# US 8,448,941 B2 · Image forming apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,448,941 B2 - Document ID: US8448941B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/042,544 - Filed: 2011-03-08 - Published: 2011-09-15 - Granted: 2013-05-28 - Earliest claimed: 2010-03-15 - Assignees: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha - Applicants: Takahisa Narikiyo - Inventors: Takahisa Narikiyo - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8448941B2 ## CPC - B65H 5/38: immovable in operation - B65H 85/00: Recirculating articles, i.e. feeding each article to, and delivering it from, the same machine work-station more than once - G03G 15/234: {by inverting and refeeding the image receiving material with an image on one face to the recording member to transfer a second image on its second face, e.g. by using a duplex tray; Details of duplex trays or inverters} - G03G 15/6573: {Feeding path after the fixing point and up to the discharge tray or the finisher, e.g. special treatment of copy material to compensate for effects from the fixing} - B65H 2301/33312: forward reverse rollers pairs - B65H 2404/693: Retractable guiding means, i.e. between guiding and non guiding position - B65H 2801/06: Office-type machines, e.g. photocopiers - G03G 2215/0043: Refeeding path (G03G2215/00421 takes precedence) - G03G 2215/00434: Refeeding tray or cassette - B65H: HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES - G03G: ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY ## Abstract An image forming apparatus including a pair of rollers that rotate, that selectively carries out forward direction transport and switchback transport, including a guide member provided at a downstream side from the rollers in the forward direction transport that moves to either a first position or a second position, and a control portion causing the guide member to move to the first position during the forward direction transport and causing the guide member to move to the second position during the switchback transport. The first position is a position in which the guide member is retracted from a path of the recording paper on a downstream side from the rollers in the forward direction transport. The second position is a position in which the recording paper sandwiched between the rollers can be received on the guide member. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An image forming apparatus that is provided with a pair of rollers that rotate, and that selectively carries out forward direction transport in which a recording paper is sandwiched and transported between the rollers, and switchback transport in which the transport direction of the recording paper is switched to a reverse direction by causing the rollers to temporarily stop and then rotate in reverse during transport of the recording paper, comprising: a guide member that is provided at a downstream side from the rollers in the forward direction transport and that moves to either a first position or a second position, and a control portion that causes the guide member to move to the first position during the forward direction transport and causes the guide member to move to the second position during the switchback transport, wherein the first position is a position in which the guide member is retracted from a path of the recording paper on a downstream side from the rollers in the forward direction transport, and the second position is a position in which the recording paper sandwiched between the rollers can be received on the guide member, wherein the guide member is a guide board capable of rotating about a shaft, and the control portion causes the guide board to move to either a first position or a second position by causing the guide board to rotate about the shaft, wherein, when the guide board is in the second position, an upper surface of the guide board contacts a lower surface of the recording paper, and when the guide board is in the first position, an end of the guide board which is farther from the shaft is in a position lower than a position of the end when the guide board is in the second position. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a discharge tray, wherein the rollers are discharge rollers, the forward direction transport includes transporting by sandwiching the recording paper on which printing has been performed between the discharge rollers for discharge to the discharge tray, the first position is a position in which the guide member is retracted from a discharge path of the recording paper from the discharge rollers to the discharge tray, and the second position is higher than the discharge tray. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, at a time of the forward direction transport, the recording paper on which printing has been performed is guided to the discharge rollers via a forward-direction transport path, and at a time of the switchback transport, the recording paper is again guided to the forward-direction transport path from the discharge rollers via a diversion path, which is different from the forward-direction transport path, and a back and front of the recording paper are turned over, and printing is performed on a back surface of the recording paper. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the forward direction transport is carried out after printing is performed on the back surface of the recording paper. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, at a time of the forward direction transport, the recording paper on which printing has been performed is guided to the discharge rollers via the forward-direction transport path, and at a time of the switchback transport, the recording paper is discharged from the discharge rollers via the diversion path, which is different from the forward-direction transport path, to a different discharge tray from the discharge tray. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the guide member is a guide board capable of rotating about a shaft, and the control portion causes the guide board to move to either a first position or a second position by causing the guide board to rotate about the shaft. ### Claim 7 (depends on 3) The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the guide member is a guide board capable of rotating about a shaft, and the control portion causes the guide board to move to either a first position or a second position by causing the guide board to rotate about the shaft. ### Claim 8 (depends on 4) The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the guide member is a guide board capable of rotating about a shaft, and the control portion causes the guide board to move to either a first position or a second position by causing the guide board to rotate about the shaft. ### Claim 9 An image forming apparatus that is provided with a pair of rollers that rotate, and that selectively carries out forward direction transport in which a recording paper is sandwiched and transported between the rollers, and switchback transport in which the transport direction of the recording paper is switched to a reverse direction by causing the rollers to temporarily stop and then rotate in reverse during transport of the recording paper, comprising: a guide member that is provided at a downstream side from the rollers in the forward direction transport and that moves to either a first position or a second position, and a control portion that causes the guide member to move to the first position during the forward direction transport and causes the guide member to move to the second position during the switchback transport, wherein the first position is a position in which the guide member is retracted from a path of the recording paper on a downstream side from the rollers in the forward direction transport, and the second position is a position in which the recording paper sandwiched between the rollers can be received on the guide member, wherein the guide member is a guide board capable of rotating about a shaft, and the control portion causes the guide board to move to either a first position or a second position by causing the guide board to rotate about the shaft, and wherein the shaft is provided parallel at one end of the guide board and in parallel to the rollers, and the end is closer to the rollers. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, prior to the switchback transport, the recording paper is guided to the discharge rollers via the forward-direction transport path, and the control portion keeps the guide member in the second position in a period from a time point when a leading edge of the recording paper has arrived at the discharge rollers until a time point when the switchback transport commences. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rollers comprise an upper roller and a lower roller, and the shaft is located approximately in the same horizontal plane as the lower roller. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the rollers comprise an upper roller and a lower roller, and the shaft is located approximately in the same horizontal plane as the lower roller.