JP2006240805A - Image reading/recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce cost and improve efficiency in an image reading/recording device designed to discharge and accumulate sheets discharged from a recording part on an upper face of a platen of a reading part. <P>SOLUTION: The image reading/recording device designed to discharge and accumulate sheets discharged from the recording part on the upper face of the platen of the reading part is provided with a regulating member for regulating a rotation angle of a cover member within a range for being capable of guiding/accumulating the sheets discharged from a sheet discharging means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading and recording apparatus having a function of reading an image of a document placed on a document table and a function of forming an image on a conveyed sheet.

  Conventionally, examples of this type of image reading and recording apparatus include a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine.

  Among these image recording apparatuses, there is known an apparatus provided with a flat bed type image reading means (flat bed scanner) that scans a document image of a document placed on a document table and reads the image. In such an apparatus, a pressure plate for pressing a document placed on the document table is configured to be pivotable so as to be opened and closed.

  Therefore, in order to arrange the reading unit at the uppermost part of the main body of the apparatus and to integrate the main body of the apparatus, the recording unit is arranged below the reading unit and the recorded sheet is discharged. The outlet is also arranged below the reading unit.

  However, such a configuration has a drawback of being large in the height direction of the apparatus.

  Therefore, as a configuration for reducing the size of the apparatus, a configuration is proposed in which a recording unit 53 is arranged on the side of the reading unit 52 of the apparatus main body as shown in FIG.

Moreover, as a prior art example, patent document 1 and patent document 2 can be mention | raise | lifted, for example.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-177909 JP 2000-184123 A

  However, the conventional techniques as described above have the following problems.

  In the above-described configuration of the conventional technique, the sheet recorded by the recording unit 53 is discharged onto the pressure plate 54 of the reading unit. However, if the pressure plate 54 is in an open state like 54a when the sheet is discharged, the leading edge of the sheet may collide with the pressure plate 54a, resulting in problems such as sheet non-feeding and jamming. For this reason, a system for detecting that the pressure plate is in the open state as shown in 54a and temporarily stopping paper discharge is necessary, which requires a sensor for detecting the open state of the pressure plate, which increases costs. . Moreover, since the paper discharge is temporarily stopped, the efficiency is poor.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to have a configuration in which a sheet discharged from the recording unit is discharged onto the pressure plate upper surface of the reading unit and stacked. This is cost reduction and efficiency improvement in the image reading and recording apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises the following arrangement.

  A document table on which a document is stacked, a document reading unit having optical means for reading a document image while moving along the document table, a sheet support unit for supporting a sheet for recording an image, and a side of the document reading unit An ink jet recording means for recording an image by ejecting ink onto a sheet supported on the sheet supporting means and disposed on the upper portion; and an opening for opening the original table with one side as a rotation axis. The cover member that presses the placed document to the document table side, the sheet discharge unit that discharges the sheet on which the image is formed by the recording unit to the upper side of the cover member, and the document pressing surface of the cover member And a sheet stacking unit for stacking the sheets discharged from the sheet discharge unit on the opposite side surface. And having a regulating member for regulating a range capable of stacking a discharged sheet from.

  A document table on which a document is loaded; a document reading unit having an optical unit that reads a document image while moving along the document table; a sheet support unit that supports a sheet for recording an image; and the document reading unit. An ink jet recording means for recording an image by ejecting ink onto a sheet supported on the sheet supporting means and disposed on an upper side; A cover member that presses a document placed on the table toward the document table; a sheet discharge unit that discharges a sheet on which an image is formed by the recording unit; and a document pressing surface of the cover member And a sheet stacking unit for stacking the sheets discharged from the sheet discharge unit on a surface opposite to the surface of the sheet. And having a regulating member for regulating the sheet discharged from the detection means to guide the extent possible.

  Preferably, the rotation angle of the cover member when restricted by the restriction member is in a range of 50 to 60 degrees with respect to the closed state of the cover member.

  Preferably, an angle formed by the sheet stacking portion when the cover member is rotated when being regulated by the regulation member and a sheet ejection direction by the sheet ejection unit is in a range of 120 to 130 degrees. It is characterized by.

  Preferably, a guide portion having a guide surface for guiding the discharged sheet is provided integrally with the cover member in the vicinity of the sheet discharge means when the cover member is at a rotation angle restricted by the restriction member. It is characterized by that.

  Preferably, an angle formed between the guide surface of the guide portion and the sheet discharge direction by the sheet discharge unit when the cover member is rotated when the cover member is restricted by the restriction member is restricted by the restriction member. In this case, the cover member is configured to be larger than an angle formed by the sheet stacking portion when the cover member is rotated and a sheet discharge direction by the sheet discharge unit.

  Preferably, the restriction member is provided integrally with the cover member.

  In the above configuration, even when the cover member serving as the sheet stacking portion is opened to the maximum, the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge unit is restricted by the restricting member so that it can be stacked or guided. No troubles such as jams occur. Therefore, it is not necessary to temporarily stop the sensor and the paper discharge for detecting the pressure plate open state, and the cost of the image reading and recording apparatus having a configuration in which the sheet discharged from the recording unit is discharged and stacked on the upper surface of the pressure plate of the reading unit. Down and efficiency improvement can be realized.

  As described above, according to the present invention, in the image reading and recording apparatus having a configuration in which the sheet discharged from the recording unit is discharged and stacked on the upper surface of the pressure plate of the reading unit, the rotation angle of the cover member is set to the sheet discharge By providing a restricting member that restricts the sheet discharged from the means to a range where it can be guided and stacked, even when the sheet is discharged when the pressure plate is in an open state, the restricting member discharges the sheet from the sheet discharging means. Since the platen is restricted so that the pressure plate can be opened only to a range where the sheets can be stacked or guided, problems such as sheet non-feeding and jamming do not occur. Therefore, it is not necessary to temporarily stop the sensor and the paper discharge for detecting the pressure plate open state, and the cost of the image reading and recording apparatus having a configuration in which the sheet discharged from the recording unit is discharged and stacked on the upper surface of the pressure plate of the reading unit. Down and efficiency improvement can be realized.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of an image reading and recording apparatus that is the most characteristic feature of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

  First, the arrangement of each component of the image reading and recording apparatus according to the embodiment will be briefly described. 1 is an external perspective view of the image reading and recording apparatus, FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the image reading and recording apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of components of the image reading and recording apparatus.

  As shown in the figure, the image reading and recording apparatus includes a flatbed scanner type original reading unit A as an original reading unit, and an ink jet recording apparatus which is an image forming unit disposed on the upper side of the original of the original reading unit A. And a recording paper cassette (recording paper storage cassette) C constituting a pre-recording sheet stacking section that supports and stores the recording sheet 1 and can be pulled out to the front E of the apparatus. It has been.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the control board 41 is arranged below the original reading unit A on the right side of the recording paper cassette C, and the power source 42 is arranged on the left side of the recording paper cassette C.

  A discharge unit D, which is a sheet discharge unit having a discharge port 2 through which the recording sheet 1 recorded and printed by the recording unit B is discharged substantially horizontally, is a cover member that presses a document read by the document reading unit A. The pressure plate 3 is located on the upper side of the apparatus on the back side.

  Here, the pressure plate 3 has a function for covering the original to the original platen side, and on the surface (upper surface) opposite to the original pressing side, the recorded sheet discharged from the discharge port 2 is recorded. It also has a function as a recorded sheet stacking section (sheet discharge tray) for stacking. The pressure plate 3 as a document cover member is configured to be rotatable in the direction toward the back of the apparatus (the direction of the arrow K) with the pressure plate hinge 4 as a rotation center.

  In the recording section B, the recording cover 5 is configured to be rotatable about the upper cover 7 about the recording cover hinge 6 as a rotation center.

  An operation unit 51 includes a liquid crystal display unit, dial keys, and other operation keys as illustrated.

  Next, the reading unit A will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a top surface arrangement diagram of the reading part of the image reading and recording apparatus. Here, the longitudinal direction of the document reading section A and the moving direction F of the image sensor are arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the recording paper cassette C and the transporting direction G of the recording paper are orthogonal to each other.

  As shown in the drawing, in the reading section A, an image sensor 30 as a document reading means is attached to an image sensor holder 31, and the image sensor holder 31 is fixed to a guide rail 32, and a reading drive section (not shown). As the belt (not shown) is driven, the image sensor 30 is driven horizontally along the guide rail 32 in the left-right direction of the device indicated by the arrow F. A contact glass 33 serving as a document table is provided on the image sensor 30. The document surface is set downward on the document placement surface of the contact glass 33, and the document is scanned by reading and scanning in the direction of arrow F of the image sensor 30. Read image information.

  In this embodiment, the size of the document is, for example, A4 size, the image sensor has a longitudinal readable width of 210 mm, and a reading conveyance distance of 297 mm.

  The surface in contact with the contact glass 33 of the pressure plate 3 that can be rotated by the pressure plate hinge 4 is formed of a material such as sponge or urethane foam, and is configured to press the document uniformly against the contact glass 33. Further, the pressure plate hinge 4 is fitted in a hole of a reading unit cover (not shown) so as to be detachable in the vertical direction with respect to the document reading unit A.

  Next, an outline of the flow of the recording sheet 1 will be described. A series of recording paper transport paths is indicated by an arrow G.

  First, the recording paper cassette C will be described.

  As the recording sheet 1, it is possible to use plain paper, a plastic sheet or the like and other materials that can transfer ink. In this embodiment, plain paper cut to A4 size is used as the recording sheet 1. A plurality of recording sheets 1 are stacked and a limited number of recording sheets are stored and stacked on the cassette frame 21 by a recording sheet height regulating plate (not shown). The cassette frame 21 is configured so that the side surface of the recording sheet 1 can be guided by a slider (not shown) according to the size of the recording sheet 1.

  In FIG. 2, an intermediate plate 22 formed at the bottom of the recording sheet 1 is supported so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft (not shown), and the recording sheet 1 is moved to the separation roller 23 by an intermediate plate spring (not shown). Contact with. Further, the separation roller 23 is controlled to rotate once in the direction of the arrow shown by a drive system (not shown), and when the recording sheet 1 comes into contact with the separation roller 23, the urging force of the intermediate plate 22 is obtained, and the separation roller 23 and the separation pad Only one sheet is separated by 24 and conveyed to the recording section B by U-turn.

  Next, the recording unit B will be described.

  As a recording system of this apparatus, what is generally called an inkjet recording apparatus is adopted.

  In FIG. 2, a recording unit B is supplied from a recording paper cassette C in accordance with an image signal transmitted from a host device such as a personal computer, an image signal such as character data, or an image signal read by the reading unit A. An image is recorded on the recorded sheet 1.

  More specifically, the recording paper presser 10 is pressed toward the LF roller 11 and serves as an upper guide for the recording sheet 1 conveyed from the recording paper cassette C, with the pinch roller 10a facing the LF roller 11. Yes. Then, the recording sheet 1 is conveyed between the recording cartridge 12 and the platen plate 13, and the recording operation is performed by ejecting ink in the direction of gravity by the recording cartridge 12. In this embodiment, the recording cartridge 12 is detachably mounted on the carriage 12a by a motor and a drive system (not shown), and slides on the carriage shaft 14 so that the width direction of the recording sheet 1 (recording sheet conveyance direction). The printer is configured to perform serial printing while moving in the direction perpendicular to the head.

  Next, the recording sheet 1 after printing and recording is transported to a discharge section D positioned downstream of the recording cartridge 12, and a discharge roller 15a for transporting printed recording paper downstream of the apparatus, and a discharge roller. The recording sheet 1 is shown in the direction indicated by the arrow G so that the printing surface is not soiled by a spur roller 15b made of a material that is on the opposite side of the recording medium and does not transfer ink even if it contacts the printing surface of the recording paper. The paper is conveyed outside the apparatus and discharged straight onto the pressure plate 3 of the reading unit A which also serves as a recording paper discharge tray.

  Further, the recording cartridge 12 can be easily loaded or replaced by opening and closing the recording cover 5 by the operator because the recording cover 5 is provided above the recording unit. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the recording cover 5 can be opened and closed so as not to interfere with the pressure plate 3 and the reading unit A. And maintainability are improved. Furthermore, the replenishment of the recording sheet 1 can be easily performed by pulling out the recording cassette C in the front direction E of the apparatus as described above.

  As an example of an embodiment of the present invention, a flat bed scanner (original reading unit) A that reads an A4 size original is placed on a recording paper cassette C that can store 100 sheets of A4 size plain paper as recording sheets. If the ink jet recording unit B is arranged on the upper side, the size required for the operation range of the recording cartridge 12 of the ink jet recording unit B and the operation range of the image sensor 30 of the flat bed scanner are almost the same. As for the size of the apparatus, it is possible to achieve a size of about 370 mm in apparatus width, 350 mm in apparatus depth, and 180 mm in apparatus height. Therefore, the installation area is small, and even if the image reading and recording apparatus is installed on a personal desk, it does not get in the way and the operation while the operator is sitting is easy.

  Next, the discharge operation of the recorded sheet will be described with reference to FIG.

  If the pressure plate 3 is closed so as to face the contact glass 33, the sheet discharged by the discharge portion D is discharged and stacked on the pressure plate 3 as indicated by G.

  Next, the case where the pressure plate 3 is opened with the pressure plate hinge 4 as the rotation center during recording will be described.

  A pressure plate stopper 9 is provided near the pressure plate hinge 4 of the pressure plate 3.

  The pressure plate stopper 9 is a plurality of ribs molded integrally with the pressure plate 3, and forms a stopper surface 9a and a guide surface 9b.

  That is, when the pressure plate 3 is opened with the pressure plate hinge 4 as the center of rotation, the stopper surface 9a of the pressure plate stopper 9 abuts against the housing 34 of the scanner A and is restricted from further opening.

  The state of the pressure plate 3 at this time is indicated by 3 'of a two-dotted line in the figure.

  In this state, when the sheet is discharged from the sheet discharge portion D, the leading edge of the sheet is guided to the guide surface 9b of the pressure plate stopper 9, and the sheet is placed on the pressure plate 3 'as indicated by an arrow G'. Guided and loaded.

  That is, even if the pressure plate 3 is opened to the maximum, the pressure plate 3 does not open beyond the state 3 'due to the action of the stopper surface 9a of the pressure plate stopper 9, so that the sheet is discharged from the paper discharge section D during the recording operation. Even when the pressure plate 3 is opened, the sheet discharge is guided by the guide surface 9b of the pressure plate stopper 9 so that the sheet is not fed and jammed. Therefore, there is no need for a sensor for detecting the open state of the pressure plate and a temporary stop of paper discharge, thereby reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

  The angle of the pressure plate 3 ′ when restricted by the pressure plate stopper 9 is 55 degrees with respect to the contact glass 33 in view of operability when setting the document on the contact glass 33. If it is smaller than that, the setting property of the document is deteriorated, and if it is larger than that, the setting property of the document is improved, but there is a possibility that the sheet discharge of the stiff sheet may be hindered. Actually, there is no particular problem even if the angle is slightly around 55 degrees. Therefore, the range of 50 degrees to 60 degrees is effective.

  Further, when considering the angle of the pressure plate 3 ′ from the viewpoint of guiding and stacking the sheet on the pressure plate 3 ′ when the sheet is discharged from the sheet discharge portion D, it is 125 degrees with respect to the sheet discharge direction G. Is an appropriate angle. If it is smaller than this, in the case of a stiff sheet, it may hinder paper discharge and the recorded image may be disturbed. When the angle is larger than 125 degrees, the sheet discharge becomes good, but the angle of the pressure plate 3 'with respect to the contact glass 33 becomes relatively small, and the document setting property is deteriorated. Actually, there is no particular problem even if the angle is slightly around 125 degrees. Therefore, the range of 120 degrees to 130 degrees is effective.

  In the state of the pressure plate 3 ′, the angle of the guide surface 9 b of the pressure plate stopper 9 with respect to the sheet discharge direction G is configured to be larger than the angle of the pressure plate 3 ′ with respect to the sheet discharge direction G. The guide surface 9b is arranged so that the leading edge of the sheet discharged in the direction of arrow G hits the guide surface 9b. For this reason, the discharged sheet is first guided in the direction of the arrow G ′ after the leading edge of the sheet hits the guide surface 9 b, guided on the pressure plate 3 ′, and finally stacked on the pressure plate 3 ′. Thus, before the discharged sheet directly hits the pressure plate 3 ', the sheet is discharged more smoothly by hitting the guide surface 9b having a gentler angle than the pressure plate 3'.

  Further, since the pressure plate stopper 9 is molded integrally with the pressure plate 3, low cost is realized.

  In this embodiment, the pressure plate stopper 9 is provided with the stopper surface 9a and the guide surface 9b at the same time. However, even if the stopper surface 9a only and the guide surface 9b only are separately provided, the pressure plate 3 The low cost effect does not change.

1 is an external perspective view of an image reading and recording apparatus in an embodiment that best illustrates the present invention. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an image reading and recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of components of the image reading and recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a top view of a reading part component of the image reading and recording apparatus according to the present invention. It is a schematic structure sectional view of an image reading and recording apparatus showing a conventional example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording sheet 2 Outlet 3 Pressure plate 5 Recording cover 7 Upper cover 8 Operation part 9 Pressure plate stopper 10 Recording paper press 10a Pinch roller 11 LF roller 12 Recording cartridge 12a Carriage 13 Platen board 14 Carriage shaft 15a Paper discharge roller 15b Spur roller 21 Cassette Frame 22 Middle plate 23 Separation roller 23
24 Separation pad 30 Image sensor 31 Image sensor holder 31
32 Guide rail 33 Contact glass 41 Control board 42 Power source A Image reading unit B Recording unit C Cassette D Ejecting unit

Claims (7)

An original table on which an original is loaded;
An original reading means having an optical means for reading an original image while moving along the original table;
Sheet support means for supporting a sheet for recording an image;
An ink jet recording unit that is disposed on an upper side of the document reading unit and that records an image by ejecting ink onto a sheet supported by the sheet supporting unit;
A cover member provided so that the document table can be opened around one side as a pivot, and the document placed on the document table is pressed toward the document table;
Sheet discharge means for discharging the sheet on which the image is formed by the recording means to the upper side of the cover member;
In the configuration having a sheet stacking unit for stacking the sheets discharged from the sheet discharge unit on the surface opposite to the document pressing surface of the cover member,
An image reading and recording apparatus comprising: a restricting member that restricts a rotation angle of the cover member to a range in which sheets discharged from the sheet discharge unit can be stacked. An original table on which an original is loaded;
An original reading means having an optical means for reading an original image while moving along the original table;
Sheet support means for supporting a sheet for recording an image;
An ink jet recording unit that is disposed on an upper side of the document reading unit and that records an image by ejecting ink onto a sheet supported by the sheet supporting unit;
A cover member provided so that the document table can be opened around one side as a pivot, and the document placed on the document table is pressed toward the document table;
Sheet discharge means for discharging the sheet on which the image is formed by the recording means to the upper side of the cover member;
In the configuration having a sheet stacking unit for stacking the sheets discharged from the sheet discharge unit on the surface opposite to the document pressing surface of the cover member,
An image reading and recording apparatus, comprising: a regulating member that regulates a rotation angle of the cover member within a range in which the sheet discharged from the sheet discharging unit can be guided.   The image according to claim 1, wherein a rotation angle of the cover member when restricted by the restriction member is in a range of 50 to 60 degrees with respect to a state where the cover member is closed. Reading and recording device.   An angle formed by the sheet stacking portion when the cover member is rotated when being regulated by the regulating member and a sheet ejection direction by the sheet ejection unit is in a range of 120 to 130 degrees. The image reading and recording apparatus according to claim 1.   A guide portion having a guide surface for guiding the discharged sheet is provided integrally with the cover member in the vicinity of the sheet discharge means when the cover member is at a rotation angle restricted by the restriction member. The image reading and recording apparatus according to claim 1.   An angle formed by the guide surface of the guide portion when the cover member is rotated when regulated by the regulating member and the sheet ejection direction by the sheet ejection unit is regulated by the regulating member. 6. The image reading and recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image reading and recording apparatus is configured to be larger than an angle formed by the sheet stacking portion when the cover member is rotated and a sheet discharging direction by the sheet discharging unit.   The image reading and recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the restriction member is provided integrally with the cover member.

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