US 6,142,469 AGranted

Sheet ejecting mechanism with contact member and advance descending of tray to prevent direct return of contact member

AssigneeSharp Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsToyoaki Nanba, Jinichi Nagata, Tomomi Tanaka, Takehiko Josako, Keiji Tanaka

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Abstract

A sheet ejecting mechanism is provided with a sheet ejecting sensor which detects a sheet to be ejected onto an offset tray and an upper-surface position-regulating section which regulates the position of the upper surface of the sheets in accordance with the position of an arm which is in contact with the upper surface of the sheets on the offset tray. When the sheet ejecting sensor detects a sheet to be ejected, a CPU of the upper-surface position-regulating section turns on a solenoid so as to remove a contact between an arm and the upper surface of the sheets. Meanwhile, when the sheet ejecting sensor detects no sheet to be ejected, the CPU turns off the solenoid. With this operation, the arm is allowed to come into contact with the upper surface of the sheets so as to regulate the position of the upper surface of the sheets.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A sheet ejecting mechanism comprising:

sheet detecting means for detecting an existence of a sheet to be ejected onto an ascending/descending tray;
a contact member which separably contacts with an upper surface of ejected sheets on said ascending/descending tray;
upper-surface regulating means which moves said contact member to a contact position so that said contact member comes into contact with the upper surface of said ejected sheets in order to regulate a height of the upper surface of said ejected sheets when no sheet to be ejected exists and which also moves said contact member to a shelter position so that said contact member separates from the upper surface of said ejected sheets when a sheet to be ejected exists;
drive means for adjusting a height of said ascending/descending tray;
and
control means operatively configured to control said sheet detecting means, upper-surface regulating means and drive means in order that when a sheet to be ejected exists, said drive means first lowers said ascending/descending tray by a predetermined amount and said upper-surface regulating means moves said contact member from said contact position to said shelter position prior to said upper-surface regulating means moving said contact member back towards said contact position following ejection of said sheet to be ejected whereby said contact member does not return directly to said contact position in contact with said upper surface of said ejected sheets due to said drive means having previously lowered said ascending/descending tray.

3 more elements

A sheet ejecting mechanism comprising:

sheet detecting means for detecting an existence of a sheet to be ejected onto an ascending/descending tray;
and
upper-surface position-regulating means including a contact member which is capable of moving, within a predetermined passage area, between a detecting position of an upper surface of sheets on the ascending/descending tray and a shelter position which is placed out of a passage area of the sheets stacked on the ascending/descending tray, wherein said upper-surface position-regulating means regulates the position of the upper surface of said sheets in accordance with a position of the contact member being located on said detecting position, moves said contact member from said detecting position to said shelter position when said sheet detecting means detects the sheet to be ejected, and moves said contact member from said shelter position to said detecting position when said sheet detecting means detects a predetermined number of sheets or sets of sheets have passed through the predetermined passage area of said contact member;
drive means for adjusting a height of said ascending/descending tray;
and
control means operatively configured to control said sheet detecting means, upper-surface position-regulating means and drive means in order that when a sheet to be ejected exists, said drive means first lowers said ascending/descending tray by a predetermined amount and said upper-surface position-regulating means moves said contact member from said detecting position to said shelter position prior to said upper-surface position-regulating means moving said contact member back towards said detecting position following ejection of said sheet to be ejected whereby said contact member does not return directly to said detecting position in contact with said upper surface of said ejected sheets due to said drive means having previously lowered said ascending/descending tray.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/189,553Filed 11 Nov 1998
Priority: JP 9-31571317 Nov 1997
Granted: 7 Nov 2000
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G03G 15/6538
Apparatus which relate to the handling of copy material: devices for collating sheet copy material, e.g. sorters, control, copies in staples form
B65H 31/10
The articles being piled one above another: and applied at the top of the pile
B65H 31/18
Devices relieving the weight of the pile or permitting or effecting movement of the pile end support during piling: positively-acting mechanical…
B65H 2553/61
Details of intermediate means between the sensing means and the element to be sensed: mechanical means, e.g. contact arms