Sheet post-process apparatus and waiting tray

• US 20060067767A1
• Filed: 12/10/2004
• Published: 03/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Taki, Hiroyuki, Ise, Tokihiko, Yamamoto, Hajime, Murakami, Reiji, Terao, Yasunobu
• Granted Patent: US 7,177,588 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 399/405
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 29/34 from supports slid from under the articles
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6538 Devices for collating sheet copy material, e.g. sorters, control, copies in staples form

Abstract

A waiting tray is featured in that left and right lower face support members and for supporting left and right lower faces of a sheet transport direction are rotatably mounted on both of side frames and via rotary shafts and, and the left and right lower face support members are rotated downwardly or upwardly to release a standby state of a sheet retained on the waiting tray in a waiting mode.

Claims

1. A sheet post-process apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a waiting tray which temporarily retains a transported sheet in a waiting mode and releases the retention to drop the sheet;

a processing tray which bundles the sheets dropped from the waiting tray to carry out predetermined processing and ejects the bundled sheets; and

a storage tray which holds the bundles of the sheets processed and ejected on the processing tray,

wherein the waiting tray comprises;

left and right lower face support members which support left and right lower faces in a sheet transport direction during retention in a waiting mode and release the support of the left and right lower faces during release of the retention;

a shaft which rotatably supports one side face of the left and right lower face support members; and

drive means for rotating the left and right lower face support members upwardly or downwardly while the shaft is defined as a rotation center, thereby releasing retention of the sheets.

2. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waiting tray is allocated proximal to an upper stage of the processing tray,

the processing tray and the waiting tray are allocated in an inclined shape which is high at a proximal end side of a sheet to be transported and which is low at a distal end side thereof,

the processing tray and the waiting tray are shorter in length of a sheet transport direction thereof than a length of a standard sheet to be held, and

a part of the proximal end side in the transport direction of the sheet to be held on the processing tray is held on the storage tray.

3. A waiting tray for temporarily retaining a transported sheet in a waiting mode, followed by releasing the retention, thereby making it possible to drop the sheet on a processing tray, the waiting tray comprising:

a processing tray which bundles the sheets dropped from the waiting tray to carry out predetermined processing and eject the bundled sheets;

a shaft which rotatably supports one side face of left and right lower face support members; and

drive means for rotating the left and right lower face support members upwardly or downwardly while the shaft is defined as a rotation center, thereby releasing retention of the sheets.

4. A sheet post-process apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

waiting means for temporarily retaining a transported sheet in a waiting mode and releasing the retention to drop the sheet;

processing means for bundling the sheets dropped from the waiting means to carry out predetermined processing and eject the bundled sheets; and

storage means for holding the bundles of sheets processed and ejected by the processing means,

wherein the waiting means comprises;

left and right lower face support means for supporting left and right lower faces in a sheet transport direction during retention in a waiting mode and releasing the support of the left and right lower faces during release of the retention;

shaft means for rotatably supporting one side face of the left and right lower face support means; and

drive means for rotating the left and right lower face support means upwardly or downwardly while the shaft is defined as a rotation center, thereby releasing retention of the sheets.