JP2009007160A - Recording medium returning lever, recording medium feeder, recording device, and liquid injector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manufacture a retreat structure at the end of a returning lever at low cost, and always surely return a paper sheet forced to be double-fed to the upstream side without allowing a paper return performance to be affected by the stiffness of the paper sheet during the feeding. <P>SOLUTION: This paper returning lever 28 comprises a lever body 28a and an elastically deformable plate spring 30 forming the end part 28c of the lever. The plate spring 30 forms, when sharply bent, a contact surface B with which the ends of the paper sheets of the next page and subsequent to be returned to the upstream side are brought into contact and a contact surface B with which the paper sheets to be fed are brought into contact. The lever end part 28c formed in a tongue shape is formed at the corner part of the plate spring. When a paper return operation is performed, the lever end part 28c is pushed back by the paper sheet during the feeding due to the elastic deformation of the plate spring 30. Consequently, damage is prevented from being imparted to the paper during the feeding. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording medium return lever for returning a recording medium on and after the next page separated by a separating unit in a recording medium feeding apparatus to an upstream side, a recording medium feeding apparatus and a recording apparatus including the recording medium return lever. The present invention also relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus.

  Here, the liquid ejecting apparatus uses an ink jet recording head, and is not limited to a recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine that discharges ink from the recording head to perform recording on a recording medium. And a device that ejects a liquid corresponding to the application from a liquid ejecting head corresponding to the ink jet recording head to an ejected medium corresponding to a recording medium, and adheres the liquid to the ejected medium. .

  In addition to the recording head, as a liquid ejecting head, a color material ejecting head used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, and an electrode material (conductive paste) used for forming an electrode such as an organic EL display or a surface emitting display (FED) Examples thereof include an ejection head, a bioorganic matter ejection head used for biochip production, and a sample ejection head as a precision pipette.

  An ink jet printer as an example of a recording apparatus or a liquid ejecting apparatus is provided with a feeding device (ASF) capable of setting a plurality of sheets as recording media. The feeding device, for example, forms a nip point between the feeding roller that feeds the paper downstream by rotating in contact with the paper and the feeding roller, and double feeds the paper to be fed. A separation roller that separates the sheet on and after the next page to be performed, and a return lever that returns the sheet on and after the next page separated by the separation roller to the upstream side.

  Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe a configuration example of a feeding device having such a configuration. In the sheet feeding device described in Patent Literature 1, the return lever itself or the return lever tip is pushed by the sheet material being fed, so that the amount of penetration of the lever tip into the sheet material conveyance path is increased. Is configured to be small. That is, when feeding a sheet material with weak waist, the amount of penetration into the sheet material conveyance path at the lever tip becomes large, and when feeding a sheet material with strong waist, the sheet material conveyance path at the lever tip is fed. The intrusion amount is configured to be small. According to such a configuration, an effect is exerted on a problem such as imparting scratches to the back surface of the sheet material being conveyed due to the lever tip greatly entering the sheet material conveyance path.

The recording medium return device described in Patent Document 2 is configured such that the tip of the return lever retracts to substantially the same surface as the peripheral surface of the feeding roller due to the presence of the recording medium. According to this, since the recording medium is maintained in a flat state without being uneven, the recording medium is fed to the recording process, so that high quality recording can be realized.
JP 2003-26349 A JP 2005-41627 A

  However, in the prior art, the structure for retracting the lever tip is complicated, resulting in an increase in cost. In addition, since the amount of penetration of the lever tip into the sheet material conveyance path depends on the strength of the sheet material being conveyed, there is a risk that variations in the original performance required for the return lever, that is, the sheet return performance, may occur. It was. In particular, when the sheet material is stiff, the amount of penetration of the lever tip into the sheet material conveyance path is small, and the sheet material to be double fed cannot be reliably returned.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to construct a retracting structure at the tip of the return lever at a lower cost, and further, to improve the paper return performance to the paper rigidity during feeding. The purpose is to always return the sheet that has always been reliably fed to the upstream side without being influenced.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a first aspect of the present invention is a recording medium feeding apparatus including a separation unit that separates a recording medium to be fed and a recording medium on and after the next page. A recording medium return lever for returning a recording medium on and after the next page separated by the separating means to the upstream side, wherein at least a part from the lever base to the lever tip is formed by an elastic member. And

  According to this aspect, since the recording medium return lever is at least partially formed from the lever base portion to the lever tip portion by the elastic member, the lever tip portion is fed by the elastic deformation of the elastic member. It is elastically brought into contact with the recording medium to be printed and pushed back toward the lever base. As a result, the lever tip can prevent the recording medium to be fed from being scratched, and at least a part of the recording medium return lever is formed of an elastic member, thereby providing a structure. A recording medium return lever in which the lever tip portion can be retracted to the lever base side can be configured easily and at low cost.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the recording medium return lever according to the first aspect, the recording medium to be fed from the leading end of the lever and the recording medium on and after the next page separated by the separation means The portion entering between the two is shaped like a tongue piece.

  According to this aspect, the portion that enters between the recording medium to be fed at the tip of the lever and the recording medium after the next page separated by the separating means has a tongue-like shape. Thus, the lever tip can be surely inserted between the recording medium to be fed and the recording medium on the next page and thereafter, so that the recording medium on and after the next page can be reliably returned to the upstream side.

  In particular, when the recording medium has high rigidity, the protruding amount of the lever tip to the recording medium feeding path is small, and the recording medium return performance is likely to deteriorate. Is surely inserted between the recording medium to be fed and the recording medium on the next page and thereafter, so that the recording medium on and after the next page can be reliably returned to the upstream side.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the recording medium return lever according to the first or second aspect, the lever tip is formed of a thin plate that can be elastically deformed.
According to this aspect, since the lever tip portion is formed of a thin plate that can be elastically deformed, the lever tip portion can be configured to be lightweight, low cost, and highly durable.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the recording medium return lever according to the third aspect, a contact surface with which the leading end of the recording medium on and after the next page comes into contact with the lever leading end, and a target to be fed. A contact surface that contacts the recording medium is formed by bending the thin plate at an acute angle, and the lever tip is to be fed in accordance with the recording medium return operation of the recording medium return lever. After contact with the recording medium, the contact surface is displaced in a direction to return the recording medium of the next page and subsequent pages to the upstream side by elastic deformation of the thin plate.

  According to this aspect, due to the elastic deformation of the thin plate, the contact surface is displaced in a direction to return the recording medium on the next page and the subsequent pages to the upstream side. It is possible to supplement the recording medium returning operation and return the recording medium after the next page to the upstream side more efficiently.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the recording medium return lever according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the elastic member is deformed when an external force in the downstream direction is applied to the lever tip portion. It is characterized in that a regulating means for regulating the above is provided.

When the recording medium is jammed inside the apparatus, if the jammed recording medium is pulled out from the downstream side, the recording medium is caught on the tip of the lever, thereby forming a part of the recording medium return lever. There is a possibility that the elastic member is greatly deformed and cannot be restored or damaged. Further, if the recording medium is formed with a catching portion such as a punch hole, the recording medium is caught at the tip of the lever even during normal conveyance of the medium, which may cause the same problem as described above.

Therefore, in this aspect, since the restricting means for restricting the deformation of the elastic member when an external force in the downstream direction is applied to the tip end of the lever, the elastic member is greatly deformed and cannot be restored. Or can be prevented from being damaged.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a feeding roller for feeding the recording medium, a separating means for separating the recording medium to be fed and the recording medium for the next page and the separation means. A recording medium feeding device comprising: the recording medium return lever according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the recording medium after the next page is returned to the upstream side. is there. According to this aspect, in the recording medium feeding device, it is possible to obtain the same effect as any of the first to fifth aspects.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording unit that performs recording on a recording medium, and a recording medium feeding device according to the sixth aspect that feeds the recording medium to the recording unit. The recording apparatus characterized by the above. According to this aspect, in the recording apparatus, it is possible to obtain the same effects as any of the first to fifth aspects.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a feed roller for feeding the ejected medium, a separating means for separating the ejected medium to be fed and the ejected medium on and after the next page, and separation by the separating means. An ejected medium return lever for returning the ejected medium on and after the next page to the upstream side, and a liquid ejecting unit that is provided on the downstream side of the feeding roller and ejects liquid onto the ejected medium, The ejected medium return lever is a liquid ejecting apparatus in which at least a part from a lever base to a lever tip is formed by an elastic member.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) 1 as an embodiment of a “recording apparatus” or “liquid ejecting apparatus” according to the present invention, and FIGS. 3 is a perspective view of the front end side of the paper return lever 28, FIG. 4 is a side view of the front side of the paper return lever 28, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are feeding rollers. 24 is a front view of the retard roller 21 and the paper return lever 28, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of the lever tip of the paper return lever 28.

  In the following, first, the overall configuration of the printer 1 will be outlined with reference to FIG. The printer 1 includes a rear feeding device 2 as a first paper feeding unit at a rear portion of the apparatus and a front feeding device 3 according to the present invention as a second paper feeding unit at the bottom of the device. A recording sheet (mainly cut sheet paper: hereinafter referred to as “sheet P”) as a “recording medium” or “ejection medium” is fed from the apparatus to the conveying means 5. The paper P is transported to the recording unit 4 by the transport means 5, and after recording is performed, the paper P is discharged to a stacker (not shown) by the discharge means 6.

Hereinafter, the components on the paper transport path will be described in more detail.
The rear feeding device 2 includes a hopper 12, a feeding roller 11, a retard roller 13, and a paper return lever 14. The hopper 12 swings about the upper swing fulcrum 12a, so that the sheet P supported in an inclined posture on the hopper 12 is pressed against the feeding roller 11, and is separated from the feeding roller 11. Switch.

  The retard roller 13 is provided with a predetermined rotational resistance, and forms a nip point with the feed roller 11 so that the uppermost sheet P to be fed and the sheets on and after the next page are fed. Separate from P. The paper return lever 14 is provided so as to be rotatable when viewed from the side of the paper feed path. By turning, the paper return lever 14 returns the paper P on and after the next page separated by the retard roller 13 to the upstream side.

  On the other hand, the front feeding device 3 provided at the bottom of the printer 1 and configured to set paper from the front of the device includes a paper feeding cassette 20, a pickup roller 22, a feeding roller 24, a retard roller 21, A sheet return lever 28 and an assist roller 25 according to the present invention are provided.

  A plurality of sheets of paper P can be set in a stacked state in a paper feed cassette 20 that can be loaded and removed from the front side of the apparatus, and the uppermost one of the loaded sheets P is driven by a drive motor (not shown). The rollers 22 feed out the paper cassette 20 one by one. The pickup roller 22 is provided on a swinging member 23 that swings about a swinging shaft 23a, and the swinging member 23 always swings while being urged toward the paper side by a biasing means (not shown). It comes into contact with the upper sheet.

  The paper P fed out by the pickup roller 22 is subjected to preliminary separation by the separation slope 20a, and then proceeds to the retard roller 21 constituting the “separation means”. The retard roller 21 is provided at a position facing the outer peripheral surface of the feed roller 24 and is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the feed roller 24. When the paper is fed out from the paper feed cassette 20, the uppermost paper P to be fed and the paper after the next (next page) are formed by press-contacting the feed roller 24 to form a nip point. Separate from P.

  The paper return lever 28 is provided so as to be rotatable when viewed from the side of the paper feed path. By rotating, the paper return lever 28 feeds the paper P on and after the next page separated by the retard roller 21 to the upstream side (paper feed cassette 20). Return. The paper return lever 28 according to the present invention will be described in detail later.

  The feeding roller 24 is driven by a drive motor (not shown), reverses the sheet to be fed, and feeds it to the conveying means 5. The assist roller 25 is in contact with the feeding roller 24 and assists the feeding of the sheet P to the downstream side by the feeding roller 24.

  Subsequently, the conveying means 5 provided on the downstream side of the rear feeding device 2 and the front feeding device 3 rotates in a driven manner while being brought into pressure contact with the conveying driving roller 31 that is rotationally driven by a motor. A conveyance driven roller 32 is provided. The paper P that has reached the transport means 5 is transported to the recording unit 4 on the downstream side when the transport drive roller 31 rotates while being nipped by the transport drive roller 31 and the transport driven roller 22.

  The recording unit 4 includes a recording head 38 that ejects ink toward the paper P, and a paper guide front 35 that regulates the distance between the paper P and the recording head 38 by supporting the paper P. . The recording head 38 is provided at the bottom of the carriage 36, and the carriage 36 is reciprocated in the main scanning direction by a drive motor (not shown) while being guided by a carriage guide shaft 37 extending in the main scanning direction (front and back direction in FIG. 1). It is driven like this. The carriage 36 is equipped with an independent ink cartridge (not shown) for each of a plurality of colors, and ink is supplied from the ink cartridge to the recording head 38. A so-called off-carriage method in which the ink cartridge is housed in the housing may be employed.

  Subsequently, on the downstream side of the recording unit 4, a discharge unit 6 that discharges the recorded paper P is provided. The discharge means 6 includes a discharge drive roller 39 that is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown), and a discharge driven roller 40 that rotates in contact with the discharge drive roller 39. The paper P on which recording has been performed by the recording unit 4 is rotated by the discharge drive roller 39 while being nipped by the discharge drive roller 39 and the discharge driven roller 40, and is provided on the front side of the apparatus (not shown). It is discharged to the stacker.

The above is a summary of the printer 1, followed by detailed description sheet returning lever 28 according to the present invention with reference to FIGS. 2-6.
The paper return lever 28 is provided so as to be rotatable about the rotation shaft 29 as a rotation center when the paper feeding path is viewed from the side. By turning, the paper return lever 28 is at the time of paper feeding shown in FIG. The posture is switched between the posture and the paper feeding standby posture shown in FIG.

  The paper return lever 28 includes a nip point (indicated by a symbol G) between the feeding roller 24 and the retard roller 21 (in a state where no paper is present) inside the locus drawn by the lever tip 28c when rotating. 2A, the paper feed path is opened in the paper feeding posture shown in FIG. 2A, and the paper feeding path is closed in the paper feeding standby posture shown in FIG. 2B. It has become.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, a plurality of paper return levers 28 are provided at an appropriate interval in the axial direction of the rotation shaft 29 extending in the paper width direction, and the positions thereof are similarly in the paper width direction. They are positioned between a plurality of feed rollers 24 provided at appropriate intervals (in the left-right direction in FIG. 5).

  During the paper feeding standby, the retard roller 21 is retracted from the feeding roller 24, and the paper return lever 28 assumes the paper feeding standby posture as shown in FIG. When the sheet feeding operation is started, the retard roller 21 advances to the feeding roller 24 to form a nip point with the feeding roller 24, and the sheet return lever 28 starts a retreating operation. As shown in 2 (A), the paper feeding posture is taken. After a predetermined time (or a fixed feed) has elapsed after the paper feeding operation has started, the paper return lever 28 rotates in a direction to close the paper feeding path from the paper feeding posture, whereby the retard roller 21 and the feeding roller. The leading edge of the next and subsequent sheets staying at the nip point with respect to 24 is returned to the upstream side (sheet feeding cassette 20). In FIG. 2, the retard roller 21 indicated by a broken line indicates a case where the retard roller 21 is separated from the feeding roller 24, and the retard roller 21 indicated by a virtual line indicates a case where the nip point is formed by contacting the feeding roller 24.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sheet return lever 28 is provided on the lever body 28 a and is integrally formed with the rotation shaft 29 by a resin material. A plate spring 30 as a thin plate that is elastically deformable and forms the lever tip portion 28c.

  The leaf spring 30 is bent at an acute angle at a position where the lever front end portion 28c is formed, so that the contact surface B with which the front end of the paper after the next page returned to the upstream side comes into contact with the paper to be fed is in surface contact. And a lever front end portion 28c having a tongue piece shape is formed at the bent position (corner portion).

  The leaf spring 30 has a base end portion 28f inserted into the lever main body 28a and is provided in the lever main body 28a, and a hook 28e formed in the lever main body 28a is formed in a window hole 28d formed in the contact surface B. It is loosely inserted. As a result, the leaf spring 30 is provided in a fixed state at the proximal end portion 28f, and the portion between the proximal end portion 28f and the lever distal end portion 28c can be elastically deformed, and the amount of elastic deformation is the same as that of the hook 28e. It is provided in a state regulated by the window hole 28d.

  The sheet return lever 28 configured as described above is in a state in which at least a part from the rotating shaft 29 constituting the lever base to the lever tip 28c is formed by an elastic member having elasticity. Therefore, as indicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 4, the leaf spring 30 contacts and elastically deforms the paper P to be fed during the paper return operation, so that the lever tip 28c is fed. And is pushed back toward the rotating shaft 29 (lever base).

  As a result, it is possible to prevent the lever tip portion 28c from forming a scratch on the paper P to be fed. Such a retracting operation of the lever tip 28c is realized by elastic deformation of the leaf spring 30, so that the retracting structure of the lever tip 28c can be configured with a simple structure and at low cost.

  Further, with the elastic deformation of the leaf spring 30, the contact surface B is displaced in the direction of arrow a in the figure. The displacement direction of the abutment surface B is a direction in which the paper on and after the next page is returned to the upstream side. Therefore, the displacement of the abutment surface B supplements the paper return operation of the paper return lever 28, and the next is more efficiently performed. The paper after the page can be returned to the upstream side.

  When the lever tip 28c is not retracted from the paper feed path, the paper return lever 28 forms a curved state in the paper width direction as shown in FIG. However, since the lever tip 28c is retracted from the paper feeding path as described above due to the elastic deformation of the leaf spring 30, almost no curved state is formed on the paper to be fed as shown in FIG. However, even if it is formed, it becomes very small, so that an increase in the transport load can be prevented. Further, since the resistance when the paper return lever 28 is rotated is reduced, the burden on the drive mechanism of the paper return lever 28 is also reduced.

  Further, since the lever tip portion 28c has a tongue-like shape, the lever tip portion 28c is shown in FIG. 6 regardless of the rigidity of the paper being fed (regardless of the size of the paper being pushed back from the paper). Thus, the sheet P1 to be fed and the next page sheet P2 separated by the retard roller 21 easily enter. Therefore, it is possible to reliably return the paper on the next page and the upstream side to the upstream side.

  In the present embodiment, the paper return lever 28 is composed of the lever main body 28a and the leaf spring 30, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a resin material including the rotating shaft 29 and the lever main body 28a is integrally formed from the resin material, and at least a part from the rotating shaft 29 to the lever tip 28c can be elastically deformed. For example, the same effect as the above-described embodiment can be obtained by forming the thin-walled shape.

  Next, a drive mechanism for driving the paper return lever 28 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 is a front view of the drive mechanism 47, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the locking means 48 that locks the planetary lever 50 when the planetary gear 54 and the transmitted gear 56 are engaged, and FIG. 9 is an enlarged front view thereof.

  In FIG. 7, reference numeral 51 denotes a motor, and the motor 51 drives the rotating shaft 29 of the paper return lever shown in FIG. The drive mechanism 47 includes a motor 51, a gear 52 provided on the rotation shaft of the motor 51, a spur gear 53, a planetary gear 54, a transmitted gear 56, and spur gears 57 to 61. ing.

  The planetary gear 54 is pivotally supported by a swingable planetary lever 50 as shown by the arrow in FIG. 7 around the swinging shaft 49, and planetary motion is generated around the spur gear 53 as the motor 51 rotates. To do. Accordingly, the planetary gear 54 is engaged with the transmitted gear 55 (indicated by the phantom line in FIG. 7) and engaged with the transmitted gear 56 (indicated by the solid line in FIG. 7) by switching the rotation direction of the motor 51. State). The center of rotation of the spur gear 53 and the center of swing of the swing shaft 49 are the same.

  When the planetary gear 54 meshes with the transmitted gear 55, the power of the motor 51 is transmitted to the rear feeding device 2 (FIG. 1), and when the planetary gear 54 meshes with the transmitted gear 56, The power is transmitted to the paper return lever 28 (rotary shaft 29).

  Here, in order to improve the paper feeding speed (throughput improvement) by the front feeding device 3, it is necessary to improve the rotational speed of the paper return lever 28, but the motor 51 that rotates at high speed is stopped. At this time, there is a possibility that tooth skipping (engagement release) may occur between the transmitted gear 56 and the planetary gear 54 due to the reduction ratio between the transmitted gear 56 and the planetary gear 54. For this reason, the drive mechanism 47 is provided with a lock means 48 for locking the planetary lever 50.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the lock means 48 includes a slider 62, a lever 63, a pinion gear 64, and a rack 65. The slider 62 is provided on a frame member (not shown) so as to be slidable in the direction of the arrow a in FIG. 8, and is provided in a state of being urged rightward in the drawing by an urging means (not shown). The slider 62 is disposed so as to be able to engage with the carriage 36. When the carriage 36 returns to the home position, the slider 62 is pushed by the carriage 36 and slides to the left in FIG.

  A lever 63 is engaged with the slider 62, and the lever 63 is rotated in the direction of arrow b in FIG. The lever 63 is formed with a gear portion 63a, and the gear portion 63a is engaged with a pinion gear 64 that can rotate in the direction of arrow c in FIG. The rack 65 that can be displaced in the direction of the arrow d is engaged with the pinion gear 64. Therefore, when the carriage 36 returns to the home position side (left side in FIG. 8) by the above configuration, the rack 65 is moved to the left side in FIG. Displace in the direction.

  Subsequently, a lock pin 65 a is formed at the tip of the rack 65, and this lock pin 65 a can be engaged with a boss 50 a formed on the planetary lever 50. More specifically, the spring force of the spring 66 acts on the lever 63, and the spring 66 causes the lock pin 65a (rack 65) to be retracted from the boss 50a when the carriage 36 is located at a position other than the home position. is doing. When the carriage 36 returns to the home position, the lock pin 65a advances toward the boss 50a, and is in a state where it can be engaged with the boss 50a.

  FIG. 9 shows a state in which the lock pin 65a has advanced toward the boss 50a. As is clear from the drawing, when the lock pin 65a has advanced toward the boss 50a, the planetary gear 54 and the transmitted gear 56 are engaged. In this state, the planetary lever 50 is locked so as not to move in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Accordingly, the meshing state between the planetary gear 54 and the transmitted gear 56 is reliably maintained, and tooth skipping (meshing release) between the transmitted gear 56 and the planetary gear 54 is prevented. When the carriage 36 moves from the recording area to the home position (left side in FIG. 8), the lock pin 65a is retracted from the boss 50a, and the planetary lever 50 is unlocked.

  Here, a surface 65 b that engages with the boss 50 a in the lock pin 65 a is an arc surface, and this arc surface is formed by an arc Q around the rotation center R of the transmitted gear 56. This is due to the following reason.

  That is, if the position of the boss 50a is displaced due to an assembly error or the like, the positional relationship (distance) between the boss 50a and the lock pin 65a is displaced, and the planetary gear 54 and the transmitted gear 56 cannot be properly meshed. There is a fear. Here, the positional shift of the boss 50a due to an assembly error or the like occurs in the circumferential direction of a circle around the rotation center R of the transmitted gear 56 as indicated by the phantom line and the reference numeral 50a 'in FIG.

  Therefore, by forming the surface 65b of the lock pin 65a that engages with the boss 50a with an arc surface centered on the rotation center R of the transmitted gear 56, even if the boss 50a is displaced due to an assembly error or the like, There is no deviation in the positional relationship (distance) between the boss 50a and the lock pin 65a. Therefore, the planetary gear 54 and the transmitted gear 56 can be appropriately meshed regardless of the positional deviation of the boss 50a.

Next, a paper return lever according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a side view of a paper return lever 28 'according to another embodiment of the present invention.
  The sheet return lever 28 'according to the present embodiment is different from the sheet return lever 28 already described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 in the shape of the lever body indicated by reference numeral 28a' in FIG. Specifically, there is a restriction portion indicated by reference numerals 28g and 28j. In FIG. 10, the same components as those of the paper return lever 28 shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted below.

The restricting portion indicated by reference numeral 28g is disposed to face the proximal end portion of the plate portion 30a that forms the contact surface A in the leaf spring 30. In the drawing, the symbol Fa indicates an external force applied to the lever tip portion 28c in the downstream direction. For example, when a paper jam occurs, when pulling out the paper from the downstream side of the paper return lever 28 ′, This occurs when the lever tip 28c is caught by the paper to be pulled out.

Alternatively, even when a normal paper is being fed, if a catch portion such as a punch hole is formed on the paper, the lever tip 28c is caught by this. Reference numeral 30a 'indicated by an imaginary line indicates the leaf spring 30 deformed (displaced) by the external force Fa.

If the external force Fa is extremely large, the leaf spring 30 may be greatly deformed and cannot be restored or damaged. Further, as is apparent from FIG. 3, the window hole 28d formed in the leaf spring 30 may be detached from the hook 28e.
For this reason, the restricting portions 28g, 28h, and 28j have functions of restricting such large deformation of the leaf spring 30 and preventing the leaf spring 30 from coming off the hook 28e.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, a moment M <b> 1 about the fulcrum S <b> 1 is generated by the external force Fa in the plate portion 30 a that forms the contact surface A in the leaf spring 30. The magnitude of the moment M1 is obtained by M1 = Fa × L1. L1 is the distance between the fulcrum S1 and the point of application of the external force Fa.

When the plate spring 30 is deformed as a whole by the external force Fa and the plate portion 30a forming the contact surface A in the plate spring 30 comes into contact with the regulating portion 28g, the distance L1 becomes L1 ′, and L1> L1 ′. The moment M1 ′ at this time is M1 ′ = Fa × L1 ′, and the moment is smaller than before the deformation. Thereby, the whole deformation | transformation of the leaf | plate spring 30 can be controlled.

Further, the moment M2 is generated in the plate portion 30b that forms the contact surface B by the external force Fa, but the restricting portion 28j is provided on the base end side of the plate portion 30b that forms the contact surface B. The moment M2 can be received by the fulcrum S2 and the fulcrum S3. Accordingly, the overall deformation of the leaf spring 30 can be restricted thereby. In addition, it is possible to prevent the plate portion 30b forming the contact surface B from being detached from the hook 28e (lever body 28a ').

As described above, since the deformation of the leaf spring 30 as the elastic member is restricted by the restriction means including the restriction portions 28g, 28h, 28j, the leaf spring 30 is greatly deformed (plastic deformation) and cannot be restored. It is possible to prevent the leaf spring 30 from being detached from the lever body 28a ′.

1 is a schematic side sectional view of a printer according to the present invention. (A), (B) is a side view of the paper return lever according to the present invention. The perspective view of the lever front end side of the paper return lever which concerns on this invention. The side view of the lever front end side of the paper return lever which concerns on this invention. (A), (B) is a front view of a feed roller, a retard roller, and a paper return lever. FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view of a lever tip portion of a paper return lever according to the present invention. The front view of the drive mechanism which drives a paper return lever. The perspective view of the locking means which locks a planetary lever. The front view of the locking means which locks a planetary lever. The side view of the paper return lever which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer, 2 Rear feeding device, 3 Front feeding device, 4 Recording part, 5 Conveying means, 6 Ejecting means, 11 Feeding roller, 12 Hopper, 13 Retard roller, 14 Paper return lever, 20 Paper feeding cassette, 20a Separation slope, 21 retard roller, 22 pickup roller, 23 roller support member, 23a swing shaft, 24 feed roller, 25 assist roller, 28 paper return lever, 28a lever body, 28c lever tip, 28d window hole, 28e Hook, 28g, 28h, 28j Restriction part, 29 Rotating shaft, 30 Leaf spring, 31 Conveyance drive roller, 32 Conveyance driven roller, 35 Before paper guidance, 36 Carriage, 37 Carriage guide shaft, 38 Recording head, 39 Discharge drive roller , 40 discharge driven roller, 47
Drive mechanism, 48 lock means, 49 rocking shaft, 50 planetary lever, 50a boss, 51
Motor, 52 gear, 53 spur gear, 54 planetary gear, 55, 56 transmitted gear, 57-61 spur gear, 62 slider, 63 lever, 64 pinion gear, 65 rack, 65a lock pin, 65b surface, 66 spring, P Recording sheet

Claims (8)

In a recording medium feeding apparatus having a separating means for separating a recording medium to be fed and a recording medium on the next page and thereafter, the recording medium on and after the next page separated by the separating means is upstream. A recording medium return lever to return to
A recording medium return lever, wherein at least a part from a lever base to a lever tip is formed of an elastic member. The recording medium return lever according to claim 1, wherein a portion that enters between the recording medium to be fed at the tip of the lever and the recording medium after the next page separated by the separating unit is a tongue piece. Has a shape,
A recording medium return lever characterized by the above.   3. A recording medium return lever according to claim 1, wherein the lever tip is formed of a thin plate that can be elastically deformed. The recording medium return lever according to claim 3, wherein a contact surface with which the leading end of the recording medium on and after the next page comes into contact with the tip of the lever, and a contact surface with which the recording medium to be fed comes into contact, Is formed by bending the thin plate at an acute angle,
After the lever end of the lever comes into contact with the uppermost recording medium to be fed along with the recording medium returning operation of the recording medium return lever, the contact surface is moved to the next page by elastic deformation of the thin plate. A recording medium return lever which is displaced in a direction to return the subsequent recording medium to the upstream side. 5. The recording medium return lever according to claim 1, further comprising a restricting unit that restricts deformation of the elastic member when an external force in the downstream direction is applied to the lever tip portion. 6. ing,
A recording medium return lever characterized by the above. A feeding roller for feeding a recording medium;
Separating means for separating the recording medium to be fed from the recording medium on the next page;
The recording medium return lever according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the recording medium after the next page separated by the separation unit is returned upstream.
A recording medium feeding device comprising: A recording unit for recording on a recording medium;
The recording medium feeding device according to claim 6 , wherein the recording medium is fed to the recording unit.
A recording apparatus comprising: A feed roller for feeding the ejection medium;
Separating means for separating the ejected medium to be fed from the ejected medium on the next page;
An ejected medium return lever that returns the ejected medium from the next page separated by the separating means to the upstream side;
A liquid ejecting unit that is disposed on the downstream side of the feeding roller and ejects liquid onto the ejected medium;
The ejected medium return lever is formed by an elastic member at least partly from the lever base to the lever tip.
A liquid ejecting apparatus.

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