JP5573568B2 - Image recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that conveys a recording medium accommodated in a tray body and records an image.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been provided an image recording apparatus including a tray body on which a recording medium can be placed and a main body on which the tray body is mounted. The main body includes a feeding unit that feeds a recording medium placed on the tray, a recording unit that records an image on the recording medium fed by the feeding unit, and a recording medium after image recording And a discharge part for discharging the gas. The feeding unit is, for example, a feeding roller.

  Some image recording apparatuses have a configuration in which a tray body includes a main tray and a second tray on which recording media can be respectively placed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). For example, A4 and B5 size recording sheets are placed on the main tray, and postcards are placed on the second tray. The tray body has a configuration in which a second tray disposed above the main tray is supported by the main tray so as to be slidable. The second tray slides along the mounting surface of the main tray above the main tray between a position where the feeding roller abuts and a position away from the feeding roller. The image recording apparatus changes whether the recording medium is fed from the main tray or the recording medium is fed from the second tray depending on the position of the second tray.

JP 2007-230777 A

  In an image recording apparatus having a tray body provided with a second tray, a structure is provided in which a lid that covers at least part of the upper side of the second tray is provided on the tray body, and the second tray slides in the space between the main tray and the lid. It is possible to do. However, for the operation of the second tray, it is assumed that the tray body is gripped up and down between the lid and the main tray. There is a risk that it will worsen.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an image recording apparatus that can prevent the lid from being greatly bent and can balance the bending of the lid and the sliding property in the movement of the second tray. It aims to be realized.

(1) An image recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a main body, a tray body that is mounted on the main body and on which the first recording medium and the second recording medium can be placed, and the tray body. A feeding unit that feeds out the recording medium, a recording unit that records an image on the recording medium sent out by the feeding unit, and a recording unit that is located above the tray body and has an image recorded by the recording unit A discharge unit that discharges the medium, and a discharge receiving unit having a discharge setting surface that can support the recording medium discharged from the discharge unit.

  The tray body has a first tray having a first placement surface on which a first recording medium can be placed, and a second placement surface on which a second recording medium can be placed. A first position where the feeding unit sends out the second recording medium and the feeding unit sends out the first recording medium are provided above the placement surface so as to be slidable along the first mounting surface. A second tray that slides to a second position; and a lid that covers at least a portion of the second tray in the second posture and is disposed above the second tray.

  The lid is rotatably supported by the first tray, and the posture is changed by turning to a first posture along the first placement surface and a second posture standing on the first placement surface. A base portion that is provided at a position spaced apart from the center of rotation in the radial direction of rotation in the base portion, a contact portion that contacts the first tray in the first posture, and a rotation portion in the base portion. It is disposed between the moving center and the contact portion, protrudes toward the second tray in the first posture, and deforms so that the base portion is bent toward the second tray in the second position. And a projecting portion that comes into contact with the second tray.

  In the image recording apparatus of the present invention, the protruding portion is provided between the rotation center of the base portion and the abutting portion, and the protruding portion contacts the second tray when the lid is bent. Therefore, even if the tray body is gripped by the user in the first tray and the lid and the lid is bent with the rotation center and the contact portion as a fulcrum, the protruding portion is the second tray. The lid can be prevented from further bending due to contact with the tray, and if the deflection of the lid is small enough that the protrusion does not contact the second tray, the protrusion Therefore, the movement of the second tray is not hindered, and as a result, the lid can be prevented from being bent by the protrusion dimension of the protrusion, and the lid is bent and the second tray is moved during the movement. Balance with sex.

(2) The lid is the discharge receiving portion, and the discharge placement surface is along the first placement surface in the first posture, and the discharge placement surface is the first in the second posture. It is desirable to stand up against the mounting surface. Even if the paper discharge receiving portion is formed on the tray body, the paper discharge receiving portion is formed separately from the second tray, so that the paper discharge receiving portion is brought close to the discharge portion. be able to. Since the paper discharge receiving section can be brought close to the discharge section, the recording medium after image recording is not discharged or bent with the front and back reversed, and as a result, the recording medium after image recording is recorded. The medium can be received normally by the lid.

(3) In the first posture, the protrusions preferably include a pair arranged opposite to each other in a sliding direction of the second tray and a first direction intersecting with the protrusion direction of the protrusions. It is assumed that the tray body is gripped by the user at both ends in the first direction intersecting the sliding direction, and the lid can be prevented from being greatly bent at both ends, and as a result, the lid can be reliably damaged. Can be prevented.

(4) It is desirable that the protrusion is a rib extending in the first direction. This is because the rigidity of the lid can be increased by using the protrusion.

(5) The second tray further includes an operation lever that is exposed to the base side disposed above and can receive an external force for sliding, and the base includes an exposed portion that exposes the operation lever. It is desirable to have it. This is because the user can easily move the second tray.

(6) The operation lever is disposed on one side of the tray body in the first direction, and one of the pair of protrusions disposed on the other side in the first direction. The first gap between the second tray and the second tray is preferably wider than the second gap between the other second protrusion of the pair of protrusions and the second tray. The one side where the operation lever is arranged is unlikely to be grasped by the user, the other side is assumed to be grasped by the user, and the first gap is set wider than the second gap. Thus, the balance between the bending of the lid and the sliding property in the movement of the second tray can be taken on the one side and the other side, respectively.

  The image recording apparatus of the present invention can prevent the lid from being greatly bent, and can balance the bending of the lid and the slidability in the movement of the second tray.

It is a perspective view of an image recording apparatus main body. It is a typical sectional view of a printer part. It is a perspective view of a main tray. It is a perspective view of a tray body in the state where a second tray is in a feeding position. It is a perspective view of the tray body in a state where the second tray is in the retracted position. It is a perspective view of a tray body in a state where a second tray and a paper discharge tray are opened. It is a perspective view of a tray body in a state where a paper discharge tray is opened. It is a disassembled perspective view of a second tray. (A) is a top view of a tray body, (B) is AA sectional drawing in (A).

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In the present embodiment, an image recording apparatus 10 including the image recording apparatus main body 11 of FIG. 1 and the tray body 50 of FIG. 4 attached to the image recording apparatus main body 11 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the image recording apparatus main body 11 has an outer shape that is substantially a rectangular parallelepiped. The height direction of the image recording apparatus main body 11 is defined as the vertical direction 7, the depth direction is defined as the front-rear direction 8, and the width direction is defined as the left-right direction 9, which will be described below. The tray body 50 will be described below as being mounted on the image recording apparatus main body 11.

[Schematic Configuration of Image Recording Apparatus Body 11]
The image recording apparatus main body 11 includes a printer housing 12, a scanner housing 13 placed on the upper surface of the printer housing 12, and a document cover 14 placed on the upper surface of the scanner housing 13. ing. That is, the image recording apparatus 10 is a so-called multifunction machine having a printing function, a scanning function, a copying function, and the like. The printer housing 12 corresponds to the main body described in the claims.

  The printer housing 12 includes an opening 12A through which a tray body 50 (see FIG. 4) is inserted and removed at the lower part of the front surface. Further, the printer housing 12 includes a guide rail (not shown) that supports the tray body 50 so as to be slidable along the front-rear direction 8. The tray body 50 may be supported by the printer housing 12 so as to be completely removable from the printer housing 12, or may be supported by the printer housing 12 before and after the slide. In addition, the printer housing 12 accommodates a printer unit 15 (see FIG. 2), which will be described later, for recording an image on the recording medium 54 at the top. The recording medium 54 is, for example, a recording paper, a glossy paper, a postcard, or the like.

  The scanner housing 13 supports the document cover 14 so that it can be opened and closed. The scanner housing 13 holds a document (not shown) placed thereon together with a document cover 14. The held document image is scanned by a flatbed scanner or the like housed in the scanner housing 13 and is captured as image data. Control of the scanner and printer unit 15 is performed by a control circuit (not shown). The control circuit controls the operation of the scanner and the printer unit 15 based on information input from the plurality of input buttons 16 shown in FIG. 1 and an external device such as a personal computer, and captures an image and records an image.

[Printer unit 15]
As shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit 15 includes a feeding mechanism 20 that feeds out the recording medium 54 accommodated in the tray body 50 from the tray body 50, and a recording medium 54 that is sent out by the feeding mechanism 20. A recording apparatus 40 that records an image on a recording medium 54 that is conveyed by the conveying apparatus 30, and a driving unit (not shown) that drives the recording section 40, the conveying apparatus 30, a scanner, and the like. It is equipped with. The driving unit includes a plurality of motors and a drive transmission mechanism that transmits the driving force of the motors to the conveyance device 30 and the scanner. The motor is driven and controlled by the control circuit described above. The feeding mechanism 20 corresponds to a feeding unit described in the claims. The recording unit 40 corresponds to the recording unit described in the claims.

  The feeding mechanism 20 is rotatably supported by a frame fixed to the printer housing 12 and is rotated by the above-described driving unit, and an arm 22 having one end supported by the rotating shaft 21. And a pair of left and right feeding rollers 23 supported rotatably at the other end of the arm 22.

  One end of the arm 22 is supported on the rotary shaft 21 so as to be rotatable about the rotary shaft 21. Therefore, the other end of the arm 22 to which the feeding roller 23 is attached is displaced up and down by the rotation of the arm 22 around the rotation shaft 21. That is, the feeding roller 23 can be displaced up and down. As will be described later, the arm 22 is provided with a first sliding contact provided on the right side wall 62 of the main tray 60 of the tray body 50 when the tray body 50 is attached to and detached from the printer housing 12 (see FIG. 1). It rotates by slidingly contacting the surface 62C or the second sliding contact surface 72C (see FIG. 4) provided on the second tray 70, and the feed roller 23 is moved to the first recording medium 54A accommodated in the tray body 50 or the second recording medium 54A. 2 Touch the recording medium 54B (see FIG. 2).

  The feeding roller 23 rotates by transmitting the rotation of the rotating shaft 21 by a transmission gear (not shown) attached to the arm 22. The control circuit rotates the feeding roller 23 via the motor in the direction in which the recording medium 54 (see FIG. 2) is fed backward. The recording medium 54 sent out rearward is transported by the transport device 30 described below.

[Conveying device 30]
As shown in FIG. 2, the transport device 30 includes a transport path 31, a transport roller pair 32, and a paper discharge roller pair 33. The conveyance path 31 is formed by a plurality of guide members 36 and a platen 37. The conveyance path 31 is formed so as to extend linearly toward the front after curving upward from the tray body 50 starting from the rear end of the tray body 50. The platen 37 is disposed above the tray body 50 and forms a part of a linearly extending portion.

[Conveying roller pair 32, paper discharge roller pair 33]
As shown in FIG. 2, the conveying roller pair 32 includes a driving roller 32A rotated by the driving unit described above, and a driven roller 32B driven by the driving roller 32A. The paper discharge roller pair 33 includes a drive roller 33A that is rotated by the drive unit described above, and a driven roller 33B that is driven by the drive roller 33A. The conveyance roller pair 32 is disposed behind the platen 37, and the paper discharge roller pair 33 is disposed in front of the platen 37 and is located above the central portion of the tray body 50 in the front-rear direction 8. The drive roller 32A of the transport roller pair 32 and the drive roller 33A of the paper discharge roller pair 33 are rotated in a direction to transport the recording medium 54 forward by the control circuit described above. The recording medium 54 is conveyed on the platen 37 by at least one of the conveyance roller pair 32 and the paper discharge roller pair 33, and an image is recorded by the recording unit 40 described below.

[Recording unit 40]
The recording unit 40 includes a carriage 41 disposed above the platen 37 and a head 42 held by the carriage 41. The carriage 41 is supported by a guide rail (not shown) so as to be movable along the left-right direction 9. The recording unit 40 ejects ink from the head 42 toward the recording medium 54 that passes over the platen 37. By moving the recording unit 40 along the left-right direction 9 and transporting the recording medium 54 forward, the recording unit 40 can record an image on almost the entire surface of the recording medium 54. Instead of the recording unit 40 that records an image using ink, a recording unit that records an image using toner may be used.

  A recording medium 54 on which an image is recorded is discharged from a pair of paper discharge rollers 33 and is received by a tray body 50 described below. The paper discharge roller pair 33 that discharges the recording medium 54 after image recording corresponds to the discharge unit described in the claims.

[Tray body 50]
As shown in FIG. 4, the tray body 50 includes a main tray 60, a second tray 70 positioned above the main tray 60, and a paper discharge tray 80 positioned above the second tray 70. The outer shape is formed in a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape. The thickness direction of the tray body 50 is defined as the vertical direction 51 of the tray body 50, the depth direction of the tray body 50 is defined as the front-rear direction 52 of the tray body 50, and the width direction of the tray body 50 is the lateral direction 53 of the tray body 50. And is described below. In the state where the tray body 50 is mounted on the printer housing 12, the vertical direction 7 and the vertical direction 51, the front-rear direction 8 and the front-rear direction 52, and the left-right direction 9 and the left-right direction 53 coincide. The tray body 50 corresponds to the tray body recited in the claims, the main tray 60 corresponds to the first tray recited in the claims, the second tray 70 corresponds to the second tray recited in the claims, and the paper discharge tray Reference numeral 80 corresponds to a lid and a paper discharge receiving portion described in the claims.

[Main tray 60]
As shown in FIG. 3, the main tray 60 includes a rectangular plate-shaped bottom 61 on which the first recording medium 54 </ b> A (see FIG. 2) can be placed, left and right side walls 62, a rear wall 63, And a wall 64, and is formed in a box shape with an upper portion opened. The first recording medium 54A is placed on the inner bottom surface 61A of the main tray 60. The inner bottom surface 61A corresponds to a first placement surface described in the claims. The first recording medium 54A corresponds to the first recording medium described in the claims.

  The rear wall 63 is inclined with respect to the bottom 61 so as to extend rearward and obliquely upward from the rear end of the bottom 61. The first recording medium 54 </ b> A delivered by the above-described feeding mechanism 20 (see FIG. 2) moves rearward and obliquely upward by being in sliding contact with the inner surface of the rear wall 63. That is, the rear wall 63 has a function of guiding the first recording medium 54A to the transport path 31 (see FIG. 2). Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the rear wall 63 includes a pair of left and right cutouts 63 </ b> A into which fitting pieces 71 </ b> B included in a second tray 70 described later are fitted. The notch 63A is cut out in a substantially rectangular shape from the upper end of the rear wall 63. The notch 63A has a function of positioning the second tray 70, which will be described later, in the left-right direction 53.

  The left and right side walls 62 each include a guide rail portion 66 for supporting the second tray 70 and a bearing hole 62 </ b> A for supporting the paper discharge tray 80. The guide rail portion 66 is provided on the inner surface side of the side wall 62 on the front side in the front-rear direction 52, and supports the second tray 70 on the upper surface thereof, and is provided on the side wall 62 as a groove along the front-rear direction 52. The second tray 70 is supported inside the groove. The guide rail portion 66 supports a later-described second tray 70 so as to be slidable along the front-rear direction 52. The bearing hole 62A penetrates the side wall 62, and a rotation shaft protrusion 84 of a sheet discharge tray 80 described later is inserted therein. The bearing hole 62 </ b> A is provided between the center portion and the rear end portion of the side wall 62 in the front-rear direction 52.

  Further, the right side wall 62 includes a pair of front and rear lock holes 62B. The lock hole 62 </ b> B has a function of fixing the slide portion 71 of the second tray 70 as will be described later.

  Further, the right side wall 62 includes a first sliding contact surface 62 </ b> C that descends toward the front as a part of the upper surface. When the second tray 70 is at a later-described retracted position, when the tray body 50 is pulled out from the printer housing 12, the above-mentioned arm 22 (see FIG. 2) is slidably contacted with the first slidable contact surface 62C. The roller 23 is lifted up. When the second tray 70 is at a later-described retreat position, when the tray body 50 is mounted on the printer housing 12, the arm 22 is in sliding contact with the first sliding contact surface 62C, so that the feeding roller 23 is moved downward. The feeding roller 23 comes into contact with the first recording medium 54A.

  On the bottom 61 of the main tray 60, a side guide mechanism 18 and a rear guide mechanism 19 are provided for aligning the first recording medium 54A (see FIG. 2). The configurations of the side guide mechanism 18 and the rear guide mechanism 19 are substantially the same as the configurations of the side guide mechanism 120 and the rear guide mechanism 110 (see FIG. 8) provided in the second tray 70, and thus the description thereof is omitted here. .

[Second tray 70]
As shown in FIG. 8, the second tray 70 has a rectangular plate-like rotation on which a rectangular plate-like slide portion 71 that is long in the left-right direction 53 and the second recording medium 54B (see FIG. 2) are placed. Part 72. The second recording medium 54B is placed on the second placement surface 72A which is the upper surface of the slide portion 71 and the upper surface of the rotation portion 72 in FIG. The second placement surface 72A corresponds to the second placement surface recited in the claims. The second recording medium 54B corresponds to the second recording medium described in the claims. The first recording medium 54A and the second recording medium 54B may be different types or the same type.

[Slide part 71]
From the left and right ends of the slide portion 71, first collar pieces 71A supported by the above-described guide rail portion 66 (see FIG. 3) provided on the main tray 60 respectively protrude. The first flange 71 </ b> A slides along the groove-shaped guide rail portion 66 provided on the side wall 62, so that the slide portion 71 moves along the front-rear direction 52. That is, the slide portion 71 is supported by the main tray 60 so as to be slidable along the front-rear direction 52. The front-rear direction 52 corresponds to the slide direction described in the claims.

  A pair of left and right fitting pieces 71 </ b> B are provided at the rear end portion of the slide portion 71. The fitting piece 71B protrudes rearward and obliquely upward from the rear end of the slide portion 71, and is provided on the rear wall 63 of the main tray 60 when the second tray 70 is in the feeding position, as will be described later. The second tray 70 is fitted in the above-described notch 63A (see FIG. 4) and positioned in the left-right direction 53 at the feeding position. In addition, the slide portion 71 is provided with first support portions 71C that rotatably support the rotation portion 72 at both the left and right portions.

  A lock mechanism 100 is provided on the right side of the slide portion 71. The lock mechanism 100 includes a lock member 101, a holding portion 102, a first spring (not shown), a connecting bar 103, a second support portion 104, a release lever 105, and a transmission mechanism (not shown). Yes. The lock member 101 is supported by the holding portion 102 so as to be movable along the left-right direction 53. The first spring biases the lock member 101 to the right. The second support portion 104 supports one end of the connecting bar 103 so as to be rotatable and movable along the front-rear direction 52. The connecting bar 103 rotates between a posture projecting forward from the slide portion 71 and a posture projecting upward from the slide portion 71, and moves along the front-rear direction 52 in a posture projecting forward from the slide portion 71. To do. The release lever 105 protrudes upward from the tip of the connection bar 103 in a posture in which the connection bar 103 protrudes forward from the slide portion 71.

  When the release lever 105 is moved toward the front of FIG. 8 by the user, the transmission mechanism moves the lock member 101 to the left against the urging force of the first spring in conjunction with the movement of the connecting bar 103. The posture of the lock member 101 is changed from the protruding posture shown in FIG. 8 to the retracted posture.

  When the locking member 101 in the protruding posture is fitted into one of a pair of front and rear locking holes 62B provided in the right side wall 62 of the main tray 60, the slide portion 71 cannot move along the front-rear direction 52, and the main tray 60 Fixed. That is, the slide portion 71 slides between a front position where the lock member 101 fits in the front lock hole 62B and a rear position where the lock member 101 fits in the rear lock hole 62B. Locked.

[Rotating part 72]
A pair of left and right second collar pieces 72E protrude from the left and right ends of the rotating portion 72 formed in a rectangular plate shape. The second collar piece 72E is supported on the upper surface of the guide rail portion 66 (see FIG. 3) provided on the main tray 60 together with the first collar piece 71A. That is, the rotation part 72 is supported by the main tray 60 so as to be slidable together with the slide part 71.

  The rotation part 72 has a rotation center substantially coincided with a rotation center of the connection bar 103 and a rotation center of a later-described discharge tray 80 supported by the main tray 60 so as to be rotatable by the bearing hole 62A. The first support portion 71 </ b> C provided on the slide portion 71 is rotatably supported. The rotating portion 72 includes a fall position where the second placement surface 72A is located along the inner bottom surface 61A (first placement surface) of the main tray 60 with the second placement surface 72A as an upper surface, and a second placement surface. 72A moves by rotating between the standing position where 72A stands with respect to the inner bottom surface 61A of the main tray 60.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the position of the second tray 70 when the slide portion 71 is in the rear position and the rotating portion 72 is the above-described lying position is referred to as a feeding position and will be described below. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the position of the second tray 70 when the slide portion 71 is in the forward position and the rotating portion 72 is in the lying position is referred to as a retracted position and will be described below. The feeding position corresponds to the first position described in the claims. The retracted position corresponds to the second position described in the claims. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the rotation unit 72 is described as being in the lying position. When the second tray 70 is in the feeding position, the second placement surface 72 </ b> A faces the feeding roller 23 of the feeding mechanism 20. As a result, the second recording medium 54B placed on the second placement surface 72A is fed toward the recording unit 40. When the second tray 70 is in the retracted position, the inner bottom surface 61 </ b> A (first placement surface) of the main tray 60 faces the feeding roller 23 of the feeding mechanism 20. As a result, the first recording medium 54A placed on the inner bottom surface 61A is fed toward the recording unit 40.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the rotation unit 72 includes an insertion hole 72 </ b> B in which the release lever 105 is inserted from below on the right side. An operation lever 73 protrudes upward from the upper surface of the peripheral wall on the front side of the insertion hole 72B. The operation lever 73 faces the release lever 105 inserted from below into the insertion hole 72B in the front-rear direction 52. The user pulls the release lever 105 forward with the operating lever 73 as a fulcrum, removes the lock member 101 from the lock hole 62B, and then moves the operating lever 73 and the release lever 105 along the front-rear direction 52 to move the second tray 70. Slide. After the slide part 71 reaches the above-mentioned front position or the back position, the user releases the release lever 105 so that the lock member 101 biased by the above-described first spring fits into the lock hole 62B. The operation lever 73 and the release lever 105 correspond to the operation lever described in the claims. Further, the right side of the tray body 50 provided with the operation lever 73 and the release lever 105 corresponds to one side described in the claims.

  The rotating unit 72 includes a support lid 72D (see FIG. 6) positioned below the connection bar 103. In other words, the second tray 70 has a configuration in which the rotating portion 72 and the release lever 105 can rotate integrally, and the release lever 105 can move along the front-rear direction 52 with respect to the rotating portion 72. Yes.

  Moreover, the rotation part 72 is provided with 72 C of 2nd sliding contact surfaces as a part of upper surface. The second slidable contact surface 72C is provided at the right portion of the rotating portion 72, and is inclined so as to be lowered toward the front. When the second tray 70 is at the feeding position, the second inclined surface 72 </ b> C comes into sliding contact with the arm 22 when the tray body 50 is detached from the printer housing 12. That is, the second sliding contact surface 72 </ b> C has a function of moving the feeding roller 23 up and down when the tray body 50 is attached / detached, like the first sliding contact surface 62 </ b> C provided on the main tray 60.

  At the feeding position, the feeding roller 23 comes into contact with the second recording medium 54B (see FIG. 2) placed on the second tray 70, and the second recording medium 54B is sent out to the conveyance path 31 to record an image. Is done. At the retracted position, the feeding roller 23 comes into contact with the first recording medium 54A (see FIG. 2) placed on the main tray 60, and the first recording medium 54A is sent out to the conveyance path 31 to record an image. The That is, the user can change the recording medium 54 on which an image is recorded by sliding the second tray 70.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the rotating unit 72 is provided with a rear guide mechanism 110 and a side guide mechanism 120. The rear guide mechanism 110 includes a rear guide 111 that is supported by the rotating portion 72 so as to be slidable along the front-rear direction 52. The user grips and moves the rear guide 111 to cause the second recording medium 54B (see FIG. 2) placed on the second placement surface 72A to be fitted to the above-described fitting piece provided on the slide portion 71. 71B and the rear guide 111 are sandwiched in the front-rear direction 52.

  The side guide mechanism 120 includes a pinion gear 121 that is rotatably supported by the rotation unit 72, a pair of left and right side guides 122 disposed on both left and right sides of the pinion gear 121, and one end coupled to the side guide 122. And a pair of left and right rack gears 123 that respectively mesh with the pinion gear 121 at the other end, and a knob 124 connected to the left side guide 132. The knob 124 is slidable along the left-right direction 53.

  When the knob 124 is moved rightward or leftward by the user, the left side guide 122 and the rack gear 123 move rightward or leftward. By the movement of the left rack gear 123, the pinion gear 121 rotates, and the pinion gear 121 rotates, so that the right rack gear 123 and the right side guide 122 meshed with the pinion gear 121 move leftward or rightward. That is, the pair of side guides 122 moves in conjunction with each other in a direction approaching or separating from each other. The user moves the knob 124 so that the second recording medium 54B placed on the second placement surface 72A is sandwiched between the pair of left and right side guides 122.

[Discharge tray 80]
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the paper discharge tray 80 includes a rectangular plate-shaped base 81 that can support the first recording medium 54 </ b> A and the second recording medium 54 </ b> B discharged from the paper discharge roller pair 33. A front wall 82, left and right side walls 83, and a pair of left and right pivot shaft protrusions 84 projecting from the rear end portions of the left and right side walls 83 in a direction away from each other in the left-right direction 53. . The recording medium 54 is supported on a paper discharge mounting surface 81A, which is the upper surface of the base 81 in FIG. The base 81 corresponds to the base described in the claims, and the paper discharge mounting surface 81A corresponds to the paper discharge mounting surface described in the claims. The paper discharge tray 80 is formed so as to cover at least a part of the upper side of the second tray 70 even when the second tray 70 is in the feeding position and the retracted position, and also functions as a lid. The paper discharge tray 80 can prevent dust from entering the main tray 60 and the second tray 70 and damage to the recording medium and the mounting surface when the tray body 50 or the image recording apparatus is transported.

  The rotation shaft protrusion 84 is inserted from the inner surface side of the side wall 62 into the bearing hole 62 </ b> A provided in the left and right side walls 62 of the main tray 60. Due to the rotation shaft projection 84 and the bearing hole 62A, the paper discharge tray 80 can be rotated between the receiving posture shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and the replenishing posture shown in FIGS. It is supported by the tray 60. In the paper discharge tray 80, in the receiving posture, the paper discharge placement surface 81A of the base 81 is along the inner bottom surface 61A (first placement surface) of the main tray 60, and in the supply posture, the paper discharge placement surface 81A is the main tray. It stands up with respect to the inner bottom surface 61A of 60. The receiving posture corresponds to the first posture described in the claims, and the replenishing posture corresponds to the second posture described in the claims. Note that the base 81 does not have to be parallel to the inner bottom surface 61A of the main tray 60 in the receiving posture, and may be along the inner bottom surface 61A to the extent that the recording medium 54 to be discharged can be received.

  As described above, the paper discharge roller pair 33 that discharges the recording medium 54 after image recording is disposed above the central portion of the tray body 50 in the front-rear direction 8, and the rotation shaft protrusion 84. The bearing hole 62A is inserted between the center portion and the rear end portion of the side wall 62 in the front-rear direction 52. Therefore, in a state where the tray body 50 is mounted on the printer housing 12, the rear portion of the base 81 of the paper discharge tray 80 in the receiving position is located below the paper discharge roller pair 33. The discharged recording medium 54 after image recording can be received by the paper discharge tray 80. The recording medium 54 after image recording discharged from the discharge roller pair 34 slides on the discharge placement surface 81A in the receiving posture, or the front end in the discharge direction, that is, the front end slides on the recording medium 54 discharged earlier. It is stacked on the base 81.

  The front wall 82 of the paper discharge tray 80 abuts the upper end of the front wall 64 of the main tray 60 at the lower end in the vertical direction 51 in the receiving posture. The discharge tray 80 is held in a receiving posture by the front wall 82 being supported by the front wall 64 of the main tray 60 and the rotating shaft protrusion 84 being supported by the side wall 62 of the main tray 60. That is, the front wall 82 of the paper discharge tray 80 has a function of a leg of the base 81 and positions the paper discharge tray 80 in the vertical direction 51. The front wall 82 is radially spaced from the pivot shaft protrusion 84, which is the pivot center of the paper discharge tray 80, and corresponds to the contact portion described in the claims. The front wall 82, which is a leg that supports the base 81 of the discharge tray 80, is provided apart from the rotation shaft projection 84 that is the rotation center, so that rattling of the discharge tray 80 can be suppressed.

  The base 81 includes a first exposure window 86 and a second exposure window 87. The first exposure window 86 is formed in a long hole shape that penetrates the right part of the base 81 in FIG. 4 and extends in the front-rear direction 52 in FIG. 4. The release lever 105 is exposed to the outside of the tray body 50. The user slides the second tray 70 by operating the operation lever 73 and the release lever 105 through the first exposure window 86. Here, the operation lever 73 and the release lever 105 are provided so as not to protrude above the discharge placement surface 81A. Therefore, the image-recorded recording medium 54 discharged from the paper discharge roller pair 33 is not caught by the operation lever 73 and the release lever 105 when sliding on the paper discharge mounting surface 81A. The first exposure window 86 corresponds to the exposed portion described in the claims.

  The second exposure window 87 passes through the central portion of the rear end portion of the base 81 in FIG. 4 in the left-right direction 53 and exposes the above-described rear guide 111 to the outside of the tray body 50. A configuration in which the operation lever 73 and the rear guide 111 are exposed by a notch instead of the first exposure window 86 and the second exposure window 87 may be employed.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the base portion 81 is provided with a pair of left and right protruding ribs 85. The projecting rib 85 extends from a position where the rotation shaft projecting portion 84 is formed so as to extend along the longitudinal direction 55 of the base portion 81 at the left and right ends of the back surface of the base portion 81 with respect to the paper discharge mounting surface 81A. It is provided toward the front and protrudes downward from the base 81. By this protruding rib 85, the strength of the forming portion of the base 81 and the rotating shaft protruding portion 84 is increased. The protruding rib 85 is the above-described first collar piece 71A or second collar provided on the second tray 70 when the paper discharge tray 80 is in the receiving posture and the rotating portion 72 of the second tray 70 is in the lying position. Opposite the piece 72E in the vertical direction 51. The projecting rib 85 is provided between the pivot shaft projection 84 that is the pivot center and the front wall 82 that is a leg that supports the base 81, and faces the second tray 70 in the receiving posture of the discharge tray 80. Projecting from the base 81. The protruding rib 85 corresponds to the protruding portion described in the claims. Moreover, the left-right direction 53 with which the protruding rib 85 faces corresponds to the first direction recited in the claims. The surfaces of the pair of protruding ribs 85 facing each other also serve as guides for guiding the positioning in the left-right direction 53 and the sliding of the second tray 70 by contacting the side surfaces of the second tray 70. In addition, in order not to interfere with another member formed in the image recording apparatus main body 11, the paper discharge tray 80 is formed with dents on the left and right ends, and the protruding ribs 85 correspond to the corners of the dents. Protrudes from the position.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the protruding dimension of the base 81 on the protruding rib 85 from the back surface is as follows when the discharge tray 80 is in the receiving position and the rotating portion 72 of the second tray 70 is in the lying position. The gap 88 is set between the front end (lower end) of the protruding rib 85 and the upper surfaces of the first and second collar pieces 71A and 72E of the second tray 70. The gap 88 corresponds to the gap described in the claims.

  A first gap 88 between the first protruding rib 85A on the left side and the upper surfaces of the first flange piece 71A and the second flange piece 72E is the same as the first protruding rib 85B on the right side on the side where the operation lever 73 is provided. It is set to be larger than the second gap 88B between the upper surface of the first flange 71A and the second flange 72E. That is, the projecting dimension of the first projecting rib 85A is set smaller than the projecting dimension of the second projecting rib 85B. The first protruding rib 85A corresponds to the first protruding portion recited in the claims, the second protruding rib 85B corresponds to the second protruding portion recited in the claims, and the first gap 88A corresponds to the first protruding portion recited in the claims. The second gap 88B corresponds to the second gap described in the claims. Further, in a state where the discharge tray 80 is bent by a predetermined amount, the second protruding rib 85B is arranged so that at least the second protruding rib 85B comes into contact with the first flange piece 71A and the second flange piece 72E of the second tray 70. Projection dimensions are set. The state where the predetermined amount is bent is at least an extent that the paper discharge tray 80 is not damaged, and is appropriately set depending on the material and shape of the paper discharge tray 80.

[Operation of tray body 50]
First, the operation of the tray body 50 when the tray body 50 is placed on a desk or the like and the operation lever 73 and the release lever 105 are operated by the user will be described. When the release lever 105 and the operation lever 73 are picked by the user, the lock member 101 is withdrawn from the lock hole 62B. When the release lever 105 and the operation lever 73 are moved forward or backward while the release lever 105 and the operation lever 73 are held, the second tray 70 is moved from the retracted position to the feeding position or the feeding position. Slide to the retracted position. When the user releases the finger from the release lever 105 after sliding, the lock member 101 is pushed rightward by the biasing force of the first spring (not shown) and fits into the lock hole 62B.

  Next, the operation of the tray body 50 when the left part of the tray body 50 is held up and down by the user's left hand and the operation lever 73 and the release lever 105 are operated by the user's right hand will be described. When the user grips and holds the left portion of the tray body 50 up and down strongly, and the sheet discharge tray 80 bends around the pivot shaft protrusion 84 and the front wall 82, the above-described protruding rib 85 is provided on the second tray 70. It contacts the first flange 71A or the second flange 72E. Since the protruding rib 85 contacts the first collar piece 71A or the second collar piece 72E, the paper discharge tray 80 is prevented from further bending and the tray body 50 is prevented from being broken. When the protruding rib 85 is held so weak that it does not contact the first collar piece 71A or the second collar piece 72E, the sliding of the second tray 70 is not hindered by the protruding rib 85. In addition, since the formation position of the protrusion rib 85 is the edge part side in the left-right direction 53, it becomes close to the position gripped by the user, and bending prevention becomes more reliable.

[Effect of this embodiment]
In the present embodiment, when the second tray 70 is changed to the feeding posture or the retracting posture, the recording medium 54 sent out by the feeding roller 23 is moved to the first target placed on the bottom 61 of the main tray 60. The recording medium 54 </ b> A or the second recording medium 54 </ b> B placed on the rotating portion 72 of the second tray 70 can be used.

  In the present embodiment, since the second tray 70 and the discharge tray 80 are separate members, the discharge tray 80 does not move due to the slide of the second tray 70, and the height of the discharge tray 80 is set to the second tray. It can be set higher than 70 and approach the pair of paper discharge rollers 33. As a result, the discharged recording medium 54 after image recording can be normally received by the tray body 50. Further, it is possible to prevent dust and the like from entering the tray body 50 by the paper discharge tray 80. That is, the paper discharge tray 80 has both a function of a paper discharge receiving portion that receives the recording medium 54 after recording the discharged image and a function as a lid of the tray body 50.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the protruding rib 85 is provided on the discharge tray 80, it is possible to prevent the discharge tray 80 from being greatly bent and to bend the discharge tray 80 due to the protruding dimension of the protruding rib 85. And the slidability of the slide of the second tray 70 can be balanced at both the left and right portions.

  Further, by providing the pair of left and right protruding ribs 85, it is possible to prevent the discharge tray 80 from being greatly bent and to be discharged regardless of which of the left and right portions of the tray body 50 is held by the user. A balance between the deflection of the paper tray 80 and the sliding property of the slide of the second tray 70 can be achieved.

  In addition, it is difficult to assume that the operation lever 73 and the release lever 105 are provided on one of the left and right parts of the tray body 50 (right part in the present embodiment) and the one side (right side) is gripped by the user. Thus, by setting the above-described first gap 88A on the other side (left side) that is assumed to be held by the user to be larger than the second gap 88B on one side (right side), the one side and the other side In each of the above, it is possible to balance the suppression of the bending of the discharge tray 80 and the slidability of the slide of the second tray.

  Further, since the protruding rib 85 is formed in a shape extending in the vertical direction 55, the rigidity of the base portion 81 of the paper discharge tray 80 can be increased using the protruding rib 85.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the discharge tray 80 is supported by the main tray 60 by the front wall 82 of the discharge tray 80 coming into contact with the front wall 64 of the main tray 60 has been described. A configuration may be adopted in which is supported by the main tray 60 other than the front wall 82. For example, the protruding portion 89 of FIGS. 6 and 7 that protrudes from the back surface of the paper discharge mounting surface 81A of the paper discharge tray 80 at a position that is in front of the protruding rib 85 and away from the rotation shaft protruding portion 84 is the main. By contacting the side wall 62 of the tray 60, the paper discharge tray 80 can be supported by the main tray 60. The protruding portion 89 enables positioning of the discharge tray 80 in the vertical direction 51. Note that, by being configured such that the paper discharge tray 80 and the main tray 60 come into contact with each other in this way, even if the paper discharge tray 80 and the main tray 60 are warped, they can be reliably brought into contact with each other. Therefore, it becomes difficult to generate backlash.

  The protruding rib 85 may be formed on either the left or right side. Further, the protruding rib 85 may be divided into a plurality of parts instead of a uniformly extending shape. Further, the protruding dimension of the protruding rib 85 may not be constant in the front-rear direction 52. For example, the projecting rib 85 may be formed in an arc shape such that the projecting dimension of the central portion in the front-rear direction 52 is the smallest. Further, the left and right protruding ribs 85A and 85B may be formed so that the first gap 88A and the second gap 88B have the same size.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the first rib piece 81A and the second rib piece 82E receive the protruding ribs 85 has been described. However, the second tray 70 other than the first rib piece 81A and the second rib piece 82E. The structure which receives the protrusion rib 85 may be employ | adopted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the paper discharge tray 80 has both a function as a paper discharge receiving unit that receives the discharged recording medium 54 and a function as a lid that prevents dust and the like that has entered the tray body 50. Although the configuration has been described, a configuration in which a lid is provided on the tray body 50 and a paper discharge receiving portion is provided on the printer housing 12 above the tray body 50 may be employed.

12 ... Printer housing (main body)
20 ... Feeding mechanism (feeding part)
33: Paper discharge roller pair (discharge unit)
40 ... Recording part (recording part)
50 ... Tray body (tray body)
54A ··· First recording medium (first recording medium)
54B ··· Second recording medium (second recording medium)
60 ... Main tray (first tray)
61A..Inner bottom surface (first mounting surface)
70 ... Second tray (second tray)
72A .. 2nd mounting surface (2nd mounting surface)
73 ... Control lever (control lever)
80 ... Output tray (lid)
81 ... Base (base)
81A..Discharge placement surface (discharge placement surface)
82 ... Front wall (contact part)
85 ... Protruding rib (protruding part)
88 ... Gap (Gap)

Claims (6)

The body,
A tray body mounted on the main body and on which the first recording medium and the second recording medium can be placed;
A feeding unit for feeding out the recording medium placed on the tray body;
A recording unit for recording an image on a recording medium sent out by the feeding unit;
A discharge unit that is located above the tray body and discharges a recording medium on which an image is recorded by the recording unit;
A paper discharge receiving portion having a paper discharge mounting surface capable of supporting the recording medium discharged from the discharge portion, and
The tray body is
A first tray having a first placement surface on which a first recording medium can be placed;
The second recording medium has a second placement surface on which the second recording medium can be placed, and is provided so as to be slidable along the first placement surface above the first placement surface. A second tray that slides to a first position for feeding the second recording medium and a second position for feeding the first recording medium by the feeding unit;
A lid that covers at least a part of the second tray at the second position and is disposed above the second tray;
The lid is
A base that is rotatably supported by the first tray, and that changes its posture by turning into a first posture along the first placement surface and a second posture that stands up with respect to the first placement surface;
A contact portion that is provided at a position spaced apart from the rotation center in the radial direction of rotation in the base, and contacts the first tray in the first posture;
The base portion is disposed between the rotation center and the contact portion, protrudes toward the second tray in the first posture, and the base portion is in the second position on the second tray side. An image recording apparatus comprising: a projecting portion that comes into contact with the second tray when deformed so as to bend.   The lid is the paper discharge receiving portion, and in the first posture, the paper discharge placement surface is along the first placement surface, and in the second posture, the paper discharge placement surface is the first placement surface. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus stands up against   The said protrusion part contains the pair arrange | positioned facing in the 1st direction which cross | intersects the sliding direction of the said 2nd tray, and the protrusion direction of the said protrusion part in the said 1st attitude | position. Image recording device.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is a rib extending in the sliding direction. The second tray is
It is exposed on the base side arranged above, and further comprises an operation lever capable of receiving an external force for sliding,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the base portion includes an exposure portion that exposes the operation lever. The operation lever is disposed on one side in the first direction,
Of the pair of protrusions, the first gap between the first tray and the second tray disposed on the other side of the base in the first direction is the second second of the pair of protrusions. The image recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image recording apparatus is wider than a second gap between the protruding portion and the second tray.

Images