JP2009155105A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recorder capable of preventing any projection of a paper sheet P in a paper feed tray 3 when the tray is inserted in a housing 2. <P>SOLUTION: The paper feed tray to be inserted in/drawn out of a housing comprises a bottom plate for stacking the paper sheets P thereon, and an inclined separation plate 21 on the downstream side in the inserting direction. A plurality of projecting parts 51 projected from a lower surface of an arm body 20c elevated/lowered with respect to a bottom surface of the paper feed tray are arranged at an adequate spacing along the feeding direction of the paper sheets P, and provided on parts close to a base end of the arm body 20c. When the paper feed tray 3 is inserted in the housing 2 while a fore end of the highest paper sheet P out of the paper sheets P stacked on and stored in the paper feed tray 3 exceeds an upper edge of the inclined separation plate 21 and projected therefrom, the fore end of the paper sheet P is butted to a working surface 51a of the projecting part 51 from the lower surface of the arm body 20c approaching the inclined separation plate 21, and when the paper feed tray 3 is further inserted therein, the fore end of the paper sheet P is pushed back by the working surface 51a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, or a facsimile machine provided with a paper feed tray, and more specifically, a recording medium (paper) on a paper feed tray when mounted (protruding or protruding). The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus provided with a regulating means capable of preventing

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, or a facsimile machine, a paper feed tray is disposed in a lower portion of a housing so as to be able to be inserted / removed in a substantially horizontal direction, as in Patent Document 1, and the insertion direction of the paper feed tray. An inclined separating plate is provided on the downstream side, and a recording medium such as a stacked sheet is separated one by one in order from the uppermost sheet by the cooperation of the sheet feeding roller and the inclined separating plate. 2. Description of the Related Art An image recording apparatus having an inkjet recording head as an image recording unit that conveys a sheet to a U-shaped conveyance path formed upward adjacent to the upper end of the image and records a dot pattern image on the sheet is known. It has been.

  By the way, when a paper feed tray storing and storing a large number of sheets is inserted into the housing in a substantially horizontal direction, the upper layer portion of the sheets stored and stored is inclined due to the momentum at the time of insertion and the impact at the completion of the mounting. In this state, when the paper is fed in the direction of the recording unit by the paper feed roller, the paper is double fed (multiple papers are fed at the same time). There has been a problem that paper jam occurs.

  As a means for solving the above-described problem, one of the configurations described in Patent Document 1 is an elastic member disposed in a housing at a position above the paper feed tray in a downstream portion in the insertion direction of the paper feed tray. A contact member formed by forming a film member having a U shape into a downward convex curve is provided. With this configuration, when the upper end of the inclined separation plate collides with the lower end of the film member when the paper feed tray is inserted into the inner side of the housing, the lower end of the film member moves toward the inner side of the housing due to the elasticity of the film member itself. Evacuate once. When the sheet feeding tray insertion operation continues, the lower end of the film member moves in a direction over the upper end of the inclined separation plate. The uppermost surface of the accumulated paper, which is going to move in the inserting direction opposite to the moving direction, is rubbed or brought into contact with the lower end of the film member, so that the paper protrudes from the upper side of the inclined separation plate. It was possible to prevent (or rush).

On the other hand, there is also known one provided with pressing means such as a leaf spring for pressing the uppermost surface of the paper accumulated in the paper feed tray at the lower part of the housing (see Patent Documents 2 and 3).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-225151 (see paragraph number 0049, FIG. 9, FIG. 10, etc.) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-167486 JP-A-11-59942

  In the configuration of Patent Document 1, the amount of downward protrusion of the film member, the strength of the elastic force of the film member itself, the amount of paper accumulated on the paper feed tray, and the prevention of paper from protruding from the upper end of the inclined separation plate A correlation occurs with the action. In other words, when the amount of downward protrusion of the film member is reduced in accordance with the large amount of paper accumulated on the paper feed tray, when the amount of paper accumulated on the paper feed tray decreases, the film is placed on the top surface of the paper. The lower end of the member does not come into contact, and the protrusion prevention function cannot be exhibited. Conversely, if the amount of downward projection of the film member is increased or the elastic force of the film member itself is too strong when the amount of paper on the paper tray is small, the paper on the paper tray When the amount of accumulated toner is large, the pressing force of the lower end of the film member against the uppermost surface of the paper becomes too large, causing the paper to be shifted in the direction opposite to the insertion direction of the paper feed tray. Regardless of the amount of paper accumulated on the tray, it has been difficult to always exhibit the optimum anti-extrusion effect.

  On the other hand, in the configurations of Patent Documents 2 and 3, when the paper feed tray is inserted in the substantially horizontal direction at the lower part of the housing, the paper is deposited on the paper feed tray by the resistance force that presses the top surface of the paper accumulated by the pressing means. Since the sheet is resisted from continuing to move in the insertion direction due to inertial force, it is possible to prevent a phenomenon in which the sheet rushes over the leading end of the sheet feed tray. However, conversely, there is a problem that the paper is shifted to the opposite side to the insertion direction. If the paper feed roller is driven in such a state, the paper separation action cannot be accurately performed by the inclined separation plate, and multiple paper feeding (multiple paper feeding simultaneously) or paper feeding There was a problem of insufficient feeding.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus that can easily solve the above-described problems and can prevent paper from sticking out (protruding) and that can be realized by a small regulating means. It is.

  As a means for achieving the above object, an image recording apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 includes a paper feed tray having an open top surface capable of accommodating recording media in a stacked state in a housing, and a U-shaped conveyance. Separating the recording medium one by one from the uppermost layer of the recording medium stored in the paper feed tray and an image recording unit capable of recording an image on the recording medium conveyed through the path, and An image recording apparatus provided with a feeding means for feeding to a conveyance path, wherein a paper feed tray that can be inserted into and removed from the housing includes a bottom plate on which a recording medium is placed, and an insertion direction An inclined body separation plate on the downstream side, and at least one of the arm body in the feeding means capable of moving up and down with respect to the bottom surface of the paper feed tray, or the inclined separation plate, the paper feed tray. Receiving the stack when inserted into the housing A recording medium that is in which is provided with a regulating means for preventing movement protruding from the upper end of the inclined separation plate.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the restricting means is a protruding piece that protrudes upward from an upper end of the inclined separation plate.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the second aspect, the projecting piece is a transport path member that forms the transport path when the projecting piece has been mounted on the housing. It is provided at a position retracted from the surface.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the restriction means is a protrusion provided on a lower surface of the arm body, and the plurality of protrusions are formed on a recording medium. They are arranged at appropriate intervals in the feeding direction.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the fourth aspect, a cam portion is formed on the paper feed tray, and a cam follower member is provided on the arm body, whereby the paper feed tray is inserted. Sometimes, the cam follower member is in sliding contact with the cam portion so that the arm body can get over the upper end of the inclined separation plate.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, the surface of the protruding piece or the protruding portion is at least more than the surface of the inclined separation plate or the arm body. A friction part having a high friction coefficient is formed.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the second or third aspect, an angle formed between the surface of the inclined separation plate and the recording medium stored and deposited on the surface of the protruding piece. A friction part having a larger depression angle is provided.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the insertion direction of the paper feed tray into the housing and the feeding of the recording medium to the paper feed tray. The direction is the same direction.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the insertion direction of the paper feed tray into the housing and the extension of the arm body in the housing. The direction is the same direction.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, on the recording medium conveyed through the U-shaped conveyance path and the paper feed tray having an open top surface capable of accommodating the recording medium in a stacked state in the housing. An image recording unit capable of recording an image on the recording medium, and a feeding unit for separating the recording medium one by one from the uppermost layer of the recording medium accommodated in the paper feed tray and feeding it to the transport path And a paper feed tray that can be inserted into and removed from the housing includes a bottom plate on which a recording medium is placed, and an inclined separation plate on the downstream side in the insertion direction, At least one of the arm body in the feeding means that can move up and down with respect to the bottom surface of the paper feed tray and the inclined separation plate is stored in the stack when the paper feed tray is inserted into the housing. The recording medium is on the inclined separation plate Those having a regulating means for preventing movement protruding from.

  Therefore, it is possible to prevent the recording medium from being double-fed and to prevent paper jam.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, since the restricting means is a projecting piece protruding upward from the upper end of the inclined separation plate, the effect of the invention described in claim 1 is provided. In addition, the configuration of the projecting piece as the restricting means is simple and small, which can contribute to the miniaturization of the entire apparatus. Furthermore, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the projecting piece is provided at a position retracted from the surface of the transport path body constituting the transport path when the paper feed tray is completely attached to the housing. Therefore, it interferes with the recording medium during the normal operation of feeding the recording medium to the recording unit while preventing the recording medium from popping out when the paper feed tray is inserted. There is an effect that it can be prevented.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the restricting means is a protrusion provided on the lower surface of the arm body, and the plurality of protrusions are arranged at appropriate intervals in the feeding direction of the recording medium. It is characterized by being. Even in this configuration, the restricting means does not interfere with the recording medium during a normal operation of feeding the recording medium to the recording unit while preventing the recording medium from popping out when the paper feed tray is inserted. There is an effect that can be done.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a cam portion is formed on the paper feed tray, a cam follower member is provided on the arm body, and the cam follower member slides on the cam portion when the paper feed tray is inserted. Since the arm body is configured to be able to climb over the upper end of the inclined separation plate by contacting, the recorded object that protrudes from the upper end of the inclined separation plate during the operation of the arm body over the upper end of the inclined separation plate The projection hits the leading edge of the medium, and there is an effect that the recording medium can be reliably returned to the paper feed tray.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the surface of the protruding piece or the protruding portion is formed with at least a friction portion having a higher coefficient of friction than the surface of the inclined separation plate or the arm body. When the recording medium comes into contact with the projecting piece or projecting part, it does not slip.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the surface of the protruding piece is provided with a friction portion having a depression angle larger than the depression angle formed by the surface of the inclined separation plate and the recording medium stored and stored. It is what.

  Therefore, when the leading edge of the recording medium collides with such a friction part, the leading edge of the recording medium cannot slide over the friction part.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the insertion direction of the paper feed tray into the housing and the feeding direction of the recording medium to the paper feed tray are the same direction.

  Since the inclined separation plate is provided on the downstream side in the feeding direction of the recording medium accumulated and accommodated in the paper feeding tray, when the paper feeding tray is inserted into the housing, the recording medium is inserted in the insertion direction. However, the tip of the recording medium tends to protrude from the upper edge of the inclined separation plate. In such a case, the protrusion of the recording medium can be effectively prevented by the restricting means provided on the downstream side in the feeding direction of at least one of the arm body in the feeding means and the inclined separation plate. Can be prevented.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the insertion direction of the paper feed tray into the housing and the extending direction of the arm body in the housing are the same direction. Accordingly, the arm for the normal operation of feeding the recording medium to the recording unit while preventing the recording medium from popping out when the paper feed tray is inserted into the housing by the regulating means provided on the arm body. There is an effect that the body regulating means can be prevented from interfering with the recording medium.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a multi-function device 1 (multifunction machine) as an image recording apparatus provided with a paper feeding device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the recording unit and the paper feed tray. The multi-function device 1 has various functions such as a facsimile function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a copy function.

[Basic structure of multi-function device 1]
As shown in FIG. 1, an opening 2a is opened on the front side (front side in FIG. 1) of the housing 2 in the multi-function device 1, and sheets as recording media are stacked in the opening 2a. A paper feed tray 3 having an open top surface is accommodated so as to be insertable / removable along the X-axis direction. A paper discharge tray 33 is mounted on the upper surface of the paper feed tray 3.

  An image reading device 5 for reading a document in a copy function or a facsimile function is disposed on the housing 2. The image reading device 5 is configured to be vertically openable and closable with respect to one side end of the housing 2 via a pivot portion (not shown). Further, the upper surface of the image reading device 5 is constituted by a glass plate for placing a document, and this glass plate is a document cover body 6 that can be turned up and down around the pivot with respect to the rear end of the image reading device 5. Covered with. The document cover body 6 is opened upward, the document is placed on the glass plate, and an image of the document is read by a document reading scanner (for example, CIS: Contact Image Sensor) that reciprocates in the main scanning direction below the glass plate. Read.

  On the upper surface of the housing 2 and in front of the document cover body 6, an operation panel unit 7 having various operation buttons and a liquid crystal display device 8 for displaying an operation procedure and a state of processing being executed are provided. ing. The various operation buttons include a start button, a stop button, and the like, and various operations are performed by pressing these operation buttons. In addition, the setting state of the multi-function device 1 and various operation messages are displayed as necessary.

  An external memory insertion portion 11 for inserting an external memory is provided on the front surface of the housing 2 and above the opening 2a. The external memory corresponds to, for example, CompactFlash (registered trademark), SmartMedia (registered trademark), Memory Stick (registered trademark), SD card (registered trademark), xD (registered trademark), and the like. Data stored in the external memory inserted into the external memory insertion unit 11 is read into the internal memory of the multi-function device 1 and recorded on the paper P by the recording device.

[Recording section]
Next, the recording unit 10 and the paper feeding device 12 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the recording unit 10 is supported by a box-shaped main frame (not shown) having an open upper surface and a pair of left and right side plates, and extends horizontally in the Y-axis direction (main scanning direction). It is formed between the plate-like first and second guide members 15 and 16. The carriage 13 on which the recording head (not shown) in the recording unit 10 is mounted on the lower surface slides across the first guide member 15 on the upstream side and the second guide member 16 on the downstream side in the paper transport direction. It is supported (mounted) freely and can reciprocate.

  In order to reciprocate the carriage 13, timing is arranged on the upper surface of the second guide member 16 disposed on the downstream side in the paper conveyance direction (arrow A direction) so as to extend in the main scanning direction (Y-axis direction). A belt (not shown) is wound around a pulley (not shown), and a CR (carriage) motor (not shown) that drives the timing belt is fixed to the lower surface of the second guide member 16.

  A flat platen 17 extending in the Y-axis direction so as to face the lower surface of the recording head 14 in the carriage 13 is fixed between the guide members 15 and 16 and above the bottom plate of the main frame.

  Further, a registration roller (conveyance roller) pair 18 for sending the paper P to the lower surface of the recording head 14 is disposed on the upstream side of the platen 17, and the recorded paper is on the downstream side of the platen 17. A pair of paper discharge rollers 19 for conveying P onto a paper discharge tray 33 provided on the upper surface of the paper feed tray 3 is disposed. The platen 17 supports the sheet P conveyed by the registration roller (conveyance roller) pair 18 so that the gap between the platen and the recording head is constant.

[Paper Feeder]
Next, the configuration of the sheet feeding device 12 will be described in detail. The paper feed tray 3 that is an injection molded product of a synthetic resin material includes a front housing portion 3b and a rear housing portion 3d that is connected to the front housing portion 3b so as to be movable back and forth. The maximum size of the paper P that can be stored in the paper feed tray 3 in the state where the rear storage portion 3d is moved backward with respect to the front storage portion 3b to increase the total length (length in the X direction) is A3 size, and A3 The size paper P can be accumulated and accommodated in the inside of the front storage portion 3b and the rear storage portion 3d so that the long side is along the Y direction and the short side is along the X direction. Further, when accumulating and storing A4 size paper P, the rear storage portion 3d is pushed into the front storage portion 3b, and the length of the paper feed tray 3 is shortened in the state shown in FIG. The sheets P in the sheet feed tray 3 are fed to the recording unit 10 one by one by a pendulum type feeding unit 20 described later.

  The front accommodating portion 3b is composed of a bottom plate 3a, left and right side plates 3c, and an inclined separation plate 21 connected to the downstream end in the feeding direction. Similarly, a handle portion 3f is provided at the rear end of the rear housing portion 3d having a bottom plate and left and right side plates (both not shown). In the embodiment, the maximum accumulation amount of the paper P on the paper feed tray 3 is about 150 sheets of plain paper, and the accumulation height is about 15 mm.

[Inclined separator]
Further, the surface of the inclined separation plate 21 has a sawtooth shape as a separating means located on the center side in the width direction of the paper P in the direction (Y direction, width direction of the paper P) perpendicular to the feeding direction of the paper P. A convex portion that approaches the leading edge on the center side in the width direction of the paper P at a portion close to the separation member 21a and moves away from the leading edge of the paper P as it goes to both ends in the width direction of the paper P. It is formed on a curved surface. As described above, since the surface of the inclined separation plate 21 is a convex curved surface, the both ends of the fed paper P in the width direction come into contact with the surface of the inclined separation plate 21 in the width direction of the paper P. Thus, the leading edge on the center side of the sheet can surely slide on the separating member 21a and can reliably receive the separating action of the paper P.

  The sheets P separated one by one by the cooperative action of the sheet feeding roller 20a and the separating member 21a are pushed obliquely upward from the inclined separating plate 21 by the sheet feeding roller 20a. The leading edge of the sheet P is abutted against the registration roller pair 18 via the laterally U-shaped inner and outer conveying path members 22 and 23 adjacent to the upper end of the sheet. At the time of recording, the registration roller pair 18 is driven to convey the paper P between the carriage 13 and the platen 17, and after recording an image by ejecting ink from the ink jet head on the lower surface of the carriage 13, the paper discharge roller pair 19. To the discharge tray 33.

  The horizontal U-shape does not strictly indicate a U-shape, and the sheet P fed from the inclined separation plate 21 is transported between the inkjet head and the platen 17 located above the sheet feed tray 3. It refers to the shape formed by the transport path formed as possible.

  The paper discharge tray 33, which is an injection molded product of synthetic resin material, has a front receiving portion 33a that is connected to the left and right side plates 3c of the paper supply tray 3 so as to be vertically rotatable, and is advanced and retracted with respect to the front receiving portion 33a. The rear receiving portion 33b is movably mounted. The rear receiving portion 33b is placed on the left and right side plates of the rear receiving portion 3d in a horizontal state (see FIG. 3), and can be pulled out from the opening 2a and extended together with the rear receiving portion 3d.

  The front storage portion 3b in the paper feed tray 3 is provided with a pair of side guides 41 for guiding and positioning the side edges parallel to the feeding direction of the paper P in the paper feed tray 3 (FIG. 2 and FIG. 4). On the other hand, the rear accommodating portion 3d is provided with a rear guide (not shown) that can be moved and adjusted along the X direction so as to abut the rear edge of the paper P.

  The pair of side guides 41 can be moved in a wide and narrow manner (a wide and narrow slide) in a direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the feeding direction (X direction) of the paper P on the bottom plate 3 a between the left and right side plates 3 c of the paper feed tray 3. Is provided. Each side guide 41 includes a slider 43 parallel to the bottom plate 3a and a contact plate 44 standing vertically from the slider 43, and only one side guide 41 has a lock member 45 with a knob 45 for positioning. (Not shown).

  Each slider 43 is slidable along the upper surface of the bottom plate 3a and supports the lower surface of the paper P accommodated therein. Each abutment plate 44 abuts against the side edge of the paper P in the width direction.

  Further, rack teeth are formed on one surface of the rack rod 46 connected to the lower surface of each slider 43. The pair of left and right rack cages 46 extend toward the other side guide 41 along the pair of left and right parallel guide grooves formed in the bottom plate 3a. The teeth are configured to mesh with a rotatable pinion 47 disposed at the center line position in the width direction on the lower surface of the bottom plate 3 a of the sheet feeding tray 3. As a result, the center line in the width direction of the paper feed tray 3 (the direction orthogonal to the feeding direction of the paper P) and the center line in the width direction of the paper P are matched by the pair of side guides 41. Can be aligned.

  Each lock member is provided on the lower surface of the slider 43, and can be selectively disengaged with respect to a plurality of engagement teeth formed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 3a.

[Feeding means]
In the embodiment, the frame-like arm body 20c made of synthetic resin in the feeding means 20 can be turned up and down around the drive shaft 39, and the arm body 20c extends so as to approach the inclined separation plate 21, and the arm body A paper feed roller 20a is disposed at the tip of 20c. The paper feed roller 20a is rotationally driven from the drive shaft 39 through a gear transmission mechanism 20b provided on the arm body 20c (see FIG. 2). Note that the pair of paper feed rollers 20a in the embodiment are provided at symmetrical positions with respect to the center line in the Y direction (see FIGS. 3 and 7A). Further, the feeding roller 20a side is always biased toward the bottom plate 3a (downward) by an unillustrated biasing means (for example, a torsion spring).

  A cam follower member 20d having a cross-sectional ship bottom shape that integrally projects from one side of the arm body 20c is provided in parallel with the direction in which the drive shaft 39 extends. The structure in which the arm body 20c automatically moves up and down when the paper feed tray 3 is inserted into and removed from the housing 2 has a height difference in the height direction formed on the upper surface of one side plate 3c of the paper feed tray 3. It consists of a cam portion 48 and the cam follower member 20d. The cam portion 48 includes a first cam portion 48a having a substantially constant height on the back side in the insertion direction of the paper feed tray 3 (downstream in the feed direction), and a front side in the insertion direction of the first cam portion 48a (feed direction). And a second cam portion 48b recessed in a substantially V shape adjacent to the upstream side.

  According to the above configuration, when the paper feed tray 3 is inserted from the opening 2a of the housing 2, the lower surface of the cam follower member 20d first comes into contact with the first cam portion 48a. According to the insertion operation of the paper feed tray 3, the arm body 20 c rotates upward, and the paper feed roller 20 a at the tip of the arm body 20 c exceeds the upper end of the inclined separation plate 21. When the paper feed tray 3 continues to be inserted, the lower surface of the cam follower member 20d descends according to the slope of the second cam portion 48b, and the paper feed roller 20a at the tip of the arm body 20c presses against the bottom plate 3a in the paper feed tray 3. It approaches like this. When the paper feed tray 3 is pulled out, the arm body 20c and the paper feed roller 20a can be lifted and lowered over the upper end of the inclined separation plate 21 in the reverse order described above.

  A friction plate 25 such as a cork plate is fixed to the upper surface of the bottom plate 3a in the paper feed tray 3 at a position where the pair of paper feed rollers 20a abut against each other when the paper is pressed downward (see FIG. 4). As a result, when the number of sheets P in the sheet feeding tray 3 is small, a multiple feeding phenomenon in which a plurality of sheets are simultaneously fed by the rotation of the sheet feeding roller 20a is prevented.

[Regulation means]
Next, when the paper feed tray 3 is inserted into the lower portion of the housing 2 in a substantially horizontal direction, the paper P accumulated and stored in the paper feed tray 3 tries to continue to move in the insertion direction by inertia force. When the paper tray 3 stops at the storage position in the housing 2, the paper P protrudes from the upper end of the inclined separation plate 21 at the leading end of the paper feed tray 3 (the insertion back side, the downstream end in the feeding direction). The restricting means for preventing the occurrence of double feed of the paper P (extruding and popping) will be described below.

[First regulating means]
The first embodiment (first regulating means) of the regulating means is a protruding piece 50 protruding upward from the upper end of the inclined separation plate 21 (see FIGS. 4 to 7).

  The protruding piece 50 is made of synthetic resin. The working surface 50a of the protruding piece 50 that faces the inside of the paper feed tray 3 is formed in a friction portion having a large friction coefficient due to a pear-like pattern, dimples (many small protrusions), knurling, or the like (FIG. 4B )reference). As another embodiment, the protruding piece 50 itself may be made of a rubber material having a large friction coefficient.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the normal line N with respect to the working surface 50a as the friction portion of the projecting piece 50, and the leading edge of the paper P about to come out from the upper end of the inclined separation plate 21, as will be described later, are the working surface 50a. The working surface (friction) of the projecting piece 50 is set so that the sliding friction coefficient μ> (tan γ) of the working surface 50a when the angle γ (therefore the depression angle is (90−γ)) formed with the traveling line colliding with Part) 50a is attached to the surface of the inclined separating plate 21 at a predetermined angle. As a result, it is possible to prevent the leading edge of the paper P about to come out from slipping upward with respect to the working surface 50a.

  The surface of the protruding piece 50 as still another embodiment shown in FIG. 8 has a friction at a depression angle θ2 that is larger than the depression angle θ1 formed by the surface of the inclined separation plate 21 and the paper P accumulated and stored in the sheet feeding tray 3. The portions 50b are formed in a plurality of columns (however, θ1 and θ2 are less than 90 degrees). More specifically, the friction part 50b satisfies the conditions of the sliding friction coefficient μ> tan (90−θ2) and μ <tan (90−θ1), and is formed in a plurality of columns in the embodiment of FIG. This is a friction part 50b having a sawtooth cross section.

  Further, on the inner surface of the outer conveyance path body 23 on the outer diameter side of the horizontal U-shaped conveyance path, a plurality of horizontal U-shaped ribs 23a formed on the ridges and the same horizontal U-shape therebetween. The groove portion 23b is formed. Therefore, when inserted to a predetermined position in the housing 2 (position where the paper P can be fed), the upper edge of the inclined separation plate 21 is adjacent to the lower part of the inner surface of the outer transport path body 23 (FIGS. 2 and 2). 5 (A)). At that time, the projecting piece 50 at the upper end of the inclined separation plate 21 is fitted in the groove 23b, and the working surface 50a and the friction part 50b as the friction part of the projecting piece 50 are located on the inner side of the inner end side of the rib 23a. It is set so that the normally fed paper P does not come into contact with (do not interfere with) the working surface 50a and the friction portion 50b (see FIGS. 5B and 6).

[Second regulating means]
The second embodiment (second restricting means) of the restricting means is a plurality of protrusions 51 protruding from the lower surface of the frame-like arm body 20c in the feeding means 20 (FIG. 9A and FIG. 9). B)). The protrusions 51 are arranged at appropriate intervals along the feeding direction of the paper P, and are provided on the lower surface of the arm body 20c close to the drive shaft 39 (a portion near the base end of the arm body 20c). It has been. In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9B, the side cross-section is a triangle, the working surface 51a of each protrusion 51 protrudes substantially perpendicular to the lower surface of the arm body 20c, and the paper P is fed. This is a portion facing the feeding direction (see FIG. 9B). The protrusion 51 may be formed integrally when the arm body 20c is injection molded, or a plurality of protrusions 51 may be separately bonded to the lower surface of the arm body 20c.

  The working surface 51a of the protrusion 51 is preferably formed in a friction part having a large coefficient of friction due to a pear pattern, dimples (many small protrusions), knurling, or the like. As another embodiment, the protrusion 51 itself may be made of a rubber material having a large friction coefficient.

  Next, the effect | action by the said structure is demonstrated. The paper feed tray 3 is placed in the housing 2 in a state in which the leading edge of the upper layer paper P out of the paper P stacked and stored in the paper feed tray 3 protrudes beyond the upper edge of the inclined separation plate 21. When the arm body 20c approaches the inclined separation plate 21 when inserted into the inside, the leading end of the paper P abuts against the action surface 51a of the protrusion 51 (see FIG. 10A). When the paper feed tray 3 is further inserted (pushed) in this state, the leading end of the paper P is pushed back by the working surface 51 a of the protrusion 51. In the arm body 20 c, the cam follower member 20 d is pushed up by the first cam portion 48 a of the paper feed tray 2 and gets over the upper edge of the inclined separation plate 21. At that time, the entire sheet P is returned to the layer of the accumulated sheet P in the sheet feeding tray 3 while the leading end of the sheet P is in contact with the working surface 51a of the protrusion 51. (See FIG. 10B).

  According to the present invention, the direction in which the paper feed tray 3 is inserted into the housing 2 is the same as the direction in which the paper P is fed to the paper feed tray 3, and the paper P stored in the paper feed tray 3 is fed. Since the inclined separation plate 21 is provided on the downstream side in the feeding direction, when the paper feed tray 3 is inserted into the housing 2, the paper P moves in the insertion direction due to inertia, and the leading end portion of the paper P is the inclined separation plate. It tends to protrude from the upper edge of 21. In such a case, the protrusion of the sheet P is effectively prevented by the restricting means provided on the downstream side in the feeding direction, which is at least one of the arm body 21c and the inclined separation plate 21 in the feeding means. It can be prevented.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the direction in which the paper feed tray 3 is inserted into the housing 2 and the extending direction of the arm body 21c in the housing 2 are the same direction, the restricting means provided in the arm body 21c. In the normal operation of feeding the paper P to the recording portion while preventing the paper P from popping out when the paper feed tray 3 is inserted into the housing 3 by the (protrusion 51), the arm body 21c is provided. There is an effect that the regulating means (protrusion 51) can be prevented from interfering with the paper P.

  In the present invention, at least one of the protruding piece 50 and the protruding portion 51 described above is provided, and both the protruding piece 50 and the protruding portion 51 may be provided. When both the projecting piece 50 and the projecting portion 51 are provided, the arm body 20c is positioned closer to the center in the width direction of the paper P, so that the projecting piece 50 provided on the inclined separation plate 21 is the end in the width direction of the paper P. By disposing near the portion, it is possible to prevent the sheet P pushed back by these restricting means from skewing.

  Since the restricting means (the projecting piece 50 and the projecting portion 51) of the present invention does not contact the uppermost layer of the sheet P at the accumulation position, the sheet P is separated by the cooperation of the sheet feeding roller 20a and the inclined separating plate 21. There is no resistance, and the feeding action of the paper P is not hindered. In addition, even when the paper P is weak, the midway portion of the paper P to be pushed back does not curve or bend.

  In each of the above embodiments, the protrusion 50 that is a member of the first restricting means that can be in sliding contact with the surface of the paper P at the time of feeding and the protrusion 51 that is the second restricting means are configured by an antistatic member. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of static electricity when slidably contacting the paper P, and to reliably prevent the double feeding of the paper P.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and the drawings, and can be applied to, for example, upper and lower two- to three-stage paper feed trays and only one-stage paper feed tray. In addition to the above, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

1 is a perspective view of an image recording apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a recording unit and a paper feed tray. It is a top view of a paper feed tray and feeding means. (A) is a perspective view of a paper feed tray, and (B) is an enlarged perspective view of a protruding piece that is a first restricting means. (A) is a perspective view which shows the positional relationship of a conveyance path body and a protrusion, (B) is the partially cutaway enlarged perspective view. It is an expanded side sectional view of a paper feed tray and a protruding piece. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing by a 1st control means (projection piece). It is effect | action explanatory drawing of other embodiment of a protrusion. (A) is a perspective view which shows the lower surface of the arm body of the paper supply means provided with the protrusion which is a 2nd control means, (B) is an expansion perspective view of a protrusion. (A) And (B) is an operation explanatory view by the 2nd control means.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Paper feed tray 3a Bottom plate 20 Feed means 20a Paper feed roller 20c Arm body 21 Inclined separation plate 50 Projection piece 50a, 50b Friction part 51 Projection part as 2nd regulation means

Claims (9)

An open paper feed tray capable of accommodating the recording medium in a stacked state in the housing, an image recording unit capable of recording an image on the recording medium conveyed via the U-shaped conveyance path, An image recording apparatus comprising: a feeding unit configured to separate the recording medium one by one from the uppermost layer of the recording medium stored in the sheet feeding tray and feed the recording medium to the conveyance path; And
The paper feed tray that can be inserted into and removed from the housing includes a bottom plate on which a recording medium is placed, and an inclined separation plate on the downstream side in the insertion direction,
At least one of the arm body in the feeding means that can move up and down with respect to the bottom surface of the paper feed tray and the inclined separation plate accommodates the accumulation when the paper feed tray is inserted into the housing. An image recording apparatus comprising: restriction means for restricting movement of the recording medium being moved and protruding from an upper end of the inclined separation plate.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the restricting unit is a protruding piece protruding upward from an upper end of the inclined separation plate.   3. The projecting piece according to claim 2, wherein the projecting piece is provided at a position retracted from a surface of a transport path body constituting the transport path when the paper feed tray is completely attached to the housing. The image recording apparatus described.   2. The restricting means is a protrusion provided on the lower surface of the arm body, and the plurality of protrusions are arranged at appropriate intervals in the recording medium feeding direction. The image recording apparatus described in 1.   A cam portion is formed on the paper feed tray, and a cam follower member is provided on the arm body. The cam follower member is brought into sliding contact with the cam portion when the paper feed tray is inserted, whereby the arm body is moved to the inclined separation plate. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image recording apparatus is configured to be able to climb over an upper end of the image.   6. The friction part having a friction coefficient higher than that of at least the inclined separation plate or the surface of the arm body is formed on a surface of the protruding piece or the protruding part. The image recording apparatus described.   4. A friction part having a depression angle larger than the depression angle formed between the surface of the inclined separation plate and the recording medium stored and accommodated is provided on the surface of the protruding piece. The image recording apparatus described in 1.   8. The image recording according to claim 1, wherein an insertion direction of the paper feed tray into the housing and a paper feed direction of the recording medium with respect to the paper feed tray are the same direction. 9. apparatus.   9. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an insertion direction of the paper feed tray into the housing and an extending direction of the arm body in the housing are the same direction. .

Images