JP3114044B2 - Paper removal device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet taking-out apparatus, and more particularly to a sheet taking-out apparatus for taking out a sheet from a bin on which a sheet conveyed from an image forming apparatus to a side of the apparatus is placed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine is sometimes provided with a sorter for sorting sheets on which image forming processing has been performed, and a stapling process is performed on the sorted sheets. Sorters having a stapling device for performing have also been provided.

A conventional sorter of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
An apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 5270 or the like is used. The device, apart from the sorting section for sorting the paper, the staple unit that performs loading accommodated stapling the sheets are provided. When performing stapling with this device,
The sheets sorted by the sorting unit are conveyed to the staple unit, and are processed by a stapling device provided in the staple unit.

In the above-described apparatus, a staple section is provided below the bin, and a stack section for storing processed sheets is disposed below the staple section . For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult for the operator to take out the processed paper. In view of this, the present applicant has already proposed a copying machine provided with a sheet take-out device for taking out the sorted and stapled sheets at the front side of the apparatus (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-1119).
No. 35). In this apparatus, the sorted and stapled sheets are taken out to the front side of the apparatus, so that the processed sheets can be easily taken out.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
In the paper take-out device shown in No. 5, the paper dropped on the bottom surface is placed on the bottom surface with the lower part facing the front of the apparatus and the upper part facing the rear side of the apparatus. However, for example, when the lower part of the paper being discharged faces the rear side of the apparatus, the paper placed on the paper is not correctly placed on the bottom surface because the surface of the placed paper is reversed or the paper leans against the front wall. Further, when the upper side of the paper being discharged is located on the front side of the image forming apparatus from the lower side, the upper side of the paper falls down on the front side of the image forming apparatus, and the paper is not accurately placed on the bottom surface. If the paper is not correctly placed on the bottom surface, problems such as damage to the paper and deterioration of workability at the time of paper removal occur.

An object of the present invention is to accurately place a sheet on the bottom surface.

[0007] Paper pickup device according to the present invention is a device for taking out the paper from the bin sheet conveyed from the image forming apparatus to the apparatus side side is placed, the sheet discharging means and the sheet accommodating portion And a paper guide mechanism.
The sheet discharging unit is a unit for discharging the sheet in the bin to the front side of the image forming apparatus. The sheet storage unit has a bottom surface disposed below the sheet discharging unit and on which the sheet discharged by the sheet discharging unit is placed. The paper guide mechanism has a first side end on a side near the image forming apparatus for the paper to be discharged.
A first member abutting on the image forming apparatus, and guides a lower portion of the sheet being discharged toward the front side of the image forming apparatus.

[0008] For feeding guide mechanism preferably has a drive mechanism that is disposed in a second position not abutting the first position abutting the sheet being discharged first member. Further, the driving mechanism arranges the first member at the first position, guides the lower portion of the sheet being discharged to the front side of the image forming apparatus, and then moves the first member to the second position.
It is preferable to arrange them at positions.

It is preferable that the image forming apparatus further includes a pushing member for pushing an upper portion of the sheet being discharged toward the rear side of the image forming apparatus. Preferably, the pressing member is connected to the driving mechanism, and the driving mechanism presses the pressing member when the first member of the paper guide mechanism is located at the second position. The paper guide mechanism
It is preferable to have a second member abutting on a second side end opposite to the first side end . At this time, the second member is preferably made of a lid member.

The bottom surface is preferably inclined so that the rear side of the image forming apparatus is higher than the front side. Further, it is preferable that the bottom surface has a guide portion for guiding the placed sheet to the first side end of the sheet .

[0011]

In the paper feeder according to the present invention, the paper in the bin is discharged from the bin to the front side of the image forming apparatus by the paper discharge means. Since the lower portion of the paper being discharged is guided to the front side of the image forming apparatus by the paper guide mechanism, the paper is satisfactorily placed on the bottom surface. In addition, since the paper guide mechanism has the first member abutting on the first side end of the paper to be ejected near the image forming apparatus , the paper can be satisfactorily placed on the bottom surface.
Is placed.

In the case where the guide mechanism has a drive mechanism for disposing the first member at a first position where the first member comes into contact with the sheet being discharged and a second position where the first member does not come into contact with the sheet, the first member is moved in accordance with the sheet discharge state. The member can be arranged at an appropriate position. When the driving mechanism arranges the first member at the first position after disposing the first member at the first position, the lower part of the sheet being discharged is guided to the front side of the image forming apparatus, but the upper part of the sheet is located at the front side of the image forming apparatus. Not guided.

[0013] In the case where the image forming apparatus further includes a pushing member for pushing the upper portion of the sheet being discharged toward the rear side of the image forming apparatus, the upper portion of the sheet does not fall forward of the image forming apparatus. When the drive mechanism pushes the push member when the first member of the paper guide mechanism is arranged at the second position, the upper portion of the paper is pushed out to the rear side of the image forming apparatus by the push member without contacting the first member. .

The second side of the sheet to be discharged by the sheet guide mechanism
When the sheet includes the second member abutting on the end , the sheet is more accurately placed on the bottom surface. At this time, when the second member is formed of the lid member, the above-described operation becomes more remarkable. When the bottom surface is inclined so that the rear side of the image forming apparatus is higher than the front side, the sheet reaching the bottom surface moves to the front side of the image forming apparatus. In the case where there is a guide member that guides the paper on which the bottom surface is placed to the first side end , the paper that has reached the bottom surface is guided to the side closer to the image forming apparatus by the guide unit.

[0015]

Shows the overall construction of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention to the examples overall configuration and copying machine body FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 1, this copying machine is a copying machine body 1.
And a staple sorter (hereinafter simply referred to as a sorter) 2 disposed on the left side of the copying machine body 1 and a sheet take-out device (hereinafter referred to as a multi-stacker) disposed in front of the sorter 2 (operator side). And 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the copying machine main body 1 includes a case 5 and an image forming section 6 arranged at the center of the case 5.
A document scanning unit 7 disposed above the image forming unit 6;
And a sheet transport device 8 for supplying a sheet to the image forming section 6 and discharging the sheet from the image forming section 6. The image forming unit 6 includes a photosensitive drum arranged in the center,
And a charging device, a developing device, a transfer device, a sheet separating device, and a cleaning device disposed around the device.
The document scanning unit 7 includes an optical system 9 disposed above the image forming unit 6, a document table 10 disposed above the optical system 9, and an automatic document feeder 11 provided on the document table 10. Have. The automatic document feeder 11 has a document placement section 12 provided on the upper surface of the case, and a document transfer section 13 including a document moving belt and the like arranged inside the case. The paper transport device 8 has a paper supply path disposed upstream of the image forming unit 6 in the paper transport direction and a paper discharge path disposed downstream, and a fixing device is provided in the middle of the paper discharge path. An apparatus 14 is provided.

Further, a discharge roller 15 for discharging the sheet to the sorter 2 and a reversing device 16 for reversing the sheet are provided downstream of the fixing device 14. In the lower part of the case 5, an intermediate transport path 17 for transporting the paper passing through the reversing device 16 and an intermediate tray 18 for temporarily storing the paper are provided. Below the intermediate tray 18, a plurality of paper cassettes 19 are arranged in a vertical direction. On the right side of the case 5, a paper feed deck 20 for continuously supplying paper is arranged. A manual paper feed path 21 is disposed above the paper feed deck 20. Sorter sorter 2, the bin unit 27 including a driving unit 26 for driving a plurality of bins 25 and these bins 25 vertically disposed between the copying machine main body 1 and the bin unit 27 the copier main body 1 And a processing unit 29 disposed below the transport unit 28 on the upstream side of the bin unit 27 (on the side of the copying machine main body 1). Processing unit 29
Is provided with a stapler for stapling a sheet bundle. The bin unit 27 has a support frame 30 that supports the leading ends of the plurality of bins 25 on the paper discharge side.

As shown in the plan view of FIG. 3, each bin 25 is formed of a plate-like member. A notch 25a for taking out a sheet is formed from the leading end side in the discharge direction to the inside. On the rear side (rear side of the apparatus), a width adjusting member 31 for adjusting the width of the sheet to the front side is moved.
b is formed. The hole 25b extends in the direction in which the bin 25 can move in the paper transport direction (the lateral direction of the apparatus, hereinafter also referred to as the lateral direction), and the width adjustment member 31 moves in the front-rear direction of the apparatus. Extending in the direction. On both sides of an end of the bin 25 on the paper introduction side (the copying machine main body 1 side), trunnions 32 projecting outward are provided, and the trunnions 32 are spiral cams 33 (described later) constituting the driving unit 26. ) Groove 33a. Further, on both sides of the discharge-side tip of the bin 25, a projecting portion 34 projecting outward is formed.
Are locked to a holder 30a formed on the support frame 30. In this manner, the bin 25 is supported such that the distal end in the discharge direction is supported by the support frame 30 and the introduction side is supported by the spiral cam 33, and is inclined so that the distal end on the discharge side is located upward as shown in FIG. ing.

As shown in FIG. 4, the spiral cam 33 has a spiral groove 33a on its surface, and is arranged vertically from the upper part to the lower part of the sorter 2. The upper and lower stages of each spiral cam 33 are rotatably supported by the frame 2a of the sorter 2, and a pulley 40 is fixed to the lower end. A drive pulley 41 is fixed to the lower end of the spiral cam 33 provided on the rear side of the device among the pair of spiral cams 33. The drive pulley 41 is connected to a drive motor 43 (FIG.
See).

The spiral grooves 33a formed on the outer surface of the spiral cam 33 are formed at substantially the same pitch in the upper and lower portions, but for two pitches in the portion (substantially the center portion) facing the processing unit 29. It is formed wider than other pitches. As a result, a wider space is formed above and below the bin 25 facing the processing unit 29 than in other portions.

As shown in FIG. 5, a bin upper frame 27a is provided at the upper end of the bin unit 27, and a bin lower frame 27b is provided at the lower end thereof at substantially the same inclination as the bin 25. Further, a guide bin 27c is provided on the side of the bin 25 corresponding to the processing unit 29. As will be described later, the guide bin 27c serves as a bin movement guide when the bin 25 is drawn into the copying machine main body 1 side. The tip of each bin frame 27a, 27b is fixed to the support frame 30, and a pin is provided at the end on the copying machine main body 1 side.
The pin b engages with the groove of the spiral cam 33 (see FIG. 4), and the pin of the upper bin frame 27a is inserted into the trunnion guide groove 2b (see FIG. 3) of the frame to support the bin unit 27. Further, the base end of the guide bin 27c is fixed to the tip of the sorter frame 2a. The guide bin 27c extends to the front end side in the bin paper discharge direction along the inclination of the bin 25, and a guide member 45 having a guide groove 45a is fixed to the front end portion. Also, at the ends of the upper and lower bin frames 27a and 27b on the paper introduction side, there are provided one for detecting whether or not there is paper in the bin 25.
A pair of photo sensors 46a and 46b are provided.

A fixed reference plate 121 for shifting the width and an elevating reference plate 122 are provided at the front end of the sorter frame 2a in front of the apparatus. These reference plates 12
Reference numerals 1 and 122 are disposed adjacent to the spiral cam 33 on the leading end side in the sheet discharging direction. The lifting reference plate 122 includes a fixed upper reference plate 122a and a vertically movable lower reference plate 122b functioning as a shutter member. The lower reference plate 122b can assume a closed position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 7 and an open position indicated by a dashed line in FIG. When the lower reference plate 122b is open, the side of the lower bin 25 corresponding to the processing unit 29 is opened.

As shown in FIG. 6, an elevating mechanism 125 for elevating the lower reference plate 122b is provided at the end of the sorter frame 2a. The elevating mechanism 125 includes a mounting frame 126 provided at the tip of the sorter frame 2a.
And a motor 127 fixed to the mounting frame 126.
And a gear train 128 rotatably supported in a mounting frame 126. The gear train 128 is a motor 127
, The pinion 128a of the gear train 128 meshes with a rack 129 fixed to the lower reference plate 122b.

With such a configuration, the lower reference plate 122 moves up and down together with the rack 129 by driving the motor 127. Note that the lower reference plate 122b is guided by a slide guide 130 fixed to the sorter frame 2a to move up and down. The sorter 2 also includes a bin moving mechanism (not shown) for moving the bin 25 moved to the processing position to the processing unit 29 on the side of the copying machine main body and returning the bin 25 to the original position. And a paper pressing mechanism (not shown) for pressing the paper on the bin 25 at a position opposite to the above.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transport unit 28 of the sorter 2 has an introduction section 28a, a sorting carry-in path 28b branched from the introduction section 28a, and a non-sort carry-in path 28c. I have. The introduction section 28a is provided with an introduction roller 131 and a branch claw 132. In addition, the sorting carry-in path 28b is provided between the introduction section 28a and the bin 2 for sorting.
5, and guides the paper onto the bin 25 whose vertical space is widened by the spiral cam 33. The non-sorting carry-in path 28c is provided between the non-sorting bin 133 disposed above the sorter 2 and the branching unit 28a, and guides sheets to the non-sorting bin 133 in the non-sort mode. Multi-stacker FIGS. 7 and 8 show the overall configuration of the multi-stacker 3. FIG. FIG. 7 is a front view of the multi-stacker 3, and FIG. 8 is a side view of the multi-stacker 3 as viewed from the direction of arrow VIII in FIG.

The multi-stacker 3 has a case 3a. The stacker hand mechanism 150 for gripping the processed paper in the bin 25 located at the take-out position and pulling the processed paper into the multi-stacker 3; A discharge mechanism 151 for discharging the paper drawn toward the front side, and a stack unit 15 for storing the discharged paper
2 and the sheet taken out of the bin 25
2 and a paper transport path 153 for guiding the sheet to the paper feed path 2.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the stacker hand mechanism 150 includes a base plate 159 and a base plate 159.
A moving plate 160 that moves in a horizontal direction above, a first hand mounting plate 161 and a second hand mounting plate 162 provided on the moving plate 160 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction of the apparatus, and each hand mounting plate 161, 162 The first hand 163 and the second hand 164 attached to the
The first drive mechanism 165 for moving the H.64 in the front-back direction
And a second drive mechanism 166 for moving the moving plate 160 in the lateral direction. First hand mounting plate 16
1 is prohibited from moving laterally on the moving plate 160, while the second hand mounting plate 162 can move laterally on the moving plate 160.

The base plate 159 is arranged to be inclined at substantially the same angle as the bin 25. As shown in FIG. 10, a roller 167 is provided at the end of the movable plate 160 on the front side of the apparatus, and a guide 168 for sliding is horizontally arranged at the other end. The moving plate 160 is connected to the second driving mechanism 16.
6 moves to the copying machine main body 1 side. A stopper roller 169 is provided at the end of the sorter 2 on the side of the copying machine main body 1.
Is provided. The stopper roller 169 has a second
The hand mounting plate 162 is configured to abut.
Each hand 163, 164 and the second hand mounting plate 16
A roller 170 is provided at the lower portion of the device 2 and moves on the movable plate 160 in the front-rear direction of the device. Second hand mounting plate 16
2 has a slide guide 171 having a guide groove in the lateral direction.
Has been fixed. The first hand mounting plate 161 has a locking portion for locking to the slide guide 171.

Each hand 163, 164 has a hand frame 175. Roller 170 is hand frame 17
5 is provided at the lower end. Hand frame 175
Can move up and down along a vertical slide guide 172 provided on each of the hand mounting plates 161 and 162. The movable plate 160 is provided with a guide member 177 for hand retreat. Guide member 177
Is the roller 170 of each of the retreated hands 163 and 164.
Is guided downward so that the upper part of each of the hands 163 and 164 can be retracted inside (below) the paper transport path 153. In addition, the first hand mounting plate 162 has the first
A sensor 178 for detecting that the hand 163 has separated from the second hand 164 and has reached a predetermined interval is fixed.

Each of the hands 163 and 164 has a
As shown by, a pair of upper and lower gripping portions 180 and 181 are provided. Each of the grips 180 and 181 is rotatably supported by the hand frame 175 by a pin 182.
Gears that mesh with each other are formed below the support of the upper grip 180 and above the support of the lower grip 181. The rear end of the upper grip 180 is urged by a spring 183 in the opening direction. One end of a spring 184 is locked to the rear end of the lower grip 181, and the other end is connected to a solenoid 185 mounted on the hand frame 175.
Of the plunger. With such a configuration, when the solenoid 185 is turned off, the upper grip 180 is opened upward by the spring 183, and accordingly, the lower grip 181 is also opened downward. On the other hand, when the solenoid 185 is turned on and the plunger is retracted, the lower grip 181 is rotated in the closing direction by the spring 184, and the upper grip 180 is moved in the closing direction against the urging force of the spring 183. Rotate.

The first drive mechanism 165 includes a motor 190,
Gear pulley 191 fixed to the shaft end of motor 190
And a plurality of gear pulleys 193 fixed to the connecting member 192 of the first mounting plate 161 and a timing belt 194 spanned between the gear pulleys. Thus, when the motor 190 rotates, the timing belt 1
The connecting member 192 is moved by the 94, and the two hands 163 and 164 are moved through the hand mounting plates 161 and 162.
Moves forward and backward.

On the other hand, the second drive mechanism 166 is
59, a gear train 196 (see FIG. 10) including a motor 195 fixed to the lower surface, a plurality of gear pulleys, and a timing belt 197. The timing belt 197 has a locking member 1 fixed to the lower surface of the moving plate 160.
98 are connected. In addition, on the base plate 159,
Photo interrupter 19 for detecting the position of the moving plate 160
9,200 are provided at predetermined intervals. Further, the moving plate 160 is provided with a photo interrupter 201 for detecting that each of the hands 163 and 164 is located at the home position.

The discharging mechanism 151 includes two pairs of roller devices 20.
5, 206 and a roller drive mechanism 207 for driving the roller devices 205, 206. As shown in FIG. 10, the roller devices 205 and 206 include a driving roller 208 and a driven roller 209 arranged along the sheet conveying path 153. Both rollers 20
Between belts 8 and 209, a belt 210 for transporting the processed paper is stretched. And each roller 2
Above 08 and 209, a pressing roller 211 is arranged. The pressing roller 211 is rotatably attached to the tip of the support member 212. Support member 212
Is rotatably attached to a cover 3 a that covers the upper part of the multi-stacker 3.

The roller drive mechanism 207 includes a motor 213
And the gear pulley 21 attached to the shaft end of the motor 213
4, a rotating shaft 215 connecting the respective driving rollers 208 of the roller devices 205 and 206, a gear pulley 216 fixed to the tip of the rotating shaft 215,
And a timing belt 217 spanned between the two.

The paper transport path 153 mainly includes a side wall 225 and a guide member 301 provided on the side wall 225. As shown in FIG. 7, the side wall 225 is inclined along the side surface (upstream end surface in the bin 25 in the paper transport direction) of the transported paper. That is, bin 2
5 is attached at an angle substantially orthogonal to the inclination.

The first guide member 301 is shown in FIGS.
2 is a groove member having a substantially U-shaped cross section,
01a and first side walls 3 provided on both sides of the bottom 301a
01b and the second side wall 301c.
The first guide member 301 further has a fixing portion 301d fixed to the side wall 225. As is clear from FIGS. 11 and 12, the first side wall 301b (the front side of the image forming apparatus) is higher than the second side wall 301c (the rear side of the image forming apparatus). Further, the second side wall 301c gradually decreases as it goes downward. As is apparent from FIG. 7, the first guide member 301 fixed to the side wall 225 with such a structure has a bottom surface 301a inclined at a position farther from the side wall 225 than the inclination angle of the side wall 225. That is, the lower part of the first guide member 301 is
It is inclined in a direction further away from 25 in the paper transport direction downstream (to the left in FIG. 7). In this state, the first guide member 3
A predetermined gap is ensured between the lower end of the base 01 and a bottom surface 226 (described later). Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the first guide member 301 is inclined such that the lower end is on the front side of the image forming apparatus (the right side in FIG. 8) from the upper end. Further, the second side wall 301c of the first guide member 301 is inclined such that the lower end is located on the front side of the image forming apparatus from the upper end.

Below the first guide member 301, FIG.
Are provided. Guide part 30
Reference numeral 2 denotes a guide mechanism 303, a pushing mechanism 304, and an interlocking mechanism 3 for interlocking the guide mechanism 303 and the pushing mechanism 304.
05 mainly. The guide mechanism 303
A plate-like second guide member 306, and a second guide member 306.
And a supporting member 307 that supports the slidably in one direction. The second guide member 306 and the support member 307 are connected by a coil spring 308, and the second guide member 306 is urged upward in the drawing in the state of FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the second guide member 306 protrudes from the slit 225a formed in the side wall 225 toward the sheet transport path 153. As shown in FIG. 7, the second guide member 306 is inclined such that the lower end is located on the front side of the image forming apparatus from the upper end.

The pushing mechanism 304 mainly includes a pushing member 310 and a supporting member 311 for supporting the pushing member 310 so as to be slidable in one direction. As shown in FIG. 8, the pressing portion 310a of the pressing member 310
0b is fixed. The interlocking mechanism 305 is connected to the substrate 312
, A solenoid 314 fixed to the substrate 312, and a lever 315 to which a plunger of the solenoid 314 is connected. The lever 315 is L-shaped as is clear from FIG. 13, and has a first lever portion 315a and a second lever portion 315b. The lever 315 is rotatably supported on the substrate 312 by a pin 315c. The first lever 315a is inserted into the opening 306a of the second guide member 306 of the guide mechanism 303. FIG. 13 is an expanded view of the actual configuration.
The distal end of the second lever portion 315b is connected to the pressing member 310. The solenoid 314 is in the off state in the state of FIG. 13, and the plunger is protruding. Solenoid 3
14 is turned on and the plunger retracts, the lever 31
5 rotates clockwise in the figure around the pin 315c. When the lever 315 rotates in this manner, the end of the first lever 315a is moved to the opening 30 of the second guide member 306.
6a is brought into contact with the end 306b,
The guide member 306 moves downward in FIG. That is, the second guide member 306 moves so as to be immersed in the side wall 225 in FIG. At the same time, the second lever portion 315b moves the pressing member 310. That is,
In FIG. 8, the pressing member 310 moves rearward and downward on the image forming apparatus.

The stack portion 152 is provided below the case 3a, and forms a side wall 22 that forms the paper transport path 153.
5 has a bottom surface 226 substantially perpendicular to the bottom surface. The bottom surface 226 extends rearward of the apparatus and is inclined upward as shown in FIG. Further, the bottom surface 226 extends further forward than the portion directly below the first guide member 301 to the image forming apparatus. Further, the bottom surface 226 has a guide portion 226a on the rear side of the apparatus. The guide portion 226a projects and is inclined so as to move the sheet reaching the bottom surface 226 toward the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction, that is, toward the side wall 225.

As is apparent from FIG. 1, the stack portion 3 has an opening 227 for taking out the side. A lid member 318 shown in FIG. 14 is fixed to the upper end of the opening 227. The cover member 318 has a guide portion 318a extending in the depth direction in FIG. Guide part 31
8a is inclined such that the lower part is located on the front side of the image forming apparatus from the upper part. The guide portion 318a guides the downstream end of the paper being discharged in the transport direction to move the paper toward the front side of the image forming apparatus. That is, the guide portion 318a has the same function as the second guide member 306, and forms a paper guide mechanism.

In such a multi-stacker 3, since the take-out opening 227 is provided on the side of the stack section 152, the sheet can be taken out from the stack section 152 during the sheet discharging operation. In particular, when a large amount of copy processing is performed, the operation of each unit is temporarily stopped when the stack unit 152 is full of paper, but here, a large amount of processing can be continuously performed by taking out the paper from the stack unit 152 during processing. . Control Unit As shown in FIG. 1, an operation panel 250 for operating the copier main body 1 is provided on the front side of the upper surface of the copier main body 1. The operation panel 250 has a key for specifying a sort / non-sort mode, a key for specifying a staple / non-staple mode, a key for specifying a staple position, and a numeric keypad for setting the number of copies. And other keys.

At the upper end of the front surface of the sorter 2, an operation panel 251 for inputting an instruction directly to the sorter 2 by an operator is arranged. The operation panel 251 is provided with a multi key or the like for performing a stapling process and a process for removing paper from a bin in parallel. By pressing this multi key, bin 25
It is also possible to forcibly discharge the sheet inside the stack unit 152.

FIG. 15 is a schematic control block diagram of the copying machine. The copying machine body 1 has a copying machine body control unit 255 for controlling the copying operation in the copying machine body 1 and the operation of the automatic document feeder 11, and the sorter 2 has a sorter control unit 256.
, And the multi-stacker 3 has a multi-stacker control unit 257. Each control unit 255, 256, 257
Is composed of a microcomputer including a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM. Each control unit 255, 256, 25
The units 7 are connected to each other via a bus, and various types of information can be exchanged between the control units.

The copying machine main body control section 255 includes the above-described operation panel 251, various sensors 258, and the sheet transport section 25.
9 and a bin horizontal moving unit 26 for moving the bin 25 in the horizontal direction
0, a paper pressing unit 261 for pressing the paper in the bin 25, a staple and punch processing unit 262, and a bin vertical moving unit 263 for moving the bin in the vertical direction.
And other input / output units are connected. The multi-stacker control unit 257 includes various sensors 264, a first hand driving unit 265, a second hand driving unit 266, a hand front / rear moving unit 267 for moving the hands 163 and 164 in the front / back direction, A hand lateral moving unit 268 for laterally moving the hand, a roller device driving unit 269, and other input / output units are connected. Control of Copying Machine Body On the copying machine body 1 side, in step S1 of FIG.
Initial settings such as setting the number of copies to “1” are performed. In this initial setting, non-sort mode,
The non-staple mode is set.

Next, in step S2, condition input processing such as receiving an input for setting the number of copies is performed. In step S3, a mode selection process described later is performed. In step S4, a copy start command by a print button is received. When a copy start command is issued, a copy operation is performed by controlling the image forming unit and the automatic document feeder 11. During this copying operation, after the paper is conveyed from the paper cassette 19 or the paper deck 20 to the image forming unit 6, the toner image is transferred to the paper in the image forming unit 6, and after being fixed by the fixing device 14, The sheet is guided to the introduction section 28 of the sorter 2 by the discharge roller 15. The processing for the sheet guided into the sorter 2 will be described later.
When the copy processing in step S4 is completed, the process returns to step S2.

FIGS. 17 and 18 show the details of the mode selection processing in step S3. In FIG. 17, it is determined whether or not the sort key is pressed in step S5, whether or not the staple key is pressed in step S6, and whether or not the multi key is pressed in step S7 in FIG. . If it is determined that the sort key has been pressed,
The process moves from step S5 to step S8. If the sort mode has already been set, the process proceeds to step S9, and the sort mode is released. On the other hand, if the sort mode is not set, the process proceeds from step S8 to step S1.
Move to 0. In step S10, it is determined whether or not the set number of copies exceeds the total number of bins (here, 20). If it exceeds, the process moves to step S11 to automatically set the multi mode. If the number of copies is 20
If the number is equal to or less than the number of sheets, the process proceeds from step S10 to step S12, and the sort mode is set.

When it is determined that the staple key has been pressed,
The process moves from step S6 to step S13. In step S13, it is determined whether the staple mode has already been set. If it is determined that the setting has already been made, the process proceeds to step S14, and the staple mode is released. On the other hand, if it is determined that the staple key has been pressed while the staple mode is not set, the process proceeds from step S13 to step S15. In step S15, it is determined whether or not the set number of copies exceeds twenty. If it exceeds, the process moves to step S16 to set the multi mode. If the set number of copies is equal to or less than 20, the process proceeds from step S15 to step S17 to set the staple mode.

When it is determined that the multi-key has been pressed, the flow shifts from step S7 to step S18 to determine whether or not the multi-mode has already been set. If it is determined that the setting has already been made, the process shifts to step S19 to cancel the multi mode. If it is determined that the multi mode has not been set, the process shifts from step S18 to step S20 to set the multi mode. In the sorter control sorter 2, initialization is performed in step P1 of FIG. Here, the staple and punch device is arranged at the initial position, and the branching claw 132 is connected to the non-sort bin 13.
Processing such as setting on the third side is performed.

At Step P2, various modes are reset. As a result, the non-sort mode is set for the sort / non-sort mode, and the non-staple mode is set for the staple / non-staple mode. Next, in step P3, it is determined whether or not processing condition information such as the number of processed sheets and the contents of the setting mode has been sent from the copying machine main body 1 side. If there is an input of a processing condition, the process shifts to Step P4 to set an operation mode according to the condition.

In step P5, it is determined whether the mode is the non-sort mode. In step P6, it is determined whether the mode is the sort mode. In step P7, it is determined whether the mode is the staple mode. It is determined whether or not the mode is the multi mode. Further, in step P9, it is determined whether or not the multi key on the operation panel of the sorter 2 is pressed.

If it is determined that the mode is the non-sort mode, the process shifts from step P5 to step P10 to execute the non-sort processing. If it is determined that the sort mode is set, the process shifts from step P6 to step P11 to execute the sort processing. If it is determined that the staple mode is set, the process shifts from step P7 to step P12 to execute the stapling process. If it is determined that the multi mode is set, the process shifts from step P8 to step P13 to execute the multi process. If it is determined that the multi key has been pressed, the flow shifts from step P9 to step P14 to forcibly discharge the paper in the bin 25. When it is determined that the multi-processing multi-mode has been set, the multi-processing shown in FIG. 20 is executed. In the multi process, first, a sort process is executed in Step P50. This sorting process is the same as the sorting process shown in Step P11 of FIG.

When the sorting process is completed, step P51
Then, all the bins 25 are moved to the initial position at the time of stapling. Further, the lifting reference plate 122 is lowered. Then, in a step P52, a stapling process is executed. The stapling process is the same as the stapling process shown in Step P12 of FIG. Next, step P53
Then, it is determined whether or not the bin can be moved (downward). The first bin 25 is always determined to be YES, but in the second and subsequent stages, the determination is made based on whether or not a sheet has been removed from the bin 25 at the removal position. Then step P
At 54, the bin 25 is lowered by one stage. Then, in step P55, the multi-stacker control copying machine main body 25
7 is transmitted. Thus, in the multi-stacker 3, a process of taking out the paper from the bin 25 is executed.

In Step P56, it is determined whether or not the sheets have been taken out from all the bins 25 on which the stapled sheets have been placed. If sheets still remain in the bin 25, the program shifts to Step P57. In Step P57, it is determined whether the stapling process has been completed for all the bins 25 on which the sheets have been transferred. If the processing has not been completed, the process returns to Step P52, and the processing from Step P52 to Step P56 is repeatedly executed. If the stapling process is completed for all the sheets, the process proceeds to Step P53,
The processing of steps P53 to P55, that is, the processing of lowering the last bin by one stage is executed.

When all the sheets stored in the sorter are taken out to the multi-stacker 3 side, the process shifts from step P56 to step P58, where the elevation reference plate 122 is moved.
To rise. Next, in Step P59, it is determined whether or not the sort processing, the stapling processing, and the removal processing for the set number of copies have been completed. If not, the process returns from step P59 to step P50. In other words, when the number of copies is set to be equal to or larger than the number of bins, the sorting process and the stapling process are executed for all the bins, and after the paper removal process is performed, the same process is repeated for the remaining number of copies. Execute. When the process is completed for all the set number of copies, it is determined as YES in Step P59, and the process shifts to Step P60. In Step P60, an end signal is sent. The control diagram 21 of a multi-stacker showing a control flowchart of the multi-stacker 3.

In step Q1, initialization is performed. In this initial setting, processing such as setting the first and second hands 163 and 164 to the retracted position and moving the movable plate 160 to the home position is performed. Next, in step Q2, it is determined whether or not a movement completion signal has been sent from sorter control section 256, or whether or not the multi-key on the operation panel of sorter 2 has been pressed. If it is determined that the movement completion signal has been sent or the multi-key has been pressed, the process proceeds from step Q2 to step Q3. In step Q3, both hands 163 and 164 are made to protrude from the retracted position shown in FIG. At this time, the lower reference plate 122b on the sorter 2 side is lowered and opened. When the hands 163 and 164 are protruded, the moving table 160 moves to move the hands 163 and 164 toward the stopper roller 169 and stop at the C position. In step Q4, it is determined whether or not the hands 163 and 164 have reached the C position, that is, the take-out position. After waiting for both hands 163 and 164 to come to the take-out position, the process proceeds to step Q5. In step Q5, hand 1
63 and 164 are further protruded toward the bin 25 and moved to the D position. In each of the hands 163 and 164, the solenoid is turned off in the initial state, and the upper and lower gripping members 180 and 164 are turned off.
Reference numeral 181 is open (the posture shown by the dashed line in FIG. 10).

Next, in step Q6, the solenoid 185 of the first hand 163 is turned on to grip the side end of the sheet.
Then, by moving the movable plate 160 in step Q7, the first hand 163 is moved in the sheet discharging direction (the direction away from the copying machine main body 1). In step Q8, it is determined whether the first hand 163 has been separated from the second hand 164 by a predetermined distance. This is because sensor 178 is the first
The determination is made based on whether or not the hand 163 is turned on. At this point, the first hand mounting plate 161 that moves together with the first hand 163 is
Abuts on a groove end of the slide guide 171 fixed to the slide guide 171. At this point, the trailing edge of the paper is
It is in contact with 1. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the trailing edge of the sheet from moving toward the front side of the apparatus, thereby preventing the sheet from being inclined.

If YES is determined in the step Q8, the process shifts to a step Q9. In step Q9, the moving plate 160
Temporarily stop moving. In step Q10, the solenoid 185 of the second hand 164 is turned on to hold the trailing edge of the sheet. Next, in step Q11, the movement of the movable plate 160 is restarted, and in step Q12, the hands 163, 164
Is determined to be at the extraction position, that is, the position E in FIG. If it is determined that each of the hands 163 and 164 has reached the position E, the process proceeds to step Q13, and the movement of the movable plate 160 is stopped. In step Q14, both hands 16
3, 164 is moved to the front side of the apparatus to take out the paper from the bin 25, and the roller units 205, 206 are driven at a low speed synchronized with the moving speed of the hands 163, 164. Next, in step Q15, the hands 163, 1
It is determined whether or not 64 has come to the position where the grip of the sheet is released. The grip release position is such that the side edge of the paper is
5, 206, which are the positions gripped by the driven rollers 209, and the amount of movement of each hand 163, 164 (the first drive mechanism 1).
65 is detected by the pulse detection of the motor 190). This determination may be made using the photo interrupter 230 for jam detection. Hand 16
When the positions 3, 164 are at the grip release position, the process proceeds to step Q16, where the solenoids 185 of the hands 163, 164 are turned off, and the grip of the sheet is released. And the roller device 20
Turn off 5,206.

From this state, the hands 163 and 164 are further moved.
To the front of the device. Then, each hand 163,
The guide roller 170 attached to the lower end of the guide 164 is guided downward along the guide member 177, and the hand retreats inside the paper transport path 153. In step Q17,
It is determined whether each of the hands 163 and 164 has moved to the retreat position indicated by the solid line in FIG. Each hand 163, 164
Then, the process goes to step Q18 after waiting for evacuation. In step Q18, the roller devices 205 and 206 are turned on again, and the rollers are rotated at a higher speed than at the time of taking out the sheet to discharge the sheet to the stack unit 152 side.

In step Q19, the paper is
It is determined whether or not the vehicle has passed above 63,164. After passing, the process proceeds to step Q20. Step Q20
Then, it is determined whether or not an end signal has been sent from sorter control section 256. If sheets still remain in the bin 25 on the sorter 2 side, the process moves from step Q20 to step Q21 in FIG. In step Q21, it is determined whether or not the stack section 152 is full of sheets. If the sheets are full on the stack section 152 and it is difficult to store the sheets any more, the process proceeds from step Q21 to step Q22. In step Q22, a signal for displaying a message to that effect is sent to operation panel 250 of copying machine main body control section 255. And step Q
23, the sorter control unit 256 and the copier main body control unit 2
A stop signal is sent to 55. Thereby, the operation of each unit temporarily stops. Next, in step Q24, the sheet is removed from the stack section 152, and the apparatus waits for the release signal to be sent. If the release signal is output, the process returns to step Q2 in FIG. 21 and the same processing as described above is repeatedly executed. Also, when YES is determined in the step Q21, the process returns to the step Q2 and the same processing is repeatedly executed.

When all of the sheets stored in the bin on the sorter 2 side have been taken out, an end signal is output from the sorter control unit 256. When the multi-stacker control unit 257 receives the end signal, YES is determined in step Q20, and the multi-processing is ended. Operation During Discharge of Paper (See FIGS. 7 and 8) When the roller devices 205 and 206 rotate at high speed and discharge the paper to the stack 152, the paper P is guided by the paper transport path 153 and moves to the stack 152. , On the bottom surface 226. Paper P separated from first guide member 301
Since the lower side substantially uniformly hits the bottom surface 226 of the stack section 152, the impact at the time of collision is reduced, and the corner of the sheet is prevented from being damaged. (A) Operation and Effect of First Guide Member 301 A first guide that guides the upstream end of the paper P being discharged in the transport direction.
Since the guide member 301 is separated from the side wall 225 and the lower portion is inclined so as to be separated from the side wall 225 to the downstream side in the transport direction, the sheet P falls without leaning on the side wall 225. Further, since the sheet P separated from the lower end of the first guide member 301 falls away from the side wall 225,
The sheet P is accurately placed on the bottom surface 226 without leaning on the side wall 225. Further, the first guide member 301 is inclined toward the front side of the image forming apparatus, and further has a second side wall 301.
Since the lower part of c is inclined so as to be on the front side of the apparatus from the upper part, the lower part of the sheet P is guided to the front side of the apparatus. Furthermore, since the second side wall 301c is gradually lowered as it goes downward, the upper part of the sheet P tends to fall toward the rear side of the apparatus. This allows the paper to be more accurately
26. (B) Operation and Effect of Paper Guide Mechanism (Second Guide Member 306 and Lid Member 318) The upstream end of the falling paper P in the transport direction is guided by the second guide member 306 to the front side of the image forming apparatus. Also,
The downstream end of the sheet in the conveyance direction is the guide portion 3 of the lid member 318.
It is guided to the front side of the image forming apparatus by 18a. Since the downstream end of the sheet in the sheet conveying direction is the side where the sheet is not stapled, the sheet bundle may be deformed and damaged by contacting the bottom surface with the sheet bundle being irregular. In this state, it reaches the bottom surface 226. As described above, the lower portion of the sheet P is guided to the front side of the image forming apparatus, so that the sheet P is more accurately placed on the bottom surface 226. (C) Operation and Effect of the Pushing Member 310 When the upper portion of the paper P being discharged reaches the vicinity of the second guide member 306, the interlocking mechanism 305 causes the second guide member 306 to move in a direction of immersing in the side wall 225, and the pushing member 310.
Pushes the upper part of the sheet behind and below the image forming apparatus. When the upper portion of the sheet P is pushed to the rear side of the image forming apparatus, the sheet is accurately placed on the bottom surface 226. Here, since the second member 306 is immersed in the side wall 225, the upper portion of the sheet P being discharged is not guided to the front side of the image forming apparatus. (D) Operation and Effect of the Guide 226a The dropped paper P is applied to the guide 22 provided on the bottom surface 226.
The sheet is moved to the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction by 6a. For this reason, the end face of the discharged paper P after dropping has the side wall 225.
Are aligned in contact with.

[0061]

According to the present invention as described above, the discharged
Because the paper is guided by the paper guide mechanism,
Easy to take out and the bottom of the paper compartment
Well placed.

[0062]

[0063]

[0064]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a copying machine employing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional configuration diagram of the copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a bin used in a sorter of the copying machine.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a mechanism for driving the bin.

FIG. 5 is a partial vertical sectional view of the sorter.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a drive unit of a paper reference plate used in the sorter.

FIG. 7 is a schematic vertical sectional front view of a multi-stacker of the copying machine.

FIG. 8 is a sectional side view of the multi-stacker.

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional front view of the multi-stacker.

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional side view of the multi-stacker.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the first guide member.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line XII-XII of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of a guide unit.

FIG. 14 is a front view of a lid member.

FIG. 15 is a control block diagram of the copying machine.

FIG. 16 is a control flowchart of the copying machine main body.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a mode selection process of the copying machine main body.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a mode selection process of the copying machine main body.

FIG. 19 is a control flowchart of the sorter.

FIG. 20 is a control flowchart of the multi-processing of the sorter.

FIG. 21 is a control flowchart of the multi-stacker.

FIG. 22 is a control flowchart of the multi-stacker.

FIG. 23 is a plan view of a hand mechanism for explaining a sheet removing process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Multi-stacker 25 Bin 152 Paper storage section 153 Paper transport path 302 Guide section 303 Guide mechanism 304 Push mechanism 305 Interlock mechanism 318 Cover member

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-305789 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 39/11

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet take-out device for taking out a sheet from a bin on which a sheet conveyed from an image forming apparatus to a side of the apparatus is placed, wherein the sheet in the bin is moved forward of the image forming apparatus. A paper discharge unit for discharging, a paper storage unit disposed below the paper discharge unit and having a bottom surface on which the paper discharged by the paper discharge unit is placed, and an image forming apparatus for the discharged paper On the first side end near the
A sheet guide mechanism having a first member that is in contact with the sheet, and a sheet guide mechanism that guides a lower portion of the sheet being discharged toward the front side of the image forming apparatus. Wherein said paper guide mechanism has a drive mechanism for placement on the second position not abutting the first position abutting the sheet in discharging the first member, according to claim 1 Paper removal device. 3. The driving mechanism arranges the first member at a first position, guides a lower portion of a sheet being discharged to the front side of the image forming apparatus, and then arranges the first member at a second position. The sheet take-out device according to claim 2 . 4. The sheet take-out apparatus according to any one of claims 1 further comprising a pushing member to push the top of the sheet being discharged to the image forming apparatus rear side 3. 5. The push member is connected to the drive mechanism,
5. The driving mechanism presses the pressing member when the first member of the paper guide mechanism is arranged at the second position. 6.
2. The paper take-out device according to claim 1. 6. The sheet guide mechanism according to claim 1, wherein
The sheet take-out device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , further comprising a second member that abuts on a second side end facing the first side end . 7. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein said second member comprises a lid member.
2. The paper take-out device according to claim 1. Wherein said bottom surface, the image forming apparatus rear side is inclined so as to be higher than the front side, the sheet take-out apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7. 9. The paper sheet according to claim 9, wherein the bottom surface is formed of a paper sheet.
The sheet take-out device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a guide member that guides the sheet to the first end side .