JP2007006224A - Image reading and recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a mechanism for switching the drive of recording paper feeding and original feeding in a system having two sheet loading units in which these two sheets are separated for feeding by a common paper feeding separation mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: The mechanism has a driving motor which is a driving source, one paper feeding means for feeding a first sheet and a second sheet to be driven from the driving motor, a sheet detecting means for detecting whether the second sheet is loaded or not, a sun gear for transferring the drive to the paper feeding means from the driving motor, a first planetary gear and a second planetary gear engaged with the sun gear, a pendulum arm for holding the first planetary gear and the second planetary gear, and a pendulum output gear engaged with either of the planetary gears according to the forward or backward drive of the sun gear. The pendulum arm has a locking means for holding a neutral position where neither of the first planetary gear and the second planetary gear is engaged by the locking means when the sheet detecting means detects the loaded state of the second sheet. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading and recording apparatus integrally including a reading means for reading an image of a document and a recording means for recording (printing) an image on a recording medium, and more specifically, for example, an apparatus in an image reading and recording apparatus such as a facsimile. Concerning configuration.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been proposed a facsimile apparatus in which a part of a document and recording paper conveyance path is shared for the purpose of downsizing and cost reduction. FIG. 16 shows an example of the configuration. In this example, in order to achieve miniaturization, the paper feed roller 304 and the separation roller 303 are made common, and the apparatus further passes through a common conveyance path. Above the recording paper 301, there is an original stacking base 309 for stacking originals 302, which is fixedly disposed on the pressure plate 308 and can be moved up and down as the pressure plate 308 rotates. The recording paper or document conveyed by the paper feeding mechanism is conveyed by a common conveying roller 310 and reaches a reading unit or a recording unit downstream of the conveying roller.
US Pat. No. 5,727,890

  In order to realize further cost reduction from the system in the conventional example described above, it is preferable to use a common drive source and operate a printer function such as a paper feeding unit and capping. However, on the other hand, there is a problem that the original and the recording paper pass through the common conveyance path, so that the capping is removed during the image reading of the original, and it is necessary to switch driving between the original feeding and the recording paper feeding. I was trying.

  Therefore, the present invention realizes a mechanism for switching between driving of recording paper feeding and document feeding in a system having two sheet stacking sections, and these two sheets are fed and separated by a common feeding and separating mechanism. For the purpose.

The first invention according to this application is:
A drive motor as a drive source;
One sheet feeding means for feeding the first sheet and the second sheet by driving from the drive motor;
Sheet detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the stacked second sheets;
A sun gear for transmitting drive from the drive motor to the paper feeding means;
A first planetary gear and a second planetary gear meshing with the sun gear;
A pendulum arm holding the first planetary gear and the second planetary gear;
A pendulum output gear with which one of the planetary gears meshes with the sun gear forward and backward,
The pendulum arm has a locking unit for taking a neutral position where the locking unit does not mesh with either the first planetary gear or the second planetary gear when the sheet detecting unit detects a stacked state of the second sheet. It is characterized by that.

The second invention according to the present invention is:
A drive motor as a drive source;
One paper feeding means for feeding an original and recording paper by driving from the driving motor; and a capping means for capping the print head by driving from the driving motor;
Document detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a loaded document;
A sun gear for transmitting drive from the drive motor to the paper feeding means;
A first planetary gear and a second planetary gear meshing with the sun gear;
A pendulum arm holding the first planetary gear and the second planetary gear;
A pendulum output gear that meshes with one of the planetary gears by forward and reverse of the sun gear, and the pendulum output gear operates to lower the capping means when meshing with the first planetary gear. Performing the operation of raising the capping means when meshing with the second planetary gear,
The pendulum arm has a lock unit for taking a neutral position where the lock unit does not mesh with either the first planetary gear or the second planetary gear when the document detection unit detects a document stacking state. Features.

According to a third aspect of the present invention,
The drive source includes a latch member that holds a phase restriction state by a lock unit, and a latch release member that acts on the latch member and releases the phase restriction state.

According to the configuration of the present invention,
A drive motor as a drive source;
One sheet feeding means for feeding the first sheet and the second sheet by driving from the drive motor;
Sheet detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the stacked second sheets;
A sun gear for transmitting drive from the drive motor to the paper feeding means;
A first planetary gear and a second planetary gear meshing with the sun gear;
A pendulum arm holding the first planetary gear and the second planetary gear;
A pendulum output gear with which one of the planetary gears meshes with the sun gear forward and backward,
The pendulum arm has a lock unit for taking a neutral position where the lock unit does not mesh with either the first planetary gear or the second planetary gear when the sheet detection unit detects the stacked state of the second sheet. Therefore, the drive from the drive motor can take three states for the pendulum output gear with an inexpensive mechanism.

The second invention according to the present invention is:
A drive motor as a drive source;
One paper feeding means for feeding a document and recording paper by driving from the drive motor;
Capping means for capping the print head by driving from the drive motor;
Document detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a loaded document;
A sun gear for transmitting drive from the drive motor to the paper feeding means;
A first planetary gear and a second planetary gear meshing with the sun gear;
A pendulum arm holding the first planetary gear and the second planetary gear;
A pendulum output gear that meshes with one of the planetary gears by forward and reverse of the sun gear, and the pendulum output gear operates to lower the capping means when meshing with the first planetary gear. Performing the operation of raising the capping means when meshing with the second planetary gear,
The pendulum arm has a lock unit for taking a neutral position where the lock unit does not mesh with either the first planetary gear or the second planetary gear when the document detection unit detects a document stacking state. Because it features
It was possible to feed only the original without moving the capping member during reading.

According to a third aspect of the present invention,
The drive source includes a latch member that holds a phase restriction state by a lock unit, and a latch release member that acts on the latch member and releases the phase restriction state. After creating the locking means, the locked state can be maintained even if the current is cut. As a result, it has become possible to prevent the temperature of the entire apparatus from rising. In addition, power consumption has decreased.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those unless otherwise specified. Absent.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a facsimile machine which is an example of an image reading and recording apparatus provided with a sheet feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, reference numeral 100 denotes a facsimile apparatus in which a recording sheet 2 and an original 12 are set. The facsimile apparatus 100 includes an image recording apparatus unit 101 including a cartridge 1 for recording an image on the recording sheet 2 as a sheet. The image reading device unit 102 having the image reading unit 28 for reading the image of the document 12 and the set plural recording sheets 2 or the document 12 are separated one by one into the image recording unit 1A or the image reading unit 28. It consists of an automatic paper feed unit 103 for carrying.

(Automatic paper feeder)
First, the automatic paper feeder 103 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the automatic paper feeder 103 when the original and recording paper are not set, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the automatic paper feeder when the original and recording paper are not set.

  1 to 3, an ASF base 80 serving as a frame of the automatic paper feeding unit passes through a base surface 80a, a right side plate 80b, a left side plate 80c, and a front end reference surface 80d that abuts the front end of a document and recording paper when set. It is composed of a paper surface 80e. The first paper feed roller 81 is rotatably attached to the printer cover 29 via a bearing. The pressure plate 82 is rotatably attached to the right side plate 80b and the left side plate 80c of the ASF base 80. The pressure plate 82 is biased toward the first paper feed roller 81 by a pressure plate spring 83 attached between the back surface of the pressure plate 82 and the base surface 80a of the ASF base 80. It functions as a pressing member for pressing the twelve bundles toward the first paper feed roller 81, and is pushed down by a control cam 97a and a pressure plate control lever described later except during paper feeding. Further, there is a gap between the pressure plate 82 and the first paper feed roller 81 for setting the original and recording paper, which functions as a paper stacking surface. The pressure plate 82 is urged or separated from the first paper feed roller 81 by the rotation of the control cam 97a. A separation pad 84 is affixed to the center of the front end of the pressure plate 82, and the separation pad 84 and the paper feed roller 81 are in a positional relationship facing each other in a biased state during paper feeding.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a document table 85 for supporting and stacking the document 12 is rotatably attached to the ASF base 80. Since the fulcrum position 85a of the document table 85 is above the fulcrum position 82a of the pressure plate 82 and has a predetermined center from the base surface 80a of the ASF base 80 as described above, the pressure plate 82 is provided. The rotation angle of the document table along with the upper and lower sides is smaller than the rotation angle of the pressure plate 82. For this reason, the disturbance of the stacking state of the originals 12 due to the vertical movement of the pressure plate 82 is reduced, and the reliability of the paper feeding operation is improved. When the pressure plate is in pressure contact with the first paper feed roller 81, the recording paper 2 or the document 12 set on the recording paper contacts the first paper feed roller 81 at an angle as close as possible to each other. However, stable separation is possible without any difference in separation performance.

  In the present embodiment, since the document table 85 is rotated, it can be lowered to its lowest end by its own weight, so that the state where the first paper feed roller 81 is urged while being bent is eliminated. . Further, there is an advantage that less space is required as compared with the case where the document table 85 is fixed to the pressure plate. The document table 85 has a contact surface that maintains a predetermined distance from the base surface 80a in the standby state, and is in contact with a part of the pressure plate 82. The upper end portion of the document table 85 has a concave shape at the center so that the user can easily put in and out the recording paper loaded under the document table 85 even with small-size paper such as cards and postcards.

  A document bridge 86 is rotatably attached to the document table 85, and the document bridge 86 is attached to the ASF base 80 so that a predetermined gap is formed between the front end of the document bridge 86 and the recording paper stacking surface of the pressure plate 82. The lower surface of the document is held by the entire document bridge 86 while being restricted by the ASF base recess 80f. Since the document bridge 86 is positioned away from the first paper feed roller 81 and the second paper feed roller 75 in the axial direction, the paper bridge 86 can be retracted from the recording paper transport path by a rotational motion when the recording paper is transported. The tip length is set to.

  First, when only the recording paper 2 is set, the original 12 is removed in FIG. When the pressure plate 82 is rotated in a direction urged by the first paper feed roller 81 by a control cam 97a described later, the uppermost paper of the recording paper 2 and the first paper feed roller 81 come into contact with each other. At this time, the document bridge 86 is located on the upper side of the recording paper, but is in a position where the first paper feed roller 81 and the separation roller 93 have escaped in the paper width direction. It is designed not to get in the way.

  Next, when both the original 12 and the recording paper 2 are set as shown in FIG. 1, when the pressure plate 82 is rotated in a direction urged by the first paper feed roller 81 by a cam described later, the uppermost original 12 is recorded. The first paper supply roller 81 is urged through the paper 2. At this time, the original bridge 86 is sandwiched between the recording paper 2 and the original 12, but as shown in FIG. 3, the separation pad 84 protrudes from the recording paper stacking surface 82b, and the original bridge 86 has a width. Since the first paper feed roller 81 escapes in the direction, a predetermined urging force acts between the document 2 and the first paper feed roller 81 without causing excessive deformation of the document.

  When only the original 12 is set next, when the pressure plate 82 rises in a direction in which the pressure plate 82 is urged by the paper supply roller 81, the uppermost paper of the original 12 contacts the first paper supply roller 81. At this time, the document bridge 86 is sandwiched between the pressure plate 82 and the document 12, but the separation pad 84 protrudes from the recording paper stacking surface 82b, so that the separation pad 84 and the document bridge 86 are exactly the same height. Thus, a predetermined urging force is applied between the document 12 and the first paper feed roller 81 without excessively deforming the document. If the separation pad and the paper stacking surface 82b are at the same height, the original is deformed in the width direction by the thickness of the original bridge 86 in order to bias the original 12 to the first paper feed roller 81. This is necessary, and the urging force is used to deform the document, and the appropriate urging force does not work on the first paper feed roller 81, resulting in non-feeding.

  A sheet tray 8 for supporting the recording paper 2 and the original 12 is rotatably fixed to the ASF base 80. The sheet tray 8 can be closed so as to cover the sheet stacking surface when the sheets are not stacked, and dust is prevented from accumulating on the sheets. A side guide 90 is attached to the ASF base 80 so as to be slidable in the direction of arrow C intersecting with the conveyance direction of the recording paper 2 by the paper supply roller 81 as shown in FIG. A document slider is also attached to the document table 85 so as to be slidable in the direction of arrow C. When setting the recording paper 2, the right end of the recording paper is abutted against the right side surface 80b of the ASF base formed on the ASF base 80, the left end is regulated by the side guide 90, and the leading end is supported by the leading end reference surface 80d. The entire recording paper is supported by the sheet tray 8 and the paper stacking surface 80b of the pressure plate 82 (FIGS. 1 and 2).

  On the other hand, when setting the original, the right end of the original 12 is abutted against the right side surface 80b of the ASF base 80 formed on the ASF base 80 as in the recording paper 2, the left end is regulated by the original slider 30, and the leading end is the leading end reference. The document is supported by the surface 80d, and the entire document is supported by the sheet tray 8, the document table 85, and the document bridge 86 (FIGS. 1 and 3).

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an original detection unit 320 is supported below the right end of the original table 85 so as to be rotatable with respect to the original table 85. The document detection unit 320 includes a document detection first member 122 having a rotation center above the document set with the document holder 121, a document detection second member 123, and a document detection board 124. The document holder 121 is provided so as to support the right end (reference side) and the lower surface of the document and partially cover the upper surface. More specifically, the first document detection means 122 has an axial shape, one end includes a contact surface 122a that can contact the set document 12, and the other end includes a spur gear portion 122b. . The document detection second member 123 has the same shaft shape, and a light shielding surface 125 that makes a photo interrupter mounted on the document detection substrate 124 fixedly arranged outside the sheet stacking width at one end in a light shielding state or a non-light shielding state. And a spur gear portion 123b that meshes with the spur gear portion 122b of the first document detection first means 121 at the other end. When the document 12 is inserted, the document detection first means performs a rotational motion such that it escapes upward as shown in the direction A in FIG. 5A by contact with the sheet. In this embodiment, since the spur gear portions 122b and 123b of the document detection means are meshed at a reduction ratio of 1: 1, the document detection second means 123 is also shown in FIG. Rotate in the B direction. As a result, the light shielding surface 125 changes the photo interrupt from the light shielding state to the non-light shielding state. In the present embodiment, since the original detection first means 122 and the original detection second means 123 are engaged, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the contact member and the detection signal generator is increased, and an optimum system for the rotation fulcrum and the like is provided. I was able to take it. Further, the document 12 abutted against the document reference surface formed by the document holder 121 is surely brought into contact with the document by the held document detection first means 122, and the reliability of the detection mechanism is improved.

  In the present embodiment, since the document detection means 320 is supported by the document table 85, the entire document detection device 320 may be moved together with the document table 85 as a supporting base body by the insertion of the recording paper or the movement of the pressure plate 82. is there. However, even with such a swing, the document detecting second means 123 can maintain the light shielding state even if it moves in the direction C in FIG. 5B with respect to the document detecting substrate. The length is adjusted. Further, the lower surface 121a of the original holder 121 and the leading end 122c of the contact surface 122a are adjusted so as not to interfere with the stacked recording paper 2 and the pressure plate 82 even in the recording paper feeding operation.

  As described above, the first document detection unit performs the light interrupting operation of the photo interrupter outside the sheet stacking surface in conjunction with the second document detection unit, thereby reducing the size of the automatic paper feeding unit.

  Next, the separation mechanism in the automatic paper feeder 103 will be described. As can be seen from FIGS. 3 and 6, the separation roller 93 is disposed so as to nip the second sheet feeding roller 75 downstream from the nip position between the sheet feeding roller 81 and the separation pad 84. The separation roller 93 is pivotally supported on the separation roller holder 94 via a torque limiter. The separation roller holder 94 is rotatably supported on the back surface of the paper passing surface 80e of the ASF base 80, and the separation roller 93 is moved by a separation roller spring (not shown) hooked between the separation roller holder 94 and the ASF base 80 during feeding. The separation roller 93 and the second paper feed roller 75 are separated from each other by the release cam lever 96 except when the paper is fed. The release cam lever 96 includes a shaft portion 96a, a drive cam 96b formed on both sides of the shaft, and a driven cam 96c. The release cam lever 96 is rotatably supported on the back surface and the left side surface 80c of the sheet passing surface 80e of the ASF base 80. The separation roller holder 84 has a driven surface 94a corresponding to the drive cam 96b. When the release cam lever 96 rotates by a predetermined angle in the D direction, the drive cam 96b pushes the driven surface 94a and the separation roller holder 94 moves in the F direction. The separation roller 93 and the paper feed roller 81 are separated from each other (FIG. 6).

  Further, the release cam lever 96 rotates when a drive cam of a control gear 97 described later is engaged. The surface of the separation roller 93 is made of rubber, urethane foam, or the like so as to have a friction coefficient comparable to that of the paper feed roller.

  The relationship between the torque limiter torque, the urging force of the separation roller 93, and the friction coefficient of each roller is set to act as follows. When there is no document or recording paper between the second paper feed roller 75 and the separation roller 93, the frictional force between the rollers exceeds the torque of the torque limiter, so the rotation of the second paper feed roller 75 is transmitted to the separation roller 93. Then, the separation roller 93 rotates. When one original 12 or recording paper 2 enters between the second feeding roller 75 and the separation roller 93, the frictional force transmitted through the original 12 or the recording paper 2 (frictional force between the roller and the paper) Exceeds the torque limiter torque, the separation roller 93 rotates, and the paper is conveyed by the rotation of the second paper feed roller 75.

  Further, when two or more originals and recording paper enter between the second paper feed roller 75 and the separation roller 93, a frictional force (frictional force between paper and paper) transmitted through the original or recording paper is generated. Since the torque is smaller than that of the torque limiter, the separation roller 93 is stopped and only the uppermost sheet is conveyed by the second sheet feeding roller 75, and the other sheets are nip 98 between the second sheet feeding roller 75 and the separation roller 93. Stop at.

  As described above, when the plurality of documents 12 and the recording paper 2 are separated and transported by the separation roller 93 and the second paper feed roller 75, the second and subsequent papers are in the nip between the separation roller 93 and the second paper feed roller 75. Stopped near the section 98. If paper remains in this position, it cannot be normally fed when the paper is fed next time or when the paper is set by addition, and the paper in the nip portion 98 must be returned to the set position. Therefore, a paper return mechanism is provided. The paper return mechanism includes a return lever 133 that is rotatably supported on the back side of the sheet passing surface 80e of the ASF base 80, and a control cam 97a that operates the return lever 133 by a cam. The return lever 133 includes a shaft portion and a plurality of claw portions 133b, and a claw control cam 134 is attached to one end of the shaft (FIG. 8).

  The pawl control cam 134 is biased in the E direction by a spring (not shown), and the return lever 133 is driven by a control cam 97a that rotates in the same phase as a driven portion 134a formed on the pawl control cam 134 and a control gear 97 described later. The following three positions shown in FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C can be taken.

  FIG. 7A shows the position of the return lever 133 during standby of the feeding operation. When waiting for the feeding operation, the leading end of the return lever 133 is inserted into the sheet passing path so as to act as a stopper, so that the leading end of the recording paper 2 and the original 12 are set at the back of the automatic sheet feeding unit 103. To prevent inadvertent entry.

  FIG. 7B shows a state in which the driven portion 134a of the control cam 134 is disengaged from the control cam 97a of the control gear 97, and the return lever 133 rotates in the direction of the arrow H by the biasing force of a biasing spring (not shown). It is completely saved from the paper passing surface so as not to get caught.

  FIG. 7C shows a position where the return lever 133 is slightly rotated in the direction of arrow G from FIG. 7A, and a state immediately after the feeding operation is started and when the paper in the nip portion 98 is returned to the set position. Is shown. Immediately after the start of the feeding operation, there is a possibility that the recording paper 2 or the original 12 is newly loaded during the waiting for feeding. Therefore, an operation of returning the leading end of the sheet to the predetermined leading end reference 80d is performed. When the return lever 133 comes to this position (FIG. 7C), the leading edge of the preceding recording paper 2 or document 12 is completely pushed back to the leading edge reference 80d. The recording paper 2 in the nip portion 98 between the second paper feed roller 75 and the separation roller 93 is pushed back to the set position by the operation of the return lever 133. At this time, the recording paper 2 is stacked in a standing state. Therefore, it is returned to be lifted obliquely upward against its own weight. At this time, if the rigidity of the paper is weak, the recording paper does not shift upward, and only the leading edge may be returned and bend in the middle. However, if the paper has a thickness of about 100 μm and is used for recording in this apparatus, it is returned to the set position without being bent halfway.

  However, the original 12 may pass a thin sheet of about 60 μm such as a slip, and may be bent when there is a space in the downward direction when pushed back by the return lever 133. Therefore, in this embodiment, a sheet passing surface that restricts the downward space is formed by the document bridge 86 so that the thin sheet can be returned to the set position without being bent.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a DES lever 118 for detecting a document, a PE sensor lever 21 for detecting a recording sheet 2, the image recording unit 101, and an image reading unit 102 are provided downstream of the automatic sheet feeding unit. A paper transport unit for transporting paper at a predetermined speed for performing recording and reading operations and a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper on which recording and reading operations have been performed to the outside of the apparatus are provided. The transport unit is composed of a transport roller 10 composed of a metal shaft and a rubber roller, and a plurality of pinch rollers 16 arranged in the paper width direction urged by the transport roller 10, and the paper discharge unit is formed by integrally molding an elastomer on a plastic shaft. And a spur A18 urged by the paper discharge roller and a spur B23 held without a counter member.

  A roller that can rotate in the sheet passing direction is rotatably supported at the tip of the PE sensor lever 21, and can rotate by rubbing against the back surface of the recording sheet 2. Even if the recording paper 2 is transported in the reverse direction for cueing the leading edge by this roller, the problem that the PE sensor lever 21 bites into the recording paper due to the frictional force between the PE sensor lever 21 and the recording paper 2 can be eliminated. did it.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a driving board unit 60 is disposed on the right side surface 80b of the ASF base 80 as a driving mechanism unit of the automatic paper feeding unit 103, and includes a driving motor 20, a reduction gear A606, a reduction gear B607, and a sun gear. 617, a timer gear (not shown), a control gear 97, and a control cam 97a are arranged. Thus, the drive from the drive motor 20 is engaged with the control cam gear 97.

  Next, the operation of each component of the automatic sheet feeder 103 will be described using a timing chart. FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing an operation from feeding an original or recording paper from the automatic paper feeding unit 103 to starting reading or recording.

  ON / OFF of the position of the pressure plate 82, the position of the return lever 133, the position of the separation roller 93, the position of the white reference push-up lever 710, and the torque limiter, PE sensor lever 21, DE sensor lever 118, and ASF initialization lever 703. Show. In this paper feeding operation, one document and recording paper are fed by one rotation of the control gear 97, and therefore, the horizontal axis represents a rotation angle (0 for one rotation of the control gear 97 and the control cam 97a described later). ° to 360 °).

  9, the leftmost state indicates the standby state shown in FIG. A series of operations starts from the standby state. At this time, the pressure plate 82 is held at a position separated from the first paper feed roller 81, that is, a separated position, and the return lever 133 is at the position shown in FIG. Further, the separation roller 93 is in a position retracted from the paper feed roller 81, that is, in the retracted position, and the initialization lever 703 for detecting the phase of the paper feed roller 81 is OFF (a state where it is removed from the photo interrupter).

  When the control gear 97 rotates to the angle A, the separation roller 93 starts to move from the retracted position to the pressure contact position, and the second paper feed roller 75 and the separation roller 93 are brought into pressure contact soon.

When the control gear 97 rotates to the angle B, the return lever 133 moves to a position retracted downward from the conveyance path as shown in FIG.
The rotation angle of the control gear 97 is an angle C, and the pressure plate 82 starts to move toward the first paper feed roller 81.

  The rotation angle of the control gear 97 is an angle D, and the uppermost document in the bundle of documents 2 stacked on the pressure plate 82 is pressed against the paper feed roller 81. When pressed, several originals from the top are conveyed to the nip portion 98 of the second paper feed roller 75 and the separation roller 93. Only the uppermost sheet is separated at this nip and conveyed downstream.

  Near the angle E of the control gear 97, the leading edge of the document reaches the DE sensor lever 118, and the sensor is turned on. Further, the separation operation of the pressure plate 82 is finished, and the pressure plate 82 is separated from the first paper feed roller 81.

  In the vicinity of the angle F of the control gear 97, the leading edge of the recording paper / document that may have become irregular during standby starts to return to the recording paper leading edge reference portion 80d. The separation roller 93 starts to retract from the second paper feed roller 75 and ensures the return operation of the return lever 133.

  The torque applied to the separation roller 93 is released at the angle G of the control gear 97, and after this angle, the separation roller 93 acts as a roller.

At the angle H of the control gear 97, the return lever 133 is returning to the standby state, and the separation roller 93 is returned to the pressure contact state with the second paper feed roller 75.
The original reaches the reading line at the angle I of the control gear 97.

  Near the angle J of the control gear 97, the leading edge of the recording paper reaches the PE sensor 21 and turns on the sensor. After that, it reaches the nip between the conveying roller 10 and the pinch roller 16 at an angle rotated about 30 degrees.

  In the vicinity of the angle K of the control gear 97, the separation roller 93 begins to separate from the second paper feed roller 75 again, and torque is applied to the torque limiter when the separation operation ends. When the separation roller 93 is separated from the second paper feed roller 75, the conveyance by the automatic paper feeding unit 103 is finished, but the separated document is held by the conveyance roller 10 and the pinch roller 16, so that the conveyance continues. Done.

  Here, in the case of document feeding, the cam stops rotating in the vicinity of the angle K of the control gear 97, and thereafter, the document conveyance is continued by the conveyance roller 10.

  On the other hand, in the case of recording paper feeding, the rotation is stopped in the vicinity of the angle L of the control gear 97, and thereafter, the conveyance of the document is continued by the conveyance roller 10. At this time, the cam is configured to rotate so that the white reference member 25 is retracted from the common conveyance path by the action of a white reference push-up lever 710 described later.

  At the control gear angle M, the white reference push-up lever 710 is returned, the white reference member 25 is returned to the common conveyance path, and the leading ends of all the originals except the currently fed original are the recording paper front reference part. It is conveyed in the reverse direction up to 80d. At the same time, the initialization lever 703 is turned off.

  When the rotation angle of the control cam 97a is N and the return lever 133 returns to the position shown in FIG. 7A, all the mechanisms are the same as in the standby state, and the paper feeding operation is completed.

(Image reading unit)
Next, an outline of the image reading apparatus unit 102 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3.

  The image reading unit 102 is fixedly arranged below the conveyance path upstream of the recording unit. The document 12 fed by the above-described feeding operation is nipped and conveyed by the second feeding roller 75 and the separation roller 93, and the reading operation is started. Thereafter, the leading edge of the document is nipped and conveyed by the conveying roller 10 and the pinch roller 16, the spur A 18 and the paper discharge roller 17, and discharged outside the apparatus.

  Thus, by fixing the image reading unit 28 in the recording conveyance path, it is possible to reduce the size and cost of the facsimile apparatus as a whole.

  Here, the image reading unit 28 will be described with reference to FIG. The image reading unit 28 includes a contact image sensor 22 (hereinafter referred to as CS) that is an image reading unit, and a white reference member 25 that is held in a state of facing the CS 22. The CS 22 is fixed and held in such a manner that it is embedded in the recess 80 f (FIG. 2) of the ASF base 80.

  The white reference member 25 is formed by attaching a white sheet to a metal plate, and the metal plate includes a plane on which the white sheet is attached and bent portions formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction. . Further, shafts that are coaxial with each other are held in engagement at both ends of the white reference member 25. By engaging a hole formed in the ASF base 80 with this shaft, the white reference member 25 is connected to the CS22. It is supported so as to be rotatable. In the normal state, the white reference member 25 is urged toward the CS 22 by a white reference urging spring 27 (FIG. 3). Thus, the white reference member 25 is urged by the white reference urging spring 27 to form a gap through which one document can pass, and the white reference member 25 against the white reference urging spring 27. It is possible to take a recording position that is rotated in the direction of separating from the CS 22 (L direction in FIG. 10).

  Further, by opening the CS cover 40 and setting the cleaning position so that the user can rotate further larger than the recording position, the white sheet of the white reference member 25 or the reading surface of the CS 22 is caused by ink mist or the like of the image recording unit 101. When it gets dirty, the dirty part can be easily cleaned and has high maintainability. The white reference member 25 has a biasing force against the CS 22 by the white reference biasing spring 27. Therefore, the curled document is conveyed and pressed against the image reading unit 28 against the force of lifting the white reference member 25, so that the document does not float from the image reading unit 28 of the CS 22, and the image quality of the read image is improved. Led to. Further, it also serves to release static electricity generated by friction with the document 12 to be passed to the ground by using the electrical conductivity of the spring itself and contacting other sheet metal members.

(Image recording part)
Next, the image recording apparatus unit 101 will be described.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an ink cartridge as image recording means, which records an ink image on a recording paper 2 conveyed by a conveyance unit. The image recording unit 101 is of an ink jet recording system that records by discharging ink from the ink cartridge 1.

  Reference numeral 4 in FIG. 11 denotes a carriage that mounts the ink cartridge 1 and scans in the width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording paper 2. The carriage 4 has an endless belt that is stretched between a driving pulley and a driven pulley 5. The timing belt 6 is connected, and the carriage 4 can be reciprocated along the guide rail 7 by rotating the drive pulley by a carriage drive motor (not shown). When the carriage 4 reciprocates as described above, an image is recorded on the recording paper 2 by ejecting ink from the ink cartridge 1 according to the image information.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 11, the carriage 4 normally stands by at a standby position (capping position) at one end (right end) of the apparatus. A print head (not shown) is protected by a rubber member (not shown) so as not to be dried. Further, the carriage 4 remains in the standby position even during a document image reading operation described later.

  In the ink jet recording system, the ink cartridge 1 is in a state in which ink cannot be ejected due to mixing of bubbles or dust inside the fine ejection openings, or due to thickening due to evaporation of the ink solvent, or is not suitable for recording. In this case, however, a recording head recovery unit (not shown) removes the cause of ejection failure by performing a head recovery operation for refreshing ink.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the present invention is applied to a serial type recording apparatus that moves the recording head in the main scanning direction. However, the present invention is directed to a full-line type recording apparatus that records an image by a recording head while continuously conveying the recording sheet using a recording head that extends over the entire width direction of the recording sheet. Even can be applied.

  The present invention can be applied to various recording methods regardless of the recording method of the recording head.

  As shown in FIG. 11, a platen 3 is provided as a sheet passing surface from the sheet passing surface of the ASF base 80 to the paper discharge roller 17. A plurality of ribs 38 are formed in the recording paper width direction on the recording paper support surface of the platen 3, and the recording paper 2 passes through the upper surfaces of the plurality of ribs 38 when the recording paper is conveyed. ing. An auxiliary absorber 39 for borderless printing is embedded in the center of the platen 3, and when performing borderless printing, even if a part of the color nozzle protrudes from the end of the paper, printing is not performed on the platen. It is set not to. However, since the end portion on the upstream side of the black nozzle is located away from the auxiliary absorber 39, borderless printing with the black nozzle results in a dirty platen. In order to avoid such a problem, in this embodiment, a recording paper size detection sensor that turns on the mechanical switch when the recording paper slider is expanded to the A4 size width that is the maximum size recording paper that can be set by the user. (Not shown) was provided. When recording paper having a size smaller than the A4 size is set, the black nozzle is not used. As a result, problems such as platen printing and document contamination associated with platen printing can be reduced.

(Drive system)
Here, the driving means for driving the wiping operation, paper feeding operation, and cap raising / lowering operation of the printer recovery unit will be described in detail with reference to FIG. When the apparatus is in the standby state, the drive from the drive motor 20 is connected to the sun gear 617 via the reduction gear A606 and the reduction gear B607. In this embodiment, when the drive motor 20 rotates in the forward direction (clockwise in FIG. 12), the planetary output gear 612 is reversely connected by the movement of the sun gear 617 and the planetary gear A610. Further, when the drive motor 20 is reversely rotated, the planetary gear B611 is engaged with the planetary output gear 612, and the planetary output gear 612 is rotated forward. The planetary output gear 612 is transmitted to the recovery unit, and causes the cap motor to move downward by the forward rotation of the drive motor 20 and the wiper to move forward. Further, the reverse movement of the drive motor 20 causes the wiper to move back and the cap to move up.

  In addition, the apparatus detects the document 12, creates a neutral state in which the transmission of the planetary gear A610 and the planetary gear B611 is not transmitted to the planetary output gear 612, thereby creating a state in which the drive is not transmitted to the recovery unit described above. Only the paper feeding operation is performed during the conveyance. The procedure will be described in detail. When the original detection board 124 generates a signal by the above-described original detection means, the control board 500 issues an operation command for pulling the solenoid 613, and as a result, pulls the lever 614 that is engaged with the solenoid 613. The lever is provided with a lever shaft 614a (FIG. 13). When the lever 614 is pulled, the lever shaft A 614a rotates the lock member 615 through the fitting hole of the lock member 615. The lock member 615 is also provided with a lock shaft 615a. When the lever 614 is pulled, the lock shaft 615a is fitted into the recess of the pendulum arm, and the pendulum arm 616 cannot be rotated. In this state, neither planetary gear A or B meshes with the planetary output gear 612.

  Further, a latch member 618 that engages with a lock member 615 in a locked state is provided as a means for mechanically holding this state. The latch member is rotatably supported by the drive system and is biased counterclockwise in FIG. 13 by a spring force in a standby state. However, when the lever 614 is pulled, the lock arm overcomes the urging force and enters the mating state with the latch member. The latch member 618 rotates in the direction opposite to the biasing force by contact with the protrusion of the control cam. This operation releases the locked state of the latch member. Since a biasing force for extending the lever 614 is always applied to the lever by a spring (not shown), the lever 614 returns to the standby state at the moment when the locked state is released.

(Drive system cam)
The sun gear 617 meshes with the control gear 97 via a timer gear (not shown), and the control gear 97 is provided with a control cam 97a so as to rotate in the same phase as the control gear 97. . As long as the drive motor 20 is driven in the forward direction, the drive from the drive motor 20 continues to be transmitted to the control gear 97 and the control cam 97a. However, when the drive motor 20 rotates in the reverse direction, the above-described timer mechanism operates so that the drive to the control gear 97 is cut off. Therefore, the control gear 97 does not rotate in the reverse direction when the drive motor reverses such as cap closing.

  The control gear 97 is provided with a protrusion 702 (FIG. 10) for detecting initialization of the control cam 97a. Further, the control cam 97a is provided with a pressure plate control cam portion (not shown) for determining the vertical movement of the pressure plate and a separation roller cam groove portion (not shown) for determining the vertical movement of the separation roller. First, the projection 702 for detecting the initialization of the control cam 97a will be described. When the apparatus is in a standby state, initialization is performed by the control gear 97 so that recording paper or a document can be set. A protrusion 702 is provided on a part of the circumference of the control gear 97, and the protrusion 702 provides a phase for pressing the initialization lever 703 (FIG. 8). Only in that phase, the initialization lever 703 is designed to be retracted from a photo interrupter (not shown), and the control board initializes the phase of the cam portion by that signal.

  Next, a cam for determining the movement of the pressure plate will be described. The control cam 97a is provided with a pressure plate control cam portion (not shown). The pressure plate control cam portion and a pressure plate control lever (not shown) resist a biasing force of a pressure plate spring (not shown). The recording paper is pushed up until the urging force is released and the first paper feed roller 81 is contacted.

  Next, the separation roller cam groove for determining the movement of the separation roller 93 will be described. The control cam 97a is provided with a separation roller cam groove, and the control cam 97a rotates with the shaft protruding from the end of the separation roller control lever engaged with the separation roller cam groove. The separation roller holder 94 is urged / separated from the second paper feed roller 75.

  Next, the movement of the white reference member control cam portion will be described with reference to FIG. Similar to the protrusion 702 described above, a white reference member control protrusion 709 is provided on the circumferential surface of the control gear 97. The white reference member control protrusion 709 has a phase for pressing the white reference push-up lever 710, and the drive motor is stopped so that the control gear 97 stops at the phase in which the white reference push-up lever 710 is pushed up when recording paper is fed. A rotation amount of 20 is set. In the phase, as shown in FIG. 14B, the white reference push-up lever 710 pushes up the contact surface 25a provided on the white reference member, retracts the white reference member 25 from the common conveyance path, and further, the white reference The rotation angle of the member 25 is such that the end of the white reference member is sufficiently retractable from the common conveyance path, so that the recording paper conveyed by the conveyance roller 10 is received from the white reference member 25 during recording. There is no resistance (back tension). For this reason, even in a system in which the image reading unit 28 is arranged in the common conveyance path, the image reading unit 28 is not affected and high-quality printing can be realized. When the recording paper feed is completed, the control gear 97 further rotates by the drive motor 20 and performs an initialization operation by the protrusion 702 described above.

(Original reading operation)
In the above configuration, these operations will be described along the flow in which the document is fed and conveyed. When the document 12 is loaded on the document table 85, the document 12 is detected by the document detection means 320 described above, and the apparatus recognizes that the document 12 is set. Here, when a document reading operation such as copying or transmission starts, the document is first fed and the document 12 set on the automatic feeding unit is separated and fed only to the uppermost set document and conveyed to the reading unit. Is done. The document 12 separated by the second paper feed roller 75 and the separation roller 93 passes through the image reading unit 28 to which the white reference member 25 and the CS (contact image sensor) 22 are attached. Thereafter, the leading edge of the document is conveyed to a nip position sandwiched between the conveying roller 10 and the pinch roller 16, and the conveying operation is continued.

(Recording operation)
On the other hand, in the above configuration, these operations will be described along the flow in which the recording paper is fed and conveyed.

  When the apparatus starts a recording operation by copying or receiving while the recording paper 2 is loaded on the automatic paper feeder 103, the drive motor 20 is first rotated and set on the automatic paper feeder as described above. As for the recording paper 2 to be set, only the uppermost recording paper set is separated and fed. The recording paper 2 is conveyed by a predetermined amount, and the leading edge of the recording paper is conveyed to the nip position and the recording position sandwiched between the conveying roller 10 and the pinch roller 16, but passes through the image reading unit 28 in the middle. The image reading unit 28 is in a state where the white reference member 25 is covered with a certain gap on the reading surface in the standby state, but as described above, the control gear 97 and the white reference push-up lever 710 act. The white reference member 25 is retracted from the common conveyance path by rotation. Since the recording paper 2 that has passed through the image reading unit 28 is provided with a PE sensor lever 21 that detects the leading edge of the recording paper 2 arranged downstream of the image reading unit 28, By counting the number of forward rotation pulses and the number of reverse rotation pulses, the recording start position of the recording paper can be accurately grasped also by the operation of the conveyance roller 10 described later.

  When the recording paper 2 reaches the conveyance roller 10, the conveyance roller 10 is rotated forward to resume conveyance of the recording paper 2, and at the same time, a carriage drive motor (not shown) rotates to move the carriage 4 to the left and right while moving the ink cartridge 1. The ink head discharges ink in accordance with a print command and performs recording. The recording paper on which the recording image is formed by the recording unit is discharged to the front of the apparatus by a spur A18, a spur B23, and a paper discharge roller 17. When the recording operation for the second and subsequent sheets continues, the same operation is repeated, and the recording paper is separated and conveyed to perform the recording operation.

  When the last recording sheet is discharged, the carriage 4 returns to the capping position and the apparatus enters a standby state.

(Second embodiment)
As a second embodiment, FIG. 15 shows a sectional view of a printing apparatus having two paper feed ports. In the figure, reference numeral 150 denotes a printing apparatus having a first recording paper set unit 151 and a second recording paper set unit 152, in which the first recording paper bundle 153 and the second recording paper bundle 154 are set in the respective insertion openings. It is. The printing apparatus 150 includes an image recording apparatus unit 801 including a cartridge 1 that records images on a first recording sheet bundle 153 and a second recording sheet bundle 152 that are recording media, and a plurality of recording sheets 2 that are set. An automatic paper feed unit 803 that separates each sheet and conveys it to the image recording unit 1A, a paper discharge roller that is a recording medium discharge mechanism, and a spur.

  The first recording paper bundle and the second recording paper bundle can be set simultaneously. However, in this embodiment, since the common separation mechanism is used, the recording paper 153 set in the first recording paper bundle is not lost. As long as the second recording paper bundle is not fed. The means for detecting the presence or absence of the recording paper in the first recording paper setting unit can be detected using the same method as the original detection means 320 used in the first embodiment. A common PE sensor lever 804 is used for detecting the leading edge of the first recording paper bundle or the second recording paper bundle, and a common conveyance roller 805 is used for conveyance. The recording paper set on the recording paper in the first recording paper setting unit 151 and the second recording paper setting unit 152 may be different media, and the user replaces the recording paper when used in a combination of photo paper and plain paper. Hassle-free. In addition, while having two recording paper feed ports, a common automatic paper feed unit and a common transport mechanism are used, so that a reduction in size and cost can be realized.

1 is an apparatus cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image reading and recording apparatus according to the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of an automatic paper feeder. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of an automatic paper feeder. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a document detection means. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of a document detection means. It is a perspective view which shows the separation part structure of an automatic paper feeder. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of the return lever of an automatic quick support part. It is a perspective view which shows the drive part of an automatic paper feeder. 6 is a timing chart showing the operation of the automatic paper feeder. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the white reference member of a reading part. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the whole apparatus structure containing a recording part. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the transmission mechanism from a drive motor. It is a side view which shows the structure of a drive switching part. It is a schematic side view which shows the drive mechanism of the white reference member of a reading part. It is apparatus sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the printing apparatus of 2nd Example. It is sectional drawing explaining the structure of the conventional facsimile apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1A Image recording unit 1 Ink cartridge 2 Recording paper 8 Sheet tray 10 Transport roller 11 Document tray 12 Document

Claims (3)

A drive motor as a drive source;
One sheet feeding means for feeding the first sheet and the second sheet by driving from the drive motor;
Sheet detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the stacked second sheets;
A sun gear for transmitting drive from the drive motor to the paper feeding means;
A first planetary gear and a second planetary gear meshing with the sun gear;
A pendulum arm holding the first planetary gear and the second planetary gear;
A pendulum output gear with which one of the planetary gears meshes with the sun gear forward and backward,
The pendulum arm has a lock unit for taking a neutral position where the lock unit does not mesh with either the first planetary gear or the second planetary gear when the sheet detection unit detects the stacked state of the second sheet. An image reading and recording apparatus. A drive motor as a drive source;
One paper feeding means for feeding a document and recording paper by driving from the drive motor;
Capping means for capping the print head by driving from the drive motor;
Document detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a loaded document;
A sun gear for transmitting drive from the drive motor to the paper feeding means;
A first planetary gear and a second planetary gear meshing with the sun gear;
A pendulum arm holding the first planetary gear and the second planetary gear;
A pendulum output gear that meshes with one of the planetary gears by forward and reverse of the sun gear, and the pendulum output gear operates to lower the capping means when meshing with the first planetary gear. Performing the operation of raising the capping means when meshing with the second planetary gear,
The pendulum arm has a lock unit for taking a neutral position where the lock unit does not mesh with either the first planetary gear or the second planetary gear when the document detection unit detects a document stacking state. A featured image reading and recording apparatus.   3. The drive source according to claim 1, further comprising: a latch member that holds a phase restriction state by a lock unit; and a latch release member that acts on the latch member and releases the phase restriction state. The image reading and recording apparatus described.

Images