Sheet post-process apparatus

• US 7,648,136 B2
• Filed: 07/09/2007
• Issued: 01/19/2010
• 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, Iizuka, Chiaki, Yamamoto, Mikio, Iijima, Tomomi, Terao, Yasunobu, Ise, Tokihiko, Yamamoto, Hajime, Murakami, Reiji, Sugizaki, Yoshiaki, Sasahara, Katsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Mackey; Patrick H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Severson; Jeremy
• Application Number:
  US11/822,611
• Publication Number:
  US 20070252320A1
• Time in Patent Office: 925 Days
• Field of Search: 270/58.08, 270/58.11, 270/58.12, 270/58.14, 270/58.18, 270/58.16, 399/410, 271/189, 271/190, 271/191, 271/192, 271/177, 271/306, 271/178, 271/180
• US Class Current: 271/189
• CPC Class Codes: B42C 1/12 Machines for both collating or gathering and permanently attaching together the sheets or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/4222 Squaring-up piles
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/422615 from opposite part-support elements, e.g. operated simultaneously
• 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 sheet post-process apparatus includes a waiting tray and a processing tray. The waiting tray is provided in the middle of a conveying path and makes standby sheets in the case where a post-process is required. The processing tray has a function which causes the sheets made standby on the waiting sheet to be dropped by self-weight. With this function, the processing tray receives the sheets moved to be dropped and the sheets conveyed from the conveying path without intervening the waiting tray, before carrying out the post-process. Sheet bundles formed on the processing tray are stacked on a storage tray by a sheet conveying mechanism after they have been post-processed.

Claims

1. A sheet loading apparatus, comprising:

a pair of waiting tray parts which support sheets conveyed along a sheet conveying direction, and arranged at an interval in a transverse direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction;

an adjuster configured to adjust the interval, the interval being set to a first width smaller than a width of the sheets orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction for loading the sheets, and being set to a second width larger than the width of the sheets;

a strike down member configured to apply a downward force on the sheets to make the sheets bend and fall down from the pair of waiting tray parts;

a receiving tray configured to receive the sheets fallen from the pair of waiting tray parts;

a sheet discharger configured to discharge the bundle of sheets to which a post-process has been performed from the receiving tray;

a distal end upper face retainer configured to retain a distal end upper face of the sheets on the pair of waiting tray parts when the interval widens from the first width to the second width; and

a rotary shaft configured to be allocated in association with the distal end face in the sheet conveying direction, mount the distal end upper face retainer and the strike down member coaxially, and rotate the distal end upper face retainer and the strike down member,

wherein when the sheet discharger is projected on a horizontal plane, a discharge direction of the sheet discharger is parallel to the sheet conveying direction.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an aligner configured to align the sheets on the receiving tray to form a bundle of sheets.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a post-processor configured to perform a post-process on the bundle of sheets aligned by the aligner.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a storage tray configured to load the bundle of sheets discharged by the sheet discharger,

wherein the storage tray is positioned downstream of the receiving tray in the sheet conveying direction.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pair of waiting tray parts are formed so that a width of the interval formed between the pair of waiting tray parts is larger at a distal end side than a proximal end side in the sheet conveying direction.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the receiving tray has a rear end positioned upstream of a rear end of the pair of waiting tray parts in the sheet conveying direction.