Sheet feeding or delivering – Delivering – To receiver for pack of sheets
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-26
2002-12-17
Skaggs, H. Grant (Department: 3653)
Sheet feeding or delivering
Delivering
To receiver for pack of sheets
C271S220000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06494450
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT
The present invention relates to a paper discharge base of an image forming apparatus such as a copying apparatus or a printing apparatus for retaining a print sheet discharged from a printing section of an image forming apparatus in a stacked state.
With high speed formation of an image forming apparatus such as a copying apparatus or a printing apparatus in recent years, a print sheet discharged from a printing section thereof is discharged at high speed toward a paper discharge base and is impacted to an impact wall of the paper discharge base with large momentum. In this case, when the impact wall is of a rigid structure, there is a drawback that a large impact sound is emitted in impacting the print sheet.
Hence, there is disclosed a paper discharge base for alleviating an impact sound of a print sheet in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 183553/1997. Such a paper discharge base is provided with a paper mounting floor and an impact wall. The main body of the impact wall is attached with an impact wall plate impacted by a print sheet via an elastic film. Therefore, according to the paper discharge base, impact force when a print sheet is impacted to the impact wall plate is damped by the elastic film and the impact sound is alleviated.
However, the impact wall plate impacted by a print sheet is made of foamed styrene or foamed polyvinyl chloride. Since the print sheet is directly impacted to the impact wall plate at high speed, there is a drawback that the impact wall plate is gradually impaired by the impact force after long hours of use.
Further, since the impact wall of the paper discharge base needs a mechanism of expanding the elastic film, there also is a drawback that the structure of the impact wall becomes complicated.
Further, depending on paper quality of a print sheet, when a print sheet is not impacted to an optimum position of the impact wall plate, the print sheet loaded on the paper mounting floor does not align neatly.
Further, the height of a print sheet impacted to the impact wall plate differs by paper quality (weight) of a print sheet. In case of a heavy print sheet, the height of impact is low and in case of a light print sheet, the height of impact becomes high.
Therefore according to the paper discharge base disclosed in the publication, a print sheet is not impacted to an optimum position of the impact wall plate depending on the paper quality of the print sheet owing to a difference in the height of impact caused by the paper quality (weight) of the print sheet as described above. Therefore, there is a drawback that the impact cannot be damped effectively.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been carried out in order to resolve the above-described drawbacks of the conventional technology. It is an object thereof to effectively damp impact of a print sheet discharged from a printing section. Particularly, it is an object thereof to promote durability against impact of a print sheet.
Further, it is another object thereof to further promote strength of a surface of a damping member and damping operation of the damping member. Further, it is an object thereof to smoothly drop a print sheet along the surface of the damping member in accordance with property of the surface.
Further, it is another object thereof to excellently align a print sheet which is impacted to a damping member and drops.
It is still another object thereof to alleviate impact sound of a print sheet and spring back of the print sheet caused by impact.
Further, it is another object thereof to gradually reduce kinetic energy of a print sheet impacted to a surface of a damping member. Further, it is an object thereof to effectively prevent spring back of a print sheet caused by a damping member thereby.
It is still another object thereof to achieve further sound pacifying formation of an impact sound of a print sheet by a simple constitution. Further, it is an object thereof to further alleviate spring back of a print sheet caused by impact and excellently align a sheet.
Particularly, it is an object thereof to make a damping member further easy to escape in the direction of discharging a print sheet (space portion side) and drop a print sheet impacted to a damping member further in a constant direction along a surface of the damping member.
Further, it is another object thereof to dispose a damping member at a position capable of damping effectively an impact of a print sheet in correspondence with a paper quality of the print sheet.
It is still another object thereof to be capable of adjusting a position of the damping member such that the impact of the print sheet can effectively be damped in correspondence with the paper quality of the print sheet.
In order to achieve the above-described object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper discharge base of an image forming apparatus including an impact wall
70
impacted by print sheet P discharged from a printing section,
a damping member
78
provided at an impact position of the impact wall
70
, and
a paper mounting floor
72
loaded with the print sheet P which is impacted to the damping member
78
and drops,
wherein the damping member
78
is constituted by a sponge sheet
84
and a protection sheet
86
attached to a surface of the sponge sheet
84
impacted by the print sheet P.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the print sheet P is impacted to the damping member
78
, the impact force is transmitted from the protection sheet
86
to the sponge sheet
84
and is damped by the sponge sheet
84
. Further, the impact sound is alleviated. The sponge sheet
84
is protected by the protection sheet
86
and accordingly, durability against impact of the print sheet P is promoted.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the paper discharge base according to the paper discharge base of an image forming apparatus of the first aspect, in which the protection sheet
86
of the damping member
78
is made of polyethylene terephthalate.
According to the second aspect, by applying a film made of polyethylene terephthalate having high strength, damping operation of the sponge sheet
84
is promoted by thinning the protection sheet
86
and the sponge sheet is protected sufficiently against the impact force of the print sheet P. Further, the film made of polyethylene terephthalate is provided with a property in which a surface thereof is smooth. Therefore, the print sheet P impacted to the protection sheet
86
is made to drop smoothly along the surface of the protection sheet
86
.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the paper discharge base of an image forming apparatus according to the paper discharge base of an image forming apparatus of the first or the second aspect, further including regulating faces
80
projected from a portion of the damping member
78
on a lower side of an impact position thereof to a side of an apparatus main body
14
on both sides of the impact wall
70
formed on the lower side of the impact position at which the print sheet P is impacted to the damping member
78
for leading a front end edge portion of the dropping print sheet P to the lower side while being brought into sliding contact therewith.
According to the third aspect, the print sheet P impacted to the surface of the damping member
78
drops by its own weight. The print sheet drops slidingly in a state in which the front end edge portion is being brought into contact with the surface of the damping member
78
. Further, when the print sheet P slidingly drops to a position of a lower end portion
78
B of the damping member
78
, both ends of the front end edge portion of the print sheet P are brought into sliding contact with the regulating faces
80
. Further, the print sheet P is successively stacked on the paper mounting floor
72
in a state in which the front end edge portion is aligned and contained.
According to the fourth aspect of the pr
Kanesaka & Takeuchi
Riso Kagaku Corporation
Skaggs H. Grant
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