JP2010173755A - Paper registering device, paper registering method, paper registering program and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve sheet registering accuracy by preventing running-on to a sheet rear end side wall and a stopper by a rebound of a sheet ejected at a high speed. <P>SOLUTION: This paper registering device has paper registering means 71, 211F and 211R for correcting a position of ejected paper S. The paper registering means have a once stopping means for stopping once in a position separated by a predetermined distance from the final stopping position corresponding to the respective sizes from a standby position, and a paper correcting means for correcting the position of the ejecting paper by moving up to the final stopping position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet aligning apparatus, a sheet aligning method, a sheet aligning program, and an image forming apparatus for aligning sheets such as stacked sheets.

  Conventionally, as a sheet aligning mechanism for aligning sheets stacked on a stack tray, a sheet discharged from a copying machine or the like is guided onto an inclined surface of the tray, and once the sheet is moved upward along the inclined surface. When the sheet is slid and then returns downward along the inclined surface by its own weight, the sheet is guided and aligned on the tray, or on both sides of the sheet in the width direction on the tray from which the sheet is discharged. There is a configuration in which a guide wall facing the end of the sheet is provided, and the sheet is discharged onto the tray so as to abut against the guide wall, thereby aligning the position in the width direction of the sheet.

  Further, Patent Document 1 discloses an invention in which sheets are aligned by a jogger for aligning sheets provided in a stacker that sequentially stacks sheets discharged from a fixed position on a horizontal stack tray that can be moved up and down.

  In the method described in Patent Document 1, the stopper for aligning the front end of the sheet is already waiting at the sheet alignment position when the sheet is discharged, and the sheet is placed on the wall or stopper on the rear end side of the sheet due to the rebound of the sheet discharged at high speed. There is a possibility that alignment accuracy cannot be secured due to problems such as getting on.

  In the method described in Patent Document 1, when the discharged paper is discharged in a state inclined with respect to the sheet discharge direction, the stopper for aligning the leading edge of the sheet and the jogger for aligning the side simultaneously move to the alignment position. As shown in FIG. 12, the sheet is bent and the sheet inclination cannot be corrected and the corner of the sheet is caught on the wall on the rear end side of the sheet. Since the sheet cannot be moved to the alignment position, there is a problem that alignment accuracy is lowered.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and prevents the sheet from being ridden on the rear end side wall and the stopper due to the rebound of the sheet discharged at high speed, thereby improving the sheet alignment accuracy. Objective.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the paper aligning device according to the present invention includes a paper aligning unit that corrects the position of the discharged paper when the paper is discharged, and the paper aligning unit is configured to perform a final process corresponding to each size from the standby position. It has a temporary stop means for temporarily stopping at a position away from the stop position by a predetermined distance, and a paper correction means for moving to the final stop position and correcting the position of the discharged paper.

  In the paper alignment method according to the present invention, when the paper is discharged, the paper is temporarily stopped at a predetermined distance from the final stop position corresponding to each size from the standby position, and the paper is moved to the final stop position and discharged. A paper correction step for correcting the position of the paper.

  The sheet aligning program according to the present invention includes a temporary stop process for temporarily stopping a position at a predetermined distance from the final stop position corresponding to each size from the standby position when the sheet is discharged to the sheet aligner, and the final stop position. And paper correction processing for correcting the position of the discharged paper by moving.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the sheet that is discharged at a high speed from jumping onto the wall or stopper on the rear end side of the sheet, and thus it is possible to improve the alignment accuracy of the sheet.

It is a whole lineblock diagram of a stacker provided with a sheet alignment mechanism concerning this embodiment. It is a block diagram of the shift conveyance mechanism part which concerns on this embodiment. It is a lineblock diagram of a tip alignment mechanism concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram of the width direction alignment mechanism part which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram of the width direction alignment mechanism part which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram of the width direction alignment mechanism part which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the order of the alignment timing which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the order of the alignment timing which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the order of the alignment timing which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the order of the alignment timing which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the order of the alignment timing which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a case where sheet alignment cannot be performed due to bending or catching of a sheet. It is a flowchart which shows the order of the alignment timing which concerns on this embodiment.

(Overall configuration of stacker)
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a stacker provided with a sheet aligning mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. The main stacker 100 includes a proof tray 101, a shift tray 102, an elevator 103, a timing belt 104, a timing pulley 105, a worm gear 106, a gear train 107, a carriage 108, a paddle 110, a discharge roller 111, a filler 112, a driven roller 113, And an entrance roller 114.

  The stacker body 100 introduces sheets discharged from an apparatus (not shown) such as a copying machine from the direction of arrow A. The stacker according to this embodiment can select an operation mode of a proof discharge mode, a straight discharge mode, and a shift discharge mode.

  The proof paper discharge mode is an operation mode in which a sheet is guided and stacked on the proof tray 101 through the sheet conveyance path L1. The straight sheet discharge mode is an operation mode in which the sheet is guided to another apparatus such as a stacker provided at the subsequent stage of the stacker through the sheet conveyance path L2. The shift discharge mode is an operation mode in which sheets are discharged and stacked on the shift tray 102 from the direction of arrow D through the sheet conveyance path L3. In the shift discharge mode, sheets are stacked at different shift positions on the shift tray 102.

  The shift tray 102 is placed on an elevator 103 that can be raised and lowered. The four corners of the elevator 103 are suspended by a total of four timing belts 104, and each timing belt 104 is wound around a corresponding four timing pulleys 105. These timing pulleys 105 are linked by a worm gear 106 and a gear train 107 composed of a plurality of gears, and are rotated synchronously by the driving force of the tray lifting / lowering motor 115 so that the elevator 103 is lifted / lowered together with the shift tray 102. Let Since the power transmission system is via the worm gear 106, the shift tray 102 can be kept at a fixed position. When the elevator 103 is lowered to the lowest position, the shift tray 102 is placed on the carriage 108, so that the sheets stacked on the shift tray 102 can be carried out by the carriage 108.

  The paddle 110 is a paddle that rotates in the direction of arrow E in conjunction with the paper discharge roller 111 in the sheet conveyance path L3, and strikes and presses the rear end portion of the sheet discharged onto the shift tray 102 downward. The sheets stacked on the shift tray 102 push up the filler 112. The optical paper surface sensor S <b> 3 detects the stack height of the sheets on the shift tray 102 based on the movement of the filler 112.

  When the paper surface sensor S3 is ON, the shift tray 102 is lowered by the tray lifting motor 107, and the tray lifting motor 107 is stopped after the paper surface sensor S3 is turned OFF. Therefore, every time the paper surface sensor S3 is turned on by the paper stacked on the shift tray 102, the shift tray 102 is lowered by a predetermined distance.

  The sheet conveyance path sensor S2 is a sheet conveyance path sensor (hereinafter referred to as “sheet ejection sensor”) for detecting the passage of the sheet in the sheet conveyance path L3. Further, a driven roller 113 biased by a spring is pressed against the paper discharge roller 111, and a sheet is nipped between the roller 111 and the roller 113. The entrance roller 114 is driven to carry a sheet discharged from an apparatus (not shown) such as a copying machine.

(Configuration of shift mechanism)
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a shift transport mechanism unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The shift conveyance mechanism unit 50 moves the discharge roller 111 and the driven roller 113 by a predetermined amount in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 (the arrow G1 is the front side of the stacker 100 and the arrow G2 is the back side of the stacker 100). The sheet discharge position on 102 is shifted to the front side or the back side. In other words, the paper discharge roller 111 and the driven roller 113 are connected to a holder 51 and a holder 52 that move in the direction of the arrow, and a shaft 53 and a shaft 54 that connect them.

  The paper discharge roller 111 is rotated by the motor 55 regardless of the movement position in the directions of the arrows G1 and G2. That is, the driven gear 56 attached to the paper discharge roller 111 moves in the direction of the arrow of the paper discharge roller 111 with respect to the drive gear 60 rotated by the stepping motor 55 via the gear 57, the gear 58, and the belt 59. Meshes regardless.

  The holder 51 is provided with a rack gear 61, and the rack 61 is connected to a shift motor 63 via a pinion 62. The discharge roller 111 and the driven roller 113 are slid by a predetermined amount (10 mm) in the directions of the arrows G1 and G2 with the position in FIG. 2 as the center position. The home positions of the paper discharge roller 111 and the driven roller 113 are set at the center position and are detected by the optical home position sensor S4. By rotating the pulse motor 63 by a predetermined amount with reference to the home position, the paper discharge roller 111 and the driven roller 113 are moved to the shift position.

(Configuration of tip alignment mechanism)
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a tip alignment mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. The leading edge aligning mechanism 70 is a mechanism for aligning the leading ends of the sheets discharged onto the shift tray 102, and includes a stopper 71 whose position can be adjusted in the directions of arrows H1 and H2. The stopper 71 is attached to a slider 72, and the slider 72 is slidably guided by a shaft 73 extending in the arrow H1 direction as shown in FIG. The slider 72 is connected to a belt 76 that is stretched between a pulley 74 and a pulley 75. When the belt 76 is moved by the motor 77, the slider 72 moves in the arrow H1 direction together with the stopper 71, and its position is adjusted.

  The slider 72 is provided with a shielding plate 78, and when the stopper 71 moves to the home position, the shielding plate 78 is detected by the optical home position sensor S5.

(Configuration of width direction alignment mechanism)
4 to 6 are configuration diagrams of the width direction alignment mechanism unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. The width direction alignment mechanism unit 200 includes a stepping motor 201 that controls movement in the width direction (a direction that is perpendicular to the paper discharge direction and a horizontal direction), a stepping motor 202, a stepping motor 203 that controls vertical movement, and a stepping motor 203. A gear 204 meshing with the gear, a rotating shaft 205 to which the gear 204 is attached, a driving shaft 206 parallel to the rotating shaft, sliders 207F and 207R connected to the driving shaft 206, and a sensor S6F for detecting the sliders 207F and 207R The sensor S6R, the filler 208 provided in the gear 204 that indicates the rotation state of the rotary shaft 205, and the sensor S7 that detects the filler 208, the alignment joggers 210F and 210R are widened. And move them up and down again. The state where the sensor 208 detects the filler 208 is the home position, and the alignment joggers 210F and 210R take the lowered position.

  The aligning joggers 210F and 210R are made of plate-like bodies, the aligning portions 211F and 211R are located at the lowermost part of the aligning joggers 210F and 210R, and the opposing surfaces are surfaces orthogonal to the shift direction G.

  As described above, the aligning portions 211F and 211R are configured so that the surfaces facing each other are perpendicular to the shift direction C, so that the aligning joggers 210F and 210R are moved in the shift direction G, and are loaded on the tray 102. The sheet bundle can be aligned by reliably bringing the aligning portions 211F and 211R into contact with and separating from the end surface of the sheet.

  Next, the alignment operation will be described. In the aligning operation, the aligning joggers 210F and 210R stand by at a receiving position with a predetermined facing interval at which the paper S discharged from the paper discharge roller 111 can be received.

  Every time the paper S is discharged from the paper discharge roller 111 and stacked on the tray 102, the operation is performed by narrowing the opposing distance from the receiving position to the end surface position of the paper S, and then the operation of increasing the opposing distance is performed. Return to the receiving position. By performing this series of alignment operations, the end faces of the sheets are aligned. The alignment joggers 210F and 210R stand by at a receiving position with a predetermined facing interval at which the paper S discharged from the paper discharge roller 111 can be received.

  Every time the paper S is discharged from the paper discharge roller 111 and stacked on the tray 102, the operation is performed by narrowing the opposing distance from the receiving position to the end surface position of the paper S, and then the operation of increasing the opposing distance is performed. Return to the receiving position. By performing this series of alignment operations, the end faces of the sheets are aligned.

  The discharge roller 111 repeats a predetermined number of sheets constituting the first sheet bundle while repeating the 10 mm shift operation in the arrow G1 direction for each sheet, and then repeats the 10 mm shift operation in the arrow G2 direction to stack the next sheet bundle. I will do it. When the shift direction is switched, the aligning joggers 210F and 210R move to the retracted rotation position to enter the aligning member retracted state, and the aligning joggers 210F and 210R perform a shift operation in the retracted state.

  For example, when the paper discharge roller 111 is shifted to the alignment jogger 210F side, the alignment jogger 210R is disposed at a position that contacts the back side of the discharged paper stacked on the shift tray 102 and the front “part” paper bundle. It will be. The other aligning jogger 210F is located on the front side surface of the sheets stacked on the shift tray 102, and takes the home position as the vertical position.

  Each time the discharge operation of the discharge roller 111 is reversed, the rotation shaft 205 is rotated in a direction in which the arm 209F and the arm 209R attached to the rotation shaft 205 press the base of the alignment jogger 210F and the alignment jogger 210R downward. To move to the retracted position. Each time a shift operation occurs, the opposite side aligning member is brought into contact with (placed on) the preceding “part” sheet bundle to align the discharged sheet bundle. At this time, the alignment unit 211F and the alignment unit 211R are set to a friction coefficient that prevents the sheet from being displaced by the movement of the alignment unit 211F and the alignment unit 211R, so that the sheets can be stably aligned.

(About alignment timing)
7 to 11 are diagrams showing the order of the alignment timing according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 shows that when the discharged paper S is nipped between the paper discharge roller 111 and the driven roller 113, the stopper 71 stands by at a position 15 mm before the paper alignment position.

  FIG. 8 shows that the stopper 71 moves to the sheet alignment position when the trailing edge of the sheet is discharged from the discharge roller 111 and the driven roller 113.

  In FIG. 9, the sheet S that is inclined and discharged by the above-described operation is pushed by the stopper 71 and moved toward the wall 72 on the rear end side of the sheet, so that the inclination is corrected and moved to the alignment position in the discharge direction. After that, the stopper 71 indicates that it stops once at a position 2 mm before the paper alignment position.

  In FIG. 10, the alignment jogger 211F and the alignment jogger 211R start moving to the sheet alignment position after the start of the operation of the stopper 71. By this operation, the sheet S whose inclination and position in the paper discharge direction are corrected by the operation of the stopper 71 is moved to the alignment position in the paper discharge vertical direction. Thereafter, the alignment jogger 211F and the alignment jogger 211R indicate that they are temporarily stopped at a position 2 mm before the sheet alignment position.

  FIG. 11 shows that after the above operation is completed, the stopper 71, the aligning jogger 211F, and the aligning jogger 211R are simultaneously operated to move the sheet S accurately to the aligning position by moving 2 mm each. The above operation is performed every time one sheet is discharged, and all the discharged sheets are accurately moved to the alignment position.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the order of alignment timing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  When the discharged paper S is nipped between the paper discharge roller 111 and the driven roller 113 (step S300), the stopper 71 is 15 mm before the paper alignment position, and the alignment joggers 210F and 210R are 7 mm before the paper alignment position. Waiting at the position (step S301). When the trailing edge of the paper is discharged from the paper discharge roller 111 and the driven roller 113 (step S302), the stopper 71 moves to the paper alignment position and temporarily stops at a position 2 mm before the paper alignment position (step S303). The sheet S that is tilted and discharged by this operation is pushed by the stopper 71 and moved toward the wall 72 on the rear end side of the sheet, so that the tilt is corrected and moved to the alignment position in the sheet discharge direction.

  The alignment jogger 211F and the alignment jogger 211R start moving to the paper alignment position after the start of the operation of the stopper 71, and temporarily stop at a position 2 mm before the paper alignment position (step S304). By this operation, the sheet S whose inclination and position in the paper discharge direction are corrected by the operation of the stopper 71 is moved to the alignment position in the paper discharge vertical direction.

  After the stop, the stopper 71, the alignment jogger 211F, and the alignment jogger 211R are simultaneously operated to move the sheet S to the alignment position accurately by moving 2 mm each (step S305).

  This operation is performed every time one sheet is discharged, and all the discharged sheets are accurately moved to the alignment position.

  Next, it is determined whether or not a predetermined number of sheets have been discharged (step S306). If the number is not the predetermined number (step S306, NO), the sheet alignment operation is repeated. If the number is the predetermined number (step S306, YES), the sheet alignment operation is terminated.

  In the sheet aligning device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the sheet aligning unit includes a discharge direction aligning unit that aligns the position on the sheet discharge direction side, and two side alignments that align the position on the side part perpendicular to the sheet discharge direction. And means.

  In the sheet aligning device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the standby position may be a position that is spaced a predetermined distance from the final stop position corresponding to each size.

  In the paper aligning device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the temporarily stopping unit may stop at a position 2 mm away from the paper aligning position from the final stop position.

  Further, the sheet aligning unit of the sheet aligning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may perform the sheet aligning operation every time one sheet is discharged.

  Further, the sheet aligning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may move the sheet aligning position of the sheet aligning unit according to the sheet discharge position.

  The image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may include the above-described sheet aligning device.

  Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when discharging the sheet, the sheet leading edge aligning unit stands by at a position away from the sheet aligning position, and performs the aligning operation after the sheet is discharged from the upper and lower rollers, so It is possible to prevent the sheet from running on the wall or the sheet leading edge aligning means. First, the sheet leading edge aligning means moves from the standby position to the sheet aligning position to align in the sheet discharge direction, and the sheet side aligning means moves from the standby position to the sheet aligning position after a delay to align in the sheet discharge vertical direction. By adjusting the sheet leading edge aligning means, the sheet inclination is corrected and the sheet is moved to the alignment position in the paper discharge direction. The sheet inclination can be reliably corrected by moving the sheet.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, the operation of the sheet leading edge aligning unit and the operation of the sheet side portion aligning unit are performed at a predetermined timing, and are temporarily stopped at a position spaced from the alignment position of the sheet size to be aligned. Thus, when the movement of the sheet is large, the degree of freedom of movement of the sheet is provided to facilitate correction, and thereafter, the sheet leading edge aligning means and the sheet side portion aligning means are simultaneously moved from the stop position to the position of each sheet size. By moving and performing a precise alignment operation, the sheet alignment accuracy can be further improved.

  Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the sheet alignment accuracy can be further improved by performing the sheet alignment operation for each sheet.

  Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the alignment accuracy for each sheet bundle is improved, and the switching of the sheet bundle can be recognized by shifting the discharge position for each sheet bundle, thereby improving convenience. be able to.

  According to the present invention, the present invention is applied to a sheet processing apparatus, a sheet stacking apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and the like that include a stacker that stacks sheets such as sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying apparatus and a printer on a stack tray. it can.

50 Shift transport mechanism 51, 52 Holder 53, 54 Shaft 55 Stepping motor 56 Driven gear 57, 58 Gear 59 Belt 60 Drive gear 61 Rack gear 62 Pinion 63 Shift motor 70 Tip alignment mechanism 71 Stopper 72 Slider 73 Shaft 74, 75 Pulley 76 Belt 77 Motor 78 Shielding plate 100 Stacker body 101 Proof tray 102 Shift tray 103 Elevator 104 Timing belt 105 Timing pulley 106 Worm gear 107 Gear train 108 Carriage 110 Paddle 111 Paper discharge roller 112 Filler 113 Driven roller 114 Inlet roller 115 Tray lifting motor 200 Width Direction aligning mechanism 201, 202, 203 Stepping motor 204 Gear 205 Rotating shaft 206 Drive shaft 207 207R Slider 208 Filler 209F, 209R Arm 210F, 210R Alignment jogger 211F, 211R, 212 Alignment part A, D Sheet travel direction G1, G2 Roller travel direction H1, H2 Stopper travel direction L1, L2, L3 Sheet transport path S Paper S1 Sensor S2 Paper transport path sensor S3 Paper surface sensor S4, S5 Home position sensor S6F, S6R, S7 sensor

Japanese Patent No. 4091789

Claims (9)

A paper aligning means for correcting the position of the paper to be discharged when the paper is discharged;
The paper aligning means temporarily stops at a position away from a final stop position corresponding to each size from a standby position by a predetermined distance, and paper that moves to the final stop position and corrects the position of the paper discharge paper And a correction unit.   The paper sheet aligning unit includes a discharge direction aligning unit that aligns a position on a paper discharge direction side, and two side part aligning units that align a position on a side part perpendicular to the paper discharge direction. The sheet aligning device according to 1.   3. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the standby position is a position spaced a predetermined distance from the final stop position corresponding to each size.   4. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temporary stopping unit stops at a position 2 mm away from the final stop position with respect to the sheet aligning position. 5.   5. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet aligning unit performs a sheet aligning operation every time the sheet is discharged. 6.   6. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet aligning position of the sheet aligning unit is moved in accordance with a sheet discharge position.   An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet aligning device according to claim 1.   When the paper is discharged, a temporary stop step that stops at a predetermined distance from the final stop position corresponding to each size from the standby position, and paper correction that moves to the final stop position and corrects the position of the discharged paper. And a sheet aligning method comprising the steps of: In the paper aligner
When the paper is discharged, the paper is temporarily stopped at a predetermined distance from the final stop position corresponding to each size from the standby position, and the paper correction is performed to move to the final stop position and correct the position of the discharged paper. And a paper alignment program.

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