JPH05105311A - Paper sheet after-processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve usability and jam processability by providing a tray among plural interruption trays adjacent to a paper discharging port of an image forming device. CONSTITUTION:A device is equipped with plural pins for classifying paper sheets discharged from a copying machine main body, and two or more interuption trays 125, and one of those interuption trays is provided adjacent to a paper sheet discharging port of the copying machine main body. When integrated inlet port guide plates 113, 114 are positioned at the upper side, the paper sheets discharged by discharging rollers 111, 112 of the copying machine main body are guided by a skew unit, and when the guide plates 113, 114 are positioned at the lower side, the inlet guide plate 114 and a first tray 115 constitutes an interuption tray 125 so as to discharge the paper sheet to outside of the equipment. When jam is caused in an after-processing device during paper carriage, the inlet port guide plates 113, 114 are immediately changed over to the lower side so as to discharge the inside paper in the copying machine main body. This changeover can be performed from both the after- processing device side and the copying machine main body side, and even with manual operation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a post-processing apparatus for post-processing paper sheets on which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine by sorting, collating, or stapling. The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing device having a plurality of interrupt trays.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a sheet post-processing apparatus, there is a sorting apparatus equipped with a deflector for changing the direction of sheets and an interrupt tray.
The sorting device that sorts the sheets includes a bin that sorts and stutters the sheets, a tray that can stack a large amount, and a tray that discharges the internal sheets in the image forming apparatus when a jam occurs in the sorting device. is necessary. At present, the same tray as the tray that can stack a large amount is used as a tray for discharging the internal paper. One of the techniques of this type is the technique described in JP-A-56-78763. In this technology, the tip is connected to the recording device, and
When the first switching position is set, the upper plate, which is a receiving surface of the main discharge tray provided on the income section conveying device and receives a part of the weight of the recording paper, can be integrally linked with the upper plate. And a lower plate that cooperates with the upper plate when the upper plate is placed in the second switching position so as to direct the recording paper to the revenue section transporting device. The user is informed that switching is impossible. In addition, a rising portion rising from the tip is provided as an end fence on this upper plate.

[0003]

By the way, if the same tray is used in this way, in this conventional example, when a large number of sheets are stacked, it is necessary to remove the stacked sheets, and the image forming apparatus. For example, since the ejecting position of the copying machine is lower than the upper surface of the copying machine, it is necessary to bend to pick up the paper. In addition, in the case where the entrance of the post-processing device has a transfer path switching claw and two transfer paths of an interrupt tray and a sorting bin, the interrupt tray is not provided at the same height as the upper surface of the copying machine. Possible, but
Jam is likely to occur at the entrance switching claws. in this case,
For the jam processing, the sorting device can be removed from the copying machine and the guide plate and the switching claw can be opened, but the mechanism becomes complicated and the cost becomes high.

The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances of the prior art as described above, and an object thereof is to provide a sheet post-processing apparatus which is easy for a user to use when using an interruption tray and which is easy for jamming. To provide.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, a first means is a sheet post-processing apparatus for sorting sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus, and a plurality of bins for sorting and image forming. The apparatus is provided with at least a tray provided adjacent to the discharge port of the image-formed sheet of paper, and with switching means for switching the destination of the paper discharged from the discharge port to the bin or the tray. It is configured.

In the second means, the tip of the tray in the first means on the paper receiving side is shaped so as to face the case surface which accommodates the apparatus main body in which the discharge port of the image forming apparatus is formed. Is formed.

The third means is provided with means for discharging the paper to the tray in the first means in accordance with an instruction from the image forming apparatus main body.

The fourth means is provided with means capable of manually switching the switching means in the first means.

[0009]

According to the first means, the sheet is switched between the tray provided adjacent to the sheet discharge port and the sorting bin by the switching means.

According to the second means, the tip of the tray on the paper receiving side is shaped so as to face the case surface in which the device body of the image forming apparatus in which the discharge port is formed is housed. Since it is formed, the trays can be switched in a shorter time. This makes it possible to prevent the so-called end fence from interfering with the discharge of paper and to prevent jamming in the tray portion.

Further, according to the third means, even if the sheet post-processing device is down, the switching of trays can be performed by instructing from the image forming device side.

It can be done.

Further, according to the fourth means, in the worst case, the tray switching can be performed manually.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a front view of the entire sorter / stapler and a combined (two) system showing an embodiment of the present invention.

A sheet (paper, OHP, film, second base paper, etc .: collectively referred to as paper hereinafter) discharged from a not-shown copier (hereinafter referred to as a copier body) which is an example of an apparatus copier body. Is ejected to the bin tray of the sorter / stapler according to the bin / tray data instructed by the copier / copier body, based on the mode and number of copies instructed by the user on the copier / copier body not shown. To be done. Further, if necessary, post-processing such as stapling instructed by the copying machine main body is performed.

The structure of the sorter / stapler is roughly divided into a slant portion 100 for slanting the paper discharged from the main body of the copying machine with reference to the center, using the end surface as a reference, or discharging the paper to the interrupt tray 125 as it is. A sorter / stapler unit 800 that receives paper ejected from the inclined portion 100 based on the end face and ejects it to a proof tray, sorts and stacks it, aligns the paper, and staples it.
Composed of.

Looking at each section by unit, the slanting section 100 is composed of an interrupt tray unit 110 for directly discharging the paper discharged from the copying machine main body to the interrupt tray 125 and a slanting unit 130 for slanting the paper. Composed.

Further, the sorter / stapler unit 800 vertically conveys the paper from the horizontal conveyance unit 200 and the horizontal conveyance unit 200 which carries in the paper from the slant portion 100 into the machine, and sorts and stacks the paper on the bin 350. The distribution unit 300 and the distribution unit 300 in the paper transport path.
, A fence unit (not shown) that sets the side fence axis according to the paper size, the Ji yoga unit 500 that aligns the paper on the bin 350, and the aligned paper on the bin 350. The staple unit 600 staples the bundle.
Further, the stapling unit 600 uses the paper bundle in the bin 35.
0 from the top to the stapler, staple it, and then bottle 350
And a stapler 601 for stapling a bundle of sheets.

There is also a connecting unit 700 for connecting the upstream sorter / stapler unit 800 and the downstream sorter / stapler unit 800 when a system of 20 bins or more is formed by connecting the sorter / stapler units 800 in a plurality of stages.

The slanted portion 100 is attached to the main body of the copying machine, and the sorter / stapler portion 800 is configured to be docked thereto. Further, in order to simplify the work at the time of attaching the main body of the inclined portion 100 to the copying machine and at the time of docking the sorter / stapler portion 800, all the work can be performed from the front of the machine, and the installation at the user's place. Is easy (no need to move the docking system to attach it to a wall after docking).

Oblique part 100 / sorter / stapler part 80
The drive related to the conveyance of paper of 0 is the main motor 313.
(AC motor) allows each timing pulley
It is performed by transmitting a driving force to each of the transport rollers via the timing belt. The paper conveyance speed is higher than the discharge speed of the main body of the copying machine in the inclined portion 100 (in the present embodiment, it is about 350 to 530 mm / sec in the main body of the copying machine, whereas in the part 800 of the sorter / stapler, it is 570).
mm / sec) is set. Further, the sorter / stapler unit 800 is set to be faster (about 600 mm / sec. In this embodiment) than the oblique portion. Furthermore, when the sorter / stapler unit 800 is connected,
The parent sorter / stapler discharge part and the child sorter / stapler inlet part are connected when docked, so the speeds are set to be the same.

Further, a pulse encoder (not shown) and a pulse generator (not shown) composed of a photo interrupter for detecting the slit of the pulse encoder are attached in the middle of the drive system.
The pulse generator generates a pulse having a frequency proportional to the rotation speed of the main motor 313.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system according to this embodiment. This control system is a CPU 900 as a control means.
Mainly ROM901, RAM902, I / O port 9
03,904, clock timer controller 905
(Hereinafter abbreviated as CTC) and a universal synchronous receiver driver 906, 907 (hereinafter abbreviated as UART) is a microcomputer control system.

The CPU 900 writes the program to the R
While using the RAM 902 as needed by the OM 901, a signal from a sensor / SW group described later is received through the I / O port 903, and is output from the I / O port 904 or the phase generation IC group 912. Various driver groups 908
Each load which will be described later is controlled via ~ 911. Also,
The receiver 913, the driver 914, and the optical fiber module 915 perform optical-electrical conversion with the main body of the copying machine, and the optical fiber is connected via the UART 906, and instructions (signals) and status are exchanged by serial communication.

The CPU 900 receives the pulse from the pulse generator from the I / O 903 and the timer output from the CTC 905 to determine the paper transport timing,
It detects jams, controls each load, and detects abnormalities.

Furthermore, in the case of a connection system (a system in which a plurality of stages of sorters / staplers are connected to form a system of 20 bins or more), a downstream direction (child sorter / stapler or grandchild sorter / stapler) in the paper transport direction is designated ( signal)
In order to exchange status, photoelectric conversion is performed by the receiver 916, the driver 917, and the optical fiber module 918 in the same manner as in the main body of the copying machine.
It is connected via an UART 906 by an optical fiber and communicates by serial communication.

The UART 907, the receiver 916,
The driver 917 and the optical fiber module 918 are mounted on a small printed board different from other elements to form a module 920. This is when not connected
This module 920 is not attached to prevent unnecessary costs, malfunction of serial communication due to ambient light, and fiber connection error.

First, the operation in the interrupt mode will be described. When an interrupt mode is designated on the operation panel of the copying machine main body to start copying, the copying machine main body interrupts the sorter / stapler and sends a tray ejection signal and a motor ON signal. This signal causes the sorter / stapler to determine the interrupt mode and activate it. When the interrupt tray 125 is at the home position (the position for carrying into the sorter / stapler) before the paper is ejected from the copying machine main body, the sorter / stapler has a tray switching motor 1
22 is turned on and the interrupt tray 125 is moved to the interrupt position (the position where the paper discharged from the copying machine main body is directly discharged to the interrupt tray 125 of the sorter / stapler). As a result, the discharged paper from the main body of the copying machine is not carried into the sorter / stapler but is discharged and stacked on the interrupt tray 125 of the sorter / stapler only by driving the main body of the copying machine.
(The interrupt tray 125 has the same role as the paper discharge tray attached to the main body of the copying machine when there is no post-processing device.)
Therefore, the sorter / stapler only operates the tray switching motor 122 first and does not move anything thereafter. That is, even if the sorter / stapler fails and does not move at all, the interrupt tray 125 can be easily moved by hand, so that copying of the main body of the copying machine is not disabled.

Next, the inclined portion will be described. An interrupt tray unit is provided in the oblique portion. The interrupt tray unit is provided at the entrance switching section in the oblique direction. 3 and 4 are front views of the entrance switching unit. Figure 3
Is a front view in which the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 are positioned on the upper side (at the time of proof sort (staple) stack motor), and FIG. 4 shows the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 are positioned on the lower side (in the interrupt mode). FIG.

The paper ejected by the copier body ejection rollers 111, 112 is guided by the entrance guide plates 113, 114 and sent to the oblique unit entrance rollers 131 described later.

By the way, the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 are integrated so as to be vertically switched. The case where the entrance guide plates 113 and 114 are located above is the case where the paper is guided to the skew unit, and when the entrance guide plates 113 and 114 are located below, the entrance guide plates 114 and the first tray 115 constitute the interrupt tray 125. However, this is the case where the paper is discharged outside the device. Further, by switching between the entrance guide plates 113 and 114, when a jam occurs in the post-processing device during paper conveyance, the entrance guide plates 113 and 114 are immediately switched to the lower side, so that the paper existing in the main body of the copying machine is removed. It can be discharged, and even if the post-processing device becomes unusable due to a failure or the like, if the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 are placed on the lower side, at least the copying operation can be performed.

Here, the entrance guide plate 114 has no rear end rising portion, and when stacking paper, the rising portion of the discharge portion of the copying machine body is used. By doing so, the time for closing the discharge port at the time of switching the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 is shortened and a high copy speed can be dealt with.

Next, the tray switching mechanism will be described.
At both ends of the integrated inlet guide plates 113 and 114,
A switching bracket 116 is attached. In the switching bracket 116, the fulcrum 116a is attached to the side plate with a stepped screw or the like, and the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 are vertically movable around the fulcrum 116a.

The pin 11 protruding from the gear 117 is inserted into the groove 116b formed in the switching bracket 116.
7a is inserted, and the gear 117 is the intermediate gear 11
Via 8, 119 and 120, the gear 121 is press-fitted into the motor shaft. Tray switching motor 122
When is rotated, the drive is transmitted to the gears 120, 119 and 118, and the gear 117 is rotated. When the gear 117 rotates, the pin 117a moves in the groove 116b of the switching bracket 116 and moves the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 up and down. For detecting the positions of the entrance guide plates 113 and 114, a tray switching home sensor 180 and a tray switching position sensor 181 are provided for the upper side and the lower side, respectively. These sensors are photo interrupters.
When the shield plate integrated with the switching bracket 116 blocks the light from these photo interrupters, the tray switching motor 122 is turned off, and the entrance guide plates 113 and 114 are stopped at predetermined positions.

The groove 116b of the switching bracket 116 has a shape as shown in FIG. This groove 11
The pin 117a provided on the gear 117 enters the 6b to switch between the inlet guide plates 113 and 114, but both sides bulge in an arc shape near the center of the groove 116b, and if the pin 117a exists in this range. Entrance guide plate 11
3,114 are fixed at the same position.

This is because even if the OFF signal of the tray switching motor 122 is issued after the shielding plate blocks the light of the photo interrupter for position detection, the tray switching motor 1
Since 22 is overrun, it is provided to absorb the overrun.

The interrupt tray 125 is driven by the tray switching motor 122 via the gear, bracket and groove to be controlled to move to two positions. First, at the position in the interrupt mode (when a copy is discharged to the interrupt tray 125), the interrupt tray 125 is controlled to be below the discharge position of the copying machine main body. The second is the normal position (when a copy is loaded into the sorter / stapler), and is controlled so that the height of the entrance guide plate under the interrupt tray 125 and the discharge position of the copying machine main body are the same. There is.

These two positionings are performed by two sensors. Further, this switching is performed not by the rotation direction of the motor but by the combination of the pin and the groove of the tray so that the rotation direction of the motor can be set to one direction.

Further, when the motor stops, an overrun occurs, but in this embodiment, the groove is provided with a play so that there is a margin against the overrun, so that the overrun is mechanically dealt with. There is.

The drive transmission system is an interrupt tray 125.
Designed so that the load is light when lifting the paper and heavy when lowering the paper.
Even if you put it on 5, the difference between the upper and lower loads will be less likely to occur, and the driving conditions will be satisfied even with a small motor.

Now, under the condition, the tray rising time is from the transmission of the motor ON signal to the sorter / stapler from the copying machine main body until the leading edge of the paper of the copying machine main body reaches the interruption tray 125. It should be shorter than the time. Also, the tray descent time is
Since it is sufficient to switch the remaining paper inside the copying machine main body to the interrupt tray 125 at the time of stapler jam, the time may be shorter than the paper interval time.

Further, the ON / OFF control of the motor is performed by I
It is controlled by the transistor driver 908 via / 0904. The transistor driver 908 is configured so that the short brake can be applied, and the current can be limited. This current limitation is because the interrupt tray 125 is outside, so when the user puts a heavy object (EX. File, etc.) on the load or stops it by holding it by hand, an excessive current flows to the motor. It was designed so that it would not exist. This allows
The tray switching motor 122 is prevented from being damaged or burnt out.

A current limiter or a fuse may be used, but the limiter works = the fuse is blown. After that, there is a drawback that the machine does not work until a serviceman replaces the fuse. Therefore, in the present embodiment. The above-mentioned drawback is addressed by adopting a resettable current limit that combines a transistor and a resistor. Of course, other current limiting devices (for example, a circuit protector) may be used.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the oblique unit 130, and FIG. 6 is a right side view. The skew unit 130 is a unit for changing the paper discharged from the copying machine main body to the front (front) end surface reference in the transport path when the paper is the center reference.

The paper ejected from the main body of the copying machine is guided by the entrance guide plates 113 and 114 and sent to the oblique unit entrance roller 131. Oblique unit entrance roller 131
Is made of EP rubber or chloroprene rubber, and the driven roller 132 is pressed by a compression spring or the like, thereby obtaining a conveying force. Below the oblique unit entrance roller 131, oblique rollers 133, 134 and 135 inclined by about 25 ° to 30 ° and a horizontal roller 136 are arranged so that the paper is conveyed toward the reference guide 150. ing. The oblique rollers 133, 134, 135 and the horizontal roller 136 are also made of EP rubber or chloroprene rubber like the oblique unit inlet roller 131.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the structure of the inclined rollers 133, 134, 135 and the driven roller 138 pressed against the horizontal roller 136.

The driven roller 138 is pressed by a compression spring, and its roller shape is R-shaped so as to come into contact with the mating driving roller at a point. This increases the degree of freedom with respect to the rotation direction of the paper, and prevents buckling or the like when the paper hits the reference guide 150. Oblique unit entrance roller 1
The paper sent at 31 is the oblique rollers 133, 134, 1 from the moment the rear end of the paper passes through the oblique unit entrance roller 131.
35 and the driven roller 138, the reference guide 1
It is conveyed obliquely toward 50. The paper obliquely conveyed to the reference guide 150 has the oblique rollers 133, 134, 135.
Is sent to the oblique unit discharge roller 137 along the reference guide 150. Oblique unit discharge roller 13
Reference numeral 7 ensures the conveyance to the next conveyance path, and the material is the same as that of the oblique unit entrance roller 131. The driven roller pressed by the oblique unit discharge roller is also the same as the driven roller 132 pressed by the oblique unit inlet roller 131.

The guide plates of the oblique unit are, as shown in FIG. 4, a drive oblique guide plate 140 and a driven oblique guide plate 1.
45, a drive oblique exit guide plate 148, and a driven oblique guide plate 149. Oblique driven guide plate 14
5 is attached to the slanting part door 145a which also serves as a part of the exterior as shown in FIG. Therefore, if the oblique portion door 145a is opened, the driven oblique guide plate 14 is simultaneously opened.
Since 5 is also opened, when removing the jam of the sheet, it is only necessary to perform the operation of opening the slanted portion door 145a.

Next, a method of driving each conveying roller of the oblique unit will be described. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the main drive system of the oblique unit. 6 and 9, the driving force input from the timing pulley 161 fixed to the shaft of the oblique discharging roller 137 is transmitted to the timing pulley 162 coaxially fixed to the oblique discharging roller 137 via the shaft. .. The driving force transmitted to the timing pulley 162 is transmitted to the timing pulleys 163, 164, 167 via the timing belt 172, and the oblique unit roller 1 of the shaft to which the timing pulley 163 is fixed.
31 and the horizontal roller 136 of the shaft to which the timing pulley 167 is fixed obtains the driving force. The driving force transmitted to the timing pulley 164 is transmitted to a gear formed integrally with the timing pulley 164, transmitted via an intermediate gear 165 to a gear 166 fixed to the shaft of the oblique roller 133, The driving force is transmitted to the roller 133.

A timing pulley 168 is fixed to the other side of the shaft of the inclined roller 133, and the timing belt 1
It is transmitted to the timing pulley 169 via 73, and the oblique roller 134 obtains a driving force. Also, the diagonal roller 13
A timing pulley 170 is fixed to one of the four shafts and is transmitted to the timing pulley 171 via a timing belt 174, so that the oblique roller 135 obtains a driving force.

On the upper part of the driven guide plate 145, an entrance sensor 190 composed of a photo interrupter and an actuator is attached so that it can detect that the paper has entered the inside of the oblique unit. ..

An oblique cover open sensor 191 is composed of a cover open detection-like projection (not shown) attached to the driven guide plate 145 and a photo interrupter attached to the side plate. This is configured so that the photo interrupter is shielded from light and the output signal becomes "H" when the cover is opened. By doing so, the CPU 90
0 is recognized as a cover open (in general, an IC recognizes as “H” if nothing is connected due to a disconnection or the like), and works in a safe direction.

Further, the drive of the oblique unit 110 is transmitted from the sorter / stapler unit 800 by the timing belt and the timing pulley, but the timing pulley has a torque limiter, and by any chance the CPU 90
0 goes out of control, the cover opening of the diagonal unit 130 cannot be recognized, and even if the cover is opened, the main motor 3
Even if 13 is left spinning, the user keeps it safe by avoiding injury due to rollers.

A dew condensation preventing heater 142 is attached to the upper portion of the driving oblique guide plate 140 via a bracket 141. The dew condensation preventing heater 142 is a heater that prevents a paper jam due to dew condensation on a guide plate or the like. The paper on which an image is formed in the main body of the copying machine is heated and pressed by a fixing unit (not shown) in the main body of the copying machine. At that time, the water contained in the paper is evaporated and diffused into the air.
The paper discharged from the copying machine body also carries hot air containing a large amount of water (the air is also heated by fixing). If there is a cold guide plate, the temperature difference causes dew condensation on the guide plate.

Usually, as measures against dew condensation, there are holes in the guide plate, plucking of the guide plate to reduce the contact area with the paper, and the like. Since the paper is inclined, the end face of the paper is caught by the holes, the string, etc., which causes a problem such as a jam. That is, the diagonal unit 1
Since it is necessary to reduce holes and unevenness in the guide plate of No. 30 as much as possible, in this embodiment, the dew condensation preventing heater 142 is used and the sheet passing surface of the guide plate is not changed. The material of the bracket 141 to which the dew condensation preventing heater 142 is attached is an aluminum plate having high thermal conductivity.

Since the temperature difference is greatest near the discharge port of the main body of the copying machine, dew condensation often occurs at the upper part of the oblique unit, and the dew condensation prevention heater 1 is attached only to the upper part.
This is because if 42 is attached, there will be no portion where the temperature difference is large, and a dew condensation preventing effect will be obtained.

If the temperature of the guide plate is about 30 ° C. or higher at the start of copying, dew condensation is unlikely to occur, and the heat of the paper discharged from the copying machine body warms the guide plate gradually during copying, so that dew condensation occurs. Prevention heater 142 is OFF
But it's okay.

Next, the control of the dew condensation preventing heater 142 will be described.

The dew condensation prevention heater 142 is composed of a nichrome wire and generates heat when DC 24V is energized. ON /
In the OFF control, the dew condensation prevention heater 142 is turned on at the same time when the power of the copying machine main body is turned on, and the dew condensation prevention heater 142 is turned on until the copying machine main body is WARM UP and copying is started.
When the copying is started in the N state, the dew condensation prevention heater 142 is turned off. When the copying is finished and the copying machine main body is in the standby state, the dew condensation prevention heater 142 is turned on again.
N, warm the guide plate until the next copy starts. These ON / OFF are performed by the transistor driver 908 via I / 0904.

As described above, the dew condensation preventing heater 142 is turned on while the copying machine main body is on standby, and during copying, the guide plate is warmed by the heat of the discharged paper without the dew condensation preventing heater 142.
Control to become F. As a result, the maximum power consumption of the system can be suppressed. Here, the W number of the dew condensation preventing heater 142 is determined so that the vicinity of the heat conduction mounting surface of the guide plate becomes 30 ° C. or more within the copying machine main body WARM UP time.

As another method for preventing dew condensation, there is a method in which a hole is formed in the guide plate to blow out / exhaust air with a fan to let the moist air inside escape to the outside, but external dust easily enters the inside. There is a drawback that noise is generated and the cost is higher than that of the dew condensation preventing heater 142.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 show models in which the paper is conveyed obliquely. As shown in FIG. 10, when the leading end of the paper comes into contact with the reference guide 150, the leading end of the paper is tripped, and the paper rotates to feed or jam at a large angle. The movement of the paper shown in FIG. 11 is an ideal conveyance. When the trailing edge of the paper is brought into contact with the reference guide 150, the paper is smoothly conveyed without rotating. Figure 1
In order to realize the paper movement shown in 0, in this embodiment,
Four rollers 131a, 131b of the diagonal entrance roller 131,
The diameters of 131c and 131d are slightly different, and when they are conveyed in this portion, they are forcibly fed slightly obliquely so that they come into contact with the reference guide 150 from the rear end of the paper. The tilt amount due to these rollers is set to about 100 mm and about 2 to 3 mm in consideration of the correction of the skew feed amount during the conveyance of the copying machine main body.

Oblique rollers 133, 134, 13 shown in FIG.
5 and the driven roller 13 pressed against the horizontal roller 136.
The pressing force of No. 8 is set higher than the driven roller 138 pressed by the rollers 134a and 135a and the driven roller 138 pressed by the other rollers, and the ratio thereof is 2 :.
1 or more is preferable. This is because by increasing the pressure of the roller near the reference guide 150 and lowering the pressure of the roller farther than the reference guide, the pressure when the paper comes into contact with the reference guide 150 is weakened and the paper is conveyed smoothly.

Next, the relationship between the speeds of the respective transport rollers in the transport direction will be described. The velocity V of each transport roller in the transport direction is the velocity V1 of the diagonal entrance roller 131 ≈ the diagonal rollers 133, 13
The velocity V2 of 4,135≈the velocity V3 of the horizontal roller 136≈the velocity V4 of the oblique unit discharge roller 137. However, since the speed V2 of the oblique rollers 133, 134, and 135 is the downward conveyance direction component, the oblique angle correction and the reference guide 15 are performed.
Considering the resistance when being conveyed while contacting 0 as a speed loss of about 15%, the oblique rollers 133, 134, 1
The speed V2a in the diagonal direction of 35 is V2a = V2 ÷ COSθ × 1.15.

Another feature of the oblique unit is that
That is, a mechanism for releasing the pressure of the driven roller 132 pressed by the oblique entrance roller 131 is provided.

FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of the pressure releasing mechanism. The driven roller 132 is pressed by a compression spring, and the pressure release lever 146 is arranged below the shaft of the driven roller 132. The pressure releasing lever 146 is configured to be rotatable about a fulcrum 146a, and the pressure releasing lever 146 is provided with a plunger of an oblique pressure releasing SOL 147. Oblique pressure release SOL14
When 7 turns on, the pressure release lever moves the driven roller 132 shaft to 1
46 is pushed up, and the pressure between the driven roller 132 and the oblique unit entrance roller 131 is released. By providing this pressure release mechanism, it becomes possible to skew even a paper of a longitudinal size with respect to the transport direction with a small device.

The main body of the copying machine of the present embodiment is basically a horizontal size paper (the width direction of the paper is the same as the conveying direction (the width of the sorter / stapler guide plate becomes longer than the vertical specification, (Because large size copy speed will be faster),
It may be possible to make a vertical copy such as reduction of a large size (A2, A3, etc.). Here, a case of the pressure release mechanism and a case of not having the pressure release mechanism will be described by taking the A4 size as an example.

The size of A4 size is 297 × 210 mm
Is. First, the transport length at which the A4 lateral size can be at least obliquely obtained is theoretically obtained. As described above, since the slant starts at the moment when the rear end of the paper passes through the slant entrance roller 131, the required transport length until the slant starts is 210 mm. Further, the reference guide plate 150 is provided at a position 230 mm from the center of the paper, and the oblique rollers 133, 134, 135
When the angle of inclination is 25 °, the length required for being inclined and able to contact the reference guide 150 is {230− (297 ÷ 2)} ÷ tan 25 ° ≈175 mm. From the above, the conveyance length in which the A4 lateral size can be obliquely becomes 210 mm + 175 mm = 385 mm.

Next, similarly, the conveyance length in which the A4 vertical size can be obliquely added is the paper length 297 mm and the obliquely required length {230− (210 ÷ 2)} ÷ tan 25 ° ≈268 mm. And becomes 565 mm, which is about 1.
Five times the transport route is required. Therefore, when the pressure of the driven roller 132 at the oblique entrance is released, the paper discharged from the copying machine main body discharge rollers 111 and 112 is not inclined.
Although there are no rollers that are forcibly conveyed up to, the rollers are sufficiently conveyed up to the diagonal roller 133 because of the vertical size. And
The skew starts at the moment when the paper passes through the discharge rollers 111 and 112 of the copying machine main body.

In this embodiment, the copying machine main body discharge rollers 111,
The transport distance from 112 to the diagonal entrance roller 131 is about 14
Since it is 0 mm, when the pressure release mechanism is not provided, the length of the A4 vertical size that can be skewed is calculated by subtracting 140 mm from the calculated value 565 mm. 425 mm is the required transport length when the pressure release mechanism is used. That is, the diagonal orientation can be achieved only by making it about 40 mm longer (about + 10%) than the lateral size.

Regarding the pressure release timing and whether or not the pressure is released, the paper size sent from the copying machine main body
It depends on the direction and the diagonal effective distance. With the diagonal effective distance, pressure is released at an appropriate timing for paper that is not skewed. While the paper is nipped and fed by the copying machine main body discharge roller, the holding force of the copying machine main body discharge rollers 111 and 112 is inclined even if the pressure of the oblique entrance roller 131 is released. This is because it is larger than the holding force of the rollers 133, 134 and 135. Further, even if the paper is separated from the copier body discharge rollers 111 and 112, if the pressure is released too early, the paper may be skewed too much.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the CPU 900 causes the oblique pressure release SOL1 by the paper size data and the paper discharge signal transmitted from the copying machine main body, the signal of the entrance sensor 190, and the pulse signal of the pulse generator 192.
After the paper 47 is pulled out from the paper discharge roller of the copying machine main body through the I / O port 904 and the driver 908, or the leading edge of the paper is pulled out of the entrance sensor 190, the skew corresponding to the paper size is surely obtained. ON / OF at the exact timing
F control is performed to enable space-saving and diagonal orientation of paper of any size.

As described above, when the pressure release mechanism is provided, even a long size paper can be tilted by a small device.
You can save space or increase the flexibility of the machine configuration.

The paper carried out from the skew unit is continuously sent to the horizontal carrying unit and then carried into the sorter / stapler. FIG. 13 is a front view of the sorter / stapler unit 800, in which the horizontal transport unit 200, the distribution unit 300, and the connection unit 700 are extracted. The paper whose end surface is the reference by the inclined portion 100 is the guide plate 20.
1. While being guided by the driven guide plate 202 that also serves as the exterior cover, the sheet is carried into the transport unit 200 including the transport roller 208 and the driven roller 209. The conveying roller 208 is made of EP rubber or chloroprene rubber, and the driven roller 209 is pressed by a leaf spring or the like to obtain a conveying force.

These transport rollers 208 and driven rollers 209
The transport system configured by a combination of the above is horizontally arranged in two rows and sequentially transports the paper to the switching claw 207. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the driven guide plate 202 is a resin-made guide plate that also serves as a part of the exterior, and a rib 202f for guiding the paper is integrally formed. Note that FIG.
In FIG. 4, the plurality of ribs 202f at the central portion are omitted. The driven roller 209 is a set with the leaf spring 209a.
It is assembled as shown in (a) and (b). 202 g
Is a pin for preventing the leaf spring 209a from rotating, and the screw 20
Fix with 9b. When the paper inside the machine is removed by a paper jam or the like, it is only necessary to open the driven guide plate 202 that also serves as the exterior, as in the inclined portion 100.

FIGS. 17 (a) and 17 (b) are views showing a state in which the driven guide plate is set and a state in which the driven guide plate is opened to perform processing when a jam or the like occurs. Driven guide plate 2
02, a main fulcrum 202a and a sub fulcrum 202b are provided, which are respectively inserted in the grooves 202c and 202d formed in the side plate. The main fulcrum 202a and the spring anchor 202e attached to the side plate are pulled by a spring. When the driven guide plate 202 is opened, the driven fulcrum 202b moves along the groove 202d. Since the main fulcrum 202a moves integrally with the sub fulcrum 202b, the groove 202c in which the main fulcrum 202a is inserted gradually moves from left to right and opens 90 °.
The hatched portion 100 shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B is provided with the above-described oblique portion 100. However, by using the above-described mechanism, the oblique portion 100 is not interfered with. The driven guide plate 202 can be opened by 90 ° or more, which facilitates the processing.

To the driven guide plate 202, a registration sensor 203 composed of a photo interrupter and an actuator is attached in order to set the timing of the paper discharge destination in the next distribution unit 300. The registration sensor 203, instead of the entrance sensor 190, takes a timing because the slip is large while the skew unit 110 conveys the paper, and the pulse is simply generated in proportion to the time or the rotation of the roller. Since it is not proportional to the number of pulses from the generator, it is not possible to support the high-speed copying machine body (short paper interval) unless the timing is passed after the paper has passed through the skew unit and the transportation is stable. is there.

Further, the CPU 900 is provided by the cover SW constituted by the micro SW attached to the side plate by the protrusion (not shown) attached to the driven guide plate 202.
Is aware of the cover open. Like the drive system of the slanted portion 100, a torque limiter is attached here as well,
This makes it safe for users. In addition, the cover open is detected by the micro SW, unlike the slanted portion 100. Therefore, when the cover is opened, the micro SW is turned off (open), and the harness is in the same broken state. But I'm trying to be safe.

Next, the distribution unit will be described.
In FIG. 13, the paper from the horizontal transport unit 200 is
Transport to distribution unit 300 or connect unit 700
A switching claw 207 for switching between transporting to and from is provided at the exit of the horizontal transport unit 200. Ordinary users are not often used in the connected system, but are often used in the copier body and one sorter / stapler. Therefore, the switching claw 207 is normally provided in the distribution unit 3
It is fixed so that the paper is transported to 00. When connecting, a connecting SOL unit is attached to drive and switch. The paper is a switching claw 207, a guide plate 211,
It is guided to the distribution unit 300 by 212.

Deflection claws 312 and discharge rollers 304 are provided at positions corresponding to the respective bins 350 of the distribution unit 300, and the driven rollers 307 are pressed against each other with the discharge roller 304 and the paper transport path sandwiched therebetween. ing. Further, the driven roller 307 is a driven guide plate 308 which also serves as a cover.
309 and its structure. The mounting structure of the guide plates 308, 309, 372 and the exterior cover 314 is the same as that of the oblique portion 100 shown in FIG.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of the outer cover 314. As can be seen from the figure, the pin 315 on the back side is rotated and opened. This exterior cover 314
The driven roller 307 is opened by rotating and releasing.
Therefore, in the case of removing the in-machine paper by jamming the paper or the like, it can be easily performed by opening the distribution unit exterior cover 314 as in the case of the slanting unit 100 and the horizontal transport unit 200. After opening the exterior cover as before,
Furthermore, it is no longer necessary to open the internal guide plate.)
Each deflecting claw 312 is individually operable by the deflecting SOL 320, and the CPU 900 causes the registration sensor 20 to operate based on the discharge bin data instructed by the copying machine main body.
At timing 3-, the deflection SOL 320 corresponding to the discharge bin data is turned on and the paper is discharged to the bin 350.

The distribution unit 300 includes a bin 3 somewhere.
There is a bin sensor that detects whether or not there is paper on the 50, and an entry sensor that detects that the paper is discharged to a bin 350 somewhere. With this, the system control such as the timing of jogger and jam detection is performed. ing. Bin sensor / entry sensor is an LED
And a light-transmissive sensor including a phototransistor (diode), which includes a light receiving portion 330 and a light emitting portion 331.

A distribution cover open SW composed of micro SWs is attached to the side plate, whereby the CPU 900 recognizes the cover open of the distribution unit. In the distribution unit 300, a torque limiter is not included in the drive system unlike the slanting section 100 and the horizontal transport section 200. This is because the number of rollers is large, so the load is large, and even if a torque limiter corresponding to the load is attached at one place, the limit value must be increased, and the safety of the user cannot be ensured. A torque limiter may be attached to all the rollers of the distribution unit 300, but the cost becomes abnormally high (at least 2).
0 or more).

Therefore, in this embodiment, the cover open S
W is composed of two micro SWs, one is for recognizing the cover open of the CPU 900 as described above, and the other is to directly turn off the power supply line of the main motor 313 which is the drive source of the distribution unit 300. By using it as an interlock switch, it is safe for users. The wire breakage of the harness is similar to that of the horizontal transport unit 200.

FIG. 19 is a front view showing the details of the deflection mechanism, and FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the deflection claw. The paper conveyed from the horizontal conveyance unit 200 in FIG.
By turning on the deflection SOL 320 corresponding to 0,
The deflection claw 312 corresponding to the bin 350 is opened, and the bin 3
Guide the paper to 50. Also, the discharged bin 350
Deflection SOL 320 corresponding to other bins 350 is OFF
At that time, the deflecting claw 312 is engaged with the return spring 32.
The force of 1 does not hinder the conveyance of the paper in the closed position and during the vertical conveyance.

In FIG. 20, the deflection claw 312 and the deflection lever 316 are shown.
Are integrally formed with the shaft 319. Reference numeral 316a denotes a part of the deflection lever 316, which also serves as a bearing.
A metal plate 318 is separately provided as a reinforcing member at a portion where the deflection SOL 320 and the return spring 321 are hooked. The convex portion 316b of the deflection lever 316 is a sheet metal 318.
Is used for positioning and rotation prevention when assembled to the deflection lever 316. The position is determined by the shaft 319 and the convex portion 316b, and fixed by a retaining ring or the like. Conventionally, the deflection lever 3
16 and the metal plate 318 were separate parts from the deflection claw 312 and the shaft 319. For this reason, the bearing is put in the side plate and the shaft 3
It was necessary to attach the deflection lever 316 through 19 and further couple the deflection lever 316 to the deflection SOL 320, and then adjust the positions of the deflection claw 312 and the deflection lever 316, but in this embodiment, they are all integrally molded. As a result, adjustment is not required, and bearings are not required, resulting in a significant reduction in manufacturing time and cost.

Further, since the sorter / stapler is capable of stapling, there is a demand that the cover be attached and stapled to improve the finish. Generally, most of the papers used for the cover are thick paper (a continuous amount of 90 kg or more). In the conventional example, the sortable sheet thickness is limited to about 90 kg. In the present embodiment, the radius of the portion of the deflecting claw 312 where the paper turns is increased, or the gap or shape of the guide plates 211 and 212 is changed to 13
It is designed to handle up to about 5 kg.

Reference numeral 317 denotes a sound deadening material, which absorbs a sudden noise generated by hitting the side plate when the deflecting claw 312 is opened and closed.
Further, the material thereof is chloroprene rubber in the present embodiment, but it may be any material capable of absorbing sound (absorbing sound).

The driven rollers 307 are installed every two rollers with respect to the discharge rollers 304. The distance between the driven rollers 307 is shorter than the length in the conveying direction of the smallest size paper that can be used in the copying machine body of this embodiment.

The guide plates 371, 372, 375 and the transport roller 37 are provided on the upstream side of the transport of the paper of the distribution unit 300.
3, a driven roller 307, and a proof unit 370 including a proof tray 376.

A proof discharge sensor 377 composed of an actuator and a photo interrupter is attached to the guide plate 375, whereby the CP
U900 manages paper discharge. Deflection claw 31
2 are all closed, guide plates 371, 372, 37
5, it is discharged to the proof tray 376 through the conveyance roller 373 and the driven roller 307.

In this embodiment, this proof tray 376 is used.
In order to avoid the need for a dedicated proof tray, it also serves as a part of the upper cover that is an exterior body.
In addition, the proof tray 376 is a large-sized paper (A2,
A large-sized fold-back guide is attached so that it will not fall even if (B3 etc.) is discharged. In addition, the guide 371,
The 375 has as large a radius R as possible to enable the passage of thick paper and stiff paper. (Similarly, the oblique guide plates 113, 114, 148, 149, the distribution unit 3
R of the switching claw 207 of 00 and the guide plate 212 is also made large. This allows the sorter / stapler to carry up to a continuous weight of 180 kg.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart for explaining the control of the oblique pressure release SOL147. In this control, it is checked whether the carried-in paper has a size that needs to be released from pressure (step S1), and if it is not necessary, the next control is directly performed. If it is necessary to release the pressure, the oblique pressure release SOL147 is controlled at the optimum timing for the relevant paper according to the size data / paper output signal received from the copying machine main body and the information from the sorter / stapler entrance sensor 190. In step S2), it is turned on (step S3).

Thereafter, similarly, according to the size data / sheet discharge signal received from the main body of the copying machine and the information from the sorter / stapler entrance sensor 190, the sheet is inclined 133,1.
It is checked whether or not 34 and 135 have been passed (step S4), and if they have passed, the oblique pressure release SOL147 is turned off for the next sheet conveyance (step S5), and the process proceeds to the next control. Further, although not particularly described, when the staple start signal is received after the paper discharge signal is received, the staple start process is performed, and the staple operation is performed simultaneously with the sorting operation. The stapling operation will be described later.

The paper carried in the sorter / stapler is
After passing through the entrance sensor 190 and the registration sensor 203, the paper is ejected to the bin 350 designated by the ejection destination bin data from the copying machine main body.
The deflection SOL 320 is controlled on the basis of the time when 03 is turned on, and the paper is guided to the determined discharge bin 350.

According to the entry sensor, the corresponding bin 35
When the paper discharge to 0 is checked and the discharge is confirmed, the discharge completion bin data corresponding to the discharge completed bin 350 is transmitted to the copying machine main body, and the completion of the discharge to the designated bin is notified to the copying machine main body. And the deflection SOL 320 of the corresponding bin 350 is turned off. If the ejected paper can be jogged, a process for jogger is performed, the jogger up / down motor 530 and the jogger motor 522 are controlled, and jogger is sequentially performed. After a series of operations, it is checked by the signal from the main body of the copying machine whether or not the sorting is completed. If the sorting is continued, the operations from step 1-12 are repeated. If the sorting is completed, the main motor 313 is turned off to operate. Ends.

However, even if the motor ON signal is received with the signal turned OFF, if there is still paper being normally conveyed in the sorter / stapler, all the papers are in the corresponding bin 35.
Operation continues until it is discharged above zero.

[0098]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention configured as described above has the following effects.

In the sheet post-processing apparatus for sorting the sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus, a plurality of bins for sorting and a tray provided adjacent to the sheet discharge outlet of the image formed sheet of the image forming apparatus. According to the invention of claim 1, further comprising at least a switching means for switching the destination of the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port to the bin or the tray. Since the tray is provided as a tray, the user can easily use the tray, and the jam processing can be performed without crouching, which facilitates the processing.

The invention according to claim 2, wherein the leading end portion of the tray on the paper receiving side is formed in a shape facing the case surface accommodating the apparatus main body in which the discharge port of the image forming apparatus is formed. According to this, since the switching stroke is shortened, the trays can be switched in a short time, and the jam is less likely to occur.

According to the invention as claimed in claim 3, further comprising means for discharging the paper to the tray in accordance with an instruction from the main body of the image forming apparatus, even if the post-processing apparatus equipped with the bin is down, the post-processing apparatus comes from the image forming apparatus side. The trays can be switched according to the instruction, and the occurrence of jam can be prevented and the usability can be improved.

According to the invention as set forth in claim 4, further comprising means for manually switching the switching means, when automatic tray switching cannot be performed, the tray can be manually switched, so that a jam occurs. Can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a sorter / stapler connected in multiple stages to a diagonal unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of an inlet switching unit in the diagonal unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of an entrance switching unit in the diagonal unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the diagonal unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a right side view of the diagonal unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a driven roller provided in the oblique unit.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an oblique driven guide plate.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a drive system of an oblique unit.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation when a sheet is skewed by a skew unit.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation when a sheet is skewed by a skewing unit.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a pressure release mechanism.

FIG. 13 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a sorter / stapler.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a driven guide plate.

FIG. 15 is a side view of a driven guide plate.

FIG. 16 is a view showing a mounted state of driven rollers.

FIG. 17 is a view showing the operation of the driven guide plate.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of an exterior cover.

FIG. 19 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a deflection mechanism.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a deflecting claw.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a pressure release processing procedure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 110 Interruption tray unit 111 Main body discharge roller 112 Main body discharge roller 113 Entrance guide plate 114 Entrance guide plate 115 First tray 116 Switching bracket 117 Gear 117a pin 122 Tray switching motor 125 Interruption tray 180 Tray switching home sensor 181 Tray switching position sensor 350 Bin

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] November 4, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Detailed explanation of the invention

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a post-processing apparatus for post-processing paper sheets on which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine by sorting, collating, or stapling. The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing device having a plurality of interrupt trays.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a sheet post-processing apparatus, there is a sorting apparatus equipped with a deflector for changing the direction of sheets and an interrupt tray.
The sorting device that sorts the sheets includes a bin that sorts and stutters the sheets, a tray that can stack a large amount, and a tray that discharges the internal sheets in the image forming apparatus when a jam occurs in the sorting device. is necessary. At present, the same tray as the tray that can stack a large amount is used as a tray for discharging the internal paper. One of the techniques of this type is the technique described in JP-A-56-78763. In this technology, the tip is connected to the recording device, and
When the first switching position is set, the upper plate, which is a receiving surface of the main discharge tray provided on the income section conveying device and receives a part of the weight of the recording paper, can be integrally linked with the upper plate. And a lower plate that cooperates with the upper plate when the upper plate is placed in the second switching position so as to direct the recording paper to the revenue section transporting device. The user is informed that switching is impossible. In addition, a rising portion rising from the tip is provided as an end fence on this upper plate.

[0003]

By the way, if the same tray is used in this way, in this conventional example, when a large number of sheets are stacked, it is necessary to remove the stacked sheets, and the image forming apparatus. For example, since the ejecting position of the copying machine is lower than the upper surface of the copying machine, it is necessary to bend to pick up the paper. In addition, in the case where the entrance of the post-processing device has a transfer path switching claw and two transfer paths of an interrupt tray and a sorting bin, the interrupt tray is not provided at the same height as the upper surface of the copying machine. Possible, but
Jam is likely to occur at the entrance switching claws. in this case,
For the jam processing, the sorting device can be removed from the copying machine and the guide plate and the switching claw can be opened, but the mechanism becomes complicated and the cost becomes high.

The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances of the prior art as described above, and an object thereof is to provide a sheet post-processing apparatus which is easy for a user to use when using an interruption tray and which is easy for jamming. To provide.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, a first means is a sheet post-processing apparatus for sorting sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus, and a plurality of bins for sorting and image forming. The apparatus is provided with at least a tray provided adjacent to the discharge port of the image-formed sheet of paper, and with switching means for switching the destination of the paper discharged from the discharge port to the bin or the tray. It is configured.

In the second means, the tip of the tray in the first means on the paper receiving side is shaped so as to face the case surface which accommodates the apparatus main body in which the discharge port of the image forming apparatus is formed. Is formed.

The third means is provided with means for discharging the paper to the tray in the first means in accordance with an instruction from the image forming apparatus main body.

The fourth means is provided with means capable of manually switching the switching means in the first means.

[0009]

According to the first means, the sheet is switched between the tray provided adjacent to the sheet discharge port and the sorting bin by the switching means.

According to the second means, the tip of the tray on the paper receiving side is shaped so as to face the case surface in which the device body of the image forming apparatus in which the discharge port is formed is housed. Since it is formed, the trays can be switched in a shorter time. This makes it possible to prevent the so-called end fence from interfering with the discharge of paper and to prevent jamming in the tray portion.

Further, according to the third means, even if the sheet post-processing device is down, the switching of trays can be performed by instructing from the image forming device side.

Further, according to the fourth means, in the worst case, the tray switching can be executed manually.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a front view of the entire sorter / stapler and a combined (two) system showing an embodiment of the present invention.

Sheets (paper, OHP, film, second base paper, etc .: sheets, OHP, film, second base paper, etc.) discharged from a copying machine (not shown) which is an example of the copying machine body (hereinafter referred to as copying machine body) Is ejected to the bin tray of the sorter / stapler according to the bin / tray data instructed by the copier / copier body, based on the mode and number of copies instructed by the user on the copier / copier body not shown. To be done. Further, if necessary, post-processing such as stapling instructed by the copying machine main body is performed.

The sorter / stapler structure is roughly divided into a slant portion 100 for slanting the paper ejected from the main body of the copying machine based on the central reference and using the end face as a reference or ejecting the paper directly to the interrupt tray 125. A sorter / stapler unit 800 that receives paper ejected from the inclined portion 100 based on the end face and ejects it to a proof tray, sorts and stacks it, aligns the paper, and staples it.
Composed of.

Looking at each section by unit, the slanting section 100 is composed of an interrupt tray unit 110 for discharging the paper discharged from the copying machine main body to the interrupt tray 125 as it is and a slanting unit 130 for slanting the paper. Composed.

Further, the sorter / stapler unit 800 vertically conveys the paper from the horizontal conveyance unit 200 and the horizontal conveyance unit 200 which carries the paper from the slant portion 100 into the machine, and sorts and stacks it on the bin 350. The distribution unit 300 and the distribution unit 300 in the paper transport path.
, A fence unit (not shown) that sets the side fence axis according to the paper size, the Ji yoga unit 500 that aligns the paper on the bin 350, and the aligned paper on the bin 350. The staple unit 600 staples the bundle.
Further, the stapling unit 600 uses the paper bundle in the bin 35.
0 from the top to the stapler, staple it, and then bottle 350
And a stapler 601 for stapling a bundle of sheets.

Further, there is a connecting unit 700 for connecting the upstream sorter / stapler unit 800 and the downstream sorter / stapler unit 800 when a system of 20 bins or more is formed by connecting the sorter / stapler units 800 in a plurality of stages.

The oblique portion 100 is attached to the main body of the copying machine, and the sorter / stapler portion 800 is configured to be docked to it. Further, in order to simplify the work at the time of attaching the main body of the inclined portion 100 to the copying machine and at the time of docking the sorter / stapler portion 800, all the work can be performed from the front of the machine, and the installation at the user's place. Is easy (no need to move the docking system to attach it to a wall after docking).

Oblique section 100 / sorter / stapler section 80
The drive related to the conveyance of paper of 0 is the main motor 313.
(AC motor) allows each timing pulley
It is performed by transmitting a driving force to each of the transport rollers via the timing belt. The paper conveyance speed is higher than the discharge speed of the main body of the copying machine in the inclined portion 100 (in the present embodiment, it is about 350 to 530 mm / sec in the main body of the copying machine, whereas in the part 800 of the sorter / stapler, it is 570).
mm / sec) is set. Further, the sorter / stapler unit 800 is set to be faster (about 600 mm / sec. In this embodiment) than the oblique portion. Furthermore, when the sorter / stapler unit 800 is connected,
The parent sorter / stapler discharge part and the child sorter / stapler inlet part are connected when docked, so the speeds are set to be the same.

Further, a pulse encoder (not shown) and a pulse generator (not shown) composed of a photo interrupter for detecting a slit of the pulse encoder are attached in the middle of the drive system.
The pulse generator generates a pulse having a frequency proportional to the rotation speed of the main motor 313.

2 and 3 are block diagrams of the control system in this embodiment, and this control system is a control means C.
Mainly PU900 ROM901, RAM902, I /
The microcomputer control system includes O ports 903 and 904, a clock timer controller 905 (hereinafter abbreviated as CTC), and universal synchronous receiver drivers 906 and 907 (hereinafter abbreviated as UART).

The CPU 900 writes the program to the R
While using the RAM 902 as needed by the OM 901, a signal from a sensor / SW group described later is received through the I / O port 903, and is output from the I / O port 904 or the phase generation IC group 912. Various driver groups 908
Each load which will be described later is controlled via ~ 911. Also,
The receiver 913, the driver 914, and the optical fiber module 915 perform optical-electrical conversion with the main body of the copying machine, and the optical fiber is connected via the UART 906, and instructions (signals) and status are exchanged by serial communication.

The CPU 900 receives the pulse from the pulse generator from the I / O 903 and the timer output from the CTC 905 to determine the paper conveyance timing,
It detects jams, controls each load, and detects abnormalities.

Further, in the case of a connecting system (a system in which a plurality of sorters / staplers are connected to form a system of 20 bins or more), an instruction is given as downstream (child sorter / stapler or grandchild sorter / stapler) in the paper conveying direction. signal)
In order to exchange status, photoelectric conversion is performed by the receiver 916, the driver 917, and the optical fiber module 918 in the same manner as in the main body of the copying machine.
It is connected via an UART 906 by an optical fiber and communicates by serial communication.

Further, the UART 907, the receiver 916,
The driver 917 and the optical fiber module 918 are mounted on a small printed board different from other elements to form a module 920. This is when not connected
This module 920 is not attached to prevent unnecessary costs, malfunction of serial communication due to ambient light, and fiber connection error.

First, the operation in the interrupt mode will be described. When an interrupt mode is designated on the operation panel of the copying machine main body to start copying, the copying machine main body interrupts the sorter / stapler and sends a tray ejection signal and a motor ON signal. This signal causes the sorter / stapler to determine the interrupt mode and activate it. When the interrupt tray 125 is at the home position (the position for carrying into the sorter / stapler) before the paper is ejected from the copying machine main body, the sorter / stapler has a tray switching motor 1
22 is turned on and the interrupt tray 125 is moved to the interrupt position (the position where the paper discharged from the copying machine main body is directly discharged to the interrupt tray 125 of the sorter / stapler). As a result, the discharged paper from the main body of the copying machine is not carried into the sorter / stapler but is discharged and stacked on the interrupt tray 125 of the sorter / stapler only by driving the main body of the copying machine.
(The interrupt tray 125 has the same role as the paper discharge tray attached to the main body of the copying machine when there is no post-processing device.)
Therefore, the sorter / stapler only operates the tray switching motor 122 first and does not move anything thereafter. That is, even if the sorter / stapler fails and does not move at all, the interrupt tray 125 can be easily moved by hand, so that copying of the main body of the copying machine is not disabled.

Next, the inclined portion will be described. An interrupt tray unit is provided in the oblique portion. The interrupt tray unit is provided at the entrance switching section in the oblique direction. 4 and 5 are front views of the inlet switching section. Figure 4
Is a front view in which the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 are positioned on the upper side (at the time of proof sort (staple) stack motor), and FIG. 5 shows the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 are positioned on the lower side (in the interrupt mode). FIG.

The paper discharged by the copying machine main body discharge rollers 111, 112 is guided by the entrance guide plates 113, 114 and sent to the oblique unit entrance roller 131 described later.

By the way, the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 are integrated so as to be vertically switched. The case where the entrance guide plates 113 and 114 are located above is the case where the paper is guided to the skew unit, and when the entrance guide plates 113 and 114 are located below, the entrance guide plates 114 and the first tray 115 constitute the interrupt tray 125. However, this is the case where the paper is discharged outside the device. Further, by switching between the entrance guide plates 113 and 114, when a jam occurs in the post-processing device during paper conveyance, the entrance guide plates 113 and 114 are immediately switched to the lower side, so that the paper existing in the main body of the copying machine is removed. It can be discharged, and even if the post-processing device becomes unusable due to a failure or the like, if the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 are placed on the lower side, at least the copying operation can be performed.

Here, the entrance guide plate 114 has no rear end rising portion, and when stacking paper, the rising portion of the discharge portion of the copying machine body is used. By doing so, the time for closing the discharge port at the time of switching the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 is shortened and a high copy speed can be dealt with.

Next, the tray switching mechanism will be described.
At both ends of the integrated inlet guide plates 113 and 114,
A switching bracket 116 is attached. In the switching bracket 116, the fulcrum 116a is attached to the side plate with a stepped screw or the like, and the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 are vertically movable around the fulcrum 116a.

The pin 11 protruding from the gear 117 is inserted into the groove 116b formed in the switching bracket 116.
7a is inserted, and the gear 117 is the intermediate gear 11
Via 8, 119 and 120, the gear 121 is press-fitted into the motor shaft. Tray switching motor 122
When is rotated, the drive is transmitted to the gears 120, 119 and 118, and the gear 117 is rotated. When the gear 117 rotates, the pin 117a moves in the groove 116b of the switching bracket 116 and moves the inlet guide plates 113 and 114 up and down. For detecting the positions of the entrance guide plates 113 and 114, a tray switching home sensor 180 and a tray switching position sensor 181 are provided for the upper side and the lower side, respectively. These sensors are photo interrupters.
When the shield plate integrated with the switching bracket 116 blocks the light from these photo interrupters, the tray switching motor 122 is turned off, and the entrance guide plates 113 and 114 are stopped at predetermined positions.

The groove 116b of the switching bracket 116 has a shape as shown in FIG. This groove 116
The pin 117a provided on the gear 117 is inserted in b to switch the inlet guide plates 113 and 114.
Both sides bulge in an arc shape near the center of 16b, and if the pin 117a is in this range, the inlet guide plate 11
3,114 are fixed at the same position.

This is because even if the OFF signal of the tray switching motor 122 is issued after the above-mentioned shielding plate blocks the light of the photo interrupter for position detection, the tray switching motor 1
Since 22 is overrun, it is provided to absorb the overrun.

The interrupt tray 125 is driven by the tray switching motor 122 via the gear, bracket and groove, and is controlled to move to two positions. First, at the position in the interrupt mode (when a copy is discharged to the interrupt tray 125), the interrupt tray 125 is controlled to be below the discharge position of the copying machine main body. The second is the normal position (when a copy is loaded into the sorter / stapler), and is controlled so that the height of the entrance guide plate under the interrupt tray 125 and the discharge position of the copying machine main body are the same. There is.

These two positionings are performed by two sensors. Further, this switching is performed not by the rotation direction of the motor but by the combination of the pin and the groove of the tray so that the rotation direction of the motor can be set to one direction.

Further, when the motor is stopped, an overrun occurs, but in this embodiment, the groove is provided with a play so that there is a margin for the overrun, so that the overrun is mechanically dealt with. There is.

The drive transmission system is an interrupt tray 125.
Designed so that the load is light when lifting the paper and heavy when lowering the paper.
Even if you put it on 5, the difference between the upper and lower loads will be less likely to occur, and the driving conditions will be satisfied even with a small motor.

Now, under that condition, the tray rising time is from the transmission of the motor ON signal to the sorter / stapler from the copying machine main body until the leading edge of the paper of the copying machine main body reaches the interrupt tray 125. It should be shorter than the time. Also, the tray descent time is
Since it is sufficient to switch the remaining paper inside the copying machine main body to the interrupt tray 125 at the time of stapler jam, the time may be shorter than the paper interval time.

Further, the ON / OFF control of the motor is performed by I
It is controlled by the transistor driver 908 via / 0904. The transistor driver 908 is configured so that the short brake can be applied, and the current can be limited. This current limitation is because the interrupt tray 125 is outside, so when the user puts a heavy object (EX. File, etc.) on the load or stops it by holding it by hand, an excessive current flows to the motor. It was designed so that it would not exist. This allows
The tray switching motor 122 is prevented from being damaged or burnt out.

A current limiter or a fuse may be used, but the limiter works = the fuse is blown. After that, there is a drawback that the machine does not operate until a serviceman replaces the fuse. Therefore, in the present embodiment. The above-mentioned drawback is addressed by adopting a resettable current limit that combines a transistor and a resistor. Of course, other current limiting devices (for example, a circuit protector) may be used.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the oblique unit 130, and FIG. 7 is a right side view. The skew unit 130 is a unit for changing the paper discharged from the copying machine main body to the front (front) end surface reference in the transport path when the paper is the center reference.

The paper discharged from the main body of the copying machine is guided by the entrance guide plates 113 and 114, and is sent to the oblique unit entrance roller 131. Oblique unit entrance roller 131
Is made of EP rubber or chloroprene rubber, and the driven roller 132 is pressed by a compression spring or the like, thereby obtaining a conveying force. Below the oblique unit entrance roller 131, oblique rollers 133, 134 and 135 inclined by about 25 ° to 30 ° and a horizontal roller 136 are arranged so that the paper is conveyed toward the reference guide 150. ing. The oblique rollers 133, 134, 135 and the horizontal roller 136 are also made of EP rubber or chloroprene rubber like the oblique unit inlet roller 131.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the structure of the inclined rollers 133, 134, 135 and the driven roller 138 pressed against the horizontal roller 136.

The driven roller 138 is pressed by a compression spring, and its roller shape is R-shaped so as to come into contact with the other driving roller at a point. This increases the degree of freedom with respect to the rotation direction of the paper, and prevents buckling or the like when the paper hits the reference guide 150. Oblique unit entrance roller 1
The paper sent at 31 is the oblique rollers 133, 134, 1 from the moment the rear end of the paper passes through the oblique unit entrance roller 131.
35 and the driven roller 138, the reference guide 1
It is conveyed obliquely toward 50. The paper obliquely conveyed to the reference guide 150 has the oblique rollers 133, 134, 135.
Is sent to the oblique unit discharge roller 137 along the reference guide 150. Oblique unit discharge roller 13
Reference numeral 7 ensures the conveyance to the next conveyance path, and the material is the same as that of the oblique unit entrance roller 131. The driven roller pressed by the oblique unit discharge roller is also the same as the driven roller 132 pressed by the oblique unit inlet roller 131.

As shown in FIG. 6, the guide plates of the oblique unit include a drive oblique guide plate 140 and a driven oblique guide plate 14.
5, drive oblique exit guide plate 148, driven oblique guide plate 1
It is composed of 49. Oblique driven guide plate 145
Is attached to the oblique door 145a which also serves as a part of the exterior.
It is installed like. Therefore, if the inclined portion door 145a is opened, the driven inclined guide plate 145 is simultaneously opened.
Will also be opened, so when removing paper jams, etc.,
All that is required is to open the slanted door 145a.

Next, a method of driving each conveying roller of the oblique unit will be described. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the main drive system of the oblique unit. 7 and 10, the timing pulley 161 fixed to the shaft of the oblique discharge roller 137.
The input driving force is transmitted to the timing pulley 162 coaxially fixed to the oblique discharging roller 137 via the shaft. The driving force transmitted to the timing pulley 162 is transmitted to the timing pulleys 163, 164, 167 via the timing belt 172, and the oblique unit roller 1 of the shaft to which the timing pulley 163 is fixed.
31 and the horizontal roller 136 of the shaft to which the timing pulley 167 is fixed obtains the driving force. The driving force transmitted to the timing pulley 164 is transmitted to a gear formed integrally with the timing pulley 164, transmitted via an intermediate gear 165 to a gear 166 fixed to the shaft of the oblique roller 133, The driving force is transmitted to the roller 133.

A timing pulley 168 is fixed to the other side of the shaft of the oblique roller 133, and the timing belt 1
It is transmitted to the timing pulley 169 via 73, and the oblique roller 134 obtains a driving force. Also, the diagonal roller 13
A timing pulley 170 is fixed to one of the four shafts and is transmitted to the timing pulley 171 via a timing belt 174, so that the oblique roller 135 obtains a driving force.

An entrance sensor 190 composed of a photo interrupter and an actuator is attached to the upper part of the driven guide plate 145 so that it can detect that the paper has entered the inside of the slant unit. ..

An oblique cover open sensor 191 is composed of a cover open detection-like projection (not shown) attached to the driven guide plate 145 and a photo interrupter attached to the side plate. This is configured so that the photo interrupter is shielded from light and the output signal becomes "H" when the cover is opened. By doing so, the CPU 90
0 is recognized as a cover open (in general, an IC recognizes as “H” if nothing is connected due to a disconnection or the like), and works in a safe direction.

Further, the drive of the oblique unit 110 is transmitted from the sorter / stapler unit 800 by the timing belt and the timing pulley, but the timing pulley has a torque limiter, and by any chance the CPU 90
0 goes out of control, the cover opening of the diagonal unit 130 cannot be recognized, and even if the cover is opened, the main motor 3
Even if 13 is left spinning, the user keeps it safe by avoiding injury due to rollers.

A dew condensation preventing heater 142 is attached to the upper portion of the driving oblique guide plate 140 via a bracket 141. The dew condensation preventing heater 142 is a heater that prevents a paper jam due to dew condensation on a guide plate or the like. The paper on which an image is formed in the main body of the copying machine is heated and pressed by a fixing unit (not shown) in the main body of the copying machine. At that time, the water contained in the paper is evaporated and diffused into the air.
The paper discharged from the copying machine body also carries hot air containing a large amount of water (the air is also heated by fixing). If there is a cold guide plate, the temperature difference causes dew condensation on the guide plate.

Usually, as a measure against dew condensation, there is a method of making a hole in the guide plate, giving a string to the guide plate to reduce the contact area with the paper, etc. Since the paper is inclined, the end face of the paper is caught by the holes, the string, etc., which causes a problem such as a jam. That is, the diagonal unit 1
Since it is necessary to reduce holes and unevenness in the guide plate of No. 30 as much as possible, in this embodiment, the dew condensation preventing heater 142 is used and the sheet passing surface of the guide plate is not changed. The material of the bracket 141 to which the dew condensation preventing heater 142 is attached is an aluminum plate having high thermal conductivity.

Since the temperature difference is greatest near the discharge port of the main body of the copying machine, dew condensation often occurs at the upper part of the oblique unit, and the dew condensation prevention heater 1 is attached only to the upper part.
This is because if 42 is attached, there will be no portion where the temperature difference is large, and a dew condensation preventing effect will be obtained.

If the temperature of the guide plate is about 30 ° C. or higher at the start of copying, dew condensation is unlikely to occur, and during copying, the guide plate is gradually warmed by the heat of the paper discharged from the copying machine body, so that dew condensation occurs Prevention heater 142 is OFF
But it's okay.

Next, the control of the dew condensation preventing heater 142 will be described.

The dew condensation prevention heater 142 is composed of a nichrome wire and generates heat when DC 24V is energized. ON /
In the OFF control, the dew condensation prevention heater 142 is turned on at the same time when the power of the copying machine main body is turned on, and the dew condensation prevention heater 142 is turned on until the copying machine main body is WARM UP and copying is started.
When the copying is started in the N state, the dew condensation prevention heater 142 is turned off. When the copying is finished and the copying machine main body is in the standby state, the dew condensation prevention heater 142 is turned on again.
N, warm the guide plate until the next copy starts. These ON / OFF are performed by the transistor driver 908 via I / 0904.

As described above, the dew condensation prevention heater 142 is turned on while the copying machine main body is on standby, and during copying, the guide plate is warmed by the heat of the discharged paper without the dew condensation prevention heater 142.
Control to become F. As a result, the maximum power consumption of the system can be suppressed. Here, the W number of the dew condensation preventing heater 142 is determined so that the vicinity of the heat conduction mounting surface of the guide plate becomes 30 ° C. or more within the copying machine main body WARM UP time.

As another method for preventing dew condensation, there is a method in which a hole is formed in a guide plate and a fan is used to blow / exhaust the air to let the moist air inside escape to the outside. There is a drawback that noise is generated and the cost is higher than that of the dew condensation preventing heater 142.

FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 show models in which the paper is conveyed obliquely. As shown in FIG. 11, when the front end of the paper comes into contact with the reference guide 150, the paper is tripped at the front end, and the paper rotates to be obliquely fed or jammed. The movement of the paper shown in FIG. 12 is an ideal conveyance. When the trailing edge of the paper is brought into contact with the reference guide 150, the paper is smoothly conveyed without rotating. 11
In order to realize the movement of the paper shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, four rollers 131a, 131b, 1 of the oblique entrance roller 131 are provided.
The diameters of 31c and 131d are slightly different, and when they are conveyed in this portion, they are forcibly fed slightly obliquely so that they come into contact with the reference guide 150 from the rear end of the paper. The tilt amount due to these rollers is set to about 100 mm and about 2 to 3 mm in consideration of the correction of the skew feed amount during the conveyance of the copying machine main body.

Oblique rollers 133, 134, 13 shown in FIG.
5 and the driven roller 13 pressed against the horizontal roller 136.
The pressing force of No. 8 is set higher than the driven roller 138 pressed by the rollers 134a and 135a and the driven roller 138 pressed by the other rollers, and the ratio thereof is 2 :.
1 or more is preferable. This is because by increasing the pressure of the roller near the reference guide 150 and lowering the pressure of the roller farther than the reference guide, the pressure when the paper comes into contact with the reference guide 150 is weakened and the paper is conveyed smoothly.

Next, the relationship between the speeds of the respective transport rollers in the transport direction will be described. The velocity V of each transport roller in the transport direction is the velocity V1 of the diagonal entrance roller 131 ≈ the diagonal rollers 133, 13
The velocity V2 of 4,135≈the velocity V3 of the horizontal roller 136≈the velocity V4 of the oblique unit discharge roller 137. However, since the speed V2 of the oblique rollers 133, 134, and 135 is the downward conveyance direction component, the oblique angle correction and the reference guide 15 are performed.
Considering the resistance when being conveyed while contacting 0 as a speed loss of about 15%, the oblique rollers 133, 134, 1
The speed V2a in the diagonal direction of 35 is V2a = V2 ÷ COSθ × 1.15.

Another feature of the oblique unit is that
That is, a mechanism for releasing the pressure of the driven roller 132 pressed by the oblique entrance roller 131 is provided.

FIG. 13 shows an embodiment of the pressure releasing mechanism. The driven roller 132 is pressed by a compression spring, and the pressure release lever 146 is arranged below the shaft of the driven roller 132. The pressure releasing lever 146 is configured to be rotatable about a fulcrum 146a, and the pressure releasing lever 146 is provided with a plunger of an oblique pressure releasing SOL 147. Oblique pressure release SOL14
When 7 turns on, the pressure release lever moves the driven roller 132 shaft to 1
46 is pushed up, and the pressure between the driven roller 132 and the oblique unit entrance roller 131 is released. By providing this pressure release mechanism, it becomes possible to skew even a paper of a longitudinal size with respect to the transport direction with a small device.

The main body of the copying machine of the present embodiment is basically a horizontal size paper (the width direction of the paper is the same as the conveying direction (the width of the sorter / stapler guide plate becomes longer than the vertical specification, (Because large size copy speed will be faster),
It may be possible to make a vertical copy such as reduction of a large size (A2, A3, etc.). Here, a case of the pressure release mechanism and a case of not having the pressure release mechanism will be described by taking the A4 size as an example.

The size of A4 size is 297 × 210 mm
Is. First, the transport length at which the A4 lateral size can be at least obliquely obtained is theoretically obtained. As described above, since the slant starts at the moment when the rear end of the paper passes through the slant entrance roller 131, the required transport length until the slant starts is 210 mm. Further, the reference guide plate 150 is provided at a position 230 mm from the center of the paper, and the oblique rollers 133, 134, 135
When the angle of inclination is 25 °, the length required for being inclined and able to contact the reference guide 150 is {230− (297 ÷ 2)} ÷ tan 25 ° ≈175 mm. From the above, the conveyance length in which the A4 lateral size can be obliquely becomes 210 mm + 175 mm = 385 mm.

In the same manner, the conveyance length in which the A4 vertical size can be slanted is added to the sheet length 297 mm by the slanting required length {230- (210 ÷ 2)} ÷ tan 25 ° ≈268 mm. And becomes 565 mm, which is about 1.
Five times the transport route is required. Therefore, when the pressure of the driven roller 132 at the oblique entrance is released, the paper discharged from the copying machine main body discharge rollers 111 and 112 is not inclined.
Although there are no rollers that are forcibly conveyed up to, the rollers are sufficiently conveyed up to the diagonal roller 133 because of the vertical size. And
The skew starts at the moment when the paper passes through the discharge rollers 111 and 112 of the copying machine main body.

In this embodiment, the copying machine main body discharge rollers 111,
The transport distance from 112 to the diagonal entrance roller 131 is about 14
Since it is 0 mm, when the pressure release mechanism is not provided, the length of the A4 vertical size that can be skewed is calculated by subtracting 140 mm from the calculated value 565 mm. 425 mm is the required transport length when the pressure release mechanism is used. That is, the diagonal orientation can be achieved only by making it about 40 mm longer (about + 10%) than the lateral size.

Regarding the pressure release timing and whether or not the pressure is released, the paper size sent from the copying machine main body
It depends on the direction and the diagonal effective distance. With the diagonal effective distance, pressure is released at an appropriate timing for paper that is not skewed. While the paper is nipped and fed by the copying machine main body discharge roller, the holding force of the copying machine main body discharge rollers 111 and 112 is inclined even if the pressure of the oblique entrance roller 131 is released. This is because it is larger than the holding force of the rollers 133, 134 and 135. Further, even if the paper is separated from the copier body discharge rollers 111 and 112, if the pressure is released too early, the paper may be skewed too much.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the CPU 900 causes the oblique pressure release SOL1 by the paper size data and the paper discharge signal transmitted from the copying machine main body, the signal of the entrance sensor 190, and the pulse signal of the pulse generator 192.
After the paper 47 is pulled out from the paper discharge roller of the copying machine main body through the I / O port 904 and the driver 908, or the leading edge of the paper is pulled out of the entrance sensor 190, the skew corresponding to the paper size is surely obtained. ON / OF at the exact timing
F control is performed to enable space-saving and diagonal orientation of paper of any size.

As described above, when the pressure release mechanism is provided, even a long size paper can be tilted with a small device.
You can save space or increase the flexibility of the machine configuration.

The paper carried out from the skew unit is continuously sent to the horizontal carrying unit and then carried into the sorter / stapler. FIG. 14 is a front view of the sorter / stapler unit 800, in which the horizontal transport unit 200, the distribution unit 300, and the connection unit 700 are extracted. The paper whose end surface is the reference by the inclined portion 100 is the guide plate 20.
1. While being guided by the driven guide plate 202 that also serves as the exterior cover, the sheet is carried into the transport unit 200 including the transport roller 208 and the driven roller 209. The conveying roller 208 is made of EP rubber or chloroprene rubber, and the driven roller 209 is pressed by a leaf spring or the like to obtain a conveying force.

These transport rollers 208 and driven rollers 209
The transport system configured by a combination of the above is horizontally arranged in two rows and sequentially transports the paper to the switching claw 207. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the driven guide plate 202 is a resin guide plate that also serves as a part of the exterior, and is integrally formed with a rib 202f for guiding the paper. Note that FIG.
In FIG. 5, the plurality of ribs 202f at the central portion are omitted. The driven roller 209 is a set with the leaf spring 209a.
It is assembled as shown in (a) and (b). 202 g
Is a pin for preventing the leaf spring 209a from rotating, and the screw 20
Fix with 9b. When the paper inside the machine is removed by a paper jam or the like, it is only necessary to open the driven guide plate 202 that also serves as the exterior, as in the inclined portion 100.

FIGS. 18 (a) and 18 (b) are views showing a state in which the driven guide plate is set and a state in which the driven guide plate is opened to perform processing when a jam or the like occurs. Driven guide plate 2
02, a main fulcrum 202a and a sub fulcrum 202b are provided, which are respectively inserted in the grooves 202c and 202d formed in the side plate. The main fulcrum 202a and the spring anchor 202e attached to the side plate are pulled by a spring. When the driven guide plate 202 is opened, the driven fulcrum 202b moves along the groove 202d. Since the main fulcrum 202a moves integrally with the sub fulcrum 202b, the groove 202c in which the main fulcrum 202a is inserted gradually moves from left to right and opens 90 °.
The hatched portion 100 shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B has the oblique portion 100 described above. However, by adopting the above-described mechanism, the oblique portion 100 is not interfered with. The driven guide plate 202 can be opened by 90 ° or more, which facilitates the processing.

To the driven guide plate 202, a registration sensor 203 composed of a photo interrupter and an actuator is attached in order to set the timing of the paper discharge destination in the next distribution unit 300. The registration sensor 203, instead of the entrance sensor 190, takes a timing because the slip is large while the skew unit 110 conveys the paper, and the pulse is simply generated in proportion to the time or the rotation of the roller. Since it is not proportional to the number of pulses from the generator, it is not possible to support the high-speed copying machine body (short paper interval) unless the timing is passed after the paper has passed through the skew unit and the transportation is stable. is there.

Further, the CPU 900 is provided with the cover SW constituted by the micro SW attached to the side plate by the protrusion (not shown) attached to the driven guide plate 202.
Is aware of the cover open. Like the drive system of the slanted portion 100, a torque limiter is attached here as well,
This makes it safe for users. In addition, the cover open is detected by the micro SW, unlike the slanted portion 100. Therefore, when the cover is opened, the micro SW is turned off (open), and the harness is in the same broken state. But I'm trying to be safe.

Next, the distribution unit will be described.
In FIG. 14, the paper from the horizontal transport unit 200 is
Transport to distribution unit 300 or connect unit 700
A switching claw 207 for switching between transporting to and from is provided at the exit of the horizontal transport unit 200. Ordinary users are not often used in the connected system, but are often used in the copier body and one sorter / stapler. Therefore, the switching claw 207 is normally provided in the distribution unit 3
It is fixed so that the paper is transported to 00. When connecting, a connecting SOL unit is attached to drive and switch. The paper is a switching claw 207, a guide plate 211,
It is guided to the distribution unit 300 by 212.

Deflection claws 312 and discharge rollers 304 are provided at positions corresponding to the respective bins 350 of the distribution unit 300, and the driven rollers 307 are in pressure contact with each other with the discharge roller 304 and the paper conveyance path sandwiched therebetween. ing. Further, the driven roller 307 is a driven guide plate 308 which also serves as a cover.
309 and its structure. The mounting structure of the guide plates 308, 309, 372 and the exterior cover 314 is the same as that of the oblique portion 100 shown in FIG.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of the outer cover 314. As can be seen from the figure, the pin 315 on the back side is rotated and opened. This exterior cover 314
The driven roller 307 is opened by rotating and releasing.
Therefore, in the case of removing the in-machine paper by jamming the paper or the like, it can be easily performed by opening the distribution unit exterior cover 314 as in the case of the slanting unit 100 and the horizontal transport unit 200. After opening the exterior cover as before,
It is no longer necessary to open the internal guide plate). Each deflecting claw 312 is individually operable by the deflecting SOL 320, and the CPU 900 responds to the discharge bin data by timing with the registration sensor 203- based on the discharge bin data instructed by the copying machine main body. The deflected SOL 320 is turned on and the paper is discharged to the bin 350.

The distribution unit 300 includes a bin 3 somewhere.
There is a bin sensor that detects whether or not there is paper on the 50, and an entry sensor that detects that the paper is discharged to a bin 350 somewhere. With this, the system control such as the timing of jogger and jam detection is performed. ing. Bin sensor / entry sensor is an LED
And a light-transmissive sensor including a phototransistor (diode), which includes a light receiving portion 330 and a light emitting portion 331.

A distribution cover open SW composed of micro SWs is attached to the side plate, whereby the CPU 900 recognizes the cover open of the distribution unit. In the distribution unit 300, a torque limiter is not included in the drive system unlike the slanting section 100 and the horizontal transport section 200. This is because the number of rollers is large, so the load is large, and even if a torque limiter corresponding to the load is attached at one place, the limit value must be increased, and the safety of the user cannot be ensured. A torque limiter may be attached to all the rollers of the distribution unit 300, but the cost becomes abnormally high (at least 2).
0 or more).

Therefore, in this embodiment, the cover open S
W is composed of two micro SWs, one is for recognizing the cover open of the CPU 900 as described above, and the other is to directly turn off the power supply line of the main motor 313 which is the drive source of the distribution unit 300. By using it as an interlock switch, it is safe for users. The wire breakage of the harness is similar to that of the horizontal transport unit 200.

FIG. 20 is a front view showing the details of the deflection mechanism, and FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the deflection claw. The paper conveyed from the horizontal conveyance unit 200 in FIG.
By turning on the deflection SOL 320 corresponding to 0,
The deflection claw 312 corresponding to the bin 350 is opened, and the bin 3
Guide the paper to 50. Also, the discharged bin 350
Deflection SOL 320 corresponding to other bins 350 is OFF
At that time, the deflecting claw 312 is engaged with the return spring 32.
The force of 1 does not hinder the conveyance of the paper in the closed position and during the vertical conveyance.

In FIG. 21, the deflection claw 312 and the deflection lever 316 are shown.
Are integrally formed with the shaft 319. Reference numeral 316a denotes a part of the deflection lever 316, which also serves as a bearing.
A metal plate 318 is separately provided as a reinforcing member at a portion where the deflection SOL 320 and the return spring 321 are hooked. The convex portion 316b of the deflection lever 316 is a sheet metal 318.
Is used for positioning and rotation prevention when assembled to the deflection lever 316. The position is determined by the shaft 319 and the convex portion 316b, and fixed by a retaining ring or the like. Conventionally, the deflection lever 3
16 and the metal plate 318 were separate parts from the deflection claw 312 and the shaft 319. For this reason, the bearing is put in the side plate and the shaft 3
It was necessary to attach the deflection lever 316 through 19 and further couple the deflection lever 316 to the deflection SOL 320, and then adjust the positions of the deflection claw 312 and the deflection lever 316, but in this embodiment, they are all integrally molded. As a result, adjustment is not required, and bearings are not required, resulting in a significant reduction in manufacturing time and cost.

Since the sorter / stapler is capable of stapling, there is a demand for improving the finish by stapling with a cover. Generally, most of the papers used for the cover are thick paper (a continuous amount of 90 kg or more). In the conventional example, the sortable sheet thickness is limited to about 90 kg. In the present embodiment, the radius of the portion of the deflecting claw 312 where the paper turns is increased, or the gap or shape of the guide plates 211 and 212 is changed to 13
It is designed to handle up to about 5 kg.

Reference numeral 317 denotes a sound deadening material, which absorbs a sudden sound generated by hitting the side plate when the deflecting claw 312 is opened and closed.
Further, the material thereof is chloroprene rubber in the present embodiment, but it may be any material capable of absorbing sound (absorbing sound).

The driven rollers 307 are installed every two units with respect to the discharge rollers 304. The distance between the driven rollers 307 is shorter than the length in the conveying direction of the smallest size paper that can be used in the copying machine body of this embodiment.

The guide plates 371, 372, 375 and the transport roller 37 are provided on the upstream side of the transport of the paper of the distribution unit 300.
3, a driven roller 307, and a proof unit 370 including a proof tray 376.

A proof discharge sensor 377 composed of an actuator and a photo interrupter is attached to the guide plate 375, whereby the CP
U900 manages paper discharge. Deflection claw 31
2 are all closed, guide plates 371, 372, 37
5, it is discharged to the proof tray 376 through the conveyance roller 373 and the driven roller 307.

In this embodiment, this proof tray 376 is used.
In order to avoid the need for a dedicated proof tray, it also serves as a part of the upper cover that is an exterior body.
In addition, the proof tray 376 is a large-sized paper (A2,
A large-sized fold-back guide is attached so that it will not fall even if (B3 etc.) is discharged. In addition, the guide 371,
The 375 has as large a radius R as possible to enable the passage of thick paper and stiff paper. (Similarly, the oblique guide plates 113, 114, 148, 149, the distribution unit 3
R of the switching claw 207 of 00 and the guide plate 212 is also made large. This allows the sorter / stapler to carry up to a continuous weight of 180 kg.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart for explaining the control of the oblique pressure release SOL147. In this control, it is checked whether the carried-in paper has a size that needs to be released from pressure (step S1), and if it is not necessary, the next control is directly performed. If it is necessary to release the pressure, the oblique pressure release SOL147 is controlled at the optimum timing for the relevant paper according to the size data / paper output signal received from the copying machine main body and the information from the sorter / stapler entrance sensor 190. In step S2), it is turned on (step S3).

Thereafter, similarly, according to the size data / paper discharge signal received from the main body of the copying machine and the information from the sorter / stapler entrance sensor 190, the paper is inclined diagonally 133,1.
It is checked whether or not 34 and 135 have been passed (step S4), and if they have passed, the oblique pressure release SOL147 is turned off for the next sheet conveyance (step S5), and the process proceeds to the next control. Further, although not particularly described, when the staple start signal is received after the paper discharge signal is received, the staple start process is performed, and the staple operation is performed simultaneously with the sorting operation. The stapling operation will be described later.

The paper carried in the sorter / stapler is
After passing through the entrance sensor 190 and the registration sensor 203, the paper is ejected to the bin 350 designated by the ejection destination bin data from the copying machine main body.
The deflection SOL 320 is controlled on the basis of the time when 03 is turned on, and the paper is guided to the determined discharge bin 350.

According to the entry sensor, the corresponding bin 35
When the paper discharge to 0 is checked and the discharge is confirmed, the discharge completion bin data corresponding to the discharge completed bin 350 is transmitted to the copying machine main body, and the completion of the discharge to the designated bin is notified to the copying machine main body. And the deflection SOL 320 of the corresponding bin 350 is turned off. If the ejected paper can be jogged, a process for jogger is performed, the jogger up / down motor 530 and the jogger motor 522 are controlled, and jogger is sequentially performed. After a series of operations, it is checked by the signal from the main body of the copying machine whether or not the sorting is completed. If the sorting is continued, the operations from step 1-12 are repeated. If the sorting is completed, the main motor 313 is turned off to operate. Ends.

However, even if the motor ON signal is received after the signal is turned OFF, if there is still the paper being normally conveyed in the sorter / stapler, all the paper is in the corresponding bin 35.
Operation continues until it is discharged above zero.

[0097]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention configured as described above has the following effects.

In the sheet post-processing apparatus for sorting the sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus, a plurality of bins for sorting and a tray provided adjacent to the sheet discharge outlet for the image formed sheets of the image forming apparatus. According to the invention of claim 1, further comprising at least a switching means for switching the destination of the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port to the bin or the tray. Since the tray is provided as a tray, the user can easily use the tray, and the jam processing can be performed without crouching, which facilitates the processing.

The invention according to claim 2, wherein the leading end portion of the tray on the paper receiving side is formed in a shape facing the case surface accommodating the apparatus body in which the discharge port of the image forming apparatus is formed. According to this, since the switching stroke is shortened, the trays can be switched in a short time, and the jam is less likely to occur.

According to the invention as claimed in claim 3, further comprising means for discharging the paper to the tray according to an instruction from the main body of the image forming apparatus, even if the post-processing apparatus provided with the bin goes down, the image forming apparatus side causes a failure. The trays can be switched according to the instruction, and the occurrence of jam can be prevented and the usability can be improved.

According to the invention as set forth in claim 4 which is provided with means for manually switching the switching means, when automatic tray switching cannot be performed, the tray can be manually switched, so that a jam occurs. Can be prevented. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] November 4, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Brief description of the drawing

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a sorter / stapler connected in multiple stages to a diagonal unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of part of a control system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of another part of the control system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of an inlet switching unit in the diagonal unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of an entrance switching unit in the diagonal unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the oblique unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a right side view of the diagonal unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a driven roller provided in the oblique unit.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an oblique driven guide plate.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a drive system of a diagonal unit.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation when a sheet is skewed by a skewing unit.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation when a sheet is skewed by a skew unit.

FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a pressure release mechanism.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a sorter / stapler.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a driven guide plate.

FIG. 16 is a side view of a driven guide plate.

FIG. 17 is a view showing a mounted state of driven rollers.

FIG. 18 is a view showing the operation of the driven guide plate.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of an outer cover.

FIG. 20 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a deflection mechanism.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a deflecting claw.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for pressure release.

[Explanation of symbols] 110 interrupt tray unit 111 main body discharge roller 112 main body discharge roller 113 inlet guide plate 114 inlet guide plate 115 first tray 116 switching bracket 117 gear 117a pin 122 tray switching motor 125 interrupt tray 180 tray switching home sensor 181 tray Switching position sensor 350 bin

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All drawings

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

[Figure 5]

[Figure 6]

[Figure 8]

[Fig. 13]

[Figure 10]

[Fig. 2]

FIG. 11

[Fig. 12]

FIG. 17

FIG. 20

[Figure 3]

[Figure 4]

[Figure 7]

[Figure 9]

FIG. 14

FIG. 16

FIG. 15

FIG. 18

FIG. 19

FIG. 21

FIG. 22

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masatoshi Hosoi 2-28-24 Izumi, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Yokota Building, Ricoh Elemex Co., Ltd. (72) Yuji Ueno 2-28, Izumi, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 24 Yokota Building Ricoh Electrics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Mitsuru Ichikawa 2-28-24 Izumi, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture (72) Inventor Keiko Maeda 2--2 Izumi, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture 28-24 Yokota Building Ricoh Electrics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tetsuji Watanabe 2-2 Izumi, Higashi-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Prefecture 28-28-24 Yokota Building Ricoh Electrics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Minoru Hattori Izumi, Higashi-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Prefecture 2-28-24 Yokota Building Ricoh Elemex Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sheet post-processing apparatus for sorting sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus, comprising a plurality of bins for sorting and at least two trays that can be interrupted, one of which is an image tray. A switching unit is provided adjacent to the discharge port of the image-formed sheet of the forming apparatus, and further includes a switching unit that switches the destination of the sheet discharged from the discharge port to the bin or the tray. Paper post-processing device. 2. The leading end of the tray on the paper receiving side is
2. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet post-processing apparatus has a shape that is opposed to a surface of a case accommodating a device body in which the discharge port of the image forming apparatus is formed. 3. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for ejecting the sheet to the tray according to an instruction from the image forming apparatus main body. 4. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means capable of manually switching the switching means.