JP2020100501A - Transport device and image formation system equipped with transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

To solve a problem that it is difficult to restrict change in transport interval between sheets in a transport device that changes the sheet transport direction.SOLUTION: The transport device includes: change transport means that changes a transport direction of a first sheet to a first direction when the first sheet stored in a storage of a feeding device is transported in a second direction from the feeding device to the transport device; and adjustment means that changes transport speed of the first sheet whose transport direction is changed by the change transport means, according to a condition of an image formation device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a conveying device that conveys a sheet and an image forming system.

In recent years, it has become possible to form images on a large number of sheets in a short time as the image forming speed of the image forming apparatus increases. In a high-speed image forming apparatus, a sheet feeding apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a sheet feeding unit) capable of stacking a large amount of sheets may be connected to the image forming apparatus in order to eliminate the trouble of sheet replenishment. Is desired.

In general, an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image corresponding to an A4 size sheet conveys the sheet in a direction in which the long side of the sheet is parallel to the conveying direction (hereinafter, referred to as vertical direction). The configuration of the feeding device connectable to the image forming apparatus corresponding to the A4 size sheet corresponds to the A4 size image forming apparatus, and thus the sheets are accommodated in one vertical row.

On the other hand, an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image corresponding to an A3 size sheet conveys an A3 size sheet in a vertical direction, and an A4 size sheet in a direction in which the short side of the sheet is parallel to the conveyance direction (hereinafter , Sideways). The feeding device connectable to an image forming apparatus that supports up to A3 size sheets has a configuration in which A4 size sheets are stored in two rows in the same horizontal direction as the A4 size sheets are conveyed in the image forming apparatus. Things are known.

Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image corresponding to a sheet of A3 size. Then, Patent Document 1 discloses that A4 size sheets are stored in two rows in a horizontal direction, and a changing unit that changes the orientation of the sheets and transfers the A4 size sheets stored in a horizontal direction is provided. It is disclosed.

JP-A-5-213487

However, the changing unit of Patent Document 1 has a problem that the sheet conveying interval is extended before and after the sheet conveying direction is changed.

Therefore, in the present invention, in the conveying device connectable to the image forming apparatus and the feeding device in which the respective sheet conveying directions are different, the sheet conveying interval before and after the sheet conveying direction is changed. The purpose is to suppress changes.

A typical configuration according to the present invention for achieving the above object is connected to both an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a conveyed sheet and a sheet feeding apparatus that feeds the sheet toward the image forming apparatus. It is possible and in the transport device for transporting the sheet, the image forming device transports the sheet in a first direction in which one of a long side and a short side of the sheet is a direction parallel to the sheet transport direction, The feeding device conveys the sheet in a second direction in which the other of the long side and the short side of the sheet is parallel to the sheet conveying direction, and the conveying device conveys the sheet to the accommodation portion of the feeding device. When the accommodated first sheet is fed from the feeding device to the feeding device in the second direction, the feeding direction of the first sheet fed from the feeding device is A changing conveying unit that changes the conveying direction to the first direction and a conveying speed of the first sheet whose conveying direction is changed to the first direction by the changing conveying unit are matched with the state of the image forming apparatus. And adjusting means for changing.

According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress a change in the sheet conveyance interval in a conveyance device that can be connected to an image forming apparatus and a sheet feeding apparatus in which the respective sheet conveyance directions are different.

1 is a perspective view of the entire image forming system according to the first exemplary embodiment (the image forming apparatus is left-aligned with respect to the feeding apparatus). A perspective view of the entire image forming system in Embodiment 1 (the image forming apparatus is right-aligned with respect to the sheet feeding apparatus) Exploded perspective view of the image forming system in Embodiment 1. Side view of the image forming system in Embodiment 1 Overall view of image forming system in Embodiment 1 Sectional drawing of the change conveyance apparatus in Example 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the changing/conveying means according to the first embodiment. Top view of the change conveyance means in the first embodiment A diagram showing the positional relationship between the leading edge and the trailing edge of a sheet during continuous sheet feeding in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram comparing the image forming system of Example 1 and the image forming system of Comparative Example. Overall view for explaining another modified conveying apparatus in the first embodiment

(Example 1)
Example 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in this embodiment should be appropriately changed depending on the configuration of the apparatus to which the invention is applied and various conditions. That is, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the following examples.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire image forming system 201. In FIG. 1, 100 is a printer that is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet S, and 300 is a feeding deck that is a feeding apparatus that feeds the sheet S from the storage unit. Reference numeral 400 denotes a change conveyance device which is arranged between the printer 100 and the feeding deck 300 and has a change conveyance means for changing the direction of the sheet S being conveyed. The image forming system 201 is configured by connecting a feeding deck 300 and a changing/conveying device 400 as optional devices to the printer 100.

In the following description, as shown in FIG. 1, the vertical direction Z is defined on the basis of a state in which the printer 100 is installed so as to be usable. Similarly, the front-back direction X is defined with the front side (front side) being the side on which the feeding cassette 11 is attached to and detached from the apparatus body of the printer 100. Similarly, the left-right direction Y is defined when the printer 100 is viewed from the front side (front side).

When the widths of the printer 100 and the feeding deck 300 are different from each other, the left side surface of the entire apparatus in the left-right direction Y is flat as shown in FIG. 1, but as shown in FIG. The right side surface may be flat. For this, the position at which the sheet S of the changed conveyance device 400 is discharged may be set according to the installation position of the printer 100.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the printer 100, the feeding deck 300, and the changing/conveying device 400, which are disassembled. Further, in the same figure, the orientation of the sheet S from the feeding deck 300 through the change/conveyance device 400 until being discharged by the printer 100 is shown.

In the feeding deck 300, the sheet S is set such that the long side of the sheet S is in a direction parallel to the front-rear direction X (hereinafter, referred to as lateral direction). The sheet S laterally accommodated in the accommodation portion of the feeding deck 300 is referred to as a first sheet.

The feeding deck 300 conveys the sheet S in the lateral direction in which the short side of the sheet S is parallel to the sheet conveying direction. On the other hand, the printer 100 to which the sheet S is supplied from the feeding deck 300 conveys the sheet S in the vertical direction in which the long side of the sheet S is parallel to the sheet conveying direction. Therefore, the printer 100 can convey the sheet S conveyed in the lateral direction (at least, the standard size sheet of the maximum size set as the sheet on which the image forming apparatus can form an image) even when supplied from the feeding deck 300. I can't.

In view of this, in the present exemplary embodiment, the change conveyance device 400 that changes the conveyance direction of the sheet S while conveying the sheet is arranged below the printer 100 and above the feeding deck 300. In the changing/conveying device 400, the sheet S is changed from the horizontal direction to approximately 90 degrees, that is, the long side of the sheet S is parallel to the left-right direction Y (hereinafter referred to as vertical direction). Then, the vertically changed sheet S is fed into the printer 100, and an image is formed by the image forming unit of the printer 100.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the entire image forming system 201, and also shows the positions of the sheets S in the feeding deck 300 and the printer 100. In the present configuration, both the position of the sheet S on the feeding deck 300 and the position of the sheet S on the printer 100 are moved to the front side in the front-rear direction X. The reason is that the user can easily access the sheet S when the sheet S is supplied to the feeding deck 300 or when the sheet S discharged by the printer 100 is taken. Therefore, the center position of the sheet S is deviated between the feeding deck 300 and the printer 100, but in the present configuration, the center position is adjusted in the change conveyance device 400.

In the printer 100 and the change/conveyance device 400 of the present embodiment, the sheet S is conveyed by aligning the center position of the sheet S with the center position in the front-rear direction (X direction) in the conveyance path for conveying the sheet S, that is, the so-called center reference. An example of a configuration for transporting will be described.

Next, the printer 100 will be described in detail. The printer 100 is an image forming apparatus that conveys the sheet S in the longitudinal direction (first direction) in which the long side of the sheet S is parallel to the left-right direction Y. In the present exemplary embodiment, the printer 100 is an image forming apparatus that supports sheets of which the maximum sheet size is A4. Therefore, the printer 100 is an image forming apparatus that can convey the sheet S only in the vertical direction when conveying the sheet S of at least A4 size.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of the entire image forming system 201. Each device will be described with reference to FIG. The printer 100 shown in FIG. 5 includes four photosensitive drums 1 (1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K). The printer 100 also includes a charging unit 2 (2Y, 2M, 2C, 2K) for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and a developing unit 4 (4Y, 4M, for developing a toner image by attaching toner). 4C, 4K). The printer 100 also includes cleaning means 8 (8Y, 8M, 8C, 8K) for removing post-transfer toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor drum 1 after transfer. In this embodiment, the process cartridges 7 (7Y to 7K) are configured corresponding to each color and are attachable to and detachable from the printer 100. For example, the process cartridge 7Y corresponding to yellow is configured as an integrated unit by the photosensitive drum 1Y, the charging unit 2Y, the developing unit 4Y, and the cleaning unit 8Y. The same applies to the process cartridges 7M, 7M, and 7K corresponding to other colors.

The printer 100 also has an exposure unit 3 that irradiates a laser beam on the basis of image information to form an electrostatic latent image on each photoconductor drum 1. The printer 100 also includes transfer means 26 (26Y, 26M, 26C, 26K) for transferring the toner image on each photosensitive drum 1 to the intermediate transfer body 12 (intermediate transfer body).

In this embodiment, the process cartridges 7Y, 7M, 7C and 7K, which are image forming units, are composed of developing units 4Y, 4M, 4C and 4K as developing means and drum units 5Y, 5M, 5C and 5K, respectively. ..

The developing units 4Y, 4M, 4C, 4K have developing rollers 24Y, 24M, 24C, 24K, developer applying rollers 25Y, 25M, 25C, 25K, and a toner container. The drum units 5Y, 5M, 5C, and 5K include photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K that are image carriers and charging rollers 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K that are charging means. Further, the drum units 5Y, 5M, 5C, 5K further include drum cleaning blades 8Y, 8M, 8C, 8K which are cleaning means, and a waste toner container.

The photoconductor drums 1Y, 1M, 1C and 1K are formed by applying an organic photoconductor layer (OPC) to the outer peripheral surface of an aluminum cylinder, and both ends thereof are rotatably supported by flanges. .. By transmitting a driving force from a drive motor (not shown) to one end of each of the photoconductor drums 1Y, 1M, 1C and 1K, the photoconductor drums 1Y, 1M, 1C and 1K are rotated clockwise as shown by arrows in FIG. Driven to rotate.

The exposure unit 3 is disposed vertically below the process cartridges 7Y, 7M, 7C, 7K and performs exposure based on image signals on the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K.

With the above-described structure, the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K are charged to a predetermined negative potential by the charging rollers 2Y, 2M, 2C, 2K, and then electrostatic latent images are formed by the exposing means 3, respectively. It This electrostatic latent image is reverse-developed by the developing units 4Y, 4M, 4C, 4K and toner of negative polarity is attached to form toner images of respective colors.

In the intermediate transfer body unit 12, an intermediate transfer belt 12a is stretched around a drive roller 12b and a tension roller 12d, and the tension roller 12d applies tension in the arrow E direction. Further, primary transfer rollers 26Y, 26M, 26C and 26K are arranged as transfer means inside the intermediate transfer belt 12a so as to face the respective photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C and 1K, and a voltage applying means (not shown) is provided. By this, a transfer voltage is applied.

With respect to the toner images formed on the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K, each photosensitive drum rotates in the arrow direction, and the intermediate transfer belt 12a is conveyed in the arrow F direction. Further, by applying a positive voltage to the primary transfer rollers 26Y, 26M, 26C, and 26K, the toner images on the photosensitive drum 1Y are sequentially primary-transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 12a, and the four-color toner images are overlapped. In this state, it is conveyed to the secondary transfer nip portion 15.

The feeding unit 13 includes a feeding cassette 11 that vertically stores the A4 size sheet S, a sheet feeding roller 9 that feeds the sheet S from the feeding cassette 11, and a conveyance that conveys the fed sheet S. It has a pair of rollers 10. The sheet S conveyed from the feeding unit 13 is conveyed to the secondary transfer nip portion 15 by the registration roller pair 17, and the toner images of four colors on the intermediate transfer belt 12a are secondarily transferred onto the sheet S.

The fixing unit 14 applies heat and pressure to the image formed on the sheet S to fix the image. Reference numeral 14a denotes a cylindrical fixing belt, which is guided by a belt guide member 14c to which a heating device such as a heater is attached. Reference numeral 14b is a pressure roller having elasticity, and forms a fixing nip portion N having a predetermined width with the belt guide member 14c sandwiching the fixing belt 14a with a predetermined pressure contact force.

The pressure roller 14b is rotatably driven by a driving device (not shown), the cylindrical fixing belt 14a is rotated accordingly, and the fixing belt 14a is heated by an internal heater (not shown).

In a state where the fixing nip portion N has risen to a predetermined temperature and is temperature-controlled, the sheet S having the unfixed toner image formed thereon, which is conveyed from the image forming portion, forms the fixing belt 14a and the pressure roller 14b in the fixing nip portion N. Introduced opposite.

The unfixed toner image on the sheet S, which is a transfer material, is heated and fixed in the process in which the sheet S is nipped and conveyed through the fixing nip portion N together with the fixing belt 14a. The fixed sheet S is discharged to the paper discharge tray 21 by the paper discharge roller pair 20.

On the other hand, after the toner image transfer, the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K is removed by the drum cleaning blades 8Y, 8M, 8C, 8K, and the removed toner is the drum units 5Y, 5M, 5C, 5K. It is collected in the waste toner container inside.

Further, the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 12a after the secondary transfer onto the sheet S is removed by the transfer belt cleaning means 22, and the removed toner passes through a waste toner conveying path (not shown), and the back side of the apparatus. The waste toner is collected in a waste toner collecting container (not shown) arranged on the surface.

Thus, the printer 100 has been described as a color laser printer using an electrophotographic system, but may be a monochrome laser printer or an image forming apparatus using another system. For example, an image forming apparatus using an inkjet method may be used.

Next, the feeding deck 300 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the feeding deck 300 has two sheet storing portions arranged side by side in the left-right direction Y that can store a sheet bundle of A4 size in a horizontal direction, and feeds the stacked sheets. It is configured to be possible. Note that here, the left and right sheet storage units and the basic configuration related thereto are the same.

As shown in the figure, the feeding deck 300 includes a sheet storage case 30A (30B) that is a sheet storage unit that stores the sheets S. A sheet stacking member (sheet stacking table) 32A (32B) that is vertically movable in the storage case 30A (30B) and on which a sheet bundle SaA (SaB) is stacked as a first sheet bundle that is a first sheet bundle is provided. I have it. Further, the feeding deck 300 includes a feeding roller 34A (34B) which is a sheet feeding unit that feeds out the uppermost sheet S1A (S1B) of the sheet bundle SaA (SaB) stacked on the sheet stacking member 32A (32B). .. Further, the feeding deck 300 includes a pair of separating rollers 35A (35B) that separates the sheet S fed by the feeding rollers 34A (34B). The feeding deck 300 also includes a pair of conveying rollers 36A (36B) that conveys the sheets S separated and fed one by one by the pair of separating rollers 35A (35B). Further, the feeding deck 300 includes a pair of transport rollers 37.

When the feeding signal is sent from the printer 100, the feeding deck 300 causes the feeding roller 34A (34B) to come into contact with the uppermost sheet S1A (S1B) and rotate, whereby the uppermost sheet S1A( S1B) is fed to the next separation roller pair 35A (35B). The separation roller pair 35A (35B) separates the sheets fed by the feeding roller 34A (34B) one by one and sends the sheets to the conveyance roller pair 36A (36B). Further, in the configuration on the left side in the left-right direction Y by the roller pair 36A, the conveyance roller pair 37 is further used to feed the change conveyance device 400. The above operation is repeated each time a feeding signal is sent from the printer 100, and the sheets are sent one by one. As described above, the feeding deck 300 is a device that conveys the sheet S laterally accommodated in the sheet storage case 30A (30B) in the lateral direction (second direction).

Next, the change conveyance device 400 will be described. FIG. 6 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the change conveyance device 400. In this configuration, in the change conveyance device 400, the sheet S is conveyed horizontally in the lower stage of the vertical direction Z, and then the sheet S is made a U-turn to convey the sheet S horizontally in the upper stage. In the lower stage of the U-turn in the up-and-down direction Z, a change conveyance means 500 is provided, and in this change conveyance means 500, the posture of the sheet S conveyed sideways from the feeding deck 300 is changed by approximately 90 degrees to be changed to the vertical direction. To do. The sheet S whose conveyance direction has been changed by the change conveyance means 500 is conveyed from the left to the right in FIG. 6 while being guided by the U-turn conveyance section that is the downstream conveyance section.

The U-turn transport unit is provided with a sheet interval adjusting unit 600, and the sheet interval of the vertically oriented sheets S transported from the changing transport unit 500 (the rear end of the sheet S ahead of the continuously transported sheets S). And the distance between the sheet S and the leading edge of the sheet S). The sheet interval adjusting unit 600 is an adjusting unit that changes the transport speed of the sheet S whose transport direction has been changed in the vertical direction by the change transport unit 500 according to the status of the printer 100, and will be described in detail later. ..

The sheet S leading edge detection sensor 60 detects the leading edge of the sheet S that has been changed from the horizontal orientation to the vertical orientation by the change/conveyance unit 500 to obtain the sheet interval information. By adjusting the rotation speeds of the pair of conveying rollers 61, 62, 63, the desired distance between sheets is adjusted and the sheet is fed into the printer 100.

In this way, the changing/conveying unit 500 changes the conveying direction of the sheet S from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction in the substantially horizontal region between the printer 100 and the feeding deck 300. Further, since the change conveyance device 400 includes the U-turn conveyance unit, even if the sheet passing position between the printer 100 and the feeding deck 300 is different in the Y direction, the sheet S is transferred from the feeding deck 300 to the printer 100. Can be transported to.

Next, the change conveyance means 500 will be described. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the change conveyance means 500, and FIG. 8 is a top view. In the present embodiment, as a method of changing the orientation of the sheet S from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction by approximately 90 degrees, in the present embodiment, the sheet S is brought into contact with the abutment wall 53 that is a reference member, and the sheet S is swung to change the posture. The configuration is used.

Plural conveyance roller pairs 51F and 51R are provided as a pair of conveyance rollers that receive the sheet S conveyed from the feeding deck 300, and convey the sheet S in the lateral direction. The conveyance roller pair 51F, which is the first conveyance means, is composed of two rotating bodies (rollers), the driving force is transmitted to one rotating body to rotate, and the other rotating body is driven by the rotating body. .. The conveyance roller pair 51R has the same configuration as the conveyance roller pair 51F, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. Although the first conveying means is composed of two roller pairs, it may be composed of two or more roller pairs, and one rotating member (driving roller) long in the width direction is opposed to the rotating member. It may be composed of a body. The pair of transport rollers 51F and 51R, which is the first transport unit, transports the sheet S in the lateral direction.

The sheet S conveyed by the pair of conveying rollers 51F and 51R contacts the abutting wall 53. Then, the posture of the sheet S is set to approximately 90 by using the changing roller pair 52 which is the second conveying means and the guide surface 56 of the abutting wall 53 which is the reference member, which is on the downstream side of the conveying roller pairs 51F and 51R. Change it.

The seat S changes its posture in the direction of arrow A around the abutting point 54 of the abutting wall 53. By moving the position of the abutting point 54 in the front-rear direction X, the center position of the sheet S after being changed to the vertical feed is adjusted. The second conveying means is composed of two rotating bodies (rollers), the driving force is transmitted to one rotating body to rotate, and the other rotating body is driven by the rotating body. The transmission of the driving force to the changing roller pair 52 may be performed from a driving source that transmits the driving force to the conveyance roller pairs 51F and 51R. In the present embodiment, the drive source for transmitting the drive force to the changing roller pair 52 is separate from the drive source for transmitting the drive force to the first conveying means. Apart from that, the changing roller pair 52 can rotate at a different rotation speed from the conveyance roller pairs 51F and 51R.

In order to change the posture of the sheet S around the abutting point 54, it is necessary to nip the sheet S only by the changing roller pair 52 during the posture change of the sheet S. If the changing roller pair 52 and the other roller pair simultaneously nip the sheet S, the conveying force in the left-right direction becomes strong, and it becomes difficult for the sheet S to rotate about the abutting point 55. Is. The sheet S whose posture has been changed to the vertical direction is conveyed to the pull-out roller pairs 55F and 55R along the guide surface 56 provided on the abutting wall 53, and is pulled by the pull-out roller pairs 55F and 55R, which is the third conveying means, between the sheets. It is sent to the adjusting means 600.

Each conveyance means and sheet conveyance distance will be described with reference to FIG. Let L1 be the length of the long side of the sheet S, and let a be the distance in the left-right direction Y from the abutting point 54 to the leading edge of the sheet immediately after changing the posture (during vertical feeding). Also, the distance in the left-right direction Y from the abutting point 54 to the changing roller pair 52 is b, and the distance in the left-right direction Y from the changing roller pair 52 to the pull-out roller pairs 55F and 55R is c. (Here, the distance to the changing roller pair 52 is considered based on the rotation axis 52i of the changing roller pair 52 shown in FIG. 8. Similarly, the distance to the pull-out roller pair 55F, 55R is the same as that in FIG. Consider the rotation axis 55i of the pull-out roller pair 55F, 55R as the reference, and similarly, the distance to the conveyance roller pair 51F, 51R is considered with the rotation axis 51i of the conveyance roller pair 51F, 51R shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the rotation axis 52i of the changing roller pair 52 is parallel to the rotation axes 55i of the pull-out roller pairs 55F and 55R, and the drive transmission mechanism has a simple structure when the drive source is shared. There is an effect that is easy to do.

In order to change the posture of the sheet, it is necessary to perform the nip only with the changing roller pair 52. In other words, while the sheet conveyance direction is being changed, the changing roller pair 52 and the pull-out roller pairs 55F and 55R need to be arranged so that the sheets S are not conveyed at the same time. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange the sheet S so that the sheet S does not reach the pull-out rollers 55F and 55R during the change of the sheet posture. That is, the formula (1) must be satisfied.
(A+b)<c (1)
That is, rather than the sum of the distance a from the butting wall 53 to the end of the sheet S and the distance b from the butting wall 53 to the changing roller pair 52 in the state of hitting the butting wall 53, the pull-out roller pair The distance c from 55F, 55R to the changing roller pair 52 is larger.

Further, in order to convey the sheet S after the posture of the sheet S is changed, it is necessary that the changing roller pair 52 and the pull-out roller pair 55F and 55R are simultaneously nipping when the sheet S is in the vertical orientation, that is, Equation (2) must be satisfied.
c<L1 (2)

By arranging the pair of changing rollers 52 and the pair of pulling rollers 55F and 55R so as to satisfy the above conditions, the posture of the sheet S can be changed and conveyed. Further, in order to rotate the sheet S to change the posture, a transport distance of at least a is required. In this embodiment, a=150 mm, b=40 mm, and c=270 mm (L1=297 mm) are set so that the sheet S of A4 size can be handled.

In order to change the transport direction of the sheet S, the above conditions are required for the length of the sheet S, the positional relationship between the transport members, and the transport distance of the sheet S. The changing/conveying means 500 needs to be able to handle a commonly used A4 size sheet S. Since it corresponds to the A4 size sheet S, at least a length of a=150 mm is required.

In the case where the pair of changing rollers 52 and the pair of conveying rollers 51F and 51R are configured so as not to convey the sheet S at the same time while changing the sheet conveying direction, when the pair of conveying rollers 51F and 51R are configured, the pair of conveying rollers 51F and 51R are formed. The following configurations are possible. For example, by using the pair of transport rollers 51F and 51R as slip rollers, the pair of transport rollers 51F and 51R slip with respect to the sheet S even when the pair of transport rollers 51F and 51R contact the transported sheet S. Therefore, the conveyance roller pairs 51F and 51R are prevented from obstructing the conveyance of the sheet S.

Next, an adjusting unit that adjusts a sheet interval, which is a distance in the transport direction between the preceding sheet and the succeeding sheet, which are two sheets that are continuously conveyed, will be described. FIG. 6 discloses an outline of the sheet interval adjusting unit 600 (60 to 66) which is an adjusting unit. The paper interval adjusting means 600 includes a pair of carrying rollers 61, 62, 63 as adjusting and carrying means. The pair of transport rollers 61 and 62 are driven at least at a speed V3 or a speed V4 by a motor A, which is a drive source (not shown). V3 is the same as the transport speed of the printer 100, and V4 is faster than V3. The conveyance roller pair 63, which is an adjustment conveyance member, is driven at the same speed as the registration rollers 17 by a motor B, which is a drive source (not shown).

That is, the conveying roller pair 63 is normally at the speed V3, and the acceleration/deceleration control is performed according to the situation of the printer 100. Reference numerals 60, 64, and 65 are sheet detection sensors that are detection members that detect the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the leading edge and the trailing edge of a sheet during continuous sheet feeding. 9, the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents distance. Qt is the leading edge of the first sheet, Qe is the trailing edge of the first sheet, Rt is the leading edge of the second sheet, and Re is the second sheet. The rear end is shown.

First, the operation of the first sheet will be described. The first sheet fed from the feeding deck 300 and having its posture changed by approximately 90 degrees by the changing/conveying means 500 reaches the conveying roller 55 at the speed V3 and the sheet front end at time t1. It is detected by the detection sensor 60. The time t1 is often deviated from the expected timing due to the influence of conveyance variation when the posture of the sheet is converted by 90 degrees.

The sheet interval adjusting means 600 calculates the target position of the leading edge and the amount of deviation of the sheet based on the time t1, and at the time t2, accelerates the pair of transport rollers 55, 61, 62 to the speed V4 to bring the sheet to the target position. When it reaches the time t3, the speed is reduced to the speed V3. After that, the first sheet is conveyed by the conveying roller pair 63 at a speed V3, enters the printer 100, and reaches the registration roller pair 17. After that, the image forming operation as described in (2) is performed.

Next, the operation of the second sheet will be described. Assuming that the image forming interval of the printer 100 is tp, the feeding of the second sheet is started from the feeding deck unit 300 tp hours after the first sheet is fed. The second sheet of which the posture of the sheet has been converted by the changing/conveying means 500 by approximately 90 degrees reaches the conveying roller 55 at the speed V3 and the sheet front end is detected by the sheet front end detection sensor 60 at time t3. The time t3 is often deviated from the expected timing due to the influence of conveyance variation when the posture of the sheet is converted by 90 degrees.

The sheet interval adjusting means 600 calculates the target position of the leading edge and the amount of deviation of the sheet based on the time t3 calculated from the detection result, and accelerates the pair of conveyance rollers 55, 61, 62 to the speed V4 at the time t5. At time t6 when the seat reaches the intended line, the speed is reduced to V3. After that, the second sheet is conveyed by the conveying roller pair 63 at the speed V3, enters the printer 100, and reaches the registration roller pair 17. After that, the image forming operation as described in (2) is performed.

In this way, the preceding sheet and the succeeding sheet are controlled to be accelerated and decelerated so that the leading edge of the sheet is conveyed as intended, so that the distance between the sheets can be narrowed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the change in the sheet conveyance interval by the sheet interval adjusting unit 600.

Further, by using the configuration of this embodiment, the feeding deck 300 in which the sheets S are stored in the horizontal direction can be connected to the printer 100 that conveys the sheets S in the vertical direction, and the vertical direction Z of the entire image forming system 201 can be determined. It is possible to suppress the increase.

A comparative example will be described with reference to FIG. The image forming system 201 shown by A in FIG. 10 has the configuration of this embodiment. An image forming system 701 shown by B in FIG. 10 has a configuration of a comparative example. The image forming system 701 does not include the changing/conveying device 400, but has a configuration in which the feeding deck 700 is connected to the printer 100 as an optional device.

T1 and T2 shown in the image forming system 201 of FIG. 10 indicate respective sheet stacking heights of the sheet bundles SaA and SaB stored in the feeding deck 300. If T1>T2, the feeding deck 300 must have a height of at least T1 mm.

Sb indicated by the image forming system 701 in FIG. 10 indicates a sheet bundle stored in the feeding deck 700. The sheet bundle Sb is the total of the sheet bundles SaA and SaB stored in the feeding deck 300, that is, Sb=SaA+SaB. Since the stacking height of the sheet bundle Sb is (T1+T2) mm, the height of the feeding deck 700 needs to be at least (T1+T2). In the present embodiment, the changing conveying device 400 is required to change the conveying direction of the sheets S, but the height T3 of the changing conveying device 400 is the sheet stacking height T2 of the sheet bundle SaB as shown in FIG. Smaller than. Therefore, the difference T4 in height between the apparatus of this example and the comparative example is T4=T2-T3.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the height can be suppressed by T4 mm with respect to the configuration in which the conveyance direction of the sheet S is not changed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the feeding deck 300 in which two sheet storage portions capable of storing the A4 size sheet S in the horizontal direction are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction Y is used, and the change conveyance means 500 is installed in the horizontal portion. Thus, the overall height of the image forming system 201 can be reduced.

Further, the changed transport device may be arranged on the side of the feeding deck 300. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the image forming system 202 in which the changed conveyance device 1100 is arranged on the right side of the feeding deck 300. The printer 100 and the feeding deck 300 have the same configurations as those in the first embodiment.

The sheet fed by the feeding deck unit 300 is conveyed to the change conveyance device 1100. In the changed conveyance apparatus 1100, first, the conveyance roller pairs 121 and 122 of the changed conveyance means 1200 and the abutting wall 123 convert the posture of the laterally oriented sheet to approximately 90 degrees to make it vertically. The vertically converted sheet is adjusted to a target position by the conveyance roller pairs 131, 132, 133 and the sheet leading edge detection sensor 136 included in the sheet interval adjusting unit 1300. The sheet is conveyed to the printer 100 after being conveyed by the pair of conveying rollers 134 and 135. Even with such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the change in the sheet conveyance interval, as in the first embodiment.

100 Printer 300 Feeding Deck 400 Change Conveying Device 500 Change Conveying Means 600 Adjusting Means

Claims (14)

An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a conveyed sheet, and a conveying apparatus that conveys a sheet that is connectable to both a sheet feeding apparatus that feeds the sheet toward the image forming apparatus,
The image forming apparatus conveys the sheet in a first direction in which either the long side or the short side of the sheet is parallel to the sheet conveying direction,
The feeding device conveys the sheet in a second direction in which the other of the long side and the short side of the sheet is parallel to the sheet conveying direction,
The transport device transports the first sheet stored in the storage portion of the transport device from the transport device when the first sheet is transported from the transport device to the transport device in the second direction. A changing and conveying means for changing the conveying direction of the formed first sheet to the first direction, and the first sheet whose conveying direction is changed to the first direction by the changing and conveying means. Adjusting means for changing the carrying speed of the sheet according to the state of the image forming apparatus. The change conveyance means includes a first conveyance means that conveys the first sheet in the second direction, a reference member that comes into contact with the first sheet conveyed by the first conveyance means, and A second transport unit that transports the first sheet that is in contact with a reference member, and transports the first sheet whose transport direction has been changed to the first direction by the second transport unit and the reference member. And a third transport means for
The second conveying unit and the third conveying unit do not convey the first sheet at the same time by the second conveying unit and the third conveying unit while changing the conveying direction of the first sheet. The transporting device according to claim 1, wherein the transporting devices are arranged as described above. The third conveyance unit is more than the sum of the distance from the reference member to the end of the first sheet and the distance from the reference member to the second conveyance unit in the state of abutting the reference member. The transport device according to claim 2, wherein the distance from the second transport means to the second transport means is larger. The conveyance device is connected to the image forming device and the feeding device in a state of being arranged on the lower side of the image forming device and on the upper side of the feeding device,
The first direction is a direction in which the long side of the sheet is parallel to the sheet conveying direction,
The second direction is a direction in which the short side of the sheet is parallel to the sheet conveying direction,
The changing/conveying unit changes the conveying direction of the first sheet from the second direction to the first direction in a substantially horizontal area between the image forming apparatus and the feeding apparatus. The transport device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that. The first conveying unit includes a plurality of conveying roller pairs, and the second conveying unit includes a changing roller pair for changing the sheet conveying direction from the second direction to the first direction. The third conveying unit includes a pull-out roller pair for separating the first sheet from the reference member, and the rotation axis of the changing roller pair is parallel to the rotation axis of the conveyance roller pair. The transport device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein: The adjusting unit includes a detection member that detects the leading edge of the first sheet whose conveyance direction has been changed to the first direction by the changing conveyance unit, and the detection unit detects the leading edge of the first sheet based on the detection result of the detection member. The transport apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the position of the first sheet is adjusted by controlling the transport speed of the first sheet to be accelerated or decelerated. The conveyance device according to claim 2, wherein the guide surface is arranged with the center position of the sheet conveyed in the image forming apparatus as a reference. An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a conveyed sheet,
A feeding device that feeds a sheet toward the image forming apparatus,
An image forming system comprising: the image forming apparatus and a conveying device that is connected to the feeding device and conveys a sheet,
The image forming apparatus conveys the sheet in a first direction in which either the long side or the short side of the sheet is parallel to the sheet conveying direction,
The feeding device conveys the sheet in a second direction in which the other of the long side and the short side of the sheet is parallel to the sheet conveying direction,
The transport device transports the first sheet stored in the storage portion of the transport device from the transport device when the first sheet is transported from the transport device to the transport device in the second direction. A changing and conveying means for changing the conveying direction of the formed first sheet to the first direction, and the first sheet whose conveying direction is changed to the first direction by the changing and conveying means. And an adjusting unit that changes the conveyance speed of the sheet according to the state of the image forming apparatus. The change conveyance means includes a first conveyance means that conveys the first sheet in the second direction, a reference member that comes into contact with the first sheet conveyed by the first conveyance means, and A second transport unit that transports the first sheet that is in contact with a reference member, and transports the first sheet whose transport direction has been changed to the first direction by the second transport unit and the reference member. And a third transport means for
The second transporting unit and the third transporting unit are respectively arranged so that the first sheet is not transported simultaneously by the second transporting unit and the third transporting unit. The image forming system according to claim 8. The third conveyance unit is more than the sum of the distance from the reference member to the end of the first sheet and the distance from the reference member to the second conveyance unit in the state of abutting the reference member. The image forming system according to claim 9, wherein a distance from the second conveying unit to the second conveying unit is larger. The carrying device is connected to the image forming device and the feeding device in a state of being arranged on a lower side of the image forming device and an upper side of the feeding device,
The first direction is a direction in which the long side of the sheet is parallel to the sheet conveying direction,
The second direction is a direction in which the short side of the sheet is parallel to the sheet conveying direction,
The change conveyance unit changes the conveyance direction of the first sheet from the second direction to the first direction in a substantially horizontal area between the image forming apparatus and the feeding apparatus. The image forming system according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that. The first conveying unit includes a plurality of conveying roller pairs, and the second conveying unit includes a changing roller pair for changing the sheet conveying direction from the second direction to the first direction. The third conveying unit includes a pull-out roller pair for separating the first sheet from the reference member, and the rotation axis of the changing roller pair is parallel to the rotation axis of the conveyance roller pair. The image forming system according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that. The image forming system according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the guide surface is arranged with reference to the central position of the sheet conveyed in the image forming apparatus. The adjusting unit includes a detection member that detects the leading edge of the first sheet whose conveyance direction has been changed to the first direction by the changing conveyance unit, and the detection unit detects the leading edge of the first sheet based on the detection result of the detection member. 14. The image forming system according to claim 8, wherein the position of the first sheet is adjusted by controlling the conveyance speed of the first sheet to be accelerated or decelerated.

Images