JPH08225183A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an inexpensive compact image forming device which quietly conveys paper in any direction without any deflecting at any conveying position, surely complies with increase in speed by reducing a load of paper, and forms an image. CONSTITUTION: An image forming device, in which sheet paper is conveyed and image formation is carried out, is provided with a spherical roller 2 conveying sheet paper 1, a holding means 3 holding the spherical roller 2 rotationally, and a rotational driving means 4 rotationally driving the spherical roller 2 in the conveying direction of the paper 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a copying machine, a facsimile,
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a scanner, or a multi-function peripheral having these functions, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus that conveys a sheet-shaped sheet such as a document or a transfer sheet to form an image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional image forming apparatus, a discharge roller is used as a discharge device for discharging a sheet such as a transfer sheet on which an image has been formed or a document that has been read to a sheet discharge receiver arranged outside the apparatus. A technique and the like for changing the discharge direction by moving the gears or the like, or changing the direction of a plurality of rollers by a solenoid and shifting the discharge direction to discharge in a direction different from the normal discharge direction are known. (See JP-A-2-23153). However, in such a conventional delivery method of ejected paper, the ejected paper is directed in an oblique direction because the ejected paper direction is changed by changing the direction of the rollers, etc., so that the ejected paper is received. It becomes necessary to increase the dimension width of the paper discharge tray, and the apparatus becomes large in size, and since the worm gear and the like and the bearing portion are provided, it is difficult to respond to the operation and noise is generated. Also, since the solenoid is expensive,
There was a problem that it would be expensive.

In addition, as a means for restricting the skew of the copy sheet that occurs when the sheet is conveyed in a copying machine, the sheet is bent while the tip of the sheet is in contact with the nip portion of the roller pair located in the conveying path. There is also known a technique for eliminating the skew by (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 23153/1990). Further, floating of the paper when the paper is conveyed with its side edges aligned with the side edges of the paper conveyance path in the copying machine is prevented by placing a rollable ball on the paper. In order to prevent the interruption of the contact state of the ball and to shorten the interruption time, there is known a technique in which a biasing means of a roller biased by a spring is pressed from the side opposite to the side where the ball comes into contact (special feature: See JP-A-56-60455, JP-A-57-62138, JP-A-57-90343, and JP-A-3-138245). However, in such a conveyance method such as skew regulation of the sheet, since the sheet is loosened and the leading edge is regulated, an extra load is applied to the sheet and the leading edge of the sheet is not bent or wrinkled, and Since an extra space above and below and an urging means are required to loosen the sheet, the image forming apparatus has a problem that the sheet is not only liable to be bent at the leading edge and wrinkles, but also becomes large in size.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus, the position of paper discharge is limited and the paper discharge direction is oblique, and the paper is conveyed when the leading end of the paper is bent or wrinkles occur. There have been problems that defects occur, the response to operations such as paper ejection is slow, noise is generated by gears, etc., and the apparatus becomes large.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention is to solve such a problem. That is, the present invention does not limit the conveyance direction, and the paper does not face in an oblique direction, further reduces the load on the paper, surely corresponds to high speed, and conveys the paper with low noise to display an image. An object is to provide a small-sized and inexpensive image forming apparatus to be formed.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 1 is an image forming apparatus which conveys a sheet of paper to form an image, and a spherical sheet which conveys the sheet of paper. The most main feature is that the image forming apparatus has a roller, a holding unit that rotatably holds the spherical roller, and a rotation driving unit that rotationally drives the spherical roller in the transport direction of transporting the sheet. It is a thing. A second aspect of the present invention is mainly characterized in that, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the spherical roller is configured to face a driven roller that is driven to rotate. A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the holding means is configured to rotatably hold the spherical roller in a recess. .

The present invention according to claim 4 relates to claim 1, 2 or 3.
In the described image forming apparatus, the main feature of the spherical roller is that at least the surface thereof is covered with a friction member. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first, second, third, or fourth aspect, the rotation driving means is configured to rotate by driving a cylindrical cylindrical roller into contact with the spherical roller. This is the main feature. The present invention according to claim 6 relates to claims 1, 2 and
In the image forming apparatus described in item 3, 4 or 5, the cylindrical roller is mainly characterized in that at least the surface thereof is covered with a friction member.

The present invention according to claim 7 relates to claim 1, 2, 3,
The main feature of the image forming apparatus described in 4, 5, or 6 is that one or the other of the spherical roller and the driven roller is a magnet or a magnetic body. The present invention according to claim 8 relates to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7.
In the image forming apparatus described in the above, the spherical roller is provided in a sheet discharging portion to which the sheet is conveyed, and is rotationally driven in a plurality of directions by the rotation driving means to convey and distribute the sheet to a plurality of positions. The main feature is that it is configured. The present invention according to claim 9 relates to claim 1, 2,
In the image forming apparatus described in 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8, the spherical roller is provided on the upstream side of the registration roller to which the paper is conveyed, and the skew of the paper is corrected by the rotation driving means. The main feature is that the structure is rotationally driven as described above.

[0009]

According to the invention of claim 1, the sheet-like paper is
Since the spherical roller driven by the rotation driving means conveys in the conveying direction, the conveying direction is not limited, and the conveying position can be selected without facing the oblique direction, and the paper load is reduced. Images can be formed with low noise corresponding to high-speed conveyance. According to the second aspect of the invention, the sheet-shaped paper is conveyed in the conveying direction by the spherical roller driven by the rotation driving means and the driven roller that is driven to rotate in opposition to the spherical roller. The conveying direction is not limited, and it does not face diagonally,
It is possible to reduce the load on the paper and reliably nips the paper, and to convey the paper with low noise corresponding to high-speed conveyance to form an image.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the sheet-like sheet is conveyed in the conveying direction by the spherical roller which is rotatably held in the recess of the holding means and is rotationally driven. Therefore, the conveying direction is limited. Instead, the selection can be made without facing the diagonal direction, the load of the paper can be reduced, and the paper can be reliably conveyed in high noise and low noise can be formed to form an image. Moreover, the structure is simple and can be made compact. According to the invention of claim 4, since the sheet-shaped paper is conveyed by the spherical roller whose surface driven by the rotation driving means is covered with the friction member, the conveying direction is not limited and the sheet is directed in an oblique direction. It is possible to reduce the paper load, prevent slippage, reliably respond to high speeds, carry with low noise, and reduce the size.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the sheet-like paper is conveyed by the spherical roller driven by the rotation driving means composed of the cylindrical roller. Therefore, the conveying direction is not limited by the simple structure. Selection is possible without facing diagonally, and it is possible to reduce the load on the paper, reliably handle high speeds, convey the paper with low noise, and achieve size reduction. According to the invention of claim 6, the sheet-like paper is conveyed by the spherical roller which is rotationally driven by the rotational driving means whose surface is covered with the friction member. Therefore, the conveying direction is not limited and the oblique direction is not limited. It is possible to reduce the load on the paper, prevent slippage, reliably handle high speeds, and convey the paper with low noise, and to reduce the size.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, one of the spherical roller that is rotationally driven by the rotational driving means and the driven roller is made of a magnet or a magnetic material so that the sheet can pass between both rollers. Since the conveyance direction is not limited, it can be conveyed without facing diagonally, the load of the paper can be reduced and a stable nip force can be secured, and the paper can be conveyed at high speed with low noise, and also downsizing. can do. According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the sheet is conveyed by the spherical roller that is rotationally driven in a plurality of directions by the rotation driving means provided in the sheet discharging section. Therefore, the sheet discharging direction is not limited and the sheet is directed obliquely. The paper can be conveyed without any load, the paper load can be reduced, the paper can be conveyed at high speed with low noise, and the size can be reduced.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, the sheet is conveyed by the spherical roller which is rotationally driven by the rotational driving means provided on the upstream side of the registration roller located immediately before the transfer position. The paper is not limited to being conveyed in an oblique direction, and even if the skew is regulated, the excess load on the paper is reduced to prevent the occurrence of tip folds and wrinkles, ensuring high speed and low noise. Thus, it is possible to convey a sheet and reduce the size.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a main part configuration of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In this electrophotographic copying machine, a surface 8a of an image carrier (photosensitive drum) 8 which is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow A shown by turning on an image formation start button of an operation unit (not shown).
Is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity by the charging charger 9, and an electrostatic latent image is formed by irradiating the charged surface with an original image from the exposure unit 11. That is, the exposure unit 11 reads the read document image information obtained by reading the document image of the document 10b placed on the document table 10a by the document reading unit 10 and receiving the read image information by the light receiving element 10c.
Is output as light information to form the electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image formed on the surface 8a of the image carrier 8 by the exposure unit 11 becomes a toner image by being attached with the toner 13 when passing through the developing unit 12, and is visualized and transferred. The device 14 is rotationally driven to the transfer position where the device 14 is arranged.

On the other hand, the sheet-shaped sheet 1 to which the toner image is transferred is fed from the cassette sheet feeding section 15 in the direction of the arrow B shown in the figure, and is conveyed to the skew correcting means S1 located upstream of the transfer position. It The skew correcting means S1 includes a spherical roller 2 (registration roller spherical roller 2b) rotatably held by a holding means 3 and a cylindrical roller as a rotary driving means 4 which is in contact with the spherical roller 2 and transmits a rotational driving force. 4a1 and driven roller 5 and the like. Skew correction means S
The sheet 1 conveyed to 1 is conveyed to the stop position of the registration roller 7 by the registration roller spherical roller 2b which rotates in the direction of arrow C by the transmission of the rotational driving force from the cylindrical roller 4a1, and the skew of the sheet 1 is caused. Is being corrected.

The transfer roller 14 is arranged on the sheet 1 conveyed to the stop position of the registration roller 7 at the same timing as the position of the toner image formed on the surface 8a of the image carrier 8 by the registration roller 7. To the transfer position, the toner image is transferred to the sheet 1, and the surface 8 of the image carrier is transferred.
It is separated from a and conveyed to the fixing device 17. The sheet 1 is conveyed to the sheet discharge unit 6 after the toner image is thermally fixed by the fixing device 16 to form an image.

Another skew correction means S2 is arranged on the front side of the paper discharge section 6, and the skew of the paper 1 which is about to enter the paper discharge section 6 is first corrected by the skew correction means S2. The skew correction means S2 has a spherical shape as a spherical roller 2 (paper discharge portion spherical roller 2c) rotatably held by a holding means 3 and a rotation driving means 4 which is in contact with the spherical roller 2 and transmits a rotational driving force. It has a roller 4a1, a driven roller 5 and the like. The sheet 1 conveyed to the skew correction means S2 is discharged by the discharge roller spherical roller 2c which rotates in the direction of the arrow D by the rotation driving force transmitted from the cylindrical roller 4a1 to the discharge tray 6a. The sheet is conveyed to the position without being directed obliquely, is conveyed in the direction of arrow E shown in the drawing, and is stacked at the sheet discharge position. On the other hand, after the toner image is transferred onto the sheet 1 at the transfer position where the transfer device 14 is arranged, the surface 8a of the image carrier is scraped off and removed by the cleaning unit 17 from the residual toner 13. It is ready to start the next image forming process.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing an example of the configuration of the skew correction means S1 and S2. The sheet 1 is a registration roller spherical roller 2b (or a sheet discharging portion spherical roller 2c) and a driven member positioned above it. The roller 5 is configured to be passed between the roller 5 and the driven roller 5 which is in contact with the upper surface of the paper when being conveyed by the registration roller spherical roller 2b (the paper discharge portion spherical roller 2c) which is in contact with the lower surface of the paper. It is designed to transport while maintaining the nip pressure. In addition, the paper 1 is adjusted by adjusting the rotational speed of the driven roller 5 that faces the spherical roller 2.
The transport direction can be changed in various ways, and low noise and high speed support are possible.

3 and 4 are a front view and a perspective view showing the structure of the skew correcting means of another embodiment of the present invention. The skew correcting means S1 and S2 are provided above and below the spherical roller 2 and the driven roller 5, respectively. This is different from the above embodiment in that the positional relationship is reversed. The sheet 1 is conveyed while being pressed against the rollers 2 and 5 at the nip portion between the driven roller 5 and the registration roller spherical roller 2b (sheet discharging portion spherical roller 2c), and therefore, the same effect as in the case of FIG. 2 is produced. That is clear.

By forming the resist roller spherical roller 2b and the paper discharging portion spherical roller 2c as the spherical roller 2 and the driven roller 5 with one of the permanent magnets and the other with a magnetic material such as iron, the attraction force between the rollers is increased. Since it works, the pressure applied from the driven roller 5 to the spherical roller 2 is stably maintained, the waste of the conveying force is reduced, and the pressure load on the driven roller 5 can be reduced.

In the case of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the holding means 3 also functions as an upper conveyance guide plate for guiding the sheet 1 in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 4, and in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. Also functions as a lower conveyance guide plate. The holding member 3 in FIGS. 3 and 4 is flat, and the registration roller spherical roller 2b (paper discharge portion spherical roller 2c) is rotatably supported in the hole 3a ′. The holding member 3 of FIG. 2 is provided with a mortar-shaped recess 3a and a hole 3a 'as shown in the drawing, and the registration roller spherical roller 2b (sheet discharge spherical roller 2c) is fitted into the recess 3a. It has a simple and small structure and is rotatably held.

Surfaces 4b1 of a cylindrical cylindrical roller 4a1 and a cylindrical cylindrical roller 4a2 as the rotation driving means 4.
And the surface 4b2 are covered with a friction member such as rubber, and the surface 2a of the spherical roller 2 covered with a friction member such as rubber.
Abut. In this state, the spherical roller 2 is rotated by the rotation driving means 4.
Since the rotational driving force is transmitted so as to convey the sheet 1 in the direction of the arrow F shown in the figure, it is possible to select various sheet ejection directions, and there is no limitation and the sheet is conveyed in an oblique direction. It becomes possible to do. Further, the load applied to the paper can be reduced, and the paper can be conveyed at low noise while supporting high speed.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the skew correction means S is rotatably held by fitting with the recessed portion 3a of the holding means 3 and the spherical roller 2c1 on the front side of the discharge portion. And the paper ejection unit spherical roller 2c2 on the back side, two cylindrical rollers 4a1 that give a rotational driving force in the G direction, which is the conveyance direction of the sheet 1, and a rotational driving force that is orthogonal to the arrow G direction shown in the figure. Since the cylindrical rollers 4a2 are in contact with each other, it is possible to arbitrarily select the rotation directions of the paper discharge portion spherical rollers 2c1 arranged on the front side and the paper discharge portion spherical rollers 2c2 arranged on the rear side.

The rotation driving means 4 (cylindrical roller 4a1) for applying a rotation driving force in the direction of arrow G to the spherical roller 2 (the discharging portion spherical roller 2c1 and the discharging portion spherical roller 2c2) is rotated by a control means (not shown). The rotation driving force is transmitted from the motor 4e as a driving source via the clutch 4c and the transmission shaft 4d, which disconnect or transmit the driving force. Two cylindrical rollers 4a that give a rotational driving force to the rotation direction of the spherical roller 2 in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction G of the paper 1.
2 receives a rotational drive force from a motor 4h as a drive source via a clutch 4f for disconnecting or transmitting the rotational drive force and an intermediate friction wheel 4g by a control means (not shown).

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views for explaining the construction and operation of another embodiment (skew correction means S2) of the present invention. When only the cylindrical roller 4a1 (not shown) is rotated (see FIG. 5), it is ejected. Since the paper portion spherical roller 2c1 and the paper discharge portion spherical roller 2c2 rotate along the G direction in FIG. 5, the paper 1 is conveyed in the H direction and stored on the tray. However, the cylindrical roller 4a
When the cylindrical roller 4a2 (not shown) is driven to rotate at various speeds simultaneously with the rotation of 1 (see FIG. 5), the paper discharge unit spherical roller 2c1 and the paper discharge unit spherical roller 2c2 rotate in different directions in different directions. 1 is conveyed to an arbitrarily selected paper ejection position on the paper ejection tray 6a without being inclined in the paper ejection direction, and divided into front and rear depending on the rotation direction in the illustrated arrow I direction or the illustrated arrow J direction. The sheet is conveyed and ejected to various plural ejection positions.

Therefore, the operation of changing the paper discharge direction of the paper 1 is quick, the position of the paper discharge direction is not limited, the paper discharge direction is not inclined, and the image is formed with low noise and discharged. The size of the paper tray 6a is minimized, and a small image forming apparatus can be provided.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an application example of the skew correction means S1, and a roller 7a as the registration roller 7 is shown.
Two skew correction means S2 are arranged on the upstream side of 7b and 7b along the direction orthogonal to the transport direction K. The registration roller spherical roller 2b1 on the front side and the registration roller spherical roller 2b2 on the back side which configure each skew correction means S2.
Is rotated by a cylindrical roller 4a1 so that the sheet 1 is conveyed in the direction of arrow K shown in the figure.

The sheet 1 is conveyed in the direction of arrow K shown by a registration roller spherical roller 2b1 arranged on the front side of the spherical roller 2 and a driven roller 5 facing the registration roller spherical roller 2b2 arranged on the rear side. When the sheet is skewed, the skewed sheet leading edge 1a may cause the rollers 7a and 7b to
When it reaches the nip portion 7c of the sheet, the registration roller spherical roller 2b2 on the side that first reaches the nip portion 7c is
On the other hand, the registration roller spherical roller 2b1 on the side that does not reach the nip portion 7c continuously conveys, and starts idling when it reaches the tip portion nip portion 7c that has been conveyed with a delay. By doing
Skew is being corrected.

After a sufficient and necessary time for such an operation, the rotational driving force from a rotational driving source (not shown) is transmitted by the clutch 7d, and the registration roller 7 (roller 7).
a, the roller 7b) starts rotating, the skew generated in the sheet 1 is corrected and conveyed to the transfer position of the image forming unit (not shown). Therefore, the sheet 1 is given slack and the leading edge is regulated. Since the skew is corrected and the skew is corrected, an extra load is not applied, and the tip breakage or wrinkle is prevented. Therefore, not only is the sheet 1 reliably conveyed, but also unnecessary upper and lower spaces and urging means for slackening the sheet 1 are unnecessary, and the size can be reduced.

[0030]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the sheet-like paper 1 is conveyed in the conveying direction by the spherical roller driven by the rotation driving means. As a result, the carrying direction is not limited, and the carrying position can be selected without facing the oblique direction, and the load on the paper is reduced, and the image is formed with low noise corresponding to the high speed carrying. be able to.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the sheet-like paper is conveyed in the conveying direction by the spherical roller driven by the rotation driving means and the driven roller which is driven to rotate in opposition to the spherical roller. Therefore, the conveyance direction is not limited, the paper load is reduced and the nip is reliably performed without facing the oblique direction, and the paper is conveyed with low noise corresponding to high-speed conveyance to form an image. You can

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the sheet-like paper is conveyed in the conveying direction by the spherical roller that is rotatably held in the recess of the holding means and is rotationally driven. Therefore, the conveying direction is limited. Instead, the selection can be made without facing the diagonal direction, the load of the paper can be reduced, and the paper can be reliably conveyed in high noise and low noise can be formed to form an image. Moreover, the structure is simple and can be made compact.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the sheet-like paper is conveyed by the spherical roller whose surface driven by the rotation driving means is covered with the friction member, the conveying direction is not limited and the sheet is oblique. Since it does not face the direction, the load on the paper can be reduced, slippage can be prevented, the paper can be reliably conveyed at high speed with low noise, and the paper can be downsized.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the sheet-like paper is conveyed by the spherical roller driven by the rotation driving means composed of the cylindrical roller. Therefore, the conveying direction is not limited by the simple structure. Selection is possible without facing diagonally, and it is possible to reduce the load on the paper, reliably handle high speeds, convey the paper with low noise, and achieve size reduction.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the sheet-shaped paper is conveyed by the spherical roller which is rotatably driven by the rotation driving means whose surface is covered with the friction member. Therefore, the conveying direction is not limited. It is possible to reduce the load on the paper, prevent slippage, reliably support high speed, and convey the paper with low noise, and reduce the size of the paper.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, one of the spherical roller which is rotationally driven by the rotational driving means and the driven roller is composed of a magnet or a magnetic material so that the sheet is passed between the both rollers. Since the conveyance direction is not limited, it can be conveyed without facing diagonally, the load of the paper can be reduced and a stable nip force can be secured, and the paper can be conveyed at high speed with low noise, and also downsizing. can do.

According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the sheet is conveyed by the spherical roller which is rotationally driven in a plurality of directions by the rotation driving means provided in the sheet discharging section. Therefore, the sheet discharging direction is not limited and is oblique. Can be transported without facing the direction,
Further, it is possible to reduce the load on the paper, convey the paper at high speed and with low noise, and achieve size reduction.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, the sheet is conveyed by the spherical roller which is rotationally driven by the rotational driving means provided on the upstream side of the registration roller located immediately before the transfer position. The paper is not limited to being conveyed in an oblique direction, and even if the skew is regulated, the excess load on the paper is reduced to prevent the occurrence of tip folds and wrinkles, ensuring high speed and low noise. Thus, it is possible to convey a sheet and reduce the size.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory view showing a configuration of a main part of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory diagram illustrating a main part of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an essential part of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a state of a main part of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the operation of the image forming apparatus of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating another main part of the image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Paper, 1a ... Paper tip, 2 ... Spherical roller, 2a ... Surface, 2b1-2 ... Registration roller spherical roller, 2c1-2 ... Paper ejection section spherical roller, 3 ...
Holding means, 3a ... hollow portion, 4 ... rotation driving means,
4a1-2 ... cylindrical roller, 4b1-2 ... surface,
4c ... clutch, 4d ... transmission shaft, 4e ... motor, 4f ... clutch, 4g ... intermediate friction wheel, 4
h ... motor, 5 ... following roller, 6 ... paper discharge part,
6a ... Paper discharge tray, 7 ... Registration roller, 7a
... Roller, 7b ... Roller, 7c ... Nip portion, 7d ... Clutch, 8 ... Image bearing member, 8a ...
・ Surface, 9 ... Charging charger, 10 ... Original reading section, 10a ... Original plate, 10b ... Original, 10c
..Light receiving element, 11 ... Exposure means, 12 ... Developing unit, 13 ... Toner, 14 ... Transfer device, 15.
..Cassette feeding unit, 16 ... Fixing device, 17 ... Cleaning unit

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus that conveys a sheet-shaped sheet to form an image, comprises a spherical roller that conveys the sheet-shaped sheet, a holding unit that rotatably holds the spherical roller, and the spherical roller. An image forming apparatus comprising: a rotation driving unit that rotates. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spherical roller is configured to face the spherical roller and a driven roller that is driven to rotate, with a transport path interposed therebetween. 3. The holding means holds the spherical roller rotatably by a hollow portion.
The image forming apparatus described. 4. The spherical roller has a structure in which at least a surface thereof is covered with a friction member.
The image forming apparatus according to 2 or 3. 5. The rotation driving means is composed of a cylindrical roller having a cylindrical shape, and the roller is driven to rotate by bringing the cylindrical roller into contact with the spherical roller.
The image forming apparatus described in 2, 3, or 4. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least the surface of the cylindrical roller is covered with a friction member. 7. The spherical roller or the driven roller, one of which is made of a permanent magnet and the other of which is made of a magnetic material. Image forming apparatus. 8. The spherical roller is provided in a paper ejecting section for ejecting the paper to the outside of the machine, and is rotationally driven in a plurality of directions by the rotational driving means to convey the paper to a plurality of positions for distribution. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7, wherein 9. The spherical roller is provided on the upstream side of a registration roller located immediately before the transfer position, and is rotationally driven by the rotational driving means so as to correct the skew of the sheet. Claims 1, 2, 3, 4,
The image forming apparatus according to 5, 6, 7 or 8.