JP2009286596A - Automatic feeder and electronic equipment having this automatic feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a risk of causing rush-in when making a recording object material placed on a placing surface abut on an outer peripheral surface of a feed roller by preventing the rush-in of the recording object material, in an automatic feeder unprovided with a return lever. <P>SOLUTION: A rush-in preventive member 77 is rockingly journaled by a rocking shaft 771 in the rocking direction indicated by a sign A. The rush-in preventive member 77 is energized in the rocking direction A1 toward a hopper 71. A stopper member 78 regulates the rocking of its rush-in preventive member 77 so that an entrance into a feeding passage 75 of recording paper P placed in the hopper 71 is intercepted by the rush-in preventive member 77 at a standby time. At the standby time, the stopper member 78 is brought into a state of being opposed to a locking member 774 of the rush-in preventive member 77. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention displaces a feeding roller that is rotated by a rotational driving force transmitted from a driving force source and a placement surface on which a recording material is placed or a part of the placement surface to displace the placement surface. The present invention relates to an automatic feeding device including an abutting unit that abuts a recording material placed thereon against a feeding roller, and an electronic apparatus including the automatic feeding device.

  2. Description of the Related Art An electronic device including an automatic feeding device that automatically feeds recording materials such as paper one by one is known. For example, a recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer having means for executing recording of characters and images on the recording surface of the recording material, and reading characters and images recorded on the recording surface of the recording material that has been recorded A facsimile, a copier, a scanner device, and the like provided with the means.

  In an automatic feeding device mounted on such an electronic apparatus, a recording material is placed on a placing surface such as a feeding tray. The recording material placed on the placement surface is in contact with the feeding roller by means for displacing the placement surface or a member such as a hopper constituting a part of the placement surface during feeding. Become. Then, when the recording material is in contact with the feeding roller, the feeding roller rotates, so that the recording material is fed into the electronic apparatus through the feeding path.

  In the automatic feeding device having such a configuration, when the user places a plurality of recording materials on the placement surface, the vicinity of the leading end of the recording material enters the feeding path, so-called recording material. There is a risk of avalanche (hereinafter simply referred to as “avalanche”). As an example of the prior art capable of preventing this avalanche, an automatic feeding device having a so-called return lever is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 or 2).

This known return lever is used to feed another recording material separated from a recording material to be fed by a known separation pad or the like and in a state in which the vicinity of the leading end enters the feeding path (loading tray or the like) It is for pushing back to the placement surface. By pushing back the other recording material separated from the recording material to be fed back to the feeding tray or the like, for example, so-called feeding can be prevented. If the return lever is locked at the position where the other recording material is pushed back, the inlet of the feeding path is blocked by the return lever, so that the above-mentioned agitation can be prevented. it can. That is, in the conventional automatic feeding device provided with the return lever, it has been possible to prevent the sagging by using the return lever.
JP-A-10-181904 JP 2005-350251 A

  However, the cost of the automatic feeder is greatly increased by providing the return lever mechanism. For this reason, many automatic feeding devices mounted on low-priced electronic devices do not have a return lever due to cost constraints. In other words, in an automatic feeding device that is not provided with such a return lever, it is not possible to prevent the sagging using the return lever. For this reason, there was a risk of avalanche.

  Further, in the conventional automatic feeding device that prevents the avalanche by using the return lever, the outer peripheral surface of the feeding roller is configured to displace the recording material placed on the placement surface by displacing a member such as a hopper at the latest. It is necessary to retract the return lever from the feeding path before it is brought into contact with the feeding path. At this time, after retracting the return lever from the feeding path, when a member such as a hopper is displaced and the recording material placed on the placing surface is brought into contact with the outer circumferential surface of the feeding roller, There is a risk that the avalanche may occur due to the momentum of displacement of a member such as a hopper.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to prevent the recording material from flowing in an automatic feeding device in which a return lever is not provided.

  Another object of the present invention is to reduce the possibility of avalanche occurring when the recording material placed on the placement surface is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the feeding roller.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a feeding roller that is rotated by a rotational driving force of a driving force source, and a placement surface on which a recording material is placed or the above-described placement. In an automatic feeding apparatus comprising: a contact means for displacing a part of the surface and contacting the recording material placed on the placement surface against the feeding roller; A displacement member that is supported so as to be able to follow the displacement of the placement surface in contact with the placed recording material, and to the recording material placed on the placement surface. An urging means for urging and a displacement regulating mechanism for regulating displacement of the displacement member so that entry of a recording material placed on the placement surface into the feeding path is blocked by the displacement member during standby. And an automatic feeding device characterized by comprising:

  During standby, the displacement of the displacement member is restricted by the displacement restriction mechanism, whereby the recording material placed on the placement surface is blocked from entering the feeding path by the displacement member. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the recording material placed on the placement surface from entering the feeding path. For example, even if the user forcibly pushes the recording material into the feeding path, it can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to prevent avalanche during standby.

  Furthermore, since the displacement member is supported so as to be able to follow the displacement of the placement surface while being in contact with the recording material placed on the placement surface, the displacement member of the placement surface during the feeding operation is supported. Does not interfere with displacement. And since the displacement member is urged | biased by the recording material mounted in the mounting surface, the recording material mounted in the mounting surface will be in the state pressed against the mounting surface. As a result, the recording material placed on the placement surface has increased frictional force acting on the placement surface or the contact surface with the other recording material, so that the recording material placed on the placement surface is reduced. It is possible to reduce the risk of entering the feeding path so as to slide down. Therefore, when the displacement restriction of the displacement member by the displacement restriction mechanism is released during the feeding operation, the placement surface is displaced when the placement surface is displaced to bring the recording material into contact with the feeding roller. It is possible to reduce the risk of avalanche due to.

  Thus, according to the automatic feeding device described in the first aspect of the present invention, in the automatic feeding device that is not provided with the return lever, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent the recording material from flowing in. can get. In addition, there is an effect that it is possible to reduce the possibility of avalanche occurring when the recording material placed on the placing surface is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the feeding roller.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the automatic feeding device according to the first aspect described above, the displacement regulating mechanism is configured such that a part of the inlet of the feeding path is blocked by the displacement member during standby. Thus, the automatic feeding device is characterized in that the displacement of the displacement member is regulated.
According to such a feature, it is possible to more reliably prevent the recording material from entering the feeding path during standby. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the recording material from sagging during standby.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the automatic feeding device according to the first aspect or the second aspect described above, the displacement member is a rotating body that is rotatably supported by a portion in contact with the recording material. It is an automatic feeding apparatus characterized by having.
According to such a feature, it is possible to reduce the possibility that scratches, contact marks, and the like are attached to the portion of the recording material that contacts the displacement member. Further, the back tension when the recording material is fed and the back tension when the recording material after feeding is transported through the electronic apparatus can be reduced.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic feeding device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the displacement regulating mechanism is interlocked with the displacement of the placement surface by the contact means. The automatic feeding device is characterized in that the displacement restriction of the displacement member is released.

  According to such a feature, when the recording material placed on the placement surface by the contact means is brought into contact with the feeding roller, the displacement restriction by the displacement member is performed in accordance with the displacement of the placement surface. It becomes possible to release at an appropriate timing. Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent the displacement of the placement surface from being hindered by the displacement member. Therefore, it is possible to reliably avoid the recording member feeding operation being hindered by the displacement member.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic feeding device according to the fourth aspect described above, the abutting means operates in conjunction with rotation of the feeding roller, and the displacement regulating mechanism includes: An automatic feeding device having a regulating member that rotates integrally with the feeding roller, and the displacement of the regulating member is regulated by engaging the regulating member and the displacement member. It is.

  That is, in the automatic feeding device described in the fifth aspect of the present invention, both the abutment means and the displacement regulating mechanism operate in conjunction with the rotation of the feeding roller. Thereby, the displacement restriction of the displacement member can be released in conjunction with the displacement of the placement surface by the contact means. Further, the contact means and the displacement regulating mechanism can be operated using the rotational driving force of the driving force source that rotates the feeding roller.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the automatic feeding apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects described above and means for executing recording on a recording material fed by the automatic feeding apparatus or Means for reading information recorded on the recording material fed by the automatic feeding device.
According to the electronic device of the sixth aspect of the present invention, the recording is performed on the recording material fed by the automatic feeding device or the recording material fed by the automatic feeding device. In the electronic apparatus provided with the means for reading the stored information, the operational effects of the invention according to any one of the first to fifth aspects described above can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Schematic configuration of inkjet printer>
First, a schematic configuration of an inkjet printer 50 as an “electronic device” according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a side view of a main part illustrating a schematic configuration of an ink jet printer 50, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the main part.

  The ink jet printer 50 includes an automatic feeding device 70 for feeding the recording paper P into the ink jet printer 50. The ink jet printer 50 includes a transport driving roller 51 and a transport driven roller 52 as means for transporting the recording paper P as a “recording material” supported by the platen 53 in the transport direction Y. Further, the ink jet printer 50 includes a recording head 62 as means for performing recording by ejecting ink onto the recording surface of the recording paper P supported by the platen 53. Further, the ink jet printer 50 includes a discharge driving roller 54 and a discharge driven roller 55 as means for transporting and discharging the recording paper P after execution of recording in the transport direction Y.

  The automatic feeding device 70 includes a hopper 71, a left edge guide 72, a right edge guide 73, a feeding roller 74, a feeding path 75, and a separation pad 76.

  The hopper 71 serving as the “loading surface” of the recording paper P is placed with the recording paper P stacked thereon. The hopper 71 is pivotally supported on the base of the automatic feeding device 70 so as to be swingable toward the feeding roller 74. The left edge guide 72 and the right edge guide 73 are supported by the hopper 71 so as to be slidable in the width direction X (direction intersecting the transport direction Y), and according to the size of the recording paper P placed on the hopper 71. Thus, the placement position in the width direction X is regulated. The feeding roller 74 is formed integrally with a feeding roller shaft 741 that is pivotally supported on the base of the automatic feeding device 70, and the feeding roller is rotated by a rotational driving force of a feeding motor (not shown). The shaft 741 rotates by rotating.

  The recording paper P placed on the hopper 71 is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the feeding roller 74 (abutting means) when the hopper 71 swings toward the feeding roller 74. Then, the recording paper P is fed through the feeding path 75 to the portion where the conveyance driving roller 51 and the conveyance driven roller 52 come into contact with each other by the rotation of the feeding roller 74. At this time, the known separation pad 76 prevents the recording paper P from being double fed.

  The transport driving roller 51 has a high friction coating on the surface, and rotates by receiving the rotational driving force of a transport motor (not shown). The transport driven roller 52 is pivotally supported so as to be driven to rotate, and is biased by a biasing means such as a spring (not shown) in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the transport driving roller 51. The recording paper P fed by the automatic feeding device 70 is sandwiched between the transport drive roller 51 and the transport driven roller 52 and is transported in the transport direction Y on the platen 53 by the drive rotation of the transport drive roller 51.

  The recording head 62 is disposed at the bottom of the carriage 61. A large number of ejection nozzles (not shown) for ejecting ink are disposed on the head surface of the recording head 62. The carriage 61 is supported by a carriage guide shaft 56 so as to be able to reciprocate in the width direction X while maintaining a state in which the head surface of the recording head 62 and the recording surface of the recording paper P on the platen 53 are substantially parallel. . The carriage 61 is an endless belt (not shown) hung between a driving pulley (not shown) and a driven pulley (not shown) disposed on a rotating shaft of a carriage driving motor (not shown). Are coupled to each other, and the rotational driving force of the carriage driving motor is transmitted through the endless belt to reciprocate in the width direction X.

  The platen 53 has a large number of platen ribs formed along the conveyance direction Y of the recording paper P. The recording paper P conveyed on the platen 53 is supported from the back side by the top surface of the platen rib. In the area of the recording paper P supported by the platen 53, dots are formed on the recording surface by ink ejection from the head surface of the recording head 62, and recording is performed. The distance between the head surface of the recording head 62 and the recording surface of the recording paper P is regulated to an appropriate distance by the top surface of the platen rib.

  The recording paper P conveyed on the platen 53 is configured to eject dots from the head surface of the recording head 62 to the recording surface of the recording paper P while the carriage 61 reciprocates in the width direction X, Recording on the recording surface is executed by alternately repeating the operation of conveying the sheet in the conveying direction Y by a predetermined rotation amount by driving rotation of the driving roller 51. The recording paper P after ink ejection is sandwiched between the discharge driving roller 54 and the discharge driven roller 55, conveyed in the conveyance direction Y by the driving rotation of the discharge driving roller 54, and discharged. A series of these recording controls is executed by a control device (not shown) having a microcomputer control circuit.

<Automatic feeder 70 according to the present invention>
Next, a “displacement member” and a “displacement regulating mechanism” included in the automatic feeding device 70 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of the automatic feeding device 70. FIG. 4 is a side view of a main part of the automatic feeding device 70 during standby.

  The automatic feeding device 70 according to the present invention includes an avalanche prevention member 77 as a “displacement member” and a stopper member 78 (a restriction member) constituting a “displacement restriction mechanism”.

  As shown in the figure, the avalanche prevention member 77 is disposed at a position facing the recording paper P placed on the hopper 71 and in the vicinity of the feeding roller 74. The avalanche preventing member 77 is attached to a base (not shown) of the automatic feeding device 70 so as to be able to swing following the swing of the hopper 71 while being in contact with the recording paper P placed on the hopper 71. It is supported.

  More specifically, the sagging prevention member 77 is pivotally supported by a swing shaft portion 771 so as to be swingable in the swing direction indicated by the symbol A. In the vicinity of both ends of the swing shaft 771, arm portions 772 are extended in a direction intersecting with the swing shaft 771. A driven roller 773 is rotatably supported at a portion where the recording paper P near the tip of the arm portion 772 contacts. A locking portion 774 that engages with the stopper member 78 is provided at the tip of the arm portion 772. The sagging prevention member 77 is urged in the swing direction A1 toward the hopper 71 by a torsion coil spring (biasing means) (not shown).

  The stopper member 78 regulates the swinging of the avalanche prevention member 77 so that the entry of the recording paper P placed on the hopper 71 into the feeding path 75 is blocked by the avalanche prevention member 77 during standby. It is a member for. More specifically, the stopper member 78 is disposed integrally with the feeding roller shaft 741 at a portion corresponding to the locking portion 774 of the advancing prevention member 77.

  The feeding roller 74 is always stopped at a predetermined rotational position (the rotational position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) during standby. In this state, the stopper member 78 is in a state of facing the locking portion 774 of the avalanche prevention member 77. In this state, for example, when the user places the recording paper P on the hopper 71, the recording paper P is pushed while pushing the anti-sagging member 77 in the swinging direction indicated by reference numeral A2 at the leading end of the recording paper P. Suppose that it is going to push into the feeding path 75 forcibly. At this time, the sagging prevention member 77 is rocked in the rocking direction A2 at the rocking position where the locking portion 774 contacts the stopper member 78, and further swung in the rocking direction A2. It becomes a state that can not be.

  In this state, a part of the inlet of the feeding path 75 is blocked by the arm portion 772 of the advancing prevention member 77 and the driven roller 773. In other words, the recording paper P placed on the hopper 71 enters the feeding path 75 and is blocked by the avalanche preventing member 77. As a result, the recording paper P cannot enter the feeding path 75, so that even if the user accidentally pushes the recording paper P into the feeding path 75 by mistake, it can be prevented. Therefore, when the user places the recording paper P on the hopper 71 during standby, it is possible to prevent the recording paper P from flowing into the feeding path 75.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a main part of the automatic feeding device 70 during the feeding operation.
When the recording paper P is fed, first, the feeding roller 74 starts to rotate in the rotational direction indicated by the symbol B. As a result, the stopper member 78 does not face the locking portion 774 of the anti-sloping member 77, and the restriction of swinging of the anti-sloping member 77 in the direction indicated by reference symbol A2 by the stopper member 78 is released. Further, in conjunction with the rotation of the feeding roller 74, the hopper 71 swings in the direction indicated by the symbol C. The avalanche-preventing member 77 is pushed by the hopper 71 in the direction indicated by reference numeral A2, and can swing to a position where the arm portion 772 and the driven roller 773 do not block the inlet of the feeding path 75. As a result, the recording paper P placed on the hopper 71 comes into contact with and is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the feeding roller 74, and the uppermost recording paper in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the feeding roller 74. P1 can be fed through the feeding path 75 by the rotation of the feeding roller 74.

  At this time, the avalanche-preventing member 77 is supported so as to be able to swing following the swing of the hopper 71 while being in contact with the recording paper P placed on the hopper 71. The movement is not hindered by the avalanche prevention member 77. Further, since the avalanche prevention member 77 is biased toward the recording paper P placed on the hopper 71, the recording paper P placed on the hopper 71 is always pressed against the hopper 71 by the avalanche prevention member 77. It will be in the state. As a result, the recording paper P placed on the hopper 71 has increased frictional force acting on the contact surface with the hopper 71 or another recording paper P, so that the recording paper P placed on the hopper 71 is fed through the feeding path. It is possible to reduce the possibility of entering the vehicle so as to slide down to 75.

  Therefore, when the hopper 71 is swung and the recording paper P is brought into contact with the feeding roller 74 in a state where the swinging restriction of the sagging prevention member 77 by the stopper member 78 is released during the feeding operation, It is possible to reduce the risk of avalanche occurring due to the oscillating hopper 71. In addition, since the recording paper P is always pressed against the hopper 71 by the avalanche preventing member 77, an effect of suppressing warpage of the recording paper P due to environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.) can be obtained.

  Here, the timing at which the hopper 71 swings in the direction indicated by symbol C and the timing at which the swinging prevention member 77 by the stopper member 78 is completely released are controlled by the feed roller 74. As long as the feeding of the recording paper P by rotation is not hindered, whichever comes first, it is possible to reduce the risk of avalanche due to the hopper 71 swinging in the direction indicated by C. From a viewpoint, it is more preferable that after the hopper 71 is swung in the direction indicated by the symbol C, the swing restriction of the anti-sloping member 77 by the stopper member 78 is completely released.

  As described above, according to the automatic feeding device 70 according to the present invention, the sagging of the recording paper P can be prevented in the automatic feeding device not provided with the return lever. In addition, it is possible to reduce the possibility of avalanche occurring when the recording paper P placed on the hopper 71 is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the feeding roller 74.

  Further, when the automatic feeding device 70 according to the present invention is in a standby state, the recording paper P placed on the hopper 71 is blocked from entering the feeding path 75 by the avalanche preventing member 77. Needless to say, the object can be achieved, however, in the vicinity of the inlet of the feeding path 75 so that a part of the inlet of the feeding path 75 is blocked by the anti-sloping member 77 during standby as in the above-described embodiment. It is more preferable to provide an avalanche prevention member 77. As a result, it is possible to more reliably prevent the recording paper P from entering the feeding path 75 during standby, so that the sagging of the recording paper P during standby can be more reliably prevented.

  Further, in the automatic feeding device 70 according to the present invention, it is preferable that the driven roller 773 is rotatably supported on the portion where the recording paper P of the advancing prevention member 77 contacts as in the above embodiment. As a result, it is possible to reduce the risk of scratches, contact marks, etc. on the portion of the recording paper P that contacts the avalanche prevention member 77. Further, it is possible to reduce the back tension when the recording paper P is fed and the back tension when the fed recording paper P is transported in the transport direction Y by the rotation of the transport driving roller 51.

<Another embodiment of the automatic feeding device according to the present invention>
Needless to say, the application range of the automatic feeding device according to the present invention is not particularly limited to the ink jet printer, and can be applied to all “electronic devices” equipped with the automatic feeding device. For example, the present invention can be implemented in all recording apparatuses including an automatic feeding apparatus such as a laser printer and a dot impact printer, and the effects of the present invention can be obtained. Furthermore, the present invention can also be implemented in an electronic device such as a scanner device, a copying machine, and a facsimile provided with means for reading information recorded on a recording sheet fed by an automatic feeding device. An effect can be obtained.

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

The principal part side view which illustrated schematic structure of the inkjet printer. The principal part top view which illustrated schematic structure of the inkjet printer. The principal part perspective view of the automatic feeding apparatus which concerns on this invention. The principal part side view of the automatic feeding apparatus at the time of standby. The principal part side view of the automatic feeding apparatus at the time of feeding operation | movement.

Explanation of symbols

50 Inkjet printer, 70 Automatic feeding device, 71 Hopper, 72 Left edge guide, 73 Right edge guide, 74 Feeding roller, 75 Feeding path, 76 Separation pad, 77 Avalanche prevention member, 741 Feeding roller shaft , 771 Oscillating shaft part, 772 arm part, 773 driven roller, 774 locking part, 78 stopper member, P recording paper, X width direction, Y transport direction

Claims (6)

A feeding roller that rotates when a rotational driving force of a driving force source is transmitted; and
Contact means for displacing a part of the placement surface on which the recording material is placed or the placement surface, and abutting the recording material placed on the placement surface against the feeding roller; In an automatic feeding device provided with
A displacement member that is supported in a displaceable manner following the displacement of the mounting surface in a state of being in contact with the recording material mounted on the mounting surface;
Biasing means for biasing the displacement member to the recording material placed on the placement surface;
A displacement regulating mechanism that regulates the displacement of the displacement member so that the recording material placed on the placement surface enters the feeding path during standby is blocked by the displacement member. Automatic feeding device characterized by   2. The automatic feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the displacement regulating mechanism regulates displacement of the displacement member so that a part of an inlet of the feeding path is blocked by the displacement member during standby. 3. Automatic feeding device characterized by   3. The automatic feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the displacement member includes a rotating body that is rotatably supported at a portion that contacts the recording material.   The automatic feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the displacement restriction mechanism releases the displacement restriction of the displacement member in conjunction with the displacement of the placement surface by the contact means. An automatic feeding device characterized by that.   5. The automatic feeding device according to claim 4, wherein the contact means operates in conjunction with rotation of the feeding roller, and the displacement regulating mechanism is a regulation that rotates integrally with the feeding roller. An automatic feeding device having a member, wherein the displacement of the regulating member is regulated by engagement of the regulating member and the displacement member. The automatic feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An electronic apparatus comprising: means for performing recording on a recording material fed by the automatic feeding device; or means for reading information recorded on the recording material fed by the automatic feeding device.

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