Patent Application
20170029231
The present invention relates to a sheet conveyance apparatus conveying sheets, and an image forming apparatus having the sheet conveyance apparatus.
Various types of sheets are used in image forming apparatuses such as printers and copying machines in accordance with various purposes. Meanwhile, there are demands to suppress a curvature of a bent portion in a sheet conveyance path as much as possible, so that normal paper can be conveyed through the conveyance path, and the increase in size of the apparatus can be prevented, from the viewpoint of downsizing the apparatus.
Japanese unexamined patent application publication No. 2007-131455 proposes a recording medium feeding device including an inner guide member and an outer guide member composing a bent conveyance path, wherein a portion of the inner guide member is composed of a swingable movable guide. The movable guide moves in a direction moving away from the outer guide member by the force received from a fed sheet (specifically, a thick paper), reducing the conveyance resistance of the sheets.
The movable guide disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent application publication No. 2007-131455 is supported swingably on the fixed inner guide, and a cutout is formed on the movable guide so as not to interfere with one of roller pairs provided downstream, in a sheet conveyance direction, of the movable guide. When the movable guide is pressed by the sheet and swings, the distance between one of the roller pairs and the cutout is narrowed.
That is, in a state where the movable guide is not pressed by the sheet, a sufficient gap must be formed between the movable guide and one of the roller pairs so as to allow swinging of the movable guide. Therefore, when a thin paper with a small stiffness is fed, the movable guide will not swing even when the fed thin paper contacts the movable guide, and the sheet may be caught in the gap, causing jamming or damaging of the sheet. Especially if the leading edge of the thin paper is curled, or if the whole body of the thin paper is waved, the thin paper is likely to be caught in the gap, causing jamming and other problems.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a sheet conveyance apparatus includes a first conveyance unit conveying a sheet, the first conveyance unit including a first rotary member, and a second rotary member conveying the sheet at a contact portion in contact with the first rotary member, a second conveyance unit arranged downstream, in a sheet conveyance direction, of the first conveyance unit, and conveying the sheet, a bent conveyance guide forming a sheet conveying path between the first conveyance unit and the second conveyance unit such that the sheet conveying path is bent, and a swing guide provided upstream, in the sheet conveyance direction, of the bent conveyance guide, and guiding the sheet to the bent conveyance guide at a downstream side, in the sheet conveyance direction, of the contact portion. A center of rotation of the swing guide is provided coaxially as a rotation axis of the first rotary member.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a sheet conveyance apparatus includes a first conveyance unit conveying a sheet, the first conveyance unit including a rotation shaft, and a first rotary member rotating around the rotation shaft, a second rotary member conveying the sheet at a contact portion in contact with the first rotary member, a second conveyance unit arranged downstream, in a sheet conveyance direction, of the first conveyance unit, and conveying the sheet, a bent conveyance guide forming a sheet conveying path between the first conveyance unit and the second conveyance unit such that the sheet conveying path is bent, a swing guide provided upstream, in the sheet conveyance direction, of the bent conveyance guide, and guiding the sheet to the bent conveyance guide at an upstream side and a downstream side, in the sheet conveyance direction, of the contact portion, the swing guide defining an opening through which the first rotary member is in contact with the second rotary member, and an attaching portion attaching the swing guide swingably to the rotation shaft.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
At first, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. A printer 1, i.e., image forming apparatus, according to a first embodiment is an electro-photographic laser beam printer that forms a four-color toner image. The printer 1 includes, as illustrated in
The cassette sheet feeding unit 60 includes four layers of cassettes 61, 62, 63 and 64 on which sheets S are supported, and feed rollers 71, 72, 73 and 74 provided to correspond to the respective cassettes 61, 62, 63 and 64. The sheets S supported on the cassettes 61, 62, 63 and 64 are fed by the feed rollers 71, 72, 73 and 74 toward the image forming unit 8.
The paper deck 101 includes three layers of cassettes 205, 206 and 207 on which the sheets S are supported, and attracting-conveying portions 201, 202 and 203 that attract and feed the sheets S supported on the cassettes 205, 206 and 207. The paper deck 101 further includes a sheet conveyance apparatus 200 conveying a sheet S fed via the attracting-conveying portion 201 toward the printer body 100.
When an image forming command is output to the printer 1, an image forming process by the image forming unit 8 is started based on an image information entered from an external computer and the like connected to the printer 1 or an image information read via the reader unit 21. The image forming unit 8 includes four scanner units 13Y, 13M, 13C and 13K, and four process cartridges that form images of four colors, which are yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (K). The four process cartridges 10Y, 10M, 10C and 10K adopt the same configuration, except for the difference in the colors of the image being formed, so that in the present description, only the image forming process of the process cartridge 10Y will be described, and the descriptions of process cartridges 10M, 10C and 10K will be omitted.
The scanner unit 13Y irradiates laser beams toward a photosensitive drum 11Y of the process cartridge 10Y based on the entered image information. At this time, the photosensitive drum 11Y is charged in advance by a charging unit 12Y, and by having laser beams irradiated thereto, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 11Y. Thereafter, the electrostatic latent image is developed by a developer 14Y, and a yellow (Y) toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 11Y.
Similarly, magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (Bk) toner images are formed on the photosensitive drums of process cartridges 10M, 10C and 10K. The toner images of respective colors formed on the respective photosensitive drums are transferred via primary transfer rollers 35Y, 35M, 35C and 35K to the intermediate transfer belt 31, and conveyed via the rotating intermediate transfer belt 31 to a secondary transfer roller 41. The image forming processes of respective colors are performed at matching timings so that the image is overlapped with a primarily transferred toner image formed upstream on the intermediate transfer belt 31. Further, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C and 11K after the of toner images have been transferred is recovered by cleaning members 15Y, 15M, 15C and 15K.
Simultaneously as the above-described image forming operation, the sheets stored in the cassette sheet feeding unit 60 or the sheets S supported in the paper deck 101 are conveyed one by one toward a registration roller 30. Then, a toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 31 is transferred via the secondary transfer roller 41 to the sheet S conveyed at a predetermined conveyance timing by the registration roller 30. The sheet S on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed via an intermediate conveyance belt 42 to the fixing unit 5. There, heat and pressure is applied by the fixing unit 5 to the sheet S to fix the toner image, and the sheet S is discharged via a discharge roller pair 49 through a discharge port 50 to an exterior of the apparatus.
When forming images on both sides of a sheet, the sheet having an image formed on a first surface by the secondary transfer roller 41 is guided toward a reverse conveyance path 52 by a switching member 51. The sheet guided to the reverse conveyance path 52 is subjected to switch-back, and guided via a switching member 53 to a duplex conveyance path 85. Then, the sheet is conveyed again to the registration roller 30, where an image is formed on a second surface of the sheet by the secondary transfer roller 41, and then the sheet is discharged through the discharge port 50 to the exterior of the apparatus.
Next, the sheet conveyance apparatus 200 of the paper deck 101 will be described. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The driver roller 301A, i.e., first rotary member, is fixed to the drive shaft 302A, and a driven roller 301B, i.e., second rotary member, is rotatably fixed to the driven shaft 302B. Further, a first gear 211 fixed to the drive shaft 302A and a second gear 212 meshed with the first gear 211 are rotatably supported on the frame member 210. A motor M as driving source is connected to the second gear 212, and by driving the motor M, the drive roller 301A is rotated via the second gear 212, the first gear 211 and the drive shaft 302A.
The driven roller 301B is supported on the frame member 210 in a relatively movable manner with respect to the drive roller 301A, and the driven roller is biased by a biasing member 511 (refer to
In the present embodiment, the number of drive rollers 301A and driven rollers 301B respectively mounted on the drive shaft 302A and the driven shaft 302B is two each, but the number can be one, or three or more. In the following description, the circumferential configuration of only one of the two driver rollers 301A and one of the driven rollers 301B is described, but the same description applies for the other roller, the detailed description of which is omitted.
The conveyance guide pair 220 is composed of a lower guide 402, i.e., opposing guide, fixed to the frame member 210, and an upper guide 401, i.e., swing guide, relatively rotatably supported on the drive shaft 302A, i.e., pivot center. That is, one of the conveyance guide pair 220 is the upper guide 401 functioning as the swing guide, and the other one of the conveyance guide pair 220 is the lower guide 402 functioning as the fixed guide. The upper guide 401 is formed continuously from upstream to downstream of the nip N in the sheet conveyance direction. The upper guide 401 is designed to guide the sheet at a position corresponding to the drive roller 301A in an axial direction X (refer to
The upper guide 401 is attached to the drive shaft 302A via a bearing 213, i.e., attaching portion. The upper guide 401 is biased toward the lower guide 402 via guide pressing members 501 and 501, i.e., biasing portions, formed of springs, and guide gap regulation members 531 and 531, i.e., retaining portions, are provided between the upper guide 401 and the lower guide 402. The guide gap regulation members 531 contact the upper guide 401 biased by the guide pressing members 501, and retain the upper guide 401 with a predetermined gap, i.e., guide gap, between the upper guide and the lower guide 402. Thus, the gap between the upper guide 401 and the lower guide 402 is constantly ensured to allow conveyance of sheets.
As illustrated in
Further, the upper guide 401 includes opening portions 240 through which a portion of an outer circumference surface of the drive rollers 301A protrude downward, and a guide surface 401a (refer to
Next, a conveyance operation of the sheets and a swing movement of the upper guide 401 will be described with reference to
The sheet S fed via the attracting-conveying portion 201 is conveyed via the drive roller 301A and the driven roller 301B toward the bent conveyance guide pair 415 composed of an outer guide 411 and an inner guide 412. At that time, the upper guide 401 is pressed against the guide gap regulation member 531 by the guide pressing member 501, and the gap between the upper guide 401 and the lower guide 402 is maintained so that sheets can be conveyed.
As illustrated in
Especially, when a trailing edge R of the sheet S passes the nip N, the trailing edge R of the sheet S that has become a free end presses the guide surface 401a of the upper guide 401 upward by the stiffness of the sheet S. The upper guide 401 swings upward by the pressing force, opposing to the biasing force of the guide pressing member 501. Thereby, the sheet S will have smaller curvature corresponding to the upward swinging movement of the upper guide 401, and the increase of conveyance resistance caused by the stiffness of the sheet S can be reduced.
Moreover, since the upper guide 401 is supported by the drive shaft 302A via the bearing 213 that allows relative rotation of the upper guide, the gap between the outer circumference surface of the drive roller 301A and the opening portion 240 formed on the upper guide 401 will not be varied greatly even when the upper guide 401 swings. The gap between the outer circumference surface of the drive roller 301A and the opening portion 240 can be minimized, and jamming or damaging of the sheet caused by the sheet being caught in the gap can be prevented. The distance between the upstream end of the opening portion 240 in the sheet conveyance direction and the drive shaft 302A should preferably be equal to the distance between the downstream end of the opening portion 240 in the sheet conveyance direction and the drive shaft 302A.
Further, the upper guide 401 is formed contiguously from upstream to downstream side of the nip N in the sheet conveyance direction, so that a smooth guide surface is formed guiding the sheet from upstream to downstream of the nip N, and the sheet can be guided securely without being caught.
According to the present embodiment, a spring pressure of the guide pressing members 501 and 501 is set so that the upper guide 401 will not swing when a thin paper is conveyed but the upper guide 401 will swing when a thick paper (with a basis weight of 300 g/m2 or greater, for example) is conveyed, but the preset invention is not restricted thereto. The spring pressure of the guide pressing members 501 and 501 can be set arbitrarily in accordance with the curvature of the bent conveyance guide pair 415 or the basis weight of the sheet being conveyed.
According further to the present embodiment, the upper guide 401 is supported on the drive shaft 302A via the bearing 213 that allows relative rotation of the upper guide, but the upper guide is not necessarily supported on the drive shaft 302A, as long as the upper guide is supported rotatably on a same rotation axis as the drive shaft 302A. That is, the center of rotation of the upper guide 401 should be provided coaxially as the drive shaft 302A. For example, the upper guide 401 can be supported swingably on a different frame member. According to the present embodiment, the upper guide 401 is attached to the drive shaft 302A via the bearing 213, i.e., attaching portion, but the present invention is not restricted thereto. For example, it is possible to form an opening to the upper guide 401, and use the opening as the attaching portion for attaching the upper guide 401 to the drive shaft 302A.
In the first embodiment described above, the bent conveyance guide pair 415 is bent downward with respect to the drive roller 301A and the driven roller 301B, but the present invention is not restricted thereto. That is, as illustrated in
According to the first embodiment described above, the upper guide 401 is relatively rotatably supported by the drive shaft 302A of the drive roller 301A, but the present invention is not restricted thereto. That is, the arrangements of the drive roller 301A and the driven roller 301B of the roller unit 300A according to the first embodiment can be switched, as illustrated in
The bent conveyance guide pair arranged downstream in the sheet conveyance direction of the roller unit 300A having the above configuration can either be bent downward as illustrated in
As described, the bending direction of the bent conveyance guide pair, the arrangements of the drive roller and the driven roller, and the arrangement of the swing guide can each be selected arbitrarily in order to realize an optimum configuration. However, since the driven roller 301B is disposed relatively movably with respect to the drive roller 301A, the driven shaft 302B is provided movably. Therefore, the configuration in which the swing guide is provided on the side of the driven roller 301B with respect to the conveyance path is complex from the viewpoint of design. Therefore, the swing guide should be provided on the side of the drive roller 301A with respect to the conveyance path.
Now, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described, and according to the second embodiment, the upper guide adopts a different configuration as the first embodiment, so that similar configurations as the first embodiment will either be omitted in the drawing or assigned with the same reference numbers in the drawings and described.
As illustrated in
The upper fixed guide 403 is fixed to the frame member 210, and arranged upstream of the nip N formed by the drive roller 301A and the driven roller 301B. The upper swing guide 451 is arranged downstream, in the sheet conveyance direction, of the nip N, and has a guide surface 451a that guides the sheets. The upper swing guide 451 has cutouts 240B, i.e., opening portions, through which a portion of the outer circumference surface of the drive rollers 301A protrude downward. The upper swing guide 451 is biased toward the lower guide 402 by the guide pressing member 501 described earlier, and retained by the guide gap regulation member 531.
Next, the conveyance operation of the sheets and the swing movement of the upper swing guide 451 will be described with reference to
The sheet S fed via the attracting-conveying portion 201 is conveyed by the drive roller 301A and the driven roller 301B toward the bent conveyance guide pair 415. The sheet S is guided via the bent conveyance guide pair 415 to the downstream conveyance roller pair 311, and a trailing edge R of the sheet S passes the nip N. At this time, conveyance force is applied only from the downstream conveyance roller pair 311 to the sheet S. Since the sheet S is in a restrained state by the bent conveyance guide pair 415, conveyance resistance is increased.
Especially, when the trailing edge R of the sheet S passes the nip N, the trailing edge R of the sheet S that has become a free end presses the guide surface 451a of the upper swing guide 451 upward by the stiffness of the sheet S. The upper swing guide 451 swings upward by the pressing force, opposing to the biasing force of the guide pressing member 501. Thereby, the sheet S will have smaller curvature corresponding to the movement of the upper swing guide 451 swinging upward, and the increase of conveyance resistance caused by the stiffness of the sheet S can be reduced.
Moreover, the upper swing guide 451 is supported by the drive shaft 302A via the bearing 213 that allows relative rotation of the upper swing guide, and the upper swing guide 451 is arranged downstream in the sheet conveyance direction of the nip N. Therefore, the gap between the outer circumference surface of the drive roller 301A and the cutouts 240B formed on the upper swing guide 451 will not be varied greatly even when the upper swing guide 451 swings. The gap between the outer circumference surface of the drive rollers 301A and the cutouts 240B can be minimized, and jamming or damaging of the sheet caused by the sheet being caught in the gap can be prevented.
Further, an upstream end 451b, in the sheet conveyance direction, of the upper swing guide 451 is a portion of the upper swing guide 451 closest to the drive shaft 302A in the state where the upper swing guide 451 is retained by the guide gap regulation member 531. Therefore, since the upstream end 451b will not proximate the lower guide 402 even when the upper swing guide 451 swings upward, the opening of the upper swing guide 451 can be widened. Thereby, the curvature of the sheet S conveyed by the bent conveyance guide pair 415 can be reduced further, and the increase of conveyance resistance caused by the stiffness of the sheet S can be reduced.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary 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. 2015-147579, filed Jul. 27, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-147579 | Jul 2015 | JP | national |
