JP2013014435A - Sheet loading apparatus, erasing apparatus, and sheet loading method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet loading apparatus which improves loading property of sheets output to a discharge section, and to provide an erasing apparatus, and a sheet loading method.SOLUTION: The sheet loading apparatus 110 includes: a discharge member 114 which discharges sheets; a loading member 302 which loads the sheets discharged by the discharge member; a tip support member 304 which is disposed downstream of the loading member in a sheet discharge direction, and abuts against the leading edge of the sheet discharged by the discharge member in the sheet discharge direction; a rotation member 306 which is provided above the loading member, and abuts against an upper surface of the sheet discharged to the loading member, and is rotated to transport the sheet to the stopper side; and a control section which controls a transport amount of the sheet through the rotation member based on a loading amount of the sheet loaded on the loading member.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a sheet stacking apparatus, an erasing apparatus, and a sheet stacking method that improve the stackability of sheets output to a discharge unit.

  There is a sheet stacking apparatus that discharges and stacks sheets that have been subjected to processing such as printing or stapling. The sheet stacking apparatus has a sheet discharge tray on which discharged sheets are stacked. The discharge tray has a shape in which the upstream side in the transport direction is inclined downward, and the discharged sheet is discharged onto the discharge tray and then returned to the upstream side. It became the composition which touches.

  On the other hand, there is an erasing device that erases an image formed on a sheet so that the sheet can be reused. The erasing apparatus includes an erasing unit that erases an image formed on a sheet, and a stacking tray on which sheets that have been erased and can be reused are stacked. After the sheets stacked on the stacking tray are taken out by the user, they are set in a sheet feeding cassette of the image forming apparatus.

JP 2011-184202 A

  In the sheet discharge tray of the sheet stacking apparatus as described above, when the sheet on the sheet discharge tray returns to the upstream side, the next discharged sheet comes into contact and cannot return to a fixed position, resulting in poor sheet alignment. There was a problem.

  In the erasing apparatus as described above, the user needs to set the sheet in the image forming apparatus after adjusting the sheet deviation after taking out the sheet from the stacking tray. For this reason, there is a need for an apparatus that stacks sheets in a reusable state with good consistency.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a sheet stacking apparatus, an erasing apparatus, and a sheet stacking method that improve the stackability of sheets output to a discharge unit.

    In order to achieve the above object, a sheet stacking apparatus according to an embodiment includes a discharge member that discharges a sheet, a stack member that stacks a sheet discharged by the discharge member, and a downstream of the stack member in the sheet discharge direction. A leading edge support member that contacts the leading edge in the sheet discharging direction of the sheet discharged by the discharging member, and is provided above the stacking member, contacts the upper surface of the sheet discharged to the stacking member, and rotates. A rotating member that conveys the sheet toward the leading end support member, and a control unit that controls the amount of the sheet conveyed by the rotating member based on the amount of sheets stacked on the stacking member.

Schematic explaining the structure of the erasing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a hardware configuration of the erasing device according to the first embodiment. Schematic explaining the stacking unit of the erasing device of the first embodiment. Schematic explaining the stacking unit of the erasing device of the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart for explaining sheet discharge control of the erasing apparatus according to the first embodiment. Schematic for demonstrating sheet discharge control of the erasing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment 9 is a flowchart for explaining sheet discharge control of the erasing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an erasing device (or a sheet stacking device). The erasing apparatus 100 performs “erasing processing for erasing the color of an image using an erasable color material on a sheet on which an image is formed with an“ erasable color material ”such as erasable toner or erasable ink Is given. The erasable color material includes a color developing compound, a color developer, and a color erasing agent. Examples of the color developing compound include leuco dyes. Examples of the developer include phenols. The decolorizer includes a substance that is compatible with the color developing compound when heated and does not have an affinity for the developer. Colors that can be erased develop color due to the interaction between the color developing compound and the developer, and the interaction between the color developing compound and the developer is interrupted by heating above the color erasing temperature. To do. Hereinafter, the erasable color material is simply referred to as a recording material.

  The erasing apparatus 100 includes a paper feed tray 102, a paper feed member 104, a reading unit 106, an erasing unit 108, a first tray 110, a second tray 112, discharge rollers 114 and 116, a first transport path 118, and a second transport path 120. , A third conveyance path 122, a first branch member 124, a second branch member 126, and an operation unit 128.

  The paper feed tray 102 stacks sheets for reuse. The sheet feed tray 102 stacks sheets of various sizes such as A4, A3, and B5. The sheets stacked on the sheet feeding tray 102 are, for example, sheets formed with an image of a recording material that is erased by heating to a predetermined temperature or higher. The sheet feeding member 104 includes a pick-up roller, a sheet supply roller, a separation roller arranged to face the sheet supply roller, and the like, and a first conveyance path 118 inside the erasing apparatus 100 for sheets on the sheet feed tray 102 one by one. To supply. The paper feed tray 102 has a detection sensor 103 that detects the presence or absence of a sheet on the paper feed tray 102. The detection sensor 103 may be, for example, a microsensor or a microactuator. The first transport path 118 forms a transport path from the paper feed tray 102 toward the first tray 110. The first conveyance path 118 conveys the fed sheet to the reading unit 106 or the first tray 110.

  The reading unit 106 is arranged along the first conveyance path 118 on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction with respect to the paper feed tray 102. The reading unit 106 includes, for example, a reading unit such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) scanner or a CMOS sensor. In the present embodiment, the reading unit 106 reads images on the first surface and the second surface of the conveyed sheet. That is, the reading unit 106 includes a first reading unit 106a and a second reading unit 106b arranged along the first conveying path 118 and sandwiching the conveying path, and performs both-side reading of the image of the conveyed sheet. Make it possible. A position where the reading unit of the reading unit 106 reads the image on the sheet is referred to as a reading position. The image read by the reading unit 106 is stored in a storage unit 210 (see FIG. 2) described later. For example, when the image on the sheet read by the reading unit 106 before the color erasing process is digitized and stored in the storage unit, the image data that has been erased later is needed. Can be acquired. Further, the control unit 200 described later determines whether the sheet is erasable or reusable based on the image read by the reading unit 106.

  Downstream of the reading unit 106 is a first branch member 124 as a switching unit. The first branch member 124 switches the conveyance direction of the conveyed sheet. The first branch member 124 conveys the sheet conveyed through the first conveyance path 118 to the second conveyance path 120 or the first tray 110. The second transport path 120 branches from the first transport path 118 at a branch point where the first branch member 124 is disposed. The second conveyance path 120 branched from the branch point conveys the sheet to the erasing unit 108. Further, the second conveyance path 120 merges with the first conveyance path 118 at a merge point 121 upstream of the reading unit 106 in the sheet conveyance direction. That is, the second transport path 120 joins the first transport path 118 at a junction 121 between the paper feed tray 102 and the reading unit 106. Therefore, the second conveyance path 120 enables the sheet conveyed from the reading unit 106 to be conveyed again to the reading unit 106 via the erasing unit 108. In other words, the erasing apparatus 100 can transport the sheet supplied from the paper feeding member 104 in the order of the reading unit 106, the erasing unit 108, and the reading unit 106 by controlling the first branching member 124.

  The first transport path 118 has a second branch member 126 downstream of the first branch member 124. The second branch member 126 guides the sheet conveyed from the first branch member 124 to the first tray 110 or the third conveyance path 122. The third conveyance path 122 conveys the sheet to the second tray 112.

  The erasing unit 108 erases the color of the image on the conveyed sheet. For example, the erasing unit 108 erases the color of the image formed on the sheet by the recording material by heating the sheet to a predetermined decoloring temperature while being in contact with the conveyed sheet. For example, the erasing unit 108 of the erasing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes two erasing units 108a and 108b for the first side erasing and the second side erasing of the sheet. The decoloring units 108a and 108b are disposed to face each other with the second conveyance path 120 interposed therebetween. The erasing unit 108a contacts and heats the sheet from one side of the sheet. The decoloring unit 108b contacts and heats the sheet from the other surface side of the sheet. That is, the erasing unit 108 erases the images on both sides of the conveyed sheet with a single conveyance. The position where the erasing units 108a and 108b heat the sheet, that is, the position where the heating unit (not shown) included in the erasing units 108a and 108b applies heat to the conveyed sheet to erase the color of the image. Called the color position. The erasing unit 108 includes temperature sensors 109a and 109b that detect the temperatures of the heating units of the decoloring units 108a and 108b, respectively. The temperature sensors 109a and 109b may be contact type or non-contact type.

  The operation unit 128 arranged at the upper part of the erasing device 100 main body has a touch panel display unit and various operation keys, and is arranged at the upper part of the erasing device main body, for example. The operation keys include, for example, a numeric keypad, a stop key, and a start key. The user instructs a functional operation of the erasing apparatus 100 such as start of erasing or reading of an image of a sheet to be erased via the operation unit. The operation unit 128 displays setting information, operation status, log information, or a message to the user of the erasing device 100. Note that the operation unit 128 is not limited to that disposed in the main body of the erasing apparatus 100. For example, a configuration that can be operated from an operation unit of an external device connected to the erasing device 100 via a network may be used. Alternatively, the operation unit may be independent from the erasing device main body and may be configured to operate the erasing device 100 by wired or wireless communication. The operation unit of the present embodiment may be any unit that can instruct processing to the erasing apparatus 100 and browse information.

  The discharge rollers 114 and 116 discharge the sheet to the first tray 110 and the second tray 112 that are arranged above and below the main body. For example, the first tray 110 stacks sheets that have been erased and can be reused. The second tray 112 stacks sheets that are determined not to be reused. The first tray 110 will be described as a reuse tray, and the second tray 112 will be described as a reject tray. It should be noted that the first tray 110 and the second tray 112 can exchange sheets to be received. The setting of what sheets are stacked on each tray, that is, the setting of the sheet transport destination may be set from the operation unit 128, for example. With this setting, the second branching member 126 switches the conveyance path and guides the conveyed sheet to the first tray 110 or the third conveyance path 122.

  The erasing apparatus 100 includes a plurality of sheet detection sensors 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, and 136 that detect sheets conveyed through the first to third conveyance paths 118, 120, and 122. The sheet detection sensor may be, for example, a microsensor or a microactuator. The sheet detection sensor is disposed at an appropriate position on the conveyance path.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the erasing apparatus. The erasing apparatus 100 includes a control unit 200, a storage unit 210, a detection unit 212, a communication interface (communication I / F) 214, a transport unit 216, a reading unit 106, an erasing unit 108, and an operation unit 128. Have.

  The control unit (controller) 200 includes a processor 202 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), and a memory 204. The control unit 200 controls the reading unit 106, the erasing unit 108, and the operation unit 128. The memory 204 is, for example, a semiconductor memory, and includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 206 that stores various control programs, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 208 that provides a temporary work area for the processor 202. For example, the ROM 206 stores a sheet printing rate as a threshold value for whether or not reuse is possible, a density threshold value for determining whether or not an image has been erased, and the like. The RAM 208 may temporarily store the image read by the reading unit 106. Each component of the erasing apparatus 100 is connected via a bus 218.

  The erasing apparatus 100 has, for example, a reading process, a color erasing process, a sorting process, and a prior sorting process. The control unit 200 of the erasing apparatus 100 controls the reading unit 106, the erasing unit 108, and other configurations according to the set processing.

  In the reading process, the control unit 200 stores the image read by the reading unit 106 in the storage unit 210 (see FIG. 2). In the erasing process, the control unit 200 erases the sheet image by the erasing unit 108.

  In the sorting process, the control unit 200 determines whether the sheet can be reused based on the image read by the reading unit 106. For example, in the sorting process, the control unit 200 determines whether there is an image on the sheet based on the data read by the reading unit 106, and if there is an image, the control unit 200 determines that the image cannot be reused. For example, when a sheet that has been erased by the erasing unit 108 is read, and there is an image that remains without being erased, the control unit 200 determines that there is an unerased color and determines that the sheet cannot be reused. to decide. In the classification process, the control unit 200 determines the wrinkle depth, the presence or absence of breakage, and tearing based on the data read by the reading unit 106. If the wrinkle depth is equal to or greater than the specified value, or if there is a crease, tear or hole, the erasing apparatus 100 determines that the sheet cannot be reused.

  In the pre-sorting process, the control unit 200 determines the printing rate of the image on the sheet based on the data read by the reading unit 106 before performing the decoloring process. When the printing rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the control unit 200 does not execute the decoloring process and makes the sheet unusable. The control unit 200 discharges the sheet determined to be unusable to the reject tray 112. Alternatively, the control unit 200 may determine whether the sheet image data read by the reading unit 106 includes prohibited data that should be prohibited from being decolored, such as confidential data. When data that should be prohibited from being erased is included, the control unit 200 conveys the sheet to the reject tray 112.

  The selection of processing can be set by the operation unit 128 of the erasing apparatus 100. The selection of the process to be executed is not limited to the operation unit 128 of the erasing apparatus 100 but may be set from an external terminal. The reading process, the color erasing process, the sorting process, or the pre-sorting process described above can be selected in appropriate combination via the operation unit 128 or the like. In the erasing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, when the above processes are combined, as an example, the reading process, the color erasing process, and the sorting process are preferentially executed. In addition, it is assumed that the reading process and the prior classification process have the same priority.

  For example, when reading processing, erasing processing, and sorting processing are selected, the erasing apparatus 100 performs processing in the order of reading processing by the reading unit 106, erasing processing by the erasing unit 108, and sorting processing by the reading unit 106. That is, before the erasing unit 108 erases the sheet image, the reading unit 106 reads the sheet image, and after the erasing unit 108 erases the sheet image, the erased sheet image is read. Read. When the pre-sorting process, the decoloring process, and the sorting process are selected, the erasing apparatus 100 performs the pre-sorting process by the reading unit 106, the decoloring process by the erasing unit 108, and the sorting process by the reading unit 106 in this order. When the reading process and the pre-sorting process are selected, the erasing apparatus 100 simultaneously performs the reading process and the pre-sorting process based on the printing rate based on the data read by the reading unit 106.

  Note that the erasing apparatus 100 is not limited to the one that the user appropriately selects the above processing. For example, the erasing device 100 may have a processing mode whose combination is determined in advance, and the user may select the processing mode. The control unit 200 of the erasing apparatus 100 appropriately changes the sheet conveyance path based on the selected process.

  The control unit 200 controls each component inside the apparatus based on the signal from the detection unit 212. The detection unit 212 detects detection amounts of sheets stacked on the detection sensor 103, the temperature sensors 109a and 109b, the sheet detection sensors 130 to 136 shown in FIG. including. The control unit 200 determines the presence / absence of a sheet on the paper feed tray 102 based on a signal from the detection sensor 103. The control unit 200 detects the temperature of the heating unit of the decoloring units 108a and 108b using the temperature sensors 109a and 109b, and controls the temperature of the heating unit of the decoloring units 108a and 108b. Further, the control unit 200 uses the sheet detection sensors 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, and 136 to grasp the position of the sheet in the first to third conveyance paths 118, 120, and 122. For example, the control unit 200 detects a sheet that has passed through the reading unit 106 using the sheet detection sensor 130 in the vicinity of the reading unit 106 downstream.

  The storage unit 210 stores application programs and an OS. The application program includes a program that executes a function of the erasing apparatus such as a reading function by the reading unit 106 and a erasing function of the erasing unit. The application program further includes an application for a Web client (Web browser) and other applications. The storage unit 210 stores the image read by the reading unit 106. Further, the storage unit 210 stores the number of sheets processed by the erasing apparatus 100. The storage unit 210 may be, for example, a hard disk drive or other magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, a semiconductor storage device such as a flash memory, or any combination thereof.

  The communication I / F 214 is an interface connected to an external device. The communication I / F 214 communicates with an external device on the network via an appropriate wireless or wired connection such as IEEE 802.15, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.3, IEEE 3304, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared connection, or optical connection. To do. The communication I / F 214 may further include a USB connection unit to which a USB standard connection terminal is connected, a parallel interface, and the like. The control unit 200 communicates with the multifunction peripheral and other external devices via the communication I / F 214. For example, although the image read by the reading unit 106 is stored in the storage unit 210 of the erasing apparatus 100, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is possible to communicate with a user terminal (Personal Computer), a multifunction device, or a server, which is an external device, via the communication I / F 214, and store it in a storage unit of these external devices. The image data stored in the external device may be read from the operation unit of the multifunction peripheral or the user terminal. If the erasing apparatus 100 has a login / logout function for personal authentication of the user, the image data stored in the RAM 208 or the storage unit 210 of the erasing apparatus 100 is externally stored when the erasing apparatus 100 logs out. It may be transmitted to the apparatus and stored.

  The transport unit 216 includes a plurality of transport rollers disposed in the first transport path 118, the second transport path 120, and the third transport path 122, and a transport motor that drives the transport rollers. The control unit 200 controls the conveyance speed of the sheet by controlling the driving of the conveyance motor of the conveyance unit 216. Here, the speed of the sheet conveyed through the reading unit 106 for reading the sheet image is defined as a reading speed, and the speed of the sheet conveyed through the erasing unit 108 for erasing the color of the sheet image is defined as a decoloring speed.

  Next, the stacking unit of the erasing apparatus 100 will be described. The stacking unit includes a first tray 110 that is a reuse tray and a second tray 112 that is a reject tray. Hereinafter, description will be given using the first tray 110.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the first tray 110 that is a stacking unit of the erasing apparatus 100. The first tray 110 serving as a stacking unit of the erasing apparatus 100 includes a discharge roller (discharge member) 114, a stack tray (stack member) 302, a stopper (tip support member) 304, an assist roller 306, and a detection sensor (detection member) 308. And a drive motor 310.

  The discharge roller 114 includes a driving roller 114 a and a driven roller 114 b, and discharges the sheet to the first tray 110. A stacking tray 302 stacks sheets discharged by the discharge roller 114. The stacking tray 302 is attached to the bottom of the first tray 110 via the elastic member 312 and is inclined to the downstream in the sheet conveying direction. As the sheets are stacked, the stacking tray 302 gradually descends on the upstream side in the transport direction connected to the elastic member 312. Note that the stacking tray 302 is not limited to the above-described configuration in which the inclination angle gradually decreases as the sheet stacking amount increases. For example, the inclination angle of the stacking tray 302 may be fixed, or there may be no inclination angle.

  The stopper 304 is provided downstream of the first paper discharge tray 110 in the sheet conveyance direction, and receives the leading end of the sheet discharged in the conveyance direction by the discharge roller 114. The stopper 304 may include an elastic member that reduces an impact at the time of sheet collision.

  The assist roller 306 is disposed above the stacking tray 302 and between the discharge roller 114 and the stopper 304. The assist roller 306 includes a rotation member 306b that rotates about a rotation shaft 306a, and a rotation roller (rotation member) 306c provided on the rotation member 306b. The assist roller 306 rotates about the rotation shaft 306a by its own weight, contacts the upper surface of the sheet discharged to the stacking tray 302, and the rotation roller 306c rotates to convey the sheet to the stopper 304 side. Note that the assist roller 306 may be configured to rotate around the rotation shaft 306 a using a drive source such as a solenoid so that the assist roller 306 can contact and separate from the upper surface of the sheet discharged to the stacking tray 302. The assist roller 306 functions as an alignment member that aligns the sheets (vertical alignment) by abutting the sheet discharged by the discharge roller 114 against the stopper 304. The rotating roller 306c is made of a material having a low coefficient of friction such as sponge. The drive motor 310 drives the discharge roller 114 and the rotation roller 306 c of the assist roller 306. The discharge roller 114 and the assist roller 306 may be driven by different drive motors.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4, when the amount of sheets stacked on the stacking tray 302 increases, the assist roller 306 rotates upward in the drawing. That is, as the stacking amount of the sheets stacked on the stacking tray 302 changes, the position (conveyance position) where the rotation roller 306c of the assist roller 306 contacts the uppermost surface of the stacking sheet 302 changes. For example, in FIG. 4, the conveyance position of the assist roller 306 changes toward the stopper 304 as the sheet stacking amount increases.

  Further, as the amount of sheets stacked on the stacking tray 302 increases, the inclination of the stacking tray 302 or the height and inclination of the uppermost surface of the stacked sheets change. Therefore, the distance that the sheet discharged from the discharge roller 114 moves along the uppermost surface of the stacked sheet changes.

  When the conveyance amount by which the assist roller 306 conveys the sheet, that is, the amount (distance) by which the rotation roller 306 of the assist roller 306 contacts the sheet discharged from the discharge roller 114 is constant, the sheet is constant. As the stacking amount increases, the assist roller 306 moves the sheet to the stopper 304 side by the amount that the conveyance position changes to the stopper 304 side or the distance that the sheet moves along the uppermost surface of the stacked sheet. It will be transported excessively. In this case, the seat is buckled or damaged. Or there is a possibility that the consistency of the sheet is deteriorated.

  Therefore, the erasing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment controls the sheet conveyance amount by the assist roller based on the sheet stacking amount stacked on the stacking tray 302. When the stacking amount of the sheets stacked on the stacking tray 302 is the first value, the control unit 200 of the erasing apparatus 100 sets the transporting amount of the sheet by the assist roller 306 as the first transporting amount. When the stacked amount of sheets to be stacked becomes a second value larger than the first value, the sheet transport amount by the assist roller 306 is set to a second transport amount smaller than the first transport amount.

  The detection sensor 308 detects the amount of sheets stacked on the stacking tray 302. For example, the detection sensor 308 may be an angle sensor that detects a rotation angle of a rotation shaft 306a of the assist roller 306 or a rotation member connected to the rotation shaft 306a. When the detection sensor 308 is an angle sensor, the control unit 306 may use the value detected by the detection sensor 306 as a sheet stacking amount for determination. Alternatively, the control unit 306 may calculate a sheet stacking amount (stacking height) based on a value detected by the detection sensor 306, and use the calculated value for determination. Alternatively, the detection sensor 308 may be a sensor that directly detects the stacking height of the sheets stacked on the stacking tray 302.

  The control unit 200 controls the sheet conveyance amount by the assist roller based on the sheet stacking amount detected by the detection sensor 308. Alternatively, the control unit 200 may count the number of sheets discharged to the stacking tray 302 and control the sheet conveyance amount based on the count result as the sheet stacking amount. Hereinafter, a case where an angle sensor is used as the detection sensor 308 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining sheet discharge control by the control unit 200 of the erasing apparatus 100. In 501, the control unit 200 detects the amount of sheets stacked on the stacking tray 302 via the detection sensor 308. In 502, the control unit 200 determines whether or not the sheet stacking amount is the first value. When the sheet stacking amount is the first value (Yes in 502), the control unit 200 transports the sheet to the stopper 304 side using the sheet transport amount by the assist roller 306 as the first transport amount. That is, when the sheet stacking amount is the first value, the control unit 200 drives the driving motor 310 with the first driving amount (number of pulses).

  On the other hand, when the sheet stacking amount is not the first value (No in 502), that is, when the sheet stacking amount is a second value larger than the first value, the control unit 200 assists. The sheet is conveyed to the stopper 304 side by setting the conveyance amount of the sheet by the roller 306 as a second conveyance amount smaller than the first conveyance amount. That is, when the sheet stacking amount is the second value, the control unit 200 drives the driving motor 310 with the second driving amount (number of pulses) smaller than the first driving amount.

  For example, the control unit 200 controls the driving amount (number of pulses) of the driving motor 310 that drives the rotation roller 306c of the assist roller 306 after detecting the sheet from the detection sensor 134 to control the conveyance amount of the sheet. In this case, the distance that the leading edge of the sheet moves along the uppermost surface of the stacked sheet from when the sheet is discharged from the discharge roller 114 until it abuts against the stopper 304, which has changed as the sheet stacking amount increases. Consider. The distance that the leading edge of the sheet moves is a signal that the detection sensor 308 detects because the detection sensor 308 measures the conveyance position where the rotation roller 306c of the assist roller 306 and the stacking tray 302 come into contact with the top surface of the stacked sheet. Determine based on.

  Alternatively, for example, the control unit 200 may control the sheet conveyance amount by controlling the driving amount (number of pulses) by which the driving motor 310 drives the rotating roller 306c after the rotating roller 306c contacts the sheet. . The conveyance position where the rotation roller 306 c of the assist roller 306 and the uppermost surface of the sheet stacked on the stacking tray 302 can be detected by a signal detected by the detection sensor 308. Therefore, when the control unit 200 first receives a signal indicating that the sheet has been detected from the detection sensor 134, the control unit 200 drives the drive motor 310 by a predetermined number of pulses, so that the discharge roller 114 conveys the sheet to the conveyance position. At the timing when the leading edge of the sheet moves to the conveying position and the rotating roller 306c contacts the discharged sheet, the control unit 200 further drives the driving motor 310 with the appropriate number of pulses, thereby conveying the sheet by the rotating roller 306c. The amount is controlled and the sheet is conveyed to the stopper 304.

  The control unit 200 may control the sheet conveyance amount based on the detection sensor 314. The detection sensor 314 contacts the sheet and outputs a detection signal when the sheet stacking amount reaches a predetermined amount. That is, when the detection sensor 314 does not detect a sheet, the control unit 200 determines that the stacking amount of the sheets stacked on the stacking tray 302 is the first value, and determines the sheet transport amount by the assist roller 306 as the first transport amount. The transport amount is 1. On the other hand, when the detection sensor 314 detects a sheet, the control unit 200 determines that the sheet stacking amount is a second value larger than the first value, and sets the sheet conveyance amount by the assist roller 306 to the first value. The second transport amount is smaller than the transport amount.

  In the erasing apparatus 100 as described above, the sheet discharged to the first first tray 110 or the second tray 112 is particularly required to be consistent with a sheet that can be reused by an image forming apparatus or the like. On the other hand, for the sheets that are not reused, it is not necessary to obtain much consistency. Therefore, the control unit 200 may perform the above control when discharging a sheet to a tray for discharging a reusable sheet.

In the erasing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, sheets discharged to the first tray 110 or the second tray 112 can be stacked with good alignment.
(Second Embodiment)

  After the sheet is discharged from the first tray 110 or the second tray 112 of the erasing apparatus 100, the assist roller 100 abuts the leading end of the sheet against the stopper 304 to improve the alignment. However, even if the sheets are aligned at the time when they are discharged to the first tray 110, when the subsequent sheets are discharged, friction with the assist roller 306 or the subsequent sheets causes the uppermost surface already loaded. There is a possibility that the conveying force is transmitted to the sheet and the consistency is deteriorated such that the sheet is buckled.

  Therefore, in the erasing apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment, the conveyance amount of the sheet discharged to the first tray 110 or the second tray 112 is smaller than the prescribed conveyance amount when there is a subsequent discharge sheet. If there is no subsequent sheet to be discharged, the specified transport amount is used.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining paper discharge control of the erasing apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the paper discharge control of the erasing apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment. This embodiment will also be described on the assumption that the sheet is discharged to the first tray 100.

  In 701, the control unit 200 of the erasing apparatus 100 starts discharging the sheet to the first tray 110 by the discharge roller 114. In step 702, the control unit 200 determines whether or not there is a subsequent sheet when discharging the sheet to the first tray 110. For example, when the detection sensor 134 detects a sheet to be discharged, the control unit 100 determines whether there is a sheet in the upstream conveyance path in the sheet conveyance direction or in the paper feed tray 102. Here, a sheet to be discharged to the first tray 110 is a first sheet or a preceding sheet. The succeeding sheet is set as the second sheet or the succeeding sheet with respect to the first sheet or the preceding sheet. Note that the control unit 200 is not limited to a configuration that simply determines the presence or absence of a subsequent sheet. For example, as a subsequent sheet (second sheet), the control unit 200 reads the image by the reading unit 106 and determines whether or not it can be reused, and follows the preceding sheet (first sheet). The presence or absence of a sheet that has been determined to be discharged to the first tray 110 may be determined.

  When it is determined that there is a subsequent sheet (Yes in 702), the control unit 200 conveys the sheet with the conveyance amount of the sheet discharged by the discharge roller 114 and the assist roller 306 as the third conveyance amount (703). ). The third transport amount is a transport amount smaller than a predetermined transport amount at which the leading edge of the sheet discharged to the stacking tray 302 reaches the stopper 304. That is, the control unit 200 drives the drive motor 310 with the third drive amount (number of pulses). After the sheet is conveyed by the third conveyance amount, the control unit 200 causes the assist roller 306 to move away from the discharged sheet, or stops driving the rotation roller 306c of the assist roller 306 (see FIG. 6A). When stopping the driving of the rotating roller 306c, it is preferable that the driving motors for the discharge roller 114 and the rotating roller 306c are arranged separately. The sheet stops before the leading edge of the sheet hits the stopper 304. The position where the sheet stops is defined as a stop position before alignment.

  Subsequently, the control unit 200 starts discharging the subsequent sheet to the first tray 110 by the discharge roller 114 (704). The control unit 200 proceeds to the processing of 702 and determines whether or not there is a subsequent sheet.

  On the other hand, when the preceding sheet (first sheet) is discharged in 702 and it is determined that there is no subsequent sheet (No in 702), the control unit 200 controls the discharge roller 114 and the control unit 200. The sheet is conveyed by setting the conveyance amount of the sheet discharged by the assist roller 306 as a fourth conveyance amount larger than the third conveyance amount (705). The fourth transport amount is a predetermined transport amount at which the leading edge of the sheet discharged to the stacking tray 302 reaches the stopper 304. That is, the control unit 200 drives the drive motor 310 with the fourth drive amount (number of pulses). Therefore, the last discharged sheet is aligned by being abutted against the stopper 304.

  In addition, the sheet already stacked on the stacking tray 302, that is, the sheet stopped at the stop position before alignment, when the subsequent sheet is discharged, the rotational force of the assist roller 306 or the friction with the subsequent sheet. As a result, the conveying force is transmitted and abutted against the stopper 304 earlier than the subsequent sheet (FIG. 6B). Since the sheet that hits the stopper 304 in advance is overlapped with the succeeding sheet, there is less possibility that the sheet will bend or buckle or bounce after hitting the stopper 304.

  For example, when an appropriate sheet conveyance amount for vertical alignment by the assist roller 306 is L1, when a subsequent sheet is discharged, the conveyance amount L2 is smaller than L1. The conveyance amount L2 becomes L2 + L3≈L1 when the conveyance amount from the start of the discharge of the succeeding sheet until the succeeding sheet reaches the assist roller 306 is L3.

  According to the erasing apparatus 100 of the second embodiment, sheets discharged to the first tray 110 or the second tray 112, which are discharge trays, can be stacked with good alignment.

  Although the erasing apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment controls the sheet conveyance amount based on the presence / absence of the subsequent sheet, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 200 may always convey the discharged sheet with a conveyance amount smaller than a predetermined conveyance amount at which the leading edge of the sheet reaches the stopper 304.

  Of course, the erasing apparatus 100 of the second embodiment described above and the erasing apparatus 100 of the first embodiment may be combined. That is, when discharging a sheet, the control unit 200 determines whether or not there is a subsequent sheet of this sheet. If there is no subsequent sheet, the control unit 200 determines based on the stacking amount (or height) of the sheet. The sheet conveyance amount (for example, the drive amount of the drive motor) is set to either the first conveyance amount or the second conveyance amount, and when there is a subsequent sheet, the sheet conveyance amount is set to the sheet stacking amount. Control is performed with a transport amount that is smaller than the first transport amount or the second transport amount that is determined based on this.

For example, when the stacking amount of the sheets stacked on the stacking tray 302 is the first value and there is no subsequent sheet, the control unit 200 sets the sheet transport amount by the assist roller 306 to the stopper 304 as the leading end of the sheet. Is the first transport amount that strikes properly, the sheet stacking amount is a second value greater than the first value, and there is no subsequent sheet, the sheet transport amount by the assist roller 306 is set to the first transport amount. The second transport amount is smaller than the first transport amount. The second conveyance amount is a conveyance amount at which the leading end of the sheet properly hits the stopper 304. If the sheet stacking amount is the first value and there are subsequent sheets, the sheet transport amount by the assist roller 306 is set to a third transport amount that is smaller than the first transport amount. The third transport amount is a transport amount that stops before the leading edge of the sheet hits the stopper 304 when the sheet stacking amount is the first value. When the sheet stacking amount is the second value and there are subsequent sheets, the sheet transport amount by the assist roller 306 is set to a fourth transport amount that is smaller than the second transport amount. The fourth transport amount is a transport amount that stops before the leading edge of the sheet hits the stopper 304 when the sheet stacking amount is the second value.
(Third embodiment)
An erasing apparatus 100 according to a third embodiment will be described. In the erasing apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment, the sheet conveyance speed of the discharge roller 114 that discharges the sheet to the stacking tray 302 and the sheet conveyance speed of the assist roller 306 that conveys the sheet discharged by the discharge roller 114 to the stopper 304. And different.

  For example, in order to increase productivity, the conveyance speed (rotation speed) of the discharge roller 114 is set high. On the other hand, when the conveyance speed (rotational speed) of the assist roller 306 is the same as the conveyance speed of the discharge roller 114, if the speed at which the leading edge of the sheet abuts against the stopper 304 is too high, the sheet is buckled. May get worse.

  Therefore, the control unit 200 of the erasing apparatus 100 drives the discharge roller 114 at the first transport speed, and drives the assist roller 306 at the second transport speed that is slower than the first transport speed. The control unit 200 may be configured to convey the sheet at the first conveyance speed by the assist roller 306 and change the conveyance speed to the second conveyance speed before the leading edge of the sheet hits the wall of the paper discharge tray.

  According to the erasing apparatus 100 of the third embodiment, sheets discharged to the first tray 110 or the second tray 112, which are discharge trays, can be stacked with good consistency.

  According to at least one embodiment described above, the stackability of sheets output to the discharge unit can be improved.

  In the description of the above embodiment, the “decoloring process” is described as erasing the color of the image, but may include the meaning of erasing the image. That is, the erasing apparatus described in this embodiment is not limited to an apparatus that erases the color of an image by heat. For example, a device that erases the color of an image on a sheet by light irradiation or a device that erases an image formed on a special sheet may be used. Alternatively, the erasing device may be a device that removes (erases) an image on a sheet. The erasing device may be configured to hide the image on the sheet so that the sheet can be reused.

  Note that the entity that executes each operation of the above-described embodiment is an entity relating to a computer, such as hardware, a complex of hardware and software, software, software being executed, and the like. For example, the subject that performs the operation is a process, processor, object, executable file, thread, program, and computer executed on the processor, but is not limited thereto. In addition, a process or thread may perform a plurality of subjects that perform an operation.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Eraser 102 Paper feed tray 106 Reading part 108 Erasing part 110 1st tray 112 2nd tray 114,116 Discharge roller 134 Detection sensor 200 Control part 302 Stacking tray 304 Stopper 306 Assist roller 306a Rotating shaft 306b Rotating member 306c Rotation Roller 308 detection sensor 310 drive motor 314 detection sensor

Claims (13)

A discharge member for discharging the sheet;
A stacking member for stacking sheets discharged by the discharge member;
A leading edge support member that is provided downstream of the stacking member in the sheet discharging direction, and that contacts the leading edge of the sheet discharged in the sheet discharging direction;
A rotating member that is provided above the stacking member, contacts the upper surface of the sheet discharged to the stacking member, and rotates to convey the sheet to the tip support member side;
A control unit that controls the conveyance amount of the sheet by the rotating member based on the stacking amount of the sheets stacked by the stacking member;
A sheet stacking apparatus comprising:   When the stack amount of the sheets stacked by the stack member is a first value, the control unit sets the transport amount as the first transport amount, and the stack amount is less than the first value. 2. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport amount is a second transport amount smaller than the first transport amount when the second transport value is a large second value.   The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a detection member that detects the stacking amount.   When the sheet is discharged, the control unit determines whether there is a subsequent sheet of the sheet. If the subsequent sheet is not present, the control unit determines the transport amount based on the stack amount of the sheet. Either the first transport amount or the second transport amount, and when there is the succeeding sheet, the transport amount is determined based on the stack amount of the sheet, the first transport amount or the second transport amount. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the conveyance amount is smaller than the conveyance amount of 2. The rotating member having the rotating member at one end and rotating around the rotating shaft as a fulcrum,
The detection member detects, as the stacking amount, a rotation angle of the rotation member in a state in which the rotation member is in contact with a sheet stacked on the stacking member,
The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control unit controls the conveyance amount based on the detected value of the rotation angle.   The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the detection member detects a height of a sheet stacked on the stacking member as the stacking amount.   7. The sheet stacking according to claim 6, wherein the detection member is provided on the leading end support member and detects a sheet on the stacking member when the height of the sheet is equal to or greater than the second value. apparatus. A drive motor for driving the rotating member;
The transport amount is a drive amount of the drive motor,
The control unit sets the drive amount as the first drive amount when the load amount is the first value, and sets the drive amount when the load amount is the second value. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second driving amount is smaller than the first driving amount.   The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotating member is a sponge roller.   The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the stacking member is inclined along the sheet discharge direction so that the front end support member side is lowered. An erasing unit for erasing the image of the conveyed sheet;
A sheet stacking device for stacking sheets from which images have been erased by the erasing unit, and an erasing device comprising:
The erasing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet stacking apparatus is the sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1. A reading unit that reads a sheet from which an image has been erased by the erasing unit,
The erasing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the sheet stacking apparatus stacks sheets determined to be reusable among the sheets read by the reading unit. A sheet stacking method in which a sheet is discharged to a stacking member, and the discharged sheet abuts against a leading end support member provided downstream of the stacking member in the sheet discharge direction by a rotating member that contacts the upper surface of the discharged sheet. Because
Detects the amount of sheets loaded by the loading member,
When the stacking amount of the sheets stacked by the stacking member is a first value, the sheet is transported to the tip support member by using the transporting amount by the rotating member as the first transporting amount,
A sheet stacking method for transporting a sheet to the leading edge support member using the transport amount as a second transport amount smaller than the first transport amount when the stack amount is a second value larger than the first value. .

Images