SHEET CONVEYING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCORPORATING THE SHEET CONVEYING DEVICE

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is based on and claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-221755, filed on Dec. 27, 2023, in the Japan Patent Office, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND
Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a sheet conveying device and an image forming apparatus incorporating the sheet conveying device.

Background Art

Various types of sheet conveying devices include: a drive roller that drives and rotates; a driven roller that rotates along with a rotation of the drive roller; a guide rotatable between a guide position at which a sheet moving in a sheet conveyance path is guided and an open position at which the sheet conveyance path is opened; and a pressure mechanism that presses the driven roller to bring a contact pressure of the drive roller and the driven roller to be a given contact pressure, and convey the sheet by the drive roller and the driven roller.

A sheet conveying device in the related art further includes a lock mechanism that locks the guide that holds the driven roller at the guide position. By locking the guide at the guide position by the lock mechanism, the driven roller contacts the drive roller by a given pressure force. As the lock mechanism is released to rotate the guide from the guide position to the open position, the driven roller held by the guide separates from the drive roller.

However, the sheet conveying device in the related art requires a large number of parts, which is likely to increase the size and cost.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure described herein provide a novel sheet conveying device including a drive roller, a driven roller, a guide, and a pressure mechanism. The drive roller rotates to convey a sheet in a sheet conveyance path. The driven roller is driven by the drive roller to rotate and convey the sheet in the sheet conveyance path with the drive roller. The guide has a center of rotation coaxially disposed with a center of rotation of the driven roller. The guide is rotated between a guide position and an open position, guides the sheet conveyed in the sheet conveyance path at the guide position, and opens open the sheet conveyance path at the open position. The pressure mechanism is disposed on the guide to press the driven roller to the drive roller in a pressure direction at a given contact pressure. The driven roller moves relative to the drive roller in an orthogonal direction to the pressure direction in conjunction with the guide rotating.

Further, embodiments of the present disclosure described herein provide an image forming apparatus including the above-described sheet conveying device to convey the sheet, and an image forming device to form an image on the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a printer as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the image forming apparatus with a process cartridge removed from a housing of the image forming apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an area around a registration roller pair in a sheet conveyance device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the area around the registration roller pair in the sheet conveying device;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device of FIG. 4, along a line A-A in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device of FIG. 4, along a line B-B of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an area around a conveyance guide of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the sheet conveying device in which the conveyance guide is at an open position at which a sheet conveyance path is opened;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device of FIG. 8, along a line C-C in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device of FIG. 8, along a line D-D of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a sheet conveying device according to Modification 1 of the above embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the sheet conveying device according to Modification 1 of the above embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device of FIG. 12, along a line F-F, where the conveyance guide is at a guide position;

FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device of FIG. 12, along the line F-F, where the conveyance guide is at an open position;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a sheet conveying device according to Modification 2 of the above embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the sheet conveying device according to Modification 2 of the above embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device of FIG. 15, along a line G-G, where the conveyance guide is at an open position;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a sheet conveying device according to Modification 3 of the above embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a plan view of the sheet conveying device according to Modification 3 of the above embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a partial enlarged view of the sheet conveying device, where an area surrounded by a circle I of FIG. 17 is enlarged;

FIG. 20A is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device of FIG. 18, along a line H-H, where the conveyance guide is at a guide position; and

FIG. 20B is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device of FIG. 18, along the line H-H, where the conveyance guide is at an open position.

The accompanying drawings are intended to depict embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be interpreted to limit the scope thereof. The accompanying drawings are not to be considered as drawn to scale unless explicitly noted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be understood that if an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “against,” “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, then it can be directly on, against, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, if an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, then there are no intervening elements or layers present. As used herein, the term “connected/coupled” includes both direct connections and connections in which there are one or more intermediate connecting elements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper” and the like may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements describes as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, term such as “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors herein interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for describing particular embodiments and examples and is not intended to be limiting of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes” and/or “including,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Identical reference numerals are assigned to identical or equivalent components and a description of those components may be simplified or omitted.

Descriptions below are given of a sheet conveying device, and an image forming apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that those skilled in the art can easily modify and change the present disclosure within the scope of the appended claims to form other embodiments, and these modifications and changes are included in the scope of the appended claims. The following description is an example of the best mode of the present disclosure, and does not limit the scope of the claims.

A description is given of an electrophotographic printer that functions as an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming images by electrophotography. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus is simply referred to as a printer.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a printer 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The printer 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a monochrome printer. The printer 100 includes a process cartridge 1 as a detachable unit to be detachably attached to the housing of the printer 100. The process cartridge 1 includes a photoconductor 2 and a charging roller 3. The photoconductor 2 as an image bearer bears an image on the surface. The charging roller 3 as a charger uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor 2. The process cartridge 1 further includes a developing device 4 and a cleaning blade 5. The developing device 4 develops a latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductor 2 into a visible image. The cleaning blade 5 as a cleaner cleans the surface of the photoconductor 2. The process cartridge 1 further includes a light emitting diode (LED) head array 6 disposed near the photoconductor 2. The LED head array 6 as an exposure device exposes the surface of the photoconductor 2.

The process cartridge 1 further includes a toner cartridge 22 as a developer container. The toner cartridge 22 is detachably attached to the process cartridge 1. The toner cartridge 22 includes a developer storage 8 to store toner as developer to be supplied to the developing device 4. Further, the toner cartridge 22 according to the present embodiment integrally has a developer collector 9 that collects toner (used toner or waste toner) that has been removed by the cleaning blade 5.

The printer 100 further includes a transfer device 10, a sheet feeding device 11, and a sheet conveying device 40. The transfer device 10 transfers the image formed on the surface of the photoconductor 2 onto a sheet P such as a transfer medium. The sheet feeding device 11 supplies and feeds the sheet P toward the transfer device 10. The sheet conveying device 40 conveys the sheet P. The printer 100 further includes a fixing device 12 and a sheet ejection device 13. The fixing device 12 fixes the image transferred onto the sheet P to the sheet P. The sheet ejection device 13 ejects the sheet P outside the printer 100.

The transfer device 10 includes a transfer roller 14. The transfer roller 14 functions as a transfer body rotatably supported by a transfer frame 30. The transfer roller 14 is in contact with the photoconductor 2 with the process cartridge 1 attached to the housing of the printer 100. A transfer nip region is formed at a contact portion at which the photoconductor 2 and the transfer roller 14 contact to each other. In addition, the transfer roller 14 is connected to a power source, and a given direct current (DC) voltage, a given alternating current (AC) voltage are supplied to the transfer roller 14.

The sheet feeding device 11 includes a sheet tray 15 and a sheet feed roller 16. The sheet tray 15 accommodates the sheet P. The sheet feed roller 16 feeds the sheet P accommodated in the sheet tray 15. Further, the printer 100 further includes a registration roller pair 17 disposed downstream from the sheet feed roller 16 in the sheet conveyance direction. The registration roller pair 17 as a timing roller pair conveys the sheet P to a secondary transfer nip region at a proper timing of conveyance of the sheet P. The sheet P is not limited to the above-described transfer medium but also includes, for example, thick paper, post card, envelope, plain paper, thin paper, coated paper, art paper, and tracing paper. The sheet P further includes a non-paper material such as OHP sheet, OHP film, and any other sheet-shaped material on which an image can be formed.

The fixing device 12 includes a fixing roller 18 and a pressure roller 19. The fixing roller 18 is heated by an infrared heater that is disposed inside the fixing roller 18. The pressure roller 19 is pressed toward the fixing roller 18 to contact the fixing roller 18. A fixing nip region is formed at a contact portion where the fixing roller 18 and the pressure roller 19 contact with each other.

The sheet ejection device 13 includes a sheet ejection roller pair 20. After having been ejected to the outside of the housing of the printer 100 by the sheet ejection roller pair 20, the sheet P is loaded on an ejection tray 21 that has a concaved shape or a downwardly curved shape on an upper face of the housing of the printer 100.

A description is given of basic operations and functions of the printer 100 according to the present embodiment, with reference to FIG. 1.

When image formation starts, the photoconductor 2 of the process cartridge 1 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1, and the charging roller 3 uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor 2 in a predetermined polarity. Then, the LED head array 6 directs a light beam onto the charged surface of the photoconductor 2 based on image data input from an external device. Thus, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 2.

The electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 2 is developed into a toner image (visible image) with toner deposited by the developing device 4.

As the image formation starts, the transfer roller 14 rotates, and the given voltage, which is either DC voltage, AC voltage, or including both, is applied to the transfer roller 14, thus forming a transfer electrical field between the transfer roller 14 and the photoconductor 2.

The sheet feed roller 16 starts driving and rotating in a lower portion of the housing of the printer 100 to feed the sheet P from the sheet tray 15. Conveyance of the sheet P fed from the sheet tray 15 is temporarily stopped by the registration roller pair 17 of the sheet conveying device 40.

After the temporary stop of the sheet P, the registration roller pair 17 starts driving and rotating again at the given timing to convey the sheet P to the transfer nip region in sync with the timing at which the toner image on the photoconductor 2 reaches the transfer nip region. The toner image on the photoconductor 2 is collectively transferred onto the sheet P as the transfer medium by the effect of the transfer electric field. After the transfer of the toner image from the photoconductor 2 onto the sheet P, the cleaning blade 5 removes residual toner, which is failed to be transferred onto the sheet P and remains on the surface of the photoconductor 2, from the surface of the photoconductor 2. The removed toner is conveyed and collected into the developer collector 9.

After the toner image is transferred on the sheet P, the sheet P having the toner image is conveyed to the fixing device 12, where the toner image on the sheet P is fixed to the sheet P. Then, the sheet P is ejected by the sheet ejection roller pair 20 to the outside of the housing of the printer 100 and is stacked onto the ejection tray 21.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the printer 100 as an image forming apparatus with the process cartridge 1 removed from the housing of the printer 100.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the printer 100 further includes a cover 37 on a side face (the right side face in FIG. 2) of the housing of the printer 100. The cover 37 opens and closes in a direction indicated by a bi-direction arrow in FIG. 2. By opening the cover 37, the process cartridge 1 can be removed from the housing of the printer 100.

Specifically, the cover 37 is left open and a link mechanism causes the LED head array 6 to be retracted to the retracted position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2. By so doing, the process cartridge 1 can be removed from the housing of the printer 100 while avoiding interference with the LED head array 6.

By removing the process cartridge 1 from the housing of the printer 100, a conveyance guide 90 as a guide located before the registration roller pair 17 can be rotated. By moving the conveyance guide 90 from the guide position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 2 to the open position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 2, the sheet conveyance path is opened, and a jammed sheet can be removed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the area around the registration roller pair 17 in the sheet conveying device 40 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the area around the registration roller pair 17 in the sheet conveying device 40.

The registration roller pair 17 includes three drive rollers 17a disposed at given intervals in the axial direction, and three driven rollers 17b disposed facing the respective drive rollers 17a. The three drive rollers 17a are mounted on a drive shaft 41 so as to rotate with the drive shaft 41 as a single unit.

On the other hand, the three driven rollers 17b are supported to be rotatable relative to a support shaft 42. The respective driven rollers 17b are pressed toward the corresponding drive rollers 17a by respective pressure mechanisms 80. Each of the three pressure mechanisms 80 disposed corresponding to the respective driven rollers 17b includes a holder 82 and a pressure spring 81 as a biasing force applier.

The drive shaft 41 is rotatably supported by housing side plates 110 as a housing framework via respective bearings 43. The support shaft 42 is fixed to the housing side plates 110 so as not to be rotatable. A support shaft 42 has the conveyance guide 90 to be rotatably supported via bearings 93. In other words, the conveyance guide 90 and the driven rollers 17b are supported by the support shaft 42.

A drive gear 62 that meshes with a motor gear 61a of a conveyance motor 61 as a drive source is mounted on one end of the drive shaft 41 so that the drive gear 62 rotates together with the drive shaft 41 as a single unit. As a result, the respective drive rollers 17a rotate by the driving force of the conveyance motor 61.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device 40 of FIG. 4, along a line A-A in FIG. 4.

Support projections 82a are disposed on both axial ends of the holder 82 of the pressure mechanism 80. The support projections 82a are rotatably supported by a holder support opening 92 in the conveyance guide 90. The holder 82 has pressing portions 82b to press flanges 71 mounted on both ends of each of the driven roller 17b. Each of the pressing portions 82b has a semi-circular groove, so that the flanges 71 fit to the pressing portions 82b to position the driven roller 17b in a direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the pressing direction (Z direction).

The pressure spring 81 is a coil spring, and has one end that is engaged with an engagement boss disposed on a spring bearing 96 of the conveyance guide 90. The pressure spring 81 is compressed and attached to a portion between the conveyance guide 90 and the holder 82, and biases the center of the holder 82 in a biasing direction F1 indicated by an arrow F1 illustrated in FIG. 5. The holder 82 is biased by the pressure spring 81 so as to rotate in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 5 with the support projections 82a as a fulcrum. As a result, the flanges 71 of the driven rollers 17b are pressed by the pressing portions 82b of the holders 82 in a pressure direction F2 indicated by an arrow F2 in FIG. 5. As a result, the driven rollers 17b contact the drive rollers 17a with a given pressure force (contact pressure) to form respective conveyance nip regions and be preferably rotated together with the respective drive rollers 17a.

The pressure spring 81 biases the center of the holder 82. By so doing, the flanges 71 disposed at both axial ends of the driven roller 17b can be evenly pressed, and the distribution of pressures generated between the drive roller 17a and the driven roller 17b can be even in the X direction. Accordingly, occurrence of skew of a sheet or wrinkles of a sheet can be prevented.

In a typical configuration, the fulcrum of rotation of the conveyance guide 90 is located at a position different from the center of the rotation shaft of the driven rollers 17b in the sheet conveyance direction (Y direction). In this case, the conveyance guide 90 is rotated due to the reaction force of the drive rollers 17a, and the driven rollers 17b do not contact the drive rollers 17a with a given pressure force. Due to such a configuration, in the typical configuration, the conveyance guide 90 is locked at the guide position by a lock mechanism so that the conveyance guide 90 is not rotated by the reaction force of the drive rollers 17a. As described above, in the typical configuration, a lock mechanism is needed, which increases the number of parts and components, and results in an increase in size or cost of the device or apparatus. Further, when the conveyance guide 90 is rotated from the guide position to the open position where the sheet conveyance path is opened, the lock mechanism is operated to unlock the conveyance guide 90, which makes paper jam handling complicated.

In the present embodiment, the conveyance guide 90 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 42 on which the driven rollers 17b are supported, and the center of rotation of the conveyance guide 90 is coaxial with the center of rotation of the driven rollers 17b. As a result, the conveyance guide 90 does not rotate by the reaction force of the drive rollers 17a, and the pressure force (contact pressure) of the driven rollers 17b against the drive rollers 17a does not decrease. Accordingly, even if the conveyance guide 90 is not locked at the guide position by the lock mechanism so as not to rotate, a sheet can be preferably conveyed even when the pressure force decreased. As a result, even when the lock mechanism is not installed, the number of components can be reduced, and a reduction in size and cost of the sheet conveying device can be achieved.

In the present embodiment, the reaction force of the drive rollers 17a are received by the spring bearing 96 of the conveyance guide 90 via the pressure mechanisms 80. In the present embodiment, pressure mechanisms 80 rotatably support the holder 82 on the conveyance guide 90, and the biasing direction F1 of the pressure spring 81 is orthogonal to the pressure direction F2. As a result, the reaction force of the drive rollers 17a received by the spring bearing 96 is applied in a direction orthogonal to the rotational direction. Accordingly, the rotation of the conveyance guide 90 from the guide position by the reaction force of the drive rollers 17a can be prevented.

Further, the biasing direction of the pressure spring 81 is set to a direction orthogonal to the pressure direction. By so doing, an increase in size of the device or apparatus in the pressure direction (Z direction) can be prevented.

The reaction force of the drive rollers 17a corresponds to the force that rotates the conveyance guide 90. The force that rotates the conveyance guide 90 is a vector component in a direction orthogonal to a line segment connecting the center of rotation of the conveyance guide 90 and the contact portion of the spring bearing 96 and the pressure spring 81. In the present embodiment, the fulcrum of rotation of the conveyance guide 90 is located closer to the driven rollers 17b than the spring bearing 96 that receives the reaction force of the drive rollers 17a. Further, the contact portion of the spring bearing 96 and the pressure springs 81 that receive the reaction force of the drive rollers 17a is located higher than the conveyance guide 90 in the vertical direction (Z direction). As a result, the force that rotates the conveyance guide 90 as the reaction force of the drive rollers 17a (in other words, a vector component in a direction orthogonal to a line segment connecting the center of rotation of the conveyance guide 90 and the contact portion of the spring bearing 96 and the pressure spring 81) is applied in a direction that rotates the conveyance guide 90 to the guide position. As a result, the reaction force of the drive rollers 17a becomes the force that causes the conveyance guide 90 to stay at the guide position, so that the conveyance guide 90 can be preferably located at the guide position without any operation of the lock mechanisms.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device 40, taken along line B-B in FIG. 4.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, cams 91 are disposed at both axial ends of the conveyance guide 90. The cams 91 contact the bearings 43 as cam contact portions that receives the drive shaft 41 as the conveyance guide 90 is rotated from the guide position to the open position at which the sheet conveyance path is opened. Fitting holes 98 as support openings or support slots into which the bearings 93 are fitted are slots extending in the sheet conveyance direction (Y direction). The bearings 93 receive the support shaft 42 as a support of the conveyance guide 90. As a result, the conveyance guide 90 is slidable in a direction orthogonal to the pressure direction of the driven rollers 17b of the pressure mechanisms 80 (also the sheet conveyance direction (Y direction)).

Further, positioning projections 95 are disposed on both axial sides of the conveyance guide 90. When the conveyance guide 90 is positioned at the guide position, the positioning projections 95 are engaged with positioning grooves 111 in the housing side plates 110. As a result, the conveyance guide 90 is positioned to be stationary at the guide position (in other words, the conveyance guide 90 is stationarily positioned at the guide position) in a direction orthogonal to the pressure direction of the driven rollers 17b of the pressure mechanisms 80 (also the sheet conveyance direction (Y direction)). Accordingly, when a sheet is conveyed, the conveyance guide 90 can be prevented from sliding in the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction (the sheet conveyance direction (Y direction)) to decrease the pressure force of the driven rollers 17b to the drive rollers 17a, and the sheet can be preferably conveyed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an area around the conveyance guide 90 of the printer 100 as an image forming apparatus of FIG. 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the developer collector 9 includes a retaining portion 9a to retain the conveyance guide 90 from rotating. The conveyance direction of the sheet fed from the sheet feeding device 11 is changed by the conveyance guide 90 from the substantially vertical direction to the substantially horizontal direction. Due to such an operation, the opposite side opposite to the fulcrum of rotation of the conveyance guide 90 contacts the leading end of the sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding device 11. In the present embodiment, since the conveyance guide 90 is retained by the retaining portion 9a of the developer collector 9, even if the leading end of a sheet contacts the conveyance guide 90 in a direction in which the conveyance guide 90 is rotated, the conveyance guide 90 does not rotate and the sheet can be preferably guided.

If the rotation of the conveyance guide 90 when the leading end of the sheet contacts the conveyance guide 90 can be preferably prevented by the reaction force of the drive rollers 17a acting as force to retain the conveyance guide 90 at the guide position, the retaining portion 9a of the developer collector 9 is not needed. Further, as described above, even if the conveyance guide 90 is slightly rotated, the pressure force of the driven rollers 17b to the drive rollers 17a does not vary, and the sheet can be preferably conveyed. Accordingly, when the sheet can be conveyed to the nip region of the registration roller pair 17 even if the conveyance guide 90 is slightly rotated, the retaining portion 9a of the developer collector 9 is not needed.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the sheet conveying device 40 in which the conveyance guide 90 is at an open position at which the sheet conveyance path is opened.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device 40 of FIG. 8, along a line C-C in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device 40 of FIG. 8, along a line D-D of FIG. 8.

When the process cartridge 1 is removed from the housing of the printer 100 and the conveyance guide 90 is rotated from the guide position to the open position, the positioning projections 95 are disengaged from the positioning grooves 111. As a result, the conveyance guide 90 is slidable in a direction orthogonal to the pressure direction F3 in which the pressing portion 82b of the holder 82 presses the driven rollers 17b. When the conveyance guide 90 is further rotated, the cam 91 of the conveyance guide 90 contacts the bearings 43 that receive the drive shaft 41. Then, the conveyance guide 90 is pushed in by the bearings 43, and the conveyance guide 90 slides in a direction orthogonal to the pressure direction F3 (see an arrow E in FIG. 10).

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the pressure mechanisms 80 are disposed on the conveyance guide 90. Due to such a configuration, the postures of the pressure mechanisms 80 change in response to a rotation of the conveyance guide 90, and the pressure direction in which the holder 82 presses the driven rollers 17b changes. Specifically, the pressure direction when the conveyance guide 90 is at the guide position is a vertically downward direction (a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction). However, as the conveyance guide 90 is rotated, the pressure direction of the holder 82 pressing the driven rollers 17b inclines with respect to the vertical direction, as illustrated in FIG. 9. Accordingly, the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction F3 is changed to be a direction inclined to the sheet conveyance direction (Y direction). As a result, the cam 91 of the conveyance guide 90 contacts the bearings 43 that receive the drive shaft 41, and the conveyance guide 90 pushed by the bearings 43 slides obliquely upward. In response to the slide of the conveyance guide 90, the holder 82 that is rotatably supported by the conveyance guide 90 slides in a direction orthogonal to the pressure direction F3 (obliquely upward) together with the conveyance guide 90. Accordingly, the driven rollers 17b positioned in the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction F3 by the pressing portion 82b of the holder 82 moves obliquely upward together with the conveyance guide 90. As a result, as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the driven rollers 17b are separated from the drive rollers 17a, so that the sheet nipped by the registration roller pair 17 can be easily removed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the driven rollers 17b can be separated from the drive rollers 17a along with a rotation of the conveyance guide 90 to the open position. The paper jam handling in the configuration having the lock mechanism is as follows. After the process cartridge 1 is removed from the housing of the printer 100, the lock mechanism is operated to release the lock of the conveyance guide 90, and the conveyance guide 90 is rotated to the open position to separate the driven rollers 17b from the drive rollers 17a. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, after the process cartridge 1 is removed from the housing of the printer 100, the conveyance guide 90 is rotated to the open position to separate the driven rollers 17b from the drive rollers 17a. As described above, in the present embodiment, the operation of a lock mechanism to unlock the lock of a conveyance guide is eliminated, and a simpler paper jam handling can be achieved.

When the driven rollers 17b are separated from the drive rollers 17a, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the driven rollers 17b as restrictors contact the support shaft 42 as a shaft, so that the rotation of the holder 82 by the biasing force of the pressure spring 81 is restricted. By restricting the rotation of the holder 82 by the support shaft 42, as described below, the driven rollers 17b can be brought into contact with the drive rollers 17a when the conveyance guide 90 is rotated from the open position to the guide position.

In the above description, the cams 91 are in contact with the bearings 43 attached to the housing side plates 110 as housing frameworks. Alternatively, a cam contact portion that contacts the cams 91 may be disposed on the housing side plates 110.

When the conveyance guide 90 is moved from the open position to the guide position, after the cams 91 are separated from the bearings 43, the positioning projections 95 are fitted to the positioning grooves 111. The groove width of each of the positioning grooves 111 on the opening side is wider than the diameter of each of the positioning projections 95, and the positioning projection 95 is easily inserted into the positioning groove 111. When the positioning projection 95 enters the positioning groove 111, the conveyance guide 90 slides along the positioning groove 111 in a direction opposite to the direction of the arrow E in FIG. 10.

In the present embodiment, as described above, since the rotation of the holder 82 is restricted by the support shaft 42, the driven rollers 17b can be brought into contact with the drive rollers 17a by the sliding of the conveyance guide 90 in the opposite direction. Even after the driven rollers 17b contact the drive rollers 17a, the conveyance guide 90 slides in the opposite direction by the positioning groove 111. Then, the driven rollers 17b climb up the outer circumferential faces of the drive rollers 17a against the biasing force of the pressure spring 81 while the holder 82 is rotated. When the positioning projections 95 contact the bottoms of the positioning grooves 111, the driven rollers 17b contact the tops of the drive rollers 17a, and contact the drive rollers 17a with a desired pressing force (abutting pressure).

Further, the conveyance guide 90 is positioned in the sheet conveyance direction (the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction).

A description is given below of sheet conveying devices according to modifications of the present embodiment.

Modification 1

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a sheet conveying device 40A according to Modification 1 of the present embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the sheet conveying device 40A according to Modification 1 of the present embodiment.

FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device 40A of FIG. 12, along a line F-F, where the conveyance guide 90 is at the guide position.

FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device 40A of FIG. 12, along the line F-F, where the conveyance guide 90 is at the open position.

As illustrated in FIGS. 11, 12, and 13, the sheet conveying device 40A according to Modification 1 includes positioning projections 112 on the housing side plates 110, and positioning grooves 97 in the conveyance guide 90.

As illustrated in FIG. 13A, when the conveyance guide 90 is at the guide position, the positioning grooves 97 of the conveyance guide 90 engage with the positioning projections 112 of the housing side plates 110.

As a result, the conveyance guide 90 is positioned in the sheet conveyance direction that is also the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction of the holder 82 to press the driven rollers 17b and the direction orthogonal to the pressing direction of the driven rollers 17b to the drive rollers 17a.

As the conveyance guide 90 is rotated from the guide position to the open position, the positioning grooves 97 of the conveyance guide 90 and the positioning projections 112 of the housing side plates 110 are disengaged from each other, so that the conveyance guide 90 becomes slidable. Accordingly, similarly in the description above, the conveyance guide 90 slides by the cams 91, and the driven rollers 17b are brought to separate from the drive rollers 17a.

In Modification 1, the groove width of each of the positioning grooves 97 of the conveyance guide 90 on the opening side is larger than the diameter of each of the positioning projections 112. Accordingly, in Modification 1, when the conveyance guide 90 is rotated from the open position to the guide position, the positioning projections 112 of the housing side plates 110 can easily enter the positioning grooves 97.

Modification 2

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a sheet conveying device 40B according to Modification 2 of the above embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the sheet conveying device 40B according to Modification 2 of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device 40B of FIG. 15, along a line G-G, where the conveyance guide 90 is at the open position.

The sheet conveying device 40B according to Modification 2 further includes shutters 50 each as a rotator to correct skew (oblique sheet conveyance) of a sheet.

The shutters 50 are alternately arranged with three driven rollers 17b in the axial direction. To be more specific, each of the three driven rollers 17b is disposed between the adjacent shutters 50 in the axial direction. The shutters 50 are attached to the shutter shaft 52 as rotators so as to rotate together with the shutter shaft 52. The driven rollers 17b are supported by the shutter shaft 52 and spaced at given intervals. The conveyance guide 90 is rotatably supported by the shutter shaft 52 via the bearings 93. The shutter shaft 52 is rotatably supported by the housing side plates 110. The shutters 50 have three contact portions 51 in the rotational direction of the shutters 50, so that the leading end of a sheet contacts the contact portions 51.

A rotary cam 53 is mounted on a motor side end of the shutter shaft 52 so that the rotary cam 53 integrally rotates with the shutter shaft 52. As illustrated in FIG. 15, a cam follower 54 is in contact with the rotary cam 53. The cam follower 54 is rotatably supported by an arm 55. An arm holder 113 that rotatably supports the arm 55 is disposed on the upstream side of the housing side plate 110 on the motor side in the sheet conveyance direction. One end of a cam spring 56 for biasing the arm 55 is attached to the face of the arm holder 113 in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction.

One of the three contact portions 51 of the shutters 50 is disposed at a standby position upstream from the conveyance nip region of the registration roller pair 17 in the sheet conveyance nip region. The registration roller pair 17 waits for the leading end of a sheet conveyed to contact the registration roller pair 17. At this time, the cam follower 54 is positioned in the valley portion of the rotary cam 53.

When the leading end of the sheet passes through the contact portions 51 located at the standby position, the leading end of the sheet is stopped by the biasing force of the cam spring 56 to bend the sheet to correct the skew (oblique sheet conveyance) of the sheet. When the sheet is bent by a predetermined amount, the stiffness of the sheet becomes larger than the biasing force of the cam spring 56, and the shutters 50 rotate against the biasing force of the cam spring 56. The rotary cam 53 rotates as the shutters 50 rotate, and the cam follower 54 of the arm 55 climbs up the sloped face of the rotary cam 53 while the arm 55 rotates. When the cam follower 54 is located beyond the top of the rotary cam 53, the biasing force of the cam spring 56 changes from the force for preventing rotation of the rotary cam 53 to the force for rotating the rotary cam 53. As a result, the shutters 50 are rotated by the biasing force of the cam spring 56. As the cam follower 54 is located at the recessed portion of the rotary cam 53, the shutter 50 stop rotating, and the subsequent contact portion 51 of the shutter 50 is located at the standby position.

As described above, in Modification 2, the shutters 50 correct skew of the sheet. According to this configuration, the oblique sheet conveyance of the sheet is not needed by temporarily stopping the registration roller pair 17 to contact the leading end of the sheet to the conveyance nip region of the registration roller pair 17, and the registration roller pair 17 can continue to rotate at a constant rotational speed.

In Modification 2, the driven rollers 17b are supported by the shutter shaft 52. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 16, when the conveyance guide 90 is located at the open position and the driven rollers 17b are separated from the drive rollers 17a, the shutter shaft 52 restricts the rotation of the holder 82. As a result, as described above, when the conveyance guide 90 is rotated from the open position to the guide position, the driven rollers 17b can be brought to contact the drive rollers 17a.

Modification 3

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a sheet conveying device 40C according to Modification 3 of the above embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of the sheet conveying device 40C according to Modification 3 of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a partial enlarged view of the sheet conveying device C, where an area surrounded by a circle I of FIG. 17 is enlarged.

FIG. 20A is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device 40C of FIG. 18, along a line H-H, where the conveyance guide 90 is at the guide position.

FIG. 20B is a cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying device 40C of FIG. 18, along the line H-H, where the conveyance guide 90 is at the open position.

In the sheet conveying device 40C of Modification 3, the support shaft 42 is removed, and the driven rollers 17b are rotatably supported by the holder 82. Specifically, the pressing portions 82b of the holder 82 have hole shapes, and the flanges 71 of the driven rollers 17b are rotatably supported by the pressing portions 82b having hole shapes.

Further, the housing side plates 110 includes support projections 115 that rotatably support the conveyance guide 90. The support projections 115 are disposed coaxial with the center of rotation of the driven rollers 17b. As a result, as in the above embodiments, the fulcrum of rotation of the conveyance guide 90 is at a position coaxial with the center of rotation of the driven rollers 17b. Due to such a configuration, the pressure force of the driven rollers 17b to the driven rollers 17b does not decrease by the rotation of the conveyance guide 90 due to the reaction force of the drive rollers 17a.

In addition, the conveyance guide 90 includes a restrictor 99 to restrict a rotation of the holder 82. Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG. 20B, when the driven rollers 17b are separated from the drive rollers 17a during the rotation of the conveyance guide 90 to the open position, the holder 82 contacts the restrictor 99 and the rotation of the holder 82 is restricted. As described above, in Modification 3, the driven rollers 17b can be brought to contact from the drive rollers 17a when the conveyance guide 90 is rotated to the guide position.

The above-described embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the present disclosure. Thus, numerous additional modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, elements and/or features of different illustrative embodiments may be combined with each other and/or substituted for each other within the scope of the present disclosure.

In the above-described embodiments, the present disclosure is applied to the registration roller pair 17 but is not limited to this configuration. For example, the present disclosure may be applied to a conveyance roller pair that conveys a sheet. Further, in the above-described embodiments, when the conveyance guide 90 is at the open position, the driven rollers 17b are separated from the drive rollers 17a. However, by reducing the sliding amount of the conveyance guide 90 by the cams 91, the driven rollers 17b may contact the drive rollers 17a when the conveyance guide 90 is at the open position. Even with this configuration, the conveyance guide 90 slides when the conveyance guide 90 is rotated form the guide position to the open position, so that the driven rollers 17b retained by the conveyance guide 90 relatively move to the drive rollers 17a in the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction of the driven rollers 17b of the holder 82. As a result, the contact position of the driven rollers to the drive rollers changes to a position lower than the top of the drive rollers. Accordingly, the holder is rotated, the compression spring extends, and the pressure force of the driven roller to the drive roller decreases.

The configurations according to the above-descried embodiments are examples, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the above. For example, the following aspects can achieve effects described below.

Aspect 1

In Aspect 1, a sheet conveying device (for example, the sheet conveying device 40, 40A, 40B) includes a drive roller (for example, the drive rollers 17a), a driven roller (for example, the driven rollers 17b), a guide (for example, the conveyance guide 90), and a pressure mechanism (for example, the pressure mechanisms 80). The drive roller drives and rotates. The driven roller rotates along with a rotation of the drive roller. The guide is rotatable between a guide position at which a sheet moving in a sheet conveyance path is guided and an open position at which the sheet conveyance path is opened. The pressure mechanism presses the driven roller to bring a contact pressure of the drive roller and the driven roller to be a given contact pressure. The sheet is conveyed by the drive roller and the driven roller. The pressure mechanism is disposed on the guide. The center of rotation of the guide is coaxial with the center of rotation of the driven roller. The driven roller moves relative to the drive roller in a direction orthogonal to a pressure direction of the pressure mechanism to press the driven roller along with the rotation of the guide.

Typical sheet conveying devices include a lock mechanism so as not to reduce the contact pressure between the driven roller (17b) and the drive roller (17a) by a rotation of the guide such as the conveyance guide 90 due to the reaction force of the drive roller (17a) that the driven roller (17b) receives. With the lock mechanism, the guide is locked at the guide position so as not to be rotatable. As described above, the typical sheet conveying devices need the lock mechanism, which leads to an increase of the number of parts and components, and results in an increase in size and cost of a sheet conveying device.

In contrast, in Aspect 1, the center of rotation of the guide is positioned coaxially with the center of rotation of the driven roller (17b). With this configuration, the guide does not rotate due to the reaction force of the drive roller (17a) that the driven roller (17b) receives, and the contact pressure of the driven roller (17b) and the drive roller (17a) does not decrease. Accordingly, the guide is not locked at the guide position to prevent the guide from rotating by the lock mechanism. As a result, the number of parts and components can be reduced, and the configuration of the sheet conveying device can achieve a reduction in size and cost.

Further, in Aspect 1, the sheet conveying device has the configuration in which the driven roller (17b) rotates along with the rotation of the guide, and moves relative to the drive roller (17a) in a direction orthogonal to the pressure direction of the pressure mechanism such as the pressure mechanisms 80 to press the driven roller (17b). When the guide is located at the guide position, the pressure direction of the pressure mechanism to press the driven roller (17b) is equal to a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction. As the guide is rotated, the posture of the pressure mechanism disposed on the guide changes, so that the pressure direction of the pressure mechanism inclines to the pressure direction when the guide is at the guide position. In the configuration of Aspect 1, when the guide is rotated, the driven roller (17b) moves relative to the drive roller (17a) in the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction. Due to such a configuration, the driven roller (17b) can move relative to the drive roller (17a) in a direction in which the driven roller (17b) separates from the drive roller (17a) or in a direction in which the contact pressure of the driven roller (17b) and the drive roller (17a) decreases. As a result, as in the typical sheet conveying device, the driven roller (17b) can be separated from the drive roller (17a) or the contact pressure of the driven roller (17b) and the drive roller (17a) can be decreased, along with a rotation of the guide from the guide position to the open position. Accordingly, the jammed sheet can be easily removed.

Aspect 2

In Aspect 2, in the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 1, the pressure mechanism (for example, the pressure mechanisms 80) includes a pressing portion (82b) that presses the driven roller, and positions the driven roller (17b) in the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction of the pressure mechanism. The guide is slidable on a support (for example, the support shaft 42) that rotatably supports the guide, in a given range in the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction.

According to this configuration, as described in the embodiments above, the guide such as the conveyance guide 90 slides in the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction, and the driven roller (17b) slides in the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction together with the pressure mechanism disposed on the guide, along with the sliding of the guide. Accordingly, by causing the guide such as the conveyance guide 90 to slide in the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction when the guide is rotated, the driven roller (17b) can move relative to the drive roller (17a) in the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction.

Aspect 3

In Aspect 3, in the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 2, the guide such as the conveyance guide 90 has a support opening (for example, the fitting holes 98) supported by the support such as the support shaft 42, and the support opening is a long slot extending in a direction orthogonal to the pressure direction.

According to this configuration, as described in the embodiment, the guide such as the conveyance guide 90 can slide in a given range in the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction with respect to the support such as the support shaft 42.

Aspect 4

In Aspect 4, the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 2 or 3 further includes a positioner (for example, the positioning projection 95 and the positioning groove 111) to position the guide not to be slidable when the guide is at the guide position.

According to this configuration, as described in the embodiments above, the contact pressure of the driven roller (17b) and the drive roller (17a) can be prevented from decreasing due to a sliding of the guide such as the conveyance guide 90 when the sheet is conveyed.

Aspect 5

In Aspect 5, the sheet conveying device according to any one of Aspects 2 to 4 further includes a slider (for example, the cams 91) to slide the guide such as the conveyance guide 90 with respect to the support such as the support shaft 42 when the guide is rotated. According to this configuration, as described in the embodiments above, the driven roller (17b) can be moved relative to the drive roller (17a) in the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction in response to the rotation of the guide such as the conveyance guide 90.

Aspect 6

In Aspect 6, in the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 5, the slider is a cam (for example, the cams 91) mounted on the guide (for example, the conveyance guide 90). When the guide is at the guide position, the cam (91) of a housing framework (for example, the housing side plates 110) is separated from a cam-contact portion (for example, the bearings 43). When the guide is rotated, the cam (91) contacts the cam-contact portion to cause the guide to slide to the support such as the support shaft 42.

According to this configuration, as described in the embodiments above, the driven roller (17b) can be moved relative to the drive roller (17a) in the direction orthogonal to the pressure direction in response to the rotation of the guide such as the conveyance guide 90.

Aspect 7

In Aspect 7, in the sheet conveying device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 6, the pressure mechanism such as the pressure mechanisms 80 is rotatably supported by the guide such as the conveyance guide 90, positions the driven roller (17b) in a direction orthogonal to at least the pressure direction, includes a holder (for example, the holder 82) and a biasing force applier (for example, the pressure springs 81). The holder (82) has a pressing portion (for example, the pressing portions 82b) to press the driven roller (17b). The biasing force applier biases the holder in the sheet conveyance direction. In other words, the biasing force applier biases the holder (82) in a direction orthogonal to the pressure direction.

According to this configuration, as described in the embodiments above, the sheet conveying device can be prevented from an increase in size in the pressure direction, when compared with a configuration in which the holder is biased in the pressure direction. Further, the reaction force from the drive roller (17a) is in a direction orthogonal to the pressure direction, and is in a direction orthogonal to the rotating direction of the guide at the guide position. Accordingly, the guide can be prevented from rotating by the reaction force from the drive roller (17a). Further, depending on the relative positions of the center of rotation of the guide and the portion at which the guide receives the reaction force of the drive roller via the pressure mechanism, a vector component that causes the guide to rotate to the guide position can be generated in the reaction force of the drive roller, and the guide can be retained at the guide position by the reaction force of the drive roller.

Aspect 8

In Aspect 8, in the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 7, when the guide such as the conveyance guide 90 is at the open position, the driven roller (17b) is separated from the drive roller (17a). The sheet conveying device further includes a restrictor to restrict a rotation of the holder (82) when the guide is at the open position.

According to this configuration, as described in the embodiments above, when the guide such as the conveyance guide 90 is located at the open position, the driven roller (17b) is separated from the drive roller (17a). By so doing, the holder (82) by the biasing force applier such as the pressure springs 81 is not restricted, and the holder (82) is largely rotated. In this state, if the guide is rotated from the open position to the guide position, the driven roller (17b) may not contact the drive roller (17a).

In Aspect 8, when the guide is at the open position, the rotation of the holder (82) is restricted by the restrictor. Due to such a configuration, when the guide such as the conveyance guide 90 is rotated from the open position to the guide position, the driven roller (17b) can be brought into contact with the drive roller (17a).

Aspect 9

In Aspect 9, in the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 8, the restrictor includes a shaft (for example, the support shaft 42) penetrating the driven roller (17b).

According to this configuration, as described in the embodiments above, the driven roller (17b) contacts the shaft such as the support shaft 42. By so doing, the rotation of the holder (82) when the guide is at the open position can be restricted.

Aspect 10

In Aspect 10, the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 9 further includes a rotator (for example, the shutter 50) that includes a contact portion to which the leading end of the sheet contacts at a portion upstream, in the sheet conveyance direction, from a conveyance nip region formed by causing the driven roller (17b) to contact the drive roller (17a), and rotates while correcting skew of the sheet. The shaft includes a rotary shaft (for example, the shutter shaft 52) to which the rotator is fixed.

According to this configuration, as described in Modification 2, the driven roller (17b) contacts the rotary shaft such as the shutter shaft 52. By so doing, the rotation of the holder (82) when the guide is at the open position can be restricted.

Aspect 11

In Aspect 11, an image forming apparatus includes the sheet conveying device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 10, and an image forming device to form an image on the sheet conveyed from the sheet conveying device.

According to this configuration, a reduction in cost of the image forming apparatus can be enhanced.

Aspect 12

In Aspect 12, a sheet conveying device including a drive roller, a driven roller, a guide, and a pressure mechanism. The drive roller rotates to convey a sheet in a sheet conveyance path. The driven roller is driven by the drive roller to rotate and convey the sheet in the sheet conveyance path with the drive roller. The guide has a center of rotation coaxially with a center of rotation of the driven roller. The guide is rotated between a guide position and an open position, guides the sheet conveyed in the sheet conveyance path at the guide position, and opens open the sheet conveyance path at the open position. The pressure mechanism is disposed on the guide to press the driven roller to the drive roller in a pressure direction at a given contact pressure. The driven roller moves relative to the drive roller in an orthogonal direction to the pressure direction in conjunction with the guide rotating.

Aspect 13

In Aspect 13, the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 12 further includes a support rotatably supporting the guide. The pressure mechanism includes a pressing portion to press the driven roller to the drive roller, and positions the driven roller in the orthogonal direction. The guide is slidable to the support in a given range in the orthogonal direction.

Aspect 14

In Aspect 14, in the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 13, the guide has a support slot supported by the support, and the support slot extends in the orthogonal direction.

Aspect 15

In Aspect 15, the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 13 or 14 further includes a positioner to stationarily position the guide at the guide position.

Aspect 16

In Aspect 16, the sheet conveying device according to any one of Aspects 13 to 15 further includes a slider to slide the guide relative to the support when the guide is rotated.

Aspect 17

In Aspect 17, the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 16 further includes a housing framework, and a cam-contact portion attached to the housing framework. The slider includes a cam mounted on the guide to contact the cam-contact portion. The cam is separated from the cam-contact portion when the guide is at the guide position. The cam contacts the cam-contact portion to cause the guide to slide on the support when the guide is rotated.

Aspect 18

In Aspect 18, in the sheet conveying device according to any one of Aspects 12 to 17, the pressure mechanism includes a holder and a biasing force applier. The holder is rotatably supported by the guide, and includes a pressing portion to position the driven roller in the orthogonal direction, and press the driven roller. The biasing force applier biases the holder in a sheet conveyance direction that is the orthogonal direction.

Aspect 19

In Aspect 19, the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 18 further includes a restrictor to restrict a rotation of the holder when the guide is at the open position. The driven roller is separated from the drive roller when the guide is at the open position.

Aspect 20

In Aspect 20, in the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 19, the restrictor includes a shaft penetrating the driven roller.

Aspect 21

In Aspect 21, the sheet conveying device according to Aspect 20 further includes a rotator that includes a contact portion to which a leading end of the sheet contacts at a portion upstream, in the sheet conveyance direction, from a conveyance nip region formed by causing the driven roller to contact the drive roller, and rotates while correcting skew of the sheet. The shaft includes a rotary shaft to which the rotator is fixed.

Aspect 22

In Aspect 22, an image forming apparatus includes the sheet conveying device according to any one of Aspects 12 to 21 to convey the sheet, and an image forming device to form an image on the sheet conveyed from the sheet conveying device.

The present disclosure is not limited to specific embodiments described above, and numerous additional modifications and variations are possible in light of the teachings within the technical scope of the appended claims. It is therefore to be understood that, the disclosure of this patent specification may be practiced otherwise by those skilled in the art than as specifically described herein, and such, modifications, alternatives are within the technical scope of the appended claims. Such embodiments and variations thereof are included in the scope and gist of the embodiments of the present disclosure and are included in the embodiments described in claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

The effects described in the embodiments of this disclosure are listed as the examples of preferable effects derived from this disclosure, and therefore are not intended to limit to the embodiments of this disclosure.

The embodiments described above are presented as an example to implement this disclosure. The embodiments described above are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, or changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and gist of this disclosure and are included in the scope of the invention recited in the claims and its equivalent.

Any one of the above-described operations may be performed in various other ways, for example, in an order different from the one described above.

SHEET CONVEYING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCORPORATING THE SHEET CONVEYING DEVICE

Information

Publication Number

Date Filed

Date Published

Inventors

Original Assignees

CPC

International Classifications

Abstract

Description

Claims

Priority Claims (1)