JP3035562B2 - Automatic stapler paper alignment device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automatic stapler for clinching a sheet discharged from a copying machine by a stapler, and more particularly, to a sheet discharge tray when the stapler performs a clinch operation. The present invention relates to an automatic stapler sheet aligning apparatus capable of aligning sheets discharged to a paper stapler.

(B) Conventional technology Conventionally, there has been an automatic stapler for clinching a sheet discharged from a copying machine. However, this conventional device is configured by using a specially developed stapler itself to be attached to the copying machine. Was.

For this reason, not only is it expensive, but also the shape is large, and when it is installed in a copier, there is a problem that only that portion becomes bulky.

To solve this problem, we have developed using a stapler that is commercially available for office use.

However, the paper ejected from the copier is not always ejected to a fixed position due to the fluctuation of the transporting means for transporting the paper. If the stapler performs a clinch operation at a predetermined position, not only the sheets are not stitched neatly due to the misalignment of the sheets, but also a part of the sheets may not be stapled from the stapler and may not be stapled.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention Therefore, according to the present invention, the sheets can be stitched neatly by automatically aligning the sheets when clinching. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic stapler sheet aligning device that is effective for (1).

(D) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention relates to a method in which a clinch position of a sheet discharged from a copying machine onto a discharge tray is changed from a standby position set on one side of the discharge tray to the clinch position. An automatic stapler that clinches with a reciprocating stapler, wherein the stapler is capable of moving in synchronization with a center thereof on both sides of the discharge tray in order to align side edges of sheets discharged to the discharge tray. The alignment plate is connected to the stapler frame so that the alignment plate is moved to the alignment side in conjunction with the movement of the stapler to the clinch side. It is a paper alignment device of an automatic stapler.

(E) Operation In the automatic stapler paper aligning apparatus of the present invention, when the stapler moves during clinching, the stapler frame and the interlocking frame move both aligning plates to the center side in synchronization with the stapler frame. Each alignment plate is pressed against the side edge of the paper to align the paper, and at the same time, the stapler clinches the clinch position of the paper.

(F) Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the paper can be aligned with the left and right alignment plates at the time of clinching, so that the paper can be neatly aligned and bound, and in particular, since the paper is aligned from both sides,
It is more effective for the type of copier discharged to the center.

Further, in the paper alignment structure, since the alignment plate is mechanically linked to the moving stapler, a dedicated drive source is not required, the structure is simple, and the operation is reliably performed.

(G) Embodiment of the Invention One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

The drawings show an automatic stapler of a copying machine in which an automatic stapler is incorporated in a sorter of the copying machine. The sorter 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a sheet aligning device.

In the sorter 10 described above, the sorter 10 has ten paper output trays 11... Stacked vertically, and each of the above-described paper output trays 11. 1
3, 13 and engage with the spiral engraved on the peripheral surface,
One rotation of 3,13 raises or lowers one by one.

The paper copied by a copying machine (not shown) is discharged to a paper discharge path 15 formed by upper and lower guide plates 14 and 14, and then the paper discharged by upper and lower paper discharge rollers 16 and 16 is discharged. Tray 11
Are received and stacked one by one.

The configuration of the above-described sorter 10 is a well-known technique, and thus details thereof are omitted. The automatic stapler 20 incorporated in the above-described sorter 10 performs a clinch operation on the sheets 21 stacked on the sheet discharge tray 11a supported by the elevating rotary member 13.

For this purpose, the automatic stapler 20 is also formed obliquely so as to correspond to the inclination of the paper discharge tray 11a (see FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic stapler 20 described above is disposed on one side of the front end side of the paper discharge tray 11, and a position that does not hinder the paper discharge is set to a standby position.
To the clinch position A.

In addition, on both sides of the above-described paper discharge tray 11a, aligning plates 22 and 23 constituting a paper aligning device are erected, and the aligning plates 22 and 23 move in synchronization with the center side to discharge the paper. The sheets 21 on the tray 11a are aligned by being applied from both sides.

The above-mentioned one alignment plate 22 is connected to the interlocking frame 24 in an upright state, and the interlocking frame 24 is formed in a three-dimensional shape having a front end side in a flat L shape and a rear end side in a side L shape, The end is connected to a sliding frame 33 of the stapler 32, which will be described later, so as to interlock with the movement of the stapler 32 toward the clinch position A.

Further, a rack rod 25 extending to the center side of the paper discharge tray 11 is continuously provided at the tip of the interlocking frame 24.

A rack rod 26 having an L-shaped side surface is connected to the alignment plate 23, and a lower horizontal portion of the rack rod 26 is supported by an appropriate support structure so as to be slidable only in the width direction at the bottom of the guide frame 17 of the sorter 10. The horizontal portion of the rack rod 26 and the above-described rack rod 25 are opposed to each other, and racks 27 and 28 are carved on the opposite side, and a pinion 29 of an idler is interposed between them. Mesh.

In addition, the above-described pinion 29 is appropriately supported at the bottom of the above-described guide frame 17. The aligning plates 22 and 23 of the sheet aligning device configured as described above are configured such that the stapler 32
When it moves to the clinch position A side of 1, the aligning plate 22 is moved to the center side via the interlocking frame 24.

When the interlocking frame 24 moves to the center side,
The other alignment plate 23 also moves toward the center via the rack rod 25, the pinion 29, and the rack rod 26.

As a result, both aligning plates 22 and 23 move to the center side synchronously, and this movement can align both side edges of the sheet 21. When the sheets 21 are aligned, the stapler 32 moves the clinch position of the sheet 21. Clinch A.

When the stapler 32 returns to the original position, the alignment plates 22, 23 also return to the standby position.

 Next, the configuration of the automatic stapler 20 will be described.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the automatic stapler 20 includes a clinch mechanism 30 and a moving mechanism 31.
The sliding frame 33 on which the stapler 32 is mounted is formed so as to straddle both of the mechanical units 30 and 31. The above-described sliding frame 33 is provided with the clinch mechanism 30 in plan view.
The side is short and the moving mechanism 31 side is long (see FIG. 3), and the cross section is U-shaped (see FIG. 4).
The rear side of the stapler 32 is bent so that the side of the clinch mechanism 30 side is low and horizontal when viewed from the rear.
The side on the 31 side is high, and four guide rollers 35 are pivotally supported inside (see FIG. 6).

The above-mentioned guide rollers 35 are formed by upper and lower rail sides 38, 3 of a C-shaped rail 37 fixed to a fixed frame 36 provided on the sorter 10.
8, the sliding frame 33 is slidably supported from the standby position to the clinch position A, and the sliding frame 33 is supported by a spring 39 stretched between the fixed frame 36 and the sliding frame 33. Is biased toward the anti-clinch position side (outside).

The movement from the standby position to the clinch position A is driven by the above-described moving mechanism 31, and the return is driven by the urging force of the spring 39.

The interlocking frame 24 of the one alignment plate 22 is connected to the vertical portion of the mounting portion 34 of the sliding frame 33, and the sliding frame 33 moves the stapler 32 to the clinch position A. Accordingly, the interlocking frame 24 also moves in the same direction.

 The above-described clinch mechanism 30 is configured as follows.

That is, in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a state in which the drive shaft 41 is extended to the other moving mechanism 31 on the upper part of the inverted U-shaped fixed frame 40 fixed to the sorter 10 side. The drive shaft 41 controls one rotation through an appropriate motor and a reduction gear (not shown).

Further, a clinch lever 42 is provided below the drive shaft 41 described above.
This clinch lever 42 is formed by connecting a pair of left and right sides in an inverted U-shape at the front end side, and each of the base ends is pivotally supported by the above-mentioned fixed frame 40 by a support shaft 43.

A pair of eccentric rotary cams 44 are fixed to the drive shaft 41 in correspondence with the above-mentioned clinch lever 42.
A cam groove 45 is engraved on the outer surface of the pin, and a pin 46 implanted in the clinch lever 42 is fitted into the cam groove 45 (see FIG. 5).

Therefore, when the rotary cam 44 makes one rotation, the pin 46 is guided by the cam groove 45, so that the free end side of the clinch lever 42 moves up and down by one.

The free end side of the above-mentioned clinch lever 42 has a clinch roller.
A shaft portion 48 of the clinch roller 47 is engaged with a long groove 49 to enable vertical displacement, and is urged downward by a spring 50 having strong elasticity.

Therefore, when the above-mentioned clinch lever 42 moves down and the clinch roller 47 presses the stapler 32,
The clinch position A of the paper 21 can be clinched with a needle.

A tongue piece is provided at the lower front end of the mounting portion 34 on which the stapler 32 is mounted.
When the stapler 32 moves to the clinch position A, the tongue piece 51 contacts the stopper 52 fixed to the fixed frame 36 to regulate the position of the stapler 32 to the clinch position A.

 The above-described moving mechanism unit 31 is configured as follows.

That is, in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. Is pivotally supported on a fixed frame 40 by a support shaft 62.

The above-mentioned swing lever 61 supports a roller 63 which is in contact with the above-described rotating cam 60, and the other end of a spring 64 whose one end is locked to the fixed frame 40 is locked to the swing lever 61, whereby the roller 63 Swing lever 61 so that the
To the rotating cam 60 side.

Therefore, when the rotation cam 60 is controlled by one rotation, the swing lever 61 reciprocates one time.

A pressing piece 65 is pivotally attached to the lower end of the above-mentioned rocking lever 61 by a support shaft 66, and a hitting piece 67 is continuously provided on the upper front surface of the pressing piece 65 so as to abut on the front surface of the rocking lever 61, It is urged by a spring 68.

A contact lever 69 is located on the upper surface of the bottom of the sliding frame 33 and opposed to the pressing piece 65, and an intermediate portion of the contact lever 69 stands on the upper surface of the bottom of the sliding frame 33. The supporting member 70 is fixedly supported by a support shaft 71, a roller 72 that contacts the pressing piece 65 is supported on the rear end side, and a lower surface on the front end side is connected to the supporting member 70 described above. The roller 72 is brought into contact with the stopper 73 to regulate the position where the roller 72 comes into contact with the pressing piece 65, and is pressed and urged by the spring 74.

Therefore, when the swing lever 61 swings forward, the contact piece 69 is pushed by the pressing piece 65, and the sliding frame
When the lever 33 moves to the clinch position A side and the swing lever 61 moves backward, the spring urging the sliding frame 33 is moved.
The sliding frame 33 can also be retracted to the standby position by 39.

Therefore, the swing lever 61 is moved by one rotation of the rotary cam 60.
When the sliding frame 33 reciprocates, the sliding frame 33 also reciprocates one time.
Are synchronized, the stapler 32 can clinch to the clinch position A of the paper 21.

Further, as described above, the stapler 32 is moved to the clinch position A.
In synchronization with the movement to the side, the aligning plates 22 and 23 of the paper aligning device also move to the center side of the paper output tray 11, and by this movement, the paper 21 on the paper output tray 11a is applied from both sides. ,
Since the paper 21 is aligned, the paper 21 sent from the copying machine is
Even if the paper 21 is discharged to an irregular position, the paper 21 can be neatly aligned and bound.

Further, since the structure for aligning the paper 21 is configured to be mechanically linked to the movement of the stapler 32, a dedicated driving source is not required, the structure is simple, and the mechanism works reliably.

Note that the paper aligning apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

 1 is a sectional front view of a sorter, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of a sorter, FIG. 3 is a partial sectional plan view of an automatic stapler, FIG. FIG. 5 is a partially sectional rear view of the automatic stapler, FIG. 5 is a sectional side view of the clinch mechanism, and FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway sectional side of the moving mechanism. 20… Automatic stapler, 21… Paper 22,23… Alignment plate, 24… Interlocking frame 25,26… Rack rod, 27,28… Rack 29… Pinion, 30… Clinch mechanism section 31… … Moving mechanism 32… Stapler

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An automatic stapler for clinching a sheet discharged from a copying machine onto a sheet discharge tray with a stapler reciprocating from a standby position set on one side of the sheet discharge tray to the clinch position. In order to align the side edges of the sheets discharged to the sheet discharge tray on both sides of the sheet discharge tray, alignment plates movable in synchronization with the respective center sides are provided opposite to each other. An automatic stapler sheet aligning apparatus, wherein an interlocking frame is provided between the stapler frame and the stapler frame so that the aligning plate moves to the aligning side in conjunction with the stapler moving toward the clinch side.