Sheet folding device and image forming apparatus
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorsKenichi Takekawa, Yasuki Matsuura, Masanobu Kimata, Isao Yasuda
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Abstract
Plural conveying paths including guide plates are arranged on both sides of a sheet in its thickness direction, being linked from an upstream side to a downstream side in a conveying direction of the sheet. A stopper is arranged in at least one of the conveying paths to make contact with a leading edge of the sheet conveyed through the conveying paths thereby stopping the sheet and forming a bending portion at the sheet. A pair of folding rollers is arranged between the conveying paths to nip the bending portion of the sheet to form a folding line at the sheet. An adjusting member is provided on the guide plates to adjust a space between the guide plates.
Claims17
A device for folding a sheet, comprising:
- a plurality of conveying paths for conveying a sheet, each including guide plates arranged on both sides of the sheet in its thickness direction, the conveying paths being linked from an upstream side to a downstream side in a conveying direction of the sheet;
- a stopper that is arranged in each of the conveying paths and is configured to make contact with a leading edge of the sheet conveyed through the conveying paths thereby stopping the sheet and forming a bending portion at the sheet;
- a pair of folding rollers that is arranged between the conveying paths, and nips the bending portion of the sheet to form a folding line at the sheet;
- and
- an adjusting member that is provided on the respective guide plates for each of the plurality of conveying paths,
- wherein the adjusting member adjusts the space between the guide plates before the sheet contacts the adjusting member,
- wherein the adjusting member is arranged in the respective conveying paths of at least one of an upstream side and a downstream side of the folding rollers to adjust the space between the guide plates and to convey the sheet in a stable manner,
- wherein the adjusting member is movable in a direction perpendicular to the respective conveying path of the sheet in which the sheet having a different thickness is conveyed, and
- wherein a moving distance of the adjusting member is determined based on folding modes in which different folding operations are performed by using combination of the conveying paths to provide an appropriate space in each of the conveying paths and convey the folded sheet in a stable manner.
An image forming apparatus, comprising:
- a sheet folding device that includes:
- a plurality of conveying paths for conveying a sheet, each including guide plates arranged on both sides of the sheet in its thickness direction, the conveying paths being linked from an upstream side to a downstream side in a conveying direction of the sheet;
- a stopper that is arranged in each of the conveying paths and is configured to make contact with a leading edge of the sheet conveyed through the conveying paths thereby stopping the sheet and forming a bending portion at the sheet;
- a pair of folding rollers that is arranged between the conveying paths, and nips the bending portion of the sheet to form a folding line at the sheet;
- and
- an adjusting member that is provided on the respective guide plates for each of the plurality of conveying paths,
- wherein the adjusting member adjusts the space between the guide plates before the sheet contacts the adjusting member,
- wherein the adjusting member is arranged in the respective conveying paths of at least one of an upstream side and a downstream side of the folding rollers to adjust the space between the guide plates and to convey the sheet in a stable manner,
- wherein the adjusting member is movable in a direction perpendicular to the respective conveying path of the sheet in which the sheet having a different thickness is conveyed depending on a selected sheet folding mode, and
- wherein a moving distance of the adjusting member is determined based on folding modes in which different folding operations are performed by using combination of the conveying paths to provide an appropriate space in each of the conveying paths and convey the folded sheet in a stable manner.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.