Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Brother Industries, Ltd.

Takashi Ohama

Yoshinori Osakabe

Noriyuki Kawamata

Wataru Sugiyama

Yuta Uchino

Naokazu Tanahashi

Akihiro Sakakibara

Toshitaka Iwago

Katsuro Miura

Daisuke Kozaki

Tatsuya Sato

Ryoichi Matsushima

Tsuyoshi Ito

Shigeharu Katayama

Kazuhito Ishida

Yukichi Sawaki

Kazuhiro Hoshiya

Yusuke Murodate

Tetsuo Asada

Tadanobu Chikamoto

Takahiro Ikeno

Satoru Nakakita

Yoichi Horaguchi

Yoshikatsu Kameyama

Muneaki Takahata

Hiromi Tanaka

Hirofumi Oguri

Mamoru Namba

Teruo Deshimaru

Hiroshi Shiomi

Genki Hoshino

Huanfa Wang

Yuji Koga

Yasunari Yoshida

Masayuki Takata

Jiro Yamamoto

Tetsuya Kato

Michifumi Ishigami

Motohito Muraki

Isao Kubo

Takamitsu Kawai

Hiroyuki Kato

Hiroshi Nobe

Hiroshi Uchigashima

Takeru Morinaga

Ai Oyamada

Huiging Xu

A reading apparatus, having a document tray, an ejection tray, a conveyer path connecting the document tray and the ejection tray and having a curved section, a conveyer to convey an original document in a conveying orientation, a first reading sensor, and a second reading sensor, is provided. The first reading sensor is located upstream in the conveying orientation from the curved section in the conveyer path. The first reading sensor optically reads a first side of the original document from below. The second reading sensor is located upstream in the conveying orientation from the first reading sensor in the conveyer path. The second reading sensor optically reads a second side of the original document from above. The first side and the second side are sides of the original document that face upward and downward, respectively, in the state where an original document is placed on the document tray.

Reading apparatus with sensors located at different positions along a conveyer path

A reading apparatus, having a platen glass, a document cover, a conveyer, a reading sensor, a document supporting member, a pressing plate, and a linkage assembly, is provided. The document cover is movable between an open position and a closed position. The document supporting member is movable between a first position, where the document supporting member faces a reading surface of the reading sensor, and a second position, where the document supporting member is separated from the reading surface. The pressing plate is movable between a third position, where the pressing plate is attached to a lower side of the document cover, and a fourth position, where the pressing plate is removed from the lower side. The linkage assembly moves the document supporting member from the first position to the second position in conjunction with the pressing member moving from the third position to the fourth position.

Reading apparatus

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

A sheet conveyance apparatus includes: a supply-sheet supporter having a supply support surface that supports a sheet; a conveyor configured to convey the sheet from the supply-sheet supporter along a conveyance path; and a discharged-sheet supporter disposed above the supply-sheet supporter and configured to support the sheet conveyed by the conveyor. The discharged-sheet supporter includes: a particular end portion located farthest from the conveyor in the discharged-sheet supporter and opposed to the supply support surface from above; and a movable member including the particular end portion at one of opposite end portions of the movable member, which one is farther from the conveyor than another of the opposite end portions. The movable member is pivotable in a direction in which a distance between the particular end portion and the supply support surface is increased.

Sheet conveyance apparatus

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, a first cover, a second cover movable in conjunction with the first cover, and a restricting portion movable between a restricting position at which the second cover is restricted from being moved from a first position toward a second position and an allowable position at which the second cover is allowed to be moved from the first position toward the second position. The restricting portion is located at the restricting position when the first cover is located at the closed position, and the restricting portion is moved from the restricting position to the allowable position in conjunction with the first cover when the first cover is moved from the closed position toward the opened position.

Sheet conveying device and image reading apparatus

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.

Sheet conveying device

A sheet conveying device, including: a base; a conveyor for conveying a sheet; a supporter configured to be movable between a first position and a second position; a pair of regulators provided so as to protrude from respective widthwise opposite ends of the supporter and configured to regulate a position, in a widthwise direction, of the sheet supported by the supporter; a pair of engaged portions each constituted by one of a recess and a hole formed in a corresponding one of the regulators; and a pair of engaging portions protruding from the base so as to correspond to the pair of engaged portions, the engaging portions being configured to engage with the engaged portions when the supporter is located at the first position and to disengage from the engaged portions when the supporter is located at a position that is shifted from the first position toward the second position.

An ink-jet recording apparatus, including: a recording portion movable to eject ink to perform image recording; flexible ink supply tube connected to the recording portion; and an ink-supply portion for supplying the ink to the ink supply tube. The ink supply tube includes first and second end portions respectively connected to the recording portion and the ink-supply portion. The ink supply tube extends at the first end portion in a first direction and is curved to extend to the ink-supply portion in a second direction, and a shape of the ink supply tube is changed following the movement of the recording portion. The ink-jet recording apparatus comprises a first board at least a portion of which overlaps, in plain view, an occupied area the ink supply tube can occupy while changing in shape, the first board including a controller for controlling the ink-jet recording apparatus.

Ink-jet recording apparatus

A document feeder includes a reverse transporting mechanism that forms a substantially U-shaped document transporting pathway for carrying a document from a feeding tray located at a lower side to a discharging tray located at an upper side through a reading position, a pulling device, a separating-transporting device and a openable pathway cover. The pulling device and the separating-transporting device are arranged at substantially the same horizontal level within the height that is occupied by the reverse transporting mechanism. The pathway cover is capable of opening and closing to cover on the pulling device, the separating-transporting device and the reverse transporting mechanism.

Document feeder

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 multifunction device including an image recording unit and a scanner unit is provided. The scanner unit includes an image readable plane. The image recording unit includes a first tray, a conveyer path to convey the recording sheet in a first orientation, and a second tray, which is formed along an edge of an opening formed on the front face, and in which the recording sheet having been conveyed in the conveyer path is disposed. The recording sheet in a maximum conveyable size for the conveyer path is disposed to occupy a discharge area in the second tray. A downstream end of the discharge area along a second orientation is in a displaced and downstream position with respect to a downstream end of an image readable area of the image readable plane along the second orientation for a first distance.

Multifunction device with scanner unit offset from recording sheet tray

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.

Sheet conveyor device

Growing community of inventors

Iwakura, Japan

Takashi Ohama