Sheet-supply tray device with upper sheet supply tray having leading-end stopper

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9156636-B2
Application number	US-201414222358-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 21, 2014
Priority date	Feb 23, 2006
Publication date	Oct 13, 2015
Grant date	Oct 13, 2015

Abstract

A sheet-supply tray device for use with an image recording apparatus, includes a lower sheet-supply tray and an upper sheet-supply tray. The upper sheet-supply tray includes a main body, a leading-end stopper, a trailing-end stopper and a side-end stopper. The main body includes a support surface that supports a recording sheet. The leading-end stopper is fixed on the main body and stops a leading end of the recording sheet. The trailing-end stopper includes a trailing-end contact surface having a trailing-end protrusion extending over an upper surface of a trailing-end portion of the recording sheet toward the leading-end stopper. The trailing-end contact surface contacts a trailing end of the recording sheet. The side-end stopper includes a side-end contact surface that contacts a side end of the recording sheet. The side-end contact surface has at least one side-end protrusion extending over an upper surface of a side-end portion of the recording sheet.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet-supply tray device for use with an image recording apparatus, the sheet-supply tray as device comprising:
a lower sheet-supply tray; and
an upper sheet-supply tray configured to be located above the lower sheet-supply tray,
the upper sheet-supply tray comprising:
a main body which comprises a support surface, the support surface being configured to support at least one recording sheet;
a leading-end stopper fixed on the main body, the leading-end stopper being configured to stop a leading end of the at least one recording sheet;
a trailing-end stopper which comprises a trailing-end contact surface, the trailing-end contact surface having at least one trailing-end protrusion extending toward the leading-end stopper, the trailing-end contact surface being configured to contact a trailing end of the at least one recording sheet;
a pair of side-end stoppers each of which comprises a side-end contact surface configured to contact a corresponding one of opposite side ends of the at least one recording sheet, the side-end contact surface of said each side-end stopper having at least one side-end protrusion configured to cover at least one part of the at least one recording sheet; and
wherein the respective side-end protrusions of the pair of side-end stoppers have different lengths in a sheet-supply direction in which the at least one recording sheet is supplied from the upper sheet-supply tray.

2. The sheet-supply tray device according to claim 1 , wherein the respective side-end protrusions of the pair of side-end stoppers extend toward each other.

3. The sheet-supply tray device according to claim 1 , wherein the leading-end stopper comprises a pair of wall portions.

4. The sheet-supply tray device according to claim 1 , wherein the trailing-end stopper is slideable relative to the leading-end stopper in a sheet-supply direction so as to change a distance between the leading-end stopper and the trailing-end stopper in the sheet-supply direction.

5. The sheet-supply tray device according to claim 1 , wherein the pair of side-end stoppers are slideable mutually so as to change a distance between the pair of side-end stoppers.

6. The sheet-supply tray device according to claim 1 , wherein the leading-end stopper is inclined by an obtuse angle relative to the support surface of the main body.

7. The sheet-supply tray device according to claim 1 , wherein the upper sheet-supply tray is configured to be positioned, in a housing of the image recording apparatus, at an arbitrarily selected one of (a) a supply position in which the at least one recording sheet is supplied from the upper sheet-supply tray and (b) a non-supply position in which the at least one recording sheet is not supplied from the upper sheet-supply tray.

Assignees

• Asada Tetsuo
• Shiohara Yukio
• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Asada Tetsuo
• Shiohara Yukio

Classifications

• B65H1/28 Primary

  compartmented to receive piles side-by-side · CPC title

• B41J11/0025 Primary

  Handling copy materials differing in width · CPC title

• B65H2405/114

  Side, i.e. portion parallel to the feeding / delivering direction · CPC title

• B41J13/103

  for the sheet feeding section · CPC title

• B41J11/006

  Means for preventing paper jams or for facilitating their removal · CPC title