JP6236590B2 - Sheet storage device and image forming system using the same - Google Patents

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet storage device that stores sheets fed from an image forming apparatus or the like in a stack tray, and is capable of storing sheets in an orderly manner at a correct position on a paper loading surface having a paper discharge port and a step. The present invention relates to an improvement of the storage mechanism.

  In general, this type of apparatus is widely known as a stack mechanism in which a stack tray is disposed on the downstream side of a paper discharge path, and a sheet is dropped and stored on a paper loading surface having a level difference with a paper discharge port. A sub-tray that temporarily holds the sheet is provided between the paper discharge port and the paper mounting surface, and post-processing such as binding processing, paper folding processing, and punching processing is performed on the sheet on the sub-tray, and the processed sheet is A post-processing mechanism for storing on a paper surface is also known.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a stack tray is disposed in a paper discharge path of an image forming apparatus, and a support member that supports a sheet rear end and a sheet corner is provided between a paper discharge port and a paper mounting surface. An apparatus is disclosed in which a bundle of sheets stacked on top of each other is bound and stored on a paper surface. In the apparatus of the same document, a rear end support member that supports the rear end of the sheet and a corner support member that supports the sheet corner are disposed between the paper discharge port and the paper mounting surface, and both support members are moved from the operating position above the tray. A shift mechanism that reciprocates between the standby position outside the tray is provided.

Japanese Patent No. 4901082

  As described above, the post-processing mechanism is provided with a support member that temporarily accumulates sheets above the stack tray, and the support member can be moved forward and backward between the tray upper portion and the outside. It is possible to configure. On the other hand, if the height difference between the tray paper loading surface and the paper discharge port is increased, the storage capacity increases, but the storage posture of the sheet stored by dropping from the paper discharge port may be disturbed, and if the height difference is set small. It is also known that the storage capacity is limited. Therefore, a mechanism for raising and lowering the paper loading surface of the stack tray in accordance with the loading amount is also known, but has a problem that the apparatus is increased in size and cost.

  Conventionally, when the support member that temporarily supports the sheet between the paper discharge port and the paper loading surface is configured to be able to enter and retreat with respect to the lay, the rear end support member that supports the rear end of the sheet and the sheet side edge The supporting side edge support members are both retracted from the support position on the tray to the outside of the tray at the same time, and the entire sheet is simultaneously dropped and stored on the paper loading surface.

  Therefore, the sheet (bundle) supported by the support member above the paper placement surface is dropped and stored on the paper placement surface when the support member is retracted. In this storage, since the entire sheet falls simultaneously, the sheet posture is disturbed and stored randomly. When the sheets are stored in an unstable state as described above, it is difficult to separate and store the sheets so that the sheets are offset for each group and stacked on the paper loading surface.

  For example, if a sub-tray is provided between the paper discharge port and the paper loading surface, the sheets are offset on the sub-tray by a predetermined amount and stacked and then dropped and stored on the paper loading surface. There is a problem that cannot be categorized.

  Therefore, the present inventor is configured so that the paper loading surface is inclined in the paper discharge direction or the paper discharge orthogonal direction, and the support member that supports the sheet rear end portion and the side end portion can be individually retracted from the tray. When dropping the sheet accumulated on the member, the idea was to first retract the inclined support member from the sheet and then retract the remaining support member from the sheet.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet storage device capable of orderly collecting sheets at an accurate position in an apparatus configuration in which a sub-tray for temporarily holding a sheet is disposed between a sheet discharge port and a paper mounting surface. It is said. It is another object of the present invention to provide a sheet storage apparatus capable of stacking and storing continuous sheets by grouping them on a paper surface.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and the present invention arranges the paper loading surface inclined in the paper discharge direction or the paper discharge orthogonal direction, and the sheet trailing edge in the paper discharge direction; The first and second support members that support the rear end portion are arranged so as to be movable between the operating position and the retracted position in the tray. After the sheets are stacked on both support members, the support member positioned in the direction perpendicular to the inclined direction of the paper loading surface is first retracted from the tray, and then the support member positioned in the inclined direction is retracted to the standby position. It is characterized by that.

  Further, the configuration will be described in detail. A sheet discharge port (13) for carrying out the sheet, a stack tray (15) having a paper loading surface (15a) arranged on the downstream side of the sheet discharge port, and a sheet discharge surface, Sub-tray means (18) is disposed between the mouth and the paper loading surface and temporarily holds the sheet discharged from the paper discharge port.

  A height difference for supporting the sheet in a posture inclined in the paper discharge direction or a direction orthogonal to the paper discharge is provided on the paper placement surface (15a) of the stack tray, and the sub-tray means (18) is positioned in the inclination direction of the stack tray. A first support member (19) for supporting the sheet edge to be formed, a second support member (20) for supporting the sheet edge located in the direction perpendicular to the inclination of the stack tray, and the first support member above the paper loading surface. The first shift means (21) that reciprocates between the operating position and the retracted position outside the paper placing surface, and the second support member between the operating position above the paper placing surface and the retracted position outside the paper placing surface. It comprises a second shift means (22) that reciprocates and a paper discharge control means (50) that controls the first and second shift means.

  When the first and second support members are moved from the operating position to the retracted position, the discharge control means (50) moves the second support member in advance to the retracted position and then moves the first support member to the retracted position. Move to.

  According to the present invention, the paper loading surface is disposed in a state inclined in the paper discharge direction or the paper discharge orthogonal direction, and the sheet rear end portion in the paper discharge direction and the first and second support members supporting the rear end portion are disposed in the tray. The support member positioned in the tilt direction is arranged first with the support member positioned in the direction orthogonal to the tilt direction after the sheets are stacked on both support members, and the support member positioned in the direction orthogonal to the tilt direction is disposed. Since it is retracted to the standby position later, the following effects are obtained.

The sheets are accumulated in a state of being supported on the first and second support members, and after the support members in the direction perpendicular to the inclination direction of the paper mounting surface are retracted, the remaining support members are retracted, so that the sheets are mounted on the paper. It can be neatly accumulated at the correct position on the surface. That is, when the paper loading surface is tilted back and forth in the paper discharge direction (tilted up in the paper discharge direction), the rear edge of the sheet is the rear edge after the side edge support member supporting the sheet side edge is retracted. It landed from the tip while being supported by the support member on the small paper Nomen a drop (height difference) is subsequently retracted the rear support member housed on the paper mounting surface.

  For this reason, compared with the case where the entire sheet is dropped and stored simultaneously on the paper loading surface with a large height difference, the sheet is landed on the paper loading surface from the end portion with a small height difference, and then the rear end portion of the sheet is landed. Therefore, it is stored in a relatively correct posture with little displacement.

  Furthermore, if the sheet supported by the support member positioned in the direction orthogonal to the inclination direction of the paper loading surface is offset by a predetermined amount according to the alignment information and then stored on the paper loading surface, the sheet will be jog-sorted with little misalignment. I can do it.

1 is an explanatory diagram of an overall configuration of an image forming system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory perspective view of the overall configuration of a post-processing device (sheet storage device) in the system of FIG. The post-processing apparatus in the system of FIG. 1 is shown, (a) is explanatory drawing of a front structure, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the movement amount of a tray. The post-processing apparatus in the system of FIG. 1 is shown, (a) is explanatory drawing of planar structure, (b) is explanatory drawing of a paddle. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of a subtray in the present invention. FIG. 3 is a first embodiment of a friction carrier (rotary body and inch motion mechanism) in the apparatus of FIG. 2. The operation state of the conveyance body traveling means 28 is shown, (a) is a home position, and (b) is a state where the traveling motor is rotated counterclockwise (about 90 degrees in the drawing). (C) shows the state of engagement (contact) with the uppermost sheet, and (d) shows the state of further rotating the traveling motor counterclockwise (about 0 degrees). Show. The operation state of the conveyance body traveling means is shown, and (e) and (f) show the state of being retracted from the sheet. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of a friction conveyance body, (a) shows the case where a sheet | seat is conveyed in the direction ((theta) = 45 degree | times) crossing the discharge direction arrow X, (b) is a direction different from (a). Shows a case where the sheet is conveyed. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the movable guide unit, in which FIG. 4A shows the case where the movable guide is not arranged, FIG. 4B shows the state in the first operating position, and FIG. Indicates the state. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the operation of the movable guide means, (d) shows a state where the movable guide means is moved from the first operating position to the second operating position, (e) shows a state where the movable guide means is moved backward to the retracted position, and (f) is a seat A state in which the rear end falls on the paper surface is shown. Explanatory drawing (block diagram) of the control structure in the system of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of 1st Embodiment of the offset mechanism in this invention, (a) shows a tray perspective view, (b) shows a top view. It is explanatory drawing of 2nd Embodiment of the offset mechanism in this invention, (a) shows a tray perspective view, (b) is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a slide member. FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram (flow chart) of a first paper discharge mode of the post-processing apparatus of FIG. The operation | movement flow of the 2nd discharge mode of the post-processing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 2 shows an operation flow of the third paper discharge mode of the post-processing apparatus, where (a) shows the first embodiment and (b) shows the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a regulation state of a sheet side edge when a sheet is directly carried out from a sheet discharge port to a stack tray (first sheet discharge mode and third sheet discharge mode in the first embodiment). FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a state in which the sheets are carried out from the paper discharge port to the paper mounting surface, and FIG.

  The present invention will be described in detail below based on the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an image forming system according to the present invention. An image forming apparatus A that forms an image on a sheet, and a sheet processed with this apparatus A is subjected to post-processing such as binding processing and jog sorting processing. And a post-processing apparatus B which is stored in the downstream stack tray. The sheet storage device C is built in the post-processing device B.

  The image forming apparatus A can employ various image forming mechanisms such as an inkjet printing mechanism and an offset printing mechanism in addition to an electrostatic printing mechanism described later. The post-processing apparatus B can employ a processing mechanism such as a paper folding apparatus, a magazine folding apparatus, a punch punching apparatus, and a stamp stamping apparatus in addition to a staple binding process described later.

[Image forming apparatus]
An image forming apparatus A shown in FIG. 1 is connected to an image handling apparatus such as a computer or a network scanner (not shown), forms an image on a specified sheet based on image data transferred from these apparatuses, and performs predetermined discharge. Unload from the paper slot 6. The paper discharge port 6 is provided with a paper discharge tray for stacking and storing sheets. A post-processing apparatus B is mounted as an optional apparatus instead of the paper discharge tray. In addition to such a network configuration, the image forming apparatus A is configured as a copying machine or a facsimile, and is configured to copy and form an image on a sheet based on data read by an original scanning unit.

  In the image forming apparatus A, a plurality of paper feed cassettes 2 are prepared in the housing 1, and a sheet of a selected size is fed from the cassette to the paper feed path 3 on the downstream side. An image forming mechanism (image forming unit) 4 is provided in the paper feed path 3. As the image forming mechanism 4, an ink jet printing mechanism, an electrostatic printing mechanism, an offset printing mechanism, a silk screen printing mechanism, a ribbon transfer printing mechanism, and the like are known. The present invention can employ any printing mechanism.

  A paper discharge path 5 is provided on the downstream side of the image forming mechanism 4, and a sheet is carried out from a paper discharge port 6 (hereinafter referred to as a main body paper discharge port) disposed in the housing 1. Note that, depending on the printing mechanism, a fixing unit 4 a is built in the paper discharge path 5. In this way, the sheet of the size selected from the paper feed cassette 2 is sent to the image forming unit 4, and after the image is formed, it is carried out from the paper discharge path 5 to the main body paper discharge port 6. In addition, a duplex path (not shown) may be arranged in the housing 1, and after the image is formed on the surface of the sheet by the image forming unit 4, the sheet is turned upside down and circulated and fed to the image forming unit 4 again. Is possible.

  A post-processing device B, which will be described later, is connected to the main body discharge port 6. The housing 1 incorporates a scanner unit 7 and a document feeding unit 8 for feeding a document sheet to the scanner unit 7. In this case, the scanner unit 7 scans the original sheet placed on the platen or fed from the feeder mechanism, reads the image, and transfers the read data to the image forming apparatus A. The document feeding unit 8 includes a feeder mechanism that feeds a document sheet to the platen of the scanner unit 7.

[Post-processing equipment]
The post-processing device B in FIG. 1 is built in the paper discharge area 9 of the image forming apparatus A as an optional device. The present invention is not limited to such an inner finisher structure, and may be configured as a stand-alone structure and connected to the paper discharge port 6 of the image forming apparatus A. FIG. 2 shows a perspective configuration of the post-processing apparatus B having an inner finisher configuration. The housing 10 constituting the unit is configured to have a size and shape built in the paper discharge area 9 of the apparatus A.

  FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional configuration of the post-processing apparatus B. The post-processing apparatus B includes a sheet carry-in path 11 for carrying a sheet from the image forming apparatus A, and a stack tray 15 disposed on the downstream side of the path. A level difference h is formed between the sheet discharge path 13 of the sheet carry-in path 11 (hereinafter simply referred to as “discharge port”) and the sheet placement surface 15 a of the stack tray 15. This step h is set to the maximum allowable storage amount. The illustrated stack tray 15 employs a stack structure that is fixed at a predetermined level without moving up and down in the stacking direction according to the stacking amount of sheets. This is because the apparatus configuration is made compact and accommodated in the paper discharge area 9 in a limited space. Therefore, when the apparatus cost and the storage space are allowed, an elevating tray structure for elevating the stack tray 15 in the sheet stacking direction may be employed. In this case, the tray may be raised and lowered according to the weight of the discharged sheet using an elastic member such as a spring, or a drive for raising and lowering the tray may be used.

  The sheet carry-in path 11 is disposed in the housing 10 in a substantially horizontal direction, and conveys the sheet from the carry-in port 12 to the paper discharge port 13. For this reason, the sheet carry-in path 11 is provided with a plurality of carry rollers 14a arranged at a predetermined interval from the sheet carry guide, and a carry-in sensor Se1 and a paper discharge sensor Se2 for detecting the leading and trailing edges of the sheet. The transport roller 14a is connected to a transport motor M1 (not shown). 14b in the drawing is a paper discharge roller disposed at the exit end of the path, and is connected to the same transport motor M1 as the transport roller 14a.

[Stack tray]
The configuration of the stack tray 15 will be described with reference to FIG. The stack tray 15 is fixed to the apparatus frame 10 (housing; hereinafter the same), and has a paper loading surface 15a on which sheets fed from the paper discharge port 13 are stacked and stored. The illustrated apparatus is fixed to the apparatus frame 10 in a tray shape on which a sheet is placed by molding a synthetic resin (cantilever support structure). A step having a height difference h is formed between the paper discharge port 13 and the paper loading surface 15a, and the rear end regulating surface 16 and the side edge regulating surface 17 are formed between the paper discharge port 13 and the paper loading surface 15a. Is provided with a wall surface structure. Each of the regulating surfaces is regulated by the trailing edge regulating surface 16 on the trailing edge surface of the sheet stacked on the paper placing surface and the side edge regulating surface 17 on the side edge surface.

  Note that the paper loading surface 15 a of the stack tray 15 has a fixed tray structure having a height difference h between the stack tray 15 and the paper discharge outlet 13. At this time, the height difference h is set to a height that matches the maximum load capacity that can be accommodated. In addition, the stack tray 15 is configured to be movable up and down in the sheet stacking direction on the apparatus frame 10, and is moved up and down to adjust the height position of the paper loading surface 15 a according to the stacking amount of the sheets carried out from the sheet discharge outlet 13. A tray structure may be adopted.

[Sub tray]
As shown in FIG. 3, a sub-tray 18 is disposed between the paper discharge port 13 and the paper placement surface 15a. The sub-tray 18 temporarily stores and supports the sheet falling from the paper discharge outlet 13 on the paper placement surface 15a at an intermediate position, and stores the sheet on the paper placement surface 15a. The configuration of this post-processing will be described later. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a planar configuration of the sheet discharge outlet 13 and the stack tray 15, omitting a conveyance guide that configures the sheet carry-in path 11. A sheet carry-in path (not shown) is arranged from the right side to the left side of the figure, and the sheet that has entered from the carry-in port 12 is transferred to the paper discharge port 13 by the transport roller 14a and the paper discharge roller 14b. The sheets sent to the paper discharge port 13 are stacked on the paper loading surface 15a of the stack tray 15, and the end surface is regulated by the rear end regulating surface 16 and stacked.

  The sub-tray 18 partially supports the sheet sent from the paper discharge port 13 and holds the sheet at that position. The illustrated sub-tray 18 includes a rear end support member 19 (first support member) that supports the rear end of the sheet in the paper discharge direction, and a side edge support member that supports one side end of the sheet (the right side is illustrated). 20 (second support member 20). In FIG. 5, the rear end support member 19 protrudes from the rear end regulating surface 16 of the stack tray 15 by Dx inside the tray, and the side edge support member projects from the side edge regulating surface 17 by Dy inside the tray. And the protrusion amount Dx (first support protrusion amount) and Dy (second support protrusion amount) are placed on both support members, with the sheets having the maximum size to the minimum size and the maximum basis weight to the minimum basis weight. It is formed in a supportable area.

  The first support member 19 and the second support member 20 are configured to be movable from a position Ap protruding inside the tray to a retracted position Wp retracted outside the tray. That is, the first support member 19 reciprocates between the operating position Ap protruding inside the tray and the retracted position Wp retracted to the outside of the tray (inner side of the sheet rear end regulating surface 16; right side in FIG. 4). Similarly, the second support member 20 reciprocates between an operating position Ap (illustrated position) protruding into the tray and a retracted position Wp retracted to the outside of the tray (inside the sheet side edge regulating surface 17; front side in FIG. 4). Move. This slide structure can employ various mechanisms, but the illustrated one can slide the plate-shaped first and second support members 20 on a guide rail (not shown) formed on the apparatus frame 10 with a slide roller or the like. Is fitted.

[Shift mechanism]
The first support member 19 is equipped with the first shift means 21, and the second support member 20 is equipped with the second shift means 22. The support members reciprocate between the operating position Ap and the standby position Wp. It is driven to move. One of the first shift means 21 and the second shift means 22 will be described because the same configuration is adopted. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the relationship between the first and second support members 19 and 20 and the shift means 21 and 22. According to the drawing, the rack 21r is integrated with the first support member 19 on the back side thereof. The support member 19 is reciprocated by the first shift motor SM1 fixed to the apparatus frame 10 and the pinion 21p connected thereto.

  That is, the rack 21r formed integrally with the support member 19 is reciprocated through the pinion 21p by forward / reverse rotation of the first shift motor SM1. 21f in the figure is a sensor flag arranged on the support member 19, and a position (for example, home position) of the support member 19 is detected by a position sensor Ps1 arranged on the apparatus frame 10. The shift motor SM1 is composed of a stepping motor capable of forward and reverse rotation, and for example, can be controlled to move the support member 19 in a predetermined direction by a predetermined amount by PMW control. The second support member 20 is also moved from the operating position Ap to the retracted position Wp with the same configuration. Therefore, the second support member 20 is provided with a second shift motor SM2, a second pinion 22p, a second rack 22r, a second position sensor Ps2, and a second sensor flag 22f.

  As described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the sub-tray 18 is disposed between the discharge outlet 13 and the stack tray 15, and the illustrated sub-tray 18 includes a first support member 19 and a second support member 20. . Further, the support members 19 and 20 are shift motors SM1 and SM2, respectively, with respect to the movement path (falling trajectory) of the sheet from the paper discharge outlet 13 to the stack tray 15 from the operating position Ap in the path (movement trajectory). Move to a standby position Wp outside the movement trajectory). In FIG. 23, a post-processing unit is a stapling unit that binds and processes the sheet bundle that is partly stacked on the first and second support members 19 and 20.

  The staple unit 23 (post-processing means; hereinafter the same) is not described because various structures are known, but the blank needle housed in the cartridge is folded into a U-shape and inserted into the sheet bundle. Fold the tip of the needle with an anvil. Instead of this stapling unit, or together with this unit, a punch unit for punching punch holes in the aligned sheet bundle and a stamp unit can be provided.

[Regulation stopper]
The sub-tray 18 (first and second support members 19 and 20) described above is provided with a stopper member for regulating the position of the edge of the sheet placed and supported. The first support member 19 is provided with a rear end restriction stopper 24 for restricting the rear end of the sheet, and the second support member 20 is provided with a side edge restriction stopper 25 for restricting the sheet side edge. Each of the illustrated restriction stoppers 24 and 25 includes a plurality of idle rollers 24 a and 24 b and idle rollers 25 a and 25 b that are spaced apart from each other, and are rotatably supported on the apparatus frame 10.

  Each idle roller 24 (25) engages with the edge of the sheet and rotates in the moving direction when the sheet moves. In this case, the sheets can be aligned more accurately and quickly by forcibly rotating the plurality of rollers in a predetermined direction. For example, the rollers 24a and 24b are interlocked with a belt, and a drive motor (not shown) is connected to the belt. With this configuration, the sheet is moved in the alignment direction in cooperation with the aligning and conveying means 26 described later, and aligned at a more accurate position. In addition, the restricting stoppers 24 and 25 may be formed by stepped surfaces, and various structures such as stepped portions, protrusions and the like that are integrally formed on the respective support members and the end surfaces thereof as restricting surfaces may be employed. .

  In the second paper discharge mode, which will be described later, each of the restriction stoppers 24 and 25 restricts the sheet trailing edge against the stopper 24 and the sheet side edge against the stopper 25 to position the sheet at the binding processing position. In a third paper discharge mode, which will be described later, the side edge of the sheet is abutted against the stopper 25 and the sheet is positioned at the jog offset position. In the third paper discharge mode, in the illustrated embodiment, the sheet trailing edge is abutted against the stopper 24 at the same time as the sheet side edge, but this is not a necessary configuration (that is, in the third paper discharge mode). The rear end regulating stopper 24 may be retracted from the first support member 19).

[Configuration of aligning and conveying means]
As shown in FIG. 4, the aligning conveyance means 26 that conveys the sheet placed and supported on the first and second support members 19 and 20 toward the trailing edge regulating stopper 24 and the side edge regulating stopper 25 is the apparatus frame 10. Is arranged. When the rear end of the sheet is separated from the roller peripheral surface, the sheet conveyed to the sheet discharge port 13 by the sheet discharge roller 14b falls on the first and second support members 19 and 20 and is placed in a free state. An aligning / conveying means 26 for conveying the sheet back toward the trailing edge regulating stopper 24 and the side edge regulating stopper 25 is disposed at a corner portion (right end in FIG. 4) of the first and second support members 19 and 20.

  In the illustrated apparatus, the aligning and conveying means 26 is disposed on the second support member 20, and the sheets placed on the first and second support members 19 and 20 are moved in the direction opposite to the arrow in FIG. 4 (sheet corner direction). It is arranged to carry back. Although this aligning conveyance means 26 may be arrange | positioned on the 1st support member 19, the case where it arrange | positions on the 2nd support member 20 of illustration is demonstrated.

  The aligning / conveying means 26 engages with the upper surface of the sheet supported by the first and second support members 19 and 20, and discharges the frictional conveying body in an angular direction intersecting with the discharging direction. It is comprised by the conveyance body traveling means 28 that travels in the direction.

  The frictional conveying body 27 engages with the upper surface of the sheet supported by the support member 20 and moves the sheet in the traveling direction of the conveying body by a frictional force acting between the two. For this reason, the friction carrier is formed of a high friction material such as a rubber material or a resin material, and the shape thereof is formed in a pad shape (rectangular shape), a roll shape, a semi-circular roll shape (half moon shape), a spherical shape, or the like. . The embodiment of FIG. 6 shows the case where it is configured as an idle roller (roll shape). The friction carrier is mounted and supported by a holder member (the following carrier running means 28; the same applies hereinafter).

  FIG. 6 shows a standby position Wu in which the frictional conveyance body 27 is retracted from the sheet on the support member 20, an engagement position Ad that engages with the upper surface of the sheet, and a predetermined transfer direction (X A conveying body traveling means 28 is illustrated which moves in the direction) and drags and conveys the sheet. The carrier traveling means 28 shown in FIG. 1 includes a manipulator 28 installed on the apparatus frame 10.

  The manipulator 28 includes a first arm 28a, a second arm 28b pivotally supported by the first arm, a third arm 28c pivotally supported at the tip of the second arm, and a third arm 28a. It is comprised by the action | operation arm 28d pivotally supported by the front-end | tip part. That is, it is composed of a four-axis arm connection (link connection), the first arm 28a is pivotally supported on the device frame 10, the drive arm 29 is connected to the second arm, and the movement of the third arm is controlled by the device frame 10. The friction conveying body 27 is fixed to the tip of the operating arm 28d that is regulated by the guide groove 30 and is pivotally supported by the third arm 28c.

  In FIG. 6, p1 is a rotation pin that pivotally supports the first arm 28a on the apparatus frame 10 so as to be swingable, and p2 is a rotation pin that pivotally supports the base end portion of the second arm 28b at the distal end of the first arm. It is. p3 is a rotation pin that pivotally connects the tip of the drive arm 29 to the second arm so that the drive arm 29 can be rotated, and the drive motor 29 is connected to a traveling motor M3. p4 is a drive shaft that pivotally supports the drive arm 29 on the apparatus frame 10 in a rotatable manner. A travel motor M3 is connected to the drive shaft via a speed reduction mechanism. Accordingly, when the drive arm 29 is rotated counterclockwise by the travel motor M3 about the drive shaft P4, the frictional carrier 27 mounted on the operating arm 28d rotates in a clockwise direction in FIG.

  Further, p5 is a rotation pin that pivotally supports the third arm at the distal end of the second arm, and p6 is a rotation pin that pivotally supports the operating arm base end at the distal end of the third arm. . Further, p6 also serves as a guide pin that fits into a guide groove provided in the apparatus frame 10. The guide groove of the apparatus frame 10 is configured to guide the operating arm so as to make the arm warm.

  Further, an urging spring 31 is laid between the third arm 28c and the operating arm 28d so as to urge the friction carrier 27 mounted at the tip of the operating arm toward the support member 20 side. This is because the friction conveying body 27 is always engaged with the sheet surface with a pressing force close to a constant regardless of the thickness (bundle thickness) of the sheets stacked on the support member 20. The friction carrier 27 is configured by a roll-shaped idler roller 27r, and is axially supported by a working arm 28d so as to be rotatable in a travel orthogonal direction by a roll support shaft 28x in a sheet travel direction (X direction in FIG. 6) described later.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 6, there is no technical necessity to strictly set the angle of the idle roller 27r constituting the friction carrier 27 so long as it is in a direction substantially perpendicular to the traveling direction. That is, it may be approximately 90 degrees with respect to the traveling direction of the friction carrier. The rotational axis angle of the idle roller 27r is set in such a range that the frictional drag acting between the traveling direction of the friction carrier and the sheet surface in the orthogonal direction is set so that the former is large and the latter is small. Here, the frictional drag means a resistance force due to friction acting on the object when it moves at a predetermined speed (similar to the frictional drag in hydrodynamics). When the frictional drag is small, the object is free in that direction. Move to.

  The travel motor M3 is configured by a motor capable of angle control such as a stepping motor or a DC motor having an angle control mechanism such as an encoder. An angle is set to the home position by detecting a flag arranged on the motor rotation shaft with a sensor (not shown).

  7 to 9 show the operating state of the transport body traveling means 28. FIG. 7A shows the home position, and the friction carrier 27 is located in a state of being retracted above the uppermost sheet of the support member 20. At this time, the drive arm 29 is positioned at about 120 degrees in the illustrated state. The angle of the drive arm is not related to the movement of the transport body traveling means 28 in the technical sense, but is shown for explaining the link movement. FIG. 6B shows a state in which the traveling motor M3M is rotated counterclockwise (about 90 degrees in the drawing). At this time, the frictional conveying body 27 is the most in the paper discharge direction (above the sheet on the support member 20). It is located far from the right edge. In other words, it is located in the most extended link connection state of inch warm motion.

  FIG. 8 (c) shows a state in which the friction carrier 27 is engaged (contacted) with the uppermost sheet of the support member 20. At this time, the drive arm 29 rotates counterclockwise and is positioned at an angular position of about 15 degrees. ing. In this state, the urging spring 31 between the operating arm 28d and the third arm applies a force for pressing the upper surface of the sheet to the friction conveyance body 27. A substantially uniform pressing force is applied to the friction carrier 27 regardless of the thickness of the sheets stacked on the support member 20.

  FIG. 8D shows a case where the traveling motor M3 is further rotated counterclockwise (about 0 degree), and the frictional conveying body 27 moves while dragging the sheet in the direction of the arrow in the figure. At this time, the second arm and the third arm are in the most tightly linked state. By such an operation, the frictional conveyance body contacts the uppermost sheet surface in the state of FIG. 8C, travels along the support surface to the position of FIG. 8D, drags and conveys the sheet, and conveys the sheet. Butt against each restriction stopper. In other words, the frictional force in the traveling direction of the frictional conveying body 27 is set to a friction coefficient that provides a sufficiently larger friction than the frictional force between the sheets.

FIG. 9E shows a state in which the sheet end is abutted against the restriction stopper and then separated from the upper surface of the sheet. After passing through FIG. 9F, the sheet moves to the home position in FIG. Wait for the import. When the final sheet (one sheet when only one sheet is aligned and discharged) of the sheet bundle aligned by the aligning / conveying means 26 is aligned, FIG. 8D shows. The motor M3 is stopped at the sheet abutting position, and the sheet bundle is nipped by the side edge support member 20 and the friction conveyance body 27. In this state, post-processing (staple processing) is performed on the sheet bundle in a second paper discharge mode, which will be described later, and in the third paper discharge mode, the sheet bundle is nipped between the side edge support member 20 and the frictional carrier 27. The side edge support member 20 is retracted, and then the rear end support member 19 is retracted, and the sheet bundle is discharged onto the paper placement surface 15 a of the stack tray 15. Thereafter, the aligning / conveying means 26 moves to the home position.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the friction carrier 27. (A) shows a case where the sheet is conveyed in a direction (θ = 45 degrees) intersecting with the paper discharge direction arrow X. When the sheet is moved from the broken line state to the solid line state, the sheet rear end edge is in contact with the rear end restriction stopper 24 first. A conveying force F acts on the sheet in the traveling direction, and its X-direction component force (Fcosθ) acts on the trailing edge regulating stopper 24 and the Y-direction component force (Fsinθ) acts on the side edge regulating stopper 25 side.

  At this time, when the rear end of the sheet hits the rear end regulating stopper 24 as shown in the drawing, the reaction force of the X direction component force (Fcos θ) acts on the sheet. This reaction force causes the sheet to buckle and distort, but the frictional carrier 27 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. This rotation prevents buckling and distortion of the seat due to reaction forces. In addition, since the force in the direction in which the sheet moves toward the regulation stopper 25 acts on the sheet by the rotation of the friction conveyance body 27, the friction conveyance body 27 is applied after the sheet side edge is abutted against the regulation stopper 24. The sheet side edge abuts against the regulation stopper 25 by moving in the traveling direction while rotating.

  Next, FIG. 4B shows a case where the sheet is conveyed in a direction different from the previous direction. When the sheet is dragged and conveyed in the direction intersecting with the illustrated paper discharge direction (arrow X), the sheet side edge first strikes the side edge regulating stopper 25. The sheet strikes the sheet side edge with the X direction component force and the Y direction component force (Fsinθ) as before, and the reaction force is transmitted to the sheet. Therefore, the frictional conveying body 27 rotates counterclockwise as shown in the drawing to correct the posture of the sheet so as to prevent the sheet from buckling and distortion. In addition, since the force in the direction in which the sheet moves toward the restriction stopper 24 acts on the sheet by rotating the friction conveyance body 27, the friction conveyance body 27 is applied after the sheet side edge is abutted against the restriction stopper 25. The rear end of the sheet abuts against the restriction stopper 24 by moving in the traveling direction while rotating. In particular, when the sheet size increases, the distance that the friction carrier 27 moves after the sheet side edge is abutted against the restriction stopper 25 is long. Therefore, if the sheet size is large, the amount of rotation of the frictional conveyance body 27 increases, and a large force for moving the sheet toward the regulating stopper 24 can be obtained.

[Sheet alignment mechanism in the first support member]
The first support member (rear end support member 19) includes a support surface for placing and supporting the rear end portion of the sheet sent from the paper discharge port 13, a paddle mechanism for pressing and holding the rear end portion of the sheet, and a stack. A push-out mechanism that pushes the sheet bundle toward the tray is provided. Each configuration will be described.

[Paddle mechanism]
The first support member 19 is disposed so as to form a step with the paper discharge roller 14b, and a sheet separated from the roller is supported on the support member 20 in a free state. Therefore, when the succeeding sheet is fed from the sheet discharge roller, the sheet on which the leading end of the sheet is placed in advance may be displaced. For this reason, a means for pressing and holding the rear end portion of the sheet placed on the first support member 19 is required. In the illustrated example, a paddle member 35 is disposed above the first support member 19 as shown in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, a plurality of paddle members 35 are attached to the rotating shaft 36 at left and right sides in the sheet width direction with a gap therebetween. The paddle is formed of an elastic member having a long shape whose front end presses and holds the rear end of the sheet on the support member 20, and pivots about the rotation shaft 36. A paddle motor M4 is connected to the rotating shaft 36, a flag (not shown) for angle detection is provided on one of the transmission rotating shafts, and a position sensor Ps4 is arranged on the apparatus frame 10 side. Note that an encoder and an encode sensor may be used instead of the flag.

  Then, the control means 50 described later, after the sheet preceding the alignment operation for abutting the trailing edge of the sheet carried out from the sheet discharge outlet 13 against the trailing edge regulating stopper 24 by the aligning / conveying means 26 (before execution). The paddle in a state where the end is pressed is swung and retracted from the rear end of the seat. The paddle motor M4 is stopped at the timing when the paddle 35 presses the upper surface of the sheet after the aligning operation in which the aligning means 26 abuts the sheet against the trailing edge regulating stopper is completed.

[Push-out mechanism]
The first support member 19 is provided with the rear end regulating stopper 24 for positioning the sheet at a predetermined processing position and the aligning / conveying means 26 for transporting the sheet toward the stopper. The sheets collected in a bundle on the support member 20 are processed later, such as a binding processing apparatus, and then carried out toward the stack tray 15. Therefore, the first support member 19 is provided with pusher means 37 for pushing the post-processed sheet bundle toward the stack tray 15.

  FIG. 5 shows the pusher means 37. The pusher means 37 includes a slide member (pusher member) 38 slidably supported by the first support member 19, and a bent piece 39 (pusher member; the same applies hereinafter) provided at the tip of the slide member 38. The rear end abutting surface 39s is formed on the bent piece.

  The illustrated slide member 38 is configured to be fitted into a guide groove 40 formed in the first support member 19 so that the rear end contact surface moves back and forth by a predetermined distance in the paper discharge direction. A rack 38r and a pinion 38p that engages with the rack 38r are attached to the apparatus frame 10 at the base end of the slide member 38, and a pusher motor M5 is connected to the pinion 38p. Then, when the sheet sent from the sheet discharge outlet 13 is placed and supported on the support member 20, the control means 50, which will be described later, waits at a position where the rear end contact surface 39 s is retracted from the rear end regulating stopper 24. The pusher motor M5 is activated by a post-processing job end signal. Then, the slide member 38 moves from the standby position toward the stack tray 15 in the paper discharge direction. At this time, the rear end abutting surface engages with the rear end of the sheet bundle and pushes it toward the tray.

  When the rear end abutting surface moves to a predetermined position, the control means stops the pusher motor, and then moves the support member 20 from the operating position above the tray to the standby position retracted from the tray. With this operation, the sheet bundle is dropped and stored on the tray.

  The illustrated apparatus uses the first support member 19 as assist means for carrying out the sheet from the paper discharge port 13 to the paper loading surface 15a in cooperation with the paper discharge roller 14b in the first paper discharge mode to be described later. ing. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3, the rear end support member 19 is provided with a sheet engaging surface 19S that engages with the lower surface of the sheet from the paper discharge port 13 toward the paper loading surface 15a. As shown in FIG. 3, the plate-shaped first support member 19 is provided with a sheet engaging surface 19S at the tip (portion protruding from the paper mounting surface 15a). The support member itself constitutes the sheet engaging surface 19S. In addition, the seat engaging surface 19S may be embedded with a relatively high friction and soft pad such as resin, rubber material, cork or the like on the surface of the support member. In any configuration, it is preferable that the sheet engaging surface 19S has a friction coefficient for moving the sheet in the paper discharge direction and a softness that does not damage the lower surface of the sheet.

  Further, the first shift means 21 described above constitutes a guide shift means for reciprocating the first support member 19 between the operating position Ap above the paper mounting surface 15a and the retracted position Wp retracted therefrom. . Hereinafter, the first shift means 21 will be described as a “guide shift means”. The guide shift means 21 includes a rack 21r, a pinion 21p, and a first shift motor SM1, as described with reference to FIGS. The first support member 19 having the sheet engaging surface 19S is supported so as to be able to reciprocate between an operating position Ap above the paper mounting surface 15a and a retracted position Wp retracted from the paper mounting surface 15a. The support structure is configured to reciprocate in the left-right direction in FIG. 3 by fitting a guide roller (not shown) to a guide rail formed on the apparatus frame 10.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first support member 19 reciprocates in the order of the retracted position Wp, the first operating position Ap1, and the second operating position Ap2. The retracted position Wp is set to a position where the sheet engaging surface 19S is retracted to the outside of the tray. The first operation position Ap1 is set to a position where the sheet nipped by the paper discharge roller 14b forms a predetermined angle (see FIG. 11B). Further, the second operation position Ap2 is set to a position at which the rear end of the sheet moves in the paper discharge direction by a predetermined amount Δk (see FIG. 12D) from the first operation position Ap1. This movement amount Δk is set at a position where the rear end of the sheet is offset to the inside of the tray from the peripheral surface of the paper discharge roller 14b (the lower roller located on the paper loading surface side).

  Further, the first support member 19 is formed with a sensor flag 21g for detecting the operating position Ap1 and a sensor flag 21f for detecting the retracted position Wp, and a position sensor Ps1 and a sensor flag 21g for detecting the flag 21f on the apparatus frame. A position sensor Ps6 for detecting is arranged. The flag and the sensor detect the flag 21f by the sensor Ps1 to determine the home position where the first support member 19 is the retracted position, and detect the flag 21g by the sensor Ps6 and the first support member 19 is the first operating position. It is determined that it is located at Ap1.

  Further, the first pulse motor 1 is rotated by a predetermined pulse from the detection signal of the sensor Ps6 to move the first support member 19 to the second operating position Ap2. As described above, the first support member 19 reciprocates in the order of the retracted position Wp, the first operating position Ap1, and the second operating position Ap2 by the first shift motor SM1 (stepping motor).

  Further, a control means (paper discharge control means) 50, which will be described later, is moved by a predetermined amount in the paper discharge direction in a state where the sheet engaging surface 19S is engaged with the lower surface of the sheet after the rear end of the sheet is separated from the paper discharge roller 14b. Thereafter, the seat engaging surface 19S is configured to move backward toward the retracted position. This control is performed by controlling the rotation amount of the first shift motor SM1.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the first support member means 19 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 11 (a), (b), (c) and FIGS. 12 (d), (e), and (f).

  FIG. 11A shows a case where a sheet is discharged without the first support member 19 being disposed between the discharge roller 14b and the paper loading surface 15a. In this case, the leading edge of the sheet discharged from the discharge roller 14b is curved as shown in the figure while rubbing on the stacked sheet on the paper loading surface 15a. In a normal tray configuration, the sheet curves in an inverted S shape and is carried out from the front end to the rear end. At this time, the trailing edge of the sheet separated from the roller nip point stays on the roller peripheral surface as shown by the broken line in FIG. This phenomenon is caused when the sheet is weak or when static electricity is generated between the stacked sheet and the unloaded sheet, the conveyance resistance at the leading edge of the sheet is large, and the trailing edge of the sheet is jammed while being caught on the peripheral surface of the roller. .

  FIG. 11B shows a state where the first support member 19 has been moved to the first operating position Ap1. At this time, the sheet engaging surface 19S engages with the lower surface of the sheet fed by the paper discharge roller 14b, and holds the height position at the angle θ shown in the figure. Accordingly, the sheet fed onto the paper placement surface 15a by the paper discharge roller 14b has a substantially linear sheet shape between the roller nip point and the sheet engagement surface 19S, and the conveying force of the roller is transmitted to the sheet leading end. As a result, the sheet is reliably fed onto the paper loading surface 15a.

  FIG. 11C shows an initial state in which the rear end of the sheet is separated from the roller nip point. The front end of the sheet is on the uppermost sheet above the paper loading surface 15 a, and the rear end of the sheet is the first support member 19. The sheet is supported at the operating position (guide position), and the trailing edge of the sheet is located in a state of being engaged with the peripheral surface of the paper discharge roller 14b.

  FIG. 12D shows a state in which the first support member 19 has been moved from the first operating position Ap1 to the second operating position Ap2. By moving from the first operating position Ap1 to the second operating position Ap2, the sheet is fed a predetermined amount in the transport direction. This movement distance Δx is set at a position where the rear end of the sheet is separated from the peripheral surface of the paper discharge roller 14b.

  FIG. 12E shows a state where the first support member 19 is moved backward from the second operating position Ap2 to the retracted position Wp. After the sheet engaging surface 19 s of the first support member 19 protrudes from the lower surface of the sheet, the rear end portion of the sheet falls onto the first support member 19. In this state, the first support member 19 is moved to the retracted position Wp side while abutting the rear end edge of the sheet against the rear end contact surface 39s formed on the bent piece 39 provided at the front end of the slide member 38.

  FIG. 12F shows a state in which the rear end of the sheet falls on the paper loading surface 15a. The sheet sent from the paper discharge port 13 is paper with its own weight after the sheet engaging engagement surface 19S is retracted to the outside of the tray. Drop on the surface. At this time, since the rear end of the sheet is abutted against the rear end abutting surface 39s, the rear end abutting surface 39s guides the rear end of the sheet when the rear end of the sheet falls, and this abutting surface is the rear end regulating surface 16. On the other hand, since the step protruding inside the tray is formed, the sheet is smoothly stored on the uppermost sheet of the paper placing surface 15a without being caught by the regulating surface 16.

[Jog sorting mechanism]
Note that the post-processing apparatus B includes a jog sorting mechanism that varies the storage posture of the sheet for each number of copies when storing the sheet from the discharge port 13 to the stack tray 15. That is, the sheets carried out from the sheet discharge outlet 13 are accumulated at different positions in the sheet width direction in the group offset by a predetermined amount in the sheet discharge orthogonal direction (Y direction) and the group not offset (first embodiment). Unlike this offset form, the sheets carried out from the paper discharge outlet 13 are stacked at different positions before and after the paper discharge direction in a group offset by a predetermined amount in the paper discharge direction (X direction) and a group not offset (second embodiment). Form).

Hereinafter, the first embodiment and then the second embodiment will be described in this order.
[First Embodiment of Offset Mechanism]
A paper discharge roller 14 b is disposed at the paper discharge port 13, and the sheet is carried out from the sheet carry-in path 11 with a center reference (or a side reference). Then, the sheets are accumulated on the paper placement surface 15a at the non-offset position and the offset position according to the print information. The first embodiment shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B is a case where the sheet is offset to the left and right in the sheet discharge orthogonal direction, and the second embodiment shown in FIG. This is the case.

  In any of these configurations, the present invention is characterized in that the sheet edge is positioned by inclining the paper loading surface so that one is high and the other is low in the direction orthogonal to the sheet offset direction. That is, in the first embodiment, it is configured to be offset to the left and right in the sheet discharge orthogonal direction, and the paper loading surface is inclined so that the upstream side is low and the downstream side is high in the discharge direction. Further, in the second embodiment, the paper loading surface is inclined so that one side is high and the other side is low in the direction perpendicular to the paper discharge direction. Each of the inclinations is configured such that the end where the support member is disposed is low and the opposite end is high. (See FIG. 14 (a). Height difference Δh shown in FIG. 15 (a))

  As shown in FIG. 14, the side edge support member 20 (second support member; the same applies hereinafter) is provided with a side edge regulating stopper 25 and an aligning conveying means 26 for transferring the sheet toward the stopper. The sheet is moved in the conveyance orthogonal direction by an offset amount Dα while being supported by the first and second support members 19 and 20 by the aligning and conveying means 26. Since a clearance γ is formed between the side edge regulating stopper 25 and the side edge regulating surface 17 of the stack tray, when the second support member 20 moves backward in the standby direction, the first and second support members 19 and 20 are moved. The sheets stacked on the sheet fall onto the paper loading surface 15a and are stored (offset sheet discharge).

  At this time, since the paper loading surface 15 a has a height difference Δh, the leading edge of the sheet landing on the paper loading surface 15 a is supported with the rear end of the sheet supported by the first support member 19. In the landing at the leading end of the sheet, only the leading end portion falls while the trailing end portion of the sheet is held without shifting the offset amount posture of the sheet.

  In this case, the timings of the first and second support members 19 and 20 are adjusted so that the first support member 19 moves from the operating position to the standby position after the second support member 20 moves from the operating position to the standby position. It is different. Although this paper discharge operation will be described later based on a flowchart, the operation will be described.

  The non-offset discharged sheets are dropped from the discharge outlet 13 to the paper mounting surface 15a through the step h by the reference set in the sheet carry-in path 11 (the reference is the center reference), and sequentially stacked in that posture. Is done. Further, the sheets for offset discharge are stacked and stored on the first and second support members 19 and 20. At this time, the sheet sent from the paper discharge port 13 is abutted and regulated against the side edge regulating stopper 25 and the trailing edge regulating stopper 24 by the aligning and conveying means 26 described above. At this time, the sheet discharge reference and the side edge regulating stopper 25 are separated from the non-offset sheet group because they are displaced in the sheet width direction by the offset amount Dα.

  At the time of this offset paper discharge, the side edge support member 20 is first retracted from the operating position to the standby position, so that the sheet is supported at the rear end portion by the rear end support member 19 and from the sheet front end portion onto the paper placement surface 15a. Fall. When the side edge support member 20 is moved to the standby position, the aligning means 26 holds the upper surface of the sheet, so that even if the area supported by the side edge support member 20 is reduced, the sheet is in the sheet width direction. (Moving direction of the side edge support member 20) There is no variation on the side. In other words, the sheet bundle is stored in the paper loading surface 15a with almost the same behavior as dropping the front end of the sheet by a predetermined height while holding the rear end of the sheet.

  At this time, the paper loading surface 15a is inclined so that the leading end side in the paper discharge direction is high and the trailing end side is low, so that the leading edge of the sheet is landed on the paper loading surface with the trailing edge supported by the trailing edge support member 19. Then, since the rear end portion is landed on the paper loading surface, the sheet posture is not disturbed or displaced.

  Then, after the leading edge of the sheet has landed on the paper loading surface 15a, the trailing edge support member 19 that supports the trailing edge of the sheet is retracted from the operating position to the standby position. The sheet bundle offset by such sheet storage can be dropped and stored on the paper loading surface 15a with little positional deviation.

[Second Embodiment of Offset Mechanism]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the sheet is stored in the paper discharge direction by being divided into a non-offset position not and an offset position of. For this reason, as shown in the figure, the sheet is discharged from the sheet discharge outlet 13 in a state in which the rear end (first) support member 19 and the side edge (second) support member 20 are positioned at the operating position above the paper loading surface 15a. It accumulates on both support members. At this time, the sheet is accumulated by abutting and accumulating the sheet side edge on the side edge regulating stopper 25 and the sheet rear edge on the trailing edge regulating stopper 24 by the aligning and conveying means 26 described above.

  When the job end signal is transferred from the image forming apparatus A, the paper discharge control unit 50 uses the pusher unit 37 to discharge the sheet bundle in the paper discharge direction at a predetermined position (non-offset position) NOF and an offset position different from the offset amount Dβ. The OF is selectively offset according to the print job information from the image forming apparatus A. Thereafter, the first support member 19 is moved forward, and the second support member 20 is moved backward from the operating position Ap to the standby position Wp.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 6A, the paper loading surface is inclined in a discharge orthogonal direction different from the offset discharge direction (X direction), and this inclined direction is an end portion where the second support member 20 is disposed. (Right of the figure) is set to be low. As a result, the sheet bundle offset in the paper discharge direction is landed on the paper loading surface 15a from the opposite sheet side (left end in the drawing) while the sheet side end is supported.

  That is, the rear end support member 19 is first retracted from the tray 15, and the sheet is landed on the paper placement surface from the opposite side edge portion with the side edge support member 20 supporting the sheet side portion. At this time, since the paper placement surface is inclined so that the end portion on which the support member is disposed is low and the opposite end portion is high, the sheet falls onto the paper placement surface 15a from the end portion having a small height difference. . Therefore, the sheet is stored on the paper loading surface without the offset amount being displaced and without being disturbed in posture.

  Note that the illustrated non-offset position NOF is set at substantially the same position as the rear end regulating surface 16 of the stack tray. This is because the non-offset sheet trailing edge is stored along the regulating surface 16. The position NOF and the end restricting surface 16 are accurately positioned so that the stopper position slightly protrudes from the rear end restricting surface 16 toward the inside of the tray to secure the clearance γx and to ensure the sheet falling motion.

[Description of control configuration]
The control configuration of the above-described image forming system will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The image forming system shown in FIG. 1 includes a control unit 45 (hereinafter referred to as “main body control unit”) of the image forming apparatus A and a control unit 50 (hereinafter referred to as “post-processing control unit”) of the sheet post-processing apparatus B. . The main body control unit 45 includes a print control unit 46, a paper feed control unit 47, and an input unit 48 (control panel).

  Then, an “image forming mode” and a “post-processing mode” are set from the input unit 48 (control panel). In the image forming mode, mode settings such as empty / monochrome printing, double-sided / single-sided printing, and image forming conditions such as sheet size, sheet paper quality, number of printouts, and enlarged / reduced printing are set. The “post-processing mode” is set to, for example, “print-out mode”, “staple finishing mode”, “jog sorting mode”, or the like.

  Further, the main body control unit 45 transfers the post-processing mode, the number of sheets, information on the number of copies, paper thickness information of the sheet on which an image is formed, and the like to the post-processing control unit 50. At the same time, the main body control unit 45 transfers a job end signal to the post-processing control unit 50 every time image formation is completed.

  The post-processing mode described above will be described. In the “print-out mode (first paper discharge mode)”, the sheet from the paper discharge port 13 is stored in the stack tray 15 without post-processing. In this case, the sheets are directly carried out from the paper discharge port 13 to the stack tray 15 without being stacked on the sub-tray 18 (first and second support members 19 and 20). In the “staple finishing mode (second sheet discharge mode)”, the sheets from the sheet discharge outlet 13 are stacked on the sub-tray 18 and aligned, and the sheet bundle is bound and stored in the stack tray 15. In this case, the sheet to be imaged is in principle designated by the operator to a sheet of the same paper thickness and the same size.

  In the “jog sorting mode (third paper discharge mode)”, a group in which sheets formed with the image forming apparatus A are carried out one by one from the paper discharge port 13 to the stack tray 15, and the sub-tray 18 from the paper discharge port 13. Jog sorting is performed by collecting and aligning parts on the (first and second support members 19 and 20). At this time, the side edge regulating stopper 25 is arranged at a position where the sheet side edge is offset by a predetermined amount when aligning the sheet with the sub-tray 18. After the bundles are accumulated on the sub-tray 18, the support member 20 is retracted outside the tray and dropped and stored on the stack tray 15. As a result, the sheet group carried out on the paper loading surface 15a from the paper discharge outlet 13 with a predetermined reference (center reference or side reference) and the sheet group stacked with a predetermined offset by the sub-tray 18 are different in the width direction. Stored in different positions and sorted by grouping group.

[Post-processing control unit]
The post-processing control unit operates the post-processing apparatus B according to the post-processing mode set by the image formation control unit. The illustrated post-processing control unit includes a control CPU 50 (hereinafter referred to as control means). A ROM 51 and a RAM 52 are connected to the control CPU 50, and a paper discharge operation described later is executed using a control program stored in the ROM 51 and control data stored in the RAM 52.

  For this reason, the control CPU 50 includes driver circuits for the transport motor M1, the first shift motor SM1, the second shift motor SM2, the travel motor M3, the paddle motor M4, and the pusher motor M5 described above (dr in FIG. 13). The command signal is transmitted to Further, the sheet sensor Se and the position sensor Ps are connected to the control CPU 50 so as to receive each detection signal. The sheet sensor Se is a carry-in sensor Se1, a paper discharge sensor Se2, and a full sensor Se that detects fullness on a tray (not shown), and transmits a status signal to the control means 50, respectively.

  The position sensor Ps includes a position sensor Ps1 of the first support member, a position sensor Ps2 of the second support member 20, a friction carrier position sensor Ps3, a position sensor Ps4 of the paddle rotating body, and a position sensor Ps5 of the pusher means. Yes, each status signal is transferred to the control means. The driver circuit of each drive motor is a control means. The motor start, motor stop, and speed control are controlled by PWM control, encoding control, and the like by the command signal from.

[Post-processing operation]
16 shows a case where the image forming apparatus A is set to the first paper discharge mode (straight paper discharge operation) in the mode setting, and FIG. 17 shows the second paper discharge mode (staple binding operation). FIG. 18 shows a case where the third paper discharge mode (jog paper discharge operation) is set.

  The paper discharge control means 50 executes the initialization operation with the apparatus power supply “ON” (St01). In this initialization operation, for example, the following initial position setting is executed. Whether the first support member 19 is in the standby position (home position) is detected by the position sensor Ps1, and when it is “No”, it moves to the sensor “ON” position. Similarly, the second support member 20 is moved to the standby position (home position).

  Next, the pusher means 37 is moved to the home position. In the illustrated apparatus, the home position is set to the standby position, and the rear end abutment surface 39s is retracted outside the tray (state shown in FIG. 5). Further, this initialization operation sets the post-processing means 23 (the illustrated staple unit) to an initial state.

[First discharge mode]
Therefore, the paper discharge control unit 50 receives a mode setting signal from the image formation control unit 45. When the first paper discharge mode is designated by this command signal, the post-processing control unit 50 executes the next initial operation (St02).

  The paper discharge control means 50 determines whether or not the first and second support members 19 and 20 are located at the home position as an initial operation setting. When the position is other than the home position, the position is moved to the home position (St03). At the same time, the paper discharge control means 50 moves to the restricting position where the rear end abutment surface 39s of the slide member 38 protrudes to the inside of the tray (state shown in FIG. 3). In this operation, the pusher motor M5 moves the slide member 38 from the home position by a predetermined amount of movement. Then, the rear end contact surface 39s is set to a position slightly protruding from the rear end regulating surface 16 of the stack tray 15 by about 2 mm inside the tray (see Dz shown in FIG. 4).

  When the post-processing control unit 50 receives the job start signal from the image formation control unit 45, the post-processing control unit 50 rotates the transport motor M1 and rotates the transport roller 14a and the paper discharge roller 14b in the paper discharge direction (St05). Thus, the sheet carried out to the main body discharge port 136 is carried into the sheet carry-in path 11 and the leading edge of the sheet is detected by the carry-in sensor Se1. This detection signal is used to control subsequent post-processing operations, such as determining the sheet jam from the time difference between the detection of the leading edge of the sheet by this sensor and the subsequent detection of the trailing edge of the sheet and the sheet size information. (St06).

  The control means 50 starts the timer t1 when the carry-in sensor Se1 detects the leading edge of the sheet. The timer time t1 is set to an expected time for the leading edge of the sheet to reach a predetermined position from the sheet discharge outlet 13. When the time t1 has elapsed, the control means 50 moves the first support member 19 from the standby position to the first operating position Ap1 (St07). Accordingly, the timer time t1 is set to a timing at which the sheet engaging surface 19s of the support member 19 is engaged with the lower surface of the sheet after the leading edge of the sheet moves from the sheet discharge port 13 to the predetermined first operating position Ap1.

  When the paper discharge sensor Se2 detects the trailing edge of the sheet, the control unit 50 starts the timer t2 (St08). This timer time t2 is set at a timing at which the trailing edge of the sheet moves away from the nip point of the paper discharge roller 14b. Then, the control means 50 moves the first support member 19 from the first operating position Ap1 to the second operating position Ap2 after the timer time t2 has elapsed (St09). This movement amount Δk is set larger than the radius of the paper discharge roller. Therefore, the sheet rear end is pushed away from the sheet discharge roller 14b by the first support member 19 in the sheet discharge direction by a predetermined amount Δk. As a result, the trailing edge remaining phenomenon that the trailing edge of the sheet remains on the peripheral surface of the sheet discharge roller is not caused.

  Next, when the paper discharge sensor Se2 detects the trailing edge of the sheet, the control unit 50 starts the timer t3 simultaneously with the timer t2. After the lapse of time, the first support member 19 is moved backward in the standby direction. This timer time t3 is set to a time required for the first support member 19 to move from the first operation position Ap1 to the second operation position Ap2, and after the support member 19 has moved to the second operation position Ap2, The timer time t3 is set to elapse (St09).

  And the control means 50 detects the state which the 1st support member 19 returned to the standby position Wp with the home position sensor Sp1. Then, the control unit 50 determines whether there is a subsequent sheet based on information from the image forming apparatus (St10). When there is a succeeding sheet, the previous step 05 to step 10 are repeated. When there is no subsequent sheet, the apparatus is stopped as a job end (St11). Note that the timing at which the first support member 19 starts to move toward the operating position Ap may be after the sheet trailing edge has moved away from the nip point of the sheet discharge roller 14b, and at least the sheet trailing edge from the nip point of the sheet discharge roller 14b. After the separation, the first support member 19 may be moved in the direction in which the first support member 19 moves from the standby position to the operating position (sheet discharge direction side) with the sheet engaging surface 19s of the first support member 19 engaged with the lower surface of the sheet. .

  In the first paper discharge mode, the second support member 20 is moved to the operating position side by a predetermined amount so that the end surface guide 20e of the second support member 20 contacts the lower surface of the sheet side edge to be discharged. It is also possible (see FIG. 19). Thereby, the sheet discharged on the basis of the center can be guided by the second support member 20 and can be offset and dropped in the direction away from the second support member in the direction perpendicular to the sheet discharge. Therefore, the alignment of the sheets discharged to the stack tray 15 is improved by guiding the sheet to one side (opposite side of the second support member 20) in the sheet discharge orthogonal direction, rather than letting the sheet drop naturally. Further, the sheet contact position of the second support member 20 is preferably changed according to the sheet size as shown in FIG.

[Second delivery mode]
Next, the operation when the second paper discharge mode is selected as the paper discharge mode will be described with reference to FIG. When the control unit 50 receives a command signal for the second paper discharge mode from the image formation control unit 45, the control unit 50 executes the following initial setting operation. The first and second support members 19 and 20 are moved from the home position (standby position) to the operating position.

  At the same time, the control means 50 rotates the shift motor SM1 of the first shift means 21 and the shift motor SM2 of the second shift means 22 in predetermined directions, respectively, so that the first and second support members 19 and 20 located at the home position are located. Is moved to the operating position Ap above the paper placement surface 15a (St12). At the same time, the control means 50 moves the friction carrier 27 to the standby position. The travel motor M3 of the friction carrier described above is positioned and rotated to the home position. By this rotation, the friction carrier 27 stands by at the retracted position retracted above the first and second support members 19 and 20.

  Further, the control means 50 moves the rear end abutting surface 38S provided on the bent piece 38 of the slide member 39 to the standby position where it is retracted outside the tray. In this operation, the pusher motor M5 is operated, and the sensor flag is detected by the position sensor Ps5.

  Through the initial operation described above, the first and second support members 19 and 20 are positioned between the paper loading surface 15a of the paper discharge outlet 13 and protrude inside the tray. The rear end portion is prepared by the first support member, and the sheet side end portion is prepared by the second support member 20 so as to be mounted thereon.

  Next, when receiving a paper discharge instruction signal from the image formation control unit 45, the control unit 50 rotates the carry motor M <b> 1 and carries in the sheet on which the image is formed from the carry-in entrance 12. The sheet passes through the sheet carry-in path 11, is guided to the sheet discharge port 13, and is stacked on the first and second support members 19 and 20 below the sheet discharge port 13.

  The control unit 50 rotates the travel motor M3 by a predetermined angle after a predetermined time has elapsed with reference to a signal detected by the paper discharge sensor Se2 at the trailing edge of the sheet. The friction motor 27 is moved from the standby position retracted upward from the upper surface of the sheet to the operating position for engaging the sheet with the upper surface by the traveling motor, and drags and conveys the sheet in the traveling direction inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the paper discharge direction ( St15). At this time, the sheet trailing edge is abutted against the trailing edge regulating stopper 24 and the sheet side edge is abutted against the side edge regulating stopper 25 (St15).

  The friction carrier 27 returns to the standby position away from the seat by the rotation of the travel motor M3 thereafter, and the motor is stopped. By repeating the operations from Step 14 to Step 15 described above, the sheets continuously fed from the paper discharge port 13 are accumulated on the first and second support members 19 and 20 and are aligned (St16). If there is no subsequent sheet, the aligning / conveying means 26 (frictional conveying body 27) does not move to the home position but stops at the sheet abutting position in FIG. 8 (d). Next, when receiving a job end signal from the image formation control unit 45, the control unit 50 transmits a post-processing operation instruction (command) signal. When the post-processing unit 23 receives this command signal, it performs a post-processing operation, and transmits a processing end signal to the control means 50 after the operation ends.

  Therefore, the control unit 50 starts the backward movement of the second support member 20 (St19), and the support of the sheet bundle by the second support member 20 is released. Thereafter, the pusher motor M5 is activated to move the rear end contact surface 39S of the bent piece 39 of the slide member 38 from the standby position to a predetermined position inside the tray. Then, the rear end of the sheet bundle supported by the first support member 19 is pushed out to a predetermined position above the paper placement surface 15a (St20). Thereafter, the backward movement of the first support member 19 is started (St21). The operation start timing of the second support member 20 retracting, the slide member 38 advancing, and the first support member 19 retracting is not limited to moving to the next operation after each operation is completed, but at least the first 2 The first support member 19 only needs to support the rear end of the sheet bundle when the support of the sheet bundle by the support member 20 is removed. Then, after the first and second support members 19 and 20 are returned to the home position (St22), the control unit 50 determines whether or not there is a subsequent sheet. The same operations from Step 12 to Step 22 are repeated. If there is no subsequent sheet, the job is terminated and the operation is stopped.

"Third paper discharge mode"
Next, a case where the third paper discharge mode is selected as the paper discharge mode will be described. In this mode, the sheets sent from the paper discharge outlet 13 are stored on the paper mounting surface 15a by sorting (jogging) the sheets. Regarding the jog sorting mechanism, the first embodiment is described in FIG. 14, and the second embodiment is described in FIG. The operation of each embodiment will be described.

[Discharge Operation in First Embodiment of Jog Sorting]
The control unit 50 divides the sheet sent from the paper discharge port 13 into a non-offset position not and an offset position of in the direction perpendicular to the paper discharge and stores the sheet on the paper placement surface 15a. For this reason, the control means 50 stores the sheet sent to the paper discharge outlet 13 in the stack tray 15 (St23) by the same operation as in the first paper discharge mode. When the job end signal is received, the control means 50 executes the paper discharge operation in the second paper discharge mode (St24). At this time, the post-processing operation (St17) of the steps in the second paper discharge mode is not executed.

  Next, when the job end signal is received, the control means 50 executes the first paper discharge mode and repeats this sequentially. With such an operation, sheets are stacked on the stack tray 15 on the basis of the paper discharge standard (center reference or side reference) from the paper discharge outlet 13 in the first paper discharge operation. The sheets are stacked on the stack tray 15 in a state where the fixed amount discharge position is offset. By such an operation, the sheets are jog sorted and stored in the stack tray 15 for each copy (St25). In this case, in the second paper discharge mode, the operation (post-processing operation) of step St17 described above is not executed.

  In the first embodiment, when the first paper discharge mode is executed, the lower surface of the sheet side edge is guided by the second support member 20 to move the sheet away from the second support member 20 in the orthogonal direction of the paper discharge. The sheet may be dropped in the direction (the direction opposite to the sheet offset direction in the second sheet discharge mode) (see FIG. 19B). Thereby, the sheet discharged in the first paper discharge mode (reference numeral Sh1 in FIG. 19B) and the sheet discharged in the second paper discharge mode (reference numeral Sh2 in FIG. 19B) are moved away from each other. Since the sheet is offset and discharged to the stack tray 15, the sorting of the sheet bundle becomes clear during jog sorting.

[Discharge Operation in Second Embodiment of Jog Sorting]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 15, the sheet is carried out from the sheet discharge path 11 onto both support members while the first and second support members 19 and 20 are stationary at the operating position Ap. At this time, the aligning / conveying means 26 abuts and aligns the sheet against the trailing edge regulating stopper 24 and the side edge regulating stopper 25 for positioning.

  The control means 50 executes the initialization operation and the initial setting operation in the same manner as in the first paper discharge mode described above (St30). In this operation, the first and second support members 19 and 20 are positioned at the operating position Ap (St31), and the rear end contact surface 39s of the pusher means 37 is stopped at the standby position Wp (St32). Then, the sheet discharge roller 14b is rotated to wait for the sheet to be unloaded from the image forming apparatus A.

  When the sheet is unloaded from the image forming apparatus A, the control unit 50 unloads the sheet from the sheet discharge port 13 onto the first and second support members 19 and 20 (St33). Next, the control means 50 moves the aligning / conveying means 26 from the standby position to the operating position where the friction conveying body 27 engages with the upper surface of the sheet. The sheet moves toward the regulation stoppers 24 and 25, and the sheet is abutted and aligned (St34).

  Next, the control unit 50 determines whether a job end signal is issued from the image formation control unit 45. (St35). If it is not determined that the job is finished, steps 33 and 34 are repeated to stack and stack the succeeding sheets on the preceding sheet. Further, when receiving the job end signal, the control unit 50 determines whether the stacked sheets are an odd part or an even part (St36).

  When the control unit 50 is an odd-numbered portion, the sheet contact surface 39s of the pusher unit 37 moves to the preset non-offset position “NOF” (St37). In the case of an even portion, the control means 50 moves the pusher means 37 so that the sheet contact surface 39s coincides with the offset position “OF” (St38). With this operation, the sheets stacked on the first and second support members 19 and 20 are divided into a non-offset position “NOF” and a position different from each other at a distance from the offset position “OF” in the paper discharge direction.

  Next, the control means 50 moves the first support member 19 backward from the operating position Ap to the retracted position Wp (St39). With this operation, the sheet falls from the opposite side edge onto the paper mounting surface 15a and is landed while being supported by the second (side edge) support member 20. Therefore, when the control means 50 moves the second support member 20 from the operating position Ap to the standby position Wp, the entire sheet falls and is stored on the paper placement surface. In addition, the operation start timing of the backward movement of the first support member 19 and the backward movement of the second support member 20 is not limited to moving to the next movement after the completion of the respective movements, and at least by the first support member 19. It is only necessary that the second support member 20 supports the side edge of the sheet bundle when the support of the sheet bundle is released.

13 Paper discharge port 14b Paper discharge roller 15 Stack tray 16 Rear end regulating surface 18 Sub-tray 19 First support member (first support member) (assist means)
19S sheet engagement surface 20 second support member 21 first shift means (guide shift means)
22 Second shift means 24 Rear end regulating stopper 25 Side edge regulating stopper 26 Aligning conveying means 27 Friction conveying body 28 Conveying body traveling means 28a First arm 28b Second arm 28c Third arm 28d Actuating arm 29 Driving arm 30 Guide groove 37 Pusher means 38 Slide member 39 Bending piece 39s Rear end contact surface

Claims (13)

A paper discharge port for carrying out the sheet;
A stack tray disposed on the downstream side of the paper discharge port and having a paper loading surface on which sheets are stacked;
A sub-tray means positioned above the stack tray and disposed between the paper discharge port and the paper loading surface, and temporarily holds a sheet discharged from the paper discharge port;
With
The stacking tray is provided with a height difference for supporting the sheet in a posture inclined in the paper discharge direction or the paper discharge orthogonal direction on the paper placement surface of the stack tray,
The sub-tray means includes
A first support member for supporting a sheet edge located on the lower side of the stack tray in the inclination direction;
A second support member that supports only one edge of both side edges of the sheet positioned in the direction orthogonal to the stack tray, and supports a regulation-side edge of the sheets stacked on the stack tray ;
First shift means for reciprocating between the operating position for supporting the edge of the sheet above the paper loading surface and the retracted position for removing the first support member from the support of the sheet;
Second shift means for reciprocating the second support member between an operating position for supporting a sheet edge above the paper loading surface and a retracted position for removing the second support member from the support of the sheet;
Paper discharge control means for controlling the first and second shift means;
Consists of
The paper discharge control means
After the sheet carried out from the paper discharge port is temporarily supported on the first support member and the second support member, the first support member and the second support member are moved from the operating position to the retracted position. When
The sheet storage device, wherein the first support member is moved to the retracted position after the second support member is moved in advance of the retracted position. In the stack tray,
The sheet storage device according to claim 1, wherein a sheet end regulating surface that abuts and regulates an edge of the sheet in front of the inclined direction in which the sheet placement surface gradually decreases is arranged in the sheet stacking direction. The paper surface is
It is formed in a sloped shape that is inclined so as to gradually increase from the upstream side to the downstream side in the paper discharge direction,
The first support member is disposed at a position supporting the sheet rear end portion, and the second support member is supported at the sheet side edge portion,
The paper discharge control means
After temporarily supporting the sheet carried out from the paper discharge port on the first support member and the second support member,
3. The sheet is stored on the paper loading surface by moving the second support member to the retracted position in advance and then moving the first support member to the retracted position. 4. Sheet storage device. The apparatus of claim 3, comprising:
The sheet storage device further comprises offset means for selectively displacing a sheet supported on the first support member and the second support member by a predetermined amount in a direction perpendicular to the sheet discharge. The paper surface is
It is formed in a slope shape that is inclined so as to gradually increase from one side to the other side in the paper discharge orthogonal direction,
The first support member is disposed at a position supporting the sheet side edge portion, and the second support member is supported at the sheet rear end portion,
The paper discharge control means
After temporarily supporting the sheet carried out from the paper discharge port on the first support member and the second support member,
3. The sheet is stored on the paper loading surface by moving the second support member to the retracted position in advance and then moving the first support member to the retracted position. 4. Sheet storage device. The apparatus of claim 5, comprising:
The sheet storage device further comprises offset means for selectively displacing the sheet supported on the first support member and the second support member by a predetermined amount in the sheet discharge direction. A paper pressure member for pressing the upper surface of the sheet placed on the first support member and the second support member;
Shift means for moving the paper pressure member between an operating position for pressing the upper surface of the sheet and a retracted position separated from the upper surface of the sheet;
Further comprising
The paper discharge control means
7. The sheet storage device according to claim 1, wherein the second support member is moved from the operating position to a retracted position in a state in which the sheet is pressed by the paper pressure member. The first support member and the second support member are provided with a friction conveying member that moves the placed sheet to a predetermined reference position,
The sheet storage device according to claim 7, wherein the paper pressure member is configured by the friction conveying member. The sheet storage device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the paper pressure member presses an upper surface of the sheet on the second support member. The paper discharge control means
A binding processing mode in which the sheets sent from the discharge port are aligned and stacked on the sub-tray means and then the binding processing mode is carried out to the stack tray;
8. The sheet storage device according to claim 1, further comprising: a jog discharge mode in which sheets fed from the discharge port are offset and accumulated on the stack tray. 9. An image forming apparatus for sequentially forming images on sheets;
A sheet storage device comprising a stack tray for storing sheets sent from the image forming apparatus;
An image forming system, wherein the sheet storage device is the sheet storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The paper discharge control unit, when the jog discharge mode is selected, a sheet group for discharging the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge outlet to the stack tray one by one, is discharged from the sheet discharge outlet A sheet bundle is formed by temporarily supporting the sheet on the first support member and the second support member, and then the support member is moved to the retracted position to discharge the sheet bundle to the stack tray. The sheet storage device according to claim 10, wherein jog sorting is performed by forming sheet groups to be formed. A binding processing means for performing a binding process on the sheet supported by the first support member and the second support member;
The sheet storage device according to claim 1, wherein the binding processing unit is provided on one edge side of both end edges of the sheet.

Images