Sheet conveying apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11891271-B2
Application number	US-202117411522-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 25, 2021
Priority date	Aug 28, 2020
Publication date	Feb 6, 2024
Grant date	Feb 6, 2024

Abstract

The present invention is to provide a configuration facilitating removal of a sheet stopped on a conveying belt. In a sheet conveying apparatus that conveys a sheet using a conveying belt and balls, a sheet may be jammed and stopped on the conveying belt. In this case, it is difficult for a user to take out the sheet through a take-out port if the sheet is nipped by conveying roller pairs disposed upstream and downstream relative to the conveying belt in a sheet conveying direction. Thus, conveying roller pairs and the conveying belt are operated such that the sheet, which is stopped on the conveying belt and hence should be taken out through the take-out port, is brought into a state of being nipped only by the conveying belt and balls.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sheet conveying apparatus comprising:
a first conveying member configured to convey a sheet in a predetermined conveying direction;
an endless conveying belt provided downstream relative to the first conveying member in the conveying direction, the belt having a conveying surface extending in the conveying direction and conveying, in the conveying direction, the sheet passed from the first conveying member;
a plurality of balls arranged in the conveying direction so as to face the conveying surface and configured to be rotatable in any direction while nipping the sheet with the conveying surface;
a second conveying member provided downstream relative to the conveying belt in the conveying direction and configured to convey the sheet passed from the conveying belt; and
a take-out port provided on one side relative to the conveying belt in a sheet width direction crossing the conveying direction and through which a sheet stopped on the conveying belt is taken out, wherein
when a sheet is stopped in a state of being spanned by the conveying belt and the first conveying member, or by the conveying belt and the second conveying member, the first and second conveying members and the conveying belt are operated such that the sheet is located at a position where it is nipped only by the conveying belt and the balls so as to allow the sheet to be taken out through the take-out port.

2. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the second conveying member is constituted by a pair of conveying rollers that nips and conveys a sheet,
the sheet conveying apparatus further includes:
a roller moving unit capable of moving at least one of the pair of conveying rollers as the second conveying member to a nip position bringing the pair of conveying rollers into a nip state for sheet conveyance and a nip release position where the pair of conveying rollers are separated from the nip position; and
a third conveying member provided downstream relative to the second conveying member in the conveying direction and configured to convey the sheet passed from the second conveying member,
when a sum of lengths in the conveying direction of a plurality of sheets stopped on the conveying belt is larger than a distance between the first and second conveying members and smaller than a distance between the first and third conveying members, the roller moving unit sets the second conveying member at the nip release position in a state where a front end of a most downstream sheet in the conveying direction among the plurality of sheets is located upstream relative to the third conveying member in the conveying direction and where a rear end of the most upstream sheet in the conveying direction among the plurality of sheets is located downstream relative to the first conveying member in the conveying direction.

3. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
when the sum of lengths in the conveying direction of the plurality of sheets stopped on the conveying belt is smaller than the distance between the first and second conveying members, the roller moving unit sets the second conveying member at the nip position, and then brings the front end of the most downstream sheet in the conveying direction among the plurality of sheets to an upstream location relative to the second conveying member in the conveying direction and the rear end of the most upstream sheet in the conveying direction among the plurality of sheets to a downstream location relative to the first conveying member in the conveying direction.

4. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a second take-out port provided downstream relative to the second conveying member in the conveying direction and through which a sheet stopped on the conveying belt is taken out, wherein
when a length in the conveying direction of one sheet stopped on the conveying belt is larger than a length of the take-out port in the conveying direction, the sheet is conveyed downstream in the conveying direction so as to be taken out through the second take-out port.

5. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the first conveying member is constituted by a pair of conveying rollers that nips and conveys a sheet,
the sheet conveying apparatus further includes:
a roller moving unit capable of moving at least one of the pair of conveying rollers as the first conveying member to a nip position bringing the pair of conveying rollers into a nip state for sheet conveyance and a nip release position where the pair of conveying rollers are separated from the nip position; and
a fourth conveying member provided upstream relative to the first conveying member in the conveying direction and configured to convey the sheet toward the first conveying member,
when a sum of lengths in the conveying direction of a plurality of sheets stopped on the conveying belt is larger than a distance between the first and second conveying members and smaller than a distance between the second and fourth conveying members, the roller moving unit sets the first conveying member at the nip release position in a state where a front end of a most downstream sheet in the conveying direction among the plurality of sheets is located upstream relative to the second conveying member in the conveying direction and where a rear end of the most upstream sheet in the conveying direction among the plurality of sheets is located downstream relative to the fourth conveying member in the conveying direction.

6. The sheet conveying unit according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a pair of regulating guides each regulating an end edge in the sheet width direction crossing the conveying direction of a sheet conveyed while being nipped by the conveying belt and the balls; and
a guide moving unit configured to move the regulating guides in the sheet width direction, wherein
after the sheet stopped on the conveying belt is brought into a state of being nipped only by the conveying belt and the balls, the guide moving unit moves the regulating guides so as to move the sheet toward the take-out port.

7. An image forming system comprising:
a sheet conveying apparatus; and
an image forming apparatus including an image forming section capable of forming an image on a sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying apparatus,
wherein the sheet conveying apparatus is the sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 .

8. An image forming system according claim 7 , wherein the sheet conveying unit comprising:
a pair of regulating guides each regulating an end edge in the sheet width direction crossing the conveying direction of a sheet conveyed while being nipped by the conveying belt and the balls; and
a guide moving unit configured to move the regulating guides in the sheet width direction, wherein
after the sheet stopped on the conveying belt is brought into a state of being nipped only by the conveying belt and the balls, the guide moving unit moves the regulating guides so as to move the sheet toward the take-out port.

9. The sheet conveying unit according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a control part operating the first and second conveying members and the conveying belt such that when the sheet is stopped in the state of being spanned by the conveying belt and the first conveying member, or by the conveying belt and the second conveying member, the sheet is located at the position where it is nipped only by the conveying belt and the balls so as to allow the sheet to be taken out through the take-out port.

Assignees

• Iwata Toshiyuki
• Mochizuki Hiroshi
• Kondo Tsukasa
• Kawasaki Tetsuya
• Kubota Yuuki
• Canon Finetech Nisca Inc

Inventors

• Iwata Toshiyuki
• Mochizuki Hiroshi
• Kondo Tsukasa
• Kawasaki Tetsuya
• Kubota Yuuki

Classifications

• B65H9/163 Primary

  Tape · CPC title

• B65H5/025

  between belts and rotary means, e.g. rollers, drums, cylinders or balls, forming a transport nip · CPC title

• B65H5/062

  between rollers or balls · CPC title

• B65H9/101

  acting on the edge of the article · CPC title

• B65H9/166

  Roller · CPC title