Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080251337 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A damping member is constructed by: a retaining portion which is retained to a surface | 10-16-2008 |
20080251999 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a first detecting portion having an abutting portion arranged so as to abut the top surface of sheets on a sheet tray and outputs a signal for determining the presence or absence of the sheets, and a second detecting portion having an abutting portion arranged so as to abut the top surface of the sheets and outputs a signal which determines according to the position of the abutting portion whether the position of the top surface of the blown up sheets is located in a predetermined position. During the sheet feeding operation, the signal which determines that the sheets are absent is input from the first detecting portion to a controller and the signal determining that the top surface of the sheets is located in a predetermined position is not input from the second detecting portion, the controller does not determine that the sheets are absent. | 10-16-2008 |
20080277857 | SHEET PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS EQUIPPED WITH THE SAME - The sheet processing apparatus is equipped with a process tray on which sheets conveyed are stacked, a return belt which moves the sheets stacked on the process tray, a trailing edge stopper which receives an end portion of the sheets moved by the return belt, and a conveyance assist roller which comes into contact with the sheets on the upstream side of the return belt with respect to the sheet moving direction and imparts a load to the movement of the sheets. The return belt moves the sheets to which a load has been imparted by the conveyance assist roller and causes them to be abutted on the trailing edge stopper. | 11-13-2008 |
20080315498 | TABBED SHEET SUPPORT UNIT, SHEET FEEDING DEVICE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A tabbed sheet table is detachably attached to a lifting and lowering tray when a tabbed sheet is fed. A tabbed sheet regulating member is provided in a side surface on an upstream side in a sheet feeding direction of the tabbed sheet table while being movable in a vertical direction. The tabbed sheet regulating member includes an abutting portion and a contacting portion. The abutting portion is vertically extended, and the abutting portion abuts on a tab of the tabbed sheet. The contacting portion is extended along the tabbed sheet table, and the contacting portion is contacted on the top-most tabbed sheet placed on the tabbed sheet table. In lifting a tray, a length in a vertical direction of the tabbed sheet is set such that a state in which the regulating member is contacted on the tabbed sheet is maintained irrespective of the lifting of the tray. | 12-25-2008 |
20090140483 | SHEET PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS PROVIDED WITH THE SAME - When a sheet bundle is being conveyed by any one pair of plural pairs of rollers independently movable toward and away from the bundle sheet, before the bound portion of the sheet bundle passes the pair of rollers, the pair of rollers on the downstream side nearest to the bound portion are separated from the sheet bundle, and the pairs of rollers more downstream than that pair convey the sheet bundle. Thereby, it happens less often that the pairs of rollers gather the air collected between adjacent ones of the sheets of the sheet bundle to the bound portion to thereby cause a slack to the sheets, and the occurrence of wrinkles or twists in the sheet bundle can be reduced. Also, the pair of rollers are separated from the sheet bundle before the bound portion passes the pair of rollers, whereby it happens less often that the pair of rollers are damaged by the bound portion, and the sheet bundle can be conveyed smoothly. | 06-04-2009 |
20100090392 | SHEET CONVEYING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - The present invention provides a sheet conveying apparatus and an image forming apparatus which can obtain high operability and productivity when a tabbed sheet is conveyed. In the representative configuration thereof, a trailing edge regulation plate is abutted on tab portions of some of tabbed sheets stacked and supported on a tray to regulate the position of the tabbed sheet. Tab portion regulation portions of a tabbed sheet regulation unit provided at the upper end of the trailing edge regulation plate are abutted on the tab portion of the tabbed sheet formed in the position where the tab portion is not abutted on the regulation portion and regulate the position of the tabbed sheet. The tab portion regulation portions of the tabbed sheet regulation unit can be moved. The tab portion regulation portions are moved with the lifting of the tray when being abutted on the lifting tray. | 04-15-2010 |
20100096796 | SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An air blowing portion blows air to the end of sheets supported by a lifting and lowering tray. The sheets blown up by the air from the air blowing portion are sucked and conveyed by a sucking and conveying portion. The sheets are preliminarily blown up above the suckable rang. Then, the sheets are lowered to the suckable range before a sucking and conveying operation is started. In the above operation, the tray is lifted, and thereafter the tray is lowered until the sheets reach the suckable range while repeating a step operation of performing a lowering operation and a stop operation based on detection of the upper surface of the sheets by a sheet detecting mechanism. | 04-22-2010 |
20100183350 | SHEET FEEDING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A sheet feeding device includes a sheet accommodating unit supported by an apparatus main body in an insertable and withdrawable manner in a direction orthogonal to a feeding direction of the sheets, a leading edge regulating unit provided fixedly to the sheet accommodating unit, a trailing edge regulating unit provided in the sheet accommodating unit, a side edge regulating unit provided in the sheet accommodating unit, and an insertion position limiting unit configured to contact a frame on a rear of the apparatus main body in an inserting direction of the sheet accommodating unit to limit an insertion position of the sheet accommodating unit, wherein the insertion position limiting unit is arranged on a rear of the sheet accommodating unit and on an upstream of a position of center of gravity of the sheet accommodating unit along a sheet feeding direction. | 07-22-2010 |
20100187746 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a sheet storage unit, a sheet feeding unit, a conveyance path for conveying a sheet to the image forming unit, a plurality of sheet detection sensors disposed along the conveyance path, a determination unit for determining whether predetermined time elapses from a detection of a front end of the sheet until a detection of a rear end of the sheet and a discharge unit. When the determination unit determines that the predetermined time has elapsed based on the detection by the sheet detection sensor disposed in the furthest upstream position among the plurality of sheet detection sensors, the sheet is discharged from the discharge unit, and when the determination unit determines that the predetermined time has elapsed based on the detection by the sheet detection sensors other than that disposed in the furthest upstream position, the sheet is stopped. | 07-29-2010 |
20100187747 | SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING SYSTEM - A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet stacking unit, a suction conveyance unit configured to convey an uppermost sheet stacked on the sheet stacking unit, a suction unit configured to adsorb the sheets onto the suction conveyance unit, and an adsorption completion detection unit. In the sheet feeding apparatus, when the tab-attached sheets are stacked on the sheet stacking unit and fed such that their tab portions are on the downstream side in a sheet feeding direction, the suction unit starts to adsorb the sheet in response to a sheet feeding signal, and the suction conveyance unit starts to convey the sheet immediately after the adsorption completion detection unit detects the completion of the adsorption. When the sheets other than the tab-attached sheets are fed, the suction unit previously adsorbs the sheet onto the suction conveyance unit, and the suction conveyance unit starts to convey the sheet in response to the sheet feeding signal. | 07-29-2010 |
20100194031 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - Even if a sheet surface detection mechanism outputs a signal indicating that an uppermost sheet among blown-up sheets is within a conveyance range, if a trailing edge sheet surface sensor outputs a signal indicating that the uppermost sheet among the blown-up sheets is lower than the conveyance range when the conveyed uppermost sheet passes by the trailing edge sheet surface sensor, a lifting and lowering portion is controlled to lift the tray so that the uppermost sheet is positioned within the conveyance range. | 08-05-2010 |
20100252980 | SHEET PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS PROVIDED WITH THE SAME - When a sheet bundle is being conveyed by any one pair of plural pairs of rollers independently movable toward and away from the bundle sheet, before the bound portion of the sheet bundle passes the pair of rollers, the pair of rollers on the downstream side nearest to the bound portion are separated from the sheet bundle, and the pairs of rollers more downstream than that pair convey the sheet bundle. Thereby, it happens less often that the pairs of rollers gather the air collected between adjacent ones of the sheets of the sheet bundle to the bound portion to thereby cause a slack to the sheets, and the occurrence of wrinkles or twists in the sheet bundle can be reduced. Also, the pair of rollers are separated from the sheet bundle before the bound portion passes the pair of rollers, whereby it happens less often that the pair of rollers are damaged by the bound portion, and the sheet bundle can be conveyed smoothly. | 10-07-2010 |
20110006474 | SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A sheet feeding apparatus in that a leading edge regulation member, which is provided on an end on a downstream in a sheet feeding direction of a manual feed tray tilted in such a manner that a portion of the manual feed tray on the downstream in the sheet feeding direction is lowered, regulates a position of an edge on the downstream in the sheet feeding direction of a sheet bundle supported by the manual feed tray. Further, an upper end portion of the leading edge regulation member is provided with a stepped portion, to thereby cause sheets in a surface layer portion of the sheet bundle, which are supported by the manual feed tray, to deviate downstream in the sheet feeding direction when the sheet bundle is placed in the manual feed tray. | 01-13-2011 |
20120025446 | SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A sheet feeding apparatus may include a sheet storage unit, an air blowing unit, a suction conveyance unit, and a conveyance guide. A sheet in the sheet storage unit blown by the air blowing unit may be conveyed to the conveyance guide by the suction conveyance unit. The conveyance guide has a guide surface and inclined portions arranged upstream in the sheet conveyance direction, formed therein from a sheet conveyance center to ends in a sheet width direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction. The inclined portions are inclined from the upstream side towards the downstream in the sheet conveyance direction. As a distance in which an inclined portion resides away from the suction conveyance unit increases, the inclined portion becomes positioned more upstream in the sheet conveyance direction. | 02-02-2012 |
20120153559 | SHEET FEEDING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - Provided is a sheet feeding device having a sheet surface detecting mechanism installed to be movable up and down between adjacent adsorption conveyance belts | 06-21-2012 |
20120205856 | SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A sheet guiding rib protrudes below a sheet suction surface of a plurality of suction conveyer belts, the sheet guiding rib being provided at a position on a downstream side in a sheet conveying direction of a sheet suction region, in which a sheet can be sucked, of the sheet suction surface of the plurality of suction conveyer belts, and between the plurality of suction conveyer belts. At a time of conveying a topmost sheet sucked and deflected downward at a part of pressing a sheet surface detecting flag, a deflection amount of the topmost sheet is reduced by bringing the deflected part of the topmost sheet into abutment against the sheet guiding rib. | 08-16-2012 |
20130127109 | SHEET FEEDING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A sheet feeding device, capable of reliably feeding sheets that have a curl, includes a sheet surface detection mechanism configured to detect an upper surface of a topmost sheet of sheets supported on a tray. The sheet surface detection mechanism includes a sensor unit arranged on a upstream side of a suction and conveyance mechanism in a sheet conveyance direction, a sensor lever configured to turn the sensor unit ON/OFF, and a detection unit having one end connected to the sensor lever and another end that extends toward a downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction. The detection unit includes, on a downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction, a protruding member that protrudes in a downward direction and that is capable of contacting the topmost sheet supported on the tray. | 05-23-2013 |
20130134651 | SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING SYSTEM - A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet stacking unit, a suction conveyance unit configured to convey an uppermost sheet stacked on the sheet stacking unit, a suction unit configured to adsorb the sheets onto the suction conveyance unit, and an adsorption completion detection unit. In the sheet feeding apparatus, when the tab-attached sheets are stacked on the sheet stacking unit and fed such that their tab portions are on the downstream side in a sheet feeding direction, the suction unit starts to adsorb the sheet and the suction conveyance unit starts to convey the sheet immediately after the adsorption completion detection unit detects the completion of the adsorption. When the sheets other than the tab-attached sheets are fed, the suction unit previously adsorbs the sheet onto the suction conveyance unit, and the suction conveyance unit starts to convey the sheet in response to the sheet feeding signal. | 05-30-2013 |