JPH01197274A - Collating device for image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable mounting a collating device to various types of image formation devices by applying the constitution wherein the collating device is independently capable of controlling the operation timing of a driving motor for collation without connection to the control part of an image formation device proper. CONSTITUTION:A sensor 31 is fitted to the sheet discharge part of an image formation device proper 10 for sensing the leading and a trailing ends of a sheet discharged from the sheet discharge roller 18 of the device proper 10. By inputting this sheet discharge signal, a sheet discharge interval time corresponding to the intervals of the leading or trailing ends in a sheet discharge direction, and moreover an interval between the trailing end of a leading sheet and the leading end of a following sheet is measured and saved in a memory. When a sheet discharge signal is not inputted again while the predetermined time longer than discharge intervals, a driving motor for collation is actuated upon an elapse of time exceeding the predetermined time. According to the aforesaid construction, therefore, it is possible for a collating device 20 proper to control the operation timing of a driving motor to shift a bin and a stacker 14 for collation, without connection to the control part of the image formation device proper 10.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention is attached to the paper discharge section of various image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printing machines, fax machines, printers, etc., and operates a drive motor for each set number of sheets of paper. The present invention relates to a collating device for an image forming apparatus that automatically performs sorting or collation by moving and storing pins or shifting the position of a stacker.

A conventional collating device that automatically performs sorting or collating is, for example, installed in a copying machine (4). A harness is connected to the machine, and signals from a control device inside the main body operate the drive motor to move the pins or shift the position of the stacker.

However, in order to connect the collation device to the control device inside the copying machine, it is necessary to remove the cover of the main unit and connect the wiring. There was a problem that it took a lot of time.

In addition, in order to be able to attach this collating device to many different types of copiers, the control system for the copiers must be unified, which would increase the constraints on the anatomy. However, there is a problem in that it is necessary to prepare an interface board for each main body to which it is attached, which increases costs.

Month□U迩This invention was made in view of the above problems,
By making it possible to control the timing of operating the drive motor for collation by the collating device itself without connecting to the control unit on the main body side, the control circuit is simplified and the number of electrical parts is reduced, allowing for a wide variety of products. An object of the present invention is to provide a collation device for an image forming apparatus that can be easily attached to an image forming apparatus at a low cost.

Another object is to be able to change the timing at which the drive motor is activated.

W□itch In order to achieve the above object, this invention is attached to the paper ejection section of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printing machine, and a set number of sheets of paper are continuously ejected from the M1'' paper section. In a collating device that operates a drive motor for each set number of sheets to move a pin to store them, or shift the position of a stacker to sort or collate them, the leading edge of the ejected paper is provided in the paper ejection section. and a sensor that detects the trailing edge of the paper, and a paper ejection signal that the sensor outputs when it detects sheets that are continuously ejected. The ejection interval time corresponding to the distance between the paper edges, or the trailing edge of the preceding paper and the leading edge of the following paper is measured and memorized, and the paper ejection signal is output again after a predetermined time set longer than the ejection interval time elapses. When no input is made, the drive motor is operated.

Furthermore, it is convenient to be able to vary the predetermined time by providing a predetermined time variable means.

Hereinafter, a detailed explanation will be given based on one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a collating device of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view thereof, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are examples of a copying machine equipped with the collating device. FIG. 2 is a plan view and a front view.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, this copying machine is equipped with a pressure plate 11 that can be opened and closed at the top, and various key groups such as the number of copies, paper size, print key, main key, etc. are arranged at the top of the front. The apparatus main body 10 has a copy stacker 14 attached to the paper ejection section thereof and is movable by a predetermined amount in the direction of arrow A to the left. Paper feed cassettes 15 and 16 of different sizes are removably inserted into the right side of the paper 10.

-4- Next, the collating device 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

A plurality of fixing holes 37a are formed in the slider 37, which is made by bending a thin plate material into an L-shape, and each of the locking claws 14a formed on the copy stacker 14, which serves as a paper ejection section, is connected to each of the fixing holes 37a. It is fitted into a fixing hole 378 and fixed together with a set screw (not shown).

Also, the vertical wall surface 37 of the slider 37 on the device main body 10 side
A sensor 31, which is, for example, a microswitch with a filler, is installed at approximately the upper center of b, and a sensor 31, for example, a microswitch with a filler, is installed to detect the leading and trailing ends of the paper discharged from the paper discharge roller 18 of the copying machine onto the copy stacker 14, and on the horizontal surface 37c, A support part 37d formed by cutting out a part of the center part and bending it downward,
A roller bearing 38 is rotatably supported, and the roller bearing 38 is installed in the case 21 that covers the lower part of the collating device 20 along the direction of arrow B in FIG. 2, which is the moving direction of the copy stacker 14. The guide rail has a U-shaped cross section.

The slider 37 further bends a portion of both side edges of the horizontal surface 37c downward to form #ll bearing portions 37e37f, respectively, and has a sliding bearing 41.4 in a hole opened at the center thereof.
1 are fitted and fixed respectively. Then, the shaft 42 is fitted into the bearing 4L41, and both ends of the shaft 42 are fixed to the case 21, so that the slider 37 can be moved in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 2 (direction perpendicular to the paper ejection direction). I have to.

On the other hand, a relatively large-diameter pulley 43 is rotatably supported via bearings by brackets 1 to 44 fixed to the bottom of the case 21 on the bottom surface of the horizontal surface 37c of the slider 37, and the pulley 43 has a relatively large diameter. A drive pin 45 is fixed perpendicularly to the magnetically permeable outer periphery of the surface 43a, and one end of the tension coil spring 46 is locked to the drive pin 45, and the other end is attached to the slider 37 corresponding to the center point ○ of the pulley 43. horizontal plane 37
pin 47 (slider 3 in Fig. 2) fixed to the lower surface of c.
7 1/2 · Shitake (shown in the figure when it is slid in the direction of arrow B2).

Further, it is provided on the lower surface 43b of the pulley 43, is arranged on a straight line orthogonal to the straight line connecting the center point ○ of the pulley 43 and the pin 45, and is symmetrical with a phase difference of 180 degrees with respect to the center point O. Cams 48a and 48b of the same shape are respectively formed to protrude from the lower surface 415b. A switch 19, which is, for example, a microswitch, is attached to the case 21, and whose operating pieces come into contact with the cams 48a and 48b when the pulley 43 is rotated.

Furthermore, a case 21 is located near the pulley 43.
The drive motor 3 is fixed by a bracket not shown in the figure.
2 is provided, and a belt 51 is stretched between a pulley 32a and a pulley 43 fixed to the rotating shaft.

Note that 29 in FIG. 2 is a power supply section unique to this collating device, and is connected to a control circuit board 30, which will be described later.

Next, the control system of this collating device 20 will be explained with reference to FIG.

In this collating device 20, a sensor 31 detects and outputs paper sheets that are successively ejected onto the copy staff stacker 14, and inputs a paper ejection signal Sp, and the paper ejection direction ( The ejection interval time T corresponds to the interval between the leading edge or the trailing edge (in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 6), or between the trailing edge of the preceding sheet and the leading edge of the next sheet to be ejected.

(Detailed explanation will be given later) is measured and memorized, and if the paper ejection signal Sp is not input again within a predetermined time 1'' set longer than the ejection interval time To,
It has a control circuit board 30 that controls the drive motor 32 to operate when the predetermined time T1 is exceeded.

The control circuit board 30 includes a one-chip CPU 52,
Input interface buffer 53a.

53b, fixed resistors 54a and 54b for pulling up these input interface buffers, and a timer switching dip switch 55a.

55b, a driver 56 for driving the drive motor 32, etc. are provided.

The one-chip CPU 52 includes an operating clock reference crystal oscillator 528, an input/output interface 52b,
A timer 52c, a ROM 52d that stores a control program for this control device, a RAM 52e that temporarily stores various control data, and a CPU 52 that controls these.
f.

The one-chip CPU 52 receives a paper discharge signal Sp from the sensor 31 and a switch-on signal SS from the switch 19, and outputs a motor drive signal SM to the drive motor 32 via the driver 56. do.

In this embodiment, the control circuit board 60 measures and memorizes the ejection interval time To of continuously ejected paper, and re-discharges the paper after a predetermined time T1 set longer than the ejection interval To has elapsed. This corresponds to means for operating the drive motor 32 when the predetermined time T1 is exceeded when the discharge signal Sp is not input.

In addition, in this embodiment, the timer switching dip switch 5
5a and 55b correspond to a predetermined time varying means for varying the predetermined time T1.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained with reference to the timing diagram of FIG. 6 and the flowcharts of FIG. 7 and subsequent figures.

The timing diagram in FIG. 6 and the flowcharts in and after FIG. 7 show that the ejection interval time To is determined between the trailing edge of the paper that has been continuously copied and ejected by the specified number of copies, and the trailing edge of the paper that is ejected after that. This example shows a case where the time corresponds to the interval from the leading edge of the next sheet of paper.

When using the collating device 20 of this copying machine to sort and copy three copies each of two originals PA and PB, for example, open the pressure plate 11 in FIG. Set the first original PA on the glass, set the specified number of copies to 3 on the operation unit 12, set the necessary operation keys, press the print key, and copies will be made corresponding to the original PA. The three copy sheets PAL to PA3 are sequentially transferred from the paper ejection roller 18 to the copy stacker 14 shown in FIG.
is discharged to the top.

At this time, the copy sheets PA, -PA3 touch the filler of the sensor 31 every time they are discharged onto the copy stacker 14, so the sensor 31 detects the discharge interval time T as shown in FIG.
It turns on at intervals of O, and outputs a paper discharge signal SP each time.

Then, the one-chip CPU 52 outputs this paper ejection signal S.
p is input through the input interface buffer 53a, and when it is no longer input, the timer 52c (Fig. 5) is started, and when the paper discharge signal SP is input again until the predetermined time T1 has elapsed, the timer 52c is started. Reset.

In this way, the third copy paper PA3 is ejected, the sensor 31 is turned off, the timer 52C starts and starts measuring, and the time measured by the timer 52C is the ejection interval shown in FIG. When T1, which is set longer than To, is exceeded, a motor drive signal sM is output from the one-chip CPU 52 to the driver 56, and the drive motor 32 is activated.

As a result, the pulley 43 rotates, and the position before the pulley 43 starts rotating is, for example, a position that is 180 degrees out of phase with the position shown in FIG. If the switch is in the state shown in FIG. 1), the switch is once removed from the cam 48a and turned off, and when the pulley 43 rotates 180 degrees, it reaches the position shown in the figure, and is then turned on by the cam 48b.

Note that the time TK in FIG. 6 is the time required for the operating piece of the switch 19 to overcome the cam 48a.

(The time required to get over the cam 48b side is also TK.) Then, the switch-on signal Ss from this switch 19
When the one-chip CPU 52 inputs
Since U52 no longer outputs the motor drive signal SM, the drive motor ``52'' stops.

In this way, when the pulley 43 rotates 180 degrees and stops, the slider 37 is moved so that the pin 47 on the lower surface of the substantially center of its horizontal surface "S7c" is initially at a position 180 degrees out of phase with the position shown in FIG. One end of the pulley 43 is moved in the direction of arrow B1 in FIG. 2 by a distance of 1/2 L from the center point O of the pulley 43 by a tension coil spring 4B that locks the drive pin 45 on the pulley 43. However, pulley 43
Since it is moved in the direction of arrow B2 by the tension coil spring 46 which changes its phase by 180 degrees with the rotation of , it is eventually moved by a distance L in the direction of arrow B2 (see also FIG. 3).

Next, open the pressure plate 11 again, set the original on the second original PB, and press the print key.
After the sensor 31 no longer detects the ejection of copy paper PA3 (sensor 31 turns off), the first copy paper FBI corresponding to original PB is ejected, and the following To Copy paper P for second and subsequent copies at intervals of
B2. The PB3 are sequentially discharged in the same manner as the first original PA.

Note that TW is the time required to exchange the original,
Even in the earliest case, it is longer than T1 time.

Then, when the third copy of the paper P'B3 is used as paper and T1 time is exceeded again, the motor drive signal sM is sent from the one-chip CPU 52 to the driver 56 as in the case of the first original PA. When the output is output and the drive motor 32 is activated, the pulley 43 is rotated and it rotates 180 degrees, the switch 1 is turned on again by the cam 48a, the drive motor 32 is stopped, and the pulley 43 is moved to the position shown in FIG. and 1
Return to position with 80 degrees phase difference.

In this way, the sheets on which the first and second originals PA and PB have been copied are discharged onto the copy stacker 14 in a sorted state of three copies each.

The control for operating the drive motor 32 by inputting the paper discharge signal SP from the sensor 31 and the switch-on signal Ss from the switch 19 is all performed by the one-chip CPU 52.
This is done through judgment and processing.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the operation section 12 (FIG. 3)
When you turn on the main key and turn on the power, the program will go to star 1, and in step 1, the initial settings necessary for system control will be executed.

Then, in step 2, in a timer switching subroutine which will be explained in detail separately, a predetermined time T1 (timer value) shown in FIG. 6, which determines the timing to operate the drive motor 32, is determined, and the process proceeds to the next step 3.

In step 3, it is determined whether the sensor 31 is on, that is, whether the paper has been ejected. If the paper has been ejected, the sensor ○N flag is set in step 4, and the timer 52c is reset in step 5. Proceed to step 6.

Also, if the paper has not been ejected in step 3 (No.
) Proceed to step 6 to determine whether the sensor ○N flag is set, and if it is not set, return to step 2 to repeat the determination and processing, and if it is set, proceed to step Proceed to step 7.

Next, in step 7, check whether the sensor 31 is off or not.
In other words, it is determined whether or not the paper has been completely discharged (passed the sensor 31). If the paper is being discharged, the process returns to step 2 and the determination and processing are repeated. If the paper has been discharged, the timer is set in step 8. Set 52c to star 1~, step 9 and set sensor ○
The N flag is reset to 1 and proceeds to step 10.

In step 10, it is determined whether or not the time measured by the timer 52c has exceeded a predetermined time T1tr. If the time has not yet exceeded, it is determined in step 11 whether the sensor 31 is on, that is, whether the next sheet has been ejected. If the paper has been ejected (YES), the process returns to step 3 and the judgment and processing are repeated again. If the paper has not been ejected, the process returns to step 10, and when the time measured by the timer 52c exceeds the predetermined time T1. After proceeding to the drive motor control routine of step 12 and operating the drive motor 32, the process returns to step 2 to repeat the judgment and processing again.

Next, the timer switching subroutine of step 2 in FIG. 7 will be explained with reference to FIG. 8.

In this embodiment, the timer switching tip switch 55a
By the combination of turning on and off 55b, the drive motor 32
The predetermined time T1 of the timer 52c, which is the timing at which the timer 52c is activated, can be selected from four options.

That is, in the timer switching subroutine, step 13
Determine whether or not the timer changeover dip switch 55a is on. If not, proceed to step 14 and determine whether the timer changeover dip switch 55b is on. At step 15, timer 52c
A predetermined time period is determined as TIA.

Also, in step 13, the timer switching dip switch 5 is
If the timer switch 5a is not on and the timer switching dip switch 55b is on in step 14, the predetermined time of the timer 52c is similarly determined to be TIB in step 16.

Similarly, if the timer switching dip switch 55a is on in step 13, the process proceeds to step 17, where it is determined whether the timer switching dip switch 55b is on. In step 18, the predetermined time of the timer 52c is determined as TIC, and if it is turned on in step 17, in step 19, the predetermined time is determined as TID.

Then, step 3 of the main routine in Figure 7
Return to.

Next, the drive motor control routine of step 12 in FIG. 7 will be explained with reference to FIG. 9.

This drive motor control routine first outputs a motor drive signal SM for operating the drive motor 32 in step 20, then in step 21 it is determined whether or not the switch 19 is in the on state, and if it is not on, the step The determination in step 21 is repeated, and if it is on, the motor drive signal SM is stopped in step 22 to stop the drive motor 32, and then the process returns to step 2 of the main routine in FIG.

In the case of this embodiment, immediately after outputting the motor drive signal SM in step 20 of FIG. 9, the switch 19 remains inactive until its operating piece passes over the cam 48a or cam 48b, as shown in FIG. Since the ON state continues for a short time indicated by TK in FIG. 6, the judgment in step 21 is programmed in advance to be made after this TK time has elapsed.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the ejection interval time To is defined as the interval between the trailing edge of the preceding sheet of paper that has been continuously copied and ejected by the specified number of copies, and the leading edge of the next sheet that is ejected. Although an example has been shown in which the ejection interval time To is set to a time corresponding to Can be done.

Example - As explained above, according to the present invention, a sensor is provided in the paper ejection section of an image forming apparatus, and a paper ejection signal output from the sensor is inputted to measure the paper ejection interval time. If the paper ejection signal is not input again during a predetermined time period that is longer than the ejection interval time, the drive motor is activated when the predetermined time period is exceeded, so the collating device is The collating device itself can control the operating timing of the drive motor that moves the pins and stacker positions for collating without being connected to a control unit, making it easy to install in a wide variety of image forming devices. In addition, it is possible to shorten the time required for installing the 1-coupling device.

Furthermore, since there is no need for connection to the control section of the device main body, the design of the electrical interface can be simplified, and the number of electrical components can thereby be reduced, resulting in lower costs.

Furthermore, the predetermined time can be varied by providing a predetermined time variable means, so that it can be installed in a wide range of image forming apparatuses.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a collating device of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view thereof, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are copies of the collating device 20 of FIG. 1 installed. A plan view and a front view showing an example of the machine, Fig. 5 is the collation device 2
6 is a timing diagram showing the output timing of each signal, FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing the judgment and processing performed by the one-chip CPU 52 in FIG. 5, and FIGS. 8 and 9. The figures are flowcharts showing the timer switching subroutine of step 2 and the drive motor control routine of step 12 in FIG. 7, respectively. 10...Device body 14.Copy stacker 20.
- Collation device 29... Power supply unit 30... Control circuit board 31... Sensor 32... Drive motor 52
・・One-chip CPU52c・・Timer

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A drive motor is attached to a paper discharge section of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printing machine, and operates a drive motor for each set number of sheets of paper that is successively discharged from the paper discharge section. In a collating device that moves the pins to store the sheets or moves the stacker position to sort or collate the sheets, a sensor installed in the sheet discharge section detects the leading and trailing edges of the sheets to be discharged; , the sensor detects the continuously ejected paper and outputs a paper ejection signal, and depending on the paper ejection signal, the leading edge or trailing edge of the paper in the paper ejection direction, and even the preceding paper. The ejection interval time corresponding to the distance between the trailing edge and the leading edge of the following paper is measured and memorized, and when the paper ejection signal is not input again during a predetermined time set longer than the ejection interval time, A collating device for an image forming apparatus, comprising means for activating the drive motor when the predetermined time period has elapsed. 2. The collating device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a predetermined time varying means for varying the predetermined time.