JP2742256B2 - Sheet processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus connected to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, and more particularly to a sheet processing apparatus having a stapler. is there. 2. Description of the Related Art A copying apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-64262 has been proposed. The finishing station of this copying apparatus includes a bin unit having a plurality of storage bins and moving up and down, a sheet gripping means for gripping a sheet bundle stored in each storage bin, taking out the bundle from the storage bins, and transporting the bundle to a staple position, and Staple means for stapling the sheet bundle taken out by the gripping means, kicker means for taking out the sheet bundle stapled by the staple means from the staple means, and sheet bundle discharged by the kicker means in order. Lifting means for lifting while loading. In this finishing station, while a sheet is stored in a storage bin, a work of holding and taking out a sheet bundle from another storage bin is also performed, and the sheet bundle is taken out of every other storage bin. During the lowering of the bin unit, for example, the sheet bundle is taken out from the storage bin having an odd bin number, and then the bin unit is raised to take out the sheet bundle from the storage bin having an even bin number. Therefore, the sheet bundle is taken out during the forward movement and the backward movement of the bin unit. [0004] In this copying apparatus, the sheet bundle stored in each storage bin is grasped, taken out of the storage bin, and conveyed to the staple position. There is a failure to grip the sheet or poor gripping, especially when the number of sheets is as small as 2 to 4 sheets, a lot of failure to grip or poor grip occurs, the sheet remains on the storage bin without being stapled, or is not conveyed in an appropriate posture Sometimes. [0005] Further, while the sheet bundle is taken out of the storage bin and conveyed to the staple position by the sheet gripping means, the sheet may be caught by another member in the apparatus, and the sheet may be inclined. If the sheet is not properly gripped or the sheet is skewed in the middle as described above, the staple positions will be uneven. Further, in this copying apparatus, a sheet distribution stage for storing sheets in a storage bin while distributing sheets and a staple stage for stapling a sheet bundle are substantially horizontally separated, and the sheet gripping means reciprocates between them. In addition, it has a structure with a kicker means for taking out the stapled sheet bundle from the staple means, which is inefficient in space, inevitably increases the size of the device, complicates the structure, increases the weight, etc. Has the disadvantage of SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, to provide a space-efficient, simple structure, accurate and reliable stapling of sheets, and a highly reliable sheet processing apparatus. Is to provide. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet distributing stage which is set in advance at a position for distributing and storing a sheet, and a sheet conveying means for conveying the sheet to the sheet distributing stage. A plurality of movable storage bins arranged side by side, storage bin moving means for sequentially moving the storage bins, one set staple stage, and a stapler installed so as to face the staple stage. The sheet distributing stage and the staple stage are provided in a movement area of the storage bin, and the storage bin is sequentially moved by the storage bin moving unit to the sheet distribution stage, thereby being conveyed by the sheet conveying unit. The stored sheets are stored in the storage bins while being distributed at the sheet distribution stage, and the storage of the sheets is completed. By sequentially moving the storage bin to the staple stage, the sheets are stapled by the stapler while the sheets are stored in the storage bin, and the staple-completed sheet is retreated from the staple stage together with the storage bin by the storage bin moving means. Composed first
This is achieved by the following means. Further, the above object of the present invention is the first means, wherein the sheet distribution stage and the staple stage are set close to each other in the vertical direction.
This is achieved by the following means. [0010] It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above-mentioned first means, wherein a detecting means for detecting whether or not the corresponding storage bin is present on the staple stage is provided, and the detecting means is for detecting that the storage bin is at the staple position. After detecting with
This is achieved by a third means configured to perform a stapling operation by the stapler. As described above, the present invention has a very good space efficiency because the sheet distribution stage and the staple stage are provided in the movement area of the storage bin.
The configuration is simple, and the size, weight, and cost can be reduced. Further, since the sheets are stapled while being stored in the storage bin, and when the stapling is completed, the sheet is retreated from the staple stage while being stored in the storage bin.
There is no sheet gripping failure, poor gripping, sheet jamming, and the like unlike the conventionally proposed ones, and the sheet can be stapled properly and reliably, and reliability can be improved. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a sorter provided with a stapler according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part centering on a lifting member, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a stapler unit, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the stapler. 5 is a plan view of the storage bin, and FIG. 6 is a control block diagram. As shown in FIG. 1, a sorter 2 is connected to the rear of a printer 1 such as a copier, and a sheet P on which an image is formed by the printer 1 is discharged from a paper discharge roller 3a.
It is sent to the sorter 2 side through 3b. On the sorter 2 side, the sheet P is received by the receiving rollers 4a and 4b, and the guide plate 5
a, 5b, conveyed by sorter discharge rollers 6a, 6b,
The containers are sequentially stored in storage bins 7 (7a... 7n). A plurality of storage bins 7a... 7n are arranged at equal intervals in the vertical direction to form a bin unit, and the bin unit is fixed to an elevating member 8 movable along a guide rod 9 extending in the vertical direction. . A sprocket 11 is mounted on a motor 10 for driving the lifting member 8, and an idler 12 is arranged so as to face the sprocket 11, and both ends of a chain 13 bridged between the sprocket 11 and the idler 12 are connected. It is connected to the lifting member 8. Therefore, the lifting member 8
The (bin unit) moves up and down (vertically moves) along the guide rod 9 by driving the motor 10. At this time, in order to control the position of the elevating member 8, the position detecting member 1 corresponding to the storage bins 7a.
.., 14n protrude from the elevating member 8. A storage position sensor 15, a staple position sensor 16, and a home position sensor 17 for detecting the position detection members 14a... 14n are fixed to predetermined positions of the sorter 2, respectively. The stapler 18 is movably mounted in one direction (horizontal direction) such that the stapler 18 is opposed to the storage bin 7 at an interval of an integral multiple of the pitch of the storage bin 7 above the sorter discharge rollers 6a and 6b. Have been. As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 4 of the sorter 2
6, the receiving rollers 4a and 4b and the guide plate 5 are provided.
a, 5b, sheet conveying means composed of sorter discharge rollers 6a, 6b, etc., an elevating member 8, a driving mechanism thereof, a stapler 18, and the like are provided. The position facing the sorter discharge rollers 6a and 6b is the sheet distribution stage S1, and the position facing the stapler 18 is the post-processing stage S2. Both stages S1 and S2 are close to each other. As shown in FIG. 1, the paper P
Paper discharge sensors 21a and 21b for detecting the storage of paper P, and a bin sensor 22 for detecting the presence or absence of the paper P in the storage bin 7
a and 22b are provided with the bin unit interposed therebetween. As shown in FIG. 1, the sorter discharge rollers 6
a sheet distributing stage S which is set in advance at a position opposing a, 6b, that is, a position for distributing and storing paper P
1 and one staple stage S2 set at a position above the sheet distribution stage S1 and opposed to the stapler 18, and each storage bin 7 is placed on the sheet distribution stage S1 and the staple stage S2. They are supplied sequentially. As shown in FIG. 3, the stapler 18 is placed on a guide rail 27, and a spring 28 is connected to the stapler 18, whereby the stapler 18 is elastically biased toward the standby position (the position shown in FIG. 3). A cam surface of a cam 20 attached to a stapler motor 19 is in contact with a rear portion of the stapler 18. The stapler 18 reciprocates between a standby position (a position shown in FIG. 3) and a staple position.
This is done in cooperation with No. 8. That is, the stapler 18 is pushed out of the standby position (the position shown in FIG. 3) from the standby position (the position shown in FIG. 3) by the half rotation of the cam 20, and the stapler 18 is moved from the stapling position to the standby position (FIG. (Position shown in 3). The rotation of the cam 20 is monitored by the cam sensor 26. At the time of stapling, the sheet holding members 23a, 23a
b is rotatably attached to the frame of the sorter 2 together with the connecting member 24, and is operated by the solenoid 25. As shown in FIG. 4, the staple 18 has a staple 32 set on a staple stocker 31.
Are formed in a strip shape so that they can be continuously supplied, and are fed to the position of the hammer 34 along the guide lever 33. A hammer 34 is fixed to the hammer lever 35,
The hammer lever 35 is supported rotatably about a support shaft 36, and a plunger of a solenoid 37 is connected in the middle. A spring 38 is interposed between the guide lever 33 and the hammer lever 35. The guide lever 33 is also mounted to be rotatable about a support shaft 36, and a spring 4 is provided between the guide lever 33 and a base 39.
0 is interposed. The spring constant of the spring 38 is designed to be larger than that of the spring 40. On the paper entrance side of the stapler 18, paper detection sensors 41a and 41b are provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the storage bin 7 is
The base is attached at an angle so that the base side attached to the base is down, and the free end opposite to the base is slightly up. At the base side of the storage bin 7, a paper edge aligning portion 62 for aligning the edges of the stocked paper P is protruded, and the stapler 18 is provided on the side where the paper edge aligning portion 62 is provided as shown in FIG. A cut-out portion 29 is formed to enter, and a distal end portion of the guide rail 27 is desired near the inside of the cut-out portion 29 as shown in FIG. Further, the storage bin 7 has a concave notch 61 for gripping the paper for facilitating the removal of the paper stored in the storage bin 7, and is provided on a side other than the notch 29 (in this embodiment, the notch 29 is different from the notch 29). On the opposite side). As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit of the present embodiment includes:
Operation board 50, key input control circuit 51, printer control circuit 52, comparison operation circuit 53, bin unit drive circuit 54, stapler drive circuit 55, stapler movement circuit 5
6, bottle. Sheet detection circuit 57, bin position detection circuit 5
8, bin. A sheet counter 59 and the like are provided. Next, the collating operation will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The storage bins 7a... 7n are waiting at the position where the uppermost storage bin 7a corresponds to the sorter discharge rollers 6a, 6b as a home position (HP). Whether the storage bin 7a is at the home position (HP) is detected by the home position sensor 17. When the sort key is turned on on the operation keyboard 50 of the printer 1 and the collation mode is selected, it is detected by the bin sensors 22a and 22b whether or not any paper remains on the storage bin 7. If paper remains on the storage bin 7 (bin sensor 22
Is on) prohibits collation. After confirming that no paper remains on the storage bin 7, the collating operation is permitted. Then, the number of sets m is set (this number of sets m corresponds to the set number of bins n _B ), and when the printing operation is started,
The receiving rollers 4a and 4b and the sorter discharge rollers 6a and 6b on the sorter 2 side are rotated by driving means (not shown). When the first sheet is stored in the uppermost storage bin 7a, the sheet discharge sensors 21a and 21b detect the trailing end of the sheet, the bin unit drive circuit 54 starts rotating the motor 10, and the elevating member 8 To rise. At this time, the movement of the elevating member 8 is controlled by the position detecting members 14a... 14n provided on the elevating member 8 and the storage position sensor 15, and the next second-stage storage bin 7b
Rises to a position (sheet distribution stage S1) corresponding to the paper discharge rollers 6a, 6b, the motor 10 stops, and the paper can be stored in the storage bin 7b. By repeating this operation m-1 times,
The set m sheets are transferred from the uppermost storage bin 7a to n.
Distribute and store sequentially up to storage bin 7 in the _B-th stage,
When the paper discharge sensors 21a and 21b detect the trailing edge of the sheet, the motor 10 is reversed, the bin unit (elevating member 8) is lowered to the home position, and the initial state is returned.
By repeating the above operation, a collating operation is performed. .. 7n corresponding to each of the storage bins 7a... 7n. A sheet counter 59 is provided, and counts and stores the number of stored sheets for each of the storage bins 7a to 7n. Next, the stapling operation will be described. In the collation mode, the stapler 18 is at a standby position as shown in FIG. 7A, and the sheet pressing member 23 is at a standby position as shown in FIG. Since the stapler 18 and the paper pressing member 23 are thus retracted and are in a standby state, the elevating member 8 (bin unit) can freely move up and down. As described above, the storage bin 7 is used to
Since the paper 2 is slightly inclined with 2 downward, the paper sequentially fed from the sorter paper discharge rollers 6a and 6b abuts against the paper edge alignment unit 62, and the paper edges are finely aligned. When the stapler motor 19 rotates after the collating operation is completed, the stapler 18 is moved by the cam 20 from the standby position in FIG. 7A to the stapler position in FIG. When the solenoid 25 is turned on, the paper pressing member 23 changes from the standby state shown in FIG. 8A to the state shown in FIG.
In the state where the paper P aligned by the paper edge alignment unit 62 is stored in the storage bin 7,
It is pressed between the bottom plate 63 of the storage bin 7 and the leading end of the sheet edge alignment unit 62. The stapling is performed by the sheet detection sensor 41.
When a and 41b detect the sheet P, the solenoid 37 is turned on, and the plunger pushes the hammer lever 35 downward. When the hammer lever 35 is pushed downward,
First, the spring 40 is greatly compressed and deformed due to the difference in spring constant between the two springs 38 and 40, so that the guide lever 33 is pushed downward, and the end of the paper P inserted between the base 39 and the guide lever 33 is sandwiched. When the guide lever 33 is completely rotated by the compression deformation of the spring 40, the spring 38 starts to be deformed, and the hammer lever 35 is further rotated. At that time, the hammer 34 fixed to the hammer lever 35
However, one staple 32 already set is pushed out and hit against the base 39 side. At this time, the legs of the staple 32 buckle due to the guide holes 42 formed in the base 39 and bind the paper P. Since the solenoid 37 is turned on instantly, the above stapling is completed instantaneously. As described above, the cutout portion 29 is formed at a predetermined position of each storage bin 7, and the stapler 18 enters the stapled portion and staples inside the cutout portion 29. Therefore, the stapling position of each sheet P is set regardless of the sheet size. They are complete. When the stapling is completed, the guide lever 33 and the hammer lever 35 return to the standby state by the restoring force of the springs 38 and 40. When the stapler motor 19 continues to rotate, it retracts along the cam surface of the cam 20 due to the pulling force of the spring 28, and when the cam sensor 26 detects that the cam 20 has returned to the standby position, The rotation of the motor 19 is stopped. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, such a stapling operation is activated when a staple mode is selected by a staple key on the operation keyboard 50. In the staple mode, the bin sensors 22a and 22b
Can be selected when paper P is detected in the storage bin 7 (bin sensor 22 ON), and when there is no paper P in the storage bin 7 (bin sensor 22 OFF), the stapling operation is prohibited. It is supposed to. When the staple mode is selected, the uppermost storage bin 7a moves to the position of the stapler 18 (stapler home position which is the staple stage S2). Whether the storage bin 7a is at the stapler home position (staple stage S2) is determined by the elevating member 8
.., And 14n provided on the staple, and a staple position sensor 16. When it is detected that the storage bin 7a is at the stapler home position (staple stage S2), the stapler motor 19 starts rotating, and the stapler 18 moves from the state of FIG. ) Start moving to the state. At the same time, the solenoid 25 is turned on, and the sheet pressing member 23 presses the sheet P in the storage bin 7. When the stapler 18 is in the state shown in FIG. 7B, the sensor 41 in the stapler 18 is moved as described above.
a and 41b detect the sheet P in the storage bin 7 and perform stapling, and then the stapler 18 returns to the standby position. When the cam sensor 26 detects that the stapler 18 has returned to the standby position, the rotation of the stapler motor 19 is stopped, and at the same time, the solenoid 25 is turned off and the pressing of the paper pressing member 23 is released. Further, the bin unit drive circuit 54 operates, the motor 10 rotates, and the storage bin 7 starts to rise by one bin. Thereafter, the storage bins 7 are controlled by the same operation as in the collation mode, and are sequentially raised one by one, so that the sheets P in each storage bin 7 are stapled. The number of times the storage bins 7 rise is the number of bins for each storage bin 7 that is turned on in the collation mode. The arithmetic processing is performed by checking the contents (n _B ) of the sheet counter 59, so that the processing is automatically performed without the necessity of re-inputting. As described above, in this embodiment, the entire storage bin is monitored by the bin sensors 22a and 22b (see FIG. 1) to detect the presence or absence of a sheet on the storage bin 7, and if there is a sheet, the staple mode is set. Permit, and if there is no sheet, release staple mode. The stapler 18 is also provided with paper detection sensors 41a and 41b, and each storage bin 7a
... Each of 7n is individually monitored for the presence or absence of a sheet, and stapling is performed. This ensures that there is no staple blank hit. Further, as in the above embodiment, the stapler is provided above the sheet discharging means, and the sheets stored in the uppermost storage bin of the bin unit are sequentially stapled, so that the stapled sheets are stored in the storage bin. If it is configured so as to sequentially rise as it is, the stapled sheet is at the upper position when it is taken out of the sorter. Therefore, the operator can easily take out the sheet without bending down, and the operability is good. Since the apparatus of the present invention can perform online processing with an image forming apparatus such as a printer, image formation and image formation can be performed only by setting a series of originals in the ADF in conjunction with an automatic document feeder (ADF). A series of operations up to collation processing and subsequent staple processing can be automatically processed,
Therefore, the processing time is greatly reduced. As described above, according to the present invention, since the sheet distribution stage and the staple stage are provided in the moving area of the storage bin, the space efficiency is very good, the structure is simple, and the size is reduced. , Weight and cost can be reduced. Further, since the sheets are stapled while being stored in the storage bin, and when the stapling is completed, the sheet is retracted from the staple stage while being stored in the storage bin.
There is no sheet gripping failure, poor gripping, sheet jamming, and the like unlike the conventionally proposed ones, and the sheet can be stapled properly and reliably, and reliability can be improved. If the sheet distribution stage and the staple stage are set close to each other in the vertical direction, a compact sheet processing apparatus with particularly good space efficiency and a low height can be provided. Further, a detecting means for detecting whether or not the corresponding storage bin is on the staple stage is provided, and after the detection means detects that the storage bin is at the stapling position, the stapling operation by the stapler is performed. According to this structure, the stapling operation on the sheet is not missed, and the operation reliability can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part centering on an elevating member. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a stapler unit. FIG. 4 is a side view of the stapler. FIG. 5 is a plan view of a storage bin. FIG. 6 is a control block diagram. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the stapler. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the movement of a paper pressing member. FIG. 9 is a flow chart in a collation mode. FIG. 10 is a flow chart in a collation mode. FIG. 11 is a staple mode flow chart. FIG. 12 is a staple mode flow chart. [Description of Signs] 1 Printer 2 Sorter 6 Sorter discharge roller 7 Storage bin 8 Lifting member 14 Position detecting member 15 Storage position sensor 16 Staple position sensor 17 Home position sensor 18 Stapler 19 Stapler motor 20 Cam 22 Bin sensor 23 Paper press Member 27 guide rail 28 spring 29 notch 32 staple 45 sheet discharge port 46 housing 54 bin unit drive circuit 55 stapler drive circuit 56 stapler movement circuit 57 bin. Sheet detection circuit 58 Bin position detection circuit 59 Bin. Sheet counter 61 Concave notch 62 Sheet edge alignment section P Sheet S1 Sheet distribution stage S2 Staple stage

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] (1) The one set in advance at the position for distributing and storing sheets
One sheet distribution stage, sheet conveying means for conveying sheets to the sheet distribution stage, a large number of movable storage bins arranged in parallel, and storage bin moving means for sequentially moving the storage bins. A staple stage, and a stapler installed so as to face the staple stage, wherein the sheet distribution stage and the staple stage are provided in a movement area of the storage bin, and Are sequentially moved to the sheet distribution stage, and the sheets conveyed by the sheet conveying means are stored in the storage bins while being distributed by the sheet distribution stages, respectively. By moving it, the sheet can be stored in the storage bin Stapled by serial stapler, the sheet processing apparatus the sheet staple is finished, characterized in that is configured to retreat from the staple stage with bins by bins moving means. (2) The sheet processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the sheet distribution stage and the staple stage are set close to each other in a vertical direction. (3) In claim (1), a detecting means for detecting whether or not the corresponding storage bin is on the staple stage is provided, and the detection means detects that the storage bin is at the staple position. A sheet stapling apparatus configured to perform a stapling operation by the stapler afterwards.