers 73 and 74 are not attached, as described above, the roll paper R fed to the transport roller 6 is pulled by the roll paper holder 60, so that the shortest path is taken. Trying to take, for example, the wall 7
Since it comes into surface contact or line contact with 2, the back tension increases. Therefore, the small rollers 73, 74
Are rotatably attached so as to project from the tops of the wall surfaces 71 and 72, so that the small rollers 73 and 74 are brought into contact with the roll paper R in a state of being as close as possible to a point, and the surface contact between the roll paper R and the wall surface 72 or Back tension is reduced by eliminating line contact.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the unit 40 in the recording apparatus 1, FIG. 16 is a side view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 15, and FIG. 17 is a paper return member taken along the line III-III in FIG. 18 is an explanatory view showing the operation of 42, FIG. 18 is a plan view of the paper returning member 42, and FIG. 19 is IV-IV of FIG.
FIG. 20 is a side view in the direction of the arrow, FIG. 20 is a side view in the direction of the arrow VV in FIG. 18, and FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing the assembly portion of the unit 30 and the unit 40. As shown in FIGS. ,
In the unit 40, a front inclined surface of a frame 41 having a chevron cross section extending in the width direction of the recording apparatus 1 is used as a paper guide 49, and a rear inclined surface is contacted with an abutting portion for abutting and aligning the leading ends of the sheets when setting the sheets. The surface 41c is formed, and the hopper 3 is arrange | positioned here. A ridge line portion 41b (the boundary between the contact surface of the contact portion and the paper guide) is provided on the top of the frame 41.
A paper returning member 42 is arranged along the line, and its base end is rotatably provided on the ridge portion 41b.

The hopper 3 is mounted rotatably along the inclined surface of the frame 41 with one end in the width direction of the recording apparatus 1 as a fulcrum 43, and the other end is located on the unit 30 side and the hopper edge guide 3a. Is provided, and the upper end surface thereof forms a hopper cam follower 3c on which the hopper up / down cam 34 acts. A projecting portion 3b extending outward from the hopper edge guide 3a is formed, and this projecting portion 3b is fitted into the hopper guide 41a that is erected from the frame 41, and the movement of the other end of the hopper 3 is increased or decreased. It is regulated only.

The rotation fulcrum 43 of the hopper 3 is provided so that the hopper surface in the vicinity thereof substantially coincides with the ridge line portion 41b, and the front end of the paper is set on the frame 41 on the rotation fulcrum 43 side of the hopper 3 when the paper is set. It prevents you from getting caught. A hopper spring 44 is interposed between the hopper 3 and the frame 41 on the back surface near the other end of the hopper 3.
Is urged toward the top of the inclined surface. On the surface of the hopper 3, the sheet 4 of high friction material is aligned with the position of the separation pad 4.
5 is attached.

As shown in FIGS. 17 to 20, the paper return member 42 is rotatably attached by fitting the base end 42b formed in the bearing structure into the shaft portion of the frame 41. On the surface 42c of the paper return member 42, the separation pad 4 and the load collapse prevention member 5 which are arranged separately are provided. The separation pad 4 is made of a high-friction material, while the load collapse prevention member 5 is made of a sheet-shaped friction material made of cork or the like.

As shown in FIG. 21, on the edge guide 3a side of the hopper 3, there is provided a cam follower 42a for performing the initial tilting of the paper returning member 42, and the cam follower 42a has the hopper up / down cam 34. A small cam 36 provided on the side surface acts. Here, the small cam 36 and the cam follower 42a constitute tilting means for interlocking the rotation of the paper return member 42 in the reverse direction with the paper feed roller 2 and rotating a predetermined angle from the standing position to the fall position. ing. The free end opposite to the base end 42b has a bank portion 4 slightly extending obliquely upward from the surface 42c in a portion excluding the width of the separation pad 4.
2d is formed, and this bank portion 42d acts to surely catch the leading edge of the sheet and push it back to the hopper 3 when returning the sheet.

As shown in FIG. 17, the paper guide 49
Is formed with a cutout portion 46 having substantially the same shape as the paper return member 42. The cutout portion 46 extends from the upright state of the paper return member 42 (the state of FIG. 17A) to the spring for the paper return member. 47
It is covered against the urging force of (1) and falls down (state of FIG. 17 (2)), and becomes flush with the paper guide 49. The paper return member spring 47 is composed of, for example, a coil spring, and is arranged on the back side of the frame 41. One end of the paper returning member spring 47 is engaged with the back surface of the paper returning member 42 and the other end thereof is engaged with the frame 41, respectively, and urges the paper returning member 42 to stand up (the state of FIG. 16).

The paper return member 42 is erected almost vertically, and prevents the cut paper at the time of setting from inadvertently entering the paper conveying path. In this upright state, the paper returning member 42 is outside the rotation trajectory of the roller surface of the paper feeding roller 2, so that the turning force cannot be applied. Therefore, in order to put the portion that applies the rotational force to the paper return member 42 within the rotation locus of the roller surface of the paper feed roller 2, at the initial stage of rotation of the paper feed roller 2 during the paper feed operation, the small cam 36 and the cam follower 42a feed the paper. The paper return member 42 is initially rotated by a predetermined angle in association with the rotation of the paper roller 2. After that, the rotational pressing force of the paper feed roller 2 directly acts on the paper return member 42 to rotate it.

As a result, the paper return member 42 can be smoothly rotated smoothly. On the side of the fulcrum of rotation of the hopper 3, a second guide is placed on the paper guide 49 near the ridge 41b.
The load collapse prevention portion 48 of the second load collapse prevention portion 48 is wide on the rotation fulcrum 43 side of the hopper 3,
The contact surface has a triangular shape when viewed from the top and becomes narrower toward the paper feed roller 2, which prevents the stacked cut sheets from collapsing.

With the recording apparatus 1 having the above-described structure, the preparatory operation for printing the cut paper P will be described first, and then the preparatory operation for printing the roll paper R will be described. As a preparatory operation for printing the cut sheet P, a hopper operation will be described first. 22 is a perspective view showing the hopper being descended, FIG. 23 is a side view of the hopper 3 in a paper set state, FIG. 24 is a view showing the hopper descending as seen from the direction of the arrow in FIG. 23, and FIG. 25 is a hopper. FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing the ascending process, and FIG. 26 is a view showing the ascending hopper as seen from the direction of the arrow in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 22, while the paper feed roller 2 reaches the home position, the paper return member 42 is located at the first position of the main body 101 of the stop member 100 protruding outside the hole 102 of the hopper up / down cam 34. The pushing surface 106 of No. 1 is pushed. As a result, the main body 101 of the stopping member 100 slips into the hole 102 and slips through the paper returning member 42. Further, the hopper 3 is rotated by the hopper cam 34 about the rotation fulcrum 43 against the biasing force of the hopper spring 44.

When the paper feed roller 2 is at the home position, the paper return member 42 is biased by the paper return member spring 47 to be held in the standing position, and also the support surface 105 of the main body 101 of the stop member 100. It is supported and stopped at the standing position. Further, the hopper 3 is maintained in the hopper descending state as shown in FIG.

When a plurality of cut papers P are set when the hopper is descending, the lower part of the cut papers P is prevented from entering the paper conveying path by the paper returning member 42, and the leading end of the paper is the inclined contact surface of the frame 41. It collides with 41c and is aligned. Further, even if the cut paper P is strongly pushed into the hopper 3, the paper return member 42 is still attached to the main body 101 of the stop member 100.
Since the paper return member 42 is supported by the support surface 105 and is stopped, it is possible to prevent the paper returning member 42 from falling and prevent the paper from collapsing.

On the rotation fulcrum 43 side of the hopper 3, the contact surface 41c is not the same as the thickness of the plurality of cut sheets P, and therefore, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the contact surface 41c protrudes toward the paper guide 49 and floats. Second load collapse prevention unit 48
Restricts the movement of the leading edge of the sheet protruding from the contact surface 41c toward the paper guide 49 side into the sheet conveying path before the leading edge of the sheet on the sheet feeding roller 2 (shift phenomenon) when the sheet is set. The correct paper is set.

When the paper feed is started, the hopper 3 moves up as shown in FIG. 25 and presses the cut paper P against the paper feed roller 2 as shown in FIG. The cut sheet P in a state of protruding from the contact surface 41c to the paper guide 49 side and floating.
However, since the load collapse preventing member 5 of the paper returning member 42 supports the leading edge of the paper, the hopper 3
The phenomenon that the leading edge of the paper slips on the rotation fulcrum side is suppressed.

When the uppermost cut sheet P is fed, the leading edge of the sheet on the rotation fulcrum side also starts to enter due to the feeding on the side of the sheet feeding roller 2. At this time, since the paper feed roller side of the second load collapse prevention unit 48 is narrow, the leading edge of the paper can be smoothly passed over without being caught. Especially O
A favorable effect can be obtained in the case of strong paper such as HP paper.

Further, the paper returning member 42 is flush with the paper guide 49 at the fall position, and the leading end of the paper at the intermediate position in the paper width direction is restrained by the load collapse preventing member 5, so that the hopper 3 rotates. The phenomenon that the leading edge of the paper slips on the fulcrum side is suppressed. As a result, the cut paper P enters straight into the paper transport path.

Next, the paper feeding operation will be described. 27-
FIG. 39 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of the paper feeding operation. A plurality of cut sheets P are set on the paper support 21. The flat portion of the paper feed roller 2 in the home position is substantially parallel to the surface of the paper guide 49 of the frame 41, and the paper return member 42 stands up and does not interfere with the paper feed roller 2. , The body 10 of the stop member 100
It is supported by the first supporting surface 105 and is stopped. When the paper return member 42 is erected, it is positioned so as to block the paper transport path between the paper feed roller 2 and the hopper 3, and restricts the leading edge of the paper when setting the paper to prevent it from entering the paper transport path. To do. On the other hand, the hopper 3 is pushed down to the lower limit position by the hopper up / down cam 34 (state of FIG. 27).

When the sheet feeding roller 2 is rotated by the start of sheet feeding, the small cam 36 first acts on the cam follower 42a of the sheet returning member 42 to slightly tilt the sheet returning member 42 to perform the initial operation of falling (FIG. 28). State). Paper return member 42
After the sheet is tilted by a predetermined angle, the sheet feeding roller 2 moves the sheet returning member 4
The paper return member 42 is urged against the surface of No. 2 and the paper return member 42 is rotated toward the lying position against the bias of the paper return member spring 47 by the rotational pressing force at that time.

During this time, the hopper up / down cam 34 acts on the hopper cam follower 3c to maintain the hopper 3 at the lower limit position (state of FIG. 29). The paper return member 42 reaches the lying position (state of FIG. 30), and then the hopper up / down cam 3
4, the lower limit position of the hopper 3 is released, the hopper 3 is lifted by the hopper spring 44, and the uppermost cut sheet P is pressed against the paper feed roller 2 (state of FIG. 31).
Then, the uppermost cut sheet P is rotated by the rotation of the sheet feeding roller 2.
Feeding is started (states of FIGS. 32 and 33). In the figure, the position of the leading edge of the sheet is indicated by an upward arrow.

Before the leading edge of the paper reaches the transport roller 6,
The hopper up / down cam 34 acts on the hopper cam follower 3c, and the descent of the hopper 3 is started (state in FIG. 34). The hopper 3 reaches the lower limit position (state of FIG. 35), and then the standing-up operation of the paper returning member 42 is started by the spring force of the paper returning member spring 47 (FIG. 36 is a state immediately before standing). During this time, the leading edge of the sheet reaches the transport roller 6, and skew removal and cueing operations are performed.

Subsequently, the rising of the paper returning member 42 is completed by the spring force of the paper returning member spring 47. During the rotation for standing up, the paper return member 42 moves the hopper up / down cam 3
The second pushing surface 107 of the main body 101 of the stop member 100 projecting outside the hole 102 of No. 4 is pushed. As a result, the main body 101 of the stop member 100 goes into the hole 102 and slips through the paper return member 42 (states of FIGS. 37 and 38).

Further, during the rotation for standing up, the double-fed cut sheet is inserted between the sheet feed roller 2 and the sheet return member 42 by the wedge effect together with the uppermost sheet P in the previous operation. The paper is returned by catching the tip of P1 and pushing it into the hopper 3 for storage (FIG. 37 shows completion of paper return, FIG.
Is a state in which the paper feed roller 2 is in the middle of rotating to the home position after the paper return is completed).

While the paper feed roller 2 returns to the home position, printing on the cut paper P starts and the paper return member 42
Is supported by the support surface 105 of the main body 101 of the stop member 100 and stopped at the standing position (state of FIG. 39). At this time, the idle roller 80 is rotating in contact with the cut paper P, and reduces the back tension of the cut paper P.

Next, the preparatory operation for printing the roll paper R will be described. FIG. 40 is a side view showing how the roll paper R is set or back fed, FIG. 41 is a side view showing how the roll paper R is conveyed, and FIG.
FIG. When the roll paper R is set, as shown in FIG. 40, the roll paper R pulled out from the roll paper holder 60 is largely curved obliquely above the roll paper holder 60 and then obliquely downwardly directed toward the paper feeding device. It has passed through 20 and has reached the conveyance roller 6.

At this time, the small rollers 73, 74 and the idle roller 80 are in contact with the roll paper R and are rotating,
The back tension of the roll paper R is reduced by reducing the surface contact or line contact between the roll paper R and the roller holder 31 and the wall surface 72. After the printing is completed and the printed portion is cut, the unprinted portion remaining on the paper discharge side from the transport roller 6 is not wasted. As described in 37, the back tension of the roll paper R is similarly reduced.

When the roll paper R is transported, the roll paper R is fed by the transport rollers 6 as shown in FIGS. 41 and 42. At this time, the pulling-out direction of the roll paper R is always downward, so that the back tension of the roll paper R is small, and the small roller 74 and the idle roller 80 rotate in contact with the roll paper R. Since the surface contact or line contact between the roll paper R and the roller holder 31 and the wall surface 72 is reduced, the roll paper R
The back tension of is reduced.

[0068]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even if the recording medium is strongly pushed in at the time of setting the recording medium, the separating / returning means does not fall down, so that the recording medium can be prevented from collapsing and the recording medium can be stably supplied.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a first perspective view of the entire exterior configuration of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention as seen obliquely from the front.

FIG. 2 is a second perspective view of the entire exterior configuration of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention as seen obliquely from the front.

3 is a cross-sectional side view showing an example of the internal configuration of the recording apparatus of FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional side view showing an example of the internal configuration of the recording apparatus of FIG.

5 is a perspective view of the peripheral portion of the first unit and the second unit in the recording apparatus of FIG. 1 as viewed from the back side.

6 is a perspective view showing a peripheral portion of a first unit in the recording apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the unit of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the unit of FIG.

9 is a side view taken along the line I-I of FIG.

10 is an enlarged side view of a hopper up / down cam of the unit of FIG.

11 is a perspective view showing details of a main body of a stop member provided in the hopper up / down cam of FIG.

12 is a first enlarged side view of a clutch mechanism, an intermediate transmission gear and a switching lever of the hopper up / down cam of FIG.

13 is a second enlarged side view of the clutch mechanism, the intermediate transmission gear, and the switching lever of the hopper up / down cam of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing a total amount regulating portion of the unit of FIG.

15 is a plan view of a second unit in the recording apparatus of FIG.

16 is a side view of the II-II vision loss of FIG.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the paper returning member taken along the line III-III in FIG. 15.

18 is a plan view of a paper returning member of the unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 19 is a side view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG.

FIG. 20 is a side view taken along the line VV of FIG.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing an assembled portion of the first unit and the second unit.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing a state where the hopper is descending.

FIG. 23 is a side view of the hopper with a sheet set.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a state in which the hopper is descending as seen from the direction of the arrow in FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing an ascending process of the hopper.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a state in which the hopper is raised as seen from the direction of the arrow in FIG. 23.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a paper feed operation of cut papers and showing the relationship between the hopper and the paper return member when the paper feed roller is at the home position.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a paper feeding operation of cut papers and showing the start of tilting the paper returning member by the small cam.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a sheet feeding operation of cut sheets, showing a state where the sheet feeding roller is in contact with the separation pad.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a paper feed operation of cut papers and showing the lying position of the paper return member.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a sheet feeding operation of cut sheets and showing a state immediately after the hopper is raised.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating a paper feeding operation of cut sheets and illustrating a paper feeding operation.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a paper feeding operation of cut sheets and showing a paper feeding operation.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a paper feeding operation of cut papers and showing the middle of lowering of the hopper.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a sheet feeding operation of cut sheets and showing a state where the hopper has reached the lower limit.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing a paper feed operation of cut papers and showing a state immediately before the paper return member starts upright operation.

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing a paper feed operation of cut paper, showing that the paper return member has reached the standing position and the paper return is completed.

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing a paper feeding operation of cut papers and showing rotation of the paper feeding roller after completion of paper return.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing a paper feeding operation of cut papers and showing a state in which the paper feeding roller has returned to the home position.

FIG. 40 is a side view showing a state of setting roll paper or performing back feed.

FIG. 41 is a side view showing a state when the roll paper is being conveyed.

FIG. 42 is an enlarged view of FIG. 41.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 recording device 2 paper feed rollers 3 hopper 3c hopper cam follower 4 Separation pad 5 Load collapse prevention member 6 Conveyor rollers 10 housing 12 mainframe 18 Clutch mechanism 18a Claw 19 Switch lever 19a Claw 19b protrusion 19c Control member 20 Paper feeder 21 Paper support 22 Edge guide 30 units 33 Auxiliary roller 34 Hopper up / down cam 34a pedestal 34b hole 36 small cams 40 units 41 frames 41c contact surface 42 Paper return member 42a Cam follower 44 hopper spring 48 Second load collapse prevention unit 49 Paper Guide 51 Paper output stacker 52 Switch 53 paper feed port 53a Guide wall 53b guide wall 53c guide wall 54 plastic cover 55 Window 56 paper exit 60 roll paper holder 70 Total Volume Control Department 71 wall 72 wall 73 Small roller 74 Small roller 80 Idol Laura 100 stop member 101 main body 102 biasing means 103 Locking part 104 Impact part 105 support surface 106 first pushing surface 107 Second pushing surface

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 3F343 FA01 FB01 GA01 GB01 GC01                       GD01 JD02 JD32 KA03 KA13                       KB05 LA04 LA15 LC12 LD04

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A hopper that raises and lowers the stacked recording media to a feeding roller that feeds the recording media, and supplies the uppermost recording medium of the stacked recording media. In a recording apparatus including a separating / returning unit that separates the lower recording medium and returns the lower recording medium to the hopper, when the separating / returning unit returns the lower recording medium to the hopper. 2. A recording apparatus comprising stop means for stopping the separating / returning means at the position of the separating / returning means. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stopping unit is arranged so as to be retractable / protrudable with respect to the feeding roller. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the stopping means includes a main body that is pulled in / projected from the feeding roller, and a biasing means that biases the main body in a projecting direction. apparatus. 4. The main body has a support surface for supporting the separating / returning means to stop, and two pushing surfaces pushed by the separating / returning means for retracting from the feeding roller. The recording device according to claim 3. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the urging means is a compression spring.