Patent ID: 7690640
Filing Date: 2010-04-06
Classification: B41J,B65H

Abstract:
1. A feeder for transporting a print medium from a tray along a U-shaped transporting path, comprising: a first tray comprising a first housing portion configured to house a first print medium; a second tray comprising a second housing portion configured to house a second print medium, the second tray being located between the first tray and a downstream end of the U-shaped transporting path; a transporting guide configured to guide each of the first print medium and the second print medium in a transportation direction from each of the first tray and the second tray, respectively, to the downstream end of the U-shaped transporting path; and a feeding device configured to selectively feed the first print medium and the second print medium toward the U-shaped transporting path, wherein the transporting guide comprises an outer transporting guide and an inner transporting guide, the U-shaped transporting path is formed between the outer transporting guide and the inner transporting guide, the outer transporting guide extends from a position adjacent to one end of the first tray, the inner transporting guide extends from a position adjacent to one end of the second tray, the inner transporting guide comprises a concave portion facing the outer transporting guide, and the concave portion has a length which extends from an upstream end to a predetermined position of the inner transporting guide along the transportation direction, and the concave portion has a width which is smaller than a width of the inner transporting guide, the width of the concave portion is greater than or equal to a width of the second housing portion, and a widthwise direction of each of the inner transporting guide, the first housing portion, and the second housing portion is orthogonal to the transportation direction.