Waiting tray for sheet processing tray

• US 7,175,174 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2004
• Issued: 02/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Taki, Hiroyuki, Yamamoto, Mikio, Iijima, Tomomi, Murakami, Reiji, Terao, Yasunobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Mackey; Patrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): NICHOLSON III, LESLIE AUGUST
• Application Number:
  US11/008,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20060066032A1
• Time in Patent Office: 795 Days
• Field of Search: 270/58.08, 270/58.11, 270/58.12, 270/58.14, 270/58.18, 399/410, 271/189, 271/190, 271/191, 271/192
• US Class Current: 270/58.12
• CPC Class Codes: B42C 1/12 Machines for both collating or gathering and permanently attaching together the sheets or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/36212 centering, positioning material symmetrically relatively to said first direction
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/4222 Squaring-up piles
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/422615 from opposite part-support elements, e.g. operated simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2403/411 Double rack cooperating with one pinion, e.g. for performing symmetrical displacement relative to pinion
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 31/3018 from opposite part-support elements, e.g. operated simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 31/32 Auxiliary devices for receiving articles during removal of a completed pile

Abstract

A waiting tray is provided at some midpoint of a conveying path, and a sheet is caused to be in a waiting state when a post-process is required. Before performing the post-process, a processing tray receives the sheet conveyed from the waiting tray and the sheet conveyed from a conveying path without passing through the waiting tray. At this point, waiting tray parts are moved toward a direction in which the waiting tray parts are separated from each other, and a bundle of paper starts fall-down. When the bundle of paper falls down, the waiting tray parts are moved toward the direction in which the waiting tray parts are brought close to each other, and an alignment member performs alignment in a transverse direction of the bundle of paper.

Claims

1. A sheet post-process apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of rollers which receive sheets from a multi-function peripheral and convey the sheets forward;

a waiting tray which is provided in a conveying path and holds some of the sheets conveyed from the rollers when a bundle of sheets needs to be post-processed, the waiting tray being integrally formed with upper and lower alignment members and bottom portions, wherein the sheets on the waiting tray lie substantially parallel to the bottom portions and substantially perpendicular to the upper alignment members to align the sheets;

a processing tray which holds the bundle of sheets before post-processing; and

an open and close mechanism configured to open and close the waiting tray in a transverse direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction,

wherein the open and close mechanism is a rack and pinion mechanism, and

wherein the lower alignment members extend beyond the bottom portions in a vertical direction to align the bundle of sheets on the processing tray.

2. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein transverse alignment of the bundle of sheets on the processing tray is performed by the lower alignment members.

3. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein widths in the sheet conveying direction of the waiting tray and the processing tray are smaller than the width of the sheets in the sheet conveying direction.

4. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the open and close mechanism is connected to the lower alignment members.

5. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing tray holds the aligned sheets from the waiting tray and other sheets forming the bundle of sheets before the bundle of sheets is post processed.

6. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the processing tray holds the other sheets forming the bundle of sheets that are conveyed via the conveying path without being conveyed to the waiting tray before the bundle of sheets is post-processed.

7. The sheet-post process apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a post-process mechanism that performs a post-process on the bundle of sheets on the processing tray.

8. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a storage tray which holds the bundle of sheets post-processed by the post-process mechanism and conveyed from the processing tray.

9. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the sheets are loaded across the processing tray and the storage tray when the sheets are conveyed to the processing tray.

10. A sheet post-process apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of rollers which receive sheets from a multi-function peripheral and convey the sheets forward;

a waiting tray which is provided in a conveying path and holds some of the sheets conveyed from the rollers when a bundle of sheets needs to be post-processed, the waiting tray being integrally formed with upper and lower alignment members and bottom portions, wherein the sheets on the waiting tray lie substantially parallel to the bottom portions and substantially perpendicular to the upper alignment members to align the sheets;

a rack and pinion mechanism that opens and closes the waiting tray in a transverse direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction; and

a processing tray which holds the bundle of sheets before post-processing;

11. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 10, wherein transverse alignment of the bundle of sheets on the processing tray is performed by the lower alignment members.

12. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 10, wherein widths in a sheet conveying direction of the waiting tray and the processing tray are smaller than the width of the sheets in the sheet conveying direction.

13. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the processing tray holds the aligned sheets from the waiting tray and other sheets forming the bundle of sheets before the bundle of sheets is post processed.

14. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the processing tray holds the other sheets forming the bundle of sheets that are conveyed via the conveying path without being conveyed to the waiting tray before the bundle of sheets is post-processed.

15. The sheet-post process apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a post-process mechanism that performs a post-process on the bundle of sheets on the processing tray.

16. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising a storage tray which holds the bundle of sheets post-processed by the post-process mechanism and conveyed from the processing tray.

17. A method for post-processing sheets, comprising:

receiving sheets from a multi-function peripheral;

conveying the sheets forward;

holding some of the sheets conveyed from the multi-function peripheral when a bundle of sheets needs to be post-processed on a waiting tray integrally formed with upper and lower alignment members and bottom portions;

aligning the held sheets with the upper alignment members and the bottom portions, wherein the held sheets lie substantially parallel to the bottom portions and substantially perpendicular to the upper alignment members;

opening and closing the waiting tray in a transverse direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction with a rack and pinion mechanism to convey the held sheets on the waiting tray to a processing tray;

aligning the conveyed sheets from the waiting tray to the processing tray with the lower alignment members.