JP2011255969A - Device for alignment of paper sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reliably align, regardless of the kind of paper sheet, the position for stacking paper sheets to be carried in.SOLUTION: The paper sheet alignment device includes: a stack tray 21 for receiving the paper sheets P that have been carried therein; an end fence 21a provided at the end opposite to the paper sheet carry-in direction in the stock tray 21, and into which a back end of the paper sheets bumps; a paddle mechanism 31 arranged rotatably with the direction perpendicular to the paper sheet carry-in direction as an axis, and configured to rotate while a paddle 31b is brought into contact with the surface of the paper sheets P that have been carried in so that the paper sheets P are conveyed in the direction opposite to the paper sheet carry-in direction to bump into the end fence 21; and a roll-up prevention member 32 disposed at upstream of the paddle mechanism 31 in the paper sheet carry-in direction, and configured to prevent a tip end of the paper sheets P that have been carried in from rolling up due to wind generated by the rotation of the paddle mechanism 31.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet aligning device that aligns the overlapping position of sheets received from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a stencil printing apparatus.

  Conventionally, for example, a sheet received in front of a post-processing device that performs post-processing (hole punching processing, folding processing, binding processing, etc.) on image-formed paper conveyed from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a stencil printing apparatus. A sheet aligning device for aligning skew and misalignment is installed. The sheet aligning apparatus sequentially receives the sheets sent from the upstream image forming apparatus until the predetermined number of sheets are reached and aligns the positions thereof, and aligns the position of the sheet bundle of unit copies (one set) in the subsequent stage. It is conveyed to the post-processing device.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sheet processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. As shown in the drawing, the sheet aligning apparatus 200 includes conveyance guides 201 and 202 that guide a sheet to be conveyed, a compile exit sensor 203 that detects a sheet and outputs a signal for controlling the operation of each mechanism unit, and a conveyance guide. A conveyance roller pair 204 that discharges (conveys) a sheet conveyed through between 201 and 202, and a compile tray 205 that stacks the sheet discharged by the conveyance roller pair 204 are provided.

  In addition, as a mechanism unit for executing each function, a vertical alignment unit 210 and a vertical alignment unit 210 that perform vertical alignment (paper conveyance direction) of sheets supplied to the compile tray 205 by the compile paddle 211 are used. A vertical alignment assisting unit 220 that assists in paper alignment in the paper transport direction (vertical direction), and when stapling is performed in order to improve the consistency of the paper bundle, the paper bundle is pressed and the staple binding is completed. A paper bundle support / discharge unit 230 that discharges the paper bundle, a horizontal alignment unit 240 that executes paper alignment with respect to a direction (horizontal direction) orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction for the paper supplied to the compile tray 205, the vertical direction Including an end wall 251 that serves as a wall when aligning the sheets, and has a mechanism for driving the end wall 251. An end wall section 250, a staple head 261, a staple mechanism section 260 for stapling a bundle of sheets supplied to the compilation tray 205, and a shelf 271 that is a guide for supporting the sheets in the compilation tray 205. A shelf mechanism unit 270 having a mechanism for driving the shelf 271 is provided.

JP 2004-277158 A

However, the general sheet aligning apparatus including the sheet aligning apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the following problems.
(1) When the sheets sequentially conveyed by the paddle are pressed against the end fence and aligned in the sheet conveying direction (vertical direction), the sheet rolls up due to the wind generated by the rotation of the paddle, causing a stacking failure. In particular, it appears prominently when the paper used is lightweight paper (for example, a basis weight of 50 g / m ² or less).
(2) When the leading edge of the conveyed paper comes into contact with the leading edge of the rotating paddle, the paper rolls up in the rotational direction of the paddle, resulting in poor loading.
(3) When the paper to be used is the above-mentioned lightweight paper, the air between the papers is stacked in a state where the air does not come out immediately and is swollen one after another. There is a problem that misalignment occurs between sheets. Further, there is a problem that the bulge is further increased due to the conveying force of the paddle.
(4) When the paper to be used is the above-mentioned lightweight paper, the influence of the paddle transport force is large, so when stacking a large number of paper bundles, the paper carry-in angle and the paper grounding position fluctuate and stable alignment processing is performed. There is a problem that can not be done. Further, not only the type of paper, but also when the number of stacked paper sheets becomes large, there is a problem that the paper carry-in angle and the paper ground contact position fluctuate.
(5) In order to prevent frictional electrification due to contact between the paper and the paddle in a low-humidity environment, etc., it is common to use a static elimination brush fixedly arranged behind the paddle. The distance between the static eliminating brush and the paper is not stable, and there is a problem that the static elimination cannot be performed reliably.
(6) The tampering pushes the edge (side edge) in the width direction of the sheet to the horizontal alignment member that serves as a reference for the horizontal alignment position to align the stack position in the direction (lateral direction) perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction. However, as the paper transport speed increases, the paper is transported before the tamper returns to the standby position, so that the paper climbs over the tamper and skews greatly, and there is a problem in that it cannot be reliably aligned.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a sheet aligning device capable of reliably aligning the stacking position of sheets carried in regardless of the type of sheet. It is.

In order to achieve the above object, the sheet aligning device according to claim 1 includes a stack tray for receiving the loaded sheets,
An end fence that abuts the rear end of the paper against the end of the stack tray opposite to the paper carry-in direction;
The sheet is rotatably arranged around a direction orthogonal to the paper carry-in direction, and rotates while contacting a paddle on the surface of the carried-in paper, thereby conveying the paper in a direction opposite to the paper carry-in direction and the end. With a paddle mechanism that hits the fence,
In the sheet aligning device for stacking the loaded paper on the stack tray and aligning at the stacking position,
It is provided with a curling prevention member provided upstream of the paddle mechanism in the paper carry-in direction to prevent the leading edge of the carried-in paper from being rolled up by the rotation of the paddle mechanism.

  The sheet aligning device according to claim 2 is the sheet aligning device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet in the paddle mechanism is raised as the curl prevention member from the sheet stacking surface of the stack tray along the rotation direction of the paddle mechanism. A wind guide member formed to cover the carry-in side is provided.

  The sheet aligning device according to claim 3 is the sheet aligning device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the twist preventing member is within a rotation radius of the paddle, and the paddle contacts the surface of the sheet. A paddle guide member disposed at a position capable of abutting on the paddle is provided at least at any timing immediately before the separation.

  The sheet aligning device according to claim 4 is the sheet aligning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the stack tray is directed vertically downward between a substantially central portion of the tray and the end fence. It has a curved surface.

The sheet aligning device according to claim 5 is a sheet aligning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a sheet height sensor that detects a height of the sheet stacked on the stack tray,
The height of the uppermost sheet surface of the stacked sheets is detected, and the stack tray position is moved up and down parallel to the sheet stacking surface so that the loading angle and the grounding position of the loaded sheet are always constant. It is characterized by moving.

  The sheet aligning device according to claim 6 is the sheet aligning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the paddle mechanism is shifted by a predetermined angle with respect to the rotation direction of the paddle from the position where the paddle is disposed. And a neutralizing member disposed at equal intervals and disposed such that the distance between the front end of the sheet and the surface of the paper is always the optimum distance for neutralization.

The sheet aligning device according to claim 7, wherein the sheet aligning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is slid in a direction perpendicular to the sheet carry-in direction and is sequentially stacked on the stack tray. A tamper that performs horizontal alignment that is the width direction of
The tamper has a first contact surface that presses the other side end of the sheet against a lateral alignment member fixed on the stack tray while abutting one side end of the sheet,
It is located on the upper side in the paper stacking direction with respect to the first abutment surface, and is provided outside the first abutment surface in the paper width direction by more than the alignment movement distance of the paper at the time of loading. A second abutting surface that contacts the side edge of the sheet and urges the sheet to fall to a normal position on the stack tray;
Is provided.

  The sheet aligning device according to claim 8 is the sheet aligning device according to claim 7, wherein the tamper includes a dropping mechanism that drops the tamper to a normal position on the stack tray when the tamper comes into contact with the loaded sheet. Features.

The sheet aligning device according to claim 9 is the sheet aligning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A tamper that slides in a direction perpendicular to the paper carry-in direction and performs lateral alignment that is the width direction of the papers that are sequentially stacked on the stack tray;
A standby position sensor for determining whether or not the vehicle is waiting at a predetermined standby position;
A paper detection sensor for detecting paper immediately before being carried into the stack tray,
When the paper detection sensor detects the paper before the standby position sensor detects the tamper, the paper carry-in speed is controlled to be decelerated until the standby position sensor detects the tamper. And

  According to the sheet aligning device of the present invention, as a configuration of the vertical aligning section, the wind aligning section is formed so as to cover the sheet carry-in side of the paddle while rising from the sheet stacking surface of the stack tray along the paddle rotation direction. Since the wind guide member is provided, it is possible to prevent a stacking failure due to the rising of the leading edge of the paper generated by the wind generated by the rotation of the paddle.

  In addition, a paddle guide member is provided that is within a rotation radius of the paddle and is disposed at a position where it can come into contact with the paddle at least at any timing from when the paddle comes into contact with the surface of the sheet until immediately before the paddle is separated. Therefore, when the paddle is rotated, it is possible to prevent a stacking failure due to the sheet rising caused by the contact between the paddle tip and the sheet tip.

  Further, the static eliminator is arranged at equal intervals with a predetermined angle with respect to the rotational direction of the paddle, and the distance between the tip of the member and the surface of the paper is always the optimum distance for static elimination. As the paddle is rotated, the distance between the static elimination brush and the paper is stable while rotating at the same time with the paddle while the paddle is rotating. Charged static electricity can be removed.

  In addition, since the stack portion is provided with a stack tray having a curved surface curved downward in the vertical direction between the substantially central portion of the tray and the end fence, the urging force of the paper to the end fence by the paddle mechanism is provided. Since this works and has the effect of promoting air leakage between the sheets, it is possible to prevent misalignment between the sheets that occurs when the air does not escape between the sheets.

  In addition, the height of the uppermost paper surface in the stack of paper stacked on the stack tray is detected by the paper height sensor, and the stack tray position is set so that the paper carry-in angle and the paper grounding position are always constant. Since the position is adjusted by moving up and down in parallel with each other, stable stacking processing can always be performed regardless of the type of sheets used and the number of stacked sheets.

  Further, as a configuration of the lateral alignment unit, a first that is provided in the lower stage in the paper stacking direction and presses the other side end against the lateral alignment member while abutting against one side end of the paper stacked on the stack tray. The contact surface of the first contact surface is located above the first contact surface in the paper stacking direction, and is provided outside the first contact surface in the paper width direction by more than the tamper alignment moving distance. Since it includes a tamper provided with a second contact surface that comes into contact with one side edge of a sheet that is not normally carried in due to a line or the like and that encourages the sheet to fall to a normal position on the stack tray, It is possible to provide a sheet aligning device that can prevent the sheet from being carried on the tamper due to the sheet being conveyed before the tamper returns to the standby position, and can cope with an increase in the sheet conveyance speed.

  In addition, as a tamper configuration, a drop mechanism is provided to drop the paper into the normal position on the stack tray when it comes into contact with the paper that has been loaded. Can do.

  In addition, before the standby position sensor detects the tamper after horizontal alignment, the paper detection speed is controlled when the paper detection sensor detects the next paper to be carried in, so that the paper is not changed before the tamper returns to the standby position. It is possible to prevent the sheet from being carried on the tamper by being conveyed.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming system in which a sheet aligning device according to the present invention is mounted. It is a schematic side view which shows the structure of the apparatus. It is a schematic top view which shows the structure of the apparatus. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the position adjustment operation | movement of the stack | stuck part in the same apparatus. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the wind guide member of the vertical direction alignment part in the same apparatus. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the paddle guide member of the vertical direction alignment part in the same apparatus. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the static elimination member of the vertical direction alignment part in the same apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the tamper of the horizontal direction alignment part in the same apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other form of the tamper of the horizontal direction alignment part in the same apparatus. (A)-(c) It is operation | movement explanatory drawing at the time of horizontal alignment in the apparatus. (A)-(d) It is operation | movement explanatory drawing at the time of the horizontal direction alignment in the apparatus. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the conventional sheet processing apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited by this embodiment, and all other forms, examples, operation techniques, etc. that can be implemented by those skilled in the art based on this form are included in the scope of the present invention. .

  In the following description, the alignment direction with respect to the conveyance direction of the paper carried into the paper alignment apparatus of the present invention is defined as “vertical direction”, and the alignment direction with respect to the paper width direction orthogonal to the paper carry-in direction is defined as “lateral direction”. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet aligning apparatus 1 according to the present invention forms an image on a sheet P as a recording medium and discharges it, and the printed sheet P discharged from the image forming apparatus 100. Forming a post-processing device 110 (referring to a post-processing device (1) or a post-processing device (2) having different processing contents in the figure) for performing post-processing (hole punching processing, folding processing, binding processing, etc.) A predetermined number of sheets P printed by the image forming apparatus 100 are stacked between the image forming apparatus 100 and the post-processing apparatus 110 in the system, and the overlapping positions of the stacked sheets P in the vertical and horizontal directions are aligned. Device.

  The sheet alignment apparatus 1 of the present invention will be described as a configuration example provided as a sheet alignment unit of an image forming system including the image forming apparatus 100 and the post-processing apparatus 110. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A configuration that functions as a part of the processing device 110 or a configuration that aligns the paper P supplied by the device alone may be employed.

[Device Overview]
Next, the component requirements of each part constituting the sheet aligning apparatus 1 of this example will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet aligning apparatus 1 includes a sheet carry-in unit 10 that carries in sheets P from the image forming apparatus 100 and a stack tray 21 that stacks the loaded sheets P. The stack unit 20 that discharges to the post-processing device 110, the vertical alignment unit 30 that conveys the loaded paper P in the direction opposite to the paper carry-in direction and performs vertical alignment on the paper P, and the horizontal direction on the stacked paper P It is comprised with the horizontal direction alignment part 40 which performs this alignment. In addition, the drive control in each of the above-described units is optimally controlled in consideration of power saving performance, processing speed, and the like so that processing in each unit proceeds smoothly by a control unit (not illustrated).

<Paper carry-in section>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper carry-in unit 10 includes a conveyance guide 12 that regulates the conveyance direction and a pair of conveyance rollers 12 that convey the paper P discharged along the conveyance guide, and form an image. The paper P transported along the transport guide later is carried into the stack unit 20 while being nipped and transported by the transport roller pair 12. In addition, the carry-in speed at the time of paper carry-in by the conveyance roller pair 12 is controlled based on a rotation speed corresponding to a processing mode described later set by the user. Further, when the alignment operation in the lateral alignment unit 40 is not normally performed, the rotation speed of the conveying roller pair 12 is controlled to be reduced as necessary.

<Stack part>
The stacking unit 20 includes a stack tray 21 that stacks the loaded paper P until a predetermined number of paper bundles are formed, and a re-transport unit 22 that transports the stacked paper bundles to the post-processing device 110.

The stack tray 21 is arranged so that one end side thereof gradually inclines upward along the paper carry-in direction, and an end fence 21 a that abuts the rear end of the paper P on the end portion on the lower inclination side is provided. Further, the stack tray 21 avoids a shift of the sheet alignment position due to the fact that air between the stacked sheets P does not escape when a lightweight sheet (for example, a basis weight of 50 g / m ² or less) is used as the sheet P. Between the substantially central portion of the tray and the end fence 21a, a gentle curved surface curved downward in the vertical direction is provided. Therefore, since the paper P conveyed by the paddle mechanism 31 hits the end fence 21a, a force acts downward in the vertical direction.

  The re-conveying means 22 includes a first conveying roller pair 22a and a second conveying roller pair 22b, and re-conveys the sheet bundle that has reached a predetermined number of sheets to the post-processing device 110 while being sandwiched between the two roller pairs 22a and 22b. is doing. One roller of the first conveying roller pair 22a is usually arranged so as to be separated until the sheet bundle reaches a predetermined number, and the sheet bundle is sandwiched between the other rollers at the time of discharge (conveyance). The paper bundle is conveyed while being rotated while being fixed.

  In addition, a paper height sensor 23 that detects the height of the top surface of the uppermost sheet in the stack of sheets stacked on the stack tray 21 is provided in the vicinity of a wind guide member 32 (to be described later) (substantially central portion of the stack tray 21). It has been. As shown in FIG. 4, the stack unit 20 detects the height of the uppermost sheet surface in the sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray 21 with the sheet height sensor 23, and the sheet carry-in angle and the sheet grounding position are always set. The position of the stack tray 21 is adjusted while moving up and down parallel to the sheet stacking surface by driving by a driving mechanism (not shown) so as to be constant. In the illustrated example, the position is adjusted by moving downward relative to the sheet stacking surface. This makes it possible to always perform stable stacking processing regardless of the type of paper P to be carried in and the paper carry-in speed.

  The positional relationship between the height of the sheet bundle and the stack tray 21 varies depending on the type of sheet to be loaded (difference in grammage, thickness, sheet size, etc.), the number of sheet bundles, and the like. Based on the print job and the detection signal of the paper height sensor 23, control is performed so as to obtain an optimal positional relationship obtained in advance through experiments.

<Vertical alignment part>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vertical alignment unit 30 includes a paddle mechanism 31 that conveys the loaded paper P in a direction opposite to the paper carry-in direction, a wind guide member 32 that blocks wind generated by the rotation of the paddle, and a paddle Is provided with a paddle guide member 33 that prevents the leading edge of the sheet from rising up and a static elimination member 34 that removes static electricity charged on the sheet P. The wind guide member 32 and the paddle guide member 33 function as a curl prevention member that prevents the paper P from being rolled up by the rotating paddle 31b.

  The paddle mechanism 31 is provided with a rotating shaft 31a that crosses the stack tray 21 in a direction orthogonal to the paper carry-in direction. Both end portions of the rotating shaft 31a are rotatably supported so as to rotate by receiving rotational power from a driving means (not shown) with respect to the apparatus main body, and the rotation axis is fixed at a fixed position. On the rotating shaft 31a, a plurality of paddles 31b made of blade-like transport bodies arranged at equal intervals (120 ° intervals in the figure) with respect to the rotation direction are spaced at a predetermined interval (in this example, 4) Provided in a row and rotate in the direction opposite to the paper loading direction (in the direction of the arrow in the figure) integrally with the rotating shaft 31a.

  The paddle 31b is made of an elastic member such as a flexible material or rubber that has wear resistance and can be appropriately elastically deformed. The paddle 31b is in contact with the surface of the paper P as the rotary shaft 31a rotates. It is conveyed in the direction opposite to the carry-in direction and abutted against the end fence 21a. Further, the paddle 31b carries the friction necessary for transporting the carried paper P in the direction opposite to the paper carry-in direction while being in contact with the surface of the paper P without damaging the paper P and hitting the rear end of the paper P against the end fence 21a. The shape and length are set in advance so as to be a coefficient.

  The wind guide member 32 is provided on the upstream side of the paddle 31b in the paper carry-in direction so as to cross the stack tray 21 in a direction orthogonal to the paper carry-in direction, and one end (the stack surface side of the stack tray 21) is a recess. It is formed in a comb-like concavo-convex structure in which convex portions are alternately continued. Further, the number of recesses in the wind guide member 32 is the same as the number of paddles 31b installed in the paddle mechanism 31, and is provided at a position through which the transport body passes when the paddle 31b rotates.

  Further, the wind guide member 32 is formed so as to cover the paper carry-in side of the paddle 31b while gradually rising from the paper stacking surface of the stack tray 21 along the rotation direction of the paddle 31b as shown in FIG. 32a. The wind shield 32a prevents the wind generated by the rotation of the paddle 31b from being blocked by the wind shield 32a, thereby preventing the leading edge of the loaded paper P from rising. Further, since the uneven portion of the wind guide member 32 is provided at a position facing the top surface of the stack tray 21, even when the paper P is rolled up for some reason, the paper P contacts this portion. This also serves to prevent the paper P from rising.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the paddle guide member 33 is configured by a columnar member made of a rotating member such as a rotatable roller or a low friction member so as to prevent damage to the conveyance body by contact with the rotating paddle 31 b. Between the paddle mechanism 31 and the wind guide member 32 in the paper carry-in direction, at least at any timing within the rotational radius of the paddle 31b and immediately before the paddle 31b comes into contact with the surface of the paper P and immediately before the separation. The paddle 31b is disposed at a position where it can contact the paddle 31b. When the paddle 31b rotates, the paddle guide member 33 bends the conveyance body until the paddle 31b is separated from the paper P by a predetermined distance after the paddle 31b rotates, and the paper P generated when the leading edge of the paddle 31b contacts the leading edge of the paper P. Prevents the crawl up.

  The installation location of the paddle guide member 33 is not limited to the above-described position, and for example, a configuration may be adopted in which a rotating member such as a roller is installed at a contact location of the tip of the paddle 31b in a concave portion of the wind guide member 32 described later. When 31b is a tough material having excellent wear resistance, a configuration in which a plate material is installed instead of a rotating member may be used. In addition, as the bending direction of the transport body, in the illustrated example, it is bent toward the paper transport direction, but is not particularly limited as long as it does not interfere with the alignment of the paper P.

  The static elimination member 34 is comprised by the static elimination brush wider than a conveyance body. As shown in FIG. 7, the static elimination member 34 is arranged at equal intervals in a state shifted by a predetermined angle with respect to the rotation direction of the paddle 31 b from the arrangement position of the carrier, and the brush portion at the tip thereof and the surface of the paper P Is always the optimum distance (about 0.5 mm to 5 mm) for static elimination. When the paddle 31b rotates, the neutralizing member 34 removes static electricity charged on the surface of the paper P due to friction during conveyance and urging of the paddle 31b while rotating simultaneously with the paddle 31b.

<Horizontal alignment part>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the horizontal alignment unit 40 slides in a direction orthogonal to the paper carry-in direction with respect to the horizontal alignment member 42 fixed at a predetermined position on the stack tray 21, and loads the paper P carried therein. A tamper 41 that presses one edge in the sheet width direction (hereinafter referred to as “side end”) and performs horizontal alignment, and a standby position that detects whether or not the tamper 41 has returned to a predetermined standby position. The sensor 42 is comprised.

  The tamper 41 slides in a direction perpendicular to the paper carry-in direction and performs horizontal alignment of the paper P that is sequentially stacked on the stack tray 21. As shown in FIG. 8, the tamper 41 has two contact surfaces (a first contact surface 41a and a first contact surface perpendicular to the sheet stacking direction) that are provided in a different manner in the sheet stacking direction when viewed from the sheet loading direction. 2 abutment surface 41b).

  The first contact surface 41a is provided at the lower stage in the paper stacking direction, guides one side edge of the paper P to prevent the paper P carried on the stack tray 21 from skewing, and It is a surface that presses the other side end against the lateral alignment member 42 while abutting against the side end. Further, the second contact surface 41b is positioned at an upper stage in the paper stacking direction than the first contact surface 41a, and is longer than the alignment movement distance of the tamper 41 than the first contact surface 41a in the paper width direction. One side of the paper P that is provided on the outer side to prevent the paper P to be carried in from being skewed when the tamper 41 is not in the standby position during the alignment process of the previous paper at the time of paper carry-in or immediately after the process. It is a surface that guides the edge and contacts one side edge of the paper P to prompt the paper P to drop to a normal position on the stack tray 21. As a result, the sheet P conveyed at high speed does not skew and does not climb on the tamper 41, but contacts the second contact surface 41b and falls to a normal position on the stack tray 21. Therefore, the side end portion of the paper P can always be pressed against the horizontal alignment member 42 by the first contact surface 41a, and stable horizontal alignment can be performed.

  The alignment movement distance of the tamper 41 is the movement distance of the tamper 41 when pressing the side edge of the maximum size paper P that can be used from the standby position of the tamper 41 to the horizontal alignment member 42 (that is, at the time of horizontal alignment. Equivalent to the amount of movement of the paper P).

  As another form of the tamper 41, as shown in FIG. 9, a dropping mechanism for forcibly dropping the paper P carried into the stepped portion between the first contact surface 41a and the second contact surface 41b. It is good also as a structure provided with 41c. In the illustrated example, a plate-like member is provided as a drop mechanism 41c at a step portion interposed between the first contact surface 41a and the second contact surface 41b, and the sheet P comes into contact with the drop mechanism 41c ( The paper P is forcibly dropped by rising at a predetermined timing (for example, a timing synchronized with the carry-in speed of the paper P or a timing at which the paper P is detected by the paper detection sensor 43). The dropping mechanism 41c is not limited to the plate-like member, and is a mechanism capable of forcibly dropping the paper P, such as a configuration in which the rod-shaped member is advanced and retracted, a configuration in which the surface of the stepped portion vibrates, and a configuration in which air is blown out. I just need it.

Next, the relationship between the paper P and the tamper 41 at the time of paper horizontal alignment will be described.
When the paper P is loaded into (a) as shown in FIG. 10, the tamper 41 waiting at the standby position is moved in the alignment direction as shown in FIG. 10 (b), and the first contact surface 41a in the tamper 41 is carried in. The sheet P is brought into contact with one side edge of the sheet P. Then, as shown in FIG. 10 (c), the alignment is performed in the horizontal direction by moving a predetermined alignment movement distance in the abutted state and pressing the other side end against the horizontal alignment member 42.

  Further, when the second sheet P is carried in at the same time as the alignment of the first sheet is completed, as shown in FIG. 11 (a), the sheet P is moved to the second position while the tamper 41 returns to the standby position. It gradually falls while contacting the contact surface 41b, contacts the stepped portion as shown in FIG. 11 (b), and falls onto the first sheet P as shown in FIG. 11 (c). Then, as shown in FIG. 11 (d), by moving the sheet P in the alignment direction with one side edge of the paper P in contact with the first contact surface 41a of the tamper 41 returned to the standby position. The horizontal alignment of the second sheet P is performed. Thereafter, by repeating FIGS. 11A to 11D, the sheet alignment process is performed until a predetermined sheet bundle is obtained.

  Note that the horizontal alignment unit 40 is configured so that the tamper 41 has a predetermined standby position as another means for preventing the skew of the sheet P conveyed at high speed and the climbing of the conveyed sheet P onto the tamper 41. A standby position sensor 42 for determining whether or not the printer is waiting and a paper detection sensor 43 that is disposed in the vicinity of the paper carry-in unit 10 and detects the paper P immediately before being carried into the stack tray 21 may be provided. . This configuration is adopted in the sheet aligning apparatus 1 using the general tamper 41 having only one contact surface, instead of the tamper 41 having the first contact surface 41a and the second contact surface 41b described above. can do. In this configuration, the presence / absence information of the tamper 41 by the standby position sensor 42, the presence / absence information of the paper P carried in by the paper detection sensor 43, and the currently selected processing mode (normal processing mode, high-speed processing mode, etc.). Based on this, when the paper P is carried in before the tamper 41 returns to the standby position, control is performed to appropriately reduce the paper carry-in speed.

  The processing content of the above configuration includes a sheet detection sensor before the standby position sensor 42 detects the tamper 41 after lateral alignment when the high-speed processing mode that is faster than the normal processing mode is selected as the processing mode. When 43 detects the paper P, the rotational speed of the conveying roller pair 12 of the paper carry-in unit 10 is reduced to a predetermined rotational speed (that is, the paper carry-in speed is reduced), and when the standby position sensor 42 detects the tamper 41 Control for returning the rotation speed of the conveying roller pair 12 to its original value is performed again. Note that the control of the rotation speed is not limited to this. For example, when the vehicle is decelerated a predetermined number of times, the rotation speed can be changed from the rotation speed in the high-speed processing mode to the rotation speed in the normal processing mode so that more stable processing can be performed. .

[Processing operation]
Next, a series of operations related to sheet alignment of the sheet alignment apparatus 1 described above will be described.
The paper P on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus 100 is carried into the stack tray 21 via the paper carry-in unit 10. The loaded paper P is conveyed in the direction opposite to the paper loading direction by the paddle mechanism 31 of the vertical direction aligning unit 30 and is abutted against the end fence 21a of the stack tray 21 to be aligned in the vertical direction.

  At this time, the paddle 31b rotated by the paddle guide member 33 of the vertical alignment unit 30 is bent at least at any timing from when the paddle 31b is brought into contact with the surface of the paper P to immediately before being separated, thereby The sheet P is prevented from rolling up due to contact between the leading end of the sheet 31b and the leading end of the sheet P. Further, the wind-shielding portion 32a of the wind guide member 32 blocks the wind generated by the rotation of the paddle 31b and prevents the leading edge of the loaded paper P from rising. Further, when the paddle 31b is rotated, static electricity charged on the surface of the paper P is removed while being rotated simultaneously with the paddle 31b and accompanying the friction during the conveyance and the urging of the paddle 31b.

  Further, the tamper 41 of the lateral alignment unit 40 slides while abutting against one side edge of the paper P and presses the other side edge of the paper P against the lateral alignment member 42 to achieve lateral alignment. The At this time, the paper P gradually falls while contacting the second contact surface 41b while the tamper 41 returns to the standby position, and falls onto the first paper P while contacting the stepped portion. Then, the other side end portion of the paper P is moved in the alignment direction in a state where one side end portion of the paper P is in contact with the first contact surface 41a of the tamper 41 returned to the standby position. It is pressed against the horizontal alignment member 42 to perform horizontal alignment on the second sheet P.

  In the stack unit 20, the sheet height sensor 23 detects the height of the upper surface of the uppermost sheet P in the sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray 21, and the sheet carry-in angle and the sheet grounding position are always constant. As necessary, the position of the stack tray 21 is moved up and down parallel to the sheet stacking surface.

  Then, a sheet bundle on which a predetermined number of sheets aligned in both the vertical and horizontal directions are stacked is conveyed to the post-processing device 110 while being nipped and conveyed by the first conveyance roller pair 22a and the second conveyance roller pair 22b. Yes.

  Next, instead of the tamper 41 having the first contact surface 41a and the second contact surface 41b described above, the processing operation in the sheet aligning apparatus 1 using the general tamper 41 having only one contact surface. Will be described. Note that the description of the same processing as the above-described processing content (processing related to the stack unit 20 and the vertical alignment unit 30) is omitted.

  In the horizontal alignment unit 40, when the high-speed processing mode that is faster than the normal processing mode is selected as the processing mode, the paper detection sensor 43 before the standby position sensor 42 detects the tamper 41 after the horizontal alignment. When the paper P is detected, the rotational speed of the transport roller pair 12 of the paper carry-in section 10 is reduced to a predetermined rotational speed, and when the standby position sensor 42 detects the tamper 41, the rotational speed of the transport roller pair 12 is restored. Control to return to. Therefore, the conveyed paper P is not skewed, and the paper P does not run on the tamper 41. The tamper 41 always presses the side edge of the paper P against the horizontal alignment member 42 to achieve horizontal alignment. The

  Then, a sheet bundle on which a predetermined number of sheets aligned in both the vertical and horizontal directions are stacked is conveyed to the post-processing device 110 while being nipped and conveyed by the first conveyance roller pair 22a and the second conveyance roller pair 22b. Yes.

  As described above, the above-described sheet aligning device 1 covers the sheet carry-in side of the paddle 31b while gradually rising from the sheet stacking surface of the stack tray 21 along the rotation direction of the paddle 31b as the configuration of the vertical aligning unit 30. The wind guide member 32 which has the wind-shielding part 32a formed in this way is provided. As a result, it is possible to prevent a stacking failure due to the leading edge of the paper P generated by the wind generated by the rotation of the paddle 31b.

  Further, the paddle guide is disposed within a rotational radius of the paddle 31b and disposed at a position where the paddle 31b can come into contact with the paddle 31b at least at any timing until the paddle 31b comes into contact with the surface of the paper P and immediately before the paddle 31b is separated. A member 33 is provided. Thereby, when the paddle 31b rotates, it is possible to prevent a stacking failure due to the paper P rising up due to contact between the leading edge of the paddle 31b and the leading edge of the paper P.

  Further, they are arranged at equal intervals with a predetermined angle shifted from the arrangement position of the transport body with respect to the rotational direction of the paddle 31b, and the distance between the front end of the member and the surface of the paper P is always the optimum distance for static elimination. The neutralizing member 34 is provided. Thus, when the paddle 31b rotates, the surface of the paper P is caused by friction during conveyance and energizing the paddle 31b while rotating simultaneously with the paddle 31b in a state where the distance between the static eliminating brush and the paper P is stable. Static electricity can be removed.

  The stack unit 20 includes a stack tray 21 having a gently curved surface curved downward in the vertical direction between the substantially central portion of the tray and the end fence. As a result, the urging force of the paper P against the end fence 21a by the paddle mechanism 31 works, and the effect of promoting the air escape between the papers P is exerted. Can be prevented.

  Further, the height of the uppermost sheet P in the bundle of sheets stacked on the stack tray 21 is detected by the sheet height sensor 23, and stacking is performed as necessary so that the sheet carry-in angle and the sheet grounding position are always constant. Control is performed so that the position of the tray 21 is moved up and down parallel to the sheet stacking surface. Thereby, it is possible to always perform a stable stacking process regardless of the type of sheets P to be used and the number of sheets stacked.

  Further, the lateral alignment unit 40 is provided at the lower stage in the paper stacking direction, and guides one side edge of the paper P in order to prevent the paper P carried on the stack tray 21 from skewing. The first abutting surface 41a that presses the other side end against the lateral alignment member 42 while abutting against the side end, and the first abutting surface 41a at the upper stage in the paper stacking direction and in the paper width direction. The paper P to be carried in is prevented from being skewed when the tamper 41 is provided outside the tamper 41 for the alignment moving distance and during the alignment processing of the previously loaded paper at the time of paper loading or immediately after the processing and the tamper 41 is not in the standby position. The second side of the paper P is guided as much as possible, and the second side is urged to come into contact with the one side edge of the paper P and drop to a normal position on the stack tray 21. And a tamper 41 provided with a contact surface 41b. As a result, the sheet P conveyed at high speed does not skew, and the sheet P contacts the second contact surface 41b and does not climb on the tamper 41, and falls to a normal position on the stack tray 21. The sheet aligning device 1 that can always press the side end portion of the sheet P against the horizontal alignment member 42 by the first contact surface 41a and can increase the sheet conveyance speed that enables stable horizontal alignment. Can be provided.

  Further, the tamper 41 is provided with a dropping mechanism 41c that drops to a normal position on the stack tray 21 when the tamper 41 comes into contact with the loaded paper. Can be dropped.

  Further, in the sheet aligning apparatus 1 using the general tamper 41 having only one abutting surface instead of the tamper 41 having the first abutting surface 41a and the second abutting surface 41b described above, high-speed conveyance is performed. A standby position sensor 42 for determining whether or not the tamper 41 is waiting at a predetermined standby position as means for preventing the skew feeding of the paper P and the climbing of the conveyed paper P onto the tamper 41; A sheet detection sensor 43 that is disposed in the vicinity of the unit 10 and detects the sheet P immediately before being carried into the stack tray 21. When the high-speed processing mode that is faster than the normal processing mode is selected as the processing mode, the paper detection sensor 43 detects the paper P before the standby position sensor 42 detects the tamper 41 after the horizontal alignment. When this happens, the rotation speed of the conveyance roller pair 12 of the paper carry-in section 10 is reduced to a predetermined rotation speed, and when the standby position sensor 42 detects the tamper 41, the rotation speed of the conveyance roller pair 12 is restored again. . Thereby, it is possible to prevent the sheet P from being carried on the tamper 41 due to the conveyance of the sheet P before the tamper 41 returns to the standby position, and the alignment of the sheet P by the tamper 41 in the lateral direction is surely performed. be able to.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Paper alignment apparatus 10 ... Paper carry-in part 11 ... Conveyance guide 12 ... Conveyance roller pair 20 ... Stack part 21 ... Stack tray (21a ... End fence)
22 ... re-conveying means (22a ... first conveying roller pair, 22b ... second conveying roller pair)
23 ... Paper height sensor 30 ... Vertical alignment part 31 ... Paddle mechanism (31a ... Rotating shaft, 31b ... Paddle)
32 ... Wind guide member (32a ... Wind shield)
33 ... Paddle guide member 34 ... Static elimination member 40 ... Lateral alignment part 41 ... Tamper (41a ... 1st contact surface, 41b ... 2nd contact surface, 41c ... Drop mechanism)
42 ... Horizontal alignment member 43 ... Standby position sensor 44 ... Paper detection sensor 100 ... Image forming apparatus 110 ... Post-processing device P ... Paper

Claims (9)

A stack tray for receiving the loaded paper;
An end fence that abuts the rear end of the paper against the end of the stack tray opposite to the paper carry-in direction;
The sheet is rotatably arranged around a direction orthogonal to the paper carry-in direction, and rotates while contacting a paddle on the surface of the carried-in paper, thereby conveying the paper in a direction opposite to the paper carry-in direction and the end. With a paddle mechanism that hits the fence,
In the sheet aligning device for stacking the loaded paper on the stack tray and aligning at the stacking position,
A paper aligning device, comprising a curling prevention member provided upstream of the paddle mechanism in a paper carry-in direction and preventing the leading edge of the carried-in paper from rising due to rotation of the paddle mechanism. The wind-up preventing member is provided with a wind guide member formed so as to cover the paper carry-in side of the paddle mechanism while rising from the paper stacking surface of the stack tray along the rotation direction of the paddle mechanism. Item 2. A sheet aligning device according to Item 1. The curling prevention member is disposed at a position that is within the rotation radius of the paddle and that can contact the paddle at least at any timing from when the paddle contacts the surface of the paper and immediately before the paddle separates. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a paddle guide member. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stack tray has a curved surface curved downward in the vertical direction between a substantially central portion of the tray and the end fence. A paper height sensor for detecting the height of the paper stacked on the stack tray;
The height of the uppermost sheet surface of the stacked sheets is detected, and the stack tray position is moved up and down parallel to the sheet stacking surface so that the loading angle and the grounding position of the loaded sheet are always constant. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet aligning apparatus moves. The paddle mechanism is arranged at equal intervals in a state shifted by a predetermined angle with respect to the rotational direction of the paddle, and the distance between the tip of the paddle and the surface of the paper is always the optimum distance for static elimination. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a static elimination member arranged so as to become. A tamper that slides in a direction perpendicular to the paper carry-in direction and performs lateral alignment that is the width direction of the papers that are sequentially stacked on the stack tray;
The tamper has a first contact surface that presses the other side end of the sheet against a lateral alignment member fixed on the stack tray while abutting one side end of the sheet,
It is located on the upper side in the paper stacking direction with respect to the first abutment surface, and is provided outside the first abutment surface in the paper width direction by more than the alignment movement distance of the paper at the time of loading. A second abutting surface that contacts the side edge of the sheet and urges the sheet to fall to a normal position on the stack tray;
The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet aligning apparatus is provided. 8. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the tamper includes a dropping mechanism that drops the tamper to a normal position on the stack tray when the tamper comes into contact with the loaded sheet. A tamper that slides in a direction perpendicular to the paper carry-in direction and performs lateral alignment that is the width direction of the papers that are sequentially stacked on the stack tray;
A standby position sensor for determining whether or not the vehicle is waiting at a predetermined standby position;
A paper detection sensor for detecting paper immediately before being carried into the stack tray,
When the paper detection sensor detects the paper before the standby position sensor detects the tamper, the paper carry-in speed is controlled to be decelerated until the standby position sensor detects the tamper. The sheet aligning device according to claim 1.

Images