JP7243383B2 - sheet feeder - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device.

A plurality of sheets are stacked on the supporting portion of the sheet feeding device. The sheet on the support portion is fed by the feeding roller and guided to the conveying path by the guide surface of the guide portion (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100001). The guide section has a separating function for separating sheets when a plurality of sheets are multi-fed.

JP 2015-74533 A

In a so-called U-turn conveying path in which the conveying path continuous with the supporting portion extends upward and curves in the direction opposite to the feeding direction by the feeding roller, the sheet curves along the conveying path. The downstream side of the sheet curved along the conveying path while being sent out by the feeding roller comes into sliding contact with the guide surface located outside the curve of the conveying path.

If the number of sheets that can be stacked on the supporting portion is set relatively large, the topmost position of the plurality of stacked sheets will be high. Along with this, it is necessary to raise the upper end of the guide surface. Moreover, it is desirable that the guide surface is inclined at a constant angle in order to stably guide the upstream end of the sheet to the conveying path. That is, it is preferably substantially flat. When the upper end of the guide surface is raised, the portion of the sheet on the downstream side that is curved along the conveying path becomes a planar shape that is not curved along the guide surface, and the boundary between the support surface of the support portion and the guide surface is formed. to bend. The non-curved portion of the sheet tends to bend in the conveying direction. For example, when resistance occurs in the sheet in the conveying path, the uncurved portion tends to bend and cause a jam.

For example, by arranging the guide surface in two stages, upper and lower, it is possible to make the inclination angle of the guide surface constant and to reduce the portion along the guide surface on the downstream side of the curved sheet. However, when the curved sheet comes into sliding contact with the corners of the upper and lower guide surfaces, there is a risk that the sheet will be jammed due to resistance to sheet conveyance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeder capable of reducing the frictional resistance generated between the curved outer surface of the sheet and the corner formed in the guide section. The object is to provide a transmission device.

A sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention includes a tray having a supporting surface for supporting a plurality of stacked sheets, and a feeding roller for feeding the sheets supported by the supporting surface in a first direction intersecting the vertical direction. a conveying path extending upward from the support surface and extending in a second direction opposite to the first direction; and a guide section for guiding the sheet fed in the first direction upward toward the conveying path. and a conveying roller for conveying the sheet fed by the feeding roller in the second direction on the conveying path. The guide portion extends so as to intersect with the support surface, and includes a first inclined surface whose upper end is positioned in the first direction relative to the lower end, and a guide portion which extends upwardly and in the first direction with respect to the first inclined surface. a second inclined surface extending to intersect with the support surface and having an upper end positioned in the first direction from the lower end; and a lower end of the second inclined surface from the upper end of the first inclined surface. and a rotating body that rotates about an axis parallel to the axis of the feeding roller. , intersects the first imaginary plane connecting the corners of the first inclined surface and the stepped surface.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sheet feeding device capable of reducing the frictional resistance generated between the curved outer surface of the sheet and the corner formed in the guide section.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the multifunction device 10. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the printer section 11. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the feeding tray 20 and the guide section 17 viewed from above. 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams showing the detailed configuration of the guide portion 17. FIG. 4A is an enlarged top view showing the guide portion 17, and FIG. 2C is a view of the cross section of the guide portion 17 taken along the line II shown in FIG. 2 and viewed from above. 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams showing the posture of the sheet 12 conveyed from the support surface 74A to the conveying path 65, where (A) shows the posture of the sheet 12 below the rotor 17J, and (B) The posture of the seat 12 above the upper end of the rotating body 17J is shown. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the posture of the sheet 12 conveyed by the feeding roller 25 and the conveying roller section 54. As shown in FIG. 7A and 7B are schematic diagrams showing modifications of the arrangement of the rotating body 17J. FIG. 7A shows a modification in which the peripheral surface of the rotating body 17J according to the first modification intersects the virtual plane 97, ) shows a modification in which the circumferential surface of the rotating body 17J according to the second modification intersects the virtual plane 98. FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the guide portion 17 according to the third modification. 9A and 9B are schematic diagrams showing the configuration of the printer section 11 according to the fourth modification, where (A) shows the sub-tray 22 at position P51 and (B) shows the sub-tray 22 at position P52. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a modified configuration of the sub-tray 22 according to the fourth modified example.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. It should be noted that the embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the embodiment of the present invention can be changed as appropriate without changing the gist of the present invention. In the following description, the vertical direction 7 is defined with reference to the state in which the multifunction device 10 is installed for use (the state shown in FIG. 1), and the front-rear direction 8 is defined with the front surface 14A having the opening 13 as the front surface 14A. A left-right direction 9 is defined when the MFP 10 is viewed from the front. The up-down direction 7, the front-rear direction 8, and the left-right direction 9 are orthogonal to each other.

[Overall Configuration of MFP 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The multifunction device 10 includes a printer section 11 and records an image on a sheet 12 (see FIG. 2). The sheet 12 is paper, an OHP film, or the like. In addition to the print function, the multi-function device 10 may have a facsimile function, a scan function, and the like.

[Printer unit 11]
As shown in FIG. 1, the printer section 11 is an example of a sheet feeding device and has a housing 14 . An opening 13 is formed in the front surface 14A of the housing 14 . The opening 13 is positioned approximately at the center of each of the vertical direction 7 and the horizontal direction 9 on the front surface 14A.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit 11 includes a feed tray 20, a discharge tray 21, a feed unit 15, a transport path 65, a guide unit 17, and a transport roller unit inside the housing 14 (see FIG. 1). 54 , a recording unit 24 , a discharge roller unit 55 and a platen 42 .

[Feed tray 20]
The feed tray 20 can be inserted into and removed from the housing 14 (see FIG. 1) through the opening 13 . When inserted, the feed tray 20 is moved rearward in the front-rear direction 8 through the opening 13 and mounted at a predetermined mounting position P1. On the other hand, the feeding tray 20 is moved forward in the front-rear direction 8 from the mounting position P1 when it is removed. The mounting position P1 is the rear end position of the feeding tray 20 when the feeding tray 20 is mounted, and is predetermined within the housing 14 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , the feed tray 20 has a bottom plate 74 . The bottom plate 74 has a support surface 74A facing upward. The support surface 74A extends in the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9, as shown in FIG. The support surface 74A supports the stacked sheets 12 . The sheet 12 is, for example, plain paper. Also, the upper limit of the number of sheets 12 that can be supported by the support surface 74A (that is, the maximum number of sheets that can be stacked) can be made relatively large.

As shown in FIG. 3, the feed tray 20 has a pair of side guides 92. As shown in FIG. A pair of side guides 92 are supported by the bottom plate 74 so as to be movable in the left-right direction 9 . The pair of re-guides 92 are opposed to each other in the left-right direction 9 . When one of the pair of side guides 92 moves rightward or leftward, the other moves in conjunction with it to move rightward or leftward. The pair of side guides 92 abut against both ends of the seat 12 on the support surface 74A in the left-right direction 9. As shown in FIG. Thereby, the pair of side guides 92 positions the seat 12 on the support surface 74A so that the center of the seat 12 in the left-right direction 9 is along the reference surface 93 on the support surface 74A. The reference plane 93 is an imaginary plane extending forward from the central plane of the transport path 65 in the left-right direction 9 .

The support surface 74A includes a pad (not shown) having a higher friction coefficient than the support surface 74A. The pad prevents multiple feeding of the sheets 12 when the number of the sheets 12 on the support surface 74A is about several.

[Discharge tray 21]
As shown in FIG. 1 , the discharge tray 21 is positioned above the feed tray 20 within the housing 14 . The discharge tray 21 is exposed to the outside of the multifunction device 10 through the opening 13 . The discharge tray 21 supports the sheet 12 discharged by the discharge roller portion 55 (see FIG. 2).

[Feeding unit 15]
As shown in FIG. 2, the feeding section 15 includes a feeding roller 25, a shaft 26, and an arm 27. As shown in FIG. When there is no sheet 12 on the support surface 74A, the peripheral surface of the feed roller 25 contacts the contact position P2 on the support surface 74A from above. The shaft 26 is positioned above and diagonally forward of the contact position P2 in the housing 14 (see FIG. 1). A front end of the arm 27 is supported by the shaft 26 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis 26A of the shaft 26 . The rotating shaft 26A is parallel to the left-right direction 9. As shown in FIG. The rear end of the arm 27 supports the feeding roller 25 so that the feeding roller 25 can rotate around a rotating shaft 25A parallel to the rotating shaft 26A. That is, the arm 27 supports the feeding roller 25 so as to be rotatable around the rotation shaft 25A. Also, the arm 27 rotates around a rotation axis 26A parallel to the rotation axis 25A. Arm 27 extends from rotation axis 26A of shaft 26 toward guide portion 17 .

In the feeding portion 15, the feeding roller 25 contacts the uppermost sheet 12 on the support surface 74A. The feeding roller 25 is rotated by a driving force transmitted by a driving force transmission section (not shown) including a motor, gears, and the like. As a result, the feeding roller 25 feeds the uppermost sheet 12 in the first direction 8A. The first direction 8A is a direction that intersects with the up-down direction 7, and is backward in the front-rear direction 8, for example.

[Conveyance path 65]
The transport paths 65 are symmetrical with respect to the reference plane 93 (see FIG. 3) in the left-right direction 9 . The conveying path 65 guides the sheet 12 . Specifically, the transport path 65 includes a curved portion 33 and a straight portion 34 .

The curved portion 33 is defined by the outer guide portion 18 and the inner guide portion 19 . The lower ends of the outer guide portion 18 and the inner guide portion 19 are positioned rearward of the mounting position P1 in the front-rear direction 8 . The lower ends of the outer guide portion 18 and the inner guide portion 19 are located above the guide portion 17 in the vertical direction 7 . In particular, the lower end of the outer guide portion 18 is positioned substantially directly above the upper end of the guide portion 17 .

The outer guide portion 18 has an outer guide surface 18A. The outer guide surface 18A extends upward from a position substantially directly above the upper end of the second inclined surface 17B of the guide portion 17 in plan view from the left-right direction 9 so as to curve in the second direction 8B. . The second orientation 8B is opposite to the first orientation 8A.

The inner guide portion 19 has an inner guide surface 19A. The inner guide surface 19A extends upward from a position spaced forward from the upper end of the second inclined surface 17B in plan view in the left-right direction 9 so as to curve in the second direction 8B. The upwardly extending portion of the inner guide surface 19A faces the outer guide surface 18A in front of the outer guide surface 18A. The inner guide surface 19A faces the outer guide surface 18A below the outer guide surface 18A in the portion extending in the second direction 8B.

The linear portion 34 is partitioned by the conveying roller portion 54 , the recording portion 24 , the platen 42 and the discharge roller portion 55 . The straight portion 34 is continuous with the downstream end of the curved portion 33 . The linear portion 34 extends substantially linearly to the discharge roller portion 55 in the second direction 8B.

[Guide part 17]
The guide portion 17 extends toward the lower end of the outer guide portion 18 from a position inside the housing 14 that is farther rearward than the mounting position P1 in the front-rear direction 8 . As shown in FIG. 3, the guide portion 17 has approximately the same dimensions as the support surface 74A in the left-right direction 9. As shown in FIG.

As shown in the frame A of FIG. 2, the guide portion 17 has a first inclined surface 17A, a second inclined surface 17B, and a stepped surface 17C. In addition, the left side view of the guide part 17 is shown by the frame A of FIG.

The outer shape of the first inclined surface 17A, the second inclined surface 17B and the stepped surface 17C is rectangular (see FIG. 3). The first slanted surface 17A and the second slanted surface 17B face obliquely forward and upward, and spread to intersect the support surface 74A (see FIG. 2). The first inclined surface 17A and the second inclined surface 17B are parallel to each other.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the lower end of the first inclined surface 17A is located at a position P31 rearwardly away from the mounting position P1 in the front-rear direction 8 and at a position below the support surface 74A in the vertical direction 7 . The upper end of the first inclined surface 17A is positioned in the first direction 8A from the lower end of the first inclined surface 17A, more specifically, in the front-rear direction 8, at a position P32 that is farther rearward than the position P31. The upper end of the first inclined surface 17A is located at a distance Dz1 from the support surface 74A in the vertical direction 7. As shown in FIG.

The second inclined surface 17B is located above the first inclined surface 17A and away in the first direction 8A. The lower end of the second inclined surface 17B is located at a position P33 which is further rearward than the position P32 in the front-rear direction 8. As shown in FIG. The lower end of the second inclined surface 17B is at the same position in the vertical direction 7 as the upper end of the first inclined surface 17A.

The upper end of the second inclined surface 17B is located at a position P34 which is further rearward than the position P33 in the front-rear direction 8. As shown in FIG. The upper end of the second inclined surface 17B is positioned substantially directly below the lower end of the outer guide surface 18A. The upper end of the second inclined surface 17B is located at a distance Dz2 from the upper end of the first inclined surface 17A in the vertical direction 7 . The distance Dz2 is longer than the distance Dz1. The distance in the vertical direction 7 from the support surface 74A to the upper end of the second inclined surface 17B is determined based on the maximum number of stackable sheets.

The coefficient of friction of the second inclined surface 17B is the same as the coefficient of friction of the first inclined surface 17A.

As shown in FIG. 3, a first separation piece 171A and a second separation piece 171B are arranged in the central portions of the first inclined surface 17A and the second inclined surface 17B in the horizontal direction 9, respectively. The shape of the first separation piece 171A is symmetrical in the left-right direction 9 with respect to the reference plane 93 .

The first separation piece 171A is a metal plate with a plurality of pins arranged along the creeping direction 5 (see FIG. 3). The creeping direction 5 is the direction from the lower end to the upper end of the first inclined surface 17A. The plurality of pins protrude slightly from the first inclined surface 17A in the normal direction 6 (see FIG. 2) of the first inclined surface 17A. Note that the first separation piece 171A may be a resin member instead of the metal plate. In the resin member, a plurality of irregularities are arranged along the creepage direction 5 . The unevenness protrudes slightly in the normal direction 6 from the first inclined surface 17A. The first separation piece 171A separates the plurality of sheets 12 fed out from the support surface 74A in an overlapping state.

The second separation piece 171B has the same or similar configuration as the first separation piece 171A except that it is positioned on the second inclined surface 17B. Therefore, detailed description of the second separation piece 171B is omitted.

The stepped surface 17C is a flat surface that extends from the upper end of the first inclined surface 17A to the lower end of the second inclined surface 17B and extends in the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9 (see FIG. 3).

In FIG. 2, a virtual plane 95 is a virtual plane obtained by extending the first inclined surface 17A toward the transport path 65 along the first inclined surface 17A.

The guide portion 17 has opposite surfaces 17D, 17E and 17F. The opposite surfaces 17D and 17E are surfaces facing in the front-back direction 8 of the first inclined surface 17A and the second inclined surface 17B. The opposite surface 17F is located below the step surface 17C and faces downward. The distance between the first inclined surface 17A and the opposite surface 17D, the distance between the second inclined surface 17B and the opposite surface 17E, and the distance between the stepped surface 17C and the opposite surface 17F are determined from the diameter of the rotor 17J, which will be described later. is also small enough.

As shown in FIG. 3, the guide portion 17 has four through holes 17G arranged in the left-right direction 9 at intervals. The left end through hole 17G and the right end through hole 17G have shapes symmetrical to each other with respect to the reference plane 93 . The remaining two through holes 17G are positioned near the reference plane 93 between the left end and right end through holes 17G and have shapes symmetrical with respect to the reference plane 93. As shown in FIG. Therefore, below, one through-hole 17G will be described in detail.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, in the guide portion 17, each through hole 17G is formed from near the rear end of the step surface 17C to near the upper end of the first inclined surface 17A. 4A and 4B, illustration of the rotor 17J is omitted.

Each through hole 17G has a rectangular shape when viewed from above (hereinafter referred to as top view) (see FIG. 4A). The rear end of the through hole 17G is positioned slightly forward from the rear end of the step surface 17C. The lower end of the through-hole 17G is located at a distance slightly shorter than the diameter of the rotor 17J from the upper end of the first inclined surface 17A. The positions of the left and right ends of the through hole 17G are appropriately determined based on the size of the rotating body 17J. The through hole 17G penetrates from the first inclined surface 17A to the opposite surface 17D, and penetrates from the stepped surface 17C to the opposite surface 17F (see FIG. 4B).

Here, FIG. 4C is a view of the cross section of the guide portion 17 taken along the line II shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from above. A line II is a line parallel to the front-rear direction 8 and passing through the rotation axis of the rotor 17J. As shown in FIG. 4C, the guide portion 17 has two pairs of bearings 17H and rotating bodies 17J for each through hole 17G. That is, the guide portion 17 is provided with four combinations of bearings 17H and rotating bodies 17J. Each pair of bearing 17H and rotor 17J has the same or similar configuration. Therefore, a set of the bearing 17H and the rotor 17J will be described in detail below.

A pair of two bearings 17H are located on opposite surfaces 17D facing each other across the through hole 17G. Each bearing 17H extends rearward from the opposite surface 17D. The rotating body 17J has a columnar shape centered on a rotating shaft extending in the left-right direction 9 (see FIGS. 2 and 4C). The two bearings 17H support the rotating body 17J so as to rotate around the rotation axis of the rotating body 17J. That is, the rotating body 17J is rotatable around an axis parallel to the axis of the feeding roller 25. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the rotor 17J protrudes forward (that is, toward the feed tray 20) from the first inclined surface 17A. The rotating body 17J also protrudes upward from the step surface 17C. The circumferential surface of the rotating body 17J intersects a virtual plane 94 (an example of a first virtual plane) connecting the corner 17K and the position P41 (an example of the first position). The corner portion 17K is a portion where the first inclined surface 17A and the stepped surface 17C intersect. More preferably, the contour line of the rotating body 17J includes the corner 17K in plan view from the direction of the axis of the rotating body 17J (that is, the left-right direction 9).

A position P41 is a position in the front-rear direction 8 at which the sheet 12 abuts on the feeding roller 25 . More specifically, the position P41 is the position in the front-rear direction 8 where the sheet 12 stacked below the rotating body 17J on the support surface 74A (hereinafter referred to as the lower sheet) contacts the feeding roller 25. As shown in FIG. More specifically, the position P41 is a position in the front-rear direction 8 at which the feeding roller 25 contacts the lower sheet 12 when the leading edge of the lower sheet 12 is conveyed to a position closer to the conveying path 65 than the rotating body 17J. be.

[Conveyance Roller Section 54, Discharge Roller Section 55]
As shown in FIG. 2, the conveying roller unit 54 conveys the sheet 12 sent out by the feeding roller 25 in the conveying path 65 in the second direction 8B. Specifically, the conveying roller portion 54 is positioned at the upstream end of the linear portion 34 . The conveying roller section 54 includes a conveying roller 60 and a pinch roller 61 facing each other in the vertical direction 7 . The conveying roller 60 rotates, and the pinch roller 61 rotates with the rotation of the conveying roller 60 . The conveying rollers 60 and the pinch rollers 61 pinch the sheet 12 conveyed through the curved portion 33 and send it out in the second direction 8B (that is, the straight portion 34).

No roller pair is arranged upstream of the conveying roller portion 54 in the curved portion 33 . That is, in the printer section 11 , the sheet 12 is conveyed from the support surface 74</b>A to the conveying roller section 54 only by the conveying force applied to the sheet 12 by the feeding section 15 .

The discharge roller portion 55 is positioned at the downstream end of the straight portion 34 . The discharge roller portion 55 includes a discharge roller 62 and a spur 63 facing each other in the vertical direction 7 . The discharge roller 62 rotates, and the spur 63 rotates with the rotation of the discharge roller 62 . The discharge roller portion 55 nips the sheet 12 conveyed along the linear portion 34 and discharges it to the discharge tray 21 by rotating.

[Recording unit 24]
The recording section 24 is arranged above the linear section 34 . The platen 42 faces the recording section 24 below the linear section 34 . The platen 42 supports the sheet 12 conveyed through the straight section 34 . The recording unit 24 records an image on the sheet 12 supported on the platen 42 by an inkjet method.

[Conveyance of Sheet 12]
As shown in FIG. 5B, the sheets 12 are stacked on the support surface 74A to a position above the upper end of the rotating body 17J. Hereinafter, the uppermost sheet 12 on the support surface 74A will be referred to as the sheet 12 to be printed. The feeding roller 25 rotates in contact with the sheet 12 to be recorded, thereby sequentially feeding the sheet 12 to be recorded in the first direction 8A from the support surface 74A. After that, the leading edge of the sheet 12 to be recorded reaches the second inclined surface 17B of the guide portion 17 . The leading edge of the sheet 12 to be recorded is guided toward the upstream end of the conveying path 65 while being in sliding contact with and supported by the second inclined surface 17B. At this time, the sheet 12 to be recorded is separated from the sheets 12 below the sheet 12 to be recorded by the second separation piece 171B arranged on the second inclined surface 17B. After that, the sheet 12 to be printed is sent to the upstream end of the conveying path 65 and conveyed within the conveying path 65 . After reaching the conveying roller portion 54, the sheet 12 to be recorded is conveyed in the first direction 8A by the feeding roller 25 from the support surface 74A and then conveyed in the second direction 8B by the conveying roller portion . An image is recorded on the sheet 12 to be recorded while the sheet 12 to be recorded passes below the recording section 24 (see FIG. 2) in the straight portion 34 of the conveying path 65 . The image-recorded sheet 12 is discharged to the discharge tray 21 .

When the number of sheets 12 on the support surface 74A decreases due to image recording, the position of the sheets 12 to be recorded in the vertical direction 7 is below the lower end of the rotating body 17J, as shown in FIG. 5A. become. In this case, when the sheet 12 to be recorded is sent out from the support surface 74A, the leading edge of the sheet 12 to be recorded reaches the first inclined surface 17A of the guide portion 17 . After that, the leading edge of the sheet 12 to be recorded is guided toward the upstream end of the conveying path 65 while sliding on and being supported by the first inclined surface 17A. At this time, the sheet 12 to be printed is separated by the first separation piece 171A arranged on the first inclined surface 17A. After that, the leading edge of the sheet 12 to be recorded comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the rotating body 17J. After that, the peripheral surface of the rotating body 17J contacts the curved outer surface of the recording target sheet 12 and rotates relatively on the curved outer surface. Further, the sheet 12 to be recorded is conveyed toward the upstream end of the conveying path 65 through the peripheral surface of the rotating body 17J. At this time, the imaginary plane 94 intersects with the circumferential surface of the rotating body 17J, so that the sheet 12 to be recorded is prevented from coming into contact with the corner 17K. Therefore, the curved outer surface of the sheet 12 to be recorded has a rolling resistance against the rotating body 17J, but a frictional force against the corner 17K is less likely to occur. That is, the resistance against the conveying force applied to the sheet 12 to be printed by the feeding roller 25 is suppressed.

After passing through the rotating body 17J, the leading edge of the sheet 12 to be recorded contacts the second inclined surface 17B behind the virtual plane 95 and is guided on the second inclined surface 17B while being supported by the second inclined surface 17B. be. After that, the leading edge of the sheet 12 to be printed is introduced to the upstream end of the conveying path 65 . In this way, the leading edge position of the sheet 12 to be recorded is not restricted by the first inclined surface 17A after passing through the rotor 17J. Therefore, the distance that the sheet 12 to be printed is conveyed in a straight posture along the first inclined surface 17A is shortened. As a result, when the sheet 12 to be printed is thin paper with low stiffness, the occurrence of a jam on the guide portion 17 is suppressed. In addition, when the sheet 12 to be recorded is glossy paper with a high coefficient of friction, it becomes difficult to stick to the first inclined surface 17A. Further, since the distance Dz1 is shorter than the distance Dz2, a space having a large size in the vertical direction 7 is secured behind the virtual plane 95 . Therefore, the sheet 12 to be recorded is stably curved from the feeding tray 20 to the conveying roller portion 54 while being greatly curved between the feeding tray 20 and the conveying roller portion 54 using the space behind the virtual plane 95 . transported to As described above, since the printer section 11 includes the guide section 17, even when the maximum number of sheets to be stacked on the feed tray 20 is relatively large, the sheets are stacked below the lower end of the rotating body 17J on the support surface 74A. The sheet 12 being held is stably conveyed.

The sheet 12 to be printed is transported within the transport path 65 after being sent to the upstream end of the transport path 65 . When the sheet 12 to be recorded reaches the conveying roller portion 54, it is sent out in the first direction 8A from the support surface 74A by the feeding roller 25 and in the second direction 8B by the conveying roller portion . Even during this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the curved outer surface of the recording target sheet 12 may come into contact with the rotating body 17J provided in the guide section 17 . In this case, the peripheral surface of the rotating body 17J abuts on the curved outer surface of the sheet 12 to be recorded, and rotates relatively on the curved outer surface, but the sheet 12 to be recorded contacts the corner 17K. is suppressed. Therefore, the curved outer surface of the sheet 12 to be recorded has a rolling resistance against the rotating body 17J, but a frictional force against the corner 17K is less likely to occur. That is, the resistance to the conveying force applied to the sheet 12 to be printed by the feeding roller 25 and the conveying roller unit 54 is suppressed.

[Functions and Effects of Printer Section 11 (Sheet Feeding Device)]
The printer section 11 having the guide section 17 provides the following functions and effects. That is, the sheet 12 sent out in the first direction 8A by the feeding roller 25 is guided by the guide portion 17, enters the transport path 65, and is transported by the transport roller portion 54 in the second direction 8B. The sheet 12 that is sent out to the feeding roller 25 and is also being conveyed by the conveying roller portion 54 curves along the conveying path 65 . The curved sheet 12 contacts the rotor 17J at the corner 17K between the first inclined surface 17A and the stepped surface 17C. As the rotating body 17J rotates as the sheet 12 is conveyed, frictional resistance in sliding contact between the curved outer surface of the sheet 12 to be recorded and the guide portion 17 is reduced.

Since the direction in which the first inclined surface 17A guides the sheet 12 and the direction in which the second inclined surface 17B guides the sheet 12 match, the guide portion 17 does not guide the sheet 12 from the feeding tray 20 to the conveying path 65. stabilizes.

Each of the first inclined surface 17A and the second inclined surface 17B has a side along the direction in which the seat 12 is guided. Since the side of the first inclined surface 17A is shorter than the side of the second inclined surface 17B, the sheet 12 can reach the rotator 17J from the feed tray 20 quickly. As a result, the sheet 12 can be stably guided from the feed tray 20 to the transport path 65 by the first inclined surface 17A.

The rotation of the arm 27 changes the position of the feeding roller 25 according to the position of the uppermost sheet 12 on the feeding tray 20 in the vertical direction 7 . When the position of the feeding roller 25 changes due to the rotation of the arm 27, the distance between the feeding roller 25 and the first inclined surface 17A and the distance between the feeding roller 25 and the second inclined surface 17B The difference between is relatively small. As a result, the guiding of the sheet 12 from the feeding tray 20 to the conveying path 65 by the guide portion 17 is stabilized.

The outline of the rotating body 17J includes the corner 17K in plan view from the left-right direction 9. As shown in FIG. This prevents the curved outer surface of the sheet 12 from coming into contact with the corner 17K.

[Modification]
Each modification of the above embodiment will be described below. In the description of the modification below, differences from the above embodiment will be described. In addition, in the following modified examples, the same reference numerals are given to the configurations corresponding to the above embodiments, and the explanations thereof are omitted or simplified.

[First modification]
In the above embodiment, the circumferential surface of the rotating body 17J intersects the virtual plane 94 (an example of the first virtual plane). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 7A, the peripheral surface of the rotor 17J is an imaginary plane 97 (fourth) connecting the upper end of the first inclined surface 17A and the upper end of the second inclined surface 17B. The rotor 17J may be supported by two bearings 17H so as to intersect with the virtual plane).

[Second modification]
Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the peripheral surface of the rotating body 17J intersects a virtual plane 98 (an example of a fifth virtual plane) connecting the contact position P2 and the upper end of the first inclined surface 17A. Thus, the rotor 17J may be supported by two bearings 17H.

[Third Modification]
In the above embodiment, the guide portion 17 has the first inclined surface 17A and the second inclined surface 17B. However, not limited to this, the guide portion 17 may further have a third inclined surface 17L and a stepped surface 17M as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 8, the upper end of the second inclined surface 17B is located away from the lower end of the outer guide surface 18A. When the guide portion 17 has the third inclined surface 17L, the relationship between the distances Dz1 and Dz2 is determined by the transport path of the sheet 12 from the rear end of the support surface 74A to the lower end of the transport path 65. FIG. That is, the distances Dz1 and Dz2 are determined so that the sheet 12 forms a convex shape toward the outside of the printer section 11 when the sheet 12 is transported from the rear end of the support surface 74A to the bottom end of the transport path 65.

The third inclined surface 17L has a rectangular shape like the first inclined surface 17A and the second inclined surface 17B. The third inclined surface 17L faces obliquely upward forward and extends to intersect the support surface 74A, and is parallel to the first inclined surface 17A and the second inclined surface 17B. The coefficient of friction of the third inclined surface 17L is the same as the coefficient of friction of the first inclined surface 17A. A third separating piece 171L similar to the first inclined surface 17A and the second inclined surface 17B is arranged on the third inclined surface 17L.

The third inclined surface 17L is located above the second inclined surface 17B in the first direction 8A. The lower end of the third inclined surface 17L is located at a position P34 rearwardly away from the position P33 in the front-rear direction 8 and at the same position as the upper end of the second inclined surface 17B in the vertical direction 7. In addition, the lower end of the third inclined surface 17L may be located at a different position in the vertical direction 7 from the upper end of the second inclined surface 17B.

The upper end of the third inclined surface 17L is located at a position P35 rearwardly away from the position P34 in the front-rear direction 8, and is located substantially directly below the lower end of the outer guide surface 18A. Also, the upper end of the third inclined surface 17L is located above a virtual plane 99 (an example of a second virtual plane) connecting the upper ends of the first inclined surface 17A and the upper ends of the second inclined surface 17B. Thereby, the sheet 12 is An outward convex shape is formed between the rear end of the support surface 74A and the lower end of the transport path 65 .

The stepped surface 17M is a flat surface that extends from the upper end of the second inclined surface 17B to the lower end of the third inclined surface 17L and spreads in the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9. As shown in FIG.

A through hole 17N similar to the through hole 17G is formed from near the rear end of the step surface 17M to near the upper end of the second inclined surface 17B. A rotating body 17P is arranged in the through hole 17N in the same manner as the rotating body 17J. The rotor 17P is rotatably supported by two bearings 17Q arranged on the opposite surface 17E of the second inclined surface 17B. The two bearings 17Q are arranged at positions facing each other with the through hole 17N interposed on the opposite surface 17E.

[Action and effect of the third modification]
According to the third modification, the sheet 12 conveyed along the conveying path 65 and curved along the conveying path 65 is supported by the third inclined surface 17L. Therefore, the maximum number of sheets that can be stacked on the feed tray 20 can be increased.

[Fourth Modification]
Next, a fourth modified example will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, the size in the vertical direction 7 is called height, the size in the front-back direction 8 is called length, and the size in the left-right direction 9 is called width.

In FIG. 9, the printer section 11 further includes a subtray 22 . The subtray 22 is positioned above the feed tray 20 and is connected to the feed tray 20 . By inserting/removing the feeding tray 20 into/from the housing 14 , the sub-tray 22 is inserted into/removing from the housing 14 together with the feeding tray 20 .

The sub-tray 22 has a generally rectangular tray-like shape when viewed from above. The height of the sub-tray 22 is lower than the height of the feed tray 20, as shown in FIG. The width of the sub-tray 22 is substantially the same as the width of the feed tray 20 (see FIG. 9). The length of the subtray 22 is slightly shorter than the length of the feed tray 20 . The subtray 22 has a bottom plate 75 . The bottom plate 75 has a support surface 75A. The support surface 75A is a surface that extends in the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9 when the feeding tray 20 is positioned at the mounting position P1 within the housing 14 . The support surface 75A supports the seat 12A. The sheet 12A is a cardboard or the like having a smaller size than the sheet 12 supported by the feed tray 20 .

The subtray 22 has a pair of side guides 76 . The pair of side guides 76 are the same as the pair of side guides 92 (see FIG. 3) arranged on the feed tray 20, except that the shape and movement range are different. have a configuration.

The sub-tray 22 is arranged on the feeding tray 20 so as to be movable between a position P51 (an example of a second position) and a position P52 (an example of a third position) when the feeding tray 20 is positioned at the mounting position P1. ing.

The position P51 is a position where the sheet 12A supported by the support surface 75A can be fed by the feeding roller 25 in the first direction 8A. Specifically, the position P51 is the rear end position of the support surface 75A. When the sub-tray 22 is at the position P51, the lower surface of the bottom plate 75 near the rear end is in contact with the upper end of the rotating body 17J and supported by the rotating body 17J. Thereby, the sub-tray 22 is positioned with respect to the step surface 17C (see FIG. 9A).

The position P52 is a position away from the position P51 in the second direction 8B. Specifically, the rear end of the bottom plate 75 is positioned away from the feeding roller 25 in the second direction 8B. When the sub-tray 22 is at the position P52, the feed roller 25 can feed the sheet 12 supported by the support surface 74A in the first direction 8A.

[Actions and effects of the fourth modification]
According to the fourth modification, the stepped surface 17C is also used when supporting the subtray 22 . Therefore, a configuration for supporting the sub-tray 22 at the position P51 can be easily implemented.

In addition, in the fourth modification, when the sub-tray 22 is at the position P51, the sub-tray 22 is supported in contact with the rotor 17J. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the sub-tray 22 may be in contact with the stepped surface 17C and supported by the stepped surface 17C when it is at the position P51. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, four recesses 75B are formed on the bottom plate 75 one by one. The four recesses 75B are located at positions corresponding to the four rotating bodies 17J. Each recess 75B is recessed forward from the rear end of the bottom plate 75 so as to avoid each rotating body 17J protruding upward from the stepped surface 17J when viewed from above.

[Other Modifications]
It should be noted that the printer section 11 does not have to include the rotor 17J.

In the embodiment, the feeding roller 25 is movable in the vertical direction 7 by rotating around the shaft 26 . However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the feeding roller 25 may be supported by the housing 14 so as not to move in the vertical direction 7 . In this case, the feed tray 20 is equipped with a lifting plate capable of supporting the sheet 12 . The elevating plate causes the uppermost sheet 12 to contact the feeding roller 25 by moving up and down.

In the embodiment, the lower end of the second inclined surface 17B is at the same position in the vertical direction 7 as the upper end of the first inclined surface 17A. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the lower end of the second inclined surface 17B may be located at a different position in the vertical direction 7 from the upper end of the first inclined surface 17A.

In an embodiment, distance Dz2 is a longer distance than distance Dz1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the distance Dz2 may be a distance equal to or less than the distance Dz1.

In the embodiment, the rotating body 17J also protrudes upward from the step surface 17C. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the rotating body 17J does not have to protrude upward from the stepped surface 17C.

In the embodiment, the recording unit 24 records images by an inkjet method. However, without being limited to this, the recording unit 24 may record an image on the sheet 12 by an electrophotographic method.

10 MFP 11 Printer Unit 15 Feeding Unit 17 Guide Unit 17A First Inclined Surface 17B Second Inclined Surface 17C Stepped Surface 17J Rotating Body 17K Corner 17L Third Inclined Surface 17M Stepped Surface 17P Rotating Body 20 Feeding Tray 22 Subtray 25 Feed roller 27 Arm 54 Conveyance roller portion 65 Conveyance path 74A Support surface 75 Bottom plate 75A Support surface

Claims (9)

a tray having a support surface for supporting a plurality of stacked sheets;
a feed roller for feeding the sheet supported by the support surface in a first direction intersecting the vertical direction;
a transport path extending upwardly from the support surface and extending in a second direction opposite to the first direction;
a guide unit that guides the sheet sent out in the first direction upward toward the conveying path;
a conveying roller that conveys the sheet fed by the feeding roller in the second direction on the conveying path,
The guide part is
a first inclined surface extending to intersect with the support surface and having an upper end located in the first direction relative to the lower end;
a second inclined surface located above the first inclined surface in the first direction, extending to intersect with the support surface, and having an upper end positioned in the first direction than a lower end;
a step surface extending from the upper end of the first inclined surface toward the lower end of the second inclined surface;
a rotating body that rotates around an axis parallel to the axis of the feeding roller;
The peripheral surface of the rotor intersects a first imaginary plane connecting a first position where the sheet abuts on the feeding roller and corners of the first inclined surface and the stepped surface. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface are parallel. 3. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the distance in the vertical direction from the lower end to the upper end of the first inclined surface is shorter than the distance in the vertical direction from the lower end to the upper end of the second inclined surface. an arm that rotatably supports the feed roller and is rotatable about an axis parallel to the rotation axis of the feed roller;
4. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the arm extends from the shaft toward the guide portion. A third inclined surface positioned above the second inclined surface in the first direction and extending to intersect with the support surface, the upper end of which is positioned in the first direction more than the lower end of the third inclined surface. has
5. The sheet feeding according to claim 1, wherein the upper end of the third inclined surface is located above a second imaginary plane connecting the upper end of the first inclined surface and the upper end of the second inclined surface. Device. A sub-tray located above the tray is further provided,
The sub-tray is movable between a second position where the sheet it supports can be fed in the first direction by the feeding roller, and a third position away from the second position in the second direction. can be,
6. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sub-tray at the second position is supported from below by the step surface. 7. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contour line of the rotating body includes the corner portion in plan view from the axial direction of the rotating body. a tray having a support surface for supporting a plurality of stacked sheets;
a feed roller for feeding the sheet supported by the support surface in a first direction intersecting the vertical direction;
a transport path extending upwardly from the support surface and extending in a second direction opposite to the first direction;
a guide unit that guides the sheet sent out in the first direction upward toward the conveying path;
a conveying roller that conveys the sheet fed by the feeding roller in the second direction on the conveying path,
The guide part is
a first inclined surface extending to intersect with the support surface and having an upper end located in the first direction relative to the lower end;
a second inclined surface located above the first inclined surface in the first direction, extending to intersect with the support surface, and having an upper end positioned in the first direction than a lower end;
a step surface extending from the upper end of the first inclined surface toward the lower end of the second inclined surface;
a rotating body that rotates around an axis parallel to the axis of the feeding roller;
A sheet feeding device in which the peripheral surface of the rotating body intersects a fourth imaginary plane connecting the upper end of the first inclined surface and the upper end of the second inclined surface. a tray having a support surface for supporting a plurality of stacked sheets;
a feed roller for feeding the sheet supported by the support surface in a first direction intersecting the vertical direction;
a transport path extending upwardly from the support surface and extending in a second direction opposite to the first direction;
a guide unit that guides the sheet sent out in the first direction upward toward the conveying path;
a conveying roller that conveys the sheet fed by the feeding roller in the second direction on the conveying path,
The guide part is
a first inclined surface extending to intersect with the support surface and having an upper end located in the first direction relative to the lower end;
a second inclined surface located above the first inclined surface in the first direction, extending to intersect with the support surface, and having an upper end positioned in the first direction than a lower end;
a step surface extending from the upper end of the first inclined surface toward the lower end of the second inclined surface;
a rotating body that rotates around an axis parallel to the axis of the feeding roller;
A sheet feeding device in which the circumferential surface of the rotor intersects a fifth imaginary plane connecting the position where the feeding roller abuts against the support surface and the upper end of the first inclined surface.

Images