A transmission component acting as a safety device in a printer for the safety of a print operator includes a gear portion, a transmission shaft, and a resilient member. One end of the gear portion defines a receiving space, the transmission component and the resilient member are received in the receiving space. The resilient member bears against the bottom end of the receiving space and the transmission shaft. The resilient member is elastically deformed to slide in the receiving space if operator or limb of operator is detected during loading procedure.

A printer has a carriage being movable between a first end and a second end of a reciprocating path; and a driving force transmitting path selecting mechanism provided at the second end of the reciprocating path. The selecting mechanism has: a common driving force outputting member; a plurality of force receiving members; a selecting member; and a position retainer for keeping the position of the selecting member. The selecting member connects the force outputting member to one of the plurality of force receiving members, and moves in association with the carriage when the carriage moves in a vicinity of the second end in a first direction extending from the first end to the second end. The position retainer keeps the position of the selecting member when the carriage moves in a second direction extending from the second end to the first end. The force receiving member connected to the force outputting member via the selecting member is selected in accordance with a movement of the carriage along the reciprocating path.

A printer has a carriage being movable between a first end and a second end of a reciprocating path; and a driving force transmitting path selecting mechanism provided at the second end of the reciprocating path. The selecting mechanism has: a common driving force outputting member; a plurality of force receiving members; a selecting member; and a position retainer for keeping the position of the selecting member. The selecting member connects the force outputting member to one of the plurality of force receiving members, and moves in association with the carriage when the carriage moves in a vicinity of the second end in a first direction extending from the first end to the second end. The position retainer keeps the position of the selecting member when the carriage moves in a second direction extending from the second end to the first end. The force receiving member connected to the force outputting member via the selecting member is selected in accordance with a movement of the carriage along the reciprocating path.

A recording apparatus includes a switching mechanism which switches a motive force transmission state from a motive force source, includes a sun gear which is driven by the motive force source, a planet gear which performs planetary motion around the sun gear, a rotational movement member which causes the planet gear to perform planetary motion by rotationally moving, and a regulating member which engages with a regulated portion which is provided in the rotational movement member to restrict the rotational movement of the rotational movement member.

An ink-jet recording apparatus, including: a carriage; a lever rotatable about an axis of a shaft and including a lever arm; and a guide having an elongate hole defined by a first edge portion having stoppers for retaining the lever arm and a second edge portion, wherein the guide having an inclined portion including an inclined surface for rotating the lever arm toward the second edge portion and formed downstream of the stoppers in a first direction, wherein the biasing member biases the lever in a second direction opposite to the first direction and in a direction directed from the second edge portion toward the first edge portion, and wherein a distance between: a first position where the inclined surface and the lever arm contact; and the axis of the shaft is larger than a distance between: a second position where each stopper contacts the lever arm; and the axis.

An ink-jet recording apparatus, including: a carriage; a lever rotatable about an axis of a shaft and including a lever arm; and a guide having an elongate hole defined by a first edge portion having stoppers for retaining the lever arm and a second edge portion, wherein the guide having an inclined portion including an inclined surface for rotating the lever arm toward the second edge portion and formed downstream of the stoppers in a first direction, wherein the biasing member biases the lever in a second direction opposite to the first direction and in a direction directed from the second edge portion toward the first edge portion, and wherein a distance between: a first position where the inclined surface and the lever arm contact; and the axis of the shaft is larger than a distance between: a second position where each stopper contacts the lever arm; and the axis.

An apparatus includes: a delivering-side gear train that transmits motive power to a delivering-side drive shaft; an winding-side gear train that transmits motive power to an winding-side drive shaft; a second clutch mechanism that connects the drive motor and the delivering-side gear train to each other in accordance with reverse rotation of the drive motor and disconnects the drive motor and the delivering-side gear train from each other in accordance with forward rotation of the drive motor; and a first clutch mechanism that is provided upstream of the second clutch mechanism, connects the drive motor and the winding-side gear train to each other in accordance with the forward rotation of the drive motor, and disconnects the drive motor and the winding-side gear train from each other in accordance with the reverse rotation of the drive motor.

An apparatus includes: a delivering-side gear train that transmits motive power to a delivering-side drive shaft; an winding-side gear train that transmits motive power to an winding-side drive shaft; a second clutch mechanism that connects the drive motor and the delivering-side gear train to each other in accordance with reverse rotation of the drive motor and disconnects the drive motor and the delivering-side gear train from each other in accordance with forward rotation of the drive motor; and a first clutch mechanism that is provided upstream of the second clutch mechanism, connects the drive motor and the winding-side gear train to each other in accordance with the forward rotation of the drive motor, and disconnects the drive motor and the winding-side gear train from each other in accordance with the reverse rotation of the drive motor.

An image forming system, image forming apparatus and tray for the same are provided. The tray supports sheets and may include a coupling including first and second connectable members, a cam and clutch. The coupling allows the driving force to be transmitted when the second connectable member is in a connected position and block the driving force to be transmitted when the second connectable member is in a disconnected position. The cam is rotatable by the driving force to be in a transmitting or a blocking state. The clutch allows the cam to rotate when activated and prevents the cam from rotating when deactivated. A controller can activate the clutch to transmit or block the driving force to the load and deactivate the clutch when the cam is placed in the transmitting or blocking states.

Thermal printing mechanism having a printer chassis, a thermal printhead, a motor for rotating a platen roller with a motor spur gear, a platen roller with a platen roller gear mounted on it, the platen roller gear being a worm wheel able to engage with a worm screw. The motor is mounted so that its gear axis is substantially parallel to the thermal printhead surface which is in contact with the platen roller, and perpendicular to the platen roller shaft. The thermal printing mechanism additionally includes a gear shaft mounted substantially parallel to the motor gear axis, the gear shaft having at one end a spur gear able to engage with the motor spur gear, and at the other end a worm screw, able to engage with the platen roller gear.