Standby tray with feed roller tilt

• US 7,185,884 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2005
• Issued: 03/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Taki, Hiroyuki, Yamamoto, Hajime, Murakami, Reiji, Sugizaki, Yoshiaki, Terao, Yasunobu
• Primary Examiner(s): MACKEY, PATRICK HEWEY
• Application Number:
  US11/085,244
• Publication Number:
  US 20060066039A1
• Time in Patent Office: 714 Days
• Field of Search: 270/58.08, 270/58.11, 270/58.12, 270/58.13, 270/58.14, 270/58.18, 399/410, 271/189, 271/190, 271/191, 271/192
• US Class Current: 270/58.14
• CPC Class Codes: B42C 1/12 Machines for both collating or gathering and permanently attaching together the sheets or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/09 indicating that several of an entity are present
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2405/11151 with surface inclined upwardly in transport direction
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 29/14 and introducing into a pile
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 29/34 from supports slid from under the articles

Abstract

In a sheet post-process apparatus of the present invention, a pair of paper feed rollers for receiving and conveying sheets of paper is arranged so that the tangential direction thereof forms a dip of α with the horizontal plane, and a standby tray for making sheets of paper ejected from the paper feed rollers standby is given an inclination angle of β at which the front end of the sheets of paper ejected is positioned higher than the rear end thereof, and the two angles are in a relation of α>β.

Claims

1. A sheet post-process apparatus, comprising:

a pair of paper feed rollers that receives and conveys sheets upward that are ejected from an image forming apparatus;

a standby tray that makes the sheets ejected from the paper feed rollers stand by, the standby tray having a tilt angle of β

at which front ends of the sheets are positioned higher than rear ends of the sheets;

a processing tray arranged under the standby tray that loads the sheets dropped and fed from the standby tray and/or the sheets ejected from the image forming apparatus not via the standby tray; and

a processing mechanism that post-processes the sheets loaded on the processing tray,

wherein the pair of paper feed rollers have a dip of α

of a tangential direction thereof with a horizontal plane and a relation of α

>

β

is held.

2. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 1, wherein under the pair of paper feed rollers, the standby tray is arranged so that rear ends thereof are positioned.

3. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a pair of entrance rollers that receives the sheets ejected from the image forming apparatus, and arranged above the paper feed rollers.

4. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a paper path ceiling provided between the pair of entrance rollers and the standby tray.

5. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 4, wherein the sheets are conveyed upward in the horizontal direction after passing through the paper path ceiling.

6. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a paper ejection tray that loads the sheets ejected from the processing tray after being post processed.

7. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a conveying mechanism that conveys the sheets from the processing tray to the paper ejection tray.

8. A sheet post-processing method, comprising;

receiving and conveying sheets upward that are ejected from an image forming apparatus by a pair of paper feed rollers;

making the sheets ejected from the paper feed rollers stand by on a standby tray, wherein the standby tray has a tilt angle of β

at which front ends of the sheets are positioned higher than rear ends of the sheets;

loading the sheets dropped and fed from the standby tray and/or the sheets ejected from the image forming apparatus not via the standby tray onto a processing tray; and

post-processing the sheets loaded on the processing tray,

wherein the pair of paper feed rollers have a dip of α

of a tangential direction thereof with a horizontal plane and a relation of α

>

β

is held.

9. The sheet post-processing method of claim 8, further comprising arranging rear ends of the standby tray under the pair of paper feed rollers.

10. The sheet post-processing method of claim 8, further comprising receiving the sheets ejected from the image forming apparatus by a pair of entrance rollers provided above the paper feed rollers.

11. The sheet post-processing method of claim 10, further comprising leading the sheets to the paper feed rollers via a paper path ceiling provided between the pair of entrance rollers and the standby tray.

12. The sheet post-processing method of claim 11, further comprising conveying the sheets upward in the horizontal direction after passing through the paper path ceiling.

13. The sheet post-processing method of claim 8, further comprising storing the sheets ejected from the processing tray after being post processed.

14. The sheet post-processing method of claim 13, further comprising conveying the sheets ejected from the processing tray to be stored.

15. A sheet post-process apparatus, comprising:

a pair of paper feed rollers that receives and conveys sheets upward that are ejected from an image forming apparatus;

a standby tray that makes the sheets ejected from the paper feed rollers stand by, the standby tray having a tilt angle of β

at which front ends of the sheets are positioned higher than rear ends of the sheets;

a processing tray arranged under the standby tray that loads the sheets dropped and fed from the standby tray and/or the sheets ejected from the image forming apparatus not via the standby tray;

means for post-processing the sheets loaded on the processing tray; and

a paper ejection tray that loads the sheets ejected from the processing tray after being post processed,

wherein the pair of paper feed rollers have a dip of α

of a tangential direction thereof with a horizontal plane and a relation of α

>

β

is held.

16. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 15, wherein under the pair of paper feed rollers, the standby tray is arranged so that rear ends thereof are positioned.

17. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a pair of entrance rollers that receives the sheets ejected from the image forming apparatus and arranged above the paper feed rollers.

18. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a paper path ceiling provided between the pair of entrance rollers and the standby tray.

19. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 18, wherein the sheets are conveyed upward in the horizontal direction after passing through the paper path ceiling.

20. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a paper ejection tray that loads the sheets ejected from the processing tray after being post processed.