US-12623877-B2 - Sheet feeding device and printing system

Abstract

A sheet feeding device includes a sheet stacker, a conveyor, a sensor, circuitry, and a changing unit. The conveyor conveys a sheet from the sheet stacker by suction. The sensor detects a state of the sheet before the sheet is conveyed from the sheet stacker. The circuitry determines the state of the sheet based on a detection result of the sensor. The changing unit changes a passage to convey the sheet based on a determination result.

Inventors

• Sota YAMADA

Assignees

• Sota YAMADA

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20250115

Priority Date

20240322

Claims (7)

1. 1 . A sheet feeding device, comprising: a sheet stacker; a conveyor to convey a sheet from the sheet stacker by suction; a sensor to detect a state of the sheet before the sheet is conveyed from the sheet stacker; circuitry configured to determine the state of the sheet based on a detection result of the sensor; and a changing unit to change a passage to convey the sheet based on a determination result.
2. 2 . The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor detects the state of the sheet picked up and separated from another sheet on the sheet stacker.
3. 3 . The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor detects the state of the sheet between a time the sheet is sucked by the conveyor and a time the sheet reaches the changing unit.
4. 4 . The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of sensors including the sensor on the sheet stacker, wherein at least one of the plurality of sensors is a range finder.
5. 5 . The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of sensors including the sensor at positions corresponding to four corners of the sheet, wherein the plurality of sensors include: optical sensors upstream in a sheet conveyance direction in which the sheet is conveyed; and range finders downstream in the sheet conveyance direction.
6. 6 . The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 , wherein the conveyor is an air pick belt to convey the sheet by suction.
7. 7 . A printing system, comprising: the sheet feeding device according to claim 1 ; and an image forming apparatus to form an image on the sheet conveyed by the sheet feeding device.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This patent application is based on and claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119 (a) to Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-047108, filed on Mar. 22, 2024, in the Japan Patent Office, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. BACKGROUND Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a sheet feeding device and a printing system. Related Art When an inferior (folded or torn) sheet of paper is set in a sheet feeding apparatus, the sheet may collide with a passage through which the sheet is conveyed for printing and cause a paper jam. The paper jam during printing causes downtime of machine printing due to the removal of the sheet and the resuming of printing. Therefore, it is important to detect the state of a sheet that may cause a paper jam and remove an abnormal sheet in advance. SUMMARY According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a sheet feeding device includes a sheet stacker, a conveyor, a sensor, circuitry, and a changing unit. The conveyor conveys a sheet from the sheet stacker by suction. The sensor detects a state of the sheet before the sheet is conveyed from the sheet stacker. The circuitry determines the state of the sheet based on a detection result of the sensor. The changing unit changes a passage to convey the sheet based on a determination result. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a printing system includes the sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus to form an image on the sheet conveyed by the sheet feeding device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete appreciation of embodiments of the present disclosure and many of the attendant advantages and features thereof can be readily obtained and understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a side view of a printing system, illustrating an overall configuration of the printing system; FIG. 2 is a side view of a connectable sheet feeding apparatus, illustrating a configuration of the connectable sheet feeding apparatus; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an air sheet feeding device, illustrating a configuration of the air sheet feeding device; FIG. 4 is an illustration of a side configuration of the air sheet feeding device of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the air sheet feeding device included in the printing system of FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the air sheet feeding device included in the printing system of FIG. 1; FIGS. 7A to 7C are diagrams illustrating an example of detection of a sheet state in the air sheet feeding device included in the printing system of FIG. 1; and FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process to change conveyance passages in the air sheet feeding device included in the printing system of FIG. 1. The accompanying drawings are intended to depict embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be interpreted to limit the scope thereof. The accompanying drawings are not to be considered as drawn to scale unless explicitly noted. Also, identical or similar reference numerals designate identical or similar components throughout the several views. DETAILED DESCRIPTION In describing embodiments illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure of this specification is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents that have a similar function, operate in a similar manner, and achieve a similar result. Referring now to the drawings, embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term “connected/coupled” includes both direct connections and connections in which there are one or more intermediate connecting elements. For the sake of simplicity, like reference signs denote like elements such as parts and materials having the same functions, and redundant descriptions thereof are omitted unless otherwise required. In the following description, suffixes Y, M, C, and K denote colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, respectively. To simplify the description, these suffixes are omitted unless necessary. Embodiments of a sheet feeding device, an image forming apparatus, and a printing system will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a printing system, illustrating an overall configuration of the printing system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of a connectable sheet feeding apparatus, illustrating a configuration of the connectable sheet feeding apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an air sheet feeding