With Movable Sheet-surface Support Patents (Class 271/213)
  • Patent number: 11952229
    Abstract: A control device executes: either a first conveyance change control or a second conveyance change control; and a retraction control when an operation device receives an interruption operation during execution of a specified number stack control. In the first conveyance change control, a sheet conveyance device of a target unit is changed to a relay conveyance state, and the sheet conveyance device of another coupled unit that is present downstream of the target unit in a main conveyance direction is changed to a stack conveyance state. In the second conveyance change control, the sheet conveyance device of another coupled unit that is present upstream in the main conveyance direction is changed to the stack conveyance state. In the retraction control, a lift mechanism of the target unit is caused to execute a mount operation by which a stack tray is moved down to a mount position on a carriage portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Takeshi Matsuo
  • Patent number: 11718493
    Abstract: A medium receiving tray has a first tray and a second tray. A movable support having a second support surface for supporting media is disposed in the second tray. When the medium receiving tray is in a first state, the movable support is positioned above a first support surface of the first tray. When the medium receiving tray is switched from the first state to a second state, a free end is detached from the downstream end of the first support surface and displaced downward, and the second support surface is thereby inclined upward toward the downstream in a medium discharging direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Morio Iwata, Satoshi Yoshino
  • Patent number: 11673758
    Abstract: A medium conveying apparatus includes a housing including an accommodation portion provided with a guide portion at an end portion in a width direction, a tray accommodated in the accommodation portion so as to be pulled out, and including a placing surface for placing an ejected medium, and an engaging portion provided on a side surface of the tray, to engage the guide portion. The guide portion includes a pair of rails inclined upward and having a predetermined width. The engaging portion includes two protrusions provided so as to slide between the pair of rails and located apart from each other by a predetermined distance. By locating the two protrusions between the pair of rails, the tray is positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the housing with a front end portion of a downstream side in the medium ejecting direction located upward.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventors: Ryuichi Nagai, Takayuki Umi
  • Patent number: 11345561
    Abstract: Provided is a medium processing device including a supply portion supplying a medium, a transporter transporting the medium supplied from the supply portion, an contact portion that a tip of the medium transported by the transporter is brought into contact with, a stacker in which the medium brought into contact with the contact portion is stacked, and a processor processing the medium stacked in the stacker, in which the transporter includes a gripper that is configured to move along a transport path of the medium, grips a tip of the medium, and moves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Kohei Ueno, Nobuyuki Mizushima, Yutaro Harada, Shunpei Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 11274007
    Abstract: A sheet discharge apparatus includes a main tray, a discharge unit, and an expansion tray. The main tray is pivotable between a closed position and open position relative to a sheet discharge apparatus main body. The discharge unit discharges the sheet onto the main tray in the closed position. The expansion tray expands a main tray stacking area and is movable between a storage position where the expansion tray is stored in the main tray and an expansion position where the expansion tray is slid from the storage position in a sheet discharge direction and expands the stacking area. At the expansion position, the expansion tray is pivotable independently of the main tray. A direction in which the expansion tray is pivoted upward is the same as a direction in which the main tray is pivoted from the closed to the opened position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuichi Obara, Masaaki Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 11274009
    Abstract: A stacker device includes: a discharger that discharges sheets in response to a print job; a first tray on which the discharged sheets are stacked; a second tray that serves as a delivery destination of the sheets stacked on the first tray; a shutter that covers an opening on a front side of a housing; a driver that moves the first tray in an up-down direction; and a hardware processor that shuts off power to the driver based on a height position of the shutter and a position of the second tray in a front-rear direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventors: Tatsuo Ishizuka, Akira Okamoto, Teruhiko Toyoizumi
  • Patent number: 11249432
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus includes a stacking section provided on the downstream side of a collecting section in a transport direction outside an apparatus housing, an alignment section provided on the downstream side of the collecting section in the transport direction, above the stacking section, to be able to shift in a predetermined movable region so as to align a sheet width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the sheet to be stacked on the stacking section, a shaft-direction drive mechanism for shifting the alignment section in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction, an alignment plate rotation shaft member for axially supporting the alignment section rotatably, a shaft-direction drive source for operating the shaft-direction drive mechanism, and a neat housing for storing the shaft-direction drive mechanism and the alignment plate rotation shaft member inside the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: CANON FINETECH NISCA INC.
    Inventors: Daiki Komiyama, Akihiko Tsukui
  • Patent number: 11091347
    Abstract: According to examples, a printing apparatus may include an output bin that is laterally translatable between a retracted position and an extended position. The printing apparatus may also include a sensor to detect a height of a stack of media on the output bin while the output bin is in the retracted position and a controller. The controller may determine whether the detected height of the stack of media on the output bin exceeds a certain level and in response to a determination that the detected height of the stack of media exceeds the certain level, laterally translate the output bin from the retracted position to the extended position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Arthur H Barnes, Jody L Clayburn, Francisco Javier Gomez Maurer, Kevin Lo
  • Patent number: 11090954
    Abstract: An image printing apparatus has a first side plate and a second side plate that are part of a frame body housing an image printing unit and face each other in a widthwise direction crossing a discharging direction. The image printing apparatus also has a movable tray that is movable between the first side plate and the second side plate and receive a discharged print medium a support member that supports the movable tray in a movable manner. Further, the image printing apparatus has a drive unit that moves the movable tray and a frame that is fixed so as to couple the first side plate and the second side plate together in the widthwise direction, the support member and the drive unit being provided on the frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuki Emoto, Kosuke Yamamoto, Norio Sakurai, Toshiaki Somano
  • Patent number: 10987964
    Abstract: A post-processing apparatus includes: a first binding unit that binds sheets and moves while rotating a first gear; a second binding unit that binds sheets and moves while rotating a second gear; a common path that is a path along which the first binding unit and the second binding unit move; a first rack gear that is provided along the common path and meshes with the first gear; and a second rack gear that is provided along the common path at a side opposite to the first rack gear with the common path interposed between the second rack gear and the first rack gear, and meshes with the second gear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Jun Noguchi
  • Patent number: 10654679
    Abstract: A medium processing device includes a discharge member, a discharge tray, a shift part and a control part. The discharge member is configured to discharge a medium from a discharge position in a discharge direction. On the discharge tray, the medium is stacked. The shift part is configured to vary a relative position of the discharge position and the discharge tray in a shift direction perpendicular to the discharge direction to shift a shift position where the medium is stacked on the discharge tray. The control part is configured to control the shift part so as to shift the shift position for each medium bundle containing a plurality of the mediums. The control part calculates a thickness of the medium bundle, and when the calculated thickness exceeds a first threshold value, the control part makes it possible to select a number of the shift position from a plurality of candidates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Masayuki Mochizuki
  • Patent number: 10576761
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes: a sheet discharge tray having an upstream portion tilted to extend downward in a direction of gravity; an upper member limiting a height of a space above the sheet discharge tray; a full sensor configured to detect an upstream end of a top sheet of sheets stacked on the sheet discharge tray; a counter configured to count a number of the sheets discharged onto the sheet discharge tray; and a controller. The controller determines whether to stop discharging of the sheets to the sheet discharge tray, based on a detection result of the full sensor upon the sheets to be stacked on the sheet discharge tray including only sheets each with uniform thickness and based on a count value of the counter upon the sheets to be stacked on the sheet discharge tray including a sheet with thickness varying partly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: RISO KAGAKU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hirokazu Yabune
  • Patent number: 10421564
    Abstract: Features for systems and methods for loading items into a tray are disclosed. The system may have an item conveyor configured to move the items towards a tray conveyor. The tray conveyor may be configured to move trays to receive items from the item conveyor into the tray. One or more sensors may detect the height of the items on the item conveyor and/or in the tray, and/or the position of the trays on the tray conveyor. A controller may receive data related to the one or more detected heights of the items and/or the position of the trays on the tray conveyor and correspondingly control movement of the item and/or tray conveyors for efficient loading of items into the tray and efficient movement of the trays for further processing. Tray conveyor movement sensors may detect movement of the trays or tray conveyors for further control or reliability of the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2019
    Assignee: United States Postal Service
    Inventors: Dongliang Yang, Shao C. Yang, Christopher R. Simpson, James E. Goodbar, III, Marina E. Khazanov, George Coupar
  • Patent number: 10124977
    Abstract: A sheet stacking apparatus including a control portion is configured to execute: a first mode in which the control portion causes a bundle forming portion to form a bundle of sheets including a sheet supported by a first placement portion and a sheet placed on a second placement portion; and a second mode in which a downstream end portion of a bundle of sheets formed in the second mode is positioned upstream of a downstream end portion of a bundle of sheets to be formed in the first mode, and wherein the control portion sets a maximum number of sheets constituting a bundle of sheets which the control portion causes the bundle forming portion to form in the second mode to be smaller than a maximum number of sheets constituting a bundle of sheets which the control portion causes the bundle forming portion to form in the first mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Finetech Nisca Inc.
    Inventors: Shintaro Moriya, Kazuhiko Watanabe, Hiroshi Amano, Seiji Ono, Ichiro Yoda, Masao Ueno
  • Patent number: 10053309
    Abstract: A sheet tray includes: a first receiving member; a second receiving member including a first holding portion configured to be pushed into and drawn out from the first receiving member and a third receiving member including a second holding portion configured to be pushed into and drawn out from the second receiving member. The first receiving member covers the second and third receiving members in a state of being pushed into. The second receiving member is configured to expose the second holding portion while maintaining a state in which the third receiving member can be drawn out. The first receiving member is configured to expose the second holding portion while maintaining a state in which the third receiving member can be drawn out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yoshiyuki Washino
  • Patent number: 9850082
    Abstract: The provided containers (100, 200) and methods provide for gravitational alignment of a plurality of stacked articles (120), in which at least two edges (140, 142) of each article align along inner walls (108, 114, 208, 214) of a respective container. The aligning walls of the container are provided with low-friction surfaces to facilitate sliding and alignment of the articles. By aligning the stack of articles along two edges, the articles can be registered relative to not only each other but the container itself, thereby facilitating loading, unloading, and conversion of articles in the stack. Optionally, a compressible layer (147) opposing one or both of the aligning walls conforms and distributes stress along the non-aligning edges, thereby preserving registration of the articles relative to each other when the container is transported.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: Kevin B. Newhouse, Bruce E. Tait, Schoen A. Schuknecht
  • Patent number: 9802765
    Abstract: A transfer apparatus (1) for transferring a plurality of discrete articles (3) between a first location and a second location is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a transfer beam (9) comprising at least one article receiving means (10), adapted to be positioned adjacent the first location (7a) to receive at least one article. The transfer beam is also adapted to be adjacent the second location (7b) to discharge the at least one article. First and second bridging conveyors (12a; 12b) are located adjacent the second location and spaced apart such that the transfer beam is movable between the first and second bridging conveyors. A method of transferring articles using such an apparatus is also disclosed. Preferably the articles are abrasive discs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY
    Inventor: Michael J. Davies
  • Patent number: 9776816
    Abstract: Provided is a transport device including a transport unit that transports a recording medium by interposing the recording medium, a driving unit that drives the transport unit, a detection unit that detects a peak value of a load of the driving unit when the recording medium is discharged from the transport unit, and a derivation unit that derives a thickness of the recording medium based on the peak value detected by the detection unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hideki Moriya, Hidehiko Yamaguchi, Takanori Morino, Tsuyoshi Sunohara, Takahito Chiba
  • Patent number: 9663258
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a stacking/wrapping apparatus includes a stacking device configured to stack paper sheets in a predetermined number on a stacking unit, a wrapping device configured to wrap a bundle of the stacked paper sheets by winding a band thereon, and a transport carrier configured to receive the paper sheet bundle and transport the paper sheet bundle to the wrapping device. The wrapping device includes a hand assembly, a hand drive mechanism configured to open and close the hand assembly and reciprocate the hand assembly at right angles to the stacking direction, and a band winding device configured to wind a wrapper band around the paper sheet bundle drawn into the binding position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Sakoguchi, Masakazu Itoya, Hidetake Suzuki, Kenichi Hirose
  • Patent number: 9630788
    Abstract: A paper output tray, which can be included in a paper output unit in an image forming apparatus, includes a tray body, a paper support extension slidably attached to the tray body and arranged switchable between a stored state in which the paper support extension is stored in the tray body and an extended state in which the paper support extension is pulled out to extend from the tray body, and a stopper rotatably attached to the paper support extension and arranged switchable between a folded state in which the stopper is folded to the paper support extension and a standing state in which the stopper is raised from the paper support extension. With the paper support extension in the stored state and the stopper in the folded state, the stopper overlaps an outer surface of the tray body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Hirofumi Horita, Ippei Kimura, Yasuo Matsuyama, Mizuna Tanaka, Ikuo Fujii
  • Patent number: 9598257
    Abstract: A medium storage cassette includes a medium storage portion that stores a medium; and a medium support tray that is provided in the medium storage portion such that the medium support tray can be displaced with respect to the medium storage portion in a slidable manner, the medium support tray being able to be set in a contained state that is a state in which the medium support tray is slid to an upper portion of the medium storage portion and being able to be set in an extended state that is a state in which a medium supporting surface that supports the medium becomes an inclined surface that is oriented obliquely upwards towards an end portion of the medium support tray and in which the medium supporting surface is extended outside of the medium storage portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Shintaro Komuro
  • Patent number: 9555998
    Abstract: A sheet processing device includes: a folder that forms a plurality of folds on a sheet such that a fold part and a part with no fold of the sheet overlap with each other; a conveyance unit that conveys the sheen on which the folds are formed by the folder; and a pressing part that presses the fold part of the conveyed sheet in which the fold part and the part with no fold overlap with each other, from a side on which the fold part is located.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Takahiro Watanabe, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Michitaka Suzuki, Tomomichi Hoshino, Akira Kunieda, Yuji Suzuki, Satoshi Saito, Koki Sakano
  • Patent number: 9456100
    Abstract: A sheet conveying device includes: a conveyor; a first supporter for supporting an unsupplied sheet; a second supporter for supporting a discharged sheet; and a side guide contactable with an edge portion of the sheet supported by the first supporter. The first supporter has a first part located over the second supporter, with the first part and the second supporter being spaced apart from each other. The first part at least partly constitutes a first tray movable between an open position and a closed position. The side guide is provided on the first tray. The first tray is configured such that when the first tray is located at the closed position, the first supporter supports the unsupplied sheet, and when the first tray is located at the open position, a portion of the second supporter is exposed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Arisa Sakakibara, Katsuro Miura
  • Patent number: 9315353
    Abstract: A glove stacking apparatus for preparing a stack of gloves prior to packing into a box, and a method of stacking gloves, particularly ambidextrous disposable hygienic gloves, preferably with the thumbs of each glove in a desired orientation with respect to each other are disclosed. A glove stacking apparatus for forming a stack of gloves comprises a packing recess for receiving the gloves to be stacked, and adjacent the recess at least one movable flap for folding towards the recess a portion of a glove overlapping said edge of the recess. The movable flap has a surface that is permeable to gaseous flow through the surface, and the glove stacking apparatus including a source of vacuum pressure and means to apply the vacuum air pressure through the permeable surface of the movable flap in order to pull the overlapping portion of the glove to the flap prior to folding of the overlapping portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: Altevo Limited
    Inventors: Jonathan William Stollery, Kim Marie Stollery
  • Patent number: 9289860
    Abstract: A jig used for repairing a component having a tang with a hole is comprised of: a main body defining a standard line; a positioning pin detachably attached to the main body and so dimensioned as to fit in the hole to make an axial center of the hole be aligned with the standard line; and a clamp so structured as to catch hold of the tang to secure the component to the main body in a state where the axial center is aligned with the standard line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: IHI Corporation
    Inventors: Ken Ubukata, Kazuo Kawai, Mitsuaki Mukai, Masayuki Tomioka
  • Patent number: 9238564
    Abstract: A sheet conveyance apparatus includes a conveyance unit which conveys sheets and a discharge tray which supports the sheets conveyed by the conveyance unit. The discharge tray includes: a first tray which has first, second and third rail sections arranged at different positions respectively in a widthwise direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction and extending respectively in the conveyance direction; and a second tray which is arranged on a lower side of the first tray and which is slidably supported by the first, second, and third rail sections. The first rail section and the third rail section are contrary to each other in relation to the positions in the widthwise direction with respect to the second rail section. The first rail section has a first rib and a first protruding section; and the second rail section has a second rib and a second protruding section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2016
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yoshiyuki Washino
  • Patent number: 9216874
    Abstract: A control apparatus discharges, into a stacking unit, sheets of a plurality of copies obtained by executing a first job that is set to print a plurality of copies, and discharges sheets of a plurality of copies obtained by executing a second job that is set to print a plurality of copies and follows the first job. The control apparatus carries out control so that a sheet discharge position for copies discharged by executing the first job changes from a first discharge position in the stacking unit to a second discharge position in the stacking unit between copies, and carries out control so that a sheet discharge position for the plurality of copies discharged by executing the second job changes from a third discharge position in the stacking unit to a fourth discharge position in the stacking unit between copies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2015
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuo Wakai
  • Patent number: 9056743
    Abstract: A sheet process device includes a supporting member and a process device main body. The supporting member is attached to the lateral face at a side of an in-body sheet ejection space of an image forming apparatus. The process device main body is supported by the supporting member. The process device main body includes a relay conveyance unit and a post process unit. The relay conveyance unit is arranged slidable in a direction to the in-body sheet ejection space. The post process unit is arranged slidable in upward and downward directions with respect to the supporting member. The process device main body provides a sheet conveying path extending from a sheet ejection port of the image forming apparatus to the post process unit through the relay conveyance unit, when the post process unit is moved upwardly after the relay conveyance unit is moved into the in-body sheet ejection space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2015
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Takehiro Sato, Hideaki Doyo, Yuichiro Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20150125255
    Abstract: A system and method are provided for improving stack integrity for a set of image receiving media substrates at an output of a compiler in an image forming device positioning a plurality of pairs of rotating shelf structures in a vicinity of an exit/ejection port of an image receiving media processing or post-processing unit. The plurality of pairs of rotating shelf structures cycle between a first (support) position and a substantially orthogonal second (drop) position with respect to a rotating axis for the rotating shelf structures. Each of the rotating shelf structures has a uniquely-portioned top surface that includes a substantially-parallel top (supporting) portion and a ramped lead-in portion facing the exit/ejection port from the image receiving media processing or post-processing unit in an effort to reduce any image receiving media substrate “stubbing” against a first of the plurality of pairs of rotating shelf structures in a process direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2013
    Publication date: May 7, 2015
    Applicant: XEROX Corporation
    Inventors: Billy T. STOJANOVSKI, Gerald Roy CURRY, Thomas Crofton HATCH, Todd Maurice UTHMAN, Donald R. FESS
  • Patent number: 9010747
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device (10) for handling notes of value, comprising a supply module (1000) for supplying notes of value to a value note receiving region (1004) of a value note cassette (16a to 16d), wherein the notes of value are receivable in a value note receiving region (1004) in the form of a value note stack (1006). The supply module (1000) comprises at least one retaining element (1008, 1010), which, in a retaining position, contacts a front-side note of value of the value note stack (1006) and holds the value note stack (1006) in the value note receiving region (1004). In a supply position, the retaining element (1008, 1010) is arranged such that a note of value is suppliable to the value note stack (1006).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Wincor Nixdorf International GmbH
    Inventors: Udo Petermann, Paul Freitag
  • Patent number: 9010754
    Abstract: A post-processing device includes: a stacking section that stacks a sheet; an output section that outputs the sheet stacked on the stacking section; a facing section that is arranged to face an end portion of the stacked sheet on an upstream side in an output direction; a movable support section that is provided to be movable from the stacking section toward a downstream side in the output direction of the stacked sheet, and when the stacked sheet is outputted from the stacking section, supports the stacked sheet with the stacking section; and a pressing section that is provided in the movable support section to face an end portion of the stacked sheet on the downstream side in the output direction, and presses the stacked sheet against the facing section with movement of the movable support section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masashi Matsumoto
  • Publication number: 20150105231
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus includes a vertically movable tray that moves vertically in accordance with an amount of stacked folded sheets which are transported and stacked thereon, a plate that is disposed above the vertically movable tray and that does not move in accordance with transport of a folded sheet, a recognizing unit that recognizes a predetermined height state of a sheet stacked on the vertically movable tray, and a controller that controls the vertically movable tray so as to, in response to a recognition of the predetermined height state of the sheet by the recognizing unit, move the vertically movable tray upward, press the sheet stacked on the vertically movable tray against the plate, and subsequently move the vertically movable tray downward.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 21, 2014
    Publication date: April 16, 2015
    Inventors: Takuya ISHIKAWA, Masatoshi KIMURA
  • Patent number: 8985568
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a paper discharge device includes a discharged-sheet receiving part that can be opened and closed on a side surface of an apparatus body, is closed on the side surface and receives a recording medium dropped from above along the side surface after image formation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shinichi Ito
  • Publication number: 20150069697
    Abstract: A sheet stacking apparatus includes a sheet stacking unit having a stacking member, a contact member, a moving unit, and a regulating member. The contact member contacts an end portion of a sheet stacked on the stacking member. The moving unit moves the contact member from a standby position to a movement position to move the stacked sheet. The regulating member regulates, at a regulation position, a position of the stacked sheet from above, and moves from the regulation position by being pushed by the conveyed sheet. In a sheet width direction orthogonal to a direction in which the sheet is conveyed, the contact member and the regulating member are arranged at different positions, and in a thickness direction of the stacked sheet, an upper surface of the contact member located at the standby position is located above a lower surface of the regulating member located at the regulation position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 3, 2014
    Publication date: March 12, 2015
    Inventors: Yohei Suzuki, Masayoshi Fukatsu, Hiroharu Tsuji, Daisuke Kaneko
  • Patent number: 8964268
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device is formed with a sheet mounting part, and a sheet feeding unit defining a sheet feed path having inlet and outlet. The sheet feeding unit is configured to introduce the sheet on the sheet mounting surface from the inlet, feed the sheet along the feed path, and discharge the sheet from the outlet onto the sheet mounting part. The sheet mounting part includes first and second members arranged next to each other. The first and second members with a border therebetween define a sheet mounting surface. An end portion of one of the first and second members has one or more protruded portions, while an end portion of the other member has one or more slits configured to receive the one or more protruded portions. An upper surface of the one member is located at a higher position than the upper surface of the other member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Muneaki Takahata, Takashi Ohama
  • Patent number: 8950960
    Abstract: A movable rod member is provided that changes the shape of a medium receiver of a medium storage portion by changing the location of the movable rod member. The location of the movable rod member is changed in accordance with the condition of a medium, so as to change a method of storing the medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kazuhiko Onuki
  • Patent number: 8939444
    Abstract: The printing apparatus of the present invention includes a delay mechanism that can transmit, with a delay, the rotational force of a discharge roller to a discharge tray. When the reverse rotation of the discharging roller has been begun, the delay mechanism accumulates the length of the delay, or, when the forward rotation of the discharge roller is performed for a longer period than the accumulated length of the delay, opens the discharge tray. When the feeding of a sheet is not performed during a sheet feeding operation accompanied by the reverse rotation of the discharging roller, the discharging roller is rotated forward to cancel out the length of the delay accumulated in the delay mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yohei Omori
  • Patent number: 8899579
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus move, when stacking a sheet on a stacking tray, a supporting tray disposed to freely appear above the stacking tray to a first position in which the supporting tray projects above the stacking tray and supports the sheet stacked on an intermediate stacking tray. When these apparatuses discharge a processed sheet bundle, these apparatuses move the supporting tray from the first position to a second position in which the supporting tray supports an edge of the discharged sheet in an upstream side in a discharging direction, and guides the moving sheet bundle to a stacking wall. Further, these apparatuses move the supporting tray from the second position to a third position at predetermined timing, so that the supporting tray stops supporting the sheet bundle and stacks the sheet bundle on the sheet bundle previously stacked on the stacking tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yohei Gamo
  • Publication number: 20140333020
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus according to the present invention has: an apparatus main body whose external appearance is configured from an upper casing, a lower casing, and a link casing that vertically links the upper casing and the lower casing and that has a paper discharge opening for discharging paper on one side face; a paper discharge portion that is formed as a space between the upper casing and the lower casing and that is to store paper discharged from the paper discharge opening; and an operation panel portion that is disposed in a vertically tiltable manner on a front face of the upper casing. When viewing the apparatus main body from the front side, an open space that allows paper discharged to the paper discharge portion to be viewed is provided between the operation panel portion and the link casing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2014
    Publication date: November 13, 2014
    Inventors: Masahiro KAWANO, Takashi MATSUDA, Naoki SAITO, Kenji OHTA
  • Patent number: 8882104
    Abstract: A medium receiving device includes: a medium holding member having a medium receiving surface that receives a part on the leading edge side in a discharge direction of a cut sheet; a medium edge restricting member including a restricting portion that restricts movement of the leading edge of the cut sheet to the discharge direction and a guidance portion that makes contact with the medium receiving surface so as to guide the leading edge from the medium receiving surface to the restricting portion; and a connecting bar that moves a plurality of medium edge restricting members together between a restricting position where the guidance portion makes contact with the medium receiving surface so as to guide the leading edge to the restricting portion and a non-restricting position where the guidance portion is separate from the medium receiving surface and does not guide the leading edge to the restricting portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Naohiro Ueyama
  • Patent number: 8882105
    Abstract: Provided is a sheet stacking apparatus including a discharge roller pair, a stacking tray, a tray drive motor, a sheet surface detecting sensor detecting a position of a topmost sheet on the stacking tray, an alignment portion including front and rear alignment members which are provided above the stacking tray and sandwiching a sheet to align, and a finisher control portion executing: raising/lowering control for raising and lowering the stacking tray so that the topmost sheet is located at a predetermined height in accordance with a detection result obtained from the sheet surface detecting sensor; alignment control for aligning the sheet when the sheet is discharged; and alignment stop control for stopping the alignment of the alignment portion in the case that a movement amount of the stacking tray, at the time when the stacking tray moves in accordance with the detection result, exceeds a predetermined movement amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Iwata
  • Publication number: 20140312559
    Abstract: A sheet stacking apparatus includes: a sheet stacking apparatus comprising: a sheet stacking portion on which a sheet discharged from a sheet discharge port is stacked; a cover portion disposed above the sheet stacking portion and having a facing surface facing a sheet stacking surface of the sheet stacking portion; a driving portion configured to lift and lower the sheet stacking portion; and a controller configured to control the driving portion such that, when a sheet is not stacked on the sheet stacking portion, a distance between the facing surface of the cover portion and the sheet stacking surface of the sheet stacking portion is kept within a predetermined range, and when a sheet is stacked on the sheet stacking portion, a distance between the facing surface of the cover portion and an uppermost surface of the sheet stacked on the sheet stacking portion is kept within the predetermined range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2014
    Publication date: October 23, 2014
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yasumasa Kidoh
  • Patent number: 8854675
    Abstract: In the method and device, electronic documents are created from a batch of physical documents of varying lengths. The batch comprises sub-batches of groups of multiple multi-page physical documents with separator sheets on each group. Each separator sheet is marked with a page count for any physical documents in its group. The batch is scanned-in and the resulting image pages are used to form the electronic documents. Specifically, the image pages are analyzed in sequence to identify document sheet image pages and separator sheet image pages. When a separator sheet image page is identified, the page count on that separator sheet image page is read and electronic document(s) is/are created from sequential set(s) of document sheet image pages, which follow the separator sheet image page and have the specific page count, until the next separator sheet image page is identified. This is repeated for all separator sheet image pages identified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Robert St. Jacques, Jr., Steven R. Moore
  • Publication number: 20140291920
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a discharging slot provided for discharging a recording medium on which an image is formed; a discharge tray including a supporting surface supporting the recording medium discharged from the discharging slot; a discharge mechanism configured to discharge the recording medium to the discharge tray through the discharging slot; and a press down mechanism including an abutting surface which is provided for pressing down the upper surface of the recording medium supported by the supporting surface of the discharge tray. The press down mechanism is rotatable about a rotation center provided on the upstream of the discharging slot in a discharge direction in which the recording medium is discharged from the discharging slot, and the abutting surface contacts with the supporting surface when no recording medium is supported by the discharge tray.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2014
    Publication date: October 2, 2014
    Applicant: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akihito KOBAYASHI, Kohei TERADA
  • Patent number: 8840106
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus which performs image forming processing on sheets and outputs the sheets to a sheet stacking unit includes an instruction unit configured to issue an instruction for shutting down the image forming apparatus, an acquisition unit configured to acquire a remaining amount of sheets stacked in the sheet stacking unit, and a control unit configured to display, when the instruction unit receives the instruction, a warning indicating a shift to a state in which sheets are not extractable from the sheet stacking unit, based on the remaining amount of sheets acquired by the acquisition unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Teppei Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 8833759
    Abstract: A printer includes an enclosure, a paper output tray, and two positioning devices. The enclosure includes a receiving base and two side portions extending from the receiving base. The paper output tray is pivotally mounted between the two side portions. The two positioning devices are mounted to the two side portions. The paper output tray is placed in the receiving base in a first position. The paper output tray can rotate to resist each of the two positioning devices and move to a side portion, thereby enabling the paper output tray to rotate to a second position. Each of the two positioning devices restores to an original position to support the paper output tray stably in the second position, to enable the removal of a paper jam or other circumstance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kai Fan Chiang, Shu-Kai Lu, Chin-Ta Ma
  • Patent number: 8820736
    Abstract: To provide a post-processing apparatus for preventing a sheet from becoming misaligned in dropping the rear end side of the sheet carried in a processing tray from a sheet discharge path to store on the tray, and enabling the mechanism to be simplified, compact and configured at low cost, a sheet guide that guides a sheet from the sheet discharge path to the processing tray is comprised of a pair of right and left guide members, at the same time in the processing tray are disposed a pair of right and left side edge alignment members, and each guide member and each side edge alignment member are configured to shift to positions in the sheet width direction in an integral manner using a common drive motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Maejima, Hiroto Akiyama
  • Publication number: 20140239577
    Abstract: A paper sheet stacking apparatus includes: a stacking tray on which paper sheets are stacked; a driving section to drive the stacking tray in up and down directions corresponding to a height of the paper sheets stacked; a paper-sheet upper surface detecting section to detect an upper-most surface of the paper sheets to be stacked onto the stacking tray; a position detecting section to detect a position of the stacking tray by using a plurality of sensors respectively disposed at different positions arranged in a vertical direction, along which the stacking tray moves up and down; and a control section that determines whether or not the stacking tray is currently in a full loaded condition, based on the position of the stacking tray.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2014
    Publication date: August 28, 2014
    Applicant: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventor: Norishige KATO
  • Patent number: 8794622
    Abstract: A stacker includes a plurality of sheet stacking units individually movable upward and downward. Sheets are selectively stacked onto either of the stacker trays. To remove the sheets stacked on one of the stacker trays, a door is opened. In a state where the door is open, the stacker trays moved by respective elevation units are movable only downward. In this manner, accidental upward movement of each of the stacker trays caused by a malfunction of a motor or the like is regulated, whereby damage to the stacker is prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yusuke Obuchi, Yasuo Fukatsu, Naoto Watanabe
  • Patent number: 8783983
    Abstract: A printer is disclosed that has a frame and a chute assembly received within the frame in which the chute assembly is pivotable relative to the frame. The chute assembly includes a lower chute part and an upper chute part. The lower chute part is pivotable about a first axis in which the first axis is fixed relative to the frame. The upper chute part is pivotally coupled to the lower chute part and is pivotable about a second axis that is fixed relative to the lower chute part. The lower chute part and the upper chute part are coupled to one another such that, when the upper chute part pivots about the second axis relative to the lower chute part, the lower chute part automatically pivots about the first axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Brady Worldwide, Inc.
    Inventors: Chow Jin Bryan Chng, Heng Kuang Cheng