Image recorder

Abstract

To restrict bending of a portion of a sheet-like medium projecting from a feed tray due to movement of the feed tray relative to a housing.SOLUTION: A printer 100 includes a housing 100A, a cutting part 5, a feed tray 1, and a guide member 50. The guide member 50 has guide surfaces 51, 52. During movement of the feed tray 1 between a fitting position and a drawing position, the guide surfaces 51, 52 extend across a gap between a cutting position where the cutting part cuts a roll sheet Rs in a front-rear direction and a rear end of the feed tray 1, above the rear end of the feed tray 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image recording device including a feed tray capable of accommodating a roll body. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes two paper feed trays that are retractably attached to the main body of an image processing device and can store rolled paper. These paper feed trays are arranged in two tiers, one above the other, and each tier is provided with a feed roller that transports paper unwound from the roll paper, a paper feed path that guides the paper transported by the feed roller, and a cutter that can cut paper passing through the paper feed path. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-187495 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The feed tray described in Patent Document 1 has a cutter, which makes the feed tray itself complicated. In order to simplify the structure of the feed tray itself, the present inventor considered providing the cutter and the feed roller in the housing instead of the feed tray, and discovered the following problem.

[0005] When a cutting unit is provided in the housing, the cutting unit cuts the sheet medium unwound from the roll downstream of the feed tray in the sheet medium transport direction, so that the downstream end of the sheet medium cut by the cutting unit in the transport direction is positioned protruding from the feed tray. In this state, when the feed tray is moved relative to the housing, the part of the sheet medium protruding from the feed tray (including the downstream end of the sheet medium in the transport direction) may come into contact with the feed roller, etc. In this case, there is a risk that the protruding part may be bent.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording device that can prevent a portion of a sheet medium protruding from a feed tray from being bent due to movement of the feed tray relative to a housing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The image recording device of the present invention comprises a housing and a feed tray that is movable in a transverse direction intersecting the up-down direction relative to the housing and can take an attached position attached to the housing and an extracted position extracted outside the housing in the transverse direction further than the attached position, the feed tray being capable of accommodating a roll of sheet-like medium, a transport section that transports the sheet-like medium unwound from the roll in the transport direction, a cutting section that is positioned downstream in the transport direction from the feed tray, and a guide surface that extends between a cutting position where the cutting section cuts the sheet-like medium in the transverse direction and the downstream end of the feed tray, downstream in the transport direction from the downstream end of the feed tray in the transport direction while the feed tray moves between the attached position and the extracted position. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the image recording device of the present invention, while the feed tray moves between the attached position and the pulled-out position, the portion of the cut sheet medium that protrudes downstream from the feed tray in the transport direction is likely to come into contact with the guide surface, which makes it possible to prevent the portion of the sheet medium that protrudes downstream from the feed tray in the transport direction from coming into contact with the feed roller and being bent due to the movement of the feed tray relative to the housing. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the internal structure of the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a state in which the feed tray is placed in the mounting position. [Diagram 2] 2 is a side view of a main part of the internal structure of the printer, showing a state in which the feed tray shown in FIG. 1 is placed at a pulled-out position. [Diagram 3] 2 is a side view of a main part showing the cut portion shown in FIG. 1 and its surroundings. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a side view of a main part of a printer according to a first modified example, showing a state in which a feed tray is placed at an attached position. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a side view of a main part of a printer according to a first modified example, showing a state in which the feed tray is placed in the pulled-out position. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a side view of a main part of a printer according to a second modified example, showing a state in which the feed tray is placed at the attached position. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a side view of a main part of a printer according to a second modified example, showing a state in which the feed tray is placed in the pulled-out position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] A printer 100 (the "image recording device" of the present invention) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. The up-down direction, front-rear direction, and left-right direction shown in Fig. 1 are the up-down direction, front-rear direction, and left-right direction of the printer 100. The left-right direction is the direction when viewed from the front of the printer 100, with the front side of the page in Fig. 1 being the right side and the back side of the page in Fig. 1 being the left side. The front-rear direction (the "cross direction" of the present invention) is the orthogonal direction that is perpendicular to the up-down direction and the left-right direction.

[0011] (Overall configuration of the printer 100) 1, the printer 100 mainly includes a housing 100A, a feed tray 1, a conveying section 3, a cutting section 5, a head 6, a paper discharge tray 7, a swinging mechanism 40, a pair of guide members 50, and a control section 70. The feed tray 1 is disposed below the head 6 inside the housing 100A.

[0012] The feed tray 1 can be inserted into and removed from the housing 100A in the front-rear direction through an opening 101 formed in the front wall of the housing 100A. That is, the feed tray 1 can move in the front-rear direction between an attachment position (position shown in FIG. 1) in the housing 100A and an outer position outside the housing 100A. The outer position in this embodiment is a position forward of the housing 100A, and when the feed tray 1 is in the outer position, the feed tray 1 is removed from the housing 100A. The attachment position is a position where the feed tray 1 is attached to the housing 100A, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0013] The feed tray 1 has a tray body 10. The tray body 10 has a bottom wall 11 and four side walls 13 to 15 provided at the peripheral edge of the bottom wall 11, and is formed in a box shape that opens upward. Of the four side walls, three side walls 13 to 15 are shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The remaining side walls face side wall 13 in the left-right direction and are disposed between side walls 14 and 15.

[0014] The bottom wall 11 extends in the front-rear and left-right directions. The upper surface of the bottom wall 11 forms a bottom surface 11A of the feed tray 1. The bottom surface 11A (the "support surface" of the present invention) supports from below the roll paper Rs that is unwound from a roll body R, which will be described later.

[0015] Of the four side walls 13 to 15, a pair of side walls 13 arranged on the left and right sides extend upward from both left and right ends of the bottom wall 11. The pair of side walls 13 also extend in the front-to-rear direction from the front end to the rear end of the bottom wall 11. The side wall 14 extends upward from the front end of the bottom wall 11. The side wall 14 extends in the left-to-right direction from the right end to the left end of the bottom wall 11.

[0016] Two side walls 15 are provided at the rear end of the bottom wall 11. The two side walls 15 are located at both left and right ends of the rear end of the bottom wall 11. The two side walls 15 are arranged apart from each other in the left and right direction, and when the feeding tray 1 is attached to the housing 100A, a guide member 16 (described later) is located between the two side walls 15 aligned in the left and right direction.

[0017] The feed tray 1 has a storage section 20 capable of storing a roll R. The roll R is a long sheet of roll paper Rs (referred to as a "sheet-like medium" in the present invention) wound in a roll shape around the outer circumferential surface of a cylindrical core member Rc. The roll R is stored in the storage section 20 such that the axial direction of the central axis Rx of the roll R coincides with the left-right direction.

[0018] The storage section 20 has a support section 29 that supports the roll body R from below. The support section 29 has two holders 21, 22 and two rollers 23, 24. The two holders 21, 22 are disposed spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction. The holder 21 is located forward of the holder 22. Both of the two holders 21, 22 extend along the left-right direction.

[0019] Roller 23 is attached to holder 21 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis extending along the left-right direction. Roller 24 is attached to holder 22 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis extending along the left-right direction. Rollers 23, 24 are arranged spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction. Roller 23 is located above roller 24. The two rollers 23, 24 support roll body R from below while being in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the lower portion of roll body R.

[0020] A passage 25 is formed between the lower surface of the holder 22 and the bottom surface 11A. The passage 25 extends in the front-rear and left-right directions. The roll paper Rs unwound from the roll body R stored in the storage section 20 passes through the passage 25 from between the two holders 21, 22 and is pulled out along the bottom surface 11A to a friction member (not shown), whereby the roll paper Rs becomes ready to be fed.

[0021] Furthermore, the feed tray 1 in this embodiment is configured so that the entirety can be removed from the housing 100A, but the printer 100 is provided with a restriction mechanism 60 that restricts movement of the feed tray 1 in the pull-out direction at a pull-out position where the feed tray 1 moves from the attached position to the outer position. The pull-out direction is the direction in which the feed tray 1 moves from the attached position to the outer position. The pull-out position is a state in which the front part of the feed tray 1 protrudes outward from the housing 100A as shown in Fig. 2, and is a position where the remaining amount of roll paper Rs of the roll body R in the feed tray 1 can be checked from the outside.

[0022] 1, the restriction mechanism 60 is composed of a protrusion 61 protruding downward from the lower surface of the bottom wall 11, and a recess 62 formed in the bottom surface 100A1 facing the bottom wall 11 of the housing 100A. The recess 62 extends rearward from the vicinity of the opening 101. In other words, the recess 62 extends along the front-rear direction.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1, when the feed tray 1 is placed at the mounting position, the protrusion 61 is located in the recess 62 in a state of abutting against a rear end surface 62A of the recess 62. As shown in FIG. 2, when the feed tray 1 is moved from the mounting position in the pull-out direction to reach the pull-out position, the protrusion 61 abuts against a front end surface 62B of the recess 62. With such a configuration of the regulating mechanism 60, when the feed tray 1 is moved from the mounting position in the pull-out direction, it is possible to regulate the feed tray 1 from moving beyond the pull-out position. Note that, by lifting the front part of the feed tray 1 at the pull-out position upward and moving it forward, it is possible to move the feed tray 1 from the pull-out position to the outer position.

[0024] The transport unit 3 transports, in a transport direction, the roll paper Rs unwound from the roll body R. As shown in Fig. 1, the transport unit 3 has a feed roller 2A, an arm 2B, a guide member 16, a pair of intermediate rollers 4A, a pair of transport rollers 4B, a pair of paper discharge rollers 4C, and a guide 4D.

[0025] The feed roller 2A feeds the roll paper Rs, which is unwound from the roll R stored in the storage section 20, from the feed tray 1. The feed roller 2A is supported on the tip of an arm 2B. The feed roller 2A rotates about an axis extending in the left-right direction by the drive of a feed motor (not shown).

[0026] The arm 2B is rotatably supported by a support shaft 2C. The support shaft 2C is supported by the housing 100A. The arm 2B is biased by a biasing member (not shown) so that the feed roller 2A approaches the bottom surface 11A of the feed tray 1. The arm 2B rotates about the support shaft 2C, so that the feed roller 2A can move between a first contact position where the feed roller 2A comes into contact with a friction member (not shown) arranged on the bottom surface 11A of the feed tray 1, and a retracted position where the feed roller 2A is separated from the friction member.

[0027] The arm 2B can be moved by the swinging mechanism 40 to an avoidance position that avoids interference between the tray body 10 of the feed tray 1 and the feed roller 2A and arm 2B in conjunction with the movement of the feed tray 1 in the pull-out direction from its installed position in the housing 100A.

[0028] Here, the rocking mechanism 40 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the rocking mechanism 40 includes a roller 41, a support shaft 42, a notch portion 43, and the above-mentioned biasing member (not shown). The support shaft 42 extends leftward from the left side surface of the arm 2B. The roller 41 is rotatably supported at the tip of the support shaft 42. The notch portion 43 is formed in the approximate center in the front-rear direction of the side wall 13 of the tray body 10. The notch portion 43 is open upward. The roller 41 is disposed at the same position in the left-right direction as the side wall 13 of the feed tray 1 in the mounting position. In addition, the roller 41 is disposed just inside the notch portion 43 when the feed tray 1 is in the mounting position. As shown in FIG. 2, when the feed tray 1 is moved in the pull-out direction from the mounting position, the roller 41 moves upward along the upper end surface of the side wall 13 so as to come out of the notch portion 43. As a result, the arm 2B moves to the avoidance position, and the feed roller 2A moves to the retracted position. That is, the retracted position is the position to which the feed roller 2A moves when the arm 2B moves to the avoidance position, as shown in Fig. 2. By disposing the feed roller 2A at the retracted position, it is possible to prevent the feed roller 2A from coming into contact with the tray body 10.

[0029] On the other hand, by moving the feed tray 1 from the outer position to the mounting position, the roller 41 moves along the upper end surface of the side wall 13 so as to fall into the notch 43. As a result, the feed roller 2A moves to either the first contact position or the second contact position as shown in FIG. 1. The second contact position (the "contact position" of the present invention) is between the first contact position and the retracted position, and is a position where the feed roller 2A contacts the roll paper Rs. In other words, the feed roller 2A is disposed at the second contact position when the roll paper Rs is disposed on the bottom surface 11A and the friction member, and is disposed at the first contact position when the roll paper Rs is not disposed on the friction member. In this way, the rocking mechanism 40 rocks the feed roller 2A between the first contact position and the retracted position.

[0030] When the feed motor is driven under the control of the control unit 70, the feed roller 2A rotates and a conveying force is applied from the front to the rear to the roll paper Rs in contact with the feed roller 2A. As a result, the roll paper Rs is conveyed in the conveying direction and sent out from the feed tray 1.

[0031] The guide member 16 guides the roll paper Rs fed by the feed roller 2A toward the cutting section 5. The guide member 16 extends obliquely upward from the bottom surface 11A of the feed tray 1. The guide member 16 is provided in the housing 100A. As shown in FIG. 1, the guide member 16 is located at the rear end of the feed tray 1 in the front-rear direction.

[0032] The intermediate roller pair 4A is composed of a drive roller that rotates when driven by an intermediate motor (not shown) and a driven roller that rotates along with the drive roller. When the intermediate motor is driven under the control of the control unit 70, the intermediate roller pair 4A rotates while clamping the roll paper Rs to transport the roll paper Rs. The intermediate roller pair 4A is located above the guide member 16. The intermediate roller pair 4A clamps and transports the roll paper Rs sent out from the feed tray 1 by the feed roller 2A upward. The guide 4D is located above the intermediate roller pair 4A. The guide 4D guides the roll paper Rs transported upward by the intermediate roller pair 4A forward.

[0033] The conveying roller pair 4B is composed of a drive roller that rotates by the drive of a conveying motor (not shown) and a driven roller that rotates with the drive roller. The paper discharge roller pair 4C is composed of a drive roller that rotates by the drive of a paper discharge motor (not shown) and a driven roller that rotates with the drive roller. When the conveying motor and the paper discharge motor are driven by the control of the control unit 70, the conveying roller pair 4B and the paper discharge roller pair 4C rotate while sandwiching the roll paper Rs to convey the roll paper Rs. The conveying roller pair 4B is located behind the head 6, and the paper discharge roller pair 4C is located in front of the head 6. The conveying roller pair 4B sandwiches the roll paper Rs guided forward by the guide 4D and conveys it forward. The paper discharge roller pair 4C sandwiches the roll paper Rs conveyed forward by the conveying roller pair 4B and conveys it forward.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 1, the cutting unit 5 is located between the guide member 16 and the pair of intermediate rollers 4A. The cutting unit 5 is also located above the rear end (downstream end in the conveying direction) of the feed tray 1. As shown in Fig. 3, the cutting unit 5 has a fixed blade 5A, a rotary blade 5B, a moving mechanism 5C, and a holder 5D, and the fixed blade 5A and the rotary blade 5B work together to cut the roll paper Rs at the cutting position. The cutting position is the upper end position of the fixed blade 5A, where the fixed blade 5A and the rotary blade 5B come into contact with each other.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 3, the fixed blade (the "cutter" of the present invention) 5A is formed with an L-shaped cross section. The fixed blade 5A is fixed to the housing 100A via a holder 5D. The fixed blade 5A extends long in the left-right direction. More specifically, the fixed blade 5A is formed to be longer than the width (left-right width) of the roll paper Rs. The fixed blade 5A is positioned so that it can come into contact with the front-facing surface of the roll paper Rs.

[0036] The holder 5D (the "support member" of the present invention) extends long in the left-right direction and is fixed to the housing 100A. The fixed blade 5A is fixed to the rear end of the holder 5D. A guide surface 5D1 is formed on the rear end surface of the holder 5D below the fixed blade 5A. The guide surface 5D1 is inclined forward as it extends downward, and defines a part of a path 5E that guides the roll paper Rs to the cutting position.

[0037] The rotary blade (the "cutter" of the present invention) 5B is mounted on a carriage 5C1 (described below) that is movable in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the rotary blade 5B is disk-shaped and is supported by the carriage 5C1 so as to be rotatable about an axis 5B1. The rotary blade 5B is also positioned so that it can come into contact with the rearward facing surface of the roll paper Rs. The rotary blade 5B is also positioned so that its front end can come into contact with the upper end surface of the fixed blade 5A.

[0038] As shown in Fig. 3, the movement mechanism 5C has a carriage 5C1, a guide rail 5C2, a belt, a pair of pulleys, and a movement motor (all not shown). The guide rail 5C2 is formed long along the left-right direction and supports the carriage 5C1 so that it can move in the left-right direction. A guide surface 5C3 is formed on the front end surface of the guide rail 5C2 below the carriage 5C1. The guide surface 5C3 is inclined backward as it extends downward, and defines a part of the passage 5E.

[0039] As shown in Fig. 3, the carriage 5C1 (the "support member" of the present invention) rotatably supports the rotary blade 5B. The pair of pulleys are arranged spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction and sandwich the transport path for the roll paper Rs. A belt is stretched across the pair of pulleys. The carriage 5C1 is fixed to the belt between the pair of pulleys.

[0040] The carriage 5C1 is usually placed in a standby position at the left end of the fixed blade 5A. That is, the rotary blade 5B is also placed in a standby position. When cutting the rolled paper Rs, the moving motor is driven to rotate in the forward direction under the control of the control unit 70, so that the pulley rotates and the belt runs. As the belt runs, the rotary blade 5B moves to the right together with the carriage 5C1. At this time, the rotary blade 5B rotates due to friction with the fixed blade 5A. As a result, the fixed blade 5A and the rotary blade 5B work together to cut the rolled paper Rs at the cutting position on the conveying path along the width direction (left and right direction). In this way, a rear end is formed on the rolled paper Rs sent to the paper discharge tray 7. At this time, a new leading end is formed on the rolled paper Rs connected to the roll body R. The carriage 5C1 and the rotary blade 5B that have moved to the right are stopped at the stop position at the right end of the fixed blade 5A by stopping the driving of the moving motor. Thereafter, the moving motor is driven to rotate in the reverse direction, whereby the rotary blade 5B moves leftward together with the carriage 5C1 and is returned to the standby position.

[0041] The pair of guide members 50 are disposed on both sides of the feed roller 2A in the left-right direction. The pair of guide members 50 are also disposed between the left side wall 13 and the right side wall of the tray main body 10. Note that the pair of guide members 50 have the same configuration except that they are disposed spaced apart from each other on the left and right, so only one guide member 50 will be described.

[0042] The guide member 50 is a plate-like member extending along the front-rear and left-right directions, and has two guide surfaces 51 and 52 as shown in FIG. 1. The guide surface 51 is the lower surface of the guide member 50, and the guide surface 52 is the rear end surface of the guide member 50. The guide surfaces 51 and 52 are continuous in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the guide member 50 is fixed to the holder 5D so that the guide surfaces 51 and 52 are located above the rear end of the feed tray 1 and below the cutting position. The guide member 50 is also located so that the guide surface 52 is continuous with the guide surface 5D1. As a result, the passage 5E is formed by the guide surfaces 5D1, 5C3, and 52.

[0043] 2, the guide surfaces 51 and 52 extend in the front-rear direction between the cutting position and the rear end of the feed tray 1 while the feed tray 1 moves between the attached position and the pulled-out position. The guide surface 51 is disposed upstream of the feed roller 2A in the retracted position in the pull-out direction. In other words, the guide surfaces 51 and 52 are disposed behind the feed roller 2A in the retracted position.

[0044] The head 6 includes multiple nozzles (not shown) formed on its underside, and a driver IC (not shown). The head 6 records an image on the roll paper Rs transported by the transport unit 3. When the driver IC is driven under the control of the control unit 70, ink is ejected from the nozzles, and an image is formed on the roll paper Rs when the roll paper Rs transported by the transport unit 3 passes an image recording position facing the underside of the head 6. The head 6 may be either a line type that ejects ink from nozzles while remaining in a fixed position, or a serial type that ejects ink from nozzles while moving left and right.

[0045] 1, the paper output tray 7 is disposed in front of the head 6 and above the feed tray 1 inside the housing 100A. The paper output tray 7 can be inserted into and removed from the housing 100A in the front-rear direction through an opening 102 formed in the front wall of the housing 100A. The paper output tray 7 receives the roll paper Rs on which an image is formed by the head 6, cut by the cutting unit 5, and transported forward by the pair of paper output rollers 4C.

[0046] The control unit 70 is connected to the feed motor, intermediate motor, transport motor, paper discharge motor, cutting motor, and driver IC via an internal bus (not shown). The control unit 70 has a CPU, ROM, and RAM. The ROM stores programs and data for the CPU to perform various controls. The RAM temporarily stores data used when the CPU executes a program.

[0047] Next, the operation when the feeding tray 1 is moved between the attached position and the pulled-out position will be described below.

[0048] When the feed tray 1, which is in the mounted position shown in Fig. 1, is moved in the pull-out direction, the movement is restricted by the restriction mechanism 60 when the feed tray 1 reaches the pull-out position, as shown in Fig. 2. Furthermore, before the feed tray 1 reaches the pull-out position from the mounted position, the arm 2B is moved to the avoidance position by the swing mechanism 40, and the feed roller 2A is moved to the retracted position. This makes it possible to prevent the feed roller 2A and the arm 2B from coming into contact with the tray body 10 even when the feed tray 1 is moved from the pull-out position to the outer position as described above.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 1, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs cut by the cutting unit 5 is located at the cutting position when the feed tray 1 is in the mounting position. At this time, a portion Rs1 including the leading edge of the roll paper Rs protrudes upward (downstream in the conveying direction) from the rear end (downstream end in the conveying direction) of the feed tray 1. When the feed tray 1 is moved in the pull-out direction in this state, the protruding portion Rs1 of the roll paper Rs also moves in the pull-out direction, and the leading edge of the roll paper Rs leaves the passage 5E. At this time, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs moves along the guide surfaces 52, 51 while successively abutting against the guide surfaces 52, 51 of the guide member 50. Then, when the feed tray 1 reaches the pull-out position, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs is maintained in abutment against the front portion of the guide surface 51.

[0050] On the other hand, when the feed tray 1 is moved from the pull-out position to the mounted position, the arm 2B moves so that the feed roller 2A moves to the second contact position by the swing mechanism 40 before the feed tray 1 reaches the mounted position. This makes it possible for the feed roller 2A to feed the roll paper Rs.

[0051] Furthermore, when the feed tray 1 is moved from the pulled-out position to the attached position, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs moves backward in association with the movement of the feed tray 1 while abutting against the guide surface 51. Then, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs moves backward while abutting against the guide surface 52 from the guide surface 51, and then enters the passage 5E and reaches the cutting position when the feed tray 1 reaches the attached position. By providing the guide member 50 in this manner to the housing 100A, it is possible to prevent the protruding portion Rs1 of the roll paper Rs from coming into contact with members other than the guide surfaces 51 and 52 (such as the feed roller 2A) even when the feed tray 1 is moved between the attached position and the pulled-out position.

[0052] As described above, according to the printer 100 of this embodiment, while the feed tray 1 moves between the mounted position and the pulled-out position, the guide surfaces 51, 52 extend above the rear end (downstream end in the transport direction) of the feed tray 1 and between the cutting position and the rear end of the feed tray 1 in the front-rear direction, so that the portion Rs1 of the cut roll paper Rs protruding downstream in the transport direction from the feed tray 1 is likely to come into contact with the guide surfaces 51, 52. In other words, while the feed tray 1 moves between the mounted position and the pulled-out position, the protruding portion Rs1 of the roll paper Rs is less likely to come into contact with members (such as the feed roller 2A) other than the guide surfaces 51, 52. This makes it possible to prevent the protruding portion Rs1 of the roll paper Rs from coming into contact with the feed roller 2A or the like and being bent due to the movement of the feed tray 1 relative to the housing 100A.

[0053] Also, the guide surfaces 51 and 52 are positioned below the cutting position. As a result, even if the cutting unit 5 is positioned above the rear end of the feed tray 1, the protruding portion Rs1 of the cut roll paper Rs is likely to come into contact with the guide surfaces 51 and 52 while the feed tray 1 is moving between the attached position and the pulled-out position.

[0054] The guide surface 52 constitutes a part of the passage 5E. This makes it possible to smoothly guide the protruding portion Rs1 of the roll paper Rs into the passage 5E when the feed tray 1 is moved from the pulled-out position to the installed position.

[0055] The guide surfaces 51 and 52 are disposed in front (upstream) of the feed roller 2A in the retracted position in the pull-out direction. This allows a configuration in which the protruding portion Rs1 of the cut roll paper Rs does not come into contact with the feed roller 2A and is likely to come into contact with the guide surfaces 51 and 52 when the feed tray 1 is in the pull-out position.

[0056] In addition, the regulating mechanism 60 regulates the movement of the feed tray 1 from the attached position beyond the pulled-out position. This makes it possible to prevent the feed tray 1 from moving beyond the pulled-out position, and in turn, to prevent the protruding portion Rs1 of the roll paper Rs from contacting the feed roller 2A.

[0057] The housing 100A also has a guide member 16. This makes it easier to guide the roll paper Rs unwound from the roll R toward the cutting unit 5.

[0058] The cutting unit 5 has a holder 5D, and the guide member 50 is fixed to the holder 5D. This makes it possible to smoothly guide the protruding portion Rs1 of the roll paper Rs from the guide member 50 toward the cutting position when the feed tray 1 is moved from the pull-out position to the attached position.

[0059] In the above embodiment, the feed roller 2A in the retracted position is disposed forward of the guide member 50, but the guide surface 51 may have a portion that faces the feed roller 2A in the retracted position in the up-down direction and overlaps with the feed roller 2A in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG. 5. The guide member 50 of the printer 100 in the first modification is disposed at a position where the guide surfaces 51 and 52 are lower than the feed roller 2A in the retracted position. In addition, the support shaft 2C is disposed further rearward than in the above embodiment, and the feed roller 2A and the arm 2B are also disposed further rearward than in the above embodiment. Therefore, in the process in which the feed roller 2A is moved from the second contact position to the retracted position by the swing mechanism 40, the feed roller 2A overlaps with the guide surface 51 in the left-right direction.

[0060] In this modification, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs cut by the cutting unit 5 is located at the cutting position when the feed tray 1 is in the mounting position, as shown in FIG. 4. When the feed tray 1 is moved in the pull-out direction in this state, the protruding portion Rs1 of the roll paper Rs also moves in the pull-out direction, as shown in FIG. 5, and the leading edge of the roll paper Rs exits the passage 5E. The swing mechanism 40 in this modification is configured to move the feed roller 2A to the retracted position before the leading edge of the roll paper Rs passes the feed roller 2A in the retracted position. The feed roller 2A in the retracted position is also positioned above the guide surface 51. Therefore, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs moves along the guide surfaces 52, 51 of the guide member 50 while abutting against the guide surfaces 52, 51 in order, without contacting the feed roller 2A. Then, when the feed tray 1 reaches the pull-out position, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs is maintained in abutment against the front portion of the guide surface 51.

[0061] On the other hand, when the feed tray 1 is moved from the pull-out position to the mounted position, the arm 2B is moved by the swing mechanism 40 so that the feed roller 2A moves to the second contact position before the feed tray 1 reaches the mounted position, as in the above embodiment. This makes the roll paper Rs available for feeding by the feed roller 2A.

[0062] When the feed tray 1 is moved from the pull-out position to the mounting position, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs moves backward with the movement of the feed tray 1 while abutting against the guide surface 51. At this time, the feed roller 2A is also located above the guide surface 51. The swing mechanism 40 in this modification is configured so that the leading edge of the roll paper Rs moves backward from the feed roller 2A, and then the feed roller 2A moves from the retracted position to the second contact position. Then, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs moves backward while abutting against the guide surface 52 from the guide surface 51, and then, when the feed tray 1 reaches the mounting position, it enters the passage 5E and reaches the cutting position. When the feed tray 1 reaches the mounting position, the feed roller 2A also reaches the second contact position.

[0063] Even in this modified example, the guide member 50 is provided on the housing 100A, so that even when the feed tray 1 is moved between the attached position and the pulled-out position, the protruding portion Rs1 of the roll paper Rs can be prevented from coming into contact with members other than the guide surfaces 51, 52 (such as the feed roller 2A).

[0064] Furthermore, when the feed tray 1 is in the pulled-out position, if the guide surface 51 has a portion that overlaps in the front-to-rear direction with the feed roller 2A in the retracted position, and the guide surface 51 is at the same vertical position as the bottom end of the feed roller 2A in the retracted position or higher than the bottom end of the feed roller 2A, the protruding portion Rs1 of the cut roll paper Rs will come into contact with the feed roller 2A. In this regard, in the present configuration, when the feed tray 1 is in the pulled-out position, the guide surface 51 is lower than the feed roller 2A in the retracted position, so the protruding portion Rs1 of the cut roll paper Rs does not come into contact with the feed roller 2A but comes into contact with the guide surface 51.

[0065] 6 and 7, in the printer 100, the cutting unit 5 may be disposed behind the rear end of the feed tray 1 in the attached position and below the upper rear end of the feed tray 1. In other words, the cutting unit 5 is disposed downstream in the transport direction from the feed tray 1. In this case, the feed tray 1 does not have two side walls 15, and the feed tray 1 is open to the rear. In addition, the roll paper Rs unwound from the roll R is transported rearward along the bottom surface 11A toward the cutting unit 5 by the feed roller 2A.

[0066] The housing 100A is provided with a guide member 150 having a guide surface 151 extending forward from the cutting unit 5. The guide member 150 is a plate-shaped member, and the guide surface 151 is formed on the lower surface. The guide surface 151 of the guide member 150 is disposed above the cutting position where the roll paper Rs is cut by the cutting unit 5. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the guide surface 151 extends between the cutting position and the rear end of the feed tray 1 in the front-rear direction, downstream in the transport direction from the rear end of the feed tray 1, while the feed tray 1 moves between the attached position and the pulled-out position.

[0067] 7, the guide surface 151 faces the feed roller 2A in the retracted position in the vertical direction and has a portion overlapping in the front-rear direction. The guide surface 151 is disposed at a position lower than the feed roller 2A in the retracted position. The guide surface 151 may be disposed behind the feed roller 2A in the retracted position. In other words, the guide surface 151 does not have to face the feed roller 2A in the retracted position in the vertical direction and does not have to have a portion overlapping in the front-rear direction.

[0068] In this modification, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs cut by the cutting unit 5 is also located at the cutting position when the feed tray 1 is in the mounting position, as shown in FIG. 6. At this time, a portion Rs1 including the leading edge of the roll paper Rs protrudes rearward (downstream in the transport direction) from the rear end (downstream end in the transport direction) of the feed tray 1. When the feed tray 1 is moved in the pull-out direction in this state, as shown in FIG. 7, the protruding portion Rs1 of the roll paper Rs also moves in the pull-out direction, and the leading edge of the roll paper Rs comes out of the cutting unit 5. The swing mechanism 40 in this modification is configured to move the feed roller 2A to the retracted position before the leading edge of the roll paper Rs passes the feed roller 2A in the retracted position. Also, the feed roller 2A in the retracted position is positioned above the guide surface 151. Therefore, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs moves along the guide surface 151 while abutting against the guide surface 151 of the guide member 150 without contacting the feed roller 2A. When the feeding tray 1 reaches the pulled-out position, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs is kept in contact with the front portion of the guide surface 151 .

[0069] On the other hand, when the feed tray 1 is moved from the pulled-out position to the mounted position, the arm 2B moves so that the feed roller 2A moves to the second contact position by the swing mechanism 40 before the feed tray 1 reaches the mounted position, as in the first modified example described above. This makes the roll paper Rs available for feeding by the feed roller 2A.

[0070] Furthermore, when the feed tray 1 is moved from the pull-out position to the mounting position, the leading edge of the roll paper Rs moves backward in association with the movement of the feed tray 1 while abutting against the guide surface 151. At this time, the feed roller 2A is also located above the guide surface 151. The swing mechanism 40 in this modified example is also configured so that the leading edge of the roll paper Rs moves rearward from the feed roller 2A, and then the feed roller 2A moves from the retracted position to the second contact position. Then, after the leading edge of the roll paper Rs moves rearward while abutting against the guide surface 151, it reaches the cutting position when the feed tray 1 reaches the mounting position. Also, when the feed tray 1 reaches the mounting position, the feed roller 2A also reaches the second contact position.

[0071] Even in this modified example, the guide member 150 is provided on the housing 100A, so that even when the feed tray 1 is moved between the attached position and the pulled-out position, the protruding portion Rs1 of the roll paper Rs can be prevented from coming into contact with any member other than the guide surface 151 (such as the feed roller 2A).

[0072] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. In the above embodiment and each modification, the guide members 50 and 150 are made of plate-like members, but may be made of rod-like members extending in the front-rear direction. The guide surfaces 51, 52, and 151 may have a narrow width in the left-right direction and a long and narrow planar shape in the front-rear direction. The guide member 50 may not have the guide surface 52. The guide member 50 may not be fixed to the holder 5D, and may be disposed apart from the holder 5D. In this case, the guide surface 52 may not form a part of the passage 5E.

[0073] The rocking mechanism 40 is not particularly limited as long as it is configured to be able to rock the feed roller 2A between the first contact position or the second contact position and the retracted position. In other words, the rocking mechanism may be configured by a different component.

[0074] When the conveying section 3 has a feed roller provided in the feed tray 1 and capable of conveying the roll paper Rs unwound from the roll body R out of the feed tray 1, the rocking mechanism 40 does not need to be provided.

[0075] The restricting mechanism 60 is not particularly limited as long as it can restrict the movement of the feed tray 1 pulled out from the mounted position to the pulled out position. In other words, the restricting mechanism may be composed of, for example, a recess formed on the lower surface of the bottom wall of the feed tray 1 and a protrusion that protrudes upward from the bottom surface 100A1 of the housing 100A and can be placed in the recess.

[0076] The guide member 16 may not be provided. The cutting unit 5 may be composed of one or more cutters. In addition, the above-mentioned cutting unit 5 has a fixed blade 5A, but a rotary blade that can move in the left-right direction together with the rotary blade 5B may be provided instead of the fixed blade 5A. The rotary blade may be a blade that does not rotate.

[0077] The present invention can be generally applied to image recording devices equipped with a feed tray capable of accommodating a roll body R. The feed tray 1 may be supported so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the left-right direction and intersecting the front-rear direction and the up-down direction with respect to the housing 100A.

[0078] For example, the present invention can be applied not only to inkjet printers equipped with a head that ejects ink from a nozzle as a recording unit, but also to electrophotographic printers equipped with a recording unit of a laser type in which an electrostatic latent image is formed by exposing a photoconductor to a laser, or an LED type in which an electrostatic latent image is formed by exposing a photoconductor to an LED. Also, the sheet-like medium is not limited to paper, and may be cloth, a resin material such as a film, or the like, as long as it is in sheet form. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1 Feeding tray 2A Feeding roller 3. Conveyor 5 Cut section 5A Fixed blade (cutter) 5B Rotary blade (cutter) 5C1 Carriage (support member) 5D Holder (support member) 5E aisle 11A Bottom surface (support surface) 16 Guide member 40 Swing Mechanism 50,150 Guide material 51,52,151 Guide surface 60 Regulatory Mechanisms 100 Printer (image recording device) 100A housing R Roll Body Rs Roll paper (sheet media) Rs1 protruding part

Claims

1. A housing and a feed tray that is movable in a direction intersecting a vertical direction with respect to the housing and can take an attached position in the housing and a pulled-out position pulled out to the outside of the housing in the intersecting direction from the attached position, the feed tray being capable of accommodating a roll of sheet-like medium; a conveying section that conveys the sheet medium unwound from the roll in a conveying direction; a cutting unit disposed downstream of the feed tray in the conveying direction; an image recording device comprising: a guide surface extending between a cutting position where the cutting portion cuts the sheet-like medium in the cross direction and the downstream end of the feed tray in the transport direction, downstream of the downstream end of the feed tray in the transport direction while the feed tray moves between the attached position and the pulled-out position;

2. the cutting portion is disposed above a downstream end of the feed tray in the conveying direction, 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide surface is disposed below the cutting position.

3. a passage disposed above a downstream end of the feed tray in the conveying direction and configured to guide the sheet medium unwound from the roll toward the cutting position; 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the guide surface constitutes a part of the passage.

4. the conveying section has a feed roller that feeds the sheet medium unwound from the roll toward the cutting section, The feeding roller may be moved between a contact position where the feeding roller contacts the sheet medium and a retracted position above the contact position and above the feeding tray, the swing mechanism disposes the feed roller at the retracted position when the feed tray is at the pulled-out position, 3. The image recording device according to claim 2, wherein the guide surface is arranged upstream of the feed roller in the retracted position in a pull-out direction, which is one of the intersecting directions and moves the feed tray from the mounting position to the pull-out position.

5. 5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a restricting mechanism that restricts movement of the feeding tray from the mounted position beyond the pulled-out position.

6. the conveying section has a feed roller that feeds the sheet medium unwound from the roll toward the cutting section, The feeding roller may be moved between a contact position where the feeding roller contacts the sheet medium and a retracted position above the contact position and above the feeding tray, the swing mechanism disposes the feed roller at the retracted position when the feed tray is at the pulled-out position, 3. The image recording device according to claim 2, wherein the guide surface has a portion that overlaps with the feed roller in the retracted position in the intersecting direction, and is positioned below the feed roller in the retracted position.

7. the feed tray has a support surface for supporting the sheet medium unwound from the roll; the conveying section includes a feed roller configured to feed the sheet medium supported on the support surface toward the cutting section; 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a guide member is disposed in the housing to guide the sheet medium fed by the feed roller toward the cutting section.

8. The cutting portion is One or more cutters; a support member for supporting the one or more cutters, 7. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a guide member having the guide surface is fixed to the support member.

Images