JPH04173396A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve user's convenience by a method wherein the upper limit value of the number of papers possible to bind of the stapling part of a post- processing apparatus is compared with the number of manuscripts of an automatic manuscript circulating and feeding apparatus and, in the case of coincidence, the copy start time of the next manuscript is delayed. CONSTITUTION:When no recording paper is fed for a predetermined time, the generation of jamming is judged and, when an inlet sensor SN1 is in an ON- state, a copy counter is counted up. When the value of the counter exceeds the upper limit value of the number of papers possible to staple, a sub-routine transmitting a signal delaying a copy interval is executed. A usual copy interval is a t-time and, at the time reaching the upper limit value (n) of the number of papers possible to staple, a delay time T larger than (t) is provided. During this period, a stapled recording paper bundle is discharged to a paper discharge tray 53 by the pawl 46 of a discharge belt 17 and recording paper is again stacked from the (n+1)-th recording paper and the delay time T is taken from the 2n-th recording paper and the recording paper is again discharged to the paper discharge tray 53.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention provides a stable unit and a binding unit for arranging recording paper on which an image of a document is formed on the recording paper and binding the edges of the recording paper. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a post-processing device having a tray for storing a bundle of recorded paper.

[Conventional technology]

When making multiple copies from an original consisting of multiple sheets using an image forming device such as a copying machine, it is possible to automatically feed the original onto the contact glass of the copying machine to save time. The originals are extracted one by one from the bottom of the stack of originals placed on the original AT table and fed onto the contact glass of the copier main body. The originals are returned and stacked on top of the stack of originals placed on the contact glass. Recycle Document Hand
Ier (hereinafter abbreviated as RDH) is used.

Furthermore, various types of recording paper post-processing devices have been proposed that perform bookbinding by aligning and stabilizing the end faces of a stack of recording paper on which images have been recorded, which are discharged from an image forming apparatus.

By the way, since the RDH's document loading capacity is usually higher than the stapler's stabilizing capacity, for example,
Publication No. 3-116167 states that for the recording paper that exceeds the stable capacity, the conveyance path can be switched and a shift tray (a tray for collating sheets one by one without a stable) be used.
A technology has been proposed to emit wastewater.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, the recording paper is divided into two trays and ejected, so there is a drawback that it is difficult to take out the recording paper.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional techniques and provide an image forming apparatus equipped with an easy-to-use post-processing device.

[Means for Solving Problem C] The above object is to provide a stable unit for aligning recording sheets on which an image of a document is formed and for binding the ends of the recording sheets, and for binding the bound recording sheets. and a post-processing device having a tray for storing a bundle, the post-processing device further comprising control means for delaying the copy start time of the next document when the comparison results by the comparison means match. This is achieved by the first means.

The above object further includes the control means in the first means to eject the recording paper without stapling when the number of sheets to be bound exceeds the number of sheets to be bound;
After that, stack the excess amount and use 2 copies when making the final copy of the original.
This is achieved by a second means that has the function of discharging the paper into separate parts onto the same tray.

[Effect]

According to the first means, when the number of originals fed from the RDH reaches the upper limit of the number of stable sheets, the copy start time of the next original is delayed.

According to the second means, in addition to the first means, recording sheets exceeding the number of sheets that can be stapled are directly discharged to the same tray without being stabilized.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

The post-processing device shown in FIG. 5 is installed on the side of the image forming apparatus (not shown), and consists of an upper shift sorting section (■) and a lower stable section (■). ing.

First, in the shift sorting section (2), a plurality of conveyance rollers and driven rollers are arranged on the conveyance path. 1st
The rotation shaft of the transport roller 101 is connected to the rotation shaft of a transport drive motor M1 via a first timing belt 104, thereby obtaining driving force. The rotation axis of the first conveyance roller 101 is connected to the rotation axis of the other conveyance rollers, the rotation axis of the discharge roller 102, and the gathering fur brush 10 by a second timing belt (not shown).
It is also connected to the rotating shaft of No. 3 and drives them.

Further, an inlet sensor SNI is provided immediately before the most upstream conveyance roller 101, and the discharge roller 102 is provided with an inlet sensor SNI.
A paper discharge sensor SN2 is provided immediately in front of the paper, and detects the leading edge and trailing edge of the paper being conveyed. A switching pawl 105 is disposed downstream of the first conveyance roller 101, and by the action of a driving solenoid and a spring (not shown), the stable section (2) and shift sorting, which will be described later, in the conveying direction are controlled by the section 1814. Changes can be made in either direction.

When the copying operation is started, the shift motor M2 is driven, and the abutting plate 106 moves in the front-back direction. Accordingly, the discharge tray 107, which is supported so as to be movable up and down and back and forth, engages with the unevenness of the abutment plate 106, and moves in the front and back direction, thereby starting a shift operation. Then, the shift sensor 117 detects the other shift detection plate 118, which is different from the one shift detection plate 118 detected before the start of the shift operation.
When detected, the shift motor M2 is stopped by the signal, and the shift operation is completed. After the shift operation is completed, the vertical movement drive motor M3 rotates in the tray raising direction to raise the discharge tray 107.

After the vertical movement starts, when a part of the support bracket of the presser roller 108 is detected by the paper surface detection sensor, or when the upper limit sensor detects the vertical detection plate, the vertical movement drive motor M3 is stopped by the signal, and the ejection tray is 107 will end.

When the paper surface detection sensor detects the support bracket,
The vertical movement drive motor M3 rotates in the tray lowering direction, and when the paper surface detection sensor no longer detects the support bracket, the vertical movement drive motor M3 stops.

The recording paper ejected from the main body is received by the conveying roller 101 at the same linear speed as the ejection speed from the main body.

When the recording paper is conveyed and the population sensor SNI detects the trailing edge of the recording paper, the linear velocity is amplified to a value greater than the recording paper main body ejection speed, and the trailing edge of the recording paper is detected by the entrance sensor SNI.
After a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the recording paper was detected, the linear velocity is returned to the main body discharge speed of the recording paper, and then the recording paper is discharged to the discharge tray 107. The recording paper discharged to the discharge tray 107 slips under the presser roller 108 by gravity and the conveyance force caused by the rotation of the fur brush 103, and is abutted against the abutment plate 106, thereby aligning the rear end.

At this time, when a specified number of copies have been ejected, the shift motor M2 rotates in response to the signal and starts a shift operation. - When the process shift is completed, shift motor M2 stops. This operation changes the stacking position of the recording sheets on the ejection tray 107, and the recording sheets are sorted. Then, when the series of copying operations is completed and the last sheet is ejected, the vertical movement drive motor M3 rotates in the downward direction in response to the signal, and the operation ends after the ejection tray 107 has descended by a specified amount. There is.

When a certain amount of recording paper is accumulated and the paper surface approaches the paper ejection port and a part of the presser roller support bracket is detected by the paper surface detection sensor, the vertical movement drive motor M3 rotates in the tray lowering direction based on the signal. The holding force of the worm 126 and the lock of the one-way clutch are released, and the ejection tray 107 is lowered by its own weight.
When the paper surface lowers due to the lowering of the presser roller and a part of the presser roller support bracket is no longer detected by the paper surface detection sensor, the vertical movement drive motor M3 is stopped by that signal, and the holding force of the worm 126 and the locking of the one-way clutch are activated. Then, the discharge tray 107 also stops.

As the ejection tray 107 descends, the vertical movement drive motor M3 is stopped by a signal when the upper and lower detection plates are detected by the lower limit sensor, and further descent of the ejection tray 107 is prevented.

The recording paper processing operation will be explained next. First, stable operation is selected using the stable key, a document (N sheets) is set on the document feed tray (RDH) (not shown), and the number of copies (K copies) is input using the 10 key. When the copy button is pressed, a copy size signal is received from the main body of the copying machine, and it is determined whether the size can be placed in the staple section. If the size is such that it can be inserted into the staple section, it is determined whether the claw 46 of the discharge belt 17 is at the home position (HP) or not. If it is not at the home position, it is returned to the home position by the belt drive motor.

Further, it is detected whether or not the stapler S is at the home position, and if the home position is detected, the stapler S is moved to a predetermined position by the size signal,
If the home position is not detected, the stapler S moves until the home position is detected, and after detecting the home position, the stapler S moves to a predetermined location according to the size signal.

Also, jogger fences 5 and 6 are at home position (HP
), and if the home position is detected, the jogger fences 5 and 6 are moved to a predetermined position by the size signal, and if the home position is not detected, they are moved until the home position is detected. death,
After detecting the home position, the jogger fences 5 and 6 are moved to a predetermined position based on a size signal. At this time, the moving location is moved to a position afi on one side and 2 ava on both sides from the size width.

When the leading edge of the recording paper is detected by the inlet sensor SNI, the switching guide member 105 is switched to the stable tray by the switching solenoid to perform guidance. When the trailing edge of the recording paper passes through the entrance sensor SNI, it is fed at high speed. The switching solenoid is turned off after a predetermined time elapses after passing through the entrance sensor SNI, that is, the time until passing through the switching guide member 105. The recording paper is discharged onto a stable tray by the discharge roller 3, and while the recording paper is being discharged, the electric charge on the recording paper is removed by a static elimination brush 63 fixed to the paper discharge section upper guide plate 67. The paper discharge roller 3 is provided with a flange, which bends the recording paper into a wave shape and gives it stiffness. When the rear end of the recording paper passes through the discharge roller 3, the coaxial fur brush Ia,
The trailing edge of the recording paper is pushed down by the lb, and is brought into contact with the trailing edge fences 5a and 6a provided on the trailing edge fence and the jogger fence 5.6. After a predetermined period of time has elapsed after passing through the lower paper discharge sensor 50, the drive motor for the jigger fence 5.6, which had been waiting until then, repeats forward and reverse rotation once or twice, thereby aligning the recording paper in the width direction. After the paper is aligned in this way, it is returned to the standby position. This paper alignment operation is repeated for each recording paper until a one-jijib end signal is issued from the main body of the copying machine.

Next, when an l-zip end signal is issued and received from the copying machine main body, the above-described operation is executed again, and then the recording paper stack is held down in the width direction by the jogger fence 5.6. Then, the drive motor in the stapler S starts driving, and the stack of recording sheets is stapled. In this binding operation, it is determined whether or not one-place binding is performed, and in the case of one-place binding, the jigger fence 5.6 moves to a position slightly away from the vapor bundle after the binding operation is completed. If two or more locations are to be stapled, the stapler movement motor moves the stapler to a predetermined position and performs the stapling operation again. After the stapling operation is performed, the jogger fences 5 and 6 are returned to a position slightly away from the vapor bundle. It can be done. At this time, the discharge belt 17 rotates and the claw 46
As a result, the trailing end of the recording paper bundle is pushed up while being ejected onto the paper ejection tray 53 in the same direction as the ejection direction onto the stable tray.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing the overall configuration of an RDH as an embodiment of the present invention. This RDH is the copying machine main body 200
Contact glass (manuscript table) installed on top of
A paper feed table 203 is provided in a cover-type case that covers the paper feed table 201 over an area excluding the left and right ends of the upper part of the cover, and a stack of paper sheets placed on the paper feed table 203 provided at the left end in the figure. A paper feeding unit 204 consisting of a paper feeding mechanism that feeds sheets one by one onto the contact glass 201 from the bottom.
Then, the sliding section slides over the entire length of the upper surface of the contact glass 201, transports the original fed from the paper feed section to a predetermined original exposure position on the contact glass 201, and after exposing the original, the document is exposed on the contact glass 201. Conveyor belt 2 to be discharged from
05, a reversing unit 207 that reverses the document sent out from the transport unit 206, and a reversing unit 207.
A return unit 208 is provided for returning the original that has been reversed by the above to the upper east of the original on the paper feed table 203.

Hereinafter, each of the paper feed section, conveyance section, reversal section, and return section will be explained in order.

(Paper Feeding Unit) Side fences 209 are provided on both left and right sides of the front portion of the paper feeding table 203 with respect to the transport direction within the minimum document placement range. Near the front end of the paper feeding table 203 in the paper feeding direction, there are two calling rollers 210 and 211 having a missing circular portion.
However, when the missing circular portion is on the top, they are provided in front and rear in the conveying direction at positions that do not protrude from the document placement surface.

A pressing plate 212 is provided above the calling roller 210, which is driven by a solenoid (not shown) and presses the leading end of the document down and against the calling roller 210 at a position shown by a chain line in FIG.

Further above the presser foot Fi2]2, a stopper 213 is provided which rotates about its rear end as a fulcrum and is displaced between a retracted position shown by a broken line in FIG. 6 and an operating position shown by a solid line. In the operating position, the toe of the stopper 213 touches the table 20.
3 or the top surface of the stack of originals set on the table 203, and the setting claw when inserting the stack of originals collides with the leading edge of the original that is circulated and returned to the top surface of the stack of originals on the table 203 from the rear to skew it. It has the function of correcting.

The document bundle pressed against the calling roller 210 by the presser plate 212 is reliably conveyed to the separating section by the synchronous rotation of the calling rollers 210 and 211. Reference numeral 214 in FIG. 6 is a document set sensor that detects that the document is set on the document bundle table 203, and in response to the detection signal, the calling rollers 210 and 211 are rotated by a certain amount to convey the document bundle.

The calling rollers 210 and 211 also have a function of reliably feeding the lowest sheet of the document bundle at the above position in cooperation with a separating section consisting of an endless belt 215 and a separating roller 216. The separation roller 216 rotates in the direction of moving the document in the conveying direction at a speed where the circumferential speed becomes the document conveyance speed, and on the other hand, the endless belt 215 is in pressure contact with the circumferential surface of the separation roller 216 over a certain circumferential length, The endless belt moves in the opposite direction to the document conveyance direction (the direction indicated by arrow A in FIG. 6) at a low speed, for example, about 1/20 of the document conveyance speed, and the friction coefficient between the separation roller 216 and the document is 21
By appropriately setting the friction coefficient between the calling rollers 210 and 2 and the original and the friction coefficient between the originals.
11, if only one document is sent out from under the document stack, it is moved directly to the pull-out rollers 217 and 21 on the downstream side.
If there are two or more sheets, only the lowest one is separated and transported toward pull-out rollers 217 and 218.

The separation roller 216 has a built-in one-way clutch 7, and when the document is transported by the pull-out rollers 2]7, 2]8,
Even when the drive of the separation roller 216 is turned off, the document rotates with the separation roller 216 to lighten the load on conveying the document, so that the document can be conveyed at a predetermined speed. The separation roller 216 is driven on and off by a clutch (not shown), and is separated from the paper feed section 204 to the conveyance section 206.
When the registration sensor 219 provided at the discharge section detects the leading edge of the document, the clutch is turned off and the drive to the separation roller 216 is cut off. The registration sensor 219 also serves as a detection means for detecting the trailing edge of the original and controlling the original to stop at a predetermined exposure position on the contact glass 201.

The above-mentioned calling rollers 210, 211 and separation rollers 216
, the pullout rollers 217 can be driven by a single motor or by separate motors.

(Conveyance Unit) The conveyance unit 206 is composed of one wide conveyance heald 205 wrapped around a pair of rollers 220 and 221, and the downward running portion of the conveyance heald 205 is moved around the contact glass 20 by a plurality of pressure rollers 222.
1, the original sent from the paper feed unit 204 is conveyed to a predetermined exposure position, and after the exposure is completed, the original is transferred to the reversing unit 20.
Send it out on 7th.

(Reversing section) The reversing section 207 includes a reversing roller 223 provided along a reversing guide, a pressure roller 224 that presses against the reversing roller 223, and a position indicated by a solid line and a broken line in FIG. 6 on the downstream side thereof. A displaceable switching claw 225 is provided between them. In the double-sided document mode, the switching claw 225 is switched to the position indicated by the broken line, and the document, which has been exposed on one side, is turned upside down and sent to the transport section 206 again. When a double-sided exposed document is discharged in the single-sided document mode or the double-sided document mode, the switching claw 225 is at the position shown by the solid line in the figure, and the document is discharged to the return section 208. A reversal sensor 226 is provided between the pressure roller 224 and the switching pawl 225, facing the reversing roller 223, and thereby controls the drive timing of the conveyance heald 205. The conveyor belt 205 and the reversing roller 223 are each driven by a single motor (not shown).

(Return Unit) The return unit 208 is connected to a paper ejection unit 227 that is movable in the document transport direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 6) on the paper feed table 203, and to the rear part of the paper ejection unit 227 in the transport direction. The paper feed table 203 at the rear of the paper ejection unit 7) 227 expands and contracts as the unit 227 moves.
A guide plate that forms a document conveyance path between the upper surface of the document sheet and an intermediate belt 228 that conveys the document discharged from the reversing section 207 to a paper discharge unit 227.

The above guide plates include a plurality of (three in this example) guide plates 229 that can be stacked on top of each other and made to expand and contract.
230, 231, and by moving the paper discharge unit 227, the overlapping of each guide plate 229, 230, 231 changes and expands and contracts. The guide plates 229, 230, and 231 are sequentially overlapped outwardly in the document conveyance direction to prevent the front end of the document conveyed along the conveyance path from getting caught at the overlapping portion of the guide plates. Exterior covers 232, 233, and 234 are placed above each guide plate 229, 230, and 231, respectively, and the rear end is fixed to a rising part formed by bending the rear end of each guide plate upward. , are provided so that they can be expanded and contracted by being superimposed on each other.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the entire structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is composed of an image forming apparatus 300, the above-mentioned post-processing apparatus 400, and RDH 500. Note that the image forming apparatus main body 300 employs a well-known electrophotographic method, and a description of its configuration and operation will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of the entire image forming apparatus.
CPU 301 and post-processing device 4 of image forming apparatus main body 300
00 master CPU401 and RDH500 CPU
It is electrically connected to 501 through an optical fiber to exchange signals. Note that 402 is a slave CPU on the stapler side that exchanges signals with the master CPU 401 on the shift tray side.

FIG. 2 is a control flowchart according to one embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a timing chart of the same.

In FIG. 2, first, the inlet sensor S of the post-processing device 400
Check NI (FIG. 5) (Sl), and if the recording paper is not fed, the process proceeds to steps S2-S3, and if the recording paper is not fed for a predetermined period of time (Yl), a jam flag is set and a jam is determined.

When the entrance sensor SNI is on (Y in Sl), a copy counter is counted up (S4).

The content of the counter is the upper limit of the number of sheets that can be stapled x
If it exceeds 1 (Y in S5), the image forming apparatus main body 300
Please check the staple signal sent from S6.
), a subroutine for transmitting a signal to delay the copy interval is executed (S7), and the recording paper is transferred to the paper output tray 53 (5th
The copy storage tank processing subroutine is executed until the copy stack is stacked in (S8).

As shown in FIG. 3, the normal copy interval is time t, but when the upper limit of the number of sheets that can be stapled (n sheets) is reached, a delay time of time T, which is greater than 1% t, is provided. During this time, the stapled stack of recording sheets is ejected to the paper ejection tray 53 by the claw 46 of the ejection belt 17 (FIG. 5), and then n
The recording paper is stacked from the +1st sheet, a delay time of T time is taken at the 2nth sheet, and the recording paper is ejected to the paper ejection tray 53 again.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the inventions described in claims 1 and 2, the recording paper fed into the stapling unit of the post-processing device in excess of the number of sheets that can be stapled is directly discharged to the stapled paper output tray. Therefore, the recording paper must be taken out from one place in any case, which improves usability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control flowchart of the same, FIG. 3 is a timing chart of the same, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the entire image forming apparatus, and FIG. The figure is a configuration diagram showing an example of a post-processing device, and FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing an example of an automatic document circulation feeding device. 300... Image forming apparatus main body, 400... Post-processing device, 500... Automatic document circulation feeding device, 301, 40
1,402,501...CPU. Figure 2

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Aligning the image forming apparatus main body that forms an image of a document on recording paper, the automatic document circulation feeding device that automatically transports the documents one by one to the image forming apparatus main body, and the recording paper on which the image has been formed; In an image forming apparatus configured with a stapling unit for stapling the ends of recording paper and a post-processing device having a tray for storing a bundle of bound recording papers, the number of sheets that can be stapled by the stapling unit of the post-processing device is The apparatus is characterized by comprising a comparison means for comparing the upper limit value with the number of originals in the automatic document circulation feeding device, and a control means for delaying the copy start time of the next original when the comparison result by the comparison means matches. image forming device. (2) In claim 1, the control means further comprises:
An image forming apparatus characterized in that the recording paper is ejected without stapling when the number of sheets to be bound exceeds the number of sheets to be bound, and the excess amount is then stacked and controlled so as to be divided into two and ejected to the same tray at the time of final copying of the document.