JP2756340B2 - Sheet sorting device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet sorting apparatus that sorts sheets received from an image forming apparatus that sequentially forms images of a first job and a second job on sheets.

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional sheet sorting apparatus connected to a copying apparatus is configured to sort sheets from a fixed bin in order when a copy job of the copying apparatus is started. With this configuration, the second job sheet is not removed and the second job sheet is not removed.
When the job is started, there is a problem that the sheets of the second job and the sheets of the first job are overlapped in the sheet sorting device and the separation cannot be recognized.

In this regard, a sheet sorting apparatus capable of sorting sheets of a plurality of jobs has been proposed. The proposed sheet sorting apparatus is to provide an empty bin between a bin for storing sheets of a first job and a bin for storing sheets of a second job. Further, this sheet sorting apparatus sorts the sheets of the second job sequentially from the first bin of the second sheet sorting apparatus when the sheets of the second job do not fit in one sheet sorting apparatus.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such a sheet sorting apparatus, when the sum of the number of bins used by the first job and the number of bins used by the second job is equal to the number of bins of the sheet sorting apparatus, One sheet may not be stored because two sheets of sheets cannot be stored, or one bin of the sheet sorting device may be insufficient.
The remaining bins of the second sheet sorter may not be used.

Further, when the first job is stored in the first sheet sorting device and the second job is stored in the second sheet sorting device, the number of bins used by the second job is the number of bins of the second sheet sorting device. When the number exceeds the limit, sheets of the second job cannot be stored.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a sheet sorting apparatus for sorting sheets received from an image forming apparatus which sequentially forms images of a first job and a second job on sheets, A sorting unit having a plurality of storage stages for sorting sheets on which images are formed by the image forming apparatus;
Control means for controlling the sorting means so as to provide an empty storage space between the storage space used in the first job and the storage space used in the second job, wherein the control means comprises:
When the sum of the number of storage stages used in the first job and the number of storage stages used in the second job is equal to the number of storage stages of the sorting unit, the number of storage stages used in the first job is Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet sorting apparatus characterized in that the sorting means is controlled so that an empty storage stage is not provided between the storage stage used in the second job.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet sorting apparatus for sorting sheets received from an image forming apparatus which sequentially forms images of a first job and a second job on sheets, wherein the sheets formed by the image forming apparatus are sorted. A first sorting unit having a plurality of storage stages, and a second sorting unit separate from the first sorting unit having a plurality of storage stages for sorting sheets on which images are formed by the image forming apparatus.
A sorting unit, and a control unit that sorts the sheet on which the image of the first job is formed by the first sorting unit and sorts the sheet on which the image of the second job is formed by the second sorting unit. When the number of storage stages used in the second job is larger than the number of storage stages in the second sorting unit, the control unit does not use the first job in the storage stages of the first sorting unit. Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet sorting apparatus that sorts sheets on which images of the second job are formed using a storage stage and the second sorting unit.

Embodiment An embodiment of a copying apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of an embodiment of a copying apparatus to which the present invention can be applied. In this figure, 100 is a copying machine main body, and 200 is a recording medium (paper) for double-sided recording or multiplex recording.
A pedestal having an intermediate tray unit for reversing the front and back or re-feeding the recording medium without reversing the paper, 300 is a circulating automatic document feeder (hereinafter, RD)
F), and these pedestals 200 and RDF300 are
It can be used freely in combination with the main body 100.

A. Main unit (100) In the main unit 100, 101 is a platen glass on which an original is placed, 103 is an illumination lamp (exposure lamp) for illuminating the original, 1
05, 107 and 109 are scanning mirrors for changing the optical path of the reflected light from the original, 111 is a lens having a focusing and zooming function, and 113 is a reflecting mirror for reflecting the reflected light from the original onto the photosensitive drum. It is. 115 is an optical system motor for driving the optical system, and 117, 119 and 121 are sensors for detecting the scanning position of the optical system, respectively.

131 is a photosensitive drum, 133 is a main motor for driving the photosensitive drum 131, 135 is a high-pressure unit, 137 is a blank exposure unit, 139 is a developing device, 140 is a developing roller, 141 is a transfer charger, 143 is a separation charger, and 145 is a cleaning device.

151 is an upper cassette, 153 is a lower cassette, 171 is a manual paper feed port, 155 and 157 are paper feed rollers, and 159 is a registration roller. Reference numeral 161 denotes a transport belt for transporting the recording paper on which the image is recorded to the fixing device side; 163, a fixing device for fixing the transported recording paper by thermocompression; and 167, a sensor used for double-sided recording.

The surface of the photosensitive drum 131 is made of a photoconductor and a seamless photosensitive member using a conductor. The drum 131 is rotatably supported by a shaft, and operates in response to pressing of a copy start key described later. The rotation is started by the motor 133 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Next, when the predetermined rotation control and potential control processing (pre-processing) of the drum 131 is completed, the original placed on the platen glass 101 is illuminated by the illumination lamp 103 integrated with the first scanning mirror 105, and The reflected light of the original is reflected by the first scanning mirror 105, the second scanning mirror 107,
Third scanning mirror 109, lens 111, and fourth scanning mirror
An image is formed on the drum 131 via 113.

The drum 131 is corona-charged by the high-pressure unit 135. Thereafter, the image (original image) irradiated by the illumination lamp 103 is subjected to slit exposure, and an electrostatic image is formed on the drum 131 by a known Carlson method.

Next, the electrostatic image on the photosensitive drum 131 is developed by the developing roller 140 of the developing device 139 and visualized as a toner image, and the toner image is transferred onto transfer paper by the transfer charger 141 as described later.

That is, the upper cassette 151 or the lower cassette 153
The transfer paper in the printer or the transfer paper set in the manual paper feed port 171 is fed into the main unit by the feed rollers 155 or 157, and is sent to the photosensitive drum 131 at an accurate timing by the registration roller 159, and the latent image is transferred. The leading edge of the image coincides with the leading edge of the transfer paper. Thereafter, the transfer paper passes between the transfer charger 141 and the drum 131, and
The upper toner image is transferred onto the transfer paper. After completion of the transfer, the transfer paper is separated from the drum 131 by the separation charger 143, guided to the fixing device 163 by the conveyor belt 161 and fixed by pressure and heat, and then discharged out of the main body 100 by the discharge roller 165. Then, it is stacked on the discharge tray 230 shown in the figure.

After the transfer, the drum 131 continues to rotate, and the surface thereof is cleaned by a cleaning device 145 including a cleaning roller and an elastic blade.

B. Pedestal (200) The pedestal 200 is detachable from the main body 100 and has a deck 201 capable of storing 2,000 sheets of transfer paper and an intermediate tray 203 for double-sided copy and multiple copy. Also, the lifter 20 of the deck 201 that can hold 2,000 sheets
5 rises according to the amount of transfer paper so that the transfer paper always contacts the paper feed roller 207. Also, reference numeral 211 denotes a paper discharge flapper that switches the path between the intermediate tray side path and the discharge side path, 213 and 215 are transport paths by a transport belt, 217 is an intermediate tray weight for holding a transfer sheet, and the paper discharge flapper 211,
The transfer paper passing through the transport paths 213 and 215 is turned over and stored in the intermediate tray 203. Reference numeral 219 denotes a multiplex flapper for switching the path between double-sided recording and multiplex recording.
The transfer paper is guided to the multiplex-recording conveyance path 221 by rotating upward in the multiplex-recording mode. Reference numeral 223 denotes a multiple discharge sensor for detecting the end of the transfer paper passing through the multiple flapper 219. 225 drums transfer paper through path 227
A paper feed roller for feeding paper to the 131 side. Reference numeral 229 denotes a discharge roller for discharging the transfer paper outside the apparatus.

At the time of double-sided recording (double-sided copying) or multiple recording (multiplexed copying), first, the discharge flapper 211 of the main body 100 is lifted upward to transfer the copied transfer paper to the intermediate tray 203 via the conveyance paths 213 and 215 of the pedestal 200. To be stored. At this time, the multiplex flapper 219 is lowered during double-side recording, and the multiplex flapper 219 is raised during multiplex recording. The intermediate tray 203 can store, for example, up to 99 copy sheets. The transfer paper stored in the intermediate tray 203 is pressed by the intermediate tray weight 217.

At the time of the next backside recording or multiplex recording, the transfer paper stored in the intermediate tray 203 is transferred from the bottom of the main body 100 via the path 227 by the action of the sheet feeding roller 225 and the weight 217 one by one from below. It is guided to the roller 159.

C. RDF (Circulating Automatic Document Feeder) (300) As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the RDF 300 includes a stacking tray 310 as a first document tray for setting a bundle of documents S,
A loading tray 320 as a second document tray on which the document bundle SS is set is provided.

Further, on the stacking tray 310 side, a feeding unit constituting one part of the document feeding unit is provided. The feeding means includes a half-moon roller 331, a separation conveyance roller 332, a separation belt 333, a separation motor SPRMTR, and a registration roller 335.
, The entire belt 336, the belt motor BELTMTR, the large transport roller 338, the transport motor FEEDMTR, and the discharge roller 340.
, A flapper 341, a recycle lever 342, a paper feed stopper 343, a paper feed sensor ENTS, a reversing sensor TRNS, a paper ejection sensor EJTS, and the like.

Here, the half-moon roller 331, the separation conveyance roller 332, and the separation belt 333 are rotated by the separation motor
The originals are separated one by one from the lowermost part of the original bundle S on 310.

The registration roller 335 and the full-surface belt 336 convey the document separated by rotation by the belt motor BELTMTR to an exposure position (sheet path) on the document table glass 101 via a sheet path. In addition, large transport rollers
338 is rotated by the transport motor FEEDMTR to rotate the platen glass 10
The upper original is conveyed from sheet path to sheet path. The document conveyed to this sheet path is returned to the document bundle S on the stacking tray 310 by the discharge rollers 340.

The recycle lever 342 detects one cycle of the original. When the original is fed, the recycle lever 342 is placed on the upper part of the original bundle S, and the originals are sequentially fed. One cycle of the document is detected by dropping under its own weight when passing through.

In the feeding means 330, when a two-sided original is used, the original is once guided to a sheet path, and then the large conveying rollers 338
By rotating the flapper 341 to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 3, the leading edge of the document is guided to the sheet path, then passed through the sheet path by the registration rollers 335, and then the document is placed on the platen glass 101 by the entire belt 336. The document is turned over by being transported to the stop position. That is, the original is reversed in the sheet path.

It should be noted that the originals of the original bundle S are sheet-passed one by one.
The document is conveyed until the recycle lever 342 detects that one cycle has been made, whereby the number of documents can be counted.

Further, on the right side of the main body of the RDF 300, the sheet document S after the completion of the image reading on the platen 101 is carried out to the opposite side to the carrying direction to the platen 101, and the document bundle S on the document tray 310 is taken out.
Document output path (sheet path) to be carried out to the top of the document
Is configured. During the sheet pass, the sheet original S
Transport roller 343 and second transport roller 2 for transporting
4, a second paper discharge roller 345 is provided downstream of the sheet path, and discharges the sheet bundle S conveyed through the sheet path to the top of the document bundle S on the document tray 310. I do.

A document discharge cover 346 is arranged above the sheet path. Further, a third document discharge path (sheet path) is formed in which the sheet path branches from near the entire surface of the belt 336 and extends to the sheet path. A discharge flapper 355 for switching the conveyance path is disposed at a branch portion of the sheet path and the sheet path, and a discharge flapper solenoid R is provided.
The path is switched by swinging between the solid line position and the broken line position in the figure by turning on / off the FLAPSL. A third discharge roller 362 is provided downstream of the sheet path, and discharges the sheet document S conveyed in the sheet path onto the document discharge cover 346.

A second sheet discharge sensor LOOPEJTS, which is a transmission type optical sensor for detecting the front end and the rear end of the sheet document S in the sheet discharge path, is disposed in the sheet path.

On the right side of the RDF300 main unit, there is a document loading path (sheet path) for receiving sheet documents from outside the main unit into the RDF main unit.
Are open to form a document carrying path that merges from the sheet path to the sheet path.

Next, the swing operation of the document tray 310 will be described. The motor output shaft of the tray swing motor TRAYMTR is connected to the tray swing arm shaft 348. A tray swing roller 347 is coupled to the lower surface of the document tray 310. Tray swing roller 347
Is provided at the tip of the tray swing arm 346, and the opposite side of the tray swing arm 346 is fixed to a tray swing arm shaft 348, and the tray swing arm 348 is rotated by rotation of the tray swing arm shaft 348. The document tray 310 is swung between the solid line position and the broken line position around the swing center, and swings between the solid line and the broken line position in the drawing.

For TRAYUPLMTSW, the document tray 310 is in the upper position (solid line position)
The upper limit switch that detects when the
AYDOWNLMTSW is a lower limit switch for detecting that the document tray 310 has reached the lower position (broken line position), and the tray swing motor TRAYMTR controls rotation by detecting upper and lower limit switches.

Also, a feeding unit that constitutes the other part of the document feeding unit is provided on the stacking tray 350 side. This feeding means includes a half-moon roller 351, a separation conveyance roller 352, a separation belt 353, a registration roller pair 354, and a conveyance motor RFEEDMTR.
, A paper feed stopper 359, a reserved paper feed sensor RENTS, a document detection sensor REMPS, a paper discharge roller 362, and the like.

Here, when the conveyance motor RFEEDMTR is turned on, the half-moon roller 351, the separation conveyance roller 352, and the separation belt 353 rotate to separate the originals one by one from the lowermost part of the original bundle SS on the stacking tray 350.

Also, turn on the transfer motor RFEEDMTR and turn on the registration roller.
When the 354 is rotated and the belt motor BELTMTR is rotated in the reverse direction to rotate the entire belt 336 in the reverse direction, the original separated from the original bundle SS can be conveyed from the sheet path.

When the belt motor BELTMTR is turned on in the normal direction to rotate the entire belt 336 in the normal direction, and the reserved conveyance motor RFEEDMTR is rotated in the reverse direction to rotate the discharge roller 362 in reverse, the platen glass 101
The upper document can be discharged onto the upper cover 370 from the sheet path through the sheet path.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an arrangement configuration of an operation panel provided on the main body 100 described above. The operation panel has a key group as described below.
600 and a display group 700.

D. Key Group (600) In FIG. 2, reference numeral 601 denotes an asterisk (*) key, which is used when an operator (user) sets a mode such as a binding margin setting or a document frame erasing size setting. .
An all reset key 606 is pressed to return to the standard mode. Reference numeral 602 denotes a preheating key, which is pressed when the machine of the main body 100 is set to the preheating state and when the preheating state is released. The key 602 is also pressed when returning from the auto shut-off state to the standard mode.

605 is a copy start key (copy start key),
Press to start copying.

A clear / stop key 604 has a clear key function during standby and a stop key function during copy recording. This clear key is pressed to cancel the set number of copies. Also used to release the * (asterisk) mode. The stop key is pressed to interrupt continuous copying. After the copying at the time of pressing is completed, the copying operation is stopped.

A numeric keypad 603 is pressed to set the number of copies. Also used to set * (asterisk) mode. Reference numeral 619 denotes a memory key in which a mode frequently used by the user can be registered. Here, four types of registration, M1 to M4, can be performed.

Reference numerals 611 and 612 denote copy density keys, which are pressed when the copy density is manually adjusted. An AE key 613 is pressed to automatically adjust the copy density according to the density of the original, or to cancel AE (automatic density adjustment) and switch the density adjustment to manual (manual). A cassette selection key 607 is pressed to select the upper cassette 151, the middle cassette 153, and the lower paper deck 201. When a document is placed on the sheet 300, the APS (automatic sheet selection) mode can be selected by using the key 607. When the APS mode is selected, the transfer paper cassette of the minimum size that can copy the entire original image is automatically selected.

Reference numeral 610 denotes a 1: 1 key, which is pressed when making a 1: 1 (original) copy. An automatic scaling key 616 is pressed to select an AMS (automatic magnification selection) mode for automatically reducing or enlarging an image of a document in accordance with a designated transfer sheet size and document size. 617 and 618 are zoom keys, 64 to
Press to specify any magnification between 142%. Reference numerals 608 and 609 are fixed-size scaling keys, which are pressed when designating reduction / enlargement of the fixed-size.

A double-sided key 626 is pressed to make a two-sided copy from a one-sided original, a two-sided copy from a two-sided original, and a one-sided copy from a two-sided original. A binding margin key 625 can create a binding margin of a designated length on the left side of the transfer paper. A photo key 624 is pressed when copying a photo document. 623
Is a multiplex key, which is depressed when an image is copied from two documents onto the same side of a transfer sheet.

Reference numeral 620 denotes a document frame erase key, which is pressed when the user erases a frame of a standard size document, and the size of the document at that time is set by an asterisk key 601.

Reference numeral 621 denotes a sheet frame erasing key, which is pressed when erasing a document frame according to the size of a cassette.

Reference numeral 622 denotes a continuous page copy key, and the left and right pages of the document are
Press this button to copy each sheet separately and make continuous copies.

Reference numeral 614 denotes a paper discharge method (staple, sort, group) selection key. When a stapler capable of stapling the recorded paper is connected, the stapling mode and the sort mode can be selected or canceled. When a tray (sorter) is connected, a sort mode and a group mode can be selected or canceled.

A paper feed selection key 615 can select and cancel a Z-fold that folds A3 or B4 size recorded paper into a Z-shaped cross section and a half-fold that folds the paper in half.

Reference numeral 650 denotes a key which enables a selection operation between a first mode in which the bin is moved to an initial setting position (sort / home position) of the bin before the sheet storage is started and a second mode in which the bin is not moved. .

Reference numeral 627 denotes an interrupt key. When pressed during copying, the copying is interrupted, and a new copy (hereinafter, referred to as interrupt copying) is enabled. If the button is pressed during the interrupt copy mode setting, the interruptable state is released.

Reference numeral 628 denotes a reservation key for registering and canceling a reservation copy. When the reservation key 628 is pressed, a copy mode that is different from the previously set copy mode can be set while retaining the already set copy mode. Here, the copy mode to be registered is set, and when the setting is completed, the reservation setting key 629 is pressed. As a result, the set copy mode is stored in the RAM.

E. Display Group (700) In FIG. 2, reference numeral 701 denotes an LCD (liquid crystal) type message display for displaying information relating to copying. And fixed-size scaling keys 608 and 609;
The copy magnification set by the zoom keys 617 and 618 can be displayed.
The display 701 is a transflective liquid crystal and uses two colors for a backlight. A green backlight is normally turned on, and an orange backlight is turned on in an abnormal state or in a copying disabled state.

Reference numeral 706 denotes an equal-magnification display, which lights when the equal-magnification is selected. Reference numeral 703 denotes a color developing device display, which lights when a sepia developing device is set. A copy number display 702 displays the copy number or a self-diagnosis code. Reference numeral 705 denotes a used cassette display, which indicates whether any of the upper cassette 151, the middle cassette 153, and the lower deck 201 has been selected. Reference numeral 704 denotes an AE display, which is controlled by an AE key 613.
Lights when AE (automatic density adjustment) is selected. Reference numeral 709 denotes a preheating indicator, which is a two-color LED of green and orange, which lights green when ready (when copying is possible) and lights orange when waiting (when copying is impossible).

Reference numeral 708 denotes a double-sided copy display which is turned on when one of double-sided copying from a double-sided original and double-sided copying from a single-sided original is selected.

When the RDF300 is used in the standard mode, the setting is one copy, density AE mode, automatic paper selection, same size, and one-sided original to one-sided copy. In the standard mode when the RDF300 is not used, the number of copies is set to one, the density manual mode is set to the same size, and one-sided original to one-sided copy is set. RDF300
The difference between when the document is used and when it is not used is determined by whether or not a document is set on the RDF 300.

A power lamp 710 is turned on when a power switch is turned on.

Reference numeral 711 is turned on when an interrupt copy mode is set on the interrupt indicator and during interrupt copy.

A reservation registration display 712 lights when a reservation copy is registered.

F. Main Control Unit (800) FIG. 4 shows an example of the circuit configuration of the entire copying apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 801 denotes a central processing unit (CPU) for performing arithmetic control for controlling the entire apparatus.
A microcomputer V50 manufactured by EC (NEC Corporation) is used. Reference numeral 803 denotes a read-only memory (ROM) in which a control procedure (control program) as shown in FIG. 5 and subsequent figures according to the present invention is stored in advance, and the CPU 801 is connected via a bus according to the control procedure stored in the ROM. Control each component device. Reference numeral 805 denotes a random access memory (RAM) which is a main storage device used for storing input data, a work storage area, and the like.

807 is an interface (I / O) for outputting a control signal from the CPU 801 to a load such as the main motor 133, 809 is an interface for inputting an input signal from the image sensor 121 and sending it to the CPU 801, and 811 is a key group 600 and a display An interface for input / output control with the group 700. These interfaces 807, 809, 811 use, for example, the input / output circuit port μPD8255 of NEC.

Furthermore, a known communication IC (for example, μPD825
1) is connected, and the communication IC further performs communication on the RDF side.
It is connected to an IC and sends and receives control data necessary for mutual control of the copier body and RDF by sequential communication.

The data sent from the copier to the RDF includes a paper feed signal that prompts the user to feed the originals loaded on the RDF,
These are discharge signal for prompting discharge of the upper document, and feed / discharge mode data for determining the feed / discharge mode of the document including the reserved document.

G.RDF control device (900) The lower half of FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the control device (900) of the circulating automatic document feeder of this embodiment. Is built around a one-chip microcomputer (CPU) 901 with built-in
Signals of various sensors are input to input ports I1 to I4 of the microcomputer 901. Also, the output port O1 of the microcomputer 901
Each load is connected to .about.O11 via drivers D1 to D11, and control data is exchanged with the copying machine via a communication IC 902. The data transmitted from the RDF to the copying machine main body is a paper supply completion signal indicating completion of paper supply on the platen glass.

(Reservation) Next, the reservation copying operation will be described. Here, the reserved copying means that a second copying mode different from the first mode which is already set and is waiting for copying or which is being copied is set.
This is a copy executed in the second copy mode after the end of the copy in the first copy mode.

Reserved key 628 while waiting to start copying or during copying
Is pressed, the display is different from the display screen of the first copy mode (hereinafter, referred to as the main screen) which has already been set (hereinafter, referred to as the reservation screen). At this time, the first copy mode already set is stored in the memory M1.

When the reservation screen is displayed, the second copy mode can be set regardless of whether or not a copy operation is being performed. The end of the setting of the second copy mode is performed by pressing a reservation setting key 629. At this time, the display screen returns to the main screen, and the set second copy mode is stored in the memory M2.

An original to be copied by reserved copying is set on the reserved tray 350 with its surface facing upward.

A case where a reservation copy is registered during one-sided mode copy using the RDF 300 will be described. When the process of discharging the last original set on the paper feed tray 310 by the normal copying operation is completed, a paper discharge command is transmitted to perform the preparatory preparation discharge process. When the reservation preparation discharge process is completed, a document transfer command is transmitted to transfer the document bundle SS on the reservation tray 350 to the document tray 310. In the main body, in the copy operation in the first copy mode, the last document is copied, and when the discharge of the copy sheet is completed and the main motor stops, the display screen displays the set second copy mode, Store the contents of memory M2 in memory M1,
This is the first copy mode. Then, it becomes possible to newly make a reservation copy registration.

When all the originals have been transferred from the reserved tray 350 onto the original tray 310, copying in the set copy mode is started.

If the original is set on the second original tray 350 without pressing the reservation copy mode using the reservation key 628 and the reservation setting key 629 and the copy key is pressed, the original set on the second original tray is The document is regarded as a continuation of the document set on the first document tray, and is copied in the same copy mode as the document on the first document tray.

H. Sorter (400, 401) Fig. 5 is a sectional view of sorters 400 and 401, and Fig. 6 is a sorter 40.
Top view of bin unit 0,401, FIG. 7 shows sorter 400,401
It is a perspective view of. As shown in FIG. 5, the sorters 400 and 401 comprise a body 402 and a bin unit 403, and the body 402
Has a carry-in roller pair 404 near the carry-in entrance 403,
A flapper 407 for switching the sheet conveying direction to the conveying path 405 or 406 is provided downstream of the roller pair 404. One transport path 405 extends substantially in the horizontal direction from the transport entrance 403, and a transport roller pair 408 is disposed downstream of the transport path 405. The other transport path 406 extends downward from the carry-in roller pair 404, and a transport roller pair 409 is disposed downstream of the transport path 406. Further, the stapler 4 is located near the roller pair 409.
Ten are arranged. Loading roller 404 and transport roller pair 408
And 409 are driven by a transport motor 411. The transport path 405 has a non-sort path sensor S for detecting the passage of paper.
A transport path 406 is provided with a sort path sensor S402. Also, the transport roller pair 40
Downstream of 8 and 409, a bin unit 403 having a large number of bins B has a spring 412 having one end fixed to the body 402 and a hook 413.
And supported by the spring 412 to support the weight of the bin unit 403 so as to be able to move up and down.
A guide roller 414 is rotatably supported at the upper and lower portions on the base end side of the bin unit 403.
Is a guide groove 415 provided along the vertical direction of the body 402.
And is rolled in the groove 415 so that the bin unit 403
Is configured to be guided. Further, a shift motor 416 is provided on the machine body 402, and a lead cam 418 and a sprocket 419 are fixed to the rotating shaft 417. A chain 420 is stretched between the sprocket 419 and the shaft of the shift motor 416.
The rotation of 16 is transmitted to the rotation shaft 417 via the chain 420. Further, the bin unit 403 includes a bottom frame 421 having an inclined portion and a vertical portion,
Frame 422 vertically provided on the front and back sides of the tip
And a unit main body 424 composed of a cover 423 supported by the frame 422. An alignment reference plate 425 for contacting a sheet is provided on the near side of the unit main body 424. (See FIG. 6.)
Lower arm pivoted by alignment motor 426 on the back side of base end of 1
427 is rotatably supported (see FIG. 7), and an arm 42 is provided on the cover 423 at a position facing the arm 427.
8 is fixed to a shaft 429 rotatably supported by the cover 423, and a shaft 430 is provided between the center of rotation of the arm 428 and the center of rotation of the arm 427. An alignment rod 431 is provided between the distal end of the arm 427 and the distal end of the arm 428. The alignment rod 431 is connected to an alignment motor 426 (not shown).
It is comprised so that it may rotate. The matching motor 42
Reference numeral 6 denotes a stepping motor, and the position of the matching rod 431 can be accurately controlled by the number of pulses given to the stepping motor.
S403 is a matching rod home sensor for detecting the position of the matching rod 431. The position of the matching rod 431 can be controlled by the matching rod home sensor S403 and the number of pulses given to the drive motor 426.

As shown in FIG. 6, the bin B has engagement plates 432 formed at the front and rear ends thereof, respectively.
By engaging the engagement plate 432 with a support plate (not shown) provided inside the frame 422, the bin B is supported at the tip end side. Further, a support shaft 433 is fixed to the front and rear sides of the base end of the bin B, and a roller 434 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 433. Further, the bin B is provided with an elongated hole 435 that is longer than the rotation distance of the alignment rod 431 and is sufficiently wider than the width of the alignment rod at a predetermined distance from the shaft 430. The base end portion Ba of the bin B rises perpendicularly to the sheet storage surface Bb, and the tip end of the bin B is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the body 402. Due to the inclination, the sheet slides on the sheet storage surface Bb, and the rear end thereof abuts on the base end Ba to be aligned in the front-rear direction.

The alignment rod 43 is inserted into the long holes 435 of the bottles B1, B2,.
1 is inserted, and the alignment rod 431 is configured to rotate in the elongated hole 435 to abut and align the sheet S with the alignment reference plate 425. The lead cam 418 has a groove 418a slightly wider than the roller 434 in the spiral field, the groove 418a is engaged with the roller 434, and the rotation of the lead cam 418 causes the roller 434 to rotate. It is configured to move up and down along the groove 418a. In addition, lead cam 418
One rotation is detected by the lead cam sensor S404 disposed near the lead cam 418.
The position 3 is detected by the bin home position sensor S405.

A double stay 436 is provided at the lowermost portion of the bin B. The double stay 436 has a configuration in which the roller 434 is rotatably supported similarly to the bin B, and the double pass unit 437 can be further supported. The two-pass unit 437 is for conveying a sheet to the second sorter, and rotates the lead cam 418 to rotate the lead cam 418.
Is moved to a position facing the second roller pair 404, and the sheet is conveyed by a two-pass motor 438 (not shown), whereby the sheet discharged from the copying machine main body can be stored in the second sorter.

The stapler 410 is an electric stapler. The stapler is rocked by a rocking motor 439 in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG.
, And is again swung by the swing motor 439 to retreat from the bin B and move to the position shown by the dotted line in FIG. The stapler 410 binds the sheet S in the bin B in this way, and then shifts the bin 1 by the shift motor 416.
0 is moved by one bin, and sheets S stacked in the next bin B are bound. Note that K406 is a manual staple key, and when the manual staple key K406 is pressed after sorting is completed, a stapling operation is performed.

 FIG. 8 is a control block diagram of the sorters 400 and 401.

The sorters 400 and 401 include a central processing unit (CPU) 1001, a read only memory (ROM) 1002, a random access memory (RAM) 1003, a control device 1000 including an output port 1004, an input port 1005, and the like. A control program is stored, and input data and work data are stored in the RAM 1003. The output port 1004 is connected to various motors such as the above-described shift motor 416 and solenoid driving means, the input port 1005 is connected to each of the non-sort path sensors S401 to S405 and a switch of K406, and the PCU 1001 is connected to the ROM 1002. And controls each unit connected via the bus according to the control program stored in the. Also, the CPU 1001 has a serial interface function, performs serial communication with the CPU of the copying machine main body, controls each unit by a signal from the copying machine main body, and outputs an operation signal to the next sorter.

 Next, the operation of sorters 400 and 401 will be described.

First, the operation in the non-sort mode will be described with reference to FIG.

In the case of the non-sort mode, the recording materials discharged to the non-sort tray are stacked. First, in Step 201, the shift motor 4
16 to return the bin unit 403 to the home position,
At tep202, the flapper 407 is moved to the side where the non-sort path 405 is selected. Next, in step 203, it is determined whether there is a sorter start signal from the copying machine main body, and if there is a sorter start signal, the process proceeds to step 204. In Step 204, copy machine body 10
Waiting for a size determination signal from 0, if the size determination signal has been input, the process proceeds to Step 205, where the size is stored in the RAM 1003 for controlling the transport operation described later, and in the next Step 206, the paper is discharged from the copying machine main body. Wait for the signal, and when the output signal comes, Step
Proceeding to 207, a transport operation for discharging paper to the bin B of the non-sort tray is performed, and the process returns to Step 203. Also, Step2
If there is no sorter start signal in 03, the flapper 407 is moved to the side for selecting the sort path 406 in Step 208, and the operation in the non-sort mode ends.

 Next, the operation in the sort mode will be described with reference to FIG.

In the case of the sort mode, first, in step 301, the bin unit 403 is moved by the shift motor 416 to the designated bin position from the copying machine main body via serial communication. Then St
At ep302, the presence or absence of a sorter start signal is determined, and if there is a sorter start signal, the process proceeds to Step 303. In Step 303, if it is determined whether or not there is a size determination signal, the process proceeds to Step 304; otherwise, the process proceeds to Step 302. In step 304, the size data is stored in the RAM 1003. Next, in step 305, a paper ejection signal from the copying machine body is provided. When a paper discharge signal is received, the program proceeds to Step 306, and retracts the alignment rod to a position where the alignment rod does not hit the discharged sheet. Next, whether the sheet to be discharged is a sheet to be stored in the own sorter or a sheet to be stored in the next sorter is determined by a signal from the copying machine main body, and if the sheet is to be stored in the own sorter, the program proceeds to Step 308. proceed. In Step 308, a transport operation for storing the sheets in the bin is performed, and then, in Step 309, the alignment rod 431 is shifted to align the stored sheets. Thereafter, the program proceeds to Step 310, where it determines whether there is a shift inversion signal for inverting the bin shift direction, and if there is no shift inversion signal, proceeds to Step 311 and proceeds to Step 311.
Do a bin shift. If it is determined in Step 310 that there is a shift inversion signal, the process proceeds to Step 312. If the shift is upward, the shift direction is changed downward, and if the shift direction is downward, the upward shift is performed. Change direction.
When Step 311 or Step 312 is completed, the program
Return to ep302. If it is determined in Step 307 that the sheet is to be stored in the next sorter, the program proceeds to Step 313 and raises the bin unit 403 to move to the position of the dual path. Then, the two-pass motor 438 is turned on (Step 31).
4) A transport operation for transporting the sheet to the two-pass unit is performed (Step 315). Next, in step 316, a double pass timer for measuring the time required for the sheet to be conveyed to the double pass to reach the next sorter is set, and the process waits in step 317 until the double pass timer is up. If the timer is up in Step 317, the sheet has reached the next sorter. In Step 318, the dual-pass motor is turned off. In Step 319, the bin of the sorter 400 is shifted down by one bin, and the normal bin is moved from the position of the dual-pass to the bin. Return to position and program is Step302
Go back. At this time, the sorter 401 is controlled in the same manner as the sorter 400, and the flapper 407 of the sorter 401 is also switched to the position for conveying the sheet to the path 406 side. Bin shift.

Next, the operation in the group mode will be described with reference to FIG.

In the case of the group mode, first, in step 401, the bin unit 403 is moved from the copying machine body to the designated bin position via serial communication. Next, in Step 402, it is determined whether there is a sorter start signal from the copying machine main body, and if there is a sorter start signal, the process proceeds to Step 403. In Step 403, if the presence or absence of the size determination signal is determined,
Proceed to tep402 respectively. In Step 404, the size data is stored in the RAM 1003, and then, in Step 405, a paper discharge signal from the copying machine body is waited. When a paper ejection signal is received, the program proceeds to Step 406, and retracts the alignment bar to a position where the alignment bar does not hit the discharged sheet. Next, it is determined from the signal from the copier body whether the discharged sheet is a sheet stored in the own sorter or a sheet stored in the next sorter (Step 407). Proceeds to Step 408. In Step 408, a transport operation for storing sheets in the bin is performed.
In step 409, the aligning rod 431 is shifted to align the sheets stored. Thereafter, in Step 410, the presence or absence of the bin shift signal is determined.
The program proceeds to ep411, shifts up by one bin, and the program returns to Step 402. If it is determined in Step 407 that the sheet is to be stored in the next sorter, the program proceeds to St.
Proceed to ep413, raise the bin unit 403 and move to the position of the double pass. Then, the two-pass motor 438 is turned on (S
tep414) A transport operation for transporting the sheet to the two-pass unit is performed (Step 415). Next, in step 416, a double pass timer for measuring the time required for the sheet to be conveyed to the double pass to reach the next sorter is set, and the process waits in step 416 until the double pass timer is up. If the timer is up in step 417, the sheet has reached the next sorter. In step 418, the dual-pass motor is turned off. In step 419, the bin of the sorter 400 is shifted down by one bin to move from the dual-pass to the normal bin position. Return and the program returns to Step 402. The sorter 401 performs the same operation as the sorter 400.

Next, the procedure of the transport operation will be described with reference to FIG.

As a transport operation when the sorters 400 and 401 receive a sheet from the copying machine main body 100, first, in step 501, the transport motor 411 is turned on. In the next Step 502, it is determined which of the non-sort path 405 and the sort path 406 has been selected based on a signal from the copying machine main body. If the non-sort path 405 has been selected, the process proceeds to Step 503,
If the sort path 406 has been selected, the process proceeds to Step 504. Then, in Step 503 or Step 504, wait until the non-sort path sensor S401 or the sort path sensor S402 detects a sheet.
Proceed to Step 505. Next, in Step 505, the sensor S401 or S402
After the leading edge of the sheet is detected by the
A counter is set to measure the time required for ejection from 408 or 409. The count value is determined by a size determination signal output from the copying machine main body. In Step 506, it is determined whether or not the counter set in Step 505 has finished counting. If the counter has counted up, the flow proceeds to Step 507 to stop the transport motor 411 and end the operation.

Next, the stapling operation will be described with reference to FIG.

First, in Step 601, the swing motor 439 is turned on to move the stapler 410 to the stapling position, and the stapler 410 is turned on.
Is moved to the position shown by the solid line in FIG.
Drive 9 Next, in Step 602, the stapler solenoid 44
Drive 0 to staple the sheet. Thereafter, in step 603, the swing motor 439 is driven until the stapler 410 moves to the retracted position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 6, and in step 604, the stapling of all the sheets stored in the bins B1 to Bn is completed. It is determined whether the staple operation has been completed. If the staple operation has not been completed, one bin shift is performed in Step 605, and the process returns to Step 601 to repeat Steps 602 to 604 in order to perform the next stapling.

Next, the sorting operation for the first job and the second job will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing bins of sorters 400 and 401.
It is assumed that a first bundle of documents and a second bundle of documents are placed on the document transport device 300, and a continuous mode in which the first bundle of documents and the second bundle of documents are processed continuously is set. First, when the first job is a process using two bins among the bins of the sorters 400 and 401, the first job for processing the first bundle of documents includes:
As shown in FIG. 14, they are placed in bins B1 and B2. At this time, the number of bins used is determined by the RAM in the control device 800 of the main unit 100.
Is stored. Next, a second job for processing the second bundle of documents is performed. At this time, the control device 800 of the main body 100 performs the (first
Bins are specified to the sorters 400 and 401 via serial communication so that processing is performed after the bin of (the number of bins used in the job) +1. Sorters 400 and 401 are
The sheet bundle of the second job is placed from bin B designated by 0. In FIG. 14, since up to B2 is used in the first job, the second job is placed after 2 + 1 = 3, that is, from B4, which is the fourth bin. With such placement, the sheet bundle of the first job and the second job can be separated, and the first job and the second job can be easily distinguished.
The sheet bundle can be easily taken out.

Further, when up to two bins are used in the first job, and the subsequent second job is equal to the number of remaining bins, that is, in this embodiment, two bins out of 40 bins of 20 + 20 are used, When a job using 38 bins is specified in the state of the remaining 37 bins, the bin specified by the main body 100 is 2+
If it is from the fourth bin after 1 = 3, the number of bins becomes one. Therefore, the main body 100 does not perform the control of designating the number of bins used in the first job + 2 bins, but designates the number of bins used in the first job + 1 bins.
By prohibiting the control of providing empty bins as shown in FIG. 15, the processing of the first and second jobs is performed without lowering the loading capacity of the sorter.

If the total number of bins used by the first job and the second job exceeds the total number of bins of the sorters 400 and 401, the 16th
In the figure, 3 bins are used in the first job for 40 bins,
If a second job that uses 39 bins or more is specified thereafter, the copying operation is interrupted when the first job is completed, and the operation of the second job is prohibited, thereby starting the first and second jobs. The sheet bundle of the job can be distinguished.

Next, the above operation will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 16, the copying machine body first determines whether or not the copy key 605 has been pressed in Step 801.
Proceeding to 02, the copying operation of the first job is performed. Then St
The process proceeds to ep803, and the number of bins used in the first job is stored in the memory 805. The number of used bins is the set number of copies in the case of the sort mode, and is the number of documents in the case of the group mode. Next, the process proceeds to Step 804, and it is determined whether there is a second job. If there is no second job, the process returns to Step 801.
If there is a job, the process proceeds to Step 805. In Step805, the second
Calculate the number of bins used in the job. This is the set number of sheets in the sort mode, and the number of documents in the group mode. Next, the program proceeds to Step 806,
It is determined whether the total number of bins of the first job and the second job is smaller than the total number of bins. St if less than the total number of bins
Proceed to ep807, set the bin designation at the start to [use bin of the first job] +2, provide an empty bin between the first job and the second job, and proceed to Step 808 to copy the second job. Execution, and the program returns to Step 801. If the total number of used bins of the first job and the second job is not smaller than the total number of bins in Step 806, the program proceeds to Step 806.
Proceeding to 809, it is determined whether the total number of bins used for the first job and the second job is equal to the total number of bins. If they are not equal, the total used bins of the first job and the second job are larger than the total number of bins, so the execution of the second job is prohibited, and the process returns to Step 801. However, if the total number of used bins of the first job and the second job is equal to the total number of bins, the second job can be processed by loading without providing empty bins. Number] +1 (next start position)
Proceeding to ep808, the second job is copied, and the program returns to Step 801.

As described above, by controlling to provide an open bin between the first job and the second job, the first job and the second job can be easily distinguished, and a copy system that is easy to handle can be configured. . If the sum of the number of bins used in the first job and the number of bins used in the second job is equal to the total number of bins in the sorter, by not providing empty bins, it is possible to reduce the processing capacity of the sorter. Can be prevented. Further, when the total number of bins used in the first job and the number of bins used in the second job is larger than the total number of bins in the sorter,
By prohibiting the copying operation of the second job, it is possible to avoid the mixture of the sheet bundle of the first job and the sheet bundle of the second job.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing bins of sorters 400 and 401.
Another processing in a case where the first document bundle and the second document bundle are placed on the document conveying device 300 and the continuous mode in which the first document bundle and the second document bundle are processed continuously is set. The method will be described. First, a first job, which is processing of a first document, is performed.
The copied sheet bundle is placed on the first sorter. Thereafter, a second job, which is processing of the second document, is subsequently performed. At this time, the control unit of the main body 100 designates the bin position of the placement start as B21 in FIG. 17, so that the first job is loaded on the first sorter and the second job is loaded on the second sorter. Can be placed. Therefore, the first job for the first document bundle and the second job for the second document bundle can be separated, and the sheet bundle can be easily taken out. Also,
Even when the user presses the manual staple button s406 to perform stapling, the job is separated and placed on the first and second stations, so which one of the first and second manual staple keys is pressed? Accordingly, it is possible to easily determine whether the staple of the first job or the staple of the second job.

Further, when the first job, which is the process of the first bundle of documents, is completed and the second job is performed, the second job is a large amount of processing that cannot be placed only by the second sorter, that is, The case of using 20 bins or more will be described with reference to FIG. The sheets that cannot be placed in the second station are placed using the empty bins in the first station, so that even if the number of sheets exceeds the capacity of the second station in the processing of the second job, the sheets remain in the continuous mode. Can be processed. When the second job is placed, the second job is prioritized, and only the sheet bundle that cannot be placed in the second job is placed in the first job, and further placed in the first job. The sheet bundle is placed on the lower side of the first station, that is, as shown in FIG. 18, the sheets that cannot be placed in the second station are put in from the first station B20. ,
A maximum empty bin can be provided between the first job and the second job even in the first job, and the sheets placed in the first job can be easily distinguished from the first job and the second job. .

Next, the above operation will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 19 is a control flowchart of the copying machine main body for performing the loading shown in FIGS. 17 and 18.

In FIG. 19, the copier body first determines whether or not the copy key 605 has been pressed in Step 801.
Proceeding to p802, the copying operation of the first job is performed. Next, the process proceeds to Step 803, and the sorter used in the first job is stored in the memory 805. Next, the process proceeds to Step 804, and it is determined whether there is a second job. If there is no second job, the process returns to Step 801. If there is a second job, the process proceeds to Step 805. Ste
In p805, the number of bins used in the second job is calculated. This is the set number of sheets in the sort mode, and the number of documents in the group mode. Next, the program is Step80
Proceeding to 6, it is determined whether the number of bins used in the second job is greater than the number of bins in the unused sorter. If the number of bins is larger than the number of unused sorters, the process proceeds to Step 807, and the shortage of bins is loaded onto empty bins of the sorter used in the first job. At this time, in order to provide a maximum empty bin between the first job and the second job, the used sorter is loaded from the lower side. Therefore, the number of bins specified as the start position of the second job is specified as [the total number of bins of the used sorter] − [the number of insufficient bins] +1 (the next start position).
By ep301 or Step 401 in FIG. 11, the start position of the second job can be loaded from the position where the maximum empty bin can be provided between the used job and the first job of the used sorter. Thereafter, the program proceeds to Step 808, performs the second job, and returns to Step 801. If the number of used bins of the second job is not larger than the total number of unused sorters in Step 806, the program proceeds to Step 809 and performs an operation of specifying an unused sorter. In order to specify an unused sorter, an unused sorter is determined for the sorters 400 and 401 from the information on the used sorter of the first job stored in step 803 by specifying the bin at the start of the second job. Specify the first bin of. This allows the sorter to move the bin to the position specified by Step 301 in FIG. 10 or Step 401 in FIG. 11, and load the first job and the second job on different sorters. Then the program
Proceeding to Step 808, the second job is copied, and the program returns to Step 801.

As described above, the first job and the second job
The first and second sorters are loaded separately.
The job and the second job can be easily distinguished, and a copy system that is easier to handle can be configured. If the number of bins used in the second job is larger than the number of bins in the second sorter, the sheet bundle of the second job that cannot be stacked in the second job is stacked in the first empty bin. By doing, 2
It is possible to process a second job having a load capacity equal to or greater than the consecutive load capacity. Further, the first job and the second job can be easily distinguished by stacking the sheet bundle of the second job loaded in the first empty bin on the side opposite to the position where the first job is loaded. Can be

[Effects] As described above, according to the present invention, in a sheet sorting apparatus that performs control such that an empty storage stage is provided between a storage stage used in a first job and a storage stage used in a second job, When the sum of the number of storage stages used in the first job and the number of storage stages used in the second job is equal to the number of storage stages of the sorting means, the number of storage stages used in the first job and the number of storage stages used in the second job are used. Since the control is performed so as not to provide an empty storage stage between the storage stages to be performed, it is possible to avoid a situation where sheets of the second job cannot be stored due to the provision of an empty storage stage.

Further, in a sheet sorting apparatus which sorts the sheets on which the images of the first job are formed by the first sorting means and sorts the sheets on which the images of the second job are formed by the second sorting means, the sheet used for the second job is stored. When the number of stages is larger than the number of storage stages of the second sorting unit, an image of the second job is formed by using the storage stages not used by the first job and the second sorting unit among the storage stages of the first sorting unit. Since the sorted sheets are sorted, it is possible to avoid a situation in which sheets of the second job cannot be stored in spite of storage stages of the first sorting unit that are not used by the first job.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of a copying apparatus to which the present invention can be applied, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the appearance of an operation panel of the copying apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a control circuit diagram of the copying apparatus shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the sorter shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the sorter. FIG. 7 is a top view of the bin unit, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the sorter, FIG. 8 is a control block diagram of the sorter, FIG. 9 to FIG. 13, FIG. 16, and FIG. Figure, Figure 15, Figure 17,
FIG. 18 is a view showing a sorting state of the sorter. 100 is a copying machine main body, 200 is a pedestal, 300 is a circulating automatic document feeder, and 400 and 401 are sorters.

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masakazu Hiroi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Tetsu Choho 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon stock In-house (56) References JP-A-1-104565 (JP, A)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet sorting apparatus for sorting sheets received from an image forming apparatus for sequentially forming images of a first job and a second job on sheets, wherein the sheet for sorting images formed by the image forming apparatus is provided. A sorting unit having a plurality of storage stages; a control unit controlling the sorting unit so as to provide an empty storage stage between the storage stage used in the first job and the storage stage used in the second job. The control means includes: when the sum of the number of storage stages used in the first job and the number of storage stages used in the second job is equal to the number of storage stages of the sorting unit, A sheet sorting apparatus, wherein the sorting unit is controlled so that an empty storage stage is not provided between a storage stage used in one job and a storage stage used in the second job. 2. A sheet sorting apparatus for sorting sheets received from an image forming apparatus for sequentially forming images of a first job and a second job on sheets, wherein the sheet for sorting images formed by the image forming apparatus is provided. A first sorting unit having a plurality of storage stages, a second sorting unit separate from the first sorting unit, having a plurality of storage stages for sorting sheets on which images are formed by the image forming apparatus; Control means for sorting the sheets on which the images of the first job are formed by the first sorting means and for sorting the sheets on which the images of the second job are formed by the second sorting means; When the number of storage stages used in the second job is larger than the number of storage stages of the second sorting unit,
A sheet sorting apparatus for sorting sheets on which images of the second job are formed by using the storage section not used by the first job and the second sorting section among the storage sections of the first sorting section. .