JP2007099437A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrict increase in dimension of a device body when using recording paper of different sizes and thickness by reducing height and depth of the device body for miniaturization. <P>SOLUTION: A recording paper housing part 107 is provided with a reference surface 111 for regulating position of a tip of the recording paper, and the recording paper P of the recording paper housing part is made to abut on a pick-up roller 102 and an auxiliary roller 108. After forming the recording paper with an auxiliary loop 109 by rotating the pick-up roller and the auxiliary roller, the auxiliary roller is stopped and the pick-up roller is rotated to form a separation loop 110 for separating the recording paper between the pick-up roller and the auxiliary roller. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that separates stacked recording sheets one by one, feeds them to an image forming unit, and records an image using a recording unit.

  A recording apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a printing apparatus, a facsimile machine, or a scanner is configured to record an image on a recording sheet by driving a recording unit based on the image. In this recording apparatus, usually, a sheet feeding unit for separating the stacked recording sheets one by one and feeding them to the image forming unit is provided integrally or detachably. The recording apparatus is provided with paper feeding means such as an automatic paper feeding device. As one of the paper feeding means, the recording paper loaded in a cassette or the like set in the lower part of the apparatus main body is U-turned on the back part of the apparatus main body and supplied to the image forming unit (image recording unit) above the apparatus. A paper transport system (hereinafter referred to as a U-turn paper feed system) is used.

  In recent years, image recording apparatuses have been widely used in general households, and the form of image recording apparatuses has been diversified along with the digitization of home appliances. In addition to a mode of connecting to a so-called PC, a mode of directly connecting to a digital camera, and an image recording apparatus that is housed in a TV stand as an output terminal of a digital TV are commercially available.

One of the above-mentioned U-turn paper feeding systems is one that shares a paper feeding roller and a conveying roller and conveys recording paper from a paper feeding unit to an image recording area (printing unit) by one large-diameter roller. (For example, patent document 1). Further, for example, Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3, Patent Document 4 and the like disclose the skew correction means, separation means, and continuous feeding prevention means of the recording paper in this U-turn paper feeding system.
JP-A-1-139286 JP-A-8-026532 JP-A-8-277046 JP-A-11-011717

  However, in the U-turn sheet feeding type recording apparatus, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the recording sheet is prevented from being bent during feeding, or the recording sheet is damaged by a reaction force generated by the bending of the recording sheet. In order to prevent the sticking, a configuration in which the roller diameter is increased is employed. For this reason, the height and depth of the recording apparatus increase as the roller diameter increases, and the depth further increases by the amount of U-turning of the recording paper, resulting in an increase in size of the recording apparatus.

  In particular, in an image recording apparatus that is housed in a television stand as an output terminal of the above-described digital television, thinning the apparatus and reducing the depth have become important issues. There was a problem that the turn sheet feeding method could not cope. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, a paper feeding method is conceivable in which the pickup roller is rotated downstream in the paper conveyance direction without making a U-turn on the recording paper, and a separation loop is formed on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the pickup roller. According to this paper feeding method, since a large-diameter U-turn roller is not necessary, the height of the recording apparatus can be made lower than that of the U-turn paper feeding method, and the above-described problems can be solved. .

  In the recording apparatus of this embodiment, in order to cope with recording papers of different sizes, the separation loop amount is constant in order to keep the separation loop amount of the recording paper constant regardless of the size of the recording paper and to perform the separation stably. Need to keep on. In addition, it is necessary to load recording papers of different sizes, and it is also necessary to provide a leading edge reference on the downstream side in the recording paper conveyance direction. For this reason, when recording paper of different sizes is used, there remains a problem that the depth dimension of the recording apparatus main body is increased by the dimensional difference between the maximum size recording paper and the minimum size recording paper. .

  Even if the recording paper has the same size, even if the feed amount to the upstream side in the conveyance direction by the pickup roller is constant due to the difference in the strength of the so-called “koshi” due to the difference in the thickness of the recording paper, The loop shape of the formed recording paper may be different. For this reason, it is difficult to stably separate thick paper with strong “stiffness” and thin paper with low “stiffness” under the same conditions, and there remains a problem that separation feeding tends to be unstable.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above technical problems. It is an object of the present invention to reduce the size and height of the apparatus main body and to reduce the size of the apparatus main body even when recording paper having a different size and thickness is used. Is to provide a device.

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that separates recording sheets stacked on a stacking unit, conveys the separated recording sheets to an image forming unit, and records an image by the recording unit. The recording apparatus of the present invention includes a pick roller that picks up recording paper from the stacking means, and a paper feed roller that rotates the pickup roller. The recording apparatus of the present invention further includes a conveyance roller that conveys the recording paper during recording, a pinch roller that rotates following the conveyance roller, and an auxiliary roller that is disposed upstream of the pickup roller in the paper feeding direction. Prepare. In the present invention, the stacking means is provided with a reference surface that regulates the upstream end position of the recording paper in the conveyance direction, and the pickup roller and the auxiliary roller are rotated at the time of feeding to rotate the auxiliary roller in the conveyance direction upstream. An auxiliary loop is formed on the side. Furthermore, in the present invention, after the auxiliary loop is formed, the auxiliary roller is stopped to form a separation loop by the rotation of the pickup to separate the recording paper.

  The present invention also relates to a recording apparatus that separates recording sheets stacked on a stacking unit, conveys the separated recording sheets to an image forming unit, and records an image by the recording unit. The recording apparatus of the present invention is arranged to pick up recording paper from the stacking means and to convey the recording paper during recording, a pinch roller driven to rotate with the conveying roller, and arranged upstream of the conveying roller in the conveying direction. An auxiliary roller. In the present invention, the stacking means is provided with a reference surface that regulates the upstream end position in the recording paper conveyance direction, and the auxiliary roller is rotated upstream by rotating the conveyance roller and the auxiliary roller during paper feeding. An auxiliary loop is formed on the side. Further, in the present invention, after the auxiliary loop is formed, the auxiliary roller is stopped, so that a separation loop is formed by the rotation of the conveying roller to separate the recording paper.

  According to the present invention, the recording apparatus can be reduced in size by reducing the height and depth of the apparatus main body, and can suppress the increase in the size of the apparatus main body even when recording paper having a different size or thickness is used. Is provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts throughout the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a first embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a paper feed unit 100, a transport unit, a recording head H that is a recording unit, and a platen 401 are provided. The conveyance unit conveys the fed recording paper through the image forming unit, and includes conveyance units 201 and 202 and paper discharge units 301 and 302. The platen 401 is for guiding and supporting the recording paper conveyed through the image forming unit. The recording head H records an image on a recording sheet conveyed on the platen based on the image information.

  The conveying unit conveys the recording paper fed from the paper feeding unit through the image forming unit, and includes a conveying roller 201 driven by a paper feeding motor and a pinch roller 202 that rotates following the recording roller. The paper discharge means includes a paper discharge roller 301 that is driven in synchronization with the transport roller and a pinch roller 302 that is driven to rotate, and discharges the recorded recording paper to the outside of the apparatus main body.

  The paper feeding unit 100 feeds the stacked recording paper P to the image forming unit. The paper feeding unit includes a paper feeding unit having a pickup roller 102 and a paper feeding roller 103, a recording paper storage unit 107 which is a stacking unit for stacking a plurality of recording papers, and a stacking unit for separating separated recording papers. And a return lever 105 which is a return means for returning to the position. The paper feeding unit further includes an auxiliary roller 108 for forming an auxiliary loop 109 for recording paper, and auxiliary means for guiding the separated recording paper to a holding part between the pickup roller and the paper feeding roller. 104 or the like. The recording paper storage unit 106 includes a pressure plate 101 on which the recording paper P is stacked, and a pressure plate spring 105 that presses and urges the pressure plate 101 toward the conveyance roller 201. Further, the recording paper storage unit 107 is provided with a reference surface 111 for regulating the position of the upstream end of the recording paper in the conveyance direction on the pressure plate.

  The pickup roller 102 is for picking up the recording paper stacked on the stacking means 107. The paper feed roller 103 is for rotating the pick-up roller and feeding the picked-up recording paper to the nipping portion between the transport roller 201 and the pinch roller 202. The pickup roller 102 and the paper feed roller 103 are made of rubber, foamed urethane or the like having a higher friction coefficient than the recording paper P such as EPDM. The transport roller 201 that transports the recording paper P during recording may be formed of a metal roller that facilitates transport accuracy. The recording paper storage unit 107 includes a pressure plate 101 on which the recording paper P is loaded, and a pressure plate spring 106 for pressing the recording paper loaded on the pressure plate 101 against the pickup roller 102.

  The auxiliary member 104 serving as auxiliary means is a member for guiding the picked-up recording paper P to a nipping portion (nip portion) between the pickup roller 102 and the paper feed roller 103. The auxiliary member 104 can be formed of a guide member (not shown) for guiding the separated recording paper to a holding portion between the pickup roller and the paper feed roller. The auxiliary member 104 can also be formed by a contact member 104 that regulates the height position of the top surface of a recording paper loop (separation loop) 109 formed by the pickup roller 102.

  The return lever 105 is a return means for returning the recording paper (usually the second and subsequent recording papers) toward the recording paper storage unit 107. The recording paper returned by the return means is, for example, sandwiched between the pickup roller 102 and the paper feed roller 103, but is fed to the transport means 201 and 202 by the subsequent rotation of the paper feed roller in the arrow A direction. This is the recording paper left in the sandwiching part. In other words, in the present embodiment, when two or more recording sheets are separated by the pickup roller 102 and these recording sheets enter the holding portion between the paper feeding roller and the pickup roller, the recording paper other than the topmost recording sheet is used. Is configured so that it can be restored. The auxiliary roller 108 is a roller for forming a recording paper loop (referred to as an auxiliary loop) upstream of the pickup roller 102 in the transport direction by being rotationally driven.

  In this embodiment, the paper feed roller 103 and the auxiliary roller 108 are driven by separate motors. The paper feed roller is driven by the first paper feed motor, and the pickup roller 102 is driven to rotate. The auxiliary roller is driven by the second paper feed roller. The transport roller 201 is driven by a paper feed motor, and the pinch roller 202 is driven to rotate. Further, the paper discharge roller 301 is driven in synchronization with the transport roller, and rotates the pinch roller 302 in a driven manner.

  Convex-shaped portions 101 a and 101 b for facilitating formation of a separation loop 110 by the pickup 102 and an auxiliary loop 109 by the auxiliary roller 108 are provided on the recording paper contact portion (stacking portion) of the pressure plate 101. That is, when the recording paper P loaded on the pressure plate 101 is picked up by the pickup roller 102, it is required to form a separation loop smoothly and separate without causing “wrinkles” in the recording paper. Therefore, by providing the convex portion 101a at the recording paper contact portion in the vicinity of which the separation loop 110 is formed, the stacked recording paper is curved upward. Also, when the auxiliary roller 108 is rotated to form an auxiliary loop on the recording paper on the pressure plate, it is required to form the auxiliary loop smoothly without causing “wrinkles” on the recording paper. For this reason, by providing the convex portion 101b in the recording paper contact portion in the vicinity of the auxiliary loop, the stacked recording paper is curved upward.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a pickup roller having a torque limiter. FIG. 3A is a longitudinal sectional view of a central portion, and FIG. 3B is an end view as viewed from line bb in FIG. . The pickup roller 102 in this embodiment is provided with a torque limiter 120 that can rotate when the torque load exceeds a certain value. This torque limiter is intended to further enhance the separation function of separating only the uppermost sheet when a plurality of recording sheets enter between the paper feed roller and the pickup roller. In FIG. 3, the pickup roller 102 is pivotally supported on a support shaft 121 via a torque limiter 120. A coil spring 122 made of metal or plastic is mounted between the support shaft 121 and the torque limiter 120.

  In a normal state (initial state), the inner diameter portion of the coil spring 122 tightens the surface of the support shaft 121. When torque (friction torque or the like) in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4B acts on the pickup roller 102 and the pickup roller rotates to a predetermined angle against the coil spring 122, the inner diameter of the coil spring 122 increases. Then, the coil spring 122 slides with respect to the support shaft 121, and the pickup roller 102 is rotatable with respect to the support shaft 121. As a result, a torque limiter that needs to maintain a torque of a certain value or more in order to rotate the pickup roller 102 is configured. This torque value is set to a value that is larger than the torque due to the frictional resistance between the recording sheets but smaller than the friction torque between the sheet feeding roller 103 and the recording sheet.

Therefore, when a plurality of recording sheets are fed in a state of being overlapped between the pickup roller and the sheet feeding roller, only the uppermost sheet that contacts the sheet feeding roller is transported by the torque limiter 120. Is transported to (feeded). The second and subsequent recording sheets are stopped between the paper feed roller and the pickup roller. The stopped recording paper can be returned to the recording paper storage unit 106 by the return means 104 described above. The separation of the recording paper by the torque limiter is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-26345.

  Next, the operation of the recording apparatus will be described. There are cases where recording papers of different sizes are used in the recording apparatus. FIG. 1 shows an example in which recording papers Pa, Pb, and Pc having three different sizes are used. Here, Pa is the minimum size. Where Pb is the intermediate size and Pc is the maximum size. First, the operation when the intermediate size recording paper Pb is fed will be described. When the sheet feeding operation is started, the sheet feeding roller 103 is driven by a first sheet feeding motor (not shown), and the auxiliary roller 108 is driven by a second sheet feeding motor (not shown). At this time, the paper feed roller 103 is rotated in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1 by the first paper feed motor, whereby the pickup roller 102 is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow B. At the same time, the auxiliary roller 108 is rotated in the arrow B direction by the second paper feed motor. At this time, the pickup roller 103 and the auxiliary roller 108 rotate so that the recording paper conveyance speed is the same.

  With the rotation of the first paper feeding motor, the pressure plate 101 on which the recording paper P is stacked is released from the locking portion and lifted by the pressure plate spring 106, and the recording paper P on the pressure plate is picked up by the pickup roller 102 and It is pressed against the auxiliary roller 108. Along with the rotation of the pickup roller and the auxiliary roller, a loop shape (auxiliary loop) as shown by a two-dot chain line 109b is formed at a position upstream of the recording paper auxiliary roller in the transport direction. At this time, the rotation amount of the auxiliary roller 108, and hence the size of the auxiliary loop 109b, is set to the difference between the recording paper size Pb and the minimum recording paper size Pa.

  Accordingly, when the leading end position of the recording paper Pb in the transport direction (the position of the leading end Pt on the right side in the drawing) reaches the leading end position of the recording paper Pa in the transport direction, the rotation of the auxiliary roller 108 is stopped and the size of the auxiliary loop 109b is determined. Let In this case, the auxiliary roller is stopped in a state where it is not driven and rotated by exciting the second paper feed motor and stopping (fixing) the rotation. This completes the formation of the auxiliary loop. Here, even if the auxiliary roller is stopped, the pickup roller 102 rotates in the B direction. Therefore, next, a loop (separation loop) 110 as shown by a two-dot chain line is formed by the rotation of the pickup roller at a position downstream of the auxiliary roller 108 in the transport direction. By forming the separation loop 110, the uppermost recording paper is separated from other recording papers on the pressure plate 101.

  Then, the leading end (tip on the downstream side in the transport direction) Pt of the recording paper P on which the separation loop is formed is guided to the nipping portion (nip portion) between the pickup roller and the paper feed roller 103 by the rotation of the pickup roller 102. Is done. In this case, the top surface of the separation loop 110 can be guided more smoothly by contacting the auxiliary member 104. When recording paper that cannot be completely separated is generated at the time of separation by the pick roller 102 at the start of paper feeding, a plurality of recording papers are guided to a sandwiching portion between the pickup roller 102 and the paper feeding roller 103. It will be. In this case, the uppermost sheet in contact with the paper feed roller 103 is separated from the other recording paper on the pickup roller 102 side by the action of the torque limiter 120 provided on the pickup roller 102.

  Next, the pressure plate 101 is lowered by a cam mechanism (not shown), and the recording paper P is separated from the pickup roller 102 and the auxiliary roller 108. Then, the recording paper left between the pickup roller and the paper feeding roller (nip portion) by the action of the torque limiter 120 is returned to the recording paper storage unit 107 by rotating the return member 105 in the direction of arrow A. Thus, the recording paper P fed from the paper feeding unit 100 is separated by the pickup roller 102 when the recording paper is picked up, and further reliably separated by retard separation by the pickup roller 102 and the paper feeding roller 103. Accordingly, one sheet of recording paper is fed to the nipping portions of the conveying means 201 and 202 by the rotation of the paper feed roller 103.

  Next, when the separation of the recording paper is completed, the rotation suppression of the auxiliary roller 108 is canceled and the driven roller can be rotated. Then, the recording paper is fed (conveyed) to the nipping portion between the conveying roller 201 and the conveying pinch roller 202 by the paper feeding roller 103 driven by the first paper feeding motor and the pickup roller 102 driven to rotate. ) Thereby, the paper feeding operation is completed. The fed recording paper is image-recorded by the recording head H while being conveyed on the platen 401 by the conveying roller 201, the pinch roller 202, and the paper discharging roller 301 and the pinch roller 302. Is done.

  Next, a paper feeding operation when using the maximum size recording paper Pc will be described. Here, only differences from the above-described recording paper size Pb feeding operation will be described. As described above, when the recording paper size is Pb, the amount by which the auxiliary roller 108 is rotated in the direction of arrow B when picking up the recording paper is set so that the leading end Pt of the recording paper size Pb is the leading end of the recording paper size Pa. The distance to reach the position (the length of the difference between Pb and Pa). Thereby, the auxiliary loop 109b is formed. On the other hand, when the recording paper is the maximum size Pc, the rotation amount of the auxiliary roller 108 in the arrow B direction is the distance until the leading end Pt of the recording paper size Pc reaches the leading end position of the recording paper size Pa. (The length of the difference between Pc and Pa). Thereby, the auxiliary loop 109c is formed. All other operations are substantially the same as in the case of the recording paper size Pb.

  Next, a paper feeding operation when using the minimum size recording paper Pa will be described. Here, only the difference from the above-described recording paper size Pb feeding operation will be described. In the present embodiment, when recording paper of the minimum size Pa is fed, the recording paper can be smoothly separated and fed by forming only the separation loop 110 without forming the auxiliary loop. It is configured. Therefore, in this case, it is not necessary to rotate the auxiliary roller 108 in the direction of arrow B when picking up the recording paper. Therefore, when feeding is started, the recording paper is picked up by the rotation of the pickup roller 102 in the direction of arrow B while exciting the second paper feeding motor so that the auxiliary roller does not rotate following the rotation. Then, the separation roller is formed by the rotation of the pickup roller 102 as in the case of the size Pb, and the recording paper is fed. That is, all other operations are substantially the same as in the case of the recording paper size Pb.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, when the recording paper is picked up, the auxiliary roller is rotated simultaneously with the pickup roller, and the rotation amount of the auxiliary roller (including no rotation of the auxiliary roller) is set according to the recording paper size. adjust. This makes it possible to form a desired amount of auxiliary loop (including a state without an auxiliary loop), and to keep the amount of separation loop constant even when the recording paper size is different. Can be performed stably.

  A small diameter roller can be used as the pickup roller 102 and the paper feed roller 103 for picking up and feeding the stacked recording paper. Even if a small diameter roller is used, the recording paper P is not bent or scratched, so that the height and depth of the apparatus can be made smaller than in the case of the U-turn paper feeding method. . Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the size by reducing the height and depth of the apparatus main body, and it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the recording apparatus even when recording paper having a different size or thickness is used. Can do.

  In the recording apparatus of FIG. 1, there are cases where recording sheets having different thicknesses are used. Next, a paper feeding operation corresponding to a case where the thicknesses are different will be described. In general, when comparing the so-called “stiffness” of recording papers having different thicknesses, “thickness” is strong for thick recording papers and “stiffness” is weak for thin recording papers. Due to the difference in the “strength of strength”, for example, in a thick recording paper, the separating action is stabilized by taking a large loop shape. On the other hand, with thin recording paper, the separating action can be stabilized by reducing the loop shape. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, even if the recording paper size is the same, the auxiliary loop is formed by adjusting the rotation amount of the auxiliary roller according to the thickness of the recording paper, so that the appropriate accuracy according to the thickness of the recording paper is obtained. A simple separation loop shape can be formed.

  When picking up the recording paper, the auxiliary roller 108 is rotated in the direction of arrow B as described above. At this time, when the recording paper is a thick paper, the rotation amount of the auxiliary roller is set to be smaller than that of the plain paper having a medium “stiffness”. Thereby, the rotation of the auxiliary roller is stopped when the relatively small auxiliary loop 109 is formed. Then, the rotation of the pickup roller 102 forms a large separation loop 110 as compared with recording paper having a medium “stiffness” such as plain paper. Thereby, even when the recording paper is thick and strong, the recording paper can be stably separated. The other operations for feeding the recording paper, including the operation after the separation loop is formed, are substantially the same as the operations for feeding the recording paper having a different size.

  On the other hand, when the recording paper is thin, the rotation amount by which the auxiliary roller 108 is rotated in the direction of arrow B when picking up the recording paper is set larger than that of the plain paper having a medium “stiffness”. . When the relatively large auxiliary loop 109 is formed by increasing the rotation amount of the auxiliary roller, the rotation of the auxiliary roller is stopped. Then, the rotation of the pickup roller 102 forms a smaller separation loop compared to the recording paper having a medium “stiffness”. As a result, the recording paper can be stably separated even when it is thin and the “stiffness” is weak. The other operations at the time of paper feeding, including the operation after forming the separation loop, are substantially the same as the operations when feeding recording paper of different sizes.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, when the recording paper is picked up, the auxiliary roller is rotated simultaneously with the pickup roller, and the rotation amount of the auxiliary roller (including no rotation of the auxiliary roller) is set to the thickness of the recording paper. Adjust accordingly. Therefore, an appropriate amount of auxiliary loop (including a state without an auxiliary loop) 109 can be formed before forming the separation loop 110 according to the thickness of the recording paper. As a result, even when the thickness of the recording paper is different, the amount of the recording paper separation loop can be set to an appropriate amount according to the thickness of the recording paper, and the recording paper can be separated and fed stably. Can do.

In this case as well, a small diameter roller can be used as the pickup roller 102 and the paper feed roller 103, and even if the small diameter roller is used, the recording paper P is not bent or scratched. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the height and depth of the apparatus main body can be made smaller than that of the U-turn paper feeding method, and the apparatus main body can be downsized. A recording apparatus capable of suppressing the increase in size is provided.
Further, in the present embodiment, the arrangement of the paper feed roller 103 and the pickup roller 102 may be reversed so that the recording paper is picked up by the paper feed roller. Can play.

  FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a second embodiment of the recording apparatus according to the present invention. In the first embodiment described above, the pickup roller 102, the paper feed roller 103, the transport roller 201, and the pinch roller 202 are provided, and the paper feed unit and the transport unit are configured as separate rollers. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the transport roller 201 serves as the functions of the pickup roller 102 and the transport roller 201 in the first embodiment, and the pinch roller 201 and the paper feed roller 103 and the pinch roller 201 of the first embodiment. It also has the function of That is, the second embodiment in FIG. 2 is configured such that the pickup roller 102 and the paper feed roller 103 are omitted from the first embodiment, and the transport roller also serves as the pickup roller. The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the above points, but has substantially the same configuration in other points, and corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the second embodiment of FIG. 2, when picking up the recording paper P, the auxiliary roller 108 is rotated and the transport roller 201 is rotated at the same time. At this time, the rotation amount of the auxiliary roller (including no rotation of the auxiliary roller) is adjusted according to the size or thickness of the recording paper. Therefore, prior to the formation of the separation loop 110 by the conveyance roller, an accurate auxiliary loop (including a state without the auxiliary loop) 109 corresponding to the size or thickness of the recording paper can be formed. As a result, even when the size or thickness of the recording paper is different, the recording paper separation loop 110 is adjusted to an appropriate amount, and the recording paper can be stably separated and fed by the conveying roller 201 and the pinch roller 202. It becomes possible.

In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the transport roller 201 and the pinch roller 202 serve as both a paper feed unit and a transport unit. For this reason, a small-diameter roller can be used as the conveying roller 201 for picking up the stacked recording paper and the pinch roller 202 that rotates following the conveying roller 201. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the size by reducing the height and depth of the apparatus main body, and it is possible to suppress the enlargement of the apparatus main body even when recording paper having a different size or thickness is used. Recording apparatus is provided.
In the second embodiment, the arrangement of the conveying roller 201 and the pinch roller 202 may be reversed, and the recording paper may be picked up by the pinch roller. Can play.

  The present invention relates to a serial type recording apparatus that records using a recording head that reciprocates along recording paper, or a line type recording apparatus that records only by sub-scanning by paper feed using a full line head or the like. It can be widely applied regardless of the scanning method. Even when applied to these recording apparatuses, the same effects can be obtained. Further, the present invention can be applied to any recording method such as a thermal transfer method, a thermal method, a laser beam irradiation method, and a wire dot method in addition to an ink jet recording method in which ink is ejected from a recording head. There are similar effects. Furthermore, the present invention can be similarly applied regardless of the number and type of recording heads and can achieve the same effect. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a recording apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, and a scanner, but also to a recording apparatus in a combined apparatus combining them or a combined apparatus such as a computer system. . And also when applying to these, there exists the same effect.

1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a first embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows 2nd Embodiment of the recording device by this invention. It is a figure which illustrates the structure of the pick-up roller which has a torque limiter, (a) is a center part longitudinal cross-sectional view, (b) is the end elevation seen from line bb in (a).

Explanation of symbols

P recording paper Pt leading edge of recording paper H recording head 100 paper feed portion 101 pressure plate 101a, 101b convex portion 102 pickup roller 103 paper feed roller 104 auxiliary member 105 return means (return member)
106 Pressure plate spring 107 Loading means (recording paper storage section)
108 Auxiliary roller 109 Auxiliary loop 110 Separation loop 120 Torque limiter 121 Support shaft 122 Coil spring 201 Conveying roller 202 Pinch roller 301 Paper discharge roller 302 Pinch roller 401 Platen

Claims (16)

In a recording apparatus that separates recording sheets stacked on a stacking unit, conveys the separated recording sheets to an image forming unit, and records an image by the recording unit.
A pick roller that picks up recording paper from the stacking means, a paper feed roller that rotates the pickup roller in a driven manner, a conveying roller that conveys the recording paper during recording, a pinch roller that rotates following the conveying roller, and the pickup roller An auxiliary roller disposed on the upstream side in the paper feeding direction,
A reference surface is provided on the stacking means to regulate the leading end position on the upstream side in the recording paper conveyance direction,
During feeding, the pickup roller and the auxiliary roller are rotated to form an auxiliary loop on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the auxiliary roller. After the auxiliary loop is formed, the auxiliary roller is stopped to rotate the pickup. A recording apparatus for separating recording paper by forming a separation loop.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stacking unit is provided so that recording paper can be brought into contact with and separated from the pickup roller and the auxiliary roller.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pickup roller and the auxiliary roller are individually driven.   The auxiliary means for guiding the recording paper picked up by the pick-up roller to a nipping portion between the pick-up roller and the paper feed roller is provided. The recording device described in 1.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pickup roller of the recording paper has a torque limiter that can rotate when a torque load exceeds a certain value.   6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a return unit configured to return the recording paper left in the sandwiching portion between the pickup roller and the paper feed roller to the stacking unit. Recording device.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet feeding roller and the pickup roller are arranged in reverse, and the recording sheet is picked up by the sheet feeding roller. In a recording apparatus that separates recording sheets stacked on a stacking unit, conveys the separated recording sheets to an image forming unit, and records an image by the recording unit.
A transport roller for picking up the recording paper from the stacking means and transporting the recording paper during recording, a pinch roller driven to rotate with the transport roller, and an auxiliary roller disposed upstream in the transport direction of the transport roller; Prepared,
A reference surface is provided on the stacking means to regulate the leading end position on the upstream side in the recording paper conveyance direction,
During feeding, an auxiliary loop is formed on the upstream side of the auxiliary roller in the conveying direction by rotating the conveying roller and the auxiliary roller, and after the auxiliary loop is formed, the auxiliary roller is stopped to rotate the conveying roller. A recording apparatus, wherein a recording loop is separated by forming a separation loop.   The recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the stacking unit is provided so that recording paper can be brought into contact with and separated from the conveyance roller and the auxiliary roller.   10. The recording apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising auxiliary means for guiding the recording paper picked up by the conveying roller to a nipping portion between the conveying roller and the pinch roller.   11. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a return unit configured to return the recording paper left in the holding portion between the conveyance roller and the pinch roller to the stacking unit. Recording device.   The recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the conveying roller and the pinch roller are arranged in reverse, and the recording paper is picked up by the pinch roller.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the size of the auxiliary loop is determined by a size of the recording paper.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the size of the auxiliary loop is determined by a thickness of the recording paper.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stacking unit has a convex portion for facilitating separation of the recording paper on the recording paper stacking surface.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording paper is stacked on the stacking unit with a recording surface facing upward, and the recording surface is picked up.

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