Image recording apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016288534-A1
Application number	US-201615083841-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 29, 2016
Priority date	Mar 31, 2015
Publication date	Oct 6, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An image recording apparatus includes a rotational tray including a supporting surface for supporting a recording medium and a retaining mechanism. The rotational tray is attached to the housing to be rotatable so that an angle between the rotational tray and a side surface of the housing is changeable. The retaining mechanism is able to retain the rotational tray in one of: an open state in which a second discharging slot formed in the side surface of the housing is opened and the recording medium discharged from the second discharging slot is supportable by the supporting surface; a closed state in which the second discharging slot is closed by the supporting surface; and an intermediate state between the open state and the closed state, in which the recording medium discharged from the second discharging slot can be guided in a direction along the supporting surface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An image recording apparatus comprising:
a conveyance mechanism configured to convey a recording medium in a conveyance direction; an image recording mechanism configured to record an image onto the recording medium conveyed by the conveyance mechanism; a housing which houses the conveyance mechanism and the image recording mechanism; a rotational tray which includes a supporting surface for supporting the recording medium and is attached to the housing to be rotatable with an angle between the rotational tray and a side surface of the housing being changeable; and a retaining mechanism which is able to retain the rotational tray in one of rotation states which are different from one another in the angle with respect to the side surface, the conveyance mechanism including: a first conveyor which includes a first conveyance passage which is linear in shape and passes a recording position where the image is recorded onto the recording medium by the image recording mechanism, the first conveyor being configured to convey the recording medium at a first conveyance speed along the first conveyance passage; a second conveyor which includes a first discharging slot formed in an outer wall of the housing and a second conveyance passage extending from an end of the first conveyance passage to the first discharging slot and being at least partially curved, the second conveyor being configured to convey the recording medium along the second conveyance passage at a second conveyance speed lower than the first conveyance speed; a third conveyor which includes a second discharging slot formed in the side surface of the housing and a third conveyance passage which extends from the end of the first conveyance passage to the second discharging slot, is in parallel to the first conveyance passage, and is linear in shape, the third conveyor being configured to convey the recording medium along third conveyance passage at a third conveyance speed which is less different from the first conveyance speed than the second conveyance speed is from the first conveyance speed; and a switcher configured to switch a conveyance destination of the recording medium conveyed on the first conveyance passage between the second conveyance passage and the third conveyance passage, the retaining mechanism being configured to retain the rotational tray in one of: an open state in which the second discharging slot is opened and the recording medium discharged from the second discharging slot is supportable by the supporting surface; a closed state in which the second discharging slot is closed by the supporting surface; and an intermediate state between the open state and the closed state, in which the recording medium discharged from the second discharging slot is allowed to be guided in a direction along the supporting surface.

2 . The image recording apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an auxiliary tray attached to a free end portion of the rotational tray, when the rotational tray is retained in the intermediate state by the retaining mechanism, the leading end portion of the auxiliary tray being above a proximal end portion of the auxiliary tray and being on the upstream of the proximal end portion in a conveyance direction of the recording medium conveyed on the third conveyance passage.

3 . The image recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein,
the retaining mechanism includes:
a rotating component provided on a side wall of the rotational tray to be rotatable together with the rotational tray;
an engagement piece provided on the rotating component to be elastically deformable; and
an engagement hole provided in the housing to be engageable with the engagement piece,
when the rotational tray is in the intermediate state, the rotational tray is retained in the intermediate state as the engagement piece is engaged with the engagement hole, and
when the rotational tray retained in the intermediate state is pressed in a rotational direction of the rotational tray with predetermined pressure, the engagement piece is elastically deformed to be disengaged from the engagement hole.

4 . The image recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein,
the retaining mechanism includes: a lever configured to be rotatable with respect to the side wall of the rotational tray about a rotational axis which is in parallel to a rotational axis of the rotational tray; and an engagement portion provided on the housing, a free end portion of the lever being engaged with or disengaged from the engagement portion, when the free end portion of the lever is engaged with the engagement portion, the rotational tray is retained in the intermediate state.

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Hirata Kenichi

Classifications

• B41J11/58

  Supply holders for sheets or fan-folded webs, e.g. shelves, tables, scrolls, pile holders · CPC title

• B41J11/007 Primary

  Conveyor belts or like feeding devices · CPC title

• B41J13/009 Primary

  Diverting sheets at a section where at least two sheet conveying paths converge, e.g. by a movable switching guide that blocks access to one conveying path and guides the sheet to another path, e.g. when a sheet conveying direction is reversed after printing on the front of the sheet has been finished and the sheet is guided to a sheet turning path for printing on the back · CPC title

• B65H2405/324

  between operative position and non operative position · CPC title

• B65H2405/11151

  with surface inclined upwardly in transport direction · CPC title