JPH0459562A - Sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To bend a guide rail, to contact closely an exhaust roller and a guide belt securely, and to convey sheets securely, by providing the center of an energizing roller at the downstream side in the conveying direction from the center of the exhaust roller. CONSTITUTION:Sheets being fed are conveyed in the up and down direction by a guide belt 34 and exhaust rollers 35 by receiving an energizing force to the guide belt 34 from energizing rollers 47. And they are guided to a random sheet receiver 30b side by the function of a sort claw 36 corresponding to a random guide receiver, and housed in a specific sheet receiver 30b. In this case, the center of the energizing roller 47 provided corresponding to each exhaust roller 35 is provided at the downstream side in the conveying direction of sheets from the center of the exhaust roller 35. As a result, the guide belt 34 is bent and pressed strongly to the exhaust roller 35 side. Consequently, the sheets are held between the exhaust roller 35 and the guide belt 34 securely in the exhausting, and a secure sheet conveying can be carried out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a sorter, and more particularly to a sorter for distributing and storing fed sheets.

[Conventional technology]

For example, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine is sometimes equipped with a sorter for distributing and storing sheets that have been subjected to image forming processing. This sorter generally includes a plurality of paper trays disposed at intervals in the vertical direction, a plurality of discharge rollers disposed at the bases of the paper trays, and a guide heald extending vertically while facing the discharge rollers. Any paper receiver is provided with a plurality of sorting claws for orienting the paper sheets conveyed by the guide belt to the side. In this sorter, sheets supplied from the image forming apparatus are first conveyed in the vertical direction between a guide belt and a discharge roller. Then, the paper is guided to an arbitrary paper receiving side by the action of the sorting claw, and the paper receiving side is stored thereon.

In such a paper conveyance operation, it is necessary to ensure pressure contact between the guide belt and the conveyance roller.

Therefore, a biasing roller is provided for biasing the guide belt toward each discharge L1-L side. These 1-=J rollers keep the respective discharge rollers in pressure contact with the guide belt, and the paper is conveyed while being held between the discharge rollers and the guide belt.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional sorter, the center axis of each discharge roller and the center axis of the corresponding urging roller are provided at the same height. Therefore, when transporting paper, the guide bell l
The biasing force of the biasing roller against the discharge roller is weak, making it difficult to ensure that the discharge roller and guide belt come into close contact with each other. For this reason, a gap is likely to occur between the ejection roller and the guide heald, leading to diagonal conveyance of the paper and poor ejection.

An object of the present invention is to use a simple configuration to ensure that the guide belt is in close contact with the discharge roller side of the guide belt by the rollers.
The object of the present invention is to provide a sorter that can reliably transport paper.

[Means to solve the problem]

The sorter according to the present invention is a sorter for distributing and storing supplied sheets. This sorter includes a plurality of paper receivers, a plurality of υ1 output rollers, a guide belt, a plurality of urging rollers, and a plurality of sorting claws.

The paper receivers are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. The discharge rollers are for feeding the paper to the paper receiver, and are arranged at the base of the paper receiver. The guide bell l- is for guiding the paper vertically between the paper and the discharge roller, and extends vertically while facing the discharge roller. The biasing roller is provided corresponding to the discharge roller, is a roller for biasing the guide belt toward the discharge roller, and is disposed downstream of the center of the discharge roller in the paper conveyance direction. . The sorting claws are for guiding the paper vertically guided by the guide belt to an arbitrary paper receiving side, and are respectively arranged at the base of the paper receiving side.

[Effect]

In the sorter according to the present invention, the supplied paper is conveyed in the vertical direction by the guide belt and the discharge roller due to the urging force applied to the guide belt by the urging roller. Then, by the action of the sorting claw corresponding to an arbitrary guide receiver, the paper is guided to the side of a certain arbitrary paper receiver and is stored in a predetermined paper receiver.

is also arranged on the downstream side in the paper conveyance direction. This causes the guide belt to bend and be strongly pressed toward the discharge roller. As a result, the paper is reliably held between the ejection roller and the guide belt during ejection, and the paper can be transported reliably.

〔Example〕

No. 1M shows an example of a copying machine employing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a document table 2 is fixed to the upper surface of a copying machine main body 1, and a document presser 3 that can be opened and closed is arranged on the document table 2. As shown in FIG. On the right side of the copying machine main body 1, a bypass tray 4 and a pair of paper feed power centers 5.6 are detachably mounted 1. A sorter 7 as an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on the left side of the main body 1 of the copying machine.

Inside the main body 1 of the copying machine, an exposure device 8 for reading a document is provided in the rear section.

This exposure device 8 is composed of a light source, a mirror, a lens, etc. Further, a photosensitive drum 9 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed is arranged in the center of the copying machine main body 1. Around the photoreceptor drum 9, there are a main charging device 10 that charges the photoreceptor drum 9 to a predetermined charge, a developing device IL that develops an electrostatic latent image, a transfer device 12 that transfers a toner image onto paper, and a photoreceptor drum J. - A paper separating device 13 that separates paper from the photosensitive drum 9 and a cleaning device 14 that removes residual toner on the photosensitive drum 9 are arranged.

Between the bypass l-ray 4, the paper feed cassette 5.6, and the image forming section constituted by the photosensitive drum 9, etc., and on the downstream side of the image forming section, there are paper feed conveyance paths for conveying paper. 17 and a paper discharge conveyance path 18 are provided. At the end of the paper feed cassette 5゜6 on the paper feed conveyance path 17 side, there is a
Paper feed rollers 16a and 16b are provided for feeding the sheets in the paper feed cassette 56 one by one to the paper feed conveyance path 17 side.

Further, a fixing device 20 for fixing the transferred image on the transported paper is provided between the paper discharge transport path 1 and the sorter 7.
and a discharge roller 19 for discharging the fixed paper to the sorter 7 side.

The sorter 7 has a carry-in path 29 for receiving sheets from the discharge roller 19, and a plurality of (
For example, 11 sheets) paper trays 30a and 30b, the carry-in path 29, and the paper tray 30a.

30b. Of the paper receivers 30a and 30b, the non-sort paper receiver 30a is disposed at the rear end, and the sort paper receiver 30b is disposed below it.

As shown in FIG. 2, the distribution mechanism 31 includes a pair of large rollers 32 and 33 arranged one above the other. The lower large roller 33 can be connected to a drive source (not shown).

A guide belt 34 is wrapped around both of the rollers 32 and 33. On the other hand, a plurality of discharge rollers 3 corresponding to each paper receiver 30b are provided at the base of the saw I/paper receiver 30b.
5 is placed. Each discharge roller 35 is in pressure contact with the surface of the guide belt 34 on the paper receiver 30b side. This discharge roller 35 is supported by the case 7a of the sorter 7 so that it can only rotate freely. As shown in FIG. 3, sorting claws 36 are arranged below each discharge roller 35, respectively. Each sorting claw 36 is connected to a solenoid mechanism (not shown) that can operate independently.
It is possible to switch between a sorting position such as the saw I/claw 36 at one end of the rotation and a non-sorting position such as the sorting pawl 3G below it. In addition, each pair of ejection rollers 35 and sorting claws 36 and the corresponding paper receiver 3
An opening 37 through which the paper passes is formed in the wall surface 7b between the opening 37 and the wall 7b.

On the inner peripheral side of the guide belt 34, a pair of upper and lower guide holders 40 (as shown in FIG. 2, and a pair of left and right guide holders 40 as shown in FIG. 4) are arranged. This guide holder 40 is
It is a member made of sheet metal. The back of the guide holder 40 (second
A biasing mechanism 41 is arranged on the right side of the figure. Four biasing mechanisms 41 are provided at both upper and lower ends and at both left and right ends of each guide holder 40. As shown in FIG. 4, the biasing mechanism 41 is attached to a stay 42 extending in the horizontal direction and having both ends fixed to the case 7a. One end of a stud pin 43 of the biasing mechanism 41 is fixed to the stay 42 . The stud bin 43 projects horizontally from the stay 42 in a perpendicular direction and has a head portion at its tip. Further, the intermediate portion of the stand bin 43 is slidably inserted into holes 44 provided on both sides of the guide holder 40. A coil spring 45 is mounted in a compressed state on the stand bin 43 between the guide holder 40 and the stay 42. With this coil spring 45,
The guide holder 40 is always urged toward the discharge roller 35 side. The guide holder 40 has holes 44 on both sides thereof.
The roller accommodating portion 46 has a roller accommodating portion 46.

Inside the roller storage section 46, there is a guide roller (biasing roller) 4 that faces the discharge roller 35 via the guide belt 34.
7 is placed. A center shaft 48 of the guide roller 47 is rotatably supported by the guide holder 40. As shown in FIG. 5, the guide roller 47 is arranged so that its center 0a is below the center 01 of the discharge roller 35. Here, the distance from the center position of the discharge roller 35 to the center position of the guide roller 47 is α, and the distance between the guide belt 34 and the discharge roller 35 or the guide roller 47 is α.
Let β be the distance between each point of contact with .

The distance α in this case is preferably 3 to 10 mm, more preferably 5 to 8 mm, and even more preferably 6 to 7 mm.

As a result, the guide roller 47 is disposed at a position moved by a distance β to the left of the right end of the discharge roller 35, and the guide belt 34 is bent in an S-shape. This ensures that the guide belt 34 is in close contact with the discharge roller 35.

As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of ejection rollers 51 are arranged in an opening 50 for passing the paper, which is arranged above the base of the non-sort paper receiver 30a. Between the discharge roller 51 and the carry-in path 29, there is a contact roller 52 that contacts the upper surface of the large roller 32 via a guide belt 34.
and a branching claw 53 for sorting the conveyance direction of the paper. The branching pawl 53 is connected to a solenoid mechanism (not shown), and can be used in both the conveying posture towards the sort paper receiver 30b shown in FIG. 2 and the non-sort paper receiver 30a.
The posture can be switched between a side transport posture (not shown).

Note that a guide plate 54 is provided below the branch claw 53 and extends toward the discharge roller 35 side with a slight gap from the guide belt 34 . Also, the lowest discharge roller 3
The saw 1 to claw corresponding to 5 are not provided, and a fixed guide plate 55 is provided instead.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

In the copying machine shown in FIG. 1, when the copying operation is started,
Paper is supplied to the transfer device 12 from a selected one of the bypass tray 4 and the single paper feed cassette 5-6. On the other hand, the original placed on the original platen 2 is scanned by the exposure device 8, and image information of the original is formed on the photoreceptor drum 9 as an electrostatic latent image. The formed electrostatic latent image is transferred to the developing device 1.
1, and the obtained toner image is transferred to the transfer device 1.
2 onto the paper. The paper onto which the image has been transferred is subjected to a fixing process by the fixing device 20, and then introduced into the carry-in path 29 of the sorter 7.

Here, if the non-sort mode is set, the branch claw 53 of the sorter 7 in FIG.
It is rotated to the side.

Therefore, the paper is transferred from the carry-in path 29 to the discharge roller 51.
and is placed on the paper receiver 30a through the opening 50.

On the other hand, when the sorting mode is set, the branching claws 53 of the sorter 7 are arranged in the attitude shown in FIG. As a result, the paper is conveyed from the carry-in path 29, passing below the branching claw 53, passing between the guide plate 54 and the guide belt 34, and moving downward. At this time, the guide belt 34 is circulating in the direction of arrow X by driving the large roller 33.

Here, since the guide roller 47 is elastically urged toward the discharge roller 35 by the urging mechanism 41, the guide belt 34. The discharge roller 35 and the guide roller 47 are in pressure contact with each other. Therefore, when the guide belt 34 circulates, the discharge roller 35 and the guide roller 47 also rotate accordingly. As a result, the paper is conveyed downward by the driving force of the guide belt 34.

When the first sheet is guided and conveyed by the guide belt 34, the uppermost sorting claw 36 is in a position tilted toward the guide holder 40 as shown in FIG. As a result, the paper is conveyed while being held between the guide belt 34 and the discharge roller 35, and at the same time is guided toward the paper receiver 30b along the upper surface of the sorting claw 36. As a result, the paper passes through the opening 37 and is stored in the uppermost paper receiver 30b. When the next sheet of paper is conveyed, the uppermost sorting claw 36 assumes a retracted position, and the second sorting claw 36 assumes a tilted position toward the guide holder 40 side. As a result, the paper is stored in the second paper receiver 30b. In this way, the sorting claws 36 are switched one after another according to the number of sheets to be sorted, and the sheets are stored in a distributed state in the sorting sheet receptacle 30b.

In the above embodiment, the center of the guide roller 47 is 0.
is the center of the discharge roller 35 0. 5, the guide belt 34 is bent in an S-shape as shown in FIG. 5, and the discharge roller 35 and the guide belt 34 are securely brought into close contact with each other. That is, the biasing force of the guide roller 47 becomes stronger, and the guide belt 40 and the discharge roller 35 are brought into close contact with each other. As a result, conveyance defects such as diagonal conveyance and ejection failure are less likely to occur, and efficient paper conveyance can be achieved. At this time, in order to ensure close contact between the ejection roller and the guide bell, it may be possible to arrange the urging roller so that the center is above the center of the ejection roller, but in this case, The leading edge of the transported paper may come into contact with the ejection roller, causing the paper to bend, making it difficult to stably transport the paper.

[Other Examples]

In the embodiment described above, the biasing roller is provided in the unitized biasing mechanism 41, but the present invention can be similarly applied to a unitized biasing mechanism 41.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In the sorter according to the present invention, the center of the urging roller is disposed downstream of the center of the discharge roller in the paper conveyance direction. As a result, the guide belt is bent, and the discharge roller and the guide bell are securely brought into close contact with each other. For this reason, it becomes possible to carry out efficient paper conveyance operation with a simple configuration.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a reduced section of a copying machine in which an embodiment of the present invention is adopted, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a joint section of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the same. A diagram corresponding to the III-III cross section in Figure 4, Figure 4 is an rV-IV cross section in Figure 3,
The fifth leap is an enlarged partial view of FIG. 7... Sorter 30b... Paper tray, 34...
Guide belt, 35... Discharge roller, 36... Sorting claw, 40... Guide holder 41... Biasing mechanism, 47... Guide roller. Patent applicant Yukio Ono, agent of Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd., patent attorney

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A sorter for distributing and storing supplied paper, comprising a plurality of paper trays arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, and a sorter disposed at the base of each paper tray for storing the paper. a plurality of ejection rollers for feeding the paper to the paper receiver; a guide belt that extends vertically while facing the ejection rollers and guides the paper in the vertical direction between the ejection rollers; and a guide belt corresponding to each of the ejection rollers. a plurality of urging rollers for urging the guide belt toward the ejection roller, the center of which is disposed downstream of the center of the ejection roller in the sheet conveyance direction; A sorter comprising: a plurality of sorting claws each disposed at a base of a paper receiver for guiding the paper vertically guided by the guide belt to an arbitrary paper receiving side.