# US 10,372,074 B2 · Sheet conveyor and image forming apparatus

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- Number: US 10,372,074 B2
- Document ID: US10372074B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/469,788
- Filed: 2017-03-27
- Published: 2017-09-28
- Granted: 2019-08-06
- Earliest claimed: 2016-03-28
- Assignees: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
- Applicants: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
- Inventors: Yoshihiro Oyama
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10372074B2

## CPC

- G03G 15/65: {Apparatus which relate to the handling of copy material (handling sheets or webs in general B65H; for photographic purposes in general G03B)}
- B65H 5/06: by rollers {or balls, e.g. between rollers (transport by suction rollers B65H5/226)}
- 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}
- B65H 85/00: Recirculating articles, i.e. feeding each article to, and delivering it from, the same machine work-station more than once
- G03G 15/232: {using a single reusable electrographic recording member}
- G03G 15/234: {by inverting and refeeding the image receiving material with an image on one face to the recording member to transfer a second image on its second face, e.g. by using a duplex tray; Details of duplex trays or inverters}
- G03G 15/6529: {Transporting (G03G15/6555 takes precedence)}
- G03G 15/6579: {Refeeding path for composite copying}
- G03G: ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- B65H: HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES

## Abstract

A sheet conveyer, comprising: a 1st conveying roller; a 1st support part to support the 1st conveying roller; a 1st helical gear to rotate together with the 1st conveying roller and to generate thrust in a particular direction; a 2nd conveying roller; a 2nd support part to support the 2nd conveying roller; a 2nd helical gear to generate thrust in the particular direction; a 3rd helical gear to engage with the 1st helical gear; a 4th helical gear to engage with the 2nd helical gear; and a clutch to connect or disconnect transmission of a driving force between the 3rd helical gear and the 4th helical gear, wherein: when the clutch is disconnected, the 1st and 2nd conveying rollers are disposed at an initial position, and when the clutch is connected, the 1st and 2nd conveying rollers move from the initial position in the particular direction.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A sheet conveyer, comprising:
a 1st conveying roller configured to rotate about a 1st rotation axis by a driving force from a driving source;
a 1st support part configured to support the 1st conveying roller;
a 1st helical gear configured to rotate about the 1st rotation axis together with the 1st conveying roller and to generate thrust, on the 1st support part, in a particular direction along the 1st rotation axis;
a 2nd conveying roller disposed at a position where a conveying surface of the 2nd conveying roller faces a conveying surface of the 1st conveying roller, the 2nd conveying roller being configured to be rotatable about a 2nd rotation axis parallel with the 1st rotation axis;
a 2nd support part configured to support the 2nd conveying roller;
a 2nd helical gear configured to generate thrust, on the 2nd support part, in the particular direction;
a 3rd helical gear configured to engage with the 1st helical gear;
a 4th helical gear configured to engage with the 2nd helical gear; and
a clutch configured to connect or disconnect transmission of a driving force between the 3rd helical gear and the 4th helical gear,
wherein:
when the clutch disconnects transmission of the driving force between the 3rd helical gear and the 4th helical gear, the 1st conveying roller and the 2nd conveying roller are disposed at an initial position,
when the clutch connects transmission of the driving force between the 3rd helical gear and the 4th helical gear, the 1st conveying roller and the 2nd conveying roller move from the initial position in the particular direction.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The sheet conveyer according to claim 1,
further comprising a presser member configured to press the 1st support part in an opposite direction with respect to the particular direction by a force smaller than the thrust generated by the 1st helical gear.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The sheet conveyer according to claim 1,
further comprising an additional presser member configured to press the 2nd support part in an opposite direction with respect to the particular direction by a force smaller than the thrust generated by the second helical gear.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

An image forming apparatus, comprising:
a sheet conveyer according to claim 1;
a sensor provided on a conveying path for a sheet;
an image forming unit provided on the sheet conveying path; and
a controller,
wherein the controller is configured to instruct connection of the clutch in response to a fact that a particular time has elapsed from a time when the sensor detects that the sheet has passed a position of the sensor.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

An image forming apparatus, comprising:
a sheet conveyer according to claim 1;
a 3rd conveying roller provided on an upstream side in a conveying direction with respect to the 1st conveying roller;
a sensor configured to detect that a sheet has passed the 3rd conveying roller;
an image forming unit provided on an upstream side in the conveying direction with respect to the 3rd conveying roller; and
a controller,
wherein, during double side printing in which the sheet passed the 3rd conveying roller is reversed and is re-conveyed to the image forming unit by a reverse rotation of the 1st conveying roller, the controller instructs connection of the clutch in response to a fact that the sensor detects that the sheet has passed the 3rd conveying roller two times.