JP2710298B2 - Paper removal device and paper processing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet take-out apparatus, and more particularly, to a sheet take-out apparatus for taking out a sheet from a sheet receiver arranged on a side of an image forming apparatus. Another invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a sheet processing apparatus disposed on a side of an image forming apparatus for processing sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine may be provided with a sorter for sorting sheets subjected to image forming processing. In addition, a sorter having a stapling device for performing a binding process (stapling process) on the sorted sheets is already provided.

[0003] As a conventional sorter of this type, there is, for example, an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-223157. In this apparatus, a plurality of paper trays (hereinafter, referred to as bins) for sorting and storing paper discharged from a copying machine are provided.
Are vertically movable. When each bin moves to the paper introduction unit, a predetermined interval is provided above the bin, and the paper from the paper introduction unit is introduced into the bin through this interval. In addition, a stapling device is provided in the sheet introduction section, and the sheets in the bin are bound.

However, in the sorter disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, since the sheets after the binding processing are stored in each bin as they are, the sorting processing and the binding processing of the number of copies exceeding the number of bins cannot be performed. Therefore, when performing a large amount of copy processing, it is necessary for the operator to take out the bound sheets from the bin. In the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-165270, a stapling unit for stacking and storing sheets and performing a binding process is provided separately from a sorting unit for sorting and processing sheets. When the binding process is performed by this apparatus, the sorting unit conveys the paper once subjected to the sorting process to the staple unit, and performs the binding process by a stapling device provided in the staple unit. For this reason, in this apparatus, it is possible to perform the binding process on the number of sheets equal to or more than the number of bins provided in the sorting unit.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned JP-A-63-16
In the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 5270, a stapling apparatus is provided below a bin, and a stack unit for storing processed sheets is disposed below the stapling apparatus. For this reason,
There is a problem that it is difficult for the operator to take out the processed paper. Further, after the bound sheet is once discharged to the stacking section, the next sheet is bound, so that there is a problem that the operation time is extremely long.

An object of the present invention is to facilitate removal of a processed sheet. Another object of the present invention is to reduce the processing time.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet take-out device for taking out a sheet from a sheet receiver arranged on a side of an image forming apparatus.
It has a main body case and take-out means. The main body case is disposed on a front side of the image forming apparatus with respect to the sheet receiver. The take-out means is disposed in the main body case, grips the paper in the paper receiver, and draws the paper toward the front side of the image forming apparatus.
Gripping means, and a sheet drawn by the gripping means.
And a roller device for discharging the toner.

The sheet take-out means according to a second aspect of the present invention includes, in addition to the main body case and the take-out means, a sheet accommodating portion for accommodating sheets discharged from the sheet receiver by the take-out means. A sheet take-out device according to a third aspect of the present invention is a sheet take-out device for taking out a sheet from a sheet receiver disposed on a side of the image forming apparatus into a sheet storage section on the front side of the image forming apparatus. , A roller device, a sheet holding detection unit, and a control unit.

The gripping means is movable in the front-rear direction of the image forming apparatus, and is capable of gripping a sheet in a sheet receiver. The driving means moves the gripping means. The roller device discharges the sheet that has been drawn toward the front side of the image forming apparatus by the gripping unit, into the sheet storage unit. The paper nipping detecting means detects that the paper pulled by the gripping means is nipped by the roller device. The control means rotates the roller device in the paper discharge direction until the paper nipping detection means detects that the paper is nipped by the roller device, stops the rotation of the roller device after the paper nipping is detected, and controls the gripping means. After the movement is stopped to release the gripping of the paper and the paper gripping means is retracted to the front side of the apparatus, the rotation of the roller device is restarted.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet removing apparatus including the gripping means, the driving means, and the roller device according to the third aspect of the present invention, and further detecting whether there is a sheet to be removed next. The apparatus includes a detection unit and a control unit that moves the gripping unit to a take-out position while the sheet is being discharged by the roller device when there is a next sheet. A sheet processing apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus disposed on a side of the image forming apparatus for processing a sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus. Means.

The sheet receiver accommodates sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus. The processing means performs a predetermined process on the paper in the paper tray. The take-out means draws the paper in the paper receiver processed by the processing means toward the front side of the image forming apparatus and discharges the paper to the outside of the paper receiver. The processing control means causes the processing by the processing means and the processing by the extraction means to be performed in parallel.

[0012]

In the sheet take-out device according to the first aspect of the invention, the sheet housed in the sheet receiver is taken out to the front side of the image forming apparatus by the sheet take-out means. For this reason, by attaching this sheet take-out device, limitless processing can be performed on the image forming apparatus side. Further, since the processed paper is taken out to the front side of the apparatus, the operator can easily take out the processed paper.

In the sheet take-out device according to the second invention,
The paper taken out of the paper receiver by the take-out means is stored in the paper storage section. Therefore, as described above,
The processing on the image forming apparatus side can be made limitless, and the workability of taking out the paper becomes easy. In the paper ejection device according to the third aspect, the paper in the paper receiver is gripped by the gripping means and drawn toward the front side. Further, the paper drawn by the gripping means is nipped by a roller device, and stored in the paper storage unit by the roller device.

At this time, the roller device is rotated in the paper discharging direction until the paper nipping detecting means detects that the paper is nipped by the roller device, and after detecting the nipping of the paper, the rotation of the roller device is stopped and Is stopped to release the gripping of the sheet, the sheet gripping means is retracted to the front side of the apparatus, and then the rotation of the roller device is restarted. As described above, since the gripping means is retracted while the paper is held between the roller devices, it is possible to reliably transfer the paper from the gripping means to the roller device.

[0015] In the sheet take-out device according to the fourth invention,
Similarly to the apparatus according to the third aspect, the sheet in the sheet receiver is pulled forward by the gripping means, is sandwiched by the roller device, and is discharged to the sheet discharge unit. At this time, in the present invention, it is detected whether there is a sheet to be taken out next,
In some cases, the gripping means is moved to the sheet take-out position while the sheet is being discharged by the roller device.

Accordingly, the time required for moving the gripping means can be reduced, and the cycle time for taking out can be reduced. In the sheet processing apparatus according to the fifth invention, a process such as a binding process performed on a sheet in the sheet receiver and a process of removing the processed sheet from the sheet receiver are performed in parallel. For this reason,
Overall processing time can be reduced.

[0017]

Shows the overall construction of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention to the examples overall configuration and copying machine body FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 1, this copying machine is a copying machine body 1.
And a staple sorter (hereinafter simply referred to as a sorter) 2 disposed on the left side of the copying machine main body 1 and a sheet take-out device 3 disposed on the front side (the front side of the apparatus) of the sorter 2. . As shown in FIG. 2, the copying machine main body 1 includes a case 5, an image forming unit 6 arranged at a central portion of the case 5,
A document scanning unit 7 is provided above the image forming unit 6, and a sheet conveying device 8 that supplies a sheet to the image forming unit 6 and discharges a sheet from the image forming unit 6.

The image forming section 6 has a photosensitive drum disposed at the center, and a charging device, a developing device, a transfer device, a paper separating device, and a cleaning device disposed around the photosensitive drum. The document scanning unit 7 includes an optical system 9 disposed above the image forming unit 6, a document table 10 disposed above the optical system 9, and an automatic document feeder 1 provided on the document table 10.
And 1. The automatic document feeder 11 has a document placement section 12 provided on the upper surface of the case, and a document transfer section 13 including a document moving belt and the like arranged inside the case.

The paper transport device 8 has a paper supply path disposed upstream of the image forming section 6 in the paper transport direction and a paper discharge path disposed downstream of the image forming section 6. Is provided with a fixing device 14. Further, on the downstream side of the fixing device 14, a discharge roller 15 for discharging the sheet to the sorter 2 side, and a reversing device 1 for reversing the sheet.
6 are provided.

In the lower part of the case 5, there are provided an intermediate transport path 17 for transporting the paper that has passed through the reversing device 16, and an intermediate tray 18 for temporarily storing the paper. Below the intermediate tray 18, a plurality of paper feed cassettes 19 are arranged in a vertical direction. In the lower right part of Case 5,
A paper feed deck 20 for continuously supplying a large amount of paper is provided. A manual paper feed path 21 is disposed above the paper feed deck 20.

The sorter sorter 2, the bin unit 27 including a driving unit 26 for driving a plurality of bins 25 and the bin 25 in the vertical direction
A transport unit 28 disposed between the copier main body 1 and the bin unit 27 to convey paper from the copier main body 1 to the bin unit 27; And a processing unit 29 disposed below the unit 28.

The bin unit 27 has a support frame 30 that covers both sides of the bin 25 and a part of the end on the paper discharge side. As shown in the plan view of FIG. 3, the bin 25 is formed of a plate-shaped member. Then, a notch 25a for taking out the sheet is formed from the front end side in the discharge direction toward the inside.
Are formed. A notch 25b for shifting the width is formed from the side on the rear side (back side of the apparatus) toward the inside. Notches 25c are formed at predetermined intervals. In addition, the notch 25b for width adjustment is
A side formed on the downstream side of the bin 25 in the sheet discharging direction is inclined from the central portion of the sheet toward the discharging direction. Thus, when the paper is discharged onto the bin 25, the leading end of the paper is guided by the inclined side 25g, and the paper is discharged smoothly. Further, since the side 25g is inclined, as shown by a two-dot chain line in the figure, the area (A ) Can be reduced, and the sagging of the bottle, which may occur at the time of forming the bottle, can be prevented.

[0023] Holders 31 are formed on both sides of the discharge-side tip of the bin 25. Further, trunnions 32 projecting outward are provided on both sides of the introduction-side end. The holder 31 of each bin is supported by a support portion 30a (see FIG. 2) formed at the discharge side end of the support frame 30. Further, the trunnion 32 is engaged with a groove of the spiral cam 33 constituting the driving section 26. An urging member 34 is provided on the back surface of the bin 25 for pressing the sheet stored in the lower bin 25.

In this manner, the bin 25 is supported by the support 30a.
As shown in FIG. 2, it is inclined and disposed so that the discharge-side end is located upward. In addition, an upstanding wall portion 25d that protrudes upward is formed at the introduction-side end of the bin 25, and prevents the paper accommodated in the inclined bin 25 from falling downward. A plurality of ribs 25e are formed on the upper surface of the bin 25 along the sheet discharging direction.

The driving section 26 of the bin unit 27
5 has a pair of spiral cams 33 arranged at the front and rear ends on the introduction side to face the respective trunnions 32. The spiral cam 33 has a spiral groove on its surface, and is arranged vertically from the upper part to the lower part of the sorter 2. The upper and lower ends of each spiral cam 33 are rotatably supported by the frame of the sorter 2, and a pulley 35 is fixed to the lower end as shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. A driving pulley 36 is fixed to a lower end of the spiral cam 33 provided on the rear side of the device among the pair of spiral cams 33. A drive motor 39 is connected to the drive pulley 36 via a belt 37 and a pulley 38 as shown in FIG. Thus, the rear spiral cam 33 is rotated by the motor 39, and this rotation is transmitted to the front spiral cam 33 via the belt 40 and the pulley 35. Accordingly, the pair of front and rear spiral cams 33 rotates synchronously.

The spiral grooves 33a formed on the outer surface of the spiral cam 33 are formed at substantially the same pitch in the upper and lower portions, but as shown in FIGS. The two pitches (the central portion) are formed wider than the other pitches. As a result, the bin 25 moved up and down by the spiral cam 33 has a portion corresponding to the discharge port of the transport unit 28 and the upper portion of the processing unit 29, and a lower portion of the processing unit 29, as compared with the other portions. A discharge / processing opening and a take-out opening with a wide vertical space are formed.

As a result, the processing unit 29 can be reliably introduced and led out to the bin 25 located at the processing position.
On the other hand, the space between the bin 25 located at the take-out opening and the lower bin is slightly narrowed like the other portions. However, since no paper is already present on the lower bin 25, there is no problem when a stacker hand mechanism 170, which will be described later, introduces or leads to the bin 25 located at the take-out opening.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a detection plate 45 for detecting the rotational position of the spiral cam 33 is fixed to the upper end of the spiral cam 33. The detection plate 45 has a notch 45a for angle detection. On the other hand, around the detection plate 45, a photo sensor 46 for rotation control and 3 /
A photo sensor 47 for four-turn descent control is provided. These photosensors 46 and 47 are arranged at positions shifted by １ ／ rotation. The bin unit 27 is provided with a support pin 48 for guiding the vertical movement of the bin unit 27. The support pin 48 is engaged with the spiral groove 33a of the spiral cam 33.

Photosensors 49a and 49b (see FIG. 4) are arranged at the upper and lower ends of the bin unit 27 so that the optical axis is located near the introduction end of the bin 25. Each bin 2 is arranged so that the optical axis formed by these photosensors 49a and 49b can pass through each bin 25.
5, a hole 25f for passing the optical axis (see FIG. 3) is formed at a corresponding position. Thereby, it is detected whether or not the paper is stored in the bin 25.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, between the processing unit 29 and the bin unit 27, a fall prevention mechanism 50 for preventing paper from falling from the bin 25 arranged at an angle is provided. Are located. The fall prevention mechanism 50 is
It has two stoppers 51 as shown in FIG. 9 and a solenoid 52 for changing the posture of the stopper 51. The two stoppers 51 are fixed at predetermined intervals to a rotating shaft 53 arranged in the front-rear direction. Rotating shaft 53
Are rotatably supported by front and rear support frames 2a and 2b. The rear end of the rotating shaft 53 is connected to the connecting members 54a, 5a.
4b, it is connected to the plunger of the solenoid 52. When the solenoid 52 is off, the stopper 51 assumes the drop-preventing posture shown in FIG.
Take the drop allowable posture shown in FIG.

With such a configuration, even if the paper curled at the rear end is transferred into the bin 25 and exceeds the standing wall 25d, the paper is prevented from dropping. 8 and 11
As shown in FIG.
And a base table 56 which is slidable with respect to the fixed frame 55 and can be pulled out to the front side of the apparatus.
A movable table 57 movable with respect to the base table 56, a stapling device 58 disposed on the movable table 57, a punch device 59, and a pair of processing hand units disposed on both sides of the punch device 59. 60a, 60
b.

A motor 61 for moving the table is fixed to the lower surface of the base table 56 on the rear side of the apparatus. On the other hand, a pulley 62 is fixed to the device front side of the base table 56, and a timing belt 64 is stretched between the pulley 62 and a pulley 63 fixed to the tip of the stepping motor 61. This timing belt 6
4 includes a connecting portion 57 formed on the lower surface of the moving table 57.
The moving table 57 moves on the base table 56 by the circulation of the timing belt 64. A bearing 65 is fixed to the lower surface of the moving table 57 as shown in FIG.
Guide shaft 6 arranged on base table 56 in the front-rear direction
6 can be moved. A plurality of guide rollers 67 are provided on the side of the moving table 57, and the guide rollers 67 are guided by the support portions 56 a of the base table 56.

A detection plate 68 is fixed to the lower surface of the front end of the movable table 57, and a photo sensor 69 for detecting a home position is provided at a reference position of the base table 61.
Has been fixed. Here, as shown in FIG. 11, in a state where the moving table 57 is located at the home position,
The stapling device 58 performs a binding process on a front end side corner of the sheet taken out from the bin 25. The position of the binding processing is a processing reference position when performing the binding processing of only one point.

FIG. 12 shows a schematic configuration of the stapling device 58. The stapling device 58 includes a lower jaw member 70,
An upper jaw member 71 rotatably mounted on the lower jaw member 70, and a driving unit 72 for lowering the upper jaw member 71
Return mechanism 73 for returning the upper jaw member 71 to the initial position
It is composed of The lower jaw member 70 is rotatable within a predetermined range with one end serving as a fulcrum with respect to a support member 74 fixed on the moving table 57. Thus, the position of the entire stapling device 58 can be adjusted vertically in a predetermined range. A paper guide 75 for guiding paper from the bin 25 is fixed to the partition frame 76 on the bin 25 side of the stapling device 58. A hole for paper detection is formed in a part of the paper guide 75, and a reflection sensor 77 for detecting a paper jam at the time of the binding process is provided below the hole.

The processing hand units 60a and 60b
As shown in FIG. 13, a mounting plate 80, a hand mechanism 81 mounted on the mounting plate 80, and a paper ejecting mechanism 82
And a drive mechanism 83 for moving these two mechanisms 81 and 82 in the bin direction. The lower part of the mounting plate 80 is fixed to the moving table 57. The upper portion is bent in the lateral direction, and a guide groove 80a for guiding the hand mechanism 81 to advance and retreat is formed in the bent portion.

The hand mechanism 81 is fixed to a slide plate 84, and has an upper hand 85 and a lower hand 86. The upper hand 85 is formed in an L-shape when viewed from the front, and has a gripper 85a extending toward the bin 25 and
5a and a base 85b extending in a direction perpendicular to the base 5b. One end of the base 85b is rotatably fixed to the slide plate 84. The other end of the base 85b is connected via a spring 88 to a solenoid 87 for opening and closing the hand mechanism 81. The lower hand 86 has a grip portion 86a extending toward the bin 25, and a base portion 86b extending in a direction opposite to the grip portion 86a with a fulcrum pivotally mounted on the slide plate 84 as a boundary. The base 86b is in contact with a contact portion 85c formed on the base 85b of the upper hand 85, so that the upper hand 85 and the lower hand 86 operate in conjunction with each other. Base 86b of lower hand 86
, One end of a spring 89 is locked.
Is locked to the upper portion of the slide plate 84. By the spring force of the spring 89, the lower hand 86 and the upper hand 8
5, the upper hand 85 and the lower hand 86 close when the solenoid 87 is turned on and retracted.

The paper ejection mechanism 82 includes an arm 90,
Driving solenoid 91, arm 90 and solenoid 91
And a lever 92 for connecting the two. A push plate 93 for pressing the end of the sheet is fixed to the tip (bin side) of the arm 90. The arm 90 has a guide groove 90a that is long in the forward and backward directions.
A pin 94 fixed to the slide plate 84 is locked at a. A pin 95 is fixed to the rear end of the arm 90,
One end of a lever 92 is locked to this pin 95. The central portion of the lever 92 is rotatable about a fulcrum pin 96. The other end of the lever 92 is connected to a plunger of a solenoid 91 via a pin 97. With such a configuration, when the plunger of the solenoid 91 advances and retreats, the lever 92 rotates around the fulcrum pin 96, and the arm 90 can take a retracted position shown by a solid line in FIG. 13 and a return position shown by a dashed line in FIG. .

The drive mechanism 83 has a motor 100 for moving the slide plate 84. A drive pulley 101 is fixed to the motor 100. Also, the mounting plate 8
A driven pulley 102 is rotatably mounted on one bin side, and a timing belt 103 is hung between the driving pulley 101 and the driven pulley 102. A lower portion 84a of the slide plate 84 is fixed to the timing belt 103. A pin 104 and a bearing 105 are mounted on an upper portion of the slide plate 84,
The pin 104 slidably penetrates the guide groove 80a. A part of the slide plate 84 includes a moving bearing 106.
Are fixed, and the bearing 106 is supported by a guide shaft 107 fixed to the mounting plate 80. The guide groove 80a, the timing belt 103, and the guide shaft 10
7 is inclined so as to be substantially parallel to the bin 25 moved to the discharge / processing opening.

With such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 14, the hand mechanism 81 moves the home position, which is the processing position where the binding process is performed, the standby position close to the end of the bin 25, and the paper in the bin 25. The gripping position can be set. An open position for returning the sheet into the bin 25 is set between the holding position and the standby position, and the hand mechanism 81 releases the holding of the sheet at the open position. on the other hand,
The push plate 93 fixed to the tip of the arm 90 of the protruding mechanism 82 is located at a retracted position retracted by a distance L from the home position of the hand mechanism 81 at the home position,
In the open position, the bin 25 is moved to the center of the gripper of the hand mechanism 81.
It protrudes to the side.

As shown in FIG. 8, further on the front side of the stapling device 58, a paper fixing mechanism 110 for fixing the paper at the time of processing the paper is provided. As shown in FIG. 15, the paper fixing mechanism 110 includes a fixed frame 112 fixed to the front frame 111 of the sorter, an upper hand 113 and a lower hand 114, and both hands 113 and 114.
And a solenoid 115 for driving the motor. The upper hand 113 and the lower hand 114 each have a gripper 113 extending along the sliding direction of the moving table 57.
a, 114a. In addition, both hands 113, 1
14 is rotatably mounted on the fixed frame 112 by a pin 116. The lower hand 114 has a pin 116
And a base portion 114b extending upward from the base portion, and is formed in an L-shape. In the vicinity of the pin 116, a contact portion 114c protruding toward the upper hand 113 is formed.
It is in contact with the base 113b of the upper hand 113. Also,
The gripper 113a of the upper hand 113 has a spring 1 for opening.
The other end of the spring 117 is engaged with the upper part of the fixed frame 112. This opening spring 1
17, the upper hand 113 and the lower hand 114 are opened. On the other hand, a plunger of a solenoid 115 is connected to a base 114 b of the lower hand 114 via a spring 118. When the plunger of the solenoid 115 is retracted, both hands 113 and 114 are closed.

As shown in FIG. 16, the front frame 111 of the sorter 2 has a take-out opening so that the paper in the bin 25 at the position A (take-out opening) in the drawing can be taken out to the front side of the apparatus. 111a are formed. The take-out opening 111a can be opened and closed by a shutter member 121 for width adjustment. As is clear from FIGS. 16 and 17, the shutter member 121 extends vertically.
The standard minimum size paper-side end is arranged at a position where it can abut. A guide locking portion 121a is formed at a part of a side end of the shutter member 121 on the paper discharge side (bin front end side). A guide locking portion 121b is formed at a substantially central portion in the lateral direction of the shutter member 121 so as to protrude forward and be bent toward the paper introduction side. The front frame 111 has an outlet 1
A vertical notch 111b for the slide which is continuous with 11a is formed. The shutter member 121 is arranged inside the front frame 111 inside the apparatus, and each of the locking portions 121
Reference numerals a and 121b extend to the outside of the front frame 111 through the notch 111b. Guide members 122a, 122 are provided at the edges of the notch 111b of the front frame 111.
b is fixed. These guide portions 122a, 122b
The locking portions 121a, 121b of the shutter member 121
Is slidably locked.

A drive mechanism 12 for driving a shutter member 121 is provided outside the front frame 111 on the apparatus side.
5 are arranged. The drive mechanism 125 has a support frame 126 having a C-shaped cross section.
A motor 127 for driving the shutter member 121 is fixed inside 26. On the other hand, the shutter member 121
A rack 128 is fixed vertically on the outer side surface of the rack. The rack 128 extends into the support frame 126 through the notch 111b of the front frame 111.
A gear train 129 for transmitting the rotation of the motor 127 to the rack 128 is provided in the support frame 126. With such a configuration, the shutter member 121 can take an open position indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 16 and a closed position indicated by a solid line in FIG. In the open position, the paper in the bin 25 corresponding to the take-out opening 111a can be taken out to the front side of the apparatus, and in the closed position, taking out from the take-out opening 111a is prohibited.

As shown in FIGS. 17 to 19, a width adjusting device 135 is provided behind the device facing the shutter member 121.
Is arranged. The width adjusting device 135 is provided with
36, and a moving mechanism 137 for moving the width shift plate 136 in the front-rear direction of the apparatus. Width board 1
As is clear from FIG. 16, 36 is a bin 25 located at the discharge / processing opening and the take-out opening and a bin 25 located at the upper stage of the bin located at the discharge / processing opening, for a total of three bins 25. It has a width in the vertical direction that allows the width of the paper to be adjusted. As shown in FIG. 19, the moving mechanism 137 is a width shifting frame 1 fixed to a rear frame 138 of the apparatus.
39. The width adjustment frame 139 passes through a notch 140 formed in the rear frame 138, and a part thereof enters the inside of the apparatus. A slide bearing 141 is fixed to an upper portion of the frame 139, and a movement motor 142 is fixed to a lower portion. Slide bearing 1
A guide shaft 143 is supported by 41 and the guide shaft 1
A front mounting plate 144 is fixed to one end of 43. The front mounting plate 144 extends in the up-down direction, and is engaged with upper and lower pins 145 fixed to the back surface of the width shift plate 136. A spring 146 is disposed between the front mounting plate 144 and the width shifting plate 136 so that the width shifting plate 136 is elastically pressed. A rear mounting plate 147 is fixed to the rear end of the guide shaft 143, and the rear mounting plate 147 also extends in the vertical direction. A connecting plate 148 is fixed between the front and rear mounting plates 144 and 147 in parallel with the guide shaft 143. A rack 149 having substantially the same length as the connecting plate 148 is fixed to the lower surface of the connecting plate 148. The rack 149 is engaged with a pinion gear 150 rotatably attached to a lower portion of the frame 139. A pulley 150 a is integrally fixed to the pinion gear 150.
Oa is connected to the drive pulley 152 of the motor 142 via the timing belt 151. Also, the connecting plate 14
8 is formed with a detecting portion 148a,
The home position of the width approaching plate 136 is detected by a home position detection photosensor 153 fixed to 9.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transport unit 28 of the sorter 2 has an introduction section 28a, a sorting introduction path 28b branched from the introduction section 28a, and a non-sort introduction path 28c. I have. The introduction portion 28a is provided with an introduction roller 160 and a branch claw 161. In addition, the sorting carry-in path 28b is provided between the introduction section 28a and the bin 2 for sorting.
5, and guides the sheet to the discharge / processing opening formed by the spiral cam 33. The non-sorting loading path 28c is provided between the non-sorting bin 162 disposed above the sorter 2 and the branching section 28a, and guides the sheet to the non-sorting bin 162 in the non-sort mode.

Sheet Picking Apparatus FIGS. 20 and 21 show the overall structure of the sheet picking apparatus 3. FIG. FIG. 20 is a front view of the paper take-out device 3 as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 21 is a schematic configuration diagram of the paper take-out device 3 as viewed from the right side of the device. 21 is a view of FIG. 20 viewed from the Z direction.

The paper take-out device 3 has a stacker hand mechanism 170 for gripping the processed paper in the bin 25 located at the take-out opening and pulling the paper into the paper take-out device 3, and a stacker hand mechanism 170 for controlling the front side of the apparatus. Discharge mechanism 171 for discharging the paper drawn to the printer
And a stack section 172 for storing the discharged sheets. Then, the stacker hand mechanism 170,
The ejection mechanism 171 and the stack section 172 are arranged in the main body frame 169.

As shown in FIG. 22, the stacker hand mechanism 170 includes a moving frame 175, an upper hand 176,
It has a lower hand 177 and a solenoid 178 for driving each of the hands 176 and 177. Upper hand 17
6 is rotatably attached to the moving frame 175 by a pin 179 at a substantially central portion thereof. The lower end of the lower hand 177 is rotatably mounted on the movable frame 175 by a pin 180. Each hand 17
The holding members 181 and 182 for holding the end of the sheet in the bin 25 are fixed to the tips of 6,177. One end of a spring 183 is locked to the rear end of the upper hand 176, and the other end of the spring 183 is locked to the moving frame 175. A contact portion 176a is formed on the rear end side of the pin 179 of the upper hand 176, and the contact portion 176a contacts a part of the lower hand 177. With such a configuration, the upper hand 176 and the lower hand 177 are opened by the spring force of the spring 183 as shown by the dashed line in FIG. A locking portion 177a is formed on a part of the lower hand 177, and the locking portion 177a is connected to a plunger of a solenoid 178 via a spring 184. Therefore, when the plunger of the solenoid 178 is retracted, both hands 176 and 177 are moved to the positions shown in FIG.
The closed state shown by the solid line of 0 is obtained.

The moving frame 175 can be set in a take-out position (175a) and a retracted position (175b) indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 23 by a moving mechanism 190 as shown in FIG. The moving mechanism 190 is arranged above the sheet take-out device 3 as shown in FIG. Moving mechanism 190
Has a frame 192 supported by the frame 191 of the take-out device 3. It is provided in the front-rear direction of the device, and has one end on the frame 191 and the other end on the frame 19.
2 has a guide shaft 193 supported by it. The moving frame 175 has a bearing 194 slidably supported by the guide shaft 193, and is movable in the front-rear direction of the apparatus along the guide shaft 193. A stepping motor 196 is fixed to the upper surface of the frame 192 via a motor supporting member 195. On the upper surface of the frame 192, a two-stage pulley 197 is provided in front of the apparatus.
Is rotatably mounted, and a pulley 198 is rotatably mounted on the rear side. A timing belt 199 is stretched between a pulley below the two-stage pulley 197 and the pulley 198. A driving pulley 200 is fixed to the tip of the motor 196, and the driving pulley 200
A timing belt 201 is stretched between the second pulley 197 and the upper pulley. Moving frame 175
A joint member 202 is provided on an upper surface of the joint member 202 so as to protrude above the frame 192.
Is connected to the timing belt 199. With this configuration, when the motor 196 rotates, the moving frame 175 moves in the front-rear direction of the apparatus along the guide shaft 193.

As shown in FIGS. 20, 21 and 24, the discharge mechanism 171 has a plurality of guide plates 210, 211, 212 for guiding a sheet. The first guide plate 210 is disposed at substantially the same height and at the same inclination as the bin 25 located at the unloading opening.
0 is taken out of the sheet. Also, the second guide plate 211
Is provided continuously above the first guide plate 210 and on the front side of the first guide plate 210, and the lower end thereof can be opened and closed about the support pin 213. As shown in FIG. 24, the second guide plate 211 and the third guide plate 212 are arranged at positions facing each other across the movement path of the stacker hand mechanism 170.

Further, as shown in FIG. 24, the discharge mechanism 171 has a motor 216 supported by a support frame 215. The support frames 215 are arranged on both sides of the movement path of the stacker hand mechanism 170. In addition, below the first guide plate 210, there is a rotating shaft 217 arranged substantially parallel to the mounting surface of the first guide plate 210. The pulley 21 is provided at both ends of the rotating shaft 217 and at a substantially intermediate portion thereof.
8a, 218b and 218c are fixed. Further, the driving rollers 219a, 219b
Are rotatably arranged at predetermined intervals. These drive rollers 219a and 219b are connected to pulleys 218c and 218b fixed to a rotating shaft 217 by timing belts 220a and 220b, respectively, and are driven to rotate. Each drive roller 219a, 21
Followed rollers 221a and 221b are in pressure contact with 9b, respectively. The sheet pulled forward by the hand mechanism 170 is sandwiched between the rollers 219a and 219b and the driven rollers 221a and 221b, and the stack 17
You will be guided to two sides. Each driven roller 221a, 221b
Is rotatably mounted on the tip of the revolving arm 222 as shown in FIG. 21 so as to sandwich the paper with a predetermined pressing force. In the middle of the discharge path of the discharge mechanism 171, a pair of transmission type optical sensors 223a and 223b (FIG.
4) to detect a jam in the discharge section.

Here, as is apparent from FIG. 24, the rotating shaft 217 and the discharge roller pair 219 in the discharge mechanism 171 are used.
a, 221a and 219b, 221b, etc., have the same inclination as the inclination of the bin 25, and the left side in the figure is located at the upper side. Therefore, when these roller pairs are rotated at the same speed, the right corner of the sheet in FIG. 24 falls first onto the stacking section 172, and this corner is easily damaged. Therefore, the roller pair 219a, 2
The discharge speed of the roller 21a is higher than that of the lower roller pair 219b, 221b. That is, the rotation speed is increased. For this reason, the sheet discharged by these roller pairs falls into the stack portion 172 almost at the same time through the positions shown in FIG. Therefore, damage to one corner can be avoided.

The stack section 172 is provided for the sheet take-out device 3
It can be pulled out from the main body to the front side of the device. As shown in FIG. 21, the stack portion 172 has a substantially horizontal horizontal tray 230 and a rotary tray 232 rotatably mounted by a pin 231 at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction on the side wall of the stack portion 172. doing. A roller 233 is attached to the free end of the rotating tray 232. On the other hand, the stack unit 1 of the sheet take-out device 3
A guide member 234 which is inclined upward rearward from a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction is provided on a side wall of the portion where the 72 is accommodated.
Is provided. Then, the roller 2 of the rotating tray 232
33 moves on this guide member 234. For this reason, when the stack unit 172 is stored in the sheet take-out device 3 (FIG. 21), the sheets are stored in a bent posture in which the rear of the device is inclined upward, and the stack unit 172 is stored.
Is pulled out forward, the rotation tray 232 is in a substantially horizontal posture, and the paper can be easily taken out.

Control Block The copier main body 1 of this copier has a copier main body controller 250 as shown in FIG. 26, and the automatic document feeder 11 has an RDH controller 251. Further, the sorter 2 is provided with a sorter control unit 252, and the sorter control unit 252 controls the sorter 2 and the sheet take-out device 3. Each control unit 250-2
52 has a microcomputer including a ROM, a RAM, and a CPU. In the sorter control unit 252, FIG.
7, various selection keys K1, K2, K3, and K4 provided on an operation panel 253 of the sorter, sensors of each part in the sorter 2 and the sheet take-out device 3, and other input units are connected. . The sorter control unit 252 is connected to the motors of the sorter 2 and the sheet take-out device 3 and the solenoid.
The EDs (display units) L1 and L2 are connected to other output units. The sorter control unit 252 includes a copier main unit control unit 25.
0, and the RDH controller 251 is also connected to the copier controller 250. Copier main body controller 250
Is connected to an operation panel 250a on which various keys such as keys for selecting each mode and ten keys are arranged.

Here, key K1 on sorter operation panel 253 is a key for raising bin unit 27, and key K2 is a key for lowering bin unit 27. The key K3 is a key for selecting a process (hereinafter, referred to as a multi process) for causing the process in the processing unit 29 and the removal process of the sheet removal device 3 to be performed in parallel. The key K4 is the processing unit 29
Is a key for instructing execution of processing in
DL1 and L2 are multi-processing and processing units 2, respectively.
9 to indicate the ON or OFF state of the processing in FIG.

General Operation In this apparatus, various operation modes can be designated on the copying machine main body 1 side. That is, it is possible to set whether or not to perform sort processing at the time of discharge processing, whether or not to discharge processed sheets to the stack unit 172, and whether or not to perform staple processing or punch processing by the processing unit 29 of the sorter 2. it can. Further, by selecting the multi-processing, it is possible to execute the processing of the number of copies equal to or larger than the number of bins.

[0056] When the sorting sorting mode is selected, the paper that has been discharged from the copying machine main body 1 is transported to the sorting introduction passage 28b side by the branching claw 161, each bin of the bin unit 27 2
5 is introduced. Each bin 25 of the bin unit 27 is sequentially raised or lowered by the rotation of the spiral cam 33, and sorts the introduced paper. Bin 2
When the vertical movement of the bin 5 occurs, the interval between the upper and lower bins 25 becomes large in the discharge / processing opening and the take-out opening below the opening. At this time, if the rear end of the paper is curled upward, the paper may exceed the standing wall 25d of the bin 25. 25 can be prevented from falling.

On the other hand, when the non-sort mode is selected, the paper is sent to the non-sorting carry-in path 28c by the branch claw 161. The paper transported by the non-sorting loading path 28c is sequentially discharged to the non-sorting bin 162. When a mode for performing post-processing stapling or punching is selected, the processing is performed on the paper accommodated in the bin 25.

In this case, after the sorting process, if the lowermost bin among the bins containing sheets is located at the discharge / processing opening (if the number of originals is an odd number), the bin is left as it is. Start post-processing. When the lowermost bin is not located at the discharge / processing opening (when the number of documents is an even number), each bin 25 is moved so that the lowermost bin is located at the discharge / processing opening.

Next, the stopper 51 is set in a droppermissible posture, the processing hand units 60a and 60b are protruded, and the paper end in the bin 25 is gripped by the hand mechanism 81. In this state, the spiral cam 33 is rotated by ／ rotation,
The bin 25 located at the discharge / processing opening is lowered by a predetermined amount. In this position, the lowermost end of the sheet gripped by the hand mechanism 81 is located above the standing wall 25 d of the bin 25. Next, when the hand units 60a and 60b are retracted and returned to the home position, the trailing edge of the sheet moves to the processing position of the stapling device 58. Then, the gripping of the sheet is released. The processing hand units 60a and 60b to be used are selected according to the paper size. That is, when the width size is small, only one hand unit 60a is used, and when the size in the width direction is large, both hand units 60a and 60b are used.

In the case where the stapling process is performed on the front corner of the sheet (single-dot printing), the stapling device 58 is in this state.
To perform stapling processing. In the case where the binding process is performed at the rear corner of the apparatus (inside punching), the stapling apparatus 58 is moved rearward by moving the moving table 57, and the stapling processing is performed at a predetermined position.
Similarly, when the binding process is performed at two points on the front side and the rear side of the apparatus (two-point hitting), the stapling apparatus 58 is stopped at a predetermined position and the stapling processing is performed. When performing the punching process, the moving table 57 is similarly moved in the front-rear direction, and the punch device 59 is driven. When performing these processes, after moving the paper to the processing position, before releasing the gripping of the paper by the hand mechanism 81,
The paper fixing device 10 grips and fixes a corner corresponding to the front side of the paper and behind the leading end of the stapling device 58. This ensures that the paper does not shift during processing,
Processing can be performed at an accurate position.

When the processing is completed, the paper is again gripped by the hand mechanism 81, and the processing hand units 60a, 60
0b is projected, and the paper is moved above the bin 25. Then, the hands 85 and 86 are opened to release the grip of the sheet.
In this state, the arm 90 of the sheet ejecting mechanism 82 is made to project, and the trailing end of the sheet is pushed. Then, the hand 85,
86, and is returned to the bin 25.

As described above, after the grip is released by the hands 85 and 86, the rear end of the sheet is protruded by the arm 90, so that the sheet can be reliably returned from the hands 85 and 86 into the bin 25. When these processes are completed, the hand mechanism 81 is once moved to the home position, and then the spiral cam 33 is further rotated by ４. Thereby, the bin 25 containing the processed paper is moved to the take-out opening.

Width Adjustment Process At the time of the sorting process, when a sheet is introduced into the bin 25, the width adjustment process of the sheet is executed. During the post-processing, the processing hand units 60a, 60b
A similar sheet width adjustment process is executed before the sheet is gripped in. In this case, the shutter member 121 is lowered to shield the outlet 111a. Then, the width shifting plate 136 is moved forward by a predetermined amount according to the sheet size. As a result, the sheet in the bin 25 is pushed forward, and the width of the sheet is adjusted so as to be sandwiched between the shutter member 121 and the width shift plate 136.

When the multi -processing mode is selected, in parallel with the above-described post-processing, a take-out processing for taking out the processed paper in the bin 25 to the front side is performed. In this case, the stacker hand mechanism 170 moves rearward (bin side) with respect to the bin 25 located at the take-out opening 111a,
The front end of the paper in the bin 25 is gripped. When the end of the sheet is gripped by the stacker hand mechanism 170, the hand mechanism 170 is moved forward by the moving mechanism 190. Then, the paper in the bin 25 is taken out of the outlet 111.
20A is drawn toward the apparatus front side along the first guide plate 210 of FIG. At this time, the roller pair of the discharge mechanism 171 is rotating in synchronization with the moving speed of the hand mechanism 170. The hand mechanism 170 moves forward and the ejection mechanism 17
When it comes to one roller portion, the end of the sheet is pinched by the roller pair. Upon detecting this, the rotation of the hand mechanism 170 and the roller pair is temporarily stopped, and the hands 176 and 176 of the hand mechanism 170 are stopped.
177 is released to release the grip of the sheet. By further moving the hand mechanism 170 to the front side, the sheet is separated from the hands 176 and 177 and remains on the discharge mechanism 171 side. By rotating the pair of rollers of the discharge mechanism 171 in this state, the sheet is transported to the front side of the apparatus, and is guided downward along the second guide plate 211. Then, the paper is stored in the stack unit 172.

By executing such multi-processing, for example, even if the number of bins is 20, sorting and post-processing can be performed on sheets of 20 copies or more.
A limitless sorter can be realized. Stack section 172
When taking out the paper stored in the stack unit 17,
2 is pulled out to the front side of the device. Then, the rotating tray 232
21 moves clockwise in FIG. 21 around the fulcrum pin 231 while moving forward along the guide member 234. When the stack portion 172 is pulled out to the maximum, the rotating tray 232 is in a substantially horizontal posture, and the paper in the stack portion 172 can be easily taken out.

Here, when the sheet is discharged by the roller pair of the discharge mechanism 171, since the sheet discharge speed of the roller pair located on the upper side shown in FIG. 25, and the lower end of the sheet is not inclined and hits the tray of the stack section 172 without being inclined, thereby preventing the corners of the sheet from being damaged.

When performing maintenance on the stapling device 58 and the like, the cover 260 on the front side of the sorter 2 is opened,
The base table 56 is pulled out from the sorter 2 forward.
In this state, the stapling device 58, the punching device 59, and the hand units 60a, 60
Since b can be taken out of the sorter 2, maintenance can be easily performed. Control Operation This copying machine is controlled by the copying machine main unit control unit 250 and the sorter control unit 252 as follows.

When the main switch of the control device on the copying machine main body side is pressed, first, in step S1.
, Initial settings such as setting the number of copies to one are performed. Next, in step S2, a condition input process such as receiving an input for setting the number of copies is performed.
In step S3, an operation mode selection process is performed. In step S4, a copy process is performed. In step S5, a post process is performed. Here, in this example, staple processing and multi-processing will be described as examples of post-processing.

The mode selection process in the mode selection process step S3 is shown in FIGS.
Shown in In this mode selection processing, first, in step S10
, It is determined whether the mode determination flag f2 is on or off. Here, the mode determination flag f2 indicates that the operation mode has been determined (for example, during copy processing).
Is ON, and is OFF if it is not fixed. Since the mode determination flag f2 is off in the initial state, the process proceeds from step S10 to step S11. Since the flag f2 is on during the copy process or the like, the process exits the mode selection process in this case. In step S11,
It is determined whether a key for selecting a sort mode has been pressed. In step S12, it is determined whether the ejection mode has been selected, and in step S13, it is determined whether the staple mode has been selected. Here, the discharge mode is
This is a processing mode in which the sheets in the bin 25 are taken out to the stack section 172 of the sheet take-out device 3, and in this case, both stapling and discharging are performed in parallel (multi-processing). This multi-processing is performed by the operation panel 253 on the sorter side.
Is selected by the key K3 provided in the.

If the key for selecting the sort mode has been pressed, the process moves from step S11 to step S14. In step S14, it is determined whether or not the sort mode is already set. If the sort mode is already set, the process proceeds to step S15, and the operation mode is set to the non-sort mode. If the sort mode has not been selected, the flow shifts to step S16 to set the sort mode. As described above, by pressing the key for selecting the sort mode, the sort mode can be selected or the set sort mode can be canceled.

If the key (multi key K3) for selecting the discharge mode has been pressed, the flow shifts from step S12 to step S17. In step S17, it is determined whether the discharge mode has already been selected. If it has been selected, the flow shifts to step S18 to set the non-discharge mode. If the discharge mode has not been selected, the process proceeds from step S17 to step S19. In step S19, it is determined whether the staple mode has been selected. Here, if the discharge mode is selected while the staple mode is not selected, the sheets are discharged without stapling, and the sheets are separated in the stack unit 172. For this reason,
If the discharge mode is set and the staple mode is not set, the process proceeds from step S19 to step S19.
Then, the process proceeds to step 20, where the discharge mode is set and the staple mode is forcibly set. If the staple mode has already been set, the process proceeds to step S19.
From step S21 to set the discharge mode.

Next, when the key for selecting the staple mode is pressed, the process proceeds from step S13 to step S13.
Move to 22. In step S22, it is determined whether the staple mode has already been set. If not set, the process moves to step S23 to set the staple mode. If the staple mode has already been set, the process proceeds from step S22 to step S24 to cancel the staple mode. In step S24, the non-staple mode is set. Next, in a step S25, it is determined whether or not the discharge mode is selected. If the discharge mode has been set, the process proceeds to step S26. In step S26, an error message is displayed. That is, when the non-staple mode and the discharge mode are selected, the sheets are separated in the stack unit 172 as described above. For this reason, an error message is displayed on the display unit to alert the operator. When this error message is displayed, no signal for setting the discharge mode is sent to the control unit 252 on the sorter side, and the discharge process is prohibited. If the discharge mode is not set, the process returns from step S25 to the main routine.

Copy Processing Next, the copy processing in step S4 will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S30, it is determined whether the copy acceptance permission flag f3 is on or off. When the copy reception permission flag f3 is on, the reception of the copy is permitted. In this case, steps S30 to S3
Move to 1. If it is off, copy processing is prohibited, and the process exits from this processing routine. In step S31, it is determined whether the copy processing in progress flag f4 is on or off. The copy process in progress flag f4 is ON to indicate that the process is in progress. If it is off, the process moves to step S32. In step S32, it is determined whether the copy button has been pressed. If not, the process returns to the main routine.
If the copy button has been pressed to start the copy process, the process moves to step S33. Step S3
In 3, the mode determination flag f2 and the copy processing flag f4 are turned on, and the process returns to the main routine.

If the copy processing in progress flag f4 is on, the process moves from step S31 to step S34. In step S34, it is determined whether the number-of-copies setting flag f5 is on. Here, the number-of-copies setting flag f5 is set in accordance with the number of copies (number of copies) set by the operator and the number of bins 25. Execute If the number-of-copies setting flag f5 is already on, the process proceeds to step S36. In this step S36, normal copy processing is executed. That is, the image information of the document is read, the paper size is determined, the paper according to the determination result is fed from the paper feed cassette, an image forming operation is performed, and the paper is carried out to the sorter side.

Next, in step S37, it is determined whether the copy processing end flag f6 is on or off. When the processing including the sort processing by the sorter 2 is completed, the flag f6 is turned on. Here, when the number of copies preset by the operator is equal to or greater than the number of bins, the flag f6 is turned on when the processing for the number of bins is completed. If not completed, the process returns to the main routine to repeatedly execute a copy process and the like. If the flag f6 is on, the process moves to step S38. In step S38, it is determined whether the post-processing mode has been selected. If it is selected, the staple processing shift permission flag f7 is turned on, the copy reception permission flag f3 is turned off, and the process returns to the main routine. Note that the stapling process transfer permission flag f7 is ON and “permitted”. On the other hand, if the post-processing has not been selected, the process proceeds to step S40. Step S40
Then, the copy reception permission flag f3 is turned off, and the routine goes to Step S41 in FIG.

In a step S41, it is determined whether or not there is a sheet on the bin 25. If there is a sheet on the bin, the process proceeds to step S42, the mode determination flag f2 is turned off, and the process proceeds to step S43. In step S43, it is determined whether a key for selecting post-processing is pressed during the copy processing or after the copy processing and the sort processing are completed. This key is prepared on the operation panel 250a of the copying machine main body 1, so that even if post-processing has not been selected before the start of copying, it can be selected later. If post-processing is selected after the start of copying, the process moves from step S43 to step S44. Step S44
Then, it is determined whether or not the post-processing execution switch K4 on the operation panel 253 of the sorter 2 has been pressed. After the switch is pressed, the process proceeds to step S45. In step S45, the mode determination flag f2 is turned on, the post-processing shift permission flag f7 is turned on, and the process returns to the main routine.

On the other hand, if there is no paper on the bin 25, the process proceeds from step S41 to step S46. In step S46, it is determined whether or not the variable Y indicating the number of remaining copies is “0”. The remaining number of copies Y is a value obtained by subtracting the number of bins from the preset number of copies (B) set by the operator. If the remaining number of copies Y is “0”, the process proceeds to step S47.
In step S47, the mode determination flag f2, the copy processing flag f4, the number of copies determination flag f5, and the copy processing end flag f6 are turned off, and the process returns to the main routine. If the remaining number of copies Y is not "0", the process proceeds from step S46 to step S48. Step S48
Then, the copy number determination flag f5 and the copy processing flag f6 are turned off, the copy acceptance permission flag f3 is turned on, and the process returns to the main routine.

Next, the number setting process in step S35 will be described. As shown in FIG. 33, in the copy number setting process, it is first determined in step S50 whether or not the sort mode is selected. If the sort mode has not been selected, the process proceeds to step S51. Step S
At 51, the preset number of copies B is set as the number of remaining copies Y, and the preset number of copies B is set as the number of processing copies A.
Further, the copy number setting flag f5 is turned on, and the process returns to the main routine.

On the other hand, if the sort mode has been selected, the process moves from step S50 to step S58. In the step S58, it is determined whether or not it is the first number setting processing. In the case of the first processing, the process moves to step S52. In step S52, the preset number of copies B is set as the remaining number of copies Y, and the process proceeds to step S53. In the case of the second and subsequent processes, the process skips step S52 and shifts to step S53. Step S53
Then, it is determined whether or not the number of remaining copies Y is equal to or less than the number of bins (in this example, “20”). If the number of remaining copies B exceeds the number of bins, NO is determined in step S53,
Move to step S54. In step S54, the number of copies A is set to "20", and the remaining number of copies Y is set to "Y-20", and the process proceeds to step S56. In step S56, the copy number setting flag f5 is turned on, and the process returns to the main routine.

If the number of remaining copies Y is equal to or less than the number of bins, the process moves from step S53 to step S57. In step S57, the remaining number of copies Y is set as the number of processing copies A,
The remaining copy number Y is set to "0", the copy number setting flag f5 is turned on, and the process returns to the main routine. By such processing, the number of preset copies initially set is, for example, “3”.
In the case of "0", the number of copies A is divided into "20" and "10". For example, in the case of "50", the number of copies A is divided into "20", "20", and "10".

[0081] post-processing of the copying machine main body will be described post-processing control of the copying machine main body 34 about. In this process, first, in step S60, it is determined whether the post-processing shift permission flag f7 is on or off. If it is off, the process returns to the main routine. If the flag f7 is on, step S
It moves to 61. In step S61, it is determined whether the post-processing end flag f8 is on or off. The post-processing end flag f8 is turned on when the processing for the number of processed copies A in FIG. 33 ends. For example, when only the sorting process is completed, the process proceeds from step S61 to step S62. In the step S62, it is determined whether or not the remaining number of copies Y is “0”. If Y is not "0", the flow shifts to step S63, specifies multi-processing, and returns to the main routine. On the other hand, if the number of remaining copies Y is equal to or smaller than the number of bins, Y is set to “0” in step S57 in FIG. 33, and in this case, the process proceeds to step S64. In the step S64, it is determined whether or not the multi-processing is designated. If multi-processing is specified, step S6
The process proceeds to step S3, and if multi-processing is not specified, the process proceeds to step S65 and returns to the main routine without multi-processing.

When the post-processing has been completed for the number of copies A, the post-processing end flag f8 is turned on, for example, as shown in step P46 of FIG.
The process moves from step 61 to step S66. In step S66, it is determined whether or not the remaining number of copies Y is “0”.
If it is "0", the flow shifts to step S67, where the post-processing end flag f8, the post-processing shift permission flag f7, the copy processing end flag f6, the copy number setting flag f5, the copy processing flag f4, and the mode determination flag f2 are respectively set. Turn off and return to the main routine. If the remaining number of copies Y is not "0", the process proceeds to step S68, in which the post-processing end flag f8, the post-processing shift permission flag f7, the copy processing end flag f6, and the copy number setting flag f5 are turned off. Turn on f3 and return to the main routine.

Sorter side control On the sorter side, the sorter controller 252 executes the control shown in FIG. First, in step P1, initialization is performed. In this initial setting, processing such as returning each part to the initial position and turning off the solenoid is performed.
Next, in step P2, it is determined whether or not conditions such as an operation mode and flag data have been input from the copying machine main body control unit 250. In step P3, the copier controller 25
It is determined whether or not the condition sent from 2 is the non-sort mode. At step P4, it is determined whether the mode is the sort mode. At step P5, it is determined whether the mode is the post-processing mode. In step P6, it is determined whether or not the post-processing execution key K4 has been pressed on the operation panel 253 on the sorter 2 side. In step P7, it is determined whether or not the bin unit raising key K1 has been pressed. In step P9, it is determined whether or not the bin unit lowering key K2 has been pressed.
It is determined whether 3 has been pressed.

When various conditions such as an operation mode and flag data are changed and a condition is input from the copying machine main body control unit 252, the process shifts from step P2 to step P10 to change the operation mode according to the condition. Set. When the non-sort mode is set by the condition processing in step P10, the process shifts from step P3 to step P11. In step 11, the paper ejected from the copying machine main body 1 is guided to the non-sorting carry-in path 28 c by switching the branch claws 161, and the paper is ejected to the non-sort bin 162.

In the case of the sort mode, the process shifts from step P4 to step P12 to execute the sort processing. In the case of the post-processing mode, the process shifts from step P5 to P13 to execute post-processing. Further, when the key K4 for executing post-processing is pressed from the operation panel 253 of the sorter 2, the process shifts from step P6 to step P14. In Step P14, a stapling process is executed. For this reason, the operator can manually feed paper into the bin 25 and perform stapling processing on the paper. If the bin unit raising key K1 is pressed, the process shifts from step P7 to step P15 to raise the bin unit 27 by one bin. Conversely, when the bin lowering key K2 is pressed, the process shifts from step P8 to step P16 to lower the bin unit 27 by one bin. If the multi-processing key K3 has been pressed, the program shifts from Step P9 to Step P17. In Step P17, the multi-processing mode is reversed. That is, when the multi-processing mode is set and the multi-processing key K3 is pressed, the multi-processing mode is set. Conversely, when the multi-processing mode is not set, the multi-processing key K3 is set. If is pressed, the multi-processing mode is set. Based on this mode set state, the above-described mode selection processing in step S12 and steps S17 to S21 is executed.

Sorting When the sorting mode is selected, the sorting shown in FIG. 37 is executed. In this case, first, step P2
A sort transport process is performed at 0. That is, the branch pawl 161 is switched to sort the paper from the copier body 1 into the sorting carry-in path 2.
8b and drive the motor 39 to drive the bin unit 2
The paper is discharged to the bin 25 located at the discharge / processing opening while sequentially moving each bin 25 of No. 7 up and down.

Next, in Step P21, the width shift plate 136
Is moved forward to start the width adjustment operation. Next, in step P22, it is determined whether or not the sheet introduced into the sorter 2 is the last sheet. If it is not the last sheet, the program shifts to Step P23. In Step P23, it is determined whether or not the moving direction of the bin needs to be changed.
When all the bins are moving upward or downward from the discharge / processing opening, the moving direction needs to be changed. In this case, the process shifts from step P23 to step P24 to change the moving direction of the bin unit 27. If there is no need to change, the process shifts from step P23 to step P25, and moves by one bin in the same direction.
If the sheets are sorted into the bins 25 to become the final sheets in this manner, the process proceeds from step P22 to step P26.
Move to In Step P26, the introduction unit 2 of the sorter 2
8a is stopped.

When the width adjusting operation in step P21 is started, a process as shown in FIG. 38 is executed. In this width adjustment process, the motor 142 is driven in step P27, and the pulleys 152 and 150a and the timing belt 1
The pinion 150 is rotated through the
Width protruding plate 136 is projected through. After projecting a predetermined distance, the width shift plate 136 is retracted by an operation reverse to that described above in step P28. Here, the width shift plate 13
6 is controlled by the paper size. By such a width adjustment process, the sheets in the bin 25 are aligned on the front side of the apparatus.

Post- processing When the post- processing mode is selected, the processing of FIG. 39 and subsequent steps is executed. First, in step P30, it is determined whether or not the bin unit 27 is located above the discharge / processing opening. If the bin unit 27 is not located above the discharge / processing opening at the time when the sorting process is completed, the process shifts to step P31 where (A-1) (A: the number of processing units, for example, the bin number is 20) 19 in case of
) Bin 25 is raised. If it is located above, the program shifts from Step P30 to Step P32. In Step P32, the number of copies A (see FIG. 33) is set as a variable X indicating the number of the bin to be processed. Next, in step P33, it is determined whether or not the multi-processing is designated. If the multi-process has not been specified, the program shifts to Step P35.

At step P35, a stapling process described later is executed. Next, in step P36, the bin 25 is lowered by one bin, and in step P37, the variable X is set to "1".
After the subtraction, the process shifts to Step P38. In Step P38, it is determined whether or not the variable X has become “0”. If not “0”, the process shifts to Step P35, where Step P35
To Step P38 are repeatedly executed. If the stapling process is completed for all the bins in which sheets are stored, YES is determined in Step P38, the flag f8 is turned on in Step P39, and the process returns to the main routine.

If the judgment is YES in Step P33, the program shifts to Step P40. In Step P40, it is determined whether or not the variable X is “0”. If it is not the last bin, NO is determined in Step P40, and the routine goes to Step S41. In Step P41, it is determined whether or not the variable X is A. That is, it is determined whether or not the bin to be processed is the first bin. If the bin is the first bin, the process shifts to Step P42 to execute Process 1 described later. Step P4 for the second and subsequent bins
The process shifts from Step 1 to Step P43 to execute Process 2 described later. If it is the last bin, YE in step P40
If determined to be S, the program shifts to Step P44. Step P
In step 44, processing 3 described later is executed, and in step P45, 1 is set.
In step P46, the flag f8 is turned on and the process returns to the main routine. The processing in Step P45 is
Next, when paper is discharged from the copying machine main body 1, the paper is received at the discharge / processing opening.

As a result of such post-processing, for example, when the number of preset copies B is 25 and the number of bins is 20, the number of processing copies "20" is first set as a variable X. This "2
When the post-processing is completed for the “0” part, the condition becomes “A = 5”.
When multi-processing is specified, the remaining number of copies “5” is set as a variable X, and the same post-processing is performed.

In process 1, a process as shown in FIG. 41 is executed. In this process, the width adjustment process in step 50 and the hand protrusion process in step P51 are executed in parallel. The width adjustment processing in step P50 is the same as the processing shown in steps P21 and P27 described above. In the hand protruding process of step P51, the solenoid 52 is turned on, and the stopper 51 is set to the drop allowable posture as shown in FIG. Next, the timing belt 103 is circulated by driving the motor 100 to make the slide plate 84 protrude toward the bin 25. As a result, the tip of the processing hand mechanism 81 moves into the notch 25 c of the bin 25. Here, the paper size is detected during the above-described copy processing, and
The hand unit 60 to be used depends on the paper size.
a and 60b are selected.

Next, at step P52, the hand mechanism 81
The solenoid 87 is turned on and the end of the paper is
6 to hold. Next, by controlling the rotation of the spiral cam 33, the bin 25 is lowered by 3/4. By lowering the bin 25 by 3/4, the end of the paper gripped by the hands 85 and 86 is raised by the upright wall 25d of the bin 25.
It is a position where you can get over.

Next, the processes after step P54, step P55, and step P56 are executed in parallel. In Step P54, the motor 127 is driven to
Then, the shutter member 121 is moved up through 8. In step P55, the width shift plate 136 is retracted. Next, in step P56, the motor 100 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above, and the processing hand mechanism 81 is moved backward to return to the home position. Thereby, the sheet is taken out to the staple position. Next, in step P57, a stapling process described later is executed. When the stapling process is completed, step P
The process proceeds to 58, where the processing hand mechanism 81 is protruded. Thus, the stapled sheet is moved above the bin 25. Next, at step P59, the solenoid 8
7 is turned off, the hands 85 and 86 are released, and the grip of the sheet is released. Then, in step P60, the solenoid 91
Is turned on to project the arm 90. As a result, the rear end of the sheet is pushed, and is securely separated from the hands 85 and 86 and stored in the bin 25. Thereafter, in step P61, the hand mechanism 81 is returned to the home position, and in step S62, the bin 25 is lowered by 1/4, and the bin 25 containing the stapled paper is moved to the front take-out position facing the take-out opening 111a. In step P63, the variable X is decremented by "1", and the process returns to step P33 in FIG.

For the second and subsequent bins, the process goes to step P43 through step P40 and step P41 in FIG.
Then, the processing 2 as shown in FIG. 42 is executed. In the processing 2, the width adjustment start processing in step P70, the processing for stapling processing in step P71 and thereafter, and the processing of taking out the stapled paper to the front side of the apparatus in step P72 and thereafter are executed in parallel. You. The processing in steps P71 and P73 is the same as the processing in steps P51 and P52 described above. In Step P74, it is determined whether or not the sheet has been drawn 30 mm forward by the stacker hand mechanism 170 described later. The process shifts to step P75 after being pulled out. Here, the waiting for the 30 mm withdrawal by the stacker hand mechanism 170 in step P74 is because if the bin for stapling is lowered before the start of the forward take-out processing, the paper cannot be gripped by the stacker hand mechanism 170. Because. Step P76
Width retreat processing and steps P77 to P8
The processing in 3 is exactly the same as the processing in step P55 and step P56 to step P61 in processing 1 described above.

[0097] While performing the above stapling process, the taking-out process to the front side of the apparatus is executed in parallel. That is, first, in step P72, the stacker hand mechanism 1
70 is projected rearward (toward the bin 25). Then, in step P85, the solenoid 178 is turned on, and the hands 176, 177 grip the front side of the sheet. Next, in Step P86, the motor 196 of the moving mechanism 190 is driven, and the stacker hand mechanism 170 is pulled out to the front side of the apparatus via the timing belt 199. At the same time as this step P86DH, the roller pair of the discharge mechanism 171 is rotated in synchronization with the moving speed of the stacker hand mechanism 170. By the movement of the stacker hand mechanism 170, the stapled paper in the bin 25 is taken into the paper take-out device 3. Next, in Step P87, it is determined whether or not the stacker hand mechanism 170 has reached the sheet release position. In this position, the front end of the sheet is sandwiched between the pair of rollers of the discharge mechanism 171. The process shifts to Step P88 after waiting for the stacker hand mechanism 170 to reach the grip release position. In Step P88, the drawer of the stacker hand mechanism 170 and the rotation of the roller pair are temporarily stopped, and the holding of the sheet is released by turning off the solenoid 178. Next, in step P89,
The stacker hand mechanism 170 is further retracted forward. Next, in step P90, the stacker hand mechanism 17
It is determined whether 0 has been retracted to a position where it does not interfere with the sheet discharged by the roller pair. Stacker hand mechanism 1
After waiting for the 70 to retreat, the program shifts to Step P91 to turn on the roller pair. As a result, the sheet is conveyed forward, is guided downward along the second guide plate 211, and is stored in the stack portion 172.

As described above, since the roller pair is temporarily stopped while the sheet is being pulled out, and the sheet is separated from the stacker hand mechanism 170, the sheet is reliably discharged from the stacker hand mechanism 170 without using any special member. It can be delivered to the mechanism 171 side. Next, in Step P92, it is determined whether or not the sheet has passed through the discharge mechanism 171 and dropped into the stack section 172. The flow shifts to step P93 after waiting for the passage of the sheet. In Step P93, it is determined whether or not the bin 25 has dropped by 1/4, and after waiting for the drop, the process shifts to Step P94. Step P9
In step 4, the stacker hand mechanism 170 is again protruded toward the sorter 2 to prepare for taking out the paper of the next bin.

When the stapling process and the sheet discharging process are completed, the variable X is set to “1” in step P95.
Subtract. For the last bin, process 3 in FIG. 43 is executed. In the process 3, since the stacker hand mechanism 170 has already protruded toward the bin 25 by the process 2, the process starts from the sheet gripping process in step P100. The processing in Steps P100 to P107 is exactly the same as the processing in Steps P85 to P92 in Processing 2 described above. In Step P107, the flow shifts to Step P108 after waiting for the paper to pass. In Step P108, the rotation of the roller pair of the discharge mechanism 171 is stopped. Next, in step P109, the shutter member 121 is lowered to close the take-out port 111a. When these processes are completed, the process returns to the main routine.

Next, the control operation of the stapling process will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG. In Step P110, it is determined whether or not the stapling process is performed by one-point printing. The single-dot printing is a process for performing stapling processing on the front end corner of the sheet in a state where the sheet is at the reference position, that is, the stapling device 58 is at the home position. In step P111, it is determined whether or not to perform stapling at two points, that is, at two points in the sheet width direction. If the stapling process is performed for only one reference position, the process shifts from Step P110 to Step P112. In Step P112, the driving unit 72 of the stapling device 58
Is driven to lower the lower jaw 71 to execute the stapling process. If two-dot printing has been instructed, the process shifts from step P111 to step 113. Step P1
At 13, the front end of the sheet is gripped by the sheet fixing device 110. Next, in Step P114, the stapling device 58 is moved to one of the two points corresponding to the sheet size. Then, in Step P115, the stapling device 58 is driven to execute the stapling process. Next, in step SP116, the stapling device 58 is moved to another stapling position. Then, in Step P117, the same stapling processing as described above is executed. When the stapling process is completed, the stapling device 58 is moved to the home position in step P118, and the stapling process is completed.

On the other hand, when the stapling process is performed on the rear end side corner opposite to the so-called deep hitting, that is, the one-point hitting to the reference position, step P110 and step P111
Is determined to be NO in any one of the steps P119 and P119.
Move to In step P119, the aforementioned step P
Similarly to 113, the front end of the sheet is gripped by the sheet fixing device 110. Then, in step P120, the stapling device 58 is moved to the rear corner of the sheet. Then, in step P121, the same stapling process as described above is executed. Then, in Step P122, the stapling apparatus 5
8 is moved to the home position, and the stapling process ends.

[0102]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the paper in the paper receiver is taken out in front of the image forming apparatus, the workability of taking out is improved. Further, since the paper is taken out by the gripping means and the roller device, the roller device is temporarily stopped after the paper is nipped by the roller device, and the roller device is restarted to rotate after the gripping device is retracted and discharged. Transfer of the sheet from the gripping means to the roller device can be performed well.

When the next sheet to be taken out at the time of taking out the sheet, the gripping means is moved to the sheet taking-out position during the discharging operation of the roller device, so that the time for taking out is shortened. it can. Further, in the sheet processing apparatus provided with the processing means and the take-out means, the processing such as stapling and the taking-out processing of the processed paper are performed in parallel, so that the entire processing time can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a copying machine employing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional configuration diagram of the copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a bin provided in a sorter of the copying machine.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vertical section of a sorter.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a driving unit of the bin unit.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a rotation detection plate and a sensor for controlling movement of the bin.

FIG. 7 is a sectional front view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a processing unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the paper fall prevention mechanism.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of the operation of the paper fall prevention mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a front view of a driving unit of the processing unit.

FIG. 12 is a front view of the stapling apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a front view of the processing hand unit.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the processing hand unit.

FIG. 15 is a front view of the paper fixing device.

FIG. 16 is a front view of a shutter member and its driving unit.

FIG. 17 is a sectional plan view of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a plan view of the width adjusting device.

FIG. 19 is a side view of the width adjusting device.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional front view of the sheet take-out device.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional side view of the sheet take-out device.

FIG. 22 is a side view of the stacker hand mechanism.

FIG. 23 is a side view of a moving mechanism of the stacker hand mechanism.

FIG. 24 is a front view of a discharge mechanism.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the discharge mechanism.

FIG. 26 is a control block diagram.

FIG. 27 is a plan view of an operation panel of the sorter.

FIG. 28 is a main control flowchart of the copying machine main body.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart of a mode selection process.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart of a mode selection process.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart of a copy process.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a copy process.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of a number setting process.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of post-processing.

FIG. 35 is a main control flowchart of the sorter.

FIG. 36 is a main control flowchart of the sorter.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of a sorting process.

FIG. 38 is a flowchart of a width adjustment process.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart of post-processing.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart of post-processing.

FIG. 41 is a flowchart of processing 1 in FIG. 39;

FIG. 42 is a flowchart of processing 2 in FIG. 39;

FIG. 43 is a flowchart of processing 3 in FIG. 39;

FIG. 44 is a flowchart of a stapling process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Copier main body 2 Sorter 3 Paper removal device 25 Bin 27 Bin unit 29 Processing unit 58 Stapling device 59 Punch device 170 Stacker hand mechanism 171 Ejection mechanism 172 Stack section 252 Sorter control section

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Keiichi Taguchi 1-2-2, Tamazo, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Satoru Hayama 1-2-28 Tamazo, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Kogyo (56) References JP-A-57-179870 (JP, A) JP-A-4-288292 (JP, A) JP-A-61-206557 (JP, U)

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet take-out device for taking out a sheet from a sheet receiver arranged on a side of an image forming apparatus, comprising: a main body case arranged on a front side of the image receiver in the sheet receiver; It is placed in the case and grasps the paper in the paper tray.
Gripping means for holding and pulling toward the front side of the image forming apparatus
And discharge the paper sandwiched by the gripping means.
And a take-out means having a roller device. 2. The sheet receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet receiving device is inclined about a take-out direction, and the roller device is provided on a plurality of sides of the sheet receiving device.
Are juxtaposed, the sheet discharge speed of the plurality of roller units are set higher roller apparatus located above,
The sheet take-out device according to claim 1. 3. A sheet take-out device for taking out a sheet from a sheet receiver arranged on a side of an image forming apparatus, comprising: a main body case arranged on a front side of the sheet receiver with respect to the image forming apparatus; It is placed in the case and grasps the paper in the paper tray.
Gripping means for holding and pulling toward the front side of the image forming apparatus
And discharge the paper sandwiched by the gripping means.
And a sheet accommodating section for accommodating sheets ejected from the sheet receiver by the ejecting means. 4. The sheet take-out device according to claim 3, wherein the sheet storage portion has a tray that can be pulled out from the main body case to a front side of the image forming apparatus. 5. The paper according to claim 4, wherein the tray has a bending posture in which the upstream portion in the paper discharging direction is bent upward when stored in the main body case, and has an extended posture when pulled out. Take-out device. 6. A sheet receiver arranged on a side of an image forming apparatus.
From the paper storage unit in the front side of the image forming apparatus.
A paper take-out device for taking out the paper, wherein the paper take-out device is movable in the front-rear direction of the image forming apparatus,
Gripping means capable of gripping the paper in the paper receiver, driving means for moving the gripping means,
Roller device for discharging the discharged paper to the paper storage section
The paper drawn by the gripping means is
A sheet nipping detecting unit that detects that the sheet is nipped by the device, and a sheet is sent to the roller device by the sheet nipping detecting unit.
Roll the roller device until it is detected that the
Rotate in the discharge direction, and after detecting the nipping of the paper,
And stop the movement of the gripping means.
To stop the gripping of the paper, and
After being retracted forward, the rotation of the roller device is restarted.
Paper take-out device provided with control means . 7. A sheet receiver arranged on a side of an image forming apparatus.
From the paper storage unit in the front side of the image forming apparatus.
A sheet pick-up device for picking up a sheet in the sheet receiver and the image pick-up device.
It is movable between a retracted position on the front side of the image forming apparatus.
Draws the paper in the paper receiver toward the retreat position.
Gripping means, a driving means for moving the gripping means, and a sheet pulled by the gripping means toward the retreat position.
A roller device for discharging the paper into the paper storage section, and a next paper detection for detecting whether there is a paper to be taken out next.
Output means, and when the next sheet is present , the sheet is being discharged by the roller device.
Control means for moving the in-out position takes gripping means
And a paper take-out device comprising: 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said image forming apparatus is disposed on a side of an image forming apparatus,
Paper for processing paper discharged from the forming device
A processing device for storing sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus.
A paper tray and a processing unit for performing a predetermined process on the paper in the paper tray;
And a sheet in the sheet tray processed by the processing means,
The paper is drawn toward the front side of the forming device and
And retrieval means for discharging the sheet to the section, and a processing in said extraction means and processing in the processing unit
A sheet processing apparatus comprising: processing control means for performing processing in parallel .