US20120161381A1 - Recording Media Cassette, Recording Apparatus - Google Patents
Recording Media Cassette, Recording Apparatus Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20120161381A1 US20120161381A1 US13/316,886 US201113316886A US2012161381A1 US 20120161381 A1 US20120161381 A1 US 20120161381A1 US 201113316886 A US201113316886 A US 201113316886A US 2012161381 A1 US2012161381 A1 US 2012161381A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- tray
- upper tray
- recording media
- lower tray
- sheet
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 description 8
- 230000000452 restraining effect Effects 0.000 description 7
- 230000000717 retained effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000002730 additional effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000007423 decrease Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000013013 elastic material Substances 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H1/00—Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated
- B65H1/26—Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated with auxiliary supports to facilitate introduction or renewal of the pile
- B65H1/266—Support fully or partially removable from the handling machine, e.g. cassette, drawer
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2402/00—Constructional details of the handling apparatus
- B65H2402/30—Supports; Subassemblies; Mountings thereof
- B65H2402/32—Sliding support means
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2405/00—Parts for holding the handled material
- B65H2405/30—Other features of supports for sheets
- B65H2405/33—Compartmented support
- B65H2405/332—Superposed compartments
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2801/00—Application field
- B65H2801/03—Image reproduction devices
- B65H2801/06—Office-type machines, e.g. photocopiers
Definitions
- the upper tray is slidably displaceable by means of a driving unit, the upper tray is in a state of being restrained by the lower tray when the upper tray is located in an active area of the upper tray, and the upper tray is released from being in the restrained state when the upper tray is located in an inactive area, thereby ensuring the upper tray to be slidably displaced in the active area by means of the driving unit.
- FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a section of an essential part of the sheet cassette according to one embodiment of the invention.
- the sheet cassette 100 in which a plurality of sheets P can be set in a stacked state, is removably mounted in the main body of the apparatus from the front side with respect to the feeding device 2 .
- the sheet cassette 100 includes two sheet containers, that is, a lower tray 50 which is disposed on the lower side thereof and constitutes a base of the sheet cassette 100 , and an upper tray 60 which is disposed above the lower tray 50 and is slidably movable between a feedable position and a stand-by area.
- a freely rotatable guide roller 20 is disposed at a position downstream of the separating slope 54 .
- a separation unit 21 composed of a separation roller 22 and a driving roller 23 is disposed at a position downstream of the guide roller 20 .
- the separation roller 22 has an outer periphery made of an elastic material and is capable of pressingly contacting the driving roller 23 while being in a state in which a predetermined rotation resistance is applied by a torque limiter mechanism. Accordingly, the subsequent sheets P are not permitted to be fed with the uppermost sheet P passing between the separation roller 22 and the driving roller 23 , thereby preventing double feeding of the sheets P.
- the driving roller 23 is rotated by a motor, which is not shown in the figure, in the direction by which the sheets P are fed downstream.
- the lower tray 50 is further provided with the edge guide 52 , which is slidably movable in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction (that is, sheet width direction), such that the position of one side edge of the sheet P 1 is aligned with the edge guide 52 .
- the other side edge is aligned with a side wall 50 b ( FIG. 2 ) of the lower tray 50 .
- the side wall 50 b of the lower tray 50 serves as a fixed edge guide.
- the guiding height of the guide surface 52 d is configured to be changed between two states, that is, a lower state ( FIG. 4A ) and a higher state ( FIG. 4B ), the guiding height maybe changed in a stepwise manner for example by defining several height positions, or alternatively, the guiding height may be continuously changed. In such cases, it is desirable to provide a holding unit so as to retain the predetermined guiding height.
- FIGS. 5A and 5B Another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B .
- the same configurations as those of FIGS. 4A and 4B are referenced by the same reference numerals, while the configurations corresponding to but different from those of FIGS. 4A and 4B are referenced by the same reference numerals with a prime mark.
- the edge guide 52 ′ includes a base 52 a, an upright portion 52 b ′ formed integrally with the base 52 a so as to be mounted upright on the base 52 a, a plate member 52 c ′ that is rotatable with respect to the upright portion 52 b ′ about rotation shaft bearings 52 f and a biasing unit, which is not shown in the figure, that biases the plate member 52 c ′ in a direction indicated by the arrow C 2 .
- the rotation shaft bearing 52 f is a bearing that supports a shaft (not shown) formed on the upright portion 52 b′.
Abstract
A recording media cassette includes a lower tray that stores recording media therein, and an upper tray that stores recording media therein and is mounted on the lower tray so as to be detachable from the lower tray.
Description
- 1. Technical Field
- The present invention relates to recording media cassettes that are detachably mounted in the main body of an apparatus. Further, the present invention relates to recording apparatuses, such as facsimile machines or printers, having a recording media feeding device that feeds recording media from the recording media cassette.
- 2. Related Art
- Sheet cassettes that are detachably mounted in the main body of an apparatus are commonly used. In particular, JP-A-2006-273565 and JP-A-2007-91445 disclose a detachable sheet cassette (tray) having a dual-container configuration composed of upper and lower sheet containers. A sheet container that stores sheets therein in a recording apparatus is generally called various names, including “cassette”, “tray” and so forth. In the following description, an entire unit that is detachably mounded in the main body of the apparatus is referred to as a “cassette”, while each sheet container that is provided in the cassette is referred to as a “tray”.
- In the sheet cassette having a dual-tray configuration as mentioned above, an upper tray is slidably and rotatably movable relative to a lower tray. The sheet cassette can be switched between a state in which the sheets can be fed from the upper tray and a state in which the sheets can be fed from the lower tray by slidably moving the upper tray. Further, a space for storing sheets in the lower tray is opened by turning the upper tray.
- With such a dual-tray configuration of a sheet cassette, however, it is not possible to remove the upper tray from the lower tray. Accordingly, it is not always useful for a user who does not frequently use the upper tray, since the upper tray reduces the capacity for storing sheets in the lower tray. Further, an additional action to turn the upper tray is necessary when loading sheets into the lower tray.
- An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that the usability of a sheet cassette having a multiple-tray configuration composed of upper and lower trays is further improved.
- According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a recording media cassette of a first example, which includes a lower tray that stores recording media therein and an upper tray that stores recording media therein and is mounted on the lower tray so as to be detachable from the lower tray.
- With this configuration, the recording media cassette having a multi-tray configuration is composed of a lower tray and an upper tray. Since the upper tray is detachable from the lower tray, the capacity for storing the recording media in the lower tray increases when the upper tray is removed, thereby further improving usability in using the lower tray. Moreover, a space for storing the recording media in the lower tray is fully opened when the upper tray is removed, thereby further improving operability in loading the recording media into the lower tray.
- There is provided the recording media cassette of a second example according to the first example, in which it is preferable the upper tray is slidably displaceable by means of a driving unit in a state in which the upper tray is mounted on the lower tray, the upper tray is in a state of being restrained by the lower tray when the upper tray is located in an active area of the upper tray by the driving unit within a slidably displaceable area of the upper tray, and the upper tray is released from the state of being restrained by the lower tray when the upper tray is located in an inactive area of the upper tray by the driving unit.
- With this configuration, the upper tray is slidably displaceable by means of a driving unit, the upper tray is in a state of being restrained by the lower tray when the upper tray is located in an active area of the upper tray, and the upper tray is released from being in the restrained state when the upper tray is located in an inactive area, thereby ensuring the upper tray to be slidably displaced in the active area by means of the driving unit.
- There is provided the recording media cassette of a third example according to any one of the first and second examples, in which it is preferable the upper tray is slidably displaceable to a position outside of an area for storing the recording media in the lower tray.
- With this configuration, the upper tray is provided to be slidably displaceable to a position outside of an area for storing the recording media in the lower tray. Accordingly, the area for storing the recording media in the lower tray can be fully opened, thereby facilitating an operation in loading the recording media into the lower tray to a great extent.
- There is provided the recording media cassette of a fourth example according to any one of the first to third examples, in which it is preferable the upper tray is configured to be independently detachably mounted in the main body of a recording apparatus that performs recording on the recording media in a state in which the upper tray is removed from the lower tray.
- With this configuration, the upper tray is configured to be independently detachably mounted in the main body of a recording apparatus that performs recording on the recording media in a state in which the upper tray is removed from the lower tray. Accordingly, the recording media can be fed from the upper tray without using the lower tray, thereby further improving usability.
- There is provided a recording media feeding device that feeds the recording media in a fifth example, in which it is preferable the recording media feeding device includes the recording media cassette according to any one of the first to fourth examples. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a recording apparatus including a recording unit that performs recording on the recording media, and the recording media feeding device according to the fifth example. With those configurations, the same effect can be achieved as that according to any one of the first to fourth examples.
- The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.
-
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view which shows a sheet transportation path in a printer according to one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sheet cassette according to one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a section of an essential part of the sheet cassette according to one embodiment of the invention. -
FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of an edge guide according to one embodiment of the invention. -
FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views of an edge guide according to one embodiment of the invention. - An embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to
FIGS. 1 to 5 .FIG. 1 is a side sectional view which shows a sheet transportation path in an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as a “printer”) 1 which is an example of a “recording apparatus” of the invention.FIG. 2 is a perspective view of asheet cassette 100 which is an example of a “recording media cassette” of the invention.FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a section of an essential part of thesheet cassette 100. In addition, the rightward direction inFIG. 1 is a sheet feeding direction, while a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction is a sheet width direction. -
FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of anedge guide 52, showing a state in which a guide surface of the guide is at a normal position (first state) and a state in which the guide surface of the guide is at an elevated position (second state), respectively. Further,FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views of anedge guide 52′, showing a state in which a guiding height of a guide surface is at a normal position (first state) and a state in which the guiding height of the guide surface is at an elevated position (second state), respectively. - An overall configuration of the
printer 1 will be described below with reference toFIG. 1 . Theprinter 1 includes afeeding device 2 in the bottom portion of the apparatus. Thefeeding device 2 is configured to feed sheets (cut sheets in general) as an example of the “recording media” one by one toward an output stacker (not shown in the figure) disposed on the rear side of the apparatus (left side inFIG. 1 ) after arecording unit 4 has performed recording (ink jet recording). - Components disposed on the sheet transportation path will now be described in further detail. The
feeding device 2 includes asheet cassette 100, a pick uproller 16,guide roller 20 and aseparation unit 21. - The
sheet cassette 100, in which a plurality of sheets P can be set in a stacked state, is removably mounted in the main body of the apparatus from the front side with respect to thefeeding device 2. Thesheet cassette 100 includes two sheet containers, that is, alower tray 50 which is disposed on the lower side thereof and constitutes a base of thesheet cassette 100, and anupper tray 60 which is disposed above thelower tray 50 and is slidably movable between a feedable position and a stand-by area. - In
FIG. 1 , the sheets stored in thelower tray 50 and theupper tray 60 are denoted by P1 and P2, respectively (hereinafter collectively referred to as “sheet P” as long as the sheets do not have to be individually identified). - The pick-
up roller 16 which is rotated by a motor (not shown in the figure) is provided on apivot member 17 that pivotally moves about apivot shaft 18. When theupper tray 60 has been slid to the rear-most position (in a retracting direction of thesheet cassette 100, which is the leftward direction inFIG. 1 ), that is, when theupper tray 60 is in a stand-by area, the pick-up roller 16 comes into contact with the uppermost sheet P1 stored in thelower tray 50 and rotates so as to feed the uppermost sheet P1 from thelower tray 50. - Moreover, when the
upper tray 60 has been slid to the front-most position, which is the abutment position (in a mounting direction of thesheet cassette 100, which is the rightward direction inFIG. 1 ), that is, when theupper tray 60 is in a feedable position, the pick-uproller 16 comes into contact with the uppermost sheet P2 stored in theupper tray 60 and rotates so as to feed the uppermost sheet P2 from theupper tray 60. - When the
upper tray 60 is positioned in the feedable position (as shown inFIG. 1 ), the separatingslope 54 of thelower tray 50 extends toward the leading end of the sheets stored in theupper tray 60 beyond the front inner wall of theupper tray 60 such that the separatingslope 54 serves as a separation unit when the sheets are fed from theupper tray 60. That is, the separatingslope 54 of thelower tray 50 is used as a common separation unit for thelower tray 50 and theupper tray 60. - A freely
rotatable guide roller 20 is disposed at a position downstream of the separatingslope 54. Further, aseparation unit 21 composed of aseparation roller 22 and a drivingroller 23 is disposed at a position downstream of theguide roller 20. Theseparation roller 22 has an outer periphery made of an elastic material and is capable of pressingly contacting the drivingroller 23 while being in a state in which a predetermined rotation resistance is applied by a torque limiter mechanism. Accordingly, the subsequent sheets P are not permitted to be fed with the uppermost sheet P passing between theseparation roller 22 and the drivingroller 23, thereby preventing double feeding of the sheets P. The drivingroller 23 is rotated by a motor, which is not shown in the figure, in the direction by which the sheets P are fed downstream. - A first
intermediate feeder 25 is disposed at a position downstream of theseparation unit 21. The firstintermediate feeder 25 is composed of a drivingroller 26 that is rotated by a motor, which is not shown in the figure, and an assistingroller 27 that is driven by the drivingroller 26 so as to nip the sheet P therebetween such that the sheet P is fed further downstream. In addition,reference numeral 29 denotes a driven roller that reduces a passing load which is generated when the sheet P (particularly, the trailing edge of the sheet P) passing along a curved turn-around path. - Further, a second
intermediate feeder 31 is disposed at a position downstream of the drivenroller 29. The secondintermediate feeder 31 is composed of a drivingroller 32 that is rotated by a motor, which is not shown in the figure, and an assistingroller 33 that is driven by the drivingroller 32 so as to nip the sheet P therebetween such that the sheet P is further fed downstream. - A
recording unit 4 is disposed at a position downstream of the secondintermediate feeder 31. Therecording unit 4 includes atransportation unit 5, arecording head 42, alower sheet guide 39 and anoutput unit 6. Thetransportation unit 5 is composed of atransportation driving roller 35 that is rotated by a motor and a transportation drivenroller 36 that is supported by theupper sheet guide 37 so as to be in pressing contact with and driven by thetransportation driving roller 35. When the sheet P enters thetransportation unit 5, thetransportation driving roller 35 rotates so that the sheet P is fed downstream in an accurate manner while being nipped between thetransportation driving roller 35 and the transportation drivenroller 36. - The
recording head 42 is disposed at the bottom of thecarriage 40. Thecarriage 40 is actuated by a motor, which is not shown in the figure, so as to reciprocate in a main scanning direction while being guided by acarriage guide shaft 41 that extends in the main scanning direction (the direction extending across the drawing ofFIG. 1 between the front side and the back side of the drawing). In addition, thecarriage 40 is of a so-called off carriage type in which ink cartridges are not loaded. The ink cartridges (not shown) are separately provided from thecarriage 40, so that ink is supplied from the ink cartridges to therecording head 42 via ink supply tubes (not shown). - A
lower sheet guide 39 is disposed at a position opposite therecording head 42 such that a distance between the sheet P and therecording head 42 are defined by thelower sheet guide 39. Further, anoutput unit 6 is provided at a position downstream of thelower sheet guide 39 so as to output the sheet P on which recording has been performed. - The
output unit 6 is composed of anoutput driving roller 44 that is rotated by a motor, which is not shown in the figure, and an output drivenroller 45 that is in contact with and driven by theoutput driving roller 44 and is configured to output the sheet P on which recording has been performed by therecording unit 4 toward a stacker provided on the front side of the apparatus, which is not shown in the figure. - While the
printer 1 is briefly described above, thesheet cassette 100 will be further described below in detail with reference toFIGS. 2 and 3 . Thelower tray 50 is provided on the bottom 50 a with the edge guide 51 (FIG. 1 ), which is slidably movable in the sheet feeding direction (that is, sheet length direction), such that the position of the trailing edge of the sheet P1 is aligned with theedge guide 51. - Moreover, the
lower tray 50 is further provided with theedge guide 52, which is slidably movable in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction (that is, sheet width direction), such that the position of one side edge of the sheet P1 is aligned with theedge guide 52. The other side edge is aligned with aside wall 50 b (FIG. 2 ) of thelower tray 50. In other words, theside wall 50 b of thelower tray 50 serves as a fixed edge guide. - A
guide surface 51 a of theedge guide 51 that defines the position of the trailing edge of the sheet P1 is formed as a slope that is substantially parallel with the separatingslope 54 such that the leading end of a stack of sheets is aligned with the separatingslope 54 when theedge guide 51 abuts the trailing edge of the sheet P1. The edge guide 52 that defines the position of the side edge of the sheet P1 will be described later in detail. - A
high friction member 53 is placed on the bottom 50 a of thelower tray 50 at a position corresponding to the contact point between the pick-uproller 16 and the sheet P1. Thehigh friction member 53 holds the stack of sheet during feeding of a sheet so that the whole stack of sheets is not fed downstream by the pick-uproller 16. - Similarly to the
lower tray 50, theupper tray 60 is provided with anedge guide 61 that is slidably movable in the sheet length direction and anedge guide 62 that is slidably movable in a sheet width direction on the bottom 60 a. Further, ahigh friction member 64 is placed at a position corresponding to the contact point between the pick-uproller 16 and the sheet P2. - A movable mechanism of the
upper tray 60 will now be described. Theupper tray 60 includes aslide member 65 and atray base 66 such that theslide member 65 is slidably movable in the sheet feeding direction and the opposite direction with respect to theside walls lower tray 50. - A
tray base 66 is provided to form a space for storing the sheets. Thetray base 66 is rotatable aboutrotation shafts 66a on both sides thereof in a direction indicated by the arrow r with respect to the slidingmember 65. In addition, a rotation limit of the upper tray 60 (tray base 66) according to this embodiment is greater than 90 degrees and smaller than 180 degrees. That is, when theupper tray 60 has been turned to the maximum extent, a space for storing the sheets in thelower tray 50 is opened so that the sheets can be stored in thelower tray 50. - As shown in
FIG. 3 , arack 65 a is formed on the lower side of one side face of the slidingmember 65 so that therack 65 a meshes with apinion gear 55 that is provided on thelower tray 50. That is, the sliding member 65 (the upper tray 60) is configured to be slidably displaced as thepinion gear 55 rotates. - The
pinion gear 55 is capable of meshing with a driving gear (not shown) provided on the main body of theprinter 1, when thesheet cassette 100 is mounted in the main body of theprinter 1. The driving gear is rotated by a motor, which is not shown in the figure, thereby driving the sliding member 65 (the upper tray 60). - A locking
member 65 b is formed on the slidingmember 65 at a position slightly ahead of therack 65 a. The lockingmember 65 b is configured to be put under a restrainingrail 50 d that is formed on thelower tray 50. When the lockingmember 65 b is put under the restrainingrail 50 d (the lockingmember 65 b is on the A side with respect to the position L indicated inFIG. 3 , which is hereinafter referred to as “active area” of the upper tray 60), therack 65 a meshes with thepinion gear 55 while the lockingmember 65 b is put under the restrainingrail 50 d, thereby restraining the sliding member 65 (the upper tray 60) so as not to be removed from thelower tray 50. Accordingly, theupper tray 60 is placed at a position which permits feeding of the sheets from theupper tray 60. - On the other hand, when the locking
member 65 b is ahead of the restrainingrail 50 d without being engaged with the restrainingrail 50 d (the lockingmember 65 b is on the B side with respect to the position L indicated inFIG. 3 , which is hereinafter referred to as “inactive area” of the upper tray 60), therack 65 a is not meshed with thepinion gear 55 while the lockingmember 65 b disengages the restrainingrail 50 d, thereby allowing the sliding member 65 (the upper tray 60) to be removed from the lower tray 50 (as shown by the virtual line andreference numeral 60′ inFIG. 2 ). The inactive area of theupper tray 60 according to this embodiment is a position at which theupper tray 60 has been slid to the front-most position. - As mentioned above, the
sheet cassette 100 having a multi-tray configuration composed of thelower tray 50 and theupper tray 60 is configured such that theupper tray 60 is removable from thelower tray 50. Consequently, the capacity for the sheets in thelower tray 50 increases when theupper tray 60 is removed, thereby further improving usability of thelower tray 50. Moreover, the space for storing the sheets in thelower tray 50 is fully opened when theupper tray 60 is removed, thereby further improving operability in loading the sheets into thelower tray 50. - In this embodiment, the
upper tray 60 is slidably displaceable by means of driving units such as therack 65 a, thepinion gear 55 and a motor that drives the pinion gear 55 (not shown). In addition to that, theupper tray 60 is in a state of being restrained by thelower tray 50 in the active area of theupper tray 60, and theupper tray 60 is released from being in the restrained state in the inactive area. As a result, theupper tray 60 can be slidably displaced in a reliable manner without causing disengagement of therack 65 a from thepinion gear 55 in the active area. - Moreover, although the
upper tray 60, when in the stand-by position, is located above the space for storing the sheets in thelower tray 50 in this embodiment, theupper tray 60 may be configured in other embodiments to be slidably displaceable to a position outside of the space for storing the sheets in thelower tray 50 so that the space for storing the sheets in thelower tray 50 can be fully opened without turning or removing theupper tray 60. - Furthermore, the
upper tray 60 may be configured in other embodiments to be detachably mounted in the main body of theprinter 1 separately from thelower tray 50, so that the sheets can be fed from theupper tray 60 without using thelower tray 50, thereby further improving usability. - The edge guide 52 that is provided on the
lower tray 50 will be further described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. As described above, the space for storing the sheets in thelower tray 50 increases when theupper tray 60 is removed from thelower tray 50, which enables the increased number of the sheets to be stored in thelower tray 50. However, if a guiding height of theedge guide 52 that is provided on thelower tray 50 remains the same, the sheets stored in thelower tray 50 cannot be guided in an appropriate manner after theupper tray 60 is removed. - Accordingly, the
edge guide 52 that is provided on thelower tray 50 according to this embodiment is configured such that the guiding height of the guide surface is adjustable. More specifically, as shown inFIGS. 4A and 4B , theedge guide 52 includes a base 52 a that slides along the bottom of thelower tray 50, anupright portion 52 b formed integrally with the base 52 a so as to be mounted upright on the base 52 a, aplate member 52 c that is rotatable with respect to theupright portion 52 b about arotation shaft 52 e and a biasing unit, which is not shown in the figure, that biases theplate member 52 c in a direction indicated by the arrow C1. -
Reference numeral 52 d denotes the guide surface along which the sheet edge is guided. The guiding height of theguide surface 52 d is configured to increase as theplate member 52 c rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow C1, from a first state shown inFIG. 4A to a second state shown inFIG. 4B . - More specifically, when the
upper tray 60 is usually mounted on thelower tray 50, theplate member 52 c engages the bottom of theupper tray 60, that is, theplate member 52 c is pressed down, thereby retaining the first state as shown inFIG. 4A . - Then, when the
upper tray 60 is removed from thelower tray 50 as shown byreference numeral 60′ inFIG. 2 , theplate member 52 c disengages from theupper tray 60. As a result, theplate member 52 c is rotated by a biasing force from the biasing unit and switched to the second state as shown inFIG. 4B , thereby changing (increasing) the guiding height of theguide surface 52 d from h0 (FIG. 4A ) to h1 (FIG. 4B ) (h1>h0). - That is, the guiding height of the
guide surface 52 d is adjustable and the guiding height of theedge guide 52 increases as the capacity for the sheets in thelower tray 50 increases, thereby enabling the increased number of stacked sheets to be accommodated. As a result, the sheet can be fed in an appropriate manner without causing a feeding problem such as skew feeding. - Moreover, in this embodiment, the
sheet guide surface 52 d is formed by theplate member 52 c that is rotatable about therotation shaft 52 e such that the guiding height of theguide surface 52 d can be adjusted by rotation of theplate member 52 c. Accordingly, a switching mechanism for the guiding height of theguide surface 52 d can be achieved in a simple configuration at low cost. - In addition to that, the
rotation shaft 52 e is formed to be perpendicular to theguide surface 52 d in this embodiment such that, when theplate member 52 c rotates about therotation shaft 52 e, the edge of the sheets is aligned with a single surface of theguide surface 52 d in both the first state and the second state. Accordingly, a smooth, flat or seamless guide surface is provided during setting of the sheets without causing a problem, such as that the sheet gets stuck, in both the first state and the second state. - Further, since the guiding height of the
guide surface 52 d decreases when theedge guide 52 engages theupper tray 60 and the guiding height of theguide surface 52 d increases when theedge guide 52 disengages from theupper tray 60 in this embodiment, the guiding height of theguide surface 52 d increases without needing a specific operation. Accordingly, the sheet cassette with high usability can be achieved. In addition, theupper tray 60 according to this embodiment remains in engagement with the edge guide 52 (theplate member 52 c) when theupper tray 60 is mounted on thelower tray 50, regardless of the position where theupper tray 60 is located in the slidable area. - Although the above-mentioned embodiment has been described that the guiding height of the
guide surface 52 d is configured to be changed between two states, that is, a lower state (FIG. 4A ) and a higher state (FIG. 4B ), the guiding height maybe changed in a stepwise manner for example by defining several height positions, or alternatively, the guiding height may be continuously changed. In such cases, it is desirable to provide a holding unit so as to retain the predetermined guiding height. - Another embodiment will be described with reference to
FIGS. 5A and 5B . The same configurations as those ofFIGS. 4A and 4B are referenced by the same reference numerals, while the configurations corresponding to but different from those ofFIGS. 4A and 4B are referenced by the same reference numerals with a prime mark. - In
FIGS. 5A and 5B , theedge guide 52′ includes a base 52 a, anupright portion 52 b′ formed integrally with the base 52 a so as to be mounted upright on the base 52 a, aplate member 52 c′ that is rotatable with respect to theupright portion 52 b′ aboutrotation shaft bearings 52 f and a biasing unit, which is not shown in the figure, that biases theplate member 52 c′ in a direction indicated by the arrow C2. The rotation shaft bearing 52 f is a bearing that supports a shaft (not shown) formed on theupright portion 52 b′. -
Reference numerals 52 d-1 and 52 d-2 denote guide surfaces along which the sheet edge is guided. In a first state shown inFIG. 5A , theguide surface 52 d-1 formed by theupright portion 52 b′ constitutes a guide surface of theedge guide 52′. The guiding height in this configuration is h0. - Then, as the
plate member 52 c′ rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow C2, thereby deploying theguide surface 52 d-2 that is formed by theplate member 52 c′ on theguide surface 52 d-1, the overall guiding height changes (increases) to h1 (h1>h0) from a first state shown inFIG. 5A to a second state shown inFIG. 5B . - Accordingly, also in this embodiment, the guiding height of the
edge guide 52′ increases as the capacity for the sheets in thelower tray 50 increases, thereby enabling the increased number of stacked sheets to be accommodated. As a result, the sheet can be fed in an appropriate manner without causing a feeding problem such as skew feeding. - Similar to the
edge guide 52, which has been described with reference toFIGS. 4A and 4B , theedge guide 52′ of this embodiment may be configured to retain the first state, which is achieved by theplate member 52 c′ engaging the bottom of theupper tray 60, that is, being pressed down by theupper tray 60. Accordingly, the first state is not limited to a state in which theplate member 52 c′ has been fully rotated downward and is in close contact with theupright portion 52 b′ as shown inFIG. 5A , but also may be a state in which theplate member 52 c′ has been rotated to a certain extent in a direction indicated by the arrow C2 from the state shown inFIG. 5A . - In addition, the
plate member 52 c′ in the second state shown inFIG. 5B may be inclined to a certain extent toward the first state in order to facilitate downward rotation of theplate member 52 c′ when theplate member 52 c′ is pressed down by theupper tray 60 in the state shown inFIG. 5B . - Furthermore, although the first state and the second state have been described to be switched by means of the edge guides 52 and 52′ engaging with/disengaging from the
upper tray 60, a holding unit, for example, may be separately provided so that the first state and the second state are retained by the holding unit and such retained state is released by an operation of a user. - Although the edge guides 52 and 52′ have been described as to guide the side edge of the sheets, it is needless to say that the above edge guide may apply to an edge guide for the trailing edge of the sheets (shown by
reference numeral 51 inFIG. 1 ). - The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No: 2010-287063, filed Dec. 24, 2010 is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
Claims (6)
1. A recording media cassette comprising:
a lower tray that stores recording media therein; and
an upper tray that stores recording media therein and is mounted on the lower tray so as to be detachable from the lower tray.
2. The recording media cassette according to claim 1 , wherein the upper tray is slidably displaceable with respect to the lower tray in a state in which the upper tray is mounted on the lower tray, and the upper tray is in a state of being restrained by the lower tray when the upper tray is located in a feedable position of the upper tray within a slidably displaceable area of the upper tray.
3. The recording media cassette according to claim 2 , wherein the upper tray is slidably displaceable by means of a driving unit, the upper tray is in a state of being restrained by the lower tray, and the upper tray is released from the state of being restrained by the lower tray by the driving unit.
4. The recording media cassette according to claim 2 , wherein the upper tray is slidably displaceable to a position outside of an area for storing the recording media in the lower tray.
5. The recording media cassette according to claim 1 , wherein the upper tray is configured to be independently detachably mounted in the main body of a recording apparatus that performs recording on the recording media in a state in which the upper tray is removed from the lower tray.
6. A recording apparatus comprising:
the recording media cassette according to claim 1 ;
a recording media feeding device that feeds the recording media from the recording media cassette; and
a recording unit that performs recording on the recording media.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2010287063A JP2012131630A (en) | 2010-12-24 | 2010-12-24 | Recorded medium cassette, recorded medium feeding system and recording system |
JP2010-287063 | 2010-12-24 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20120161381A1 true US20120161381A1 (en) | 2012-06-28 |
Family
ID=46315665
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US13/316,886 Abandoned US20120161381A1 (en) | 2010-12-24 | 2011-12-12 | Recording Media Cassette, Recording Apparatus |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20120161381A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2012131630A (en) |
CN (1) | CN102582282A (en) |
Cited By (4)
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US20130221608A1 (en) * | 2012-02-27 | 2013-08-29 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Recording medium feeding device and recording apparatus |
US20140353902A1 (en) * | 2013-05-31 | 2014-12-04 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Image Forming Apparatus Having Tray for Receiving Recording Medium |
US10577202B2 (en) | 2016-01-27 | 2020-03-03 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Sheet feed device and image forming apparatus including the same |
US10882706B2 (en) | 2015-10-30 | 2021-01-05 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Photo cassette for a mobile printer |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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JP7294038B2 (en) * | 2019-09-30 | 2023-06-20 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Paper feed unit |
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US20090174134A1 (en) * | 2008-01-04 | 2009-07-09 | Wong Randal M | Printer and dual trays for image receiver media sheets |
US7600746B2 (en) * | 2007-05-30 | 2009-10-13 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Cassette and image forming apparatus |
US7654515B2 (en) * | 2005-11-29 | 2010-02-02 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Image forming device with two attached cassettes and one transportation device |
US7887038B2 (en) * | 2007-10-31 | 2011-02-15 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Sheet material feeding device |
US7950648B2 (en) * | 2007-02-15 | 2011-05-31 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Feeding device and image forming apparatus |
-
2010
- 2010-12-24 JP JP2010287063A patent/JP2012131630A/en active Pending
-
2011
- 2011-12-12 US US13/316,886 patent/US20120161381A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2011-12-23 CN CN2011104397488A patent/CN102582282A/en active Pending
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US7654515B2 (en) * | 2005-11-29 | 2010-02-02 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Image forming device with two attached cassettes and one transportation device |
US7950648B2 (en) * | 2007-02-15 | 2011-05-31 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Feeding device and image forming apparatus |
US7600746B2 (en) * | 2007-05-30 | 2009-10-13 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Cassette and image forming apparatus |
US7887038B2 (en) * | 2007-10-31 | 2011-02-15 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Sheet material feeding device |
US20090174134A1 (en) * | 2008-01-04 | 2009-07-09 | Wong Randal M | Printer and dual trays for image receiver media sheets |
Cited By (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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US20130221608A1 (en) * | 2012-02-27 | 2013-08-29 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Recording medium feeding device and recording apparatus |
US8662494B2 (en) * | 2012-02-27 | 2014-03-04 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Recording medium feeding device and recording apparatus |
US20140353902A1 (en) * | 2013-05-31 | 2014-12-04 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Image Forming Apparatus Having Tray for Receiving Recording Medium |
US9206006B2 (en) * | 2013-05-31 | 2015-12-08 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Image forming apparatus having tray for receiving recording medium |
US9927758B2 (en) | 2013-05-31 | 2018-03-27 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Image forming apparatus having tray for receiving recording medium |
US10503112B2 (en) | 2013-05-31 | 2019-12-10 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Image forming apparatus having tray for receiving recording medium |
US11526111B2 (en) | 2013-05-31 | 2022-12-13 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Image forming apparatus having tray for receiving recording medium |
US10882706B2 (en) | 2015-10-30 | 2021-01-05 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Photo cassette for a mobile printer |
US10577202B2 (en) | 2016-01-27 | 2020-03-03 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Sheet feed device and image forming apparatus including the same |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JP2012131630A (en) | 2012-07-12 |
CN102582282A (en) | 2012-07-18 |
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Owner name: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION, JAPAN Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:NAKAMURA, KAZUHISA;TAMAI, KENSUKE;MATSUZAKI, KAZUTOSHI;AND OTHERS;SIGNING DATES FROM 20111107 TO 20111109;REEL/FRAME:027368/0729 |
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STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
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