Sheet alignment in sheet conveying device

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• a printer;
• and
• a sheet conveying device configured to convey a sheet to or from the printer, the sheet conveying device comprising:
• a conveying roller configured to convey the sheet;
• an aligning roller configured to rotate in a forward direction along a sheet conveying direction for sheet conveyance, and stop rotation or rotate in a reverse direction opposite to the forward direction to align the sheet conveyed by the conveying roller to a nip formed with the aligning roller;
• a first stationary sheet guide disposed upstream with respect to the conveying roller in the sheet conveying direction;
• a second stationary sheet guide disposed between the conveying roller and the aligning roller along a sheet conveyance path and having a flat surface along the sheet conveyance path;
• a third stationary sheet guide facing the second stationary sheet guide and having a curved surface protruding away from the sheet conveyance path;
• a movable sheet guide disposed downstream with respect to the third stationary sheet guide along the sheet conveyance path, and swingable between a first position at which the sheet conveyance path has a first width in a thickness direction of the sheet and a second position at which the sheet conveyance path has a second width in the thickness direction less than the first width;
• a first stopper positioned to restrict movement of the movable sheet guide further than the first position;
• and
• a second stopper positioned to restrict movement of the movable sheet guide further than the second position, wherein
• the movable sheet guide is attached to the aligning roller, and swings to the first position in accordance with rotation of the aligning roller in the reverse direction and to the second position in accordance with rotation of the aligning roller in the forward direction, the movable sheet guide configured to swing coaxially with the aligning roller rotating in the forward and reverse directions.

A sheet processing apparatus comprising:

• a sheet processing device configured to process a printed sheet conveyed from a printer;
• and
• a sheet conveying device configured to convey a sheet to or from the sheet processing device, the sheet conveying device comprising:
• a conveying roller configured to convey the sheet;
• an aligning roller configured to rotate in a forward direction along a sheet conveying direction for sheet conveyance, and stop rotation or rotate in a reverse direction opposite to the forward direction to align the sheet conveyed by the conveying roller to a nip formed with the aligning roller;
• a first stationary sheet guide disposed upstream with respect to the conveying roller in the sheet conveying direction;
• a second stationary sheet guide disposed between the conveying roller and the aligning roller along a sheet conveyance path and having a flat surface along the sheet conveyance path;
• a third stationary sheet guide facing the second stationary sheet guide and having a curved surface protruding away from the sheet conveyance path;
• and
• a movable sheet guide disposed downstream with respect to the third stationary sheet guide along the sheet conveyance path, and swingable between a first position at which the sheet conveyance path has a first width in a thickness direction of the sheet and a second position at which the sheet conveyance path has a second width in the thickness direction less than the first width, wherein
• the movable sheet guide is at the first position when the aligning roller stops rotation or rotates in the reverse direction, and at the second position when the aligning roller rotates in the forward direction,
• the movable sheet guide is attached to the aligning roller, and swings to the first position in accordance with rotation of the aligning roller in the reverse direction and to the second position in accordance with rotation of the aligning roller in the forward direction, the movable sheet guide configured to swing coaxially with the aligning roller rotating in the forward and reverse directions, and
• the sheet conveying device is configured to convey the sheet from the sheet processing device.