JPH04312894A - Post processor for recording paper - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a post processor for recording paper which can raise reliability for travelling of a recording paper bundle with a pawl by removing a positional shift of pawl to a release belt. CONSTITUTION:In a post processor for recording paper having a release belt 17 discharging a stapled recording paper bundle by engaging it with a pawl 46, a means for preventing a pawl to be attached to the release belt 17 with a screw 301 from shifting is provided.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a recording paper post-processing device that aligns and staples recording paper discharged from an image forming apparatus, and is particularly characterized by a discharge mechanism for a stapled recording paper bundle (bookbinding). The present invention relates to a certain recording paper post-processing device.

0002

[Prior Art] When a stapled stack of recording paper is discharged onto an output tray, a rotatably driven endless discharge belt is provided with a claw that locks and holds the stack of recording paper, and the claw transports the stack of recording paper. Techniques to do this have already been proposed. Here, the discharge belt is made of a soft material such as rubber or fiber in order to rotate along the outer diameter curved surface of the pulley. On the other hand, the claws that scoop up the stack of recording sheets need to have a certain degree of rigidity. When engaging these two,
It is common practice to fasten with a single screw so as not to prevent the ejection belt from being bent along the outer periphery of the pulley or to accommodate ejection belts with narrow widths.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned conventional device, the claw may rotate around the screw due to loosening of the screw, resulting in misalignment with respect to the discharge belt. There was a drawback that it became impossible to scoop up the stack of recording paper.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording paper post-processing device which eliminates the drawbacks of the above-mentioned prior art, eliminates misalignment of the claws with respect to the ejection belt, and improves the reliability of conveyance of a stack of recording paper by the claws. shall be.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The above object is to provide a stapling mechanism unit that aligns and staples recording sheets ejected from an image forming apparatus, and a hook that locks a stack of recording sheets stapled by this stapling mechanism unit. This is achieved by a first means in a paper post-processing device having a discharge belt for discharging paper to a discharge tray, comprising means for preventing displacement of the pawl attached to the discharge belt with screws. Further, the above object is achieved by a second means in which the screw is fastened at a position above the recording paper bundle end end locking surface of the pawl in the rotational direction of the ejection belt.

[0006]

[Operation] The displacement prevention means prevents displacement of the pawl relative to the discharge belt due to rotation of the claw around the screw. In addition, by setting the screw fastening position above the recording paper bundle end locking surface provided on the claw in the rotational direction of the ejection belt, the screw fastening position is lower than the recording paper bundle end locking surface. Compared to the above case, the pulley near the position where the stack of recording sheets is scooped up can be placed higher, thereby reducing the amount of escape when moving the stapler downward.

[0007]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The finisher shown in FIG. 2 is installed on the side of the image forming apparatus (not shown).
Shift sorting section I on the upper side and staple section I on the lower side
It is composed of I. First, on the conveyance path of the shift sorting section I, a plurality of conveyance rollers and driven rollers driven by the conveyance rollers are arranged. The rotation shaft of the first conveyance roller 101 is connected to the rotation shaft of the conveyance drive motor M1 via the first timing belt 104, thereby obtaining driving force. The rotating shaft of the first conveying roller 101 is connected to the rotating shaft of the other conveying rollers, the rotating shaft of the discharge roller 102, and also the rotating shaft of the shifting fur brush 103 by a second timing belt (not shown). , drive these. In addition, an entrance sensor SN1 is provided immediately before the most upstream conveyance roller 101, and
A paper discharge sensor SN2 is provided immediately in front of the discharge roller 102, and is configured to detect the leading and trailing edges 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 230 and a spring (not shown), the conveyance direction is determined by the stapling section II and the shift sorting section I tray, which will be described later. As shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. and the output tray 107
Due to its rotation, the recording paper dropped onto the abutment plate 106
is brought in the direction of and abuts against the abutting plate 106,
This aligns the trailing edges of the recording sheets. In the shift drive mechanism, the abutment plate 106 and the discharge tray 107
As shown in FIG. 4, projections and recesses are formed on the surface, and the projections and recesses are configured to mesh with each other. As a result, the output tray 107 can be freely moved in the vertical direction (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 4) with respect to the abutting plate 106, and is interlocked with the abutting plate 106 in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in the plane of FIG. 4). and move. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the abutting plate 106 is connected to a shaft-shaped shift guide 11 via a bearing 111 on the side of the main body different from the ejection tray 107.
2, and is configured to be freely movable in the front and rear directions. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the abutment plate 106 is eccentrically connected to the crank 113 via an arm rod 115. The above crank 113
The rotation axis of is arranged parallel to the central axis of the copying machine. A removable bracket 11 vertically protrudes from the side plate 100
A gear train 114 is arranged at 6, and this gear train 114
The crank 113 is connected to the shift motor M2 via. By driving the shift motor M2, the crank 113 is driven, and the eccentric rotation action of the crank 113 causes the abutment plate 106 to reciprocate in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the discharge tray 107, which is restricted in the front-rear direction with respect to the abutting plate 106, also reciprocates in the front-rear direction accordingly. In addition, two shift detection plates 118 are protruded from the abutment plate 106 and are arranged at an interval approximately equal to the amount of movement by the crank 113 . The sensor 117 detects that one step of the abutting operation and tray shifting operation has been completed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a presser roller 108 is supported via a bracket 119 fixed to the abutment plate 106 so as to be vertically movable and rotatable. The upper surface of the stacked recording paper is pressed by its own weight. The recording paper slips under the presser roller 108 due to gravity and the conveying force of the paper gathering fur brush 103, and is abutted against the abutment plate 106. The ejection tray 10 is pressed by the pressure roller 108.
7 is shifted, the recording paper is prevented from shifting. A paper surface detection sensor SN3 is arranged on the main body side, facing the presser roller 108. When the position of the presser roller 108 rises due to the accumulation of recording paper, the paper surface detection sensor SN3 detects a part of the presser roller support bracket 108a, thereby indicating that the paper surface or the top surface of the ejection tray has reached a specified height. Know. Furthermore, in the vertical movement mechanism, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the ejection tray 107 is
It is fixed to a tray support stand 110. Tray support stand 1
10 is a tray vertical movement table 1 via a bearing 110a.
09 so that it can move back and forth. Therefore, as described above, the shifting operation by the abutment plate 106 can be performed by the tray vertical movement table 109. As also shown in FIG. 8, the tray vertical movement table 10
9 is fixed to a third timing belt 120. The third timing belt 120 is connected to the front and rear side plates 100
They are provided integrally on the outside of the drive pulley 121 and the driven pulley 122, respectively. The vertical drive pulley 121 is fixed to a vertical drive shaft 123 that passes between the side plates, and the vertical drive shaft 123 has a gear 12 that has a built-in one-way clutch.
4 is installed. The one-way clutch is configured to transmit a force in the direction of lifting the ejection tray 107 to the vertical drive shaft 123. The gear 124 is connected to the vertical drive motor M3 via a gear train, a worm wheel 125, a worm 126, and the like. Further, a bearing 127 is attached to the side surface of the vertical movement support base 109, and when it comes into contact with the vertical guide rail 128 fixed to the side plate 100, the rotational moment due to the weight of the vertical movement guide and the discharge tray is generated. This prevents the output tray from falling over. By configuring as described above, the worm 12
6 retention force and one-way clutch lock,
The descent of the discharge tray 107 is stopped. Furthermore, when the vertical drive motor M3 is rotated in the upward direction of the ejection tray 107, the one-way clutch is locked and the pulley 1
21 and 122 rotate, thereby causing the discharge tray 107 to
rises. The vertical movement drive motor M3 is connected to the ejection tray 107.
When the tray 107 is rotated in the downward direction, the one-way clutch becomes free, and the discharge tray 107 moves downward under its own weight.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, an upper limit sensor SN4 and a lower limit sensor SN5 are installed inside the timing belt 120 so as to face the discharge tray 107, and each detects the upper and lower detection plates 129. As a result, the upper and lower limits of the discharge tray 107 are detected. When the ejection tray 107 is lowered, the one-way clutch is in a free state, so the driving force of the vertical drive motor M3 is not transmitted to the ejection tray 107, and the ejection tray 107 is stopped by an external force when it is lowered. Also, troubles such as overloading of the motor and pinching of fingers due to idle rotation of the vertical drive motor M3 are prevented. When the copying operation is started, the shift motor M2 is driven and the crank 113 rotates, so that the abutting plate 106 is moved in the front and rear directions by the crank 113 via the rod 115. 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. When the shift sensor 117 detects the other shift detection plate 118 that is different from the one shift detection plate 118 detected before the start of the shift operation, the signal causes the shift motor M2 to stop, and the shift operation ends. After the shift operation is completed, the vertical drive motor M3 rotates in the tray upward direction, and the ejection tray 10
Raise 7. After the vertical movement starts, a part of the support bracket 108a of the presser roller 108 touches the paper surface detection sensor SN3.
, or when the upper limit sensor SN4 detects the vertical detection plate 129, the vertical movement drive motor M3 is stopped by the signal, and the ejection tray 107 ends to rise. When the paper surface detection sensor SN3 detects the support bracket 108a, the vertical movement drive motor M3 rotates in the tray lowering direction, and when the paper surface detection sensor SN3 no longer detects the support bracket 108a, the vertical movement drive motor M3 stops. do. The recording paper ejected from the main body is conveyed by rollers 101 at the same linear speed as the ejection speed from the main body.
receives. As the recording paper is conveyed, the entrance sensor SN1
When the rear edge of the recording paper is detected, the linear velocity is amplified to a value greater than the ejection speed of the recording paper main body, and the linear velocity is increased to the value of the recording paper after a specified time after the rear edge of the recording paper is detected by the inlet sensor SN1. Return to the main body ejection speed, and then press the ejection tray 107.
The discharge is carried out. The recording paper ejected to the ejection tray 107 slips under the pressing roller 108 due to gravity and the conveying force caused by the rotation of the fur brush 103, and then passes through the abutment plate 1.
06, rear end alignment is performed. 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 one-step shift is completed, shift motor M2 stops. Through this operation, the stacking position of the recording sheets on the ejection tray 107 is changed, and the recording sheets are sorted. When the series of copying operations is completed and the last sheet is ejected, the vertical movement drive motor M3 is rotated in the downward direction in response to the signal, and the operation is completed after the ejection tray 107 has descended by a specified amount. . 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 108a is detected by the paper surface detection sensor SN3, the vertical movement drive motor M3 is rotated in the tray lowering direction based on the signal. Then, the holding force of the worm 126 and the lock of the one-way clutch are released, and the ejection tray 10 is released.
7 descends due to its own weight. When the output tray 107 is lowered and the paper surface is lowered, and a part of the presser roller support bracket 108a is no longer detected by the paper surface detection sensor SN3, the vertical movement drive motor M3 is stopped by that signal, and the holding force of the worm 126 is reduced. Then, the one-way clutch locks and 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/lower detection plate 129 is detected by the lower limit sensor SN5, and further ejection trays 1
07 is prevented from descending.

The stapler moving mechanism in the stapling section II is shown in FIGS. 2, 10, 12, and 13.
As shown, the stapler S is fixed to a stapler stand 31. The stapler stand 31 is engaged with the guide hole 30b of the stapler slider 30 via a guide pin 32 so as to be movable in the direction of FIG. 12l. Further, a shaft 44 is fixed to the back side of the stapler table 31, and a guide roller 34 is rotatably attached to the shaft 44. The upper portion of the stapler slider 30 is
The stapler slider 3 is attached so as to be slidable in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG.
A guide roller 33 attached to the lower portion of the stapler slider 30 is in rolling contact with the surface of the stay 43 on the main body side, thereby locking the stapler slider 30 in the rotational direction. Further, a guide cam 35 is fixed to the stay 43, and the guide roller 34 is in rolling contact with a cam surface formed on the upper end side of the guide cam 35. This allows the stapler slider 30 to reciprocate in the direction of FIG. 11k. At this time, the central portion of the guide cam 35 is formed to be concave downward, and the stapler slider 30 can move along this concave portion. A detection plate 30a is provided at the upper end of the stapler slider 30, and this detection plate 30a blocks the detection part of the home position sensor 40 provided on the main body side, thereby detecting the home position of the stapler S. Shion (HP) is now being detected. A stepping motor 39 for moving the stapler is attached to the side plate 41, and the stapler slider 30 is fixed to an intermediate portion of a belt 38 driven by the stepping motor 39.
The stapler slider 30 can be moved back and forth in the left-right direction in FIG. In the movement mechanism of the gymnasium, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 14, the right slider 7 and the left slider 8 are reciprocally movable on a gymnasium fence rod 9 that is stretched between both side plates 41 and 42. A right gymnasium fence 5 and a left gymnastics fence 6 are fixed to the right slider 7 and left slider 8, respectively. The right journal fence 5 and the left journal fence 6 have a function of aligning a stack of paper during a stapling operation, and extend from the vicinity of the discharge roller 3 to the vicinity of the paper discharge tray 53 to discharge the stapled paper bundle. It functions as a guide member. At the lower ends of the right and left zipper fences 5 and 6, rear end fences 6a, 5a are provided to hold the lower edge of the paper stack during stapling. A belt 10 driven by a yoga fence driving motor 11
The left slider 8 and the right slider 7 are fixed to a midway portion. These left slider 8 and right slider 7
are fixed to different sides of the belt 10, so that the left gymnasium fence 6 and the right gymnastics fence 5 can reciprocate symmetrically in the left-right direction in FIG. 11. A guide roller 15 is attached to the upper back side of the left gymnasium fence 6 and the right gymnasium fence 5, and this guide roller 15 is attached to the side plates 41, 4.
It is in rolling contact with a guide stay 16 that spans over the upper part of 2. The left slider 8 has a detection plate 8a.
is provided, and the home position (HP) of both the above-mentioned gallery fences 6, 5 is detected by shielding the detection part of the home position sensor 14 provided on the main body side with this detection plate 8a. . As shown in FIG. 16, a curl presser 64 is provided at the lower end of the left zipper fence 6 and the right zipper fence 5, thereby suppressing buckling when stacked on the staple tray. The curl presser 64 is made of an elastic member such as polyester film.

In the discharge belt mechanism, FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 15, a drive shaft 24 is attached so as to span over the upper end portions of both side plates 41 and 42, and a drive pulley 18 is fixed approximately at the center of this drive shaft 24. There is. In addition, the drive pulley 18
A fixed pulley 19 is provided in the lower part, and an endless discharge belt 1 is disposed between these pulleys 18 and 19.
7 is crossed. A midway portion of the discharge belt 17 is hung over an idle pulley 47, and is guided by a guide plate 25 disposed inside the belt to prevent deflection and displacement. In addition, the side plate 4
A belt drive motor 22 is fixed to the belt drive motor 1, and a belt 23 is connected between a pulley 21 attached to the output shaft of the belt drive motor 22 and a pulley 20 attached to one end of the drive shaft 24. The belt is stretched across the belt to transmit the driving force. Further, a protruding pawl 46 is provided in the middle of the surface of the discharge belt 17 so as to grasp the paper stack from below. As shown in FIG. 2, a home position sensor 48 for detecting the position of the claw 46 is provided inside the discharge belt 17, and the home position sensor 48 detects the home position of the claw 46 (
HP) is detected. The conveyance speed V2 of the discharge belt 17 is set to be slightly higher than the paper discharge linear velocity V1 of the paper discharge roller 3 (V2 ≧V1), so that the paper stack for the next job is This is designed to prevent the stack from being ejected together with already bound stacks of paper. Each mechanism of such a stapler is constructed to form one unit, and is supported by guide rails 51 and 52 so that it can be pulled out to the front side. As shown in FIG. 2, the paper ejection tray mechanism includes a paper ejection tray 53.
The base of is fixed on the tray stand 54. A guide roller 56 is rotatably attached to the tray stand 54, and when the guide roller 56 engages with a guide rail (not shown), the paper discharge tray 53 can move in the vertical direction together with the tray stand 54. It's becoming like that. Further, the tray stand 54 is biased upward by a lift spring 55. Conveyance rollers 60, 61,
A driving force is transmitted to the conveyance motor 59 through a belt (not shown) to the conveyance motor 62, and a driving force is also transmitted to the discharge roller 3 from the conveyance motor 59 through a belt (not shown). Furthermore, fur brushes 1a and 1b are attached to the rotating shaft 2 of the discharge roller 3, and these fur brushes 1a and 1b are rotationally driven in synchronization with the discharge roller 3. The bristles of the fur brushes 1a and 1b are in contact with guide plates 26 and 27. The guide plates 26 and 27 are provided with protruding ribs 26a and 27a for holding the lower edge of the stapled paper bundle, and protruding ribs 26b and 27b are formed to protrude to the front side. . Therefore, the recording paper is bent toward the back side by the pressing force of the protruding ribs 26b, 27b and the bristles of the fur brushes 1a, 1b, and is deformed into a wave shape, thereby preventing the paper bundle from buckling. It is now possible to have a certain waist.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 16 in particular, the amount L of the upper guide plate 67 of the paper ejection section projects from the center of rotation of the paper ejection roller 3 is set to be larger than the amount L of the paper being fed. , this will prevent the fur brush 1a from being damaged by any chance.
, 1b, even if the recording paper falls between the upper guide plate 67 and the fur brushes 1a and 1b, the fur brush 1
The trailing edge of the recording paper is scraped downward by the bristles a and 1b. The recording paper processing operation will be explained next. First, the stapling operation is selected using the staple key, and the original (
N copies) are set, and the number of copies (K copies) is 10.
When the copy button is pressed after input by the key,
A copy size signal is received from the copying machine main body, and it is determined whether the size can be inserted into 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). If it is not at the home position, it is returned to the home position by the belt drive motor 22. Also, it is detected whether or not the stapler S is at the home position, and if the home position is detected, the stapler S moves to a predetermined location based on the size signal, and the home position must be detected. For example, the stapler S moves until the home position is detected, and after detecting the home position, the stapler S is moved to a predetermined location based on the size signal. Also, it is detected whether or not the gymnasium 5, 6 is at the home position (HP), and if the home position is detected, the gymnastics fence 5, 6 moves to a predetermined location based on the size signal.
6 moves and if the home position is not detected,
The camera fences 5 and 6 move until the home position is detected, and after detecting the home position, move to a predetermined location according to a size signal. The moving location at this time is a position away from the size width by amm on one side and 2am on both sides. When the leading edge of the recording paper is detected by the entrance sensor SN1, the switching guide member 105 is switched to the staple tray by the switching solenoid 230, and guidance is performed. When the trailing edge of the recording paper passes through the entrance sensor SN1, it is fed at high speed. The switching solenoid 230 is turned off after a predetermined time elapses after passing through the entrance sensor SN1, that is, the time until passing through the switching guide member 105. The recording paper is discharged to the staple tray by the discharge roller 3, and when the recording paper is being discharged, the paper discharge section upper guide plate 6
The charge on the recording paper is removed by a charge removal brush 63 fixed to 7. The paper ejection roller 3 has
A collar is provided, which bends the recording paper into a corrugated shape to give it stiffness. When the trailing edge of the recording paper passes through the discharge roller 3, the trailing edge of the recording paper is pushed down by the coaxial fur brushes 1a and 1b, and the trailing edge fence 26a,
27a and rear end fences 5a, 6a provided in the yoga fences 5, 6, so as to abut against them. After a predetermined time has passed after passing through the lower paper ejection sensor 50,
The forward and reverse rotation of the drive motors 11 of the digital cameras 5 and 6, which had been on standby, is repeated once or twice, thereby aligning the recording sheets in the width direction. will be returned to. This paper alignment operation is repeated for each recording paper until a one-job end signal is issued from the copying machine main body. Next, when the end signal for one job is issued and received from the copying machine main body, the above-mentioned operation is executed again, and then the recording paper stack is transferred to the job 5
, 6 in the width direction. Then, the drive motor 223 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 stitching is performed. If one-place stitching is performed, the stitching fences 5 and 6 are moved to a position slightly away from the paper bundle after the binding operation is completed. If two or more places are to be stapled, the stapler movement motor 39 moves the stapler to a predetermined position and performs the stapling operation again. After the stapling operation is performed, the stapler fences 5 and 6 are returned to a position slightly away from the paper bundle. It will be done. At this time, the discharge belt 17 rotates in the direction shown in FIG. 14m, and the claw 46 pushes up the rear end of the recording paper bundle. Further, the drive motor 22 starts counting pulses from the home position of the claw 46, and stops after counting the set number of pulses. The stopping position of the pawl 46 is near the highest point of the drive pulley 18, which is the discharge point of the stack of recording sheets. In this way, the stack of recording sheets is ejected to the ejection tray 53 by the inertial force caused by the uniform movement of the pawl 46, after which the ejection belt 17 rotates again in the same direction and stops when the pawl 46 detects the home position. stand by. It is determined whether or not the last set number of copies (k copies) has been completed. When the set number of copies (k copies) has been completed, the stapler S and the stapler S move to the home position. If the set number of copies has not yet been completed, the above-mentioned operation is executed again. It is becoming more and more common. In such a device, the vertical movement of the output tray 107 is performed either when the power is turned on or at the beginning of the mode, first by changing the output states of the upper limit sensor SN4, lower limit sensor SN5, and paper surface sensor SN3.
The PU checks and determines the current position of the output tray 107. If the upper limit sensor SN4 and the paper surface sensor SN3 are in the on state, the vertical movement drive motor M3 is turned on and the discharge tray 107 is lowered to the point where the paper surface sensor SN3 is turned off. If only the upper limit sensor SN4 is on, nothing is done. When the upper limit sensor SN4, the lower limit sensor SN5, and the paper surface sensor SN3 are all off, the vertical movement drive motor M3 is turned on and the upper limit sensor SN4 or the paper surface sensor S
The discharge tray 107 is raised to the point where N3 is turned on. If paper sensor SN3 is turned on, paper sensor S
It is lowered until N3 turns off. When only the paper surface sensor SN3 is on, the vertical movement drive motor M3 is turned on and the discharge tray 107 is lowered until the paper surface sensor SN3 is turned off. When the lower limit sensor SN5 and the paper surface sensor SN3 are on, it is determined that the recording paper on the ejection tray 107 is full, and a signal indicating that the paper is full is sent to the copying machine main body. Then, the recording paper is removed, and after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the vertical movement drive motor M3 is turned on, and the ejection tray 107 is raised until the upper limit sensor SN4 or the paper surface sensor SN3 is turned on. Paper surface sensor SN
3 is turned on, the output tray 107 is lowered until the paper surface sensor SN3 is turned off.

[0013] When restarting in the same mode,
When the power is turned on, the same operation as when selecting a mode is performed in synchronization with the main unit's copy start signal. During copying and at the end of copying, when the paper surface sensor SN3 is turned on, the vertical movement drive motor M3 is turned on, and the ejection tray 107 is lowered until the paper surface sensor SN3 is turned off. When this operation is repeated and the lower limit sensor SN5 turns on, a signal indicating that the discharge tray 107 is full of recording paper is sent to the main body. If this operation overlaps with a tray shift operation, priority is given to the tray shift operation, and during the shift operation, the tray shift operation is in a standby state and is performed after the shift is completed. After the last paper passes the main body paper ejection sensor 215, a finisher stop signal is sent. When this signal is received, the vertical movement drive motor M3 is turned on after the last paper is ejected to the ejection tray 107. A predetermined amount of discharge tray 107
can be lowered, making it easier to take out copies. Next, when the power is turned on, no shift operation is performed, and when the shift or proof mode is selected and a mode signal is received, the shift motor M2 is turned on and the discharge tray 107 is moved, and when the shift detection sensor 117 is turned on, the shift motor M2 is turned off. be done. This operation causes the output tray 10 to
The paper remaining in 7 and the paper for the new job are sorted. Such an operation is in a standby state while the tray is moving up and down, and is performed after the up and down movement is completed. By doing this, even if the recording paper remains on the discharge tray 107, the recording paper is held down by the pressing roller 108, and the recording paper is prevented from shifting during shifting. When copying and at the end of copying, the last paper in the copy set is detected by the main body paper ejection sensor 21.
5, a shift signal is transmitted, the finisher receives this signal, the trailing edge of the last sheet passes over the sheet discharge sensor SN2, and after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, it turns on the shift motor M2.
A shift operation is started. When shift detection sensor 117 is turned on, shift motor M2 is turned off. The above operation has priority over the tray up and down movement, and during the shift operation, the tray up and down movement is in a standby state, and after the shift is completed, the tray up and down movement is performed. This prevents the paper from shifting due to shifting. When a restart is performed in the same mode, no shift operation is performed at the start of copying, and during copying, the same operation as during copying is performed. Next, I will explain the yoga pose movement. First, when the power is turned on and a mode is selected, the CPU checks the output states of the jogger home position sensor 14 and the tray paper presence/absence sensor 205, and executes the following operations. If only the camera home position sensor 14 is on, nothing is done. If the tray paper presence sensor 205 is on,
A signal indicating that recording paper remains in the staple tray is sent to the main unit. Jiyogar home position sensor 14
When the tray paper presence/absence sensor 205 is off, the jogger drive motor 11 is turned on and the jogger fences 5 and 6 move toward the home position, and when the jogger home position sensor 14 is turned on, the jogger drive motor is turned on. 11 is turned off. During copying, when copying ends, and when copying is restarted, when a paper size signal is received after the main body starts copying, the mirror drive motor 11 is turned on and the mirror fences 5 and 6 are moved by a predetermined amount before the paper width size. Stop at the position and wait. When a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the paper passes through the paper ejection sensor 50,
When the jogger drive motor 11 is turned on, the jogger fences 5 and 6 in the standby position are moved to perform paper alignment, and then returned to the standby position again. At this time, the jogger drive motor 11 repeats forward and reverse rotation once to several times, thereby causing the jogger fences 5 and 6 to align the sheets in the width direction. Such an operation is performed every time recording paper is discharged onto the staple tray. When the last sheet of the copy set passes through the main body sheet ejection sensor 215, a staple signal is transmitted, and upon receiving this signal, the last sheet is ejected to the staple tray, and after the above paper alignment operation is performed,
The yoga fences 5 and 6 move to positions where they press the paper in the width direction and stop. When the stapling operation is completed, the stapler fences 5 and 6 move to a position slightly away from both ends of the paper in the width direction. The sheaf of recording paper is then discharged onto a paper discharge tray 53 by the discharge belt 17 . By doing this, the sheets are prevented from shifting during stapling, and the jogging fences 5 and 6 are used as guides in the width direction when discharging the stack of recording sheets.

The above-described operations are repeated for the number of copies to be made, and when the final stack of recording sheets is ejected onto the paper output tray 53, the jogger drive motor 11 is turned on, and the jogger fences 5 and 6 are moved to the home position. When the camera moves in the direction and the camera home position sensor 14 turns on,
The jogger drive motor 11 is turned off. When the power is turned on and when a mode is selected for stapler operation, the CPU checks the output states of the one-rotation sensor 210, the staple presence/absence sensor 211, and the stapler home sensor 212, and the following operations are executed. If the tray discharge sensor 205 is on when the one-rotation sensor 210 is off, it is determined that there is a stapling failure, and a stapler abnormality signal is sent to the main body. When the staple presence/absence sensor 211 is in the OFF state, a staple no-absence signal is transmitted to the main body. If stapler home sensor 40 is on, nothing is done. If the stapler home sensor 40 is off, 1
If the rotation sensor 210 is on, the stapler moving motor 39 is turned on and the stapler S moves toward the home position. When the stapler home sensor 40 is turned on, the stapler moving motor 39 is turned off. If the one-rotation sensor 210 is off, it is determined that a stapling error or jam processing has been performed, and the printer waits in that state. When the one-rotation sensor 210 is turned on by human processing, the stapler movement motor 39 is turned on, and after the stapler moves toward the home position and the stapler home sensor 40 is turned on, the stapler movement motor 39 is turned off. It's summery. During copying, at the end of copying, and at the time of restarting copying, when a paper size signal is received after the main body starts copying, the stapler movement motor 39 is turned on and the stapler S is moved by a predetermined amount to a position matching the paper size. Next, after the last sheet of the copy set passes the main body paper ejection sensor 215, a staple on signal is transmitted from the main body, and when that signal is received, the last paper is ejected onto the staple tray, and the printer When both ends of the bundle in the width direction are pressed, the staple motor 223 is turned on to perform a stapling operation, and when the one-rotation sensor 210 is turned on, the staple motor 223 is turned off. In the case of the two-place binding mode, the stapler moving motor 39 is turned on, and when the stapler S has moved a predetermined amount according to the paper size, the stapler moving motor 39 is turned on.
is turned off, and the second stapling operation is performed. When such a stapling operation is repeated for the number of copies and the final stack of recording paper is stapled, the stapler movement motor 39 is turned on, the stapler S moves toward the home position, and when the stapler home sensor 40 is turned on, Stapler movement motor 39 is turned off.

Next, the operation of the discharge belt will be explained. When the power is turned on and when a mode is selected, the CPU checks the output states of the belt home sensor 48, the tray discharge sensor 205, and the one-rotation sensor 210, and performs the next operation. If the belt home sensor 48 is on and the tray discharge sensor 205 is off, nothing is done. If both the belt home sensor 48 and the tray ejection sensor 205 are off, it is determined that the ejection belt 17 has not returned to the home position, and the belt drive motor 22 is turned on, the ejection belt 17 operates, and the belt drive motor 22 is turned on. Home sensor 48
When turned on, the belt drive motor 22 is turned off. When the belt home sensor 48 is off, the tray paper ejection presence sensor 20
5 is on, it is determined that there is a failure in ejection, and a signal is sent to the main body of the copying machine to remove the stack of recording sheets on the staple tray. After the recording paper stack is removed, the belt drive motor 22 is turned on to operate the discharge belt 17, and when the belt home sensor 48 is turned on, the belt drive motor 22 is turned off. When copying and at the end of copying,
When the last sheet of the copy set is discharged onto the staple tray and the stapler S performs a binding operation on the stack of recording sheets, the one-rotation sensor 210 is turned on, confirming that the staple has been properly stapled. Then the belt drive motor 22
is turned on, the discharge belt 17 is operated, and the stapled stack of recording sheets is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 53. When the belt home sensor 48 is turned on, the belt drive motor 22 is turned off. Such operations are repeated for the number of copies. In the shift tray system of the transport system, a finisher start signal is sent when the copying machine starts copying, so when that signal is received, the transport motor 220 is turned on and the low speed operation is reduced to the main body linear speed. is done at the same speed. When the recording paper is ejected from the main body and the entrance sensor SN1 is turned on, a timer is set and it is monitored whether the recording paper passes the entrance sensor SN1 within a predetermined time, and a jam is detected. When the trailing edge of the recording paper passes through the entrance sensor SN1 and the entrance sensor SN1 is turned off, the transport motor 220 is switched to high-speed operation and the transport speed is increased. A timer is also set, and jam detection is performed by monitoring whether the leading edge of the recording paper turns on the discharge sensor SN2 within a predetermined time. After passing the entrance sensor SN1, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the conveyance motor 220 is returned to low-speed operation in preparation for carrying in the next recording sheet. When the paper discharge sensor SN2 detects recording paper and turns on, a timer is set and a jam is detected by monitoring whether the recording paper passes within a predetermined time. By repeating these operations, in the shift tray mode, a shift signal is received and the last sheet of the copy set is detected by the sheet discharge sensor SN2.
A shift OK signal is output after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after passing through, and the timing for performing the shift operation is measured. When the final recording paper is ejected from the main body, a finisher stop signal is sent, so this signal is received, and the transport motor 220 is turned off after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the final recording paper has passed the ejection sensor SN2. be done.

Next, in the staple tray system, when the main body of the copying machine starts copying, a finisher start signal is transmitted, so when that signal is received, the transport motor 220 is turned on, and the low speed operation is reduced to the linear speed of the main body. is done at the same speed. When the recording paper is ejected from the main body and the entrance sensor SN1 is turned on, the switching solenoid 230 and the lower conveyance motor 226 are turned on at low speed, a timer is set, and it is checked whether the recording paper passes the entrance sensor SN1 within a predetermined time. Monitoring is performed to detect jams. When the trailing edge of the recording paper passes through the entrance sensor SN1, the entrance sensor SN1 is turned off, and a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the lower transport motor 226 is switched to high-speed operation and the transport speed is increased. Jam detection is also performed by setting a timer and monitoring whether the leading edge of the recording paper turns on the lower paper discharge sensor 50 within a predetermined time. When a predetermined time has elapsed after the trailing edge of the recording paper passes the entrance sensor SN1, the switching solenoid 230 is turned off. When the lower sheet discharge sensor 50 detects recording paper and turns on, a timer is set and a jam is detected by monitoring whether the recording paper passes within a predetermined time. When a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the recording paper passes the lower paper discharge sensor 50, the lower conveyance motor 226 is switched to low speed operation. After repeating this operation and receiving the staple signal,
After a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the last sheet of the copy set passes the lower sheet discharge sensor 50, a paper aligning operation is performed using a mirror effect, and then the timing at which a stapling operation is performed is measured. When the final recording paper is ejected from the main body, a finisher stop signal is sent, so when that signal is received, the final recording paper passes the ejection sensor 50.
After a predetermined time has elapsed, the transport motor 220 and the lower transport motor 226 are turned off. Further, as shown in FIG. 17, the CPU on the copying machine side and the CPU on the finisher side are connected by an optical fiber. In the shift tray section of the finisher, a transport motor 1002 is connected to a CPU 1000 via a servo control circuit 1001, an up/down motor 1004 is connected via a forward/reverse driver circuit 1003, and a forward/reverse driver circuit. A shift motor 1006 is connected via 1005. Furthermore, signals from various sensors and various switches 1007 are input to the CPU 1000. Furthermore, the CPU 1000 is connected to the staple section via an interface (I/O) 1020. And the above interface 10
20, the staple unit 1008 controls the transport motor 1011 via the servo control circuit 1009, the discharge motor 1013 via the servo control circuit 1012, the jogger motor 1015 via the stepping control motor control circuit 1014, and the stepping motor control circuit 1
Stapler movement motors 1017 are connected through 016, respectively. Furthermore, the above interface 1
Signals from various sensors and various switches 1018 are input to 020.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the ejection belt section according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the claw 46 is fastened to the ejection belt 17 with one screw 301.
A rotation stopper member 300 is attached to. In addition,
47c is a relief part of the idle pulley 47.

FIG. 18 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main part of the discharge belt shown in FIG.
0a and 300b are inserted through the pawl 46 and the discharge belt 17, and the rotation stopper 300, the pawl 46, and the discharge belt 17 are firmly pressed and held by the screw 301 and the nut 302. This can prevent the pawl 46 from rotating around the screw 301. Note that 46a is a recording paper bundle end locking surface against which the end of the recording paper bundle is abutted and scooped up.

FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of the main parts of the discharge belt section, and the claw 46 has two legs 3 of the rotation stopper 300.
Fitting holes 46b and 46d into which the screws 00a and 300b are fitted and a threaded hole 46c into which the screw 301 is fitted are formed, and fitting holes 17a and 17c and a threaded hole 17b are similarly formed in the discharge belt 17. There is. On the other hand, the rotation stopper 30
0 also has a screw hole 300c formed in the center. In addition,
Fitting holes 17a and 17c of discharge belt 17 and screw hole 1
7b is a discharge belt 1 which is a timing belt;
It is located in the valley of No.7. Note that even if the claws 46 themselves are formed with leg pieces corresponding to the leg pieces 300a and 300b and fitted into the fitting holes 17a and 17c of the discharge belt 17, the claws 46
The function of preventing rotation is fulfilled.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing the situation when the pawl 46 passes through the fixed pulley 19, and the fastening position of the screw 301 is closer to the ejection belt 17 than the recording paper bundle end locking surface 46a. Since it is placed upward in the rotational direction (direction of arrow m), the amount of escape when moving the stapler while letting it escape downward can be reduced. Note that P is a stack of recording paper.

FIG. 21 shows the configuration of the pulleys 18, 19, 47, and here the idler pulley 4 is shown as a representative.
7 is shown, but the others are the same. In the figure, 47a, 4
Reference numeral 7b is a flange portion that guides the ejection belt 17, and 47c is a relief portion, as described above, so as not to come into contact with the leg pieces 300a, 300b and the nut 302.

[0022]

Effects of the Invention According to the invention described in claims 1 and 3,
For example, the positional deviation prevention means constituted by a rotation stopper can prevent the pawl from misaligning with respect to the ejection belt, so that the sheet stack can be conveyed with high reliability by the pawl. According to the second aspect of the invention, by arranging the position of the screw that fastens the claw and the ejection belt above the end locking surface of the recording paper bundle, the pulley near the position where the recording paper bundle is scooped up is moved upward. In addition to the above-mentioned effects, since the stapler can be moved downward, the amount of escape can be reduced, and the stapler moving mechanism can be simplified and space saved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a discharge belt section according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory side view showing the overall configuration of a finisher to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a discharge section to a discharge tray.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory plan view showing a tray fitting state in the tray shift swing mechanism.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory plan view showing a drive system of the tray shift swing mechanism.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view showing the drive system of the tray shift swing mechanism.

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing a paper ejection holding mechanism.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory side view of the paper ejection tray up and down mechanism.

FIG. 9 is an external perspective view of the paper ejection tray up and down mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view showing the general structure of a paper discharge processing system.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory front view showing a schematic configuration of a staple portion.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory bottom view showing a schematic configuration of the staple portion.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory side view showing a stapler mounting structure.

FIG. 14 is an external perspective view of the ejection device.

15 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 11. FIG.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged side view of the staple discharge section.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a control system for implementing the present invention.

18 is a vertical sectional view of a main part of the discharge belt section shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

19 is an exploded perspective view of the discharge belt section shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing the state before and after the pawl passes the fixed pulley.

FIG. 21 is a front view showing the configuration of a pulley.

[Explanation of symbols]

17 Emission belt 18 Drive pulley 19 Fixed pulley 46 Claws 46a Recording paper stack end locking surface 47 Idler pulley 300 Rotation stopper member 300a, 300b leg pieces 301 screw

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A stapling mechanism unit that aligns and staples recording sheets ejected from an image forming apparatus, and a discharge belt that locks a stack of recording sheets stapled by the stapling mechanism unit in a claw and discharges them to a paper output tray. What is claimed is: 1. A recording paper post-processing device comprising: a means for preventing displacement of said pawl, which is attached to said ejection belt with a screw; 2. The recording paper post-processing device according to claim 1, wherein the fastening position of the screw is above the recording paper bundle end end locking surface of the pawl in the rotational direction of the ejection belt. 3. In claim 1, the displacement prevention means comprises a rotation stopper member having a threaded hole in the center and leg pieces at both ends that are inserted and locked into the claw and the discharge belt. A recording paper post-processing device characterized in that: