US 9,382,090 B2Granted

Image forming apparatus that ejects printed sheets from multiple trays at the same time

AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorYoshiteru Kaida

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Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a body having an opening, an image forming unit, storage units that can store a sheet, and a moving unit provided in each storage unit. The moving unit moves the stored sheet and then stops it in an exposed state where the sheet is partly exposed, from the opening, to a body outside. Where a first sheet and a second sheet, stored in a storage unit different from where the first sheet is stored, contact and then are exposed to the outside, when a first sheet moving distance to the exposed state and a second sheet moving distance to the exposed state are different, the moving unit changes a first sheet movement start timing relative to that of the second sheet or changes a first sheet moving speed relative to that of the second sheet, based on moving distances of the first and second sheets.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An image forming apparatus comprising:

an apparatus body in which an opening portion is formed;
an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet;
a plurality of sheet storage units, wherein each sheet storage unit is configured to store, inside the apparatus body, the sheet with the image formed thereon by the image forming unit;
a sheet moving unit provided in each of the plurality of sheet storage units, and configured to move the sheet stored therein and then stop the sheet in an exposed state where the sheet is partly exposed, from the opening portion, to an outside of the apparatus body;
and
a control unit configured to control each sheet moving unit,
wherein, in a case where a first sheet, stored in a first sheet storage unit among the plurality of sheet storage units, and a second sheet, stored in a second sheet storage unit different from the first sheet storage unit among the plurality of sheet storage units, are brought into contact with each other and then exposed from the opening portion to the outside of the apparatus body in the exposed state, when a moving distance of the first sheet to bring the first sheet into the exposed state and a moving distance of the second sheet to bring the second sheet into the exposed state are different from each other, the control unit controls sheet moving units provided in the first sheet storage unit and the second sheet storage unit to change a movement start timing of the first sheet relative to a movement start timing of the second sheet or to change a moving speed of the first sheet relative to a moving speed of the second sheet, based on the moving distance of the first sheet and the moving distance of the second sheet.

4 more elements

An image forming apparatus comprising:

an apparatus body in which an opening portion is formed;
an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet;
a plurality of sheet storage units, wherein each sheet storage unit is configured to store, inside the apparatus body, the sheet with the image formed thereon by the image forming unit;
a sheet moving unit provided in each of the plurality of sheet storage units, and configured to move the sheet stored therein and then stop the sheet in an exposed state where the sheet is partly exposed, from the opening portion, to an outside of the apparatus body;
and
a control unit configured to control each sheet moving unit,
wherein, in a case where a first sheet, stored in a first sheet storage unit among the plurality of sheet storage units, and a second sheet, stored in a second sheet storage unit different from the first sheet storage unit among the plurality of sheet storage units, are brought into contact with each other and then exposed from the opening portion to the outside of the apparatus body in the exposed state, when a moving distance of the first sheet to bring the first sheet into the exposed state and a moving distance of the second sheet to bring the second sheet into the exposed state are different from each other, the control init controls sheet moving units provided in the first sheet storage unit and the second sheet unit to move the first and the second sheets, to pause the first and the second sheets at respective positions corresponding to lengths of the first and the second sheets to be exposed from the opening portion before the first and the second sheets contact each other, and then to resume moving the first and the second sheets.

4 more elements

An image forming apparatus comprising:

an apparatus body in which an opening portion is formed;
an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet;
a plurality of sheet storage units, wherein each sheet storage unit is configured to store, inside the apparatus body, the sheet with the image formed thereon by the image forming unit;
and
a sheet moving unit provided in each of the plurality of sheet storage units, and configured to move the sheet stored therein and then stop the sheet in an exposed state where the sheet is partly exposed, from the opening portion, to an outside of the apparatus body;
and
a control unit configured to control each sheet moving unit,
wherein, in a case where a first sheet, stored in a first sheet storage unit among the plurality of sheet storage units, and a second sheet, stored in a second sheet storage unit different from the first sheet storage unit among the plurality of sheet storage units, are brought into contact with each other and then exposed from the opening portion to the outside of the apparatus body in the exposed state, the control unit controls the sheet moving units provided in the first sheet storage unit and the second sheet storage unit to move the first and the second sheets so that a moving speed of the second sheet relative to a moving speed of the first sheet becomes approximately zero in a period from when the first and the second sheets contact each other until when the first and the second sheets are stopped.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/876,462Filed 6 Oct 2015
Priority: JP 2014-2073318 Oct 2014
Published: US 2016/0101959 A114 Apr 2016
Granted: 5 Jul 2016
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification31 codes

B65H 31/24
Pile receivers: multiple or compartmented, e.d. for alternate, programmed, or selective filling
B65H 29/6681
Advancing articles in overlapping streams: merging two or more streams into an overlapping stream
B65H 29/68
Delivering or advancing articles from machines; Advancing articles to or into piles: reducing the speed of articles as they advance
B65H 31/02
Pile receivers: with stationary end support against which pile accumulates