JPH0256374A - Device for classifying sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To advance the start of the following operation and improve operation efficiency by carrying out control so as to increase the returning moving speed of a bin group when the start indication signal of the following operation is inputted while returningly moving the bin group to a defined standby position. CONSTITUTION:As the distributing operation of sheets to each bin B of a bin unit 9 is finished and when no sheet is detected by a sensor S3 with the sheets being drawn out of, e.g., the bin group 9, a control means 99 controls a driving means 29 to move the bin group 9 to be returned to a defined standby position. During the returning movement of the bin group 9, as the copying button of a copying machine is pressed inputting the start indication signal of the following operation, the control means 99 controls the drive of the driving means 29 so as to increase the returning moving speed of the bin group 9. Thereby, the bin group can be returned to a defined standby position in a short time enabling the following operation to be started without need for waiting for a long time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention connects to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, printing machine, or printer, and distributes sheets ejected from the image forming apparatus into bins. The present invention relates to a sheet sorting device.

(B) Prior Art Conventionally, there has been a sheet sorting device that includes a plurality of bins and sequentially distributes sheets to these bins to sort the sheets.

Then, when the sheet sorting work is completed, the sheet sorting device extracts the sheets from the bins, and after confirming that no sheets remain in the bins, returns the bin group to the home position. It is possible to control the When the bin group returns to its home position, it is preferable to allow a long time for the return movement of the bin group so as not to give the operator a sense of discomfort. That is, the return speed of the bin group is set to be slow.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention By the way, in the sheet sorting device described above, if, for example, the copy button of a copier is pressed while the bin group is returning to its home position, the return movement time of the bin group is Because it takes a long time, there is a risk that the start of copying by the copying machine will be significantly delayed, resulting in a decrease in work efficiency.

Therefore, the present invention provides a configuration that increases the return movement speed of the bin group when a signal instructing the start of the next work is input during return movement of the bin group to the standby position, thereby solving the above-mentioned problem. The purpose is to eliminate the problem.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and for example, as shown with reference to FIG. a group of bins (9), and driving means (29, 32) for driving the group of bins (9) to move.
) and a sheet detection means (S3) for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet (P) in the bin group (9).
In 1), a control means for moving the bin group (9) to return to a predetermined standby position after the sheet distribution work is completed, and a control means for moving the bin group (9) to return to the predetermined standby position immediately before or during the return movement of the bin group (9) to the predetermined standby position. , comprising a control means (99) for controlling the return movement speed of the bin group (9) to be increased when a signal instructing the start of the next work is input. .

Furthermore, in order to start the next work early, the predetermined standby position may be a position where the distribution of sheets (P) is started from the bin CB of the order corresponding to the designated number of copies in the sort designation.

(e) Operation Based on the above-mentioned configuration, the distributing work of the sheet (P) is completed,
For example, when a sheet (P) is extracted from the bin group (9) and it is detected that there is no sheet in the bin group (9), the bin group (9)
It is moved to return to a predetermined standby position. During the return movement of the bin group (9), for example, if a copy button on a copying machine is pressed and a signal instructing the start of the next operation is input, the return speed of the bin group (9) is increased. , the bin group (9) returns to the predetermined standby position in a short time, and the next operation can be started without waiting for a long time.

Note that the reference numerals in parentheses above are shown for reference and are not intended to limit equivalent configurations.Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described and explained along with the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sorter 1 is a bin unit that moves up and down and includes a body 6 having a pair of front and rear side plates 2, a base 3, a cover 5, and a large number of bins B... Consists of 9.

The machine body 6 is equipped with a pair of carry-in rollers 11 near the carry-in port 1O through which sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine are carried in, and a non-sort bus 1 is provided downstream of the pair of carry-in rollers 11.
2 and a sort bus 1 branching from the non-sort bus 12.
3 is placed. The non-sort bus 12 extends substantially horizontally, and a pair of non-sort paper discharge rollers 15 serving as a non-sort paper discharge port are disposed downstream of the non-sort bus 12, and the sort bus 13 extends downward, and a pair of non-sort paper discharge rollers 15 serving as a non-sort paper discharge port are disposed downstream of the non-sort bus 12. A pair of sort paper discharge rollers 16 serving as a sort paper discharge port is provided, and a stabilizer 17 is further arranged facing the pair of sort paper discharge rollers 16.

Further, a flapper 19 that is displaced to switch the conveyance direction of the sheet and a flapper solenoid 20 that drives the flapper 19 are disposed near the pair of carry-in rollers 11. When the flapper solenoid 20 is turned on, the flapper 19
9 is displaced and the conveyance direction of sheets 1 to 1 is the non-sort paper output port 1.
5 side, and by turning off the flapper solenoid 20, the sheet conveying direction or the sorting sheet discharge port 16 side is selected.

Note that the non-sort bus 12 is provided with a non-sort bus sensor S1, and the sort bus 13 is provided with a sort bus sensor S2.

Further, the bin unit 9 is arranged downstream of the non-sort paper ejection roller pair 15 and the sort paper ejection roller pair 16, and the bin unit 9 has one end fixed to the machine body 6 and the other end hooked to the bin unit 9. The weight is carried by a spring 23 hooked to a spring 22, and it is supported so as to be able to move up and down. On the base end side of the bin unit 9, an upper guide roller 25 is rotatably supported at the upper part, and a lower guide roller 26 is rotatably supported at the lower part.
fits into a guide plate 27 provided on the fuselage 6 so as to extend in the vertical direction, and rolls within the guide plate 27 to guide the bin unit 9 when the bin unit 9 moves downward L. It looks like this. Further, a bin unit drive motor 29 is disposed in the machine body 6, and a camshaft boulder 3o is disposed near the pair of sort paper discharge rollers 16 of the machine body 6, and the camshaft holder 30 and the base A lead cam shaft 31 is rotatably supported between a thrust bearing 34 disposed on the lead cam shaft 31 and a thrust bearing 34 disposed on the lead cam shaft 31 . A beam cam 32 is arranged above the lead cam shaft 31, a sprocket 33 is fixedly installed below the lead cam shaft 31, and a chain 35 is installed between the sprocket 33 and the bin unit drive motor 29. The lead cam 32 can be rotated in both forward and reverse directions by a bin unit drive motor 29 that rotates in both forward and reverse directions depending on selection.

As shown in FIG. 3, the bin unit 9 also includes a frame 36 consisting of an inclined part, a vertical part, and a horizontal part, and a vertical part provided perpendicularly to the front and back sides of the tip of the inclined part of the frame 36. Frame 37° 37 and the vertical frame 37
．． It has a bin unit main body 40 constituted by a bin cover 39 supported by a bin cover 37, and an alignment reference plate 41 that comes into contact with a sheet is erected on the front side of the bin unit main body 4o. Furthermore, the bin unit 9 has a large number of bins B.
... and an alignment rod 43 that moves around a moving center axis 42, and as shown in detail in FIG. The engagement plate 46 is connected to the vertical frame 37.
By engaging with a support plate (not shown) provided inside the bottle B, the tip side of the bottle B is supported.

Furthermore, roller support bins 47 are fixed to the front and back sides of the base end of the bin B, respectively, and a bin roller 49 is rotatably supported by the bins 47.

Furthermore, the bin B is provided with a predetermined distance from the center axis of movement 42 that is longer than the rotational distance of the alignment rod 43 and that the alignment rod 4
A long hole 50 that is sufficiently wider than the width of 3 is opened,
In addition, the base end B1 of the bin B stands up perpendicularly to the seat storage surface B2, and the bin B is inclined at a predetermined angle with the tip upward relative to the body 6 (see Fig. 1). Due to the inclination, the seat slides on the seat storage surface B2 and its rear end contacts the base end B1, so that the seat is aligned in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the bottle B is
A bottle roller 49 protrudes from a long groove 52 provided at the base end of the bin unit main body 40 and is fitted into the guide plate 27 of the body 6, and the bottle roller 49 of the lowest bin Bn. is placed on the lower guide roller 26, and the lowermost bin B is placed on the lower guide roller 26. Bin roller 49 of bin B one level above or bin B of the lowest level.

The bin roller 49 of the upper bin B is placed on the bin roller 49n of the lower bin B, and so on.
By being supported by the bins B..., the base end sides of the bins B are supported by the bin unit main body 40, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the lead cam 32 has a spiral cam groove 32a that is slightly wider than the bin roller 49. Then, place the bin roller 49 of bin B, which is located at a position opposite to the pair of sort paper discharge rollers 16, on the cam groove 32a, and move the lead cam 32 in one direction in the direction of the arrow, as shown in FIG. 5, for example.
Rotate to move the bin roller 49C of the bin Bc to the intermediate position of the lead cam 32 (position 49b in the figure), and then
The position (49a in the figure) where the lead cam 32 is passed after one rotation
position). And further lead cam 32 or 1
When rotated, the bin roller 49a that was in a position to pass the lead cam 32 pushes up the upper bin roller 49, which in turn pushes up the upper bin roller 49, and the uppermost bin roller 49 pushes up the upper guide roller 25. , the bin unit 9 rises one step at a time (see FIG. 1). As the bin roller 49 moves, each bin B.
.
For example, as shown in FIG.
and Bin B 511 located on both the upper and lower sides of said Bin B.
Openings X, X, which are wider than the distance between the bins B and the other bins B, are formed between the bins Bc and Bc. In this way, the bin unit 9 is raised or lowered by driving means including the bin unit drive motor 29 that rotates in both forward and reverse directions, and the sliding cam 32 that is driven by the motor 29 and rotates in the forward and reverse directions. It looks like this. A bin home position sensor S5 is arranged on the machine body 6 so as to face the hook 22 of the bin unit 9 that has been lowered to the lowest position, and the home position is set to the lowest position by the bin home position sensor S5. The bin unit 9 that has moved is detected.

A flag 55 is arranged on the lead cam shaft 31, and a lead cam sensor S4 is arranged opposite to the flag 55. When the flag 55 of the lead cam sensor S4 is detected, one of the lead cams 32 is In addition to detecting the rotation, the stop position of the lead cam 32 is also detected.

Further, the reference numeral 53 in FIG. 6 is an O-ring press-fitted into the bin roller 49 to absorb vibrations when the bin B is raised and lowered.

Further, transmission-type bin paper detection sensors 33 and 83 are arranged above and below the base end of the bin unit 9, respectively (see FIG. 1), and when all the sheets P are taken out from the bin unit 9, , the bin paper detection sensor S3. In step S3, the absence of a sheet is detected, and it is determined that one work is completed.

Further, as described above, the bin unit 9 is equipped with the matching rod 43, and hereinafter, based on FIGS. 3 and 4, the matching rod 4
The alignment of the sheets P according to No. 3 will be explained.

A support plate 6o is provided on the back side of the base end of the frame 36 of the bin unit 9, and the lower arm 6o is provided on the support plate 60.
1 is arranged, and the lower arm 61 is rotatably supported on one side by a lower rotating shaft (not shown) that projects upward from the support plate 60. The lower end of the moving center shaft 42 is fixed to one side of the lower arm 61 coaxially with the lower rotating shaft, and the lower end of the alignment rod 43 is fixed to the other side. The upper end of the alignment rod 43 and the upper end of the moving center shaft 42 are fixed to the upper arm 62, and the aligning rod 43 and the moving center shaft 42 are fixed to the upper arm 62 and the lower arm 6.
connected by 1.

The moving center shaft 42 is rotatably supported by an upper rotating shaft 63 that projects downward from the bin cover 39, and the alignment rod 43 is movable about the moving center shaft 42 as a fulcrum. Further, a fan-shaped gear 65 whose rotation center coincides with the movement center of the lower arm 61 is fixed to the lower arm 61, and an alignment rod drive motor 66 is disposed below the support plate 60. Output gear 6 of rod drive motor 66
7 and a fan-shaped gear 65 are engaged with each other, and the alignment rod 43 is moved by rotation of the alignment rod drive motor 66.

When aligning the sheets P, the alignment rods 43 move from the home position 43a to the width alignment position 43b determined according to the size of the sheets P, abut against the edges of the sheets P, and meet the alignment standards. The sheet P is aligned in cooperation with the plate 41, and then moved to a standby position 43C to stand by in preparation for alignment of the next sheet P.

Note that the matching rod drive motor 66 is a stepping motor.
The amount of movement of the matching rod 43 is determined by the given number of pulses.

Further, a light shielding plate 69 is fixed to the lower arm 61, and when the light shielding plate 69 moves together with the lower arm 61, it turns on and off the alignment rod position sensor S9 fixed to the frame 36. .

Further, as described above, near the pair of sort paper discharge rollers 16,
A stapler 17 is arranged, and below, stapler 1
7 will be explained.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the stapler 17 includes a stapler motor 71 and a gear 72 fixed to the output shaft of the stapler motor 71, and a gear 73 meshes with the gear 72. A link 75 whose one end is fixed to the main body is connected to the gear 73, and a needle striking head 76 is disposed at a node 75a of the link 75. An anvil 77 for bending the needle is disposed below the needle 76. Further, a vertical guide 74.74 is arranged near the head 76 and anvil 77, and the vertical guide 74.74 has an open end side so that even a curled sheet can be smoothly guided. . Further, a one-rotation cam 78 is disposed on the gear 73, and a stapler cam sensor S10 is disposed opposite to the cam 78.
0, the stapling operation of the stapler 17 is detected every time.

Further, the stabilizer 17 is equipped with a needle cartridge 84, and a large number of connected needles are stored in the needle cartridge 84. The needle cartridge 84 is attached to and removed from the rear of the stabilizer 17, and is pulled out in the direction of arrow E when replacing the needle.

Further, the stapler 17 includes a stapler drive unit that drives the stapler 17 to move between the stapling position 17a and the retracted position 17b (see FIG. 10), as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11. 88 are provided. A shaft 79 is provided upright on the body frame 2a of the stapler driving section 88, and a swinging board 80 is swingably supported by the shaft 79. A staple board 81 is fixed to the swing board 80, and a stapler 17 is mounted on the staple board 81. Further, a gear box 83 containing a reduction gear group 82 is attached to the body frame 2a, and a stapler swing motor 85 is disposed in the gear box 83. Further, a gear 86 fixed to the output shaft of the stapler swing motor 85 meshes with an input gear 82a of a reduction gear group 82, and an output gear 82b of the reduction gear group 82 has a link disk 8.
7 is fixed. Cam portions 87a and 87b are provided facing each other on the outer periphery of the link disk 87, and these cam portions 87a and 87b are disposed on the body frame 2a and operate the stapler swing motor 85. It is configured to turn on and off the stabler positioning sensor S6, and furthermore, a shaft 87C is erected near the outer peripheral edge of the link disk 87. Further, a link arm 89 is rotatably connected substantially horizontally to the swing base plate 80, and the link arm 89 has a shaft 89a erected thereon and a long hole 89b. Furthermore, the long hole 89
The shaft 87c is fitted into the shaft 87b, and a spring 90 is stretched between the shaft 87c and the shaft 89a. A sensor actuating arm 91 made of resin or the like is rotatably supported near the shaft 79, and one end 91a of the sensor actuating arm 91 connects to one end 80 of the swinging substrate 80.
a, and the other end 91b is in contact with the stabler operating position sensor S7. Then, the stapler 1
7 is a stapling position 77717 in the bin movement area when stapling the sheets P by driving the stapler drive unit 88.
a, and after completing the binding, it moves to a retracted position 17b that allows the movement of the bin B, and waits at the retracted position 17b.

Further, a stapler paper sensor S8 is disposed on the swing board 8o via a mounting base 92, and the sensor S8
is constituted by a transmission type sensor that has a U-shape when viewed from the side and has a built-in element at the sensing position 1'01 at the tip.

On the other hand, the control device 98 that controls the operation of the sorter 1 includes:
A control means 99 is provided which is programmed to increase the speed of return of the bin unit 9 to the home position and which controls the bin unit drive motor 29 as shown in FIG. When the copy button of the copying machine is pressed while the bin unit 9 is being moved to return to the home position after the work is completed, if a signal instructing the start of the next work is input, the bin unit 9 is returned to the home position. unit 9
The speed of recovery is increased.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained along the flow shown in FIG.

When the sheets P are sequentially distributed to each bin B of the bin unit 9 and the sheet sorting work is completed, the sheets 1 to P in the bin B are extracted and the bin unit 9 is returned to its home position. At this time, it is determined whether or not the bin unit 9 is located at the home position (Step).
, when the bin unit 9 is not located at the home position, the presence or absence of sheets remaining in the bin B is detected (Step 2).

If there are no sheets remaining in the bin B..., the bin unit 9 will start returning to its home position, but the operator or the bin B... It is dangerous to start moving the unit 9, so a 1000 msec timer is set (Step 3) to prevent the operator from feeling uneasy. Then, after waiting for the timer to count up (Step 4), the bin unit 9 starts moving to the home position (Step 5). Then, during the return movement of the bin unit 9, when a copy button or the like of the copying machine is pressed and a signal instructing to start work is input (Step 6), for example, the bin unit drive motor 2
The speed of movement of the bin unit 9 to the home position is accelerated by increasing the rotation speed of the bin unit 9 (Step).
, the bin unit 9 returns to the home position within the shortened return time. As a result, the return time of the bin unit 9 is shortened, the next work can be started earlier, and work efficiency can be improved.

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the bin unit 9 is returned to the home position so that sheet distribution is started from the highest bin, but the present invention is not limited to this. A predetermined bin is placed in the sorting outlet 16 so that the distribution of sheets from the bin is initiated.
It is also possible to return to the standby position facing the (FIG. 13).

Next, another embodiment, which is a partial modification of the above-mentioned embodiment, will be described in detail.

In this embodiment, the bin unit 9 is placed in a standby position such that the bin in the order corresponding to the designated number of copies to be sorted (for example, the third bin when the designated number of copies to be sorted is 3) faces the sorted paper output port 16. Control means 101 are provided which are programmed to move back.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below along the flow shown in FIG.

While the bin unit 9 is returning to its home position,
When the copy button of the copying machine is pressed, it is determined whether there is a sort specification (Step 2-1), and if there is a sort specification, the current address is confirmed (Step 2-2).

Next, it is determined whether the bin unit 9 can move faster to the Baum position or to the bin in the order corresponding to the designated number of copies (set number) (5tep2-3.5tep).
2-4) If the home position is earlier, move the bin unit 9 to the home position in step 2.
-5), and if the bin in the order corresponding to the above-mentioned number is faster, the speed of the bin unit 9 is increased to a position where the bin in the order corresponding to the number in the order faces the sort paper ejection port 16. Move (Step 2-6).

That is, in the bin unit 9, for example, while the lowest bin (20th) is lowered from the position facing the sorting paper outlet 16 and moving to the home position, the 10th bin is facing the sorting paper outlet 16. If the copy button is pressed when the copy number is set to 12 and the copy button is pressed, the first
The 0th bin increases its speed and moves up from the position facing the sheet discharge port 16 to the 12th position, and waits at that position. Then, the sheets are sequentially distributed from the 12th bin to the upper bins by reverse sorting (descending). As a result, the return time of the bin unit 9 is further shortened, and the next work can be started earlier.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and the embodiment shown in FIG.
tep5 may be applied between 5tep2 and 5tep3. That is, if the copy button is pressed immediately before the return movement, the speed is increased to return from the beginning. It is also applicable to a configuration in which a timer counts and returns after a predetermined time after the classification is completed.

(G) As described in detail, according to the present invention, for example, when a signal instructing the start of the next work is input while the bin group is returning to a predetermined standby position, the bin group Since the control means is provided to increase the speed of return movement, the return time of the bin group can be shortened, the next work can be started earlier, and work efficiency can be improved.

Furthermore, if the predetermined standby position is the position where the distribution of sheets starts from the bin of the order corresponding to the specified number of copies in the sort specification, the start of the next work can be further accelerated. Work efficiency can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view of a sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view thereof, Figs. 3 to 11 are views showing each part thereof, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a bin unit. Figure 4 is a plan view of the bottle, Figure 5 is a side view of the beam and dome, Figure 6 is a plan view of the lead cam, Figure 7 is a side view of the stapler, Figure 8 is a perspective view of the stapler, and Figure 9 is a side view of the stapler. FIG. 10 is a side view showing the moving part of FIG. 9, FIG. 11 is a view taken along the arrow X-X in FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a sorter according to an example. 1... Sheet sorting device (sorter) 9... Bin group (bin unit) 29.32... Drive means (bin unit drive motor, lead cam), 99...
Control device P... Sea) S3... Sheet detection means (paper sensor in the bin)

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A group of movable bins each accommodating sheets to be distributed, and a driving means for driving the group of bins to move;
A sheet sorting device comprising a sheet detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of sheets in the bin group, comprising: a control means for moving the bin group to return to a predetermined standby position after the sheet distribution operation is completed; A control means is provided for controlling the return movement speed of the bin group to be increased when a signal instructing the start of the next work is input immediately before or during the return movement to a predetermined standby position. A sheet sorting device featuring: 2. The sheet sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined standby position is a position where distribution of the sheets is started from a bin of a rank corresponding to a designated number of copies in sort designation.