Electrophotography – Document handling – Copy
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-11
2003-11-11
Lee, Susan S. Y. (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Document handling
Copy
C399S110000, C399S397000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06647243
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a facsimile machine, and more particularly to a sheet treating apparatus capable of being mounted on an in-body delivery type image forming apparatus delivering a sheet in a space formed between an image-forming portion and an image-reading portion.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, like a copying machine, a facsimile machine and the like, many image forming apparatus equipped with image-reading portions for reading originals (hereinafter referred to as “scanners”) set the scanners at their upper portions. In particular, almost all of the machines that are used popularly in offices and form images by an electrophotographic process employ the setting.
Moreover, the number of the so-called multiple function processing machines that combine the functions of printers and of copying machines or the functions of printers and of facsimile machines is recently increasing for the purpose of reducing the cost and setting spaces of respective machines.
Moreover, the so-called in-body delivery type image forming apparatus that has decreased installation-space-requirements has been realized. The in-body delivery type image forming apparatus disposes its scanner and its image-forming portion separately to form a space between them, and thereby the apparatus can dispose its delivery tray in a state of not protruding to the outside of the apparatus, which makes the installation space requirements of the apparatus small.
As a concrete example of the in-body delivery type image forming apparatus, a copying machine shown in
FIG. 40A
was invented. The copying machine includes an image-reading portion
100
, an image-forming portion
101
and a delivery space portion
102
for the delivery of sheets. The delivery space portion
102
is disposed between the image-reading portion
100
and the image-forming portion
101
. The copying machine disposes its delivery tray or the like, which conventionally protrudes to the outside of the machine, between the image-reading portion
100
and the image-forming portion
101
, which makes it possible to decrease the installation space requirements of the copying machine by leaps and bounds.
Even for the space saving image forming apparatus as described above, the following structure is desired. That is, the space saving property thereof is kept by the structure. And, the so-called sheet treating apparatus, which is a sorter performing the sort and alignment of sheets, a finisher performing the processing such as stapling or the like, can be added to the structure as an option. In response to such a demand, an image forming apparatus of a type has already been proposed. The type is one such that a sheet treating apparatus is set in a sheet delivery space in the machine.
However, in the related art, the mounting method of the sheet treating apparatus and the operation efficiency of the mounting are not especially considered. When the sheet treating apparatus is connected with the sheet path (sheet transporting path) of the image forming apparatus, the precision of positioning is needed to be high for the prevention of sheet jamming. However, it was very difficult to perform the operation of the positioning and the like in the narrow sheet delivery space.
Moreover, because the related art structure is structured such that, for example, the sheet treating apparatus is mounted in the delivery space portion of the image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus forming the space is disposed at an immediately upper part of the sheet treating apparatus, the space for stacking sheets on which images have been formed on a stacking tray of the sheet treating apparatus is narrow. Consequently, the related art structure has a problem. The problem is that the number of stackable sheets is limited.
Moreover, the related art structure makes it possible to reverse the surfaces of sheets by utilizing the delivery space portion in the case where images are formed on both the sides of the sheets. To put it concretely, as shown in
FIG. 40B
, the related art structure begins to deliver a sheet, on which an image has been formed by image forming means
103
, with a delivery roller
104
for the time being. Next, the structure reverses the delivery roller
104
at a predetermined position to draw the sheet into the structure. Then, the structure transports the drawn sheet to the image forming means
103
again through a re-feed path
105
to form an image on the opposite side of the sheet. After that, the structure executes the operation of the delivery of the sheet to be stacked in the delivery space portion
102
with the delivery roller
104
again.
By employing the aforesaid structure, the related art can omit the structure of a surface reversing portion and the like that are needed in conventional structures, and thereby the related art can realize further miniaturization and the reducing of the cost.
However, it has recently been invented to dispose a treating apparatus
106
for executing stapling processing, sorting processing and the like in the delivery space portion
102
as shown in
FIG. 41
for the coexistence of the space saving property thereof and the high productivity thereof. In the case where the treating apparatus
106
is set in the delivery space portion
102
in the copying machine that is possible to reverse the surfaces of sheets and was described with respect to the related art, it becomes necessary for the machine to be equipped with transportation rollers
106
b
, which receive a sheet delivered from the delivery roller
104
on the side of the main body of the machine and transport the received sheet to a treating portion
106
a
such as a stapler, a guide
106
c
and so forth.
When it is tried to reverse a sheet by reversing the delivery roller
104
conventionally in a copying machine mounting the treating apparatus
106
, as described above, because the related art image forming apparatus operates such that the trailing end of a sheet on one side of which an image is recorded protrudes from a delivery port and is transported into the image forming apparatus at the time of reversing in case of duplex recording, the guaranteed stackable height, or the regulated value of the fully stacked height, of the related art image forming apparatus should be set at a lower value with a margin lest a surface-reversed sheet should push out an already stacked sheet. Moreover, the related art image forming apparatus has inconvenience. The inconvenience is that the apparatus will give a user an uneasy impression at the sight of the manner such that a sheet has once gone out and enters into the main body again.
Moreover, the surface reversing operation of the related art image forming apparatus in the state of setting the treating apparatus
106
is performed as follows. That is, an end portion of a long sheet enters into the reception portion, and then the long sheet passes through a nip by the transportation rollers
106
b
of the treating apparatus
106
. After that, the long sheet is reversed.
When a stepping motor is used for the control of the transportation rollers
106
b
, the related art image forming apparatus consequently has a possibility of bringing about buckling, step-out and the like because suitable synchronization cannot be realized owing to the fact that different controllers are used for the delivery roller
104
of the main body of the image forming apparatus and the stepping motor. For the prevention of this possibility, it becomes necessary to add a new mechanism for releasing the nip of the transportation rollers
106
b
of the treating apparatus
106
.
For the prevention of these problems, it becomes necessary to take the following measures. That is, the distance between the delivery roller
104
on the main body and the transportation rollers
106
b
is set to be large. In other words, the distance between the delivery roller
104
in the delivery space portion
102
and the tr
Kamiya Daisaku
Kato Katsuhito
Sato Akihiro
Takagishi Hiroaki
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