JPH03111373A - Sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the cost by furnishing bins in a number as integer multiple of the number of deflecting means, and thereby decreasing greatly the number of installed deflecting means and exhaust roller couiples. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of deflecting means 120 are furnished with possibility of changing over between the position, in which sheets are allowed to pass, and the position in which they are guided to bins 102, wherein the number of these bins 102 shall be an integer multiple of the number of deflecting means 120. A bin moving means A is furnished to move the bins 102 in a single piece. The first sheet is guided by the farthest deflecting means 120 from the sheet receiving part of a sorter 100 to be exhausted to the specified bin 120, the following sheets being guided by nearer deflecting means 120 one after another to be exhausted to respective specified bins 102. When the sheet guided by the nearest deflecting means is exhausted to its specified bin 102, all bins 102 are transferred in a single piece at one step. Distribution and accommodation of sheets are made in these operating cycles.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sorter, and more particularly, to a sorter that distributes and accommodates sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or a laser printer into predetermined bins. .

Recent technology and its sections In recent years, due to the demand for automated paper handling in copying machines, various options such as sorters for sorting and grouping copied sheets have been developed.
It is put into practical use. Conventionally, one type of sorter has been provided in which a plurality of bins are installed at predetermined intervals and a pair of deflection claws and discharge rollers for guiding sheets are provided immediately before the sheet inlet of each bin. However, this type of sorter requires a deflection claw and a pair of discharge rollers for each bin, which has the problem of increasing the number of parts and increasing costs. On the other hand, it is conceivable that the bins are integrally moved relative to a pair of discharge rollers installed at a fixed position, and the sheets are distributed and stored in the bins one after another, but this would increase the image forming speed in the main body of the image forming apparatus. In the current situation, the speed of movement of the bins cannot be accommodated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sorter that can reduce the number of deflection claws and ejection roller pairs and can distribute and accommodate sheets in response to the increased image forming speed of the main body of an image forming apparatus. There is a particular thing.

In order to solve the above problems, the sorter according to the present invention includes: (a) a plurality of deflection means installed so as to be switchable between a position for passing sheets and a position for guiding them to a bin; (b) an integral multiple of the number of bins corresponding to each of the deflecting means; and (c) a bin moving means for integrally moving each of the bins.

Furthermore, the sorter according to the present invention includes the above (a) and (b).
.

In addition to the components in (c), (d) the sheets are sequentially guided from the deflection means farthest to the deflection means closer to the sheet receiving portion of the sorter and discharged to the bin, and the sheets are guided by the deflection means closest to the sorter; Control means for integrally moving each bin by one step after the sheet is discharged into the bin until the next sheet is guided by the farthest deflection means and discharged into the bin.

In the above configuration, the deflection means are installed at a ratio of one to several bins. The first sheet is guided by the deflection means farthest from the sheet receiving portion of the sorter and discharged to a predetermined bin, and is guided by deflection means successively closer to each other and discharged to the predetermined bins. When the sheet guided by the nearest deflecting means is discharged to a predetermined bin, the bins are moved integrally by one step, and the sheets are distributed and stored in the same order as described above.

For example, as shown in Figure 2, the first sheet is discharged to the bin ■, the second sheet is discharged to the bin ■, ...the fifth sheet is discharged to the bin ■. . When the fifth sheet is completely discharged, each bin moves up by one bin, and the sheets are similarly distributed to the bins of ■, ■, ■, song, and ■.

The bin rises one step after the sheet of fire is guided by the highest deflection means and discharged into a predetermined bin, and until the sheet of fire is guided by the lowest deflection means and discharged into a predetermined bin. This provides extra time for moving the bins.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a sorter according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Overall Configuration] As shown in FIG. 1, the sorter unit (100) according to the present invention is attached to the side of the copying machine main body (1) via a sheet conveyance unit (5o), and the sorter unit (100) according to the present invention Below the section (5o) is a finisher section (20
0) is installed. Furthermore, an automatic document feeder (30) (hereinafter referred to as ADF) is attached to the copying machine main body (1).

The copying machine main body (1) forms an image on a sheet by a well-known electrophotographic method, and a charger (3) is mounted on a photosensitive drum (2) which is rotated in the direction of arrow (a). ), and the optical system (4) scans in the direction of arrow (b), resulting in A D F (3
At step 0), the original set at a predetermined position on the original platen glass (29) is exposed to slit light. As a result, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor drum (2) is separated from the toner image by the magnetic brush type developing device (5), and transferred to the transfer charger (6).
The image is transferred onto the paper using the .

Copying sheets are selectively fed one by one from either the nilevate-type or cassette-type automatic paper feeder (10), (11) in the copier main body (1), and are fed to the timing roller pair (19). and is sent to the transfer section at a predetermined timing. The sheet after the transfer is sent to a fixing device (21) by a conveyor belt (20), where the toner image is fixed, and then transferred from a pair of discharge rollers (22) to a sheet conveyor (50).
), and at this time, its passage is detected by a photosensor (SEI). Additionally, inside the main unit (1) of the multifunction machine is a paper refeeding device (1) for double-sided copying and composite copying.
25) is built-in, and a paper conveyance switching claw (26) for this purpose is installed in front of the discharge roller pair (22).

On the other hand, the photoreceptor drum (2) continues to rotate in the direction of the arrow (a) even after the transfer, and the remaining toner is wiped off by the blade-type cleaning device (7), and the eraser lamp (8)
), the residual charge is erased and prepared for the next copy operation.

A D F (30) is well known in itself, and feeds the original placed on the original tray (31) to the paper feed roller pair (3).
2), the sheets are fed one by one and set at a predetermined position on the document table glass (29) by rotation of the conveyor belt (34). After image exposure, the original is discharged onto a discharge tray (36) through a reversing conveyance path (35) by rotation of a conveyance belt (34).

[Configuration and operation of sheet conveying section] As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet conveying section (50) includes guide plates (51) and (52) for receiving sheets discharged from the copying machine main body (1). ), the drive roller (53), the driven pinch roller (54), the passage switching claw (55), the non-sort tray (61), the passage switching lever (70), the other rollers (62) constituting the conveyance passage, the guide plate ( 72
) etc.

The switching pawl (55) can be rotated by a solenoid around a support shaft (56), and when this solenoid is turned off, it is set to the position indicated by the dotted chain line in Fig. 2, and the sheet is transferred to the non-sort tray (61). Guide to the II of. At this time, the sheet is attached to the top surface of the switching claw (55) and the guide plate (
57) and (58), and is guided by the discharge roller (59).
), from the driven pinch roller (60) to the non-sort tray (
61) It is discharged to the top. On the other hand, when the sorting mode or grooving mode is selected, the solenoid is turned on, and the switching claw (55) moves to the position shown by the solid line in FIG.
guide you in the direction of

The sheets are transferred to the sorter section (100) or the finisher section (20
The conveyance path for sending the feed to
), a driving roller 62), a driven ball (63) in contact with its upper part, and a driving roller (64), (65), (6
6), (67).

(68), (69), guide plate (72), (73)
, (74), and (75). Also,
A photosensor (SE2) for detecting the sheet being conveyed is installed immediately after the rollers (64) and (65). This conveyance path conveys the sheets discharged from the copying machine main body (1) one by one to the sorter section (100), and in the finisher mode, each bin ( It has a function of conveying the sheet taken out from the finisher section (102) to the finisher section (200). Therefore, the switching lever (70) is made rotatable about the support shaft (71) by a solenoid, and is set to the solid line position in FIG. 2 when the solenoid is turned off. At this time, the seat is switched to the switching lever (7).
0) upper surface (70a) and guide Fi (72), (73
) and transported to the sorter section (100).

On the other hand, the drive rollers (62), (64) to (67) can be switched between forward and reverse rotation by a clutch using the driving force from the transport motor, and the sheets are distributed and stored in each bin as described in detail below. When the sheet is completely taken out, the sheet is driven in reverse so as to be conveyed to the left in FIG. At this time, the seat is connected to the top surface (70a) of the switching lever (70>) and the guide plate <72>.
) and (73), and when the trailing edge of the sheet in the conveyance direction is detected by the sensor (SE2), the drive rollers (62), (64), and (65) are switched to normal rotation. At the same time, when the solenoid is turned on, the switching lever (70) moves to the position indicated by the dashed line in FIG.
(69) to the finisher section (200).

[Structure and operation of sorter unit] As shown in Fig. 2, the co-sorter unit (100) includes a bin unit (101) consisting of 15 bins (102) for distributing and storing sheets, a vertical conveyance path (110) , deflection claws (120) and discharge rollers (12) corresponding to every third bin.
5).

(126), one stage of sheet take-out means (130), a bin moving means including a conveying motor (Ml) for driving a sheet conveying system, and a bin moving motor (M2).

The sheet receiving section includes a passage switching lever (131) that also serves as sheet ejecting means (130) and a guide plate (109).
It is made up of. The switching lever (131) is the third
As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of solenoids (134) are fixed to a support shaft (132), and a coil spring (134) is connected to the end of the support shaft (132) via a lever (133).
135), it is no longer biased in the direction of arrow (d). This switching lever (131) is set to the solid line position in FIGS. 2 and 5 when the solenoid (134) is turned off. At this time, the seat is attached to the lower surface of the switching lever (131) (
131b) and the guide plate (109), and is fed into the vertical conveyance path (110).

As shown in FIG. 2, the vertical conveyance path (110) includes a vertical guide frame (111), a guide lower plate (112), four conveyance rollers (115), and a pinch roller (116) that is in pressure contact with the rollers and rotates as a result. ), deflection claws (120) and guide plates (124) installed corresponding to every three bins, a discharge roller (125), and a pinch roller (126) that is in pressure contact with the roller and rotates as a result. Also, Figure 2,
As shown in FIG. 4, a photosensor (SE3') is installed to detect a sheet just before being stored in each bin (102).

The deflection claws (120) except the one installed at the lowest position are rotatable around the support shaft (121) by dedicated solenoids, and when each solenoid is turned off, the deflection claws (120) are at the position shown by the solid line in Fig. 2. set on a vertical plane (12
0a), vertical guide frame (111) and guide plate (1
50) to guide the sheet downward. The sheet is conveyed in the longitudinal direction by conveyance rollers (115) and (116). On the other hand, when each solenoid is turned on, the deflection claw (120) is switched as shown by the dotted chain line in FIG. 2, and the sheet is guided by its curved surface (120b) and each guide plate (124), 125) and (126) to each bin (102). The switching operation of the deflection claw (120) is performed at the timing when the rear end of the sheet is detected by the sensor (SE3).

In this embodiment, the sheets are sorted in the order of 1 to 2 marked with the bins (102) in FIG. That is, the first sheet is pressed by the lowest deflection claw (120).
is discharged into the bin (102). The second sheet is the 4th sheet.
is discharged into the bin (102) by the deflection claw (120) at the
Similarly, when the fifth sheet is ejected by the lowest deflection claw (120) after being discharged to the bins (102) of ■ and ■, the bin unit (Lot) is moved one step, that is, Raise the bottle by the amount. Then, the sixth sheet is discharged into the bin (102) by the lowest deflection claw (120).

Thereafter, in the same way, eject the number of sheets (the number of copies for one document, the maximum value in the sorting mode of this embodiment is 15) into the bins (102) from ■ to ■. I control.

In this embodiment, the deflection claw (120) and the discharge roller (12
5), provide bins (102) of integral multiples of <126),
From the lowest deflection claw (120) to the upper deflection claw (120)
The positions of the deflection claws (120) are sequentially switched to perform sheet distribution, and as soon as the sheet distribution process is completed with the highest deflection claw (120), the bin unit (1o1) is allowed to rise one inch, and the same distribution process is performed. Do this. Note that there is no need to switch the position of the lowest deflecting claw (120), and it is fixed at a position where its curved surface (120b) guides the sheet to the bin (102).

By the way, after a sheet is ejected to a predetermined bin (102) by the uppermost deflection claw (120), the next sheet is guided by the lowermost deflection claw (120), and then the next sheet is guided by the lowest deflection claw (120) and the next sheet is ejected to the lowermost discharge roller (125). Before reaching (126), the bin unit (101) must be raised by one bin. The bin unit (101) is heavy and there is a limit to raising it at high speed. Also, each bin (102)
The weight of the bin unit (101) changes depending on the number of sheets stored in the bin unit (101), and if the bin unit (101) is raised at high speed, the accuracy of the stopping position of the bin (102) deteriorates, making it difficult to stop it at an accurate position. . Therefore, by raising it as slowly as possible, an accurate stopping position can be ensured.

In view of the above points, the switching timing of each deflection claw (120) and the vertical movement timing of the bin unit (101), in other words, the rising speed (v2) of the bin unit (101)
By setting the positional relationship between the deflection claw (120) and the lowest deflection claw (120) as shown in FIG. 4, it becomes possible to perform the distribution work of sheets conveyed at high speed efficiently at low cost.

In Fig. 4, the sheet conveyance speed is (■1), the interval between sheets during conveyance is (t-1>), and the sensor (SE3) is
From the detection point to the discharge roller (125), (126)
The distance to the nib portions (P) and (R) is (Ll), and the sheet branching point (0) by the deflection claw (120) from the same detection point,
Let the distance to (Q) be (L3), and the distance between the branch point (o) and (Q) be (L4). Considering the branching point (O) at the highest deflection claw (120) as a reference, the deflection claw (120)
The time required for the rear end of the sheet to be conveyed from the branch point (0) to the nip portion (P) is (L3+L2)/Vl-C'.

The sheet is placed in the bin (102) by the uppermost deflection claw (120).
The time for complete ejection to the top is the above-mentioned time (L3 +
The sheet is transferred from the nip (P) to the bin (10
This is the time obtained by adding the time (t3) for complete discharge to 2). The next sheet is guided by the lowest deflection claw (120) at a distance (Ll) from the preceding sheet and is discharged into the bin (102). Therefore, after the preceding sheet is completely discharged onto the bin (102), until the leading edge of the next sheet reaches at least the nip portion (R) of the lowest discharge rollers (125) and (126), the bin unit ( 101) must be raised by one bin.

Since the next sheet is guided by the lowest deflection claw (120), when the rear end of the preceding sheet is at the branch point (0),
the lowest discharge roller (125) from the leading edge of the next sheet;
The distance to the nip (R) of (126) is LL + L4
+ L3 + Ll. Since the bin unit (101) only needs to rise by one bin before the leading edge of the next sheet reaches the nip (R), the lowest deflection claw (120
) until the preceding sheet is completely ejected into the bin (102), and then the next sheet is guided by the lowest ejection roller (102).
25), the time (t2) required to reach the nip (R) of (126) is (L1+L4)/Vl+t3. Therefore, the time (tl) for the bin unit (101) to rise by one bin may be set to tl < t2.

However, as mentioned above, the rise time (tl) has a limit and becomes a certain fixed value. Further, the conveyance speed (vl) and the sheet interval (Ll) are also determined in advance as specifications of the copying machine main body (1). Therefore, the sorter section (100) is divided by the distance (
The number of deflection claws (120) is determined depending on L4). In addition, the number of bottles (102) corresponding to one deflection claw (120) is the same.In other words, the number of bottles (102) is
If the number of bins (120) is not an integer multiple, the control becomes extremely complicated. In this embodiment, there are five deflection claws (120) and five sets of discharge rollers (12
5) and (126) were combined.

FIG. 11 is a time chart until the sheet is conveyed from the highest deflection claw (120) to the lowest deflection claw (120).

[Configuration and operation of the bin unit] As described above, the bin unit (101) is composed of 15 stages of bins (102), and each bin (102) has a stopper (102a) and a notch at the tip to prevent backflow of sheets. (10
2b) (see Figure 3), and each bin (1
Shafts (103) and (104) provided at both ends of
) with links (161) and (163), respectively, to bins (
162) and (164). Also, a shaft (103).

(104) and the bottles (162) and (164) are guide grooves (141) and (1) provided in the fixed frame (140).
41), it is fully retained.

The bin unit (101) can be moved up and down by a bin unit moving motor (M2) shown in FIGS. 2 and 7.

For details, refer to the motor (M2) output block block (170).
) and the sprocket (171>).
), a chain (174) is stretched between the sprocket (171) and the upper sprocket (173), and a lifting plate (176) is fixed to the chain (174) via a bracket (175). This is what I did. Lifting board (
176) comes into contact with the lower surface of the bottom bin (102) and lifts the bin unit (101). Therefore, when the motor (M2) is rotated forward in the direction of arrow (j) in Fig. 7,
As the chain (174) rotates in a counterclockwise direction, the lifting plate (176) rises. Along with this, each bin (
102) will rise integrally.

There are two guide grooves (141) at the top (Xi) and (X2).
(See FIG. 3), (X2) corresponds to the sheet take-out position, and (xl) corresponds to the position where sliding movement to the sheet take-out position (X2) is started. When distributing and storing sheets, the bin unit (101) is located at the lowest position as indicated by the solid line in FIG. 2, and is moved upward after the sorting operation is completed. At this time, the movement locus of each bin (102) is as shown by the dotted chain line (A) in FIG.
2) slides from the position (XI) toward the sheet take-out position (X2). This movement is carried out by the shaft (10
3), (104) and bin (162), (164)
is guided by the inclined portion (141a) of the guide groove (141). At this position (x2), the sheets on each bin (102) can be taken out by the sheet taking out means <130) described below.

On the other hand, the photo sensor (S
E4) is installed, and each bin (102) is equipped with a sensor (SE
A light shielding piece (102c) is provided in a protruding manner at a position crossing the optical axis of 4>. Each bin (102) is located at the sheet take-out position (X2
) every time the sensor (SE4) moves to this light shielding piece (1
02c) is detected, the lifting of the pin unit (101) by the movement motor (1'12) is stopped for a certain period of time, and during this period, sheets are taken out from above each bin (102).

Further, for empty bins (<102) from which sheets have been taken out, the interval between the bins (102) is set small, as shown by the dashed dotted line in FIG. Therefore, the upper part of the guide groove (141) from the sheet take-out position (X2) is
1b), the guide part (141c), (14
1d). As shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, the partition plate (141b) can be set lower than the depth of the guide groove (141>, and the shafts <103) and (104) can be set deeper than the guide groove (141b). 141) and the bin (162).

(164) engages with the guide groove (141) more shallowly than the partition plate (141b). Therefore, after the sheet is completely removed and passes the position (x2), the bin (162), (
164) moves to the guide part (141d) without contacting the partition plate (I41b), and the shaft (103),
(104) is a shaft (103).

(104) and moves the guide part (141c). This moving state is as shown in FIGS. 9(a) to 9(g), in which the links (161) and (163) are in a folded state, and the pin spacing is set small. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the bin unit (1
For the standby height (Ha) of 01), all bins (10
2) rises to the sheet take-out position (X2), the height is (Hb), and the required upper space is less than half of the standby height t (Ha).

[Structure and operation of sheet take-out means] As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, the sheet take-out means (130) includes a take-out roller (136) attached to the tip of the aforementioned switching lever (131); It consists of another take-out roller (138) attached to the tip of a lever (137) installed directly above it.

The take-out roller (136) can be rotated in the direction of the arrow (f>) by the conveyance motor of the sheet conveyance section (50).The lever (137) is swingably mounted on the support shaft (139), and The spring (139a) is connected to the arrow in Fig. 5 (
C) is biased in the direction. This torsion spring (13
9a) has one end locked to a lever (137) and the other end locked to a vertical guide frame (111), and further has a lever (137).
A bottle (139b) is provided as a rotation stopper.

The switching lever (131) is connected to the solenoid (13) as described above.
4), it can swing about its support shaft (132) as a fulcrum, and when the solenoid (134) is off, it is set at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. Note that this position allows the sheet conveyed from the sheet conveyance section (50) to be placed on the lower surface (131b).
) and the guide plate (109) to feed the material to the sorter section (100).

In the above configuration, the movement motor (M2) is turned on,
The pin unit (101) rises and the light shielding piece (102)
c) is detected by the sensor (SE4), that is, when one of the bins (102) reaches the sheet take-out position (X2), the moving motor (M2) is turned off and the solenoid (134) is turned on. be done. Just before this, bottle (10
2) The upper surface of the end of the sheet (P) stored above contacts the upper take-out roller (138), and
38) moves slightly upward together with the lever (137) (
(See Figure 5). Thereafter, the switching lever (131) swings upward by turning on the solenoid (134), and the lower take-out roller (136) moves into the notch (1) of the bin (102).
02b) and comes into contact with the lower surface of the sheet (P).

That is, the end of the sheet (P) is the take-out roller (136).

(138). Take-out roller (
136) is the time (
t6) (see Figure 12), and then press the seat (P).
The ends of the bottle are lifted up to a position beyond the stopper (102a) of the bottle (102) while being held between the take-out rollers (136) and (138) (see FIG. 6). time(
At the same time as t6), the transport mode of the sheet transport section (50) is activated.
The drive starts, and the take-out rollers (136), (1
38) and drive rollers (62), (64) to (69)
rotates and switches the seat (P) between the upper surface (131a) of the lever (131) and the guide portion (137) of the lever <137).
The sheet is fed into the sheet conveying section (50) while being guided by a).

The conveyance of the sheet to be stabilized in the sheet conveyance section (50) is as described above. When detected in (SE2),
When the switching lever (70) switches to the dashed line in Fig. 2, the drive rollers (62), (64), (65)
The rotation direction of the drive rollers (68) and (69) is switched back to the finisher section (200).
).

The time (t7) in FIG. 12 is the top of the bin (102) (
7) Sea) (P) is taken out and the finisher section (20
0), the time (t8) is the time required for stable processing in the finisher section (200). These times (t6), (t?), (t8)
are each counted by a timer controlled by a microcomputer, which will be described later. When time (t8) has elapsed, the bin unit moving motor (M2) is turned on again, and the above-described sheet removal process is repeated.

In the sheet take-out means (130) having the above configuration, the upper take-out roller (138) is set in advance at the sheet take-out position (X2), and just before the bin (102) reaches the take-out position (x2), The upper surface of the bottle (102) is brought into contact with the upper surface of the bottle (138), and the take-out roller (138) moves upward following the upward movement of the bin (102) while maintaining this contact state.

The lower take-out roller (136) picks up the sheet (P) after the upper surface of the sheet (P) comes into contact with the take-out roller (138).
Abuts against the bottom surface of P). With the above operation, even if the edge of the sheet (P) is curled, the take-out roller (138) will first press down on the top surface of the sheet (P), so the take-out rollers (136), (138) This makes it possible to securely clamp the parts.

[Configuration and operation of finisher section The co-finisher section (200) is installed vertically so that its upper end opens facing the drive rollers (68) and (69), as shown in FIGS. 2 and 10. a stable tray (201), a stopper (202) that can open and close the lower end of the tray (201), a fixed regulating plate (203) that regulates one side of the sheet, and a movable regulating plate (203) that regulates the other side of the sheet. It consists of a regulation plate (204), an upper end regulation plate (205) that can move forward and backward and up and down above the tray (201), and an electric stapler (206). Furthermore, a photosensor (SE5) for detecting the presence or absence of sheets is installed at the bottom of the stable tray (201), and a Seiaki paper discharge stacker (210) is also installed.

The sheet is fed into the stable tray (201) by the driving rollers (68) and (69), and is stored in a state where the lower end is in contact with the stopper (202) in free fall. Here, the upper end regulating plate (205) rotates counterclockwise in FIG. - Descend to the upper end (Pb) of the rear sheet (P) and align the sheet (P) in the vertical direction with the stopper (202).

In addition, the regulation plate (204) is located on the right side in Fig. 2 (P).
The sheet (P) is laterally aligned with the paper regulating portion (204a) and the fixed regulating plate (203).

When the alignment of the sheets is completed as described above, the stapler (2
06) operates and the sheets are bound. After that, the stopper (202) moves to the second position using the spindle (202a) as a fulcrum.
By rotating slightly clockwise in the figure, the tray (2)
Open the lower part of 01). With this, the sheet is guided by the guide plate (211) and stored in the paper discharge stacker (210).

The process from the sheet take-out process to the finish process described above is repeated for the number of times inputted in advance.

[Control Circuit] The operation of the sorter unit (100) described in detail above is controlled by a microcomputer shown in FIG.

This microcomputer includes the various sensors (SEL).
) to (SE5), etc. are input, and signals for driving various motors, clutches, solenoids, etc. are output.

[Control Procedure] Next, the control procedure of the sorter unit (100) by the microcomputer will be explained with reference to FIG.

Note that for the control procedure, only a flowchart of the sorting process related to the present invention is shown.

When the sorting process starts, first, step (S
Turn on the transport motor (Ml) with l). Next, in step (S2), the solenoid counter's counter value is "0".
If it is reset to "0", the process moves to step (S4), and if it is other than "OII group", then in step (S3), the deflection claw (120) indicated by the count value of the solenoid counter is Turn on the solenoid and step (S)
Move on to 4). The solenoid indicated by the solenoid counter is the solenoid that switches the fourth deflection claw (120) from the top if the count value is "1", the third solenoid if the count value is "2", the second solenoid if the count value is "3", "4" means a solenoid that switches the highest deflection claw (120). The lowest deflection claw (120) moves the sheet into a bin (102).
), so there is no solenoid, and when the first sheet is conveyed, the solenoid counter remains reset to 0゛°, and neither solenoid is turned on, and only one sheet The second sheet is discharged from the lowest deflection claw (120) to the second bin (102).

In step (S4), it is determined whether the timer flag is "11" or not, and in step (S5) it is determined whether the motor flag is "11". If each is set to "1", step (515>, ( 520>, and if it has been reset to "0", the process moves to step (S6).The timer flag is used to indicate that the timer has started in the following step (513). After the sheet passes the detection point of the sensor (SE3), it passes through the bin (
102) until it is completely discharged [in Fig. 11 (
L2+V1)+t3]. The motor flag is used to indicate that the bin moving motor (Ml) is turned on for normal rotation in the following step (51B).

When the first to fifth sheets are conveyed to the sorter section (100), neither the timer nor the motor (Ml) operates, and the sensor (SE3) is activated in step (S6).
is an off-edge, that is, each time the trailing edge of the sheet passes the detection point of the sensor (SE3), step (S7) is performed.
) to increment the sheet number counter, and proceed to step (S8
) turns off the solenoid.The 0-sheet counter counts the number of sheets discharged into the bin (102) for one document.

In step (S9), it is determined whether the count value of the copy number counter matches the set number (preset number of copies). If they match, the process moves to step (513); if they do not match, the solenoid counter is incremented in step (510). Subsequently, in step (511), it is determined whether or not the current value of the solenoid counter is "5". Steps (Sl> to (511)) are repeated until the count value reaches "5", that is, until every fifth sheet is discharged to the bin (102).

Solenoid counter count (when direct reaches “5”,
In other words, the 5th or 10th sheet is in the ■ or 0 bin (
102), the rear end is connected to the sensor (S
E3) is detected [step (56).

(511): YES], step (512>) resets the solenoid counter to "0". This is to convey the 6th and 11th sheets to the lowest deflection claw (120). Then, step The timer is started in step (513), and the timer flag is set to "1" in step (514).
Set to . Next, in step (515), the timer waits for the timer to finish counting, and in step (516), the timer flag is reset to "rO". The end of the timer count means that the sheet whose trailing edge was detected by the sensor (SE3) has been completely discharged into the predetermined bin (102).

Next, in step (517), it is determined whether or not the count value of the sheet number counter matches the number of sheets placed, and if the misplacement has not yet been reached, the bin moving motor (Ml) is activated in step (518).
), the bin unit (101) is raised, and the motor flag is set to "1" in step (519). Furthermore, in step (520), it is determined whether the sensor (SE4) is on-edge, If it is on-edge, i.e.
The light shielding piece (102c) shown in Fig. 3 is the sensor (SE4).
When detected, the motor flag is reset to "0" in step (521), and the bin moving motor (Ml) is turned off in step (522). With this, the bin unit (
101) rose by one pin and was stopped.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (517) that the count value of the sheet number counter has reached the set number, in step (S23) the transport motor (Ml) is activated to drive the sheet transport system of the sorter unit (100). Then, in step (S24), the bin unit (1) is loaded for sorting the next document.
01) to return to the home position.

The subroutine processed in step (524) returns the bin unit (101) to the home position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, and its details will be omitted. Finally, in step (525), the sheet number counter and solenoid are reset to ``0'' in preparation for the next process.

[Other Embodiments] The sorter according to the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist thereof.

For example, the means for setting the bin interval is the link (161)
, (163) may be replaced with a pantograph type, and the width of the guide groove may be made wider above the sheet take-out position (x2), so that the pantograph can be folded. Moreover, various modes can be considered for the combination of the power transmission means for vertically moving the bin unit (101) or the sensor (SE4) for detecting that one bin has been moved up and the light shielding piece (102c).

Furthermore, a configuration may be adopted in which individual bins are vertically arranged side by side and sheets are distributed to each bin while being conveyed horizontally. In this case, the bin unit moves integrally in the horizontal direction, requiring a small horizontal installation space.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the number of bins that are an integral multiple of the number of deflecting means is provided.In other words, one deflecting means can transfer sheets to a plurality of bins. Since the receiver is provided with a guide function, the number of deflection means and discharge roller pairs to be installed is greatly reduced, and costs can be reduced.

Moreover, the timing for moving the bins one step at a time is set while the sheets are being conveyed the longest into the sorter, so there is plenty of time to move the bins, making it compatible with high-speed copiers and printers. Is possible.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the sorter according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram including the main body of the copying machine, FIG. 2 is an internal configuration diagram of the sorter section, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sheet take-out section, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the sheet distribution switching section, FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the sheet take-out means, FIG. 7 is a front view showing the main parts of the bin moving means, and FIG. 8 is a pin guide means. Explanatory diagram of Figure 9 (a), (b), (c), (d), (e)
, (f), (g) are explanatory diagrams showing the movement state of the bin,
10 is a front view of the stable tray, FIG. 11 is a time chart showing control of bin movement, FIG. 12 is a time chart showing control of sheet takeout operation, FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the control circuit, FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the control procedure during sorting. (1) Copying machine main body, (50) Sheet transport section, (100) Sorter section, (101) Bin unit, (102) Bin, (103) ... Shaft, (120) ... Deflection claw, (125). (126)...Discharge roller, (141>...Guide groove, (161). <163>...Link, (162), (164).
...Bin, (174)...Chain, (176)...
・Lifting plate, (A)...Bin movement trajectory, (Ml)...
・Transport motor, (M2)...Movement motor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a sorter that distributes and stores sheets ejected from an image forming apparatus main body into predetermined bins, a plurality of deflectors are installed to be switchable between a position where the sheets pass through and a position where the sheets are guided to the bins. A sorter comprising: means; an integral multiple of the number of bins corresponding to each of the deflecting means; and a bin moving means for integrally moving each of the bins. 2. Sequentially guide the sheets from the deflection means farther from the sheet receiving section of the sorter to the deflection means closer to the sheet receiving part of the sorter and discharge them to the bin;
A control means for integrally moving each bin by one step after a sheet is guided by the nearest deflecting means and discharged to the bin until the next sheet is guided by the farthest deflecting means and discharged to the bin. The sorter according to claim 1, further comprising: a sorter.