JP2012051652A - Sheet alignment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain rapid alignment of sheets discharged from a discharge means in an image forming apparatus to an alignment tray without bending when feeding the sheets discharged from the discharge means to the alignment tray toward a regulation member by a rotating feeder member and allowing the feeding directional tips of the sheets to abut on the regulation member to align the sheets.SOLUTION: In the sheet alignment device 10 configured to feed the sheets P discharged from the discharge means 4 to the alignment tray 11 toward the regulation member 13 by the rotating feeder member 12 and to allow the feeding directional tips of the sheets on the regulation member to align the sheets, the feeder member is brought into contact with the sheet before the rear end of the sheet is discharged from the discharge member.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet aligning apparatus that aligns sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, and a multi-function machine thereof. In particular, when the paper discharged from the discharge means to the alignment tray is fed toward the regulating member by the rotating feed member, and the leading edge of the paper is brought into contact with the regulating member to align the paper, the discharge means It is characterized in that the sheets discharged to the alignment tray can be quickly aligned without being bent.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a complex machine of these, a plurality of sheets on which images have been formed are aligned together, and staples or the like are applied to the plurality of sheets thus aligned. There are some that are designed to be post-processed.

  Conventionally, when aligning a plurality of sheets on which images are formed, conventionally, as shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2, etc., the sheets on which images are formed are sequentially discharged from the discharge means to the alignment tray. In this way, the sheet discharged to the alignment tray is fed in the direction opposite to the discharge direction by the rotating feed member, and the leading end of the sheet is brought into contact with the regulating member to be positioned. A sheet in which the sheets discharged to the tray are sequentially stacked and aligned is used.

  Here, when a plurality of sheets of images formed as described above are aligned together, if the speed at which the sheets are discharged from the discharge unit to the alignment tray is shortened in order to shorten the alignment time, The speed of the paper discharged from the means to the alignment tray is increased so that the paper jumps out on the alignment tray. The feeding member that rotates the discharged paper as described above reverses the discharge direction. The time required for positioning in the direction and the tip of the sheet abutting against the regulating member becomes long, and the time for aligning the paper discharged to the alignment tray cannot be shortened appropriately. It was.

  In addition, when the rotation speed of the feeding member is made extremely high so as to increase the feeding speed for feeding the paper discharged to the alignment tray in the direction opposite to the discharging direction, the feeding member is conveyed by the rotation. There is a problem that the load applied to the sheet is increased, the sheet is bent, and the sheet is bent when the leading end of the sheet is brought into contact with the regulating member for alignment.

JP 2002-265117 A JP 2007-22799 A

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems in a sheet aligning apparatus that aligns sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus by stacking them.

  In the present invention, the sheet discharged from the discharge means to the alignment tray as described above is fed to the regulating member by the rotating feeding member, and the leading end of the sheet in the sheet feeding direction is brought into contact with the regulating member. In the case of aligning the sheets, it is an object to make it possible to quickly align the sheets discharged from the discharge means to the alignment tray without being bent.

  In the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problems, the paper discharged from the discharge means to the alignment tray is fed to the regulating member by the rotating feeding member, and the leading edge of the paper in the feeding direction is applied to the regulating member. In the sheet aligning apparatus that contacts and aligns the sheet, the feeding member is brought into contact with the sheet before the trailing end of the sheet is discharged from the discharge unit.

  If the feeding member is brought into contact with the paper before the trailing edge of the paper is discharged from the discharge means in this way, even when the speed of the paper discharged from the discharge means to the alignment tray is increased, the alignment is performed. The speed of the paper discharged to the tray for use is reduced.

  Here, in the sheet aligning device, a rotation control unit for controlling the rotation of the feeding member is provided, and the feeding member after the trailing end of the sheet is discharged from the discharge unit to the alignment tray by the rotation control unit. When the rotation speed of the sheet is increased, the sheet discharged to the alignment tray is quickly fed toward the regulating member by the feeding member, and the sheet is aligned by bringing the leading end in the sheet feeding direction into contact with the regulating member. Time can be further reduced.

  Further, as the above-mentioned feeding member, a member in which a contact member that contacts the sheet is extended from the rotation shaft portion is used, and the rotation of the contact member that contacts the sheet discharged from the discharge unit to the alignment tray is performed. When the second contact portion on the rear side in the rotational direction of the contact member is made longer than the first contact portion on the front side in the direction, and the friction coefficient of the first contact portion is made smaller than the friction coefficient of the second contact portion, The sheet discharged from the discharge means to the alignment tray comes into contact with the first contact portion having a small friction coefficient in the contact member and is decelerated, and the frictional resistance applied to the sheet is reduced and the sheet is bent. The sheet discharged to the alignment tray is appropriately conveyed toward the regulating member by the second contact portion having a large friction coefficient.

  Further, as the above-mentioned feeding member, a member provided by extending two contact members that come into contact with the paper from the rotating shaft portion of the feeding member is used, and the paper that is discharged from the discharge means to the alignment tray is contacted first. When the friction coefficient of the first contact member on the front side in the rotation direction is made smaller than the friction coefficient of the second contact member on the rear side in the rotation direction that comes into contact later, it is discharged from the discharge means to the alignment tray as in the above case. The sheet comes into contact with the first contact member having a small friction coefficient and is decelerated, the frictional resistance applied to the sheet is reduced, and the sheet is prevented from being bent and discharged to the alignment tray. The sheet is appropriately conveyed toward the regulating member by the second contact member having a large friction coefficient.

  Further, when the sheet discharged from the discharge unit to the alignment tray is brought into contact with the feeding member and the sheet discharged to the alignment tray is decelerated, the rotation of the feed member is performed until the trailing edge of the sheet is discharged from the discharge unit. When the stopped feeding member is brought into contact with the paper discharged from the discharge means to the alignment tray, the load applied to the paper is reduced, and the paper is further prevented from being bent. It becomes like this.

  In the paper aligning device of the present invention, the paper discharged from the discharge means to the alignment tray is fed toward the regulating member by the rotating feed member, and the paper is aligned by bringing the leading end of the paper in the feeding direction into contact with the regulating member. In this case, before the trailing edge of the paper is discharged from the discharge means, the feeding member is brought into contact with the paper to reduce the speed of the paper discharged to the alignment tray.

  For this reason, in the sheet aligning apparatus of the present invention, the speed at which the sheet is discharged from the discharge unit to the alignment tray in order to shorten the alignment time when aligning a plurality of sheets on which images have been formed. Even when the speed is increased, the paper does not jump out too much on the alignment tray, and the paper discharged onto the alignment tray is sent to the regulating member by the rotating feeding member, and the paper is fed to the regulating member. It is possible to shorten the time until the leading edge of the sheet is brought into contact with the sheet to align the sheet.

  Further, in the paper aligning apparatus of the present invention, in order to shorten the time until the paper is aligned, the rotational speed of the feeding member is made very fast as in the prior art, and the feeding speed of the paper sent to the regulating member is increased. This eliminates the need for a load applied to the sheet conveyed by the rotation of the feed member, which causes the sheet to be bent, and prevents the sheet from being bent when the leading end of the sheet is brought into contact with the regulating member for alignment. .

1 is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet aligning device according to an embodiment of the present invention is used in an image forming apparatus. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the paper aligning apparatus which concerns on said embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration for controlling rotation of a feeding member in the sheet aligning device according to the embodiment. The process of feeding the sheet discharged onto the alignment tray by the sheet aligning apparatus according to the above-described embodiment toward the regulating member by the rotating feeding member, and bringing the leading end of the feeding direction of the sheet into contact with the regulating member for alignment. It is the schematic explanatory drawing which showed. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing a first modified example of a feeding member used in the sheet aligning device according to the embodiment. It is the schematic side view which showed the 2nd modification of the feed member used in the paper aligning apparatus which concerns on said embodiment. It is the schematic side view which showed the 3rd modification of the feed member used in the paper aligning apparatus which concerns on said embodiment. In the sheet aligning device according to the above-described embodiment, it is a schematic explanatory view showing a state where a sheet discharged to an alignment tray and a first contact member in a feeding member are in contact with each other. In the sheet aligning device according to the above-described embodiment, it is a schematic explanatory diagram of a modified example in which the rear end of the sheet discharged from the discharge roller is guided onto the alignment tray by the guide member.

  Next, a sheet aligning device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The sheet aligning device according to the present invention is not limited to the one shown in the following embodiment, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications within a range not changing the gist thereof.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a toner image is formed on a sheet P in an image forming apparatus 1 such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine thereof, and the sheet on which the toner image is thus formed is formed. P is guided by a feed roller 2 to a sheet aligning device 10 provided on the sheet discharge tray 3 side.

  In this sheet aligning device 10, the sheet P guided by the feed roller 2 is discharged onto the alignment tray 11 by the discharge roller (discharge means) 4, and thus on the alignment tray 11. The discharged paper P is fed toward the regulating member 13 by the rotating feed member 12, and the leading edge of the paper P in the feeding direction is brought into contact with the regulating member 13 so that the paper P is aligned.

  Further, after aligning the predetermined number of sheets P in this way, the aligned predetermined number of sheets P are stapled by the stapling device 5, and the bundle of sheets P thus stapled is discharged by the paper discharge roller 6. Paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 3.

  Here, in the sheet aligning apparatus 10 of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as the feeding member 12, two sheet-shaped contact members 122 and 123 extend from the rotary shaft portion 121. I try to use the ones that were issued.

  In the sheet aligning apparatus 10 of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sheet detection sensor 14 that detects the sheet P discharged onto the alignment tray 11 by the discharge roller 4 as described above. The detection result of the paper detection sensor 14 is output to the rotation control device 15, and the rotation control device 15 controls the driving of the feed member drive motor 16 that rotates the feed member 12.

  Here, in the sheet aligning device 10 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, the leading edge of the sheet P is guided from the discharge roller 4 to the aligning tray 11 by the sheet detecting sensor 14 described above. Until the detection, the rotation of the feed member 12 is stopped in a state where the contact members 122 and 123 of the feed member 12 do not contact the paper P guided to the alignment tray 11.

  When the leading edge of the paper P is detected by the paper detection sensor 14, the rotation control device 15 drives the feed member drive motor 16 to rotate the feed member 12, as shown in FIG. As shown, the first contact member 122 on the front side in the rotation direction of the feed member 12 is guided to a position where it contacts the paper P guided from the discharge roller 4 to the alignment tray 11, and is guided from the discharge roller 4 to the alignment tray 11. The sheet P is brought into contact with the first contact member 122 to reduce the speed of the sheet P discharged to the alignment tray 11. In this way, even when the speed of the paper P discharged from the discharge roller 4 to the alignment tray 11 is increased, the paper P does not jump out on the alignment tray 11.

  Next, when the trailing edge of the paper P discharged to the alignment tray 11 is discharged from the discharge roller 4 and the paper P is no longer detected by the paper detection sensor 14, as shown in FIG. The rotation control device 15 drives the feed member drive motor 16 to rotate the feed member 12, and the first and second contact members 122 and 123 provided on the feed member 12 cause the alignment tray 11 to move. The discharged paper P is fed toward the regulating member 13, and the leading edge of the paper P in the feeding direction is brought into contact with the regulating member 13 so that the paper P is aligned. By doing so, the paper P does not jump out on the alignment tray 11 as described above, and the paper P guided onto the alignment tray 11 is promptly directed to the regulating member 13 by the feeding member 12. Even if the rotational speed of the feeding member 12 is not increased as in the prior art, the paper P guided onto the alignment tray 11 can be quickly aligned and the feeding member 12 can be fed. Thus, the load applied to the sheet P conveyed is reduced, and the sheet P is prevented from being bent.

  Further, as described above, the sheet P guided from the discharge roller 4 to the alignment tray 11 is brought into contact with the first contact member 122 of the feeding member 12 to reduce the speed of the sheet P discharged to the alignment tray 11. Thereafter, when the sheet P discharged to the alignment tray 11 is fed toward the regulating member 13 by the first and second contact members 122 and 123 provided on the feeding member 12, the sheet discharged to the alignment tray 11. In order to prevent the sheet P from being bent due to a load applied to the sheet P, and to allow the sheet P discharged to the alignment tray 11 to be appropriately fed toward the regulating member 13, a first member provided on the feeding member 12 is provided. The material or the like of the first contact member 122 and the second contact member 123 can be changed.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the first contact member 122 in the contact member 122 is made of a thin sheet material that has a small friction coefficient and is easily deformed. The second contact member 123 on the rear side can be formed of an elastic sheet having a higher coefficient of friction than the first contact member 122. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the first contact member 122 may be made of a brush material having a small friction coefficient and being easily deformed. As a result, the sheet P guided from the discharge roller 4 to the alignment tray 11 as described above is brought into contact with the first contact member 122 of the feeding member 12, and the speed of the sheet P discharged to the alignment tray 11 is increased. When decelerating, the load applied to the paper P is reduced, and the paper P discharged to the alignment tray 11 is appropriately fed toward the regulating member 13 by the second contact member 123 in the feeding member 12. .

  Further, in the feeding member 12 described above, a member in which two sheet-like contact members 122 and 123 are extended from the rotating shaft 121 is used. However, as shown in FIG. One contact member 124 is extended from 121, and the first contact portion 124a on the front side in the rotational direction of the contact member 124 that contacts the paper P discharged to the alignment tray 11 is made of a material having a small friction coefficient. On the other hand, the second contact portion 124b on the rear side in the rotation direction of the contact member 124 is made longer than the first contact portion 124a, and the second contact portion 124b is made of a material having a larger coefficient of friction than the first contact portion 124a. You can also.

  Further, as described above, the sheet P guided from the discharge roller 4 to the alignment tray 11 is brought into contact with the first contact member 122 of the feeding member 12 to reduce the speed of the sheet P discharged to the alignment tray 11. In order to reduce the load applied to the sheet P discharged to the alignment tray 11, as shown in FIG. 8, the first contact member 122 contacts the first sheet P discharged to the alignment tray 11 at the first position. The contact angle θ between the contact member 122 and the paper P is preferably set to 45 ° or less.

  Further, when the paper P is discharged from the discharge roller 4 onto the alignment tray 11 as described above, the rear end of the paper P discharged from the discharge roller 4 is promptly guided onto the alignment tray 11. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 9, a guide member 17 in the form of an endless belt that rotates together with the discharge roller 4 is provided on the discharge roller 4 located below, and is discharged from the discharge roller 4. The guide member 17 can quickly guide the rear end of the sheet P to be aligned onto the alignment tray 11.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Feed roller 3 Discharge tray 4 Discharge roller (discharge means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Staple apparatus 6 Paper discharge roller 10 Paper alignment apparatus 11 Tray for alignment 12 Feed member 121 Rotating shaft part 122 1st contact member 123 2nd contact member 124 Contact member 124a 1st contact part 124b 2nd contact part 13 Control member 14 Paper Detection sensor 15 Rotation control device 16 Feed member drive motor 17 Guide member P Paper θ Contact angle between first contact member and paper

Claims (5)

  In a sheet aligning apparatus that feeds paper discharged from the discharge means to the alignment tray toward a regulating member by a rotating feed member and aligns the paper by bringing the leading end of the paper in the feed direction into contact with the regulating member. A sheet aligning apparatus wherein the feeding member is brought into contact with the sheet before the end is discharged from the discharging means.   2. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a rotation control unit that controls the rotation of the feeding member, and the rotation control unit feeds the rear end of the sheet after being discharged from the discharge unit to the alignment tray. A sheet aligning device characterized in that the rotational speed of a member is increased.   3. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a contact member that comes into contact with the sheet extends from the rotating shaft portion of the feeding member, and contacts with the sheet discharged from the discharge unit to the alignment tray. The second contact portion on the rear side in the rotation direction of the contact member is made longer than the first contact portion on the front side in the rotation direction in the contact member, and the friction coefficient of the first contact portion is set to the second contact portion. A sheet aligning apparatus characterized by having a coefficient of friction smaller than the above.   3. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein two contact members that contact the sheet extend from the rotating shaft portion of the feeding member and are discharged from the discharge unit to the alignment tray. The sheet aligning apparatus is characterized in that the friction coefficient of the first contact member on the front side in the rotation direction that comes into contact with the first contact member is made smaller than the friction coefficient on the second contact member on the rear side in the rotation direction that comes in contact later.   5. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation of the feeding member is stopped before the trailing edge of the sheet is discharged from the discharge unit. A sheet aligning device characterized by contacting a feeding member.

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