Sheet conveying apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10099874-B2
Application number	US-201715693538-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 1, 2017
Priority date	Oct 27, 2016
Publication date	Oct 16, 2018
Grant date	Oct 16, 2018

Abstract

A sheet conveying apparatus includes: a supporter having a support surface configured to support sheets; a supplier having a conveying surface exposed from the support surface and moved to supply one or more sheets; a separator including a separating roller and a retard roller located downstream of the supplier; and an inclined surface disposed upstream of the nip position and pivotable about a pivot axis. The inclined surface has a first end portion and a second end portion, and the second end portion is located downstream of the first end portion. The inclined surface is inclined such that the second end portion is nearer to the support surface than the first end portion. The first end portion is located upstream of a downstream end portion of the conveying surface. The second end portion is spaced apart from the conveying surface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet conveying apparatus, comprising:
a supporter comprising a support surface configured to support a plurality of sheets thereon;
a supplier comprising a conveying surface exposed from the support surface, the conveying surface being configured to supply one or more sheets on the support surface downstream in a conveying direction along a conveyance path by moving, in the conveying direction, in contact with the one or more sheets on the support surface;
a separator comprising a separating roller and a retard roller which are located downstream of the supplier in the conveying direction, the separator being configured to separate one by one the one or more sheets supplied by the supplier at a nip position of the separating roller and the retard roller and convey the separated sheet downstream in the conveying direction;
a stopper disposed upstream of the nip position in the conveying direction and pivotable between a first position and a second position about a first pivot axis extending in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction: and
an inclined surface disposed upstream of the nip position in the conveying direction and pivotable between an initial position and a pivoted position about a second pivot axis extending in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction,
wherein when the stopper is located at the first position,
the stopper intersects the conveyance path, extends to the support surface, and stops the plurality of sheets supported on the support surface from moving in the conveying direction toward the inclined surface, and
the inclined surface is located at the initial position and is out of contact with the plurality of sheets stopped by the stopper, one end of the inclined surface at the initial position being within the conveyance path, spaced apart from the support surface, and downstream of the conveying surface in the conveying direction.

2. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the inclined surface is kept at the initial position by an urging force of an urging member in a state in which the inclined surface is out of contact with the one or more sheets to be supplied by the supplier, and
wherein the second pivot axis of the inclined surface is located upstream of a downstream end portion of the conveying surface in the conveying direction and farther from the support surface than the one end of the inclined surface.

3. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a limiter configured to limit movement of the inclined surface from the initial position toward the conveying surface by the urging force of the urging member.

4. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein when viewed in a direction in which the second pivot axis extends, the one end of the inclined surface at the initial position intersects a tangent touching the conveying surface and extending parallel with the support surface.

5. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the supplier comprises:
a first supply roller comprising a first cylindrical surface and rotatable about a first rotation axis located opposite to the second pivot axis relative to the support surface, a portion of the first cylindrical surface being exposed from the support surface;
a second supply roller disposed downstream of the first supply roller in the conveying direction, comprising a second cylindrical surface, and rotatable about a second rotation axis located opposite to the second pivot axis relative to the support surface, a portion of the second cylindrical surface being exposed from the support surface; and
a pressing member facing the support surface and the conveying surface, and

wherein the conveying surface is constituted by the portion of the first cylindrical surface which is exposed from the support surface and the portion of the second cylindrical surface which is exposed from the support surface.

6. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the first cylindrical surface and the second cylindrical surface overlap each other when viewed in a direction in which the first rotation axis and the second rotation axis extend.

7. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the pressing member comprises:
an arm pivotable about a third pivot axis located upstream of the first supply roller in the conveying direction; and
a rotation member rotatably supported by the arm at a position located downstream of the third pivot axis in the conveying direction, the rotation member facing the first cylindrical surface and contactable with the plurality of sheets.

8. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the support surface defines a portion of the conveyance path and extends to a position located downstream of the separator in the conveying direction,
wherein the separating roller is rotatable about a third rotation axis located opposite to the second pivot axis relative to the support surface,
wherein the retard roller is rotatable about a fourth rotation axis located opposite to the third rotation axis relative to the support surface,
wherein the retard roller comprises two outer circumferential surfaces spaced apart from each other in a direction in which the fourth rotation axis extends, and
wherein when the inclined surface pivots about the second pivot axis, the one end of the inclined surface is movable into a space between the two outer circumferential surfaces without contacting the two outer circumferential surfaces.

9. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein when the supplier and the separator are not operated, the stopper is located at the first position, and
wherein when the supplier and the separator are operated, the stopper is located at the second position and separated from the support surface.

10. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the retard roller comprises a torque limiter,
wherein when the supplier supplies one sheet, the retard roller is rotated by rotation of the separating roller to convey the one sheet in the conveying direction, and
wherein when the supplier supplies two or more sheets, the retard roller is not rotated to apply a separating force to sheets other than a sheet contacting the separating roller, and the separating force acts in a direction opposite to the conveying direction.

11. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a holder pivotable about the second pivot axis; and
a friction member mounted on the holder,
wherein the inclined surface is constituted by a surface of the friction member.

12. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 11 , further comprising:
a chute configured to define a portion of the conveyance path and expose a portion of an outer circumferential surface of the retard roller; and
a cover mounted on the chute so as to be openable and closable, the cover defining a portion of the conveyance path in a state in which the cover is closed, the cover comprising an opening that exposes the retard roller,
wherein the holder is pivotably mounted on the cover.

13. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the inclined surface is farther from the conveying surface of the supplier at the pivoted position than at the initial position.

14. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein when the inclined surface is located at the initial position,
the second pivot axis and the one end are located between (i) a first imaginary plane orthogonal to the support surface and extending through an

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Kuriki Yuichiro

Classifications

• B65H3/0676

  with two or more separator rollers in the feeding direction · CPC title

• B65H3/0669

  Driving devices therefor · CPC title

• B65H2801/39

  Scanning · CPC title

• B65H3/063

  separating from the bottom of pile (B65H3/0615, B65H3/0623 take precedence) · CPC title

• B65H1/06

  for separation from bottom of pile · CPC title