US 12,221,310 B2
Sheet ejection device, sheet post-processing device including the same and image forming system
Takuya Nishimura, Osaka (JP)
Assigned to KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc., Osaka (JP)
Filed by KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc., Osaka (JP)
Filed on Jun. 1, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/327,588.
Claims priority of application No. 2022-094200 (JP), filed on Jun. 10, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0399189 A1, Dec. 14, 2023
Int. Cl. B65H 29/14 (2006.01); B65H 37/04 (2006.01)
CPC B65H 29/14 (2013.01) [B65H 37/04 (2013.01)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A sheet ejection device comprising:
an ejection roller pair which ejects a sheet from an ejection port in a predetermined ejection direction;
a stacking tray which is arranged on a downstream side of the ejection roller pair in the ejection direction and on which the sheet ejected by the ejection roller pair is stacked;
a protrusion member which protrudes above the stacking tray from the ejection port and is supported to be able to reciprocate between a protrusion position where a tip end of the sheet ejected by the ejection roller pair is brought into contact with an upper surface to be guided in the ejection direction and a retraction position where the protrusion member is retracted from above the stacking tray; and
a movement mechanism which moves the protrusion member in a predetermined movement direction between the protrusion position and the retraction position,
wherein the movement mechanism includes:
a rotation shaft which extends in a width direction orthogonal to the ejection direction and is rotatably supported;
a holding member which is coupled to the rotation shaft and holds the protrusion member movably along the movement direction; and
a rack and pinion mechanism which includes:
a pinion gear supported by the rotation shaft; and
a rack gear including a large number of gear teeth which are formed on a surface of the protrusion member opposite the pinion gear and are aligned along the movement direction of the protrusion member,
in at least a part of the rack gear in the movement direction, a narrow width region is provided which is formed by cutting out a part of the gear teeth in the axial direction and which includes a narrow width gear and a cutout portion,
in the narrow width region, the pinion gear is slidable between a meshing position where the pinion gear meshes with the narrow width gear and a release position where the pinion gear is opposite the cutout portion such that the meshing with the narrow width gear is released and
in a state where the pinion gear has slid to the release position, the protrusion member can be relatively moved with respect to the pinion gear in the movement direction.