JPH012975A - paper sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a paper sorter used for arranging copied sheets in, for example, a copying machine.

(b) Prior Art Conventionally, when making multiple copies of a plurality of original documents, for example, a sorter has been used that selectively discharges the copied sheets into a plurality of bins. The schematic structure of such a copying machine with a sorter is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. Figure 11 shows the appearance of the sorter installed on the left side of the copying machine body.
2 is a copying machine main body, 2 is a sorter, and the sorter 2 is provided with a plurality of bins 9. Figure 12 shows a part of the copying machine main body and the internal structure of the sorter.
The copied paper discharged from the discharge roller 3 is sent in the direction of the belt 5 by the conveyance roller 4, and is conveyed to the gate 7 by air suction by the belt 5. The conveyance direction of the paper is deflected by the gate 7 toward the discharge roller 8,
It is discharged into any one of the bins 9a to 9j.

Here, the gate 7 and the discharge roller 8 are constructed as an integral unit, and each bin is shifted one bin at a time each time sheets are discharged to each bin. Note that 22 and 23 are a light receiving element and a light emitting element, respectively, and the paper is passed through the gate 7 and the discharge roller 8.
It is optically detected whether or not the liquid has passed through and been discharged into a predetermined bin.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, since the distance between the bins of the sorter in such conventional copying machines is narrow, about 20 to 50 mm, it is complicated to take out the ejected sheets one by one. Met. In addition, if you use a stapler or crimp to organize the sheets you have taken out, either rearrange them on a spacious work desk, or stack the sheets of paper in each bin one by one at different angles, and then use the stapler or crimp. Closing work was done using paper clips. Not only is this work procedure extremely complicated, but when taking out a stack of paper from each bin of the sorter, the paper stacks are placed in other adjacent bins, making it impossible to utilize the function effectively, and the work efficiency cannot be improved much. There wasn't.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a paper sorter which allows a plurality of paper bundles discharged into each bin to be taken out all at once, and which prevents the paper bundles from being mixed with each other.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The paper sorter of the present invention is equipped with a plurality of bins for discharging paper and a paper conveyance means for selectively conveying the paper to these bins. At least every other bin is provided with a paper moving means for pressing and moving the paper discharged from the bin in a direction substantially perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction, and a driving means is provided for driving each of these paper moving means. It is characterized by

(e) Function In the paper sorter of the present invention, the paper moving means moves the paper discharged onto the bin in a direction substantially perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction. Since the paper moving means is provided in at least every other bin, the driving means drives the paper moving means, so that the sheets discharged to each bin are arranged in different positions for each -stage. Therefore, even if all the sheets are stacked and taken out at once in this state, the sheet bundles will not mix with each other, and later it becomes possible to separate and organize each sheet bundle.

(f) Embodiment FIG. 3 shows a state in which a paper sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed in a copying machine. A shift button 10 is provided at the top of this paper sorter. When manually shifting the stack of sheets discharged into each bin every other step, the shift button 10 is pressed.

The operating state inside the sorter when the shift button 10 is pressed is shown in FIGS. 1(A) and 2(B) and FIG. 2. Figure 1 (A
) and (B) are views taken along the line XX in FIG. 3 as seen from the direction of the bins provided in the paper sorter. Also, the second
The figure shows a mechanical part that is interlocked with the shift button 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the shift button 10 is fixed to a lever 10a that is provided with a rack on one side, and by pressing down the shift button 10, the pinion 1, which engages with the rack of the lever 10a, is moved by the arrow in the figure. Rotate in the direction. A pinion 11 is provided with a pin 19, and a coil spring 18 is attached between it and a fixed pin 20. As shown in FIG. 1(A), the pinion 110 shaft 1
A bevel gear 12 is connected to 1a, and another bevel gear 13 meshes with this bevel gear 12. The rotating shaft 13a of the bevel gear 13 has a plurality of arranged bins 9a.
Fins 14a, 14b, 14c, etc. are arranged vertically beside the bins 9", 9", etc., and fins 14a, 14b, 14c, etc. are attached at height positions corresponding to odd-numbered bins, that is, 9b, 9d, 9f, etc. When you press down, the shaft 1 of pinion 11
1a rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and along with this, the bevel gear 1
The rotating shaft 13a of No. 3 rotates in the direction of the arrow. When the shift button 10 is fully pressed, the shaft 13
Fins 14a, 14b, 140 attached to a
etc. are both rotated by about 90 degrees, and the stack of sheets that have been discharged onto adjacent bins is laterally shifted by a distance l. Thereafter, when the shift button is released, the shaft 13a rotates approximately 90 degrees in the original direction due to the action of the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 8, and then stops. At this time, the already shifted paper stack 15
b and 15d remain as they are. It should be noted that since each bin is provided with a protrusion 16 in the paper conveyance direction, the bottommost paper at the back of the paper bundle also comes into contact with the fins reliably. Furthermore, since the height of each fin is approximately equal to the bin interval, all sheets are reliably shifted regardless of the number of sheets in the stack of sheets discharged onto the bins.

Next, the structure of each bin in the paper sorter is shown in Figures 4 to 4.
It is shown in FIG. In Fig. 4, 31 is a paper guide that guides the paper into the bin, 32 is a stopper that aligns the rear edge of the paper, 33 is a tray section, and 17 is a guide for making it easier to take out the paper by inserting your hand into the center of the tray section. This is the notch. Reference numerals 36a and 36b are shafts that rotatably support the entire bottle, and rotate upward about these shafts. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing this state. In the figure, 38 is a bottle holding plate, 38a, 38b are notches thereof, and the shaft 36b of the bottle etc. is inserted into these notches. In normal conditions, each bin is held at a predetermined angle α by contacting the stopper 37 of the bin holding plate, but as shown in FIG. The bins are rotated to a specific angle β and stacked one on top of the other. By combining a plurality of paper bundles at the same time in this manner, they can be easily taken out from each bin with one hand. In addition, as for the structure of the bottle, for example, the seventh
As shown in the figure, if a protrusion 39 is provided near the tips of the bottles, a constant distance can be maintained between the bottles even if the bottles come into contact as shown in FIG. In addition, a notch 17 is provided at the center of the tip of the bin, and one end 40b of the copying machine main body on the operator side is shorter than the other end 40a in the paper conveyance direction (by making the sheet stack This makes it possible for even a person to take it out, further improving operability.

Although the above explanation was an example of manually operating the shift button, this can be performed automatically as shown below.

A block diagram of the control section of the paper sorter is shown in FIG.

In the figure, 50 is a copying machine controller provided within the main body of the copying machine, and the others are provided on the paper sorter side. CPU5i has ROM, RAM and I10
It is a microprocessor with a built-in port, and performs human output of signals and data to and from the copying machine controller 50, and also controls various input/output devices described below. The motor 53 is a motor that drives various rollers for conveying paper, and is controlled to be turned on/off by a relay 52. A belt motor 55 is a motor that drives a belt that selects a bin from which sheets are to be ejected.

and is controlled by the motor controller 54. 23 is a light emitting element made of a light emitting diode, and is driven by a driver 56. 22 is a light receiving element made of a photodiode, the output of which is detected by a detection circuit 57. The light-emitting element and light-receiving element are used to detect paper jams, etc., as in the case shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the solenoid 21 is connected to the lower end of the lever 10a, and the lever 10a moves up and down when the solenoid is turned on and off. The relay 58 drives the solenoid 21. The paper sorter constructed as described above operates according to the steps shown in FIGS. 9(A) and 9(B) and the timing shown in FIG. 10. First, initial settings are performed according to data output from the copying machine controller 50 (nl). Next, the copying machine waits with the motor off until the copying machine starts copying (n2→n3). When copying starts, the motor 53 is turned on and the timer TMI is started (n4→n5). Thereafter, it is determined whether the output signal s1 of the detection circuit 57 falls, that is, whether or not the paper has been discharged to the selected bin (n6). If the signal S1 does not fall until the value of the timer TMI exceeds a predetermined time TI, it is determined that there is a paper jam and a JAM process is performed (n8→n9). When nl determines that all copying has been completed, timer TM2 is then started and its value is set for a predetermined time T.
Wait until the number reaches 2 (n10→11). This time T
2 is the time (approximately 2 seconds) from when the paper is discharged onto the bin until it moves to a stable position. Then solenoid 2
1 and starts timer TM3,
Wait until M3 reaches a predetermined time T3 (n1
2-n14). During this time T3, the fins 14a, 14b, 14C, etc.
This is the time required to rotate by 0°. After this time, the solenoid is turned off and the series of processes ends (n15).

(g1 Effect of the invention As described above, according to the present invention, sheets ejected to multiple bins are shifted to each adjacent bin, so even if each sheet bundle is taken out at the same time, each sheet bundle cannot be removed from the other bins.) This eliminates the need to take out the paper stacks in each bin, eliminating the need for a work desk to organize the paper stacks, and making it possible to easily identify the paper stacks in each bin. It is possible to prevent the complicated work of stacking parts one by one at different angles, as well as the mistakes associated with such work.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1A and 1B are diagrams showing a schematic internal structure of a paper sorter that is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a part of the internal structure of the paper sorter, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a part of the internal structure of the paper sorter. Partial external views showing the state in which the above paper sorter is used in a copying machine, Figures 4 to 6
7 is a diagram showing the structure of each bin of the paper sorter according to another embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the control section of the paper sorter. figure(
A) and (B) are flowcharts showing the processing procedure of the control section, FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing signals of each part of the control section, and FIGS. 11 and 12 are diagrams showing the structure of a conventional paper sorter. It is. 1-copying machine body, 2-paper sorter, 10-shift button, 14-fin, 21-solenoid.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a paper sorter equipped with multiple bins for discharging paper and a paper transport means for selectively transporting paper to these bins, the paper ejected onto the bins is sorted in a direction approximately perpendicular to the paper transport direction. A paper sorter characterized in that paper moving means for pressing and moving paper sheets are provided at least every other row of the bins, and driving means for driving each of these paper moving means is provided.