Patent Application
20180029821
The disclosure relates to control for switching a flapper in a conveyance apparatus that conveys sheets.
A conveyance apparatus that sorts sheets to a plurality of sheet discharge bins is known as an example of a sheet discharge option apparatus which is used by being connected to an image forming apparatus. Such a conveyance apparatus has a flapper in a place where a conveyance path branches into a plurality of paths. The conveyance apparatus changes a conveyance destination of a sheet by switching a position of the flapper.
Japanese Patent Application. Laid-Open No. 2011-241043 discusses a configuration in which a conveyance destination of a sheet received from an image forming apparatus is switched by a flapper, and a sheet discharge option apparatus that folds the conveyed sheets in half and book-binds them. The sheet discharge option apparatus is provided with a press unit that folds a sheet. The press unit is a pair of rollers that moves while nipping a folded sheet and applying pressure to it. The press unit moves along the width direction (direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of sheets) of sheets.
According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-241043, in a case where a sheet jam (paper clogging) occurs during bookbinding processing, the press unit is moved to its home position. Then, the sheet jam is notified. The home position is a position outside the conveyance path in the width direction of sheets. The press unit in the home position does not hinder removal of jammed paper when a user removes the jammed paper remaining inside the apparatus. This reduces burden of the user when a sheet jam is cleared.
Many of the conventional conveyance apparatuses switch a position of a flapper by operating a solenoid. The flapper moves to a first position when the solenoid is turned an and moves to a second position due to influence of an elastic member, such as a spring, when the solenoid is turned off. When the flapper is in the first position, a sheet is conveyed to a first conveyance path and discharged to a first sheet discharge bin. When the flapper is in the second position, a sheet is conveyed to a second conveyance path and discharged to a second sheet discharge bin. The flapper moved to the second position closes the first conveyance path to prevent a sheet from being conveyed to the first conveyance path.
The conventional conveyance apparatuses are configured such that power supply to the solenoid is stopped when a sheet jam occurs while a sheet is conveyed to the first sheet discharge bin, to save power consumption. When the solenoid is turned off, the flapper moves from the first position to the second position. This movement may cause the flapper to trap a sheet against the first conveyance path. In such a case, the flapper becomes an obstacle when jammed paper is removed.
The above-described issue also arises in a configuration in which the position of the flapper is switched by an actuator other than the solenoid, for example, a stepping motor. This is because if power supply to the stepping motor is stopped, the force retaining the flapper in the first position is lost and the flapper may move to the second position where the flapper traps a sheet under the influence of gravity or the like. A. similar issue also arises when, in addition to the case of occurrence of a sheet jam, a sheet conveyance operation is forcibly stopped after a failure of the conveyance apparatus, such as door opening of the apparatus occurs.
In the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-241043, the flapper is utilized for the configuration of switching the conveyance destination of sheets and the press unit is discussed for reducing burden of the user when a sheet jam is cleared. However, the flapper is not discussed for reducing burden of the user when a sheet jam is cleared.
The disclosure is directed to a conveyance apparatus in which a flapper that switches a conveyance direction of a sheet is inhibited from becoming an obstacle to a user to improve user usability when a sheet remaining inside the apparatus is removed.
According to an aspect of the disclosure, a conveyance apparatus includes a conveyance unit configured to convey a sheet along a predetermined conveyance path, a flapper configured to be movable between a first position and a second position, the flapper in the first position guiding a sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit from the predetermined conveyance path to a first conveyance path branched from the predetermined conveyance path, the flapper in the second position guiding a sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit from the predetermined conveyance path to a second conveyance path branched from the predetermined conveyance path, a flapper moving unit configured to move the flapper to the first position when power is supplied to the flapper moving unit, wherein when power supply to the flapper moving unit is stopped, the flapper moves to the second position, a door configured to open the predetermined conveyance path and the second conveyance path, a detection unit configured to detect an occurrence of an abnormal state relating to the conveyance apparatus, and a control unit configured to, in a case where the detection unit detects the occurrence of the abnormal state while a sheet is conveyed to the first conveyance path the conveyance unit and the flapper is in the first position, stop a sheet conveyance operation of the conveyance unit and inhibit the flapper from moving to the second position by continuing to supply power to the flapper moving unit.
Further features and aspects of the disclosure will become apparent from the following description of various example embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
In.
The image forming unit 101 includes a photosensitive drum 111 that rotates clockwise in
The sheet feeding unit 102 includes a cassette 105 on which a plurality of sheets S is stacked and a pickup roller 106 that feeds the sheet S stacked on the cassette 105. The sheet feeding unit 102 further includes a sheet feeding roller 107 that feeds the sheet S fed by the pickup roller 106 to conveyance path 109.
Furthermore, the sheet feeding unit 102 includes a top sensor 129 that detects the sheet S having passed through the conveyance path 109 and a registration roller 110 that conveys the sheet S to the image forming unit 101. According to the timing when the sheet S is detected by the top sensor 129, the formation of a toner image on the photosensitive drum 111 is started. Then, the sheet S is conveyed by the registration roller 110 to a transfer nip portion formed by the photosensitive drum 111 and the transfer roller 115 so that the sheet S and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 111 are synchronized with each other.
The sheet discharge unit 104 includes a flapper 120, a conveyance roller 119, a sheet discharge roller 123, a sheet discharge tray 124, and a full-state detection lever 125. The flapper 120 guides the sheet S to which an image has been fixed. by the fixing unit 103 to the sheet discharge tray 124 or the sheet discharge option apparatus 200. The flapper 120 moves to a position indicated by a solid line in
Next, the configuration of the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 will be described with reference to
The sheet S from the printer 100 is received and conveyed by an inlet roller pair 201. The presence or absence of the sheet S is detected by an inlet sensor 216 (sheet detection unit) on a conveyance path 219 (predetermined conveyance path). The conveyance path 219 is connected to the conveyance path 122 of the printer 100. A flapper 202 is provided in a place where the conveyance path 219 branches to a conveyance path 212 (first conveyance path) and a conveyance path 204 (second conveyance path) and guides the sheet S conveyed by the inlet roller pair 201 to the conveyance path 212 or the conveyance path 204. The flapper 202 moves to the position (first position) indicated by the solid line illustrated in
The operation of the flapper 202 will be described in detail with reference to
The configuration of the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 will be described with reference to
Above the intermediate stack. tray 209, an aligning paddle 206 and a sheet discharge roller 207 are provided. The sheet discharge roller 207 is rotated by an actuator (not illustrated) and is able to come into contact with or separate from the sheet S stacked on the intermediate stack tray 209. A stapler 210 binds the ends of the sheets S stacked on the intermediate stack tray 209 and aligned by the jogger 208. Below the jogger 208 in the vertical direction, a sheet discharge tray 211 is provided. When the sheet discharge roller 207 comes into contact with the sheet S stacked on the intermediate stack tray 209 and rotates, and then the jogger 208 moves to a retreating position (details thereof will be described below), the sheet S stacked on the intermediate stack tray 209 is discharged to the sheet discharge tray 211.
A staple process of the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 will be described in detail below. When the staple process is performed, the flapper 202 moves to the position indicated by the broken line illustrated in
The sheet S stacked in a manner extending over the intermediate stack tray 209 and the jogger 208 is supported on both ends of the sheet S in the width direction by the jogger 208. More specifically, the first aligning member 208a comes into contact with one end in the width direction of the sheet S and the second aligning member 208b comes into contact with the other end in the width direction of the sheet S. Then, the jogger 208 moves along the width direction of the sheet S to align. the position of the sheet S in the width direction. This state is illustrated in
In the present example embodiment, the second aligning member 208b is stopped at a reference position of alignment by a mechanical stopper (not illustrated) and only the first aligning member 208a moves in the width direction. In other words, the sheet S is aligned by being bumped against the second aligning member 208b.
After completion of the position alignment of the sheet S in the width direction by the jogger 208, the position in the conveyance direction is aligned by the aligning paddle 206. The aligning paddle 206 moves the sheet S stacked on the intermediate stack tray 209 to the side on which the stapler 210 is arranged and aligns the sheet S by bumping an edge of the sheet S against the stapler 210. This completes the alignment process when a sheet S is conveyed to the intermediate stack tray 209. If the job includes two sheets S or more on which the staple process is performed, the conveyance roller 205 conveys a subsequenthe sheet S to the intermediate stack tray 209. Then, the above alignment process is repeated.
When a plurality of sheets S on which a staple process is performed is stacked on the intermediate stack tray 209 and the alignment process is performed by the jogger 208 and the aligning paddle 206, the stapler 210 performs the staple process on the plurality of sheets S. Then, the sheet discharge roller 207 moves to a position where the sheet discharge roller 207 is in contact with the sheet S stacked on the intermediate stack tray 209 and discharges a bundle of sheets S on which the staple process has been performed to the sheet discharge tray 211. In this process, the jogger 208 moves to the retreating position. This state is illustrated in
The configuration of the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 will be further described with reference to
The sheet discharge option apparatus 200 is also provided with a door 222 to release the inside of the apparatus. The user can open the door 222 and remove a sheet S remaining inside the sheet discharge option apparatus 200.
The controller 300 receives information about a print job by performing communication with external devices (not illustrated), such as computers, and sends the received information to the control unit 301. The information about a print job is information indicating a conveyance destination of a sheet S, i.e., whether to send a sheet S to the sheet discharge tray 211 or the sheet discharge tray 215. Based on the information, the control unit 301 controls the solenoid 220 to switch the position of the flapper 202.
The inlet sensor 216, the conveyance sensor 217, and the conveyance sensor 218 are connected to the control unit 301. The failure detection unit 302 of the control unit 301 is notified of detection results by these sensors. Further, a door open sensor 223 (door detection unit) that detects opening of the door 222 is connected to the control unit 301. Based on detection results by these sensors, the failure detection unit 302 detects an occurrence of an abnormal state regarding the sheet discharge option apparatus 200. The abnormal state regarding the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 is, for example, a state in which a sheet S is jammed (paper clogging) or a state in which the door 222 is open when the door 222 should be closed.
The failure detection unit 302 can detect a state in which a sheet S is jammed, based on various sensors, such as the inlet sensor 216, the conveyance sensor 217, and the conveyance sensor 218. More specifically, if the various sensors do not detect a sheet even after a first predetermined time passes, the failure detection unit 302 determines that a delay jam of a sheet S has occurred somewhere before the sheet S reaches the various sensors. If a sheet S is detected by a sensor and the detection state of the sensor does not change even after a second predetermined time passes, the failure detection unit 302 determines that a retaining jam of a sheet S has occurred on the sensor. If the door open sensor 223 detects opening of the door 222 when the door 222 should be in a closed state while the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 conveys a sheet S, the failure detection unit 302 can detect an abnormally open state of the door 222. Then, in response to the detection of the occurrence of abnormal state by the failure detection unit 302, the control unit 301 turns off a conveying motor 224 to stop a conveyance operation of the sheet S by the inlet roller pair 201.
The sheet position determination unit 303 determines a position of a sheets S remaining inside the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 using the various sensors, i.e., the inlet sensor 216, the conveyance sensor 217, and the conveyance sensor 218. Then, when the position of the remaining sheet S is determined to be near a branch point of the conveyance path 219 by the sheet position determination unit 303, the control unit 301 controls the solenoid 220 to prevent the flapper 202 from being an obstacle to removal of the remaining sheet. The branch point of the conveyance path 219 is a branch point where the conveyance path 219 branches to the conveyance path 212 and the conveyance path 204. The details will be described below with reference to a flowchart.
In the configuration described above, the operation of the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 in the present example embodiment will be described based on a flowchart illustrated in
The procedure of the flowchart is performed in the following case. The solenoid 220 receives power supply and the flapper 202 is in the position illustrated in
In step S400, the sheet position determination unit 303 checks detection results of the inlet sensor 216 installed on the conveyance path 219 and the conveyance sensor 218 installed on the conveyance path 212. In a case where both the inlet sensor 216 and the conveyance sensor 218 detect the sheet S (YES in step S400), the sheet position determination unit 303 determines that the sheet S stops at a position where the sheet S extends over the conveyance path 219 and the conveyance path 212 (near the branch point of the conveyance path. 219). In this case, if the solenoid 220 is turned off, the flapper 202 traps the sheet S. Thus, in step S401, the control unit 301 continues to supply power to the solenoid 220 to maintain the solenoid 220 in an on state. The flapper 202 is thus controlled not to move to the position illustrated in
As described above, according to the present example embodiment, a conveyance apparatus that improves usability by inhibiting the flapper 202 that switches a conveyance direction of a sheet S from becoming an obstacle to the user when a sheet S remaining inside the apparatus is removed can be provided.
In the first example embodiment, in a case where both of the inlet sensor 216 and the conveyance sensor 218 detect the sheet S, the sheet position determination unit 303 determines that the sheet S is in the position where the sheet S extends over the conveyance path 219 and the conveyance path 212. In a second example embodiment, the sheet position determination unit 303 can make a determination correctly in comparison with the first example embodiment by using more criteria for determining the position of the remaining sheet S than those of the first example embodiment. The description of the main portion is similar to that in the first example embodiment, and only a portion different from the first example embodiment will be described.
In the configuration described above, the operation of the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 in the present example embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart illustrated in
In step S500, the sheet position determination unit 303 checks detection results of the inlet sensor 216 and the conveyance sensor 218. In a case where at least one of the two sensors detects a sheet S (YES in step S500), the processing proceeds to step S501. In step S501, the sheet position determination unit 303 acquires a count value from the timer 304. In step S502, the sheet position determination unit 303 determines how far the sheet S has been conveyed and where the sheet S is stopped, based on the count value from the timer 304 and the conveyance speed of the sheet S. In a case where, for example, the inlet sensor 216 detects the sheet S and the conveyance sensor 218 does not detect the sheet S, the sheet S may be in a state illustrated in
In a case where the sheet position determination unit 303 determines that, as illustrated in
As described above, according to the present example embodiment, the position where the sheet S is stopped can be determined accurately in comparison with the first example embodiment. A conveyance apparatus that improves usability by inhibiting the flapper 202 that switches the conveyance direction of the sheet S from becoming an obstacle to the user when the sheet S remaining inside the apparatus is removed can be provided.
In the first and second example embodiments described above, the control unit 301 determines whether to maintain the solenoid 220 in an on state based on detection results of the inlet sensor 216 and the conveyance sensor 218. However, the first and second example embodiments are not limited to such a configuration. The control unit 301 may maintain the solenoid 220 in an on state only based on information indicating that the sheet S is being conveyed toward the sheet discharge tray 215, regardless of detection results of the various sensors.
The stopped position of the sheet S may be determined without using the various sensors that detect a sheet S. For example, a timer that starts a measuring operation from a start of driving of the registration roller 110 to count the time in which a sheet S is conveyed may be provided and a position where a sheet S is stopped may be determined based on the measured value of the timer.
In the first and second example embodiments described above, the position of the flapper 202 is switched by operating the solenoid 220, but the first and second example embodiments are not limited to such a configuration. A stepping motor may be adpoted to switch the position of the flapper 202. When the power supply to the stepping motor is stopped and the stepping motor is turned off, the force retaining the flapper 202 in the position illustrated in
Also, in the configuration using a stepping motor, the flapper 202 may be configured to be able to move to three positions or more. For example, the flapper 202 moves to the position illustrated in
In the first and second example embodiments described above, when a sheet jam occurs inside the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 and the door 222 of the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 is open, the failure detection unit 302 determines that an abnormal state has occurred. However, the determination is not limited to the case where an abnormal state occurs in the sheet discharge option apparatus 200. The failure detection unit 302 may also determine that an abnormal state has occurred when a sheet jam occurs inside the printer 100 and a door of the printer 100 is open.
In the first and second example embodiments, the configuration is described using the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 removably mounted on the printer 100. However, the first and second example embodiments are not limited to such a configuration. The flapper control may be adopted in a sheet conveyance mechanism in which the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 is fixed to and integrated with. the printer 100.
In the first and second example embodiments, the above-described control is executed by the control unit 301 provided in the sheet discharge option apparatus 200. Alternativel, the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 may be configured to be controlled by a control unit provided in the printer 100.
In the first and second example embodiments described above, the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 is used as an example of a conveyance apparatus that conveys the sheet S The conveyance apparatus may also be a reversing path or a two-sided path of an image forming apparatus or a document conveyance path of a document reading apparatus.
According to the example embodiments of the disclosure, as described above, a conveyance apparatus that improves usability by inhibiting the flapper 202 that switches a conveyance direction of a sheet S from becoming an obstacle to the user when the sheet S remaining inside apparatus is removed can be provided.
As an alternative to the above-described configuration, the following configuration can be also considered: the curvature of the conveyance path is set as small as possible and the force with which the flapper 202 traps the sheet S is made small, so that the flapper 202 does not become an obstacle to the user when the remaining sheet S is removed. However, the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 increases in size in such a configurations In contrast, the present example embodiments eliminate the need. to make the curvature of the conveyance path small. Therefore, the sheet discharge option apparatus 200 can be downsized according to the present example embodiments.
While the disclosure has been described with reference to example embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed example embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-150424, filed Jul. 29, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-150424 | Jul 2016 | JP | national |
