IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, RECORDING MEDIUM, AND CONTROL METHOD

• US 20190324394A1
• Filed: 04/19/2019
• Published: 10/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2018
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: SHIRAISHI, YOSHINORI
• Application Number:
  US16/389,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20190324394A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6576 Decurling of sheet material

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a delivering unit that delivers a sheet to an attached device. The delivering unit includes a sheet discharge roller and a pair of delivering guides. When the sheet is curled, the delivering guides change mutual relative positions so that a supplementary conveyance path inclined in a direction opposite to a curl direction of the sheet is formed on a downstream side of the sheet discharge roller in a sheet conveyance direction.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus including a delivering unit that delivers a sheet, on which an image has been formed, to an attached device, the image forming apparatus comprising:

a curl detection unit that detects curl information of the sheet, which includes existence of curl;

a sheet discharge roller that is provided in the delivering unit;

a pair of delivering guides that is provided in the delivering unit so as to be changeable mutual relative positions; and

a guide control unit that, when generation of curl in the sheet is detected by the curl detection unit, changes the relative positions of the pair of delivering guides so that a supplementary conveyance path inclined in a direction opposite to a curl direction of the sheet is formed on a downstream side of the sheet discharge roller in a sheet conveyance direction.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when forming the supplementary conveyance path by the pair of delivering guides, the guide control unit moves, among the pair of delivering guides, one guide arranged on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction and then moves the other guide arranged on an upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the attached device is a post-processing device,

the image forming apparatus includes an apparatus main body and a relay conveyance device that relays and conveys the sheet, which is discharged from the apparatus main body, to the post-processing device, and

the delivering unit including the sheet discharge roller and the pair of delivering guides is provided in the relay conveyance device.

4. A non-transitory recording medium in which a control program of an image forming apparatus that includes a delivering unit that delivers a sheet, on which an image has been formed, to an attached device, a sheet discharge roller that is provided in the delivering unit, and a pair of delivering guides that is provided in the delivering unit so as to be changeable mutual relative positions is stored, wherein

a program is stored that causes a processor of the image forming apparatus to execute

performing curl detection processing of detecting curl information of the sheet, which includes existence of curl, and

performing guide control processing of changing, when generation of curl in the sheet is detected by the curl detection processing, the relative positions of the pair of delivering guides so that a supplementary conveyance path inclined in a direction opposite to a curl direction of the sheet is formed on a downstream side of the sheet discharge roller in a sheet conveyance direction.

5. A control method of an image forming apparatus that includes a delivering unit that delivers a sheet, on which an image has been formed, to an attached device, a sheet discharge roller that is provided in the delivering unit, and a pair of delivering guides that is provided in the delivering unit so as to be changeable mutual relative positions, the method comprising:

detecting curl information of the sheet, which includes existence of curl; and

changing, when generation of curl in the sheet is detected, the relative positions of the pair of delivering guides so that a supplementary conveyance path inclined in a direction opposite to a curl direction of the sheet is formed on a downstream side of the sheet discharge roller in a sheet conveyance direction.