JP6030914B2 - Paper discharge device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper discharge device that discharges printed paper.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a paper discharge device that discharges paper printed by a printing device and stacks the paper on a paper discharge tray.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a paper discharge device including a tilting mechanism that tilts a paper discharge table in a paper width direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction. In this paper discharge device, when one side in the paper width direction of the stacked sheets on the paper discharge base is curled upward, the paper discharge base is inclined so that one side is lowered. Thus, the sheet stacking surface is kept horizontal and the sheets are aligned.

JP-A-7-206250

  When a large number of curled sheets are stacked, the lower layer sheets are crushed by the weight of the sheet, and there is a possibility that creases and wrinkles may occur. In addition, when the sheets are stacked in a curled state, it may be difficult for the user to take out the sheets from the paper discharge tray. In the paper discharge device of Patent Document 1, curled sheets are stacked as they are, and thus there is a possibility that a poor stacking state may occur due to the stack of curled sheets as described above.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a paper discharge device that can reduce defects in the stacked state of paper.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first feature of a paper discharge device according to the present invention is a paper discharge base that can be moved up and down, on which paper is stacked, a paper discharge unit that discharges paper to the paper discharge base, A detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a sheet at a reference position of the height position of the uppermost surface of the sheets stacked on the sheet discharge table, and the detection unit is in a detection state during a sheet discharge operation by the sheet discharge unit. Then, the control unit controls the lowering of the discharge table until the detection unit becomes a non-detection state, and the control unit is in a non-detection state after the discharge table is lowered. When the upper surface non-detected number of discharged sheets reaches the specified number, the sheet discharge operation is stopped.

  A second feature of the paper discharge device according to the present invention is that the control unit can select to continue the paper discharge operation even when the upper surface non-detected paper discharge number reaches the specified number. If the upper surface non-detected number of discharged sheets reaches the specified number, the discharge table is lowered by a specified lowering amount.

  According to the first feature of the paper discharge device according to the present invention, when the upper surface non-detected number of discharged paper sheets reaches the specified number, the paper discharge operation is stopped, so that a large number of sheets are stacked while being curled. Can be prevented. As a result, it is possible to reduce defects in the paper stacking state.

  According to the second feature of the paper discharge device according to the present invention, since it is possible to select to continue the paper discharge operation even when the upper surface non-detected number of discharged paper sheets reaches the specified number, the load amount is more important than the stacking state. Can be used for

It is a perspective view of the paper discharge device concerning an embodiment. It is side surface sectional drawing of the paper discharge apparatus which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the paper discharge device according to the embodiment. It is a flowchart of the lowering control of the paper discharge table. It is explanatory drawing of a mode that the curled paper was piled up. It is a figure which shows an example of a selection screen. It is a figure which shows an example of an error notification screen.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Throughout the drawings, the same or equivalent parts and components are denoted by the same or equivalent reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic and different from the actual ones. Moreover, it is a matter of course that portions having different dimensional relationships and ratios are included between the drawings.

  Further, the embodiment described below exemplifies an apparatus or the like for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the technical idea of the present invention is to arrange the components and the like as follows. It is not something specific. The technical idea of the present invention can be variously modified within the scope of the claims.

  1 is a perspective view of a paper discharge device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the paper discharge device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a control system of the paper discharge device shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows a structure. In the following description, as shown in FIG. 1, the leading end side of the discharged paper is assumed to be the front. In addition, when viewed from the front side, the upper, lower, left, and right directions are the upper, lower, left, and right directions.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the paper discharge device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a paper discharge unit 2, a paper discharge stand 3, a lift drive unit 4, a pair of side fences 5 </ b> A and 5 </ b> B, A fence drive unit 6, an end fence 7, an end fence drive unit 8, an upper surface detection sensor (corresponding to a detection unit in claims) 9, an operation panel unit 10, and a control unit 11 are provided. The paper discharge device 1 is connected to the printing device 100.

  The paper discharge unit 2 discharges the paper P printed by the printing apparatus 100 to the paper discharge table 3. The paper discharge unit 2 includes a plurality of paper discharge rollers 21, a paper discharge motor 22, and a paper discharge sensor 23.

  The paper discharge roller 21 conveys the paper P and discharges it to the paper discharge tray 3. The paper discharge roller 21 is disposed on the rear upper side with respect to the paper discharge tray 3.

  The paper discharge motor 22 drives a plurality of paper discharge rollers 21.

  The paper discharge sensor 23 detects the paper P discharged to the paper discharge tray 3 by the paper discharge roller 21. The paper discharge sensor 23 is disposed below the transport path of the paper P transported by the paper discharge roller 21. The paper discharge sensor 23 is a reflective optical sensor.

  The paper discharge tray 3 is for stacking the paper P discharged from the paper discharge unit 2. The paper discharge tray 3 includes a bottom plate portion 26 having a rectangular shape in plan view, a central member 27, and stiffness members 28 and 29.

  The central member 27 is formed at the central portion in the left-right direction on the bottom plate portion 26 so as to extend in the front-rear direction. The upper surface 27a of the central member 27 is a substantially horizontal plane. The upper surface 27 a of the central member 27 constitutes a part of the sheet placement surface of the sheet discharge table 3.

  The stiffening members 28 and 29 are wedge-shaped members elongated in the left-right direction. A plurality of the stiffening members 28 and 29 are arranged on the bottom plate portion 26 at intervals in the front-rear direction. The stiffening member 28 is disposed on the left side of the central member 27 via a gap. The upper surface 28a of the stiffness enhancing member 28 is inclined so as to gradually increase from the right side to the left side. The stiffening member 29 is disposed on the right side of the central member 27 via a gap. The upper surface 29a of the stiffness enhancing member 29 is inclined so as to gradually increase from the left side toward the right side. The upper surfaces 28 a and 29 a of the crimping members 28 and 29 together with the upper surface 27 a of the central member 27 constitute a paper placement surface of the paper discharge tray 3. The sheet stacking surface has a substantially V shape in which both sides in the left-right direction are higher than the center. As a result, the paper P is stacked on the paper discharge tray 3 in a substantially U shape in which both sides in the paper width direction (left-right direction) are curved upward from the center. As a result, the paper P can be stiff and the alignment can be improved.

  The elevating drive unit 4 elevates and lowers the paper discharge table 3. The lift drive unit 4 includes a lift mechanism 31 and a lift motor 32.

  The elevating mechanism 31 has a rack and pinion mechanism, and raises and lowers the paper discharge tray 3 by the driving force of the elevating motor 32.

  The raising / lowering motor 32 generates a driving force for raising / lowering the sheet discharge tray 3 by the raising / lowering mechanism 31. The paper discharge table 3 is raised by the forward drive of the lifting motor 32, and the paper discharge table 3 is lowered by the reverse drive.

  The pair of side fences 5 </ b> A and 5 </ b> B regulates the positions of both ends in the paper width direction (left-right direction) of the paper P discharged onto the paper discharge tray 3. The side fences 5 </ b> A and 5 </ b> B are provided in a state of being suspended above the paper discharge table 3 and are separated from the paper discharge table 3. The side fences 5A and 5B are arranged side by side in the left-right direction.

  The side fence drive unit 6 moves the pair of side fences 5A and 5B. The side fence drive unit 6 includes a side fence moving mechanism 33 and a side fence motor 34.

  The side fence moving mechanism 33 moves the pair of side fences 5 </ b> A and 5 </ b> B in a direction in which the pair of side fences 5 </ b> A and 5 </ b> B approach each other or in a direction in which the pair of side fences 5 </ b> B are separated from each other. The side fence moving mechanism 33 is provided above the pair of side fences 5A and 5B.

  The side fence motor 34 generates a driving force for moving the side fences 5A and 5B by the side fence moving mechanism 33. The side fences 5A and 5B approach each other by the forward rotation drive of the side fence motor 34, and the side fences 5A and 5B are separated from each other by the reverse rotation drive of the side fence motor 34.

  The end fence 7 regulates the front end position of the paper P discharged to the paper discharge tray 3. The end fence 7 is provided in a state of being suspended above the paper discharge tray 3 and is separated from the paper discharge tray 3.

  The end fence driving unit 8 moves the end fence 7. The end fence driving unit 8 includes an end fence moving mechanism 35 and an end fence motor 36.

  The end fence moving mechanism 35 moves the end fence 7 in the front-rear direction by the driving force of the end fence motor 36. The end fence moving mechanism 35 is provided above the end fence 7.

  The end fence motor 36 generates a driving force for moving the end fence 7 by the end fence moving mechanism 35. The end fence 7 is moved forward by the forward drive of the end fence motor 36, and the end fence 7 is moved backward by the reverse drive of the end fence motor 36.

  The upper surface detection sensor 9 is for detecting the presence or absence of the paper P at the reference upper surface position, which is a reference for the height position (upper surface position) of the uppermost surface of the stacked paper on the paper discharge tray 3. The reference upper surface position is set in advance as an optimum height position so that the sheets P dropped from the paper discharge unit 2 to the paper discharge tray 3 are stacked in an orderly manner. The upper surface detection sensor 9 is a transmissive optical sensor and includes a light emitting unit 9a and a light receiving unit 9b.

  The light emitting unit 9a and the light receiving unit 9b are disposed opposite to each other in the front-rear direction with the paper discharge table 3 interposed therebetween. The light emitting unit 9a emits light toward the light receiving unit 9b. The light emitting unit 9a and the light receiving unit 9b are arranged such that the height position of the optical axis coincides with the reference upper surface position. The light emitting unit 9 a and the light receiving unit 9 b are arranged so that the optical axis passes through the range where the central member 27 of the paper discharge tray 3 exists in the left-right direction. The light receiving unit 9b receives the light from the light emitting unit 9a when there is no paper P between the light emitting unit 9a and does not receive the light from the light emitting unit 9a when blocked by the paper P. That is, the upper surface detection sensor 9 detects the paper P when the light receiving unit 9b does not receive the light from the light emitting unit 9a.

  The operation panel unit 10 receives user input operations and displays various types of information. The operation panel unit 10 is common with the printing apparatus 100. The operation panel unit 10 includes an input unit 37 and a display unit 38.

  The input unit 37 accepts an input operation by the user and outputs an operation signal corresponding to the operation. The input unit 37 includes various operation keys, a touch panel, and the like.

  The display unit 38 displays various information. The display unit 38 includes a liquid crystal display panel and the like.

  The control unit 11 controls the overall operation of the paper discharge device 1. Further, the control unit 11 transmits and receives signals to and from the printing apparatus 100. The control unit 11 includes a storage device such as a CPU, RAM, ROM, and HDD.

  The control unit 11 performs control for lowering the sheet discharge table 3 by the lifting / lowering drive unit 4 in order to maintain the upper surface position of the stacked sheets on the sheet discharge table 3 during the sheet discharge operation. Specifically, when the sheet is stacked on the sheet discharge table 3 and the upper surface detection sensor 9 is turned on during the sheet discharge operation, the control unit 11 moves the sheet discharge table 3 until the upper surface detection sensor 9 is turned off. Control to lower. At this time, the controller 11 counts the number of discharged sheets when the upper surface detection sensor 9 is OFF after the lowering of the discharge table 3 (corresponding to the upper surface non-detected number of discharged sheets in the claims) Cnt is the specified number When N is reached, it is selected whether to stop or continue the paper discharge operation. When the paper discharge operation is continued, the control unit 11 lowers the paper discharge tray 3 by the specified lowering amount H.

  Here, the detection state in the upper surface detection sensor 9 (the state where the light from the light emitting unit 9a is blocked in the middle and the light receiving unit 9b is not receiving light) is ON, and the non-detection state (the light from the light emitting unit 9a receives the light receiving unit 9b Is in the state of receiving light). The control unit 11 determines ON / OFF of the upper surface detection sensor 9 based on the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 9b.

  Next, the operation of the paper discharge device 1 will be described.

  The paper discharge device 1 performs a paper discharge operation in accordance with the printing operation in the printing apparatus 100. When starting the paper discharge operation, the control unit 11 performs an upper surface positioning operation. Specifically, the control unit 11 starts the raising of the paper discharge tray 3 by the forward drive of the lifting motor 32. When the upper surface detection sensor 9 is turned on after the forward drive of the lift motor 32 is started, the control unit 11 stops the lift of the discharge table 3 by stopping the lift motor 32.

  Thereafter, the control unit 11 starts the lowering of the paper discharge tray 3 by the reverse drive of the lifting motor 32. When the upper surface detection sensor 9 is turned off, the control unit 11 stops the lowering motor 32 to stop the lowering of the paper discharge tray 3. Thus, the upper surface positioning operation is completed. By the upper surface positioning operation, the upper surface 27a of the central member 27 of the paper discharge tray 3 or the uppermost surface of the paper P stacked on the paper discharge tray 3 is adjusted to be positioned at the reference upper surface position.

  In addition, the control unit 11 controls the side fence driving unit 6 and the end fence driving unit 8 to adjust the side fences 5A and 5B and the end fence 7 to positions corresponding to the size of the paper P to be discharged.

  After the top surface positioning operation and the adjustment of the side fences 5A and 5B and the end fence 7 are completed, the control unit 11 starts a paper discharge operation, and the paper P sequentially sent from the printing apparatus 100 is discharged by the paper discharge unit 2. Paper is discharged sequentially to the paper discharge tray 3.

  During the paper discharge operation, the control unit 11 controls the lowering of the paper discharge table 3. The lowering control of the paper discharge tray 3 during the paper discharge operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the paper discharge operation is started, the control unit 11 starts counting the number of discharged paper in step S1 of FIG. The control unit 11 determines whether or not the paper P is discharged based on ON / OFF of the paper discharge sensor 23. The control unit 11 adds “1” to the count value Cnt every time one sheet is discharged.

  Next, in step S2, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the upper surface detection sensor 9 is turned on.

  When it is determined that the upper surface detection sensor 9 is turned on (step S2: YES), the control unit 11 starts the lowering of the paper discharge tray 3 in step S3. Specifically, the control unit 11 starts reverse rotation driving of the lifting motor 32.

  Next, in step S4, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the upper surface detection sensor 9 is turned off. When it is determined that the upper surface detection sensor 9 is not OFF (step S4: NO), the control unit 11 repeats step S4.

  When it is determined that the upper surface detection sensor 9 has been turned off (step S4: YES), in step S5, the control unit 11 stops the lowering of the discharge table 3. Specifically, the control unit 11 stops the lifting motor 32.

  Next, in step S6, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the discharge for the number of printed sheets has been completed. When it is determined that the number of printed sheets has been discharged (step S6: YES), the control unit 11 ends the series of processes.

  If it is determined that the number of printed sheets has not been discharged (step S6: NO), in step S7, the control unit 11 resets the count value Cnt, that is, sets Cnt = 0. Thereafter, the control unit 11 returns to step S2.

  When it is determined in step S2 that the upper surface detection sensor 9 is not turned on (step S2: NO), in step S8, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the discharge of the number of printed sheets has been completed. If it is determined that the number of printed sheets has been discharged (step S8: YES), the control unit 11 ends the series of processes.

  If it is determined that the number of printed sheets has not been discharged (step S8: NO), in step S9, the control unit 11 determines whether the count value Cnt has reached the specified number N.

  The specified number N is a value for the control unit 11 to determine whether or not the paper P stacked on the paper discharge tray 3 is curled. As shown in FIG. 5, when sheets P that are curled in an upwardly convex shape (inverted U shape) with both sides curved downward from the center in the sheet width direction are stacked, a gap is generated between the sheets. In such a case, since the optical axis of the upper surface detection sensor 9 passes through the gap between the sheets, the sequentially discharged sheets P are stacked while the upper surface detection sensor 9 is OFF. Therefore, when the count value Cnt reaches the specified number N, the control unit 11 determines that the paper P on the paper discharge tray 3 is curled as shown in FIG.

  The specified number N is specified according to the paper type and paper size. The ease of curling varies depending on the paper type. For example, thin paper is more likely to curl than thick paper. Also, the larger the paper, the easier it is to curl. Based on the paper type and the paper size, the prescribed number N is set to a smaller value as the paper easily curls.

  Returning to FIG. 4, when it is determined that the count value Cnt has not reached the specified number N (step S9: NO), the control unit 11 returns to step S2.

  When it is determined that the count value Cnt has reached the specified number N (step S9: YES), in step S10, the control unit 11 is set to allow the user to select whether or not to continue the paper discharge operation when a curl occurs. Judge whether there is.

  Here, in the paper discharge device 1, it is possible to set the user to select whether to continue or stop the paper discharge operation when a curl occurs. It is also possible to set in advance whether to continue or stop the paper discharge operation regardless of the user's selection.

  If it is determined that the user selects whether to continue the paper discharge operation (step S10: YES), the control unit 11 temporarily stops the paper discharge operation in step S11. Specifically, the control unit 11 outputs an instruction to the printing apparatus 100 to temporarily stop the printing operation and to temporarily stop the paper discharging operation by the paper discharging unit 2.

  Next, in step S12, the control unit 11 displays the selection screen 40 shown in FIG. The selection screen 40 displays a message 41 for notifying the user that the paper on the paper discharge tray 3 is curled and for allowing the user to select whether or not to continue printing and paper discharge. The selection screen 40 also displays a stop button 42 for receiving an instruction to stop printing and paper discharge, and a continue button 43 for receiving an instruction to continue printing and paper discharge.

  Next, in step S13, the control unit 11 determines whether or not an instruction to continue printing and paper discharge has been issued, that is, whether or not the continue button 43 has been pressed.

  If it is determined that the cancel button 42 has been pressed (step S13: NO), the control unit 11 ends the series of processes without restarting the printing operation by the printing apparatus 100 and the paper discharge operation by the paper discharge unit 2. .

  If it is determined that the continue button 43 has been pressed (step S13: YES), in step S14, the control unit 11 drives the lift motor 32 in the reverse direction and lowers the discharge table 3 by the specified lowering amount H. The specified lowering amount H is specified according to the specified number N and the paper type. The larger the prescribed number N, and the thicker the sheet, the larger the prescribed lowering amount H.

  Next, in step S15, the control unit 11 restarts the paper discharge operation. Specifically, the control unit 11 outputs an instruction to the printing apparatus 100 to restart the printing operation, and restarts the paper discharging operation by the paper discharging unit 2. Thereafter, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S7.

  If it is determined in step S10 that the user does not select whether or not to continue the paper discharge operation (step S10: NO), in step S16, the control unit 11 performs printing and printing from preset contents. It is determined whether or not the setting is to continue the paper discharge. If it is determined that the setting is to continue printing and paper discharge (step S16: YES), the controller 11 proceeds to step S14.

  If it is determined that the setting is to cancel printing and paper discharge (step S16: NO), the control unit 11 stops the paper discharge operation in step S17. Specifically, the control unit 11 outputs an instruction to the printing apparatus 100 to stop the printing operation, and stops the paper discharge operation by the paper discharge unit 2.

  Next, in step S18, the control unit 11 displays the error notification screen 50 shown in FIG. 7 on the display unit 38, and ends the series of processes. On the error notification screen 50, a message 51 is displayed to notify the user that printing has been stopped because the paper on the paper discharge tray 3 may be curled.

  As described above, when the count value Cnt reaches the specified number N during the paper discharge operation, the paper discharge device 1 selects whether to stop or continue the paper discharge operation. If the paper discharge operation is stopped, it is possible to prevent a large number of sheets from being stacked while being curled. Thereby, it is possible to reduce defects in the stacked state of the sheets P. For example, it is possible to reduce a situation in which the lower layer paper P is crushed and a crease or a wrinkle occurs or it is difficult for the user to take out the paper from the paper discharge tray 3. In addition, since it is possible to select the continuation of the paper discharge operation, it is possible to cope with use in which the load amount is more important than the load state.

  In the paper discharge device 1, it is possible to select whether to stop or continue the paper discharge operation when the count value Cnt reaches the specified number N in accordance with a user instruction. Thereby, since the user can instruct to continue the paper discharge operation, convenience for the user is improved.

  Further, in the paper discharge device 1, the specified number N is specified according to the paper type and the paper size. Accordingly, it is possible to define an appropriate specified number N according to the ease with which the paper is curled. Specifically, the prescribed number N is set to a smaller value for a paper that is more likely to curl. Thus, when the discharge operation is stopped when the count value Cnt reaches the specified number N, the discharge operation can be quickly stopped.

  In the paper discharge device 1, the specified lowering amount H is specified according to the specified number N and the paper type. As a result, the lowering amount of the paper discharge tray 3 can be appropriately controlled, and the upper surface position of the stacked sheets on the paper discharge tray 3 during the paper discharge operation can be maintained. As a result, the disturbance of the paper P on the paper discharge tray 3 can be suppressed.

  Note that the selection of whether or not to stop the paper discharge operation when the count value Cnt reaches the specified number N is omitted, and the paper discharge operation is always stopped when the count value Cnt reaches the specified number N. Also good.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper discharge apparatus 2 Paper discharge part 3 Paper discharge stand 4 Lift drive part 5A, 5B Side fence 6 Side fence drive part 7 End fence 8 End fence drive part 9 Upper surface detection sensor 10 Operation panel part 11 Control part 40 Selection screen 50 Error Notification screen 100 Printer P Paper

Claims (1)

A paper tray that can be raised and lowered to load paper;
A paper discharge unit for discharging the paper to the paper discharge tray;
A detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a sheet at a position serving as a reference for the height position of the top surface of the sheets stacked on the sheet discharge table;
A control unit that controls to lower the discharge table until the detection unit is in a non-detection state when the detection unit is in a detection state during the paper discharge operation by the paper discharge unit;
The control unit performs control to stop the discharge operation when the upper surface non-detected number of discharged sheets, which is the number of discharged sheets in the non-detected state after the lowering of the discharge table, reaches a specified number. Is,
Further, the control unit can select to continue the paper discharge operation even when the upper surface non-detected paper discharge number reaches the specified number. When the paper discharge operation is continued, the upper surface non-detected paper discharge number is selected. If There reaches the defined number, the paper discharge device you characterized by lowering said delivery table by prescribed lowering amount.