Sheet conveying apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9758336-B2
Application number	US-201615052656-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 24, 2016
Priority date	Feb 25, 2015
Publication date	Sep 12, 2017
Grant date	Sep 12, 2017

Abstract

A sheet conveying apparatus includes: a conveyor configured to convey a sheet along a conveyance path; a discharge tray configured to support the sheet discharged from the conveyance path; a sheet presser movable toward and away from a support surface of the discharge tray and configured to press the sheet being discharged, onto the support surface; a first stopper configured to limit a spaced distance between the sheet presser and the support surface to a first distance when the first stopper is located at a first position, and configured to allow the spaced distance to become greater than the first distance when the first stopper is located at a second position; and a position change mechanism configured to change a position of the first stopper between the first position and the second position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet conveying apparatus, comprising:
a conveyor configured to convey a sheet along a conveyance path in a sheet conveying direction;
a discharge tray configured to support the sheet discharged from the conveyance path;
a sheet presser pivotable about a pivot axis toward and away from a support surface of the discharge tray and configured to be urged by an urging member so as to press the sheet being discharged, onto the support surface;
a first stopper configured to limit a spaced distance between the sheet presser and the support surface to a first distance when the first stopper is located at a first position, and configured to allow the spaced distance to become greater than the first distance when the first stopper is located at a second position; and
a position change mechanism configured to change a position of the first stopper between the first position and the second position,
wherein the sheet presser is configured to be pivoted to come into contact with the first stopper located at the first position,
wherein a downstream portion of the sheet presser in the sheet conveying direction contacts a lower end of the first stopper located at the first position, and
wherein the first stopper is configured to stop further pivotal movement of the sheet presser in a state in which the sheet presser is in contact with the first stopper located at the first position, and
wherein the sheet conveying apparatus further comprises a second stopper configured to limit the spaced distance to a second distance when the first stopper is located at the second position, and the second distance is greater than the first distance.

2. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the first stopper is configured to contact the sheet presser to limit the spaced distance to the first distance when located at the first position, and
wherein the first stopper is configured not to contact the sheet presser when located at the second position.

3. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the position change mechanism comprises a movable tray,
wherein the first stopper is located at the first position when the movable tray is located at a third position, and
wherein the first stopper is located at the second position when the movable tray is located at a fourth position which is farther from the support surface than the third position.

4. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the movable tray is located above the support surface.

5. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the first stopper is provided on a facing surface of the movable tray, and the facing surface faces the sheet presser when the movable tray is located at the third position.

6. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 3 ,
wherein the sheet presser comprises a contact portion that becomes closest to the support surface among the sheet presser,
wherein the movable tray is supported pivotably about a pivot axis located upstream of the contact portion in a discharge direction in which the sheet is discharged,
wherein the sheet presser is located between the support surface and one of opposite end portions of the movable tray, and the one of the opposite end portions is nearer to the pivot axis than another of the opposite end portions, and
wherein an angle between the support surface and the movable tray when the movable tray is located at the fourth position is greater than an angle between the support surface and the movable tray when the movable tray is located at the third position.

7. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein a first rib is formed on the facing surface of the movable tray at a position located downstream of the sheet presser in the sheet conveying direction when the movable tray is located at the third position, and the first rib is configured to guide an upper surface of the sheet being discharged.

8. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the conveyor comprises a chute configured to cover a portion of the conveyance path from above, and
wherein the second stopper is formed on the chute.

9. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the support surface comprises:
a protrusion located on a central portion of the support surface in a widthwise direction perpendicular to a discharge direction in which the sheet is discharged, the protrusion extending in the discharge direction and protruding upward to a position above the support surface; and
at least one second rib each located at a position different from a position of the protrusion in the widthwise direction, the at least one second rib extending in the discharge direction and protruding upward to a position above the support surface.

10. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 9 ,
wherein the support surface comprises a plurality of second ribs as the at least one second rib,
wherein at least one of the plurality of second ribs is located on one of opposite sides of the protrusion in the widthwise direction, and
wherein other of the at least one of the plurality of second ribs is located on another of the opposite sides of the protrusion in the widthwise direction.

11. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein an upper edge of the at least one second rib is curved so as to be recessed downward and so as to be closer to the support surface at a downstream portion of the upper edge than at an upstream portion of the upper edge in the discharge direction.

12. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein an upper edge of the protrusion is located above the upper edge of the at least one second rib.

13. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the protrusion extends to a position located downstream of the at least one second rib in the discharge direction.

14. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a pair of sheet pressers each as the sheet presser.

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Kurokawa Kotaro
• Ohta Masahiko

Classifications

• B65H2405/3321

  Feed tray superposed to discharge tray · CPC title

• B65H2801/06

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

• B65H29/52

  Stationary guides or smoothers · CPC title

• B65H2601/111

  Clearing uncorrect discharge of sheet · CPC title

• B65H2402/545

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic