JP2523611Y2 - Paper processing equipment for image forming equipment - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The invention is based on a paper loading table for loading the discharged paper,
A rocking plate that presses a side edge of the paper while rocking to align the paper so that the paper is aligned and placed on the paper mounting table; and a sheet that is pressed by the rocking plate. And a fence that serves as a reference for receiving the side edge of the paper and aligning the paper,
The lower part of the fence pivots so that the fence can swing between an operating position for receiving the other side edge of the pressed sheet and a retracted position retracted from the other side edge of the aligned sheet. The present invention relates to a sheet processing device of an image forming apparatus in which a separate member is provided at a position above and adjacent to a fence occupying the operating position.

[Conventional technology]

In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a printing machine, a sheet processing apparatus of the above-described type in which sheets on which images have been formed are aligned and stacked is a sorter or finisher that processes sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus main body. Alternatively, it is configured as an intermediate tray device or the like in a copying machine or the like having a duplex copying function.

In this type of apparatus, the rocking plate is rocked to press the paper, and the paper is hit on a reference fence located on the opposite side of the rocking plate to align the paper positions.

However, in the conventional configuration, especially when the paper is curled, the paper pressed toward the fence rides along the surface of the fence, and does not properly hit the fence. There was a risk of becoming a state.

Therefore, it is conceivable to incline the upper part of the fence toward the rocking plate and to configure the inclined surface as a guide for the sheet. With this configuration, the sheet pressed by the swing plate is guided by the inclined guide at the top of the fence, and the sheet can be correctly abutted against the fence and the positions thereof can be correctly aligned.

However, as in the paper processing apparatus described at the beginning, the lower part of the fence is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable, and the fence is moved to an operation position for receiving another side edge of the pressed paper, and to a position other than the aligned paper. And it can swing between the retracted position retracted from the side edge of the fence, and if there is another member other than the fence at a position above and close to the fence occupying the operating position, If the upper part is inclined to the rocking plate side as described above to form a paper guide, when the fence is rotated from the operating position to the retracted position, the inclined upper part of the fence is moved to another member located above the fence. As a result, the fence cannot be rotated to the evacuation position.

In order to avoid such a problem, the height of the fence may be reduced so that the upper portion of the fence does not interfere with another member above the fence when the fence rotates to the retreat position. With this configuration, it is possible to incline the upper part of the fence and use the inclined surface as a guide for paper.

However, if the height of the fence is set low as described above, a large gap is formed between the fence occupying the operating position and another member above the fence. Therefore, when the paper pressed by the rocking plate is greatly curled,
It is inevitable that the paper may enter the gap between the upper part of the fence and another member above the fence, so that the paper may climb over the upper part of the fence and become unable to align the paper.

Further, if the width of the inclined portion formed on the upper portion of the fence, that is, the width of the inclined portion in the vertical direction of the fence is reduced, the upper portion is less likely to interfere with another member located above the fence during rotation. However, when the width of the inclined portion is reduced as described above, the sheet guiding function is reduced, and the meaning of providing the guide constituted by the inclined portion may be lost.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The purpose of the present invention is to pivotally support the lower part so that the fence swings between the operating position and the retracted position,
Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet processing apparatus capable of reliably aligning curled sheets without causing the above-described problem even if another member is located above the fence occupying the operating position.

[Means for solving the problem]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, in a paper processing apparatus of the type described at the beginning, a guide for guiding the paper so that another side edge of the paper pressed by the rocking plate hits the fence. Is provided separately from the fence, facing the paper mounting surface of the paper mounting table, and the guide has an inclined surface formed so that the distance between the guide and the paper mounting surface becomes smaller as approaching the fence. It is proposed that the lower end of the inclined surface is located below the upper end of the fence occupying the operating position.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is configured as a sorter of a copying machine will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the overall structure and operation of the sorter will be clarified with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, sheets discharged from a copying machine main body (not shown), which is an example of the image forming apparatus main body, and in this example, copy paper are sent to a sorter. The entrance is provided with entrance guide plates 104a and 104b, followed by guide plates 107, 109, 110 and 111 for transporting copy paper upward, transport rollers 106, 108, 112 and 113, and a switching claw 115.
A pair of paper discharge rollers 117 and 118 and a paper discharge tray 119 are provided in the upper path by the switching claw 115, and the lower path by the switching claw 115 is a plurality of sheets provided in parallel with the up and down direction (the example in the figure). (20 sheets in this case). The bin 300 continues along the copy paper vertical feed path along the copy paper insertion side. The bin 300 is an example of a configuration of a sheet mounting table for stacking discharged sheets.

At positions corresponding to the bins in the vertical feed path, as shown in FIG.
Three roller pairs are provided, and a plurality of rollers provided at appropriate intervals of the transport rollers 162 are pressed against a driven roller 165 with a copy paper vertical feed path interposed therebetween. The above transport rollers 106, 108, 112, 113, paper discharge rollers 117, 118, transport rollers
The discharge roller 162 is driven by the drive motor 200. Further, the deflection claw 164 can rotate between a position indicated by a solid line and a position indicated by a chain line in FIG. 1a.

As shown in FIG. 2, on the side of the bin group, a stapler 401 as an example of finishing processing means, a paper pulling device 402 for moving copy paper to the stapler, and a stapler 401 and a paper pulling device 402 A stapler device 400 including a vertical movement mechanism for moving the stapler 400 is disposed. These will be described later in detail.

On the side of the bin group on the opposite side where the stapler device 400 is located, a swinging unit including a sheet aligning unit for aligning the copy sheet before stapling and a device for moving the unit to a place suitable for the size of the copy sheet is provided. The device 500 is arranged.

FIG. 3 is a view from the opposite side of FIG. 1, and as shown in this figure, the twenty bins 300 of the sorter each have 10 bins.
The bin is divided into two blocks, and the upper block is provided with the light emitting element 176 and light receiving element 179 of the bin sensor, and the light emitting element 177 and light receiving element 178 of the paper ejection sensor, and the lower block has the same configuration. Bin sensors 181 and 184 and paper ejection sensors 180 and 183 are provided. The light-emitting elements of these sensors are composed of, for example, LEDs, and the light-receiving elements are composed of, for example, phototransistors. The sensors are configured as transmission-type optical detection sensors. The paper discharge sensors 177, 178, 180, 183 detect whether or not the copy paper is discharged to the bin, and the bin sensors 176, 179, 181, 184 determine whether or not the copy paper is present in the bin.
It is. With such a bin sensor, it is possible to use the lower block if copy paper is on the upper block.

The copy paper discharged from the copier main body is
It is inserted from 104a, 104b and is transported upward by guide plates 107, 109, 110, 111 and transport rollers 106, 108, 112, 113.

Now, assuming that the mode is a normal paper discharge mode (a mode in which paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 119), the switching claw 115 has its left end lowered as shown in FIG.
Along 4, the output tray 119 is driven by a pair of output rollers 117 and 118.
Is discharged.

Further, assuming now that there are a sort mode (a mode in which pages are sorted in order) and a stack mode (a mode in which pages are sorted), the switching claw 115 has its left end raised, and the copy paper is moved downward along the guide plate 120. Transported to The copy paper transported by the transport roller 162 and the driven roller 165 is moved to the bin 300 where the deflecting claw 164 is operated as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1a in the direction of arrow X (FIGS. 1a, 2 and 4
(See FIG. 5 and FIG. 5). The deflecting claw 164 performs a motion suitable for the mode (sort or stack).

In the sort mode, the deflection claw 164 of the first bin is operated, the first copy sheet of the first page is discharged to the first bin 300, and the second copy sheet of the first page is two bins. The deflecting claw of the eye is actuated and discharged to the second bin 300. The first copy paper of the second page is discharged to the first bin 300, and the second copy paper is discharged to the second bin 300. In this way, in the sort mode, each copy sheet is discharged into one bin in the order of pages, such as 1, 2, 3,.

In the stack mode, the entire copy paper of the first page is
The deflecting claw 164 is operated so as to discharge the copy sheet of the second page to the second bin. In this way, in the stack mode, the copy paper of the same page is discharged to one bin and sorted for each page.

The configuration and operation required for performing the stapling operation on the copy sheets sorted in this manner will be described below.

In order to perform the stapling operation of the copy sheets, a plurality of copy sheets must be aligned. The same applies to a case in which finishing processing other than the stapling operation, for example, processing such as punching and stamping is performed. For this purpose, the illustrated sorter is provided with an oscillating device 500 which will be described with reference to FIGS.

4 and 5 are diagrams schematically showing the relationship between the swing device 500 and the bin 300. FIG.

At one side edge of each bin 300, a fence 316 serving as a paper alignment reference is arranged, and at the other side edge orthogonal to the edge at which the fence 316 is provided, the bin rear end is provided. The rising portion 308 is provided upright. In this example, since the fence 316 is attached to the bin, this is referred to as a bin fence.

A notch 311 is provided on the edge opposite to the edge where the bin fence 316 is provided. This notch 311
Is formed so as to extend toward the bin fence 316 over a predetermined length. A main shaft 501 having a square cross section is erected so as to penetrate the notch 311 provided in each of the bins 300 upward and downward. In the middle part of the main shaft 501, a rocking plate for aligning the position of the copy paper by contacting the side edge of the copy paper at a position corresponding to each bin 300
Two or more 502 are attached.

The oscillating plate 502 may be made of a single plate, but in the illustrated example, the oscillating plate 502 is made of a metal plate or a synthetic resin plate as shown in detail in FIG. It comprises a main body 502c fixed to the main shaft 501 and a pressing elastic member 502a fixed to the free end side. Also the bin fence of the main body 502c
A sheet pressing piece 502b is fixed to the surface facing 316. The pressing piece 502b and the pressing elastic member 502a are formed of an elastic body such as a thin sheet or film of a synthetic resin.

In this example, the pressing elastic member 502a fixed to the tip of the swinging plate main body 502c forms a pressing portion for pressing and aligning the copy paper as described later.

Further, as clearly shown in FIG. 4, a single piece of brackets 505 and 506 formed in an L shape is attached to the upper end and the lower end of the spindle 501, respectively.
In the upper and lower regions of the bin 300, the notch 3
Timing belt 507 extending almost parallel to the direction in which 11 extends
And 508 are arranged respectively. Each of the brackets 50 is attached to each of the timing belts 507 and 508.
5,506 other pieces are respectively fixed. Of the pulleys 509, 510 and 511, 512, 513 on which the timing belts 507 and 508 are respectively hung, the pulleys 509 and 511 on the drive side are provided at respective ends of a drive shaft 514 provided so as to extend in the vertical direction. Each is fixed.
The lower timing belt 508 is hung on a pulley 513 provided on the output shaft of the size moving motor 515.

In addition, a rocking plate is provided by a size detection plate 530 fixed to the sorter and a size detection sensor 531 on the lower bracket 506.
The position of 502 is detected.

As shown in FIG. 6, a swing motor 520 is provided on the lower bracket 506, and an eccentric shaft 520a is provided at an output portion of the swing motor 520 so as to protrude upward. On the other hand, at the lower end of the main shaft 501, a swing arm 521 is attached so that the swing motor 520 projects toward the side, and a swing arm 521 is provided in a long hole 521a formed in the swing arm 521. The eccentric shaft 520a is fitted so as to be relatively slidable.

With the above configuration, the swing arm 521 is swung by the rotation drive of the swing motor 520, and the swing power is transmitted to the swing plate 502 corresponding to each bin 300 via the main shaft 501, and Each pressing elastic member 502a of the plate 502 swings between a position indicated by a solid line and a position indicated by a dashed line in FIG.

When the sorter as described above receives the size signal sent from the copying machine main body side, the upper and lower timing belts 507 and 508 are operated by the size moving motor 515, whereby the rocking plate 502 attached to the main shaft 501 moves one side of the copy paper. Reciprocated toward the side edge of. Then, the paper alignment unit is moved to a predetermined position (the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5) by the size detection plate 530 and the size detection sensor 531. Next, the swing motor 520 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. °) forward, then reverse and return to home position. As a result, the swing arm 521 is moved to the sixth position.
It swings once from the position indicated by the solid line in FIG.
Is transmitted to each rocking plate 502 via the As a result, the pressing elastic member 502a swings from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 5 to the position shown by the dashed line.

Due to this swing, the copy paper S discharged onto the bin 300
With respect to the side edge S1 of FIG.
02a comes into contact with and presses the other side edge S2 of the copy sheet S against the bin fence 316. As a result, the position of the other side edge S2 of the copy sheet is aligned, and the swing plate 502 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow A1 in FIG.
The trailing edge S3 orthogonal to S2 is brought into contact with the bin rising portion 308,
This rear edge S3 can also be aligned. The movement of the copy sheet S at this time is shown by a solid line and a chain line in FIG. In this manner, the position of both the side edge and the rear edge of the copy sheet S is aligned, but the copy sheet is aligned by swinging the swing plate 502 in a direction parallel to the rising portion 308. Can also.

As described above, the swing plate 502 is used to align and place sheets of copy paper S on the sheet placing table of bin 30.
While swinging, the side edge S1 of the sheet is pressed to perform the sheet aligning operation. Further, the fence composed of the bin fence 316 has another side edge S2 of the sheet pressed by the swing plate 502.
This is a standard for receiving and receiving the paper.

In this example, the pressing elastic member 502a presses the copy paper S while elastically deforming (bending deformation) as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5 and aligns them, so that the assembling of the bin 300, the swing plate 502 and the like is performed. Even if there is some variation, the pressing elastic member 502a absorbs this and presses the copy sheet S reliably, so that its position can be correctly aligned. When the copy paper S is curled upward, the paper pressing piece 502b fixed to the main body 502c of the swinging plate 502 presses the copy paper S from above, and presses the elastic member 502a to the side edge S1 of the copy paper S. Works to ensure contact.

Further, since the swing plate 502 swings by the rotation of the motor 520, the movement becomes sinusoidal as shown in FIG. 8, and the swing speed is low immediately after the start and immediately before the end of the swing, and conversely, in the middle. It will be faster in the period. Therefore, the swing plate 502 presses the copy sheet at a slow speed immediately before the end of the swing, and the position thereof can be correctly aligned without disturbing the copy sheet S.

When the rocking motor 520 is rotated forward by 180 ° or more, for example, 250 °, and then reversely rotated by the same angle to return to the original position, as shown in FIG.
In the case of a, the copy paper S is pressed twice at one rotation of the motor at a rotation angle of 180 °. For this reason,
Even if the copy paper cannot be pressed again during the forward rotation of the oscillating motor, the copy paper is pressed during the reverse rotation, so that the copy paper can be reliably aligned.

As described above, every time the copy paper S is discharged to the bin 300, the swing plate 502 swings to perform the copy paper aligning operation, and the copy paper pressed by the swing plate is used as the reference bin fence. 316 received and aligned, bin 300
Are stacked on the bin in a state where the predetermined number of copies discharged to the printer are aligned properly.

After the operation of aligning a predetermined number of sheets, the sheet alignment unit moves in a direction away from the copy sheet bundle by the operation of the size moving motor 515.

The bundle of copy sheets whose alignment has been performed is taken out in the direction of arrow W1 (FIG. 5) after a stapling operation described later is executed. Since there is no obstacle in the removal direction in the removal direction, the copy paper removal operation is easily performed.

The oscillating plate 502 oscillates as described above to align the copy sheets. In one prior art example, as shown in FIG. 53, the oscillating plate 502 can oscillate in the direction of an arrow on the flat paper mounting table 3 as shown in FIG. The rocking plate 2 is disposed, and each time the paper S is discharged so as to straddle the horizontal portion 2a of the rocking plate 2 and the upper surface of the mounting table 3, the rocking plate 2 moves in the direction approaching the side edge of the paper S. Activated and pressed the paper to align the paper S. The sheet S is placed on the horizontal portion 2a of the rocking plate 2.
The rocking plate 2 is arranged so as to be placed on the paper sheet so that the side edge of the sheet S can reliably hit the sheet pressing portion 2b of the rocking plate 2 so that the sheet can be pressed. However, according to this configuration, especially when the first sheet S is discharged onto the sheet table 3, this enters between the table 3 and the horizontal portion 2a of the swing plate 2, and the swing plate 2 operates. However, there is a risk that the sheets cannot be aligned.

Therefore, in the configuration of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10 which is a plan view of the bin 300, FIG. 11 which is a side view thereof, and FIG. When the swing plate 502 swings, the swing plate 502
Paper pressing portion, that is, the concave portion 30 through which the pressing elastic member 502a passes
1a is formed. In the example of FIG.
Two convex portions 301 are formed near (FIG. 10), and a concave portion 301a is defined therebetween. To elaborate,
The tip of the main body 502c of the rocking plate 502 projects downward to form the concave portion 301.
a pressing elastic member 502
a has entered the recess 301a. The depth D1 of the concave portion 301a is set to, for example, about 3 mm.

According to the above configuration, when the swinging plate 502 swings as described above and the pressing elastic member 502a presses the copy sheet S, the pressing elastic member 502a passes through the concave portion 301a.
As is apparent from the drawing, a substantially central portion in the vertical direction of the pressing elastic member 502a hits the copy paper S and presses it. For this reason, both the first copy paper S discharged to the bin 300 and the copy paper subsequently discharged are surely secured to the rocking plate 50.
It is pressed by 2 and its position is aligned. Unlike the related art, the copy paper does not enter between the rocking plate and the bin, and the rocking plate does not fall into the idle state in which the copy paper is not pressed.

As shown in FIG. 13, even when the convex portion is not provided in the bin 300 and the concave portion 301a which is recessed from the general surface of the bin upper surface is formed, the same operation as described above can be obtained.

However, as shown in FIG. 12, convex portions are formed on both sides of the concave portion 301a.
When the copy sheet S is formed, the copy paper S can be raised in a mountain-like manner at this portion.
a can be more reliably applied to the copy sheet S, and the copy sheet S can be provided with a so-called stiffness. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the copy sheet S from being deformed into an undesired form such as curving during the aligning operation. Thus, a reliable alignment operation can be performed.

In the above-described embodiment, the paper pressing portion of the swing plate 502 is configured to pass through the concave portion 301a of the bin. However, a cutout may be formed in the bin, and the paper pressing portion may be configured to pass through when the paper is rocked. Good.

Next, in FIG. 10, the notch 311 described above is formed substantially at the center of the bin 300, and when the main shaft 501 (FIG. 4) moves according to the size of the copy paper, it interferes with the bin 300. However, if such a notch 311 is formed, when the copy paper is discharged to the bin 300 as shown by the arrow X, the leading end may fall into the notch 311.

Therefore, in the configuration shown, the notch 311 in FIG.
An appropriate number of ribs 302b projecting in the copy paper discharge direction X are formed on the upper surface of the bin on the left side of the box. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view thereof.

Copy paper S discharged as indicated by arrow X on bin 300
Is located as shown by a broken line, a dashed line or a two-dot chain line in FIG. 10 depending on the size thereof. It is positioned so that it is located at a position where it has entered the copy paper side. That is, when copy paper S of various sizes is discharged onto the bin 300, the portion near the side edge S1 is configured to move while sliding on the rib 302b. This is because the leading end of the side edge S2 of the copy paper is particularly easily curved and easily penetrates into the notch 311.Therefore, this portion is guided while being supported by the rib 302b from below, and is prevented from penetrating into the notch 311. It is. The rib 302b also serves to reduce the frictional resistance of the moving copy paper and smoothen its movement.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14, another rib 302x also projects at the same position as each rib 302b on the surface of the bin 300 opposite to the side from which each rib 302b projects. This is the bin shown in FIG.
Guide the copy paper discharged in the X direction on a bin (not shown) located below 300 so that the leading edge of the copy paper does not enter the cutout 311 of the upper bin 300. Work.

As shown in FIG. 11, the height of the above-mentioned rib 302b is reduced near the bin rising portion 308, and gradually increases toward the notch 311. This is because it is necessary to increase the height of the rib 302b near the notch 311 to prevent the copy paper from slipping into the notch 311.
This is not only unnecessary in the vicinity of the bin rising section 308, but if the height of the rib 302b in this section is high, the number of stackable copy sheets S is reduced.
A large number of copy sheets can be stacked, and the notch
It certainly prevents them from sneaking into 311.

In FIG. 10, a rib 302y having the same cross-sectional shape as the rib 302b shown in FIG. 14 is also protruded in the right region of the notch 311. A rib 302z having a sectional shape as shown in the figure is formed, and X
The frictional force acting on the copy paper S discharged in the direction is reduced, and the copy paper S can be smoothly discharged onto the bin 300. The rib also protrudes on the opposite side of the rib 302z, and guides the copy paper in the lower bin.

As shown in FIG. 16, a static elimination brush 350 is attached to the lower surface of each of the bins 300 over its entire width, and is discharged to a bin (not shown) below the bin 300 in the direction of arrow X. A copy paper is discharged by bringing the copy paper close to or in contact with the static elimination brush 350 to prevent the copy paper from sticking to the bin due to static electricity or preventing the copy paper bundle from swelling due to repulsion between the copy papers. . When the copy paper sticks to the bin, it becomes difficult to perform the aligning operation by the swing plate 502, and the copy paper discharged onto the bin hardly slips toward the bin rising portion 308 along the inclined surface of the bin by its own weight. Become. By providing the charge removing brush 350, such a problem can be prevented. However, the static elimination brush 350
When the copy paper discharged to the bin 300 as shown by the arrow X in FIG. 16 returns in the direction of the arrow X1 due to its own weight or the action of the swinging plate 502, if the copy paper is curled,
Thereafter, the edge S3 (FIG. 5) may be caught on the discharging brush 350. When the copy sheet is caught in this way, the swing plate 502 cannot reliably align the copy sheet, or the copy sheet is pushed by the copy sheet to be discharged next, and the position thereof becomes uneven.

Therefore, in this example, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG.
On the lower surface side of 300, an appropriate number of guide ribs 302c protruding downward are provided, and the copy paper sliding down in the direction of arrow X1 along the inclined bin 300 is guided by the guide ribs 302c, and this is prevented from being caught on the neutralization brush 350. I have. In this way, the advantages of the charge removal brush can be utilized without any trouble.

Further, the guide rib 302c has a function of guiding the copy paper falling in the X1 direction and stacking them in alignment with the bin rising section 308, so that even when the charge removing brush 350 is not attached, the guide rib 302c is The configuration can be advantageously employed.

The position of the guide rib 302c is also set so that it can guide the vicinity of the side edges S1 and S2 where the copy paper discharged to the bin is most likely to bend, as can be seen from FIG.

By the way, as described above, the copy paper S is aligned by the swing of the swing plate 502 (FIG. 4). At this time, as shown in FIG. 17, the copy paper S is shown by the solid line, the one-dot chain line, and the two-dot chain line. When the copy paper S is curled when pressed toward the bin fence 316, the side edge S2 rides along the surface of the bin fence 316, and finally the side edge S2 is correctly positioned on the fence 136.
And the copy paper S may be in an irregular state.

Therefore, in this example, as shown in FIGS. 10, 11, and 18, a plate-shaped or rib-shaped guide parallel to the bin fence 316 is provided on the lower surface of the bin 300 and near the bin fence 316. 307 are formed. The guide 307 is provided so that the other side edge S2 of the copy sheet S pressed against the side edge S1 by the swing plate 502 hits the bin fence 316.
And the bin 3 below the guide 307
It is provided to face the copy paper mounting surface (paper mounting surface) of No. 00. The guide 307 has an inclined surface 307a formed such that the interval between the copy sheet S guided by the guide 307 and the sheet placement surface becomes smaller as approaching the bin fence 316.

When such a guide 307 is provided, the copy sheet S is placed on the rocking plate in the bin below the bin on which the guide 307 is formed.
When pressed by 502, even if the copy paper is curled, the copy moves sequentially as shown by the solid line, the one-dot chain line and the two-dot chain line in FIG. 18, and is pressed by the rocking plate 502 at this time. The copy paper side edge S2 opposite to the side is the guide 307.
And is hit by the bin fence 316. Therefore, the copy sheet S is aligned at a predetermined position without riding on the bin fence 316. With such a simple configuration, it is possible to prevent irregularities in copy paper.

Incidentally, the above-described guide can be provided on the bin fence itself. That is, the upper part of the bin fence 316 is inclined toward the rocking plate, and the inclined surface is configured as a paper guide.

However, as will be described later in detail with reference to FIGS. 44 to 47, the bin fence 316 of this embodiment is different from the copy paper S pressed by the rocking plate as shown in FIGS. 18 and 44. The bin fence 316 can swing between an operating position for receiving the side edge S2 of the copy paper and a retracted position retracted from the other side edge S2 of the aligned copy sheet as shown in FIG.
Is rotatably supported with respect to the bin 300.
In addition, the bin fence 316 occupying the operating position is located under a different member from the fence 316, in this example, below the upper bin 300 shown in FIG. Another member exists at a position close to and above the bin fence 300 occupying the operating position. For this reason, when the upper part of the bin fence 316 is inclined toward the rocking plate as described above, when the fence 316 is rotated to the operating position or the retracted position, the inclined part at the upper part is located above it. As a result, the bin fence 316 cannot be turned to the retreat position.

Therefore, it is conceivable to set the height of the bin fence 316 having the inclined portion formed at the upper portion to be low so that the upper portion of the bin fence does not interfere with the bin 300 above the bin fence at the time of rotation. When the bin fence 316 occupies the operating position, a large gap is formed between the upper end of the bin fence 316 and the upper bin 300.If the curl of the copy paper pressed by the rocking plate is large, the copy paper is There is a risk that the copy paper gets on the bin fence 316 and enters the above-mentioned gap, making it impossible to align the copy paper.

In addition, by reducing the width of the inclined portion formed at the upper portion of the bin fence, it is possible to prevent the bin fence from interfering with the bin 300 above the bin fence when rotating, but in this manner, the width of the inclined portion is reduced. In this case, the function of guiding the copy paper is reduced.

On the other hand, the guide 307 of this example is provided separately from the bin fence 316, that is, in the bin 300. Thus, when the bin fence 316 swings between its operating position and the retreat position, it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the upper end portion interferes with the bin 300 located above the bin fence 316. Moreover, the lower end of the inclined surface 307a of the guide 307 is located lower than the upper end of the bin fence 316 occupying the operating position. In the example shown in FIG. 18, the bin fence 316 occupying the operating position has the surface facing the rocking plate 502 facing the rocking plate 50.
The guide 307 is located opposite to the surface of the guide 307 opposite to 2, that is, the left surface of the guide 307. With such a configuration,
It is possible to prevent the copy paper S pressed by the swinging plate 502 from entering between the bin fence 316 and the bin 300 above the bin fence 316 and preventing the side edge S2 from riding on the bin fence 316. .

By the way, a brief explanation will be given earlier, and FIGS.
As shown in the figure, the copy paper mounting surface of each bin 300 is inclined at an angle of, for example, about 25 ° so as to increase in the direction in which the copy paper is discharged to the bin.
As described above, the trailing edge S3 (FIG. 5) of the copy sheet is brought into contact with the bin rear end side bin rising section 308 by the swing plate 502, and the copy sheet is placed on the bin by its own weight. This is for dropping along the inclination and bringing the rear edge S3 into contact with the bin rising portion 308 to align the rear ends.

At that time, as shown in FIG. 19, the shape of the conventional bin rear end portion is such that the bottle bottom surface 300a near the bin rising portion is formed flat, and the bottom surface 300a and the other bottom surface 300b form an obtuse angle. Therefore, even if the copy sheet S is moved to the rising portion 308 by the swing plate 502 or the weight of the copy sheet S, the trailing edge S3 of the first copy sheet does not reach the rising portion 308, and the bin 300 There is a possibility that the trailing edge S3 of the copy paper stacked on the printer may not be aligned as shown in FIG.

The reason why the flat portion 300a was formed in the bin 300 is to increase the interval between the upper and lower bins 300 in the rear end region of the bin,
This is to ensure that the copy paper can be discharged.
In other words, if the rear end of the bin is formed as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 19, the interval between the upper and lower bins is interposed, so that this is avoided. Also, the trailing edge S3 of the stacked copy sheets is inclined and cannot be aligned properly. Therefore, if this is stapled as it is, the quality of the completed copy sheet bundle is reduced.

Therefore, in this example, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the rising portion 308 rises substantially at right angles to the sheet placement surface 300c of each bin 300 as indicated by α1. Then, as described above, the swinging plate 502 swings, or by the weight of the copy paper,
The trailing edge S3 of each copy sheet abuts on the rising portion 308, but at this time, the trailing edge S3 of the copy sheet S loaded in the bin 300 is correctly, that is, without being inclined or uneven.
The bins can be aligned in a direction perpendicular to the paper placement surface 300c. Moreover, the interval between the bins can be made larger than when the bins 300 are formed as shown by the dashed line in FIG.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the upper end of the bin rising portion 308 is positioned at 90 degrees with respect to the sheet placement surface 300c of the bin 300.
An extension 308a inclined at an angle α smaller than ° is integrally and continuously provided. As a result, when the copy paper S is stacked on the bin 300 as shown in FIG. 21, the copy paper S is bent at the bent portion 308b between the rising portion 308 and the extension 308a.
, And the copy paper can be stacked with good alignment.

As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, if the copy paper curled into the bin 300 is discharged without the extension 308a, the curl cannot be fully pressed and the copy stacked as shown in FIG. The paper S may get on along the bin rising portion 308, which causes a jam. As described above, it is particularly advantageous to attach the extension 308a to the rising portion 308.

By the way, as described in detail later and schematically shown in FIG. 24, the stack levers 421Y and 421M of the sheet pulling device 402 have the arrow Y1 for the stacked copy paper S aligned on each bin 300. , And operate in a direction in which they approach each other to grip and chuck the stacked copy paper S and pull it out in the direction of arrow Y2. Subsequently, this copy sheet bundle is stapled by a pair of staple members 401a and 401b of the stapler 401 schematically shown in FIG.
After the stapling is completed, the copy sheet S is returned to a position on the bin 300 again as described later in detail, and is taken out in the direction indicated by W1 in FIG. 5 as described above. As shown in FIG. 10, a notch 310 is formed at one side edge of the bin 300 to prevent the chuck levers 421Y and 421M (FIG. 24) from interfering with the bin 300 when the chuck levers 421Y and 421M move forward and backward. Have been. Also, as described later, the chuck levers 421Y and 421
While the stacked copy paper is chucked by M, pulled out, and returned again, the bin fence 316 is retracted so as not to disturb this operation.

In FIG. 24, the chuck levers 421Y and 421M are indicated by arrows Y1.
When the stack of copy sheets S is curled when the stack of copy sheets S is
The 421Y and 421M cannot chuck all the copy sheets, and these levers may hit the curled copy sheet, and the copy sheet may not be pulled out and stapled. In particular, the side edge S2 on the trailing edge side of the copy paper near the rising portion 308 is easily curled, and even if this portion is pressed by the rib 302c (FIG. 16) as described above, it may be insufficient.

Therefore, in the illustrated sorter, as shown in FIG. 10, FIG. 11 and FIG. 24, on the lower surface of each bin 300, a position near the notch 310, that is, near a region where the chuck is performed. A sheet pressing rib 302e protruding downward is provided at a position on the rising portion 308 side. This rib 302e
When the copy paper S stacked on the bin 300 is curled and the side edge S2 of the copy paper bundle is about to expand upward, the copy paper S is pressed from above. For this reason, when the chuck levers 421Y and 421M approach the bundle of the copy sheets S in the bin 300, they do not hit the copy sheets and can be reliably chucked.

As described above, when the copy paper is chucked and pulled out and stapled against this copy paper bundle, the second
As shown in the figure, the stapler 401 is the paper drawer 4
Since the copy paper is located at the rear end side of the copy paper rather than 02, the portion of the copy paper bundle chucked by the chuck levers 421Y and 421M is securely bound, but this is not the case with the copy paper portion corresponding to the stapler 401. It can be very curled. For this reason, as shown by the solid line and the chain line in FIG. 27, when the bundle of copy sheets S is pulled in the direction of arrow Y2 and enters the opening 401c between the staple members 401a and 401b, this opening is, for example, about 12 to 15 mm. Due to the small space, the curled copy paper may be stuck on the staple member and may not be stapled. In particular, when the number of copy sheets loaded is large and curl is remarkable, such a problem is likely to occur.

Therefore, in this example, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 24 to 26, a guide member 317 inclined so as to become lower in the drawing direction Y2 of the copy paper S is provided on the lower surface of the bin near the rib 302e. Fixed. When the bundle of copy paper S is pulled out in the direction of arrow Y2 as shown by the solid line, the one-dot chain line, and the two-dot chain line in FIG. 25, the guide member 317 causes the side edge S2 of the copy paper bundle to , Opening 401 between 401b
Guide to get into c. In this way, the problem shown in FIG. 27 can be reliably removed.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 28, each bin 300 has a bin receiving base 312a, 312 fixed to both side plates 315a, 315b.
b, 312c. That is, ears 303a, 303b, 303c are protrudingly provided on both side edges of the bottle 300, and these are fitted and fixedly supported in the locking grooves 312d, 312e of the respective bin receiving bases 312a, 312b, 312c. I have. The corners of the bin 300 on the side where the rib 302e is provided are supported by a support (not shown), and the bin 300 is supported at a total of four locations. In this case, the ear 303a on the side where the stapler 401 is provided, in other words, the side where the bin fence 316 is located,
The ears 303b and 303c on the other side are fixed to the bin receiving base 312b with a gap δ, and
It is supported so that it can move in the width W direction of 0.

Conventionally, both ears 303a; 303b, 303c of the bottle 300 are both
It was fixedly supported by the bin holders 312a, 312b, 312c. According to such a configuration, the bottle 300 made of, for example, a synthetic resin is heated by the hot air discharged from the copying machine main body or the heat of the copy paper itself, and when the bottle 300 expands in the width W direction, the entire bottle becomes strong. Because it is fixed to, it is deformed to be curved. For this reason, the copy paper may hit the bin 300 and cause a jam, or the copy paper may not be correctly pulled out.

However, as shown in Fig. 28, the ears 303b and 303c are
When supported movably in the width W direction of the bin with respect to b,
Even if the bottle 300 is heated and expanded, the ears 303b and 303c have a gap δ.
Just moving inside, the bottle itself does not deform as in the past. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a jam or the like from occurring.

The ear 303a on the side of the stapler 401 is a bin holder 312a.
, The copy paper placed on the bin on this side does not move. Therefore, when the copy sheet is pulled out and the stapling operation is performed on the copy sheet as described above, the staple can be driven into a correct position with respect to the copy sheet. If the ear 303a moves due to the thermal expansion of the pin, the copy paper on this side also moves, and the staples may be driven into the shifted position.

The side edge S2 of the pulled out copy sheet bundle is located as shown by a dot line in FIG. 10, and the amount of the pull-out movement is small.Therefore, there is a possibility that the bin receiving tray 312a and the like may hinder the movement of the copy sheet. Absent. The copy paper receiving tray 312a is located outside the extracted copy paper.

After the stapling operation, the stack of copy paper is moved again by arrow Y1.
And is returned onto the bin 300, with one side edge S1 of the copy paper passing through the previously described ribs 302b, 302y. At this time, assuming that these ribs have the same cross-sectional shape as the other ribs 302z as shown in FIG. 15, the side edges of the copy paper S are hooked on the ribs as shown by the chain line in FIG. Cannot return to the original position.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14, the ribs 302b and 302y in this example are such that the side surface 351 of the copy paper S that is being returned, which is in contact with the side edge S1, is more gradually inclined than the surface 351a on the other side. ing. That is, the cross section of the ribs 302b and 302y has an inclination angle θ <θ1, and one side 351 is formed in a gentle triangular shape. As a result, the side edge S1 of the returned copy sheet S is smoothly moved to the rib 302 as shown in FIG.
You can get back to the original position over b, 302y.

When the copy sheet returns to the bin 300, all of the above-described configurations can be adopted for the rib that the side edge S1 hits. Also, the inclination of the side surface 351a may be formed gently.

Next, the stapler device 400 will be described in detail for understanding the present invention.

On the side of the paper stacking bin provided over multiple stages,
Stapler device 40 as shown in FIGS. 29 and 30
0 is arranged. In this stapler device, a stapler 401 and a sheet pulling device 402 are fixed so as to hang down from the lower surface of a plate-like bracket 403, respectively. The stapler 401 drives staples into each of the stacks of copy paper stacked in each bin 300, and the paper pulling device 402, as described briefly above, copies the copy on each bin 300. The paper bundle is gripped and transported in a substantially horizontal direction.

Both end portions 403a and 403b of the bracket 403 are bent upward and downward, respectively, and rollers 404a and 404b are rotatably attached to the both end portions 403a and 403b. The rollers 404a and 404b are connected to two guide rails 40 that are set up substantially in parallel along the sides of the bin.
The stapler 401 and the paper pulling device 402 are reciprocated vertically in a vertical direction along the side of each bin. It has become so. Further, the two drive belts 406a, 406b are substantially parallel along the side of the bin.
Is erected. Both end portions 403a, 403b of the bracket 403 are screwed and fixed to the drive belts 406a, 406b, respectively. Each drive belt 406a, 406
b is bridged between two pulleys 407a and 407c and 407b and 407d, which are vertically spaced apart from each other. The lower pulleys 407c and 407d share a common support shaft 4.
08 are connected so as to be integrally rotated.
The output of the drive motor 409 is transmitted through a pulley 410 fixed to the output shaft and a power transmission belt 411.
The rotation driving force is transmitted to the drive pulley 407d fixed to one end of the support shaft 408 through the drive gear 413 fixed on the same axis and the gear 414 meshed with the drive gear 413 in this order. It is supposed to be. The driving belts 406a and 406b are transported and driven by such a driving force transmission mechanism, whereby the stapler 401 and the sheet pulling device 402 are vertically moved.

Further, a position sensor 415 is attached to one edge portion 403a of the bracket 403, and a detection plate 416 is erected so as to be sandwiched by the position sensor 415. On the detection plate 416, projections 416a for indicating positions are formed at predetermined intervals so as to correspond to the respective bin positions. By such a position detection mechanism, the stapler 401 and the sheet pulling device 402 are controlled so as to be stopped at the installation positions of the bins.

The protrusion 403c and the sensor 403d in FIG. 29 are for determining the upper limit position of the bracket 403. When the protrusion 403c enters the sensor 403d, the motor 409 stops ascending.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram for making it easier to understand the movement of the present example, and is a diagram for explaining the movement of the copy paper discharged onto the bin 300, the movement of the chuck unit 421, and the position of the stapler 401. The copy sheet S discharged onto the bin 300 is discharged to a position indicated by S10. After that, it is aligned at a position where it comes into contact with the bin fence 316 by the swing plate of the swing device described above. When copying is completed and a predetermined number of copy sheets are stacked on the bin, the chuck unit 421 moves from the position indicated by the solid line to the position indicated by the chain line (in the direction of the arrow Y1), and the pair of chuck levers close as described above. With the copy paper in between, return to the position indicated by the solid line again (in the direction of arrow Y2). By this operation, the copy sheet bundle moves to the position of S11, and the copy sheet bundle is stapled by the stapler 401. Thereafter, the chuck lever is opened, and the copy sheet bundle is returned from the position of S12 to the position of S10 by the return plate described later. This completes the work for one bin, moves to the next bin, and repeats the work.

As shown in FIGS. 32 to 34, the sheet pulling device 402 is provided with the above-described chuck 42 for gripping a copy sheet bundle.
1 and a reciprocating mechanism 422 for reciprocating the chuck portion 421 in a substantially horizontal direction. Chuck part 421
, A pair of swing arms 421Z, 4
21S is mounted to swing freely, and this swing arm 4
When the solenoids 421C are operated by the solenoids 421C, the chuck levers 421Y and 421M operate so as to hold the bundle of copy sheets.

The reciprocating mechanism 422 is provided with a feed shaft 422a for moving the chuck unit 421 forward and backward with the copy paper bundle. Both support shafts protruding from both ends of the feed shaft 422a are rotatably supported on both pieces of a frame 422b formed in a U-shape. One side of each support shaft of the feed shaft 422a penetrates a part of the frame body 422b and further projects by a predetermined amount.A pulley 422c is fixed to the projecting portion, and a round belt 422d is fixed to the pulley. Are connected to the relay pulley 422p and the gears 422l and 422 as shown in FIG.
It is structured to be driven by a drive motor 422f via q.

A feed screw portion forming a hole screw is engraved on the outer peripheral surface of the feed shaft 422a, and a boss portion 422h fixed to the substrate 421a is screwed to the feed screw portion. That is, the feed shaft is driven by the output of the drive motor 422f.
The substrate 421a is driven to rotate by this rotational force.
Is reciprocated. The above frame 422b
In addition, two position sensors 422j and 422k are installed at a front position and a rear position, respectively, separated from each other by a predetermined distance.
A detection plate 422m is set up as a detection target of j and 422k, and the chuck portion 421 is reciprocated between these position sensors 422j and 422k.

In such a configuration, when the staple mode is started, first, the stapler 401 and the paper pulling device 402 are integrally moved up and down by the drive belts 406a and 406b.
As shown in FIG. 32, the stapler 401 and the paper pulling device 402 are transported toward a predetermined bin 300 where a stack of copy sheets to be driven by staples is deposited, and based on a signal from the position sensor 415, a predetermined bin is moved. Stopped at a position close to 300. At this time, the solenoid 421C is off, and therefore, both the swinging arms 421Z, 421S and the chuck levers 421Y, 421M are in an open state.

Next, the feed shaft 422a is rotationally driven by the output of the drive motor 422f, and the chucking portion 421 moves forward toward the copy sheet bundle by the rotational force.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing a groove portion of a screw portion engraved on the outer peripheral surface of the feed shaft 422a, and FIG. 40 is an expanded view of this.
Two balls 422r rotatably provided on the boss 422h shown in FIG. 32 enter the groove 422t of the feed shaft 422a, and these balls 422r are guided by the groove by the rotation of the feed shaft 422a, and reciprocate. Will be

At both ends and the center of the feed shaft 422a, a groove portion 422t 'having a lead angle of 0 ° is formed over 180 °, and the groove end portion functions as a stopper for stopping the boss portion 422h. That is, variations in the stop position due to the inertia of the rotation of the feed shaft 422a are eliminated.

By transmitting the driving force to the feed shaft 422a by the round belt 422d as shown in FIG. 32, the impact when the ball 422r hits the groove end can be absorbed by slip,
Problems caused by impact can be eliminated. The same can be said when a friction transmitting member such as a flat belt is used instead of the round belt.

As can be seen from FIG. 40, the speed control during movement is performed by changing the amount of advance of the chuck portion 421 with respect to the rotation angle of the feed shaft 422a. In the example of FIG.
The entire movement of 1 is performed by two rotations (720 °) of the feed shaft 422a. Assuming that the total movement amount A is 42 mm, the movement amount B when rotated by 90 ° B = 3 mm, and the movement amount C when rotated by the next 90 °
= 4mm, travel distance D when rotated next 90 ° D = 6mm, next 90
The motor is gradually accelerated in the first rotation with the moving amount E = 7 mm when rotated, and decelerated and stopped in the next one rotation in the same manner as the rate of acceleration in the one rotation. FIG. 41 is a graph of the above description.

As described above, the chuck unit 421 grips the aligned copy paper bundle with the chuck levers 421Y and 421M, and prevents variation in the copy paper bundle due to inertia at the time of start and stop when returning to the staple position. I have.

As shown in FIG. 35, when the chuck portion 421 moves to a position where the chuck levers 421Y and 421M can grip the copy sheet bundle, the chuck portion 421 stops there, and at the same time, the solenoid 421C is turned on. When the solenoid 421C is turned on, the chuck levers 421Y and 421M are closed as shown in FIG. 35, and the edges of the copy sheet bundle are gripped by the chuck levers 421Y and 421M.

 The movement at this time will be described with reference to FIGS. 32 to 38.

When the solenoid 421C is turned on, the lever 421L pivotally attached to the substrate 421a via the pin 421d is rotated clockwise about the pin 421d. At this time, the substrate 42 is connected via the pin 421h.
A lever 421j pivotally supported by 1a is pulled via a spring 421k, and the lever 421j rotates clockwise about a pin 421h as a fulcrum. Further, a gear 421g is fixed to the lever 421j, and the gear 421g is engaged with another gear 421W rotatably supported on the substrate 421a via a pin 421x, and the rotation is transmitted to the gear 421W. Gear 421W is upper lever 421Z
Therefore, the lever 421Z rotates counterclockwise around the pin 421x as a fulcrum.

The free end side of the lever 421Z is fitted in a vertically extending elongated hole (not shown) formed in the substrate 421a so as to be vertically movable.
The shaft 421T is pivotally attached to 1T, and is fitted in the long hole so as not to rotate. The aforementioned chuck lever 421Y is integrally fixed to the shaft 421T.

When the lever 421Z rotates counterclockwise as described above,
The shaft 421T moves downward, and the chuck lever 421Y fixed thereto moves parallel downward while maintaining the horizontal posture.

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 35 and 36, since the chuck portion 421 is located at the position moved toward the bin 300, the pin 421V protruding from the lever 421Z is notched in the return plate 422Z.
It falls into 422W and engages. The return plate 422Z is supported so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and a support mode thereof will be described later.

The gear 421W is in mesh with the gear 421P rotatably supported on the substrate 421a via the pin 421R.
1P also rotates clockwise, the lower lever fixed to it
The 421S also rotates clockwise about the pin 421R. The end of the lever 421S also has a shaft 421N that is vertically movably fitted into an upper and lower slot (not shown) of the substrate 421a just like the shaft 421T.
And the chuck lever described earlier with this shaft 421N.
421M is fixed. When the lever 421S rotates clockwise, the chuck lever 421M moves upward while maintaining the horizontal posture. The spring 421f locked to the substrate 421a and the lever 421S pulls the lever 421S counterclockwise,
Since the force is set to be weak, the lever 421S can rotate clockwise without any trouble.

The amount of movement of the chuck lever 421M from the home position is determined by the number of teeth of the three gears, the length of the rotation fulcrum, and the length of the action point.
In this example, the gear 421g has 40 teeth and the gear 421W has
Since the number of teeth of the 32 gears and the gear 421P is 56, the ratio of the movement amount of each gear is 1: 1.25: 0.7. The distance between the fulcrum 421x of the lever 421Z and the operating point 421T is 52mm, and the lever
Since the distance between the fulcrum 421R of the 421S and the point of action 421N is 37 mm, the moving ratio is 1.25 × 52: 0.7 × 37, and moves at a ratio of 2.5: 1. That is, the upper chuck lever 421Y is 2.
5 When moved downward, the lower chuck lever 421M moves upward.

Also, the chucking force for sandwiching the copy paper bundle between the chuck levers 421Y and 421M is determined by a spring attached to the solenoid 421C.
Determined by the power of 421k. At that time, as can be seen from Fig. 32,
Since the operating stroke of the solenoid 421C is constant, the spring 421k extends as the thickness of the copy sheet bundle sandwiched between the upper and lower chuck levers 421Y and 421M increases. That is, the chucking force is considered to increase as the number of sandwiched copy paper bundles increases, thereby eliminating problems such as displacement of the copy paper bundle due to insufficient chucking force.

Next, the chuck portion 421 is rotated by the reverse rotation of the drive motor 422f.
While holding the copy paper bundle S, the copy paper bundle is returned to the original position as shown in FIG. 37, whereby the copy paper bundle is translated in a substantially horizontal direction, and the stapler 401 is drawn to the side. Then, when the side edge portion of the copy sheet bundle is transported to a position where stapling is possible, it is stopped there.

FIG. 38 is a partially cutaway view in which the return plate portion 422Z is visible as in FIGS. 34 and 36.
Since the pin 421V is engaged in the notch 422W, the 422Z moves to the position shown in FIG. 38 by the reverse rotation of the motor 422f. Return plate bracket 42 integrally fixed to frame body 422b
The pin 422S provided on the return plate 422Z is slidably fitted into the 2X notch 422T, and the pin 422P provided on the return plate bracket 422X is slidably fitted into the notch 422R provided on the return plate 422Z. ing. Spring for return plate bracket 422X and return plate 422Z
Each end of 422N is locked. Therefore, the return plate 42
38 changes from FIG. 36 to FIG. 38 due to the reverse rotation of the drive motor 422f, and the return plate 422Z itself is pulled leftward by a spring 422N in FIG.

Thereafter, the staples are driven (stapled) by the stapler 401 into the edge portion of the copy sheet bundle as described above.

When the stapling operation is completed, the solenoid 421C is turned off. As a result, the chuck lever 42 that has been closed
1Y, 421M will open. The movement at this time returns from the state of FIG. 37 to the state of FIG. 32 by the force of the spring 421f. In addition, since the pin 421V hooked on the notch 422W of the return plate 422Z also comes off, the return plate 422Z is pulled by the spring 422N, and returns from the state shown in FIG. 38 to the state shown in FIG. At this time, the leading end 422ZZ of the return plate 422Z pushes the copy paper bundle and returns it to the original position.

FIG. 42 shows the relationship between the return plate 422Z, the return plate bracket 422X, and the spring 422N. The tip 422ZZ of the return plate 422Z is
It is formed longer than the interval between the upper and lower bins 300, and is designed to ensure that the copy paper bundle is returned onto the bin 300.

Also, the tip 422XX of the return plate bracket 422X is
Projecting obliquely toward. When returning weak copy paper or curl-sized copy paper, return it to the return plate 42
Even if it is pushed with 2Z, the bundle of copy papers S may escape upward as shown in FIG. 43. Therefore, hold this copy paper bundle with the tip 422XX of the return plate bracket 422X, and securely return it to the bin 300. It is.

Thereafter, the stapler 401 and the paper pulling device 402 are transported downward toward the next bin, where the same stapling operation is repeatedly performed.

Next, a specific configuration for swinging the bin fence 316 between the operating position and the retracted position as described above will be described.

As described above and shown in FIG. 44, the bin fence 316 for aligning the copy paper bundle is set up from the bin 300 at the edge portion of each bin 300 facing the stapler 401. Is provided. Bin fence 316
This position is the operating position. Such bin fence
The lower edge portion of 316 is rotatably attached to a support shaft 425 provided along the lower surface of the bin 300 so that the bin fence 316 can be tilted to the retracted position shown in FIG. 45. It has become. Both end portions of the support shaft 425 are rotatably supported by bearing piece portions 423b formed downward at both end portions of the bin 300. A winding spring 426 is mounted on the support shaft 425. Both end portions of the coil spring 426 are pressed against the lower surface of the bottle 300 and the lower surface of the bin fence 316, respectively. It has become.

Further, the bin fence 316 is opened according to the vertical movement of the stapler 401 via the fence tilting means. This means for tilting the fence is
5 comprises a fence movable plate 427 rotatably supported by a fence and a fence release plate 428 provided with a stapler 401 all around.

Part of the above fence movable plate 427 is bin fence 3
When the fence movable plate 427 is turned downward, the lower part of the fan-shaped hole 316b of the one part 316a of the bin fence 316 abuts, so that the lower part of the fan-shaped hole 316b is in contact with the lower part of the bin fence 316. The bin fence 316 is tilted according to the fence movable plate 427. Further, when the fence movable plate 427 rotates upward, it rotates without contacting the bin fence 316 and separates, so that the fence movable plate 427 freely rotates.

The roller 428a supported by the fence release plate 428 via the shaft 428b extends to a position in contact with the fence movable plate 427, and contacts the fence movable plate 427 when the stapler 401 moves up and down to move the fence. The plate 427 is rotated.

In such a configuration, when the sheet aligning operation is performed first, as shown in FIG. 44, the bin fence 316 is maintained at the operating position which is raised by the rotational force of the winding spring 426. As described above, the side edge of the copy paper discharged onto the bin 300 comes into contact with the bin fence 316 to perform paper alignment.

When this operation is completed, the stapler 401 starts descending, and the stapler 401 moves the roller 42 of the fence release plate 428.
8a comes into contact with the movable fence plate 427 of the bottle 300. Then, the fence movable plate 427 is turned to the lower position as shown in FIG. At this time, the stapler 401 also stops. With the rotation of the fence movable plate 427, the bin fence 316 is tilted against the rotational force of the winding spring 426, and rotates to the retracted position. Thereby, the bin 300 is opened.
At this time, the bin fence 316 and the fence movable plate 427
The bin 300 is pushed down to a position below the surface position of the bin 300 indicated by the dashed line in FIG. Then, the stapling operation as described above is performed in this state.

At the same time as the stapling operation is completed and the copy paper bundle is returned to the original position of the bin 300, or while the copy paper bundle is being returned, the stapler 401 is moved downward toward the next bin. Then, when the fence release plate 428 is separated from the fence by the lowering operation of the stapler 401, the fence 316 and the fence movable plate 427 rise by the rotational force of the winding spring 426, and move to the operating position shown in FIG. 44. Will be returned. Such bin opening and stapling operations are performed on all of the sorted bins.

When stapling has been performed on all copy paper bundles, the stapler 401 is raised and returned to the highest home position. The home position is positioned higher than the first bin located at the top. When this stapler 401 returns, the stapler 401
Roller 428a of fence release board 428 of fence is movable fence board 4
27, the fence movable plate 427 is swung upward in the idle state as shown in FIG. 46, so that the fence 316 cannot be rotated at all. Absent. When the stapler 401 lifts the fence release plate 428 of the stapler 401 and the movable fence plate 427 is separated from the waist, the movable fence plate 4
27 is returned to its original position shown in FIG. 44 by its own weight.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 47, an elastic body 429 that receives the fence movable plate 427 is installed around the bin fence 316. In such an embodiment, stapler 401
When the fence movable plate 427 is swung upward in the idle state at the time of return, the fence movable plate 427 is received by the elastic plate 429 abutting against the alligator, and the elastic body 4
The movable fence plate 427 is returned to the original position by the flexural repulsive force of 29. Next, replacement of the needle cartridge of the stapler 401 will be described with reference to FIGS. 48 to 52.

In this embodiment, the copying machine body has a paper reversing device,
Since the copy paper is discharged to each bin 300 with the image side facing down, the stapler 401 is mounted upside down.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 48 and 25, the staple member 401a from which the staple comes out is located on the lower side, and the staple member 401b on the side receiving the staple is located on the upper side, and the opening 401c between them is located at the upper side. When the bundle of copy sheets S is inserted and the lower staple member 401a moves upward, staples are driven into the copy sheet bundle.

The staples are supplied from the needle cartridge 481C to the staple member 401a. When the staples run out of the needle cartridge 481C, it is necessary to replace the staples with new needle cartridges. This exchange is performed as follows.

First, an open lever 480C, which is rotatably supported via a shaft 480F on a stapler base 480A fixed to a bracket 403 shown in FIG.
Rotate clockwise around 0F. This allows shaft 48
0E slides in the groove of the lever 480C, and the release claw 480B pivotally supported by the base 480A via the shaft 480D moves counterclockwise around the shaft 480D to open the shaft 481E protruding from the staple member 401b. . The above state is shown in FIG.

Also, as shown in FIG. 50, since the shaft 481E was opened,
The stapler section 481 including the staple members 401a and 401b, the needle cartridge 481C, and the like can be moved clockwise about the shaft 483 with respect to the base 480A. The release claw 480B is returned to the initial state by the spring 480G.

When the stapler portion 481 rotates clockwise, a shaft 482A protruding from a link 482 pivotally connected to the stapler portion 481 via a pin 481G slides in a groove 484 formed in the base body 480A, and the end of the groove 484A. Locked in the recess of the part. At this time, the stapler 481 is also locked. In this state, the stapler section 481 stops slightly obliquely from the vertical, almost comes out of the outer appearance of the sorter main body, and the user can easily replace the needle cartridge 481C.

After the replacement of the needle cartridge 481C, by pushing the release lever 480C upward as shown in FIG. 51, this moves clockwise about the shaft 480F, and the lock of the shaft 482A is released.

Since the lock of the shaft 482A has been released, the stapler unit 48
1 can be moved counterclockwise about the axis 483, and the release claw 480B returns to the initial state by the spring 480G.

As shown in FIG. 52, in the stapler portion 481 moved in the counterclockwise direction, the shaft 481E hits the release claw 480B, and the force of the shaft 481E opens the release claw 480B, and after the shaft 481E passes, the release claw 480B is Closed by 480G and stapler
481 is locked.

With the above operation, the stapler needle cartridge can be easily replaced.

As described above, a specific example in which the present invention is applied to a sorter of a copying machine has been described. However, the present invention is also applicable to the various types of paper processing apparatuses exemplified above. In addition to the stapler, there are a puncher for punching a hole in a sheet, a stamper for pressing a mark or a stamp, and the like in addition to the stapler. Of course it can be applied.

[Effect of the invention]

According to the present invention, the side edge of the sheet discharged to the sheet mounting table is pressed by the rocking plate, and while the sheet is guided by the guide, the other side edge of the sheet is securely applied to the fence, and the sheet is applied. It is now possible to align them correctly. Moreover, since the guide is not provided on the fence but provided separately from the fence, when the fence swings between its operating position and the retracted position, the upper part of the fence is raised above the fence. Can be eliminated. Furthermore, since the lower end of the inclined surface of the guide is located lower than the upper end of the fence occupying the operating position, the paper pressed by the rocking plate is located between the fence and the member located above the fence. It is also possible to prevent a problem that the paper gets on the fence by getting into the fence.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a schematic side view of the sorter, FIG. 1a is a partially enlarged view thereof, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a side view on the opposite side of FIG. 1, and FIG. Perspective view of motion device and bottle, fifth
FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing a part thereof, FIG. 6 is an explanatory plan view showing a part of FIG. 5, FIG.
FIGS. 9 and 9 show the relationship between the rotation angle of the motor and the swing amount of the swing plate, FIG. 10 is a plan view of the bottle, FIG. 11 is a side view thereof, and FIG. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of another concave portion, FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 are cross-sectional views of ribs, and FIG. 16 clearly shows a charge removing brush and a guide rib. FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining a problem when the copy paper is brought to the bin fence, FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example in which this problem is eliminated, and FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a bin rear end side. FIGS. 20 and 21 are side views illustrating a configuration example in which this problem has been eliminated, and FIGS. 22 and 23 are diagrams of a bottle configuration without an extension portion, and FIGS. FIG. 24 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration and operation of the paper holding rib, FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the guide member, FIG. 26 is a perspective view thereof, FIG. 27 is an explanatory view showing a problem when a guide member is not provided, FIG. 28 is a schematic front view showing a bottle and its supporting structure, FIG. 29 is a perspective view of a stapler device, FIG. FIG. 30 is a plan view showing only a part thereof, FIG. 31 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the operation when chucking and moving the copy paper, FIG. 32 is a front view of the paper drawing device, and FIG. 34 to 38 are front views for explaining the operation of the sheet pulling device, FIG. 39 is a front view of a feed screw, and FIG. 40 is an expanded view thereof. FIG. 41 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of movement and the speed of the chuck portion, FIG. 42 is a diagram for explaining the operation of returning the copy sheet bundle by the return plate, and FIG. 43 is a tip portion of the return plate bracket at that time. 44 to 47 are explanatory views showing the operation of the bin fence, and FIGS. 48 to 52 are needle carts. Tsu explanatory view showing the operation at the time of exchange of di-,
FIG. 53 is a view for explaining a problem of the conventional rocking plate. 307: guide, 316: fence 502: rocking plate, 307a: inclined surface S1, S2: side edge

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Creator Takashi Komada 2-28-24 Izumi, Higashi-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Inside Yoko Tavir Ricoh Elemex Co., Ltd. (72) Yoshihide Sugiyama 2-28-, Izumi, Higashi-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi 24 Inside Yoko Tabir Ricoh Elemex Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshiyuki Kikuchi 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-62-28964 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] A sheet mounting table for stacking the discharged sheets;
A rocking plate that presses a side edge of the paper while rocking to align the paper so that the paper is aligned and placed on the paper mounting table; and a sheet that is pressed by the rocking plate. And a fence that serves as a reference for receiving the side edge of the paper and aligning the paper,
The lower part of the fence pivots so that the fence can swing between an operating position for receiving the other side edge of the pressed sheet and a retracted position retracted from the other side edge of the aligned sheet. In the sheet processing apparatus of the image forming apparatus, which is pivotally supported, and another member is present at a position above and close to the fence occupying the operating position, the other side edge of the sheet pressed by the rocking plate is A guide for guiding the sheet is provided separately from the fence so as to hit the fence so as to face the sheet placement surface of the sheet placement table, and the guide has a gap between the sheet placement surface and the fence. A sheet processing apparatus having an inclined surface formed so as to become narrower as approaching, and a lower end of the inclined surface is located lower than an upper end of the fence occupying the operating position.