JP3041727B2 - Sorter - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printing machine or a laser beam printer, and automatically sorts a large number of sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus. And sorting (grouping)
The present invention relates to a sorter to be stored in each bin and, more particularly, to an improvement in a bin-fixed sorter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a sorter system for automatically distributing and aligning (collating) sheets (copy paper) discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a bin fixing system, an all bin moving system, There is an opening moving method for each bin.

In the bin fixing system, sheets are sorted and stored in a plurality of fixedly arranged bins by a deflection unit.
This method is often used in a console-type high-speed copying machine because it has the advantages that the number of sheets stored in each bin can be increased, the response speed is fast, and a plurality of bins can be connected.

In this bin-fixed sorter, when a multi-part record composed of a large number of originals is created by the image forming apparatus, the sheets carried out of the image forming apparatus are sequentially taken into a sorter receiving apparatus. Then, the sheet is transferred to a sheet conveying device, and in the middle of this transfer, it is taken into each bin in order by the operation of a branch guide provided at a sheet receiving port of each bin of the distribution device composed of a number of bins, and assembled. The recording of a large number of copies of the maximum number of bins is prepared.

[0005]

Sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus and received by the bin-fixing sorter are conveyed at high speed through a conveying path in the sorter, and are passed through the branch guides into the respective via holes. It is carried in.

Each of the bins can store a large amount of sheets. For example, about 50 sheets can be stacked in a plurality of bins for sorting, and about 250 sheets can be stacked in a bin for non-sorting.

[0007] Since the sheets slid and accommodated in these bins are curled during image formation or conveyance, when the sheets are conveyed and accommodated on the inclined surface of the bin, the sheets escape from the bin. Or the rear end of the sheet does not come into contact with the abutting reference surface of the bin, causing the sheet to be uneven, the sheet to be rounded, or a collision with a subsequent sheet to cause a paper jam (jam). This tends to occur as a large number of sheets are deposited in the bin. In particular, it often occurs when a sheet is conveyed at a high speed and carried into a bin. Therefore, if the inclination angle of the bottle is set to be steep and the slope is steep, the sheets will buckle, causing jams and irregularities. If the slope is made gentle, the sheet will not return to the reference position or will escape from the bin.

On the other hand, in order to minimize the total height of the sorter and increase the number of sheets accommodated in each bin, the height of each bin must be minimized. In each of such bins, a sheet having raised such as curling tends to escape from the bin.

Particularly, in a sorter provided with a stapler device, it is important to align the sheet bundle.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to prevent escape of a sheet conveyed into a bin at a high speed out of the bin and defective conveyance, An object of the present invention is to provide a sorter that ensures the alignment (sheet alignment) of sheets in a bin and that can store a predetermined number of sheets in a bin having a minimum overall height.

The sorter of the present invention that achieves the above object is
A plurality of sheets for storing sheets carried out from the image forming apparatus main body
In a sorter having multiple bins in the vertical direction ,
Sheets provided upright with respect to the bottom sheet mounting surface of the bin
It has a rear end butting reference surface and a sheet side end butting reference surface.
And the lower sheet mounting surface, a lower mounting surface forming a gentle inclination angle θ1 with the horizontal surface, and an intermediate mounting surface connected to the lower mounting surface and forming a steep inclination angle θ2 with the horizontal surface. And the upper mounting surface connected to the intermediate mounting surface and forming an inclination angle θ3 with the horizontal plane.
And the respective relations are defined as 0 ° <θ1 <θ3 <
bin as θ2, and discharged with image forming operation
The sheet regulated by the sheet trailing end reference surface
Pressing means for abutting the sheet against the sheet side end abutting reference plane;
And further, a sheet was abutted against the two reference surfaces.
When the rear end portion of the sheet is placed on the bottom sheet mounting surface,
Notch on the bottom sheet mounting surface to expose
Sorter, characterized in that a write section.

[0012]

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a sorter connected to a main body 1 of an image forming apparatus (for example, a copying machine). The sorter of the present invention includes a base unit 10, a downward transport unit 20, an upward transport unit 30, and a bin moving unit 40.

The base 10 comprises a caster 11, connection means 12 for connecting to the image forming apparatus main body 1, a conveyor belt 13, a driven roller 14, a guide plate 15, a driving means (not shown), and the like, and is fixed on the floor. You.

The base unit (horizontal transfer unit) 10 has a structure shown in FIG.
A stay member 16 is fixed in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. On the upper surface side of the stay member 16, a rack gear RG is fixed. On the other hand, rollers 17A and 17B for moving the housing are rotatably supported in the housing of the bin moving unit 40 described later.
B slides on a rail (not shown) of the base unit 10 so that the housing of the bin moving unit 40 can be moved in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper.

A drive motor M1 is provided in the housing of the bin moving unit 40, and drives and rotates the pinion gear PG via gears G1 and G2. The pinion gear PG
Is engaged with the rack gear RG fixed to the stay member, so that the bin M is moved by the rotation of the motor M1.
Forty cases move in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper. Reference numeral 18 denotes a rotatable roller provided coaxially with the pinion gear PG.
Is guided by rolling contact with the stay member 16.

The downward transport section 20 is connected to the discharge roller 2 and the discharge port 3 of the image forming apparatus main body 1, receives the discharged sheet P by the guide plate 21, and conveys the sheet P downward. The transport belt 22 for feeding the transport belt 13 in the unit 10 and a driven roller 23 are provided. Also, branching from this transport path, AD
A transport unit 24 and a tray 25 for discharging the preceding sheet in the image forming apparatus main body 1 when a jam occurs in the sorter F and the sorter are provided. Note that the upper part of the housing of the downward transport unit 20 swings freely so that the jammed paper in the downward transport unit 20 can be taken out.

The ascending transport section 30 has a plurality of endless transfer belts 31 stretched around pulleys 32 and 33 rotatably fixed to the upper and lower portions of a support frame. Inside the transport belt 31, a plurality of rollers 34 rotatably rotatably corresponding to the insertion openings of the bins described below. A plurality of transport rollers 35 are provided outside the transport belt 31 so as to face the rollers 34.
Is rolled and driven to rotate.

In the middle of the transport roller 35, branch guides 36 are located at the entrances of the bins and swing. These branch guides 36 are rotatably supported by a shaft 37 provided on the support frame, and are swung by a lever and a solenoid (not shown) provided at the shaft end of the shaft 37. Therefore, by rotating the branch guide 36 clockwise, the lower claw portion of the branch guide 36 intersects the paper transport path formed by the transport belt 31 and the transport roller 35, and the paper is vertically moved upward. Blocking the progress, the branch guide 36 adjusts the paper receiving posture. When the sheet P is conveyed there, the sheet P is deflected in a substantially right angle direction along the inner curved surface of the branch guide 36 and is received in the bin 41.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are partial cross-sectional views of the components and bins of the above-described paper branching and conveying path. FIG. 2 shows the vicinity of the upper part of the sorter, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bottle, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the bottle and related members.

A plurality of bins (for example, 20 bins) 41 arranged at equal intervals are swingably supported by the bin moving unit 40. That is, the bottom (left side in FIGS. 2 and 3) of the bin 41 is slidably supported on a guide plate 48 fixed to the bin moving unit 40.

Reference numeral 41A denotes three locking claws provided on the bottom surface side which engage with the notches of the guide plate 48. Reference numeral 41S denotes five stopper surfaces (sheet rear end abutting reference surfaces) provided on the paper introduction side on the upper surface side of the bin 41, and the upper end of the upright surface has a curved claw portion 41B in an eave-like shape inside the bin 41. It protrudes to prevent the paper P from coming out of the bin due to the lifting of the rear end of the paper.

A slide piece 44 is fitted on an upright fixed support shaft 43 supported by support members 42 fixed above and below the frame of the bin moving section 40, and is positioned by a pin 45 and an E-ring 47. A U-shaped groove 41G at one end (upper right in FIGS. 4 and 5) of the bin 41 is fitted into the slant neck portion of the slide piece 44, and makes the bin 41 tiltable and rotatable. The pins 45 and the E-rings 47 driven into the fixed support shaft 43 at equal intervals support the slide pieces 44 at equal intervals, and hold the ends of the bins 41 at equal intervals in parallel.

In this manner, the bins 41 are arranged in parallel with the fixed support shaft 43 at equal intervals at a horizontal inclination angle θ3 (for example, 30 °), and can be tilted and swung at the inclination angle θ3.

The other end of the bin 41 is
And is supported by a rotatable roller 39 which is implanted in a part of the frame. In this manner, the bin 41 is supported by the guide plate 48, the slide piece 44, and the roller 39, and is swingable about the fixed support shaft 43.

At the uppermost position of the plurality of bins (20 sort bins in FIG. 1) 41, a deep bottom non-sort bin 49 is fixed. The non-sort bin 49 is a bin that stores the image-formed paper P that does not need to be sorted.
A large number of sheets can be stacked.

The left end side of the non-sort bin 49 (FIG. 1,
A stopper wall 49S is formed on the inner wall surface of the bin 49 on the paper introduction side in FIG. A curved claw is provided at the upper end of the upright surface of the stopper wall 49S.
49B protrudes inside the bin 49 like an eaves to prevent the paper P from coming out of the bin due to the lifting of the rear end of the paper.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the bin 41 and the non-sort bin 49. The sheet mounting surface of the bin 41 is orthogonal to the stopper surface 41S for abutting the rear end of the sheet and aligning the paper, and has a lower mounting surface 411 that forms a gentle inclination angle θ1 (for example, 10 °) with the horizontal plane. An intermediate portion mounting surface 412 connected to the surface 411 via a curved surface and forming a steep inclination angle θ2 (eg, 40 °) with the horizontal surface, and an upper portion connected to the intermediate member mounting surface and forming an angle θ3 (eg, 30 °) with the horizontal surface The mounting surface 413 is formed.

A stopper surface 41 near the root of the bottle 41
S and the lower placing surface 411 form an angle of 90 ° to ensure alignment of the sheet bundle at the time of stapling. Also, the stopper surface
41S is close to vertical, and the lower mounting surface 411 has a gentle inclination angle (θ = about 10 °) to prevent buckling of the rear end of the paper.
The paper P is reliably aligned by sliding on the slope of the paper P. Since the intermediate mounting surface is formed at a steep inclination angle (θ3 = about 40 °), the paper P discharged onto the bin 41 is surely slid and dropped by its own weight, and the paper alignment is reliably performed. . As a result, a sheet that has been electrostatically attracted and is easily attracted to the surface or a curled sheet is surely slid down and the rear end of the sheet is abutted against the stopper surface 41S.

The inclination angle θ3 of the upper mounting surface 413 is slightly smaller than the inclination angle θ2 of the intermediate mounting surface 412 (θ2).
(Approximately 30 °), it is possible to secure a minimum interval between the plurality of bins 41 and to reduce the overall height of the sorter. Further, since the upper mounting surface 413 is a surface on which large-sized paper (for example, B4 size or A3 size) is ejected and arrives on the bin 41 and is mounted thereon, these large-sized papers have a heavy weight, and the inclination angle. With θ3 and the steep inclination angle θ2, the paper can be aligned by slipping down sufficiently.

The non-sort bin 49 fixed to the sorter body at the uppermost part of the bin 41 has substantially the same shape as the bin 41. That is, the lower mounting surface 491 orthogonal to the stopper wall 49S has the inclination angle θ1, the intermediate mounting surface 492 has the inclination angle θ2,
The upper mounting surface 493 has an inclination angle θ3. Further, the sheet placement surface 494 at the foremost portion of the bin 41 is a surface on which the leading end of a large sheet is placed, and is substantially horizontal. By making the sheet placement surface 494 horizontal, the height of the non-sort bin 49 can be suppressed, and the overall height of the sorter can be reduced.

The paper P (single-dot chain line in the figure) conveyed at a high speed to the ascending conveying section 30 of the sorter is transported by the conveying belt 31 and the conveying roller 35.
And is deflected to the right by a branching claw 36 (illustrated, second stage from the bottom) which is actuated by a solenoid (not shown) and oscillated clockwise (shown by a dashed dotted line),
Passing above the upright stopper surface 41S of the bin 41, the inclination of the intermediate mounting surface 412 and the upper mounting surface 413 of the bin 41
The paper P rises right along the surface, and the rear end of the paper P is
After passing through the pressing position 35, the paper P is discharged at the discharge speed,
Further, after the trailing edge of the sheet has passed above the stopper surface 41S, the sheet P changes from rising to descending, and the upper placing surface 413, the intermediate placing surface 412, and the lower placing surface of the bin 41 due to its own weight.
After sliding down each inclined surface on the surface 411, the rear end of the paper P abuts against the stopper surface 41S and stops to align the paper.

Similarly, the paper P discharged onto the non-sort bin 49 is also placed on the lower placing surface 491 , the intermediate placing surface 492, and the upper placing surface.
Ascending and descending on each inclined surface of the placing surface 493 , the stopper wall 4
The paper is aligned in contact with 9S.

On the other hand, an alignment device 50 for aligning the side edges of the paper P discharged from the copying machine main body 1 onto the bin 41 is provided at a part of the fixed frame of the upward transport section 30. (Figure 2,
3, 57). FIG. 7 is a front sectional view of the matching device 50.

In the aligning device 50, a lower arm 52, which is fitted to a lower support shaft 51 attached to a lower portion of the frame and is swingable, is swung by a driving force of a pulse motor (not shown). At the tip of the lower arm 52, the lower shaft end of the mandrel 54A of the alignment rod 54 is held by a centering bearing 53A. The shaft end of the alignment rod 54 above the mandrel 54A is fitted and held by a centering bearing 53B provided at the shaft end of the upper arm 55. The upper arm
55 is swingable by engaging with an upper support shaft 56 attached to the upper part of the frame.

The outer periphery of the mandrel 54A of the alignment rod 54 is covered with an elastic material 54B made of a foam material such as sponge.
The width of the paper P is aligned by pressing against the side edge of the discharged paper P. The alignment rod 54 draws a swing locus (dashed line) as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the bin 41 swings as shown by a dashed line in FIG. 5 in order to insert the paper P to be loaded into the stapler device 80.

The swing angle of the lower arm 52 is changed by the set number of pulses of the pulse motor so that the width of the lower arm 52 is adjusted in accordance with the size of the sheet P to be discharged.

A stopper wall is provided on one side of the bin 41.
(Sheet-side abutment reference surface) 41D is upright and integrated. A paper pressing device is provided on the outer surface of the stopper wall 41D.
60 is installed. The shaft 62 implanted on the stopper wall 41D
In addition, a lever 61 is swingably supported. The lever 61
A paper pressing member 63 is attached to one of the ends.

The other end of the lever 61 is pressed by a roller 72 attached to the tip of an arm 71 of the bin swinging device 70. By this pressing, the lever 61 swings, and the paper pressing member 63 presses the upper surface of the paper P on the bin 41 to press the paper.

The substrate of the swinging device 70 is mounted on a common frame together with the substrate of the stapler device, and is driven up and down on the frame of the bin moving section 40. Stopped, the sheet bundle deposited on the rocked bin 41 while being pressed by the paper pressing member 63,
The stapler is driven into the gap between the binding portions of the stapler device.

After the stapling, the arm 71 returns and swings, and the bin 41 is urged by the spring and swings to return to the first sheet discharge position.

Next, the stapling operation of the bundle of sheets discharged to the bin 41 will be described below.

There are a center line reference and a one-sided reference for the placement positioning reference of the original placed on the platen glass of the image forming apparatus main body 1. Hereinafter, the stapling operation of the sheet bundle P discharged on the center line will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a state in which paper is stored and aligned on the bin 41, and FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a state in which the bin 41 is swung and stapled.

(1) When the size of the paper (copy paper) P discharged from the image forming apparatus main body 1 is manually set or automatically determined, the bin moving unit 40 of the sorter is electrically driven to correspond to the paper size. When it reaches the predetermined position, it is stopped by the signal of the position detection sensor and enters a standby state. The maximum movement amount of the bin moving unit 40 is set to half (for example, 87.4 mm) obtained by subtracting the minimum size width (for example, B5 size, 257 mm) from the paper maximum size width (for example, 17 inches). Also,
In this standby position, the stopper wall 41D of the bin 41 is located at a position separated by δ (for example, about 10 mm) from the widthwise side edge of the paper P to enter. (2) In this state, the paper P enters from the left side in the figure and rises along the slope of the uppermost bin 41, and then slides down by its own weight to stop against the rear stopper 41S of the bin 41. (3) After the paper P is stopped, the alignment bar (pressing means) 54 swings to press one side edge of the paper P, and the paper P is shifted to the front side by the shift amount δ, and the other side of the paper P is shifted. The side edge of the stopper wall
Contact 41D. The offset amount δ is set to be substantially the same for other sheets of different sizes (for example, A4 size, B4 size, A3 size, etc.). Furthermore, as shown in the lower left of FIG.
On the lower mounting surface of the bin 41, the left end of the stopper wall 41D is provided.
There is a notch that connects the right end of the stopper wall 41S to the
Therefore, the side edge of the sheet P is brought into contact with the stopper wall 41D.
At this time, the rear end corner of the paper P is exposed outside the sheet placement surface.
You. In other words, processing by the stapler described later is possible.
The preparation for the function is completed.

(4) Subsequently, the succeeding paper P is discharged into the lower second bin 41 by switching the branch guide 36, and the alignment rod 54 is similarly swung to press the side edge of the paper P. Then, the paper P is brought into contact with the stopper wall 41D to align the paper.

(5) In the same manner, the sheets are successively distributed and stored in the number of bins 41 corresponding to the number of originals.

(6) The set number of sheets P in the bin 41 at the top
Is detected by the CPU-controlled counting means, and the rear end of the final sheet P accommodated in the bin 41 passes through the light-emitting element LED provided at the upper part of the bin moving part 40 and the light-emitting element LED at the lower part. When it is detected that the optical path of the light detecting means connecting the provided light receiving element PTr is opened, the discharge to the first-stage bin 41 is completed (see FIG. 1).

(7) Similarly, immediately after the completion of paper discharge to the second bin 41 is detected, or after a predetermined time elapses,
The uppermost bin 41 is rocked by the bin rocking device 70. That is, when a staple signal is input to the bin moving unit 40 in the stopped state, the bin rocking device 70 is first driven, the arm 71 rocks, and the roller 72 at the leading end moves to the lower end of the paper pressing device 60. By pressing the leaf spring 66, the leaf spring further above
The paper pressing member 63 presses the upper surface of the sheet on the bin 41 by swinging the lever 61 counterclockwise about the shaft 62 against the urging force of the spring 65.

(8) Subsequently, the roller 72 at the tip of the arm 71 further swings to swing the bin 41 around the slide piece 44 (eg, θ = 12 °) to press the sheet on the bin 41. The bottle 41 is swung as it is.

(9) The sensor of the bin rocking device 70 detects the rocking position, and the rocking of the bin 41 is stopped. (10) In this stop position, the rear end corner of the sheet bundle is inserted into the gap between the binding portions of the stapler 80, and the stapler 80
The staples 83 are driven and bound by the drive of.

(11) After the stapling, the arm 71 is driven to return to the original position, so that the bin 41 is urged by the spring to return to the original position, and the paper pressing member 63 is separated upward from the sheet bundle surface. Then, it can be taken out from the sheet bundle bin 41.

(12) When the stapling of the sheet bundle stored in the uppermost bin 41 of the bins 41 is completed, the unit in which the stapler device 80 and the bin swinging device 70 are integrally formed is lowered by the elevating device. Almost simultaneously, the lower bin 41 is swung, and the stapling operation is performed in the same manner as described above. During this time, the paper discharging operation is being performed on the bin 41 one or two stages lower.

(13) When the stapling of all the sheet bundles is completed, the unit in which the bin swinging device and the stapler device are integrated returns to the uppermost bin position.

The staple operation described above is a sorter in which sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus main body 1 on the basis of a center line are stored, aligned, and stapled, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is also applicable to a sorter for storing sheets discharged from the apparatus main body 1 on a one-side basis, aligning the sheets, and stapling the sheets.

[0056]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When a large number of sheets are conveyed at a high speed into the bin of the sorter and fed, the sheet bundle can be reliably aligned, and the bin interval can be minimized to increase the number of sheets stored in the bin. In addition, by minimizing the bin interval and the bin inclination angle, it is possible to keep the overall height of the sorter low and to make the sorter compact. In particular, in a sorter provided with a stapler device, the effect of aligning the sheet bundle on the bin is large.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a sorter connected to an image forming apparatus main body.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of components of a branch conveyance path of a sheet and an upper bin of a sorter.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of a lower portion of a sorter.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bin equipped with a paper aligning device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a bottle and related members.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a bottle.

FIG. 7 is a front sectional view of the matching device.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the straight movement of the bin.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a swinging process of the bin.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus main body (copier main body) 10 ... Base part 20 ... Down conveyance part 30 ... Up conveyance part 40 ... Bin moving part 41 ... Bin (sort bin) 411 ... Lower mounting surface 412 ... Intermediate mounting surface 413: Upper mounting surface 41B: Claw portion 41S: Stopper surface 43: Fixed support shaft 44: Slide piece 49: Non-sort bin 491 ... Lower mounting surface 492 ... Middle mounting surface 493 ... Upper mounting surface 494 ... Paper mounting Surface 49S Stopper wall 50 Alignment device 54 Alignment bar 60 Paper holding device 61 Lever 63 Paper holding member 70 Bin oscillating device 80 Stapler device 83 Staple P Paper (sheet) θ1, θ2, θ3 … Inclination angle

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-59-124654 (JP, A) JP-A-59-177252 (JP, A) JP-A-1-294163 (JP, A) JP-A-2-56360 (JP) , A) JP-A-2-28461 (JP, A) JP-A-64-34867 (JP, A) JP-A-63-183165 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB Name) B65H 39/11 B65H 31/02 G03G 15/00 530

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet carried out of an image forming apparatus main body
A sheet having a plurality of bins for storing a plurality of bins in a vertical direction, a sheet provided upright with respect to a bottom sheet mounting surface of the bin.
It has a rear end butting reference surface and a sheet side end butting reference surface.
And the lower sheet mounting surface, a lower mounting surface forming a gentle inclination angle θ1 with the horizontal surface, and an intermediate mounting surface connected to the lower mounting surface and forming a steep inclination angle θ2 with the horizontal surface. And the upper mounting surface connected to the intermediate mounting surface and forming an inclination angle θ3 with the horizontal plane.
And the respective relations are defined as 0 ° <θ1 <θ3 <
bin as θ2, and discharged with image forming operation
The sheet regulated by the sheet trailing end reference surface
Pressing means for abutting the sheet against the sheet side end abutting reference plane;
And further, a sheet was abutted against the two reference surfaces.
When the rear end portion of the sheet is placed on the bottom sheet mounting surface,
Notch on the bottom sheet mounting surface to expose
Sorter, characterized in that a write section.