JP4799649B2 - Sheet aligner - Google Patents

Description

  In the present invention, after the discharged sheet is received by an alignment sheet receiver, alignment is performed on the sheet receiver, and then post-processing such as stapling or punch punching is performed, and then the sheet alignment is discharged onto the stack tray. Relates to the device.

  Conventionally, in this type of sheet aligning apparatus, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-25788, an alignment sheet receiver and a stack tray are arranged one above the other so as to be aligned. Some sheets are fed out from the alignment sheet receiver in the sheet conveying direction, reversed by rollers, and discharged onto the stack tray.

  In a conventional sheet aligning device, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-5260, an alignment sheet receiver and a stack tray are partially overlapped in the sheet conveying direction, There is a type in which the receiver is moved and retracted in the long sheet conveying direction, aligned, and the subsequent sheets are discharged onto the stack tray.

  In another conventional sheet aligning apparatus, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-26579, the aligning sheet receiver and the stack tray are arranged side by side in a plane and aligned. Some sheets are sent out from the alignment sheet receiver in the sheet conveying direction and discharged onto the stack tray.

JP 2000-95420 A

  However, in such a sheet aligning device, alignment is performed and the subsequent sheet is sent out in the sheet conveying direction, or the sheet receiver is moved and retracted in the sheet conveying direction. There was a problem that the entire apparatus was enlarged.

  Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the entire apparatus in a sheet aligning apparatus that receives discharged sheets with an aligning sheet receiver, aligns them on the sheet receiver, and then discharges them onto a stack tray. Is to plan.

  The second problem is to obtain such a sheet aligning apparatus at a low cost.

  The third problem is to reliably support the discharged sheet by the alignment sheet receiver even when the discharged sheet is a large size, and to achieve the first problem.

  The fourth problem is to achieve the first problem without causing any alignment disturbance or stack disturbance.

  A fifth problem is to enable post-processing to the aligned sheets while achieving the first problem.

Therefore, this invention is to achieve the above first and third problems.
Receiving the discharged sheet matching sheet receiver, after performing the matching on the received matching sheets in the sheet aligning apparatus for discharging onto the stack tray,
The alignment sheet receiver is composed of a pair of sheet receivers that receive both side edges of the discharge sheet, and a sheet rear end receiver that is provided in the sheet alignment apparatus main body behind the pair of sheet receivers in the sheet discharge direction. do it,
The discharge sheet received by the pair of sheet receivers is returned by the return member, the rear end in the discharge direction is placed on the sheet rear end receiver, and abutted against the alignment sheet abutting portion in the sheet aligning device main body, and the sheet in the sheet discharge direction In addition to providing sheet longitudinal alignment means for aligning,
A sheet in which the interval between the pair of sheet receivers can be changed in a direction orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction, and the sheets on the alignment sheet receiver are sandwiched between the pair of sheet receivers to align the sheets in the direction orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction. Providing lateral alignment means;
A sheet that has been aligned by the sheet longitudinal alignment means is moved along the sheet rear end support, and includes a push-out member that pushes the sheet rear end to a position where it is supported by a pair of sheet receivers and removes it from the sheet rear end receiver.
A stack tray is provided at a position for receiving a sheet that falls when a gap between the pair of sheet receivers is opened.

Invention according to claim 2,
The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1,
When no post-processing is performed, the discharged sheets are discharged onto the stack tray with the gap between the pair of sheet receivers being widened .

The invention according to claim 3,
In the sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The sheet longitudinal alignment means includes a return member, an arm that supports each of the return members so as to be rotatable about the guide rod, and a pulley that is attached to the guide rod and transmits rotation to the return member. While preparing
The sheet lateral alignment means includes a jogger that forms each of a pair of sheet receivers, and a slider that is provided with the jogger and is movably supported along the guide rod.
The slider, the arm, and the pulley are integrally moved on the guide rod .

The invention according to claim 4 is to achieve the fourth problem.
In the sheet aligning device according to claim 1, 2, or 3,
The alignment sheet receiver and the stack tray are held at intervals that do not contact the sheets placed on each of them.

The invention according to claim 5 is to achieve the fifth problem.
In the sheet aligning device according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4,
The sheet is provided with post-processing means for performing post-processing such as stapling or punching before the sheet is aligned on the alignment sheet receiver and then discharged onto the stack tray.

As described above, according to the present invention, receiving the side edges of the sheets discharged by the pair of sheet over bets received, after aligning the opening in a direction perpendicular spacing receiving their pair of sheet to the discharge direction of the sheet, aligned Since the subsequent sheets are dropped onto the stack tray, the alignment sheet receiver and the stack tray are arranged one above the other so that the entire apparatus can be reduced in size.

Further, the invention according to claim 1, a pair of sheet receiving, in Cie over preparative rear receiving receives the discharge direction rear end of the discharged sheet, because a configuration for supporting the discharged sheets, Even when the discharged sheet is a large size, the sheet can be reliably supported by the alignment sheet receiver.

  According to the invention according to claim 4, since the alignment sheet receiver and the stack tray are held at intervals at which the sheets placed on them do not come into contact with each other, the sheet on the alignment sheet receiver and the sheet on the stack tray By preventing interference, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of alignment disturbance and stack disturbance.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, after the alignment is performed by the pair of sheet receivers, the post-processing means for performing the post-processing on the sheet before discharging onto the stack tray is provided. And post-processing such as punching can be performed.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a sheet aligning device according to the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the part seeing from diagonally upward. It is the same perspective view which shows the operation state of the sheet | seat longitudinal direction alignment means. FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating a state where alignment is performed by the sheet vertical direction alignment unit.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a sheet aligning apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus is fed into the illustrated sheet aligning apparatus 1 from below, and is conveyed in the direction of the arrow along the sheet conveying path A indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. The The sheet conveyance path A is composed of a vertical conveyance path that first proceeds from the bottom to the top, and then a horizontal conveyance path that curves upward and travels in the lateral direction.

  In the sheet conveying path A, the vertical conveying roller 2 and the paper discharge sensor 3 are arranged on the vertical conveying path, and the switching claw 4 is moved to the position where the vertical conveying path changes to the horizontal conveying path. A pair of sheet lateral direction aligning means 7 are arranged in order when the sheet discharge roller 6 for discharging the sheet exits the exit. Here, the vertical conveyance roller 2 and the paper discharge roller 6 are rotationally driven by a conveyance motor (not shown).

  A stapling device 8 is disposed beside the vertical conveyance path of the sheet conveyance path A and below the horizontal conveyance path. A staple moving motor 9 is provided below the staple device 8. The staple moving motor 9 drives the staple belt 10, and the staple device 8 is moved through the staple belt 10 in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction.

An end fence 11 is provided under the paper discharge roller 6 so as to cover the stapling device 8 and the staple moving motor 9. The end fence 11, and stack the sheet abutting portions 11A, the sheet over preparative rear receiving 11B, and a matching seat abutting portion 11C is provided.

Of the pair of sheet lateral alignment means 7 described above, one sheet lateral alignment means 7 is provided with a front jogger 13 attached to the front slider 12 as shown in FIG. The front jogger 13, shea over preparative receiving 13A are integrally formed. The other sheet lateral direction aligning means 7 is provided with a back jogger 15 attached to the back slider 14. To the back jogger 15, shea over preparative receiving 15A are integrally formed.

  A jogger motor 16 that drives the back slider 14 is attached to one end of the frame 30 and drives the jogger belt 17. A back slider 14 is fixed to the jogger belt 17 and moves laterally with the back jogger 15 as the jogger belt 17 is driven.

  On the other hand, the front slider 12 is connected to the stapling device 8, and moves laterally with the front jogger 13 when the stapling device 8 moves.

  Each of the pair of sheet lateral alignment means 7 is provided with sheet longitudinal alignment means 18. Each sheet longitudinal direction aligning means 18 moves laterally together with the front jogger 13 or the back jogger 15.

  By the way, the front slider 12 to which the front jogger 13 is attached and the back slider 14 to which the back jogger 15 is attached are both supported by a square bar-shaped main guide rod 19 and a round bar-shaped sub guide rod 20 so as to be laterally movable.

  The main guide rod 19 and the sub guide rod 20 are supported in parallel by the frame 30. The main guide rod 19 is rotated together with the vertical conveyance roller 2 and the paper discharge roller 6 by the rotation of the conveyance motor (not shown) described above.

  Here, the sheet longitudinal direction aligning means 18 will be described in detail. Each sheet longitudinal alignment means 18 is provided with a return roller 22, a hitting arm 23, a pulley 24, a return roller belt 25, and the like. The hitting arm 23 is provided so as to be rotatable about the main guide rod 19 penetrating the base end side, and the return roller 22 is rotatably supported at the distal end. The pulley 24 is attached to the main guide rod 19 and rotated therewith. A return roller belt 25 is stretched between the pulley 24 and a pulley integral with the return roller 22.

  As a result, the rotation of the transport motor is transmitted to the pulley 24 via the main guide rod 19, and the rotation of the pulley 24 is transmitted to the pulley integral with the return roller 22 via the return roller belt 25. It is designed to be rotated.

  Now, a bifurcated portion is formed at the proximal end of the hitting arm 23, and the link bar 26 enters the bifurcated portion. The tip of a link lever 27 is engaged with the link rod 26. The distal end of the solenoid lever 28 is engaged with the proximal end of the link lever 27. The solenoid lever 28 is rotated by the solenoid 21. The solenoid 21 is fixed on the upper guide plate 29. The upper guide plate 29 is configured to rotatably support both ends of the link rod 26 described above.

The illustrated sheet aligning apparatus 1 is configured as described above.
Next, the operation when the non-staple mode in which stapling is not performed is selected will be described.

  When the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus is fed into the vertical conveyance path of the sheet conveyance path A from below, the sheet is conveyed by the vertical conveyance roller 2 and reception of the sheet is detected by the paper discharge sensor 3. Then, the sheet is discharged onto the stack tray 5 by the sheet discharge roller 6 through the horizontal conveyance path, and the stack tray 5 is installed at an inclination, so that the rear end is applied to the stack sheet abutting portion 11A and stacked.

At this time, jogger motor 16 is driven to move back the slider 14 via the jogger belt 17, the interval between the front jogger 13 and the back jogger 15 is the maximum open position (home position), a pair of sheet receiving 13A · The interval of 15A is the largest open state.

  Next, an operation when a stapling mode for performing stapling is selected will be described.

  When the staple mode is selected, the jogger motor 16 is driven and the back slider 14 is moved via the jogger belt 17 so that the distance between the front jogger 13 and the back jogger 15 is slightly larger than the sheet width.

Similarly, when the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus is fed into the vertical conveyance path of the sheet conveyance path A from below, conveyed by the vertical conveyance roller 2, and discharged from the paper discharge roller 6 through the horizontal conveyance path. , both side edges of the discharged sheets are received by a pair of sheet over preparative received 13A · 15A.

  At this time, when the sheet is separated from the nip of the sheet discharge roller 6, the solenoid 21 is turned on, and the link bar 26 is rotated upward via the solenoid lever 28 and the link lever 27 as shown in FIG. 23 is rotated to bring the return roller 22 into contact with the sheet.

Then, since the return roller 22 is rotated together with the vertical conveying roller 2 and the paper discharge roller 6, when the return roller 22 comes into contact with the sheet on the pair of sheet receivers 13A and 15A, the return roller 22 is returned by the rotation of the return roller 22. the sheet on the pair of sheet receiving 13A · 15A is mounted on the discharge direction of the rear end starvation over preparative rear receiving 11B, butted to the matching seat abutting portion 11C.

Thus, a pair of sheet over preparative received 13A · 15A, in the discharged Cie over preparative rear subjected 11B receives the discharging direction trailing end of the sheet to support the sheet discharged, longitudinal of the sheet Matching is done. Thereafter, the solenoid 21 is turned off, and the return roller 22 is lifted as shown in FIG.

  Next, the jogger motor 16 is driven to slide the back slider 14, the back jogger 15 is moved, and the sheet is sandwiched between the front jogger 13 and the sheets are aligned in the lateral direction. In FIG. 4, reference numeral S denotes a sheet after the alignment.

Each time the sheet is discharged onto the pair of sheet receivers 13A and 15A by the discharge roller 6, the sheet vertical alignment means 18 is driven to align the sheets in the sheet discharge direction, and the sheet lateral alignment means 7 is driven. Then, the sheets are aligned in a direction orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction, and the same process is repeated until the last page. Then, after the last page is completed, the stapling device 8 performs a stapling operation to bind the sheet bundle on the alignment sheet receivers 13A, 15A, and 11B .

  After completion of the stapling operation, a lever (not shown) standing upward moves from the sheet abutting portion 11C position to the left in FIG. 4 along the sheet rear end receiver 11B, and the sheet bundle is moved to the stack sheet abutting portion 11A position. Until the trailing edge of the sheet is removed from the sheet trailing edge receiver 11B.

  Thereafter, the jogger motor 16 is driven, the back slider 14 is moved via the jogger belt 17, the back slider 14 is moved in a direction orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction, and the distance between the front jogger 13 and the back jogger 15 is maximized. Return to position (home position).

Then, the since back slider 14 integrally with sheet over preparative received 15A is also moved, the distance between the pair of sheet receiving 13A · 15A is the most wide open state. Accordingly, those of the pair of sheet receiving 13A · 15A and sheet over preparative rear receiving sheet which has been supported by the 11B falls, the falling sheets is received by the stack tray 5.

In the illustrated sheet alignment apparatus 1, the alignment sheet receivers 13A, 15A, and 11B and the stack tray 5 are held at a vertical interval at which the sheets placed thereon do not contact each other. Accordingly, interference between the sheets on the alignment sheet receivers 13A, 15A, and 11B and the sheets on the stack tray 5 can be prevented, and the occurrence of alignment disturbance and stack disturbance can be prevented.

  Further, in the illustrated sheet aligning apparatus, the sheet can be discharged upward by switching the discharge direction by the switching claw 4 as necessary in order to perform another post-processing such as punching, for example. ing.

In the above example, the return roller 22 is used for the sheet longitudinal direction aligning means 18 , but a similar effect can be obtained by using a paddle instead.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sheet aligning device 5 Stack tray 6 Paper discharge roller 7 Sheet lateral direction aligning means 8 Staple device (post-processing means)
11 End fence
11A stack sheet abutting portion 11B sheet over preparative rear receiving
11C aligning seat abutting portion 12 front slider 13 receives the front jogger 13A sheet over preparative 14 back slider 15 receives back jogger 15A sheet over preparative
18 Sheet longitudinal alignment means
19 Main guide rod
20 Sub guide rod
22 Return roller (return member)
23 Strike arm
24 pulley

Claims (5)

Receiving the discharged sheet matching sheet receiver, after performing the matching on the received matching sheets in the sheet aligning apparatus for discharging onto the stack tray,
The matching seat receiving, by a pair of sheet receiving for receiving the side edges of the output sheet, O receive trailing edge of the sheet which is provided by entering the sheet aligning apparatus main body in the sheet discharge direction of the rear thereof a pair of sheet receiving Configure
The discharge sheet received by the pair of sheet receivers is returned by a return member, the rear end in the discharge direction is placed on the sheet rear end receiver, and the sheet is discharged by abutting against the alignment sheet abutting portion in the sheet alignment apparatus main body. A sheet longitudinal alignment means for aligning the sheet in the direction,
Wherein the distance between the pair of sheet receiving and changeable in the direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet, across the sheet on the receiving matching sheet by the pair of sheet receiving the sheet in the direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet A sheet lateral alignment means for alignment is provided,
An extrusion member configured to move the sheet aligned by the sheet longitudinal alignment means along the sheet rear end support, and push the sheet rear end to a position where the sheet is supported by the pair of sheet receivers to remove the sheet from the sheet rear end support; ,
A sheet aligning apparatus, wherein the stack tray is provided at a position for receiving a sheet that falls when the gap between the pair of sheet receivers is opened. 2. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when post-processing is not performed, the discharged sheet is discharged onto the stack tray with a gap between the pair of sheet receivers being widened. The sheet longitudinal alignment means includes the return member, an arm that supports the return member, and is provided so as to be rotatable around a guide rod. The rotation is attached to the guide rod and transmits the rotation to the return member. While having a pulley to
The sheet lateral alignment means includes a jogger that forms each of the pair of sheet receivers, and a slider that is provided with the jogger and is movably supported along the guide rod.
On the guide rod, and the slider, the arm and the pulley is configured so as to move together, claim 1 or sheet aligning device according to 2. The sheet aligning apparatus according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the aligning sheet receiver and the stack tray are held at an interval at which the sheets placed on each do not contact each other. After performing matching in the matching seat receiving, prior to discharge onto the stack tray, made comprises a post-processing means for performing post-processing on the sheet, the sheet aligning according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 apparatus.

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