JP2021107288A - Sheet conveyance device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a configuration that can correct positional deviation of a sheet in a width direction while suppressing increase in size of a device.SOLUTION: A sheet conveyance device includes a pair of regulation guides 14A, 14B capable of guiding both end edges in a sheet width direction Y of a sheet S1 which is conveyed while being nipped by a conveyor belt 12 and a spherical body 20. The pair of regulation guides 14A, 14B can move to both of the guide position of guiding both end edges of a sheet and a retreat position of retreating from both end edges of the sheet as compared to the guide position. A guide moving part for moving the pair of regulation guides 14A, 14B causes the pair of regulation guides 14A, 14B to reach the guide position from the retreat position after a trailing end of the sheet S1 which is passed to the conveyor belt 12 from an upstream conveyance roller pair 401 passes through the conveyance roller pair 401.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet transport device for transporting sheets.

In a sheet transport device for transporting a sheet, there is a possibility that the position of the sheet may be displaced due to various factors during the transfer of the sheet. Then, when the image is conveyed to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on the sheet while the misalignment occurs, a problem such as an image being displaced with respect to the sheet occurs. For this reason, a sheet transfer device that corrects the misalignment of the sheet during transfer is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration having a fixed reference guide provided on one side in the width direction intersecting the sheet transport direction, a transport belt provided at an angle with respect to the reference guide, and a sphere. .. In the case of the sheet transfer device described in Patent Document 1, the sheet is conveyed while being sandwiched between the transfer belt and the sphere so that the widthwise end edge of the sheet is abutted against the reference guide. Then, the side register of the seat (misalignment of the edge in the width direction of the seat) and the side skew (the inclination of the edge in the width direction of the seat with respect to the seat transport direction) are corrected at the same time.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-21709

In the case of the sheet transfer device described in Patent Document 1, the sheet is conveyed by the inclined transfer belt, and the widthwise edge of the sheet is abutted against the reference guide. That is, the sheet is transported diagonally to correct the misalignment. Therefore, it is necessary to transport the sheet until the sheet is abutted against the reference guide, and further, it is necessary to convey the sheet to some extent even after the sheet is abutted. Therefore, there is a risk that the device will become large in size in order to secure the length for transporting the sheet in this way.

An object of the present invention is to provide a configuration capable of correcting a misalignment in the width direction of a sheet while suppressing an increase in size of the apparatus.

The present invention is a sheet transport device that receives and transports a sheet transported by a transport member that transports the sheet in a predetermined transport direction, and is provided on the downstream side of the transport member in the predetermined transport direction and is provided in the predetermined transport direction. An endless transport belt having a transport surface extending in the transport direction and transporting a sheet delivered to the transport surface in the predetermined transport direction, and an endless transport belt at a position facing the transport surface in the transport direction. A plurality of spheres that are arranged and can rotate in an arbitrary direction while sandwiching a sheet between the transfer surface and the transfer belt are arranged on both sides of the transfer belt with respect to a sheet width direction intersecting the transfer direction. A pair of regulation guides capable of guiding both end edges of the sheet in the seat width direction while being sandwiched between the spheres, and a guide position for guiding the pair of regulation guides on both end edges of the sheet in the sheet width direction. The guide moving means is provided with a guide moving means that can move from the guide position to a retracted position retracted from both end edges in the seat width direction of the seat, and the guide moving means is delivered from the conveying member to the conveying belt. After the rear end of the sheet has passed through the transport member, the pair of regulation guides is made to reach the guide position from the retracted position.

The present invention is a sheet transport device that receives and transports a sheet transported by a transport member that transports the sheet in a predetermined transport direction, and is provided on the downstream side of the transport member in the predetermined transport direction and is provided in the predetermined transport direction. An endless transport belt having a transport surface extending in the transport direction and transporting a sheet delivered to the transport surface in the predetermined transport direction, and an endless transport belt at a position facing the transport surface in the transport direction. A plurality of spheres that are arranged and can rotate in an arbitrary direction while sandwiching the sheet between the transfer surface and the transfer belt are arranged on both sides of the transfer belt with respect to the seat width direction intersecting the transfer direction. A pair of regulation guides capable of guiding both end edges of the sheet to be conveyed while being sandwiched by the sphere and one of the pair of regulation guides are provided in the sheet width direction of the sheet. It is possible to move to the first guide position for guiding one end edge and the first retracted position retracted from the one end edge of the sheet from the first guide position, and the other regulation guide of the pair of regulation guides can be moved. , A guide moving means capable of moving to a second guide position for guiding the other end edge of the sheet in the sheet width direction and a second retracted position retracted from the other end edge of the sheet from the second guide position. The guide moving means causes one of the regulation guides to reach the first guide position after the rear end of the sheet delivered from the transport member to the transport belt has passed through the transport member. The feature is that the other regulation guide is positioned at the second retracted position, then the other regulated guide reaches the second guide position, and the one regulated guide is moved to the first retracted position. And.

According to the present invention, it is possible to correct the misalignment in the width direction of the sheet while suppressing the increase in size of the device.

Schematic sectional view of the image forming system according to the embodiment. The perspective view of the relay transport device which concerns on embodiment. The plan view of the relay transport device which concerns on embodiment. The side view of the relay transport device which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view around a support configuration of a transport belt of the relay transport device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the relay transfer device according to the embodiment. (A) perspective view, (b) (a) left side view, (c) cross-sectional view cut along the sheet transport direction, (d) sheet transport of the regulation guide according to the embodiment. A cross-sectional view cut in a direction orthogonal to the direction. The perspective view which shows the contact / separation mechanism of the transport roller which concerns on embodiment. A side view showing (a) a nip state of the transfer roller and (b) a nip release state of the transfer roller of the transfer roller contact / detachment mechanism according to the embodiment. In the figure explaining the operation of the regulation guide which concerns on embodiment, (a) the state of accepting a sheet, (b) the state where the rear end of a sheet has passed through the transport roller, and (c) the state of misalignment correction of a sheet are shown. , (D) The figure which shows the acceptance state of the 2nd sheet respectively. In the embodiment, the figure for explaining that the succeeding sheet does not hit the regulation guide at the time of correcting the misalignment of the preceding sheet. In the figure explaining the operation of the regulation guide when the sheet is thick paper, (a) the state where the sheet is conveyed on the transfer belt, (b) the state where one end edge of the sheet is abutted, and (c) the state of the sheet. The figure which shows the abutting state of the other end edge respectively. In the figure explaining the nip release timing of the transfer roller when the sheet is long, (a) the state where the sheet is conveyed on the transfer belt and (b) the state where the nip of the transfer roller on the downstream side is released are shown. The figure which shows. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a relay transfer device in a state where the facing members according to the embodiment are in facing positions. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a relay transfer device in a state where the opposing member according to the embodiment is in the take-out position. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a relay transfer device showing a state in which a seat is pushed by a regulation guide on the rear side in a state where the opening / closing guide according to the embodiment is opened.

The embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 16. First, the image forming system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[Image formation system]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of an image forming system including a multi-stage feeding device and an image forming device according to the present embodiment. In the following description, as an image forming apparatus having an image forming unit, a laser printer system using an electrophotographic method (hereinafter, simply referred to as a printer) will be described as an example. The image forming apparatus constituting the image forming system may be a copying machine, a facsimile, a multifunction device, or the like, in addition to the printer. Further, the image forming apparatus may be configured by another method such as an inkjet method regardless of the electrophotographic method.

The image forming system 1000 of the present embodiment includes an image forming device 100, a multi-stage feeding device 200 as a sheet feeding device connected to the image forming device 100, and a feeding deck 500. As will be described in detail later, the multi-stage feeding device 200 has a plurality of storages each capable of storing a plurality of sheets, and the sheets can be fed from each storage to the image forming apparatus 100. .. Further, the feeding deck 500 also has a storage storage capable of storing a plurality of sheets, and is arranged on the upstream side of the multi-stage feeding device 200 in the sheet transport direction. Further, the sheets fed from the feeding deck 500 are conveyed to the image forming apparatus 100 via the relay conveying device 400 provided in the multi-stage feeding device 200. Examples of the sheet include plain paper, thin paper, thick paper and the like, and a plastic sheet.

The image forming apparatus 100 receives a toner image (image) in response to an image signal from a host device such as a personal computer that is communicably connected to the document reading device 102 connected to the image forming apparatus main body 101 or the image forming apparatus main body 101. ) Is formed on the sheet. In the case of the present embodiment, the document reading device 102 is arranged on the upper side of the image forming device main body 101.

When the document reading device 102 reads the document, the document placed on the platen glass 103 is irradiated with light by a scanning optical system light source, and the reflected light is input to the CCD to read the document image. I have to. Further, the document reading device 102 includes an automatic document transporting device (ADF) 104, and the document placed on the tray 105 is automatically transported by the ADF 104 to the reading unit of the document reading device 102 to obtain a document image. It is also possible to read. Then, the read original image is converted into an electric signal and transmitted to the laser scanner 113 of the image forming unit 110, which will be described later. As described above, the laser scanner 113 may input image data transmitted from a personal computer or the like.

The image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming unit 110, a plurality of sheet feeding devices 120, a sheet conveying device 130, and the like. Each unit of the image forming apparatus 100 is controlled by the control unit 140. The control unit 140 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The CPU controls each part while reading a program corresponding to the control procedure stored in the ROM. Further, work data and input data are stored in the RAM, and the CPU controls by referring to the data stored in the RAM based on the above-mentioned program or the like.

Each of the plurality of seat feeding devices 120 includes a cassette 121 for accommodating the seat S, a pickup roller 122, and a separate transfer roller pair 125 composed of a feed roller 123 and a retard roller 124. The sheets S housed in the cassette 121 are separated and fed one by one by a pickup roller 122 that moves up and down at a predetermined timing and rotates, and a separation transfer roller pair 125.

The sheet transfer device 130 includes a transfer roller pair 131 and a resist roller pair 133. The sheet S fed from the sheet feeding device 120 is guided to the resist roller pair 133 after being passed through the sheet transport path 134 by the transport roller pair 131. After that, the sheet S is fed to the image forming unit 110 at a predetermined timing by the resist roller pair 133.

The sheets transported from the multi-stage feeding device 200 and the feeding deck 500, which will be described later, via the transport roller pair 201 are conveyed into the image forming apparatus 100 via the connection path 202 with the image forming apparatus 100. Then, the sheet conveyed from the multi-stage feeding device 200 or the feeding deck 500 into the image forming apparatus 100 has a resist roller pair 133, similarly to the sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding device 120 in the image forming apparatus 100. It is sent to the image forming unit 110 at a predetermined timing via the image forming unit 110.

The image forming unit 110 includes a photosensitive drum 111, a charger 112, a laser scanner 113, a developer 114, a transfer device 115, a cleaner 117, and the like. At the time of image formation, the photosensitive drum 111 is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and first, the surface of the photosensitive drum 111 is uniformly charged by the charger 112. Then, the charged photosensitive drum 111 is irradiated with the laser beam from the laser scanner 113 that emits light in response to the image signal, so that an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 111. Further, the electrostatic latent image thus formed on the photosensitive drum 111 is subsequently visualized as a toner image by the developing device 114.

After that, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 111 is transferred to the sheet S by the transfer device 115 at the transfer unit 116. Further, the sheet S on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 150 to fix the toner image, and then is discharged to the discharge tray 152 outside the machine by the discharge roller 151.

When forming a toner image on the back surface of the sheet S, the sheet S discharged from the fixing device 150 is conveyed to the reverse transfer path 160. Then, the sheet S is conveyed again to the transfer unit 116 of the image forming unit 110 in a state where the front and back sides are inverted by the inversion transfer path 160. The sheet S on which the toner image is transferred on the back surface is conveyed to the fixing device 150, the toner image is fixed, and then the sheet S is discharged to the discharge tray 152 by the discharge roller 151. The transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 111 after transfer is removed by the cleaner 117.

[Multi-stage feeder]
Subsequently, the outline of the multi-stage feeding device 200 will be described with reference to FIG. The multi-stage feeding device 200 includes a plurality of storages 210a to 210c, a relay transporting device 400, and the like. In the present embodiment, the three storages 210a to 210c are arranged vertically in three stages, and the relay transfer device 400 is arranged between the bottom storage 210c and the second storage 210b from the top.

The sheet fed from the top storage 210a is transported to the transport path 212, and the sheet fed from the second storage 210b from the top is transported to the transport path 213 and stored at the bottom. The sheet supplied from the storage 210c is transported to the transport path 214. Further, the sheet conveyed from the relay transfer device 400 is conveyed to the transfer path 215. The transport path 213 joins the transport path 212 on the way. Further, the transport paths 212, 214, and 215 merge at the confluence point 216, are transported to the transport roller pair 201 through the transport path 217, and are transported to the image forming apparatus 100 via the connection path 202.

Further, a double feed detection sensor for detecting double feed of sheets is arranged in each of the transport path 212, the relay transport device 400, and the transport path 214 after merging with the transport path 213. Then, the sheet whose double feed is detected by the double feed detection sensor is transported to the transport path 217. Below the transport path 217, a double feed sheet accommodating portion (escape tray) 218 for accommodating the sheet in which double feed is detected is arranged. The sheet transported to the transport path 217 after the double feed is detected is transported to the double feed sheet accommodating portion by switching the transport path by the switching member 219 provided in the transport path 217.

Further, each unit of the multi-stage feeding device 200 is controlled by the control unit 203. The control unit 203 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). Further, the control unit 203 can communicate with the control unit 140 of the image forming apparatus 100, and controls the sheet feeding timing and the like by communicating with the control unit 140.

The sheet fed from the feed deck 500 on the upstream side is transported to the relay transfer device 400 through the transfer path 512. Further, in the multi-stage feeding device 200, the sheet can be fed even by manual feeding. The sheet fed by hand is conveyed to the transfer path 510 that joins the transfer path 512, and is conveyed to the relay transfer device 400 via the transfer path 512 by the transfer roller pair 511.

The relay transfer device 400 includes a position shift correction unit 410 including a transfer belt 12 and the like, which will be described in detail below. A transport roller pair 401 as a transport member is arranged on the upstream side of the misalignment correction unit 410 in the sheet transport direction, and a transport roller pair 402 is arranged on the downstream side of the misalignment correction unit 410 in the sheet transport direction. The sheet transported along the transport path 512 is fed to the misalignment correction unit 410 by the transport roller pair 401. After the side register (misalignment of the edge in the width direction of the seat) and side skew (tilt of the edge in the width direction of the seat with respect to the seat transport direction) are corrected by the misalignment correction unit 410, the seat is subjected to the transport roller pair 402 on the downstream side. Handed over to. Then, it is conveyed to the transfer path 215 by the transfer rollers pairs 402 and 403. In this way, the relay transfer device 400 corrects the misalignment of the sheet transported from the feed deck 500 or the like on the upstream side, and delivers the sheet to the image forming device 100 on the downstream side.

[Relay transport device]
Next, the relay transfer device 400 as the sheet transfer device will be described. First, the schematic configuration of the relay transfer device 400 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6. The relay transfer device 400 receives and conveys the sheet conveyed by the transfer roller pair 401 as the transfer member that conveys the sheet in the transfer direction (predetermined transfer direction) X. That is, the sheet is delivered from the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side to the above-mentioned misalignment correction unit 410, and after the misalignment correction of the sheet is performed, the sheet is delivered from the misalignment correction unit 410 to the transport roller pair 402 on the downstream side. .. As shown in FIG. 3, the transport roller pairs 401 and 402 are composed of two roller portions in which the drive roller and the driven roller are separated from each other in the direction of the rotation axis. In particular, the width of the transport roller pair 402 on the downstream side (the length in the width direction Y, the upper end and the lower side of the upper roller portion of the two roller portions arranged in the rotation axis direction of the transport roller pair 402 shown in FIG. 3). The distance from the lower end of the roller portion) is larger than the width of the transport belt 12 (the length in the width direction Y). The misalignment correction unit 410 includes a transport belt 12, a plurality of spheres 20, a pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B, a guide moving unit 420, and the like.

The transport belt 12 is arranged on the downstream side (downstream side in the transport direction) of the transport roller pair 401 as a transport member that transports the sheet in the transport direction X. The transport belt 12 is an endless belt that is hung on the pulleys 11A and 11B, and has a transport surface 12A that extends in the transport direction X. A motor M1 as a drive source is connected to the pulley 11A on one side, and the transport belt 12 is rotated by the drive of the motor M1. Such a transport belt 12 transports the sheet delivered from the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side in the transport direction X to the transport surface 12A in the transport direction X.

A plurality of spheres 20 are arranged in the transport direction X at positions facing the transport surface 12A of the transport belt 12. The sphere 20 is arranged so that the center position is the center reference position of the seat. That is, the position where the centers of the spheres 20 are lined up is the center reference position of the seat. Here, the center reference position is a position where both the first sheet and the second sheet (that is, regardless of the size of the sheet) having different sheet widths are in the center in the sheet width direction. Furthermore, the sphere 20 is arranged at the center position of the distance between the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B. The regulation guide of any one of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B may be fixed.

Further, the direction in which the plurality of spheres 20 are lined up coincides with the guide direction of the seat by the guide surfaces 15A (FIG. 6) of the regulation guides 14A and 14B described later. The guide directions of the regulation guides 14A and 14B and the transport direction X of the transport belt 12 are substantially the same.

In this embodiment, the plurality of spheres 20 are arranged above the transport belt 12. The plurality of spheres 20 can rotate in an arbitrary direction while sandwiching the sheet with the transport surface 12A. For this purpose, the plurality of spheres 20 are rotatably held in the arbitrary direction by the holding plate 18 provided above the transport belt 12, respectively. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the holding plate 18 is a long plate arranged above the transport belt 12 at a position separated from the transport surface 12A by a predetermined distance along the transport direction X. It has a plurality of holding holes 18A spaced apart from each other in the transport direction X. Then, the spheres 20 are rotatably held in the holding holes 18A, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sphere 20 is exposed from the holding hole 18A, placed on the transport surface 12A of the transport belt 12, and is rotatable in any direction. Each of the spheres 20 is in contact with the transport surface 12A due to its own weight. The number of spheres 20 may be set according to the pressing force required for the sheet transported on the transport belt 12. Further, since the sphere 20 is transported while slipping on the transport belt 12 as described later, it is preferably made of a material such as glass or plastic having a relatively low coefficient of friction. In the present embodiment, the configuration in which a plurality of spheres 20 are arranged in one row along the transport direction X has been described, but the plurality of spheres 20 are arranged in a plurality of rows such as two rows in the transport direction X, respectively. You can do it.

This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. The relay transfer device 400 has a holding plate 18 that rotatably holds a plurality of spheres 20, and a transfer belt support member 481 arranged below the holding plate 18. The transport belt support member 481 is composed of a long plate member extending along the transport direction X, similarly to the holding plate 18. As shown in FIG. 5, in the transport belt support member 481, the central portion 482 in the seat width direction projects upward, and the relatively narrow and flat transport belt support surface 483 extends over substantially the entire length in the transport direction X. Is forming. The transport belt support member 481 is arranged so as to face the holding plate 18 vertically so that the sphere 20 is located at the center position of the transport belt support surface 483 in the seat width direction.

It is desirable that the sphere 20 is arranged at the center position of the distance between the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B and at the center position of the transport belt support surface 483 in the seat width direction, but is opposed to the transport belt support surface 483. Some deviation can be tolerated as long as it is in the correct position.

In the transport belt support member 481, the side portions 484 on both sides of the central portion 482 in the seat width direction extend slightly outward from the side ends of the transport belt 12 in the seat width direction, and their outer ends are bent downward. It is fixed to the lower frame body 485 of the relay transfer device 400. The lower frame body 485 has mounting end wall pieces 485a and 485b extending outward in the seat width direction at both ends in the transport direction X, respectively. It is fixed to the relay transfer device 400 side (for example, the housing 470 (FIG. 14 described later)) by the stopping means. By supporting the transport belt 12 with such a transport belt support member 481, the central portion 12B of the transport belt 12 is pushed up by the central portion 482 of the transport belt support member 481, and the endless transport belt 12 facing in the vertical direction The distance between the central portions of the conveyor belt 12 is longer than the distance between the end portions of the transport belt 12.

As shown in FIG. 5, the holding plate 18 is fixed on the upper frame body 486 of the relay transfer device 400. The upper frame body 486 has mounting end wall pieces 486a, 468b, 486c, and 486d extending outward in the seat width direction at both ends in the transport direction X, respectively. It is fixed to the relay transfer device 400 side (for example, the housing 470) by an appropriate stopping means. As a result, the holding plate 18 and the transport belt support member 481 are at positions where a plurality of spheres 20 are rotatably held on the transport surface 12A of the transport belt 12 at the center position of the transport belt support surface 483 in the seat width direction. The relationship is maintained.

The transport belt support member 481 is provided with a plurality of blocking members 490 along the transport direction X on the side side portions 484 on both sides in the seat width direction. The outer end of the blocking member 490 in the seat width direction extends outward by a predetermined width from both side ends of the transport belt 12 in the seat width direction. An outward blocking surface 491 is provided at the outer end of the blocking member 490 in the sheet width direction. For example, when jamming an envelope, the flap portion of the envelope engages with the blocking surface 491 to cause a transport belt. It prevents it from getting caught in 12.

The pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are arranged on both sides of the transport belt 12 with respect to the seat width direction Y intersecting the transport direction X (the direction orthogonal to the transport direction in this embodiment). Then, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B can guide both end edges (both end edges in the seat width direction) of the sheet to be conveyed while being sandwiched between the transfer belt 12 and the sphere 20. The regulation guide 14B arranged on one side in the seat width direction Y can guide one end edge of the seat to be conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveying belt 12 and the sphere 20. Further, the regulation guide 14A arranged on the other side with respect to the seat width direction Y can guide the other end edge of the seat to be conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveying belt 12 and the sphere 20.

As shown in FIG. 6, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B have a side plate portion 15, a lower plate portion 16, and an upper plate portion 17, respectively, and are surrounded by these plate portions 15, 16 and 17, respectively. The end portion of the sheet S transported by the transport belt 12 can enter the space. The pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are supported by the support shafts 421A and 421B (see FIG. 3) so as to be movable between the guide position and the retracted position by the guide moving portion 420 described later. The support shafts 421A and 421B are arranged substantially parallel to the seat width direction Y, respectively, and support the end side of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B in the transport direction X. The pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B can move along the support shafts 421A and 421B in the seat width direction Y.

The side plate portion 15 has a guide surface 15A facing the end edge (seat width direction end edge) of the sheet S that is conveyed while being sandwiched between the transfer belt 12 and the sphere 20 at the guide position. The guide surface 15A is arranged in parallel with the transport direction X. Further, the guide surface 15A is a surface orthogonal to the transport direction X and the sheet width direction Y, respectively, and in the present embodiment, is a surface along a substantially vertical direction.

The lower plate portion 16 is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the side plate portion 15, and at the guide position, the support surface that supports the edge of the sheet S that is conveyed while being sandwiched between the transfer belt 12 and the sphere 20 in the sheet width direction Y. It has 16A. The support surface 16A extends substantially horizontally from the lower end of the guide surface 15A in the vertical direction. Further, the support surface 16A is located below the transfer surface 12A of the transfer belt 12 in the vertical direction.

Here, suppose that the support surface 16A and the transport surface 12A have the same height, or the support surface 16A is located above the transport surface 12A in the vertical direction. In this case, the sheet S having high rigidity such as thick paper is conveyed between the conveying belt 12 and the sphere 20 in a downward curled state (a state in which both end edges in the width direction Y are lower than the center) as shown in FIG. When it comes, both end edges of the sheet S in the width direction Y are supported by the support surface 16A. At this time, the central portion of the seat S in the width direction Y is in a lifted state (bridged state), and the sphere 20 is pushed up. As a result, the transport belt 12 and the sphere 20 are separated from each other, and the transport force of the transport belt 12 is not transmitted to the sheet S, which may cause a transport defect. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the support surface 16A is arranged vertically below the transport surface 12A of the transport belt 12.

The upper plate portion 17 has a facing surface 17A that is arranged so as to face the support surface 16A. The facing surface 17A is located above the edge of the sheet S that is conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveying belt 12 and the sphere 20 at the guide position in the sheet width direction Y. Further, the facing surface 17A is formed substantially parallel to the supporting surface 16A.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the guide moving portion 420 moves the first moving portion 420A that moves the regulation guide 14A of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B and the regulation guide 14B on the other side. It has two moving parts 420B. Further, the guide moving unit 420 has a motor M2 that generates a driving force for moving the regulation guide 14A, and a motor M3 that generates a driving force for moving the regulation guide 14B on the other side.

The first moving portion 420A has a pair of pulleys 422A and 423A, an endless belt 424A spanned by both pulleys 422A and 423A, and a connecting portion 425A connecting the belt 424A and the regulation guide 14A. Similarly, the second moving portion 420B is a connection for connecting a pair of pulleys 422B and 423B, an endless belt 424B hung on both pulleys 422B and 423B, and a belt 424B and a regulation guide 14B on the other side. It has a part 425B and.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the first moving unit 420A is driven by the motor M2 as a driving source, and the second moving unit 420B is driven by the motor M3 as a driving source. That is, in the case of the present embodiment, the motors as the drive sources for moving the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are separated, and the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B can be moved independently. For this purpose, the pulley 422A of the first moving portion 420A is connected to the pulley 427A via the connecting shaft 426A, and the pulley 427A is hung with the belt 428A between the pulley and the pulley which is rotationally driven by the motor M2. ing. Then, the rotational drive of the motor M2 is transmitted to the belt 424A via the belt 428A, the pulley 427A, the connecting shaft 426A, and the pulley 422A. As described above, since the regulation guide 14A is connected to the belt 424A via the connecting portion 425A, the regulation guide 14A is moved in the seat width direction Y along the support shafts 421A and 421B by driving the motor M2. Moving.

Similarly, the pulley 422B of the second moving portion 420B is connected to the pulley 427B via the connecting shaft 426B, and the pulley 427B is hung with the belt 428B between the pulley and the pulley which is rotationally driven by the motor M3. There is. Then, the rotational drive of the motor M3 is transmitted to the belt 424B via the belt 428B, the pulley 427B, the connecting shaft 426B, and the pulley 422B. As described above, since the regulation guide 14B on the other side is connected to the belt 424B via the connecting portion 425B, the regulation guide 14B on the other side is moved along the support shafts 421A and 421B by driving the motor M3. And move in the sheet width direction Y.

By driving the motors M2 and M3 in this way, the regulation guides 14A and 14B are moved to the guide position and the retracted position, respectively. In the case of this embodiment, the motors M2 and M3 are pulse motors (stepping motors), and the positions of the regulation guides 14A and 14B are controlled by the number of pulses sent to the motors. Further, the regulation guides 14A and 14B each have a home position, and the home position is provided with a sensor for detecting the regulation guides 14A and 14B, respectively. Therefore, the positions of the regulation guides 14A and 14B are detected at the home position, and then the regulation guides 14A and 14B are moved to the guide position and the retracted position according to the number of pulses sent to the motor.

In the present embodiment, the home position of the regulation guides 14A and 14B and the seat receiving position of the maximum width size are the same. That is, the regulation guides 14A and 14B can basically be moved to the home position, the standby position (seat receiving position), and the guide position. The guide position is, for example, 0.5 mm from the end of the sheet in the sheet width direction Y, but it differs depending on the sheet. Normally, the distance between the regulation guides 14A and 14B becomes narrower in the order of the home position, the standby position, and the guide position. However, in the present embodiment, in the case of a seat having a maximum seat width (for example, a seat width (length in the seat width direction Y) is 330.2 mm), the home position and the standby position are set to the same position. As a result, the size of the device can be reduced.

That is, when accepting a sheet having the maximum sheet width, the regulation guides 14A and 14B operate as follows. First, the regulation guides 14A and 14B are positioned at the home position based on the detection result of the sensor that detects the home position. Accept the sheet in this state. That is, the home position and the standby position are the same. Next, the regulation guides 14A and 14B are positioned at the guide positions to regulate the seat. Furthermore, it is positioned in the standby position (= home position) to accept the next seat, but at that time, the output of the home position sensor is ignored. That is, after first passing through the home position sensor, the positions of the regulation guides 14A and 14b are managed by the pulse count. When all the jobs are completed and sheets of different widths are transported, the output of the home position sensor is checked again, and the regulation guides 14A and 14B are positioned at appropriate standby positions.

In the case of the present embodiment, the motors M1 for driving the above-mentioned transport belt 12, the motors M2 and M3 for moving the regulation guides 14A and 14B, and the motors M5, M7 and M8 to be described later are on the other side of the regulation guide 14B. It is arranged. In particular, with respect to the transport direction X, it is preferable that the motor within the transport range of the sheet of the misalignment correction unit 410 is arranged on the back side (rear side, one side of the regulation guide 14B side) of the transport belt 12. This is because, as will be described in detail later, the jammed sheet is removed from the front side (front side, regulation guide 14A side on the other side).

Further, in the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a double feed detection sensor 430 for detecting double feed of the sheet is arranged between the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side and the transport belt 12. There is. The double feed detection sensor 430 is, for example, a sensor that detects that two or more sheets are stacked and conveyed by ultrasonic waves. When the control unit 203 (FIG. 1) of the multi-stage feeder 200 detects the double feed of the sheet by the double feed detection sensor 430, the control unit 203 (FIG. 1) transmits the double feed sheet via the relay transfer device 400 and the transfer paths 215 and 217. It is conveyed to the double feed sheet accommodating section 218.

Further, in the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 14 described later, the sheet is conveyed by the transfer belt 12 between the transfer belt 12 and the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B in the seat width direction Y. The facing members 450 and 460 facing the lower surface of the sheet are arranged. The facing members 450 and 460 support the end of the sheet if the end of the sheet is conveyed without being supported by either the regulation guides 14A or 14B. The detailed configuration of the opposing members 450 and 460 will be described later.

The relay transfer device 400 configured in this way sandwiches the sheet delivered to the transfer belt 12 from the transfer roller pair 401 upstream in the transfer direction X by the transfer belt 12 and the sphere 20. Then, the sheet is conveyed by the rotation of the transfer belt 12. At this time, as will be described in detail later, both ends of the sheet conveyed to the transfer belt 12 in the width direction Y are abutted against the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B. When the seat is abutted against the guide surface 15A, the seat is conveyed in a direction parallel to the guide surface 15A while slipping between the guide surface 15A and the transport belt 12 along the guide surface 15A. At this time, since the sheet is sandwiched between the transfer belt 12 and the sphere 20 and the sphere 20 can rotate in an arbitrary direction, the sheet can move while slipping on the transfer belt 12 in an arbitrary direction. be. As a result, the side register and side skew of the seat are corrected.

[Regulatory Guide]
Next, the detailed configuration of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7D. Although FIGS. 7A to 7D show only the regulation guide 14A, the regulation guide 14B on the other side also has the same configuration. As shown in FIG. 6, the regulation guide 14A has a side plate portion 15 having a guide surface 15A, a lower plate portion 16 having a support surface 16A, and an upper plate portion 17 having a facing surface 17A.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the lower plate portion 16 and the upper plate portion 17 are continuously provided over substantially the entire longitudinal direction of the regulation guide 14A. As shown in FIG. 2 and the like, the regulation guide 14A is arranged substantially parallel to the transport direction X, so that the range in which the lower plate portion 16 and the upper plate portion 17 are continuous with respect to the transport direction X is defined as the predetermined region A. And. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the support surface 16A of the lower plate portion 16 and the facing surface 17A of the upper plate portion 17 are continuously provided over the predetermined region A with respect to the transport direction X. The predetermined area A is almost the entire area where the sheet is conveyed by the misalignment correction unit 410.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, the side plate portion 15 is continuously provided over the guide region B, which is a region shorter than the predetermined region A. In the present embodiment, the upstream end (upstream end in the transport direction) B1 of the side plate portion 15 in the transport direction X is located on the downstream side of the upstream end A1 of the transport direction X in the predetermined region A. That is, the upstream end B1 of the guide surface 15A of the side plate portion 15 in the transport direction X is located on the downstream side of the upstream end A1 of the predetermined region A. Further, the guide surface 15A is continuously provided up to the downstream end A2 of the predetermined region A in the transport direction X. Therefore, the position of the downstream end B2 of the side plate portion 15 in the transport direction X and the position of the downstream end A2 of the transport direction X of the predetermined region A are substantially the same positions with respect to the transport direction X.

In the present embodiment, the notch 19C is provided on the upstream side of the upstream end B1 of the side plate portion 15. An outer plate portion 19 located outside the side plate portion 15 in the sheet width direction Y is arranged in a part of the notch 19C. The outside of the seat width direction Y is the side separated from the transport belt 12 in the seat width direction Y. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7C, the inner side surface 19A of the outer plate portion 19 is located outside the guide surface 15A, which is the inner side surface of the side plate portion 15, in the seat width direction Y. Further, with respect to the transport direction X, an inclined plate portion 19B is provided between the outer plate portion 19 and the side plate portion 15 so as to approach the side plate portion 15 toward the downstream side.

The pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are configured as described above, so that the distance between the inner side surfaces 19A of the outer plate portion 19 on the upstream side of the transport direction X in the width direction Y is set as the guide of the side plate portion 15. It is wider than the distance between the surfaces 15A in the width direction Y. Therefore, as will be described in detail later, both end edges of the sheet delivered from the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side to the transport belt 12 in the width direction Y are between the inner side surfaces 19A on the upstream side of the transport direction X. It is located between the guide surfaces 15A by being transported to the downstream side.

The outer plate portion 19 and the inclined plate portion 19B may be omitted. However, if the end of the sheet delivered from the upstream transfer roller pair 401 to the transfer belt 12 in the width direction Y is located in the notch 19C, the edge of the sheet is further conveyed. The portion may be caught on the upstream end B1 of the side plate portion 15. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the outer plate portion 19 and the inclined plate portion 19B are provided, and even when the sheet is transported with a deviation from the regular position in the width direction Y, the position is regulated by the outer plate portion 19. Further, the inclined plate portion 19B guides the end portion of the sheet to the guide surface 15A of the side plate portion 15.

[Communication / separation configuration of transport roller pair]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the connection / separation configuration of the transport roller pairs 401 to 403 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8, 9 (a) and 9 (b). As described above, the transport roller pairs 401 to 403 are arranged upstream and downstream of the transport direction X of the transport belt 12, respectively. The transport roller pairs 401 to 403 each have a drive roller 32 and a driven roller 33 as a pair of transport rollers. The drive roller 32 is an elastic roller in which an elastic body such as rubber is provided around the rotating shaft 32a. The driven roller 33 abuts on the drive roller 32 to form a nip portion that sandwiches and conveys the sheet. The drive roller 32 of the transfer roller pair 401 can be rotationally driven independently by the motor M4, the drive roller 32 of the transfer roller pair 402 can be rotationally driven by the motor M5, and the drive roller 32 of the transfer roller pair 403 can be rotationally driven independently by the motor M6.

In the present embodiment, the transport roller pairs 402 and 403 arranged on the downstream side (downstream side in the transport direction) of the transport belt 12 can bring the drive roller 32 and the driven roller 33 into contact with each other and separate them from each other. Have. The transfer roller pair 402 can be brought into contact with and separated from the drive roller 32 and the driven roller 33 independently by the motor M7 and the transfer roller pair 403 by the motor M8. Since the configurations of the transport roller pairs 402 and 403 are the same, the contact / separation configuration will be described below with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 (a) and 9 (b) by taking the transport roller pair 402 as an example.

The contact / disengagement mechanism 31 that brings the drive roller 32 and the driven roller 33 into contact with each other and separates the driven roller 33 includes a compression spring 34, a support member 35, a motor M7, a separation cam 36, and a link member 37 as urging means. The contact / disengagement mechanism 31 releases the nip that separates at least one of the pair of transport rollers, that is, the driven roller 33, from the nip position where the seat can be sandwiched and transported, and the pair of transport rollers from the nip position. It corresponds to a roller moving means that can move to a position.

The compression spring 34 is a spring that urges the driven roller 33 toward the drive roller 32. The support member 35 supports the rotating shaft 33a of the driven roller 33 and is supported so as to be swingable around the swing shaft 37a. Further, the support member 35 is urged by a compression spring 34 in a direction of pressing the driven roller 33 toward the drive roller 32 around the swing shaft 37a. The support member 35 is fixed to the swing shaft 37a and rotates together with the swing shaft 37a to move the driven roller 33 in the direction toward the drive roller 32 and in the direction away from the drive roller 32.

The motor M7 rotationally drives the separation cam 36 via the pulleys 38a and 38b and the belt 38c. The pulley 38a is fixed to the drive shaft of the motor M7, and the pulley 38b is fixed to the rotation shaft 36a of the separation cam 36. The belt 38c is an endless belt hung on the pulleys 38a and 38b. The separation cam 36 is an eccentric cam in which the center of the outer peripheral surface is eccentric from the center of the rotation shaft 36a, and rotates together with the rotation shaft 36a by driving the motor M7.

The link member 37 is fixed to the swing shaft 37a and is provided swingably together with the swing shaft 37a. Therefore, the link member 37 rotates in synchronization with the support member 35 via the swing shaft 37a. The link member 37 is arranged so as to come into contact with the separation cam 36 by urging the support member 35 by the compression spring 34.

When the separating cam 36 is in the phase shown in FIG. 9A, the driven roller 33 is pressed against the driving roller 32 by the urging force of the compression spring 34. The state of FIG. 9A is the nip position. When the separation cam 36 is rotationally driven by the motor M7, for example, by 180 ° from this state, the link member 37 is pushed by the separation cam 36 and counterclockwise around the swing shaft 37a as shown in FIG. 9B. Swing in the direction. Then, the support member 35 connected to the link member 37 via the swing shaft 37a swings in the same direction about the swing shaft 37a. Since the driven roller 33 is supported by the support member 35 via the rotating shaft 33a, the driven roller 33 is separated from the drive roller 32 by the swing of the support member 35. That is, the driven roller 33 is moved to the nip release position.

When moving the driven roller 33 from the nip release position to the nip position, the separation cam 36 may be further rotated by 180 ° by the motor M7 from the state shown in FIG. 9B. The contact / detachment mechanism for bringing the drive roller 32 and the driven roller 33 into contact with each other and the driven roller 33 may be configured to move both the drive roller 32 and the driven roller 33. Further, in the above example, the contact / detachment mechanism is driven by a motor, but a pair of transport rollers may be brought into contact with each other and separated from each other by another drive source such as a solenoid.

Further, in the above example, the transport roller pairs 402 and 403 on the downstream side in the transport direction X of the transport belt 12 can be brought into contact with and separated from each other, but only the transport roller pair 402 may be brought into contact with and separated from each other. Further, the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side of the transport belt 12 in the transport direction X may be brought into contact with and separated from each other. In this case, only the upstream transfer roller pair 401 may be abutted and separated, or the downstream transfer roller pair 402 and further the transfer roller pair 403 may be abutted and separated.

[Sheet transfer operation]
Next, the seat recoil operation in the relay transfer device 400 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 (a) to 10 (d) and FIG. 11 with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, the control unit 203 (FIG. 1) controls the motors M2 and M3 (FIG. 2) according to the sheet conveying state, and positions the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B in the sheet width direction Y. I am trying to change it. As described above, by controlling the motors M2 and M3, the guide moving unit 420 (FIG. 2) can be driven to move the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B to the guide position and the retracted position.

Here, the guide position is a position where the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B can guide the edge of the sheet to be conveyed while being sandwiched between the transfer belt 12 and the sphere 20 in the width direction Y. .. In the present embodiment, the guide position is the seat width direction of the sheet in which the distance between the guide surfaces 15A (guide surfaces) of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B is sandwiched between the transfer belt 12 and the sphere 20. It is a position that is longer than the length of Y.

Specifically, the center position of the sheet in the width direction Y and the center position of the guide surfaces 15A on both sides coincide with each other, and the edge of the sheet in the width direction Y is parallel to the guide surface 15A (). The guide position is a position where the edge of the sheet in the width direction Y and the guide surface 15A are at a predetermined distance when the sheet is conveyed (center reference). This predetermined interval can be appropriately set by the device, but even if the sheet is displaced within this interval, the interval between the sheet and the image formed on the sheet can be tolerated. This predetermined interval is, for example, 0.5 mm. That is, at the guide position, the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are positioned 0.5 mm apart from the edge of the sheet in the width direction Y, respectively. This guide position can be appropriately changed by the control unit 203 according to the seat size.

In this way, at the guide position, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are positioned at positions where the distance between the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B is longer than the length of the seat width direction Y of the seat. Therefore, the transport load of the sheet transported by the transport belt 12 can be suppressed. For example, if the distance between the guide surfaces is the same as the length in the width direction Y of the sheet, the sheet is conveyed while the edge of the sheet rubs against the guide surface, and the transfer resistance increases. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the sheet is conveyed while being sandwiched between the transfer belt 12 and the sphere 20, the nip pressure for sandwiching the sheet between the transfer belt 12 and the sphere 20 is small. For this reason, if the sheet transfer resistance is large, there is a risk that the sheet transfer may be delayed, or transfer defects such as the sheet transfer may be stopped. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the transfer resistance of the sheet is suppressed by locating the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B at the guide position as described above.

It is preferable that the sheet is conveyed with the central reference as described above, and the side register and side skew of the sheet are corrected (matching operation is performed) as described later. This is because, in the present embodiment, the seat is slipped between the transport belt 12 and the sphere 20, and the side skew is corrected while rotating the seat. That is, by starting the matching operation at a position (center reference) where the center of gravity of the seat S and the central portions of the regulation guides 14A and 14B substantially coincide with each other, damage to the seat can be reduced during the matching operation.

On the other hand, the retracted position is a position where the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are retracted from the edge of the seat in the width direction Y with respect to the guide position. In other words, the distance in the width direction Y between the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B at the retracted position is larger than the distance Y between the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B at the guide position. Is also wide. In the present embodiment, the retracted position is a position where the distance from the edge in the width direction Y of the sheet transported based on the above-mentioned central reference is 5 mm. The seat S is delivered to the transport belt 12 with the regulation guides 14A and 14B in the retracted position, and in this state, the vertical movement of the seat S is restricted by the support surface 16A and the facing surface 17A. As a result, even if the seat S is curled, when the regulation guides 14A and 14B move from the retracted position to the guide position, both ends of the seat S are within the region surrounded by the guide surface 15A, the support surface 16A, and the facing surface 17A. Can be stored in.

The operation of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B when the two sheets S1 and S2 are continuously transported to the relay transfer device 400 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 (a) to 10 (d) and FIG. do. First, as shown in FIG. 10A, when the first sheet S1 is transported from the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side to the transport belt 12, the control unit 203 receives a pair of regulation guides 14A. Move 14B to the retracted position. This is because when the sheet S1 is delivered to the transport belt 12, if the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are in the guide positions, the sheet S1 is skewed or misaligned in the width direction Y. This is because the end portion of the sheet S1 may interfere with any of the regulation guides 14A and 14B, resulting in a transfer failure of the sheet S1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, in the control unit 203, the rear end (upstream end) of the first sheet S1 delivered from the transfer roller pair 401 to the transfer belt 12 makes the transfer roller pair 401. After passing, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are moved from the retracted position to the guide position, in other words, moved to the guide position. In the present embodiment, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are guided from the retracted position in a state where the sheet S1 delivered to the transport belt 12 is in the predetermined area A (FIG. 7B, within the predetermined area). I'm moving it to a position. As a result, the side register and side skew of the seat S1 are corrected (matching operation).

That is, the regulation guides 14A and 14B are located at the retracted position when the sheet S1 is on the upstream side of the transport direction X, and both end edges of the sheet S1 are separated from the guide surface 15A. Then, after the sheet S1 is further conveyed to the downstream side and the rear end of the sheet S1 passes through the transfer roller pair 401, the regulation guides 14A and 14B move to the guide positions. Then, the guide surface 15A is brought into contact with both end edges of the sheet S1 in the width direction Y. When the sheet S1 is abutted against the guide surface 15A, the sheet S1 is conveyed in a direction parallel to the guide surface 15A while slipping with the transfer belt 12 along the edge of the guide surface 15A. As a result, the side register and the side skew of the seat S1 are corrected.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 203 causes the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B to reach the guide position from the retracted position while the seat is being conveyed while being sandwiched between the transfer belt 12 and the sphere 20. ing. As a result, it is possible to correct the side register and side skew of the seat without stopping the transportation of the seat, and it is possible to increase the productivity. However, after temporarily stopping the transfer of the sheet, the matching operation may be performed so that the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B reach the guide position from the retracted position. In this case, the productivity is lowered, but the misalignment can be corrected more reliably.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10C, when the tip of the second sheet S2 delivered from the transport roller pair 401 to the transport belt 12 has entered the predetermined region A, the pair of regulation guides 14A , 14B remains in the guide position. At this time, the first sheet S1 is in a state of being guided by the guide surface 15A in the guide area B (FIG. 7B). That is, in the present embodiment, while the first sheet S1 is being guided by the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B, the second sheet S2 starts to invade the predetermined area A. ..

Here, as shown in FIG. 11, the upstream side of the guide surface 15A from the upstream end B1 (FIG. 7B) of the transport direction X is the inner surface of the outer plate portion 19 having a wider distance than the guide surfaces 15A. There is 19A. In FIG. 11, the inner side surface 19A is inclined toward the guide surface 15A toward the downstream side, but the inner side surface 19A may be a surface parallel to the transport direction X. In any case, since the inner side surface 19A is located outside the seat width direction Y with respect to the guide surface 15A, even if the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are in the guide position, the inner side surfaces 19A are connected to each other. The distance is wider than the distance between the guide surfaces 15A. Therefore, even if the second sheet S2 is slanted or displaced in the width direction Y and enters the predetermined area A in this state, the ends of the sheets S2 are paired with the regulation guides 14A. , 14B is less likely to interfere. Therefore, in the present embodiment, even if the second sheet S2 is conveyed at the timing as described above, the sheet transfer failure is unlikely to occur and the productivity can be improved.

Then, as shown in FIG. 10D, the control unit 203 has a pair of regulation guides 14A, before the tip of the second sheet S2 reaches the upstream end B1 of the guide surface 15A in the transport direction X. Move 14B from the guide position to the retracted position. At this time, the matching operation of the first sheet S1 is completed, and the sheet S1 is delivered to the transport roller pair 402 on the downstream side. Therefore, even if the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are moved to the retracted position, the posture of the seat S1 is not affected. Further, since the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are moved to the retracted position before the second sheet S2 reaches the guide surface 15A, the end portion of the second sheet S2 is the outer plate portion 19. When the inner side surface 19A is exceeded, interference with the upstream end B1 of the guide surface 15A can be suppressed, and the occurrence of sheet transport failure can be suppressed.

After that, as described in FIGS. 10B and later, the control unit 203 retracts the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B after the rear end of the second sheet S2 passes through the transfer roller pair 401. To reach the guide position from. In the present embodiment, after the tip of the second sheet S2 passes through the upstream end B1 of the guide surface 15A in the transport direction X, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are brought from the retracted position to the guide position. Then, the matching operation of the second sheet S2 is performed. If there are the third and subsequent sheets, the operations shown in FIGS. 10 (c), (d), and (b) are continuously performed, and if it is the last sheet, the sheet is handed over to the transfer roller pair 402 as it is, and the sheets are aligned. Complete the operation.

The position of the sheet transfer direction X described above is determined based on, for example, the sheet size, the sheet detection timing of the sensor that detects the sheet in any of the sheet transfer paths, and the sheet transfer speed. 203 can be grasped.

As described above, in the case of the present embodiment, after the rear end of the sheet delivered to the transport belt 12 passes through the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B reach the guide position from the retracted position. I try to let you. Therefore, when the sheet is delivered to the transport belt 12, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B can be prevented from interfering with the sheet. Further, since the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are not positioned at the guide positions while the sheet is being transported by the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side, the sheet being transported by the transport roller pair 401 is with any of the regulation guides. It is possible to prevent bending due to contact.

Further, since the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are moved to the guide positions after the rear end of the sheet has passed through the transfer roller pair 401, for example, even if the sheet is transported diagonally and does not hit the regulation guides. It is possible to correct the misalignment of the sheet. Therefore, it is possible to correct the misalignment of the sheet without increasing the length for transporting the sheet, and it is possible to suppress the increase in size of the device. That is, it is possible to correct the misalignment of the sheet in the width direction Y while suppressing the increase in size of the device.

[Cardboard transport operation]
Next, the transport operation on the sheet S3 (for example, thick paper) having a basis weight of a predetermined value or more will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 (a) to 12 (c). The predetermined value is, for example, 100 g / m ² . Here, if the rigidity is high like a sheet having a basis weight of a predetermined value or more, as described above, both end edges of the sheet may be sandwiched between a pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B, or a minute gap may be formed between the guide surface 15A and the sheet. There is a risk that the transport resistance will increase when the side register or the like is corrected by opening and guiding. If the transport resistance increases, a delay in transporting the sheet will occur. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the case of a sheet such as thick paper, the regulation guides 14A and 14B are brought into contact with the edge of the sheet one by one to correct the side register and the side skew. Hereinafter, a specific description will be given.

First, in the case of the present embodiment, the guide moving unit 420 (FIG. 2) can move the regulation guides 14A and 14B independently as described above. That is, the first moving portion 420A (FIG. 2) of the guide moving portion 420 guides one of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B, the regulation guide 14A, to one end edge of the sheet in the width direction Y. It is possible to move to a position and a first retracted position retracted from one end edge of the sheet rather than the first guide position. Similarly, the second moving portion 420B (FIG. 2) of the guide moving portion 420 guides the other regulating guide 14B of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B to the other end edge in the width direction Y of the seat. It is possible to move to the 2 guide position and the 2nd retracted position retracted from the other end edge of the seat from the 2nd guide position.

As shown in FIG. 12A, when the sheet S3 such as thick paper is delivered to the transport belt 12, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are located at the retracted positions. That is, one regulation guide 14A is located at the first retracted position, and the other regulation guide 14B is located at the second retracted position.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12B, the control unit 203 moves one of the regulation guides 14A to the first guide position after the rear end of the seat S3 has passed through the transport roller pair 401 (FIG. 3 or the like). That is, the first guide position is reached and the other regulation guide 14B is positioned at the second retracted position. That is, the guide surface 15A of one regulation guide 14A is abutted against one end edge of the sheet S3, the other regulation guide 14B is left in the second retracted position, and the guide surface 15A of the regulation guide 14B is the other end edge of the sheet S3. Evacuate from.

After that, as shown in FIG. 12 (c), the control unit 203 moves the other regulation guide 14B to the second guide position, that is, reaches the second guide position and moves one regulation guide 14A to the first guide position. Move to the retracted position. That is, the guide surface 15A of the other regulation guide 14B is abutted against the other end edge of the sheet S3, the one regulation guide 14A is moved to the first retracted position, and the guide surface 15A of the regulation guide 14A is moved to one end of the sheet S3. Evacuate from the edge.

In the present embodiment, the regulation guides 14A and 14B are abutted against the edge of the sheet S3 one by one in this way, and the regulation guide on the opposite side is retracted from the edge of the sheet S3 during the abutting. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the transport resistance of the sheet S3. The order in which the regulation guides 14A and 14B are abutted is not limited to the above, and the regulation guide 14A may be abutted after the regulation guide 14B is abutted.

When the basis weight of the sheet delivered from the transport roller pair 401 to the transport belt 12 is less than a predetermined value (for example, plain paper), as described in FIGS. 10 (a) to 10 (d) above. After the rear end of the sheet has passed through the transport roller pair 401, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are brought from the retracted position to the guide position.

[Transporting operation of long sheet]
Next, the transport operation of the sheet S4 (long sheet or the like) having a predetermined size or larger will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 7 and 8 with reference to FIGS. 13 (a) and 13 (b). In the case of a sheet S4 in which the length of the transport direction X is longer than a predetermined length, such as a long sheet, the sheet is downstream in the transport direction while the side register and side skew are corrected by the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B. The side or upstream side may be niped into a pair of transport rollers. When the sheet is niped into the transport roller pair, even if the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are abutted against the edge of the sheet, correction (alignment operation) such as side register cannot be sufficiently performed, or the sheet is bent. There is a possibility that it will happen. The "predetermined length" of the sheet is a length longer than the distance between the nip point of the upstream transfer roller pair 401 and the nip point of the downstream transfer roller pair 402 in the sheet transfer direction. ..

On the other hand, even if it is a long sheet, it is conceivable to increase the distance of the transport direction X guided by the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B so that the matching operation can be performed without being niped by the transport roller pair. , The device becomes large. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the matching operation of the sheet S4 having a predetermined size or larger is performed, the nip of the transport roller pair 402 on the downstream side is released.

As described above, the transport roller pairs 402 and 403 on the downstream side of the transport belt 12 can bring the drive roller 32 and the driven roller 33 into contact with each other or separate them (see, for example, FIG. 4). Further, the contact / detachment mechanism 31 that abuts or separates the drive roller 32 and the driven roller 33 from each other has motors M7 and M8 controlled by the control unit 203. Therefore, the control unit 203 can control the contact / detachment mechanism 31 to bring the drive roller 32 into contact with or separate from the driven roller 33.

In the present embodiment, when the guide moving unit 420 moves the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B from the retracted position to the guide position, the control unit 203 sets the transport roller pairs 402 and 403 as the nip release positions. Is feasible. Hereinafter, a specific description will be given with reference to FIGS. 13 (a) and 13 (b).

As shown in FIG. 13A, when the sheet S4 is delivered from the upstream transfer roller pair 401 to the transfer belt 12, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are located at the retracted positions. Then, as shown in FIG. 13B, after the sheet S4 is further conveyed to the downstream side and the rear end of the sheet S4 passes through the upstream side transfer roller pair 401, the control unit 203 is subjected to the downstream side transfer roller. Pairs 402 and 403 are the nip release positions. At the same time, a pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are made to reach the guide position from the retracted position. That is, after the rear end of the sheet S4 passes through the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are brought to the guide positions. As described above, in the present embodiment, the nip release operation is executed at the same time when the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are reached from the retracted position to the guide position by the guide moving unit 420.

The timing of the matching operation of bringing the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B from the retracted position to the guide position and the nip release operation do not have to be simultaneous. For example, if the front end (downstream end) of the sheet does not reach the downstream transfer roller pair 402 after the rear end of the sheet has passed through the upstream transfer roller pair 401, the matching operation is started first. However, the nip release operation may be performed before the tip of the sheet reaches the transport roller pair 402 on the downstream side. Further, in the case of a long sheet in which the tip of the sheet reaches the transfer roller pair 402 before the rear end of the sheet passes through the transfer roller pair 401, the sheet is conveyed before the sheet tip reaches the transfer roller pair 402. The roller pair 402 nip release operation is performed.

After the matching operation of the sheet S4 is completed, the transport roller pairs 402 and 403 on the downstream side are returned from the nip release position to the nip position, and the sheet S4 is further conveyed to the downstream side by the transport roller pairs 402 and 403. The timing for returning the transport roller pairs 402 and 403 on the downstream side to the nip position is at the latest before the rear end of the seat S4 passes through the downstream end of the transport belt 12.

Further, the control unit 203 moves the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B from the guide position to the retracted position after the transfer rollers 402 and 403 are moved from the nip release position to the nip position by the contact / detachment mechanism 31. Here, if the sheet is nipated by the transfer roller pair 402 after moving the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B to the evacuation position, the position of the sheet may shift due to the operation of niping the sheet. .. On the other hand, since the seat is first niped by the transport roller pair 402 or the like and then the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are moved to the retracted position, the seat is guided by the regulation guides 14A and 14B when the seat is nipated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sheet from being inadvertently displaced.

Further, after the sheets are nipped by the transfer roller pair 402, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are moved to the retracted position, so that when the next sheet is conveyed, the next sheet is a pair of regulation guides. Interference with 14A and 14B can be suppressed, and productivity can be increased. The movement start timing of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B to the retracted position may be set at the same time as the movement start of the transfer roller pairs 402 and 403 from the nip release position to the nip position. By moving the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B to the retracted position earlier, the next sheet can be delivered to the transport belt 12 as soon as possible, and the productivity can be further improved.

In the present embodiment, by performing the nip release operation in this way, even if the downstream side of the sheet S4 reaches the transport roller pair 402 and further the transport roller pair 403, the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B is used. Matching operation is possible. Therefore, the matching operation can be executed even for a sheet having a predetermined length or more without increasing the size of the device.

Further, when the length of the sheet is less than a predetermined length, the nip release operation of the transfer roller pair is not performed during the matching operation, so that the number of contact / detachment operations of the transfer roller pair can be reduced. When the contact / disengagement operation is performed, each component of the contact / disengagement mechanism 31 is consumed or noise is generated. Therefore, by minimizing the contact / detachment operation, it is possible to suppress the consumption of parts and the generation of noise.

Not only when the length of the sheet is equal to or longer than the predetermined length, the nip release operation of the transport roller pair may be performed during the matching operation as described above. As a result, the length of the transport direction X of the misalignment correction unit 410 that performs the sheet matching operation can be further shortened, and the device can be miniaturized.

Here, in the case of a sheet having a basis weight of a predetermined value or more, as described in FIGS. 12A to 12C, a pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are abutted against the sheet one side at a time to perform a matching operation. ing. In the sheet having the basis weight of the predetermined value or more as described above, when the sheet is further long, the transport rollers pairs 402 and 403 are set as the nip release positions during this matching operation. That is, in order for the rear end of the sheet to pass through the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side and start the matching operation, one of the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B moves to the guide position, and at the same time, the transport roller Pairs 402 and 403 are the nip release positions. Then, after the matching operation is completed, the transport roller pairs 402 and 403 are returned to the nip positions. The point that the timing of the start of the matching operation and the timing of the nip release operation may be different is the same as in the above case.

In the above description, the nip release operation is performed by the transfer roller pairs 402 and 403, but the nip release operation may be performed only by the transfer roller pair 402. Further, in the case of the configuration in which the drive roller 32 of the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side of the transport belt 12 and the driven roller 33 are brought into contact with each other or separated from each other, the nip release operation of the transport roller pair 401 may be performed. That is, when the guide moving unit 420 causes the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B to reach the guide position from the retracted position, the control unit 203 executes a nip release operation with the upstream transfer roller pair 401 as the nip release position. It may be possible. For example, in the state of FIG. 13A, the transport roller pair 401 may be set as the nip release position, and the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B may be moved to the guide position.

A case where the nip release operation of the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side is performed will be described in more detail. The sheet is conveyed by the transfer roller pair 511 (see FIG. 4 and the like) further upstream of the transfer roller pair 401, and after the tip of the sheet is nipped into the transfer belt 12 and the sphere 20, the nip of the transfer roller pair 401 is released. .. Then, after the rear end of the sheet has passed through the transfer roller pair 511, the regulation guides 14A and 14B are brought to the guide positions. After that, when the tip of the sheet is nipped by the transport roller pair 402 on the downstream side, the regulation guides 14A and 14B are moved to the retracted position, and when the rear end of the sheet passes through the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side, the nip is performed from the nip release position. Return to position.

Further, all of the transport roller pairs 401, 402, and 403 on the upstream side and the downstream side may be configured to be able to connect and detach. In this case, the nip release operation of all the transport roller pairs 401 to 403 may be performed at the same time as the start of the matching operation. Alternatively, the timing of the nip release operation of the transfer roller pair may be different depending on the length of the sheet and the transfer state. For example, when the sheet straddles a plurality of transport roller pairs during the matching operation, all of the plurality of transport roller pairs are set as the nip release positions during the matching operation. Alternatively, the nip release operation may be performed in order from the upstream transfer roller pair according to the sheet transfer so that the sheet is not niped by any of the transfer roller pairs during the matching operation.

Further, the number of transport roller pairs that perform the nip release operation may be changed according to the sheet size. For example, the transfer roller pair 402 is a pair of first transfer rollers, and the transfer roller pair 403 is a pair of second transfer rollers. The transfer roller pair 403 is arranged at a position farther from the transfer belt 12 than the transfer roller pair 402. Further, the contact / disengagement mechanism 31 capable of moving the transport roller pair 403 to the nip position and the nip release position is used as the second roller moving means.

In this case, the control unit 203 can control the roller moving means and the contact / detaching mechanism 31 as the second roller moving means to operate the transport roller pairs 402 and 403 as follows. First, when the length of the sheet in the transport direction is longer than the predetermined length and is equal to or greater than the second predetermined length, when the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B are brought from the retracted position to the guide position, the transport roller pair 402 and 403 are the nip release positions. On the other hand, when the length of the sheet is less than the second predetermined length and is longer than the predetermined length, the transport roller pair 402 is used to bring the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B from the retracted position to the guide position. Only the nip release position is set, and the transfer roller pair 403 is left in the nip position.

The above-mentioned operations of the transport roller pairs 402 and 403 may be performed by the transport roller pair 401 on the upstream side and the transport roller pair 402 on the downstream side. Further, in the case where all the transport roller pairs 401 to 403 can be brought into contact with each other, and when the sheet length is a third predetermined length longer than the second predetermined length, all the transport roller pairs at the time of matching operation. 401 to 403 may be set as the nip release position.

The basis weight and size of the above-mentioned sheet are based on the information input by the input unit (for example, the operation panel) 1001 (FIG. 1) included in the image forming system 1000. For example, the user inputs information such as the basis weight and size of the sheet accommodated in the feeding deck 500 via the input unit 1001. The control unit 203 determines the basis weight and size of the sheet to be conveyed to the relay transfer device 400 from this input information. The input unit 1001 may be an operation panel provided in any of the image forming device 100, the multi-stage feeding device 200, and the feeding deck 500, or may be an external device such as a personal computer connected to the image forming system 1000. It may be a terminal.

Alternatively, the above-mentioned sheet basis weight and size are detected by providing a sensor for detecting the sheet basis weight and size in the transport path from the feed deck 500 to the relay transport device 400 and in the feed deck 500. You may do so.

[Operation when sheet jam occurs]
Next, the operation of the relay transfer device 400 when a jam occurs when the seat stops on the transfer belt 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 16 with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 14, in the seat width direction Y, the facing members 450 and 460 facing the lower surface of the sheet transported by the transport belt 12 between the transport belt 12 and the pair of regulation guides 14A and 14B. Is placed. Of the facing members 450 and 460, the facing member 450 on the regulation guide 14A side can move between the facing position and the taking-out position retracted below the facing position, as will be described later. The facing position is a position facing the lower surface of the sheet to which the transport belt 12 is transported. On the other hand, the facing member 460 on the regulation guide 14B side is fixed at the facing position.

The facing members 450A and 460 have facing surfaces 450A and 460A facing the lower surface of the sheet at opposite positions, respectively. The facing surfaces 450A and 460A support the end of the sheet if the end of the sheet is conveyed by the transfer belt 12 without being supported by either the regulation guides 14A or 14B.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14, the relay transfer device 400 has a housing 470 for accommodating the above-mentioned misalignment correction unit 410. The housing 470 is formed with an outlet 471 for taking out the seat in the housing 470 in front of the device, that is, on one side with respect to the seat width direction Y. The take-out port 471 is provided on the regulation guide 14A side (first regulation guide side) in the seat width direction Y, and is mainly an opening for taking out the seat stopped on the transport belt 12.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14, the take-out port 471 is located below the transport belt 12. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the first moving portion 420A and the second moving portion 420B constituting the guide moving portion 420 are arranged above the transport belt 12. As described above, the first moving portion 420A and the second moving portion 420B have pulleys 422A, 423A, 422B, 423B, belts 424A, 424B, and connecting portions 425A, 425B.

Here, if the take-out port 471 is on the same side as the first moving portion 420A and the second moving portion 420B with respect to the transport belt 12, the first moving portion 420A and the second moving portion 420A and the second moving portion 420B are used when taking out the sheet. The 420B can get in the way. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the take-out port 471 is provided on the opposite side of the transport belt 12 from the first moving portion 420A and the second moving portion 420B. That is, the first moving portion 420A and the second moving portion 420B are arranged above the transport belt 12, and the take-out port 471 is arranged below the transport belt 12.

While the sheet is being conveyed by being sandwiched between the transfer belt 12 and the sphere 20, a jam may occur in which the sheet stops on the transfer belt 12. In the present embodiment, the sheet jammed in this way can be taken out from the take-out port 471. For this reason, the facing member 450 on the take-out port 471 side is movable between the facing position shown in FIG. 14 and the taking-out position shown in FIG. The take-out position is a position where the facing member 450 retracts below the facing position and can access the seat stopped on the transport belt 12 from the take-out port 471.

As described above, the facing member 450 is supported by the link mechanism 454 so as to be movable between the facing position and the taking-out position. The link mechanism 454 is a parallel link mechanism having two link members 451 and 452 and pins 451A, 451B, 452A and 452B that support both ends of the link members 451 and 452. The pins 451A and 451B are supported by the housing 470, and the pins 451B and 452B are supported by the facing member 450. Both ends of the link member 451 are rotatably supported by pins 451A and 451B, and both ends of the link member 452 are rotatably supported by pins 452A and 452B. The lengths of the link members 451 and 452 are the same. As a result, the facing member 450 can move between the facing position and the taking-out position while the facing surface 450A is maintained substantially parallel to the transport direction X (in the present embodiment, substantially parallel to the horizontal direction).

In this way, by making the facing member 450 movable to the take-out position while maintaining the facing surface 450A in the substantially horizontal direction, the user can easily take out the sheet when the facing member 450 is set to the take-out position. For example, when the facing member 450 is positioned at the take-out position in a state where the facing surface 450A is tilted with respect to the horizontal direction, a hand or the like is placed inside beyond the facing member 450 from the take-out port 471 by the amount that the facing surface 450A is tilted. There is a risk that the space for inserting (accessing space) will be narrowed. On the other hand, in the case of the present embodiment, for example, when the user inserts a hand or the like from the take-out port 471 beyond the facing member 450 into the inside, the insertion space can be widened and the sheet can be taken out more easily.

Further, at the front end (left side in FIG. 14) of the facing member 450, a gripping portion 453 is provided so that a user or the like can grip the facing member 450 by hand and move the facing member 450 between the facing position and the taking-out position. There is. When the seat is stopped on the transport belt 12, the user opens the door of the portion of the multi-stage feeding device 200 where at least the relay transport device 400 is arranged, grasps the grip portion 453, and shows in FIGS. 14 to 15. As described above, the facing member 450 is moved from the facing position to the taking-out position. As a result, the user can access the seat stopped on the transport belt 12 through the space above the facing surface 450A of the facing member 450 at the take-out port 471 and the taking-out position.

At this time, when the user touches the sheet, the sheet may be pushed to the back side, that is, to the regulation guide 14B side (second regulation guide side). In this case, if the regulation guide 14B on the back side can be moved further to the back side, there is a possibility that the seat is pushed and the regulation guide 14B on the back side is also pushed to move the seat further to the back side. .. If the sheet moves further back, it becomes difficult to remove the sheet.

Therefore, in the case of the present embodiment, the control unit 203 that controls the guide moving unit 420 holds the regulation guide 14B on the back side at the position when the sheet transfer is stopped when the seat is stopped on the transfer belt. I am trying to do it. Specifically, a holding current is applied to the motor M3 that generates a driving force for moving the regulation guide 14B on the back side. In the case of the present embodiment, the motors M2 and M3 are pulse motors, and the stopped state is maintained by being energized.

Therefore, when the control unit 203 determines that the seat jam has occurred on the transport belt 12, the motor M3 is energized to hold the position of the regulation guide 14B. As a result, even if the user pushes the seat when accessing the seat, the regulation guide 14B on the back side is held at that position, so that it is possible to prevent the seat from going further back. As a result, the sheet stopped on the transport belt 12 can be easily taken out.

The control for holding the position of the regulation guide 14B may be started when the control unit 203 determines that the seat has stopped on the transport belt 12, or starts when a predetermined time has elapsed from the determination. You may. For example, when the sensor that detects the sheet on the downstream side of the transfer belt 12 does not detect the sheet for a predetermined time, the control unit 203 determines that the transfer of the sheet has stopped on the transfer belt 12. A sensor for detecting sheet jam may be provided in the sheet transfer path of the misalignment correction unit 410, and the control unit 203 may determine whether the sheet transfer is stopped based on the detection result of this sensor.

Further, the start of holding the position of the regulation guide 14B may be started when the facing member 450 moves to the take-out position or after the movement. In this case, a sensor for detecting that the facing member 450 has moved to the take-out position is provided, and the regulation guide is provided when the sensor detects that the facing member 450 has moved to the take-out position, or after a predetermined time has elapsed from this point. The position of 14B may be maintained.

Further, in the case of the present embodiment, when the seat is stopped on the transport belt 12, the front regulation guide 14A (another regulation guide) is moved away from the transport belt 12 from the position immediately before the sheet transport is stopped. I try to move it. Specifically, the regulation guide 14A on the take-out port 471 side is further moved forward as shown by an arrow α in FIG. For example, when the regulation guide 14A can move to the home position further away from the transport belt 12 than the retracted position in addition to the guide position and the retracted position, the control unit 203 jams the seat on the conveyor belt 12. When detected, the regulation guide 14A is moved to the home position.

By moving the regulation guide 14A on the front side away from the transport belt 12 when the transport of the sheet is stopped in this way, the user can easily access the seat stopped on the transport belt 12. For example, by widening the distance between the transport belt 12 and the regulation guide 14A on the front side, it becomes easier for the user to put his / her hand in the meantime. Further, when the end of the stopped seat is caught by the regulation guide 14A, by moving the regulation guide 14A in the direction away from the transport belt 12, the seat is easily released from being caught, and the user can easily take out the seat. Become.

When the transfer of the seat is stopped, the energization of the motor M2 that drives the regulation guide 14A on the front side may be stopped, and the regulation guide 14A on the front side may be manually moved. In this case, by manually moving the regulation guide 14A by the user, the space for taking out the sheet can be widened, and the taking out of the sheet can be facilitated.

Further, in the case of the present embodiment, when the seat is stopped on the transport belt 12, the control unit 203 takes out the regulation guide 14B on the back side with respect to the seat width direction Y on the take-out port 471 side (take-out) as shown in FIG. I try to move it to the mouth side and front side). That is, the control unit 203 drives the motor M3 to move the regulation guide 14B to the front side as shown by the arrow β in FIG. As a result, the sheet is pushed by the regulation guide 14B and moved to the take-out port 14 side, so that the user can easily take out the sheet. The seat is nipped by the transport belt 12 and the sphere 20, but since the nip pressure is small, the seat moves to the front side when pushed by the regulation guide 14B.

Here, the timing for moving the regulation guide 14B to the front side may be a time when the control unit 203 determines that the seat has stopped on the transport belt 12, or a time when a predetermined time has elapsed from the time when the determination is made. When the regulation guide 14B is moved by the control unit 203 determining that the seat is stopped in this way, the control for holding the position of the regulation guide 14B is not performed as described above.

Further, the timing for moving the regulation guide 14B to the front side may be when the facing member 450 is moved to the take-out position or after the movement. In this case, a sensor for detecting that the facing member 450 has moved to the take-out position is provided, and the regulation guide is provided when the sensor detects that the facing member 450 has moved to the take-out position, or after a predetermined time has elapsed from this point. 14B may be moved to the front side. In this case, the control for holding the position of the regulation guide 14B at the position when the sheet transfer is stopped may or may not be performed.

Alternatively, the regulation guide 14B may be moved to the front side by providing a user-operable button or the like on any of the devices and operating the button or the like or by operating from the input unit 1001. good. The position of the regulation guide 14B may be controlled to be held at the position when the sheet is stopped, and the regulation guide 14B may be moved by the user's operation.

In this way, in the operation of moving the regulation guide 14B to the front side when the sheet transfer is stopped, the stopped sheet is the transfer belt 12 and the transfer roller on the upstream side 401 (a pair of upstream transfer rollers), or the downstream side. This is not performed when straddling a pair of transport rollers 402 (a pair of downstream transport rollers) on the side. That is, the control unit 203 does not move the regulation guide 14B when the seat is stopped while straddling the transport belt 12 and the transport roller pair 401 or the transport roller pair 402. This is because if the regulation guide 14B is moved while the sheet is nipped into the transfer roller pair 401 or the transfer roller pair 402, the sheet may be damaged or torn.

However, when the seat is stopped on the transfer belt 12, the transfer rollers 401 and 402 may be moved to the nip release position to move the regulation guide 14B to the front side. The fact that the sheet straddles the transfer belt 12 and the transfer roller pair 401 or the transfer roller pair 402 means that, for example, the sheet is placed between the transfer belt 12 and the transfer roller pair 401 and between the transfer belt 12 and the transfer roller pair 402, respectively. It may be detected by providing a sensor for detecting. That is, when the control unit 203 determines that the seat has stopped on the transport belt 12, if any sensor detects the seat, the seat is the transport belt 12 and the transport roller pair 401 or the transport roller pair 402. It can be judged that the vehicle has stopped straddling.

<Other Embodiments>
In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 203 for controlling the relay transfer device 400 is provided in the multi-stage feeding device 200, but these controls may be performed by the control unit 140 of the image forming device 100. Further, the relay transfer device 400 may be provided with a control unit that controls each part of the relay transfer device 400. Further, the sheet transfer device may have any other configuration as long as it is a sheet transfer device capable of shifting the position of the sheet, regardless of the above-mentioned relay transfer device.

12 ... Transport belt / 12A ... Transport surface / 14A ... Regulation guide (first regulation guide, other regulation guide) / 14B ... Regulation guide (second regulation guide) / 15A ...・ Guide surface / 16A ・ ・ ・ Support surface / 17A ・ ・ ・ Facing surface / 20 ・ ・ ・ Sphere / 31 ・ ・ ・ Contact / detachment mechanism (roller moving means) / 100 ・ ・ ・ Image forming device / 200 ・ ・ ・ Multi-stage Feeding device / 203 ... Control unit / 400 ... Relay transfer device (sheet transfer device) / 401 ... Transfer roller pair (conveyor member, pair of transfer rollers, pair of upstream transfer rollers) / 402 ... Transfer roller pair (1 pair of transfer rollers, 1 pair of downstream transfer rollers) / 403 ... Transfer roller pair (1 pair of transfer rollers, 1 pair of second transfer rollers) / 420 ... Guide moving part (guide moving means) / 420A ・ ・ ・ 1st moving part / 420B ・ ・ ・ 2nd moving part / 450 ・ ・ ・ Opposing member / 471 ・ ・ ・ Takeout port / M2, M3 ・ ・ ・ Motor (drive) source)

Claims (6)

A sheet transport device that receives and transports a sheet transported by a transport member that transports the sheet in a predetermined transport direction.
An endless structure provided on the downstream side of the transport member in the predetermined transport direction, having a transport surface extending in the predetermined transport direction, and transporting a sheet delivered to the transport surface in the predetermined transport direction. Shaped transport belt and
A plurality of spheres arranged in the transport direction at positions facing the transport surface and capable of rotating in an arbitrary direction while sandwiching the sheet with the transport surface.
A pair of regulation guides that are arranged on both sides of the transport belt with respect to the seat width direction intersecting the transport direction and can guide both ends of the sheet in the seat width direction while being sandwiched between the transport belt and the sphere. When,
A guide moving means capable of moving the pair of regulation guides to a guide position for guiding both end edges of the seat in the seat width direction and a retracted position retracted from both end edges of the seat in the seat width direction rather than the guide position. , With
The guide moving means causes the pair of regulation guides to reach the guide position from the retracted position after the rear end of the sheet delivered from the transport member to the transport belt passes through the transport member.
A sheet transfer device characterized by this. Each of the pair of regulation guides is arranged parallel to the transport direction, and has a guide surface facing the sheet width direction end edge of the sheet to be transported while being sandwiched between the transport belt and the sphere.
In the guide moving means, at the guide position, the distance between the guide surfaces of the pair of regulation guides is larger than the length of the sheet to be conveyed while being sandwiched between the transfer belt and the sphere in the sheet width direction. Position the pair of regulatory guides at longer positions.
The sheet transport device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet transport device is characterized by the above. Each of the pair of regulation guides has a support surface that supports the seat width direction end edge of the sheet to be conveyed while being sandwiched between the transfer belt and the sphere.
The support surface is located below the transport surface in the vertical direction.
The sheet transport device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sheet transport device is characterized by the above. The guide moving means causes the pair of regulation guides to reach the guide position from the retracted position while the seat is being conveyed while being sandwiched between the transport belt and the sphere.
The sheet transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sheet transport device is characterized by the above. The guide moving means
One of the pair of regulation guides is retracted from the first guide position for guiding one end edge of the seat in the seat width direction and the first guide position for guiding one end edge of the seat from the first guide position. The second guide position, which is movable to the retracted position and guides the other regulation guide of the pair of regulation guides to the other end edge of the seat in the seat width direction, and the seat rather than the second guide position. It is possible to move to the second retracted position retracted from the other end edge of the above.
When the basis weight of the sheet delivered from the transport member to the transport belt is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, after the rear end of the sheet has passed through the transport member, one of the regulation guides is moved to the first guide position. The other regulation guide is moved to the second retracted position, then the other regulation guide is reached to the second guide position, and the one regulation guide is moved to the first retracted position. Let me
When the basis weight of the sheet delivered from the transport member to the transport belt is less than a predetermined value, after the rear end of the sheet has passed through the transport member, the pair of regulation guides is moved from the retracted position to the retracted position. Reach the guide position,
The sheet transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sheet transport device is characterized by the above. A sheet transport device that receives and transports a sheet transported by a transport member that transports the sheet in a predetermined transport direction.
An endless structure provided on the downstream side of the transport member in the predetermined transport direction, having a transport surface extending in the predetermined transport direction, and transporting a sheet delivered to the transport surface in the predetermined transport direction. Shaped transport belt and
A plurality of spheres arranged in the transport direction at positions facing the transport surface and capable of rotating in an arbitrary direction while sandwiching the sheet with the transport surface.
A pair of regulation guides that are arranged on both sides of the transport belt with respect to the seat width direction intersecting the transport direction and can guide both ends of the sheet in the seat width direction while being sandwiched between the transport belt and the sphere. When,
One of the pair of regulation guides is retracted from the first guide position for guiding one end edge of the seat in the seat width direction and the first guide position for guiding one end edge of the seat from the first guide position. The second guide position, which is movable to the retracted position and guides the other regulation guide of the pair of regulation guides to the other end edge of the seat in the seat width direction, and the seat rather than the second guide position. A guide moving means that can move to a second retracted position retracted from the other end edge of the above.
The guide moving means causes one of the regulation guides to reach the first guide position and the other after the rear end of the sheet delivered from the transport member to the transport belt has passed through the transport member. The regulation guide is positioned at the second retracted position, and then the other regulated guide is moved to the second retracted position and the one regulated guide is moved to the first retracted position.
A sheet transfer device characterized by this.

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