JP2006267620A - Image forming apparatus, drawer cartridge, roller unit, and recorded medium storing cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus, and so on which can smoothly draw out a belt from an aperture part while reducing the thickness of the belt in a direction rectangular to the drawing direction of the belt. <P>SOLUTION: When an opening/closing cover 2 is turned to an opened position and a drawer cartridge 7 is drawn out by grasping a knob part 100 of a roller unit 41, also a belt unit 40 mounted on the roller unit 41 is integrally drawn out. In this case, a belt rear end projection 43 of the belt unit 40 is detached from the surface of a depth side positioning rod 61, a leg part 44 is abutted on the bottom 47a of a pan part 47 and the lower surface part of a carrier belt 10 is prevented from colliding with the bottom 47a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a drawer cartridge, a roller unit, and a recording medium accommodating cartridge to which a conveying belt can be attached and detached.

Patent Document 1 below discloses an image forming apparatus capable of pulling out a belt stretched around a plurality of stretching shafts arranged in the horizontal direction along the horizontal direction from an opening formed on one side surface of the housing. It is disclosed.
JP 2003-107838 A

  By the way, in this type of image forming apparatus, there are provided transport rollers for transporting the paper stored in the cassette below the belt from the opening side onto the belt. From the viewpoint of transport accuracy, the transport roller is provided. It is desirable to place the class in the vicinity of the belt. In the thing of the said patent document 1, conveyance rollers are being fixed to the downward position of a belt. In such a configuration, since the conveying rollers are provided at a position off the belt drawing path, the belt can be smoothly drawn out along the horizontal direction. However, there is a problem that the thickness of the image forming apparatus in the vertical direction is increased. On the other hand, if the conveying rollers are simply provided between the opening and the belt, the conveying rollers become obstructive when the belt is pulled out, and the belt is taken out by a route avoiding these conveying rollers. There arises a problem that it becomes necessary to smoothly draw out.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and its object is to allow the belt to be smoothly pulled out from the opening while reducing the thickness in a direction perpendicular to the belt pulling direction. An image forming apparatus, a drawer cartridge, a roller unit, and a recording medium accommodating cartridge are provided.

As means for achieving the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 includes a housing having an opening on one side surface, and is stretched around a plurality of stretching shafts within the housing. A conveyance belt that conveys a recording medium disposed on the surface from a side near the opening to a side far from the opening, and the conveyance belt that is between the opening and the conveyance belt and viewed from the opening. A conveying roller that is provided at a position overlapping with the belt and conveys the recording medium to the conveying belt; and a drawer cartridge that can be pulled out integrally from the opening while holding the conveying belt and the conveying roller. Prepare.
In the present invention, the “recording medium” is not limited to a paper recording medium such as paper, but may be a plastic recording medium such as an OHP sheet.
The “image forming apparatus” is not limited to a printing apparatus such as a printer (for example, a laser printer), but may be a facsimile machine or a multifunction machine having a printer function and a scanner function. In addition, the development unit is not limited to a tandem type provided with an image carrier for each development unit, but a transfer body method, an intermediate transfer body method, and a single pass method in which each development unit performs development formation on a common image carrier. May be.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the drawer cartridge is pulled out from the opening along a horizontal direction.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the drawer cartridge includes a belt unit having the conveyance belt and a roller unit having the conveyance roller. Are separable from each other.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, a guide portion for guiding the roller unit to the opening side is formed inside the casing, and the roller unit is configured to be the guide portion. When the belt unit is pulled out while being guided by the roller unit, the belt unit is pulled out together with the roller unit while being locked to the roller unit.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third or fourth aspect, the roller unit has a tray portion that covers a lower side of the conveyor belt of the belt unit. .

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the belt unit is provided with a leg portion that comes into contact with the roller unit in a state where the conveyance belt and the tray portion are separated from each other. It is characterized by.

  A seventh aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the third to sixth aspects, wherein the belt unit and the roller unit are a common positioning member supported on the housing side in the housing. It is characterized by being positioned with respect to.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the seventh aspect, the positioning member includes an opening-side positioning member supported on the housing side in the vicinity of the opening, and a depth in the pull-out direction of the drawer cartridge. The belt unit and the roller unit are both positioned by the positioning members on the opening side and the back side.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the housing side has an advancing position fitted to the end portion of the transport roller and a shaft of the transport roller therefrom. A fitting portion provided so as to be able to advance and retreat between the retracted position retracted along the direction, and power is applied to the fitting portion in the state in the advanced position to rotate the conveying roller. Features.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the conveying rollers are a plurality of conveying rollers that perform different rotational operations, and the plurality of conveying rollers are provided corresponding to each of the conveying rollers. Further, it is characterized in that it is individually fitted to the fitting portion and receives power.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the ninth or tenth aspect, the transport belt is rotated by a gear mechanism provided on the rear side in the pulling direction from the fitting portion. And

  A twelfth aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, wherein the image forming apparatus is disposed at a position overlapping the conveying roller when viewed from the opening, and is supplied to the conveying belt. A recording medium storage cartridge for storing a recording medium is further provided, wherein the recording medium storage cartridge is engaged with the drawer cartridge and can be pulled out of the housing integrally with the drawer cartridge. To do.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the twelfth aspect, the recording medium accommodating cartridge has an engaging portion that engages with the pull-out cartridge, and the pull-out by the engagement of the engaging portion. It is positioned with respect to the cartridge.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the twelfth or thirteenth aspect, the engagement between the drawer cartridge and the recording medium accommodating cartridge is released when the recording medium accommodating cartridge is pulled out. The recording medium accommodating cartridge can be pulled out independently.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourteenth aspect, each of the drawer cartridge and the recording medium containing cartridge is provided with an individual handle.

  A drawer cartridge according to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention is a drawer cartridge provided so as to be drawable from an opening formed in a housing of the image forming apparatus. The drawer cartridge is stretched around a plurality of stretching shafts and is surrounded by the casing. A conveyance belt that conveys a recording medium disposed on the surface from a side near the opening to a side far from the opening, and the conveyance belt that is between the opening and the conveyance belt and viewed from the opening. A conveyance roller that is provided at a position overlapping with the belt and conveys the recording medium to the conveyance belt is held.

  According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the roller unit is provided so as to be able to be pulled out from an opening formed in the housing of the image forming apparatus, and is recorded on a conveying belt located on the inner side of the opening in the housing. A roller unit having a transport roller for transporting a medium, wherein the lock unit is configured to be locked to a belt unit including the transport belt and to be pulled out integrally with the belt unit when the medium is pulled out from the opening. It is characterized by having.

  The invention according to claim 18 is the roller unit according to claim 17, wherein the tray unit covers the lower side of the conveyor belt of the belt unit, and the support means that supports the conveyor belt by separating the conveyor belt from the tray unit. It is characterized by providing.

  According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium accommodating cartridge according to an image forming apparatus including a drawer cartridge that holds a conveyance roller and a conveyance belt so that the cartridge can be pulled out from an opening formed in a housing. A recording medium storage cartridge arranged at a position overlapping with the drawer cartridge, and has an engaging portion that engages with the drawer cartridge, and is positioned with respect to the drawer cartridge by the engagement of the engaging portion. At the same time, it can be pulled out from the housing integrally with the drawer cartridge.

<Invention of claims 1 and 16>
According to this configuration, the transport roller is disposed between the opening and the transport belt. In other words, the conveying roller is arranged on the conveying path of the conveying belt to the opening. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the image forming apparatus in a direction perpendicular to the pulling direction (for example, a direction perpendicular to the installation surface). In addition, since the transport roller is pulled out together with the transport belt by the pull-out cartridge, it does not interfere with the pull-out of the transport belt.

<Invention of Claim 2>
According to this configuration, since the drawer cartridge is pulled out from the opening portion along the horizontal direction, for example, the pulling out operation becomes easier as compared with a configuration where the drawer cartridge is pulled out along the vertical direction.

<Invention of Claim 3>
The conveyor belt may need to be replaced as a consumable item, and the conveyor roller may also need to be replaced, but these replacement timings rarely coincide. Therefore, the running cost can be reduced by exchanging only the units that need to be replaced with each other being separable as in this configuration.

<Invention of Claim 4>
According to this structure, a roller unit and a belt unit can be smoothly pulled out by a guide part.

<Invention of Claim 5>
According to this configuration, the lower surface side of the conveyor belt can be protected by the tray, and dust and the like attached to the conveyor belt can be prevented from falling and scattering.

<Invention of Claim 6>
According to this configuration, since the peripheral surface of the transport belt and the tray are separated by the legs, damage due to the collision of the transport belt with the tray can be prevented.

<Invention of Claim 7>
Since the conveyance roller plays a role of conveying the recording medium to the conveyance belt, high accuracy is required for positioning the conveyance roller and the conveyance belt. Therefore, in this configuration, by positioning both units with a common positioning member supported on the housing side, overlapping of tolerances between both units can be avoided and positioning with high accuracy is possible.

<Invention of Claim 8>
According to this configuration, the belt unit and the roller unit are both positioned by the positioning members on the opening side and the back side. For this reason, for example, positioning with higher accuracy can be realized as compared with the configuration in which positioning is performed by only one of the positioning members on the opening side and the back side.

<Invention of Claim 9>
For example, when the conveyance roller is configured to rotate by being connected to the housing-side gear, the housing-side gear becomes an obstacle when the drawer cartridge is pulled out. Further, when there are a plurality of conveying rollers, the gears interfere with each other. Therefore, in this configuration, the conveying roller is moved by the fitting portion provided so as to be able to advance and retreat between the advance position where it is fitted to the end portion of the conveying roller and the retracted position which is retreated along the axial direction of the conveying roller. A so-called coupling mechanism that rotates is adopted. Therefore, when the drawer cartridge is pulled out, the drawer cartridge can be smoothly pulled out by retracting the fitting portion to the retracted position.

<Invention of Claim 10>
For example, when a plurality of transport rollers are rotated by power from a common fitting portion, a complicated gear mechanism or the like is required on the drawer cartridge side. Therefore, in this configuration, each conveyance roller is rotated by power from an individual fitting portion. This simplifies the configuration on the drawer cartridge side.

<Invention of Claim 11>
In general, the gear mechanism can achieve high-accuracy driving than the coupling mechanism. Therefore, in this configuration, the transport belt is driven by a gear mechanism, and this gear mechanism is provided on the rear side in the pull-out direction from the coupling mechanism (fitting portion), thereby enabling the pull-out cartridge to be smoothly pulled out. .

<Invention of Claim 12>
In order to reduce the thickness of the image forming apparatus, it is desirable to arrange the recording medium containing cartridges at positions where they overlap in the pull-out direction of the transport roller. Therefore, in this configuration, on the premise of such a configuration, the recording medium housing cartridge can be pulled out together with the pull-out cartridge.

<Invention of Claim 13>
The positional relationship between the recording medium housing cartridge and the drawer cartridge, particularly the conveyance roller, is important. Therefore, in this configuration, the recording medium containing cartridge is positioned with respect to the drawer cartridge.

<Invention of Claim 14>
According to this configuration, for example, when the recording medium needs to be replenished, only the recording medium housing cartridge can be pulled out.

<Invention of Claim 15>
According to this configuration, the operation of pulling out the drawer cartridge and the recording medium housing cartridge and the operation of pulling out only the recording medium housing cartridge can be performed without making a mistake.

<Invention of Claim 17>
According to this configuration, by pulling out the roller unit, the belt unit that is locked to the roller unit can also be pulled out integrally.

<Invention of Claim 18>
According to this configuration, the lower surface side of the conveyor belt can be protected by the tray, and dust and the like attached to the conveyor belt can be prevented from falling and scattering. Moreover, it is possible to prevent damage caused by the collision of the conveyor belt with the tray.

<Invention of Claim 19>
According to this configuration, since the recording medium housing cartridge is positioned with respect to the drawer cartridge that holds the conveyance roller, the conveyance accuracy of the recording medium can be improved. Further, by pulling out the drawer cartridge, the recording medium accommodating cartridge can be pulled out integrally, and the workability is good.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

1. Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a printer 1 to which the present invention is applied.
In the figure, the printer 1 (corresponding to the “image forming apparatus” in the claims) is a so-called side-by-side arrangement in which four image forming units 20 to be described later are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction (the left-right direction in the figure). Type tandem color laser printer, which feeds recording paper 3 (corresponding to “recording medium” in claims) to a main body casing 5 (corresponding to “casing” in claims) A paper feeding unit 9 for forming the image, an image forming unit 4 for forming an image on the fed recording paper 3, and a paper discharge unit 6 for discharging the recording paper 3 on which the image is formed.

  The main body casing 5 has an opening 5a formed at a lower portion on one side surface, and a drawer cartridge 7 and a paper feed tray 12, which will be described later, can be drawn out from the opening 5a. In the following description, the surface of the printer 1 from which the drawer cartridge 7 and the like are pulled out (the surface on the right side of the paper in the figure) and the direction in which the surface is directed are “front” and “front”, and the opposite surface (the same figure). And the direction in which the surface faces is described as “rear surface” and “rear”. Further, the description will be made assuming that the right direction (the back direction in the drawing in FIG. 1) when viewing the printer 1 from the front side is “right side” and the left direction (the front side in FIG. 1) is “left side”.

(1) Paper Feed Unit The paper feed unit 9 is mounted at the bottom of the main casing 5 so that it can be pulled out from the front surface of the main casing 5 (corresponding to the “recording medium accommodating cartridge” in the claims). ) And a paper feed roller 13 (corresponding to “carrying roller” in the claims) provided above the front end of the paper feed tray 12. The sheet feeding roller 13 is provided so as to be movable up and down, and moves downward during sheet feeding operation to come into contact with the uppermost recording sheet 3 stacked in the sheet feeding tray 12 and rotate the recording sheet 3 to rotate. Send it forward.

  A separation roller 14 (corresponding to “carrying roller” in the claims) and a separation pad 16 pressed against the separation roller 14 by an urging spring 15 are provided substantially in front of the paper feed roller 13. The recording paper 3 sent by the paper 13 is separated one by one by the nip between the separation roller 14 and the separation pad 16. The paper feed roller 13 is gear-coupled to the separation roller 14 and rotates dependently on the rotation of the separation roller 14. The separation roller 14 is provided on the roller unit 41 side described later, and the urging spring 15 and the separation pad 16 are provided on the paper feed tray 12 side.

  In a diagonally upward direction on the front side of the separation roller 14 and the separation pad 16, a U-shape is formed so that the conveyance direction of the recording paper 3 separated by the separation roller 14 and the separation pad 16 is folded back from the front side to the rear side of the main body casing 5. A guide wall 17 curved in a shape is provided. A pair of opposed rollers 18 a and 18 b (corresponding to “carrying rollers” in the claims) are provided in the middle of the guide wall 17. In the present embodiment, a counter roller 18a on the front surface side of the main casing 5 is provided on the paper feed tray 12, and a counter roller 18b located behind the counter roller 18a is provided on the drawer cartridge 7 side.

  Near the exit of the guide wall 17, a registration roller 19 (corresponding to “carrying roller” in the claims) including a driving roller 19 a and a driven roller 19 b is provided. The registration roller 19 sandwiches the recording paper 3 sent from the opposing rollers 18a and 18b between the driving roller 19a and the driven roller 19b, and sends the recording paper 3 onto a conveying belt 10 described later after a predetermined registration.

(2) Image Forming Unit The image forming unit 4 transfers, for example, four image forming units 20 that form an image and an image formed by each image forming unit 20 to the recording paper 3 in an intermediate portion in the main body casing 5. And a fixing unit 8 that heats and presses the image transferred onto the recording paper 3 and fixes the image onto the recording paper 3.

(A) Image Forming Unit Each image forming unit 20 includes a photosensitive drum 16, a charger (not shown) for charging the photosensitive drum 16 around the photosensitive drum 16, and an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 16. And a developing cartridge 23 for forming a toner image (developer image) by attaching toner (developer) to the photosensitive drum 16.

  The charger is, for example, a scorotron charger for positive charging that generates corona discharge from a charging wire made of tungsten or the like and uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 16 to have a positive polarity.

  The scanner unit 22 includes a laser light emitting unit (not shown) that generates laser light for forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 16, lenses 24 and 24, and a reflection plate 25. In the scanner unit 22, laser light emitted from the laser light emitting unit is scanned and irradiated on the photosensitive drum 16 to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 16.

  The developing cartridge 23 includes a developer hopper 26, a supply roller 27, and a developing roller 28 in a developing casing. The developer hopper 26 is formed as an internal space of the developing casing. The developer hopper 26 stores, for example, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) developers for each image forming unit 20.

  The supply roller 27 is disposed below the developer hopper 26, and a metal roller shaft is covered with a roller portion made of a conductive sponge member. The supply roller 27 is rotatably supported so as to rotate in the opposite direction to the developing roller 28 at a nip portion facing and contacting the developing roller 28.

  The developing roller 28 is rotatably disposed at a position opposite to and in contact with the supply roller 27 on the obliquely lower rear side of the supply roller 27. The developing roller 28 is formed by covering a metal roller shaft with a roller portion made of an elastic member such as a conductive rubber material.

(B) Transfer Part The transfer part 21 is provided inside the main casing 5 so as to face the photosensitive drum 16 on the opposite side (lower side) of the developing cartridge 23. The transfer unit 21 includes a transport belt driving roller 29 and a transport belt driven roller 30 (both corresponding to the “stretching shaft” in the claims), a transport belt 10 that is an endless belt (endless belt), and a transfer roller 31. And.

  The conveyor belt driven roller 30 is disposed in the vicinity of the exit of the guide wall 17 on the front side of the main casing 5. Further, the conveyance belt driving roller 29 is disposed on the rear side of the rearmost image forming unit 20 on the rear side of the main body casing 5 and in front of the fixing device 8.

  The conveyor belt 10 is wound around the conveyor belt driving roller 29 and the conveyor belt driven roller 30. The conveyor belt 10 is disposed such that the outer surface around which it is wound is in contact with all the photosensitive drums 16 of the image forming units 20. Then, the conveyance belt driven roller 30 is driven by the driving of the conveyance belt driving roller 29, and the conveyance belt 10 passes between the conveyance belt driving roller 29 and the conveyance belt driven roller 30 and the photosensitive drum 16 of each image forming unit 20. 1 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 (in the direction of the white arrow in FIG. 1) so as to rotate in the same direction as the photosensitive drum 16 on the contact surface facing and opposite. In this way, the conveying belt 10 allows the recording paper 3 sent by the registration rollers 19 to be fed from the front side to the rear side of the main casing 5 (corresponding to “a side far from the side close to the opening” in the claims). Transport to.

  Further, the transfer roller 31 is disposed inside the wound conveyance belt 10 so as to face the photosensitive drum 16 of each image forming unit 20 with the conveyance belt 10 interposed therebetween. The transfer roller 31 is formed by covering a metal roller shaft with a roller portion made of an elastic member such as a conductive rubber material.

  The transfer roller 31 is provided so as to be able to rotate counterclockwise so that the transfer roller 31 rotates in the same direction as the circumferential movement direction of the conveyor belt 10 on the contact surface facing the conveyor belt 10. A predetermined voltage is applied from the power source in the direction in which the developer image carried on the photosensitive drum 16 is transferred (transferred) to the recording paper 3, and is controlled between the transfer roller 31 and the photosensitive drum 16 by constant current control. Appropriate transfer bias is applied.

(C) Fixing Device Further, the fixing device 8 is disposed behind the image forming unit 20 and the transfer unit 21 and on the downstream side in the transport direction (the left side in the drawing). The fixing device 8 includes a heating roller 32 and a pressing roller 33. The heating roller 32 is made of a metal base tube having a release layer formed on the surface thereof, and a halogen lamp is provided along the axial direction thereof. Then, the surface of the heating roller 32 is heated to the fixing temperature by the halogen lamp. The pressing roller 33 is disposed so as to press the heating roller 32.

(3) Discharge Unit The sheet discharge unit 6 is disposed on the rear surface side upper portion in the main body casing 5 on the downstream side in the transport direction of the fixing device 8. The paper discharge unit 6 is provided with a pair of paper discharge rollers 35 for feeding the recording paper 3 on which image fixing has been completed, and a downstream side in the transport direction of the paper discharge rollers 35. A paper discharge tray 34 for storing the paper 3 is provided.

2. Detailed Configuration of Drawer Cartridge, Paper Feed Tray, and Main Body Casing (1) Drawer Cartridge The drawer cartridge 7 includes a belt unit 40 including the conveyor belt 10, the paper feed roller 13, the separation roller 14, the opposing roller 18b, and the registration roller 19. It is comprised from the roller unit 41 provided with. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part showing a state in which the paper feed tray 12, the roller unit 41, and the belt unit 40 are pulled out from the opening 5a of the main casing 5 and separated from each other.

(A) Belt Unit As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer portion 21 is accommodated in a belt frame 42. Specifically, the belt frame 42 has, for example, a rectangular frame shape, supports the conveyance belt driving roller 29 and the conveyance belt driven roller 30 at the front and rear ends, and the upper and lower peripheral surfaces of the conveyance belt 10 at the upper and lower openings. It is the structure which exposed. In the present embodiment, the upper surface side of the transport belt 10 against which the transfer roller 31 is pressed protrudes slightly from the belt frame 42.

  In addition, a pair of belt rear end protrusions 43 projecting downward at the left and right ends (in the depth direction of the drawing in the figure) of the rear end portion of the belt frame 42 where the conveying belt drive roller 29 is disposed. , 43 (only the left one is shown in the figure). Also, in front of the belt rear end protrusion 43, as shown in FIG. 1, a pair of leg portions 44, 44 (corresponding to “supporting means” in the claims) is also provided at the left and right end portions. Only the one shown in FIG.

  Further, a pair of belt front end recesses sandwiched between two convex portions spaced apart in the front-rear direction at the left and right end portions of the belt frame 42 on the lower surface of the front end portion where the conveying belt driven roller 30 is disposed. 45 and 45 (shown only on the left side in the figure) are projected.

(B) Roller unit The roller unit 41 includes a roller block 46 that rotatably supports the paper feed roller 13, the separation roller 14, the opposing roller 18b, and the registration roller 19 and has the guide wall 17 formed thereon, and its roller. A receiving tray portion 47 extending rearward from the lower rear surface of the block portion 46 is integrally formed.

  The saucer portion 47 has a flat box shape with an open upper surface, and is large enough to accommodate the belt unit 40. Further, a pair of through holes 48 and 48 (only the left side is shown in the figure) through which the belt rear end protrusions 43 of the accommodated belt unit 40 are respectively inserted are provided on the rear end side of the bottom surface 47a of the tray portion 47. Is formed. In addition, an opening side positioning rod 49 (corresponding to an “opening side positioning member” in the claims) penetrating the left and right walls of the saucer portion 47 is floated on the front end side of the bottom surface 47a of the saucer portion 47 from the bottom surface 47a. Is provided.

  The belt unit 40 receives the belt rear end protrusions 43 through the through holes 48 of the tray portion 47, and makes the belt front end recesses 45 abut on the opening-side positioning rods 49. Housed inside. At this time, before the mounting to the main casing 5, the leg portion 44 abuts on the bottom surface 47 a of the tray portion 47 to protect the lower surface portion of the conveyor belt 10 from contacting the bottom surface 47 a (see FIG. 9). ).

  Further, a pair of back side engaging portions 50 and 50 (only the left side is shown in the figure) are provided on the bottom surface of the tray portion 47 so as to protrude from the left and right end portions thereof. Yes. On the other hand, an opening is formed in the lower part of the roller block 46 on the front surface 46a side so that the counter roller 18a provided on the paper feed tray 12 side can enter, and the left and right walls 51 are cut from the front surface 46a. A pair of inserted opening side engaging portions 52, 52 (only the right side is shown in the figure) is formed. The opening side engaging portion 52 has a larger diameter by digging down on the back side than the opening side. When the paper feed tray 12 is completely mounted on the drawer cartridge 7 (the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 9), the opening side engaging protrusion 54 is positioned and positioned at the large diameter portion of the engaging portion 52. become. The front surface 46a has an opening formed with a handle 100 into which an operator's fingertip can be inserted from the front.

(2) Paper Feed Tray The paper feed tray 12 is provided with the counter roller 18a rotatably at the upper part of the front wall 12a, and includes the urging spring 15 and the separation pad 16 obliquely downward on the rear side. On the outer surfaces of the rear end portions of the left and right walls of the paper feed tray 12, rear side engagement protrusions 53 and 53 (on the left side in FIG. Only shown). In addition, on the upper left and right side surfaces of the front wall 12a of the paper feed tray 12, opening-side engaging protrusions 54 and 54 (in the right side of FIG. Only the ones shown) are projected. The front wall 12a is formed with a handle 101 into which an operator's fingertip can be inserted from the front.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main casing 5, the paper feed tray 12, and the drawer cartridge 7 as viewed from the front in the XX fracture cross section of FIG. As shown in the figure, the sheet feeding tray 12 has ribs 12b extending along the front-rear direction on the left and right outer surfaces thereof. In contrast, hanging walls 41a and 41a (not shown in FIG. 3) are provided below the roller unit 41 so as to sandwich the paper feed tray 12 from the left and right directions. Are formed with guide recesses 41b, 41b extending along the front-rear direction.

  The paper feed tray 12 is guided rearwardly by the rib 12b and the guide recess 41b, and finally, the back side engaging projection 53 and the opening side engaging projection 54 of the paper feed tray 12 are respectively connected to the back side of the roller unit 41. The side engaging portion 50 and the opening side engaging portion 52 are engaged. As a result, the paper feed tray 12 is supported with respect to the roller unit 41 while being positioned rearward and in the vertical direction (see FIGS. 1 and 3).

(3) Configuration of Main Body Casing Side A pair of guide grooves extending rearward from the opening 5a are formed on the left and right walls of the storage space 5b in the main body casing 5 in which the drawer cartridge 7 and the paper feed tray 12 are stored. 60 and 60 (corresponding to “guidance part” in claims) are provided. The rear end of the guide groove 60 is dug down and has a large diameter. Then, in the state where the drawer cartridge 7 is completely attached to the main body casing 5 (the state shown in FIG. 1), the end of the opening side positioning rod 49 is positioned and positioned at the large diameter portion of the guide groove 60. Become. Further, on the back side of the storage space 5b, a back side positioning rod 61 (corresponding to the “back side positioning member” in the claims) provided between the left and right walls is provided.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, ribs 5c and 5c extending in the rearward direction from the opening 5a (not shown in FIG. 3 are omitted) at the lower ends of the inner surfaces of the left and right walls (the left and right walls in the figure) of the storage space 5b. ) Is provided. The roller unit 41 guides both end portions 49a, 49a of the opening side positioning rod 49 protruding from the left and right outer surfaces of the tray portion 47 on the main body casing 5 side while the lower surface of each hanging wall 41a is placed on each rib 5c. Each of the grooves 60 and 60 is inserted into the opening 5a.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, with respect to the distance L1 from the bottom surface of the guide groove 60 to the top surface of the rib 5c, the distance L2 from the bottom surface of the guide groove 60 to the opposing surface of the hanging wall 41a facing the rib 5c. The dimension is adjusted to shorten the length. Accordingly, the size of the roller unit 41 is adjusted so that the hanging wall 41a is lifted from the rib 5c on the front end side where the opening side positioning rod 49 is provided (see A in FIG. 3). That is, the front end side of the roller unit 41 is supported with respect to the main body casing 5 only by the opening side positioning rod 49. As shown in FIG. 1, this is a state where the roller unit 41 is located at the storage completion position in the storage space 5b, that is, each end portion 49a of the opening side positioning rod 49 is each guide groove 60 on the main body casing 5 side. The same applies to the state where the large diameter portion at the rearmost end of the lens is reached.

3. Mechanism for Rotating Rollers (1) Coupling Mechanism FIGS. 4 to 6 are upper cross-sectional views schematically showing the drawer cartridge 7 and the main body casing 5. In these drawings, the right side of the drawing is the front side of the printer 1.
As shown in FIG. 4, a coupling mechanism storage chamber 70 is disposed on the right wall (the upper wall in the figure) of the storage space 5b of the main casing 5 at a position near the opening 5a. Three coupling mechanisms 71 are provided. Each coupling mechanism 71 is between a retracted position (see FIGS. 4 and 5) retracted into the coupling mechanism storage chamber 70 by a moving mechanism described later and an advanced position (see FIG. 6) protruding into the storage space 5b. It is possible to advance and retreat.

  In addition, each coupling mechanism 71 includes a cylindrical fitting member 73 having a distal-end tapered fitting portion 72 directed into the storage space 5b, and a protruding portion inserted into the proximal end surface insertion port of the fitting member 73. The disk member 74 which has 74a, and the biasing spring (not shown) which inserts the said protrusion part 74a and biases the fitting member 73 toward the storage space 5b are provided. Each fitting member 73 has a large-diameter portion 73a in which the base end side peripheral edge portion has a large diameter. Each coupling mechanism 71 receives a driving force from a driving motor (not shown) on the main body casing 5 side so that the fitting member 73 rotates.

  On the other hand, on the drawer cartridge 7 side, a fitted member 76 is attached to the right end portion of the rotation shaft 75 of the drive roller 19a of the registration roller 19. The fitted member 76 is fitted with the fitting portion 72 of the registration roller coupling mechanism 71a (the leftmost one in FIG. 4), and the fitting roller 73 is rotated so that the drive roller 19a is rotated. It is designed to rotate. A fitted member 76 is also attached to the right end portion of the rotation shaft 77 of the separation roller 14. The fitted member 76 is fitted to the fitting portion 72 of the separation roller coupling mechanism 71b (in the center in FIG. 4), and the separation roller 14 is rotated by the rotation of the fitting member 73. It is like that. Further, a fitted member 76 is also attached to the right end portion of the rotation shaft 78 of the opposing roller 18a. The fitted member 76 is fitted to the fitting portion 72 of the coupling mechanism 71c for the opposing roller (the rightmost one in FIG. 4), and the counter roller 18a is rotated by rotating the fitting member 73. It is designed to rotate.

Next, a moving mechanism for advancing and retracting each coupling mechanism 71 will be described with reference to FIGS. Each figure (A) is a sectional side view of the front end side of the printer 1, and (B) is a view of the coupling mechanism portion as viewed from the rear.
As shown by dotted lines in FIGS. 7A and 8A, the main casing 3 is provided with a moving member 81 in which three through grooves 80 extending in the vertical direction are formed so as to be movable up and down. Each through groove 80 is designed to have a width that allows insertion of a portion other than the large-diameter portion 73a of the fitting member 73, as shown in FIG. Among these, the through groove 80c provided on the opening 5a side of the main body casing 5 is inserted through the fitting member 73 of the counter roller coupling mechanism 71c, and the rear through groove 80b is a coupling mechanism for the separation roller. The fitting member 73 of 71b is inserted, and further, the fitting member 73 of the coupling mechanism 71a for the registration roller is inserted into the through groove 80a behind the fitting member 73.

  Further, both front and rear peripheral edges of each through groove 80 are tapered surfaces 82 projecting toward the coupling mechanism storage chamber 70 (left side in the drawing) as it goes downward. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, when the moving member 81 is at the lowest point, each fitting member 73 moves to the advanced position where the fitting member 73 is fitted to the fitted member 76 by the biasing force of the biasing spring. (See FIG. 7B). In contrast, when the moving member 81 is lifted upward, the fitting member 73 is retracted to the retracted position against the biasing force of the biasing spring with the large-diameter portion 73a guided by the tapered surface 82. (See FIG. 8B).

  An L-shaped locking arm 82 projects from the upper end of the moving member 81. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the front surface of the main body casing 5 covers a front surface 46a of the roller block portion 46 exposed in the opening 5a and exposes the front end wall 12a of the paper feed tray 12 (in the same figure). The open / close cover 2 is provided so as to be slidable between the open position (shown by a two-dot chain line in the figure) moved upward and exposed to the front surface 46a of the roller block portion 46. ing. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, on the rear surface of the opening / closing cover 2, the opening / closing cover 2 comes into contact with the locking arm 82 from below in the process of moving from the closed position to the open position, and pushes it upward. 2a protrudes.

(2) Belt drive mechanism As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the right side wall of the storage space 5 b of the main body casing 5 is located on the main body casing 5 side on the back side (the left side of the drawing in the drawing) from the coupling mechanism storage chamber 70. An output gear 90 that rotates in response to a driving force from the driving motor is provided. On the other hand, an input gear 92 is mounted on the right end portion of the roller shaft 91 of the conveyor belt driving roller 29 to engage the output gear 90 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) and receive the driving force to rotate the conveyor belt driving roller 29. Has been.

4). Effects of this embodiment (1) Storage state of drawer cartridge and paper feed tray (a) First, as shown in FIG. 1, the drawer cartridge 7 and paper feed tray 12 are stored in the storage space 5b, and When the open / close cover 2 is in the closed position, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the fitting member 73 of each coupling mechanism 71 is in the advanced position and is fitted to each fitted member 76. Then, the fitting member 73 of each coupling mechanism 71 is rotated at different rotational speeds and operation timings by a driving gear mechanism (not shown) that is driven by receiving a driving force from a driving motor. Each of the roller 14 and the registration roller 19 is caused to perform a predetermined rotation operation.

  Here, in this embodiment, the opposing roller 18b, the separation roller 14, and the registration roller 19 are configured to rotate by receiving driving force from the fitting members 73 of the individual coupling mechanisms 71a to 71c. Therefore, the drive gear mechanism for driving the coupling mechanisms 71a to 71c at the above-described different rotational speeds and the like can be provided on the main body casing 5 side without being provided on the drawer cartridge 7 side.

  (B) On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the input gear 92 attached to the conveyor belt drive roller 29 meshes with the output gear 90 on the main body casing 5 side. Accordingly, the conveying belt 10 is rotated by receiving the driving force from the output gear 90. Here, the input gear 92 is located on the front side of the output gear 90, and the output gear 90 and the input gear 92 are disposed on the back side of the storage space 5 b with respect to the coupling mechanism 71. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the drawer cartridge 7 is pulled out, each coupling mechanism 71 is retracted to the retracted position, so that contact between the input gear 92 and the coupling mechanism 71 can be avoided. With such a configuration, a gear mechanism using the output gear 90 and the input gear 92 can be employed instead of the coupling mechanism for the rotation of the transport belt 10 that requires particularly high transport accuracy.

  (C) Further, in this stored state, as shown in FIG. 1, both end portions of the opening side positioning rod 49 of the roller unit 41 are in contact with the lower surface of the innermost end portion of each guide groove 60. As described above, on the front end side of the roller unit 41, the roller unit 41 is supported by the main body casing 5 only by the opening side positioning rod 49. Further, the belt front end recess 45 of the belt unit 40 is in contact with the opening side positioning rod 49 from above. That is, the roller unit 41 and the belt unit 40 are positioned on the basis of the opening side positioning rod 49 supported on the main body casing 5 on the front end side (opening 5a side).

On the other hand, the lower surface of the rear end portion of the roller unit 41 is in contact with the rear positioning rod 61, and the belt rear end protrusion 43 of the belt unit 40 is also in contact. At this time, the leg portion 44 is lifted from the bottom surface 47 a of the tray portion 47 by the contact between the rear positioning rod 61 and the belt rear end protrusion 43. That is, the roller unit 41 and the belt unit 40 are positioned with respect to the rear side positioning rod 61 whose rear end side (the back side of the storage space 5b) is supported by the main body casing 5. Accordingly, since the recording paper 3 is transported to the transport belt 10, it is possible to obtain high accuracy in positioning the transport rollers 13, 14, 18, 19 and the transport belt 10.
In this way, the positioning of the transport belt 10 with respect to the main body casing 5 and the positioning of the roller unit 41 with respect to the main body casing 5 are performed using the opening side positioning rod 49 and the rear side positioning rod 61 as a reference. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the mutual positional relationship between the two in comparison with the configuration in which the positioning of the conveying belt 10 and the positioning of the roller unit 41 are performed based on different references. Furthermore, since the opening side positioning rod 49 and the back side positioning rod 61 are both directly supported by the main body casing 5 and no other members are interposed between the conveying belt 10 and the roller unit 41, the tolerance overlap. , And high positioning with respect to the main casing 5 can be performed.

  (D) Further, the paper feed tray 12 includes a back side engaging projection 53 and an opening side engaging projection 54 of the paper feed tray 12, a back side engaging portion 50 and an opening side engaging portion 52 of the roller unit 41, and the like. Due to the engagement, it is positioned with respect to the roller unit 41 rather than the main casing 2. Therefore, the conveyance accuracy between the sheet feeding tray 12 and the conveyance rollers of the roller unit 41 can be increased.

  (E) As shown in FIG. 1, the roller block portion 46 having the conveying rollers 13, 14, 18, 19 is entirely between the opening 5a and the conveying belt 10 and when viewed from the opening 5a. Alternatively, a part of the conveyor belt 10 is disposed at a position overlapping the conveyor belt 10. Further, the upper portion of the front wall 12a of the paper feed tray 12 is disposed between the opening 5a and the roller block 46 and at a position that partially overlaps the roller block 46 as viewed from the opening 5a. . As described above, in this embodiment, the transport belt 10, the roller block unit 46, and the paper feed tray 12 are arranged so as to partially overlap each other when viewed from the opening 5a side. (Height) is made smaller. However, even if comprised in this way, the conveyance belt 10 can be smoothly pulled out from the main body casing 5, as described below.

(2) When pulling out the drawer cartridge (a) When pulling out the drawer cartridge 7 from the state shown in FIG. 1, first, the open / close cover 2 is raised to the open position. Then, the moving member 81 is pushed upward, and the fitting member 73 of each coupling mechanism 71 is retracted from the advanced position to the retracted position and separated from each fitted member 76 (see FIGS. 5 and 8). That is, each fitting member 73 is retracted into the coupling mechanism storage chamber 70 that does not interfere with the drawing path of the drawing cartridge 7 and the input gear 92.

  Next, when the handle unit 100 of the roller unit 41 is gripped and pulled out, as shown in FIG. 9, the belt unit 40 placed on the roller unit 41 is also pulled out integrally. At this time, the belt rear end protrusion 43 of the belt unit 40 is disengaged from the rear positioning rod 61, the leg portion 44 comes into contact with the bottom surface 47a of the tray portion 47, and the lower surface portion of the conveyor belt 10 is on the bottom surface 47a. Collisions are prevented.

  Further, due to the engagement of the back side engaging protrusion 53 and the opening side engaging protrusion 54 of the paper feed tray 12 with the back side engaging part 50 and the opening side engaging part 52 of the roller unit 41, the paper feed tray 12 is also configured. The roller unit 41 is pulled out integrally.

  (B) Since the belt unit 40 can be separated from the roller unit 41 after the drawer cartridge 7 is pulled out, as shown in FIG. 10, for example, when the conveyor belt 10 deteriorates, the belt unit 40 or Only the conveyor belt 10 can be replaced.

  (C) In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the belt unit 40 is configured to move rearward as a whole so that the conveyor belt 10 is lower in the conveyor belt drive roller 29 than in the conveyor belt driven roller 30. It is placed on the roller unit 41 in an inclined state. On the other hand, the image forming units 20 are also arranged along the inclination direction corresponding to the inclination angle of the conveyance belt 10. Therefore, when the drawer cartridge 7 is pulled out, the conveyor belt 10 and the respective photosensitive drums 16 can be collectively separated without being brought into sliding contact with each other.

(3) When pulling out the paper feed tray For example, in the replenishment operation of the recording paper 3, only the paper feed tray 12 needs to be pulled out. In the present embodiment, if the handle 101 of the paper feed tray 12 is gripped and pulled out with the open / close cover 2 in the closed position, as shown in FIG. The engagement between the side engagement protrusion 54 and the back side engagement portion 50 and the opening side engagement portion 52 of the roller unit 41 is released, and only the paper feed tray 12 can be pulled out.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
(1) In the above embodiment, the drawer cartridge 7 or the like is drawn out in the horizontal direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to a configuration in which the drawer cartridge 7 and the like are drawn out in the inclination direction and the vertical direction. Is possible. However, the configuration of pulling out in the horizontal direction as in the above embodiment has the advantage that the pulling out operation is generally easier.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the leg portion 44 as the support means is provided on the belt unit 40 side. However, the leg portion 44 may be provided on the tray portion 47 side.

  (3) In the present embodiment, the drawer cartridge 7 can be detached from the main body casing 5 and the paper feed tray 12 can be detached from the drawer cartridge 7. Good.

  (4) In the above embodiment, almost all of the transport rollers 13, 14, 18, 19 are arranged at positions where they overlap with the transport belt 10 when viewed from the opening 5a. Even in a configuration in which a part of the conveyance rollers of the conveyance rollers are arranged to overlap, the printer 1 can be downsized in the vertical direction.

Sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the printer which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. Cross-sectional view of relevant parts showing a state in which the paper feed tray, roller unit, and belt unit are pulled out and separated from each other. Sectional drawing of a main body casing, a paper feed tray, and a drawer cartridge in the XX fracture surface of FIG. Upper sectional view schematically showing the drawer cartridge and the main body casing (No. 1) Upper sectional view schematically showing the drawer cartridge and the main casing (part 2) Upper sectional view schematically showing the drawer cartridge and the main casing (part 3) Diagram showing coupling mechanism and moving mechanism (advance position) Diagram showing coupling mechanism and moving mechanism (retracted position) Cross section of the main part of the printer showing the drawer cartridge pulled out Side sectional view showing a state in which the belt unit and the roller unit are separated. Cross-sectional view of the main part of the printer showing the paper tray pulled out

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Printer (image forming apparatus)
3. Recording paper (recording medium)
5. Body casing (casing)
5a ... Opening 7 ... Drawer cartridge 10 ... Conveying belt 12 ... Paper feed tray (recording medium accommodating cartridge)
13: Paper feed roller (conveyance roller)
14 ... Separation roller (conveyance roller)
18a, 18b ... opposing rollers (conveyance rollers)
19: Registration roller (conveyance roller)
29 ... Conveyor belt drive roller (stretching shaft)
30 ... Conveyor belt driven roller (stretching shaft)
40 ... belt unit 41 ... roller unit 44 ... leg (supporting means)
47 ... tray part 49 ... opening side positioning rod (opening side positioning member)
50 ... engaging portion 60 ... guide groove (guide portion)
61 ... Back positioning rod (back positioning member)
100, 101 ... handle part

Claims (19)

A housing having an opening on one side;
In the housing, a conveyor belt that is stretched around a plurality of tension shafts and that transports a recording medium disposed on the peripheral surface from a side closer to the opening to a side farther from the opening,
A conveyance roller that is provided between the opening and the conveyance belt and overlaps the conveyance belt when viewed from the opening, and conveys a recording medium to the conveyance belt;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a drawer cartridge that can be integrally pulled out from the opening while holding the conveyance belt and the conveyance roller. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drawer cartridge is pulled out from the opening along a horizontal direction. 3. The image according to claim 1, wherein the drawer cartridge includes a belt unit having the transport belt and a roller unit having the transport roller, and these units are separable from each other. Forming equipment. A guide portion for guiding the roller unit to the opening side is formed inside the housing,
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the roller unit is pulled out while being guided by the guide portion, the belt unit is pulled out together with the roller unit while being locked to the roller unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the roller unit includes a tray portion that covers a lower side of the conveyor belt of the belt unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the belt unit is provided with a leg portion that comes into contact with the roller unit in a state where the conveyance belt and the tray portion are separated from each other. The image according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the belt unit and the roller unit are positioned with respect to a common positioning member supported on the casing side in the casing. Forming equipment. The positioning member includes an opening side positioning member supported on the housing side in the vicinity of the opening, and a back side positioning member supported on the housing side on the back side in the pulling-out direction of the drawer cartridge,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein both the belt unit and the roller unit are positioned by both positioning members on the opening side and the back side. The housing side is provided with a fitting portion provided so as to be able to advance and retreat between an advancing position fitted to the end portion of the conveyance roller and a retreat position retracted along the axial direction of the conveyance roller from there. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein power is applied to the fitting portion in a state where the transfer roller is in the advanced position to rotate the transport roller. The conveying rollers are a plurality of conveying rollers that rotate differently from each other, and the plurality of conveying rollers are individually fitted to the fitting portions provided in correspondence with each other to receive power. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the transport belt is rotated by a gear mechanism provided on the rear side in the pulling direction from the fitting portion. A recording medium storage cartridge that is disposed at a position overlapping the transport roller when viewed from the opening side and stores a recording medium supplied to the transport belt;
12. The image according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium housing cartridge is engaged with the drawer cartridge and can be pulled out of the housing integrally with the drawer cartridge. Forming equipment. The recording medium housing cartridge has an engaging portion that engages with the drawer cartridge, and is positioned relative to the drawer cartridge by the engagement of the engaging portion. Image forming apparatus. The engagement between the drawer cartridge and the recording medium accommodating cartridge is released when the recording medium accommodating cartridge is pulled out, and the recording medium accommodating cartridge can be independently pulled out. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12 or 13. 15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, wherein each of the drawer cartridge and the recording medium storage cartridge is provided with an individual handle. A drawer cartridge provided to be drawable from an opening formed in a housing of the image forming apparatus,
A conveying belt that is stretched by a plurality of stretching shafts and that conveys a recording medium disposed on a peripheral surface in the casing from a side closer to the opening to a side farther from the opening;
A conveyance roller that is provided between the opening and the conveyance belt and overlaps the conveyance belt when viewed from the opening, and conveys a recording medium to the conveyance belt is held. A drawer cartridge characterized by that. A roller unit that is provided so as to be able to be pulled out from an opening formed in the housing of the image forming apparatus and has a transport roller that transports a recording medium to a transport belt located on the back side of the opening in the housing. There,
A roller unit, comprising: a locking unit that is locked to a belt unit including the transport belt and can be pulled out integrally with the belt unit when being pulled out from the opening. A tray part covering the lower side of the conveyor belt of the belt unit;
The roller unit according to claim 17, further comprising: a support unit that supports the transport belt by separating the transport belt from the tray unit. In an image forming apparatus provided with a drawer cartridge that holds a conveyance roller and a conveyance belt so as to be able to be pulled out from an opening formed in a housing, a recording medium accommodated in a position overlapping with the drawer cartridge when viewed from the opening A cartridge,
It has an engaging portion that engages with the drawer cartridge, is positioned with respect to the drawer cartridge by the engagement of the engaging portion, and can be pulled out from the housing integrally with the drawer cartridge. A recording medium containing cartridge as a feature.

Images