Feed tray and image recording device with the same

Abstract

To prevent a roll medium unrolled from a roll body from coming into contact with a member in an enclosure when a feed tray is inserted into the enclosure.SOLUTION: A feed tray has: a first housing part 11a in which a roll body R can be housed; a carrier guide 21 which defines a carrying path for roll paper P1a unrolled from the roll body R; and a shutter 22 which can move between a shield position located in the carrying path and a retreat position where the shutter 22 is moved away from the carrying path than at the shield position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a feed tray capable of accommodating a roll body and an image recording apparatus equipped with the same. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known an image recording device that includes a tray that can accommodate a roll of sheet-like media such as paper, cloth, labels, etc. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a roll paper feeding device (image recording device) that includes a paper feed tray (feed tray) that accommodates roll paper (roll), a housing that detachably holds the paper feed tray, and a drive roller (feed roller) that feeds the roll paper accommodated in the paper feed tray to an image forming unit (recording unit). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 09-263348 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the configuration of Patent Document 1, a roll medium, which is a sheet-like medium unwound from a roll housed in a feed tray, is fed by the feed tray. Generally, the feed tray is inserted into a housing with a predetermined length of roll medium unwound from the roll. Because the length of the roll medium to be unwound is determined arbitrarily by the operator, the unwound roll medium may end up being too long. In this case, when the feed tray is inserted into the housing, the leading edge of the unwound roll medium may come into contact with components inside the housing, potentially causing a jam.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a feed tray and an image recording device that can prevent roll media unwound from a roll body from coming into contact with components inside the housing when the feed tray is inserted into the housing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In a first aspect, the feed tray of the present invention is a feed tray that can be inserted into and removed from the housing of an image recording device, and comprises: a first storage section that can store a roll of long sheet-like medium; a transport guide that defines a transport path for the roll medium, which is sheet-like medium unwound from the roll stored in the first storage section; and a shutter that can move between a shielding position located within the transport path and a retracted position that is retracted from the transport path further than the shielding position, and the shutter can move to the retracted position in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray into the housing, is rotatably supported by the transport guide, and can move between the shielding position and the retracted position by rotating, and further comprises a second storage section that can store multiple stacks of cut medium, which is sheet-like medium shorter than the long sheet-like medium, and the transport guide supports the shutter and is detachable. In a second aspect, a feed tray according to the present invention is a feed tray that can be inserted into or removed from a housing of an image recording device, and includes: a first storage section that can store a roll of long sheet-like medium; a transport guide that defines a transport path for the roll medium, which is the sheet-like medium unwound from the roll stored in the first storage section; and a shutter that can move between a blocking position located in the transport path and a retracted position that is retracted from the blocking position and away from the transport path, wherein the shutter can move to the retracted position in conjunction with insertion of the feed tray into the housing, and the transport guide moves along a direction in which the feed tray is inserted into or removed from the housing. The shutter includes a first member and a second member extending from each other, and the transport path for the roll medium is formed between the first member and the second member. The shutter is rotatably supported on the first member so that the axial direction of the roll body stored in the first storage section is the direction of the rotation axis, and can move between the shielding position and the retracted position by rotating around the rotation axis. The shutter is positioned at the shielding position when it abuts the second member, and the second member is located above the first member. The upper surface of the second member can store multiple stacked pieces of cut medium, which are sheet mediums shorter than the long sheet medium.

[0007] In a first aspect, the image recording device of the present invention comprises a housing, a feed tray that is insertable and removable from the housing and includes a first storage section that can store a roll of long sheet-like medium wound in a roll, a transport guide that defines a transport path for the roll medium, which is the sheet-like medium unwound from the roll medium stored in the first storage section, and a shutter that can move between a shielding position located within the transport path and a retracted position that is retracted from the transport path further than the shielding position, a feed roller that applies a transport force to the roll medium to feed the roll medium from the feed tray, and a recording section that records an image on the roll medium fed by the feed roller, and at least one shutter is arranged on each side of the feed roller in the axial direction of the roll medium stored in the first storage section. In a second aspect, an image recording device of the present invention comprises a housing; a feed tray insertable and removable from the housing, the feed tray including a first storage section capable of storing a roll of long sheet medium wound in a roll, a transport guide defining a transport path for the roll medium, which is the sheet medium unwound from the roll stored in the first storage section, and a shutter movable between a blocking position located within the transport path and a retracted position retracted from the blocking position and away from the transport path; a feed roller that applies a transport force to the roll medium to feed the roll medium from the feed tray; and a recording section that records an image on the roll medium fed by the feed roller. the feed tray is insertable into and removable from the housing along an insertion / removal direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the roll body accommodated in the first accommodation section, and convex portions extending in the axial direction are formed on both ends of the shutter in the axial direction, and the housing has inclined surfaces inclined upward in the direction of inserting the feed tray into the housing at positions corresponding to the convex portions in the axial direction, and the shutter is rotatably supported by the transport guide so that its rotation axis is in the axial direction, and the convex portions move along the inclined surfaces in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray into the housing, thereby rotating around the rotation axis and being able to move to the retracted position. In a third aspect, an image recording apparatus of the present invention comprises a housing; a feed tray insertable into and removable from the housing, the feed tray including a first storage section capable of storing a roll of long sheet medium wound in a roll, a transport guide defining a transport path for the roll medium, which is the sheet medium unwound from the roll stored in the first storage section, and a shutter movable between a blocking position located in the transport path and a retracted position retracted from the blocking position and away from the transport path; a feed roller that applies a transport force to the roll medium to feed the roll medium from the feed tray; and a recording section that records an image on the roll medium fed by the feed roller, A protrusion portion is formed extending in the insertion / removal direction relative to the housing, the transport guide includes a first member and a second member extending along the insertion / removal direction, the transport path for the roll medium is formed between the first member and the second member, the shutter is rotatably supported on the first member so that the axial direction of the roll body stored in the first storage section is the direction of the rotation axis, the first portion of the shutter abuts the second member to reach the shielding position, and in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray into the housing, the second portion of the shutter, which is on the opposite side of the first portion with respect to the rotation axis, is pushed by the protrusion portion, thereby rotating around the rotation axis and being able to move to the retracted position. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the feed tray and image recording device of the present invention, by setting the shutter to the blocking position, it is possible to prevent the roll medium unwound from the roll and guided to the transport path from becoming too long. Therefore, when the feed tray is inserted into the housing of the image recording device, it is possible to prevent the roll medium unwound from the roll from coming into contact with components inside the housing. Furthermore, by setting the shutter to the retracted position, it is possible to transport the roll medium along the transport path. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]1 is a schematic side view showing the internal structure of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a perspective view of the feed tray shown in FIG. 1 when the shutter is in a blocking position. FIG. [Figure 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view of the feeding tray taken along line III-III shown in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a perspective view of the feed tray shown in FIG. 1 when the shutter is in the retracted position. FIG. [Figure 5] 5 is a cross-sectional view of the feeding tray taken along line VV shown in FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an attachment unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view of the feed tray when the attachment is removed. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a partial side view of the feed tray when the shutter is in the blocking position. [Figure 9] 10 is a partial side view of the feed tray when the shutter moves to a retracted position in conjunction with insertion of the feed tray into the housing. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view of a feed tray according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a top view of a feeding tray according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a partial side view of the feed tray of the second embodiment when the shutter is at the blocking position. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a partial side view of the feed tray of the second embodiment when the shutter is at the retracted position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] (First embodiment) A printer 100 (image recording apparatus of the present invention) according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. The up-down, front-rear, and left-right directions shown in Fig. 1 are the up-down, front-rear, and left-right directions of the printer 100.

[0011] (Overall configuration of the printer 100) 1, the printer 100 includes a housing 100a, a feed tray 11, a feed roller 2, a separation piece 41, a pair of transport rollers 3a, a pair of discharge rollers 3b, a cutter mechanism 4, a head 5 (a recording unit of the present invention), a discharge tray 6, a pair of intermediate rollers 9, and a control unit 10. The discharge tray 6 can be inserted into and removed from the housing 100a in the front-to-rear direction through an opening 102 formed in the front wall of the housing 100a.

[0012] The feed tray 11 can be inserted into and removed from the bottom of the housing 100a. The feed tray 11 has a first storage section 11a that can store a roll R of long paper P1 (long sheet-like medium of the present invention) wound into a roll, and a second storage section 11b that can store cut sheets P2, which are shorter than the long paper P1, stacked vertically. The cut sheets P2 are paper cut to a standard size, and in this embodiment, they are rectangular A4-sized sheets consisting of short and long sides. The cut sheets Kp are stored in the second storage section 11b so that their short sides are aligned with the transport direction described below. The width directions of the roll paper P1a (roll medium of the present invention) and the cut sheets P2 unwound from the roll R in the feed tray 11 coincide with the left-right direction. The detailed configuration of the feed tray 11 will be described later.

[0013] The feed roller 2 feeds out the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R stored in the first storage section 11a or the cut paper P2 stored in the second storage section 11b from the feed tray 11. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the roll paper P1a and the cut paper P2, they will be referred to as "paper P." The feed roller 2 is axially supported at the tip of an arm 2a and rotates when driven by a feed motor (not shown). The arm 2a is rotatably supported on a support shaft 2b. The arm 2a is biased by a biasing member (not shown) so that the feed roller 2 approaches the bottom surface of the feed tray 11. When the feed motor is driven under the control of the control unit 10, the feed roller 2 rotates, and a conveying force is applied from the front to the rear to the paper P in contact with the feed roller 2. This feeds the paper P from the feed tray 11. The arm 2a is configured to be able to retract upward when the feed tray 11 is attached to or detached from the housing 100a.

[0014] The separation piece 41 is intended to prevent double feeding when the cut sheet P2 is fed from the feed tray 11. The separation piece 41 is located downstream of the feed tray 11 in the direction in which the feed roller 2 transports the sheet P (from front to rear, hereinafter simply referred to as the "transport direction"). The separation piece 41 is inclined so that the rear end is positioned higher than the front end. A fine uneven pattern is formed on the surface of the separation piece 41. The separation piece 41 comes into contact with the center of the width of the cut sheet P2, and separates the cut sheet P2 that is in contact with the feed roller 2 from the other cut sheets P2. The sheet P that is fed from the feed tray 11 and comes into contact with the separation piece 41 is guided diagonally upward.

[0015] The conveying roller pair 3a is composed of a drive roller that rotates when driven by a conveying motor (not shown), and a driven roller that rotates along with the drive roller. The paper discharge roller pair 3b is composed of a drive roller that rotates when driven by a paper discharge motor (not shown), and a driven roller that rotates along with the drive roller. When the conveying motor and paper discharge motor (not shown) are driven under the control of the control unit 10, the conveying roller pair 3a and the paper discharge roller pair 3b rotate while sandwiching the paper P to convey the paper P. The conveying roller pair 3a is located behind the head 5, and the paper discharge roller pair 3b is located in front of the head 5. The conveying roller pair 3a sandwiches the paper P and conveys it forward. The paper discharge roller pair 3b sandwiches the paper P that is conveyed forward by the conveying roller pair 3a and conveys it forward.

[0016] The cutter mechanism 4 is located downstream in the conveying direction from the separation piece 41. The cutter mechanism 4 includes a cutter 4a consisting of, for example, a disk-shaped rotary blade and a driven blade, and a cutting motor (not shown) that drives the rotary blade of the cutter 4a back and forth in the left and right direction. The roll paper P1a that has been unwound from the roll R and conveyed along the conveying path is cut widthwise by the rotary blade of the cutter 4a when the cutting motor is driven under the control of the control unit 10.

[0017] The intermediate roller pair 9 is located downstream of the cutter mechanism 4 in the conveying direction and upstream of the conveying roller pair 3a in the conveying direction. The intermediate roller pair 9 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 (not shown) is driven under the control of the control unit 10, the intermediate roller pair 9 rotates while sandwiching the paper P to convey the paper P. The intermediate roller pair 9 is located above a conveying guide 21 of the feed tray 11, which will be described later. The intermediate roller pair 9 sandwiches and conveys the paper P upward, after the paper P has been sent out of the feed tray 11 by the feed roller 2 and is guided diagonally upward by the conveying guide 21.

[0018] The head 5 includes a plurality of nozzles (not shown) formed on its underside and a driver IC (not shown). When the driver IC is driven under the control of the control unit 10, ink is ejected from the nozzles, and an image is recorded on the paper P when the paper P, transported by the feed roller 2, the pair of intermediate rollers 9, and the pair of transport rollers 3a, passes an image recording position facing the underside of the head 5. The head 5 may be either a line type that ejects ink from the nozzles while remaining fixed in position, or a serial type that ejects ink from the nozzles while moving left and right. The paper P on which the image has been formed by the head 5 is received in the paper output tray 6.

[0019] The control unit 10 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 10 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), and RAM (Random Access Memory). The ROM stores programs and data for the CPU to perform various controls. The RAM temporarily stores data used when the CPU executes programs.

[0020] (Configuration of feed tray 11) Next, the configuration of the feed tray 11 will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 9. In the following description, the direction of each part of the feed tray 11 will be described based on the orientation of the feed tray 11 when attached to the housing 100a. The feed tray 11 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above. The feed tray 11 has a bottom wall 31 and side walls 32 to 35 provided on the edges of the bottom wall 31, and is formed in a box shape that is open upward.

[0021] As shown in Figures 3 and 5, the bottom wall 31 extends in a plane perpendicular to the up-down direction. The upper surface of the bottom wall 31 forms the bottom surface 31a of the feed tray 11. The side walls 32, 33 extend upward from both left and right edge portions of the bottom wall 31. The side walls 32, 33 also extend in the front-to-rear direction from the front end to the rear end of the bottom wall 31. The side wall 34 extends upward from the front edge of the bottom wall 31. Furthermore, the side wall 34 also extends in the left-to-right direction from the right end to the left end of the bottom wall 31.

[0022] Four side walls 35 are provided on the rear edge of the bottom wall 31. Only the two inner ones are shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. Each side wall 35 is connected to the rear end of the bottom wall 31a and has a guide surface 35a that is inclined so that its upper end is located rearward of its lower end. The four side walls 35 are spaced apart in the left-right direction. When the feed tray 11 is attached to the housing 100a, a separation piece 41 is located between the two innermost side walls 35 of the four side walls 35 lined up in the left-right direction. When the attachment unit 20 (described later) is detached from the feed tray 11, the guide surface 35a of each side wall 35, together with the separation piece 41, guides the cut sheet P2, which is transported rearward by the feed roller 2, diagonally upward.

[0023] As described above, the feed tray 11 is provided with a first storage section 11a capable of storing the roll R and a second storage section 11b capable of storing cut sheets P2 stacked vertically. The first storage section 11a and the second storage section 11b are aligned in the conveyance direction. The second storage section 11b is located downstream of the first storage section 11a in the conveyance direction.

[0024] The first storage section 11a stores the roll R in a position where its axial direction coincides with the left-right direction. As shown in Fig. 3, the first storage section 11a has a cylindrical core member Rc, a support base 13 that supports the roll R, two rollers 14 and 15, and a roll cover 16. The roll R is formed by winding a long sheet of paper P1 in a roll shape around the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical core member Rc. The roll R is positioned so that its axial direction (perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Fig. 1) along its rotation axis Rx (the central axis of the core member Rc) is parallel to the left-right direction.

[0025] The support base 13 extends in the left-right direction. The rollers 14 and 15 also extend in the left-right direction and are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction. The rollers 14 and 15 are supported on the upper end of the support base 13 so as to be rotatable around rotation axes that also extend in the left-right direction. The rollers 14 and 15 support the roll R from below while in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion of the roll R.

[0026] A gap G is formed between the underside of the support base 13 and the bottom surface 31a of the feed tray 11. When the roll paper P1a is set on the feed tray 11, the roll R supported by the support base 13 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 3, and the roll paper P1a is unwound from the front portion of the roll R. Then, the unwound roll paper P1a from the roll R passes through the gap G and is pulled out from the front side of the support base 13 to the rear side of the support base 13.

[0027] The roll cover 16 is a member that covers the roll R stored in the first storage section 11a. The roll cover 16 extends in the left-right direction and is formed longer than the width of the support base 13 and the rollers 14 and 15. The roll cover 16 is also positioned so that it can come into close proximity with the outer circumferential surface of the largest roll R that can be stored in the first storage section 11a. This allows the outer circumferential surface of the roll R to come into contact with the inner surface of the roll cover 16, preventing the outer diameter from increasing even if the roll R loosens. The roll cover 16 may be detachable from the feed tray 11 and may be rotatable around a rotation shaft extending in the left-right direction at its lower end. If the roll cover 16 is rotatable around the rotation shaft at its lower end, the storage space for the roll R above the support base 13 can be exposed by rotating it rearward around the rotation shaft.

[0028] The second storage section 11b stores the cut sheet P2 in a position where its width direction coincides with the left-right direction. In this embodiment, the second storage section 11b is the portion of the bottom surface 31a of the feed tray 11 rearward of the first storage section 11a and the portion above it. The portion of the bottom surface 31a rearward of the first storage section 11a supports from below the multiple cut sheets P2 that are placed in a stack. In this embodiment, when storing the cut sheet P2 in the second storage section 11b, the attachment section 20 (described below) is removed from the feed tray 11, as shown in FIG. 7. When the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R stored in the first storage section 11a is fed out of the feed tray 11 for image recording, the cut sheet P2 is removed from the second storage section 11b.

[0029] The feed tray 11 further has an attachment unit 20. The attachment unit 20 is attached to the front side of the side wall 35 and is configured to be detachable from the feed tray 11. The attachment unit 20 includes a conveying guide 21 and a shutter 22. Note that the shutter 22 is not shown in FIG. 1.

[0030] The transport guide 21 defines part of the transport path for the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R stored in the first storage section 11a. As shown in Figures 3 and 5, the transport guide 21 has a lower guide 21a that supports the unwound roll paper P1a from below, and an upper guide 21b that supports the unwound roll paper P1a from above. The transport path for the roll paper P1a is formed between the lower guide 21a and the upper guide 21b.

[0031] The lower guide 21a and the upper guide 21b extend in the left-right direction. When viewed from the left-right direction, the lower guide 21a and the upper guide 21b are formed along a curve. When the feed tray 11 is attached to the housing 100a, one lower guide 21a and one upper guide 21b are disposed on each side of the feed roller 2 in the left-right direction.

[0032] The two lower guides 21a are provided on the front side of the guide surfaces 35a of the two right side walls 35 of the four side walls 35, and on the front side of the guide surfaces 35a of the two left side walls 35. The lower guides 21a are provided along the bottom wall 31a and the guide surfaces 35a from above the rear end portion of the bottom wall 31 to the front side of the upper end portions of the side walls 35. The lower guides 21a are formed so as to be positioned higher from the front to the rear.

[0033] The two upper guides 21b are located on the opposite side of the two lower guides 21a, sandwiching the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R. When viewed from the left and right, the upper guides 21b are formed so that their front ends are higher than their center portions and their rear ends are higher than their front ends and center portions. Furthermore, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, an opening 21b2 is formed in the center of each upper guide 21b in a direction that intersects with the extension direction of the upper guide 21b. The tip 22b of the shutter 22, which will be described later, can be inserted into the opening 21b2.

[0034] The lower guide 21a and the upper guide 21b are spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the left-right direction. The distance between the lower guide 21a and the upper guide 21b in the direction perpendicular to the left-right direction becomes narrower from front to rear.

[0035] In this embodiment, the transport path of the roll paper P1a is defined by the feed roller 2, transport guide 21, intermediate roller pair 9, transport roller pair 3a, and discharge roller pair 3b. As described above, when the cut paper P2 is stored in the second storage section 11b, the attachment section 20 is removed from the feed tray 11. Therefore, in this embodiment, the transport path of the cut paper P2 is defined by the feed roller 2, guide surface 35a and separation piece 41 of the side wall 35, intermediate roller pair 9, transport roller pair 3a, and discharge roller pair 3b.

[0036] The shutters 22 are arranged one on each side of the feed roller 2 in the left-right direction. Each of the two shutters 22 includes an arm portion 22a formed on the front side of the upper guide 21b and a tip portion 22b provided at the tip of the arm portion 22a. The arm portion 22a is formed along the upper portion of the upper guide 21b. The rear end of the arm portion 22a is rotatably supported on the upper end portion of the upper guide 21b by a rotation shaft 24 whose axial direction is in the left-right direction. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a protrusion 25 extending leftward in the left-right direction is formed at the left end of the left arm portion 22a, and a protrusion 25 extending rightward in the left-right direction is formed at the right end of the right arm portion 22a.

[0037] Tip portion 22b extends from the tip of arm portion 22a in a direction intersecting the conveying path defined by conveying guide 21. A part of tip portion 22b passes through opening 21b2 formed in upper guide 21b and is positioned within the conveying path defined by conveying guide 21.

[0038] The shutter 22 rotates about the rotation shaft 24, thereby moving between a blocking position (see FIGS. 2 and 3) located within the transport path defined by the transport guide 21 and a retracted position (see FIGS. 4 and 5) retracted from the transport path further than the blocking position. In this embodiment, the leading edge 22b of the shutter 22 in the retracted position is located forward and above the leading edge 22b of the shutter 22 in the blocking position. When the shutter 22 is in the blocking position, as shown in FIG. 3, the leading edge 22b penetrates the transport path defined by the transport guide 21. When the shutter 22 is in the blocking position, the shutter 22 is located downstream in the transport direction from directly below the feed roller 2, which is the position where the feed roller 2 feeds the roll paper P1a. When the shutter 22 is in the retracted position, as shown in FIG. 5, the leading edge of the leading edge 22b is retracted outside the transport path. When the shutter 22 is in the retracted position, the roll paper P1a fed by the feed roller 2 passes through a conveyance path defined by the conveyance guide 21 and is guided to the cutter mechanism 4.

[0039] The shutter 22 can move to the blocking position in conjunction with the removal of the feed tray 11 from the housing 100a, and can move to the retracted position in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray 11 into the housing 100a. Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0040] As described above, the arm portion 22a of the shutter 22 is formed with the protrusion 25. Furthermore, the housing 100a is formed with the protrusion 51 extending in the front-to-rear direction at a position corresponding to the protrusion 25 in the up-down and left-to-right directions. The front end of the protrusion 51 has an inclined surface 51a that slopes upward from the front to the rear.

[0041] When the feed tray 11 is inserted into the housing 100a, the convex portion 25 moves from the front to the rear along the inclined surface 51a, and the convex portion 25 rides on the protruding portion 51. As a result, in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray 11 into the housing 100a, the shutter 22 rotates about the rotation shaft 24 and moves to the retracted position. Also, when the feed tray 11 is removed from the housing 100a, the convex portion 25 moves from the rear to the front along the inclined surface 51a, and the convex portion 25 moves down from the protruding portion 51. As a result, in conjunction with the removal of the feed tray 11 from the housing 100a, the shutter 22 rotates about the rotation shaft 24 and moves to the blocking position.

[0042] As described above, the feed tray 11 of the first embodiment includes the first storage section 11a that can store the roll R, the transport guide 21 that defines the transport path for the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R, and the shutter 22 that can move between a blocking position within the transport path and a retracted position that is further retracted from the blocking position and away from the transport path. The printer 100 of the first embodiment also includes the housing 100a, the feed tray 11, the feed roller 2, and the head 5. By setting the shutter 22 to the blocking position, the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R and guided to the transport path can be prevented from becoming too long. Therefore, when the feed tray 11 is inserted into the housing 100a of the printer 100, the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R can be prevented from coming into contact with components inside the housing 100a. Setting the shutter 22 to the retracted position allows the roll paper P1a to be transported along the transport path.

[0043] Furthermore, in the supply tray 11 of the first embodiment, when in the shielding position, the shutter 22 penetrates the transport path defined by the transport guide 21. This prevents the roll paper P1a, which is unwound from the roll R and guided to the transport path, from going downstream of the shutter 22 in the transport direction along the transport path.

[0044] Furthermore, in the feed tray 11 of the first embodiment, the leading end of the leading end portion 22b of the shutter 22 is retracted outside the transport path when in the retracted position. This prevents the roll paper P1a, which is unwound from the roll R and guided to the transport path, from coming into contact with the shutter 22 during transport of the roll paper P1a.

[0045] Furthermore, in the feed tray 11 of the first embodiment, the shutter 22 can be moved to the blocking position in conjunction with the removal of the feed tray 11 from the housing 100a. This is less time-consuming than a configuration in which the shutter 22 is manually moved to the blocking position when the feed tray 11 is removed from the housing 100a, and it is possible to prevent forgetting to move the shutter 22 to the blocking position. This more reliably prevents the roll paper P1a guided to the transport path from becoming too long, and more reliably prevents the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R from coming into contact with components inside the housing 100a when the feed tray 11 is removed from the housing 100a and then reinserted into the housing 100a.

[0046] In addition, in the feed tray 11 of the first embodiment, the shutter 22 can move to a retracted position in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray 11 into the housing 100a. In addition, in the feed tray 11 of the first embodiment, the shutter 22 is rotatably supported on the conveying guide 21 by the rotation shaft 24, and can move between the blocking position and the retracted position by rotating around the rotation shaft 24.

[0047] More specifically, in the printer 100 of the first embodiment, the feed tray 11 can be inserted into and removed from the housing 100a along an insertion / removal direction (front-rear direction) perpendicular to the axial direction (left-right direction) of the roll R stored in the first storage section 11a. Protrusions 25 extending in the left-right direction are formed on both left-right ends of the shutter 22, and the housing 100a has inclined surfaces 51a that slope upward in the direction in which the feed tray is inserted into the housing (from front to rear) at positions corresponding to the protrusions 25 in the left-right direction. The shutter 22 is rotatably supported by the conveyance guide 21 so that the rotation axis 24 is oriented left-right. When the feed tray 11 is inserted into the housing 100a, the protrusions 25 move along the inclined surfaces 51a, allowing the shutter 22 to rotate around the rotation axis 24 and move to the retracted position.

[0048] This is less time-consuming than manually moving the shutter 22 to the retracted position before inserting the feed tray 11 into the housing 100a, and it also helps prevent forgetting to move the shutter 22 to the retracted position. This prevents jams caused by the roll paper P1a coming into contact with the shutter 22 during transport operations in the printer 100. Furthermore, because the shutter 22 rotates, it is easy to move the shutter 22 between the closed position and the retracted position.

[0049] Furthermore, the feed tray 11 of the first embodiment further includes a second storage section 11b that can store a plurality of stacked cut sheets P2, and the transport guide 21 supports the shutter 22 and is detachable from the feed tray 11. When transporting the cut sheets P2 stored in the second storage section 11b, the transport guide 21 and the shutter 22 supported by the transport guide 21 are unnecessary. In particular, when a large number of cut sheets P2 are stored in the second storage section 11b, the transport guide 21 and the shutter 22 may obstruct the transport of the cut sheets P2. Therefore, in the first embodiment, the transport guide 21 is detachable from the feed tray 11. This ensures reliable transport even when a large number of cut sheets P2 are stored in the feed tray 11, which is configured to store both the roll R and the cut sheets P2, while preventing the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R from coming into contact with components inside the housing 100a when the feed tray 11 is inserted into the housing 100a.

[0050] Furthermore, in the printer 100 of the first embodiment, one shutter 22 is arranged on each side of the feed roller 2 in the axial direction (left-right direction) of the roll R stored in the first storage section 11a. If a shutter 22 is arranged on only one side of the feed roller 2 in the left-right direction, the shutter 22 arranged on one side of the feed roller 2 prevents the roll paper P1a, which is unwound from the roll R and guided to the transport path, from becoming too long. This could result in the unwound roll paper P1a being tilted obliquely relative to the transport direction. In this case, the feed roller 2 would not properly transport the roll paper P1a after the shutter 22 is moved to the retracted position. The first embodiment solves this problem.

[0051] Furthermore, in the printer 100 of the first embodiment, when the shutter 22 is in the blocking position, it is located downstream in the transport direction from the position where the feed roller 2 feeds the roll paper P1a. This allows the roll paper P1a to be reliably unwound to the position where the feed roller 2 feeds.

[0052] Next, the configuration of the feed tray 111 according to the second embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 10 to 13. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted. The printer according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as the printer 100 according to the first embodiment, except that it includes a feed tray 11 instead of the feed tray 11 and includes a protrusion 151 (described below) instead of the protrusion 51.

[0053] The feed tray 111 includes a first storage section 111a that can store the roll R, and a transport guide 121 that defines a transport path for the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R. The transport guide 121 includes a first member 121a and a second member 121b that extend in the direction in which the feed tray 111 is inserted into or removed from the housing 100a, i.e., along the front-to-rear direction.

[0054] The first member 121a supports from below the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R stored in the first storage section 111a. The second member 121b is located above the first member 121a. As shown in FIG. 11, a notch 121b2 is formed in the rear end of the second member 121b, in the center in the left-right direction. A transport path for the roll paper P1a is formed between the first member 121a and the second member 121b. The roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R is sent downstream in the transport direction along the transport path, and when it comes into contact with the feed roller 2 at the part of the second member 121b where the notch 121b2 is formed, it is fed further downstream in the transport direction.

[0055] In the second embodiment, a plurality of cut sheets P2 can be placed in a stack on the upper surface of the second member 121b, thereby allowing the feed tray 111 to store a plurality of cut sheets P2.

[0056] The feed tray 111 further includes a shutter 122 that is movable between a blocking position located within the transport path defined by the transport guide 121 and a retracted position retracted from the blocking position to the transport path. The shutter 122 includes a first portion 122a and a second portion 122b. The shutter 122 is rotatably supported by a first member 121a so that a rotation axis Rs is oriented in the left-right direction. The shutter 122 is biased by a biasing member (not shown) to move to the blocking position shown in FIG. 12. Specifically, an elastic force that rotates the shutter 122 counterclockwise in FIG. 12 is applied to the shutter 122 from the biasing member. The biasing member is, for example, a spring.

[0057] 11, one shutter 122 is disposed on each side of the notch 121b in the left-right direction. In other words, one shutter 122 is disposed on each side of the feed roller 2 in the left-right direction. When the shutter 122 is in the blocking position, it is disposed downstream in the transport direction from the feed position of the roll paper P1a fed by the feed roller 2 (see FIGS. 12 and 13).

[0058] 10, the first portion 122a is located above the second portion 122b and on the opposite side of the rotation axis Rs from the second portion 122b. The shutter 122 rotates about the rotation axis Rs due to the elastic force applied by the biasing member, and the shutter 122 reaches the blocking position when the first portion 122a abuts against the second member 121b. That is, in the second embodiment, when the shutter 122 is in the blocking position, the first portion 122a is in linear contact with the lower surface of the second member 121b of the conveying guide 121. In other words, when the shutter 122 is in the blocking position, the first portion 122a penetrates the conveying path defined by the conveying guide 121.

[0059] In this embodiment, the shutter 122 can be moved to a retracted position in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray 111 into the housing 100a. The housing 100a of the printer according to the second embodiment has a protrusion 151 extending in the front-rear direction formed at a position corresponding to the second portion 122b of the shutter 122 in the up-down and left-right directions (see FIGS. 12 and 13).

[0060] When the feed tray 111 is inserted into the housing 100a, the second portion 122b is pressed by the protrusion 151, causing the shutter 122 to rotate clockwise about the rotation axis Rs against the elastic force of the biasing member. The first portion 122a retracts from the conveyance path in conjunction with the movement of the second portion 122b. As a result, the shutter 122 rotates about the rotation axis Rs and moves to the retracted position in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray 111 into the housing 100a. When the shutter 122 is in the retracted position, as shown in FIG. 13, the first portion 122a of the shutter 122 is retracted outside the conveyance path. In the second embodiment, when the shutter 122 is in the retracted position, the roll paper P1a fed by the feed roller 2 passes through the conveyance path defined by the conveyance guide 121 and reaches the guide surface 35a of the side wall 35, where it is guided to the cutter mechanism 4 by the guide surface 35a.

[0061] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the shutter 122 can move to the blocking position in conjunction with the removal of the feed tray 111 from the housing 100a. As described above, the shutter 122 is biased by a biasing member (not shown) so that, when viewed from the left and right, the shutter 122 is in a position where the first portion 122a abuts against the second member 121b (the position in FIG. 12), i.e., the blocking position. When the feed tray 111 is removed from the housing 100a, the protrusion 151 releases the second portion 122b from being pushed up, the shutter 122 rotates about the rotation axis Rs, and the first portion 122a returns to the position where it abuts against the second member 121b. As a result, in conjunction with the removal of the feed tray 111 from the housing 100a, the shutter 122 rotates about the rotation axis Rs and moves to the blocking position.

[0062] As described above, in the feed tray 111 of the second embodiment, the transport guide 121 includes a first member 121a and a second member 121b that extend along the insertion / removal direction (front-rear direction) of the feed tray 111 relative to the housing 100a, and a transport path for the roll paper P1a is formed between the first member 121a and the second member 121b. The shutter 122 is rotatably supported by the first member 121a so that the axial direction (left-right direction) of the roll R housed in the first housing portion 111a is the direction of the rotation axis Rs. The shutter 122 can move between a blocking position and a retracted position by rotating about the rotation axis Rs, and is positioned at the blocking position when the first portion 122a of the shutter 122 abuts against the second member 121b. This rotational movement of the shutter 122 facilitates movement of the shutter between the blocking position and the retracted position. Furthermore, the second member 121b of the transport guide 121 can be used to set the shutter 122 to the blocking position.

[0063] Furthermore, in the feed tray 111 of the second embodiment, the second member 121b is located above the first member 121a, and multiple stacks of cut paper P2 can be stored on the upper surface of the second member 121b. This prevents the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R from coming into contact with components inside the housing 100a when the feed tray 111 is configured to be able to store both the roll R and the cut paper P2.

[0064] Furthermore, in the printer of the second embodiment, a protrusion 151 is formed on the housing 100a, extending in the insertion / removal direction (front-to-back direction) of the feed tray 111 relative to the housing 100a. When the feed tray 111 is inserted into the housing 100a, the second portion 122b of the shutter 122 is pressed by the protrusion 151, causing the shutter 122 to rotate about the rotation axis Rs and move to the retracted position. This is less time-consuming than a configuration in which the shutter 122 is manually moved to the retracted position before inserting the feed tray 111 into the housing 100a, and it is possible to prevent forgetting to move the shutter 122 to the retracted position. This makes it possible to prevent jams caused by the roll paper P1a coming into contact with the shutter 122 during a transport operation of the printer.

[0065] (Variation) Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0066] In the above-described embodiment, the feed tray can accommodate both the roll R and the cut paper P2. However, the feed tray of the present invention may also be capable of accommodating only the roll R.

[0067] In the above embodiment, one shutter is arranged on each side of the feed roller 2 in the left-right direction. However, two or more shutters may be arranged on each side of the feed roller 2 in the left-right direction, or may be arranged on only one side of the feed roller, or the number of shutters arranged on each side may be different. However, it is preferable that at least one shutter is arranged on each side of the feed roller 2 in the left-right direction.

[0068] In the feed tray 11 in the first embodiment described above, when the feed tray 11 is attached to the housing 100a, two or more lower guides 21a and upper guides 21b may be arranged on each side of the feed roller 2 in the left-right direction, or one may be arranged on each side of the feed roller 2.

[0069] In the above embodiment, the shutter is rotatably supported by the transport guide, but it may be rotatably supported directly on the feed tray. Also, the shutter is not limited to a configuration that rotates around a rotation axis as long as it can move between the blocking position and the retracted position.

[0070] In the above embodiment, when the shutter is in the blocking position, the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R comes into contact with the shutter. However, the shutter does not have to completely block the transport path when in the blocking position, in which case the shutter in the blocking position and the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R do not have to come into contact.

[0071] In the above embodiment, the shutter can be moved to the blocking position in conjunction with the removal of the feed tray from the housing. However, the shutter may be configured to be moved to the blocking position manually. Also, in the above embodiment, the shutter can be moved to the retracted position in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray into the housing. However, the shutter may be configured to be moved to the retracted position manually.

[0072] In the above embodiment, when the shutter is in the retracted position, the leading edge of the shutter is retracted outside the transport path defined by the transport guide. However, when the shutter is in the retracted position, the leading edge of the shutter may remain within the transport path defined by the transport guide. In this case, the feed tray is configured so that roll paper P1a unwound from the roll R can pass through the transport path defined by the transport guide even if the leading edge of the shutter in the retracted position remains within the transport path.

[0073] In the above embodiment, the shutter penetrates the transport path when in the blocking position. However, the shutter does not have to penetrate the transport path when in the blocking position. For example, the shutter may be configured to abut against the inner surface of a transport guide that defines the transport path when in the blocking position.

[0074] In the first embodiment, the conveying guide 21 includes the lower guide 21a and the upper guide 21b. However, the lower guide 21a does not have to be included. In this case, a conveying path for the roll paper P1a is formed between the upper guide 21b and the guide surface 35a of the side wall 35. In other words, the conveying guide includes the upper guide 21b and the guide surface 35a.

[0075] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the shutter 22 is rotatably supported by the upper guide 21b. However, the shutter 22 does not have to be supported by the upper guide 21b; for example, the upper guide 21b and the shutter 22 may be integrally configured. For example, the upper guide may be formed with a shutter portion (corresponding to the shutter of the present invention) that extends toward the inside of the conveying path. In this case, the upper guide is rotatable about a rotation axis in the left-right direction, and the shutter portion moves between a blocking position and a retracted position as the upper guide rotates.

[0076] The image recording device according to the present invention can be applied to printers as well as multifunction peripherals and copiers. The printer can be an inkjet printer or a laser-type electrophotographic printer in which an electrostatic latent image is formed by exposing a photosensitive member to a laser, or an LED-type electrophotographic printer in which an electrostatic latent image is formed by exposing a photosensitive member to an LED. The sheet-like medium is not limited to paper, and can be any sheet-like medium such as cloth or a label. [Explanation of symbols]

[0077] 2 Feeding roller 5 head (recording unit) 11 Feeder tray 11a First storage section 11b Second storage section 20 Attachment part 21 Transport guide 21a Lower guide 21a2 Support surface 21b Upper Guide 21b2 opening 22 Shutter 22a Arm section 22b Tip 24 Rotation Axis 25 Convex part 51 Projection part 51a Slope 100 printers 100a housing 111 Feeder tray 111a First storage section 121 Transport guide 121a First member 121b Second member 122 Shutter 122a Part 1 122b Part 2 151 Projection part P paper P1 Long paper P1a roll paper P2 cut paper R roll body Rs rotation axis

Claims

1. A feed tray that can be inserted into and removed from a housing of an image recording device, a first storage section capable of storing a roll of a long sheet medium wound in a roll; a conveyance guide that defines a conveyance path for a roll medium, which is a sheet medium unwound from the roll body accommodated in the first accommodation section; a shutter that is movable between a blocking position located within the transport path and a retracted position that is retracted from the transport path further than the blocking position, The shutter is The feeding tray is movable to the retracted position in conjunction with insertion of the feeding tray into the housing, the conveying guide is rotatably supported, and is capable of moving between the shielding position and the retracted position by rotating; The sheet-like medium conveying device further includes a second storage section capable of storing a plurality of stacked cut media, which are shorter than the long sheet-like medium, in a stacked state. The feeding tray is characterized in that the transport guide supports the shutter and is detachable.

2. A feed tray that can be inserted into and removed from a housing of an image recording device, a first storage section capable of storing a roll of a long sheet medium wound in a roll; a conveyance guide that defines a conveyance path for a roll medium, which is a sheet medium unwound from the roll body accommodated in the first accommodation section; a shutter that is movable between a blocking position located within the transport path and a retracted position that is retracted from the transport path further than the blocking position, the shutter is movable to the retracted position in conjunction with insertion of the feed tray into the housing; the transport guide includes a first member and a second member extending along an insertion / removal direction of the feed tray relative to the housing, The transport path for the roll medium is formed between the first member and the second member, The shutter is the roll body accommodated in the first accommodation section is rotatably supported by the first member such that the axial direction of the roll body is the direction of a rotation axis, the shutter is movable between the shielding position and the retracted position by rotating around the rotation axis, and is positioned at the shielding position by abutting the shutter against the second member; A feed tray characterized in that the second member is located above the first member, and the upper surface of the second member can accommodate multiple stacked cut media, which are sheet media shorter than the long sheet media.

3. 3. The sheet tray according to claim 1, wherein the shutter penetrates the transport path when in the blocking position.

4. 4. The sheet tray according to claim 1, wherein, at the retracted position, the leading edge of the shutter is retracted to outside the transport path.

5. It is insertable into and removable from the housing of the image recording device, 5. The feed tray according to claim 1, wherein the shutter is movable to the blocking position in conjunction with removal of the feed tray from the housing.

6. The housing and a feed tray that can be inserted into and removed from the housing, the feed tray including: a first storage section that can store a roll of long sheet-like medium; a transport guide that defines a transport path for the roll medium, which is the sheet-like medium unwound from the roll stored in the first storage section; and a shutter that can move between a blocking position located within the transport path and a retracted position that is retracted from the transport path further than the blocking position; a feed roller that applies a conveying force to the roll medium to feed the roll medium from the feed tray; a recording unit that records an image on the roll medium fed by the feed roller, The image recording device is characterized in that at least one of the shutters is disposed on each side of the feed roller in the axial direction of the roll body accommodated in the first accommodation section.

7. The housing and a feed tray that can be inserted into and removed from the housing, the feed tray including: a first storage section that can store a roll of long sheet-like medium; a transport guide that defines a transport path for the roll medium, which is the sheet-like medium unwound from the roll stored in the first storage section; and a shutter that can move between a blocking position located within the transport path and a retracted position that is retracted from the transport path further than the blocking position; a feed roller that applies a conveying force to the roll medium to feed the roll medium from the feed tray; a recording unit that records an image on the roll medium fed by the feed roller, the feeding tray is insertable into and removable from the housing along an insertion / removal direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the roll body accommodated in the first accommodation section, The shutter has protrusions formed on both ends in the axial direction, the protrusions extending in the axial direction, the housing has inclined surfaces at positions corresponding to the protrusions in the axial direction, the inclined surfaces inclining upward in a direction in which the feed tray is inserted into the housing, The shutter is the conveying guide is rotatably supported so that the rotation axis is aligned with the axial direction, An image recording device characterized in that the convex portion moves along the inclined surface in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray into the housing, thereby rotating around the rotation axis and being able to move to the retracted position.

8. The housing and a feed tray that can be inserted into and removed from the housing, the feed tray including: a first storage section that can store a roll of long sheet-like medium; a transport guide that defines a transport path for the roll medium, which is the sheet-like medium unwound from the roll stored in the first storage section; and a shutter that can move between a blocking position located within the transport path and a retracted position that is retracted from the transport path further than the blocking position; a feed roller that applies a conveying force to the roll medium to feed the roll medium from the feed tray; a recording unit that records an image on the roll medium fed by the feed roller, a protrusion portion extending in a direction in which the feed tray is inserted into or removed from the housing is formed on the housing; the transport guide includes a first member and a second member extending along the insertion / removal direction, and the transport path for the roll medium is formed between the first member and the second member; The shutter is the roll body accommodated in the first accommodation section is rotatably supported by the first member such that the axial direction of the roll body is the direction of a rotation axis, The shutter is in the blocking position when the first portion of the shutter abuts against the second member, An image recording device characterized in that, in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray into the housing, a second part of the shutter, which is located on the opposite side of the rotation axis from the first part, is pushed by the protrusion part, thereby rotating around the rotation axis and being able to move to the retracted position.

9. An image recording device as described in any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that when the shutter is in the shielding position, it is located downstream in the transport direction along the transport path from the feed position of the roll medium by the feed roller.

Images