Sheet feeding device and recording device

Abstract

To provide a sheet feeder capable of supplying a sheet from a roll with a simple structure.SOLUTION: A sheet feeder comprises a support part rotatably supporting a roll formed by winding a sheet, and a guide part guiding the roll in the guiding direction from above the support part to the support part when the roll is attached. The sheet feeder for supplying the sheet from the roll supported by the support part has contacting means for contacting an outer peripheral surface of the roll supported by the support part. The contacting means comes into contact with the roll from an upstream side in the guiding direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device and a recording device that feed a sheet from a roll.

Background Art

[0002] In a sheet feeding device that feeds a sheet from a roll around which the sheet is wound, it is necessary to prevent the roll from moving from its mounting position when feeding the sheet. In the recording device of Patent Document 1, it is described that the device includes a support portion that detachably supports the roll, a guide portion that guides the roll to the support portion, and a movement inhibiting portion that inhibits movement of the rotation axis of the roll. In this recording device, the movement inhibiting portion protrudes into the guide path in the guide portion so that the roll does not move from the support portion.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, the movement inhibiting portion is configured to rotate in conjunction with a cover when the roll is detached or attached. Therefore, a space for the movement inhibiting portion to retreat is required, and the movement inhibiting portion also has a complicated configuration. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding device that can feed a sheet from a roll with a simple configuration.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] [[ID=4l]] The sheet feeding device of the present invention includes a support portion that rotatably supports a roll around which a sheet is wound, a guide portion that guides the roll in the guiding direction from above the support portion to the support portion when the roll is mounted, [[ID=A3]] A first gear disposed in an insertion part into which the roll is inserted so that the roll is supported by the support part; a second gear disposed in the support part and engaging with the first gear; a motor for rotating the second gear; a cover that can be opened and closed between a closed position that covers the roll supported by the support part and an open position that opens the roll; and a device provided on the cover when the cover is in the closed position. abutting means that abuts against the outer peripheral surface of the roll supported by the support portion, From the upstream side in the aforementioned guidance direction and is provided with The first force component in the guiding direction, which is exerted by the contact means on the roll, is greater than the second force component in the opposite direction to the guiding direction, which is exerted on the insertion portion by the drive of the motor. It is characterized by the following: [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present invention, a sheet feeding device can be provided that can supply sheets from a roll with a simple configuration. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing the entire recording device. [Figure 2] This is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the recording device. [Figure 3] This diagram shows the configuration of the container for holding the ink. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram showing the main components of a recording device. [Figure 5] This is a block diagram showing the configuration related to the control of a recording device. [Figure 6] This is a perspective view showing the configuration of the spool unit and support unit. [Figure 7] This is a perspective view showing the spool unit mounted on the support unit. [Figure 8] This is a cross-sectional view of the roll set section. [Figure 9] This is a side view showing the configuration of the nip roller unit. [Figure 10] This is a cross-sectional view showing the arrangement of the components that make up the spool gear and support unit. [Figure 11] This diagram shows the forces acting on the spool gear. [Figure 12] This diagram compares the presence or absence of a nip roller unit. [Figure 13] This is a top view showing the relationship between the nip roller unit and the roll. [Figure 14] This diagram illustrates what happens when the outer diameter of a roll changes. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] [Embodiment] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Also, although a plurality of features are described in the embodiments, not all of these plurality of features are essential for the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Further, in the drawings, the same or similar configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions may be omitted.

[0009] Note that in the embodiments, the recording includes not only the case of forming significant information such as characters and figures, but also the case of forming images, patterns, patterns, etc. on the sheet. Although paper is assumed as the sheet in the embodiments, cloth, plastic film, etc. may also be used. Further, the present invention is also applicable to an electrophotographic recording apparatus other than the inkjet method.

[0010] <Recording apparatus> FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the whole of the recording apparatus. The recording apparatus 1 is an inkjet recording apparatus that discharges ink, which is a liquid, to perform recording on a sheet. In the figure, arrows X and Y indicate horizontal directions orthogonal to each other, and arrow Z indicates the vertical direction. The X direction is the width direction of the roll to be mounted. The Y direction is the direction from the back surface to the front surface of the recording apparatus 1.

[0011] The recording apparatus 1 has an overall flat rectangular parallelepiped shape, and includes a main body portion 2 including main components, and a cover portion 3 composed of a plurality of covers. The cover portion 3 is provided above the main body portion 2, and includes a feed cover 301 for covering the roll, an access cover 302 for performing maintenance work inside the recording apparatus 1, and a tank cover 303 for covering the tank of the recording apparatus 1. Further, the recording apparatus 1 is provided with a reading device (scanner unit) 3a for reading an image of a document, and the entire reading device 3a can be rotated in the same manner as the access cover 302 to perform maintenance work inside the recording apparatus 1. The feed cover 301 and the reading device 3a are arranged side by side in the Y direction from the back surface to the front surface of the recording apparatus 1, which is the direction for supplying the sheet.

[0012] On the front side of the recording device 1, a discharge unit 10 for discharging a sheet on which an image is recorded is provided. Above the discharge unit 10 on the front surface of the recording device 1, an operation unit 36 for receiving user operations is provided. The operation unit 36 includes a display unit in the form of a touch panel, and in addition to receiving user input operations, it displays various information to the user.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the recording device. The recording device 1 includes a recording head 4 that discharges liquid. The recording head 4 discharges ink supplied from containers 5 (Y: yellow, M: magenta, C: cyan, Bk: black) that store ink onto a sheet for recording. The recording head 4 has a discharge surface on which a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink are formed. Each nozzle is provided with an electrothermal conversion element (heater) and can discharge ink by heating due to energization. Note that the nozzle may be configured with a piezo element provided.

[0014] The recording head 4 is mounted on a carriage 6 and reciprocates in the X direction by a drive unit. The drive unit includes a drive pulley and a driven pulley 7b arranged at a distance in the X direction, an endless belt 7c wound around these pulleys, and a carriage motor 7a (FIG. 5) which is a drive means for rotating the drive pulley. The carriage 6 is connected to the endless belt 7c, and by moving the endless belt 7c by the carriage motor 7a, the carriage 6 can reciprocate in the X direction. An image is recorded on the sheet by a discharge operation in which ink is discharged from the recording head 4 onto the sheet while the carriage 6 is moving. The recording device 1 is a serial type inkjet recording device in which the recording head 4 is mounted on the reciprocating carriage 6. Note that it is also applicable to an inkjet recording device provided with a recording head of a full-line head in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging liquid are provided in a region corresponding to the width of the sheet.

[0015] Figure 3 shows the configuration of the ink containers. Figure 3(a) is a perspective view showing the ink containers 5 and recording heads 4 for each color. Each container 5 is connected to the recording head 4 by a corresponding supply tube 14. Figure 3(b) is a schematic diagram of the structure of container 5. Container 5 comprises an ink storage section 54, a gas-liquid exchange section 52, and a buffer chamber 53. The buffer chamber 53 can contain ink pushed out from the storage section 54. An ink refill section 51 is provided at the top of container 5. The ink refill section 51 is closed by a cap section 120, so when refilling ink, the user removes the cap section 120 from the ink refill section 51 to perform the ink refilling work. A cap section 120 is provided on each color container 5.

[0016] The container 5 is connected to passages 14a and 15a. Passage 14a is an ink supply path that supplies ink from the housing section 54 of the container 5 to the recording head 4, and is formed by a flexible supply tube 14. Passage 15a is an atmospheric communication passage that connects the buffer chamber 53 of the container 5 to the atmosphere, and is formed by a flexible atmospheric communication tube 15. Valve 16 opens and closes passages 14a and 15a.

[0017] The gas-liquid exchange section 52 is positioned at a height H lower than the discharge surface 4a of the recording head 4, allowing a negative pressure to be applied to the discharge surface 4a due to a head difference of H. During recording, both passages 14a and 15a must be kept open to supply ink to the recording head 4. On the other hand, when refilling the container 5 with ink, both passages 14a and 15a must be closed. The valve 16 opens and closes in conjunction with the movement of the tank access cover 303 and the tank cover section 13.

[0018] The recovery unit 11 is a mechanism for maintaining the ink ejection performance from the recording head 4 and is located at one end of the carriage 6's range of motion. The recovery unit 11 includes a cap 11a that covers the ejection surface 4a of the recording head 4, and a pump 11b for drawing ink from the recording head 4 through the cap 11a. The cap 11a can be displaced by a mechanism (not shown) between a position covering the ejection surface 4a and a position separated from the ejection surface 4a. By covering the ejection surface 4a with the cap 11a (capping), drying of the cap 11a can be suppressed. Furthermore, by operating the pump 11b while the ejection surface 4a is capped with the cap 11a, the thickened ink adhering to the recording head 4 can be removed and the passage 14a and the recording head 4 can be filled with ink. When a recording operation is performed with the passage 14a and the recording head 4 filled with ink, ink is supplied from the container 5 in the same amount as the ink ejected from the recording head 4.

[0019] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the main components of the recording device. The recording device 1 comprises a feeding unit 8, a transport unit 9, a carriage 6, and a discharge unit 10. The feeding unit 8 supplies sheets S from a roll R around which a long continuous sheet S is wound. The feeding unit 8 includes a roll setting section 28 and a guide 8a that guides the sheet S supplied from the roll setting section 28 to the transport unit 9. The roll setting section 28 comprises a nip roller unit 20 and a feeding motor 8b (Figure 5), which is part of the drive means for rotationally driving the roll R.

[0020] The transport unit 9 is a transport means that transports the sheet S supplied from the feeding unit 8 in the transport direction (Y direction). The transport unit 9 includes a transport roller 9a and a transport motor 9b (Figure 5), which is part of the drive means for rotating the transport roller 9a. The transport roller 9a forms a nip when pressed against by a pinch roller 9c. The sheet S is held in place by the nip and transported to the platen 9d by the rotation of the transport roller 9a. The recording operation, which records an image onto the sheet S, is performed by alternately repeating the transport operation of the sheet S by the transport unit 9 and the ejection operation of ejecting ink while moving in the scanning direction (X direction). The discharge unit 10 includes a discharge roller 10a, a spur 10b, and a cutter 10c. The sheet S on which the image has been recorded by the recording head 4 is transported to the cutter 10c by the discharge roller 10a and the spur 10b. When the transported sheet S is cut by the cutter 10c, the sheet S is discharged from the recording device 1. The recording device 1 is equipped with a second feeding unit 12 that feeds the cut sheet placed on the tray 12b using a feeding roller 12a. Images are recorded on the cut sheet placed on the tray 12b by the recording head 4. When recording images on the cut sheet, the cut sheet is not cut by the cutter 10c.

[0021] Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration related to the control of the recording device. The control unit 30 includes an MPU 31, various drivers 34, a storage device 32, and an IF unit 33. The MPU 31 is a processor that controls the operation of the recording device 1 and processes data. The MPU 31 controls the recording device 1 by executing a program stored in the storage device 32. The storage device 32 includes ROM and RAM. In addition to the program executed by the MPU 31, the storage device 32 can store data received from the host computer 100 and various data necessary for processing.

[0022] The MPU 31 controls the recording head 4 via driver 34a and the carriage motor 7a via driver 34b to perform ejection operations. The MPU 31 also controls the transport motor 9b via driver 34c and the feed motor 8b via driver 34d to perform transport operations. The MPU 31 acquires detection results from various sensor groups 35 provided on the recording device 1 and performs various controls. The sensor group 35 includes a cover detection sensor 35a. Furthermore, the MPU 31 controls the display on the operation unit 36 ​​and accepts user operations to the operation unit 36.

[0023] The host computer 100 is, for example, a personal computer or a mobile device (such as a smartphone or tablet). The host computer 100 has a printer driver 101 installed that enables communication between the host computer 100 and the recording device 1. The recording device 1 is also equipped with an IF unit 33 that serves as an interface for communication with the host computer. When a user requests the host computer 100 to perform a recording operation, the printer driver 101 obtains settings related to image data and the quality of the recorded image, and issues various instructions to the recording device 1.

[0024] <Overview of the Roll Set Section> The roll set section will now be described with reference to Figures 6 to 9. In this embodiment, the roll set section is a sheet supply device. The roll set section 28 is located on the rear side of the recording device 1 and includes a support unit 25 and a roll feeding cover 301. The roll R is mounted on the roll set section 28 with the spool unit 26 attached. The sheet supply device may also include the roll set section 28 and a transport unit 9. Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the spool unit and the support unit. Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the spool unit mounted on the support unit. Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the roll set section. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the nip roller unit.

[0025] The spool unit 26, which is inserted into the end of the roll R to support the roll R with the support unit 25, consists of a spool gear 17, a flange 37, a spool shaft 38, and an insertion part 39. On the other hand, the roll set section 28 consists of a support unit 25 that rotatably supports the spool unit 26 and a feed cover 301 that covers the roll R. The support unit 25 consists of a flange guide 75, a drive gear 18, a guide part 71, and a support part 72. The spool unit 26 is rotatably supported by the support part 72. The spool unit 26 is prevented from moving in the axial direction of the spool shaft 38 by a movement restricting part. The feed cover 301 protects the roll R from the adhesion of debris and prevents the user from touching the roll R during recording. Since the feed cover 301 has an arc-shaped cross-section that is continuous in the width direction of the roll R, it can cover the outer circumferential surface of the roll R inside the arc. The feed cover 301 is supported so as to be openable and closable by pivot shafts 74 of support units 25 at both ends in the width direction of the roll R. The pivot shafts 74 are located above and on the rear side of the guide portion 71. Therefore, the feed cover 301 can rotate between an open position that does not interfere with the movement trajectory of the roll R (Figure 8(b)) and a closed position that covers the roll R (Figure 8(a)). The feed cover 301 is provided with a locking mechanism so that it can maintain the closed position. However, the locking mechanism is not essential, and the closed position may be maintained by its own weight.

[0026] The support unit 25 is provided with a drive mechanism for rotating the roll R. The drive mechanism includes a supply motor 8b and a drive gear 18. When the spool gear 17 rotates counterclockwise (Figure 10), the sheet S is supplied from the roll R, and when it rotates clockwise, the supplied sheet S is unwound onto the roll R. The flange guide 75 is provided with a drive mechanism, a guide section 71, and a pivot shaft 74, and is fixed to the rear side of the main body 2. The flange guide 75 is provided with a set base 70 on which the roll R is placed when mounting the roll R, and a restricting section 73 that restricts the movement of the roll R. The roll R reaches the support section 72 via the guide section 71 which is inclined in the guiding direction G from the opening 69 between the set base 70 and the restricting section 73. That is, the upstream side of the guiding direction G is the opening 69, and the downstream side is the support section 72. The guide section 71 is formed by a vertically lower guide section 71A and an upper guide section 71B. Guide section 71A is connected to the set base 70, and guide section 71B is connected to the regulating section 73. Guide section 71A is longer than guide section 71B. Therefore, the upper end of guide section 71A is higher than the upper end of guide section 71B.

[0027] Multiple nip roller units 20 are arranged on the arc-shaped inner surface of the feed cover 301. Each nip roller unit 20 consists of a torsion recoil spring 21, an arm portion 22, a roller holding portion 23, and a nip roller 24. One end 22A of the arm portion 22 is rotatably held relative to the feed cover 301 inside the feed cover 301. The roller holding portion 23 is rotatably held by the arm portion 22 at the other end 22B of the arm portion 22. The rotatable angle of the roller holding portion 23 is configured to be greater than or equal to the angle necessary to contact the roll R in the range from the minimum outer diameter to the maximum outer diameter. Therefore, the nip roller 24 is the contact means in this embodiment. In addition, two nip rollers 24 are rotatably held at both ends of the roller holding portion 23. A torsion recoil spring 21 is provided at the connection between the end 22A of the arm portion 22 and the feed cover 301. Therefore, the nip roller 24 can bias the arm portion 22 in the direction P toward the axis center of the roll R. Since the nip roller 24 is located upstream of the inclined guide portion 72 and the roll R is circular, a large space is not required to house the nip roller unit 20.

[0028] When the roll R, to which the spool unit 26 is attached, is mounted on the recording device 1 and the feed cover 301 is rotated to the closed position, the outer surface of the roll R and the nip roller 24 make initial contact. The two nip rollers 24 at the end 22B of the arm section 22 rotate to an angle where each contacts the outer surface of the roll R. Meanwhile, the nip rollers 24 are pressed by the reaction force of the roll R. As a result, the roll R is nipped by the nip rollers 24 due to the spring force of the torsion coil spring 21 at the end 22A. That is, the roll R is pressed by the nip rollers 24 from the upstream side in the guide direction G toward the support section 72. When the roll R is mounted on the support unit 25, the position and angle of the nip rollers 24 change according to the outer diameter of the roll R. The sheet S is supplied through the supply port 27 between the feed unit 12 and the roll set section 28. Therefore, when the feed cover 301 is in the closed position, the tangent between the outer diameter of the roll R and the nip roller 24 is configured to point approximately towards the feed port 27. In this way, the sheet S can be supplied from the roll R to the conveying unit 9 regardless of whether the outer diameter of the roll R is the minimum or maximum outer diameter. Note that even without the feed cover 301, it is sufficient if the nip roller unit 24 can be retracted when the roll is attached or detached. Also, the direction of rotation of the roll and the direction of attachment / detachment of the roll can each be set to any desired direction.

[0029] <Forces acting on the spool gear> In this embodiment, the roll R is configured to be less likely to detach from the support part 72 when the roll R is rotated. The force that the spool gear 17 receives will be explained with reference to Figures 10 to 12. Figure 10 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the components constituting the spool gear and the support unit. Figure 11 is a diagram showing the force that the spool gear receives. Figure 12 is a diagram comparing the presence or absence of the nip roller unit.

[0030] The guide section 71 of the support unit 25 is inclined, so it guides the roll R from the set stand 70 in the direction of gravity and in the guide direction G opposite to the transport direction C. When the roll R is mounted on the support unit 25, the roll R is guided along the lower guide section 71A of the guide section 71. The guide path of the guide section 71A extends in a straight line without bending along the way to the support unit 72. Here, as shown in Figure 10, the straight line 65A is defined as the line passing through the center of the roll R mounted on the support unit 72 and parallel to the guide direction G of the guide section 71, and the straight line 65B is defined as the line passing through the center of the roll R mounted on the support unit 72 and perpendicular to the guide direction G of the guide section 71. The straight line 65A is at an angle of 30 degrees from the vertical toward the downstream side of the transport direction C. In addition, the rotation center of the drive gear 18 that engages with the spool gear 17 is located in the region 65C upstream of the transport direction C with respect to the straight line 65A.

[0031] In Figure 11, when the drive gear 18 rotates counterclockwise, the spool gear 17 is configured not to receive a force component that would cause it to move away from the support portion 72. Here, as shown in Figure 11, if we define the tangent line 15A as the tangent to both reference circles at the point of contact of the reference circles of the drive gear 18 and the spool gear 17, then when the drive gear 18 rotates counterclockwise, the spool gear 17 receives a force in the direction of direction 15B. The magnitude of the angle between direction 15B and the tangent line 15A at this time is equal to the gear pressure angle, which is 20 degrees. Also, if we define the line 65E as the line connecting the centers of the spool gear 17 and the drive gear 18, then the angle between line 65A and line 65E is 30 degrees. Therefore, the direction of the force that the spool gear 17 receives from the drive gear 18 is about 10 degrees downward from line 65B, and the spool gear 17 is pressed against the support portion 72. Therefore, the spool gear 17 is less likely to detach from the support portion 72 when the rotation direction of the drive gear 18 is counterclockwise.

[0032] On the other hand, in Figure 11, when the drive gear 18 rotates clockwise, the spool gear 17 receives a force component that causes it to detach from the support 72. The drive gear 18 rotates clockwise when the sheet S is supplied to the conveyor roller 9a. Here, if the resultant force 15C is the force that the spool gear 17 receives from the drive gear 18, then the angle between the resultant force 15C and the tangent line 15A is equal to the gear pressure angle, which is 20 degrees. The straight line 65A is at an angle tilted 30 degrees counterclockwise from the vertical, and the straight line 65E is at an angle tilted another 30 degrees counterclockwise from the straight line 65A. Therefore, the direction of the force that the spool gear 17 receives from the drive gear 18 is about 40 degrees upward from the straight line 65B, and the spool gear 17 receives a force in the direction that causes it to detach from the support 72.

[0033] In this case, if the component force 15D is the component force in the opposite direction to the guide direction G in the resultant force 15C, then component force 15D is the force in the direction that causes the spool gear 17 to detach from the support part 72. On the other hand, if the force that the roll R receives from the nip roller 24 is the resultant force 19A, then the component force in the guide direction G is component force 19B. The component force 19B that the nip roller unit 20 presses the roll R in the guide direction G is set to be greater than the component force 15D in the direction that causes the spool gear 17 to detach from the support part 72. Therefore, the roll R does not detach from the support part 72. Now, referring to Figure 12, we compare the case with and without the nip roller unit 20. When the nip roller unit 20 is present (Figure 12(a)), the spool gear 17A does not detach from the support part 72 due to the pressing force of the nip roller unit 20. On the other hand, if the nip roller unit 20 is absent (Figure 12(b)), the spool gear 17 receives a force component that causes it to detach from the support portion 72, and may therefore detach from the support portion 72. In this case, the spool gear 17B will not be engaged with the drive gear 18. Therefore, the sheet S can be stably supplied from the roll R by the nip roller unit 20.

[0034] <Installing the roll> This explains how the user attaches the roll R to the roll set section. The spool unit 26 is attached by inserting the insertion parts 39 into both ends of R. Then, the feed cover 301 is manually rotated to the open position to mount the roll R. At this time, the recording device 1 is in a standby state not recording or in a stopped state with the power off. Next, the user places the roll R with the spool unit 26 attached onto the set stand 70. When the user releases their hands from the spool unit 26, the spool shaft 38 moves down the slope of the set stand 70 due to gravity. The spool shaft 38 is then guided by the guide part 71 from the upstream side in the guidance direction G and reaches the support part 72 which has an arc-shaped surface. As a result, the spool shaft 38 is supported by the support part 72. At this time, the spool gear 17 engages with the drive gear 18 of the support unit 25 and is connected to the roll drive motor 8b. Finally, the user rotates the feed cover 301 to the closed position, and the mounting of the roll R is completed. The set stand may also be horizontal. In this case, the user guides the roll R from the set stand 70 toward the guide part 71. Furthermore, one of the support unit 25's mounting bases may be horizontal, while the other mounting base is sloped.

[0035] Next, the method for removing the roll R by the user will be explained. The user rotates the feed cover 301 from the closed position to the open position. Then, by pulling the roll R on the front side of the recording device 1 in the opposite direction to the guide direction G, the roll R can be removed from the support unit 25. After that, the removal of the roll R is completed by rotating the feed cover 301 back to the closed position.

[0036] The relationship between the nip roller units 20 and rolls R when rolls R of various widths are mounted in the recording device 1 will be explained with reference to Figure 13. Figure 13 is a top view showing the relationship between the nip roller units and the rolls. Multiple nip roller units 20 are arranged in the X direction as 20A, 20B, 20C, and 20D. Figure 13(a) shows the setup with the roll R of the maximum specified width mounted. All nip roller units 20 are pressing against the roll R. On the other hand, Figure 13(b) shows the setup with the roll R of the minimum specified width mounted. Only nip roller unit 20D is pressing against the roll R. Thus, even with the roll R of the minimum specified width, the nip roller units 20 are arranged so that at least one nip roller unit 20 presses against the roll R.

[0037] Figure 14 illustrates the behavior when the outer diameter of the roll changes. Figure 14(a) shows the state when the roll R with the largest possible outer diameter that can be mounted on the recording device 1 is installed. Figure 14(b) shows the state when the outer diameter of the roll decreases as the roll is consumed. When the outer diameter of the roll R changes, the pinch roller unit 20 is pressed against the roll R by spring biasing force. When only one nip roller unit 20 is pressing against the roll R, and the outer diameter of the roll is at its smallest, the force with which the nip roller unit 20 presses against the roll R is at its smallest. Even with this pressing force, the spring biasing force is set so that the roll R does not detach from the support part 72.

[0038] With the above configuration of the roll set section, a movement obstruction section is unnecessary, thus enabling cost reduction and size reduction. In this way, a sheet feeding device that can supply sheets from rolls with a simple configuration can be provided. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0039] 24 Nipple Roller 71 Information Department 72 Support part

Claims

1. A support part that rotatably supports a roll around which a sheet is wound, A guide section that guides the roll from above the support section to the support section in the guiding direction when the roll is installed, A first gear is positioned in an insertion part into which the roll is inserted so that the roll is supported by the support part, A second gear is provided in the support portion and engages with the first gear, A motor that rotates the second gear, A cover that can be opened and closed between a closed position that covers the roll supported by the support part and an open position that opens the roll, The cover is provided with a contact means that, when the cover is in the closed position, contacts the outer circumferential surface of the roll supported by the support portion from the upstream side in the guide direction, A sheet feeding device characterized in that the first component force in the guiding direction in which the contact means presses the roll is greater than the second component force in the opposite direction to the guiding direction that the insertion portion receives from the drive by the motor.

2. It is equipped with a conveying means for conveying a sheet supplied from a roll in the conveying direction, The sheet supply device according to claim 1, characterized in that the opening of the guide portion is located on the side of the conveying means with respect to the vertical direction from the center of the roll supported by the support portion.

3. The sheet supply device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the contact means biases the roll supported by the support portion by a biasing means arranged on the cover.

4. Equipped with a scanning device for reading documents, The sheet supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the cover is aligned with the reading device in the direction of supplying the sheet.

5. The sheet supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the guide path from the opening of the guide portion to the support portion is a straight line.

6. The aforementioned contact means is a roller, The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the roller contacts the outer circumferential surface of the roll and moves according to the outer diameter of the roll.

7. The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a plurality of the aforementioned contact means are provided in the width direction of the roll.

8. The sheet supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the cover is provided with a locking mechanism for maintaining the closed position.

9. A sheet supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, A recording device comprising: recording means for recording an image on a sheet supplied from the aforementioned sheet supply device.

10. The recording device according to claim 9, characterized in that the recording means is a recording head provided with a plurality of nozzles for discharging liquid onto a sheet.

Images