JPH02291353A - Paper postprocessor for image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To arrange the rear edge of a bundle of paper sheets correctly and perform appropriate finishing process by raising the raised part of a rear edge receiving part raised from a paper stacking face for stacking discharged paper sheets in the approximately vertical state to the paper stacking face. CONSTITUTION:A paper sheet discharged from a copying machine is sent to a sorter, enters a vertical feeding carrier path, passes between a carrier roller 162 and a driven roller 165, receives the operation of a deflecting claw 164, is discharged onto a specified pin 300 from between the carrier roller 162 and a discharge roller 163, falls slidingly along an inclined paper stacking face 300C, and its rear edge is brought into contact with a raised part 308. As this raised part 308 is raised in the approximately vertical state to the paper stacking face 30C, the paper sheet is arranged correctly at its rear edge, further shifted into the place suitable for the paper size in a paper arranging means 500 and receives binding process at a stapler device 400. The rear edge of a bundle of paper sheets are thus correctly arranged to receive appropriate finishing process.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a paper stacking surface for stacking ejected sheets, and a backing surface for receiving the trailing edges of the ejected sheets and aligning the trailing edges. The present invention relates to a paper post-processing device for an image forming apparatus, which includes an edge receiving portion and a finishing unit that performs finishing processing on aligned sheets.

[Prior art and problems to be solved by the invention] In image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, printing machines, etc., sheets on which images are formed are stacked aligned on the paper stacking surface, and the stack of sheets is Paper post-processing devices of the above type for performing finishing operations such as stapling, punching, stamping, or sealing are well known in the art. This type of paper post-processing device is
It is configured as a sorter that distributes and discharges sheets onto a plurality of sheet stacking surfaces, a finisher that stacks sheets on one sheet stacking surface, and processes the stack of sheets, and the like.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a part of a conventional paper post-processing device configured as a sorter.

A large number of paper loading tables configured as bins 300 are arranged vertically in parallel, and sheets S sent from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine are ejected to each of them in the direction shown by the arrow X, and the paper loading tables of each bin 300 are Surfaces 300a, 300b. It is loaded on h. The paper stacking surface 30ob of each bin 300 is inclined to be higher in the paper discharge direction X.

Each sheet discharged into the bin 300 is moved to the sheet stacking surface 30 by a sheet aligning means (not shown) or by its own weight.
0b along the inclination of the paper bundle by a small distance toward the rear as indicated by the arrow It is configured. After aligning the sheets in this manner, the sheet bundle is subjected to finishing processing by the finishing processing means.

By the way, in the conventional bin, as is clear from FIG. 19, the paper stacking surface 3oOa near the rising portion 308 is formed horizontally, and this paper stacking surface 300a and other paper stacking surfaces 30
0b was an obtuse angle.

This horizontal portion 300a was formed by the bottle 3.
In the trailing edge area of 00 (the left edge area in FIG. 19), the upper and lower bins 300 are left wide apart, and when the paper is ejected,
This is to prevent the paper from interfering with the bin above. In other words, if the rear end of the bin 300 is formed as shown by the chain line in FIG. 19 and the horizontal paper stacking surface 300a is eliminated. This narrows the gap between the upper and lower bins and prevents the paper from hitting the upper bin. If a horizontal paper stacking surface 300a is formed,
The interval between the bins in this area can be increased, and the interval between the other paper stacking surfaces 300b can be narrowed, making it possible to make the entire structure compact.

However, when the horizontal paper stacking surface 300a is formed, the trailing edge S3 of the paper discharged into the bin 300 is aligned with the rising portion 30.
8, especially the trailing edge S3 of the first sheet of paper.
Since the sheet hits the horizontal sheet stack 300a and does not reach the rising portion 308, there is a possibility that the trailing edge S3 of the sheet stack stacked on the bin 300 will not be aligned as shown in FIG.

Furthermore, even if the rising portion 308 is formed as shown by the chain line in FIG. 19 and the trailing edge S3 of each sheet is applied to this rising portion 308 and an attempt is made to align them, the trailing edge $1s3 will not be aligned with the surface of the paper. It's tilted and I can't align it correctly.

If a finishing process such as stapling is performed on the above-mentioned irregular paper stack, the quality of the completed paper stack will deteriorate.

In addition, if the paper S discharged onto the paper stacks 300a and 300b of each bin 300 is curled and the degree of curl is particularly significant, the paper S The rear end edge is the rising part 3 of the bottle rear end receiving part.
It may be located above 08. In this state, the next sheet S11 is discharged into the bin 300 in the direction indicated by the arrow X, and then due to its own weight etc.
When returning to the direction, the portion S10 of the stacked paper is at the rising portion 308.
Since the trailing edge of the sheet Sll is not stopped by this rising portion 308, it protrudes to the left in the figure and stops.

If this happens, the misalignment of the paper stack will become particularly noticeable, and not only will it be difficult to properly finish the stack, but the next sheet to be ejected will hit the paper Sll protruding to the left, causing the paper Sll to Push it to the right side of the figure and push it to the bin 30.
If the paper is dropped from zero, it may cause missing pages or paper jams.

The present invention has been made based on the above recognition, and its purpose is to form an image that can correctly align the trailing edge of a stack of paper sheets stacked on a paper stack surface and perform appropriate finishing processing. An object of the present invention is to provide a paper post-processing device for an apparatus.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a paper post-processing device of the type described at the beginning, in which the rising portion of the trailing edge receiving portion that rises above the paper stacking surface is approximately perpendicular to the paper stacking surface. We propose a paper post-processing device that is characterized by a raised surface.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a paper post-processing device of the type described at the beginning, in which the rising portion of the trailing edge receiving portion that rises above the paper stacking surface forms an obtuse angle with respect to the paper stacking surface. We propose a paper post-processing device characterized in that a curved part is integrally formed at the leading end of the curved part that rises up and curves continuously toward the paper stacking surface side.

Furthermore, even when the paper is particularly curled, the present invention prevents the paper from riding up on the trailing edge receiving part.
When the paper is ejected onto the paper stacking surface, the elastic pressing member deforms elastically so as not to obstruct the ejecting operation, and when the paper ejected onto the paper stacking surface is curled, it is pressed down from above. A paper post-processing device is proposed, which is characterized in that a paper post-processing device is provided above a paper stacking surface.

〔Example〕

An embodiment in which the paper post-processing device according to the present invention is configured as a sorter for a copying machine will be described below.

First, the overall structure and operation of the sorter will be explained based on FIGS. 1 to 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, paper ejected from a copying machine (not shown), which is an example of an image forming apparatus, a copy paper in this example, is sent to a sorter. An entrance guide plate 104 is provided at the intake port.
a, 104b are provided. Following this, guide plates 107, 109, 11 for conveying the copy paper upward
0,111. Conveyance rollers 106, 108, 112, 11
3. A switching claw 115 is provided. The upper path by the switching claw 115 is provided with a pair of paper ejection rollers 117, 118 and a paper ejection tray 119, and the lower path by the switching claw 115 is provided with a plurality of paper sheets (Fig. In the example, the copy paper vertical feeding path is along the copy paper insertion side of the bin 3oO (20 sheets). The bin 300 constitutes an example of a configuration of a paper mounting table on which discharged paper is stacked.

As shown in FIG. 1a, roller pairs including a deflecting claw 164, a conveying roller 162, and a discharge port roller 163 are provided at positions corresponding to each bin on the vertical feeding path, and the conveying roller 1
A driven roller 165 is in pressure contact with a plurality of rollers 62 provided at appropriate intervals across the vertical copy paper feeding path. The above conveyance rollers 106, 108, 112, 113,
The paper ejection rollers 1, 17 and 118, the conveyance roller 162, and the ejection port roller 163 are activated by a drive motor 200. Further, the deflecting pawl 164 can be rotated between a position shown by a solid line and a position shown by a chain line in FIG. 1a.

As shown in FIG. 2, on the side of the bin group, there is a stapler 401, which is an example of a finishing processing means for applying finishing processing to aligned copy sheets as described later, and a paper transporter for moving the copy sheets to the stapler. A stapler device 40 comprising a means 402, a stapler 401, and a vertical movement mechanism for moving the paper transport means 402 to each bin.
0 is placed. These will be explained in detail later.

Also, on the side of the bin group on the opposite side where the stapler device 400 is located, there is a paper alignment unit that aligns the copy sheets before stapling, and a device that moves the unit to a location that matches the size of the copy paper. Means 500 are arranged.

FIG. 3 is a view from the opposite side of FIG. 1. As shown in this figure, the 20 bins 300 of the sorter are divided into two blocks of 10 bins each, and the upper block Bin sensor light emitting element 176 and light receiving element 179,
Also, a light emitting element 177 and a light receiving element 178 of the paper discharge sensor
bin sensors 181, 184 and paper ejection sensors 180, 18, which are also configured in the lower block.
3 is provided. The light-emitting elements of these sensors are made of, for example, LEDs, the light-receiving elements are made of, for example, phototransistors, and the sensors are configured as transmission-type optical detection sensors.

Paper ejection sensors 177, 178, 180, and 183 detect whether copy paper has been ejected into the bin, and bin sensors 176, 179, 181, and 184 determine whether or not there is copy paper in the bin. be. Such a bin sensor makes it possible to use the lower block if there is copy paper on the upper block.

The copy paper conveyed from the copying machine passes through the entrance guide plate 104.
a, 104b, and the guide plates 107, 109,
110, 111, conveyance rollers 106, 108, 112,
113 to the upper part.

If we are currently in the normal paper ejection mode (a mode in which copy paper is ejected to the paper ejection tray 119), the left end of the switching claw 115 is lowered, as shown in FIG. Along, a pair of paper ejection rollers 117, 118
The paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 119.

Furthermore, if we are currently in the sort mode (a mode in which copy paper is sorted in page order) and the stack mode (a mode in which copy paper is sorted by page), the left end of the switching pawl 115 is raised, and the copy paper is guided It is conveyed downward along the plate 120.

The copy paper conveyed by the conveyance roller 162 and the driven roller 165 is directed to the bin 300 in the direction of arrow X (the first
(see Fig. a, Fig. 2, Fig. 4, and Fig. 5). The deflection claw 164 performs a movement that matches the mode (sort or stack).

Note that after the copy paper discharged onto the bin 300 moves in the direction of the arrow While maintaining the layers or sliding against them, as shown in Figure 18, move the arrow x opposite to the arrow
It returns a short distance in one direction and stops when its rear edge hits a rising portion 308, which will be described later. In this manner, each copy sheet is discharged into the bin 300.

In the sort mode, the deflection claw 164 of the first bin operates, and the first copy paper of the first page is discharged to the first bin 300, and the second copy paper of the first negative page is discharged to the second bin 300. The eye deflection claw is activated and the liquid is discharged into the second bin 300. Also, 1 on page 2
The first sheet of copy paper is discharged into the first bin 300, and the second copy paper is discharged into the second bin 300. In this way, when in sort mode, each copy paper is placed in one bin with 1, 2, 3,
. . . and so on, and so on.

In the stacking mode, the deflection claw 164 operates so as to discharge all of the first page of copy paper into the first bin and to discharge the second page of copy paper into the second bin.

In this way, in the stack mode, copy sheets of the same page are discharged into one bin and are sorted page by page.

The structure and operation required to perform a stapling operation on copy sheets sorted in this manner will be described below.

In order to perform a stapling operation on copy paper, a plurality of copy papers must be aligned. The same applies when the apparatus is configured to perform finishing processes other than stapling operations, such as drilling and stamping. For this reason, the sorter is provided with the sheet alignment means 500 briefly shown above.

4 and 5 show the paper alignment means 500 and the bin 300.
FIG.

Each bin 300 has a paper stacking surface 300c on which copy paper discharged thereon is stacked, and a bin fence 316 is disposed on one edge of the paper stacking surface 300c. A rising portion 308 of the rear end receiving portion is provided on the other side edge that is orthogonal to the edge. This trailing edge receiving portion serves to receive the trailing edge of the copy paper discharged into the bin 300 and to align the trailing edge. Further, a notch 311 is provided in the weave on the opposite side of the edge where the bin fence 316 is provided. This notch 311 extends toward the bin fence 316 over a predetermined length.

A main shaft 501 having a rectangular cross section so as to penetrate vertically through each notch 311 provided in each bottle 300
is installed upright, and in the middle of this main shaft 501, each bottle 3
A swing plate 502 is attached at a position corresponding to 00 to align the position of the copy paper by coming into contact with the side edge of the copy paper.

Although the swing plate 502 may be composed of a single plate, in the illustrated example, the swing plate 502 is configured as shown in detail in FIG.
is made of a metal plate or synthetic resin plate, etc., and the base end is connected to the main shaft 50.
1, and a pressing elastic member 502a fixed to the free end side of the main body 502C. Also, the main body 502
A paper holding piece 502b is fixed to the surface facing the bin fence 316' of c. The holding piece 502b and the pressing elastic member 502a are made of an elastic body such as a thin sheet or film of synthetic resin.

Furthermore, as clearly shown in FIG.
and 506, respectively, and timing belts 507 and 508, which extend substantially parallel to the direction in which the notch 311 extends, are arranged in the upper and lower regions of the bin 300, respectively. Each other piece of each bracket 505, 506 is fixed to each of these timing belts 507, 508, respectively. Pulleys 509, 510 and 51 on which the timing belts 507 and 508 are respectively hung.
Among the pulleys 509 and 511 on the drive side among the pulleys 509 and 511 of the pulleys 512 and 513, respectively, are fixed to each end of a driving shaft 514 that is provided to extend in the vertical direction. The lower timing belt 508 is a size movement motor 515
It is hung on a pulley 513 provided on the output shaft of.

Further, the position of the swing plate 502 is detected by a size detection plate 530 fixed to the sorter and a size detection sensor 531 on the lower bracket 506.

A swing motor 520 is installed on the lower bracket 506 as shown in FIG.
An eccentric shaft 520a is provided at the output section of the motor 0 so as to protrude upward. On the other hand, at the lower end of the main shaft 501,
A swinging arm 521 is attached so as to protrude toward the side of the swinging motor 520, and the eccentric shaft 520a slides relatively into a long hole 521a formed in the swinging arm 521. are movably fitted.

With the above configuration, the swing motor 520 is rotationally driven to swing the swing arm 521, and the swing force is applied to the swing plate 5 corresponding to each bin 3oO via the main shaft 501.
02, each pressing elastic member 50 of the rocking plate 502
2a swings between the position shown in solid lines and the position shown in dashed lines in FIG.

When the sorter described above receives a size signal sent from the copying machine, the size movement motor 515 operates the upper and lower timing belts 507.5O8, which causes the swing plate 502 attached to the main shaft 501 to move the copy paper. It is moved toward one side edge. Then, the size detection plate 530 and the size detection sensor 531 move the paper alignment unit to a predetermined position (for example, the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5).

Next, the swing motor 520 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 6 by half a rotation (180 degrees), and then reverses and returns to the home position. As a result, the swing arm 521 swings once from the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 6, and the swing force is transmitted to each swing plate 502 via the main shaft 501. As a result, the suppressing elastic member 502a swings from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 5 to the position shown by the dashed line.

Due to this swinging, the pressing elastic member 502a of the swinging plate 502 comes into contact with and presses one side 1181 of the copy paper S (FIG. 5) that has been discharged onto the bin 300 and placed on the bin. The other side edge S2 of the copy paper S is attached to the bin fence 316
bring it into contact with. As a result, the positions of the side edges S2 of the copy sheets are aligned, and the rocking plate 502 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow A1 in FIG. The trailing edge S3 of the paper is the rising part 3
08, the trailing edge S3 can be reliably brought into contact with the rising portion 308 as shown by the chain line in FIG. 5, and its position can be aligned. In this way, the positions of both the side edge S2 and the trailing edge S3 of the copy paper S are aligned. It is also possible to configure the swing plate 5o2 to swing in a direction parallel to the rising portion 308 to align the copy sheets.

Since the pressing elastic member 502a presses and aligns the copy paper S while elastically deforming (bending deformation) as shown by the chain line in FIG. Even if there is, the suppressing elastic member 502a absorbs this and can reliably press the copy paper S and perform the alignment operation. In addition, the main body 502c of the swing plate 502
When the copy paper S is curled upward, the paper presser piece 502b fixed to the copy paper S functions to press the copy paper S from above and bring the pressing elastic member 502a into reliable contact with the side edge S1 of the copy paper S.

Further, since the swing plate 502 swings due to the rotation of the motor 520, its movement becomes sinusoidal as shown in FIG. It becomes faster in the period of .

Therefore, the swing plate 502 can press the copy paper at a slow speed just before the swing ends, and can align the copy paper S without disturbing it.

In addition, the swing motor 520 is rotated at an angle of 180 degrees or more, for example, 250 degrees.
When the motor is rotated in the normal direction and then reversed by the same angle to return to the original position, the pressing elastic member 502a of the swing plate 502 rotates the motor at a rotation angle of 1 in one stroke, as shown in FIG.
At the point of 80 degrees, the copy paper S is pressed twice. Therefore, even if the oscillating motor cannot fully press the copy paper again when the swing motor rotates in the normal direction, the copy paper will be pressed when the swing motor rotates in the reverse direction, thereby increasing the reliability of the copy paper alignment operation.

As described above, each time copy paper S is discharged into the bin 300, the rocking plate 502 of the paper alignment means 500 swings to align the copy paper, and the predetermined number of copy paper sheets discharged into the bin 300 is Align the paper loading surface 300c of the bin 300.
It can be loaded on top.

After completing the paper alignment operation for a predetermined number of sheets, the paper alignment unit is moved in a direction away from the stack of copy papers by the operation of the size movement motor 515.

The aligned stack of copy sheets is taken out in the direction of arrow W1 (FIG. 5) after a stapling operation, which will be described later, is performed. Since there is nothing in this take-out direction that would impede take-out, the copy paper take-out operation is easily performed. As shown in FIG. 53, a rocking plate 2 that can swing in the direction of the arrow is placed on the paper table 3 whose surface is flat, and spans the horizontal portion 2a of the rocking plate 2 and the upper surface of the table 3. Each time the paper S is discharged, the swing plate 2 operates in a direction approaching the side edge of the paper S, presses the paper, and aligns the paper S. The reason why the swing plate 2 is arranged so that the paper S is also placed on the horizontal part 2a of the swing plate 2 is because the side edge of the paper S surely hits the paper pressing part 2b of the swing plate 2, and the paper is This is so that it can be pressed.

However, in this configuration, especially when the first sheet S is ejected onto the paper loading table 3, it gets between the loading table 3 and the horizontal portion 2a of the rocking plate 2, causing the rocking plate 2 to operate. However, there was a risk that it would not be possible to arrange these sheets of paper.

In the configuration of the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 10 which is a plan view of the bottle 300, FIG. 11 which is a side view thereof, and FIG. 12 which shows a sectional view thereof. , a recess 301 on the side of the paper loading surface 300C of each bin 300, through which the paper pressing portion of the swing plate 502, that is, the pressing elastic member 502a passes, when the swing plate 502 swings.
a is formed. In the example shown in FIG.
Two protrusions 301 are formed near 11 (FIG. 10), and a recess 301a is defined between them.

To explain in more detail, the tip of the main body 502c of the rocking plate 502 protrudes downward and enters the recess 301a, and the pressing elastic member 502a fixed to the tip moves into the recess 301.
It has entered a.

The depth D1 of the recess 301a is set to, for example, about 3 mm.

According to the above configuration, when the swing plate 502 swings as described above and the pressing elastic member 502a presses the copy paper S, the suppressing elastic member 502a passes through the recess 301a, which is clear from FIG. The pressing elastic member 50
A substantially central portion of 2a in the vertical direction hits the copy paper S and presses it. Therefore, both the first copy paper S discharged into the bin 300 and the subsequent copy paper discharged are surely pressed by the swing plate 502 and their positions are aligned. As in the case of FIG. 53, the copy paper does not get stuck between the rocking plate and the bottle and the swinging plate does not press the copy paper, resulting in a state of failure.

As shown in FIG. 13, even if the bottle 300 is not provided with a convex portion and a recessed portion 301a is formed which is less concave than the general surface of the upper surface of the bottle, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

However, as shown in FIG. 12, if the convex parts 301 are formed on both sides of the concave part 301a, the copy paper S can be heaped up in this part, so that the pressing elastic member 502a of the rocking plate 502 can be pressed more firmly. It is possible to reliably hit the copy paper S, and it is also possible to give so-called stiffness to the copy paper S, so that it is possible to prevent the copy paper S from deforming into an undesirable shape such as curving during the alignment operation, and to ensure a reliable It becomes possible to perform alignment operations.

In the embodiment described above, the concave portion 301a of the bottle is connected to the swing plate 502.
Although the bottle is configured so that the paper pressing portion passes through it, it is also possible to form a notch in the bottle so that the paper pressing portion passes through this cutout when the bottle is oscillated.

Next, in FIG. 10, the notch 311 described above is formed approximately in the center of the bin 300, and when the main shaft 501 (FIG. 4) moves according to the size of the copy paper, it interferes with the bin 300. However, if such a notch 311 is formed, when copy paper is discharged into the bin 300 as shown by arrow X, there is a risk that the leading end of the copy paper may slip into the notch 311. In the illustrated configuration, the notch 31 in FIG.
On the top surface of the bin in the left area of 1, approximately in the copy paper ejection direction
A suitable number of ribs 302b are formed to protrude. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view thereof.

The copy paper S discharged onto the bin 300 as shown by the arrow X (Fig. 10) is marked with a broken line or
Each rib 302b is positioned as shown by a dashed line or a dashed double dot line, and each rib 302b is located about 10 mm deeper into the copy paper side, as shown by t, from the side edge S1 of copy paper S of various sizes. They are positioned accordingly.

That is, when copy sheets S of various sizes are discharged onto the bin 300 in the direction of the arrow X, the structure is such that the portion near the side edge S1 can slide on the ribs 302b. This is because the tip of side #S2 of the copy paper is particularly prone to curve and easily slips into the notch 311, so this part is supported and guided from below by the rib 302b to prevent it from slipping into the notch 311. It is. The ribs 302b also function to reduce the frictional resistance of the moving copy paper and smooth its movement.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14, other ribs 302x protrude from the side of the bottle 300 opposite to the side from which each rib 302b protrudes, at the same position as each rib 302b. This is the first
Copy paper discharged in the X direction on a bin (not shown) located below the bin 300 shown in FIG. , which serves to guide the copy paper.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the aforementioned ribs 302b are formed to have a low height near the bottle rising portion 308, and the notch portion
The height gradually increases as it approaches 11. This is because, while it is necessary to increase the height of the rib 302b near the notch 311 to prevent the copy paper from slipping into the notch 311, this is not necessary near the bottle upright section 308. , rib 302b in this part
This is because if the height is high, the number of copy sheets S that can be stacked will decrease. This allows a large number of sheets of copy paper to be stacked, and also reliably prevents them from slipping into the notch 311.

In FIG. 10, the right side area of the notch 311 also has a first
Rib 302 with the same cross-sectional form as rib 302b shown in Figure 4
A rib 302z with a cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 15 is also formed in a region closer to the bin fence 316 than the notch 311 so as to reduce the frictional force acting on the copy paper S discharged in the X direction. The structure is configured such that the amount of water is reduced and can be smoothly discharged onto the bin 300. These knobs also extend substantially in the copy paper ejection direction (arrow X direction). Furthermore, a rib protrudes on the opposite side of the rib 302z and guides the copy paper in the lower bin.

As shown in FIG. 16, a static eliminating brush 350 is attached to the bottom surface of each bottle 300 over its entire length.
Copy paper that is being discharged in the direction of the arrow This prevents the sheets from repelling each other and causing the stack of copy paper to swell. When the copy paper sticks to the bin, it becomes difficult to perform the alignment operation by the rocking plate 502, and the copy paper discharged onto the bin moves toward the bin upright portion 308 along the inclined surface of the bin due to its own weight. It becomes difficult. By providing the static eliminating brush 350, such problems can be prevented. However, when the static elimination brush 350 is provided, as shown by the arrow X in FIG. 16, the copy paper discharged into the lower bin 300 in FIG.
When returning in one direction, if the copy paper is curled, there is a risk that the trailing edge S3 (FIG. 5) may be caught by the static elimination brush 350. If the copy paper is strained in this way, the swing plate 502 will not be able to reliably align it, or it will be pushed by the copy paper to be ejected next, resulting in its position being uneven.

Therefore, in this example, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG.
Provide an appropriate number of arrows X1 along the inclined bin 300.
The copy paper sliding in the direction is guided by the guide rib 302c to prevent it from being caught by the static elimination brush 350.

In this way, the advantages of the static elimination brush can be utilized without any problems.

The guide rib 302C also has the function of guiding the copy paper falling in the X1 direction and aligning and stacking them on the bin rising portion 308. Therefore, even when the static elimination brush 350 is not attached, the guide rib 302C configurations can be advantageously employed.

As can be seen from FIG. 10, the guide ribs 302c are also located at the side edges Sl, S, which are most likely to curve, of the copy paper discharged into the bin.
Its position is set so that it can guide the vicinity of 2.

As described above, the copy sheets S are aligned by the swinging of the swing plate 502 (FIG. 4), but at this time, the copy sheets S are aligned in the bins as shown by the solid line, one-dot chain line, and two-dot chain line in FIG. If the copy paper S is curled when pressed toward the fence 316, the side edge S2 will ride up along the surface of the bin fence 136, and eventually the side edge S2 will be correctly aligned with the fence 1.
36, and there is a possibility that the copy paper S will be in an irregular state.

Therefore, in this example, as shown in FIGS. 10, 11, and 18, the lower surface of the bin 300 and the bin fence 31 are
A protrusion 307 for holding the paper is formed at a position near 6. If such a protrusion 307 is provided, when the copy paper S is pushed by the swing plate 502, even if the copy paper is curled, the copy paper will not move as shown in the solid line, one-dot chain line, and two-dot chain line in FIG. The side edge S2 of the copy paper S is guided by the inclined surface 307a of the protrusion 307 at this time. Therefore, copy paper S is bin fence 31
It can be aligned in the predetermined position without climbing onto the 6.

The chuck lever 421Y of the paper transport means 402 moves the stack of copy sheets S aligned on each bin 300, as described in detail later and schematically shown in FIG.
, 421-M approach in the direction of arrow Y1, and operate in the direction of approaching each other to grip and chuck the stack of aligned copy sheets S on the bin and pull it out in the direction of arrow Y2. That is, the copy paper is pulled in a direction perpendicular to the copy paper ejection direction X. Subsequently, this stack of copy sheets is stapled by a pair of staple members 401a, 40lb of stapler 401, schematically shown in FIG. After stapling, the copy paper S is again pushed in the Y1 direction perpendicular to the copy paper discharge direction X and returned to a predetermined position on the bin 300, as will be explained in detail later. Then, as described above, it is taken out in the direction indicated by W1 in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 10, one side edge of the bottle 300 has a
A notch 310 (not shown in FIGS. 4 and 5) for preventing the chuck levers 421Y, 421M (FIG. 24) from interfering with the bottle 300 when they advance or retreat.
is formed.

Also, as described later, chuck levers 421Y and 421M
chuck the loaded copy paper and pull it out,
While returning it again, the bin fence 316 is retracted so as not to interfere with this operation.

In FIG. 24, chuck lever 421Y. 421M
When moving in the direction of arrow Y1 to chuck the loaded copy paper S, if the bundle of copy paper S is curled, the chuck levers 421Y and 421M cannot chuck all the copy paper, and these levers curl. There is a risk that the paper will hit the copy paper and the copy paper will not be able to be pulled out and stapled. In particular, the side edge S2 on the trailing edge side of the copy paper near the rising portion 308 tends to curl, and as described above, this portion is
(Fig. 16) may not be enough.

Therefore, in the illustrated sorter, as shown in FIGS. 10, 11, and 24, the lower surface of each bin 300 is located near the aforementioned notch 310, that is, near the area where the chuck is performed. At the position on the rising part 308 side,
A paper presser rib 302e that protrudes downward is attached. This rib 302e is formed by curling the copy paper S loaded on the bin 300, and the edge S2 of the bundle of copy paper.
When it tries to expand upwards, it acts to hold it down from above. Therefore, chuck levers 421Y, 421M
When the paper approaches the stack of copy papers S in the bin 300, they do not collide with the copy papers, and can be reliably chucked.

Chuck the copy paper as described above and pull it out,
When stapling this stack of copy paper, the stapler 401 moves to the paper transport means 402 as shown in FIG.
Since the portion of the copy paper bundle chucked by the chuck levers 421Y and 421M is securely bundled, the stapler
The copy paper portion corresponding to 401 may be greatly curled. Therefore, as shown by a solid line and a chain line in FIG.
When entering, this opening is e.g. 12 to 15+nn
Since the space is as narrow as +, there is a risk that the curled copy paper may get caught on the staple member and become unstableable.

Especially when the number of sheets of copy paper is large and curling is significant,
Such problems are likely to occur. The same applies when finishing is performed using a finishing means other than a stabilizer, such as a puncher.

Therefore, in this example, as shown in FIGS. 10, 24 to 26, a guide member 317 is provided on the bottom surface of the bottle near the rib 302e, which is inclined to be lower in the pull-out direction Y2 of the copy paper S. Fixed. This guide member 317 is placed on the side of the copy paper stack when the copy paper stack is pulled out in the arrow Y2 direction and transferred to the stapler 401 as shown by the solid line, one-dot chain line, and double-dot chain line in FIG. The edge S2 is guided so as to enter the opening 401C between both staple members 401a and 401b. In this way, the copy paper is securely inserted into the opening 4 of the stapler 401.
01C, a predetermined stapling operation can be performed. A similar effect can be obtained when a finishing treatment means other than a stapler is used. In this way, the problem shown in FIG. 27 can be reliably eliminated.

By the way, as briefly explained earlier and shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the paper loading surface 300c of each bin 300 is
It is inclined at an angle of, for example, about 25 degrees so that it becomes higher in the direction X in which copy paper is discharged into the bin. As described above, the swing plate 502 moves the trailing edge S3 (FIG. 5) of the copy paper to the rising portion 3 on the rear end side of the bin.
08, the copy paper discharged in the direction of arrow X is caused to fall along the slope of the bin in the direction of arrow This is to align them.

At this time, in the conventional sorter, as explained earlier with reference to FIG. 19, it is difficult to properly align the trailing edges of the copy sheets.

Therefore, in this example, as shown in FIG. 20 and FIG.
It rises almost at right angles to 00c as shown by α1. With this configuration, the swing plate 502 swings as described above,
Or, due to the weight of the copy paper, each copy paper may move backward
When moving to the side, the trailing edge S3 can reliably come into contact with the rising portion 308, and the trailing edge S3 of the bundle of copy sheets S stacked in the bin 300 can be correctly aligned, that is, not slanted or uneven. It is possible to align the copy paper in a direction perpendicular to the top surface of the copy paper or the paper stacking surface 300c of the bin without causing any problems. Moreover, the distance between the bins can be made larger than in the case where the bins 300 are formed as shown by the chain lines in FIG.

In addition, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the rear end receiving section is integrally connected to the upper end of the rising section 308 in addition to the rising section 308.
It has an extension 308a that is inclined at an angle α that is less than 0°. As a result, when the copy paper S is stacked on the bin 300 as shown in FIG. can be loaded in good alignment.

As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, the extension portion 308a may be omitted, but in this case, the bottle 30
When copy paper curled to zero is discharged, the curl may not be suppressed and the stacked copy paper S may warp up to the bin rising portion 308 as shown in FIG. 23, which may cause a jam. . In this way, the rising portion 30
It is particularly advantageous if 8 is provided with an extension 308a.

As described above, according to the configuration shown in FIGS. 20 to 23, particularly FIGS. 20 and 21, the trailing edge of the stack of copy sheets stacked in the bin 300 is aligned at right angles to the surface of the copy sheets. Is possible. However, according to this configuration, when there is no curl in the copy paper discharged to the bin or the degree of curl is small, the trailing edge aS3 can be aligned with high precision as described above, but when the copy paper is significantly curled, , it becomes impossible to obtain a sufficient alignment effect.

The reason is as follows.

There are various forms of curling of the copy paper S. When the copy paper is placed on the paper stacking surface of the bin 300, the curl deforms so that the end on the rear edge S3 side and the opposite front end side are lifted upward. This is called face curl, and the reverse curl in which the center of the copy paper is lifted upwards is called back curl. FIG. 23a shows copy paper S1 with a large face curl in the bin 300 shown in FIG.
2 is shown being discharged. As can be seen from this figure, if the copy paper S12 is significantly curled, its trailing edge may get caught in the bending section 308b between the rising section 308 and the extension section 308a of the trailing edge receiving section, and may not fall downward. If such copy paper SL2 exists, the copy paper discharged into the bin 300 from then on will also be the same as the copy paper S12.
Do not stack on top of it and fall downward. When the stack of copy sheets is stapled in this state with a stapler, a step S15 is created between the copy paper portion S13 caught on the bending portion 308b and the copy paper portion S14 that is not caught, as shown in FIG. 23b. This results in a stack of copy paper that is poorly aligned.

In addition, the reference numeral 600 in FIG. 23a indicates a stable staple, and in this example, the copy paper bundle is stapled from the bottom side.

In addition, as shown in FIG.
If the copy paper is perpendicular to 0c, if the copy paper is significantly curled, even if the trailing edge is not caught in the bent portion 308b, the bin 30
Among the copy paper stacks stacked on 0
08, the trailing edge S3 of the copy paper stack may be slightly inclined. This is thought to be because the upper copy paper bounces back after hitting the rising portion 308 due to its own weight or the action of the swing plate 502. If the trailing edge is slanted in this way, the quality of the copy paper bundle after being stapled by a stapler will deteriorate.

Therefore, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 23d and 23e, the angle α2 formed by the rising portion 308Q of the rear end receiving portion that rises above the paper stacking surface 300C of the bin 300 with respect to the stacking surface 300c is A curved portion 308m that is set at an obtuse angle and is curved toward the paper stacking surface 300c continuously from the tip of this rising portion 308Q is integrally formed. That is, there is no bent part 308b between the rising part 308Q and the curved part 308m as shown in FIG. 2, and the two are continuously connected. In the example of FIG. 23d, the curved portion 308
The surface of the paper stacking surface 300c of the paper stacking surface 300c is formed into an arc shape with a radius R centered on a point P.

According to the above configuration, unlike the bin 300 shown in FIG. 20, since there is no bending portion 308b, the trailing edge of the copy paper discharged into the bin 300 will not be caught. That is, as shown in FIG. 23e, when the copy paper returned in the direction of arrow X1 due to the weight of the copy paper or the aforementioned swing plate hits the surface of the curved portion 308m, it is guided by this surface.
It can fall smoothly downward. For this reason, the second
The problem shown in Figure 3a does not occur. In addition, since the rising portion 3o82 forms an obtuse angle with respect to the paper stacking surface 300C, even if the upper copy paper moving in the direction of arrow X1 hits the rising portion 308Q or the curved portion 308m and rebounds slightly, it will not stop. At this time, the trailing edge S3 of the stack of copy sheets stacked in the bin 300 is at right angles to the surface of the copy paper or paper stacking surface 300c, as shown in FIG. 23e. This makes it possible to reduce the influence of curling on the paper loading surface. Therefore, by binding this copy paper stack with a stapler, a high quality copy paper stack can be obtained.

According to experiments, the rising portion 308Q and the paper loading surface 300c
When the angle α2 formed by The edge alignment effect could be enhanced.Also, by setting the dimension Q of the portion perpendicular to the paper stacking surface 300c and the dimension Q4 of the parallel portion at the upper end of the curved portion 308m to 1 to 2■, When the upper end of the curved part is formed, the bottle 3
It was possible to effectively prevent the problem of the copy paper being ejected to 00 being caught on this upper edge.

The above-described configuration is effective when the trailing edge of the copy paper has a large amount of curl, but the degree of curl is within a certain range. If the curl becomes extremely large, the trailing edge of the copy paper discharged into the bin may end up resting on the bin's trailing edge receiver, as explained earlier with reference to FIG. 19a. . This is the same when the configuration of FIG. 20 or FIG. 23 is adopted. For example, the height of the trailing edge receiving portion shown in FIG. is large, the configuration shown in FIG. 23d alone cannot eliminate the drawback shown in FIG. 19a.

As explained earlier, ribs 302c and 30 are provided on the bottom surface of each bottle.
If 2e is provided, these ribs will work to hold down the copy paper,
Since the ribs 302c and 302e hold the copy paper in place, it is possible to prevent the rear edge of the copy paper from riding up on the rear edge receiving portion of the bin. It is necessary to make these protrude significantly downward. However, since these ribs 302c and 302e are made of rigid bodies, if they are made to protrude significantly downward, they may get in the way of the copy paper entering the bin, and may even cause problems in the conveyance of the copy paper.

Therefore, the ribs 302c and 302e cannot be made to protrude downward to a large extent, and therefore, the effect of holding the copy paper down cannot be expected to be very great.

Therefore, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 23f and 23g, an elastic presser member 60 is provided on the lower surface of each bin 300 except for the lowest bin, in the rear region (left region in the figure).
1 is installed. This presser member 601 is attached to the bottle 30
It is formed into a substantially U-shape having a facing portion 602 facing the paper stacking surface 300C of 0 and a vertical portion 603 rising almost perpendicularly from both ends thereof, and is made of a thin sheet or film such as a polyester film, for example. ing.

Further, each mounting tongue 604 integrally connected to the tip of each vertical portion 603 is fixed to the lower surface of each bottle 300, and the opposing portion 60
Guide tongue portions 605 whose free ends are inclined upward at an angle indicated by β in FIG. 23g are integrally connected to the opposing portion 602 on both sides of the guide tongue portion 2. Opposing part 60
2 and each vertical portion 603, and the connecting portion 607 between the vertical portion 603 and the mounting tongue 604 can be elastically bent as described below.

In Fig. 23f, the conveyance roller 162 and the discharge port roller 1
When the copy paper S is ejected in the direction of the arrow
At this time, the connecting portions 606 and 607 are elastically bent, and the holding member 601 is deformed like a crushed matchbox, as shown by the chain line in FIG. 23f. When the copy paper is discharged onto the paper stacking surface 300c in this manner, the pressing member 601 is elastically deformed by the weak pressing force of the copy paper S, and does not hinder the operation of the copy paper entering the bin 300.

Next, when the copy paper S returns to the direction of the arrow X1 and stops, even if the copy paper is curled particularly significantly, the paper is pressed down by the elastic pressing member 601, and therefore the copy paper stacked on the paper stacking surface 300c is Trailing edge S3
is not located above the rear end receptacle of the bottle.

Therefore, the problem described above with reference to FIG. 19a does not occur, and the trailing edges of the stack of copy sheets can be properly aligned.

Further, as described above, the copy paper stack stacked on the bin 300 is pushed in the Y2 direction perpendicular to the copy paper ejection direction The copy paper is pressed by the elastic presser member 60
1, this member 601 is not substantially deformed, and the guide tongue portion 60 attached to the opposing portion 602
5 guides the copy paper smoothly. For this purpose, each guide tongue 605 is inclined at an angle β. In this way, there is no possibility that copy paper moving in the Y1 or Y2 direction will be caught by the presser member 601 and its movement will be inhibited.

In the experiment, when the elastic pressing member 601 was made of a polyester film, the thickness was 0.05 nn, and the radius wy was 5.
Favorable results were obtained when the length was ±2 nm and the length was 30±5 IITI1.

Further, as in the illustrated embodiment, the presser member 601 is attached to each bottle 3.
If it is attached to the lower surface of the 00, no special attachment member is required, which is advantageous because it can suppress an increase in cost. Furthermore, when the presser member 601 is attached using the two attachment tongues 604 at both ends, the elastic presser member 601 can be stably held, thereby preventing the shape of this member from changing over time.

Further, the number of elastic pressing members 601 may be one, but
If a plurality of these are provided, the effect of holding down the copy paper can be enhanced. At this time, each presser member 601 is arranged so that each presser member 601 presses the vicinity of the side edges Sl, S2 (Fig. 23h) of the copy paper, and a higher pressing effect can be achieved with a smaller number of presser members 601. It is desirable to be able to obtain For example, if the positioning reference for the copy paper is on one side (see also Fig. 10), as shown in Fig. 23h by solid lines, broken lines, and chain lines to show the stacked copy papers of various sizes, each copy paper S 601a, 60lb, etc. so that the vicinity of the side edges of the
They are arranged as shown in 601c and 601d. Distances Ll, L2, L3 between each elastic presser member and the side edge of each copy paper,
Of L4, L1 is 5 to 10 mm. For L2 to L4, it is desirable to set it to about 5 to 30 cm.

Furthermore, the elastic presser member 601a drawn at the bottom in FIG. 23h functions to press the copy paper portion on the side to be stabilized by the stapler as described above, so this presser member 601a is always provided. , during the stapling process, the staple member 4 shown in FIG.
It is necessary to ensure that the copy paper stack can enter the opening 401c between 01a and 40lb, but other elastic members 6
Regarding the holding members 0lb, 601c, 601d, and especially 601d, omitting their arrangement will not cause any major problems.

Note that the configuration of the elastic presser member is such that the rear end receiving portion of the bottle is located at the second
In addition to the case where it is configured as shown in Fig. 3d, Fig. 19,
It can also be applied to a case configured as shown in FIG.

The configuration examples directly related to the gist of the present invention have been described above based on FIGS. 20 to 23h, but for the purpose of understanding the present invention, other configurations of the illustrated sorter will be explained subsequently.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 28, each bin 300 is
Bottle holder 31 fixed to both side plates 315a, 315b
2a, 312b, and 312c. That is, on both side edges of the bottle 300 there are ears 303a, 303b,
303c are provided protrudingly, and these are attached to each bottle holder 3.
12a, 312b, 312c locking grooves 312d, 312
e and is fixedly supported. Further, the corner portion of the bottle 300 on the side where the rib 302e is provided is supported by a support body (not shown), and the bottle 300 is supported at four locations in total. In this case, the ear portion 3 on the side where the stapler 401 is provided, in other words, on the side where the bin fence 316 is located.
03a is immovably fixed to the bottle holder 312a, and the ears 303b and 303c on the other side are fixed to the bottle holder 312a.
2b with a gap δ, and the width W of the bottle 300
It is supported so that it can move in any direction.

Conventionally, both ears 303a; 303b, 3 of the bottle 300
03c are both bottle holders 312a, 312b, 312
It was immovably supported by c.

According to such a configuration, when the bottle 300 made of, for example, synthetic resin is heated by the hot air discharged from the copying machine or the heat of the copy paper itself, and when this expands in the width W direction, the entire bottle becomes strong. Because it is fixed, it deforms into a curve.

Therefore, the copy paper may hit the bin 300 and cause a jam, or the copy paper may not be drawn out correctly.

However, if the ears 303b and 303C are supported movably in the width W direction of the bottle with respect to the bottle holder 312b as shown in FIG.
03b and 303c only move within the gap δ, and the bottle itself does not deform as in the conventional case. Therefore, occurrence of jam etc. can be prevented.

Further, since the ear portion 303a on the side of the stapler 401 is immovably fixed to the bin holder 312a, the copy paper placed on the bin on this side does not move. For this reason,
When copy paper is pulled out and stapled as described above, the staples can be driven into the copy paper at the correct position. If the ear portion 303a moves due to the thermal expansion of the bottle, the copy paper on this side will also move, and there is a risk that the staple will be driven into a misaligned position.

Note that the side edge S2 of the pulled-out stack of copy sheets is located as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 10, and the amount of movement of the pull-out is small, so there is no risk that the bin holder 3128 or the like will interfere with the movement of the copy sheets. do not have. The copy paper tray 312a is located outside of the pulled copy paper.

By the way, as described above, after the stack of copy papers aligned on the bin 300 is moved by the paper transport means 402 and subjected to the stapling process, the stack of copy papers is moved again in the direction of the arrow Y1, that is, the copy paper is pushed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the ejection direction It passes through the aforementioned ribs 302b and 302y that protrude from the paper loading surface side of the bin. At this time, since these ribs extend perpendicularly to the copy paper discharge direction, that is, the return direction of the copy paper stack, these ribs touch the side edges of the copy paper stack as shown in Figure 15. If the rib 302Z had the same cross-sectional shape as the other rib 302Z, the side edge of the copy paper S would get caught on the rib, as shown by the chain line in FIG. 15, and would not be able to return smoothly to its original position.

Therefore, the ribs 302b and 302y in this example are
As shown in the figure, the side edge S of the copy paper S that is being returned
The side surface 351 on which 1 hits is more gently sloped than the side surface 351a on the other side. That is, the ribs 302b, 3
The cross section of 02y has an inclination angle of θ to θ1, and is formed into a substantially triangular shape with a gentle slope on one side 351, which is in contact with the side edge S1 of the returned stack of copy sheets.

As a result, the side edge S1 of the returned copy paper S can smoothly climb over the ribs 302b, 302y and return to its original position as shown in FIG.

All of the above-described configurations can be used for the ribs against which the side edge S1 of the copy paper hits when it returns onto the bin 300. Further, the slope of the side surface 351a may also be formed gently.

Next, the stapler device 400 will be explained in more detail.

A stapler device 400 as shown in FIGS. 29 and 30 is arranged on the side of the paper stacking bins provided in multiple stages. In this stapler device, a stapler 401, which is an example of finishing processing means,
and paper transport means 4o2 are each fixed so as to hang down from the lower surface of a plate-shaped bracket 403. The stapler 401 is for driving staples into each of the bundles of copy paper stacked in each bin 300, and the paper transport means 402 is for driving the staples into each of the stacks of copy paper stacked in each bin 300, and the paper transport means 402 is for driving the staples into each of the stacks of copy paper stacked in each bin 300, and the paper transport means 402 is for driving the staples into each of the stacks of copy paper stacked in each bin 300. It grips the bundle and transports it in a substantially horizontal direction.

Both end portions 403a, 403b of the bracket 403
are bent upward and downward respectively, and rollers 404a are attached to both end edge portions 403a and 403b.
and 404b are rotatably attached. The rollers 404a and 4041 are connected to two guide rails 405a and 405b that are erected approximately parallel to each other along the side of the bottle.
The stapler 401 and the paper transport means 402 are mounted so as to be vertically rolled in the grooves of the bins, so that the stapler 401 and paper transport means 402 are reciprocated in the vertical direction along the sides of each bin. ing. Further, two moving belts 406a, 406 are provided substantially parallel to each other along the sides of the bottle.
b is erected. These drive belts 406a, 4
06b, both end edge portions 40 of the bracket 403
3a and 403b are fixed with screws, respectively. Each of the shame belts 406a, 406b consists of two pulleys 407a. 407
c, and between 407b and 407d (7), respectively. The lower pulleys 407c and 407d are
They are connected to rotate together by a common support shaft 408. The output of the movement motor 409 is transmitted to a pulley 412 via a pulley 410 fixed to its output shaft and a power transmission belt 411, and is meshed with a knocking gear 413 fixed on the same axis and this drive gear 413. Rotational driving force is transmitted to a sliding pulley 407d fixed to one end of the support shaft 408 via the gear 414 in order. By such a driving force transmission mechanism, the beating belts 406a and 406b are conveyed and moved, thereby vertically conveying the stapler 401 and the sheet conveying means 4o2.

Furthermore, a position sensor 415 is attached to the edge portion 403a on one side of the bracket 403, and a detection plate 416 is connected to the position sensor 41.
It is erected so as to be sandwiched between the two. The above detection plate 4
16, projections 416a for indicating positions are formed at predetermined intervals so as to correspond to the positions of each bin.

With such a position detection mechanism, the stapler 4
01 and paper transport means 402 are controlled to be stopped at the installation position of each bin.

The protrusion 403c and sensor 403d in FIG. 29 are for determining the upper limit position of the bracket 403, and
When 03c enters the sensor 403d, the motor 409
stop rising at

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram for making it easier to understand the movements of this example, and shows the movement of the copy paper discharged onto the bin 300, the movement of the chuck part 421 of the paper transport means 402, and the movement of the stapler 4.
It is a figure explaining the position of 01. The copy paper S discharged onto the bin 300 is discharged to a position as shown at S110. Thereafter, it is aligned to a position where it contacts the bin fence 316 by the swing plate of the swing device described above. When copying is completed and a predetermined number of copy sheets are stacked on the bin, the chuck unit 421 moves from the solid line position to the broken line position (
As described above, the pair of chuck levers close to sandwich the copy paper, and then return to the position indicated by the solid line (in the direction of arrow Y2). Through this operation, the copy paper stack is moved to the position S111, and the copy paper stack is stapled by the stapler 401. After that, the chuck lever opens and
The stack of copy paper is removed at step S112 by the return plate of the paper return means, which will be described later.
from the position to the range of the position 8110. This is 1
When the work for one bin is completed, the robot moves to the next bin and repeats the work.

As shown in FIGS. 32 to 34, the paper transporting means 402 includes the aforementioned chuck section 421 that grips a stack of copy sheets, and a reciprocating mechanism 422 that reciprocates this chuck section 421 in a substantially horizontal direction. It is equipped with In the chuck section 421, a pair of swinging arms 4212 and 421S are swingably attached to the substrate 421a, and when the swinging arms 421Z and 4215 are actuated by a solenoid 421C, the chuck lever 421Y , 421M operate to grip a stack of copy paper.

The reciprocating mechanism 422 is provided with a feed shaft 422a that moves the chuck section 421 forward and backward toward the stack of copy sheets. Both support shafts protruding from both ends of the feed shaft 422a are rotatably supported by both halves of a U-shaped frame 422b. The above feed shaft 42
One side of each support shaft of 2a penetrates a part of the frame 422b and further protrudes by a predetermined amount, and a pulley 4220 is fixed to the protruding part, and two round belts 422d are hung on the pulley. As shown in FIG. 33, it has a structure in which it is driven by a drive motor 422f via a relay pulley 422p and gears 422Ω and 422q.

Further, a feed screw portion constituting a ball screw is carved on the outer peripheral surface of the feed shaft 422a, and a boss portion 422h fixed to the base plate 421a is screwed into this feed screw portion. That is, the feed shaft 422a is rotated by the output of the beating motor 422f, and the substrate 421a is reciprocated by this rotational force. In addition, two position sensors 422j and 422k are installed on the frame 422b at a front position and a rear position, respectively, separated by a predetermined distance.
On the 2h side, both position sensors 422j and 422k are installed.
422 meters of detection plates have been erected as detection targets.
The chuck portion 421 is reciprocated between these position sensors 422j and 422k.

In such a configuration, when the stapling mode is started, the stapler 401 and the paper transport means 402 are moved up and down together by the drive belts 406a and 406b, and the stapler 40 is moved up and down as shown in FIG.
1 and paper transport means 402 are transported toward a predetermined bin 30.0 in which a stack of copy paper to be stabbed is deposited, and are stopped at a position close to a predetermined bin 300 based on a signal from a position sensor 415. be done. At this time, the solenoid 421C is turned off, so both swing arms 421z, 421S and the chuck lever 4
21Y and 421M are left open.

Next, the feed shaft 42 is driven by the output of the drive motor 422f.
2a is rotationally driven, and the chuck portion 4 is rotated by this rotational force.
21 is moved forward toward the stack of copy sheets.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing the groove of the threaded part carved on the outer circumferential surface of the feed shaft 422a, and FIG. 40 is an expanded view of this. The boss part 422h shown in FIG. The two balls 422r provided in the groove 42 of the feed shaft 422a
2t, these balls 422r are connected to the feed shaft 422a.
The rotation causes reciprocating motion while being guided by the groove.

A groove portion 422t' with a lead angle of O'' is formed over 1806 mm at both ends and the center of the feed shaft 422a, and the groove end portion functions as a stopper for stopping the boss portion 422h.In other words, the feed shaft 422a This eliminates variations in the stopping position due to rotational inertia.

By transmitting the driving force to the feed shaft 422a using a round belt 422d as shown in FIG.
The impact when r hits the groove end can be absorbed by the slip, and problems caused by collisions can be eliminated. The same thing can be said when a friction transmission member such as a flat belt is used instead of a round belt.

As can be seen from FIG. 40, by changing the advance amount of the chuck part 421 with respect to the rotation angle of the feed shaft 422a,
Speed control during movement is performed. In the example shown in FIG.
0').

If the total amount of movement A is 42 am, the amount of movement when rotating by 90 degrees B = 3 n+m, the amount of movement when the next 90' rotation is made C = 4wr, the amount of movement when the next 90' rotation is made D = 6nm, the amount of movement E when the next 90° rotation is made =
It is gradually accelerated during the first rotation of 7nn, and then decelerated during the next rotation at the same rate as the acceleration during the previous rotation and then stopped. FIG. 41 is a graph of the above explanation.

As described above, the chuck unit 421 grips the aligned copy paper stack with the chuck levers 421Y and 421M,
This prevents variations in the stack of copy sheets due to inertia at the time of starting and stopping when moving back to the stapling position.

As shown in Fig. 3S, the chuck levers 421Y, 42
The chuck unit 42 is moved to a position where 1M can grip the stack of copy paper.
1 moves, it stops there, and at the same time, the solenoid 421C is turned on.

The chuck lever 42 is turned on by turning on the solenoid 421C.
1Y, 421M are closed as shown in Figure 3S,
The edge portions of the copy paper stack are gripped by the chuck levers 421Y and 421M.

The movement at this time will be explained with reference to FIGS. 32 to 38.

When the solenoid 421C is turned on, the lever 421L, which is pivotally connected to the board 421a via the pin 421d, moves to the pin 421C.
It is rotated clockwise around 21d as a fulcrum. At this time, the lever 42 pivotally supported on the board 421a via the pin 421h
1j is pulled via a spring 421k, and the lever 421j rotates clockwise about the pin 421h. Further, a gear 421g is fixed to the lever 421j, and this gear 421g is connected to the pin 421 on the board 421a.
It meshes with another gear 421W rotatably supported via X, and rotation is transmitted to this gear 421w. gear 4
21W is fixed to the upper lever 421Z, so that the lever 421Z rotates counterclockwise about the pin 421X.

The free end side of the lever 421Z is pivotally connected to a shaft 421T that is vertically movably fitted into a vertically extending elongated hole (not shown) formed in the substrate 421a, and this shaft 421T is rotated so as not to rotate. It fits into the long hole. And this axis 4
The aforementioned chuck lever 421Y is integrally fixed to 21T.

When the lever 421Z rotates counterclockwise as described above, the shaft 421T moves downward, and the chuck lever 421Y fixed thereto moves downward in parallel while maintaining its horizontal position.

At this time, since the chuck part 421 is in a position moved toward the bottle 300 as shown in FIGS. 7) Fall into and engage the notch 422W. The return plate 422Z is supported so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and the manner in which it is supported will be described later.

Further, the gear 421W is connected to the board 421 via the pin 421R.
Since the gear 421P is engaged with the gear 421P rotatably supported by the gear 421P, the gear 421P also rotates clockwise, and the lower lever 421S fixed thereto also rotates clockwise about the pin 421R.

The tip of this lever 421S is also pivotally connected to a shaft 421N that is vertically movably fitted into the upper and lower elongated holes (not shown) of the substrate 421a, just like the aforementioned shaft 421T.
The chuck clipper 421M described above is fixed to the chuck lever 421M. When the lever 421S rotates clockwise, the chuck lever 421M moves upward while maintaining its horizontal position. The spring 421f that is engaged with the board 421a and the lever 421S is pulling the lever 421S counterclockwise, but the force is set weak, so the lever 42
1S can be rotated clockwise without any problem.

The amount of movement of the chuck lever 421M from the normal position is 3 above.
It is determined by the number of teeth of the two gears and the lengths of the rotation fulcrum and the point of action. In this example, the number of teeth of the gear 421g is 40, and the gear 421g has 40 teeth.
Since the number of teeth for 1W is 32 and the number of teeth for gear 421P is 56, the ratio of the amount of movement of each gear is 1:
1.25:0.7. Also, the fulcrum 4 of the lever 421z
The distance between 21X and point of action 421T is 52Wn, lever 42
Since the distance between the fulcrum 421R of 1S and the point of action 421N is 37mm, the movement ratio is 1.25X52:0.7X
37, and moves at a ratio of 2.5:1.

That is, when the upper chuck lever 421Y moves down by 2.5, the lower chuck lever 421M moves up by 1.

Further, the chucking force of the chuck levers 421Y and 421M to pinch the stack of copy sheets is determined by the force of the spring 421k attached to the solenoid 421C.

At that time, as can be seen from Fig. 32, solenoid 421
Since the operating stroke of C is constant, the spring 421k stretches as the thickness of the copy paper stack sandwiched between the upper and lower chuck levers 421Y and 421M increases. In other words, the chucking force is designed to increase as the number of sheets of copy paper to be sandwiched increases, thereby eliminating problems such as misalignment of the copy paper stack due to insufficient chucking force.

Next, by reversing the drive motor 422f, the chuck portion 421
is moved back to the original position as shown in FIG. 37 while holding the copy paper stack S, and thereby the copy paper stack is translated in a substantially horizontal direction and drawn toward the stabilizer 401. Then, when the side edge portion of the copy paper stack is transported to a position where it can be stapled, it is stopped there.

FIG. 38 shows the return plate part 4 as in FIGS. 34 and 36.
22Z is a partially cutaway view showing the pin 42Z, the return plate 422Z has the pin 42 in its notch 422W.
1v is engaged, the motor 422f is reversely rotated to move to the position shown in FIG. 38. Notch 422T of return plate bracket 422X integrally fixed to frame 422b
A pin 422S provided on the return plate 422Z is slidably fitted in, and a pin 422P provided on the return plate bracket 422X is slidably fitted in a notch 422R provided on the return plate 422Z. Return plate bracket 422x and return plate 4
Each end of a spring 422N is locked to 22Z. Therefore, the return plate 422Z
Due to the reversal of f, the state changes from FIG. 36 to FIG. 38, and the return plate 422Z itself is pulled to the left in FIG. 38 by the spring 422N.

Thereafter, the stapler 401 drives the staples (stable operation) onto the edge portion of the copy paper stack as described above.

When the stable operation is completed, the solenoid 421C is turned off. As a result, the chuck levers 421Y and 421M, which have been closed until now, are opened. At this time, the movement returns from the state shown in FIG. 37 to the state shown in FIG. 32 due to the force of the spring 421f. Also, the notch 4 of the return plate 422z
Since the pin 421v that was caught on 22W will also come off,
The return plate 422Z is pulled by the spring 422N and returns from the state shown in FIG. 38 to the state shown in FIG. 34. At this time, the tip 422ZZ of the return plate 422Z pushes the copy paper stack and returns it to its original position.

Fig. 42 shows the return plate 422Z and the return plate bracket 422x.
The relationship between the spring 422N and the spring 422N is shown.

The tip 422ZZ of the return plate 422Z is formed to be longer than the distance between the two upper and lower bins 300, and is designed to ensure that the stack of copy paper is returned onto the bin 300.

As described above, in this example, the return plate 422Z, the return plate bracket 422X, the spring 422N, etc. constitute a paper return means for returning the paper that has undergone finishing processing to the original paper placement table.

Further, the tip end portion 422XX of the return plate bracket 422X projects obliquely toward the bin 300. When returning weak copy paper or curly copy paper, etc., even if you push it with the return plate 422z, there is a risk that the stack of copy paper S may escape upwards as shown in Fig. 43. It is held down by the tip end 422XX of the return plate bracket 422X to ensure that it is returned to the bin 300.

After that, the stapler 401 and the paper pulling device 402
is transported downward to the next bin, where the same stapling operation as described above is repeated.

As described above and shown in FIG. 44, each bin 300
A bin fence 316 for aligning the stack of copy sheets is provided at the edge portion facing the stapler 401 so as to rise from the bin 300. The lower edge portion of this bottle fence 316 is rotatably attached to a support shaft 425 provided along the lower surface of the bottle 300, so that the bottle fence 316 can be tilted to the open position shown in FIG. It is now possible to do so. Both end portions of the support shaft 425 are rotatably supported by bearing pieces 423b formed downward at both end edge portions of the bottle 300. Further, a coiled spring 426 is attached to the support shaft 425. Both end portions of this coiled spring 426 are connected to the lower surface of the bin 3oO and the bin fence 316.
The back surfaces of the springs 42 and 42 are pressed together.
The bin fence 316 receives a biasing force in the rising direction due to the rotational force of 6.

Further, the bin fence 316 is opened according to the vertical movement of the filling stapler 401 via a fence tilting means. This fence tilting means consists of a fence movable plate 427 rotatably supported by the spindle 425 and a fence release plate 428 provided beside the stapler 401.

A part of the fence movable plate 427 is a fan-shaped hole 316 formed in one piece 316a of the bin fence 316.
b, and when the fence movable plate 427 rotates downward, the lower part of the fan-shaped hole 316b of the one piece 316a of the bin fence 316 comes into contact, and as a result, the bin fence 3
16 is tilted according to a fence movable plate 427. Further, when the fence movable plate 427 rotates upward, it rotates away from the bin fence 316 without contacting it, so that the fence movable plate 427 rotates freely.

Further, the roller 428a supported by the fence release plate 428 via the shaft 428b extends to a position where it contacts the fence movable plate 427, and when the stabler 401 moves up and down, it contacts the fence movable plate 427 and releases the fence. The movable plate 427 is rotated.

In such a configuration, when the paper alignment operation is performed first, the bin fence 316 is maintained in the raised position by the rotational force of the coiled spring 426, as shown in FIG. The side edge of the copy paper discharged onto the bin 300 comes into contact with the bin fence 316, and the paper is aligned.

When this operation is completed, the stapler 401 begins to descend, and the rollers 428a of the fence release plate 428 next to the stapler 401 move against the fence movable plate 42 next to the bottle 300.
Contact 7. Then, the fence movable plate 427
It is rotated to the downward position as shown. At this time, the stapler 401 also stops. As the fence movable plate 427 rotates, the bin fence 316 is rotated by the coiled spring 426.
The bin 300 is tilted against the rotational force of the bin 300, thereby opening the bin 300. At this time, the bin fence 316 and the fence movable plate 427 are connected to the bin 3 shown by the dashed line in FIG.
The area below the surface position of 00 is pushed down to the horizontal position. Then, in this state, the stapling operation as described above is executed.

At the same time that the stapling operation is completed and the copy paper stack is returned to its original position in the bin 3oO, or while the copy paper stack is being returned, the stapler 401 is moved downward toward the next bin. Then, by the downward movement of the stapler 401, the fence release plate 428 is moved to the fence movable plate 4.
27 is released, the fence 316 and the fence movable plate 427 are raised by the rotational force of the coiled spring 426 and returned to the position shown in FIG. Such bin opening and stapling operations are performed on all sorted bins.

Once all copy paper stacks have been stapled,
The stapler 401 is raised and returned to the highest home position. The home position is located further above the first row of bins located at the top. When the stapler 401 returns, the stapler 401
01 side fence solution Pil 4 2 8 no Koro 428a
The fence movable plate 427 comes into contact with the fence movable plate 427 in a downward direction, but in this case, the fence movable plate 427 is rotated upward in an idling state as shown in FIG. is not rotated in any way.

By the upward movement of the stapler 401, the stapler 4
The fence release plate 428 on the 01 side is the fence movable plate 4
27 is released, the fence movable plate 427 is returned to its original position as shown in FIG. 44 by its own weight.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 47, an elastic body 429 for receiving a movable fence plate 427 is installed on the side of the bin fence 316. In such an embodiment, when the stapler 401 returns, when the fence movable plate 427 is rotated upward in an idling state, the fence movable plate 427 comes into contact with the elastic body 429. The fence movable plate 427 is returned to its original position by the bending repulsive force of the elastic body 4Z9.

Next, replacement of the staple cartridge of the stapler 401 will be explained based on FIGS. 48 to 52.

In this embodiment, the copying machine has a paper reversing device, and the copy paper is discharged into each bin 300 with the image side facing downward, so the stapler 401 is installed upside down. That is, as shown in FIGS. 48 and 25, the staple member 401a from which the staples come out is located on the lower side, and the staple member 401a that receives the staples is located on the upper side,
A stack of copy paper S is inserted into the opening 401c between these, and staples are driven into the stack of copy paper by moving the lower staple member 401a upward.

The staple member 401a is supplied with staples from the staple cartridge 481C.
When the staple cartridge C runs out of staples, it is necessary to replace it with a new staple cartridge. This exchange is performed as follows.

First, by pushing upward the release lever 480C rotatably supported via the shaft 480F on the stapler base 480A fixed to the bracket 403 shown in FIG. 29, it is rotated clockwise around the shaft +SO#. Rotate it. As a result, the shaft 480E slides in the groove of the lever 480C, and the release claw 480B, which is pivotally supported on the base body 480A via the shaft 480D, moves counterclockwise around the shaft 480D, and the shaft 481E, which is protruded from the staple member 401b, moves counterclockwise around the shaft 480D. to open. The above state is shown in FIG. 49.

Further, as shown in FIG. 50, since the shaft 481E is opened, the stapler section 481 consisting of staple members 401a, 40lb, staple cartridge 4810, etc.
3 in the clockwise direction relative to the base 480A. The release claw 480B is returned to its initial state by a spring 480G.

When the stapler part 481 rotates clockwise, a shaft 482A protruding from a link 482 pivotally connected thereto via a pin 481G moves into the groove 480A formed in the base body 480A.
84 and is locked into the recess at the end of this groove. At this time, the stapler portion 481 is also locked. In this state, the stapler part 481 is stopped slightly diagonally rather than vertically, almost protruding from the exterior of the sorter main body, and the user can easily replace the staple cartridge 481C.

After replacing the needle cartridge 481C, by pushing the release lever 480C upward as shown in FIG. 51, it moves clockwise around the shaft 480F, and the lock of the shaft 482A is released.

Since the shaft 482A is unlocked, the stapler portion 481 can be moved counterclockwise around the shaft 483, and the release claw 480B is returned to its initial state by the spring 480G.

As shown in FIG. 52, the shaft 481E of the stapler part 481 moved counterclockwise hits the release claw 480B, and
The release claw 480B opens due to the force of the shaft 481E, and the shaft 4
After 81E passes, the release claw 480B releases the spring 48.
0G closes and the stapler portion 481 is locked.

With the above operations, the staple cartridge of the stapler can be easily replaced.

Although a specific example in which the present invention is applied to a sorter of a copying machine has been described above, the present invention can also be applied to the various paper post-processing devices exemplified above.

In addition to the stapler, finishing processing means attached to this type of processing device include a puncher for punching holes in the paper, a stamper for stamping, etc., and the present invention also applies to paper post-processing devices equipped with these. It is natural that it can be applied.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the configuration described in claim 1, the trailing edge of the paper bundle can be aligned with higher precision than before.

According to the configuration described in claim 2, even if the sheets are curled, the trailing edge of the sheet bundle can be properly aligned.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, even when the paper is extremely curled, it is possible to prevent the rear end of the paper bundle from becoming disordered.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of the sorter, Fig. 1a is a partially enlarged view thereof, Fig. 2 is a schematic plan view of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a side view opposite to Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a paper sheet. A perspective view of the alignment means and the bin;
FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a part thereof, FIG. 6 is an explanatory plan view showing a part of FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the rocking plate.
Figures 8 and 9 are diagrams showing the relationship between the rotation angle of the motor and the amount of rocking of the rocking plate; Figure 10 is a plan view of the bottle;
The figure is a side view, FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing the relationship between the rocking plate and the recess formed in the bottle, FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing another example of the structure of the recess, and FIGS. 14 and 15 are Cross-sectional view of the rib,
Fig. 16 is a side view showing the static elimination brush and guide ribs, Fig. 17 is a diagram explaining a problem when copy paper is brought to the bin fence, and Fig. 18 is an example of the present invention that eliminates this problem. Explanatory drawings shown, Fig. 19 and Fig. 19
Figure a is a side view illustrating the conventional problem at the rear end of the bottle.
Figures 20 and 21 are side views showing an example of a configuration in which this problem has been eliminated; Figures 22 and 23 are side views illustrating the configuration of a bottle without an extension and the problem; Figure 23a
The figure is a side view illustrating the problem with the bottle shown in Figure 20.
Fig. 23b is a diagram showing a situation when the trailing edge of a stack of stapled copy sheets is uneven; Fig. 23c is a diagram illustrating another problem with the bin shown in Fig. 2Q; Fig. 23
Figure d is a side view showing an embodiment different from Figure 20;
Fig. 23e is a side view showing a state in which copy paper is loaded in the bin shown in Fig. 23d, Fig. 23f is a side view of an embodiment provided with an elastic presser member, Fig. 23g is a perspective view of the elastic presser member,
Fig. 23h is an explanatory plan view showing a preferable example when a plurality of elastic press members are arranged, Fig. 24 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration and function of the paper press rib, and Fig. 25 is a diagram illustrating the function of the guide member. FIG. 26 is a perspective view thereof, FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing problems when the guide member is not provided, FIG. 28 is a schematic front view showing the bottle and its support structure, and FIG.
Figure 30 is a perspective view of the stapler device, Figure 30 is a plan view showing only a part of the stapler, Figure 31 is an explanatory plan view illustrating the operation when chucking and moving copy paper, and Figure 32 is a paper transport means. 33 is a side view showing only a part of the front view, FIGS. 34 to 38 are front views explaining the operation of the paper transport means, FIG. 39 is a front view of the feed screw, and FIG. 40 is a front view of the feed screw. FIG. 41 is a graph showing the relationship between the moving amount and speed of the chuck part, FIG. 42 is a diagram explaining the return operation of the stack of copy paper by the return plate, and FIG. 43 is a graph showing the case. FIGS. 44 to 47 are explanatory views showing the operation of the bottle fence, and FIGS. 48 to 52 are explanatory views showing the operation when replacing the needle cartridge. FIG. 53 is a diagram illustrating a problem with a conventional rocking plate. 180Q '+80' O0 Figure I2 Figure No. 3 Figure l4- Figure l5 Figure l6 Figure l8 Figure l9 Figure 19α Figure 3o8 3ooα Figure zO Figure Figure 22 Figure 23 Figure 23α Fig. 23b Fig. 25 Fig. 26 Fig. 27 Fig. 2S Fig. 30 Fig. 3Z Fig. Fig. 35 Fig. 34 Fig. 37 Fig. Cause Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. 422 '2'Z Fig. Figure 49 Figure 50 Figure 53 ZI2

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A paper stacking surface for stacking ejected paper, a trailing edge receiver for receiving and aligning the trailing edge of the ejected paper, and finishing processing for the aligned paper. In a paper post-processing device for an image forming apparatus having a finishing processing means, a rising portion of the trailing edge receiving portion rising above the paper stacking surface is substantially perpendicular to the paper stacking surface. A paper post-processing device characterized by: (2) A paper stacking surface for stacking ejected paper, a trailing edge receiver for receiving and aligning the trailing edge of the ejected paper, and finishing processing for the aligned paper. In a paper post-processing device for an image forming apparatus having a finishing processing means, a rising portion of the trailing edge receiving portion rising above the paper stacking surface forms an obtuse angle with respect to the paper stacking surface, and the leading edge thereof 1. A paper post-processing device characterized in that a curved portion that is continuously curved toward a paper loading surface side is integrally formed. (3) A paper stacking surface for stacking ejected paper, a trailing edge receiver for receiving and aligning the trailing edge of the ejected paper, and finishing processing for the aligned paper. In a paper post-processing device for an image forming apparatus having a finishing processing means, when the paper is ejected onto the paper stacking surface, the paper is elastically deformed so as not to impede the ejection operation, and is ejected onto the paper stacking surface. A paper post-processing device characterized in that an elastic pressing member is provided above a paper stacking surface to press the paper from above when the paper is curled.