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US 10,577,204 B2Granted
Stacking apparatus, feeding apparatus, and image forming apparatus
AssigneeCanon Finetech Nisca Inc.
InventorHiroshi Yazawa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A stacking apparatus includes a limiting member which moves along a feeding direction and limits a trailing edge of a stacked sheet in the feeding direction, and a partition member which partitions a space at a height which is lower than a predetermined height, into a first space corresponding to a first stacking unit and a second space corresponding to a second stacking unit in a feeding direction. The partition member includes a first opening portion for communicating the first space and the second space with each other, and a second opening portion that allows the limiting member to move.
Claims10
A stacking apparatus capable of stacking, as sheets fed to a predetermined apparatus, a first sheet and a second sheet having a larger size than the first sheet with respect to a feeding direction in which the sheets are fed to the predetermined apparatus, the stacking apparatus comprising:
- a first stacking unit configured to be vertically movable and stack the first sheet;
- a second stacking unit configured to stack the second sheet in cooperation with the first stacking unit at a height which is equal to or higher than a predetermined height, wherein the second stacking unit is configured to be vertically movable, and the predetermined height is a lower-limit of a range in which the second stacking unit can vertically move;
- a limiting unit configured to move along the feeding direction and limit a trailing edge of a stacked sheet in the feeding direction;
- and
- a partition member configured to partition a space, which has a height lower than the predetermined height, into a first space corresponding to the first stacking unit and a second space corresponding to the second stacking unit with respect to the feeding direction,
- wherein the partition member includes a first opening portion for allowing communication between the first space and the second space, and a second opening portion for allowing the limiting unit to move, and
- wherein an upper-edge position of the first opening portion is lower than the predetermined height and higher than a lower-limit position, and the lower-limit position is a lower-limit of a range in which the first stacking unit can vertically move.
4 more elements
A feeding apparatus comprising:
- a stacking apparatus capable of stacking, as sheets fed to a predetermined apparatus, a first sheet and a second sheet having a larger size than the first sheet with respect to a feeding direction in which the sheets are fed to the predetermined apparatus;
- and
- a feeding unit configured to feed a sheet stacked on the stacking apparatus,
- wherein the stacking apparatus includes:
- a first stacking unit configured to be vertically movable and stack the first sheet;
- a second stacking unit configured to stack the second sheet in cooperation with the first stacking unit at a height which is equal to or higher than a predetermined height, wherein the second stacking unit is configured to be vertically movable, and the predetermined height is a lower-limit of a range in which the second stacking unit can vertically move;
- a limiting unit configured to move along the feeding direction and limit a trailing edge of a stacked sheet in the feeding direction;
- and
- a partition member configured to partition a space, which has a height lower than the predetermined height, into a first space corresponding to the first stacking unit and a second space corresponding to the second stacking unit with respect to the feeding direction,
- wherein the partition member includes a first opening portion for allowing communication between the first space and the second space, and a second opening portion for allowing the limiting unit to move, and
- wherein an upper-edge position of the first opening portion is lower than the predetermined height and is higher than a lower-limit position, and the lower-limit position is a lower-limit of a range in which the first stacking unit can vertically move.
8 more elements
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a stacking apparatus capable of stacking, as sheets fed to a predetermined apparatus, a first sheet and a second sheet having a larger size than the first sheet with respect to a feeding direction in which the sheets are fed to the predetermined apparatus;
- a feeding unit configured to feed the sheets stacked on the stacking apparatus;
- and
- an image forming unit configured to form an image on the sheets fed by the feeding unit,
- wherein the stacking apparatus includes:
- a first stacking unit configured to be vertically movable and stack the first sheet;
- a second stacking unit configured to stack the second sheet in cooperation with the first stacking unit at a height which is equal to or higher than a predetermined height, wherein the second stacking unit is configured to be vertically movable, and the predetermined height is a lower-limit of a range in which the second stacking unit can vertically move;
- a limiting unit configured to move along the feeding direction and limit a trailing edge of a stacked sheet in the feeding direction;
- and
- a partition member configured to partition a space, which has a height lower than the predetermined height, into a first space corresponding to the first stacking unit and a second space corresponding to the second stacking unit with respect to the feeding direction,
- wherein the partition member includes a first opening portion for allowing communication between the first space and the second space, and a second opening portion for allowing the limiting unit to move, and
- wherein an upper-edge position of the first opening portion is lower than the predetermined height and is higher than a lower-limit position, and the lower-limit position is a lower-limit of a range in which the first stacking unit can vertically move.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.