JP7400278B2 - image recording device - Google Patents

Description

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

In an image recording apparatus, when a sheet becomes jammed in a housing, the sheet can be removed from the housing by a user accessing the sheet from outside the housing.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a printer in which a platen that faces a recording unit that records an image on a sheet and supports the sheet is rotatable. In this printer, when a sheet becomes jammed between the recording unit and the platen, the control unit rotates the platen from the reference position to the open position, opening the sheet conveyance path wide open and removing the sheet. It becomes easy to take out.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-66934

However, in the printer disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is not clear how to return the platen in the open position to the reference position.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an image recording device that can return a moved platen to the printing posture while suppressing the complexity of the structure. be.

The image recording device according to the present invention includes a housing having an internal space opened to the outside through an opening, and a housing formed on the opposite side of the opening with respect to the internal space inside the housing, and the housing having an internal space opened to the outside through an opening. a sheet conveyance path extending in a first direction; a platen located on the conveyance path and having a support surface for supporting the sheet; a recording unit for recording, and a slide member located inside the housing and slidable between a first position and a second position in a second direction opposite to the first direction from the first position. and. The platen is movable between a printing position, which is a position when the recording unit records an image on a sheet, and an open position, where the supporting surface is located below the printing position. The slide member includes a guide portion that comes into contact with the platen during the slide process from the second position to the first position and guides the platen from the open position to the printing position. The platen includes a guided portion that abuts and is guided by the guide portion of the slide member that slides from the second position to the first position.

The platen moves when the guide portion of the sliding member contacts and guides the guided portion of the platen. In other words, since the platen is moved by the contact between the slide member and the platen, the image recording apparatus does not need to have a complicated mechanism.

According to the image recording apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to return the moved platen to the printing posture while suppressing the complexity of the structure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multifunction device 10 including a printer unit 11 as an image recording device according to an 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 part of the printer section 11. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the feed tray 20 and the discharge tray 21. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the conveyance 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 seen from above. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the contact member 41, the platen 42, and the paper 12. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the platen 42 seen from below. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the left portion 92 and its surroundings of the base member 90. 10(A) is a view of the lever 75 and its surroundings seen from above 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 a view of the side frame 55 FIG. 3 is a view of the side frame 55 viewed from above to show how the base member 90 is fixed. FIG. 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the printer unit 11 at the center in the left-right direction 9 with the feeding tray 20 attached. FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer section 11 at a position where the right lever 75 is visible from the right with the feeding tray 20 attached. FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer unit 11 at a position where the right side of the platen 42 is visible with the feeding tray 20 attached. FIG. 14 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the printer unit 11 at the center in the left-right direction 9 when the feed tray 20 abuts the lever 75 from the rear. FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer unit 11 at a position where the right lever 75 is visible from the right when the feed tray 20 abuts the lever 75 from the rear. FIG. 16 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer unit 11 at a position where the right side of the platen 42 is visible when the feed tray 20 abuts the lever 75 from the rear. FIG. 17 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the printer unit 11 at the center in the left-right direction 9 in a state where the conveying roller pair 59 is changed to a separated state. FIG. 18 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the printer unit 11 at a position where the right lever 75 is visible from the right in a state where the pair of transport rollers 59 have changed to the separated state. FIG. 19 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer section 11 at a position where the right side surface of the platen 42 is visible in a state where the conveying roller pair 59 is changed to the separated state. FIG. 20 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the printer unit 11 at the center in the left-right direction 9 when the slide member 74 is in the front position. FIG. 21 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer unit 11 at a position where the right lever 75 is visible from the right when the slide member 74 is in the front position. FIG. 22 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer unit 11 at a position where the right side of the platen 42 is visible when the slide member 74 is in the front position. FIG. 23 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the printer unit 11 at the center in the left-right direction 9 when the feed tray 20 contacts 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 is visible from the right when the feeding tray 20 abuts the slide member 74 from the front. FIG. 25 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printer unit 11 at a position where the right side of the platen 42 is visible when the feeding tray 20 abuts the slide member 74 from the front. FIG. 26 is a vertical cross-sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the printer section 11 in a modified example. FIG. 27 is an enlarged view of the lever 75 and its surroundings in FIG. 21. FIG. 28 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the printer unit 11 in a modified example. FIG. 29 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the printer unit 11 in a modified example. FIG. 30 is a schematic plan view of the platen 42 and the slide member 74.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings as appropriate. Note that the embodiments described below are merely examples of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the embodiments of the present invention can be modified as appropriate without changing the gist of the present invention. In the following explanation, the vertical direction 7 is defined based on the state in which the multifunction device 10 is installed so that it can be used (the state shown in FIG. 8 is defined, and a left-right direction 9 (an example of the width direction) when viewing the multifunction device 10 from the front side (front side 17 side) is defined. The up-down direction 7, the front-back direction 8, and the left-right direction 9 are orthogonal to each other. Further, in the following description, the progress from the starting point of the arrow to the ending point is expressed as the direction, and the coming and going on the line connecting the starting point and the ending point of the arrow is expressed as the direction. In other words, orientation is a component of direction.

[Overall structure of multifunction device 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction device 10 includes a casing 14 that is generally shaped like a thin rectangular parallelepiped. The multifunction device 10 has various functions such as a print function and a scan function. As a print function, the multifunction device 10 has a function of recording an image on one side of a paper 12 (see FIG. 2, an example of a sheet) using an inkjet method. The multifunction device 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 at the bottom of the housing 14. A scanner section 35 for realizing a scanning function is provided at the top of the housing 14.

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

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the printer section 11 includes a feed tray 20 (an example of a tray), a discharge tray 21, a feed section 16, a conveyance path 65, and a base member 90. , a pair of side frames 55, a recording unit 24, a guide rail 56, a pair of transport rollers 59, a pair of ejection rollers 44 (an example of a pair of rollers), a contact member 41, a platen 42, and an interlocking mechanism. Equipped with 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 conveyance path 65, a pair of side frames 55, the recording section 24, the guide rail 56, the conveyance roller pair 59, the ejection roller pair 44, the contact The member 41, the platen 42, and the interlocking mechanism are located inside the housing 14.

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

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

As shown in FIG. 4, the feeding tray 20 is a box-shaped member with an open top. The feeding tray 20 includes 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. As shown in FIG. Note that 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 that are movable in the left-right direction 9. As shown in FIG. Note that in FIG. 4 , only the right side guide 98 of the pair of side guides 98 is displayed, and the left side guide 98 of the pair of side guides 98 is hidden from view by the discharge tray 21 . The right end of the paper 12 supported by the bottom wall 22 comes into contact with the left side of the right side guide 98 . The left end of the paper 12 supported by the bottom wall 22 comes into contact with the right surface of the left side guide 98 . The pair of side guides 98 are interlockably connected to each other. When one of the pair of side guides 98 moves to the right or left, the other side guide moves to the left or right in conjunction.

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 the portions of the feeding tray 20 that come into contact with a lever 75 to be described later, are located below the upper end 13A of the opening 13 (see FIG. 11).

The pair of side walls 30 have a recess 99 recessed downward from the upper surface 97 at the rear end. An inclined surface 99A that defines the front end of the recess 99 is inclined upward toward the front.

The pair of side walls 30 have a notch 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 upwardly protruding protrusions 125 at positions where the side walls 30 are not cut out. The protrusion 125 supports the discharge tray 21.

The cutout 96 is recessed downward from the upper surface 97 of the pair of side walls 30. The notch 96 is formed approximately at the center of the pair of side walls 30 in the front-rear direction 8. The 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 protrusion 125 contacts the protrusion 124 of the slide member 74 from the front in the process of inserting the feeding tray 20 into the housing 14 . A hole 126 penetrating in the left-right direction 9 is formed at the upper end of the protrusion 125 . The 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. Therefore, the protrusion 125 is arranged offset to the inside of the side wall 30 in the left-right direction 9, and is also made higher. As a result, the position of the discharge tray 21 supported by the protrusion 125 is offset upward, so that the height of the side guide 98 located 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.

[Ejection tray 21]
As shown in FIG. 4, the discharge tray 21 is rotatably supported by the feed tray 20 and moves in the front-rear direction 8 together with the feed tray 20. The discharge tray 21 includes protrusions 127 that protrude in the left-right direction 9 from both left and right ends of the rear end. The protrusion 127 is inserted into a hole 126 formed in the protrusion 125 of the feeding tray 20. Thereby, the discharge tray 21 is rotatable 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 . As the discharge tray 21 rotates, the upper front portion of the feed tray 20 is opened and closed. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the feed tray 20 is closed by the discharge tray 21. As shown in FIG. When the discharge tray 21 is rotated upward from this state and the feed tray 20 is opened, 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 a bottom surface that partitions the internal space 23. The upper surface 31 supports the paper 12 on which an image is recorded by the recording section 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 the vicinity in front of the horizontal surface 97A of the side wall 30 of the feeding tray 20 in the front-rear direction 8. The rear upper surface 31B extends forward from the rear end of the upper 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 section 16]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 11, the feeding section 16 is located 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 about a support shaft 28 provided at its base end. Thereby, the feeding roller 25 can come into contact with and separate from the feeding tray 20 or the paper 12 supported by the feeding tray 20.

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

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

The curved portion 33 extends upward from the rear end of the feeding 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 that face each other at a predetermined interval. The first guide member 18 defines the curved outer side of the curved portion 33 . The second guide member 19 defines a curved inner side of the curved portion 33 .

The straight portion 34 extends generally in the front-rear direction 8. The rear end of the straight portion 34 is continuous with the curved portion 33. The 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 straight portion 34 is formed by the recording section 24 and the platen 42, which face each other with a predetermined interval 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 a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG.

The paper 12 supported by the feed tray 20 is conveyed by the feed roller 25 in a U-turn from bottom to top on the curved portion 33 and reaches the pair of conveyance rollers 59 . The paper 12 held between the pair of transport rollers 59 is transported forward along the straight section 34 with the image recording surface facing the recording section 24 . When the paper 12 reaches the position immediately below the recording section 24, an image is recorded on the image recording surface by the recording section 24. The paper 12 on which the image has been recorded is conveyed forward along the straight section 34 and is discharged onto the upper surface 31 of the discharge tray 21 . As described above, the paper 12 is conveyed along the conveyance direction 15 shown by the dashed-dotted arrow in FIG.

[Base member 90]
The base member 90 shown in FIG. 3 is a member that constitutes the lower part 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 part 91 that constitutes the right part of the printer section 11, a left part 92 that constitutes the left part of the printer part 11, and the right part 91 and the left part 92. A connecting portion 93 is provided.

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

The right portion 91 is located to the right of the feeding tray 20 attached to the housing 14. The left portion 92 is located to the left of the feeding tray 20 attached to the housing 14. That is, the feeding tray 20 is installed between the right part 91 and the left part 92.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 12, the right portion 91 and the left portion 92 each include a first convex portion 94 and a second convex portion 95. The first convex portion 94 and the second convex portion 95 of 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 convex portion 95 is located at the rear of the first convex portion 94 . The first convex portion 94 and the second convex portion 95 are provided at intervals in the front-rear direction 8.

The lower surface 94A of the first convex portion 94 and the lower surface 95A of the second convex portion 95 can contact the upper surface 97 of the side wall 30 of the feeding tray 20 and the upper surface 31 of the ejection 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 feeding tray 20 inserted into the housing 14 downward.

As shown in FIG. 12, the right portion 91 and the left portion 92 include a third protrusion 70 behind the second protrusion 95. As shown in FIG. 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 comes into contact with the lever 75 and prevents the lever 75 from rotating in the direction of the arrow 151.

As shown in FIG. 11, the connecting portion 93 has a concave portion 118 that is recessed downward below the platen 42. As shown in FIG. The bottom of the recess 118 is defined by a surface 119. The surface 119 is sandwiched between walls 120 and 121 that project upward from the surface 119 in the front-rear direction 8. Wall 120 is located in front of wall 121. The walls 120 and 121 extend in the left-right direction 9. The wall 120 has an inclined surface 122 on the 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 at intervals in the left-right direction 9. Each side frame 55 is integrally molded from a metal material. Each side frame 55 has a side plate 55A that extends in the vertical direction 7 and the front-back direction 8, and extends inward in the left-right 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). A bottom plate 55B is provided. The bottom plate 55B supports the slide member 74.

Each side frame 55 includes a protrusion 36 and a protrusion 37. The protrusion 36 and the protrusion 37 extend outward in the left-right direction 9 from the upper end of the side plate 55A (to the right in the right side frame 55 and to the left in the left side frame 55). The protrusion 36 is located more forward than the protrusion 37.

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

[Recording section 24]
As shown in FIG. 2, the recording section 24 is provided above the straight section 34 and includes 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 being conveyed along the linear section 34. The platen 42 will be explained in detail later.

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

The recording head 38 is mounted on a 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. The plurality of nozzles 39 formed on the lower surface of the recording head 38 are composed of a plurality of nozzle rows arranged at intervals in the left-right direction 9. Each nozzle row is composed of a predetermined number (plurality) of nozzles 39 arranged at intervals along the transport direction 15 (front-back direction 8). In other words, 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 discharges 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 to a facing area 154 and retreat areas 155 and 156 shown in FIG.

The 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 opposing region 154 is located above the straight portion 34 of the conveyance path 65 and the platen 42 . Opposed area 154 is an area between two slide members 74.

The retreat areas 155 and 156 are areas outside the slide member 74 in the left-right direction 9. The retreat area 155 is an area to the right of the right slide member 74, and the escape 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 cap that is movable up and down and covers the nozzle 39 of the recording head 38, and a waste liquid reservoir connected to the cap via a tube or the like. Maintenance of the recording head 38 is, for example, idle ejection of ink. When maintenance is performed, the carriage 40 moves to the evacuation area 155. The cap moves upwards to cover the nozzle 39. Ink is ejected from the nozzle 39. The ejected ink flows through the tube to the waste liquid storage section. Note that the maintenance mechanism may be placed in the evacuation area 156.

[Transport roller pair 59 and discharge roller pair 44]
As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of conveyance rollers 59 is disposed upstream in the conveyance direction 15 from the support surface of the recording head 38 and platen 42 in the straight portion 34 of the conveyance path 65 (behind the recording head 38).

The conveying roller pair 59 includes a conveying roller 60 disposed below the straight portion 34 and a pinch roller 61 disposed above the straight portion 34 facing the conveying roller 60 and driven by the conveying roller 60. ing.

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

The pinch roller 61 shown in FIG. 2 is rotatably supported by a roller holder 85 shown in FIGS. 5 and 11. As shown in FIG. 5, a coil spring 57 is provided above the roller holder 85. The lower end of the coil spring 57 is connected to the roller holder 85, and the 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 urged downward by the coil spring 57. As a result, the pinch roller 61 supported by the roller holder 85 is urged by the conveyance roller 60. The roller holder 85 includes a protrusion 88 extending upward at the rear thereof. The tip of the protrusion 88 is hung on and supported by the guide rail 56 (see FIGS. 3 and 11). This stabilizes the posture of the roller holder 85. The roller holder 85 has a through hole 86 that passes through the roller holder 85 in the left-right direction 9 . A shaft 87 is inserted through the through hole 86 .

The transport roller pair 59 can change its state 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 biased by the coil spring 57 and comes into contact with the conveyance roller 60 . At this time, the conveyance roller pair 59 is in a nip state. When the shaft 87 is guided by the projection 106 of the slide member 74 and moves upward, the pinch roller 61 resists the biasing force of the coil spring 57 and separates from the conveyance roller 60 (see FIG. 19). At this time, the conveying roller pair 59 is in a separated state.

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

The discharge roller pair 44 includes a discharge roller 62 disposed below the straight section 34 and a spur 63 disposed above the straight section 34 facing the discharge roller 62 and driven by the discharge roller 62. There is.

As shown in FIG. 5, the discharge roller 62 includes a shaft 64 that extends in the left-right direction 9, and a roller portion 58 that covers the outer periphery of the shaft 64. A plurality of roller parts 58 are provided at intervals in the left-right direction 9. The 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 into a notch formed in the side plate 55A, and the shaft 64 is inserted through the bearing 72.

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 urged against the roller portion 58 by an elastic member (for example, a coil spring) not shown.

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

[Abutting member 41]
As shown in FIG. 2 , the contact member 41 is located upstream of the nozzle 39 of the recording unit 24 in the transport path 65 in the transport direction 15 .

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

In this embodiment, the contact member 41 is an integrally molded product mainly made of resin such as polyacetal (POM). Note that the contact member 41 does not have to be an integrally molded product. For example, the abutting member 41 may not include the main body portion 82 but instead may include a plurality of extending portions 81, and each extending 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 conveyance direction 15. The tip of each extending portion 81 is located below the position where the paper 12 is held between the pair of transport rollers 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 that is conveyed through the linear portion 34 by a pair of conveyance rollers 59 .

As shown in FIG. 6, the platen 42 is a generally plate-shaped member. The platen 42 includes a rear portion 161, a central portion 162 (an example of a first portion), and a front portion 163 (an example of a second portion). The 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 located 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 constituting the nozzle row.

The rear portion 161 is located rearward (upstream in the transport direction 15) than the central portion 162. At least a portion of the rear portion 161 is located forward of the nozzle 39A (downstream in the transport direction 15). The front portion 163 is located forward of the central portion 162. At least a portion of the front portion 163 is located rearward than 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.

The 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 conveyance direction 15 (front-back direction 8). Each rib 43 is provided at intervals in the left-right direction 9.

As shown in FIG. 7, the upper end of the rib 43 is located above the tip 81A of the extending portion 81 of the abutting member 41. As shown in FIG. The leading end portion 81A comes into contact with the upper surface 12A of the sheet 12 being conveyed between the pair of conveyance rollers 59 and the nozzle 39 in the straight portion 34. Further, the upper surface of the rib 43 comes into contact with the lower surface 12B of the sheet 12 being conveyed between the pair of conveyance rollers 59 and the nozzle 39 in the straight portion 34 . The paper 12 is made into a wave shape that continues in the left-right direction 9 by being brought into contact with the leading end 81A from above and against the ribs 43 from below.

As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of ribs 45 are formed on the front portion 163. Each rib 45 is provided at intervals in the left-right direction 9. Each rib 45 includes an upper portion 45A and a side portion 45B. The upper portion 45A extends along the transport direction 15 (forward) on the upper surface 42A of the front portion 163 to the front end of the upper surface 42A of the front portion 163. 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 up-down direction 7 on the front side surface 42B of the front portion 163. The upper surface of the rib 45 (specifically, the upper surface of the upper portion 45A of the rib 45) comes into contact with the lower surface 12B of the paper 12 being conveyed. The upper surfaces of the ribs 43 and 45 are supporting surfaces that support the paper 12 on the platen 42. That is, in this embodiment, the paper 12 has a plurality of supporting surfaces. The rear end portion 43A of the upper surface of the rib 43 corresponds to the first end of the support surface. The front end 45C of the upper surface of the rib 45 corresponds to the second-facing end of the support surface.

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

As shown in FIG. 6, the platen 42 has protrusions 49 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. The upper surface 46A of the protrusion 46 is curved in an arc shape and recessed downward. In other words, the recess 130 is formed by the upper surface 46A.

The recess 130 formed by the upper surface 46A of the protrusion 46 is aligned in the left-right direction 9 with a notch in the side plate 55A of the side frame 55 into 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. 55 are lined up on the right side of the side plate 55A. That is, the protrusion 46 is located 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 into a notch in the side plate 55A of the side frame 55, and an inner portion in the left-right direction 9 fitted into a recess formed by the upper surface 46A of the protrusion 46. That is, the upper surface 46A is in contact with the bearing 71 along the circumferential direction of the shaft of the conveyance roller 60. Note that the upper surface 46A may be in contact with the axis of the conveyance roller 60 or the side plate 55A of the side frame 55 along the circumferential direction of the axis of the conveyance roller 60 instead of the bearing 71.

Thereby, the platen 42 can rotate around the bearing 71. That is, the platen 42 is rotatable around the axis of the conveyance roller 60. The platen 42 is rotatable between a printing position shown in FIGS. 11 and 13 and an open position shown in FIGS. 20 and 22.

The printing 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 generally extends in the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9, and faces the recording head 38.

The open position is the position of the platen 42 when the paper 12 stuck between the recording unit 24 and the platen 42 is taken out of the housing 14 . As shown in FIGS. 20 and 22, when the platen 42 is at the open position, the front end of the platen 42 is located lower than when it is at the printing position, and the supporting surface of the paper 12 on the platen 42 is at the printing position. It is located lower than before. As a result, a gap 32 is created 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 section 24 and the platen 42 in the straight 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 protrusion 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.

As shown in FIG. 13, the contact piece 47 is supported by contacting the support surface 102 of the slide member 74 from below. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the protrusion 49 is supported by the protrusion 104 of the slide member 74 from below. Thereby, the platen 42 at the printing position is supported by the slide member 74.

As shown in FIG. 6, the platen 42 has a protrusion 50 (an example of a guided portion) that protrudes in the left-right direction 9 from the right side and left side of the central portion 162. As shown in FIG. 19, the platen 42 is rotated by the protrusion 50 coming into contact with the inclined surface 103 (an example of a guide portion) of the slide member 74 and being guided.

As shown in FIG. 6, the protrusion 50 is provided on the central portion 162 rather than on the rear portion 161 or the front portion 163. That is, the protrusion 50 is provided at the center 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 protrusion 50 is 1/4 of the length L4 along the front-rear direction 8 from the front end to the rear end of the platen 42. That's all.

The center portion 162 of the platen 42 has a convex portion 164 that protrudes nine directions in the left-right direction from the upper end portions of the right and left side surfaces. The upper surface of the convex portion 164 constitutes a part of the upper surface 42A of the platen 42. The protrusion 50 is located below the protrusion 164. That is, the convex portion 164 covers the upper part of the protrusion 50. That is, the upper surface 42A of the convex portion 164 of the platen 42 is located above the projection 50 and covers the upper surface of the projection 50.

The convex portion 164 is a portion that supports the left and right ends of the paper 12 having the maximum width. The maximum width paper 12 is the largest size paper 12 among the various sizes of paper 12 set so that images can be recorded in the printer section 11 . The maximum width is the length in the left-right direction 9 of the paper 12 of the maximum size. By providing the convex portion 164, it is possible to prevent the ink mist ejected from the nozzle 39 from adhering to the protrusion 50.

Further, the convex portion 164 may be a portion that receives ink during so-called borderless printing in which an image is recorded to the edge of the paper 12. Further, the convex portion 164 may be a portion that receives ink during so-called flushing, which is idle ejection of ink performed during maintenance of the recording head 38.

As shown in FIG. 30, when the platen 42 and the slide member 74 are viewed from above, the left and right ends of the platen 42 overlap with the slide member 74.

Regardless of the position of the platen 42, the contact piece 47 (see FIG. 6) is in contact with the slide member 74 (specifically, the support surface 102 of the slide member 74 (see FIG. 13)) from above. When the platen 42 is located at a position other than the printing position and its vicinity, the protrusion 50 contacts the slide member 74 (specifically, the horizontal surface 123 and the inclined surface 103 of the slide member 74 (see FIGS. 16 and 19)) from above. There is.

The portions of the platen 42 other than the contact piece 47 and the protrusion 50 do not interfere with the slide member 74 regardless of the position of the platen 42. Specifically, the rear portion 161 excluding the contact piece 47 is located above the slide member 74 and does not interfere with the slide member 74. Further, in the convex portion 164 of the central portion 162, a length L5 between the right end of the right convex portion 164 and the left end of the left convex portion 164 is longer than the interval L6 between the two slide members 74. Therefore, the convex portion 164 and the slide member 74 overlap in the left-right direction 9. However, since the convex portion 164 is located above the protrusion 50, it is located above the slide member 74 and does not interfere with the slide member 74. Further, the portion of the central portion 162 excluding the convex portion 164 and the front portion 163 are located inside the slide member 74 in the left-right direction 9 and do not interfere with the slide member 74. As described above, the platen 42 does not interfere with the slide member 74 when rotating.

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 amount of the convex portion 164 .

As shown in FIG. 8, the platen 42 includes a plate member 83 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 on its lower surface that protrude forward. The plate member 83 is attached to the platen 42 by inserting the projection 116 into the hole 84 and the projection 117 into the hole 89. The plate member 83 is located in front 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 the upstream end of the platen 42 in the transport direction 15.

As shown in FIG. 20, when the platen 42 is in the open position, a portion of the front end of the platen 42 is recessed into the recess 118 of the base member 90. 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 coming into contact with the surface 119 from above. Thereby, the platen 42 is supported by the base member 90.

In the present embodiment, the plate member 83 is supported by the surface 119 from its left end to its right end, that is, over its entire left and right direction 9; It is sufficient that the center portion is supported by the surface 119. Further, a portion of the platen 42 other than the plate member 83 may be supported by the surface 119.

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

Regardless of its position, the platen 42 is located below the upper end 13A of the opening 13 (see FIG. 11) and above the lower end 13B of the opening 13 (see FIG. 11).

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

[Slide member 74]
As shown in FIG. 5, the slide member 74 is supported by the bottom plate 55B of the pair of side frames 55 so as to be slidable in the front-back direction 8. That is, two slide members 74 are provided and are located 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.

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 the removal of the feeding tray 20 from the housing 14, and in conjunction with the insertion of the feeding tray 20 into the housing 14. , slide from the front position to the rear position. Further, in conjunction with the sliding of the slide member 74 from the rear position to the front position, the platen 42 rotates from the printing position to the open position, and in conjunction with the sliding of the slide member 74 from the front position to the rear position, the platen 42 rotates. 42 rotates 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, a convex portion 105, and a convex portion 124. We are prepared.

As shown in FIG. 13, the convex portion 101 projects upward from the rear end of the slide member 74. As shown in FIG. A protrusion 106 that protrudes forward is provided at the upper end of the convex portion 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 is inclined 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 surface 108 is a surface that extends in the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9.

The inclined surface 107 includes a distal end inclined surface 107A and a proximal inclined surface 107B. The distal end inclined surface 107A is located forward of the proximal inclined surface 107B and is continuous with the front end of the proximal inclined surface 107B. In other words, the distal end inclined surface 107A is located forward and below the proximal inclined surface 107B. The obtuse inclination angle θ1 of the distal end 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 end side inclined surface 107B with respect to the horizontal plane. That is, the distal end side inclined surface 107A is more steeply inclined with respect to the horizontal plane than the proximal side inclined surface 107B. 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 protrusion 106 is located at the rear of the shaft 87. During the sliding process of the slide member 74 from the rear position to the front position, the inclined surface 107 comes into contact with the shaft 87 and guides the shaft 87. When the slide member 74 is in the forward position shown in FIG. 22, the horizontal surface 108 supports the shaft 87. When the slide member 74 is in the front position, the upper surface (the inclined surface 107 and the horizontal surface 108) of the projection 106 is located directly above the bearing 71 of the conveyance roller 60 (see FIG. 5).

The protrusion 106 overlaps with 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. Further, 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 at the rear of the carriage 40 regardless of the sliding position of the slide member 74. Therefore, the protrusion 106 does not overlap with the positionable space in the front-rear direction 8. As described above, the protrusion 106 overlaps with the positionable space in the left-right direction 9 and the vertical direction 7, but is located at a position offset rearward from the positionable space in the front-back direction 8. Therefore, regardless of the position of the slide member 74, the protrusion 106 is located at a position different from the space in which the moving carriage 40 can be located.

As shown in FIG. 13, the support surface 102 is located in front of the convex portion 101. The support surface 102 is a surface that extends 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 located in front of the support surface 102. The inclined surface 103 is inclined upward as it goes forward.

The inclined surface 103 includes a lower inclined surface 103A (an example of a first inclined surface) and an upper inclined surface 103B (an example of a second inclined surface). The upper inclined surface 103B is located 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 above the lower inclined surface 103A. The obtuse inclination angle θ3 of the upper inclined surface 103B with respect to the horizontal plane (a surface extending in the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9) is smaller than the obtuse inclination angle θ4 of the lower inclined surface 103A with respect to the horizontal plane. That is, the upper inclined surface 103B is more steeply inclined 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. 19, during the sliding process of the slide member 74 from the rear position to the front position, the inclined surface 103 comes into contact with the protrusion 50 and guides the protrusion 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 FIGS. When the slide member 74 is in the rear position shown in FIG. 13, the horizontal surface 123 is located below the protrusion 50 of the platen 42 and is spaced apart from the protrusion 50. As shown in FIG. 16, in the sliding process of the slide member 74 from the rear position to the front position, the horizontal surface 123 comes into contact with the protrusion 50 and guides the protrusion 50 toward the inclined surface 103.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 13, the convex portion 104 is located in front of the horizontal surface 123. The convex portion 104 is located 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 convex portion 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 in between.

The tip portion 111 is located above and behind the through hole 109. The tip portion 111 has a thin plate shape extending from the rear upper end of the convex portion 104 to the front lower end via the front upper end. This allows the tip portion 111 to bend in a direction intersecting the direction in which it extends, and functions as a leaf 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 convex portion 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 located below and in front of the through hole 109. The base end portion 110 includes a projection 112 projecting upward on its upper surface (the surface that defines the lower side of the through hole 109 among the inner surfaces of the through hole 109). The protrusion 112 is located below the horizontal surface 111B of the tip portion 111. As a result, the vertical gap in the portion of the through hole 109 where the protrusion 112 is provided is smaller than that in other portions of the through hole 109. As a result, the amount of deflection of the tip 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. As shown in FIG. The convex portion 105 projects outward in the left-right direction 9 from the front end of the slide member 74 . That is, the protrusion 105 of the slide member 74 located on the right side of the two slide members 74 protrudes to the right, and the protrusion 105 of the slide member 74 located on the left side of the two slide members 74 protrudes to the left. protruding towards the direction.

The convex portion 105 is provided with a protrusion 112 projecting upward at its tip. As shown in FIG. 9, the convex portion 105 passes through an opening 113 formed in the base member 90. As shown in FIG. As a result, the proximal end and the distal end (protrusion 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 above the opening 113 and adjoins the wall 114 on the left and right sides. Thereby, the slide member 74 is engaged with the base member 90 through the convex portion 105. Although the left part 92 of the base member 90 is shown in FIG. 9, the right part 91 of the base member 90 (not shown) is also engaged with the slide member 74 in the same way as the left part 92.

As shown in FIG. 5, the proximal end of the protrusion 105 is longer in the front-rear direction 8 than the distal end of the protrusion 105. Specifically, the proximal end of the protrusion 105 extends further back than the distal end of the protrusion 105 . A lever 75, which will be described later, is brought into contact with the rear surface 105A of the proximal end of the convex portion 105.

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 comes into contact with the protrusion 124 . This causes the slide member 74 to slide rearward.

[Lever 75]
As shown in FIG. 5, the lever 75 is supported by the side plates 55A of the pair of side frames 55 so as to be rotatable around a shaft 76. That is, two levers 75 are provided. Each lever 75 is located 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 supported by the base member 90 so as to be rotatable around the shaft 76 . That is, the lever 75 is supported by both the base member 90 and the side frame 55. The shaft 76 projects from the upper part of the lever 75 both outward and inward in the left-right direction 9 . As shown in FIG. 10A, a shaft 76A of the shafts 76 that protrudes outward from the lever 75 in the left-right direction 9 is inserted into a hole 77 formed in the base member 90. Of the shafts 76, a shaft 76B that protrudes inward from the lever 75 in the left-right direction 9 is inserted into a hole 78 formed in the side frame 55. The diameter of hole 77 is larger than the diameter of hole 78.

The lever 75 is rotatable between a reference position shown in FIG. 12, a forward 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 located at the pre-movement position by rotating in the direction of arrow 151 from the reference position. The lever 75 is located at the rear rotation position by rotating from the reference position in the direction of arrow 152 (opposite to arrow 151).

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

As shown in FIG. 21, when the lever 75 is in the forward movement position, the tip 79A is located further forward and above than when the lever 75 is in the reference position (see FIG. 12). The lever 75 in the forward movement position is in contact with 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 pre-movement 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 in the previous movement position is restricted by the rear lower end 70A of the third convex portion 70 from rotating in a direction away from the reference position.

As shown in FIG. 24, when the lever 75 is in the rear rotation position, the tip 79A is located further back and above than when the lever 75 is in the reference position (see FIG. 12).

As shown in FIG. 12, the lower end of the coil spring 115 is connected to the upper end of the 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 lever 75 is located at the reference position, coil spring 115 is at 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 lever 75 is urged toward the reference position by the elastic force of the coil spring 115.

The lever 75 is provided at the same position as and above the side wall 30 of the feeding tray 20 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 fits into a notch 96 formed in the side wall 30 of the feeding tray 20. As shown in FIG.

When the lever 75 is located at the reference position, the tip 79 of the lever 75 (the portion of the lever 75 that fits into the notch 96) is located further back than the shaft 76. The distal end portion 79 has a rear surface 79B and a front surface 79C. The rear surface 79B comes into contact with the rear surface 96A and the inclined surface 96B of the feeding tray 20, which is moved forward during the process of being removed from the housing 14 (see FIGS. 15 and 18). The front surface 79C is in contact with the inclined surface 99A (see FIGS. 4 and 12) of the side wall 30 of the feeding tray 20 inserted into the housing 14.

As shown in FIG. 12, the lever 75 has a convex portion 80. The convex portion 80 protrudes in the direction of the arrow 151 from the virtual plane 153 that extends from the shaft 76 toward the tip 79A and in the left-right direction 9. An 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). The protruding end surface 80A of the convex portion 80 is curved.

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

As shown in FIG. 24, the lever 75 in the pre-moved position (indicated by a broken line in FIG. 24) is located at the front surface 96C of the notch 96 of the feed tray 20 in the predetermined position (the position shown in FIG. 24). Located further back. The predetermined position is the position where the slide member 74 (specifically, the rear surface 105A of the convex portion 105) is in the previous position if the lever 75 is located at the previous position during the process of inserting the feeding tray 20 into the housing 14. This is the position of the feeding 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 feeding 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 friction coefficient between the tip 79A of the lever 75 and the upper surface 97 of the feeding tray 20 (see FIG. 27).
(Number 1)
θ＞arctanμ...(Formula 1)

(Formula 1) is derived as follows. As shown in FIG. 27, the balance of moments around the shaft 76 of the lever 75 is expressed by the following (Equation 2).
(Number 2)
W×Lw×sinθ−N×L1×sinθ+μ×N×L1×cosθ+L2×S=0...(Formula 2)

In (Formula 2), W (unit: N) is the weight of the lever 75. Lw (unit: mm) is the distance from the shaft 76 of the lever 75 to the center of gravity of the lever 75. N (unit: N) is a vertical force acting from the upper surface 97 of the feeding tray 20 to the tip 79A of the lever 75. 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 connection position of the lever 75 and the coil spring 115. S (unit: N) is a force acting on the coil spring 115.

When (Formula 2) is transformed, it becomes the following (Formula 3).
(Number 3)
N=(W×Lw×sinθ+L2×S)/(L1×(sinθ−μcosθ))...(Formula 3)

From (Equation 3), when sinθ−μcosθ=0, N becomes infinite. Then, when an attempt is made to move the feed tray 20 forward from the state shown in FIG. 27, the lever 75 prevents the feed tray 20 from moving forward. In order to prevent this, it is sufficient if sinθ−μcosθ>0. In other words, it is sufficient if (Formula 1) is satisfied. Note that the relationship satisfied by the backward and upward rotation angle of the lever 75 with respect to the vertical direction can also be determined in the same manner as described above.

[Operations of each member in the process of inserting and removing the feeding tray 20]
The operation and state of each member during the process of inserting and removing the feeding tray 20 into and from the housing 14 will be described below.

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

As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, when the feeding tray 20 is attached to the housing 14, 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 is in contact with the rear surface 105A of the convex portion 105 of the slide member 74 from the rear. Note that at this time, the lever 75 may be spaced apart 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 located in the rear position. The protrusion 106 is located at the rear of the shaft 87 and is spaced apart from the shaft 87. At this time, the pinch roller 61 is urged by the coil spring 57 and is in contact with the conveyance roller 60 (see FIGS. 2 and 5). In other words, 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 feeding tray 20 is located rearward of the lever 75 at the reference position. A rear surface 96A of the cutout 96 of the feeding tray 20 is located rearward of the lever 75 in the rear rotation position shown by a broken line in FIG. The front surface 96C of the notch 96 of the feeding tray 20 is located forward of the lever 75 at the reference position. The tip 79 of the lever 75 is located below the upper surface 97 of the side wall 30 and fits into 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 feeding tray 20 in the vertical direction 7. Therefore, when the feeding tray 20 is lifted upward by the user in the state shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the front upper surface 31A contacts the lower surface 94A of the first convex portion 94 from below, or the horizontal surface 97A comes into contact with the lower surface 95A of the second convex portion 95 from below, thereby restricting lifting of the feeding tray 20.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 13, platen 42 is in the printing position. The platen 42 is positioned in the 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. As shown in FIG. A protrusion 46 is located above the support surface 102 (see FIG. 6). A bearing 71 (see FIG. 5) of the conveyance roller 60 is fitted into a recess formed by the upper surface 46A of the protrusion 46. At this time, the protrusion 46 is urged upward by the coil spring 48 and pressed against the bearing 71 of the conveyance roller 60. In other words, the platen 42 is urged toward the conveyance roller 60. Thereby, the rear end portion of the platen 42 is positioned in the vertical direction 7 by the side frame 55 to which the bearing 71 is attached.

The 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 111 functioning as a leaf spring and pressed against the discharge roller 62. In other words, the protrusion 49 is vertically sandwiched between the protrusion 104 and the discharge roller 62. Thereby, 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 a bearing 72. As described above, the platen 42 is positioned in the vertical direction 7 by having its rear end and front end positioned on the side frame 55.

Note that even when the slide member 74 moves from the rear position shown in FIG. 13 to the front position shown in FIG. 22, the contact piece 47 remains supported by the slide member 74. 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 conveyance roller 60) regardless of the position of the slide member 74.

As shown in FIG. 13, the protrusion 50 of the platen 42 is spaced apart from the slide member 74. That is, the protrusion 50 is not supported by the slide member 74.

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

As shown in FIG. 15, the rear surface 96A of the notch 96 of the feeding tray 20 comes into contact with the rear surface 79B of the tip 79 of the lever 75 from the rear and pushes the lever 75 forward. As a result, the lever 75 is pushed by the feeding tray 20 and rotates from the reference position in the direction of the arrow 151, that is, from the reference position toward the pre-movement position, against the biasing force of the coil spring 115. 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 from the rear position to the front, that is, from the rear position to 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 feeding tray 20 in the vertical direction 7. The rear portion of the second convex portion 95 of the base member 90 faces the notch 96 of the feeding tray 20 in the up-down direction 7 . Therefore, when the feeding tray 20 is lifted upward by the user while the feeding tray 20 is moving forward, the front upper surface 31A contacts the lower surface 94A of the first convex portion 94 from below, or The lifting of the feeding tray 20 is regulated by the horizontal surface 97A coming into contact with the lower surface 95A of the second convex portion 95 from below.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 16, the platen 42 has rotated downward from the printing position. That is, the platen 42 is rotating from the printing position to the open position. The details are explained below.

Since the protrusion 46 remains pressed against the bearing 71, the platen 42 remains rotatable around the axis of the conveyance roller 60.

On the other hand, as the slide member 74 is slid 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 around the axis of the conveyance roller 60 so that its tip moves downward, and the protrusion 49 of the platen 42 separates from the bearing 72. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 16, when the platen 42 rotates, the protrusion 50 moves downward, contacts the horizontal surface 123 of the slide member 74 from above, and is guided by the horizontal surface 123. Thereafter, the platen 42 rotates toward the open position as the slide member 74 slides forward and the protrusion 50 is guided by the horizontal surface 123 and the inclined surface 103 of the slide member 74.

Note that since the protrusion 104 of the slide member 74 is separated from the protrusion 49, the front end of the platen 42 is no longer positioned in the vertical direction 7.

In the states shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, the protrusion 106 is still located behind the shaft 87 and is separated from the shaft 87, so the pair of conveyance rollers 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. 17-19, each member operates as detailed below, and as detailed below. The situation is such that

As shown in FIG. 18, the lever 75 is pushed by the feeding tray 20 and rotates from the position shown in FIG. 15 in the direction of arrow 151, that is, toward the forward position. 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.

In the process of sliding the slide member 74 forward from the position shown in FIGS. 14 to 16 to the position shown in FIGS. 17 to 19, the protrusion 106 comes into contact with the shaft 87 from behind, as shown in FIG. 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 the surface of the roller holder 85 that defines the through hole 86 upward. As a result, the roller holder 85 and the pinch roller 61 move upward, and the pinch roller 61 separates from the conveyance roller 60. As a result, the conveying roller pair 59 changes state from the nip state to the separated state.

The guiding of the shaft 87 by the inclined surface 107 is started after the guiding of the protrusion 50 by the horizontal surface 123 of the slide member 74 and the inclined surface 103 is started. Moreover, at the time when the state change of the pair of transport rollers 59 from the nip state to the separated state is completed, the platen 42 has not yet reached the open position. 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 pair of transport rollers 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 inclined surface 107A and then by the proximal inclined surface 107B. The shaft 87 when guided by the proximal inclined surface 107B is located higher than the shaft 87 when guided by the distal inclined surface 107A. In other words, the pinch roller 61 when the distal end side inclined surface 107A is in contact with the shaft 87 is located closer to the conveyance roller 60 than the pinch roller 61 when the proximal 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 inclined surface 107B is more extended than the coil spring 57 when the shaft 87 is guided by the distal inclined surface 107A, and a large elastic force is applied to the shaft. It acts as a resistance force against the guide of 87. Here, the proximal inclined surface 107B is more gently inclined with respect to the horizontal plane than the distal inclined surface 107A. That is, when a large elastic force is applied, the shaft 87 is guided by the gentle proximal inclined surface 107B, so that the load applied to the shaft 87 can be reduced. On the other hand, when no large elastic force is applied, the shaft 87 is guided by the steep distal end side inclined surface 107A, so that it can quickly move upward.

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

In the discharge roller pair 44, unlike the conveyance roller pair 59, the discharge roller 62 and the spur 63 are not separated from each other. That is, regardless of the positions of the slide member 74 and the platen 42, the ejection roller 62 and the spur 63 maintain a nip state in which they are in contact with each other and can hold the paper 12.

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. As shown in FIG. The second convex portion 95 of the base member 90 faces the notch 96 of the feeding tray 20 in the vertical direction 7 . Therefore, when the feeding tray 20 is lifted upward by the user while the feeding tray 20 is moving forward, the front upper surface 31A contacts the lower surface 94A of the first convex portion 94 from below, thereby preventing the feeding. 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 to 16 to the position shown in FIGS. By being guided by the inclined surface 103 of the front end, the front end thereof 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 by the lower inclined surface 103A. The protrusion 50 when guided by the lower inclined surface 103A is located lower than the protrusion 50 when guided by the upper inclined surface 103B. Therefore, the coil spring 48 when the protrusion 50 is guided by the lower inclined surface 103A is more compressed than the coil spring 48 when the protrusion 50 is guided by the upper inclined surface 103B, and a large elastic force is applied to the guide of the protrusion 50. It acts as a resistance force 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 is applied, the protrusion 50 is guided by the gentle lower slope 130A, so that the load applied to the protrusion 50 can be reduced. On the other hand, when no large elastic force is applied, the protrusion 50 is guided by the steep upper slope 103B, so the platen 42 can quickly rotate 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. 20-22, each member operates as detailed below, and as detailed below. The situation is such that

As shown in FIG. 21, the lever 75 is pushed by the feeding tray 20 and is moved in the direction of arrow 151 from the position shown in FIG. 18 to the forward movement position. At this time, the lever 75 is located outside the notch 96. The tip 79A of the lever 75 is supported by the horizontal surface 97A of the upper surface 97 of the side wall 30 of the feeding tray 20. By having the tip 79A of the lever 75 guided by the inclined surface 96B of the rear surface 96A of the notch 96, the lever 75 can be smoothly moved to the outside of the notch 96. The lever 75 in the forward movement position is in contact with the rear lower end 70A of the third convex portion 70 of the base member 90. Thereby, rotation of the lever 75 in the direction of the arrow 151 in the previous movement position is restricted.

As shown in FIG. 22, the slide member 74 is pushed by the rotating lever 75 and slides forward from the positions shown in FIGS. 17 to 19 to the front position.

The conveying roller pair 59 is in a separated state.

As shown in FIG. 21, the front portion of the first convex portion 94 of the base member 90 faces the front upper surface 31A of the discharge tray 21 in the up-down 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 feeding tray 20 in the vertical direction 7 . Therefore, when the feeding tray 20 is lifted upward by the user while the feeding tray 20 is moving forward, the front upper surface 31A contacts the lower surface 94A of the first convex portion 94 from below, thereby preventing the feeding. Lifting of the feed tray 20 is restricted.

Note that when the feeding tray 20 moves further forward from the position shown in FIG. Become. At this time, the rear end of the front upper surface 31A of the discharge tray 21 is still located rearward than the front end of the lower surface 94A of the first convex portion 94. In other words, when the rear surface 96A, which is the rear end of the notch 96, is located behind the rear end of the lower surface 95A of the second convex portion 95, the rear end of the front upper surface 31A of the discharge tray 21 It is located rearward from 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 31A of the discharge tray 21 in the vertical direction 7. As a result, when the feed tray 20 is lifted upward by the user, the front upper surface 31A contacts the lower surface 94A of the first protrusion 94 from below, and the second protrusion 95 deeply enters the notch 96. things are suppressed.

In the process of sliding the slide member 74 forward from the position shown in FIGS. 17 to 19 to the position shown in FIGS. 20 to 22, the platen 42 is moved so that the projection 50 is By being guided by the inclined surface 103 of the slide member 74, the front end portion of the slide member 74 rotates further downward and is located 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 fits into a recess 118 in the base member 90. Platen 42 is supported by 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 coming into contact with the surface 119 from above. Thereby, the platen 42 is supported by the base member 90.

The platen 42 in the open position is located above an imaginary surface 129 including the sloped surface 122 of the wall 120 of the base member 90 (a surface that slopes upward toward the rear like the sloped surface 122). In other words, the virtual surface 129 covers the platen 42 in the open position from above.

As shown in FIG. 22, when the platen 42 is in the open position, the protrusion 50 is supported by the inclined surface 103 (lower inclined surface 103A in this embodiment).

Thereafter, although not shown, the feeding tray 20 is further moved forward and removed from the housing 14. At this time, if the feed tray 20 is lifted upward by the user while the feed tray 20 is moving forward, the slope 31C and rear upper surface 31B of the ejection tray 21 and the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 The horizontal surface 97A of the upper surface 97 contacts the lower surface 94A of the first convex portion 94 from below, thereby restricting lifting of the feeding tray 20. When the lever 75 is no longer supported by the feeding tray 20 as the feeding tray 20 is moved further forward, the lever 75 is urged by the coil spring 115 and rotates to the reference position.

Next, the operation and state of each member during the process of inserting the feeding tray 20 into the housing 14 will be explained. Note that the operations of each member during the process of inserting the feed tray 20 into the housing 14 (hereinafter referred to as "operations during insertion") are the same as the process of removing the feed tray 20 from the housing 14. The movement of each member in (hereinafter referred to as "movement at the time of removal") is approximately the opposite movement. Therefore, in the following explanation, if the operation at insertion is the opposite of the operation at removal, the explanation of that operation will be simplified or omitted, and if the operation at insertion is different from the opposite operation at removal If so, its operation will be explained in detail.

When the rear end of the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 approaches the lever 75 at the reference position in the process of being inserted into the case 14 by moving the feed tray 20 backward with respect to the case 14, the lever 75 fits into a recess 99 (see FIG. 12) at the rear end of the side wall 30 of the feeding tray 20. When the feeding tray 20 moves further rearward, the inclined surface 99A (see FIG. 12) of the feeding tray 20 comes into contact with the front surface 79C of the tip 79 of the lever 75 at the reference position from the front. The front surface 79C of the tip 79 of the lever 75 is pushed rearward by the inclined surface 99A of the feeding tray 20. As a result, the lever 75 rotates from the reference position in the direction of arrow 152, that is, from the reference position toward the rear rotation position. Thereafter, as the feeding tray 20 is moved rearward, the lever 75 passes through the inclined surface 99A and is then guided by the upper surface 97. At this time, the lever 75 is guided while rotating in the direction of arrow 151 or arrow 152, depending on the height of the upper surface 97 with which the lever 75 is in contact.

After the inclined surface 99A of the feeding tray 20 contacts the lever 75, when the feeding tray 20 is further moved rearward and inserted to the position shown in FIGS. 23 to 25, as shown in FIG. , the protrusion 125 of the feeding tray 20 contacts the protrusion 124 of the slide member 74 from the front. At this time, the front surface 96C of the notch 96 of the feeding tray 20 is located forward of the lever 75 in the forward movement position shown by the broken line in FIG. Note that, in reality, at this time, the lever 75 is located at the reference position, and unless an unexpected situation such as the lever 75 being caught by a foreign object occurs, the lever 75 will not be located at the forward movement position. .

When the feeding tray 20 is moved further rearward, the protrusion 125 pushes the protrusion 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 backward, the protrusion 50 (see FIG. 22) supported by the lower inclined surface 103A is guided along the lower inclined surface 103A (see FIG. 19), and then moves through the upper inclined surface 103B. and is guided to the horizontal surface 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 backward from the position shown in FIGS. 17 to 19 to the position shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, the protrusion 106 is separated from the shaft 87. As a result, the shaft 87 is urged 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 conveyance roller 60 . As a result, the conveyance roller pair 59 changes state from the separated state to the nip state.

When the transport roller pair 59 changes 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 further slid backward and reaches a predetermined position after the transport roller pair 59 changes to the nip state, the protrusion 104 of the slide member 74 comes into contact with the protrusion 49 of the platen 42 . The predetermined position is a position between the front position and the rear position. The protrusion 49 is guided to the horizontal surface 111B via the inclined surface 111A of the tip 111 of the convex portion 104, and is finally supported by the horizontal surface 111B of the tip 111. At this time, the protrusion 49 is urged upward by the tip 111 functioning as a leaf spring, lifted, and pressed against the discharge roller 62. In other words, the protrusion 49 is vertically sandwiched between the protrusion 104 and the discharge roller 62. Thereby, 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 a bearing 72. As a result, in addition to the rear end, which is positioned regardless of the position of the slide member 74, the front end of the platen 42 is also positioned. The platen 42 at this time (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. Thereby, the protrusion 50 is separated from the horizontal surface 123 of the slide member 74. That is, when the platen 42 is in the printing position, the rear end and the front end are vertically positioned by the side frame 55, and the protrusion 50 is spaced apart from the slide member 74.

As described above, the inclined surface 103 comes into contact with 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. As described in the present embodiment, the above-mentioned "directing and guiding" includes not guiding completely to the printing position but guiding halfway. Note that the inclined surface 103 may completely guide the platen 42 to the printing position. Furthermore, the protrusion 104 abuts 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 in the rear position.

[Effects of embodiment]
The platen 42 is moved by the inclined surface 103 of the sliding member 74 contacting and guiding the protrusion 50 of the platen 42. In other words, since the platen 42 is moved by the contact between the slide member 74 and the platen 42, the printer section 11 does not need to have a complicated mechanism.

When the feed tray 20 is in the open position, the space between the platen 42 and the recording section 24 can be accessed from the opening 13 through the internal space 23 and the gap 32.

In this embodiment, compared to the embodiment in which the protrusion 50 is provided on the front portion 163, the sliding amount of the slide member 74 required to move the platen 42 from the open position to the printing position can be shortened.

If the ink droplet ejected from the nozzle 39 adheres to the protrusion 50, it will create resistance when the protrusion 50 is guided by the inclined surface 103, and there is a possibility that movement of the platen 42 and sliding of the slide member 74 may be inhibited. According to this embodiment, since the support surface of the platen 42 covers the upper part of the protrusion 50, it is possible to reduce the possibility that ink droplets ejected from the nozzle 39 will adhere to the protrusion 50.

By suppressing the miniaturization of the central portion 162 where ink droplets ejected from the nozzle 39 may land, the possibility of ink droplets adhering to locations other than the central portion 162 of the platen of the image recording device is reduced. be able to. On the other hand, by making the front portion 163 smaller, the possibility that the front portion 163 will interfere with the slide member 74 can be reduced, and the platen 42 can be made smaller in the width direction.

In this embodiment, the length along the front from the front end of the platen 42 to the protrusion 50 is 1/4 or more of the length along the front from the front end to the rear end of the platen 42, for example. In this embodiment, the protrusion 50 is provided at the center of the platen 42 facing forward.

On the other hand, embodiments in which the length along the forward direction from the forward end of the platen to the protrusion 50 is less than 1/4 of the length along the forward direction from the forward end to the rearward end of the platen 42, e.g. This is an embodiment in which the protrusion 50 is provided at the forward end of the platen 42 (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment in which the protrusion 50 is provided at the forward end).

In this embodiment, compared to the embodiment in which the protrusion 50 is provided at the forward end, the sliding amount of the slide member 74 required to move the platen 42 from the open position to the printing position can be shortened. .

When the platen 42 rotates from the open position to the printing position, the closer the platen 42 is to the printing position, the smaller the force required to rotate the platen 42. In this embodiment, the increase in the force required for rotating the platen 42 is suppressed by making the inclined surface 103 steeper at a position where the force required for rotating the platen 42 is smaller (a position close to the printing position). At the same time, the sliding amount of the slide member 74 for rotating the platen 42 from the open position to the printing position can be reduced.

Interference between the protrusion 50 and the recording section 24 can be prevented.

[Modified example]
In the embodiment described above, the lever 75 was 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 79 of the lever 75 is located below the shaft 76, but the tip 79 of the lever 75 may be located above the shaft 76. In this case, when the lever 75 is in the forward rotation position, the tip 79A is located forward and lower than when the lever 75 is in the reference position, and when the lever 75 is in the rear rotation position, the tip 79A is located when the lever 75 is in the reference position. It is located further back and lower than the reference position.

Two levers 75 are provided corresponding to the side walls 30 and slide members 74 of the two feeding trays 20. The amount of rotation of the two levers 75 from the reference position to the forward rotation position is usually the same, and the amount of rotation of the two levers 75 from the reference position to the rear rotation position is usually 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 sides, the amount of rotation of the two levers 75 is adjusted according to the configuration, and as a result, the amount of rotation of the two levers 75 is different. It may become like this.

In the above embodiment, the lever 75 in the previous movement position is prevented from rotating in the direction of the arrow 151 by contacting the rear lower end 70A of the third convex portion 70 of the base member 90 (see FIG. 21). ). However, because the third protrusion 70 of the base member 90 is not provided, or because the position of the third protrusion 70 is different from the above embodiment, the lever 75 in the pre-moved position is further moved 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 convex portion 94 or the lower surface 95A of the second convex portion 95 and at least one of the front upper surface 31A of the ejection tray 21 or the horizontal surface 97A of the side wall 30 of the feed tray 20 are arranged vertically. When they are facing each other in direction 7, the distance between them in the vertical direction 7 is smaller than the distance in the vertical direction 7 between the lever 75 at the limit rotation position and the feeding tray 20. This is desirable.

Here, the limit rotation position is a position defined as the position when the lever 75 rotates the maximum amount in the direction of the arrow 151 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 a member that restricts the rotation.

The platen 42 may rotate around an axis other than the conveyance roller 60. For example, the platen 42 may rotate around the axis of the pinch roller 61. Further, 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 (supporting surface of the paper 12) of the platen 42 is located lower than when it is in the printing position, as shown by the broken line in FIG. .

The platen 42 may be moved between the printing position and the open position by sliding along the vertical direction 7, for example, as shown in FIG. 29, instead of rotating. In this case, when the platen 42 is in the open position, it is located lower than when the platen 42 is in the printing position, as shown by the broken line in FIG. In other words, the front end 66 and rear end 67 of the upper surface of the platen 42 are located lower than at the printing position.

In the embodiment described above, the conveyance roller 60 was arranged below the straight section 34 and the pinch roller 61 was arranged above the straight section 34 . However, contrary to the above embodiment, the conveyance roller 60 may be disposed below the straight portion 34 and the pinch roller 61 may be disposed above the straight portion 34. In this case, the slide member 74 is configured to move the pinch roller 61 downward by guiding the shaft 87 downward in conjunction with the forward movement. Further, in this case, the platen 42 rotates around the axis of the pinch roller 61.

The protrusion 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 protrusion 50 may be a roller rotatably supported by the central portion 162 of the platen 42.

By providing the protrusion 50, the friction between the protrusion 50 and the inclined surface 103 is reduced, so that the platen 42 can be rotated smoothly.

A buffer 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 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 buffer 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 buffer material rather than the plate member 83 contacts the surface 119 from above, so that the platen 42 in the open position is supported by the base member 90 . In this case, the base member 90 is an example of a frame.

When the platen 42 moves from the printing position to the open position, the impact from the base member 90 to the platen 42 due to the platen 42 coming into contact with the base member 90 can be alleviated.

The platen 42 may not include the ribs 43 and 45. In this case, the supporting surface of the paper 12 is the upper surface of the rib 43.

In the embodiment described above, 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 comes into contact with the slide member 74, so that the slide member 74 is moved from the rear position to the front position. When the feed tray 20 was inserted into the housing 14, the feed tray 20 came into contact with the slide member 74, and the slide member 74 slid from the front position to the rear position without using the lever 75. .

However, contrary to the above, when the feed tray 20 is inserted into the housing 14, the rotated lever 75 that is in contact with the feed tray 20 comes into contact with the slide member 74, and the slide member 74 is moved to the front position. When the feed tray 20 is removed from the housing 14, the feed tray 20 comes into contact with the slide member 74, and the slide member 74 slides from the rear position to the front position without using the lever 75. You may. In this case, when the lever 75 is located at the reference position, the tip 79 of the lever 75 (the part of the lever 75 that fits into the notch 96) is located forward of the shaft 76 (as in the above embodiment). In this case, it was located behind the axis 76.) is preferable.

Furthermore, when the feed tray 20 is inserted into and removed from the housing 14, the lever 75 that is in contact with the feed tray 20 and rotated comes into contact with the slide member 74, so that the slide member 74 slides. Good too. Further, the slide member 74 may slide without using the lever 75 because the feed tray 20 comes into contact with the slide member 74 both when the feed tray 20 is inserted into and removed from the housing 14 .

Note that when the slide member 74 is slid from the front position to the rear position by the lever 75 coming into contact with the slide member 74 when the feeding tray 20 is inserted into the housing 14, the slide member 74 is moved as shown in FIG. 15, for example. As shown by the broken line, a protrusion 142 that protrudes in the left-right direction 9 is provided at a position that abuts the lever 75 from the front.

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

For example, as shown in FIG. 26, the upper surface 141 of the side wall 140 of the feed tray 20 may support the platen 42 at 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 of the upper surface 141 of the side wall 140. By moving forward when the feeding tray 20 is removed from the housing 14, the inclined surface 141A guides the tip of the platen 42 downward, so that the platen 42 can print as shown by the solid line in FIG. position to the open position shown by the broken line in FIG. 26 (a position in which the front end 66 of the upper surface (paper support surface) of the platen 42 is lower than in the printing position). Further, in the process of moving backward when the slide member 74 is inserted into the housing 14, by guiding the tip of the inclined surface 141A platen 42 upward, the platen 42 is rotated from the open position to the printing position. .

Further, for example, the upper surface of the ejection tray 21 supports 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 ejection tray 21. Note that the ejection tray 21 may be moved together with the feed tray 20 as in the above embodiment, or may be moved separately from the feed tray 20.

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

The printer unit 11 does not need to include the contact member 41.

In the embodiment described above, the conveyance path 65 was composed of the curved portion 33 and the straight portion 34, but the configuration of the conveyance path 65 is not limited to this. For example, the conveyance path 65 may be a generally linear path extending forward from an opening formed on the rear surface of the housing 14 and reaching the internal space 23 .

The printer section 11 of the above embodiment is of a so-called serial head type in which the recording section 24 is equipped with a carriage 40; It may also be a so-called line head system provided over the area.

In the embodiment described above, the printer unit 11 records an image on the paper 12 using an inkjet method, but it may also use a method other than the inkjet method, such as an electrophotographic method, to record an image on the paper 12.

10...Multifunction device 11...Printer section (image recording device)
12...Paper (sheet)
13... Opening 14... Housing 23... Internal space 24... Recording section 42... Platen 50... Protrusion (guided part)
65...Transportation path 74...Slide member 103...Slanted surface (guide portion)

Claims (10)

a casing having an internal space open to the outside through an opening;
a sheet conveyance path formed opposite to the opening with respect to the internal space inside the casing, and extending from the internal space in a first direction;
a platen located on the conveyance path and having a support surface that supports the sheet;
a recording unit located above the platen and recording an image on a sheet supported by the platen;
a slide member located inside the housing and capable of sliding from the first position to a second position in a second direction opposite to the first direction;
The platen is movable between a printing position, which is a position when the recording unit records an image on a sheet, and an open position, where the supporting surface is located below the printing position,
The sliding member includes a guide portion that comes into contact with the platen during the sliding process from the second position to the first position and guides the platen from the open position to the printing position,
The platen includes a guided portion that is guided by contacting the guide portion of the slide member that slides from the second position to the first position , and is located in the first direction from the guided portion. It moves to the printing position and the opening position by rotating around an axis extending in the width direction perpendicular to the second direction and the vertical direction,
The above guide part is
a first inclined surface that is inclined upward as it goes in the second direction;
a second sloping surface that is continuous with the end of the first slanted surface facing the second direction and slopes upward as it goes toward the second direction;
The obtuse inclination angle of the second inclined surface with respect to the supporting surface is smaller than the obtuse inclination angle of the first inclined surface with respect to the supporting surface,
The platen has a contact piece that comes into contact with the slide member, and a spring that biases the contact piece toward the slide member,
The biasing force of the spring when the sliding member is in the second position is greater than the biasing force of the spring when the sliding member is in the first position . a pair of rollers located in the second direction from the support surface of the platen in the conveyance path, and configured to sandwich the sheet and convey it toward the internal space;
The open position is such that the end of the support surface facing the second direction is located below the printing position, and the space between the platen and the recording section passes through the end and the gap between the pair of rollers into the interior. The image recording device according to claim 1, wherein the image recording device is in a position communicating with a space. The recording unit includes a nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzles that eject ink droplets toward the platen are formed side by side along the second direction,
The platen includes a first portion located between the nozzle at the upstream end in the second direction and the nozzle at the downstream end in the second direction among the nozzle rows;
a second portion located in the second direction relative to the first portion in the second direction;
The image recording device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the guided portion is located in the first portion. The guided portion protrudes from a side surface of the platen in a width direction perpendicular to the second direction and the up-down direction,
4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the support surface protrudes further in the width direction than the side surface and covers an upper part of the guided portion. 5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a dimension of the second portion in a width direction perpendicular to the second direction and the up-down direction is shorter than a dimension of the first portion in the width direction. a tray that is inserted into the internal space through the opening in the first direction, is attached to the housing, is removed from the housing in the second direction, and supports a sheet;
The conveyance path includes a first path extending from the tray in the first direction and upward and making a U-turn in the second direction, and a first path that is continuous with the first path and extends in the second direction to the internal space. Consists of the second route leading to
The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the platen and the recording section are located on the second path. The platen is located in the first direction from the guided portion and moves to the printing position and the open position by rotating around an axis extending in the width direction perpendicular to the second direction and the vertical direction. and
The length along the second direction from the end of the platen facing the second direction to the guided portion is the length along the second direction from the end facing the second direction of the platen to the end facing the first direction. The image recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the length is 1/4 or more of the along length. 8. The guided part is rotatable around an axis extending in the width direction perpendicular to the second direction and the up-down direction, and includes a roller that can come into contact with the guide part. image recording device. A cushioning material is attached to the above platen,
9. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the buffer material contacts a frame disposed in the internal space when the platen is in the open position. 10. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guided portion is located below the support surface.

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