JP2008230845A - Paper feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate a double feeding phenomenon when separating and feeding paper sheets stacked and stored on a cassette main body 3 by cooperatively using a paper feeding roller 6b and a separation body 11 of an inclined separation plate 8. <P>SOLUTION: The separation body 11 made of a metallic plate is provided with arm parts 40 extended from a flat main body portion 39, separation claw pieces 35 erected from the arm parts 40 and having free ends capable of contacting paper, and elastic legs 41 extended from the main body portion 39. The separation claw pieces 39 along the paper feeding direction are arranged in two rows on the upstream side in the paper feeding direction on the inclined separation plate 8 and in one row on the downstream side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a sheet feeding device that separates recording media (sheets) deposited on a sheet feeding cassette main body one by one by a sheet feeding roller and a plurality of elastic separation claw pieces and feeds them to an image recording unit. Is related to the configuration of

  2. Description of the Related Art Image recording apparatuses such as printers, copiers, and facsimile machines are provided with a sheet feeding device for separating and feeding sheets (recording medium) cut into the image recording unit one by one. Yes.

  The paper feeding device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a paper feeding cassette that stacks (stacks) a plurality of sheets (paper sheets) in a stacked manner, and a lower end of a vertically swingable arm disposed above the paper feeding cassette. A sheet feed roller, an inclined separation plate provided at a downstream end of the sheet feed cassette in the feeding direction, and a feed provided at the center of the inclined separation plate in the left-right direction (sheet width direction). And a paper separating member. The sheet feeding separation member is formed integrally with the base portion made of a metal plate, a claw-shaped protrusion, an arm portion that supports the protrusion from both sides, and the base portion, and is formed on the back surface of the inclined separation plate. A plate spring portion for supporting at a predetermined location is formed by pressing at regular intervals along the sheet feeding direction, and the claw-shaped protrusions are formed in the inclined separation plate along the feeding direction. It is set so as to protrude a predetermined amount from the long long hole provided. When a sheet feeding roller that rotates and presses against the uppermost surface of the stacked sheets is fed, the plurality of stacked sheets are overlapped with the leading edges engaged with the protrusions. The sheet is loosened, and only the uppermost sheet (paper) can be separated and fed.

In Patent Document 2, sheets cut with respect to an open upper surface of a sheet cassette main body are accumulated and accommodated in a substantially horizontal shape, and a sheet separation guide is provided on an inclined surface at a downstream end of the sheet feed cassette main body. A plurality of protrusions are formed on the surface of the paper separation guide. The protrusions are the highest at the bottom of the paper separation guide, and the heights of the protrusions gradually increase at regular intervals toward the upper side. The friction coefficient is set so as to gradually decrease from the bottom to the top. The protrusions are formed in a plurality of rows in the width direction of the sheet.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-247550 (see FIGS. 3 to 9) JP 2004-067389 A (see FIGS. 4 to 6)

  By the way, in a type in which a paper feed roller is provided at the lower end of a paper feed arm having a predetermined length and swings up and down around the base end of the arm, the uppermost sheet stacked in the paper feed cassette is used. When the paper feed roller rotates while being pressed, only the uppermost sheet is separated and fed by the cooperative action with the projections (projections). In that case, the conveyance force by the paper feed roller, that is, the picking force (force in the direction parallel to the surface of the sheet) is the pressing force (force perpendicular to the surface of the sheet) on the uppermost layer by the paper feed roller. The value obtained by multiplying the friction coefficient for the sheet is the value obtained by subtracting the frictional force between the uppermost sheet and the adjacent lower layer sheet. The pressing force increases as the depression angle between the arm and the uppermost sheet increases. In other words, the pressing force is small when the sheet stacking amount is large (when the stacking height is high), and the pressing force is large when the sheet stacking amount is small (when the stacking height is low). The frictional force between the uppermost sheet and the adjacent lower layer sheet does not fluctuate much even if the stack height of the sheet changes.

  Accordingly, the conveyance force by the paper feed roller, that is, the picking force (force in the direction parallel to the surface of the sheet) is small when the sheet stacking amount is large (when the stacking height is high), and when the sheet stacking amount is small. It increases when the deposition height is low. If the conveying force by the sheet feeding roller is too much larger than the resistance force at the time of separation action by the protrusion (part) on the surface of the inclined separation plate (paper separation guide), a so-called heavy load that multiple sheets are fed at once. The feeding phenomenon occurs. Therefore, this phenomenon is likely to occur when the amount of stacked sheets is small (when the stacking height is low). On the contrary, if the resistance force at the time of the separation action by the protrusion (part) is too large than the conveying force by the sheet feeding roller, sheet conveyance becomes impossible (so-called idle feeding state).

  However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, the claw-like protrusions protruding from the surface of the inclined separation plate are in a row, and the amount of protrusion is not considered.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, the protrusion height of the protrusion is gradually lowered at a constant interval as it goes upward, and the friction coefficient is gradually reduced as it goes from bottom to top (that is, during the separation operation). The resistance is gradually reduced as you go up.

  However, in Patent Document 2, a plurality of protrusions are integrally formed on the surface of a flat sheet separation guide (material is unknown), and each protrusion has no elasticity. However, there was a problem that the separation performance could not be kept constant for a long time.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to provide a paper feeding device that can reliably feed a recording medium to an image recording unit and that does not cause idle feeding. Is.

  In order to achieve the above object, a paper feeding device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a cassette body having an open top surface capable of accommodating a sheet-like recording medium in a stacked state, and the stacked uppermost layer covering. Paper feed roller means for feeding a recording medium, and a recordable recording medium provided at the downstream end of the cassette body in the feeding direction of the recording medium so as to extend perpendicular to the feeding direction An inclined separation plate provided up to a position higher than the maximum height position of the medium, and a plurality of separation claw pieces attached to the inclined separation plate and arranged at appropriate intervals along the feeding direction of the recording medium A sheet feeding device that separates and feeds recording media one by one in cooperation with the sheet feeding roller means and the separation claw piece, and the inclined separation plate includes the separation claw pieces. Protruding toward the recording medium contact surface of the inclined separation plate It provided a window hole to the number of columns of the separating pawls are those disposed more upstream of the feeding direction than the downstream side of the feeding direction.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding device according to the first aspect, the separation claw pieces in the row located upstream of the feeding direction among the rows of the separation claw pieces are in the feeding direction. Are arranged in a zigzag pattern with respect to the direction orthogonal to.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeding device according to the first or second aspect, the separation claw piece is formed as a single separation body, and each separation body is located on the back side of the inclined separation plate. And is detachably provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeding device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the paper feeding roller means includes a pair of left and right rollers, and the row of the separation claw pieces includes It arrange | positions so that it may correspond between the arrangement | positioning intervals of a pair of left and right rollers.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeding device according to the third or fourth aspect, the separator is made of a flat metal plate, an arm portion extending from the main body portion, and a free standing up from the arm portion. The separation claw piece whose end side can come into contact with the recording medium and the elasticity applying piece extending from the main body portion.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeding device according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, an accommodation portion that accommodates the separator is formed on a back surface of the inclined separation plate. The separator is supported by a support inserted from the back side so as not to drop off.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the feeding roller means cooperates with the separation claw piece whose tip portion projects from the inclined separation plate on the downstream side in the feeding direction of the recording medium (paper) of the cassette body. When feeding paper, the number of rows of separation claw pieces is increased on the upstream side in the feeding direction, and accordingly when the amount of paper accumulated on the cassette body is small, the base end A sheet feeding roller mounted on the lower end of the sheet feeding arm that swings up and down about the (upper end) increases the sheet feeding resistance at the position of the separation claw piece on the inclined separation plate, and a plurality of sheets It is possible to eliminate the double feeding phenomenon of the paper by reliably leveling the unwinding action of the leading edge of the paper. On the other hand, by reducing the number of separation claw strips on the downstream side in the feeding direction, that is, on the side far from the bottom plate of the cassette body, that is, when the amount of paper accumulated on the cassette body is large, the inclined separation plate In this case, the feeding resistance force at the portion of the separation claw piece is limited so as not to be too large, and there is an effect that the paper feeding phenomenon does not occur.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, the separation claw pieces in the row located on the upstream side in the feeding direction among the rows of the separation claw pieces are staggered with respect to a direction orthogonal to the feeding direction. In addition to the operation and effect of the invention according to claim 1, the leading edges of the plurality of sheets fed are provided with a plurality of different heights from the bottom plate of the cassette body. Since the chance of colliding with the separation claw piece increases, there is an effect that it becomes more reliable to eliminate the double feeding phenomenon of the paper.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the separation claw piece is formed in one separation body, and each separation body is provided detachably with respect to the back surface side of the inclined separation plate. When a plurality of rows of separation claw pieces are integrally formed on one separator in this way, the arrangement relationship between the separation claw pieces can be set without variation, and the sheet separation and feeding operation can be ensured.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the row of separation claw pieces is arranged so as to correspond to the interval between the pair of left and right rollers of the paper feed roller means. Thus, the feeding resistance force by the separation claw pieces is concentrated on the central portion in the width direction of the sheet to be conveyed, and the sheet can be effectively prevented from skewing. In addition, since the buckling phenomenon is less likely to occur between the sheet feeding roller and the separation claw piece, the double feeding phenomenon is also less likely to occur.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the separation body is made of a flat metal plate, and the separation is such that an arm portion extending from the main body portion and a free end side erected from the arm portion can contact the recording medium. It consists of a claw piece and an elasticity imparting piece extending from the main body portion.

  Therefore, the separation body can be easily formed by punching the arm portion, the separation claw piece, and the elasticity applying piece from the metal plate and then performing a predetermined bending process.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, a housing portion for housing the separated body is formed on the back surface of the inclined separation plate, and the separating body cannot be removed by a support body inserted from the back side of the housing portion. Therefore, there is an effect that the assembling work of the separated body can be performed extremely easily. In addition, there is an effect that it can be easily incorporated so that the protruding amount of the separation claw piece in the separation body becomes a predetermined value.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of an image recording apparatus equipped with an ink jet recording head of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cassette body and paper feed roller means, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view of the first embodiment of the separation claw piece, FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIa-VIa in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6B is FIG. FIG. 7A is a sectional view taken along line VIIa-VIIa in FIG. 5, FIG. 7B is a plan view of the main part of FIG. 7A, and FIG. 9 is a front view of the second embodiment of the piece, FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing the arrangement relationship between the separation claw piece and the paper feed roller in the first and second embodiments, and FIG. 10 is a front view of the third embodiment of the separation claw piece. FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing the arrangement relationship between the separation claw piece and the paper feed roller in the third embodiment.

  An image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is an application of the present invention to a multi-function device (MFD) having a printer function, a copy function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. As shown, the image recording apparatus 1 includes a housing 2 made of an injection molded product made of synthetic resin as an example of a recording apparatus main body.

  An image reading device 12 for a copy function and a facsimile function is disposed on the upper portion of the housing 2, and the image reading device 12 can be vertically opened and closed with respect to one side end of the housing 2 via a pivot portion (not shown). Further, the rear end of the document cover body 13 that covers the upper surface of the image reading device 12 is attached to the rear end of the image reading device 12 so as to be rotatable up and down around a pivot.

  On the upper side of the housing 2, an operation panel unit 14 including various operation buttons and a liquid crystal display unit is provided in front of the image reading device 12. An upper surface of the image reading device 12 is provided with a placement glass plate (not shown) on which an original cover body 13 can be opened to place an original and an original is placed on the lower side. A contact image sensor (CIS) (not shown) is provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a guide shaft extending in a direction (main scanning direction, X-axis direction in FIG. 1) perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. Yes.

  In the ink storage unit (not shown), ink cartridges for each color of black (Bk), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) are stored as cartridges for individual colors in this embodiment. Thus, each ink cartridge and the recording head 4 in the recording unit 7 (corresponding to the image recording unit in the claims) are always connected by a flexible ink supply pipe.

  A cassette body 3 that can be inserted from an opening 2a on the front side (left side in FIG. 2) of the housing 2 is disposed at the lower part (bottom part) of the housing 2. In the present embodiment, the cassette body 3 is a recording medium (cut sheet), for example, a sheet P cut into A4 size, letter size, legal size, postcard size, etc. A plurality of sheets are stacked (deposited) and can be accommodated so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction and the Y-axis direction (in FIG. 2, the direction orthogonal to the paper surface, the main scanning direction, and the X-axis direction).

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cassette main body 3 in the paper feeding device is provided with a bottom plate 31 on which the paper P is placed, and a feeding direction (direction of arrow A, FIGS. 2, 5, and 5) of the bottom plate 31. Side plates 32 and 32 are provided upright on both sides along the line (see FIG. 7). The paper discharge tray 33 is detachable across the side plates 32 and 32 so as to cover a part of the upstream side in the feeding direction (arrow A direction) of the paper P placed on the bottom plate 31 and slides back and forth. It is mounted movably.

  Further, on the downstream side of the bottom plate 31 in the feeding direction (arrow A direction), a paper width guide (not shown) for setting the paper P symmetrically with respect to the center in the width direction of the cassette body 3 is provided in the left-right direction. It is arranged to be movable so as to expand and contract (in the width direction of the paper P).

  On the back side of the cassette body 3 (the right side in FIG. 2 and the left side in FIG. 3), a separation inclined plate 8 having a separating body 11 for separating the leading edge of the paper P one by one is detachably fixed. ing. On the housing 2 side, as will be described later, the base end portion of the paper feed arm 6a in the paper feed roller means 6 is mounted so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction around the drive shaft 34. Rotation from a drive source (not shown) is transmitted to a pair of left and right paper feed rollers 6b provided at the tip portion by a gear transmission mechanism provided in the paper feed arm 6a (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

  As described above, the sheet feeding roller means 6 has left and right sides of the free end (lower end) of the frame-shaped sheet feeding arm 6a made of synthetic resin. A pair of paper feed rollers 6b is rotatably supported, and a distal end portion of a drive shaft 34 made of synthetic resin is rotatably supported at the base end portion of the paper feed arm 6a. The paper feed roller 6b is rotated in a fixed direction by a rotational drive of the drive shaft 34 via a gear transmission mechanism comprising a plurality of gear trains provided in the paper feed arm 6a. The gear transmission mechanism includes a gear that rotates integrally with the drive shaft 34, a planetary gear that is pivotally supported at the tip of a planetary arm that is rotatably fitted to the drive shaft 34, and that meshes with the gear described above. The planetary gear is composed of a plurality of intermediate gears that transmit power to the gear formed on the side of the paper feed roller 6b.

  The paper P, which is a recording medium accumulated and accommodated in the cassette body 3, is separated from the uppermost layer one by one by the cooperation of the paper feed roller 6b and the separator 11 (described in detail later) in the separation inclined plate 8. Can be fed. The separated paper P is transported to the recording unit 7 provided on the upper side (high position) behind the cassette body 3 via a transport path 9 including a lateral U-turn path. The conveyance path 9 is formed in a gap between a first conveyance path body that forms the outer peripheral side of the U-turn shape and a second conveyance path body that is a guide member that forms the inner peripheral side. In the transport path 9, center alignment in which the center line in the width direction of the paper P is aligned with the center line (not shown) in the width direction (hereinafter simply referred to as the width direction) orthogonal to the transport direction, The paper P is configured to be conveyed.

  The recording unit 7 is supported by a box-shaped main frame 21 and a pair of left and right side plates, and is a horizontally long first and second guide members (not shown) extending in the X-axis direction (main scanning direction). Formed between. The carriage 5 on which the ink jet recording head 4 is mounted in the recording unit 7 is slidably supported (mounted) across the upstream first guide member and the downstream second guide member in the paper transport direction. It can move back and forth.

  In order to reciprocate the carriage 5, a timing belt (not shown) is extended on the upper surface of the second guide member arranged on the downstream side in the paper transport direction (arrow A direction) so as to extend in the main scanning direction (X-axis direction). A CR (carriage) motor (not shown) for driving the timing belt is fixed to the lower surface of the second guide member.

  A flat platen 26 extending in the X-axis direction so as to face the lower surface of the recording head 4 in the carriage 5 is fixed to the main frame 21 between the first and second guide members.

  On the upstream side of the platen 26 in the conveying direction, a driving roller 27a and a driven roller below the driving roller 27a are disposed as conveying (registration) rollers for conveying the paper P to the lower surface of the recording head 4. ing. Further, on the downstream side of the transport of the platen 26, a paper discharge roller 28a that is driven so as to transport (discharge) the recorded paper P to the paper discharge tray 33, and the paper discharge roller 28a facing the paper discharge roller 28a. A biased spur roller is disposed (see FIG. 2).

  Next, the configuration of the inclined separation plate 8 and the separator 11 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the sheet separating inclined separating plate 8 is detachably disposed on the back side (left end in FIG. 3) end of the cassette body 3. 8 and the cassette body 3 are synthetic resin injection molded products. The inclined separation plate 8 has a continuous plate shape. The inclined separation plate 8 is formed in a convex curve shape in plan view so as to protrude at the center side in the width direction (X-axis direction) of the paper P and to recede toward the left and right ends in the width direction of the paper P. In addition, at the center of the width direction of the paper P, separation claw pieces 36 having claw-like elasticity for abutting the leading edge of the paper P to promote separation are integrally formed in a plurality of rows. The separator 11 is attached from the back side.

  On the front side of the back side plate 37 in the cassette body 3, a rear surface support portion 38 having a trapezoidal shape (or a triangular shape) for supporting the back surface of the inclined separation plate 8 made of a single plate member as shown in FIG. Are provided at appropriate intervals along the X-axis direction. Each back support portion 38 is provided with a locking groove (not shown) extending downward from its upper end. On the other hand, locking claws (not shown) that can be locked from above into the locking grooves of the respective back support portions 38 are integrally formed on the back surface of the inclined separation plate 8. The front surface of each of the plurality of back support portions 38 (the surface facing the back surface of the inclined separation plate 8) has an envelope surface protruding at the center in the width direction of the paper P, and both left and right ends in the width direction of the paper P. It is formed in a convex curved shape so as to recede toward the part side (away from the leading edge of the paper P). Therefore, by locking each locking claw in the locking groove of each back surface support portion 38, the back surface of the inclined separation plate 8 is supported by the inclined surface of the surface of the back surface support portion 38, and this inclined separation plate 8. Is formed on a curved surface protruding on the center side in the X-axis direction.

  Further, a window hole 44 for allowing each separation claw piece 36 in the separator 11 to be described later to face from the back side is formed at the center of the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction, width direction of the paper P) of the inclined separation plate 8. Are divided in rows along the feeding direction (in the direction of arrow A, see FIGS. 4, 5, 7, etc.) and at an appropriate predetermined interval (an interval substantially equal to the arrangement interval of the separation claw pieces 36). It is open (see FIG. 4, FIG. 7 (a) and FIG. 7 (b)). The separation claw pieces 36 protrude from the window holes 44 toward the contact surface (front surface) side of the sheet P of the inclined separation plate 8. Accordingly, a portion (bridge portion) 50 between adjacent small window holes 44 is integral with the inclined separation plate 8. A mounting case 46 for accommodating a synthetic resin box-like support member 45 as a support for supporting the separator 11 surrounds all the window holes 44 on the back side of the inclined separator 8. (See FIGS. 6A and 6B).

  A bearing portion 48 of a pair of rotatable rollers 47 for smooth feeding operation of the paper P is provided on the rear side of the inclined separation plate 8 on the outer side of the mounting case 46 in the width direction of the paper P. A hole 49 is formed so that a part of the circumferential surface of each roller 47 faces the surface of the inclined separation plate 8 (see FIGS. 4 and 6A).

  In the present invention, the number of rows of the separation claw pieces 36 is the upstream side in the feeding direction (corresponding to the side closer to the bottom plate 31 of the cassette body 3, and accordingly, when the amount of paper P deposited on the cassette body 3 is small). And a small amount on the downstream side in the feeding direction (the side far from the bottom plate 31 of the cassette main body 3, and accordingly corresponds to the case where the amount of paper P deposited on the cassette main body 3 is large). In short, the number of rows of the separation claw pieces 36 is more arranged on the upstream side in the feeding direction than on the downstream side in the feeding direction.

  In the first embodiment (see FIG. 5), the second embodiment (see FIG. 8), and the third embodiment (see FIG. 10), the number of rows of separation claw pieces 36 is two on the upstream side in the feeding direction. And one row on the downstream side in the feeding direction. However, the number of rows of the separation claw pieces 36 is not limited to this, and the separation claw pieces 36 need only be arranged more upstream in the feeding direction than in the feeding direction.

  In this way, the base end (upper end) is increased by increasing the number of rows of the separation claw pieces 36 corresponding to the upstream side in the feeding direction, and accordingly, when the amount of paper P deposited on the cassette body 3 is small. The sheet feeding roller 6b mounted on the lower end of the sheet feeding arm 6a that swings up and down around the sheet feed P increases the feeding resistance force at the position of the separation claw piece 36 on the inclined separation plate 8 to It is possible to eliminate the double-feeding phenomenon of the paper P by reliably leveling the unwinding action of the leading end of the paper P. On the other hand, the number of rows of separation claw pieces 36 is reduced on the downstream side in the feeding direction, that is, on the side far from the bottom plate 31 of the cassette body 3, that is, when the amount of paper P accumulated on the cassette body 3 is large. Thus, the feeding resistance force at the portion of the separation claw piece 36 in the inclined separation plate 8 is limited so as not to be too large, and the effect that the paper P does not feed preferentially occurs.

  The separation claw pieces 36 are formed on one or a plurality of separation bodies 11, and each separation body 11 is detachably provided on the back surface side of the inclined separation plate 8. That is, as described above, the box-shaped support member 45 that can be inserted from the back side and detachable from the back side mounting case 46 (corresponding to the storage portion in the claims) is attached. (Corresponding to the support) is supported so as not to fall off (see FIGS. 6A and 6B). When there are a plurality of separators 11, the attachment cases 46 are separately formed on the back side of the inclined separation plate 8 for each separator 11, and the support member 45 is arranged for each attachment case 46.

  Next, the configuration of the separator 11 according to the first embodiment will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the separating body 11 is made of a metal plate as an elastic body such as stainless steel. The separating body 11 has a mountain-shaped (inverted V-shaped) arm portion 40 extending from a flat main body portion (base portion) 39, and stands up (cuts and raises) from the center portion of the arm portion 40, and the free end side is the paper P. A claw-shaped separation claw piece 36 that can be contacted, and an elasticity applying piece (plate spring part) 41 that extends outward from the main body portion 39 are provided.

  In the first embodiment, the width of the lower body portion (base portion) 39 is large. The arm portion 40 and the separation claw pieces 36 are formed on the main body portion (base portion) 39 in two rows on the left and right sides and in parallel with the left and right at regular intervals in the vertical direction. 41 protrudes diagonally upward. The left and right width dimensions of the upper main body portion 39 are small, and the arm portions 40 and the separation claw pieces 36 are formed in one row at regular intervals along the feeding direction at the central portion of the width. Similarly, the elasticity imparting pieces 41 protrude obliquely upward at both the left and right ends of the upper body portion 39.

  Each separation claw piece 36 is inclined so as to incline and incline toward the downstream side in the paper feeding direction of the paper P with the base portion 36a standing at right angles from the arm portion 40 (inclined obliquely upward with respect to the surface of the inclined separation plate 8). And a distal end portion (also referred to as a free end side) 36b. If comprised in this way, a isolation | separation body can be easily formed by punching out from a metal plate and passing through a predetermined bending process after that.

  The bent portions of the base portion 36a and the tip portion 36b are set so as to be within the thickness of the inclined separation plate 8. As a result, the leading edge of the paper P to be fed does not collide with the base portion 36a and the bent portion (if it collides with this portion, the resistance force becomes too large to be fed), and an oblique angle toward the leading end portion 36b side. Touch at an angle of. A plurality of sheets P to be fed are loosened by the resistance force against the leading edge of the sheet P at this time, and only the uppermost sheet P is separated and fed.

  The free end sides of the left and right elasticity imparting pieces 41 are respectively supported by the end surfaces of the upper and lower longitudinal rib portions 45a, 45b, and 45c formed on the inner surface of the box-shaped support member 45 (FIG. 5). 6 (a) and 6 (b)), the entire main body portion 39 (full length) can be elastically biased in contact with the back surface of the inclined separation plate 8 without a gap.

  As described above, when the plurality of rows of separation claw pieces 36 are integrally formed on one separation body 11, the number of parts can be reduced compared to the case where only one row of separation claw pieces 36 is formed on one separation body 11. Can be reduced. In addition, a plurality of rows of separation claw pieces 36 can be formed close to (in proximity to) the center of the width of the main body portion (base portion) 39 of one separation body 11, and the shape of the separation body 11 can be made compact. Can be. When a plurality of rows of separation claw pieces 36 are integrally formed on one separation body 11, variations in the quality of the separation claw pieces 36 with respect to the plate thickness, material (spring constant), etc. of the separation body 11 are reduced. This makes it possible to further eliminate the double feeding phenomenon and the idle feeding phenomenon of the paper P.

  Among the rows of separation claw pieces 36, the separation claw pieces 36 in a plurality of rows located upstream in the feeding direction are fed in the first embodiment (see FIG. 5) and the third embodiment (see FIG. 10). They are arranged in parallel to the direction orthogonal to the direction, and in the second embodiment (see FIG. 8), they are arranged in a staggered manner. In this way, by arranging the plurality of rows of separation claw pieces 36 on the side close to the bottom plate 31 of the cassette body 3 in parallel or staggered, the leading edges of the plurality of sheets of paper P to be fed are This increases the chance of colliding with the plurality of separation claw pieces 36 having different heights from each other, so that it is possible to more reliably eliminate the double feeding phenomenon of the paper P.

  In the second embodiment (see FIG. 8), the first embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the two rows of separation claw pieces 36 located below the separator 11 (upstream in the feeding direction) are arranged in a staggered manner. Since it is exactly the same as the form (configuration) of the embodiment, the same reference numeral is given to the same configuration, and detailed description is omitted.

  In the third embodiment (see FIG. 10), two rows of separation claw pieces 36 positioned below the separator 11 (upstream in the feeding direction) are formed symmetrically in the wide width direction of the main body portion 39. On the other hand, one row of separation claw pieces 36 located on the upper side (downstream in the feeding direction) of the separation body 11 is formed at the center in the width direction of the main body portion 39, and two rows of separation claws on the lower side. Located between the pieces 36. With this configuration, both the upper and lower separation claw pieces 36, the main body portion 39, the arm portion 40, the elasticity applying piece 41, and the like are formed symmetrically. 8, the separation feeding operation for the paper P arranged in the left and right center can be in a balanced state.

  The row of separation claw pieces 36 corresponds to the interval L1 between the pair of left and right paper feed rollers 6b in the paper feed roller means 6 (see FIG. 9 and FIG. 11), or is fed by each paper feed roller 6b. It sets so that it may be arrange | positioned in the position facing a sending action part. By configuring in this way, it is possible to effectively prevent the sheet P from being skewed due to the feeding resistance force by the separation claw pieces 36 being concentrated at the center in the width direction of the sheet P to be fed. Further, since the buckling phenomenon hardly occurs in the paper P between the paper feed roller 6b and the separation claw piece 36, there is an effect that the double feeding phenomenon is also difficult to occur.

  In the above configuration, when the separating body 11 is inserted into the mounting case 46 from the back side of the inclined separating plate 8, the arm portions 40 are fitted into the window holes 44, and the support members 45 are fixed, the support members 45 are fixed. All the elasticity imparting sides (elastic feet) 41 of the separator 11 are supported. As a result, the main body portion 39 is in close contact with the back side of the inclined separation plate 8, and each separation claw piece 36 protrudes from the surface side of the inclined separation plate 8 by a predetermined amount, and there is no variation in the protruding amount (FIG. 6). (See (a) and FIG. 6 (b)).

  The inclined separation plate 8 is locked from above into the locking groove of each back support 38 in the back plate 37 of the cassette body 3, while the back of the tilt separation plate 8 is brought into contact with the inclined surface of each back support 38. When arranged, the surface of the inclined separation plate 8 (the surface facing the leading edge of the paper P) also protrudes at the center in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction, width direction of the paper P), and in the width direction of the paper P. A convex curve (bow) is formed in plan view so as to move backward (away from the leading edge of the paper P) toward the left and right ends. In this case, the central portion (the portion having the window hole 44) in the longitudinal direction of the inclined separation plate 8 has the largest bending stress and bending deformation, but a series of window holes elongated vertically so as to surround the plurality of separation claw pieces 36. Compared with the structure which perforates | pierces, like the present invention, the bridge part 50 of the several places between the adjacent small window holes 44 reinforces (increases the bending rigidity of the center part of the longitudinal direction of the inclination separation plate 8). ) Can contribute. Accordingly, the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the inclined separation plate 8 (the bridge portion 50 corresponding to the window hole 44) does not warp so as to suddenly protrude toward the surface side, and therefore, by a predetermined protrusion amount as designed, The separation claw piece 36 can be protruded, and the action of separating and feeding the fed paper P one by one can be ensured.

  Needless to say, each of the above embodiments (inventions) can also be applied to an image recording apparatus in which the cassette body 3 is arranged in multiple stages.

1 is a perspective view of an image recording apparatus provided with an ink jet recording head of the present invention. It is a schematic sectional side view of an image recording device. It is a perspective view of a cassette main body and paper feed roller means. It is a perspective view of an inclination separation plate and a paper feed roller means. It is a front view of a separated body. (A) is a sectional view taken along line VIa-VIa in FIG. 4, and (b) is a sectional view taken along line VIb-VIb in FIG. (A) is the VIIa-VIIa arrow directional cross-sectional view of FIG. 5, (b) is a partially notched front view of FIG. 7 (a). It is a front view of 2nd Embodiment of a separation body. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement | positioning relationship between the separator and paper feed roller in 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment. It is a front view of 3rd Embodiment of a separation body. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement | positioning relationship between the separator and paper feed roller in 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image recording apparatus 3 Cassette main body 6 Paper feed roller means 6a Paper feed arm 6b Paper feed roller 8 Inclined separation plate 11 Separation body 36 Separation claw piece 39 Main body part 40 Arm part 41 Elastic leg 44 as elastic provision piece Window hole 47 Roller 50 Bridge section

Claims (6)

A cassette body having an open top surface capable of accommodating sheet-like recording media in a stacked state; paper feed roller means for feeding the deposited uppermost recording medium; and the recording medium in the cassette body. An inclined separation plate provided at a downstream end in the feeding direction so as to extend perpendicular to the feeding direction and to a position higher than the maximum height position of the recordable recording medium, and the inclination A plurality of separation claw pieces attached to a separation plate and arranged at appropriate intervals along the feeding direction of the recording medium, and a recording medium by cooperation of the paper feed roller means and the separation claw pieces A sheet feeding device for separating and feeding one sheet at a time,
The inclined separation plate is provided with a window hole for projecting each separation claw piece to the recording medium contact surface side of the inclined separation plate,
The number of rows of the separation claw pieces is more arranged on the upstream side in the feeding direction than on the downstream side in the feeding direction.   The separation claw pieces in a row located upstream of the feeding direction among the rows of the separation claw pieces are arranged in a staggered manner with respect to a direction orthogonal to the feeding direction. Item 2. The sheet feeding device according to Item 1.   3. The supply according to claim 1, wherein the separation claw piece is formed in one separation body, and each separation body is detachably provided on a back surface side of the inclined separation plate. Paper device.   The sheet feeding roller means has a pair of left and right rollers, and the row of the separation claw pieces is disposed so as to correspond to an interval between the pair of left and right rollers. The sheet feeding device according to any one of 1 to 3.   The separator is made of a flat metal plate, and has an arm portion extending from the main body portion, the separation claw piece which can come into contact with the recording medium on a free end side standing from the arm portion, and an elasticity applying piece extending from the main body portion. The sheet feeding device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized by comprising:   A housing part for housing the separator is formed on the back surface of the inclined separation plate, and the separator is configured to be supported so as not to fall off by a support body inserted from the back side of the housing part. The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 3 to 5.

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