Sheet feeding or delivering – Delivering – To receiver for pack of sheets
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-10
2001-07-17
Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 3653)
Sheet feeding or delivering
Delivering
To receiver for pack of sheets
C271S214000, C271S207000, C271S162000, C414S907000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260843
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to imaging devices and paper handling devices having a receiving device for receiving discharged papers from an outlet. More particularly, the present invention may be used with an image forming apparatus such as a digital copier or a facsimile.
2. Discussion of the Background
Recently in modern office environments, an image forming apparatus, such as a printer, is commonly connected to one or more host machines, such as personal computers. Computer users can perform a printing operation at the printer from any of the personal computers. The printer responds by printing a sheet and then discharging the printed sheet to a sheet receiving device.
In above mentioned printer system, there may be a situation in which printed and discharged sheets are left in a receiving tray, for example if the user leaves the printer to pick up a telephone call. In this situation, when another user uses the same printer, the newly printed sheets (i.e., the second print job) are discharged directly on top of the first print job. Stacking the two print jobs in this way gives rise to the possibility that either the first user or the second user will inadvertently take both print jobs when retrieving their print job from the printer. Once the mistake is discovered, the user must sort-out the different print jobs, identify the print job that is not theirs, and insert the other user's print job back in the printer receiving tray.
A conventional sheet-receiving device described in Laid-Open Japanese Utility Model document 57-135541 attempts to address the issue of separating print jobs. As shown in
FIG. 16
, a printer
90
has a tray
92
for receiving printed sheets from an outlet
91
and a sorting tray
93
that is rotatably mounted by pins
94
at a side of the tray
92
for holding printed sheets from another user's print job at a location adjacent to the tray
92
. In this case, the user rotates the sorting tray
93
to a horizontal position, as shown by the dotted line, and moves the printed sheets in preparation for the next sheets to discharge.
Another conventional sheet-receiving device is described in Japanese Utility Model document 0351752. As shown in
FIG. 17
, this device includes a receiving tray
82
having a beveled faces
82
a
,
82
b
,
82
c
and
82
d
for pushing printed sheets discharged by rollers
81
, down for each fixed positions
83
, which are located at lower positions of each of the beveled faces
82
a
,
82
b
,
82
c
and
82
d
. Overhangs
84
are located at upper positions of the beveled faces
82
a
,
82
b
,
82
c
and
82
d
. When sorting printed sheets, the user moves printed sheets that have already printed on the beveled face
82
a
to the next beveled face
82
b
. When two print jobs are held on the beveled faces
82
a
and
82
b
, the user moves the print jobs to other beveled face
82
c
or
82
d.
However, as presently recognized, a problem with the formerly described conventional approach is that the printer has to be positioned in an area that is sufficient far way from a wall or other obstruction that allows the sorting tray
93
to be lowered. The latter approach has a different problem as discussed below. Because of the overhang
84
, as shown in
FIG. 18
, located at an upper portion of the fixed portion
83
, the user, when sorting, has to slide a bundle of sheets “S” up to the beveled face
82
b
. Moreover, the user has to move a rear edge Sb of the sheets S over the overhang
84
a
. If a length “L” of the beveled face
82
b
is comparatively shorter against the sheets S, a front edge of the sheets S is suspended and upper sheets of the bundle of papers become warped. Therefore, the sheets S do not easily move down into the pocket of the fixed position
83
easily and requires the user to move the bundle of papers up to the next beveled face before sliding the paper bundle into the fixed position
83
. This situation causes sheets to collide between the moved sheets and the next discharged sheets. Furthermore, when left in the warped position, the sheets take on a habitual curling tendency.
On the other hand, if a length L′ of the beveled face
82
b
is comparatively longer than the sheets S, as shown in
FIG. 19
, the size of the receiving tray
82
increases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above-identified problems, and accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet receiving device that overcomes the above-identified problems, as well as other problems. To this end, a feature of the novel sheet-receiving device is to provide a configuration that outputs and sorts sheets easily and precisely.
Another object of this invention is to provide a novel sheet-receiving device that has a capacity that can change as required.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a compact-sized sheet receiving device.
These and other objects are achieved with a sheet-receiving device having multiple sheet receiving faces on which to receive different print jobs. The print faces are positioned in tandem with respect to each other. Sheets ejected from an apparatus are ejected onto a first of the multiple faces and remain their until moved. If another print job is to be printed, the operator may move the first print job from the first sheet receiving face to the second sheet receiving face simply by sliding the first print job to the second sheet receiving face. The first print job snaps into place, and curled edges of upper sheets in the first print job are blocked by a barrier between the first and second sheet receiving face so that sheets in the first print job do not interfere with the reception of sheets in the second print job.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4350330 (1982-09-01), Brown
patent: 4565360 (1986-01-01), Runzi
patent: 4933725 (1990-06-01), Ito
patent: 5454555 (1995-10-01), Kiyohara et al.
patent: 5613672 (1997-03-01), Tanaka et al.
patent: 61-151635 (1986-07-01), None
English Abstract of Japanese Patent No. 52-67340, Dated May 18, 1977, with Attached pp. 85 and 86.
English Abstract of Japanese Patent No. 54-5437, Dated Jan. 13, 1979, with Attached pp. 101 and 102.
English Abstract of Japanese Patent No. 54-21849, Dated Feb. 19, 1979, with Attached pp. 475-478.
English Abstract of Japanese Patent No. 55-147340, Dated Oct. 23, 1980, with Attached pp. 89 and 90.
English Abstract of Japanese Patent No. 57-37953, Dated Feb. 27, 1982, with Attached pp. 133 and 134.
English Abstract of Japanese Patent No. 01-106473, Dated Jul. 18, 1989, with Attached p. 177.
English Abstract of Japanese Patent No. 03-51752, Dated May 20, 1991, with Attached pp. 1 and 2.
English Abstract of Japanese Patent No. 04-223965, Dated Aug. 13, 1992, with pp. 419-424.
Horiguchi Shigeru
Hoshimura Takafumi
Suzuki Yuji
Jones David A
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Ricoh & Company, Ltd.
Walsh Donald P.
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