JP5696535B2 - Sheet sorting apparatus and sheet processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention shifts a sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printing machine (including overlapping sheets such as envelopes; hereinafter referred to as a sheet) in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction and discharges the sheet. More specifically, the present invention relates to a sheet sorting apparatus incorporated in a sheet processing apparatus that performs sheet processing such as folding processing, punching processing, saddle stitching processing, or stapling processing.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many sheet processing apparatuses are provided with a shift processing function that sorts and stacks sheets that have undergone image formation or sheets that have undergone sheet processing after image formation. In an image processing system characterized by high productivity, high productivity is also required for shift processing.

  In this regard, in Patent Document 1, in a sheet processing apparatus having a sheet discharge roller pair and a shift unit that shifts the sheet discharge roller pair, the sheet discharge roller pair is pressurized to hold the sheet, Discloses a configuration in which the discharge roller pair is released when it is not pinched. With such a configuration, unnecessary holding time of the discharge roller pair having the shift means is reduced, and high productivity is achieved. Is realized. However, in the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, since it is necessary to return the paper discharge roller pair after the shift process to the home position, this corresponds to the time from the release of the paper discharge roller pair to the home position. It is necessary to provide a sheet of paper, which is an obstacle to further productivity improvement.

Further, in Patent Document 2, in a paper sorting method in which shift processing is performed while transporting paper, the first shift means is disposed on the upstream side in the paper transport direction, and the second shift means is disposed on the downstream side, and drive control is performed alternately. Thus, a configuration is disclosed in which odd-numbered sheets are shifted by the first shift means and even-numbered sheets are shifted by the second shift means.
With this disclosed configuration, higher productivity than the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1 can be expected, but on the other hand, since two shift means are arranged in succession in the paper transport direction, a paper transport path that is longer by that amount is required. This also leads to an increase in the number of parts.

  An object of the present invention is to realize a shift processing mechanism that realizes suppression of the length of a sheet conveyance path while having high productivity.

The above problems are arranged on the upstream side of sheet conveyance of the first conveyance unit, the first conveyance unit for nipping and conveying the sheet, the shift unit for shifting the first conveyance unit in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction, In a sheet sorting apparatus including a sheet detection unit and a control unit that controls sheet clamping / release and shift processing of the first conveyance unit, the first conveyance unit is on the same straight line in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction. And at least two transport units, and a pressure release unit that can switch between pressurization and non-pressurization for sandwiching the sheets of the transport units, and the shift unit drives the at least two transport units in the same drive. and it can shift, further a second conveying means disposed in the sheet conveyance downstream of the first conveying means, by said control means, said first conveying means when receiving the sheet After the first conveying unit is shifted with one conveying unit in a pressurized state and another conveying unit in a non-pressurized state, both conveying units are moved at a timing when the leading edge of the sheet is applied to the second conveying unit. This is solved by simultaneously switching between the pressurized state and the non-pressurized state in, receiving the next sheet, and shifting the first conveying means in the opposite direction to the shift .

During its has a synchronous motor which rotates in synchronism with the pulse signal, and a pinion gear mounted on a rotating shaft of the electric motor, and two rack gears disposed on both ends of a line segment passing through the center of said pinion gear It is preferable that the at least two transport units are fixed to the rack gears and the pressure state and the non-pressurized state of the at least two transport units are simultaneously switched according to the rotation direction of the electric motor.

  In the sheet processing apparatus including the sheet sorting apparatus as described above, a stack unit that stacks a plurality of sheets on the upstream side in the sheet transport direction of the first transport unit and then delivers the plurality of sheets to the first transport unit. It is effective if provided.

A first conveying means for nipping and conveying the sheet; a shift means for shifting the first conveying means in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction; a sheet detecting means disposed on the upstream side of the sheet conveying of the first conveying means; In the sheet sorting apparatus including a control unit that controls sheet clamping / releasing and shift processing of the first conveying unit, the first conveying unit includes at least two conveying units on the same straight line in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction. a unit, and a pressure releasing means for enabling to switch the pressurized and non-pressurized for sheet pinching of the transport unit, said shifting means and shiftable by the same driving said at least two transport units Further, a second conveying unit is arranged on the downstream side of the sheet conveying unit of the first conveying unit, and one sheet of the first conveying unit is conveyed when the control unit accepts the sheet. After shifting the first conveying means with the knit in the pressurized state and the other conveying unit in the non-pressurized state, pressurization in both conveying units at the timing when the leading edge of the sheet is applied to the second conveying means Necessary to perform the next shift process from one shift process by switching the state and the non-pressurized state at the same time, receiving the next sheet, and shifting the first conveying means in the opposite direction to the shift The preparation time is limited / reduced only to the switching time between the pressurization / non-pressurization states, and the length of the sheet conveyance path can be suppressed while enabling extremely high productivity .

Has a synchronous motor which rotates in synchronization with the pulse signal, and a pinion gear mounted on a rotating shaft of the electric motor, and two rack gears disposed on both ends of a line segment passing through the center of said pinion, said at least Two drive units are each fixed to the rack gear, and according to the rotation direction of the electric motor, the at least two transfer units are switched between the pressurized state and the non-pressurized state at the same time. Can reliably switch between pressurization and non-pressurization.

  In the sheet processing apparatus including the sheet sorting apparatus as described above, a stack unit that stacks a plurality of sheets on the upstream side in the sheet transport direction of the first transport unit and then delivers the plurality of sheets to the first transport unit. If a sheet bundle is provided, a shift process can be performed after a sheet bundle is formed in advance.

It is a schematic model diagram of a sheet processing apparatus. In the schematic diagram of the transport unit having a shift means, a is a unit pressurization state when the left transport roller unit is viewed from the left of the entire unit configuration, b is the entire front configuration, and c is the entire unit. It is the figure of the unit non-pressurization state which looked at the conveyance roller unit of the right side among structures from the right side. It is a figure which shows a mode that the several sheet conveyed continuously is shifted and classified by a-d, changing the pressurization / non-pressurization state of two conveyance roller units alternately. 2 shows a configuration for switching the pressurization / non-pressurization state of two transport roller units with one drive source, a and b show how different transport roller units switch between pressurization / non-pressurization, and c Is a view of the mechanism in a plan view. It is a schematic diagram of a sheet processing apparatus provided with stacking means for stacking a plurality of sheets before shift processing. It is a schematic diagram of the sheet processing apparatus provided with another stacking means. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which two transport roller units are in a pressurized state and sort sheets with respect to a plurality of sheets while partially shifting, and a change with time is shown by a to e.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows a sheet processing apparatus installed on the downstream side of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus A is a well-known device, and forms an image on a sheet using toner or ink jet. However, since it is a well-known configuration without any particular explanation, the overall explanation is omitted. A sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus A shown only conceptually is carried in from the entrance guide plate 1 and carried into the sheet processing apparatus B by the conveyance roller pairs 2 and 3. The sheet carried into the sheet processing apparatus B is branched by the branch claws 4 and 5 into a proof conveyance path, a horizontal conveyance path, or a staple conveyance path.

  When the sheet is carried into the proof conveyance path, the sheet is discharged to the proof tray 8 by the proof conveyance roller pair 6 and the proof discharge roller pair 7. When the sheet is carried into the horizontal conveyance path, the sheet is discharged to the stacking tray 11 by the conveyance unit 9 having a shift unit and the discharge roller pair 10. At this time, the sheet can be selected to be discharged after the shift process or discharged without the shift process by the transport unit 9 having the shift means.

  When the sheet is carried into the staple conveyance path, the sheet is discharged to the staple tray 15 by the conveyance roller pair 12, 13, 14 and the staple discharge roller pair 28, and is dropped to the reference fence 17 by the tapping roller 16. After a predetermined number of sheets are stacked on the staple tray 15 by this operation, they are aligned by the jogger 18, and in the case of edge binding, the stapler 19 is used to perform binding processing at a predetermined position, and a discharge claw (not shown) and paper discharge are performed. It is discharged to the stacking tray 11 by the roller pair 10. In the case of saddle stitching, the sheet bundle is aligned by the jogger 18 and is bound at the center of the sheet bundle by the saddle stitch stapler 20, and conveyed to the sheet folding stopper 23 of the sheet folding portion by the discharge claw, the discharge roller pair 21, and the conveyance roller pair 22. Then, the sheet is folded halfway by the folding blade 24 and the pair of folding rollers 25 and discharged to the saddle stitching tray 27 by the pair of middle folding sheet discharge rollers 26.

  FIG. 2b is a front configuration of the entire transport unit 9 having shift means, and FIG. 2a is a pressure state of the transport roller unit when the left transport roller unit is viewed from the left in the entire unit configuration. FIG. 2C is a diagram of the conveyance roller unit in a non-pressurized state when the right conveyance roller unit is viewed from the right side in the configuration of the entire unit.

  For driving the pair of conveying rollers, a driving gear 39 that receives a driving force from a driving motor (not shown) transmits power to the driving-side conveying roller 38 through a D-cut fitting of the shaft. The D cut on the shaft that supports the drive gear 39 and the drive-side transport roller 38 is set to have a predetermined length in the axial direction, and the drive-side transport roller 38 can slide in this range. The shaft having the D-cut is held by a sheet processing apparatus side plate (not shown) via a driving-side conveying roller bearing 41 that is in sliding contact.

  The conveyance force in the conveyance roller pairs 32 and 38 is generated when the conveyance roller unit is in the pressurized state shown in FIG. In addition to the drive-side conveyance roller 38 described above, the conveyance roller unit includes a driven-side conveyance roller 32, a turning shaft 29, an arm 31 that slides around the turning shaft 29 via a bearing 30, and a driven-side conveyance roller. It comprises a roller bearing 33 for placing 32 on the arm 31, a compression spring 34 for pressurizing the driven-side transport roller 32, and a drive system for turning the arm 31. The drive system includes a bracket 35 screwed to the swing shaft 29 and a solenoid 36 fixed to the bracket 35. When the solenoid 36 is driven, the arm 31 swings on the vertical plane with the swing shaft 29 as a base point. The driven-side transport roller 32 is pressed by the drive-side transport roller 38 and is in a pressurized state. The pivot shaft 29 is held by a sheet processing apparatus side plate (not shown) via a pivot shaft bearing 40 that is in sliding contact. The group of parts such as the arm 31 and the driven conveyance roller 32 disposed at the tip of the arm 31 are designed so that the center of gravity is located on the right side of FIG. 2c, so that the excitation of the solenoid 36 is released. The arm 31 returns to the home position, and the transport roller unit is in a non-pressurized state.

  The shift means for shifting the transport roller unit along the shaft fixes the pivot shaft 29 and the shaft of the drive-side transport roller 38 and drives the shift link 42, the shift gear 43, and the shift gear 43 for shifting. Is constituted by a motor gear 44 and a shift motor 45. When the shift motor 45 is driven, the power is transmitted to the shift gear 43 via the motor gear 44. A cylindrical boss (not shown) stands on the upper surface of the shift gear 43, and this boss abuts on an elliptical hole formed in the bottom plate of the shift link 42 to slide on the shift link 42. It is structured. The size of the hole formed in the bottom plate of the shift link 42 is equal to the diameter of the boss on the shift gear 43, and the length is the diameter of the locus circle of the boss when the shift gear 43 rotates. In other words, the power transmitted from the motor gear 44 to the shift gear 43 enables the shift link 42 to be displaced in the left-right direction in FIG. 2B, that is, in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction, via the boss. When the shift link 42 is displaced in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, the turning shaft 29 fixed to the shift link 42 and the shaft of the drive-side conveyance roller 38, that is, the drive-side conveyance roller 38 are both orthogonal to the conveyance direction. Displace in the direction of Since the turning shaft 29 and the shift link 42 are fixed by D-cut fitting, the turning of the turning shaft 29 is restricted here, and the shaft of the drive-side transport roller 38 and the shift link 42 are It is a sliding fit. When the sheet is held between the pair of conveyance rollers, the sheet is also shifted and moved in accordance with the shift movement of the turning shaft and the driving-side conveyance roller.

  In FIG. 3a, the first transport roller unit (shown by a pair of transport rollers for convenience but may be two or more transport rollers) 46 is in a pressurized state, and the second transport roller unit (a pair of transport rollers for convenience). Since the roller 47 is in a non-pressurized state, only the first transport roller unit 46 has a transport force. Now, the first sheet P <b> 1 is conveyed by the upstream conveying roller pair 3 (FIG. 1), and is nipped and conveyed by the first conveying roller unit 46. At this time, the shift motor 45 is driven by control means (not shown) that has been timed by the sheet detection sensor 59 (between the conveyance roller pair 2 and the conveyance roller pair 3 in FIG. 1) on the upstream side in advance. Is transmitted to the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47 through the motor gear 44, the shift gear 43, and the shift link 42. As a result, the state becomes as shown in FIGS. 3a to 3b. As shown in FIG. 3B, when the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47 are displaced in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction, the first sheet P1 is also shifted. At this time, since the first transport roller unit 46 has the transport force as described above, the first sheet P1 is in a state where the shift movement and the transport to the downstream side are simultaneously applied.

  The first sheet P1 for which the shift movement has been completed is sandwiched between the paper discharge roller pair 10 (FIG. 1) disposed on the downstream side, and is given a conveying force by the paper discharge roller pair 10. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3c, the first transport roller unit 46 releases the pressure, and the second transport roller unit 47 is pressurized at the same time, so that the first transport roller unit 46 is in the non-pressurized state and the second transport roller. The roller unit 47 is in a pressurized state (pressure / pressure release of the roller unit is performed based on a sheet detection sensor (not shown) attached to the paper discharge roller pair 10). At this time, there is no problem in conveyance even if the rear end of the first sheet P1 is held between the second conveyance roller units 47. When the trailing edge of the first sheet P1 passes through the second conveyance roller unit 47, the second sheet P2 is subsequently conveyed from the upstream conveyance roller pair 3 and is sandwiched and conveyed by the second conveyance roller unit 47. The At this time, the shift motor 45 is driven in a direction opposite to that in the case where the shift motor 45 is a to b by a control means (not shown) whose timing is previously measured by the sheet detection sensor 59 on the upstream side. Then, it is transmitted to the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47 via the shift gear 43 and the shift link 42. As a result, the state changes from FIG. 3c to FIG. 3d. As shown in FIG. 3d, the first transport roller unit 46 and the second transport roller unit 47 shift in the direction orthogonal to the sheet transport direction so as to return to the position of FIG. 3a, so that the second sheet P2 also shifts. It will be in the state. At this time, since the second conveyance roller unit 47 has a conveyance force, the second sheet P2 is in a state where the shift movement and the conveyance to the downstream side are simultaneously applied.

  The second sheet P <b> 2 that has completed the shift movement is sandwiched between the paper discharge roller pair 10 (FIG. 1) disposed on the downstream side, and is given a conveying force by the paper discharge roller pair 10. Immediately after receiving this, as shown in FIG. 3a, the second transport roller unit 47 releases the pressure and simultaneously pressurizes the first transport roller unit 46 so that the second transport roller unit 47 is in a non-pressurized state. The first transport roller unit 46 is in a pressurized state. This is repeated thereafter.

  The time required for the shift means to perform the n-th shift process and to be ready to perform the (n + 1) th shift process is substantially the time required for the transport roller unit to change from the non-pressurized state to the pressurized state. Therefore, even in a high-productivity image forming system with a very small sheet-to-sheet distance, it is possible to perform shift processing without reducing productivity.

  The switching between the pressurization state / non-pressurization state of the two sets of transport roller units 46 and 47 as described above is preferably performed at the same time, and power consumed at that time is small. A mechanism for this is shown in FIG. 4a and 4b respectively show a pressure state of the first transport roller unit 46 and a non-pressurized state of the second transport roller unit 47, and a non-pressurized state of the first transport roller unit 46 and the second transport roller unit 47. FIG. 4C is a schematic view of FIG. 4A or FIG. 4C viewed from above.

  The mechanism includes a pressure release motor 54 that switches between pressurization / non-pressurization of the first transport roller unit 46 and the second transport roller unit 47, a timing belt 55 that transmits the drive of the pressure release motor 54, and a pulley gear 56. The first rack 57 meshes with the pulley gear 56 and is fixed to the first transport roller unit 46, and the second rack 58 is fixed to the second transport roller unit 47.

When the pressure release motor 54 rotates in the CCW direction, the driving force rotates the pulley gear 56 counterclockwise via the timing belt 55. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4a, the first transport roller unit 46 is brought into a pressurized state and the second transport roller unit 47 is brought into a non-pressurized state. That is, pressurization / non-pressurization of both conveying roller units can be realized simultaneously with one drive source. Conversely, when the pressure release motor 54 rotates in the CW direction, the driving force rotates the pulley gear (56) clockwise via the timing belt 55. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4b, it is possible to simultaneously realize the first conveyance roller unit 46 in the non-pressurized state and the second conveyance roller unit 47 in the pressurized state.

  The control related to FIG. 3 performs the shift process by alternately shifting left and right for each sheet to be conveyed, so that a plurality of sheets can be continuously sent to the shift means in advance, thereby improving efficiency. Can be achieved. Therefore, for example, the configuration shown in FIG. 5 can be considered. In FIG. 5, a stack tray 48 for stacking a plurality of sheets in advance and forming a sheet bundle in front of the transport unit 9 having a shift unit on the horizontal transport path, and for feeding the sheets to the stack tray 48. A stack tray discharge roller pair 49 and a moving fence 50 for delivering the sheet bundle formed on the stack tray 48 to the transport unit 9 having a shift unit are provided.

  The sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus A is carried in from the entrance guide plate 1 and carried into the sheet processing apparatus B by the conveying roller pair 2. The sheet carried into the sheet processing apparatus B is branched by the branch claws 4 and 5 into a proof conveyance path, a horizontal conveyance path, or a staple conveyance path.

  Among these, the sheet carried into the horizontal conveyance path is discharged to the stack tray 48 by the stack tray discharge roller 49 and is stacked while the end faces thereof are aligned by the moving fence 50. At this time, it is desirable to provide a hitting roller (not shown) in the vicinity of the stack tray 48 in order to improve the alignment between the sheets.

  The sheet bundle that has reached the predetermined number is transported to the transport unit 9 having the shift means by the movement of the moving fence 50. At this time, in order not to reduce the productivity, the moving fence 50 is belt-conveyed, and by providing a plurality of moving fences 50 on the belt, another moving fence is simultaneously provided with the movement of the moving fence 50 for conveying the sheet bundle. It is desirable to design 50 to be in place in preparation for the next sheet discharge. The sheet bundle (which is also a “sheet” in a broad sense) that has been transferred to the transport unit 9 having shift means and subjected to shift processing is discharged to the stacking tray 11 by the discharge roller 10.

  For example, when it is difficult to provide a dedicated stack tray as shown in FIG. 5 on the horizontal transport path, the configuration shown in FIG. 6 can be considered. FIG. 6 shows a configuration in which a transport unit having shift means is arranged on the downstream side of the staple tray in the staple transport path. Since the sheet bundle is formed on the staple tray used during the stapling process, the dedicated stack tray shown in FIG. 5 is not necessary.

  The sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus A is carried in from the entrance guide plate 1 and carried into the sheet processing apparatus B by the conveyance roller pairs 2 and 3. The sheet carried into the sheet processing apparatus B is branched by the branch claws 4 and 5 into a proof conveyance path, a horizontal conveyance path, or a staple conveyance path.

  Among these, the sheet carried into the staple conveyance path is discharged to the staple tray 15 by the conveyance roller pairs 12, 13, 14 and the staple discharge roller pair 28, and dropped onto the reference fence 17 by the tapping roller 16. The jogger 18 is used to improve the alignment between the stacked sheets. By this operation, a predetermined number of sheets are stacked on the staple tray 15 to form a sheet bundle, and are delivered to a transport unit 51 having a shift means by a discharge claw (not shown). The sheet bundle subjected to the shift processing is discharged to the stacking tray 11 by the paper discharge roller 10.

In the control related to FIG. 3, shift processing is performed by swinging left and right alternately for each sheet to be conveyed (or for each sheet bundle that is once stacked and then delivered together) . Although it is out of the scope of the present invention , shift processing is performed for each copy to be output as follows.

  As shown in FIG. 7a, the first sheet P1 is conveyed by the upstream conveying roller pair 3 (FIG. 1) and is sandwiched between the first conveying roller unit 46 and the second conveying roller unit 47 that are in a pressurized state. And transported. At this time, the shift motor 45 is driven by a control means (not shown) that has previously been timed by the sheet detection sensor 59 on the upstream side, and the driving force of the shift motor 45 causes the motor gear 44, the shift gear 43, and the shift link 42 to move. Via the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47. As a result, the shift means, the first transport roller unit 46, and the second transport roller unit 47 change from the state shown in FIG. 7a to the state shown in FIG. 7b. As shown in FIG. 7b, the first transport roller unit 46 and the second transport roller unit 47 are displaced by a distance X in a direction orthogonal to the sheet transport direction, so that the first sheet P1 is also moved to the initial position by the distance X. (For convenience, the next second sheet P2 is shown in FIG. 7b, but the edge of the first sheet P1 is held by the second conveying roller unit 47 during the shifting process. Shift and keep moving). The first sheet P1 moved by X from the initial position is discharged onto the stacking tray by the discharge roller pair 10.

  When the trailing edge of the first sheet P1 passes through the first conveying roller unit 46 and the second conveying roller unit 47, the second sheet P2 is subsequently conveyed from the upstream conveying roller pair 3 (at this time, the second sheet P2 The position of the sheet P2 in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction is equal to the position of the first sheet P1 before the shift process), and is nipped and conveyed by the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47 (FIG. 7b). At this time, the shift motor 45 is driven by a control means (not shown) that has previously been timed by the sheet detection sensor 59 on the upstream side, and the driving force of the shift motor 45 causes the motor gear 44, the shift gear 43, and the shift link 42 to move. Via the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47. As a result, the shift means, the first transport roller unit 46, and the second transport roller unit 47 change from the state shown in FIG. 7b to the state shown in FIG. 7c. As shown in FIG. 7c, the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47 further move the distance X in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction (the both roller units themselves move 2X from the initial position in FIG. 7a). As a result, the second sheet P2 is also shifted from the initial position by the distance X (for convenience, the next third sheet P3 is shown in FIG. The sheet P2 shifts). The second sheet P2 moved by X from the initial position is stacked on the stacking tray by the paper discharge roller pair 10 at the same position as the first sheet P1 previously stacked.

  When the trailing edge of the second sheet P2 passes through the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47, the third sheet P3 is subsequently conveyed from the upstream conveyance roller pair 3 (at this time, the third sheet P3). The position of the sheet P3 in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction is equal to the position of the first sheet P1 and the second sheet P2 before the shift process), the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47, It is conveyed (position in FIG. 7c). At this time, the shift motor 45 is driven by a control means (not shown) that has previously been timed by the sheet detection sensor 59 on the upstream side, and the driving force of the shift motor 45 causes the motor gear 44, the shift gear 43, and the shift link 42 to move. Via the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47. As a result, the shift means, the first transport roller unit 46, and the second transport roller unit 47 change from the state shown in FIG. 7c to the state shown in FIG. 7d. As shown in FIG. 7d, the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47 move a distance X in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction (both roller units themselves move 3X from the initial position in FIG. 7a). Thus, the third sheet P3 is also shifted from the initial position by a distance of X (for convenience, the next fourth sheet P4 is shown in FIG. 7d, but the third sheet P3 is used for the shift process). P3 shifts). The third sheet P3 moved by X from the initial position is stacked on the stacking tray by the discharge roller pair 10 at the same position as the first sheet P1 and the second sheet P2 previously stacked.

  When the trailing edge of the third sheet P3 passes through the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47, the fourth sheet P4 is subsequently conveyed from the upstream conveyance roller pair 3 (at this time, the fourth sheet P4 The position of the sheet P4 in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction is equal to the position of the first sheet P1, the second sheet P2, and the third sheet P3 before the shift process), the first conveyance roller unit 46, and the second conveyance roller unit 47. And transported (position in FIG. 7d). At this time, the shift motor 45 is driven by a control means (not shown) that has previously been timed by the sheet detection sensor 59 on the upstream side, and the driving force of the shift motor 45 causes the motor gear 44, the shift gear 43, and the shift link 42 to move. Via the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47. As a result, the shift means, the first transport roller unit 46, and the second transport roller unit 47 change from the state shown in FIG. 7d to the state shown in FIG. 7e. As shown in FIG. 7e, the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47 move a distance X in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction (both roller units themselves move 4X from the initial position in FIG. 7a). Thus, the fourth sheet P4 is also shifted from the initial position by a distance of X (for convenience, the next fifth sheet P5 is shown in FIG. 7e, but the fourth sheet P4 is used during the shift process). P4 shifts). The fourth sheet P4 moved by X from the initial position is stacked on the stacking tray by the discharge roller pair 10 at the same position as the first sheet P1, the second sheet P2, and the third sheet P3 previously stacked. become.

  When the trailing edge of the fourth sheet P4 passes through the first conveyance roller unit 46 and the second conveyance roller unit 47, the fifth sheet P5 is subsequently conveyed from the upstream conveyance roller pair 3 (at this time, the fifth sheet P5 The position of the sheet P5 in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction is equal to the position of the first sheet P1, the second sheet P2, the third sheet P3, and the fourth sheet P4 before the shift process), the first conveying roller unit 46 and the first conveying roller unit 46. 2 It is pinched and conveyed by the conveyance roller unit 47 (position of FIG. 7e). At this time, the shift motor 45 is driven in the opposite direction by the control means (not shown) whose timing is previously measured by the sheet detection sensor 59 on the upstream side, and the driving force of the shift motor 45 is the motor gear 44 and the shift gear. 43 and the shift link 42 are transmitted to the first transport roller unit 46 and the second transport roller unit 47. Thereby, the shift means, the first transport roller unit 46, and the second transport roller unit 47 change from the state shown in FIG. 7e to the state shown in FIG. 7d. Thereafter, the sheet is returned to the position shown in FIG. 7a by continuing the above-described shift in the reverse direction, whereby a two-part sheet bundle consisting of four sheets is completed.

In this way, when the pressure of the conveyance roller unit is not released and the shift is further performed for the (n + 1) th time from the position shifted to the nth time, in order not to impair the conveyance property such as skew of the sheet bundle, the size is relatively large with thick paper. Is effective for a sheet having a small basis weight, for example, A4 size or less having a basis weight of 100 g / m ² or more. Further, it is desirable to arrange a jogger unit on the stacking tray and align the sheet bundle discharged on the stacking tray.

  Table 1 shows how much the deviation amount of the sheet bundle stacked on the stacking tray changes depending on how many sheets of one sheet bundle are formed. That is, when the maximum value of the shift movement total amount by the shift means is 60 mm, for example, when the number of sheets constituting the sheet bundle is two, the movement amount X by one shift movement is automatically set to 30 mm (upstream side). This means that the first sheet bundle is shifted by 30 mm by the movement in the left direction in FIG. 7 considering the position of the sheet conveyed by the conveyance roller pair 3) as a reference), and the sheet bundle loaded on the stacking tray The amount of misalignment Y between them is 60 mm (the next sheet bundle is shifted 30 mm in the reverse direction by moving to the right). Further, in the allowable maximum bundle number 6 in the example of this table, the movement amount X by one shift movement is automatically set to 10 mm, and the deviation amount between the sheet bundles stacked on the stacking tray is 20 mm. . The shift amount X can be freely set within the limits of the mechanism, and an optimum stacking state can be set according to the sheet characteristics, sheet size, and the like. Thus, for example, when an operator uses a screen of an operation panel (not shown) to instruct the sheet size and how many sheets form one sheet bundle, the shift movement for each sheet is performed. The distance is preferably controlled so as to be automatically set, and the shift movement distance may be arbitrarily designated by the operator.

  If there is a margin for shifting the shifting means at the conveyance timing between sheets of continuously conveyed sheets, the total shift amount (4X in the above example) is divided and the partial amount (X) When the shift means is reciprocated between them, a sheet bundle consisting of a plurality of sheets is adjusted to the same sheet discharge position, and if the shift means is gradually moved, a plurality of sheets (four in the above example) are bundled. Shift processing is possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 29 Rotating shaft 30 Bearing 31 Arm 32 Driven side conveyance roller 33 Roller bearing 34 Compression spring 35 Bracket 36 Solenoid 38 Driving side conveyance roller 40 Rotating shaft bearing 42 Shift link 43 Shift gear 44 Motor gear 45 Shift motor

JP 2002-003065 A JP 2006-193224 A

Claims (4)

A first conveying means for nipping and conveying the sheet; a shift means for shifting the first conveying means in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction; a sheet detecting means disposed on the upstream side of the sheet conveying of the first conveying means; In the sheet sorting apparatus including a control unit that controls sheet clamping / releasing and shift processing of the first conveying unit, the first conveying unit includes at least two conveying units on the same straight line in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction. a unit, and a pressure releasing means for enabling to switch the pressurized and non-pressurized for sheet pinching of the transport unit, said shifting means and shiftable by the same driving said at least two transport units Further, a second conveying unit is arranged on the downstream side of the sheet conveying unit of the first conveying unit, and one sheet of the first conveying unit is conveyed when the control unit accepts the sheet. After shifting the first conveying means with the knit in the pressurized state and the other conveying unit in the non-pressurized state, pressurization in both conveying units at the timing when the leading edge of the sheet is applied to the second conveying means A sheet sorting apparatus that switches between a state and a non-pressurized state at the same time, receives a next sheet, and shifts the first conveying unit in a direction opposite to the shift . 2. The sheet sorting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the synchronous motor rotates in synchronization with a pulse signal, the pinion gear mounted on the rotating shaft of the motor, and both ends of a line segment passing through the center of the pinion gear. Two rack gears, and the at least two transport units are respectively fixed to the rack gears, and the pressurized state and the non-pressurized state of the at least two transport units are simultaneously switched according to the rotation direction of the electric motor. A sheet sorting apparatus characterized by that. A sheet processing apparatus comprising the sheet sorting apparatus according to claim 1 . 4. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein stacking means for stacking a plurality of sheets and delivering the plurality of sheets to the first transporting unit is provided upstream of the first transporting unit in the sheet transporting direction. A sheet processing apparatus.

Images