JP5321084B2 - Sheet stacking tray, stacking apparatus, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet stacking tray for stacking sheets on which images are formed, a stack apparatus, and an image forming apparatus.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a sheet stacking tray on which sheets after image formation discharged from a discharge port are stacked.

  Although there is no detailed description of the sheet stacking tray of Patent Document 1, as is apparent from the drawing, the entire stacking surface of the stacking surface is inclined so that the discharge port is lowered.

  However, when the entire sheet stacking surface is tilted, the sheet discharged from the discharge port is stacked so that the sheet S moves from the leading end so as to rub the stacking surface 101 as shown in FIG. In particular, when a sheet that has undergone special processing such as gloss coating is stacked, the sheet tends to stick to the sheet stacking surface or the previously stacked sheet, which may cause conveyance failure or stacking failure. In addition, since the entire discharged sheet rubs the sheet stacking surface or the previously stacked sheet, there is a problem that the image forming surface is easily soiled or scratched.

  Further, when the stacked sheet bundle is taken out, there is a problem that the image forming surface of the sheet at the lowest position is rubbed with the sheet stacking surface and the image forming surface is easily stained or scratched.

  The gloss coating is a coating layer made of acrylic resin or the like for imparting gloss.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and prevents sticking of a sheet subjected to special processing such as gloss coating, and prevents the image forming surface of the sheet from being stained or scratched. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet stacking tray, a stacking apparatus, and an image forming apparatus.

The present invention is a sheet stacking tray on which sheets after image formation discharged from a discharge port are stacked, and the sheet stacking surface includes an inclined surface and a substantially horizontal plane provided along the sheet discharging direction, and an inclined surface and a substantially horizontal plane. The inclined surface, the curved surface and the substantially horizontal plane form a series of continuous surfaces, the inclined surface is inclined with the sheet discharge port side facing downward, and the substantially horizontal plane is It is located above the discharge port, is longer in the sheet discharge direction than the inclined surface , and has a plurality of ribs only on the inclined surface. The ribs extend along the sheet conveying direction and are spaced from each other. It is characterized by being open.

  According to the present invention, the sheet stacking surface is provided with an inclined surface, a curved surface, and a substantially horizontal plane sequentially along the sheet discharging direction, and the horizontal plane is longer in the sheet discharging direction than the inclined surface. As shown, the leading edge of the sheet S that has passed through the inclined surface moves at a position away from the substantially horizontal plane, and overlaps so as to sandwich air from above on the approximately horizontal plane, so that sticking when the sheet is discharged can be prevented.

  By providing the inclined surface on the discharge port side, it is possible to drop the sheet discharged from the fixed position along the inclined surface, align the rear ends of the sheet bundle, and prevent the sheet from jumping out of the tray. By forming a plurality of ribs on the inclined surface, it is possible to further prevent the first sheet from adhering to the sheet stacking surface when the first sheet is discharged.

  The rib is provided only on the inclined surface, and when the stacked sheet bundle is taken out from the tray, the rib is not formed on the curved surface where the sheet bundle and the rib are most rubbed and on the substantially horizontal surface where the sheet bundle and the rib are rubbed for a long time. When the stacked sheet bundle is taken out from the tray, the bottom sheet can be prevented from rubbing with the rib, and the printing surface can be prevented from being stained or scratched by not contacting the rib on a substantially horizontal surface or curved surface. .

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sheet stacking tray according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an inclined surface of the sheet stacking tray shown in FIG. 1 cut along a sheet conveying direction. FIG. 2 is a side view of the sheet stacking tray shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the discharge port side. FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which sheets are stacked on a sheet stacking tray. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of a stack apparatus. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the sheet | seat stacking tray explaining the effect | action of this invention. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of a conventional sheet stacking tray.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet stacking tray 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment is arranged in a stack apparatus 3, and the stack apparatus 3 is connected to an image forming apparatus main body 5 such as a copying machine and a post-processing apparatus 7. The sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus main body 5 is introduced from the direction of arrow A. The stack device (stacker) 3 can select an operation mode of a proof paper discharge mode, a straight paper discharge mode, and a shift paper discharge mode.

  The proof paper discharge mode is an operation mode in which sheets are guided and stacked on the sheet stacking tray (proof tray) 1 from the direction of arrow B through the sheet conveyance paths L1 and L2. The straight sheet discharge mode is an operation mode in which the sheet discharge path L1 and L3 are guided from the direction of arrow C to the post-processing device 7 provided at the rear stage of the stack device 3. The shift discharge mode is an operation mode in which sheets are discharged and stacked on the shift tray 9 from the direction of arrow D through the sheet conveyance path L4. In the shift discharge mode, the sheets are stacked at different shift positions on the shift tray 9 by the shift roller 11.

  The sheets stacked on the sheet stacking tray (proof tray) 1 are discharged from a discharge roller 15 provided at the discharge port 13.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet stacking surface 17 of the sheet stacking tray 1 is provided with an inclined surface 19, a curved surface 21, and a substantially horizontal plane 23 sequentially from the discharge port 13 side along the sheet discharge direction E. The inclined surface 19, the curved surface 21, and the substantially horizontal surface 23 continuously form a series of surfaces, and the inclined surface 19 is inclined with the sheet discharge port 13 side facing downward.

  Further, the length M in the sheet discharge direction of the substantially horizontal surface 23 is longer than the length N of the inclined surface 19 in the sheet discharge direction.

  The inclined surface 19 is formed with two ribs 25a and 25b that extend in the sheet conveying direction and are provided in parallel with a distance from each other. These ribs 25 a and 25 b are provided only on the inclined surface 19, and are not provided on the curved surface 21 and the substantially horizontal surface 23.

  The ribs 25a and 25b are disposed on the target with the center of the sheet discharge port 13 in the width direction of the sheet as the target axis.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the rib 25a, 25b has a curved ridge line portion 25 as shown in a cross-sectional view taken along the alternate long and short dash line. As shown in FIG. The shape of the ribs 25a and 25b is narrower toward the outlet side in plan view. 2 and 3, the symbol G indicates the sheet discharge direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet discharge port side end portions 29 of the ribs 25 a and 25 b gradually rise from the inclined surface 19 toward the sheet discharge direction G from the sheet discharge port side end and project at a height H. Has been established. Further, in the present embodiment, the sheet discharge direction ends 31 of the ribs 25a and 25b are similarly gradually lowered in the sheet discharge direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, wall surfaces 33 a and 33 b projecting upward from the sheet stacking surface 17 are provided on both sides of the sheet stacking surface 17 in the sheet width direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a groove 35 is formed between the ribs 25 a and 25 b on the sheet stacking surface 17. The groove 35 is provided along the sheet discharge direction from the middle of the inclined surface 19 in the sheet discharge direction, and is formed across the inclined surface 19, the curved surface 21, and the substantially horizontal plane 23. It is formed through the tip.

  Next, the function and effect of the present embodiment will be described. When the sheet S is discharged from the sheet discharge port 13 onto the sheet stacking surface of the sheet stacking tray 1, the sheet is discharged in the direction of arrow E as shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the sheet stacking surface 17 includes an inclined surface 19, a curved surface 21, and a substantially horizontal surface 23 in order along the sheet discharging direction, and the horizontal surface 23 is longer than the inclined surface 19 in the sheet discharging direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the leading edge of the sheet S that has passed through the inclined surface 19 moves at a position away from the substantially horizontal plane 23 without rubbing the substantially horizontal plane 23 due to the bending of the sheet, and bends the leading end side. Since the sheets S overlap with each other so as to sandwich air on the substantially horizontal plane 23, sticking when the sheets are discharged can be prevented.

  By having the inclined surface 19 on the discharge port side, as shown in FIG. 1, the discharged sheet is dropped in the direction of arrow F along the inclined surface 19, and the rear end of the sheet bundle is the wall surface below the discharge port 13. And the sheet can be prevented from jumping out of the tray when the sheet is discharged along the E direction.

  By forming the two ribs 25 a and 25 b on the inclined surface 19, it is possible to prevent the sheet from sticking to the sheet stacking surface 17 when the first sheet is discharged.

  Further, by providing the ribs 25a and 25b, it is possible to prevent sticking that occurs particularly when a sheet subjected to special processing such as gloss coating is discharged.

  That is, the ribs 25a and 25b protrude from the inclined surface 19 by being gradually raised upward from the inclined surface 19 toward the sheet discharging direction from the sheet discharge port side end, and protrude from the inclined surface 19 by the height H, thereby protruding the sheet S1. The sheet is prevented from sticking to the sheet stacking surface 17 by being lifted by the height H.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the ribs 25a and 25b each have a curved ridge line portion 27 in contact with the sheet S, so that damage to the image formed on the sheet can be prevented.

  Since the ribs 25a and 25b have a planar apex shape in which the sheet discharge port side portion 29 is narrower toward the sheet discharge port, the sheet can be gradually guided by the ribs 25a and 25b. The printing surface can be prevented from being soiled or scratched by being caught with 25b.

  The ribs 25a and 25b are provided only on the inclined surface 19, and as shown in FIG. 4, when the stacked sheet bundle S2 is taken out from the sheet stacking tray 1, the curved surface 21 and the sheet bundle with which the sheet bundle S2 and the rib are rubbed most tightly. Since the ribs are not formed on the substantially horizontal plane 23 where the ribs rub against S2 for a long time, the bottom sheet can be prevented from rubbing with the ribs, and the printing surface is stained by not contacting the ribs on the approximately horizontal plane 23 or the curved surface 21. And scratches can be prevented.

  As shown in FIG. 4, by providing wall surfaces 33a and 33b on the sheet stacking tray 1, it is possible to prevent the stacked sheets from dropping from the sheet stacking surface in the sheet width direction.

  Since the contact area between the first sheet and the sheet stacking surface 17 can be reduced by the groove 35 provided in the center of the sheet stacking surface, the sheet stacking is performed when a specially processed sheet such as gloss coating is discharged. While preventing the sticking to the surface and the groove 35 is formed through the end in the sheet discharge direction, by inserting a hand from the direction of the arrow I into the space Z of the groove 35 as shown in FIG. It is easy to take out the sheet bundle S2 of any size.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, the number of ribs 25a and 25b is not limited to two but may be a total of four ribs, two on the left and right, and the number is not limited. However, in order to reduce the contact area with the sheet S, the number of ribs 25a and 25b is preferably as small as possible. preferable.

  The ribs 25a and 25b are not limited to be provided continuously in the sheet discharge direction, but may be provided intermittently at intervals in the sheet discharge direction.

  The sheet stacking tray 1 may be provided at the discharge port of the image forming main body 5.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sheet stacking tray 3 Stack apparatus 5 Image forming main body 13 Discharge port 17 Sheet stacking surface 19 Inclined surface 21 Curved surface 23 Substantially horizontal surface 25a, 25b Rib 27 Ridge line 29 Sheet discharge port side end 33a, 33b Wall surface 35 Groove

JP 2008-50170 A

Claims (10)

A sheet stacking tray on which sheets after image formation discharged from a discharge port are stacked, and a sheet stacking surface is provided between an inclined surface and a substantially horizontal plane provided along a sheet discharging direction, and between the inclined surface and a substantially horizontal plane. The inclined surface, the curved surface, and the substantially horizontal plane form a series of continuous surfaces, the inclined surface is inclined with the sheet discharge port side facing downward, and the substantially horizontal plane is more than the discharge port. It is located above and is longer in the sheet discharge direction than the inclined surface , and a plurality of ribs are provided only on the inclined surface, and the ribs extend along the sheet conveying direction and are spaced apart from each other. A sheet stacking tray characterized by being.   2. The sheet stacking tray according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ribs are provided in parallel to each other, and are disposed on the target with the center of the sheet discharge port as a target axis in the width direction of the sheet.   The sheet stacking tray according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of ribs has a curved ridge line portion.   4. The sheet stacking tray according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of ribs has a planar apex shape in which a width of the rib is narrowed toward an end on a sheet discharge port side. 5.   5. The plurality of ribs are provided so as to protrude from the inclined surface gradually upward from the sheet discharge port side end toward the sheet discharge direction, respectively. The listed sheet stacking tray.   The sheet stacking tray according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein wall surfaces projecting upward from the sheet stacking surface are provided on both sides of the sheet stacking surface in the sheet width direction.   The sheet stacking surface includes a groove provided between the plurality of ribs along the sheet discharging direction and formed across the inclined surface, the curved surface, and the substantially horizontal plane. The sheet stacking tray according to any one of the above.   The sheet stacking tray according to claim 7, wherein the groove penetrates a front end of the substantially horizontal surface in the sheet discharging direction.   A sheet stacking tray according to any one of claims 1 to 8, and a shift tray for stacking and holding sheets formed with an image by the image forming main body, wherein the sheets after image formation are sheet stacking tray or sheet shift A stack apparatus characterized by holding with a tray.   An image forming apparatus comprising: the stacking apparatus according to claim 9; and an image forming apparatus main body that forms an image on a sheet.

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