Sheet conveying apparatus and image forming apparatus
AssigneesKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorHiroyuki TAKI
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sheet conveying apparatus distributes and conveys sheets to plural storage trays. The apparatus includes a flapper configured to guide a sheet to each of the plural storage trays by changing an angle thereof, a conveying roller configured to discharge the sheet moved along the flapper to each of the storage trays, and a link member which is connected to the flapper and the conveying roller, and rotates to change the angle of the flapper and a position of the conveying roller with respect to the plural storage trays.
Claims20
A sheet conveying apparatus configured to distribute and convey sheets to a plurality of storage trays, comprising:
- a flapper configured to guide a sheet to each of the plurality of storage trays by changing an angle thereof;
- a conveying roller configured to discharge the sheet moved along the flapper to each of the storage trays;
- and
- a link member which is connected to the flapper and the conveying roller, and rotates to change the angle of the flapper and a position of the conveying roller with respect to the plurality of storage trays.
A sheet conveying method for distributing and conveying sheets to a plurality of storage trays, comprising:
- rotating a link member in a first rotation direction by using an urging force of an urging member, the link member being connected to a flapper and a conveying roller;
- rotating the link member in a second rotation direction by an actuator, the second rotation direction being a reverse direction to the first rotation direction, the actuator generating a force against the urging force of the urging member;
- guiding the sheet to each of the plurality of storage trays by changing an angle of the flapper through the rotation of the link member in the first and second directions;
- and
- discharging the sheet moved along the flapper to each of the storage trays by changing a position of the conveying roller with respect to the plurality of storage trays through the rotation of the link member and then rotating the conveying roller.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.