Printer unit

• US 20080101842A1
• Filed: 09/27/2007
• Published: 05/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Takahashi, Toshihiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,475,069 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 400/617
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/076 Construction of rollers; Bearings therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/023 with reduced dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2402/41 Portable or hand-held apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2402/51 Joints, e.g. riveted or magnetic joints
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2404/13421 involving two elements, i.e. an element at each end of roller body
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2601/324 Removability or inter-changeability of machine parts, e.g. for maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2801/06 Office-type machines, e.g. photocopiers
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2801/12 Single-function printing machines, typically table-top machines
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/063 separating from the bottom of pile B65H3/0615, B65H3/0623 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/0638 Construction of the rollers or like rotary separators B65H3/0615 takes precedence; construction of feed or guide rollers B65H27/00

Abstract

In a portable small size printer unit 1, when a pickup roller is replaced, user grips a roller main body and slides it resisting a bias force of a spring. Consequently, when the roller main body is slid, the entire length of the pickup roller is shortened, so that a first convex portion is removed from a first concave portion. After that, the front end of a slide shaft member is removed from a shaft mounting portion by tilting the roller main body and then, the pickup roller is removed from the printing mechanism unit. By sliding the slide shaft member outward of the roller main body, the roller main body is taken out of the slide shaft member and the like so as to replace only the roller main body.

Claims

1. A printer unit comprising:

an accommodating portion which accommodates printing object mediums such that they are stacked;

a printing means for printing the printing object medium based on a desired print data;

a supply roller supported rotatably in contact with the printing object mediums accommodated in the accommodating portion; and

a supply means having a supply drive means for rotating the supply roller for supplying the printing object medium to the printing means,

wherein the supply roller includes;

a drive shaft member which is rotated with driving of the supply drive means;

roller member which has a contact portion making contact with the printing object medium on a peripheral face thereof while an end thereof is attached detachably to the drive shaft member and contains a sliding hole made at the other end along a center axis thereof; and

a mounting shaft member which is inserted slidably into a sliding hole formed in the roller member so as to support the roller member rotatably,

the mounting shaft member being rotated together with the roller member.

2. The printer unit according to claim 1 further comprising:

a rotation restricting member which is mounted on the mounting shaft member so as to restrict a rotation of the roller member with respect to the mounting shaft member; and

an elastic member which is disposed between the rotation restricting member and the mounting shaft member so as to bias the mounting shaft member in a direction of elongating the supply roller,

the mounting shaft member being rotated together with the roller member by the rotation restricting member.

3. The printer unit according to claim 2,

wherein the drive shaft member has a first concave portion formed in a predetermined shape at an end portion of the drive shaft member,

the roller member has a first convex portion formed in a shape corresponding to the shape of the first concave portion at an end portion of the roller member, and

the roller member is capable of being attached detachably to the drive shaft member by fitting the first convex portion to the first concave portion in the drive shaft member.

4. The printer unit according to claim 2,

wherein the roller member has a cutout portion produced by cutting out part of the opening edge of the sliding hole and

the rotation restricting member has a restricting convex portion which corresponds to the shape of the cutout portion and is to be fitted to the cutout portion.

5. The printer unit according to claim 3,

wherein the roller member has a cutout portion produced by cutting out part of the opening edge of the sliding hole and

the rotation restricting member has a restricting convex portion which corresponds to the shape of the cutout portion and is to be fitted to the cutout portion.

6. The printer unit according to claim 1 further comprising a position fixing member which is attached detachably to the mounting shaft member so as to fix the position of the roller member with respect to the mounting shaft member, wherein the mounting shaft member is rotatably driven with the roller member by the position fixing member.

7. The printer unit according to claim 6,

wherein the drive shaft member has a second concave portion formed in a predetermined shape at an end portion of the drive shaft member,

the roller member has a second convex portion formed in a shape corresponding to the shape of the second concave portion at an end portion of the roller member, and

the roller member is capable of being attached detachably to the drive shaft member by fitting the second convex portion to the second concave portion in the drive shaft member.

8. The printer unit according to claim 6,

wherein the roller member has a cutout portion produced by cutting out part of the opening edge of the sliding hole and

the position fixing member has a rotation restricting convex portion which corresponds to the shape of the cutout portion and is to be fitted to the cutout portion.

9. The printer unit according to claim 7,

wherein the roller member has a cutout portion produced by cutting out part of the opening edge of the sliding hole and

the position fixing member has a rotation restricting convex portion which corresponds to the shape of the cutout portion and is to be fitted to the cutout portion.