Image Forming Device Capable of Stably Feeding Recording Sheet
First Claim
1. An image forming device comprising:
- a tray having a surface on which a recording sheet is placed;
an image forming unit configured to form an image on the recording sheet;
a motor configured to generate a driving force;
a feeding roller configured to rotate upon receipt of the driving force to feed the recording sheet placed on the surface toward the image forming unit;
a support shaft disposed above the tray;
a support portion having a first end portion and a second end portion, the support portion being configured to rotatably support the feeding roller at the first end portion, to be supported to the support shaft at the second end portion, and to be pivotally movable about the support shaft;
a drive shaft independent of the support shaft and configured to rotate upon receipt of the driving force from the motor;
a main support portion configured to rotatably support the drive shaft;
a planetary gear unit, comprising a sun gear and a planetary gear, the sun gear being configured to rotate integrally with the drive shaft, the planetary gear being configured to be meshingly engaged with the sun gear and swingably moved about the sun gear while maintaining meshing engagement with the sun gear; and
a driving force transmission unit provided at the support portion and comprising an input gear, the input gear being configured to be meshingly engaged with the planetary gear when the planetary gear is swingingly moved in accordance with a rotational movement of the drive shaft, the driving force transmission unit being configured to transmit to the feeding roller the driving force that is transmitted from the drive shaft to the input gear through the sun gear and the planetary gear.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An image forming device includes: a feeding roller; a support shaft; a support portion; a drive shaft; a planetary gear unit; and a driving force transmission unit. The support portion rotatably supports the feeding roller and is pivotally movably supported to the support shaft. The drive shaft is rotatable upon receipt of a driving force from a motor. The planetary gear unit includes a sun gear rotatable integrally with the drive shaft, and a planetary gear swingably movable about the sun gear while maintaining meshing engagement therewith. The transmission unit includes an input gear meshingly engageable with the planetary gear when the drive shaft rotates. The transmission unit transmits the driving force to the feeding roller through the drive shaft, the sun gear, the planetary gear, and the input gear.
13 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An image forming device comprising:
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a tray having a surface on which a recording sheet is placed; an image forming unit configured to form an image on the recording sheet; a motor configured to generate a driving force; a feeding roller configured to rotate upon receipt of the driving force to feed the recording sheet placed on the surface toward the image forming unit; a support shaft disposed above the tray; a support portion having a first end portion and a second end portion, the support portion being configured to rotatably support the feeding roller at the first end portion, to be supported to the support shaft at the second end portion, and to be pivotally movable about the support shaft; a drive shaft independent of the support shaft and configured to rotate upon receipt of the driving force from the motor; a main support portion configured to rotatably support the drive shaft; a planetary gear unit, comprising a sun gear and a planetary gear, the sun gear being configured to rotate integrally with the drive shaft, the planetary gear being configured to be meshingly engaged with the sun gear and swingably moved about the sun gear while maintaining meshing engagement with the sun gear; and a driving force transmission unit provided at the support portion and comprising an input gear, the input gear being configured to be meshingly engaged with the planetary gear when the planetary gear is swingingly moved in accordance with a rotational movement of the drive shaft, the driving force transmission unit being configured to transmit to the feeding roller the driving force that is transmitted from the drive shaft to the input gear through the sun gear and the planetary gear. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A feeding device comprising:
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a tray in which a recording sheet is placed; a feeding roller configured to feed the recording sheet placed in the tray; a support portion configured to rotatably support the feeding roller; a support shaft configured to pivotally movably support the support portion; a motor configured to generate a driving force; a driving force transmission unit provided at the support portion and configured to transmit the driving force to the feeding roller; a planetary gear unit comprising a sun gear and a planetary gear, the sun gear being configured to rotate in a first rotation direction and in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction upon receipt of the driving force from the motor, the planetary gear being configured to partially orbitally move around the sun gear, the planetary gear being configured to transmit the driving force to the driving force transmission unit when the sun gear rotates in the first rotation direction and to interrupt transmission of the driving force to the driving force transmission unit when the sun gear rotates in the second rotation direction; and a main support portion independent of the support portion and configured to support the planetary gear unit. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A feeding device comprising:
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a main casing; a tray configured to be moved relative to the main casing and to accommodate a recording sheet therein; a feeding roller configured to feed the recording sheet accommodated in the tray; a support portion configured to rotatably support the feeding roller; a support shaft configured to pivotally movably support the support portion; a driving force transmission unit provided at the support portion and configured to transmit a driving force to the feeding roller; a drive shaft provided at the main casing and configured to rotate in a first rotation direction and in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction; and a planetary gear unit comprising a sun gear and a planetary gear, the sun gear being provided at the main casing and configured to rotate integrally with the drive shaft, the planetary gear being configured to be meshingly engaged with the sun gear and to partially orbitally move around the sun gear while maintaining meshing engagement with the sun gear, the planetary gear being configured to transmit the driving force to the driving force transmission unit when the drive shaft rotates in the first rotation direction and to interrupt transmission of the driving force to the driving force transmission unit when the drive shaft rotates in the second rotation direction; wherein the support portion, the feeding roller and the driving force transmission unit are pivotally movable about the support shaft in accordance with a movement of the tray relative to the main casing.
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Specification