JP6337627B2 - Image recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that feeds a sheet supported by a support portion.

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

  In the above-described image recording apparatus, if the feeding roller and the sheet are always in contact with each other, foreign matters such as oil contained in rubber used in the feeding roller adhere to the sheet. In order to prevent such a problem, the applicant of the present application has proposed a contact / separation mechanism (rotating member) that uses the driving force for rotating the feed roller to bring the feed roller into and out of the sheet. I'm out.

  The contact / separation mechanism moves the feeding roller to a position where it comes into contact with the sheet when the feeding roller rotates in the direction in which the sheet is fed. On the other hand, the contact / separation mechanism moves the feeding roller to a position away from the sheet when the feeding roller rotates in the direction opposite to the feeding direction.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-139197

  When the driving of the contact / separation mechanism and the driving of the feeding roller are interlocked, the feeding roller rotates when the feeding roller separated from the sheet by the contact / separation mechanism is moved to a position where it contacts the sheet. ing. When the rotating feeding roller contacts the uppermost sheet, the feeding roller may bite into the uppermost sheet. As a result, the frictional force between the stacked sheets increases, and the sheet stacked below the uppermost position moves in the direction in which the feeding roller rotates together with the uppermost sheet, so that the sheets are fed double. There is a possibility that it is likely to occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to rotate a feeding roller by rotating a contact / separation mechanism (rotating member) that separates the feeding roller from the sheet. An object of the present invention is to provide means for preventing the double feeding of sheets even when a roller abuts against the sheet.

  (1) An image recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a support unit that supports a sheet, a feed roller that feeds the sheet supported by the support unit, and the feed roller that is rotatable at one end. An arm that is supported and rotatable about the other end, a recording unit that records an image on a sheet fed by the feeding roller, a drive source that rotates forward and reverse, and the drive source A driving transmission unit that transmits the rotational driving force to the feeding roller, a rotating member that is connected to the feeding roller or the arm, and that is rotated by the rotational driving force applied from the driving transmission unit, Abutting on the pivoting member, a first restricting part for regulating the pivoting of the pivoting member at a first position protruding to the support part side from the feeding roller, and abutting on the pivoting member. The rotation of the rotating member is caused by the feeding roller with respect to the support portion. Comprising a second regulating portion for regulating in a second position retracted, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the drive source and the recording unit. The feed roller rotates in a rotation direction for feeding a sheet when a normal rotation drive force is applied from the drive source, and rotates in a rotation direction when a reverse rotation drive force is applied from the drive source. It rotates in the opposite direction. The rotating member rotates in a direction from the first position toward the second position when a normal rotational driving force is applied from the driving source, and a reverse rotational driving force is applied from the driving source. Then, it rotates in the direction from the second position toward the first position. The control unit rotates the drive source forward to move the rotating member toward the second position before driving the feeding roller to feed the sheet supported by the support unit. After the feed roller is brought into contact with the sheet by rotating the feed roller, a pre-feed operation is performed in which the drive source is reversed to rotate the feed roller in the direction opposite to the rotation direction.

  When the sheet supported by the support portion is fed, a normal rotational driving force is applied to the feeding roller and the rotating member. As a result, the rotating member rotates to the second position, so that the feeding roller contacts the sheet. The feeding roller feeds the sheet. On the other hand, when the sheet is not fed, a reverse rotational driving force is applied to the feeding roller and the rotating member. As a result, the rotating member rotates to the first position. During the rotation process, the arm and the feeding roller are lifted by the rotation member. As a result, the feeding roller is separated from the sheet supported by the support portion.

  In the pre-feeding operation, the control unit rotates the drive source forward to rotate the rotation member in the direction toward the second position, and then reverses the drive source to move the rotation member toward the first position. Turn to. In the process in which the rotating member rotates from the first position to the second position, the feeding roller that rotates in the feeding direction comes into contact with the sheet supported by the support portion. Thereafter, the rotation member is rotated from the second position toward the first position, whereby the feeding roller in contact with the sheet rotates in the direction opposite to the feeding direction. As a result, the sheet moved in the feeding direction by the contact of the feeding roller is returned to the opposite direction before feeding.

  (2) Preferably, in the pre-feeding operation, the control unit causes the drive source to rotate forward in order to rotate the rotating member at the first position in a direction toward the second position. The rotation amount is larger than a second rotation amount in which the control unit reversely rotates the drive source in order to rotate the feeding roller in contact with the sheet in a direction opposite to the rotation direction.

  Thereby, in the operation before feeding, the rotating member does not rotate until the feeding roller is largely separated from the sheet.

  (3) Preferably, the control unit further includes a receiving unit that receives an input indicating whether the sheet supported by the support unit is the first sheet or the second sheet, The control unit causes the receiving unit to execute the pre-feeding operation in response to receiving an input indicating that the first sheet is supported by the support unit, and the receiving unit causes the support unit to perform the first operation. The pre-feed operation is not executed in response to receiving an input indicating that two sheets are supported.

  Accordingly, the pre-feeding operation is performed on the first sheet that is likely to cause double feeding to reduce double feeding, while the pre-feeding operation is not performed on the second sheet that is difficult to cause double feeding. In addition, it is possible to shorten the time from when the rotating member is rotated for feeding until the sheet is fed.

  (4) Preferably, the said control part reversely rotates the said drive source and rotates the said rotation member to the said 1st position, before performing the said operation | movement before feeding.

  Thereby, a rotation member can be reliably located in a 1st position before feeding.

  According to the present invention, even if the rotating feeding roller contacts the sheet due to the rotation of the rotating member that separates the feeding roller from the sheet, it is difficult to cause double feeding of the sheet.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the multifunction machine 10 with the movable portion 186 in the standing position. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of the printer unit 11. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the printer unit. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the bypass tray 71 in which the movable portion 186 is in the lying down position. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the rear side of the multifunction machine 10 with the movable portion 186 removed. FIG. 6 is a front view of the feeding device 70. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the feeding device 70. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the periphery of the feeding arm 76. FIG. 10 (A) is a perspective view of the rotating member 30 and the roller gear 49, and FIG. 10 (B) is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 10 (A). 11 is a view showing a peripheral portion of the lower guide member 97 in the XI-XI cross-sectional view of FIG. 6, and FIG. 11A shows a state in which the contact member 117 of the moving member 64 is in the retracted position. (B) shows a state in which the contact member 117 of the moving member 64 is in the protruding position. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XII-XII in FIG. 6. FIG. 12A shows a state in which the rotating member 30 is in the first position and the contact member 117 of the moving member 64 is in the protruding position. ) Shows a state where the rotating member 30 is in the first position and the contact member 117 of the moving member 64 is in the retracted position, and (C) shows that the rotating member 30 is in the second position and the moving member 64 is in contact. A state where the contact member 117 is in the retracted position is shown. FIG. 13 is a right side view schematically showing the bypass tray 71, the feeding arm 76, and the rotating member 30, and FIG. 13A shows the state in which the rotating member 30 is in the first position. (B) shows the state in which the rotating member 30 is in the second position. FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the control unit 130. FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the image recording process.

  Hereinafter, the multifunction peripheral 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. The embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the embodiment can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. Further, in the following description, the advance from the starting point of the arrow to the ending point is expressed as the direction, and the traffic on the line connecting the starting point and the ending point of the arrow is expressed as the direction. In the following description, the vertical direction 7 is defined with reference to the state in which the multifunction machine 10 is installed (the state shown in FIG. 1), and the side on which the opening 13 is provided is the front side (front side). A front-rear direction 8 is defined, and a left-right direction 9 is defined when the multifunction machine 10 is viewed from the front side (front side).

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

[Printer 11]
The printer unit 11 includes a housing 14 having an opening 13 formed on the front surface. Further, a feed tray 20 and a discharge tray 21 that can accommodate recording paper S of various sizes can be inserted and removed in the front-rear direction 8 from the opening 13. The bottom surface of the housing 14 abuts on the placement surface on which the multifunction machine 10 is installed. As shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit 11 includes a feeding unit 15 that feeds the recording paper S from the feeding tray 20, a recording unit 24 that records an image on the recording paper S, a first transport roller pair 59, and A second conveyance roller pair 180 and the like are provided. The printer unit 11 is an example of an image recording apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a scanner unit 12 is provided above the printer unit 11. The dimensions of the casing 16 of the scanner unit 12 in the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9 are the same as those of the casing 14 of the printer unit 11. Accordingly, the casing 14 of the printer unit 11 and the casing 16 of the scanner unit 12 are integrated to form a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape of the multifunction machine 10. The scanner unit 12 is a flat bed scanner. In addition, since the structure of a flat bed scanner is well-known, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted here. The scanner unit 12 may be provided with an automatic document feeder (ADF) that separates and conveys a plurality of documents one by one.

  A liquid crystal panel 88 including a touch panel 90 and a power key 89 are disposed on the front surface of the housing 16. Information about the multifunction machine 10 is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 88. When the user touches or presses a key displayed on the liquid crystal panel 88, the touch panel 90 acquires an operation instruction of the multifunction machine 10 associated with the key from the user. Further, when the user presses the power key 89, the power of the multifunction machine 10 is switched on and off.

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

[Feeding unit 15]
As shown in FIG. 2, the feeding unit 15 includes a feeding roller 25, a feeding arm 26, a drive transmission mechanism 27, and a separation pad 181. The feeding unit 15 is provided above the feeding tray 20 and below the recording unit 24. The feed roller 25 is pivotally supported at the tip of the feed arm 26 so as to be rotatable. The feeding arm 26 rotates in the direction of an arrow 29 about a rotation shaft 28 provided at the base end. Thereby, the feed roller 25 can be brought into contact with and separated from the support surface of the feed tray 20, that is, can be brought into contact with and separated from the support surface. Therefore, when the recording paper S is accommodated and the feeding tray 20 is mounted in the housing 14, the feeding roller 25 can contact the recording paper S accommodated in the feeding tray 20. A separation pad 181 is provided at a position where the feed roller 25 contacts the support surface of the feed tray 20 when the feed tray 20 that does not contain the recording paper S is mounted in the housing 14. The separation pad 181 is made of a material having a friction coefficient larger than that of the support surface of the feeding tray 20 with respect to the recording paper S.

  A driving force of a motor 78 (see FIG. 3), which will be described later, is transmitted to the feeding roller 25 through the drive transmission mechanism 27. The drive transmission mechanism 27 transmits the rotation transmitted to the drive shaft different from the rotation shaft 28 to the shaft of the feeding roller 25 by the endless belt. The feeding roller 25 rotates while being in contact with the uppermost recording paper S among the recording papers S supported on the support surface of the feeding tray 20, so that the recording paper S is conveyed along the transport path 65. To be sent to. When the recording sheet S is fed toward the conveyance path 65, the leading end of the recording sheet S comes into contact with a separation member 197 provided on the rear side of the feeding tray 20 in the front-rear direction 8. As a result, only the uppermost recording sheet S is separated from the lower recording sheet S and conveyed. The recording sheet S below the uppermost recording sheet S is held while being accommodated in the feeding tray 20 without being dragged by the uppermost recording sheet S. The feed roller 25 may be driven and transmitted from a motor provided separately from the motor 78.

[Conveyance path 65]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the conveyance path 65 provided in the internal space of the housing 14 extends in a curved manner so as to make a U-turn upward from the rear side of the feed tray 20, and further the printer unit 11. After being bent from the rear side to the front side, it extends almost straight toward the front side and reaches the discharge tray 21. The conveyance path 65 is roughly divided into a curved path 65A that makes a U-turn and a straight path 65B that is straight.

  The curved path 65A is defined by the outer guide member 18, the inner guide member 19, the guide member 31, and the like facing each other with a space through which the recording paper S can pass. The straight path 65B is defined by the recording unit 24 and the platen 42 facing each other with a space through which the recording paper S can pass, the guide member 34, the guide member 33, and the like. The recording sheet S fed along the transport path 65 by the feed roller 25 of the feed tray 20 is reversed in the transport direction 17 from below to above along the curved path 65A, and along the straight path 65B. The conveying direction 17 is conveyed from the rear to the front without being reversed.

  The outer guide member 18 is a member constituting an outer guide surface when the recording paper S is conveyed along the curved path 65A. The inner guide member 19 is a member constituting an inner guide surface when the recording paper S is conveyed along the curved path 65A. In addition, each guide surface may be comprised by one surface, and may be comprised as a group of the front end surface of a some rib.

  The guide member 31 is disposed above the inner guide member 19 immediately upstream (rear side) of the first conveyance roller pair 59. The outer guide member 18 and the guide member 31 are members that define a bypass path 182 to be described later.

[Rear cover 22]
As shown in FIG. 2, the rear cover 22 is a member that supports the outer guide member 18 and constitutes a part of the rear surface of the housing 14. The rear cover 22 is pivotally supported with respect to the housing 14 at both lower left and right ends. By rotating the rear cover 22 around the rotation axis along the lower left-right direction 9 so that the upper side is inclined backward, a part of a bypass path 182 to be described later is moved outward of the housing 14. Open (exposed).

  Similarly to the rear cover 22, the outer guide member 18 is also pivotally supported with respect to the housing 14 at both lower left and right ends. In a state where the rear cover 22 is pivoted so as to fall backward, the outer guide member 18 can also pivot around the pivot axis along the lower left-right direction 9 so that the upper side falls backward. It is. By rotating the outer guide member 18 so as to fall backward, at least a part of the curved path 65A is opened (exposed). As shown in FIG. 2, when the rear cover 22 is closed so as to be in an upright state, the outer guide member 18 is supported by the rear cover 22 from the rear and maintained in the upright state, and faces the inner guide member 19. To define a part of the curved path 65A.

[First conveyance roller pair 59 and second conveyance roller pair 180]
As shown in FIG. 2, a first transport roller pair 59 is provided on the upstream side of the recording unit 24 in the transport direction 17 of the recording paper S along the transport path 65. The first transport roller pair 59 includes a first transport roller 60 and a pinch roller 61. Similarly, a second conveyance roller pair 180 is provided on the downstream side of the recording unit 24 in the conveyance direction 17. The second transport roller pair 180 includes a second transport roller 62 and a spur roller 63. The first conveyance roller 60 and the second conveyance roller 62 are rotated by the rotation of a motor 78 (see FIG. 3) described later. The first conveyance roller pair 59 and the second conveyance roller pair 180 are rotated by the first conveyance roller 60 and the second conveyance roller 62 in a state where the recording paper S is sandwiched between the respective rollers constituting the first conveyance roller pair 59 and the second conveyance roller pair 180. The recording paper S is transported in the transport direction 17 along the transport path 65. The first transport roller 60 and the second transport roller 62 may be driven and transmitted from a motor provided separately from the motor 78.

[Recording unit 24]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the recording unit 24 is provided between the first conveyance roller pair 59 and the second conveyance roller pair 180. The recording unit 24 includes a carriage 40 and a recording head 39. The carriage 40 is supported by guide rails 43 and 44 provided on the rear side and the front side of the platen 42 so as to reciprocate in the left-right direction 9. The guide rail 44 is provided with a known belt mechanism. The carriage 40 is connected to an endless belt of a belt mechanism, and reciprocates in the left-right direction 9 along the guide rails 43 and 44 by the rotation of the endless belt. When the carriage 40 and the recording head 39 are opposed to the platen 42 with a space therebetween, the carriage 40, the recording head 39, and the platen 42 define a part of the straight path 65B.

  The recording head 39 is mounted on the carriage 40. A plurality of nozzles 38 are formed on the lower surface of the recording head 39. Ink is supplied to the recording head 39 from an ink cartridge (not shown). The recording head 39 selectively ejects ink from a plurality of nozzles 38 as fine ink droplets. When the carriage 40 moves in the left-right direction 9, ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles 38 to the recording paper S supported by the platen 42. The ejected ink droplets adhere to the recording paper S on the platen 42, whereby an image is recorded on the recording paper S.

[Bypass path 182]
As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 184 is provided above the rear cover 22 on the rear surface of the housing 14. A bypass path 182 extending from the opening 184 to the first transport roller pair 59 is formed inside the housing 14. The bypass path 182 is a path that extends obliquely downward from the rear in the front-rear direction 8 to the front in the housing 14. The bypass path 182 is defined by the guide member 31, the outer guide member 18, the rear cover 22, and the like. The guide member 31 is a member that constitutes an upper guide surface when the recording paper S is conveyed along the bypass path 182. The outer guide member 18 and the rear cover 22 are members that constitute a lower guide surface when the recording sheet S is conveyed along the bypass path 182. Both the curved path 65 </ b> A and the straight path 65 </ b> B of the transport path 65 are disposed below the bypass path 182. By rotating the outer guide member 18 and the rear cover 22 so that the upper side is inclined backward, a part of the bypass path 182 is opened (exposed) to the outside of the housing 14 together with a part of the transport path 65. The

  A recording sheet S accommodated in a bypass tray 71 described later is guided obliquely downward along a bypass path 182. The recording sheet S is guided along the straight path 65 B of the transport path 65 and is transported by the first transport roller pair 59. The recording sheet S is further subjected to image recording by the recording unit 24 and discharged to the discharge tray 21. As described above, the recording sheet S accommodated in the bypass tray 71 is conveyed along a substantially linear path (a path where the front surface and the back surface of the recording sheet S are not reversed in the vertical direction 7).

[Feeding device 70]
As shown in FIG. 3, the printer unit 11 includes a feeding device 70. The feeding device 70 includes a bypass tray 71 (an example of a support unit according to the present invention) and a feeding unit 72. As shown in FIG. 3, the feeding unit 72 includes a feeding roller 75 (an example of the feeding roller of the present invention), a feeding arm 76 (an example of the arm of the present invention), and a motor 78 (an example of the present invention). An example of a drive source), a drive transmission mechanism 79 (an example of a drive transmission unit of the present invention), and a rotating member 30 are provided. In this embodiment, the contact / separation mechanism of the present invention includes the rotating member 30, the first restricting portion 107 (see FIG. 13), the second restricting portion 108 (see FIG. 13), and the torque limiter 32 (see FIG. 13). 10).

[Bypass tray 71]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the bypass tray 71 is provided on the rear surface side of the multifunction machine 10. The bypass tray 71 accommodates the recording paper S independently of the feeding tray 20. The bypass tray 71 can support a plurality of stacked recording sheets S.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the rear wall 23 (see FIG. 5) of the housing 16 of the scanner unit 12 is provided with a fixing portion 185 extending downward so as to cover the opening 184 (see FIG. 2). It has been. The fixing portion 185 constitutes a part of the downstream side of the bypass tray 71 in the transport direction 17. As shown in FIG. 4, a movable part 186 is provided above the fixed part 185 so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows 80 and 82 with respect to the fixed part 185. A bypass tray 71 is constituted by the fixed portion 185 and the movable portion 186.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a slit-shaped opening 187 extending along the left-right direction 9 is formed on the upper surface of the fixed portion 185. In the bypass tray 71, a passage extending from the opening 187 to the bypass path 182 (see FIG. 2) is formed. As shown in FIG. 4, the fixing portion 185 is provided with a support member 189 having a support surface 188. The support surface 188 extends obliquely downward to the bypass path 182 (see FIG. 2). The lower end of the support member 189 forms part of a guide surface that guides the recording paper S conveyed along the bypass path 182.

  On the upper end side of the support member 189 and above the support surface 188, as shown in FIG. 4, a reinforcing member 183 for rotatably supporting the rotation shaft 66 (see FIG. 7) of the feeding arm 76 is provided. It has been. The rotating shaft 66 constitutes a part of the drive transmission mechanism 79, and rotates when a rotational driving force is transmitted from a motor 78 (see FIG. 3). The drive transmission mechanism 79 will be described in detail later.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a feed arm 76 is rotatably supported on the rotation shaft 66. That is, the feeding arm 76 is rotatable around the rotation shaft 66. A feed roller 75 is rotatably supported at one end of the feed arm 76. The feeding arm 76 extends downward from the rotating shaft 66 toward the support surface 188 of the support member 189. The feeding arm 76 is disposed in the center of the fixing portion 185 in the left-right direction 9. The configuration of the feeding arm 76 will be described in detail later.

  The feeding roller 75 is connected to the rotating shaft 66 by a plurality of gears 48C, 48D, 48E, 49 (see FIG. 7). The rotation of the rotation shaft 66 is transmitted to the feeding roller 75 by the plurality of gears 48C, 48D, 48E, 49, and the feeding roller 75 rotates. The feeding roller 75 rotates while being in contact with the uppermost recording sheet S among the recording sheets S supported by the support surface 188 of the bypass tray 71, so that the uppermost recording sheet S is rotated. The paper is fed in the feeding direction 87 (see FIGS. 3 and 7) along the bypass path 182 (see FIG. 2). The recording sheet S below the uppermost recording sheet S is held by the bypass tray 71 without being dragged by the uppermost recording sheet S by being pulled by a separating member 132 of a lower guide member 97 described later. Is done. As a result, only the uppermost recording sheet S is separated from the other recording sheets S and is fed along the bypass path 182 in the feeding direction 87. As described above, the feeding unit 72 including the feeding roller 75, the rotation shaft 66, the feeding arm 76, and the like is disposed in the space outside the housing 14 and above the support surface 188. . The configuration of the feeding roller 75 will be described in detail later.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the movable portion 186 is provided on the upper side of the fixed portion 185 so as to be rotatable with respect to the fixed portion 185. Here, as described above, the fixing portion 185 is provided on the rear wall 23 of the housing 16 of the scanner portion 12. That is, the bypass tray 71 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the rear wall 23. The movable portion 186 rotates between a standing position that stands up in the vertical direction 7 as shown in FIG. 1 and a lying position that is inclined with respect to the vertical direction 7 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7. Is possible.

  The standing position is a state for reducing the space for the movable portion 186 on the rear surface side of the housing 14 and is a state in which the bypass tray 71 is not used. The rear surface of the movable portion 186 that is the standing position is substantially parallel to the rear surface of the housing 14. The movable portion 186 in the upright position has a rotating tip positioned above the rotating base end. The lying down position is a state in which the inclined support surfaces 188 and 193 are made substantially one plane by inclining the movable portion 186 obliquely upward toward the outside of the housing 14, and the use of the bypass tray 71. It is possible. The movable portion 186 in the lying position has a rotating front end that is farther from the rear surface of the housing 14 than the rotating base end. Whether the movable unit 186 is set to the standing position or the lying position can be selected by a user's arbitrary operation.

  As shown in FIG. 4, side walls 190 and 191 are provided on both sides of the movable portion 186 in the left-right direction 9. The side walls 190 and 191 cover part of both sides of the fixing portion 185 in the left-right direction 9. The drive transmission mechanism 79 provided on the right side of the fixed portion 185 in the left-right direction 9 is covered with the side wall 190 of the movable portion 186.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the movable portion 186 includes a support member 192. The support member 192 is provided between the side walls 190 and 191. In the lying position, the support surface 193 provided on the upper surface of the support member 192 is substantially the same plane as the support surface 188. That is, in the bypass tray 71 in which the movable portion 186 is in the lying position, the flat surface 45 formed by the support surface 188 of the support member 189 and the support surface 193 of the support member 192 supports the recording paper S. When the movable portion 186 is in the standing position, the support surface 193 is orthogonal to the placement surface of the multifunction machine 10, that is, along the vertical direction 7 and the horizontal direction 9. In the present embodiment, the placement surface on which the multifunction machine 10 is placed is a surface that extends along the left-right direction 9 and the front-rear direction 8. Here, “substantially one plane (same plane)” is a plane on which the recording sheet S supported is not bent or curved even if there is a slight difference between the two planes. That is, it refers to a plane that supports the recording paper S so that stable separation performance is exhibited by the separation member 132 described later.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the support member 192 is provided with a pair of side guides 194. The pair of side guides 194 are spaced apart in the left-right direction 9 and protrude upward from the support surface 193. The side guide 194 has a guide surface 195 that extends along the feeding direction 87 of the bypass tray 71. When the recording paper S on the support surface 193 is conveyed, the edge of the recording paper S along the feeding direction 87 is guided by the guide surface 195.

  The side guide 194 has a support surface 196 along the support surface 193 of the support member 192. That is, the side guide 194 has a substantially L shape in which the guide surface 195 and the support surface 196 are orthogonal to each other. Although the support surface 196 is slightly stepped from the support surface 193, the support surface 196 is substantially the same plane, and supports the recording sheet S together with the support surfaces 188 and 193. The distance at which the pair of side guides 194 are separated along the left-right direction 9 is variable. Thereby, the edge of the recording paper S of various sizes supported by the support surfaces 193 and 196 can be guided by the guide surface 195 of the side guide 194.

[Feeding roller 75 and feeding arm 76]
As shown in FIG. 7, the feeding roller 75 is disposed to face the support surface 188 of the fixed portion 185. As shown in FIG. 8, the rotation shaft 83 of the feed roller 75 extends in the left-right direction 9. Two feeding rollers 75 are provided at an interval in the left-right direction 9. That is, the feeding device 70 includes a pair of feeding rollers 75. The pair of feed rollers 75 are arranged at an interval from each other in the axial direction of the rotation shaft 83 that is a common rotation shaft, that is, in the left-right direction 9.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the feeding arm 76 has a pair of side plates 111 extending from one end to the upstream side in the feeding direction 87 (see FIGS. 3 and 7) and extending away from the plane 45. And a connection plate 112 that connects the pair of side plates 111.

  The right feeding roller 75 of the pair of feeding rollers 75 is rotatably supported at one end of the right side plate 111. The left feeding roller 75 of the pair of feeding rollers 75 is rotatably supported at one end of the left side plate 111.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the upstream end of the pair of side plates 111 in the feeding direction 87, that is, the other end of the feeding arm 76 rotates around the rotation shaft 66 provided in the second drive transmission unit 36. It is supported movably. As a result, the feeding arm 76 can rotate around the rotation shaft 66. In other words, the feeding arm 76 can rotate about the other end as a rotation axis. As a result, the feeding roller 75 can contact and separate, that is, contact and separate from the flat surface 45 or the recording paper S supported by the flat surface 45.

  The feeding arm 76 and the rotation shaft 66 are connected by a torsion spring (not shown). Thereby, as shown in FIG. 7, the feeding arm 76 is urged by the torsion spring in the direction of the arrow 67, that is, toward the flat surface 45 side of the bypass tray 71. The configuration for urging the feeding arm 76 in the direction of the arrow 67 is not limited to the configuration including the torsion spring. For example, a coil spring having one end connected to the feeding arm 76 and the other end connected to the frame of the printer unit 11 may be disposed on the front side of the feeding arm 76. Even in this configuration, the feeding arm 76 is biased in the direction of the arrow 67 by the coil spring.

[Lower guide member 97]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the lower guide member 97 is provided on the downstream side 87 in the feeding direction from the support surface 188 of the support member 189 of the bypass tray 71. The upper surface 69 of the lower guide member 97 is inclined with respect to the support surface 188 (plane 45). The upper surface 69 of the lower guide member 97 is positioned at a height substantially equal to the opening 184 (see FIG. 2) in the vertical direction 7.

  When feeding of the recording sheet S in the feeding direction 87 is started by the feeding roller 75, the lower guide member 97 guides the leading end of the recording sheet S in contact along the upper surface 69. A separation member 132 (see FIGS. 7 and 8) having a plurality of teeth protruding upward from the upper surface 69 and arranged along the front-rear direction 8 at the center portion of the upper surface 69 of the lower guide member 97 in the left-right direction 9. Is provided. With these teeth, the leading ends of a plurality of recording sheets S supported by the bypass tray 71 are scratched. Even when the leading ends of the plurality of recording sheets S are guided along the upper surface 69 by the feeding roller 75, the separating member 132 contacts the feeding roller 75 among the plurality of recording sheets S. The uppermost recording sheet S is separated from the other recording sheets S. As a result, the feeding roller 75 feeds only the uppermost recording sheet S toward the bypass path 182.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a pair of recesses 86 extending along the front-rear direction 8 are provided on the upper surface 69 of the lower guide member 97. The concave portions 86 are respectively provided on the right side and the left side of the separation member 132 in the left-right direction 9. In other words, the separation member 132 is disposed substantially at the center in the left-right direction 9 of the pair of recesses 86. A moving member 64 described later is disposed in the recess 86. As shown in FIG. 11, the recess 86 is defined by the bottom surface 84, the first side surface 122, and the second side surface 123.

[Drive transmission mechanism 79]
The printer unit 11 is provided with a motor 78 (see FIG. 3) that rotates forward and backward. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, a drive transmission mechanism 79 in which a plurality of gears are engaged is provided in the printer unit 11. The rotational driving force generated when the motor 78 rotates forward and backward is transmitted to the feeding roller 75, the rotating member 30, and the moving member 64 via the drive transmission mechanism 79. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, the drive transmission mechanism 79 includes a first drive transmission unit 35, a second drive transmission unit 36, a third drive transmission unit 37, and an intermediate gear 46.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the second drive transmission unit 36 includes five gears 48 </ b> A to 48 </ b> E, a roller gear 49, and a rotation shaft 66. The gears 48A and 48B mesh with each other. The rotation shaft 66 extends along the left-right direction 9 from the right side of the bypass tray 71 and the lower guide member 97 to the substantially central portion of the bypass tray 71 and the lower guide member 97 in the left-right direction 9. Yes. The gear 48A meshes with the intermediate gear 46. The gear 48 </ b> B is connected to the right end portion of the rotation shaft 66, can rotate integrally with the rotation shaft 66, and can rotate independently of the rotation shaft 66. The connection between the gear 48B and the rotation shaft 66 will be described later.

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

  As shown in FIG. 8, the second drive transmission unit 36 includes five gears 48 </ b> A to 48 </ b> E, a roller gear 49, and a rotation shaft 66. The gears 48A and 48B mesh with each other. The rotation shaft 66 extends along the left-right direction 9 from the right side of the bypass tray 71 and the lower guide member 97 to the substantially central portion of the bypass tray 71 and the lower guide member 97 in the left-right direction 9. Yes. The gear 48A meshes with the intermediate gear 46. The gear 48 </ b> B is connected to the right end portion of the rotation shaft 66, can rotate integrally with the rotation shaft 66, and can rotate independently of the rotation shaft 66. The connection between the gear 48B and the rotation shaft 66 will be described later.

  The gears 48C to 48E constitute a gear train meshed with each other. The gear 48 </ b> C disposed at one end of the gear train is attached to the left end portion of the rotation shaft 66 and rotates integrally with the rotation shaft 66. A gear 48E disposed at the other end of the gear train meshes with the roller gear 49. The gears 48D and 48E are rotatably supported by the feeding arm 76. That is, the second drive transmission unit 36 includes a gear train supported by the feeding arm 76 and meshed with each other. The roller gear 49 is attached to the rotating shaft 83 of the feeding roller 75 between the pair of feeding rollers 75, and can rotate integrally with the rotating shaft 83 around the rotating shaft 83.

  As described above, the second drive transmission unit 36 transmits the rotational driving force from the intermediate gear 46 to the feeding roller 75. The feeding roller 75 to which the forward rotational driving force is transmitted from the motor 78 via the second drive transmission unit 36 feeds the recording sheet S supported by the flat surface 45 of the bypass tray 71 in the feeding direction 87. It rotates in the rotation direction (direction of arrow 125 in FIG. 7). On the other hand, the feeding roller 75 to which the reverse rotational driving force is transmitted from the motor 78 via the second drive transmission unit 36 is opposite to the rotational direction in which the recording paper S is fed in the feeding direction 87 (see FIG. 7). Rotate in the direction of arrow 126).

  As shown in FIG. 10, the roller gear 49 includes a recess 54 that extends along the left-right direction 9 that is the axial direction of the roller gear 49. The recess 54 is defined by the inner surface 55 and the bottom surface 110 of the roller gear 49. A compression coil spring 114 to be described later is disposed in the recess 54. An opening 56 is formed on the surface of the roller gear 49 that faces the bottom surface 110. Further, an opening 57 having a smaller diameter than the opening 56 is formed on the bottom surface 110 of the roller gear 49. The rotation shaft 83 of the feed roller 75 passes through the roller gear 49 through the openings 56 and 57.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a key 73 protruding in the radial direction of the rotation shaft 66 is provided at the right end portion of the rotation shaft 66. Further, a through hole through which the rotation shaft 66 can be inserted is provided at the center of the gear 48B. A substantially fan-shaped key groove 74 that can be fitted to the key 73 is provided at a position corresponding to the key 73 in the through hole. In the circumferential direction of the gear 48B, the arc length of the key groove 74 is designed to be longer than the circumferential length of the key 73. Accordingly, if the key groove 74 is not in contact with the key 73 when the gear 48B is rotated, the gear 48B rotates idly with respect to the rotation shaft 66. Therefore, the rotation shaft 66 is not rotated until the key groove 74 is in contact with the key 73. Does not rotate. In other words, if the key 73 is not in contact with the key groove 74 when the rotation shaft 66 is rotated, the rotation shaft 66 is idle with respect to the gear 48B. Does not rotate. On the other hand, if the key groove 74 is in contact with the key 73 and the key groove 74 is pressing the key 73 when the gear 48B rotates, the rotation shaft 66 rotates integrally with the gear 48B. In other words, if the key 73 is in contact with the key groove 74 when the rotation shaft 66 is rotated and the key 73 presses the key groove 74, the gear 48B rotates integrally with the rotation shaft 66. As described above, the second drive transmission portion 36 has a so-called play in the circumferential direction of the gear 48 </ b> B in the key 73 and the key groove 74.

  Contrary to the above, a key groove 74 may be provided on the rotation shaft 66, and a key 73 may be provided on the gear 48B. Further, the key 73 and the key groove 74 may be provided at a location other than the rotation shaft 66 and the gear 48B in the drive transmission mechanism 79. For example, the key 73 may be provided on the shaft 85 of the gear 48D, the key groove 74 may be provided on the gear 48D, the key 73 may be provided on the shaft 41 of the gear 47C, and the key groove 74 may be provided on the gear 47C. It may be. In these cases, the key groove 74 may be provided on each shaft, and the key 73 may be provided on each gear.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the third drive transmission unit 37 includes two gears 77 </ b> A and 77 </ b> B, a protrusion 51, and a rotation shaft 50 of the protrusion 51. The rotation shaft 50 extends along the left-right direction 9 from the right side of the bypass tray 71 and the lower guide member 97 to the substantially central portion of the bypass tray 71 and the lower guide member 97 in the left-right direction 9. Yes.

  The gears 77A and 77B constitute a gear train meshed with each other. A gear 77A disposed at one end of the gear train meshes with the intermediate gear 46. A gear 77B arranged at the other end of the gear train is connected to the right end portion of the rotating shaft 50 via a torque limiter 127 described later. Thereby, the gear 77B can rotate integrally with the rotating shaft 50 and can rotate independently of the rotating shaft 50. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 11, the protrusion 51 protrudes toward the moving member 64. As will be described later, the slide member 116 of the moving member 64 moves by being pushed by the protrusion 51. As described above, the third drive transmission unit 37 transmits the rotational driving force from the intermediate gear 46 to the moving member 64.

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

[Rotating member 30]
As shown in FIG. 7, the rotating member 30 rotates the feeding arm 76 in the directions of arrows 67 and 68 by rotating in the directions of arrows 105 and 106, and as a result, the feeding roller 75 is moved. This is a member for making contact with and separating from the flat surface 45 of the bypass tray 71 or the recording paper S supported by the flat surface 45. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the rotating member 30 is provided at one end of the feeding arm 76. As shown in FIG. 10, the rotating member 30 includes a rotating body 91, a roller 92, and a clamping member 93.

  The rotating body 91 includes a pair of side plates 94, a connection plate 95 that connects a part of the pair of side plates 94, and a protruding portion 96 that protrudes from the connection plate 95. The material of the rotating body 91 is a resin such as POM (polyacetal or polyoxymethylene).

  As shown in FIG. 9, the right side plate 94 is disposed between the right side plate 111 of the feeding arm 76 and the roller gear 49. The left side plate 94 is disposed between the left side plate 111 of the feeding arm 76 and the roller gear 49. Here, feeding rollers 75 are arranged on the right side of the right side plate 111 and on the left side of the left side plate 111, respectively. That is, the left side plate 94 in the left-right direction is disposed between the roller gear 49 and the left feeding roller 75, and the right side plate 94 in the left-right direction 9 is disposed between the roller gear 49 and the right feeding roller 75. Has been placed. Further, the left side plate 111 in the left-right direction 9 is disposed between the left side plate 94 and the left feeding roller 75, and the right side plate 111 in the left-right direction 9 is composed of the right side plate 94 and the right feeding roller. 75.

  As shown in FIG. 10B, an opening 100 is provided at the center of each of the pair of side plates 94. A rotation shaft 83 of the feed roller 75 is inserted through each opening 100. With this configuration, the rotating body 91 including the pair of side plates 94, the connection plate 95, and the protruding portion 96 can be rotated about the rotation shaft 83 of the feeding roller 75.

  As shown in FIG. 10B, the protruding portion 96 protrudes from the connection plate 95 in a direction away from the outer peripheral surface of the roller gear 49. In other words, the protruding portion 96 protrudes from the connection plate 95 toward the radially outer side of the roller gear 49.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, the roller 92 is provided at the protruding portion 96, that is, the rotating tip of the rotating member 30. The roller 92 is rotatably supported by the protrusion 96 with the rotation shaft 92A (see FIG. 10B) as the center of rotation. The rotation shaft 92 </ b> A extends in the same direction (left-right direction 9) as the rotation shaft 83 of the feeding roller 75. In a state where the roller 92 is supported by the protruding portion 96, a part of the peripheral surface of the roller 92 protrudes outward in the radial direction of the roller gear 49 from the protruding portion 96.

  As shown in FIG. 10B, the clamping member 93 includes a pair of side plates 101 and a connection plate 102 that connects the pair of side plates 101 to each other. The material of the clamping member 93 is a metal such as SECC (electrogalvanized steel sheet).

  As shown in FIG. 9, the right side plate 101 is disposed between the right side plate 94 of the rotating body 91 and the right side plate 111 of the feeding arm 76. Although not visible because it is in a hidden position in FIG. 9, the left side plate 101 is disposed between the left side plate 94 of the rotating body 91 and the left side plate 111 of the feeding arm 76. That is, the pair of side plates 101 of the clamping member 93 is disposed outside the pair of side plates 94 of the rotating body 91 in the left-right direction 9. That is, the holding member 93 holds the pair of side plates 94 of the rotating body 91.

  As shown in FIG. 10B, an opening 103A is provided at the center of the left side plate 101, and an opening 103B is provided at the center of the right side plate 101. The rotation shaft 83 of the feed roller 75 is inserted through the openings 103A and 103B, respectively. Here, the opening 103A of the left side plate 101 has a circular shape, but the radius of a part of the opening 103B of the right side plate 101 is larger than the radius other than the part. That is, the opening 103B has a shape in which a part of each of two circular openings having radii of different lengths is combined with the same center. Then, the rib 104 provided on the right side plate 94 of the rotating body 91 is fitted into the opening portion having a large radius in the opening 103B (see FIG. 10A). With this configuration, the pair of side plates 101 can rotate integrally with the rotating body 91 around the rotation shaft 83 of the feeding roller 75. Therefore, the rotating body 91 and the clamping member 93 rotate integrally around the rotation shaft 83 of the feeding roller 75. That is, the rotation member 30 rotates about the rotation shaft 83 of the feed roller 75.

  A rotating body 91 of the rotating member 30 is connected to a roller gear 49 via a torque limiter 32 described later. Here, as described above, the rotation shaft 83 of the feed roller 75 passes through the roller gear 49, and the roller gear 49 and the feed roller 75 can rotate integrally around the rotation shaft 83 as a center of rotation. . That is, the rotating member 30 is connected to the feeding roller 75 via the torque limiter 32 and the roller gear 49. The rotating member 30 is given a rotational driving force of the motor 78 from the roller gear 49 of the second drive transmission unit 36 via the torque limiter 32. Thereby, the rotation member 30 rotates in the directions of arrows 105 and 106 (see FIG. 7).

  As shown in FIG. 10B, projections 109 projecting radially outward of the feeding roller 75 are provided on the peripheral surfaces of the pair of side plates 94 of the rotating body 91. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13, a pair of side plates 111 of the feeding arm 76 is provided with a first restricting portion 107 and a second restricting portion 108. The first restricting portion 107 and the second restricting portion 108 restrict the rotation of the rotating body 91 by contacting the protrusion 109. In the present embodiment, the first restricting portion 107 and the second restricting portion 108 are ribs that protrude from one of the pair of side plates 111 toward the other. In addition, the 1st control part 107 and the 2nd control part 108 will not be restricted to a rib, if the rotation of the rotary body 91 can be controlled by contact | abutting to the rotary body 91. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 13A, the protrusion 109 is brought into contact with the first restricting portion 107 from the upstream side in the direction of the arrow 106. In a state where the protrusion 109 and the first restricting portion 107 are in contact with each other, the protruding portion 96 and the roller 92 of the rotating member 30 protrude from the feeding roller 75 toward the flat surface 45 side of the bypass tray 71. The position of the rotating member 30 in the state shown in FIG. 13A is hereinafter referred to as a first position. That is, the 1st control part 107 controls rotation of the rotation member 30 in a 1st position.

  As described above, the feeding arm 76 is urged toward the flat surface 45 side of the bypass tray 71 by the torsion spring. Therefore, when the rotating member 30 is in the first position, the roller 92 is in contact with the flat surface 45 of the bypass tray 71 or the recording paper S supported by the flat surface 45. On the other hand, the feeding roller 75 is separated from the flat surface 45 of the bypass tray 71 or the recording paper S supported by the flat surface 45 by being lifted by the rotating member 30.

  As shown in FIG. 13B, the protrusion 109 is brought into contact with the second restricting portion 108 from the upstream side in the direction of the arrow 105. In a state where the projection 109 and the second restricting portion 108 are in contact with each other, the protruding portion 96 and the roller 92 of the rotating member 30 are retracted from the feeding roller 75 with respect to the flat surface 45 of the bypass tray 71. The position of the rotating member 30 in the state shown in FIG. 13B is hereinafter referred to as a second position. That is, the second restricting unit 108 restricts the rotation of the rotating member 30 at the second position.

  When the rotating member 30 is in the second position, the roller 92 is separated from the flat surface 45 of the bypass tray 71. On the other hand, since the feeding arm 75 is urged toward the flat surface 45 side of the bypass tray 71 by the torsion spring, the feeding roller 75 has the flat surface 45 of the bypass tray 71 or the recording paper supported by the flat surface 45. S is in contact.

  As described above, the rotation member 30 is rotatable only in a range between the first position and the second position by being restricted by the first restriction portion 107 and the second restriction portion 108.

[Torque limiter 32]
The torque limiter 32 transmits a rotational driving force from the second drive transmission unit 36 to the rotational member 30. Further, the torque limiter 32 has a rotational driving force applied from the second drive transmission unit 36 to the rotating member 30 when the rotation of the rotating member 30 is restricted by the first restricting portion 107 or the second restricting portion 108. The transmission is cut off. As shown in FIG. 10B, the torque limiter 32 includes a friction member 113 and a compression coil spring 114.

  The friction member 113 is a cylindrical member having a small thickness. The shape of the friction member 113 is arbitrary. The friction member 113 is disposed between the roller gear 49 and the right side plate 94 of the rotating body 91. That is, the torque limiter 32 including the friction member 113 is provided between the second drive transmission unit 36 including the roller gear 49 and the rotating member 30. As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, one surface of the friction member 113 is in contact with the bottom surface 110 of the roller gear 49. The back surface of one surface of the friction member 113 is in contact with the right side plate 94. The friction member 113 is made of a material having a higher friction coefficient than the roller gear 49 and the side plate 94, for example, a felt cloth. As described above, the friction member 113 transmits the rotational driving force from the roller gear 49 to the side plate 94, that is, from the second drive transmission unit 36 to the rotating member 30.

  As shown in FIG. 10B, an opening 115 is provided at the center of the friction member 113. A rotation shaft 83 of the feed roller 75 is inserted through the opening 115.

  The friction member 113 may be disposed between the roller gear 49 and the left side plate 94. Two friction members 113 are provided, one friction member 113 is disposed between the roller gear 49 and the right side plate 94, and the other friction member 113 is disposed between the roller gear 49 and the left side plate 94. It may be arranged.

  The compression coil spring 114 is disposed in the recess 54 of the roller gear 49. One end of the compression coil spring 114 is in contact with the bottom surface 110 of the roller gear 49 (the inner surface in the recess 54). The other end of the compression coil spring 114 is in contact with the left side plate 94 of the rotating body 91. The rotation shaft 83 of the feed roller 75 is inserted through the central portion of the compression coil spring 114.

  The arrangement of the roller gear 49 may be reversed left and right. In this case, the bottom surface 110 is located on the left side of the roller gear 49. Therefore, one end of the compression coil spring 114 abuts on the right side plate 94 of the rotating body 91 and the other end of the compression coil spring 114 abuts on the bottom surface 110 (the inner surface in the recess 54). As described above, the compression coil spring 114 is disposed between the one side plate 94 and the roller gear 49.

  The compression coil spring 114 disposed in the recess 54 of the roller gear 49 applies a force to the right and left in the left-right direction 9 in an attempt to return to the natural length. The bottom surface 110 of the roller gear 49 is pressed against the friction member 113 by the force applied to the right. That is, the compression coil spring 114 biases the roller gear 49 toward the friction member 113.

  In the state shown in FIG. 12 (A) and FIG. 13 (A), the forward rotation driving force is applied from the motor 78 via the first drive transmission unit 35 and the second drive transmission unit 36, thereby When the feed roller 75 rotates in the direction of the arrow 125 (see FIG. 7), the rotational driving force is transmitted to the rotating member 30 via the torque limiter 32. Thereby, the rotating member 30 is moved from the first position (the position of the rotating member 30 in the state shown in FIGS. 12A and 13A) to the second position (FIG. 12B and FIG. It turns in the direction of the arrow 105 toward the position of the turning member 30 in the state shown in FIG. That is, the rotating member 30 rotates integrally with the rotating feeding roller 75.

  When the protrusion 109 of the rotating member 30 comes into contact with the second restricting portion 108, that is, when the rotating member 30 reaches the second position (see FIGS. 12B and 13B), the rotating member 30. Is stopped. Thereby, only the feed roller 75 among the feed roller 75 and the rotating member 30 continues to rotate in the direction of the arrow 125 against the frictional force by the friction member 113. That is, transmission of the rotational driving force to the rotational member 30 is cut by the torque limiter 32.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 12 (B) and 13 (B), by applying a reverse rotational driving force from the motor 78 via the first drive transmission unit 35 and the second drive transmission unit 36, When the feeding roller 75 rotates in the direction of the arrow 126 (see FIG. 7), the rotational driving force is transmitted to the rotating member 30 via the friction member 113 of the torque limiter 32. Thereby, the rotation member 30 rotates in the direction of the arrow 106 from the second position toward the first position. That is, the rotating member 30 rotates integrally with the rotating feeding roller 75.

  When the protrusion 109 of the rotating member 30 comes into contact with the first restricting portion 107, that is, when the rotating member 30 reaches the first position (see FIGS. 12A and 13A), the rotating member 30. Is stopped. As a result, only the feed roller 75 of the feed roller 75 and the rotation member 30 continues to rotate in the direction of the arrow 126 against the frictional force of the friction member 113. That is, transmission of the rotational driving force to the rotational member 30 is cut by the torque limiter 32.

[Rib 133]
As shown in FIG. 13, the rotating member 30 includes a rib 133 protruding from the pair of side plates 94. As shown in FIG. 13A, when the rotating member 30 is in the first position, the most upstream portion of the rib 133 in the feeding direction 87 is defined as a portion 134. When the rotating member 30 is in the first position, the rib 133 extends from the portion 134 toward a position 135 where the feeding roller 75 and the support surface 188 of the bypass tray 71 abut. Further, when the rotating member 30 is in the first position, the portion 134 is located farthest from the support surface 188 as compared to other portions of the rib 133 (portions extending from the portion 134 toward the feeding direction 87). is there. Thus, in the state shown in FIG. 13A, the leading end of the recording paper S inserted from the upstream side of the feeding direction 87 (the right side of the paper surface in FIG. 13A) toward the position 135 is It contacts the rib 133 without contacting the feed roller 75. The leading end of the recording paper S is guided along the rib 133 and guided toward the position 135.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13B, when the rotating member 30 is in the second position, the rib 133 protrudes further downstream in the feeding direction 87 than the feeding roller 75. Note that the rotating member 30 may not include the rib 133.

[Moving member 64]
As shown in FIG. 8, the moving member 64 is disposed in a recess 86 provided on the upper surface 69 of the lower guide member 97. That is, the moving member 64 is provided on the lower guide member 97.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the moving member 64 includes a slide member 116 and a contact member 117. The slide member 116 is supported on the bottom surface 84 of the recess 86. The contact member 117 is supported by the slide member 116 and can contact the leading end of the recording sheet S supported by the bypass tray 71.

  The slide member 116 is movable in the front-rear direction 8 along the bottom surface 84 of the recess 86. A first recess 118 and a second recess 119 are provided on the surface 120 of the slide member 116, that is, the surface 120 opposite to the surface of the slide member 116 that contacts the bottom surface 84 of the recess 86. The protrusion 51 of the third drive transmission unit 37 is inserted into the first recess 118. A protrusion 58 of a contact member 117 described later can be inserted into the second recess 119.

  The contact member 117 is in contact with the surface 120 of the slide member 116. The contact member 117 includes a protrusion 58 protruding toward the slide member 116 side. The abutting member 117 is projected from the upper surface 69 of the lower guide member 97 in conjunction with the movement of the slide member 116 (the position of the abutting member 117 in the state shown in FIG. 11B). , And can be moved from the upper surface 69 to the retracted position (the position of the contact member 117 in the state shown in FIG. 11A).

  This will be described in detail below. 11A, in the state where the slide member 116 is in contact with the first side surface 122 of the recess 86 of the lower guide member 97, the protrusion 58 of the contact member 117 is 2 is inserted into the recess 119. In this state, the contact member 117 is retracted from the upper surface 69 into the recess 86 and is in the retracted position.

  In this state, when the gear 77B of the third drive transmission portion 37 rotates in the direction of the arrow 124, the slide member 116 is pushed by the protrusion 51 rotated integrally with the rotating gear 77B, and the second side surface of the recess 86 Move towards 123. Thereby, the protrusion 58 inserted in the second recess 119 escapes from the second recess 119 and is supported by the surface 120 as shown in FIG. That is, the surface 120 of the slide member 116 constitutes a cam surface. As a result, the surface 121 of the contact member 117 protrudes from the upper surface 69 of the lower guide member 97. That is, the contact member 117 is in the protruding position.

  Note that the slide member 116 can move until it abuts against the second side surface 123. In other words, the second side surface 123 abuts against the slide member 116 of the moving member 64 and restricts the movement of the slide member 116, thereby restricting the movement of the abutting member 117 of the moving member 64 at the protruding position.

  As shown in FIG. 11B, when the gear 77B rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow 124 in a state where the slide member 116 contacts the second side surface 123 and the contact member 117 is in the protruding position, the slide member 116 is pushed by the protrusion 51 and moves toward the first side surface 122 of the recess 86. Thereby, the protrusion 58 moves while contacting the surface 120, and is inserted into the second recess 119 as shown in FIG. As a result, the surface 121 of the contact member 117 is retracted from the upper surface 69 of the lower guide member 97 into the recess 86. That is, the contact member 117 is in the retracted position.

  The slide member 116 is movable until it contacts the first side surface 122. That is, the first side surface 122 abuts against the slide member 116 of the moving member 64 and restricts the movement of the slide member 116, thereby restricting the movement of the abutting member 117 of the moving member 64 at the retracted position.

  The moving member 64 to which the forward rotational driving force is applied from the motor 78 via the third drive transmission unit 37 moves from the protruding position to the retracted position (in other words, the slide member 116 is moved to the second side surface 123). To the first side surface 122). On the other hand, the moving member 64 to which the reverse rotational driving force is applied from the motor 78 via the third drive transmission unit 37 moves from the retracted position toward the protruding position (in other words, the slide member 116 is moved to the first side surface). 122 toward the second side surface 123).

  A torque limiter 127 (see FIGS. 6 and 8) is provided between the gear 77B of the third drive transmission unit 37 and the rotation shaft 50. The torque limiter 127 switches the presence or absence of transmission of the rotational driving force in the third drive transmission unit 37.

  The torque limiter 127 includes a flange portion 128 (see FIG. 8), a friction member (not shown), and a compression coil spring 129 (see FIG. 6). The flange portion 128 protrudes from the peripheral surface of the rotation shaft 50. The friction member (not shown) is disposed between the flange portion 128 and the gear 77B. The compression coil spring 129 is disposed on the opposite side of the friction member with respect to the gear 77B, and biases the gear 77B toward the friction member. The gear 77B is pressed against the flange portion 128 via the friction member by being biased by the compression coil spring 129. Note that the configuration of the torque limiter 127 is not limited to the configuration described above, and any configuration of the torque limiter can be employed.

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

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

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

  When the abutting member 117 is in the protruding position, the recording sheet S fed in the feeding direction 87 can abut on the surface 121 (see FIG. 11) of the abutting member 117. As shown in FIG. 11, the surface 121 is a side surface viewed from the right side or the left side by forming grooves extending in the left-right direction 9 (perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2) at regular intervals. It has a saw blade shape. As a result, the leading end of the recording sheet S that is in contact with the surface 121, that is, the downstream end of the recording sheet S in the feeding direction 87 is fitted into the groove. As a result, the movement of the recording paper S is stopped by the surface 121. Note that the surface 121 does not have to have a saw blade shape as long as the recording sheet S that is in contact can be stopped. For example, the surface 121 may be configured to stop the movement of the recording sheet S that has come into contact by attaching a cork or the like having a high friction coefficient.

[Seat sensor 150]
As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet sensor 150 is provided on the bypass tray 71. The sheet sensor 150 is a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the recording paper S on the flat surface 45 of the bypass tray 71. In the present embodiment, the sheet sensor 150 is an optical element having a detector 152 rotatably provided in a recess 151 formed in the flat surface 45, a light emitting element, and a light receiving element that receives light emitted from the light emitting element. Sensor 153.

  In a state where the recording paper S is not supported on the flat surface 45 of the bypass tray 71, a part of the detector 152 protrudes from the concave portion 151 onto the flat surface 45. At this time, the other part of the detector 152 enters the optical path from the light emitting element to the light receiving element of the optical sensor 153 and blocks the light passing through the optical path. When the other part of the detector 152 blocks light passing through the optical path, a low-level signal is output from the optical sensor 153 to the control unit 130 (see FIG. 14) described later. On the other hand, when the recording paper S is supported on the flat surface 45, a part of the detector 152 is pushed and rotated by the back surface (the surface on the flat surface 45 side) of the recording paper S and buried in the recess 151. As a result, the other part of the detector 152 deviates from the optical path, and light passes through the optical path. When light passes through the optical path, a high level signal (sheet detection signal) is output from the optical sensor 153 to the control unit 130.

  The sheet sensor 150 is not limited to the above-described configuration as long as it can detect whether the recording sheet S is supported by the bypass tray 71.

[Rotation sensor 156]
The multifunction machine 10 includes a rotation sensor 156 (see FIG. 14) that detects the rotation position of the movable portion 186. In the present embodiment, the rotation sensor 156 is a rotatable detector (not shown) disposed in a recess (not shown) provided in the left and right ends 154 (see FIG. 5) of the rear wall 23 of the housing 16. ) And an optical sensor 157 (see FIG. 14) having a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element that receives light emitted from the light-emitting element.

  In a state where the movable portion 186 is in the lying down position, one end of the detector protrudes out of the housing 16 from the recess. The other end of the detector enters an optical path from the light emitting element to the light receiving element of the optical sensor 157 and blocks light passing through the optical path. When the light in the optical path is blocked, a low level signal is output from the optical sensor 157 to the control unit 130 (see FIG. 14) described later. When the movable portion 186 is rotated from the lying position to the standing position, one end of the detector is pushed by the front surfaces 155 (see FIG. 4) of the side walls 190 and 191 of the movable portion 186 and is rotated and buried in the recess. . As a result, the other end of the detector deviates from the optical path, and light passes through the optical path. When light passes through the optical path, a high level signal is output from the optical sensor 157 to the control unit 130.

  Note that the rotation sensor is not limited to the above-described configuration as long as it detects the rotation position of the movable portion 186.

[Control unit 130]
As shown in FIG. 14, the control unit 130 controls the operation of the multifunction device 10. The control unit 130 includes a CPU 141, ROM 142, RAM 143, EEPROM 144, and ASIC 145. These are connected by an internal bus 147.

  The ROM 142 stores a program for the CPU 141 to control various operations. The RAM 143 is used as a storage area for temporarily recording data and signals used when the CPU 141 executes the program, or as a work area for data processing. The EEPROM 144 stores settings, flags, and the like that should be retained even after the power is turned off.

  The ASIC 145 is connected to the motor 78. When a drive signal for driving the motor 78 is output from the CPU 141 to the motor 78, the motor 78 rotates forward or reverse. That is, the control unit 130 controls the operation of the motor 78. The rotation of the motor 78 causes the rollers 25, 60, 62, and 75 to rotate, the moving member 64 to move, and the rotating member 30 to rotate.

  The ASIC 145 is connected to the recording unit 24 (the recording head 39 and the carriage driving motor 146). When a drive signal is output from the CPU 141 to the carriage drive motor 146, the carriage drive motor 146 rotates in accordance with the drive signal, and the carriage 40 reciprocates in the left-right direction 9. Further, when a control signal is output from the CPU 141 to the recording head 39, ink droplets corresponding to the control signal are ejected from the recording head 39. That is, the control unit 130 controls the operation of the recording unit 24.

  The ASIC 145 is connected to the display panel 88, the touch panel 90, and the communication unit 148. The ASIC 145 controls display on the display panel 88, acquires an instruction from the user acquired by the touch panel 90, and communicates with an external device through a communication unit. The ASIC 145 is connected to the optical sensors 153 and 157. High level or low level signals are output from the optical sensors 153 and 157 to the ASIC 145. Further, the ASIC 145 includes a counter circuit that counts time. Note that the time counting may be realized by software instead of the counter circuit.

[Image recording processing]
Next, the image recording process executed by the multifunction machine 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The image recording process shown in FIG. 15 is started in response to, for example, the MFP 10 obtaining a recording instruction. The recording instruction includes, for example, image data indicating an image to be recorded on the recording paper S supported by the bypass tray 71 and the type of recording paper S on which the image is recorded (for example, plain paper, inkjet recording paper, glossy paper). Etc.). The method for acquiring the recording instruction is not particularly limited. For example, the recording instruction may be acquired from the user through the touch panel 90 (an example of the receiving unit of the present invention) or externally through the communication unit 148 (another example of the receiving unit of the present invention). You may receive from an apparatus.

  The control unit 130 controls the motor 78 (that is, reverses the motor 78) so that the rotating member 30 is moved to the first position when the image recording process is completed. This is because, as described above, the feeding roller 75 is moved to the recording sheet until a recording instruction for the next image recording process is acquired so that the foreign matter such as oil from the feeding roller 75 is not transferred to the recording sheet S. This is to keep it away from S. Further, the control unit 130 controls the motor 78 so as to move the rotating member 30 to the first position at predetermined time intervals within a period in which the image recording process is not executed. This is in consideration of the environment where the multifunction machine 10 is placed. Specifically, the rotation member 30 moves unintentionally from the first position to the second position due to movement of the multifunction device 10 from the current mounting position or vibration applied to the multifunction device 10. This is in consideration of the possibility of doing so.

  As described above, the motor 78 is controlled by the control unit 130, so that the feeding roller 75 and the recording paper S can be prevented from coming into contact with each other for a long time. As a result, foreign matter such as oil from the feed roller 75 is not transferred to the recording paper S. However, depending on the environment in which the multifunction device 10 is placed (for example, the environment in which the multifunction device 10 is frequently moved or vibrated), the rotation is performed when the multifunction device 10 acquires a recording instruction. The member 30 is not necessarily arranged at the first position.

  Therefore, the control unit 130 reverses the motor 78 in response to the paper type information included in the recording instruction being glossy paper or ink jet recording dedicated paper (S11: Yes) (S12). For example, the rotation amount of the motor 78 in step S11 may be equal to or greater than the rotation amount necessary for the rotation member 30 at the second position to rotate until reaching the first position. This is because, regardless of the position of the rotating member 30 before the control unit 130 reversely rotates the motor 78, the rotating member 30 is always disposed at the first position. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 12A, the rotating member 30 always reaches the first position, and the feeding roller 75 is separated from the recording paper S. Further, the moving member 64 reaches the protruding position.

  Next, the control unit 130 causes the motor 78 to rotate forward by the first rotation amount (S13). The first rotation amount may be equal to or greater than the rotation amount necessary for the feeding roller 75 at the position shown in FIG. In other words, the first rotation amount may be equal to or more than the rotation amount necessary for the rotation member 30 at the first position to be separated from the recording paper S. Accordingly, the feeding roller 75 rotated in the direction of the arrow 125 in FIG. Further, by providing play by the key 73 and the key groove 74, the moving member 64 reaches the retracted position before the feeding roller 75 contacts the recording paper S. On the other hand, the rotating member 30 rotated in the direction toward the second position in step S13 does not necessarily need to reach the second position as shown in FIG. As long as it is separated from the recording paper S as shown in FIG.

  Next, the control unit 130 reversely rotates the motor 78 by the second rotation amount (S14). The second rotation amount may be less than the rotation amount necessary for the rotation member 30 separated from the recording paper S in step S13 to contact the recording paper S. That is, the first rotation amount is larger than the second rotation amount. Thereby, the rotating member 30 rotated in the direction toward the first position rotates, for example, from the position of FIG. 12C to the first position side and is separated from the recording paper S. . On the other hand, the feeding roller 75 in step S14 rotates in the direction of the arrow 126 in FIG.

  Next, the control unit 130 causes the motor 78 to rotate forward until the recording sheet S supported by the bypass tray 71 reaches the first conveying roller pair 59 (S15). For example, in step S <b> 15, the control unit 130 rotates the motor 78 in a normal direction until a registration sensor (not shown) provided in the conveyance path 65 upstream of the first conveyance roller pair 59 in the conveyance direction 17 detects the recording sheet S. After the registration sensor detects the recording sheet S, the motor 78 is further rotated forward by a predetermined rotation amount. As a result, the recording sheet S supported by the bypass tray 71 passes through the bypass path 182 and the transport path 65 and reaches the nipping position of the first transport roller pair 59.

  Next, the control unit 130 executes a recording process (S16). In the recording process, the motor 78, the recording head 39, and the carriage driving motor 146 are controlled to record an image based on the image information included in the recording instruction on the recording paper S fed by the feeding device 70. It is processing. For example, in step S <b> 16, the control unit 130 conveys the recording paper S by a predetermined line feed width in the conveyance direction 17 to the first conveyance roller pair 59 and the second conveyance roller pair 180, and the carriage 40 in the left-right direction 9. In the process of moving, an ejection process for ejecting ink to the recording head 39 is executed alternately. Then, the control unit 130 controls the motor 78 to cause the second conveyance roller pair 180 to convey the recording sheet S until the recording sheet S on which an image is recorded is discharged to the discharge tray 21.

  Next, in response to the fact that the image to be recorded on the next recording sheet S is included in the image data (S17: Yes), the control unit 130 executes the processing subsequent to step S12 again. Then, the control unit 130 ends the image recording process in response to recording all the images included in the image data on the recording paper S (S17: No). That is, the control unit 130 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S12 to S17 for the number of images included in the image data.

  On the other hand, in response to the fact that the paper type information included in the recording instruction is plain paper (S11: No), the control unit 130 reverses the motor 78 as in step S12 (S18). Next, the control unit 130 causes the motor 78 to rotate forward in the same manner as in step S15 until the recording sheet S supported by the bypass tray 71 reaches the first conveying roller pair 59 (S19). Next, the control part 130 performs a recording process similarly to step S16 (S20). Next, in response to the fact that the image to be recorded on the next recording sheet S is included in the image data (S21: Yes), the control unit 130 executes the processes after step S19 again. Then, the control unit 130 ends the image recording process in response to recording all the images included in the image data on the recording paper S (S21: No). That is, the control unit 130 repeatedly executes the processes in steps S19 to S21 for the number of images included in the image data.

  As described above, the processing contents of steps S18 to S21 are the same as those of steps S12 and S15 to S17 described above. However, step S19 is executed in a state where the feeding roller 75 is separated from the recording paper S, whereas step S15 is executed in a state where the feeding roller 75 is in contact with the recording paper S. Therefore, the forward rotation amount of the motor 78 in step S19 is larger than the forward rotation amount of the motor 78 in step S15 by the forward rotation amount necessary to bring the feeding roller 75 into contact with the recording paper S.

[Operational effects of this embodiment]
The rotation member 30 in the above embodiment is in the first position after the end of step S12, and after being rotated in the direction from the first position to the second position in step S13, the rotation member 30 is moved to the first position in step S14. It is turned again in the direction. Further, the feeding roller 75 contacts the recording sheet S while rotating in the direction of the arrow 125 of FIG. 7 in step S13, and in the direction of arrow 126 of FIG. 7 in the state of contacting the recording sheet S in step S14. Rotate.

  Here, in step S13, the feeding arm 76 is moved in the direction of the arrow 125 in FIG. 7 by the feeding roller 75 in contact with the recording paper S in step S13. A force for further rotation in the direction of 67 is applied. As a result, the feeding arm 76 bites into the recording paper S. Therefore, by rotating the feeding roller 76 in the direction of the arrow 126 in FIG. 7 in step S14, the biting of the feeding roller 75 with respect to the recording sheet S is alleviated, and the recording sheet S moved in the feeding direction 87 is supplied with the feeding roller 76. It is returned to the direction opposite to the sending direction. As a result, a plurality of recording sheets S stacked on the bypass tray 71 are difficult to be double fed.

  In particular, the moving member 64 in the present embodiment reaches the retracted position before the feeding roller 75 contacts the recording paper S in step S13. Therefore, the recording sheet S that is in contact with the feeding roller 75 rotated in the direction of the arrow 125 in FIG. 7 easily moves to 87 in the feeding direction. Therefore, by executing Step S14 between Steps S13 and S15, it is possible to effectively suppress the multiple feeding of the plurality of recording sheets S stacked on the bypass tray 71.

  Further, since the second rotation amount in step S14 is smaller than the first rotation amount in step S13, the state where the feeding roller 75 is in contact with the recording paper S can be maintained after the execution of step S14. As a result, the feeding roller 75 is prevented from biting into the recording paper S again when step S15 is executed.

  In addition, the double feeding of the recording paper S supported by the bypass tray 71 is performed, for example, when the recording paper S is glossy paper or ink jet recording dedicated paper (an example of the first sheet of the present invention). It is more likely to occur than an example of the second sheet of the invention. Therefore, as in the above-described embodiment, when the recording paper S supported by the bypass tray 71 is plain paper that is difficult to be double fed, skipping step S14 improves the throughput of the image recording processing. Note that the method for specifying the type of the recording paper S is not limited to the above example, and step S11 is performed using information previously set in the multifunction machine 10 by the user as the type of the recording paper S supported by the bypass tray 71. You may judge.

  Here, when the glossy paper or the ink jet recording dedicated paper is placed in a laminated state, the friction coefficient between the sheets, that is, the friction coefficient between the sheets is relatively large. On the other hand, when the plain paper is placed in a laminated state, the friction coefficient between papers is smaller than that of glossy paper or ink jet recording paper. Then, the amount of biting into the recording paper S by the feeding roller 75 that contacts the recording paper S while rotating tends to increase as the inter-sheet friction coefficient increases. For this reason, when the feeding roller 75 is rotated in this state, the recording sheet S under the recording sheet S with which the feeding roller 75 is in contact is also fed by the feeding roller 75, and double feeding is performed. Is likely to occur. On the other hand, in the case of plain paper with a relatively small coefficient of friction between papers, even if the feed roller 75 contacts the recording paper S while rotating, the amount of biting of the feed roller 75 with respect to the recording paper S is glossy paper or Less than paper for inkjet recording. Therefore, even if the feeding roller 75 is rotated in this state, the possibility that the feeding roller 75 feeds the recording sheet S below the recording sheet S with which the feeding roller 75 is in contact is low. Is unlikely to occur.

  The path from the bypass tray 71 to the position facing the recording head 39 is a path (so-called straight path) in which the recording paper S is conveyed without being inverted. In the recording sheet S conveyed through the straight path, the recording surface on which image recording is performed by the recording head 39 and the contact surface on which the feeding roller 75 contacts are the same surface. For this reason, the recording surface of the recording sheet S conveyed through the straight path is easily damaged by the biting of the feeding roller 75.

  In general, when a user records an image using glossy paper or ink jet recording paper, the recording is often focused on image quality. For this reason, the occurrence of scratches on the recording surface of the recording paper S causes a reduction in the image quality of the completed image. For this reason, it is desired to cancel the biting for each recording sheet S. That is, in the image recording process shown in FIG. 15, it is desirable to execute steps S12 to S14 for each recording sheet S. On the other hand, when a user records an image using plain paper, generally, the recording is mainly text and test printing. For this reason, even if the recording surface of the recording paper S is damaged, it does not cause a big problem. Further, as described above, in the case of plain paper, since the amount of biting of the feeding roller 75 is not so large, it goes without saying that the recording surface of the recording paper S is hardly damaged. Therefore, it is only necessary to reset the rotating member 30 to the first position for only the first sheet of 1 JOB. That is, in the image recording process shown in FIG. 15, step S18 need only be executed once. Executing step S18 only once has the effect of shortening the image recording time of the entire 1 JOB.

  Note that the branching condition in step S11 is not limited to glossy paper, inkjet recording dedicated paper, or plain paper. That is, when the recording sheet S (that is, the first sheet) that is easy to be fed is supported by the bypass tray 71, the processing of steps S12 to S17 is executed, and the recording sheet S that is less likely to be fed more than the first sheet (that is, the recording sheet S) When the second sheet is supported by the bypass tray 71, the processes of steps S18 to S21 may be performed. Regardless of the type of recording paper S, steps S13 to S14 may always be executed.

  15 may be realized by the CPU 141 reading out and executing a program stored in the ROM 142, or may be realized by a hardware circuit mounted on the control unit 130.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the example of the ink jet printer unit 11 has been described as an example of the image recording apparatus. However, a specific example of the image recording apparatus is not limited to this, and may be an electrophotographic system or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Multifunction machine 11 ... Printer part 24 ... Recording part 30 ... Turning member 32 ... Torque limiter 71 ... Bypass tray 75 ... Feeding roller 76 ... Feeding Arm 78 ... Motor 79 ... Drive transmission mechanism 107 ... First restriction part 108 ... Second restriction part 130 ... Control part

Claims (3)

A support for supporting the sheet;
A feeding roller for feeding the sheet supported by the support part;
An arm that rotatably supports the feeding roller at one end and is rotatable about the other end as a rotation axis;
A recording unit for recording an image on a sheet fed by the feeding roller;
A forward and reverse drive source;
A drive transmission unit that transmits the rotational driving force of the drive source to the feeding roller;
A rotating member that is connected to the feeding roller or the arm and that is rotated by a rotational driving force applied from the drive transmission unit;
A first restricting portion that is in contact with the turning member and restricts the turning of the turning member at a first position protruding to the support portion side from the feeding roller;
A second restricting portion that is in contact with the turning member and restricts the turning of the turning member at a second position retracted from the feeding roller with respect to the support portion;
A control unit for controlling the operation of the drive source and the recording unit,
The feed roller rotates in a rotation direction for feeding a sheet when a normal rotation drive force is applied from the drive source, and rotates in a rotation direction when a reverse rotation drive force is applied from the drive source. Rotate in the opposite direction,
The rotating member rotates in a direction from the first position toward the second position when a normal rotational driving force is applied from the driving source, and a reverse rotational driving force is applied from the driving source. Then, it rotates in the direction from the second position toward the first position,
The control unit rotates the drive source in the direction toward the second position by rotating the drive source forward before driving the feed roller to feed the sheet supported by the support unit. After the feed roller is brought into contact with the sheet by moving, a pre-feed operation is performed in which the drive source is reversed to rotate the feed roller in the direction opposite to the rotation direction ,
In the pre-feeding operation, the first rotation amount by which the control unit rotates the drive source in the forward direction in order to rotate the rotating member at the first position in the direction toward the second position is applied to the sheet. An image recording apparatus having more than a second rotation amount by which the control unit reversely rotates the drive source in order to rotate the feeding roller in contact with the feed roller in a direction opposite to the rotation direction . The control unit further includes a receiving unit that receives an input indicating whether the sheet supported by the support unit is a first sheet or a second sheet having a smaller inter-sheet friction coefficient than the first sheet. Has
The control unit causes the receiving unit to perform the pre-feeding operation in response to receiving an input to the effect that the first sheet is supported by the support unit, and the receiving unit causes the support unit to perform the above operation. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pre-feeding operation is not executed in response to receiving an input indicating that the second sheet is supported. The controller may, before executing the feed before operation, an image recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 by reversing the drive source for rotating the rotating member to the first position described above.

Images