Patent Application
20050140083
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-431810 filed in Dec. 26, 2003, the contents of which are incorporated hereinto by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a feeding device for feeding sheets, a dust remover which is to be incorporated in the feeding device, and a data processing apparatus such as a printer and a facsimile incorporating the feeding device and the dust remover. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a technique for removing dust from surfaces of the sheets which are piled in a sheet accommodator of the device or apparatus and which are to be fed toward an inside of the device or apparatus, for thereby preventing a large amount of dust from being accumulated in the inside of the device or apparatus.
2. Discussion of Related Art
There is known an automatic sheet feeder, which is incorporated in a recording apparatus such as an inkjet printer, for feeding recording media (e.g., cut paper sheets) toward an inside of the apparatus, so that each recording medium is subjected to a recording operation achieved by a recording portion of the apparatus. The sheet feeder includes a medium accommodator (e.g., slanted tray) for accommodating the recording media piled therein, so that the media are supplied or fed one after another from the medium accommodator toward the recording portion. If the recording media are left on the medium accommodator for a long period of time, a large amount of dust could collect on the recording media, particularly, on an exposed surface of an uppermost one of the piled media. The large amount of the collecting dust, when the recording medium is fed to the recording portion, are likely to be carried by the recording medium to the recording portion, thereby possibly causing clogging of nozzles of the recording portion and the consequent deterioration in a quality of recording.
JP-A-2001-48359 discloses a dust cover which serves to solve the above-described problem. This dust cover is provided by a lid-like member which is formed from a single rectangular plate made of synthetic resin and having four sides. The lid-like dust cover has a top wall, three side walls which are formed by bending three of the four sides of the rectangular plate so as to be held in perpendicular to the top wall, and an opening which is defined by the top wall and mutually opposed two of the three side walls. The lid-like dust cover is used to cover an upper surface of a stacker of a cut-sheet feeder, by disposing the dust cover on the cut-sheet feeder, with the opening of the dust cover being directed downwardly. However, the lid-like dust cover has to be necessarily given a large length or height, since it is designed to cover an entirety of the upper surface of the stacker and an entire surface of each of cut sheets piled on the stacker. Further, in a process of manufacturing the lid-like dust cover, it is necessary to bend the sides of the resin-made rectangular plate having such a large size that permits the plate to cover the entire surface of each cut sheet, thereby requiring a cumbersome operation and a high cost for the manufacture.
JP-A-2002-273981 discloses an arrangement in which a recorder cover member is pivotably attached to a housing member of a printer while a sheet-feeder cover member is pivotably attached at its proximal end portion to the recorder cover member. The sheet-feeder cover is constantly held in contact at its distal end portion with an upper end of a rearwardly-inclined back wall of a sheet feeder, so as to be held in its closed position. The sheet-feeder cover has a recess formed in its distal end portion (see
The present invention was made in view of the background prior art discussed above. It is therefore a first object of the invention to provide a feeding device which is capable of feeding sheets one after another while effectively removing dust from the surface of each sheet so as to restrain the dust from being carried to an inside of the feeding device. It is a second object of the invention to provide a dust remover which is to be incorporated in the feeding device and which has a simple construction with small weight and size. It is a third object of the invention to provide a data processing apparatus such as a printer in which the feeding device and the dust remover are incorporated. The first, second and third objects may be achieved according to first, second and third aspects of the invention, respectively, which are described below.
The first aspect of the invention provides a feeding device capable of feeding sheets one after another in a feed direction. The feeding device includes (a) a sheet accommodator capable of accommodating the sheets piled therein; and (b) a dust remover including a contact portion which is held in contact with a surface of an uppermost one of the sheets piled in the sheet accommodator so as to remove dust from the surface of the uppermost sheet that is fed from the sheet accommodator in the feed direction. It is noted that the term “dust” used herein is interpreted to include particle, grain, dirt, powder and any other foreign matter which could accidentally stick to the sheets.
The second aspect of the invention provides a dust remover which is to be incorporated in a feeding device capable of feeding sheets one after another from a sheet accommodator in which the sheets can be piled. The dust remover is configured to be constantly held in contact with a surface of an uppermost one of the piled sheets so as to remove dust from the surface of the uppermost sheet that is fed from the sheet accommodator.
The third aspect of the invention provides a data processing apparatus including: (i) the feeing device which is defined in the first aspect of the invention; and (ii) at least one of an image reader and a printer head, to which the sheets are fed to be subjected to respective operations achieved by the above-described at least one of the image reader and the printer head.
In the feeding device constructed according to the first aspect of the invention, since the dust remover is held in contact at its contact portion with the surface of the uppermost one of the sheets piled in the sheet accommodator, the dust can be reliably removed from the surface of the uppermost sheet as the sheet is fed from the sheet accommodator in the feed direction. The feeding device according to the first aspect can be advantageously incorporated in a data processing apparatus, as in the third aspect of the invention.
According to the second aspect of the invention, since the dust remover is configured to be constantly held in contact with the surface of the uppermost one of the piled sheets, the dust can be reliably removed from the surface of the uppermost sheet in the feeding device which incorporates the dust remover.
The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical and industrial significance of the present invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring first to
The image reader 4 is arranged to be pivotable about a horizontal axis (not shown) located in its rear end portion, so as to be vertically pivotable relative to the casing body 2. The image reader 4 includes a scanner device (not shown), a casing member 4a and a cover member 4b which covers a glass plate 6 disposed on an upper surface of the casing member 4a. The cover member 4b is arranged to be pivotable about an horizontal shaft 8 located in its rear end portion, so as to be vertically pivotable relative to the casing member 4a, namely, so as to be pivotable between its horizontal position and vertical position for covering and exposing the glass plate 6. This cover member 4b is placed in its vertical position, when the glass plate 6 needs to be exposed, for example, for setting of an original thereon. The scanner device is disposed right below the glass plate 6 and is arranged to be reciprocatable relative to the casing body 2 in right and left directions (i.e., in directions perpendicular to drawing sheet of
In a lower front portion of the casing body 2, there are provided four ink cartridges 7 storing a black ink, a cyan ink, a magenta ink, and a yellow ink, respectively, so that the four color inks can be used by the inkjet printer 5 for achieving a full-color printing operation. The ink cartridges 7, each provided by a flat container, are disposed below a sheet feed path (along which the paper sheet P is to be fed), and are held in respective cartridge holders so as to extend in substantially parallel with the sheet feed path. The four color inks are delivered from the respective ink cartridges 7 toward a head unit 11 of the inkjet printer 5 via ink delivery hollow needles (provided on rear sides of the respective cartridge holders) and ink delivery tubes (connected to the respective ink delivery hollow needles). With the image reader 4 being placed in its open position by pivoting the image reader 4 in the upward direction, i.e., in a direction toward a sheet supply tray 16 of the automatic sheet feeder 3, it is possible to carry out various maintenance procedures, as needed, such as replacement of the ink cartridge 7 and removal of paper sheet P jammed in the sheet feed path.
The multifunction device 1 further has an operator's control panel 9 disposed on an upper surface of its portion which is located on a front side of the image reader 4. The control panel 9 is equipped with a liquid-crystal display and various keys such as ten digit keys and function keys. It is noted that the above-described liquid-crystal display and keys are not shown in
The head unit 11 is arranged to be reciprocatable along a guide rod 12 which extends in a direction perpendicular to a feed direction (indicated by arrow A) in which the paper sheet P is to be fed by the sheet feeder 3. When the sheet P is passing through a platen 13, the head unit 11 is activated to eject the inks toward a top surface of the sheet P, so as to form or record a desired image on the surface of the sheet P. After the formation of the image thereon, the sheet P is further fed by a drive roller 14 and driven roller which are opposed to each other and located on a downstream side of the platen 13, so as to be eventually received by the sheet exit tray 10.
As shown in
In a lower portion 15a of the support frame 15, a plurality of separate plates 18 are provided to project in the feed direction. The separate plates 18 support lower or forward ends of the paper sheets P piled on the sheet supply tray 16, and separate an outermost or uppermost one of the piled sheets P from the other sheets, so as to guide the sheets P one after another, toward an image formation portion of the device 1 (see
The sheet feeder 3 further includes a front cover unit 19 which is made of synthetic resin and covers at least a downstream end portion of the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16. The front cover unit 19 has a rear end which is positioned relative to the sheet supply tray 16 such that a gap having a predetermined dimension W1 is defined between the rear end of the front cover unit 19 and the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16 (see
The sheet feeder 3 is equipped with a dust remover 30 for restraining dust (collecting on the paper sheets P piled on the sheet supply tray 16) from being carried by the paper sheets P toward the image formation portion of the device 1 via the introduction opening 25.
The dust remover 30, which is constructed according to the first embodiment of the invention, as shown in
The dust remover 30, provided by the flat plate, includes a generally rectangular main body portion 30a having a width H1 (as measured in a sheet-width direction which is parallel with the surface of the sheet supply tray 16 and which is perpendicular to the feed direction A) which is larger than a width H2 of the paper sheet P and which is substantially equal to or slightly larger than a width H3 of the opening 25 (as measured in the sheet-width direction). In the present embodiment, since the sheet feeder 3 is designed to accept the paper sheets P of size of A4 or smaller than A4, the width H1 of the main body portion 30a of the dust remover 30 is 240 mm. The main body portion 30a of the dust remover 30 has a contact end portion 31 at which the dust remover 30 is to be held in contact with a contacted portion of the top surface of the uppermost one of the sheets P piled on the sheet supply tray 16. With the contact end portion 31 of the dust remover 30 being held in contact with the contacted portion of the sheet surface, a portion of the sheet surface that is located on a forward side of the contacted portion is covered by the dust remover 30.
The contact end portion 31 has an extreme end extending straight in the above-described sheet-width direction and having a length which is substantially equal to the above-described width H1. The dust remover 30 has opposite end portions opposite to each other in its first direction that is perpendicular to the sheet-width direction. One of the opposite end portions provides the contact end portion 31, while the other of the opposite end portions provides a pair of inclined portions 32 which are integrally formed with the main body portion 30a and which serve as introduced portion introducible through the introduction opening 25 into the inside of the sheet feeder 3.
The pair of inclined portions 32 are formed by inclining respective widthwise opposite end parts of the above-described other end portion (which parts are opposite to each other in a second direction of the dust remover 30 that is perpendicular to the above-described first direction), by a predetermined inclining angle (180°-θ1), so that the inclined portions 32 are inclined with respect to the non-inclined main body portion 30a by a first angle θ1 that is supplement of the predetermined inclining angle (180°-θ1). The widthwise opposite end parts, which provide the pair of inclined portions 32, are defined at their respective widthwise inner ends by respective slits 33 which are formed in the above-described other end portion to extend over a predetermined distance in the above-described first direction (see
The front cover unit 19 has a rear wall 19b which extends vertically and is opposed to the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16. This rear wall 19b cooperates with a front end 34 of each of the guide plates 17a, 17b to define a clearance in which the inclined portions 32 of the dust remover 30 are introduced (see
A distance H4 between outer ends of the respective inclined portions 32 of the dust remover 30 as measured in the above-described second direction is adapted to be equal to or slightly smaller than the above-described width H3 of the opening 25 (H4≦H3), so that the dust remover 30 (which is introduced at its inclined portions 32 in the above-described clearance) can be prevented or restrained from being displaced relative to the sheet supply tray 16 in the above-described sheet-width direction or second direction. It is preferable that a difference between the values H3, H4 is not larger than about 2 mm (H3-H4≦about 2 mm). In the present embodiment, the distance H4 is substantially equal to the width H1 of the main body portion 30a of the dust remover 30 (H1≈H4). It is noted that the introduction opening 25 may be formed with a recess definer which defines a plurality of recess each having substantially the same width as a corresponding one of the inclined portions 32, so that the inclined portions 32 can be introduced in the respective recesses, for thereby restraining the dust remover 30 from being displaced in the sheet-width direction.
The dust remover 30 is removed from the device 1, prior to setting of the paper sheets P on the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16, i.e., in an initial position of the sheet feed path. With the dust remover 30 being separated from the device 1, a desired number of paper sheets P are introduced through the introduction opening 25 along the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16 so as to be positioned in the initial position. Being positioned in the initial position, the paper sheets P piled on the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16 are held in contact at their lower or front ends with the separate plates 18. In this instance, the paper sheets P are restrained from being displaced relative to the sheet supply tray 16 in the sheet-width direction, owing to the pair of guide plates 17a, 17b spaced apart from each other by the distance that is adjusted to the width of the paper sheets P.
After the setting of the paper sheets P in the initial position, the dust remover 30 is introduced at its inclined portions 32 into the introduction opening 25, more specifically, into the above-described clearance defined between the rear wall 19b of the front cover unit 19 and the front end 34 of each of the guide plates 17a, 17b. The contact end portion 31 of the dust remover 30 is then brought into contact at its straight extending extreme end with the top surface of an uppermost one of the piled paper sheets P (see
In the present embodiment, the dust remover 30 is simply introduced at its inclined portions 32 into the above-described clearance defined between the rear wall 19b of the front cover unit 19 and the front end 34 of each guide plate 17, which are spaced apart from each other by such a distance that allows pivot motion of the dust remover 30. This arrangement enables the dust remover 30 to be pivoted so as to be constantly held in contact at its contact end portion 31 with the top surface of the currently uppermost paper sheet P, owing to an own weight of the dust remover 30. With the contact end portion 31 of the dust remover 30 being held in contact with the top surface of the paper sheet P, the opening 25 is entirely covered by the dust remover 30 which is positioned right above the opening 25, thereby restraining dust from entering the inside of the sheet feeder 3 or inside of multifunction device 1, through the opening 25. Further, where the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16 is provided by a flat surface, the straight extending extreme end of the contact end portion 31 of the dust remover 30 and the flat front surface of the sheet supply tray 16 can be held in contact with each other without a gap therebetween, in absence of the paper sheets P remaining on the sheet supply tray 16, as shown in
In the present embodiment, while the above-described widthwise opposite end parts of the above-described other end portion of the dust remover 30 are inclined to provide the pair of inclined portions 32, a widthwise intermediate part of the other end portion is not inclined to provide an extension portion 30b. This extension portion 30b, which is located between the pair of inclined portions 32, serves to cover a wide area of an outer surface of an upper wall 19c of the front cover unit 19, which surface is curved to be convexed upwardly. Owing to the extension portion 30b of the dust remover 30, it is possible to minimize dust from collecting on the upper wall 19c. Since collection of dust on the upper wall 19c is thus minimized, it is possible to minimize entrance of dust into the inside of the device 1 through the opening 25, which dust comes from the upper wall 19c via the rear wall 19b. The extension portion 30b cooperates with the inclined portions 32 to constitute a proximal end portion of the dust remover 30 at which the dust remover 30 is supported by the front cover unit 19 as a dust-remover supporter.
The dust remover 30 is supported by the front cover unit 19 such that its proximal end portion is positioned on a downstream side of its distal end portion (which serves as the contact end portion 31) as viewed in the feed direction A and such that its proximal end portion is positioned to be more distant from the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16 than its distal end portion, so that the main body portion 30a of the dust remover 30 is inclined with respect to the upper or rear end potion of the top surface of the uppermost paper sheet P by the obtuse angle θ2 (>90°). The thus supported dust remover 30 is pivotable about its proximal end portion by such an amount that permits its distal end portion to be constantly held in contact with the top surface of the uppermost sheet P irrespective of number of the sheets P remaining on the sheet supply tray 16.
In the present embodiment, the dust remover 30 is introduced at its inclined portions 32 in the above-described clearance which is defined between the rear wall 19b of the front cover unit 19 and the front end 34 of each guide plate 17, such that the inclined portions 32 are allowed to be moved or rocked within the clearance for allowing the pivot motion of the dust remover 30. Owing to allowance of the rocking motion of the inclined portions 32 within the clearance, the dust remover 30 is allowed to be displaced relative to the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16 or to the top surface of the uppermost paper sheet P.
Each of the inclined portions 32 is inclined with respect to the main body portion 30a by the first angle θ1, as described above. A relationship between the first angle θ1 and the above-described obtuse angle θ2 is represented by the following expression:
(θ2-90°)<θ1<θ2.
Therefore, each inclined portion 32 extends from the main body portion 30a in such a direction that permits a distal end of the inclined portion 32 to be positioned on a downstream side of a proximal end of the inclined portion 32 as viewed in the feed direction A and permits the distal end of the inclined portion 32 to be positioned to be closer to the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16 than the proximal end of the inclined portion 32, as is apparent from
Each inclined portion 32 is opposed to a first contact portion of the front cover unit 19 which portion is provided by an upper portion of an outer surface of the rear wall 19b, so as to be held in contact with the first contact portion of the front cover unit 19. Meanwhile, the extension portion 30b is held in contact at its end 30c with a second contact portion of the front cover unit 19 which portion is provided by an outer surface of the upper wall 19c and which is more remote from the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16 than the above-described first contact portion. The outer surface of the upper wall 19c is curved to be convexed in the upward direction, i.e., a direction away from a center of pivot motion of the dust remover 30, such that the end 30c of the extension portion 30b can be smoothly slid on the curved surface of the upper wall 19c when the dust remover 30 is pivoted. It is noted that the extension portion 30b cooperates with the main body portion 30a to constitute a main body of the dust remover 30. The main body of the dust remover 30 includes opposite end portions one of which is provided by the contact end portion 31, and a non-end portion which is located between the opposite end portions and from which the introduced or inclined portions 32 extend.
The first contact portion of the front cover unit 19 is opposed to each inclined portion 32 of the dust remover 30 as viewed both in a direction parallel with the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16 and in a direction perpendicular to the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16, so that the dust remover 30 can be supported at its inclined portions 32 by the first contact portion of the front cover unit 19, so as to be prevented from being displaced both in the feed direction A and in a direction away from the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16.
The first contact portion of the front cover unit 19 and the front end 34 of each guide plate 17 cooperate with each other to define the above-described clearance therebetween, and are spaced apart from each other by the distance that is larger than a thickness of each inclined portion 32 of the dust remover 30, so as to allow the pivot motion of the dust remover 30 which is received at its inclined portions 32 in the clearance.
If the cover member 4b of the image reader 4 is opened by an operator, as indicted by two-dot chain line in
In an image recording operation with the present multifunction device 1, the automatic sheet feeder 3 is first activated, in response to a command signal which is inputted through an external device such as a computer connected to the device 1, or which is inputted by an operator who presses a copier-function key (not shown) provided in the control panel 9. With the activation of the sheet feeder 3, the uppermost paper sheet P is fed in the feed direction. The inkjet printer 5 is then activated when the sheet P is passing through the platen 13, to form a desired image on the top surface of the sheet P, with ejection of selected color inks toward the sheet P. The sheet P having the image formed on its top surface is further fed so as to be received by the sheet exit tray 10. In the operation, when the uppermost one of the sheets P piled on the sheet supply tray 16 is moved from the above-described initial position in the feed direction, the top surface of the uppermost sheet P is raked by the contact end portion 31 of the dust remover 30 which is held in sliding contact with the top surface of the sheet P. Since the main body portion 30a of the dust remover 30 is held inclined with respect to the upper or rear end potion of the top surface of the sheet P by the obtuse angle θ2, namely, since the main body portion 30a of the dust remover 30 cooperates with a plane perpendicular to the top surface of the sheet P (or perpendicular to the feed direction) to define a positive rake angle γ (>0°), any dust sticking to or collecting on the top surface of the sheet P can be effectively removed by the contact end portion 31 of the dust remover 30. The removed dust is received onto the main body portion 30a of the dust remover 30, and then tumbles down the main body portion 30a which is inclined with respect to a horizontal direction. The removed dust eventually drops onto the front side of the front cover unit 19, without entering the inside of the device 1 through the opening 25.
As the number of the sheets P remaining on the sheet supply tray 16 is reduced with consume of the sheets P, a distance between the top surface of the currently uppermost sheet P and the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16 is reduced. Even with the reduction in this distance, the dust remover 30 can be held in constant contact at its contact end portion 31 with the top surface of the currently uppermost sheet P, with an increase in the degree of rearward inclination of the main body portion 30a with respect to the front surface of the sheet supply tray 16, which increase is obtained by the pivot motion of the dust remover 30 caused owing to its own weight.
In the present embodiment, the flat resin plate providing the dust remover 30 has the thickness of about 0.5-2.0 mm, while the above-described angle θ2 (by which the main body portion 30a of the dust remover 30 is inclined with respect to the upper or rear end portion of the uppermost sheet P) is adapted to range from about 140° (in absence of the sheets P piled on the tray 16) to about 150° (in presence of permissible maximum numbers of the sheets P piled on the tray 16). The term “dust”, which is repeatedly used in the present specification, should be interpreted to mean any foreign matter having such a size that permits it to be removed by the dust remover 30 which is constructed or arranged as described above. Described specifically, the term “dust” should be interpreted to include particle, grain, dirt, powder, cotton dirt, paper powder and any other foreign matter which could accidentally stick to the sheet P. It is noted that the above-described angle θ2 is not particularly limited to the above-described range, but may be changed, as needed, depending upon various factors such as the degree of inclination of the sheet supply tray 16 and the size of the dust remover 30.
Further, in the present embodiment, the dust remover 30 can be removed from the opening definer (which is constituted by the front cover unit 19 and the guide plates 17a, 17b) without using any tool. Further, in this instance, it is not necessary to deform the dust remover 30 and the opening definer. Since the dust remover 30 is thus easily detachably incorporated in the automatic sheet feeder 3, the multifunction device 1 can be packed in a carton, with the detached dust remover 30 being accommodated in a flat space within the carton.
Referring next to
This second embodiment provides the same technical advantages as the above-described first embodiment, and additional advantages. For example, in replenishment of the tray 16 with new paper sheets P, the dust remover 30 is simply pivoted so as to move the contact end portion 31 in a direction away from the tray 16, and then pivoted in the opposite direction so as to move the contact end portion 31 toward the tray 16 after the new paper sheets P have been set on the tray 16. Further, since the dust remover 30 is not easily removed from the brackets 37, there is little risk of missing of the dust remover 30.
In the second embodiment, the pivot shaft 35 is provided in each of the flange portions 36 while the through-hole is formed in each of the brackets 37. However, the pivot shaft 35 may be provided in each bracket 37 while the through-hole may be formed in each flange portion 36. In either of these cases, the pivot shafts 35 can be introduced into the respective through-holes, by elastically bending the main body portion 30a of the dust remover 30 having the certain degree of elasticity.
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of the illustrated embodiments, but may be otherwise embodied.
In the illustrated embodiments of the invention described above, the pair of guide plate 17a, 17b are both movable in the width direction of the sheet supply tray 16. However, one of the guide plates may be held stationary, so that a distance therebetween is changeable by movement of the other of the guide plates relative to the stationary guide plate.
In the illustrated embodiments described above, the sheet accommodator is provided by the sheet supply tray in which the sheets P are piled thereon while taking rearwardly inclined postures. However, the principle of the invention is equally applicable to an arrangement in which the sheet accommodator is arranged such that the sheets P are piled therein while taking horizontal postures. Further, in the illustrated embodiments, the feeding device and the dust remover constructed according to the invention are incorporated in the multifunction device as the data processor apparatus. However, they may be incorporated in other kind of apparatus such as a standard printer.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-431810 | Dec 2003 | JP | national |
