JP2012131632A - Recorded medium cassette, recorded medium feeding device and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve workability in feeding paper to a lower stage side tray in a paper cassette of a multistage structure equipped with the lower stage side tray and an upper stage side tray.SOLUTION: A paper cassette 100 is of a multistage structure equipped with the lower stage side tray 50 and the upper stage side tray 60 that can be slidably displaced between a feeding position and a retracted position above the lower stage side tray 50. The upper stage side tray 60 has a rotation fulcrum in a slide member 56 and is disposed in a manner to be able to rotate laterally around the rotation fulcrum, thereby widely securing a space in either direction of a front end side and a rear end side of the lower stage side tray 50. This improves the workability in feeding paper to the lower stage side tray 50.

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording medium cassette that is detachable from an apparatus main body. The present invention also relates to a recording medium feeding apparatus including the recording medium cassette, and a recording apparatus represented by a facsimile, a printer, or the like including the recording medium feeding apparatus.

  Paper cassettes that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body have been widely used. Among them, as shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, one detachable sheet cassette (tray) is known that has a two-stage structure including sheet storage portions at the lower and upper stages. In addition, there are various names such as “cassette” and “tray” as a paper storage unit for storing paper in the recording apparatus. In this specification, an entire unit unit that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body is referred to as “ The cassette is called a “cassette”, and a plurality of paper storage portions provided in the cassette is called a “tray”.

JP 2006-273565 A JP 2007-91445 A

  In the conventional paper cassette having the two-stage structure, the upper tray is configured to be opened with respect to the lower tray by rotating in the paper feeding direction side (front end side). In such a conventional configuration, when paper is supplied to the lower tray, the upper tray is rotated as described above. However, when the upper tray is rotated while the upper tray is in the advanced position, The paper is inserted from the rear end side of the lower tray.

  However, since the separation inclined surface is formed on the front end side of the tray, the guide surface of the edge guide that guides the rear end of the sheet is often undercut according to the separation inclined surface. In such a case, it is necessary to evacuate the edge guide once, replenish the paper, and then abut the edge guide against the rear end of the paper again, which is troublesome.

  Further, when the upper tray is rotated while the upper tray is in the retracted position, the sheet is inserted from the leading end side of the lower tray. However, in this case, there is an upper tray above the lower tray, and the upper tray is obstructive, and it is difficult to perform paper supply work to the lower tray.

  Furthermore, the edge guide that guides the side edge of the paper may be provided with a saddle shape that regulates the number of sheets stacked. In such a case, either the front side or the rear side of the lower tray Even when the paper is replenished from the paper, the paper is caught in a bowl shape and the paper replenishment work is difficult to perform.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to improve workability when supplying paper to the lower tray in a multi-stage paper cassette having a lower tray and an upper tray. Is to improve.

  In order to solve the above problems, a recording medium cassette according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided with a lower tray for storing a recording medium and a side portion in a direction intersecting the feeding direction of the recording medium. An upper tray having a moving fulcrum and accommodating a recording medium provided to be pivotable laterally with respect to the lower tray on the upper portion of the lower tray, with the rotation fulcrum as a center; It is characterized by comprising.

  According to this aspect, the recording medium cassette having a multi-stage structure including the lower tray and the upper tray has the upper tray pivoted on the side portion in the direction orthogonal to the feeding direction of the recording medium. And is provided so as to be pivotable laterally about the pivotal fulcrum. Therefore, when the recording medium is replenished to the lower tray, the upper tray can be pivoted sideways to A large upper space is ensured in both the front end side and the rear end side of the tray, and the workability when the recording medium is supplied to the lower tray can be improved.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the lower tray guides a side edge on one side of the recording medium, and a movable edge guide that can be displaced according to the size of the recording medium; A fixed edge guide provided to guide the other side edge of the recording medium, and the rotation fulcrum is provided on the side of the fixed edge guide.

  According to this aspect, since the upper tray has the pivot point on the side of the fixed edge guide that is fixedly provided in the lower tray, the upper tray is rotated to rotate the lower tray. When the recording medium accommodation space of the tray is exposed, the upper tray does not interfere with the operation of the movable edge guide.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the upper tray is rotatable with respect to a slide member that slides in the recording medium feeding direction with respect to the lower tray. The slide member has a rack formed in a sliding direction thereof, and the lower tray is provided with a pinion gear that meshes with the rack, and the upper tray is slid by rotation of the pinion gear. It is configured to be displaceable.

  According to this aspect, the upper tray is provided to be able to rotate with respect to the slide member on which the rack that meshes with the pinion gear is formed while sliding in the recording medium feeding direction with respect to the lower tray. Therefore, the movable part structure of the upper tray that slides and rotates can be configured with a simple structure and at a low cost.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the pivot point of the upper tray is provided outside the side wall of the upper tray.
According to this aspect, since the rotation fulcrum of the upper tray is provided outside the side wall of the upper tray, the recording medium accommodating space of the upper tray when configuring the rotation fulcrum of the upper tray. Will not erode.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium feeding device for feeding a recording medium, comprising the recording medium cassette according to any one of the first to fourth aspects. . According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus comprising: recording means for recording on a recording medium; and a recording medium feeding apparatus according to the fifth aspect. According to these aspects, the same effects as any of the first to fourth aspects can be obtained.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a paper conveyance path of the printer according to the embodiment of the invention. 1 is a perspective view of a paper cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a paper cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a paper cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a paper conveyance path of an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) 1 which is an embodiment of a “recording apparatus” according to the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a paper cassette 100 which is an embodiment of a “recording medium cassette”. FIG. 2 shows a closed state of the upper tray 60 and FIG. 3 shows an opened state of the upper tray 60. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the paper cassette 100 cut along a plane orthogonal to the paper feeding direction. In FIG. 1, the right direction indicates the paper feed direction, and the front and back direction of the drawing indicates the paper width direction. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the relationship between the side wall 50b and the paper, and other components that originally appear are omitted.

  The overall configuration of the printer 1 will be outlined below with reference to FIG. The printer 1 includes a feeding device 2 at the bottom of the device, and feeds paper (mainly cut sheet paper) as an example of a “recording medium” from the feeding device 2 one by one, and recording is performed by the recording unit 4. (Inkjet recording) is performed, and the sheet is discharged toward a discharge stacker (not shown) provided on the front side of the apparatus (left side in FIG. 1).

Hereinafter, the components on the paper transport path will be described in more detail.
The feeding device 2 includes a paper cassette 100, a pickup roller 16, a guide roller 20, and a separating unit 21.

  The paper cassette 100 capable of setting a plurality of paper sheets P in a stacked state can be attached to and detached from the front side of the apparatus main body of the feeding apparatus 2, and constitutes the base of the paper cassette 100 at the lower part. Two sheet storage units, that is, a lower tray 50 to be moved, and an upper tray 60 that is slidable between a feedable position and a retreat area that are located above the tray 50 are provided.

  In FIG. 1, the paper accommodated in the lower tray 50 is indicated by reference numeral P <b> 1, and the paper accommodated in the upper tray 60 is indicated by reference numeral P <b> 2 (hereinafter referred to as “ "Paper P").

  A pickup roller 16 that is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown) is provided on a swinging member 17 that swings about a swinging shaft 18, and the upper tray 60 is located at the rearmost side of the apparatus (left direction in FIG. 1: paper). When the cassette 100 is slid in the pulling direction side, that is, when the upper tray 60 is in the retreat area, the top tray 60 rotates in contact with the uppermost one of the sheets P1 accommodated in the lower tray 50. The upper sheet P1 is sent out from the lower tray 50.

  Further, when the upper tray 60 is in the abutting position where it slides to the most front side of the apparatus (right direction in FIG. 1: the mounting direction side of the paper cassette 100), that is, in the feedable position of the upper tray 60, the upper tray By rotating in contact with the uppermost one of the sheets P2 contained in the sheet 60, the uppermost sheet P2 is sent out from the upper tray 60.

  In a state where the upper tray 60 is positioned at the feedable position (the state shown in FIG. 1), the separation slope 54 of the lower tray 50 is accommodated in the upper tray 60 rather than the front inner wall of the upper tray 60. Thus, the separation slope 54 is used as a separation means when the paper is sent out from the upper tray 60. That is, the separation slope 54 of the lower tray 50 is used as a common separating means for the lower tray 50 and the upper tray 60.

  Next, a freely rotatable guide roller 20 is provided on the downstream side of the separation slope 54, and on the downstream side of the guide roller 20, a separation means 21 configured with a separation roller 22 and a driving roller 23 is provided. Is provided. The separation roller 22 has an outer peripheral surface formed of an elastic material and is provided so as to be able to press contact with the driving roller 23, and is provided in a state in which a predetermined rotational resistance is given by a torque limiter mechanism. Accordingly, the next and subsequent sheets P to be double fed are stopped between the separation roller 22 and the driving roller 23, that is, double feeding is prevented. The driving roller 23 is rotationally driven in a direction to feed the paper P downstream by a motor (not shown).

  On the downstream side of the separating means 21, a driving roller 26 that is driven to rotate by a motor (not shown) and an assist roller 27 that is driven to rotate by nipping the paper P between the driving roller 26 are provided. A first intermediate feeding unit 25 is provided, and the first intermediate feeding unit 25 feeds the paper P further downstream. Reference numeral 29 denotes a driven roller that reduces a paper passing load when the paper P passes through the curved inversion path (particularly when the paper trailing edge passes).

  On the downstream side of the driven roller 29, there is provided a second driving roller 32 that is driven to rotate by a motor (not shown), and an assist roller 33 that is driven to rotate while the paper P is nipped between the driving roller 32. An intermediate feeding unit 31 is provided, and the sheet P is further fed downstream by the second intermediate feeding unit 31.

  The recording unit 4 is disposed on the downstream side of the second intermediate feeding unit 31. The recording unit 4 includes a transport unit 5, a recording head 42, a lower paper guide 39, and a discharge unit 6. The transport means 5 includes a transport drive roller 35 that is rotationally driven by a motor, and a transport driven roller 36 that is pivotally supported by the upper paper guide 37 so as to be driven to rotate while being pressed against the transport drive roller 35. Yes. The paper P that has reached the transport means 5 is precisely fed to the downstream side when the transport drive roller 35 rotates while being nipped by the transport drive roller 35 and the transport driven roller 36.

  Subsequently, the recording head 42 is provided at the bottom of the carriage 40, and the carriage 40 is reciprocated in the main scanning direction by a drive motor (not shown) while being guided by a carriage guide shaft 41 extending in the main scanning direction (the front and back direction in FIG. 1). It is driven to move. The carriage 40 is a so-called off-carriage type in which no ink cartridge is mounted, and an ink cartridge (not shown) is provided independently from the carriage 40, and the ink cartridge is connected to the recording head via an ink supply tube (not shown). Ink is supplied to 42.

  A lower paper guide 39 is provided at a position facing the recording head 42, and the distance between the paper P and the recording head 42 is defined by the lower paper guide 39. Discharge means 6 for discharging the recorded paper P is provided on the downstream side of the lower paper guide 39. The discharge means 6 includes a discharge drive roller 44 that is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown), and a discharge driven roller 45 that is driven to rotate in contact with the discharge drive roller 44, and is a sheet on which recording is performed by the recording means 4. P is discharged by the discharge means 6 to a stacker (not shown) provided on the front side of the apparatus.

The above is the outline of the printer 1, and the paper cassette 100 will be described in further detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.
The lower tray 50 is provided with an edge guide 51 (FIG. 1) slidable in the paper feeding direction (that is, the paper length direction) on the bottom surface 50a. The edge guide 51 regulates the position of the trailing edge. It has become so.

  Further, an edge guide 52 that is slidable in a direction orthogonal to the paper feeding direction (that is, the paper width direction) is also provided, and the position of the side edge on one side is regulated by the edge guide 52. . The other side edge is regulated by the side wall 50b (FIGS. 2 and 4) of the lower tray 50. That is, the side wall 50b of the lower tray 50 functions as a fixed edge guide.

  Here, the edge guide 51 that regulates the rear end position of the sheet P1 is formed with an inclined surface so that the guide surface 51a is substantially parallel to the separation inclined surface 54, and thereby the edge guide 51 is formed at the rear end of the sheet. When abutted, the leading end of the sheet bundle follows the separation slope 54.

  In addition, a flange 53 is formed on the edge guide 52 that regulates the side edge of the paper P1. The collar portion 53 is provided so as to protrude above the stacked sheets, and the lower surface thereof functions as a regulating surface that regulates the number of sheets P1 stacked.

  Next, a high friction material (not shown) is disposed on the bottom surface 50a of the lower tray 50 at a location corresponding to the contact position between the pickup roller 16 and the paper P1, and the pickup roller 16 is provided with the high friction material. The sheet bundle is held so that the sheet bundle is not sent downstream when the sheet is fed out.

  On the other hand, as with the lower tray 50, the upper tray 60 also has an edge guide 61 slidable in the paper length direction and an edge guide (not shown) slidable in the paper width direction on the bottom surface 60a. I have. A high friction material 64 (FIG. 2) is disposed at a location corresponding to the contact position between the pickup roller 16 and the paper P2.

  Next, the movable structure of the upper tray 60 will be described. Steps are formed on the side walls 50b and 50c of the lower tray 50 (the step formed on the side wall 50c side in FIGS. 3 and 4 is indicated by reference numeral 50d), and the step formed on the side wall 50b side. A slide member 56 is slidably displaced along the paper feed direction and in the opposite direction.

  In the upper tray 60, connection portions 60c and 60d provided at one end in a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction are rotatably provided at the front and rear ends of the slide member 56, whereby the upper tray The tray 60 can be turned to the side as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the upper limit of the upper tray 60 is in the state shown in FIG. 4, that is, larger than 90 degrees.

  Engaging portions 60e and 60f are formed at the other end of the upper tray 60, and the engaging portions 60e and 60f are engaged with the step portion 50d formed on the side wall 50c of the lower tray 50. By doing so, the upper tray 60 is defined to be closed. In addition, the upper tray 60 can be displaced by sliding the locking portions 60e and 60f with respect to the step portion 50d.

  Next, a rack 56a is formed on the inner lower surface of the slide member 66, and a pinion gear 55 provided on the lower tray 50 is engaged with the rack 56a. That is, the upper tray 60 is configured to slide and displace when the pinion gear 55 rotates.

  The pinion gear 55 can mesh with a drive gear (not shown) provided on the apparatus main body side of the printer 1 when the paper cassette 100 is mounted on the apparatus main body of the printer 1. The drive gear is driven to rotate by a motor (not shown) so that the upper tray 60 is driven.

  As described above, in the paper cassette 100 according to the present embodiment, the upper tray 60 has the rotation fulcrum on the side portion in the direction orthogonal to the paper feeding direction, and the rotation fulcrum is the center. Since it is provided so as to be pivotable to the side (in this embodiment, to the right side as viewed from the rear side as shown in FIG. 4), when the paper is supplied to the lower tray 50, the upper tray 60 is moved to the side. By rotating, a large upper space is secured in both the front end side and the rear end side of the lower tray 50. Therefore, workability at the time of paper supply to the lower tray 50 can be improved.

  In particular, in this embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 1, the guide surface 51a of the edge guide 51 that regulates the position of the trailing edge of the sheet is inclined in an undercut shape. When replenishing, it is necessary to first retract the edge guide 51 to the rear, then replenish the paper, and then abut against the trailing edge of the paper again. However, as described above, since the paper cassette 100 can be replenished from the front end side, the edge guide operation as described above is not necessary.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which the upper tray 60 is rotated with the abutting position being in the abutting position. However, the upper tray 60 can be moved laterally as shown in FIG. Can be rotated.

  In addition, the edge guide 52 that regulates the side edge of the paper P1 accommodated in the lower tray 50 is formed with the collar portion 53 as described with reference to FIG. Although it is easily caught by the collar portion 53 and obstructs the paper replenishment work, the upper tray 60 rotates sideways, so that when paper is replenished, it can be accommodated after the edge of the paper abuts against the edge guide 52. Regardless of the presence of the section 53, the paper supply operation is facilitated.

  In the present embodiment, the upper tray 60 has a pivot point on the side of the side wall 50b functioning as a fixed edge guide, not on the displaceable edge guide 52 side. Thus, when the sheet accommodation space of the lower tray 50 is exposed, the upper tray 60 does not interfere with the operation of the edge guide 52.

  Further, the upper tray 60 is provided so as to be able to rotate with respect to the slide member 56 formed with a rack 56 a that slides in the paper feeding direction and the opposite direction with respect to the lower tray 50 and meshes with the pinion gear 55. Therefore, the movable part structure of the upper tray 60 that is slidably displaced and rotated can be configured at a low cost with a simple structure.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the pivot point of the upper tray 60 is outside the side wall of the upper tray 60 (more specifically, the inner wall forming the paper storage space of the upper tray 60 on the side wall). Therefore, the sheet storage space of the upper tray 60 is not eroded when the pivot point of the upper tray 60 is configured. In the present embodiment, the slide member 56 also serves as a side wall that forms a sheet storage space of the upper tray 60.

  Needless to say, the embodiment described above is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, in the above embodiment, the upper tray 60 is configured to be opened to the right when viewed from the rear end side of the cassette, but may be configured to be opened to the left.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer, 2 Feeding device, 4 Recording means, 5 Conveying means, 6 Ejecting means, 16 Pickup roller, 17 Oscillating member, 18 Oscillating shaft, 20 Followed roller, 21 Separating means, 22 Separating roller, 23 Driving roller , 25 1st intermediate feed section, 26 drive roller, 27 assist roller, 29 driven roller, 31 2nd intermediate feed section, 32 drive roller, 33 assist roller, 35 transport drive roller, 36 transport driven roller, 37 upper paper guide, 39 Lower paper guide, 40 Carriage, 41 Carriage guide shaft, 42 Recording head, 44 Ejection drive roller, 45 Ejection driven roller, 50 Lower tray, 50a Bottom surface, 51, 52 Edge guide, 53 Gutter, 54 Separation slope, 55 Pinion gear, 56 slide part Material, 60 upper tray, 60a bottom surface, 61 edge guide, 64 high friction material, 100 paper cassette, P, P1, P2 recording paper

Claims (6)

A lower tray for storing a recording medium;
It has a rotation fulcrum on the side that intersects the direction of feeding the recording medium, and can rotate laterally with respect to the lower tray on the upper part of the lower tray around the rotation fulcrum. An upper tray for storing a recording medium,
A recording medium cassette configured to include: 2. The recording medium cassette according to claim 1, wherein the lower tray guides a side edge on one side of the recording medium, and is movable according to a size of the recording medium, and a recording medium. A fixed edge guide provided in a fixed manner for guiding the side edge on the other side of
The rotation fulcrum is provided on the fixed edge guide side;
A recording medium cassette characterized by the above. The recording medium cassette according to claim 1, wherein the upper tray is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to a slide member that slides in the feeding direction of the recording medium with respect to the lower tray.
The slide member has a rack formed in the slide direction,
The lower tray is provided with a pinion gear that meshes with the rack, and the upper tray is configured to be slidable by rotation of the pinion gear.
A recording medium cassette characterized by the above. The recording medium cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a rotation fulcrum of the upper tray is provided outside a side wall of the upper tray.
A recording medium cassette characterized by the above. A recording medium feeding device for feeding a recording medium, comprising the recording medium cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
A recording medium feeding device characterized by the above. Recording means for recording on a recording medium;
A recording apparatus comprising the recording medium feeding apparatus according to claim 5.

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