JP2003128316A - Sheet discharge device and image forming device equipped therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To discharge a sheet in a proper attitude by eliminating malfunction in which the rear end of the sheet in a conveying direction is not completely discharged by an discharging means and collides with a succeeding sheet to cause a jam, or a sheet, skewed by discharging and improperly aligned, is over lapped by a succeeding sheet, in a sheet discharging device with alignment action by contacting sheets during sheet discharge. SOLUTION: The device is provided with the discharging means for discharging sheets, a housing means for hosing the discharged sheets from the discharging means, an alignment reference member for aligning at least one side of the discharged sheets in the housing means, an alignment rotation body for contacting the discharged sheet during discharge and moving the sheet to the alignment reference member, and a coercive discharging means for discharging the rear end of the sheet to the housing means, disposed in the upstream position nearly opposite to the alignment rotation body in the discharging direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet fed from an image forming apparatus such as a laser beam printer or a copying machine.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet discharging device for selectively performing processing such as alignment and binding on a sheet and discharging the sheet, and an image forming apparatus equipped with the sheet discharging device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A sheet discharging device mounted on an image forming apparatus such as a laser beam printer or a copying machine, which is in the middle of discharging a sheet fed from the image forming apparatus. The applicant has developed a sheet discharging device having a matching means for contacting with and performing a matching operation.

[0003]

As described above, in the sheet discharging device which comes into contact with the sheet during the discharging of the sheet and exerts a matching action, the sheet is discharged from the discharging means at the same time. −
Although the sheet can be moved to the alignment position, on the other hand, since the sheet comes into contact with the sheet while being conveyed, the sheet is discharged by the discharging means and becomes a load.
The trailing end of the sheet in the conveying direction is not completely discharged by the discharging means and remains, causing a jam by colliding with a subsequent sheet or discharging the sheet while skewed due to the load on the sheet discharging. However, there is a problem in that subsequent sheets are stacked without being properly aligned.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet discharging apparatus which comes into contact with the sheet during discharging of the sheet to exert a matching action.
It is to be able to discharge the sheet in an appropriate posture.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the apparatus of the present invention is constructed as follows.

(1) A sheet discharging device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a discharging means for discharging a sheet, a storing means for receiving the sheet discharged by the discharging means, and the storing means. An alignment reference member for aligning at least one side of the ejected sheet and a sheet being ejected by the ejection means are brought into contact with each other, and the sheet ejected to the accommodating means is moved to the alignment reference member. The aligning rotary member is provided at an upstream position substantially facing the aligning rotary member in the sheet discharging direction,
And a forced discharge means for discharging the rear end of the cartridge to the storage means.

(2) In the sheet discharging device according to a second aspect of the present invention, the discharging means is constituted by a pair of rotating shafts and a discharging rotating body pivotally supported by each rotating shaft, and the forced discharging means is constituted. It is characterized in that it is constituted by a forced discharge rotating body which is rotatably supported by at least one of the pair of rotating shafts.

(3) A sheet discharging device according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising shift means for moving the discharging means in a shift direction along the rotation axis.

(4) In the sheet discharging device according to the invention of claim 4, the position of the forced discharging means in the shift direction is aligned with that of the aligning rotating body even when the discharging means is shifted by the shift means. It is characterized in that it is provided with a positioning means for positioning at an upstream position substantially facing each other.

(5) In the sheet discharging device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the shift means moves the rotary shaft, on which the discharge rotary member is fixed, in a shift direction along the rotary shaft. It is characterized in that the discharging means is shifted.

(6) According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet discharging device which comprises a bearing portion of the forced discharging means slidably fitted to the rotary shaft and a movement of the forced discharging means in the shift direction. It is characterized in that the positioning means is constituted by a positioning member for regulating.

(7) In the sheet discharging device according to the invention of claim 7, the rotating shaft is shifted by the shift means so that the rotating shaft is slidably fitted to the bearing portion of the forced discharging means. It is characterized in that the cross-sectional shape of a part or the whole of the rotating shaft is non-circular.

(8) An image forming apparatus according to the invention of claim 8 is characterized by including any one of these sheet discharging devices.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

A. Mount Structure and Conveying System (FIG. 1) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus equipped with the sheet discharging device of the present invention. In this embodiment, the sheet discharging device of the present invention is shown. Reference numeral 1 is configured to be detachably mounted on an image forming apparatus main body 100 composed of a page printer. Specifically, in order to connect the sheet discharging device 1 and the image forming apparatus main body 100, a lock arm 1a (FIG. 2) is provided at a lower portion of the sheet discharging device 1 so as to project. The sheet discharge device 1 is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body 100 by the lock arm engaging with a not-shown hold portion in the image forming apparatus main body 100.

In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus main body 100 comprises a page printer, but the sheet discharging apparatus 1 of the present invention can be applied to a copying machine or the like.

FIG. 2 shows the construction of a conveying system for succeeding a printed sheet or a copied sheet (hereinafter, simply referred to as a sheet) discharged from the image forming apparatus main body 100 and discharging the sheet. .

The sheet discharged upward from a discharge portion (not shown) of the image forming apparatus main body 100 is a paper path (formed by an upper guide 2a and a lower guide 2b in the sheet discharge device 1). It is delivered to the sheet conveying path) 2.
The paper path 2 extends in a substantially vertical direction at the inner side of the sheet discharging device 1 and is then curved forward, and a conveying roller pair 3 is provided at the lower end entrance thereof. There is. That is,
The copy sheet is further fed into the sheet discharge device 1 to the downstream side by the conveying roller pair 3 provided at the lower end entrance of the sheet path 2 and discharged from the discharge port 7. To be done.

B. Sheet Ejecting Means 6 In FIG. 1, a sheet is provided at the outlet 7 of the sheet ejecting device 1.
As the tray discharging means 6, there are arranged tray discharging roller pairs 4 and 5 including a discharging roller 4 which is a driven roller and a tray discharging roller 5 which is a driving roller.

Further, downstream of the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5 in the sheet conveying direction, a support for supporting one corner portion of the sheet discharged by the discharging means 6 on the upstream side in the discharging direction is provided. As a component of the means (sheet single corner supporting means) 10,
A fixed mounting portion 8 (first tray) is provided. In this embodiment, the fixed mounting portion 8 is configured to support one corner portion on the rear end side of the sheet. Below the fixed mounting portion 8, a sheet to be discharged is provided as sheet storage means.
Storage tray 9 large enough to receive the maximum size
(Second tray) is provided. Then, the sheet is discharged from the discharge port 7 onto the mounting surfaces of the fixed mounting portion 8 and the storage tray 9 by the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5, and FIG.
8 and FIG. 29, it is configured to be placed.

Since the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5 of the sheet discharge means 6 are configured to be rotatable, the sheet discharge device 1 is used.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, two support shafts 11 and 12 extending in parallel vertically are rotatably arranged in the vicinity of the discharge port 7 inside, and the support shafts 11 and 12 are respectively rotatably arranged. Plural pairs (here, two pairs) of tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5 described above are fixedly installed in the middle portion.

The two support shafts 11 and 12 are shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, the tip side (right side in FIG. 3) of the sheet is also used as the sheet traverse means of the sorting means (jog means).
Of the slide pre-alignment moving means (deviation means) 40, which is a component of the slide coupling plate 41, is inserted into the ear portion 41a protruding from the outer end of the upper surface of the slide coupling plate 41, and is rotatably supported.
The slide coupling plate 41 is integrated so that it can be carried.

That is, the ear portion 41 of the slide coupling plate 41.
E-ring 1 is attached to the tip of each spindle 11, 12 after penetrating a.
3 is provided on the outer side in the axial direction of each of the support shafts 11 and 12, and the pull-out prevention member 14 for carrying is commonly provided to both support shafts 11 and 12.
The E-ring 13 and the pull-out preventing member 14 provided on the outer side of the E-ring 13 are integrated so as not to come off in the axial direction.

The two support shafts 1 integrated with each other are provided.
The tip end side of the lower support shaft 11 of Nos. 1 and 12 has a U-shape standing on one end side in the sheet width direction of the base frame 1c (FIG. 7) in the sheet discharging device 1. In the upper part of the stand frame 15, a U-shaped first bearing member 17 that can be elastically moved up and down.
Are supported so as to be rotatable and movable in the axial direction.

On the other hand, the base ends (left side in FIG. 3) of the two support shafts 11 and 12 are also supported so as to be rotatable and slidable in the axial direction. That is, FIG. 10 and FIG.
Of the two support shafts 11 and 12, the lower support shaft 1
1, the base end side is a side frame of the sheet processing apparatus 1.
With respect to the first support member 16 fixed to the frame 1b, a U-shaped second bearing member 18 that can elastically move up and down,
It is supported so as to be rotatable and movable in the axial direction. In the case of this embodiment, the base end side of the support shaft 11 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the square-shaped portion 11a having a D-shaped cross section is formed, and the square-shaped portion 11a is the first supporting member 1.
It is supported by a U-shaped second bearing member 18 which is elastically supported so as to be vertically movable with respect to 6, and is rotatably and axially movable.

Further, a discharge paddle 20 made of an elastic material (here, rubber) having a large number of teeth in the circumferential direction is provided on the angular portion 11a of the support shaft 11 so as to be free in the axial direction of the angular portion 11a. It is fitted to allow sliding. In order to fix the absolute position of the paper ejection paddle 20 in the axial direction, a first slide restricting member 19 is juxtaposed on the support shaft 11 at a position slightly separated from the second bearing member 18. The paper discharge paddle 20 is provided between the second bearing member 18 and the first slide restricting member 19, so that the support shaft 11 is relatively movable with respect to the paper discharge paddle 20. The position of the paper ejection paddle 20 is designed to be unchanged. The support shaft 11 is controlled by the first slide restricting member 19 so as to be prevented from moving in the axial direction.
0 is left between the first slide regulating members 19,
The slide restricting member 19 is configured so as to be able to advance and retreat in the axial direction through the shaft hole and the notch opening 38 provided in the side frame 1b. The corner-shaped portion 11a having a D-shaped cross section formed on the base end side of the support shaft 11 is provided in the paper discharge paddle 2.
Not only 0 but also the first slide regulating member 19 is penetrated so as to be slidable in the axial direction.

In other words, from both ends of the paper ejection paddle 20,
At least the distance that the support shaft 11 moves back and forth, the support shaft 1
1 is processed into a D-shape, and the shaft hole of the paper discharge paddle 20 is also formed into a D-shape. With such a configuration, even when the support shaft 11 moves forward and backward (slides in the axial direction) together with the support shaft 12, the rotation of the support shaft 11 is prevented from rotating by the second bearing member 18 and the first slide restricting member 19. It is possible to transmit the paper to the paper discharge paddle 20 positioned between and. Therefore, the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5 are attached to the support shafts 11 and 1, respectively.
While the sheet is discharged while advancing and retracting in the axial direction together with 2, the sheet discharge paddle 20 is in a predetermined position between the first slide regulating members 19, that is, rotates without moving in the axial direction. As a result, the sheet discharge paddle 20 exerts a compulsory discharging action on the sheet at the upstream position substantially facing the main aligning means 60 described later in the sheet discharging direction.

Further, the base end side of the upper support shaft 12 is also supported so as to be movable in the axial direction with respect to the second support member 31 fixed to the side frame 1b. That is, in FIG. 10, a second support member 31 having an upper wall 31a extending slightly inward from the inner wall of the side frame 1b and a hanging wall 31b bent downward is provided. ing. Further, the leg portion 32a and the leg portion 3
An inverted U-shaped second slide restricting member 32 having 2b
However, the leg portion 32a on one side of the second support member 31
It is provided in a form penetrating the upper surface wall 31a of the above.
Then, the leg portion 32a of the second slide regulating member 32
Between the hanging wall 31b of the second support member 31 and
A coupling gear 33 is provided on the support shaft 12, and the coupling gear 33
Is supported so as to allow relative sliding in the axial direction with respect to the support shaft 12 passing therethrough, but not allow relative rotation.

In the case of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the base end side of the support shaft 12 has a square-shaped portion 1 having a D-shaped cross section.
2a, and the corner-shaped portion 12a and the second
Of the support member 31 and the bearing portion of the support member 31,
The base end side of is rotatable by the connecting gear 33, and the support shaft 12 is movable in the axial direction.

Due to the above slide support structure, the support shaft 1
Both of 1 and 12 are rotatable and axially movable together with the movement of the slide coupling plate 41 in a state where their tip ends are coupled to each other by the slide coupling plate 41.

As shown in FIG. 12, the side frame 1b.
Is provided with a conveyance motor 34 and a force transmission mechanism that rotationally drive the support shaft 12 to give a conveyance force to the sheet.
That is, the output of the transport motor 34 is transferred from the motor pulley 35a fixed to the output shaft thereof via the timing belt 36 to the intermediate pulley 35b, the transport roller pulley 35c and the driven pulley. A force transmission mechanism is configured to be transmitted to the driven pulley 35d and further transmitted to the connection pulley 37 provided coaxially with the driven pulley 35d. The connecting gear 37, which is provided on the support shaft 12, meshes with the connecting gear 37, which is the output side of the force transmitting mechanism.
The support shaft 12 is rotated by receiving the drive from the drive shaft 4 by the connecting gear 33, and the support shaft 11 on the driven side is also rotated accordingly.

That is, the tray discharge roller 5 is a drive roller rotated by the transport motor 34 via the force transmission mechanism, while the tray discharge roller 4 is the tray discharge roller 4. A driven roller which comes into contact with the roller 5 and is rotated by the rotation of the discharge roller 5.

C. Alignment reference position and post-processing means (Fig. 13-
14) In the sheet discharging means 6 having the above structure, the sheet is clamped by the pair of rotating tray discharging rollers 4 and 5 and is fed from the discharging port 7 by being given a conveying force to be fixedly mounted. Department (first
The tray 8) and the storage tray (second tray) 9 are discharged. FIG. 13 shows a mode in which the sheet is discharged based on the center, FIG. 14 shows a mode in which the sheet is discharged based on the rear one side, and FIG. 34 shows a sheet based on the front side. The respective discharged forms are shown.

FIG. 15 shows a sheet discharge mode at the time of jog mode described later. In the jog mode, the sheet bundle is alternately stacked by the distance D5, which is an offset amount, and is sequentially stacked and discharged, so that the upper and lower sheets are stored.
A step (offset) is made between the bundles.

The storage tray 9 (second tray) as the sheet storage means is a stepper (post-processing means) 2 described later.
When the sheet is subjected to the post-processing, the sheet is supported so that the three corners of the sheet except the corners of the sheet supported by the sheet single-corner supporting means are supported. However, the size may be one that supports one of the three corners on the upstream side and a part of the back surface of the sheet. In this example, the storage tray 9 (second
Tray) is rectangular and its size is A3, B4
The size of the full-length paper (e.g., the length of A3 in this case) is such that it can be stored.

On the other hand, the fixed placing portion (first tray) 8 as the sheet single corner supporting means 10 is used when the sheet of the smallest size to be handled is discharged by the sheet discharging means 6. In addition, the edges of the upper surface supporting the sheet of the fixed mounting portion (first tray) 8 are all seated more than a line connecting one corner of the sheet and two adjacent corners. It is formed so as to be located on the side of one corner of the gutter. Here, a fixed mounting portion (first tray) as the sheet single corner supporting means 10 is used.
8 is positioned above a single corner portion (upper left corner in FIG. 13) of the storage tray 9 on the upstream side in the sheet discharge direction so as to supplement a part of the sheet storage surface of the storage tray 9 when viewed from above. To do.

In the case of this embodiment, the shape of the fixed mounting portion (first tray) 8 is the shape of the storage tray 9 when viewed from above.
It has a substantially triangular shape in which a single corner on the upstream side in the discharge direction is obliquely cut (see FIG. 26). However, it can be formed in a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 27, or can be formed in any other polygonal shape or arc shape.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, on the upstream side of the fixed mounting portion 8, position alignment reference means (alignment reference member) for aligning at least one side of the sheet discharged by the discharge means 6. As one of the above, the butting plate 21 is fixedly or semi-fixedly provided, and constitutes a discharge direction reference surface that gives a discharge direction alignment reference position when aligning the sheets.

Further, the discharging means 6 is provided on the side of the fixed placing portion 8.
As one of the position alignment reference means (alignment reference member) for aligning at least one side of the sheet discharged by the sheet, an attachment reference (width direction) perpendicular to the sheet discharge direction (width direction). Positioning plate 22 that serves as a direction matching reference position)
Are arranged.

The post-processing position is regulated by the abutting plate 21 (discharging direction alignment reference position) and the positioning plate 22 (width direction alignment reference position).

Then, in the above-mentioned fixed placing portion (first tray) 8, the staple bundle is stuck to the sheet bundle aligned at the post-processing position and aligned and stapled.
The plastic 23 is provided as a post-processing unit.

D. Pre-alignment moving means (sheet lateral feed means) 40 During the above-mentioned one-side reference and center-referenced sheet discharge, the sheet also serves as pre-alignment for the sheet lateral feed means of the jog means described below. By the moving means (deviation means) 40,
The distances D1 to D4 in FIGS. 13 and 14 are laterally moved to the widthwise alignment reference position side, and the stapler 23 binds them. Also, as shown in FIG. 15 for sorting in jog mode.
It can be traversed (moved by traverse) by D5.

For this purpose, the pre-alignment moving means 40
Is based on the above slide support structure that allows the support shafts 11 and 12 of the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5 to move back and forth in the axial direction.
Further, it is provided with a slide coupling plate 41 for moving the support shafts 11 and 12 together in the axial direction together with the slide drive portion 45.

As described above, the pre-alignment moving means 40
As shown in FIG. 7, the slide coupling plate 41, which is one of the components of the head, forms a guide surface for the seat 41.
b, an ear portion 41a and a head portion 41b projecting from the upper end portion thereof
41c that hangs on the lower surface of the
1d and one leg 4 formed to have the same thickness as the neck
1e is provided. Then, the neck portion 41d and the leg portion 41
The e is axially movably supported by two upper and lower guide rods 43 and 44 that are laterally installed between the side walls 15a and 15c of the U-shaped stand frame 15.

Both of the support shafts 11 and 12 are inserted into the ears 41a of the slide coupling plate 41 at their tip ends to be rotatably supported, and are integrated by the slide coupling plate 41 so that they are carried together and axially moved. It is configured to slide into.

Next, the structure of the slide drive unit 45 will be described.

In order to form the slide driving unit 45, a rack 42 is provided on the body 41d of the slide coupling plate 41 along the direction of the support shaft 11. Further, a slide motor 47 is provided on the inner side wall of the stand frame 15 as a slide support frame via a mounting plate 46.
The pinion gear 48 fixed to the output shaft of the slide motor 47 meshes with the rack 42.

In the slide drive unit 45 having the above-described structure, the pinion gear 48 is connected to the slide coupling plate 41 in accordance with the forward and reverse drive of the slide motor 47 controlled by the control means described later.
It rotates while meshing with the rack 42 of the guide rod 4
Drive is transmitted to the slide coupling plate 41 along 3, 44,
The support shafts 11 and 12 connected to the slide connecting plate 41 and the tray discharge roller pairs 4,5 fixedly provided on the support shafts.
Is finally configured to retreat.

From a different perspective, the slide drive unit 45
A slide coupling plate 4 for rotatably coupling the support shafts 11 and 12
1, the guide rods 43 and 44 that support the slide coupling plate 41 so as to move back and forth in the axial direction, the stand frame 15 that is fixed to the base frame 1c and that supports the guide rods 43 and 44, and the pinion gear 48. And a slide motor 47 provided on its rotation axis. And
The slide coupling plate 41 includes a coupling portion (ear portion 41 a) that rotatably supports the support shafts 11 and 12, and guide rods 43 and 4.
4 having a shaft hole for passing therethrough (neck portion 41c,
It comprises a leg portion 41e) and a rack 42 which meshes with a pinion gear 48 fixed on the rotation shaft of the slide motor 47.

The side wall 15a and 15c of the stand frame 15 as a slide support frame has pinion gears 4 attached thereto.
8 moves the slide coupling plate 41 forward and backward, the rack 42
A slide opening 49 is formed to allow the stand frame 15 to escape to the outside of the side walls 15a and 15b.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a position detecting projection 51 extending laterally in the form of a plate is provided on the back side of the body portion 41d of the slide coupling plate 41. The position detecting projection 51 also has a function of preventing the slide coupling plate 41 from being distorted due to bending or the like. Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, an interrupter (light emitting and receiving element pair) 52 which cooperates with the position detecting projection 51 and constitutes a transmission type optical sensor is assisted on the front wall 15b of the stand frame 15. It is attached by a plate 53. The transmission type optical sensor including the position detecting protrusion 51 and the interrupter (light emitting and receiving element pair) 52 slides when the position detecting protrusion 5 shields the light of the interrupter (light emitting and receiving element pair) 52. The home position of the connecting plate 41, that is, the support shafts 11 and 12 (H
It functions as an HP detection sensor 50 that detects P) and turns it on.

In the conventional apparatus, the discharge roller pair nips the sheet and then the discharge roller is stopped while the conveyance of the sheet is stopped.
While the sheet discharge is restarted after the pair of sliders are slid, in the sheet discharge apparatus 1, the support shafts 11 and 12 move forward and backward in the axial direction due to the above-described configuration. The drive from the transport motor 34 sent via the connecting gear 37 and the connecting gear 33 can be transmitted to the support shaft 12 even while the tray 12 is a tray discharge roller fixed to the support shaft 12. 5 and the tray discharge roller 4 fixed to the support shaft 11 in the axial direction, and the tray discharge roller pair 4 and 5 seals the tray.
It is possible to transfer the sheets at the same time.

With this structure, the time required for the matching process or the sorting process can be shortened.

The support shaft 11, which is connected to the support shaft 12 by the slide connecting plate 41, is provided with a first slide restricting member 19 provided on the support member 16 so as to prevent the paper discharge paddle 20 from moving in the axial direction. While remaining between the first slide restricting member 19, the slide driving unit 45 (FIG. 9) described later together with the support shaft 12 the shaft hole of the paper ejection paddle 20, each shaft hole of the first slide restricting member 19, and the side frame. It is configured to pass through a notch opening 38 provided in the frame 1b and to move back and forth in the axial direction.

With this structure, the tray discharge roller 4 fixed to the support shaft 11 moves forward and backward in the axial direction together with the tray discharge roller 5 which is a drive roller fixed to the support shaft 12. In addition, the sheet is nipped and conveyed together with the tray discharge roller 5 at the same time as it is moved forward and backward.

Further, the support shaft 11 is moved from the both ends of the paper discharge paddle 20 at least by a distance that the support shaft 11 moves back and forth.
It is processed into a mold shape, and the shaft hole of the paper discharge paddle 20 is also formed into a D shape. With this configuration,
By the slide driving unit 45, the support shaft 11 and the support shaft 11
It is possible to transmit the rotation of the support shaft 11 to the paper discharge paddle 20 positioned between the first slide restricting members 19 even while the tray 11 is moving forward and backward, and the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5 are supported by the shaft 11. , 12 ejects the sheet while advancing and retracting in the axial direction, while the sheet ejection paddle 20 is configured to exert an ejecting action on the sheet at a predetermined position between the first slide regulating members 19. ing.

E. Main aligning means (pulling means) 60 The sheet ejecting device 1 is a main aligning means 60 for surely pulling and aligning the sheet to the post-processing position on the fixed mounting portion 8.
have. The configuration of the main matching unit 60 will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the main aligning means 60 comprises a belt unit 61 which draws in the sheet and draws it to the post-processing position. In this embodiment, it is rotated from the upper support shaft 12 described above. Support shaft 62 that is given a driving force
Two units are installed side by side. These two belt units 6
1, 61 are operated by the forward rotation of the common support shaft 62, and the tray discharge roller pair 4, 5 pre-alignment position (nip position) or width direction alignment reference position (positioning plate 2).
The sheet discharged while being biased toward 2) is further accurately determined by both the abutting plate 21 (discharging direction alignment reference position) and the positioning plate 22 (width direction alignment reference position). It is configured to urge and move to move to.

The term "pre-alignment position" as used herein refers to the innermost position of the tray among the nip positions of the belt unit 61, to be precise, the nip positions where the belt unit 61 can nip the sheet.

As already described in FIG. 12, the upper support shaft 1
2 is a connecting gear 33 and a force transmission mechanism (3
The drive shaft is rotated by the transport motor 34 through 5a to 35d, 37). The connecting gear 33 fitted to the support shaft 12 is prevented from moving in the axial direction of the support shaft 12 by the leg portion 32a of the second slide restricting member 32 and the hanging wall 31b of the second supporting member 31. It is regulated (see FIG. 10).

In order to obtain the driving force of the belt unit 61 from the support shaft 12, that is, to transmit the rotational drive force from the support shaft 12 to the support shaft 62, as shown in FIGS. A first bevel gear 63 is provided axially inward of the connecting gear 33. As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the first bevel gear 63 is located between the hanging wall 31b of the second support member 31 and the leg portion 32b of the second slide restricting member 32. The axial movement of the support shaft 12 is restricted by the hanging wall 31b of the second support member 31 and the leg portion 32b of the second slide restriction member 32.

On the other hand, the support shaft 12 penetrates a large number of members and is provided so as to be movable back and forth in the axial direction. That is, the support shaft 12 includes the shaft hole of the coupling gear 33, the shaft holes of the leg portions 32 a and 32 b of the second slide regulating member 32, and the second support member 31.
The penetrating wall 31b extends through the shaft hole and the opening 39 provided in the side frame 1b so as to be movable back and forth in the axial direction. Then, the support shaft 12 has the connecting gear 33 whose movement in the axial direction is regulated by the slide driving portion 45 by the leg portion 32a of the second slide regulating member 32 and the hanging wall 31b of the second supporting member 31. Can be slid in the axial direction while remaining within the regulation interval, and further, the axial movement is regulated by the hanging wall 31b of the second support member 31 and the leg portion 32b of the second slide regulation member 32. Further, the first bevel gear 63 is configured to be slidable in the axial direction while being left within the regulation interval.

Incidentally, the connecting gear 33 and the first bevel gear 63
The support shaft 12 is processed into a D-shape at least a distance in which the support shaft 12 advances and retracts from both ends of the connection gear 33, and the shaft holes of the coupling gear 33, the paper ejection paddle 20, and the first bevel gear 63 are also D-shaped.
It is formed in a mold shape.

On the other hand, in order to rotatably support one end of the support shaft 62 of the belt unit 61, an L-shaped mounting plate 65 is fixed to the side frame 1b as shown in FIG.
One end side of the support shaft 62 is rotatably supported by this, and a support arm portion 31c extending from the hanging wall 31b of the second support member 31 onto the fixed mounting portion (first tray) 8 is provided. The other end of the support shaft 62 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 62.

A second end is provided at the end of the support shaft 62 on the side of the support arm 31c.
Of the first bevel gear 64 is fixed, and the second bevel gear 64 of the second bevel gear 64 and the first bevel gear 63 of which the movement in the axial direction is restricted at a predetermined axial position of the support shaft 12 are provided. The support shafts 62 are engaged with each other, whereby the support shaft 62 is rotated by the drive of the transport motor 34.

Of the two belt units 61, 61 constituting the aligning means 60, one is provided near the outlet 7 of the support shaft 62 and the other one is located far from the outlet 7. Is provided on the support shaft 62. Since both belt units 61, 61 have the same configuration, only one unit will be described as a representative.

The belt unit 61 is a drive pulley 66 (FIG. 18) which is fixed to the support shaft 62 and rotates together with the support shaft 62.
And a supporting plate 67 (FIG. 17) arranged on both sides of the supporting plate 67, the rear end side of which is attached to the support shaft 62, and the supporting plate 67 being rotatably supported by the leading end side of the supporting plate 67 and the drive pulley 66 and a predetermined distance. The driven support pulley 68 (FIG. 19) positioned on the fixed mounting portion 8 side, the drive pulley 66, and the driven support pulley 6
8 and a matching belt 69 (FIG. 19) that is stretched between the two.

As shown in FIG. 19, the support plate 67 has a notch 67a for fitting with the support shaft 62 at the rear end thereof, and the rear portion of the notch 67a has a constant clamping force on the support shaft 62. It is detachably fitted. Therefore, the support plate 67
Is configured to rotate integrally with the support shaft 62 with a constant frictional force and to slide around the support shaft 62 when an external force sufficient to overcome the constant frictional force is applied.

When the support shaft 12 is driven by the transport motor 34 (FIG. 12) and the tray discharge roller 5 rotates in the direction for discharging the sheet S, the support shaft 62 moves from the support shaft 12 to the support shaft 62. The alignment belt 69 of the belt unit 61 is rotated and driven, and the sheet is scraped. The rotation direction is the alignment belt 69.
However, the intersection of the positioning plate 22 and the butting plate 21,
That is, the sheet S is rotated in the direction in which the sheet S is conveyed toward the stapler 23, which is the post-processing position. In other words, the belt unit 61 is oriented in a direction in which the sheet S can be conveyed toward the stapler 23 which is the post-processing position. The support arm portion 31c and the mounting plate 65 are provided on the tray discharge roller pair 4,5.
The sheet discharged by means of the belt units 61, 6 is abutted to the abutting plate 21 and the positioning plate 22 on the fixed mount 8.
The support shaft 62 is positioned so that 1 can be biased and aligned.

The length of the belt unit 61 from the support shaft 62 is set to be longer than the distance between the support shaft 62 and the upper surface of the fixed mounting portion (first tray) 8.
Therefore, when the belt unit 61 pivots integrally with the support shaft 62 due to frictional force, the tip of the belt unit 61 comes into contact with the upper surface of the fixed mounting portion (first tray) 8 from diagonally above (FIG. 19). After that, the belt unit 61 cannot perform the turning motion, and the support plate 67 of the belt unit 61 overcomes the frictional force and slides on the support shaft 62.
It holds the standby position shown in FIG.

In the belt unit 61 at the standby position, the position where the alignment belt 69 contacts the sheet is the above-mentioned pre-alignment position (nip position). As described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, in the operation mode with pre-alignment, the sheet is located at the pre-alignment position by the distance D1 or d.
1 (distance D4 or d4) is pre-aligned by the pre-alignment moving means 40, and then the belt unit 61 moves to the post-processing position by the distance D2 or d2 (distance D5 or d5).
Only the contact plate 21 and the positioning plate 22 are moved.
Is brought into contact with and the main alignment is made. Alternatively, it passes through the pre-alignment position and is directly moved to the post-processing position by the distance D3 or d3 (distance D6 or d6), and is brought into contact with the abutting plate 21 and the positioning plate 22 to perform the main alignment. However, since the aligning means (pulling means) 60 always hangs down obliquely from the support shaft 62 toward the seat as long as the support shaft 12 rotates in the normal direction, and operates in contact with the seat. , Acts as a load by giving a resistance force to the discharged sheet. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 36, the sheet is pushed back by the influence of the reverse conveyance (retraction) by the alignment belt 69, and the rear end portion of the sheet facing the fixed mounting portion 8 is not completely discharged. Occurs. If the trailing sheet is discharged in this state, the leading edge of the trailing sheet collides with the trailing edge of the leading sheet, causing a jam, or leaving the leading sheet skewed. The succeeding sheets are pushed out together with the succeeding sheets and are not sufficiently aligned by the aligning means 60, and the succeeding sheets are stacked (the sheets are stacked while skewed). In order to eliminate such a problem, the support shaft 11 is provided with, for example, a paper discharge paddle 20 as a forced discharge means for forcibly kicking the rear end of the sheet and discharging the sheet. The sheet discharge paddle 20 is a first member fixed to the support member 16 at an upstream position substantially opposite to the fixed placing portion 8 on the support shaft 11 and the main aligning means 60 in the sheet discharging direction.
It is provided between the slide restricting members 19. Further, the paper discharge paddle 20 has a bearing hole that is aligned with the corner-shaped portion 11a of the support shaft 11 having a D-shaped cross section on the base end side, and the support shaft 11 is slidably fitted through the bearing hole. There is. By doing so, even if the support shaft 11 slides by the pre-alignment moving means 40, the paper discharge paddle 20 does not move from a predetermined position corresponding to the main aligning means 60 and rotates by being driven by the support shaft. Is able to. While the sheet discharge paddle 20 rotates, it comes into contact with the seat portion corresponding to the fixed placing portion 8 and the main aligning means 60, and kicks out the rear end of the sheet to add to the sheet portion. A discharge force (forced discharge force) is added so that the rear end of the sheet in the discharge direction is completely discharged to the fixed mounting portion 8. Further, in this embodiment, the rear end of the sheet is completely discharged to the fixed mounting portion 8 by the paper discharge paddle 20, but other rotating bodies such as a belt and a roller are used as the forced discharging means. May be. Further, in the present embodiment, the paper discharge paddle is arranged only on the support shaft 11, but it may be arranged on at least one of the support shaft 11 and the support shaft 12, and may be arranged on both support shafts. Further, in this embodiment, the base end side cross section of the support shaft 11 and the bearing hole of the paper discharge paddle 20 are D-shaped, but the base end side cross section of the support shaft 11 and the bearing hole of the paper discharge paddle 20 are formed in this. However, the shape is not limited to a non-circular shape that allows relative sliding movement between the bearing hole and the support shaft 11 and can transmit the drive of the support shaft 11 to the paper ejection paddle 20.

F. Control means Next, the control means will be described.

(A) Control device (FIG. 20) FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the sheet discharging device according to the present embodiment. Reference numeral 111 denotes a CPU ( Central processing unit), 11
Reference numeral 2 is a ROM (read only memory) storing program data for the CPU 111 to control each unit, and 113 is a RAM (memory (memory) used by the CPU 111 for data processing). Random access memory), 114 is an I / O port, and 115 is an interface (I / F) for externally connecting to the host computer 116 of the image forming apparatus main body 100 by a communication line.

CPU 111, ROM 112, RAM
113, the I / O port 114, and the interface 115 are electrically connected by a bus line 117.

In the I / O port 114, an HP detection sensor 50 for detecting the home position of the support shafts 11 and 12 of the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5, and a paper path 2 of the paper path 2 as a conveyance path. An inlet sensor 131 (FIG. 2) provided at the inlet and a discharge sensor 134 provided near the discharge port 7 of the paper path 2 are connected. The discharge sensor 134 is an additional sensor and can be omitted.

Inlet sensor 131 and discharge sensor 134
Is a transmissive optical sensor composed of a light source and a light receiving element that are arranged with a sheet passage interposed therebetween, and is turned on when the sheet passes and blocks light. That is, the sheet S discharged through the paper path 2 between the upper guide 2a and the lower guide 2b in the processing device 1 is detected by a detection sensor composed of a light source and a light receiving element arranged with the paper path 2 interposed therebetween. Whether each sheet S has passed, that is, the passing sheet
For example, the sheet detection and the retention sheet detection are performed. The sheet S is discharged by a detection sensor composed of a light source and a light receiving element which are arranged with the sheet discharge port 7 downstream of the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5 interposed therebetween. Whether or not it is detected.

Further, the I / O port 114 is provided with a transfer motor for rotationally driving the support shafts 11 and 12 of the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5 based on the data from the host computer 116. Based on the data from the motor driver 118 of the motor 34 and the host computer 116, the slide motor 47 that axially moves the support shafts 11 and 12 of the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5. Motor driver 119 of FIG.

The transport motor 34 and slide motor 47 described above.
Is composed of, for example, a stepping motor. CPU11
1 supplies a motor control signal of a predetermined pulse to these motors 34 and 47 for drive control.

Outputs from the inlet sensor 131, the discharge sensor 134 and the HP detection sensor 50 are given to the CPU 111 of the microcomputer of the post-processing device. Also,
Information from an operating means (not shown) including a start key from the image forming apparatus main body 100, a sorting number setting key, a total recording number setting key, and a numeric keypad is also included in the micro computer of the post-processing device. Is input to the CPU 111.

(B) Control (FIGS. 21 to 23) The CPU 111 executes a program shown in FIGS.
Pre-matching and sheet post-processing shown in FIG. 3 are controlled.

That is, in step ST1 of FIG. 21, the operating state of the transport motor 34 is checked, and if stopped, the transport motor 34 is started in the forward direction (step ST).
2, ST3). Then, it waits for a sheet to arrive at the entrance sensor 131 (step ST4).

Next, since the sheet (previous sheet) preceding the sheet may be present in the paper path 2,
The presence / absence (whether the previous paper is being processed) is determined (step ST
5). This can be determined by monitoring the output of the discharge sensor 134, but here, the inlet sensor 1
A mode is adopted in which the determination is made by counting the sheet transport time or the number of transport pulses from the time when the sheet passes 31.

Next, the trailing end of the sheet is the entrance sensor 131.
Wait for exit (step ST6). In this case, although the rear end of the sheet is still nipped by the pair of transport rollers 3, the support shafts 11 and 12 are moved in the axial direction to slide the sheet. This is to prevent such an accident.

When the trailing end of the sheet passes through the inlet sensor 131, a "matching roller retraction pulse", which is the number of pulses required for the sheet to pass through the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5, is issued. Set (step ST7). And the entrance sensor 1
It waits for 15 mm to be conveyed after passing 31 (step ST8). This is to absorb the chattering motion due to the bound of the sheet.

Next, referring to FIG. 22, the discharge destination is checked based on the data and command given from the image forming apparatus main body 100, and the discharge destination reference is "straight position",
It is determined whether it is the "offset position (jog position)" or the "staple position" (step ST9).

If the discharge destination is the "straight position", nothing is done to exit the flow shown in FIG. 22 (step ST1).
0).

When the discharge destination is the "offset position (jog position)", the matching required speed is 15 in order to secure a predetermined offset movement amount or jog operation movement amount.
0mm / s and 20m to the right of HP as the required position for alignment
A position (-20 mm) deviated by m is determined (step ST1
1) The matching process is started to move to that position (step ST12).

When the discharge destination is the "staple position", based on the data and the command given from the image forming apparatus main body 100, the image forming apparatus main body 100 outputs the "center reference".
It is checked which of the "front standard (one side standard discharge)" and the "rear standard (one side standard discharge)" is carried out (step ST13). Then, the moving distance from each discharge standard to the pre-alignment position (alignment request position)
Is calculated, the distance (alignment required position) and the alignment required speed are determined (steps ST14 to ST20), and the alignment process is started to move to that position (step ST1).
2).

That is, in the case of "center reference", the moving distance to the pre-alignment position according to the sheet width (for example, FIG. 1).
3 is calculated (step ST14),
The result is set as the alignment required position, and 150 mm / s is determined as the alignment required speed (step ST1
5) Then, the matching process is started to move to that position (step ST12).

"Front reference (one side reference discharge)"
In the case of, ie, when the tray is discharged with the right end of the tray in FIG. 14 as a reference, the moving distance to the pre-alignment position according to the paper width (for example, d7 and d9 shown in FIG. 34) is calculated (step ST16). Then, the result is set as the alignment required position, 150 mm / s is determined as the alignment required speed (step ST17), and the alignment process is started to move to that position (step ST12).

Next, in the case of "rear reference (single-sided reference ejection)" (step ST18), that is, in the case where the tray is ejected with the left end of the tray in FIG. 34 as a reference, the sheet necessary for pre-alignment is set. Spindles 11 and 12 of the post-processing device
Since the movement width (distance α) of the above is known in advance, a constant movement distance αmm is set as the alignment required position from the discharge reference (step ST19), and 150 mm / s is determined as the alignment required position and the alignment required speed ( Step ST2
0), the matching process is activated to move to that position (step ST12). However, when the discharge standard itself matches the pre-alignment position, it is not necessary to perform the pre-alignment, and therefore the alignment processing is directly performed (step ST).
12).

In the aligning process, the aligning process is started to actually move the sheet by the calculated distance and send it to the pre-alignment position (step ST12). As a result, the sheet is conveyed and discharged by the rotation of the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5, and the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5 are moved in the axial direction by the above alignment processing. The nip position of the belt unit 61, which is the pre-alignment position, is approached.

Then, in FIG. 23, the above step S
If it is confirmed that the "alignment roller retraction pulse" set at T7 has been counted up and the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5 have been removed (step ST21), a discharge request for the next sheet, that is, the next sheet is issued. It is checked whether or not there is a sheet to be discharged (step ST22). If there is a request for discharging the next sheet, the process returns to step ST1, and the sheets to be discharged next are stacked and aligned.

A predetermined number of sheets are loaded, and step S
If it is determined in T22 that there is no request for discharging the next sheet, it is checked whether or not there is a staple instruction (step ST23). If there is no staple instruction, the process ends (step ST23).

If there is a staple instruction in the judgment of step ST23, the matching means (pulling means) 60
In order to perform main alignment (pulling to the post-processing position) by the caterpillar (belt units 61, 61) as described above, the pull-in pulse number, that is, the sheet is pulled from the pre-alignment position (nip position) to the post-processing position. The required number of pulses is set (step ST24).

Then, it waits for the transport motor 34 and the slide motor 47 to stop (step ST25), and then the staple motor (not shown) is rotated forward to execute the post-processing (step ST26). . In this post-processing, the stapler 23, which is the post-processing means, is activated to form the sheet bundle.
Pull is applied and the staple operation ends (step ST
27).

When this staple operation is completed, a series of operations from paper discharge to pre-alignment, main alignment and post-processing (staple) are completed.

(C) Modified Example of Control (FIGS. 24 to 25) FIGS. 24 to 25 show a control example in which the main aligning means (pulling means) 60 is not provided, that is, the sheet is moved to the pre-alignment position. An example of control in the case of moving to the post-processing position, to be precise, to the widthwise alignment reference position (positioning plate 22) without alignment is shown.

The difference between FIG. 24 and FIG. 22 is as follows. That is, in step ST1 in FIG.
4, in ST16, the moving distance to the pre-alignment position (D1, D4 in FIG. 13 and d1, d4 in FIG. 14) is calculated,
The calculation result was set as the matching required position. But,
In steps ST14a and ST16a of FIG. 24, the moving distance (D6 of FIG. 13 and d6 of FIG. 14) to the widthwise alignment reference position (positioning plate 22) is calculated, and the calculation result is set as the alignment required position. ing.

The difference between FIG. 25 and FIG. 23 is that
There are the following points. That is, in FIG. 23, step S
At T24 and ST25, the caterpillar pulling-in pulse is set and it waits until the carrying motor stops. However, at step ST25a in FIG. 25, since the main aligning means (pulling means) 60 does not exist, the carrying motor is simply moved. -It is stopping the data.

G. Sheet bundle discharging means 70 (FIGS. 29 to 3)
1) As described above, the sheet undergoes pre-alignment (pre-alignment moving means 40) and main alignment (belt unit 61),
The sheets are sequentially aligned and stacked at the post-processing position, and when a predetermined number of sheet bundles are formed, the stapler 23 as the post-processing means staples the single corner portion. This sea
As shown in FIG. 28, the bundle of sheets 90 has a storage tray (second tray) below the fixed placement portion (first tray) 8.
It is placed over 9. At this time, since there is a space for stacking and accommodating sheets, that is, a step, between the fixed mounting portion (first tray) 8 and the storage tray (second tray) 9 therebelow, the sheet is placed. The bundle 90 also has a curved portion 90a composed of a step portion curved along this.

Sheet bundle discharging means 7 shown in FIGS. 29 to 31.
Reference numeral 0 denotes a means for pushing out the sheet bundle 90 in this state in a direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction from the side and discharging the sheet bundle 90 out of the area of the fixed placing portion (first tray) 8. In the case of the present embodiment, the sheet bundle discharging means 70 pushes out the curved portion 90a of the sheet bundle 90 in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction, and the fixed mounting portion (first tray) 8 Pushing member 7 for moving from the lower part to the storage tray (second tray) 9 therebelow
1 and a turning drive mechanism 72 (driving means) for turning the same.

In order to configure this turning drive mechanism 72, as shown in FIG. 29, a gap is provided between the fixed mounting portion (first tray) 8 and the storage tray (second tray) 9 below it. A rotation lever 74 that rotates around the rotation center 73 is provided. At the tip of the rotation lever 74 that rotates,
The push-out member 71 is provided in the form of a “push-out rod” extending vertically. In addition, this rotation lever 74
Has a contact arm 75 extending obliquely downward from the rotation center shaft 73 and having a contact portion 75a (FIG. 31) formed at the tip.

On the other hand, in order to drive the rotary lever 74 to rotate, a worm wheel 76 with a cam is provided near the contact portion 75a with a cam 77 acting on the contact portion 75a.
Are rotatably mounted about an axis 78. When the cam-equipped worm wheel 76 reciprocally pivots around a shaft 78, which will be described later, the cam 77 comes into contact with the contact portion 75a to perform a predetermined turning motion. A worm gear 79 that meshes with the cam-equipped worm wheel 76 is provided on the side opposite to the side where the rotary lever 74 is present. This worm gear 79
Is a shaft 81 provided with a pulley 80 with a one-way clutch.
This one-way clutch equipped pulley 80
Is provided as a part of a gear train that constitutes the rotary drive mechanism of the support shafts 11 and 12.

That is, as shown in FIG. 30, a shaft 81 of a pulley 80 with a one-way clutch is rotatably provided on the side frame 1b and the support plate 82, and an intermediate pulley is provided on the side frame 1b. 35e is rotatably provided. The output of the transport motor 34 is transferred from the motor pulley 35a fixed to the output shaft thereof via the timing belt 36 to the intermediate pulley 35b and the transport roller pulley 3.
5c and the driven pulley 35d, and further to the one-way clutch-equipped pulley 80 via the intermediate pulley 35e. The worm gear 79 meshes with the shaft 81, which is the output side of the pulley 80 with a one-way clutch, and the one-way clutch acts by the action of the one-way clutch when the transport motor 34 rotates forward. When it is turned off and the one-way clutch-equipped pulley 80 idles, on the other hand, when the transport motor 34 rotates in the reverse direction, the one-way clutch is turned on and the rotational driving force is transmitted to the shaft 81.
The worm gear 79 is adapted to rotate.

When the worm gear 79 rotates, the worm wheel with cam 76 meshing with the worm gear 79 rotates, and the cam 77 in the state shown in FIG. 31 integral with the worm gear 79 contacts the contact arm 7.
32 (a) by contacting and pressing the contact portion 75a of FIG.
As shown in (b), the rotation lever 7 is rotated around the rotation center shaft 73.
Rotate 4. As a result, the pushing member 71 is
As shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the sheet bundle 90 is swung around the rotation center shaft 73 to push the sheet bundle 90 out of the area of the fixed mounting portion (first tray) 8.

Thus, the sheet bundle 90 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 33 (c), the sheet is ejected from the fixed placement portion (first tray) 8 onto the storage tray (second tray) 9.

When the sheet bundle 90 reaches the position shown in FIG. 32 (b) where the sheet bundle 90 is pushed out of the area of the fixed placing portion (first tray) 8, the conveying motor 34 rotates in the reverse direction to the forward direction. The shaft 81 becomes free, and the return spring 83 fitted on the shaft 81 returns the cam-equipped worm wheel 76 to the state shown in FIG. The rotation lever 74 also has a return spring 8
The action of 4 returns to the state of FIG.

From the above elements 74 to 84, the push rod 72 is
A mechanism (turning drive mechanism 72) for turning and driving the is configured.

In the conventional apparatus, after the sheet is completely discharged onto the tray, the sheet is aligned by pushing the sheet with the aligning plate or the aligning rod to move it to the aligning reference member. On the other hand, in the sheet discharging device 1 of this embodiment, the sheet SS is pre-aligned in advance by the sorting unit located upstream of the belt units 61, 61, which are aligning units, in the sheet conveying direction. This makes it possible to improve the matching accuracy and the matching efficiency without adding a dedicated matching means.

Further, the slide coupling plate 41 of the sorting means,
The support shafts 11 and 12 and the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5 fixedly mounted on these support shafts move forward and backward in the axial direction, and the sheet discharge by the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5 is simultaneously performed in parallel. Since the sheet SS can start the aligning operation to the pre-alignment position during the discharge operation by the tray discharge roller pairs 4 and 5, the aligning efficiency is further enhanced. be able to.

In this embodiment, when the pre-alignment is finally performed, the belt units 61, 61
Therefore, the main alignment for moving the sheet to the positioning plate 22 (alignment reference position) on one side in the width direction is required. However, before the main alignment by the belt units 61, 61, the sheet lateral feeding means (pre-alignment means) of the sorting means The sheet SS is moved to a position in the vicinity of the alignment reference position defined by the positioning plate 22 by the alignment moving means 40.
Since the sheet is moved, the sheet can be aligned more efficiently in a shorter time than the conventional device that moves the discharge position far from the alignment reference to the lateral alignment reference member.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the sheet SS is pre-aligned by the sorting means in advance, but the sheet SS is directly aligned by the sorting means with the alignment reference position by the positioning plate 22. Further, by setting the slide movement distances of the slide coupling plate 41 and the support shafts 11 and 12, it is possible to provide a more compact post-processing device.

The belt units 61, 61 move the sheet to the positioning plate 22 and the abutting plate 21, which are post-processing positions, during the sheet discharging operation and the aligning operation by the tray discharging roller pairs 4, 5. Since the sheet is rotated so as to be driven toward the sheet, the sheet is subjected to not only the aligning action by the sorting means (pre-alignment) but also the aligning action by the belt units 61, 61 (main alignment), which is more reliable. The alignment to the post-processing position is possible.

Further, in the present embodiment, the main alignment means (pulling means) 60 is always hung down obliquely from the support shaft 62 toward the sheet and discharged as long as the support shaft 12 is normally rotating. 35a35b, the solenoid 161 and the projection 67b of the support plate 67 are connected by the spring 111, and at a predetermined timing, as shown in FIGS. 35a35b. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the solenoid is excited to contact and separate from the discharged sheet. In this case, regardless of the size of the sheet to be discharged, the solenoid 161 is controlled so as to exert a matching action on the sheet by pressing the position of a predetermined distance from the rear end of the sheet with the aligning belt 69. With alignment belt 6
By means of 9, the sheet is loaded for a constant period, and the aligning belt 69 constantly applies the aligning action from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the sheet so that the sheet is loaded as compared with the previous embodiment. The load of can be reduced. However, even in this case, the sheet is pushed back due to the influence of the reverse conveyance (retraction) by the aligning belt 69, and the end of the sheet facing the fixed mounting portion 8 may not be completely discharged or may be slanted. Since there is still a risk of being oriented, a discharge paddle 20 and other rotating bodies such as belts and rollers are installed as forced discharge means, and an additional discharge force (forced discharge force) is added to the sheet. I am trying to do it. Further, in this embodiment, a plurality of tray discharge rollers 4 and 5 are fixedly mounted on the support shaft 11 and the support shaft 12, respectively, and the support shaft 11 and the support shaft 12 are slidably moved in the axial direction. Although the discharging means 6 is configured to slide, for example, the support shafts 11 and 12 on which the tray discharge rollers 4 and 5 are fixedly mounted are hollow shafts. By constructing the discharge paddle 20 as a forced discharge means through a fixed support shaft, the tray discharge rollers 4 and 5 can be slid together with the support shafts 11 and 12 along the support shaft of the discharge paddle 20. It is also possible to configure. In this case, the paper ejection paddle 20 as the forced ejection means may be located at a position substantially facing the belt unit 61 as the aligning rotation member due to the configuration fixed to its own support shaft. It is not necessary to fit the paper ejection paddle 20 against the paper ejection paddle 20 and position the paper ejection paddle 20 by a separately provided positioning means.

The present invention can be configured as a sheet discharging device or an image forming apparatus equipped with a sheet discharging device.

As described above, according to the sheet discharging device or the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the rear end of the sheet is located at the upstream position substantially facing the aligning rotary member in the sheet discharging direction. By providing the forced discharging means for discharging the sheet to the storing means, in the sheet discharging device which comes into contact with the sheet during the discharging of the sheet and exerts a matching action, the rear end of the sheet in the conveying direction is completely discharged by the discharging means. Will not be ejected to the sheet and will remain, causing a jam by colliding with the subsequent sheet or the sheet above.
It is possible to solve the problem that the sheets are discharged in a skewed manner due to the load on the sheet discharge, and the subsequent sheets are stacked without being properly aligned, and the sheets can be discharged in an appropriate posture.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic external view of a sheet discharging device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the sheet discharging device according to the present invention, which is vertically divided at a paper path portion.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the sheet discharging device of the present invention with a cover and a storage tray removed.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sheet discharging device of FIG. 3 with the base frame removed therefrom, as seen obliquely from above.

5 is an enlarged view showing a stand frame portion that supports a right end of a support shaft of the sheet discharging device of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a part of FIG. 5 in a further enlarged manner.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a sheet lateral feeding means (also used as pre-alignment moving means and sorting means) incorporated in the stand frame shown in FIG.
It is a perspective view seen from the inside of the device.

FIG. 8 is a HP provided on a stand frame of the sheet discharging device.
It is a figure showing the position of a detection sensor.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the structure of an HP detection sensor.

10 is an enlarged view showing a structural portion that supports a left end of a support shaft of the sheet discharging device of FIG.

11 is an enlarged view of a left end side of a support shaft of the sheet discharging device of FIG.

12 is a perspective view showing a drive mechanism portion of a support shaft of the sheet discharging device of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the relationship between the position of the sheet discharged from the sheet discharging device of the present invention based on the center, the pre-alignment position, and the main alignment position.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the relationship between the position of the sheet discharged from the sheet discharging device of the present invention on the one side basis, and the pre-alignment position and the main alignment position.

FIG. 15 is a view showing a sheet discharging position when the sheet discharging apparatus of the present invention is operated in a jog mode.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a power transmission system for rotating a support shaft of a belt unit added as a main aligning means to the sheet discharging device of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a portion of a belt unit added as a main aligning means to the sheet discharging device of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing the belt unit of FIG. 17 in a state where only the drive pulley is removed with the driven support pulley and the alignment belt removed therefrom.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing one of the pair of belt units in FIG. 17 with only the drive pulley.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control device of the sheet discharging device of the present invention.

FIG. 21 shows pre-alignment in the sheet discharging device of the present invention,
It is a figure which shows a part of control flow which performs this alignment and a sheet post-process.

FIG. 22 shows a part of a control flow for performing pre-alignment, main alignment and sheet post-processing in the present invention.
It is a figure which shows the continuation of.

FIG. 23 shows a part of a control flow for performing pre-alignment, main alignment and sheet post-processing in the present invention.
It is a figure which shows the continuation of.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a part of a control flow (without pre-alignment) for performing the main alignment and the post-process of the sheet as another control example in the sheet discharging apparatus of the present invention, and corresponds to FIG. FIG.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a part of a control flow (without pre-alignment) for performing the main alignment and the post-process of the sheet as another control example in the sheet discharging apparatus of the present invention. FIG.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing the relationship between the size and shape of the fixed placement portion (first tray), storage tray (second tray) and sheet in the sheet discharging device of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a view showing a modified example of FIG. 26 in which the fixed placing portion (first tray) in the sheet discharging device of the present invention has a rectangular shape.

FIG. 28 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship in the vertical direction of the fixed placement portion (first tray), storage tray (second tray) and sheet bundle in the sheet discharging device of the present invention. It is a figure.

FIG. 29 is a side view showing a partial section of a sheet bundle discharging means (sheet moving means) in the sheet discharging device of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing the structure of the sheet bundle discharging means (sheet moving means) in the sheet discharging device of the present invention from obliquely below.

FIG. 31 is a rear view showing the structure of the sheet bundle discharging means (sheet moving means) in the sheet discharging device of the present invention from below.

FIG. 32 shows the operation of the sheet bundle discharging means (sheet moving means) in the sheet discharging device of the present invention.
FIG. 6A is a back view showing the middle of discharging, and FIG.

FIG. 33 shows the operation of the sheet bundle discharging means (sheet moving means) in the sheet discharging device of the present invention.
FIG. 6A is a partial plan view showing before ejection, FIG. 8B is in the middle of ejection, and FIG.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the relationship between the position of the sheet discharged from the sheet discharging device of the present invention on a one-sided basis, the preliminary (pre) -aligned position, and the main aligned position.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a configuration for moving the present aligning means to the retracted position and the aligning position in the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a schematic view of the configuration of a conventional sheet discharging device as seen from above.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 sheet discharging device 1a Lock arm 1b Side frame 1c base frame 2 paper paths 2a Upper guide 2b Lower guide 3 Transport roller pair 4 Tray discharge roller (driven roller) 5 Tray discharge roller (drive roller) 4, 5 tray discharge roller pair 6-sheet discharging means 7 outlet 8 Fixed placement part (first tray) 9 Storage tray (second tray) (sheet storage means) 10-sheet single corner support means 11 spindles 11a Square shape part 12 spindles 12a Square shape part 13 E-ring 14 Removal prevention member for carrying 15 Stand frame (slide support frame) 15a side wall 15b front wall 15c side wall 16 First Support Member 17 First bearing member 18 Second bearing member 19 First slide regulating member 20 Paper ejection paddle 21 Abutting plate (position matching reference means) 22 Positioning plate (position matching reference means) 23 Stepper (post-processing means) 31 Second Support Member 31a Top wall 31b hanging wall 31c Support arm 32 Second slide regulating member 32a legs 32b leg 33 Connection gear 34 Conveyor motor 35a motor pulley 35b Intermediate pulley 35c Conveyor roll wrap 35d driven pulley 35e Intermediate pulley 36 Timing belt 37 Connection gear 38 Notch opening 39 opening 40 Pre-alignment moving means (sheet traverse means) 41 Slide coupling plate 41a ear 41b head 41c neck 41d body 41e leg 42 racks 43 Guide rod 44 Guide rod 45 Slide drive 46 Mounting plate 47 slide motor 48 pinion gear 49 Slide opening 50 HP detection sensor 51 Position detection protrusion 52 Interrupter 53 Auxiliary plate 60 matching means (pulling means) 61 Belt unit 62 spindle 63 First Bevel Gear 64 Second bevel gear 65 L-shaped mounting plate 66 drive pulley 67 Support plate 67a Notch 68 Driven support pulley 69 alignment belt 70 sheet bundle discharging means (sheet moving means) 71 Extruded member 72 Slewing drive mechanism 73 Center of rotation 74 Rotation lever 75 contact arm 75a contact part 76 Worm wheel with cam 77 cam 78 axes 79 Worm Gear 80 Pulley with one-way clutch 81 axes 82 Support plate 83 Return spring 84 Return spring 90 sheet bundle 90a curved part 100 Image forming apparatus main body 111 CPU 112 ROM 113 RAM 114 I / O port 115 Interface (I / F) 116 Host computer 117 bus line 118 motor driver 119 Motor Driver 131 Inlet sensor 134 Emission sensor (exhaust port)

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A discharging means for discharging a sheet, a storing means for receiving the sheet discharged by the discharging means, and a matching standard for aligning at least one side of the sheet discharged to the storing means. A member, an alignment rotator that contacts the sheet being discharged by the discharge means, and moves the sheet discharged to the storage means to the alignment reference member, and the alignment rotator in the sheet discharge direction. And a forced discharging means for discharging the rear end of the sheet into the accommodating means, the sheet discharging device. 2. The discharging means comprises a pair of rotating shafts and a discharging rotating body pivotally supported by each rotating shaft, and the forcible discharging means is forcedly supported by at least one of the pair of rotating shafts. The sheet discharging device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet discharging device comprises a discharging rotating body. 3. The sheet discharging device according to claim 1, further comprising a shift means for moving the discharging means in a shift direction along the rotation axis. 4. A positioning means for positioning the position of the forced discharging means in the shift direction at an upstream position substantially facing the alignment rotating body when the discharging means is shifted by the shifting means. Sheet discharge device described 5. The sheet according to claim 3, wherein the shifting means shifts the discharging means by moving the rotating shaft, on which the discharging rotating body is fixed, in a shift direction along the rotating shaft. Ejection device. 6. The positioning means comprises a bearing portion of the forced ejection means slidably fitted to the rotary shaft, and a positioning member for restricting movement of the forced ejection means in the shift direction. The sheet discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. A cross-sectional shape of a part of the rotary shaft or the entire rotary shaft slidably fitted to a bearing portion of the forced ejection means when the rotary shaft is shifted by the shift means is non-circular. The sheet discharging device according to claim 5. 8. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet discharging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.