JP2009126659A - Sheet delivery device, sheet processing device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet delivery device, a sheet processing device and an image forming device capable of improving aligning performance and stacking performance without damaging sheets. <P>SOLUTION: A delivered paper press lever 160 for pressing and guiding an upper face of a sheet delivered from a pair of bundle delivery rollers 130 by a movement mechanism is moved between a guide position for pressing and guiding the upper face of the delivered sheet and a retract position separated from the delivered sheet. A delivery angle when a sheet is delivered to a stacking tray 137 of the pair of bundle delivery rollers 130 is changed by a delivery angle change mechanism 156A. By driving force of a common drive part transmitted by a drive transmission mechanism for transmitting drive of a single drive source to the delivery angle change mechanism 156A and the movement mechanism, change in the position of the delivered paper press lever 160 by the movement mechanism and change in the delivery angle by the delivery angle change mechanism 156A are performed independently. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet discharging apparatus, a sheet processing apparatus, and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a sheet stacking unit that sequentially discharges sheets by a pair of discharge rollers.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, some image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine, a laser beam printer, a facsimile, and a composite machine of these include a sheet processing apparatus that performs processing such as binding processing and punching processing on a sheet on which an image is formed. The sheet processing apparatus includes a sheet stacking tray on which sheets are sequentially stacked, and a pair of paper discharge rollers for discharging the sheets to the sheet stacking tray (Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the discharge unit of such a conventional sheet processing apparatus. In FIG. 22, reference numeral 1007 denotes a carry-out roller 1007a and a carry-out roller 1007b, and a carry-out roller pair for carrying out a sheet from the upstream conveyance path. Reference numeral 1130 denotes a processing tray that receives sheets carried out by the pair of carry-out rollers 1007, and reference numeral 1200 denotes a stack tray that is an example of a sheet stacking tray on which sheet bundles that are discharged after processing are stacked.

  Reference numeral 1180 denotes a bundle discharge roller pair which is an example of a pair of discharge rollers including a lower bundle discharge roller 1180a and an upper bundle discharge roller 1180b arranged on the downstream side of the processing tray 1130 in the sheet discharge direction. Reference numeral 1150 denotes an oscillating guide having an upper bundle discharge roller 1180b on the lower surface of the tip and supporting the upper bundle discharge roller 1180b so as to be detachable from the lower bundle discharge roller 1180a.

  The unloading roller 1007a of the unloading roller pair 1007 is wound with a knurled belt (not shown) at several positions in the axial direction between the unloading roller 1007b and each sheet guide is placed at an appropriate position between the knurling belts. It is arranged.

  The processing tray 1130 is inclined by positioning the downstream side (upper left side in the drawing) upward and the upstream side (lower right side in the drawing) downward with respect to the sheet discharge direction. Further, the processing tray 1130 has a trailing end stopper 1131 and a pair of alignment members 1140 in the sheet width direction, and a drawing paddle 1160 is disposed above the middle portion of the processing tray 1130.

  In the sheet processing apparatus configured as described above, a sheet discharged from a main body (not shown) of the image forming apparatus is first conveyed from the pair of unloading rollers 1007 toward the processing tray 1130, and then to the trailing end stopper 1131 by its own weight. Start moving. Then, the paddle 1160 stopped at the home position at this time rotates counterclockwise, and thus the movement of the sheet is promoted. Next, when the trailing edge of the sheet comes into contact with the stopper 1131 and stops, the rotation of the paddle 1160 is stopped, and thereafter, the alignment member 1140 causes a direction orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction (hereinafter referred to as the width direction). Align.

  Next, when all sheets of the first copy are discharged onto the processing tray 1130 and aligned, the swing guide 1150 is then lowered, and the upper bundle discharge roller 1180b rides on the sheet bundle to discharge the upper bundle. The sheet bundle is sandwiched between the roller 1180b and the lower bundle discharge roller 1180a. Next, the sheet bundle is stapled by a stapler (not shown) waiting on the rear end stopper 1131 side, and the stapled sheet bundle is discharged onto the stack tray 1200 by a bundle discharge roller pair 1180.

  On the other hand, when such a sheet bundle binding operation is performed, a plurality of sheets, for example, 3 sheets, are newly discharged from the image forming apparatus main body to a buffer roller (not shown) provided upstream of the carry-out roller pair 1007. A sheet can be wound. Thus, the sheets can be stored without conveying the sheets to the processing tray 1130 side.

  Next, when the stapled sheet bundle is discharged onto the stack tray 1200, the three sheets that have become a sheet bundle at the buffer roller portion are conveyed to the processing tray 1130 side through the upstream conveyance path as they are. . At this time, since the swing guide 1150 remains down, the bundle discharge roller pair 1180 receives three sheets.

  Thereafter, when the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the carry-out roller pair 1007, the bundle discharge roller pair 1180 is reversed, whereby the three sheets are conveyed toward the stopper 1131. Note that the swing guide 1150 rises before the trailing edge of the sheet comes into contact with the stopper 1131, and accordingly, the upper bundle discharge roller 1180 b moves away from the sheet surface.

  As with the operation of the first copy, the fourth and subsequent sheets pass through the upstream conveyance path, and on the processing tray in which the swing guide 1150 is raised and the bundle discharge roller pair 1180 is separated. Discharged. Thereafter, the processing for the second sheet bundle is completed. For the third and subsequent copies, the alignment process is performed in the same manner as the second copy, and the job ends when the set number of copies are stacked on the stack tray 1200.

  Here, conventionally, the bundle return angle (nip angle) of the bundle discharge roller pair 1180 is arranged to be slightly larger than the angle of the processing tray 1130 with respect to the horizontal. This is because when the three stacked sheets are brought into contact with the stopper 1131, the three stacked sheets are brought into contact with the base of the stopper 1131. It prevents bending and makes it easy to align even curled sheets.

  In the conventional sheet processing apparatus, in the sorting (sorting) process in the stapleless mode, one sheet bundle is divided into a small number (2 to 5 sheets) and stacked on the processing tray, and then the stack tray. There is one that bundles out 1200 (see Patent Document 2). With this configuration, the stackability on the stack tray is improved.

  In addition, a sheet pressing member is provided on the downstream side of the sheet discharge roller, and the sheet is pressed toward the stacking tray by the sheet pressing member, thereby suppressing sheet curling and improving tray drop stability during discharging. There is a thing (refer patent document 3). With this configuration, the loadability on the stacking tray is improved.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-181988 JP-A-10-194568 JP 2003-252511 A

  By the way, in the conventional sheet processing apparatus, when the sheets stacked on the inclined processing tray are discharged by the bundle discharge roller pair, the conveying direction (nip angle) of the bundle discharge roller pair is usually set to the processing tray angle ( 1 to 2 degrees larger than the conventional horizontal plane (approximately 35 degrees). Thus, when the sheet is reversely conveyed from the bundle discharge roller toward the trailing edge stopper, the sheet is reversely conveyed along the processing tray surface.

  The processing tray has an inclination of about 35 ° with respect to the horizontal plane in consideration of sheet alignment and time reduction required for alignment. Similarly to the processing tray, the stacking tray is set at an angle slightly closer to the horizontal (approximately 30 ° with respect to the conventional horizontal plane) than the processing tray in consideration of consistency, paper discharge stacking time, and stacking shape.

  Conventionally, when the basis weight of the sheet, the use environment, and the curl state are taken into account, if the sheet discharge angle is larger than 25 ° from the horizontal plane, or the discharge angle is larger than the stacking tray angle, the leading edge floats and the sheet drops. It is known that the discharge performance is lowered due to instability and the like. For this reason, normally, in order to perform stable paper discharge at the paper discharge unit, the paper discharge angle is set to 20 ° to 22 ° from the horizontal plane, and the front end of the sheet is moved to the stack tray before the rear end of the sheet passes through the paper discharge nip. It is made to contact the surface.

  In the case of the conventional example shown in Patent Document 2 described above, when a sheet bundle is discharged from the processing tray, the sheet bundle is discharged further upward than the stacking tray inclination angle (35 °). In this case, as described above, after the trailing end of the sheet bundle passes through the nip of the bundle discharge roller pair, the discharge of the paper onto the stacking tray becomes unstable. For this reason, a bundle of sheets is discharged, and thus discharging a bundle of sheets increases the weight of the discharged sheet bundle and improves the paper discharge performance.

  However, when the paper discharge angle is large (approximately 35 ° to 36 °) as described above, there is a problem that poor stacking or the like occurs in light and thin paper or a sheet whose front end is curled upward. In addition, considering the floating of the tip during discharge and unstable instability of discharge, there is a limit to increasing the discharge speed.

  Furthermore, since a plurality of sheets are bundled and discharged after being once stacked on the processing tray, it is necessary to complete stacking alignment processing on the processing tray during the sheet conveyance interval. For this reason, it has been difficult to cope with further high-speed paper discharge.

  Here, for example, if the sheet pressing member shown in Patent Document 3 is provided in the one shown in Patent Document 2, the stackability on the stacking tray can be improved. However, as shown in Patent Document 2, when the discharge angle is large (in the direction of approximately 35 ° to 36 °), in order to set the trailing edge of the discharged sheet sufficiently against the stacking tray, It is necessary to increase the contact angle between the discharge sheet and the sheet pressing member.

  However, when the contact angle between the discharge sheet and the sheet pressing member is increased as described above, the leading edge may be buckled depending on the thin sheet, the paper curl direction, and the curl direction (particularly upward). is there.

  In addition, considering the buckling of the leading edge of the sheet, if the set angle of the sheet pressing member is made closer to the horizontal direction so that the contact angle with the discharged sheet becomes small, the leading end of the sheet pressing member is near the trailing edge of the sheet Instead, the sheet is pressed at a position closer to the center. In this case, the pressing function cannot be sufficiently achieved, and there is a problem that stacking failure due to leaning of the rear end portion of the discharge sheet and tray dropability after discharge from the discharge roller nip are deteriorated.

For this reason, when a sheet pressing member is provided, the contact angle of the sheet pressing member with the discharge sheet is increased, and the back end of the stacking tray is pressed while taking the leading edge buckling into account when discharging the sheet. Then, a plurality of bundles are once formed in the processing tray, and a plurality of sheets are discharged simultaneously. However, even in such a configuration, the sheet having a basis weight of 64 g / m ² or less could not be discharged because of the buckling of the thin sheet.

  As described above, in the conventional sheet processing apparatus, in order to improve the alignment, the sheet discharge angle of the sheet discharge roller that conveys the sheet or the sheet bundle in both forward and reverse directions is set in the direction toward the trailing edge of the processing tray. Need to turn. However, in such a configuration, the loadability is low, and it is very difficult to achieve both consistency and loadability.

  Further, in such a configuration, it is necessary to discharge a small number of sheets, and it is difficult to cope with the high speed. Furthermore, the contact angle between the discharge sheet and the sheet pressing member must be increased from the relationship between the pressing effect of the sheet pressing member and the discharge angle, but in this case, the sheet may be damaged.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a current situation, and provides a sheet discharge apparatus, a sheet processing apparatus, and an image forming apparatus that can improve alignment and stackability without damaging the sheets. It is intended to do.

  The present invention provides a sheet discharge device that sequentially discharges a sheet to a sheet stacking unit by a pair of discharge rollers, a sheet guide unit that guides a sheet discharged from the pair of discharge rollers, and a sheet that is discharged from the sheet guide unit. A moving mechanism for moving between a guide position for guiding and a retracted position away from the discharged sheet; a discharge angle changing mechanism for changing a discharge angle for discharging the sheet to the sheet stacking portion of the discharge roller pair; A single drive source for driving the discharge angle changing mechanism and the moving mechanism; and a drive transmission mechanism for transmitting the drive of the drive source to the discharge angle changing mechanism and the moving mechanism. Due to the driving force of the driving source transmitted by the mechanism, the position of the sheet guide means is changed by the moving mechanism, and the discharge angle changing mechanism is used to change the position of the sheet guide means. It is characterized in that performed independently change angle out.

  As in the present invention, the position of the sheet guide means by the moving mechanism and the change of the discharge angle by the discharge angle change mechanism are independently performed by the driving force transmitted by the drive transmission mechanism, thereby damaging the sheet. Therefore, it is possible to improve alignment and loadability without any problem. Further, the drive transmission mechanism has a torque limiter provided between the single drive source and the moving means of the moving mechanism, thereby changing the position of the sheet guide means with a simple drive configuration, The discharge angle can be changed independently by the discharge angle changing mechanism.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a color copying machine as an example of a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus provided with a sheet discharge apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 300 denotes a color copying machine (hereinafter referred to as a copying machine), 300A denotes a copying machine main body, an image reading device 300B is provided above the copying machine main body 300A, and a side of the copying machine main body 300A. A finisher 100 which is a sheet processing apparatus is connected. A document feeder 500 that feeds a document to the platen glass 906 is provided on the upper surface of the copying machine main body 300A.

  In such a copying machine 300, when a paper feed signal is output, sheets are fed from the cassettes 909a to 909d provided in the copying machine main body 300A to the image forming unit 910. Thereafter, the toner images of four colors formed by the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black photosensitive drums 914a to 914d, respectively, are transferred to the sheet according to the document information read by the image reading device 300B. It is conveyed to the fixing device 904.

  Next, the transfer image is permanently fixed in the fixing device 904, and the sheet on which the image has been fixed is then discharged from the copying machine main body 300A and processed by the finisher 100 that processes the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming unit 910. Be transported.

  Here, the position where the user faces the operation unit 301 (FIG. 3) for performing various inputs / settings on the copier 300 is referred to as the front front side (hereinafter referred to as the front side) of the image forming apparatus, and the rear side of the apparatus is the back side. Called the side. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the image forming apparatus viewed from the front side of the apparatus. The finisher 100 is connected to the side of the copying machine main body 300A.

  The finisher 100 sequentially takes sheets discharged from the copying machine main body 300A, aligns a plurality of fetched sheets and bundles them into one bundle, and performs a punching process that punches holes near the rear end of the fetched sheets. It has become. Further, the finisher 100 is configured to perform processing such as stapling processing (binding processing) and bookbinding processing for stapling the rear end side of the sheet bundle. The stapler 100A for stapling the sheet and the sheet bundle are folded in two. A saddle unit 135 for bookbinding is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the finisher 100 includes an entrance roller pair 102 for taking the sheet into the apparatus, and the sheet discharged from the copying machine main body 300 </ b> A is delivered to the entrance roller pair 102. . At this time, the sheet delivery timing is also detected by the entrance sensor 101 at the same time.

  Thereafter, the sheet conveyed by the inlet roller pair 102 passes through the conveyance path 103 and the edge position of the sheet is detected by the lateral registration detection sensor 104, and how much is the center (center) position of the finisher 100, It is detected whether a deviation in the width direction has occurred.

  In addition, after such a shift in the width direction (hereinafter referred to as a lateral registration error) is detected, the shift unit 108 is moved forward or backward while the sheet is being conveyed to the shift roller pair 105, 106. The sheet shift operation is performed by moving the predetermined amount.

  Next, the sheet is conveyed by the conveyance roller 110 and the separation roller 111 and reaches the buffer roller pair 115. Thereafter, when the sheet is discharged to the upper tray 136, the upper path switching member 118 is brought into a broken line state in the figure by a driving means such as a solenoid (not shown). As a result, the sheet is guided to the upper path conveyance path 117 and discharged to the upper tray 136 by the upper discharge roller 120.

  When the sheet is not discharged to the upper tray 136, the sheet conveyed by the buffer roller pair 115 is guided to the bundle conveying path 121 by the upper path switching member 118 in the state indicated by the solid line. Thereafter, the sheet passes through the conveyance path sequentially by the conveyance roller 122 and the bundle conveyance roller pair 124.

  Next, when the conveyed sheet is discharged to a lower stacking tray 137 as a sheet stacking unit, it is transported to the lower path 126 by the saddle path switching member 125 in the state shown by the solid line. Thereafter, the sheet is discharged to the intermediate processing tray 138 by the lower discharge roller pair 128. The discharged sheets are aligned while sequentially stacking the sheets by the return means such as the paddle 131 and the belt roller 158, and a predetermined number of sheets are processed on the intermediate processing tray for performing processing on the aligned and stacked sheet bundle. It is matched.

  Next, the sheet bundle that has been aligned on the intermediate processing tray in this manner is subjected to binding processing by a stapler 132 that forms a binding portion as necessary, and thereafter, a lower stacking tray 130 by a bundle discharge roller pair 130. The paper is discharged to 137. The stapler 132 is movable in a direction orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction (hereinafter referred to as a depth direction), and can bind a plurality of locations at the rear end portion of the sheet bundle.

  On the other hand, when the sheet is subjected to saddle (saddle stitching) processing, the saddle path switching member 125 is moved to a position indicated by a broken line by driving means such as a solenoid (not shown). As a result, the sheet is conveyed to the saddle path 133, guided to the saddle unit 135 by the pair of saddle entrance rollers 134, and subjected to saddle processing (saddle stitching processing).

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 100B denotes an inserter provided on the upper portion of the finisher 100. The inserter 100B is for inserting a sheet (insert sheet) different from a normal sheet between the first page and the last page of a sheet bundle or a sheet on which an image is formed in the copying machine main body 300A.

  The inserter 100B conveys the insert sheet set on the insert trays 140 and 141 to any of the upper tray 136, the intermediate processing tray 138, and the saddle unit 135 without passing through the copying machine main body 300A.

  In such an inserter 100B, when the insert sheet is inserted into the image forming sheet bundle, the insert sheet set on the insert trays 140 and 141 is fed by the pickup rollers 142 and 143.

  Then, the insert sheet is transported by transport rollers 144, 145, 147, and 148, and is merged on the upstream side of the transport roller 110 and the separation roller 111 of the finisher 100. Thereafter, the sheet is conveyed to any of the upper tray 136, the intermediate processing tray 138, and the saddle unit 135 in the same manner as the sheet discharged from the copying machine main body 300A.

  FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the copier 300. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 330 denotes a CPU circuit unit disposed at a predetermined position of the copier body 300A. The CPU circuit unit includes a CPU 329, a ROM 331 storing a control program and the like, an area for temporarily storing control data, and a RAM 350 used as a work area for operations associated with control.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 337 denotes an external interface between the copying machine 300 and an external PC (computer) 320. When the external interface 337 receives pooling data from the external PC 320, the external interface 337 develops the data into a bitmap image and outputs it as image data to the image signal control unit 334.

  The image signal control unit 334 outputs the data to the printer control unit 335, and the printer control unit 335 outputs the data from the image signal control unit 334 to an exposure control unit (not shown). Note that an image of a document read by the image sensor 954 (see FIG. 1) is output from the image reader control unit 333 to the image signal control unit 334, and the image signal control unit 334 outputs this image output to the printer control unit 335. Output.

  The operation unit 301 includes a plurality of keys for setting various functions relating to image formation, a display unit for displaying a setting state, and the like. Then, a key signal corresponding to the operation of each key by the user is output to the CPU circuit unit 330, and corresponding information is displayed on the display unit based on the signal from the CPU circuit unit 330.

  The CPU circuit unit 330 controls the image signal control unit 334 in accordance with the control program stored in the ROM 331 and the setting of the operation unit 301, and the document feeding device 500 (see FIG. 1) via the document feeding device control unit 332. ) To control. In addition, the image reading device 300B (see FIG. 1) is connected via the image reader control unit 333, the image forming unit 910 (see FIG. 1) is connected via the printer control unit 335, and the finisher 100 is connected via the finisher control unit 336. Control.

  In the present embodiment, the finisher control unit 336 is mounted on the finisher 100 and performs drive control of the finisher 100 by exchanging information with the CPU circuit unit 330. Alternatively, the finisher control unit 336 may be disposed integrally with the CPU circuit unit 330 on the copying machine main body side to control the finisher 100 directly from the copying machine main body side.

  FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the finisher 100 according to the present embodiment. The finisher control unit 336 includes a CPU (microcomputer) 701, a RAM 702, a ROM 703, an input / output unit (I / O) 705, a communication interface 706, a network interface 704, and the like.

  An intermediate processing tray control unit 708 is connected to the input / output unit (I / O). The intermediate processing tray control unit 708 performs drive control of the front alignment plate motor M340, the back alignment plate motor M341, the swing guide opening / closing motor 180, the paddle rotation motor 181, the discharge angle movement motor 165, and the like.

  The intermediate processing tray control unit 708 is connected to a front alignment plate position sensor S340, a back alignment plate position sensor S341, a swing guide opening / closing detection sensor 168, a paper discharge angle detection sensor 167, and the like.

  Incidentally, when stapling or saddle processing is performed, a certain processing time is usually required. Although this part depends on the image forming speed of the copying machine main body 300A, it is usually difficult to complete this process during the sheet discharge interval, so this processing time exceeds the sheet discharge interval. It is common.

  For this reason, in the present embodiment, when the finisher 100 discharges the sheet to the intermediate processing tray 138, the finisher 100 can stack a plurality of sheets being conveyed and discharge them to the intermediate processing tray 138. . In the present embodiment, as will be described later, three sheets being conveyed are overlapped and discharged to the intermediate processing tray 138.

  Next, the configuration of the staple unit 100A provided with the intermediate processing tray 138 and the sheet discharge device 600 according to the present invention shown in FIG. 2 described above will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the intermediate processing tray 138 is arranged with the downstream side (left side in FIG. 5) inclined upward and the upstream side (right side in FIG. 5) inclined downward with respect to the sheet bundle discharge direction. A rear end stopper 150 is disposed at a lower end portion on the upstream side of the intermediate processing tray 138. The intermediate processing tray 138 may be horizontal.

  Front and back aligning portions 340 and 341 as shown in FIG. 6 are provided in the intermediate portion of the intermediate processing tray 138. Here, the front and back alignment portions 340 and 341 include front and back alignment plates 340a and 341a having alignment surfaces 340a ′ and 341a ′, and front and back driving the front and back alignment plates 340a and 341a independently. First alignment plate motors M340 and M341 are provided.

  When the position in the width direction of the sheet is regulated, the driving of the front and back alignment plate motors M340 and M341 is transmitted to the front and back alignment plates 340a and 341a via the timing belts B340 and B341. As a result, the front and back alignment plates 340a and 341a move independently along the width direction with respect to the processing tray 138 to align the position of the sheet on the intermediate processing tray 138.

  As a result, even when the sheet (or sheet bundle) is conveyed while being shifted in the width direction, the position of the sheet on the intermediate processing tray 138 can be aligned by the front and back alignment plates 340a and 341a.

  In FIG. 6, S340 and S341 are front and back alignment plate position sensors, and the front and back alignment plates position sensors S340 and S341 detect the home positions of the front and back alignment plates 340a and 341a, respectively. . And by providing such front and back alignment plate position sensors S340 and S341, when not operating, the front and back alignment plates 340a and 341a are respectively set to the home position positions set at both ends. Can wait.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a pull-in paddle 131 and a swing guide 149 are arranged at the upper end portion that is the downstream side of the intermediate processing tray 138. Here, a plurality of pull-in paddles 131 are arranged above the intermediate processing tray 138, and a plurality of pull-in paddles 131 are fixed along a drive shaft 157 that is rotated by a paddle rotation motor 181 (see FIG. 4).

  The pull-in paddle 131 is rotated counterclockwise at an appropriate timing by a paddle rotation motor 181. In FIG. 5, there are a plurality of pull-in paddles 131 that are sheets conveying means that convey the sheet and abut against the trailing end stopper 150, but there are a plurality of pull-in paddles 131 in the axial direction of the drive shaft 157.

  The sheet discharged from the lower discharge roller pair 128 moves on the stacking surface of the intermediate processing tray 138 or on the sheets stacked on the intermediate processing tray 138 by the inclination of the intermediate processing tray 138 and the action of the pull-in paddle 131. Downhill. The sheet sliding down in this way is stopped by abutting against the rear end stopper 150 whose rear end (upstream end in the discharge direction) is a stopper.

  On the other hand, the swing guide 149 constituting the sheet discharge device 600 rotatably holds the upper discharge roller 130b constituting the bundle discharge roller pair 130 together with the lower discharge roller 130a provided at the downstream end of the intermediate processing tray 138. is doing. As the swing guide 149 swings, the upper discharge roller 130b comes into contact with the lower discharge roller 130a. Note that the bundle discharge roller pair 130 (for example, the lower discharge roller 130a), which is a discharge roller pair, is rotated forward and backward by a drive motor (not shown).

  Further, the swing guide 149, which is a holding member that holds the upper discharge roller 130b, which is one of the bundle discharge roller pair 130, is driven by a swing guide opening / closing motor 180 (see FIG. 4). Oscillates up and down around the fulcrum. Normally, when the sheet is discharged onto the intermediate processing tray 138, the sheet swings upward, so that the upper discharge roller 130b moves away from the lower discharge roller 130a which is the other roller of the bundle discharge roller pair 130. It becomes an open state. The opening / closing position of the swing guide 149 at this time is detected by a swing guide open / close detection sensor 168 (see FIG. 4).

  When the processing of the sheets on the intermediate processing tray 138 is completed, the swing guide 149 swings downward, and the sheet bundle is sandwiched between the upper discharge roller 130b and the lower discharge roller 130a. After that, the bundle discharge roller pair 130 rotates in such a state that the sheet bundle is sandwiched between the upper discharge roller 130b and the lower discharge roller 130a as described above, whereby the sheet bundle is discharged to the lower stacking tray 137.

  Further, the swing guide 149 is provided with a guide guide 151 that is located upstream of the upper discharge roller 130b and guides the sheet to the roller nip portion of the upper discharge roller 130b. The swing guide 149 includes a first static elimination needle 152 that removes the surface charge of the sheet when the sheet is discharged from the lower discharge roller pair 128 into the intermediate processing tray 138 in the axial direction. ing. Further, a second static elimination needle 153 that is positioned downstream of the upper discharge roller 130b and removes the surface charge of the sheet discharged by the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is disposed in the swing guide 149 in the axial direction. ing.

  In FIG. 5, reference numeral 155 denotes an abutting member arranged coaxially with the support shaft 154 of the swing guide 149, and 156 denotes an eccentric cam. The contact member 155 is movably accommodated in a slider (not shown) integral with the swing guide 149, and is always supported by an urging spring (not shown) so as to contact the eccentric cam 156. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 156 </ b> A denotes a discharge angle changing mechanism that changes the sheet discharge angle of the bundle discharge roller pair 130.

  Further, the eccentric cam 156 is fixed to a shaft 156a shown in FIG. The shaft 156a is rotated by a discharge angle moving motor 165 shown in FIG. 8, which is a single drive source for driving a discharge angle changing mechanism 156A and a moving mechanism for moving a discharge pressing lever 160 described later. It is like that.

  The contact member 155 moves in the slider together with the support shaft 154 according to the rotational position of the eccentric cam 156, and the swing guide 149 reciprocates in the direction of arrow E shown in FIG.

  When the swing guide 149 reciprocates in the direction of arrow E in this way, the nip position of the bundle discharge roller pair 130 formed by the upper discharge roller 130b and the lower discharge roller 130a moves on the outer circumference circle of the lower discharge roller 130a. Moving. Accordingly, the sheet discharge angle by the bundle discharge roller pair 130 changes.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the eccentric cam 156 is rotated, the swing guide 149 moves (actuates), and the contact position of the upper discharge roller 130b with respect to the lower discharge roller 130a moves accordingly, and the bundle is moved. The sheet discharge angle by the discharge roller pair 130 changes. In other words, in the present embodiment, the discharge angle changing mechanism 156A is a second moving unit configured by the swing guide 149 and the contact member 155 that is a moving member that moves the eccentric cam 156 and the swing guide 149. Consists of.

  In FIG. 8, reference numeral 166 denotes a rotational position detection flag provided coaxially with the shaft 156a of the eccentric cam 156, and the rotational position of the eccentric cam 156 is determined by the rotational position detection flag 166 and the discharge angle detection sensor 167. Detected. That is, the rotation position detection flag 166 and the sheet discharge angle detection sensor 167 constitute a position detection unit that detects the position of the eccentric cam 156. When the series of swing guides 149 is moved, the accompanying guide guide 151, the first static elimination needle 152, and the second static elimination needle 153 are similarly moved. Therefore, the arrangement relationship with the upper discharge roller 130b does not always change.

  In FIG. 5, reference numeral 160 denotes a sheet discharge pressing lever which is a sheet guide means for pressing and guiding the upper surface of the sheet discharged from the bundle discharge roller pair 130. The sheet discharge pressing lever 160 is formed by the upper discharge roller 130b. It is arranged in the vicinity.

  The sheet discharge pressing lever 160 abuts and guides the sheet discharged from the nip portion of the bundled sheet discharge roller pair 130 from the upper surface direction, and functions as a restricting means for jumping the leading edge of the discharged sheet. Further, the paper discharge pressing lever 160 functions to stably drop the rear end portion of the discharged sheet in the direction of the stacking tray 137. Further, by providing the paper discharge pressing lever 160 having such a function, the stackability of sheets on the stacking tray 137 as a sheet stacking unit is improved.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the sheet discharge pressing lever 160 is fixed to a timing belt 163 that is hung between the first drive pulley 161 and the second drive pulley 162, and the first belt is moved along with the movement of the timing belt 163. And it is comprised so that it may move between 2nd drive pulleys.

  By moving in this way, the paper discharge pressing lever 160 comes into contact with the upper surface of the discharged sheet, and is separated from the guide position shown in FIG. 12 to be described later and the discharged sheet shown in FIG. Move between retreat positions. As described above, the first moving means for moving the paper discharge pressing lever 160 of the moving mechanism between the guide position and the retracted position includes the first drive pulley 161, the second drive pulley 162, and the timing belt 163.

Further, in FIG. 9, X ₁ is a first stopper portion which is a first regulating member abuts the discharge pressure lever 160 is moved to the guide position, X ₂ strikes the discharge pressure lever 160 is moved to the retracted position It is the 2nd stopper part which is a 2nd control member. As the timing belt 163 moves, the paper discharge pressing lever 160 abuts against one of the first and second stopper portions X ₁ and X ₂ and stops.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 160A denotes a moving mechanism that moves the paper discharge pressing lever 160 between the guide position and the retracted position. The moving mechanism 160 </ b> A includes the above-described moving means including the first and second stopper portions X ₁ and X ₂ , the first driving pulley 161, the second driving pulley 162, and the timing belt 163.

  In FIG. 9, reference numeral 162a denotes a pulley shaft that rotates the first drive pulley 161. The drive for moving the paper discharge pressing lever 160 is a drive train 165a provided between the rotating shaft 156a of the eccentric cam 156 rotated by the paper discharge angle moving motor 165 shown in FIG. 8 and the pulley shaft 162a. Is transmitted to the second drive pulley 162.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 8, there is a drive train 165a that constitutes a drive transmission mechanism that transmits the drive of the discharge angle moving motor 165, which is a single drive source, to the discharge angle changing mechanism 156A and the moving mechanism 160A. A torque limiter 164 as an overload torque protection mechanism is disposed. That is, the torque limiter 164 is provided between the pulley shaft 162a and the discharge angle moving motor 165.

  This torque limiter 164 is a drive transmission device provided with a transmission torque limiting mechanism that does not transmit drive to the downstream device on the opposite side when a rotational torque of a certain predetermined set value or more is applied on the same axis. Further, the torque limiter 164 includes a transmission torque limiting mechanism in both the forward and reverse rotation directions.

Then, the paper discharge pressing lever 160 is moved from the second drive pulley 162 side to the first drive pulley 161 side by the rotational drive from the paper discharge angle moving motor 165 capable of forward and reverse rotation, and the first stopper portion X shown in FIG. After hitting ₁ , the torque limiter 164 acts thereafter. Thereby, discharge pressure lever 160 remains holding the stop position abuts the first stopper portion X _1. After that, only the eccentric cam 156 continues to rotate by the rotational drive from the discharge angle moving motor 165.

Similarly, the opposite direction, when moving from the first drive pulley 161 side to the second drive pulley 162 side, discharge pressure lever 160 and abuts against the second stopper portion X _2, then the torque limiter 164 acts To do. Thereby, discharge pressure lever 160 will remain in a state of holding the stop position abuts the second stopper portion X _2, also that only the eccentric cam 156 continues around a rotating drive from the sheet discharge angle moving motor 165 Become.

Note that the motor rotation angle C ° required for the operation in which the eccentric cam 156 rotates 180 ° on the same axis (movement from the lower start point to the upper start point of the cam) and the longest distance of the moving range shown in FIG. The rotation angle L ° required for the moving operation is set as follows.
C> L + α (α: Torque limiter idling angle)

Further, if the rotational driving amount of the paper discharge angle moving motor 165 that moves the paper discharge pressing lever 160 from the guide position to the retracted position is Ls, the rotational driving amount Ls and the paper discharge angle moving motor 165 that rotates the eccentric cam 156 half a turn. The relationship with the rotational drive amount Lc is set as follows.
Ls <1/2 · Lc

As a result, the paper discharge pressing lever 160 is abutted against the first and second stopper portions X ₁ and X ₂ to first determine the position of the paper discharge pressing lever 160, and then the paper discharge angle moving motor 165 is stopped to be eccentric. The cam 156 can be accurately stopped by the paper discharge angle detection sensor 167.

  As a result, it is not necessary to provide detection means such as a position sensor on the paper discharge press lever 160 side, and the stop positions of the paper discharge press lever 160 and the eccentric cam 156 can be set with high accuracy. In addition, the discharge angle can be changed by controlling the drive of the discharge angle moving motor 165 based on the detection signal from the discharge angle detection sensor 167 as described above.

  Further, since the eccentric cam 156 has a symmetrical shape with respect to 180 degrees, as shown in FIGS. 14 to 18 described later, the position of the sheet discharge pressing lever 160 and the position of the eccentric cam 156 can be freely set. It is possible.

For example, FIG. 10 shows a state when the swing guide 149 is in the initial position. Incidentally, when in the initial position, discharge pressure lever 160 is in a state of being stopped by the second stopper portion X _2. From this position, when the eccentric cam 156 is rotated 180 ° in the clockwise direction of the arrow R in the drawing as shown in FIG. 11, the paper discharge pressing lever 160 acts to move in the direction of the arrow F.

However, this time discharge pressure lever 160 remains stopped by the operation and the second stopper portion X ₂ of the torque limiter 164, the order only to continue the eccentric cam 156 rotates 180 °, moves the swinging guide 149 . As a result, only the nip angle of the bundled paper discharge roller pair 130 (hereinafter referred to as the paper discharge nip angle) is changed from γ to β.

On the other hand, when 180 ° is rotated in a counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG. 12 the eccentric cam 156 from the initial position shown in FIG. 10, discharge pressure lever 160 is moved to a position abutting the first stopper portion X _1. As a result, the sheet discharge pressing lever 160 protrudes downstream of the bundle discharge roller pair 130 in the sheet discharge direction. Further, the discharge nip angle of the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is changed from γ, which is a nip angle for ensuring sheet alignment, to β, which can stabilize the floating property of the sheet.

  FIG. 13 shows a case where the sheet discharge press lever 160 is projected while the sheet discharge nip angle of the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is γ, which is a nip angle for ensuring sheet alignment. . Here, when the paper discharge pressing lever 160 is projected while the paper discharge nip angle is set to γ, the eccentric cam 156 is temporarily rotated 180 ° clockwise. At this time, as described above, the discharge presser lever 160 does not operate from the initial position due to the action of the torque limiter 164. Next, by rotating the eccentric cam 156 counterclockwise by 180 °, the eccentric cam 156 returns to the original initial position, and the paper discharge pressing lever 160 moves to the protruding position.

Further, by combining the rotation of the eccentric cam 156 at 180 ° or less and the forward / reverse direction, as shown in FIG. 14, the position of the discharge pressing lever 160 is moved to the first and second stopper portions X ₁ and X ₂ . It is possible to set an intermediate position that does not necessarily hit.

  For example, the eccentric cam 156 is rotated 120 ° clockwise to maintain the paper discharge press lever 160 at the initial position by the idling action of the torque limiter 164, and the eccentric cam 156 is rotated 120 ° counterclockwise to return to the initial position. Like that. As a result, the paper discharge pressing lever 160 protrudes to the intermediate position, and the eccentric cam 156 can be set at the initial position. Further, not only the position of the paper discharge pressing lever 160 but also the eccentric cam 156 is similarly set at a position between 0 ° and 180 °, that is, when the paper discharge nip angle is between β and γ. Is possible.

  Next, the operation of the intermediate processing tray unit in the unbound binding mode of the finisher 100 configured as described above and the operation of the intermediate processing tray unit in the staple sorting mode will be described.

  First, the operation of the intermediate processing tray unit in the unbound sort mode will be described.

  When an unbound sort mode job is selected, if the processed sheet is a normal sheet, the home sheet position shown in FIG. 10 is used before the first sheet of the job is ejected from the copying machine main body 300A. The eccentric cam 156 is rotated 180 degrees counterclockwise. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, the paper discharge pressing lever 160 protrudes, and the paper discharge nip angle of the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is set to β.

  The discharge angle moving operation is performed after the swing guide 149 is moved upward and the upper discharge roller 130b and the lower discharge roller 130a are separated from each other in order to prevent abrasion between the roller surfaces when the rollers are moved.

  Next, the sheet discharged from the copying machine main body 300A is conveyed by the shift unit 108 while being shifted by a predetermined amount from the center of discharge toward the near side, from the lower discharge roller pair 128 to the bundle discharge roller pair 130, and then to the stacking tray. Drain to 137. Thereafter, the same operation is repeated for the specified number of sorted sheets, and in the second copy, the bundle is discharged from the lower discharge roller pair 128 in the same manner as in the first copy while shifting a predetermined amount to the opposite side (back side) of the shift direction of the first copy. The paper is discharged to the stacking tray 137 through the roller pair 130.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the shift amount of one time is determined to be 15 mm on one side from the center of the paper discharge, so that the stack is stacked on the stacking tray 137 with the sort offset amount between the bundles set to 30 mm. When the mode without sorting is designated, a lateral registration correction operation is performed in which the sheet that has been transported while being skewed in the upstream portion is returned to the discharge center position by the shift unit 108, and the discharge center position is Then, the sheet is discharged to the stacking tray 137 through the bundle discharge roller pair 130.

  As described above, in an unbound job in which the binding process is not performed, the sheets are discharged to the stacking tray 137 one by one. For this reason, the sheet discharge nip angle of the pair of bundle discharge rollers 130 is set to β and the sheet discharge direction is set to the lower side, thereby stabilizing the floatability of the sheet after the sheet trailing edge passes through the bundle discharge roller pair 130. Can be made.

  Further, by causing the sheet discharge pressing lever 160 to project and causing the sheet discharge pressing lever 160 to contact the leading end of the sheet with the stacking tray early, it is possible to prevent the sheet from being disturbed during discharging, and the trailing end of the sheet. Since the portion can be pressed in the direction of the stacking tray, stacking performance is improved.

  On the other hand, when the discharged sheet is, for example, a thin and weak sheet, the eccentric cam 156 is rotated 180 degrees clockwise. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, the paper discharge press lever 160 is retracted, and the paper discharge nip angle of the bundle paper discharge roller 130 is set to β. By doing so, it is possible to avoid a collision between the sheet front end portion and the sheet discharge pressing lever 160, and it is possible to prevent a leading edge dent at the time of stacking and a sheet discharge defect.

  Here, when the sheet is coated paper or a sheet having a high μ (friction coefficient) on the surface, when the discharged sheet comes into contact with the already stacked sheet on the stacking tray, the discharged sheet is moved so as to push the already stacked sheet, The loading condition may be disturbed.

  This is because when a sheet having a high surface smoothness such as coated paper is discharged, a vacuum suction state is generated between the sheets due to the high smoothness of the sheet. In addition, when discharging a sheet having a high μ on the sheet surface, f (pushing force) [= μ × N (sheet mass)] increases according to the size of μ (friction coefficient).

  For this reason, when discharging a sheet with a smooth sheet surface and a high μ (friction coefficient) on the surface, it is necessary to turn the sheet discharge angle upward so that the loaded sheet and the discharged sheet do not contact each other as much as possible. is there. For this reason, when discharging coated paper or the like, the discharge angle of the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is γ shown in FIGS. 13 and 14.

  In the present embodiment, for example, based on the sheet information from the operation unit 301, the discharge angle of the bundle discharge roller pair 130 and the position of the discharge pressing lever 160 are also changed independently depending on the basis weight of the sheet. I have to. For example, in the case of a thick sheet of coated paper or μ high paper, the discharge presser lever 160 is set to protrude as shown in FIG. Further, in the case of a thin sheet of coated paper or μ high paper, the amount of protrusion of the paper discharge press lever 160 is set to be small as shown in FIG.

  Next, the flow of sheets and the operation of the intermediate processing tray unit in the staple sort mode will be described.

  When a job in the staple sort mode is selected, the discharge nip angle between the discharge presser lever 160 and the bundle discharge roller pair 130 before the first sheet of the job is discharged from the copying machine main body 300A is shown in FIG. Wait with the position set. That is, the sheet discharge press lever 160 is not projected, and the sheet discharge nip angle of the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is set to γ.

Next, the first sheet of the first sheet discharged from the copying machine main body 300A is conveyed by the shift unit 108 while being shifted by a predetermined amount from the discharge center toward the front, and thereafter, as shown in FIG. The sheet is conveyed from the lower discharge roller pair 128 to the bundle discharge roller pair 130. Then, after the rear end of the first sheet P1 passes through the lower discharge roller pair 128 and is fed by a predetermined amount, the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is reversed, and the rear end of the sheet P1 is moved to the rear end stopper 150. Transport in the direction at the transport speed _Vb . In other words, in the present embodiment, the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is selectively reversed, and when the sheet is stapled, the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is reversed.

Next, until the rear end of the first sheet P1 hits the rear end stopper 150, the swing guide 149 is raised as shown in FIG. 16, and the upper discharge roller 130b and the lower discharge roller 130a are separated. Thus, the sheet P1 which is conveyed at the conveying speed V _b, after this, now align abuts against the trailing end stopper 150 in a state in which the sandwiching by the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is released, in particular thin sheet It is possible to prevent the occurrence of buckling that tends to occur.

  Further, by setting the sheet discharge nip angle of the bundle discharge roller pair 130 to the initial position shown in FIG. 10, that is, by setting the nip direction of the bundle discharge roller pair 130 to the direction of the trailing edge stopper 150, the rear end of the sheet P1. The end can be reliably aligned by the rear end stopper 150. Thereafter, when the alignment of the first sheet P1 in the conveyance direction (rear end portion) is completed, the alignment in the width direction is performed by the front and back alignment units 340 and 341.

  Next, when the stacking alignment of the first sheet P1 is completed as described above, the second sheet P2 of the first copy is discharged from the lower discharge roller pair 128 to the intermediate processing tray 138. At this time, as shown in FIG. 17, the swing guide 149 receives the second sheet P2 in the raised position with the upper discharge roller 130b and the lower discharge roller 130a separated from each other.

  When the trailing edge of the second sheet P2 passes through the nip of the lower discharge roller pair 128, the drawing paddle 131 is rotated counterclockwise, and the trailing edge of the sheet is conveyed toward the trailing edge stopper 150. The second sheet P2 conveyed in the direction of the rear end stopper 150 in this way is then further drawn to the rear end stopper 150 by the belt roller 158 that rotates counterclockwise, and the surface of the rear end stopper 150 It is matched while hitting.

  Next, when the alignment in the conveyance direction (rear end) of the second sheet P2 is completed, the alignment in the width direction is performed by the front and back alignment units 340 and 341 as in the case of the first sheet P1. This series of operations is repeated until the first copy of the first sheet Pn hits the trailing edge stopper 150.

  Next, when the operation of aligning the final sheet Pn is completed, the trailing edge of the sheet bundle PA is stapled by the stapler 132. Then, as shown in FIG. 18, the swing guide 149 is lowered, the sheet bundle PA is held between the upper discharge roller 130b and the lower discharge roller 130a, and discharged to the stacking tray 137.

  In this way, during the stapling operation after the final sheet Pn hits the trailing end stopper 150 and the bundle discharging operation to the stacking tray, the sheet, that is, the first sheet P of the second copy is placed on the intermediate processing tray 138. It cannot be discharged.

  For this reason, as described above, during this time, the sheets discharged from the copying machine main body 300A are buffered (stored), and the next sheet is sequentially received from the copying machine main body 300A while being transferred to the intermediate processing tray 138. Processing is performed without discharging the sheet.

  Next, when the first sheet bundle is discharged, the buffered first to third sheets P21 to P23 of the second set are discharged in a state where they are buffered by tile stacking. It is conveyed from the roller pair 128 to the bundle discharge roller pair 130. Thereafter, the sheet is discharged to the intermediate processing tray 138 as shown in FIG.

Next, after the rear end of the bundle of three sheets passes through the lower discharge roller pair 128 and is fed by a predetermined amount, the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is reversed in the same manner as the first sheet of the first copy. Then, the rear end of the sheet bundle is conveyed in the direction of the rear end stopper 150 at the conveyance speed _Vb . After that, before the trailing end of the sheet bundle hits the trailing end stopper 150, the swing guide 149 is raised to separate the upper discharge roller 130b and the lower discharge roller 130a.

  Next, after the first to third sheets P21 to P23 of the second set are discharged to the intermediate processing tray 138 in this way and aligned, the sheets from the fourth set of the second set to the final sheet are loaded. As with the first copy, the sheets are discharged one by one. Thereafter, these sheets are aligned, and thereafter, stapled and discharged to the stacking tray 137. After repeating this operation for the specified number of copies, the job is terminated.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining the control of the intermediate processing tray unit described so far.

  First, when a discharge position is selected for the lower discharge tray by the operation unit 301 (710), a binding process presence / absence determination mode is entered, and the presence / absence of the binding process is determined (711). If it is determined that there is a binding process (Y in 711), the setting process of the sheet discharge conveyance angle and the sheet discharge pressing lever of the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is not executed, and the shift sort process presence / absence determination mode is maintained at the initial position. Next, the presence / absence of shift sort processing is determined (713).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no binding processing (N of 711), the processing proceeds to the processing mode for setting the discharge conveyance angle and discharge holding lever of the bundle discharge roller pair 130, and the discharge angle and discharge of the bundle discharge roller pair 130. The paper holding lever is set (712). As a result, the position of the paper discharge pressing lever 160 is set between the protruding position and the retracted position. Also, as shown in FIG. 21, the sheet discharge direction angle of the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is set between β and γ.

  Next, when the processing for setting the paper discharge conveyance angle and the paper discharge holding lever is completed, next, it is determined whether or not there is a shift sort process (713). If it is determined that there is a shift sort process (Y in 713), the shift unit control process of the shift unit is performed (714), and the sheet discharge operation from the image forming unit is started (715).

  If it is determined that there is no shift sort processing (N in 713), the sheet discharge operation from the image forming unit is started as it is (715). When all the sheets are discharged, the process returns to the initial control mode.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the paper discharge pressing lever 160 is moved between the guide position and the retracted position by the moving mechanism 160A, and the stacking tray 137 of the bundle discharge roller pair 130 is moved by the discharge angle changing mechanism 156A. Change the discharge angle when discharging the sheet. In addition, the drive train 165a transmits the driving force of the discharge angle moving motor 165 to the discharge angle changing mechanism 156A and the moving mechanism 160A. Then, the change in the position of the discharge pressing lever 160 by the moving mechanism 160A and the change in the discharge angle by the discharge angle changing mechanism 156A are independently performed by the driving force of the discharge angle moving motor 165 transmitted by the drive train 165a. Do.

  Thus, by independently changing the position of the discharge pressing lever 160 by the moving mechanism 160A and changing the discharge angle by the discharge angle changing mechanism 156A, consistency and stackability can be achieved without damaging the sheet. Can be improved.

  Also, with this configuration, it is possible to arbitrarily set the positions of the two moving bodies with a simple configuration while satisfying low cost and space saving, and to reduce device operating sound and power consumption. it can. In addition, a wide range of paper types and sizes from thin paper to thick paper, from small to large can be accommodated, and consistency and stackability can be improved in a wide range of usage environments regardless of the curl direction and size of the sheet. It becomes.

  In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the sheet discharge device 600 according to the present invention is incorporated in the finisher 100 has been described as an example. However, the same effect can be obtained in a configuration in which the sheet discharge device is incorporated in the copying machine main body 300A. It is done.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a color copier that is an example of a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus that include a sheet discharge apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure explaining the structure of the finisher which is the said sheet processing apparatus. FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the color copying machine. The control block diagram of the finisher control part provided in the said finisher. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a staple unit and a sheet discharge device that are provided in the finisher and include an intermediate processing tray. The figure explaining the structure of the front and back alignment part provided in the said intermediate processing tray. The 1st figure explaining the drive mechanism of the contact member and eccentric cam which were provided in the said rocking | fluctuation guide. The 2nd figure explaining the drive mechanism of the contact member and eccentric cam which were provided in the said rocking | fluctuation guide. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a movement range of a paper discharge pressing lever provided in the swing guide. The figure which shows a state when the said rocking | fluctuation guide exists in an initial position. The 1st figure explaining the state change according to rotation of the said eccentric cam of the said rocking | fluctuation guide. The 2nd figure explaining the state change according to rotation of the said eccentric cam of the said rocking | fluctuation guide. The 3rd figure explaining the state change according to rotation of the said eccentric cam of the said rocking | fluctuation guide. FIG. 6 is a fourth diagram illustrating a state change according to the rotation of the eccentric cam of the swing guide. FIG. 10 is a first diagram illustrating sheet flow and operation in the staple sort mode of the intermediate processing tray unit. FIG. 10 is a second diagram illustrating sheet flow and operation in the staple sort mode of the intermediate processing tray unit. FIG. 10 is a third diagram illustrating sheet flow and operation in the staple sort mode of the intermediate processing tray unit. FIG. 10 is a fourth diagram illustrating sheet flow and operation in the staple sort mode of the intermediate processing tray unit. The figure which shows the state by which the sheet | seat bundle was discharged | emitted by the said intermediate tray. 6 is a flowchart for explaining control of the intermediate processing tray unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an angle range in a sheet discharge direction of a bundle sheet discharge roller pair provided in the intermediate processing tray unit. The figure which shows schematic structure of the discharge part of the conventional sheet processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

100 Finisher 130 Bundle discharge roller pair 130a Lower discharge roller 130b Upper discharge roller 137 Stacking tray 138 Intermediate processing tray 149 Swing guide 155 Contact member 156 Eccentric cam 156A Discharge angle changing mechanism 160 Discharge pressing lever 160A Moving mechanism 161 First drive Pulley 162 Second drive pulley 163 Timing belt 164 Torque limiter 165 Discharge angle movement motor 165a Drive train 166 Rotation position detection flag 167 Discharge angle detection sensor 300 Color copier 300A Copier main body 336 Finisher controller 600 Sheet discharge device 910 Image Forming part P Sheet X ₁ 1st stopper part X ₂ 2nd stopper part

Claims (8)

In a sheet discharge device that sequentially discharges sheets to a sheet stacking unit by a pair of discharge rollers,
Sheet guide means for guiding the sheet discharged from the discharge roller pair;
A movement mechanism for moving the sheet guide means between a guide position for guiding a discharged sheet and a retracted position away from the discharged sheet;
A discharge angle changing mechanism for changing a discharge angle for discharging a sheet to the sheet stacking portion of the discharge roller pair;
A single drive source for driving the discharge angle changing mechanism and the moving mechanism;
A drive transmission mechanism that transmits the drive of the drive source to the discharge angle changing mechanism and the moving mechanism;
The change of the position of the sheet guide means by the moving mechanism and the change of the discharge angle by the discharge angle change mechanism are independently performed by the driving force of the drive source transmitted by the drive transmission mechanism. Sheet discharging device. The moving mechanism includes a first moving unit that moves the sheet guide unit between the guide position and the retracted position, a first restricting member that abuts on the sheet guide unit that has moved to the guide position, and the retracted position. A second restricting member that abuts against the sheet guide means moved to
The discharge angle changing mechanism includes a holding member that holds one roller of the discharge roller pair, and a first member that moves the holding member to move a contact position of the one roller with respect to the other roller of the discharge roller pair. Two moving means,
The drive transmission mechanism has a torque limiter provided between the drive source and the first moving means,
The sheet guide means that is moved by the driving force of the drive source is stopped in a state of being abutted against the first restriction member or the second restriction member by the action of a torque limiter of the drive transmission mechanism, and the sheet guide means The position of the sheet guide means is changed independently of the change of the discharge angle by moving the holding member of the discharge angle changing mechanism by the driving force of the drive source even when the drive is stopped. The sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 1.   The said 2nd moving means is provided with the cam which rotates with the driving force from the said drive source, and the moving member which act | operates with the said cam and moves the said holding member. Sheet discharge device.   4. The sheet according to claim 3, further comprising position detection means for detecting the position of the cam, wherein the discharge angle is changed by performing drive control of the drive source based on a detection signal from the position detection means. Discharging device.   5. The sheet discharge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of the sheet guide unit and the discharge angle are changed according to sheet information. 6. An intermediate processing tray for aligning while sequentially stacking sheets, and performing processing on the aligned and stacked sheet bundle, and the sheet discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The discharge roller pair selectively reverses when the sheet is processed, and conveys the sheet to the intermediate processing tray.   An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet; and the sheet processing device according to claim 6 that processes the sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming unit.   An image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, and the sheet discharge device according to claim 1 that discharges a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming unit. Image forming apparatus.

Images