JP3285612B2 - Sheet 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 sheet accommodating apparatus which is attached to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, an XY plotter, a printer, and a copying machine and receives and stores an image-formed sheet. It is suitable for storing and storing large-size sheets such as A2, A1, and A0.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming sheet discharged from a printer or a copying machine is stored in a sheet storage device such as a discharge tray provided adjacent to a discharge port. Further, in an XY plotter that draws with a writing instrument while reciprocating a sheet placed on a guide back and forth, when drawing is completed, reciprocation of the sheet is stopped and the sheet is placed on the guide as it is. The sheet is dropped and accommodated in a sheet accommodation device provided below the guide.

[0003]

However, A2, A1,
Printers and copiers that handle large size sheets such as A0,
Alternatively, in the XY plotter, the sheet accommodating device is large, the entire device becomes large, and a large space is required for installation.

It is more convenient to roll and store the large-sized sheets as described above, or to carry the rolled sheets. However, the operator rounds the sheets stored in the sheet storage apparatus one by one each time. It must be stopped with rubber bands or the like so as not to spread, which is troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet storing apparatus which can store a large-sized sheet in a small space, and can automatically wind the sheet to improve work efficiency.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sheet winding means for winding a sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus into a cylindrical shape, and a sheet winding means for winding the sheet. Attachment means for attaching a holding member for preventing the spread of the sheet to the sheet wound by the winding means, movably supporting the attachment means, and attaching the holding member to the sheet. Later, the mounting means is moved to a predetermined discharging position to discharge the sheet from the sheet winding means, and the sheet discharged from the sheet winding means by the supporting means. A winding sheet accommodating means for accommodating is provided.

[0007]

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

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the overall structure of the sheet storage device 10, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view, and FIG.
FIG. Note that FIG. 2 does not illustrate a wound sheet storage unit 20 described later. In addition, there is naturally a frame supporting the sheet storage device 10, but this frame is not shown.

Normally, the sheet storage apparatus 10 has a control unit, and is simultaneously controlled by a signal from an image forming apparatus, for example, an XY plotter F, so as to operate integrally.

The XY plotter F includes a guide 1 for guiding the image forming sheet S back and forth, a pair of left and right legs 2 supporting the guide 1, a writing roller 3, and a writing roller 3.
The writing implement 4 is provided to move up and down, a carriage 5 for moving the writing implement 4 in the width direction of the sheet S, a driving roller 6 for moving the sheet S in the front-rear direction, and pressed against the driving roller 6. And a pressure roller 7.

As shown in the drawings, the sheet accommodating device 10 includes a non-wound sheet accommodating means 15 for accommodating a sheet without being wound and a sheet winding means 25 for accommodating a sheet in a cylindrical shape.
Mounting means 50 for attaching a holding member for preventing the spread of the sheet S, for example, a binder 40, to the outer periphery of the sheet wound in a tubular shape by the sheet winding means 25; and the binder 40 is attached by the attaching means 50. And a rolled sheet storage means 20 for storing the sheets, and a path switching means for switching the sheet storage path to the non-rolled sheet storage means 15 or the rolled sheet storage means 20 in a timely manner, for example, a flapper 11. .

The non-wound sheet storing means 15 includes a casing 16a for storing the sheet S, a cover 16c which can be opened and closed about a shaft 16b, and a flapper 17 for switching a path.

The flapper 17 is closed while the plotter F is forming an image, and prevents the sheet S from entering or exiting the casing 16a when the sheet S droops largely to the left side in FIG.

The wound sheet storing means 20 is provided below the flapper 11 and has a casing 21 for storing the wound sheet.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet winding means 25 has a winding portion 26 having a substantially cylindrical outer periphery, and its base is rotatably supported by bearings 28 and 29.

The winding section 26 has a pair of winding members 26a and 26b opposed to each other with a gap 26c formed therebetween so that the sheet S can enter the gap 26c.

In the winding section 26, there is provided pressing means 30 for pressing the sheet S which has entered the gap 26c against the winding member 26a. The press-contact means 30 includes a press-contact portion 30a and an arm 30c that rotates about a shaft 30b.
A solenoid 30d for driving the arm 30c;
And a return spring 30e.

On the bearings 28, 29 side of the winding section 26,
A paper pressing member 38b that rotates about a shaft 38a, and a return spring 38c that returns the paper pressing member 38b
And a solenoid 48 for driving the paper pressing member 38b.

A transmission gear 31 is disposed between the bearings 28 and 29 of the winding section 26. The transmission gear 31 meshes with a gear 36 on a shaft 35 of a gear 34 meshing with a drive gear 33 of a drive motor 32. are doing.

An electromagnetic clutch 37 is disposed at one end of the shaft 35, and a gear 36 is detachably attached to the shaft 35 at an appropriate time.
The power of the drive motor 32 is transmitted to or separated from the winding unit 26.

On the other hand, a home position sensor S3 for detecting the home position of the winding member 26 is provided at the shaft end of the winding section 26. When the take-up member 26 is in its home position as shown in FIG. 1, the divided portions of the take-up members 26a and 26b, that is, the gaps 26c are oriented in the vertical direction, and the sheet S hanging from above is suspended. Can be inserted.
At this time, a Y-shaped notch is provided upward so that the leading end of the sheet S is easily introduced into the gap 26c.

The path 22 for guiding the sheet S to the gap 26c includes an entrance sensor S for detecting the front and rear ends of the sheet S.
1 is provided.

The binder 40 has a constant inner diameter, for example, 120
mm ring, the width of which is an appropriate value, for example, 1
It is formed of 0 mm synthetic resin or rubber material.

As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of convex portions 41 each having a small locking hole 42 are formed on the outer periphery of the binder 40, and the small locking hole 42 is locked by the mounting means 50. Things.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of sets of the binders 40 are held by the binder holding means 43.

The binder holding means 43 includes an extruding disk 45 movably fitted on a holding cylindrical body 44 fixed to an apparatus frame (not shown), and a biasing means for urging the extruding disk 45 forward. A biasing spring 46, a locking claw 47 for locking the binder 40 at the tip, and an empty sensor S5 for detecting the presence or absence of the binder 40 are provided.

The mounting means 50 is mounted on a rail 51 laid horizontally on a frame (not shown) on a movable binder mover 52.
Is supported.

The binder mover 52 has its base 52a connected to an endless belt 54 stretched between a pair of belt rollers 53a and 53b.

The belt roller 53a has a worm wheel 55 coaxially, and the worm wheel 55 meshes with a worm 56. The worm 56 is configured to transmit a driving force from the driving gear 33 of the driving motor 32 via a coaxial gear 57, a gear 58 meshing with the gear 57, and a gear 59 coaxial with the gear 58. I have. Note that an electromagnetic clutch 60 is interposed between the gear 58 and the gear 59, and the driving force transmission system is engaged and disengaged at an appropriate time.

The binder mover 52 is provided with a scissor-shaped binder pickup 61 as shown in FIG. A pair of engaging projections 61 that engage with the locking small holes 42 of the binder 40 are provided at the tip of the binder pickup 61.
a, and a solenoid 62 for opening and closing the binder pickup 61 is provided at the tail.

The binder mover 52 is usually located at the position of the binder 40 held at the tip of the binder holding means 43, and this is the binder mover home position. A sensor S4 for detecting the home position is provided.

Next, the operation will be described.

Prior to the start of the operation, sheet size information is given from the plotter F side. In this example, for example, A0
A to A2 are to be stored in the rolled sheet storage means 20, and A3 and below are to be stored in the non-rolled sheet storage means 15.

During the image forming operation of the plotter F, both the flapper 11 and the flapper 17 are at the virtual line positions in FIG. In this state, the sheet S on which an image is being formed reciprocates beyond the front surface of the non-wound sheet storage unit 15.

The winding section 26 and the binder mover 5
2 are in their respective home positions and solenoids 3
0d is deenergized, and the pressure contact portion 30a is
6a.

By the completion of the image forming operation, the plotter F once pulls up the sheet S to a position where the leading end of the sheet is above the leading end of the flapper 11.

On the other hand, when the sheet storage device 10 receives the completion signal, the sheet storage device 10 determines the size A based on the size information received in advance.
In the case of 3 or less, the flapper 17 moves to the solid line position in FIG. 1 to open the casing 16a, and the wrapper 11 closes the path 22 as it is. Then, the sheet discharged from the plotter F is stored in the non-wound sheet storing means 15.

When the size of the sheet S is equal to or larger than A2, the flapper 11 is opened and the path 22 is opened when the operation of the plotter F is completed.
Come down through 2. The solenoid 30d is energized from being detected by the inlet sensor S1 after a predetermined time t _1, it is pressed against the sheet S that has been inserted into the gap 26c into pressure contact portion 30a winding member 26a. And the drive motor 3
2 operates, the winding unit 26 is rotated, and the sheet S is wound into a cylindrical shape. At this time, the electromagnetic clutch 37 is energized, transmitting the power of the drive motor 32 to the winding unit 26 side, and the electromagnetic clutch 60 is deenergized, and the driving force is transmitted to the mounting means 50 side. Not.

The start of the rotation of the take-up unit 26, excites the solenoid 48 after a predetermined time t ₂ has elapsed for each size, with pressing the edge of the sheet S wound by driving the sheet pressing member 38b, the electromagnetic clutch 37 Deactivates and stops rotation. Then, the solenoid 62 is excited, and the engagement protrusion 61 a of the binder pickup 61 is engaged with the locking small hole 42 of the binder 40.

When the electromagnetic clutch 60 is excited,
The driving force of the driving motor 32 is transmitted to the belt roller 53a, and the endless belt 54 rotates. Due to this rotational movement,
The binder mover 52 moves rightward in FIG. 2 from the home position, the electromagnetic clutch 60 is deenergized after a predetermined time t ₃ based on the size information, and the binder 40 is positioned substantially at the center of the cylindrically wound sheet S. Is done. Note that the binder 40 moves over the locking claw 47.

In this state, the drive motor 32 rotates in the reverse direction, and the electromagnetic clutch 37 is excited for a minute predetermined time t ₄ . By this reverse rotation of the sheet winding means 25, the winding of the sheet is slightly loosened, and the sheet comes into close contact with the inner periphery of the binder 40. Then, the solenoid 30d is deenergized to release the press contact of the press contact portion 30a. Further, the solenoid 48 is deenergized to release the press-contact of the paper pressing member 38b.

After the reverse rotation, the drive motor 32 rotates forward again, and at the same time, the electromagnetic clutch 60 is excited for a predetermined time t ₅ , and the binder mover 52 further moves rightward in FIG. Then, by this movement, the sheet S fitted with the binder 40 is pulled out from the winding unit 26, and the sheet S
Is moved to a position past the winding members 26a and 26b, the solenoid 62 is demagnetized, and the engagement between the engaging projection 61a of the binder pickup 61 and the locking small hole 42 of the binder 40 is released. The turned sheet falls downward and is accommodated in the casing 21.

On the other hand, the electromagnetic clutch 60 is excited, and at the same time, the drive motor 32 rotates reversely, and the binder mover 52 moves to the left in FIG.
At the detection of 4, the electromagnetic clutch 60 is demagnetized, the drive motor 32 is also stopped at the same time, the binder mover 52 returns to the home position and enters a standby state. Simultaneously with this standby, the solenoid 62 is excited, and the binder pickup 61 is excited.
And the binder 40 may be engaged.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and for example, the following modifications are possible.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, the grid roller type plotter F is shown as an image forming apparatus. However, other image forming apparatuses, for example, image forming such as printing for each line, are performed in the sub-scanning direction (Y direction). It goes without saying that the present invention is also applicable to the type in which the data is sequentially sent to ()). In this case, the sheet does not reciprocate. For example, when the sheet size is A3 or smaller, the flapper 17 is opened from the beginning. In the case of the large size, the flapper 11 may be opened once after being pulled up after the image formation as in the above-described embodiment, or the incoming sheet S may be received by the winding unit 26 and the image may be formed. It is also possible to rotate the winding unit 26 in synchronization with the forming operation.

(2) It is also possible to select a mode in which a large-sized sheet is not wound. In this mode, both the flapper 11 and the flapper 17 are closed, and the sheet is received on the front surface of the flat sheet housing casing 16. To do.

(3) As shown in FIG. 4, a sorter 70 having a plurality of storage portions 70a, 70b, 70c, 70d is provided as a rolled sheet storage means, and the sheets S falling along the guide 71 are changed according to the number of copies and the size. Flapper 72a, 72
b, 72c are opened and closed and appropriate accommodation sections 70a, 70b, 7
0c and 70d may be accommodated.

(4) The prevention member may be a rubber band, a seal for attaching a sheet end, or the like. When a rubber band is used, a rubber band holding unit corresponding to the binder holding unit 43 is provided, and the rubber band held by the holding unit is received by the attaching unit and attached to the wound sheet. When a seal is used, the seal is peeled off one sheet at a time from the sheet to which the plurality of seals are attached, and is attached to the end of the wound seal so as not to spread.

[0049]

According to the sheet accommodating apparatus of the present invention, sheet winding means for winding the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus into a cylindrical shape, and the sheet winding means. Mounting means for attaching a holding member for preventing the spread of the sheet onto the sheet wound by the method, and movably supporting the mounting means, and the mounting after attaching the holding member to the sheet. A supporting means for moving the step to a predetermined discharge position and discharging the sheet from the sheet winding means; and a winding for accommodating the sheet discharged from the sheet winding means by the supporting means. The provision of the rotating sheet accommodating means allows a large-sized sheet to be accommodated in a small space, and a sheet to be accommodated.
Can be wound automatically and work efficiency is good.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sheet fitted with a binder.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a modified example of the wound sheet storage means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 F XY plotter 10 Sheet storage device 11 Path switching means 15 Non-wound sheet storage means 20 Rolled sheet storage means 25 Sheet winding means 26 Winding unit 40 Binder 43 Binder holding means 50 Mounting means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 39/11 B65H 37/00 G03G 15/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet accommodation apparatus for accommodating an image forming sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus, wherein the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus is wound into a cylindrical shape. Means for attaching a holding member for preventing the spread of the sheet to the sheet wound by the sheet winding means; and a sheet for movably supporting the attaching means. After the holding member has been mounted on the sheet winding means, the mounting means is moved to a predetermined discharge position to discharge the sheet from the sheet winding means. A sheet storage device comprising: wound sheet storage means for storing the discharged sheet.