JP7318435B2 - image recorder - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that records an image on a sheet.

In the image recording apparatus, when a sheet is jammed in the housing, the sheet is removed from the housing by a user accessing the sheet from the outside of the housing.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a printer in which a platen supporting a sheet facing a recording unit that records an image on a sheet is rotatable. In this printer, when a sheet is jammed between the recording unit and the platen, the platen is controlled to rotate from the reference position to the open position by the control unit. can be easily taken out.

JP 2015-66934 A

A constant gap between the platen and the recording section must be maintained. Therefore, the positioning accuracy of the platen with respect to the recording section must be high. For example, the platen is positioned with high accuracy with respect to the recording section by being constantly urged against a roller arranged near the platen.

However, in the case of a configuration in which the platen rotates as in the printer disclosed in Patent Document 1, the platen rotates to the open position and separates from the rollers. Therefore, the platen cannot be brought into contact with the roller while being constantly urged. As a result, it is difficult to maintain high positioning accuracy of the platen with respect to the recording section.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording apparatus capable of maintaining high positioning accuracy of the platen with respect to the recording section even when the platen moves. That's what it is.

An image recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a housing having an internal space opened to the outside through an opening, and a sheet conveying path formed inside the housing at a position opposite to the opening with respect to the internal space. a pair of rollers positioned on the transport path, having a drive roller and a driven roller driven by the drive roller, and nipping the sheet and transporting the sheet in the transport direction toward the internal space; A platen positioned upstream of the roller pair in the conveying direction and having a support surface for supporting the sheet; and a recording unit positioned above the platen and recording an image on the sheet supported by the platen. a slide member located inside the housing and slidable between a first position and a second position closer to the opening than the first position; The platen has a printing position, which is a position at which the recording unit records an image on a sheet, and an end portion of the support surface in the conveying direction is located below the printing position, and the platen and the recording unit are positioned below the printing position. The space between is movable to an open position in which it communicates with the interior space through the ends and the gap between the roller pairs. The slide member contacts the first portion of the platen from the second position to a third position between the second position and the first position during the sliding process from the second position to the first position. a guide portion that contacts and guides the platen from the open position to the printing position; an urging portion that abuts on the second portion of to separate the first portion from the guide portion and urge the second portion toward the drive roller at the first position.

When the slide member is in the first position, the biasing portion biases the second portion toward the drive roller, so that the platen can be positioned by the drive roller. This makes it possible to maintain high positioning accuracy of the platen with respect to the recording section.

According to the image recording apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to maintain high positioning accuracy of the platen with respect to the recording section, even though the platen is configured to move.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multifunction device 10 including a printer section 11 as an image recording device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the printer section 11. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lower portion of the printer section 11. As shown in FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the feed tray 20 and the discharge tray 21. FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the conveying roller 60, the discharge roller 62, the roller holder 85, the side frame 55, the slide member 74, and their surroundings. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the platen 42 viewed from above. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the contact member 41, the platen 42, and the paper 12. As shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the platen 42 viewed from below. 9 is a perspective view of the periphery of the left portion 92 of the base member 90. FIG. FIG. 10(A) is a top view of the lever 75 and its periphery to show the connection between the shaft 76 of the lever 75, the base member 90 and the side frame, and FIG. 10(B) is the side frame 55. 10 is a top view of the side frame 55 to show the fixation of the base member 90 and the base member 90. FIG. FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the center of the printer section 11 in the horizontal direction 9 with the feed tray 20 attached. FIG. 12 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the printer section 11 at a position where the right lever 75 can be seen from the right side with the feed tray 20 attached. FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer section 11 at a position where the right side of the platen 42 can be seen with the feed tray 20 attached. FIG. 14 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the center of the printer section 11 in the left-right direction 9 when the feed tray 20 abuts against the lever 75 from behind. FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer section 11 at a position where the right lever 75 can be seen from the right side when the feed tray 20 abuts against the lever 75 from behind. FIG. 16 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer section 11 at a position where the right side surface of the platen 42 can be seen when the feed tray 20 abuts against the lever 75 from behind. FIG. 17 is a longitudinal sectional view of the center of the printer section 11 in the left-right direction 9 in a state in which the transport roller pair 59 has changed to the separated state. FIG. 18 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the printer section 11 at a position where the right lever 75 can be seen from the right side with the conveying roller pair 59 changed to the separated state. FIG. 19 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the printer section 11 at a position where the right side surface of the platen 42 can be seen in a state where the conveying roller pair 59 is separated. FIG. 20 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the printer section 11 at the center in the left-right direction 9 when the slide member 74 is at the front position. FIG. 21 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer section 11 at a position where the right lever 75 can be seen from the right when the slide member 74 is in the front position. FIG. 22 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer section 11 at a position where the right side of the platen 42 can be seen when the slide member 74 is in the front position. FIG. 23 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the center of the printer section 11 in the horizontal direction 9 when the feed tray 20 abuts against the slide member 74 from the front. FIG. 24 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer section 11 at a position where the right lever 75 can be seen from the right when the feed tray 20 abuts against the slide member 74 from the front. FIG. 25 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer section 11 at a position where the right side surface of the platen 42 can be seen when the feed tray 20 abuts against the slide member 74 from the front. FIG. 26 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the printer section 11 in the modified example. FIG. 27 is an enlarged view of the lever 75 and its periphery in FIG. FIG. 28 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the printer section 11 in the modified example. FIG. 29 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the printer section 11 in the modified example.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. 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 modified 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 in FIG. 1), and the front-rear direction with the surface provided with the opening 13 as the front (front surface 17). 8 is defined, and a left-right direction 9 (an example of the width direction) is defined as viewed from the front side (front surface 17 side) of the MFP 10 . The up-down direction 7, the front-rear direction 8, and the left-right direction 9 are orthogonal to each other. Further, in the following description, progress from the starting point to the end point of the arrow is expressed as direction, and movement on the line connecting the starting point and the end point of the arrow is expressed as direction. In other words, orientation is a component of direction.

[Overall Structure of MFP 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction device 10 includes a housing 14 that is generally formed in the shape of a thin rectangular parallelepiped. The MFP 10 has various functions such as a print function and a scan function. As a print function, the multi-function device 10 has a function of recording an image on one side of a sheet 12 (see FIG. 2, an example of a sheet) using an inkjet method. The multifunction machine 10 may record images on both sides of the paper 12 . A printer unit 11 (an example of an image recording device) for realizing a print function is provided in the lower part of the housing 14 . A scanner unit 35 for realizing a scanning function is provided on the top of the housing 14 .

The housing 14 is an exterior cover that accommodates the constituent elements of the printer section 11 and the scanner section 35 therein. The housing 14 is covered from above with a base member 90 (see FIG. 3), which will be described later.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the printer section 11 includes, as components, a feed tray 20 (an example of a tray), a discharge tray 21, a feed section 16, a transport path 65, and a base member 90. (an example of a support member), a pair of side frames 55 (an example of a frame), a recording unit 24, a guide rail 56, a conveying roller pair 59, and a discharge roller pair 44 (an example of a roller pair), contact It includes a member 41, a platen 42, and an interlocking mechanism. The interlocking mechanism includes a slide member 74, a lever 75, and a coil spring 115, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 11, the feeding section 16, the conveying path 65, the pair of side frames 55, the recording section 24, the guide rails 56, the pair of conveying rollers 59, the pair of discharging rollers 44, the contact The member 41 , platen 42 and interlocking mechanism are located inside the housing 14 .

[Feed tray 20]
As shown in FIG. 1, an opening 13 is formed in the front face 17 of housing 14 . As shown in FIG. 3, housing 14 has internal space 23 . The internal space 23 is open to the outside (front of the housing 14) through the opening 13. As shown in FIG.

The feed tray 20 is inserted into the housing 14 through the opening 13 and attached to the housing 14 by moving backward (backward). FIG. 1 shows a state in which the feed tray 20 is attached to the housing 14 . The feeding tray 20 attached to the housing 14 is removed from the housing 14 through the opening 13 by moving forward (see FIG. 4). A rearward orientation is an example of a first orientation. Forward (backward and reverse) is an example of a second orientation.

As shown in FIG. 4, the feed tray 20 is a box-shaped member with an open top. The feed tray 20 has a bottom wall 22 and a pair of side walls 30 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the sheets 12 are supported in a stacked state on the bottom wall 22 . Note that the illustration of the paper 12 is omitted in each figure other than FIG. 2 .

As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom wall 22 supports a pair of side guides 98 movable in the left-right direction 9. As shown in FIG. Only the right side guide 98 of the pair of side guides 98 is shown in FIG. The right edge of the paper 12 supported by the bottom wall 22 contacts the left surface of the right side guide 98 . The left edge of the paper 12 supported by the bottom wall 22 contacts the right surface of the left side guide 98 . A pair of side guides 98 are connected so as to be interlockable with each other. When one of the pair of side guides 98 moves rightward or leftward, the other moves leftward or rightward in conjunction therewith.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the pair of side walls 30 are erected upward from the right and left ends of the bottom wall 22 . The pair of side walls 30 extend in the front-rear direction 8 . A pair of side walls 30, which are portions of the feed tray 20 that are brought into contact with a lever 75, which will be described later, are located below the upper end 13A of the opening 13 (see FIG. 11).

The pair of side walls 30 has recesses 99 recessed downward from the upper surface 97 at their rear ends. A sloped surface 99A defining the front end of the recessed portion 99 slopes upward toward the front.

The pair of side walls 30 has cutouts 96 on the outside in the left-right direction 9 . That is, the inner sides of the pair of side walls 30 in the left-right direction 9 are not cut out. The pair of side walls 30 are provided with protrusions 125 protruding upward at positions where they are not cut. The projecting portion 125 supports the discharge tray 21 .

The notch 96 is recessed downward from the upper surfaces 97 of the pair of side walls 30 . The notch 96 is formed substantially at the center of the pair of side walls 30 in the front-rear direction 8 . A rear end of the notch 96 is defined by a rear surface 96A. The upper end of the rear surface 96A is an inclined surface 96B. The inclined surface 96B is inclined upward toward the rear. The front end of the notch 96 is defined by a front surface 96C.

The projecting portion 125 contacts the projecting portion 124 of the slide member 74 from the front in the process of inserting the feed tray 20 into the housing 14 . A hole 126 penetrating in the left-right direction 9 is formed in the upper end of the protrusion 125 . A protrusion 127 of the discharge tray 21 is inserted into the hole 126 (see FIG. 4).

A lever 75, which will be described later, is arranged above the notch 96. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the protrusion 125 is offset toward the inner side of the side wall 30 in the left-right direction 9 and is raised. As a result, the position of the discharge tray 21 supported by the projecting portion 125 is offset upward, so that the height of the side guide 98 positioned below the discharge tray 21 can be increased.

The upper surface 97 has a horizontal surface 97A extending forward from the upper end of the front surface 96C of the notch 96 .

[Discharge tray 21]
As shown in FIG. 4 , the discharge tray 21 is rotatably supported by the feed tray 20 and moves together with the feed tray 20 in the front-rear direction 8 . The discharge tray 21 has protrusions 127 projecting in the left-right direction 9 from both left and right ends of the rear end portion. The protrusion 127 is inserted into a hole 126 formed in the protrusion 125 of the feed tray 20 . As a result, the discharge tray 21 can rotate in the direction of the arrow 131 with respect to the feed tray 20 about an axis passing through the center of the protrusion 127 and extending in the left-right direction 9 . The upper front portion of the feed tray 20 is opened and closed by rotating the discharge tray 21 . 4 shows a state in which the feed tray 20 is closed by the discharge tray 21. FIG. By rotating the discharge tray 21 upward from this state to open the feed tray 20 , the paper 12 can be taken in and out of the feed tray 20 .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 11 , when the feed tray 20 is attached to the housing 14 , the top surface 31 of the discharge tray 21 constitutes the bottom surface defining the internal space 23 . The upper surface 31 supports the paper 12 on which an image is recorded by the recording unit 24 and discharged into the internal space 23 . The paper 12 supported on the upper surface 31 is taken out of the housing 14 through the opening 13 by the user.

As shown in FIG. 4, the upper surface 31 has a front upper surface 31A, a rear upper surface 31B and an inclined surface 31C. The front upper surface 31A extends rearward from the front end of the upper surface 31 . The front upper surface 31A extends to near the front of the horizontal surface 97A of the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 in the front-rear direction 8 . The rear top surface 31B extends forward from the rear end of the top surface 31 . The rear upper surface 31B is located below the front upper surface 31A. The rear upper surface 31B is connected to the front upper surface 31A via an inclined surface 31C.

[Feeding unit 16]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 11 , the feeding section 16 is positioned above the bottom wall 22 of the feeding tray 20 attached to the printer section 11 and below the recording section 24 . The feeding section 16 includes a feeding roller 25 , a feeding arm 26 and a drive transmission mechanism 27 . The feeding roller 25 is pivotally supported at the tip of the feeding arm 26 . The feeding arm 26 rotates in the direction of an arrow 29 around a support shaft 28 provided at its proximal end. As a result, the feed roller 25 can contact and separate from the feed tray 20 or the paper 12 supported by the feed tray 20 .

The feeding roller 25 is rotated by a driving force of a conveying motor 73 (see FIG. 3) transmitted by a drive transmission mechanism 27 including a plurality of gears. As a result, of the sheets 12 supported by the bottom wall 22 of the feed tray 20 , the uppermost sheet 12 in contact with the feed roller 25 is fed to the transport path 65 . Note that the feeding roller 25 may be rotated by receiving a driving force from a motor provided separately from the conveying motor 73 . Further, the drive transmission mechanism 27 is not limited to a form including a plurality of gears, and may include a belt stretched over the support shaft 28 and the shaft of the feeding roller 25, for example.

[Conveyance path 65]
As shown in FIG. 2 , a transport path 65 extends from the rear end of the feed tray 20 . The transport path 65 is formed behind the internal space 23 . That is, the transport path 65 is formed opposite the opening 13 positioned at the front end of the housing 14 with respect to the internal space 23 . The transport path 65 includes a curved portion 33 (an example of a first route) and a straight portion 34 (an example of a second route). The curved portion 33 extends while curving with the rear side as the curved outer side and the front side as the curved inner side. The straight portion 34 extends in the front-rear direction 8 .

The curved portion 33 extends upward from the rear end portion of the feed tray 20 and makes a U-turn from the rear to the front. The curved portion 33 is formed by a first guide member 18 and a second guide member 19 facing each other with a predetermined distance therebetween. The first guide member 18 defines the curved outer side of the curved portion 33 . The second guide member 19 defines the curved inner side of the curved portion 33 .

The linear portion 34 extends generally in the front-rear direction 8 . A rear end of the straight portion 34 is continuous with the curved portion 33 . A front end of the straight portion 34 is continuous with the internal space 23 . That is, the straight portion 34 is continuous with the curved portion 33 and extends forward to reach the internal space 23 . In other words, the straight portion 34 extends rearward from the internal space 23 . The linear portion 34 is formed by the recording section 24 and the platen 42 facing each other with a predetermined gap at the position where the recording section 24 is arranged. The first guide member 18 and the second guide member 19 extend in the left-right direction 9, which is the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG.

The sheet 12 supported by the feed tray 20 is transported by the feed roller 25 so as to make a U-turn from the bottom to the top of the curved portion 33 and reaches the transport roller pair 59 . The paper 12 nipped by the transport roller pair 59 is transported forward along the linear portion 34 with the image recording surface facing the recording portion 24 . The recording unit 24 records an image on the image recording surface of the paper 12 that has reached directly below the recording unit 24 . The paper 12 on which the image is recorded is conveyed forward along the straight portion 34 and discharged onto the upper surface 31 of the discharge tray 21 . As described above, the paper 12 is conveyed along the conveying direction 15 indicated by the dashed line arrow in FIG.

[Base member 90]
A base member 90 shown in FIG. 3 is a member forming the lower portion of the printer section 11, and is integrally molded from a resin material such as PBT or ABS.

As shown in FIG. 3, the base member 90 connects a right portion 91 constituting the right portion of the printer portion 11, a left portion 92 constituting the left portion of the printer portion 11, and the right portion 91 and the left portion 92. A connecting portion 93 is provided.

The bottom surface of the base member 90 serves as a mounting surface when the MFP 10 is mounted on a desk or the like.

The right portion 91 is positioned to the right of the feeding tray 20 attached to the housing 14 . The left portion 92 is positioned to the left of the feeding tray 20 attached to the housing 14 . That is, the feed tray 20 is mounted between the right portion 91 and the left portion 92 .

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 12, the right portion 91 and the left portion 92 have a first protrusion 94 and a second protrusion 95, respectively. A first convex portion 94 and a second convex portion 95 provided on the right portion 91 protrude leftward from the left surface of the right portion 91 . A first convex portion 94 and a second convex portion 95 provided on the left portion 92 protrude rightward from the right surface of the left portion 92 . The second projecting portion 95 is located behind the first projecting portion 94 . The first convex portion 94 and the second convex portion 95 are spaced apart in the front-rear direction 8 .

The lower surface 94A of the first protrusion 94 and the lower surface 95A of the second protrusion 95 can contact the upper surface 97 of the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 and the upper surface 31 of the discharge tray 21 from above. The lower surface 94A has an inclined surface 94B. The inclined surface 94B is inclined downward toward the rear. The lower surface 95A has an inclined surface 95B. The inclined surface 95B is inclined downward toward the rear. The inclined surfaces 94B and 95B guide the feed tray 20 inserted into the housing 14 downward.

As shown in FIG. 12 , the right portion 91 and the left portion 92 are provided with a third protrusion 70 behind the second protrusion 95 . The third protrusion 70 is continuous with the second protrusion 95 . The lower end of the third protrusion 70 is located above the lower end of the second protrusion 95 . The rear lower end portion 70A of the third convex portion 70 abuts on the lever 75 and restricts the rotation of the lever 75 in the direction of the arrow 151 .

As shown in FIG. 11 , the connecting portion 93 has a recessed portion 118 below the platen 42 that is recessed downward. The bottom of recess 118 is defined by surface 119 . The surface 119 is sandwiched between walls 120 and 121 projecting upward from the surface 119 in the front-rear direction 8 . Wall 120 is positioned forward of wall 121 . Walls 120 and 121 extend in the left-right direction 9 . The wall 120 has an inclined surface 122 on its upper surface. The inclined surface 122 is inclined upward toward the rear.

[Side frame 55]
As shown in FIG. 5, the side frames 55 are provided in a pair in the left-right direction 9 with a gap therebetween. Each side frame 55 is integrally molded from a metal material. Each side frame 55 includes a side plate 55A that extends in the vertical direction 7 and the front-rear direction 8, and extends inward in the horizontal direction 9 from the lower end of the side plate 55A (to the left in the right side frame 55 and to the right in the left side frame 55). and a bottom plate 55B. The bottom plate 55B supports the slide member 74. As shown in FIG.

Each side frame 55 has protrusions 36 and 37 . The protrusions 36 and 37 extend outward in the left-right direction 9 from the upper end of the side plate 55A (rightward in the right side frame 55 and leftward in the left side frame 55). The protrusion 36 is positioned forward of the protrusion 37 .

The protrusion 36 has a cutout 51 . As shown in FIG. 10B , the base member 90 is positioned below the projection 36 and a screw hole (not shown) formed in the base member 90 is positioned below the notch 51 . A screw 52 passes through the notch 51 from above and is fastened to the screw hole. The side frames 55 are thereby fixed to the base member 90 .

[Recording unit 24]
As shown in FIG. 2, the recording section 24 is provided above the linear section 34 and has a carriage 40 and a recording head 38 . A platen 42 is provided below the recording section 24 and at a position facing the recording section 24 . The platen 42 is a member that supports the paper 12 conveyed along the straight portion 34 . Platen 42 will be described in detail later.

The carriage 40 is supported by two guide rails 56 spaced apart in the front-rear direction 8 so as to be able to reciprocate in the left-right direction 9 . The two guide rails 56 are integrally molded from a metal material and supported by side plates 55A (see FIG. 3) of the pair of side frames 55. As shown in FIG.

The recording head 38 is mounted on the carriage 40 . Ink is supplied to the recording head 38 from an ink cartridge 100 (see FIG. 1). A plurality of nozzles 39 are formed on the lower surface of the recording head 38 . A plurality of nozzles 39 formed on the lower surface of the recording head 38 are configured by a plurality of nozzle rows arranged at intervals in the horizontal direction 9 . Each nozzle row is composed of a predetermined number (plurality) of nozzles 39 arranged at intervals along the transport direction 15 (the front-rear direction 8). That is, the number of nozzles 39 formed on the lower surface of the recording head 38 is the number obtained by multiplying the number of nozzle rows by a predetermined number. Note that FIG. 2 schematically shows one nozzle row.

While the carriage 40 is moving in the left-right direction 9 , the recording head 38 ejects ink droplets from the nozzles 39 toward the platen 42 . As a result, an image is recorded on the paper 12 supported by the platen 42 .

The carriage 40 is movable between a facing area 154 and retracted areas 155 and 156 shown in FIG.

A facing area 154 is an area where the carriage 40 moves when the recording head 38 records an image on the paper 12 , and is an area facing the platen 42 in the vertical direction 7 . In other words, the facing area 154 is located above the linear portion 34 of the transport path 65 and the platen 42 . The facing area 154 is the area between the two slide members 74 .

The retreat areas 155 and 156 are areas outside the slide member 74 in the left-right direction 9 . The retraction area 155 is an area to the right of the right slide member 74 , and the retraction area 156 is an area to the left of the left slide member 74 .

A maintenance mechanism is arranged in the evacuation area 155 . The maintenance mechanism includes, for example, a vertically movable cap that covers the nozzles 39 of the recording head 38, and a waste liquid reservoir that is connected to the cap via a tube or the like. The maintenance of the recording head 38 is, for example, blank ejection of ink. The carriage 40 moves to the retraction area 155 when maintenance is performed. The cap moves upward to cover nozzle 39 . Ink is ejected from the nozzles 39 . The ejected ink flows through the tube to the waste liquid reservoir. Note that the maintenance mechanism may be arranged in the evacuation area 156 .

[Conveyance Roller Pair 59 and Discharge Roller Pair 44]
As shown in FIG. 2 , a transport roller pair 59 is arranged upstream of the supporting surface of the recording head 38 and the platen 42 in the linear portion 34 of the transport path 65 in the transport direction 15 (behind the recording head 38 ).

The conveying roller pair 59 includes a conveying roller 60 arranged below the straight portion 34 and a pinch roller 61 arranged above the straight portion 34 so as to face the conveying roller 60 and following the conveying roller 60 . ing.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the conveying roller 60 is a columnar member extending in the left-right direction 9 . The conveying roller 60 is rotatably supported by the side plates 55</b>A of the pair of side frames 55 via bearings 71 . In this embodiment, the bearing 71 is fitted in a notch formed in the side plate 55A, and the conveying roller 60 is inserted through the bearing 71. As shown in FIG.

The pinch roller 61 shown in FIG. 2 is rotatably supported by a roller holder 85 shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, a coil spring 57 is provided above the roller holder 85 . A lower end of the coil spring 57 is connected to the roller holder 85, and an upper end of the coil spring 57 is connected to the lower surface of the guide rail 56 shown in FIG. Thereby, the roller holder 85 is supported by the guide rail 56 via the coil spring 57 . The roller holder 85 is biased downward by the coil spring 57 . Thereby, the pinch roller 61 supported by the roller holder 85 is urged by the conveying roller 60 . The roller holder 85 has an upwardly extending protrusion 88 at its rear portion. The tip of the projecting portion 88 is hooked on and supported by the guide rail 56 (see FIGS. 3 and 11). Thereby, the posture of the roller holder 85 is stabilized. The roller holder 85 has a through hole 86 passing through the roller holder 85 in the left-right direction 9 . A shaft 87 is inserted through the through hole 86 .

The conveying roller pair 59 can be changed between a nip state and a separated state. When no force is applied to the shaft 87 from the outside, the pinch roller 61 is urged by the coil spring 57 to abut the conveying roller 60 . At this time, the conveying roller pair 59 is in a nip state. When the shaft 87 is guided by the protrusion 106 of the slide member 74 and moves upward, the pinch roller 61 is separated from the conveying roller 60 against the biasing force of the coil spring 57 (see FIG. 19). At this time, the conveying roller pair 59 is in a separated state.

As shown in FIG. 2 , a discharge roller pair 44 is arranged downstream of the support surface of the recording head 38 and the platen 42 in the straight portion 34 in the transport direction 15 (forward from the recording head 38 ).

The discharge roller pair 44 is arranged to face the discharge roller 62 (an example of a driving roller) arranged below the linear portion 34 and the discharge roller 62 above the linear portion 34 , and is driven by the discharge roller 62 . and a spur 63 (an example of a driven roller).

As shown in FIG. 5 , the discharge roller 62 has a shaft 64 extending in the left-right direction 9 and a roller portion 58 covering the outer periphery of the shaft 64 . A plurality of roller portions 58 are provided at intervals in the left-right direction 9 . A shaft 64 of the discharge roller 62 is rotatably supported by the side plates 55A of the pair of side frames 55 via bearings 72 . In this embodiment, the bearing 72 is fitted in a notch formed in the side plate 55A, and the shaft 64 is inserted through the bearing 72. As shown in FIG.

A plurality of spurs 63 shown in FIG. 2 are provided at intervals in the left-right direction 9 . Each spur 63 is provided at a position facing the roller portion 58 in the left-right direction 9 . The spur 63 is biased against the roller portion 58 by an elastic member (eg, coil spring) not shown.

The transport roller 60 and the discharge roller 62 are rotated by a driving force transmitted from a transport motor 73 (see FIG. 5). When the transport rollers 60 rotate while the paper 12 is nipped between the transport roller pair 59 (nip state), the paper 12 is transported in the transport direction 15 by the transport roller pair 59 . Further, when the discharge rollers 62 rotate while the paper 12 is sandwiched between the paper discharge roller pair 44 , the paper 12 is conveyed in the conveyance direction 15 by the paper discharge roller pair 44 .

[Contact member 41]
As shown in FIG. 2 , the contact member 41 is positioned upstream in the transport direction 15 from the nozzles 39 of the recording section 24 in the transport path 65 .

As shown in FIG. 5 , the contact member 41 has a plurality of extensions 81 and one body portion 82 . The body portion 82 extends in the left-right direction 9 . The body portion 82 is attached to the guide rail 56 (see FIG. 3) by fitting from below. The plurality of extending portions 81 extend forward and downward from the body portion 82 at intervals in the left-right direction 9 .

In this embodiment, the contact member 41 is an integrally molded product whose main component is a resin such as polyacetal (POM). Note that the contact member 41 does not have to be an integrally molded product. For example, the abutment member 41 may not include the body portion 82 but may be configured with a plurality of extension portions 81 , and each extension portion 81 may be attached to the guide rail 56 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , each extending portion 81 extends to the vicinity of the nozzle 39 in the conveying direction 15 . The tip of each extending portion 81 is positioned below the nipping position of the paper 12 between the transport roller pair 59 (the position where the transport roller 60 and the pinch roller 61 are in contact).

[Platen 42]
As shown in FIG. 2 , the platen 42 is located below the recording section 24 and at a position facing the recording section 24 . The platen 42 is a member that supports the paper 12 conveyed on the linear portion 34 by the conveying roller pair 59 .

As shown in FIG. 6, the platen 42 is generally a plate-like member. Platen 42 is comprised of a rear portion 161 , a central portion 162 and a front portion 163 . A rear portion 161 constitutes the rear portion of the platen 42 . The central portion 162 is continuous with the front end of the rear portion 161 and constitutes the central portion of the platen 42 in the front-rear direction 8 . The front portion 163 is continuous with the front end of the central portion 162 and constitutes the front portion of the platen 42 .

The central portion 162 is positioned between the most upstream nozzle 39A (see FIG. 2) in the transport direction 15 and the most downstream nozzle 39B (see FIG. 2) in the transport direction 15 among the nozzles 39 forming the nozzle row.

The rear portion 161 is located behind the central portion 162 (upstream in the transport direction 15). At least part of the rear portion 161 is located forward (downstream in the transport direction 15) of the nozzle 39A. The front portion 163 is positioned forward of the central portion 162 . At least part of the front portion 163 is located behind the nozzle 39B.

A plurality of ribs 43 and a plurality of ribs 45 are formed on the upper surface 42A of the platen 42. As shown in FIG.

A plurality of ribs 43 are formed from the rear portion 161 to the rear portion of the central portion 162 . Each rib 43 extends along the transport direction 15 (the front-rear direction 8). Each rib 43 is spaced apart in the left-right direction 9 .

As shown in FIG. 7 , the upper end of the rib 43 is located above the tip portion 81A of the extension portion 81 of the contact member 41 . The leading end portion 81A contacts the upper surface 12A of the paper 12 being transported between the transport roller pair 59 and the nozzle 39 in the linear portion 34 . Further, the rib 43 contacts the bottom surface 12B of the paper 12 being transported between the transport roller pair 59 and the nozzle 39 in the linear portion 34 . The paper 12 is formed into a wavy shape that continues in the left-right direction 9 by being brought into contact with the tip portion 81A from above and with the rib 43 from below.

As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of ribs 45 are formed on front portion 163 . Each rib 45 is spaced apart in the left-right direction 9 . Each rib 45 is composed of an upper portion 45A and side portions 45B. The upper portion 45A extends from the upper surface 42A of the front portion 163 to the front end of the upper surface 42A of the front portion 163 along the conveying direction 15 (forward). The side portion 45B is continuous with the downstream end of the upper portion 45A in the transport direction 15 (the front end of the upper portion 45A). The side portion 45B extends downward along the vertical direction 7 on the front side surface 42B of the front portion 163 . The upper surface of the rib 45 (more specifically, the upper surface of the upper portion 45A of the rib 45) contacts the lower surface 12B of the paper 12 being conveyed. The upper surfaces of the ribs 43 and 45 are support surfaces for supporting the paper 12 on the platen 42 . That is, in this embodiment, there are a plurality of support surfaces for the paper 12 . A rear end portion 43A of the upper surface of the rib 43 corresponds to the end portion of the support surface facing the first direction. A front end portion 45C of the upper surface of the rib 45 corresponds to the second facing end portion of the support surface.

As shown in FIG. 11, the lower end of the side portion 45B is located above the lower end of the shaft 64 of the discharge roller 62 when the platen 42 is in the printing position described later.

As shown in FIG. 6, the platen 42 has protrusions 49 (an example of the second portion) that protrude forward from both left and right ends of the front side surface 42B.

The platen 42 has protrusions 46 that protrude rearward from both left and right ends of the rear portion 161 . An upper surface 46A (an example of a peripheral surface) of the protrusion 46 is curved in an arc and recessed downward. That is, the recess 130 (an example of a notch) is formed by the upper surface 46A.

A recess 130 formed by the upper surface 46A of the projection 46 is aligned in the left-right direction 9 with a notch in the side plate 55A of the side frame 55 in which the bearing 71 (see FIG. 3) is fitted. Specifically, the protrusion 46 protruding from the right end of the platen 42 is aligned to the left of the side plate 55A of the right side frame 55, and the protrusion 46 protruding from the left end of the platen 42 is aligned with the left side frame. 55 are arranged on the right side of the side plate 55A. That is, the projecting portion 46 is positioned inside the side plates 55A of the pair of side frames 55 in the left-right direction 9 . The bearing 71 has an outer portion in the left-right direction 9 fitted in a notch in the side plate 55A of the side frame 55 and an inner portion in the left-right direction 9 fitted in a recess formed by the upper surface 46A of the projection 46 . That is, the upper surface 46A is in contact with the bearing 71 along the circumferential direction of the axis of the conveying roller 60. As shown in FIG. The upper surface 46A may be in contact with the shaft of the transport roller 60 or the side plate 55A of the side frame 55 along the circumferential direction of the shaft of the transport roller 60 instead of the bearing 71 .

This allows the platen 42 to rotate around the bearing 71 . That is, the platen 42 is rotatable around the axis of the transport roller 60 . Platen 42 is pivotable between a printing position shown in FIGS. 11 and 13 and an open position shown in FIGS.

The print position is the position of the platen 42 when the recording unit 24 records an image on the paper 12 . As shown in FIG. 2, when the platen 42 is in the printing position, the upper surface 42A of the platen 42 extends generally in the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9 and faces the recording head 38. As shown in FIG.

The open position is the position of the platen 42 when the paper 12 jammed between the recording section 24 and the platen 42 is taken out of the housing 14 . As shown in FIGS. 20 and 22, when the platen 42 is in the open position, the front end of the platen 42 is positioned lower than in the printing position, and the supporting surface of the paper 12 on the platen 42 is in the printing position. It is located lower than the time. This creates a gap 32 between the front end of the platen 42 and the discharge roller pair 44, as shown in FIG. As a result, the space between the recording portion 24 and the platen 42 in the linear portion 34 communicates with the internal space 23 through the gap 32 .

As shown in FIG. 6, a contact piece 47 is provided below the projection 46 . The contact piece 47 is attached to the protrusion 46 via a coil spring 48 . One end of the coil spring 48 is connected to the lower surface of the protrusion 46 and the other end of the coil spring 48 is connected to the contact piece 47 . The contact piece 47 and the coil spring 48 are examples of biasing members.

As shown in FIG. 13, the contact piece 47 is supported by coming into contact with a support surface 102 (an example of a receiving surface) of the slide member 74 from below. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the projecting portion 49 is supported by the projecting portion 104 of the slide member 74 from below. The platen 42 at the printing position is thereby supported by the slide member 74 .

As shown in FIG. 6, the platen 42 has projections 50 (an example of the first portion) projecting in the left-right direction 9 from the right and left side surfaces of the central portion 162 . As shown in FIG. 19, the platen 42 is rotated by the protrusions 50 contacting and being guided by the inclined surface 103 (an example of the guide portion) of the slide member 74 .

As shown in FIG. 6, protrusions 50 are provided on central portion 162 rather than rear portion 161 and front portion 163 . That is, the protrusion 50 is provided in the central portion of the platen 42 in the front-rear direction 8 . In this embodiment, the length L3 along the front-rear direction 8 from the front end of the platen 42 to the protrusions 50 is 1/4 of the length L4 along the front-rear direction 8 from the front end of the platen 42 to the rear end. That's it.

A center portion 162 of the platen 42 has projections 164 that protrude in the left-right direction 9 from the upper ends of the right side and left side. The upper surface of the convex portion 164 forms part of the upper surface 42A of the platen 42 . The protrusion 50 is positioned below the protrusion 164 . That is, the convex portion 164 covers the projection 50 from above. That is, the upper surface 42A of the convex portion 164 of the platen 42 is located above the projection 50 and covers the projection 50 from above.

The dimension of the central portion 162 in the left-right direction 9 is longer than the dimension of the front portion 163 in the left-right direction 9 by the length of the protrusion 164 .

As shown in FIG. 8, the platen 42 includes a plate member 83 (an example of a metal member) made of metal such as iron. In this embodiment, the plate member 83 is bent and has holes 84 and 89 . The platen 42 has protrusions 116 and 117 protruding forward on its lower surface. The plate member 83 is attached to the platen 42 by inserting the protrusions 116 into the holes 84 and inserting the protrusions 117 into the holes 89 . The plate member 83 is positioned forward of the center of the platen 42 in the front-rear direction 8 . In other words, the plate member 83 is attached at a position closer to the downstream end of the platen 42 in the transport direction 15 than to the upstream end of the platen 42 in the transport direction 15 .

As shown in FIG. 20, a portion of the front end of platen 42 is recessed into recess 118 of base member 90 when platen 42 is in the open position. At this time, the platen 42 is supported by the surface 119 of the base member 90 . In this embodiment, the plate member 83 attached to the platen 42 is supported by the surface 119 by contacting the surface 119 from above. The platen 42 is thereby supported by the base member 90 .

In this embodiment, the plate member 83 is supported on the surface 119 from its left end to its right end, that is, over its entire left-right direction 9 . It is sufficient if the central portion is supported by the surface 119 . Also, the portion of the platen 42 other than the plate member 83 may be supported by the surface 119 .

As shown in FIG. 20, when platen 42 is in the open position, imaginary surface 129 including inclined surface 122 of wall 120 is positioned above platen 42 . That is, when the platen 42 is in the open position, the imaginary surface 129 including the inclined surface 122 of the wall 120 covers the platen 42 from above.

Platen 42 is located below upper end 13A of opening 13 (see FIG. 11) and above lower end 13B of opening 13 (see FIG. 11) regardless of its position.

[Interlocking mechanism]
The interlocking mechanism rotates the platen 42 from the printing position to the open position in conjunction with removal of the feed tray 20 from the housing 14 (moving the feed tray 20 forward), thereby opening the housing of the feed tray 20. 14 (rearward movement of the feed tray 20) to rotate the platen 42 from the open position to the printing position. As shown in FIGS. 5, 12, and 13, the interlocking mechanism includes a slide member 74, a lever 75, and a coil spring 115. As shown in FIG.

[Slide member 74]
As shown in FIG. 5 , the slide member 74 is slidably supported in the front-rear direction 8 by the bottom plates 55B of the pair of side frames 55 . In other words, two slide members 74 are provided and positioned inside the side plate 55A in the left-right direction 9 . That is, the slide member 74 is provided on the left side of the right side frame 55 and on the right side of the left side frame 55 . The slide member 74 is adjacent to the side plates 55A of the pair of side frames 55. As shown in FIG.

The slide member 74 slides between a rear position (an example of a first position) shown in FIG. 13 and a front position (an example of a second position) shown in FIG.

As will be described later, the slide member 74 slides from the rear position to the front position in conjunction with removal of the feed tray 20 from the housing 14 , and interlocks with insertion of the feed tray 20 into the housing 14 . , slides from the front position to the rear position. Further, the platen 42 rotates from the printing position to the open position in conjunction with the sliding of the slide member 74 from the rear position to the front position, and the platen 42 rotates in conjunction with the sliding of the slide member 74 from the front position to the rear position. 42 pivots from the open position to the printing position.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 13, the slide member 74 includes a convex portion 101, a support surface 102, an inclined surface 103, a horizontal surface 123, a convex portion 104 (an example of a biasing portion), and a convex portion 105. , and a projection 124 .

As shown in FIG. 13 , the convex portion 101 protrudes upward from the rear end portion of the slide member 74 . A projection 106 projecting forward is provided at the upper end of the projection 101 . The upper surface of the protrusion 106 is composed of an inclined surface 107 and a horizontal surface 108 . The inclined surface 107 is located on the tip side of the protrusion 106 and slopes downward toward the front (the tip of the protrusion 106). The horizontal surface 108 is located on the base end side of the protrusion 106 and is continuous with the rear end of the inclined surface 107 . The horizontal plane 108 is a plane extending in the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9 .

The inclined surface 107 includes a distal inclined surface 107A and a proximal inclined surface 107B. The distal-side inclined surface 107A is positioned forward of the proximal-side inclined surface 107B and is continuous with the front end of the proximal-side inclined surface 107B. That is, the tip-side inclined surface 107A is located forward and downward from the proximal-side inclined surface 107B. The obtuse inclination angle θ1 of the tip-side inclined surface 107A with respect to the horizontal plane (the surface extending in the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9) is smaller than the obtuse inclination angle θ2 of the proximal-side inclined surface 107B with respect to the horizontal plane. That is, the distal side inclined surface 107A is steeper than the proximal side inclined surface 107B with respect to the horizontal plane. In this embodiment, the upper surface 42A of the platen 42 and the support surface 102 are surfaces parallel to the horizontal surface.

The protrusion 106 is located behind the shaft 87 when the slide member 74 is in the rear position shown in FIG. In the process of sliding the slide member 74 from the rear position to the front position, the inclined surface 107 contacts the shaft 87 and guides the shaft 87 . Horizontal surface 108 supports shaft 87 when slide member 74 is in the forward position shown in FIG. When the slide member 74 is in the front position, the upper surface of the projection 106 (the inclined surface 107 and the horizontal surface 108) is located directly above the bearing 71 (see FIG. 5) of the transport roller 60. As shown in FIG.

The protrusion 106 overlaps the retraction area in the left-right direction 9 . That is, the protrusion 106 overlaps the space in which the moving carriage 40 can be positioned in the left-right direction 9 . Also, the upper end of the protrusion 106 is located above the lower end of the carriage 40 . In other words, the protrusion 106 overlaps the positionable space in the vertical direction 7 . On the other hand, the protrusion 106 is located behind the carriage 40 regardless of the slide position of the slide member 74 . Therefore, the projection 106 does not overlap the positionable space in the front-rear direction 8 . As described above, the projection 106 overlaps the space in which it can be positioned in the left-right direction 9 and the up-down direction 7 , but is offset rearward from the space in which it can be positioned in the front-rear direction 8 . Thus, the projection 106 is in a different position than the space in which the moving carriage 40 can be positioned, regardless of the position of the slide member 74 .

As shown in FIG. 13 , the support surface 102 is positioned in front of the convex portion 101 . The support surface 102 is a surface extending in the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9 . The support surface 102 supports the contact piece 47 of the platen 42 from below regardless of the position of the slide member 74 .

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 13, the inclined surface 103 is positioned in front of the support surface 102 . The inclined surface 103 is inclined upward toward the front.

The inclined surface 103 has a lower inclined surface 103A and an upper inclined surface 103B. The upper inclined surface 103B is positioned forward of the lower inclined surface 103A and is continuous with the front end of the lower inclined surface 103A. That is, the upper inclined surface 103B is located forward and upward from the lower inclined surface 103A. The obtuse inclination angle θ3 of the upper inclined surface 103B with respect to the horizontal plane (the surface extending in the front-rear direction 8 and the lateral direction 9) is smaller than the obtuse inclination angle θ4 of the lower inclined surface 103A with respect to the horizontal surface. That is, the upper inclined surface 103B is steeper with respect to the horizontal plane than the lower inclined surface 103A. In this embodiment, the upper surface 42A of the platen 42 and the support surface 102 are surfaces parallel to the horizontal surface.

When the slide member 74 is in the rear position shown in FIG. 13, the inclined surface 103 is located behind the protrusion 50 of the platen 42. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 19, in the process of sliding the slide member 74 from the rear position to the front position, the inclined surface 103 contacts the projection 50 and guides the projection 50 . This causes the platen 42 to rotate from the printing position (see FIG. 11) to the open position (see FIG. 20).

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 13, the horizontal surface 123 extends forward from the front end of the upper inclined surface 103B of the inclined surface 103. As shown in FIG. When the slide member 74 is in the rear position shown in FIG. 13, the horizontal surface 123 is positioned below the protrusions 50 of the platen 42 and is spaced from the protrusions 50 . As shown in FIG. 16 , in the process of sliding the slide member 74 from the rear position to the front position, the horizontal surface 123 abuts against the projection 50 and guides the projection 50 toward the inclined surface 103 .

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 13 , the convex portion 104 is positioned in front of the horizontal plane 123 . The convex portion 104 is positioned below the discharge roller 62 . That is, the convex portion 104 protrudes upward from the upper surface of the slide member 74 toward the discharge roller 62 .

The protrusion 104 is hollowed out by a through hole 109 penetrating in the left-right direction 9 . As a result, the convex portion 104 is divided into a distal end portion 111 and a proximal end portion 110 with the through hole 109 interposed therebetween.

The tip portion 111 is located above and behind the through hole 109 . The distal end portion 111 is formed in a thin plate shape extending from the rear upper end portion of the convex portion 104 to the front lower end portion via the front upper end portion. As a result, the distal end portion 111 can bend in a direction intersecting the direction in which it extends, and functions as a plate spring.

As shown in FIG. 13, the upper surface of the tip portion 111 has an inclined surface 111A and a horizontal surface 111B. The inclined surface 111A extends upward as it extends forward from the rear end of the projection 104 . In other words, the inclined surface 111A approaches the discharge roller 62 as it extends forward. The horizontal surface 111B is continuous with the front end of the inclined surface 111A and extends forward from the front end of the inclined surface 111A.

The base end portion 110 is positioned below and forward of the through hole 109 . The base end portion 110 has a projection 112 protruding upward on its upper surface (the surface defining the lower side of the through hole 109 among the inner surfaces of the through hole 109). The protrusion 112 is positioned below the horizontal surface 111B of the tip portion 111 . As a result, the portion of the through-hole 109 where the protrusion 112 is provided has a smaller vertical gap than the other portions of the through-hole 109 . As a result, the bending amount of the distal end portion 111 is reduced by the protrusion 112 .

As shown in FIG. 5 , the protrusion 105 is located in front of the protrusion 104 and at the front end of the slide member 74 . The convex portion 105 protrudes outward in the left-right direction 9 from the front end portion of the slide member 74 . That is, the convex portion 105 of the slide member 74 positioned on the right side of the two slide members 74 projects rightward, and the convex portion 105 of the slide member 74 positioned on the left side of the two slide members 74 projects leftward. protruding in the direction of

The protrusion 105 has a protrusion 112 protruding upward at its tip. As shown in FIG. 9, the protrusion 105 penetrates through an opening 113 formed in the base member 90. As shown in FIG. As a result, the base end portion and the tip end portion (projection 112 ) of the convex portion 105 are located on opposite sides of the wall 114 of the base member 90 in the left-right direction 9 . The protrusion 112 extends upward from the opening 113 and is laterally adjacent to the wall 114 . Thereby, the slide member 74 is engaged with the base member 90 by the protrusion 105 . 9 shows the left portion 92 of the base member 90, the right portion 91 of the base member 90 (not shown) is also engaged with the slide member 74 in the same manner as the left portion 92. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the base end of the protrusion 105 is longer in the front-rear direction 8 than the tip of the protrusion 105 . Specifically, the base end of the projection 105 extends further rearward than the tip of the projection 105 . A rear surface 105</b>A of the proximal end portion of the convex portion 105 is brought into contact with a lever 75 to be described later.

As shown in FIG. 5, the convex portion 124 is provided below the convex portion 104 and protrudes downward. A protrusion 125 of the feeding tray 20 inserted into the housing 14 abuts against the protrusion 124 . This causes the slide member 74 to slide rearward.

[Lever 75]
As shown in FIG. 5, the lever 75 is rotatably supported by the side plates 55A of the pair of side frames 55 around the shaft 76. As shown in FIG. That is, two levers 75 are provided. Each lever 75 is positioned outside the side plate 55A in the left-right direction 9 . That is, the lever 75 is provided on the right side of the right side frame 55 and on the left side of the left side frame 55 .

The lever 75 is also rotatably supported around the shaft 76 by the base member 90 . That is, the lever 75 is supported by both the base member 90 and the side frames 55. As shown in FIG. The shaft 76 protrudes both outwardly and inwardly in the left-right direction 9 from the upper portion of the lever 75 . As shown in FIG. 10A, a shaft 76A projecting from the lever 75 to the outside in the left-right direction 9 is inserted into a hole 77 formed in the base member 90. As shown in FIG. Of the shafts 76 , a shaft 76 B projecting inward in the left-right direction 9 from the lever 75 is inserted into a hole 78 formed in the side frame 55 . The diameter of hole 77 is greater than the diameter of hole 78 .

The lever 75 is rotatable to a reference position shown in FIG. 12, a front rotation position shown in FIG. 21, and a rear rotation position shown in FIG. The lever 75 is rotatable between a forward rotation position and a rear rotation position. The lever 75 is positioned at the forward rotation position by rotating in the direction of the arrow 151 from the reference position. The lever 75 is positioned at the backward rotation position by rotating in the direction of the arrow 152 (opposite to the direction of the arrow 151) from the reference position.

As shown in FIG. 12, the tip 79 of the lever 75 is positioned below the shaft 76 when the lever 75 is at the reference position. The distal end portion 79 includes a distal end 79A of the lever 75 (the lower end of the lever 75 at the reference position).

As shown in FIG. 21, the tip 79A when the lever 75 is at the forward rotation position is located forward and upward from when the lever 75 is at the reference position (see FIG. 12). The lever 75 at the forward rotation position abuts the rear lower end portion 70A of the third convex portion 70 of the base member 90 from the rear. As a result, the lever 75 at the forward rotation position is restricted from rotating in the direction of the arrow 151 by the rear lower end portion 70A of the third convex portion 70 . In other words, the lever 75 at the forward rotation position is restricted by the rear lower end portion 70A of the third convex portion 70 from rotating in a direction away from the reference position.

As shown in FIG. 24, the tip 79A when the lever 75 is at the rearward rotation position is positioned rearward and upward from when the lever 75 is at the reference position (see FIG. 12).

As shown in FIG. 12 , the lower end of coil spring 115 is connected to the upper end of lever 75 . The upper end of the coil spring 115 is connected to the protrusion 37 of the side frame 55 (see FIG. 10(B)). When the lever 75 is positioned at the reference position, the coil spring 115 has its natural length. When the lever 75 rotates from the reference position toward the forward rotation position or the rear rotation position, the coil spring 115 expands or contracts. As a result, the elastic force of the coil spring 115 urges the lever 75 toward the reference position.

The lever 75 is provided at the same position as the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 and above the side wall 30 in the left-right direction 9 . As shown in FIG. 12 , when the lever 75 is at the reference position, the tip 79 of the lever 75 enters the notch 96 formed in the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 .

When the lever 75 is positioned at the reference position, a distal end portion 79 of the lever 75 (a portion of the lever 75 that is inserted into the notch 96) is positioned behind the shaft 76. As shown in FIG. The tip 79 has a rear surface 79B and a front surface 79C. The rear surface 79B abuts against the rear surface 96A and the inclined surface 96B of the feed tray 20 that is moved forward in the process of removing from the housing 14 (see FIGS. 15 and 18). The front surface 79C abuts on the inclined surface 99A (see FIGS. 4 and 12) of the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 inserted into the housing 14. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 12, the lever 75 has a projection 80. As shown in FIG. The projection 80 protrudes in the direction of the arrow 151 from the virtual plane 153 extending from the shaft 76 to the tip 79A and in the left-right direction 9. As shown in FIG. The arrow 151 indicates the direction in which the lever 75 rotates toward the contact position with the slide member 74 (the position of the rear surface 105A of the convex portion 105). A projecting end face 80A of the convex portion 80 is curved.

As shown in FIG. 12, the lever 75 (indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 12) in the post-rotation position moves the feed tray 20 in the position (the position shown in FIG. 12) attached to the housing 14. is located forward of the rear surface 96A of the notch 96 of the .

As shown in FIG. 24, the lever 75 (indicated by broken lines in FIG. 24) at the forward pivot position is positioned so that the front surface 96C of the notch 96 of the feed tray 20 at the predetermined position (the position shown in FIG. 24) located more posteriorly. When the lever 75 is positioned at the forward rotation position in the process of inserting the feed tray 20 into the housing 14, the predetermined position is the slide member 74 (more specifically, the rear surface 105A of the convex portion 105). This is the position of the feed tray 20 when it comes into contact with the lever 75 in the moving position.

When the lever 75 is in contact with the upper surface 97 of the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 (for example, the state shown in FIG. 27), the forward and upward rotation angle θ (unit: degrees) of the lever 75 with respect to the vertical direction. (see FIG. 27) satisfies the relationship of (Equation 1) below. In (Equation 1), μ is the coefficient of friction between the tip 79A of the lever 75 and the upper surface 97 of the feed tray 20 (see FIG. 27).
(Number 1)
θ>arctan μ (Equation 1)

(Formula 1) is derived as follows. As shown in FIG. 27, the balance of moments about the axis 76 of the lever 75 is represented by the following (Equation 2).
(Number 2)
W×Lw×sin θ−N×L1×sin θ+μ×N×L1×cos θ+L2×S=0 (Formula 2)

In (Equation 2), W (unit: N) is the weight of the lever 75 itself. Lw (unit: mm) is the distance from the axis 76 of the lever 75 to the center of gravity of the lever 75 . N (unit: N) is a normal force acting from the upper surface 97 of the feed tray 20 to the tip 79A of the lever 75. FIG. L1 (unit: mm) is the distance from the shaft 76 of the lever 75 to the tip 79A of the lever 75; L2 (unit: mm) is the distance from the shaft 76 of the lever 75 to the connecting position of the lever 75 and the coil spring 115 . S (unit: N) is the force acting on the coil spring 115 .

By transforming (Formula 2), the following (Formula 3) is obtained.
(Number 3)
N=(W×Lw×sin θ+L2×S)/(L1×(sin θ−μcos θ)) (Formula 3)

From (Equation 3), when sin θ−μ cos θ=0, N becomes infinite. Then, when an attempt is made to move the feed tray 20 forward from the state shown in FIG. In order to prevent this, sin θ−μ cos θ>0 should be satisfied. That is, it suffices to satisfy (Equation 1). The relationship satisfied by the rearward and upward rotation angles of the lever 75 with respect to the vertical direction can also be obtained in the same manner as described above.

[Operations of Each Member in Insertion/Extraction Process of Feeding Tray 20]
The operation and state of each member in the process of inserting/removing the feed tray 20 into/from the housing 14 will be described below.

First, the operation and state of each member in the process of removing the feed tray 20 from the housing 14 will be described.

When the feed tray 20 is mounted in the housing 14 as shown in FIGS. 11-13, each member is in the state described in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 12, the lever 75 is located at the reference position. The convex portion 80 of the lever 75 contacts the rear surface 105A of the convex portion 105 of the slide member 74 from behind. At this time, the lever 75 may be separated from the rear surface 105A of the convex portion 105 of the slide member 74 .

As shown in FIG. 13, the slide member 74 is in the rear position. The protrusion 106 is positioned rearward of the shaft 87 and is spaced apart from the shaft 87 . At this time, the pinch roller 61 is biased by the coil spring 57 and is in contact with the conveying roller 60 (see FIGS. 2 and 5). That is, the conveying roller pair 59 is in a nip state.

As shown in FIG. 12, the rear surface 96A of the notch 96 of the feed tray 20 is located behind the lever 75 at the reference position. A rear surface 96A of the notch 96 of the feed tray 20 is located behind the lever 75 in the rear rotation position indicated by the dashed line in FIG. A front surface 96C of the notch 96 of the feed tray 20 is located forward of the lever 75 at the reference position. A distal end portion 79 of the lever 75 is positioned below the upper surface 97 of the side wall 30 and enters the notch 96 .

The first convex portion 94 of the base member 90 faces the front upper surface 31A of the discharge tray 21 in the vertical direction 7 . The second convex portion 95 of the base member 90 faces the horizontal surface 97A of the upper surface 97 of the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 in the vertical direction 7 . Therefore, when the feed tray 20 is lifted upward by the user in the state shown in FIGS. contacts the lower surface 95A of the second protrusion 95 from below, thereby restricting lifting of the feeding tray 20. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 13, platen 42 is in the printing position. Platen 42 is positioned in vertical direction 7 as will be described in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 13 , the contact piece 47 provided at the rear end of the platen 42 is supported by the support surface 102 of the slide member 74 . A protrusion 46 is located above the support surface 102 (see FIG. 6). A bearing 71 (see FIG. 5) of the conveying roller 60 is fitted in a recess formed by the upper surface 46A of the protrusion 46. As shown in FIG. At this time, the protrusion 46 is urged upward by the coil spring 48 and pressed against the bearing 71 of the conveying roller 60 . That is, the platen 42 is urged toward the conveying roller 60 . Thereby, the rear end of the platen 42 is positioned in the vertical direction 7 by the side frame 55 to which the bearing 71 is attached.

A protrusion 49 provided at the front end of the platen 42 is supported by the tip 111 of the protrusion 104 of the slide member 74 . At this time, the protrusion 49 is urged upward by the tip portion 111 functioning as a plate spring and pressed against the discharge roller 62 . In other words, the projecting portion 49 is sandwiched between the projecting portion 104 and the discharge roller 62 from above and below. As a result, the front end of the platen 42 is positioned in the vertical direction 7 by the side frame 55 on which the discharge roller 62 is supported via bearings 72 . As described above, the platen 42 is positioned in the vertical direction 7 by positioning the rear end portion and the front end portion of the platen 42 on the side frames 55 .

Even if the slide member 74 moves from the rear position shown in FIG. 13 to the front position shown in FIG. Therefore, regardless of the position of the slide member 74 , the protrusion 46 is urged upward by the coil spring 48 and pressed against the bearing 71 . Thereby, the platen 42 can rotate around the bearing 71 (around the axis of the transport roller 60) regardless of the position of the slide member 74. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 13, the protrusions 50 of the platen 42 are spaced apart from the slide member 74 . In other words, the protrusion 50 is not supported by the slide member 74 .

When the removal of the feed tray 20 from the housing 14 is started, the feed tray 20 moves forward from the position shown in FIGS. 11-13 to the position shown in FIGS. 14-16. At this time, each member operates as detailed below and is in a state as detailed below.

As shown in FIG. 15, the rear surface 96A of the notch 96 of the feed tray 20 abuts the rear surface 79B of the tip portion 79 of the lever 75 from behind to push the lever 75 forward. As a result, the lever 75 is pushed by the feed tray 20 and rotates from the reference position in the direction of the arrow 151 against the biasing force of the coil spring 115, that is, from the reference position toward the forward rotation position. The convex portion 80 of the rotating lever 75 pushes the rear surface 105A of the convex portion 105 of the slide member 74 forward. Thereby, the slide member 74 slides forward from the rear position, that is, from the rear position toward the front position.

The first convex portion 94 of the base member 90 faces the front upper surface 31A of the discharge tray 21 in the vertical direction 7 . The front portion of the second convex portion 95 of the base member 90 faces the horizontal surface 97A of the upper surface 97 of the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 in the vertical direction 7 . The rear portion of the second protrusion 95 of the base member 90 faces the notch 96 of the feed tray 20 in the vertical direction 7 . Therefore, when the feed tray 20 is lifted upward by the user while the feed tray 20 is moving forward, the front upper surface 31A contacts the lower surface 94A of the first protrusion 94 from below, or The horizontal surface 97A abuts the lower surface 95A of the second projection 95 from below, thereby restricting lifting of the feeding tray 20. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 16, platen 42 has been pivoted downward from the printing position. That is, the platen 42 is rotated from the printing position toward the open position. Details are given below.

Since the protrusion 46 is kept pressed against the bearing 71 , the platen 42 is kept rotatable around the axis of the transport roller 60 .

On the other hand, by sliding the slide member 74 forward, the protrusion 104 of the slide member 74 is separated from the protrusion 49 . As a result, the protrusion 49 is no longer supported by the protrusion 104 . As a result, the platen 42 rotates about the axis of the conveying roller 60 so that the tip portion of the platen 42 moves downward, and the protrusion 49 of the platen 42 is separated from the bearing 72 . After that, as shown in FIG. 16, when the platen 42 rotates, the projection 50 moves downward and comes into contact with the horizontal surface 123 of the slide member 74 from above and is guided by the horizontal surface 123 . Thereafter, as the slide member 74 slides forward, the protrusions 50 are guided by the horizontal surface 123 and the inclined surface 103 of the slide member 74, thereby rotating the platen 42 toward the open position.

Since the projection 104 of the slide member 74 is separated from the projection 49, the front end of the platen 42 is no longer positioned in the vertical direction 7. As shown in FIG.

In the state shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, the protrusion 106 is still positioned behind the shaft 87 and separated from the shaft 87, so the conveying roller pair 59 remains in the nip state.

As the feed tray 20 moves forward from the position shown in FIGS. 14-16 to the position shown in FIGS. It is in such a state that

As shown in FIG. 18, the lever 75 is pushed by the feed tray 20 and pivoted from the position shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 19, the slide member 74 is pushed by the rotating lever 75 and slides forward from the position shown in FIG. 16, that is, toward the front position.

14 to 16 to the position shown in FIGS. 17 to 19, the projection 106 comes into contact with the shaft 87 from behind as shown in FIG. As a result, the inclined surface 107 of the protrusion 106 guides the shaft 87 upward. As a result, the shaft 87 moves upward against the biasing force of the coil spring 57 (see FIG. 16). The shaft 87 moving upward pushes upward the surface of the roller holder 85 defining the through hole 86 . As a result, the roller holder 85 and the pinch roller 61 are moved upward, and the pinch roller 61 is separated from the conveying roller 60 . As a result, the conveying roller pair 59 changes its state from the nip state to the separated state.

The guide of the shaft 87 by the inclined surface 107 is started after the guide of the projection 50 by the horizontal surface 123 of the slide member 74 and the inclined surface 103 is started. Moreover, the platen 42 has not yet reached the open position when the state change from the nipped state to the separated state of the conveying roller pair 59 is completed. In other words, the rotation of the platen 42 from the printing position to the open position is completed after the state change of the conveying roller pair 59 from the nip state to the separated state is completed.

In the process of being guided by the inclined surface 107, the shaft 87 is first guided by the distal side inclined surface 107A and then guided by the proximal side inclined surface 107B. The shaft 87 when guided by the proximal-side inclined surface 107B is positioned above the shaft 87 when guided by the distal-side inclined surface 107A. That is, the pinch roller 61 when the tip-side inclined surface 107A is in contact with the shaft 87 is positioned closer to the transport roller 60 than the pinch roller 61 when the base-end-side inclined surface 107B is in contact with the shaft 87. are doing. Therefore, the coil spring 57 when the shaft 87 is guided by the proximal-side inclined surface 107B is stretched more than the coil spring 57 when the shaft 87 is guided by the distal-side inclined surface 107A, and a large elastic force is exerted on the shaft. It acts as a resisting force against the 87 guide. Here, the proximal-side inclined surface 107B is more moderately inclined with respect to the horizontal plane than the distal-side inclined surface 107A. That is, when a large elastic force acts, the shaft 87 is guided by the gentle base end side inclined surface 107B, so that the load applied to the shaft 87 can be reduced. On the other hand, when a large elastic force does not act, the shaft 87 is guided by the steep distal end side inclined surface 107A, and thus can move upward quickly.

When the slide member 74 is in the position shown in FIGS. 17-19, the shaft 87 passes through the inclined surface 107 of the projection 106 and is supported on the horizontal surface 108 of the projection 106. As shown in FIG.

In the discharge roller pair 44, unlike the conveying roller pair 59, the discharge roller 62 and the spur 63 are not separated. In other words, regardless of the positions of the slide member 74 and the platen 42 , the discharge roller 62 and the spur 63 maintain a nip state in which they can hold the paper 12 by contacting each other.

As shown in FIG. 18 , the first convex portion 94 of the base member 90 faces the front upper surface 31A of the discharge tray 21 in the vertical direction 7 . The second convex portion 95 of the base member 90 faces the notch 96 of the feed tray 20 in the vertical direction 7 . Therefore, when the user lifts the feed tray 20 upward while the feed tray 20 is moving forward, the front upper surface 31A comes into contact with the lower surface 94A of the first protrusion 94 from below. Lifting of the feed tray 20 is restricted.

In the process of sliding the slide member 74 forward from the position shown in FIGS. 14-16 to the position shown in FIGS. By being guided by the slanted surface 103, the front end is rotated further downward, that is, further rotated toward the open position.

In the process of being guided by the inclined surface 103, the protrusion 50 is first guided by the upper inclined surface 103B and then guided by the lower inclined surface 103A. The projection 50 when guided by the lower inclined surface 103A is positioned below the projection 50 when guided by the upper inclined surface 103B. Therefore, the coil spring 48 when the projection 50 is guided by the lower inclined surface 103A is contracted more than the coil spring 48 when the projection 50 is guided by the upper inclined surface 103B, and a large elastic force acts to guide the projection 50. acts as a resistance against Here, the lower inclined surface 103A is more gently inclined with respect to the horizontal plane than the upper inclined surface 103B. That is, when a large elastic force acts, the projection 50 is guided by the gentle lower inclined surface 130A, so the load applied to the projection 50 can be reduced. On the other hand, when a large elastic force does not act, the projection 50 is guided by the steep upper inclined surface 103B, so that the platen 42 can be rapidly rotated toward the open position.

As the feed tray 20 moves forward from the position shown in FIGS. 17-19 to the position shown in FIGS. It is in such a state that

As shown in FIG. 21, the lever 75 is pushed by the feed tray 20 and moved in the direction of the arrow 151 from the position shown in FIG. 18 to the forward rotation position. At this time, the lever 75 is positioned outside the notch 96 . A tip 79 A of the lever 75 is supported on a horizontal surface 97 A of an upper surface 97 of the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 . The tip 79A of the lever 75 is guided by the inclined surface 96B of the rear surface 96A of the notch 96, so that the lever 75 can smoothly move out of the notch 96. As shown in FIG. The lever 75 at the forward rotation position is in contact with the rear lower end portion 70A of the third convex portion 70 of the base member 90 . This restricts the rotation of the lever 75 at the forward rotation position in the direction of the arrow 151 .

As shown in FIG. 22, the slide member 74 is pushed forward by the rotating lever 75 and slid forward from the position shown in FIGS.

The conveying roller pair 59 is in a separated state.

As shown in FIG. 21 , the front portion of the first protrusion 94 of the base member 90 faces the front upper surface 31A of the discharge tray 21 in the vertical direction 7 . The rear portion of the first convex portion 94 of the base member 90 faces the rear upper surface 31B of the discharge tray 21 in the vertical direction 7 . The second convex portion 95 of the base member 90 faces the notch 96 of the feed tray 20 in the vertical direction 7 . Therefore, when the user lifts the feed tray 20 upward while the feed tray 20 is moving forward, the front upper surface 31A comes into contact with the lower surface 94A of the first protrusion 94 from below. Lifting of the feed tray 20 is restricted.

21, the rear surface 96A, which is the rear end of the notch 96, is at the same position as the rear end of the lower surface 95A of the second protrusion 95 in the front-rear direction 8. Become. At this time, the rear end of the front upper surface 31A of the discharge tray 21 is still positioned rearward of the front end of the lower surface 94A of the first protrusion 94 . In other words, when the rear surface 96A, which is the rear end of the notch 96, is located rearward of the rear end of the lower surface 95A of the second protrusion 95, the rear end of the front upper surface 31A of the discharge tray 21 is located behind the first protrusion 94. It is located behind the front end of the lower surface 94A. That is, when the second protrusion 95 faces the notch 96 in the vertical direction 7 , the first protrusion 94 faces the front upper surface 31 A of the discharge tray 21 in the vertical direction 7 . Accordingly, when the feed tray 20 is lifted upward by the user, the front upper surface 31A contacts the lower surface 94A of the first convex portion 94 from below, so that the second convex portion 95 deeply enters the notch 96. is suppressed.

In the process of sliding the slide member 74 forward from the position shown in FIGS. 17-19 to the position shown in FIGS. Guided by the inclined surface 103 of the slide member 74, the front end of the slide member 74 is rotated to be positioned further downward, and is positioned at the open position.

As shown in FIG. 20, the platen 42 in the open position is located behind the wall 120 of the base member 90 (upstream in the transport direction 15). A lower portion of the front end of the platen 42 is recessed into the recess 118 of the base member 90 . Platen 42 is supported on surface 119 of base member 90 . In this embodiment, the plate member 83 attached to the platen 42 is supported by the surface 119 by contacting the surface 119 from above. The platen 42 is thereby supported by the base member 90 .

The platen 42 in the open position is positioned above a virtual plane 129 (a surface that slopes upward toward the rear like the slope 122 ) containing the slope 122 of the wall 120 of the base member 90 . In other words, the virtual surface 129 covers the platen 42 in the open position from above.

After that, although not shown, the feed tray 20 is moved further forward and removed from the housing 14 . At this time, when the feed tray 20 is lifted upward by the user while the feed tray 20 is moving forward, the inclined surface 31C and the rear upper surface 31B of the discharge tray 21 and the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 are inclined. The horizontal surface 97A of the upper surface 97 abuts the lower surface 94A of the first projection 94 from below, thereby restricting lifting of the feed tray 20. As shown in FIG. When the feed tray 20 is moved further forward and the lever 75 is no longer supported by the feed tray 20, the lever 75 is urged by the coil spring 115 to rotate to the reference position.

Next, the operation and state of each member in the process of inserting the feed tray 20 into the housing 14 will be described. Note that the operation of each member in the process of inserting the feed tray 20 into the housing 14 (hereinafter referred to as “insertion operation”) is the process of removing the feed tray 20 from the housing 14. This is generally the opposite operation to the operation of each member in (hereinafter referred to as "movement at the time of removal"). Therefore, in the following description, when the operation at the time of insertion is the reverse operation of the operation at the time of removal, the explanation of that operation will be simplified or omitted, and the operation at the time of insertion will be different from the operation at the time of removal which is the reverse of the operation at the time of removal. If so, its operation is described in detail.

In the process of inserting the feed tray 20 into the housing 14 by moving it backward with respect to the housing 14, when the rear end of the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 approaches the lever 75 at the reference position, the lever 75 enters recess 99 (see FIG. 12) in the rear end of side wall 30 of feed tray 20 . When the feed tray 20 moves further rearward, the inclined surface 99A (see FIG. 12) of the feed tray 20 contacts the front surface 79C of the tip portion 79 of the lever 75 at the reference position from the front. A front surface 79</b>C of the tip portion 79 of the lever 75 is pushed rearward by the inclined surface 99</b>A of the feed tray 20 . As a result, the lever 75 rotates from the reference position in the direction of the arrow 152, that is, from the reference position toward the rear rotation position. Thereafter, as the feed tray 20 is moved rearward, the lever 75 passes through the inclined surface 99A and is then guided by the upper surface 97. As shown in FIG. At this time, the lever 75 is guided while rotating in the direction of arrow 151 or arrow 152 according to the height of the upper surface 97 with which the lever 75 abuts.

After the inclined surface 99A of the feed tray 20 comes into contact with the lever 75, the feed tray 20 is moved further rearward and inserted to the position shown in FIGS. , the projection 125 of the feed tray 20 contacts the projection 124 of the slide member 74 from the front. At this time, the front surface 96C of the notch 96 of the feed tray 20 is positioned forward of the lever 75 in the forward rotation position indicated by the dashed line in FIG. Actually, at this time, the lever 75 is positioned at the reference position, and the lever 75 is not positioned at the forward rotation position unless an unexpected situation such as the lever 75 being caught by a foreign object occurs. .

When the feed tray 20 is moved further rearward, the projection 125 pushes the projection 124 rearward. Thereby, the slide member 74 slides from the front position to the rear, that is, from the front position to the rear position.

When the slide member 74 is slid rearward, the projection 50 (see FIG. 22) supported by the lower inclined surface 103A is guided along the lower inclined surface 103A (see FIG. 19), and then through the upper inclined surface 103B. is guided to the horizontal plane 123 (see FIG. 16). This causes the platen 42 to rotate from the open position toward the printing position.

When the protrusion 50 is guided by the upper inclined surface 103B, that is, in the process of sliding the slide member 74 rearward from the position shown in FIGS. is spaced from the shaft 87. As a result, the shaft 87 is biased by the coil spring 57 and moves downward. As a result, the roller holder 85 and the pinch roller 61 also move downward due to their own weight, and the pinch roller 61 comes into contact with the conveying roller 60 . As a result, the conveying roller pair 59 changes its state from the separated state to the nipped state.

When the conveying roller pair 59 is changed to the nip state, the protrusion 104 of the slide member 74 is still separated from the protrusion 49 of the platen 42 and does not support the protrusion 49 .

When the slide member 74 is slid further rearward and reaches a predetermined position (an example of the third position) after the conveying roller pair 59 is changed to the nip state, the convex portion 104 of the slide member 74 is moved to the platen 42 . 49. The predetermined position is a position between the front position and the rear position. Projecting portion 49 is guided to horizontal surface 111B via inclined surface 111A of tip portion 111 of convex portion 104 and is finally supported by horizontal surface 111B of tip portion 111 . At this time, the projecting portion 49 is lifted by being urged upward by the tip portion 111 functioning as a plate spring, and is pressed against the discharge roller 62 . That is, the projecting portion 49 is vertically sandwiched between the projecting portion 104 and the discharge roller 62 . As a result, the front end of the platen 42 is positioned in the vertical direction 7 by the side frame 55 supporting the discharge roller 62 via the bearing 72 . As a result, the platen 42 is positioned at the leading end in addition to being positioned at the trailing end regardless of the position of the slide member 74 . At this time, the platen 42 (the position shown in FIGS. 11 to 13) is at the printing position.

When the protrusion 49 is lifted by the tip 111, the protrusion 50 also moves upward. As a result, the protrusion 50 is separated from the horizontal surface 123 of the slide member 74 . That is, when the platen 42 is at the printing position, the rear end and the front end are vertically positioned by the side frames 55 and the protrusion 50 is separated from the slide member 74 .

As described above, the inclined surface 103 contacts the protrusion 50 of the platen 42 between the front position and the predetermined position, and guides the platen 42 from the open position to the printing position. Further, the protrusion 104 abuts on the protrusion 49 of the platen 42 between the predetermined position and the rear position, thereby separating the protrusion 50 from the inclined surface 103 and guiding the platen 42 to the printing position. The protrusion 104 urges the protrusion 49 toward the discharge roller 62 when the slide member 74 is at the rear position.

[Effects of Embodiment]
When the slide member 74 is at the rear position, the protrusion 104 urges the protrusion 49 toward the ejection roller 62 , so the platen 42 can be positioned by the ejection roller 62 . Accordingly, high positioning accuracy of the platen 42 with respect to the recording section 24 can be maintained.

In the process of sliding the slide member 74 from the front position to the rear position, the inclined surface 111A abuts against the protrusion 49 and can guide the protrusion 49 to a position where the protrusion 104 can bias it.

The projecting portion 49 can be biased toward the discharge roller 62 without providing a separate member such as a coil spring.

Since the through hole 109 can be partially narrowed by the projection 112, plastic deformation of the tip portion 111 of the projection 104 can be reduced.

By engaging the slide member 74 with the base member 90 by means of the protrusions 105, deformation of the slide member 74 in the left-right direction 9 can be reduced. The deformation of the slide member 74 in the left-right direction 9 is likely to occur when the protrusion 104 biases the protrusion 49 toward the ejection roller 62 .

The platen 42 is urged toward the conveying roller 60 by the abutting piece 47 and the coil spring 48 in addition to the urging toward the discharge roller 62 by the convex portion 104 . Thereby, the platen 42 can be positioned by both the discharge roller 62 and the transport roller 60 .

The upper surface 46A of the protrusion 46 contacts the side frame 55 or the bearing 71 regardless of the rotational position of the platen 42 . Therefore, the platen 42 can be positioned by the transport rollers 60 regardless of the rotational position of the platen 42 .

Since both the discharge roller 62 and the transport roller 60 are positioned by the side frames 55, relative positional deviation of the discharge roller 62 and the transport roller 60 can be reduced.

Since the plate member 83 functions as a weight, the platen 42 can be easily rotated to the open position. The platen 42 can be reinforced by the plate member 83 .

The attitude of the platen 42 at the open position can be stabilized.

The platen 42 in the open position can be accurately positioned.

[Modification]
In the above embodiment, the lever 75 is urged to the reference position by the coil spring 115, but it may be urged to the reference position by its own weight.

In the above embodiment, the tip portion 79 of the lever 75 was positioned below the shaft 76 , but the tip portion 79 of the lever 75 may be positioned above the shaft 76 . In this case, the tip 79A when the lever 75 is at the forward rotation position is located forward and below the lever 75 at the reference position, and the tip 79A when the lever 75 is at the rear rotation position is It is located rearward and downward from the reference position.

Two levers 75 are provided corresponding to the two side walls 30 of the feed tray 20 and the slide member 74 . Normally, the amount of rotation of the two levers 75 from the reference position to the forward rotation position is the same, and the amount of rotation of the two levers 75 from the reference position to the rear rotation position is the same. However, the amount of rotation of the two levers 75 may be different. For example, when the configurations of the two side walls 30 and the two slide members 74 are different on the left and right, the rotation amounts of the two levers 75 are adjusted according to the configuration, resulting in different rotation amounts of the two levers 75. It can be like this.

In the above-described embodiment, the lever 75 at the forward rotation position is restricted from rotating in the direction of the arrow 151 by coming into contact with the rear lower end portion 70A of the third projection 70 of the base member 90 (see FIG. 21). ). However, because the third protrusion 70 of the base member 90 is not provided, or the position of the third protrusion 70 is different from that in the above embodiment, the lever 75 in the forward rotation position is further rotated in the direction of the arrow 151. It may be configured to be rotatable.

In this case, at least one of the lower surface 94A of the first protrusion 94 or the lower surface 95A of the second protrusion 95 and at least one of the front upper surface 31A of the discharge tray 21 and the horizontal surface 97A of the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 are aligned vertically. When they face each other in the direction 7, the space in the vertical direction 7 between them is smaller than the space in the vertical direction 7 between the lever 75 at the limit rotation position and the feed tray 20. is desirable.

Here, the limit rotation position is a position defined as a position when the lever 75 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 151 by the maximum amount from the reference position. For example, the limit rotation position is a position where the lever 75 and the coil spring 115 may be damaged if the lever 75 rotates in the direction of the arrow 151 beyond the limit rotation position. Further, for example, the limit rotation position is a predetermined position where the lever 75 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 151 from the previous rotation position and comes into contact with the member that restricts the rotation.

The platen 42 may rotate around an axis other than the transport roller 60 . For example, platen 42 may rotate around the axis of pinch roller 61 . Also, for example, as shown in FIG. 28, the platen 42 may rotate around the axis of the discharge roller 62 . In this case, when the platen 42 is in the open position, the rear end 67 of the upper surface of the platen 42 (supporting surface of the paper 12) is positioned lower than when it is in the printing position, as indicated by the dashed line in FIG. .

The platen 42 may be moved between the printing position and the open position by sliding along the vertical direction 7 as shown in FIG. 29, instead of rotating. In this case, when the platen 42 is in the open position, the platen 42 is positioned lower than when it is in the printing position, as indicated by the dashed line in FIG. That is, the front end portion 66 and the rear end portion 67 of the upper surface of the platen 42 are positioned lower than in the printing position.

In the above embodiment, the conveying roller 60 is arranged below the linear portion 34 and the pinch roller 61 is arranged above the linear portion 34 . However, contrary to the above embodiment, the conveying roller 60 may be arranged below the linear portion 34 and the pinch roller 61 may be arranged above the linear portion 34 . In this case, the slide member 74 is configured to guide the shaft 87 downward and move the pinch roller 61 downward in conjunction with the forward movement. Also, in this case, the platen 42 rotates around the axis of the pinch roller 61 .

The protrusions 50 of the platen 42 shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 may be rotatable around an axis extending in the left-right direction 9 . That is, the projections 50 may be rollers rotatably supported on the central portion 162 of the platen 42 .

A cushioning material may be attached to the platen 42 . The cushioning material is, for example, a porous material such as sponge. For example, the plate member 83, which is made of metal in the above embodiment, is made of a porous material instead of metal, so that the plate member 83 functions as a cushioning material. Of course, the platen 42 may include a cushioning material in addition to the plate member 83 made of metal. In this case, when the platen 42 is in the open position, the platen 42 in the open position is supported by the base member 90 by contacting the surface 119 from above with the cushioning material instead of the plate member 83 .

Platen 42 may not have ribs 43 , 45 . In this case, the supporting surface of the paper 12 is the upper surface of the ribs 43 .

In the above-described embodiment, when the feed tray 20 is removed from the housing 14 , the lever 75 that has been rotated in contact with the feed tray 20 contacts the slide member 74 , thereby moving the slide member 74 from the rear position to the front position. When the feed tray 20 is inserted into the housing 14, the feed tray 20 abuts against the slide member 74, causing the slide member 74 to slide from the front position to the rear position without the intervention of the lever 75. .

However, contrary to the above, when the feed tray 20 is inserted into the housing 14 , the rotated lever 75 abutting against the feed tray 20 abuts the slide member 74 so that the slide member 74 is moved to the front position. When the feed tray 20 is removed from the housing 14 , the slide member 74 abuts against the slide member 74 so that the slide member 74 slides from the rear position to the front position without the lever 75 . You may In this case, when the lever 75 is positioned at the reference position, the tip portion 79 of the lever 75 (the portion of the lever 75 that is inserted into the notch 96) should be positioned forward of the shaft 76 (see the above embodiment). was located behind the axis 76 in ).

Further, when the feed tray 20 is inserted into and removed from the housing 14, the rotated lever 75 in contact with the feed tray 20 contacts the slide member 74, causing the slide member 74 to slide. good too. Further, the slide member 74 may slide without the lever 75 when the feed tray 20 abuts against the slide member 74 both when the feed tray 20 is inserted into and removed from the housing 14 .

When the slide member 74 is slid from the front position to the rear position due to the lever 75 coming into contact with the slide member 74 when the feed tray 20 is inserted into the housing 14, the slide member 74 can be moved, for example, as shown in FIG. , a projection 142 projecting in the left-right direction 9 is provided at a position where the lever 75 abuts from the front.

In the above embodiment, the slide member 74 slides in the front-rear direction 8 to move the platen 42 to the printing position and the open position. However, the platen 42 may move to the printing position and the open position in conjunction with movement of members other than the slide member 74 .

For example, as shown in FIG. 26, top surface 141 of side wall 140 of feed tray 20 may support platen 42 in the printing position. The side wall 140 corresponds to the side wall 30 of the feeding tray 20 of the above embodiment. An inclined surface 141A is formed at the rear end portion of the upper surface 141 of the side wall 140 . When the feed tray 20 is removed from the housing 14, the inclined surface 141A guides the leading edge of the platen 42 downward by moving forward, thereby allowing the platen 42 to perform printing as indicated by the solid line in FIG. 26 (where the front end 66 of the upper surface of the platen 42 (paper supporting surface) is lower than in the printing position) shown by the dashed line in FIG. In the process of moving backward when the slide member 74 is inserted into the housing 14, the platen 42 rotates from the open position to the printing position by guiding the tip of the platen 42 on the inclined surface 141A upward. .

Further, for example, the upper surface of the discharge tray 21 may support the platen 42 at the printing position, and the platen 42 may rotate to the printing position and the open position in conjunction with the movement of the discharge tray 21 . Note that the discharge tray 21 may move integrally with the feed tray 20 as in the above embodiment, or may move separately from the feed tray 20 .

The material of the frames (the side frames 55 and the guide rails 56) is not limited to metal, and may be made of resin containing resin such as polyacetal (POM) as a main component.

The printer section 11 may not have the contact member 41 .

In the above embodiment, the transport path 65 is composed of the curved portion 33 and the straight portion 34, but the configuration of the transport path 65 is not limited to this. For example, the transport path 65 may be a substantially linear path that extends forward from an opening formed in the rear surface of the housing 14 and reaches the internal space 23 .

The printer unit 11 of the above-described embodiment is of a so-called serial head system in which the recording unit 24 is equipped with the carriage 40 , but the recording unit 24 is not equipped with the carriage 40 and the recording head 38 moves from the left end of the transport path 65 to the right end. A so-called line head system may be used.

In the above-described embodiment, the printer unit 11 records an image on the paper 12 using an inkjet method.

10... MFP 11... Printer section (image recording device)
12 Paper (sheet)
13... Opening 14... Housing 15... Conveying direction 23... Internal space 24... Recording section 32... Gap 42... Platen 44... Discharge roller pair (roller pair)
49...Protrusion (second portion)
50...Protrusion (first portion)
62 Ejection roller (driving roller)
63 Spur (driven roller)
65 Conveyance path 74 Slide member 103 Inclined surface 103 (guide portion)
104... Convex portion (biasing portion)

Claims (14)

a housing having an internal space open to the outside through an opening;
a sheet conveying path formed at a position opposite to the opening with respect to the internal space inside the housing;
a pair of rollers positioned on the conveying path, having a driving roller and a driven roller driven by the driving roller, and nipping and conveying the sheet in a conveying direction toward the internal space;
a platen positioned upstream in the conveying direction of the pair of rollers in the conveying path and having a support surface for supporting the sheet;
a recording unit positioned above the platen for recording an image on a sheet supported by the platen;
a slide member located inside the housing and slidable between a first position and a second position closer to the opening than the first position;
The platen is movable between a print position where the recording unit records an image on a sheet, and an open position where the support surface is positioned below the print position,
The slide member is
In the process of sliding from the second position to the first position, the platen is held in contact with the first portion of the platen from the second position to a third position between the second position and the first position. a guide portion that guides from the open position toward the printing position;
In the sliding process from the second position to the first position, the platen contacts the second portion between the third position and the first position to move the first portion away from the guide portion. and an urging portion that urges the second portion toward the drive roller at the first position. In the open position, the end portion of the support surface in the conveying direction is positioned below the printing position, and the space between the platen and the recording section is the internal space through the gap between the end portion and the roller pair. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position communicates with the . 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the biasing portion has an inclined surface at the end on the first position side, the surface approaching the driving roller toward the second position. The biasing portion is a convex portion projecting toward the drive roller,
The convex portion is formed into a thin plate having a tip portion functioning as a leaf spring by a lightening portion penetrating in a width direction orthogonal to the sliding direction and the vertical direction of the slide member,
4. The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tip portion abuts on the second portion. 5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the urging portion has a projection projecting in a projecting direction of the projection on an inner surface defining the lightening portion. A base member that constitutes the lower part of the housing and is integrally molded with a resin material,
6. The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the slide member has an engaging portion that protrudes in a width direction perpendicular to the sliding direction and the vertical direction of the slide member and engages with the base member. a conveying roller positioned upstream in the conveying direction from the support surface of the platen in the conveying path and conveying the sheet in the conveying direction;
7. The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the platen moves between the printing position and the open position by rotating around the axis of the transport roller. a biasing member provided on the platen;
the slide member includes a receiving surface that supports the biasing member at the first position;
8. The image recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the platen is urged toward the conveying roller by the urging member in a state where the receiving surface supports the urging member. A frame that rotatably supports the conveying roller via a bearing,
The platen has a notch with an arc-shaped peripheral surface,
9. The image recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the peripheral surface is in contact with the frame or the bearing along the peripheral direction of the conveying roller. 10. The image recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said frame rotatably supports said drive roller. 11. The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the platen includes a metal member attached at a position closer to the downstream end in the transport direction than to the upstream end in the transport direction. 11. The image according to any one of claims 7 to 10, further comprising a support member that supports at least a central portion of the platen in a width direction orthogonal to the sliding direction and the vertical direction of the slide member when the platen is in the open position. recording device. The platen includes a metal member attached at a position closer to the downstream end in the transport direction than the upstream end in the transport direction,
13. The image recording apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the support member supports the metal member. a tray that is inserted into the internal space through the opening in a first direction, is attached to the housing, is removed from the housing in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction, and supports a sheet;
The transport path extends from the tray in the first direction and upward and makes a U-turn in the second direction, and is continuous with the first path and extends in the second direction to the internal space. consists of a second route to
14. The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the roller pair, the platen, and the recording section are positioned on the second path.

Images