Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Daisuke Kozaki

Yuji Koga

Takashi Ohama

Hiromi Tanaka

Takeru Morinaga

Noriyuki Kawamata

Shingo Ito

Satoshi Miyase

Masahiko Sasa

Kan Ishikawa

Kiyoshi Ueda

Yusaku Watanabe

Yasuhiro Hosokawa

Hiroshi Shiomi

Shinya Kato

Huanfa Wang

Ai Oyamada

Huiging Xu

Ai Yamazaki

Miki Maekawa

An image reading apparatus includes a main unit having a document support surface configured to support a document on the document support surface, a reading unit accommodated in the main unit and configured to read an image of the document supported on the document support surface, and an openable unit coupled to the main unit and configured to pivot about a pivot axis between a closed position where the document support surface of the main unit is covered and a released position where the document support surface of the main unit is exposed. The pivot axis of the openable unit is located, in the main unit, below the document support surface and at a rear of the document support surface.

Image reading apparatus

A sheet conveying device includes: a conveyor configured to convey a sheet; a cover configured to cover the conveyor; a guide spaced apart from the cover; and a movable member mounted on a first member which is one of the cover and the guide. The movable member is pivotable between a first position and a second position and located at the second position when the sheet is being conveyed. The movable member has a free end which is moved toward a second member while the movable member is being pivoted from the second position to the first position about a pivot center. The second member is another of the cover and the guide. The free end is contactable with the second member by an approach of the cover toward the guide when the movable member is located at the first position.

Sheet conveying device

A sheet conveying device includes: a supporter which support a sheet to be supplied or a discharged sheet. The supporter includes: a first cover pivotable between a closed position and an open position and capable of supporting the sheet when the first cover is located at the open position; and a second cover pivotable between a first position and a second position and constituting a portion of an exterior of the sheet conveying device with the first cover when the second cover is located at the first position. The second cover has a first end portion contactable with the first cover located at the closed position. The first end portion is kept in contact with the first cover throughout a period in which the second cover is pivoted from the first position to the second position.

An image reading apparatus includes a main unit, an openable unit, a cable connected to the openable unit and routed in the main unit, and a holding member attached to the main unit. The holding member includes a first guide portion configured to hold a first specified portion of the cable. The holding member, with the first guide portion holding the first specified portion of the cable, is configured to move from a first position to a second position. When the holding member is in the first position, the cable has no slack in a second specified portion of the cable, the second specified portion being closer to an end of the cable disposed in the openable unit than the first specified portion. When the holding member is in the second position, the cable has slack in a second specified portion of the cable routed in the main unit.

Image reading apparatus and method of manufacturing image reading apparatus

An image forming apparatus including an automatic document feeder (ADF) that transports a document is provided. The ADF unit includes a subtray that is openable and closable. When transporting a document, the subtray is opened and a document to be transported is fed into a space below a guide member. At this time, surfaces of the subtray and a main tray are used as a feed tray. The document that has been transported is discharged onto a guide member and is further transported onto the surface of the second tray. At this time, the surface of the second tray and the surface of the guide member are used as a discharge tray.

Image forming apparatus

The instant application discloses an apparatus including an image forming unit and an image reading apparatus. The image forming unit may be disposed adjacent to the base wall of the image reading apparatus. The image reading apparatus may include a base member including the base wall and a peripheral wall protruding orthogonally from the base wall to define an accommodation region; a movable member configured to reciprocate between one end portion of the accommodation region and another end portion of the accommodation region; a reading unit supported by the movable member; a cable having a first extending portion, a curve portion, and a second extending portion; and a contact reduction portion configured to reduce contact of the second extending portion of the cable with a side wall of the peripheral wall. Various embodiments of the contact reduction portion are also disclosed.

A cable wiring structure includes: a base member; a movable member configured to reciprocate in a first direction and in a second direction relative to the base member; a cable; a tension applying member, which is attached to the movable member and is movable in the first direction and in the second direction relative to the movable member, wherein when the movable member moves in the second direction, the tension applying member is coming in contact with an inner circumference of the curved portion to apply tension to the cable in response to movement of the movable member; and a load adjustment portion, which is configured to increase a load that is applied between the tension applying member and the movable member in a case where the movable member moves in the second direction as compared with a case where the movable member moves in the first direction.

Cable wiring structure and image reading device

A sheet conveyor device includes a conveyor that conveys a sheet along a conveyance path in a conveying direction, a sheet stack portion that receives the sheet conveyed by the conveyor, and a conducting member. The conveyor includes an ejection roller that ejects the sheet to the sheet stack portion. The conducting member includes a contact portion, disposed along the conveyance path downstream of the ejection roller, which comes into contact with the sheet conveyed by the conveyor, and a discharge portion that discharges static electricity transferred to the contact portion by contact between the sheet and the contact portion.

Sheet conveyor device

A conveyor device includes a conveyor including a conveyor roller to convey a sheet along a conveyance path, a cover movable between a closed position where the cover covers the conveyor roller and an open position where the cover is separated from the conveyor roller. The conveyor further includes a pinch roller urged toward the conveyor roller when the cover is in the closed position. When the cover is in the closed position, the conveyor roller and the pinch roller define a nip point along the conveyance path. The conveyor device includes a holder supported by the cover and to rotatably support the pinch roller and an urging member disposed between the cover and the holder to move the holder away from the cover to urge the pinch roller toward the conveyor roller when the cover is in the closed position.

A sheet-supply cassette includes a main member open upward and adapted to store a plurality of recording sheets stacked on each other, each of which is separated from the other recording sheets, and is fed in a sheet-feed direction, by a sheet feeder, an inclined sheet-separate plate provided in a downstream-side portion of the main member as seen in the sheet-feed direction, and which cooperates with the sheet feeder to separate the each recording sheet from the other recording sheets, and a plurality of back-surface support portions which are formed integrally with the downstream-side portion of the main member, such that the back-surface support portions are distant from each other in a perpendicular direction substantially perpendicular to the sheet-feed direction. The inclined sheet-separate plate is detachably attached to the back-surface support portions such that a back surface of the inclined sheet-separate plate is supported by the back-surface support portions.

Sheet-supply device with a sheet-separation unit having an opening

An image reading apparatus configured to reduce a force required for moving a document cover to an open position is provided. The image reading apparatus includes a document table having a top surface and a reading area and a document cover that is configured to pivot, around an axis extending in a first direction, between a closed position and an open position. The document cover includes a sheet. The top surface has a marginal area which is located outside of a reading area on a side opposite to the axis. The marginal area includes a contact area and a non-contact area which are arranged in the first direction. When the document cover is in the closed position, the top surface in the contact area contacts the sheet, and the top surface in the non-contact area does not contact the sheet.

A sheet conveying device includes a cover member made of resin and partially defining a conveying path, a roller member rotatably disposed on the cover member and configured to convey a sheet along the conveying path, an urging member disposed between the cover member and a rotary shaft of the roller member and urging the roller member toward the conveying path while one end of the urging member contacts the rotary shaft, and a plate member made of metal and disposed between the cover member and the urging member. The plate member includes a first segment extending along the cover member and contacting the other end of the urging member, a second segment extending from an edge of the first segment in a direction toward the conveying path, and a third segment extending from an edge of the second segment in a direction different from the second segment extending direction.

A cable arrangement structure is provided with a movable body configured to reciprocally move relative to a base member, and a flexible cable transmitting electrical signals. One end of the flexible cable is fixedly connected to the base member, and another end is connected to the movable body. The flexible cable has a curved portion, and both ends of the flexible cable being located on a same side with respect to the curved portion. A tension applying unit configured to contact the curved portion of the flexible cable from an inner side of a curvature of the curved portion to apply tension to the flexible cable when the curved portion is located on a front direction of the movable body as moved. Application of the tension to the flexible cable is controlled in mechanical association with movement of the movable body.

Growing community of inventors

Nagoya, Japan

Daisuke Kozaki