Sheet transport apparatus and sheet processing apparatus
AssigneesKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorHideaki Sugiyama
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sheet transport apparatus according to an embodiment includes a roller having a surface formed from an elastic material. The roller transports a sheet. A rotation mechanism rotated the roller around an axis of the roller. A twist mechanism selectively twists the roller with respect to the axis. When the roller is twisted and the rotation mechanism rotates the roller, a sheet transported by the roller is transported in a first direction perpendicular to the axis and in a second direction parallel to the axis. When the roller is not twisted and the rotation mechanism rotates the roller, a sheet transported by the roller is transported in the first direction and not in the second direction.
Claims17
A sheet transport apparatus comprising:
- a roller having a surface formed from an elastic material and configured to transport a sheet;
- a rotation mechanism configured to rotate the roller around an axis of the roller;
- and
- a twist mechanism configured to selectively twist the roller with respect to the axis so that:
- when the roller is twisted and the rotation mechanism rotates the roller, a sheet transported by the roller is transported in a first direction perpendicular to the axis and in a second direction parallel to the axis, and
- when the roller is not twisted and the rotation mechanism rotates the roller, a sheet transported by the roller is transported in the first direction and not in the second direction, wherein
- the surface of the roller includes an uneven surface with at least one groove formed thereon, the at least one groove extending along the axis when the roller is not twisted.
A sheet transport method comprising the steps of:
- providing a roller having a surface formed from an elastic material and configured to transport a sheet;
- twisting the surface of the roller with respect to the axis;
- and
- conveying a sheet by rotating the roller around an axis of the roller while the surface of the roller is twisted so that the sheet transported by the roller is transported in a first direction perpendicular to the axis and in a second direction parallel to the axis, wherein
- when the roller is rotated while the surface of the roller is not twisted, a sheet transported by the roller is transported in the first direction and not in the second direction.
A sheet processing apparatus comprising:
- a processing unit configured to perform a process on one or more sheets;
- and
- a sheet transport apparatus including at least:
- a roller having a surface formed from an elastic material and configured to transport a sheet,
- a rotation mechanism configured to rotate the roller around an axis of the roller, and
- a twist mechanism configured to selectively twist the roller with respect to the axis so that:
- when the roller is twisted and the rotation mechanism rotates the roller, a sheet transported by the roller is transported in a first direction perpendicular to the axis and in a second direction parallel to the axis, and
- when the roller is not twisted and the rotation mechanism rotates the roller, a sheet transported by the roller is transported in the first direction and not in the second direction, wherein
- the surface of the roller includes an uneven surface with at least one groove formed thereon, the at least one groove extending along the axis when the roller is not twisted.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.