JP4157845B2 - Paper processing apparatus and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is provided in a sheet output device such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or the like, which is integrally or separately provided, or attached to a sheet (recording sheet) guided from the sheet output device. The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus that performs processing, for example, Z-folding processing, and an image forming system that includes the sheet processing apparatus in the system.

As this type of paper processing apparatus, for example, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 or 2 is known. The invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is designed to be able to perform saddle stitching by folding at the center in the longitudinal direction of the paper according to various paper sizes, and is disclosed in Patent Document 2. In the invention, Z-folding can be performed. In Z-folding, the sheet is folded once at a 1/4 position in the conveyance length direction with respect to one end of the sheet, and then the position at 1/2 is folded back in the direction opposite to the first time with respect to the other end of the sheet. Is. As described above, in the first and second times of Z-folding, if the folds are 1/4 and 1/2 respectively from the leading end and the other end of the sheet, the folded sheet is exactly half the size of the original sheet material. It will be. In any folding method, the size is half that of the paper. Also known is a system configured to be able to staple and punch Z-folded paper.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-181990 JP 2002-274749 A

  By the way, the Z-folded paper is swelled because the folded portion is tripled, unlike the normal flat paper, and the swelled state is not uniform with respect to the whole paper, and the stacked paper is , The Z-folded portion becomes higher than the Z-folded portion. This phenomenon becomes more prominent as the number of stacks increases. For this reason, if processing such as stapling and punching is performed on Z-folded paper and it is stacked on the external tray, only a very small number of sheets can be stacked on normal plain paper. Not only will the paper fall from the tray, but it will also cause jams. In order to avoid such a state and ensure a proper stack state, it is necessary to interrupt the printing operation by a certain amount.

  The present invention has been made in view of the situation of the prior art as described above, and its purpose is to interrupt and continue print output while ensuring a good stacking state when outputting Z-folded paper to a tray. There is to be able to do it.

In order to achieve the above object, the first means transports the paper discharged from the image output apparatus, and has a plurality of stackable external trays, and a paper processing unit that controls the paper discharge. The apparatus includes a determination unit that determines whether or not the Z-folding mode is set, and the external tray is provided with a monitoring unit that stacks Z-folded sheets and monitors a stacking state of the Z-folded sheets. When the control unit includes the first tray and the second tray in which the monitoring unit is not installed, and the determination unit determines that the Z-folding mode is set, the control unit is Z-folded on the first tray. When the discharged paper is discharged, it is determined whether or not the predetermined number of sheets has been reached only in the monitored paper stacking state. When the Z-folded paper is discharged to the second tray, the paper is discharged. Count the number of Z origami When the predetermined number of sheets is reached, the printing process is interrupted, and when it is determined by the determining means that the mode is not the Z-folding mode, the control means causes the sheet to be discharged to the first tray without performing the monitoring, or The sheet is discharged to the second tray without counting .

The second means comprises a sensor for detecting whether or not the monitoring means is loaded with a sheet on the tray in the first means, and the control means interrupts the print output and then When the output changes from the presence of paper to the absence of paper, the suspended printing is resumed.

The third means is characterized in that in the first or second means, a folding device for performing Z-folding on the paper is provided.

According to a fourth aspect , the paper processing apparatus according to the third means and the image forming apparatus that forms the start image on the paper and discharges the paper to the paper processing apparatus are configured integrally or separately as the image forming system. It is characterized by being.

According to the present invention, when discharging the Z origami tray that can monitor the loading state of the Z-fold paper, it does not count the number of sheets, whether Z origami without performing extra control is full Can be determined , and the printing process can be interrupted before the Z origami stack disturbance occurs, thereby preventing problems .

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming system according to this embodiment includes a digital copying machine (multifunction machine) 1 as an image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a printer, a copy, and a facsimile, and the digital copying machine 1. A sheet post-processing apparatus 2 as a sheet processing apparatus that performs post-processing such as stipple processing, folding processing, and sorting processing on a sheet ejected from an image and having an image formed thereon, and the copier 1 and the sheet post-processing apparatus 2 and a folding machine 3 capable of performing Z-folding on the paper discharged from the copying machine 1. Each of the folding machines 3 is separately provided on the paper discharge side with respect to the copying machine 1 and is attached via a paper discharge port, and the sheet post-processing device 2 is separately provided with respect to the folding machine 3. 3 is attached via a paper discharge port 3.

  The sheet post-processing apparatus 2 is provided with an upper conveyance path 210, a middle conveyance path 220, and a lower conveyance path 240. The upper conveyance path 210 guides the sheet to the proof tray 214, and the middle conveyance path 220 is an upper discharge tray 321. Alternatively, the sheet is guided to the lower discharge tray 301, and the lower conveyance path 240 guides the sheet to the upper discharge tray 321 or the lower discharge tray 301 via the staple tray 402. On the downstream side of the staple tray 402, a folding plate 466 and a folding roller 452 are provided across the paper discharge path from the staple tray 402, and the saddle stitched sheets are folded and discharged to the lower paper discharge tray 301. .

  The staple tray 402 is provided with a rear end fence 410, an end binding stapler 401, a saddle stitching stapler 403, and a discharge belt (not shown). The rear end fence 410 is provided at the rear end portion (upstream side in the paper transport direction) of the staple tray 402, and further binds the paper end portion with the rear end fence 410 restricting the rear end of the sheet bundle. An end binding stapler 401 is provided at a position where the image can be printed. Further, the saddle stitching stapler 403 is provided at a position higher than at least the central portion of the paper size to be folded when the paper bundle is regulated by the rear end fence 410, and the discharge belt (not shown) provided on the discharge belt. The rear end portion of the sheet bundle is pushed up by the nail, the center of the sheet is positioned at the binding position of the saddle stitching stapler 403, and this state is maintained to enable the saddle stitching.

  The folding plate 466 pushes the saddle stitching position (center portion) of the sheet bundle into the nip of the folding pair rollers 451 and 452, folds the pair of folding rollers 451 and 452, and discharges the paper to the lower discharge tray 301. As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the lower discharge tray 301 is lowered from the upper position to a position further lower than the position indicated by the solid line so that discharged sheets or sheet bundles can be stacked as much as possible. Yes. Selection of the conveyance direction of the sheet to the upper conveyance path 210, the middle conveyance path 220, and the lower conveyance path 240 is performed by the switching operation of the first and second branch claws 235 and 221.

  In other words, the first branching claw 235 is provided at a branch portion from the entrance conveyance path 230 to the upper conveyance path 210 following the middle conveyance path 220 and is guided to the upper conveyance path 210 when rotated in the clockwise direction in the drawing. The second branch claw 221 is rotated clockwise to the lower conveyance path 240 when rotated counterclockwise in the drawing, and is guided to the middle conveyance path 220 or the lower conveyance path 240 when rotated counterclockwise. When moved, the paper conveyance direction is switched to the middle conveyance path 220.

  Further, the entrance roller path 230 includes an entrance roller 202 and a transport roller 203, the upper transport path includes transport rollers 212 and 213, the middle transport path 220 includes a transport roller 222 and a discharge roller 211, and the lower transport path 240. A plurality of transport rollers 241 and a staple paper discharge roller 242 are provided. The paper discharge roller 211 includes a lower driving roller 211a and a driven roller 211b provided on the free end side of the paper discharge guide plate 231. The paper discharge guide plate 231 is centered on a support shaft 232 as described later. It is swingably supported and is driven to swing by a link mechanism.

  The digital copying machine 1 includes an automatic document feeding unit (ADF) (not shown), a scanner unit, a writing unit, an image forming unit, and a paper feeding unit. The document fed by the ADF is read by the scanner unit and read. Paper (recording medium) that is optically written on the photoconductor of the image forming unit based on the image information, develops the latent image formed by optical writing with the image forming unit, is visualized, and is sent from the paper feeding unit Then, the image is fixed and sent to the paper post-processing apparatus 2. Since the image forming unit forms an image based on a known electrophotographic image forming process, detailed description thereof is omitted here. The image information may be not only captured from the scanner but also sent directly from the computer or indirectly via the network, and can be processed in the same manner as that read by the scanner. Is possible.

  In the image forming system configured as described above, the peripheral sheet discharged from the copying machine 1 main body is transported to the folding machine 3 after the presence or absence of the sheet folding process is selected in the operation unit of the copying machine 1 main body, and the folding process is performed. Or the sheet is conveyed to the sheet post-processing apparatus 2 without being folded. The sheet conveyed from the folding machine 3 is carried into the entrance guide plate 201 of the sheet post-processing apparatus 2 and is conveyed into the sheet post-processing apparatus 2 by the conveying rollers 202 and 203.

  When the non-stipple mode is selected in the operation unit (not shown) of the copying machine 1 main body, the sheet passes through the first and second branching claws 231 and 221 and is guided to the middle conveyance path (non-stipple conveyance path) 220. The paper is discharged and stacked on the upper discharge tray 321 or the lower discharge tray 301. At this time, the paper discharge guide plate 231 is in a closed state, that is, in the state shown in FIG. Further, the first and second branch claws 231 and 221 are in an initial state, and in the initial state, the middle conveyance path 220 is open.

  When the interruption (proof) tray discharge mode is selected on the operation unit of the digital copying machine 1, the first branching claw 231 is activated to select the upper conveyance path (interrupt tray conveyance path) 210 side, and the sheet is proofed. The paper is discharged to the tray 214.

  When the staple mode is selected in the operation unit of the digital copying machine 1, the second branching claw 221 operates to select the lower conveyance path (stipple conveyance path) 240 side, and the sheet is guided to the lower conveyance path 240. Further, the paper is discharged from the staple discharge roller 242 to the staple tray 402 via the transport roller 241. The sheets discharged to the staple tray 402 are dropped one by one by the tapping roller 250 toward the trailing edge fence 410, and the trailing edges of the sheets (paper conveying direction) are aligned. Subsequently, the jogger fence 422 performs alignment in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance, and the sheets are stacked with the sheet conveyance direction and the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction aligned for each sheet. As a result, the aligned sheet bundle is stacked on the staple tray 402.

  In the staple mode, when the paper discharge guide plate 231 is opened around the support shaft 232 and the binding at the rear end of the paper is selected, the final paper is aligned by the jogger fence 422. Thereafter, one or two binding processes are performed at a predetermined position at the rear end of the sheet bundle by the end face binding stapler 401. The bound sheet bundle is pushed up to the position of the sheet discharge roller 211 by a discharge claw provided integrally with the discharge belt, stops, and then closes, and the driven roller 211b pulls the sheet bundle by the weight of the guide plate 231. Press toward the drive roller 211a. As a result, a conveying force is applied to the sheet bundle, and the sheet is discharged onto the upper discharge tray 321 or the lower discharge tray 301. The paper discharge guide plate 231 is driven to swing around the support shaft 232 by a link driven by a cam (not shown), and can take two positions, an open state and a closed state. The cam is driven by a motor (not shown), and the paper discharge guide plate 231 is swung.

  The upper paper discharge tray 321 and the lower paper discharge tray 301 are provided so as to be movable up and down by independent drive mechanisms (not shown), and can be moved to the paper discharge position of the paper discharge roller 211, respectively. As a result, the upper paper discharge tray 321 or the lower paper discharge tray 301 can be moved according to the selected mode to switch the tray on which the paper is stacked.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state when the paper stacking state is detected by the filler sensor in the lower paper discharge tray 321. The filler sensor includes a first sensor SN1 and a second sensor SN2, and the first and second sensors SN1 and SN2 are disposed so as not to interfere with each other. Note that the first sensor SN1 and the second sensor 2 are drawn in a shifted manner in the figure for easy understanding.

2, the sensor 2 is OFF and the sensor 1 is stopped at the position from ON to OFF (FIG. 2B) (FIG. 2A). As shown in FIG. 3A, the filler 341 rotates upward (clockwise in the drawing) according to the stacking of the Z-fold stack paper P, the second sensor SN2 is turned on, and the first sensor SN1 is turned off. The paper discharge operation is continued (FIG. 3B).
As shown in FIG. 4A, when the Z folded paper P is stacked, the filler 341 further rotates upward, the second sensor SN2 is turned on, the first sensor SN1 is also turned on, and the Z folded paper is It is configured to detect that P is full (FIG. 4B).

  As described above, the first and second sensors SN1 and SN2 detect the load amount of the Z folded paper P on the lower discharge tray 301 based on the detection output of the detection pieces 341a and 341b at the end of the filler 341. Note that the load amount (the number of stacked sheets) varies depending on the paper size because the contact position of the paper and the filler relatively changes depending on the size of the Z-folded paper, but it is sufficient that the stack state can be secured for each size. Here, the relationship between the paper size and the detection position is not mentioned.

  FIG. 5 to FIG. 8 are flowcharts showing a paper discharge control procedure in the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for controlling the paper discharge destination. That is, it is determined whether the paper discharge mode is a mode including Z-folding (step S101). If the paper discharge mode is a mode not including Z-folding (step S101-NO), whichever of the upper paper discharge tray 321 and the lower paper discharge tray 301 is selected? This tray can also be selected as a paper discharge destination (step S102), and in a mode including Z-folding (step S101-YES), paper discharge is permitted only to the lower paper discharge tray 301.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for monitoring and controlling the Z-folded paper discharge state. In this process, first, it is determined whether or not the Z-folding mode is set (step S201), and the following control is not performed except in the Z-folding mode (step S201-NO). When in the Z-folding mode (step S201-YES), it is determined whether the paper discharge destination is the upper tray or the lower tray (step S202). Is counted (step S203). On the other hand, when paper is discharged to the lower paper discharge tray, the number of sheets is not counted, and whether or not the Z-fold paper is full is determined according to the state of the filler sensors SN1 and SN2 (step S204).

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for controlling whether to interrupt printing. When fullness of the Z-fold paper is detected according to the state of the filler sensors SN1 and SN2 (step S301-YES), the printing process is interrupted (step S302). Alternatively, when the number of Z-fold paper reaches a predetermined number by the counting means (step S303-YES), the printing process is interrupted (step S302). If none of the above applies (step S303—NO), the printing process is continued (step S304).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for controlling whether to resume the interrupted printing process. If the printing process is interrupted (YES in step S401), the presence or absence of paper in the tray is monitored (step S402). If it is detected that all the paper in the tray has been removed, for example, an operator (for example, the operator is on the tray). If the sheet is removed (step S402-YES), the printing process is resumed (step S403) If the sheet is not removed, the printing remains interrupted, so that the tray is displayed on the operation display unit on the copying machine 1 main body side, for example. It is desirable to perform a display prompting the user to take out the sheet from the printer, and resume the interrupted printing.

  The upper paper discharge tray 321 and the lower paper discharge tray 301 are provided so as to be movable up and down by independent drive mechanisms (not shown), and can be moved to the paper discharge position of the paper discharge roller 211, respectively. As a result, the upper paper discharge tray 321 or the lower paper discharge tray 301 can be moved according to the selected mode to switch the tray on which the paper is stacked.

  FIGS. 9 to 11 are views for explaining a mechanism for moving the upper discharge tray 321 up and down. FIG. 9 is a front view showing a main part of a drive mechanism for the upper discharge tray 321. FIG. 10 is a main part of FIG. FIG. 11 is a plan view, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a movement state of the upper discharge tray shown in FIG. 9, and FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state when sheets are stacked and moved. In these drawings, the upper paper discharge tray 321 is fixed to a cradle 322. The cradle 322 is further fixed to a belt (not shown) and can be driven up and down as the belt moves. The cradle 322 is provided with a DC solenoid 325 (FIG. 10), a lever 326, a clutch 324, and a pinion gear 323, and an end fence 331 attached to the side surface of the sheet post-processing device 2 includes a rack 333 and the rack 333. It is possible to move up and down integrally through a pinion gear 323 meshing with 333.

  When the DC solenoid 325 is off, the clutch 324 is configured to rotate only in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 9, so that the end fence 331 is prevented from moving by its own weight in the downward direction by the rack 333 and the pinion gear 323, It is possible to move up and down while maintaining the positional relationship with the upper discharge tray 321. When the upper paper discharge tray 321 is not at the paper discharge position (when waiting above the paper discharge roller 211—FIG. 12... Two-dot chain line position), or from this standby position to the paper discharge position (FIG. 12 .solid line position) ), Or when the DC solenoid 325 is off, the upper discharge tray 321 and the end fence 331 move up and down together. On the other hand, when the DC solenoid 325 is turned on, the lever 326 is pulled and the lock of the clutch 324 is released. As a result, the pinion gear 323 becomes rotatable in both directions, and there is no element that prevents the end fence 331 from moving downward, and the pinion gear 323 becomes movable in the vertical direction.

  When the upper discharge tray 321 moves downward from the standby position, the DC solenoid 325 is off, the upper discharge tray 321 and the end fence 331 are lowered integrally, and the end fence 331 is discharged in advance. When it reaches the position, it stops by a stopper (not shown). However, after the upper discharge tray 321 is further lowered by a predetermined distance, the DC solenoid 325 is turned on and at the same time the clutch 324 is released, only the upper discharge tray 321 is raised, and the upper discharge tray 321 is detected by the paper surface detection sensor 332. When it is done, it stops. At that time, the DC solenoid 325 is also turned off. When the end fence 331 is stopped by the stopper, only the upper discharge tray 321 can be lowered by the locking direction of the clutch 324. This state is shown in FIG.

  When paper is sequentially discharged to the upper paper discharge tray 321, the paper post-processing device 2 receives a paper discharge signal from the copying machine 1 and at the same time the upper paper discharge tray 321 is detected from the position detected by the paper surface detection sensor 332. When the sheet descends a predetermined distance, stops at that position and receives the discharged sheet, the amount of sheets stacked on the upper discharge tray 321 increases, and the sheet surface detection sensor 332 detects the sheet surface. The upper paper discharge tray 321 is further lowered by a predetermined amount. Further, the upper paper discharge tray 321 repeats the operation of raising the DC solenoid 325 to the position of the paper surface detection sensor 332 and lowering it by a predetermined distance for every predetermined number of detected sheets. By this operation, the distance between the paper discharge position by the paper discharge roller 211 and the upper surface of the uppermost paper is maintained. This state is shown in FIG. 9 described above.

  The surface detection of the sheets stacked on the lower discharge tray 301 is performed as follows. FIG. 13 is a view showing a state when paper is discharged to the upper paper discharge tray 321, and FIG. 14 is a view showing the relationship between the upper and lower paper discharge trays 321 and 301 and the swollen paper.

  Upon receiving a paper discharge signal for discharging paper from the copying machine 1 main body to the lower paper discharge tray 301, if the upper paper discharge tray 321 is in the paper discharge position (state shown in FIG. 14), the upper paper discharge tray 321 is discharged. Ascending to the standby position above the roller 211, the lower discharge tray 301 also starts to rise to the discharge position (see FIG. 1). A sheet surface filler 341 as a first sheet surface detection unit and a sheet surface for detecting a predetermined position on the other end side of the sheet surface filler 341 so that the upper sheet discharge tray 321 and the lower sheet discharge tray 301 do not interfere with each other when the sheet discharge destination is switched. The position of the paper surface is detected by the detection sensors S1 and S2 (see FIGS. 3 and 4), and the distance between the paper surface of the lower paper discharge tray 301 and the upper paper discharge tray 321 is kept constant to move up and down.

  When the sheets are sequentially discharged to the lower discharge tray 301, the lower discharge tray 301 receives the paper discharge signal from the main body of the copying machine 1 and at the same time the lower discharge tray 301 is detected by the paper surface detection sensor S2 (in FIG. When the paper edge detection sensor S2 detects that the trailing edge of the discharged paper is detected by the paper surface detection sensor S2, the paper surface detection sensor S2 end is lowered downward from the paper surface detection sensor S2). Move down the distance. Further, the lower discharge tray 301 repeats rising to a detection position of the paper surface detection sensor S2 and lowering by a predetermined distance for every predetermined number of discharged sheets. By this operation, the distance between the paper discharge position by the paper discharge roller 211 and the paper stacking surface position is maintained within a predetermined range. When performing the folding process, when the print job is finished, the lower paper discharge tray 301 is lowered by a certain amount and stopped in order to separate the paper surface from the upper paper discharge tray 321 so that the paper can be easily taken out.

  When receiving a paper discharge signal to be discharged from the copying machine 1 main body to the upper paper discharge tray 321, the lower paper discharge tray 301 and the upper paper discharge tray 321 are connected to the lower paper discharge tray by a paper surface filler 341 and a paper surface detection sensor S 1 (not shown). The position of the paper surface on 301 is detected, and descends while maintaining a certain distance. When the upper discharge tray 321 is lowered, the rear end of the end fence 331 comes into contact with the rib 315 of the return roller 312 and further pushed down, the return roller 312 and the filler 311 are stored in the machine. It stops at the upper paper discharge position shown in FIG. At this position, a lower limit sensor SE2 is provided, and the lower limit sensor SE2 stops at the position where the rear end of the end fence 331 of the upper discharge tray 321 is detected. Note that the highest position of the upper discharge tray 321 is a position where the upper end of the end fence 331 is detected by the upper limit sensor SE1, as shown in FIG.

As described above, in the movement control of the upper discharge tray 321 and the lower discharge tray 301 in a mode other than the Z-folding mode, which discharge tray 321 or 301 is positioned at the discharge outlet 219 is determined from the copying machine 1 main body. Determined by instructions. When a movement start instruction is given after an instruction for a discharge tray located at the position of the discharge outlet 219, it is determined which tray 321 or 301 is located at the discharge outlet 219, and if necessary, an instruction is given. The upper discharge tray 321 and / or the lower discharge tray 301 are moved up and down so that the discharged discharge tray moves to the moving port 219. The control procedure at this time is shown in the flowchart of FIG.
That is, in the control procedure shown in FIG. 15, when an activation instruction is issued from the copying machine 1 (step S501), it is checked whether the instructed tray is the upper discharge tray 321 (step S502). If the paper discharge tray 321 is instructed, it is checked whether or not the upper paper discharge tray 321 is at the paper discharge position (step S503). If it is at the paper discharge position, the paper transport operation is started (step S506). If it is not at the paper discharge position, both the upper paper discharge tray 321 and the lower paper discharge tray 301 are lowered, and step S504 is executed. Is positioned at the paper discharge position and the standby is completed (step S505), the paper transport operation is started (step S506).

  On the other hand, if the lower discharge tray 301 is instructed in step S502, it is checked whether or not the lower discharge tray 301 is at the discharge position (step S507). The paper discharge tray 321 is raised together (step S508), and when the lower paper discharge tray 301 is positioned at the paper discharge position and waiting is completed (step S509), the transport operation is started (step S506).

  On the other hand, in the Z-folding mode, the lower discharge tray 301 or the upper discharge tray 321 is positioned at the discharge outlet 210 by the process shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  That is, when an activation instruction is issued from the main body of the copying machine 1 (step S601), the Z-folded paper is discharged to the lower discharge tray 301, so that only the lower discharge tray 301 is discharged (step S602). If the paper tray 301 is at the paper discharge position (step S603), the paper transport operation is started (step S606). If the paper tray 301 is not at the paper discharge position, the lower paper discharge tray 321 and the upper paper discharge tray 301 are raised (step S604). ) When the lower paper discharge tray 301 is positioned at the paper discharge position and waiting is completed (step S605), the transport operation is started (step S606).

  In order to realize such an operation, the image forming system according to the present embodiment is configured as shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the image forming system according to the present embodiment including the image forming apparatus 1 and the post-processing apparatus 2. Here, the electrical configuration of the sheet post-processing apparatus 2 is mainly shown here. Show.

  The sheet post-processing apparatus 2 is provided with a CPU 150 and an I / O 151, and the CPU 150 and the I / O 151 are connected by a bus. The CPU 150 is connected to a control device (CPU) of the image forming apparatus 1 and controls each part and the whole of the sheet post-processing apparatus 2. The CPU 150 executes predetermined control according to the control procedure shown in the above-described flowchart based on a program stored in a ROM (not shown).

  The CPU 150 has a solenoid 153, 154, 155, a first vertical motor 162 that raises and lowers the upper paper discharge tray 321, a second vertical motor 157 that raises and lowers the lower paper discharge tray 301, and a shift that shifts the upper paper discharge tray 321. A motor 165, an entrance roller 202, a transport motor 158 that drives the transport rollers 203, 212, and 213, and a paper discharge motor 159 that drives the transport roller 222 and transports the paper to the paper discharge position are connected. Further, the I / O 151 includes a staple motor 160 that performs an operation of binding a sheet bundle by the end face binding stapler 401 and the saddle stitching stapler 403, a discharge motor 161 that discharges the sheet or the sheet bundle from the discharge (release) roller 211, and an end face. Staple moving motor 213 for moving the binding stapler 401, jogger motor 163 for performing the alignment operation of the paper in the direction orthogonal to the paper direction by the jogger fence 422, and angle change for driving the cam 234 for changing the angle of the paper discharge guide plate 231. A motor 223 is connected to output a drive signal from the CPU 150. The I / O 151 receives signals from the SWs including the sensors and the switch 254 and transmits the signals to the CPU 150. Each motor is provided with a motor driver 156 in the preceding stage, and the clock generated by the clock generation IC 164 is input to the transport motor 158 and the paper discharge motor 159. Further, a driving clock is input from the CPU 150 to each motor driver 156 to the staple moving motor 213, the jogger motor 163, and the angle changing motor 223.

  In this embodiment, the recording medium on which an image is formed is described as a sheet. However, this sheet includes all foldable recording sheets.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, control is performed so as not to discharge the Z-folded paper for the tray in which the stacking state of the Z-folded paper cannot be monitored, so that a state in which the stack is disturbed in the corresponding tray is prevented. be able to.

  In addition, when discharging Z-folded paper to a tray whose stacking status cannot be monitored, control is performed to count the number of Z-folded paper output, so printing processing is interrupted before stack disturbance occurs to prevent problems. can do.

  In addition, when discharging the Z-folded paper to a tray that can monitor the loading state of the Z-folded paper, the number of sheets is not counted, so whether or not the Z-folded paper is full without performing extra control. Judgment can be made.

  Further, when full of the Z-fold paper is detected, the subsequent print output is controlled to be interrupted, so that the Z-fold paper stack disorder can be prevented.

  Furthermore, since the printing operation of the Z-folded paper is controlled by removing the paper on the tray, the printing output can be continued with a minimum operation.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram when there is no sheet on the tray when detecting a stacked state of Z-folded sheets on the lower discharge tray. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of operations during stacking when detecting a stacking state of Z-folded sheets on the lower discharge tray. FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram of a full state when detecting a stacked state of Z-folded sheets on the lower discharge tray. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of paper discharge destination control in the present embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of paper discharge control in the present embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of paper discharge interruption control in the present embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure after resumption of paper discharge in the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front view illustrating a main part of a drive mechanism for an upper discharge tray in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part top view of FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a moving state of the upper discharge tray illustrated in FIG. 9. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state when the sheets on the upper discharge tray illustrated in FIG. 9 are stacked and moved. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state where an upper discharge tray is positioned at a discharge outlet and a sheet is discharged to the upper discharge tray. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the position of the upper and lower discharge trays and the swollen paper. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure for controlling the position of a paper discharge tray in a mode other than the Z-folding mode. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for controlling the position of a paper discharge tray in a Z-fold mode. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of an image forming system according to the present embodiment including an image forming apparatus and a post-processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Copying machine 2 Paper post-processing apparatus 3 Z folding machine 150 CPU
157 Second vertical motor 162 First vertical motor 219 Paper discharge port 301 Lower paper discharge tray 321 Upper paper discharge tray 341 Paper surface detection filler

Claims (4)

In a paper processing apparatus having a plurality of external trays capable of transporting and stacking paper discharged from an image output device and control means for controlling discharge of the paper,
A determination means for determining whether or not the Z-folding mode is set;
The outer tray is stacked Z-folded sheets, the first tray monitoring means is installed for monitoring the loading state of the Z-folded sheet, the second tray where the monitoring unit is not installed Including
When it is determined by the determining means that the Z-folding mode is set, the control means sets the predetermined number of sheets only in the monitored paper stacking state when the Z-folded paper is discharged to the first tray. And when the Z-folded sheet is discharged to the second tray, the number of Z-folded sheets to be discharged is counted, and when the predetermined number is reached, the printing process is interrupted,
When the determination unit determines that the Z-folding mode is not set, the control unit discharges the sheet to the first tray without performing the monitoring, or discharges the sheet to the second tray without performing the counting. A paper processing apparatus for discharging . The monitoring means comprises a sensor for detecting whether paper is loaded on the tray;
The paper processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit resumes the interrupted printing when the output of the sensor changes from the presence of paper to the absence of paper after the print output is interrupted . Sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein that it comprises a performing folding device folding Z to the paper. A sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3;
An image forming apparatus for forming a start image on a sheet and discharging the sheet to the sheet processing apparatus;
Is formed as a single body or as a separate body .

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