Patent Application
20180037040
This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Applications No. 2005-252136 filed on Aug. 31, 2005, No. 2005-285287 filed on Sep. 29, 2005, and No. 2005-286155 filed on Sep. 30, 2005, and the contents of them are hereby incorporated by reference into the present application.
The present invention relates to a printer for printing on a sheet. The printer of the present invention is generic name of a device comprising: a sheet sending mechanism which successively sends cut sheets; and a printing mechanism which successively prints characters, graphics, photographic images or the like on the sheets sent by the sheet sending mechanism. Not only a printer with a single function, but also a copying device, a facsimile device, a composite device (or a multifunction device) and the like comprising the sheet sending mechanism and printing mechanism also are the printer described herein.
In one type of printer of the present invention, a sheet sending mechanism is operated in a plurality of operation modes. In order to operate the sheet sending mechanism in the plurality of operation modes, the printer of the present invention comprises a plurality of force transmitting paths and a selecting mechanism for activating any of the force transmitting paths.
Other type of the printer of the present invention comprises a plurality of sheet sending mechanisms. In order to operate the plurality of sheet sending mechanisms, the printer of the present invention comprises a plurality of force transmitting paths and a selecting mechanism for activating any of the force transmitting paths.
Yet further type of the printer of the present invention comprises a maintaining mechanism for a printing head. In order to operate the maintaining mechanism and the sheet sending mechanism, the printer of the present invention comprises a plurality of force transmitting paths and a selecting mechanism for activating any of the force transmitting paths.
There has been conventionally known printers with single function which can print on a plurality of sizes of sheets, and printers such as copying machines, facsimile devices, composite devices, and the like. These types of printers use a plurality of cassettes that store a plurality of sheets having the same size in a stacked manner. The sizes of the sheets stored in each cassette are different from one another. The plurality of cassettes are stored in the printer in a stacked manner. A cassette is selected in accordance with a command for designating the size of the sheet or an image command. The uppermost sheet of the sheets stacked in a selected cassette is sent by a supply roller. The sheet which is sent from the cassette is conveyed toward a printing region secured in a lower section of a printing head via a conveying path. This type of printer comprises a plurality of sheet sending mechanisms.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H8-174958 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-89244, there is known a printer which comprises an ink-jet type printing head for printing a graphic pattern configured with dot patterns. In the ink-jet type printing head, ejection failure of the inks occurs due to the structure of the printing head, thus the ink-jet type printing head is provided with a maintaining mechanism in the printer in order to cope with such ink ejection failure. The printing head is moved to a position facing the maintaining mechanism, and the printing head is treated by the maintaining mechanism at this position. This type of printer comprises the maintaining mechanism and the sheet sending mechanism.
Among printers, there is a printer which can switch between a mode for continuously and successively sending sheets from a cassette and a mode for intermittently sending sheets from a cassette. This type of printer comprises a plurality of driving force transmitting paths in order to operate the sheet sending mechanism using a plurality of operation modes.
A driving force needs to be transmitted to the sheet sending mechanism or maintaining mechanism.
The printer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H8-174958 employs a structure of moving a kick member by using a movement of a carriage which moves the printing head. By means of a movement of the kick member, switching is made between a state in which an idle gear is engaged with a gear driving the maintaining mechanism, and a state in which the idle gear is engaged with a gear driving a sheet sending roller. In the printer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H8-174958, when the carriage is separated from a purge position, the idle gear is engaged with the gear driving the maintaining mechanism. When the carriage is at the purge position, the idle gear is engaged with the purge gear.
The printer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-89244 comprises: a supply gear which rotates a supply gear sending one sheet from a plurality of stacked sheets; a feed gear which rotates a feed-in roller sending a sheet to a printing region and a feed-out roller drawing the sheet from the printing region; a maintenance gear which drives a maintaining mechanism; and a drive motor. Also, there is provided a slider which moves after the carriage moves so that power is transmitted to any of the supply gear, feed gear, and maintenance gear from the drive motor. The slider comprises a switching gear. When the slider slides, the switching gear is engaged with any one of the supply gear, feed gear, and maintenance gear.
In this printer, if the carriage is positioned within a width of a sheet, the switching gear and supply gear are engaged with the feed gear. When the printer executes a maintenance work, the carriage is moved to a maintenance position. Accordingly, the switching gear is engaged with the maintenance gear. When the printer discharges the last page of the sheets, the carriage is moved to an intermediate position between the abovementioned two positions. Accordingly, the switching gear is engaged with the feed gear.
However, in the conventional configuration, the position of the idle gear or switching gear changes in conjunction with the position of the carriage. In other words, the position of the carriage determines the position of the idle gear or switching gear. Therefore, the carriage has to be moved every time when executing a processing of sending a sheet from the cassette or a process of conveying the sheet which is sent from the cassette, requiring time for moving the carriage and excessive time for making a connection (engagement) between the gears. Therefore, there is a problem that continuous printing cannot be performed promptly and efficiently.
Further, the conventional configuration cannot respond to a printer comprising a plurality of cassettes and a plurality of sheet sending mechanisms.
The present invention is to solve the abovementioned problems.
An object of the present invention is to realize a structure capable of switching a power transmitting path by moving a carriage.
Other object of the present invention is to provide a printer in which, by switching a power transmitting path by means of a movement of the carriage, thereafter the switched power transmitting path can be maintained even when the carriage is separated from its position, and the carriage can be moved for an original purpose.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a printer which can response to a case in which a plurality of cassettes are disposed to configure a plurality of steps.
A printer of the invention comprises a printing head and a carriage. The printing head is mounted on the carriage, and the carriage is movable between a first end and a second end of a reciprocating path. The reciprocating path extends along a width direction of a sheet to be printed.
The printer of the invention also has a driving force transmitting path selecting mechanism. This mechanism is provided at the second end of the reciprocating path.
The selecting mechanism comprises a common driving force outputting member, a plurality of force receiving members, and a selecting member for connecting the force outputting member to one of the plurality of force receiving members via the selecting member. The selecting member moves in association with the carriage when the carriage moves in a vicinity of the second end in a first direction extending from the first end to the second end. The selecting mechanism also has a position retainer that keeps the position of the selecting member when the carriage moves in a second direction extending from the second end to the first end. The force receiving member connected to the force outputting member via the selecting member is selected in accordance with a movement of the carriage along the reciprocating path.
According to this printer, the carriage is moved in the first direction in order to change the position of the selecting member. Once the selecting member is positioned to a desired position so that the desired force receiving member is connected to the force outputting member, then the carriage may be moved in the second direction. Because the position retainer keeps the position of the selecting member when the carriage moves in the second direction, the selected force receiving member continues to be connected to the force outputting member. Once the selection is completed, then the carriage can move freely for its own purpose of printing on sheet.
According to this printer, the force receiving member connected to the force outputting member is determined by a nearest position to the second end during the reciprocating movement of the carriage. For instance, in case that a first point is the first point from the second end, a second point is the second point from the second end, the force receiving member corresponding to the first point is selected by moving the carriage in the first direction up to the first point and then moving in the second direction. On the other hand, the force receiving member corresponding to the second point is selected by moving the carriage in the first direction up to the second point and then moving in the second direction.
According to this printer, since the selection is maintained even the carriage is moved to a far position from the second end, the carriage may stay in a printing region (region of opposing the sheet) for printing. The occasion for the carriage to travel to the vicinity of the second end for changing the selection may be reduced. Waste of time for changing the selection of driving force transmitting path is prevented.
It is preferred that the printer have a sheet sending mechanism for sending the sheet to be printed from a cassette to a printing region; and a maintaining mechanism for maintaining the printing head. In this case, it is preferred that one of the force receiving members activate the sheet sending mechanism and the other of the force receiving members activate the maintaining mechanism.
According to this printer, once the force receiving member for activating the sheet sending mechanism is selected, then the carriage may be moved to the printing region (region of opposing the sheet) for printing. The carriage may stay in the printing region until the maintaining operation becomes necessary.
It is also preferred that the printer have a first sheet sending mechanism for sending the sheet to be printed from a first cassette to a printing region, a second sheet sending mechanism for sending the sheet to be printed from a second cassette to the printing region, and a maintaining mechanism for maintaining the printing head. In this case, it is preferred that first force receiving member activate the first sheet sending mechanism, second force receiving member activate the second sheet sending mechanism, and third force receiving members activate the maintaining mechanism.
It is also preferred that the printer have a first-first sheet sending mechanism for sending the sheet to be printed from a first cassette to a printing region intermittently, a first-second sheet sending mechanism for sending the sheet to be printed from the first cassette to the printing region sequentially, a second sheet sending mechanism for sending the sheet to be printed from a second cassette to the printing region, and a maintaining mechanism for maintaining the printing head. In this case, it is preferred that first-first force receiving member activate the first-first sheet sending mechanism, first-second force receiving member activate the first-second sheet sending mechanism, second force receiving member activate the second sheet sending mechanism, and third force receiving members activate the maintaining mechanism.
According to this printer, the sheet is sent to the printing region from the first cassette by two ways. When the first-first sending mechanism is selected and activated, the sheet sent from the first cassette is aligned to a predetermined position, and the sheet is send to the printing region from the aligned position. According to this way of sending the sheet, the relation between the position of the sheet and timing of the printing head operation is adjusted to a predetermined relation, therefore intended graphic pattern can be printed at intended position of the sheet. When the first-second sending mechanism is selected and activated, pieces of sheets are continuously sent out from the first cassette. According to this way of sending the sheet, continuous printing operation becomes possible for multiple sheets; therefore printing operation for multiple sheets can be completed quickly.
The common force outputting member may be a spur gear. The selecting member may be also a spur gear that is in mesh with the spur gear forming the common force outputting member. Each of the force receiving members may also be a spur gear. In this case, it is preferred that spur gears forming the force receiving members be arranged along a line, and one of the spur gear forming the force receiving members is in mesh with the spur gear forming the selecting member.
According to this structure, the driving force transmitting path selecting mechanism is simplified.
The position retainer may have a first slider that moves in association with the carriage when the carriage moves in a vicinity of the second end. The first slider moves the selecting member when first slider moves in the first direction. The position retainer may also have a position retaining member that keeps the position of the first slider at a plurality positions.
The first slider may have an arm that abuts the carriage and the position retaining member.
The position retaining member may have a guide groove. The arm of the first slide member is inserted into the groove.
The guide groove may have steps for engaging with the arm.
The guide groove may have a lateral portion extending along the reciprocating path and an inclined portion inclined with respect to the reciprocating path.
The guide groove may have a first wall and a second wall. In this case, the arm travels along the first wall when the carriage travels in the first direction, and the arm travels along the second wall when the carriage travels in the second direction. The first wall may have a step for retaining the position of the arm, and the second wall has no step for retaining the position of the arm.
According to this guide groove, when the carriage is returned toward the first end while the carriage travels under the condition that the arm travels along the first wall, then the arm is engaged with a step formed on the first wall, and the force receiving member connected to the force outputting member is determined by a nearest position to the second end during the reciprocating movement of the carriage. When the carriage is moved up to the second end, then the arm is rotated and inserted into the lateral portion. When the carriage is returned toward the second end after the arm is inserted into the lateral portion, the arm travels along the second wall. Because, the second wall does not have a step, then the arm is returned to the step formed on the first wall which is nearest to the first end. Then the selection is cleared up, and new selection becomes possible.
The selecting member and the first slider may be mounted to a common axis. It is preferred that the selecting member and the first slider can rotate and slide with respect to the axis independently.
It is preferred that the carriage has a step for preventing the arm from rotating.
It is preferred that the position retainer further comprise a second slider that applies a rotating force to the first slider such that the arm is biased against the first wall while the carriage moves in the first direction.
It is preferred that the selecting member, the first slider and the second slider be mounted to a common axis, and the selecting member, the first slider and the second slider can slide with respect to the axis independently.
It is preferred that the second slider be prohibited to rotate with respect to the axis.
It is preferred that the position retaining member be fixed to a flame for guiding reciprocation of the carriage.
The first embodiment which crystallizes the present invention is described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The multifunction device 1 has a lower section case 2 and an upper section case 3. The lower section case 2 is substantially in the form of a box in which an upper surface thereof is opened. The upper section case 3 is connected to a left side face of the lower section case 2 via a hinge (not shown), and can be rotated from the position thereof shown in
It should be noted that in the following description an X-direction in
An operation panel 30 is disposed on an upper face front section of the upper section case 3. The operation panel 30 is provided with various buttons such as a numeric button, a start button, and a function section button so that various operations can be performed by pressing these buttons. The operation panel 30 is further provided with a liquid crystal display (LCD) 31 on which the setting status of the multifunction device 1, various operation messages and the like are displayed according to need.
A scanner device 33 is disposed inside the upper section case 3. The scanner device 33 comprises a glass plate (not shown) for placing a script, a graphic pattern reading section (not shown) disposed directly below the glass plate, and a cover body 34 for covering an upper face of the glass plate. The cover body 34 can be rotated from the position thereof shown in
When the facsimile function is selected, information which is read by the graphic pattern reading section is transmitted to a facsimile device through a telephone line, the facsimile device being a transmission destination. When the copy function is selected, information which is read by the graphic pattern reading section is transmitted to the printing mechanism incorporated in the multifunction device 1, and the graphic pattern which is read by the graphic pattern reading section is printed on a sheet. When the scanner function is selected, information which is read by the graphic pattern reading section is transmitted to a computer which is not shown.
Position holding means is provided in order to rotate the upper section case 3 significantly around the rotation axis 200 and maintain the state where the interior of the lower section case 2 is exposed. The position holding means comprises a supporting rod (not shown) and a guide rail (not shown). One end of the supporting rod is installed in the vicinity a point 208 of the lower section case 2 and can be oscillated with respect to the lower section case 2. The guide rail extends in the Y-direction along a lower surface on the back edge of the upper section case 3. A groove extending in the Y-direction is formed on the guide rail. A guide pin is fixed on the other end of the supporting rod and inserted in the groove. An engaging section (not shown) for inhibiting the guide pin from sliding is formed in the vicinity of the point 208 of the groove. When the upper section case 3 is rotated significantly around the rotation axis 200, the guide pin of the supporting rod is buried in the engaging section of the guide rail, whereby the upper section case 3 is inhibited from rotating downward.
Next, the configuration of the sheet sending mechanism incorporated in the lower section case 2 is explained. As shown in
The sheet sending mechanism is stored in the lower section case 2. As shown in
The supply unit 6 comprises the supply roller 7. When the supply roller 7 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, one piece of sheet P is taken out from the paper cassette 5 and the taken sheet is send to the right in
The printing unit 10 sprays ink droplets onto the sheet P which passes through the space 210 between the printing unit 10 and the platen 11 to print the graphic pattern on the sheet P. The printing unit 10 sprays the ink droplets onto the sheet P to print the graphic pattern thereon while the sheet P passes through the printing region 210.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
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As shown in
Since the arm 6a is rotatable around the drive shaft 14, it does not interfere with a sliding motion of the paper cassette 5. When the paper cassette 5 is pushed into the lower section case 2, the supply roller 7 contacts with the upper surface of the uppermost sheet P of the plurality of sheets stored in the paper cassette 5. When the supply roller 7 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, the uppermost sheet P is taken out from the paper cassette 5, guided by the sheet guide 9 and travels toward the space between the pair of feed-in rollers 20a and 20b.
Both end sections of the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b are supported rotatably by the left wall 39b and right wall 39c of the frame 39. Both end sections of the pair of feed-out rollers 21a, 21b are supported rotatably by the left wall 39b and right wall 39c of the frame 39.
Of the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b, the feed-in roller 20a, which is positioned above, is rotated by a motor which is described later. The feed-in roller 20b, which is positioned below, is pressed against the feed-in roller 20a by a certain force. When the feed-in roller 20a rotates, the feed-in roller 20b also rotates with the rotation of the feed-in roller 20a. The feed-in roller 20a is a feed-in drive roller 20a, and the feed-in roller 20b is a feed-in driven roller 20b.
Similarly, of the pair of feed-out rollers 21a, 21b, the feed-out roller 21a, which is positioned below, is rotated by the motor which is described later— The feed-out roller 21b, which is positioned above, is pressed against the feed-out roller 21a by a certain force. When the feed-out roller 21a rotates, the feed-out rollers 21b also rotates with the rotation of the feed-out roller 21a. The feed-out roller 21a is a feed-out drive roller 21a, and the feed-out roller 21b is a feed-out driven roller 21b.
When the feed-in drive roller 20a rotates in a clockwise direction in a state where a sheet P is held between the pair of feed-in rollers 20a and 20b, the sheet P is sent to the printing region 210 between a lower surface of the printing head 12 and the platen 11. When the feed-in drive roller 20a rotates in a clockwise direction and the feed-in driven roller 20b rotates in a counterclockwise direction, the sheet is sent to the printing region 210. This situation is called “forward rotation of the pair of feed-in rollers”. The power of the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b to send the sheet P is stronger than the power of supply roller 7 to send the sheet P. The speed of the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b to send the sheet P is faster than the speed of the supply roller 7 to send the sheet P. Since the power of the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b to send the sheet P is stronger than the power of the supply roller 7 to send the sheet P, when a piece of sheet P is sent by both the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b and the supply roller 7, the sheet P is sent at the sending speed of the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b. The sheet P slides with respect to the supply roller 7. The sending speed of the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b to send the sheet P is equal to the sending speed of the pair of feed-out rollers 21a, 21b to send the sheet P.
On the lower surface of the printing head 12, a plurality of nozzles for injecting black ink droplets, a plurality of nozzles for injecting cyan ink droplets, a plurality of nozzles for injecting magenta ink droplets, and a plurality of nozzles for injecting yellow ink droplets are formed. The printing head 12 is mounted on the carriage 13 and moves in the Y-direction. The sheet P, onto which the ink droplets are sprayed, is sent in the upper section of the platen 11 in the X-direction by the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b. By combining the sending of the sheet P in the X-direction and the sending of the printing head 12 in the Y-direction, any color of ink droplets can be sprayed onto any position on the sheet P, and thereby any graphic pattern can be printed on the sheet P.
As shown in
As shown in
The printing head 12 periodically discharges ink to the ink receiving section 35 in order to prevent clogging of the nozzles. The ink, which is discharged to prevent the clogging, is received at the ink receiving section 35.
When the printing head 12 is not used, the printing head 12 is moved to a position facing the maintaining mechanism 36. In this position, a cap section 36a (see
The carriage 13 travels, in the Y-direction, back and forth between a position existing in an upper section of the ink receiving section 35 and a position existing on an upper section of the maintaining mechanism 36. The position existing in the upper section of the ink receiving section 35 is called “first end”, and the position existing in the upper section of the maintaining mechanism 36 is called “second end”.
The feed-in drive roller 20a, feed-out drive roller 21a, supply roller 7, and maintaining mechanism 36 are driven by the same motor (LF motor) 42.
As shown in
As shown in
The gear 43b and the gear 43d rotate in the counter direction. Therefore, the feed-in drive roller 20a and the feed-out drive roller 21a also rotate in the counter direction. The feed-in drive roller 20a abuts on the top surface of the sheet P and the feed-out drive roller 21a abuts on the bottom surface of sheet P. Therefore, if the direction of rotation of the feed-in drive roller 20a and the feed-out drive roller 21a is reversed, the sending direction of the sheet P by the feed-in drive roller 20a and the sending direction of the sheet P by the feed-out drive roller 21a become the same direction.
The LF motor 42 is a DC motor and can rotate in both forward and reverse directions.
As shown in
When the gear 113 is engaged with the gear 101, and the LF motor 42 rotates in the reverse direction, the supply roller 7 is rotated in the forward direction. When the gear 114 is engaged with the gear 101, and the LF motor 42 rotates in the forward direction, the supply roller 7 is rotated in the forward direction. When the gear 115 is engaged with the gear 101, the LF motor 42 moves the maintaining mechanism 36.
When the LF motor 42 rotates in the reverse direction, the feed-in drive roller 20a rotates in the reverse direction and in a direction of returning the sheet to the sheet guide 9. When the LF motor 42 rotates in the forward direction, the feed-in drive roller 20a rotates in the forward direction and in a direction of sending the sheet to the printing region 210. When the supply roller 7 rotates in the forward direction, the sheet is taken out from the cassette and sent to the sheet guide 9. When the supply roller 7 rotates in the reverse direction, the sheet is returned to the cassette 5.
When the LF motor 42 rotates in the forward direction in a state where the gear 113 is engaged with the gear 101, the pair of feed-in rollers 21a, 21b rotates in the forward direction, and the supply roller 7 rotates in the reverse direction. When the LF motor 42 rotates in the reverse direction in the state where the gear 113 is engaged with the gear 101, the pair of feed-in rollers 21a, 21b rotates in the reverse direction, and the supply roller 7 rotates in the forward direction. When the LF motor 42 rotates in the forward direction in a state where the gear 114 is engaged with the gear 101, the pair of feed-in rollers 21a, 21b rotates in the forward direction, and the supply roller 7 rotates in the forward direction.
As shown in
Next, the configuration of the power transmission switching means 100 is explained with reference to
In the intermittent feeding mode, when the LF motor 42 rotates in the reverse direction, the feed-in drive roller 20a rotates in a direction of returning the sheet to the sheet guide 9, and the supply roller 7 rotates in a direction of taking the sheet out from the cassette and sending it to the sheet guide 9. Thereafter, in the intermittent feeding mode, the LF motor 42 rotates in the forward direction. In the intermittent feeding mode, when the LF motor 42 rotates in the forward direction, the feed-in drive roller 20a rotates in a direction of sending the sheet to the printing region 210, and the supply roller 7 rotates in a direction of returning the sheet to the cassette.
When the LF motor 42 rotates in the reverse direction in the intermittent feeding mode, the sheet is sent to the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b by the supply roller 7. Since the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b is rotated in the reverse direction, the sheet cannot enter between the feed-in drive roller 20a and the feed-in driven roller 20b. The front edge of the sheet is aligned with a contact line with which the feed-in drive roller and the feed-in driven roller contact. The pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b rotating in the reverse direction exerts a function providing the front edge of the sheet in a certain position. When the LF motor 42 rotates in the forward direction in the intermittent feeding mode, the sheet is sent to the printing region 210 by the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b. In this state, the sheet slides with respect to the supply roller 7.
In the continuous feeding mode, the LF motor 42 rotates in the forward direction, the supply roller 7 rotates in the direction of taking out the sheet from the cassette and sending it to the sheet guide 9, and the feed-in drive roller 20a rotates in a direction of sending the sheet to the printing region 210.
As described above, the torque of the LF motor 42 is transmitted to the feed-in drive roller 20a via deceleration gear 43b. The gear 101 is fixed to a right end section of the feed-in drive roller 20a (upper section of the maintaining mechanism 36). A switching gear 102, which is always engaged with the gear 101, is provided at a position adjacent to the gear 101. The switching gear 102 is slidable with respect to a spindle 103 extending in the Y-axis direction.
A first block 104 (first slider) and a second block 105 (second slider) are slidable with respect to the spindle 103. The switching gear 102, first block 104, and second block 105 are slidable with respect to the spindle 103 independently of other members. The first block 104 contacts with or separates from the switching gear 102. The second block 105 contacts with or separates from the first block 104. The switching gear 102 and the first block 104 are rotatable with respect to the spindle 103, and the second block 105 is prohibited to rotate with respect to the spindle 103.
A surface with which the first block 104 and the second block 105 contact is inclined to the spindle 103. When the second block 105 approaches the first block 104, the first block 104 rotates around the spindle 103. An abutting piece 104a protruding upward is fixed to the first block 104. When the second block 105 approaches the first block 104 and the first block 104 rotates around the spindle 103, the abutting piece 104a moves from top to bottom, in
As shown in
During a period between a state where the first block 104 and the second block 105 approach each other and the engaging plate 104b abuts against a section on the outer radius side in the abutting surface 105c of the notch section 105b (see
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When the carriage 13 moves in the direction of the arrow E, the first engaging step section 13a of the carriage 13 presses the abutting piece 104a in the direction of the arrow E. As a result, the switching gear 102, the first block 104, and the second block 105 are caused to slide along the spindle 103 in the direction of the arrow E. Since the first block 104 is pressed by the second block 105 from the right side, the abutting piece 104a is pressed against a lower wall (first wall 216) of the inclined groove 109b. When the carriage 13 presses the abutting piece 104a up to the position corresponding to the second set section 112, the abutting piece 104a is moved down to enter the second set section 112. The position where the abutting piece 104a enters the second set section 112 is called “position 2” (Po2). In the case of the position 2, the switching gear 102 is engaged with the continuous feeding gear 114. This state is shown in
When the carriage 13 further moves in the direction of the arrow E, the first engaging step section 13a of the carriage 13 presses the abutting piece 104a in the direction of the arrow E. The pressed abutting piece 104a proceeds to the horizontal groove section 109a from the inclined groove section 109b. Once the abutting piece 104a enters the horizontal groove section 109a, the second engaging step section 13b of the carriage 13 presses the abutting piece 104a. When the abutting piece 104a is in the position immediately after entering the horizontal groove section 109a (this position is called “position 3” (Po3)), the switching gear 102 is engaged with the maintenance gear 115.
The switching gear 102, intermittent feeding gear 113, continuous feeding gear 114 and maintenance gear 115 are all spur gears, and a bevel gear 115a having a large diameter is fixed to a side surface of the maintenance gear 115. When the carriage 13 further moves from the position 3 (Po3) in the direction of the arrow E, a side surface of the switching gear 102 abuts on the bevel gear 115a, whereby the switching gear 102 is inhibited from moving any further in the direction of the arrow E and thus continues to be engaged with the maintenance gear 115. The abutting piece 104a is pressed by the second engaging step section 13b of the carriage 13 and then positioned at a back end section of the horizontal groove section 109a (right end section shown in
Contrary to the above state, when the carriage position 13 moves from the position 4 (Po4) in the direction of the arrow C, the abutting piece 104a moves from the horizontal groove section 109a to the inclined groove section 109b. At this moment, the abutting piece 104a is received by a step between the first engaging step section 13a and the second engaging step section 13b of the carriage 13, thus the abutting piece 104a moves above the regulating piece 110 of
After the carriage 13 moves to the right end in the E direction and then moves in the C direction, the abutting piece 104a moves from the position 1 to the position 2, from the position 2 to the position 3, from the position 3 to the position 4, and from the position 4 to the position 1. The carriage 13 repeats the movement of moving to the right end in the E direction and then moving in the C direction, while the abutting piece 104a repeats the cycle of moving from the position 1→2→3→4→1. When the carriage 13 moves in the E direction to the position 1 and then in the C direction, the switching gear 102 is held at the position 1. When the carriage position 13 moves to the position 2 in the E direction and then in the C direction, the switching gear 102 is held in the position 2.
The position 3 (Po3) is both stand-by position and maintenance position. In a state where power is not applied to the multifunction device 1, the carriage 13 stops at an upper position of the maintaining mechanism 36 and the power transmission switching means 100 is at the position 3. When the power transmission switching means 100 is at the position 3, the maintenance gear 115 is geared with the feed-in drive roller 20a via the switching gear 102. When the LF motor 42 rotates in this state, the cap section 36a of the maintaining mechanism 36 rises and covers the nozzle surface of the printing head 12 from below. Accordingly, the ink is prevented from drying in the nozzles of the printing head 12. Moreover, the maintaining mechanism 36 is provided with a suction pump (not shown), and when the LF motor 42 rotates in the state where the power transmission switching means 100 is at the position 3 and the maintenance gear 115 is geared with the feed-in drive roller 20a via the switching gear 102, the LF motor 42 activates the suction pump. When the suction pump of the maintaining mechanism 36 is activated, air bubbles which are mixed in the buffer tank provided on the printing head 12 are removed, thus the ability of discharging the ink from the nozzles is maintained.
The position 1 (Po1) where the switching gear 102 is geared with the intermittent feeding gear 113 is configured such that, as shown in
The position 2 (Po2) where the switching gear 102 is geared with the continuous feeding gear 114 is configured such that, as shown in
As shown in
Furthermore, a sheet sensor 116 for sensing the presence of the sheet P is provided on an upstream side of the feed-in rollers 20a, 20b. The sheet sensor 116 detects a point of time at which the front edge of the sheet P reaches the sheet sensor 116 and a point of time at which the back edge of the sheet P separates from the sheet sensor 116.
A control section (control means) of the multifunction device 1 is described next with reference to
The control section is configured as a computer comprising mainly as a CPU 300, ROM 301, RAM 302, and EEPROM 303, and is connected to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 306 via a bus 305.
The ROM 301 has stored therein a program and the like for controlling various operations of the multifunction device 1, and the RAM 302 is used as a storage region for temporarily storing various data items which are used when the CPU 300 executes these programs.
An NCU (Network Control Unit) 317 is connected to the ASIC 306, and a communication signal which is inputted from a public circuit via the NCU 317 is demodulated by a MODEM 318 and then inputted to the ASIC 306. Furthermore, when the ASIC 306 transmits image data to the outside by means of facsimile transmission or the like, the image data is modulated by the MODEM 318 and then outputted to the public line via the NCU 317.
The ASIC 306 generates a phase excitation signal and the like which are communicated with, for example, the LF motor 42 in accordance with a command from the CPU 300. These signals are provided to a drive circuit 311 of the LF motor 42 or a drive circuit 312 of the CR motor 24, and a drive signal is communicated to the LF motor 42 or CR motor 24 via the drive circuit 311 or drive circuit 312 to control forward and reverse operation, stoppage and the like of the LF motor 42 and CR motor 24.
Further, the scanner device 33 (CIS, for example) for reading images or characters on a script, a panel interface 313 for performing transmission of signals with a keyboard 30a and a liquid crystal display (LCD) 31 of the operation panel 30, a parallel interface 315 for performing transmission of data with external equipment such as a personal computer via a parallel cable or USB cable, a USB interface 316, and the like are connected to the ASIC 306.
Moreover, a switch 118 for detecting a rotation position of a cam (not shown) of the maintaining mechanism 36, the sheet sensor 116 for detecting the front edge position and the back edge position of the sheet P when the sheet P is fed so as to approach the printing region 210 via the sheet guide 9, the rotary encoder 44 for detecting the amount of rotation of the feed-in roller 20a, the linear encoder 37 for detecting the position (present position) of the carriage 13 in the Y-direction, and the like are connected to the ASIC 306.
A driver 314 is for selectively discharging the ink from the printing head 12 at a predetermined timing. The driver 314 receives a signal, which is generated in the ASIC 306 on the basis of a drive control procedure outputted from the CPU 300 and is then outputted, and drive-controls the printing head 12.
Next, sending of sheets by means of the above control means and control of the printing operation are described with reference to the flowchart shown in
When power is applied to the multifunction device 1, control is started. The user presses a mode setting button of the operation panel 30 (not shown) to select either the first mode or the second mode. When the user wishes to print precisely, the first mode is selected. When the first mode is selected, the front edge of a sheet P, which is sent by the supply roller 7, is aligned with a contact line 212 (see
The control section first checks the set mode (S1 in
Once the switching gear 102 is geared with the intermittent feeding gear 113, rotation of the feed-in drive roller 20a is transmitted to the drive shaft 14 of the supply unit 6 via the intermediate gear 119a, 119b, as shown in
Next, as shown in
The supply roller 7 rotates in the reverse direction (clockwise direction in
Subsequently, when a printing command is inputted from an external computer or the like, which is not shown, the carriage 13 is caused to move in the Y-direction and at the same time the ink is discharged from the nozzles of the printing head 12 onto a surface of the sheet P to print a graphic pattern thereon (S6 in
When the feed-in rollers 20a, 20b and the feed-out rollers 21a, 21b are rotated in the forward direction during the heading operation or printing operation, the drive shaft 14 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the arm 6a is oscillated upward. The power for pressing the sheet against the supply roller 7 weakens, thus the power for sending the sheet is not transmitted from the supply roller 7 to the sheet. Although the supply roller 7 rotates in a reverse direction while the feed-in rollers 20a, 20b and the feed-out rollers 21a, 21b rotate in the forward direction, the sheet is caused to slide with respect to the supply roller 7 and the sheet P is sent in the forward direction.
In this heading process, the front edge of the sheet P was aligned with the contact line 212 between the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b when the LF motor 42 started the forward rotation. Therefore the position of the front edge of the sheet P during the forward rotation of the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b is determined from elapsed time since the timing when the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b started the forward rotation. When the operation of the printing head 12 is controlled based on that timing, the position of the front edge of the sheet P and the operation of the printing head 12 are synchronized, whereby a desired graphic pattern is printed on a desired location of the sheet P.
When printing one page is finished (S7 in
Next, it is determined whether printing data for a sheet (next page), which is described hereinafter, is present or not (S11). If the print data exists or is stored (S11 in
Next, a case in which the second mode is set is explained. When the user needs printing at high speed, the second mode is set.
When it is determined in the step S2 in
In order to set the power transmission switching means 100 to the second mode (S13 in
As shown in
When one piece of sheet P is held between the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b and is in contact with the supply roller 7 (see
In the continuous feeding mode, the printing operation onto the sheet P (S15 in
In the printing operation, the carriage 13 is caused to move in the Y-direction and at the same time the ink is discharged from the nozzles of the printing head 12 onto a surface of the sheet P to print a graphic pattern thereon (S15 in
Next, when a command indicating that print data to be printed on the next page (subsequent sheet) exists is received from the external device (S16: yes), the process proceeds to S17. In this case, when printing of the preceding sheet P is ended (S17: yes), it is determined whether the current flag is the first mode or the second mode (S18). When the fag is the second mode (S18: second), the LF motor 42 continues to rotate in the forward direction and the feed-in drive roller 20a, feed-out drive roller 21a and supply roller 7 are continued to rotate in the forward direction (S19). The controller has an additional procedure that starts continuous rotation of the supply roller 7 and the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b at a timing when printing operation of a preceding sheet is completed (S17). Accordingly, the preceding sheet (preceding page) is discharged, and the following sheet (subsequent page) is conveyed to the print starting position. When the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b rotates by the predetermined amount after the sheet sensor 116 detected the front edge of the subsequent sheet P, the sheet is positioned at the print starting position. The supply roller 7 and the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b continues to rotate without stoppage until the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b rotates by the predetermined amount after the sheet sensor 116 detected the front edge of the sheet P. After this process, the step returns to S15, and printing on the next page (subsequent page) is started.
This continuous rotation of the supply roller 7 and the pair of the feed-in roller makes the printing operation for a plurality of sheets faster. However, it is not essential, and the cyclic change that the supply roller 7 and the feed-in rollers 20a, 20b rotate and stop alternately may be repeated continuously. In this case, the same cyclic change is repeated while the contact point between the roller and the sheet moves from the front edge of the preceding sheet through the intermediate portion and the back edge of the preceding sheet to the front edge of the subsequent sheet. The same cyclic change of the supply roller 7 and the feed-in rollers 20a, 20b is repeated while the printing operation for a plurality of sheets is performed in the cautious feeding mode.
Next, a case in which control is performed when the print data for the subsequent sheet does not exist during execution of the second mode is explained. In step S16 in
When it is determined in the step S18 that the flag is the first mode (S18: first), the process control is executed on the subsequent sheet (S30). The detail of this control is shown in the flowchart of
First, at a point of time when the printing of the one page of the preceding sheets P is ended (when the S17 in
In the above case, in order to return the subsequent sheet P1 to the paper cassette 5, the supply roller 7 is rotated in the reverse direction (S32 in
At a point of time when printing of one page of the preceding sheet P is ended (when S17 in
It should be noted that, as shown in
In a case of the continuous feeding operation, at the moment when the back edge of a preceding sheet P is removed from the contact line 214 between the sheet P and the supply roller 7, the subsequent sheet P1 is conveyed by the rotation of the supply roller 7, thus the distance L2 becomes a lapping amount (overlapping amount) along the direction of conveyance of the preceding sheet P and a subsequent sheet P1. The difference between the L2 and L1 is set so as to be longer than a predetermined value, and the difference between the circumferential speed V1 of the feed-in roller 20a and the circumferential speed V2 of the supply roller 7 (V1>V2) (V1−V2) is set so as to be at least a predetermined value, whereby when the back edge of the preceding sheet P passes through the contact line 212 between the feed-in drive roller 20a and the feed-in driven roller 20b, the front edge of the subsequent sheet P1 does not reach the contact line 212 between the feed-in drive roller 20a and the feed-in driven roller 20b. Specifically, when passing through between the feed-in drive roller 20a and the feed-in driven roller 20b, an appropriate space (sheet interval) can be formed between the back edge of the preceding sheet P and the front edge of the subsequent sheet P1. Therefore, even when a plurality of sheets P are fed/conveyed continuously, all print data corresponding to each sheet P can be printed completely in the printing region 210. Specifically, in the printing region 210, the back edge of the preceding sheet P and the front edge of the subsequent sheet P1 do not overlap with each other, thus printing is not performed on the space between the both sheets. In the above case, when the back edge of the preceding sheet P is removed from the supply roller 7 and the conveyed by only the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b, control is performed such that a supply process for the subsequent sheet P1 is started by the supply roller 7, whereby an effect is obtained in which the above sheet interval can be obtained more securely.
According to the present invention, as described above, in the configuration in which the sheets P which are stacked on the paper cassette 5 can be supplied to the sheet guide 9 one by one by the supply roller 7, and this supplied sheet P is conveyed to the printing region 210 by the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b, the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b is configured by the feed-in drive roller 20a driven by the LF motor 42 and the feed-in driven roller 20b pressurized by the feed-in drive roller 20a. Further, the power of the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b sending the sheets is set larger than the sending power of the supply roller 7, and the circumferential speed of the feed-in drive roller 20a is set higher than the circumferential speed of the supply roller 7. Moreover, the control means is provided so that control is performed such that, when the print data for the subsequent sheet P1 exists, the feed-in roller 20a and the supply roller 7 are continuously rotary driven in the same direction. Therefore, the plurality of sheets P can be continuously and successively conveyed to the printing region 210 and printed continuously and successively, thus an effect is obtained in which the printing operation on the plurality of sheets P can be executed at high speed.
Further, the feed-in drive roller 20a and the supply roller 7 are configured so as to be rotary driven by the single drive motor (LF motor) 42, thus an effect is obtained in which a configuration for feeding and supplying the sheets can be made simple.
In the present embodiment, since the front end of the arm 6a is provided with the supply roller 7, drawing operation of the paper cassette 5 does not obstruct the supply roller 7. Further, when a piece of sheet is in contact with the feed-in dive roller 20a and the supply roller 7, the arm 6a is oscillated, whereby the supply roller 7 is prevented from obstructing the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b sending the sheets.
Since the power transmission switching means 100 is provided, switching can be performed between an intermittent feeding operation for positioning the cut sheets one by one and sending them to the printing region 210, and a high-speed feeding operation for continuously and successively sending the plurality of cut sheets. The operation for this switching is executed using the movement of the carriage 13, thus excess mechanisms are not required.
Hereinafter, only the differences between the first embodiment and the second embodiment are described and the overlapping explanations are omitted.
The multifunction device 1 in the second embodiment comprises, as shown in
The upper section case 3 is disposed on an upper side of the lower section case 2. The upper section case 3 is provided with a script automatic sending device 32.
A discharge space is secured on a lower section of the operation panel section 30. The discharge space is configured with a space located higher than the paper cassette 5A in the opening section 2c.
As shown in
An upper end section of the arm 6a of the first supply unit 6 is swingably installed on the bottom surface 39a of the frame 39 in a vertical direction, and the supply roller 7 is provided at a lower end (free end section) of the arm 6a. One uppermost sheet of a plurality of sheets stacked on the first paper cassette 5A is taken out from the first paper cassette 5A and sent to the first conveying path 9 by a cooperation between the supply roller 7 and the elastic separating pad of the inclined separating board 15.
As shown in
A second conveying path 22 is formed astride the first lower section case 2a and the second lower section case 2b. One uppermost sheet of a plurality of sheets stacked on the second paper cassette 5B is taken out from the second paper cassette 5B and sent to the second conveying path 22 by a cooperation between the second supply roller 19 and the elastic separating pad of the inclined separating board 16.
The sheet which is sent to the first conveying path 9 and the sheet which is sent to the second conveying path 22 are both sent to a space between a pair of feed-in rollers 20 and further sent to the printing region 210 between a lower surface of the printing head 12 and the platen 11.
In the second embodiment, as shown in
Next, a configuration of the power transmission switching means 100 is explained with reference to
In the intermittent feeding mode of the upper cassette, when the LF motor 42 rotates in the reverse direction, the feed-in drive roller 20a rotates in a direction of returning a sheet to the sheet guide 9, and the first supply roller 7 rotates in a direction of taking the sheet out from the upper cassette 5A and sending it to the sheet guide 9. Thereafter, the LF motor 42 rotates in the forward direction, the feed-in drive roller 20a rotates in a direction of sending the sheet toward the printing region 210, and the first supply roller 7 rotates in a direction of returning the sheet to the upper cassette 5A.
In the continuous feeding mode of the upper cassette, the LF motor 42 rotates in the forward direction, the feed-in drive roller 20a rotates in a direction of sending the sheet toward the printing region 210, and the first supply roller 7 rotates in a direction of taking the sheet out from the upper cassette 5A and sending the sheet toward the sheet guide 9.
In the continuous feeding mode of the lower cassette, the LF motor 42 rotates in the forward direction, the feed-in drive roller 20a rotates in a direction of sending the sheet toward the printing region 210, and the second supply roller 19 rotates in a direction of taking the sheet out from the lower cassette 5B and sending the sheet toward the sheet guide 22.
As long as the modes are not switched by the power transmission switching means 100, the selected mode is maintained.
As described in the first embodiment, the torque from the LF motor 42 is transmitted to the feed-in drive roller 20a. A right end section of the feed-in drive roller 20a (upper section of the maintaining mechanism 36) is provided with a long gear 101 (see
As shown in
When the carriage 13 moves in the direction of the arrow E, the first engaging step section 13a of the carriage 13 presses the abutting piece 104a in the direction of the arrow E. As a result, the switching gear 102, first block 104 and second block 105 slide in the direction of the arrow E along the spindle 103. The position where the carriage 13 is positioned at the second set section 112 of the abutting section 104a is called “position 2” (Po2). In the case of the position 2, the switching gear 102 is engaged with the continuous feeding gear 114 of the upper cassette. This state is shown in
When the carriage 13 further moves in the direction of the arrow E, the first engaging step section 13a of the carriage 13 presses the abutting piece 104a in the direction of the arrow E. The pressed abutting piece 104a climbs over a convex section 108a and reaches the position 3 (Po3). In the case of the position 3, the switching gear 102 is engaged with a continuous feeding gear 121 of the lower cassette.
When the carriage 13 further moves in the direction of the arrow E, the first engaging step section 13a of the carriage 13 presses the abutting piece 104a in the direction of the arrow E. The pressed abutting piece 104a proceeds to the horizontal groove section 109a from the inclined groove section 109b. Once the abutting piece 104a enters the horizontal groove section 109a, the second engaging step section 13b of the carriage 13 presses the abutting piece 104a. When the abutting piece 104a is in the position immediately after entering the horizontal groove section 109a (this position is called “position 4” (Po4)), the switching gear 102 is engaged with the maintenance gear 115.
The switching gear 102, intermittent feeding gear 113, continuous feeding gear 114 and maintenance gear 115 are all spur gears, and the bevel gear 115a having a large diameter is fixed to a side surface of the maintenance gear 115. When the carriage 13 further moves from the position 4 (Po4) in the direction of the arrow E, a side surface of the switching gear 102 abuts on the bevel gear 115a, whereby the switching gear 102 is inhibited from moving any further in the direction of the arrow E and thus continues to be engaged with the maintenance gear 115. The abutting piece 104a is pressed by the second engaging step section 13b of the carriage 13 and then positioned at a back end section of the horizontal groove section 109a (right end section shown in
Contrary to the above state, when the carriage position 13 moves from the position 5 (Po5) in the direction of the arrow C, the abutting piece 104a moves from the horizontal groove section 109a to the inclined groove section 109b. At this moment, the abutting piece 104a is received by a step between the first engaging step section 13a and the second engaging step section 13b of the carriage 13, thus the abutting piece 104a moves above the regulating piece 110 of
When the carriage 13 moves in the E direction to the position 1 and then moves in the C direction, the switching gear 102 is held at the position 1. When the carriage position 13 moves to the position 2 in the E direction and then moves in the C direction, the switching gear 102 is held in the position 2. When the carriage 13 moves in the E direction to the position 3 and then moves in the C direction, the switching gear 102 is held at the position 3.
At the position 1 (Po1) where the switching gear 102 is engaged with the intermittent feeding gear 113 of the upper cassette, the same phenomena as in the first embodiment are obtained.
At the position 2 (Po2) where the switching gear 102 is engaged with the continuous feeding gear 114 of the upper cassette, the same phenomena as in the first embodiment are obtained.
At the position 3 (Po3) where the switching gear 102 is engaged with the continuous feeding gear 121 of the lower cassette, rotation of the feed-in drive roller 20a is transmitted to the drive shaft 18 of the second supply unit 17 via a gear train 122 having a plurality of gears, as shown in
At the position 4 (Po4) where the switching gear 102 is engaged with the maintenance gear 115, the same phenomena as in the case of the position 3 (Po3) in the first embodiment are obtained.
The power transmission switching means 100 of the present embodiment comprises: a plurality of drive power transmission sections (intermittent feeding gear 113 of the upper cassette, the continuous feeding gear 114 of the upper cassette, the continuous feeding gear 121 of the lower cassette, and the maintenance gear 115); the switching gear 102, which is a switching section for causing the carriage 13 to alternatively transmit power from the drive gear 101, which is a drive output section, to the drive power transmitting section, in accordance with the position of movement along the main scanning direction; and the position holding means (first, second, third set sections 111, 112, 108) for holding the position of movement along the main scanning direction of the switching gear 102. The switching gear 102 is biased along the main scanning direction from both directions, the switching gear 102 is moved and selectively engaged with one of the plurality of drive power transmission sections by simply moving the carriage 13 in the main scanning direction. Further, in the present invention, the position holding means exists every selected engaging section between the switching gear 102 and the drive power transmission section. Therefore, even if the carriage 13 separates from the switching gear 102 and moves to the image recording region, the above engagement, i.e. the power transmission state, can be held. As a result, even in either the continuous feeding operation or intermittent feeding operation, the drive power transmission state is selected, thus an effect is obtained in which the time required in operations for moving the carriage 13 and the like is reduced and the image recording operation can be performed at high speed and efficiently.
In the intermittent feeding mode, switching is performed between a state in which the supply roller 7 is rotated in the forward direction and the feed-in drive roller 20a is rotated in the reverse direction, and a state in which the supply roller 7 is rotated in the reverse direction and the feed-in drive roller 20a is rotated in the forward direction. In the continuous feeding mode, the feed-in drive roller 20a and the supply roller 7 are continuously rotary driven in the same direction. In either mode, even when the carriage 13 returns to the image recording region, the power transmission switching means 100 is held in the selected mode, thus it is not necessary to move the carriage and select a mode every time one sheet is printed. When executing the intermittent feeding mode using a conventional technology, it is necessary to move the carriage 13 to operate the power transmission switching means 100 every time when the position of a sheet is aligned using the feed-in roller which is rotated in the reverse direction. In the present embodiment as well, such an operation is required and effective printing can be executed.
Moreover, the pair of feed-in rollers 20a, 20b is disposed on an upstream side of a conveying direction of a sheet P, which is higher than the carriage 13, the first supply roller 7 and the second supply roller 19 are disposed on the further upstream side, and these components are rotated by a single LF motor 42, thus an effect is obtained in which the configuration of feeding/conveying the sheet can be made simple.
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments explained by the above descriptions and the figures, and thus can be changed and implemented in various ways without departing from the scope of the principles of the present invention. For example, the paper cassette may be disposed to configure a plurality of steps (at least three steps), whereby a plurality of operation modes such as the above continuous feeding operation and intermittent feeding operation may be executed when feeding sheets for each step. The number of position holding sections provided in the power transmission switching means 100 may be increased.
Moreover, one paper cassette may be provided and an operation mode may be selected from at least three modes. The position holding section corresponding to each operation mode may be provided. In the above case as well, an operation mode for performing a maintenance work may be added.
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments explained by the above descriptions and the figures, and thus can be changed and implemented in various ways without departing from the scope of the principles of the present invention. For example, the paper cassette may be disposed to configure a plurality of steps, whereby the above continuous feeding operation may be executed when feeding sheets for each step.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-252136 | Aug 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-285287 | Sep 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-286155 | Sep 2005 | JP | national |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11513179 | Aug 2006 | US |
| Child | 13101111 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 15299583 | Oct 2016 | US |
| Child | 15726500 | US | |
| Parent | 14997224 | Jan 2016 | US |
| Child | 15299583 | US | |
| Parent | 14816592 | Aug 2015 | US |
| Child | 14997224 | US | |
| Parent | 14276655 | May 2014 | US |
| Child | 14816592 | US | |
| Parent | 13852768 | Mar 2013 | US |
| Child | 14276655 | US | |
| Parent | 13101111 | May 2011 | US |
| Child | 13852768 | US |
