Sheet conveying apparatus and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet;
• a first conveying means for conveying a sheet;
• a second conveying means for conveying a sheet in merging with the first conveying means;
• and
• a sheet merging overlapping means for overlapping, at a junction between the first and second conveying means, the sheet conveyed by the first conveying means with the sheet conveyed by the second conveying means in a sheet conveyance direction.

A sheet conveying apparatus comprising:

• a first conveyance route for guiding a sheet conveyed by a first conveyance roller;
• a second conveyance route for guiding a sheet conveyed by a second conveyance roller;
• and
• a controller for controlling the drive and stop of the first and second conveyance rollers, wherein the first conveyance route and the second conveyance route are merged, and
• wherein the controller so controls the drive and stop of the first and second conveyance rollers as to convey the sheets in overlapping, at a junction between the first and second conveyance routes, the proceeding sheet guided by one of the first and second conveyance routes with the subsequent sheet guided by the other in a sheet conveyance direction.

A sheet conveying apparatus comprising:

• a first conveyance route for guiding a sheet conveyed by a first conveyance roller;
• a second conveyance route for guiding a sheet conveyed by a second conveyance roller in merging the first conveyance route;
• and
• a controller for controlling the drive and stop of the first and second conveyance rollers,
• wherein the controller has an overlapping conveyance mode for conveying the sheets in overlapping the proceeding sheet guided by one of the first and second conveyance routes with the subsequent sheet guided by the other in a sheet conveyance direction, and an overlapping canceling mode for canceling the conveyance overlapping the proceeding sheet with the subsequent sheet and separating the proceeding sheet from the subsequent sheet.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet;
• a first conveyance route for guiding a sheet conveyed by a first conveyance roller for conveying the sheet to the image forming means;
• a second conveyance route for guiding a sheet conveyed by a second conveyance roller for conveying the sheet to the image forming means;
• and
• a controller for controlling the drive and stop of the first and second conveyance rollers, wherein the first conveyance route and the second conveyance route are merged, and
• wherein the controller so controls the drive and stop of the first and second conveyance rollers as to convey the sheets in overlapping, at a junction between the first and second conveyance routes, the proceeding sheet guided by one of the first and second conveyance routes with the subsequent sheet guided by the other in a sheet conveyance direction.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet;
• a first conveyance route for guiding a sheet conveyed toward the image forming means by a first conveyance roller;
• a second conveyance route for guiding a sheet conveyed toward the image forming means by a second conveyance roller in merging the first conveyance route;
• and
• a controller for controlling the drive and stop of the first and second conveyance rollers,
• wherein the controller has an overlapping conveyance mode for conveying the sheets in overlapping the proceeding sheet guided by one of the first and second conveyance routes with the subsequent sheet guided by the other in a sheet conveyance direction, and an overlapping canceling mode for canceling the conveyance overlapping the proceeding sheet with the subsequent sheet and separating the proceeding sheet from the subsequent sheet.