SHEET TRANSPORT DIRECTION SWITCHING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure accurate pivotal operation of a rotary guide member with a reduced parts count to contribute to a reduction in manufacturing costs.SOLUTION: A sheet transport direction switching device includes: a rotary guide member 30 with one guide passage 320 for passing a sheet P to be transported, and operable to change the posture thereof by pivotal movement about a guide shaft 34 extending in a width direction of the sheet P perpendicular to a transport direction so that a discharge port 351 of the guide passage 320 faces one of at least two discharge destinations (an in-body discharge tray 151 and an external tray 152); and a posture changing mechanism 50 for changing the posture of the rotary guide member 30. The posture changing mechanism 50 has a stepping motor 51 for pivotally moving the rotary guide member 30 in forward or backward direction about the guide shaft 34.