JP5509835B2 - Sheet conveying apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet conveying apparatus that conveys the uppermost sheet by inclining a bottom plate on which a bundle of sheets is stacked so that the downstream side in the conveying direction of the uppermost sheet is constant, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet conveying apparatus. .

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copier or printer including a sheet conveying device and a sheet conveying device, the uppermost sheet of a sheet bundle stacked on the bottom plate is inclined by inclining the bottom plate of the sheet stacking unit. There is known a sheet conveying apparatus that raises the downstream end in the conveying direction to a predetermined position and separates and sends the uppermost sheet raised to the predetermined position by a feeding unit provided at a predetermined position. Yes.

  As described above, in the configuration in which the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle is made constant by inclining the bottom plate, the inclination angle of the conveying path of the feeding unit is constant without fluctuation, but every time the remaining sheet amount decreases. The inclination angle of the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle becomes larger, and the inclination angle of the uppermost sheet and the inclination angle of the conveying path of the feeding unit are greatly separated from each other. There was a problem that it was difficult to stably feed paper.

  On the other hand, instead of tilting the bottom plate and raising the sheet bundle, there is a configuration that raises the sheet bundle by vertically lifting the bottom plate while maintaining its posture, but this configuration is more than the configuration that tilts the bottom plate However, there are still problems in terms of cost, space, etc., and many sheet conveying devices still use a configuration that raises the sheet bundle downstream in the sheet conveying direction by tilting the bottom plate. ing.

  Therefore, in the configuration in which the bottom plate is tilted so that the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle has a certain height, a butting plate is provided between the sheet stacking unit and the feeding unit, and the butting plate is tilted to form the sheet. A technique is known in which a sheet is guided from a stacking unit to a feeding unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that when the sheet is guided by the abutting plate, the front end of the sheet hits the abutting plate and a load is applied to the front end of the sheet.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and provides a sheet conveying apparatus and an image forming apparatus capable of stably conveying a sheet without applying a load to the leading edge of the sheet. .

  The sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention includes an inclinable bottom plate on which a sheet bundle is stacked, a bottom plate inclination driving member for inclining the bottom plate so that a downstream side in the sheet conveying direction of the sheet bundle is raised to a predetermined position, and the bottom plate inclination driving. A bottom plate tilt drive amount detection member that detects the drive amount of the member, a feed unit that is tiltable at the predetermined position and separates and conveys the uppermost sheet from the sheet bundle, and tilts the feed unit A feeding section tilt driving member, a feeding section tilt driving amount detecting member for detecting a driving amount of the feeding section tilt driving member, and a conveying path inside the feeding section on the same plane as the uppermost sheet. As described above, the control device is characterized by comprising control means for tilting the feeding section by the feeding section tilt driving member in accordance with the driving amount detected by the bottom plate tilt driving amount detection member.

  With this configuration, the sheet can be stably conveyed without applying a load to the leading edge of the sheet.

  In the sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention, the bottom plate tilt driving member and the feeding unit tilt driving member are configured by one driving device, and the bottom plate and the feeding unit are tilted by the one driving device. It is characterized by that.

  With this configuration, the sheet can be stably conveyed without increasing the number of driving devices.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes the sheet conveying device and a pair of guide plates that are provided on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction of the sheet conveying device and guide the uppermost sheet conveyed from the sheet conveying device. The distance between the lower guide plate and the lower guide plate is increased toward the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction, in which the guide plate pair is disposed on the lower side of the uppermost sheet. And an upper guide plate arranged on the upper side of the uppermost sheet so as to be inclined.

  With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the sheet conveyed from the sheet conveying apparatus from passing outside the guide plate pair.

  The image forming apparatus is a digital copier.

  With this configuration, in an image forming apparatus as a digital copying machine, it is possible to stably convey a sheet without imposing a load on the leading edge of the sheet.

  The image forming apparatus is a printer apparatus.

  With this configuration, in an image forming apparatus as a printer device, it is possible to stably convey a sheet without applying a load to the leading edge of the sheet.

  The image forming apparatus is a facsimile machine.

  With this configuration, in the image forming apparatus as a facsimile apparatus, the sheet can be stably conveyed without applying a load to the leading edge of the sheet.

  The image forming apparatus is an offset printing machine.

  With this configuration, in the image forming apparatus as an offset printing machine, it is possible to stably convey the sheet without imposing a load on the leading edge of the sheet.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sheet conveying apparatus and an image forming apparatus that can stably convey a sheet without imposing a load on the leading edge of the sheet.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus including a sheet conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a perspective view of a sheet conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and (b) is a side view of the sheet conveying apparatus viewed from the direction of arrow A in (a). (A) is the perspective view of the feeding part which concerns on one embodiment of this invention, (b) is the side view which looked at the feeding part from the direction of arrow C of (a). It is a side view of the sheet conveying apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the control means of the sheet conveying apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the sheet conveying apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. (A) is the perspective view of the sheet conveying apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention, (b) is the side view which looked at the sheet conveying apparatus from the direction of arrow D of (a).

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, the configuration will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 51 is configured as an electrophotographic digital copier, and includes an original reading unit 52 that reads an original and an uppermost sheet (recording paper) conveyed from the sheet conveying apparatus 1. An image forming unit 53 that forms an image read by the document reading unit 52 with respect to 2A, and a sheet conveying apparatus 1 that separates one uppermost sheet 2A from the sheet bundle 2 and conveys the image to the image forming unit 53. Yes.

  The uppermost sheet 2A conveyed by the sheet conveying device 1 is conveyed by a conveying roller pair 58, and the toner image formed by the image forming unit 53 is transferred by the transfer device 59. The toner image is thermally transferred by the fixing device 60. The paper discharge roller pair 61 discharges the paper to the paper discharge tray 62.

  Hereinafter, the details of the sheet conveying apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  2A and 2B, the sheet conveying apparatus 1 stacks the sheet bundle 2, and the sheet conveying direction of the sheet bundle 2 with the vicinity of the end near the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction as a rotation center. A bottom plate 11 that can be tilted so that the downstream end is raised, a bottom plate tilting member 13 that tilts the bottom plate 11, a drive device 31 that drives the bottom plate tilting member 13, and a detection unit that detects the drive amount of the drive device 31. 32 and a detection unit 33 that detects that the end of the sheet bundle 2 on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction has reached a predetermined position.

  Further, the sheet conveying apparatus 1 includes a feeding unit 14 that separates the uppermost sheet 2A of the sheet bundle 2 and conveys it in the direction indicated by the arrow B. The feeding unit 14 can be tilted to a position above the end of the sheet bundle 2 on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction, where the end of the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction reaches a predetermined position to separate and convey the sheet bundle 2. Is provided. That is, the feeding unit 14 is provided at a predetermined position so as to be freely tilted.

  The image forming apparatus 51 includes a guide plate pair 15 that guides a sheet conveyed from the feeding unit 14 of the sheet conveying apparatus 1 at a position immediately after the feeding unit 14 (near the end on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction). ing. The guide plate pair 15 includes an upper guide plate 15b and a lower guide plate 15a. The lower guide plate 15a is arranged in parallel with the sheet conveying direction, and the upper guide plate 15b is a lower guide plate. It is arranged so as to be inclined so that the distance from 15a becomes wider toward the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction. Thus, by tilting the upper guide plate 15b, the interval between the upper guide plate 15b and the lower guide plate 15a is widened, and the uppermost sheet 2A conveyed from the sheet conveying device 1 passes outside the guide plate pair 15. Can be prevented.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the feeding unit 14 separates the uppermost sheet 2A from the stacked sheet bundle 2 and conveys the separated uppermost sheet 2A. Conveying rollers 17a and 17b that convey to the outside of the apparatus 1, a driving device 37 that drives the conveying rollers 17a and 17b, and guide plates 18a and 18b that guide the conveyance of the uppermost sheet 2A inside the feeding unit 14. It is equipped with. The guide plate 18a is disposed at a position below the uppermost sheet 2A being conveyed, and the guide plate 18b is disposed at a position above the uppermost sheet 2A being conveyed. Further, the guide plate 18a and the guide plate 18b are arranged in parallel to each other, and the space between the guide plate 18a and the guide plate 18b constitutes a conveyance path.

  The feeding unit 14 is coaxially disposed on the side of the feeding unit 14 in the sheet conveying direction, that is, on both sides in the sheet width direction, and is conveyed upstream from the nip formed by the conveying rollers 17a and 17b in the sheet conveying direction. On the path, the rotation shafts 19a and 19b having an axis center at the center of the contact width between the separation unit 16 and the sheet bundle 2 in the sheet conveyance direction side, the drive device 34 that rotates the rotation shaft 19a, and the drive device 34 And a detection unit 36 for detecting the drive amount.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom plate 11 is inclined by the bottom plate inclined member 13 driven by the driving device 31 every time the remaining amount of the sheet bundle 2 decreases, and the sheet conveyance of the uppermost sheet 2A of the sheet bundle 2 is performed. Control is performed so that the downstream side in the direction has a constant height. For this reason, the inclination angles of the bottom plate 11 and the sheet bundle 2 increase each time the remaining amount of sheets in the sheet bundle 2 decreases.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet conveying apparatus 1 includes a control unit 30 connected to the detection units 32, 33, and 36 and the driving devices 31 and 34. The control unit 30 detects the driving amount of the driving device 31 by the detection unit 32 to obtain the inclination angle of the bottom plate 11, drives the driving device 34 with the driving amount according to the inclination angle of the bottom plate 11, and supplies the feeding unit 14. Is designed to tilt.

  Specifically, the control unit 30 drives the driving device 31 to incline the bottom plate 11, and when the detection unit 33 detects that the end of the sheet bundle 2 on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction has reached a predetermined position, Although the driving device 31 is stopped, since the inclination angle of the bottom plate 11 increases every time the remaining amount of sheets in the sheet bundle 2 decreases, the driving amount of the driving device 31 is acquired by the detection unit 32 and the inside of the feeding unit 14 is acquired. The driving amount of the driving device 34 for making the inclination angle of the conveying path equal to the inclination angle of the bottom plate 11 is calculated. Then, the control means 30 drives the drive unit 34 while the detection unit 36 detects the drive amount by the calculated drive amount, and tilts the feeding unit 14. The correspondence between the driving amount of the driving device 31 and the inclination angle of the bottom plate 11 and the correspondence relationship between the driving amount of the driving device 34 and the inclination angle of the feeding unit 14 are determined in advance in the control means 30. Yes. In addition, since the feeding unit 14 is provided at a predetermined position, that is, above the end of the sheet bundle 2 on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction and the position where the uppermost sheet 2A should be raised, the bottom plate 11 is inclined. When the end of the sheet bundle 2 on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction reaches a predetermined position, if the inclination angle of the conveyance path inside the feeding unit 14 is equal to the inclination angle of the bottom plate 11, the inside of the feeding unit 14 Is naturally on the same plane as the uppermost sheet 2A.

  Next, the operation of the sheet conveying apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described.

  The control unit 30 starts detection by the detection unit 32 (step S1), drives the drive device 31 to incline the bottom plate 11 and raises the downstream side of the bottom plate 11 in the sheet conveying direction (step S2), and detects the detection unit 33. In step S3, it is determined whether or not the uppermost surface (uppermost sheet 2A) of the sheet bundle 2 has been detected. If this determination is YES, the driving of the driving device 31 is stopped (step S4), and the detection unit 32 is detected. The detection by is terminated (step S5). On the other hand, if determination of step S3 is NO, it will return to step S2 and will continue the drive of the drive device 31. FIG.

  As described above, in steps S1 to S5, the bottom plate 11 is inclined by the driving device 31 so that the downstream side in the transport direction of the uppermost sheet 2A of the sheet bundle 2 has a constant height.

  Next, after executing step S1 to step S5, the control unit 30 calculates the drive amount α to be driven by the drive device 34 that tilts the feeding unit 14 from the drive amount of the drive device 31 detected by the detection unit 32. (Step S6).

  Next, the control unit 30 starts detection by the detection unit 36 (step S7), drives the drive device 34 to tilt the feeding unit 14 (step S8), and the amount detected by the detection unit 36 is determined in step S6. It is determined whether or not the calculated drive amount α has been reached (step S9). If this determination is YES, the drive of the drive device 34 is stopped (step S10), and the detection by the detector 36 is terminated (step S11). ). On the other hand, if determination of step S9 is NO, it will return to step S8 and will continue the drive of the drive device 34. FIG.

  In this way, by executing Steps S1 to S11, the feeding unit 14 is tilted at an inclination angle equivalent to the inclination angle of the bottom plate 11, and the inclination of the uppermost sheet 2A of the sheet bundle 2 and the feeding unit 14 are inclined. The inclination angle of the transport path becomes equal.

  Therefore, the uppermost sheet 2A of the separated sheet bundle 2 is conveyed to the periphery of the nip portion of the conveying rollers 17a and 17b while maintaining the posture when it is placed on the bottom plate 11, and an extra load is applied. The uppermost sheet 2A can be stably conveyed without hitting the leading end of the uppermost sheet 2A.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, you may comprise so that both the baseplate inclination member 13 and the feeding part 14 may be inclined by one drive device 31 using the belt-shaped transmission member 20. FIG. In this case, the sheet can be stably conveyed without increasing the number of driving devices.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 51 is not limited to an electrophotographic digital copier, and may be another type of digital copier such as an ink jet system. Further, the image forming apparatus 51 is not limited to a digital copying machine, and may be configured as a printer apparatus, a facsimile apparatus, or an offset printing machine.

  As described above, the sheet conveying apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment inclines the bottom plate 11 on which the sheet bundle 2 is stacked and the bottom plate 11 so that the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction of the sheet bundle 2 rises to a predetermined position. A drive unit 31; a detection unit 32 that detects a drive amount of the drive unit 31; a feeding unit 14 that is provided at a predetermined position so as to be tiltable, and separates and conveys the uppermost sheet 2A from the sheet bundle 2; A drive unit 34 that inclines the unit 14, a detection unit 36 that detects the drive amount of the drive unit 31, and a detection unit 32 so that the conveyance path inside the feeding unit 14 is flush with the uppermost sheet 2A. And a control means 30 for inclining the feeding unit 14 by the driving device 34 in accordance with the driving amount detected by the motor.

  With this configuration, the sheet can be stably conveyed without applying a load to the leading edge of the sheet.

  Further, the sheet conveying apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the bottom plate 11 and the feeding unit 14 are inclined by one driving device 31.

  With this configuration, the sheet can be stably conveyed without increasing the number of driving devices.

  The image forming apparatus 51 according to the present embodiment is provided on the downstream side of the sheet conveying apparatus 1 and the sheet conveying direction of the sheet conveying apparatus 1 and guides the uppermost sheet 2A conveyed from the sheet conveying apparatus 1. The pair of guide plates 15 includes a lower guide plate 15a disposed on the lower side of the uppermost sheet 2A, and the gap between the lower guide plate 15a increases toward the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction. And an upper guide plate 15b disposed on the upper side of the uppermost sheet 2A.

  With this configuration, the sheet conveyed from the sheet conveying apparatus 1 can be prevented from passing outside the guide plate pair 15.

  The image forming apparatus 51 according to the present embodiment is configured as a digital copier.

  With this configuration, in the image forming apparatus 51 as a digital copying machine, the sheet can be stably conveyed without applying a load to the leading edge of the sheet.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured as a printer apparatus.

  With this configuration, in the image forming apparatus 51 as a printer apparatus, it is possible to stably convey the sheet without imposing a load on the leading edge of the sheet.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured as a facsimile machine.

  With this configuration, in the image forming apparatus 51 as a facsimile apparatus, the sheet can be stably conveyed without imposing a load on the leading edge of the sheet.

  Further, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured as an offset printing machine.

  With this configuration, in the image forming apparatus 51 as an offset printing machine, the sheet can be stably conveyed without applying a load to the leading edge of the sheet.

  As described above, the sheet conveying apparatus and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention have an effect that the sheet can be stably conveyed without applying a load to the leading end of the sheet, and the sheet bundle is stacked. It is useful as a sheet conveying apparatus that conveys the uppermost sheet by inclining the bottom plate so that the downstream side in the conveying direction of the uppermost sheet is at a certain height, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet conveying apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sheet conveying apparatus 2 Sheet bundle 2A Topmost sheet 11 Bottom plate 13 Bottom plate inclined member 14 Feeding portion 15 Guide plate pair 15a Lower guide plate 15b Upper guide plate 16 Separating portions 17a, 17b Conveying rollers 18a, 18b Guide plates 19a, 19b Rotating shaft 20 Transmission member 30 Control means 31 Drive device (bottom plate tilt drive member)
32 detector (bottom plate tilt drive amount detection member)
33 Detection part 34 Drive device (feed part inclination drive member)
36 detection part (feeding part inclination drive amount detection member)
37 drive device 51 image forming apparatus

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-279101

Claims (6)

A tiltable bottom plate for stacking sheet bundles,
A bottom plate tilt drive member that tilts the bottom plate so that the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction of the sheet bundle rises to a predetermined position;
A bottom plate inclination drive amount detection member for detecting a drive amount of the bottom plate inclination drive member;
A feeding section that is provided at an incline at the predetermined position and separates and conveys the uppermost sheet from the sheet bundle;
A feeding section tilt driving member for tilting the feeding section;
A feeding unit tilt drive amount detection member that detects a driving amount of the feeding unit tilt drive member;
As the transport path of the interior of the feeding unit is the uppermost sheet on the same plane, in accordance with the driving amount the bottom plate inclined driving amount detecting member detects the feeding portion inclined driving amount detecting member is detected The feeding portion is tilted by the feeding portion tilt driving member until the driven amount becomes a driving amount corresponding to the driving amount detected by the bottom plate tilt driving amount detecting member , and the tilt angle of the bottom plate and the feeding portion are sheet conveying apparatus, comprising a control unit that controls so that the inclination angle of the transport path of the internal equal of. A sheet conveying device according to claim 1;
An image forming apparatus provided with a pair of guide plates provided on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction of the sheet conveying apparatus and guiding the uppermost sheet conveyed from the sheet conveying apparatus,
The guide plate pair is inclined so that the gap between the lower guide plate disposed below the uppermost sheet and the lower guide plate becomes wider toward the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction. And an upper guide plate disposed on the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the image forming apparatus is a digital copier . The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the image forming apparatus is a printer apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the image forming apparatus is a facsimile apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the image forming apparatus is an offset printing machine .

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