JP6314513B2 - Image forming system and paper conveying apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tandem type image forming system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected in series, and a sheet conveying apparatus disposed between the image forming apparatuses.

  2. Description of the Related Art A tandem image forming system (hereinafter simply referred to as “image forming system”) configured by connecting two image forming apparatuses in series is known. According to this image forming system, when images are formed on both sides of a sheet, for example, an image is formed on the front side of the sheet by an upstream image forming apparatus, and an image is formed on the back side of the sheet by a downstream image forming apparatus. it can. By performing the process of forming images on the front and back sides of the paper in a shared manner with each image forming apparatus, productivity is improved compared to the case where images are formed on both sides of the paper with one image forming apparatus. (See Patent Document 1).

  In such an image forming system, a sheet conveying device may be disposed between two image forming apparatuses. In an image forming system including a paper transport device, when a jam occurs, the paper in the paper transport device or the paper transported to the paper transport device from the image forming device disposed on the upstream side of the paper transport device is removed. Work is done. Therefore, a technique capable of easily removing the paper in such a paper transporting device is desired.

  On the other hand, in the conventional paper transport device, a guide unit for opening the transport path is provided between the two transport rollers. When a jam occurs, the paper transported by opening the guide unit is transported. The structure which discharges | emits out of the road is proposed (refer patent document 2). In Patent Document 2, the paper transport device stops or post-feeds the downstream-side transport roller, continues to feed the upstream-side transport roller, and deflects the paper, and the guide portion is released by pressing the deflected paper. Is configured to do. As a result, the jammed paper is automatically discharged out of the paper transport path.

JP 2012-143964 A JP 2009-18923 A

  As described above, when the paper is automatically discharged out of the paper transport path in the paper transport device, there is a demand for discharging as much paper as possible outside the paper transport path in order to improve the efficiency of removal. On the other hand, if a jam occurs, the downstream conveyance roller of the sheet conveyance device is stopped immediately and the upstream conveyance roller continues to rotate, so that more sheets can be discharged out of the sheet conveyance path.

  However, if only the downstream transport roller is stopped while the paper is nipped by the downstream transport roller and the upstream transport roller at the same time, the transported paper stops suddenly. A force in the direction opposite to the sheet conveyance direction is applied to the roller from the sheet. At this time, since the upstream conveying roller continues to rotate, the force is transmitted to the conveying motor that rotationally drives the upstream conveying roller, and a sudden load is applied to the conveying motor.

  On the other hand, in order to improve the conveyance accuracy, it is necessary to employ a stepping motor as a conveyance motor. However, if a sudden load is applied to the stepping motor, the stepping motor may step out. Therefore, when a stepping motor is used as a transport motor that drives the upstream transport roller, when the downstream transport roller is stopped, a sudden load is applied to the transport motor that drives the upstream transport roller, The trouble that a conveyance motor steps out occurs.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a sheet conveying apparatus that can easily discharge a sheet out of the sheet conveying path when jamming occurs, and that can suppress the step-out of the conveying motor, and an image forming system including the sheet conveying apparatus. Objective.

To solve the above problems, order to achieve the object of the present invention, a sheet conveying apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of conveying roller pairs disposed along the sheet conveying path, the jam occurrence A plurality of transport rollers including a pair of downstream transport rollers that sometimes stop rotating, and an upstream transport roller pair that is provided upstream of the downstream transport rollers and continues to rotate when a jam occurs and is driven to rotate by a stepping motor A movable guide portion that opens the paper conveyance path by moving at least one of the pair of conveyance roller pairs in a direction away from the paper conveyance path, and a movable guide when a jam occurs. After moving the part and moving one roller of the downstream transport roller pair away from the paper transport path, release the pressure contact of the downstream transport roller pair, and then stop the rotation of the downstream transport roller pair And a movable guide unit that moves one roller of the downstream conveyance roller pair in a direction away from the sheet conveyance path, thereby downstream of the upstream conveyance roller pair in the sheet conveyance path. The first movable guide portion that opens the area and the first movable guide in the paper transport path are moved in a direction away from the paper transport path by moving one roller of the upstream transport roller pair adjacent to the downstream transport roller pair. A second movable guide portion that is upstream of the downstream region that is opened by the portion and that opens the upstream region that is continuous with the downstream region. with but one of the rollers of the downstream conveying roller pair is moved away from the sheet conveying path by moving the first movable guide portion when the above criterion value, to release the pressure on the downstream side transport roller pair, the 2 movable guide The by moving one of the rollers of the upstream-side transport roller pair moves away from the sheet conveying path, after releasing the pressure contact of the downstream transport rollers to stop rotation of the downstream-side transport roller pair.
The sheet conveying apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of conveying roller pairs provided along the sheet conveying path, and a downstream conveying roller pair that stops rotating when a jam occurs, and a downstream side A plurality of transport roller pairs including an upstream transport roller pair that is provided upstream of the transport rollers, continues to rotate when a jam occurs, and is driven to rotate by a stepping motor, and at least downstream of the transport roller pairs A movable guide portion that opens the paper conveyance path by moving one roller of the conveyance roller pair away from the paper conveyance path, and one roller of the downstream conveyance roller pair that moves the movable guide section when a jam occurs. And a controller that stops the rotation of the downstream conveying roller pair after the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair is released, and the movable guide unit is arranged downstream of the sheet conveying path. A first movable guide portion that opens a downstream region downstream of the position of the upstream conveyance roller pair in the paper conveyance path by moving one roller of the conveyance roller pair in a direction away from the paper conveyance path; By moving one roller of the upstream conveying roller pair adjacent to the roller pair in a direction away from the paper conveying path, the upstream side of the downstream area opened by the first movable guide portion in the paper conveying path. A second movable guide portion that opens the upstream region continuous with the downstream region, and when a jam occurs, the control unit moves the first movable guide portion when the stiffness of the conveyed paper is equal to or greater than a reference value. Then, one roller of the downstream conveying roller pair is moved away from the sheet conveying path, the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair is released, and the second movable guide portion is moved to move one of the upstream conveying roller pair. No Moves away La from the sheet conveying path, after releasing the pressure contact of the downstream transport rollers to stop rotation of the downstream-side transport roller pair.

  The image forming system of the present invention includes a first image forming apparatus disposed on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction, a second image forming apparatus disposed on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction, the first image forming apparatus, and the second image forming apparatus. The above-described sheet conveying device is provided between the image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus. The sheet conveying apparatus conveys the sheet conveyed from the first image forming apparatus to the second image forming apparatus.

  In the sheet conveying apparatus and the image forming system of the present invention, when the jam occurs, the downstream conveying roller pair stops and the upstream conveying roller pair continues to rotate. Therefore, the downstream conveying roller pair and the upstream conveying roller pair The sheet in between is discharged from the sheet conveyance path opened by the movable guide portion.

  According to the present invention, even when the transport motor is configured by a stepping motor, it is possible to prevent the stepping motor from stepping out when the paper is discharged when a jam occurs.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship (first example) between a paper stop position and a paper transport path of a paper transport device. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship (second example) between a maximum length in a sheet feeding direction and a sheet conveying path of a sheet conveying apparatus. The structure of the principal part (lock state) of the paper conveyance path when the paper conveyance device is viewed from the front is shown. The structure of the principal part (lock release state) of the paper conveyance path when the paper conveyance device is viewed from the front is shown. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a fixed plate provided on the front surface of a paper transport path of the paper transport device. It is the 1st explanatory view of lock release operation of an automatic course release mechanism. It is the 2nd explanatory view of lock release operation of an automatic course release mechanism. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a first image forming apparatus of the image forming system. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the 2nd image forming apparatus of an image forming system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a sheet conveying device of the image forming system. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a purge operation and a jam process of the sheet conveying device when a jam occurs. The timing chart at the time of purge operation is shown. It is a flowchart at the time of jam generation in the 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is the schematic which shows the whole structure of the image forming system which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, an example of an image forming system and a sheet conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to the following examples. The embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
1. 1. First embodiment: image forming system 1-1. Overall configuration of image forming system 1-2. Unlocking operation of automatic opening / closing mechanism 1-3. Internal configuration of image forming system 1-4. 1. Operation during jam processing Second Embodiment: Image Forming System 3. Third Embodiment: Image Forming System

<< 1. First Embodiment: Image Forming System >>
<1-1. Overall configuration of image forming system>
First, the outline of the image forming system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an image forming system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 1 includes a sheet feeding device 10, a first image forming device 20, a sheet conveying device 30, a second image forming device 40, and a post-processing device 50 from the upstream side of the sheet conveying path. It is the structure of the series tandem system with which etc. were connected in series.

  When the first image forming apparatus 20 and the second image forming apparatus 40 are connected, they are either a main machine that comprehensively manages the image forming system 1 or a sub machine that operates according to an instruction of the main machine Is set. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the first image forming apparatus 20 provided on the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction is set as the main machine, and the second image forming apparatus 40 is set as the sub machine.

  In the image forming system 1 in the present embodiment, when executing a duplex mode job for forming images on both sides of a sheet, the first image forming apparatus in which the first image forming apparatus 20 forms an image on one side of the sheet. The second image forming apparatus 40 functions as a second image forming apparatus that forms an image on the other side of the sheet.

  When executing a job in the duplex mode, the first image forming apparatus 20 forms an image on the front surface of the sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding device 10 or the sheet feeding unit in the first image forming apparatus 20. Then, the sheet on which the image on the front surface is formed is reversed by the reversing unit in the first image forming apparatus 20, and then is conveyed to the second image forming apparatus 40 through the sheet conveying apparatus 30. An image is formed on the back surface of the sheet and conveyed to the post-processing device 50.

  When a single-side mode job for forming an image on one side of a sheet is executed, the first side is applied to one side of the sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding unit in the sheet feeding device 10 or the first image forming apparatus 20. The image forming apparatus 20 forms an image. Then, the sheet on which the image is formed on one side passes through the sheet conveying device 30 and the second image forming device 40 and is conveyed to the post-processing device 50.

[Paper Feeder]
The paper feeder 10 is called a PFU (Paper Feed Unit), and includes a plurality of paper feed trays, a paper feed means including a paper feed roller, a separation roller, a paper feed / separation rubber, a feed roller, and the like. Prepare. Each sheet tray stores sheets identified in advance for each sheet type (sheet type, basis weight, sheet size, etc.), and the first image is formed by sheet feeding means one by one from the top of the sheet. The sheet is conveyed to the sheet conveying unit of the apparatus 20. Information on the paper type (paper size, paper type, etc.) stored for each paper feed tray is stored in a non-volatile memory 251 (to be described later) of the first image forming apparatus 20. The paper feeding device 10 functions as a paper feeding unit of the first image forming device 20.

[First image forming apparatus]
The first image forming apparatus 20 reads an image from a document, and forms the read image on a sheet. Also, print data and print setting data in a page description language format such as a PDL (Page Description Language) format and a Tiff format are received from an external device, etc., and an image is placed on a sheet based on the received print data and print setting data. Or form. The first image forming apparatus 20 includes an image reading unit 21, an operation display unit 22, a print unit 23, and the like.

  The image reading unit 21 includes an automatic document feeding unit called ADF (Auto Document Feeder) and a reading unit, and reads images of a plurality of documents based on setting information received by the operation display unit 22. The document placed on the document tray of the automatic document feeder is conveyed to a contact glass that is a reading location. The reading unit reads an image of the document conveyed to the contact glass and generates an image signal. Specifically, an image of a document is irradiated by a light source, and the reflected light forms an image on a light receiving surface of an image sensor 211 (see FIG. 9) described later via an optical system. The image sensor 211 photoelectrically converts incident light and outputs it as a predetermined image signal. Image data is created by A / D converting the output image signal. Here, the image is not limited to graphics and photographs, but also includes text data such as characters and symbols. Further, as the image sensor 211, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) can be used.

  The operation display unit 22 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 221, a touch panel provided to cover the LCD 221, various switches and buttons, a numeric keypad, an operation key group, and the like. The operation display unit 22 receives an instruction from the user and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 250 (see FIG. 9) described later. Further, according to a display signal input from the control unit 250, various setting screens for inputting various operation instructions and setting information, and operation screens for displaying various processing results are displayed on the LCD 221.

  The print unit 23 performs electrophotographic image forming processing, and includes various units related to print output, such as a paper feed unit 231, a paper transport unit 232, an image forming unit 233, and a fixing unit 234. In addition, although the example which applied the electrophotographic system is demonstrated in the printing part 23 of this embodiment, you may apply other printing systems, such as not only this but an inkjet system and a thermal sublimation system.

  The sheet feeding unit 231 includes a plurality of sheet feeding trays and sheet feeding means including a sheet feeding roller, a separation roller, a sheet feeding / separating rubber, a feeding roller, and the like provided for each sheet feeding tray. Each paper tray stores paper that can be fed, identified in advance for each paper type (paper type, basis weight, paper size, etc.), and the paper is fed one by one from the top. Is conveyed toward the paper conveyance unit. In addition, information on the paper type (paper type, basis weight, paper size, etc.) stored for each paper feed tray is stored in the nonvolatile memory 251 (see FIG. 9).

  The paper transport unit 232 transports paper from the paper supply device 10 or the paper supply unit 231 to the image forming unit 233. The sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming unit 233 is further conveyed to the second image forming apparatus 40 side by the sheet conveying unit 232. In the paper transport unit 232, the paper temporarily stands by at the upstream side of the registration roller 233a for correcting the bending, and the transport of the paper to the downstream side of the registration roller 233a is resumed according to the image formation timing.

  The paper transport unit 232 includes a reversing unit 232b including a transport path switching unit 232a and a reversing roller. In accordance with the switching operation of the conveyance path switching unit 232a, the reversing unit 232b conveys the sheet that has passed through the fixing unit 234 to the apparatus connected downstream without being reversed, or switches back by a reversing roller or the like. Then, the paper is turned upside down and then conveyed to an apparatus connected downstream. Further, the reversing unit 232b may include a circulation path unit that reverses the front and back of the sheet that has passed through the fixing unit 234 and refeeds the image to the image forming unit 233 of the first image forming apparatus 20.

  The image forming unit 233 includes a photosensitive drum, a charging device, an exposure device, a developing device, a transfer device, a cleaning device, and the like, and forms an image on a sheet surface based on print image data. In the case where the first image forming apparatus 20 forms a color image, an image forming unit 233 is provided for each color (Y, M, C, Bk).

  In the image forming unit 233, the surface of the photosensitive drum charged by the charging device is irradiated with light corresponding to the print image data from the exposure device, and an electrostatic latent image is written. The developing device develops the electrostatic latent image by attaching charged toner to the surface of the photosensitive drum on which the electrostatic latent image is written. The toner image attached on the photosensitive drum is transferred to the paper at the transfer position. After the toner image is transferred to the paper, the cleaning device removes residual charge, residual toner, and the like on the surface of the photosensitive drum, and the removed toner is collected in a toner collection container.

  The fixing unit 234 includes a fixing heater, a fixing roller, a fixing external heating unit, and the like, and thermally fixes the toner image transferred to the sheet.

[Paper transport device]
The sheet conveying device 30 is installed downstream of the first image forming apparatus 20 and upstream of the second image forming apparatus 40 in the sheet conveying direction. In the present embodiment, the sheet conveying apparatus 30 conveys the sheet conveyed from the first image forming apparatus 20 to the second image forming apparatus 40 in accordance with an instruction from the second image forming apparatus 40.

  The paper transport device 30 includes a paper transport path 31, an automatic path opening mechanism 32, a density sensor 319, and a nip state detection sensor (not shown). The sheet conveyance path 31 conveys the sheet conveyed from the first image forming apparatus 20 to the second image forming apparatus 40. The automatic path opening mechanism 32 automatically opens and closes the paper transport path 31 when a jam occurs, and discharges (purges) the paper in the paper transport apparatus 30 and the first image forming apparatus 20. In the following description, the paper discharge operation using the automatic path opening mechanism 32 when a jam occurs will be described as “purge operation”, and the paper to be purged will be described as “purge target paper”. Detailed configurations of the paper transport path 31 and the automatic path opening mechanism 32 will be described later.

  The density sensor 319 measures the density of the image formed on the conveyed paper. The nip state detection sensor (the detection unit of the present invention) detects whether or not the fifth conveying roller pair 317 that changes by opening and closing of an automatic path opening mechanism 32 described later is in pressure contact.

  By the way, when the sheet is stopped in a state where the sheet is placed on both the first image forming apparatus 20 and the second image forming apparatus 40, both the image forming apparatuses are put on standby, for example. It is necessary to control at the same time, and the control becomes complicated. Therefore, the paper transport path 31 of the paper transport device 30 is configured to be longer than the length in the paper transport direction.

  The length required for the paper conveyance path 31 will be described in detail below. First, when a sheet stop position is provided in the middle of the sheet conveyance path of the second image forming apparatus 40, the length of the sheet conveyance path 31 is based on the leading edge of the sheet stopped in the second image forming apparatus 40. The trailing edge of the sheet is set so as to be accommodated in the sheet conveying device 30. Second, in the case where the paper transport path 31 has a paper stop position in the middle of the paper transport path 31, the length of the paper transport path 31 is based on the leading edge of the paper stopped in the paper transport apparatus 30 as a base point. The rear end is set so as to be accommodated in the sheet conveying device 30. For example, when the leading edge of the sheet is stopped by the first conveying roller pair 313, the sheet may be placed up to the first image forming apparatus 20. Thus, the sheet does not fit in the sheet conveying apparatus 30 depending on the conditions. There may be cases.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship (first example) between the stop position of the paper and the paper conveyance path 31 of the paper conveyance device 30. In the example of FIG. 2, the registration roller 433a of the second image forming apparatus 40 is set to the paper stop position. In this case, the length of the sheet conveyance path 31 is set such that the trailing edge of the sheet S is accommodated in the sheet conveyance apparatus 30 with the nip portion of the registration roller 433a of the second image forming apparatus 40 as the base point of the leading edge of the sheet S. Is formed. The rear end of the sheet S is located in the middle of the sheet conveyance path 31 of the sheet conveyance device 30, for example, near a third conveyance roller pair 315 described later.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship (second example) between the maximum length in the sheet feeding direction and the sheet conveying path 31 of the sheet conveying apparatus 30. In the example of FIG. 3, the fifth transport roller pair 317 of the paper transport device 30 is set as the paper stop position. In this case, the length of the paper transport path 31 is such that the rear end of the paper S is within the paper transport device 30 with the nip portion of the fifth transport roller pair 317 of the paper transport device 30 as the base point of the leading edge of the paper S. It is formed as follows. The rear end of the sheet S is located near the first conveyance roller pair 313 on the sheet carry-in side of the sheet conveyance path 31 of the sheet conveyance device 30. Note that the relationship between the maximum length in the paper feeding direction and the paper conveyance path 31 of the paper conveyance device 30 is not limited to this, and depending on the length of the paper, the first image forming device 20 may be covered with paper.

  As described above, even when the sheet is stopped in the sheet conveying apparatus 30 by making the length of the sheet conveying path 31 longer than the length in the sheet conveying direction, only at least one of the image forming apparatuses is used. It is possible to make a state where the paper is applied. As a result, when the sheet is stopped, it is not necessary to wait for the image forming apparatus in which the sheet is not stopped among the first image forming apparatus 20 and the second image forming apparatus 40, and the first image forming apparatus Control of the apparatus 20 and the second image forming apparatus 40 can be facilitated.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when viewed from the front side of the sheet conveying apparatus 30, the sheet conveying path 31 is the sixth conveying provided at a position closest to the sheet discharging side from the vicinity of the first conveying roller pair 313 on the sheet carrying side. The roller pair 318 is configured to curve to the vicinity. In the present embodiment, the curved shape of the paper transport path 31 is a substantially U-shape that is convex downward. By curving the paper transport path 31, the length of the paper transport path 31 can be secured in a limited space. In other words, by curving the paper transport path 31, it is possible to reduce the size of the paper transport apparatus 30 while ensuring the length of the paper transport path 31.

  Further, the paper transport device 30 includes an automatic path opening mechanism 32 (an example of a path opening / closing mechanism) that opens the paper transport path 31 and automatically performs a purge operation when a jam occurs. The jam refers to the abnormal stop of the paper in the image forming system 1 for some reason. The paper abnormally stopped in the image forming system 1 is called a jam paper, and the paper that causes the user to stop abnormally ( The action of removing paper (residual paper) other than jammed paper) and jammed paper stopped during conveyance is referred to as jam processing. In the present embodiment, the purge operation is a residual paper (purge) in the paper transport device 30 and in the first image forming device 20 upstream thereof when a jam occurs on the downstream side of the paper transport device 30. This refers to the operation of discharging the target paper.

  In the paper transport device 30, when a jam occurs, the automatic path opening mechanism 32 opens a part of the paper transport path 31 so that the paper remaining in the paper transport path 31 when the jam occurs is disposed below. 33 is configured to be accommodated. The operation of the image forming system 1 can be resumed by performing the purge operation and the jam processing.

[Second image forming apparatus]
The second image forming apparatus 40 includes a print unit 43 and the like, and forms an image on the sheet surface in cooperation with the first image forming apparatus 20. The sheet conveyed from the first image forming apparatus 20 is conveyed to the registration roller 433a via the conveyance roller 434a. The sheet temporarily stands by on the upstream side of the registration roller 433a, and the conveyance to the downstream side of the registration roller 433a is resumed according to the image formation timing. Note that the print unit 43 provided in the second image forming apparatus 40 is similar to the print unit 23 provided in the first image forming apparatus 20, a paper transport unit provided with a paper feed unit 431 and a reversing unit 432 b, an image forming unit, and a fixing unit. Each unit relating to print output such as a unit is provided. Since these configurations are the same as those of the first image forming apparatus 20, description thereof will be omitted.

[Post-processing equipment]
The post-processing device 50 is installed on the downstream side of the second image forming device 40 in the paper conveyance direction, and includes various post-processing units such as a sorting unit, a stapling unit, a punching unit, and a folding unit, and a paper discharge tray (large size). And a post-processed sheet is subjected to various post-processing, and the post-processed sheet is subjected to the large-capacity discharge tray T1 and the sub-tray T2. To discharge. The large-capacity discharge tray T1 has a stage that moves up and down, and accommodates a large amount of sheets stacked on the stage. On the sub-tray T2, the paper is exposed to the outside and discharged in a visible state.

[Main parts of the paper transport path and its surroundings]
Here, the configuration of the automatic path opening mechanism 32 of the paper transport apparatus 30 will be further described. FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the main part (locked state) of the paper transport path 31 when the paper transport device 30 is viewed from the front. FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the main part (unlocked state) of the paper transport path 31 when the paper transport device 30 is viewed from the front. FIG. 6 is a view showing a fixed plate 37 provided on the front surface of the paper transport path 31 of the paper transport device 30. In the present embodiment, the fixed plate 37 is provided on the front surface of the paper conveyance path 31, but the fixed plate 37 may be installed on the back side of the paper conveyance path 31 in order to ensure safety for the user.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the paper transport device 30 includes a paper transport path 31 that is curved downward, and an automatic path opening mechanism 32. The paper transport path 31 in the paper transport device 30 includes a curved plate-shaped inner guide portion 31a, curved plate-shaped fixed guide portions 31b and 31c provided to face the inner guide portion 31a, and a downward direction. It is comprised from the 1st movable guide part 34 and the 2nd movable guide part 35 (an example of the movable guide part of this invention) which can be rotated.

  The first movable guide portion 34 includes a first movable guide portion main body 341 having a plate-like guide portion 343 provided so as to face the inner guide portion 31a, and a lock mechanism. The second movable guide portion 35 is provided on the upstream side of the first movable guide portion 34 with respect to the sheet conveyance direction, and has a plate-like guide portion 353 provided so as to face the inner guide portion 31a. 2 It has a movable guide part main body 351 and a lock mechanism. The above-described fixed guide portion 31b, guide portion 353, guide portion 343, and fixed guide portion 31c are arranged in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side.

  The sheet conveying device 30 includes an upstream conveying unit 310a, an intermediate conveying unit 310b, and a downstream conveying unit 310c, which are arranged in this order along the sheet conveying path 31 from the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction. The upstream side conveyance unit 310 a includes a first conveyance roller pair 313 and a second conveyance roller pair 314 provided in order along the paper conveyance path 31. The first transport roller pair 313 and the second transport roller pair 314 are rotationally driven by a first stepping motor 365 (see FIG. 11). The intermediate transport unit 310b includes a third transport roller pair 315 and a fourth transport roller pair 316 provided in order along the paper transport path on the downstream side of the upstream transport unit 310a. Further, the third conveyance roller pair 315 and the fourth conveyance roller pair 316 are rotationally driven by a second stepping motor 366 (see FIG. 11). The downstream side conveyance unit 310c includes a fifth conveyance roller pair 317 and a sixth conveyance roller pair 318 provided in order along the paper conveyance path 31 on the downstream side of the intermediate conveyance unit 310b. The fifth transport roller pair 317 and the sixth transport roller pair 318 are rotationally driven by a third stepping motor 367 (see FIG. 11).

  Here, the fifth transport roller pair 317 corresponds to the “downstream transport roller pair” of the present invention, and the first to fourth transport roller pairs 313 to 316 arranged on the upstream side of the downstream transport section are the present invention. Corresponds to the “upstream conveying roller pair”.

  Note that, among the plurality of transport roller pairs shown in FIG. 4, the second transport roller pair 314 functions as a curl forcing roller. The fourth conveying roller pair 316 functions as a loop creation roller for forming a loop on the paper. Further, the fifth transport roller pair 317 functions as a registration roller.

  The inner guide portion 31a and the fixed guide portions 31b and 31c are fixed to the back surface 30A of the sheet conveying device 30 directly or via an arbitrary member. The inner guide portion 31a is fixed inside the sheet conveyance path 31 curved downward. On the other hand, the fixed guide portions 31b and 31c, the guide portion 343 of the first movable guide portion main body 341, and the guide portion 353 of the second movable guide portion main body 351 constitute a guide portion outside the paper transport path 31.

  The fixed guide portions 31b and 31c, the guide portion 343 of the first movable guide portion main body 341, and the guide portion 353 of the second movable guide portion main body 351 are curved along the curved shape of the inner guide portion 31a.

  The first movable guide portion main body 341 is curved along the curved shape of the inner guide portion 31a, and has a rotation shaft portion 342 provided at an end portion on the downstream side in the paper transport direction. The portion 342 is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable. The first movable guide portion main body 341 is rotationally driven by a guide portion driving mechanism (not shown) so as to open the paper transport path 31 upstream of the rotational shaft portion 342. The rotation shaft portion 342 has an axial direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction. One end of each of the various rollers and the rotating shaft portion 342 is attached to a fixed plate 37 disposed on the back surface 30 </ b> A side inside the sheet conveying device 30. The other ends of the various rollers and the rotating shaft portion 342 are attached to a fixed plate 37 (see FIG. 6) disposed on the front side inside the sheet conveying device 30.

  A locking member 344 is pivotally supported by a rotation shaft portion 345 at a predetermined position of the first movable guide portion main body 341. The locking member 344 has a pivot shaft 345 passed through one end and a hook-shaped hook 344a formed at the other end. The locking member 344 and the key part 344a constitute a lock mechanism for the first movable guide part 34.

  The hook portion 344a of the locking member 344 is hooked on the fixed pin 371 shown in FIG. 6, so that the first movable guide portion main body 341 is locked, and thereby the sheet can be guided (guide position). Held in the locked state.

  On the other hand, when the key portion 344a of the locking member 344 is not hooked on the fixed pin 371, the upstream side of the first movable guide portion main body 341 rotates clockwise around the rotation shaft portion 342 by its own weight. (Open position), the paper transport path 31 is opened (unlocked state) (see FIG. 5).

  In addition, the first movable guide body 341 is attached with a driven roller 317b of a fifth transport roller pair 317 constituting the downstream transport section 310c. As a result, the driven roller 317b moves as the first movable guide body 341 rotates. As described above, when the first movable guide unit main body 341 is opened, the driven roller 317b of the fifth transport roller pair 317 is retracted integrally with the rotation operation of the first movable guide unit main body 341, and the fifth transport roller pair 317 is moved. The pressure contact is released. As a result, the downstream area downstream of the fourth conveyance roller pair 316 is opened in the paper conveyance path 31.

  The second movable guide part 35 has a shape that is substantially symmetrical to the first movable guide part 34 with respect to the intermediate point of the paper transport path 31, and is composed of substantially the same elements as the first movable guide part 34. The second movable guide portion main body 351 of the second movable guide portion 35 has a rotation shaft portion 352 provided at an upstream end portion in the sheet conveyance direction, and is pivotable by the rotation shaft portion 352. It is supported. The second movable guide portion main body 351 is rotationally driven so as to open the downstream side downward by a guide portion drive mechanism (not shown). The rotation shaft portion 352 has an axial direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction. One end portion of the rotation shaft portion 352 is attached to a fixed plate 37 disposed on the back surface 30 </ b> A side inside the paper conveyance device 30. The other end of the rotation shaft 352 is attached to a fixed plate 37 (see FIG. 8) disposed on the front side of the sheet conveying device 30.

  A locking member 354 is pivotally supported by a rotation shaft portion 355 at a predetermined position of the second movable guide portion main body 351. The locking member 354 has a pivot shaft 355 passed through one end and a hook-shaped hook 354a formed at the other end. The locking member 354 and the key portion 354a constitute a lock mechanism for the second movable guide portion 35.

  The hook portion 354a of the locking member 354 is hooked on the fixing pin 372 shown in FIG. 6, whereby the second movable guide portion main body 351 is locked, thereby enabling the sheet to be guided (guide position). Held in the locked state.

  Here, when the first movable guide portion main body 341 and the second movable guide portion main body 351 are locked, the distal end portion 341t of the first movable guide portion main body 341 and the distal end portion 351t of the second movable guide portion main body 351 are displayed. Are close to each other and face each other.

  On the other hand, when the key portion 354a of the locking member 354 is not hooked on the fixed pin 372, the downstream side of the second movable guide portion main body 351 rotates counterclockwise around the rotation shaft portion 352 by its own weight. Then, the sheet conveyance path 31 is opened (unlocked state) (see FIG. 5).

  A driven roller 316b of a fourth transport roller pair 316 is attached to the second movable guide portion main body 351, and the driven roller 316b moves as the second movable guide portion main body 351 rotates. As described above, when the second movable guide portion main body 351 is opened, the driven roller 316b of the fourth transport roller pair 316 is retracted integrally with the rotation operation of the second movable guide portion main body 351, and the fourth transport roller pair 316 is moved. The pressure contact is released. As a result, in the paper transport path 31, an upstream area continuous with the downstream area opened by the first movable guide portion 34 is opened.

  The operation unit 346 pivotally supported by the rotation shaft portion 345 of the first movable guide portion main body 341 and the operation portion 356 pivotally supported by the rotation shaft portion 355 of the second movable guide portion main body 351 are the first movable guide. This is used to return the main part body 341 and the second movable guide part main body 351 to the locked position. For example, when the user returns the first movable guide portion main body 341 and the second movable guide portion main body 351 to the lock position and operates the operation portion 346 and the operation portion 356, the locking members 344 and 354 are respectively connected to the fixing pins 371, 371, respectively. It is latched by 372 and becomes a locked state. The driven roller 317 b of the fifth transport roller pair 317 is disposed at a position close to the rotation shaft portion 342 on the downstream side of the operation unit 346.

  As described above, the automatic path opening mechanism 32 according to the present embodiment includes the first movable guide part 34 and the second movable guide part 35 that open the paper transport path 31. The first movable guide portion 34 and the second movable guide portion 35 rotate about the respective rotation shaft portions 342 and 352 and are provided with guide portions 343 and 353 for guiding paper. And a lock mechanism for holding the first and second movable guide main bodies 341 and 351 at positions where the paper can be guided. The lock mechanism is unlocked by an unlock mechanism 38 (see FIG. 6) described later.

  When the jam occurs, the first movable guide portion main body 341 is opened, and the driven roller 317b of the fifth conveyance roller pair 317 moves in a direction away from the paper conveyance path 31 together with the opening operation, so that the fifth conveyance is performed. The pressure contact of the roller pair 317 is released. At the same time, the second movable guide portion main body 351 is opened, and the driven roller 316b of the fourth conveyance roller pair 316 moves in a direction away from the paper conveyance path 31 integrally with the opening operation, whereby the fourth conveyance roller pair. The pressure contact at 316 is released. With this configuration, in the paper transport path 31, an area including the area between the fourth transport roller pair 316 and the fifth transport roller pair 317 is opened, and the paper in the paper transport path 31 is stored in the storage unit 33. Is housed in. The user can collect and remove the sheets stored in the storage unit 33.

  A second conveyance roller pair 314 (an example of a curl correction unit) serving as a curl correction roller is provided on the upstream side of the third conveyance roller pair 315 disposed in the paper conveyance path 31. Further, on the upstream side of the second conveying roller pair 314, a curl detection unit (not shown) for detecting the curl direction and the degree of curl of the paper is installed. The second transport roller pair 314 serving as a curl correction roller corrects the curl of the paper using, for example, a pair of rollers having different hardnesses based on the detection result by the curl detection unit. In the present embodiment, the example in which the second conveyance roller pair 314 is used as the curl correction unit has been described. However, as another example, the curl forcing unit may be configured using a roller and a belt.

<1-2. Automatic path release mechanism unlocking operation>
Next, the unlocking operation of the automatic path opening mechanism 32 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a first explanatory diagram of the unlocking operation of the automatic path opening mechanism 32. FIG. 8 is a second explanatory diagram of the unlocking operation of the automatic path opening mechanism 32.

  Fixing pins 371 and 372 are erected on the front surface of the fixing plate 37 disposed on the front surface side of the sheet conveying device 30. As shown in FIG. 6, when the automatic path opening mechanism 32 is not opened, that is, when the first movable guide portion 34 is in the locked state, the key portion 344 a of the locking member 344 provided in the first movable guide portion 34 is fixed. It is hooked on the pin 371. Similarly, a hook portion 354 a of a locking member 354 included in the second movable guide portion 35 is hooked on the fixed pin 372.

  The lock release mechanism 38 includes a swing cam 381 and an eccentric cam 384. The swing cam 381 has a substantially sector shape, is pivotally supported by a rotation shaft 382 located at a position corresponding to the crimped portion of the fan, and is displaced about the rotation shaft 382. The swing cam 381 is formed with guide holes 383 for guiding the eccentric cam 384 and guide holes 385 and 386 for guiding the guide pins 387 and 388 at predetermined positions. The guide pins 387 and 388 are erected on the front surface of the fixed plate 37. A guide pin 387 and a guide pin 388 are arranged in this order from the side close to the rotation shaft 382.

  The eccentric cam 384 is driven to rotate about the rotation shaft 384a by an eccentric cam driving unit (not shown) under the control of the swing cam drive control unit 471. As the eccentric cam drive unit, a combination of a motor and various mechanisms and various actuators can be employed. When the eccentric cam 384 rotates, the distance from the rotation shaft 384 a to the edge of the guide hole 383 changes and contacts the edge of the guide hole 383. As a result, the swing cam 381 swings left and right about the rotation shaft 382. The position of the swing cam 381 shown in FIG. 6 is a home position (see FIG. 4) in which neither the first movable guide part 34 nor the second movable guide part 35 is released.

  An escape portion 381c having a concave shape in accordance with the curved surface of the drive roller 317a is formed on a portion of the outer peripheral portion of the swing cam 381 facing the drive roller 317a of the fifth conveying roller pair 317 as a registration roller. Yes. In addition, an escape portion 381d that is concave in accordance with the curved surface of the drive roller 316a is formed in a portion of the outer peripheral portion of the swing cam 381 that faces the drive roller 316a of the fourth conveying roller pair 316. By these escape portions 381c and 381d, even if the swing cam 381 swings left and right, the outer peripheral portion of the swing cam 381 does not contact each drive roller. By adopting such a shape, the swing cam 381 is reduced in size.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the eccentric cam 384 rotates and the left diameter of the rotating shaft 384a becomes longer, the swing cam 381 is displaced leftward. Thereby, the protrusion 381a of the swing cam 381 pushes out the key part 344a of the locking member 344 included in the first movable guide part 34. When the key portion 344a of the locking member 344 is pushed out, the locked state of the first movable guide portion 34 is released, and the first movable guide portion main body 341 is released by its own weight (see FIG. 5).

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the eccentric cam 384 continues to rotate further from the state shown in FIG. 7 and the diameter on the right side of the rotation shaft 384a of the eccentric cam 384 becomes longer, the swing cam 381 is displaced rightward. . Thereby, the protrusion 381a of the swing cam 381 pushes out the key part 354a of the locking member 354 provided in the second movable guide part 35. When the key portion 344a of the locking member 354 is pushed out, the locked state of the second movable guide portion 35 is released, and the second movable guide portion main body 351 is released by its own weight (see FIG. 5).

  After the rocking cam 381 is displaced in the right direction and pushes the key portion 354a of the locking member 354 included in the second movable guide portion 35, the eccentric cam 384 is moved by a phase actuator on the eccentric cam drive shaft (not shown). Rotate to the home position (see Fig. 6) and stop.

  The unlocking operation of the automatic path opening mechanism 32 using the swing cam 381 disposed on the front surface side of the sheet conveying device 30 has been described above with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8, but includes the swing cam 381. The automatic path opening mechanism 32 is also arranged on the back surface 30 </ b> A side inside the sheet conveying device 30. However, the automatic path opening mechanism 32 including the swing cam 381 may be disposed at least on either the back surface 30A side or the front surface side.

<1-3. Internal configuration of image forming system>
Next, the internal configuration of the image forming system 1 will be described.

[Internal configuration of first image forming apparatus]
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the first image forming apparatus 20 of the image forming system 1. As shown in FIG. 9, the first image forming apparatus 20 includes an image reading unit 21, an operation display unit 22, a printing unit 23, a controller 24, an image control board 25, a communication unit 26, and the like. The first image forming apparatus 20 is connected to the external apparatus 2 on the network 3 via a LANIF (Local Area Network InterFace) 244 of the controller 24 so that data can be transmitted and received between them.

  The image reading unit 21 includes the automatic document feeding unit and reading unit described above, and the image reading control unit 210. The image reading control unit 210 controls the automatic document feeding unit, the reading unit, and the like based on an instruction from the control unit 250 to realize a scanner function that reads images of a plurality of documents. The analog image data read by the image reading unit 21 is output to the reading processing unit 253, where the reading processing unit 253 performs A / D conversion and various image processing.

  The operation display unit 22 includes the above-described LCD 221, touch panel, and the like, and an operation display control unit 220. The operation display control unit 220 causes the LCD to display various screens for inputting various setting conditions and various processing results in accordance with a display signal input from the control unit 250. The operation display control unit 220 outputs operation signals input from various switches, buttons, numeric keys, operation key groups, a touch panel, and the like to the control unit 250.

  The print unit 23 includes units related to print output, such as the above-described paper feed unit 231, paper transport unit 232, image forming unit 233, fixing unit 234 (see FIG. 1), and a print control unit 230. The print control unit 230 controls the operation of each unit of the print unit 23 such as the image forming unit 233 according to an instruction from the control unit 250, and causes the image formation to be performed based on the print image data input from the writing processing unit 258. .

  The controller 24 manages and controls data input to the image forming system 1 from the external device 2 connected to the network 3. The controller 24 receives data to be printed (print data and print setting data) from the external device 2, and transmits image data and print setting data generated by expanding the print data to the image control board 25. The controller 24 includes a controller control unit 241, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) control IC 242, an image memory 243, a LANIF 244, and the like.

  The controller control unit 241 comprehensively controls the operation of each unit of the controller 24 and develops print data input from the external apparatus 2 via the LANIF 244 to generate bitmap format image data.

  The DRAM control IC 242 controls transfer of print data received by the LANIF 244 to the controller control unit 241 and writing / reading of image data and print setting data to / from the image memory 243. The DRAM control IC 242 is connected to the DRAM control IC 255 of the image control board 25 by a PCI (Peripheral Components Interconnect) bus. The DRAM control IC 242 reads out image data to be printed and print setting data from the image memory 243 according to an instruction from the controller control unit 241 and outputs them to the DRAM control IC 255.

  The image memory 243 is composed of a volatile memory such as a DRAM, and temporarily stores image data and print setting data.

  The LANIF 244 is a communication interface for connecting to a network 3 such as a network interface card (NIC) or a modem such as a modem, and receives print data and print setting data from the external device 2. The received print data and print setting data are output to the DRAM control IC 242.

  The image control board 25 includes a control unit 250, a nonvolatile memory 251, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 252, a reading processing unit 253, a compression IC 254, a DRAM control IC 255, an image memory 256, a decompression IC 257, a writing processing unit 258, and the like.

  The control unit 250 is configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, reads a system program stored in the nonvolatile memory 251 and various programs specified in the application program, and develops them in the RAM 252. The control unit 250 executes various processes in cooperation with the program developed in the RAM 252 and performs centralized control of each unit of the first image forming apparatus 20.

  In addition, since the first image forming apparatus 20 is set as the main machine, the control unit 250 receives a signal indicating the state of each apparatus from each apparatus constituting the image forming system 1 via the communication unit 26. To do. The control unit 250 comprehensively controls the entire image forming system 1 based on a signal indicating the state of each apparatus. For example, when a signal indicating an error in the second image forming apparatus 40 (JAM occurrence, out of paper, toner shortage, etc.) is received, a display signal or an operation instruction signal corresponding to the error is generated and the generation is performed. The transmitted signal is transmitted to the operation display unit 22 and the second image forming apparatus.

  The control unit 250 also includes image data and print setting data input from the external device 2 via the controller 24, or image data input from the image reading unit 21 and setting information set by the operation display unit 22, Job data and compressed image data are generated based on the above. Then, the control unit 250 executes the job in cooperation with the second image forming apparatus 40 based on the generated job data and compressed image data.

  A job is a series of operations related to image formation. For example, when a copy made of a document of a predetermined page is created, a series of operations related to image formation of a document of a predetermined page is one job. Data for executing this job operation is job data.

  The job data includes job information and page information. The job information is information common to all pages. For example, the job information includes the number of copies set for the job, a paper discharge tray, application functions (such as aggregation and repeat), and color / monochrome. The page information is associated with the compressed image data of each page, and is information related to the associated compressed image data. For example, page information includes page number, image size (vertical, horizontal), image orientation, image width, image rotation angle, paper type on which the image is formed, paper feed tray in which the paper is stored, It includes a print mode (double-sided mode / single-sided mode), a storage address of compressed image data, and the like.

  The nonvolatile memory 251 stores various processing programs related to image formation, various data, and the like. The non-volatile memory 251 stores the types of paper stored in the paper feed trays provided in the paper feed device 10, the paper feed unit of the first image forming device 20, and the paper feed unit of the second image forming device 40, respectively. I remember information.

  The RAM 252 forms a work area that temporarily stores various programs executed by the control unit 250 and various data related to these programs. The RAM 252 also stores image data and print setting data input from the controller 24, or image data input from the image reading unit 21 and setting information set by the operation display unit 22 when the image data is acquired. , The job data generated by the control unit 250 is temporarily stored.

  The reading processing unit 253 generates digital image data after performing various processing such as analog processing, A / D conversion processing, and shading processing on the analog image data input from the image reading unit 21. The generated image data is output to the compression IC 254.

  The compression IC 254 performs a compression process on the input digital image data and outputs it to the DRAM control IC 255.

  The DRAM control IC 255 controls image data compression processing by the compression IC 254 and decompression processing of compressed image data by the decompression IC 257 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 250, and performs input / output control of image data to the image memory 256.

  For example, when an instruction to save image data read by the image reading unit 21 is input from the control unit 250, the DRAM control IC 255 causes the compression IC 254 to perform compression processing of the image data input to the reading processing unit 253. The compressed image data is stored in the compression memory 256a of the image memory 256. In addition, when image data is input from the DRAM control IC 242 of the controller 24, the DRAM control IC 255 causes the compression IC 254 to execute compression processing of the image data, and stores the compressed image data in the compression memory 256a of the image memory 256.

  Further, when the print control instruction for the compressed image data stored in the compression memory 256a is input from the control unit 250, the DRAM control IC 255 reads the compressed image data from the compression memory 256a and performs decompression processing by the decompression IC 257. The data is stored in the memory 256b. Further, when a print output instruction for image data stored in the page memory 256 b is input, the image data is read from the page memory 256 b and output to the writing processing unit 258.

  The image memory 256 includes a compression memory 256a composed of DRAM (Dynamic RAM) and a page memory 256b. The compression memory 256a is a memory for storing compressed image data. The page memory 256b temporarily stores image data for print output or temporarily stores image data received from the controller before compression. It is a memory to do.

  The decompression IC 257 performs decompression processing on the compressed image data.

  The write processing unit 258 generates print image data for image formation based on the image data input from the DRAM control IC 255 and outputs the print image data to the print unit 23.

  The communication unit 26 is a communication interface for connecting to a network to which each device constituting the image forming system 1 is connected. For example, the communication unit 26 communicates with the second image forming apparatus 40 using a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like, and performs serial communication with the sheet feeding apparatus 10 and the sheet conveying apparatus 30.

[Internal configuration of second image forming apparatus]
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the second image forming apparatus 40 of the image forming system 1. As shown in FIG. 10, the second image forming apparatus 40 includes a print unit 43, an image control board 45, a communication unit 46, and the like.

  Since the print unit 43 has the same configuration as the print unit 23 of the first image forming apparatus 20, the description thereof is omitted.

  The image control board 45 includes a control unit 450, a nonvolatile memory 451, a RAM 452, a DRAM control IC 455, an image memory 456, a decompression IC 457, a writing processing unit 458, and the like.

  The control unit 450 includes a CPU and the like, reads a designated program from the system programs and various application programs stored in the nonvolatile memory 451, and develops the program in the RAM 452. The control unit 250 executes various processes in cooperation with the program developed in the RAM 452 and centrally controls each unit of the second image forming apparatus 40 and the sheet conveying apparatus 30.

  The nonvolatile memory 451 stores various processing programs and various data related to image formation. The non-volatile memory 451 stores the types of paper stored in the paper feed device 10, the paper feed unit of the second image forming device 40, the paper feed unit of the first image forming device 20, and each paper feed tray provided in each. I remember information.

  The RAM 452 forms a work area for temporarily storing various programs executed by the control unit 450 and various data related to these programs. The RAM 452 temporarily stores data input from the first image forming apparatus 20 via the communication unit 46.

  The DRAM control IC 455 controls decompression processing of the compressed image data by the decompression IC 457 according to an instruction from the control unit 450 and performs input / output control of image data to the image memory 456.

  For example, when job data and compressed image data are input from the communication unit 46, the DRAM control IC 455 stores the job data in the RAM 452 and the compressed image data in the compression memory 456 a of the image memory 456. In addition, when a print output instruction for compressed image data stored in the compression memory 456a is input from the control unit 450, the DRAM control IC 455 reads the compressed image data from the compression memory 456a, and performs decompression processing by the decompression IC 457. The data is stored in the memory 456b. Further, when a print output instruction for image data stored in the page memory 456b is input, the image data is read from the page memory 456b and output to the write processing unit 458.

  The image memory 456 includes a compression memory 456a and a page memory 456b configured by DRAM. The compression memory 456a is a memory for storing compressed image data, and the page memory 456b is a memory for temporarily storing image data for print output.

  The decompression IC 457 performs decompression processing on the compressed image data.

  The write processing unit 458 generates print image data for image formation based on the image data input from the DRAM control IC 455 and outputs the print image data to the print unit 43.

  The communication unit 46 is a communication interface for connecting to a network to which each device constituting the image forming system 1 is connected. For example, the communication unit 46 communicates with the first image forming apparatus 20 using a NIC or the like, and performs serial communication with the paper transport apparatus 30 and the post-processing apparatus 50.

[Internal configuration of paper transport device]
FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the sheet conveying device 30 of the image forming system 1. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the sheet transport device 30 includes a control unit 360, a signal processing unit 380, a driving unit 370, and a power supply unit 361.

  The control unit 360 includes a CPU and the like, and receives signals transmitted from the signal processing unit 380 and control signals of the first image forming apparatus 20 and the second image forming apparatus 40 received via a communication unit (not shown). Based on the above, each unit of the drive unit 370 is controlled.

  The signal processing unit 380 includes a density sensor signal processing unit 362 and a nip state detection sensor signal processing unit 369. The density sensor signal processing unit 362 performs predetermined signal processing on the sensor signal output from the density sensor 319 under the control of the control unit 360, and sends the processed signal via the communication unit 46 (see FIG. 10). To the control unit 450 of the second image forming apparatus 40. In the second image forming apparatus 40, the control unit 450 receives the signal sent from the density sensor signal processing unit 362, and the image formed by the second image forming apparatus 40 based on the measurement result of the density sensor 319. Adjust the density. As an example, the gamma curve of the test pattern image is corrected.

  The nip state detection sensor signal processing unit 369 performs predetermined signal processing on the sensor signal output from the nip state detection sensor (not shown) under the control of the control unit 360 and outputs the processed signal to the control unit. To 360. The control unit 360 controls each unit of the driving unit 370 based on the signal received from the nip state detection sensor signal processing unit 369.

  The drive unit 370 includes a swing cam drive control unit 363, an eccentric cam drive unit 364, a first stepping motor 365, a second stepping motor 366, and a third stepping motor 367.

  The swing cam drive control unit 363 generates a control signal for controlling the drive of the eccentric cam 384 that swings the swing cam 381 (FIG. 6) under the control of the control unit 360, and outputs the control signal. It sends to the eccentric cam drive part 364.

  The first stepping motor 365 rotationally drives the first transport roller pair 313 and the second transport roller pair 314 constituting the upstream transport unit 310a under the control of the control unit 360. Further, the second stepping motor 366 rotationally drives the third conveyance roller pair 315 and the fourth conveyance roller pair 316 constituting the intermediate conveyance unit 310b under the control of the control unit 360. Further, the third stepping motor 367 rotationally drives the fifth transport roller pair 317 and the sixth transport roller pair 318 constituting the downstream transport unit 310c under the control of the control unit 360.

  The power supply unit 361 supplies necessary electric power (current) to each of the eccentric cam driving unit 364, the first stepping motor 365, the second stepping motor 366, and the third stepping motor 367. Here, the power (current) required for each of the eccentric cam driving unit 364, the first stepping motor 365, the second stepping motor 366, and the third stepping motor 367, and the driving timing are controlled by the control unit 360. The

  Although not shown, the paper conveyance device 30 is also provided with a communication unit, and performs serial communication with the first image forming device 20, the second image forming device 40, and the post-processing device 50.

<1-3. Operation when a jam occurs>
Next, the operation of the sheet conveying device 30 performed when a jam occurs in the image forming system 1 will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the purge operation and jam processing of the sheet conveying device 30 when a jam occurs. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the paper to be purged has a length in the conveyance direction that is simultaneously nipped between the fourth conveyance roller pair 316 and the fifth conveyance roller pair 317.

  First, the control unit 360 of the paper transport apparatus 30 determines whether or not a jam has occurred in the image forming system 1 based on the presence or absence of a jam signal. If no jam has occurred, the determination process is continued (step S1). ).

  If a jam has occurred, the control unit 360 determines whether or not the jam has occurred in the paper transport device 30 or an upstream device (for example, the first image forming device 20) based on the received jam signal. Is determined (step S2). If a jam occurs in the paper transport device 30 or an upstream device thereof (YES in step S2), the control unit 360 immediately stops the paper transport. Then, the control unit 360 performs control to display a message for instructing the user to process jammed paper and residual paper on the LCD 221 of the operation display unit 22 of the first image forming apparatus 20 via the communication unit 26 (step S5). ). Thereafter, the user performs jam processing for removing jammed paper and residual paper (step S6). Thereby, the process at the time of jam occurrence is completed.

  If the jam does not occur in the paper transport device 30 or the upstream device (in the case of NO determination in step S2), the control unit 360 is in the paper transport device 30 or upstream thereof. In step S3, it is determined whether there is a sheet to be purged. If it is determined that the purge target paper is not in the paper transport device 30 or the upstream device thereof (NO in step S3), the control unit 360 immediately stops the paper transport. Then, the control unit 360 performs control to display a message instructing the user to process jammed paper and residual paper on the LCD 221 of the operation display unit 22 of the first image forming apparatus 20 via the communication unit 26 (step S5). ). Thereafter, the user performs jam processing for removing jammed paper and residual paper (step S6). Thereby, the process at the time of jam occurrence is completed.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the paper to be purged is in the paper transport apparatus 30 or in the upstream apparatus (in the case of YES determination in step S2), the control unit 360 starts the purge operation (step S2). S4). Here, the start of the eccentric cam drive unit 364 is the start of the purge operation.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the first movable guide portion 34 is opened (step S5). Whether or not the first movable guide portion 34 is opened is determined by detecting the nip state of the fifth conveying roller pair 317 by a nip state detection sensor. When the 1st movable guide part 34 is not open | released (in the case of determination of NO by step S5), the 3rd stepping motor 367 is continuously rotated (step S9). As a result, the fifth and sixth transport roller pairs 317 and 318 continue to rotate. Then, when the third stepping motor 367 is continuously driven to rotate, it is further determined whether or not the first movable guide portion 34 is opened (step S5).

  Although not shown in the flow of FIG. 12, in the automatic path opening mechanism 32, the eccentric cam drive unit 364 is driven and the first movable guide unit 34 is opened, and then the second movable guide unit 35 continues. Opened. As a result, the paper transport path 31 is opened.

  When the 1st movable guide part 34 opens (in the case of determination of YES by step S5), the drive of the 3rd stepping motor 367 is stopped (step S6). Accordingly, the rotation of the fifth and sixth transport roller pairs 317 and 318 is stopped. Since the first movable guide portion 34 is opened in the preceding stage and the first to fourth transport roller pairs 313 to 316 continue to rotate, the first movable guide portion 34 is transported from the first image forming apparatus 20 side to the paper transport path 31. The coming purge target paper is not transported downstream of the fifth transport roller pair 317 but is discharged out of the paper transport path 31. Therefore, the purge target paper that was in the paper conveyance device 30 and the first image forming device 20 when the jam occurs is discharged out of the paper conveyance path 31.

  Next, the control unit 360 drives the third stepping motor 367 so as to reverse the rotation direction during paper conveyance (step S7). Here, when the sheet conveyance path 31 is opened by the first movable guide part 34 and the second movable guide part 36, the sheet to be purged is a pair of conveyance rollers (this embodiment) on the downstream side of the fifth conveyance roller pair 317. In the embodiment, when the sheet is nipped by the sixth conveyance roller pair 318), the purge target paper is not discharged from the paper conveyance path 31. Therefore, the third stepping motor 367 is reversely rotated, and the fifth and sixth transport roller pairs 317 and 318 are rotated in the opposite direction to that during the paper transport. Thus, the purge target paper that has not been discharged in the step S6 can be returned to the upstream side and discharged from the paper transport path 31.

  Here, if the purge target paper is nipped by the sixth transport roller pair 318 with the leading end of the purge target paper in the transport direction already entering the second image forming apparatus 40 side, the purge target paper is moved upstream. To return to the side, it is necessary to reverse the conveying roller pair of the second image forming apparatus 40. This complicates control. Therefore, in this embodiment, the reverse rotation of the fifth and sixth transport roller pairs 317 and 318 causes the purge target paper to be moved upstream when the leading end of the purge target paper in the transport direction is not in the second image forming apparatus 40. It is preferable that the period is set so that it can be returned to the side and discharged from the paper transport path 31. In addition, the fifth and sixth transport roller pairs 317 and 318 may be reversed in a period until the leading edge of the sheet passes through the nip of the sixth transport roller pair 318.

[Purge operation]
FIG. 13 shows a timing chart during the purge operation performed in steps S4 to S6 in FIG. First, simultaneously with the occurrence of a jam, the control unit 360 controls the swing cam drive control unit 363, and the swing cam drive control unit 363 turns on a control signal for controlling the eccentric cam drive unit 364. At this time, the first to third stepping motors 365, 366, and 367 are turned on as before the occurrence of the jam.

  When the drive signal of the eccentric cam drive unit 364 is turned on, the eccentric cam 384 and the swing cam 381 operate. By the way, when the control signal for controlling the eccentric cam driving unit 364 is turned on, it takes time until the motor or the like constituting the eccentric cam driving unit 364 starts moving completely and operates the eccentric cam 384. For this reason, the eccentric cam 384 starts operating after the control signal of the eccentric cam driving unit 364 is turned on, and the swing cam 381 starts operating after the eccentric cam 384 starts operating. To do.

  First, the swing cam 381 swings downstream, thereby releasing the locked state of the first movable guide portion 34. Then, when the first movable guide portion 34 starts to rotate away from the paper conveyance path 31, the nip releasing operation of the nip portion in the fifth conveyance roller pair 317 is started. Thereafter, the pressure contact between the driven roller 317b and the driving roller 317a constituting the fifth transport roller pair 317 is released, and the nip release in the first movable guide portion 34 is completed. Let t2 be the time from the occurrence of a jam until the nip release is completed.

  When the completion of the nip release in the first movable guide unit 34 is detected by the nip state detection sensor, the control unit 360 turns off the control signal for controlling the third stepping motor 367. As a result, the third stepping motor 367 is turned off (stopped), and the rotation of the fifth and sixth transport roller pairs 317 and 318 is stopped. Here, t1 is a period from the occurrence of the jam until the rotation of the fifth and sixth transport roller pairs 317 and 318 stops.

  Even when the control signal for controlling the third stepping motor 367 is turned off, it takes time to completely stop the rotation of the motor due to the characteristics of the motor. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 12, the rotation of the third stepping motor 367 stops with a delay of time Δt after the control signal is turned off.

  By the way, due to the structure of the automatic path opening mechanism 32, there is a time (indicated by t2 in FIG. 12) from when the eccentric cam driving unit 364 is turned on when the jam occurs to the time when the nip release in the first movable guide unit 34 is completed. It will take.

  On the other hand, for the purge operation, only the fifth and sixth transport roller pairs 317 and 318 are stopped while the sheet is nipped by the fifth transport roller pair 317 and the fourth transport roller pair 316 at the same time. The four conveying roller pairs 313 to 316 are continuously rotated. Then, due to the fact that the rotation of the fifth and sixth transport roller pairs 317 and 318 is stopped, a sudden load is applied to the sheet in the direction opposite to the sheet transport direction. As a result, an abrupt load is applied to the first and second stepping motors 365 and 366 driving the first to fourth transport roller pairs 313 to 316, and the first and second stepping motors 365 and 366 step out. There is a fear. This step-out can occur when the third stepping motor 367 stops from when the jam occurs and before the nip release of the fifth conveying roller pair 317 is completed, that is, when t2 <t1.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the control signal of the third stepping motor 367 is turned off after the nip of the fifth conveying roller pair 317 is released. As a result, the third stepping motor 367 is stopped after the nip of the fifth transport roller pair 317 is released. Therefore, by stopping the third stepping motor 367, the first and second stepping motors 365, 365 are removed from the purge target paper. The load on the 366 side is reduced. As a result, the step-out of the first and second stepping motors 365 and 366 during the purge operation can be prevented.

  In the present embodiment, the nip state detection sensor detects the timing at which the nip release in the first movable guide portion 34 is completed during the purge operation. However, the position detection portion detects the position of the first movable guide portion 34. It is good also as a structure to detect. The position detection unit is constituted by, for example, a position detection switch provided in the vicinity of the first movable guide unit 34, and detects that the first movable guide unit 34 is in contact with or separated from the position detection switch. The nip state of the first movable guide part 34 can be detected. In addition, a rotation detection sensor may be used for the position detection unit. When the rotation detection sensor detects the rotation angle of the operation unit 346 and the like, the nip state of the first movable guide unit 34 can be detected. Further, the fifth and sixth transport roller pairs 317 and 318 may be stopped after the nip of the first movable guide portion 34 is released from the occurrence of a jam by using a timer.

  In this embodiment, the case where the length of the purge target paper in the conveyance direction is the length that is simultaneously nipped by the fourth conveyance roller pair 316 and the fifth conveyance roller pair 317 is described, but the present invention is not limited to this. . For example, the present embodiment can also be applied to a case where the length of the purge target paper in the conveyance direction is a length that is not simultaneously nipped by the fourth conveyance roller pair 316 and the fifth conveyance roller pair 317.

<< 2. Second Embodiment: Image Forming System >>
Next, an image forming system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The image forming system according to the present embodiment is an example in which a purge operation and a jam processing when a jam occurs are different from those in the first embodiment. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart when a jam occurs in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, steps S11 to S14 and S23 in FIG. 14 are the same as steps S1 to S4 and S10 described in FIG. 12, and thus description thereof will be omitted, and will be described after step S14.

  Once the purge operation is started in step S14, the control unit 360 next determines whether the stiffness of the purge target paper is equal to or higher than a reference value. Here, the stiffness reference value is set according to the specification of the device. Further, the information on the length of the conveyed paper can be obtained by the control unit 360 reading information stored in the nonvolatile memory 251 (see FIG. 9) via the communication unit 26 (see FIG. 9). .

  When it is determined that the stiffness of the purge target paper is smaller than the reference value (NO in step S15), the control unit 360 determines whether or not the first movable guide unit 34 is opened (step S15). S16). Steps S16, S17, and S18 to S20 are the same as steps S5 to S9 in FIG.

  When it is determined that the stiffness of the purge target paper is greater than the reference value (YES in step S15), the control unit 360 determines whether or not the first and second movable guide units 34 and 35 are opened. Is determined (step S21). Thereafter, the purge operation is terminated in the same manner as in steps S17 to S20, and the jam processing is terminated.

  If the paper transport path 31 is not completely opened by the first movable guide portion 34 and the second movable guide portion 35, the purge target paper is difficult to be discharged after the fifth and sixth transport roller pairs 317 and 318 are stopped. If the paper to be purged has a low stiffness and is easily buckled, it is discharged outside the paper transport path 31 without applying a load to the fourth transport roller pair 316 side even if the paper transport path 31 is not completely opened. Is done. However, if the purge target paper has high rigidity and is difficult to bend, if the open portion of the paper transport path 31 is small, the purge target paper is bent when the fifth and sixth transport roller pairs 317 and 318 are stopped. Instead, a large load is applied to the fourth conveying roller pair 316 side. As a result, the first and second stepping motors 365 and 366 may step out.

  In this embodiment, when the stiffness of the purge target paper is larger than the reference value, the fifth and sixth transport roller pairs 317 and 318 are stopped after the first and second movable guide portions 34 and 35 are opened. Thus, since the conveyance of the purge target paper is stopped after the paper conveyance path 31 is widely opened, the purge target paper is discharged out of the paper conveyance path 31 without being blocked by the second movable guide portion 35. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the load applied to the fourth conveying roller pair 316 side from the purge target paper, and to prevent the first and second stepping motors 365 and 366 from stepping out even when the purge target paper has high rigidity. Can do.

  In the present embodiment, the stiffness of the purge target paper is determined in step S14. However, it may be configured to determine whether the basis weight of the purge target paper is equal to or greater than a reference value. When the basis weight of the paper is high, the paper is difficult to buckle. For this reason, when the basis weight is equal to or greater than the reference value, the fifth and sixth transport rollers after both the first movable guide portion 34 and the second movable guide portion 35 are opened, as in the second embodiment. Pair 317, 318 is stopped. Thereby, the step-out of the first and second stepping motors 365 and 366 can be prevented.

<< 3. Third Embodiment: Image Forming Apparatus >>
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an image forming system 100 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 15, parts corresponding to those in FIG.

  In the image forming system 100 illustrated in FIG. 15, an intermediate device 60 is disposed between the first image forming device 20 and the sheet conveying device 30. That is, the intermediate device 60 is installed on the downstream side of the first image forming apparatus 20 and the upstream side of the paper transport device 30 in the paper transport direction. In the present embodiment, the intermediate apparatus 60 conveys the sheet conveyed from the first image forming apparatus 20 to the sheet conveying apparatus 30 in accordance with an instruction from the first image forming apparatus 20.

  The intermediate device 60 includes a conveyance path switching unit 61a, a reversing unit 61 having a reversing roller, a stack unit 62 for storing (stacking) sheets on which images have been formed, and the like.

  When it is necessary to reverse the front and back of the paper transported to the paper transport device 30, the paper transported from the first image forming apparatus 20 is transported to the reversing unit 61 by the switching operation of the transport path switching unit 61 a and reversed. The sheet is switched back by the reversing roller of the unit 61 so as to be reversed and conveyed to the sheet conveying device 30.

  When it is not necessary to reverse the front and back of the paper, the paper transported from the first image forming apparatus 20 is not transported to the reversing unit 61 by the switching operation of the transport path switching unit 61a, and the paper is not reversed and the paper is not reversed. It is transported to the transport device 30.

  In addition, when it is necessary to temporarily store the sheet conveyed from the first image forming apparatus 20, the sheet conveyed from the first image forming apparatus 20 is temporarily stored in the stack unit 62. Note that the intermediate device 60 may include a paper discharge tray for discharging the paper conveyed from the first image forming device 20.

  The embodiment to which the invention made by the present inventor is applied has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited by the description and drawings which form part of the disclosure of the invention according to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention described in the claims. Is possible.

  In the above-described embodiment, the serial tandem image forming system 1 including the first and second image forming apparatuses 20 and 40 has been described. However, a serial tandem image is formed using three or more image forming apparatuses. A forming system may be configured. In this case, among the plurality of image forming apparatuses constituting the image forming system, the image forming apparatus provided on the most upstream side in the sheet conveying direction is set as the main machine, and the image forming apparatus excluding the main machine is set as the sub machine. And

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the automatic path opening mechanism 32 includes the first movable guide portion 34 and the second movable guide portion 35 has been described. However, the first movable guide portion 34 and the second movable guide portion 35 are integrated. It may be configured.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming system, 2 ... External apparatus, 3 ... Network, 10 ... Paper feeding apparatus, 20 ... 1st image forming apparatus, 20 ... 2nd image forming apparatus, 21 ... Image reading part, 22 ... Operation display part, 23 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Print part, 24 ... Controller, 25 ... Image control board, 26 ... Communication part, 30 ... Paper conveyance apparatus, 31 ... Paper conveyance path, 31a ... Inner guide part, 31b ... Fixed guide part, 31c ... Fixed guide part, 32 ... Automatic path opening mechanism, 33 ... accommodating part, 34 ... first movable guide part, 34 ... second movable guide part, 35 ... second movable guide part, 36 ... fixed plate, 37 ... fixed plate, 38 ... unlock mechanism 40 ... second image forming apparatus 43 ... printing unit 45 ... image control board 46 ... communication unit 50 ... post-processing device 60 ... intermediate device 61 ... reversing unit 61a ... conveying path switching unit 62 ... Stack part, 210 ... Image ,..., CCD, 220 .. Operation display controller, 221... LCD, 230... Print controller, 231... Paper feeder, 232. Image forming unit 233a Registration roller 234 Fixing unit 241 Controller control unit 243 Image memory 244 LANIF 250 Control unit 251 Non-volatile memory 252 RAM 253 Reading processing unit 256 ... Image memory, 256 a ... Compression memory, 256 b ... Page memory, 258 ... Write processing section, 310 a ... Upstream conveying section, 310 b ... Intermediate conveying section, 310 c ... Downstream conveying section, 313 ... First conveying roller pair, 314: Second transport roller pair, 315 ... Third transport roller pair, 316 ... Fourth transport roller pair, 316a ... Drive roller, 316b ... Moving roller, 317 ... Fifth conveying roller pair, 317a ... Drive roller, 317b ... Following roller, 318 ... Sixth conveying roller pair, 319 ... Density sensor, 341 ... First movable guide part main body, 341t ... Tip end part, 342 ... Rotating shaft portion, 343 ... Guide portion, 344 ... Locking member, 345 ... Rotating shaft portion, 346 ... Operation portion, 351 ... Second movable guide portion main body, 352 ... Rotating shaft portion, 353 ... Guide portion, 354 ... locking member, 355 ... rotating shaft part, 356 ... operation part, 360 ... control part, 361 ... power supply part, 362 ... concentration sensor signal processing part, 363 ... swing cam drive control part, 364 ... eccentric cam drive , 365 Step 1 motor, 366 Second step motor, 367 Third step motor, 369 Nip state detection sensor signal processing unit, 370 Drive unit, 371 Fixing pin, 3 72 ... fixed pin, 380 ... signal processing unit, 381 ... oscillating cam, 382 ... rotating shaft, 383 ... guide hole, 384 ... eccentric cam, 385 ... guide hole, 387 ... guide pin, 388 ... guide pin, 431 ... Paper feeding unit, 450 ... Control unit, 451 ... Non-volatile memory, 452 ... RAM, 456 ... Image memory, 458 ... Write processing unit, 471 ... Oscillating cam drive control unit

Claims (4)

A plurality of conveying roller pairs provided along the sheet conveying path, the downstream conveying roller pair that stops rotating when a jam occurs, and the upstream conveying roller pair that rotates upstream when the jam occurs. A plurality of conveying roller pairs including an upstream conveying roller pair that is rotationally driven by a stepping motor;
A movable guide portion that opens the paper transport path by moving at least one of the plurality of transport roller pairs in a direction away from the paper transport path;
When a jam occurs, the movable guide unit is moved to move one roller of the downstream conveying roller pair away from the sheet conveying path, and after the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair is released, the downstream side A controller for stopping the rotation of the pair of transport rollers,
The movable guide part opens a downstream region downstream of the position of the upstream transport roller pair in the paper transport path by moving one roller of the downstream transport roller pair in a direction away from the paper transport path. Moving the first movable guide portion and one roller of the upstream conveyance roller pair adjacent to the downstream conveyance roller pair in a direction away from the paper conveyance path, whereby the first movable guide portion of the paper conveyance path is moved. A second movable guide portion that is upstream of the downstream region opened by the guide portion and opens the upstream region continuous with the downstream region;
When the jam occurs, the control unit moves the first movable guide unit and conveys one roller of the downstream-side conveyance roller pair when the basis weight of the conveyed sheet is equal to or greater than a reference value. Moves in a direction away from the path, releases the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair, and moves the second movable guide portion to move one roller of the upstream conveying roller pair away from the sheet conveying path. A paper conveying device that moves and releases the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair and then stops the rotation of the downstream conveying roller pair. A plurality of conveying roller pairs provided along the sheet conveying path, the downstream conveying roller pair that stops rotating when a jam occurs, and the upstream conveying roller pair that rotates upstream when the jam occurs. A plurality of conveying roller pairs including an upstream conveying roller pair that is rotationally driven by a stepping motor;
A movable guide portion that opens the paper transport path by moving at least one of the plurality of transport roller pairs in a direction away from the paper transport path;
When a jam occurs, the movable guide unit is moved to move one roller of the downstream conveying roller pair away from the sheet conveying path, and after the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair is released, the downstream side A controller for stopping the rotation of the pair of transport rollers,
The movable guide part opens a downstream region downstream of the position of the upstream transport roller pair in the paper transport path by moving one roller of the downstream transport roller pair in a direction away from the paper transport path. Moving the first movable guide portion and one roller of the upstream conveyance roller pair adjacent to the downstream conveyance roller pair in a direction away from the paper conveyance path, whereby the first movable guide portion of the paper conveyance path is moved. A second movable guide portion that is upstream of the downstream region opened by the guide portion and opens the upstream region continuous with the downstream region;
When the jam occurs, the control unit moves the first movable guide unit when the stiffness of the conveyed paper is equal to or greater than a reference value, and moves one roller of the pair of downstream side conveyance rollers to the paper conveyance path. To move away from the sheet conveying path and release the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair, and move the second movable guide part to move one roller of the upstream conveying roller pair away from the sheet conveying path. Then, after releasing the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair, the rotation of the downstream conveying roller pair is stopped. A first image forming apparatus disposed on the upstream side in the paper conveyance direction;
A second image forming apparatus disposed on the downstream side in the paper conveyance direction;
A sheet conveying device that is disposed between the first image forming apparatus and the second image forming apparatus and conveys the sheet conveyed from the first image forming apparatus to the second image forming apparatus;
The paper conveying device is
A plurality of conveying roller pairs provided along the sheet conveying path, the downstream conveying roller pair that stops rotating when a jam occurs, and the upstream conveying roller pair that rotates upstream when the jam occurs. A plurality of conveying roller pairs including an upstream conveying roller pair that is rotationally driven by a stepping motor;
A movable guide portion that opens the paper transport path by moving at least one of the plurality of transport roller pairs in a direction away from the paper transport path;
When a jam occurs, the movable guide unit is moved to move one roller of the downstream conveying roller pair away from the sheet conveying path, and after the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair is released, the downstream side A controller for stopping the rotation of the pair of transport rollers,
The movable guide part opens a downstream region downstream of the position of the upstream transport roller pair in the paper transport path by moving one roller of the downstream transport roller pair in a direction away from the paper transport path. Moving the first movable guide portion and one roller of the upstream conveyance roller pair adjacent to the downstream conveyance roller pair in a direction away from the paper conveyance path, whereby the first movable guide portion of the paper conveyance path is moved. A second movable guide portion that is upstream of the downstream region opened by the guide portion and opens the upstream region continuous with the downstream region;
When the jam occurs, the control unit moves the first movable guide unit and conveys one roller of the downstream-side conveyance roller pair when the basis weight of the conveyed sheet is equal to or greater than a reference value. Moves in a direction away from the path, releases the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair, and moves the second movable guide portion to move one roller of the upstream conveying roller pair away from the sheet conveying path. An image forming system that moves and releases the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair and then stops the rotation of the downstream conveying roller pair. A first image forming apparatus disposed on the upstream side in the paper conveyance direction;
A second image forming apparatus disposed on the downstream side in the paper conveyance direction;
A sheet conveying device that is disposed between the first image forming apparatus and the second image forming apparatus and conveys the sheet conveyed from the first image forming apparatus to the second image forming apparatus;
The paper conveying device is
A plurality of conveying roller pairs provided along the sheet conveying path, the downstream conveying roller pair that stops rotating when a jam occurs, and the upstream conveying roller pair that rotates upstream when the jam occurs. A plurality of conveying roller pairs including an upstream conveying roller pair that is rotationally driven by a stepping motor;
A movable guide portion that opens the paper transport path by moving at least one of the plurality of transport roller pairs in a direction away from the paper transport path;
When a jam occurs, the movable guide unit is moved to move one roller of the downstream conveying roller pair away from the sheet conveying path, and after the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair is released, the downstream side A controller for stopping the rotation of the pair of transport rollers,
The movable guide part opens a downstream region downstream of the position of the upstream transport roller pair in the paper transport path by moving one roller of the downstream transport roller pair in a direction away from the paper transport path. Moving the first movable guide portion and one roller of the upstream conveyance roller pair adjacent to the downstream conveyance roller pair in a direction away from the paper conveyance path, whereby the first movable guide portion of the paper conveyance path is moved. A second movable guide portion that is upstream of the downstream region opened by the guide portion and opens the upstream region continuous with the downstream region;
When the jam occurs, the control unit moves the first movable guide unit when the stiffness of the conveyed paper is equal to or greater than a reference value, and moves one roller of the pair of downstream side conveyance rollers to the paper conveyance path. To move away from the sheet conveying path and release the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair, and move the second movable guide part to move one roller of the upstream conveying roller pair away from the sheet conveying path. An image forming system that stops the rotation of the downstream conveying roller pair after releasing the pressure contact of the downstream conveying roller pair.

Images