JP2561809Y2 - Post-processing device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is provided in an image forming apparatus or the like and sorts (sorts), collates (stacks), or binds (staples) sheets such as recording media or documents discharged from the image forming apparatus. And a post-processing device that performs post-processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A post-processing apparatus is indispensable for efficient processing after an image is formed by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer. Features become increasingly important. For this reason, there has been proposed a post-processing apparatus that automatically performs a series of operations of sorting, binding, and discharging bound documents on recording sheets on which images are formed by the image forming apparatus. Examples of this include, for example, JP-A-60-179756, JP-A-63-139877,
And Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 63-147775.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 63-179756 discloses a plurality of recording sheet storage trays (bins) provided movably with respect to these bins. Sorting means for sorting sheets, provided on the opposite side of the sorting means via the bin, binding means for recording sheets movably installed with respect to the bin, and provided on each bin for discharging the recording sheet from the bin There is disclosed a recording sheet post-processing apparatus including a recording sheet discharging unit and a stacking unit for stacking the discharged recording sheets.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 63-139877 discloses a plurality of bins arranged in multiple stages, sorting means for sorting the recording sheets into each bin by making the bins movable, and moving the bins. The recording sheet from the bin
Discharge means for discharging a set of recording sheets, binding means for temporarily storing and binding the recording sheets discharged for each set, and stacking means for removing and stacking the bound recording sheets one by one from the binding means. A recording sheet post-processing device is disclosed.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-147775 discloses a plurality of bins arranged in multiple stages, sorting means for separating the recording sheets into each bin by making the bins movable and moving the bins. Binding means provided at a fixed position for binding the recording sheets, a recording sheet taking-out means provided at a fixed position for taking out the bound recording sheets on the bin, and an accumulating means for accumulating the taken-out recording sheets. A recording sheet post-processing apparatus provided with the apparatus is disclosed.

[0006]

[Problem to be solved by the invention]
The technique disclosed in 179756 has the following problems.

[0007] 1) Since the sorting means and the binding means are provided separately, an installation space for each is required.
As the device itself becomes larger, a separate drive mechanism is required for each of the sorting means and the binding means, which complicates the structure and naturally increases the cost.

2) Since the recording sheet discharging means from the bin is provided for each bin, not only does the sheet storage capacity of the bin be hindered, but also the structure becomes complicated and the cost increases.

3) When the recording sheet is discharged from the bin to the stacking means, there is no means for guiding the recording sheet, so that the recording sheet is clogged or broken, and the discharge of the recording sheet is unstable.

[0010] 4) When the recording sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus is conveyed without or almost without a conveyance interval, the technique disclosed in this publication cannot reliably sort the recording sheet.

The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-139877 has the following problem in addition to the above-mentioned problem 1.

5) Since the sorted recording sheets are discharged one by one and bound one by one, the productivity of post-processing is low, and when the processing speed of the main body of the image forming apparatus is high, image forming is not performed. The processing speed of the apparatus main body cannot be followed, and the processing speed is reduced to the processing speed of the post-processing apparatus, thereby lowering the overall productivity.

6) When guiding the sheet bundle from the bin to the binding means, since the recording sheets are not bound, the conveying force is not transmitted to the entire sheet bundle, and the reliability of the sheet guide cannot be ensured.

Further, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-147775 has the following problem in addition to the problem 4).

7) Since the sorting operation and the binding operation are performed by the bin moving method, a space for moving the bin is required, the apparatus itself becomes large, and the cost increases accordingly.

8) Since the take-out means for taking out the recording sheets on the bin is provided separately on the side of the bin opening, the whole post-processing apparatus becomes large-scale and the cost increases.

9) Since the installation mode is such that the bottle opening side is shielded, there is a problem in operability in handling a paper jam or the like.

In any case, the above-mentioned prior art does not disclose a mechanism for reliably sorting a recording medium sent without a conveyance interval or a recording medium sent with almost no conveyance interval.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation of the prior art, and its purpose is to be able to reliably sort recording media sent without a transport interval.
Easy to operate, cheap cost is high rather, and a small productivity
It is to provide a post-processing device .

[0020]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a discharging means for discharging a recording medium guided from an image forming apparatus, and a recording medium discharged by the discharging means in a discharging direction. Conveying means for conveying the recording medium in the orthogonal direction, skew restricting means for restricting the skew of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means, sorting means for sorting the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means, and this sorting means in the post-processing apparatus that includes a housing unit for housing the conveyed recording medium, the conveying means, the exhaust
Guide on which a part of the recording medium ejected from the ejection means is placed
Plate and the rest of the recording medium
Having a direction change belt that rotates in a direction perpendicular to the direction,
The skew restricting means is provided in the recording medium conveying direction of the conveying means.
The most downstream side, the recording medium transport direction of the sorting means
It has a pair of registration rollers provided on the most upstream side.
The conveying speed v of the turning belt is equal to the discharge speed of the discharge belt.
V of the recording medium to be ejected from the ejection means
The size of the recording medium in the direction
The size of the recording medium in the direction
When the stop time of the recording medium is t, the relationship is v ≧ bV / (a−Vt) .

[0021]

[0022]

[0023]

According to the above means, the recording medium guided from the image forming apparatus is discharged to the conveying means side by the discharging means,
The sheet is conveyed by a conveying means in a direction orthogonal to the discharge direction. As a result, the recording medium that has been conveyed later without a conveyance interval advances in such a manner as to ride on the previously discharged recording medium that has been conveyed in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance means. However, during that time, the recording medium ejected earlier is conveyed as it is in the orthogonal direction, the skew is controlled by the skew restricting means, and the recording medium is introduced into the sorting means. Then, the sheets are stored in the storage means set in advance according to the sorting.

When the skew feeding restricting means is constituted by a pair of registration rollers, the skew feeding is regulated by aligning the leading edges of the recording medium in the conveying direction, and the skew feeding is sent to the sorting means when they are aligned. And sorting is performed.

This operation is specifically described in (1-2)
This is explained in detail in the section.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(1) Schematic Configuration (1-1) General Overview (1-1-1) Configuration of Copying Machine First, a sorter / stapler as a post-processing device and a copying machine as an image forming device according to the embodiment will be described. Here is an overview.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a state in which a post-processing device (hereinafter, referred to as a sorter / stapler) according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a copying machine main body. FIG. 2 is a side view of the sorter / stapler. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sorter stapler.

In FIG. 1, the copying machine 1 has a writing optical system 9 for guiding a laser beam reflected by a polygon mirror 163 to a belt-shaped photosensitive member (hereinafter simply referred to as a photosensitive member) 90.
09, a developing unit 910 for writing the latent image formed on the photoconductor 90 by writing by the writing optical system 909, and transferring a visible image developed by the developing unit 910 to transfer paper (recording sheet).
P, a first transfer station 231 for transferring the image, a first separation charger 100 for separating the transfer paper P on which the image has been transferred from the photoreceptor 90, and a transfer paper P different from the transfer paper P transferred at the first transfer station 231. Further, a second transfer station 232 for transferring the image, a fixing unit 190 for fixing the image on the transfer paper P on which the image has been transferred, a cleaning unit 920 for cleaning the photoconductor 90 after the image is transferred, and removing the charge of the photoconductor 90 after cleaning. Charge elimination unit 930, charge charger 94 for charging after charge elimination
The image forming system 950 is basically composed of an image forming system 950 composed of 0 and a transfer system 960 for supplying the transfer paper P to the image forming system 950 and discharging the same.

The transport system 960 is configured so that the transfer paper P can be alternately transported to the first transfer station 231 and the second transfer station 232, respectively. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the second transfer station 232 is set to a known corona transfer type transfer structure.

When copying is performed by this type of copying machine 1, the first transfer paper P is fed by a feed roller 201,
First branch claw 20 linked with branch feed solenoid 114
After branching by 2, it enters the first transport path 203.
The transfer paper P in the transport path 203 passes through the intermediate roller 204 and waits at the registration roller 205.

The second transfer sheet P is fed by the feed roller 201 at a certain timing from the start of the conveyance of the first transfer sheet P in the same manner as the first transfer sheet P, and is branched by the first branch claw 202. The sheet enters the transfer paper stack unit 211 via the two transport paths 212. The leading edge of the transfer sheet in the stack section 211 is regulated by the second registration roller 206, the transfer sheet P is transported by the stack section intermediate roller 207, and the transfer sheet P is completely stored in the transfer sheet stack section 211.

The transfer paper stack section 211 is formed of different inclined surfaces and has a substantially V-shape with respect to the surface of the photosensitive member 90.
Since the transfer paper P is stored in a curved shape in the V-shaped stack portion, the space length in the sheet conveying direction can be reduced. Further, since the stack portion 211 is provided with the elastic member 208, even when the transfer paper P is stored in a curved state, the second registration roller 206 can be surely provided.
The transfer paper P can be held in the nip. The first transfer sheet P is fed again at a timing synchronized with the leading edge of the image on the photosensitive member 90, and is transferred by the first transfer station 231 and separated by the first separation station 100. The transfer paper P after separation is fixed by the fixing unit 190 via the first conveyance unit 209 and the second conveyance unit 210.

The second transfer sheet P is fed again at a timing synchronized with the leading edge of the image formed immediately after the first transfer sheet image, and the transfer is performed by the second transfer station 232.
The transfer paper P after the separation passes through the third transport unit 234 and passes through the fixing unit 19.
0 is fixed.

Next, the relationship between the latent image (including after development) on the photosensitive member 90 and the transfer paper P will be described.

A latent image is formed on the photoreceptor 90 at a small interval with almost no latent image. The latent image is alternately transferred by the first and second transfer stations 231 and 232, and the interval between transfer sheets is made small to increase the number of copies per unit time. In the conventional method in which there is only one transfer station, it is impossible to prevent the transfer paper interval from being generated due to the transfer paper stoppage time during the registration adjustment of the transfer paper, in other words, the transport interval between the transfer papers from becoming long. In the first and second transfer paper feed orders, the transfer paper corresponding to the second formed latent image is sent out before the transfer paper corresponding to the first formed latent image, and the first transfer paper is fed first. The transfer paper may be sent to the stack unit 211 via the second conveyance path 212, and then the second transfer paper may be sent to the first conveyance path 203.

Next, the configuration of the transport path will be described.

The path length of the first transport path 203 is set to be longer than the maximum transfer paper size accommodated in the transfer paper stack unit 211, and the first transport path 20 is completely stopped during registration standby.
3 is stored.

The transfer paper stack section 211, the second transfer station 232, and the third transport section 234 are held by holding means (not shown) and are set to be detachable, and can be used only with the first transfer station 231. ing. At this time, the mode is automatically set to select only the first transfer station 231.

First transfer station 23 on photoreceptor 90
Since the distance between the first and second transfer stations 232 is longer than the maximum transfer sheet size stored in the transfer sheet stack unit 211, even if development is performed without a latent image interval, transfer is performed between the two transfer stations. It is possible to do.

First transfer station 23 on photoreceptor 90
1 and the distance between the second transfer station 232 and the fixing nip (the third transport unit 23).
4) is added to the first transfer station 23
The configuration is equal to the interval between the first and second transport units 209 and 210. Also, the linear velocity of the photoconductor and the first, second,
The linear velocities of the three transport units 209, 210, 234 and the first and second registration rollers 205, 206 have substantially equal values. That is, the first transfer sheet is the first transfer station 23.
When the image is transferred at 1 and is fixed via the first and second transport units 209 and 210, the rear end of the first transfer sheet is transferred at the second transfer station 232 and is fixed via the third transport unit 234. (2) It is located almost without the transfer paper interval from the leading end of the transfer paper. This transfer paper interval is substantially equal to the interval between latent images. In some cases, however, the transfer paper interval is slightly longer than the latent image interval due to a transport slip or the like, but the interval is very small.

(1-1-2) Schematic Configuration of Sorter / Stapler The sorter / stapler 1000 is relayed and conveyed to the fixing section 190 of the copying machine 1 and the transfer paper discharge port 235 from the conveyance path 227 as shown in FIG. It is connected via road 2. This sorter / stapler 1000 is a copy machine main body 1
It has a function of sorting (stapling), staple (binding), and automatically taking out a stapled copy paper bundle from a sort bin from the discharged transfer paper, and continuously receives a plurality of different job commands received by the copying machine body 1. Can be executed.

The sorter / stapler 10 according to this embodiment
Reference numeral 00 denotes a guide plate 5, a direction change belt 4, a registration guide plate 7, a sorting conveyance path 9, a deflecting unit 10, a drive belt 11, a vertical conveyance belt 12, and a vertical conveyance belt drive, as shown in FIGS. It mainly comprises a roller 13, a drive pulley 14, and a sort bin (hereinafter, simply referred to as a bin) 26.

The bins 26 are fixed at a predetermined interval so as to be inclined so that the front side (the operation surface side at the time of installation) F becomes higher, and drive pulleys provided at the upper and lower ends of the lowered side corresponding to the rear side B. A drive belt 11 is stretched between 14, and the deflection unit 10 is moved up and down by the drive belt 11. Further, in this embodiment, three vertical conveying belt driving rollers 13 are provided coaxially with these driving pulleys 14, and the vertical conveying belt 12 is stretched between the corresponding upper and lower vertical conveying belt driving rollers 13. I have. Further, facing the moving path of the deflection unit 10,
An upper limit detection sensor 51 and a lower limit detection sensor 52 for detecting the upper and lower limits of the movement of the deflection unit 10 are provided at the upper and lower ends in the moving direction, respectively. The details of these configurations will be described later.

In this sorter / stapler 1000, as shown in FIG. 4, the transfer paper P discharged from the copying machine main body 1 in the direction of arrow M in FIGS.
It is sent to the sorting vertical conveyance path 9 on the back side by the direction change belt 4 rotating in the direction of the arrow N), and is moved below the direction change belt 4 by the deflecting unit 10 which vertically moves the vertical separation conveyance path 9 vertically. Sorting into a plurality of bins 26 is performed. The transfer paper bundle after the sorting is transferred to the deflection unit 10.
And is stapled by a staple unit 46 which moves together with the deflection unit 10.

The stapled transfer paper bundle is sent out again to the vertical transport path 9 by the draw-out roller 24 provided in the deflection unit 10 and discharged to the stacker 32 at the lowermost part of the sorter. By doing so, the operator can use the statka 32
It is only necessary to take out the stapled transfer paper bundle from. Similarly, the copied sheets are sequentially processed.

Sorter / stapler 10 according to this embodiment
In 00, three mechanisms for sorting a plurality of bins 26, stapling, and pulling out a stapled copy paper bundle from the bins 26 are provided on a single base (deflection unit), and are moved up and down by the same drive mechanism. In addition, bin 2
The driving of the bin discharging roller 23 and the pulling roller 24 to 6 is also obtained from the deflecting unit drive mechanism.

(1-2) Change of direction of copy paper FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part of a direction change belt 4 part. In FIG. 1, a guide plate 5 and a direction change belt 4 are arranged side by side in a direction perpendicular to the transfer paper conveyance direction by the belt discharge rollers 3 on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the belt discharge rollers 3 following the relay conveyance path 2. I have. Thus, the transfer paper P discharged from the copying machine main body 1 passes through the relay conveyance path 2 and is driven by the belt discharge roller 3 in a direction (arrow N in FIG. 4) orthogonal to the copy paper conveyance direction of the copying machine main body 1 (arrow M direction). Direction) is discharged onto the turning belt 4 which rotates in the direction (direction).

When the transfer paper P is discharged, the transfer paper P is pulled from the front end in the moving direction of the upper surface of the direction change belt 4 by the belt, but since the rear end in the discharge direction is held by the belt discharge roller 303,
The transfer paper P is not inclined.

Further, the entire surface of the transfer paper P is
, The rear end of the transfer paper P in the direction of movement of the upper surface of the direction change belt 4 may be entangled in the direction change belt 4, so the guide plate 5 receives the transfer paper P at the rear part in the belt movement direction.

At the moment when the transfer paper P is released from the belt discharge roller 3, the traveling direction is changed from the arrow M to N, and is conveyed in the moving direction of the upper surface of the direction conversion belt 4. The transfer paper P conveyed to the back side by the direction conversion belt 4 comes into contact with a registration roller 6 provided on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the direction conversion belt 4 and temporarily stops, and after the leading end positions are aligned, the sorting paper P is sorted. It is sent to the transport path 9.

A registration guide plate 7 for introducing the transfer paper P into the registration section is provided above the direction change belt 4, and a ball 8 which can be rotated in an arbitrary direction urged by a leaf spring or the like.
By pressing the transfer paper P against the direction change belt 4, the slip between the transfer paper P and the direction change belt 4 is prevented.

As can be seen from the plan view of FIG. 5, which shows the relationship between the guide plate 5, the direction conversion belt 4, the registration rollers 6, and the belt discharge rollers 3, the transport speed of the belt discharge rollers [V
mm / sec], the transfer paper size is set in the discharge direction a [m
m], belt conveyance direction b [mm], and when the stop time at the registration unit is t [sec], the conveyance speed v [mm / sec] of the direction conversion belt is as follows: v ≧ bV / (a−Vt) , Even if the interval between the transfer sheets P conveyed from the copying machine main body 1 is zero, the next transfer sheet P overlaps the transfer sheet P previously discharged onto the direction change belt 4. Never.

(1-3) Driving of Deflection Unit FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing the main structure of the sorter / stapler 1000. As can be seen from the figure, the drive belt 11 for moving the deflection unit 10 up and down is driven by a drive pulley 14 provided coaxially with a vertical transport belt drive roller 13 for driving the vertical transport belt 12. Drive belt 1
As shown in FIG. 7, six pulleys are provided on the side of the deflecting unit 10 for 1. The first three pulleys 15, the second upward pulley 16, the third upward pulley 17, and the three downward belts from which the drive belt 11 moves upward are the first upward pulley 15, the second upward pulley 16, and the first downward pulley. 18, a second descending pulley 19, and a third descending pulley 20, and one of the first and second ascent pulleys 15, 16 and the one of the first and second descending pulleys 18, 19 are electromagnetic clutches and brakes. The rotation can be stopped by the above method.

Further, on the outer side of the six pulleys 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 on the side of the deflecting unit 10, a roll prevention mechanism and a brake mechanism of the deflecting unit 10 are provided. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 12, the rack 21 is attached to the sorter / stapler 1000 body side.
On the deflection unit 10 side, a pinion 22 that can be stopped by an electromagnetic clutch, a brake or the like is provided.

As shown in FIG. 13, an ascending clutch 70 is provided coaxially with the first ascent pulley 15. When the ascending clutch 70 is turned on, the rotation of the ascent pulley is stopped. Similarly, the first descending pulley 18 has a descending clutch 7
1 is provided coaxially, and if the descending clutch 71 and the stop clutch 72 provided coaxially with the pinion 22 shown in FIG. 14 are turned off, the lowering pulleys 18, 19, 20 and the pinion 22 can rotate freely. , Deflection unit 1
0 rises in the direction of the arrow U at the same speed as the moving speed of the drive belt 11 (FIG. 8).

The descending pulley 1 is turned on by turning the descending clutch 71 on.
The rotation of 8, 19, 20 is stopped, and the ascending clutch 70 and the stopping clutch 72 are turned off to raise the ascending pulleys 15, 16, 1.
7 and the rotation of the pinion 22 is free, the deflection unit 10 descends in the direction of arrow D at the same speed as the moving speed of the drive belt 11 (FIG. 9).

Ascending clutch 70 and descending clutch 71
FF is performed to freely rotate the ascending pulleys 15, 16, 17 and the descending pulleys 18, 19, 20 so that the stop clutch 7
When the pinion 2 is turned on to stop the rotation of the pinion 22, the deflection unit 10 stops (FIG. 10).

As described above, in the present driving mechanism, the driving belt 11
Can always be rotated, and the same drive shaft and drive source as the vertical transport belt 12 that always rotates in the same direction can be used. Further, as shown in FIGS. 13, 14, and 15, the rotation of the bin discharge rollers 23 and the pull-out rollers 24 provided on the deflection unit 10 can also be obtained from the rotation of the descending pulleys 18, 19, and 20. The rotation of the pulleys 18, 19 and 20 is stopped only when the deflecting unit 10 is lowered. However, if the deflecting unit 10 moves at a speed higher than the moving speed of the vertical transport belt 12, the transfer paper is discharged by the bin discharge rollers 23. There is no paper jam. Conversely, ascending pulleys 15, 16,
When the rotation is obtained from 17, the bin discharge roller 23 stops when the deflection unit 10 is raised, and it is conceivable that a paper jam occurs. Therefore, in this embodiment, the driving force of the bin discharge roller 23 is obtained from the descending pulley 20 side.

(1-4) Stop Position of Deflection Unit The stop position of the deflection unit 10 at the time of sorting is equal to the number of bins 26. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, the deflection unit 10 stops when the reflection type position sensor 50 provided in the deflection unit 10 detects the bin one stage below the target sorting bin. The stop position at the time of sorting into the lowermost bin is detected by the lower limit detection sensor 52 of the deflection unit 10. In this embodiment, the bin 26 performing the stapling operation is two stages below the sorting bin (one stage below the bin detected by the position sensor 50). The stop position when stapling the uppermost bin is detected by the upper limit detection sensor 51 of the deflection unit 10. Since the bin 26 that performs the pull-out operation is the same as during the sorting, the stop position is detected in the same manner as during the sorting. Even if the bins 26 that perform the three operations of sorting, stapling, and drawing are different, if the difference between the stop positions is set to be an integral multiple of the bin interval, a dedicated stop position and sensor for each operation are provided. It is not necessary to provide.

(1-5) Sorting Operation The transfer paper P sent to the sorting vertical transport belt 9 by the registration rollers 6 is moved downward by the endless vertical transport belt 12 hung on the upper and lower vertical transport belt driving rollers 13. The sheet is conveyed, deflected in the direction of the bin 26 by the sorting guide plate 25 of the deflection unit 10, and further discharged to the target bin 26 by the bin discharge roller 23 (FIGS. 6, 15, and 16).

As means for urging the transfer paper P to the vertical transport belt 12, the transfer paper P
From the wire pulley 27 provided at a position where it comes into contact with the wire 2 to the position where it is deflected by the sorting guide plate 25.
8 is used. This wire 28 is above the deflection unit 10. As shown in FIG. 6, a wire is required below the deflecting unit 10 for urging the transfer paper bundle sent to the vertical transport path 9 again by the pull-out roller 24 to the vertical transport belt 12 after the stapling is completed. One wire 28 is moved from the upper part of the deflection unit 10 to the deflection unit
If it is turned downward, the winding mechanism of the wire 28 becomes unnecessary.

(1-6) Staple operation In the sorter / stapler 1000, when the transfer paper P changes direction, the trailing ends of the transfer paper P in the discharge direction are aligned, and the sorted transfer paper P is also irrespective of its size. 17, the side fence 29 is provided on the image forming apparatus side of the bin 26 as shown in the schematic configuration diagram of the bin of FIG. 17 and the enlarged view of the main part of the bin of FIG. Jogging bar 30 driven by
After the posture of the transfer paper bundle is adjusted by the side fence 29 and the side fence 29, the operation proceeds to the stapling operation.

Although the position of the deflection unit 10 after the sorting is different depending on the number of originals, the stapling operation can be started from any position, and if the sorting ends at the uppermost bin, the position of the deflection unit 10 is raised to the upper limit position. Then, start stapling from the top bin and move downward. If the sorting ends in the lower bin, it rises by two bins and staples upward from that position.

As shown in FIGS. 16 and 19, the staple unit 46 provided at the lower part of the deflection unit 10 is retracted to a position which does not obstruct the path of the copy paper at the time of sorting (FIG. 19-solid line position). Time, deflection unit 1
After 0 stops at the destination bin 26, it moves in the direction of the bin 26 and staples the transfer paper bundle (the position indicated by the chain line in FIG. 19A).

Thereafter, the staple unit 46 returns to the retracted position, and then moves to the next bin 26. The staple unit retract position is detected by a staple unit home position sensor (not shown).

The stapling position is preferably on the copying machine main body 1 side because the copying paper main body side of the transfer paper bundle is aligned. The staple position of the bin 26 is cut out as a staple notch 42 as shown in FIGS. In addition, the end fence 31 for aligning the bin transfer rollers 23 of the transfer paper bundle after sorting is not provided at the staple position.

The movement of the staple unit 46 and the stapling (binding) of the transfer paper bundle are performed by a staple moving motor and a staple driving motor (not shown). The binding mechanism uses a conventionally known technique.

(1-7) Pulling-out operation After the stapling of all the transfer paper bundles is completed, the transfer paper bundles are again conveyed to the vertical transport path 9 by the draw-out rollers 24, and are conveyed downward by the vertical conveyance belt 12, and Statka 3 below the lower bin
Release to 2. This withdrawal operation starts from the top bin. The draw-out roller 24 receives a driving force from a bin discharge roller shaft 33 via a belt or the like, rotates in the same direction as the bin discharge roller shaft 33, and is supported by a drawer bracket 34 that can rotate around the bin discharge roller shaft 33. ing. At the time of sorting and stapling, the draw-out roller 24 is stored vertically below the bin discharge roller 23, but at the time of the pull-out operation, moves to the outside of the deflection unit 10 in the horizontal direction of the bin discharge roller 23. In this embodiment, as shown in the schematic configuration diagrams of FIG. 15 and FIG.
5, a draw roller 24 is moved via a gear 47 by a draw roller motor 74 connected to the worm gear 36.

Since the end fence 31 of the bin 26 hinders the transfer paper from being pulled out, the end fence 31 is turned downward and can be retracted. In addition, a part of the drawer bracket 34 is used as an end-fence retracting lever 37, and the end-fence 31 is retracted downward by pushing the pressing portion 38 of the end-fence 31 extending to the lever position.

The pull-out operation will be described below with reference to FIGS.

After the stapling, the deflection unit 10 moves up to the upper limit position and moves the draw roller 24 to the horizontal position as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the deflecting unit 10 descends to the draw-out target bin, and moves the draw-out roller 24 downward. When the maximum number of transfer sheets in the bin 26 is
At the position where the pull-out roller 24 comes into contact with the upper surface of the transfer paper bundle as shown in FIG. 7, the end fence retracting lever 37 and the pressing portion 38 are associated with each other so that the end fence 31 is completely retracted below the bin 26. After the trailing end of the transfer paper bundle is pulled out of the bin 26, the drawing roller 24 is returned to the horizontal position,
The deflection unit 10 moves to the next bin 26. that time,
The retracting lever 37 or the drawer bracket 34 presses the pressing portion 38, and as shown in FIG.
Descend while repelling downward. Then, the transfer paper bundle is similarly pulled out from the following bin 26.

The pulled out transfer paper bundle is the first ejection roller 39.
And the discharge belt 41 hung on the second discharge roller 40 is brought into contact with the vertical conveyance belt 12, and the vertical conveyance belt 1
2 and the wire 28 to be conveyed downward and discharged to the stacker 32 below the lowermost bin. In FIG. 17, the bin 26 is formed with a jog bar notch 44 and a copy paper take-out notch 45 in addition to the above-described staple notch 42, and the transfer paper remaining in the bin 26 by a remaining paper sensor 60 described later. Remaining paper detection opening 4 for detecting (remaining paper)
3 are formed.

(2) Control Structure of Sorter / Stapler The sorter / stapler (post-processing device) 1000 and the copying machine main body 1 are connected by serial transmission / reception.

FIGS. 24 and 25 show a schematic configuration of a control circuit of sorter / stapler 1000. FIG. 24 and 25 are originally one figure, but are shown as two figures for convenience. This control circuit basically includes a CPU 80,
ROM 81, RAM 82, and first to fourth four I
/ O gates 83, 84, 85, 86, an AD conversion input unit 88 for AD-converting and outputting an output from each unit 87 to be detected to the CPU 80, and first and second I / O gates 83, 84. The input unit 89 for inputting the output from each unit 87 to the third unit and the fourth and fourth units according to the instruction from the CPU 80.
A driver 91 for driving each unit 90 to be controlled in accordance with control signals from the I / O gates 85 and 86 and a unit 90 to be controlled in accordance with a drive control signal from the fourth gate 86 And an H-type driver 92 for performing the operation. Further, a ROM 81 and a RAM
A latch 93 is inserted between the bus 82 and each of the I / O gates 83, 84, 85, 86. The T × D terminal and the R × D terminal of the CPU 80 are connected to the system control circuit of the copier body 1 respectively. Reference numeral 94 denotes a decoder. Each unit 87 to be detected and each unit 90 to be controlled are represented by blocks (87, 87) in FIG.
90).

The contents of data transmitted from the system control circuit of the copying machine body 1 to the sorter / stapler 1000 are shown in FIG. 50, and the contents of data transmitted from the sorter / stapler 1000 to the system control circuit of the copying machine body 1 are shown in FIG. 5
1, respectively.

(2-1) Schematic control of sorter / stapler The schematic control procedure of the sorter / stapler 1000 is shown in FIG.
6 is shown in the flowchart. In this process, the state on the sorter / stapler 1000 side (jam flag, door open, bin remaining paper, staple error, staple staple end)
It is determined from the key input (mode selection) by the operator and the state of the copying machine main body 1 (paper, each abnormality flag) whether or not the mode can be executed. If the mode can be executed, the sorter / stapler 1000 needs to execute the mode processing. Data (paper size, bin data...) Is transmitted, and if the execution is not possible, a warning means (guidance display) for notifying or prohibiting the mode change or mode selection is executed (step S26).
-1, 2, 3).

When the copy operation is executed (step S2)
6-4) Basically, an operation process is performed in accordance with the data (staple, sort / stack, tray,...) Transmitted from the copying machine main body 1. The transfer paper conveyed to the sorter / stapler 1000 is the bin discharge sensor 5 of the sorter / stapler 1000.
5 (FIG. 16), when the transfer paper is discharged, the sheet discharge flag is set to "1" and transmitted to the copying machine main body 1 side. The copying machine main body 1 receiving the flag determines from the signal that the transfer paper is discharged (not a jam). When the carriage moves (when a sheet is discharged to each bin in the stapling, sorting, and stacking modes), the post-processing apparatus 1000 determines the numerical value of the bin data transmitted from the copier body 1 and the current position of the carriage. An operation is performed so that the bin counters become equal, and the transfer paper is discharged onto each bin 26 by repeating the operation. If a jam occurs during the above operation, the jam flags 1, 2, and 3 are set according to the occurrence position. This is to detect at which part (position) of the sorter / stapler 1000 a jam occurs when the jam flag is transmitted to the copying machine body 1 (step S26-5).

In the sort and stack modes, when the final transfer paper is discharged (“sheet discharge flag = 1” of the final paper),
Since a series of copying operation (sorting operation) is completed, the copying machine main body 1 transmits “motor ON flag = 0” to the sorter / stapler 1000, and
The drive motor on the side stops and enters a state of accepting the next copy mode processing. In the staple mode, the staple unit 46 provided with a cartridge for stapling the transfer paper on each bin is bound according to the position of the bin data. Determine bins and perform stapling operation (step S
26-6, 7).

During the stapling operation, the sorter / stapler 1000 that staples all the transfer papers on the bins in the order in which they are sent with the bin data sets the stapling execution flag to "1" and terminates the stapling operation. Then
The stapling execution flag is set to “0”. Then, the stapling execution flag is changed from “0” to “1” for each bin.
It is transmitted to the copier main body 1 as “0” (step S2).
6-8, 9).

When the stapling is completed, the transfer paper on the bin is dropped onto the lower stacker 32 for stacking.
The drop mode flag = “1” is transmitted from the copying machine body 1 to the sorter / stapler 1000 side. As a result, the sorter / stapler 1000 executes the drop mode, and the selection of the execution bin is determined by the bin data from the copying machine main body 1. When the drop operation is completed for each bin, the drop flag is changed from "1" to "0" and transmitted to the copying machine main body 1 side. When all the bins have been dropped, the copying machine 1
Transmits a motor ON flag = "0" (steps S26-10, S11, S12).

The overall timing for conveying the transfer paper to each bin 26 and jogging (arranging) the transfer paper placed on the bin 26 is shown in the timing chart of FIG.

Hereinafter, each process will be described with reference to flowcharts.

(2-2) Initial Processing The subroutine of the initial processing in step S26-2 is processed according to the procedure shown in FIG. In this process,
First, each port, the contents of the RAM, the flag, and the counter are cleared and set to the initial state (step S27-).
1). Next, the connection flag of the sorter / stapler 1000, in other words, the sorter / stapler connection flag is set to "1" (step S27-2), and the system control circuit (not shown) of the copying machine main body 1 and the above-described FIGS.
(Step S27-3), and if there is no transmission / reception error (step S27).
27-4) The initial request flag is set to "1" (step S27-5). Then, an initial process is executed (step S27-6). The initial request flag is a flag that is set to "1" when a program is initialized, such as when the power is turned on. When the flag is set to "1", a flag for returning each sensor and driving parts to the home position is set. When the processing is completed, it becomes "0". In addition, the initial processing here includes the staple needle end flag, the door open flag,
This is processing for initializing flags such as a jam flag, a bin remaining sheet flag, a drawer roller home request flag, a jogger home request flag, a staple unit home request flag, and a carriage home request flag.

The staple staple end flag becomes "1" when it is detected that the staple unit 46 has no staple by a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the staple. The door open flag is a flag indicating the open / closed state of the door, and is "1" when the door is opened and "0" when the door is closed. The jam flag becomes "1" when a jam occurs inside. In this embodiment, the jam flags 1, 2, and 3 are set as flags indicating the location where the jam has occurred. Bin remaining paper flag is 20
If even one bin on the individual bin 26 has a transfer sheet, it becomes "1". The drawer roller home request flag is a flag for performing a process of returning the drawer roller 24 to the home position when it becomes "1", and becomes "0" when returning to the home position. The jogger home request flag is
When it becomes "1", a process of returning the jogging bar 30 to the home position is performed. When the staple unit home request flag becomes "1", the staple unit 4
6 is a flag for performing a process of returning 6 to the home position.
Further, when the carriage home request flag becomes “1”, the carriage is moved to the uppermost position, that is, the upper limit detection sensor 5.
This is a flag for performing the process of returning to the position detected by 1.

More specifically, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 28, this process first checks whether the initial request flag is "1" (step S28-1), and if it is "1". For example, it is checked whether the staple needle end sensor is ON (step S28-).
2). If the staple staple end sensor is ON, the staple staple end flag is set to "1" (step S2).
8-3) If it is not ON, the staple end flag is set to "0" (step S28-4) and it is checked whether the door open switch is ON (step S28).
28-5). If it is determined in step S28-5 that the door open switch is ON, the door open flag is set to "1" (step S28-6), and if it is determined that the door open switch remains OFF, the door is opened. The flag is set to "0" (step S2
8-7) It is checked whether or not the discharge sensor is in a paper-present state (step S28-8).

If the discharge sensor is in the presence of paper, it indicates that the transfer paper has jammed, so the jam flag 1 is set to "1" (step S28-).
9) If the paper is not present, it is checked whether or not the registration sensor 54 is in the state with the paper as it is (step S28-10). If the paper is present, the jam has occurred at the registration position, so the jam flag 1 is set to "1" (step S28-11). If the paper is not present, the bin discharge sensor 55 (FIG. 2) indicates that the paper is present. Check if the status is (Step S
28-12). If the bin discharge sensor 55 determines in step S28-12 that there is paper, the jam has occurred at the bin discharge position, so the jam flag 2 is set to "1" (step S28-13), and it is determined that there is no paper. Then, it is checked whether or not the first discharge sensor 56 (FIG. 16) is in the state with paper (step S2).
8-14). If it is determined in step S28-14 that paper is present, the jam flag 3 is set to "1" (step S28).
28-15), when it is determined that there is no paper, the second emission sensor 57 (FIG. 16) directly determines whether there is paper (step S28-16).

If it is determined in step S28-16 that there is paper, the jam flag 3 is set to "1" (step S2).
8-17), if it is determined that there is no paper, step S
The status of the jam flags 1, 2, 3 is confirmed directly from 28-16 (step S28-18). If the jam flags 1, 2 and 3 are all "1", the jam flag is set to "1" (step S28-19). Otherwise, it is determined whether or not the remaining sheet sensor 60 (FIG. 16) is ON. Check (step S28-20). If the remaining paper sensor 60 is ON, the bin remaining paper flag is set to "1" (step S28-21), and if it is not ON, the pull-out roller home request flag (step S2)
8-22), the jogger home request flag (step S28-23), the staple unit home request flag (step S28-24), and the carriage home request flag (step S28-25) are each set to "1". Are transmitted to the system control circuit side (step S28-26), and the initial request flag is set to "0" (step S28).
28-27) Return. Thus, the initial processing ends.

(2-3) Staple Home Process The staple unit 46 advances from the home position to the staple position and executes stapling. Therefore, the staple unit 46 needs to return to the home position during transfer sheet sorting and transfer sheet dropping processing so as not to hinder the operation of these transfer sheets. Therefore, the returning operation of the staple unit 46 to the home position must be reliably performed.

Hereinafter, referring to the flowchart of FIG. 29,
The process of returning the staple unit 46 to the home position will be described.

In this process, first, it is checked whether the staple unit home request flag is "1" (step S29-1). If it is "1", the staple unit home position sensor is at "H" level. Is checked (step S29-2). The staple unit home position sensor is formed of a photo interrupter, and when a sensor filler attached to the staple unit 46 reaches a sensor position and blocks an optical path by driving a staple moving motor including a stepping motor (not shown), It is set to output an "H" level and to output an "L" level when the optical path is not blocked.

If it is determined in step S29-2 that the staple reverse flag is "1",
The staple forward flag is set to "0" (step S29-3), and it is checked whether or not a rising signal of the staple unit home position sensor is output (step S29-4). Step S29-
The staple reverse flag in 3 is a flag for rotating the staple moving motor in a direction to bring the staple unit 46 closer to the home position when the flag is "1". The staple unit 4 is located in the direction away from the staple, in other words, the staple position side of the transfer paper.
6 is rotated in the moving direction.

If the rising signal of the staple unit home position sensor has not been output in step S29-4, the process returns. If it has been output, the process moves in the reverse direction by 5 pulses (step S29-5). And
Set the staple reverse flag to “0” (step S
29-6) Return.

If it is determined in step S29-2 that the staple unit home position sensor is at the "H" level, the staple reverse flag is set to "0" and the staple forward flag is set to "1" (step S29-2). S29-7) Check the output of the staple unit falling signal (step S29-).
8). If the falling signal has not been output in step S29-8, the process returns. If the falling signal has been output, the staple forward flag is set to "0" (step S29).
29-9) After setting the staple counter to "0" (step S29-10), the staple unit home request flag is set to "0", and the routine returns. The staple counter indicates the position of the staple unit 46 and is "0" on the home position side and "100" on the staple position side.

(2-4) Jogger Home Processing In order to perform stapling, it is necessary to align the respective transfer sheets of the transfer sheet bundle placed on the bin 26. The jogging bar 30 and the jogger fence 61 are used for this paper alignment. Jogging bar 30 and jogger fence 61
Must be advanced into the bin 26 only when paper is aligned, and must be retracted from the bin 26 when the transfer paper is sorted. Therefore, a process for returning the jogging bar 30 and the jogger fence 61 to the home position and advancing from the home position to the paper alignment position is required.

In this process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 30, first, it is checked whether or not the jogger home position flag is "1" (step S).
30-1). If it is "1", it is further checked whether or not the jogger home position sensor 59 (FIG. 31) is at "H" level (step S3).
0-2). The jogger home position sensor 59 is constituted by a photo interrupter. When the sensor filler attached to the jogger fence 61 blocks the optical path of the jogger home position sensor 59, the jogger home position sensor 59 outputs an “H” level. Outputs “L” level.

If it is determined at step S30-2 that the jogger reverse flag is "1", the jogger forward flag is set to "0", and the jogger fence 61 is moved to the home position at step S30-3. Move to the side. That is, thereafter, it is checked whether or not the rising signal of the jogger home position sensor 59 is continuously output (step S3).
0-4) If not output, return. If output, the jogger motor 73 is moved in the reverse direction by 5 pulses (step S30-5), and the jogger reverse flag is set to "0" (step S30-). 6) Return.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S30-2 that the jogger home position sensor 59 is at the "H" level, the jogger reverse flag is set to "0".
Set the jogger word flag to "1" (step S3
0-7) Check the falling signal of the jogger home position sensor (step S30-8). And return if this falling signal is not output,
If it has been output, the jogger forward flag is set to "0" (step S30-9). Thereafter, the jogger counter is cleared (step S30-10), and the jogger home request flag is set to "0" (step S30-).
11) Return.

As shown in FIG. 31, the jogger home position is the position at which the filler provided on the jogger fence 61 passes through the optical path of the jogger home position sensor 59. At this moment, the jogger home position sensor 59 To "H", thereby clearing the jogger counter (steps S30-2 to S30-1).
1). The jogger counter is a counter indicating the position of the jogger fence 61, and “0” is set as the home position. Further, a jogging memory for storing a target value of the movement position of the jogger fence 61 is provided,
At the time of jogging of each transfer sheet, the value of the jogger counter is compared with the value stored in the jogging memory, and the sheet is moved to a preset transfer sheet size position.

(2-5) Draw-out Roller Home Processing The draw-out roller 24, which is housed in the bin 26, pulls out the bound transfer paper bundle, and drops it onto the stacker 32, drives the draw-out roller motor 74, which is a DC motor that can rotate forward and reverse. The force is oscillated by a mechanism including a gear 47, a worm gear 36, a sector gear 35, a drawer bracket 34, and the like, and moves between a home position and an operating position. Therefore, a control process for returning the draw roller 24 to the home position is required. FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the drawer roller home processing.

In this processing, first, it is checked whether or not the drawer roller home request flag is "1" (step S32-1). If it is not "1", return. If it is "1", check whether the drawer roller home position sensor is ON.
That is, it is checked whether the draw roller 24 has returned to the home position (step S32-2). If the determination in step S32-2 is NO and the draw roller 24 has not returned to the home position, the roller reverse flag is set to "1" and the roller forward flag is set to "0" (step S32-3), and the process returns. If it has returned, the drawer roller home request flag is set to "0" (step S32-4), and both the roller reverse flag and the roller forward flag are set to "0" (step S3).
2-5), the position is held and the routine returns.

The roller reverse flag is a flag for moving the draw roller 24 to the home position side, that is, the retracting side of the draw roller 24 when "1" is set.
Is performed by the reverse rotation drive of the draw roller motor 74. The roller forward flag is a flag for moving the drawer roller 24 to the protruding side at “1”, and the movement of the drawer roller 24 is performed by the forward rotation of the drawer roller motor 7.

(2-6) Carriage Home Processing The carriage that supports and moves the deflection unit 10 includes:
Since it is necessary to stop the deflection unit 10 at a predetermined position, the position must be controlled starting from the home position of the carriage. Therefore, the carriage must be returned to the home position, the starting point must be precisely defined, and when unnecessary, the carriage must be retracted from the bin position.
For this reason, a process of returning the carriage to the home position is performed.

FIG. 33 shows a control procedure of this processing. In this process, first, it is checked whether the carriage home request flag is "1" (step S3).
3-1) If it is "1", the process proceeds to step S33-2, and it is checked whether the staple unit home request flag is "1" (step S33-2). If it is not "1", it is further checked in step S33-3 whether the withdrawal roller home request flag is "1". If it is determined in step S33-3 that the draw-out roller home request flag is "0", it means that no command has been issued to return the draw-out roller 24 to the home position. It is confirmed by ON / OFF of the sensor 51 (step S33-4). If the upper limit detection sensor 51 is ON, it means that the carriage has returned to the home position. Therefore, the drive motor for carriage movement (not shown) is stopped (step S33-5), and the up clutch 70 and the down clutch 71 are released. The disengagement (step S33-6), the stop clutch 72 is engaged (step S33-7), and the bin counter is set to "1" (step S33-8). Thereafter, the carriage home request flag is set to "0" (step S33-9), and the process returns.

The bin counter is a counter indicating the position of the carriage, and indicates the value of [bin position (number of bin stages) -2] when the transfer paper is discharged onto the bin 26, and is "1" at the top. Is set to Therefore, the bin data is "1
~ 22 ".

On the other hand, in step S33-1, the carriage home request flag is set to "0", and
When the staple unit home request flag is "1" in step S2 and the draw roller home request flag is "1" in step S33-3, the process returns.
Also, in step S33-4, the upper limit detection sensor 51
In the case of F, the drive motor is turned on (step S33-
10), the up clutch 70 is engaged, the down clutch 71 is disengaged (step S33-11), and the stop clutch 7
Cut 2 (step S33-12) and return.

(2-7) Jogger Standby Process Since the jogger fence 61 obstructs these processes when sorting and stapling the transfer paper, it is necessary to make the jogger fence stand by. Therefore, a procedure in this control processing will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

In this process, first, it is checked whether the jogging flag is "1" (step S).
34-1). The jogging flag is a flag that remains at “1” until the transfer paper is detected by the bin discharge sensor 55 and the jog ends. When it is determined in step S34-1 that the jogging flag is "0",
In step S34-2, it is determined whether or not the staple mode is set. If it is determined that the staple mode is set, the sort mode flag, the stack mode flag,
The tray mode flag is set to "0", and the staple mode flag is set to "1" (step S34-3).

When the processing of this step is completed, it is checked whether or not there is size data of the transfer paper (step S34-).
4) If there is no size data, return. If there is size data, select jogging data from the data table written according to the sheet size data (step S34-5) and write the selected jogging data into the jogging memory. (Step S34-6) and wait. After writing in this way, it is checked whether or not the value of the jogger counter is equal to the value of the jogging memory (step S34-7). This step S34-7
If the two values are not equal according to the judgment of step S34-8, step S34-8
Compares the value of the jogger counter with the value of the jogging memory. When the value of the jogger counter is larger than the value of the jogging memory, the jogger reverse flag is set to "1", the jogger forward flag is set to "0", and the jogger fence 61 is moved to the home position (step S34-9). After the jogger counter is decremented in accordance with the drive pulse, the process returns (step S34-10).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S34-8 that the value of the jogger counter is smaller than the value of the jogging memory, the jogger reverse flag is set to "0", the jogger forward flag is set to "1", and the jogger fence 61 is set. Advance to the bin 26 (step S34-
11) Then, the jogger counter is added in accordance with the jogger drive pulse (step S34-12), and the routine returns.

If it is determined in step S34-7 that the value of the jogger counter is equal to the value of the jogging memory, both the jogger reverse flag and the jogger forward flag are set to "0" (step S34-1).
3) The value of the jogging memory is entered in the jogger counter (step S34-14) and the routine returns.

The standby position of the jogger fence 61 is the position of the transfer paper size + α, which is usually 10 m.
It is set to a value around m.

(2-8) Jogging Processing The transfer paper bundle accommodated in the bin 26 is jogged by the jogging bar 30 and the jogger fence 61, that is, arranged. The actual processing procedure at this time will be described with reference to the flowcharts in FIGS.

In the process of FIG. 35, first, it is checked whether or not the staple mode has been set (step S35).
-1). Then, only in the staple mode, in the next step S35-2, it is checked whether or not the bin discharge sensor 55 outputs a falling signal. If not, the process returns. If output, the 0.05 second timer and the 0 and 20 timers are started (step S35-3), and the jog flag is set to "1" (step S35-4). Next, the sheet discharge flag is set to "1" (step S35-5), and the sheet discharge flag is transmitted to the system control circuit (step S35-).
6) Then, the sheet discharge flag is set to "0" (step S35-7), and the process returns. Here, the sheet discharge flag is a flag that is set to “1” only when the transfer sheet is discharged from the carriage, and the discharge of the transfer sheet is detected by the bin discharge sensor 55.

In the process of FIG. 36, first, it is checked whether or not the staple mode has been set (step S).
36-1) Only when the mode is the staple mode, the process proceeds to step S36-2, and the jogging flag is set to "1".
Check if it is. Then, when it is confirmed that the jogging flag is 1, it is checked whether or not the 0.20 second timer is counted up (step S36-3). If this step S36
If it is determined at -3 that the 0.20 second timer is counted up, the 0.05 second timer and the 0.20 second timer are stopped and cleared (step S36-4), the jog flag is set to "0", and the routine returns. I do.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S36-3 that the 0.20 second timer has not counted up, it is further checked whether the 0.05 second timer has counted up (step S36-6). If the count has not been counted up, the routine returns. If the count has been counted up, jogging data is selected from the data table written according to the sheet size data and jogging is performed (step S36-7). Write to memory (step S36)
-8). After writing, it is checked whether the value of the jogger counter is equal to the value of the jogging memory (step S36-9).

If they are equal, the process returns. If they are not equal, the value of the jogger counter is compared with the value of the jogging memory (step S36-10). If the value of the jogger counter is larger than the value of the jogging memory, the jogger reverse flag is set. Is set to "1", the jogger forward flag is set to "0", the jogger fence 61 is moved to the home position side (step S36-11), and the jogger counter is decremented in accordance with the jogger drive pulse (step S36-12). To return.

If the value of the jogger counter is equal to or less than the value of the jogging memory in step S36-10, the jogger reverse flag is set to "0", the jogger forward flag is set to "1", and the jogger fence 61 is advanced to the jogging position ( In step S36-13), the jogger counter is added in accordance with the jogger drive pulse (step S36-14), and the process returns.

Note that the value of 0.0 in step S35-3 is used.
Figure 3 shows the timing of the 5-second timer and the 0.20-second timer.
As shown in the timing chart of FIG. 7, it is set that the jogger fence 61 is driven to the forward side 0.5 seconds after the fall of the output of the bin discharge sensor 55, and is driven to the return side 0.20 seconds later. I have. And
Until the jogger fence 61 is driven to the forward side and returns to the return side, it is in the jogging state in the jogging memory, and enters a standby state at other timings.

(2-9) Carriage Movement Processing When the transfer paper is ejected and stapled, the carriage is moved to the target bin 26 and the predetermined processing is performed. Therefore, control processing for moving the carriage is necessary. Becomes FIG. 38 is a flowchart showing a procedure of the carriage moving process.

In this process, first, it is checked whether or not the bin discharge sensor is in the state of having paper (step S38-1). If the paper is present, it is checked whether the carriage home request flag is "1" (step S38-2). In these steps, there is no paper and the carriage home request flag is "1".
If it is determined that the answer is YES, the process returns to step S38.
If it is determined in step S-2 that the carriage home request flag is "0", it is checked whether the staple start flag is "1" (step S).
38-3).

If it is determined in step S38-3 that the value is not "1", bin data is received from the system control circuit of the copying machine 1 (step S38-).
4), 2 is added to the bin data (step S38-5)
Thereafter, it is checked whether or not the bin counter is equal to the bin data (step S38-6). When it is determined in step S38-6 that they are equal to each other, the stop clutch 72 is engaged (step S38-7), and both the upward clutch 70 and the downward clutch 71 are disengaged (step S38).
38-1) Then, return.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S38-6 that the value of the bin counter is not equal to the value of the bin data, the stop clutch 72 is disengaged (step S38-).
9) Then, the value of the bin counter is compared with the value of the bin data (step S38-10). If the value of the bin counter is larger than the value of the bin data, the ascending clutch 70 is engaged, the descending clutch is disengaged, the carriage is raised (step S38-11), and the process returns. When the value of the bin counter is equal to or less than the value of the bin data, the ascending clutch 70 is disengaged, and the descending clutch 71 is engaged to lower the carriage (step S38-12), and the process returns.

If it is determined in step S38-3 that the staple start flag is "1", bin data is received from the system control circuit (step S38-13), and the staple unit home request flag is set to "1". Is checked (step S38-14). If it is "1", the staple unit 46 is controlled to return to the home position side, so it returns. If not, it is checked whether the drawer roller home request flag is "1" ( Step S38-15).
If it is determined in this check that the value is "1", the control is returned so that the draw-out roller 24 returns to the home position. If not, the process returns to step S38-6 and the subsequent steps are executed.

As another processing, FIG. 39 and FIG.
0 is a control process shown in the flowchart of FIG. In this process, first, as shown in FIG. 39, it is checked whether or not the carriage home request flag is "1" (step S39-1). If it is, the process returns. If not, the ascending clutch 70 is engaged. It is checked whether it has been performed (step S39-2). If the ascending clutch 70 is engaged, it is checked whether the bin counter has a value of 2 or less (step S39-3). 2
If it is larger, it is checked whether the output of the position sensor 50 has risen (step S39-4). If it has not risen, it returns. If it has risen, the value of the bin counter is decremented by "1" (step S39-).
5) Return.

When it is determined in step S39-3 that the value of the bin counter is equal to or less than 2,
It is confirmed whether or not the upper limit detection sensor 51 is ON (step S39-6). If it is ON, it means that it has returned to the home position, so the bin counter is set to "1" (step S39-7), and the ascending clutch 7
0 and the descending clutch 71 is disengaged (step S39-
8) Connect the stop clutch 72 to stop the movement of the carriage (step S39-9) and return.

Further, when it is determined in step S39-2 that the ascending clutch 70 is OFF, FIG.
0, the descending clutch 7 is determined in step S39-10.
It is determined whether 1 is connected. In this determination, if the descending clutch 71 is not engaged, the stop clutch 72
To stop the movement of the carriage (step S39-1).
1) Return.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S39-10 that the descending clutch 71 is engaged, it is checked whether the value of the bin counter is 21 or more (step S39-12). If it has not reached 21, it is checked whether the output of the position sensor 50 has risen (step S39-13). If it has not risen, the routine returns. If it has risen, "1" is added to the value of the bin counter ( Step S39-14) Return.

If it is determined in step S39-12 that the value of the bin counter is equal to or greater than 21, it is checked whether the lower limit detection sensor 52 is ON (step S39-15). If not, it returns to the lower limit position because it has not been reached. If it is ON, "22" indicating the lower limit is substituted into the value of the bin counter (step S39-16), and the up clutch 70 and the down clutch 71 (step S39-1)
7) The carriage is stopped by connecting the stop clutch 72 (step S39-18), and the routine returns.

FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the value of the bin counter, the position of the bin for discharging sheets, and the bin for stapling. The bin 26 is 20 bins as described above, and the bin counter value is set to take a value from 1 to 22. At the position corresponding to the bin counter value of “1”, the upper limit detection sensor 51 turns ON. , The lower limit detection sensor 52 is turned ON at a position where the value of the bin counter corresponds to “22”. As described above, the bin counter indicates the position of the carriage. For example, when the carriage is set at the position of "8" in the bin counter, the transfer of the transfer paper from the bin discharge sensor 55 is performed without moving the position of the carriage at all. Is discharged, the transfer paper is the sixth from the top, that is, (8-
2) When the sheet is discharged to the second bin 26 and the stapling operation is performed, it indicates that the transfer paper bundle on the eighth bin from the top is to be stapled. Therefore, the value of the bin counter is set to 20 from 3 to 22 at the time of discharging the sheet, and the value of the bin counter is set to 1 to 20 at the time of stapling.

(2-10) Moving the Staple Unit to the Operating Position In order to staple the transfer paper bundle with the staple unit 46, it is necessary to move the staple unit 46 to a preset position for stapling. This control processing procedure is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

In this process, first, it is checked whether or not the staple unit home request flag is "1" (step S42-1). If it is "1", the staple unit 46 returns to the home position and returns. If it is not "1", it is further checked whether the staple forward flag is "1" (step S42-2). . If it is determined in step S42-2 that the staple position has not been set to "1", it is determined that the staple start flag has been set to "1" because the staple position has not been moved to the staple position side. (Step S
42-3). The staple start flag is a flag that becomes “1” when the sorting of the transfer paper is completed and the staple timing comes.

Therefore, if it is not "1" in step S42-3, the stapling timing is not reached and the routine returns. If it is "1", the bin counter value and the bin data value are returned. Are determined to be equal (step S42-4). If they are not equal, the process returns. If they are equal, the staple forward flag is set to "1", the staple reverse flag is set to "0", and the staple unit 46 is moved to the staple position side (step S42-5). The value is added to the value of the staple counter in accordance with the pulse (step S42-6). Then, when the value of the staple counter reaches 100 (step S42-7).
Since it has moved to the maximum, the staple forward flag and the staple reverse flag are both set to "0" to stop the movement of the staple unit 46 (step S42-8), and the routine returns.

When the staple forward flag is determined to be "1" in step S42-2, the staple unit 46 moves to the staple position, and the process is skipped to step S42-6 and the subsequent processes are executed. I do.

(2-11) Staple Operation When the staple unit 46 moves to the staple position, the staple operation is executed, and the transfer paper bundle is bound. FIG. 43 shows this control processing procedure.

In this process, first, it is checked whether or not the staple execution flag is "1" (step S43-1). The staple execution flag is a flag that indicates that the staple start flag is “1”, is “1” when the staple operation is performed, and is “0” when the staple operation is completed. If it is determined in step S43-1 that the staple-in-progress flag has not been set to "1", it is further checked in step S43-2 whether the staple start flag has been set to "1". If it is not "1", the process returns. If it is "1", it is checked whether the staple counter is "100" (step S43-3). If the value is not "100", the stapling state is not established, so the routine returns. If the value is "100", the stapling execution flag is set to "1" (step S43).
-4) Turn on the staple drive motor (Step S)
43-5). Next, a one-second timer for detecting lock of the staple drive motor is started (step S).
43-6) The stapling drive motor is rotated once to stap the transfer paper bundle.

Thereafter, it is checked whether or not the staple home position sensor is ON (step S).
43-7) If it is ON, the stapling drive motor is stopped (step S43-8), and the stapling execution flag is set to "0" because the stapling is completed (step S43-9), and the 1 second timer is cleared. Yes (Step S4
3-10). Then, the staple unit home request flag is set to "1" (step S43-11), and it is checked whether or not the staple end sensor is ON (step S43-12). Therefore, if it is not ON, the staple end flag indicating that there is no staple is set to "1" (step S43-13) and the process returns.

If it is determined in step S43-7 that the staple home position sensor has not been turned on, it is checked whether or not the one-second timer has counted up (step S43-14). If the count is up, the stapling drive motor is stopped (step S43-15), and the staple abnormality flag is set to "1". (Step S43-16), and returns.

(2-12) Drop Mode Processing The drop mode is a mode in which the bundle of transfer papers bound by projecting the draw-out rollers 24 is dropped onto the stacker 32. During execution of this mode, first, the carriage is moved to the uppermost position where the upper limit detection sensor 51 is turned on, and then the arm for the draw-out roller is projected to perform a process of dropping the transfer paper bundle.

In this processing, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 44, first, it is checked whether or not the drop mode flag is "1" (step S44-1).
If the drop mode flag is "1",
It is checked whether the dropping flag is "1" (step S44-2). Here, the drop mode flag is a flag for executing the drop mode when stapling of the transfer paper on all the bins 26 is completed.
It becomes "1" at the start of the drop mode. The dropping execution flag is a flag that is set to “1” when the carriage and the drawing roller end the initial operation for the sheet dropping operation.

If the dropping execution flag is "1" in step S44-2, it is further checked whether or not the colloforward flag is "1" (step S4).
44-3) If it is not "1", check whether the bin counter is "1" (step S44-4). If the value of the bin counter is not "1", the carriage has not returned to the home position, and the drawer roller home request flag is set to "1" (step S4).
4-5), the staple unit home request flag is set to "1" (step S44-6), the carriage home request flag is set to "1" (step S44-7), and the process returns.

On the other hand, if the value of the bin counter has become "1" in step S44-4, it means that it has returned to the home position, so the one-second timer is started (step S44-8), and The flag is set to "1" (step S44-9), and it is checked whether the one second timer has counted up (step S44-1).
0). If the count has not been counted up, the process returns. If the count has been counted up, the 1-second timer is cleared and stopped (step S44-11), and the coroforward flag is set to "0".
(Step S44-12), and further sets the dropping execution flag to "1" (step S44-13) and returns.

If it is determined in step S44-3 that the colloforward flag is "1", the process skips to step S44-10 and executes the subsequent steps.

(2-13) Drop Mode Operation The control procedure of the actual drop operation from the bin 26 in the drop mode will be described in detail below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

In this control procedure, first, the drop mode flag is "1" (step S45-1), the value of the bin counter is equal to the value of the bin data (step S45-2),
The value of the bin counter is 3 or more (step S45)
Control is performed under the condition of -3). When the control is started under this condition, it is first checked whether the drop-up flag is "1" (step S45-4). The drop-up flag is a flag that becomes “1” when the stapled transfer paper arrives at the first ejection sensor 56 and becomes “0” when the stapled transfer paper comes out of the first ejection sensor 56. If the drop-down flag is not "1", the drop-down flag is further set to "1".
Is checked (Step S45-
5). The drop-down flag is a flag that is set to “1” when the stapled transfer paper is between the first and second ejection sensors 56 and 57, and is set to “0” when the stapled transfer paper exits the second ejection sensor 57. If the drop flag is not "1", it is checked whether the loop counter has a value greater than 2 (step S45-6).

If it is larger than 2, the jam flag 2
And the jam flag are set to "1" (steps S45-7 and S8), and the process returns. If it is not more than 2, it is checked whether the timer 3 has started (step S45-9). The timer 3 is a time for raising the draw-out roller arm once because the drawing-out operation of the transfer paper is incomplete. If it is determined in step S45-9 that the timer has not started, it is further checked whether timers 1 and 2 have started (step S45-10). If not, timers 1 and 2 are started. (Step S45-11),
Set the coloforward flag to “1” (step S
45-12), it is checked whether the first emission sensor 56 is ON (step S45-13). The timer 1 is a timer that indicates a moving time during which the arm of the draw-out roller 24 is moved and brought into contact with the transfer paper, and the timer 2 is a time that the arm of the draw-out roller 24 comes into contact with the transfer paper and stops. It is a timer.

If it is determined in step S45-13 that the first ejection sensor 56 is ON, it is determined that the transfer paper has arrived at the position of the first ejection sensor 56, so that the roller forward flag is set to "0". (Step S45-14), clear and stop the timers 1, 2, 3 (Step S45-1)
5) Set the drop-up flag to "1" (step S)
45-16) and start the timer 4 (step S
45-17) Return. The timer 4 is a timer for jam check at the first discharge sensor position which starts when the transfer paper is pulled out and reaches the detection position of the first discharge sensor 56.

If it is determined in step S45-13 that the first emission sensor 56 has not been turned on,
It is checked whether or not the timer 1 has counted up (step S45-18). If it has not counted up, the operation returns because the movement of the arm has not been completed yet. (Step S45-19) and this time the timer 2
It is checked whether is counted up (step S44-20). Then, when the timer counts up, the timers 1 and 2 are cleared and stopped (step S45-2).
1) Start timer 3 (step S45-2)
2). Next, the roller reverse flag is set to "1" (step S45-23), and the draw roller 24 is moved to the home position side, and waits for the timer 3 to count up (step S45-24). Then, when the timer counts up, the timer 3 is cleared and stopped (step S45).
-25), the roller reverse flag is set to "0" (step S45-26), "1" is added to the loop counter (step S45-27), and the routine returns.

If it is determined in step S45-4 that the drop-up flag is "1", it is determined whether the timer 4 has counted up as shown in the flowchart of FIG. S45-2
8) If the count is up, the timer 4 is cleared and stopped (step S45-29), and the jam flag 2 and the jam flag are set to "1" respectively (steps S45-30, 31), and the routine returns.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S45-28 that the timer 4 has not yet counted up,
It is checked whether the first emission sensor 56 is off (step S45-32). If it is not OFF, the routine returns. If it is OFF, the drop down flag is set to "0" (step S45-33), the drop down flag is set to "1" (step S45-34), and the timer 4 is stopped and cleared. (Step S45-35), the roller reverse flag is set to "1", and the draw roller 24 is driven to the home position side (Step S45-36).
Is started (step S45-37) and the routine returns. The timer 5 is a timer for raising the draw-out roller arm to project the arm, and the timer 6 is a timer for checking the jam of the transfer paper passing through the detection position of the first release sensor 56. is there.

If it is determined in step S45-5 that the drop down flag is "1", the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. 48 is executed. In this procedure, first, it is checked whether or not the timer 5 has counted up (step S45-38). If the timer has counted up, the timer 5 is cleared and stopped (step S45-39), and the roller reverse flag is set to " 0 "(step S45-4)
0), and check whether the timer 6 has counted up (step S45-41).

If the timer 6 has counted up, the timer 6 is stopped and cleared (step S45-4).
2) The jam flag 3 and the jam flag are each set to "1" and the routine returns. Step S45-4
If it is determined in step 1 that the timer 6 has not counted up, it is further checked whether the second release sensor 57 is in the OFF state (steps S45-45). It is further checked whether the color reverse flag is "1" (steps S45-46). If the color reverse flag is "1"
If so, the process returns to the home position, so the process returns. If not "1", the timer 6 is cleared and stopped (steps S45-47), and the drop-down flag is set to "0" (step S45-). 48) and return.

If it is determined in step S45-38 that the timer 5 has not counted up, step S45-4 is executed.
Skip to step 6 and execute the processing after this step.

At the step S45-9, the timer 3
If has already started, the process skips to step S45-24 and checks whether the timer 3 has counted up, and then executes the subsequent processes.

(2-14) Control of Drive Motor The drive motor of the carriage of the sorter / stapler 1000 is controlled by setting the motor ON flag to “1” or “0”. That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 49, if the motor ON flag is set to “1” (Yes in step S49-1), the drive motor is turned on, and if it is “0” (step S49). N at -1
o), the drive motor is turned off.

[0156]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, even if a recording medium is conveyed without a conveyance interval, the recording medium is conveyed in a direction orthogonal to the discharge direction and sorted. It is possible to sort by transporting the recording medium so that it does not overlap with the recording medium discharged later, it is possible to prevent the jam of the recording medium beforehand, and to reduce the jam processing operation, There is no wasted time, and operability and productivity are improved. Furthermore, since the skew restricting means is constituted by a pair of rollers, the size and cost can be reduced.

[0157]

[0158]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a state in which a sorter / stapler according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a copying machine main body as viewed from the front.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the sorter / stapler in FIG. 1 as viewed from the left side.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the sorter / stapler in FIG. 1 as viewed from above.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part of a direction change belt unit.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing an operation of the direction changing belt unit when changing the direction.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a main configuration inside a sorter / stapler.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an elevating mechanism of the deflection unit.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory diagram showing a state at the time of ascent / descent operation of the deflection unit.

FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram showing a state of the deflecting unit at the time of descending of the elevating operation.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram showing a state when the elevating operation of the deflection unit is stopped.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a deflection unit stopping mechanism.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a deflection unit stopping mechanism.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a stop mechanism of each unit of the deflection unit.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing a stop mechanism of each part of the deflection unit.

FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view of a main part showing a driving mechanism of each part of a deflection unit and a sorter / stapler.

FIG. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram showing positions of various sensors of a deflection unit provided in each section of the sorter / stapler.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a bin.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged view of a main portion mainly showing a state of an end fence in a cutout portion of a bin.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation when stapling a transfer paper bundle by a stapler.

FIG. 20 is an operation explanatory view showing an operation when the transfer paper bundle is pulled out by the draw-out rollers, and shows a state of the draw-out rollers at the time of sorting and stapling.

FIG. 21 is an operation explanatory view showing an operation when the transfer roller bundle is pulled out by the pullout roller, and shows a state when the drawer roller is moved.

FIG. 22 is an operation explanatory diagram showing an operation when the transfer paper bundle is pulled out by the draw-out rollers, and shows a state in which the transfer paper bundle is drawn out by the draw-out rollers and the end fence is retracted.

FIG. 23 is an operation explanatory view showing the operation when the transfer roller bundle is pulled out by the pullout roller, and shows a state when the drawer roller moves to the next bin.

24 is a block diagram showing a part of a control circuit of the sorter / stapler, and forms a single control circuit integrally with the block diagram of FIG. 25;

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing a part of a control circuit of the sorter / stapler, and forms one control circuit integrally with the block diagram of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing an outline of control of a sorter / stapler.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of initial processing of a sorter / stapler.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing another control procedure of the sorter / stapler initial process.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for returning the stapler to the home position.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for returning the jogger fence to the home position.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation when detecting the home position of the jogger fence.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for returning a draw roller to a home position.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for returning the carriage to the home position.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when the jogger is caused to wait at the standby position.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when actually jogging a transfer sheet.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart illustrating another control procedure when actually jogging the transfer sheet.

FIG. 37 is a timing chart showing the timing of step S35-3 in FIG.

FIG. 38 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure when the carriage is moved.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing another control procedure when the carriage is moved.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing still another control procedure when the carriage is moved.

FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a count value of a bin counter, a position of a bin for discharging transfer paper, and a position of a bin for stapling a transfer paper bundle.

FIG. 42 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of control for projecting a staple unit when stapling a transfer sheet bundle.

FIG. 43 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of a stapling operation when stapling a transfer sheet bundle by a stapling unit;

FIG. 44 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when the drawing roller is projected when the stapled transfer paper bundle is dropped from the bin to the stacker by the drawing roller.

FIG. 45 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when a stapled transfer paper bundle is dropped from a bin to a stacker by a drawing roller, and shows one control procedure integrally with FIGS. 46, 47 and 48.

FIG. 46 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when a stapled transfer paper bundle is dropped from a bin to a stacker by a drawing roller, and shows one control procedure integrally with FIGS. 45, 47 and 48.

FIG. 47 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when the stapled transfer paper bundle is dropped from a bin to a stacker by a drawing roller, and shows one control procedure integrally with FIGS. 45, 46 and 48.

FIG. 48 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when a stapled transfer paper bundle is dropped from a bin to a stacker by a drawing roller, and shows one control procedure integrally with FIGS. 45, 46 and 47.

FIG. 49: ON / O of the sorter / stapler drive motor
It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of FF processing.

FIG. 50 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of data transmitted from the copying machine main body to the sorter / stapler side.

FIG. 51 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of data transmitted from the sorter / stapler to the copying machine main body side.

FIG. 52 is a timing chart showing a relationship between detection timing and drive timing of various sensors of the sorter / stapler.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Copier 3 Belt discharge roller 4 Direction change belt 6 Registration roller 7 Registration guide plate 10 Deflection unit 11 Drive belt 14 Drive pulley 15 First raising pulley 16 Second raising pulley 17 Third raising pulley 18 First lowering pulley 19 Second Descending pulley 20 Third descending pulley 26 Bin 70 Ascending clutch 71 Descending clutch 72 Stop clutch 1000 Sorter / Stapler P Transfer paper

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI Technical display location B65H 29/58 B65H 29/58 C G03G 15/00 530 G03G 15/00 530 (72) Inventor Ishigaki Koji 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-3-18548 (JP, A) JP-A-3-56363 (JP, A) −2550 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] An ejecting means for ejecting the recording medium guided from the image forming apparatus; a conveying means for conveying the recording medium ejected by the ejecting means in a direction perpendicular to the ejection direction; and a conveying means for conveying the recording medium. Skew restricting means for restricting the skew of the recording medium, sorting means for sorting the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means, and accommodating means for accommodating the recording medium conveyed by the sorting means. In the processing apparatus, the transport unit is configured to output the recording medium discharged from the discharge unit.
And the rest of the recording medium
Is mounted and rotates in a direction perpendicular to the discharge direction.
A directional change belt, wherein the skew restricting means is provided in the recording medium conveying direction of the conveying means.
The most downstream side, the recording medium transport direction of the sorting means
It has a pair of registration rollers provided on the most upstream side, and the conveyance speed v of the direction change belt is
V is the speed of the recording medium to be ejected, ejected from the ejection means
A, the size of the recording medium in the direction
B, the size of the recording medium in the conveyance direction
A post-processing device , characterized in that, when the stop time of the recording medium in the pair is t, v ≧ bV / (a−Vt) .