JP3155578B2 - Sheet distribution storage device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used as a post-processing device of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, and is stacked in a vertical direction in multiple stages, and each is supported so as to be movable in the sheet conveying direction with respect to each other. The present invention relates to a sheet distributing and storing apparatus including a plurality of bin trays for sequentially storing sheets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As this type of sheet distributing and storing apparatus,
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-4855 discloses a paper collating / sorting apparatus that uses a Geneva wheel to increase the distance between a bin tray for receiving paper and a bin tray above the paper tray to facilitate paper storage. 56-78769
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H11-139,086 discloses an improved classification device in which the interval between bin trays is similarly increased by using a helical cam. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H2-110075 discloses that the bin for receiving paper is parallel to the paper storage surface of the bin by the vertical movement of the bin and the engagement with the cam without increasing the bin interval as in the above-described prior art. To form a paper receiving port by moving the paper to a paper receiving port.

[0003]

In such a prior art, when a sheet is stored in a bin normally held at a narrow bin interval as in the former case, an apparatus for expanding the bin interval has an unnecessary bin interval. The paper-storing efficiency is good because it is not used.On the other hand, a mechanical spreading mechanism such as a Geneva wheel or a helical cam is required, so the smooth spreading operation performance cannot be obtained. The outbreak could not be prevented. In the latter case, since the bin interval is always kept constant, there is no need for an expansion mechanism, and there is little noise during operation.However, it is difficult to secure a paper receiving port of a sufficient size. When a bent sheet is received, poor storage or poor sorting may occur. To increase the amount of paper that can be stored by setting a large paper storage interval, it is necessary to increase the interval between all bins, and it is not possible to improve the paper storage efficiency while reducing the size of the device. Was to become. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem of the conventional example. In a position other than the sheet discharge position, a narrow bin interval is maintained as much as possible to improve the paper storage efficiency and improve the paper storage efficiency. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet distributing and storing apparatus which is smooth in operation during storage, has low noise, has a simple mechanism, and is inexpensive to manufacture.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a stacking surface which is stacked in multiple stages in the vertical direction, has a stacking surface inclined in the sheet conveying direction, and is capable of moving in the sheet conveying direction. A plurality of bin trays that are supported and store sheets carried in from an external sheet discharging device, sheet discharging means for discharging sheets onto the stacking surface at a fixed sheet discharging position, and a bin tray group are collectively provided. Vertical moving means for moving vertically, a biasing means for biasing the bin tray in the same direction as the inclined side of the stacking surface of the bin tray at a biased position near the sheet discharge position with the vertical movement, and a sheet conveying direction. In the vicinity of the left and right edge sides of the bin tray, a supporting means having a support surface on at least upper and lower surfaces parallel to the sheet conveying direction is provided. Lifting means, so that the distance between the supporting surface of the bin tray immediately above is always constant, it is obtained so as to support the support means bin tray immediately above through the supporting surface. Preferably, at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the support means, a concave groove formed in the sheet conveying direction,
A rotating body sandwiched between the bottom surfaces of the concave grooves, the supporting surface is a bottom surface of the concave grooves, and the bin tray supporting means supports the bin tray supporting means immediately above via the rotating bodies. .

[0005]

When the designated bin tray reaches the bias position, the bias means biases the bin tray in the same direction as the inclined side of the sheet stacking surface. The interval between the bin tray loading surfaces at the position is wider than the interval between the bin trays at the other positions, so that the discharged sheets can be received. The support means supports the immediately above bin tray via the supporting surface such that the distance between the above described supporting surface and the immediately above bin tray is always constant. For example, the rotator fits into the concave groove and is sandwiched between the bottom surfaces thereof to support the support means of the bin tray immediately above, and to facilitate the movement of the bin tray directly above in the sheet conveying direction.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the entire sheet processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the vicinity of the bin tray, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the biasing operation of the bin tray of the sheet processing apparatus. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the bias portion in an enlarged manner. The sheet processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is a post-processing apparatus that can sort an image-recorded sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copier and perform a plurality of sets of binding operations continuously. Are used in close contact with the image forming apparatus. First, an outline of the configuration of the sheet processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. Reference numeral 1 denotes a bin tray whose main surface is inclined toward the paper receiving side and receives and stores the transfer paper p carried in from the right in each figure.
b) extend to the front and rear (left and right sides in the paper transport direction) side edge of the sheet receiving side of the bin tray 1 and the front and rear side edges downstream thereof, and hold the upper and lower surfaces in a horizontal state when the bin tray 1 is loaded. Slide cam. The bin trays 1 are stacked in multiple stages in the vertical direction, and can be integrally moved in the vertical direction in a multiple-stacked state by a vertical movement device described later. By the vertical movement, the bin tray 1 is moved from a horizontal slide mechanism including a cam track described later. Each of the bin trays 1 is sequentially moved by a predetermined distance in the sheet conveying direction at the biasing portion B, so that the bin tray 1 can move between the upper stacking group 1U and the lower stacking group 1D. On the other hand, at the time of the sorting operation, the opposing position outside the front edge of the bin tray 1 located at the lowest position of the upper stacking group 1U is
The paper binding device 5 and the paper moving unit 6 are arranged at fixed positions (see FIG. 2). After the sorting operation is completed, the paper binding device 5 transfers the transfer paper bundle P stacked on the bin tray 1 The paper moving unit 6 holds the transfer paper bundle P, which is also aligned and stacked, by a gripping mechanism, pulls out the transfer paper bundle P to the binding position of the paper binding device 5, and pulls out the original paper. It is a device for pushing back to the position.

Hereinafter, each part of the sheet processing apparatus will be described in detail. First, in the bin tray 1, 100 is a rolling roller groove provided on the upper and lower surfaces of each slide cam 10 so as to extend in the left-right direction in the figure, and 13 is formed on the front and rear edges of the slide cam 10a on the paper receiving side. A trunnion 14 which is loosely fitted on the pin 12 and is free to roll, 14 is provided upright on the paper receiving side edge of the bin tray 1, and a rear end alignment fence 1 on which the discharged transfer paper abuts and the upstream end is aligned.
Reference numeral 5 denotes an insertion hole of the bin tray 1 through which a jogger wire of the paper alignment device 4 to be described later is inserted in the vertical direction. Reference numeral 16 denotes a holding piece of a holding mechanism of the paper moving unit 6 to be described later, which is loosely inserted into the front edge side of the bin tray 1. It is the cutout part. A spherical rolling roller 31 is inserted into the rolling roller groove 100 by being sandwiched between the slide cams 10 of the upper and lower bin trays 1. The cam 10 is supported by the semi-cylindrical bottom surface of the rolling roller groove 100. FIG. 5 is a cut line X shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line −X. As shown in the figure, the rolling roller groove 100a has a semicircular cross section. Even if stress is applied, the spherical surface of the rolling roller 31 fitted into the rolling roller groove 100a contacts the cylindrical curved surface of the rolling roller groove 100a along the above-described cross-sectional shape, and moves in the front-rear direction. Acts to prevent. Even if the bin tray 1 slightly swings in the front-rear direction, the spherical surface of the rolling roller 31 immediately moves to the curved bottom surface of the cylindrical roller surface of the rolling roller groove 100a due to the gravity of the bin tray 1 group mounted on the upper side. In this embodiment, since the state returns to the stable state of contacting along,
The bin tray 1 group has an autonomous centering function for autonomously maintaining a fixed position in the front-rear direction without providing any supporting means. However, in the biasing portion B, the bin tray 1 may slightly swing back and forth as the bin tray 1 moves in the paper transport direction. At this time, the swinging bin tray 1 The vertical movement motor 27 of the vertical movement device 3 that contacts the front and rear guide plates 11 provided to prevent the large swing of the bin tray 1 and receives a frictional force to apply a driving force to move the bin tray 1 in the sheet conveyance direction. In order to prevent receiving an excessive load, a concave portion 11a extending in the horizontal direction is provided near the bias portion B of the guide plate 11,
The contact with the bin tray 1 is prevented. Next, the vertical movement device 3 and a horizontal slide mechanism that moves the bin tray 1 along the slide cam 10 using the vertical driving force of the vertical movement device 3 will be described.
Reference numerals 2f and 2r denote a front frame and a rear frame of the sheet processing apparatus. The upper and lower vertical portions 21U and 21U are arranged vertically in the sheet receiving side of the front and rear frames 2f and 2r.
D and a cam track 21 having a long hole formed therebetween and a guide hole 22 extending in the vertical direction are formed on the opposite side of the cam track 21. The cam portion 21 of the cam track 21 is displaced vertically downward from the lower end of the upper vertical portion 21U. Part 21
D is a skewed portion that smoothly skews from the paper receiving side toward the upper end. Each bin tray 1 and a trunnion 6 provided on a support member of a first bin drive bar, which will be described later, are loosely fitted in the cam track 21 and guided along the cam track 21. Further, a rotary shaft 23 is mounted via a bearing above the lower vertical portion 21D of the cam track 21 of the front frame 2f and the rear frame 2r via a bearing.
Winding pulleys 24 are fixed to the front and rear outer sides of the front frame 2f and the rear frame 2r at both ends of No. 3 respectively. A take-up gear 25 is fixed to the rotation shaft 23 outside the rear take-up pulley 24, and meshes with a reduction gear 26 constituting a meshing gear group. A vertical movement motor 27, which is a drive source of the vertical movement device 3, is provided at the rear of the rear frame 2r, and the driving force of the vertical movement motor 27 is transmitted to the take-up gear 25 via a meshing gear group. A first and a second direction change pulley 28, a lower part 21D of the cam track 21 and an upper part of the guide hole 22, respectively.
Reference numerals 29 are pivotally supported outside the front frame 2f and the rear frame 2r. 17a and 17b are first and second bin drive bars, respectively, and 30 is a suspension wire. The suspension wire 30 has one end wound around the take-up pulley 24 and the other end has first and second direction change pulleys 28 and 29. And is fixed to both ends 19b of the second bin driving bar 17b via the pulley 24, and is fixed to both ends 19a of the first bin driving bar 17a between the take-up pulley 24 and the first direction conversion pulley 28. That is, the suspension wire 30 includes the first and second wires.
A group of bin trays stacked in multiple stages thereon is suspended via the bin driving bars 17a and 17b so as to be movable in parallel in the vertical direction. First and second support members 18a and 18b supporting a group of bin trays are fixed near both ends of the first and second bin drive bars 17a and 17b, respectively. The rolling roller groove 100 extending in the direction is provided.
Bin tray 1 via rolling rollers 31 fitted in
Support the group. The trunnion 13 is also loosely fitted to the pin 20 protruding from the outer side surface of the first support member 18a, and is capable of rolling. The trunnions 13 of the first support members 18a are also fitted into the cam tracks 21 together with the trunnions 13 of the bin trays 1. When the trunnions 13 move vertically along the cam tracks 21, they move integrally. Reference numeral 32 denotes a jogger arm which is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) and rotates in a counterclockwise direction. Reference numeral 33 denotes an upper end and a lower end which are stretched vertically between the ends of the jogger arm 32 by vertically penetrating the bin tray 1. The jogger wire is a jogger wire for aligning the paper by hitting the rear end of the transfer paper p stored thereon and hitting the front edge of the bin tray 1. These jogger wires constitute a paper aligning device 4 together with the driving mechanism. Reference numeral 36 denotes a pair of paper discharge rollers of an image processing apparatus provided in a stage preceding the paper processing apparatus.
Reference numeral 8 denotes upper and lower paper transport guide plates which are located immediately upstream of the paper discharge roller pair 36 and guide the discharged transfer paper p. The paper discharge roller pair 36 is disposed at a position facing the paper receiving side edge of the bin tray 1 located at the bias portion B as shown in FIG. 4, and is driven by the paper discharge motor 37 to transfer the image-formed transfer paper. p is discharged onto the bin tray 1 along the sheet transport guide plate 38 (see FIG. 1). Numeral 39 is set upright on the paper receiving side edge of the bin tray 1 perpendicular to the main surface.
This is a paper locking piece made of a flexible plastic film.

The operation of the embodiment will be described below. When a print start button of an image forming apparatus (not shown) is pressed,
After the image is recorded on the transfer sheet p, the transfer sheet p is sent to the sheet processing apparatus by the conveyance of the sheet discharge roller pair 36. On the other hand, when a signal for selecting a predetermined bin tray 1 is sent from the image forming apparatus to the sheet processing apparatus, and the sheet processing apparatus receives the signal,
The vertical movement motor 27 rotates forward or backward by a predetermined number of rotations so that the designated bin tray 1 is positioned at the biasing portion B, and moves the bin tray group 1 up and down via the suspension wire 30. The bin tray 1 group moves up and down in the vertical direction by the guide along the cam track 21 of the trunnion 13 disposed on the front and rear outer edges of the slide cam 10a on the paper receiving side. For example, the designated bin tray 1 is the lower loading group 1D
The bin tray 1 group includes first and second bin driving bars 17a and 17b.
Each time the vertical movement motor 27 is intermittently rotated by the support members 18a and 18b, the vertical movement motor 27 is pulled up by a predetermined distance to the suspension wire 30. While the trunnion 13 of the bin tray 1 rolls, the offset portion 21B of the cam track 21
Is reached, the biased portion 21B skews toward the paper receiving side.
As a result, the upward movement is prevented, and the bias portion 21B
Move obliquely upward along the skewed edge of the paper receiving side. Accordingly, the pin 20 that supports the trunnion 13 also moves, so that the bin tray 1 that is supported by the rolling rollers 31 that roll in the rolling roller grooves 100 and that can move in the horizontal direction is guided by the trunnion 13 and The rolling of the moving roller 31 causes the moving roller 31 to slide toward the sheet receiving side. Trunnion 1
When the cam track 3 reaches the upper right end of the offset portion 21B, the cam track 2
1 is guided vertically upward along the upper vertical portion 21U.
In this way, in conjunction with the movement of the trunnion 13 guided by the cam track 21, each bin tray 1
1D and the upper vertical portion 21U simply intermittently move upward sequentially, and the bias portion B performs an intermittent movement to the obliquely upstream side along the oblique edge of the bias portion 21B. Eventually, when the designated bin tray 1 reaches the bias portion B, the vertical movement motor 27 stops rotating, and the preparation for receiving the transfer paper p is completed. At this time, the sheet stacking surface interval between the specified bin tray 1 and the bin tray 1 immediately above the bin tray 1 is lower than the vertical section 2.
It is wider than the sheet stacking surface interval at 1D and the upper vertical portion 21U. In the present embodiment, the operation of expanding the interval between the bin trays 1 at the biasing portion B is caused by the trunnion 13 being guided by the cam track 21 with the vertical movement of the bin tray 1 group by the vertical movement device 3.
Since only the mutual horizontal movement is performed, the mutual vertical positional relationship does not change even by the biasing operation of the bin tray 1. That is, since the slide cams 10 serving as support portions between the bin trays 1 move only in parallel in the sheet transport direction without being separated from each other, the vertical interval G between the bin trays 1 is always kept constant. As shown in FIG. 3, the upper stacking group 1U is moved horizontally by the distance H to the upstream side when the bin tray 1 is shifted from the lower stacking group 1D to the upper stacking group 1U.
Alternatively, with respect to the sheet stacking surface gap GV in the lower stacking group 1D, the sheet stacking surface interval GB between the bin trays 1 in the biasing section B is the horizontal movement distance H of the bin tray 1 immediately above and the shift portion 21B of the cam track 21. It expands according to the inclination of.
As described above, the paper discharge roller pair 36 of the image forming apparatus is disposed to face the paper receiving side edge of the bin tray 1 at this position. As shown in FIG.
Paper stopper piece 3 in which the transfer paper p conveyed at the position indicated by the broken line
When the leading end of the bin 9 is pushed to the position indicated by the solid line and is ejected during the enlarged paper stacking surface interval GB of the bin tray 1, the bin 9 drops by its own weight and hits the rear end aligning fence 14 to be aligned. When the transfer paper p passes through the leading end of the paper locking piece 39, the paper locking piece 39 returns to the original broken line position by elastic force.
Never jump out of the way. When the inclination angle of the offset portion 21B is small, the interval GB between the bin trays 1 is large, but it is difficult to smoothly transition from the lower vertical portion 21D of the trunnion 13 to the upper vertical portion 21U. Further, if the inclination angle of the offset portion 21B is too large, the interval GB between the bin trays 1 of the offset portion B cannot be sufficiently taken, so that an appropriate angle may be set in consideration of the balance between them.

When the rear end of the transfer paper p is aligned, the driving of the paper alignment device 4 is started, and the jogger arm 33 is swung by a predetermined angle in the counterclockwise direction (arrow s), so that the jogger wire 33 is inserted into the insertion hole. The paper 15 is moved in an arc in the horizontal direction in the horizontal direction 15 and the rear end of the transfer paper p stored on the bin tray 1 is hit to align the paper (see FIG. 2). By this paper alignment operation, the transfer paper p is hit against the front edge of the bin tray 1 and the front edge is aligned. When a signal for instructing the next bin tray 1 is sent to the sheet processing apparatus in accordance with the operation of discharging the next transfer sheet p from the image forming apparatus, the vertical movement motor 27 rotates by a predetermined number of rotations, and the first rotation is performed. And second bin drive bar 1
7a and 17b are lifted, and the bin tray 1 located at the highest position of the lower loading group 1D is moved to the lowest position of the upper loading group 1U. Bin tray 1 by this vertical moving device 3
By the raising operation of the group, a wide paper stacking surface space GB is formed between the bin tray 1 at the top of the lower stacking group 1D and the bin tray 1 immediately below, and the uppermost of the lower stacking group 1D is formed. The sheet stacking surface interval between the upper bin tray 1 and the lower bin tray 1 of the upper stacking group 1U is a narrow GV. When the discharged transfer paper p is bent, the leading end of the paper locking piece 39 is pressed against the back surface of the bin tray 1 located at the lowermost position of the upper stacking group 1U, and is bent and reclined downstream. The receding lower end of the transfer sheet p positioned below the stopper 39 is pressed and rolled by the reclined top end of the stopper 39. When a certain amount of the transfer paper bundle P has already been stored, the entire surface of the transfer paper p is pressed against the back surface of the bin tray 1 and further rolled. In this manner, when the paper sorting operation is completed by the intermittent lifting operation of the bin tray 1 group by the series of the vertical moving devices 3 and the storing operation of the transfer paper p discharged from the image forming device on the bin tray 1, the image forming device starts the operation. Subsequently, when an instruction to execute the binding operation of the transfer sheet bundle P is received, the process proceeds to the sheet binding operation by the sheet binding device 5 described below. First, the vertical movement motor 27 is rotated to move the bin tray 1 group upward or downward until the bin tray 1 loaded with the uppermost transfer paper bundle P is positioned at the lowest position of the upper stacking group 1U. Next, the holding piece 34 of the paper moving unit 6 is
5 is driven into the cutout portion 16 of the bin tray 1 with the leading end open, the leading end of the holding piece 34 is closed, the transfer paper bundle P is held, and pulled out to the binding position of the paper binding device 5. One end of the transfer paper bundle P is bound by the paper binding device 5 while being held by the holding piece 34.
When the binding process for the transfer paper bundle P is completed, the paper moving motor 35 rotates in the reverse direction, and pushes the transfer paper bundle P back to the original position.
The configurations of the sheet binding device 5 and the sheet moving unit 6 are the same as those in the conventional example, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

FIGS. 6 to 8 each show a cross section of a main part according to a modification of the first embodiment. FIGS. 6 and 7 are vertical to the sheet conveying direction including the rolling rollers 31 of the slide cam 10. FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the center of the slide cam 10a of the bin tray 1 group near the biasing portion B in the sheet transport direction. In the modification shown in FIG. 6, the rolling roller groove 100 has a V-shaped groove in a vertical section perpendicular to the sheet transport direction, and the rolling roller 31 always contacts the rolling roller 31 only at two points. Is further reduced. The modification shown in FIG. 7 is a locking piece 1 that contacts the upper surface of the slide cam 10 along the outer edge of the V-groove and the upper surface of the rolling roller 31 with a weak elastic force.
01 is mounted, and when the stacking and assembling of the bin tray 1 group is performed or disassembled, the rolling rollers 31
It is designed to prevent falling from inside. In the modified example shown in FIG. 8, two rolling roller grooves 100 are provided along the sheet conveying direction of the slide cam 10, and two rolling rollers 31 respectively fitted therein are loaded on the upper side thereof. Since the gravity of the set of bin trays 1 is dispersed and carried, the stress acting on the rolling rollers 31 and the slide cam 10 is reduced, and the bin tray 1 is smoothly biased due to a reduction in the elastic deformation of the slide cam 10. Reduction of rotational frictional force, rolling roller 31 and slide cam 1
0 endurance is improved.

Next, in the loaded state of the bin tray group 1, the upper and lower surfaces of the slide cam 10 (more precisely, the rolling roller grooves 1).
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described in which the bottom surface (00) is supported slightly inclined from the horizontal plane. FIGS. 9, 10, 11 and 12 are schematic views showing a biasing operation of the sheet processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and a longitudinal sectional view of the slide cam 10 taken along a cutting line YY in FIG. FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the slide cam 10a on the paper receiving side, and a vertical cross-sectional view of the slide cam 10a along the cutting line ZZ in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, the bin tray 1 group includes the slide cam 1
The upper and lower surfaces 0 are stacked on the sheet receiving side with respect to the horizontal plane Ho at an inclination angle θ. Accordingly, each bin tray 1 receives a component force of gravity × sin θ of the bin tray 1 group stacked above from the bin tray 1, and the slide cam 1
It is urged to move to the sheet receiving side along the upper surface of the zero. In other words, the offset portion 21 of the cam track 21
Assuming that the inclination angle of B with respect to the horizontal plane Ho is Φ, the vertical movement device 3 raises the bin tray 1 group,
When the bin tray 1 at the top of the lower stacking group 1D moves to the lowest position of the upper stacking group 1U, the biased portion 21
It is only necessary to climb at a gentle angle by the inclination angle θ in relation to the B inclination angle Φ, and the load on the vertical movement motor 27 can be reduced accordingly. On the other hand, the sheet stacking surface interval GB between the bin trays 1 expanded accordingly becomes smaller by an amount of inclination corresponding to the horizontal movement distance H of the bin tray 1. Therefore, when designing the device, the bin tray 1
The inclination angle θ may be appropriately set in consideration of the load capacity of the vertical movement motor 27 and the driving capability of the vertical movement motor 27. When the inclination direction of the upper and lower surfaces of the slide cam 10 is on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction, the above-described situation is exactly opposite. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 12 and FIG.
Reference numeral 00 denotes a substantially rectangular cross section, and has a bottom surface 102 parallel to the upper surface of the slide cam 10. The rolling roller 31 to be fitted therein has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a roller shaft portion 311 protrudes from the center of one of the flat portions. The lower rolling roller groove 100D of the slide cam 10 is connected to the upper rolling roller groove 100U.
The depth of the rolling roller 31 is greater than that of the rolling roller 31, so that the main part of the rolling roller 31 to be fitted can be stored. A communication hole 104 is formed between one end of the upper bottom surface 102U and one lower end of the lower bottom surface 102D and communicates therewith and extends along the longitudinal direction of the rolling roller groove 100. Further, a roller holding protrusion 103 protruding from an end of the opening of the lower rolling roller groove 100D on the communication hole 104 side so as to slightly cover the opening along the longitudinal direction of the rolling roller groove 100. However, the distance between the tip and the side wall of the lower rolling roller groove 100 </ b> D opposed thereto is formed so as to be substantially equal to the height of the flat portion of the rolling roller 31. When the rolling roller 31 is fitted into the lower rolling roller groove 100D, since the communication hole 104 is formed, the edge of the lower rolling roller groove 100D on the communication hole 104 side is made elastic. The opening is easily expanded by pushing the opening outwardly, so that the roller shaft 311 of the rolling roller 31 can pass through the opening. Once
When the rolling roller 31 is fitted into the lower rolling roller groove 100D, the roller shaft portion 311 is locked by the roller pressing protrusion 103,
At the time of stacking and assembling the bin tray 1 group, falling off of the rolling roller 31 from the lower rolling roller groove 100D is prevented. In this embodiment, the rolling rollers 31 are provided with upper and lower rolling roller grooves 100U, 1
Rolling is performed by being pressed between the bottom surface 102U and the bottom surface 102D of 00D, and the front and rear movements are restricted by both side surfaces of the upper and lower rolling roller grooves 100U and 100D. Therefore, the centering action as in the first embodiment does not work in this case.

Next, a description will be given of a third embodiment of the present invention having the bin tray 1 in which the sheet stacking surface is inclined downstream in the sheet conveying direction. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet processing apparatus according to the third embodiment. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the offset portion 21B of the cam track 21 is
Is inclined in the opposite direction (upstream) from the paper loading surface of
For example, when the lower loading group 1D of the bin tray 1 shifts to the upper loading group 1U by the lifting operation of the vertical moving device 3, the trunnion 13 guided by the cam track 21 is used.
As the bin tray 1 is deflected downstream by the deflector B with the movement of the sheet, the sheet stacking surface interval is increased from GV to GB, and the transfer sheet p conveyed during that time is discharged by the discharge roller pair 36. Is done. Since the discharged transfer paper p slides down along the paper stacking surface of the bin tray 1 by its own weight, there is an advantage that the discharge speed of the transfer paper p by the discharge roller pair 36 does not need to be set as large as in the other embodiments. . Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment. As described above, in each embodiment, the suspension system using the suspension wire 30 is adopted as the vertical movement device of the bin tray 1 group, but it is needless to say that another suspension device may be used. It is not always necessary, and may be formed by fitting concave and convex grooves formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the cam track 10. Further, the jogger wire for aligning the transfer sheets stored in the bin tray 1 may be a bar-shaped jogger bar.

[0013]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the vertical moving means moves the bin tray group in the vertical direction, the biasing means moves the bin tray reaching the biased position to the inclined side of the loading surface. In the same direction as the direction, the stacking surface interval between the bin trays is increased to allow the sheets to be discharged to be received, and the interval between the supporting surfaces of the bin trays immediately above the supporting means is always constant. In addition, since the supporting means of the bin tray immediately above is supported via the supporting surface, the biasing operation of the bin tray for receiving the sheet is performed smoothly, and an impact sound or the like is generated at the time of expanding the interval between the stacking surfaces of the bin tray. The generation of noise can be almost eliminated,
The mechanism is simple and can be manufactured at low cost, and the sheets can be stored efficiently. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the rotating body is provided between the support surfaces of the support means of the upper and lower bin trays, the frictional force at the time of the biasing operation in the sheet transport direction of the bin tray at the bias position is reduced. Since it is reduced and smoothed, the driving load of the biasing means is reduced. According to the third aspect of the present invention, at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the support means is provided with a concave groove formed in the sheet conveying direction, and the rotary body is pressed by the bottom surface of the concave groove to form the bin tray immediately above. Since the support means is supported, the rotating body rotates along the concave groove at the time of the biasing operation, so that the biasing operation along the sheet conveying direction of the bin tray becomes stable without providing special guide means. . According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the rotating body does not have a fixed rotating shaft, the frictional force at the time of the biasing operation of the bin tray can be only the rolling frictional force of the rotating body. The driving load of the biasing means is further reduced. According to the invention described in claim 5,
Since the cross-sectional shape of the contact surface between the rotator and the groove is perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction, the contact surface between the rotator and the groove becomes wider, and the contact pressure decreases. And abrasion can be reduced, and the stability and durability of the device can be improved. According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the cross-sectional shape of the concave groove perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction is V- shaped, while maintaining the centering function by the cooperative action with the rotating body fitted therein. Since the contact area between the rotating body and the concave groove can be reduced, the stability of the apparatus can be improved and the driving load of the biasing means can be reduced. According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the rotating body is provided with the locking piece that holds the rotating body from outside the groove, the falling of the rotating body from the groove during loading and assembling or disassembling the bin tray group is provided. Can be prevented. Claim 8
According to the invention described above, since the bin tray guide member having the concave portion along the sheet conveyance direction is provided near the offset position of the main surface on the bin tray side, the bias means is excessively large due to the contact between the bin tray and the guide member during the offset operation. A large driving load can be prevented from being applied.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an entire sheet processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the vicinity of a bin tray of the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a bias operation of a bin tray of the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a bias portion of the sheet processing apparatus in an enlarged manner.

5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the bin tray taken along a cutting line XX shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view including a rolling roller of a slide cam according to a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention and perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view including a rolling roller of a slide cam according to another modified example, which is perpendicular to a sheet conveying direction.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a center portion of a slide cam of a bin tray group in still another modified example in a sheet conveying direction.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a biasing operation of the sheet processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of the slide cam taken along the line YY in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of a slide cam on the paper receiving side.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of the slide cam, also taken along a cutting line ZZ in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet processing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 bin tray 3 vertical moving device 4 paper aligning device 10 slide cam 13 trunnion 11 guide plate 11a recess 17 drive bar 21 cam track 31 rolling roller 100 rolling roller groove 101 locking piece 102 bottom surface 103 thin portion 104 communication hole 311 roller shaft Department

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet is stacked in multiple stages in a vertical direction, has a stacking surface inclined in a sheet conveying direction, is supported movably in the sheet conveying direction, and is loaded from an external sheet discharging device. A sheet distributing and storing apparatus for sorting received sheets, comprising: a plurality of bin trays for storing sheets; and sheet discharging means for discharging sheets onto the stacking surface of the bin tray at a fixed sheet discharging position. Vertical moving means for moving the group collectively in the vertical direction, and with the vertical movement of the bin tray group by the vertical moving means, at a biased position near the sheet discharge position, the inclination side direction of the loading surface; Biasing means for biasing the bin tray in the same direction; and near the left and right edges of the bin tray with respect to the sheet conveying direction, at least on the upper and lower surfaces. Also provided is a supporting means having a supporting surface parallel to the sheet conveying direction, each supporting means of the bin tray, so that the interval between the supporting surface with the bin tray immediately above is always constant, A sheet distributing and storing apparatus, wherein a supporting means of a bin tray is supported via the supporting surface. 2. A rotating body which is sandwiched between supporting surfaces of a bin tray supporting means and a bin tray supporting means immediately above, wherein the bin tray supporting means supports the bin tray immediately above via the rotating body. 2. The sheet distributing and storing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet distributing and storing apparatus supports the means. 3. At least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the support means,
3. The sheet distributing and storing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a concave groove formed in the sheet conveying direction, wherein the support surface is a bottom surface of the concave groove. 4. The sheet distributing and storing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the rotating body does not have a fixed rotating shaft. 5. The sheet distributing and storing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the contact surface between the rotating body and the groove is perpendicular to a sheet conveying direction. 6. The sheet distributing and storing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the concave groove perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction is V- shaped . 7. One end is attached to the outer edge of the groove along the sheet conveying direction, and the other end partially covers the opening of the groove, and holds the rotating body from outside the groove. The sheet distributing and storing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a locking piece that engages. 8. A bin recessed in the sheet conveying direction near the offset position of the main surface on the bin tray side, and disposed near the left and right side edges with respect to the sheet conveying direction of the bin tray. 2. The sheet distributing and storing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a guide member for guiding the sheet in the conveying direction.