# US 10,479,636 B2 · Sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus having the same > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,479,636 B2 - Document ID: US10479636B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/889,877 - Filed: 2018-02-06 - Published: 2018-09-06 - Granted: 2019-11-19 - Earliest claimed: 2017-03-02 - Assignees: Canon Finetech Nisca Inc. - Applicants: Takahiro Nakano - Inventors: Takahiro Nakano - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10479636B2 ## CPC - B65H 31/34: Apparatus for squaring-up piled articles - B65H 29/20: by contact with rotating friction members, e.g. rollers, brushes, or cylinders {(with suction rollers B65H29/243)} - B65H 29/22: and introducing into a pile - B65H 31/02: with stationary end support against which pile accumulates - B65H 31/3027: {by the nip between moving belts or rollers (pile being formed between belts or rollers B65H29/145)} - B65H 31/36: Auxiliary devices for contacting each article with a front stop as it is piled - B65H 43/00: Use of control, checking, or safety devices, e.g. automatic devices comprising an element for sensing a variable - B65H 43/04: detecting, or responding to, presence of faulty articles (B65H43/08 takes precedence; diverting faulty articles from main streams B65H29/62) - B65H 43/06: detecting, or responding to, completion of pile (B65H43/08 takes precedence) - B65H 2301/4212: of articles substantially horizontal - B65H 2301/4213: of a limited number of articles, e.g. buffering, forming bundles - B65H 2404/1521: rotating, pivoting or oscillating around an axis, e.g. parallel to the roller axis - B65H 2405/11151: with surface inclined upwardly in transport direction - B65H 2511/17: Deformation, e.g. stretching - B65H 2511/214: Inclination - B65H 2511/30: Numbers, e.g. of windings or rotations - B65H 2513/10: Speed - B65H 2801/27: Devices located downstream of office-type machines - B65H: HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES ## Abstract A sheet processing apparatus includes a conveying roller that conveys a sheet, a processing tray on which the sheet from the conveying roller is loaded, a reference stopper provided at one end of the processing tray, a return paddle having an elastic piece for transferring the sheet from the conveying roller to the reference member, and a roller arm that moves the return paddle in the sheet thickness direction at a predetermined moving rate according to the number of sheets loaded on the processing tray. The moving rate of the roller arm is reduced as the number of sheets loaded on the processing tray is increased. With this configuration, aligning property of even a wavy sheet can be suppressed from being deteriorated at sheet loading. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A sheet processing apparatus that applies processing to a loaded sheet, comprising: an entrance through which a sheet is received; an entrance sensor that detects the sheet fed through the entrance; a conveying roller that conveys the sheet; a processing tray on which the sheet from the conveying roller is loaded; a reference member provided at one end of the processing tray; a transfer member that transfers the sheet from the conveying roller to the reference member; a moving member that moves the transfer member; and a controller controlling the moving member to move the transfer member in a sheet thickness direction at a predetermined moving rate according to the number of sheets detected by the entrance sensor and loaded on the processing tray, wherein the controller reduces the moving rate of the moving member as the number of sheets detected by the entrance sensor and loaded on the processing tray is increased. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer member is a paddle member having an elastic piece, and the controller sets the moving rate of the moving member to a first moving rate until the number of sheets loaded on the processing tray reaches a predetermined value and sets the moving rate of the moving member to a second moving rate lower than the first moving rate after the number of sheets exceeds the predetermined value. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller controls a degree of engagement between the paddle member and the sheet to be greater at the second moving rate of the moving member than at the first moving rate. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller controls an overlap amount between the paddle member and the sheet to be increased such that elastic deformation of the paddle member contacting the sheet becomes larger at the second moving rate of the moving member than at the first moving rate. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the paddle member is rotated in a direction that switch-back conveys the sheet conveyed from the conveying roller to the reference member. ### Claim 6 A sheet processing apparatus that applies processing to a loaded sheet, comprising: an entrance through which a sheet is received; an entrance sensor that detects the sheet fed through the entrance; a conveying roller that conveys the sheet; a processing tray on which the sheet from the conveying roller is loaded; a reference member provided at one end of the processing tray; a transfer member that switch-back conveys the sheet from the conveying roller to the reference member; a forward/backward rotatable sheet discharge roller that discharges the sheet loaded on the processing tray and assists conveyance of the sheet when the transfer member conveys the sheet to the reference member; and a controller controlling a moving member to move the sheet discharge roller and the transfer member in a sheet thickness direction at a predetermined moving rate according to the number of sheets detected by the entrance sensor and loaded on the processing tray, wherein the controller reduces the moving rate of the moving member as the number of sheets detected by the entrance sensor and loaded on the processing tray is increased. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the transfer member is a paddle member having an elastic piece, the moving member is a support arm configured to be moved while supporting the paddle and sheet discharge roller, and when the paddle member is rotated, the sheet discharge roller is also rotated in the same direction as the paddle member. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the controller sets the moving rate of the support arm to a first moving rate until the number of sheets loaded on the processing tray reaches a predetermined value and sets the moving rate of the support arm to a second moving rate lower than the first moving rate after the number of sheets exceeds the predetermined value. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the controller controls an overlap amount between the sheet and the paddle member when they contact each other to be larger at the second moving rate of the support member than at the first moving rate, and the controller controls a separation distance between the sheet discharge roller and the sheet to be smaller at the second moving rate of the support arm than at the first moving rate. ### Claim 10 A sheet processing apparatus that applies processing to a loaded sheet, comprising: an entrance through which a sheet is received; an entrance sensor that detects the sheet fed through the entrance; a sheet sensor that detects a rear end of the sheet; a conveying roller that conveys the sheet; a processing tray on which the sheet from the conveying roller is loaded; a reference member provided at one end of the processing tray; a transfer member that switch-back conveys the sheet from the conveying roller to the reference member; a return conveying member that contacts the sheet conveyed by the transfer member to convey it to the reference member; and a controller controlling moving members to move the transfer member and the return conveying member, respectively, in a sheet thickness direction at a predetermined moving rate according to the number of sheets detected by the entrance sensor and the sheet sensor and loaded on the processing tray, wherein the controller reduces the moving rates of the moving members as the number of sheets detected by the entrance sensor and the sheet sensor and loaded on the processing tray is increased. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the transfer member is a paddle member having an elastic piece, the return conveying member is an endless belt member, and the moving rates of the moving members are set to a first moving rate until the number of sheets loaded on the processing tray reaches a predetermined value and set to a second moving rate lower than the first moving rate after the number of sheets exceeds the predetermined value. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein an overlap amount between the paddle member and the sheet is increased such that elastic deformation of the paddle member contacting the sheet becomes larger at the second moving rate of the moving member than at the first moving rate, and a contact pressure between the sheet and the belt member is made larger at the second moving rate of the moving member than at the first moving rate. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the moving members include a moving arm member that moves the paddle member in the sheet thickness direction and a belt arm member that moves the belt member in the sheet thickness direction. ### Claim 14 A sheet processing apparatus that applies processing to a loaded sheet, comprising: a conveying roller that conveys a sheet; a processing tray on which the sheet from the conveying roller is loaded; a reference member provided at one end of the processing tray; a transfer member that switch-back conveys the sheet from the conveying roller to the reference member; a forward/backward rotatable sheet discharge roller that discharges the sheet loaded on the processing tray and assists conveyance of the sheet when the transfer member conveys the sheet to the reference member; a moving member that moves the sheet discharge roller and transfer member in a sheet thickness direction at a predetermined moving rate according to the number of sheets loaded on the processing tray; a determination section that determines the type of a sheet loaded on the processing tray; and a controller that controls movement of the moving member based on determination made by the determination section, wherein the controller moves the moving member at a constant rate in the sheet thickness direction every time the number of sheets loaded on the processing tray is increased when the sheet type is determined to be a first type by the determination section and moves the moving member at a rate different from the moving rate for the first type sheet when the sheet type is determined to be a second type. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the transfer member is a paddle member having an elastic piece, and the moving rate of the moving member in the sheet thickness direction for the second type sheet is smaller after the number of sheets exceeds a predetermined value before the number of sheets reaches the predetermined value. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the second type sheet is a sheet with larger waviness when being on the processing tray than the first type sheet. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the determination section determines the type of a sheet loaded on the processing tray by moving the moving member to the processing tray after the sheet is loaded on the processing tray in such a state that the sheet-type can be detected and using a sheet-type sensor provided in the moving member. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the sheet-type sensor includes a first sensor flag that contacts the sheet loaded on the processing tray to be moved and a second sensor flag that receives larger resistance when being moved than the first sensor flag. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the determination section externally acquires sheet type information indicating whether the sheet is the first type sheet or second type sheet having larger waviness than the first type sheet. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image forming section that forms an image onto a sheet; and the sheet processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 that applies processing to the sheet onto which an image is formed by the image forming section.