Sheet post-process apparatus and waiting tray

• US 7,286,792 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2004
• Issued: 10/23/2007
• 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
• Primary Examiner(s): YAN, REN LUO
• Application Number:
  US11/008,381
• Publication Number:
  US 20060067771A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,047 Days
• Field of Search: 399/407, 399/408, 399/410, 270/37, 270/52.18, 270/58.08, 270/58.11, 270/58.12, 270/58.14, 270/58.16, 270/58.18, 271/189, 271/190, 271/191, 271/192
• US Class Current: 399/407
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6541 Binding sets of sheets, e.g. by stapling, glueing
• 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 2215/00421 Discharging tray, e.g. devices stabilising the quality of the copy medium, postfixing-treatment, inverting, sorting

Abstract

A waiting tray has left and right lower face support members releasably provided in left and right directions, the support members supporting left and right lower faces in a transport direction of a sheet transported to a waiting tray, and an upper face slash member which slashes an upper face of the sheet transported to the waiting tray to drop the sheet onto a processing tray.

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 sheets dropped from the waiting tray to carry out predetermined processing, and ejects the sheets; and

a storage tray which holds the bundle of sheets processed and ejected by 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 the waiting mode and release the support of the left and right lower faces during release of the retention; and

an upper face slash member allocated upwardly of the left and right lower face support members, the slash member slashing an upper face of the sheet transported to the waiting tray and pushing the upper face of the sheet in a direction of the processing tray to drop the sheet onto the processing tray.

2. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper face slash member comprises a spatula shaped body whose proximal end side is lowered in a sheet direction while a proximal shaft side is defined as a turning center.

3. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper face slash member projects one or a plurality of piece shaped bodies for slashing an upper face of sheet with intervals in a peripheral direction of a rotary shaft.

4. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper face slash member is allocated so as to slash a center portion at a proximal end in a sheet transport direction.

5. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waiting tray is allocated to be 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, 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.

6. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising rollers provided at a distal end and at a proximal end of the waiting tray.

7. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transport mechanism provided on the processing tray to transport the bundle of sheets to the storage tray.

8. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waiting tray expands to accommodate different size sheets.

9. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an alignment mechanism provided on the processing tray.

10. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage tray moves in a vertical direction.

11. 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 sheets dropped from the waiting means to carry out predetermined processing and ejecting the sheets; and

storage means for holding the bundle 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 the waiting mode and releasing the support of the left and right lower faces during release of the retention; and

upper face slash means allocated upwardly of the left and right lower face support means, for slashing an upper face of the sheet transported to the waiting means and pushing the upper face of the sheet in a direction of the processing means to drop the sheet onto the processing means.

12. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the upper face slash means comprises a spatula shaped body whose proximal end side is lowered in a sheet direction while a proximal shaft side is defined as a turning center.

13. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the upper face slash means projects one or a plurality of piece shaped bodies for slashing an upper face of the sheet with intervals in a peripheral direction of a rotary shaft.

14. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the upper face slash means is allocated so as to slash a center portion at a proximal end in a sheet transport direction.

15. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the waiting means is allocated to be proximal to an upper stage of the processing means, the processing means and the waiting means 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, the processing means and the waiting means 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 means is held on the storage means.

16. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising rollers provided at a distal end and at a proximal end of the waiting means.

17. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a transport means provided on the processing means to transport the bundle of sheets to the storage means.

18. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the waiting means expands to accommodate different size sheets.

19. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising an alignment means provided on the processing means.

20. A sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the storage means moves in a vertical direction.