Patent Publication Number: US-2006001209-A1

Title: Printer

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a printer that prints an image on a paper sheet and receives the printed paper sheet on a paper sheet output tray.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      In a conventional printer that prints an image on a paper sheet, the printed paper sheet is emitted from a paper sheet outlet formed on a housing of the printer and received on a paper sheet output tray. In such a printer, the paper sheet output tray is inclined upwards so that the paper sheet emitted from the paper sheet outlet does not bounce out of the paper sheet output tray.  
      In a known paper sheet output tray which is, for example, shown in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 55-35550, a stopper for stopping movement of the emitted paper sheet is rotatably pivoted, and the stopper is pulled up by placing a finger at a finger hold portion, so that the movement of the emitted paper sheet is stopped by the stopper.  
      In another known paper sheet output tray which is, for example, shown in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-114434, a wire tray, on which a stopper portion inclined obliquely to the upper side is formed, is further provided at a front end of a pull-out tray of the paper sheet outlet tray in a paper sheet emitting direction. Thus, the paper sheet emitted from a paper sheet outlet contacts with the stopper portion of the wire tray, so that it is possible to prevent the dropout of the paper sheet from the paper sheet outlet tray.  
      However, in the above-mentioned conventional printer, when the paper sheet is emitted, the paper sheet may not be completely emitted from the paper sheet outlet due to upward inclination of the paper sheet output tray as well as static electricity occurred between the paper sheet and the paper sheet output tray. Thus, it is considered that a stopper for stopping the movement of the paper sheet is provided on the paper sheet output tray in place of inclining the paper sheet output tray so that the paper sheet does not bounce out of the paper sheet output tray.  
      However, in a case that the stopper is provided on the paper sheet output tray in this manner, it is desired to make the stopper inconspicuous in terms of design. Thus, the configuration in which a movable stopper is set while the printer is used and stored while the printer is not used is conceivable. When the stopper is made movable in this manner, it is desired to facilitate setting and storing of the stopper by a user. Even when contents disclosed in the above-mentioned prior arts are applied, the above-mentioned problem cannot be solved.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      A purpose of the present invention is to provide a printer that can automatically set a stopper for preventing bounce-out of the paper sheet only by pulling out a paper sheet output tray and also improve design when the paper sheet output tray is closed.  
      A printer in accordance with an aspect of the invention comprises: an image forming unit for printing an image on a paper sheet; a paper sheet feeding mechanism for feeding a paper sheet from a paper rest to the image forming unit; a housing containing the image forming unit and the paper sheet feeding mechanism, and having a paper sheet outlet through which a printed paper sheet is emitted; and a paper sheet output tray for receiving the printed paper sheet emitted from the paper sheet outlet of the housing.  
      The paper sheet output tray has an extension tray that can be freely pulled out from or put in the paper sheet outlet tray for extending a tray and a stopper provided at the extension tray for preventing the paper sheet emitted from the paper sheet outlet from bouncing out of the paper sheet outlet tray.  
      An opening, in which the stopper rises up or lays down, is formed on the extension tray.  
      The stopper is rotatably pivoted in the opening so that a first end of the stopper protrudes upwards with respect to a top face of the extension tray by self-weight and a second end of the stopper protrudes downwards with respect to a bottom face of the extension tray.  
      A holding portion is further provided on the paper sheet output tray for contacting with a bottom face of the stopper and rotating the stopper when the extension tray is put in, thereby holding the stopper so that the-first end of the stopper does not protrude from the top face of the extension tray.  
      When the extension tray is pulled out, holding of the stopper by the holding portion is released, the stopper is rotated by self-weight and the first end of the stopper protrudes from the top face of the extension tray.  
      By such a configuration, only by pulling out the extension tray, the first end of the stopper automatically protrudes from the top face of the extension tray and thus the paper sheet emitted from the paper sheet outlet can be stopped by the stopper, thereby preventing the paper sheet from bouncing out of the paper sheet output tray. Furthermore, when the extension tray is put in, since the first end of the stopper does not automatically protrude from the top face of the extension tray, the stopper is made inconspicuous and design in the state where the extension tray is put in is improved.  
      Furthermore, it is possible that the stopper is a flat plate formed so as to substantially match with the opening in shape, and when the stopper is in substantially parallel with the top face of the extension tray, the stopper fits to the opening to form the substantially same flat face as the top face of the extension tray, and when the extension tray is put in, the holding portion holds the stopper to be in substantially parallel with the top face of the extension tray.  
      By such a configuration, when the extension tray is put in, the stopper fits to the opening of the extension tray to form the substantially same as the top face of the extension tray. Thus, design in the state where the extension tray is put in is further improved.  
      Still furthermore, it is possible that the paper sheet output tray further has a pull out tray that can be freely pulled out from or put in the housing; and the extension tray can be freely pulled out from or put in the pull-out tray.  
      Still furthermore, it is possible that the stopper has a pair of shafts provided at positions shifted from a center axis of the stopper; and the extension tray has a pair of bearing holes to which the shafts of the stopper is inserted for rotatably pivoting the stopper. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1A  is a perspective view showing a configuration of a printer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention in a state that a paper sheet output tray is put in;  
       FIG. 1B  is a perspective view showing a part of the printer in a state that a pull-out tray is pulled out from the paper sheet output tray;  
       FIG. 1C  is a perspective view showing a part of the printer in a state that the pull-out tray and an extension tray are pulled out from the paper sheet output tray;  
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of the paper sheet output tray of the printer;  
       FIG. 3A  is a sectional view taken along a II-II line of  FIG. 2  showing a state that the extension tray is pulled out from the pull-out tray;  
       FIG. 3B  is a sectional view taken along the II-II line of  FIG. 2  showing a state that the extension tray is being put in the pull-out tray; and  
       FIG. 3C  is a sectional view taken along the II-II line of  FIG. 2  showing a state that the extension tray is put in the pull-out tray. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT  
      A printer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to figures.  FIGS. 1A, 1B  and  1 C show a configuration of the printer. The printer  1  is used for printing an image on a paper sheet  2  on the basis of an image data input from a digital camera, personal computer, or the like.  
      The printer  1  has a paper rest  3  on which one or more paper sheet  2  is placed, feed rollers  4  and  5  included in a paper sheet feeding mechanism, a printing head  6  included in an image forming unit for printing an image on the paper sheet  2 , a paper sheet output tray  7  for receiving the paper sheet  2  on which the image is recorded, and a housing  8  for containing the paper sheet feeding mechanism and the image forming unit therein. The housing  8  is provided with a paper sheet inlet  11  for feeding the paper sheet  2  and a paper sheet outlet  82  for emitting the paper sheet  2 .  
      As for the paper sheet  2 , various kinds and sizes such as A4 size and letter size of cut paper sheets can be used, and one or more paper sheets is placed on the paper rest  3  in a manner so that lower end of the paper sheet  2  is inserted into the paper sheet inlet  11  of the exterior case  8 . The feed roller  4  feeds the paper sheet  2  from the paper rest  3  to the feed roller  5 . The feed roller  5  feeds the paper sheet  2  fed by the feed roller  4  to the paper sheet outlet  12  of the housing  8  through below the printing head  6 . The printing head  6  prints an image on the paper sheet  2  while it is fed by the feed roller  5 .  
      The paper sheet output tray  7  is configured so as to be freely pulled out from or put in the paper sheet outlet  12 . The paper sheet outlet tray  7  has a pull-out tray  20  capable of being freely pulled out from or put in the housing  8  and an extension tray  30  capable of being freely pulled out from or put in the pull-out tray  20 . The paper sheet output tray  7  further has a stopper  40  for preventing the paper sheet  2  emitted from the paper sheet outlet  12  from bouncing out of the paper sheet output tray  7 . The stopper  40  is rotatably pivoted by the extension tray  30  and configured so as to be in a vertical position when the extension tray  30  is pulled out from the pull-out tray  20  and to be in a horizontal position when the extension tray  30  is put in the pull-out tray  20 . Details of the paper sheet output tray  7  will be described later.  
      In the printer  1  with such a configuration, the paper sheet  2  placed on the paper rest  3  is fed by the paper sheet feeding mechanism including the feed rollers  4  and  5  and an image is recorded on the paper sheet  2  by the image forming unit including the printing head  6 . Then, the paper sheet  2  on which the image is recorded is emitted from the paper sheet outlet  12  of the housing  8 . At this time, when the extension tray  30  is pulled out from the pull-out tray  20 , the paper sheet  2  emitted from the paper sheet outlet  12  is stopped by the stopper  40 , thereby being received in the paper sheet output tray  7  without bouncing out.  
       FIG. 2  shows the configuration of the paper sheet output tray  7 . As described above, the paper sheet output tray  7  has the pull-out tray  20 , the extension tray  30  and the stopper  40 . The pull-out tray  20  has a pair of pull-out rails  21  by sidably engaged the pull-out rails  21  with a pair of grooves (not shown) formed on the housing  8 , thereby, the pull-out tray  20  can be freely pulled out from or put in the housing  8  The pull-out tray  20  further has a pair of pull-out grooves  22  for supporting the extension tray  30  to be freely pulled out from or put in the pull-out tray  20  and a holding portion  23  for changing position of the stopper  40  and for holding the stopper  40  thereon.  
      The extension tray  30  has a pair of extension rails  31  slidably engaged with the pull-out grooves  22  of the pull-out tray  20 , so that the extension tray  30  can be freely pulled out from or put in the pull-out tray  20 . The extension tray  30  is further provided with an opening  32  in which the stopper  40  rises up or lies down and has a pair of bearing holes  33  for rotatably pivoting the stopper  40 .  
      The stopper  40  has a pair of shafts  41  and the shafts  41  are respectively inserted into the bearing holes  33  of the extension tray  30 , so that the stopper  40  is rotatably pivoted by the bearing holes  33  in the opening  32  of the extension tray  30 . The shafts  41  are provided at positions shifted from a center axis of the stopper  40 . Thus, the stopper  40  can be rotated by self-weight to form an angle of about 90 degrees with respect to a top face of the extension tray  30 . When the stopper  40  is held in a position to form the angle of about 90 degrees with respect to the top face of the extension tray  30 , a first end  40   a  (positioned at a smaller distance from the shafts  41 ) of the stopper  40  protrudes upwards with the respect to the top face of the extension tray  30  and a second end  40   b  (positioned at a larger distance from the shafts  41 ) of the stopper  40  protrudes downwards with the respect to a bottom face of the extension tray  30 .  
      The stopper  40  has a protrusion  42  on a bottom face thereof n the vicinity of the second end  40   b . When the extension tray  30  is put in the pull-out tray  20 , the protrusion  42  comes into contact with the holding portion  23  of the pull-out tray  20 , thereby holding the stopper  40  to be in substantially parallel with the top face of the extension tray  30 . The stopper  40  is a flat plate formed so as to substantially match with the opening  32  of the extension tray  30  in shape, so that the stopper  40  can fit to the opening  32  to form the substantially same flat face as the top face of the extension tray  30 .  
       FIGS. 3A, 3B  and  3 C show the motion of the paper sheet output tray  7 . As shown in  FIG. 3A , when the extension tray  30  is pulled out from the pull-out tray  20 , there is no holding portion  23  of the pull-out tray  20  below the stopper  43 . Thus, the stopper  40  is rotated by self-weight to form an angle of about 90 degrees with respect to the upper face of the extension tray  30 . The first end  40   a  of the stopper  40  protrudes upwards with the respect to the top face of the extension tray  30  and the second end  40   b  of the stopper  40  protrudes downwards with the respect to the bottom face of the extension tray  30 . In this state, as shown in  FIG. 1C , the paper sheet  2  emitted from the paper sheet outlet  12  is stopped by the stopper  40 , thereby preventing bounce-out from the paper sheet output tray  7 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 3B , when the extension tray  30  is put in the pull-out tray  20  in a direction shown by arrow A from this state, the second end  40   b  of the stopper  40  protruding downwards with respect to the bottom face of the extension tray  30  contacts with a front end of the holding portion  23  of the pull-out tray  20 , thereby that the stopper  40  is rotated in the direction shown by arrow B so that the second end  40   b  is pushed up by the holding portion  23 .  
      Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 3C , when the extension tray  30  is fully put in the pull-out tray  20 , a lower end of the protrusion  42  runs onto the top face of the holding portion  23 , thereby holding the stopper  40  to be in substantially parallel with the top face of the extension tray  30 . In such a state, as shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the stopper  40  fits to the opening  32  to form the substantially same flat face as the top face of the extension tray  30  and made inconspicuous.  
      When the extension tray  30  is being pulled out from the pull-out tray  20 , holding of the stopper  40  by the holding portion  23  is released. Thus, the stopper  40  is rotated by self-weight and held to form an angle of about 90 degrees with respect to the upper face of the extension tray  30  by self-weight, as shown in  FIG. 3A .  
      In the printer  1  with such a configuration, only by pulling out the extension tray  30  from the pull-out tray  20 , the first end  40   a  of the stopper  40  automatically protrudes from the top face of the extension tray  30 . Thus, the paper sheet  2  emitted from the paper sheet outlet  12  can be stopped by the stopper  40 , thereby preventing the paper sheet  2  from bouncing out of the paper sheet output tray  7 . When the extension tray  30  is put in the pull-out tray  20 , the first end  40   a  of the stopper  40  protrude from the top face of the extension tray  30  is automatically pulled in. As a result, the stopper  40  is made inconspicuous and design is improved when the extension tray  30  is put in the pull-out tray  20 . Moreover, when the extension tray  30  is put in the pull-out tray  20 , the stopper  40  fits to the opening  32  to form the substantially same flat face as the top face of the extension tray  30  and thus design is further improved.  
      The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment and various modifications are possible. For example, in this embodiment, the paper sheet output tray  7  need not have the pull-out tray  20 . In such a case, the extension tray  30  may be freely pulled out from or put in the housing  8  and the holding portion  23  may be provided at the housing  8 . A plurality of stoppers  40  may be arranged in the direction perpendicular to the direction of emitting the paper sheet  2 . The shafts  41  of the stopper  40  are not necessarily provided at a position shifted from the center axis of the stopper  40 , and the stopper  40  may be held by self-weight so as to form an angle of about 90 degrees with respect to the top face of the extension tray  30  by adjusting its balance by changing thickness or shape or providing a weight.  
      This application is based on Japanese patent application 2004-197277 filed Jul. 2, 2004 in Japan, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by references.  
      Although the present invention has been fully described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the present invention, they should be construed as being included therein.