Image forming system

Abstract

To provide a configuration that can correct positional deviation of a sheet in a width direction while suppressing increase in size of a device.SOLUTION: A sheet conveyance device includes a pair of regulation guides 14A, 14B capable of guiding both end edges in a sheet width direction Y of a sheet S1 which is conveyed while being nipped by a conveyor belt 12 and a spherical body 20. The pair of regulation guides 14A, 14B can move to both of the guide position of guiding both end edges of a sheet and a retreat position of retreating from both end edges of the sheet as compared to the guide position. A guide moving part for moving the pair of regulation guides 14A, 14B causes the pair of regulation guides 14A, 14B to reach the guide position from the retreat position after a trailing end of the sheet S1 which is passed to the conveyor belt 12 from an upstream conveyance roller pair 401 passes through the conveyance roller pair 401.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sheet transport device that transports a sheet. [Background technology]

[0002] In a sheet conveying device that conveys a sheet, there is a risk that the position of the sheet may become misaligned due to various factors while the sheet is being conveyed. If the sheet is conveyed to an image forming device that forms an image on the sheet while the position is still misaligned, problems such as the image being misaligned with respect to the sheet may occur. For this reason, a sheet conveying device that corrects the positional misalignment of the sheet during conveyance is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration having a fixed reference guide provided on one side in the width direction intersecting with the sheet conveying direction, a conveying belt provided at an angle with respect to the reference guide, and a sphere. In the case of the sheet conveying device described in Patent Document 1, the sheet is conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveying belt and the sphere, so that the width direction edge of the sheet abuts against the reference guide. Then, the side registration (positional deviation of the sheet width direction edge) and side skew (inclination of the sheet width direction edge with respect to the sheet conveying direction) of the sheet are simultaneously corrected. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-217096 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the case of the sheet conveying device described in Patent Document 1, the sheet is conveyed by a conveying belt that is installed at an angle, and the width direction edge of the sheet is abutted against a reference guide. That is, the sheet is conveyed at an angle to correct positional deviation. For this reason, the sheet needs to be conveyed until it abuts against the reference guide, and further, the sheet needs to be conveyed to a certain extent after the sheet abuts against the reference guide. Therefore, there is a risk that the device will become large in size in order to secure the length for conveying the sheet in this way.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a configuration capable of correcting misalignment of a sheet in the width direction while suppressing an increase in the size of the apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is a sheet transporting device that receives and transports a sheet transported by a transport member that transports the sheet in a predetermined transport direction, the sheet transporting device comprising: an endless transport belt that is provided downstream of the transport member in the predetermined transport direction and has a transport surface that extends in the predetermined transport direction, and transports a sheet that has been delivered to the transport surface in the predetermined transport direction; a plurality of spheres that are arranged in the transport direction at positions facing the transport surface and that can rotate in any direction while holding a sheet between the spheres and the transport surface; and a plurality of spheres that are arranged on both sides of the transport belt in a sheet width direction that intersects the transport direction. The sheet conveying device is provided with a pair of regulating guides capable of guiding both widthwise ends of the sheet being conveyed while being clamped between the conveying belt and the sphere, and a guide moving means capable of moving the pair of regulating guides to a guide position where they guide both widthwise ends of the sheet and a retracted position retracted from both widthwise ends of the sheet further than the guide positions, wherein the guide moving means moves the pair of regulating guides from the retracted positions to the guide positions after the rear end of the sheet transferred from the conveying member to the conveying belt has passed through the conveying member.

[0008] The present invention is a sheet transporting device that receives and transports a sheet transported by a transport member that transports the sheet in a predetermined transport direction, the device comprising: an endless transport belt that is provided downstream of the transport member in the predetermined transport direction, has a transport surface that extends in the predetermined transport direction, and transports the sheet that has been delivered to the transport surface in the predetermined transport direction; a plurality of spheres that are arranged in the transport direction at positions facing the transport surface and that can rotate in any direction while sandwiching the sheet between the spheres and the transport surface; a pair of regulating guides that are arranged on both sides of the transport belt in a sheet width direction that intersects with the transport direction and that can guide both end edges in the sheet width direction of the sheet that is transported while being sandwiched between the transport belt and the spheres; and a regulating guide that is arranged to guide one of the pair of regulating guides in the sheet width direction of the sheet. The sheet conveying belt includes a guide moving means that is movable between a first guide position for guiding one end edge of the sheet and a first retracted position that is further retracted from the one end edge of the sheet than the first guide position, and that is capable of moving the other of the pair of regulating guides to a second guide position for guiding the other end edge of the sheet in the sheet width direction and a second retracted position that is further retracted from the other end edge of the sheet than the second guide position, and is characterized in that after the trailing end of the sheet transferred from the conveying member to the conveying belt passes through the conveying member, the guide moving means causes the one regulating guide to reach the first guide position and positions the other regulating guide at the second retracted position, and then causes the other regulating guide to reach the second guide position and moves the one regulating guide to the first retracted position. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to correct misalignment of the sheet in the width direction while suppressing an increase in the size of the device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an intermediary transport device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view of an intermediary transport device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a side view of the intermediary transport device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a support structure for a conveyor belt of the relay conveyance device according to the embodiment; [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an intermediary transport device according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] 1A is a perspective view of a regulating guide according to an embodiment, FIG. 1B is a view from the left side of FIG. 1A, FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along a direction along the sheet transport direction, and FIG. 1D is a cross-sectional view taken along a direction perpendicular to the sheet transport direction. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a contact / separation mechanism for a conveying roller according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] 5A and 5B are side views showing a conveying roller contact / separation mechanism according to the embodiment, in which FIG. 5A illustrates a conveying roller in a nipped state and FIG. [Figure 10] 1A and 1B are diagrams explaining the operation of a regulating guide according to an embodiment, showing (a) the state in which a sheet is received, (b) the state in which the trailing end of the sheet has passed through the conveying rollers, (c) the state in which the positional deviation of the sheet is corrected, and (d) the state in which a second sheet is received. [Figure 11] 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining that a subsequent sheet does not hit a regulating guide when correcting a positional deviation of a preceding sheet in an embodiment. [Figure 12] 1A and 1B are diagrams explaining the operation of the regulating guide when the sheet is thick paper, showing (a) the state in which the sheet is transported onto the transport belt, (b) the state in which one edge of the sheet is abutted, and (c) the state in which the other edge of the sheet is abutted. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram explaining the timing of releasing the nip of the conveying rollers when the sheet is long, showing (a) the state in which the sheet is conveyed onto the conveying belt, and (b) the state in which the nip of the downstream conveying rollers is released. [Figure 14] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the intermediary transport device according to the embodiment, in a state where the opposing members are in an opposing position. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the intermediary transport device according to the embodiment, in a state where the opposing member is [Figure 16]11 is a cross-sectional view of the intermediary conveying device showing a state in which the opening and closing guide is open and the sheet is being pressed by the rear side regulating guide according to the embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 16. First, the image forming system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 1.

[0012] [Image formation system] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an image forming system including a multi-stage feeding device and an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the following description, an image forming apparatus having an image forming section will be described by taking an example of a laser printer system (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer) using an electrophotographic method. Note that the image forming apparatus constituting the image forming system may be a copier, a facsimile, a multifunction machine, etc., in addition to a printer. Also, the image forming apparatus may be configured using other methods such as an inkjet method, regardless of the electrophotographic method.

[0013] The image forming system 1000 of this embodiment includes an image forming apparatus 100, a multi-stage feeding apparatus 200 as a sheet feeding apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus 100, and a feeding deck 500. As described in detail below, the multi-stage feeding apparatus 200 has a plurality of storage chambers each capable of storing a plurality of sheets, and can feed sheets from each storage chamber to the image forming apparatus 100. The feeding deck 500 also has a storage chamber capable of storing a plurality of sheets, and is disposed upstream of the multi-stage feeding apparatus 200 in the sheet conveying direction. The sheets fed from the feeding deck 500 are conveyed to the image forming apparatus 100 via an intermediate conveying apparatus 400 provided in the multi-stage feeding apparatus 200. Examples of the sheets include plain paper, thin paper, thick paper, and other paper, and plastic sheets.

[0014] The image forming apparatus 100 forms a toner image (image) on a sheet in response to an image signal from a document reading device 102 connected to the image forming apparatus main body 101 or a host device such as a personal computer communicably connected to the image forming apparatus main body 101. In this embodiment, the document reading device 102 is disposed on the upper side of the image forming apparatus main body 101.

[0015] When reading an original, the original reading device 102 irradiates light from a scanning optical system light source onto an original placed on a platen glass 103, and the reflected light is input to a CCD to read the original image. The original reading device 102 also includes an automatic document feeder (ADF) 104, and the original placed on a tray 105 can be automatically conveyed by the ADF 104 to a reading section of the original reading device 102 to read the original image. The read original image is then converted into an electrical signal and transmitted to a laser scanner 113 of an image forming section 110, which will be described later. Note that the laser scanner 113 may also receive image data transmitted from a personal computer or the like, as described above.

[0016] Image forming apparatus 100 includes image forming section 110, a plurality of sheet feeding devices 120, sheet conveying device 130, etc. Each section of image forming apparatus 100 is controlled by control section 140. Control section 140 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The CPU controls each section while reading a program corresponding to a control procedure stored in the ROM. In addition, working data and input data are stored in the RAM, and the CPU performs control by referring to the data stored in the RAM based on the above-mentioned programs, etc.

[0017] Each of the plurality of sheet feeding devices 120 includes a cassette 121 for storing sheets S, a pickup roller 122, and a separation conveying roller pair 125 consisting of a feed roller 123 and a retard roller 124. The sheets S stored in the cassette 121 are separated and fed one by one by the pickup roller 122 and the separation conveying roller pair 125 which rotate by moving up and down at a predetermined timing.

[0018] The sheet conveying device 130 includes a conveying roller pair 131 and a registration roller pair 133. The sheet S fed from the sheet feeding device 120 is passed through a sheet conveying path 134 by the conveying roller pair 131, and then guided to the registration roller pair 133. Thereafter, the sheet S is sent to the image forming unit 110 by the registration roller pair 133 at a predetermined timing.

[0019] Incidentally, a sheet conveyed from a multistage feeding device 200 or a feeding deck 500 described later via a pair of conveying rollers 201 is conveyed into the image forming apparatus 100 via a connection path 202 with the image forming apparatus 100. Then, the sheet conveyed from the multistage feeding device 200 or the feeding deck 500 into the image forming apparatus 100 is sent into the image forming section 110 at a predetermined timing via a pair of registration rollers 133, similar to the sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding device 120 in the image forming apparatus 100.

[0020] The image forming unit 110 includes a photosensitive drum 111, a charger 112, a laser scanner 113, a developing device 114, a transfer device 115, a cleaner 117, and the like. During image formation, the photosensitive drum 111 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and first, the surface of the photosensitive drum 111 is uniformly charged by the charger 112. Then, the charged photosensitive drum 111 is irradiated with laser light from a laser scanner 113 that is emitted in response to an image signal, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 111. Furthermore, the electrostatic latent image thus formed on the photosensitive drum 111 is then visualized as a toner image by the developing device 114.

[0021] Thereafter, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 111 is transferred to the sheet S by the transfer device 115 in the transfer section 116. Furthermore, the sheet S onto which the toner image has been transferred in this manner is conveyed to the fixing device 150 where the toner image is fixed, and thereafter, the sheet S is discharged by the discharge rollers 151 onto a discharge tray 152 outside the apparatus.

[0022] When a toner image is formed on the back side of the sheet S, the sheet S discharged from the fixing device 150 is conveyed to a reversing conveying path 160. Then, in a state where the sheet S is turned over by the reversing conveying path 160, it is conveyed again to the transfer unit 116 of the image forming unit 110. The sheet S with the toner image transferred to the back side is conveyed to the fixing device 150, where the toner image is fixed, and then the sheet S is discharged to a discharge tray 152 by a discharge roller 151. Note that any residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 111 after the transfer is removed by a cleaner 117.

[0023] [Multi-stage feeding device] Continuing with the above, an overview of the multistage feeding device 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The multistage feeding device 200 includes a plurality of storage cabinets 210a-210c, an intermediary conveying device 400, etc. In this embodiment, the three storage cabinets 210a-210c are arranged vertically in three stages, and the intermediary conveying device 400 is disposed between the bottom storage cabinet 210c and the second storage cabinet from the top 210b.

[0024] A sheet fed from the topmost storage 210a is transported to a transport path 212, a sheet fed from the second topmost storage 210b is transported to a transport path 213, and a sheet fed from the bottommost storage 210c is transported to a transport path 214. A sheet transported from the relay transport device 400 is transported to a transport path 215. The transport path 213 merges with the transport path 212 midway. The transport paths 212, 214, and 215 merge at a junction 216, and the sheet is transported to the transport roller pair 201 via the transport path 217 and then transported to the image forming device 100 via the connection path 202.

[0025] Further, a multi-feed detection sensor for detecting multi-feeding of sheets is disposed on the conveying path 212 after merging with the conveying path 213, the relay conveying device 400, and the conveying path 214. A sheet for which a multi-feed is detected by the multi-feed detection sensor is conveyed to the conveying path 217. A multi-feed sheet storage section (escape tray) 218 ​​for storing a sheet for which a multi-feed is detected is disposed below the conveying path 217. A sheet for which a multi-feed is detected and conveyed to the conveying path 217 is conveyed to the multi-feed sheet storage section by switching the conveying path by a switching member 219 provided on the conveying path 217.

[0026] Each part of the multi-stage feeding device 200 is controlled by a control unit 203. The control unit 203 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The control unit 203 can communicate with the control unit 140 of the image forming apparatus 100, and controls the timing of sheet feeding by communicating with the control unit 140.

[0027] A sheet fed from the upstream feeding deck 500 is transported to the relay conveying device 400 through a transport path 512. The multistage feeding device 200 is also capable of manually feeding a sheet. A manually fed sheet is transported to a transport path 510 that merges with the transport path 512, and is transported by a pair of transport rollers 511 to the relay conveying device 400 through the transport path 512.

[0028] The relay conveying device 400 includes a misalignment correction unit 410 including a conveying belt 12 and the like, which will be described in detail below. A pair of conveying rollers 401 as a conveying member is disposed on the upstream side of the misalignment correction unit 410 in the sheet conveying direction, and a pair of conveying rollers 402 is disposed on the downstream side of the misalignment correction unit 410 in the sheet conveying direction. The sheet conveyed on the conveying path 512 is sent to the misalignment correction unit 410 by the pair of conveying rollers 401. The sheet is passed to the downstream conveying roller pair 402 after the side registration (misalignment of the sheet width direction edge) and side skew (inclination of the sheet width direction edge with respect to the sheet conveying direction) are corrected by the misalignment correction unit 410. Then, the sheet is conveyed to the conveying path 215 by the pairs of conveying rollers 402 and 403. In this way, the relay conveying device 400 corrects misalignment of the sheet conveyed from the upstream feeding deck 500 or the like, and passes it to the downstream image forming device 100.

[0029] [Relay transport equipment] Next, the relay conveying device 400 as a sheet conveying device will be described. First, the schematic configuration of the relay conveying device 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 6. The relay conveying device 400 receives and conveys a sheet conveyed by a conveying roller pair 401 as a conveying member that conveys the sheet in a conveying direction (predetermined conveying direction) X. That is, the sheet is handed over from the upstream conveying roller pair 401 to the above-mentioned position shift correction unit 410, and after the position shift of the sheet is corrected, the sheet is handed over from the position shift correction unit 410 to the downstream conveying roller pair 402. As shown in FIG. 3, the conveying roller pairs 401 and 402 are each composed of two roller units in which a driving roller and a driven roller are separated in the rotation axis direction. In particular, the width (length in the width direction Y, the distance between the upper end of the upper roller unit and the lower end of the lower roller unit of the two roller units aligned in the rotation axis direction of the conveying roller pair 402 shown in FIG. 3) of the downstream conveying roller pair 402 is larger than the width (length in the width direction Y) of the conveying belt 12. The position deviation correction unit 410 includes the conveyor belt 12, a plurality of spheres 20, a pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B, a guide moving unit 420, and the like.

[0030] The conveyor belt 12 is disposed downstream in the conveying direction X of a pair of conveying rollers 401 as a conveying member that conveys a sheet in the conveying direction X. The conveyor belt 12 is an endless belt stretched over pulleys 11A and 11B, and has a conveying surface 12A extending in the conveying direction X. A motor M1 as a driving source is connected to the pulley 11A on one side, and the conveyor belt 12 is rotated by the driving of the motor M1. The conveyor belt 12 conveys, in the conveying direction X, a sheet that has been handed over to the conveying surface 12A from the pair of conveying rollers 401 on the upstream side in the conveying direction X.

[0031] A plurality of spheres 20 are arranged in the conveying direction X at a position facing the conveying surface 12A of the conveyor belt 12. The spheres 20 are arranged so that their central positions are the central reference position of the sheet. That is, the position where the centers of the spheres 20 are lined up is the central reference position of the sheet. Here, the central reference position is the position where the first sheet and the second sheet (that is, regardless of the size of the sheet) having different sheet widths are both centered in the sheet width direction. More specifically, the spheres 20 are arranged at the central position of the distance between the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B. Note that either one of the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B may be fixed.

[0032] The direction in which the spheres 20 are arranged coincides with the guide direction of the sheet by the guide surfaces 15A (FIG. 6) of the regulating guides 14A and 14B described later. The guide directions of the regulating guides 14A and 14B and the conveying direction X of the conveyor belt 12 are substantially the same.

[0033] In this embodiment, the plurality of spheres 20 are disposed above the conveyor belt 12. The plurality of spheres 20 are capable of rotating in any direction while sandwiching a sheet between the plurality of spheres 20 and the conveyor surface 12A. For this reason, the plurality of spheres 20 are each held by a holding plate 18 disposed above the conveyor belt 12 so as to be rotatable in any direction. That is, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the holding plate 18 is an elongated plate disposed above the conveyor belt 12 along the conveyor direction X at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the conveyor surface 12A, and has a plurality of holding holes 18A spaced apart from each other in the conveyor direction X. The holding holes 18A each hold a sphere 20 so as to be rotatable.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 4, the spheres 20 are exposed from the holding holes 18A, placed on the conveying surface 12A of the conveyor belt 12, and are rotatable in any direction. Each of the spheres 20 abuts against the conveying surface 12A by its own weight. The number of the spheres 20 may be set according to the pressing force required for the sheet conveyed on the conveyor belt 12. Since the sheet is conveyed while slipping on the conveyor belt 12 as described later, the spheres 20 are preferably made of a material such as glass or plastic having a relatively low friction coefficient. In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the plurality of spheres 20 are arranged in one row along the conveying direction X has been described, but the plurality of spheres 20 may be arranged in multiple rows, such as two rows, in the conveying direction X.

[0035] A more detailed description will be given with reference to FIG. 5. The relay conveying device 400 has a holding plate 18 that rotatably holds a plurality of spheres 20, and a conveying belt support member 481 disposed below the holding plate 18. The conveying belt support member 481 is made of a long plate member extending along the conveying direction X, similar to the holding plate 18. As shown in FIG. 5, the conveying belt support member 481 has a central portion 482 in the sheet width direction that protrudes upward, forming a relatively narrow, flat conveying belt support surface 483 over substantially the entire length in the conveying direction X. The conveying belt support member 481 is disposed opposite the holding plate 18 in the vertical direction so that the spheres 20 are positioned at the central position of the conveying belt support surface 483 in the sheet width direction.

[0036] It is desirable to position the sphere 20 at the center of the distance between the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B and at the center of the conveying belt support surface 483 in the sheet width direction, but some misalignment is acceptable as long as it is located opposite the conveying belt support surface 483.

[0037] The conveyor belt support member 481 has side edge portions 484 on both sides of the central portion 482 in the sheet width direction that extend somewhat outward from both ends of the conveyor belt 12 in the sheet width direction, and the outer ends are bent downward and fixed to a lower frame 485 of the relay conveyor device 400. The lower frame 485 has mounting end wall pieces 485a and 485b that extend outward in the sheet width direction at both ends in the conveying direction X, and the mounting end wall pieces 485a and 485b are fixed to the relay conveyor device 400 side (for example, a housing 470 (FIG. 14 described later)) by a suitable fastening means such as a set screw. By supporting the conveyor belt 12 with such a conveyor belt support member 481, the central portion 12B of the conveyor belt 12 is pushed up by the central portion 482 of the conveyor belt support member 481, and the distance between the central portions of the endless conveyor belts 12 facing each other in the vertical direction is longer than the distance between the ends of the conveyor belts 12.

[0038] 5, the holding plate 18 is fixed on an upper frame 486 of the relay conveying device 400. The upper frame 486 has mounting end wall pieces 486a, 486b, 486c, and 486d extending outward in the sheet width direction at both ends in the conveying direction X, and the mounting end wall pieces 486a to 486d are fixed to the relay conveying device 400 (for example, the housing 470) by an appropriate fastening means such as a set screw. As a result, the holding plate 18 and the conveying belt support member 481 maintain a positional relationship in which the plurality of spheres 20 are rotatably held on the conveying surface 12A of the conveying belt 12 at the central position in the sheet width direction of the conveying belt support surface 483.

[0039] A plurality of blocking members 490 are arranged on side edge portions 484 on both sides in the sheet width direction of the conveyor belt support member 481 along the conveying direction X. The outer ends of the blocking members 490 in the sheet width direction extend a predetermined width outward beyond both side ends in the sheet width direction of the conveyor belt 12. An outward blocking surface 491 is provided on the outer end of the blocking members 490 in the sheet width direction, and, for example, when clearing a jammed envelope, a flap portion of the envelope engages with the blocking surface 491 to prevent the envelope from getting caught on the conveyor belt 12.

[0040] The pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are arranged on both sides of the conveyor belt 12 in the sheet width direction Y (in this embodiment, the direction perpendicular to the conveyor direction) intersecting with the conveyor direction X. The pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B can guide both ends of the sheet in the sheet width direction Y (both ends of the sheet width direction) of the sheet conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveyor belt 12 and the sphere 20. The regulating guide 14B arranged on one side in the sheet width direction Y can guide one end of the sheet in the sheet width direction of the sheet conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveyor belt 12 and the sphere 20. The regulating guide 14A arranged on the other side in the sheet width direction Y can guide the other end of the sheet in the sheet width direction of the sheet conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveyor belt 12 and the sphere 20.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 6, each of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B has a side plate portion 15, a lower plate portion 16, and an upper plate portion 17, and an end portion of the sheet S conveyed by the conveyor belt 12 can enter into a space surrounded by these plate portions 15, 16, and 17. The pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are supported by support shafts 421A and 421B (see FIG. 3) so as to be movable between a guide position and a retreat position by a guide moving portion 420 described later. The support shafts 421A and 421B are disposed approximately parallel to the sheet width direction Y, respectively, and support the end sides of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B in the conveying direction X. The pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B can move in the sheet width direction Y along the support shafts 421A and 421B.

[0042] At the guide position, the side plate portion 15 has a guide surface 15A that faces an edge in the sheet width direction Y (sheet width direction edge) of the sheet S that is conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveyor belt 12 and the spheres 20. The guide surface 15A is disposed parallel to the conveying direction X. The guide surface 15A is a surface that is perpendicular to both the conveying direction X and the sheet width direction Y, and in this embodiment, is a surface that is aligned along a substantially vertical direction.

[0043] The lower plate portion 16 is disposed so as to be perpendicular to the side plate portions 15, and has a support surface 16A that supports an edge in the sheet width direction Y of the sheet S conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveyor belt 12 and the spheres 20 at the guide position. The support surface 16A extends in a substantially horizontal direction from the vertical lower end of the guide surface 15A. The support surface 16A is located vertically lower than the conveyor surface 12A of the conveyor belt 12.

[0044] Here, let us consider a case where the support surface 16A and the conveying surface 12A are at the same height, or the support surface 16A is located vertically above the conveying surface 12A. In this case, when a sheet S having high stiffness such as cardboard is conveyed between the conveying belt 12 and the spheres 20 in a curled state (both ends in the width direction Y are lower than the center) as shown in FIG. 6, both ends in the width direction Y of the sheet S are supported by the support surface 16A. At this time, the center of the sheet S in the width direction Y is lifted (bridged), and pushes up the spheres 20. As a result, the conveying belt 12 and the spheres 20 are separated, and the conveying force of the conveying belt 12 is not transmitted to the sheet S, which may cause conveying failure. For this reason, in this embodiment, the support surface 16A is arranged vertically below the conveying surface 12A of the conveying belt 12.

[0045] The upper plate portion 17 has an opposing surface 17A disposed opposite the support surface 16A. At the guide position, the opposing surface 17A is located above an edge in the sheet width direction Y of the sheet S that is conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveyor belt 12 and the spheres 20. The opposing surface 17A is formed approximately parallel to the support surface 16A.

[0046] 2 and 3, the guide movement unit 420 has a first movement unit 420A that moves the restriction guide 14A of the pair of restriction guides 14A and 14B, and a second movement unit 420B that moves the other restriction guide 14B. The guide movement unit 420 also has a motor M2 that generates a driving force to move the restriction guide 14A, and a motor M3 that generates a driving force to move the other restriction guide 14B.

[0047] The first moving section 420A has a pair of pulleys 422A, 423A, an endless belt 424A stretched around both pulleys 422A, 423A, and a connection section 425A that connects the belt 424A and the regulating guide 14A. Similarly, the second moving section 420B has a pair of pulleys 422B, 423B, an endless belt 424B stretched around both pulleys 422B, 423B, and a connection section 425B that connects the belt 424B and the other side regulating guide 14B.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 2, the first moving part 420A is driven by a motor M2 as a driving source, and the second moving part 420B is driven by a motor M3 as a driving source. That is, in the case of this embodiment, the motors as driving sources for moving the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are separate, and the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B can move independently. For this reason, the pulley 422A of the first moving part 420A is connected to the pulley 427A via the connecting shaft 426A, and the belt 428A is stretched between the pulley 427A and the pulley that is rotated by the motor M2. The rotational drive of the motor M2 is transmitted to the belt 424A via the belt 428A, the pulley 427A, the connecting shaft 426A, and the pulley 422A. As described above, the regulating guide 14A is connected to the belt 424A via the connecting portion 425A, so that the regulating guide 14A moves in the sheet width direction Y along the support shafts 421A and 421B when driven by the motor M2.

[0049] Similarly, the pulley 422B of the second moving section 420B is connected to a pulley 427B via a connecting shaft 426B, and a belt 428B is stretched between the pulley 427B and a pulley that is rotationally driven by the motor M3. The rotational drive of the motor M3 is transmitted to the belt 424B via the belt 428B, the pulley 427B, the connecting shaft 426B, and the pulley 422B. As described above, the other side regulating guide 14B is connected to the belt 424B via the connecting portion 425B, and therefore, the other side regulating guide 14B moves in the sheet width direction Y along the support shafts 421A and 421B by the drive of the motor M3.

[0050] In this manner, the motors M2 and M3 are driven to move the regulating guides 14A and 14B to the guide position or the retreat position, respectively. In this embodiment, the motors M2 and M3 are pulse motors (stepping motors), and the positions of the regulating guides 14A and 14B are controlled by the number of pulses sent to the motors. In addition, the regulating guides 14A and 14B each have a home position, and a sensor for detecting the regulating guides 14A and 14B is provided at each home position. Therefore, the positions of the regulating guides 14A and 14B are detected at the home position, and thereafter, the regulating guides 14A and 14B are moved to the guide position or the retreat position depending on the number of pulses sent to the motors.

[0051] In this embodiment, the home position of the regulating guides 14A and 14B is the same as the maximum width sheet receiving position. That is, the regulating guides 14A and 14B can basically move to the home position, the standby position (sheet receiving position), and the guide position. The guide position is, for example, 0.5 mm from the end of the sheet in the sheet width direction Y, but it varies depending on the sheet. Usually, the interval between the regulating guides 14A and 14B narrows in the order of the home position, the standby position, and the guide position. However, in this embodiment, in the case of a sheet with the maximum sheet width (for example, the sheet width (length in the sheet width direction Y) is 330.2 mm), the home position and the standby position are set to the same position. This makes it possible to reduce the size of the device.

[0052] That is, when a sheet of the maximum sheet width is to be received, the regulating guides 14A and 14B operate as follows. First, the regulating guides 14A and 14B are positioned at the home position based on the detection result of the sensor that detects the home position. The sheet is received in this state. That is, the home position and the standby position are the same. Next, the regulating guides 14A and 14B are positioned at the guide position to regulate the sheet. Furthermore, the sheet is positioned at the standby position (= home position) to receive the next sheet, but at this time, the output of the home position sensor is ignored. That is, after passing the home position sensor for the first time, the positions of the regulating guides 14A and 14b are managed by pulse count. When all jobs are completed and a sheet of a different width is to be transported, the output of the home position sensor is checked again, and the regulating guides 14A and 14B are positioned at the appropriate standby position.

[0053] In this embodiment, the motor M1 for driving the conveyor belt 12, the motors M2 and M3 for moving the regulating guides 14A and 14B, and the motors M5, M7, and M8 described below are arranged on the other regulating guide 14B side. In particular, with respect to the conveying direction X, it is preferable to arrange the motors within the sheet conveying range of the position deviation correction unit 410 on the rear side (rear side, one side regulating guide 14B side) of the conveyor belt 12. This is because, as will be described in detail later, a jammed sheet is removed from the front side (front side, other side regulating guide 14A side).

[0054] 3 and 4, in this embodiment, a double feed detection sensor 430 for detecting double feed of sheets is disposed between the upstream conveying roller pair 401 and the conveying belt 12. The double feed detection sensor 430 is, for example, a sensor that detects that two or more sheets are conveyed overlapping with each other by ultrasonic waves. When the double feed detection sensor 430 detects double feed of sheets, the control unit 203 (FIG. 1) of the multi-stage feeding device 200 conveys the double fed sheets to the above-mentioned double fed sheet storage unit 218 via the relay conveying device 400 and the conveying paths 215 and 217.

[0055] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 14 described later, opposing members 450, 460 that face the lower surface of a sheet conveyed by the conveyor belt 12 are disposed between the conveyor belt 12 and the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B in the sheet width direction Y. The opposing members 450, 460 support the end of a sheet if the end of the sheet is conveyed without being supported by either of the regulating guides 14A, 14B. The detailed configuration of the opposing members 450, 460 will be described later.

[0056] The relay conveying device 400 thus configured sandwiches the sheet transferred from the pair of conveying rollers 401 upstream in the conveying direction X to the conveying belt 12 between the conveying belt 12 and the spheres 20. Then, the sheet is conveyed by the rotation of the conveying belt 12. At this time, as described in detail later, both ends in the width direction Y of the sheet conveyed by the conveying belt 12 are abutted against the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B. When the sheet abuts against the guide surfaces 15A, the sheet is conveyed in a direction parallel to the guide surfaces 15A while slipping between the sheet and the conveying belt 12 with both ends aligned with the guide surfaces 15A. At this time, the sheet is sandwiched between the sheet and the conveying belt 12 by the spheres 20, and since the spheres 20 can rotate in any direction, the sheet can move on the conveying belt 12 while slipping in any direction. This corrects the side registration and side skew of the sheet.

[0057] [Regulatory Guide] Next, the detailed configuration of the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B will be described with reference to Figs. 7(a) to (d). Although Figs. 7(a) to (d) only show the regulating guide 14A, the other regulating guide 14B has a similar configuration. As shown in Fig. 6, the regulating guide 14A has a side plate portion 15 having a guide surface 15A, a lower plate portion 16 having a support surface 16A, and an upper plate portion 17 having an opposing surface 17A.

[0058] 7(a) and 7(b), the lower plate portion 16 and the upper plate portion 17 are provided continuously over almost the entire area in the longitudinal direction of the regulating guide 14A. Since the regulating guide 14A is disposed substantially parallel to the conveying direction X as shown in FIG. 2 and the like, the range in which the lower plate portion 16 and the upper plate portion 17 are continuous with respect to the conveying direction X is defined as a predetermined area A. Therefore, in this embodiment, the support surface 16A of the lower plate portion 16 and the opposing surface 17A of the upper plate portion 17 are provided continuously over the predetermined area A with respect to the conveying direction X. The predetermined area A is substantially the entire area in which the sheet is conveyed by the position deviation correction unit 410.

[0059] On the other hand, as shown in Figs. 7(a) to (c), the side plate portion 15 is provided continuously over a guide region B, which is a region shorter than the predetermined region A. In this embodiment, the upstream end B1 of the side plate portion 15 in the conveying direction X (upstream end in the conveying direction) is located downstream of the upstream end A1 of the predetermined region A in the conveying direction X. That is, the upstream end B1 of the guide surface 15A of the side plate portion 15 in the conveying direction X is located downstream of the upstream end A1 of the predetermined region A. The guide surface 15A is also provided continuously up to the downstream end A2 of the predetermined region A in the conveying direction X. Therefore, the position of the downstream end B2 of the side plate portion 15 in the conveying direction X and the position of the downstream end A2 of the predetermined region A in the conveying direction X are substantially the same position in the conveying direction X.

[0060] In this embodiment, a notch 19C is provided upstream of the upstream end B1 of the side plate portion 15. An outer plate portion 19 located outside the side plate portion 15 in the sheet width direction Y is disposed in a part of this notch 19C. The outside in the sheet width direction Y is the side away from the conveyor belt 12 in the sheet width direction Y. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7(c), an inner surface 19A of the outer plate portion 19 is located outside the guide surface 15A, which is the inner surface of the side plate portion 15, in the sheet width direction Y. In addition, an inclined plate portion 19B is provided between the outer plate portion 19 and the side plate portion 15 in the conveying direction X, inclined so as to approach the side plate portion 15 as it goes downstream.

[0061] The pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B are configured as described above, so that the distance in the width direction Y between the inner surfaces 19A of the outer plate portions 19 on the upstream side in the conveying direction X is wider than the distance in the width direction Y between the guide surfaces 15A of the side plate portions 15. For this reason, as will be described in detail later, both end edges in the width direction Y of the sheet transferred from the upstream conveying roller pair 401 to the conveying belt 12 are located between the inner surfaces 19A on the upstream side in the conveying direction X, and are located between the guide surfaces 15A by being conveyed downstream.

[0062] The outer plate portion 19 and the inclined plate portion 19B may be omitted. However, if an end portion in the width direction Y of a sheet transferred from the upstream conveying roller pair 401 to the conveying belt 12 is positioned within the notch 19C, there is a risk that the end portion of the sheet may be caught by the upstream end B1 of the side plate portion 15 when the sheet is further conveyed. For this reason, in this embodiment, the outer plate portion 19 and the inclined plate portion 19B are provided, so that even if the sheet is conveyed deviating from the normal position in the width direction Y, the outer plate portion 19 regulates the position, and further the inclined plate portion 19B guides the end portion of the sheet to the guide surface 15A of the side plate portion 15.

[0063] [Conveyor roller pair contact / separation configuration] Next, referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the contact and separation configuration of the conveying roller pairs 401-403 will be described with reference to FIG. 8, FIG. 9(a) and FIG. 9(b). As described above, the conveying roller pairs 401-403 are arranged upstream and downstream in the conveying direction X of the conveying belt 12, respectively. Each of the conveying roller pairs 401-403 has a driving roller 32 and a driven roller 33 as a pair of conveying rollers. The driving roller 32 is an elastic roller having an elastic body such as rubber provided around a rotating shaft 32a. The driven roller 33 contacts the driving roller 32 to form a nip portion that sandwiches and conveys a sheet. The driving roller 32 of the conveying roller pair 401 can be rotated independently by a motor M4, the driving roller 32 of the conveying roller pair 402 can be rotated independently by a motor M5, and the driving roller 32 of the conveying roller pair 403 can be rotated independently by a motor M6.

[0064] In this embodiment, the conveying roller pair 402, 403 arranged on the downstream side of the conveying direction X of the conveying belt 12 (downstream side in the conveying direction) has a configuration capable of contacting and separating the driving roller 32 and the driven roller 33. The conveying roller pair 402 can independently contact and separate the driving roller 32 and the driven roller 33 by a motor M7, and the conveying roller pair 403 can independently contact and separate the driving roller 32 and the driven roller 33 by a motor M8. Since the conveying roller pairs 402, 403 have the same configuration, the contact and separation configuration will be described below using the conveying roller pair 402 as an example with reference to Figures 8, 9(a) and (b).

[0065] The contact / separation mechanism 31, which brings the drive roller 32 and the driven roller 33 into contact with and separates them, has a compression spring 34 as a biasing means, a support member 35, a motor M7, a separation cam 36, and a link member 37. The contact / separation mechanism 31 corresponds to a roller moving means that can move at least one of the pair of conveying rollers, i.e., the driven roller 33, between a nip position where the sheet can be sandwiched and conveyed, and a nip release position where the pair of conveying rollers are separated from each other beyond the nip position.

[0066] The compression spring 34 is a spring that urges the driven roller 33 toward the drive roller 32. The support member 35 supports the rotation shaft 33a of the driven roller 33, and is supported so as to be swingable about the oscillation shaft 37a. The support member 35 is also urged by the compression spring 34 in a direction that presses the driven roller 33 toward the drive roller 32 about the oscillation shaft 37a. The support member 35 is fixed to the oscillation shaft 37a, and rotates together with the oscillation shaft 37a to move the driven roller 33 in a direction toward the drive roller 32 and a direction away from the drive roller 32.

[0067] The motor M7 rotates the spacing cam 36 via pulleys 38a, 38b and a belt 38c. The pulley 38a is fixed to a drive shaft of the motor M7, and the pulley 38b is fixed to a rotation shaft 36a of the spacing cam 36. The belt 38c is an endless belt stretched around the pulleys 38a, 38b. The spacing cam 36 is an eccentric cam whose center of the outer circumferential surface is eccentric from the center of the rotation shaft 36a, and rotates together with the rotation shaft 36a by being driven by the motor M7.

[0068] The link member 37 is fixed to the swing shaft 37a and is provided so as to be swingable together with the swing shaft 37a. Therefore, the link member 37 rotates in synchronization with the support member 35 via the swing shaft 37a. The link member 37 is disposed so as to come into contact with the separating cam 36 by the support member 35 being biased by the compression spring 34.

[0069] When the separating cam 36 is in the phase shown in FIG. 9(a), the driven roller 33 is pressed against the driving roller 32 by the biasing force of the compression spring 34. The state shown in FIG. 9(a) is the nip position. When the separating cam 36 is rotated, for example, 180 degrees by the motor M7 from this state, the link member 37 is pushed by the separating cam 36 and oscillates counterclockwise around the oscillating shaft 37a as shown in FIG. 9(b). Then, the support member 35 connected to the link member 37 via the oscillating shaft 37a oscillates in the same direction around the oscillating shaft 37a. Since the driven roller 33 is supported by the support member 35 via the rotating shaft 33a, the oscillation of the support member 35 causes the driven roller 33 to separate from the driving roller 32. That is, the driven roller 33 is moved to the nip release position.

[0070] When moving the driven roller 33 from the nip release position to the nip position, the separating cam 36 is rotated a further 180° by the motor M7 from the state shown in Fig. 9(b). The contact and separation mechanism that brings the drive roller 32 and the driven roller 33 into and out of contact with each other may be configured to move both the drive roller 32 and the driven roller 33. In the above example, the contact and separation mechanism is driven by a motor, but the pair of conveying rollers may be brought into and out of contact with each other by another drive source such as a solenoid.

[0071] In the above example, the pair of conveying rollers 402 and 403 on the downstream side in the conveying direction X of the conveyor belt 12 are capable of contacting and separating, but only the pair of conveying rollers 402 may be capable of contacting and separating. Furthermore, the pair of conveying rollers 401 on the upstream side in the conveying direction X of the conveyor belt 12 may be capable of contacting and separating. In this case, only the pair of conveying rollers 401 on the upstream side may be capable of contacting and separating, or the pair of conveying rollers 402 on the downstream side and further the pair of conveying rollers 403 may be capable of contacting and separating.

[0072] [Sheet transport operation] Next, the sheet recoil operation in the relay conveying device 400 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 2, 3, etc., and with reference to Figs. 10(a)-(d) and 11. In this embodiment, the control unit 203 (Fig. 1) controls the motors M2 and M3 (Fig. 2) in accordance with the conveying state of the sheet to change the positions of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B in the sheet width direction Y. As described above, the motors M2 and M3 are controlled to drive the guide moving unit 420 (Fig. 2) to move the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B to the guide position and the retracted position.

[0073] Here, the guide position is a position where the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B can guide the edge in the width direction Y of the sheet being conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveyor belt 12 and the sphere 20. In this embodiment, the guide position is a position where the distance between the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B (between the guide surfaces) is longer than the length in the sheet width direction Y of the sheet being conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveyor belt 12 and the sphere 20.

[0074] Specifically, when the center position of the sheet in the width direction Y coincides with the center position of the guide surfaces 15A on both sides, and the edge of the sheet in the width direction Y is parallel to the guide surface 15A (center reference), the position where the edge of the sheet in the width direction Y and the guide surface 15A are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance is the guide position. This predetermined distance can be set appropriately by the device, but is a distance that allows the sheet to be misaligned within this distance even if the sheet is misaligned. This predetermined distance is, for example, 0.5 mm. That is, at the guide position, the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are each 0.5 mm away from the edge of the sheet in the width direction Y. This guide position can be changed appropriately by the control unit 203 according to the sheet size.

[0075] In this way, since the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are positioned at a position where the distance between the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B is longer than the length of the sheet in the sheet width direction Y at the guide position, the conveying load of the sheet conveyed by the conveying belt 12 can be suppressed. For example, if the distance between the guide surfaces is set to the same as the length of the sheet in the sheet width direction Y, the sheet is conveyed while the end of the sheet rubs against the guide surface, and the conveying resistance becomes large. In particular, in this embodiment, the sheet is conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveying belt 12 and the sphere 20, so the nip pressure for sandwiching the sheet between the conveying belt 12 and the sphere 20 is small. Therefore, if the conveying resistance of the sheet is large, there is a risk that the conveying of the sheet will be delayed or that conveying failure such as the conveying of the sheet will be easily caused. For this reason, in this embodiment, the conveying resistance of the sheet is suppressed by positioning the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B at the guide position as described above.

[0076] As described above, it is preferable to transport the sheet with the central reference and correct the side registration and side skew of the sheet (perform an alignment operation) as described below. This is because, in this embodiment, the sheet is slipped between the transport belt 12 and the sphere 20, and the side skew is corrected while rotating the sheet. That is, by starting the alignment operation at a position where the center of gravity of the sheet S and the center of the regulating guides 14A and 14B approximately coincide (central reference), damage to the sheet during the alignment operation can be reduced.

[0077] On the other hand, the retracted position is a position where the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are retracted from the edge of the sheet in the width direction Y from the guide position. In other words, the distance between the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B in the width direction Y at the retracted position is wider than the distance between the guide surfaces 15A of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B in the width direction Y at the guide position. In this embodiment, the retracted position is a position where the distance between the edge of the sheet in the width direction Y transported with the above-mentioned center reference is 5 mm. Note that the sheet S is delivered to the conveyor belt 12 with the regulating guides 14A and 14B in the retracted position, and the vertical movement of the sheet S in this state is regulated by the support surface 16A and the opposing surface 17A. As a result, even if the sheet S is curled, both end edges of the sheet S can be contained within the area surrounded by the guide surface 15A, the support surface 16A and the opposing surface 17A when the regulating guides 14A and 14B move from the retracted position to the guide position.

[0078] 10(a)-(d) and 11, the operation of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B when two sheets S1 and S2 are continuously conveyed to the relay conveying device 400 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 10(a), when the first sheet S1 is conveyed from the upstream conveying roller pair 401 to the conveying belt 12, the control unit 203 moves the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B to the retreat position. This is because, when the sheet S1 is delivered to the conveying belt 12, if the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are in the guide position, and the sheet S1 is skewed or misaligned in the width direction Y, the edge of the sheet S1 may interfere with either of the regulating guides 14A and 14B, causing a conveying failure of the sheet S1.

[0079] Next, as shown in Fig. 10(b), the control unit 203 causes the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B to reach the guide position from the retreat position, in other words, to move to the guide position, after the rear end (upstream end) of the first sheet S1 delivered from the pair of conveying rollers 401 to the conveying belt 12 passes through the pair of conveying rollers 401. In this embodiment, the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are moved from the retreat position to the guide position when the sheet S1 delivered to the conveying belt 12 is in the predetermined area A (within the predetermined area in Fig. 7(b)). This allows correction (alignment operation) of the side registration and side skew of the sheet S1 to be performed.

[0080] That is, when the sheet S1 is on the upstream side in the conveying direction X, the regulating guides 14A and 14B are located at the retracted position, and both end edges of the sheet S1 are separated from the guide surface 15A. Then, the sheet S1 is conveyed further downstream, and after the rear end of the sheet S1 passes through the conveying roller pair 401, the regulating guides 14A and 14B move to the guide position. Then, the guide surface 15A is brought into contact with both end edges of the sheet S1 in the width direction Y. When the sheet S1 abuts against the guide surface 15A, the sheet S1 is conveyed in a direction parallel to the guide surface 15A while slipping between the conveying belt 12 and the end edge along the guide surface 15A. This corrects the side registration and side skew of the sheet S1.

[0081] In this embodiment, the control unit 203 moves the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B from the retracted position to the guide position while the sheet is being conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveyor belt 12 and the sphere 20. This allows correction of side registration, side skew, and the like of the sheet without stopping the conveyance of the sheet, thereby improving productivity. However, it is also possible to perform an alignment operation in which the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B reach the guide position from the retracted position after stopping the conveyance of the sheet. In this case, although productivity decreases, correction of misalignment and the like can be performed more reliably.

[0082] Next, as shown in Fig. 10(c), when the leading edge of the second sheet S2 transferred from the conveying roller pair 401 to the conveying belt 12 enters the predetermined area A, the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B remain in their guide positions. At this time, the first sheet S1 is guided by the guide surface 15A in the guide area B (Fig. 7(b)). That is, in this embodiment, while the first sheet S1 is being guided by the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B, the second sheet S2 starts to enter the predetermined area A.

[0083] Here, as shown in FIG. 11, upstream of the upstream end B1 (FIG. 7(b)) of the guide surface 15A in the conveying direction X, there is an inner surface 19A of the outer plate portion 19, which is wider than the distance between the guide surfaces 15A. In FIG. 11, the inner surface 19A is inclined toward the guide surface 15A as it approaches the downstream side, but the inner surface 19A may be a surface parallel to the conveying direction X. In any case, since the inner surface 19A is located outside the guide surface 15A in the sheet width direction Y, the distance between the inner surfaces 19A is wider than the distance between the guide surfaces 15A even when the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are in the guide position. Therefore, even if the second sheet S2 in this state enters the predetermined area A while being skewed or displaced in the width direction Y, the end of the sheet S2 is unlikely to interfere with the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B. For this reason, in this embodiment, even if the second sheet S2 is conveyed at the above-mentioned timing, sheet conveyance failure is unlikely to occur, and productivity can be increased.

[0084] Then, as shown in FIG. 10(d), the control unit 203 moves the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B from the guide positions to the retracted positions before the leading edge of the second sheet S2 reaches the upstream end B1 of the guide surface 15A in the conveying direction X. At this time, the alignment operation of the first sheet S1 is completed, and the sheet S1 is delivered to the downstream conveying roller pair 402. Therefore, even if the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are moved to the retracted positions, the posture of the sheet S1 is not affected. In addition, since the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are moved to the retracted positions before the second sheet S2 reaches the guide surface 15A, interference with the upstream end B1 of the guide surface 15A when the end of the second sheet S2 exceeds the inner surface 19A of the outer plate portion 19 can be suppressed, and the occurrence of sheet conveyance failure can be suppressed.

[0085] After that, as described in FIG. 10B and subsequent figures, the control unit 203 moves the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B from the retreated position to the guide position after the trailing edge of the second sheet S2 passes through the pair of conveying rollers 401. In this embodiment, the control unit 203 moves the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B from the retreated position to the guide position after the leading edge of the second sheet S2 passes through the upstream edge B1 of the guide surface 15A in the conveying direction X. Then, the alignment operation of the second sheet S2 is performed. If there are third or subsequent sheets, the operations of FIGS. 10C, D, and B are performed. If it is the last sheet, the sheet is delivered to the pair of conveying rollers 402 as is, and the sheet alignment operation is completed.

[0086] The position of the sheet in the conveying direction X described above can be grasped by the control unit 203 based on, for example, the sheet size, the sheet detection timing of a sensor that detects a sheet somewhere along the sheet conveying path, and the sheet conveying speed.

[0087] In this manner, in the present embodiment, the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are caused to reach the guide positions from the retracted positions after the rear end of the sheet delivered to the conveyor belt 12 passes through the pair of upstream conveyor rollers 401. This makes it possible to prevent the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B from interfering with the sheet when the sheet is delivered to the conveyor belt 12. In addition, since the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are not positioned at the guide positions while the sheet is being conveyed by the pair of upstream conveyor rollers 401, it is possible to prevent the sheet being conveyed by the pair of conveyor rollers 401 from coming into contact with any of the regulating guides and becoming bent.

[0088] Furthermore, since the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are moved to the guide positions after the rear end of the sheet passes through the pair of conveying rollers 401, it is possible to correct the positional deviation of the sheet, for example, without conveying the sheet at an angle and hitting it against the regulating guide. Therefore, it is possible to correct the positional deviation of the sheet without increasing the length for conveying the sheet, and it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the device. In other words, it is possible to correct the positional deviation of the sheet in the width direction Y while suppressing an increase in the size of the device.

[0089] [Thick paper transport operation] Next, the conveying operation of a sheet S3 (e.g., cardboard) having a basis weight equal to or greater than a predetermined value will be described with reference to (a) to (c) of FIG. 2 Here, if the stiffness of the sheet is high, such as a sheet with a basis weight of a predetermined value or more, as described above, when both ends of the sheet are clamped by the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B, or when the sheet is guided with a small gap from the guide surface 15A to perform correction of side registration, etc., there is a risk that the conveying resistance will increase. If the conveying resistance increases, a conveying delay of the sheet will occur. Therefore, in this embodiment, in the case of a sheet such as thick paper, the regulating guides 14A and 14B are brought into contact with the edge of the sheet one by one to correct the side registration or side skew. This will be specifically described below.

[0090] First, in the case of this embodiment, the guide moving section 420 (FIG. 2) can move the regulating guides 14A and 14B independently, as described above. That is, the first moving section 420A (FIG. 2) of the guide moving section 420 can move one of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B, 14A, between a first guide position that guides one end edge of the sheet in the width direction Y and a first retracted position that is retracted from the one end edge of the sheet from the first guide position. Similarly, the second moving section 420B (FIG. 2) of the guide moving section 420 can move the other of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B, 14B, 14B, between a second guide position that guides the other end edge of the sheet in the width direction Y and a second retracted position that is retracted from the other end edge of the sheet from the second guide position.

[0091] 12(a), when a sheet S3 such as cardboard is delivered to the conveyor belt 12, the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are located at the retracted positions. That is, one regulating guide 14A is located at the first retracted position, and the other regulating guide 14B is located at the second retracted position.

[0092] 12(b), after the rear end of the sheet S3 passes through the pair of conveying rollers 401 (FIG. 3, etc.), the control unit 203 moves one of the regulating guides 14A to the first guide position, i.e., causes it to reach the first guide position, and positions the other regulating guide 14B at the second retracted position. That is, the guide surface 15A of one of the regulating guides 14A abuts against one edge of the sheet S3, and the other regulating guide 14B is left at the second retracted position, and the guide surface 15A of the regulating guide 14B is retracted from the other edge of the sheet S3.

[0093] 12(c), the control unit 203 moves the other regulating guide 14B to the second guide position, i.e., reaches the second guide position, and moves the one regulating guide 14A to the first retracted position. That is, the guide surface 15A of the other regulating guide 14B abuts against the other edge of the sheet S3, and moves the one regulating guide 14A to the first retracted position, so that the guide surface 15A of the regulating guide 14A retracts from the one edge of the sheet S3.

[0094] In this embodiment, the regulating guides 14A and 14B are abutted against the edge of the sheet S3 on one side at a time, and while the regulating guides are abutting against the edge of the sheet S3, the regulating guide on the opposite side is retracted from the edge of the sheet S3. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in the conveyance resistance of the sheet S3. Note that the order in which the regulating guides 14A and 14B are abutted against each other is not limited to the above, and the regulating guide 14B may be abutted against the regulating guide 14A first.

[0095] In addition, when the basis weight of the sheet handed over from the conveying roller pair 401 to the conveying belt 12 is less than a predetermined value (e.g., plain paper), as described above in Figures 10(a) to (d), after the trailing end of the sheet passes through the conveying roller pair 401, the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B are caused to reach the guide position from the retracted position.

[0096] [Long sheet transport operation] Next, the conveying operation of a sheet S4 (such as a long sheet) having a predetermined size or more will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 7, and 8, and with reference to FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b). In the case of a sheet S4 having a length in the conveying direction X of a predetermined length or more, such as a long sheet, while the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B corrects side registration or side skew, the downstream or upstream side of the sheet in the conveying direction may be nipped by the pair of conveying rollers. In the state in which the sheet is nipped by the pair of conveying rollers, even if the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are abutted against the edge of the sheet, correction (alignment operation) such as side registration may not be performed sufficiently, or the sheet may be bent. Note that the "predetermined length" of the sheet is a length longer than the distance between the nip point of the upstream conveying roller pair 401 and the nip point of the downstream conveying roller pair 402 in the sheet conveying direction.

[0097] On the other hand, in order to align even a long sheet without being nipped by the pair of conveying rollers, it is possible to increase the distance in the conveying direction X guided by the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B, but in this case, the device becomes larger. Therefore, in this embodiment, when aligning a sheet S4 of a predetermined size or larger, the nip of the downstream conveying roller pair 402 is released.

[0098] As described above, the pair of conveying rollers 402, 403 on the downstream side of the conveying belt 12 can bring the driving roller 32 and the driven roller 33 into contact with or separate from each other (see, for example, FIG. 4). In addition, the contact / separation mechanism 31 that brings the driving roller 32 and the driven roller 33 into contact with or separates them has motors M7, M8 controlled by the control unit 203. Therefore, the control unit 203 can control the contact / separation mechanism 31 to bring the driving roller 32 and the driven roller 33 into contact with or separate from each other.

[0099] In this embodiment, the control unit 203 can execute a nip release operation to move the pair of conveying rollers 402, 403 to the nip release position when the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B is moved from the retracted position to the guide position by the guide moving unit 420. Hereinafter, a specific description will be given with reference to Figs. 13(a) and (b).

[0100] As shown in FIG. 13(a), when the sheet S4 is transferred from the upstream conveying roller pair 401 to the conveying belt 12, the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are located at the retreat position. Then, as shown in FIG. 13(b), the sheet S4 is further conveyed downstream, and after the trailing end of the sheet S4 passes through the upstream conveying roller pair 401, the control unit 203 sets the downstream conveying roller pair 402 and 403 to the nip release position. At the same time, the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are caused to reach the guide position from the retreat position. That is, after the trailing end of the sheet S4 passes through the upstream conveying roller pair 401, the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are caused to reach the guide position. Thus, in this embodiment, the nip release operation is performed at the same time as the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are caused to reach the guide position from the retreat position by the guide moving unit 420.

[0101] The timing of the alignment operation for moving the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B from the retracted position to the guide position and the nip release operation do not have to be simultaneous. For example, if the leading edge (downstream edge) of the sheet has not yet reached the downstream conveying roller pair 402 after the trailing edge of the sheet has passed the upstream conveying roller pair 401, the alignment operation may be started first, and the nip release operation may be performed before the leading edge of the sheet reaches the downstream conveying roller pair 402. In addition, in the case of a long sheet such that the leading edge of the sheet reaches the conveying roller pair 402 before the trailing edge of the sheet passes the conveying roller pair 401, the nip release operation of the conveying roller pair 402 is performed before the leading edge of the sheet reaches the conveying roller pair 402.

[0102] After the alignment operation of the sheet S4 is completed, the downstream conveying roller pair 402, 403 is returned from the nip release position to the nip position, and the sheet S4 is conveyed further downstream by the conveying roller pair 402, 403. Note that the timing for returning the downstream conveying roller pair 402, 403 to the nip position is at the latest before the rear end of the sheet S4 passes the downstream end of the conveying belt 12.

[0103] Furthermore, the control unit 203 causes the pair of conveying rollers 402, 403 to move from the nip release position to the nip position by the contact / separation mechanism 31, and then causes the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B to move from the guide position to the retracted position. If the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B is moved to the retracted position and then the sheet is nipped by the pair of conveying rollers 402, there is a risk that the sheet may be misaligned due to the operation of nipping the sheet. In contrast, since the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B is moved to the retracted position after the pair of conveying rollers 402 etc. nip the sheet, the sheet is guided by the regulating guides 14A, 14B when the sheet is nipped, and it is possible to prevent the sheet from being misaligned accidentally.

[0104] Furthermore, by moving the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B to the retracted position after the sheet is nipped by the pair of conveying rollers 402, it is possible to prevent the next sheet from interfering with the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B when the next sheet is conveyed, thereby improving productivity. The timing at which the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B start moving to the retracted position may be set to be simultaneous with the start of movement of the pair of conveying rollers 402 and 403 from the nip release position to the nip position. By moving the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B to the retracted position as quickly as possible, it is possible to transfer the next sheet to the conveying belt 12 as quickly as possible, thereby improving productivity.

[0105] In this embodiment, by performing the nip release operation in this manner, even if the downstream side of the sheet S4 reaches the pair of conveying rollers 402 and further the pair of conveying rollers 403, the alignment operation can be performed by the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B. Therefore, the alignment operation can be performed on sheets having a predetermined length or more without increasing the size of the device.

[0106] In addition, when the length of the sheet is less than a predetermined length, the nip release operation of the conveying roller pair is not performed during the alignment operation, so that the number of times the conveying roller pair moves toward and away from each other can be reduced. When the conveying roller pair moves toward and away from each other, the components of the conveying roller pair 31 wear out and generate noise. Therefore, by minimizing the conveying roller pair 31 from moving toward and away from each other, wear on the components and noise generation can be suppressed.

[0107] In addition, the nip release operation of the conveying roller pair may be performed during the alignment operation as described above, not only when the length of the sheet is equal to or longer than a predetermined length. This further shortens the length of the position deviation correction unit 410 in the conveying direction X that performs the sheet alignment operation, thereby making the device more compact.

[0108] Here, in the case of a sheet whose basis weight is equal to or more than a predetermined value, as described in Figs. 12(a) to (c), the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are abutted against the sheet on one side at a time to perform the alignment operation. In the case of a sheet whose basis weight is equal to or more than a predetermined value and furthermore, if the sheet is long, the pair of conveying rollers 402 and 403 are set to the nip release position during the alignment operation. That is, the trailing end of the sheet passes through the pair of conveying rollers 401 on the upstream side, and one of the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B moves to the guide position to start the alignment operation, and at the same time, the pair of conveying rollers 402 and 403 are set to the nip release position. Then, after the alignment operation is completed, the pair of conveying rollers 402 and 403 are returned to the nip position. As in the above case, the timing of the start of the alignment operation and the timing of the nip release operation may be different.

[0109] In the above description, the nip release operation is performed by the pair of conveying rollers 402 and 403, but the nip release operation may be performed only by the pair of conveying rollers 402. In addition, in the case where the drive roller 32 and the driven roller 33 of the pair of conveying rollers 401 on the upstream side of the conveying belt 12 are configured to be in contact with or separated from each other, the nip release operation of the pair of conveying rollers 401 may be performed. That is, the control unit 203 may be capable of executing a nip release operation in which the pair of conveying rollers 401 on the upstream side is placed at the nip release position when the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B are moved from the retracted position to the guide position by the guide moving unit 420. For example, in the state of FIG. 13(a), the pair of conveying rollers 401 may be placed at the nip release position, and the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B may be moved to the guide position.

[0110] A more detailed description will be given of the nip release operation of the upstream conveying roller pair 401. The sheet is conveyed by conveying roller pair 511 (see FIG. 4, etc.) further upstream of conveying roller pair 401, and the leading edge of the sheet is nipped between conveying belt 12 and sphere 20, after which the nip of conveying roller pair 401 is released. After that, the rear edge of the sheet passes through conveying roller pair 511, and then regulating guides 14A and 14B reach their guide positions. After that, when the leading edge of the sheet is nipped by downstream conveying roller pair 402, regulating guides 14A and 14B are moved to the retracted positions, and when the rear edge of the sheet passes through upstream conveying roller pair 401, they are returned from the nip release positions to the nip positions.

[0111] Also, all of the upstream and downstream conveying roller pairs 401, 402, and 403 may be configured to be capable of contacting and separating. In this case, the nip release operation of all the conveying roller pairs 401 to 403 may be performed simultaneously with the start of the alignment operation. Alternatively, the timing of the nip release operation of the conveying roller pairs may be made different depending on the length of the sheet and the conveying situation. For example, when the sheet straddles multiple conveying roller pairs during the alignment operation, all of the multiple conveying roller pairs are set to the nip release position during the alignment operation. Alternatively, the nip release operation may be performed in order from the conveying roller pair on the upstream side according to the conveyance of the sheet, so that the sheet is not nipped by any of the conveying roller pairs during the alignment operation.

[0112] Also, the number of pairs of conveying rollers performing the nip release operation may be changed according to the sheet size. For example, the pair of conveying rollers 402 is a pair of first conveying rollers, and the pair of conveying rollers 403 is a pair of second conveying rollers. The pair of conveying rollers 403 is disposed at a position farther away from the conveying belt 12 than the pair of conveying rollers 402. Also, the contact / separation mechanism 31 capable of moving the pair of conveying rollers 403 between the nip position and the nip release position is defined as the second roller moving means.

[0113] In this case, the control unit 203 controls the contact / separation mechanism 31 as the roller moving means and the second roller moving means to operate the pair of conveying rollers 402, 403 as follows. First, when the length of the sheet in the conveying direction is equal to or greater than a second predetermined length that is longer than the predetermined length, the pair of conveying rollers 402, 403 are set to the nip release position when the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B are caused to reach the guide position from the retracted position. On the other hand, when the length of the sheet is less than the second predetermined length but equal to or greater than the predetermined length, only the pair of conveying rollers 402 is set to the nip release position and the pair of conveying rollers 403 is kept at the nip position when the pair of regulating guides 14A, 14B are caused to reach the guide position from the retracted position.

[0114] The above-mentioned operation of the conveying roller pairs 402 and 403 may be performed by the upstream conveying roller pair 401 and the downstream conveying roller pair 402. In addition, in the case where all the conveying roller pairs 401 to 403 are configured to be capable of contacting and separating, and the length of the sheet is a third predetermined length that is longer than the second predetermined length, all the conveying roller pairs 401 to 403 may be set to the nip release position during the alignment operation.

[0115] The above-mentioned basis weight and size of the sheet are based on information inputted by an input unit (e.g., an operation panel) 1001 (FIG. 1) provided in the image forming system 1000. For example, a user inputs information such as the basis weight and size of the sheet accommodated in the feeding deck 500 via the input unit 1001. The control unit 203 determines the basis weight and size of the sheet to be conveyed to the relay conveying device 400 from the input information. The input unit 1001 may be an operation panel provided in any of the image forming device 100, the multistage feeding device 200, or the feeding deck 500, or may be an external terminal such as a personal computer connected to the image forming system 1000.

[0116] Alternatively, the basis weight and size of the sheet may be detected by providing a sensor for detecting the basis weight and size of the sheet on the conveyance path from the feeding deck 500 to the relay conveyance device 400 or within the feeding deck 500 .

[0117] [Action when sheet jam occurs] Next, the operation of the relay conveying device 400 when a jam occurs in which a sheet stops on the conveying belt 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 and with reference to FIGS. 14 to 16. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 14, facing members 450 and 460 that face the lower surface of a sheet conveyed by the conveying belt 12 are disposed between the conveying belt 12 and the pair of regulating guides 14A and 14B in the sheet width direction Y. Of the facing members 450 and 460, the facing member 450 on the regulating guide 14A side is movable between a facing position and a take-out position that is retracted below the facing position, as described later. The facing position is a position that faces the lower surface of the sheet conveyed by the conveying belt 12. On the other hand, the facing member 460 on the regulating guide 14B side is fixed at the facing position.

[0118] The opposing members 450 and 460 have opposing surfaces 450A and 460A that face the lower surface of the sheet at opposing positions, respectively. If the edge of the sheet is not supported by either of the regulating guides 14A and 14B and is conveyed by the conveyor belt 12, the opposing surfaces 450A and 460A support the edge of the sheet.

[0119] 14, the relay conveying device 400 has a housing 470 that houses the above-mentioned positional deviation correction unit 410. The housing 470 has an outlet 471 for removing a sheet from the housing 470 formed in the front of the device, i.e., on one side in the sheet width direction Y. The outlet 471 is provided on the regulating guide 14A side (first regulating guide side) in the sheet width direction Y, and is an opening mainly for removing a sheet stopped on the conveying belt 12.

[0120] 14, the removal opening 471 is located below the conveyor belt 12. On the other hand, as shown in FIG 2, the first moving section 420A and the second moving section 420B constituting the guide moving section 420 are disposed above the conveyor belt 12. As described above, the first moving section 420A and the second moving section 420B have pulleys 422A, 423A, 422B, 423B, belts 424A, 424B, and connection sections 425A, 425B.

[0121] Here, if the removal opening 471 were on the same side as the first moving section 420A and the second moving section 420B with respect to the conveyor belt 12, there is a possibility that the first moving section 420A and the second moving section 420B would get in the way when removing a sheet. For this reason, in this embodiment, the removal opening 471 is provided on the opposite side of the conveyor belt 12 to the first moving section 420A and the second moving section 420B. That is, the first moving section 420A and the second moving section 420B are disposed above the conveyor belt 12, and the removal opening 471 is disposed below the conveyor belt 12.

[0122] While a sheet is being sandwiched between the conveyor belt 12 and the sphere 20 and conveyed, a jam may occur in which the sheet stops on the conveyor belt 12. In this embodiment, such a jammed sheet can be removed from the removal opening 471. For this purpose, the opposing member 450 on the removal opening 471 side is movable between the opposing position shown in Fig. 14 and the removal position shown in Fig. 15. The removal position is a position where the opposing member 450 retreats below the opposing position and the sheet stopped on the conveyor belt 12 can be accessed from the removal opening 471.

[0123] As described above, the opposing member 450 is supported by the link mechanism 454 so as to be movable between the opposing position and the removal position. The link mechanism 454 is a parallel link mechanism having two link members 451 and 452 and pins 451A, 451B, 452A, and 452B that support both ends of each of the link members 451 and 452. The pins 451A and 451B are supported by the housing 470, and the pins 451B and 452B are supported by the opposing member 450. The link member 451 is rotatably supported at both ends by the pins 451A and 451B, and the link member 452 is rotatably supported at both ends by the pins 452A and 452B. The link members 451 and 452 have the same length. This allows the opposing member 450 to move between the opposing position and the removal position while maintaining the opposing surface 450A substantially parallel to the transport direction X (substantially parallel to the horizontal direction in this embodiment).

[0124] In this way, by making it possible to move the opposing member 450 to the removal position while maintaining the opposing surface 450A in a substantially horizontal direction, when the opposing member 450 is in the removal position, the user can easily remove the sheet. For example, when the opposing member 450 is in the removal position with the opposing surface 450A inclined relative to the horizontal direction, the inclination of the opposing surface 450A may narrow the space (access space) for inserting a hand or the like from the removal opening 471 through the opposing member 450 to the inside. In contrast, in the case of this embodiment, for example, when a user inserts a hand or the like from the removal opening 471 through the opposing member 450 to the inside, the insertion space can be widened, making it easier to remove the sheet.

[0125] Further, a gripping portion 453 is provided at the end of the front side (left side in FIG. 14) of the opposing member 450, which the user can grip by hand to move the opposing member 450 between the opposing position and the take-out position. When a sheet stops on the conveyor belt 12, the user opens a door of at least a portion of the multistage feeding device 200 where the relay conveyor device 400 is disposed, grips the gripping portion 453, and moves the opposing member 450 from the opposing position to the take-out position as shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15. This allows the user to access the sheet stopped on the conveyor belt 12 through the take-out opening 471 and the space above the opposing surface 450A of the opposing member 450 at the take-out position.

[0126] At this time, the user may touch the sheet and push the sheet toward the rear, that is, toward the regulating guide 14B (the second regulating guide). In this case, if the rear regulating guide 14B can move further toward the rear, the rear regulating guide 14B may also be pushed by the sheet being pushed, and the sheet may move further toward the rear. If the sheet moves further toward the rear, it may be difficult to remove the sheet.

[0127] Therefore, in this embodiment, the control unit 203 that controls the guide moving unit 420 holds the rear regulating guide 14B at the position when the sheet stops on the conveyor belt. Specifically, a holding current is applied to the motor M3 that generates the driving force to move the rear regulating guide 14B. In this embodiment, the motors M2 and M3 are pulse motors, and are held in a stopped state by being energized.

[0128] Therefore, when the control unit 203 determines that a sheet jam has occurred on the conveyor belt 12, it energizes the motor M3 to hold the position of the regulating guide 14B. As a result, even if a user accidentally pushes the sheet when accessing it, the rear regulating guide 14B is held in that position, so the sheet is prevented from moving further to the rear. As a result, it is easy to remove the sheet stopped on the conveyor belt 12.

[0129] The control to hold the position of the regulating guide 14B may start when the control unit 203 determines that the sheet has stopped on the conveyor belt 12, or may start when a predetermined time has elapsed since the determination. For example, the control unit 203 determines that the conveyance of the sheet has stopped on the conveyor belt 12 when a sensor that detects the sheet downstream of the conveyor belt 12 does not detect the sheet for a predetermined time. A sensor that detects a jam of the sheet may be provided in the sheet conveyance path in the position deviation correction unit 410, and the control unit 203 may determine the stop of the conveyance of the sheet based on the detection result of this sensor.

[0130] Also, the position of the regulating guide 14B may be maintained when or after the opposing member 450 moves to the removal position. In this case, a sensor may be provided to detect that the opposing member 450 has moved to the removal position, and the position of the regulating guide 14B may be maintained at the time when the sensor detects that the opposing member 450 has moved to the removal position, or after a predetermined time has elapsed since this time.

[0131] In addition, in this embodiment, when a sheet stops on the conveyor belt 12, the front regulating guide 14A (another regulating guide) is moved in a direction away from the conveyor belt 12 from the position immediately before the conveyance of the sheet stops. Specifically, the regulating guide 14A on the outlet 471 side is moved further forward as shown by the arrow α in Fig. 15. For example, if the regulating guide 14A can move to a home position that is further away from the conveyor belt 12 than the retracted position in addition to the guide position and the retracted position, the control unit 203 moves the regulating guide 14A to the home position when a sheet jam is detected on the conveyor belt 12.

[0132] In this way, by moving the front regulating guide 14A in a direction away from the conveyor belt 12 when the conveyance of the sheet stops, the user can easily access the sheet stopped on the conveyor belt 12. For example, by widening the gap between the conveyor belt 12 and the front regulating guide 14A, the user can easily insert his / her hand into the gap. Also, if the edge of the stopped sheet is caught in the regulating guide 14A, by moving the regulating guide 14A in a direction away from the conveyor belt 12, the sheet can be easily released from the catch, making it easier for the user to remove the sheet.

[0133] When the sheet conveyance is stopped, the motor M2 that drives the front regulating guide 14A may be stopped to allow the front regulating guide 14A to be moved manually. In this case, the user can move the regulating guide 14A by hand to widen the space for removing the sheet, which also makes it easier to remove the sheet.

[0134] In this embodiment, when the sheet stops on the conveyor belt 12, the control unit 203 moves the rear regulating guide 14B to the removal opening 471 side (removal opening side, front side) in the sheet width direction Y as shown in FIG. 16. That is, the control unit 203 drives the motor M3 to move the regulating guide 14B to the front side as shown by the arrow β in FIG. 16. This causes the sheet to be pushed by the regulating guide 14B and move to the removal opening 14 side, making it easier for the user to remove the sheet. Note that the sheet is nipped between the conveyor belt 12 and the sphere 20, but because this nipping pressure is small, the sheet is pushed by the regulating guide 14B and moves to the front side.

[0135] Here, the timing for moving the regulating guide 14B forward may be the time when the control unit 203 determines that the sheet has stopped on the conveyor belt 12, or may be the time when a predetermined time has elapsed since the time when the control unit 203 determined that the sheet has stopped. In this way, when the control unit 203 moves the regulating guide 14B by determining that the sheet has stopped, as described above, the control for maintaining the position of the regulating guide 14B is not performed.

[0136] The timing for moving the regulating guide 14B forward may be when the opposing member 450 moves to the take-out position or after the movement. In this case, a sensor for detecting that the opposing member 450 has moved to the take-out position may be provided, and the regulating guide 14B may be moved forward at the time when the sensor detects that the opposing member 450 has moved to the take-out position or after a predetermined time has elapsed from this time. In this case, the position of the regulating guide 14B may or may not be controlled to be held at the position when the sheet transport is stopped.

[0137] Alternatively, a button or the like that can be operated by a user may be provided on any of the devices, and the regulating guide 14B may be moved forward by operating the button or the like, or by operating the input unit 1001. The position of the regulating guide 14B may be controlled to be held at the position when the sheet transport is stopped, and the regulating guide 14B may be moved by a user operation.

[0138] Note that the operation of moving the regulating guide 14B forward when the sheet conveyance is stopped is not performed when the stopped sheet straddles the conveyor belt 12 and the pair of upstream conveying rollers 401 (a pair of upstream conveying rollers) or the pair of downstream conveying rollers 402 (a pair of downstream conveying rollers). That is, the control unit 203 does not move the regulating guide 14B when the sheet stops in a state in which it straddles the conveyor belt 12 and the pair of conveying rollers 401 or the pair of conveying rollers 402. This is because if the regulating guide 14B is moved in a state in which the sheet is nipped by the pair of conveying rollers 401 or the pair of conveying rollers 402, the sheet may be damaged or torn.

[0139] However, when a sheet stops on the conveyor belt 12, the restricting guide 14B may be moved forward by moving the conveyor roller pairs 401 and 402 to the nip release position. The fact that the sheet straddles the conveyor belt 12 and the conveyor roller pair 401 or the conveyor roller pair 402 may be detected, for example, by providing sensors for detecting the sheet between the conveyor belt 12 and the conveyor roller pair 401 and between the conveyor belt 12 and the conveyor roller pair 402. That is, when the control unit 203 determines that the sheet has stopped on the conveyor belt 12, if any of the sensors detects the sheet, it can determine that the sheet has stopped straddling the conveyor belt 12 and the conveyor roller pair 401 or the conveyor roller pair 402.

[0140] <Other embodiments> In the above embodiment, the control unit 203 for controlling the relay conveying device 400 is provided in the multistage feeding device 200, but these controls may be performed by the control unit 140 of the image forming apparatus 100. Also, the relay conveying device 400 may be provided with a control unit for controlling each unit of the relay conveying device 400. Furthermore, the sheet conveying device may have another configuration as long as it is a sheet conveying device that can shift the position of the sheet, regardless of the above relay conveying device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0141] 12 conveyor belt / 12A conveyor surface / 14A regulating guide (first regulating guide, other regulating guide) / 14B regulating guide (second regulating guide) / 15A guide surface / 16A support surface / 17A opposing surface / 20 sphere / 31 contact / separation mechanism (roller moving means) / 100 image forming apparatus / 200 multi-stage feeding device / 203 control unit / 400 relay conveying device (sheet conveying device) / 401 ···Pair of conveying rollers (conveying member, pair of conveying rollers, pair of upstream conveying rollers) / 402···Pair of conveying rollers (pair of conveying rollers, pair of downstream conveying rollers) / 403···Pair of conveying rollers (pair of conveying rollers, pair of second conveying rollers) / 420···Guide moving section (guide moving means) / 420A···First moving section / 420B···Second moving section / 450···Facing member / 471···Removal port / M2, M3···Motor (driving source)

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet; a first sheet deck detachably connected to the image forming apparatus, having a first storage case for storing a plurality of sheets, and configured to transport the sheets one by one from the first storage case toward the image forming apparatus; a second sheet deck detachably connected to the first sheet deck, having a second storage case for storing a plurality of sheets, and configured to transport sheets one by one from the second storage case to the image forming device via the first sheet deck; In an image forming system comprising: The first seat deck comprises: a sheet conveying mechanism that conveys the sheet received from the second sheet deck above the first storage toward the image forming device; a position correction mechanism that corrects the widthwise position of each sheet so that the widthwise positions of a series of sheets coincide with one another when the sheets received from the second sheet deck are transported toward the image forming device; An image forming system comprising:

2. The image forming system as described in Claim 1, characterized in that the position correction mechanism is provided above the first storage cabinet.

3. The position correction mechanism a conveyor belt that conveys the sheet received from the second sheet deck in a conveyance direction toward the image forming device; a plurality of spheres arranged along the conveying direction and rotatable together with the sheet conveyed by the conveyor belt; a holding mechanism that holds the sphere and allows the sphere to rotate in any direction while rubbing against a portion of the surface of the sphere; a regulating guide that comes into contact with an edge of the sheet while the sheet is being conveyed by the conveying belt and the plurality of spheres; 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, further comprising:

4. The image forming system according to claim 1, characterized in that the position correction mechanism corrects the position of the sheet during transport of the sheet.

5. The image forming apparatus includes an image forming section that forms an image on a sheet, and a plurality of sheet feeding units disposed below the image forming section; 2 . The image forming system according to claim 1 , wherein the image forming section forms images on the sheets conveyed from the plurality of sheet feeding units and the sheets conveyed from the first sheet deck.

6. The first sheet deck is provided with another sheet transport mechanism that transports the sheet transported from the first storage to the image forming device, 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the separate sheet transport mechanism transports the sheet transported from the sheet transport mechanism to the image forming apparatus.

Images