JP3706666B2 - Sheet stacking apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheet stacking apparatus that stacks image-formed cut sheets (hereinafter referred to as sheets) discharged from the apparatus main body into a sheet bundle and stacks them on a stack unit, and an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile. More specifically, a sheet stacking apparatus and an image forming apparatus that switch a mode of whether or not to stack a sheet bundle and continue sheet sorting and stacking on the sheet sorting unit when the sheet bundle is taken out from the sheet sorting unit in the non-stacking mode. Relates to the device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when stacking a plurality of sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a printer, the sheet sorting unit fills the sheet bundle. product It is on. Since the sheet sorting means is provided with a plurality of bins for sorting and storing sheets, a plurality of sheet bundles are accumulated.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, once the sheet sorting unit is fully loaded in the sheet sorting unit, the image forming operation is interrupted and the remaining number of copies is newly input to extract (take out) a plurality of sheet bundles from the plurality of bins. The image forming work has to be newly started, causing a reduction in work efficiency.
[0004]
In addition, stacking means for stacking and mounting a plurality of the plurality of sheet bundles stacked on the sheet sorting means having a plurality of bins and a transfer means for transferring the sheet bundle to the stacking means have been developed. However, when the sheet bundle is stacked on the stacking unit in the non-stapling mode, the plurality of sheet bundles and the sheet bundle are mixed, and labor is required for sorting.
[0005]
Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to select a stack mode and a non-stack mode as appropriate, so that a good stack of sheet bundles can be obtained. Specifically, for example, it is an object to provide a sheet stacking apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the sheet stacking apparatus that can avoid mixing of the plurality of sheet bundles by stacking sheet bundles that are not stapled on a stacking unit.
[0006]
A second object of the present invention is to provide a sheet stacking apparatus that can shorten the interruption time of the image forming operation and improve the operating rate of the apparatus, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet stacking apparatus.
[0007]
Furthermore, a third object of the present invention is to provide a sheet stacking apparatus and an image forming apparatus that can easily and quickly sort the number of copies exceeding the number of bins.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention of claim 1 of the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a sheet sorting unit having a plurality of bins for sorting and stacking sheets, and a sheet bundle stacked in the sheet sorting unit. Control means for controlling whether or not the sheet bundle on the sheet sorting means is stacked on the stack means, a transfer means for transferring the sheet bundle, a stack means for stacking and stacking a plurality of sheet bundles transferred by the transfer means Means and the control means Do not stack the sheet bundle on the stacking means Detecting means for detecting that the number of sheets stored in the sheet sorting means has reached the number of sheets that can be stored when the mode is switched to the non-stack mode; Sheet presence / absence detection means for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet on the sheet sorting means; With When the detection means detects that the number of sheets that can be stored has been reached, sheet sorting is stopped, and the sheet presence / absence detection means A sheet bundle was taken out from the sheet sorting means. It was confirmed Then, the sheet stacking apparatus is characterized in that sheet sorting is started again.
[0009]
The invention according to claim 2 further comprises a binding means, and controls the transfer means and the binding means so that the sheet bundle is bound by the binding means in the stack mode and then stacked.
[0010]
Furthermore, the invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the sheet sorting means has a first group and a second group of sheet sorting means, The detection means Reached the number of copies that can be stored in the first group of sheet sorting means Detected Then, the sheet is sorted by switching to the second group sheet sorting means, The detection means The number of copies that can be stored in the second group of sheet sorting means has been reached. Detected When By the sheet presence / absence detection means When the sheet of the first group of sheet sorting means has been taken out Once confirmed, the above The sheet is sorted by switching to the first group of sheet sorting means.
[0011]
Furthermore, the invention of claim 4 Display means for notifying that the number of sheets stored in the sheet sorting means has reached the number of sheets that can be stored. With Ru It is in the sheet stacking device.
[0021]
And claims 5 The present invention includes an image forming unit, a sheet sorting unit having a plurality of bins for sorting and stacking image-formed sheets, a transport unit for transporting a sheet bundle stacked on the sheet sorting unit, and the transport unit Stacking means for stacking and stacking a plurality of sheet bundles transferred by the control unit, control means for controlling whether or not the sheet bundle on the sheet sorting means is stacked on the stacking means, and the control means Do not stack the sheet bundle on the stacking means Detecting means for detecting that the number of sheets stored in the sheet sorting means has reached the number of sheets that can be stored when the mode is switched to the non-stack mode; Sheet presence / absence detection means for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet on the sheet sorting means; With When the detection means detects that the number of sheets that can be stored has been reached, sheet sorting is stopped, and the sheet presence / absence detection means A sheet bundle was taken out from the sheet sorting means. It was confirmed Then, the image forming apparatus is characterized in that image formation and sheet sorting are started again.
[0022]
Claims The invention of 6 Further, a binding means is provided, and the sheet feeding means and the binding means are controlled so that the sheet bundle is bound by the binding means in the stack mode and then stacked.
[0023]
Further claims 7 In the described invention, the sheet sorting means has a first group and a second group of sheet sorting means, The detection means Reached the number of copies that can be stored in the first group of sheet sorting means Detected Then, the sheet is sorted by switching to the second group sheet sorting means, The detection means The number of copies that can be stored in the second group of sheet sorting means has been reached. Detect Shi The When By the sheet presence / absence detection means When the sheet of the first group of sheet sorting means has been taken out Once confirmed, the above The sheet is sorted by switching to the first group of sheet sorting means.
[0024]
Further claims 8 The described invention Display means for notifying that the number of sheets stored in the sheet sorting means has reached the number of sheets that can be stored. In an image forming apparatus.
[0039]
[Action]
Based on the above configuration, the discharged sheets are sorted and accumulated in a sheet sorting unit having a plurality of bins to form a sheet bundle. Then, switching between a stack mode for stacking the sheet bundle and a non-stack mode for not stacking, and when in a state of not stacking, the control means calculates the number of sheets stored in the sheet sorting means, and the sheet in the sheet sorting means When the number of storages reaches the preset number of copies, the display means displays the fact and temporarily stops image formation. Then, when the sheet bundle is taken out from the sheet sorting unit, image formation is resumed. The sheet bundle is stacked on the stacking unit based on a signal from a switching unit that switches between a binding mode (stapling) for binding (stapling) the sheet bundle and a non-stapling mode (non-stapling mode) for binding (not stapling). Control whether to do or not.
[0040]
Further, when the number of sheets stored in the sheet sorting unit reaches a preset number when the sheets are not stacked, the display unit displays the fact and temporarily stops image formation. Then, when a sheet bundle is taken out from the sheet sorting unit based on the display, image formation is resumed.
[0041]
Further, when the sheet bundle reaches a certain number in the binding mode, the control unit controls the binding unit so that the binding unit binds the sheet bundle and transfers the sheet bundle to the stack unit. The transfer means is controlled as follows.
[0042]
Further, the sheet sorting means comprises a first group and a second group of sheet sorting means, and detects that no sheet is taken out from each bin of the first group and the second group of sheet sorting means. By providing the detection means, the discharged sheets are sorted and stored in a first group of sheet sorting means having a plurality of bins. During the sheet sorting operation to the first group of sheet sorting means, it is confirmed by the detecting means that there is no sheet in each bin of the second group of sheet sorting means, and the sheet sorting to the first group of sheet sorting means is performed. After the work, the control means continues the sorting work to the second group of sheet sorting means. Next, during the sheet sorting operation to the second group of sheet sorting means, it is confirmed by the detection means that there is no sheet in each bin of the first group of sheet sorting means, and the second group of sheet sorting means After the sheet sorting operation, the control unit continues the sorting operation to the first group of sheet sorting units.
[0043]
When the sheet stacking apparatus is applied to the image forming apparatus, sheets formed with an image in the image forming unit of the image forming apparatus are alternately supplied to the first group and the second group of sheet sorting units based on the above-described operation. Sorted and collected continuously.
[0044]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0045]
FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus 200, which specifically includes a printer, a copier, a facsimile, and the like. The image forming unit includes an optical system, an electrostatic system, an impact system, a laser beam system, and a thermal system. There are methods. The image forming apparatus 200 includes an image forming unit 201 (image forming unit), an automatic document feeder 202 disposed at the upper part of the copying machine main body, and a stack disposed on the sheet discharge side of the image forming unit 201. The sheet material processing apparatus 203 is a sheet stacking apparatus including the means. The sheet material processing apparatus 203 includes a folding apparatus 204 and a stapling / stacking apparatus 205.
[0046]
The image forming unit 201 includes, for example, a photosensitive drum 201a that is a drum-shaped photosensitive member, a developing device 201b, a transfer charger 220, a cleaner 201c, a fixing roller 214, and the like. The documents placed on the document placing table 206 of the automatic document feeder 202 are sequentially separated from the lower side and fed onto the platen glass 208 via the path 209, and the image is read by the image forming unit 201. The light from the scanner is reflected by the reflection mirror 210 and scans on the photosensitive drum 201a, a latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 201a, and a toner image is formed by toner from the developing device 201b. The toner image on the photosensitive drum 201a is transferred by the transfer charger 220 to the sheet fed from the deck 212 and aligned by the registration roller 201d, and the sheet is further transferred to the fixing roller 214 via the conveyance belt 201e. Sent to and fixed.
[0047]
After the reading is completed, the document is discharged from the platen glass 208 to the uppermost surface on the document table 206 via the path 211. The fixed sheet S is normally conveyed through the folding device 204 to the staple / stack device 205 sheet carry-in port 215.
[0048]
Next, an outline of the configuration of the staple / stack device 205 will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0049]
Each of the upper and lower bin modules B1 and B2 of the sorter as the first and second sheet sorting means is provided with a plurality of bins, and each bin module independently changes the bin position, and each bin is changed to a sheet receiving position or The sheet bundle can be moved to the discharge position. The sheet carry-in entrance 215 includes a deflector 3 that is driven by a solenoid SL3 (not shown) in order to switch the first conveyance path 1 in the upward direction and the second conveyance path 2 in the downward direction. Further, the deflector 4 branches into a discharge path 6 to the non-sort tray 5 and a path 7 to the upper module B1. On the other hand, the second transport path 2 is a path to the lower module B2 as it is. Therefore, regarding each roller pair 8a to 8p, 8a, 8b and 8c are applied to the non-sort tray 5, 8a, 8b and 8d to 8g are applied to the upper module B1, and 8a and 8h to 8p are applied to the lower module B2. Be transported.
[0050]
The staple / stack device 205 has a grip / staple unit 9 in a space sandwiched between the path 7 to the upper module and the path to the lower module, and the sheet bundle on each bin is fed by the advance gripper 10 (transfer means). 1 and 2, the stapler 11 (binding means) selectively staples the bundle, and the bundle tip is sandwiched between the conveying grippers 12 (transfer means) and further conveyed to the right. Similarly, a stack unit 13 (stack means) stands by below the gripper / staple unit 9 and stores the sheet bundle conveyed by the conveyance gripper 12.
[0051]
As shown in FIG. 2, the right end portion of the stapler 11 and the left end portion of the stack unit 13 substantially overlap in the left-right direction (region of width l15 in FIG. 2). After the sheet bundle is filled in the bins B11 to B16 of the upper module, the grip / staple unit 9 and the stack unit 13 are moved to an upper position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIGS. 1, the sheet is conveyed to the lower module bins B <b> 21 to B <b> 26, the sheet bundle is taken out from the bins B <b> 11 to B <b> 16, and the conveyance operation to the lower module bins B <b> 21 to B <b> 26 is completed. The sheet bundle is taken out from the lower module. By repeating this operation, copying can be continued continuously until the stack unit 13 becomes full.
[0052]
When the sheet is folded and discharged to the staple / stack device 205 or the like, the folding device 204 folds the sheet on which the image has been formed by the image forming unit 201 and then discharges the sheet to the staple / stack device or the like. When the sheet is not folded, the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming unit 201 passes through the folding device 204 and is discharged to the staple / stack device 205 or the like.
[0053]
Next, the configuration of each unit of the staple / stack device 205 will be described.
[0054]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bin modules B1 and B2. Hereinafter, although bin module B1 is demonstrated, it is the same structure also about B2. The bin module B1 mainly includes bins B11 to B1n, two reference rods 14a and 14b, an alignment wall 15, lead cams 16a to 16c for raising and lowering the bins, and drive members (not shown). The reference rods 14a and 14b are members for determining a reference line for processing such as stapling on the sheet material discharged onto the bin, and are usually set slightly retracted from the position of the end when the sheet is discharged. Has been. The alignment wall 15 brings the sheet material discharged by the bin one or more sheets into the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3), and the opposing end surfaces of the sheets are used as reference rods 14a and 14b. Match to
[0055]
FIG. 4 is a top view of the bin module. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the bottle has a notch Bd corresponding to the reference rod, a hole Be corresponding to the alignment wall, and a gripper-like notch Bf, which will be described later, for the bin standing drive mechanism. The notch Bg and the notch Bh necessary for operation are formed.
[0056]
FIG. 5 is a front view of the bin module. As shown in FIG. 5, the bins are inclined at an angle with respect to the horizontal and are arranged in parallel to each other. On the other hand, the bin roller portions Ba, Bb, and Bc are configured to have the same height when the bin is inclined. That is, the position with the bin roller B is considerably below the reference plane of the bin, and is connected by a V-shaped fixed arm. As can be seen from the configurations shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet receiving position and the bundle conveying position in the upper and lower bin modules are in the same direction in the upper module and the lower module. 9 and the stack unit 13 can be shared.
[0057]
Next, bin shift driving will be described with reference to FIGS. The bin shift motor M1 transmits the drive synchronously to the lead cams 16 to 16b by the motor pulley 18 and the belt 19 and the lead cam pulleys 20a to 20b, and rotates the lead cam in the forward and reverse directions by rotating the motor forward and backward. The bottle can be raised and lowered. The bin shift motor M1 has an encoder 21 on the side opposite to the pulley 18 and detects one rotation by the sensor S1. Each bin module has a bin home position detection sensor S2 (not shown), and detects that each of the top bins B11 and B21 is one bin below the respective sheet receiving position. The upper and lower bin modules B1 and B2 have penetrating sensors S3 and S4 (detecting means) for detecting sheets on the bins shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the timing for switching the module by detecting the presence or absence of sheets on the bins; The copy operation start timing of the next job is determined.
[0058]
Next, the drive structure of the alignment wall that aligns the sheets of the bins will be described. The matching wall drive motor is a stepping motor, from which drive is transmitted by a gear, a timing belt, etc., and position control is performed with an accurate number of pulses. The home position of the alignment wall is detected by a sensor (not shown).
[0059]
Next, FIG. 6 (front view) shows a drive structure of a bin standing portion that forms an alignment surface in the conveyance direction on the bin, and processes and stacks the sheet bundle stacked on the bin. Therefore, when transporting from the bin, the bin standing is moved to the retracted position indicated by the two-dot chain line. The bin B is composed of a sheet stacking portion Bi and an alignment portion (bin standing portion) Bj.
[0060]
On the other hand, a pin abutting member 47b is attached to the distal end portion of the link 47, but in a normal state, the distance between 47b and the pin 45a is separated and does not hinder the lifting and lowering operation of the bin B. When the sheet discharge onto the bin is finished and the sheet bundle on the bin is processed and stacked, the corresponding bin is shifted to the position shown in FIG. 6 and the solenoid SL1 is operated. The pin abutting member 47b abuts on the pin 45a, and the link 47 is further rotated to move the alignment portion Bj to the position of the two-dot chain line in FIG. When the solenoid SL1 is turned OFF, the link 47 returns to the original solid line position by the action of the spring 49, and the matching portion Bj also returns to the position orthogonal to the stacking surface correspondingly.
[0061]
Next, the grip / staple unit 9 will be described with reference to FIG. 7 (top view) and FIG. 8 (front view). The overall structure is a frame in which a guide stay 52 and a right stay 54 are passed between the unit front side plate 50 and the unit rear side plate 51, and a total of four lifting rollers 55 are caulked, two on the left and right sides. . A member 53 a that guides the sheet bundle during conveyance is attached to the back side of the lower guide stay 53. The four lifting rollers 55 are guided in two rails 56 fixed to the main body side. The rack cut integrally with the rail 56 meshes with the pinion gears 58 provided at both ends of the shaft 57 penetrating in the lateral direction of the frame body, and the drive from the lifting motor M4 is transmitted to the gear so that the entire frame is vertically moved. Can be moved up and down. Of the three movable bodies arranged in the frame, the advance gripper 10 is configured to be movable in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 7, and grips the vicinity of the right end of the front side of the sheet bundle S on the bin. Then pull the sheet bundle to the right.
[0062]
The stapler 11 can be moved in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 7 and can be moved to a front or back retreat position that does not overlap the sheet width or an arbitrary position of the leading end of the sheet bundle.
[0063]
The transport gripper 12 is configured to be movable in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 7 and to be movable in the direction of arrow G in the drawing including the entire front and rear side plates 59 and 60. In the direction of arrow F, the center position of the sheet width is gripped in accordance with the size of the sheet bundle, and the sheet bundle is conveyed in the direction of arrow G to completely pull out the sheet bundle from the bin, and is conveyed to a stacker described later. The movement in the direction of arrow F is used for the purpose of sorting on the stacker in addition to the movement according to the size as described above. That is, when the bundle is conveyed to the stacker, the conveyance amount in the arrow G direction depends on the sheet bundle size, but by changing the conveyance amount in the F direction, the same-size sheet bundle can be sorted or different jobs can be sorted. Can be.
[0064]
Hereinafter, a sandwiching configuration of the first-out gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12 which are each moving body in the grip / staple unit 9 will be described with reference to FIG. First, a grip portion for sandwiching a sheet bundle will be described. This is a configuration common to the first-out gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12, and an upper gripper 66 and a lower gripper 67 are provided with motors M5 (first-out gripper clamping) and M6 (not shown). It is configured so that it can be opened and closed by being driven by (carrying the conveyance grip) and repeatedly swinging in the directions of arrows H and I (solid line and two-dot chain diagram).
[0065]
The upper gripper 66 is provided so as to be rotatable about a shaft 65, and the other end 66a is engaged with a cam member 69 fitted to the rotating shaft 64 of the motor M5 or M6. Further, the coil spring member 71 urges it clockwise. On the other hand, the lower gripper 67 is provided so as to be rotatable about a shaft 65, and the other end 67a is engaged with a cam member 68 fitted to the rotating shaft 63 of the motor M5 or M6. Further, the coil spring member 70 urges it clockwise. The upper gripper 66 and the lower gripper 67 sandwich the sheet bundle by appropriately driving the motor M5 or M6 with the above configuration.
[0066]
Next, the drive configuration of the advance gripper 10 will be described with reference to FIG. A first-out motor M7 is attached to the front side of the unit front plate 50, and a swing arm 76 is fixed to the tip of the drive shaft. A long hole 76 a is formed at the other end of the swing arm 76, and the distal end portion of the pin member 74 interlocked with the advance gripper 10 is engaged with the long hole. By driving the advance motor M7, the swing arm 76 reciprocates between the solid line position and the two-dot chain line position in FIG. Thus, the advance gripper 10 grasps the sheet bundle at the inclined position along the long hole 50a of the unit front side plate 50, further conveys the sheet bundle to the horizontal position, releases the sheet bundle at the horizontal position, and returns to the inclined position again.
[0067]
Next, the drive configuration of the transport gripper 12 will be described with reference to FIG. 11 (top view) and FIG. 12 (front sectional view). The transport gripper 12 is supported by two shafts 77 and 78, one shaft 77 is constituted by a ball screw, and the other shaft 78 is constituted by a normal shaft. Both ends of the shaft 77 are rotatably supported between the front and rear side plates (the front side plate is omitted, the rear side plate 60), and both ends of the shaft 78 are completely fixed.
[0068]
First, driving in the left-right direction of FIGS. 11 and 12, that is, the sheet bundle conveyance direction will be described. The conveyance gripper left and right movement motor M8 is attached to the unit side plate 51, and thereby transmits driving to the shaft 83. By fixing a part of the belt on the rear plate 60 with the regulating member 87, the drive of the motor M8 is transmitted to the transport gripper 12 via the belt 86, and the movement in the left-right direction becomes possible.
[0069]
Next, the driving in the vertical direction in FIG. 11, that is, the direction orthogonal to the sheet bundle conveyance will be described. Since the drive of the conveyance gripper forward / reverse motor M9 is transmitted to the ball screw shaft 77, the same thread is cut in the portion of the conveyance gripper 12 engaged with the ball screw shaft 77. It can be moved forward and backward. The position of the transport gripper is determined by detecting the home position and the amount of rotation of the motor. The left and right direction is a sensor S8 that reads the home position sensor S7 and the encoder 92 of the motor M8, and the forward and backward movement is a sensor S10 that reads the home position sensor S9 and the encoder 93 of the motor M9. Stop at position.
[0070]
Next, the forward / backward drive of the stapler 11 will be described with reference to FIG. 13 (left view) and FIG. 14 (top view). In FIG. 13, the stapler 11 is fixed on a base 94, and two shafts 96 and 97 are passed through a slider 95 above the base 94 to support the stapler 11 in a suspended manner. Drive is transmitted to the belt 102 by the stapler forward / reverse motor M10, and the staple unit can move in the direction of arrow J in FIG. The staple can be stopped at an arbitrary position between the retracted position 11a on the near side and the retracted position 11b on the far side. The position setting is determined by reading the encoder 104 of the motor M10 with the sensor S13 from the detection by the front position sensor S12.
[0071]
Next, the configuration of the stack unit 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 15 (top view), FIG. 16, FIG. 17 (front view of the stack frame portion), and FIG. 18 (left view). First, in FIG. 15, the stack frame 105 serving as the outer frame of the stack unit 13 is composed of four parts: a rear side plate 105a, a left side plate 105b, a right side plate 105c, and a bottom plate 105d. A total of four elevating rollers 106 are attached to each of the outer side surfaces of the left and right side plates 105b and 105c of the outer frame, and two of them are guided by rails 107 fixed to the main body. The rail 107 may be shared by the same member as the rail 56 of the gripper / staple unit 9 shown in FIG.
[0072]
15 and 18, a chain 109 is fixed to the left and right side plates 105b and 105c, and the frame can be moved up and down by transmitting the drive of the stack frame lifting motor M11 to the through shaft 112. In addition to the two stop positions corresponding to the two stop positions (upper two-dot chain line portion and lower solid line portion) of the gripper / staple unit 9 shown in FIG. It is set at multiple locations such as when changing the tray drawer position and stacker limit number. By reading the encoder 115 of the motor M11 with the sensor S14, it is possible to stop at the various setting positions.
[0073]
A stacker reference wall 117 serving as a reference wall for the sheet bundle on the stack tray 116 is supported by the left side plate 105b of the stacker frame so as to be movable up and down, and a pressing member 118 for pressing the sheet bundle on the stack tray 116 from above is also provided. It is supported. The stacker reference wall 117 can be moved up and down by a lifting motor M12 (not shown) according to the expected number of stacked sheets on the stack tray. Further, a proximity prevention sensor S16 is attached to the upper end of the stacker reference wall 117. When the distance between the stack unit 13 and the upper gripper / staple unit 9 is detected, Control to stop driving in the approach direction is performed to prevent interference. Further, a stack height detection sensor S17 is attached to the side surface of the stacker reference wall 117, and detects the top sheet of the stack to control the height of the stack tray 116 and the like.
[0074]
Next, the pressing member 118 will be described. The pressing member 118 is loaded on the stack tray in addition to the movement of preventing the disturbance of the stacked sheets by the next bundle stacked on the stack tray by pressing the sheet bundle S on the stack tray 116. There are two movements that prevent misalignment in the bundle when the bundle is dropped. When the solenoid SL2 for driving the pressing member 118 is in an OFF state, the pressing member 118 falls on the sheet bundle by its own weight and presses the sheet. When the solenoid SL2 is turned on, the pressing member 118 is separated to a position that does not touch the sheet stacking operation. By repeating the above operation, the sheet bundle on the stack tray 116 is pressed. Further, since the pressing member 118 moves up and down following the movement of the reference wall 117, the relative positional relationship does not change.
[0075]
Next, the stack tray 116 will be described with reference to FIG. 15 (stack tray section top view) and FIG. 16 (stack tray section front view). The stack tray 116 can be moved up and down inside the stack frame 105 described above. The stack tray 116 is configured so that it can be pulled out forward with the Acculide 130 with respect to the stack tray base 129. A U-shaped roller receiving plate 131 is attached to both end faces of the stack tray base and is guided by rails 128. The stack tray lifting / lowering motor M13 is attached to the stack tray base 129, and provides driving in the vertical direction. An encoder 138 is attached to the other end of the motor M13, and the lowering amount of the stack tray is controlled by reading with the sensor S15.
[0076]
Next, the drive configuration of the transport system will be described.
[0077]
As shown in FIG. 19, the drive system is roughly divided into three systems. First, the conveyance motor M14 is responsible for driving the side closer to the copying machine main body, and transmits it to the conveyance rollers 8a, 8b, 8h to 8k after branching to the upper and lower modules and the discharge roller 8c of the non-sort path. Next, the conveyance motor M15 takes charge of the upper module path sheet discharge unit and supplies driving to four rollers 8d to 8g. Further, the conveyance motor M16 takes charge of the lower module path sheet discharge section and drives five roller pairs 8l to p. In addition, since the portion surrounded by the broken line in FIG. 19 is a portion that is pulled out to the front side during the jam processing or the like, couplings 139 and 140 are provided so that the drive can be separated.
[0078]
Next, the cover configuration will be described. FIG. 20 is a front view of the cover configuration, a folding cover 142 that covers the folding device 204, a fixed cover 143 that covers the right side of the bin vertically from the top of the processing device, the lower module paths 2a and 2b of the processing device, and grip / staple. A front cover 144 that covers a part of the unit 9, a stack tray 116 that is in a take-out position, a stack take-out cover 145 that covers the sheet bundle S on the tray, and a bin cover 146 that vertically covers the left side of the bin portion. Further, the upper path cover 147 having the non-sort tray 5 and forming the upper surface of the upper module path has a rotation fulcrum on the back side, and the front side is open upward in the direction of arrow K in FIG. .
[0079]
Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
[0080]
First, as a basic operation, a document is set on the document table 206 of the automatic document feeder 202 (FIG. 1), a predetermined module condition is input by an operation unit (not shown), and a start key is pressed. Each part of the sheet processing apparatus 203 is controlled to be in a standby state in accordance with a start key pressing signal.
[0081]
The following description will be given separately for each module condition.
[0082]
First, the case of the non-sort mode in which the image-formed sheet is not sorted will be described. In FIG. 2, the deflector 3 is positioned in the direction of a solid line, the deflector 4 is positioned in the direction of a broken line, and the motor M14 (FIG. 19) is controlled so that the roller pairs 8a, 8b, 8c existing in the discharge path 6 rotate. The sheet that has been subjected to image formation processing and discharged by the image forming unit 201 passes through the upper path of the folding device 204 and enters the staple / stack device 205 from the carry-in entrance 215. The sheet is redirected vertically upward by the deflector 3, conveyed on the right side of the deflector 4 vertically upward, and discharged onto the non-sort tray 5 by the discharge roller pair 8 c.
[0083]
Next, the case of a general sort mode for sorting sheets on which images have been formed will be described. First, as a standby operation, the deflector 3 is positioned in the direction of the solid line, and the deflector 4 is also positioned in the direction of the solid line. The upper and lower bin modules B1 and B2 perform a shift operation so that the uppermost bins B11 and B21 come to positions facing the discharge roller pairs 8g and 8p. The alignment wall 15 of the bin module stands by at a home position that matches the width of the sheet material. The drive of the bin standing part is stopped at the non-operating position. The grip / staple unit 9 moves to a position corresponding to the sheet material bundle take-out of the upper bin module (the two-dot chain line position in FIG. 2) and stands by. The advance gripper 10 stands by at the position shown in FIG. 7 so as not to obstruct the sheet on the bin when the bin is raised and lowered in the bin module located on the left side of the grip / staple unit 9. Since the stapler 11 is not operated, the stapler 11 moves to the front retracted position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. As shown by a broken line in FIG. 7, the transport gripper 12 grips the substantially center of the transported sheet bundle in the direction of arrow F, and in the direction of arrow G, the transport gripper 12 It waits in the position 12a which can grip a front-end | tip. Both the first-out gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12 stand by at their respective positions with the upper and lower grippers open.
[0084]
Next, the stack unit 13 is moved to a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2 so that the sheet bundle conveyed by the grip / staple unit 9 can be received. In FIG. 17, the stack tray 116 inside the stack unit 13, the reference wall 117, and the pressing member 118 are moved to a position where the upper surface of the stack tray 116 can receive the sheet bundle and a position corresponding to the other stack tray. The tip of the pressing member 118 is in a state of protruding toward the stack tray 116 as shown in FIG. The discharged sheet material passes through the upper path of the folding device 204, enters from the carry-in entrance 215, is conveyed vertically upward by the deflector 3 controlled by the control means 222, and further leftward by the deflector 4, and is discharged to 8g. Is discharged onto the bin B11. After completion of discharging the sheet to the bin B11, the bin is shifted upward by one bin, and the bin B12 is raised to the sheet storage position. The above operation is repeated for one copy sheet, and the sheet is stored in the bin of the upper module. Finally, the lowermost bin (B16 in FIG. 2) of the upper module is in the sheet storage position, and the sheets for the second original are stored in order from the lowermost bin.
[0085]
The above operation is repeated for all documents, and the bin storing operation is completed. In the sheet storage end state, the sheet bundle transfer operation is started. The sheet bundle S on the bin is moved with the advance gripper 10 being opened from the solid line position to the broken line position in FIG. 8, and then the sheet bundle is nipped. The bin aligning portion Bj of FIG. 14 is opened by the solenoid SL1, and the sheet bundle can be conveyed. The front side of the sheet bundle is conveyed by the reference rods 14a and 14b in FIG. 4, and the rear side is regulated by the alignment rod 15 and the guide member 53a in FIG. And it stops at the position of the continuous line shown in FIG. 8, and the delivery of the bundle between the first-out gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12 is performed here. Specifically, in FIG. 7, the conveyance gripper 12 that has been waiting while being open holds the substantially central portion of the sheet bundle. Next, the advance gripper 10 releases the nipping to prepare for the next bundle conveyance. The conveyance gripper 12 is driven in the right direction of the arrow G in FIG. 7 to convey the sheet bundle in the right direction, and stops at an appropriate position according to the size.
[0086]
In this state, as shown in FIG. 21, the rear end of the sheet bundle S is dropped on the upper surface of the stack tray 116, the left side is regulated by the stacker reference wall 117, and the upper surface of the bundle is a pressing member driven by a solenoid. It is pressed by 118. From this state, the conveyance gripper 12 is opened and the leading end of the sheet bundle is dropped onto the stack tray. At this time, the pressing member 118 functions to prevent the deviation in the bundle that falls.
[0087]
When the next second bundle of sheets is conveyed, the process is the same as the first bundle until the gripper 12 grasps the substantially central portion of the sheet bundle and passes the bundle between the first-out gripper 10 and the conveyance gripper 12. Only the subsequent operation will be described. After delivery of the bundle, the transport gripper 12 moves by a predetermined amount in the direction of arrow F in FIG. This movement makes it possible to identify the first sheet bundle when stacking on the stack tray 116.
[0088]
The uppermost surface of the stack of sheets stacked on the stack tray 116 is always detected by the sensor, and the stack tray is gradually lowered so that the distance between the grip / staple unit above and the uppermost stack surface is always constant. Control. Further, the sheet bundle on the stack tray 116 can be arbitrarily taken out when the stack unit 13 is not in operation. When the operator depresses a take-out button (not shown), the stack unit 13 moves to the take-out position, and only the stack take-out cover can be opened and closed. Further, after the stack tray 116 is pulled out to take out the sheet bundle, the processing can be continued by closing the cover.
[0089]
Next, the case of the stapling mode in which the sheet bundle is bound by stapling will be described. The conveyance of sheets and sheet bundles is the same as that in the sort mode described above, and a description thereof will be omitted. Here, the stapler movement control will be described. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 13, the stapler 11 can be stopped at an arbitrary position between the retracted position 11a on the near side and the retracted position 11b on the far side.
[0090]
<In case of one binding at the front>
In the non-staple mode, the stapler is in the front retracted position 11a. However, when the one-front binding mode is selected, the stapler stands by at a position 11c shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 7, even if the stapler 11 is at the position 11c, the transport gripper is at the position 12a and can stand by without interfering with each other. The stapler performs a stapling operation on the sheet bundle conveyed by the first-out gripper 10, and then moves to the retracted position 11a on the near side. Thereafter, the sheet bundle is conveyed rightward by the conveyance gripper 12. When the trailing edge of the sheet bundle comes out of the movement area of the stapler 11, the stapler 11 again moves to the one-position binding position 11c and waits for reception of the next sheet bundle.
[0091]
<When binding at two locations>
Also in this case, as shown in FIG. 15, the stapler 11 does not interfere with the position of the transport gripper 12a regardless of the position of the stapler 11d or 11e. When the two-point binding is in a standby state, the stapler moves from the retracted position 11a on the front side of the stapler to the driving position 11d on the front side of the two places and stands by. When the sheet bundle is conveyed by the first-out gripper, the stapler staples one position on the near side at the position 11d while the first-out gripper is nipped. Next, it moves to the position of 11e and staples the two positions on the back side. As soon as the stapler moves from the position 11d to the position 11e, the transport gripper 12 enters the position 12a from the standby position 12b.
[0092]
Then, the sheet bundle is clamped, while the first-out gripper 10 releases the sheet bundle. The stapler performs the second stapling operation at the position 11e and then moves to the retreat position 11b on the back side. When the rear end of the first bundle of sheets exits the stapler moving area, the stapler 11 moves from the retracted position 11b to the back staple position 11e and receives the second bundle of sheets.
[0093]
<In the case of binding at one back>
In this case, since the binding is performed only on the back side of the size center, the stapler reciprocates between the back side retracted position 11b and the binding position in the reverse of the above-described one-point binding.
[0094]
Further, a case of a folding mode in which an image-formed sheet is folded into a desired size and sorted will be described. Also in the folding mode, a sheet that is relatively long in the conveyance direction is subjected to a folding operation in the folding apparatus shown in 204 in FIG. And loaded on the stack unit 13. However, in the case of origami, especially in the Z-folding or the C-folding in which the LGL of an overseas size is folded into the LTR size, the stacking direction when the sheet is stacked on the bin, There is a possibility that the leading end of the origami discharged to the folded portion of the origami will collide or get caught, disturbing the alignment of the already loaded paper, or the discharged origami may not be correctly stacked. For this reason, the upper bin is lowered from the normal sheet discharge position, and only the uppermost bin is stored.
[0095]
Next, the operation of a plurality of modules (two-bin modules in the present embodiment) that maximizes the efficiency of the entire system including post-processing while maintaining the productivity of the image forming unit 201 will be described.
[0096]
When the number of copies required for copying is less than the number of bins in the module (6 in the above embodiment), the processing is performed in the normal operation. When the number of copies is equal to or greater than the number of bins, two bins are used. Processing is performed by operating modules alternately. The above operation will be described separately for a staple mode and a non-staple mode, taking as an example the case of forming an image of 15 sheet bundles from two originals.
[0097]
First, in the stapling mode, the automatic document feeder 202 shown in FIG. 1 scans a document once and forms an image in the image forming unit 201, and uses the upper bin module B1 to form a sheet bundle of six copies corresponding to the number of bins. Sort into. Then, the gripper / stapler unit 9 raised to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2 staps the six sheet bundles accumulated in the bins B11 to B16 of the upper module B1, and is further indicated by the two-dot chain line. It moves to the stack unit 13 raised to the position and stacks. On the other hand, in parallel with the above-described stapling operation and stacking operation of the sheet bundle, the detection unit S4 confirms that there is no sheet or sheet bundle in the lower bin module B2 for the image formation of 6 of the remaining 9 copies. Based on the confirmation signal, the control unit 222 controls the deflector 3 so as to send the sheet on which the image has been formed to the lower bin module B2, and the automatic document feeder 202 reads the document again and reads it. The sheets on which the images have been formed are sorted into the bins B21 to B26 of the lower bin module B2. When the stacking of the sheet bundle from the upper module B1 into the stack unit 13 and the sorting into the bins B21 to B26 of the lower bin module B2 are completed, it is detected that there is no sheet or sheet bundle in the upper bin module B1. Based on the confirmation signal, the control unit 222 controls the deflector 3 so as to send the image-formed sheet to the upper bin module B1. (3rd time) Sheets read in a round and image-formed in the image forming unit 201 are sorted into 3 sheet bundles using 3 of the 6 bins using the upper bin module B1. In parallel with the operation of sorting into the three-part sheet bundle, the gripper / stapler unit 9 that has lowered the six-part sheet bundle accumulated in the bins B21 to B66 of the lower module B2 to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. Staples the sheet bundle and further transports it to the stack unit 13 lowered to the position indicated by the solid line and stacks it. When the stacking of the sheet bundle from the lower module B2 onto the stack unit 13 and the sorting into the bins B11 to B13 of the upper bin module B1 are finished, the gripper / lifted to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. The stapler unit 9 staples the sheet bundle, further transports and stacks it to the stack unit 13 raised to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line, and the stapling operation and stacking operation of the 15-sheet sheet bundle on which the image is formed are completed. .
[0098]
Next, in the non-stapling mode, the automatic document feeder 202 shown in FIG. 1 scans the original in a round, and the image formed in the image forming unit 201 is formed into six copies corresponding to the number of bins using the upper bin module B1. Sort into sheet bundles. When the six sheet bundles to the upper bin module B1 are sorted, the display means 223 displays that the six sheet bundles are extracted from the bins B11 to B16 of the upper module B1. Then, in parallel with the operation of pulling out the 6 sheet bundles accumulated in the bins B11 to B16 of the upper module B1 from the bins B11 to B16 of the upper module B1, the image of the remaining 6 parts of the 9 parts For the formation, the automatic document feeder 202 reads the original once again, and the detection means S4 confirms that there is no sheet or sheet bundle in the lower bin module B2, and the control means 222 based on the confirmation signal The deflector 3 is controlled so as to send the formed sheets to the lower bin module B2, and the sheets on which images are formed in the image forming unit 201 are sorted into the bins B21 to B26 of the lower bin module B2. When the six sheet bundles to the lower bin module B2 are sorted, the display means 223 displays that the six sheet bundles are extracted from the bins B21 to B26 of the lower module B2. Then, the detection unit S3 confirms that there is no sheet or sheet bundle in the upper bin module B1, and based on the confirmation signal, the control unit 222 causes the deflector 3 to send the image-formed sheet to the upper bin module B1. Then, the original is read once again (third time), and the sheets on which the image is formed in the image forming unit 201 are sorted into three sheet bundles using the upper bin module B1. In parallel with the operation of sorting the three sheet bundles, the six sheet bundles accumulated in the respective bins B21 to B26 of the lower module B2 based on the display contents by the display means 223 are assigned to the bins of the lower module B2. Extract from B21 to B26. When the extraction of the sheet bundle from the lower module B2 and the sorting into the bins B11 to B13 of the upper bin module B1 are finished, the display means 223 indicates that a preset 15 sheet bundle has been imaged. The sheet bundle is extracted from the bins B11 to B13 of the upper bin module B1 based on the display content, and the image forming operation for 15 sheets of the sheet bundle in the non-staple mode is completed.
[0099]
In the above operation, since the sheet material discharged from the image forming unit 201 is discharged to the bins B11 to B16 and B21 to B26 of the upper and lower bin modules B1 and B2 without stopping in the middle, the bins B11 to B16 are discharged. , B21 to B26, so that all processing is completed in a so-called stopless manner without stopping the image forming operation of the main body of the copying machine for post-processing such as sheet bundle stapling and stacking from B21 to B26 or removal of the sheet bundle. Is possible. Here, as a stopless condition, when the sorting operation to one bin module is completed, the other bin module needs to be empty after the bundle extraction is completed. For example, consider a case where m originals are processed in a system having two modules of bin number nbin. If the productivity of the copying machine main body is P sheets per minute, the time for filling one bin module with m × nbin sheets is m × nbin / P, that is, 60 × m × nbin / P seconds. On the other hand, if the time for removing the bundle from the bin is tl seconds per bin, and the time for the gripper / stapler unit and stack unit to move between the modules is t2 seconds, the condition for the stopless operation to be established is
60 × m × nbin / P ≧ nbin × t1 + t2
That is, the number of documents m ≧ P (t1 + t2 / nbin) / 60 If so, stopless operation is possible.
[0100]
In the case of the non-staple mode, the upper and lower modules B1 and B2 are alternately used in the embodiment using the 15-sheet sheet bundle as an example. However, the embodiment is not limited to the embodiment. The document is read and read and 12 sheet bundles are sorted and accumulated in the upper and lower modules B1 and B2 at once, and the 12 sheet bundles are extracted from the upper and lower modules B1 and B2 based on the display contents of the display means 223. Further, the original may be recirculated and the remaining three sheet bundles may be sorted into the upper module B1.
[0101]
Next, the operation of the main part of the present invention will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0102]
First, an operator sets a desired document on the automatic document feeder 202. Next, a desired number of copies and the like are input to the control means 222 by the console. Further, switching between the stack mode and the non-stack mode is switched by the switching means 224 (step f0). Then, it is determined whether or not the copy key on the console is pressed (step f1). If the copy key is pressed, the process proceeds to step f2. In step f2, if the switching unit 224 is switched to the stack mode, the control unit 222 selects a stack mode for stacking the sheet bundle on the stack unit 13 and proceeds to step f3.
[0103]
Hereinafter, the stapling operation and the stacking operation will be described by taking as an example the case of forming an image of a sheet bundle of 15 copies from a document in steps f3, f4, and f5. The automatic document feeder 202 reads the original in a round and sorts the sheets on which the image has been formed in the image forming unit 201 into six sheet bundles corresponding to the number of bins using the upper bin module B1 (step f3). Then, the gripper / stapler unit 9 staples the sheet bundles of the six parts accumulated in the bins B11 to B16 of the upper module B1, transfers them to the stack unit 13, and stacks them (step f4). On the other hand, in parallel with the above-described stapling operation and stacking operation of the sheet bundle, in order to form an image of 6 of the remaining 9 copies, sheets formed with images in the image forming unit 201 are binned B21 to B21 of the lower bin module B2. Sort to B26 (step f3). When the stack of the sheet bundle from the upper module B1 to the stack unit 13 (step f4) and the sorting into the bins B21 to B26 of the lower bin module B2 are finished, the original is formed to form the remaining three copies. (Third time) are read once, and the sheets on which the image is formed in the image forming unit 201 are sorted into 3 sheet bundles using 3 of 6 bins using the upper bin module B1 (step f3). In parallel with the operation of sorting into the three-part sheet bundle, the six-part sheet bundle accumulated in the bins B21 to B26 of the lower module B2 is transferred to the stack unit 13 and stacked (step f4). When the stack of the sheet bundle from the lower module B2 to the stack unit 13 and the sorting to the bins B11 to B13 of the upper bin module B1 are finished, the gripper / stapler unit 9 staples the sheet bundle, The sheet is transferred to the stack unit 13 and stacked, and the control unit 222 determines whether the preset 15 sheet bundle copy processing (image formation) and stack processing have been performed (step f5). If so, the stapling operation and stacking operation of the 15-sheet sheet bundle on which the image is formed are completed. On the other hand, if it has not reached 15 parts, the above steps f3 and f4 are repeated until 15 parts are reached.
[0104]
Next, the operation when the switching unit 224 is switched to the non-stack mode in the step f0 will be described by taking as an example the case of forming a sheet bundle of 15 copies from a document. First, the control means 222 selects a non-stack mode in which the sheet bundle is not stacked on the stack unit 13, and the process proceeds to step f6. The automatic document feeder 202 reads the original in a round and sorts the sheets on which the image is formed in the image forming unit 201 into six sheet bundles corresponding to the number of bins using the upper bin module B1 (step f6). Then, in order to form six of the remaining nine copies, the sheets on which the image has been formed in the image forming portion 201 are sorted into the bins B21 to B26 of the lower bin module B2 (step f6). The detection unit (detection unit) included in the control unit 222 detects that the number of sheets (bundles) stored in the upper bin module B1 and the lower bin module B2 has reached the number of sheets that can be stored, and is set to 15 presets. Is reached (step f7), and if not, the process proceeds to step f8 to indicate that the sorted sheet bundle is to be extracted into the bins B11 to B16 of the upper bin module B1. The image forming unit 201 stops the image formation. Next, the detection unit S3 confirms that the sheet or sheet bundle has been extracted from the upper bin module B1, and the control unit 222 controls the image forming unit 201 based on the signal from which the sheet or sheet bundle has been extracted from the upper bin module B1. Then, the image formation is restarted, and the remaining three image-formed sheets are sorted into three sheet bundles using three of the six bins using the upper bin module B1 (step f6). Then, it is determined whether or not the preset 15 copies have been reached (step f7). If reached, the process proceeds to step f10, and the display means 223 displays that 15 sheets of the sheet bundle have been formed. Thus, the image forming operation is completed.
[0105]
The same applies to the case where the number of copies is equal to or less than the number of bins, and when sorting of the desired number of copies is completed, the fact is displayed and the operation ends.
[0106]
In the case of the non-stack mode, the upper and lower modules B1 and B2 are alternately used in the embodiment using the 15-sheet sheet bundle as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The document bundle is read and 12 sheet bundles are sorted and accumulated in the upper and lower modules B1 and B2 at once, the operation of the apparatus is interrupted by full detection, and the 12 sheets of sheets are based on the display contents by the display means 223. The bundle may be extracted from the upper and lower modules B1 and B2, and a restart signal may be input in response to the extraction, and the document may be read once again, and the remaining three sheet bundles may be sorted into the upper module B1. .
[0107]
In the above embodiment, the operator can arbitrarily switch between the stack mode and the non-stack mode. However, this may be automatically performed. That is, as shown in FIG. 23, the stack mode and the non-stack mode are automatically selected according to the switching between the staple mode and the non-staple mode. Here, the stack mode is selected when the staple mode is selected, and the non-stack mode is selected when the non-staple mode is selected. Therefore, the shift stacking of the sheet bundle in the non-staple mode described above is performed when there is a selection in the staple mode.
[0108]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 24, the selection may be made according to the number of copies. In other words, when the number of copies is smaller than the number of sort bins, it is not necessary to enter the stack mode regardless of whether the mode is the staple mode or the non-staple mode. If the number of copies is greater than the sort bin, one of the above is selected depending on whether the staple mode or the non-staple mode.
[0109]
In each of the above-described embodiments, one bundle is stacked on the stacker each time one bin is stapled. However, after stapling the sheet bundles of all the bins, the sheet bundles are sequentially picked up one by one and stacked on the stacker. You may do it.
[0110]
In the mode in which the sheet sorting is started again after the sheet bundle is extracted from the bin, the sheet bundle may be resumed after being taken out from all the bins, or from the number of bins corresponding to the remaining required number of copies. If the sheet bundle is extracted, it may be restarted.
[0111]
Further, even in the stack mode, after the stack means is full, it may be distributed to the sorter. At that time, when the number of bins of the sorter becomes equal to or larger, the take-out may be resumed later in the same manner as described above.
[0112]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, a good stack of sheets can be obtained by the sheet stacking apparatus of the present invention. Specifically, for example, it is possible to avoid the mixing of the plurality of sheet bundles by stacking a sheet bundle that is not stapled on the stacking means, so that the efficiency of the subsequent work of the sheet bundle can be improved.
[0113]
Further, by providing a detecting means for detecting that the number of sheets stored in the sheet sorting means has reached a preset number of copies when not stacked, it is possible to immediately proceed to the next work step. The operation rate of the apparatus can be improved by shortening the interruption time of the image forming operation.
[0114]
Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily and quickly sort a sheet bundle having a number exceeding the number of bins.
[0115]
In addition, by providing a plurality of sheet sorting means, the former sheet sorting means while sorting and accumulating sheets in another sheet sorting means without interrupting the image forming operation even when the sheet bundle is fully loaded in the sheet sorting means. Since the sheet bundle can be extracted from the bin or transferred from the bin to the stacking means, the operation rate of the apparatus is improved, the work efficiency is improved, and the sheet sorting and stacking operation is continued by repeating the above-described operation. Can improve productivity.
[0116]
Furthermore, when the sheet bundle sorted and stored in the sheet sorting means reaches a certain number of copies, the sheet bundle is transferred to the stack means by the transfer means and placed thereon, thereby unmanning a large amount of sheet stacking operations. It is possible to reduce the work man-hours.
[0117]
By applying the sheet stacking apparatus to the image forming apparatus, the productivity of the image forming work can be improved, the number of work steps can be reduced, and the loss time can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing an entire image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing the sheet stacking apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bin module.
FIG. 4 is a top view of a bin module.
FIG. 5 is a front view of a bin module.
FIG. 6 is a front view of a bin aligning portion.
FIG. 7 is a top view of the gripper / staple unit.
FIG. 8 is a front view of the gripper / staple unit.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged front view of the gripper / staple unit.
FIG. 10 is an enlarged front view of a transport gripper.
FIG. 11 is a top view of a transport gripper.
FIG. 12 is a front sectional view of a conveyance gripper.
FIG. 13 is a left side view of the stapler.
FIG. 14 is a top view of a stapler.
FIG. 15 is a top view of the stack unit.
FIG. 16 is a front view of the stack unit.
FIG. 17 is a front view of the frame unit of the stack unit.
FIG. 18 is a side view of the stack unit.
FIG. 19 is a drive configuration diagram.
FIG. 20 is a cover configuration diagram.
FIG. 21 is an enlarged front view of the transport gripper.
FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the operation.
FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a partially changed operation.
FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a further changed operation.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Transfer means (first-out gripper)
11 Binding means (stapler)
12 Transfer means (conveying gripper)
13 Stacking means (stack unit)
200 Image forming apparatus
201 Image forming means (image forming unit)
201a Photosensitive drum
201b Developer
201d Registration roller
202 Automatic document feeder
203 Sheet stacking device (sheet material processing device)
212 cassette
214 Fixing roller
215 Sheet discharge means (discharge roller)
220 Transfer charger
222 Control means
223 display means
224 switching means
B1 Sheet sorting means (first group sheet sorting means) (upper bin module)
B2 Sheet sorting means (second group sheet sorting means) (lower bin module)
S3 detection means (penetration sensor)
S4 Detection means (penetration sensor)

Claims (8)

Sheet sorting means having a plurality of bins for sorting and collecting sheets;
Transfer means for transferring the sheet bundle accumulated in the sheet sorting means;
Stacking means for stacking and stacking a plurality of sheet bundles transferred by the transfer means;
Control means for controlling whether or not to stack the sheet bundle on the sheet sorting means on the stack means;
Detecting means for detecting that the number of sheets stored in the sheet sorting means has reached the number of sheets that can be stored when the control means is switched to a non-stacking mode in which the sheet bundle is not stacked on the stack means ;
A sheet presence / absence detecting means for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet on the sheet sorting means ,
When the detection unit detects that the number of sheets that can be stored is reached, sheet sorting is stopped, and after the sheet presence / absence detection unit confirms that the sheet bundle has been taken out from the sheet sorting unit, sheet sorting is started again. A sheet stacking apparatus. Furthermore, a binding means is provided,
2. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet stacking unit is controlled by the binding unit in the stack mode, and the transfer unit and the binding unit are controlled so as to be stacked. The sheet sorting means has a first group and a second group of sheet sorting means,
Sorting the sheets is switched to the detection means detects Then the second group of sheet sorting means that we were to retractable copies the sheet sorting means of said first group,
When said detecting means detects that it has reached the number of copies that can be accommodated in the sheet sorting means of said second group, Sheet sorting means of said first group is identified as being fetched by said sheet presence detecting means that the sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sorting the sheet is switched to the first group of sheet sorting means. Sheet stacking apparatus of claim 1 or 3, further comprising a display means for informing that the housing parts of the sheet in the sheet sorting means reaches the retractable copies. Image forming means;
Sheet sorting means having a plurality of bins for sorting and collecting image-formed sheets;
Transfer means for transferring the sheet bundle accumulated in the sheet sorting means;
Stacking means for stacking and stacking a plurality of sheet bundles transferred by the transfer means;
Control means for controlling whether or not to stack the sheet bundle on the sheet sorting means on the stack means;
Detecting means for detecting that the number of sheets stored in the sheet sorting means has reached the number of sheets that can be stored when the control means is switched to a non-stacking mode in which the sheet bundle is not stacked on the stack means ;
A sheet presence / absence detecting means for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet on the sheet sorting means ,
When the detection unit detects that the number of sheets that can be stored is reached, the sheet sorting is stopped, and after confirming that the sheet bundle is taken out from the sheet sorting unit by the sheet presence / absence detection unit , image formation and sheet sorting are performed again. Is started, an image forming apparatus. Furthermore, a binding means is provided,
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the sheet feeding unit and the binding unit are controlled so that the sheet bundle is bound by the binding unit in a stack mode and then stacked. The sheet sorting means has a first group and a second group of sheet sorting means,
Sorting the sheets is switched to the detection means detects Then the second group of sheet sorting means that we were to retractable copies the sheet sorting means of said first group,
It confirmed the detection means when it is detected that has reached the number of copies that can be accommodated in the sheet sorting unit of the second group, by the sheet presence detecting means Sheet sorting means of said first group has been removed 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the sheet is sorted by switching to the first group of sheet sorting means. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising display means for notifying that the number of sheets stored in the sheet sorting means has reached the number of sheets that can be stored .

Images