JP3212147B2 - Paper storage 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 paper storage device which is provided, for example, at a discharge opening of a paper folding device and stores discharged paper.
The present invention relates to a sheet storage device having a large drop from a discharge port.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a paper storage device for storing a large amount of paper, particularly for storing folded paper, it is necessary to make the head from a discharge means large. At times, there have been problems such as turning over and stacking, bending and stacking, and clogging of the discharging means.

[0003] Further, taking, for example, a Z-folded (three-folded) sheet as an example, the Z-folded sheet is stacked at a thickness of three times or more the thickness of the unfolded sheet, and the storage device immediately fills up. Therefore, the head from the discharge means must be further increased. Further, the laminated paper is elastic, unstable and poor in alignment.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is intended to prevent the paper from being disturbed at the time of storage, thereby improving the paper storage ability, and preventing the paper from being lifted. It is another object of the present invention to provide a paper storage device with good alignment by preventing disturbance during storage and increasing the storage amount.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a storage unit provided below a sheet discharging unit for storing sheets discharged from the sheet discharging unit; Between the sheet being ejected from the sheet ejection means and the ejection means for ejecting gas in the sheet ejection direction, and the position at which the ejection means ejects gas in response to an increase in the number of sheets stored in the storage section. And a changing means for raising.

[0006]

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

In this embodiment, the paper storage device receives paper from an image forming apparatus C such as a copying machine as shown in FIG. 1 and processes the paper by folding, perforating, stapling, and the like. Description will be made assuming that the present invention is applied to a part of the processing apparatus F.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet processing apparatus F is connected to a sheet discharge port (not shown) of the image forming apparatus C, and is erected on a carriage 1 having casters 2. A paper folding section 10, a processed paper storage section 30 to which the present invention is applied, a processing paper storage section 90 for storing the paper processed by the processed paper storage section 30, and a control panel (not shown) And a control device including the control device.

Guides 11a and 11 for guiding the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus C as shown in FIG.
b, 11c, 11d, the route 1 to the paper discharge tray 14
6a and a path 16b to the processed paper storage unit 30 are formed.

At the entrance of the guides 11a and 11b, there are provided a pair of feed rollers 12a and 12b for transporting a sheet supplied from the image forming apparatus C.

The paper discharge tray 14 on the side of the paper discharge tray 14 of the path 16a is not subjected to any processing such as folding or punching.
A pair of paper discharge rollers 13a and 13b for discharging paper is provided.

Further, at the branch of the paths 16a and 16b,
A switching guide 15 driven by a solenoid is provided to switch the transport path.

At the ends of the guides 11c and 11d, there are provided a paper folding roller 17 for folding the paper, and paper folding rollers 18 and 19 which are in rolling contact with the paper folding roller 17. In the following description, the paper folding roller 17
Contact point (actually a contact line) between the paper folding roller 18 and the
Of the paper folding roller 17 and the folding roller 19 are referred to as a second rolling contact.

An entrance sensor S1 is provided immediately before the feed rollers 12a and 12b, a discharge sensor S2 is provided immediately before the discharge rollers 13a and 13b, and a first sheet folding sensor is provided immediately before the first contact point. S3, and a second sheet folding sensor S4 is disposed immediately before the second contact point.

Below the paper folding roller 17 and the like, there is provided a processed paper storage section 30 for storing paper and for performing processing such as punching and stapling on the paper.

The processed paper storage section 30 stores the paper and collects the stored papers, for example, a plurality of papers.
5 has a function of performing processing such as stapling.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the transfer surface 31 of the processed paper storage section 30 for receiving the paper is provided with a considerable drop from the paper folding roller 17 or the like as the paper discharge means. It is slightly curved to give a hip.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transport surface 31 is inclined downward and leftward, and in FIG. 2, a downward inclination is given toward the opposite side of the paper surface. Are regulated in two directions at right angles to the back side edge of the paper. By the way, when the paper falls, the left end in FIG. 2 becomes the leading end, and the side facing the paper surface becomes the side edge. , So that FIG.
In FIG. 7, the front end at the time of falling is called a side edge, and the side edge at the time of falling is called a rear end. However, hereinafter, when describing a pattern or the like at the time of dropping, it may be referred to as a side edge (falling edge), a rear end (falling edge), or the like.

FIG. 7 shows the side edge regulating member 32 and the rear end regulating member 33.

Below the rear end regulating member 33, a nip member 34 for pressing the rear end of the sheet is provided.
5 is supported. The support 35 is screwed to a shaft 36 (which is a feed screw), and is configured to be moved by a power transmission mechanism (not shown) driven by a driving pulse motor 37 and a belt 38. I have.

A nip roller 39 is attached to the rear end regulating member 33 so as to be driven by means not shown in the drawing, and a sheet is sandwiched between the nip roller 34 and the nip roller 34.

As shown in FIG. 7, the punching device 50 is
The arm 53 pivotally supported by the pin 54 on the support body 51 is engaged with the plunger 52 by an engaging pin 52a.

On the other hand, a crank pin 55a of a crank arm 55 is engaged with a guide groove 53a of the arm 53,
The crank arm 55 is connected to a drive motor 58 via gears 56 and 57.

The stapler 45 is provided in parallel with the punching device 50 and is supported by a rotating shaft (not shown). When the rear end regulating member 33 moves, a stapler (not shown) provided on a lateral portion thereof is provided. By engaging with the stop member, the paper is rotated by about 45 degrees, and the corner of the sheet can be beaten by the stapler 45.

As shown in FIG. 2, below the transport surface 31 of the processed paper storage section 30, there is provided a blower 60 for sending a gas such as air as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A and 4B. Have been.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the blower 60 has a blower fan 62 disposed at one end of a case 61 and sends air to an air outlet unit 70 described later at the other end. A first air outlet 63 and a second air outlet 64 for sending air to the air outlet 80 are provided, and these air outlets 63 and 64 are configured to be appropriately switched by a switching valve 65. . As shown in the figure, the switching valve 65 is configured such that a valve body 66 pivotally supported by a pivot 67 is deflected by an urging spring 68 and is switched by a solenoid 69 in a timely manner.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
7 and the like, an air ejection unit 70 (lateral ejection means) as shown in FIG. 5 for ejecting air substantially parallel to the transport surface 31 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 5, the air outlet unit 70 comprises a casing 71 having an upper air outlet 72 and a lower air outlet 73 formed therein.
In the casing 71, the switching valves 2 and 73 are selectively switched by a switching valve 74 which is operated in a timely manner by a driving means (not shown). The air inlet port 7 on the back
5 are provided.

On the other hand, an air outlet 80 (downward jetting means) for jetting air downward is provided in the ceiling portion of the processed paper storage unit 30.

The first air outlet 63 of the air blower 60
And the inlet port 75 of the air outlet unit 70 are connected by a blower tube 85, and one air outlet 80 is also connected by a second blower port 64 and a blower tube 86.

A control device (not shown) can select various processing modes for paper processing.

That is, the processing modes include a paper discharge mode,
There are a paper folding mode and a processing mode. In the inner discharge mode, the sheet sent from the image forming apparatus C is discharged straight to the discharge tray 14 as it is.

In the paper folding mode, it is possible to select a non-folding, a two-folding, and a Z-folding (three-folding). When the paper is not folded, only processing such as perforation is performed.

In the processing mode, punching (perforation) processing, stapling, and the like can be selected. In addition to the number of holes to be punched, the number of staples, the presence or absence of square punching, and the like, designation of the number of sheets is also included.

The information on the paper size is stored in the image forming apparatus C.
Is given by the person.

Next, the operation will be described.

The processing for the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus C is selected in advance by the control panel.

When the paper discharge mode is selected, the switching guide 15 is at the position shown in FIG. 8, and the paper from the image forming apparatus C is directly sent by the feed rollers 12a and 12b and discharged by the paper discharge rollers 13a and 13b. Paper tray 14
Sent out to

When the paper folding mode is selected, the switching guide 15 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 8, and the paper is rotated by the paper folding roller 17 rotating counterclockwise along the paper folding guides 11c and 11d. At the first contact point.

When the two-folding is selected, the folding roller 17 stops after a predetermined time from the detection by the first folding sensor S3. During this time, the feed rollers 12a,
The feeding of the sheet by the sheet 12b is continued, and the sheet is bent in the sheet folding guides 11c and 11d, and the leading end of the sheet is going to enter the second contact point. At this time, the paper folding roller 17 starts rotating clockwise, the paper is folded, enters the second contact point, and is discharged into the processed paper storage unit 30 as it is.

When the Z-fold (three-fold) is selected in the paper-fold mode, the paper-folding roller 17 temporarily stops during the above-mentioned two-fold. During this time, the paper feed by the feed rollers 12a and 12b is continued, and the paper bends again, and the bent portion is directed to the first contact point at this time. At this time, the paper folding roller 17 is turned counterclockwise ( The sheet rotates in the forward direction, is folded into Z, and is discharged from the second contact point. In the case of the Z-fold, it has been described that the operation from the middle of the two-fold is continued.
When the sheet size is the same between the Z-folding and the two-folding, the folding position is different, and the timing of the forward / reverse rotation of the paper folding roller 17 is naturally different.

When "do not fold" is selected in the paper folding mode, the paper is not folded and the paper passes through the first transfer point and is sent to the processed paper storage section 30 as it is.

When the sheet is sent to the processed sheet storage section 30, the blower 60 is operated.

As for the mode of operation, first, while the sheet is being discharged, the second air outlet 64 is closed and air is sent from the first air outlet 63 as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the air outlet unit 70
While the amount of stacked paper is small, the switching valve 74 is above and the lower air outlet 73 is open as shown in FIG. 6B, and when the amount of paper increases, the switching valve 74 is turned off. 6
As shown in (A), it moves downward, and the upper air outlet 72 is opened.

When the sheet is discharged and the trailing end leaves the first or second contact point, the solenoid 69 operates and the valve element 66 moves as shown in FIG. The opening 63 is closed and the second blowing port 64 is opened, and air is ejected from the air ejection port 80 from the front side of the sheet so as to press the sheet downward.

The paper discharged to the processed paper storage unit 30 is
In some cases, the leading edge of the paper may be turned downward and inverted, which has a serious adverse effect on subsequent punching and the like. This is remarkable when the paper is not folded. However, by blowing air between the laminated paper and the discharged paper, the leading edge (side edge) of the paper is almost parallel to the laminated paper, without falling down and inverting. Due to the presence of air between the paper and the paper, the paper can be smoothly advanced, the side edge and the trailing edge can be accurately regulated, and the above-mentioned accidents at the time of processing can be prevented beforehand. have.

Further, as the sheets are stacked, the stacked sheets are turned up by the air from the air ejection port 73.
Is switched to the air ejection port 72 from above, so that even if the stacking surface rises due to an increase in the stacking sheets, the alignment is not disturbed.

On the other hand, the folded sheet tends to swell upward and upward, and is pressed down by the downward jet of air, so that the nip member 34 and the nip roller 39 can easily and reliably grip the trailing end of the sheet. .

The desired number of sheets are arranged, the side edges and the rear end are tied, and the sheet nipped at the rear portion moves along the conveying surface 31 and is subjected to selected punching, stapling, and other processing. The paper is discharged to the paper storage unit 90.

In the above embodiment, the air outlet unit 70 is provided with a plurality of outlets 72 and 73 so as to be switched in a timely manner. However, as shown in FIG. 9, an air outlet unit having one outlet is provided. The air ejection unit 91 may be moved upward from below in accordance with the amount of sheets stacked.

Instead of providing the air ejection port 80, a mechanical pressing member 92 may be provided as shown in FIG. 9 so as to press the laminated sheet from above in a timely manner.

[0053]

According to the paper storage device of the present invention,
A gas supply is provided in the sheet discharge direction between the storage section provided below the sheet discharge means and storing the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge means, and the sheet being discharged from the sheet discharge means. And a changing unit that raises the position at which the gas is ejected in accordance with an increase in the number of sheets stored in the storage unit. This prevents the paper being pulled from being turned over and the paper from being turned over. In addition, an air layer is formed below the paper being discharged, so that the paper can be easily moved and alignment can be improved.

Further, since the position of the gas ejected by the ejection means rises as the number of sheets accommodated in the accommodating section increases, the gas ejected from the ejection means does not disturb the alignment of the accommodated sheets.

Further, the stacked sheets are subjected to a pressing force in the stacking direction by the gas ejected from the downward ejecting means, and the stacking height is minimized, so that the subsequent stacking operation of the discharged sheets is not hindered. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a sheet storage device set in an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the sheet storage device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the blower of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the structure and operation of the blower of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the air outlet unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the structure and operation of the air ejection port unit of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a main part structure of a processed paper storage unit in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of the paper folding unit 10 of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a modification of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 F Processing storage device 17 Paper folding roller (paper discharging means) 18 Paper folding roller (paper discharging means) 19 Paper folding roller (paper discharging means) 30 Processed paper storing section (paper storing device) 72 Air outlet 73 Air outlet

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A sheet storage unit provided below the sheet discharge unit for storing the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge unit; and a sheet between the storage unit and the sheet being discharged from the sheet discharge unit. A sheet ejecting means for ejecting gas in a discharge direction of the sheet, and changing means for increasing a position at which the ejecting means ejects gas in accordance with an increase in the number of sheets stored in the storage section. apparatus. 2. The ejection means has a plurality of openable and closable ejection ports for ejecting gas in a direction in which the number of sheets stacked in the storage section increases. 2. The sheet storage device according to claim 1, wherein the ejection port for ejecting the sheet is switched from bottom to top. 3. The gas ejection means has a gas ejection port movable in the direction of increasing the number of sheets loaded in the storage section, and the changing means changes the gas ejection port with an increase in the number of sheets loaded. The paper storage device according to claim 1, wherein the paper storage device is raised. 4. The sheet storage device according to claim 1, further comprising a downward ejecting unit that ejects a gas downward from above from the sheet being discharged from the sheet discharging unit.