JP2002326759A - Sheet processing device, and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate nonconformity such as failure or difficulty to take the lowest sheet among delivered sheets. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a finisher 400 comprising a sheet delivery roller 415 to carry a sheet to an intermediate processing tray, a front regulating plate 412B on the device front side and a rear regulating plate 412A on the device depth side to regulate the sheet in a width direction perpendicular to a carrying direction, a sheet bundle delivery belt 421 to deliver a sheet bundle on the processing tray regulated by the regulating plates 412, and a finisher control part to control action of each part. Each sheet bundle is sorted by the regulating plates 412 on the processing tray. Size of the sheet delivered to the processing tray is compared with a preliminarily set specified size, and when the sheet size is smaller than the specified size, sorting of the sheet bundle is automatically prohibited. A stop position of the front regulating plate 412B is changed corresponding to the sheet size, and the rear regulating plate 412A only is actuated to the reference of the front regulating plate 412B changed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a sheet processing apparatus provided in an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet such as a copying machine, a facsimile, and a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a sheet processing called a finisher is performed in which a plurality of sheets sequentially formed by an image forming means are subjected to predetermined processing and discharged onto a stack tray. A type incorporating a device has been proposed.

Here, examples of processing performed by a sheet processing apparatus (hereinafter, abbreviated as finisher) include, for example,
Processing called sorting or offset in which the discharge position of each sheet is different for each job, stapling processing in which the ends of each sheet are aligned for each job, and stapling is performed on the aligned sheet ends, and aligned sheet edges There is a drilling process for drilling holes in the part. The finisher discharges a bundle of sheets subjected to such processing (hereinafter, referred to as a sheet bundle) onto a stack tray, so that the image forming apparatus is connected to a network and shared by a plurality of users. For the convenience of the user.

Conventionally, a finisher is provided with an intermediate processing tray as a sheet stacking table for temporarily stacking sheets for performing the above-described sorting or offset processing;
Conveying means such as rollers for conveying an image-formed sheet to the intermediate processing tray, alignment means for performing widthwise alignment of the sheets on the intermediate processing tray, and sheets on the intermediate processing tray aligned by the aligning means And a sheet discharging means for discharging the sheet onto the stack tray. In the case of the finisher that performs the above-described stapling and punching, a stapler that binds the end of the sheet bundle on the intermediate processing tray or a hole at the end of the sheet bundle on the intermediate processing tray is used. A means for making holes is provided.

In an image forming apparatus to which a finisher is added, when an image is formed on a sheet by the image forming section, the sheet is placed on the intermediate processing tray by the conveying means, and is placed on the intermediate processing tray. Then, the sheet is aligned in the width direction by the aligning means, and is discharged onto the stack tray by a sheet discharging means such as a discharge belt.

Here, if a selection is made to offset the discharged sheet bundle for each job, the conventional finisher uses the discharge position of the sheet bundle in the previous job and the discharge of the sheet bundle in the next job. The aligning means is controlled so that the position is different (shifted) from each other in the sheet width direction. For example, for each sheet stacked on the intermediate processing tray, in the previous job, the aligning unit is controlled so as to be located on the near side with respect to the apparatus main body, and in the next job, the aligning unit is controlled with respect to the apparatus main body. The alignment unit is controlled so that the rear side alignment is located at the back side, and the alignment unit is controlled so that the front side alignment is performed in the next job.

[0007]

However, in a conventional image forming apparatus provided with such a finisher, the back side of the main body is surrounded by the image forming apparatus, and the sheet bundle after the processing is completed is taken out from the near side. Has become
The sheet bundle placed on the back side of the image forming apparatus is difficult to see and cannot be easily removed, and even if the bent bundle is offset, the separation of the sheet bundle may not be understood when removing, or the lowermost sheet may be removed. There was a case where a malfunction such as forgetting to take was caused. Further, with respect to a sheet having a small size equal to or smaller than a predetermined size, the possibility described above tends to be further increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet processing apparatus which eliminates problems such as forgetting to pick up the lowest sheet among ejected sheets and difficulties in picking up the sheet, and an image forming apparatus having the same.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a typical sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a processing tray on which sheets are temporarily placed and a sheet conveyed onto the processing tray. Conveying means, front aligning means arranged on the front side of the apparatus for aligning the sheet on the processing tray in the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, and rear aligning means arranged on the inner side of the apparatus; and the aligning means A bundle discharging unit for discharging the sheet bundle on the processing tray aligned in step (a), and a control unit for controlling the operation of each unit, wherein the sheet bundle is pre-aligned for each bundle on the processing tray. And a sheet processing apparatus that sorts a sheet bundle by alternately operating a post-alignment unit. The sheet size discharged to the processing tray is compared with a predetermined size, and the sheet size is determined to be a predetermined size. If it is below, the sorting of the sheet bundle is automatically prohibited, the stop position of the front alignment unit is changed according to the sheet size, and only the rear alignment unit is operated based on the changed front alignment unit. It is characterized by the following.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object has a configuration in which an image is formed on a sheet and a predetermined process is performed on the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus. And a sheet processing apparatus having the above configuration.

Further, the image forming apparatus is characterized in that a sheet size for which sorting of a sheet bundle on the processing tray is prohibited is selected from an operation screen of the image forming apparatus.

[0012] Further, when the sheet size selected from the operation screen of the image forming apparatus or the sheet size automatically selected is smaller than a predetermined size, the sheet is displayed on the operation screen of the image forming apparatus. A warning is displayed to prohibit sorting of the bundle.

Further, the image forming apparatus is characterized in that the sheet processing apparatus is stored substantially at the center of a frame portion of the entire image forming apparatus.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However,
The dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in the following embodiments should be appropriately changed depending on the configuration of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied and various conditions, and in particular, Unless otherwise described, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to them.

The sheet processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus, and performs processing of a sheet discharged from the main body of the image forming apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is stored substantially at the center of the frame of the entire image forming apparatus. Thus, a compact and space-saving image forming apparatus can be provided.

First, the image forming apparatus main body will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus main body and a sheet processing apparatus. The image forming apparatus main body is an image reader 2
00 and the printer 300, and the image reader 2
At 00, a document feeder 100 is mounted. The document feeder 100 separates a document set upward from above, feeds it one sheet at a time in order from the first page to the left, conveys it onto the platen glass 102 via a curved path, and reads the document. Then, the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge tray 112. The light of the lamp 103 of the scanner unit 104 is irradiated on the original,
The reflected light from the original is reflected by mirrors 105, 106, 10
7. Reading is performed by being guided to the image sensor 109 via the lens 108.

The image of the document read by the image sensor 109 is subjected to image processing and sent to the exposure control unit 110. Exposure control section 110 outputs a laser beam according to the image signal. The laser beam is applied to the photosensitive drum 111, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 111. The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 111 is developed by the developing device 113, and the developer on the photosensitive drum 111 is stored in the cassette 11
4, 115, manual paper feed unit 125, double-sided conveyance path 124
Is transferred to the sheet fed from any one of the above.

The sheet on which the developer has been transferred is fixed to a fixing unit 117.
The fixing process of the developer is performed. The sheet that has passed through the fixing unit 117 is guided to a discharge roller 118, and is discharged from the printer 300 by the discharge roller 118 with the surface onto which the developer has been transferred facing downward (face down). By discharging the document face-down, the correct page order is obtained when images are sequentially formed from the first page, such as when using the document feeder 100 or when printing an image output from a computer.

The sheet discharged from the discharge roller 118 is sent to a finisher 400 as a sheet processing device. The finisher 400 selectively performs predetermined processing such as binding.

When an image is formed on both sides of the sheet, the sheet that has passed through the fixing unit 117 is guided to a path 122 by a flapper 121, is switched back, and is guided to a two-sided conveying path 124.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram for controlling the above-described device. The CPU circuit section 150 has a CPU and the ROM 15
1, a document feeder control unit 101, an image reader control unit 201, an image signal control unit 202, a printer control unit 30 according to the program stored in the operation unit 1 and the settings of the operation unit 1.
1. It manages the finisher control unit 401 and the external I / F 203. The document feeder control unit 101 controls the document feeder 100, the image reader control unit 201 controls the image reader 200, and the printer control unit 301 controls the printer 300.
And the finisher control unit 401 controls the finisher 400. The RAM 152 is used as an area for temporarily storing control data and as a work area for operations involved in control. The external I / F 203 is an interface from the computer 204, and develops print data into an image and outputs the image to the image signal control unit 202. The image read by the image sensor 109 is output from the image reader control unit 201 to the image signal control unit 202, and the image output from the image signal control unit 202 to the printer control unit 301 is input to the exposure control unit 110.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the image signal control unit 202. The image processing unit 205 performs an image correction process and an editing process according to the settings in the operation unit 1. Images are stored in line memory 20
6. Printer control unit 301 via page memory 207
Output to The hard disk 208 is used as needed, for example, when changing the page order.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of a finisher 400 as a sheet processing apparatus. The sheet received from the printer 300 is sent to a sheet discharge roller 415 via a path 416, and the sheet discharge roller 415 discharges the sheet onto a bundle discharge belt 421. A low-friction intermediate processing tray (not shown) is provided at a position several millimeters higher in parallel with the bundle discharge belt 421.
To be precise, the sheet is placed on the intermediate processing tray. The discharged sheet falls in the lower left direction in the figure along the obliquely provided intermediate processing tray (bundle discharge belt 421) (see FIG. 16). When the fan-shaped return roller 417 rotates clockwise (rotates clockwise), the friction member provided in the arc of the return roller 417 comes into contact with the sheet discharged onto the bundle discharge belt 421, and this friction member The sheet is moved in the lower left direction so that the end of the sheet abuts against the stopper plate 418 (see FIG. 17). The staple unit 419 is provided on the front side, and staples a sheet on the bundle discharge belt 421. Since the length of the bundle discharge belt 421 may not be sufficient for stacking the sheets, the intermediate processing tray stacking auxiliary plate 421B is provided on the bundle discharge belt 421 to increase the length of the sheet stacking surface of the intermediate processing tray. .
The alignment plates 412 are provided on the near side and the back side, and align the sheets on the bundle discharge belt 421. Further, offset stacking can be performed in which the state of stacking on the stack tray 411 by the alignment plate 412 is divided into a near side and a far side (see FIG. 18).

The sheet on the bundle discharge belt 421 is discharged onto the stack tray 411 by a bundle discharge lever 421A provided on the bundle discharge belt 421. Bundle ejection lever 42
1A pushes up the sheet in the upper right direction by rotating the bundle discharge belt 421 to the right, and discharges the sheet onto the stack tray 411 (see FIG. 19). The bundle discharge lever 421A moves in a notch provided in the intermediate processing tray.
The stack tray 411 moves up and down according to the sheet stacking amount. Further, the upper surface of the sheet on the stack tray 411 is pressed by the bundle pressing member 420 after the sheet is discharged, and then the stack tray 411 is lowered and then raised by a predetermined amount, whereby the upper surface of the sheet is pressed by the bundle pressing member 420. This prevents the sheet discharged onto the stack tray 411 from being pushed rightward.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a sensor and a motor in the finisher 400. The motor M1 is a discharge roller 4
15 and the return roller 417, and the motor M2 drives the bundle pressing member 420 and the bundle discharge belt 421. The discharge roller 415 is connected via a one-way clutch 425 to
The return roller 417 is driven by the motor M1 via the one-way clutch 426. When the motor M1 rotates forward, only the paper discharge roller 415 rotates to convey the paper to the right, and when the motor M1 rotates reversely, only the return roller 417 rotates clockwise. The bundle discharge belt 421 is a one-way clutch 4
22, the bundle pressing member 420 is driven by the motor M2 via the one-way clutch 424. When the motor M2 rotates forward, only the bundle discharge belt 421 rotates clockwise, and when the motor M2 rotates reversely, only the bundle pressing member 420 rotates clockwise. As described above, the discharge roller 415 and the return roller 417,
The bundle discharge belt 421 and the bundle holding member 420
Since it is driven by two motors, cost reduction can be achieved.

Further, it is detected whether or not the return roller 417 is at the home position by a sensor S3 for detecting a flag (not shown) attached to the rotation shaft of the return roller 417. In addition, in response to the sensor S2 detecting the leading edge of the sheet, the paper discharge roller 415 is started, and after the paper discharge roller 415 is decelerated at a timing described later, it is stopped. Also,
The sensor S5 detects a sheet on the bundle discharge belt 421,
The sensor S11 detects a sheet on the stack tray 411. The sensor S8 detects whether the bundle discharge lever 421A is at the home position. The position of the return roller 417 and the bundle discharge lever 421A in FIG. 5 is the home position. The home position of the bundle discharge lever 421A is slightly to the right of the stopper plate 418.

Each time one sheet is discharged, the return roller 417 shown in FIG. 5 rotates exactly one turn rightward from the home position. When the return roller 417 is rotating clockwise, the discharge roller 415 does not rotate as described above.

When the bundle is discharged, the bundle discharge belt 42
1 is rotated by １ ／, but if it is rotated by そ の ま ま as it is, the bundle discharge lever 421 </ b> A hits a sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray 411. This is because the stack tray 411 is controlled to be at a position suitable for dropping the sheet bundle when the bundle is discharged, and in this state, the upper surface of the sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray 411 is set to the bundle discharge lever 421A. In orbit. Therefore, the bundle discharge lever 421A is connected to the bundle discharge belt 4 shown in FIG.
21 is substantially parallel to the linear portion (substantially parallel to an intermediate processing tray (not shown)).
2) is temporarily stopped, the remaining rotation is performed when the stack tray 411 is lowered, and the stack tray 411 is stopped at the home position. Thus, it is possible to prevent the bundle discharge lever 421 </ b> A from winding the sheets on the stack tray 411 and prevent the trailing end of the sheet bundle from remaining on the bundle discharge belt 421.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a drive mechanism of the matching plate 412. The matching plate 412A is provided on the back side, and the matching plate 412B is provided on the front side. The motor M3 is connected to the matching plate 4
12A, and the motor M4 drives the matching plate 412B. When the motor rotates in the black arrow direction, each part rotates in the black arrow direction, and when the motor rotates in the white arrow direction, each part rotates in the white arrow direction. The sensor S6 is a matching plate 4
For detecting the home position of 12A, the sensor S7 is provided for detecting the home position of the matching plate 412B. When the stapling process is performed by the stapling unit 419, the aligning plate 412B is set to the foremost side, and the aligning plate 412B is pressed each time a sheet is discharged onto the bundle discharge belt 421 so as to abut the aligning plate 412B. The sheet is pressed by 412A. When performing the offset discharge without performing the stapling process, the sheet is abutted against one of the alignment plates 412A and 412B in a state where each of the alignment plates 412A and 412B is set at a distance corresponding to the sheet width. Therefore, each time a sheet is discharged onto the bundle discharge belt 421, the alignment plate 412A,
12B is pressed against the sheet. At the time of offset discharge, the aligning plate 412 is used every time the bundle is discharged.
A, the position of 412B is the near side, the back side, the near side, the back side ...
As a result, the sheet bundles stacked on the stack tray 411 are offset (shifted) for each bundle (see FIG. 18).

FIG. 23 is a flowchart for controlling whether or not to sort a sheet bundle according to the sheet size (hereinafter referred to as a bundle offset). First, a sheet size whose bundle offset is to be prohibited is input from the operation screen of the image forming apparatus (S200). In this case, it is possible to input only the sheet size for which the bundle offset is to be prohibited, or to prohibit the bundle offset for sheets having a predetermined size or less.

As described above, by selecting the sheet size for which the sorting of the sheet bundle is prohibited from the operation screen of the image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 11, either the sorting of the sheet bundle or the ease of taking out the sheet bundle is emphasized. More space for the user to choose.

After inputting the sheet size for which the bundle offset is prohibited in step S200, for sheets whose copy sheet size is equal to or larger than the bundle offset prohibited sheet size input in step S200 (S202), the bundle offset is enabled. (S203). Step S202
If it is determined that the copy sheet size is smaller than the bundle offset prohibition sheet size input in step S200, the bundle offset is prohibited (S205).

If the sheet size for which the bundle offset is prohibited is not input in step S200, it is detected whether or not the sheet size is equal to or larger than a predetermined size for which the bundle offset is prohibited (S204). , The bundle can be offset (S20).
3). If it is determined in step S204 that the sheet has a copy sheet size smaller than the predetermined size that prohibits the bundle offset set in advance, the bundle offset is prohibited (S205). When the bundle offset is prohibited, a warning is displayed on the operation screen of the image forming apparatus to the effect that the bundle offset is prohibited.

As described above, when the sheet size selected from the operation screen of the image forming apparatus (or the sheet size automatically selected) is equal to or smaller than the predetermined size, the sheet bundle is displayed on the operation screen of the image forming apparatus. By displaying a warning that the sorting is prohibited, the user can be notified in advance, so that the user can be provided with a sense of security.

After the bundle offset is prohibited, it is determined whether or not to change the pre-alignment stop position according to the copy sheet size (S206). For example, if the size of the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus is equal to or larger than the A5 size, the stop position of the front alignment plate (the front alignment plate 412B) is changed to the position where the front alignment HP (home position) remains. If not (S207) and the sheet size is smaller than the A5 size, the stop position of the front alignment plate can be changed according to the sheet size (S208). this is,
That is, the sheet size for which the front alignment stop position needs to be changed varies depending on the movable amount and the configuration of the front and rear alignment plates (alignment plates 412B and 412A).
When the stop position of the front alignment plate (front alignment plate 412B) is determined, only the rear alignment plate (rear alignment plate 412A) is operated based on the determined stop position, so that even a small-sized sheet can be used. It is configured so that it can be discharged to the near side.

As described above, the sheets can be ejected to the front of the apparatus as much as possible according to the sheet size. For this reason, it is difficult to take out the lowermost sheet or to take out the sheet. Problems such as being lost are eliminated.

Here, the alignment plate 412 and the return roller 417
Will be described. As described above, the return roller 417 moves the sheet in the sheet discharging direction, and the alignment plate 412 acts to move the sheet in the direction perpendicular to the sheet discharging direction (the sheet width direction). As described above, since the return roller 417 and the alignment plate 412 act in different directions, if their operations overlap, the sheet is adversely affected. For this reason, the operation of the matching plate 412
When the operation of the return roller 417 is completed, control is performed so that the sheet comes into contact with the sheet.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a mechanism for raising and lowering the stack tray 411. Motor M5 is a stack tray 411
Is driven to move up and down. The sensor S13 detects that the stack tray 411 has reached the upper limit, and the sensor S12
Detects that the stack tray 411 has reached the lower limit. Further, the flag 423 is pushed inward by the sheet stacked on the stack tray 411 abutting, and the sensor S10 detects the pushed flag 423 to detect the height of the sheet. When the motor rotates in the direction of the black arrow, each part rotates in the direction of the black arrow,
When the motor rotates in the direction of the white arrow, each part rotates in the direction of the white arrow.

The stack tray 411 is lowered when the bundle is discharged, because the bundle discharge lever 421A is
1 to prevent contact with the upper sheet.
10 descends to a position where it is not detected. By lowering the stack tray 411 and then raising it, the upper surface of the newly discharged sheet bundle is moved to the discharge position of the next bundle. In addition, before the descending operation after the discharge of the bundle, the bundle pressing member 420 rotates clockwise to operate to press the sheets on the stack tray 411.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the drive control of the paper discharge roller 415 in the finisher 400. In order to provide the finisher 400 compactly as shown in FIG. 5, the distance between the paper discharge roller 415 and the sensor S2 becomes short. On the other hand, the discharge roller 415 is connected to the bundle discharge belt 421.
In consideration of the stackability when discharging the sheet upward, the sheet is conveyed at a high speed by the discharge roller 415 during the conveyance of the sheet, and the sheet is discharged by the discharge roller 41 at the time when the rear end of the sheet passes through the discharge roller 415.
5 is decelerated so that the sheets are discharged from the bundle discharge belt 421.
It is desirable to prevent jumping. Usually, when decelerating based on the trailing edge, a method of decelerating according to detection of the trailing edge of the sheet is adopted. However, when the distance between the paper discharge roller 415 and the sensor S2 is short as described above, Even if it is possible to prevent the sheet from jumping over the bundle discharge belt 421, it may not be enough to improve the stackability. Therefore, the following control is performed to obtain better loadability with a compact finisher.

The finisher 400 (finisher control unit 401) receives size information of each sheet from the image forming apparatus (CPU circuit unit 150). First, it is determined whether the size of a sheet to be discharged by the discharge roller 415 is a standard size (S101). If the size is the standard size, in response to the sensor S2 being turned on (the leading edge of the sheet has passed) (S102), the drive of the paper discharge roller 415 (motor M1) is turned on (S103), and the amount corresponding to the sheet size is set. It is determined whether the discharge roller 415 has been rotated (S104). The motor M1 is a stepping motor, and its rotation amount is constantly managed by the finisher control unit 401. When the time corresponding to the sheet size has elapsed, the paper discharge roller 415 is decelerated (S105) and stopped (S106). The standby time in step S104 is set in consideration of the sheet size and the deceleration time of the discharge roller 415 so that the trailing edge of the sheet comes out immediately before the discharge roller 415 stops in step S106. As a result, the discharged sheet does not fly too far on the bundle discharge belt 421.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S101 that the sheet is not the standard size, that is, the sheet is a free size, the driving of the sheet discharge roller 415 is performed in response to the sensor S2 being turned on (the leading edge of the sheet has passed) (S107). It is turned on (S108). Then, in response to the sensor S2 being turned off (the trailing edge of the sheet has passed) (S109), the discharge roller 415 is decelerated (S110) and stopped (S111). However, at the position of the sensor S2 shown in FIG. 5, the rear end of the sheet comes off before being sufficiently decelerated in step S110. Although this timing is not sufficient for stackability, the sheet does not jump over the bundle discharge belt 421. If the sensor S2 is disposed further upstream, the stacking property is improved, but the sensor S2 is also used for detecting a sheet jam, and therefore cannot be moved upstream. It is sufficient to add another sensor while keeping the position of the sensor S2 as it is, but this increases the cost. It is also possible to reduce the distance required for deceleration by increasing the torque of the motor, but this also increases the cost.
In this way, in order to improve the performance as much as possible at low cost, only one sensor is provided in the path 416, and the control as shown in FIG. 9 is performed.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing control of the intermediate processing tray in the finisher 400, particularly control of bundle discharge by the bundle discharge belt 421. First, as an initial operation before the image forming operation, it is determined whether or not there is a sheet on the bundle discharge belt 421 (intermediate processing tray) based on the sensor S5 (S121). If there is a sheet on the bundle discharge belt 421, it is determined whether the sheet is the second original sheet (S122). The second original sheet is a thin and rigid sheet used for drafting and the like. When the setting for using the manual paper feed unit 125 shown in FIG. 1 is made on the image forming apparatus side, the screen of the operation unit of the image forming apparatus changes to the state shown in FIG. 11B. 11
The state shown in FIG. By pressing the second original drawing key on this screen, it is considered that the second original drawing sheet is fed from the manual paper feed unit 125, and the image forming apparatus sends the finisher 4
When the sheet is passed to 00, the image forming apparatus notifies the finisher 400 of the material information and the sheet feeding unit information in association with the sheet. Thus, the finisher 400 can determine whether the sheet on the bundle discharge belt 421 is the second original sheet. FIG. 11A shows a screen of the operation unit in the normal standby mode in the copy mode, in which the number of image forming units set by the operation unit and the like are displayed.

If it is determined in step S122 that the sheet is not the second original sheet, the bundle discharge belt 421 is driven to discharge the bundle (S123), and a standby signal is output to the image forming apparatus (S126). If it is determined that the sheet is the second original drawing sheet, an intermediate processing tray overflow signal is output to the image forming apparatus (S124). The image forming apparatus that has received the intermediate processing tray overflow signal displays "Remove the sheet from the intermediate processing tray." On the operation unit. Then, it waits until there is no more sheet from the bundle discharge belt 421 (intermediate tray) (S125), and outputs a standby signal to the image forming apparatus when there is no more sheet (S126). In step 121, the bundle discharge belt 4
If there is no sheet on 21, a standby signal is output to the image forming apparatus (S126). In response to the standby signal from the finisher 400, the image forming apparatus starts forming an image on a sheet.

After outputting the standby signal in step S126, each of the variables S, N, and T is set to 0 (S12).
7). Variables S and N are variables for monitoring the intermediate processing tray so as not to be overloaded. The variable T is a variable mainly for preventing the OHP sheet from being discharged, thereby preventing the OHP sheet from adversely affecting the sheets on the stack tray 411.

Next, the type information of the material of the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus is received, and it is determined whether or not the sheet is the second original drawing (S128). If it is determined in step S128 that it is not the second original drawing, the following processing is performed. The sheet received from the image forming apparatus is discharged onto the bundle discharge belt 421 (S129), and a weighting count for a variable S described later is performed (S130). Then, the size information of the next sheet to be received is received from the image forming apparatus, and it is determined whether the width of the sheet already stacked on the bundle discharge belt 421 is different from the width of the next sheet to be received (S131). If the widths do not differ, it is next determined whether the setting of the image forming job for the sheet currently being received is the non-staple mode (S132). If the mode is the non-staple mode, it is determined whether or not the sheet discharged onto the bundle discharge belt 421 in step S129 has been fed from the manual feed unit 125 (S133).
If the sheet is fed from the manual sheet feeding unit 125, 1 is added to the variable T (S134), and it is determined whether or not the variable T becomes 2 (S135). The variable T has become 2,
That is, when two sheets are continuously fed from the manual sheet feeding unit 125, the bundle discharge belt 421 is driven to discharge the bundle (S136), and if the job is not completed (S156). ) Return to step S127. If it is determined in step S133 that the sheet is not a sheet fed from the manual sheet feeding unit 125, the variable T is set to 0 (S137), and the process proceeds to step S138 described below. Also, when the variable T is not set to 2 in step S135, step S
Proceed to 138.

The manual paper feed unit 125 is designed to be able to feed various types of sheets including OHP sheets. OHP sheets are more likely to carry static electricity than ordinary paper. Therefore, even if 30 sheets of ordinary paper are bundled and discharged from the bundle discharge belt 421 to the stack tray 411 without affecting the sheets on the stack tray 411, only 30 sheets of OHP sheets are bundled and discharged. Then, the sheet on the stack tray 411 may be shifted due to a synergistic effect of the weight and the static electricity. Therefore, when two sheets fed from the manual sheet feeding unit 125 to which an OHP sheet may be fed continue, a bundle of sheets is discharged to prevent such a situation.

If the width of the sheet stacked on the bundle discharge belt 421 is different from the width of the next sheet to be received in step S131, the flow advances to step S136 to perform bundle discharge. Also, in the non-staple mode in step S132,
That is, when in the staple mode, the variable S is set to 6
It is determined whether the value has become 0 or more (S138). Variable S
Is not greater than or equal to 60, that is, less than 60, it is determined whether or not it is a break based on a job break signal from the image forming apparatus (S140). If it is a job break, the flow advances to step S136 to discharge the bundle. If it is determined in step S138 that the variable S is equal to or greater than 60, the current stapling is prohibited (S13).
9), proceed to step 136 to discharge the bundle. The prohibition of stapling is released after receiving the delimiter signal.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S128 that the sheet is the second original sheet, the sheet received from the image forming apparatus is discharged onto the bundle discharge belt 421 (S14).
1) Add 1 to the variable N (S142). And the variable S
(S143), and the variable N
Is determined to be 15 (S144). Variable N
If is not 15, it is determined whether or not the variable S has become 60 or more (S145). If the variable S is not equal to or greater than 60, it is determined whether or not it is a break based on a job break signal from the image forming apparatus (S1).
46). If it is not a job break, step S1
Return to 28. Also, when it is a job break,
An intermediate processing tray overflow signal is output to the image forming apparatus (S147), and as described above, the image forming apparatus displays so as to have the sheet on the intermediate processing tray removed.

Since the second original drawing sheet is stiff and is not suitable for bundle discharge, the user is asked to remove it from the intermediate processing tray without performing bundle discharge. At this time, the intermediate processing tray overflow signal is used as a signal for activating the display for prompting the image forming apparatus to perform this. Step 147
Thereafter, until the sheet is removed from the bundle discharge belt 421 (intermediate processing tray) (S148), an intermediate processing tray sheet presence signal is output to the image forming apparatus (S14).
9). Upon receiving the intermediate processing tray overflow signal,
While receiving the intermediate processing tray sheet presence signal, the image forming apparatus does not start the next image forming job.

When the variable N becomes 15 in step S144, and when the variable S becomes 60 or more in step S145, it is determined that the intermediate processing tray has reached the limit of the stacking amount, and the intermediate processing is performed by the image forming apparatus. A tray overflow signal is output (S150), and the process proceeds to step S148.
Also at this time, the image forming apparatus performs display so that the sheet on the intermediate processing tray is removed.

When the processing proceeds to the processing after step S129 (in the case of a sheet other than the second original drawing), the alignment plate 41
2 is adjusted according to the sheet size, and the return roller 4
17 is rotated clockwise, but when the process proceeds to the processing after step S141 (in the case of the second original sheet), the alignment plate 412 is retracted to a position where sheet stacking is not obstructed, and
In order to prevent the alignment operation, the return roller 41
7 is also not driven. FIG. 20 shows a state on the bundle discharge belt 421 when the second original sheet is discharged.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the weight counting in steps S130 and S143. Based on the size information of each sheet received from the image forming apparatus,
When the sheet length (length in the conveyance direction) is 297 mm or less (S151), 2 is added to the variable S (S15).
2). In addition, the sheet length is longer than 297 mm and 364 m
If it is less than m, 3 is added to the variable S (S154). When the sheet length is longer than 364 mm, 4 is set to the variable S.
Is added (S155). By weighting the count value according to the sheet length in this way, it is possible to stack up to the number of sheets suitable for bundle discharge on the intermediate processing tray when performing bundle discharge, and to perform intermediate stacking when bundle discharge is not performed. This enables stacking to such an extent that sheets are not scattered on the processing tray.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for controlling the stack tray 411 in the finisher 400. After the start of copying, the stack tray 411 is controlled so that the stack tray paper height sensor S10 is turned on. Then, the sheet received from the image forming apparatus is discharged as a bundle (S161) by driving the bundle discharge belt 421 by the forward rotation of the motor M2, and is rotated by rotating the bundle holding member 420 by the reverse rotation. After the sheet is discharged (S176), the stack tray 411 is lowered (S162), and the stack tray 411 is pressed.
Is lower limit sensor S12 (see FIG. 8).
(S163). If the stack tray 411 has not reached the lower limit, that is, if the lower limit sensor S12 has not been turned on, it is detected whether or not the height sensor S10 has been turned off (see FIG. 14) (S164). If the height sensor S10 is not turned off, step S1
Return to 62. Also, in step S164, the height sensor S1
When the height sensor S10 is turned off, the stack tray 411 is raised (S165, 166) until the height sensor S10 is turned on (see FIG. 15) after a predetermined time, and the height sensor S10 is turned on. The stack tray 411 is continuously raised until it rises by a predetermined amount (S167, S16
8), and stop (S169). When the final bundle is discharged (S180), the bundle holding member 420 is retracted (S181).

The motor M5 for raising and lowering the stack tray 411 is a DC motor. By inputting the number of pulses from an encoder provided on the shaft of the DC motor,
The finisher control unit 401 can monitor the amount of elevation of the stack tray 411. The motor M5 is constituted by a stepping motor and can be monitored by an input clock.

In step S163, the stack tray 411
Has reached the lower limit, that is, when the lower limit sensor S12 is turned on, a stacker overflow signal is output to the image forming apparatus (S170), and the operation of the stack tray 411 is stopped (S171). The image forming apparatus that has received this signal displays "Remove the paper from the stack tray" on its operation unit after the job is completed. And
It is determined whether there is a job for the next bundle to be discharged (S17).
2) In some cases, the bundle discharge (S173) and the bundle holding (S177) are continued. If there is no job to discharge the next bundle, the bundle holding member 420 is retracted (S17).
8) Wait until the height sensor S10 is turned off (S1)
74) When it is turned off, the stacker overflow signal is turned off (S175), and the bundle holding member 420 is moved to the home position (S179). As described above, when the lower limit is reached during the lowering of the stack tray 411, the job that cannot be stopped at the time of detection of the lower limit (for example, received from the computer 204) without performing the raising operation of steps S165 and S167. (For example, a job).

Here, the stack tray 4 suitable for bundle discharge
The position 11 will be described. If the distance from the bundle discharge belt 421 to the stacking surface on the stack tray 411 is too large, the stackability of the sheet bundle on the stack tray 411 is poor. Also, since the leading edge of the sheet while being discharged to the paper discharge roller 415 follows a trajectory as shown in FIG.
If the distance is too short, the leading end of the sheet abuts on a steeply inclined portion of the stacking surface of the stack tray 411, and there is a possibility that a jam may occur while the discharge roller 415 is being conveyed. Therefore, step S162
By the lowering and raising controls in steps S169 to S169, the distance between the bundle discharge belt 421 and the stacking surface on the stack tray 411 is set to a distance that does not easily cause a jam and that the stacking property is good.

In this embodiment, since the upper surface of the sheet on the stack tray 411 is detected by the height sensor S10, if the upper surface of the sheet cannot be detected while the stack tray 411 is descending, the bundle discharge belt 421 and the stack tray The precise distance from the loading surface on 411 cannot be controlled. Therefore, the thickness of the bundle may be controlled by estimating the thickness of the bundle based on the number of discharged sheets. However, the thickness of the sheet varies, and the thickness of the bundle may not be as estimated. If a bundle that is thicker than expected is discharged, as described above, the distance between the bundle discharge belt 421 and the stacking surface of the stack tray 411 becomes short, and there is a possibility that a jam occurs. Therefore, when the lower limit is reached while the stack tray 411 is descending, steps S170 to S173 are performed.
The stack bundle 411 is discharged without performing the raising operation of the stack tray 411. Thereby, the bundle discharge belt 4
Although the distance between the stack tray 21 and the stacking surface on the stack tray 411 becomes slightly large, the stackability on the stack tray 411 may be deteriorated. However, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a jam, and at this time, the bundle is discharged. Since the sheet bundle is the last one, even if the stackability is somewhat poor, there is no significant effect.

The finisher 400 has a slightly shorter bundle discharge belt 421 in order to provide a compact and low-cost finisher. And A4R and A
When processing a long sheet of three sizes or the like, a portion that does not fit on the bundle discharge belt 421 is supported on the stacker tray 411 as shown in FIG.

When the image forming apparatus starts an image forming job in the staple mode, the stack tray 41
When it is detected by the sensor S11 that sheets are stacked on the sheet 1, the image forming apparatus displays "Please remove the sheets from the stack tray." On the operation unit. This is because if the stapled sheet bundle is stacked on the stack tray 411, the staple portions overlap and the stackability is not very good. Therefore, it is desired to start an image forming job in a state where sheets are not stacked on the stack tray 411 as much as possible. is there. However, since the image forming apparatus is used not only in the copy mode but also in the printer mode, even in the case where the user is not present, even if the sheet is not removed, the image forming job (staple processing, bundle discharge processing is also performed). ) Can be started.

When the image forming apparatus has completed 30 image forming jobs continuously in the staple mode, the image forming job is temporarily interrupted, and the operation unit displays "Please remove the sheet from the stack tray." In addition to the display, the sheet waits for the image forming job to be restarted until the sheet is removed from the stack tray 411 and the sensor S11 is turned off.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The sheet size discharged onto the processing tray is compared with a predetermined size, and if the sheet size is equal to or smaller than the predetermined size, the sorting of the sheet bundle is automatically prohibited, and the sorting is performed according to the sheet size. Since the stop position of the aligning means is changed and only the rear aligning means is operated based on the changed front aligning means, it is possible to discharge the sheet as close to the apparatus as possible according to the sheet size,
Problems such as forgetting to take out the lowest sheet, making it difficult to take out the sheets, and losing the separation even when sorting out the bundle of sheets are eliminated.

In the image forming apparatus provided with the sheet processing apparatus having the above configuration, a sheet size for which the sorting of the sheet bundle on the processing tray is prohibited can be selected on the operation screen of the image forming apparatus. This allows the user to select which of the sorting of the sheet bundle and the ease of taking out the sheet bundle is more important.

Further, when the sheet size selected from the operation screen of the image forming apparatus or the sheet size automatically selected is smaller than a predetermined size, the sorting of the sheet bundle is prohibited on the operation screen of the image forming apparatus. By displaying a warning to the effect that the user can be notified in advance, a sense of security can be provided.

Further, by storing the sheet processing apparatus substantially at the center of the frame of the entire image forming apparatus, a compact and space-saving image forming apparatus can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus and a sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an image signal control unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a finisher.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a sensor and a motor in the finisher.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a temporary stop position of a bundle discharge lever.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a driving mechanism of an alignment plate.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining an elevating mechanism of the stack tray 411.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of drive control of a discharge roller in the finisher.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart relating to control of an intermediate processing tray in a finisher, particularly control of bundle discharge by a bundle discharge belt.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a screen for setting materials in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a weight count.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of control of a stack tray in the finisher.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state of a height sensor.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a state of a height sensor.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a state of a sheet in a finisher.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a state of a sheet in a finisher.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a state of a sheet in a finisher.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a state of a sheet in a finisher.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a state of a sheet in a finisher.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a state of a sheet in a finisher.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a state of a sheet in a finisher.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart for controlling whether or not to perform a bundle offset according to a sheet size.

[Explanation of symbols]

M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 ... motors S2, S3, S5, S6, S7, S8, S10, S1
1, S12, S13 Sensor 1 Operation unit 100 Document feeder 101 Document feeder controller 102 Platen glass 103 Lamp 104 Scanner unit 105, 106, 107 Mirror 108 Lens 109 Image sensor Reference Signs List 110 Exposure control unit 111 Photoconductor drum 112 Discharge tray 113 Developing units 114, 115 Cassette 116 Transfer unit 117 Fixing unit 118 Discharge roller 121 Flapper 122 Path 124 Double-sided conveyance path 125 Manual feed Paper feed unit 150 CPU circuit unit 151 ROM 152 RAM 200 Image reader 201 Image reader control unit 202 Image signal control unit 203 External I / F 204 Computer 205 Image processing unit 206 Line memory 207 Pe Memory 208 hard disk 300 printer 301 printer control unit 400 finisher 401 finisher control unit 411 stack tray 412 alignment plate 412A rear alignment plate 412B front alignment plate 415 discharge roller 416 path 417 return roller 418: Stopper plate 419: Staple unit 420: Bundle holding member 421: Bundle discharge belt 421A: Bundle discharge lever 421B: Intermediate processing tray loading auxiliary plate 422, 424, 426: One-way clutch 423: Flag

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshinori Isobe 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term (reference) 2H027 DC10 DE07 DE09 ED29 EE07 FA05 FA35 GB05 2H072 AB13 AB27 BA12 CA01 FB01 FB09 GA02 GA08 HB07 JA02 3F054 AA01 AB01 AC02 AC03 AC05 BA03 BA04 BB13 BE04 BH07 BH08 CA04 CA23 CA37 3F107 AA01 AB01 AC02 AC03 AC04 BA02 CB15 CD01 DA12 DA15 3F108 GA02 GA03 GA04 GB01 GB07 HA02 HA32

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A processing tray for temporarily placing a sheet thereon, and a transport unit for transporting the sheet onto the processing tray;
The front aligning means disposed on the front side of the apparatus and the rear aligning means disposed on the inner side of the apparatus for aligning the sheet on the processing tray in the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the sheet are aligned by the aligning means. A bundle discharging unit that discharges a sheet bundle on the processing tray, and a control unit that controls operation of each unit,
In a sheet processing apparatus that sorts a sheet bundle by alternately operating a front aligning unit and a rear aligning unit for each sheet bundle on the processing tray, the sheet size discharged onto the processing tray Comparing with the set predetermined size, if the sheet size is smaller than the predetermined size, automatically prohibits the sorting of the sheet bundle, and changes the stop position of the pre-alignment unit according to the sheet size, A sheet processing apparatus characterized in that only a rear alignment unit is operated based on a changed front alignment unit. 2. An image forming apparatus main body for forming an image on a sheet, and the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, which performs a predetermined process on a sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus main body. Characteristic image forming apparatus. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a sheet size for prohibiting sorting of the sheet bundle on the processing tray is selected on an operation screen of the image forming apparatus. 4. When the sheet size selected from the operation screen of the image forming apparatus or the sheet size automatically selected is smaller than a predetermined size, the sorting of the sheet bundle is prohibited on the operation screen of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a warning indicating that the image forming apparatus performs the operation is displayed. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said sheet processing apparatus is stored substantially at the center of a frame portion of the entire image forming apparatus.