Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Yasushi Matsutomo

Yoshiaki Hiramoto

Takashi Kubo

Yasuaki Fukada

Minoru Tomiyori

Susumu Hashimoto

Shigeru Yoshida

Susumu Murakami

Yasuhiro Takai

Haruo Sayama

Michihiro Yamashita

Yuriko Kamei

Yoshiaki Ibuchi

Hideshi Izumi

Yoshinori Shiraishi

Motoaki Okitsu

Hidetoshi Kaneko

Kiwamu Morita

Yoshinori Hayashi

Kenji Nakanishi

Masanobu Deguchi

Yoshie Iwakura

Tomohiko Okada

Kimihide Tsukamoto

Mitsuru Ogura

Takateru Yamamoto

Naoyuki Kamei

Yasunobu Ohkawa

Tatsuya Shinkawa

Hiroaki Hori

Hideo Yoshikawa

Motokazu Nakao

Masatsugu Hatanaka

Tadaaki Kawano

Takashi Makiura

Yoshifumi Maitani

Haruyoshi Migita

Yoshinobu Okumura

Hidenori Ohnishi

Yoshiyuki Nagai

Seiichi Kizu

Akira Kohno

Shinichiro Hiraoka

Kayo Kamei

Kunihiko Sakaguchi

Atsushi Saito

Kouji Aoki

An image forming apparatus includes a feeding portion, an image forming portion, a discharge portion, a paper transport path, a plurality of detection members, and a control portion. The image forming portion forms images on sheets of paper fed from the feeding portion. The path transports paper from the feeding portion to the discharge portion via the image forming portion. The detection members detect transport state of paper at respective locations on the path including the feeding portion, between the feeding and image forming portions, within the image forming portion, between the image forming and discharge portions, and the discharge portion. Upon detection of paper jam at any of the locations, the control portion displays, on an indicator, information identifying a location where the jam has occurred, and the image forming portion where paper is detected by the detection members, as locations of paper to be eliminated from the path.

Image forming apparatus

A sheet feeder has a feed passage and includes feed roller pairs, sensors, and a controller. The feed roller pairs are arranged along the feed passage and feed sheets of paper in a feed direction along the passage by nipping the sheets. Each of the sensors is fitted at or near one of the feed roller pairs and senses a specified point on each of the sheets when the sheet is nipped by at least the associated roller pair. The controller includes a memory for storing reference feed timings as proper feed timings at each of which the specified points on the sheets should pass one of the sensors. The controller finds the real feed timing when each of the sensors senses the specified point on the sheet nipped by at least the associated roller pair. When each of the sensors senses the specified point on the sheet nipped by at least the associated roller pair, the controller finds the time difference between the associated reference feed timing and the associated real feed timing and controls, according to the found time difference, the feed speed at which the feed roller pair or pairs nipping the sheet feed it.

Sheet feeder

Mechanism unit(s) functioning as automatic-feed cassette(s) and mechanism unit(s) functioning as manual-feed tray(s) together form a single integral module, constituting a hybrid paper supply module. A plurality of hybrid paper supply modules are stacked together to constitute a paper supply mechanism. Manual-feed tray(s) with which manual-feed mechanism unit(s) of respective hybrid paper supply module(s) is or are provided is or are maintained in stored state(s) as a result of electromagnetic attraction produced by electromagnet(s). In correspondence to image forming condition(s), electromagnetic attraction at one electromagnet is terminated, causing manual-feed tray(s) to assume deployed state(s). Furthermore, primary path(s) passing vertically through module interior(s) is or are formed so as to permit transport of recording paper toward printing unit(s) of hybrid device(s) regardless of from which hybrid paper supply module(s) it is that recording paper is taken up.

Hybrid paper supply module and image forming apparatus equipped with such hybrid paper supply module, and also paper supply mechanism and image forming apparatus equipped with such paper supply mechanism

A paper processing device includes a processing unit, a paper ejection roller, a sorting mechanism, a paper overlapping mechanism, and a control unit. The processing unit performs predetermined processing upon sheets of paper being conveyed one at a time along a paper conveyance direction. The roller discharges the sheets in the paper conveyance direction, after completion of processing by the processing unit. The sorting mechanism shifts the roller to and fro between an initial position and a sorting position in a direction orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction. The overlapping mechanism superimposes, between the processing unit and the roller in the paper conveyance direction, a predetermined number of sheets of paper upon which processing has been completed. The control unit superimposes a predetermined number of sheets of paper by operating the overlapping mechanism, before shifting the roller from the initial position to the sorting position with the sorting mechanism.

Paper processing device, paper processing method and image forming apparatus

In an image forming apparatus in which a scanner portion is disposed in an upper portion of the apparatus, a paper cassette is disposed in a lower portion of the apparatus, and a print portion is disposed between the scanner portion and the paper cassette, in one embodiment, a paper post-processing portion that performs paper post-processing for paper transported from the apparatus main body after printing is disposed in a space of the apparatus main body formed by the scanner portion, the print portion, and the paper cassette. Provided in a discharge roller portion that discharges paper from the paper post-processing portion to a discharge tray are a drive roller, and a first idler roller and second idler roller that form a pair with the drive roller and can be selectively used when discharging paper to the discharge tray.

Image forming apparatus with pair of selectable idler rollers for discharging copies based on a post-process

Mechanism unit(s) functioning as automatic-feed cassette(s) and mechanism unit(s) functioning as manual-feed tray(s) together form a single integral module, constituting a hybrid paper supply module. In such constitution, paper transport path(s) may be formed between or among first guide member(s) provided at automatic-feed cassette mechanism unit(s) and second guide member(s) provided at manual-feed mechanism unit(s), and manual-feed mechanism unit(s) may be pulled outward and to side(s) of apparatus(es) so as to cause paper transport path(s) to be opened up to the exterior, facilitating removal of jammed paper. Furthermore, given such constitution, a plurality of hybrid paper supply modules may be stacked together to constitute a paper supply mechanism. Manual-feed tray(s) with which manual-feed mechanism unit(s) of respective hybrid paper supply module(s) is or are provided may be collapsible so as to permit extension and/or retraction. This will permit manual-feed tray(s) to be able to accommodate a plurality of types of recording media.

An exposure device is provided with a shutter member having a slit. The shutter member is provided between a member to be scanned and a housing of a main device unit that has an optical transmission member. The shutter member is freely movable between an open position at which the slit is in opposition to the optical transmission member and a shut position at which the slit is not in opposition to the optical transmission member, and a light beam is irradiated through the optical transmission member and the slit to the member to be scanned. Furthermore, in the exposure device, a depressed portion is provided below the slit, and an aperture portion of the depressed portion is in opposition to the slit at least in a state where the shutter member is moved to the shut position at which a light path of the light beam is shut.

Exposure device and image forming apparatus

Mechanism unit(s)functioning as automatic-feed cassette(s) and mechanism unit(s)functioning as manual-feed tray(s) together form a single integral module, constituting hybrid paper supply module. Manual-feed mechanism unit(s)is or are arranged below transport paths, which extend toward printing unit(s). Furthermore, path(s) along which recording paper P taken up from automatic-feed cassette mechanism unit(s)is transported and path(s) along which recording paper P taken up from manual-feed mechanism unit(s)is transported are made to intersect within the module, decreasing length(s) of respective path(s).

Hybrid paper supply module and image forming apparatus equipped with such hybrid paper supply module

A roller turning force generator is connected to a driving gear which is mounted on a shaft. The shaft is connected to offset roller assemblies disposed in an offset mechanism via connecting gears. The offset roller assemblies rotatably supported inside the offset mechanism are turned by a driving force transmitted from the roller turning force generator to discharge individual sheets of a printing medium in a sheet transport direction. The offset mechanism is linked to an offsetting force generator so that the offset mechanism can be shifted along a direction perpendicular to the sheet transport direction.

Sheet delivery mechanism for image forming apparatus

A sheet delivery mechanism designed to discharge successive sheets to different delivery positions includes offset rollers, an offset unit, an offsetting force generator and an offset unit swinging mechanism. The offset rollers is rotatably supported by the offset unit to discharge each sheet in a sheet transport direction. The offsetting force generator produces a driving force for shifting the offset unit back and forth along a direction perpendicular to the sheet transport direction between a reference position and offset positions. The offset unit swinging mechanism swings the offset unit about an axis parallel to rotary shafts of the offset rollers in such a manner that a sheet output direction in which the offset rollers eject each sheet varies to a direction pointing away from a sheet delivery tray when the offset unit is shifted along the direction perpendicular to the sheet transport direction by the offsetting force generator.

Sheet delivery mechanism

A front access type image forming apparatus includes an image scanning section located at an upper part of a housing of the apparatus for obtaining image information from an original, a sheet feeding section located at a lower part of the housing, and an image forming section disposed between the image scanning section and the sheet feeding section at one side of the housing. The image scanning section, the image forming section and the sheet feeding section together form a generally U shape in frontal cross section, a sheet delivery portion being formed between the image scanning section and the sheet feeding section. The length of a sheet delivery tray as measured along a sheet transport direction is made smaller than the length of a maximum printable sheet size so that large-sized printed sheets discharged onto the sheet delivery tray stick out from one side of the apparatus.

Front and side surfaces of an image forming device are provided with a front cover and a side cover, respectively, which cover an image forming section, and which can opened and closed. A supporting hinge of the side cover is provided along a lateral edge thereof toward the rear of the main body of the device, and the side cover opens to widely expose a lower portion of the image forming section. Further, by means of an obstructing body provided integrally with the front cover, the and side covers are given an order of opening and closing.

Image forming device having front and side covers

A pair of drive conveyer rollers are provided for a platen that guides recording media. The follower conveyer roller is supported by a roller support plate which is coupled at its side with a lever so that the rotation of this lever is able to press the platen downward. When the paired drive conveyer rollers hold recording paper between them, the follower conveyer roller moves upward, which causes the roller support plate to rotate. This rotational force is transmitted to the lever so that the platen is pressed down to thereby adjust the gap between the printer head and the platen appropriately.

Ink jet device with movable platen

An image-forming apparatus is provided which includes a document reading section for reading image information from a document, and an image-forming section for forming an image on a sheet of paper based upon the image information of the document read by the document reading section. A space section is formed below the document reading section, which accommodates the image-forming section and serves as a discharge section to which the sheet of paper bearing the image formed in the image-forming section is discharged. The space section is surrounded by peripheral walls of an apparatus main body including the image-forming section. The image-forming apparatus further includes a paper post-treatment section that subjects the sheet of paper bearing the image to post-treatments, such as an adjustment process and a stapling process, in a virtually horizontal state, and that is placed between the document reading section and the space section.

Image forming apparatus with paper post-treatment device

Front and side surfaces of an image forming device are provided with a front cover and a side cover, respectively, which cover an image forming section, and which can be opened and closed. A supporting hinge of the side cover is provided along a lateral edge thereof toward the rear of the main body of the device, and the side cover opens to widely expose a lower portion of the image forming section. Further, by means of an obstructing body provided integrally with the front cover, the front and side covers are given an order of opening and closing.

Image forming device having internal access capability

Growing community of inventors

Nara, Japan

Yasushi Matsutomo