PRINTING DEVICE

Abstract

A printing device includes: a moveable guided portion; and a guide rail that guides the guided portion between a lower position at a lower side in a vertical direction, and a retained region being at an upper side from the lower position and in which the guided portion is retained; the retained region being provided with a receiving portion that receives a lower end of the guided portion, and a first guiding element that changes an attitude of the guided portion such that the lower end of the guided portion is conducted to an upper portion of the receiving portion accompanying an upward movement of the guided portion.

Description

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a printing device including a moveable guided portion and a guide rail that guides the guided portion.

According to the present invention, the printing device includes such varieties as inkjet printers, wire dot printers, laser printers, line printers, copiers and facsimiles.

2. Related Art

Conventionally, as shown in JP-A-2004-051358, the rear of a printer has been provided with a withdrawable paper support. When using the paper support, first the paper support stored in a storage portion would be withdrawn along the direction of guide channels. Next, it would be tilted to an angle closer to horizontal than the angle upon withdrawal. In this manner, the paper could be set on top of the paper support.

However, in order for the user to switch the paper support from a stored state to a usable state, a withdrawing operation and an operation of collapsing to a predetermined angle were required, and operability was not sufficient.

Furthermore, the configuration was biased using a projecting portion and spring member with respect to the guide channels in order to retain the position and attitude of the paper support, and there was a problem with the number of parts.

SUMMARY

An advantage of some aspects of the present invention is that the task is to provide a printing device that takes into consideration the operability of the moveable guided portion and the number of parts.

In order to achieve the above-described task, the printing device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a moveable guided portion and a guide rail that guides the guided portion between a lower position at a lower side thereof in the vertical direction, and a retained region being at an upper side thereof from the lower position and holding the guided portion. The retained region is provided with a supporting portion capable of supporting a lower end of the guided portion, a guiding surface capable of guiding the lower end of the guided portion to the supporting portion, and a first guiding means that changes the attitude of the guided portion such that the lower end of the guided portion is conducted to an upper portion of the guiding surface accompanying an upward movement of the guided portion.

According to the present aspect, the guided portion can be switched to a predetermined attitude in the retained region with just a single action of withdrawing the guided portion that is positioned in the lower position, causing it to move to the retained region above, and releasing ones hand. That is, operability is good.

For example, the guided portion may be made as a part of a medium supporting member that supports a medium. In a state in which the medium supporting member is withdrawn from the casing of the printing device and the medium can be supported, the guided portion is supported by the supporting portion in the retained region. Furthermore, in a state in which the medium supporting member is stored in the casing of the printing device, the guided portion is positioned in the lower position.

In such cases, the user withdraws the medium supporting member from the casing of the printing device. When doing this, the guided portion moves to the retained region. The user removes his hand from the medium support member. The lower end of the guided portion then comes into contact with the guiding surface by the weight of the medium support member, and the lower end moves to the supporting portion while being guided by the guiding surface.

In this manner, the attitude of the medium supporting member tilts with respect to the guiding direction of the guide rail, and the attitude of the medium supporting member adopts a predetermined attitude with respect to the casing. That is, the user can switch the medium supporting member to a predetermined attitude with just a single action of withdrawing the medium supporting member and releasing his hand.

Furthermore, the medium supporting member can be included by a single member, and the number of parts can be reduced compared to the configuration of the conventional paper support.

A second aspect of the present invention according to the first aspect, wherein, when the guided portion has moved from the lower position to the retained region, the first guiding means changes the attitude of the guided portion such that the lower end of the guided portion is conducted to the upper portion of the guiding surface; and the lower end of the guided portion comes into contact with the guiding surface by the weight of the guided portion, the lower end moves to the supporting portion while being guided by the guiding surface, and the guided portion is supported by the supporting portion.

According to the present aspect, the attitude of the guided portion adopts a predetermined attitude by the above-described weight, in addition to having a similar operation effect to the first aspect. The configuration according to the present aspect is particularly advantageous in the case where the guided portion is a part of the medium supporting member supporting the medium.

A third aspect according to the first or second aspect, wherein the retained region is provided with a second guiding means that guides the upper end of the guided portion to the first guiding means accompanying the upward movement of the guided portion; and the first guiding means is provided in a position displaced above an extended line of a guide trajectory that is a trajectory in which the guided portion guided by the guide rail moves, and the supporting portion is provided on a side of the position at which the first guiding means is displaced using the guide rail as a baseline.

According to the present aspect, the position of the lower side can be displaced to the side of the displaced position above the extended line of the guide trajectory of the guide rail in a case where the guided portion is a part of the lower side in the raisable member, in addition to having a similar operation effect to the first or second aspect. In such cases, the lower side of the raisable member can be displaced to the side of the displaced position while being moved upward by just raising the upper end of the raisable member straight along the guiding direction of the guide rail.

For example, the position of the lower end side of the medium supporting member is displaced to the side of the displaced position when observed from the side, and the lower end of the guided portion is displaced to the upper portion of the guiding surface, just by grasping the upper end of the medium supporting member and raising along the guide direction of the guide rail. That is, the upper end of the medium supporting member moves substantially straight upward, and the lower side of the medium supporting member is displaced to the side of the displaced position while moving upward. When doing this, since the upper end of the medium supporting member is barely displaced to the side of the displaced position, the operability when raising the medium supporting member can be further improved.

Furthermore, moving the lower end of the guided portion to the upper portion of the guiding surface is facilitated.

A fourth aspect of the present invention, according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the guided portion is a part of the medium supporting member that supports the medium; in a state in which the medium supporting member is withdrawn from the casing of the printing device and the medium can be supported, the guided portion is supported by the supporting portion in the retained region; in a state in which the medium supporting member is stored in the casing of the printing device, the guided portion is positioned in the lower position; and, when the medium supporting member has been withdrawn from the casing of the printing device, the lower end of the guided portion comes into contact with the guiding surface by the weight of the medium support member, the lower end moves to the supporting portion while being guided by the guiding surface, and thereby the attitude of the medium supporting member tilts with respect to the guiding direction of the guide rail, and the attitude of the medium supporting member adopts a predetermined attitude with respect to the casing.

According to the present aspect, the configuration that has the retained region is particularly advantageous in a case where the guided portion is a part of the medium supporting member supporting the medium, in addition to having a similar operation effect to any one of the first to third aspects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multi-functional printer according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a summary of the interior of a multi-functional printer according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing a medium supporting member when stored according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing a medium supporting member being raised according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view showing a medium supporting member when raised according to the present embodiment.

FIGS. 6A to 6D are side cross-sectional views showing movement of a guided portion when raised.

FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view showing a medium supporting member when being used according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view showing a medium supporting member when being stored according to the present embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments according to the present invention are explained below on the basis of the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing an embodiment of a multi-functional printer according to the present embodiment. Furthermore, FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a summary of the interior of the multi-functional printer according to the present embodiment.

The multi-functional printer 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, includes a printer body 2 and a medium conveying device 33.

Of these, the printer body 2 includes a scanner portion 12, a mount portion 13, a feeding means 16, a feed pathway 23, a print unit 25, a first ejection stacker 31 and a casing 3.

The scanner portion 12 is disposed above (the direction of the arrow along the Z-axis), which is the medium conveying device 33 side in the printer body 2. Here, the Z-axis is the vertical direction.

The scanner portion 12 is configured such that information, such as photographs and documents, printed on a side of the paper S fed by the medium conveying device 33, can be read.

Furthermore, the mount portion 13 is provided such that paper P, which is an example of a printed medium, can be mounted. According to the present embodiment, there is a first mount portion 14 and a second mount portion 15. The first mount portion 14 is a medium supporting member 14a and a hopper 14b that are provided at the rear of the printer body 2. Of these, the hopper 14b is configured such that downward can be separably moved with respect to a first roller 17, mentioned later, focusing on upward (the direction of the arrow along the Z-axis). Meanwhile, the second mount portion 15 is a cassette portion 15a that is detachably mounted downward of the printer body 2.

Furthermore, the feeding means 16 is provided such that the paper P mounted on the mount portion 13 can be fed to the print unit 25. Specifically, the feeding means 16 according to the present embodiment has a first roller 17, a second roller 18, a third roller 19, a first roller pair 21 and a second roller pair 22. Of these, the first roller 17 is provided so as to come into contact with the top-most paper P when the downward of the hopper 14b approaches with respect to the first roller 17, and enable the paper to be sent to the second roller 18 on the feeding direction downstream side.

Furthermore, the third roller 19 is provided on a free end of an arm portion 20 that separably moves with respect to the cassette portion 15a. The roller is provided so as to come into contact with the top-most paper P in the cassette portion 15a, and enable the paper P to be sent to the second roller 18 on the feeding direction downstream side. Moreover, the second roller 18 is provided so as to enable the paper P, which has been fed by the first roller 17 and the third roller 19, to be further sent to the first roller pair 21 on the downstream side.

Furthermore, the first roller pair 21 is provided so as to enable the paper P to be sent to the print unit 25 and the second roller pair 22 on the feeding direction downstream side (the direction of the arrow along the Y-axis) when printing. Moreover, the second roller pair 22 is provided on the feeding direction downstream side from the print unit 25 when printing, and is provided so as to enable the paper P printed by the print unit 25 to be ejected to the first ejection stacker 31.

Moreover, the feed pathway 23 is a pathway in which the paper P is fed, and is configured by guiding members. Specifically, the pathway is configured so as to enable the paper P to be guided from the mount portion 13 to the first ejection stacker 31 via the print unit 25.

Furthermore, the print unit 25 is configured so as to enable printing to be performed by discharging ink with respect to the paper P fed by the feeding means 16. Specifically, the print unit 25 has a carriage 26, a print head 27 and a medium supporting portion 28.

Of these, the carriage 26 is configured, in one example, so as to enable movement while being guided by the guiding members, not shown in the drawings, which are extended in the width direction X of the paper P, by means of the power of a motor, not shown in the drawings. Furthermore, the print head 27 is provided on the side opposing the paper P in the carriage 26. A surface opposing the paper P in the print head 27 is further formed with nozzles (not shown) that discharge ink. Moreover, the medium supporting portion 28 is provided at a position opposing the print head 27, and is configured to enable a distance between the paper P and the print head 27 to be maintained at a predetermined length.

Moreover, the first ejection stacker 31 is provided to enable the printed paper P to be mounted. Furthermore, the first ejection stacker 31 is retractably provided.

In addition to the feed pathway 23, a side reversing pathway 24 for reversing the sides of the paper P is also provided. In the case of duplex printing mode, after printing with respect to an obverse side of the paper P, the paper P is reverse fed in a reverse direction to the feeding direction Y when printing by a first roller pair 21 and a second roller pair 22. The paper is then fed to the side reversing pathway 24, wraps around from the lower side to the upper side of the second roller 18 and is fed once more to the first roller pair 21. Upon doing this, the obverse side that has already been printed becomes the medium supporting portion 28 side, and the reverse side that has yet to be printed becomes the print head 27 side. The paper is then sent to the feeding direction downstream side when printing by the first roller pair 21, and the pathway is configured such that printing is performed by the print unit 25 with respect to the obverse side.

Furthermore, the casing 3 is the case of the printer body 2. The casing is configured so as to cover components such as the feed pathway 23.

Meanwhile, the medium conveying device 33 is disposed upward (the arrow direction of the Z axis) of the printer body 2. Although detailed references to the drawings are omitted, the device is provided so as to enable the paper S mounted on a third mounting device 34 to be sent by a conveying pathway (not shown in the drawings) with respect to a predetermined position opposing the scanner portion 12 on the printer body 2 side. The information printed on the side of the paper S is read by the scanner portion 12. Thereafter, the medium conveying device 33 is provided so as to enable the paper S to be ejected by feeding to a second ejection stacker 35.

Next, the medium supporting member 14a according to the present embodiment will be explained in detail while paying particular attention to the action when withdrawing.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing the medium supporting member 14a when stored according to the present embodiment. In order to facilitate understanding of the position and attitude of the guided portion 11 of the medium supporting member 14a, the medium supporting member 14a is represented by a dot-dashed line (the same is also true hereinafter).

As shown in FIG. 3, both sides in the width direction X in the medium supporting member 14a are formed with guided portions 11.

According to the present embodiment, one of the both sides in the width direction X in the medium supporting member 14a is explained, and the other side is similar to the one side and thus an explanation thereof is omitted (the same is also true hereinafter).

The guided portion 11 of the medium supporting member 14a is configured so as to be guided by a guide rail 4 formed on the casing 3. Specifically, the guide rail 4 is configured so as to guide the guided portion 11 between a lower position 36 at which the guided portion 11 is positioned when the medium supporting member 14a is stored in the casing 3, and a retained region 5 in which the guided portion 11 is positioned when the medium supporting member 14a has been withdrawn from the casing 3.

The lower position 36 is the lower end in a substantially vertical direction of the guide rail 4. The guide rail 4 is extended from the lower position 36 to the retained region 5 upward in the substantially vertical direction.

Furthermore, the retained region 5 is provided with a supporting portion 6, a slanted guiding surface 7 as the guiding surface, a first guiding means 8 and a second guiding means 10.

Although explained in brief here, the supporting portion 6 is provided so as to be capable of supporting a lower end 11a of the guided portion 11.

Furthermore, the slanted guiding surface 7 is tilted with respect to the horizontal direction to enable the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 to be guided to the supporting portion 6. Moreover, the first guiding means 8 is provided so as to enable the attitude of the guided portion 11 to be changed accompanying the upward movement of the guided portion 11. Furthermore, the second guiding means 10 is provided so as to enable the lower end 11b of the guided portion 11 to be guided to the first guiding means 8 accompanying the upward movement of the guided portion 11.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing the medium supporting member 14a while being raised according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4, from the state of FIG. 3, the user withdraws the medium supporting member 14a from the casing 3 by grasping the upper portion of the medium supporting member 14a and raising the medium supporting member upward in the substantially vertical direction. Upon doing this, the guided portion 11 of the medium supporting member 14a moves upward while being guided by the guide rail 4.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view showing the medium supporting member 14a when raised according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 5, from the state of FIG. 4, the user withdraws the medium supporting member 14a from the casing 3 by further raising the medium supporting member upward. The guided portion 11 is then guided by the guide rail 4 and enters the retained region 5. Upon doing this, the upper end 11b of the guided portion 11 is guided by the second guiding means 10 to the first guiding means 8. The attitude of the guided portion 11 is changed by the first guiding means 8 so as to conduct the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 to the upper portion of the slanted guiding surface 7. The condition of the guided portion 11 at this time will now be explained in further detail.

FIGS. 6A to 6D are side cross-sectional views showing movement of a guided portion 11 when raised.

As shown in FIG. 6A, when the user raises the medium supporting member 14a upward in the substantially vertical direction, the guided portion 11 enters the retained region 5. Once the guided portion 11 has entered the retained region 5, due to the attitude of the guided portion 11, the upper end 11b of the guided portion 11 abuts with the slanted surface 10a of the second guiding means 10. Here, the slanted surface 10a is a surface slanted with respect to the vertical direction Z, which is the guiding direction of the guide rail 4. The second guiding means 10 is configured so as to guide the upper end 11b of the guided portion 11 to the first guiding means 8 accompanying the upward movement of the guided portion 11.

Here, the first guiding means 8 is provided at a displaced position above an extended line A1 of a guide trajectory A that, viewed from the direction of the X-axis, is the trajectory in which the guided portion 11 that is guided by the guide rail 4 moves. In the case where the direction of movement when the guided portion 11 has entered the retained region 5 is upward in the substantially vertical direction, the configuration is one in which the upper end 11b of the guided portion 11 abuts the slanted surface 10a of the second guiding means 10, and the upper end 11b of the guided portion 11 is guided to the first guiding means 8 by the second guiding means 10.

If the direction of movement when the guided portion 11 has entered the retained region 5 is a direction facing the first guiding means 8 displaced from the the extended line A1 of the guide trajectory A of the guide rail 4, and not upward in the substantially vertical direction, the upper end 11b of the guided portion 11 does not abut with the slanted surface 10a of the second guiding means 10. That is, the upper end 11b of the guided portion 11 is by no means always guided to the first guiding means 8 by the second guiding means 10, and the configuration may be one that does not have a second guiding means 10.

As shown in FIG. 6B, from the state of FIG. 6A, when the user further raises the medium supporting member 14a upward, the guided portion 11 moves further upward. The upper end 11b of the guided portion 11 then abuts with the first guiding means 8. The first guiding means 8 changes the attitude of the guided portion 11 such that the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 is conducted to the upper portion of the slanted guiding surface 7 accompanying the upward movement of the guided portion 11.

Specifically, the position of the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 becomes the upper portion of the slanted guiding surface 7, and the guided portion 11 adopts an attitude tilted with respect to the vertical direction Z such that the lower end 11a approaches the supporting portion 6 side. Upon doing this, the attitude of the medium supporting member 14a also adopts an attitude tilted with respect to the vertical direction Z, to a direction in which upward of the medium supporting member 14a is collapsed to the rear of the multi-functional printer 1. The degree of tilting of the medium supporting member 14a may be slight, as mentioned later.

In order to obtain the use effect of the first guiding means 8, it is necessary to determine not only the actual shape of the first guiding means 8 and the actual shape of the guided portion 11, but also the measurements of the first guiding means 8 and the measurements of the guided portion 11, and these are not determined uniformly.

As shown in FIG. 6C, from the state of FIG. 6B, when the user removes his hand from the medium supporting member 14a, the guided portion 11 moves in the same tilted attitude downward in the vertical direction by the weight of the medium supporting member 14a. Here, prior to removing his hand, the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 is positioned in the upper portion of the slanted guiding surface 7. Consequently, when his hand is removed, the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 abuts with the slanted guiding surface 7.

As shown in FIG. 6D, from the state of FIG. 6C, the slanted guiding surface 7 guides the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 to the supporting portion 6. The lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 is supported by the supporting portion 6. Furthermore, the upper end 11b of the guided portion 11 abuts with an abutting portion 6 of the first guiding means 8. In this manner, the attitude of the guided portion 11 is retained. That is, the attitude of the guided portion 11 is retained in a state in which the tilt with respect to the vertical direction Z of the guide portion 11 is greater than the tilt during FIG. 6B and FIG. 6C. Accompanying this, the attitude of the medium supporting member 14a becomes a state tilted at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical direction Z, to a direction in which upward of the medium supporting member 14a is collapsed to the rear of the multi-functional printer 1. In other words, the attitude of the medium supporting member 14a becomes a state tilted at a predetermined angle with respect to the casing 3.

Here, the principle of the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 being guided by the slanted guiding surface 7 to move to the supporting portion 6 may be a configuration whereby the guided portion 11 moves by sliding down the slanted guiding surface 7, which is slanted with respect to the horizontal direction, by the weight of the medium supporting member 14a.

Furthermore, the attitude of the medium supporting member 14a is already slightly tilted, as previously mentioned, to a direction in which upward of the medium supporting member 14a is collapsed to the rear of the multi-functional printer 1 with respect to the vertical direction Z. The lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 being guided by the slanted guiding surface 7 to move to the supporting portion 6 may also be configured by adopting a further tilt by the weight of the medium supporting member 14a. In such a case, it is unnecessary for the slanted guiding surface 7 to be tilted with respect to the horizontal direction.

FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view showing the medium supporting member 14a when being used according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the attitude of the guided portion 11 becomes the state of FIG. 6D, the attitude of the medium supporting member 14a becomes a state tilted at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical direction Z, as previously mentioned. Consequently, the paper P can be mounted on the hopper 14b and the medium supporting member 14a of the first mount portion 14, as previously mentioned.

As explained above, the user withdraws the medium supporting member 14a from the casing 3 by grasping the upper portion of the medium supporting member 14a and raising the medium supporting member upward in the substantially vertical direction, and, by just removing his hand, can switch to a state in which the medium supporting member 14a is tilted at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical direction Z. That is, just a single action is sufficient to raise the medium supporting member 14a, and intentionally tilting the medium supporting member 14a at a predetermined angle is unnecessary. Consequently, operability is extremely good.

Furthermore, since the medium supporting member 14a can be formed as a single member including the guided portion 11, the number of pieces can be reduced compared to the conventional configuration.

Next, the action when storing the medium supporting member 14a will be explained.

FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view showing the medium supporting member 14a when being stored according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8, from the state shown in FIG. 7, the user changes the attitude of the medium supporting member 14a by tilting the upper portion of the medium supporting member 14a to the front of the multi-functional printer. The upper end 11b of the guided portion 11 then abuts with the first guiding means 8, and thereby the medium supporting member 14a rocks about the upper end 11b of the guided portion 11 or an area proximal thereto.

Upon doing this, the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 moves so as to rise up the slanted guiding surface 7 from the supporting portion 6, and detaches from the slanted guiding surface 7. That is, a state is adopted in which the guided portion 11 is not supported in the retained region 5. Consequently, a state is adopted in which the guided portion 11 is capable of moving along the guide rail 4 to the lower position 36 by the weight of the medium supporting member 14a. When the user removes his hand from the medium supporting member 14a, the guided portion 11 moves along the guide rail 4 to the lower position 36 by the weight of the medium supporting member 14a. As a result, a state is adopted in which the medium supporting member 14a is stored in the casing 3.

When storing the medium supporting member 14a, the user may of course use his hands to store the medium supporting member 14a.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, although the withdrawing and storing of the medium supporting member 14a, with the guided portion 11 as a part of the medium supporting member 14a, has been explained, the guided portion 11 is not limited to a part of the medium supporting member 14a. Alternatively, the guided portion may also be a part of a member of the configuration that is withdrawn from the casing 3.

Moreover, according to the embodiment described above, when withdrawing the medium supporting member 14a, the configuration was adopted in which the medium supporting member 14a is tilted to the rear of the multi-functional printer 1, but the direction of tilting is not limited to this. As a technical concept, when the member having the guided portion 11 has been withdrawn upward, and the user has removed his hand, any configuration is acceptable in which the predetermined attitude is adopted with respect to the vertical direction Z. For example, when a member having the guided portion 11 has been withdrawn, and the user has removed his hand, a configuration tilted to the front of the multi-functional printer 1 is acceptable.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, the configuration was adopted in which, after withdrawing the medium supporting member 14a, the guided portion 11 abuts with the supporting portion 6 and the abutting portion 9, and thereby the attitude of the medium supporting member 14a is retained, but it is not limited to this. A configuration is also acceptable in which the attitude of the medium supporting member 14a is retained by adopting a concave shape for the supporting portion 6, when seen from the side, and the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 coupling onto the supporting portion 6. That is, a configuration not having the abutting portion 9 is also acceptable.

As the printing device according to the present embodiment, the printer body 2 includes: a moveable guided portion 11; and a guide rail 4 that guides the guided portion 11 between a lower position 36 at a lower side in the vertical direction, and a retained region 5 being at an upper side from the lower position 36 and in which the guided portion 11 is retained; the retained region 5 being provided with a supporting portion 6 capable of supporting a lower end 11a of the guided portion 11, a slanted guiding surface 7 as a guiding surface capable of guiding the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 to the supporting portion 6, and a first guiding means 8 that changes an attitude of the guided portion 11 such that the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 is conducted to an upper portion of the guiding surface 7 accompanying an upward movement of the guided portion 11.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, when the guided portion 11 has moved from the lower position 36 to the retained region 5, the first guiding means 8 changes the attitude of the guided portion 11 such that the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 is conducted to the upper portion of the slanted guiding surface 7; and the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 comes into contact with the slanted guiding surface 7 by the weight of the guided portion 11, the lower end 11a moves to the supporting portion 6 while being guided by the slanted guiding surface 7, and the guided portion 11 is supported by the supporting portion 6.

Moreover, according to the present embodiment, the retained region 5 is provided with a second guiding means 10 that guides an upper end 11b of the guided portion 11 to the first guiding means 8 accompanying the upward movement of the guided portion 11; and the first guiding means 8 is provided in a position that is displaced above an extended line A1 of a guide trajectory A that is a trajectory in which the guided portion 11 guided by the guide rail 4 moves, and the supporting portion 6 is provided on a side of the position at which the first guiding means 8 is displaced using the guide rail 4 as a baseline.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the guided portion 11 is a part of the medium supporting member 14a that supports paper P as an example of a medium; in a state in which the medium supporting member 14a is withdrawn from the casing 3 of the printer body 2 and the paper P can be supported, the guided portion 11 is supported by the supporting portion 6 in the retained region 5; in a state in which the medium supporting member 14a is stored in the casing 3 of the printer body 2, the guided portion 11 is positioned in the lower position 36; and, when the medium supporting member 14a has been withdrawn from the casing 3 of the printer body 2, the lower end 11a of the guided portion 11 comes into contact with the slanted guiding surface 7 by the weight of the medium supporting member 14a, the lower end 11a moves to the supporting portion 6 while being guided by the slanted guiding surface 7, and thereby the attitude of the medium supporting member 14a tilts with respect to the vertical direction Z, which is the guiding direction of the guide rail 4, and the attitude of the medium supporting member 14a adopts a predetermined attitude with respect to the casing 3.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the inventions described in the claims, and these are of course included within the scope of the present invention.

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-67607, filed Mar. 25, 2011 is expressly incorporated by reference herein.

Claims

1. A printing device comprising:

a moveable guided portion; and

a guide rail that guides the guided portion between a lower position at a lower side thereof in a vertical direction, and a retained region being at an upper side thereof from the lower position and holding the guided portion, the retained region being provided with

a receiving portion that receives a lower end of the guided portion, and

a first guiding element that changes an attitude of the guided portion such that the lower end of the guided portion is conducted to an upper portion of the receiving portion accompanying an upward movement of the guided portion.

2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein:

the receiving portion has a supporting portion capable of supporting the lower end of the guided portion, and a guiding surface capable of guiding the lower end of the guided portion to the supporting portion; and

the first guiding element that changes the attitude of the guided portion is provided such that the lower end of the guided portion is conducted to an upper portion of the guiding surface accompanying the upward movement of the guided portion.

3. The printing device according to claim 2, wherein, when the guided portion has moved from the lower position to the retained region,

the first guiding element changes the attitude of the guided portion such that the lower end of the guided portion is conducted to the upper portion of the guiding surface; and

the lower end of the guided portion comes into contact with the guiding surface by a weight of the guided portion, the lower end moves to the supporting portion while being guided by the guiding surface, and the guided portion is supported by the supporting portion.

4. The printing device according to claim 2, wherein the retained region is provided with a second guiding element that guides an upper end of the guided portion to the first guiding element accompanying the upward movement of the guided portion; and

the first guiding element is provided in a position that is displaced above an extended line of a guide trajectory that is a trajectory in which the guided portion guided by the guide rail moves, and the supporting portion is provided on a side of the position at which the first guiding element is displaced using the guide rail as a baseline.

5. The printing device according to claim 2, wherein the guided portion is a part of the medium supporting member that supports the medium;

in a state in which the medium supporting member is withdrawn from the casing of the printing device and the medium can be supported, the guided portion is supported by the supporting portion in the retained region;

in a state in which the medium supporting member is stored in the casing of the printing device, the guided portion is positioned in the lower position; and,

when the medium supporting member has been withdrawn from the casing of the printing device, the lower end of the guided portion comes into contact with the guiding surface by the weight of the medium supporting member, the lower end moves to the supporting portion while being guided by the guiding surface, and thereby the attitude of the medium supporting member tilts with respect to the guiding direction of the guide rail, and the attitude of the medium supporting member adopts a predetermined attitude with respect to the casing.