Medium reversing and discharging device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11565902-B2
Application number	US-202117183150-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 23, 2021
Priority date	Sep 20, 2018
Publication date	Jan 31, 2023
Grant date	Jan 31, 2023

Abstract

A medium reversing and discharging device includes a discharger that discharges a medium in a paper discharge direction from a discharge outlet, a holder that holds and reverses the medium, and a driver that moves the holder such that when a first plane along a portion of the medium in contact with the discharge outlet does not intersect with a second plane along a portion of the medium held by the holder on a downstream side in the paper discharge direction of the discharge outlet a moving speed at which the holder moves is lower than a discharge speed at which the medium is discharged from the discharge outlet.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A medium reversing and discharging device comprising:
a discharger that discharges a medium in a first direction such that a portion of the medium in contact with the discharger is arranged along a first plane;
a holder that holds a leading end of the medium when the leading end of the medium is traveling along the first direction;
a driver that moves the holder to a standby position while the holder holds the leading end of the medium; and
a stopper,
wherein the leading end of the medium held by the holder is arranged along a second plane when the holder reaches the standby position,
wherein the first plane and the second plane intersect each other upstream of the first direction with respect to the discharger,
wherein a moving speed at which the holder moves at the standby position is lower than a discharge speed at which the medium is discharged in the first direction, and
wherein after a trailing end of the medium is released from the discharger, the driver moves the holder from the standby position such that the leading end of the medium abuts on the stopper and comes off the holder.

2. The medium reversing and discharging device according to claim 1 , further comprising an air blower that blows air onto the medium.

3. The medium reversing and discharging device according to claim 1 , wherein
the holder is supported so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis, and
the driver that rotates the holder about the rotation axis such that a circumferential velocity of the holder is lower than the discharge speed while the holder is disposed on an upstream side in the first direction of a plane overlapping the rotation axis and the discharger.

4. The medium reversing and discharging device according to claim 1 , wherein
the holder is supported by a movable body being rotatably supported, and
the driver comprises:
a first driver that moves the movable body; and
a second driver that moves the holder with respect to the movable body.

5. The medium reversing and discharging device according to claim 1 , wherein the discharger comprises a discharge outlet that is in contact with the medium discharged in the first direction, and a discharge outlet driver that moves the discharge outlet such that a portion of the medium in contact with the discharge outlet is arranged along the first plane.

6. The medium reversing and discharging device according to claim 1 , further comprising a curved portion that curves the medium upward and downward before the medium is discharged in the first direction.

7. The medium reversing and discharging device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an exit tray on which the medium is placed after the medium is released from the holder; and
an assist claw that moves together with the holder to contact the medium when the medium is placed on the exit tray,
wherein the stopper faces the leading end of the medium when the medium is placed on the exit tray.

8. The medium reversing and discharging device according to claim 7 ,
wherein the exit tray comprises:
a first exit tray portion that has a first placement surface on which a leading end portion of the medium is placed; and
a second exit tray portion that has a second placement surface on which another portion different from the leading end portion of the medium is placed, and

wherein the second placement surface is disposed below the first placement surface in a vertical direction of the first placement surface.

9. The medium reversing and discharging device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
another holder that holds a leading end of another medium different from the medium when the leading end of the another medium is traveling along the first direction; and
another driver that moves the another holder to the standby position while the another holder holds the leading end of the another medium,
wherein the leading end of the another medium held by the another holder is arranged along the second plane when the another holder reaches the standby position.

10. The medium reversing and discharging device according to claim 1 , wherein the discharger is formed such that the first direction is inclined obliquely upward.

Assignees

• Pfu Ltd

Inventors

• Hirai Yoshito
• Yasukawa Ryoichi

Classifications

• B65H15/00 Primary

  Overturning articles · CPC title

• B65H2801/06

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

• B65H29/245

  Air blast devices · CPC title

• B65H29/40

  Members rotated about an axis perpendicular to direction of article movement, e.g. star-wheels formed by S-shaped members · CPC title

• B65H2513/11

  angular · CPC title