JPH01197281A - Control method for sheet sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate a loss time in a succeeding copying cycle by controlling a bin for automatic return to a home position upon the detection of removal of all sheets from the bin with a detecting means. CONSTITUTION:When all sheet bundles are taken out from a bin unit 1 after a sorting, or sorting and stapling processes, a detecting sensor 20 in a bin detects an empty state and judges that a copying process in the concerned cycle is completed. Then, the bin unit 1 automatically returns to a home position and waits for copying sheets for the next cycle. The constitution is so made that if copying sheets in the previous cycle are stagnating in the bin unit 1 at the time of the next copying cycle, a copying operation is prohibited. In the next copying cycle, therefore, it is possible to eliminate a loss time for the return of a bin 9 to the home position thereof.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for controlling a sticker sorting device, and more specifically, for example, a method for controlling a label sorting device, for example, from an image forming device such as a copying machine, a printing press, or a printer.
The present invention relates to an improvement of a device (hereinafter abbreviated as a sorter) that distributes discharged sheet materials and stores and accumulates them in bins.

(Prior Art) A conventional bin moving type sorter performs a sorting operation corresponding to a series of copies (distributing sheets to each bin), and when the sorting operation is completed,
At the position where the last sheet was ejected, all operations stopped and the system shut down. At this time, the bin may not be at the home position, so either (1) the sorter itself has a timer and automatically returns the bin to the home position after a certain period of time, or (2) it receives the copy signal for the next cycle.
For the first time, it was assumed that the system would either return the bottle to its home position.

[The problem that the invention is trying to solve] However,
In the above-mentioned conventional example, it is conceivable that the bin unit suddenly descends while taking out sheets from the bin. in this case,
An operator engaged in this work might accidentally get his hand caught between the bins or fall and disturb the stack of copy sheets being taken out.

In addition, some types of printers are configured to return the bin unit to the home position when the next copy signal is received.For example, in a 20-hin sorter, if the operation is stopped at the 20th hin, the bin unit is returned to the home position only after the next copy signal is received. The next cycle of copying could not be started until the bin unit returned to its home position, and that amount of lost time was added to the copying process.

[Means for solving the problem (and operation)] According to the present invention, a detection means is provided which penetrates all the bins by means of a notch in each bin in the bin unit and detects the presence or absence of paper in the bins. When the detecting means detects that all the sheets in the bin have been taken out from the bin, the bin is controlled to automatically return to the home position. As a result, (1) the time required for the bin to return to its home position (loss time) during the next copy cycle has been eliminated; and (2) safety for users performing copying operations has been improved.

〔Example〕

1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a drawing that best represents the features of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a bin unit storing a plurality of bottles, 2 is an alignment reference member provided between the frame 3 and the upper cover 8 of the bin unit l, and 4 is a bin unit l-
1 component, which is provided at the front and back, and supports both ends of the bottle 9. 5 is notch 1 made in bottle 9
4 and is an alignment rod provided through all the bottles.

6 is an arm that supports the lower end of the alignment rod 5 and has its rotation center coaxially with the rotation center 21 of the arm 7 that supports the upper end of the alignment rod 5; 11 is a stapler unit, 15, 16° 17 is a cover, 18
19 is a bottom plate, and 20 is a caster.

FIG. 2 shows the details of the configuration of the bin unit 1-.

In the figure, 22 is a shaft that is the center of rotation of the alignment rod 5, the upper end of which is fixed to the arm 7, and the lower end to the arm 6.
The rotating shaft 21 on the upper cover 8 and the support plate 35 of the arm drive section
Both ends are rotatably supported by an upper rotating shaft (not shown). 23 is a sensor plate fixed on the arm 6; 24 is a sensor fixed on the frame 3; sensor (plate) 23.
24 determines the home position of the alignment rod 5. A fan-shaped gear 25 is fixed to the arm 6, the center of which coincides with the rotation center axis 22, and meshes with the output shaft gear 26 of the drive motor 27 provided on the support plate 35. 28. 31 is a shaft 29 fixed to the frame 3.
．． 32 so as to be rotatable. 30 is a roller rotatably provided on the support shaft 34 of the bottle 9, and 33 is fixed to the frame 3 with a hook for hanging the splinter.

FIG. 3 is a main cross section of one embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, numeral 37 indicates a pair of splinters for balancing the weight of the bin unit 1, and a pair of splinters are installed at the back (not shown) and the front. Reference numeral 38 denotes a rotating shaft of the lead cam 10, which is fixed to the lead cam 10 by a rotation preventing means, and the other end is fitted in a bearing 40 and receives a thrust load.

Further, a toothed pulley 39 is provided on the rotating shaft 38 and is rotated by a belt or chain 41 stretched between the rotating shaft 38 and a drive motor 42 . 50 is a sheet conveying section;
The main body frame 44 is provided with grooves 43 that serve as guides for the rollers 29, 30° 32 of the bin unit, and the bin unit 1 is movable only in the vertical direction along the grooves 43. Bin 9a is a bin one step above bin 9b that receives paper from the paper ejection port, 9C is a bin one step below 9b, and lead cam 10.
Therefore, the distance between 9a←9b and the distance between 9b←9C is wider than the other distances. FIG. 5 shows details of this state.

In the figure, 45 is a bearing at the upper end of the rotating shaft 38, and 46 is a support plate that supports the bearing. The lead cam 10 has a groove 10a.
The cam characteristic of the groove 10a is that the cam moves to an intermediate position between the end and the cam in the first rotation, and moves to a position where it passes through the groove in the second rotation. That is, arrow 4 in the figure
When the lead cam 10 first rotates in the direction 7, the roller 30b of the bottle 9c rises in the direction of the arrow 48 along the groove 10a and moves to the position 30c, and in the next rotation to the position 30d. become. Therefore, the rollers 30b and 30c are engaged with the groove 10a of the lead cam 10.

For the three bins 9a, 9b, and 9c marked with 30d, the distance between them can be kept wide compared to the other bins (the bins in contact with the rollers). Needless to say, if the bottle is rotated in the opposite direction in the direction of arrow 47, the bottle will descend.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the state in which the cam 10 and the roller 30 are engaged with each other on the beam-1. In the figure, reference numeral 49 is an O-ring press-fitted into the roller 30 to absorb vibrations when the bottle is raised and lowered.

FIG. 4 is a main sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, with the bin unit 1 located at the home position. The above-mentioned numeral 8 is the upper cover of the bin unit 1, and at the same time, it is also a non-sort tray that receives copy sheets discharged from the non-sort discharge section 200. 201 is a pair of non-sort discharge rollers, and 205 is a paper sensor for a non-sort path. Also, 204 has an input rote reflector,
Select either the non-sorted discharge side or the sorted discharge side for sheets to be discharged from the image forming apparatus. Also, 202
is a pair of sorting and ejecting rollers, which provide sheets to bin group 9 in bin unit l. Further, 208 is a sensor for detecting paper in the bottle, and in this embodiment, a transmission type sensor is adopted. If the paper in the bin detection sensor 208 detects that there is a sheet remaining in the bin in the bin unit, when the next cycle of copying is attempted, the operation panel of the image forming apparatus main body will display a message indicating whether the sheet remains in the bin unit or not. It may issue a message stating that a copy is available, or it may selectively prohibit copying of the next cycle.

In this embodiment, when a copy sheet from the previous cycle remains in the bin unit 1 when copying for the next cycle, the copying operation is prohibited. This is to prevent stacked paper alignment and stapling defects, which are the functions of this device. In terms of aligning the stacked sheets, for example, if the size of the copy sheet in the previous cycle is larger than the size in the current cycle, the alignment rod 5 is regulated based on the size of the sheet in the previous cycle, and the newly stacked copy sheet is For example,
When the size of the copy sheet of the previous cycle is smaller than the size of the copy sheet of the current cycle, alignment work is possible, and the system can be established even with such a configuration. In addition, on the stapling side, if the stack of sheets loaded last time is stapled immediately and then stapled again in the next cycle to the rotated position, the staple is likely to be struck twice in the same spot, resulting in a stapler failure. There is also a possibility that the copy sheets for the previous cycle and the current cycle will be used at the same time.

Further, 206 is a paper sensor in the sorting path. In this embodiment, the bin unit 9 is in the state shown in FIG. 3, and when the copy paper sorting operation or the saw 1 to stabilizing operations are completed and all the completed sheet bundles are taken out from the bin unit 9, the paper in the bin is detected. Due to the sensor, there is no paper,
It is determined that the copying work for that cycle has been completed, and the bin unit 9 automatically returns to the home position (the state shown in FIG. 4) and waits for the next cycle's copy sheet. Fourth
As can be understood from the figure, a pair of non-sorting discharge rollers 20
1. The pair of sorting and discharging rollers 202 are respectively attached to the upper cover 8.
, there are some that are compatible with Hin9 (top bin),
Copy sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus can be distributed to the upper cover 8 and the bin 9 by simply switching the entrance deflector 204 after passing through a pair of input rollers 203.

FIG. 7 is a main perspective view of the stapler section.

Reference numeral 11 denotes the aforementioned stapler unit, which is normally at the retracted position 11a (indicated by the two-dot chain line) when sheets are discharged from the feeding direction (direction A in the figure). In this state, even if the bin is shifted up or down, the stapling unit remains outside the sheet alignment area and the bin's own passing area.

11b is a stapling operating position, and the stapler 11 or rotation center shaft 10 is driven by a link unit described later.
This is the position reached by swinging around 1.

Reference numeral 102 denotes a swing base plate, and a stapler part plate 103 that supports the stapler 11 is positioned and fixed to the swing base plate 102. The rotation center of the swing substrate 102 coincides with the rotation center axis 101. Reference numeral 104 denotes a paper sensor, which in the embodiment of the present invention is configured as a transmission type sensor.
As shown in FIG. 11, the sheet is detected by passing over the sheets on the bin in a U-shape.

There is a sense position for 104aj and sea 1, and an element is built in at this position. Embodiments of the present invention Although a pass-through type sensor has been cited as the most preferred example, similar effects can be obtained with a reflective type sensor. Even in the case of an actuator type reed switch, it is possible to securely hold the sheet by means of holding the sheet on the bin.

A sensor mounting base 105 is fixed to the swing board 102 with screws. 104b is a trajectory drawn by the element when the swinging substrate 102 swings, passing through the end of the sheet 60 on the bin. In this embodiment, the stapler or
When moving from 11b to position 11b, the sensor element part 104
It is also possible to continue sensing if a has passed across the sheet or at the position of Ilb (that is, it is on the sheet at the element position or the staple position), and electrical control and mechanical sensors are required. This can be done by arranging Further, 104 indicates the position of the paper sensor 104 when the stapler 11 comes to the retracted position 11a, and when positioned in this state, the sensor 104, like the stapler 11, is also located outside the sheet alignment area.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the swinging mechanism of the stapler unit. As mentioned above, the stapler part plate 103 supporting the stapler unit 11 can be attached to, detached from, and positioned on the swing base plate 102. Reference numeral 102 designates an operating point of the swing base plate 102, which is rotatably supported by a link arm 106. FIG. 9 is a front view of the stapler unit drive unit, and FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 will be described together. 10
Reference numeral 7 is a link disk having a center of rotation at 107a. The link disk 107 receives the drive from the motor 108 shown in FIG. 9 via a speed reduction unit composed of gears. The disc 107 has two cam shapes at target positions on the outer periphery (107b, 107c) of the positioning microswitch 10.
8 to detect the cam position. Immediately, Stabler 11
It is controlled to position and stop at either the staple position 11b or the retreat position 11a. (In FIG. 8, 107b corresponds to the stapling position 11b.) Further, 110 is a microswitch for detecting the stapler operating position. When one end 102a of the swinging board that swings together with the stapler presses the actuator 111 made of resin or the like, the other end of the swinging board 102a comes into contact with the microswitch 110, and it is recognized that the stapler 11 is in the stable position 11b. let In other words, the position sensing microswitch 1
10 and the positioning make switch 108, it is recognized whether the stapler 11 is positioned at the stapling position 11b or the retracted position 11b.

FIG. 10 shows a stapler constituting an embodiment of the present invention. To give a simple explanation, the stapler 11 transmits the drive of the drive motor 112 through the gears 113 and 114, and when the carrier 114 rotates, the directly connected link unit rotates, and the upper unit 115 and lower unit 116 contact each other. Touch and bend the needle. ○ mark (11) in Figure 1O
At position 7) the needle is actually bent.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the stabler. 11 in Figure 11
The position of 7 is the two-part unit 115 and the lower unit 116.
It's between. The sheet 60 to be directly bound must be between 115 and 116 as shown in FIG. In this configuration, the stapler is oscillated so that the stapler 117 is positioned at the edge of the aligned and positioned sheet.

Next, the operation will be explained.

A description of how sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus are stored in each bin will be omitted since it is completely the same as that of a conventional sorter. Therefore, in particular, the process from discharge of the sheet into the bin to alignment and staple linking will be explained in detail.

In FIG. 12, the sheet 60 immediately after being discharged into the bin
When the arm 7a, which was previously in the standby position, moves in the direction of arrow 57 around the center of rotation 21, it is pushed by the alignment rod 5 and moves in the direction of arrow 58. For example, a pulse motor may be used as the drive motor 27 of the alignment rod 5, and if a pulse signal set according to the paper size is input, the sheet will move until it hits the alignment reference member 2, and the sheet will move to 60b. Become. Since the bin 9 is inclined with the paper discharge port side facing down, the discharged sheet first moves by its own weight until it hits the rear end stopper 9d of the bin. After that, it becomes possible to move in the direction of arrow 58 along 9d. Further, the arm 7b returns to the standby position 7a in preparation for discharging the next sheet. By repeating the above operations, the sight edges of a plurality of sheets in one bin are brought into contact with the alignment reference member 2, and the rear ends are brought into contact with the rear end spud 9d of the bin, completing the alignment of the sheet bundle. Since the matching rod 5 penetrates all the bins, the same operation can be performed for multiple bins.
Alignment of sheet bundle is completed. Next, it is possible to select whether or not to use the stapler automatically, and if the staple link mode is not selected, the operation is completed by this rotation.

It goes without saying that the same applies to a sorter without a stapler. Further, 208 is the above-mentioned paper detection sensor in the bin, and as shown in Fig. 12, it is arranged in the notch part of each bin, and is penetrated between the top bin and the bottom bin to detect the remaining sheets. If there is even one bottle, the presence of paper is detected.

When the stave link motor is selected, the swing motor 108 is activated by the stave link operation command signal from the main body.
is driven, and the stapler 11 positioned in the swing unit 102 swings. A paper sensor 104 detects whether or not a sheet exists in the bin between the retreat position 11a and the stapling position llb, and only when a sheet exists, the staple drive motor 112 is activated to perform a sheet binding operation. The stapler is equipped with a one-rotation sensor (not shown), and when one rotation (that is, one staple punch) is detected, the swing motor 108 is activated again to retract the stapler to the retracted position 11a. Stapler retraction is recognized by microswitches 108 and 110 as described above.

When multiple bins are loaded with paper, the bins are shifted by this signal and the same operation is repeated one after another to perform needle driving.

For example, if a sheet is removed before stapling a certain bin depth, the paper in that bin will not be detected, and the stapler will not be stapled until it swings.

In this embodiment, the stapling operation may be performed by starting the stapling operation upon receiving a copy end signal after all the bins are loaded with sheets, or by performing stapling at the same time as the copy sheet is ejected from the bin from which the last sheet was ejected. above is possible.

Next, the procedure for returning the bottle to the home position will be explained using FIG.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of an operation routine for returning the bin to its home position when paper is removed from the bin.

First, it is determined whether the bottle is at the home position (5 tepl), and if it is at the home position, there is no need to perform a return operation, and the routine exits.

If the bin is not in the home position, then determine whether there is any copy paper in the bin (5step 2).

If there is no paper left, it is assumed that the bottle needs to be returned to its home position, and proceed to step 3. 5tep3”f
Since it is dangerous for the user to perform a bin shift immediately after removing the paper, i sets a timer of 1000 m5ec to prevent the danger and to prevent the user from feeling uneasy.

5. Wait for the timer set in step 3 to count up (step 4), return the bin to the home position (step 5), and exit the bin return routine.

[Other Examples]

With the paper detection sensor in the bin in this embodiment, if the bin unit is not at the home position after removing the paper in the bin, it is possible to automatically return to the home position, but the invention is not limited thereto. for example,
According to the stapler end signal in this embodiment, if the bin unit is not at the home position, it is possible to configure the bin unit to automatically return to the home position at the same time as the stapler end signal is issued, and further, if the stapler mode is selected. If there is no copy end signal, it may be configured to automatically return to the home position at the same time as the copy end signal is received.

Next, whether it is the timing for the bin unit to return to its home position, or by incorporating a timer means etc., it is possible to set the timing to match the system, such as 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, etc. after removal. Yes, it is possible, and the system can be set to descend at a time when the operator feels the most comfortable using the system.

It is also possible to return the bins at a speed lower than the speed at which the bins are raised and lowered during normal sorting, and the noise is reduced. As a result, when the worker finishes copying and removes all the paper from the bin, the sorter automatically returns slowly to its home position to wait for the next copy signal, and the worker who has finished copying can , it gives a psychological sense of relief rather than the sudden descent of the bottle, making the system more efficient.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the bin paper detection means is placed in the bin unit, and after copying is completed, the bin unit is automatically returned to the home position by switching from the presence of sheets to the absence of sheets. ■Abolishing the stoppage time of returning to the bin or home position when copying the next copy.

■Improve safety for workers.

There is an effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the device, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the bin unit, Fig. 3 is a main sectional view, Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing the features of the present invention, Fig. 5 is a detailed view of the lead cam section, Figure 6 is a main view of the lead cam part, Figure 7 is a main view of the stable part, Figure 8 is a main view of the stapler swinging mechanism, Figure 9 is a front view of the stapler part, and Figure 10 is the stapler. 11 is a detailed view of the stapler and the needle driving part, FIG. 12 is a plan view of the stapler, and FIG. 13 is a flowchart. 1... Bin unit 5... Matching rod 8... Upper cover (non-sorting bin) 11... Stapler

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A means for distributing sheet materials into the bins by sequentially moving a plurality of bins to a position facing the outlet for sheet materials discharged from the image forming apparatus, and a detection device for detecting the presence or absence of sheets in the bins. In the sheet sorting device, the plurality of bins return to their home positions after the detection means detects the presence or absence of sheets after a cycle copying and operation end signal. control method. (2) A method of controlling a sheet sorting device, characterized in that a sheet stacking section in a bin is provided with a binding means that can move forward and backward to bind a bundle of sheets.