JP2023171239A - Sheet removal device, conveyance device, and image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a sheet removal device which facilitates removal of a sheet.SOLUTION: A sheet removal device 1 has an insertion part 22 for inserting a sheet, and an insertion part 23 that is provided on the downstream side in a sheet insertion direction of the insertion part 22 and into which the sheet is inserted, wherein the insertion part 22 has an inclined part 31d that is inclined in a direction in which the width in a sheet thickness direction of the insertion part 22 becomes narrow from the upstream side to the downstream side in the sheet insertion direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet removing device, a conveying device, and an image forming device.

If a sheet gets jammed inside the device during image forming operation, conventional jam handling methods have been carried out by opening the opening/closing door provided on the image forming device's housing to open the inside of the device and manually removing the jammed sheet. I was worried.

Further, as a mechanism for removing sheets such as paper, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-171222) discloses a sheet removing member having a first arm portion and a second arm portion fixed to an image forming apparatus. has been done. The first arm section and the second arm section are arm sections that extend in a direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction. The sheet removing member moves one of the first arm section and the second arm section to sandwich the jammed paper in the image forming apparatus. Then, the first arm section and the second arm section are rotated to wrap the paper around the outer peripheral surface of the arm section. In this state, the sheet can be removed by taking out the sheet removing member together with the sheet out of the apparatus.

However, the sheet removing device for removing the sheet is not limited to the configuration in which the sheet is held between a first arm section and a second arm section extending in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet as in Patent Document 1. There was room for consideration in the composition.

An object of the present invention is to realize a sheet removal device that facilitates sheet removal.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a sheet removal device having an insertion section into which a sheet is inserted, and an insertion section provided downstream of the insertion section in the sheet insertion direction and through which the sheet is inserted, The insertion portion is characterized in that it has an inclined portion that is inclined in a direction that narrows the width of the insertion portion in the sheet thickness direction from the upstream side to the downstream side in the sheet insertion direction.

According to the present invention, the sheet can be easily removed.

FIG. 3 is an external view of the sheet removing device. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the sheet removing device. It is a perspective view showing a tip claw. It is a side view showing a tip claw. It is a front view showing a tip claw. It is a top view which shows a tip claw. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing how the tip of the paper is scooped up by the tip claw. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the sheet removing device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing how paper is torn. It is a top view showing an example of a conveyance path. It is a perspective view showing an example of a conveyance path. 11 is a plan view of a conveyance path different from FIG. 10. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how the sheet removing device is gripped. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which paper is inserted into the sheet removing device. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before paper is wound up by a sheet removal device. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state after paper is wound up by a sheet removal device. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating how a sheet is wound up by a sheet removal device different from the present embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view and FIG. 1B is a plan view. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating how a sheet is wound up by the sheet removing device of the present embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view and FIG. 3B is a plan view. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an opening/closing portion of an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows the modification of a sheet removal apparatus. FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the sheet removing device shown in FIG. 21;

Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each figure, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations thereof will be simplified or omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sheet removing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view. This sheet removal device is a device for holding (particularly, in this embodiment, winding up) a sheet jammed midway inside the conveyance device and taking it out of the conveyance device. Note that in the following description, a case of paper P will be exemplified as an example of the sheet. However, the sheets removed by the sheet removing device of the present invention are not limited to these, and in addition to paper P (plain paper), cardboard, postcards, envelopes, thin paper, coated paper (coated paper, art paper, etc.), tracing paper, Includes OHP sheets, plastic films, prepregs, copper foils, etc.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet removing device 1 includes a pair of sheet holding plates 11 as a pair of insertion part forming members, a pair of tip claws 12 as a pair of insertion part forming members, and a gap forming plate. 13 and a winding guide 14. The sheet removing device 1 is a rod-shaped device that extends in the direction of the double arrow X, which is the left-right direction in FIG.

The directions X, Y, and Z in FIG. 1 or 2 are directions orthogonal to each other. Direction X is the longitudinal direction of the sheet removing device 1, and is also the direction in which the paper is inserted into the sheet removing device 1. The direction Y is the width direction of the inserted paper, and is also the width direction of the sheet removing device 1 and the tip claw 12. Direction Z is the thickness direction of the paper to be inserted. Hereinafter, the double arrow X direction will be referred to as the paper insertion direction X of the sheet removing device 1, and the upstream side in the paper insertion direction, which is the left side in FIG. The side is also simply referred to as the downstream side.

The outer peripheral surface of the winding guide 14 constitutes the outer peripheral surface of the sheet removing device 1. The outer circumferential surface 14a of the winding guide 14 is a winding portion along which the paper is wound.

The right side portion of the sheet removing device 1 in FIG. 1 constitutes a grip portion 21 that is gripped by an operator. Specifically, a portion of the sheet removing device 1 on the right side of the contact surface 13a serving as the contact portion, which is the left end of the gap forming plate 13 in FIG. 2, is the gripping portion 21. Further, a pair of tip claws 12 are provided at the left end of the sheet removing device 1 in FIG. The space formed between the pair of tip claws 12 constitutes an insertion section 22 into which paper is inserted. The insertion section 22 is formed at the upstream end in the paper insertion direction, and includes an insertion opening into which the paper is inserted, and a part extending downstream from the insertion opening into which the paper is inserted downstream. . The tip 31a, which is the upstream end of the tip claw 12 in the paper insertion direction, has a curved shape. The insertion section 22 also has an inclined section 31d that narrows the width of the insertion section 22 in the Z direction from the upstream side to the downstream side in the paper insertion direction.

A pair of sheet holding plates 11 are provided downstream of the pair of tip claws 12 in the paper insertion direction. A space formed between the pair of sheet holding plates 11 constitutes an insertion section 23 through which the paper inserted from the insertion section 22 is inserted. That is, the paper inserted from the insertion section 22 is inserted between the pair of sheet holding plates 11 and held between the pair of sheet holding plates 11. A pair of sheet holding plates 11 sandwich a gap forming plate 13 therebetween on the side opposite to the tip claw 12 side in the longitudinal direction X. The insertion portion 23 is provided on the downstream side of the insertion portion 22 in the sheet insertion direction.

The length X0 in the longitudinal direction, which is the total length of the sheet removing device 1, is 500 to 600 mm when the width size of the paper P (width in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the paper P) is 13 inches (approximately 330 mm) or less. It is preferable that the distance is within a range of 500 to 550 mm, and more preferably within a range of 500 to 550 mm. By setting the total length of the sheet removing device 1 to 500 mm or more, it is possible to ensure a sufficient length to properly hold and wind up the paper P, and also to allow the operator to comfortably grasp the grip portion 21 with both hands. It can be provided as long as possible. Further, by setting an upper limit on the total length of the sheet removing device 1 as described above, the weight of the sheet removing device 1 can be limited and the operability during use can be improved. Furthermore, by setting the length Y1 of the sheet removing device 1 in the direction Y (see FIG. 15) and the length Z1 in the direction Z to a range of 30 to 40 mm, the operator can easily grasp the sheet removing device 1 with one hand. is possible and preferred. In this embodiment, the total length X0 of the sheet removing device 1 is approximately 550 mm, the length X1 in the longitudinal direction from the tip of the tip claw 12 to the contact surface 13a of the gap forming plate 13 is approximately 350 mm, and the sheet is removed from the contact surface 13a. The length X2 of the grip portion 21, which is the distance to the other longitudinal end of the device 1, is set to about 200 mm. Further, the length Y1 of the sheet removing device 1 is set to 32 mm, and the length Z1 is set to 39 mm.

The sheet holding plate 11 and the tip claw 12 of the present embodiment are fixed at predetermined positions within the sheet removal device 1 without performing operations such as pinching the paper when removing the paper, which will be described later.

Next, the detailed configuration of the tip claw 12 will be explained using FIGS. 3 to 6. 3 to 6 are views of the tip claw 12 alone, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tip claw 12, FIG. 4 is a side view of the tip claw 12, FIG. 5 is a front view of the tip claw 12, and FIG. 6 is a front view of the tip claw 12. FIG.

The tip claw 12 has a scoop portion 31, an intermediate portion 32, and a transfer portion 33, which extend from the upstream side to the downstream side in the paper insertion direction. The scoop portion 31 is a tip portion that includes the upstream end of the tip claw 12 in the sheet insertion direction. The scooping portion 31 is a portion that scoops the paper stuck to the conveyance guide plate in the conveyance device, and is a portion into which the sheet to be inserted into the sheet removal device 1 is first inserted. The intermediate section 32 is a section provided between the scoop section 31 and the transfer section 33, and is a section that guides the paper from the scoop section 31 on the upstream side to the transfer section 33 on the downstream side. The transfer section 33 is a section that transfers the paper from the tip claw 12 to the sheet holding plate 11.

As shown in FIG. 5, the tip 31a of the rake portion 31 is rounded at locations corresponding to corners on both sides in the Z direction to form a curved surface shape. Thereby, when scooping the paper P with the scooping section 31 as shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to prevent the leading edge of the paper P from being caught by the leading edge 31a. Therefore, the scooping section 31 can easily scoop up the paper P.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the rake part 31 is inclined at both ends in the direction Y, which are both sides in the width direction, in a direction that increases the width of the tip claw 12 from the upstream side to the downstream side in the paper insertion direction. It has an upstream side width direction inclined part 31b. As a result, as the sheet P enters the insertion section 22 and the insertion section 23 (see FIG. 2) from the tip 31a of the scooping section 31, the area that is scooped up gradually increases as shown in FIG. Thereby, the paper P can be scooped up while being gently bent.

As shown in FIG. 3, the scoop portion 31 has a plurality of guide ribs 31e extending in the direction X between upstream side width direction inclined portions 31b provided at both ends in the width direction.

An end portion 31c corresponding to a corner portion, which is an end portion in the width direction at the downstream end portion of the rake portion 31, is rounded. Thereby, the paper P can be prevented from being caught between the scooping section 31 and the intermediate section 32.

The intermediate portion 32 has a plurality of guide ribs 32a extending in the direction X.

The intermediate portion 32 is provided with a width smaller than that of the scoop portion 31. Thereby, the contact area of the tip claw 12 with the paper P can be reduced, and the resistance when the paper P enters the sheet removing device can be reduced. In particular, in this embodiment, the width of the intermediate portion 32 is substantially uniform in the paper insertion direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, both widthwise side walls 32c of the intermediate portion 32 are rounded to form a curved surface. This can prevent the paper P guided by the intermediate portion 32 from coming into contact with the side wall portion 32c and being torn or worn.

The scooping portion 31 has an inclined portion 31d that is inclined in the paper thickness direction from the upstream side to the downstream side. Further, the intermediate portion 32 has a downstream inclined portion 32b that is inclined in the paper thickness direction from the upstream side to the downstream side. Incidentally, the inclined portion 31d is provided on the above-mentioned upstream width direction inclined portion 31b and the guide rib 31e. The downstream inclined portion 32b is provided on the aforementioned guide rib 32a.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the sheet removing device 1 of this embodiment, the width of the insertion portion 22 in the Z direction becomes narrower from the upstream side to the downstream side due to the inclined portion 31d and the downstream inclined portion 32b. . The leading end of the paper P inserted into the insertion section 22 is guided by the inclined section 31d and the downstream inclined section 32b, moves relatively downstream, and is inserted into the insertion section 23. Due to the shape in which the gap between the tip claws 12 gradually narrows, the tip of the sheet P inserted into the insertion section 22 can be smoothly guided to the insertion section 23. That is, the sheet P can be inserted into the insertion section 23 simply by inserting the leading end of the sheet P into the insertion section 22 and moving the sheet removal device 1 toward the sheet P side. Therefore, the operation of the sheet removing device described later to wind up the sheet and remove it from the conveyance device becomes easy. In this embodiment, a case has been described in which both the tip claws 12 are provided with the inclined portion 31d and the downstream inclined portion 32b, but either one of them may be provided. Further, it is not necessarily necessary to provide the slope portion 31d and the downstream slope portion 32b in the scoop portion 31 and the intermediate portion 32, respectively.

In particular, in this embodiment, the inclination angle of the downstream inclined part 32b is set larger than that of the inclined part 31d. By reducing the inclination angle of the upstream inclined portion 31d, the paper P can be gently guided from the insertion side to the back side. Furthermore, by increasing the inclination angle of the downstream inclined part 32b, the distance in the X direction of the downstream inclined part 32b for guiding the insertion part 23 to the height in the Z direction can be reduced. The length of can be reduced. Therefore, the strength of the sheet removing device can be ensured.

Further, by providing the inclined portion 31d or the downstream inclined portion 32b, the cross-sectional area of the sheet removing device can be gradually increased from the upstream side to the downstream side in the sheet insertion direction. In particular, by providing the inclined portion 31d with a smaller inclination angle than the downstream inclined portion 32b, the deflection of the sheet entering the insertion portion 22 can be gradually increased as shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the distal claw 12 shown in FIG. 9, which is different from the present embodiment, the inclination angle of the inclined portion on the distal end side is large. In this case, when the paper P is scooped up by the tip claw 12 and inserted from the insertion section 22, the amount of deformation between the portion of the paper P inserted into the insertion section 22 and the portion that is not is large. There is a risk that the paper P may break if the paper P becomes too large. As described above, with the configuration of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the scooped paper from suddenly increasing in deflection and breaking at that portion. In particular, it is preferable that the angle α (see FIG. 1) of the tip of the tip claw 12 with respect to the longitudinal direction X is 13.5 degrees or less. Thereby, the paper P can be scooped up smoothly regardless of the thickness of the paper, and breakage of the paper P as shown in FIG. 9 can be prevented. Note that in FIGS. 8 and 9, the shape of the tip claw 12 is shown in a simplified manner for convenience.

As shown in FIG. 6, the delivery part 33 has downstream width direction inclined parts 33a on both sides in the width direction. The downstream width direction inclined portions 33a are spaced apart from each other from the upstream side toward the downstream side. A curved surface shape is formed on the upper surface 33a1 of the downstream width direction inclined portion 33a. This can prevent the paper P from being torn or worn out due to excessive force being applied to the paper P between the tip claw 12 and the sheet holding plate 11. A portion of the downstream width direction inclined portion 33a faces the sheet holding plate 11 in the paper insertion direction. The downstream width direction inclined portion 33a is provided so that its downstream side is closer to the center of the tip claw 12 in the Z direction (the center side of the insertion portion 22 and the insertion portion 23 in the Z direction) than the upstream side.

As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 8, the downstream width direction inclined portion 33a protrudes toward the paper side from the sheet holding surface 11a of the sheet holding plate 11 (this paper side refers to the sheet removing device 1 shown in FIG. (the center side in the vertical direction). In other words, the width A of the gap formed between the upper and lower downstream width direction inclined parts 33a is narrower than the gap B between the sheet holding surfaces 11a of the sheet holding plate 11. In other words, the pair of tip claws 12 have portions at both ends in the width direction in the transfer portion 33 where the gap between them becomes narrower. The narrow portion of this gap functions as a portion that prevents the paper inserted through the insertion portion 23 from coming off in the left direction in FIG. In addition, since the downstream width direction inclined portion 33a protrudes toward the paper side beyond the sheet holding surface 11a, the paper P can be smoothly transferred from the tip claw 12 to the sheet holding plate 11. The sheet holding surface 11a is a flat surface parallel to the direction X.

As shown in FIG. 3, the inclined portion 31b, the guide rib 31e, the guide rib 32a, and the downstream side width direction inclined portion 33a can function as a guide portion that extends in the direction X and guides the paper P toward the downstream side. However, all of these do not necessarily need to guide the paper, and all of these do not necessarily need to be provided on the tip tab 12. Further, for example, two guide ribs 31e are provided in the width direction, but the number may be one, three or more, and the number of these guide portions is arbitrary. By providing the guide portions on both sides in the width direction, the paper inserted into the insertion portion 22 can be guided downstream equally on both sides.

Next, an example of an opening/closing structure in a conveyance device in which paper P is jammed will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are diagrams showing a sheet P that is jammed in the middle of the conveyance path 91 provided in the conveyance device 90. FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 10(a) and 11(a), a conveyance path 91 is formed by a pair of conveyance guide plates 92 and 93 as a pair of conveyance path forming members. In other words, the gap formed between the transport guide plates 92 and 93 constitutes a part of the transport path 91 along which the paper P is transported. One conveyance guide plate 93 is provided so as to be openable and closable by access from the outside.

As shown in FIG. 10(a), the paper P is jammed in the nip portion of a pair of upstream and downstream conveyance rollers 94 and 95.

As shown in FIG. 10(a) → FIG. 10(b), by opening the transport guide plate 93 that is accessible from outside the apparatus, the transport path 91 can be opened as shown in FIG. A portion can be opened to the outside of the device.

By inserting the sheet removing device 1 into the conveyance device from this released space, the sheet removing device 1 can remove the jammed paper P out of the device.

10 and 11 show the case where the opening/closing axis of the conveyance guide plate 92 is parallel to the conveyance direction of the paper P, but as shown in FIGS. 12(a) and 12(b), The opening/closing axis of the conveyance guide plate 92 may be in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction.

Next, how the sheet removing device 1 described above winds up and removes the paper will be specifically described.

First, as shown in FIG. 13, an operator grips the grip part 21 of the sheet removing device 1. Then, as shown in FIG. 14, the front end claw 12 side of the sheet removing device 1 is brought close to the paper P, and the paper P is inserted into the insertion portion 22 between the front end claws 12 as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8, the leading end of the paper P inserted into the insertion section 22 is guided by the inclined portion 31d of the leading end claw 12 and the downstream inclined portion 32b as described above, and moves relative to the back side of the insertion section 22. Then, it is inserted into the insertion portion 23. That is, the sheet P can be inserted into the insertion section 23 simply by inserting the leading end of the sheet P into the insertion section 22 and moving the sheet removal device 1 toward the sheet P side.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, by making the tip claw 12 symmetrical with respect to the central axis of the sheet removing device 1, the central axis of the sheet removing device 1 can be aligned with respect to the paper P inserted into the insertion section 22. You can apply equal force to the left and right sides. Therefore, the inclination of the paper P can be suppressed and the paper can be smoothly guided to the insertion portion 23 side.

As shown in FIG. 2, a contact surface 13a of the gap forming plate 13 is provided at one longitudinal end of the insertion portion 23. As shown in FIG. The operator inserts the sheet removing device 1 toward the paper P until the leading edge of the paper P contacts the contact surface 13a.

By sandwiching the gap forming plate 13 between the sheet holding plates 11, a gap is formed between the sheet holding plates 11. That is, in this embodiment, the width B of the insertion portion 23 (see FIG. 8), which is the gap between the sheet holding surfaces 11a of the sheet holding plate 11, is defined by the thickness of the gap forming plate 13. This width B is set larger than the maximum thickness of paper that the sheet removal device 1 can handle. Thereby, even the maximum thickness of paper can be smoothly inserted into the insertion portion 23.

After the tip of the gap forming plate 13 of the paper P is brought into contact with the contact surface 13a, the sheet removing device 1 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 15 while the gripping portion 21 is being gripped. let At the beginning of this rotational operation, the paper P comes into contact with the left and right ends of the sheet holding plate 11 or the side surfaces of the winding guide 14 at two locations, Pa and Pb. As a result, the positions of the portions Pa and Pb are fixed with respect to the sheet removing device 1 due to the rigidity of the paper P, and the paper P does not easily fall off from the sheet removing device 1 even if the sheet removing device 1 rotates. Then, by rotating the sheet removing device 1, the paper P can be wound around the outer peripheral surface of the winding guide 14 as shown in FIG. Note that in FIGS. 15 and 16, the shapes of the sheet holding plate 11 and the winding guide 14 are simplified for convenience.

By winding up the paper P, the paper P is pulled out from the nip portion of the pair of upstream and downstream transport rollers 94 and 95, and the paper P is placed in the space opened to the outside by opening the transport guide plate 93. The front and rear ends fit together. In this state, by moving the sheet removing device 1 in any direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. It can be removed outside the conveyor.

As described above, the sheet removing device of this embodiment has a structure including an insertion section and an insertion section provided on the downstream side of the insertion section in the sheet insertion direction, so that only the operation of inserting the sheet removal device into the sheet (paper P) is performed. Then, the sheet can be inserted from the insertion section and passed through the insertion section, and the sheet can be easily removed from a device such as a conveyance device. Therefore, there is no need to touch the location where the sheets are jammed in the device or the sheets themselves, thereby preventing hands from getting dirty or from being injured by touching a sheet metal or the like. Furthermore, when removing a sheet after passing through a heating device such as a fixing device, the sheet can be removed without touching the heated sheet.

In particular, the sheet removing device of this embodiment does not require operations such as opening and closing the sheet removing device to hold the sheet in the sheet removing device, so it is possible to remove the sheet even in a narrower space. . Therefore, the sheet removing device can be applied to many locations, and the sheet removing operation becomes easy, so that the convenience of the sheet removing device can be improved.

Further, the sheet removing device of this embodiment is provided separately from a device such as a conveying device in which sheets are jammed. As a result, compared to, for example, a sheet removing device fixed to a conveying device, the sheet removing device can be used at any location where it can be inserted as described above, improving its convenience. . Furthermore, since it is not necessary to prepare a plurality of sheet removal devices for each location where sheets are jammed, it is possible to reduce the cost of devices such as the conveyance device.

In particular, the sheet removing device of this embodiment has a winding guide on its outer peripheral surface. That is, in this embodiment, by rotating the sheet removing device with the sheet inserted through the insertion portion, the sheet can be wound up and removed from the device. Thereby, even if the sheet is nipped between the pair of transport rollers, it can be easily removed. If a sheet nipped between a pair of conveyance rollers is to be removed manually, it is necessary to pull the sheet by hand to remove it, or to manually wind up the sheet and remove it from the nip portion of a pair of conveyance rollers. However, in the former case, the work is difficult in a narrow place, and there are problems such as hitting your hand inside the device, while in the latter case, the work is similarly difficult in a narrow place, and when done manually, the work is done 180 degrees at a time. Since the sheet can only be rotated, there is a problem in that it takes time and effort to wind up a sheet with a long width in the transport direction. In contrast, the sheet removing device 1 of this embodiment can remove sheets in a narrower space and with simpler operations.

Further, the sheet removing device is formed into a rod shape extending in the longitudinal direction, which is the direction in which the sheet removing device is inserted into a device such as a conveying device, that is, the direction in which the sheet is inserted into the sheet removing device. With such a shape, the cross-sectional area perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the sheet removing device can be made small, making it possible to insert the sheet removing device even in a narrower space. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the sheet removing device of this embodiment has a cross-sectional area perpendicular to the longitudinal direction that is significantly smaller than the size of a human hand. Therefore, it is possible to insert the sheet removing device and remove the sheet even in a narrow place where it is difficult to reach with your hands, and it is possible to improve the convenience of the sheet removing operation.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the outer circumferential surface 12d of the tip claw 12 is formed into a flat surface parallel to the longitudinal direction, which is the left-right direction in FIG. That is, the sheet removing device 1 has a flat portion on the outer circumferential surface on the distal end side of the insertion portion 22, more specifically, on the outer circumferential surface at a position facing the insertion portion 22 in the longitudinal direction of the sheet removing device 1. If the sheet jammed in the conveyance device is in close contact with one of the conveyance guide plates (for example, the conveyance guide plate 92 in FIG. 15), the sheet is conveyed while keeping the outer peripheral surface of the tip of the sheet removing device 1 in contact with the conveyance guide plate. It is necessary to insert the tip of the sheet removing device 1 between the guide plate and the sheet. At this time, since the outer circumferential surface 12d is constituted by a flat surface, it is possible to suppress the outer circumferential surface 12d from being caught on the conveyance guide plate, and the sheet can be smoothly inserted into the insertion section 22 and the insertion section 23.

As shown in FIG. 16, the outer circumferential surface 14a of the winding guide 14 that constitutes the outer circumferential surface of the sheet removing device 1 of this embodiment has a shape in which a part of an ellipse is cut out to provide a flat portion 14a1. doing. By providing a flat portion extending in the longitudinal direction on the outer peripheral surface of the sheet removing device 1 at a position not facing the insertion portion 22 in the longitudinal direction (a position other than the position facing the insertion portion 22), the sheet removing device 1 can be It can be placed at a predetermined position on a placement surface of a transport device or the like. In addition, in the cross section of the winding guide 14 in the direction perpendicular to the sheet insertion direction, which is the cross section of FIG. By forming the sheet into a curved shape, the winding angle of the sheet can be increased, and winding of the sheet becomes easier, compared to, for example, a case where the four corners are at right angles. By making the outer peripheral surface shape of the winding guide 14 not circular but elliptical having a major diameter portion and a minor diameter portion, the shape can be easily gripped by the operator, and the workability thereof can be improved.

Further, the contact surface 13a of the gap forming plate 13 is a surface perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X. When the leading edge of the sheet (paper P) comes into contact with this contact surface 13a, the posture of the sheet with respect to the sheet removing device 1 is corrected, and the inclination of the sheet with respect to the sheet removing device 1 is corrected. By correcting the inclination of the sheet in this manner, the distortion of the sheet when the sheet is wound up is suppressed, and the winding operation toward the winding guide 14 is facilitated. However, it is not always necessary to insert the sheet into the sheet removing device 1 to the position where the leading edge of the sheet contacts the contact surface 13a. For example, if there is not enough space to insert the sheet removing device 1 into an open space of a device such as a conveyance device, the sheet may be wound up with the leading edge of the sheet not in contact with the contact surface 13a. You can also do it.

Further, when the sheet removing device 1 winds up the sheet, the entire width of the sheet from one end in the sheet insertion direction to the other end does not need to be accommodated within the insertion portion 23 and the insertion portion 22 of the sheet removing device 1. In other words, even if a part of the sheet protrudes outside the sheet removing device 1, the sheet inside the sheet removing device 1 is wound up by the above-described winding operation, so that the protruding portion is also rolled up. As an example, the sheet removing device 1 has a length 1.5 times the longitudinal length X1 from the tip of the tip claw 12 of the sheet removing device 1 shown in FIG. 2 to the contact surface 13a of the gap forming plate 13. It can also be used for sheets of Further, this length X1 is preferably equal to or less than half the length of the conveying path in the sheet width direction at the position where the sheet is jammed + half the length of the sheet width. Thereby, the sheet can be inserted to the back side of the insertion portion 23, and the leading end of the sheet can be appropriately brought into contact with the contact surface 13a.

Further, the sheet removing device 1 is provided such that the cross-sectional shape of the portion having the longitudinal insertion portion 23 orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is substantially the same throughout the longitudinal direction. This makes it easier for the sheet removing device 1 to wind up the sheet. For example, in a sheet removing device 1' shown in FIG. 17A that is different from the present embodiment, the cross-sectional area gradually increases from the tip end claw side to the opposite side. In the sheet removing device 1' having such a shape, since the paper P is twisted in the longitudinal direction X when the paper P is wound up as shown in FIG. 17(b), a larger force is applied when the paper P is wound up. I need. On the other hand, in the sheet removing device 1 of this embodiment shown in FIGS. 18(a) and 18(b), the sheet P is not twisted in the longitudinal direction becomes easier.

Next, an example of an image forming apparatus having a conveying device equipped with the sheet removing device 1 described above will be described. Note that the image forming apparatus of this embodiment is provided with a housing section that houses the sheet removing device 1. In addition, a mounting section for mounting the sheet removing device 1 may be provided, or a configuration may be adopted in which the sheet removing device 1 is placed on a predetermined flat surface of the image forming apparatus without providing a dedicated section for arranging the sheet removing device 1. Good too.

As shown in FIG. 19, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a photoreceptor 150, an exposure device 160, a paper feed section 151, a conveyance device 140, a transfer section 152, a fixing device 153, a paper ejection roller 154, and the like. have

The paper feed section 151 includes a plurality of paper feed trays 155 and paper feed rollers 156. The paper P in the paper feed tray 155 is sent out to the conveyance path 101 by the paper feed roller 156.

A plurality of pairs of conveyance rollers are provided on the conveyance path 101 and the reverse conveyance path 102 .

The transfer unit 152 includes a primary transfer roller 157, an intermediate transfer belt 158, a secondary transfer roller 159, and the like. A primary transfer nip is formed between the photoreceptor 150 and the primary transfer roller 157. A secondary transfer nip is formed between intermediate transfer belt 158 and secondary transfer roller 159. The toner image is transferred from the photoreceptor 150 to the intermediate transfer belt 158 in the primary transfer nip.

The paper P sent out from the paper feed section 151 to the conveyance path 101 is conveyed downstream by a plurality of conveyance roller pairs provided in the conveyance device 140, and then conveyed to the secondary transfer nip. After the toner image is transferred on the secondary transfer nip, the image on the paper P is fixed by the fixing device 153. The paper P on which the image has been fixed is further conveyed downstream, and is ejected from the apparatus by a paper ejection roller 154.

Further, when images are formed on both sides of the paper P, the paper P is sent to the reversing conveyance path 102 downstream of the fixing device 153. Then, the paper P is transported again to the transport device 140 with its front and back sides reversed, and an image is formed on the back surface in the same way as on the front surface. The paper P on which images are formed on both sides is discharged out of the apparatus by a paper discharge roller 154.

The conveying device 140 of this embodiment includes, for example, a merging section 103 on the upstream side of the secondary transfer position on the conveying path 101, where the reversing conveying path 102 joins the conveying path 101. By opening the opening/closing door 104 provided on the casing of the image forming apparatus toward the front in the paper of FIG. 19, the merging section 103 and its surrounding area can be opened to the outside of the image forming apparatus. The sheet removing device 1 of this embodiment can remove the paper P stuck in this merging section 103 and its surrounding area. However, the position of the paper P inside the image forming apparatus that is removed by the sheet removing apparatus 1 of this embodiment is not limited to this, and may be at any appropriate position within the image forming apparatus. For example, the paper P that is jammed on the downstream side of the fixing device 153 may be removed. Further, the conveyance device 140 that conveys the paper P to be removed by the sheet removing device 1 of the present embodiment is a device that has a pair of conveyance rollers on the conveyance path 101 or the reversing conveyance path 102 in the image forming apparatus 100, and is one of the devices. It may be an appropriate part or all of the part. Further, the entire image forming apparatus may be a transport device.

When the opening/closing door 104 is opened, as shown in FIG. 20(a), the merging portion 103 and a portion of the conveying path 101 and the reversing conveying path 102 around it are exposed to an opening 105 provided in the casing of the image forming apparatus. It is opened to the outside of the image forming apparatus through. Specifically, the area indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 20A as the opening 105 is the area that is opened to the outside, and it is necessary to access this limited space and remove the jammed paper P.

A part of the conveyance path 101 is formed by conveyance guide plates 106 and 107 as conveyance path forming members. Further, a portion of the conveyance path 101 including the merging portion 103 is formed by a conveyance guide plate 108 and a conveyance guide plate 109 as conveyance path forming members that are continuous with the conveyance guide plate 106 .

The conveyance guide plate 106 is rotatably provided around a rotation shaft 106a. The conveyance guide plate 108 is rotatably provided around a rotating shaft 108a. A regulating member 110 is attached to the conveyance guide plate 106. The regulating member 110 comes into contact with the conveyance guide plate 108 when the conveyance guide plate 106 is closed as shown in FIG. 20(a), and restrains the conveyance guide plate 108 in the closed state.

Further, a regulation lever 111 is provided that restrains the conveyance guide plate 106 in a closed state. The regulation lever 111 has a rotating shaft 111a and a regulation part 111b. The rotation shaft 111a is fixed to the casing of the image forming apparatus, and the regulation lever 111 is rotatably provided around the rotation shaft 111a.

In the state shown in FIG. 20(a), the regulating portion 111b is in contact with the conveyance guide plate 106 and restrains the conveyance guide plate 106 in the closed state. In this state, by rotating the regulation lever 111 around the rotation shaft 111a, the regulation part 111b is separated from the conveyance guide plate 106, and the restraint of the regulation part 111b on the conveyance guide plate 106 is released. As a result, as shown in FIG. 20(b), the conveyance guide plate 106 rotates around the rotating shaft 106a due to its own weight, and the conveyance path between the conveyance guide plates 106 and 107 is opened. Further, due to the rotation of the conveyance guide plate 106, the contact state of the regulating member 110 with respect to the conveyance guide plate 108 is released, and the conveyance guide plate 108 rotates around the rotation shaft 108a. As a result, the conveyance path between the conveyance guide plates 108 and 109 is opened.

After opening each conveyance path as described above, the sheet removing device 1 described above is entered from the opening 105, and the sheet removing device 1 is inserted between the conveyance guide plates 106 and 107 or between the conveyance guide plates 108 and 109. Insert. Then, the sheet removing device 1 can remove the paper P stuck in the conveying device.

Further, in this embodiment, the opening 105 and the conveying guide plate 107 or the conveying guide plate 109 can be contacted through the opening 105 so that the sheet removing device 1 can contact the conveying guide plate 107 or the conveying guide plate 109 which is not opened or closed. 109 is arranged. As a result, when removing a sheet with the sheet removing device 1, the distal end of the sheet removing device 1 is brought into contact with the conveyance guide plate 107 or the conveyance guide plate 109, and the gap between the conveyance guide plate 107 or the conveyance guide plate 109 and the paper P is maintained. The leading end of the paper P can be inserted into the insertion section 22 of the sheet removing device 1 by inserting one of the leading end claws 12 into the sheet removing device 1 .

A paper detection member may be provided that detects the paper P at a position on the conveyance path that is accessible by opening the opening/closing door. The paper detection member can detect a jam of the paper P and notify that the paper P is jammed in a position that can be accessed by the opening/closing door. As the notification means, a light emitting element such as an LED may be provided near the opening/closing guide section, or notification may be provided on the operation screen of the image forming apparatus.

In addition, in a configuration in which the paper P is held between the upstream and downstream transport roller pairs on the transport path and temporarily stopped, if an opening/closing door is provided near this stop position to make the stop position accessible, the downstream transport roller pair It is preferable to set the timing of stopping the paper P so that the paper P stops at a position beyond the range. Thereby, the paper P is stopped in a state where it is nipped by the pair of upstream and downstream conveyance rollers, so that it becomes easy to insert the paper P into the insertion section of the sheet removing device 1.

Next, a modified example of the sheet removing device that improves usability when used by an operator, particularly a general user, will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22.

As shown in FIG. 21, the sheet removing device 1 includes a contact detection sensor 35 on the contact surface 13a of the gap forming plate 13. Further, the sheet removing device 1 has an LED lamp 36 as a lighting member and a restart button 37 on its outer peripheral surface.

The contact detection sensor 35 changes its detection state when the paper P contacts the contact surface 13a, and can detect the contact of the paper P. As shown in FIG. 22, when the change in the detection state of the contact detection sensor 35 is transmitted to the control section 40 of the sheet removing device 1, the control section 40 turns on the LED lamp 36. Thereby, the operator can recognize that the paper P has been inserted to the back side of the sheet removal device 1, and can wind up the paper P in an appropriate state and remove it from the image forming apparatus. However, instead of or in addition to lighting the LED lamp 36, a sound may be used to notify the operator that the paper P has been inserted to the far side of the sheet removing device 1.

Further, the control section 40 of the sheet removing device 1 is provided to be able to communicate with the control section 190 of the image forming apparatus 100, which is a conveyance device, through wireless communication such as Bluetooth or WiFi connection. When the operator presses the resume button 37, the press of the resume button 37 is transmitted from the control section 40 of the sheet removing device 1 to the control section 190 of the image forming apparatus 100. As a result, the printing operation on the paper P that was interrupted due to the jam and the subsequent printing operation are restarted. Further, information such as the number and frequency of paper P removal by the sheet removing device 1 and the time required for jam removal is stored in the control unit 40 of the sheet removing device 1 or the control unit 190 of the image forming apparatus 100. If this frequency is high, a display prompting for repair or parts replacement is displayed on the display panel 191 of the image forming apparatus 1. Alternatively, a proposal for repair or parts replacement is made to an external location such as a service center.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

In the above explanation, the case of removing a sheet stuck in a conveying device provided in an image forming apparatus has been exemplified, but the sheet removing device of the present invention is applicable to any conveying device that conveys sheets. Not exclusively.

Aspects of the present invention are, for example, as follows.
<1>
an insertion section for inserting a sheet;
A sheet removal device including an insertion section provided downstream of the insertion section in the sheet insertion direction and through which the sheet is inserted,
The sheet removing device is characterized in that the insertion section has an inclined section that is inclined in a direction that narrows the width of the insertion section in the sheet thickness direction from the upstream side to the downstream side in the sheet insertion direction.
<2>
further comprising a pair of insertion part forming members forming the insertion part between each other,
In the sheet removing device according to <1>, both of the pair of insertion portion forming members have the inclined portions facing each other.
<3>
a pair of insertion part forming members forming the insertion part between each other;
The insertion portion forming member is the sheet removing device according to <1> or <2>, wherein the upstream end of the sheet in the insertion direction has a curved shape.
<4>
a pair of insertion part forming members forming the insertion part between each other;
From <1> to <1>, the insertion part forming member has a widthwise inclined part at a widthwise end thereof, which is inclined in a direction to increase the width of the insertion part forming member from the upstream side to the downstream side in the sheet insertion direction. 3> The sheet removing device according to any one of the above.
<5>
The sheet removing device according to <4>, wherein an upstream widthwise inclined portion as the widthwise inclined portion is provided at a tip portion provided at an upstream end in the sheet insertion direction of the insertion portion forming member.
<6>
The sheet removing device according to <5>, wherein a plurality of the upstream width direction inclined parts are provided in the width direction of the insertion part forming member.
<7>
further comprising a pair of insertion part forming members forming the insertion part between each other,
The sheet according to any one of <4> to <6>, wherein the insertion part forming member has a downstream width direction inclined part, which is the width direction inclined part, at a position facing the insertion part forming member in the sheet insertion direction. It is a removal device.
<8>
In the sheet removing device according to <7>, the downstream width direction inclined portion has a curved shape on its upper surface.
<9>
The sheet removing device according to any one of <7> and <8>, wherein a plurality of the downstream width direction inclined parts are provided in the width direction of the insertion part forming member.
<10>
a pair of insertion part forming members forming the insertion part between each other;
The pair of insertion part forming members have a downstream slope part located downstream of the slope part in the sheet insertion direction and having a larger slope angle than the slope part and narrowing the width of the insertion part in the sheet thickness direction.< The sheet removing device according to any one of items 1 to 9 above.
<11>
The insertion portion forming member is the sheet removing device according to <10>, wherein the width of the portion where the downstream slope portion is provided in the sheet insertion direction is narrower than the width of the portion where the slope portion is provided.
<12>
A conveyance device including the sheet removing device according to any one of <1> to <11>.
<13>
This is an image forming apparatus including the transport device described in <12>.

1 Sheet removal device 11 Sheet holding plate (insertion part forming member)
12 Tip claw (insertion part forming member)
13 Gap forming plate 13a Contact surface (contact part)
14 Winding guide 21 Gripping part 22 Insertion part 23 Insertion part 31 Rake part (tip part)
31b Upstream side widthwise inclined part 31d Inclined part 32 Guide part 32b Downstream side inclined part 33 Delivery part 33a Downstream side widthwise inclined part 100 Image forming apparatus 140 Conveying device

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-171222

Claims (13)

an insertion section for inserting a sheet;
A sheet removal device including an insertion section provided downstream of the insertion section in the sheet insertion direction and through which the sheet is inserted,
The sheet removing device is characterized in that the insertion section has an inclined section that is inclined in a direction that narrows the width of the insertion section in the sheet thickness direction from the upstream side to the downstream side in the sheet insertion direction. further comprising a pair of insertion part forming members forming the insertion part between each other,
The sheet removing device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of insertion portion forming members both have the inclined portions facing each other. further comprising a pair of insertion part forming members forming the insertion part between each other,
The sheet removing device according to claim 1, wherein the insertion portion forming member has a curved shape at an upstream end in the insertion direction of the sheet. further comprising a pair of insertion part forming members forming the insertion part between each other,
2. The insertion portion forming member has a widthwise inclined portion at a widthwise end thereof, which is inclined in a direction to increase the width of the insertion portion forming member from the upstream side to the downstream side in the sheet insertion direction. Sheet removal device. 5. The sheet removing device according to claim 4, wherein an upstream side widthwise inclined portion, which is the widthwise inclined portion, is provided at a tip portion provided at an upstream end in the sheet insertion direction of the insertion portion forming member. 6. The sheet removing device according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of the upstream side width direction inclined parts are provided in the width direction of the insertion part forming member. further comprising a pair of insertion part forming members forming the insertion part between each other,
5. The sheet removing device according to claim 4, wherein the insertion portion forming member has a downstream side widthwise inclined portion, which is the widthwise inclined portion, at a position facing the insertion portion forming member in the sheet insertion direction. 8. The sheet removing device according to claim 7, wherein the downstream width direction inclined portion has a curved top surface. 8. The sheet removing device according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of said downstream width direction inclined parts are provided in the width direction of said insertion part forming member. The pair of insertion part forming members have a downstream slope part located downstream of the slope part in the sheet insertion direction and having a larger slope angle than the slope part and narrowing the width of the insertion part in the sheet thickness direction. Item 2. The sheet removing device according to item 2. 11. The sheet removing device according to claim 10, wherein a width of a portion of the insertion portion forming member in which the downstream slope portion is provided in the sheet insertion direction is narrower than a width of a portion where the slope portion is provided. A conveying device comprising the sheet removing device according to any one of claims 1 to 11. An image forming apparatus comprising the conveying device according to claim 12.

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