JPH02233458A - Sheet after-processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the sheet stacking capacity and at enhancing the aligning ability by providing a retractable auxiliary tray on the sheet loading side of a tray for storing sheets to be discharged, which are subjected to after- processing, and by selecting and controlling the trays in accordance with a condition of sheets. CONSTITUTION:An auxiliary tray 114 is provided retractably to a hinge part 121 on the sheet loading side of a tray 103 for storing sheets S to be discharged which are subjected to after-processing, and it urged upward by means of a spring 118. In the case of a non-folding mode, if the sheets have a size less than A-4 size, a solenoid 115 is energized so as to discharge the sheets onto the trays 103, 104 by means of a pair of discharge rollers 76, and a discharge roller 86. Meanwhile, in the case of a B-4 or A-3 size, a staple process, or a folded sheet, the solenoid 115 are deenergized so as to allow the auxiliary tray 114 to be lowered by the dead weight of the sheets S overcoming a spring 118 since the trailing end part of the sheets S bulges. Thus, it is possible to increase the stacking capacity of sheets and at enhancing the aligning ability of sheets.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser beam printer. The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing device that includes a first post-processing unit (hereinafter referred to as a processing tray) and a second post-processing unit (hereinafter referred to as a sheet storage tray) for performing post-processing such as binding or punching on sheets. Conventionally, sheet post-processing devices have been known that are equipped with a processing tray and a sheet storage tray that perform post-processing such as binding or punching on sheets. The sheets are bound or punched on a processing tray, and then stacked on a sheet storage tray. (8) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in conventional devices, the processing tray and sheet storage tray are separate. As a result, the device itself has become large.As a solution to this problem, the
Although there is a method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 8-47780 or US Pat. No. 4,424,963, it is difficult to check the quality of the image of the ejected sheet and the alignment and binding of the sheet bundle. Furthermore, the device proposed to solve these problems consists of a movable tray section and a fixed tray section, and due to the structure for discharging the desired sheet bundle, the movable tray section near the rear end of the sheet is
Since the rear end is regulated by a step, the slope of the tray becomes large, making it difficult to load sheets. If the sheet is not curled, especially if it is curled downward, or if the paper size is large (for example, A3 or B4 size), the trailing edge of the sheet will bulge out due to its own weight, which will adversely affect the alignment on the storage tray. There was a problem that led to a significant reduction in the loading capacity of the vehicle. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet post-processing device that improves sheet stacking performance and alignment by providing an auxiliary tray that can be freely retracted from a sheet storage tray. (2) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and for example, to explain with reference to FIG. A retractable auxiliary tray (114) is provided on the sheet loading side of the tray (103), and the auxiliary tray (114) is used for Ba! It is characterized by having a control means (61) for selecting and controlling the appearance and reappearance operation in accordance with the above.

(f) Function Based on the above-described configuration, the auxiliary tray (114) moves in and out of the sheet storage tray (103) depending on the binding or folding mode of the ejected sheet (S) or the size of the sheet. The symbols in the brackets are shown for reference and do not limit the structure of the present invention in any way. (f) Examples Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 3, the copying machine 1 has a copying section 2 that forms an image on a sheet S, and the copying machine 11 has a sheet post-processing device 27 that performs post-processing of the sheet S discharged from the copying machine 1. It is connected.

A copying machine 1 serving as an image forming apparatus has a main body 3 having a built-in copying section 2, and the main body 3 has a platen 5, a platen 5,
Light source 6, mirrors 7, 8, 9, 10, lens 11, two cassettes 12, 13 and deck 15 for storing sheet S
The above cassette 12, 13 and deck 15 are equipped with
Paper feed rollers 16, 17, and 19 are disposed above the paper, respectively. A conveyance section 20 is disposed on the machine body 3 side downstream of the paper feed roller 19, and a registration roller pair 21 is disposed downstream of the conveyance section 20 and the paper feed rollers 16, 17, and 18. has been done. Further, downstream of the pair of rollers 21, the copying section 2 is disposed, and downstream of the copying section 2, a conveyor belt 22 and a fixing device 23 are disposed.

Further, downstream of the fixing device 23, a discharge port-ra pair 24,
A flapper 25 and a pair of paper discharge rollers 26 are disposed, and downstream of the pair of paper discharge rollers 26, a folding section 27a and a folding section 27a for folding the sheet S in half or Z-folding, etc. are provided adjacent to the copying machine main body 3. A sheet post-processing device 27 comprising a finisher section 27b for stacking or stapling the sheets S is provided. Further, a re-conveyance path 29 is provided branching off from the flapper 25, and the re-conveyance path 29 is provided with an intermediate tray device 30. In addition, codes 31, 82,
S3 indicates each sensor. On the other hand, the copying machine main body 3 is provided with an automatic document feeder 31 on its upper part, and the feeder 31 has a document tray 32 on which documents M are stacked. A paper feed roller 3 for feeding the document M on the tray 32 is placed near the tray 32.
3 is disposed, and downstream of the roller 33, a separation belt 35 that rotates counterclockwise and a conveyor belt 36 that rotates clockwise are disposed. Moreover, the belt 36
Sensors 37, 3 for detecting the size of the document M are located near the
9 are arranged linearly in the transverse direction with respect to the document transport direction, and downstream of the sensors 37 and 39, a transport belt 42 is stretched between a drive roller 40 and a driven roller 41.

Further, a flapper 45 is disposed at the document discharge section on the left side of the belt 42, and around the flapper 45 are conveyance paths 4B and 47 that are switched and guided by the flapper 45.
．． 49 are provided.

The conveying path 46 is provided with a pair of conveying rollers 50, the conveying path 47 is provided with a pair of conveying rollers 51, and the conveying path 49 is further provided with a discharge roller S2.
is installed. Note that the reference numeral 84 in the figure is a sensor that detects one cycle of the sheet.

Furthermore, the sheet post-processing device 27, as shown in FIG.
The control unit 61 is composed of a central processing unit (CPU) 62, a ROM 63 storing a control program for controlling the CPtJ 62, and a RAM 65 serving as a main storage device. Load: Output interface 66 that outputs control signals, input interface 6 that inputs detection signals from each sensor.
7, is connected. Further, each load, each sensor, etc. of the copying machine main body 3 and automatic document feeder i1f31 are also connected via respective interfaces (not shown).

The output interface 66 is connected to an east transport motor Ml, a seeding motor M2, a stepping motor 82, a stapler motor M3, a tray lifting motor M4, and a transport motor M5.
The seat detection sensor 35, S6, the width board home position sensor S7, the seat level sensor 105, and the microswitch 97 are connected to. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, the sheet post-processing device 27 has a swingable hook 70 that engages with a mating member 69 provided on the side surface of the copying machine main body 3. By engaging the hook 70 with the engaging member 69, the sheet post-processing device 27 is positioned. A carry-in port 71 is provided on the side surface of the device 27 to carry in the sheet S discharged by the pair of paper discharge rollers 26, and a deflector 72 is provided on the downstream side of the carry-in port 71. . Further, a first conveyance path 73 is provided on the downstream side of the deflector 72, and a conveyance roller pair 75 is disposed on the path 73. Furthermore, a pair of paper discharge rollers 76 is disposed downstream of the first conveyance path 73, and a processing tray 77 is disposed downstream of the pair of rollers 76.

The belt 7 is attached to the lower roller 76a of the roller pair 76.
The lower end of the belt 79 is in contact with the processing tray 77 . In addition, the tray 7
7 is provided with a movable width board 80 and a positioning plate (not shown) for aligning the width direction of the sheet S, and a rack 81 is provided at the bottom of the width board 80. is being kicked,
The rack 81 has a binion gear 8 driven by a stepping motor 82 disposed below the processing tray 77.
It meshes with 3. Further, a stapler 85 is disposed adjacent to the processing tray 77, and the stapler 85 is adapted to staple the front and rear ends of the sheets S stacked on the tray 77. A paper ejection roller 86 is disposed at the tip of the tray 77, and the roller 86 has the following features:
A swinging roller 89 disposed at one corner of a swinging guide 88 supported by a shaft 87 so as to be freely movable comes into contact with the swinging roller 89 . Further, a guide lever 90 is provided upright on the seeding guide 88, and a spring 92 whose one end is fixed to a protrusion of the fuselage frame 91 is connected to the lever 90.
As a result, the swing guide 88 is biased counterclockwise. Furthermore, a disc 93 rotated by a swing motor M2 is disposed adjacent to the guide lever 90, and a pin 95 that engages with the guide lever 90 is provided upright on the disc 93. . Then, close to the disk 93, the front view L
A leaf spring 96 in the shape of a letter is swingably supported, and a microswitch 97 is disposed adjacent to the spring 96.

Further, a rail plate 99 is provided on the body frame 91 so as to extend in the horizontal direction, and the rail plate 99 allows the rotatable opening provided on the drainboard guide 100 to be opened.
- La 101 is supported.

A tray moving table 102 is supported on the guide 100 so as to be movable up and down.
@ is a hollow sheet sfj! A stack tray 103 for carrying :n is provided. Further, the swing guide 88 is provided with a sheet level sensor 105 that detects the level of the sheets S stacked on the stack tray 103. It is composed of a sensor lever 106 and a photosensor 107 that are in contact with each other.

On the other hand, the second conveyance path 10 is branched to the deflector 72.
9 is disposed, and a deflector 110 is disposed at the end of the conveyance path 109. In addition, the deflector 11
A bending third conveyance path 111 is provided downstream of the conveyance path 111, the inner guide surface of the conveyance path 111 is constituted by large rollers 1 and 12, and the conveyance path 111 is connected to the first conveyance path 73. It's communicating. Further, a folding conveyance path 113 is provided branching off from the deflector 110, and the conveyance path 1
The folding portion 27a is provided downstream of the folding portion 13. In addition, in the figure, s. Those indicated by s and se are sheet detection sensors that detect the sheet.

The operation of this embodiment will now be explained with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. When the power is turned on, C
PtJ62 clears the storage number counter (Fl)
, the stepping motor 82 is reversed and started, and the width board 80 is rotated.
Move toward the home position. Then, the CPU
62 determines whether the width board 80 is located at the home position based on the signal from the width board home position sensor S7 (F2), and if it is determined that the width board 80 is located at the home position, Stops the stepping motor 82 (F3), further, the CPU 62 turns the tray lifting motor M4 ONL/, the stack tray 103 contacts the sensor lever 106 and swings the lever 106, and the sheet level sensor 105 turns ONL/ Decide whether or not (F4)
Then, the CPU 62 stops the tray lifting motor M4 and ends the movement of the stack tray 103 (F5).

As a result, the tray 103 becomes ready to store the sheets S. If it is determined in F2 that the home position sensor S7 is not ON, the stepping motor 82 is reversed until the sensor S7 is turned ON (F6), and in the above embodiment, the seat level sensor 105 is turned ON. If it is determined that the sensor 105 is not turned ON, the tray lift motor M4 is rotated to the upward side (F7). Then, the document M is loaded on the document tray 32 (see FIG. 1), and the start key (not shown) is pressed. When turned on, a motor (not shown) is rotated to drive the paper feed roller 33, and the separation belt 35 is moved counterclockwise to the conveyor belt 36.
is driven clockwise. The documents M stacked on the document tray 32 are fed by a paper feed roller 33, and separated and conveyed one by one from the bottom by a separation belt 35 and a conveyor belt 36. Then, the document M is conveyed between the platen 5 and the conveyor belt 42, and conveyed and stacked on the document reference position on the platen 5 by the conveyor belt 42. Then, the image of the original M is read by the lamp 6, mirrors 7, 8, 9, 10, and lens 11, and an image is formed on the copying section 2. On the other hand, the cassette 12. selected by a selection switch (not shown).
13 or the sheet S from the deck 15 is fed to the paper feed roller 16
, l7 or 19, and the sheet S
is conveyed by a pair of registration rollers 21 in synchronization with the image formed on the copying section 2. Then, the sheet S has an image copied thereon by the copying section 2, and is further conveyed to the fixing device 23 by the conveyor belt 22. Next, the image is fixed on the sheet S by a fixing device 23, and in the case of one-sided copying, the sheet S is guided by a flapper 25 and conveyed to a sheet post-processing device 27 by a sheet ejection four-ra pair 26. In addition, in the case of multiple copying or double-sided copying, sheet S
is branched and guided by the flapper 25 to the re-transport route 29
will be transported to. Furthermore, by the same operation as described above, the sheet S
The image is copied onto the back side of the sheet, and the sheet is conveyed to the sheet post-processing device 27. On the other hand, the CPU 62 of the sheet post-processing device 27
When a start signal is received from , transfer motor M5 is turned on.
to drive each roller (F8). At this time, if the binding mode is selected from the operation unit (not shown) of the copying machine 3, the CPU 62 rotates the disk 93 by a predetermined amount using the screw motor M2, and rotates integrally with the disk 93. The guide lever 90 is swung clockwise by the pin 95. Furthermore, the swinging guide 88 swings clockwise about the shaft 87 due to the swinging of the lever 9, and the swinging roller 89 and the paper ejection roller 86
Separate from. Then, the sheet S discharged from the copying machine 3 is transported to the entrance 7
1, and is transported through the first conveyance path 73 by the deflector 72.
Or it is guided to the second conveyance path 109. For example, in the non-folding mode, the sheet S is guided to the first conveyance path 73 and conveyed by the pair of conveyance rollers 75 to the pair of discharge rollers 76 (see FIG. 6(a)). At this time, the CPU 62 determines whether or not the sensor S5 has detected the leading edge of the sheet S based on the signal from the sheet detection sensor S5 (F9), and if it is determined that the leading edge of the sheet S has been detected, the sensor S5 Determine whether the rear end is detected (FIO). Then, when it is determined that the sensor S5 has detected the rear end of the sheet S, C
The PU 62 starts a tray storage timer set at a predetermined time (Fil), and then the sheet S is ejected across the processing tray 77 and the stacked tray 103 by the paper ejection roller pair 76 (see FIG. 6). (b)), the width direction is aligned by being abutted against the positioning plate by the width board 80, and the first
Only the th sheet S is brought into contact with the base end of the processing tray 77 by the discharge roller 86 rotating clockwise and the belt 79 rotating counterclockwise and aligned in the front-rear direction. Furthermore, when the tray storage timer ends (Fl2
), the CPIJ 82 increments the number of stored sheets counter (F13), and then, based on the signal from the sensor S4, determines whether or not the original M has gone through one cycle, that is, whether one cycle of copy processing has been completed (F14). ). Furthermore, 1
If it is determined that the copy process of the cycle has not been completed, the CPU 62 checks the height of the stack tray 103 in the same way as F4 and F5 described above, and then performs the operations from F9 described above. Also, when one cycle of copy processing is completed, the CPU
62 starts the seeding motor M2 to rotate the disc 93 clockwise (F15). Then, due to the rotation of the disc 93, the biasing force of the guide lever 90 due to the bottle 95 disappears,
The lever 90 is urged counterclockwise by a spring 92. Then, when the lever 90 comes into contact with the leaf spring 96 and swings the spring 96 counterclockwise, the micro switch 9
7 is turned on, and the ON signal of the switch 97 turns on CPtJ.
82 stops the swing motor M2 (Fl6). On this occasion,
As the lever 90 is seeded, the seeding guide 88 is also seeded in the counterclockwise direction together with the lever 90, and the paper discharge roller 86 and the seeding roller 89 come into contact with each other. After confirming that the sheet S is on the processing tray 77 using a sensor (not shown), the CPU 82 operates the stapler 85 to staple the sheet bundle S (F
17). Then, when stable is finished (F18)
, the CPU 62 turns on the east transport motor M1 (not shown).
L/(F19), paper ejection roller pair 86 and swinging roller pair 89
As a result, the sheet bundle S... is discharged onto the stack tray 103 (see FIG. 8(c)). At this time, the sensor lever 106 is pushed up by the sheet bundle S, and the beam of the shaft sensor 107 is turned on (see FIG. 7). Note that the first sheet S of the next job is
2 to the third conveyance path 11, stay in the path 11, and after discharging the sheet bundle S of the previous job, are discharged to the processing tray 77, overlapping with the second sheet S (Fig. 6). (
d)). Furthermore, the CPU 62 controls the tray lifting motor M.
4 and lower the stack tray 103 (F20).
, corresponding to the storage number counter. A timer for the amount of decrease is started (F21). For example, if the thickness of the sheet is 0.1 m, this timer value will be a value that decreases by 2 mm when the counter value is 10, and a value that decreases by 3 mm when the counter value is 20. The thickness is set slightly larger than the sheet thickness. Then, when the timer ends (F22
), the CPU 62 turns off the tray lifting motor M4 (F23).

At this time, the CPU 62 moves the stack tray 103 and the drainboard guide 100 in the sheet width direction using a drive means (not shown) to offset the sheet stack S stacked on the tray 103 so that the stable needle portion Make sure it doesn't swell. Then, the CPU 62 executes the above-mentioned F1
After performing initial processing from to F5 (F24)
, perform the operations from F9 onwards for the next jib. In addition, in the above-mentioned F16, the microswitch 97 is ONL.
/If there is no foreign object (for example, a hand, finger, book, etc.) on the processing tray 77, the CPU 62 stops the system (CF25).

Further, when the folding mode is selected, the sheet S carried in from the carry-in port 71 is guided by the deflector 72 to the deflector 110, and the deflector 110
It is guided through the conveyance path 113 to the folding section 27a, and is folded in half or Z-folded by the folding section 27a. Then, the folded sheet S is transferred to the third path 111 by the large roller 112.
, and the operations after F8 described above are performed.

Note that when the non-stable mode is selected, the swing roller 89 is in a position where it is in contact with the paper ejection roller 86 (see Fig. 1).
The sheet S carried in from the carry-in entrance 71 is guided to the first conveyance path 73 by a deflector 72, and is directly discharged onto the stack tray 103 by a pair of paper discharge rollers 76, a paper discharge roller 86, and a swinging roller 89. , will be done. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4(b), the hinge portion 121 of the auxiliary tray 114, which can be raised and lowered, is attached to the stack tray 10.
It is loosely fitted into a hinge hole 120 provided in 3, and is biased downward by its own weight. Whether or not the solenoid 115 attached to the stack 1 to the lay 103 via the attachment plate 116 performs stibbling (F3-0)
If not, whether or not to fold next time (F
Proceed to step 3-1). If there is a crease, the leading edge will swell due to the folding and the rear edge will drop, so turn the solenoid off (F3).
-4).

If not folded, the size of the sheet S must be A4 or smaller (F
3-2), the solenoid 115 is turned on (F3-3) because the rear end of the sheet S does not expand under its own weight, and when the sheet S is B4/A3 size, the solenoid 115 is turned off (F3-3) to prevent the rear end from expanding under its own weight. −, 4) state.

The auxiliary tray 114 is in the position shown by the solid line in FIG.
It is supported by an arm 118 which is biased clockwise by 18. A cam-shaped portion 123 is formed at the bottom of the auxiliary tray 114, and is designed to prevent the auxiliary tray 114 from falling clockwise even when the sheets S are stacked on the auxiliary tray 114.

When performing stibbling, the link 117 connected to the plunger of the solenoid 115 is attracted regardless of whether folding is performed, the arm 118 is rotated counterclockwise, and the auxiliary tray 114 is rotated counterclockwise. The height is controlled so that the stack tray 103 is placed on the extension line of the processing tray 77, as shown by the chain line in FIG.

Note that in the above embodiment, the action of the auxiliary tray 114 was performed by the solenoid 115, resulting in binary control, but as shown in FIG. If 51 or a crank mechanism is provided and multi-value control is performed, more diverse responses may be possible. In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, the auxiliary tray 114 is divided into two parts, a back side auxiliary tray 114b and a front side auxiliary tray 1.
14a, by gradually providing steps in the lifting position (lifting height) depending on the number of stacked sheets S and the number of bundles, thereby absorbing the bulge of the needle part and making the upper surface of the sheet S uniformly flat. Furthermore, the number of stacked sheets S can be increased.

(G) Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the present invention, an auxiliary tray that can be raised and lowered (comes and goes) is provided beside the storage tray by a simple mechanism, and can be selected depending on the sheet size and sheet mode. By controlling the elevation (appearance and retraction) of the auxiliary tray, it is possible to increase the sheet loading capacity and improve sheet alignment. The same effect as above can be obtained by controlling the elevation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of a sheet post-processing device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing its control unit, and FIG. 3 is a front sectional view of an image forming apparatus to which the sheet post-processing device is connected. , Figures 4 and 5 are the flowcharts, and Figure 6
7 are operational views, FIG. 8 is a front sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment. 27... Sheet post-processing equipment, 6l... Control means,
77... Processing tray 89... Discharging means (seeding roller) 103... Sheet storage tray 114
...Auxiliary tray

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An auxiliary tray that can move in and out is provided on the sheet loading side of a tray that stores sheets to be discharged after post-processing, and the auxiliary tray selects the movement in and out depending on the state of the sheets. - A sheet post-processing device characterized by having a control means for controlling.