1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medium supporting structure of a medium tray for an image recording apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image recording apparatus is provided with a medium tray projecting from a face of the apparatus and a member for loading and supporting record media on the medium tray so as to feed the media to a medium feed section provided at a side of the image recording apparatus. The media loaded in the medium tray are fed to the image recording apparatus one by one.
However, in the image recording apparatus for handling a medium longer than a standard medium, most of the entire length of the long medium is required to be supported. Consequently, the length of the medium tray projecting from the side face of the apparatus becomes so great that the apparatus requires a large space for installation.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a medium tray capable of loading and supporting a long medium without making the tray lengthy.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the invention, the medium tray comprises a medium receiving section connected to the medium feed section of the image recording apparatus and loading a medium, and a medium supporting section changing the angle of the rear portion of medium loaded in the medium receiving section for supporting the medium.
In
In
In
The medium tray 101 is fixed to the main body 200 by engaging the upper and lower engaging portions 8 and 9 of the tray 101 with the upper and lower engaged portions 4a and 4b of the frames 4, respectively. In this embodiment, the medium support 1 of the tray 101 is fixed to the main body 200 at a predetermined angle so that media are fed efficiently.
In
The rear portion of the lengthy medium P, which extends upwardly from the front portion thereof by more than 600 mm, is surrounded by the guide 5, band 6, and guard 7. Consequently, it is prevented that a rear portion P1 of the lengthy medium P completely falls down in a direction A or a middle portion P2 of the lengthy medium P warps in the direction A so that the lengthy medium P does not come off the place. Also, the lengthy medium P can be loaded at the medium tray 101 without being disordered even when the guide 5 is attached in upright stance at an angle more than 45 degrees. Accordingly, the medium tray 101 does not project to a large extent from the image recording apparatus to accommodate the lengthy medium P.
The operation in the first embodiment will now be described. When the image recording apparatus starts a printing job, the feeding roller 30 starts rotation so that one uppermost sheet of lengthy medium P loaded in the medium tray 101 is fed. At this point, the uppermost sheet and the next sheet under the uppermost sheet are separated by the separating member 31 so that only the uppermost sheet is absorbed or taken into the image recording apparatus. An images is printed on the absorbed lengthy medium by an image forming section (not illustrated) and the printed medium is outputted from the medium outputting section 300.
As described above, in the medium tray according to the first embodiment of the invention, the medium support projecting from the image recording apparatus is provided with the upwardly standing guide, which is provided with supporting members, such as the band and the medium guard, such that they surround the medium. Consequently, it is possible to decrease the area where the lengthy medium is set without large absorbing angles of the lengthy medium.
In addition, since the rear portion of the lengthy medium extends upwardly and tends to slip down by its weight, the front portion of the medium is pushed against the feeding roller 30. Accordingly, the front portion is brought into firm contact with the roller 30.
In the second embodiment, the same reference numbers are used for elements identical with or similar to those used in the first embodiment and detailed description therefor is omitted.
In
The side frame 14 is made of a metal shaft and extends upwardly from both sides of the medium support 10 and then it strides across the medium support 10. The top frame 15 is made of a metal shaft and joined to an upper portion of the side frame 14. The top frame 15 includes supporters 15a and 15b for supporting the rear portion of the lengthy medium P. The top guide 16 is made of a metal shaft and joined to sides of the top frame 15 for guiding the rear portion of the lengthy medium P.
In
The operation in the second embodiment will now be described. When the image recording apparatus starts a printing job, the feeding roller 30 starts rotation so that uppermost sheet of lengthy medium P loaded in the medium tray 102 is fed. The rear end of the sheet is fed through the supporter 15a or 15b, folded at the medium folding shaft 13, and transported along the guide 11 and the curved and plane sections 10b and 10a of the medium support 10. At this point, the uppermost sheet and the next sheet under the uppermost sheet are separated by the separating member 31 so that only the uppermost sheet is absorbed into the image recording apparatus. An image is printed on the absorbed lengthy medium by an image forming section (not illustrated) and the printed medium is outputted from the medium outputting section 300.
As described above, in the medium tray according to the first embodiment of the invention, the medium support projecting from the image recording apparatus is provided with the supporters for supporting the rear end of the folded lengthy medium above the medium support. Consequently, it is possible to reduce the area where the lengthy medium is set without upright absorbing angles of the lengthy medium. Accordingly, the space for installing the image recording apparatus is reduced.
In the third embodiment, the same reference numbers are used for elements identical with or similar to those used in the first or second embodiment and detailed description therefor is omitted.
In
The top frame 19 is made of a metal shaft and joined to an upper portion of the side frame 14. The medium supporting rollers 20 and 21 are rotatably provided at the top frame 19 for supporting the rear end of the lengthy medium P. The top guide 22 is made of a metal shaft and joined to the side frame 14 for guiding the rear portion of the lengthy medium P.
In
The operation in the third embodiment will now be described. When the image recording apparatus starts a printing job, the feeding roller 30 starts rotation so that uppermost sheet of lengthy medium P loaded in the medium tray 103 is fed. At this point, the uppermost sheet and the next sheet under the uppermost sheet are separated by the separating member 31 so that only the uppermost sheet is absorbed into the image recording apparatus.
The sheet is folded at the medium folding rollers 17 and supported by the supporting roller 20 or 21 with the front face thereof facing down so that the sheet is pressed against the supporting rollers 17 by the weight of loaded medium. However, since the medium folding and supporting rollers 17, 20, and 21 are rotatably provided, when the uppermost sheet is transported, the respective rollers rotate so that the pressure does not interfere with the transportation of the sheet. An image is printed on the absorbed lengthy medium by an image forming section (not illustrated) and the printed medium is outputted from the medium outputting section 300.
As described above, according to the third embodiment, in addition to the effects of the second embodiment, there is no interference in the transporting of the medium because the rotatable members are provided at positions where the medium is folded and supported.
In the second and third embodiments, the rear portion of the folded medium is supported above the medium support 10. However, the rear portion may extend up to the above of the image recording apparatus 200 so that it is supported above the image recording apparatus 200. Also, in the embodiments, a plurality of the medium supporting members for supporting the rear portion of the folded medium are provided at predetermined positions in accordance with the length of used medium. However, the position of the medium supporting member may be adjusted by providing means for adjusting the height of the side frame 14 so that only a single medium supporting member correspond to different heights of media.
According to the first, second, and third embodiments, it is possible to load the lengthy medium without large projection area of the medium tray. However, an output tray projecting from the main body is required at the medium outputting section 300 to stack outputted lengthy medium. The solutions for that problem will now be described below.
In the fourth embodiment, the same reference numbers are used for elements identical with or similar to those used in the first or second embodiment and detailed description therefor is omitted. In
The medium tray 104 comprises a medium receiver 23, a lengthy medium receiver 24, a supporter 25, and a guide 26 for guiding the rear portion of the lengthy medium. The medium receiver 23 is attached to the image recording apparatus 201 at a predetermined angle so that the medium is supplied efficiently. A guiding section 23a is provided at sides of the medium receiver 23 to guide the medium in the widthwise direction of the medium so that the medium is not fed obliquely when it is supplied to the apparatus 201. The lengthy medium receiver 24 is supported by the supporter 25 so as to be attached to the apparatus 201. The lengthy medium receiver 24 is U-shaped so that it receives the medium which is folded downwardly at the middle or rear portion thereof. Consequently, it is possible to set the lengthy medium P without enlarging the area projecting from the apparatus body, thus reducing the space for the installation of the apparatus. The guide 26 restricts the rear end of the medium so that the rear end does not hang down from the rear side of the lengthy medium receiver 24. Also, as shown in the first embodiment, the band 6 and guard 7 may be provided at the guide 26 to prevent the rear end of the lengthy medium P from falling down.
After an image is recorded on the medium inside the apparatus, the medium is reversed and transported, and then outputted to the above of the apparatus by the medium outputting section 301. In this embodiment, a lengthy medium stacker 27 is provided to stack the outputted recorded medium Pa. The lengthy stacker 27 is supported by a lengthy stacker supporter 28 such that it stands from top face of the main body of the apparatus toward the medium tray 104 at a predetermined angle. Consequently, it is possible to provide the lengthy medium stacker 27 without increasing the area projecting from the apparatus body, thus reducing the space for the installation of the apparatus.
The operation of outputting the medium Pa after recording will be described below. The medium Pa is stacked on the slope of the lengthy medium stacker 27. A plurality of the media Pa are stacked in the same way one upon another.. The front end of the medium Pa is transported above the medium tray 104 so that the recorded medium Pa is not absorbed by the medium absorber 3 again.
As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, it is possible to provide the lengthy medium stacker 27 for stacking the lengthy medium without increasing the area projecting from the apparatus body and reducing the space for the installation of the apparatus. The lengthy medium receiver 24, guide 26, supporter 24, and lengthy medium stacker 27 are detachably provided so that when a medium having a standard size instead of the lengthy medium is used, these members are not attached and the medium is set in the medium receiver 23. The medium after recording is stacked in a standard stacker 202a provided on the access cover 202. The lengthy medium stacker 27 is removed when the access cover 202 is required to be opened.
In the fifth embodiment, the same reference numbers are used for elements identical with or similar to those used in the first or second embodiment and detailed description therefor is omitted.
As shown in
The lengthy medium Pa after recording is outputted in the stacker 202a on the access cover 202 and further transported toward the medium tray 105. Since the lengthy stack guide 29 is provided above the medium tray 105, the front portion of the lengthy medium is stacked on the lengthy stack guide 29. Namely, the lengthy medium Pa is stacked on both the stacker 202a and the lengthy stack guide 29. A plurality of the lengthy medium Pa are stacked in the same way one upon another. The medium feeding section is covered by the lengthy stack guide 29 so that the medium Pa is not absorbed into the medium absorber 3 again.
As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, since the lengthy stack guide 29 is provided above the medium feeding section, it is possible to set and stack the lengthy medium without increasing the area projecting from the apparatus body thereby reducing the space for installation of the apparatus.
In the sixth embodiment, the same reference numbers are used for elements identical with or similar to those used in the first or second embodiment and detailed description therefor is omitted. In
The medium tray 106 comprises a medium receiver 30, a guide 31 for guiding the rear portion of the medium, a pair of supporters 32, a pair of upper guide supporters 33, an upper guide 34 above the access cover 202 (access cove upper guide 34), a tray upper guide 35 above the medium tray 106 (tray upper guide), and a medium presser 36. The medium receiver 30 is attached to the medium absorber in the same way as in the first embodiment and supported by the supporters 32. The guide 31 restricts the medium such that not only the rear portion of the medium set in the medium receiver 30 is folded but also the medium is not slipped off the medium tray 106.
The upper guide supporters 33 extend upwardly from both sides of the medium receiver 30 and rotatably support the access cover upper guide 34, tray upper guide 35, and medium presser 36. The access cover upper guide 34 provides a predetermined space A on the access cover 202 so that the medium Pa outputted from a medium output portion 202c is guided to the above of the medium tray 106. The tray upper guide 35 covers the medium tray 106 and forms a continuous medium transportation guide together with the access cover upper guide 34. The medium presser 36 presses the medium against the medium receiver 30 to hold the medium on the medium receiver 30.
In
In
As shown in
As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, the lengthy medium is folded and the rear portion of the folded medium is positioned above the image recording apparatus so that the area of the medium tray projecting from the main body is reduced. Also, since the stacker for the medium after recording is provided above the main body and the medium tray, the stacker does not project from the main body, thus minimizing the space for installation of the apparatus.
In the seventh embodiment, the same reference numbers are used for elements identical with or similar to those used in the first or second embodiment and detailed description therefor is omitted. In
The medium tray 107 comprises a medium receiver 40, a guide 41 for guiding the rear portion of the medium, a first upper guide 42, a second upper guide 43, and a holding guide 44 for holding the rear portion of the medium. The medium receiver 40 is attached to the medium absorber in the same way as in the first embodiment. The guide 41 restricts the medium such that not only the rear portion of the medium set in the medium receiver 40 is folded but also the medium is not slipped off the medium tray 106.
The first upper guide 42 is rotatably supported at both sides of the medium receiver 40 and switches the position thereof from where it forms a continuous medium transportation guide with the stacker 202a and the second upper guide 43 to where it separates from the access cover 202. The second upper guide 43 is rotatably supported at both sides of the medium receiver 40 and switches the position thereof from where it covers above the medium tray 107 to where it opens the space above the medium receiver 40. The holding guide 44 is provided under the second upper guide 43 so that the rear portion of the lengthy medium P is rolled and held in the space surrounded by the second upper guide 43 and the holding guide 44. Each of the guide 41, first and second upper guides 42 and 43, and holding guide 44 is made of a metal shaft so as to make the medium tray less heavy.
In
In
As shown in
As described above, according to the seventh embodiment, when setting the lengthy medium, since the lengthy medium is folded and the rear portion of the folded medium is rolled up to be held, the area of the medium tray projecting from the main body is made small. Also, since the stacker for the medium after recording is provided above the main body and the medium tray, the stacker does not project from the main body, thus minimizing the space for installation of the apparatus.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2002-203778 | Jul 2002 | JP | national |
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