Medium conveyance device and image reading device

Abstract

To solve a problem that, when a rear end of a medium comes off from a nip between an intermediate feeding roller and a driven roller in a bending and reversing passage, the medium tries to return into a straight state, so that the rear end of the medium strongly contacts with a member forming an outside of the bending and reversing passage, thereby a contact sound is generated and discomfort is given to a user.SOLUTION: A medium conveyance device comprises: a first roller pair and a second roller pair for conveying a medium; a bending passage running from the first roller pair to the second roller pair; an outside passage forming member for forming an outside of the bending passage; an inside passage forming member for forming an inside of the bending passage; and at least one flexible guide member for guiding the medium in the bending passage. One end of the guide member is a fixed end provided at the outside passage forming member, and the other end of the guide member is a free end positioned on a more downstream side in a conveying direction than the fixed end. The inside passage forming member has a protruding part protruding toward the guide member at a position facing the guide member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a medium transport device that transports a medium, and an image reading device including the medium transport device. [Background technology]

[0002] The medium transport device disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which the medium is curved and reversed and transported downstream of a roller pair formed of an intermediate feed roller and a driven roller. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-180176 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When the rear end of the medium leaves the nip between the intermediate feed roller and the driven roller, the medium attempts to return to a straight state and moves downstream while coming into strong contact with the member that forms the outside of the curved reversal path, which may generate a contact noise that may cause discomfort to the user. Such problems become more pronounced when the curvature of the curved reversing path is increased in order to reduce the size of the device, or when the medium transport speed is increased in order to improve throughput. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problem, the media transport device of the present invention is a media transport device having a media transport path that transports a medium in a transport direction, comprising a first roller pair that transports the medium, a second roller pair that is provided downstream of the first roller pair in the transport direction and transports the medium, a path portion of the media transport path from the first roller pair to the second roller pair, the path portion being a curved curved path, an outer path forming member that forms the outside of the curved path, an inner path forming member that forms the inside of the curved path, and at least one guide member that guides the medium in the curved path, the guide member being flexible, wherein one end of the guide member is a fixed end provided on the outer path forming member, and the other end of the guide member is a free end located downstream of the fixed end in the transport direction, and the inner path forming member has a convex portion that protrudes toward the guide member at a position opposite the guide member. The image reading device of the present invention is characterized by including the medium transport device and a reading section that reads the medium transported by the medium transport device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the curved path with the guide member attached. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the curved path without the guide member attached. [Diagram 5] FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an engagement protrusion provided on an outer path forming member. [Figure 7] FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0007] The present invention will now be briefly described. A media transport device according to a first aspect is a media transport device having a media transport path that transports a medium in a transport direction, the media transport device comprising: a first roller pair that transports the medium; a second roller pair that is disposed downstream of the first roller pair in the transport direction and transports the medium; a curved path that is a path portion of the media transport path from the first roller pair to the second roller pair, the curved path being a curved path; an outer path forming member that forms the outside of the curved path; an inner path forming member that forms the inside of the curved path; and at least one guide member that guides the medium in the curved path, the guide member being flexible, wherein one end of the guide member is a fixed end that is disposed on the outer path forming member, and the other end of the guide member is a free end that is located downstream of the fixed end in the transport direction, and the inner path forming member has a convex portion that protrudes toward the guide member at a position opposite the guide member.

[0008] According to the present aspect, when the rear end of the medium passes through the first roller pair, the guide member can prevent the entire rear end, i.e., the entire width direction of the rear end, from coming into strong contact with the outer path forming member, and can suppress contact noise that occurs when the rear end comes into strong contact with the outer path forming member. Here, if the guide member presses the medium toward the inner path forming member too much, the medium may be deformed in a wavy manner in a direction intersecting the transport direction, i.e., along the width direction, which may prevent the medium from smoothly curving along the curved path. However, since the inner path forming member has a convex portion that protrudes toward the guide member at a position opposite the guide member, the guide member can be prevented from pressing the medium toward the inner path forming member too much, and the medium can be appropriately curved along the curved path.

[0009] A second aspect is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, and is characterized in that in the curved path, the inner path forming member is provided with a first driven roller, a roller whose portion protrudes from the inner path forming member toward the outer path forming member and which is rotatable in a driven manner, and when viewed from a width direction intersecting the conveying direction, a portion of the convex portion overlaps with a portion of the first driven roller.

[0010] When the leading edge of the medium is nipped by the second roller pair, the medium is transported along the inner path forming member, so by providing a first driven roller that protrudes from the inner path forming member toward the outer path forming member, the medium can be transported smoothly. In particular, when viewed from the width direction intersecting the transport direction, a part of the convex portion and a part of the first driven roller overlap, so that the medium can be prevented from coming into strong contact with the convex portion, and thus an increase in the transport load can be prevented.

[0011] A third aspect is an aspect dependent on the second aspect, and is characterized in that, as viewed in the width direction, the first driven roller protrudes toward the outer path forming member further than the convex portion. According to this aspect, when viewed in the width direction, the first driven roller protrudes toward the outer path forming member further than the convex portion, thereby more reliably preventing the medium from coming into strong contact with the convex portion, and thus more reliably preventing an increase in the transport load.

[0012] The fourth aspect is a dependent aspect of the second aspect, and is characterized in that the two guide members are provided along a width direction intersecting the conveying direction, and the first driven roller is provided between the two guide members in the width direction. According to this aspect, the guide members are provided in pairs along a width direction intersecting the transport direction, and the first driven roller is provided between the two guide members in the width direction, making it easier to stabilize the posture of the medium. Incidentally, this aspect is not limited to the above-mentioned second aspect, and may be subordinate to the above-mentioned third aspect.

[0013] A fifth aspect is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, characterized in that the guide member has an engagement hole, and the outer path forming member has an engagement protrusion that engages with the engagement hole. According to this aspect, the guide member has an engagement hole and the outer path forming member has an engagement protrusion that engages with the engagement hole, so that the guide member can be easily fixed to the outer path forming member. Incidentally, this aspect is not limited to the above-mentioned first aspect, and may be subordinate to any of the above-mentioned second to fourth aspects.

[0014] A sixth aspect is a aspect dependent on the fifth aspect, and is characterized in that the engagement protrusion has a guide surface that guides the guide member in an engagement direction in which the engagement hole engages with the engagement protrusion, and a regulating surface that regulates movement of the guide member in a direction opposite to the engagement direction when the engagement hole is engaged with the engagement protrusion.

[0015] According to this aspect, the guide surface allows the engagement hole to smoothly engage with the engagement protrusion, and when the engagement hole is engaged with the engagement protrusion, the regulating surface can securely hold the guide member so that it does not easily come off.

[0016] A seventh aspect is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, characterized in that the convex portion is constituted by a second driven roller that is rotatable in response to the second driven roller. According to this aspect, the convex portion is formed by the second driven roller that is rotatable in response to the rotation of the second driven roller, so that the transport load caused by the medium pressing against the convex portion can be reduced. Incidentally, this aspect is not limited to the above-mentioned first aspect, and may be subordinate to any of the above-mentioned second to sixth aspects.

[0017] The image reading device of the eighth aspect is characterized in that it comprises the medium conveying device of any of the first to seventh aspects and a reading unit that reads the medium conveyed by the medium conveying device. According to this aspect, in the image reading device, the operational effects of any one of the first to seventh aspects described above can be obtained.

[0018] The present invention will be specifically described below. 1 is an example of a recording device that records on a medium (not shown), and includes an ink ejection head (not shown) that ejects ink onto the medium inside a printer body 101. The ink ejection head is an example of a recording unit that records on the medium. A medium storage cassette 103 is provided at the bottom of the printer body 101, and the medium is sent from the medium storage cassette 103 to a position facing the ink ejection head for recording. An operation panel 102 is provided on the front of the device to accept various operation settings by the user. A scanner 1, which is an example of an image reading device, is provided on the top of the printer body 101. That is, the inkjet printer 100 is a multifunction device that has an image reading function for reading an image of an original document, in addition to a recording function for recording on a medium.

[0019] In addition, the XYZ coordinate system shown in each figure is a Cartesian coordinate system, with the Y axis direction being the depth direction of the device, the +Y direction of the Y axis direction being the direction from the front of the device to the rear of the device, and the -Y direction being the direction from the rear of the device to the front of the device. The X-axis direction is the device width direction, with the +X direction being the left side and the -X direction being the right side as seen by an operator of the inkjet printer 100. The Z-axis direction is the vertical direction, with the +Z direction being the upward direction and the -Z direction being the downward direction. In addition, in a document transport device 10, which is an example of a medium transport device described later, the Y-axis direction is the width direction of the document. In the document transport device 10, the direction in which the document is fed is sometimes called the "downstream" direction, and the opposite direction is sometimes called the "upstream" direction.

[0020] Scanner 1 comprises a scanner body 2 and a document transport device 10. Document transport device 10 is rotatably provided with respect to scanner body 2 via a hinge (not shown), and rotates to open and close a document table glass 41 (see FIG. 2) of scanner body 2. The hinge is provided at the rear of the device, and the rotation axis of the hinge is parallel to the X-axis direction, whereby document transport device 10 rotates with the front side of the device as the free end. The document transport device 10 includes a document placement section 3, and sends out a document P (see FIG. 2), which is an example of a medium, placed on the document placement section 3 in the +X direction. The document P sent out from the document placement section 3 is curved downward, inverted, transported in the -X direction, and discharged toward the discharge tray 28.

[0021] Fig. 2 shows a document transport path in the document transport device 10. In Fig. 2, the document transport path is indicated by a two-dot chain line with the reference symbol T. The document transport path T is a path from the delivery roller 5 to the third roller pair 25, and includes a curved path Tr from the first roller pair 12 to the second roller pair 20.

[0022] A feed roller 5 is provided at a position facing the document placement section 3, which feeds out the document P placed on the document placement section 3. The feed roller 5 is provided on a swinging member 4 that can swing around the center of the rotation axis of a separation roller 8 (described later), and moves forward and backward relative to the document P by the swinging of the swinging member 4. The feed roller 5 is driven in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2 by a motor (not shown).

[0023] A pair of feed rollers 6 is provided downstream of the delivery roller 5. The pair of feed rollers 6 includes a feed roller 7 that is driven in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 2 by a motor (not shown), and a separation roller 8 that nips and separates the document P between the feed roller 7 and the feed roller 7. A first roller pair 12 is provided downstream of the feed roller pair 6. The first roller pair 12 includes a first transport roller 13 that is driven in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 2 by a motor (not shown), and a first opposing roller 14 that nips the document P between itself and the first transport roller 13 and rotates in response to the first transport roller 13.

[0024] A second roller pair 20 is provided downstream of the first roller pair 12. The second roller pair 20 includes a second transport roller 21 that is driven in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 2 by a motor (not shown), and a second opposing roller 22 that nips the document P between the second transport roller 21 and rotates in a driven manner. A first driven roller 15 capable of rotating following the first roller pair 12 is provided between the first roller pair 12 and the second roller pair 20. In particular, after the leading edge of the document P is nipped by the second roller pair 20, the document P is pressed against the first driven roller 15, whereby the first driven roller 15 is rotated following the transport of the document P. The first driven roller 15 is supported in a freely rotatable manner by an inner path forming member 31 described later.

[0025] The scanner body 2 is located below the document transport device 10, and the scanner body 2 includes a first reading unit 40. The first reading unit 40 and a second reading unit 43 (described later) each have a CIS (Contact Image Sensor), are elongated in the Y-axis direction, and read an image of the document P. The first reading unit 40 is movable in the X-axis direction by a motor not shown, and when an original P is placed on the original platen glass 41, it reads an image of the original P while moving along the X-axis direction below the original platen glass 41.

[0026] A guide glass 42 is provided in the +X direction with respect to the document table glass 41. When an image of a document P is read using the document transport device 10, the first reading unit 40 is disposed below the guide glass 42 and reads an image of a first side of the document P being transported.

[0027] The second surface of the document P that has passed the position opposite to the guide glass 42 is read by the second reading unit 43. The second reading unit 43 is fixedly provided with respect to the document transport device 10. A third roller pair 25 is provided downstream of the second reading unit 43. The third roller pair 25 includes a third transport roller 26 that is driven in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2 by a motor (not shown), and a third opposing roller 27 that rotates by nipping the document P between the third transport roller 26. The document P is discharged to a discharge tray 28 (see FIG. 1) by the third roller pair 25.

[0028] Next, the guide member 33 provided on the curved path Tr will be described. Note that the guide member 33 is omitted from illustration in FIG. 3, the outside of the curved path Tr is formed by an outer path forming member 30, and the inside of the curved path Tr is formed by an inner path forming member 31. The outer path forming member 30 is provided rotatably about a rotation axis (not shown), and moves forward and backward relative to the inner path forming member 31 as it rotates. When a document P becomes jammed in the document transport path T, the jammed document P can be removed by rotating and opening the outer path forming member 30.

[0029] The outer path forming member 30 is provided with a guide member 33 that guides the document P in the curved path Tr. The guide member 33 has flexibility. The guide member 33 can be formed of, for example, a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) sheet having a thickness of about 0.1 to 0.3 mm. 5 shows the shape of the guide member 33, which has a fixed end 33a which is one end in the longitudinal direction, and a free end 33b which is the other end. Near the fixed end 33a, a plurality of engagement holes 33c are formed in the short direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction. In this embodiment, two engagement holes 33c are formed.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 3, the fixed end 33a is fixed to the outer path forming member 30, and the free end 33b is disposed downstream of the fixed end 33a in the document transport direction. As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, the outer path forming member 30 is provided with an engagement projection 32, and the engagement hole 33c of the guide member 33 can be fitted into the engagement projection 32. 4 shows a state in which guide member 33 is not attached, and the imaginary line indicated by reference symbol 33 shows the shape of guide member 33 when guide member 33 is not deformed and maintains a straight line. Engagement protrusion 32 has guide surface 32a that guides guide member 33 in engagement direction Sa in which engagement hole 33c engages with engagement protrusion 32, and restriction surface 32b that restricts movement of guide member 33 in the direction opposite to engagement direction Sa when engagement hole 33c is engaged with engagement protrusion 32.

[0031] An opening 30a is formed in the outer path forming member 30, and the guide member 33 can be inserted into the outer path forming member 30 in the engagement direction Sa through the opening 30a. In this case, the fixed end 33a of the guide member 33 can climb over the engagement protrusion 32 by the guide surface 32a, and the engagement hole 33c can engage with the engagement protrusion 32 as shown in Figures 3 and 6. After the engagement hole 33c engages with the engagement protrusion 32, the guide member 33 is held by the restriction surface 32b so as not to easily fall off.

[0032] As described above, the guide member 33 has the engagement hole 33c, and the outer path forming member 30 has the engagement protrusion 32 that engages with the engagement hole 33c, so that the guide member 33 can be easily fixed to the outer path forming member 30. In addition, the guide surface 32a of the engaging protrusion 32 allows the engaging hole 33c to smoothly engage with the engaging protrusion 32, and when the engaging hole 33c is engaged with the engaging protrusion 32, the regulating surface 32b can securely hold the guide member 33 so that it does not easily come off. The method of fixing the guide member 33 to the outer path forming member 30 is not limited to the above, and it may be fixed by screws or the like, or by double-sided tape, adhesive or the like.

[0033] Next, the length L (see Fig. 5) of the guide member 33 is set to a length that would intersect with the outer path forming member 30 if the guide member 33 were not deformed and maintained in a straight line as shown in Fig. 4. Therefore, when the guide member 33 is attached to the outer path forming member 30, the free end 33b of the guide member 33 comes into contact with the outer path forming member 30 as shown in Fig. 3, and the guide member 33 is bent.

[0034] Here, a convex portion 35 is provided in the inner path forming member 31 at a position facing the guide member 33. Therefore, even if the guide member 33 is bent, the advancement of the guide member 33 toward the inner path forming member 31 side is limited to a position where the guide member 33 contacts the convex portion 35. As shown in Fig. 3, when viewed from the document width direction, at least a part of the convex portion 35 overlaps with at least a part of the first driven roller 15. In this embodiment, the convex portion 35 is provided integrally with the inner path forming member 31, but it may be formed separately from the inner path forming member 31 and then fixed to the inner path forming member 31.

[0035] Fig. 7 is a view corresponding to the AA cross section in Fig. 3, and corresponds to a view in which the protrusion 35 and the guide member 33 are cut along a plane perpendicular to the guide member 33 shown by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 4. Note that in Fig. 7 and Figs. 8 and 9 to be used later, the guide member 33 is shown in a state before deformation as shown by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 4. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7, a plurality of protrusions 35 are provided in the document width direction, specifically, two are provided. In Fig. 7, the symbol CL indicates the center position of the document P in the document width direction. The protrusions 35 and the guide member 33 are disposed at positions that sandwich the center position CL in the document width direction and are equidistant from the center position CL. The first driven roller 15 is disposed at the center position CL. Therefore, the protrusions 35 and the guide member 33 are disposed at positions that sandwich the first driven roller 15 in the document width direction and are equidistant from the center position CL.

[0036] As described above, the document transport device 10 includes at least one guide member 33 that guides the document P in the curved path Tr, the guide member 33 being flexible. One end of the guide member 33 is a fixed end 33a provided on the outer path forming member 30, and the other end of the guide member 33 is a free end 33b located downstream of the fixed end 33a in the document transport direction. Such a guide member 33 can prevent the entire rear end of the document P, i.e., the entire width direction, from strongly contacting the outer path forming member 30 when the rear end of the document P passes through the rear ends of the first roller pair 12, thereby suppressing contact noise caused by the rear end of the document P strongly contacting the outer path forming member 30. Here, if the guide member 33 presses the document P too hard toward the inner path forming member 31, the document P may be deformed in a wavy manner along the width direction, which may prevent the document P from smoothly curving along the curved path Tr. However, the inner path forming member 31 has a convex portion 35 that protrudes toward the guide member 33 at a position opposite the guide member 33, and therefore the guide member 33 can be prevented from pressing the document P too hard toward the inner path forming member 31, and the document P can be appropriately curved along the curved path Tr.

[0037] In addition, the inner path forming member 31 is provided with a first driven roller 15, a roller whose portion protrudes from the inner path forming member 31 toward the outer path forming member 30 and which is capable of rotating in a driven manner, and since a portion of the convex portion 35 overlaps with a portion of the first driven roller 15 when viewed in the width direction, it is possible to prevent the document P from coming into strong contact with the convex portion 35, and thus it is possible to prevent an increase in the transport load.

[0038] Furthermore, when viewed in the width direction, the first driven roller 15 protrudes toward the outer path forming member 30 further than the convex portion 35. This makes it possible to more reliably prevent the document P from coming into strong contact with the convex portion 35, and therefore makes it possible to more reliably prevent an increase in the transport load. 7 is a line passing through the top of the first driven roller 15 in Fig. 7, and the protrusion 35 does not protrude beyond the broken line Sb toward the guide member 33. However, the top of the protrusion 35 may be located at the position of the broken line Sb. Furthermore, the guide member 33 is not located on the protrusion 35 side of the dashed line Sb. However, the surface of the guide member 33 that faces the protrusion 35 may be located at the position of the dashed line Sb, or the surface may be located on the protrusion 35 side of the dashed line Sb.

[0039] In this embodiment, two guide members 33 are provided along the width direction, and the first driven roller 15 is provided between the two guide members 33 in the width direction. This makes it easier to stabilize the posture of the document P. 8, the guide member 33 may be disposed at a position facing the first driven roller 15. This further stabilizes the posture of the document P. In this case, by bringing at least the guide member 33 facing the first driven roller 15 into contact with the first driven roller 15, the posture of the document P is further stabilized.

[0040] 9, the convex portion facing the guide member 33 may be formed of a second driven roller 36 that is rotatable by the guide member 33. This makes it possible to suppress the transport load caused by the document P pressing against the convex portion facing the guide member 33. In this case, by making the height at which the first driven roller 15 protrudes toward the outer path forming member 30 equal to the height at which the second driven roller 36 protrudes toward the outer path forming member 30, it is possible to suppress the document P from deforming in a wavy manner along the width direction.

[0041] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and it goes without saying that these modifications are also included in the scope of the present invention. In particular, in the above embodiment, the guide member 33 and the convex portion 35 are applied to the document transport device 10 of the scanner 1, which is an example of an image reading device and is a device that transports a document P, which is an example of a medium, but they may also be applied to a medium transport device that transports a medium in the printer body 101. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1...scanner, 2...scanner body, 3...original placement section, 4...oscillating member, 5...feed roller, 6...feed roller pair, 7...feed roller, 8...separation roller, 10...original transport device, 12...first roller pair, 13...first transport roller, 14...first opposing roller, 15...first driven roller, 20...second roller pair, 21...second transport roller, 22...second opposing roller, 25...third roller pair, 26...third transport roller, 27...third opposing roller, 28...output tray, 30...outer Side path forming member, 30a...opening, 31...inner path forming member, 32...engagement protrusion, 32a...guide surface, 32b...regulating surface, 33...guide member, 33a...fixed end, 33b...free end, 33c...engagement hole, 35...protrusion, 36...second driven roller, 40...first reading unit, 41...original platen glass, 42...guide glass, 43...second reading unit, 100...inkjet printer, 101...printer body, 102...operation panel, 103...media storage cassette, T...original transport path, Tr...curved path

Claims

1. A medium transport device having a medium transport path that transports a medium in a transport direction, a first roller pair for transporting the medium; a second roller pair provided downstream of the first roller pair in the transport direction and configured to transport the medium; a curved path that is a path portion of the medium transport path from the first roller pair to the second roller pair, the curved path being a curved path; an outer path forming member that forms an outer side of the curved path; An inner path forming member that forms an inner side of the curved path; at least one guide member for guiding the medium along the curved path, the guide member being flexible; Equipped with one end of the guide member is a fixed end provided to the outer path forming member, and the other end of the guide member is a free end located downstream of the fixed end in the conveying direction, The inner path forming member has a protrusion protruding toward the guide member at a position facing the guide member. A medium transport device comprising:

2. 2. The medium transport device according to claim 1, In the curved path, the inner path forming member is provided with a first driven roller that is a roller that partially protrudes from the inner path forming member toward the outer path forming member and is rotatable by the first driven roller, When viewed from a width direction intersecting the transport direction, a portion of the protrusion overlaps with a portion of the first driven roller. A medium transport device comprising:

3. 3. The medium transport device according to claim 2, When viewed from the width direction, the first driven roller protrudes toward the outer path forming member beyond the convex portion. A medium transport device comprising:

4. 3. The medium transport device according to claim 2, The guide members are provided in pairs along a width direction intersecting with the conveying direction, The first driven roller is provided between the two guide members in the width direction. A medium transport device comprising:

5. 2. The medium transport device according to claim 1, The guide member has an engagement hole, The outer passage forming member has an engagement protrusion that engages with the engagement hole. A medium transport device comprising:

6. 6. The medium transport device according to claim 5, The engagement projection is a guide surface that guides the guide member in an engagement direction in which the engagement hole engages with the engagement projection; a restricting surface that restricts movement of the guide member in a direction opposite to the engagement direction when the engagement hole is engaged with the engagement projection; having A medium transport device comprising:

7. 2. The medium transport device according to claim 1, The convex portion is constituted by a second driven roller which is rotatable by the roller. A medium transport device comprising:

8. The medium transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 7; a reading unit that reads the medium transported by the medium transport device; An image reading device comprising:

Images