Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Katsuro Miura

Yoshinori Osakabe

Muneaki Takahata

Takashi Ohama

Takayuki Akimatsu

Takuya Naniwa

Masaru Takeuchi

Takashi Fujiwara

Tianjin Xie

Tsuyoshi Suganuma

Yuji Koga

Yasunari Yoshida

Masayuki Takata

Jiro Yamamoto

Isao Kubo

Satoshi Miyase

Mamoru Namba

Kenji Samoto

Noriyuki Kawamata

Hisaki Sakurai

Yasuo Nishikawa

Motohito Muraki

Masayoshi Oosaki

Arisa Sakakibara

Kazuhiro Nakashima

A printing device includes: a feeding tray on which a sheet can be mounted; a first conveying passage; an image forming unit disposed along the first conveying passage and configured to record an image on the sheet; a cutting unit disposed along the first conveying passage downstream of the image recording unit and configured to cut the sheet; a second conveying passage connected to the first conveying passage; and a controller configured to perform: conveying the sheet mounted on the feeding tray to the image recording unit; recording an image on the sheet by the image recording unit; cutting the recorded sheet at a cutting position on the sheet to divide the sheet into a first sheet on which the image has been recorded and a second sheet on which the image has not been recorded; discharging the first sheet; and conveying the second sheet to the second conveying passage.

Printing device configured to separate sheet into first sheet and second sheet, discharge first sheet, and reuse second sheet

An image reading apparatus is provided, including a platen glass having opposed upper and lower surfaces, a support frame supporting a peripheral portion of the platen glass, a reading device reciprocable in a first direction and disposed on an inner side of the support frame so as to be nearer to the lower surface than to the upper surface, a guide formed on an inner bottom surface on the inner side of the support frame and extending in the first direction so as to guide reciprocation of the reading device, a controller that controls operations of the reading device, a harness connecting the reading device and the controller to each other, and a harness accommodating portion accommodating the harness and constituted by a groove having a recessed shape, extending in the first direction, and formed at the inner bottom surface at a position located in front of the guide.

Image reading apparatus and image forming apparatus comprising a first wall, a second wall, a harness interposed between the first wall and second wall, a third wall, the harness not interposed between the first wall and third wall, and a plurality of fourth walls spaced apart from each other extending in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to the first direction in which the first wall and the third wall extend and protruding upward from the bottom of the harness accommodating portion

A print engine performs printing on a print medium conveyed by a conveyor. The cutter cuts the print medium conveyed by the conveyor. The first sensor is provided upstream of the cutter in the conveyance direction and detects a leading end and a trailing end of the print medium. The second sensor detects a conveyance amount of the print medium conveyed by the conveyor. The controller determines a print medium length that is a length of the print medium in the conveyance direction, based on the conveyance amount detected by the second sensor from when the first sensor detects the leading end of the print medium until when the first sensor detects the trailing end of the print medium, determines a cutting position of the print medium based on the determined print medium length, and controls the cutter to cut the print medium at the determined cutting positon.

Printing apparatus

An image reading apparatus includes: a main body extending in a widthwise direction and a depth direction; an image reader provided on an upper portion of the main body and extending in the widthwise direction and the depth direction; and an operation panel provided adjacent to one edge of the image reader which extends in the depth direction. The operation panel is provided at a front end portion of the main body. The operation panel is shorter than the image reader in the depth direction. A connector to which a connecting cable is connected is provided at a back surface of the operation panel located on an opposite side of the operation panel from the front end portion. At least a space is defined at the upper portion and extends in the depth direction from the back surface of the operation panel.

Image reading apparatus

An image reading apparatus includes a housing, a transport unit, a first reader, a controller, and a positioning mechanism. The controller controls the transport unit to transport a second medium different in thickness from a first medium in a first transport direction and then in a second transport direction opposite to the first transport direction. The positioning mechanism moves the first reader from a first position to a second position by using a drive force by which the transport unit transports the second medium in the first transport direction. The positioning mechanism maintains the first reader at the second position while the second medium transported by the transport unit in the second transport direction is passing the first reader, and moves the first reader from the second position to the first position after the first reader reads the image on the first side of the second medium.

An image reading apparatus, having a body, a feeder tray, a conveyer, a first reader, and a shifting device, is provided. The body includes a first inlet, a second inlet, and a conveyance guide. The feeder tray being at a closed position covers the first inlet and the feeder tray being at an open position exposes the first inlet. The conveyer conveys a readable medium guided by the conveyer guide. The first reader reads an image on a first side of the readable medium conveyed by the conveyer. The shifting device shifts the first reader to a first position in a case where the feeder tray moves from the closed position to the open position and to a second position in a case where the feeder tray moves from the open position to the closed position.

An image reading apparatus includes a reading unit, a hinge connected to the reading unit, and a cover connected to the hinge. The image reading apparatus further includes a decelerator configured to apply a damping resistance to a particular gear of the hinge, as a planet gear engages with the particular gear during movement of the cover from an open position to a closed position.

A multifunction device includes a scanner and a printer disposed below the scanner. The scanner includes a support surface to support a document, and a scanning unit to scan the document. The scanning unit includes a sensor including reading elements arranged in a main scanning direction, and a moving member holding the sensor and configured to move in a sub-scanning direction. The scanner is connected to the printer pivotably between a first position at which the scanner conceals an upper portion of the printer, and a second position at which the scanner exposes the upper. In response to the moving member moving in the sub-scanning direction, a responsive mechanism shifts the lock mechanism between an operative state in which the lock mechanism restricts pivoting of the scanner relative to the printer, and an inoperative state in which the lock mechanism permits pivoting of the scanner relative to the printer.

Multifunction device including lock mechanism that shifts between states of restricting and allowing pivoting between adjacent unit and scanner

A first hinge connects a scanner to a printer, which is below the scanner, to allow the scanner to pivot about a first axis extending along a first direction. The first hinge includes a first support portion supported by the scanner, a second support portion supported by the printer, and a first pivot portion defining the first axis. A housing of the scanner includes a side surface near the first axis and extending along the first direction and along a second direction perpendicular to a document support surface of the scanner, and an accommodating portion recessed in a third direction which is from the side surface toward the scanning unit. The first support portion includes a first end portion at which the first pivot portion is located, and a second end portion which includes an accommodated portion. The accommodated portion is accommodated in the accommodating portion of the housing.

Hinge connecting printer and scanner

A conveying device conveys a sheet selectively along a first conveying path and a second conveying path which are connected at a junction into a common path portion. A reading unit reads an image of a sheet conveyed in the common path portion. A shutter is disposed in the second conveying path at a position upstream of the junction in a sheet conveying direction. The shutter is movable between a first position and a second position. The actuator is disposed in the common path portion and movable between a third position and a fourth position in response to the shutter moving between the first position and the second position, respectively. In a case where a detection sensor detects that the actuator is at the fourth position, a controller controls the conveying device to convey the sheet along the second conveying path.

A sheet conveying apparatus, including a conveyer to convey a sheet in a predetermined conveying direction along a predetermined conveyer path, and a discharger forming a part of the conveyer to discharge the sheet from the conveyer path, is provided. The discharger includes a driving roller, a pinch roller arranged to confront the driving roller across the conveyer path, and an urging member to urge the pinch roller against the driving roller. The conveyer includes a chute member. The chute member includes a guiding face defining a part of the conveyer path, a supporting face to support one end of the urging member, and a contact face located on a particular face of the chute member opposite from the supporting face. The sheet conveying apparatus includes a plate member made of metal arranged to extend in a direction intersecting with the conveying direction and to contact the contact face.

Sheet conveying apparatus

A sheet conveying device, including: a conveyor; a first supporter configured such that, when located at its closed position, a first surface thereof partially forms an exterior surface of the device and such that, when located at its open position, a second surface thereof supports the sheet to be supplied to the conveyor; a second supporter configured such that, when located at its closed position, a first surface thereof partially forms the exterior surface of the device and such that, when located at its open position, a second surface thereof supports the sheet output from the conveyor; and a link configured such that, when the first supporter is moved from the closed position to the open position, the link transmits a force from the first supporter to the second supporter and thereby moves the second supporter from the closed position to the open position in conjunction with the first supporter.

Sheet conveying device and image reading apparatus

A sheet conveying device includes a conveyor, a supporting section which supports a sheet to be fed to the conveyor and a guide section which is provided on the supporting section and configured to guide a sheet to the conveyor. The supporting section includes a first support region and a second support region which support a sheet. The first support region is provided at a position on an upstream side from the second support region in a sheet conveyance direction. The first support region extends substantially horizontally, and the second support region is inclined in a lower direction toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction. The guide section includes a first portion which extends substantially horizontally along the first support region, and a second portion which is connected to the first portion and extends obliquely in the lower direction along the second support region.

Sheet conveying device and image reading device

An image scanning device includes a scanning unit configured to scan, at a scanning position, an image of a document, a first discharge portion, a second discharge portion, a conveying unit configured to selectively convey the document along a first conveying path from the scanning position to the first discharge portion, and along a second conveying path from the scanning position to the second discharge portion, a driving unit configured to generate a driving force for driving the conveying unit, and a cover member configured to receive the driving force generated by the driving unit such that the cover member moves between a closed position for covering the second discharge portion and an open position for exposing the second discharge portion.

Sheet conveying device

An image processing apparatus, including: a first unit; a second unit; and a pair of first hinges spaced apart from each other in a first direction, the first and second units being coupled through the hinges, wherein the first unit includes a supporter for supporting a recording medium and a first conveyor including a supply roller and configured such that, in a state in which recording media are set on the supporter, the first conveyor conveys the media one by one by the supply roller toward a downstream side in a conveyance direction, wherein the supporter is configured to be pivotally movable between a housed position and a use position about an axis extending, on a specific side of the first unit, in a direction parallel to the first direction, and wherein the supporter is disposed between the first hinges at least when located at the housed position.

Growing community of inventors

Toyota, Japan

Katsuro Miura