Sheet stacker, image forming apparatus, and image system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10865064-B2
Application number	US-201916260324-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 29, 2019
Priority date	Jan 31, 2018
Publication date	Dec 15, 2020
Grant date	Dec 15, 2020

Abstract

A sheet stacker includes a sheet ejector, a sheet stack portion, and air blowers. The sheet ejector ejects a sheet. The sheet stack portion stacks the sheet ejected by the sheet ejector. The air blowers blow air from blow ports toward the sheet ejected from the sheet ejector. Each of the air blowers includes an air generator, an air guide, a first blow portion, a second blow portion, and a switcher. The air generator generates the air. The air guide guides the air to each of the blow ports. The first blow portion blows the air toward the sheet. The second blow portion blows the air in a direction different from a direction in which the first blow portion blows the air. The switcher performs switching so that the air guide guides the air to one of the first blow portion and the second blow portion.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sheet stacker, comprising:
a sheet ejector to eject a sheet;
a sheet stack portion to stack the sheet ejected by the sheet ejector; and
a plurality of air blowers to blow air from a plurality of blow ports toward the sheet ejected from the sheet ejector,
each of the plurality of air blowers including:
an air generator to generate the air;
an air guide to guide the air to each of the plurality of blow ports;
a first blow portion to blow the air toward the sheet;
a second blow portion to blow the air in a direction different from a direction in which the first blow portion blows the air; and

a switcher to perform switching so that the air guide guides the air to one of the first blow portion and the second blow portion,
wherein the switcher is an air flow regulating member having a plurality of protrusions and configured such that an opposing interval of the protrusions decreases from upstream in an air flow direction toward downstream in the air flow direction.

2. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet stacker according to claim 1 .

3. An image system comprising:
an image forming apparatus; and
the sheet stacker according to claim 1 to operate in conjunction with the image forming apparatus.

4. A sheet stacker, comprising:
a sheet ejector to eject a sheet;
a sheet stack portion to stack the sheet ejected by the sheet ejector; and
a plurality of air blowers to blow air from a plurality of blow ports toward the sheet ejected from the sheet ejector,
each of the plurality of air blowers including:
an air generator to generate the air;
an air guide to guide the air to each of the plurality of blow ports;
a first blow portion to blow the air toward the sheet;
a second blow portion to blow the air in a direction different from a direction in which the first blow portion blows the air; and

a switcher to perform switching so that the air guide guides the air to one of the first blow portion and the second blow portion,
wherein the second blow portion is disposed in middle of a conveyance path toward sheet ejection in the sheet ejector and blows the air toward the sheet under conveyance before being ejected in the sheet ejector.

5. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet stacker according to claim 4 .

6. An image system comprising:
an image forming apparatus; and
the sheet stacker according to claim 4 to operate in conjunction with the image forming apparatus.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Masaaki
• Itou Takahiro
• Hirako Hiroshi
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kawasaki Masaaki
• Itou Takahiro
• Hirako Hiroshi

Classifications

• B65H2511/15

  Height, e.g. of stack · CPC title

• B65H2801/06

  Office-type machines, e.g. photocopiers · CPC title

• B65H2406/14

  with selectively operated air supply openings · CPC title

• B65H2301/42192

  forming a pile of articles in zigzag fashion · CPC title

• B65H2301/4461

  by blowing air towards handled material · CPC title