JP4448068B2 - Image reading and recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading and recording apparatus integrally including a reading means for reading an image of a document and a recording means for recording (printing) an image on a recording sheet, and more particularly to an image reading and recording apparatus such as a facsimile.

Conventionally, there has been proposed a facsimile apparatus in which a part of a document and recording paper conveyance path is shared for the purpose of downsizing and cost reduction. FIG. 16 shows an example of the configuration. In this example, in order to reduce the size, the sheet feeding roller 304 and the separation roller 303 are shared, and a common conveyance path is provided. Above the recording paper 301, there is provided a document stacking base 309 on which a document is stacked. The document stacking base 309 is fixedly disposed on the pressure plate 308 and can be moved up and down with the rotation of the pressure plate. Since the reading unit 311 can be retracted from the moving space of the carriage, it is advantageous in terms of downsizing. The conveyed document 302 is read by the reading unit 311, and at the time of recording, the reading unit 311 is retracted from the carriage movement space by the common conveyance roller. A facsimile in which the image reading unit as described above is configured to be movable is proposed in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which a contact image sensor (CS) is fixedly arranged upstream of a recording unit.
JP 2004-180084 A US Pat. No. 6,021,013

  However, in Patent Document 1, since the entire image reading unit is retracted, the drive mechanism is complicated and a large space is required for retraction. Further, when the CS is fixedly arranged as in Patent Document 1, the image reading unit is provided close to the conveyance path. Therefore, in the structure in which a part of the conveyance path of the document and the recording paper is shared, the recording is performed. When the paper passes through the image reading unit, the recording paper receives back tension from the image reading unit, which may affect the recording accuracy.

  In the image reading and recording apparatus in which the recording paper and the document are fed and conveyed by a common paper feeding mechanism and the image reading unit is arranged in the middle of the conveyance path, the influence of the image reading unit is reduced during recording with a simple structure. It is an object to provide a transport structure that can be suppressed.

The image reading and recording apparatus of the present invention includes a common conveyance path through which recording paper and a document are selectively conveyed, an image reading unit that is disposed in the common conveyance path and reads the document, and the image on the common conveyance path. A guide member disposed opposite the reading unit and adapted to move between a first position close to the common transport path and a second position spaced apart from the common transport path; and A control unit that moves between the first and second positions, a recording unit that is disposed on the common conveyance path and that records on the recording paper, and a cover that is disposed above the guide member and that can be opened and closed And the image reading unit is arranged upstream of the recording unit and upstream of the common conveyance path with a reading surface facing upward in a vertical direction, and the control unit moves the guide member to the first member. A spring member that presses to a position, and the guide member to the spring member A cam that moves from the first position to the second position, and a rotating means for the cam. The cam moves the guide member from the first position to the second position. The cam rotation means stops at a position where the protrusion moves the guide member to the second position only when the recording paper is supplied to the common conveyance path, and the document is When supplied to the common transport path, the phase angle of the cam is controlled so that the protrusion stops at a position before the guide member is moved to the second position .

  According to the above means, the guide member arranged to face the image reading unit can selectively take the first position close to the common conveyance path or the second position separated from the common conveyance path. Therefore, even when the recording paper and the original are selectively conveyed on the common conveyance path, the influence from the image reading unit at the time of recording can be suppressed by changing the position of the guide member depending on which one is conveyed. .

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those unless otherwise limited.

  FIG. 1 shows a sectional configuration diagram of a facsimile apparatus as an example of the image reading and recording apparatus of the present invention. In the facsimile apparatus 100, the recording paper 2 and the original 12 are set. The facsimile apparatus 100 includes an image recording apparatus unit 101 including a cartridge 1 that records an image on a recording sheet 2, an image reading apparatus unit 102 including an image reading unit 28 that reads an image of an original 12, and a plurality of sheets that are set. The recording paper 2 or the original 12 is separated into a single sheet, and the automatic paper feeding unit 103 conveys them to the image recording unit 1A or the image reading unit 28.

(Automatic paper feeder)
First, the automatic paper feeder 103 will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the automatic paper feeder 103 when the original and recording paper are not set, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the automatic paper feeder when the original and recording paper are not set.

  The ASF base 80 serving as a frame (framework) of the automatic paper feeding unit includes a base surface 80a, a right side plate 80b, a left side plate 80c, a front end reference surface 80d that abuts the front end of the document and the recording paper during setting, and a sheet passing surface. 80e. The first paper feed roller 81 is rotatably attached to the printer cover 29 via a bearing. The pressure plate 82 is rotatably attached to the right side plate 80 b and the left side plate 80 c of the ASF base 80. The pressure plate 82 is urged toward the first paper feed roller 81 by a pressure plate spring 83 attached between the back surface of the pressure plate 82 and the base surface 80 a of the ASF base 80. The pressure plate 82 is urged or separated from the first paper feed roller 81 by the rotation of the control cam 97a. In other words, the pressure plate 82 functions as a pressing member for pressing the bundle of the recording paper 2 or the original 12 toward the first paper supply roller 81 at the time of paper supply. It is pushed down by the control lever 707. There is a gap between the pressure plate 82 and the first paper feed roller 81 for setting the original and recording paper, and functions as a paper stacking surface. A separation pad 84 is affixed to the center of the front end of the pressure plate 82, and the separation pad 84 and the sheet feed roller 81 are in a positional relationship facing each other in a biased state during sheet feeding.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a document table 85 for supporting and stacking the document 12 is rotatably attached to the ASF base 80. Since the fulcrum position 85a of the document table 85 is above the fulcrum position 82a of the pressure plate 82 and has a predetermined center from the base surface 80a of the ASF base 80 as described above, the pressure plate 82 is provided. The rotation angle of the document table along with the upper and lower sides is smaller than the rotation angle of the pressure plate 82. Therefore, the disturbance of the stacking state of the originals 12 due to the vertical movement of the pressure plate 82 is reduced, and the reliability of the paper feeding operation is improved. When the pressure plate 82 is in pressure contact with the first paper feed roller 81, the recording paper 2 or the document 12 set on the recording paper contacts the first paper feed roller 81 at an angle as close as possible to each other. Thus, stable separation is possible without any difference in separation performance. In the present embodiment, since the document table 85 is of a rotating method, it can be lowered to the lowermost end by its own weight, so that the state where the first paper feed roller 81 is urged while being bent is eliminated. . Further, there is an advantage that less space is required as compared with the case where the document table 85 is fixed to the pressure plate. The document table 85 has a contact surface that maintains a predetermined distance from the base surface 80a in the standby state, and is in contact with a part of the pressure plate 82.

  A document bridge 86 is rotatably attached to the document table 85. While the document bridge 86 is attached to the ASF base 80, the document bridge 86 is regulated by the concave portion of the ASF base so that the leading edge of the document bridge 86 is spaced from the recording paper stacking surface of the pressure plate 82 by a predetermined gap. Hold the underside of the. Since the document bridge 86 is in a position that is axially displaced from the first paper feed roller 81 and the second paper feed roller 75, the paper bridge 86 can be retracted from the recording paper transport path by a rotational motion when the recording paper is transported. The length of the tip is set.

  When only the recording paper 2 is set, that is, when there is no original 12 in FIG. 1, when the pressure plate 82 is rotated in a direction urged by the first paper supply roller 81 by a control cam 97a described later, the recording paper 2 The uppermost paper and the first paper feed roller 81 come into contact with each other. The document bridge 86 is located on the upper side of the recording paper, but is located at a position escaped from the first paper feed roller 81 and the separation roller 93 in the paper width direction. Must not.

  When both the original 12 and the recording paper 2 are set as shown in FIG. 1, when the pressure plate 82 is rotated in a direction urged by the first paper supply roller 81 by a control cam 97a described later, the uppermost original 12 is recorded. The first paper supply roller 81 is urged through the paper 2. At this time, the original bridge 86 is sandwiched between the recording paper 2 and the original 12, but as shown in FIG. 3, the separation pad 84 protrudes from the recording paper stacking surface 82b, and the original bridge 86 extends in the width direction. Since the first paper feed roller 81 is escaping, a predetermined urging force acts between the original 2 and the first paper feed roller 81 without excessive deformation of the original.

  Further, when only the document 12 is set, when the pressure plate 82 is lifted in the direction in which the pressure plate 82 is urged by the sheet feed roller 81, the uppermost sheet of the document 12 comes into contact with the first sheet feed roller 81. At this time, the document bridge 86 is sandwiched between the pressure plate 82 and the document 12. However, since the separation pad 84 protrudes from the recording paper stacking surface 82b, the separation pad 84 and the document bridge 86 are exactly the same height. Thus, a predetermined urging force is applied between the document 12 and the first paper feed roller 81 without causing unnecessary deformation of the document. If the separation pad and the paper stacking surface 82b are at the same height, the original is deformed in the width direction by the thickness of the original bridge 86 in order to bias the original 12 to the first paper feed roller 81. This is necessary, and the urging force is used to deform the document, and the appropriate urging force does not work on the first paper feed roller 81, resulting in non-feeding.

  A sheet tray 8 for supporting the recording paper 2 and the original 12 is rotatably fixed to the ASF base 80. The sheet tray 8 can be closed so as to cover the sheet stacking surface when the sheets are not stacked, and dust is prevented from accumulating on the sheets. A side guide 90 is attached to the ASF base 80 so as to be slidable in the C direction (arrow in FIG. 2) intersecting with the conveyance direction of the recording paper 2. The document slider 30 is also attached to the document table 85 so that it can slide in the C direction. When setting the recording paper 2, the right end of the recording paper is abutted against the right side surface 80b of the ASF base formed on the ASF base 80, the left end is regulated by the side guide 90, and the leading end is supported by the leading end reference surface 80d. The entire paper is supported by the sheet tray 8 and the paper stacking surface 80b of the pressure plate 82 (FIGS. 1 and 2). On the other hand, when a document is set, the right end of the document 12 is abutted against the right side surface 80b of the ASF base 80 formed on the ASF base 80 as in the recording paper 2, the left end is regulated by the document slider 30, and the leading end is a leading reference surface 80d. The entire document is supported by a sheet tray 8, a document table 85, and a document bridge 86 (FIGS. 1 and 3).

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an original detection unit 320 is supported below the right end of the original table 85 so as to be rotatable with respect to the original table 85. The document detection unit 320 includes a document detection first member 122 having a rotation center above the document set with the document holder 121, a document detection second member 123, and a document detection board 124. The document holder 121 is provided so as to support the right end (reference side) and the lower surface of the document and partially cover the upper surface. More specifically, the first document detection means 122 has an axial shape, one end includes a contact surface 122a capable of contacting the set document 12, and the other end includes a spur gear portion 122b. The document detection second member 123 has the same shaft shape, and a light shielding surface 125 that makes a photo interrupter mounted on the document detection substrate 124 fixedly arranged outside the sheet stacking width at one end in a light shielding state or a non-light shielding state. And a spur gear portion 123b that meshes with the spur gear portion 122b of the document detection first means 121 at the other end. When the document 12 is inserted, the document detection first means 122 performs a rotational motion such that it escapes upward as shown in the direction A in FIG. In this embodiment, since the spur gear portions 122b and 123b of the document detection means are meshed at a reduction ratio of 1: 1, the document detection second means 123 is also shown in FIG. Rotate in the B direction of b). As a result, the light shielding surface 125 changes the photo interrupt from the light shielding state to the non-light shielding state. In the present embodiment, since the original detection first means 122 and the original detection second means 123 are engaged, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the contact member and the detection signal generator is increased, and the optimum system with respect to the rotation fulcrum and the like. Can take. Further, the document 12 abutted against the document reference surface formed by the document holder 121 is reliably brought into contact with the document by the held document detection first means 122, so that the reliability of the detection mechanism is improved.

  In the present embodiment, since the document detection unit 320 is supported by the document table 85, the entire document detection unit 320 together with the document table 85 as a support may be moved by the insertion of the recording paper or the movement of the pressure plate 82. is there. However, even with such a swing, the document detecting second means 123 can maintain the light shielding state even if it moves in the direction C in FIG. 5B with respect to the document detecting substrate. The length is adjusted. Further, the lower surface 121a of the document holder 121 and the leading end 122c of the contact surface 122a are adjusted so as not to interfere with the stacked recording paper 2 and the pressure plate 82 even in the recording paper feeding operation.

  As described above, the first document detection unit interlocks with the second document detection unit and performs the light interrupting operation of the photo interrupter on the outer side of the sheet stacking surface, which leads to downsizing of the automatic sheet feeder.

  Next, the separation mechanism in the automatic paper feeder 103 will be described. As can be seen from FIGS. 3 and 6, the separation roller 93 is arranged to nip the second paper feed roller 75 downstream of the nip position between the paper feed roller 81 and the separation pad 84. The separation roller 93 is pivotally supported by the separation roller holder 94 via a torque limiter. The separation roller holder 94 is rotatably supported on the back surface of the paper passing surface 80e of the ASF base 80, and the separation roller 93 is supported by a separation roller spring (not shown) that is hooked on the separation roller holder 94 and the ASF base 80 during paper feeding. It is urged by the second paper feed roller 75 and is separated from the second paper feed roller 75 by the release cam lever 96 except during paper feeding. The release cam lever 96 includes a shaft portion 96a, a drive cam 96b formed on both sides of the shaft, and a driven cam 96c. The release cam lever 96 is rotatably supported on the back surface and the left side surface 80c of the sheet passing surface 80e of the ASF base 80. The separation roller holder 84 has a driven surface 94a corresponding to the drive cam 96b. When the release cam lever 96 rotates by a predetermined angle in the D direction, the drive cam 96b pushes the driven surface 94a and the separation roller holder 94 rotates in the F direction. Then, the separation roller 93 and the paper feed roller 81 are separated (FIG. 6). The release cam lever 96 rotates when a drive cam of a control gear 97 described later is engaged. The surface of the separation roller 93 is made of rubber, urethane foam, or the like so as to have a friction coefficient comparable to that of the paper feed roller.

  The relationship between the torque of the torque limiter, the urging force of the separation roller 93, and the friction coefficient of each roller is set as follows. When there is no document or recording paper between the second paper feed roller 75 and the separation roller 93, the frictional force between the rollers exceeds the torque of the torque limiter, so that the rotation of the second paper feed roller 75 is applied to the separation roller 93. As a result, the separation roller 93 rotates. When one original 12 or recording paper 2 enters between the second feeding roller 75 and the separation roller 93, the frictional force transmitted through the original 12 or the recording paper 2 (frictional force between the roller and the paper) Exceeds the torque limiter torque, the separation roller 93 rotates, and the paper is conveyed by the rotation of the second paper feed roller 75. Further, when two or more originals and recording paper enter between the second paper feed roller 75 and the separation roller 93, a frictional force (frictional force between paper and paper) transmitted through the original or recording paper is generated. Since the torque is smaller than that of the torque limiter, the separation roller 93 is stopped and only the uppermost sheet is conveyed by the second sheet feeding roller 75, and the other sheets are nip 98 between the second sheet feeding roller 75 and the separation roller 93. Stop at.

  As described above, when the plurality of documents 12 and the recording paper 2 are separated and transported by the separation roller 93 and the second paper feed roller 75, the second and subsequent papers are in the nip between the separation roller 93 and the second paper feed roller 75. Stopped near the section 98. If paper remains at this position, it cannot be fed normally when the paper is fed next time or when paper is added, and the paper in the nip portion 98 must be returned to the set position. Therefore, a paper return mechanism is provided. The paper return mechanism includes a return lever 133 that is rotatably supported on the back side of the sheet passing surface 80e of the ASF base 80, and a control cam 97a that operates the return lever 133 by a cam. The return lever 133 includes a shaft portion and a plurality of claw portions 133b, and a claw control cam 134 is attached to one end of the shaft (FIG. 8). The claw control cam 134 is urged in the E direction by a spring (not shown). The return lever 133 is shown in FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C by a driven portion 134a formed on the pawl control cam 134 and a control cam 97a that rotates in the same phase as a control gear 97 described later. There are three possible positions.

  FIG. 7A shows the position of the return lever 133 during standby of the feeding operation. When waiting for the feeding operation, the leading end of the return lever 133 is inserted into the sheet passing path so as to act as a stopper, so that the leading end of the recording paper 2 and the original 12 are set at the back of the automatic sheet feeding unit 103. To prevent inadvertent entry.

  FIG. 7B shows a state in which the driven portion 134 a of the control cam 134 is disengaged from the control cam 97 a of the control gear 97. The return lever 133 is rotated in the direction of arrow H by a biasing force of a biasing spring (not shown), and is completely retracted from the sheet passing surface so that the sheet is not caught.

  FIG. 7C shows a position where the return lever 133 is slightly rotated in the direction of arrow G from FIG. 7A, and a state immediately after the feeding operation is started and when the paper in the nip portion 98 is returned to the set position. Is shown. Immediately after the start of the feeding operation, there is a possibility that the recording paper 2 or the original 12 is newly loaded during the waiting for feeding. Therefore, an operation of returning the leading end of the sheet to the predetermined leading end reference 80d is performed. When the return lever 133 reaches the position shown in FIG. 7C, the leading edge of the preceding recording paper 2 or document 12 is completely pushed back to the leading edge reference 80d. The recording paper 2 in the nip portion 98 between the second paper feed roller 75 and the separation roller 93 is pushed back to the set position by the operation of the return lever 133. At this time, the recording paper 2 is stacked in a standing state. Therefore, it is returned to be lifted obliquely upward against its own weight. At this time, if the rigidity of the paper is weak, the recording paper does not shift upward, and only the leading edge may be returned and bend in the middle. However, if the paper has a thickness of about 100 μm and is used for recording in this apparatus, it is returned to the set position without being bent halfway. However, the original 12 may pass a thin sheet of about 60 μm such as a slip, and may be bent when there is a space in the downward direction when pushed back by the return lever 133. In view of this, in the present embodiment, a paper passing surface that restricts the downward space is formed by the document bridge 86 so that the thin paper can be returned to the set position without being bent.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a DES lever 118 for detecting the leading edge of the document, a PE sensor lever 21 for detecting the leading edge of the recording paper 2, and an image recording apparatus are provided downstream of the automatic paper feeder. In order to perform recording and reading operations in the unit 101 and the image reading device unit 102, a conveyance unit that conveys paper at a predetermined speed and a paper discharge unit that discharges the paper on which recording and reading operations have been performed to the outside of the apparatus are provided. It has been. The conveyance unit includes a conveyance roller 10 including a metal shaft and a rubber roller, and a plurality of pinch rollers 16 arranged in the paper width direction biased by the conveyance roller 10. The paper discharge unit includes a paper discharge roller 17 in which an elastomer is integrally formed on a plastic shaft, a spur 18 biased by the paper discharge roller, and a spur 23 that is held without a counter member. .

  A roller 711 is supported at the front end of the PE sensor lever 21 so as to be rotatable in the paper passing direction, and is rotatable by rubbing against the back surface of the recording paper 2. Without the roller 711, the PE sensor lever 21 may have a rotational center position and the recording paper cueing or the like, depending on conditions such as the stiffness of the recording paper and the coefficient of friction of the back side of the recording paper. A force in the direction in which the sensor lever bites in acts to damage the back surface of the recording paper, or in the worst case, a hole is formed in the recording paper. Further, in the structure in which the image reading unit is arranged in the vicinity of the image recording unit as in the present embodiment, the PE sensor lever 21 must be arranged at a position avoiding the image reading unit, and the rotation center may be limited. However, the problem is solved by the rotation of the roller 711 and the recording paper 2.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a drive substrate unit 60 is disposed on the right side surface 80 b of the ASF base 80 as a drive mechanism unit of the automatic sheet feeder 103. The drive board unit 60 includes a drive motor 20, speed reduction gears 606 and 607, a sun gear 617, a timer gear (not shown), a control gear 97, and a control cam 97a. The drive from the drive motor 20 is engaged with the control cam gear 97.

  Next, the operation of each component of the automatic sheet feeder 103 will be described using a timing chart. FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing an operation from feeding an original or recording paper from the automatic paper feeder to starting reading or recording. In the figure, the position of the pressure plate 82, the position of the return lever 133, the position of the separation roller 93, the position of the white reference push-up lever 710, the torque limiter, the PE sensor lever 21, the DE sensor lever 118, and the ASF initialization lever 703 are shown. ON / OFF. Since the sheet feeding operation feeds one document and recording sheet by one rotation of the control gear 97, the horizontal axis represents the rotation angle (0 °) of one rotation of the control gear 97 and the control cam 97a described later. ~ 360 °).

  9, the leftmost state indicates the standby state shown in FIG. The pressure plate 82 is held at a position separated from the first paper feed roller 81, that is, a separated position, and the return lever 133 is at the position shown in FIG. Further, the separation roller 93 is in a position retracted from the paper feed roller 81, that is, in a retracted position, and the initialization lever 703 that detects the phase of the paper feed roller 81 is OFF (a state that is out of the photo interrupter). A series of operations starts from the standby state.

  When the control gear 97 rotates to the angle A, the separation roller 93 starts to move from the retracted position to the pressure contact position, and the second paper feed roller 75 and the separation roller 93 are brought into pressure contact soon.

  When the control gear 97 rotates to the angle B, the return lever 133 moves to a position retracted downward from the conveyance path as shown in FIG.

  When the control gear 97 rotates to the angle C, the pressure plate 82 starts to move toward the first paper feed roller 81.

  When the control gear 97 rotates to an angle D, the uppermost document in the bundle of documents 2 stacked on the pressure plate 82 is pressed against the paper feed roller 81. When pressed, several originals from the top are conveyed to the nip portion 98 of the second paper feed roller 75 and the separation roller 93. Only the uppermost sheet is separated at this nip and conveyed downstream.

  When the control gear 97 rotates to near the angle E, the leading edge of the document reaches the DE sensor lever 118 and turns on the sensor. Further, the separation operation of the pressure plate 82 is finished, and the pressure plate 82 is separated from the first paper feed roller 81.

  When the control gear 97 rotates to the vicinity of the angle F, it starts to return the leading edge of the recording paper / document that may have become irregular during standby to the recording paper leading edge reference portion 80d. The separation roller 93 starts to retract from the second paper feed roller 75 and ensures the return operation of the return lever 133.

  When the control gear 97 rotates to the angle G, the torque applied to the separation roller 93 is released, and after this angle, the separation roller 93 acts as a roller.

  When the control gear 97 rotates to the angle H, the return lever 133 is returning to the standby state, and the separation roller 93 is returned to the pressure contact state with respect to the second paper feed roller 75.

  When the control gear 97 rotates to the angle I, the document reaches the reading line.

  When the control gear 97 rotates to near the angle J, the leading edge of the recording paper reaches the PE sensor 21 and turns on the sensor. After that, it reaches the nip between the conveying roller 10 and the pinch roller 16 at an angle rotated about 30 degrees.

  When the control gear 97 rotates to near the angle K, the separation roller 93 starts to be separated from the second paper feed roller 75 again, and torque is applied to the torque limiter when the separation operation is completed. When the separation roller 93 is separated from the second paper feed roller 75, the conveyance by the automatic paper feeding unit 103 is finished, but the separated document is held by the conveyance roller 10 and the pinch roller 16, so that the conveyance continues. Done.

  Here, in the case of document feeding, the cam stops rotating in the vicinity of the angle K of the control gear 97, and thereafter, the document conveyance is continued by the conveyance roller 10.

  On the other hand, in the case of recording paper feeding, the rotation is stopped in the vicinity of the angle L of the control gear 97, and thereafter, the conveyance of the document is continued by the conveyance roller 10. At this time, the cam is configured to rotate so that the white reference member 25 is retracted from the common conveyance path by the action of a white reference push-up lever 710 described later. Here, whether the control gear 97 stops near the angle K or near the angle L is controlled by the rotation of the motor 20, which will be described later, depending on whether the document feeding mode or the recording sheet feeding mode.

  When the control gear rotates to an angle M, the white reference push-up lever 710 is returned and the white reference member 25 returns to the common conveyance path, and the leading ends of all the originals except the currently fed original are the recording paper leading ends. It is conveyed in the reverse direction to the reference portion 80d. At the same time, the initialization lever 703 is turned off.

  When the rotation angle of the control cam 97a is rotated to the angle N, the return lever 133 returns to the position shown in FIG. 7A and all the mechanisms are the same as in the standby state, and the paper feeding operation is completed.

(Image reading unit)
Next, an outline of the image reading apparatus unit 102 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3. The image reading unit 102 is fixedly arranged on the upstream side of the recording unit of the common conveyance path L where the recording paper and the original are selectively conveyed and below the common conveyance path. The document 12 fed by the above-described feeding operation is nipped and conveyed by the second feeding roller 75 and the separation roller 93, and the reading operation is started. Thereafter, the leading edge of the document is nipped and conveyed by the conveyance roller 10 and the pinch roller 16, the spur 18 and the paper discharge roller 17, and is discharged out of the apparatus. Thus, by fixing the image reading unit 28 in the recording / conveying path, it is possible to reduce the size and cost of the entire facsimile apparatus.

  Here, the image reading unit 28 will be described with reference to FIG. The image reading unit 28 includes a CS 22 that is an image reading unit provided on the common conveyance path, and a white reference member 25 that is held in a state of facing the CS 22. The white reference member 25 also functions as a document guide member. The CS 22 is fixed and held with the reading surface facing upward in the vertical direction in a form embedded in the recess 80 f (FIG. 3) of the ASF base 80.

  The white reference member 25 is formed by attaching a white sheet to a metal plate, and this metal plate includes a plane on which the white sheet is attached and bent portions formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction. Two shafts (not shown) that are coaxial with each other are fitted to both ends of the white reference member 25, and this shaft engages with a hole formed in the ASF base 80, so that the white reference member 25 is CS22. It is supported so that it can rotate. The two shafts extend in a direction perpendicular to the document conveyance direction in a plane substantially parallel to the common conveyance path. The white reference member 25 is supported by the two shafts and is urged by a white reference urging spring 27 to be close to the common conveyance path and to form a gap through which one document can pass (first position). And a recording position (second position) rotated in a direction (L direction in FIG. 10) away from the CS 22 (that is, the common conveyance path) against the white reference biasing spring 27. be able to. The first position is shown in FIG. 14A, and the second position is shown in FIG. 14B.

  In the normal state, the white reference member 25 is urged toward the CS 22 side by the white reference urging spring 27 (FIG. 3) (first position). That is, since the white reference member 25 is pressed against the image reading unit 28 through a slight gap, even if a curled document is conveyed and a force that lifts the white reference member 25 is applied, the image reading unit of the CS 22 is used. Thus, the document does not float from 28, leading to a high quality of the read image. In addition, there is an effect that the static electricity generated by the friction with the document 12 to be passed through is released to the ground by making contact with other sheet metal members using the electrical conductivity of the spring itself. On the other hand, the white reference member 25 is set to the second position when the recording paper is conveyed. The movement of the white reference member 25 between the first and second positions is performed by a control mechanism including a control gear 97 and a drive motor 20 described later, in addition to the white reference biasing spring 27. Since the CS 22 is installed below the common conveyance path, only the white reference member 25 needs to be retracted even when the recording paper is conveyed. A complicated mechanism that moves is unnecessary.

  Further, the CS cover 40 can be opened to take a cleaning position that can be rotated further than the recording position. When the white sheet of the white reference member 25 or the reading surface of the CS 22 is soiled by ink mist or the like of the image recording unit 101, the user can easily clean the soiled portion and has high maintainability.

(Image recording part)
Next, the image recording apparatus unit 101 will be described. In FIG. 1, an ink cartridge 1 serving as an image recording unit records an ink image on a recording sheet 2 conveyed by a conveyance unit. The image recording unit 101 is of an ink jet recording system that records by discharging ink from the ink cartridge 1.

  In FIG. 11, the carriage 4 carries the ink cartridge 1 and scans in the width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording paper 2. The carriage 4 is connected to a driving pulley and an endless belt-like timing belt 6 that is stretched around a driven pulley 5. The carriage 4 can be reciprocated along the guide rail 7 by rotationally driving the drive pulley by a carriage drive motor (not shown). Thus, when the carriage 4 reciprocates, ink is ejected from the ink cartridge 1 in accordance with image information, whereby an image is recorded on the recording paper 2.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the carriage 4 normally stands by at a standby position (capping position) at one end (right end) of the apparatus. At this time, a recording head (not shown) of the ink cartridge 1 is not shown so as not to dry. It is protected by a member. Further, the carriage 4 remains in the standby position even during a document image reading operation described later.

  In the ink jet recording method, the ink cannot be ejected due to air bubbles or dust inside the fine ejection openings of the ink cartridge 1 or the viscosity increase due to evaporation of the ink solvent, or the state not suitable for recording. May be. In this case, a recording head recovery unit (not shown) removes the cause of ejection failure by performing a head recovery operation for refreshing ink.

  In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a serial type recording apparatus that moves the recording head in the main scanning direction. However, the present invention is directed to a full-line type recording apparatus that records an image by a recording head while continuously conveying the recording sheet using a recording head that extends over the entire width direction of the recording sheet. Even can be applied. The present invention can be applied to various recording methods regardless of the recording method of the recording head.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the platen 3 is provided as a sheet passing surface from the sheet passing surface of the ASF base 80 to the paper discharge roller 17. A plurality of ribs 38 are formed on the recording paper support surface of the platen 3 in the width direction of the recording paper, and the recording paper 2 passes through the upper surfaces of the plurality of ribs 38 when the recording paper is conveyed. Yes. An auxiliary absorber 39 for borderless recording is embedded in the center of the platen 3, and during borderless recording, recording is performed on the platen even if some of the color nozzles protrude from the edge of the recording paper. It is set not to be. However, since the end portion on the upstream side of the black nozzle is located away from the auxiliary absorber 39, borderless recording with the black nozzle results in a dirty platen. In order to avoid such a problem, in the present embodiment, a recording paper size detection sensor in which the mechanical switch is turned on when the recording paper slider is expanded to the A4 size width that is the maximum size recording paper that can be set by the user. (Not shown) is provided. When a recording paper having a size smaller than A4 size is set, the black nozzle is not used. As a result, problems such as platen recording and document contamination associated with platen recording can be reduced.

(Drive system)
Here, the driving means for controlling the wiping operation, paper feeding operation, and cap raising / lowering operation of the printer recovery unit will be described in detail with reference to FIG. When the apparatus is in the standby state, the driving force from the driving motor 20 is connected to the sun gear 617 via the reduction gears 606 and 607. When the drive motor 20 rotates in the forward direction (clockwise direction in FIG. 12), the planetary output gear 612 is reversed by the movement of the sun gear 617 and the planetary gear 610. When the drive motor 20 reverses, the planetary gear 611 meshes with the planetary output gear 612, and the planetary output gear 612 rotates normally. In the planetary output gear 612, the driving force is transmitted to the recovery unit, and the movement of lowering the cap by the forward rotation of the driving motor 20 and the operation of moving the wiper to the front are performed. A movement of returning the wiper back and a movement of raising the cap are performed by the reverse rotation of the drive motor 20.

  Further, the apparatus detects the document 12 and creates a neutral state in which the transmission of the planetary gears 610 and 611 is not transmitted to the planetary output gear 612, thereby creating a state in which the driving force is not transmitted to the recovery unit described above. Only the paper feeding operation is performed during the paper transport. The procedure will be described in detail. When the original detection board 124 generates a signal by the above-described original detection means, the control board 500 issues an operation command for pulling the solenoid 613, and as a result, pulls the lever 614 that is engaged with the solenoid 613. The lever is provided with a lever shaft 614a (FIG. 13). When the lever 614 is pulled, the lever shaft 614a rotates the lock member 615 through the fitting hole of the lock member 615. A lock shaft 615a is also projected from the lock member 615. When the lever 614 is pulled, the lock shaft 615a is fitted into the recess of the pendulum arm, and the pendulum arm 616 cannot rotate. In this state, none of the planetary gears 610 and 611 meshes with the planetary output gear 612. Further, as a means for mechanically holding this state, a latch member 618 that engages with the lock member 615 in the locked state is provided. The latch member is rotatably supported by the drive system and is biased counterclockwise in FIG. 13 by a spring force in a standby state. However, when the lever 614 is pulled, the lock arm overcomes the urging force and enters a fitting state with the latch member. The latch member 618 rotates in the direction opposite to the urging force by contact with the protrusion of the control cam. This operation releases the locked state of the latch member. Since a biasing force for extending the lever 614 is always applied to the lever by a spring (not shown), the lever 614 returns to the standby state at the moment when the locked state is released.

(Drive system cam)
The sun gear 617 meshes with the control gear 97 via a timer gear (not shown), and the control gear 97 is provided with a control cam 97a so as to rotate in the same phase as the control gear 97. When the drive motor 20 is driven in the forward direction, the drive force from the drive motor 20 is continuously transmitted to the control gear 97 and the control cam 97a. When the drive motor 20 rotates in the reverse direction, the timer mechanism described above operates so that the drive force for the control gear 97 is cut off. Therefore, the control gear 97 does not rotate in the reverse direction when the drive motor reverses such as cap closing.

  The control gear 97 is provided with a protrusion 702 (FIG. 10) that detects initialization of the control cam 97a. Further, the control cam 97a is provided with a pressure plate control cam portion (not shown) for controlling the vertical movement of the pressure plate and a separation roller cam groove portion (not shown) for controlling the vertical movement of the separation roller.

  First, the protrusion 702 will be described. The apparatus is initialized by the control gear 97 so that recording paper or a document can be set in the standby state. A protrusion 702 is provided on a part of the circumference of the control gear 97, and a phase in which the protrusion 702 presses the initialization lever 703 (FIG. 8) is provided. The initialization lever 703 is designed to be retracted from a photo interrupter (not shown) only in the phase, and the control board initializes the phase of the cam portion by the signal.

  Next, a cam for controlling the movement of the pressure plate will be described. The control cam 97a is provided with a pressure plate control cam portion (not shown). The pressure plate control cam unit cooperates with a pressure plate control lever (not shown) to lower the pressure plate against the urging force of the pressure plate spring (not shown), or releases the urging force to contact the first paper feed roller 81. The recording paper is pushed up until

  Next, the separation roller cam groove for controlling the movement of the separation roller 93 will be described. The control cam 97a is provided with a separation roller cam groove. The control roller 97a rotates with the shaft protruding from the end of the separation roller control lever fitted in the separation roller cam groove, so that the separation roller holder 94 is urged against the second paper feed roller 75. Or separated.

  Next, the movement of the white reference member control cam unit will be described with reference to FIG. Similar to the protrusion 702 described above, a white reference member control protrusion 709 is provided on the circumferential surface of the control gear 97. The control gear 97 has a phase in which the white reference member control protrusion 709 presses the white reference push-up lever 710 against the white reference biasing spring 27 (that is, a phase in which the white reference member 25 is moved to the second position). Can do. The drive motor 20 stops at a phase when the control gear 97 pushes up the white reference push-up lever 710 (that is, a phase in which the white reference member 25 is moved from the first position to the second position) when the recording paper is fed. The amount of rotation is set. In this phase, as shown in FIG. 14B, the white reference push-up lever 710 pushes up the contact surface 25a provided on the white reference member and retracts the white reference member 25 from the common conveyance path. Further, the rotation angle of the white reference member 25 is set so that the end of the white reference member can be sufficiently retracted from the common conveyance path. For this reason, during recording, the recording paper conveyed by the conveyance roller 10 does not receive resistance (back tension) from the white reference member 25, and the image reading unit 28 also has a configuration in which the image reading unit 28 is disposed in the common conveyance path. High-quality recording can be realized without being affected by the unit 28. When the recording operation is completed, the control gear 97 further rotates by the drive motor 20 and performs an initialization operation by the protrusion 702 described above.

(Original reading operation)
In the above configuration, the document reading operation will be described along the flow in which the document is fed and conveyed. When the document 12 is loaded on the document table 85, the document 12 is detected by the document detection means 320, and the apparatus recognizes that the document 12 is set. Here, when a document reading operation such as copying or transmission starts, the document is first fed, and the document 12 set on the automatic sheet feeder is separated and fed only at the topmost set document. It is conveyed to the part. The document 12 separated by the second paper feed roller 75 and the separation roller 93 passes through the image reading unit 28 to which the white reference member 25 and the CS 22 are attached. Thereafter, the leading edge of the document is conveyed to a nip position sandwiched between the conveying roller 10 and the pinch roller 16, and the conveying operation is continued.

(Recording operation)
Next, in the above configuration, the recording operation will be described along the flow in which the recording paper is fed and conveyed. When the apparatus starts a recording operation by copying or receiving while the recording paper 2 is loaded on the automatic paper feeder 103, the drive motor 20 is first rotated and set on the automatic paper feeder as described above. Of the set recording sheets 2, only the uppermost set recording sheet is separated and fed. The recording sheet 2 is conveyed by a predetermined amount, and the leading edge of the recording sheet is conveyed to a nip position sandwiched between the conveying roller 10 and the pinch roller 16 and further to a recording position, and passes through the image reading unit 28 in the middle thereof. The white reference member 25 covers the reading surface through a certain gap between the reading surface of the image reading unit 28 in the standby state, and as described above, the control gear 97 and the white reference push-up lever 710 Rotates by the action of and retracts from the common conveyance path. A PE sensor lever 21 that detects the leading edge of the recording paper 2 is disposed downstream of the image reading unit 28, and the number of forward rotation pulses and reverse rotation pulses of the conveying roller 10 after the leading edge is detected by the PE sensor lever 21. The number can be counted. Therefore, the recording paper 2 that has passed through the image reading unit 28 can accurately grasp the recording start position of the recording paper also by the operation of the conveyance roller 10 described later.

  When the recording paper 2 reaches the conveyance roller 10, the conveyance roller 10 is rotated forward and the conveyance of the recording paper 2 is resumed. At the same time, a carriage drive motor (not shown) rotates and the carriage 4 moves left and right, and the recording head of the ink cartridge 1 discharges ink in accordance with a recording command and performs recording. The recording paper on which the image is formed by the recording unit is discharged to the front of the apparatus by the spurs 18 and 23 and the paper discharge roller 17. When the recording operation for the second and subsequent sheets continues, the same operation is repeated, and the recording paper is separated and conveyed to perform the recording operation.

  When the last recording sheet is discharged, the carriage 4 returns to the capping position and the apparatus enters a standby state.

(Second Embodiment)
As a second embodiment, FIG. 15 shows a cross-sectional view of a recording apparatus having two paper feed ports. The recording apparatus 150 includes a first recording paper setting unit 151 and a second recording paper setting unit 152, and the first recording paper bundle 153 and the second recording paper bundle 154 are set in the respective insertion openings. The recording device 150 includes an image recording device unit 801, an automatic paper feeding unit 803, and a paper discharge roller and a spur that are recording medium discharge mechanisms. The image recording device unit 801 includes a cartridge 1 that records images on a first recording paper bundle 153 and a second recording paper bundle 154 that are recording media. The automatic paper feeding unit 803 separates the set plurality of recording sheets 2 one by one and conveys them to the image recording unit.

  The first recording sheet bundle and the second recording sheet bundle can be set at the same time. However, in this embodiment, since a common separation mechanism is used, the second recording sheet is used as long as the recording sheets of the first recording sheet bundle 153 are not used up. A bundle of paper is not fed. The presence or absence of recording paper in the first recording paper setting unit 151 can be detected using the same method as the original detection unit 320 used in the first embodiment. A common PE sensor lever 804 is used for detecting the leading edge of the first recording paper bundle or the second recording paper bundle, and a common conveyance roller 805 is used for conveyance. The recording papers set in the first recording paper setting unit 151 and the second recording paper setting unit 152 may be different media, and if used in a combination of photo paper and plain paper, the user does not have to change the recording paper. . In addition, since the common automatic paper feeding unit and the common transport mechanism are used in spite of having the two recording paper feeding ports, it is possible to reduce the size and the cost. Since the guide member also serves as the white reference of the image reading unit, the cost is reduced.

  The white reference member (guide member) guides the document in a state of being close to the image reading unit when the document is conveyed, and is separated from the image reading unit in the state of conveyance of the recording paper in a state of being separated from the image reading unit. Therefore, it is guided by the white reference member and can reach the common transport roller without fail until it is caught by the common transport roller. Further, the white reference member suppresses the floating of the original when the original is conveyed and retracts from the common conveyance path at the time of recording, which leads to an improvement in the conveyance accuracy of the recording paper.

  Further, since the white reference member is always given an urging force to the image reading unit by the urging member, the image reading can be performed against the force to push up the white reference member even when stiff paper is used. It will continue to be biased to the surface, leading to stabilization of image reading.

  Further, the image reading and recording apparatus has a cam, and acts on the cam contact surface of the white reference member in one phase of the cam to retract the white reference member, so that the white reference member can be raised and lowered with an inexpensive configuration. it can.

  Further, since the image reading unit is fixedly disposed upstream of the recording unit with the reading surface facing upward, ink mist from the recording unit is difficult to reach between the recording unit and the image reading unit by a printer chassis or the like. Further, since the reading surface faces upward, the user can perform cleaning from above, and the maintainability is improved.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional configuration diagram of a facsimile machine that is an embodiment of an image reading and recording apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an automatic paper feeding unit of the image reading and recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an automatic paper feeding unit of the image reading and recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1. It is a typical perspective view of a document detection means. FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of the document detection unit shown in FIG. 4. It is explanatory drawing which shows the action | operation of the separation mechanism of an automatic paper feeder. It is explanatory drawing which shows the action | operation of a return lever. It is a typical perspective view which shows the drive mechanism of an automatic paper feeder. It is a chart figure which shows the operation timing of each component of an automatic paper feeder. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the vicinity of an image reading unit. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an image recording device unit of the image reading and recording device shown in FIG. 1. It is a typical perspective view of the drive means which controls the wiping operation | movement etc. of a printer recovery unit. It is explanatory drawing which shows the action | operation of the drive means shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the action | operation of a white reference member control cam part. It is a typical side view which shows 2nd Embodiment of the image reading and recording apparatus of this invention. It is sectional drawing explaining the structure of the facsimile apparatus of a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

2 Recording paper 12 Document 25 White reference member 28 Image reading unit

Claims (5)

A common conveyance path through which the recording paper and the document are selectively conveyed;
An image reading unit disposed on the common conveyance path for reading the original;
A guide member that is disposed on the common conveyance path so as to face the image reading unit and moves between a first position close to the common conveyance path and a second position spaced apart from the common conveyance path. When,
A controller that moves the guide member between the first and second positions;
A recording unit disposed in the common conveyance path and configured to record on the recording paper ;
A cover that is disposed above the guide member and is openable and closable ,
The image reading unit is arranged upstream of the recording unit and upstream of the common conveyance path with the reading surface facing upward in the vertical direction.
The control unit includes a spring member that presses the guide member to the first position, a cam that moves the guide member from the first position to the second position against the spring member, and the cam And rotating means,
The cam has a protrusion that moves the guide member from the first position to the second position;
The rotating means of the cam stops at a position where the projection moves the guide member to the second position only when the recording paper is supplied to the common conveyance path, and the original is supplied to the common conveyance path. An image reading and recording apparatus that controls a phase angle of the cam so that when the projection is stopped, the protrusion stops at a position before moving the guide member to the second position .   The image reading and recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide member also serves as a white reference of the image reading unit.   3. The image reading according to claim 1, wherein the guide member is configured to take the first position when the original is transported and the second position when the recording paper is transported. Recording device. The guide member is configured to move between the first and second positions by an axis extending in a direction orthogonal to the document transport direction in a plane substantially parallel to the common transport path. image reading and recording apparatus according to any one of 3. Said guide member, said being to move the cleaning position away from the common transport path than the second position, the image reading and recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

Images