JP2750454B2 - Sorter - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention includes a plurality of bins, a copying machine, a printing machine,
The present invention relates to a sorter that receives sheets from an image forming apparatus such as a printer and performs sorting operations such as collating and sorting on each bin.

[Prior Art] Equipped with a plurality of bins (storage shelves), a copying machine, a printing machine,
As is well known, sorters that receive processed sheets from an image forming apparatus such as a printer and sort or sort the processed sheets into respective bins include a bin fixed type and a bin moving type.

Among the various sorter types, the fixed bin type has a high operation speed and can store a large number of sheets, and is frequently used in high-speed and medium-large devices.

However, the fixed-bin type has to be provided with a dedicated orientation means for each bin, and the control becomes complicated.

In order to solve such a problem, instead of providing a dedicated aligning unit for each bin, an aligning unit moving type having an aligning unit as one elevating body is used. There is a problem that the distance becomes longer, the sorting operation becomes slower, and the sheet cannot be discharged from the main unit in time, and the processing speed of the main unit is restricted by the sorting operation of the sorter.

For this reason, various proposals have conventionally been made. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 62-171866, two sets of elevating bodies are vertically arranged in tandem, and bin groups are divided into two sets of upper and lower parts.
A pair of elevators, respectively,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2371, there is an example in which two sets of elevating bodies are arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction to increase the processing speed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, such a conventional sorter has a problem that the structure and the control are extremely complicated and the cost is high.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the conventional technology, and can perform a high-speed distribution processing operation with a simple structure having one elevating body. It aims to provide an inexpensive sorter.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The gist of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows: (1) a bin assembly in which a plurality of bins are arranged at predetermined intervals in a vertical direction; A lifting / lowering body arranged to be able to move up and down with respect to the bin assembly; and a holding / discharging means provided in the lifting / lowering body for receiving and holding a sheet discharged from the main body device and discharging the sheet to the bin. A sorter provided with a control device for holding the elevating body at a predetermined position, holding a sheet at the standby position, moving forward to a selected bin position and discharging, and then returning to the standby position. A sheet conveyance guide is provided between the sheet discharge port of the main body device and the elevating body, and near the exit of the elevating body side of the sheet conveyance guide, the front end of the sheet is temporarily moved until the elevating body returns to the predetermined standby position. Provided with a locking means for locking the upstream side of the locking means of the conveying guide, a sorter, characterized in that a space to permit deflection of the sheet. (2) The lifting / lowering body holding the sheet by the holding / discharging means increases the forward movement speed of the sorting operation while the bending of the sheet caused by the locking of the leading end of the sheet conveying guide by the locking means disappears. The sorter according to (1), which is characterized in that: And (3) the lifting / lowering body holding the sheet by the holding / discharging means, the forward movement speed of the sorting operation is increased by a passing signal of the rear end of the sheet by the sheet discharging means of the main body device (1).
There is a sorter described.

[Operation] When the sheet is discharged from the discharge port of the main unit, the sheet advances along the sheet conveyance guide, and the paper end is locked by the locking means. However, the main unit continues to feed the sheet during this time, and the sheet protrudes into an allowable space provided in the sheet conveyance guide and curves. It is sufficient that the elevating body returns to the standby position before the sheet bends to a certain amount, so that the moving range of the elevating body can be extended accordingly.

Then, when the lifting / lowering body returns to the predetermined standby position and the holding / discharging means receives the front end of the sheet from the locking means and holds it, the lifting / lowering body rapidly moves toward the target bin. During this time, the sheet is curved in the space provided in the sheet conveyance guide, and the main body device side continues the discharging operation, so that the elevating body does not hinder rapid movement.

Also, in the case of receiving the passing signal of the rear end of the sheet provided in the sheet discharging means of the main unit, the sheet is irrelevant to the sheet discharging speed of the main unit. It is possible to make a forward movement to the destination bin, and the sheet sorting operation is quickly performed.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3B.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sorter 10 according to the present invention includes a bin assembly 20 in which a large number of bins 21 are arranged at a predetermined interval s in the vertical direction, and a frame 31. Orientation device 30
And a sorter in conjunction with a main unit, for example, an electronic copying apparatus E.
And a control device 80 as shown in FIG.

The orienting device 30 includes a lifting / lowering body 32 disposed in a frame 31 for inserting and holding the bin assembly 20 and capable of moving up and down with respect to the bin assembly 20, and a main body mounted on the lifting / lowering body 32. It comprises a sheet transport guide 50 for guiding the processed sheet from the apparatus E.

As shown in FIG. 1, the elevating body 32 is provided with a receiving port 33 opened on the sheet inflow side, and an elevating body sheet sensor 35 for detecting the sheet sent thereto is provided. Then, a pair of upper and lower nip rollers 34 serving as a holding and discharging means for temporarily holding the sheet and discharging the sheet to the bin assembly 20 is provided.
a and 34b are supported by a shaft and are driven by a nip roller drive motor (not shown).

On the other hand, the elevating body 32 has a toothed belt 42 stretched between a pair of upper pulleys 39 pivotally supported on the upper inside of the frame 31 and a pair of lower pulleys 40 also pivotally supported on the lower part. It is movable vertically in the connected direction. The motor is driven via a worm 38 of an output shaft of a lifting / lowering body driving motor 37 provided on the frame 31 and a gear 41 coaxial with a lower pulley 40 meshing with the worm.

As shown in FIG. 1, a position corresponding to the uppermost bin 21 of the bin assembly 20 is a predetermined standby position W of the elevating body 32, and a standby position sensor 43 for detecting the standby position W.
(HP sensor) is provided.

The sheet conveyance guide 50 includes an upper guide plate 51 and a lower guide plate 52, and has an opening 50a facing the paper discharge roller f of the main body device E. The upper guide plate 51 is provided with a large cutout portion 51a, and a portion above the cutout portion 51a is formed as a bending allowance space 53 that allows a large amount of sheet bending, and a bending detection sensor 56 is provided. .

A registration roller 54 is provided at the exit of the lifting / lowering body 32 of the sheet conveyance guide 50 as a locking means for temporarily locking and feeding the sheet.
An inlet sensor 55 is provided at a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 80 includes a microcomputer 81, an external input device 82 for inputting external information such as setting of the number of sheets and setting of a mode, and information of the main device E side.
A display device 83 such as these various setting contents and processing results,
And data input / output devices 84 and 85.

Switching of the mode of the external input device 82 includes a sorting mode in which sorting operations such as collating or sorting are performed, and a non-sorting mode in which sheets are filled from the upper bin until the sheets are filled from the upper bin without performing such sorting operations. Mode is selected.

Next, the operation of the sorter 10 having the above-described configuration will be described below with reference to the above-described drawings and the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). In the following description, S1,
S2 ... etc. are steps in the flowchart,
... etc.

First, when the sorter 10 is started, the O sensor 43
N and OFF are checked, and if OFF, the lifting / lowering body drive motor 37 drives the lifting / lowering body 32 and stops at the standby position W until this sensor is detected (S19 to S21).

If it is confirmed that the elevating body 32 is at the standby position W (S1), then the presence of the sheet is detected by the entrance sensor 55, and the registration roller 54 rotates for a predetermined time and stops (S2 to S5).
S4). The deflection sheet resist rollers 54 and the nip roller is rotated in a given time Motogo by T ₁ timer from the time when it is confirmed that at sufficiently deflected by the detection sensor 56, the sheet tip lifting sheet sensor 35ON is sandwiched Stop at (S5 ~ S10).

Here, the presence of the sheet bending is reconfirmed (S11), and the lifting / lowering body drive motor 37 rotates at a high speed and stops at the target bin position (S12 to S14). Here, the deflection of the sheet is confirmed by the deflection detection sensor 56, and the registration roller 54 and the nip roller 34 rotate at a high speed to discharge the sheet to the bin 21. Then, the discharge is confirmed by the lifting / lowering body sheet sensor 35 (S15 to S17), and the operation is completed when the set number is reached.

No sheet deflection was detected in S11 and the entrance sensor 5
If no sheet is detected in step 5, no new sheet is supplied, and the operation is completed after the remaining sheet is processed in each step from S12.

If the presence of the sheet is detected by the entrance sensor 55 in S22, the sheet on the sheet transport guide 50 does not bend, and there is no deflection.
Enter the operation below 3. (S23) When the deflection detection sensor 56 does not detect the sheet deflection in S15 and the sheet is not detected by the entrance sensor 55 (S24), there is no sheet supply. Is completed.

If the presence of a sheet is detected in S24, the registration roller 54 and the nip roller 34 rotate at a normal speed and discharge the sheet to the bin 21 (S25).

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the sorter 60 of the present embodiment, of the upper guide plate 62 and the lower guide plate 63 constituting the sheet conveyance guide 61 as shown, the lower guide plate 63 has a large cutout 63a, A large deflection allowable space 65 is provided, and a deflection detection sensor 64 is provided.
Is disposed below the lower guide plate 63 to detect a sheet bent downward. And all other than the first
Since the configuration is the same as that of the sorter 10 of the embodiment, the same reference numerals are used.

The operation of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. However, in the present embodiment, the notch 63a may be configured so that the sheet is curved as shown by the chain line in FIG. 4, but as shown by the solid line in FIG. It may be made to hang down. In such a case, the frame 31 is also provided with a large notch 31a.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the sorter 70 according to the present embodiment, the sheet transport guide 71 includes a guide member 72 that is deeply curved downward as illustrated, and an intermediate roller 73 that promotes the advance of the sheet in the middle. An intermediate sensor 74 is provided near the intermediate roller as a sensor corresponding to the deflection detection sensor 56. The deflection allowable space in the present embodiment is the redundant path of the guide member 72 itself.

The configuration other than the above is the same as in the first and second embodiments, and the operation is also the same as in each of the above embodiments, so that the description will be omitted.

Although the guide member 72 of the sorter 70 is curved downward, it may be curved upward.

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention provides a sheet conveyance guide between an elevating body that receives a sheet at a predetermined standby position, pinches, moves to each bin, and discharges the sheet, and a discharge port of the main body device. The guide is provided with locking means for temporarily locking the sheet, and the sheet transport guide is provided with a space allowing the sheet to be bent. The moving range of the elevating body can be lengthened and the bin area can be increased, and when the sheet has the above-mentioned bending and is present in the sheet transport guide, the elevating body clamps the paper end of the sheet and moves to the target bin at high speed. The sheet can be discharged by driving the sandwiching and discharging means in a forward movement and at a high speed, and has an effect that a simple and inexpensive configuration and a quick sorting operation can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 5 show various embodiments of the present invention.
1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control device, FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are flowcharts of operations, and FIG. 4 is a configuration of a second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the third embodiment. 10: Sorter (first embodiment) E: Main unit f: Discharge roller of main unit 20: Bin assembly, 21: Bin s: Predetermined interval 30: Orienting device 31: Frame 32 Lifting body W Stand-by position of lifting body (HP) 34a Nip roller (upper) (nipping and discharging means) 34b Nip roller (lower) (nipping and discharging means) 35 Lifting body sheet sensor 36 Lifting body drive mechanism 37 Lifting body drive motor 43 Standby position sensor (HP sensor) 50 Sheet transport guide 51 Upper guide plate 51a Notch, 52 Lower guide plate 53 Deflection allowable space 54 Register roller (locking means) 55 Inlet sensor 56 Deflection detection sensor 60 Sorter (second embodiment) 61 Sheet transport guide 62 Upper guide plate 63 …… Lower guide plate 63a …… Notch, 64 …… Deflection sensor 65 …… Deflection allowable space, 31a …… Notch of frame 70 ...... sorter (Third Embodiment) 71 ...... conveying guide 72 ...... guide member 73 ...... intermediate roller 74 ...... intermediate sensor 80 ...... controller

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Ichizo Miyazawa 3167 Yamamiya-cho, Kofu City, Yamanashi Pref. Examiner, Nippon Seimitsu Kogyo Co., Ltd. Examiner Makoto Nagayasu (56) References JP-A-63-262371 (JP, A) JP-A-62-167172 (JP, A) JP-A-63-87472 (JP, A)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bin assembly in which a plurality of bins are arranged at predetermined intervals in a vertical direction, an elevating body arranged to be able to move up and down with respect to the bin assembly, and provided in the elevating body And a holding and discharging means for receiving and holding the sheet discharged from the main body device and discharging the sheet to a bin, holding the elevating body at a predetermined position, holding the sheet at the standby position, and selecting A sorter provided with a control device that moves back to the bin position and discharges the paper, and then returns to the standby position, wherein a sheet conveyance guide is provided between the sheet discharge port of the main body device and the elevating body, In the vicinity of the exit of the lifting / lowering body side of the sheet conveyance guide, a locking means for temporarily locking the front end of the sheet until the lifting / lowering body returns to the predetermined standby position is provided, and at the upstream side of the locking means of the sheet conveyance guide. A sorter provided with a space that allows the sheet to bend. 2. The moving speed of the lifting / lowering body, which holds a sheet by the holding / discharging means, is faster than the sheet discharging speed until the sheet is bent by the leading end locking of the sheet conveying guide by the locking means. The sorter according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving speed of the lifting / lowering body holding the sheet by the holding / discharging means is faster than the sheet discharging speed by detecting the passage of the rear end of the sheet by the sheet discharging means of the main body. ) Described sorter.