Feeding tray and image recording apparatus including 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 feeding tray capable of accommodating a roll body and an image recording apparatus including the same.

Background Art

[0002] An image recording apparatus including a tray capable of accommodating a roll body in which a sheet-like medium such as paper, cloth, or a label is wound in a roll shape is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a roll paper feeding apparatus (image recording apparatus) including a paper feeding tray (feeding tray) for accommodating roll paper (roll body), a housing for detachably holding the paper feeding tray, and a driving roller (feeding roller) for feeding the roll paper accommodated in the paper feeding tray to an image forming unit (recording unit).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems 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 body accommodated in a feeding tray, is fed by the feeding tray. Generally, the insertion of the feeding tray into the housing is performed in a state where a roll medium is unwound from the roll body by a predetermined length. Since the length of the unwound roll medium is arbitrarily determined by an operator, the unwound roll medium may become too long. In this case, when inserting the feeding tray into the housing, the tip of the unwound roll medium may contact a member inside the housing, which may cause a jam.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a feeding tray and an image recording apparatus capable of suppressing contact between a roll medium unwound from a roll body and a member inside the housing when the feeding tray is inserted into the housing.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] The feeding tray according to the present invention is, from a first perspective, a feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing of an image recording apparatus, and includes a first accommodating portion capable of accommodating a roll body in which a long sheet-like medium is wound in a roll shape, a conveyance guide that defines a conveyance path for a roll medium that is a sheet-like medium unwound from the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion, a shielding position located within the conveyance path, and a shutter that is movable between the shielding position and a retracted position retracted from the conveyance path relative to the shielding position. The shutter is movable to the retracted position in conjunction with the insertion of the feeding tray into the housing, is rotatably supported by the conveyance guide, and is movable between the shielding position and the retracted position by rotating. The feeding tray further includes a second accommodating portion capable of accommodating a plurality of cut media, which are sheet-like media shorter than the long sheet-like medium, in a stacked state. The conveyance guide supports the shutter and is detachable. The feeding tray according to the present invention is, from a second perspective , painting A feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing of an image recording apparatus, the feeding tray including: a first accommodating portion capable of accommodating a roll body around which a long sheet-like medium is wound in a roll shape; a conveying guide that defines a conveying path for a roll medium that is a sheet-like medium unwound from the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion; a shutter that is movable between a shielding position located within the conveying path and a retracted position retracted from the conveying path relative to the shielding position, wherein the shutter is movable to the retracted position in conjunction with insertion of the feeding tray into the housing; the conveying guide includes a first member and a second member that extend along an insertion / removal direction of the feeding tray with respect to the housing, and the conveying path for the roll medium is formed between the first member and the second member; the shutter is rotatably supported by the first member such that an axial direction of the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion is the direction of a rotation axis, and the shutter is movable between the shielding position and the retracted position by rotating about the rotation axis, and the shutter comes into contact with the second member to be in the shielding position, the second member is located above the first member, and the upper surface of the second member is capable of accommodating a plurality of cut media, which are sheet-like media shorter than the long sheet-like medium, in a stacked state.

[0007] The image recording apparatus of the present invention From the first perspective, includes a housing, a feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing, a feeding roller that applies a conveying force to the roll medium to feed the roll medium from the feeding tray, and a recording unit that records an image on the roll medium fed by the feeding roller. a feed tray including a first accommodating portion capable of accommodating a roll body around which a long sheet-like medium is wound in a roll shape, a conveyance guide defining a conveyance path of a roll medium which is a sheet-like medium unwound from the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion, a shutter movable between a shielding position located within the conveyance path and a retracted position retracted from the conveyance path relative to the shielding position. The shutter is disposed at least one on each side of the feed roller with respect to the axial direction of the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion. In a second perspective, the image recording apparatus of the present invention includes a housing, a feed tray insertable into and removable from the housing, the feed tray including a first accommodating portion capable of accommodating a roll body around which a long sheet-like medium is wound in a roll shape, a conveyance guide defining a conveyance path of a roll medium which is a sheet-like medium unwound from the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion, a shutter movable between a shielding position located within the conveyance path and a retracted position retracted from the conveyance path relative to the shielding position, a feed roller applying a conveyance force to the roll medium to feed the roll medium from the feed tray, and a recording portion recording 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 orthogonal to the axial direction of the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion. Convex portions extending in the axial direction are formed at both axial ends of the shutter. The housing has inclined surfaces each inclined upward in a direction of inserting the feed tray into the housing at positions corresponding to the convex portions in the axial direction. The shutter is rotatably supported by the conveyance guide such that a rotation axis thereof is in the axial direction. In conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray into the housing, the convex portions move along the inclined surfaces, so that the shutter rotates about the rotation axis and is movable to the retracted position. In a third aspect, the image recording apparatus of the present invention includes a housing, a feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing, the feeding tray including a first accommodating portion capable of accommodating a roll body around which a long sheet-like medium is wound in a roll shape, a conveyance guide that defines a conveyance path for a roll medium, which is a sheet-like medium unwound from the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion, a shutter that is movable between a shielding position located within the conveyance path and a retracted position retracted from the conveyance path relative to the shielding position, a feeding roller that applies a conveyance force to the roll medium to feed the roll medium from the feeding tray, and a recording unit that records an image on the roll medium fed by the feeding roller. A protruding portion extending in the insertion / removal direction of the feeding tray with respect to the housing is formed on the housing. The conveyance guide includes a first member and a second member extending along the insertion / removal direction, and the conveyance path for the roll medium is formed between the first member and the second member. The shutter is rotatably supported by the first member such that the axial direction of the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion is the direction of the rotation axis. The first portion of the shutter comes into contact with the second member to reach the shielding position, and in conjunction with the insertion of the feeding tray into the housing, the second portion of the shutter, which is on the side opposite to the first portion with respect to the rotation axis, is pushed by the protruding portion, so that the shutter rotates about the rotation axis and is movable to the retracted position.

[0008] According to the feeding tray and the image recording apparatus of the present invention, by setting the shutter to the shielding position, it is possible to suppress the roll medium unwound from the roll body and guided to the conveyance path from becoming too long. Therefore, when the feeding tray is inserted into the housing of the image recording apparatus, it is possible to suppress the roll medium unwound from the roll body from contacting the members inside the housing. Further, by setting the shutter to the retracted position, the roll medium can be conveyed along the conveyance path.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

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[0010] (First Embodiment) The printer 100 (image recording apparatus of the present invention) according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 1. The vertical direction, front-rear direction, and left-right direction shown in FIG. 1 are defined as the vertical direction, front-rear direction, and left-right direction of the printer 100.

[0011] (Overall Configuration of Printer 100) As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 100 includes a housing 100a, a paper feed tray 11, a paper feed roller 2, a separation piece 41, a pair of conveyance rollers 3a, a pair of paper discharge rollers 3b, a cutter mechanism 4, a head 5 (recording unit of the present invention), a paper discharge tray 6, a pair of intermediate rollers 9, and a control unit 10. The paper discharge tray 6 is insertable and removable along the front-rear direction with respect to the housing 100a through an opening 102 formed in the front wall of the housing 100a.

[0012] The paper feed tray 11 is insertable and removable at the lower part of the housing 100a. The paper feed tray 11 has a first storage portion 11a capable of accommodating a roll body R around which a long paper P1 (long sheet-like medium of the present invention) is wound in a roll shape, and a second storage portion 11b capable of accommodating a plurality of cut papers P2, which are shorter than the long paper P1, stacked in the vertical direction. The cut paper P2 is paper cut to a fixed size, and in the present embodiment, it is a rectangular A4-size paper composed of a short side and a long side. The cut paper Kp is accommodated in the second storage portion 11b such that its short side is along the conveyance direction described later. The width directions of the roll paper P1a (roll medium of the present invention) and the cut paper P2 unwound from the roll body R in the paper feed tray 11 coincide with the left-right direction. The detailed configuration of the paper feed tray 11 will be described later.

[0013] The feeding roller 2 feeds out the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R housed in the first accommodating portion 11a or the cut paper P2 housed in the second accommodating portion 11b from the feeding tray 11. In the following description, when the roll paper P1a and the cut paper P2 are not distinguished, they are referred to as "paper P". The feeding roller 2 is pivotally supported at the tip of the arm 2a and rotates by the drive of a feeding motor (not shown). The arm 2a is rotatably supported by a support shaft 2b. The arm 2a is biased by a biasing member (not shown) so that the feeding roller 2 approaches the bottom surface of the feeding tray 11. When the feeding motor is driven under the control of the control unit 10, the feeding roller 2 rotates, and a conveying force in the direction from the front to the rear is applied to the paper P in contact with the feeding roller 2. Thereby, the paper P is fed out from the feeding tray 11. Note that the arm 2a is configured to be retractable upward when the feeding tray 11 is detached from the housing 100a.

[0014] The separating piece 41 is for preventing double feeding when feeding out the cut paper P2 from the feeding tray 11. The separating piece 41 is located on the downstream side of the feeding tray 11 with respect to the conveying direction of the paper P by the feeding roller 2 (the direction from the front to the rear, which is simply referred to as the "conveying direction" in the following description). The separating piece 41 is inclined such that the rear end portion is located above the front end portion. A fine uneven pattern is formed on the surface of the separating piece 41. The separating piece 41 contacts the central portion in the width direction of the cut paper P2 and separates the cut paper P2 in contact with the feeding roller 2 from the other cut paper P2. The paper P fed out from the feeding tray 11 and contacting the separating piece 41 is guided obliquely upward.

[0015] The conveying roller pair 3a is composed of a driving roller that rotates by the drive of a conveying motor (not shown) and a driven roller that rotates along with the driving roller. The paper discharge roller pair 3b is composed of a driving roller that rotates by the drive of a paper discharge motor (not shown) and a driven roller that rotates along with the driving roller. When the conveying motor and the 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 and 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 conveys the paper P forward while sandwiching it. The paper discharge roller pair 3b conveys the paper P forward while sandwiching the paper P that is conveyed forward by the conveying roller pair 3a.

[0016] The cutter mechanism 4 is located on the downstream side in the conveying direction from the separating piece 41. The cutter mechanism 4 includes, for example, a cutter 4a composed of a disk-shaped rotary blade and a driven blade, and a cutting motor (not shown) that reciprocally drives the rotary blade of the cutter 4a in the left-right direction. The roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R and conveyed along the conveying path is cut in the width direction of the roll paper P1a 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 provided on the downstream side in the conveying direction from the cutter mechanism 4 and on the upstream side in the conveying direction from the conveying roller pair 3a. The intermediate roller pair 9 is composed of a driving roller that rotates by the drive of an intermediate motor (not shown) and a driven roller that rotates along with the driving 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 and conveys the paper P. The intermediate roller pair 9 is located above the conveying guide 21 of the feeding tray 11 described later. The intermediate roller pair 9 conveys the paper P upward while sandwiching the paper P that is sent out from the feeding tray 11 by the feeding roller 2 and guided obliquely upward by the conveying guide 21.

[0018] The head 5 includes a plurality of nozzles (not shown) formed on the lower surface 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 conveyed by the feed roller 2, the intermediate roller pair 9, and the conveyance roller pair 3a passes through the image recording position facing the lower surface of the head 5. Note that the head 5 may be either a line type that ejects ink from the nozzles in a fixed position or a serial type that ejects ink from the nozzles while moving in the left-right direction. The paper P on which the image is formed by the head 5 is received by the paper discharge tray 6.

[0019] The control unit 10 is connected to a feed motor, an intermediate motor, a conveyance motor, a paper discharge motor, a cutting motor, and a driver IC via an internal bus (not shown). The control unit 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). Programs and data for the CPU to perform various controls are stored in the ROM. The RAM temporarily stores data used when the CPU executes programs.

[0020] (Configuration of the Feed Tray 11) Next, the configuration of the feed tray 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 9. In the following description, the directions of each part of the feed tray 11 will be described based on the posture of the feed tray 11 mounted on the housing 100a. The feed tray 11 has a substantially rectangular shape in a top view. The feed tray 11 has a bottom wall 31 and side walls 32 to 35 provided at the edges of the bottom wall 31, and is formed in a box shape that is open upward.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the bottom wall 31 extends in a plane orthogonal to the vertical direction. The upper surface of the bottom wall 31 serves as the bottom surface 31a of the feeding tray 11. The side walls 32 and 33 extend upward from both left and right edges of the bottom wall 31. Also, the side walls 32 and 33 extend along the front-rear direction from the front end portion to the rear end portion of the bottom wall 31. The side wall 34 extends upward from the front edge of the bottom wall 31. Further, the side wall 34 extends along the left-right direction from the right end portion to the left end portion of the bottom wall 31.

[0022] Four side walls 35 are provided at the rear edge of the bottom wall 31. Only the two inner ones are shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The side wall 35 has a guide surface 35a that is connected to the rear end portion of the bottom surface 31a and is inclined such that its upper end portion is located behind the lower end portion. The four side walls 15 are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction. When the feeding tray 11 is mounted on the housing 100a, the separating piece 41 is located between the two inner side walls 35 among the four side walls 35 arranged in the left-right direction. When the attachment portion 20 described later is removed from the feeding tray 11, the guide surface 35a of the side wall 35, together with the separating piece 41, guides the cut paper P2 conveyed rearward by the feeding roller 2 obliquely upward.

[0023] As described above, a first accommodating portion 11a capable of accommodating the roll body R and a second accommodating portion 11b capable of accommodating the cut paper P2 in a plurality of stacked states in the vertical direction are provided in the feeding tray 11. The first accommodating portion 11a and the second accommodating portion 11b are arranged side by side along the conveying direction. The second accommodating portion 11b is located on the downstream side in the conveying direction from the first accommodating portion 11a.

[0024] The first accommodating portion 11a accommodates the roll body R in a posture where its axial direction coincides with the left - right direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the first accommodating portion 11a has a cylindrical core member Rc, a support base 13 for supporting the roll body R, two rollers 14, 15, and a roll cover 16. The roll body R is formed by winding a long sheet P1 around the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical core member Rc. The roll body R is arranged such that the axial direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of 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 along the left - right direction. Both the rollers 14 and 15 extend along the left - right direction and are arranged at intervals from each other in the front - rear direction. Both the rollers 14 and 15 are rotatably supported at the upper end portion of the support base 13 around a rotation axis extending along the left - right direction. The rollers 14 and 15 support the roll body R from below in a state of being in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the lower side portion of the roll body R.

[0026] A gap G is formed between the lower surface of the support base 13 and the bottom surface 31a of the feeding tray 11. When setting the roll paper P1a on the feeding tray 11, the roll body R supported by the support base 13 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 3, and the roll paper P1a is unwound from the front - side portion of the roll body R. Then, the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R is drawn from the front - side of the support base 13 to the rear - side of the support base 13 through the gap G.

[0027] The roll cover 16 is a member that covers the roll body R housed in the first storage portion 11a. The roll cover 16 extends along the left - right direction and is formed longer than the widths of the support base 13 and the rollers 14 and 15. Also, the roll cover 16 is arranged so as to be able to approach the outer peripheral surface of the roll body R having the maximum size that can be housed in the first storage portion 11a. Thereby, even if the winding of the roll body R becomes loose and the outer diameter of the roll body R tries to increase, the outer peripheral surface of the roll body R comes into contact with the inner surface of the roll cover 16, and it becomes possible to regulate the increase in the outer diameter. Note that the roll cover 16 may be detachable from the feeding tray 11, and may be rotatable about a rotation axis extending along the left - right direction at its lower end. When the roll cover 16 is rotatable about the rotation axis at its lower end, by rotating rearward about the rotation axis, the storage space of the roll body R above the support base 13 can be exposed.

[0028] The second storage portion 11b stores the cut paper P2 in a posture in which its width direction coincides with the left - right direction. In the present embodiment, the second storage portion 11b is a portion on the rear side and the upper side portion of the bottom surface 31a of the feeding tray 11 that is more rearward than the first storage portion 11a. The portion on the rear side of the bottom surface 31a that is more rearward than the first storage portion 11a supports a plurality of cut papers P2 placed in a stacked state from below. Note that in the present embodiment, when storing the cut paper P2 in the second storage portion 11b, as shown in FIG. 7, the attachment portion 20 described later is removed from the feeding tray 11. Also, when feeding out the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R housed in the first storage portion 11a from the feeding tray 11 to perform image recording, the cut paper P2 is removed from the second storage portion 11b.

[0029] The feeding tray 11 further has an attachment portion 20. The attachment portion 20 is attached to the front side of the side wall 35 and is configured to be detachable from the feeding tray 11. The attachment portion 20 includes a conveyance guide 21 and a shutter 22. Note that in FIG. 1, the description of the shutter 22 is omitted.

[0030] The conveying guide 21 defines a part of the conveying path of the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R accommodated in the first accommodating portion 11a. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the conveying guide 21 includes 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. A conveying 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. The lower guide 21a and the upper guide 21b are formed along a curve when viewed from the left - right direction. When the feeding tray 11 is attached to the housing 100a, one lower guide 21a and one upper guide 21b are arranged on each side of the feeding roller 2 in the left - right direction.

[0032] The two lower guides 21a are respectively provided on the front side of the guide surfaces 35a of the two right - hand side walls 35 among the four side walls 35 and on the front side of the guide surfaces 35a of the two left - hand side walls 35. The lower guide 21a is provided along the bottom surface 31a and the guide surface 35a from the upper side of the rear end portion of the bottom wall 31 to the front side of the upper end portion of the side wall 35. The lower guide 21a is formed to be positioned upward as it extends from the front to the rear.

[0033] The two upper guides 21b are provided on the side opposite to the two lower guides 21a with the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R therebetween. When viewed from the left - right direction, the upper guide 21b is formed such that its front end portion is higher than the central portion, and its rear end portion is higher than the front end portion and the central portion. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, an opening 21b2 is formed in the central portion of the upper guide 21b in a direction intersecting the extending direction of the upper guide 21b. The tip portion 22b of a shutter 22 described later can be inserted into the opening 21b2.

[0034] The lower guide 21a and the upper guide 21b are arranged at a distance in a direction orthogonal to the left - right direction. The distance between the lower guide 21a and the upper guide 21b in the direction orthogonal to the left - right direction becomes narrower as it goes from front to back.

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

[0036] The shutters 22 are arranged one on each side of the feed roller 2 in the left - right direction. The two shutters 22 each include 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 at the upper end portion of the upper guide 21b by a rotation shaft 24 having the left - right direction as the axial direction. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a convex portion 25 extending to the left in the left - right direction is formed at the left end of the left - hand arm portion 22a, and a convex portion 25 extending to the right in the left - right direction is formed at the right end of the right - hand arm portion 22a.

[0037] The tip portion 22b extends in a direction intersecting the conveyance path defined by the conveyance guide 21 from the tip of the arm portion 22a. A part of the tip portion 22b is located within the conveyance path defined by the conveyance guide 21 through an opening 21b2 formed in the upper guide 21b.

[0038] The shutter 22 is movable between a shielding position (see FIGS. 2 and 3) located within the conveyance path defined by the conveyance guide 21 by rotating about the rotation axis 24 and a retracted position (see FIGS. 4 and 5) retracted from the conveyance path relative to the shielding position. In the present embodiment, the tip portion 22b of the shutter 22 when in the retracted position is located on the front side and the upper side relative to the tip portion 22b of the shutter 22 when in the shielding position. When the shutter 22 is in the shielding position, as shown in FIG. 3, the tip portion 22b penetrates the conveyance path defined by the conveyance guide 21. Further, when the shutter 22 is in the shielding position, the shutter 22 is located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction relative to directly below the feeding roller 2 which is the feeding position of the roll paper P1a by the feeding roller 2. When the shutter 22 is in the retracted position, as shown in FIG. 5, the tip of the tip portion 22b has retracted outside the conveyance path. When the shutter 22 is in the retracted position, the roll paper P1a fed by the feeding roller 2 is guided to the cutter mechanism 4 through the conveyance path defined by the conveyance guide 21.

[0039] Further, the shutter 22 is movable to the shielding position in conjunction with the removal of the feeding tray 11 from the housing 100a of the feeding tray 11, and is movable to the retracted position in conjunction with the insertion of the feeding tray 11 into the housing 100a of the feeding tray 11. This will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0040] As described above, a convex portion 25 is formed on the arm portion 22a of the shutter 22. Further, the housing 100a is formed with a protruding portion 51 extending in the front-rear direction at a position corresponding to the convex portion 25 in the vertical and horizontal directions. The front end portion of the protruding portion 51 has an inclined surface 51a that is inclined so as to be located upward as it goes from the front to the rear.

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

[0042] As described above, the feeding tray 11 of the first embodiment includes a first accommodating portion 11a capable of accommodating the roll body R, a conveying guide 21 that defines a conveying path for the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R, and a shutter 22 that is movable between a shielding position located within the conveying path and a retracted position retracted from the conveying path. Further, the printer 100 of the first embodiment includes a casing 100a, the above-described feeding tray 11, a feeding roller 2, and a head 5. According to this, by setting the shutter 22 to the shielding position, it is possible to suppress the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R and guided to the conveying path from becoming too long. Therefore, when the feeding tray 11 is inserted into the casing 100a of the printer 100, it is possible to suppress the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R from coming into contact with the members inside the casing 100a. Also, by setting the shutter 22 to the retracted position, the roll paper P1a can be conveyed along the conveying path.

[0043] Further, in the feeding tray 11 of the first embodiment, in the shielding position, the shutter 22 penetrates the conveying path defined by the conveying guide 21. According to this, it is possible to prevent the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R and guided to the conveying path from reaching the downstream side in the conveying direction along the conveying path beyond the shutter 22.

[0044] Also, in the feed tray 11 of the first embodiment, at the retracted position, the tip of the tip portion 22b of the shutter 22 retracts outside the conveyance path. According to this, when the roll paper P1a is conveyed, it is possible to avoid the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R and guided to the conveyance path from contacting the shutter 22.

[0045] Furthermore, in the feed tray 11 of the first embodiment, the shutter 22 is movable to the shielding position in conjunction with being removed from the housing 100a of the feed tray 11. According to this, compared with a configuration in which the shutter 22 is manually moved to the shielding position when removing the feed tray 11 from the housing 100a, it is not troublesome and it is possible to avoid forgetting to move the shutter 22 to the shielding position. For this reason, it is possible to more reliably suppress the roll paper P1a guided to the conveyance path from becoming too long, and when the feed tray 11 is inserted back into the housing 100a after being removed from the housing 100a, it is possible to more reliably suppress the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R from contacting the members inside the housing 100a.

[0046] Also, in the feed tray 11 of the first embodiment, the shutter 22 is movable to the retracted position in conjunction with being inserted into the housing 100a of the feed tray 11. Further, in the feed tray 11 of the first embodiment, the shutter 22 is rotatably supported by the conveyance guide 21 by the rotation shaft 24, and is movable between the shielding position and the retracted position by rotating about the rotation shaft 24.

[0047] More specifically, in the printer 100 of the first embodiment, the feeding tray 11 is insertable into and removable from the housing 100a along the insertion / removal direction (front-rear direction) orthogonal to the axial direction (left-right direction) of the roll body R accommodated in the first accommodating portion 11a. Further, convex portions 25 extending in the left-right direction are formed at both ends of the shutter 22 in the left-right direction, and the housing 100a has inclined surfaces 51a that incline upward in the direction of inserting the feeding tray into the housing (from the front to the rear) at positions corresponding to the convex portions 25 in the left-right direction. The shutter 22 is rotatably supported by the conveyance guide 21 such that the rotation axis 24 is in the left-right direction. In conjunction with the insertion of the feeding tray 11 into the housing 100a, the convex portions 25 move along the inclined surfaces 51a, causing the shutter 22 to rotate about the rotation axis 24 and be movable to the retracted position.

[0048] According to this, compared with a configuration in which the shutter 22 is manually moved to the retracted position before the feeding tray 11 is inserted into the housing 100a, it is less laborious and can avoid forgetting to move the shutter 22 to the retracted position. For this reason, during the conveyance operation of the printer 100, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of jams caused by the roll paper P1a coming into contact with the shutter 22. Further, since the shutter 22 rotates and moves, the movement between the shielding position and the retracted position of the shutter 22 becomes easy.

[0049] Further, the feeding tray 11 of the first embodiment further has a second accommodating portion 11b capable of accommodating a plurality of stacked cut papers P2, and the conveying guide 21 supports the shutter 22 and is detachable from the feeding tray 11. When conveying the cut paper P2 accommodated in the second accommodating portion 11b, the conveying guide 21 and the shutter 22 supported by the conveying guide 21 are unnecessary. In particular, when the number of stacked cut papers P2 accommodated in the second accommodating portion 11b is large, the conveying guide 21 and the shutter 22 may impede the conveyance of the cut paper P2. Therefore, in the first embodiment, the conveying guide 21 is detachable from the feeding tray 11. Thereby, in the feeding tray 11 configured to be capable of accommodating both the roll body R and the cut paper P2, even when the number of stacked cut papers P2 is large, conveyance can be ensured, and it is possible to suppress the rolled paper P1a unwound from the roll body R from contacting the members inside the housing 100a when the feeding tray 11 is inserted into the housing 100a.

[0050] Furthermore, in the printer 100 of the first embodiment, the shutters 22 are arranged one on each side of the feeding roller 2 with respect to the axial direction (left - right direction) of the roll body R accommodated in the first accommodating portion 11a. When the shutter 22 is arranged only on one side of the feeding roller 2 in the left - right direction, the rolled paper P1a unwound from the roll body R and guided to the conveyance path is suppressed from becoming too long only by the shutter 22 arranged on one side of the feeding roller 2. Then, the unwound rolled paper P1a may be inclined obliquely with respect to the conveyance direction. In this case, the conveyance of the rolled paper P1a by the feeding roller 2 after moving the shutter 22 to the retracted position is not properly performed. According to the first embodiment, the above problem can be solved.

[0051] Also, in the printer 100 of the first embodiment, when the shutter 22 is in the shielding position, it is located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction from the feeding position of the rolled paper P1a by the feeding roller 2. According to this, the rolled paper P1a can be reliably unwound to the feeding position by the feeding roller 2.

[0052] Next, the configuration of the paper feed tray 111 according to the second embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof 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 paper feed tray 111 instead of the paper feed tray 11 and a configuration of a protruding portion 151 described later instead of the protruding portion 51.

[0053] The paper feed tray 111 includes a first accommodating portion 111a capable of accommodating the roll body R and a transport guide 121 that defines a transport path for the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R. The transport guide 121 includes a first member 121a and a second member 121b that extend along the insertion and extraction direction of the paper feed tray 111 with respect to the housing 100a, that is, the front-rear direction.

[0054] The first member 121a supports the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R accommodated in the first accommodating portion 111a from below. The second member 121b is located above the first member 121a. As shown in FIG. 11, a notch 121b2 is formed at the rear end portion of the second member 121b and at the central portion 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 body R is sent to the downstream side in the transport direction through the transport path, and abuts against the paper feed roller 2 from the portion where the notch 121b2 of the second member 121b is formed, and is then fed further downstream in the transport direction.

[0055] Also, in the second embodiment, the cut paper P2 can be placed on the upper surface of the second member 121b in a stacked state. Thereby, the paper feed tray 111 can accommodate a plurality of cut papers P2.

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

[0057] As shown in FIG. 11, the shutters 122 are respectively arranged one by one on both left and right sides of the notch 121b. In other words, the shutters 122 are arranged one on each side of the feeding roller 2 in the left-right direction. Further, when the shutter 122 is in the shielding position, it is arranged on the downstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the feeding position of the roll paper P1a by the feeding roller 2 (see FIGS. 12 and 13).

[0058] As shown in FIG. 10, the first portion 122a is on the upper side of the second portion 122b and is located on the side opposite to the second portion 122b with respect to the rotation axis Rs. The shutter 122 rotates about the rotation axis Rs by the application of the elastic force by the biasing member, and the first portion 122a comes into contact with the second member 121b to reach the shielding position. That is, in the second embodiment, when the shutter 122 is in the shielding position, the first portion 122a is linearly in contact with the lower surface of the second member 121b of the conveyance guide 121. In other words, when the shutter 122 is in the shielding position, the first portion 122a penetrates the conveyance path defined by the conveyance guide 121.

[0059] In this embodiment, the shutter 122 is movable to a retracted position in conjunction with the insertion of the feeding tray 111 into the housing 100a of the printer. On the housing 100a of the printer according to the second embodiment, a protruding portion 151 extending in the front-rear direction is formed at a position corresponding to the second portion 122b of the shutter 122 in the vertical and horizontal directions (see FIGS. 12 and 13).

[0060] When the feeding tray 111 is inserted into the housing 100a, the second portion 122b is pushed by the protruding portion 151, so that the shutter 122 rotates clockwise about the rotation axis Rs against the elastic force of the biasing member, and the first portion 122a retracts from the conveyance path in conjunction with the movement of the second portion 122b. As a result, in conjunction with the insertion of the feeding tray 111 into the housing 100a, the shutter 122 rotates about the rotation axis Rs and moves to the retracted position. 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 feeding roller 2 is sent to the guide surface 35a of the side wall 35 through the conveyance path defined by the conveyance guide 121 and is guided to the cutter mechanism 4 by the guide surface 35a.

[0061] Also, in this embodiment, the shutter 122 is movable to a shielding position in conjunction with the removal of the feeding tray 111 from the housing 100a of the printer. As described above, the shutter 122 is biased by a biasing member (not shown) so that when viewed from the left-right direction, the first portion 122a abuts on the second member 121b (the position in FIG. 12), that is, the shielding position. When the feeding tray 111 is removed from the housing 100a, the pushing up of the second portion 122b by the protruding portion 151 is released, the shutter 122 rotates about the rotation axis Rs, and the first portion 122a returns to the position where it abuts on the second member 121b. As a result, in conjunction with the removal of the feeding tray 111 from the housing 100a, the shutter 122 rotates about the rotation axis Rs and moves to the shielding position.

[0062] As described above, in the feeding tray 111 of the second embodiment, the conveyance guide 121 includes a first member 121a and a second member 121b that extend along the insertion / removal direction (front-rear direction) of the feeding tray 111 with respect to the housing 100a of the feeding tray 111, and a conveyance path for the roll paper P1a is formed between the first member 121a and the second member 121b. Further, the shutter 122 is rotatably supported by the first member 121a such that the axial direction (left-right direction) of the roll body R accommodated in the first accommodation portion 111a is the direction of the rotation axis Rs. Then, the shutter 122 is movable between a shielding position and a retracted position by rotating about the rotation axis Rs, and the first portion 122a of the shutter 122 comes into contact with the second member 121b to reach the shielding position. According to this, since the shutter 122 rotates and moves, the movement of the shutter between the shielding position and the retracted position becomes easy. Also, the shutter 122 can be set to the shielding position by using the second member 121b of the conveyance guide 121.

[0063] Further, in the feeding tray 111 of the second embodiment, the second member 121b is located above the first member 121a, and the upper surface of the second member 121b can accommodate a plurality of cut papers P2 stacked in a state. According to this, in the feeding tray 111 configured to be able to accommodate both the roll body R and the cut paper P2, when the feeding tray 111 is inserted into the housing 100a of the feeding tray 111, it is possible to suppress the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R from coming into contact with the members inside the housing 100a.

[0064] Also, in the printer of the second embodiment, a protruding portion 151 extending in the insertion / removal direction (front-rear direction) of the feeding tray 111 with respect to the housing 100a is formed on the housing 100a. And when the feeding tray 111 is inserted into the housing 100a, the shutter 122 is interlocked with the insertion. The second portion 122b is pushed by the protruding portion 151, so that the shutter 122 can rotate around the rotation axis Rs and move to the retracted position. According to this, compared with the configuration of manually moving the shutter 122 to the retracted position before inserting the feeding tray 111 into the housing 100a, it is not laborious and can avoid forgetting to move the shutter 122 to the retracted position. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of jams when the roll paper P1a contacts the shutter 122 during the conveying operation of the printer.

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

[0066] In the above-described embodiment, the feeding tray can accommodate the roll body R and the cut paper P2. However, the feeding tray of the present invention may be able to accommodate only the roll body R.

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

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

[0069] In the above embodiment, the shutter is rotatably supported by the conveyance guide, but it may be rotatably supported directly on the feeding tray. Further, the shutter only needs to be movable between the shielding position and the retracted position, and is not limited to the configuration of rotating about the rotation axis.

[0070] In the above embodiment, when the shutter is in the shielding position, the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R is configured to abut against the shutter. However, when the shutter is in the shielding position, it does not necessarily need to completely shield the conveyance path. In this case, the shutter in the shielding position and the roll paper P1a unwound from the roll body R do not necessarily need to abut against each other.

[0071] In the above embodiment, the shutter is movable to the shielding position in conjunction with being removed from the housing of the feeding tray. However, the shutter may be configured to be manually moved to the shielding position. Further, in the above embodiment, the shutter is movable to the retracted position in conjunction with being inserted into the housing of the feeding tray. However, the shutter may be configured to be manually moved to the retracted position.

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

[0073] In the above embodiment, in the shielding position, the shutter penetrates the conveyance path. However, in the shielding position, the shutter does not necessarily need to penetrate the conveyance path. For example, in the shielding position, the shutter may be configured to abut against the inner surface of the conveyance guide that defines the conveyance path.

[0074] In the above-described first embodiment, the conveyance guide 21 has a lower guide 21a and an upper guide 21b. However, the lower guide 21a may not be provided. In this case, a conveyance 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 conveyance guide includes the upper guide 21b and the guide surface 35a.

[0075] Also, in the above-described first embodiment, the shutter 22 is rotatably supported by the upper guide 21b. However, the shutter 22 may not be supported by the upper guide 21b. For example, the upper guide 21b and the shutter 22 may be integrally formed. For example, the upper guide may be formed with a shutter portion (corresponding to the shutter of the present invention) extending into the conveyance 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 shielding position and a retracted position as the upper guide rotates.

[0076] The image recording apparatus according to the present invention can also be applied to multifunction printers, copiers, etc. in addition to printers. Also, the printer can be applied not only to inkjet printers, but also to laser printers in which an electrostatic latent image is formed by exposing a photoreceptor with a laser, and LED printers in which an electrostatic latent image is formed by exposing a photoreceptor with an LED. Also, the sheet-like medium is not limited to paper, and may be cloth, label, etc. as long as it is sheet-like.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0077] 2 Feed roller 5 Head (recording unit) 11 Feed tray 11a First storage section 11b Second storage section 20 Attachment section 21 Conveyance guide 21a Lower guide 21a2 Support surface 21b Upper guide 21b2 Opening 22 Shutter 22a Arm portion 22b tip 24 rotating shaft 25 convex part 51 protruding part 51a inclined surface 100 printer 100a housing 111 feed tray 111a first storage part 121 conveying guide 121a first member 121b second member 122 shutter 122a first part 122b second part 151 protruding part P paper P1 long paper P1a roll paper P2 cut paper R roll body Rs rotating shaft

Claims

1. A feed tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing of an image recording apparatus, a first accommodating portion capable of accommodating a roll body in which a long sheet-like medium is wound in a roll shape, a conveyance guide that defines a conveyance path for a roll medium, which is a sheet-like medium unwound from the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion, a shutter that is movable between a shielding position located within the conveyance path and a retracted position retracted from the conveyance path relative to the shielding position, wherein the shutter is movable to the retracted position in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray into the housing, is rotatably supported by the conveyance guide and is movable between the shielding position and the retracted position by rotating, further includes a second accommodating portion capable of accommodating a plurality of cut media, which are sheet-like media shorter than the long sheet-like medium, in a stacked state, and the conveyance guide supports the shutter and is detachable. The feed tray is characterized by this.

2. A feed tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing of an image recording apparatus, a first accommodating portion capable of accommodating a roll body in which a long sheet-like medium is wound in a roll shape, a conveyance guide that defines a conveyance path for a roll medium, which is a sheet-like medium unwound from the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion, a shutter that is movable between a shielding position located within the conveyance path and a retracted position retracted from the conveyance path relative to the shielding position, wherein the shutter is movable to the retracted position in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray into the housing, the conveyance guide includes a first member and a second member extending along the insertion / removal direction of the feed tray with respect to the housing, the conveyance path for the roll medium is formed between the first member and the second member, and the shutter is rotatably supported by the first member such that the axial direction of the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion is the direction of the rotation axis, is movable between the shielding position and the retracted position by rotating about the rotation axis, and the shielding position is achieved when the shutter abuts against the second member, the second member is located above the first member, and the upper surface of the second member can accommodate a plurality of cut media, which are sheet-like media shorter than the long sheet-like medium, in a stacked state. The feed tray is characterized by this.

3. The feeding tray according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at the shielding position, the shutter penetrates the conveyance path.

4. The feeding tray according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at the retracted position, the tip of the shutter retracts outside the conveyance path.

5. It is insertable into and removable from the housing of the image recording apparatus, The feeding tray according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the shutter is movable to the shielding position in conjunction with the removal of the feeding tray from the housing.

6. A housing, A feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing, comprising: a first accommodating portion capable of accommodating a roll body in which a long sheet-like medium is wound in a roll shape; a conveyance guide that defines a conveyance path for a roll medium that is a sheet-like medium unwound from the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion; a shutter that is movable between a shielding position located within the conveyance path and a retracted position retracted from the conveyance path more than the shielding position. A feeding roller that applies a conveyance force to the roll medium to feed the roll medium from the feeding tray, A recording unit that records an image on the roll medium fed by the feeding roller, The image recording apparatus, wherein the shutter is disposed at least one on each side of the feeding roller with respect to the axial direction of the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion.

7. A housing, A feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing, comprising: a first accommodating portion capable of accommodating a roll body in which a long sheet-like medium is wound in a roll shape; a conveyance guide that defines a conveyance path for a roll medium that is a sheet-like medium unwound from the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion; a shutter that is movable between a shielding position located within the conveyance path and a retracted position retracted from the conveyance path more than the shielding position. A feeding roller that applies a conveyance force to the roll medium to feed the roll medium from the feeding tray, A recording unit that records an image on the roll medium fed by the feeding roller, The feeding tray is insertable into and removable from the housing along an insertion / removal direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the roll body accommodated in the first accommodating portion, At both ends of the shutter in the axial direction, convex portions extending in the axial direction are formed. The housing has inclined surfaces that are inclined upward in the direction of inserting the feed tray into the housing at positions corresponding to the convex portions in the axial direction. The shutter is rotatably supported by the conveyance guide such that the rotation axis is in the axial direction. An image recording apparatus characterized in that, in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray into the housing, the convex portion moves along the inclined surface, rotates about the rotation axis, and is movable to the retracted position.

8. A housing, a feed tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing, the feed tray including a first storage portion capable of storing a roll body in which a long sheet-like medium is wound in a roll shape, a conveyance guide that defines a conveyance path for a roll medium that is a sheet-like medium unwound from the roll body stored in the first storage portion, a shielding position located within the conveyance path, and a shutter movable between the shielding position and a retracted position retracted from the conveyance path. A feed roller that applies a conveyance 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 housing is formed with a protruding portion extending in the insertion / removal direction of the feed tray with respect to the housing. The conveyance guide includes a first member and a second member extending along the insertion / removal direction, and a conveyance path for the roll medium is formed between the first member and the second member. The shutter is rotatably supported by the first member such that the axial direction of the roll body stored in the first storage portion is the direction of the rotation axis. The first portion of the shutter comes into contact with the second member to be in the shielding position. An image recording apparatus characterized in that, in conjunction with the insertion of the feed tray into the housing, the second portion of the shutter on the side opposite to the first portion with respect to the rotation axis is pushed by the protruding portion, rotates about the rotation axis, and is movable to the retracted position.

9. The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that when the shutter is in the shielding position, it is located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction along the conveyance path from the feeding position of the roll medium by the feed roller.

Images