Sheet storage apparatus and image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9551971-B2
Application number	US-201514683680-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 10, 2015
Priority date	Apr 14, 2014
Publication date	Jan 24, 2017
Grant date	Jan 24, 2017

Abstract

Provided is a sheet storage apparatus for storing a sheet conveyed by a sheet conveyance unit, wherein at a home position, at least a part of a sheet presence detection flag overlaps a rotational axis of a sheet presence detection flag of an adjacent sheet storage unit in a vertical direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet storage apparatus comprising:
a first sheet storage unit and a second sheet storage unit which are stacked in a vertical direction and configured to store a sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit, each of the first sheet storage unit and the second sheet storage unit including:
a lower guide configured to guide a lower surface of the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit;
an upper guide configured to guide an upper surface of the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit;
a rotary member disposed in one of the lower guide and the upper guide, and configured to rotate from a home position around a rotational axis extending in a direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction by contacting the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit;
a sensor configured to output a signal according to a position of the rotary member; and

a control unit configured to detect presence of a sheet stored in each of the first sheet storage unit and the second sheet storage unit according to an output of each sensor,
wherein, in a case where a first rotary member included in the first sheet storage unit is at the home position, at least a part of the first rotary member, viewed from a downstream side in the sheet conveying direction, overlaps a virtual line extending in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction and passing through a rotational axis of a second rotary member included in the second sheet storage unit.

2. The sheet storage apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the lower guide and the upper guide included in the first sheet storage unit has a first notch into which the first rotary member is able to enter.

3. The sheet storage apparatus according to claim 2 ,
wherein at least one of the lower guide and the upper guide included in the second sheet storage unit has a second notch into which the second rotary member is able to enter,
wherein a size of the first notch is different from a size of the second notch.

4. The sheet storage apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, viewed from the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction, the first rotary member is tapered from the rotational axis of the first rotary member toward a protruded portion of the first rotary member.

5. The sheet storage apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an extrusion unit configured to extrude at least a part of the sheet stored in each of the sheet storage unit out of each of the sheet storage unit.

6. The sheet storage apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first rotary member includes a bent wire member.

7. A sheet storage apparatus comprising:
a sheet storage unit configured to store a sheet conveyed by a sheet conveyance unit, wherein the sheet storage unit includes:
a first surface on which the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit is stacked;
a second surface facing the first surface;
a moving member protruding from one of the first surface and the second surface to the other of the first surface and the second surface and configured to move from a home position by contacting the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit;
a sensor configured to output a signal according to a position of the moving member; and

an extrusion unit configured to extrude at least a part of the sheet stacked on the first surface out of the sheet storage unit,
wherein, in a case where the moving member is at the home position, at least a part of the moving member overlaps a virtual plane passing through the other of the first surface and the second surface.

8. The sheet storage apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the moving member rotates from the home position by contacting the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit.

9. The sheet storage apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the moving member includes a bent wire member.

10. The sheet storage apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising a plurality of the sheet storage units which are stacked in a vertical direction.

11. The sheet storage apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising a control unit configured to determine whether a sheet is stored in the sheet storage unit according to an output of the sensor.

12. The sheet storage apparatus according to claim 7 ,
wherein at least one of the first surface and the second surface has a notch into which the rotary member is able to enter.

13. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet;
a sheet conveyance unit configured to convey the sheet on which an image has been formed by the image forming unit;
a first sheet storage unit and a second sheet storage unit which are stacked in a vertical direction and configured to store the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit, each of the first sheet storage unit and the second sheet storage unit including:
a lower guide configured to guide a lower surface of the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit;
an upper guide configured to guide an upper surface of the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit;
a rotary member disposed in one of the lower guide and the upper guide, and configured to rotate from a home position around a rotational axis extending in a direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction by contacting the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit;
a sensor configured to output a signal according to a position of the rotary member; and

a control unit configured to detect presence of a sheet stored in each of the first sheet storage unit and the second sheet storage unit according to an output of each of the sensors,
wherein, in a case where a first rotary member included in the first sheet storage unit is at the home position, at least a part of the first rotary member, viewed from a downstream side in the sheet conveying direction, overlaps a virtual line extending in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction and passing through a rotational axis of a second rotary member included in the second sheet storage unit.

14. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet;
a sheet conveyance unit configured to convey the sheet on which an image has been formed by the image forming unit;
a sheet storage unit configured to store the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit, wherein the sheet storage unit includes;
a first surface on which the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit is stacked;
a second surface facing the first surface;
a moving member protruding from one of the first surface and the second surface to the other of the first surface and the second surface and configured to move from a home position by contacting the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance unit;
a sensor configured to output a signal according to a position of the moving member; and

an extrusion unit configured to extrude at least a part of the sheet stacked on the first surface out of the sheet storage unit,
wherein, in a case where the moving member is at the home position, at least a part of the moving member overlaps a virtual plane passing through the other of the first surface and the second surface.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Tsuji Hiroharu
• Fukatsu Masayoshi
• Suzuki Yohei
• Kaneko Daisuke

Classifications

• G03G2215/00911

  Detection of copy amount or presence in discharge tray · CPC title

• B65H2801/12

  Single-function printing machines, typically table-top machines · CPC title

• B65H2511/515

  Absence · CPC title

• B65H2405/332

  Superposed compartments · CPC title

• G03G15/50

  Machine control of apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern, e.g. regulating differents parts of the machine, multimode copiers, microprocessor control (sequencing control G03G21/14) · CPC title