JPH0383766A - Multiple sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To extremely easily extract a sheet to the rear of a bin without the damage to a sheet housed in a bin unit by making a sheet housing bin in a branch passage side a unit, and extractively providing the bin unit to the lateral side of a sorter. CONSTITUTION:When a sheet a housed in a bin 8 of a first sorter unit U1 is taken out, a guide member is drawn out from between belts by the lower part side placed in between two endless belts by slightly moving a second case part 7b composing a bin unit U to the rear of the unit. Then the second case part 7b is extracted to the lateral side of a sorter. This enables a sheet a housed in the bin 8 of the bin unit U to be easily taken out to the rear of the unit seven if the sheet a is a large size one.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an improved technique for a multiple sorter that is arranged in series at a paper discharge port of an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatographic copying machine or a printer.

[Conventional technology]

As an example of the above-mentioned multiple sorter, as shown in FIG.
On the way, a branch route 35 is established via a route switching machine 134.
At the same time, a paper distributing means 37 for a plurality of upper and lower paper storage pins 36 is connected to the branch path 35 to form the first sorter unit UL.
A second sorter unit U8 is constituted by a paper feed path 38 connected to the paper discharge section 33M of No. 3, a plurality of upper and lower paper storage pins 36, and a paper distribution means 37 for the pins 36, and the second sorter unit U8 is connected to the first sorter unit UI. Image forming device 3
There is a method in which a second sorter unit υ is connected to the paper discharge port 32 of the first sorter unit U and to the paper discharge section 338 of the first sorter unit U.

[Invention tries to solve! II! l) In the tank bottom multiple sorter, pin 3 of the second sorter unit υ8
The paper a stored in the first sorter unit U can be easily taken out by pulling out the paper 5 to the rear of the unit (left side in the paper), but it is stored in the pin 36 of the first sorter unit U. To remove paper a,
To save transportation distance and installation space,
The second sorter unit υ- (is located close to the first sorter unit U), and the base side of the pin 36 is covered by a part of the sorter case 39, so that the paper a is moved to the rear of the unit. After pulling it out a little, it is taken out from the side of the unit, but when taking it out, the vicinity of the corner of the paper a tends to hit the sorter case 39, and the larger the size, the more difficult it is to take out the paper a, and the more likely it is to damage the paper a. There was room for improvement in this respect.

Further, since the paper storage pin 36 is covered with components of the paper feed path 38, it is difficult to confirm the position of the pin 36 in which the paper a is stored when taking out the paper a.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and
In the middle of the paper feed path connected to the paper output port of the image forming device,
In addition to providing branch routes via a route switching mechanism,
In a multiple sorter in which a paper distributing means for a plurality of upper and lower paper storage pins is connected to each of the branch path and the paper feed path, the paper storage pins on the branch path side are unitized, and the pin unit is It is unique in that it can be pulled out from the side of the sorter.

[Effect]

According to the above characteristic structure, by pulling out the pin unit laterally to the side of the sorter, the paper stored in the pins of the pin unit can be taken out to the rear of the pin unit.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a multiple sorter 3 connected to a paper discharge port 2 of a copying machine 1, which is an example of an image forming apparatus, and includes a first sorter unit U+ having a paper feed path 4 connected to the paper discharge port 2; , the second sorter unit 1-1h is provided with a paper feed path 5 connected to the paper discharge section 4a of the paper feed path 4.

The first and second sorter units U and lh each have a sorter case 7 equipped with caster wheels 6, a plurality of upper and lower paper storage pins 8, and a paper distribution means 9 for distributing paper a to the pins 8. The paper feed path 4 of the first sorter unit υ includes a branch path 11 for introducing the paper a into the paper distribution means 9 via the path switching mechanism 10.
is provided.

The paper distribution means 9 connected to the branch path 11 of the first sorter unit υ1 and the paper feed path 5 of the second sorter unit 1m have the same configuration, and are similar to those shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, two endless belts 14 are wound around a pair of upper and lower rollers 12.13 horizontally suspended on the sorter case 7 at a predetermined interval in the axial direction. A lifting frame 15 is also provided so as to be able to rise and fall freely, and the lifting frame 15 includes a lower guide member 16 whose free end part is inserted between the two endless belts 14, and a lower guide member. 16 and a guide member 18 on the upper side that forms a paper feed path 17 to the pin 8, a pair of paper feed rollers 19 and 20, and the endless belt 14, one end of which is fixed for pinching and conveying the paper a. A winding tool 22 for a steel belt 21 is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the sorter case 7 of the first sorter unit U is a first case portion that includes the paper feed path 4, the branch path 11, and the endless belt 14 of the paper distribution means 9. 7a, and the constituent members (15, 16, 18) excluding the endless bell) 14 of the sheet distributing means 9.
22), the sorter case 7 of the second sorter unit Ut includes a first case part 7b equipped with a non-sorting pin 23, a paper feed path 5 and an endless belt 14; Except for the endless belt 14 of the paper distribution means 9 (constituent members (15, 16, 18 -
22), and each of the second case parts 7b of the first and second sorter units UI+01 is integrally equipped with the paper storage pin 8 to form a unit; The second case portion 7b provided with the pin unit U can be extracted laterally to the side of the sorter.

In addition, 24 in the figure is a stopper for releasably connecting the second case portion 7b to the first case portion 7a, and 25 is a stopper for releasably connecting the second case portion 7b to the first case portion 7a. This is a connection detection means.

According to the above configuration, when the sheet a is introduced into the branch path 11 by the path switching mechanism 10, the sheet a is held and conveyed by the endless belt 14 and the stay belt 21, and is also conveyed by the lower guide member. The paper is scooped up by the paper feed path 17, passes through a pair of paper feed rollers 19 and 20, and is received by the pin 8.

Then, each time a predetermined paper feeding to the paper storage pin 8 is completed, the elevating frame 15 sequentially moves downward to the paper feeding position relative to the subsequent pin 8, and the number of sheets to be collated is the number of pins of the first sorter unit tl+. When the number of sheets is more than 1, the path switching mechanism 10 is switched when the sheet a to be fed to the pin B at the bottom passes through the path switching mechanism 10, and the subsequent sheet a is introduced into the second sorter unit L and is Predetermined paper feeding to a plurality of pins 8 is sequentially performed by paper distribution means 9.

While paper is being fed to the second sorter unit u8, by pulling out the pin unit U of the first sorter unit υ to the side of the sorter, the paper a stored in the pin 8 of the pin unit U is folded. Post-processing work for paper binding using a stapler or stapler can be done quickly.

In addition, when the number of sheets of paper a to be collated is less than or equal to the number of pins of one pin unit U, and the second case portion 7b of only one of the first or second sorter unit υ, U,
When the detection means 25 detects that the connection of the paper a has been released, the paper is fed to the other sorter unit and the 7-fold operation is performed. If the number of sheets is greater than or equal to the number of pins of one pin unit U, and the first or second sorter unit IJl+Us
When the detection means 25 detects that at least one second case portion 7b of the second case portion 7b is disconnected, the collation mode is not selected even if the collation mode is selected. .

Further, when the collation mode is not selected, the sheets a are taken out to the non-sort pin 23 of the second sorter unit U*.

In the above configuration, the second sorter unit U! After the collation is completed, the paper a stored in the pin 8 can be easily taken out by pulling the paper a from the paper storage pin 8 toward the rear of the unit.

The paper a stored in the pin 8 of the first sorter unit U is taken out as follows. That is,
As shown in FIG. 4, the second case portion 7b constituting the pin unit U is moved slightly to the rear of the unit, and the lower guide member 16 inserted between the two endless belts 14 is attached to the belt. By pulling out the second case portion 7b from between the holes and then pulling out the second case portion 7b to the side of the sorter, the paper a stored in the pin 8 of the pin unit U is removed.
Even if it is a large size paper a, it can be easily taken out from the rear of the unit.

In each of the first and second sorter units t+, ul, the second case portion 7b and, in turn, the pin unit U are movable, so that the sheets a after collation are transferred to the pin 8.
By moving the second case part 7b to the installation part of a stapler or punching machine while still housed in the paper, it is possible to form paper binding or punch holes, and it can also be used for other purposes such as transporting the collated paper a. .

Note that the paper storage pins 8 of the second sorter unit To are made into a unit, and the pin unit U is configured to be movable. , the paper storage pins 8 may be fixedly provided on the sorter case 7.

Further, although the multiple sorter 3 has been illustrated as having two units, the first and second sorter units IJl+IJ, the present invention can be implemented in a unit structure having three or more units.

Further, as the paper distribution means 9, for example, each paper storage pin 8
It can be implemented by providing a path switching claw in each of the paper introduction portions, and sequentially switching the path switching claws to the paper feeding state, and providing a paper distributing means 9 with a visible structure in the first case portion 7a. It is.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention is characterized in that the paper storage pins on the branch path side of the multi-sorter are made into a unit, and this pin unit is constructed so that it can be extracted laterally from the sorter. By pulling the pin unit out to the side of the sorter, you can easily pin out the paper stored in the pins of the pin unit without damaging it, even if it is a large paper. I was able to pull it out backwards.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional side view of the multi-sorter, Fig. 2 is a detailed view of the sheet distributing means, Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the pin unit of the first sorter unit taken out, and Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the pin unit. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of the extracted state, and FIG. 5 is a schematic longitudinal sectional side view of a conventional multiple saw. 1... Image forming device (copying machine), 2... Paper ejection port, 4
゜5... Paper feed path, 7... Sorter case, 8...
Paper storage pin, 9... Paper distribution means, 10... Route switching mechanism, 11... Branch a path, υ... Pin unit. Fig. 2 5 4.5... Paper feed path 7... Sorter case 8... Paper storage pin 9... Paper distribution means lO... Path switching! ll111 11...branch route

Claims (1)

[Claims] In the middle of the paper feed path connected to the paper output port of the image forming device,
In addition to providing branch routes via a route switching mechanism,
In a multiple sorter in which a paper distributing means for a plurality of upper and lower paper storage pins is connected to each of the branch path and the paper feed path, the paper storage pins on the branch path side are unitized, and the pin unit is A multiple sorter characterized by being configured so that it can be extracted from the side of the sorter.