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US 7,891,654 B2Granted
Sheet feeder and image forming apparatus with side surface air mechanism
AssigneeKyocera Mita Corporation
InventorSachio Izumichi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sheet feeding unit includes a side warm-air mechanism that blows air toward a side surface of a sheet stack S from a warm-air outlet. The sheet feeding unit controls the lift mechanism so as to perform a sheet separating operation every time a predetermined number of sheets P are fed during a continuous sheet feeding operation.
Claims19
A sheet feeder with side surface air mechanism comprising:
- a sheet loading plate configured to store a stack of recording sheets thereon;
- a sheet feed mechanism configured to perform a continuous sheet feeding operation from an uppermost sheet in the stack;
- a first heated air mechanism configured to blow heated air toward a side surface of the stack from a first air outlet, the side surface being parallel to a sheet feeding direction;
- a second heated-air mechanism configured to blow heated air toward a top surface of the sheet stack from a second air outlet;
- a lift mechanism configured to displace the sheet loading plate toward and away from the sheet feed mechanism;
- and
- a controller configured to control a sheet separating operation after a predetermined number of the sheets are fed during the continuous sheet feeding operation, the sheet separating operation including causing the lift mechanism to displace the sheet loading plate away from the sheet feed mechanism and displace the sheet loading plate towards the sheet feed mechanism while causing the first heated air mechanism to blow heated air toward the side surface of the sheet stack and causing the second heated-air mechanism to blow heated air toward the top surface of the sheet stack.
4 more elements
An image forming apparatus with side surface air mechanism comprising:
- a sheet feeder, wherein the sheet feeder includes:
- a sheet loading plate configured to store a stack of sheets thereon;
- a sheet feed mechanism configured to perform a continuous sheet feeding operation from an uppermost sheet in the stack;
- a first heated air mechanism configured to blow air toward a side surface of the stack from an air outlet, the side surface being parallel to a sheet feeding direction;
- a second heated-air mechanism configured to blow heated air toward a top surface of the sheet stack from a second air outlet;
- and
- a lift mechanism configured to displace the sheet loading plate toward and away from the sheet feed mechanism;
- an image forming element that forms images on sheets fed by the sheet feeder;
- and
- a controller configured to control a sheet separating operation after a predetermined number of the sheets are fed during the continuous sheet feeding operation, the sheet separating operation including causing the lift mechanism to displace the sheet loading plate away from the sheet feed mechanism and displace the sheet loading plate towards the sheet feed mechanism while causing the first heated air mechanism to blow heated air toward the side surface of the sheet stack and causing the second heated-air mechanism to blow heated air toward the top surface of the sheet stack.
7 more elements
A method for feeding sheets in an image forming apparatus with side surface air mechanism, comprising:
- a. feeding a sheet from a stack of sheets stored on a sheet loading plate to an image forming element that forms images on sheets, wherein the sheet is one of a first predetermined number of sheets in a continuous feeding operation;
- b. determining whether the first predetermined number of sheets has been fed to the image forming element;
- c. responsive to determining that the first predetermined number of sheets has not been fed to the image forming element, determining whether a second predetermined number of sheets has been fed to the image forming element, wherein the second predetermined number represents a number of sheets to be fed before performing a sheet separating operation;
- d. responsive to determining that the second predetermined number of sheets has been fed, performing a sheet separating operation including causing a lift mechanism to displace the sheet loading plate away from a sheet feed mechanism and displace the sheet loading plate towards the sheet feed mechanism while causing heated air to be blown toward a side surface of the sheet stack via a first heated-air outlet and causing heated air to be blown toward a top surface of the sheet stack via a second heated-air outlet;
- and
- e. repeating steps a-d until the first predetermined number of sheets has been fed to the image forming element.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.