JPH0228461A - Discharge device for sheet folding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the accommodation performance without deteriorating the sheet arrangement performance by varying the sheet discharge angle of a pair of discharge rollers for a tray in the prescribed sheet folding mode. CONSTITUTION:In the prescribed sheet folding mode, a sheet discharge angle varying mechanism 200 for varying the sheet discharge angle of a pair of discharge rollers 203 for a tray is installed. The dimension of the constitution member is set so that the discharge angle of the sheet which is determined by the plane including a common contact point of a discharge roller 202 and a pinch roller 208 is nearly Q1=10 deg. on the deenergization of a solenoid 214, while Q1=30 deg. on excitation with respect to a horizontal plane. An upper tray 18 is installed so that the intermediate part is inclined by nearly 30 deg.. In other words, on deenergization, a supporting bracket 212 is pulled by the urging force of the spring 222, and an arm member 218 is turned clockwise, and the initial discharge angle is set Q1 10 deg. by the contact of a movable rod 214A with a stopper piece 220.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a discharging device of a sheet folding device, particularly a method for folding and collating sheets discharged from an image forming device such as a copying machine into a predetermined shape, The present invention relates to a discharge device of a sheet folding device suitable for use in a sheet finisher that performs binding.

[Prior Art] In general, a sheet folding device is required to have a half-folding function for folding a sheet in half, and a so-called Z-folding function for roughly folding one side of the sheet in half.

Conventionally, as a sheet folding device having such a Z-folding function, one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-217476 is known.

A sheet folding conveyance path and a passing conveyance path having a pair of discharge rollers provided at the downstream end thereof are provided downstream of the artificial deflector which is switched in response to a request for sheet folding or not.

A first deflector is interposed downstream of this sheet folding conveyance path, and a first stage folding roller pair consisting of a first and second folding roller and a first folding position regulating conveyance path are connected to each other. It is set up.

Further, a second deflector is interposed downstream of the first-stage folding roller pair, and the second-stage folding roller pair composed of the second and third folding rollers and the second folding position regulating conveyance path are connected to each other. has been established.

Furthermore, a third deflector is interposed downstream of the second-stage folding roller pair, so that the third-stage folding roller pair and the third folding position regulating conveyance path, which are composed of third and fourth folding rollers, are interposed downstream of the second-stage folding roller pair. has been established.

Further, downstream of the pair of folding rollers at the third stage, there is provided a folding end conveyance path whose terminal end merges with the above-mentioned passing conveyance path.

A pair of discharge rollers is provided downstream of the folding completion conveyance path and the passing conveyance path, and discharges the folded sheet onto the tray from the sheet discharge port.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such a conventional sheet folding device, since the ejection roller pair and the tray are both fixed, it is difficult to carry out Z-folding, for example, of a plurality of sheets in succession. In some cases, this may cause inconvenience. That is, in the case of Z-folding, the thickness of the sheet is different at both ends, so when a plurality of sheets are accumulated on a tray, the slope of the top surface of the accumulated sheet becomes steeper as the number of sheets increases.

If sheets are continued to be ejected in this state, the ejected sheets will push out the already accumulated sheets from the tray, resulting in poor alignment. If an attempt is made to avoid this, there is a problem in that the storage capacity of the Ikioi sheet is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a discharging device for a sheet folding device that can solve such conventional problems and improve storage capacity without deteriorating sheet alignment.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sheet folding device that has a plurality of sheet folding modes and discharges sheets onto a tray from a pair of discharge rollers. The present invention is characterized in that the sheet ejection angle of the ejection roller pair relative to the tray is changed in the folding mode.

[Function 1] According to the present invention, in a predetermined sheet folding mode, the sheet discharge angle with respect to the tray can be changed. Therefore, for example, if you set the sheet ejection angle to be a dog in the Z-fold mode, even if multiple sheets are accumulated,
The discharged sheets and the accumulated sheets do not collide with each other, and alignment is ensured. In addition, accommodation capacity is also improved at the same time.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example in which a discharge device of a sheet folding device according to the present invention is applied to a sheet finisher will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet finisher IO has a main body 12 placed on a pedestal 16 equipped with casters 14. The main body 12 is provided with an upper tray 18 for receiving discharged sheets and a lower tray 20 for cumulatively storing processed sheets.

22 is a partition plate.

The sheet finisher IO according to this embodiment includes a sheet folding mechanism 100 for folding sheets discharged from a copying machine (not shown) and carried in; Sheet discharge angle variable mechanism 200 that changes the discharge angle. A tray shift mechanism 300 that sorts the discharged sheets. Stitching mechanism 400 for stitching the ejected sheets. Sheet alignment mechanism 500 required before binding. A tray rise mechanism for improving the alignment of ejected sheets on the upper tray 18; an escape mechanism 600 for releasing sheets processed on the upper tray 18 to the lower tray 20; and an escape mechanism 600 for improving the storage capacity on the lower tray 20. NotoI
Each of the above-mentioned mechanisms including the noise angle control mechanism 700 will be sequentially explained below.

A. Sheet folding mechanism 100 The sheet folding mechanism 100 is connected to the carry-in path 10 as shown in FIG.
2. Downward conveyance path 104. Sheet storage path 1 that is continuous with this downward conveyance path 104 and temporarily stores the leading edge of the sheet.
06. Upward conveyance path 108. A horizontal conveyance path 110 is provided for conveying sheets that are not folded.

Roughly speaking, at the tip of the carry-in path 102, there is a pair of carry-in rollers 112 for pinching and feeding the sheet carried in from the feed port 22.
is provided.

The member 24 in which the feeding port 22 is formed is the upper and lower guide member 2.
6.28, and its vertical position can be adjusted according to the ejection position of a copying machine (not shown) or the like.

In the middle of the downward conveyance path 104, the conveyance path 104
A first pair of conveyance rollers 116 is provided facing the conveyance rollers 116 whose nipping operation can be turned on and off by driving a solenoid 114. Furthermore, two pairs of second conveyance rollers 11B and 120 are provided midway along the upward conveyance path 108.

A first flapper 122 is provided at the end of the carry-in path 102 and is driven by a solenoid 124 to select either the downward conveyance path 104 or the sideways conveyance path 110 as the conveyance direction of the carried-in sheet. Further, at the end of the upward conveyance path 108, a second flapper 128 is provided which switches the conveyance direction of the conveyed sheet to either the horizontal conveyance path 110 or a second pair of press rollers to be described later using a solenoid 126. There is.

Further, a first pair of press rollers 130 is provided at the continuous portion of the downward conveyance path 104 and the sheet storage path 106, and a second press roller pair 132 is provided at the end of the upward conveyance path 108 and the sideways conveyance path 110. There is.

Further, the sheet storage path 106 is provided with a plurality of stoppers that abut against the ends of the sheets and restrict their movement. These stoppers are set according to the form of sheet folding and sheet size. The 3H stopper 134, which is used when folding an A3 size sheet in half, is of a fixed type and is provided at the lowest end of the sheet storage path 106.

136 is B4 size and Bi2 used when folding in half
(Stopper, 138 is the first Δ3z stopper used when Z-folding in A3 size, 140 is B4 size and Z-folding.
A first 841 stopper used during folding,
They are driven to protrude into the sheet storage path 106 by solenoids 136A, 138A and 1408, respectively.

Furthermore, as a similar kind of stopper in the horizontal conveyance path 110, a second sheet 3z used when Z-folding an A3 size sheet is installed.
A stopper 142 and a second 842 stopper 144 used for Z-folding with B4 size are provided, and the horizontal conveyance path 1 is controlled by solenoids 1428 and 144A, respectively.
It is driven to protrude to 10.

Note that a guide member 146 is provided on the exit side of the second press roller pair 132 to guide the sheet to a discharge roller pair to be described later.

Furthermore, a downward conveyance path 104 downstream of the first conveyance roller pair
and a guide member downstream of the second press roller pair 132 +
46 is provided with sensors 148 and 150 for detecting arrival and passage of sheets, respectively, and sensor 148
is a reflection type) odometer, and the sensor 150 is a reflection type)
This is a sensor with a trip added to the interrupter.

B. Sheet discharge angle variable mechanism 200 The sheet discharge angle variable mechanism 200 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. A drive shaft 204 on which a plurality of discharge rollers 202 are mounted is rotatably supported by a bracket 206 fixed to the main body frame. Discharge roller 202
A rotary shaft 210 on which a plurality of pinch rollers 208 that come into contact with the drive shaft 204 are mounted is rotatably supported by a support bracket 212 that is swingably supported around the drive shaft 204 .

The ejection roller 202 and the pinch roller 208 are hereinafter referred to as an ejection roller pair 203. A solenoid 214 and a support @216 are fixed to the bracket 206, and the support @216 is fixed to the bracket 206.
The arm member 2 has a slot 218A formed in 216.
18 is rotatably supported.

Further, a stopper piece 220 is formed by cutting and raising a part of the bracket 206, and a pin 224 to which one end of a spring 222 is locked is implanted. The other end of the spring 222 is connected to a first pin 226 implanted in the support bracket 212.
A second pin 228 , also implanted in the support bracket 212 , is engaged with the slot 218 of the arm member 218 .
It is engaged with A. Movable rod 2 of solenoid 214
14 The arm member 218 is connected to the shoulder by the connecting plate 230.
is connected to.

The dimensions of each of the above-mentioned components are such that when the solenoid 214 is deenergized, the sheet ejection angle determined by the plane including the common contact point of the ejection roller 202 and the pinch roller 208 is approximately Q, and when the solenoid 214 is deenergized, it is approximately 10' when the solenoid 214 is energized. Approximately Q
2=30°. Incidentally, the upper tray 18 is provided so that its middle portion is inclined at approximately 30°.

That is, during demagnetization, the support bracket 212 is pulled by the biasing force of the spring 222, and the arm member 218 rotates clockwise as shown in FIG. Angle Q, ”=−10° is set.

C, l-ray shift mechanism 300 and stitching mechanism 400 Next, the tray shift mechanism 300 and the stitching mechanism 4
00 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

A bracket 302 is fixed to the lower side of the upper tray 18.

The motor 304 is connected to the tray chassis 1 on the side of the upper tray 18.
The cam wheel 3 is fixed to the cam wheel 9 and has a pin 306 implanted therein.
08 is rotated. One end of the connecting plate 310 is engaged with the pin 306 implanted in the cam wheel 308.
The other end is connected to the aforementioned bracket l-302 with a pin 312. Every half rotation of the cam wheel 308, the upper tray 18 is shifted in the left and right directions.

Next, the stitching mechanism 400 is rotatably provided on a bracket 402 fixed to the main frame (not shown) on the side of the upper tray 18 around a pin 404 implanted in the bracket 402. A base plate 406 is provided.

A motor 408 is fixedly installed on the lower side of the bracket 402.
A cam wheel 412 on which a pin 410 is installed is driven to rotate. A slot 406A is formed in the base plate 406 in parallel with the sheet discharging direction.
The pin 410 is engaged with A. Also, base plate 4
A stapler 414 is placed on the top surface of the stapler 414, and when the base plate 406 rotates around the pin 410 in accordance with the rotation of the cam wheel 412, the corner of the upper tray 18 as shown in FIG. The entire structure is laid out so as to be aligned with the notch 18G formed in.

D. Sheet alignment mechanism 500 Before explaining the sheet alignment mechanism 500, FIG.
The upper tray 18 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 3, although details will be described later.

The upper tray 18 mainly includes a tray body 188 and a swinging member 18B.
The tray body 18A and the swinging member 18B are integrally formed with side walls 18Ej8F on their respective sides. 8C and a gate plate 180 are provided so as to be openable and closable as described later. And this side wall 18E, 1
8F and gate plate 18D are orthogonal to each other on their extended lines.

An opening 1811 is formed in the gate plate 18D toward the notch 18G side, and the first rubbing roller 540 of the sheet alignment mechanism 500 comes out from this opening 1811 when aligning the sheets.

Therefore, the sheet alignment mechanism 500 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11.

A support bracket 504 is fixed to the main body frame 502 that supports the secondary press roller 132 described above. The support bracket 504 is partially bent into a cross-sectional shape and includes a side plate portion 504A and an upper plate portion 504B. The side plate portion 5048 has a guide groove 504C whose terminal end is slightly curved upward, and the upper plate portion 504B has a guide groove 504 which runs obliquely.
D is formed respectively. Further, a motor 506 is fixedly attached to an extension of the side plate portion 504A and drives a pulley 508. A pulley 512 is further rotatably supported on the side plate portion 504A via a bracket 510 (see FIG. 8).

Further, as shown in detail in FIG. 8, a rail member 514 provided with stoppers 512 at both ends is fixed to the side plate portion 504A located below the upper plate portion 504B. A slider pair 516 is slidably provided above and below this rail member 514, and this slider pair 516 is fixed to a holding plate 518. The above-mentioned pulleys 508 and 51 are mounted on the holding plate 518.
Both ends of the wire 520 stretched between the wires 2 and 2 are fixed. A pin 522 is implanted in the holding plate 518 and is fitted into a hole 5248 at one end of the link plate 524 to be rotatably supported. A first joint member 526 is rotatably fitted into the hole 524B at the other end of the link plate 524.

The first joint member is shown enlarged in FIG.
A guide groove 50 formed in the first cylindrical portion 526A and the side plate portion 504 into which the hole 524B of the link plate 524 fits.
4C, and annular grooves 525C and 526D for engaging washers are formed at respective ends of the cylindrical portions 526A and 528B.

Also, at one end there is a yoke 528 of the second joint part.
It has a protrusion 526E that is coupled to A with a bottle. The protrusion 528B of the second joint member 528 is connected to a yoke 5308 formed at one end of the connecting rod 530 with a pin. Therefore, the first joint member 5
26, second joint member 528, and connecting rod 53
0 constitutes a universal joint.

Further, an arm 532 whose tip is bent and formed into an L-shape is fixed to the end of the connecting rod 530, and a guide groove 504D formed in the upper plate portion 504B is located near the yoke 530A of the connecting rod 530. A gate-shaped member 534 having an engaging follower 534A is rotatably provided.

A holding member 538 that holds the jacket of the flexible wire 536 is fixed to the arm 532 .

The tip of the flexible wire 536 is connected to a shaft 542 that supports a friction roller 540, and the other end is connected to a shaft 542 that supports a friction roller 540.
It is connected to the driven shaft of the press roller pair 132 (the seventh
(see figure).

When the pulley 508 is driven by the motor 506 and the holding plate 518 is moved to the right in FIG. The supporting arm 532 and the connecting rod 530 are integrally connected to the first
The joint member 526 and the second joint member 52
Rotates around the connecting part with 8.

Therefore, the friction roller 540 moves while keeping its height approximately constant as shown in FIG.
0 through the opening 1811.

Further, as the holding plate 518 moves to the right, the first joint member 52 guided by the guide groove 5040
6 is lifted upward according to the curved shape of the rear end of the guide groove 504C, and the arm 532 and the connecting rod 530 rotate integrally around the connecting portion with the gate-shaped member 534. Therefore, the friction roller 540 descends as shown in FIG. 1O and comes into contact with the upper surface of the upper tray 18.

At this time, it is preferable that the rotating plane of the friction roller 540 be inclined at about 15 degrees with respect to the gate plate 18D of the upper tray 18.

For example, if the discharged sheet is in the state shown in Sl as shown in FIG. are aligned as shown.

It is preferable to form a folded portion in the tray 18 near the position where the friction roller 540 contacts the upper surface of the upper tray 18, since this can prevent the sheet from bending convexly downward and curling.

E, l-ray rise mechanism and escape mechanism 60
The above-mentioned upper tray 18 is slidably mounted on a tray chassis 19 fixed to a main body frame 506 as shown in FIG.

The tray chassis 19 has two guide bars 19A and 1.
9B is installed horizontally.

In the upper tray 18, as shown in detail in FIG. 13, a roller 18 is mounted on the lower surface of the tray main body 18 and moves on the guide bar 19B of the tray chassis 19 via a bracket 18J.
K is provided.

Furthermore, the guide bar 1 of the tray chassis 19 is also placed on the bottom surface.
Bearing block 18L and solenoid 6 in sliding contact with 98
A bracket 18M for attaching 02 is fixedly provided.

Further, a boss 18N through which a guide bar 19A is inserted is integrally formed on the lower surface of the swinging member 18B. Thus, the swinging member 18B swings about the axis Z to the guide bar 19.

A movable rod 602A of a solenoid 602 for driving the swinging member 18B is an arm member 606 fixed to the boss 18N of the swinging member 18B via a connecting plate 604.
is connected to.

Next, in FIG. 14, the swinging member 18B and the door member 1
It is connected to 8G so that it can rotate relatively around @Y.

Further, a first bracket 60 is attached to the side of the tray body 18.
8 is fixedly installed, and this rotatably supports the gate plate 18D via a boss portion 18P formed integrally therewith. The first bracket 608 is located on the side of the tray body 18A.
A second bracket 609 is provided below the bracket 609, and a third bracket 611 is provided at a predetermined distance from the second bracket 609 with a plurality of studs 610. A solenoid 612 is fixed to the first bracket 608, and a solenoid 612 is fixed to the first bracket 608.
A bottle 613 is installed. The first pin 613 is provided with a first spring 616 that biases the arm member 614 in the clockwise direction shown in the figure, and rotatably supports the arm member 814.

One end of the arm member 614 is engaged with a slot 618 formed in the connecting plate 618, and the other end is engaged with a slot 620A of an arm member 620 fixed to the boss portion 18P of the gate plate 180.

One end of the connection plate 618 is connected to the movable rod 612A of the solenoid 612, and the other end is connected to the third bracket 61.
The bell crank 624 is rotatably supported by the second pin 622 implanted in the bell crank 624, and is engaged with a slot 6248 at one end of the bell crank 624.

The other end of the bell crank 624 is a third bracket 611,
The stopper release arm 628 engages with a slot 628 of a first stopper release arm 628 rotatably supported on a third pin 626 implanted in the third pin 626 .

Next, the lock mechanism 630 will be explained. Lock mechanism 6
30 has a housing 632, an actuating rod 636 housed within the housing 632 and biased in the projecting direction by a spring 634, and a pawl 638 screwed onto the tip of the actuating rod. In this embodiment, two identical mechanisms are used as the first and second lock mechanisms 630A and 630B, respectively.

That is, the first locking mechanism 630 and the bracket 64
0 through the first position 611A of the third bracket 611
The gate plate 18D is provided to restrict movement of the gate plate 18D.

Although not shown, the second lock mechanism 630B is provided at the first position 611A of the second bracket 611 via a bracket to restrict movement of the door member 18G.

Then, the end of the first lock release arm 628 is engaged with the claw 638A of the first locking mechanism 630A, and the clockwise rotation of the arm 628 causes the actuation rod 636 to retract into the housing 632.

Furthermore, the second bracket 609 includes a fourth bin 644.
, the fifth bottle 646 is installed, and the bracket 6
A solenoid 648 is fixedly installed via 42.

A movable rod 648A of the solenoid 648 is connected by a connecting plate 652 to one end of a bell crank 650 rotatably supported on the fourth pin 644.

The fifth bin 646 has slots 654 and child 165.
An arm member 654 having a hole 654 formed therein is rotatably supported, and a sixth bottle 656 is implanted in the hole 654B.

The other end of the bell crank 650 has a slot 658 in the midsection.
A is formed and connected to the other end of an arm member 658 having a seventh bin 658B provided at one end thereof, and a slot 658
A sixth bottle 656 implanted in the arm member 654
is engaged.

A seventh bin 65 provided at one end of the arm member 658
8B engages with a slot 662A of a second unlocking arm 662 rotatably supported by an eighth pin 660 implanted in the third bracket 611. The other end of the second lock release arm 662 engages with the pawl 638B of the aforementioned second locking mechanism 630B (not shown), and the arm 662
The locking function of the second locking mechanism 630B is released by rotating counterclockwise.

A ninth bin 664 screwed onto the side surface of the door member 18G is engaged with the slot 654A of the arm member 654.

A second spring 666 and a third spring 66 are provided between the swinging member 18B and the first bracket 608 and between the door member 18C and the first bracket 608, respectively.
8 has a bow length.

F, l-lay angle control mechanism 700 As shown in FIG. 16, the lower tray 20 has a plurality of tabs 2OA on its base end, a through hole 2OB through which a rod 702 is inserted in the side wall, and a notch that engages with the shaft 704. It has a cutout 20C. The tab 20A is inserted into a hole (not shown) formed in the partition plate 22, and the lower tray 20 can swing around this base end.

The shaft 704 is rotatably supported by the main body frame 502, and has a hook plate 706 fixed to one end thereof.

The rod 702 passes through an arc-shaped long hole 5028 formed in the main body frame 502, and one end thereof is connected to the hook plate 706.
It is disposed so as to be able to engage with a stepped portion 7068 formed in the bottom. This rod 702 is always urged upward by a spring 710 whose one end is locked to a pin 708 implanted in the main body frame 502.

A hole 706B provided at the end of the hook plate 706 is connected to a collar 714 supported at one end of a bell crank 712 rotatably supported by a pin 711 on the main body frame 502.
engage with. The other end of the bell crank 712 is a movable rod 71 of a solenoid 716 fixed to the main body frame 502.
6A via a connecting plate 718. moreover,
The hook plate 706 is biased counterclockwise in the drawing by a spring 720 whose one end is locked to the main body frame 502.

Thus, when the solenoid 716 is in the OFF state, the stepped portion 706 of the hook plate 706 and the rod 702 are engaged, and the lower tray 20 is held at a predetermined angle.

When a predetermined number of sheets are accumulated on the lower tray 20, the solenoids 1 to 716 are energized 611, and the hook play 1 to 706 is activated by the spring 7 via the bell crank 712.
20 and the engagement with the rod 702 is released.

Then, the lower tray 20 rotates around its base end in accordance with its own weight and the weight range of the accumulated sheets so as to enlarge its acceptance angle.

When the maximum number of sheets accommodated is reached, the notch 20C and the shaft 704 engage, and the lower tray 20 is held substantially horizontally.

Next, the operation of the tree embodiment having the above configuration will be explained.

A. When the non-sheet folding mode is set in the non-sheet folding copying machine main body, the solenoid 124.12 is activated by a command from a control circuit configured using a microcomputer (not shown), etc.
6 and 214 perform predetermined operations. That is, the first flapper 122 and the second flapper 128 are switched to the positions shown by the solid lines in FIG. 2, and the variable discharge angle mechanism 200 is set to the initial discharge angle Q,'; 10 degrees.

At the same time, solenoids 1428 and 144A are turned off and the second A3Z stopper 142 and B4Z stopper 1 are turned off.
44 are both retracted from the horizontal conveyance path 110.

Then, the sheet discharged from the copying machine or the like is nipped by a pair of carry-in rollers 112, passes through a horizontal conveyance path 110, a second press roller 132, reaches a pair of discharge rollers 203, and is discharged to the upper tray 18 at a discharge angle Q1. .

B. When the half-folding mode for the half-folded sheet is set, solenoids 124126 and 2 are activated by a command from a control circuit (not shown).
14 performs a predetermined operation. And the first flapper 12
2 to the second broken line position shown in the figure, the second flapper 128 to the solid line position, and the sheet discharge angle variable mechanism 200 to the discharge angle Q2.
Set each angle to 430°. Further, the control to the solenoid 136 is performed according to the size of the sheet. For one row, if the seat is a size F3, the solenoid 136A is turned off, and if it is a size B4, the solenoid 136A is turned on to cause the B411 stopper 136 to protrude into the accommodation path 106.

Thus, the sheet carried in from the feed port 22 is nipped by the pair of carry-in rollers 112, passes through the first flapper 122, and enters the downward conveyance path 104. The downward conveyance path 104 has a first
A pair of transport rollers 116 are installed, and a pair of transport rollers 1
The sheet conveyed by the receiving path 12 is taken up and further transferred to the receiving path 1.
Transport to 06.

The rear end of the sheet conveyed to the storage path 106 leaves the pair of carry-in rollers 112, and only the first pair of conveying rollers 116 has a guiding function.

A311 stopper 134 provided in the accommodation path 106
and 8411 stopper 136 is the first press roller pair 13
The distance to the nip location of 0 is set to be half the vertical length of A3 and B4, respectively.

Seat or stopper 134. Alternatively, it arrives at 136 and takes 1 second (after the sensor 148 detects the passage of the leading edge of the sheet. This is calculated as the difference between the expected arrival time and the elapsed time based on the feed speed of the first G feed roller pair 116 and the sheet size. ), the solenoid 114 is operated to release the nip of the first conveyance roller 116, and the sheet hits the stopper due to its own weight and inertia. At that time, the seat is in a state where the restraint is released, so it stands at right angles to the stopper. Therefore, even if a sheet comes in obliquely from, for example, a copying machine, the inclination of the sheet is corrected here.

Furthermore, when the solenoid 114 is operated and the sheet is nipped and conveyed again by the first conveying roller 116, the middle of the sheet whose front end hits the stopper and whose movement is restricted faces the first pair of press rollers 130, and the sheet is conveyed by the first conveying roller 116. A downward conveyance path 104 and a storage path 106 have a shape that smoothly swells in the direction.
The intermediate portion along the continuous portion between the two is curved and nipped by the first pair of press rollers +30. The contact line of the first pair of press rollers 130 and the stopper surface are parallel, and the sheet is folded parallel to the edge.

The sheet folded by the first pair of press rollers 130 is conveyed to the upward conveyance path 108. Two second pairs of conveying rollers 118 and 120 are provided on the upward conveying path 108 to convey the sheet folded in half.

In the second pair of transport rollers 118 and 120, the driven rollers are preferably independently suspended in order to prevent wrinkles from occurring due to skewing of the sheet.

The sheet is guided via a second flapper 128 to a first pair of press rollers 132.

The half-folded sheet is pressed by the second pair of press rollers 132 and the first
The paper is pressed with a higher pressure than the press roller pair 130, and is discharged from the discharge roller pair 203 via the guide member 146.

When the Z-folding mode for C and Z-folding sheets is set, solenoids 24126 and 2 are activated by a command from a control circuit (not shown).
14 performs a predetermined operation. And the first flapper 12
2 and the second flapper 128 respectively at the second broken line position shown in the figure, and the sheet ejection angle variable mechanism 200 at the ejection angle Q24.
Set to 30°.

Also, depending on the size of the seat, solenoid 1388 or 140Δ and solenoid 1428 or 14
4. For example, for A3 size, solenoids 1388 and 1428 are turned on, and for B4 size, solenoids 140A and 1448 are turned on.

Thus, the corresponding stopper is transferred to the storage path 106 and the horizontal transport ii! Make @110 stand out respectively.

A typical case of folding a shoulder-sized sheet in half will be explained below.

The sheets coming in from the feed port 22 are transferred to the loading port-ra 112.
The sheet is nipped by the paper sheet and conveyed to the storage path 106 via the downward conveyance path 104 in the same manner as when folding in half.

In the accommodation path 106, the first 3Z stopper 138 is in a protruding state.

To this 3Z stopper 138 and B4Z stopper 14
0 is set so that the distance to the nip location of the first pair of press rollers 130 corresponds to the vertical length of each sheet.

The method of correcting the sheet inclination and folding it is exactly the same as when folding it in half.

The sheet folded at a % position from the leading edge of the sheet by the first pair of press rollers 130 is guided through the upward conveyance path 108 to the horizontal conveyance path 110 opened by the second flapper 128 . In the horizontal conveyance path 110, the second A3Z stopper 142 is in a protruding state.

The second A3Z stopper 142 and the B4Z stopper 144 for secondary folding are each set so that the distance to the nip location of the second press roller pair 132 is equal to the length of each sheet.

Then, the A3Z stopper 142 hits the crease of the sheet folded from the tip to the center position by the first pair of press rollers 130, and its movement is restrained, and further the upward conveyance path 108
When the trailing edge of the sheet is conveyed by the second pair of conveyance rollers 120 provided in It is nipped by the second pair of press rollers 132 at this position. Here, the sheet is folded in the direction opposite to the primary folding by the press roller pair 30, and the sheet is folded into a Z-shape, which is finally folded into two.
46 and is discharged from a pair of discharge rollers 203.

The discharge angle at this time is about 30°.

As shown in Figure 3, the Z-folded sheet S is placed in the upper tray 1.
8, the height of the side where the fold is present becomes higher than the other side, and the tip of the ejected sheet tends to push out the sheets that have already been accumulated.
This can be prevented by increasing the discharge angle as described above.

D. Sorting is performed by a shift mechanism 300 provided at the bottom of the upper tray 8. The sheets discharged by the pair of discharge rollers 203 are stored in the upper tray 18 in order.

Therefore, when sorting remote is selected, guide member 1
The sensor 150 provided on the guide member l.1
6. Manage the sheets passing through. After passing the front seat
If the next sheet is not detected for 2 seconds, the tray 18
The lower motor 304 is driven to rotate the cam wheel 308 a half turn. Then, the tray 18 is shifted by a predetermined amount via the connecting plate 31O.

Thereafter, the sheet discharged by the pair of discharge rollers 203 is stored at a position shifted by a predetermined amount from the previously stored sheet. By repeating this process, the front and rear sheets can be distinguished, and the sorting operation can be performed up to the maximum number of sheets that can be accommodated in the tray 18.

In this case, sorting can be performed in any case, regardless of whether the non-sheet folding mode, half-folding mode, or Z-folding mode is selected.

E. Stitching When the stitching mode is selected, the guide member 14
The sheet alignment mechanism 500 detects the passage of the sheet by the sensor 150 installed at 6, and 3 seconds after the sheet passes, for t4 seconds or until the next sheet is detected.
The sheets stored in the tray 18 are aligned.

As described above, the sheet alignment mechanism 500 is usually installed at the lower side of the guide member 146 at ζ±. And sensor 1
50 detects the passage of the sheet, the motor 506 is started, and as described above, the friction roller 540 passes through the opening 181 provided in the gate plate 18D and appears on the tray 18. , the notch 18 of the upper tray 18 due to the frictional force of the friction roller 540.
Send it into the corner formed by G. The edge of the sheet 1- is fed by the friction roller 540 and comes into contact with the side wall 18F of the upper tray 18 and the gate plate 18D and is aligned.

Such sheet alignment operation is performed for a predetermined number of sheets.

By performing the alignment operation using the friction roller 540 in this manner, it is possible to align the sheets even if they are of different sizes. Then, a predetermined number of sheets aligned at the corners by the friction rollers 540 are moved to a stable position by shifting the tray 18. This position is the same as the shift position used in the aforementioned sorting mode. Tray 18
At the same time, the stitching mechanism 4 moves to the stable position.
00 also operates, starting the motor 408 and starting the stapler 41.
4 also moves to the stable position. Then, when it is confirmed by a sensor (not shown) that the tray 18 and stapler 414 have moved to the stable position, stabilization is performed.

After stabilizing, both the tray 18 and the stabilizer 414,
Return to home position.

Note that the direction of the stable is a direction that is inclined with respect to both sides at the corner of the sheet, so that the bound sheet bundle can be easily turned over.

F, l-Rayrise The trayrise operation is performed according to the mote selection of the finisher 10.

That is, when the folding operation of sea I~ is not performed,
The door member 18C and the swinging member 18B, which constitute the base end of the tray 18, are held in the first position in which they are raised upward as shown in FIG. 15 to improve sheet alignment and facilitate sheet folding. When this is done, the member 18 holds 18B in the second lowered position to improve sheet storage.

When the finisher 10 is in the non-sheet folding mode, the solenoid 602 is in the OFF state, and the swinging member 18
B is rotated about the axis Z toward the first guide bar 19 by the biasing force of the second spring 666, and is held at the above-mentioned first position shown in FIG. 15 together with the door member 18G.

In this state, the distance between the discharge roller 202 and the top surface of the tray 18 is shortened, and the effect of lifting force due to the air interposed between the discharged sheet and the tray top surface is small, and the discharged sheets are aligned without misalignment. be done.

Note that the gate play 11 is used to facilitate this alignment operation.
A plurality of air vent holes 18Q are bored in 8D.

Next, when the finisher IO is in the sheet folding remote and binding mode, the swinging member 18B and the door member 18G are kept in motion and the second
position.

When the above mode is selected, the solenoid [i12 or 6n is activated, and the gate plate 18D is activated by the tenth lock mechanism 6308 during the initial stroke of the movable rod 612A.
gate plate 1 in the late stroke.
Rotate 8D around axis X.

That is, upon initial stroke to the movable rod 612, the bell crank 624 rotates via the connecting plate 618.

At this time, the arm member 614 does not move due to the action on the slot 618 of the connecting plate 618. bell crank 6
The rotation of No. 24 is transmitted to the first unlocking arm 628, which retracts the actuating rod 636 through the pawl 638 to the tenth claw mechanism 630 and unlocks the gate plate 180.

Further, as the stroke of the movable rod 612A advances, the gate plate 18D is opened via the arm member 620.

In this state, the solenoid 602 is energized, and the arm member 606 fixed to the boss 18N of the swing member 18B is rotated via the connection plate 604.

Then, the swinging member 18B rotates downward about the axis Z against the second spring 666, and at the same time, the door member 18C connected to the glaze Y also moves downward.

The door member 18G is biased by the third spring 668 in the direction of rotation about the axis Y, but this rotation is caused by the door member 18G moving against the side wall 18F provided on the side of the swinging member 18B. It is blocked by abutting the extension 1811 and its position is determined.

Thereafter, the solenoid 612 is demagnetized and the first spring 61
6, the gate plate 180 is returned to its original position, and the first locking mechanism is also returned to its original position.
Lock 80.

G. Escape After the above-mentioned stitching operation is completed, the gate plate 18D, the swinging member 18B, and the door member 18G are opened simultaneously, and the sheet bundle is transferred from the upper tray 18 to the lower tray 2.
An escape operation is performed to drop it to 0.

The solenoid 612 and the solenoid 648 are energized after a predetermined time after the completion of the stitching operation is detected.

Then, as described above, the lock by the 10th lock mechanism 630A is released and the gate plate 180 is opened, and at the same time, the lock by the 20th lock mechanism 630B is released by the initial stroke of the movable rod 648A of the solenoid 648, and the door member 18G is opened by the later stroke. At the same time, the swinging member 18B is opened.

That is, the bell crank 650 rotates with the initial stroke of the movable rod 648A and pulls the arm member 658.

At this time, the sixth pin 656 implanted in the arm member 654 is engaged with the slot 658A of the arm member 658, so it only slides inside the slot 658, and the arm member 654 does not move.

The movement of the arm member 658 is caused by the movement of the second lock release arm 66.
0, and the lock of the l/a member 18G by the second locking mechanism 630B is released.

Further, as the stroke of the movable roller 48A progresses, the arm member 654 rotates around the fifth bin 646, and the door member 18c is rotated about the axis Y via the ninth bin 664 that is engaged with the slot 654A. Rotate it as As the rotation of the door member 18G progresses, the swinging member 18B also rotates about the axis Z together with the door member 18C. This movement is accommodated by the engagement of the movable rod 602^ of the solenoid 602 with the slot 6048 of the coupling plate 604.

After the sheet bundle falls to the lower tray 20, the solenoid 61
2 and 648, and the gate plate 180, door member 18C, and swinging member 18B are assembled as shown in FIG.

Return to second position. At this time, the demagnetization of the solenoid 612 is delayed by the solenoid 648.

H9 Lower tray angle switching When a sheet bundle falls from the upper tray 18 to the lower tray 20 held at a predetermined angle and is accumulated, especially in the case of Z-folded sheets, the side where the fold exists is the other side. Since the thickness is more than three times that of the sheet stack SO, the effective angle for receiving the sheet bundle SO is narrowed, as shown in FIG.

In order to ensure a wide effective acceptance angle, in this embodiment, it is detected that the number of sheets reaches 20, and the Truenor door 16 is temporarily excited.

Due to this excitation, the engagement between the hook plate 706 and the rod 702 is released as described above, and the lower tray 20 rotates around its base end according to its own weight and the weight of the sheet.
Enlarge acceptance angle.

Note that when the sheets stored in the lower tray 20 are removed, the lower tray 20 returns to its original position due to the restoring force of the spring 710 and is automatically locked, and the lower tray 2Q bounces due to the collision when the sheet bundle S0 falls. prevent.

``Effects of the Invention'' As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the ejection angle of the sheet with respect to the tray is changed according to the predetermined sheet folding mode. A sheet folding device with improved properties can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment in which a discharge device of a sheet folding device according to the present invention is incorporated into a finisher, Fig. 2 is a side sectional view showing an outline of the embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a book FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the rV-TV line in FIG. 3, and FIGS. 5 and 6 show the tray shift mechanism and binding mechanism of the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5 shows a non-stitching state and FIG. 6 shows a stitching operation state. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a sheet alignment mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, with the variable sheet discharge angle mechanism omitted for simplicity of the drawing. Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the same as above, Fig. 9 is a partially enlarged perspective view thereof, and Fig. 10 is a game 1 for explaining the behavior of the friction roller.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between the upper tray and the friction roller; FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship of the tray chassis according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between the upper tray and the friction roller; FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the upper tray of the embodiment. FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view showing the quiz mechanism and escape mechanism of the upper tray of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing the angle variable control mechanism of the lower tray according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 17 is a side view for explaining its operation.
Sheet folding mechanism, ... variable sheet discharge angle mechanism, ... discharge roller, ... discharge roller pair, ... support bracket, ... solenoid, ... arm member, ... tray shift mechanism , ...sheet binding mechanism, ...sheet alignment mechanism, ...tray rise and escape mechanism, ...lower tray angle control mechanism. Decoration of the 8th area #sK Akihiro Diagram Fig. 9 Kishi Aurora O Akirato! 11 loaves of power and 4 shells of mulberry qi
εCho Figure 10

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a sheet folding device having a plurality of sheet folding modes and discharging sheets onto a tray from a pair of discharge rollers, the sheet discharge angle of the pair of discharge rollers with respect to the tray is changed in a predetermined sheet folding mode. A discharge device for a sheet folding device characterized by: