JP5029630B2 - Sheet conveying apparatus and image recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet conveying device in which a sheet placed on a placement surface is fed while being pressed by a pressing member, and an image recording apparatus including the sheet conveying device.

  An image recording apparatus having a double-sided recording function is known. In such an image recording apparatus, for example, a sheet is conveyed from a sheet feeding tray to a recording unit by a sheet feeding roller, and an image is recorded on one side of the sheet. The sheet on which the image is recorded on one side is switched back on the downstream side of the recording unit and returned again to the upstream side of the recording unit. Then, the image of the returned paper is recorded on the other side not printed by the recording unit. As an example of such an image recording apparatus, one in which a paper feed tray is included in a path through which paper is returned to the upstream side of a recording unit is known (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-145574 A

  In the image recording apparatus as described above, it is assumed that a guide member is provided in the paper feed tray in order to guide the paper returned to the paper feed tray by the switchback conveyance. It is assumed that the guide member is elastically biased toward the paper feed tray for the purpose of canceling an actuator, which will be described later, or for the purpose of pressing down the paper stacked on the paper feed tray. Further, even in an image recording apparatus that does not have a double-sided recording function, it is expected that a deformed sheet or the like is corrected by providing a pressing member that is elastically biased toward the paper feed tray, such as a guide member.

  The paper feed tray may be provided with an actuator for separating the paper feed roller from the paper feed tray after the last sheet is fed from the paper feed tray. Such an actuator, for example, lifts the paper feed roller by the principle of lever or lifts the paper feed roller by being biased by a spring. By this actuator mechanism, when there is no paper in the paper feed tray, there is no increase in load due to rotation of the paper feed roller in contact with the friction member on the paper feed tray. Etc. are prevented. The above-described guide member or pressing member (hereinafter also referred to as “guide member”) presses the paper stacked on the paper feed tray, and the actuator feeds the paper through the paper. Press the roller so that it does not lift. When there is no paper in the paper feed tray, the pressing force of the guide member or the like is not transmitted to the actuator, so that the actuator lifts the paper feed roller as described above.

  When the guide member as described above is provided in the paper feed tray, when the paper is loaded into the paper feed tray, the guide member or the like becomes a load and it is difficult to load the paper into the paper feed tray. There is. In particular, when a small number of sheets are loaded in the paper feed tray, or when a bundle of soft paper is loaded in the paper feed tray, such a problem occurs remarkably. There is also a possibility that the tip side may be damaged.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide means capable of reducing a load when a sheet is loaded in a sheet tray having a pressing member.

(1) A sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention has an apparatus main body, a mounting surface on which a sheet is mounted, a first position mounted on the apparatus main body, and a sheet pulled out from the apparatus main body and mounted. A sheet tray that is slid to a second position where the sheet can be replenished to the surface, and a feeding mechanism that feeds the sheet placed on the placement surface of the sheet tray placed at the first position to the conveyance path; A presser that is provided on the sheet tray so as to be pivotable to a posture that abuts on the placement surface and is spaced from the placement surface, and that abuts on the placement surface or a sheet placed on the placement surface. And a direction in which the pressing member is pressed against the placement surface or the sheet placed on the placement surface, and is provided on the pressing member so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis of the pressing member. Pivots in the opposite direction to the fourth position with respect to the holding member A receiving member that is in contact with a part of the pressing member at the fourth position and is prevented from rotating; and the pressing member is provided with the receiving member with respect to the pressing member. A first urging member that urges toward the fourth position side, and the first urging member of the rotation direction of the receiving member when the sheet tray is in the first position. The urging member is disposed at a position where the urging member abuts the receiving member on the side in which the urging member is urged against the pressing member, and the sheet tray is pulled out from the first position to the second position, thereby A support member that is spaced apart.

When the sheet tray is disposed at the first position, the support member comes into contact with the receiving member. In this state, when the posture changes to a direction away from the mounting surface the pressing member, the receiving member relative changes attitudes relative to the pressing member. Accordingly, the pressing member is elastically urged toward the placement surface by the first urging member in accordance with the thickness of the bundle of sheets placed on the placement surface of the sheet tray.

  When the sheet tray is disposed at the second position, the support member is separated from the receiving member. In this state, when the posture of the pressing member changes in a direction away from the placement surface, the receiving member also moves together with the pressing member. That is, the receiving member is held at the fourth position by the first biasing member regardless of the posture of the pressing member. Therefore, only the weight of the pressing member is a load on the sheet loaded on the placement surface, and the urging force by the first urging member is not a load.

  (2) On the placement surface of the sheet tray, a fifth position that is provided downstream of the pressing member in the sheet feeding direction and projects from the placement surface, and the placement surface side from the fifth position. A movable member that changes its posture to a sixth position for retreating and a second urging member that urges the movable member toward the fifth position may be further included.

  When a sheet is loaded on the sheet tray, the leading end of the sheet comes into contact with the movable member at the fifth position. However, as described above, for the sheet loaded on the placement surface, only the weight of the pressing member is a load, and the urging force by the first urging member is not a load. While changing the posture so as to be separated from the placement surface, the movable member gets over the movable member and is loaded into the sheet tray.

  (3) The feeding mechanism includes a rotating body that comes in contact with and separates from the placement surface of the sheet tray, and the movable member is configured to move the second urging member by the sheet placed on the sheet tray. It may be held at the sixth position against the urging force, and the rotating body may be separated from the placement surface at the fifth position.

  (4) The sheet conveying device may further include a friction member that is disposed at a position corresponding to the rotating body on the placement surface and generates sliding friction with respect to the sheet.

  (5) The pressing member extends to the upstream side from the friction member in the direction in which the sheet is fed with the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the sheet tray is slid as an axis, and the extending end of the pressing member is the sheet tray The thing which can be rotated so that it may contact / separate to the mounting surface of this.

  (6) An image recording apparatus according to the present invention includes the sheet conveying device, a recording unit that records an image on a sheet fed from the sheet conveying device, and a sheet on which an image is recorded on one side by the recording unit. A transport unit that transports the sheet tray toward the mounting surface on the downstream side of the recording unit. The pressing member has a guide surface that guides a sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit to a placement surface of the sheet tray.

  According to the present invention, when the sheet tray is disposed at the second position, the support member is separated from the receiving member, and the receiving member is held at the fourth position regardless of the position of the pressing member. The urging force by the first urging member is not a load on the sheet loaded on the surface. On the other hand, when the sheet tray is disposed at the first position, the support member comes into contact with the receiving member, and the pressing member is elastically biased toward the placement surface by the first biasing member. Thereby, in the sheet tray having the pressing member, the load caused by the pressing member when the sheet is loaded is reduced in conjunction with the operation of pulling out the sheet tray.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an external configuration of a multifunction machine 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the main configuration of the printer unit 11. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross-sectional structure taken along the line III-III in FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the external configuration of the paper feed tray 20, the paper discharge tray 21, and the pressing member 30. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the paper feed tray 20. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the configuration of the pressing member 30. 7A is a left side view of the movable spring seat 71, FIG. 7B is a front view of the movable spring seat 71, and FIG. 7C is a right side view of the movable spring seat 71. It is. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cross-sectional configuration of the paper feed tray 20, the paper discharge tray 21, and the pressing member 30 that are not attached to the multifunction machine 10. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cross-sectional configuration of the paper feed tray 20, the paper discharge tray 21, and the pressing member 30 that are mounted on the multifunction machine 10. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cross-sectional configuration of the paper feed tray 20, the paper discharge tray 21, and the pressing member 30 in the process of insertion into the multifunction machine 10. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cross-sectional configuration of the paper feed tray 20, the paper discharge tray 21, and the pressing member 30 in the process of insertion into the multifunction machine 10. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cross-sectional configuration of the paper feed tray 20, the paper discharge tray 21, and the pressing member 30 in a state where the multi-function peripheral 10 is mounted.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. Note that each embodiment described below is merely an example embodying the present invention, and it goes without saying that the embodiments can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Schematic configuration of MFP 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 10 is a multi-function device (MFD) that includes a printer unit 11 at the bottom and a scanner unit 12 at the top. The multifunction machine 10 has a print function, a scan function, a copy function, a facsimile function, and the like. Note that the image recording apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the multifunction machine 10, and the present invention may be realized as a printer that does not include the scanner unit 12 and has only a print function, for example.

  A scanner unit 12 is configured in the upper part of the multifunction machine 10. The scanner unit 12 is configured as a flat bed scanner (FBS) and an automatic document feeder (ADF), but the scanner unit 12 has an arbitrary configuration in the present invention. In the book, the detailed explanation is omitted.

  An operation panel 14 is provided in the upper front portion of the multifunction machine 10. The operation panel 14 is a device for inputting a command or the like to cause the printer unit 11 or the scanner unit 12 to perform a desired operation. The operation panel 14 includes a liquid crystal display for displaying various information, an input key for the user to input information, and the like. The multifunction machine 10 operates based on an operation input from the operation panel 14. The multifunction device 10 also operates based on information transmitted from, for example, a computer that is communicably connected via a LAN.

[Printer 11]
Hereinafter, the configuration of the printer unit 11 will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 10 has an opening 13 formed on the front side thereof. A paper feed tray 20 and a paper discharge tray 21 are disposed inside the opening 13. The paper feed tray 20 and the paper discharge tray 21 are provided in two upper and lower stages with the paper discharge tray 21 as the upper side of the paper feed tray 20. The detailed configuration of the paper feed tray 20 will be described later. The paper feed tray 20 corresponds to the sheet tray in the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first transport path 23 is provided so as to make a U-turn upward from the back of the paper feed tray 20. The first conveyance path 23 is a path along which the sheet is conveyed. The first conveyance path 23 extends upward from the back of the paper feed tray 20, further bends to the front side (right side in FIG. 2) of the multifunction machine 10 and extends to the front side, and passes through the recording unit 24. To the paper discharge tray 21. The sheet placed on the sheet feeding tray 20 is guided to make a U-turn from the lower side to the upper side along the first conveyance path 23 and reaches the recording unit 24, and the sheet on which the image is recorded by the recording unit 24 is discharged. It is discharged to the paper tray 21.

  The first transport path 23 is defined by an outer guide surface and an inner guide surface, except for locations where the recording unit 24 and the like are disposed. For example, the curved portion of the first conveyance path 23 on the back side of the multifunction machine 10 is formed by arranging the outer guide member 18 and the inner guide member 19 to face each other at a predetermined interval. In this case, the outer guide member 18 constitutes a curved outer guide surface, and the inner guide member 19 constitutes a curved inner guide surface. The outer guide member 18 and the inner guide member 19 are fixed to the housing or the frame of the multifunction machine 10.

  In the first transport path 23, the second transport path 17 is connected to a branch position 40 on the downstream side in the transport direction from the recording unit 24. The second transport path 17 extends obliquely downward from the branch position 40 toward the paper feed tray 20. A sheet on which image recording has been performed on one side by the recording unit 24 is conveyed to the second conveyance path 17. Such sheet conveyance is performed when the printer unit 11 is instructed to perform double-sided recording for recording images on both sides. The sheet conveyed to the second conveyance path 17 passes through the paper feed tray 20 and enters the first conveyance path 23 again. Then, image recording is performed on the other surface by the recording unit 24.

[Recording unit 24]
The recording unit 24 records an image on the sheet in the process in which the sheet is conveyed in the recording direction 105 in the first conveyance path 23. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the recording unit 24 performs image recording by an ink jet method. The recording unit 24 mainly includes a recording head 42, a platen 43, and a carriage 44.

  The carriage 44 is reciprocated in the moving direction 106 by being guided by a pair of guide rails 45 and 46 whose longitudinal direction is a horizontal direction orthogonal to the recording direction 105. The pair of guide rails 45, 46 are arranged so as to be separated from each other in the recording direction 105, and the carriage 44 is placed so as to be bridged between the pair of guide rails 45, 46. A belt drive mechanism 47 is provided on the guide rail 46. The belt driving mechanism 47 transmits the driving force of the motor to the carriage 44, and the carriage 44 is reciprocated in the movement direction 106.

  The recording head 42 is mounted on the carriage 44 and reciprocated in the moving direction together with the carriage 44. The recording head 42 is exposed as the lower surface of the carriage 44. A plurality of nozzles for discharging fine ink droplets are formed on the lower surface of the recording head 42. In the recording head 42, a piezoelectric element and a cavity are formed on the upstream side of the nozzle. The piezoelectric element is deformed by applying a predetermined voltage, and the volume of the cavity is reduced. Due to the change in the capacity of the cavity, ink in the cavity is ejected from the nozzle as ink droplets.

  The platen 43 is disposed below the carriage 44 so as to form a predetermined gap with the recording head 42. That is, the recording head 42 and the platen 43 are opposed to each other in the vertical direction. A gap from the recording head 42 to the upper surface of the platen 43 is also referred to as a head gap, and ink droplets ejected from the recording head 42 move toward the platen 43 through this gap. The platen 43 supports a sheet on which an image is recorded from below. That is, ink droplets are selectively ejected from the recording head 42 onto the sheet conveyed and supported on the upper surface of the platen 43, and the ink droplets land on the sheet to form an image.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first conveyance path 23 is provided with a conveyance roller 54 that conveys the sheet to the recording unit 24 and a paper discharge roller 56 that discharges the sheet from the recording unit 24. Although not shown in the figure, a pinch roller that is in pressure contact with the transport roller 54 is provided below the transport roller 54, and is in pressure contact with the paper discharge roller 56 above the paper discharge roller 56. There is a spur. The transport roller 54 and the paper discharge roller 56 are rotated by driving transmission from a motor (not shown). The driving of the transport roller 54 and the paper discharge roller 56 is synchronized, and is intermittently driven at a predetermined rotation angle during image recording, and continuously driven before and after image recording. While the conveyance roller 54 and the paper discharge roller 56 are intermittently rotated, the carriage 44 is reciprocated as described above, and ink droplets are selectively ejected from the recording head 42. The recording method of the recording unit 24 is not limited to the ink jet recording method, and may be an electrophotographic method, for example.

[Route switching unit 41]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 10, the path switching unit 41 is provided at the branch position 40 in the first transport path 23. The path switching unit 41 corresponds to the transport unit in the present invention. The path switching unit 41 includes a switchback roller 50, a pinch roller 51, and an auxiliary roller 52. The pinch roller 51 and the auxiliary roller 52 are attached to the frame 48. The frame 48 is a long member whose longitudinal direction is the width direction 102 of the multifunction machine 10.

  A plurality of pinch rollers 51 and auxiliary rollers 52 are arranged on the frame 48 at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction (width direction 102). Each pinch roller 51 and auxiliary roller 52 are rotatable with the longitudinal direction (width direction 102) of the frame 48 as the axial direction. Since the pinch roller 51 and the auxiliary roller 52 are in contact with the recording surface of the sheet, they are formed in a spur shape. The auxiliary roller 52 is disposed upstream of the pinch roller 51 in the first transport direction 107. Each pinch roller 51 is supported so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the switchback roller 50, and is urged toward the switchback roller 50 by a coil spring (not shown). Therefore, when the sheet enters between the switchback roller 50 and the pinch roller 51, the pinch roller 52 moves away from the switchback roller 50 against the urging force of the coil spring, and the sheet is moved to the switchback roller 50. The sheet is sandwiched between the switchback roller 50 and the sheet.

  The switchback roller 50 is rotated in both forward and reverse directions using a motor (not shown) as a drive source. Although not shown in the figure, the switchback roller 50 is connected to the motor via a drive transmission mechanism including gears, a belt, and the like.

  The frame 48 described above can rotate in the rotation direction 108 together with the pinch roller 51 and the auxiliary roller 52 around the shaft 53 of the switchback roller 50. The rotation of the frame 48 is realized by drive transmission from a motor. The frame 48 causes the pinch roller 51 and the auxiliary roller 52 to be juxtaposed in the direction along the first transport direction 107 when the switchback roller 50 is rotated forward (rotation in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3). Accordingly, the sheet that has passed through the recording unit 24 is conveyed toward the paper discharge tray 21 along the first conveyance direction 107.

  On the other hand, the frame 48 causes the pinch roller 51 and the auxiliary roller 52 to be juxtaposed in the direction along the second conveyance direction 108 when the switchback roller 50 is rotated in the reverse direction (counterclockwise rotation in FIG. 3). Therefore, the sheet conveyed in the direction opposite to the first conveying direction 107 from the paper discharge tray 21 side toward the recording unit 24 is pressed downward by the auxiliary roller 52, so that the second conveyance from the branch position 40 is performed. Enter road 17.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the switchback roller 50 is rotatably supported by a frame 58 that constitutes a lower guide surface in the second conveyance path 17. The frame 58 is configured such that the front side portion of the apparatus can be rotated downward about a shaft 88 at the back side portion of the apparatus. The frame 58 is engaged with a pivotable hook and is maintained at a position where the switchback roller 50 is pressed against the pinch roller 51. In this state, a part of the frame 58 constitutes the guide surface of the second transport path 17. When the engagement with the hook described above is released, the frame 58 is rotatable, and as shown in the figure, the frame 58 is rotated downward by its own weight. When the frame 58 is rotated downward, the switchback roller 50 is separated from the pinch roller 51 and a part of the second conveyance path 17 is opened. That is, the second transport path 17 can be accessed from the front side of the apparatus.

[Sheet Conveying Device]
The printer unit 11 includes a sheet conveying device. This sheet conveying apparatus is mainly divided into a feeding mechanism 16, a sheet feeding tray 20, and a support member 85. Hereinafter, these detailed configurations will be described.

[Feeding mechanism 16]
As shown in FIG. 3, a feeding mechanism 16 is disposed on the upper side of the paper feed tray 20. The feeding mechanism 16 includes a paper feeding roller 25 and an arm 26. The paper feed roller 25 corresponds to a rotating body in the present invention.

  The paper feed roller 25 is rotatably supported on the distal end side of the arm 26. The paper feed roller 25 is driven by a motor and rotated. The sheet feed roller 25 contacts the sheet on the sheet feed tray 20 and rotates, whereby the sheet is fed from the sheet feed tray 20 to the first transport path 23. Although not shown in each figure, a pair of paper feed rollers 25 are juxtaposed in the width direction 102 so as to sandwich the tip of the arm 26.

  A shaft 28 is provided on the frame of the printer unit 11. The shaft 28 extends along the width direction 102 of the printer unit 11. The arm 26 is rotatably supported on the shaft 28. By the rotation of the arm 26, the paper feed roller 25 is moved in a direction in which the paper feed roller 25 is in contact with or separated from the paper feed tray 20. The arm 26 is rotated in a direction in which the paper feed roller 25 approaches the paper feed tray 20 by its own weight or spring bias. As will be described later, when the paper feed tray 20 is pulled out, the arm 26 is rotated upward by the guide surface 66 (see FIG. 4) formed on the paper feed tray 20, and the paper feed roller 25 is fed. Separated from the paper tray 20.

[Paper Tray 20]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the paper feed tray 20 has a rectangular box shape with the upper side opened. The box-shaped bottom plate 61 constitutes a placement surface on which the sheet is placed. A plurality of sheets are placed on the bottom plate 61 in a stacked state. The size of the paper feed tray 20 is set according to the maximum size sheet that can be recorded in the printer unit 11.

  In the paper feed tray 20, an inclined guide plate 62 is provided on the back side of the paper feed direction 104. The inclined guide plate 62 is inclined at the upper end side in the sheet feeding direction 104. The inclined guide plate 62 is provided with a separation claw 63 (see FIG. 8). The separation claw 63 is disposed at the center of the inclined guide plate 62 in the apparatus width direction 102. The separation claws 63 are a plurality of claws continuous along the paper feed direction 104 and protrude from the inclined guide plate 62 toward the internal space side of the paper feed tray 20. Even if a plurality of sheets are overlapped and fed from the sheet feeding tray 20, the leading end of the sheet bundle is pulled by the separation claw 63, and only the uppermost sheet in contact with the sheet feeding roller 25 is fed. It is fed from the tray 20.

  A guide surface 66 is formed at the upper end of one of the side walls 64 and 65 of the paper feed tray 20. The guide surface 66 is provided at a position corresponding to the arm 26 described above. As will be described later, the arm 26 is rotated by the guide surface 66 in the process in which the paper feed tray 20 is inserted into and removed from the multifunction machine 10. In the portion of the guide surface 66 that is recessed in a V shape, the arm 26 can rotate downward until the paper feed roller 25 is brought into contact with the bottom plate 61. Of the guide surface 66, the inclined guide plate 62 side is higher than the V-shaped portion on the inclined guide plate 62 side than the V-shaped recessed portion. By this horizontal plane, the arm 26 is supported at a rotational position where the paper feed roller 25 is lifted above the inclined guide plate 62.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a paper discharge tray 21 is disposed in the upper opening of the paper feed tray 20 so as to cover a part of the opening. The paper discharge tray 21 is rotatable with respect to the paper feed tray 20 so that the end 22 on the front side of the apparatus is lifted upward about the axis 109. By lifting the paper discharge tray 21 upward, the front side of the apparatus in the opening of the paper feed tray 20 is opened, so that the sheet is inserted into the paper feed tray 20 from the opened opening.

  A pressing member 30 is provided at an end 27 on the back side of the apparatus in the paper discharge tray 21. The pressing member 30 presses the sheet set on the sheet feeding tray 20 from above. The pressing member 30 guides the sheet to the sheet feeding tray 20 continuously with the second conveyance path 17 described above. The upper surface 31 of the pressing member 30 functions as a guide surface that guides the sheet conveyed along the second conveyance path 17.

  The pressing member 30 is rotatably connected to the end 27 of the paper discharge tray 21. As shown in FIG. 6, the pressing member 30 has a central portion extending in the width direction 102 longer than both end portions, and as shown in FIG. 4, the tip 32 of the central portion has a friction described later. The members 78 and 79 are extended to the vicinity.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a notch 33 is formed in the center of the tip 32 of the pressing member 30. As shown in FIG. 4, an actuator 82 described later is inserted through the notch 33. Rollers 80 and 81 are provided on both sides of the notch 33. The rollers 80 and 81 are disposed in a through-hole formed on the front end 32 side of the pressing member 30, and the roller surface thereof is on the back surface side of the pressing member 30 on the front end 32 side (the surface side opposite to the upper surface 31). ).

  As shown in FIG. 6, shafts 34 and 35 are provided at both ends of the pressing member 30. The shafts 34, 35 are pivotally supported on the end 27 side of the paper discharge tray 21, so that the tip 32 rotates about the axis 110 so as to contact and separate from the bottom plate 61 of the paper feed tray 20.

  At both ends of the pressing member 30, recessed portions 36 and 37 in which a torsion coil spring 70 and movable spring seats 71 and 72 (see FIG. 8 and the like) are provided are formed. The recessed portions 36 and 37 are spaces that continue in a direction substantially orthogonal to the upper surface 31 of the pressing member 30. A torsion coil spring 70 and a movable spring seat 71 are disposed in the recessed portion 36. Similarly, although the torsion coil spring and the movable spring seat 72 are disposed in the recessed portion 37, the torsion coil spring disposed in the recessed portion 37 does not appear in each drawing. The torsion coil spring 70 corresponds to the first biasing member in the present invention, and the movable spring seats 71 and 72 correspond to the receiving member in the present invention.

  Since the recessed portions 36 and 37 have a symmetrical shape with respect to the width direction 102, a detailed structure will be described below by taking the recessed portion 36 as an example. The recessed part 36 is provided with a support shaft 38 that is on the same axis as the shaft 34. The support shaft 38 protrudes from both side walls of the recessed portion 36. A movable spring seat 71, which will be described later, is rotatably supported by the support shaft 38. Further, the coil portion of the torsion coil spring 70 is fitted on the support shaft 38. The recessed portion 36 is provided with support walls 39 that are constructed on both side walls with the width direction 102 as the longitudinal direction. The support wall 39 is formed with an engaging portion 60 that is partially recessed. One of the two arms of the torsion coil spring 70 is engaged with the engaging portion 60. That is, the engaging part 60 functions as a spring seat. Further, a contact wall 59 that extends in the width direction 102 and is substantially flush with the upper surface 31 is formed in the recessed portion 36. The contact wall 59 limits the rotation range of the movable spring seat 71.

  Although the detailed description of the recessed portion 37 is omitted, the supporting shaft 67, the supporting wall 68, and the supporting wall 38, the supporting wall 39, the abutting wall 59, and the engaging portion 60 of the recessed portion 36 are the same. A contact wall 69 and an engaging portion 49 are provided.

  Since the movable spring seats 71 and 72 have a symmetrical shape with respect to the width direction 102, the detailed structure will be described below taking the movable spring seat 71 as an example. As shown in FIG. 7, the movable spring seat 71 is roughly divided into a main body portion 73 and a contact portion 74. The main body portion 73 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape whose lower side is opened. The body portion 73 is formed with a shaft hole 75 through which the support shaft 38 of the above-described recessed portion 36 is inserted. By inserting the support shaft 38 through the shaft hole 75, the movable spring seat 71 is assembled to the recessed portion 36, and the movable spring seat 71 can be rotated about the support shaft 38 in the recessed portion 36.

  In the internal space of the main body portion 73, a wall 76 is provided in which the width direction 102 becomes the longitudinal direction when assembled in the recess 36. The wall 76 is formed with an engaging portion 77 that is partially recessed. The other arm of the two arms of the torsion coil spring 70 is engaged with the engaging portion 77. That is, the engaging portion 77 functions as a spring seat.

  The contact portion 74 has a mountain-like box shape that extends from the rotation tip of the main body portion 73 and protrudes from the upper surface 31 when assembled to the recess 36. The contact portion 74 protrudes from the upper surface 31 of the recessed portion 36 on the tip 32 side from the contact wall 59.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the movable spring seat 71 is assembled to the recessed portion 36, and the two arms of the coil spring 70 are connected to the engaging portion 60 of the recessed portion 36 and the engaging portion 77 of the movable spring seat 71. By being engaged with each other, the urging force of the coil spring 70 acts on the pressing member 30 and the movable spring seat 71. Accordingly, the movable spring seat 71 is rotated until the main body portion 73 comes into contact with the contact wall 59. Thereby, the contact part 74 protrudes from the upper surface 31 to the maximum. The rotational position of the movable spring seat 71 corresponds to the fourth position in the present invention.

  The biasing force of the coil spring 70 does not act on the rotation of the pressing member 30 in a state where the movable spring seat 71 is not in contact with other members, but the contact portion 74 of the movable spring seat 71 is in contact with other members. By abutting and fixing the position, it becomes a reaction force against the pressing member 30 turning upward. In other words, the coil spring 70 elastically biases the pressing member 30 in a direction approaching the bottom plate 61 of the paper feed tray 20. Further, when the contact portion 74 of the movable spring seat 71 is rotated so as to be relatively pushed back toward the upper surface 31, the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 70 is increased. As will be described later, the position where the movable spring seat 71 is relatively pushed back toward the upper surface 31 by abutting the support member 85 and the urging force of the torsion coil spring 70 is increased corresponds to the third position in the present invention. To do.

  When the pressing member 30 is rotated toward the bottom surface 61 side of the paper feed tray 20, the rollers 80 and 81 provided on the leading end 32 side come into contact with the sheet placed on the paper feed tray 20. As described above, when the pressing member 30 is urged by the torsion coil spring 70, the sheet 15 placed on the sheet feeding tray 20 receives the pressing force F2 (see FIG. 9) from the pressing member 30. This pressing force F2 is transmitted to the actuator 82 via the sheet. Needless to say, if no sheet is placed on the paper feed tray 20, the pressing force F <b> 2 acts on the bottom plate 61 of the paper feed tray 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bottom plate 61 of the paper feed tray 20 is provided with friction members 78 and 79. The friction members 78 and 79 are arranged in the width direction 102 at substantially the center in the width direction 102 of the paper feed tray 20. The arrangement of the friction members 78 and 79 corresponds to the paper feed roller 25 described above. The friction members 78 and 79 are of a thin plate shape made of a material that causes high friction against a sheet such as cork or rubber, for example. When the arm 26 is rotated downward until the paper feed roller 25 comes into contact with the bottom plate 61, the paper feed roller 25 comes into contact with the corresponding friction members 78 and 79, respectively. The lengths of the friction members 78 and 79 in the longitudinal direction are at least longer than the axial length of the paper feed roller 25.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an actuator 82 is provided between the friction members 78 and 79 in the bottom plate 61. The actuator 82 rotates the arm 26 upward so as to separate the paper feed roller 25 from the friction members 78 and 79. The actuator 82 corresponds to the movable member in the present invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the actuator 82 is provided on the bottom plate 61 of the paper feed tray 20 and protrudes upward from the bottom plate 61. Although not shown in detail in each figure, a concave portion matching the shape of the actuator 82 is formed between the friction members 78 and 79 in the bottom plate 61, and the actuator 82 is fitted in the concave portion. . The recessed portion has a depth that allows the actuator 82 to be buried in the sheet mounting surface that is the upper surface of the bottom plate 61. Therefore, the actuator 82 can be moved in and out of the bottom plate 61. The position where the actuator 82 protrudes from the bottom plate 61 corresponds to the fifth position in the present invention. The position where the actuator 82 is buried in the bottom plate 61 corresponds to the sixth position in the present invention. When the actuator 82 protrudes from the bottom plate 61, the arm 26 is rotated upward by the actuator 82, and the paper feed roller 25 is separated from the friction members 78 and 79.

  Although not shown in detail in each drawing, a coil spring is disposed in the concave portion of the bottom plate 61 described above, and the actuator 82 is projected from the bottom plate 61 by being biased by the coil spring. Therefore, the actuator 82 is maintained at a position protruding from the bottom plate 61 in a state where no external force is applied. The biasing force of this coil spring is a force sufficient to rotate the arm 26 upward. This coil spring corresponds to the second urging member in the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of ribs 83 and 84 are provided on the end 27 side of the discharge tray 21 so as to be separated in the width direction 102. The ribs 83 and 84 protrude upward from the upper surface side of the paper discharge tray 21, and have a mountain shape in the direction along the paper feed direction 104. As will be described later, the ribs 83 and 84 have a height necessary for rotating the frame 58 supporting the switchback roller 50 upward as the paper feed tray 20 is set.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a support member 85 is provided in the opening 13 of the multifunction machine 10. The support member 85 is provided with a pair in the width direction 102 corresponding to the movable spring seats 71 and 72. The support member 85 includes a support surface 86 that extends along the insertion / extraction direction 111 of the paper feed tray 20 and a guide surface 87 that extends obliquely upward from the support surface 86. The support surface 86 and the guide surface 87 are surfaces facing the movable spring materials 71 and 72 and facing downward, and are continuous surfaces along the insertion / extraction direction 111 with the support surface 86 as the back side of the apparatus. The movable spring seats 71 and 72 abut on the support surface 86 and the guide surface 87 at predetermined positions when the paper feed tray 20 is inserted and removed.

[Operation Associated with Insertion / Removal of Paper Tray 20]
Hereinafter, operations associated with insertion / extraction of the paper feed tray 20 will be described. The paper feed tray 20 is removed from the multifunction machine 10 by being pulled out toward the front side of the apparatus with respect to the opening 13 of the multifunction machine 10. Further, it is attached to the multifunction machine 10 by being pushed into the apparatus back side with respect to the opening 13. The direction in which the paper feed tray 20 is inserted into and removed from the opening 13 when removing and attaching the paper feed tray 20 is shown as an insertion / extraction direction 111 in each drawing. The paper feed tray 20 is removed from the multifunction machine 10 for the purpose of replenishing sheets or processing a jam in the printer unit 11, for example.

  For example, when a jam occurs in the second transport path 17, the multifunction machine 10 is brought into a state in which the paper feed tray 20 is removed and the frame 58 can be accessed through the opening 13. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, when the frame 58 is rotated downward, the switchback roller 50 is separated from the pinch roller 51 and a part of the second conveyance path 17 is opened. Accordingly, the second conveyance path 17 can be accessed through the opening 13, and the jammed sheet in the second conveyance path 17 is removed.

  After the jam processing is performed as described above, the paper feed tray 20 is mounted on the multifunction machine 10 as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 10, before the paper feed tray 20 is mounted, the frame 58 rotated downward may be left in that state.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the paper feed tray 20 is inserted into the opening 13 to some extent, the ribs 83 and 84 protruding from the paper discharge tray 21 come into contact with the lower surface of the frame 58. When the sheet feeding tray 20 is further inserted, the ribs 83, 84 sink below the frame 58 along the shape of the ribs 83, 84, and the frame 58 is lifted upward by the ribs 83, 84. By the lifting by the ribs 83 and 84, the frame 58 is rotated in a direction in which the switchback roller 50 is brought into contact with the pinch roller 51. In a state where the apexes of the chevron-shaped ribs 83 and 84 are in contact with the frame 58, the frame 58 is rotated upward to a position sufficient to engage with the hook. Thereby, even if the frame 58 is engaged with the hook and the ribs 83 and 84 are separated, the frame 58 does not rotate downward again. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the paper feed tray 20 is inserted to the innermost part of the opening 13, thereby completing the mounting of the paper feed tray 20.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the movable spring seats 71 and 72 of the paper feed tray 20 are not in contact with the support member 85 in the opening 13 before the paper feed tray 20 is mounted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the movable spring seats 71, 72 are in a state in which the movable spring seats 71, 72 protrude from the upper surface 31 of the pressing member 30 to the maximum by the urging force of the torsion coil spring 70. The position of the paper feed tray 20 shown in FIG. 10 corresponds to the second position in the present invention.

  As described above, when the movable spring seats 71 and 72 are not in contact with other members, when the pressing member 30 is rotated, the movable spring seats 71 and 72 are also rotated together with the pressing member 30. That is, regardless of the rotation position of the pressing member 30, the movable spring seats 71 and 72 are held at a position that protrudes to the maximum from the upper surface 31 of the pressing member 30. Therefore, when a sheet is loaded in the sheet feeding tray 20, only the weight of the pressing member 30 is a load with respect to the loading of the sheet, and the urging force by the torsion coil spring 70 is not a load.

  Further, as described above, the actuator 82 protrudes from the bottom surface 31 of the paper feed tray 20, but only the weight of the pressing member 30 is a load on the sheet loaded in the paper feed tray 20, Since the urging force by the torsion coil spring 70 does not become a load, the sheet loaded in the sheet feeding tray 20 is lifted upward so that the pressing member 30 is separated from the bottom surface 31, and the leading end of the sheet climbs over the actuator 82 to tilt the guide plate. To 62.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the paper feed tray 20 is inserted into the opening 13 to some extent, the movable spring seats 71 and 72 of the paper feed tray 20 come into contact with the guide surface 87 of the support member 85. As shown in FIG. 12, when the paper feed tray 20 is inserted until it is mounted on the multifunction machine 10, the movable spring seats 71 and 72 move from the guide surface 87 of the support member 85 to the support surface 86. Then, it comes into contact with the support surface 86. As a result, when the pressing member 30 rotates in a direction away from the bottom plate 61, the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 70 acts on the pressing member 30, and the pressing member 30 is biased in a direction approaching the bottom plate 61.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, the pressing member 30 is rotated in a direction away from the bottom plate 61 depending on the thickness of the sheet 15 loaded in the sheet feeding tray 20. As described above, since the movable spring seats 71 and 72 are in contact with the support surface 86, the movable spring seats 71 and 72 are relatively moved by rotating the pressing member 30 in the direction away from the bottom plate 61. Thus, the pressing member 30 is pushed back to the upper surface 31 side. Thereby, the urging force of the torsion coil spring 70 is increased. That is, the urging force of the torsion coil spring 70 acts on the pressing member 30 according to the thickness of the bundle of sheets placed on the sheet feeding tray 20, and the pressing member 30 is elastically urged toward the bottom plate 61 side. The pressing member 30 corrects distortion of the sheet placed on the paper feed tray 20.

  When the paper feed tray 20 is attached to the multi-function device 10, the arm 26 can be rotated downward, and the paper feed roller 25 contacts the uppermost sheet in the paper feed tray 20. As a result, a force F1 (see FIG. 9) due to the weight of the sheet feeding roller 25, the arm 26, and the like acts on the sheet. Further, as described above, the pressing portion 30 biased by the torsion coil spring 70 causes the pressing force F <b> 2 that is pressed against the bottom plate 61 to act on the sheet.

  As described above, the actuator 82 provided on the bottom surface 61 of the paper feed tray 20 is biased by the coil spring and protrudes upward from the bottom surface 61. The urging force F3 by the coil spring is smaller than the sum of the force F1 and the pressing force F2 described above (F3 <(F1 + F2)) and larger than the force F1 (F3> F1). Therefore, when the sheet feeding tray 20 on which the sheet is placed is mounted on the multifunction machine 10, the actuator 82 is immersed in the bottom plate 61 against the urging force of the coil spring.

  When all the sheets are fed to the sheet feeding tray 20 or the like, and no sheets are left from the sheet feeding tray 20, the tip of the pressing member 30 comes into contact with the bottom plate 61. Since the actuator 82 is in a state of being inserted through the notch 33 of the pressing member 30, the above-described pressing force F2 does not act on the actuator 82. Then, the actuator 82 is biased by the coil spring and protrudes from the bottom plate 61. The actuator 82 rotates so as to abut on the arm 26 and push up the arm 26. As a result, the paper feed roller 25 is separated from the bottom surface 61 and the friction members 78 and 79 as the arm 26 rotates. Therefore, immediately after all the sheets are conveyed from the sheet feeding tray 20, the sheet feeding roller 25 is rotated while being in contact with the friction members 78 and 79, so that abnormal noise is generated or an excessive load is applied to the motor. Is prevented.

  Also in the double-sided image recording, the sheet feeding roller 25 is separated from the friction members 78 and 79 by the actuator 82 immediately after all the sheets are conveyed from the sheet feeding tray 20 in the same manner as described above. Is not brought into contact with the friction members 78 and 79 when the sheet 15 is returned from the upper surface 31 of the pressing member 30 to the sheet feeding tray 20. Therefore, the leading edge of the sheet 15 easily sinks below the sheet feeding roller 25, and smooth sheet conveyance is realized. When the sheet 15 returned from the second conveyance path 17 to the sheet feeding tray 20 comes into contact with the sheet feeding roller 25, the force F1 described above is applied to the actuator 82 via the sheet 15, but the biasing force F3 of the coil spring is applied. Is greater than the force F1, the actuator 82 keeps the paper feed roller 25 away from the friction members 78 and 79.

[Effects of this embodiment]
As described above, since the movable spring seats 71 and 72 are separated from the support member 85 when the paper feed tray 20 is removed from the multifunction machine 10, the movable spring seats 71 and 72 are independent of the posture of the pressing member 30. Is held at a position protruding to the maximum from the upper surface 31. Therefore, the urging force by the torsion coil spring 70 does not become a load on the sheet loaded in the sheet feeding tray 20. On the other hand, when the paper feed tray 20 is mounted on the multifunction machine 10, the support member 85 comes into contact with the movable spring seats 71 and 72, and the pressing member 30 is biased toward the bottom surface 61 side of the paper feed tray 20 by the torsion coil spring 70. Is done. Thereby, in the paper feed tray 20 having the presser member 30, the load caused by the presser member 30 when the sheets are loaded is reduced in conjunction with the operation of attaching and detaching the paper feed tray 20.

  Even if the actuator 82 described above is provided in the paper feed tray 20, only the weight of the pressing member 30 is loaded on the sheets loaded in the paper feed tray 20, so the loaded sheets are Then, while the posture of the pressing member 30 is changed so as to be separated from the bottom surface 61, the pressure member 30 gets over the actuator 82 and is loaded into the paper feeding tray 20.

  In the present embodiment, the aspect in which the paper feed tray 20 is completely removed from the multifunction machine 10 has been described. However, the sheet tray in the present invention does not necessarily have to be completely removed from the sheet conveying apparatus. Therefore, for example, the present invention may be realized as a configuration in which the sheet feeding tray 20 can be pulled out from the multifunction machine 10 to the extent that sheets can be replenished.

11: Printer unit (image recording device)
16: Feeding mechanism 20: Paper feed tray (sheet tray)
24: Recording unit 25: Paper feed roller (rotating body)
30 ... Pressing member 41 ... Route switching unit (conveying unit)
61 ... Bottom (mounting surface)
70: Torsion coil spring (first biasing member)
71, 72 ... movable spring seat (receiving member)
78, 79 ... friction member 82 ... actuator (movable member)
85 ... Support member

Claims (6)

The device body;
A sheet tray having a placement surface on which a sheet is placed, and being slid to a first position where the sheet is mounted on the apparatus main body, and a second position where the sheet is pulled out from the apparatus body and can be replenished with the sheet on the placement surface. When,
A feeding mechanism for feeding the sheet placed on the placement surface of the sheet tray placed in the first position to the conveyance path;
A presser that is provided on the sheet tray so as to be pivotable to a posture that abuts on the placement surface and is spaced from the placement surface, and that abuts on the placement surface or a sheet placed on the placement surface. Members,
The pressing member is provided on the pressing member so as to be rotatable around the rotation axis of the pressing member, and is opposite to the direction in which the pressing member is pressed against the placement surface or the sheet placed on the placement surface. A receiving member that is pivotable to a fourth position with respect to the pressing member and that is prevented from rotating by contacting a part of the pressing member at the fourth position;
A first biasing member that is provided on the pressing member and biases the receiving member toward the fourth position with respect to the pressing member;
The first biasing member biases the receiving member against the pressing member in the rotation direction of the receiving member when the sheet tray is provided at the first position. And a support member that is disposed at a position in contact with the receiving member on the side facing the support and separates from the receiving member when the sheet tray is pulled out from the first position to the second position. A fifth position protruding from the placement surface and retracted from the fifth position to the placement surface side provided on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction from the pressing member on the placement surface of the sheet tray. A movable member whose posture changes to a sixth position;
The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second urging member that urges the movable member toward the fifth position. The feeding mechanism has a rotating body that comes in contact with and separates from the mounting surface of the sheet tray,
The movable member is held at the sixth position against the urging force of the second urging member by the sheet placed on the sheet tray, and the rotating body is separated from the placement surface at the fifth position. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein   The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a friction member disposed at a position corresponding to the rotating body on the placement surface to generate sliding friction with respect to the sheet.   The pressing member extends to the upstream side from the friction member in a direction in which the sheet is fed with an axis perpendicular to a direction in which the sheet tray is slid, and an extension end of the pressing member is placed on the sheet tray. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the sheet conveying apparatus is rotatable so as to be in contact with and away from the surface. A sheet conveying device according to claim 5;
A recording unit for recording an image on a sheet fed from the sheet conveying apparatus;
A conveyance unit that conveys a sheet on which an image is recorded on one side by the recording unit toward the mounting surface of the sheet tray on the downstream side of the recording unit;
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member has a guide surface that guides a sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit to a placement surface of the sheet tray.

Images