Sheet conveying device and image recording apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9409736-B2
Application number	US-201514861564-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 22, 2015
Priority date	Sep 25, 2014
Publication date	Aug 9, 2016
Grant date	Aug 9, 2016

Abstract

A sheet conveying device includes a flap pivoting between a first state to contact a first path-defining member and a second state to be separated from a first path-defining member. The first path-defining member, which faces a second path-defining member in a facing direction, includes a guide surface for guiding a sheet conveyed along a first conveying path, a contact surface positioned farther from the second path-defining member in the facing direction than the guide surface and configured to contact the flap in the first state, and an inclined surface positioned downstream of the contact surface in a conveying direction and inclined such that an upstream end thereof in the conveying direction is closer to the second path-defining member in the facing direction than a downstream end thereof. The upstream end of the inclined surface is closer to the second path-defining member in the facing direction than the contact surface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet conveying device comprising:
a housing in which a sheet is conveyed along a first conveying path in a conveying direction and is returned along a second conveying path to the first conveying path;
a first path-defining member;
a second path-defining member facing the first path-defining member in a facing direction to define a portion of the first conveying path; and
a flap configured to pivot between a first state in which the flap is in contact with the first path-defining member and guides toward the second conveying path the sheet conveyed in a direction opposite to the conveying direction, and a second state in which the flap is separated from the first path-defining member,
wherein the second conveying path is branched off from the first conveying path in a direction away from the first path-defining member,
wherein the first path-defining member includes:
a guide surface configured to guide the sheet conveyed along the first conveying path;
a contact surface positioned farther from the second path-defining member in the facing direction than the guide surface, and configured to contact the flap in the first state; and
an inclined surface positioned downstream of the contact surface in the conveying direction and inclined such that an upstream end of the inclined surface in the conveying direction is closer to the second path-defining member in the facing direction than a downstream end of the inclined surface in the conveying direction, the upstream end of the inclined surface being closer to the second path-defining member in the facing direction than the contact surface.

2. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1 , wherein the first path-defining member includes a plurality of ribs spaced apart from each other in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, the plurality of ribs each protruding toward the second path-defining member and extending along the conveying direction, the guide surface being defined by a plane containing protruding ends of the plurality of ribs, and a pair of ribs adjacent to each other in the width direction among the plurality of ribs sandwiching the contact surface.

3. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1 , wherein the contact surface is located at each of two positions which are symmetrical in the width direction with respect to a center of a zone through which the sheet passes along the first conveying path.

4. The sheet conveying device according to claim 2 , wherein a distance in the width direction between the pair of ribs adjacent to each other while sandwiching the contact surface is longer than a distance in the width direction between another pair of ribs adjacent to each other without sandwiching the contact surface.

5. The sheet conveying device according to claim 2 , wherein the contact surface includes:
a first contact surface configured to contact the flap in the first state; and
a second contact surface located farther from the second path-defining member in the facing direction than the first contact surface and configured to contact the flap when the flap elastically deforms further from the first state.

6. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1 , further comprising an urging member configured to urge the flap into the first state.

7. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1 , further comprising a switchback roller disposed downstream, in the conveying direction, of a conjunction of the first conveying path and the second conveying path, the switchback roller being configured to rotate forwardly to convey the sheet in the conveying direction along the first conveying path and configured to rotate reversely, wherein the flap in the first state guides toward the second conveying path the sheet conveyed by the switchback roller rotating reversely.

8. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1 , wherein the flap is pivotably supported by the second path-defining member.

9. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1 , wherein the flap in the second state is separated from the first path-defining member by being contacted by the sheet conveyed in the conveying direction.

10. A sheet conveying device comprising:
an upper guide member;
a flap disposed facing the upper guide member to define a portion of a first conveying path, the flap being configured to pivot between a first state in which an upper end of the flap is in contact with the upper guide member, and a second state in which the upper end of the flap is spaced from the upper guide member;
a roller disposed in the first conveying path at a position downstream of the flap in a conveying direction and configured to rotate forwardly to convey a sheet along the first conveying path in the conveying direction and configured to rotate reversely to convey the sheet in a direction opposite to the conveying direction toward a second conveying path;
wherein the upper guide member includes:
a guide surface configured to guide the sheet conveyed along the first conveying path;
a contact surface positioned above the guide surface and configured to contact the upper end of the flap in the first state; and
an inclined surface positioned downstream of the contact surface in the conveying direction and inclined such that an upstream end of the inclined surface in the conveying direction is lower than a downstream end of the inclined surface in the conveying direction, the upstream end of the inclined surface being lower than the contact surface.

11. The sheet conveying device according to claim 10 , wherein the inclined surface of the upper guide member is configured to receive the sheet conveyed by the roller rotating reversely, and the flap is configured to, when in the first state, guide toward the second conveying path the sheet conveyed by the roller rotating reversely.

12. The sheet conveying device according to claim 10 wherein the upper guide member includes a plurality of ribs spaced apart from each other in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction and protruding downward, lower ends of the plurality of ribs serving as the guide surface, and a pair of ribs adjacent to each other in the width direction among the plurality of ribs sandwiching the contact surface and the inclined surface.

13. An image recording apparatus comprising:
a recording unit configured to record an image on a sheet conveyed along a first conveying path; and
a sheet conveying device comprising:
a housing in which the sheet is conveyed along the first conveying path in a conveying direction and is returned along a second conveying path to the first conveying path;
a first path-defining member;
a second path-defining member facing the first path-defining member in a facing direction to define a portion of the first conveying path; and
a flap configured to pivot between a first state in which the flap is in contact with the first path-defining member and guides toward the second conveying path the sheet conveyed in a direction opposite to the conveying direction, and a second state in which the flap is separated from the first path-defining member,

wherein the second conveying path is branched off from the first conveying path in a direction away from the first path-defining member,
wherein the first path-defining member includes:
a guide surface configured to guide the sheet conveyed along the first conveying path;
a contact surface positioned farther from the second path-defining member in the facing direction than the guide surface, and configured to contact the flap in the first state; and
an inclined surface positioned downstream of the contact surface in

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Iijima Shota
• Mimoto Masao
• Omura Takashi

Classifications

• B65H29/52

  Stationary guides or smoothers · CPC title

• B65H7/20

  Controlling associated apparatus · CPC title

• B65H5/36 Primary

  Article guides or smoothers, e.g. movable in operation · CPC title

• B65H5/068

  between one or more rollers or balls and stationary pressing, supporting or guiding elements · CPC title

• B65H85/00

  Recirculating articles, i.e. feeding each article to, and delivering it from, the same machine work-station more than once · CPC title