Sheet stacking unit, and sheet conveying device and image forming apparatus each including the sheet stacking unit

• US 10,459,394 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2017
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Original Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Morita, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Suarez, Ernesto A
• Application Number:
  US15/706,325
• Publication Number:
  US 20180095401A1
• Time in Patent Office: 774 Days
• Field of Search: 271171, 399370, 399376
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 1/04 adapted to support articles substantially horizontally, e.g. for separation from top of pile
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/01 indicating an entity as a function of which control, adjustment or change is performed, i.e. input
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/04 for distinguishing adjusting from controlling, i.e. manual adjustments
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/11 indicating that the input or output entities exclusively relate to machine elements
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/4222 Squaring-up piles
• 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 2405/1142 Projections or the like in surface contact with handled material
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/12 Width
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/22 Distance
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2801/39 Scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/607 for detecting size, presence or position of original
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6502 Supplying of sheet copy material; Cassettes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6552 Means for discharging uncollated sheet copy material, e.g. discharging rollers, exit trays
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6567 for deskewing or aligning
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00616 Optical detector
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00734 of sheet size

Abstract

A sheet stacking unit of the disclosure includes a sheet stacking plate, a cursor, and a detection sensor. The cursor includes an alignment part for performing widthwise alignment of a document, and a rack extending along the widthwise direction. The detection sensor is placed opposite the rack, and has a light-emitting portion and a light-receiving portion. A plurality of detection-object parts placed in the rack along the widthwise direction have optical characteristics of different reflectivities or transmissivities from one another with respect to light emitted from the light-emitting portion. The controller detects a widthwise size of the document on a basis of output values from the detection sensor which detects light reflected or transmitted by the detection-object parts.

Claims

1. A sheet stacking unit comprising:

a placement body;

a sheet stacking plate on which sheets are to be stacked together with the placement body;

a cursor which is movable on an upper surface of the placement body in a widthwise direction perpendicular to a sheet conveyance direction and which is brought into contact with widthwise side faces of the sheets placed on the sheet stacking plate to align the sheets;

a rack coupled to the cursor and extending along the widthwise direction;

a pinion provided in the placement body to make up a rack and pinion mechanism in cooperation with the rack;

a detection sensor which is placed opposite the rack and which has a light-emitting portion and a light-receiving portion;

a plurality of detection-object parts which are placed in the rack along the widthwise direction and which are to be detected by the detection sensor while the cursor is set in specified positions; and

a controller which detects a position of the cursor in correspondence to an output of the detection sensor to thereby identify a widthwise size of the sheet, wherein

the plurality of detection-object parts have optical characteristics of transmissivities, which are different from one another, with respect to light emitted from the light-emitting portion,

the controller identifies the widthwise size of the sheet on a basis of output values from the detection sensor which detects light transmitted by the detection-object parts,

in the detection sensor, light emitted from the light-emitting portion and transmitted by any one of the detection-object parts is received by the light-receiving portion,

the rack has rack teeth formed on a side face of a rack body,

the rack is provided with a plurality of opening portions that penetrate the rack body from an upper surface thereof in a thickness direction thereof and that are arranged at predetermined intervals on a straight line extending in the width direction, and

the plurality of detection-object parts are arranged at the plurality of opening portions, respectively.

2. The sheet stacking unit according to claim 1 wherein

the plurality of detection-object parts have different light transmissivities from one another due to their thickness differences.

3. The sheet stacking unit according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of detection-object parts have surfaces subjected to emboss processing of different sizes of pits and bumps, thereby differentiated in transmissivity from one another.

4. The sheet stacking unit according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of detection-object parts are provided with sheet members of different light transmissivities, respectively.

5. The sheet stacking unit according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of detection-object parts are provided at positions corresponding to sheet widthwise sizes, respectively, of plural kinds of regular-sized sheets.

6. A sheet conveying device comprising:

the sheet stacking unit according to claim 1; and

a sheet conveying part which conveys the sheets placed on the sheet stacking unit.

7. An image forming apparatus comprising:

the sheet conveying device according to claim 6; and

an image forming unit.