JP2008063091A - Recording material feeder, recording device, and liquid jet apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inexpensively provide a recording material feeder capable of mounting further more recording materials on a feed tray at a time. <P>SOLUTION: This automatic sheet feeder 7 is provided with: a sheet feed roller 71 arranged to be rotatably driven in the sheet feed direction; a mounting surface 73 for stacking a plurality of recording sheets P thereon; a belt carrier device 74 arranged to bring tips in the sheet feed direction of the plurality of recording sheets P stacked on the mounting surface 73 into contact with a circumferential surface of a carrying endless belt 743; a contact surface 75 arranged at a position where the tips in the sheet feed direction of the recording sheets P in contact with the circumferential surface of the carrying endless belt 743 separate from the circumferential surface of the carrying endless belt 743 and contact thereto by rotating the carrying endless belt 743 of the belt carrier device 74 forward; and a hopper 77 arranged to be movable forward and backward to a position allowing the vicinity of the tips in the sheet feed direction of the recording sheets P having the tips in the sheet feed direction contacting the contact surface 75 to be pressed against the sheet feed roller 71. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording material feeding device capable of feeding recording materials to the recording device one by one, a recording device including the recording material feeding device, and a liquid ejecting apparatus including the ejection material feeding device. About.

Here, the liquid ejecting apparatus refers to an ink jet recording apparatus, a copying machine, a facsimile, or the like that performs recording on a recording material by ejecting ink from a recording head as a liquid ejecting head to a recording material such as recording paper. In addition to the recording apparatus, instead of ink, a liquid corresponding to a specific application is ejected from the liquid ejecting head corresponding to the recording head to the ejected material corresponding to the recording material, and the liquid is ejected to the ejected material. Used to include the device to be attached.
In addition to the recording head described above, the liquid ejecting head includes a color material ejecting head used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, an electrode material used for forming an electrode such as an organic EL display and a surface emitting display (FED) ( Examples thereof include a conductive paste) ejection head, a bio-organic matter ejection head used for biochip manufacturing, and a sample ejection head that ejects a sample as a precision pipette.

A recording apparatus such as a so-called ink jet printer is a known ASF (Auto Sheet Feeder) that can feed a plurality of recording materials stacked on a loading surface such as a feeding tray one by one from the uppermost side. In general, a recording material feeding device is provided (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This recording material feeding device such as ASF is used to place a feeding tray or the like due to restrictions on the structural surface, the strength of each part, the performance of motors and hopper springs that serve as driving force sources for feeding rollers and hoppers, etc. Usually, there is a certain limit to the number of recording materials that can be stacked on the surface at one time.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-129868

  By the way, in recent years, digital AV devices such as digital cameras are becoming widespread in general, and recording devices such as inkjet printers capable of extremely high-quality digital photo printing comparable to silver halide photography are also widely spread. It's getting on. Furthermore, the recording execution speed of a recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer has been increased, and high-quality digital photo printing can be easily and quickly performed in a general home.

  In such a situation, when a large amount of digital photo printing is performed, the user must frequently replenish the recording material on the feeding tray. In particular, photo-dedicated paper and postcards for digital photo prints are thicker and weigh more per sheet than plain paper, so the maximum number of sheets that can be placed on the feed tray is not less. I do not get. For this reason, there has been an increasing demand for a recording material feeding apparatus capable of placing more recording materials on the feeding tray at a time.

  However, in particular, the conventional recording material feeding device such as ASF has a structure in which the hopper pushes all of the plurality of recording materials placed on the feeding tray toward the feeding roller. The spring force required to raise it will increase. As a result, when the hopper is lowered, the hopper member or the hopper driving mechanism component may be deformed or damaged due to insufficient strength due to the total weight of the recording material on the feeding tray. Therefore, in order to realize a recording material feeding device capable of placing more recording materials on the feeding tray at the same time with the conventional structure, it is not enough to simply enlarge the feeding tray. In order to be able to withstand the total weight of a large amount of recording material, it is necessary to improve the strength of each part, the performance of motors and hopper springs as driving force sources such as feeding rollers and hoppers, and the like.

  For this reason, in the conventional recording material feeding device, if it is attempted to stack more recording materials on the feeding tray at a time, the recording material feeding device becomes larger overall. In addition, there arises a problem that the manufacturing cost of the recording material feeding device is significantly increased.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and the problem is to realize a recording material feeding apparatus capable of placing more recording materials on the feeding tray at a low cost. There is.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a feeding roller disposed so as to be capable of driving and rotating in a feeding direction, a mounting surface on which a plurality of recording materials are stacked, A belt conveying means disposed so that the leading ends of a plurality of recording materials stacked on the mounting surface are in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the belt, and by rotating the belt of the belt conveying means in the forward direction. A front end of the recording material in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the belt in a feeding direction at a position where the front end of the recording material is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the belt and comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the belt; A recording material feeding device comprising: a hopper disposed so as to be capable of advancing and retreating the vicinity of the leading end in the feeding direction of the recording material with which the leading end is in contact with the feeding roller.

  The plurality of recording materials stacked on the placement surface are in a state in which the leading ends in the feeding direction are in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the belt of the belt conveying unit. Therefore, when the belt of the belt conveying means is rotated in the forward direction in that state, the leading end of the recording material in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the belt moves (conveys) in the forward rotation direction of the belt. ) Will be. Then, the leading end in the feeding direction of the recording material that is moved in the forward rotation direction comes into contact with the contact surface when the recording material is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the belt of the belt conveying unit. That is, the plurality of recording materials stacked on the placement surface are sequentially sent out to a position where the leading end in the feeding direction contacts the contact surface by rotating the belt of the belt conveying unit in the forward direction. become.

  In addition, the hopper for pressing the vicinity of the leading end of the recording material in the feeding direction to the feeding roller can press the leading end of the recording material in the state of contacting the contact surface against the feeding roller. It is arranged to be able to advance and retreat to a proper position. Therefore, when the hopper is advanced toward the feeding roller, the leading edge in the feeding direction is pressed against the feeding roller among the plurality of recording materials stacked on the mounting surface. The recording material is limited to the recording material in contact with the contact surface.

That is, when the hopper is advanced toward the feeding roller, the leading end in the feeding direction is pressed against the feeding roller. Among the plurality of recording materials stacked on the mounting surface, the belt of the belt conveying unit Is rotated only in the forward direction, and is limited only to the recording material fed to the position where the leading end in the feeding direction comes into contact with the contact surface. Therefore, if the number of recording materials to be fed to the position where the front end of the feeding direction is rotated to the position where the leading end in the feeding direction comes into contact with the contact surface is limited to a predetermined number or less, the hopper presses the feeding roller. The number of recording materials can always be limited to a predetermined number or less.
Here, the “predetermined number” refers to a hopper member or the like when a plurality of recording materials stacked on the placement surface are pressed and pressed toward the feeding roller near the leading ends in the feeding direction. The number is set to be equal to or less than the number of recording materials so as not to cause insufficient strength of the hopper driving mechanism or the like, and insufficient performance of the hopper spring or motor serving as a hopper driving force source, and so on.

  For this reason, in the recording material feeding apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, a hopper member, a hopper driving mechanism, etc., regardless of the maximum number of recording materials stacked on the mounting surface. However, it is only necessary to have a strength that can press and press a predetermined number of recording materials toward the feeding roller. Also, it is sufficient that the hopper springs and motors that serve as the driving force source of the hopper have sufficient performance to push and press a predetermined number of recording materials toward the feeding roller. Become. That is, it is not necessary to increase the strength of parts such as the hopper mechanism and the performance of the hopper spring and motor serving as a driving force source to a level that can withstand the total weight of the maximum number of recording materials that can be stacked on the mounting surface.

  Therefore, the recording material feeding apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is generally configured so that the recording material feeding apparatus is entirely increased as the maximum number of recording materials that can be stacked on the mounting surface increases. There is no possibility of increasing the size or significantly increasing the manufacturing cost of the recording material feeding apparatus. Further, there is no possibility that the hopper member or the parts of the hopper driving mechanism will be deformed or damaged by the total weight of the recording material on the feeding tray due to insufficient strength.

  Thereby, according to the recording material feeding device described in the first aspect of the present invention, the recording material feeding device capable of placing more recording materials on the feeding tray at a low cost is reduced. The effect that it can be realized is obtained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording material feeding apparatus according to the first aspect described above, wherein the recording material is stacked on the placement surface to be fed by the driving rotation of the feeding roller. A recording material feeding apparatus comprising a separating unit capable of separating and locking a recording material subsequent to a recording material from the uppermost recording material of the material.
By providing such a separating means, the next and subsequent recording materials are double-fed so as to be dragged by the uppermost recording material of the recording materials stacked on the loading surface to be fed. Can be prevented.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the recording material feeding apparatus according to the first aspect or the second aspect described above, the front end of the feeding direction is rotated by rotating the belt of the belt conveying unit in the forward direction. The recording material feeding device is characterized in that the number of recording materials in contact with the contact surface is regulated to a predetermined number or less.

  As described above, the number of recording materials in which the leading end in the feeding direction is in contact with the contact surface is restricted to a predetermined number or less, so the predetermined number is set to a position where the leading end in the feeding direction contacts the contact surface. It is possible to prevent an excessive number of recording materials from being sent out by the belt conveying means. That is, it is possible to prevent the recording material exceeding the predetermined number from being pressed against the feeding roller by the hopper. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the hopper member or the hopper drive mechanism parts from being deformed or damaged due to the weight of the recording material exceeding the predetermined number.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the recording material feeding apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects described above, the belt of the belt conveying unit is rotated in the reverse direction to thereby move the belt. A recording material feeding device characterized by having a configuration capable of moving only a recording material having an outer peripheral surface abutting a leading end in a feeding direction toward the mounting surface. .

  First, the belt of the belt conveying means is rotated in the forward direction, and among the plurality of recording materials stacked on the placement surface, a predetermined number or less of the recording materials are in contact with the contact surface at the leading end in the feeding direction. Send to position. In this state, all of the recording materials stacked on the mounting surface remain substantially in surface contact. For this reason, when the uppermost recording material is fed in this state, while the recording is being performed on the fed uppermost recording material, the recording surface is transported while the recording is being performed. Frictional resistance on the contact surfaces of the stacked recording materials tends to act, and there is a risk that strong back tension exceeding the allowable range may act.

  Therefore, before starting the feeding operation of the recording material, the belt of the belt conveying means is rotated in the reverse direction from this state. Then, it is possible to move only the recording material in a state where the front end in the feeding direction is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the belt toward the placement surface. That is, other recording materials can be separated from a predetermined number or less of recording materials sent to a position where the leading end in the feeding direction contacts the contact surface. As a result, the frictional resistance at the contact surface between the recording materials can hardly be applied to the conveyance of the recording material fed and being recorded. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the possibility that a strong back tension exceeding the allowable range acts on the recording material that is fed and being recorded.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the recording material feeding apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects described above, the belt of the belt conveying unit rotates in the forward direction, thereby When the leading end of the recording material in contact with the outer peripheral surface is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the belt, the front end in the feeding direction is attached to the abutting surface by the rotational force in the forward direction of the belt. The recording material feeding device is characterized in that the recording material feeding device has a configuration to be urged.

  In this way, the leading end of the recording material in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the belt is urged toward the contact surface by the rotational force in the forward direction of the belt when the recording material is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the belt. Therefore, the leading end in the feeding direction of the recording material detached from the outer peripheral surface of the belt can be brought into contact with the contact surface more reliably. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the recording material will be caught or poorly fed due to the frictional resistance at the contact surface between the recording materials or the curling of the recording material.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording material feeding device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects described above, and recording of the recording material fed from the recording material feeding device. The recording apparatus has a configuration capable of performing recording on a surface.
According to the recording apparatus of the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus having a configuration capable of performing recording on the recording surface of the recording material fed from the recording material feeding apparatus, the first described above. The effect by the invention in any one of the fifth aspect can be obtained.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejecting apparatus that includes the material to be ejected and has a configuration capable of performing liquid ejection on a liquid ejecting surface of the material to be ejected fed from the material to be ejected. The material to be ejected device includes a feeding roller disposed so as to be driven to rotate in a feeding direction, a placement surface on which a plurality of materials to be ejected are stacked, and a placement surface described above. A belt conveying means disposed so that leading ends of a plurality of stacked materials to be injected are in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the belt; and by rotating the belt of the belt conveying means in a forward direction, the belt A contact surface disposed at a position where the tip in the feeding direction of the material to be in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the belt is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the belt and contacts, and the front end in the feeding direction is in contact with the contact surface. The vicinity of the tip in the feeding direction of the material to be in contact is arranged to be able to advance and retreat to a position where the feeding roller can be pressed. The and a hopper, it is a liquid ejecting apparatus characterized by.
According to the liquid ejecting apparatus described in the seventh aspect of the present invention, in the liquid ejecting apparatus having a configuration capable of performing liquid ejecting on the liquid ejecting surface of the ejected material fed from the ejected material feeding apparatus, The same effect as the invention described in the first aspect can be obtained.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus as an example of a “recording apparatus” and a “liquid ejecting apparatus” according to the invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a side view of an essential part of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.
The ink jet recording apparatus 50 includes a transport driving roller 53 and a transport driven roller 54 as means for transporting the recording paper P as a “recording material (jetting material)” in a predetermined transport direction (sub-scanning direction Y). ing. The transport driving roller 53 is coated with a coating having a high frictional resistance on the outer peripheral surface, and the rotational driving force of a PF motor (not shown) is transmitted as a gear to rotate. A plurality of transport driven rollers 54 are provided in a state where they are pivotally supported so as to be driven to rotate, and are individually pressed against the transport drive rollers 53 by pressing means (not shown).

  The ink jet recording apparatus 50 includes an automatic paper feeder 7 as a “recording material feeding device” or an “ejected material feeding device”. The recording paper P automatically fed from the automatic paper feeder 7 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the transport driving roller 53 by the transport driven roller 54 and is brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the transport driving roller 53 by the frictional resistance of the outer peripheral surface. Then, it is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction Y by the rotation of the conveyance drive roller 53. At this time, the transport driven roller 54 rotates following the transport of the recording paper P in the sub-scanning direction Y while pressing the recording paper P against the outer peripheral surface of the transport driving roller 53.

  The ink jet recording apparatus 50 can form dots by ejecting ink onto the recording paper P as means for executing recording on the recording surface of the recording paper P on the transport path by the transport driving roller 53 and the transport driven roller 54. A recording head 62 is provided. The recording head 62 is provided on a carriage 61 that is pivotally supported by a carriage guide shaft 51 so as to reciprocate in the main scanning direction (a direction parallel to the recording surface of the recording paper P and perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction Y). The recording head 62 is mounted on the carriage 61 so that the recording surface of the recording paper P transported on the platen 52 by the transport driving roller 53 and the transport driven roller 54 and the head surface face each other at a constant interval. The carriage 61 has a configuration in which a rotational driving force of a CR motor (not shown) is transmitted by a belt transmission mechanism (not shown) and reciprocates in the main scanning direction.

  The ink jet recording apparatus 50 includes a paper discharge driving roller 55 and a paper discharge driven roller 56 as means for discharging the recording paper P after execution of recording. The paper discharge driving roller 55 is rotated by transmission of the rotational driving force of the PF motor (not shown). A plurality of paper discharge driven rollers 56 are provided, and are individually pressed against the paper discharge driving roller 55 by pressing means (not shown). The paper discharge driven roller 56 rotates following the discharge of the recording paper P while pressing the recording paper P against the paper discharge driving roller 55 while contacting the recorded portion of the recording surface of the recording paper P. The recording paper P after recording is discharged in the sub-scanning direction Y by the rotation of the paper discharge driving roller 55.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus 50 having such a configuration, a PF motor (not shown) that rotationally drives the transport driving roller 53 and the paper discharge driving roller 55 and a CR motor (not shown) that drives the carriage 61 in the main scanning direction. ) Is controlled by the recording control unit 100. Similarly, the recording head 62 is driven and controlled by the recording control unit 100 to eject ink onto the surface of the recording paper P. The recording control unit 100 ejects ink from the recording head 62 onto the recording paper P while reciprocating the carriage 61 in the main scanning direction, and operates to convey the recording paper P in the sub-scanning direction Y by a predetermined conveyance amount. The control for recording on the recording paper P is executed while repeating the above.

  Next, the configuration of the automatic paper feeder 7 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 while continuing to refer to FIG.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the automatic paper feeder 7 according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side view schematically showing the main part of the automatic paper feeder 7.
The automatic paper feeder 7 according to the present invention includes a paper feed roller 71 as a “feed roller”, a retard roller 72 as a “separating unit”, and a placement surface 73 on which a plurality of recording papers P are stacked. , A belt conveying device 74 as a “belt conveying means”, a contact surface 75, a wall surface 76, and a hopper 77. The paper feed roller 71 is a so-called round roller (a roller having a circular side cross-sectional shape), and is disposed on the paper feed roller shaft 711. The sheet feeding roller 71 is arranged so that it can be driven to rotate in the sheet feeding direction (rotation direction indicated by F in FIG. 3) by transmitting the rotational driving force of an ASF motor (not shown) to the sheet feeding roller shaft 711. It is installed. The paper feeding roller 71 in the automatic paper feeding device 7 according to the present invention is not particularly limited to a round roller. For example, even if a paper feeding roller having a known D-shaped side sectional shape is adopted, Implementation is possible.

  A retard roller 72 known as “separating means” is pivotally supported so as to be driven to rotate in the paper feeding direction (rotation direction indicated by R in FIG. 3) in a state where a predetermined rotational resistance is applied. Of the plurality of recording papers P stacked on the surface 73, the recording paper P following the next one can be separated and locked from the uppermost recording paper P to be fed by the driving rotation of the paper feed roller 71. It has a configuration. The “separating means” in the automatic paper feeder 7 according to the present invention is not particularly limited to the retard roller 72, and the present invention can be implemented even with a known separation pad, for example.

  The belt conveyance device 74 includes a first roller 741, a second roller 742, and a conveyance endless belt 743, and the first roller 741 or the second roller 742 is moved forward by a rotational driving force of a motor (not shown). Alternatively, as shown by reference symbol A (FIG. 3), the conveyance endless belt 743 is configured to rotate in the forward direction or the reverse direction by being driven and rotated in the reverse direction. As shown in the figure, the belt conveyance device 74 and the paper feed roller 71 are disposed at a substantially central position in the main scanning direction X below the placement surface 73 (FIG. 2). The belt conveying device 74 is disposed so that the substantially central portion of the leading end in the sheet feeding direction of the recording paper P stacked on the loading surface 73 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the conveying endless belt 743 (FIG. 1). . The conveying endless belt 743 is formed of a rubber member or the like having a certain frictional resistance on the outer peripheral surface. In other words, the belt conveyance device 74 rotates the conveyance endless belt 743 in the forward direction or the reverse direction, thereby rotating the leading end of the recording paper P in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the conveyance endless belt 743 in the sheet feeding direction. It has a structure that can be moved in the direction.

  The contact surface 75 rotates the conveyance endless belt 743 of the belt conveyance device 74 in the forward direction, so that the leading end of the recording paper P in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the conveyance endless belt 743 is the conveyance endless. The belt 743 is disposed at a position where it comes off from the outer peripheral surface of the belt 743 and comes into contact therewith. The hopper 77 feeds the vicinity of the leading end in the paper feeding direction of the recording paper P, which is in contact with the abutting surface 75, among the plurality of recording papers P stacked on the loading surface 73. As shown by the symbol B (FIG. 3), it is arranged to be able to advance and retreat to a position where it can be pressed to 71. As shown in the figure, a wall surface 76 is disposed at a position facing the mounting surface 73 with a certain interval in parallel. The distance between the wall surface 76 and the placement surface 73 limits the maximum number of recording papers P that can be stacked on the placement surface 73.

  Next, a series of sheet feeding operations by the automatic sheet feeder 7 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 is a side view schematically showing the main part of the automatic paper feeder 7 according to the present invention, and shows a state in which a plurality of recording papers P are stacked on the loading surface 73. FIG. 5 illustrates a state when the endless belt 743 for conveyance of the belt conveyance device 74 is driven and rotated in the forward direction from that state.
The plurality of recording papers P stacked on the placement surface 73 are brought into a state in which the leading end in the paper feeding direction is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt 743 for conveyance of the belt conveyance device 74 by its own weight (FIG. 4). In this state, when the conveyance endless belt 743 of the belt conveyance device 74 is rotated in the forward rotation direction AF, the leading end of the recording paper P in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the conveyance endless belt 743 is the conveyance endless. The belt 743 is moved (conveyed) in the forward rotation direction AF (FIG. 5). As a result, the plurality of recording papers P stacked on the placement surface 73 are moved in the direction indicated by the symbol C as a whole. Then, the leading end of the recording sheet P moved in the forward rotation direction AF moves away from the outer peripheral surface of the conveying endless belt 743 of the belt conveying device 74, and moves in the direction indicated by the symbol D by its own weight. Then, it contacts the contact surface 75 as shown in the figure.

  That is, the plurality of recording papers P stacked on the loading surface 73 are rotated at the conveyance endless belt 743 of the belt conveyance device 74 in the forward rotation direction AF, so that the leading end in the sheet feeding direction contacts the contact surface 75. It will be sent out sequentially to the contact position. Accordingly, by rotating the conveying endless belt 743 of the belt conveying device 74 in the forward rotation direction AF by a certain amount of rotation, the plurality of recording papers P stacked on the loading surface 73 are arranged on the uppermost side as shown in the figure. Thus, a predetermined number or less of recording sheets P1 and other recording sheets P2 are preliminarily separated.

  Further, when the leading end of the recording paper P in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the conveying endless belt 743 is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the conveying endless belt 743, the leading end of the conveying endless belt 743 moves to the forward rotation direction AF. The leading edge of the sheet feeding direction is urged toward the direction indicated by the symbol D, that is, toward the contact surface 75 by the rotational force of As a result, the leading end in the sheet feeding direction of the recording paper P detached from the outer peripheral surface of the conveying endless belt 743 can be brought into contact with the contact surface 75 more reliably. In addition, it is possible to reduce the possibility of the recording paper P being caught or poorly fed due to curling of the recording paper P or the like.

  Further, the automatic paper feeder 7 rotates the transporting endless belt 743 of the belt transport device 74 in the forward rotation direction AF so that the number of the recording papers P in which the front end in the paper feed direction comes into contact with the contact surface 75. However, it has a configuration that is physically restricted to a predetermined number or less. More specifically, in the automatic paper feeder 7, the distance between the outer peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 71 and the outer peripheral surface of the transport endless belt 743 of the belt transport device 74 is such that the front end in the paper feed direction contacts the contact surface 75. The recording paper P1 that is in contact with the recording paper P1 is set at an interval that is a predetermined number or less.

  Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the recording paper P exceeding a predetermined number from being sent out by the belt conveying device 74 to a position where the leading end in the paper feeding direction comes into contact with the contact surface 75. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the recording paper P exceeding the predetermined number from being pressed against the paper feed roller 71 by the hopper 77, so that the hopper 77 or the hopper is driven by the weight of the recording paper P exceeding the predetermined number. It is possible to reliably prevent deformation and breakage of the mechanism components. Note that the control of the belt conveying device 74 by the recording control unit 100 determines that a predetermined number of recording papers P1 have come into contact with the contact surface 75 when the torque load of the belt conveying device 74 becomes equal to or greater than a certain value. It becomes possible to do.

FIG. 6 is a side view schematically showing the main part of the automatic paper feeder 7 according to the present invention, in which the endless belt 743 for conveyance is driven to rotate in the forward direction and then rotated in the reverse direction. It is illustrated.
The automatic paper feeder 7 rotates only the conveyance endless belt 743 of the belt conveyance device 74 in the reverse rotation direction AR, so that only the recording paper P whose front end in the paper feeding direction is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the conveyance endless belt 743 is used. Can be moved toward the mounting surface 73. Therefore, first, the conveyance endless belt 743 is rotated in the forward rotation direction AF, and a predetermined number or less of the recording paper P1 is sent to a position where the leading end in the paper feeding direction contacts the contact surface 75, and then the recording paper P is supplied. Before the paper operation is started, the conveying endless belt 743 is rotated in the reverse rotation direction AR.

  Then, only the other recording paper P2 in which the leading end in the paper feeding direction remains in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the conveying endless belt 743 is moved in the direction indicated by the symbol E, that is, toward the placement surface 73. be able to. As a result, the other recording paper P2 other than the predetermined number of recording papers P1 fed to the position where the leading end in the paper feeding direction comes into contact with the contact surface 75 can be separated. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that a strong back tension exceeding the allowable range is applied to the uppermost recording paper P11 that is fed and recording.

FIG. 7 is a side view schematically showing the main part of the automatic paper feeder 7 according to the present invention, and shows a state where the hopper 77 is advanced toward the paper feed roller 71.
The hopper 77 is disposed so as to be able to advance and retreat to a position where the front end of the recording paper P in contact with the contact surface 75 can be pressed against the paper supply roller 71. Therefore, when the hopper 77 is advanced toward the paper feed roller 71, the leading edge in the paper feed direction is pressed against the paper feed roller 71 among the plurality of recording papers P stacked on the placement surface 73. This is limited to a predetermined number or less of recording papers P1 whose front end in the paper feeding direction is in contact with the contact surface 75.

FIG. 8 is a side view schematically showing the main part of the automatic paper feeder 7 according to the present invention. After a predetermined number of recording papers P1 are pressed against the paper feed roller 71 by the hopper 77, the paper feed roller 71 is pressed. The state in which 71 is rotated in the paper feeding direction and the uppermost recording paper P11 is fed is illustrated.
Of the recording paper P1 of a predetermined number or less pressed by the paper feed roller 71 by the hopper 77, the uppermost recording paper P11 that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 71 is indicated by a symbol F. By rotating in the rotation direction, the sheet is fed in the sheet feeding direction (sub-scanning direction Y). At this time, the next and subsequent recording sheets P1 to be double fed so as to be dragged by the uppermost recording sheet P11 are separated from the uppermost recording sheet P11 by the retard roller 72 and locked.

FIG. 9 is a side view schematically showing the main part of the automatic paper feeder 7 according to the present invention, in which the fed uppermost recording paper P11 is conveyed by the driving rotation of the conveying driving roller 53. The state is illustrated.
The fed uppermost recording paper P 11 is sandwiched between the transport driving roller 53 and the transport driven roller 54, transported in the sub-scanning direction Y by the driving rotation (reference numeral G) of the transport driving roller 53, and from the recording head 62. Ink is ejected onto the recording surface and recording is performed. At this time, the paper feed roller 71 continues to rotate in conjunction with the drive rotation of the transport drive roller 53 in the paper feed direction so that back tension does not act on the uppermost recording paper P11 being transported in the sub-scanning direction Y as much as possible. (Reference F). Alternatively, the transmission path of the rotational driving force of the ASF motor (not shown) may be disconnected so that the paper feed roller 71 can freely rotate. Further, the hopper 77 is retracted in the direction indicated by the symbol BR.

FIG. 10 is a side view schematically showing the main part of the automatic paper feeder 7 according to the present invention, and shows a state after executing recording on the fed uppermost recording paper P11. It is.
A part of the recording paper P1 whose leading end in the paper feeding direction has advanced to the vicinity of the retard roller 72 is pushed back to the contact surface 75 by a known paper return lever (not shown). The predetermined number or less of recording papers P <b> 1 are maintained in a state where the leading end in the paper feeding direction is in contact with the contact surface 75. Therefore, from this state, the hopper 77 again presses the recording paper P1 of a predetermined number or less to the paper feeding roller 71 and rotates the paper feeding roller 71 in the rotation direction indicated by the symbol F, thereby continuously feeding the recording paper P. Paper can be fed. That is, once the predetermined number of recording papers P1 or less are brought into contact with the contact surface, it is not necessary to operate the belt conveying device 74 each time the recording paper P is fed.

  For example, the number of fed recording sheets P is counted, and when a predetermined number of recording sheets P are fed, the transport endless belt 743 is rotated again in the forward rotation direction AF (FIG. 5), and the reverse What is necessary is just to rotate to the rotation direction AR (FIG. 6). As a result, among the plurality of recording papers P stacked on the loading surface 73, a predetermined number or less of the recording papers P1 in the paper feeding direction can be brought into contact with the contact surface 75.

  In this way, the automatic paper feeder 7 according to the present invention can determine the quantity of recording paper P pressed by the hopper 77 against the paper feed roller 71 regardless of the quantity of recording paper P stacked on the placement surface 73. It is possible to limit the number to always be equal to or less than a predetermined number. Therefore, the strength of parts such as the hopper 77 and the performance of an ASF motor (not shown) that serves as a driving force source, a hopper spring, and the like can withstand the total weight of the maximum number of recording sheets P that can be stacked on the loading surface 73. There is no need to increase up to. Therefore, the automatic paper feeder 7 according to the present invention increases in size as a whole as the maximum number of recording papers P that can be stacked on the loading surface 73 increases, and the manufacturing cost significantly increases. There is no risk of accidents. Further, there is no possibility that the hopper 77 or parts of the hopper driving mechanism will be deformed or damaged by the total weight of the recording paper P on the loading surface 73 due to insufficient strength.

  Thereby, according to the automatic paper feeder 7 according to the present invention, the automatic paper feeder 7 capable of placing more recording papers P on the placement surface 73 (feed tray) at a time is realized at low cost. be able to.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and these are also included in the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

1 is a schematic side view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is an external perspective view of an automatic paper feeder according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side view schematically illustrating a main part of the automatic paper feeder according to the present invention. In this state, a plurality of recording sheets are stacked on the loading surface of the automatic paper feeder. This is a state when the endless belt for conveyance is driven and rotated in the forward direction. This is a state when the conveying endless belt is driven and rotated in the reverse direction. In this state, the hopper is advanced toward the paper feed roller. In this state, the uppermost recording paper is fed by the paper feed roller. This is a state where the fed uppermost recording sheet is being conveyed. This is a state after executing recording on the uppermost recording sheet fed.

Explanation of symbols

7 Automatic paper feeding device, 50 Inkjet recording device, 53 Carrying drive roller, 54 Carrying driven roller, 55 Paper ejection driving roller, 56 Paper ejection driven roller, 61 Carriage, 62 Recording head, 71 Paper feeding roller, 72 Retard roller, 73 Loading surface, 74 Belt conveying device, 75 Contact surface, 76 Wall surface, 77 Hopper, 100 Recording control unit, 743 Endless belt for conveyance, P recording paper, X main scanning direction, Y sub-scanning direction

Claims (7)

A feeding roller arranged to be rotatable in the feeding direction;
A mounting surface on which a plurality of recording materials are stacked;
Belt conveying means disposed so that the leading ends in the feeding direction of the plurality of recording materials stacked on the mounting surface are in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the belt;
By rotating the belt of the belt conveying means in the forward direction, the leading end in the feeding direction of the recording material in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the belt is disposed at a position where it is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the belt and contacts. An abutment surface;
A recording material comprising: a hopper disposed so as to be capable of advancing and retreating the vicinity of the leading end in the feeding direction of the recording material in which the leading end in the feeding direction is in contact with the contact surface to the feeding roller; Feeding device.   The recording material feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording material is fed from the uppermost recording material of the recording material stacked on the mounting surface to be fed by the driving rotation of the feeding roller. A recording material feeding apparatus comprising: a separating unit capable of separating and locking the recording material.   The recording material feeding device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the recording material feeding device is configured such that a leading end in a feeding direction is in contact with the abutting surface by rotating a belt of the belt conveying unit in a forward direction. A recording material feeding device having a configuration in which the number is regulated to a predetermined number or less.   The recording material feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a tip of the feeding direction comes into contact with an outer peripheral surface of the belt by rotating the belt of the belt conveying unit in a reverse direction. A recording material feeding apparatus characterized by having a configuration capable of moving only the recording material that is present toward the placement surface.   5. The recording material feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording material abutting on the outer peripheral surface of the belt is rotated when the belt of the belt conveying unit rotates in the forward direction. The front end in the feed direction is biased toward the contact surface by the forward rotational force of the belt when the front end in the feed direction is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the belt. Recording material feeding device characterized by the above.     A recording material feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the recording material feeding device has a configuration capable of performing recording on a recording surface of the recording material fed from the recording material feeding device. A recording apparatus characterized by that.   A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: an ejected material feeding device, the liquid ejecting device having a configuration capable of performing liquid ejection on a liquid ejecting surface of the ejected material fed from the ejected material feeding device, The feeding device includes a feeding roller disposed so as to be rotatable in the feeding direction, a placement surface on which a plurality of ejected materials are stacked, and a plurality of ejected materials stacked on the placement surface. The belt conveying means disposed so that the leading end of the feeding direction contacts the outer peripheral surface of the belt, and the belt contacting the outer peripheral surface of the belt by rotating the belt of the belt conveying means in the forward direction. An abutting surface disposed at a position where the tip of the propellant in the feeding direction separates from the outer peripheral surface of the belt and abuts, and feeding of the ejected material in which the tip of the propelling direction abuts on the abutting surface A hopper arranged to be able to advance and retract to a position where the vicinity of the front end of the direction can be pressed against the feeding roller. That, the liquid ejecting apparatus characterized by.

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