JP2011051670A - Image recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet storage device capable of making it easier to perform the replenishment operation or replacement operation of a sheet-shaped recording medium, and an image recording apparatus including the sheet storage device. <P>SOLUTION: A cover member 23 is disposed in an upper part of a main tray 20 of a paper feed cassette 78. The cover member 23 includes a support base 110 journaled to the upper part of the main tray 20; and a cover 111 slidably supported on the support base 110. A slide guide 34 is disposed between the main tray 20 and the cover member 23. A slide portion 119 of the slide guide 34 is supported to the upper part of the main tray 20 so as to be slidable back and forth. A rotation guide 120 is journaled to the slide portion 119. A linking device 117 is disposed on the rear surface of a base body 112 of the support base 110. When the slide guide 34 is at its initial position, the linking device 117 connects the rotation guide 120 to the base body 112. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus having a tray supported so as to be insertable / removable with respect to the apparatus main body.

  Conventionally, an image recording apparatus capable of recording images on both sides of a recording medium is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an ink jet recording type image recording apparatus having a double-sided image recording function. In the image recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a recording medium sent out from a paper feed tray is conveyed to a recording unit through a curved conveyance path (hereinafter referred to as a “curved path”), and is surfaced by the recording unit. An image is recorded on (first side). The recording medium that has passed through the recording unit is switched back downstream in the conveyance direction from the recording unit, and is then conveyed again to the curved path while being guided by the upper surface of a guide member provided on the paper feed tray. Then, the recording medium is conveyed through the curved path so that the back surface (second surface) faces the recording unit, and then an image is recorded on the back surface by the recording unit.

JP 2008-247537 A

  However, when the guide member is provided in the paper feed tray as in the image recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when the recording medium is replenished to the paper feed tray removed from the apparatus main body. In addition, the upper opening of the paper feed tray serving as the recording paper insertion port may be blocked by a guide member. In this case, the operator must perform a troublesome work of moving the guide member and securing the upper opening. When a cover for preventing dust from entering the inside of the paper feed tray from the upper opening of the tray is provided on the paper feed tray, it is necessary to move the cover in addition to the guide member. That is, when both the guide member and the cover are provided on the paper feed tray, the operation of replenishing the recording medium to the paper feed tray is extremely complicated.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus that can easily replenish and replace a sheet-like recording medium.

(1) The present invention is configured as an image recording apparatus including a tray, a cover member, a guide member, and a connecting member. The tray is configured to be insertable / removable along the horizontal direction with respect to the apparatus main body. An insertion port for inserting a sheet-like recording medium into the tray is formed on the upper surface of the tray. The cover member is provided on the upper portion of the tray. The cover member is between a first posture that opens the insertion port and a second posture that closes at least a portion of the insertion port, with the vicinity of the center of the tray in the insertion / extraction direction of the tray as a rotation support point. Can be rotated. The guide member is provided between the tray and the cover member. The guide member is movable between a first position disposed on the lower side of the cover member and a second position spaced from the first position toward the apparatus main body, and rotates with respect to the tray. It is configured to be possible. The guide member forms at least a part of a conveyance path for conveying the recording medium on which an image has been recorded in a state where the guide member is disposed at the second position. The connecting member is provided on the back surface of the cover member. The connecting member connects the cover member and the guide member in a state where the guide member is disposed at the first position, and allows the guide member to rotate following the rotation operation of the cover member. Is.

  In this configuration, when the guide member is disposed at the first position, the cover member and the guide member are coupled by the coupling member. Specifically, the cover member and the guide member are connected in the vertical direction. When the cover member is rotated from the second posture to the first posture in this state, the guide member is similarly rotated along with the rotation operation. Accordingly, the tray insertion opening can be opened by a single operation of rotating the cover member without individually moving the cover member and the guide member. As a result, the operator can easily replenish or replace the recording medium on the tray.

(2) The connecting member is formed in a hook shape that can be lifted by hooking an end of the guide member.

  Thereby, a connection with a cover member and a guide member is realizable with a simple mechanism.

(3) The guide member includes a moving member that is movable between a tip portion on an insertion direction side with respect to the apparatus main body and the rotation support point in the tray, and a flat plate-like rotation supported by the moving member. A moving member.

  In such a configuration, the present invention is preferably applied.

(4) It is preferable that the upper surface of the cover member also serves as a holding surface for holding the image-recorded recording medium.

  According to the present invention, it becomes easy to replenish and replace the recording medium on the tray.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a multifunction machine 10 that is an example of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the printer unit 11. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a configuration in the vicinity of the paper discharge path 65B. 4A and 4B are schematic views schematically showing the configuration of the paper feed cassette 78, where FIG. 4A is a longitudinal sectional view and FIG. 4B is a plan view. FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view schematically showing the rotating state of the cover member 23 in the paper feed cassette 78. 6A and 6B are schematic views schematically showing the configuration of the paper feed cassette 78, where FIG. 6A is a longitudinal sectional view and FIG. 6B is a plan view. FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view schematically showing the rotation state of the cover member 23 in the paper feed cassette 78.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the embodiment of the present invention can be changed as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Outline of MFP 10]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a multifunction machine 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the vertical direction 7 is defined with reference to the state in which the multifunction machine 10 is installed (the state in FIG. 1), and the side on which the opening 13 is provided is referred to as the front side (front side). A front-rear direction 8 is defined, and a left-right direction 9 is defined when the multifunction machine 10 is viewed from the front side (front).

  The multifunction machine 10 is generally formed in a thin rectangular parallelepiped having a large width (length in the left-right direction 9) and depth (length in the front-rear direction 8) with respect to the height (length in the up-down direction 7). The multifunction machine 10 is a multi-function device that mainly includes an ink jet recording type printer unit 11 provided in a lower part and a scanner part 12 provided in an upper part. The multifunction machine 10 has various functions such as a facsimile function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a copy function. The printer function includes a double-sided image recording function for recording images on both the front surface (first surface) and the back surface (second surface) of the recording paper. Functions other than the printer function are arbitrary. For example, the image recording apparatus of the present invention may be implemented as a printer having only a printer function that does not have a scan function, a copy function, or a facsimile function.

  The printer unit 11 includes a casing (housing) 14 (an example of the apparatus main body of the present invention) having an opening 13 formed on the front surface. Each component of the printer unit 11 is disposed in the casing 14. A storage chamber is partitioned from the opening 13 to the inside of the casing 14, and a paper feed cassette 78 is mounted in the storage chamber. The paper feed cassette 78 is configured to be insertable / removable in the front-rear direction 8 (horizontal direction) into the casing 14 from the opening 13. The paper feed cassette 78 includes a main tray 20 (an example of the tray of the present invention) that can store recording papers of various sizes (an example of a sheet-like recording medium of the present invention), and a front side of the upper surface of the main tray 20. A cover member 23 (an example of the cover member of the present invention) for covering and a slide guide 34 (an example of the guide member of the present invention) are provided. The configuration of the paper feed cassette 78 will be described in detail later.

[Configuration of Printer Unit 11]
Next, the configuration of the printer unit 11 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the printer unit 11.

  In addition to the paper feeding cassette 78 described above, the printer unit 11 picks up recording paper from the paper feeding cassette 78 and feeds (feeds) recording paper, and recording paper fed by the feeding unit 15. In addition, an ink jet recording type recording unit 24 that discharges ink droplets to form an image on recording paper, and a path switching unit 41 are provided. Each of these components is provided in the casing 14. The recording unit 24 is not limited to the ink jet system, and various recording systems such as an electrophotographic system or a thermal recording system can be applied.

[Conveyance path 65]
Inside the printer unit 11, a discharge holding surface 30 (an example of the holding surface of the present invention) provided on the upper portion of the cover member 23 from the front end (rear end portion) of the main tray 20 through the recording unit 24. A leading conveyance path 65 is formed. The conveyance path 65 is divided into a curved path 65A formed between the leading end of the main tray 20 and the recording unit 24, and a paper discharge path 65B formed between the recording unit 24 and the paper discharge holding surface 30. The

  As shown in FIG. 2, the curved path 65 </ b> A is a curved path extending from the vicinity of the upper end of the separation inclined plate 22 provided on the main tray 20 to the recording unit 24. The curved path 65A is defined by an outer guide member 18 and an inner guide member 19 that face each other with a predetermined interval. The outer guide member 18 and the inner guide member 19 are generally formed in an arc shape centering on the inner side of the printer unit 11. The outer guide member 18 and the inner guide member 19, and the upper guide member 82, the lower guide member 83, the upper inclined guide member 32, and the lower inclined guide member 33, which will be described later, are all in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. It extends in the left-right direction 9 in FIG.

  The paper discharge path 65 </ b> B is partitioned by a lower guide member 82 and an upper guide member 83 provided on the downstream side in the transport direction (hereinafter abbreviated as “downstream side”) from the recording unit 24. Here, the conveyance direction refers to a direction (direction indicated by a two-dot chain line with an arrow in FIG. 2) in which the recording sheet is conveyed on the conveyance path 65 and a reverse conveyance path 67 described later.

  FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a configuration in the vicinity of the paper discharge path 65B. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower guide member 82 extends horizontally from a nip position between a second conveying roller 62 and a spur roller 63 described later to the front side (the right side in FIG. 3). The paper discharge path 65B guides to the downstream side while supporting the lower surface of the image-recorded recording paper conveyed by the second conveying roller 62. A branch port 36 is formed on the downstream side of the downstream end portion of the lower guide member 82. During double-sided image recording, the recording paper conveyed through the paper discharge path 65B is switched back downstream of the branch port 36 and then conveyed downward from the branch port 36.

  The lower guide member 82 has a narrow recess 85 that is long in the front-rear direction 8. The recess 85 is formed at the downstream end of the lower guide member 82. The concave portion 85 is formed in a narrow shape that is long in the front-rear direction 8, and the downstream side thereof is open to the branch port 36. The size and position of the recess 85 are designed so that an auxiliary roller 47 described later can be immersed in the recess 85.

  The upper guide member 83 is disposed above the lower guide member 82. The upper guide member 83 and the lower guide member 82 are arranged to face each other with a predetermined interval through which the recording paper can pass. The upper guide member 83 extends beyond the branch port 36 and above the paper discharge holding surface 30.

[Reverse conveying path 67]
As shown in FIG. 2, a reverse conveyance path 67 is formed inside the printer unit 11. The reverse conveyance path 67 is branched from the paper discharge path 65B at the branch port 36 and passes between the paper feed cassette 78 and the recording unit 24 arranged above the upstream side in the conveyance direction from the recording unit 24 ( (Hereinafter abbreviated as “upstream side”). Note that the merge portion is a portion where the start end (upstream end portion) of the curved path 65A and the end of the reverse conveyance path 67 (downstream end portion) merge.

  The reverse conveyance path 67 is defined by an upper inclined guide member 32 having an inclined surface inclined obliquely downward and rearward from the branch port 36, and a lower inclined guide member 33. In the present embodiment, the upper inclined guide member 32 and the lower inclined guide member 33 define a part of the reverse conveyance path 67, specifically, the inclined path 67A on the branch port 36 side. The upper inclined guide member 32 and the lower guide member 82 are integrally formed. The guide members 32 and 33 are arranged so as to face each other with a predetermined interval through which the recording paper can pass. The upper inclined guide member 32 is disposed above the lower inclined guide member 33. These guide members 32 and 33 extend downward from the branch port 36, and more specifically, extend rearward and obliquely downward.

  Further, the reverse conveyance path 67 is also divided by a slide guide 34 described later provided in the paper feed cassette 78. When the slide guide 34 is arranged at the guide position indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2, a part of the reverse conveyance path 67, specifically, a straight straight path 67B on the curved path 65A side is formed by the upper surface of the slide guide 34. Is partitioned. The slide guide 34 will be described later.

  Since the transport path 65 and the reverse transport path 67 are formed in this way, the recording paper fed from the main tray 20 by the feeding unit 15 is transported to the recording unit 24 through the curved path 65A. In this conveyance process, the recording sheet is reversed by the outer guide member 18 and the inner guide member 19 so that the surface opposite to the surface where the sheet feeding roller 25 of the feeding unit 15 contacts the recording unit 24. The The recording sheet that has passed through the recording unit 24 is conveyed to the sheet discharge holding surface 30 through the sheet discharge path 65B, or the conveyance path is switched by the path switching unit 41, and again through the reverse conveyance path 67. It is conveyed to the recording unit 24. The route switching unit 41 will be described later.

[Recording unit 24]
As shown in FIG. 2, the recording unit 24 is disposed above the paper feed cassette 78. The recording unit 24 is configured to reciprocate along a guide rail (not shown) extending in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface (main scanning direction) in FIG. A platen 42 is provided below the recording unit 24. The platen 42 supports the recording paper horizontally when image recording is performed by the recording unit 24. In a reciprocating movement process in the main scanning direction, the recording unit 24 discharges ink supplied from an ink cartridge (not shown) as fine ink droplets from a nozzle 39 onto a recording sheet conveyed on the platen 42. Thereby, an image is recorded on the recording paper.

  A first conveying roller 60 and a pinch roller 61 are provided between the end of the curved path 65A and the recording unit 24, that is, between the downstream end of the curved path 65A and the recording unit 24. These are paired. The pinch roller 61 is disposed below the first transport roller 60 and is pressed against the roller surface of the first transport roller 60 by an elastic member such as a spring (not shown). The first transport roller 60 and the pinch roller 61 sandwich the recording paper transported through the curved path 65A and feed it onto the platen 42.

  A second transport roller 62 and a spur roller 63 are provided between the recording unit 24 and the start end of the paper discharge path 65B, that is, between the recording unit 24 and the upstream end of the paper discharge path 65B. ing. These are paired. The spur roller 63 is disposed above the second transport roller 62 and is pressed against the roller surface of the second transport roller 62 by its own weight or a spring. The second transport roller 62 and the spur roller 63 sandwich the recorded recording paper and transport it further downstream (discharge holding surface 30 side).

  The first transport roller 60 and the second transport roller 62 are rotated by a rotational driving force transmitted from a transport motor (not shown) via a drive transmission mechanism (not shown). The first transport roller 60 and the second transport roller 62 are intermittently driven during image recording. Therefore, image recording is performed while the recording sheet is sent with a predetermined line feed width. In the present embodiment, a rotational driving force for rotating a later-described third transport roller 45 in the forward rotation direction or the reverse rotation direction is also supplied from the transport motor. Therefore, as an example of a drive transmission mechanism to the first transport roller 60 and the second transport roller 62, a planetary gear or the like is provided, and recording is performed regardless of whether the transport motor is rotated in the forward rotation direction or the reverse rotation direction. In order to convey the sheet in one direction (right side in FIG. 2), a mechanism for rotating the first conveyance roller 60 and the second conveyance roller 62 in one rotation direction can be considered. In addition, when the drive source of the 1st conveyance roller 60 and the 2nd conveyance roller 62 and the drive source of the 3rd conveyance roller 45 are provided separately, the said drive transmission mechanism is restricted to the structure containing the said planetary gear. I can't.

[Feeding unit 15]
The feeding unit 15 is provided between the recording unit 24 and the paper feed cassette 78. The feeding unit 15 is for conveying the recording paper stored in the paper feeding cassette 78 toward the curved path 65A, and includes a paper feeding roller 25, a paper feeding arm 26, and a drive transmission mechanism 27. ing. The paper feed roller 25 picks up the recording paper stored in the main tray 20 of the paper feed cassette 78 and feeds it to the curved path 65 </ b> A, and is rotatably supported at the tip of the paper feed arm 26. . The paper feed roller 25 is driven to rotate when the rotational force of a paper feed motor (not shown), which is an example of a drive source, is transmitted via the drive transmission mechanism 27. The drive transmission mechanism 27 is pivotally supported by the paper feed arm 26 and is composed of a plurality of gears arranged in a straight line substantially along the extending direction of the paper feed arm 26.

  A base shaft 28 is provided between the recording unit 24 and the paper feed cassette 78. The paper feed arm 26 has a base end portion supported by a base shaft 28 and is configured to be rotatable about the base shaft 28 as a rotation center axis. For this reason, the paper feed arm 26 can move up and down so as to be able to contact and separate from the main tray 20. The paper feeding arm 26 is urged to rotate in the direction of an arrow 29 in FIG. 2 by its own weight or by an elastic force of an elastic member such as a spring. For this reason, the feed roller 25 can be pressed against the upper surface of the recording paper accommodated in the main tray 20, for example. Further, when the slide guide 34 is disposed at the guide position (position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 2), the feeding roller 25 can be pressed against the upper surface of the recording paper placed on the slide guide 34. When the paper feed cassette 78 is inserted into the printer unit 11, the paper feed arm 26 is pushed upward by being pressed by the rear end portion (for example, the separation inclined plate 22) of the paper feed cassette 78. It is configured as follows. Further, when the slide guide 34 slides from the initial position shown in FIG. 2 to the guide position, the slide guide 34 is pushed upward by being pressed by the rear end portion of the slide guide 34.

[Route switching unit 41]
The route switching unit 41 will be described with reference to FIG. The path switching unit 41 is disposed near the branch port 36 in the paper discharge path 65B, that is, in the vicinity of the connection portion between the paper discharge path 65B and the reverse conveyance path 67. As shown in FIG. 3, the path switching unit 41 includes a third conveyance roller 45, a spur roller 46, and a flap 49 having an auxiliary roller 47 and an auxiliary roller 48.

  The third transport roller 45 is provided downstream of the recording unit 24 and further downstream of the lower guide member 82. A branch port 36 is formed between the third conveyance roller 45 and the lower guide member 82. The third transport roller 45 is rotatably supported by the frame of the printer unit 11 and the like. The spur roller 46 is disposed above the third conveyance roller 45 and is pressed against the roller surface of the third conveyance roller 45 by its own weight or a spring. The spur roller 46 is rotatably supported at the downstream end portion of the upper guide member 83. The third transport roller 45 is driven to rotate in the forward rotation direction or the reverse rotation direction by receiving a driving force in the forward / reverse rotation direction from a transport motor (not shown). For example, when single-sided recording is performed, the third transport roller 45 is rotated in the forward rotation direction. As a result, the recording sheet is sandwiched between the third conveyance roller 45 and the spur roller 46 and conveyed downstream, and is discharged onto the discharge holding surface 30. On the other hand, when double-sided recording is performed, the rotation direction of the third conveyance roller 45 is switched from the normal rotation direction to the reverse rotation direction with the third conveyance roller 45 and the spur roller 46 sandwiching the trailing edge of the recording sheet. It is done.

  The third transport roller 45 and the spur roller 46 sandwich the recording paper sent from the second transport roller 62 and the spur roller 63. When the recording sheet enters the nip portion between the third conveying roller 45 and the spur roller 46, the recording sheet is nipped by the third conveying roller 45 and the spur roller 46, and the direction (discharge) corresponds to the rotation direction of the third conveying roller 45. The paper holding surface 30 side or the reverse conveyance path 67 side). That is, the third transport roller 45 and the spur roller 46 can transport the recording paper further downstream (on the paper discharge holding surface 30 side) along the paper discharge path 65B, and transport the recording paper to the reverse transport path 67. Is possible.

  The upper guide member 83 is provided with a support shaft 87 extending in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 3 (the left-right direction 9 in FIG. 1). The support shaft 87 is provided on the upstream side of the branch port 36. An upstream base end portion 49 </ b> A of the flap 49 is pivotally supported by the support shaft 87. The flap 49 extends substantially downstream from the support shaft 87. The extended end portion 49B of the flap 49 reaches a position close to the third transport roller 45 above the branch port 36, specifically, beyond the center 36A of the branch port 36.

  On the base end portion 49A side of the flap 49, an auxiliary roller 47 and an auxiliary roller 48 separated in the extending direction are pivotally supported. The auxiliary roller 47 is pivotally supported on the base end portion 49 </ b> A side of the flap 49. The auxiliary roller 48 is pivotally supported by the extended end portion 49 </ b> B of the flap 49. Since the roller surfaces of these auxiliary rollers 47 and 48 are in contact with the recording surface of the recording paper, they are formed in a spur shape like the spur roller 63 and the spur roller 46.

  The flap 49 has a discharge posture (the posture shown in FIG. 3B) positioned above the lower guide member 82 and a reverse posture (FIG. 3) in which the extended end portion 49B enters below the branch port 36. (Posture shown in (A)). In the present embodiment, the upper guide member 83 is formed with an opening 89 into which the flap 49 can be immersed. The flap 49 is immersed in the opening 89 when in the discharging posture, and the discharge path 65B. Evacuate from. Further, when in the reverse posture, the flap 49 is exposed from the opening 89, and the auxiliary roller 48 contacts the lower inclined guide member 33. Further, the auxiliary roller 47 is retracted below the support surface 82B of the lower guide member 82 by the immersion of the auxiliary roller 47 in the recess 85 of the lower guide member 82.

[Paper Feed Cassette 78]
Next, the paper feed cassette 78 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 4B and FIG. 6B, since the paper feed cassette 78 is formed symmetrically, the left portion from the center in the left-right direction 9 is not shown.

  The paper feed cassette 78 is provided below the feeding unit 15. The main tray 20 of the paper feed cassette 78 is disposed on the bottom side of the printer unit 11. The main tray 20 has an A3 size (297 mm × 420 mm), a letter size (216 mm × 274 mm), a legal size (216 mm × 356 mm), an A4 size (210 mm × 297 mm), and a postcard size or an L size smaller than these sizes. Business card size recording paper can be accommodated.

[Main tray]
As shown in FIG. 4, the main tray 20 includes a bottom plate 54 on which recording paper is placed, a side plate 55 erected from both ends in the left-right direction 9 of the bottom plate 54, and an end on the rear side of the bottom plate 54. And a separation inclined plate 22 erected on the part. The main tray 20 is configured in a generally rectangular box shape with an open upper surface. The separation inclined plate 22 is inclined rearward so that the recording paper can be fed smoothly. A plurality of teeth (not shown) protrude from the inner surface 22A of the separation inclined plate 22. For this reason, even if a plurality of recording sheets are fed in a state of being overlapped, only the uppermost recording sheet is separated by the teeth and curved when the leading end of the recording sheet comes into contact with the inner surface 22A of the separation inclined plate 22. Paper is fed to the path 65A.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the side plate 55 is provided with a rotation shaft 131. The rotation shaft 131 is provided near the center in the front-rear direction 8. Specifically, the rotation shaft 131 is provided slightly behind the center in the front-rear direction 8. The rotation shaft 131 protrudes inward from the upper end portion of the side plate 55. The rotation shaft 131 supports a cover member 23 described later so as to be rotatable with respect to the main tray 20.

[Cover member 23]
As shown in FIG. 4, a cover member 23 is provided on the main tray 20. The cover member 23 includes a support base 110 supported at the upper end of the side plate 55 of the main tray 20 and a cover 111 supported by the support base 110.

[Support base 110]
The support base 110 includes a base body 112 on which the cover 111 is supported, and a pair of arms 113 for attaching the support base 110 to the upper portion of the main tray 20. The base body 112 is a plate-like member having substantially the same dimensions as the dimensions of the main tray 20 in the left-right direction 9.

  The arm 113 protrudes downward from the rear end portion 112 </ b> A of the base body 112. The arm 113 is provided at each of both end portions of the rear end portion 112A in the left-right direction 9. A bearing 115 is provided at the lower end of the arm 113. The bearing 115 is an inverted U-shaped groove in which the lower end side of the arm 113 is opened. When the support base 110 is attached to the upper portion of the main tray 20, the rotating shaft 131 described above is inserted into the bearing 115. Accordingly, the cover member 23 is supported so as to be rotatable with respect to the main tray 20 around the rotation shaft 131 which is a rotation support point. In other words, the cover member 23 is rotatably supported by the main tray 20 by the rotation shaft 131 and the bearing 115. The cover member 23 is in an open position to open a front opening 31 (an example of an insertion port of the present invention) formed on the front side of the upper surface of the main tray 20 that is open upward from the rotation shaft 131 (see FIG. 5). , Corresponding to the first posture of the present invention) and a closed posture (see FIG. 4, corresponding to the second posture of the present invention) that closes the front opening 31. As described above, in the present embodiment, the cover member 23 rotates around the rotation shaft 131 provided in the center of the main tray 20 in the front-rear direction 8, so that the paper feed cassette 78 is removed from the printer unit 11. When the cover member 23 is rotated upward in this state, the rotation load is lighter than that of a conventional rotation mechanism in which the rear end portion of the main tray 20 is a rotation fulcrum. Therefore, the operator can easily rotate the cover member 23. That is, the cover member 23 has good operability during rotation.

[Connector 117]
On the back surface of the base main body 112, a connector 117 (an example of a connecting member of the present invention) having a cross-sectional cross section is provided. The connector 117 is for connecting a slide guide 34 and a base body 112 to be described later. In the present embodiment, the connector 117 is disposed at the center in the left-right direction 9 near the front end of the back surface of the base body 112. Since such a connecting tool 117 is provided, when the slide guide 34 is disposed at the initial position shown in FIG. 2, the connecting tool 117 is connected to the front end of the slide guide 34 (the front end 120B of the rotation guide 120). ) And the base body 112 and the slide guide 34 are coupled.

[Cover 111]
The cover 111 has a role of holding the image-recorded recording paper discharged from the recording unit 24 and a role of covering the front opening 31 on the upper surface of the main tray 20. A paper discharge holding surface 30 is provided on the upper portion of the cover 111. When a recording paper on which an image has been recorded is discharged from the paper discharge path 65B to the outside, the recording paper is held on the paper discharge holding surface 30. Further, since the front opening 31 on the upper surface of the main tray 20 is covered when the cover member 23 is in the closed position, entry of dust and dust into the main tray 20 is prevented. The cover 111 is formed to have substantially the same size as the width of the base body 112 in the left-right direction 9.

  The cover 111 is supported by the base body 112 of the support base 110 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction 8. The slide support mechanism of the cover 111 with respect to the base main body 112 includes, for example, a rail groove (not shown) provided on the upper surface of the base main body 112 and a rail (not shown) provided on the back surface of the cover 111. A known slide support mechanism is conceivable. A description of the slide support mechanism is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the cover 111 extends forward from the base body 112, whereby the upper surface of the cover member 23 is expanded forward. At this time, the upper surface of the base body 112 hidden by the cover 111 is gradually exposed from the rear side. In this state, the upper surface of the base main body 112 also plays a role of holding recording paper on which an image has been recorded, like the paper discharge holding surface 30.

[Slide guide 34]
The slide guide 34 is provided between the main tray 20 and the cover member 23. The slide guide 34 is supported on the upper portion of the main tray 20 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction 8.

  The slide guide 34 includes a slide portion 119 (an example of the moving member of the present invention) that is slidably supported on the upper portion of the main tray 20, and a flat plate-shaped rotation guide 120 that is disposed above the slide portion 119 (the rotation of the present invention). An example of a moving member). As a slide support mechanism of the slide part 119 with respect to the main tray 20, for example, a rail (not shown) provided at the upper end of the side plate 55 of the main tray 20 and a rail groove (not shown) provided in the slide part 119 are used. Known slide support mechanisms are conceivable. A description of the slide support mechanism is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the slide portion 119 is supported on the upper portion of the main tray 20, so that the slide guide 34 is placed at the initial position (the book position) below the cover member 23 as shown in FIG. (Corresponding to the first position of the present invention) and a guide position (corresponding to the second position of the present invention) spaced backward from the initial position as shown in FIG. 6 (A). The guide position is such that the rear end 34A of the slide guide 34 is close to the separation inclined plate 22 and the front end 120B of the rotation guide 120, which is the front end of the slide guide 34, is supported by the cover member 23. This is the position where the base 110 is completely removed rearward. With the slide guide 34 disposed at the guide position, the front end 120B and the rear end 112A of the base body 112 are separated from each other in the front-rear direction 8 by a predetermined distance. At the guide position, the slide guide 34 guides the recording sheet on which the image has been recorded conveyed through the reverse conveyance path 67 to the curved path 65A. The initial position is a position where the rear end portion 34A of the slide guide 34 is separated from the separation inclined plate 22 to the front side by a distance that allows the paper feed roller 25 to be lowered to the main tray 20 side.

  The rotation guide 120 is supported so as to be rotatable with respect to the slide portion 119. Specifically, a rotation shaft 121 is provided at each of both ends in the left-right direction 9 of the rear end portion of the slide portion 119, and the rear end portion of the rotation guide 120 is pivotally supported by the rotation shaft 121. Yes. Thereby, the rotation guide 120 can be rotated with respect to the slide portion 119.

  In the present embodiment, a driving force is transmitted to the slide guide 34 from a conveyance motor (not shown) via a drive transmission mechanism. As a result, the slide guide 34 slides in the direction in which the driving force is applied in the front-rear direction 8. For example, when the recording sheet is conveyed to the reverse conveyance path 67, the backward driving force is transmitted to the slide guide 34 at the initial position, and the recording sheet is moved to the guide position. When the recording sheet is guided from the reverse conveyance path 67 to the curved path 65A, the driving force forward is transmitted and moved from the guide position to the initial position.

  In a state where the slide guide 34 is disposed at the initial position (see FIG. 4), the upper surface on the rear side of the main tray 20 is opened. At this time, the feeding roller 25 is not supported by the slide guide 34, descends to the main tray 20 side, and comes into contact with the recording paper stored in the main tray 20. In this state, when the feeding roller 25 is rotated, the recording paper stored in the main tray 20 is fed toward the curved path 65A.

  On the other hand, when the slide guide 34 is slid from the initial position to the guide position (see FIG. 6), the rear end portion 34A of the slide guide 34 contacts the paper feed arm 26 and pushes the paper feed arm 26 upward. . Accordingly, the feeding roller 25 is disposed on the slide guide 34. When the feeding roller 25 is disposed on the slide guide 34, the feeding roller 25 comes into contact with the upper surface of the recording sheet guided to the upper surface of the slide guide 34 through the reverse conveyance path 67. When the feeding roller 25 is rotated in this state, the recording paper supported by the upper surface of the slide guide 34 is fed toward the curved path 65A.

[Operations and effects of the embodiment]
As described above, in this embodiment, when the slide guide 34 is disposed at the initial position, the front end 120 </ b> B of the rotation guide 120 is hooked upward by the connector 117. As a result, in FIG. 4, the base body 112 and the rotation guide 120 of the cover member 23 are connected in the vertical direction 7. In this state, when the paper feed cassette 78 is extracted from the casing 14 of the printer unit 11 and the recording paper is replenished or replaced with the paper feed cassette 78, as shown in FIG. When the front end of 23 is lifted by the operator, the rotation guide 120 connected by the connector 117 also rotates upward so as to follow the rotation operation of the cover member 23. Therefore, it is not necessary to rotate the cover member 23 and the rotation guide separately, and the front opening 31 on the front side of the main tray 20 can be opened by one operation of lifting and rotating the cover member 23. it can. Therefore, the operator can easily perform the replenishment work or replacement work of the recording paper.

  Note that if a paper jam occurs on the straight path 67B while the recording paper is being conveyed on the straight path 67B during double-sided recording, the operation of the printer unit 11 is interrupted while the slide guide 34 is disposed at the guide position. To do. Even when there is no paper jam, the operation of the printer unit 11 may be interrupted in a state where the slide guide 34 is disposed at the guide position due to a movement failure of the slide guide 34 or the like. In this case, in order to remove the jammed paper or to eliminate the movement failure of the slide guide 34, the operator removes the paper feed cassette 78 in a state where the slide guide 34 is disposed at the guide position from the printer unit 11. Must be removed. Even in such a case, when the slide guide 34 is disposed at the guide position, the front end 120B of the rotation guide 120 is disengaged from the connector 117. That is, the rotation guide 120 is released from the connection by the connector 117. Therefore, even if the paper feed cassette 78 is pulled out from the printer unit 11 in this state and the front end of the cover member 23 is lifted by the operator, only the cover member 34 rotates upward as shown in FIG. As a result, the slide guide 34 is maintained at the guide position.

  Further, in the state where the slide guide 34 is disposed at the guide position, as described above, the front end 120B of the rotation guide 120 is connected to the support base 110 (specifically, the rear end portion 112A of the base body 112) of the cover member 23. ) At a position separated from the rear by a predetermined distance. Therefore, even if the cover member 34 is rotated upward as shown in FIG. 7 with the slide guide 34 disposed at the guide position, the rear end portion 112A of the base body 112 is located in front of the rotation guide 120. There is no interference with the end 120B. That is, the predetermined distance is set to a distance at which the rear end portion 112A and the front end 120B do not interfere with each other. For this reason, even if the cover member 34 is rotated upward in a state where the slide guide 34 is disposed at the guide position, the slide guide 34 and the cover member 23 are not damaged.

  In the above-described embodiment, the connection tool 117 is disposed at the center in the left-right direction 9 on the back surface of the base body 112, but the connection tool 117 is not limited to such a position. For example, the base main body 112 may be provided at both ends in the left-right direction 7. In this case, the coupling tool 117 is arranged in a direction in which both ends of the rotation guide 120 in the left-right direction 7 can be hooked. In the above-described embodiment, a hook-shaped member is used as the connection tool 117. However, when the slide guide 34 is disposed at the initial position, the connection tool 117 is connected to the base main body 112, the rotation guide 120, and the like. As long as they can be connected, they may be formed in any shape or by any means. Further, in the above-described embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the configuration in which the cover member 23 covers the entire front opening 31 has been described. For example, the cover member 23 is a part of the front opening 31, for example, the front opening 31. The present invention can be applied even if the front half or the left half of the front opening 31 is covered.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Multifunction machine 11 ... Printer part 20 ... Main tray 23 ... Cover member 24 ... Recording part 30 ... Discharge holding surface 34 ... Slide guide 65 ... Conveyance path 67 ... Reverse conveying path 78 ... Paper cassette 110 ... Support base 111 ... Cover 112 ... Base body 113 ... Arm 115 ... Bearing 117 ... Connector 119 ...・ Slide part 120 ... Rotation guide 121 ... Rotation axis

Claims (4)

A tray that is configured to be insertable / removable along the horizontal direction with respect to the apparatus main body, and a tray in which an insertion port for a sheet-like recording medium is formed on the upper surface;
A first posture that is provided at the upper portion of the tray and that has a central portion in the insertion / extraction direction of the tray with respect to the apparatus main body as a rotation support point and a second posture that opens the insertion port and a second that closes at least a part of the insertion port A cover member that can be rotated between postures;
It is provided between the tray and the cover member, and is movable between a first position disposed on the lower side of the cover member and a second position spaced from the first position toward the apparatus main body, And a guide member configured to be rotatable with respect to the tray and forming at least a part of a conveyance path for conveying a recording medium on which an image has been recorded in a state of being arranged at the second position;
The cover member is provided on the back surface of the cover member, and the guide member is connected to the guide member in a state where the guide member is disposed at the first position, and the guide member is moved following the rotation of the cover member. An image recording apparatus comprising: a connecting member that is rotatable.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is formed in a hook shape that can be lifted by hooking an end portion of the guide member. The guide member is
A movable member that is movable between the distal end portion on the insertion direction side with respect to the apparatus main body and the rotation support point in the tray;
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a flat plate-like rotating member that is pivotally supported by the moving member. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an upper surface of the cover member also serves as a holding surface that holds a recording medium on which an image has been recorded.

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