JPH11301045A - Paper feeder and image forming apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeder which is small in size and capable of preventing skewing of a recording medium, and an image forming apparatus provided with the same. SOLUTION: When a recording medium is stacked on a sheet feeding tray 2, one end of the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction is brought into contact with a positioning member 26b to position the recording medium and to mount the recording medium. When a recording medium is supplied to the recording apparatus 101, the recording medium is positioned by the positioning member 26b on the regulating member 2a of the sheet tray 2 which is provided on the upstream side of the sheet feeding tray 2 and located on the upstream side of the positioning member 26b. One side edge of the recording medium is brought into contact with the recording medium to restrict the movement of the recording medium in the direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction. Further, the paper feed tray 2 can be moved to a recording medium loading position and a storage position, and
When the recording apparatus 101 is mounted, a step G is formed between the upper surface of the recording apparatus 101 and the main body. When the sheet feeding tray 2 moves to the storage position, the regulating member 2a is stored in the step G.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feeder and an image forming apparatus provided with the same, and more particularly, to paper feed of a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Like many other devices, there is a great market demand for miniaturization and weight reduction of a recording device (hereinafter, referred to as "printer"). In.

In pursuit of such miniaturization, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-183852, a printer main body for performing image recording and a plurality of sheets as recording media are stacked on one sheet. An automatic sheet feeder (hereinafter referred to as “ASF”),
AFS) has been invented in which a portion is separated and an independent ASF can be attached to a printer.

An ASF that can be mounted on the outside and used not only for a small printer but also for a printer having a plurality of paper feeding ports or a printer that can only perform manual paper feeding.
Has existed conventionally.

In general, the ASF including such a separable ASF is provided with a paper feed tray on which sheets are stacked, and a sheet serving as a recording medium is usually set at a predetermined angle to the paper feed tray. It is loaded and carried.

On the other hand, positioning in the width direction of the sheet, that is, in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction, is generally performed by a side in which the sheet abuts on the sheet feeding tray along substantially the entire side of one side of the sheet along the sheet feeding direction. In many cases, a guide is provided and the side guide is used. By providing the side guide in this way, it is possible to prevent the sheet from being fed obliquely while the sheet is being fed.

However, such a configuration requires a space, and in recent ASF, there is almost no skew that requires a side guide due to performance improvement. There are many trays.

[0008]

However, in the conventional ASF having such a paper feed tray without the side guide, when the envelope is fed in the vertical direction, for example, the tab (lid) of the envelope may be wet. When the sheet is swelled, a strong resistance is applied to the tab side at the time of sheet feeding. Usually, the tab of the envelope is often on the left side, and in this case, the left side of the envelope receives a strong resistance.

When a strong resistance is applied to the left side in this way, the envelope receives a force that rotates clockwise. As a result, the envelope rotates largely clockwise and is fed to the printer with a large inclination. There was a problem. Here, this problem also applies to a small printer capable of manual paper feeding.

Although this problem can be avoided by providing the side guides in the sheet feeding tray in the entire area in the sheet feeding direction as described above, the ASF and the printer are extremely small and the sheet feeding tray can be stored. In such a case, there is a problem that a space for accommodating the side guide cannot be provided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and has a small paper feeder capable of preventing skewing of an envelope (recording medium). It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus provided with:

[0012]

According to the present invention, there is provided a paper feeder which detachably mounts a recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium to a main body and feeds the recording medium to the mounted recording apparatus. A collapsible paper feed tray on which the recording medium is loaded, and a positioning for positioning the recording medium by contacting one end in a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction of the recording medium when the recording medium is loaded. A member, provided at an upstream portion of the paper feed tray, positioned upstream of the positioning member, and positioned by the positioning member when feeding a recording medium to the mounted recording device. A regulating member that abuts on one side end of the medium and regulates movement of the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction, wherein the regulating member does not interfere with the main body when the sheet feeding tray is folded. And it is characterized in that it is arranged.

Further, according to the present invention, the paper feed tray can be moved to a recording medium loading position and a storage position, and when the paper feed tray is moved to the storage position, the regulating member is stored inside the main body. It is characterized by that.

Further, according to the present invention, when the recording apparatus is mounted, a step portion is formed between the upper surface of the recording apparatus and the main body, while the paper feed tray is provided with a recording medium loading position and a storage position. And the restricting member is stored in the step when the paper feed tray is moved to the storage position.

According to the present invention, there is provided a paper feeder for detachably mounting a recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium to a main body and feeding the recording medium to the mounted recording apparatus. A foldable paper feed tray to be stacked, a positioning member for positioning the recording medium by contacting one end in a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction of the recording medium when the recording medium is stacked, One side end of the recording medium positioned at the upstream side of the paper tray and positioned at the upstream side of the positioning member and positioned by the positioning member when feeding the recording medium to the mounted recording apparatus. A restricting member that restricts the movement of the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction by contacting the recording medium with the main body or the recording device when the paper feeding tray is folded. The one in which the features.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the regulating member is formed integrally with the paper feed tray.

According to the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: a recording device; and a sheet feeding device for detachably mounting the recording device and feeding a recording medium to the mounted recording device. A paper device is the paper feeding device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus provided with a recording device capable of recording an image on a recording medium and feeding manually by a paper feeding device. A sheet feeding tray on which the recording medium is stacked, and a positioning for positioning the recording medium by contacting one end in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction of the recording medium when the recording medium is stacked. A member, provided at an upstream portion of the sheet feeding tray, located at an upstream side of the positioning member, and when feeding the recording medium, one side end of the recording medium positioned by the positioning member. And a regulating member that regulates the movement of the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction.

Further, according to the present invention, the paper feed tray is provided in the main body of the recording apparatus so as to be movable to a recording medium loading position and a storage position, and when the paper feed tray is moved to the storage position, the regulating member is configured to perform recording. It is characterized by being housed inside the apparatus main body.

Further, in the present invention, the regulating member is formed integrally with the paper feed tray.

Further, as in the present invention, when the recording medium is stacked on the sheet supply tray, one end of the recording medium in the direction perpendicular to the sheet supply direction is brought into contact with the positioning member to position the recording medium. When feeding a recording medium to a mounted recording apparatus, a paper feed tray is provided at an upstream portion of the paper feed tray, and a paper feed tray regulating member located upstream of a positioning member is provided with:
One end of the recording medium positioned by the positioning member is brought into contact with the recording medium to regulate the movement of the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction.

Further, the paper feed tray can be moved to a recording medium loading position and a storage position, and when the recording device is mounted, a step is formed between the upper surface of the recording device and the main body,
When the paper feed tray moves to the storage position, the regulating member is stored in this step.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a printer is mounted on an ASF according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which the printer is mounted on the ASF, and FIG.
Is a sectional view of the ASF, and FIG.
It is sectional drawing of SF.

1 to 4, reference numeral 1 denotes an ASF, 101
Denotes a printer, and the printer 101 is configured to be detachable from the ASF 1. Note that the ASF 1 and the printer 101 form an image forming apparatus.

Here, the printer 101 is a so-called mobile printer having a battery and being small and portable. In this embodiment, the printer 101 does not have an ASF built therein, and the printer 101 alone has a so-called manual paper feeder. The paper is fed only by using the paper feed. With such a configuration, downsizing, simplification, and cost reduction of the printer 101 alone can be realized, and the printer 101 is optimally configured as a mobile printer. It goes without saying that the present invention is applicable even if the printer 101 has a built-in small ASF.

The small, portable printer 101 can be used, for example, outdoors, in a car, or at a destination office when a salesman goes to a destination. In such a situation, the number of recordings required is relatively small, and as described above, only manual feed or a simple built-in ASF with a small capacity is sufficient. However, when this printer 101 is used in one's office, There is a need to print a wide variety of recording papers in relatively large quantities.

For such needs, the ASF 1 separated from the printer 101 is very suitable. That is, ASF
Reference numeral 1 denotes a so-called desktop type which is always placed on an office desk.
By attaching the printer 101 to the SF 1, the printer 101 can have the characteristics of a desktop printer. In addition, AS
F1 is capable of automatically feeding various types of recording media ranging from plain paper to postcards, envelopes, plastic films and cloths by a configuration described later.

As described above, in the present embodiment, a very high value-added printer is provided in which a very small mobile printer can be used as a high-performance desktop printer by attaching it to the ASF according to the present invention by itself. can do. At this time, the ASF 1 also functions as a storage place when the printer 101 is not used as a single printer, and has a role of a so-called docking station in which an automatic paper feed function is added when the printer 101 is stored.

Here, the ASF 1 according to the present invention can stably stand alone as the ASF when the printer 101 is not mounted.
Can be separated. Thus, the user can enter the operation standby state as a desktop printer simply by attaching the separated printer 101 to the self-standing ASF 1. This means that it functions as an extremely convenient docking station for the user.

When the printer 101 is to be used for mobile and desktop as described above, AS
It is important that the operation of mounting and separating the F1 and the printer 101 can be performed extremely easily. This is because it is very troublesome for a user who detaches and carries the printer 101 from the ASF 1 every day and returns and combines the printer 101 with the ASF 1 if the mounting and separating operations are complicated or time-consuming.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a mounting opening (hereinafter, referred to as “opening”) 1A for mounting the printer 101 is provided on the front surface of the ASF 1. Further, the sheet passage path in the printer 101 is a so-called horizontal path that is substantially horizontal. The sheet supply side of the printer 101 is moved substantially horizontally toward the ASF 1 and is pushed into the opening 1A of the ASF 1 so as to be described later. It is configured to form a path.

That is, in the present embodiment, the printer 101 in the horizontal path is pushed into the ASF 1 substantially horizontally and mounted. Then, the printer 101 is almost horizontally
Is pressed, the printer 101 is automatically fixed to the ASF 1 (both methods of fixing the printer 101 to the ASF 1 will be described later in detail). Also, A
When the printer 101 is separated from the SF 1, the user only pushes the push lever 40 provided on the upper surface of the ASF.
01 is released from the ASF1, and the printer 101 is pushed forward of the ASF1.

With this configuration, the user can mount and separate the printer 101 and the ASF 1 very easily, and can selectively use the mobile and desktop printers.

In this embodiment, the ASF base 45 which forms the ASF main body together with the ASF upper case 47 in order to make the mounting and separating work simple and easy.
A table unit 45 which is a recording device supporting unit for forming a bottom surface of the opening 1A at the front of the printer 101 and supporting the printer 101 in a mounting direction when the printer 101 is mounted.
c.

When the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF 1, the printer 101 is first placed on the table 45c. At this time, the user grasps the upper surface and the lower surface near the center of the front side (paper discharge side) of the printer 101 with one hand, and places the back side (paper supply side) of the printer 101 on the table part 45c so as to gently attach it (both hands). May have both sides of the printer 101).

Next, when the printer 101 placed on the table 45c is pushed by hand in the depth direction which is the mounting direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. While being guided by the printer side guide portions 45a provided on both side ends of the printer 101, it is guided to a positioning boss described below, and is fitted and positioned in a positioning hole of the printer 101 described later.

At this time, merely pushing the printer 101 into the substantially central portion of the table 45c and pressing it in is unnecessary. Thus, the printer 10
When the printer 1 is mounted on the ASF 1, the printer 101 may be placed on the table 45c, and then pushed along the table 45c, so that the operability and the mountability are very good.

A printer sliding portion 45b is provided on both sides of the table portion 45c in a direction perpendicular to the printer mounting direction, as shown in FIG. ing. Further, a step portion G1 is formed between the printer sliding portions 45b.

By the way, on the bottom of the printer 101, there are provided protrusions, for example, rubber feet (not shown) for preventing the printer 101 from being easily moved by an external force when the printer is used on a desk or the like. Have been. However, when the rubber foot comes into contact with the table portion 45c when the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF 1, the force when the user pushes the printer 101 into the printer 101 becomes large, making it extremely difficult to operate the printer 101.

Therefore, the above-mentioned step G1 is formed between the printer sliding portion 45b so that the rubber foot does not contact the table portion 45c. The step portion G1 is formed at a position where the rubber foot does not come into contact with the table portion 45c, and has a step deeper than the height of the rubber foot.

By forming such a step G1, the rubber foot does not come into contact with the table 45c, and the user can push the printer 101 by hand without requiring a large force. Operability and wearability are improved.

On the other hand, the ASF upper case 47 has the opening 1
A is formed, and an eave portion 47a substantially parallel to the table portion 45c is formed.
7a forms a pocket portion which holds the printer 101 together with the table portion 45c. Note that the pocket portion formed in this manner is used to connect the printer 101 to the ASF1.
Is shown to the user in a direction substantially parallel to the printer 10, and the user can only press the printer 10 in this direction.
No one can be pushed.

This direction is determined by a printer 101 described later.
The connection direction of both connectors for electrically connecting the
The connector is connected during the operation of pushing and setting the connector into F1. With such a configuration, the operability is improved because a separate operation for connecting the connectors is not required, and when the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF 1, the interference due to the abnormal interference between the connectors due to the pushing from different directions. Connector damage is prevented.

Further, the eaves portion 47a contacts the printer 101 when the front (paper discharge side) of the printer 101 receives an upward force after the printer 101 is mounted, and the eaves portion 47a moves upward of the printer 101. Movement is regulated. As a result, even when the printer 101 is pushed up with respect to the ASF 1, it is possible to prevent the printer 101 from moving upward, and further to prevent the mounting portion from being damaged and the mounting from being released due to the upward movement of the printer 101. Can be.

In this embodiment, the eaves 47a have the largest overhang on both sides,
The center is a recess 47b. By providing such a concave portion 47b, it is possible to prevent the operation portion 101B such as a power switch provided on the upper surface of the printer 101 from being covered.

When the clearance between the eaves portion 47a and the upper surface of the printer is about 0.5 mm to 2 mm, the above-described effect of preventing the tilt is sufficiently exhibited. Here, if the clearance is too large, the desired effect cannot be obtained.

By the way, as shown in FIG.
1 is the length in the depth direction L1, the length of the table portion 45c in the depth direction is L2, and the length of the eave portion 47a in the depth direction is L.
Assuming that 3, the following relationship is established in the present embodiment.

L1 / 2 ≦ L2 ≦ L1−15 mm The length L2 of the table 45c in the depth direction is made larger than the half L1 / 2 of the length L1 in the depth direction of the printer, so that the printer 101
When attached to the printer, the printer 101 can be held in a stable state. Here, this relationship is expressed by the table unit 4
5c only needs to be satisfied, and does not need to be satisfied for the entire table section.

When the relationship of L1 / 2> L2 is established, the printer 101 is in a state of protruding largely from the ASF 1 in the mounted state. It may be lifted and become very unstable.

On the other hand, by setting the length L2 in the depth direction of the table portion 45c to be shorter than the length L1 in the depth direction of the printer 101 by a predetermined length, that is, 15 mm or more in the present embodiment, when the printer 101 is mounted,
A space for the user's finger to enter can be secured on the lower front side.

Thus, when the user mounts and separates the printer 101, the user can operate the printer 101 by holding the upper and lower surfaces of the printer 101 with one hand, and can also hold the printer 101 with both hands, thereby improving operability and mountability. In addition, this relationship may be such that a concave portion that satisfies this relationship is formed in, for example, the vicinity of the center or both sides of the table portion 45c, not in the entire width direction of the table portion 45c.

By providing a space in the lower part of the front side of the printer 101, a design that does not visually sense the size in the height direction can be realized. Further, the thickness (length in the height direction) of the table portion 45c is 10 m.
When the distance is about m or more, the user's finger can enter under the printer 101 with the ASF 1 installed on a desk, which is desirable.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the following relationship is established between the length L1 in the depth direction of the printer 101 and the length L3 in the depth direction of the eave portion 47a.

L1 / 4≤L3≤L1 / 2 Here, if the length L3 in the depth direction of the eave portion 47a is not less than 1/4 of the length L1 in the depth direction of the printer 101, the printer 101 is tilted upward. It was found that the effect of limiting the pushing direction of the printer 101 was sufficient.

The length L in the depth direction of the eave portion 47a
If 3 exceeds 1/2 of the length L1 in the depth direction of the printer 101, the pushing amount at the time of mounting with respect to the depth of the printer 101 is too large, which impairs the operational feeling and reduces the operation on the upper surface of the printer 101. Was found to interfere.
In addition, the eaves portion 47a, which is visually large, makes the entire device look large, giving a feeling of oppression to the user, and causing problems.

From this, it was found that it is most desirable that the length L3 in the depth direction of the eave portion 47a is not more than 1/2 of the depth of the printer 101. In addition, with this amount of overhang, the strength of the overhanging eave portion 47a can be sufficiently maintained, and the device can have a sufficient robustness.

Under such conditions, the table unit 45
By configuring the c and the eave portion 47a, it is possible to provide a mode in which the operability and the mountability are extremely good, and the effects such as limitation of the pushing direction and prevention of the tilt of the printer 101 are sufficiently exhibited.

In this embodiment, the opening 1A is provided above the printer side guide 45a having a height equal to or larger than the clearance between the eaves 47a and the upper surface of the printer.
1 are formed. Here, by forming the opening 1A1 in this way, when a power cord, an interface connector, or a light transmitting / receiving unit for infrared communication is provided on the side surface of the printer 101, the ASF1 does not interfere with this. That is, the printer 101 can be connected to the ASF
1 and can be separated as they are.

Next, a connector cover of a connector portion for making an electrical connection between the printer 101 and the ASF 1 will be described.

In particular, when the printer 101 is used for a long time with the printer 101 being separated from the ASF 1, the connectors are each provided alone and are kept unconnected. In such a case, dust or dust may enter the connector portion, or excessive static electricity may travel through the connector to destroy an internal electric circuit.

In order to prevent such a situation, in the present embodiment, each connector is provided with a connector cover for protecting the connector. Each of the connector covers exists as a single item, and is detached when the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF 1. In a micro printer such as a mobile printer, the space is extremely limited, so the cost is extremely low, and a removable connector cover that requires the least space is optimal.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the printer 101 has a printer connector 117 above a surface facing the ASF 1 of the printer 101 when the printer 101 is mounted. Tray 11
6 is opened, the printer connector cover 119 is detached from the printer connector 117. Similarly, A
On the SF side, for example, the ASF connector cover 59 attached to the ASF connector 44 shown in FIG.

At the time of connecting the connectors, the two connector covers 59 and 119 removed as shown in FIG. 4 are used to connect the connector cover storage portions 45d and 45e of the table 45c.
(See FIG. 2). Here, the storage portions 45d and 45e utilize the thickness of the table portion 45c and are provided therein with protrusions of the same dimensions as the connector. The connector cover storage portions 45d are provided while the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF1. , 45e, the connector covers 59, 119 can be prevented from being lost.

The connector cover storage 45d,
45e is ASF if you just store it
1 or any part of the printer 101, but the connector cover housing 4
By providing 5d and 45e on the table unit, when the printer is mounted, it is stored between the ASF 1 and the printer 101, so that there is no danger of falling off.

Further, when the printer 101 is separated, the connector covers 59 and 119 appear again, so that the operation of attaching the connector covers 59 and 119 to the connectors 117 and 44 is evident, so that forgetting to attach them can be prevented. Here, the connector cover storage parts 45d, 45
e can be provided for each of the plurality of connector covers. In the present embodiment relating to the connector cover, the present invention is applicable even if the printer 101 and the ASF 1 are, for example, related to a notebook computer and a station.

Next, a brief description will be given of the path along which a sheet to be recorded is fed and recorded when the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF 1 (the details will be described later). .

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF 1. In FIG.
Reference numeral 26 denotes a pressure plate for setting a sheet to be illustrated after a predetermined number of sheets. One end of the pressure plate 26 is rotatably supported by the ASF chassis 11.
Thus, it is urged clockwise in a predetermined pressure toward the pickup rubber 23 wound around the pickup roller 19.

When the sheet is set, the pressure plate 26 is displaced and held in a direction away from the pickup rubber 23 by a cam shown later. At this time, a predetermined clearance is maintained between the pickup rubber 23 and the pressure plate 26, and the sheet is inserted and set in the clearance.

The leading end of the sheet hits a plastic film-like bank sheet 37 provided on the bank 36, and the leading end is positioned. Most of the sheet in the rear end direction is supported by the ASF paper feed tray 2. Here, the ASF paper feed tray 2 is rotatably supported at one end by the ASF upper case 47, and is held at a predetermined angle when supporting a sheet.

When the ASF 1 receives a paper feed command from the printer 101, the pickup roller 19 starts rotating clockwise, and at the same time, the cam releases the holding of the pressure plate 26. As a result, the pressure plate 26 presses the sheet against the pickup rubber 23, the sheet starts moving due to the surface friction of the pickup rubber 23, and is separated only by the bank sheet 37, and is formed by the bank 36 and the positioning base 39. The sheet is conveyed along the ASF sheet path 58 (see FIG. 3).

Thereafter, the sheet is transferred to the ASF sheet discharge section 56.
3 (see FIG. 3), the printer 101 is composed of a platen 105 inside the printer and a lower surface of the battery 107. In the printer 101 alone, it is transferred to a sheet path from a paper feed port 101A, which is a so-called manual feed port, which will be described later.

Then, the paper end sensor 108
By detecting the sheet conveyed along this sheet path, the printer 101 recognizes that the sheet has been conveyed from the ASF 1, and the leading end of the sheet is applied to the pressure contact portion between the LF roller 109 and the pinch roller 110. . When the ASF 1 receives the information of the paper end sensor 108 from the printer 101, it sends a response signal indicating the end of paper feeding to the printer at a predetermined timing.

At this time, the sheet is pressed with a predetermined pressure due to the waist of the sheet between the LF roller 109 and the pinch roller 110, and the so-called registration of the leading end of the sheet is performed. Then, in this state, the printer 101 that has received the response signal indicating the end of sheet feeding from the ASF 1 rotates the LF roller 109 at a predetermined timing and sends the sheet to the recording unit having the head 115. As a result, a predetermined feed for the sheet is performed, and the head 11
5, the recording on the sheet surface is performed. Thereafter, the sheet is conveyed between the paper discharge roller 112 and the spur 111 and discharged.

In this embodiment, the printer 1
01 constitutes the paper path R which is a recording medium passage path as described above when it is mounted on the ASF 1.
The paper path R of the printer 101 and the mounting direction of the connectors 44 and 117 are configured to be substantially parallel.

When a sheet is transferred from the ASF 1 to the printer 101 and a sheet is clogged in any part when a sheet common to both the ASF 1 and the printer 101 is present, the printer 101 is removed from the ASF 1. Need to be separated. The fact that the paper path R and the connector connection direction are substantially parallel means that both can be separated in such a situation.

If the paper path R and the connector connection direction are perpendicular to each other, when the printer 101 is separated in the connector connection direction, the sheet must be moved in the thickness direction. Torn,
Further, there is a possibility that the torn sheet may remain in the apparatus. Furthermore, in the case of a thick sheet or the like that is difficult to tear, it may not be possible to separate the printer 101.

However, in this embodiment, since the paper path R and the connector connection direction are configured to be substantially parallel, the printer 101 can be moved in the direction in which the sheet exits when the sheet is clogged, so that the printer 101 can be separated. The handling of the sheet, that is, the sheet, is extremely simple, and the sheet is not broken or the sheet remains in the apparatus.

Next, the reference position in the width direction of the sheet in the paper path R as described above will be described.

First, the reference in the sheet width direction of the printer 101 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the printer 10
1 is provided with a rotatable paper feed tray 116 having one end pivotally supported at a predetermined position. Here, this paper feed tray 11
Numeral 6 stabilizes the operation of manually feeding sheets when the printer 101 is used alone.

When the sheet feeding tray 116 is opened, the sheet feeding port 101A is opened, and a reference guide 116a, which is a positioning member provided vertically at one end of the sheet feeding tray 116, appears, and the sheet is fed. When inserting
Insert along this reference guide 116a. In the present embodiment, the reference in the sheet width direction is the reference guide 1.
16a, and positioning in the width direction is performed by inserting the sheet side end into the sheet 16a.

A similar guide (not shown) is provided at the same position in the sheet width direction in the printer according to the present embodiment, and performs positioning of the sheet in the width direction together with the reference guide 116a. Further, when the paper feed tray 116 is in an open state or a closed state,
Each state is held by toggle means (not shown).

Here, the longer the guide is in the sheet conveying direction, the more stable the direction of the sheet is. Therefore, the use of the reference guide 116a provided on the sheet feed tray 116 stabilizes the positioning of the sheet in the width direction. It also prevents skew. However, the reference guide 1 provided on the movable paper feed tray 116 without the reference guide inside the printer is provided.
It is also possible to guide the sheet with only 16a.

As described above, especially in a very small mobile printer, the paper feed port for manual paper feed and the AS
Because it is extremely difficult to have separate paper feed ports from F and separate sheet guides due to space and other issues, it is necessary to feed paper from each common paper feed port.

For this reason, when the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF1, it is necessary to use the reference guide 116a, which is the sheet reference for manual sheet feeding, when feeding from the ASF1, but the sheet is automatically fed from the ASF1. It is difficult to feed the sheet along the reference guide 116a (side contact). Because the ASF 1 does the same thing that the user adjusts the sheet side edge along the reference guide 116a while adjusting by hand, the printer 101
This is because the sheet standard of ASF1 must be completely matched with that of ASF1.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the ASF1 sheet reference is the ASF sheet reference 2 provided on the pressure plate 26.
6b, the sheet is fed at a predetermined position by moving the sheet side end along the sheet side. However, since this position and the position of the reference guide 116a have many tolerances due to the configuration, it is extremely difficult to match them, and very high cost and a complicated mechanism are required to realize them.

However, if the sheet reference does not match, the sheet side end portion interferes with the reference guide 116a, and the sheet is skewed, the sheet side end portion is damaged, or the sheet front end is moved to the reference guide 116a. Or clash with the sheet.

Therefore, for example, when the reference guide 116a is provided only relatively upstream of the manual paper feed portion of the printer 101, that is, when the movable paper feed tray 116 is opened as shown in FIG. Standard guide 116 to appear
When the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF 1, the sheet passes over the reference guide 116a when the reference in the width direction of the sheet is determined only by a and there is no member that restricts the position in the width direction of the sheet at a position downstream of the reference. By setting the paper path R as described above, only the sheet positioning based on the sheet reference 26b of the ASF1 becomes effective, and the printer 1
Interference with the sheet reference of 01 can be avoided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the sheet feed tray 116 is open in the printer alone, that is, the sheet guide surface of the sheet feed tray 116 is almost horizontal when manual feeding is performed. As can be seen from FIG. 4, when the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF 1,
By rotating and retracting the paper path 16 further downward from the position of the printer alone, the paper path becomes a paper path closer to that for manual sheet feeding.

The ASF side has a reference guide storage portion 36b which is a storage portion for rotating the paper feed tray 116 to a predetermined position for storage. When the printer 101 is pushed into the ASF 1, the reference guide 116
a is guided by a reference guide guide portion 36c forming a reference guide storage portion 36b, and the reference guide 116a is stored in the reference guide storage portion 36b.

By doing so, the reference guide 1
It is possible to reduce the amount of movement of the ASF1 paper path with respect to the paper path at the time of manual feeding, which is necessary to avoid interference between the paper path 16a and the paper path, and to prevent problems due to unnatural paper paths (such as back tension on sheets). it can.

In the present embodiment, the paper feed tray 116 on the printer side has a right end guide 122 as another positioning member for guiding the other end of the sheet on the reference side as shown in FIG. doing. The right end guide 122 is slidably provided in the sheet width direction with respect to the sheet feed tray 116, and guides a side end of the sheet opposite to the reference side according to the sheet width.

The shape of the right end guide 122 viewed from the sheet thickness direction in the paper path is the same as that of the reference guide 116a.
And the right end guide 122
When the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF 1, the paper feed tray 116 and the reference guide 116a are stored together with the reference guide storage portion 36b. Further, the right end guide 122 can be moved to an arbitrary position within a predetermined range with respect to the paper feed tray 116, but no matter where the right end guide 122 is located within the predetermined range, the reference guide storage portion 36b
Can accommodate the sheet feed tray 116 having the reference guide 116a and the right end guide 122.

Then, as described above, the printer 101
By setting the paper path at a position avoiding the reference guide 116a and the right end guide 122 when the printer is mounted on the F1, it is possible to invalidate the sheet reference on the printer main body side and enable only the sheet reference on the ASF side. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the apparatus from being complicated and the cost from being increased by matching both sheet standards.

Further, the sheet fed from the ASF 1 is applied to the sheet reference 116a and the right end guide 1 of the printer main body.
It is possible to prevent the sheet from skewing, interfering with the sheet 22, damaging the sheet side end, and colliding with the sheet reference 116 a and the right end guide 122 to generate a sheet jam.

In the above description, the sheet is configured to pass above the reference guide 116a. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the reference guide 116a may be provided on the sheet feeding tray 116 in the sheet width direction. When the printer is mounted, the reference guide 116a is slid in the sheet width direction by a moving means such as a cam that works in conjunction with the printer mounting operation when the printer is mounted. You may comprise so that it may pass.

On the other hand, the reference guide 116 is also provided inside the printer.
a) has a reference guide section at the same position in the sheet width direction, and if the sheet guide length is long and the sheet positioning is stable, use a paper path that avoids all the reference guides. Difficult to set.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the sheet reference guide 116a on the printer side and the sheet reference 26b on the ASF side are set at positions shifted in advance. That is,
The inside of the printer-side sheet reference 116a, that is, the head 11
5, the sheet reference 26b on the ASF side is shifted by t to the recording position side, which is the side orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction by A5.
Is set so that the sheet does not interfere with the sheet reference 116a on the printer side when the sheet is fed from the ASF1.

Here, the amount t of shifting the sheet reference is equal to or more than the positioning tolerance in the sheet width direction between the printer 101 and the ASF 1, and is determined in consideration of the case where the sheet is fed obliquely from the ASF 1. . In the present embodiment, the amount t of shifting the sheet reference is 0.6 mm.
About.

In this case, since the sheet reference is shifted between when printing is performed by the printer alone and when printing is performed with the ASF mounted, the head 1 is located at the same position on both sides.
When the recording is performed by using No. 15, the distance in the sheet width direction from the sheet side end to the position where the recording is performed differs between the two.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the recording position is shifted by the same amount t as the sheet reference position is shifted between the printer alone and the ASF mounted state. For example, in the present embodiment, the printer 101 and the ASF 1
4, 117, the printer 101 electrically detects the mounting / non-mounting of the ASF 1, and based on the detection result, it is possible to determine that the recording position (the position of the head 115) is shifted. . Note that this determination may be made by an electrical connection or by providing an ASF detection switch or the like.

Accordingly, it is possible to eliminate the interference of the reference guide by shifting the sheet reference in both the printer and the ASF mounted state, and to make the recording position on the sheet the same. Therefore, a defect due to a difference in the recording position between the two recordings (for example, a difference in the recording position on the preprint paper) is eliminated. Here, both the sheet reference shift amount and the recording position shift amount may not be exactly the same amount, but may be set to different values within an allowable range.

Next, the ASF paper feed tray 2 for supporting the stacked sheets will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the ASF paper feed tray 2 has one end supported by the ASF upper case 47. The ASF paper feed tray 2 can be folded around the supporting portion. It is freely rotatable. The ASF paper feed tray 2 is opened at a predetermined angle when sheets are stacked, and can be folded and closed as shown in FIG. 8 when no sheets are stacked. .

Note that this is the same as the AS according to the present embodiment.
F1 is not for using the portable printer 101 as a desktop type, but the printer 10
It shows that the device is very compact even when the device 1 is mounted, and can be carried in that condition.

Further, in order to realize such a use form, when the ASF paper feed tray 2 is closed, it is necessary to close the ASF 1 as much as possible along the outer shape of the ASF 1 with the printer mounted. For this purpose, the ASF paper feed tray 2 has a thin plate shape.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the paper feed tray 2 is closed, as shown in FIG. 9, the operation portion of the printer 101 is covered and concealed, so that the paper feed tray 2 is closed and the printer 101 is mounted. When carrying the ASF 1 in the state, the operation unit is carelessly touched to eliminate the possibility that the printer 101 operates.

Further, when the paper feed tray 2 is folded, an arbitrary portion engages with the ASF upper case 47 by an engaging means such as a hook (not shown). Is desirable because it does not open carelessly. The means for engaging with the paper feed tray 2 may be provided on the printer main body or on the ASF itself.
Is a more preferred embodiment. Further, when the engagement means of the printer main body is used, it can also be used for holding the ASF 1 and the printer 101 in engagement (or a complete lock).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
1, when the envelope E is fed in the vertical direction, the tab E1 of the envelope is usually on the left side, and in the ASF1 of this embodiment, as described above, the tab E1 is fed by swelling due to moisture or the like. When the tab side (left side) of the envelope receives strong resistance.
As a result, the envelope E receives a force that rotates clockwise.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to prevent (restrict) the clockwise rotation of the envelope E, that is, the movement in the direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction, the envelope E is restricted to the upstream portion of the ASF paper tray 2 in the paper feeding direction. ASF paper feed tray side guide 2
a (hereinafter referred to as a side guide portion). By providing such a side guide portion 2a, when the envelope E is set vertically in the ASF 1 and then fed, even when the envelope E receives a force for rotating the envelope E, the right side of the rear end of the envelope E has a side. It comes into contact with the guide portion 2a, and the clockwise rotation is regulated.

By the way, in the case of feeding the envelope in the vertical direction, the resistance of the tab E1 is received particularly at the timing when the envelope E is sent out. In the present embodiment, this is when the envelope E exceeds the bank sheet 37 and when the envelope tip is lifted along the slope of the bank 36 immediately after the envelope E. If the timing is exceeded, the influence of the resistance of the tab E1 becomes small, and the rotation of the envelope E does not occur even without the side guide portion 2a.

For this reason, in the present embodiment,
A side guide portion 2a is provided on a part of the ASF paper feed tray 2 near the position where the rear end of the envelope E is located to prevent rotation of the envelope E, and no side guide is provided over the entire area in the vertical direction of the envelope. .

In this embodiment, when the printer 101 is mounted, a step G is formed between the ASF upper case 47 and the upper surface of the printer as shown in FIG. When the paper tray 2 is closed, the side guide portion 2a fits in the step portion G as shown in FIG.

The side guide portion 2a is provided in a part of the ASF paper feed tray 2 as described above, and the side guide portion 2a is stored in the step G, so that the side guide portion is provided when the ASF paper feed tray 2 is closed. The portion 2a does not interfere with other portions, the ASF paper tray 2 can be stored along the ASF outer shape, and portability can be prevented from being impaired, and downsizing can be achieved.

The height of the side guide portion 2a must be greater than the thickness of the side guide portion 2a when sheets such as envelopes are stacked. It is necessary to provide at least the height.

Further, the present embodiment has an effect of preventing rotation in the vertical feeding of the envelope.
Prevent rotation if any reason causes rotation even if the other sheet is about the length of an envelope (regulation)
can do. Also, the side guide portion 2a is ASF
Since it is formed integrally with the paper feed tray 2, a very inexpensive one can be provided. When the side guide 2a is closed, a recess may be provided in the printer 101 or the ASF 1 instead of the step G, and the side guide 2a may be housed in the recess.

On the other hand, if the side guide portion having such a configuration is adopted for the paper feed tray 116 of the printer 101, the rotation of the sheet can be regulated even when the printer 101 is used alone. Further, by forming the side guide portion on a part of the paper feed tray 116, the side guide portion does not interfere with other portions when the paper feed tray 116 is closed, and the paper feed tray 116 is moved along the outer shape of the printer. It can be stored in an upright form, so that portability is not impaired, and downsizing is possible.

Next, the printer attaching / detaching mechanism of the ASF 1 will be described.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an arrangement of components related to the printer attaching / detaching mechanism of the ASF 1, and FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an arrangement of components relating to attaching / detaching the printer 101 to / from the ASF 1.

In FIG. 11, reference numeral 39 denotes a positioning base. The positioning base 39 is a member for positioning the paper path between the ASF 1 and the printer and for positioning the connection between the ASF connector 44 and the printer connector 117 of the ASF 1.

Here, the positioning base 39 is provided with two positioning bosses 39d and 39e.
When the printer 101 is mounted on the F1, before the ASF connector 44 and the printer connector 117 are connected, the first
The positioning boss 39d fits into a positioning hole 118a provided in the substrate holder 118 of the printer 101 shown in FIG. 12, and the second positioning boss 39e fits into a positioning long hole 118b.

The connectors are connected by positioning holes 118a and 118b of two positioning bosses 39d and 39e.
This is performed after positioning by fitting with the connector, so that damage to the connector due to positional displacement between the connectors can be prevented. Further, since the positioning in the x and z directions between the ASF 1 and the printer 101 is performed by fitting the bosses 39d and 39e, the paper path positioning between the printer 101 and the ASF 1 is simultaneously achieved.

On the other hand, in order to perform positioning in the y direction with respect to the printer 101 after being mounted on the ASF 1, the ASF 1
A hook (left) 16 and a hook (right) 17 are provided in the printer sliding portion 45b so as to be able to come and go. On the printer side, hook fixing holes 103y and 103z for fitting with the two hooks 16 and 17 are provided on the base 1 of the printer 101.
03 are provided on both sides.

Then, when the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF 1, the hook fixing holes 1
Hooks provided on ASF1 at 03y and 103z (left)
16 and the hook (right) 17 are respectively fitted, and the positioning of the printer 101 in the y direction is performed.

When the user sets the printer 101 to ASF1
When the push lever 40 is to be removed, the push lever 40 is pushed in the direction of arrow 40A. That is, when the push lever 40 is pressed, the hook (left) 16 and the hook (right) 17 protruding from the printer sliding portion 45b are retracted in the direction of the arrow 40A, and the hook fixing holes 103y, 1 of the printer 101 are moved.
03z is released.

Thereafter, the pop-ups 43a and 43b provided on the ASF 1 are used to set the direction 43A (y direction).
By pressing the paper discharge side upper portion 102a of the printer 101, the connection of the connectors 44 and 117 is released. The pop-ups 43a and 43b are urged by an elastic member (not shown) in the direction 43A (y direction).
It is configured to be slidable in the direction.

Here, since the urging force of the pop-ups 43a and 43b acts as a reaction force when the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF 1, if the urging force is strong, the printer 101 cannot be pushed into the ASF 1 and cannot be mounted. Therefore, the biasing force is set to an appropriate biasing force (for example, a force at which the ASF1 does not move due to the biasing force when the printer 101 is mounted on the ASF1).

Incidentally, there is a case where the pulling force between the connectors exceeds the urging force of the pop-ups 43a and 43b. In this case, the connection between the connectors is not released only by the pop-ups 43a and 43b. For this reason, in the present embodiment, by pushing the push lever 40 in the direction of the arrow 40A, the protrusion 4
0b protrudes in the y direction.

Then, by pushing out the protruding portion 40b of the push lever 40 and pressing the lower (or central) portion 102b on the paper discharge side of the printer 101, the connection between the connectors (44, 117) is released. . Thus, the user can easily pull out the printer 101 from the ASF 1 in the y direction.

Next, the attachment / detachment mechanism between the ASF 1 and the printer 101 will be described in more detail.

FIG. 13 shows the arrangement of mechanical components related to the attachment / detachment of the printer to / from the ASF 1. The push lever 40 is rotatable about a lever shaft 42 fixed to the positioning base 39 as shown in FIG. (Arrow 40A,
40B and arrow 40C). Also,
The push lever 40 and the chassis 11 of the ASF 1 are connected by a push lever spring 7.

Further, the push lever 40 has a boss 40c as a rotation stopper, and the positioning base 39 has slide surfaces 39a, 39b, 39c which abut against the boss 40c.
Is provided. Here, the slide surface 39c is shown by a two-dot chain line for easy understanding of the configuration. With this configuration, the rotation of the push lever 40 around the lever shaft 42 is restricted by the boss 40c of the push lever 40 abutting the guide surface 39a.

The hook (left) 16 is connected to the hook (right)
The hook 17 is fixed to a hook shaft 18 rotatably attached to the chassis 11 together with the hook 17, so that the hook (left) 16 and the hook (right) 17 are interlocked. A connecting spring 9 is interposed between the hook (left) 16 and the push lever 40, and the lower end 40 d of the push lever 40 and the upper surface of the hook (left) 16 are always in contact with the connecting spring 9. Held in state.

Further, a hook spring 3 is interposed between the hook (left) 16 and the ASF base, and the claw portion 16a of the hook (left) 16 is moved by the hook spring 3 to the ASF base 45.
Of the printer slide portion 45b.

FIG. 14 shows a state in which the printer 101 is mounted on the printer sliding portion 45b in order to mount the printer 101 on the ASF1. In FIG. 2, the printer 101 is shown by a two-dot chain line in order to easily explain the mechanism. Also, the printer 101
Is shown in a cross-sectional shape.

When the printer 101 is moved in the direction of arrow A along the printer sliding portion 45b of the ASF base 45 and pushed into the ASF 1, the hook (left)
The 16 claw portions 16a are the base tip 103 of the printer 101.
abuts w. Further, when the printer 101 is further pushed in, the hook (left) 16 is pushed down in the direction of the arrow 16A about the hook shaft 18 as a rotation axis, and the upper end 16a2 of the claw portion 16a comes into contact with the bottom surface 103x of the base 103. At the same time, the push lever 40 is interlocked with the hook (left) 16 by the connecting spring 9, so that the push lever 40 descends in the direction of the arrow 40A.

Here, in this pushed-in position, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the positioning bosses 39d and 39e are in engagement with the positioning holes 118a (see FIG. 12) and the positioning long holes 118b (see FIG. 12) of the printer 101, and
F connector 44 (see FIG. 13) and printer connector 11
7 (see FIG. 12) before the connector is positioned.

After that, when the printer 101 is further pressed, the ASF connector 44 and the connector 117 are connected. Then, the hook fixing hole 103y of the printer 101
When the claw 16a of the hook (left) 16 reaches the position shown in FIG.
The hook (left) 16 rises in the direction of arrow 16B by the urging force of the hook spring 3 as shown in FIG.
Of the hook fixing hole 103y and the claw portion 16a of the hook (left) 16 abut against each other to be in a fitted state.

At the same time, the push lever 40 is also interlocked and rises in the direction 40B. Thus, the user can confirm that the printer 101 is mounted (fixed) on the ASF 1.

The hook (left) 16 and the hook (right) 1
Since the hook 7 is fixed to the hook shaft 18, the push lever 40 is not allowed to rise in the direction 40B unless the hooks 16 and 17 both enter the hook fixing holes 103y and 103z (see FIG. 12) of the printer 101. Absent.
Therefore, for example, a mounting failure in which the printer 101 is mounted obliquely with respect to the ASF 1 and one hook is not fitted in the hook fixing hole of the printer 101 is prevented by the user confirming the height position of the push lever 40. be able to.

In the present embodiment, the position where the hooks 16 and 17 and the printer 101 are fitted to each other is
The rotation center is set at the same position as the rotation centers of the rotation axes 6 and 17, or at a position slightly higher than the rotation center position. As a result, when the printer 101 is forcibly removed from the ASF 1,
The hooks 16 and 17 are at the positions where the forces are balanced, that is, the hook 1
Because it stops at the same height position as the rotation center height of 6, 17
The printer 101 does not come off the SF1.

Next, a case where the printer 101 is detached from the ASF 1 will be described.

When the user wants to remove the printer 101 from the ASF 1, as shown in FIG.
An operation of pressing the 0 push section 40a with a finger in the direction of arrow 40A is performed. At this time, the push lever 40 is
0c is a guide surface 39 provided on the positioning base 39.
Since the guide shaft 39a is interposed between the lever shaft 42a and the guide surface 39a, it cannot rotate around the lever shaft 42 until the guide surface 39a disappears, and descends in the direction of the arrow 40A.

Also, the push lever 40 and the hook (left)
The hook (left) 16 pivots about the hook shaft 18 in the direction 16A simultaneously with the lowering of the push lever 40 because of the interlocking of the push lever 40. The engagement of the hook 16a of the hook (left) 16 is released. At the same time, although not shown, the engagement between the hook fixing hole 103z and the hook (right) 17 is released.

When the engagement of the claw portion 16a is released, the upper portion 102a of the printer 101 on the paper discharge side of the printer 101 is pressed by the pop-up 43 indicated by a broken line in FIGS. It is extruded in the B direction. At the same time, the connection between the ASF connector 44 and the printer connector 117 is released.

Here, when the user releases the pressing of the push lever 40 in the direction 40A in this state, the state as shown in FIG. 15 is obtained. That is, the connection of the connectors 44 and 117 is released, and the engagement between the hook 16 and the printer 101 is released, so that the user can easily remove the printer 101 from the ASF 1.

By the way, as described above, the pop-up 4
If the pulling force between the connectors exceeds the pushing force of No. 3, the printer 101 does not move even when the hook 16 and the printer 101 are disengaged, so that the state shown in FIG. The user can access the printer 1 from ASF1.
01 cannot be removed.

Therefore, the present embodiment has a configuration in which the push-out function by the user is added as described above.

FIG. 17 shows the hook 16 and the printer 1
This shows a state in which the printer 101 does not move even when the fitting of No. 01 is released. Then, at this time, the hook (left) 16 is at a position where the fitting is released from the hook fixing hole 103y,
The boss 40c of the push lever 40 is located on the positioning base 39.
The restriction on the movement direction by the guide surface 39b is released.

The push lever 40 is in a state in which the lever shaft 42 is pressed against the upper end surface of the slide hole 40e of the push lever 40, whereby the hook (left) 16
Is regulated. Further push lever 40
Since the contact surface 40e with the hook (left) 16 has an arc shape with the lever shaft 42 as the center of rotation, the position of the hook (left) 16 does not change even if the push lever 40 rotates. Has become.

In this state, if the user continues to push the push section 40a of the push lever 40,
Rotates about the lever shaft 42 in the 40D direction. The rotation of the push lever 40 causes the hook (left) 16 and the printer 101 to rotate.
In a state where the fitting with the printer 101 is released, the protruding portion 40b of the push lever 40 is
, Whereby the printer 101 is pushed out in the direction of arrow B.

When the push lever 40 is continuously pressed thereafter, as shown in FIG. 18, the contact surface 40c of the push lever 40 abuts against the stopper portion 39d of the positioning base 39, and the push lever 40 rotates at this position. Is regulated. Here, the pushing amount of the printer 101 by the push lever 40 is different from the hook (left) 16 and the printer 10.
1 is set to an amount by which the fitting and connector connection are released.

On the other hand, after the printer 101 is pushed out in this manner, the user presses the push portion 40 of the push lever 40.
Release the pressing of a. When the pushing force is released in this manner, the hook (left) is moved by the hook spring 3.
16 rises in the direction of arrow 16B. At the same time, the push lever 40 is also pushed up by the hook (left) 16, and the boss 40 c of the push lever 40 comes into contact with the guide surface 39 c of the positioning base 39, after which the push lever 40 is pulled by the pulling force of the spring 7. 40 rotates in the direction of arrow 40E.

Then, the boss portion 40 of the push lever 40
When “c” abuts on the guide surface 39 a of the positioning base 39, the rotation of the push lever 40 is restricted, and the push lever 40 is raised in the direction of the arrow 40 </ b> B by the spring force of the hook spring 3.

As a result, the connection of the connector as shown in FIG. 15 is finally released, and the engagement between the hook (left) 16 and the printer 101 is released. Can be removed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the printer 101 is detached from the ASF 1,
Since the push lever 40 is pushed in a substantially vertical direction, AS
A vertical force acts on F itself. For this reason, when the printer 101 is pushed out in a substantially horizontal direction, the ASF 1 is configured not to shift. In addition, since the printer 101 is pushed out in a substantially horizontal direction, the removal failure does not occur due to the printer 101 moving in the mounting direction again by its own weight.

FIG. 19 shows the push lever 40, pop-ups 43a and 43b,
It is a figure showing arrangement and power relation of positioning bosses 39d and 39e, hook (right) 16, hook (left) 17, and ASF connector 44. FIG. 20 is a partial cross-sectional view of the upper surface of ASF1.

As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the printer 1
01 positioning bosses 39d, 39e and hook (left) 1
Reference numerals 6 and 17 are provided near both ends of the printer 101 in the width direction. The ASF connector 44 is located between the two positioning bosses 39e and 39d, and is disposed near the second positioning boss 39e. Also, the push lever 40 and the second pop-up 43b are connected to the first positioning boss 3
9D, it is arranged at a position further away from the ASF connector 44.

When the printer 101 is detached from the ASF 1 in such a configuration, the push lever 40 is pushed in the direction of the arrow 40A as described above, and the hooks (left) 16 and 17 are simultaneously inserted into the hook fixing holes 103y of the printer 101. , 103z (see FIG. 14), the protruding portion 40b of the push lever 40 is pressed against the printer 101 to protrude the printer 101, thereby releasing the connector connection and hooks (left) 16, 17 and the hook of the printer 101. This is achieved by releasing the engagement with the fixing holes 103y and 103z.

Here, the pop-ups 43a and 43b are auxiliary members for reducing the force of pressing the push lever 40 by the user, and are slidably biased to a predetermined position on the printer pushing side by an elastic member (not shown). I have.

In the present embodiment, the printer 101 is pushed out by the printer sliding portion 45b with the positioning bosses 39d and 39e as the center of rotation.
It is pushed out while sliding.

Since the printer positioning hole 118a on the first positioning boss side serving as a fulcrum of rotation is a round hole, and the positioning hole 118b on the second positioning boss side is a long hole setting (see FIG. 12). From the state of FIG.
1 is the first positioning boss 39d and the ASF 1
Printer 101 and ASF1
Is as shown in FIG.

However, in such a state, biting occurs between the first positioning boss 39d and the positioning hole 118a, so that the printer 101 can be moved only by the pushing force of the first pop-up 43a. Will be gone. Also, the user is forced to use the printer 101.
If the first positioning boss 39d is to be removed from the ASF 1, the first positioning boss 39d is deformed and destroyed.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, before the printer 101 is pushed out by the push lever 40 and the second pop-up 43b, the fitting position between the first positioning boss 39d, which is the rotation fulcrum of the printer 101, and the positioning hole 118a is determined. The first pop-up 43a is configured to be prevented from biting by being shifted in a connector releasing direction by a pushing force of the first pop-up 43a.

That is, when the arrangement dimensions are as shown in FIG. 19, the first positioning boss 39e is used as a pivot point for the first positioning boss 39e.
Due to the pushing force of the pop-up 43a, the printer 10
The force required to push out 1 is as follows.

F1> (X1 / X2) × P1 + P2 In the above formula, F1 is the first pop-up 43
a, the pushing force of the printer, P1 is the removal force of the connector 44, P2 is the frictional force between the printer 101 and the printer sliding surface 45b of the ASF 1, X1 is the distance from the second positioning boss 39e, which is a pivot point, to the connector 44, X2 is the distance from the second positioning boss 39e serving as a pivot point to the first pop-up 43a.

Here, as is clear from the above equation, the first distance between the first pop-up 43a and the ASF connector 44 increases, that is, as the value of X1 / X2 decreases, the first pop-up 43a decreases.
The value of the pushing force F1 of the pop-up 43a can be set small. The printer pushing force F1 of the first pop-up 43a causes the printer 101 to reach A
Considering that the connector works as a reaction force when attached to the SF1 and that the connector removal force is generally 1 to 2 kgf, the value of X1 / X2 is suitably 0.5 or less.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the hook height of the hook (right) 17 is formed to be lower than the hook height of the hook (left) 16, whereby the hooks (left) 16, 17 are formed. Is the hook fixing hole 10 of the printer 101.
The hook (right) 17 is released before the hook (left) 16 is released from the fitted state of 3y and 102z (see FIG. 12).

As a result, when the hook (right) 17 is first released from the fitting position with the hook fixing hole 103z of the printer 101, at this moment, the printer 101 uses the second positioning boss 39e as a pivot point for the first pop-up. Rotation by the pushing force of 43a causes the fitting position between the first positioning boss 39d and the positioning hole 118a to move to the connector release side as shown in FIG.

Thereafter, the hook (left) 16 is connected to the printer 10.
When the printer 101 is pushed out by the push lever 40 and the second pop-up 43b when the fitting with the first hook fixing hole 103y is released and there is no bite between the first positioning boss 39d and the positioning hole 118a as shown in FIG. In this state, the printer 101 can be removed from the ASF 1.

Here, when the push lever 40 and the second pop-up 43b are arranged between the first positioning boss 39d, which is a pivot of the printer 101, and the ASF connector 44, if the connection force between the connectors is large, the connector 4
4 serves as a rotation fulcrum of the printer 101, and the first positioning boss 39d and the printer 10
Biting occurs with the ten positioning holes 118a, which may cause deformation and destruction of the boss 39d due to biting.

Therefore, as described above, the push lever 40 and the second pop-up 43b are
When viewed from the first positioning boss 39d, which is the rotation fulcrum of 01, it is necessary to dispose it at a position farther from the ASF connector 44.

FIG. 24 is a connection block diagram of the printer main unit control unit and the external ASF control unit according to the present invention.

A main body control section 202 for controlling the printer main body 101 is arranged on a main body substrate 123 shown in FIG. 4, and includes a microcomputer to which a CPU 203, a ROM 204 and a RAM 205 are connected by a bus.

The main body control unit 202 is provided for the printer main body 1.
01 performs printing based on the main body control program stored in the ROM 204, drives the carriage motor 121 via the motor driver 208, and prints a print head mounted on a carriage (not shown) connected to the carriage motor 121. 115 for head driver 2
The recording is performed for one line by driving through the line 10.

Thereafter, the main body control unit 202 feeds the sheet by driving the paper feed motor 120 via the motor driver 206, and repeats the driving of the carriage motor 121 and the recording head 115 to complete the recording on the sheet. I do. A connector 117 outputs a command signal from the CPU 203 of the main body control unit to the outside, and functions as a communication port capable of two-way communication for inputting a response signal from the outside to the CPU 203. Can also be supplied. Reference numeral 108 denotes a paper end sensor provided inside the printer main body and having an optical switch or a mechanical switch. When the sheet 200 is inserted into the printer main body, the output voltage of the paper end sensor 108 changes from the LO state to the HIGH state. Reference numeral 113 denotes a paper discharge sensor having the same function as the paper end sensor 108.
If 0 remains inside the printer, the output voltage will be high.
It becomes H state.

The output voltages of the paper end sensor 108 and the paper discharge sensor 113 can both be monitored by the CPU 203, and the output voltage of the paper end sensor 108 is connected via a connector 117 so as to be directly output to the outside. .

ASF control unit 2 for controlling external ASF1
01 is the same as that of the printer main body control unit 202.
13, a microcomputer having a ROM 214 and a RAM 215 connected by a bus. CPU
213 drives the paper feed motor 27 via the motor driver 216 based on the ASF control program stored in the ROM 214. Reference numeral 44 denotes an ASF connector which receives a signal from an external device such as the printer main body 101, and
It functions as a communication port for outputting signals from the CPU 213 of the SF control unit and capable of bidirectional communication.

FIG. 26 shows the connector 117 and the ASF connector 44.
2 schematically shows a detailed configuration of the embodiment. Connector 1
17 and ASF connector 44 each have eight ports 11
7a-117h, 44a-44h, and ASF
When the printer 1 is mounted on the printer 101, the ports corresponding to the alphanumeric characters are electrically connected to each other.

As viewed from the ASF 1, 44a is a GND line, 44b is a 5V power supply line for signal, 44e is a 24V power supply line for driving the paper feeding motor 27, 44f is a transmission port for transmitting a signal to the printer side, and 44g is a printer. A receiving port 44h for receiving a signal from the side is a line for receiving the output voltage of the paper end sensor 108 inside the printer main body. It should be noted that since the ports 44c and 44d are short-circuited, the port 117 on the printer 101 side is used.
The configuration is such that it is easy to see that a device is connected to the outside using c and 117d.

FIG. 25 is a sectional view showing a state in which an external ASF according to the present invention is mounted on a printer main body.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a paper feed roller for feeding out the sheet 200. A paper feed rubber 23 is fitted on the paper feed roller 19, and when the paper feed roller 19 rotates, the sheet 200 is conveyed by the frictional force of the paper feed rubber 23.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a pressure plate on which the sheets 200 are stacked. Both ends on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction are rotatably supported by the ASF chassis 11. The pressure plate 26 is urged in the direction of the paper feed rubber 23 by the pressure plate spring 13. In an initial state, the cam portions 19 c provided at both ends of the paper supply roller 19 and the cam portions 26 a provided at both ends of the pressure plate 26 are provided. The paper feed rubber 23 and the pressure plate 26 are separated from each other, so that the sheet 200 can be set smoothly. The bank 36 has an abutting surface 36a on the extension of the pressure plate 26 in the sheet conveying direction. When setting the sheet 200, the bank 36 is set so that the leading end abuts on the abutting surface 36a. A bank sheet 37 as a sheet separating member is attached to the abutting surface 36a. The bank sheet 37 is a sheet made of an elastic material such as a plastic film, and has an action of separating the sheets one by one using an elastic force generated when the bank sheet 37 is bent.

Printer transport mechanism and printing mechanism Next, the transport mechanism and printing mechanism of the printer main body in FIG. 25 will be described.

Reference numeral 109 denotes an LF roller for conveying the sheet 200. The LF roller 109 is formed by forming a coating film of a material having a high friction coefficient such as urethane resin on the surface of a metal pipe. The LF roller 109 is rotated by being driven by a paper feed motor 120 shown in FIG. And transport it.

A recording head 115 records image information on the sheet 200 conveyed by the LF roller 109, and is mounted on a carriage (not shown) that can reciprocate in the longitudinal direction of the LF roller 109. The recording head 115 is driven together with the carriage by a carriage motor 121 in FIG. 24, and is capable of reciprocating in the paper width direction of the sheet 200 (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface).

The spur 111 and the paper discharge roller 112 are L
Two pairs of rollers are located downstream of the F roller 109 and the recording head 115 and convey the sheet 200 on which recording has been completed. The paper discharge roller 112 is connected to the LF roller 109 via a drive transmission member (not shown), and rotates so as to convey the sheet 200 in the same direction as the LF roller 109 using the LF roller 109 as a driving source.

The LF roller 1 moves in the sheet conveying direction.
Paper end sensor 10 on the paper path upstream of
Discharge sensors 113 are provided between the eight discharge rollers and the two discharge rollers, and the output voltage of each sensor changes from the LO state to the HIGH state as the sheet 200 crosses.

ASF Driving Mechanism FIG. 27 and FIG. 28 show an external ASF driving mechanism according to the present invention.

The paper feed motor 27 is a stepping motor that can rotate forward and reverse. Reference numeral 15 denotes an idle gear, which meshes with a motor gear 27a of the sheet feeding motor 27. 2
Reference numeral 9 denotes an ASF double gear having two-stage gears having different large and small diameters, and meshes with the idle gear 15.
Reference numeral 31 denotes a forward rotation planet gear, which meshes with a small diameter gear of the ASF double gear and revolves around the ASF double gear. Reference numeral 33 denotes a reverse sun gear having two stages of large and small diameter gears, which mesh with a small diameter gear of the ASF double gear 29. Reference numeral 35 denotes a reverse planetary gear, which meshes with a small-diameter gear of the reverse sun gear 33 and revolves around the reverse sun gear. Reference numeral 19a denotes a paper feed roller gear provided at the shaft end of the paper feed roller 19, and has a toothless portion 19b. The feed roller gear 19 is
It is located on the orbit of the forward rotation planetary gear 31 and the reverse rotation planetary gear 35 and is arranged at a position meshing with each gear.

Next, the operation of each gear will be described. In FIG. 27, when the feed motor 27 rotates in the direction of arrow b (reverse rotation driving), each gear rotates in the direction of arrow. That is, the reverse rotation planetary gear 35 revolves around the reverse rotation sun gear 33 from the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. As a result, the paper feed roller 19 moves in the direction of the arrow in the figure (the direction in which the sheet 200 stacked on the pressure plate 26 is sent out to the printer 101).
To rotate. The feed roller gear 19a that meshes with and rotates with the reverse planetary gear 35 has a missing tooth portion 19b.
When the sheet feeding motor 27 is rotated to the position opposing to 5, the meshing is released, and the sheet feeding motor 27 does not rotate even if the sheet feeding motor 27 is further driven in the reverse direction.

At this time, the forward rotation planetary gear 31 is
7 revolves from the broken line position toward the solid line position in the direction of the arrow, stops at the stopper (not shown), and does not affect the rotation of the paper feed roller 19.

Next, in FIG. 28, when the paper feed motor 27 rotates in the direction of arrow f (forward rotation), each gear is set in FIG.
Rotate in the direction of the arrow. That is, the normal rotation planetary gear 31 revolves around the ASF double gear 29 toward the solid line position in the direction of the arrow from the dashed line position in the figure via the idle gear 15 and the ASF double gear 29, and meshes with the paper feed roller gear 19a. Thus, the paper feed roller 19 rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 28 (the direction in which the sheet 200 stacked on the pressure plate 26 is sent out to the printer 101). The feed roller 19a, which meshes and rotates with the forward rotation planetary gear 31, disengages when the toothless portion 19b rotates to a position facing the forward rotation planetary gear 31, and the feed motor 27a further rotates.
Does not rotate even if it is driven forward.

At this time, the reverse rotation planetary gear 33 is
8 does not affect the rotation of the paper feed roller 19 because it revolves from the broken line position toward the solid line position in the direction of the arrow and stops by hitting a stopper (not shown).

Further, at the position where the missing tooth portion 19b of the feed roller gear 19a faces the forward rotation planetary gear 31, the cam portion 19c of the feed roller just meshes with the cam portion 26a of the pressure plate 26 to have the same phase as the initial state. , Pressure plate 26
And the paper feed rubber 23 are separated from each other.

Accordingly, when the paper feed motor 27 is continuously driven to rotate forward, the paper feed roller cam 19c and the pressure plate cam 26
a, the feed roller 19 stops rotating at the same phase as the initial state while the pressure plate 26 and the feed rubber 23 are separated from each other, and thereafter the forward planetary gear 33 and the reverse planetary gear 35
28 also idles at the position shown by the solid line in FIG.

As described above, regardless of whether the feed motor 27 rotates forward or backward, the feed roller 19 is
Rotates only in the direction in which is sent to the printer 101, and does not rotate in the opposite direction.

O Feeding Operation and Recording Operation (Printer Side) Next, the printer and the ASF according to the present invention
A description will be given of a series of operations for feeding, transporting, printing, and discharging 00.

Upon receiving a recording command from an external information device such as a computer, the printer 101 first performs a paper feeding operation, and then performs a recording operation.

FIG. 29 is a control flow when the printer 101 performs a paper feeding operation. First, the main body control unit 202 of the printer 101 executes the sub flow C1. The detailed contents will be described later with reference to FIG.
Are used to determine the model attached to the outside of the printer via the ports 117f and 117g shown in FIG.

Next, the process proceeds to S1, and if the result of the subflow C1 indicates that the ASF is mounted on the printer 101, the ASF paper is fed, so the process proceeds to S2.
In S2, the main body control unit 202 transmits an initialization command signal to the ASF, and proceeds to S3.

If there is no response signal indicating completion of initialization from the ASF in S3, the process returns to S3, and when the response signal is received, the process proceeds to S4. In S4, the main body control unit 202
Transmits to the ASF a paper feed command signal and a paper type signal indicating the type of sheet to be fed (plain paper, coated paper, postcard, glossy film, etc.), and proceeds to S5.

At S5, if the response signal from the ASF has not been received, the process proceeds to S8, and if the predetermined time limit t2 seconds has not elapsed, the process returns to S5. S
In step 8, if the time limit t2 seconds has elapsed from the start of sheet feeding, the process advances to step S9, where the main body control unit 202 issues a sheet feeding error and ends the sheet feeding operation. In S5, ASF
If the response signal indicates that the sheet feeding has been completed, the process proceeds to S7. Step S7 is a part for performing a so-called cueing operation of the sheet 200. The main body control unit 202 drives the paper feed motor 120 to rotate the LF roller 109 by a predetermined amount R3 in the sheet conveyance direction (forward rotation direction) during recording. And the paper feeding operation is completed. The predetermined amount R3 is determined by the sheet 200
The leading end does not reach the sheet detectable area of the sheet ejection sensor 113, and is set to a size just below the recording head 115.
When recording is started at 0, there is no need to return the sheet 200 to the upstream side in the transport direction.
Since it does not collide with the internal mechanism components of F, there is no occurrence of sheet breakage or misfeed.

At S5, if there is a response signal from the ASF, and if it is a signal indicating a paper feed error, the procedure proceeds to S9, where the main body control unit 202 issues a paper feed error and ends the paper feed operation.

In S1, if the result of the sub-flow C1 indicates that the ASF is not mounted on the printer 101, the process proceeds to S10 because manual sheet feeding is performed.

At S10, if the user has not inserted a sheet, the output voltage of the paper end sensor 108 is in the LO state, so no sheet is detected, and the process returns to S10. When the user inserts the sheet 200 into the printer 101 and hits the LF roller 109, the output voltage of the paper end sensor 108 becomes HIGH and the sheet is detected, and the process proceeds to S11. In step S11, the main body control unit 202 drives the paper feed motor 120 via the paper feed motor driver 206 such that the LF roller 109 rotates forward by a predetermined amount R4 (rotation direction for conveying the sheet in the conveyance direction during recording). I do. The predetermined amount R4 is set to a size such that the leading end of the sheet 200 reaches the sheet detectable area of the sheet discharge sensor 113. Next, the process proceeds to S12, and if the sheet ejection sensor 113 detects the sheet 200, it is determined that the sheet feeding is successful, and the process proceeds to S13. In step S13, the main body control unit 202 controls the paper feed motor via the paper feed motor driver 206 so that the LF roller 109 reversely rotates by a predetermined amount R5 (rotation direction in which the sheet is conveyed in a direction opposite to the conveyance direction during recording). 120 is driven. The predetermined amount R5 is the sheet 2 conveyed to the detectable area of the sheet ejection sensor 113.
00 is returned to the recording start position, and is set to such an amount that the leading end of the sheet 200 does not fall out from between the LF roller 109 and the pinch roller 110.

In S12, the paper discharge sensor 113
Does not detect the sheet 200, for example, L
When the sheet 200 does not bite well between the LF roller 109 and the pinch roller 110 due to weak contact with the F roller 109, or because the sheet 200 is obliquely pressed against the LF roller 108, the sheet 200 is conveyed by a predetermined amount R4. Even if the sheet 200 can be
If the leading end has not been reached, the main body control unit 202 determines that manual paper feeding has failed, and proceeds to S14. In S14, the main body control unit 202 determines that the LF roller 109 has
The paper feed motor 120 is driven via the paper feed motor driver 206 so as to rotate in the reverse direction by six.

The predetermined amount R6 is set to an amount large enough for the leading end of the sheet 200 conveyed to the detectable area of the sheet discharge sensor 113 to fall out between the LF roller 109 and the pinch roller 110.

In this way, it is possible to reliably confirm that the sheet has been successfully fed by checking whether or not the sheet ejection sensor 113 has detected the sheet 200 at the time of manual feeding. Since the sheet 200 is returned to a position where the sheet 200 is not bitten by the LF roller, there is an advantage that the sheet 200 can be easily removed, and manual sheet feeding can be performed again.

[0210] Unlike the case of ASF mounting, there is no mechanical component that collides during manual insertion.
Transporting in the opposite direction does not cause breakage or misfeed.

The printer 101 that has completed the sheet feeding operation in accordance with the above-described sheet feeding control flow performs a recording operation thereafter.
The main body control unit 202 drives the carriage motor 121 via the motor driver 208, and also drives the recording head 115 mounted on a carriage (not shown) connected to the carriage motor 121 via the head driver 210, thereby controlling one line. Record. Thereafter, the main body control unit 202 sends the paper feed motor 1 via the motor driver 206.
The sheet 200 is conveyed by one row by driving the carriage motor 20 and the carriage motor 121 and the recording head 115 again.
The recording on the sheet is completed by repeating the driving of. When the recording is completed, the main body control unit 202 drives the paper feed motor 120 to rotate the LF roller 109 forward. As a result, the paper discharge roller 112 rotates, and the sheet 200 is discharged out of the printer 101.

FIG. 30 shows an ASF that can be externally attached to the printer according to the present invention.
3 shows a main control flow of the first embodiment. When the control unit 201 of the ASF 1 according to the present invention is connected to the printer 101, the control unit 201 is normally in a standby state.
If no command signal has been received from S1, S37 is repeatedly executed until the command signal is received. When a command signal from the printer 101 is received via the serial reception port 44g of FIG. 26, the process proceeds to the following sub-flows or steps according to the content of the command signal. That is, when the command signal from the printer 101 indicates a “paper feed command”, the process proceeds to the sub-flow C2 for controlling the ASF paper feed operation,
In the case of indicating the "initialization command", the process proceeds to the subflow C3 for controlling the initialization operation, and when each subflow is completed, the process again proceeds to S37 to be in a standby state. If the command signal from the printer 101 indicates the "model discriminating command", the process proceeds to step S6, where the code ID representing the model of the ASF 1 itself is transmitted to the printer 10 via the serial transmission port 44f.
After transmitting to 1, the process proceeds to S37 again, and enters a standby state.

Of the two sub-flows described above, first, the sub-flow C2 for controlling the ASF sheet feeding operation will be described, and the details of the sub-flow C3 for controlling the initialization operation will be described later.

FIG. 31 is a sub-flow C2 for controlling the sheet feeding operation in the ASF1.

The ASF control section 201 first proceeds to S15,
Based on the paper type information received from the printer 101 together with the paper feed instruction signal, the drive table T of the paper feed motor 27 optimal for the paper type to be fed is read from the ROM 214 to the CPU 213. The drive table T includes a driving speed of the sheet feeding motor 27 as a pulse motor and a registration removal pulse number P5 for rotating the sheet supply roller 19 by an optimum amount in accordance with a paper type at the time of registration operation in step 22 described later. And the like, and a plurality of types are prepared according to assumed sheet characteristics.

After reading the drive table T, the ASF control unit 201 proceeds to step S16, where INIT, n, P
0 is set as an initial value of each variable defined by c. Each variable is a variable stored in the RAM 215.
Is a flag indicating whether or not the phase in the rotation direction of the sheet feeding roller 19 is at the initial position, n is a rotation number counter indicating how many times the sheet feeding roller 19 has rotated since the start of the sheet feeding flow C2,
Pc is a pulse number counter indicating how many pulses the paper feed motor 27 has been driven in the reverse direction.

Next, in S17, the ASF control unit 201 drives the paper feed roller 19 by one pulse in the reverse direction via the paper feed motor driver 216. Next, the process proceeds to S18, in which the value of the pulse number counter Pc is increased by 1, and the process proceeds to S19. S19
In the ASF control unit 201, the pulse number counter Pc
Is compared with the value of the allowable pulse number Pmax.

The allowable pulse number Pmax is determined by the feed motor 27
Is the total number of pulses from the start of reverse rotation until the paper feed roller rotates to the position where the toothless portion 19b of the paper feed roller gear faces the reverse planetary gear 35 described with reference to FIG. 27, and stops rotating any further. Immediately after the start of sheet feeding, the relationship of Pc <Pmax holds, so the process proceeds to step S20. S2
0, the ASF control means 201
4h through the paper end sensor 1 in the printer 101
Although the output voltage of 08 is checked, the output voltage of the paper end sensor 108 is in the LO state immediately after the start of the sheet feeding operation because the sheet 200 has not yet reached the inside of the printer 101, and therefore, the process returns to S17. S17 to S as described above
When step 20 is repeated, the reverse rotation planetary gear 35 shown in FIG. 27 revolves from the position indicated by the broken line to the position indicated by the solid line, meshes with the sheet feeding roller gear 19a, and the sheet feeding roller 19 starts rotating.
When the feed roller 19 starts to rotate from the initial phase, the feed roller cam portion 19c and the press plate cam portion 26a disengage, and the press plate 26 is lifted upward by the press plate spring 13, and the sheet stacked on the press plate 26 is lifted. 200 is pressed against the paper feed rubber 23. At this time, the leading end of the sheet 200 that has been abutted against the abutting surface 36a of the bank 36 is also lifted upward, and abuts near the center of the bank sheet 37.

[0219] Further, when S17 to S20 are repeated to continue the reverse rotation drive of the sheet feeding motor 27 and rotate the sheet feeding roller 19, the conveyance of the sheet 200 is started by the frictional force of the sheet feeding rubber 23, and the leading end of the sheet 200 is moved. Is separated from the lower sheet by a reaction force generated by bending the elastic bank sheet 37, and only one sheet is sent out.

However, if the reverse rotation drive of the paper feed motor 27 is continued until the pulse number counter Pc reaches a certain value,
Since the relationship of c <Pmax is not satisfied, the process branches from S19 and proceeds to S24. In S24, the ASF control unit 201 drives the sheet feeding motor 27 in the normal rotation direction by a predetermined number of pulses P4. The predetermined number of pulses P4 is equal to the forward rotation planetary gear 31.
The number of pulses is sufficient for the paper feed roller 19 to rotate to the initial position by the drive of That is, by executing S24, the paper feed roller 19 is moved from the initial position by exactly 1
It rotates to the phase of rotation, where the toothless portion 19b of the paper feed roller gear comes to a position just opposite to the forward rotation planetary gear 31, the engagement is released, and the gear stops. Next, the process proceeds to step S25, in which the number-of-pulses counter Pc is reset to 0, the number-of-rotations counter n is increased by 1, and the process proceeds to step S26. In step S26, since n = 1 is still at this point, the flow returns to step S17, and the reverse rotation drive of the sheet feeding motor 27 is started again.

As described above, the ASF control unit 201 repeatedly executes steps S17 to S20, and
Starts the second rotation, and the sheet 200 is further conveyed. The leading end of the sheet 200 is the printer 101
Upon reaching the internal paper end sensor 108, the output voltage of the paper end sensor 108 becomes HIGH, and the process proceeds from S20 to S21. In S21, ASF
The control unit 201 compares the value obtained by adding the registration pulse number P5 in the drive table T read to the value of the pulse number counter Pc with the allowable pulse number Pmax. Pc
If the relation of + P5 ≦ Pmax is satisfied, even if the paper feed motor 27 is further driven to rotate in the reverse direction by P5 pulse, the transmission of the reverse drive will not be canceled in the middle, and the process proceeds to S22.

If the relationship of Pc + P5> Pmax is satisfied, if the sheet feeding motor 27 is further driven to rotate in the reverse direction by the pulse P5, the missing tooth portion 19 of the sheet feeding roller gear will be rotated halfway.
Since the drive transmission to the sheet feed roller 19 is interrupted at the position opposing the position No. 5, the process proceeds to S24. In step S24, the paper feed motor is driven forward again by the pulse P4 to rotate the paper feed roller 19 again.
Is returned to the initial position, and then in step S25, Pc is set to 0 and n is set to n +
Then, the process proceeds to S26. Normally, the feed roller 19-2
Since the paper end sensor 108 detects the sheet 200 at the rotation time, n = 2 at this point, and the process returns to S17. At this point, the output voltage of the paper end sensor 108 is already in the HIGH state, and the pulse number counter Pc has just been reset.
Proceed with S19 → S20 → S21, this time Pc + P5 ≦
The process proceeds to S22 to satisfy the relationship of Pmax.

In step S22, a so-called register removing operation is performed. The ASF control unit 201 drives the sheet feeding motor 27 in the reverse direction by the number of pulses P5 in the read drive table T.
The paper feed roller 19 is rotated. At this time, the sheet 200
Is further fed into the printer 101 from the position detected by the paper end sensor 108, stops at the nip formed by the LF roller 109 and the pinch roller 110 that are stopped, but stops further behind the sheet 200. It is pushed by the paper feed roller 19. For this reason, the leading end of the sheet 200 is
And the nip formed by the pinch roller 110.

Next, the process proceeds to step S23, where the ASF control unit 201 transmits a signal indicating the completion of sheet feeding to the printer 101 via the serial transmission port 44f shown in FIG. 26, and the operation is completed.

When no sheets are stacked on the pressure plate 26, the output voltage of the paper end sensor 108 does not become HIGH regardless of the number of rotations of the paper feed roller 19.

For this reason, the ASF control section 201 sets the steps S17 → S18 → S19 → S20 after step S17.
→ After repeating the loop of S17 a certain number of times, S19 → S
24 → S25 → Operation returning to S17 via S26
After repetition of the number of times, when the process reaches S26 for the third time, the rotation counter n of the sheet feeding roller 19 becomes n = 3, so the process proceeds to S27, a sheet feeding error signal is transmitted to the printer 101, and the operation is completed.

Other Operations (Printer Side, ASF Side) FIG. 32 is a sub-flow C3 for controlling the initialization operation of ASF1. Upon receiving the initialization command signal from the printer main body 101, the ASF control unit 201 proceeds to S28, and checks the value of the flag INIT indicating whether or not the phase in the rotation direction of the paper feed roller 19 is at the initial position. If INIT = 1, it indicates that the paper feed roller 19 is already at the initial position, and the process proceeds to step S31, where an initialization completion signal is transmitted to the printer 101, and the operation ends. Also, IN
If IT = 0, the process proceeds to step S29, in which the paper feed roller motor 27 is driven in the normal rotation direction by a predetermined number of pulses P0. The predetermined number of pulses P0 is such that the toothless portion 19b of the feed roller gear rotates to the opposite surface of the forward rotation planetary gear 31 no matter where the phase in the rotation direction of the feed roller 19 is located.
Is set to a value that can sufficiently rotate the sheet feeding roller 19 to the initial position. By executing S29, the sheet feeding roller 19 rotates to return to the initial position, and the pressure plate 26 and the sheet feeding rubber 23 are separated from each other. The seat 200 can be set smoothly.

Then, the flow advances to step S30 to set the flag INIT to 1 so as to indicate that the sheet feeding roller is at the initial position.
, And proceeds to S31 to send an initialization completion signal to the printer 1
01 to end the operation.

FIG. 33 shows a sub-flow C1 for determining the type of the printer main body 101 mounted outside the printer via the ports 117f and 117g shown in FIG. The main body control unit 202 first proceeds to step 32 and transmits a model identification command signal to the external device via the port 117g. Next, the process proceeds to S33, and if no response signal is received from the external device via the port 117f, the process proceeds to S35, and if the predetermined time limit t1 has not elapsed, the process returns to S33. In S35, if the time limit t1 has elapsed, the process proceeds to S36, where it is determined that no external device is attached,
End the operation.

If a response signal from an external device is received in S33, the process proceeds to S34. In step S34, the main body control unit 202 reads the partial code ID indicating the attached model from the received response signal, and ends the operation. (Second Embodiment) FIGS. 34 and 35 show a second embodiment of the control flow in the printer according to the present invention and the external ASF that can be mounted on the printer. The first
Portions having the same functions and shapes and the same operations as those of the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference symbols, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 31, the ASF control unit 201 sets the feed motor to P5 in S22.
After the pulse has been driven to rotate in the reverse direction, the process proceeds to step S23, where the sheet supply completion signal has been transmitted to the printer 101. But in this case,
Since the paper feed roller 19 has not returned to the initial position, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the paper feed roller 19 remains in a state of being pressed against the sheet 200. In this state, if the cueing operation or the recording operation of the printer main body is simply performed only by the LF roller 109, the back tension is generated by the paper feed roller 19, and the conveyance accuracy of the sheet 200 may be deteriorated.

The second embodiment solves this problem.

As shown in FIG. 35, after performing the registration operation in S22, the ASF control unit 201 proceeds to S38 and drives the sheet feeding motor 27 to rotate forward by the predetermined number of pulses P6. The predetermined number of pulses P6 is a sufficient number of pulses for rotating the sheet feeding roller 19 to the initial position by driving with the forward rotation planetary gear 31. At the same time as the normal rotation drive of the paper feed motor 27 is started, a counter for measuring the elapsed time from the drive start is operated. When a predetermined time t3 has elapsed, the process proceeds to S39, and a synchronous drive request signal is transmitted to the printer main body 101 side. I do. During the predetermined time t3, after the paper feed motor 27 starts rotating in S38, the normal rotation planetary gear 31 revolves and meshes with the paper feed roller gear 19a to feed the paper feed roller 19.
Is slightly longer than the time until the start of rotation.

Further, in S38, the speed at which the paper feed motor 27 is driven is such that the peripheral speed of the paper feed rubber 23 mounted on the paper feed roller 19 is lower than the peripheral speed at which the LF roller 109 of the printer body rotates in S7. It is set to be slightly larger.

When step S38 is completed, the paper feed roller 19 rotates to the same phase as the initial position, and proceeds to S40. In S40, the ASF control unit 201 substitutes “1” indicating that the rotation direction phase of the paper feed roller 19 is in the initial state into the INIT flag, and ends the operation.

On the other hand, upon receiving the synchronous drive request signal transmitted by the ASF control section 201 in S39, the printer main body control section 202 proceeds from S5 to S7 in FIG.
The LF roller 109 starts normal rotation.

The printer body 101 according to the present embodiment
FIG. 37 is a time chart summarizing how the ASF1 and ASF1 operate over time.

When the printer starts the paper feeding operation, first, it transmits a model identification command signal to the ASF side (S32). AS
F sends a signal ID indicating its model code to the printer (S37). Next, the printer transmits an ASF initialization command signal to the ASF side (S2). If the ASF is not in the initialization state, the printer rotates the sheet feed roller to perform an initialization operation (S2).
29), and transmits an initialization completion signal to the printer (S3).
1). Next, the printer transmits a paper feed command signal to the ASF side (S4). The ASF reads the optimal drive table T based on the paper type information sent together with the paper feed command signal (S15, not shown in FIG. 37), and then controls the paper feed motor based on the paper feed operation control flow C2. Then, the paper feed roller rotates (S18). The output voltage of the paper end sensor 108 provided on the printer side becomes HIGH,
When the sheet is detected, the ASF further rotates the sheet feeding roller by the rotation amount R1 based on the above-described pulse number P5, and performs a so-called registration removing operation (S22). After the completion of the registration operation, the ASF further rotates the sheet feeding roller by the rotation amount R3 at the same position as the initial state (S38), and when the time t3 elapses from the start of driving of the sheet feeding motor, the ASF. A synchronous drive request signal is transmitted to the printer (S39).

The printer that has received the synchronous drive request signal from the ASF rotates the LF roller by the rotation amount R3 to perform a so-called cueing operation (S7).

As is clear from the above description, in the present embodiment, in FIG. 36 showing a state where step S22 is completed, the feed roller 19 starts rotating, and the LF roller 109 is slightly delayed. At the same time as the rotation starts, the peripheral speed of the paper feed rubber 23 is slightly higher than the peripheral speed of the LF roller 109 at this time. Therefore, the LF roller 1
When 09 starts rotation for the cueing operation in S7, since the paper feed rubber 23 pressed against the sheet 200 starts to rotate slightly earlier, no back tension occurs, and the peripheral speed of the paper feed rubber 23 is not increased. Is slightly higher than the peripheral speed of the LF roller 109, so that back tension due to the peripheral speed difference does not occur, and the conveyance accuracy at the time of cueing of the sheet 200 is stabilized.

If t3 is too small, the feeding roller 19
The LF roller 109 may start rotating before the driving force transmission of the sheet feeding motor 27 is started. If t3 is too large, the sheet feeding roller 19 may rotate a lot before the LF roller 109 starts rotating. The sheet 200 may be deformed on the way or the leading edge may not be aligned in parallel with the nip formed by the LF roller 109 and the pinch roller 110. As a result of the experiment, in the present embodiment, the optimal value of t3 was about 10 ms to 100 ms. If the peripheral speed of the rubber feeder 23 attached to the paper feed roller 19 is not too high relative to the peripheral speed of the LF roller 109, the paper feed rubber 23 may slip due to the type of the sheet 200 and the surrounding environment. When this is done, back tension may still occur, and if the peripheral speed of the paper feed rubber 23 is too high, the sheet 200 may be deformed. As a result of the experiment, the optimal condition was that the peripheral speed of the paper feed rubber 23 in S38 of the present embodiment was about 5% to 50% faster than the peripheral speed of the LF roller 109 in S7.

In this embodiment, the name of the signal corresponding to the "paper feed completion signal" in the first embodiment is called "synchronous drive request signal" due to the difference in the meaning of the operation. As described above, no problem occurs even if the same signal as the "paper feed completion signal" is used as the actual signal. Therefore, the flow of controlling the sheet feeding operation of the printer main body (FIGS. 29 and 34) in the first embodiment and the second embodiment is essentially exactly the same. That is, the printer described in the first embodiment is
AS shown in the first embodiment and the second embodiment
Any of F can be mounted and used.

Here, the contents of a plurality of drive tables T in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

For example, when the paper type information received by ASF 1 indicates plain paper, ASF control section 201 selects drive table 1. For plain paper, step 22
The driving speed is set to the medium speed because the resistance force at the time of the registration taking operation is small. Further, since the sheet is rarely conveyed obliquely during sheet feeding, it is not necessary to increase the amount of pressing against the LF roller 109, and a small value is set as the number of registration removal pulses P5.

When the paper type information received by the ASF 1 indicates an envelope, the ASF control unit 201 selects the drive table T3. Since the envelope has a high resistance when fed, and particularly has a high resistance during the registration operation in step S22, the driving speed is lower than that of plain paper so that the feed motor 27 does not lose synchronism. To ensure a large torque. On the other hand, since the envelope is more likely to be skewed (easily skewed) during paper feeding than other paper types, the number P5 of registration pulses in step S22 is a medium value larger than that of the plain paper table T1. Is set.
As a result, the amount by which the leading end of the envelope is pressed against the LF roller 109 increases, so that the leading ends of the envelopes are more reliably aligned.

When the paper type information indicates glossy paper, the ASF control section 201 selects the drive table T4. Glossy paper has a high resistance during the registration operation, but skew is unlikely to occur. Therefore, at T4, the driving speed at the time of registration removal is set to be low, and the number of registration removal pulses P5 is set to a small value equivalent to that of plain paper.

When the paper type information indicates a postcard, the ASF control section 201 selects the drive table T2. Since the postcard does not have a large resistance during the registration operation, the driving speed during the registration operation is set to the medium speed as in the case of plain paper.

On the other hand, in FIG. 37, when the rotation of the LF roller 109 on the printer side and the paper feed roller 19 of the ASF are simultaneously rotating, a sheet having high rigidity such as a postcard is not easily deformed on the way, and the peripheral speed is low. Large feed roller 19 is L
The postcard is pushed in against the frictional force of the F roller 109, and the leading end of the postcard is conveyed beyond the rotation amount R3 of the LF roller, so that a correct printing result may not be obtained. To avoid this, in the table T2, the number P5 of registration pulses in step S22 is set to a value as large as possible. Specifically, P5 = Pma
It is set as a variable represented by x-Pc and determined by the number of reverse rotation drive pulses of the sheet feeding motor 27 required until the paper end sensor 108 detects the sheet 200. As a result, when the paper end sensor 108
Even if 0 is detected, the total number of pulses in which the sheet feeding motor 27 is reversely driven at the end of the execution of step S22 in FIG. 35 is Pmax. That is, the feed roller gear 19
The toothless portion 19b of a rotates reliably to a position where the toothless portion 19b is disengaged in opposition to the reverse rotation planetary gear 35. For this reason, the rotation direction phase of the paper feed roller 19 after step S22 ends comes to a position greatly advanced from the initial position, and even if the paper feed roller 19 rotates in step S40, the phase of the paper feed roller 19 quickly changes. Return to initial position. Accordingly, the postcard loaded on the pressure plate 26 and the paper feed rubber 23 are immediately separated immediately after the LF roller 109 and the paper feed roller 19 start synchronously driving.
The postcard will not be pushed in against the frictional force of 09.

If the paper type information received from the printer 101 by the ASF 1 is a paper type not compatible with the ASF 1 or the paper type is not specified, the ASF control unit 2
01 selects the drive table T5. The drive table T5 according to the present embodiment includes a drive table T2 for a postcard.
Is stored, but depending on the assumed condition, it is also possible to store the same value in T5 as the table of another paper type, or of course, to store a value that does not completely match the table of another paper type. It is possible.

[0250]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the recording medium is fed to the recording apparatus, the feeding direction of the recording medium is controlled by the regulating member of the sheet feeding tray located upstream of the positioning member. By restricting the movement in the right-angle direction, skewing of the recording medium can be prevented. Further, when storing the paper feed tray, the paper feeder can be downsized by storing the regulating member in a step formed between the upper surface of the recording apparatus and the main body. Further, by similarly configuring the paper feed tray of the recording apparatus, it is possible to prevent skewing of the recording medium and to reduce the size.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a printer is mounted on an ASF according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a printer is mounted on the ASF.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the ASF.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the ASF with the printer mounted.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of components related to the ASF printer attaching / detaching mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a printer mounted on the ASF according to the present invention;
It is the perspective view which showed the component arrangement | positioning relevant to attachment and detachment with SF.

FIG. 13 is a left cross-sectional view for explaining an ASF and printer attaching / detaching mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a left sectional view for explaining an ASF and a printer attaching / detaching mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a left sectional view for explaining an ASF and a printer attaching / detaching mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a left sectional view for explaining an ASF and a printer attaching / detaching mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a left sectional view for explaining an ASF and a printer attaching / detaching mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a left cross-sectional view illustrating a mechanism for attaching and detaching the ASF and the printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view in which a component arrangement and a force relationship relating to an ASF and a printer attaching / detaching mechanism of the present invention are symbolized.

FIG. 20 is a top view for explaining an attachment / detachment mechanism between the ASF and the printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a top view illustrating an attachment / detachment mechanism between the ASF and the printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a top view for explaining an ASF and printer attaching / detaching mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a top view for explaining an ASF and printer attaching / detaching mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a connection block diagram of a printer and an ASF according to the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a schematic sectional view showing a state where the printer and the ASF according to the present invention are connected.

FIG. 26 is a schematic view showing the connection between the connector and the ASF connector 44.

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing connection and operation directions of a drive mechanism of the ASF.

FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram showing connection and operation directions of a driving mechanism of the ASF.

FIG. 29 is a control flow of a sheet feeding operation in the printer control unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 30 is a main control flow in the ASF control unit.

FIG. 31 is a sub-flow C2 of sheet feeding operation control by the ASF control unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 32 shows a sub-flow C3 of the initialization operation control of the ASF control unit.

FIG. 33 is a sub-flow C1 of model discrimination operation control in the printer control unit.

FIG. 34 is a control flow of a sheet feeding operation in the printer control unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 35 illustrates a sub-flow C2 of sheet feeding operation control by the ASF control unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 36 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which step S22 is completed during a paper feeding operation.

FIG. 37 illustrates a printer and an AS according to the second embodiment.
6 is a time chart schematically showing the flow of the operation of F.

FIG. 38 is a table showing the contents of a drive table for a sheet feeding motor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ASF 2 ASF paper feed tray 2a Side guide part 26 Pressure plate 26b ASF sheet standard 36b Reference guide storage part 40 Push lever 44 ASF connector 45 ASF base 47 ASF upper case 49 ASF chassis unit 101 Printer 101A Paper feed port 115 Head 116 Paper feed Tray 116a Reference guide 117 Connector 200 Sheet E Envelope G Step

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shinya Asano 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Takashi Nojima 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Kawasaki Noriko 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Hasegawa 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A paper supply device for detachably mounting a recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium to a main body and feeding the recording medium to the mounted recording apparatus, wherein a folding apparatus for loading the recording medium is provided. A sheet feeding tray, a positioning member that, when the recording medium is stacked, positions the recording medium by contacting one end in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction of the recording medium; It is provided in the upstream portion and is located upstream of the positioning member, and when feeding a recording medium to the mounted recording device, abuts against one side end of the recording medium positioned by the positioning member. A regulating member that regulates movement of the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction, wherein the regulating member is disposed at a position that does not interfere with the main body when the sheet feeding tray is folded. Sheet feeder for the butterflies. 2. The paper feed tray is movable to a recording medium loading position and a storage position, and when the paper feed tray is moved to the storage position, the regulating member is stored inside the main body. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein 3. When the recording apparatus is mounted, a step is formed between an upper surface of the recording apparatus and the main body, and the paper feed tray is moved to a recording medium loading position and a storage position. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the regulating member is accommodated in the step when the sheet feeding tray is moved to the accommodation position. 4. A folding device for loading a recording medium on a recording medium, the recording device being detachably mounted on a main body and feeding the recording medium to the mounted recording device. A sheet feeding tray, a positioning member that, when the recording medium is stacked, positions the recording medium by contacting one end in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction of the recording medium; It is provided in the upstream portion and is located upstream of the positioning member, and when feeding a recording medium to the mounted recording device, abuts against one side end of the recording medium positioned by the positioning member. A regulating member that regulates movement of the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction, wherein the regulating member engages with the main body or the recording device when the sheet feeding tray is folded. That the paper feeder. 5. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the regulating member is formed integrally with the sheet feeding tray. 6. An image forming apparatus comprising: a recording device; and a paper supply device for detachably mounting the recording device and feeding a recording medium to the mounted recording device. An image forming apparatus, comprising: the sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1. 7. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a recording device for recording an image on a recording medium and capable of manual paper feeding and paper feeding by a paper feeding device; A sheet feeding tray on which the recording medium is stacked, and a positioning member for positioning the recording medium by contacting one end in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction of the recording medium when the recording medium is stacked, The recording medium is provided at an upstream portion of the paper feed tray, and is located upstream of the positioning member, and when feeding the recording medium, is in contact with one side end of the recording medium positioned by the positioning member. A regulating member for regulating movement of the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction. 8. The recording device main body according to claim 1, wherein said paper feed tray is movably provided at a recording medium stacking position and a storage position in said main body of said recording apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image forming apparatus is housed in the image forming apparatus. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the regulating member is formed integrally with the sheet feeding tray.