JP2015193445A - Feeder and image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To securely move a stopper for preventing a sheet not being fed from moving.SOLUTION: A device includes a feeding part 72 to feed a recording paper sheet S supported by a support part 189 in a feeding direction 87, a lower guide member 97 having a top face 69 to contact with and guide a tip of the recording paper sheet S and a recess 86 recessed from the top face 69, a contact member 117 having a top face 121 that can come into contact with the tip of the recording paper sheet S, the contact member 117 being movable to a projection position where the face 121 projects from the recess 86 and to a burying position where the face 121 is buried into the recess 86, and a slide member 116 to be driven by a rotation shaft 50 to be moved within the recess 86 in the feeding direction 87 to move the contact member 117 to the projection position, and moved within the recess 86 in a direction opposite to the feeding direction 87 to move the contact member 117 to the burying position. The slide cam 116 includes an inclined plane 164 to come into contact with and move the contact member 117 to the projection position, and an inclined plane 167 to come into contact with and move the contact member 117 to the burying position.

Description

  The present invention relates to a feeding device that feeds a sheet supported by a support portion, and an image recording apparatus including the feeding device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a feeding device that has a support portion that supports a sheet and feeds the sheet supported by the support portion to an image recording apparatus or the like is known. Some of such feeding devices include a support portion that supports a sheet in which a plurality of sheets are stacked. In this case, the feeding roller comes into contact with the uppermost sheet among the sheets supported by the support portion, and feeds the uppermost sheet toward the destination (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-139197

  In the feeding device as described above, when the support unit supports the sheet in an inclined state and the sheet is configured to be fed obliquely downward along the inclination direction, When the feeding roller is separated from the supported sheet, the sheet may move in the feeding direction.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to provide a stopper on the downstream side in the feeding direction of the sheet supported by the support portion. This stopper protrudes in a state where the sheet is not fed, that is, in a state where the feeding roller is separated from the sheet, and abuts against the downstream end of the sheet in the feeding direction to restrict the movement of the sheet in the feeding direction. Located in. On the other hand, the stopper is located at a retracted position where it does not contact the downstream end of the sheet in the feeding direction in a state where the sheet is fed, that is, in a state where the feeding roller is in contact with the sheet. It is desirable that the stopper is reliably moved to the restricting position or the retracted position at a desired timing.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide means that can reliably move a stopper for preventing movement of a sheet during non-feeding to a protruding position and a retracted position. is there.

  (1) A feeding device according to the present invention is supported by a sheet supporting unit that supports a sheet, a feeding unit that feeds a sheet supported by the sheet supporting unit in a feeding direction, and the sheet supporting unit. A sheet contact surface for guiding the sheet by contacting the downstream end of the sheet in the feeding direction, a guide portion having a recess recessed from the sheet contact surface, and a sheet supported by the sheet support portion A restraining surface capable of abutting against the leading end of the sheet, and the restraining surface projects from the recess of the guide portion and is embedded in the recess and the projecting position where the leading end of the sheet supported by the sheet support portion abuts. A stopper that is movable to an embedded position that is separated from the front end of the sheet supported by the sheet support portion, a drive source that rotates, a rotation shaft that is rotated by being driven by the drive source, and a drive from the rotation shaft Transmitted above the recess A slide that moves the stopper toward the protruding position by moving the stopper toward the feeding direction, and moves the stopper toward the buried position by moving the inside of the recess in the direction opposite to the feeding direction. And a cam. The slide cam contacts the stopper to move the stopper from the buried position to the protruding position, and the slide cam contacts the stopper to move the stopper from the protruding position to the buried position. 2 cam surfaces.

  When the drive shaft transmits the drive shaft and the rotary shaft rotates in one direction, the first cam surface of the slide cam that moves in the feeding direction comes into contact with the stopper and moves the stopper at the buried position to the protruding position. On the other hand, when the rotation shaft rotates in the other direction, the second cam surface of the slide cam that moves in the direction opposite to the feeding direction comes into contact with the stopper, and the stopper at the protruding position is moved to the buried position.

  (2) Preferably, the second cam surface extends in an axial direction of the rotation shaft.

  (3) Preferably, the second cam surface is provided on each side of the slide cam in the axial direction, and the first cam surface is disposed between a pair of the second cam surfaces. .

  Accordingly, the first cam surface and the second cam surface can be brought into contact with the stopper in a balanced manner, so that the posture of the stopper is stabilized in the recess.

  (4) Preferably, the stopper is provided on a surface opposite to the stop surface, and protrudes in the axial direction with a first cam follower contacting the first cam surface of the slide cam, and the slide cam A second cam follower in contact with the second cam surface.

  (5) The sheet support part may support the leading end of the sheet in the feeding direction as a lower side in the gravity direction.

  It is possible to reduce the area that the sheet support portion occupies on the mounting surface of the apparatus, and to stably suppress the movement of the sheet during non-feeding.

  (6) The feeding device is in contact with the slide cam, and is in contact with the slide cam, and a protrusion restricting portion that restricts the slide cam at a position where the stopper is in the protrusion position. An embedment restricting portion for restricting movement at a position where the stopper is located at the embedment position and a presence / absence of drive transmission from the drive source to the rotating shaft are switched, and the slide is moved by the protrusion restricting portion or the embedment restricting portion. When the movement of the cam is restricted, a torque limiter for cutting off drive transmission from the drive source to the rotating shaft may be further provided.

  As a result, even if the rotation shaft cannot be rotated due to the restriction of the movement of the slide cam, it is possible to continuously transmit drive from the drive source to a drive unit different from the rotation shaft.

  (7) The present invention includes the feeding device and a recording unit that is provided on the downstream side in the feeding direction from the guide unit and records an image on the sheet fed by the feeding unit. It may be understood as an image recording apparatus provided.

  According to the present invention, the stopper for preventing the movement of the sheet at the time of non-feeding can be reliably moved to the protruding position and the buried position.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the multifunction machine 10. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of the printer unit 11. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the printer unit 11. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the bypass tray 71 with the movable portion 186 lying down. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the feeding device 70. 6A and 6B are cross-sectional views of the periphery of the moving member 64. FIG. 6A shows a state where the contact member 117 is in the buried position, and FIG. 6B shows a state where the contact member 117 is in the protruding position. It is shown. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the feeding device 70. FIG. 7A shows a state where the feeding roller 75 is in contact with the flat surface 45, and FIG. A separated state is shown. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the moving member 64.

  Hereinafter, the multifunction peripheral 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. The embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the embodiment can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist 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 shown in FIG. 1), and the side on which the opening 13 is provided is 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 side).

[Overall configuration of MFP 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 10 is generally formed in a rectangular parallelepiped, and includes a printer unit 11 that records an image on a sheet such as a recording sheet S (see FIG. 3) by an inkjet recording method. The multifunction machine 10 has various functions such as a facsimile function and a print function.

  The printer unit 11 includes a housing 14 having an opening 13 formed on the front surface. Further, a feed tray 20 and a discharge tray 21 that can accommodate recording paper S of various sizes can be inserted and removed in the front-rear direction 8 from the opening 13. The bottom surface of the housing 14 abuts on the placement surface on which the multifunction machine 10 is installed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit 11 includes a feeding unit 15 that feeds the recording paper S from the feeding tray 20, a recording unit 24 that records an image on the recording paper S, a first transport roller pair 59, and A second conveyance roller pair 180 and the like are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a scanner unit 12 is provided above the printer unit 11. The scanner unit 12 is a flat bed scanner. In addition, since the structure of a flat bed scanner is well-known, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted here.

[Printer 11]
Hereinafter, the detailed structure of the printer unit 11 will be described. The printer unit 11 is an example of an image recording apparatus.

[Feeding tray 20]
The feed tray 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has an outer shape in which the length in the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9 is longer than the length in the vertical direction 7, and has a box-like shape with an open upper surface. ing. A discharge tray 21 is provided on the front side of the upper surface of the feeding tray 20. The feeding tray 20 can accommodate the recording paper S by supporting the recording paper S of various sizes, such as an A4 size according to Japanese Industrial Standards and an L plate used for photographic recording, on a support surface. The feeding tray 20 is detachably mounted in an internal space that communicates with the opening 13 of the housing 14. The feeding tray 20 can advance and retreat along the front-rear direction 8 with respect to the housing 14 through the opening 13.

[Feeding unit 15]
As shown in FIG. 2, the feeding unit 15 includes a feeding roller 25, a feeding arm 26, and a drive transmission mechanism 27. The feeding unit 15 is provided above the feeding tray 20 and below the recording unit 24. The feed roller 25 is pivotally supported at the tip of the feed arm 26 so as to be rotatable. The feeding arm 26 rotates in the direction of an arrow 29 about a rotation shaft 28 provided at the base end. Thereby, the feed roller 25 can be brought into contact with and separated from the support surface of the feed tray 20. Therefore, when the recording paper S is accommodated and the feeding tray 20 is mounted in the housing 14, the feeding roller 25 can contact the recording paper S accommodated in the feeding tray 20.

  A driving force of a motor 78 (see FIG. 3), which will be described later, is transmitted to the feeding roller 25 through the drive transmission mechanism 27. The drive transmission mechanism 27 transmits the rotation transmitted to the rotation shaft 28 to the shaft of the feeding roller 25 by an endless belt. The feeding roller 25 rotates while being in contact with the uppermost recording paper S among the recording papers S supported on the support surface of the feeding tray 20, so that the recording paper S is conveyed along the transport path 65. To be sent to. The feed roller 25 may be driven and transmitted from a motor provided separately from the motor 78.

[Conveyance path 65]
As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyance path 65 provided in the internal space of the housing 14 extends in a curved manner so as to make a U-turn upward from the rear side of the feed tray 20, and further on the rear side of the printer unit 11. After being bent from the front side to the front side, it extends almost straight toward the front side and reaches the discharge tray 21. The conveyance path 65 is roughly divided into a curved path 65A that makes a U-turn and a straight path 65B that is straight.

  The curved path 65A is defined by the outer guide member 18, the inner guide member 19, the guide member 31, and the like facing each other with a space through which the recording paper S can pass. The straight path 65B is defined by the recording unit 24 and the platen 42 facing each other with a space through which the recording paper S can pass, the guide member 34, the guide member 33, and the like.

  The recording sheet S fed along the transport path 65 by the feed roller 25 of the feed tray 20 is reversed in the transport direction 17 (see FIG. 3) from below to above along the curved path 65A. The conveying direction 17 is conveyed from the rear to the front along the path 65B without being reversed.

[First conveyance roller pair 59 and second conveyance roller pair 180]
As shown in FIG. 2, a first transport roller pair 59 is provided on the upstream side of the recording unit 24 in the transport direction 17 of the recording paper S along the transport path 65. The first transport roller pair 59 includes a first transport roller 60 and a pinch roller 61. Similarly, a second conveyance roller pair 180 is provided on the downstream side of the recording unit 24 in the conveyance direction 17. The second transport roller pair 180 includes a second transport roller 62 and a spur roller 63.

  The first conveyance roller 60 and the second conveyance roller 62 are rotated by the rotation of a motor 78 (see FIG. 3) described later. The first conveyance roller pair 59 and the second conveyance roller pair 180 are rotated by the first conveyance roller 60 and the second conveyance roller 62 in a state where the recording paper S is sandwiched between the respective rollers constituting the first conveyance roller pair 59 and the second conveyance roller pair 180. The recording paper S is transported in the transport direction 17 along the transport path 65. The first transport roller 60 and the second transport roller 62 may be driven and transmitted from a motor provided separately from the motor 78.

[Recording unit 24]
As shown in FIG. 2, the recording unit 24 is provided between the first conveyance roller pair 59 and the second conveyance roller pair 180. The recording unit 24 is provided on the downstream side of a feeding direction 87 (see FIG. 3) to be described later than a lower guide member 97 to be described later. The recording unit 24 includes a carriage 40 and a recording head 39. The carriage 40 is supported by guide rails 43 and 44 provided on the rear side and the front side of the platen 42 so as to reciprocate in the left-right direction 9.

  The recording head 39 is mounted on the carriage 40. A plurality of nozzles 38 (see FIG. 3) are formed on the lower surface of the recording head 39. Ink is supplied to the recording head 39 from an ink cartridge (not shown). The recording head 39 selectively ejects ink from a plurality of nozzles 38 as fine ink droplets. When the carriage 40 is moving in the left-right direction 9, the nozzles 38 are applied to the recording paper S that is fed by the feeding unit 15 or a feeding unit 72 (see FIG. 3) described later and supported by the platen 42. Ink droplets are ejected from. The ejected ink droplets adhere to the recording paper S on the platen 42, whereby an image is recorded on the recording paper S.

[Bypass path 182]
As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 184 is provided on the rear surface of the housing 14. A bypass path 182 extending from the opening 184 to the first transport roller pair 59 is formed inside the housing 14. The bypass path 182 is a path that extends obliquely downward from the rear in the front-rear direction 8 to the front in the housing 14. The bypass path 182 is defined by the guide member 31 and the outer guide member 18. The conveyance path 65 is disposed below the bypass path 182.

  The recording paper S accommodated in a bypass tray 71 (see FIG. 3) described later is guided obliquely downward along the bypass path 182. The recording sheet S is guided along the straight path 65 B of the transport path 65 and is transported by the first transport roller pair 59. The recording sheet S is further subjected to image recording by the recording unit 24 and discharged to the discharge tray 21.

[Feeding device 70]
As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 7, the printer unit 11 includes a feeding device 70. The feeding device 70 includes a bypass tray 71, a feeding unit 72, a lower guide member 97 (an example of the guide unit of the present invention), a contact member 117 (an example of the stopper of the present invention), and a motor 78 ( An example of a drive source of the present invention, a rotating shaft 50, and a slide member 116 (an example of a slide cam of the present invention).

[Bypass tray 71]
As shown in FIG. 1, the bypass tray 71 is provided on the rear side of the multifunction machine 10. The bypass tray 71 accommodates the recording paper S independently of the feeding tray 20.

  A fixing portion 185 extending downward is provided on the rear surface side of the housing 14 so as to cover the opening 184 (see FIG. 2). The fixing portion 185 constitutes a part of the downstream side of the feed direction 87 (see FIG. 3) of the bypass tray 71. As shown in FIG. 4, a movable part 186 is provided above the fixed part 185 so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows 80 and 82 with respect to the fixed part 185. A bypass tray 71 is constituted by the fixed portion 185 and the movable portion 186.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the fixing portion 185 is provided with a support member 189 having a support surface 188. The support surface 188 extends obliquely downward to the bypass path 182 (see FIG. 2).

  The movable part 186 is provided above the fixed part 185 so as to be rotatable with respect to the fixed part 185. The movable portion 186 is rotatable between a standing state standing along the vertical direction 7 as shown in FIG. 1 and a lying state inclined with respect to the vertical direction 7 as shown in FIG. .

  The standing state is a state for reducing the space for the movable portion 186 on the rear surface side of the housing 14 and is a state in which the bypass tray 71 is not used. The lying down state is a state in which the movable portion 186 is inclined obliquely upward toward the outside of the housing 14, and the bypass tray 71 can be used.

  Side walls 190 and 191 are provided on both sides of the movable portion 186 in the left-right direction 9. The side walls 190 and 191 cover part of both sides of the fixing portion 185 in the left-right direction 9. The drive transmission mechanism 79 provided on the right side of the fixed portion 185 in the left-right direction 9 is covered with the side wall 190 of the movable portion 186.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a support member 192 is provided across the side walls 190 and 191 of the movable portion 186. In the lying state, the support surface 193 provided on the upper surface of the support member 192 is substantially flush with the support surface 188. That is, in the bypass tray 71 in which the movable portion 186 is in a lying state, the flat surface 45 formed by the support surface 188 of the support member 189 and the support surface 193 of the support member 192 supports the recording paper S. That is, the support members 189 and 192 are an example of the sheet support portion of the present invention. Here, “substantially the same plane” means a plane on which the recording sheet S that is supported does not bend or bend even if there is a slight step between the two planes, that is, to be described later. This means a flat surface that supports the recording sheet S so that stable separation performance is exhibited by the separating portion 132 (see FIG. 5).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the flat surfaces 45 of the support members 189 and 192 support the leading end of the recording sheet S in the feeding direction 87 as the lower side in the gravity direction.

[Feeding unit 72]
As shown in FIG. 3, the feeding unit 72 includes a feeding roller 75, a feeding arm 76, a rotating member 30, and a drive transmission mechanism 79. The feed roller 75 and the feed arm 76 are disposed to face the flat surface 45 of the bypass tray 71. The feed roller 75 is rotatably supported at the tip of the feed arm 76. The feeding arm 76 rotates in the directions of arrows 67 and 68 around a rotation shaft 66 provided at the base end. Thereby, the feeding roller 75 can be brought into contact with and separated from the flat surface 45. Accordingly, when the recording paper S is stored in the bypass tray 71, the feeding roller 75 can contact the recording paper S and can be separated from the recording paper S.

  The rotation of the feeding arm 76 is realized by the rotating member 30 provided in the feeding unit 72. As shown in FIG. 7, the rotation member 30 rotates in the directions of the arrows 105 and 106 around the axis of the feed roller 75, so that the position shown in FIG. ). When the rotating member 30 is at the position shown in FIG. 7A, the feeding roller 75 is in contact with the flat surface 45 or the recording paper S supported by the flat surface 45. In this state, when the rotating member 30 rotates in the direction of the arrow 106, the feeding roller 75 is lifted by the rotating member 30 (see FIG. 7B). As a result, the feeding roller 75 is separated from the flat surface 45 or the recording paper S supported by the flat surface 45. The configuration for rotating the feeding arm 76 is not limited to the above-described configuration, and a known configuration can be employed.

  The driving force of the motor 78 is transmitted to the feed roller 75 through a drive transmission mechanism 79 described later. When the feeding roller 75 rotates while being in contact with the uppermost recording sheet S among the recording sheets S supported by the flat surface 45, the recording sheet S is fed toward the bypass path 182. 87. The recording sheet S is sent to the straight path 65 </ b> B through the bypass path 182, and an image is recorded by the recording unit 24.

[Lower guide member 97]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lower guide member 97 is provided on the downstream side 87 in the feeding direction with respect to the support member 189 of the bypass tray 71. The lower guide member 97 is supported by the fixing portion 185 of the bypass tray 71. The lower guide member 97 may be supported by a member other than the fixing portion 185. For example, the lower guide member 97 may be supported by the side walls 190 and 191.

  The upper surface 69 of the lower guide member 97 (an example of the sheet contact surface of the present invention) is inclined with respect to the support surface 188 (plane 45). The upper surface 69 is located at a height substantially equal to the opening 184 (see FIG. 2) in the vertical direction 7.

  When feeding of the recording sheet S in the feeding direction 87 is started by the feeding roller 75, the lower guide member 97 guides the leading end of the recording sheet S in contact along the upper surface 69. A separation portion 132 (see FIG. 5) having a plurality of teeth protruding upward from the upper surface 69 and arranged along the front-rear direction 8 is provided at the central portion of the upper surface 69 in the left-right direction 9. With these teeth, the leading ends of a plurality of recording sheets S supported by the bypass tray 71 are scratched. Even when the leading ends of the plurality of recording sheets S are guided along the upper surface 69 by the feeding roller 75, the separation unit 132 contacts the feeding roller 75 among the plurality of recording sheets S. The uppermost recording sheet S is separated from the other recording sheets S. As a result, the feeding roller 75 feeds only the uppermost recording sheet S toward the bypass path 182.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of concave portions 86 extending along the front-rear direction 8 is provided on the upper surface 69. The concave portions 86 are respectively provided on the right side and the left side of the separating portion 132 in the left-right direction 9. In other words, the separation part 132 is disposed substantially at the center in the left-right direction 9 of the pair of recesses 86. A moving member 64 described later is disposed in the recess 86. As shown in FIG. 6, the recess 86 is defined by a bottom surface 84, a first side surface 122 (an example of an embedding restriction portion of the present invention), and a second side surface 123 (an example of a protrusion restriction portion of the present invention). .

[Drive transmission mechanism 79]
As shown in FIG. 3, the printer unit 11 is provided with a motor 78 that is driven to rotate in the forward and reverse directions. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a drive transmission mechanism 79 formed by engaging a plurality of gears is provided in the printer unit 11. However, in FIG. 3, the structure after the rotating shaft 50 in the 3rd drive transmission part 37 is abbreviate | omitted. In FIG. 5, the configuration after the gear 47A in the first drive transmission unit 35 is omitted. The rotational driving force generated when the motor 78 rotates forward and backward is transmitted to the feeding roller 75 and the moving member 64 via the drive transmission mechanism 79. Although not shown, the rotational driving force generated by the motor 78 is transmitted to the feed roller 25, the first transport roller 60, and the second transport roller 62.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the drive transmission mechanism 79 includes a first drive transmission unit 35, a second drive transmission unit 36, a third drive transmission unit 37, and an intermediate gear 46.

  The first drive transmission unit 35 is disposed on the right side of the bypass tray 71 and the lower guide member 97. The first drive transmission unit 35 includes five gears 47A, 47B, 47C, 47D, and 47E. The four gears 47A, 47B, 47C, and 47D constitute a gear train that meshes with each other. The gear 47A disposed at one end of the gear train is transmitted from the motor 78 as shown in FIG.

  The gears 47D and 47E are disposed at the other end of the gear train. The gears 47D and 47E are arranged side by side in the thrust direction and rotate integrally around the same rotation axis. The gear 47D meshes with the gear 47C. The gear 47E meshes with the intermediate gear 46. As described above, the first drive transmission unit 35 transmits the rotational driving force from the motor 78 to the intermediate gear 46.

  The second drive transmission unit 36 includes five gears 48 </ b> A to 48 </ b> E, a roller gear 49, and a rotation shaft 66. The gears 48A and 48B mesh with each other. The rotation shaft 66 extends along the left-right direction 9. The gear 48A meshes with the intermediate gear 46. The gear 48 </ b> B is attached to the right end portion of the rotation shaft 66 and can rotate integrally with the rotation shaft 66.

  The gears 48C to 48E constitute a gear train meshed with each other. The gear 48 </ b> C disposed at one end of the gear train is attached to the left end portion of the rotation shaft 66 and rotates integrally with the rotation shaft 66. A gear 48 </ b> E disposed at the other end of the gear train meshes with a roller gear 49 that is coaxial with the feed roller 75 and rotates integrally with the feed roller 75. The gears 48D and 48E are rotatably supported by the feeding arm 76. As described above, the second drive transmission unit 36 transmits the rotational driving force from the intermediate gear 46 to the feeding roller 75.

  The third drive transmission unit 37 includes two gears 77 </ b> A and 77 </ b> B, a rotating shaft 50, and a protrusion 51 protruding from the rotating shaft 50. The rotation shaft 50 extends along the left-right direction 9 from the right side of the bypass tray 71 and the lower guide member 97 to the substantially central portion of the bypass tray 71 and the lower guide member 97 in the left-right direction 9. .

  The gears 77A and 77B constitute a gear train meshed with each other. A gear 77A disposed at one end of the gear train meshes with the intermediate gear 46. A gear 77B arranged at the other end of the gear train is connected to the right end portion of the rotating shaft 50 via a torque limiter 127 described later. Accordingly, the gear 77B can rotate integrally with the rotating shaft 50 and can rotate independently of the rotating shaft 50. That is, the rotating shaft 50 is driven by the motor 78 and rotates. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the protrusion 51 protrudes toward the moving member 64. As described above, the third drive transmission unit 37 transmits the rotational driving force from the intermediate gear 46 to the moving member 64.

  The number of gears of the drive transmission mechanism 79 is not limited to the number shown in FIGS. Further, at least a part of the drive transmission mechanism 79 may be configured by other than a gear. For example, an endless belt may be stretched between two shafts, and the rotation of one shaft may be transmitted to the other shaft.

[Moving member 64]
As shown in FIG. 5, the moving member 64 is disposed in a recess 86 provided in the upper surface 69 of the lower guide member 97. The concave portions 86 are provided on the right side and the left side of the separation unit 132, respectively. Therefore, two moving members 64 are provided with the separation part 132 interposed therebetween.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the moving member 64 includes a slide member 116 and a contact member 117.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the slide member 116 is a long member along the feeding direction 87. The slide member 116 is supported on the bottom surface 84 of the recess 86. The slide member 116 includes a bottom portion 161 extending along the feeding direction 87 and a pair of side portions 162 and 163 erected from both left and right end portions of the bottom portion 161.

  As shown in FIG. 6, at the bottom 161 of the slide member 116, on the opposite side to the surface in contact with the bottom surface 84 of the recess 86, the surface 120, the surface 120 is continuous, and the slope constituting the side surface of the second recess 119 is formed. A surface 164 (an example of the first cam surface of the present invention), a first recess 118 formed on the upstream side of the feeding direction 87 from the surface 120, and a first side formed on the downstream side of the feeding direction 87 from the inclined surface 164. Two recesses 119 are provided. The protrusion 51 of the third drive transmission unit 37 is inserted into the first recess 118. A projection 58 (an example of the first cam follower of the present invention) of an abutting member 117 described later can be inserted into the second recess 119. The surface 120 and the inclined surface 164 can contact the protrusion 58.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a convex portion 165 extending to the left along the axial direction of the rotating shaft 50, that is, toward the side portion 163 is formed at the downstream end of the feeding direction 87 of the side portion 162. ing. A convex portion 166 extending to the right along the axial direction of the rotation shaft 50, that is, toward the side portion 162 is formed at the distal end portion of the side portion 163. The convex portions 165 and 166 are opposed in the left-right direction 9.

  The convex portions 165 and 166 are each formed with an inclined surface 167 (an example of the second cam surface of the present invention) that is inclined so that the upstream side in the feeding direction 87 is positioned above the downstream side. The inclined surface 164 formed continuously from the surface 120 is located between the pair of inclined surfaces 167. The inclined surface 167 abuts on a convex portion 158 (an example of the second cam follower of the present invention) provided on the abutting member 117.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the contact member 117 is a long member along the feeding direction 87. The contact member 117 is disposed between the pair of side portions 162 and 163 of the slide member 116. The contact member 117 includes a main body 91 that is long in the feeding direction 87, a columnar protrusion 133 that extends in the left-right direction 9 at the downstream end of the feeding direction 87 of the main body 91, and a lower surface 155 of the main body 91. A protrusion 58 that protrudes toward the bottom portion 161, and a protrusion 158 that is formed integrally with the protrusion 58 and protrudes rightward and leftward from the left and right side surfaces 156 of the main body 91.

  In addition, the convex part 158 may protrude only in one of the right direction and the left direction. In this case, the contact member 117 may include only one of the convex portions 165 and 166. That is, when the convex portion 158 protrudes only in the right direction, the contact member 117 includes only the convex portion 165 without the convex portion 166, and when the convex portion 158 protrudes only in the left direction, the contact member 117 is Only the convex portion 166 is provided without the convex portion 165.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the protrusion 133 is disposed in a recess 134 formed in the lower guide member 97. As a result, the contact member 117 can rotate in the directions of the arrows 169 and 170 around the axis along the left-right direction 9 around the protrusion 133.

  As will be described later, the upper surface 121 of the abutting member 117 can abut on the leading end of the feeding direction 87 of the recording paper S supported by the bypass tray 71.

  The abutting member 117 and the protruding position (position of the abutting member 117 in the state shown in FIG. 6B) projecting from the recess 86 of the lower guide member 97 in conjunction with the movement of the slide member 116. It is possible to move to the buried position buried in the recess 86 (the position of the contact member 117 in the state shown in FIG. 6A).

  6A, in the state where the slide member 116 is in contact with the first side surface 122 of the recess 86 of the lower guide member 97, the protrusion 58 of the contact member 117 is 2 is inserted into the recess 119. In this state, the inclined surfaces 167 of the convex portions 165 and 166 of the slide member 116 are located on the upstream side in the feeding direction 87 from the convex portion 158 of the contact member 117. Further, the contact member 117 is buried in the recess 86 and is a buried position.

  When the rotation shaft 50 of the third drive transmission unit 37 rotates in the direction of the arrow 124 from the state described above, the slide member 116 is pushed by the protrusion 51 that rotates together with the rotating rotation shaft 50, and the recess 86. It moves in the feeding direction 87 toward the second side surface 123. Thereby, the protrusion 58 inserted in the second recess 119 escapes from the second recess 119 and comes into contact with the inclined surface 164. The projection 58 rotates in the direction of the arrow 169 by being guided along the inclined surface 164. The protrusion 58 spaced apart from the inclined surface 164 is supported by the surface 120 as shown in FIG. As a result, the upper surface 121 (an example of the stop surface of the present invention) of the contact member 117 protrudes from the upper surface 69 of the lower guide member 97. That is, the contact member 117 is located at the protruding position. In this way, the inclined surface 164 contacts the protrusion 58 and moves the contact member 117 from the buried position to the protruding position.

  In the process in which the slide member 116 moves in the feeding direction 87, the convex portions 165 and 166 also move in the feeding direction 87. Thereby, the inclined surface 167 of the convex portions 165 and 166 is positioned downstream of the convex portion 158 in the feeding direction 87.

  Thus, the slide member 116 moves in the recess 86 in the feeding direction 87, thereby moving the contact member 117 toward the protruding position.

  Note that the slide member 116 can move until it abuts against the second side surface 123. That is, the second side surface 123 abuts against the slide member 116 of the moving member 64 and restricts the movement of the slide member 116 at a position where the abutting member 117 is at the protruding position.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, in the state where the slide member 116 is in contact with the second side surface 123 and the contact member 117 is in the protruding position, the protrusion 58 of the contact member 117 is the surface of the slide member 116. 120. In addition, the inclined surfaces 167 of the convex portions 165 and 166 of the slide member 116 are located downstream of the convex portion 158 of the contact member 117 in the feeding direction 87.

  In the state of FIG. 6B, when the rotation shaft 50 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow 124, the slide member 116 is pushed by the protrusion 51 and is opposite to the feeding direction 87 toward the first side surface 122 of the recess 86. Move in the direction. As a result, the projection 58 is guided along the surface 120 and then separated from the surface 120 and rotated in the direction of the arrow 170 by its own weight. As a result, the protrusion 58 is supported by the inclined surface 164. The protrusion 58 is guided along the inclined surface 164. As a result, the protrusion 58 is inserted into the second recess 119 as shown in FIG. As a result, the upper surface 121 of the contact member 117 is buried in the recess 86 of the lower guide member 97. That is, the contact member 117 is located at the buried position.

  Here, even if the protrusion 58 is separated from the surface 120, the contact member 117 rotates in the direction of the arrow 170 due to friction with other members (for example, friction between the protrusion 133 and the wall surface forming the recess 134). There is a risk of staying in the protruding position without moving. Even in this case, the contact member 117 is forcibly rotated in the direction of the arrow 170 by the contact between the convex portion 158 of the contact member 117 and the inclined surface 167 of the convex portions 165 and 166.

  That is, when the slide member 116 moves in the direction opposite to the feeding direction 87, the convex portions 165 and 166 also move integrally with the slide member 116. Thereby, the inclined surface 167 of the convex portions 165 and 166 comes into contact with the convex portion 158 from the downstream side in the feeding direction 87. Further, the convex portion 158 that contacts the inclined surface 167 moves downward while being pushed by the moving inclined surface 167. As a result, the contact member 117 rotates in the direction of the arrow 170 and is supported by the inclined surface 164. Thereafter, the contact member 117 is located at the buried position (see FIG. 6A). That is, the inclined surfaces 167 of the convex portions 165 and 166 abut against the convex portion 158 to forcibly move the contact member 117 from the protruding position to the buried position.

  In this manner, the slide member 116 moves in the recess 86 in the direction opposite to the feeding direction 87, thereby moving the contact member 117 toward the buried position.

  The slide member 116 is movable until it contacts the first side surface 122. That is, the first side surface 122 abuts on the slide member 116 of the moving member 64 and restricts the movement of the slide member 116 at a position where the abutment member 117 is at the buried position.

  When the contact member 117 is in the protruding position shown in FIG. 6B, the leading end of the recording sheet S supported by the flat surface 45 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) of the support members 189 and 192 is 87 It is possible to abut on the upper surface 121 of the abutting member 117. Grooves extending in the left-right direction 9 (perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 6) are formed at regular intervals on the upper surface 121, and the upper surface 121 has a saw blade shape when viewed from the right or left. It has become. The leading edge of the recording sheet S that is in contact with the upper surface 121, that is, the downstream end of the recording sheet S in the feeding direction 87 is fitted into the groove of the upper surface 121. As a result, the movement of the recording paper S is stopped by the upper surface 121. The upper surface 121 does not have to be a saw blade shape as long as the recording sheet S that is in contact can be stopped. For example, the upper surface 121 may be configured to prevent movement of the recording sheet S that is in contact with the upper surface 121 by attaching cork or the like having a high friction coefficient.

  On the other hand, the contact member 117 is supported by the plane 45 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) of the support members 189 and 192 by being embedded in the recess 86 at the embedded position shown in FIG. 6 (A). The recording paper S is separated from the leading end of the feeding direction 87.

[Torque limiter 127]
As shown in FIG. 5, a torque limiter 127 is provided between the gear 77 </ b> B of the third drive transmission unit 37 and the rotation shaft 50. The torque limiter 127 switches presence / absence of drive transmission from the motor 78 to the rotary shaft 50 by switching presence / absence of rotation drive force transmission in the third drive transmission unit 37.

  The torque limiter 127 includes a flange portion 128, a friction member (not shown), and a compression coil spring (not shown). The flange portion 128 protrudes from the peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 50. The friction member is disposed between the flange portion 128 and the gear 77B in the axial direction of the rotation shaft 50. The compression coil spring is disposed on the opposite side of the friction member with respect to the gear 77B in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 50, and biases the gear 77B toward the friction member. The gear 77B is pressed against the flange portion 128 via the friction member by being biased by the compression coil spring. Note that the configuration of the torque limiter 127 is not limited to the configuration described above, and any configuration of the torque limiter can be employed.

  In the operation of the moving member 64 described above, when the slide member 116 is in a movable state, the torque limiter 127 transmits the rotational driving force from the gear 77B to the flange portion 128 via the friction member. That is, the gear 77 </ b> B and the rotating shaft 50 provided with the flange portion 128 rotate together via the torque limiter 127.

  On the other hand, in the operation of the moving member 64 described above, when the slide member 116 that moves toward the first side surface 122 abuts on the first side surface 122, or the slide member 116 that moves toward the second side surface 123 When contacting the two side surfaces 123, the torque limiter 127 cuts off the transmission of the rotational driving force from the gear 77B to the rotating shaft 50. That is, since the rotation of the rotation shaft 50 is restricted by the contact of the slide member 116 with the first side surface 122 or the second side surface 123, the rotation of the rotation shaft 50 stops and the gear 77B rotates idly with respect to the rotation shaft 50. . That is, the gear 77B rotates independently of the rotation shaft 50. From the above, when the movement of the moving member 64 is restricted by the first side surface 122 or the second side surface 123, the torque limiter 127 cuts off the transmission of the rotational driving force in the third drive transmission unit 37.

  The position where the torque limiter 127 is provided is not limited to between the gear 77B and the rotating shaft 50. For example, the torque limiter 127 may be provided between the gear 77A and the rotation shaft of the gear 77A.

[Effect of the embodiment]
According to this embodiment, when the drive shaft is transmitted from the motor 78 and the rotary shaft 50 rotates in one direction (the direction of the arrow 124), the inclined surface 164 of the slide member 116 that moves in the feeding direction 87 is applied to the contact member 117. The contact member 117 at the buried position is moved to the projecting position. On the other hand, when the rotary shaft 50 rotates in the other direction (opposite to the direction of the arrow 124), the inclined surface 167 of the slide member 116 that moves in the direction opposite to the feeding direction 87 contacts the contact member 117, and the protruding position. The contact member 117 is moved to the buried position. As described above, the contact member 117 for preventing the movement of the recording paper S during non-feeding can be reliably moved to the protruding position and the buried position.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the inclined surfaces 167 are provided on the left and right sides of the slide member 116, and the inclined surfaces 164 are disposed between the inclined surfaces 167 in the left-right direction 9. Accordingly, the inclined surface 164 and the inclined surface 167 can be brought into contact with the contact member 117 in a well-balanced manner, so that the posture of the contact member 117 is stabilized in the recess 86.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the support members 189 and 192 support the leading end of the recording sheet S in the feeding direction 87 as the lower side in the gravity direction, so that the support members 189 and 192 are mounted on the apparatus. The area occupied on the surface can be reduced, and the movement of the recording paper S during non-feeding can be stably suppressed.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, since the feeding device includes the torque limiter 127, even if the rotation shaft 50 becomes unable to rotate due to the restriction of the movement of the slide member 116, it is different from the rotation shaft 50. Drive can be continuously transmitted from the motor 78 to the drive unit.

[Modification]
In the above-described embodiment, the feeding device 70 is a device that feeds the recording paper S supported on the flat surface 45 of the bypass tray 71, but the feeding device 70 is a tray other than the flat surface 45 of the bypass tray 71. An apparatus for feeding the recording paper S supported by the printer may be used. For example, the feeding device 70 may be a device for feeding the recording paper S supported by the feeding tray 20.

  In the above-described embodiment, the feeding device 70 is provided in the printer unit 11. However, the device including the feeding device 70 is not limited to the printer unit 11. For example, the feeding device 70 may be provided in the scanner unit 12. In this case, the feeding device 70 feeds a sheet whose image is read by the scanner unit 12 into the scanner unit 12.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Multi-function device 50 ... Rotating shaft 58 ... Protrusion 69 ... Upper surface 72 ... Feeding part 78 ... Motor 87 ... Feeding direction 116 ... Slide member 117 ... Contact member 121 ... upper surface 158 ... convex portion 164 ... inclined surface 167 ... inclined surface 185 ... fixed portion 189 ... support member 192 ... support member

Claims (7)

A sheet support part for supporting the sheet;
A feeding unit that feeds the sheet supported by the sheet supporting unit in a feeding direction;
A sheet abutting surface that guides the sheet by contacting the downstream end of the sheet supported by the sheet supporting portion, and a guide portion having a recess recessed from the sheet abutting surface;
It has a stop surface that can come into contact with the front end of the sheet supported by the sheet support portion, and the stop surface protrudes from the concave portion of the guide portion and comes into contact with the front end of the sheet supported by the sheet support portion. A stopper that can be moved to a protruding position and a buried position that is buried in the concave portion and is separated from the front end of the sheet supported by the sheet supporting portion;
A drive source for rotational driving;
A rotating shaft that is rotated by driving transmission from the driving source;
The stopper is moved toward the protruding position by being driven and transmitted from the rotating shaft in the recess in the feeding direction, and the stopper is moved in the direction opposite to the feeding direction in the recess. A slide cam for moving the stopper toward the buried position,
The slide cam
A first cam surface that contacts the stopper and moves the stopper from the buried position to the protruding position;
And a second cam surface that contacts the stopper and moves the stopper from the protruding position to the buried position.   The feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the second cam surface extends in an axial direction of the rotation shaft. The second cam surfaces are provided on both sides of the slide cam in the axial direction,
The feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the first cam surface is disposed between a pair of the second cam surfaces.   The stopper is provided on a surface opposite to the stop surface, and a first cam follower that abuts on the first cam surface of the slide cam, protrudes in the axial direction, and has a second cam surface of the slide cam. The feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising a second cam follower that abuts.   The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sheet support portion supports the leading end of the sheet in the feeding direction as a lower side in the gravity direction. A protrusion restricting portion that contacts the slide cam and restricts the slide cam at a position where the stopper becomes the protruding position;
An embedment restricting portion that contacts the slide cam and restricts the movement of the slide cam at a position where the stopper becomes the embedment position;
When the movement of the slide cam is restricted by the protrusion restricting portion or the burying restricting portion, the drive from the drive source to the rotating shaft is switched. The feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising a torque limiter for cutting transmission. A feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 6;
An image recording apparatus comprising: a recording unit that is provided downstream of the guide unit in the feeding direction and records an image on a sheet fed by the feeding unit.

Images