JP2782137B2 - Staple sorter - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

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

[0002]

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

[0003]

However, after the copying process, more time is required for stapling, and since only one stapler is used, the operation is stopped when the stapler runs out of needles. It had to be done and efficiency was bad.

[0004] In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a staple sorter that can perform stapling without waste by operating another stapler even when the stapler has run out of needles.

[0005]

The means for solving the problems according to the present invention is, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of staplers 23a and 23b which are movable up and down relative to a plurality of sort bins 21.
A stapler Units - 24 having a mobile hand stage for elevating the bins 21 or stapler Units - 24
When provided with staples sensors 74a, 74b for detecting the presence of the stapler 23a, 23b of the needle, and a control unit 26 for operating the stapler Units - 24 and moving the hand-stage in accordance with the output of the staples sensors 74a, 74b are The control unit 26 controls each of the staplers 23a and 23b.
For the paper in different sort bins 21
A paper binding means for simultaneously performing a paper binding operation;
Notification device 111a, 1 when the needle of a, 23b is gone
11b to output a no-needle signal to another stapler 2
3a, an actuating means that continues to operate the 23b, all of the stapler 23a, are those which are allowed to have a a stop means for stopping the stapler Units - 24 and moving the hand stage when the needle 23b is ceased to.

[0006]

In the above means for solving the problems, each stapler 23 is provided.
a and 23b are operated at the same time to
The paper in the auto bin 21 is bound. During this paper binding operation, when the stapler needle sensors 74a, 74b detect that the stapler 23a, 23b has run out of the stapler, the alarm devices 111a, 111b corresponding to the stapler 23a, 23b are activated. Let the alarm go off.

At this time, the copying operation or the like is continued, and when the sheet is discharged, the other stapler 23a, 23
Each time a sheet is discharged to the sort bin 21 by 3b, a paper binding operation is performed.

When the staples of both staplers 23a and 23b run out, the staples are detected by stapler needle sensors 74a and 74b, alarms 111a and 111b are activated to generate an alarm, and the machine is stopped to perform a copy operation. Pause.

[0009]

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

In the copying machine of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a staple sorter is connected to the discharge side of the copying machine body 1.
This copier is equipped with an automatic document feeder (RADF) 2
, And has a double-sided copy function.

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

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the staple sorter is provided with a sorter body 20 having a plurality of sort bins 21 provided so as to be movable up and down, and a transport unit 22 for transporting sheets to the sort bins 21. Sort bin 21
Stapler 23 that binds the paper stored in the paper stapler 23
a and 23b, a bin moving unit 25 for moving each sort bin 21 up and down to the paper binding position of the staplers 23a and 23b, and the stapler unit 24 and the bin each time the last sheet to be bound is transported. A control unit 26 for driving the moving unit 25 is provided.

The sort bin 21 is a flat plate whose one end on the copying machine side is bent, and a paper regulating plate 21a is formed on a front side surface thereof. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 12, the non-sort bin 31 is fixed to the bin frame 30 at the uppermost portion thereof and supported vertically by a pair of front and rear bin frames 30 so as to be able to move up and down.

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

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

As shown in FIG. 2, the transport unit 22 includes a sheet transport roller 4 rotatably supported by a sorter body 20.
0, transport roller 41, non-sorting discharge roller 42, discharge roller 43, paper feed transport roller 40 and transport roller 41
And a gate switching claw 45 for switching the sheet in either the non-sort bin 31 or the sort bin 21 direction. In the drawing, reference numeral 46 denotes a switch back flapper.

The paper feed roller 40 is provided in the copying machine main body 1.
A sorter paper input sensor 47 is disposed between the roller 40 and the paper discharge port 12 to detect the entry of a paper sheet.

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

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

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

As shown in FIG. 5, the paper discharge roller 43 is disposed close to the sort bin 21 at the exit of the transport path 44, and faces the paper pressing roller 51a. Further, another paper pressing roller 51b is disposed below the paper pressing roller 51a so as to correspond to the two staplers 23a and 23b.

The paper pressing rollers 51a and 51b are rotatably supported by an L-shaped support 52, and the support 52 is rotatably supported by the sorter body 20 via a shaft 52a. , 53b.

That is, when the solenoids 53a and 53b are turned on, they are switched to the paper pressing position for pressing the paper in the sort bin 21. When the solenoid is off, one of the paper pressing rollers 51a is the discharge roller facing the discharge roller 43. The paper holding roller 51b is held in a posture separated from the sort bin 21 while the paper holding roller 51b is held in the paper posture.

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

The control section 26 synchronizes the sheet with the process speed of the copier main body until the sheet passes through the sorter sheet input sensor 47 according to a detection signal from the sheet discharge sensor 56 provided at the sheet discharge port 12. When the paper is passed through the sorter input sensor 47, the transport speed in the staple sorter is increased to increase the interval with the next paper, and when the paper passes through the paper passage sensor 50, the transport motor is slowed down. The drive control of 54 is performed. In the case of the non-sort mode, driving is performed at a constant speed.

The stapler unit 24 comprises two staplers 23a and 23b as shown in FIGS.
And a swing unit 60 for switching each of the staplers 23a and 23b between a paper binding position facing the sort bin 21 and a standby position separated from the sort bin 21.
It is arranged on the side of.

The two staplers 23a and 23b are vertically arranged side by side, and correspond to the sort bins 21 which are continuous vertically. Each stapler 23a, 23b
As shown in FIG. 7, a stapler body 61 having a built-in needle,
The needle pushing plate 62, the needle driving table 63, and the needle pushing plate 62 and the needle driving table 63
A cam plate 64 that moves up and down with respect to 1, a cam 65 that operates the cam plate 64, and a stapler drive motor 67 that rotates the cam 65 via a gear 66.

As shown in FIG. 8, the swing unit 60 includes a swing lever 68 attached to the staplers 23a and 23b.
A swing cam 69 for swinging the lever 68;
And a swing motor 70 for rotating the stapler 2.
3a and 23b are swung about the shaft 23c.

The staplers 23a and 23b include:
As shown in FIG. 9, a stapler unit home position sensor 71 for detecting a needle jam or the like by detecting whether the needle pushing plate 62 and the needle driving table 63 are at the home position, a staple for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet at the paper binding position. A position paper sensor 72, a staple position foreign matter sensor 73, and stapler needle sensors 74a and 74b are provided.

The swing unit 60 is provided with a stapler unit swing sensor 75 and a stapler position set sensor 76, which detect the positions of the staplers 23a and 23b. Then, at the paper binding position of the staples 23a and 23b, the stapler drive motor 67 is driven by the paper detection signal of the staple position paper sensor 72.

FIG. 1 shows the inside of the stapler main body 61.
A needle cartridge 77 as shown in FIG. 0 is provided, and the presence or absence of a needle is detected by stapler needle sensors 74a and 74b. As shown in FIG. 11, the stapler 23a, the stapler 23a,
By opening the lid 78 provided corresponding to 23b, the stapler 23a, 23b can be exchanged separately.

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

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

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

As shown in FIG. 14, the bin moving unit 25 detects the upper limit and the lower limit of the bin movement, and also has lower limit detecting switches 90 and 91 and an obstacle below the bin frame 30 so that the bin frame 30 descends. An obstacle sensor 92 for detecting that the sheet has run out, a bin home position sensor 93 for detecting whether or not the sort bin 21 is at the home position lowered to the bottom, and a sheet having entered the sort bin 21 from the paper discharge roller 43. Is provided.

As shown in FIG. 15, a stapler guide bar 100 for aligning the sheets discharged to the sort bin 21 is rotatably supported on the bin frame 30, and the stapler guide bar 100 is attached to the sort bin 21. In order to swing along the formed guide hole 101, a drive transmission unit 102 including a plurality of gears and a driving stapler guide bar swing motor 103 are arranged at the lower end thereof.

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

The control unit 26 comprises a microcomputer, and controls the operation panel 1 for switching between a sort mode, a group mode, a staple mode, and a non-sort mode.
And mode switching means for selecting each mode by the output from the 10, when the sort / group mode is selected, the sheet discharge sensor 56, the sorter Nyukami sensor 47, a paper passage sensor 50
Transport means for controlling the rotation of the transport motor 54 in accordance with a paper detection signal from the printer, and a bin for aligning the paper with the stapler guide bar 100 each time the paper is discharged to the sort bin 21 and rotating the lead cam 80 one rotation to shift one bin. When the moving means and the staple mode are selected, the sheet on which the original has been copied is discharged to the sort bin 21 based on the final original detection signal from the final original detector 114 provided in the automatic original feeder 2. And stapling means for starting the stapling operation, and operating means for outputting a staplerless signal to the notification devices 111a and 111b when one of the staplers 23a and 23b runs out and operating the other staplers 23a and 23b. When all the staplers 23a and 23b have run out of needles, the stapler unit 24 and the bin moving unit 25 And a stopping means for stopping.

The transfer means includes a gate switching solenoid 4
When the non-sort mode is selected, the solenoid 49 is turned on to guide the sheet to the non-sort bin 31 when the gate switching claw 45 is swung by turning on and off the switch 9.

The bin moving means drives the stapler guide bar swing motor 103 in response to a paper detection signal from the paper entry detection sensor 94, and drives the stapler guide bar 10 once.
And a home position detection signal from the stapler guide bar home position sensor 104 and the stapler unit swing sensor 7.
5, the bin shift motor 81 is driven by the swing position set signal indicating that the bin is at the standby position, the lead cam 80 is rotated once, and the sort bin 21 at the next stage is raised or lowered to the exit of the transport path 44. I have.

When the paper entry detecting sensor 94 detects that the two sheets of the copied original document have been discharged to the upper and lower sort bins 21 which are continuous, the paper binding means sets the stapler guide bar 100 to three sheets. A function of aligning the paper by swinging the paper and a paper holding solenoid 53a, 53b
To turn the paper holding rollers 51a and 51b to press the paper, a function to drive the swing motor 70 to swing the staplers 23a and 23b from the standby position to the paper binding position, and a function to staple the paper. The stapler drive motor 67 is driven by the paper detection signal from the sensor 72 to simultaneously perform paper binding, and the stapler guide bar 100 is activated by the home position signal from the stapler unit home position sensor 71 after the paper binding is completed. Returning to the separation position, the paper pressing rollers 51a and 51b are rotated to separate from the sheet, the staplers 23a and 23b are returned to the standby position, and a signal is output to the bin moving means to raise or lower the next sort bin 21 in the next stage. Function.

The operating means includes a stapler needle sensor 74
a function of operating alarm devices 111a and 111b for generating alarms such as buzzers and lamps corresponding to the stapler 23a or 23b having no needle in response to the no-needle signal from the stapler 23a or 23b. And a function to continue the paper binding as it is.
At this time, the stapler 23a, 23b
Is driven each time a sheet is discharged to the sort bin 21. Moreover, while one of the staplers 23a and 23b is operating, the lid 78 of the sorter main body 20 with respect to the other stapler 23a and 23b is opened, and the needle cartridge 77 can be replaced. After the replacement of the needle cartridge 77, the stapler 23 can be replaced.
a and 23b are returned to the normal binding operation.

The stopping means is provided for both the staplers 23.
When the needles a and 23b have run out, the machine stop flip-flop is set to stop the machine and to activate both the notifying devices 111a and 111b.

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

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

Then, as shown in FIG. 16, the paper is discharged to the uppermost sort bin 21 by the paper discharge roller 43, and the stapler guide bar 100 is swung to move the paper to the paper regulating plate 21.
Prepare by pressing against a.

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

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

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

When the paper entry detection sensor 94 detects that the first and second sheets of the copied original document have been discharged to the sort bin 21, the stapler guide bar 100 is swung three times as shown in FIG. Then, the paper is aligned, and the side of the paper is pressed by the stapler guide bar 100.

Next, the paper pressing rollers 51a and 51b are rotated to press the paper from above, and the two staplers 23a and
23b is rocked to the paper binding position.

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

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

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

Here, when the number of set originals is an even number, as shown in FIG. 19, the paper binding position corresponds to the lowermost sort bin 21 among the sort bins 21 storing the sheets. Descend.

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

While the above-described sheet binding operation is being performed, the third copied sheet is being conveyed. When the next sort bin 21 is shifted to the sheet binding position, the sheet is immediately discharged. Paper. Subsequently, when the fourth copied sheet is discharged, a similar binding operation is performed.

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

During the paper binding operation, when the stapler sensors 74a and 74b detect that the stapler 23a or 23b has run out of the staple, the alarm device 111a corresponding to the stapler 23a or 23b is activated. 1
Activate 11b to generate an alarm.

At this time, since the machine stop flip is not set, the copying operation is continued and the copied paper is discharged. Then, each time the sheet is discharged to the sort bin 21 by the other stapler 23a, 23b having the staple, the paper binding operation is performed.

During this time, one of the staplers 23a, 23
Open the lid 78 corresponding to b and replace the needle cartridge 77. When the replacement is completed, the two staplers 23 are returned again.
The paper binding work is performed at a and 23b.

When the staples of both staplers 23a and 23b run out, the staple sensors 74a and 74b detect the staples, and the machine stop flip is set. And both alarm devices 111a, 111b
Activates an alarm and confirms whether or not the machine stop flip is set, and if so, stops the machine and temporarily suspends the copying operation.

Then, both staplers 23a and 23b
When the needle cartridge 77 is replaced, the machine stop flip-flop is reset, and the copying operation is restarted.

Here, when comparing the stapling processing time in the case of one stapler and the stapling processing time in the case of two staplers, one stapling time is Δts, and the bin moving time is Δtb, n
When the bins are bound, the required time t is t = n △ ts + (n−1) △ tb for one sheet, while t = n △ ts / 2 + for two sheets when n is an even number. (N-1) @tbn When n is an odd number, t = (n + 1) @ ts / 2 + (n-1) @tb Thus, when the number of staplers is two, the staple processing time is one. This makes it possible to perform efficient document creation.

In addition, when one of the staplers is out of the stapler, the stapler is notified, but the stapling process can be continued with the other stapler. Also, while one stapler is in operation, it is possible to replenish the staples of the other stapler, so that it is not necessary to stop the copying operation for needle replacement, work can be performed without waste, and efficiency can be increased. .

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

In this embodiment, the number of staplers is two, but more staplers may be provided. As a means of transportation,
Although the sort bin is moved, the stapler may be moved.

[0068]

As apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, Oite a plurality of stapler which is freely up and down relatively with respect to a plurality of sorting bins, without needle one stapler Natsuta When the stapler outputs a staplerless signal to the alarm device and continues to operate other staplers with stapler and stops all operations when all stapler staplers run out, one stapler has no stapler. At this time, the stapling process can be continued with another stapler, although the stapling is notified.

Accordingly, there is no need to stop the copying operation or the like for the needle exchange, and the operation can be performed without waste and the efficiency can be improved. And more than one stapler
Performing the paper binding operation at the same time reduces the stapling processing time by one.
This can be shortened compared to the case of individual documents, and efficient document creation can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a staple sorter of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a transport unit.

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of a staple sorter.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a copying machine provided with a staple sorter.

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

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

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

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a swing unit of the stapler;

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

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a needle cartridge.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a sorter main body.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a bin moving unit.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a sorting bin moving mechanism.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing a drive system of a bin moving unit.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a staple guide bar.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a staple sorter at the time of paper ejection in a staple sort mode.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the staple sorter when the last original is discharged.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a sheet in the same paper binding process.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the staple sorter when the sort bin is moved after the paper binding.

FIG. 20 is an operation flowchart of the stapler when no needle is used.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 21 sort bin 22 transport unit 23a, 23b stapler 24 stapler unit 25 bin moving unit 26 control unit 74a, 74b stapler needle sensor

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A stapler unit having a plurality of staplers, which is movable up and down relative to a plurality of sort bins, a moving means for raising and lowering the sort bin or the stapler unit, and a stapler needle for detecting the presence or absence of a stapler needle. A sensor and a control unit for operating the stapler unit and the moving means in accordance with the output of the stapler sensor, and the control unit operates each stapler.
Paper to separate sort bins
And Kamitsuzuri means for performing a stapling operation, the stapler when an actuating means that continues to operate the other stapler outputs a needleless signal to the notification device when the needle of the stapler has come without needles all stapler ceased to Yunitsuto and mobile <br/> staple sorter, characterized in that it has been caused to Yes and stopping means for stopping the hand stage.