JP2000177914A - Paper discharging device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device forming a discharged sheet into a downward protruded U-shape and improving sheet alignment by providing a means blowing air upward to the side edges of the sheet discharged on a paper discharge base. SOLUTION: Printing paper 7 tends to curl in shape as it is separated from a paper discharge means 54, however air is blown to both side edges of the printing paper 7 by an air current generated by a fan 61, and the printing paper 7 flies to a paper discharge base 16 in a downward protruded shape. The printing paper 7 kept in the downward protruded shape stably flies and drops and is regularly loaded on a base plate 33 by the actions of a side fence 34 and an end fence 35. When the printing paper 7 is loaded, the air existing between the dropping printing paper 7 and the printing paper 7 loaded already or the base plate 33 is discharged from holes 36, thus loading is further satisfactorily made.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper discharge device and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a paper discharge device and an image forming device having a structure for improving alignment of stacked sheets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an image forming apparatus such as a stencil printing apparatus, a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, etc., has an image forming section for forming an image on a sheet, and a sheet discharge tray for loading the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus body. In such an image forming apparatus, there is known an image forming apparatus having a conveying unit that conveys a sheet from an image forming unit to a sheet discharge table. In the paper discharge tray, it is necessary to improve the alignment of the sheets to be stacked. For this purpose, the sheet conveyed by the conveyance means and falling to the paper discharge tray is formed into a U-shape that is downwardly convex when viewed from the discharge direction. Is known to be effective. In order to make the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus main body and falling into the sheet discharge tray into a U-shape that is convex downward when viewed from the discharge direction, a member that contacts the side edge of the falling sheet is provided on the side fence. Configuration is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-32932.
No. 7 discloses this. The member provided in the side fence disclosed in the publication is a movable member having a function of rotating by the weight of the sheet and retracting from the sheet conveyance path.

Further, by rubbing a sheet on a sheet discharge tray on which a sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus main body is already stacked, the formed image of the sheet on the sheet discharge tray is disturbed or the leading edge of the discharged sheet is reduced. In order to prevent the sheet from being soiled or disturbing the alignment of the sheets, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-124765 proposes a configuration in which air is fed between a sheet on a sheet discharge table and a sheet to be discharged.

[0004]

However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-32
With the movable member disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 9327, when an image is formed on a small number of thin sheets,
When the sheet is removed from the output tray, the sheet may be damaged by hitting the same member, or the sheet may have a constant rotational moment despite its weight depending on its size and thickness. If the member does not rotate and the sheet falls poorly and becomes uneven, or if multiple members are provided in the vertical direction, the U-shaped sheet is convex upward while falling between the members There is a problem such as becoming. Further, the configuration for feeding air disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-124765 does not make the falling sheet into a U-shape that is convex downward.

Further, in an image forming apparatus such as a stencil printing apparatus which transfers an ink to a sheet to form an image, the sheet to which the ink has been transferred tends to curl upward in a U-shape under the influence of the ink. The power to work works. Therefore, the sheet discharging device is configured to adsorb the sheet to the sheet discharging device by the negative pressure of the air or electrically, and to convey the sheet, and to have a shape having a function of making the sheet convex U-shaped downward. Also, a sheet such as the movable member described above is attached to the side fence with
Even if a sheet is formed to have a member to be dropped so as to form a letter, when the sheet separates from the sheet discharging device and starts curling toward the sheet discharging table, the sheet is dropped from the sheet discharging apparatus or the sheet discharging table. The effect of making the sheet convex U-shaped is ineffective, and the sheet falls unstably, and the alignment on the sheet discharge table is disturbed.

According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet discharging apparatus which solves the above-mentioned problems and improves sheet alignment by forming a sheet discharged toward a sheet discharging table into a U-shape convex downward. It is an object to provide an image forming apparatus.

[0007]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet discharging apparatus for discharging sheets from an image forming apparatus main body to a sheet discharging table. Air blowing means for blowing air upward toward the side edge of the sheet.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the sheet discharging apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising a conveying unit configured to convey the sheet from an image forming unit that forms an image on the sheet to a sheet discharging table. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the paper discharge device according to the second aspect, the air blowing means is provided between the transport means and the paper discharge table.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the paper discharge device according to the second or third aspect, an air flow generating means for generating an air flow blown by the air blowing means, and a sheet is conveyed by sucking the sheet in the conveying means. Air suction means for sucking air to perform, the air flow generating means,
It is the air suction means.

[0011] The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claims 1 to 4.
Wherein the air blowing means has a blowing position adjusting means for changing an air blowing position in accordance with the size of a sheet to be discharged.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the paper discharge device of the fifth aspect, the blowing position adjusting means includes a plurality of holes arranged in a width direction of the sheet for blowing air.
Closing means for selectively closing these holes.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the paper discharge device according to the fifth aspect, the blow-out position adjusting means has a hole for blowing out air, the perforated member being movable in a sheet width direction, and It is characterized by having a long hole in the width direction of the sheet that can communicate with the hole.

[0014] The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claims 1 to 7.
Wherein the air blowing means changes the amount of air blown according to the thickness of the sheet to be discharged.

The ninth aspect of the present invention is the first aspect of the present invention.
An image forming apparatus having the sheet discharging device according to any one of the above.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having the sheet discharging device according to the fifth aspect.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having the sheet discharging device according to the sixth aspect.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having the paper discharge device according to the seventh aspect.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the eleventh aspect, there is provided an isolation member for isolating the inside and the outside of the image forming device, and the plurality of holes are provided in the isolation member. I do.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the twelfth aspect, there is provided an isolating member for isolating the inside and the outside of the image forming device, and the elongated hole is provided in the isolating member.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to any one of the tenth to fourteenth aspects, further comprising an operation panel, wherein the operation panel sets an air blowing position by the blowing position adjusting means. It is characterized by doing.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the tenth to fifteenth aspects, there is provided a discharge tray on which sheets to be discharged are stacked, and a sheet provided on the discharge tray. And a side fence that is driven and displaced in accordance with the size of the sheet and regulates an edge of the sheet, and the position of the side fence is linked with the position of the air blowing by the blowing position adjusting means.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having the sheet discharging device according to the eighth aspect.

According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the seventeenth aspect, an operation panel is provided, and the amount of air blown out by the air blowing means is selected by selecting a sheet thickness on the operation panel. It is characterized by setting.

[0025]

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a stencil printing apparatus as an image forming apparatus having a paper ejection tray to which the present invention is applied. The stencil printing apparatus 1 has a structure of a well-known thermosensitive digital stencil making type integrated stencil printing apparatus.
A plate making device 4, a plate discharging device 5 disposed on the upper left side of the plate cylinder 3 for stripping the used master 2 from the plate cylinder 3 and discharging the plate, and a plate discharging device 5 disposed below the plate making device 4 on the sheet feeding tray 6. Paper feeder 8 for feeding print paper 7 as a sheet loaded on the paper, and print paper 7 fed from paper feeder 8 side
Is carried out to the plate cylinder 3 at a predetermined timing, and printing paper 7 disposed below the plate cylinder 3 and fed is pressed against the master 2 on the plate cylinder 3 which has been made. A printing pressure device 10, a plate cylinder 3, a plate making device 4,
A document reading device 12 located above the plate discharging device 5 for reading the image of the document 11 and a printed printing paper 7 placed on the left side of the stencil printing device 1 and printed by the printing pressure device 10 are used for the plate cylinder 3. Knife 13 and paper ejection claw 1 for stripping from paper knife
4, a paper discharging device 15 for transporting the stripped printing paper 7 out of the image forming apparatus 1 main body, and a paper discharging paper for transporting the printing paper 7 conveyed by the paper discharging device 15 and discharged from the stencil printing apparatus 1 main body It mainly comprises a table 16, a face plate 57 as an isolation member for isolating the inside and outside of the stencil printing apparatus 1, and an operation panel 41 shown in FIG. 7 for operating the stencil printing apparatus 1 to perform printing.

The plate cylinder 3 has a well-known porous cylindrical shape and is rotatably supported around a drum shaft 17. Plate cylinder 3
Is rotated by a main motor (not shown). Plate cylinder 3
An openable and closable clamper 18 for clamping the tip of the master 2 is provided on one bus of the outer peripheral portion. Inside the plate cylinder 3, an ink supply means 19 for supplying ink from the inner peripheral surface to the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 3 is provided.
The master 2 is made of a thermoplastic resin film of polyester or the like to which a Japanese paper or the like is adhered as a porous support. However, the master 2 is not limited to this, and is made of only a very thin thermoplastic resin film. It is also possible to use a different one.

First, when the operator sets the document 11 to be printed on a document receiving table (not shown) of the document reading device 12 and presses a start key 43 on an operation panel 41 for starting plate making, the plate discharging process is started. This is performed on the torso 5. The plate cylinder 3 rotates in a counterclockwise direction opposite to the direction of the arrow a indicating the clockwise direction in the figure, and the used master 2 wound on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 3 is removed from the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 3. The plate discharging box 20 of the plate discharging device 5 while being gradually peeled and conveyed
The plate discharging process is completed by being discharged into the inside.

In parallel with the plate discharging process, the original reading section 12 operates to read the original. The detailed configuration and operation related to the original reading are performed by, for example, a known “reduced original reading method”, and the image read from the original is finally converted to a photoelectric conversion device such as a CCD (charge-coupled device). Photoelectric conversion is performed by an image sensor including a conversion element. The electric signal photoelectrically converted by the image sensor is transmitted to an analog / digital (A / D) conversion board (not shown) to be converted into a digital image signal.

In parallel with the original reading operation, a plate making / plate feeding process is performed in the plate making apparatus 4 based on the digitized image signal. The rotation of the platen roller 22 pressed against the thermal head 21 causes the master 2 to rotate.
Is pulled out from the master roll 23 and transported to the downstream side of the master transport path. A large number of minute heating elements arranged in a line in the main scanning direction of the thermal head 21 with respect to the master 2 conveyed in this manner include the A / D conversion board and the subsequent plate making control board (not shown). Then, various processes are performed to selectively generate heat according to the digital image signals sent, and the thermoplastic resin film of the master 2 that is in contact with the heat-generating heating element is melt-punched. In this manner, the image information is written as a punching pattern by the position-selective fusion punching of the master 2 according to the image information.

The leading end of the plate-making master 2 on which the image information is written and plate-making is sent out toward the outer peripheral side of the plate cylinder 3 by rotation of the feed roller pair 24, and the plate in the plate feeding position shown in the figure. The body 3 moves toward the expanded clamper 18. At this time, the used master 2 has already been removed from the plate cylinder 3 by the plate discharging process. When the leading end of the master 2 is clamped by the clamper 18 at a predetermined timing, the plate cylinder 3 gradually winds the master 2 around the outer peripheral surface while rotating in the direction of arrow a in the figure. After the completion of plate making, the rear end of the master 2 is cut to a certain length by the operation of the cutting means 25 provided in the plate making apparatus 4 so that the master 2 is completely cut on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 3. When the sheet is wound, the so-called plate feeding process ends.

When the master 2 having been made in this manner is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 3, the plate making / plate feeding process is completed and the printing process is started. The paper feed tray 6 is raised by well-known means (not shown) until the uppermost printing paper 7 stacked on the paper feed tray 6 contacts the call roller 26. The uppermost printing paper 7 in contact with the call roller 26 is conveyed by the rotation of the call roller 26, is separated into one sheet by a separation roller pair 27, and is fed toward the registration roller 9. At this time, the leading end of the conveyed printing paper 7 abuts on a portion of the registration roller 9 immediately before the nip portion, and stops in a bent state.

When the printing operation starts, the plate cylinder 3 starts rotating at the printing rotation speed. On the inner peripheral side of the plate cylinder 3, ink is supplied from an ink supply distributor (not shown) to an ink reservoir 30 formed between an ink roller 28 and a doctor roller 29 as ink supply means. As the roller 28 and the doctor roller 29 rotate, they are kneaded and elongated, and adhere uniformly to the outer peripheral surface of the ink roller 28. The remaining amount of the ink is determined by an ink detecting means (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
When the ink is low, the ink is supplied from the ink supply distributor. In this way, ink is supplied to the inner peripheral side of the plate cylinder 3 by the ink roller 28 that rotates in contact with the inner peripheral surface while rotating in the same direction as the rotational direction of the plate cylinder 3 and in synchronization with the rotational speed of the plate cylinder 3. You.

The printing pressure device 10 mainly includes an ink roller 28, a press roller 31, a press roller bracket (not shown), a press roller tension including a spring (not shown), and a press roller cam (not shown). The press roller 31 has a function as a pressing unit that presses the printing paper 7 fed at a predetermined timing by the registration roller 9 against the plate cylinder 3 to form a print image on the printing paper 7. The press roller 31 is rotatably supported at one swing end of the press roller bracket, and is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 3 by a well-known mechanism including a press roller tension and a press roller cam so as to be able to freely contact and separate. I have.

The printing paper 7 is printed between the printing cylinder 3 and the press roller 31 at a predetermined timing synchronized with the rotation of the printing cylinder 3 by the registration roller 9, that is, as an image forming unit for forming an image on the printing paper 7. When the press roller 31 is fed to the portion 32, the press roller 31 that has been separated from the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 3 is oscillated in synchronization with this, and is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 3. Is pressed against the master 2 which has been made. As a result, the master 2 having made the plate is brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 3 by the adhesive force due to the viscosity of the ink oozing out from the porous portion of the plate cylinder 3 and, at the same time, from the perforation pattern portion of the master 2 which has already made the plate. The ink exudes, and the exuded ink is transferred to the surface of the printing paper 7 to form a desired print image.

The printing paper 7 on which the print image is formed has its leading end forming part of the paper discharging device 15, a driving roller 51, a driven roller 52, and a belt 53 stretched over these rollers.
And a fan 55 for sucking air and bringing the printing paper 7 into close contact with the belt 53, the air cylinder 13 and the paper discharge claw 14 cause the plate cylinder 3 to move.
Separated and separated from The separated and peeled printed printing paper 7 is supplied to a fan 55 provided below the belt 53.
Is transported in close contact with the belt 53,
The sheet is conveyed toward the sheet discharge table 16 by the sheet discharge device 15 and flies toward the sheet discharge table 16. In this way, the so-called “plate printing process” or “test printing” is completed. Next, the number of prints is set using the ten keys 42 on the operation panel 41, and when the start key 43 is pressed again, in the same process as the above-described trial printing, each of the paper feed, print, and discharge processes is repeated for the set number of prints. And all the steps of the stencil printing are completed.

The paper output tray 16 includes a bottom plate 33 on which the printing paper 7 is loaded, and a pair of side fences which regulate the edges of the printing paper 7 slidably mounted on the bottom plate 33 in the width direction of the printing paper 7. 34 and an end plate 35 for regulating the front end of the printing paper 7. Each of the side fences 34 is displaced by a driving unit (not shown) in accordance with the width of the printing paper 7, and the side fence 34 is formed between the falling printing paper 7 and the already loaded printing paper 7 or the bottom plate 33. There is a hole 36 for discharging the air between them and satisfactorily stacking the printing paper 7 that falls. Hole 36
Are provided on each side fence 36 in the discharge direction of the printing paper 7 indicated by the arrow b, specifically, three. The paper output device 15 is provided between the main body of the stencil printing device 1 and the paper output table 1.
6, the printing paper 7 is discharged to the transporting means 54.
, Fan 55, and print paper 7 discharged to discharge tray 16
And an air blowing means 56 for blowing air upward toward the side edge of.

As shown in FIG. 2, the conveying means 54 includes a driving roller 52, a driven roller 53, and both rollers 52, 53.
And a transfer table 57 that rotatably supports the rollers 52 and 53. Belt 53
Are arranged in the width direction of the printing paper 7, specifically, two in parallel. The transfer table 57 has a flat portion 58 substantially flush with the upper surface of the belt 53, and inclined portions 59, 59 provided on both sides of the flat portion 58 on the downstream side in the direction b and gradually increasing in height. A large number of holes 60 for sucking air by the fan 55 (FIG. 1) are formed in the flat portion 58.

The air blowing means 56 includes a fan 61 (FIG. 1) as an air flow generating means for generating an air flow blown to the printing paper 7, a housing 62 for storing the fan 61, and an upper surface of the housing 62. And blowing means 63 for blowing the air flow generated by the fan 61 to predetermined positions on both side edges of the printing paper 7. The spraying means 63 includes a duct 64 immediately above the housing 62, and pipes 65, 65 rotatably projecting from the duct 64 and extending below respective side edges of the printing paper 7. Pipe 6
Reference numeral 5 denotes a well-known material that can be freely bent when a force is applied from the outside, and is adjusted so that air is blown to a position of d = 15 mm when a distance from a side edge of the printing paper 7 is d. d is preferably in the range of d = 15 mm ± 10 mm.

The air blowing means 56 is provided between the conveying means 54 and the sheet discharge table 16, more specifically, in the vicinity of the face plate 57 inside the stencil printing apparatus 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, since the upper edge of the face plate 57 is bent toward the inside of the stencil printing apparatus 1, when the air blowing means 56 is provided along the face plate 57, it is shown in FIG. Thus, the positions of the pipes 65, 65 are adjusted so that the face plate 57 does not hinder the air blown to the printing paper 7.

Although it is preferable to use a pipe 65 in adjusting the air blowing position, as shown in FIG. 4, instead of the pipe 65, holes 66 arranged in the width direction of the printing paper 7 in the duct 64 are used. 66 and spraying means 6
3 may be constituted by a duct 64 and a hole 66. Hole 66,
66 is formed in consideration of the air blowing position, and when the duct 64 is provided along the face plate 57,
Holes 67, 67 communicating with the holes 66, 66, respectively, are provided. When the duct 64 is provided along the face plate 57, the face plate 5
7 is a part of the air blowing means 56,
(Hereinafter the same in other embodiments). The closing means 69 may close the hole 67 from outside the duct 64.

Since the paper discharging device 15 in this embodiment has the above-described configuration, the printed printing paper 7 separated and separated from the plate cylinder 3 is flat by the negative pressure generated in the hole 60 by the fan 55. The belt 5
3 transported in the direction b. The smaller the thickness of the printing paper 7 and the larger the transferred ink amount and image area, the more easily the printing paper 7 tends to curl. Since the curl is caused by the elongation of the surface of the printing paper 7 to which the ink has been transferred, the curl direction is a direction that becomes convex upward when viewed from the direction b. However, the printing paper 7 is in close contact with the flat portion 58 to prevent curling. Then, when flying away from the sheet delivery table 57 and away from the transporting means 54, the inclined portion 59 forms a downwardly convex U-shape as viewed from the direction b. Paper discharging means 54
The shape of the printing paper 7 tends to curl away from it, but the air flow generated by the fan 61 causes air to flow through the housing 62, the duct 64, and the pipe 65.
The printing paper 7 flies to the paper discharge tray 16 while maintaining a downwardly convex shape.

The printing paper 7 having a downward convex shape stably flies and falls, and is stacked on the bottom plate 33 by the action of the side fence 34 and the end fence 35 in an orderly manner. At the time of loading, the air existing between the falling printing paper 7 and the already loaded printing paper 7 or the bottom plate 33 is filled with holes 3.
6, the loading is further improved. The fan 61 is rotated when the start key 43 is pressed, and in the case of the printing process, the printing paper 7 used for printing is used.
However, in the case of the normal printing process, the printing is stopped when the time required for stacking the number of printing papers specified by the numeric keypad 42 on the paper discharge tray 16 elapses.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the paper discharge device to which the present invention is applied. The paper discharge device of this embodiment is a paper discharge device of the type shown in FIG. In this embodiment, an air blowing means having a different configuration from the above-described embodiment will be described, and a description of the same configuration as the above-described embodiment will be omitted. In the paper discharging apparatus of the present embodiment, the air blowing means 56 (FIG. 1) has a blowing position adjusting means 68 for changing the air blowing position according to the size of the printing paper 7 to be discharged. The blowing position adjusting means 68 is provided on the upper surface of the duct 64 and is arranged in a plurality in the width direction of the printing paper 7, in the present embodiment, four holes 67 a.
67a, 67b, 67b, a closing member 69 as closing means for selectively closing the holes 67a, 67b, and a closing member 69
And a displacing means (not shown) having a stepping motor 71 (FIG. 9) for displacing.

The holes 67a are provided at both ends of the upper surface of the duct 64 at predetermined distances from the center in the width direction of the duct 64, and the holes 67b are provided at predetermined intervals from the holes 67a. 67a is provided on the center side. Each of the closing members 69 has a hole 67.
a, a hole 6 formed at a predetermined distance from the hole 67a
7b is closed from the inside of the duct 64. The closing member 69 has an engagement protrusion 70 that penetrates the outer wall of the duct 64 and is exposed to the outside of the duct 64. The closing member 69 is displaced so as to occupy mutually symmetrical positions with respect to the center in the width direction of the duct 64 by the engagement protrusion 70 being engaged with the displacement means and driven, and the closing member 6 is closed.
9 and 69 close the holes 67a and 67b in the same manner. The displacement means includes a stepping motor 71, an eccentric cam rotated by the stepping motor 71 and engaged with the engaging projection 70, and the like.

The positions of the holes 67a and 67b are determined according to the size of the printing paper 7 used in the stencil printing apparatus 1. In this embodiment, the size is equal to or larger than B4 or smaller than B4. The positions of the holes 67a and 67b are determined so that the hole from which the air is blown out can be selected depending on whether or not. That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the size of the printing paper 7 is B4 or more, only the hole 67b is closed,
As shown in FIG. 6 (c), when the size is smaller than B4, only the hole 67a is closed, and as shown in FIG. Close up.

The setting of the air blowing position by the blowing position adjusting means 68, specifically, the setting of the closing mode of the holes 67a and 67b by the closing member 69 shown in FIGS. It is supposed to do. As shown in FIG. 7, a control panel 44 related to air blowing is provided on the operation panel 41. As shown in FIG.
By selectively pressing 73 and 74, the discharge air size can be specified. The size of the printing paper 7 is B
By pressing the button 72 when the size is 4 or more, pressing the button 73 when the size is smaller than B4, and pressing the button 74 when the size is out of the standard such as the size of a postcard, as shown in FIG. As described above, the stepping motor 71 is driven via the CPU 75 and the stepping motor driver 76 to obtain a desired closing mode from the closing modes shown in FIGS.

In the present embodiment, the paper discharge air size is directly specified to obtain a desired closing mode. However, the size of the printing paper 7 to be used can be specified on the operation panel 41. In this case, the discharge air size may be controlled by the designation. When the duct 64 is provided along the face plate 57 (see FIG. 4), the face plate 57
When the engaging projection 70 is on the face plate 57 side, a notch of a size that does not hinder the displacement of the engaging projection 70 must be provided in the face plate 57. There is. Duct 64 to face plate 5
7, the holes 67a, 67b are formed in the face plate 57.
And at least a hole 67a in the duct 64,
A hole corresponding to 67b may be provided so that the closing member 69 is displaced between the face plate 57 and the duct 64.
The closing member 69 may close the holes 67a and 67b from above. FIG. 6 shows the closing state by the closing member 69.
If the fan 61 is stopped instead of turning off the blowing of the air as shown in (b), the control of the closing member 69 can be simplified and the closing member 69 can be downsized.

FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the blowing position adjusting means. The blowing position adjusting means 77 has two perforated members 79 having a hole 78 for blowing air and movable in the width direction of the printing paper 7, and a long length in the width direction of the printing paper 7 communicable with the hole 78. It has holes 80, 80 and a displacement means for displacing the perforated member, which has the same configuration as the above-described displacement means. The long holes 80 are formed at both ends of the upper surface of the duct 64 at positions symmetrical with respect to the center in the width direction of the duct 64. Has been determined. The perforated member 79 is inserted into the inside of the duct 64 from a not-shown notch formed in the outer wall of the duct 64, is slidable in the width direction of the printing paper 7, and one end is always exposed to the outside of the duct 64. This one end has an engaging projection 81 which engages with the displacement means. When the perforated member 79 is inserted until the engagement protrusion 81 comes into contact with the side surface of the duct 64, the entire long hole 80 is closed. By employing a configuration in which the fan 61 is stopped instead of closing the entire long hole 80 to turn off the air blowing, the control of the closing member 69 can be simplified, and the size of the perforated member 79 can be reduced. it can.

The perforated member 79 is displaced so that the engaging projection 81 engages with the displacement means and is driven so as to occupy symmetrical positions with respect to the center of the duct 64 in the width direction. Similarly, 78 occupy mutually symmetrical positions with respect to the center in the width direction of the duct 64. The position of the hole 78 is determined by the blowing position adjusting means 68 on the operation panel 41 in accordance with the size of the printing paper 7 used in the stencil printing apparatus 1.
Is determined and adjusted in the same manner as described above, but with regard to the adjustment of the blowing position, the degree of freedom is higher than that of the blowing position adjusting means 68, and it is possible to cope with the printing paper 7 of a larger size.

When the duct 64 is provided along the face plate 57 (see FIG. 4), it is necessary to provide the face plate 57 with at least a hole or notch corresponding to the long hole 80. Duct 6
4 is provided along the face plate 57, the face plate 57
0 and the duct 64 has at least a long hole 80.
Are provided, and the perforated member 79 can be displaced between the face plate 57 and the duct 64. The perforated member 79 may slide on the long hole 80. According to these air blowing position adjusting means 68 and 77, air is always blown to an appropriate position to make the printing paper 7 have a downwardly convex shape when viewed from the direction b, regardless of the size of the printing paper 7. Can be.

The driving of the side fence 34 by the driving means of the side fence 34 is performed by the air blowing position adjusting means 6.
Steps 8 and 77 are performed under the same conditions as those for determining the air blowing position. That is, the position of the side fence 34 is linked to the position of the air blown by the air blow position adjusting means 68 and 77. In the case of a configuration in which the position of the side fence 34 is manually adjusted, a detection unit that detects the position of the side fence 34 is provided, and based on the position of the side fence 34 detected by the detection unit, the air blowing position adjustment unit 68,
The position of the side fence 34 may be interlocked with the position of the air blowout by the air blowout position adjusting means 68 and 77 by determining the position of the air blowout by the 77.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the displacement means. The displacement means 82 includes a stepping motor 71 (FIG. 9), a casing 83 of the stepping motor 71, a gear 85 fixed to an end of a drive shaft 84 of the stepping motor 71, and a gear 86 meshing with the gear 85. It has a rotating shaft 87 having a gear 86 at one end, a pinion 88 fixed to the other end of the rotating shaft 87, and air blowing position determining members 90, 90 having a rack 89 engaged with the pinion 88. . The air blowing position determining member 90 has a configuration corresponding to the closing member 69 and the perforated member 79. The air blowing position determining members 90, 90 have the same shape, and are arranged in a state where the racks 89, 89 are opposed to each other so as to occupy symmetrical positions with respect to the pinion 88. The pinion 88 is disposed at a position corresponding to the center of the duct 64 in the width direction, and the air blowing position determining member 90 is disposed so as to extend in the width direction of the duct 64. Therefore, when the stepping motor 71 is driven, the air blowing position determining member 90
4 with respect to the center in the width direction.

As shown in FIG. 12, in all the above embodiments, the amount of air blown out by the fan 61 is variable according to the thickness of the printing paper 7 to be discharged. As the thickness of the printing paper 7 is larger, the driving force of the fan 61 is increased to increase the intensity of the air flow, that is, the wind speed is increased,
The amount of air blow is increased. However, when the thickness of the printing paper 7 is 100 g / m ² or more, the weight of the printing paper 7 is large, the curl does not occur, and the printing paper 7 is discharged and stacked well. And the fan 61 is stopped. Although the thickness of the printing paper 7 is used as a parameter for the amount of air blown out, the size of the printing paper 7 may be used as a parameter, or when using an OHP sheet as a sheet, the material thereof can be used as a parameter. These may be appropriately combined as a parameter.

When the thickness of the printing paper 7 is used as a parameter for determining the amount of air blown out, a panel shown in FIG. 8 provided on the operation panel 41 (FIG. 7) as information on the thickness of the printing paper 7 Paper selection key 9 at 44
2, 93, 94. The paper selection key 44 is for setting the contact pressure of the call roller 26 to the uppermost printing paper 7 placed on the paper supply tray 6, that is, the so-called paper supply pressure. The input data is also used as a parameter for determining the air blowing amount, and the air blowing amount can be designated by selectively pressing the sheet selection keys 72, 73, 74. When selecting thick paper having a thickness of 100 g / m ² or more as the printing paper 7, the key 92 is depressed twice consecutively, thereby stopping the fan 61. In the case of a cardboard having a normal thickness, the key 92 is depressed only once. Fan 6
1 is determined by whether or not the ink curls when the amount of ink is large.
/ M ² or more is a standard.

As shown in FIG. 13, the control of the fan 61 by pressing the paper selection keys 92, 93, 94 is performed by inputting from the paper selection keys 92, 93, 94 to C as a control means.
The PU 75 electrically controls the drive of the fan motor 96 which is a DC motor by the pulse generator 95. When increasing the intensity of the airflow by the fan 61, the pulse generation time t is lengthened.
Shorten. The paper selection by the paper selection keys 92, 93, 94 is performed before the start key 43 is pressed.

As shown in FIG. 14, the fan 61 as the air flow generating means and the fan 55 (FIG. 1) as the air suction means can have the same configuration. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the fan 61 is also used as an air suction unit. However, the fan 55 may be used as an air flow generation unit, or the fans 61 and 55 may be eliminated, and the hole 60 (FIG. Body 6
2 (FIG. 2), a new fan may be provided in the pipe 91 for connection. That is, when the fan is shared as described above, the fan may be provided independently as a part of the air blowing means 56 or may be provided independently as a part of the transport means 54. It may be provided as a configuration. If the air sucked by the conveying means 54 is directly discharged into the stencil printing apparatus 1, the resistance of the printing paper 7 sent by the registration roller 9 at the timing synchronized with the rotation of the plate cylinder 3 becomes a resistance, and the image moves forward, backward, left and right. There is a risk that the printing will be shifted or cause paper feeding wrinkles. However, if a common fan is used, such a problem can be avoided and the sucked air is blown onto the discharged printing paper 7. And cost can be reduced.

Although the embodiment has been described above, the stencil printing apparatus 1
The configuration of each of the above-described devices and the like and the arrangement state thereof are as follows.
This is merely an example, and other known devices and various arrangements may be used. The stencil printing apparatus is not limited to the above-described thermosensitive digital stencil integrated stencil printing apparatus. For example, a stencil printing machine or a master stencil provided separately from the main body of the apparatus may be used to make a stencil. Plate making or plate discharging may be performed, and the plate making device 4 and the plate discharging device 5 may not necessarily be provided in the device main body. Number of plate cylinders is 2
Multi-color printing including full-color printing can be performed as one or more double-cylinder systems, and the pressing means uses a press roller in this embodiment.
An impression cylinder described in JP-A-104158 may be used.
The image forming apparatus having the paper output tray is not limited to the stencil printing apparatus, but includes a well-known printer, copier, facsimile, and the like.

The conditions for determining and adjusting the position at which air is blown and the amount of air to be blown may be, in addition to the above-mentioned conditions, the amount of ink to be transferred, and it is known that the sheet is easy to curl. If so, this can be a condition. The data for plate making and the data for determining the air blowing position may be data read by the document reading device as described above, or data created by a computer or the like. The air blowing means can be attached to a paper discharge tray, for example, a side fence when there is no space as a part of the paper discharge device, and the paper discharge tray is regarded as a configuration forming a part of the paper discharge device. be able to. The paper ejection device and the paper ejection tray are not necessarily distinguished from each other, and the paper ejection device can be defined as a concept including the paper ejection tray. Unless the air flow generating means and the air suction means are shared, an electric suction means for electrically sucking and conveying the sheet may be used instead of the air suction means. In the embodiment, image forming, paper feeding, paper discharging, and the like are performed with so-called center alignment. However, even in an image forming apparatus that performs edge alignment as well as center alignment, displacement of a closing unit, a perforated member, a guide fence, and the like are performed. It can be applied as appropriate by diversifying the control mode.

[0059]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet discharging device for discharging a sheet from a main body of an image forming apparatus to a sheet discharging table, wherein the sheet discharging device is arranged to face upward toward a sheet side edge discharged to the sheet discharging table. Since it has an air blowing means for blowing air, even when the image forming apparatus is a stencil printing apparatus, it is possible to prevent the sheet from curling into an upwardly convex U-shape due to ink transfer,
It is possible to provide a sheet discharging device in which a sheet discharged toward a sheet discharge tray can be formed in a U-shape convex downward, and the alignment of sheets discharged and stacked on the sheet discharge tray is improved. it can.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the sheet discharging apparatus according to the first aspect, since there is provided a conveying means for conveying the sheet from the image forming section for forming an image on the sheet to the sheet discharging table, the discharging apparatus is provided. It is possible to provide a sheet discharging device that can stably convey and discharge a sheet toward a sheet table.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the paper discharging device according to the second aspect, the air blowing means is provided between the transporting means and the paper discharge table, so that the paper is transported by the transporting means. By blowing air on both side edges of the sheet with air blowing means, especially when the conveying means is to adsorb and convey the sheet so as to be flat,
Provided is a sheet discharging device that can effectively discharge a sheet as a U-shaped convex downward and discharge the sheet toward a sheet discharging table, and further improve the alignment of sheets discharged and stacked on the sheet discharging table. can do.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the paper discharge device according to the second or third aspect, an air flow generating means for generating an air flow blown by the air blowing means;
The conveying means has an air suction means for sucking air to adsorb and convey the sheet. Since the air flow generating means is the air suction means, the sucked air is directly discharged into the image forming apparatus. Blows the sucked air onto the discharged sheet while avoiding the problem that the air flow becomes the resistance of the sheet conveyance and the image is formed to be shifted to the front, rear, left and right, or causes the sheet to be wrinkled. It is possible to provide a paper discharge device that can be used as a device and that can reduce costs.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the paper discharge device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the air blowing means sets an air blowing position in accordance with a size of a sheet to be discharged. With the changing blowing position adjusting means, the blowing position of air can always be adjusted to an appropriate position for making the sheet convex U-shaped irrespective of the size of the sheet. It is possible to provide a sheet discharging device in which the alignment of the sheets stacked on the table is further improved.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the paper discharge device according to the fifth aspect, the blowing position adjusting means includes:
It has a plurality of holes arranged in the width direction of the sheet for blowing air, and a closing means for selectively closing the holes, so that the holes are selectively closed by the closing means, depending on the size of the sheet and the like. A paper discharge device in which the air blowing position can always be adjusted to an appropriate position for forming a sheet into a U-shaped convex downward, and the alignment of sheets discharged and stacked on a paper discharge table is further improved. Can be provided.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, in the paper discharge device according to the fifth aspect, the blowing position adjusting means includes:
Since there is a perforated member movable in the width direction of the sheet having a hole for blowing air, and a long hole in the width direction of the sheet that can communicate with the hole, the perforated member is driven to appropriately form the hole. The position of air blowing can be adjusted to an appropriate position to make the sheet convex U-shaped at all times according to the size of the sheet, etc. It is possible to provide a paper discharge device in which the alignment of stacked sheets is further improved.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the paper discharge device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the air blowing means is configured such that the amount of air blown out according to the thickness of the sheet to be discharged. , The amount of air blowout can be set in accordance with the thickness of the sheet, and the sheet is reliably projected downward U
It can be shaped like a letter, and if it is a sheet of cardboard or the like that can be loaded well without falling down in a convex state, the amount of air blowout is reduced to zero and energy for generating air flow is saved It can reduce the noise of blowing air and the noise of operating the air feeding means, and prevent the falling of the sheet from becoming unstable due to excessive air.
It is possible to provide a paper discharge device that can stably drop a sheet with minimum energy consumption, can improve alignment, and can stack sheets neatly, and suppresses noise.

The ninth aspect of the present invention relates to the first to fourth aspects.
Since the image forming apparatus includes the sheet discharging device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, it is possible to provide an image forming device including the sheet discharging device having the effects described above with respect to claims 1 to 4.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having the sheet discharging device according to the fifth aspect. Therefore, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus having the sheet discharging device having the above-described effect of the fifth aspect. it can.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having the paper discharge device according to the sixth aspect, and thus, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus having a paper discharge device having the above-described effects. it can.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having the paper discharging device according to the seventh aspect. it can.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the first aspect
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an isolating member for isolating the inside and the outside of the image forming device, and the plurality of holes provided in the isolating member. An image forming apparatus capable of reducing an arrangement space can be provided.

According to the invention described in claim 14, claim 1 is
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an isolating member for isolating the inside and the outside of the image forming apparatus, wherein the elongated hole is provided in the isolating member. Can be provided.

According to the fifteenth aspect, the first aspect is provided.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of 0 to 14, further comprising an operation panel, wherein the operation panel sets an air blowing position by the blowing position adjusting unit.
It is possible to easily set and adjust the air blowing position, and to provide an easy-to-use image forming apparatus.

According to the invention of claim 16, claim 1 is
In the image forming apparatus according to any one of 0 to 15, a discharge tray on which the discharged sheets are stacked, and an edge provided on the discharge tray to regulate an edge of the sheet according to a size of the sheet. It has a side fence that is driven and displaced, and the position of the side fence is set by setting the air blowing position because the air blowing position by the blowing position adjusting means and the position of the side fence are linked, It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that is easy to use and that can prevent misalignment of sheets stacked on a sheet discharge tray due to forgetting the position adjustment of the side fence.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having the paper discharging device according to the eighth aspect, and therefore, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus having the paper discharging device having the above-mentioned effects. it can.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising an operation panel, and by selecting a sheet on the operation panel, the amount of air blown by the air blowing means is set.
It is possible to easily set and adjust the air blowing amount, and to provide an easy-to-use image forming apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a paper discharge device to which the present invention is applied and a stencil printing apparatus as an image forming apparatus having the same.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing details of a paper discharge device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a case where air blowing means is provided near an isolation member.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another case in which an air blowing means is provided near an isolation member.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an air blowing position adjusting means.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an air blowing position adjusting mode by an air blowing position adjusting means.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an operation panel of the stencil printing machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing details of a control panel 4 shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing a mode of controlling an air blowing position by an air blowing position adjusting means.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another air blowing position adjusting means.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of displacement means provided in the air blowing position adjusting means for adjusting the air blowing position.

FIG. 12 is a correlation diagram showing a mode in which the amount of air sent by the air blowing means is made different depending on the type of sheet.

FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing a mode of controlling the amount of air blown by air blowing means.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing a sheet discharging device in which an air flow generating unit and an air suction unit are shared.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 7 Sheet 15 Paper discharge device 16 Paper discharge stand 34 Side fence 41 Operation panel 54 Transport means 55 Air suction means 56 Air blowing means 57 Isolation member 61 Air flow generation means 67, 67a, 67b Plural holes 68, 77 Blow-off position adjusting means 69 Closing means 78 Holes in perforated members 79 Perforated members 80 Slots

Claims (18)

[Claims] A sheet discharging device for discharging a sheet from an image forming apparatus main body to a sheet discharging table, the apparatus including an air blowing means for blowing air upward toward a side edge of the sheet discharged to the sheet discharging table. Discharge device characterized by the following. 2. A sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conveying means for conveying the sheet from an image forming section for forming an image on the sheet to a sheet discharging table. 3. The paper discharge device according to claim 2, wherein said air blowing means is provided between said transport means and a paper discharge table. 4. The paper discharging device according to claim 2, wherein
The air blowing means has an air flow generating means for generating an air flow to be blown out, and the conveying means has an air suction means for sucking air to adsorb and convey a sheet, wherein the air flow generating means includes the air flow. A sheet discharging device, which is a suction unit. 5. A sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said air blowing means has a blowing position adjusting means for changing an air blowing position according to a size of a sheet to be discharged. A sheet discharging device characterized by the above-mentioned. 6. A sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said blowing position adjusting means comprises a plurality of holes arranged in the width direction of the sheet for blowing air, and closing means for selectively closing said holes. A paper discharge device comprising: 7. A sheet discharging device according to claim 5, wherein said blowing position adjusting means has a hole for blowing air, said member being movable in the width direction of the sheet, and a sheet capable of communicating with said hole. And a long hole in the width direction of the paper discharge device. 8. A sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said air blowing means changes an air blowing amount according to a thickness of a sheet to be discharged. Paper ejection device. 9. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet discharging device according to claim 1. Description: 10. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet discharging device according to claim 5. 11. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet discharging device according to claim 6. 12. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet discharging device according to claim 7. 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a separating member for separating the inside and the outside of the image forming device, wherein the plurality of holes are provided in the separating member. 14. An image forming apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising an isolating member for isolating the inside and the outside of the image forming apparatus, wherein the elongated hole is provided in the isolating member. 15. An image forming apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising an operation panel, wherein an air blowing position by said blowing position adjusting means is set by said operation panel. Image forming device. 16. An image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a discharge tray on which the discharged sheets are stacked is provided, and the sheet discharge tray is provided to regulate an edge of the sheet. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a side fence that is driven and displaced in accordance with the size of a sheet, and wherein a position of the side fence and an air blowing position by the blowing position adjusting unit are interlocked. 17. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet discharging device according to claim 8. 18. An image forming apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising an operation panel, wherein an amount of air blown by said air blowing means is set by selecting a sheet thickness on said operation panel. Image forming apparatus.