Sheet conveying device and image forming apparatus

A shift unit, comprising:

• a gate member configured to align a recording medium being conveyed thereto by causing a leading end of the recording medium to abut against the gate member so that part of the recording medium bends to form a curved portion,
• a pair of registration rollers configured to convey the recording medium aligned by the gate member at a set timing, the pair of registration rollers including a driving roller and a driven roller, the driving roller having a rotating shaft coaxial with a rotational central shaft of the gate member, and
• a drive transmitting unit configured to transmit rotational drive from a drive unit to the driving roller, the drive transmitting unit being disposed on an end side of the rotating shaft of the driving roller;
• a shift control unit configured to hold the shift unit so that the shift unit is movable in a direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the recording medium;
• and
• a rotation control unit configured to move the rotating shaft of the driving roller and the rotational central shaft of the gate member at a set angle relative to an orthogonal direction of the sheet conveying direction so that the shift unit is rotatable about the drive transmitting unit as pivotal center in the conveying direction of the recording medium;
• and
• a detector configured to detect a position of the recording medium in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the recording medium, the detector being disposed downstream of the shift unit in the conveying direction;
• and
• a rotation control driving unit configured to calculate an angle adjustment amount of the shift unit based on the value detected by the detector and rotates the shift unit by the calculated angle.

A method of shifting a sheet conveying device, the sheet conveying device includes a shift unit having a gate member, a pair of registration rollers with a driving roller and a driven roller, a drive transmitting unit, a shift control unit, and a rotational control unit, the method comprising:

• aligning a recording medium by causing a leading end of a recording medium to abut against the gate member so that part of the recording medium bends to form a curved portion;
• conveying the recording medium aligned by the gate member at a set timing, the driving roller includes a rotating shaft coaxial with a rotational central shaft of the gate member;
• transmitting a rotational drive from the drive unit to the driving roller, the drive transmitting unit being disposed on an end side of the rotating shaft of the driving roller;
• holding the shift unit so that the shift unit is movable in a direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the recording medium;
• and
• moving the rotating shaft of the driving roller and the rotational central shaft of the gate at a set angle relative to an orthogonal direction of the sheet conveying direction so that the shift unit is rotatable about the drive transmitting unit as pivotal center in the conveying direction of the recording medium.