JPH05185766A - Bin side fencing device for sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry out excellently proper arranging of sheets in each bin, stapling, and taking out of a stapled sheet bundle to a carrying unit. CONSTITUTION:A carrying unit is provided wherein a top tray 5 is provided above the highest positioned bin 4 in a plurality of bins 4 arranged along a vertical direction, a sheet bundle stapled with a stapler 7 after being housed in each bin 4 is taken out and besides, discharged onto the top tray 5 by being carried upwards. A bin side fence 12 opposed to a side of the sheets sent onto the bin 4 is arranged to a side of a group of bins 4. The bin side fence is provided freely movably to a sheet-properly arranging reference position wherein a side end of the sheets sent onto the bin 4 is pushed against, a stapling reference position which is separated from the sheet bundle, and a sheet bundle- taking out reference position wherein the stapled sheet bundle is pushed out to almost the central part of the bin 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bin side fence device for a sorter which sorts sheets carried in from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional sorter, it is common to manually take out and collect a sheet bundle fed into each bin and stacked. When the number of sheets to be created by sorting is large, two same sorters are used side by side.

[0003]

The sheet bundle is taken out from each bin manually, which is troublesome. In addition, the loading of sheets from the image forming apparatus cannot be resumed until the sheet bundle is taken out from each bin, and the sorter cannot be continuously used. In addition, since a large number of sheets are created by sorting, a large installation space is required when using two identical sorters side by side.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a plurality of bins into which sheets carried in from an image forming apparatus are fed are arranged in the vertical direction, and a bundle of sheets stored in these bins is stapled. In a sorter having a stapler, a top tray is provided above the uppermost bin, and a transport unit that takes out the stapled sheet bundle from the bin, transports it upward, and then discharges it onto the top tray is provided. , A bin side fence facing the side of the sheet fed into the bin is disposed laterally of the bin group, and the bin side fence has a side end of the sheet fed into the bin. The sheet alignment reference position to be pressed, the staple binding reference position away from the sheet bundle, and the stapled sheet bundle It provided movably to the sheet bundle take-out reference position to push the substantially central portion of the bottle.

[0005]

The sheet bundle stapled after being stored in each bin is taken out by the conveying unit, conveyed upward, and then ejected onto the top tray. Therefore, when taking out the sheet bundle from the sorter, the sheet bundle is topped. It is sufficient to take out the sheet bundle collected on the tray, and the sheet bundle can be taken out more easily than when taking out the sheet bundle for each bin. In addition, the stack of sheets in the bin is automatically ejected onto the top tray by the transport unit, and the inside of the bin automatically returns to the same state as when the sorting work was started. It can be performed as continuous work. Then, by moving the bin side fence to the sheet alignment reference position, the side edges of the sheets fed onto the bin are pressed against this bin side fence, and the sheets are aligned on the bin. Further, by moving the bin side fence to the staple binding reference position and separating it from the sheet bundle, it is possible to prevent the bin side fence from interfering with the staple binding, and to perform the staple binding smoothly. Furthermore, by moving the bin side fence to the sheet bundle take-out reference position and pushing out the stapled sheet bundle to the approximate center of the bin, the sheet bundle can be taken out to the transport unit in a stable manner.

[0006]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a sorter 1 according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side view thereof. The sorter 1 is provided with an entrance guide plate 2 into which a sheet (not shown) from an image forming apparatus (not shown) such as a copying machine or a printer is loaded, and further, four spiral helical cams 3 are provided. A plurality of bins 4 whose corners are held are arranged in the vertical direction, and a top tray 5 is provided above the uppermost bin 4. Further, between the inlet guide plate 2 and the bin 4 group, there are a sheet handling 6 that clamps and takes out the sheet bundle stored in each bin 4, and a sheet bundle that the sheet handling 6 clamps and takes out. Stapler 7 for staple binding
Then, the sheet that has reached the entrance guide plate 2 is sent to each bin 4, and a stapled sheet bundle (not shown) is held and conveyed upward, and then discharged onto the top tray 5. Unit 8 and are provided.

Now, the bin 4 will be described. These bins 4 are arranged in an inclined state so that the rear end side of the sheet in the sheet feeding direction is lower, and the bins 4 are vertically movable by the rotation of the spiral helical cam 3. A back fence 11 connected to a solenoid 10 via a lever 9 is attached to the trailing end side of the lower sheet of the bin 4 in the feeding direction. It is rotatably provided between a holding position for holding the edge and a holding release position for releasing the holding state of the sheet. It should be noted that the back fence 11 rotated to the holding position projects upward as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and is substantially orthogonal to the bin 4, and the back fence 11 rotated to the holding release position has its upper end. The part is inclined toward the transport unit 8 side. Also,
A bin side fence 12 facing the side of the sheet fed onto the bin 4 and a jogger bar 13 reciprocating in a direction approaching and separating from the bin side fence 12 are arranged on the side of the bin 4 group. It is set up.

Next, the bin side fence 12 will be described. The bin side fence 12 is slidably held by a guide shaft 14 arranged in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction onto the bin 4, and the bin side fence 12 includes the guide shaft 14 and the guide shaft 14. The rack 15 is formed in parallel. A pinion 16 meshes with the rack 15, and the pinion 16 is connected to a bin side fence motor 17. Further, at a position close to the bin side fence 12, a first sensor 18 for detecting that the bin side fence 12 has slid to a sheet alignment reference position “A” as shown in FIG. A second sensor 19 for detecting that the bin side fence 12 has slid to the staple binding reference position "B" as shown in FIG.
And a third sensor 20 for detecting that the bin side fence 12 has slid to the sheet bundle take-out reference position "C" as shown in FIG.

Here, when the bin side fence 12 is located at the sheet alignment reference position, the jogger bar 13 reciprocates in the direction of approaching and separating from the bin side fence 12, and the jogger bar 13 is moved to the bin. 4 is brought into contact with one side of the sheet sent out and the other side of the sheet is brought into contact with the bin side fence 12 to perform sheet alignment. Further, when the bin side fence 12 slides to the staple binding reference position, the bin side fence 12 is separated from the sheet bundle on the bin 4, and in this state, the sheet handling clamps the sheet bundle 6 and the stapler 7 Staple binding is performed. In addition, the bin side fence 12
Is slid to the sheet bundle removal reference position,
The sheet bundle after stapled by the bin side fence 12 is pushed out to the substantially central portion of the bin 4.

Next, the transport unit 8 will be described. The transport unit 8 is provided with a transport roller 22 that is driven by a motor 21 to rotate and a discharge roller 23. Further, at a position close to the discharge roller 23, a trailing end of a sheet or a sheet bundle passing therethrough is provided. Sensor 24 to detect
Is installed. Further, the transport unit 8 is vertically slidably fitted to a guide shaft 25 provided upright with a vertical axis, and a lifting motor 26 for raising and lowering the transport unit 8 and a worm gear 27 are provided. A timing belt 28 is provided. It should be noted that at a position close to the guide shaft 25, a sensor 29 for detecting that the transport unit 8 has been raised to the highest position corresponding to the top tray 5, and that the transport unit 8 has been lowered to the lowest position. And a sensor 30 for detecting

Next, the inlet guide plate 2 is rotatably provided with a support shaft 31 as a fulcrum, and the inlet guide plate solenoid 3 is provided on the inlet guide plate 2 via a lever 32.
3 are connected. The entrance guide plate 2 conveys the sheet carried in from the image forming apparatus by the conveyance unit 8.
And a delivery position close to the transport unit 8 and a sheet that has been carried in from the image forming apparatus cannot be delivered to the transport unit 8 and is released from the transport unit 8. It is rotatably provided to the position.

In such a structure, when the sheet carried in from the image forming apparatus is sent to each bin 4, the entrance guide plate 2 is rotated to the delivery position as shown by the solid line in FIG. Is descending to the lowest position. Further, the bin side fence 12 is located at the sheet alignment reference position as shown in FIG. In this state, the sheet carried into the sorter 1 from the image forming apparatus is delivered to the carrying unit 8 through the inlet guide plate 2, and the sheet is carried by the carrying roller 22 and the discharging roller which are rotationally driven by the normal rotation of the motor 21. It is sent to the bin 4 located opposite to the transport unit 8 by 23. Bottle 4
When the rear end of the sheet fed upward is detected by the sensor 24, the jogger bar 13 is driven based on the detection result, and the sheet fed onto the bin 4 is moved to a position where it abuts the bin side fence 12. By doing so, the sheets are aligned. Further, simultaneously with the completion of the sheet alignment by driving the jogger bar 13, the four spiral helical cams 3 make one rotation in the same direction, and the bin 4 into which the sheet has been fed rises and the next bin 4 located below.
Moves to a position facing the transport unit 8 and the bin 4
The feeding of sheets upward and the sheet alignment are performed in the same manner. In this manner, the bins 4 are intermittently moved up and down by the preset number of copies, and a plurality of sheets are aligned and stored in a bundle in each bin 4.

Next, when an image formation end signal is input from the image forming apparatus, the bin side fence motor 17 rotates in the forward direction, and the bin side fence 12 slides in the direction away from the sheet bundle on the bin 4, As shown in FIG. 4, when the second sensor 19 is slid to the staple binding reference position and detected by the second sensor 19, the normal rotation of the bin side fence motor 17 is stopped. Then, the sheet handling 6 is operated, the sheet bundle stored in the bin 4 is clamped and taken out to the stapler 7 side, and the taken-out sheet bundle is stapled by the stapler 7 and then returned to the bin 4. Therefore, during the staple binding operation, since the bin side fence 12 slides to the staple binding reference position and is separated from the sheet bundle on the bin 4, the bin side fence 12 does not hinder the staple binding. Staple binding is performed smoothly. During the staple binding operation by the sheet handling 6 and the stapler 7, the spiral helical cam 3 makes one rotation every time the staple binding of the sheet bundle in each bin 4 is completed, and the sheet bundles stored in all the bins 4 are rotated. Are stapled in order.

When the staple binding of the sheet bundles in all the bins 4 is completed, the inlet guide plate solenoid 33 is turned on and the inlet guide plate 2 is rotated to the delivery release position as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. The inlet guide plate 2 and the transport unit 8 are separated from each other. Then, the motor 21 of the transport unit 8 reversely rotates, and the transport roller 22 and the discharge roller 23 rotate in opposite directions. Further, the spiral helical cam 3 makes a half rotation, and the bin 4 moves up to a sheet bundle take-out position where the stapled sheet bundle can be taken out to the transport unit 8.

When one bin 4 moves up to the sheet bundle take-out position, the bin side fence motor 17 rotates in the reverse direction,
The bin side fence 12 slides toward the staple-bound sheet bundle on the bin 4, and pushes the sheet bundle to the approximate center of the bin 4. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, when it slides to the sheet bundle take-out reference position and is detected by the third sensor 20, the binside fence motor 17 rotates forward and the binside fence 12 moves to the sheet alignment reference position shown in FIG. Returned to. Next, when the bin side fence 12 is returned to the sheet alignment reference position, the solenoid 10 is turned on, the back fence 11 is rotated to the holding release position, and the sheet bundle on the bin 4 conveys the upper surface of the bin 4. The sheet is slid down to the unit 8 side, and is fed into the transport unit 8 by the discharge roller 23 and the transport roller 22 which rotate in the reverse direction. Therefore, when the sheet bundle on the bin 4 is taken out to the transport unit 8, the sheet bundle is pushed out to the substantially central portion of the bin 4 by the bin side fence 12, so that the sheet bundle is stably taken out to the transport unit 8. Done.

When the rear end of the sheet bundle fed into the transport unit 8 is detected by the sensor 24, the reverse rotation of the motor 21 is stopped and the sheet bundle is held by the transport unit 8, and at the same time, the solenoid 10 is turned on. When turned off, the back fence 11 returns to the holding position. When the reverse rotation of the motor 21 is stopped, then the lifting motor 2
6 is driven, and the transport unit 8 driven by the elevation motor 26 via the worm gear 27 and the timing belt 28 moves up along the guide shaft 25. Then, when the transport unit 8 is raised to the maximum raised position facing the top tray 5 and detected by the sensor 29, the drive of the lifting motor 26 is stopped, and then the motor 21 is rotated in the forward direction, whereby the transport unit 8 is rotated. The sheet bundle held by is discharged onto the top tray 5. The sensor 24 is the rear end of the sheet bundle discharged onto the top tray 5.
When it is detected, the normal rotation of the motor 21 is stopped, the lifting motor 26 is driven in the opposite direction, the transport unit 8 is lowered, the lowered transport unit 8 is lowered to the lowest position, and the sensor 30 is detected. When detected, the driving of the lifting motor 26 is stopped. It should be noted that the spiral helical cam 3 is moved until the transport unit 8 moves up and down.
Has rotated half a turn, and the bin 4 from which the sheet bundle has been taken out is raised from the sheet bundle take-out position.

After the transport unit 8 is lowered to the lowest position, the spiral helical cam 3 is rotated again by a half turn, the next bin 4 containing the sheet bundle is raised again to the sheet bundle take-out position, and the sheet bundle from the bin 4 is moved. Is taken out and the discharged sheet bundle is discharged onto the top tray 5 in the same manner. Then, by repeating the above operation, all the sheet bundles are discharged onto the top tray 5.

Therefore, the stapled sheet bundle in each bin 4 is automatically discharged onto the top tray 5, and when the sheet bundle is taken out from the sorter 1, the sheets collected on the top tray 5 are collected. It is only necessary to take out the bundle, and the sheet bundle can be taken out more easily than when taking out the sheet bundle from each bin 4. In addition, since the sheet bundles in all the bins 4 are discharged onto the top tray 5 by the transport unit 8, the inside of the bins 4 returns to the same state as at the start of the sorting operation, so that the sorter 1 can be continuously used. At the same time, even when a sheet bundle having a number of copies larger than the number of bins 4 is created, the sorting operation can be continuously performed.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of bins, into which the sheets carried in from the image forming apparatus are fed as described above, are arranged in the vertical direction, and the sheet bundle stored in these bins is stapled. In a sorter having a stapler, a top tray located above the uppermost bin and a transport unit that takes out the stapled sheet bundle from the bin, transports it upward, and then discharges it onto the top tray. A bin side fence facing the side of the sheet fed onto the bin is provided on the side of the bin group, and the bin side fence is provided on the side of the sheet fed onto the bin. The sheet alignment reference position where the side edges are pressed, the staple binding reference position that separates from the sheet bundle, and the staple binding front position Since the sheet bundle is pushed out to the approximate center of the bin and can be moved to the sheet bundle take-out reference position, by moving the bin side fence to the sheet alignment reference position, the side of the sheet fed into the bin Sheets can be aligned on the bin by pressing one end against this binside fence, and by moving the binside fence to the staple binding reference position and separating it from the sheet bundle, the binside fence The staple side can be prevented from interfering with the stapling, and the stapling can be smoothly performed.Furthermore, the bin side fence is moved to the sheet bundle take-out reference position to move the stapled sheet bundle to the approximate center of the bin. By pushing out to the transport section, you can stably take out the sheet bundle to the transport unit. An effect such as can be.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a sorter.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view showing a sorter.

FIG. 3 shows a bin side fence positioned at a sheet alignment reference position, (a) is a side view, (b) is a front view,
(C) is a plan view.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a bin side fence located at a staple binding reference position.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a bin side fence located at a sheet bundle take-out reference position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Sorter 4 Bin 5 Top tray 7 Stapler 8 Transport unit 12 Bin side fence

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sorter having a stapler for arranging a plurality of bins into which sheets carried in from an image forming apparatus are fed along the vertical direction and stapling a bundle of sheets stored in these bins. A top tray is provided above the upper bin, and a conveyance unit is provided that takes out the stapled sheet bundle from the bin, conveys it upward, and then discharges it onto the top tray. A bin side fence that opposes the side of the sheet is arranged on the side of the bin group, and the side end of the sheet fed into the bin on the bin side fence is pressed against the sheet alignment reference position and the above. Push the staple-stitching reference position away from the sheet bundle and the stapled sheet bundle to the approximate center of the bin. A binside fence device for a sorter, which is provided so as to be movable to a reference position for taking out a bundle of sheets to be taken out.