IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND PAPER EJECTION METHOD OF IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS

• US 20110123242A1
• Filed: 02/08/2011
• Published: 05/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: SHISHIKURA, Kenichiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,213,855 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 399/405
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6573 Feeding path after the fixing point and up to the discharge tray or the finisher, e.g. special treatment of copy material to compensate for effects from the fixing
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00426 Post-treatment device adding qualities to the copy medium product G03G2215/00421 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00827 Stapler

Abstract

A drive unit for changing the driving rate of paper ejection rollers for ejecting sheets of paper after fixing is installed, and an image forming apparatus has an option, and when ejecting the sheets of paper to an intra-body paper ejection unit, after the sheets of paper pass a fixing device, the paper ejection rate of paper ejection rollers 24 is increased, and the ejection force of the sheets of paper P is increased, and paper jamming at the time of paper ejection to the intra-body paper ejection unit is prevented.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

an image forming portion to form a toner image on a recording media;

a fixing unit to clamp and convey said recording media and fixing said toner image;

an ejection unit installed on a downstream side of said fixing unit to eject said recording media;

an intra-body paper ejection unit to stack said recording media ejected from said ejection unit; and

a control unit to set said ejection unit as an intra-body paper ejection mode to at a first rate when a relay unit to relay said recording media toward an option, while to set said ejection unit as an option mode to drive at said first rate when said relay unit is mounted and said recording media is ejected toward said option, and to drive said ejection unit at a second rate faster than said first rate when said relay unit is mounted, said recording media pass a fixing unit and said recording media is ejected toward said intra-body paper ejection unit.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said option mode drives said ejection unit at said second rate when a height of said recording media stacked in said intra-body paper ejection unit is equivalent to a nip position of said ejection unit or higher.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said option mode drives said ejection unit at said second rate when a length of said recording media is a fixed length or longer.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first rate is almost similar to a clamping and conveying rate of said recording media by said fixing unit.

5. A paper ejection method of an image forming apparatus comprising:

detecting whether a relay unit is mounted to convey recording media in an optional direction after said recording media is fixed,

first mode setting a paper ejection mode to an intra-body paper ejection mode for ejecting said recording media to an intra-body paper ejection unit at a first rate when non-mounting of said relay unit is detected at said detecting, and

second mode setting a paper ejection mode to an option mode for ejecting said recording media at said first rate when mounting of said relay unit is detected at said detecting and said recording media is ejected toward said relay unit, and for ejecting said recording media at a second rate faster than said first rate when mounting of said relay unit is detected at said detecting, said recording media pass a fixing unit and said recording media is ejected toward said intra-body paper ejection unit.

6. The paper ejection method of an image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said option mode ejects said recording media at said second rate when a height of said recording media stacked in said intra-body paper ejection unit is equivalent to a nip position of said ejection unit or higher.

7. The paper ejection method of an image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said option mode drives said recording media at said second rate when a length of said recording media is a fixed length or longer.

8. The paper ejection method of an image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said first rate is almost similar to a fixing rate of said recording media.