JPH10338385A - Sensor mounting structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a sheet transporting downstream of a print head from catching on a detecting element of a sensor and sticking ink to a detecting element of a sensor in a state of protruding from a sensor substrate, and also prevent external light from being hit. And a sensor mounting structure. In addition, the sensor can be attached and detached without using extra labor and tools. SOLUTION: A reflection having a detection element 51B protruding above a sensor substrate 51A in a holder 60 having a first plate part 70 facing a sheet P to be carried out and a second plate part 71 extending in a direction away from the sheet P. Sensor mounting structure for mounting type sensors. A recess 72 for accommodating the sensor substrate 51A is formed on the surface of the first plate portion 70 opposite to the sheet facing surface. In the recess 72, a window 73 for accommodating the detection element 51B is provided.
And the window frame portion of the window 73 is formed such that when the sensor substrate 51A is housed in the recess 72, the surface of the detection element 51B is at a position recessed from the sheet side surface 73A of the window frame portion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sensor mounting structure which can be arranged near a print head of an apparatus having a print head, such as a printer or a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, recording by a print head such as an ink jet head is started after it is detected that the edge of the paper has reached a position very close to the print head and at a position on the paper discharge side. For the detection, a reflection type sensor is generally provided opposite to the position. The reflection-type sensor has a detection element (that is, a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element) fixed so as to protrude above the sensor substrate, and the light-receiving element detects the amount of reflected light emitted from the light-emitting element. Serve as a function. The sensor is installed, for example, by attaching the sensor to a holder provided along the carriage bar at a position on the paper discharge side near the carriage of the print head.

If the light receiving element of the sensor is irradiated with external light instead of light from the light emitting element, the sensor may cause erroneous detection. Therefore, the sensor should be mounted as far as possible from the paper outlet or the like. Is desired. However, due to the miniaturization of the device, the request may be restricted. Therefore, attempts have been made to bring the sensor as close as possible to the surface of the sheet to be conveyed to prevent external light from entering the sensor.

[0004]

However, as described above, since the detection element of the sensor is in a state of protruding above the substrate, when the sensor is brought close to the paper, there is a risk that the paper will be caught on the detection element or ink will adhere. is there. for that reason,
Mounting the sensor close to the paper surface has also been limited.

Further, the sensor is mounted on the holder by using a screw or the like. However, the screw or the like may interfere with the sensor and physically restrict the sensor from approaching the paper surface. Furthermore, attaching the sensor to the holder using a screw or the like requires some labor and requires additional tools such as a screwdriver. If the sensor deteriorates,
Such a problem occurs every time the replacement is performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and even if a detecting element protruding from a sensor substrate is present, paper is not caught on the detecting element and ink does not adhere thereto. Further, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a sensor mounting structure capable of sufficiently bringing a detection element close to a sheet so as not to receive external light. Further, a second object of the present invention is to provide a sensor mounting structure that does not use screws or the like and therefore is not easily restricted by the mounting space, and that can attach and detach the sensor without using extra labor and tools. To provide.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first plate portion facing a conveyed sheet and a direction in which the first plate portion is separated from the sheet on a sheet discharge side of the first plate portion. A sensor mounting structure for mounting a reflection type sensor having a detection element fixed in a state of protruding above a sensor substrate to a holder having a second plate portion extending to a sheet facing surface of the first plate portion. On the opposite surface, a recess for accommodating the sensor substrate of the reflection type sensor is formed, and a window for accommodating the detection element is opened in the recess, and a window frame portion of the window is attached to the recess. Wherein the surface of the detection element is formed at a position recessed from the surface of the window frame portion on the sheet side when the sensor substrate is stored.

In short, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the first plate portion is configured such that a recess is provided on a surface of the first plate portion not facing the sheet, and an opening window is provided in the recess. , The detection unit, the window frame portion (that is,
It is attached to the recess without protruding from the paper side surface (around the window). As described above, the detection unit of the sensor is located inside the window where light is blocked, and therefore, is prevented from receiving light from outside. In addition, the sheet is hardly caught on the detection unit and the ink is hardly attached.

As the opening width of the window in the direction along the front edge of the sheet is larger, the sheet may be more likely to be caught by the detecting element. However, if the amount of depression of the detection element from the sheet-side surface of the window frame is increased as the opening width increases, the sheet can be prevented from catching on the detection element even if the opening width is large. In addition, this makes it difficult for external light to reach the detection element.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the sensor mounting structure, wherein the second plate portion is provided on the sheet discharge side of the recess. A first locking piece that can press an upper corner of the sensor substrate housed in the recess on the paper discharge side and can bend in the paper transport direction, and the first locking portion is provided on the first plate portion. A second locking piece for locking an edge of the sensor substrate on the paper entry side in a state where the upper corner of the paper discharge side is pressed by a piece, and the second locking piece is provided by the first locking piece and the second locking piece. The sensor board can be fixed to the recess.

In this aspect, the sensor is pushed in the paper discharging direction with the upper corner of the paper discharging side of the sensor substrate hooked on the first locking piece and the paper entry side of the sensor substrate slightly floating from the recess. The first locking piece is bent in the direction (that is, the space between the first locking piece and the second locking piece is enlarged), and the edge of the sensor substrate on the paper entry side can be locked to the second locking piece. State. Subsequently, the floating edge of the sensor substrate on the paper entry side is brought closer to the surface of the recess. Thereafter, when the pushing force is released, the upper corner of the sensor on the paper entry side is locked to the second engagement piece by the force of the bent first locking piece returning to the paper entry side. Thus, the sensor is mounted on the holder. To remove the sensor from the holder, the edge of the sensor board on the paper entry side may be pushed toward the paper discharge side. Then, the first locking piece bends toward the paper discharge side, and the sensor board also moves in that direction. First, the upper corner of the sensor board on the paper entry side is disengaged from the second locking piece. The whole comes off the holder.

In this embodiment, the sensor can be immediately attached to and detached from the holder without using a screw or the like, so that no extra time or tools are required for attachment and detachment. Further, since no screws or the like are used for mounting the sensor, the mounting space is hardly restricted, and from this point, the sensor can be mounted close to the paper. For similar reasons, it is also possible to mount the sensor as close as possible to the carriage of the print head, ie as far as possible from the paper outlet.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the sensor mounting structure, a concave groove for accommodating the cable is formed in the first plate portion for accommodating the cable of the sensor. On the upper part of the concave groove, a lifting prevention piece for preventing the cable housed in the concave groove from floating is provided.

In this aspect, the cable of the sensor is also housed in the concave groove, and its lifting is prevented by the lifting prevention piece. Therefore, the cable does not interfere when the holder is handled or when the holder is attached to a printing device or the like. Further, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the surface of the holder is black. In this mode, even if light from the outside hits the holder surface, the light is absorbed by the surface. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the external light from being irregularly reflected and from reaching the detection element arranged in the window.

[0015]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, an example of a multifunction device in which a sensor holder having the structure is installed will be described with reference to the drawings in order to show what device the sensor mounting structure according to the present invention is used for. The multifunction device is, for example, an apparatus having multipurpose functions such as a copying function, an answering machine function, a telephone function, a facsimile function, a reading function, and a printing function, but does not necessarily have all these functions. No need,
Further, it may have functions other than these. However, in practicing the present invention, the present invention is not limited to a multifunction device, and may be applied to a facsimile dedicated device or the like.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the multifunction device. In FIG. 1, a multifunction device 1 has an apparatus main body 2. An operation panel unit 5 is provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 2. A liquid crystal display 6 as a display device is provided at a rear left position of the operation panel unit 5.

Specifically, on the left side of the operation panel unit 5, a dial button 7 for dial input is arranged. The dial buttons 7 are "1" to "0".
In addition to the numeric buttons, buttons such as an asterisk “*” and a sharp “#” are also included. Further, on the right side of the operation panel unit 5, a stop key 8 for stopping the operation, a start key 9 for starting the operation, and the apparatus are used as a color copier from the front position to the rear position. Key 10 for color copy operation for
A color printer operation key 11 for using the apparatus as a color printer and an answering machine function key 12 for using the apparatus as an answering machine are provided.

In the center of the operation panel unit 5,
A one-touch dial key 13 for simplifying a dial operation and a facsimile operation key 14 for using the apparatus as a facsimile are provided. The user can select these keys 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
The device can be made to function as a multifunction device by appropriately operating.

At the rear position of the operation panel unit 5, there is provided a document stack portion 15 for stacking documents to be read from the operation panel unit 5 in a stacked state. A sheet feed unit 16 for stacking unrecorded recording sheets P in a stacked state is provided at a position behind the original stacking unit 15.
Is provided.

A document stacker 17 is provided at a position on the front side of the operation panel unit 5 to stack read documents in a stacked state. Below the original stacker 17, there is provided a recorded paper stacker 18 which is stacked in a state where the recorded papers are stacked.

The document stack section 15 and the document stacker 1
The document conveyed between the document 7 and 7 is, as shown in FIG.
The multi-function device 1 is transported inside the apparatus main body 2, that is, along the guide path 19 on the lower side of the operation panel unit 5. Specifically, below the operation panel unit 5, a document separation roller 20 and a separation piece 21 that is opposed to and abuts the document separation roller 20 are arranged along the guide path 19. Further, a pair of upper and lower guide rollers 22 is disposed downstream of the document separation roller 20. Further, a pair of upper and lower guide rollers 23 is disposed downstream of the guide rollers 22 so as to be located in front of the document stacker 17. With these configurations, the originals stacked in the original stacking unit 15 are separated one by one by the original separating roller 20 and the separating piece 21, and are tensioned by the guide rollers 22 and 23 toward the downstream side while being tensioned. Conveyed. The document conveyed downstream is
The image is read by the reading device 24 disposed on the inside front side of the apparatus main body 2.

A reading position 25 is set between the guide rollers 22 and 23. Information on the document surface at the reading position 25 is read by the reading device 24 as a photoelectric conversion element. The reading device 24 includes a lamp L1 as a light source, a first reflecting mirror 26, an optical system 27 including a plurality of reflecting mirrors, and a CCD device 28. CCD
The device 28 includes a substrate 30 on which a CCD 29 is mounted.

Therefore, the document conveyed along the guide path 19 is irradiated at the reading position 25 by the lamp L1,
The reflected light from the document surface is reflected by the reflection mirror 26 and the optical system 2.
7 is input to the CCD 29. The reason why the substrate 30 on which the CCD 29 is mounted is arranged above the apparatus main body 2 is as follows.
This is because the reading device 24 (CCD device 28) is arranged on the upper side, so that the handling of the document for reading is simplified.

A printing mechanism IK is provided behind the reading device 24 inside the apparatus main body 2. The printing mechanism IK records an ink cartridge containing inks of respective colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) and a color image on a sheet surface conveyed from the sheet feeding unit 16. And an inkjet head ID for performing the operation. The printing mechanism IK is a so-called serial printing type, and can record a color image on a sheet surface in a serial manner. In other words, the inkjet head ID prints one line of color image on the paper surface while moving in the left-right direction of the apparatus main body 2 and, when printing of one line of color image is completed, conveys the next one line. , So that the one-line color image can be recorded again.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the unrecorded recording sheets P stacked in the sheet feeding section 16 are recorded one by one along a predetermined transport path 45 by sheet feeding rollers 41, 42, and 43. The paper is conveyed to the paper stacker 18. A platen 47 is attached so as to face the ink jet head ID of the printing mechanism IK and extend along the carriage bar 46. This platen 47
When the recording paper P reaches the printing position 48 set above, printing is executed by the above-described serial printing function of the printing mechanism IK. Note that printing is performed in color when functioning as a printer or copier, and printing is performed in monochrome when printing is performed with the facsimile function. The execution of the printing is, to be precise, the paper feed roller 43
A sensor detects when the edge of the paper P has reached the top (FIG. 1).
3 (not shown in FIG. 3), and is started at a predetermined timing from that point.

The sensor is mounted on a holder 60 to which a sensor mounting structure according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in the vicinity of a holder provided with the sensor and arranged in the multifunction device. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the sensor.

As shown in FIG. 4, the holder 60 is attached along the carriage bar 46 at a position near the ink jet head ID at a sheet discharge side (hereinafter, referred to as a “rear side”). First plate part 7
0, and a second plate portion 71 connected to the rear side and extending in a direction away from the paper P. The material of the holder 60 is made of plastic, and is entirely colored black.

As shown in FIG. 5, the sensor 51 is electrically connected to a sensor substrate 51A having a substantially "convex" shape, a detecting portion 51B provided so as to protrude therefrom, and a detecting portion 51B. Cable 51C. FIG.
As shown in the figure, the carriage roller 46 is opposed to the plurality of feed rollers 43 arranged at intervals along the carriage bar 46.
A plurality of driven rotary plates 6 with teeth around the
1 is also held by the holder 60. The holder 6
FIG. 6 shows a state in which the sensor 51 and the driven rotary plate 61 are attached to the position 0 when viewed from above. As shown in the drawing, the edge 70A of the first plate portion 70 of the holder 60 on the paper entry side (hereinafter, referred to as “front side”) has the edge 7A.
A plurality of cuts 70B extending vertically to 0A are provided,
A bearing 70C is provided at a position sandwiching each cut 70B, and the driven rotary plate 61 is set on the holder 60 in a state where the driven rotary plate 61 is disposed in the cut 70B and the rotating shaft 62 is supported by the bearing 70C. I have. The sensor 51 is
The sensor 51 is attached by an attachment structure of the sensor 51 described in detail below.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the mounting structure of the sensor 51 according to the present invention, and FIGS. 8A and 8B are cross-sectional views of the structure taken along lines A1-A1 and A2-A2. B1,
FIGS. 9A and 9B show cross sections B2-B2, respectively.
A bottom view is shown in FIG. 10, a rear view is shown in FIG. 11, and a view of the above structure viewed obliquely from above (in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 8) is shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is provided to facilitate understanding of the structure, and FIGS.
1 schematically shows a main part of the structure shown in FIG.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 7, 9 and 12, an adjacent portion 7 is provided on the surface of the first plate portion 70 of the holder 60 which is not facing the sheet (hereinafter referred to as the "upper surface").
A recess 72 that is recessed with respect to 0D is provided. The shape of the recess 72 substantially corresponds to the shape of the sensor substrate 51A (hereinafter, this recess 72 is referred to as a “sensor storage section 72”).
). A window 73 is opened in the sensor storage section 72. Here, a detection element 51B protruding from the sensor substrate 51A shown in FIG. 5 is housed. However, as shown in FIG. 4, the sheet-facing first plate surface 73A around the window 73 (that is, the sheet-facing first plate surface of the window frame).
On the other hand, the window 73 and its surroundings are configured such that the detection element 51B to be used is located at a concave position.

For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the first plate portion 70 has two portions near the front edge 70A and spaced apart along the edge 70A (specifically, such a portion is shown in FIG. 12). 2 sandwiching the sensor storage section 72 at a location
) Has a locking piece (corresponding to the “second locking piece” in the present invention) 74. The locking piece 74 extends upward from the upper surface of the first plate portion 70 as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and only the upper portion 74A is a hook-shaped piece bent rearward. With this locking piece 74, the edge 51X (see FIG. 5) of the sensor substrate 51 to be disposed on the front side can be locked at the upper corners of both side portions thereof.

As shown in FIG. 12, two parallel cuts 75 extending toward the sensor housing 72 are provided in the second plate portion 71 behind the sensor housing 72.
76 are present and their cuts 75, 76
They are connected by a notch 77 extending along A. Therefore, the second plate portion 71 extends toward the sensor housing portion 72 which is a recess, and can bend in the sheet conveyance direction (corresponding to the “first locking piece” in the present invention).
There are 78. Both sides 78A of the lower end of the tongue piece 78
8, it extends longer in the direction of the sensor housing portion 72 than the central portion 78B of the lower end, and has a notch 78C on the front side as shown in FIGS. By the lower end of the tongue piece 78, the edge 51Y of the sensor board 51 to be disposed rearward (FIG.
) Can be locked in the upper corners of both side parts.

As shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 12, the first plate portion 70 is provided with a concave groove 79 in communication with the sensor storage portion 72, and is adjacent to a front position of the concave groove 79. , So as to partially cover the front side of the concave groove 79.
A and B are provided (see also FIG. 6). This groove 79
Is provided with a cable 51C of the sensor 51.

The sensor 51 can be attached to and detached from the sensor mounting structure of the holder 60 having the above-described structure as follows. The cable 51C of the sensor 51 shown in FIG. 5 is set in the concave groove 79 with the edge 51CX disposed on the front side thereof being hung on the projection 80 of the holder 60 to prevent the cable 51C from being lifted. I do. In that state, the sensor substrate 51
Notch 7 at the lower end of tongue piece 78
8C. At this time, the front side of the sensor substrate 51A is still slightly separated (floated) from the concave surface forming the sensor housing portion 72.

Next, the sensor substrate 51A is pressed toward the rear side, and the tongue piece 78, particularly both sides 78A, are bent rearward. In this state, the floating front side of the sensor substrate 51A is moved downward (ie, the sensor (In a direction approaching the storage section 72) so that the upper corner of the front side edge 51X of the sensor substrate 51A can be hooked on the key portion 74A of the locking piece 74. Then, the pressing force is released. Then, the front upper corner of the sensor board 51A is pressed by the locking piece 74 and the rear upper corner thereof is pressed by both sides 78A of the tongue piece 78. As a result, as shown in FIG. ,
It is held in the sensor storage section 72. The sensor 51 is detached from the holder 60 by pressing the central portion, which is the front edge 51X of the sensor substrate 51A, which is not locked by the locking piece 74, toward the rear side, while holding the central portion of the sensor substrate 51A. It can be easily achieved by moving it upwards away from the part 72.

As described above, the holder 60 to which the sensor 51 is attached is further provided with the driven rotary plate 61, and is provided near the carriage as shown in FIGS.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the detection element 51B of the sensor 51 is connected to the first plate surface 73 of the window frame 73 on the sheet facing side.
Since it is located at a position recessed from A, unnecessary external light from a paper discharge port or the like is unlikely to enter the element. Moreover, for the same reason, with the detection element 51B held by the holder,
Even if the sheet is sufficiently close to the sheet, it is unlikely that the sheet is caught on the detection element 51B or ink adheres.

In particular, the larger the opening width of the window 73 in the direction along the front edge of the sheet (ie, the more the front end of the sheet bends upwards and the easier it is to enter the window), the more the window 7 becomes.
If the amount of depression of the detection element 51B from the surrounding sheet-side first plate surface 73A around 3 is increased, the paper P is less likely to be caught by the detection element 51B even if the opening width is increased. Also, it becomes difficult for external light to reach the detection element 51B. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the holder is colored black, external light is not irregularly reflected on the holder surface, and it is possible to prevent external light from reaching the detection element in the window.

As is clear from the description of the method of attaching and detaching the sensor 51 to and from the holder 60, the attachment of the sensor 51 can be performed without using a screw or the like. Therefore, no extra labor or tools are required for attaching and detaching the sheet, and the sheet can be attached as close as possible to the surface of the transport sheet P. Note that the center of the lower end of the tongue piece is also the same length as both ends, and a notch for locking is provided on the entire lower end,
The sensor mounting structure of the present invention can be variously modified.

[0039]

As described above in detail, according to the sensor mounting structure of the present invention, the paper is not stuck on the detecting element protruding from the sensor substrate, the ink does not adhere thereto, and the external light is protected. In a state where the detection element is not received, the detection element can be brought close enough to the paper.
The sensor is hardly restricted by the mounting space, and the sensor can be attached to and detached from the holder without using extra labor and tools.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an example of a multifunction device using a sensor mounting structure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a main part of the multifunction device.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of the multifunction device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the multifunction device from the inkjet head to the downstream thereof.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of a sensor.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a sensor and a rotation driven plate are provided on a holder.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of one embodiment of a sensor mounting structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the sensor mounting structure.

FIG. 9 is another sectional view of the sensor mounting structure.

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the sensor mounting structure.

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the sensor mounting structure.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of the sensor mounting structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Multifunction device, 2 Main unit, 5 Operation panel 6 Liquid crystal device, 7 Dial button, 8 Stop key, 9 Start key, 14 Facsimile operation key, 15 Document stack section, 17 Document stacker, 18 Recorded paper stacker, 24 reader,
41, 42, 43 paper feed roller, 45 transport path, 46 carriage bar, 48 printing position, 49
Carriage, 51 sensor, 51A sensor board,
51B detector, 51C cable, 60 holder, 61 driven rotating plate, 70 first plate, 71
2nd plate, 72 sensor storage section, 73 window,
74 locking piece, 75, 76, 77 cut, 78
Tongue piece, 78A Tongue piece both sides, 78B Tongue piece central part, 7
8C notch, 79 concave groove, 80 protrusion, ID inkjet head, IK printing mechanism P paper

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Ohama 15-1 Naeshiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya Brother Industries, Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A holder having a first plate portion facing a conveyed sheet and a second plate portion extending in a direction away from the sheet on a sheet discharge side of the first plate portion.
In a sensor mounting structure for mounting a reflection type sensor having a detection element fixed in a state protruding above a sensor substrate, the sensor substrate of the reflection type sensor is mounted on a surface of the first plate portion opposite to a sheet facing surface. A recess for accommodating the detection element is formed, and a window for accommodating the detection element is opened in the depression, and a window frame portion of the window is provided on the surface of the detection element when the sensor substrate is accommodated in the depression. Is formed at a position depressed from the paper side surface of the window frame portion. 2. The sensor mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the second plate portion presses an upper corner of the sensor substrate housed in the recess on the paper ejection side of the recess on the paper ejection side of the recess. And a first locking piece capable of bending in the paper transport direction is provided, and a sheet intruding into the sensor board in a state where the upper corner of the paper discharge side is pressed by the first locking piece on the first plate portion. A second locking piece for locking a side edge, wherein the sensor board can be fixed to the recess by the first locking piece and the second locking piece. . 3. The sensor mounting structure according to claim 2, wherein a concave groove for accommodating the cable is formed in the first plate portion so as to accommodate the cable of the sensor. A sensor mounting structure, wherein a lifting prevention piece is provided above a groove to prevent the cable housed in the groove from lifting. 4. The sensor mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the holder is black.