JP2012136299A - Paper sheet alignment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper alignment device capable of immediately feeding paper sheets without causing wrinkles or skews after the alignment of the paper sheets.SOLUTION: The paper alignment device 1 includes a pair of alignment means 7 and 7 for performing the alignment of the paper sheets in the width direction on the paper sheet table 3. The alignment means includes a second alignment plate 11 attached to a moving first alignment plate 8 through a connecting member 9 and an elastic member 10. The paper sheets placed on the paper sheet table are caught by the second alignment plate to perform the alignment of the paper sheets in the width direction. The second alignment plate can be moved by the elastic member so that the paper sheets P are prevented from being distorted. When the paper sheet is discharged by a discharge roller 4, the second alignment plate moves accompanied by the movement of the paper sheet, then, the shift of the paper sheet is not interrupted. The paper sheet is ejected in the stably controlled state in terms of the width direction. Accordingly, the wrinkles, deformation and skews are prevented. It is unnecessary to make the alignment means retreat after performing the alignment in the width direction, and thereby the operation time is shortened.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet aligning apparatus that aligns the edges of a plurality of stacked sheets, and more particularly to a sheet aligning apparatus that can immediately feed sheets without causing wrinkles or skewing after alignment. .

  In some cases, after an image is formed on a sheet by the image forming apparatus, these sheets are collected and post-processing such as stapling or punching is performed. For such a post-processing step, a post-processing device may be installed at the subsequent stage of the image forming apparatus. In such a post-processing apparatus, as a pre-process for performing post-processing such as stapling and punching, the image-formed sheets conveyed and discharged from the image forming apparatus are stacked on a sheet table, and then a plurality of sheets stacked. It is necessary to perform alignment processing for the front, rear, and left and right. The post-processing steps including such alignment processing are handled by intermittent batch processing for paper continuously flowing from the image forming apparatus, so that the operation time in each processing step is reduced to the overall productivity. It has a great influence, and shortening the operation time in each process is considered an important issue.

5 to 7 are diagrams illustrating an example of a conventional sheet aligning device installed at a subsequent stage or the like of the image forming apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 5, the paper P on which an image has been formed by a preceding image forming apparatus (not shown) is discharged by a discharge unit having a conveyance roller 100. A paper base 101 of the paper P aligning device is disposed downstream of the discharge unit.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of discharge rollers 102 is provided on the front end side of the sheet base 101 as a sheet P discharging unit. The pair of discharge rollers 102 are in contact with each other through a not-illustrated through hole provided in the paper table 101, and can be sent to the end of the paper table 101 with a bundle of sheets P aligned on the paper table 101 interposed therebetween. It is configured as follows. Further, a belt driving unit 103 that circulates and rotates along the carrying-out direction of the paper P is provided on the rear end side of the paper base 101. An extrusion member 104 is attached to the belt of the belt driving unit 103, and the rear end of the paper P protruding from the rear end of the paper base 101 is pushed forward and pressed against the discharge roller 102. ).

  As can be seen from FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, alignment means 105 made of a rigid plate material is provided on both side edges of the paper base 101 so as to be able to reciprocate in the width direction of the paper P. These aligning means 105 pinch the paper P in the width direction, so that the paper P stacked on the paper table 101 can be aligned in the width direction (left-right direction).

The alignment of the paper P in the above configuration will be described.
The pair of alignment means 105 and 105 are set at the sheet receiving position shown in FIG. The paper P is fed onto the paper base 101 by the transport roller 100, and enters the space between the pair of aligning means 105, 105 from the paper entry position shown in FIG. When the predetermined number of sheets has been prepared, the pair of aligning means 105, 105 moves to the sheet aligning position shown in FIG. 6 and aligns the sheet P in the width direction. At this time, as can be seen from FIG. 6, the distance between the pair of alignment means 105, 105 is narrower than the width of the paper P. This is to ensure alignment in the width direction of the paper P, and the paper P is bent in the width direction. Next, the belt driving unit 103 is actuated, and the pushing unit 104 pushes the rear end of the paper P toward the front, and the bundle of the paper P is abutted against the discharge roller 102 and aligned in the vertical direction. Then, the pair of aligning means 105 and 105 are returned to the paper receiving position shown in FIG. 6, and a gap D is formed between the aligning means 105 and the paper P as shown in FIG. 7, and then the discharge roller 102 is driven. A bundle of sheets P is sent forward from the sheet table 101.
In addition to the conventional sheet aligning apparatus described above, the present applicant has recognized the invention described in the following patent document.

  In the invention of the sheet aligning device disclosed in the following Patent Document 1, it is described that the leading end portion of the sheet conveyed by the storage sheet conveying unit is abutted against the sheet carrying-out unit to perform alignment in the sheet conveying direction. This method approximates the alignment method in the vertical direction of the paper P described with reference to FIG. 5, that is, the method of pressing the paper P in the carry-out direction and abutting against the discharge roller 102 for alignment.

JP 2009-274849 A

  In the conventional sheet aligning apparatus described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7, after aligning the sheet P in the width direction by the aligning unit 105, the aligning unit 105 is returned to the sheet receiving position and between the side edges of the sheet P. A gap D is formed in the sheet P, and then the sheet P is sent out by the discharge roller 102. As described above, according to the conventional apparatus, since time is required for the alignment means 105 to escape from the paper P after alignment, the paper P cannot be sent out immediately after alignment, and the operation time is long. there were.

  Further, as described above, since the sheet P is sent out in an unrestrained state after the aligning means 105 is separated from the sheet P after alignment, the sheets P aligned in the width direction are scattered, become irregular, and skew. There was a problem of being sent out.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems in the conventional technology as described above, and provides a sheet aligning apparatus capable of immediately feeding sheets without causing wrinkles or skewing after alignment. It is an object.

The sheet aligning device according to claim 1 is provided.
A paper tray in which paper is fed along a direction perpendicular to the width direction;
It was movable in the width direction along the paper table between a paper receiving position arranged at a wider interval than the paper width and a paper alignment position arranged at a slightly narrower interval than the paper width. A pair of alignment means;
Unloading means for unloading the sheets aligned by the aligning means from the sheet table;
In a sheet aligning apparatus having
The aligning means includes elastic means for holding the sheet without bending by contacting the sheet at the sheet aligning position and deforming or moving in the width direction.
The unloading unit unloads the sheet in a state where the alignment unit is at the sheet alignment position.

  According to the sheet aligning device of the first aspect, the pair of aligning means is configured to receive the sheet on the sheet table at a sheet receiving position wider than the sheet width, and then move along the sheet table to the width of the sheet. By moving to a narrow sheet alignment position, the sheets on the sheet table are aligned in the width direction. At this time, the alignment means abuts against both side edges of the paper in the width direction and presses the paper in the width direction. However, the elastic means does not apply excessive force to the paper and does not bend the paper. Hold it securely. The sheets on the sheet table are carried out of the sheet table by the conveying unit while being aligned by the pair of aligning units. Therefore, when carrying out the sheet aligned by the aligning means, it is not necessary to retract the aligning means from the sheet after aligning, so that the unloading can be performed quickly and the operation time is shortened compared to the conventional case. In addition, since the paper is carried out while the paper is aligned with the pair of aligning means, the paper is not scattered during the carry-out, and no wrinkles or skews occur.

1 is a front view of a sheet aligning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a plan view of a sheet aligning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a left side view of a sheet aligning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the alignment means in other embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows an example of the conventional paper aligning apparatus. It is a top view which shows an example of the conventional paper aligning apparatus. It is a right side view showing an example of a conventional sheet aligning device.

A sheet aligning apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the first embodiment, the sheet aligning apparatus 1 is described as being installed at the subsequent stage of the image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to such a usage pattern. The sheet aligning apparatus 1 can be applied to various uses that require aligning a plurality of stacked sheets P.

First, the configuration of the sheet aligning device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the paper P on which an image has been formed by a preceding image forming apparatus (not shown) is discharged by the transport roller 2 of the discharge unit 2. A paper table 3 of the paper aligning device 1 is disposed on the downstream side of the discharge unit 2.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of discharge rollers 4 is provided on the front end side of the paper table 3 to feed the paper P on the paper table 3 forward. A pair of rollers of the discharge roller 4 is in contact with a through hole (not shown) provided in the paper base 3 and can convey the paper P or the paper bundle while sandwiching it.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a belt driving unit 5 that circulates and rotates along the carrying-out direction of the paper P is provided on the rear end side of the paper board 3. An extrusion member 6 is attached to the belt of the belt drive unit 5, and the rear end of the paper P protruding from the rear end of the paper base 3 is pushed forward and pressed against the discharge roller 4. ).

  As can be seen from FIGS. 1 to 3, alignment means 7 are provided on both side edges of the sheet base 3 so as to be reciprocally movable in the width direction of the sheet P. The alignment means 7 includes a first alignment plate 8 that is movable in the width direction of the sheet P below the sheet table 3, a connection member 9 that is connected to the first alignment plate 8 and extends upward, A second alignment plate 11 is attached to the upper end of the member 9 via an elastic member 10 such as a spring. Although details are not shown, a communication groove through which the connecting member 9 is inserted is formed in the sheet base 3 in the width direction of the sheet P. The first alignment plate 8 can be moved in the width direction of the paper P by driving means (not shown). The second alignment plate 11 can move in the width direction of the sheet P along the upper surface of the sheet table 3 as the first alignment plate 8 moves, and the sheet table 3 is sandwiched by sandwiching the sheet P in the width direction. Can be aligned in the width direction (left-right direction).

The alignment of the paper P in the above configuration will be described.
The pair of aligning means 7 and 7 is set at the sheet receiving position shown in FIG. The interval between the alignment means 7 and 7 at the sheet receiving position, that is, the interval between the second alignment plates 11 and 11 has a margin with respect to the width of the sheet P, and the sheet P carried from the sheet entry position shown in FIG. It is possible to enter the paper table 3 without causing a jam.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the paper P is fed onto the paper base 3 by the transport roller 2 and accumulates between the pair of second alignment plates 11 and 11. When the predetermined number of sheets is aligned, the pair of aligning means 7 and 7 moves to the sheet aligning position shown in FIG. 2 and aligns the sheet P in the width direction by the second aligning plates 11 and 11. At this time, the distance between the pair of second alignment plates 11 and 11 is slightly narrower than the width of the sheet P in order to ensure alignment of the sheet P in the width direction. However, since the pair of second alignment plates 11 and 11 pressed against the both side edges of the paper P move in the direction of escaping from both side edges by the action of the elastic member 10, the paper P is pressed in the width direction and receives the force. However, it does not bend and remains in a flat sheet shape and is held by the pair of second alignment plates 11 and 11.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the belt driving unit 5 is operated and the pushing member 6 pushes the rear end of the paper P forward, and the bundle of the paper P abuts against the discharge roller 4 to perform vertical alignment. Do. A pair of aligning means 7 and 7 are arranged at the sheet aligning position shown in FIG. 2 and the belt driving unit 5 and the discharge roller 4 are driven as shown in FIG. A bundle of P is fed forward from the paper table 3 by the discharge roller 4.

  At the time of discharge, the paper P is moved forward by the discharge roller 4 with both side edges abutting against a pair of second alignment plates 11 and 11 fixed at a predetermined interval. Here, since the second alignment plate 11 is attached to the connecting member 9 via the elastic member 10 and can move along with the movement of the paper P, the movement of the paper P is not hindered. Accordingly, the paper P is sandwiched by a force that does not deform between the pair of second alignment plates 11 and 11 and is unreasonably carried out in a stable state regulated in the width direction. Also, skew does not occur. Further, when the alignment in the width direction is completed, it is not necessary to take time for the alignment means 7 to escape to the outside in the width direction when the sheet P is sent out. It can be done quickly.

  When the paper P is discharged, the pair of alignment members 7 and 7 return to the paper receiving position shown in FIG. 2 and wait for the next batch of paper processing.

  FIG. 4 shows one of the pair of matching means 17 and 17 in the second embodiment. The alignment means 17 of the second embodiment includes a rigid body portion 18 made of resin or the like and an elastic portion 19 made of an elastic member such as rubber or sponge, and both portions are integrally formed. This aligning means 17 is inserted in a groove in the width direction of the paper P formed on the paper base 3 so that the elastic part 19 protrudes above the paper base 3 and moves in the width direction of the paper P to move the elastic part. In 19, the side edges of the paper P are sandwiched and held to perform alignment in the width direction. At the time of this alignment, the elastic part 19 itself is deformed, so that the paper P is pressed in the width direction and receives a force but does not bend, as in the first embodiment, and remains in a flat sheet shape. It will be in the state hold | maintained by the elastic parts 19 and 19. When the paper P is discharged by the discharge roller 4, the same action as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

  In the two embodiments described above, the elastic member is used to perform alignment and holding in the width direction with a predetermined holding force without deforming the paper P. However, an elastic member such as a spring or rubber is not necessarily used. In both cases, the same effect can be obtained as long as the portion directly in contact with the paper P is movable in the width direction and the holding force is such that when the paper P is held, the side edges of the paper P are not deformed. Can be obtained.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the sheet can be aligned in the width direction by the pair of aligning means and immediately sent out without being bent. It is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of skew and wrinkles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Paper alignment apparatus 2 ... Conveyance roller 3 ... Paper stand 4 ... Discharge roller 7, 17 ... Alignment means 8 ... 1st alignment board 11 ... 2nd alignment board 18 ... Rigid-body part 19 ... Elastic part

Claims (1)

A paper tray in which paper is fed along a direction perpendicular to the width direction;
It was movable in the width direction along the paper table between a paper receiving position arranged at a wider interval than the paper width and a paper alignment position arranged at a slightly narrower interval than the paper width. A pair of alignment means;
Unloading means for unloading the sheets aligned by the aligning means from the sheet table;
In a sheet aligning apparatus having
The aligning means includes elastic means for holding the sheet without bending by contacting the sheet at the sheet aligning position and deforming or moving in the width direction.
The sheet unloading device, wherein the unloading unit unloads the sheet in a state where the aligning unit is at the sheet aligning position.

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