JP2645934B2 - Staple sorter and image forming apparatus equipped with the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sorter having a staple function which is mounted on a paper discharge port of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional staple sorter, a stapling process is performed for each sort bin after a specified number of sheets are stored in each sort bin.

For this reason, after the copying process, more time is required for the stapling process, which is inefficient.

In order to reduce the stapling time, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 3-86597 discloses a prior art in which a stapler is provided in a paper distributing means so that a collated sheet feeding to a preceding sort bin is completed and a paper distributing means is provided in a succeeding sort bin. Discloses a method of stapling sheets stored in a preceding sort bin each time the sheet is shifted to a sheet feeding position for the sort bin.

[0005]

However, in the above prior art, the stapler is provided at the upper end of the paper distributing means, so that the stapling process can be performed when the bins are sorted from the upper bin to the lower bin. When the bins are sorted from the bin to the upper bin, it is necessary to perform the stapling process while moving the paper distributing means in the opposite direction after the sorting is completed, and there is a disadvantage that the stapling time cannot be reduced depending on the sorting direction.

That is, when copying and binding a plurality of originals, sheets of the first copy are sorted in order from one direction, and then sheets of the second copy are sorted in the reverse direction. In the sorter, when the above-described prior art is applied, it is only possible to exert an effect on sorting in one direction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, the present invention provides a staple sorter capable of shortening the staple processing time regardless of the sorting direction, and provides efficient document creation by using the staple sorter. The present invention also provides an image forming apparatus capable of performing the following.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of sort bins 21 are provided on a sorter body 20 so as to be movable up and down. Transport unit 22 for transporting
And a stapler unit 24 having a stapler 23 for stapling the sheets stored in each sort bin 21 and a bin moving unit 25 for moving each sort bin 21 up and down to the stapling position of the stapler 23. control unit 26 for final paper to be stapled to drive the stapler Units - 24 and bin moving Yunitsuto 25 each time it is conveyed is provided, the control unit 26, saw
Paper that has entered the main body 20
Conveying means 112 for feeding the paper ,
1 and a paper binding means 114 for operating the stapler unit 24 at the same time as reaching the first position, and a bin moving means 113 for raising or lowering the next sorting bin 21 to the paper binding position of the stapler 23 after the paper binding. It is.

In an image forming apparatus provided with the staple sorter and the automatic document feeder 2 , the automatic document feeder 2 determines whether or not the original is the last document to be bound. Final document detector 1
14, a control unit 2 of the staple sorter based on the last original signal output from the last original detector 115.
6 is activated.

[0010]

In the means for solving the above problems, when the copy button is pressed, a copy process is performed, and the copied paper is discharged to the sort bin 21 by the transport unit 22. this
When the paper transport speed is increased, the interval between the next paper is
Can be spread.

Then, the sort bin 21 is moved by the bin moving unit 25, and the next sheet is discharged to the next sort bin 21. This continues until the final manuscript.

When the final document is copied, a final document signal is output by the final document detector 114, and when the first sheet on which the final document is copied is discharged to the sort bin 21, the paper binding means 115 sorts the sheet. The paper stored in 21 is bound.

While the above-described paper binding operation is being performed, the second copied sheet is being conveyed.
When the next bin sort bin 21 is shifted to the paper binding position by the bin moving unit 113, the paper is immediately discharged, and the same paper binding operation is performed.

When the specified number of originals have been copied, the last copied sheet is conveyed and discharged to the sort bin 21, and the sheet binding operation is immediately performed. Then, the stapling process is terminated at the same time when the copying is completed.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the staple sorter of the present invention is mounted on a copying machine will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the copying machine of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a staple sorter is connected to the discharge side of the copying machine main body 1.
This copier is equipped with an automatic document feeder (RADF) 2
, And has a double-sided copy function.

In FIG. 2, 3 is an optical system unit, 4 is a photosensitive drum, 5 is a main charger, 6 is a developing device, 7 is a transfer charger, 8 is a cleaning device, 9 is a static eliminator, and 10 is a paper feeder. A cassette 11, a fixing device 11, and a paper discharge port 12 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the staple sorter includes a sorter body 20 having a plurality of sort bins 21 which can be moved up and down, and a transport unit 22 for transporting sheets to the sort bins 21 and a sort bin 21 for each sort bin. A stapler unit 24 having a stapler 23 for binding the sheets stored in the stapler 23, and a bin moving unit 25 for moving each sort bin 21 up and down to the binding position of the stapler 23.
And a control unit 26 for driving the stapler unit 24 and the bin moving unit 25 each time the last sheet to be bound is conveyed.

The sort bin 21 is a flat plate whose one end on the copying machine side is bent, and a paper regulating plate 21a is formed on the front side thereof. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 10, the non-sort bin 31 is fixed to the bin frame 30 at the top of the bin frame 30 so as to be movable up and down.

The bin frame 30 is supported on the sorter body 20 via a pair of front and rear fixed rollers 32 so as to be vertically movable. The fixed roller 32 is also used as a roller of the uppermost sorting bin 21, and is guided vertically by a guide groove 33 formed in the sorter body 20.

Rollers 34 attached to the front and rear surfaces of each sort bin 21 are also guided in the guide grooves 33.

As shown in FIG. 3, the transport unit 22 includes a paper feed transport roller 4 rotatably supported by a sorter body 20.
0, transport roller 41, non-sorting discharge roller 42, discharge roller 43, paper feed transport roller 40 and transport roller 41
And a gate switching claw 45 for switching the sheet in either the non-sort bin 31 or the sort bin 21 direction.

As shown in FIG.
A sorter paper input sensor 47 is provided between the roller 40 and the paper discharge port 12 and is disposed at a transport port 46 connected to the paper discharge port 12 of the copying machine main body 1 to detect the entry of the paper. .

The gate switching claw 45 is disposed downstream of the sheet feeding and transporting roller 40 in the transport direction, is swingably supported by the sorter body 20 via a shaft 48, and is swinged by a gate switching solenoid 49. .

That is, when the solenoid 49 is turned on, the gate switching claw 45 swings downward, the paper passes straight through the upper surface of the gate switching claw 45, and swings upward when the solenoid 49 is turned off. It passes through the inner surface of the gate switching claw 45 and is guided to the lower conveyance path 44.

A paper passage sensor 50 for detecting the passage of the paper is provided in the transport path 44.

As shown in FIG. 5, the paper discharge roller 43 is disposed close to the sort bin 21 at the exit of the transport path 44, and is opposed to the paper press roller 51.

The paper pressing roller 51 includes an L-shaped support 52.
The support 52 is rotatably supported by the sorter body 20.
Is rotatably supported via a shaft 52a, and is turned by turning on and off a paper holding solenoid 53.

That is, when the solenoid 53 is turned on, it is rotated to switch to the paper pressing position for pressing the paper in the sort bin 21, and when it is off, it is maintained in the paper discharging position facing the paper discharging roller 43.

Then, as shown in FIG.
0, the transport roller 41 and the paper discharge rollers 42 and 43 are rotationally driven by a transport motor 54.
The rotation speed is detected by the transport motor clock sensor 55, and is driven by a drive signal from the control unit 26.

The control unit 26 synchronizes the sheet with the process speed of the copier main body until the sheet passes the sorter sheet input sensor 47 according to a detection signal from the sheet discharge sensor 56 provided in the sheet discharge port 12. When the paper is passed through the sorter input sensor 47, the transport speed in the staple sorter is increased to increase the interval with the next paper, and when the paper passes through the paper passage sensor 50, the transport motor is slowed down. 5 4 drive control are line summer. In the case of the non-sort mode, driving is performed at a constant speed.

The stapler unit 24 is shown in FIGS.
And a swinging unit 60 for switching the stapler 23 between a paper binding position facing the sort bin 21 and a standby position separated from the sort bin 21. The swing unit 60 is disposed on the side of the discharge roller 42. .

As shown in FIG. 7, the stapler 23 includes a stapler main body 61 having a built-in needle and a needle pushing plate 6.
2, the needle driving table 63, and the needle pushing plate 62
A cam plate 64 for moving the needle driving table 63 up and down with respect to the main body 61, a cam 65 for operating the cam plate 64, and a stapler drive motor 67 for rotating the cam 65 via a gear 66.

As shown in FIG. 8, the swing unit 60 includes a swing lever 68 attached to the stapler 23,
8 comprises a rocking cam 69 for rocking the cam 8 and a rocking motor 70 for rotating the cam 69.
Swing about a.

As shown in FIG. 9, the stapler 23 has a stapler unit home position sensor 71 for detecting a needle jam or the like by detecting whether the needle pushing plate 62 and the needle driving table 63 are at the home position. Staple position paper sensor 72 for detecting the presence or absence of paper at the binding position, staple position foreign matter sensor 7
3. A staple sensor 74 is provided.

Further, the swing unit 60 is provided with a stapler unit swing sensor 75 and a stapler position set sensor 76, and detects each position of the stapler 23. Then, at the paper binding position of the stapler 23, the stapler drive motor 67 is driven by the paper detection signal of the staple position paper sensor 72.

The bin moving unit 25 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, a lead cam 80 for moving the rollers 32 and 34 of the sort bin 21 up and down along the guide groove 33 and a bin shift motor 81 for rotating the lead cam 80 are provided.

The lead cam 80 is disposed on the front and rear bin frames 30, and a spiral groove 82 is formed on the outer peripheral surface, and the roller 34 rolls in the spiral groove 82. A drive belt 86 is wound between a pulley 84 fixed to a shaft 83 of one of the lead cams 80 and a pulley 85 connected to the bin shift motor 81.
Rotational force is transmitted from a bevel gear 87 integrally attached to the pulley 84 via a drive shaft 88.

When the lead cam 80 rotates and the roller 34 moves up and down along the spiral groove 82 of the lead cam 80, the bin frame 30 connected to the fixed roller 32 and the sort bin 21 connected to the roller 34 move up or down. I do. A lead cam home position sensor 89 that detects that the lead cam 80 has rotated once and the sort bin 21 has moved one step at a time is provided below the lead cam 80.

As shown in FIG. 12, the bin moving unit 25 detects the upper limit and the lower limit of the bin movement, and also has lower limit detecting switches 90 and 91 and an obstacle below the bin frame 30 to lower the bin frame 30. An obstacle sensor 92 for detecting that the sheet has run out, a bin home position sensor 93 for detecting whether or not the sort bin 21 is at the home position lowered to the bottom, and a sheet having entered the sort bin 21 from the paper discharge roller 43. Is provided.

As shown in FIG. 13, a stapler guide bar 100 for aligning the sheets discharged to the sort bin 21 is rotatably supported on the bin frame 30, and the stapler guide bar 100 is attached to the sort bin 21. In order to swing along the formed guide hole 101, a drive transmission unit 102 including a plurality of gears and a driving stapler guide bar swing motor 103 are arranged at the lower end thereof.

Further, a stapler guide bar home position sensor 104 for detecting that the stapler guide bar 100 is at a home position which is a distant position away from the sheet is provided in the drive transmission unit 102.

[0043] The control unit 26 is composed of a microcontroller pin Yuta is decorated in the copying machine main body 1 side, the sort mode,
Mode switching means 111 for selecting each mode based on an output from an operation key 110 for switching between a group mode, a staple mode, and a non-sort mode, and a discharge sensor 55, a sorter input sensor when a sort / group mode is selected. 47, conveying means 112 for controlling the rotation of the conveying motor 54 based on a paper detection signal from the paper passage sensor 50
A bin moving unit 113 for aligning the sheet with the stapler guide bar 100 each time the sheet is discharged to the sort bin 21 and rotating the lead cam 80 one rotation to shift the bin by one bin;
When the staple mode is selected, the sheet on which the document is copied is discharged to the sort bin 21 based on the last document detection signal from the last document detector 114 provided in the automatic document feeder 2, and the binding operation is performed. And paper binding means 115 for starting the paper binding.

The transport means 112 swings the gate switching claw 45 by turning on and off the gate switching solenoid 49, and when the non-sort mode is selected, turns on the solenoid 49 to guide the sheet to the non-sort bin 31. It also has functions.

The bin moving means 113 drives the stapler guide bar swing motor 103 in response to a sheet detection signal from the sheet entry detection sensor 94 to swing the stapler guide bar 100 once to align the sheets. The bin shift motor 81 is driven by the home position detection signal from the stapler guide bar home position sensor 104 and the swing position set signal from the stapler unit swing sensor 75 indicating that the stapler unit is in the standby position, and the lead cam 8 is driven.
It has the function of raising or lowering the sort bin 21 at the next stage to the exit of the transport path 44 by rotating 0 once.

When the paper entry detection sensor 94 detects that the paper on which the final document has been copied is discharged to the sort bin 21, the paper binding means 115 swings the stapler guide bar 100 three times, and And the ability to match
A function of turning on the paper holding solenoid 53 and rotating the paper holding roller 51 to hold the paper; a function of driving the swing motor 70 to swing the stapler 23 from the standby position to the paper binding position; spaced a function of performing a paper stapled by driving the stapler motor 67 by the paper detection signal from the sensor 7 2, the home position Chillon signal from the stapler Units - home position Chillon sensor 71 paper binding is completed the stapler guide bar 100 Position, the paper holding roller 51 is opposed to the paper discharge roller 43, the stapler 23 is returned to the standby position, and a signal is sent to the bin moving means 113 to raise or lower the next sort bin 21 to the paper binding position of the stapler 23. Output function.

In the above configuration, a document is set in the automatic document feeder 2, a sort mode or a staple mode is selected, and the number of copies is designated.

When the copy button is pressed, the original is automatically fed and a copy process is performed. The copied paper passes through the paper feed roller 40 from the paper discharge port 12 and is moved by the gate switching claw 45. It is guided to the transport path 44.

Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the paper is discharged to the uppermost sort bin 21 by the paper discharge roller 43, and the stapler guide bar 100 is swung to move the paper to the paper regulating plate 21.
Prepare by pressing against a.

When the stapler guide bar 100 returns to the home position, the bin shift motor 81 is driven to rotate the lead cam 80 once to raise the lower sort bin 21. Thereby, the fixed roller 32 of the upper sorting bin 21 is pushed up, and the bin frame 30 and the upper sorting bin 21 are raised.

When the specified number of copies have been completed and the sheet is discharged, the next original is fed, similarly copied and discharged. At this time, as shown in FIG. 16, the sheet is discharged from the lower sort bin 21, and the sort bin 21 descends one by one. This continues until the final manuscript.

When the last original is fed, the last original detector 114 detects that there is no original in the automatic original feeder 2.

A sheet entry detection sensor 94 detects that the first sheet of paper on which the last document has been copied is discharged to the sort bin 21.
Is detected, as shown in FIG.
00 is rocked three times to align the paper, and the stapler guide bar 100 presses the side of the paper.

Next, the paper pressing roller 51 is rotated to press the paper from above, and the stapler 23 swings to the paper binding position.

When it is confirmed by the staple position paper sensor 72 that the paper is at the paper binding position, the staple pushing plate 62 is lowered, the staple driving table 63 is raised, and the paper between them is staple. Bound.

When the stapler unit home position sensor 71 detects that the needle pushing plate 62 and the needle driving table 63 have returned to the home position at the original position, the stapler guide bar 100 returns to the separated position, and the paper presser is pressed. The roller 51 separates from the sheet, and the stapler 23 swings to the standby position.

When all of them return to their original positions,
The bin shift motor 81 is driven, and the lead cam 80 is rotated once.

Here, when the number of set originals is an even number, as shown in FIG. 18, since the paper binding position corresponds to the lowermost sort bin 21 among the sort bins 21 containing the sheets, the upper sort bin 21 Descend.

When the number of set originals is an odd number, since the paper binding position corresponds to the uppermost sort bin 21, the lower sort bin 21 is raised.

While the above-described paper binding operation is being performed, the second copied paper is being conveyed. When the next sort bin 21 is shifted to the paper binding position, the paper is immediately discharged. The paper is stapled and the same binding operation is performed.

While the specified number of copies have been completed and the last original has been discharged, the last copied sheet is conveyed and discharged to the sort bin 21 to perform the paper binding operation.

Accordingly, the paper binding can be performed each time the copied paper is stored in the sort bin 21, so that the stapling process is completed almost at the same time as the copy is completed, and the stapling process time can be greatly reduced. Can,
Efficient document creation can be performed.

Furthermore, stapling can be performed regardless of the sorting direction, and the drawbacks of the prior art can be eliminated.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that many modifications and changes can be made to the above-described embodiment within the scope of the present invention.

[0065]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a control unit for driving the stapler unit and the bin moving unit is provided each time the final sheet to be bound is conveyed. The control unit is inside the sorter body.
Conveying means that increases the conveying speed of incoming paper and conveys it
Paper stapling means for operating the stapler unit at the same time that the final sheet reaches the sort bin, and bin moving means for raising or lowering the next sort bin to the stapling position of the stapler after binding the paper. Therefore, the paper binding can be performed each time the copied paper is stored in the sort bin, and the stapling process can be completed almost simultaneously with the end of the copy . Also, if the paper is
The time it takes to reach the print bin,
Paper binding can be completed before the next paper
There is no waiting time for binding. It was but connexion, it is possible to significantly reduce the staple processing time.

Furthermore, since the sort bin is moved to the paper binding position, stapling can be performed irrespective of the sorting direction, and the drawbacks of the prior art can be eliminated.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the staple sorter is mounted on an image forming apparatus, and an automatic document feeder is mounted.
The Rukoto provided the final document detector determines whether the final document to be a paper binding to location, is the last document
That the final manuscript is
Need to provide counters, detectors, etc.
And the structure can be simplified. Then, by operating the control unit of the staple sorter based on the final document signal output from the final document detector, when the image forming process of the document is completed, the stapling process is also completed. It can be carried out.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a copying machine provided with a staple sorter of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a staple sorter.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a transport switching unit of the transport unit.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a paper discharge unit.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a drive system of the transport unit.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a stapler unit.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a swinging portion of the stapler.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing a drive system of the stapler unit.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a bin moving unit.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a moving mechanism of the sort bin.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing a drive system of a bin moving unit.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a staple guide bar.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a paper binding operation for copied paper.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a staple sorter at the time of paper ejection in a staple sort mode.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the staple sorter when the last original is discharged.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a sheet that is undergoing a paper binding process in the same manner.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating the staple sorter when the sort bin is moved after the paper binding.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 sorter body 21 sort bin 22 transfer unit 23 stapler 24 stapler unit 25 bin moving unit 26 control unit

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sorter having a plurality of sort bins provided on a sorter body so as to be able to move up and down respectively, a transport unit for transporting sheets to the sort bins, and a stapler for stapling the sheets stored in each sort bin. In a staple sorter including a unit and a bin moving unit that moves each sort bin up and down to the paper stapling position of the stapler, a control unit that drives the stapler unit and the bin moving unit each time the final sheet to be stapled is transported. Is provided, and the control unit receives the paper in the sorter main body.
Transport means for increasing the transport speed of the received paper, paper binding means for activating the stapler unit as soon as the final paper reaches the sort bin, and after binding the paper, the next sort bin is raised to the stapling position of the stapler. Alternatively, a staple sorter characterized by having bin moving means for lowering. 2. A staple sorter of claim 1, wherein and
In the image forming apparatus having an automatic document feeder, the automatic
A document feeder is provided with a final document detector for determining whether or not the document is the final document to be bound, and the control unit of the staple sorter is operated based on the final document signal output from the final document detector. An image forming apparatus comprising: