JPH05221579A - Paper sheet after-treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the area of the notch part of a bin to the necessary minimum value and ensure the strength of the bin by minimizing the moving locus of an arm. CONSTITUTION:A notch part 35 is formed in a bin B on which paper sheets S are placed. A positioning member 375 formed on an arm 30 is energized to the edge 961 of the notch part 35 through the force of a spring 371 and the moving locus of the arm 303 is specified by means of the edge 961. The arm 303 is moved when other arm rotatably coupled to the arm 303 is rotationally driven.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention classifies and stores sheets ejected from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a laser beam printer, a printing machine, etc. in each bin (sheet receiving tray) and specifies a designated number of sheets. The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus for creating a bundle, and more specifically, it is possible to create a bundle of sheets having a number of copies equal to or greater than the number of bins by conveying the created bundle of sheets to a tray provided separately and emptying the bin. The present invention relates to a sheet conveying means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, various sheet post-processing apparatuses have been proposed which are installed on the side of a discharge portion of an image forming apparatus and sort and store discharged sheets into respective bins (sheet trays) to form a sheet bundle. ..

Some of the proposed sheet post-processing apparatuses are capable of producing a sheet bundle having a number of copies equal to or larger than the number of bins by providing sheet conveying means. In this type of apparatus, the sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus are sorted and stored in all bins, and first, a sheet bundle having the number of copies corresponding to the number of bins is formed. Next, the sheet conveying means discharges these sheet bundles to empty the bins, and the sheets are sorted and stored again on the empty bins.

Some examples of sheet conveying means used in the above apparatus will be briefly described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 19, each bin B is loaded with a sheet bundle.
A sheet conveying means including a slide member 917 that slides on the top is disclosed. The slide member 917 has a sheet placing portion that slides in contact with the bottom surface of the bin, and an upright portion that stands upright from the placing portion. The slide member 917 is provided for each bin B. It is provided. The bin B is supported movably up and down, and at a position facing the bin B having a predetermined height, a push-out member 918 for pushing out the slide member 917 of the bin B is provided. Further, a grip conveyor 914 and a stack tray 910 are arranged on the side where the slide member 917 is pushed out, and the grip conveyor 914 grips the end portion of the sheet bundle placed on the slide member 917 and pushed out. Then, the grip conveyor 914 is configured to place the sheet bundle on the stack tray 910.

Further, FIG. 20 shows an L-shaped arm member 9
The sheet conveying means including 51 is shown. The arm member 95
1 is arranged outside the bin B, and is configured to be rotationally driven around the rotation center 953 by a driving unit (not shown). In addition, the bottle B has the arm member 951.
The end portion B ′ on the side where is arranged is bent downward to have an inclined portion, and a cutout portion 960 is formed so as to extend over the inclined portion. That is, the arm member 9
A tip portion 952 attached to the tip of the 51 and protruding to the bin B side (downward side) enters the cutout portion 960 without interfering with the end portion B ′ of the bin, and the sheet S on the bin B. Is pushed out to the stack tray 401 side (for details, refer to the description of FIG. 8 ′ in the embodiment).
Further, the bin B is configured to move up and down by a pair of left and right lead cams 40 (details will be described later with reference to FIG. 3 and the like), and when the bin B moves up and down. Since the arm member 951 stands by outside the bin B as shown in FIG. 20, interference with the bin B is avoided. Further, the first alignment member 38 is provided with the cutout portion 9
There is a matching rod 36 that swings in 60, and the matching rod 3
By swinging 6, the ends of the sheets S placed on the bin B are aligned. Furthermore, the arm member 951 passes through the inner side of the rotation of the alignment rod 36 in order to avoid interference with the first alignment member 38.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 22, the position of the rotation center 953 of the arm member 951 is provided with respect to the bin B as close to the center of the bin as possible in the sheet conveying direction (arrow 931 in the figure), There is a method of realizing a compact arm member 951 and securing a movement amount 950 of the seat S. Such a method is considered to be advantageous for improving the positional accuracy of the leading end portion 952, and also in that the moving direction of the leading end portion 952 is substantially the same as the sheet conveying direction (arrow 931 direction).

[0008]

However, according to the prior art, there are the following problems.

That is, in the sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG. 19, there is a problem that the cost increases because the slide member 917 is provided for each bin B. Further, since the structure becomes complicated, there are problems in reliability, durability and the like. Further, there is a problem in that the space between the bins must be increased by the amount corresponding to the provision of the slide member 917, so that the number of bins cannot be increased.

Further, in the sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG. 20, the rotation center 953 of the arm member 951 must be provided at the position shown in FIG. 20 in order to avoid interference with the lead cam 40. Sheet S placed on top
It is located away from. Therefore, the arm member 9
At the time of rotation of 51, a deviation (angle α) occurs between the moving direction 930 of the leading end 952 and the moving direction 931 of the sheet S, and the moving amount of the sheet S becomes smaller than the moving amount of the leading end 952.

Since it is necessary to secure a certain amount or more of the conveyance of the sheet S, and also it is necessary to secure a certain amount or more of the movement of the arm member 951 from the standby position to the conveyance position, the arm member 951 is required. Length of (958,9
It is difficult to reduce 59). Therefore, the notch portion 960 of the bin B becomes very large,
And the moment of inertia of the arm member 951 increases, and the position at which the leading end 952 stops in the notch 960 after rotation (that is, the position at which the sheet S is pushed out) becomes inaccurate. There was a problem. Further, as the arm member 951 becomes larger, the first alignment member 38 also becomes larger.

Furthermore, when the arm member 951 becomes longer,
It also becomes difficult to maintain the position of the tip portion 952 in the height direction at a predetermined height. Therefore, in order to prevent interference, FIG.
, The distance 963 between the arm member 951 and the bin Bc, the tip portion 952 of the arm member 951, and the bin Bc.
964 and the distance 965 between the arm member 951 and the upper bin Bd, these distances need to be large, and the intervals 966 between the bins, the bin step 967, etc. are increased, and the entire device is It becomes large.

Further, as shown in FIG. 22, when the position of the center of rotation 953 of the arm member 951 is provided near the center of the bin in the sheet conveying direction (arrow 931 in the figure), interference with other devices may occur. It may occur. Therefore, for example, the rear side lead cam 40 ′ cannot be provided at a position symmetrical to the front side lead cam 40 (position 955 in the figure), and as shown in FIG. 22, the arm member 95 is provided.
1 front and back lead cams 4 to prevent interference with
0, 40 'is offset.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to realize the compactness of the sheet post-processing apparatus and to improve the positional accuracy of the sheet conveying means by making the sheet conveying means compact by an appropriate link mechanism. And

[0015]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a sheet (sheet connected to an image forming apparatus (101) and discharged from the image forming apparatus (101). In a sheet post-processing device (1) having at least one sheet tray (B) on which the sheet (S) is placed, the sheet (S) placed on the sheet tray (B)
(303) abutting on the side edge of the sheet, and supporting the operating arm (303) so that the operating arm (303) is rotatable along the sheet tray (B), and the operating arm (303) A sheet conveying means (30) having a driving means (373) for pressing a portion supporting (303).
0) and the actuating arm (303) are engaged with each other, and a guide portion (96) that defines a movement locus of the actuating arm (303).
1) and are provided.

In this case, the operating arm (303) is
The guide portion includes a standby position outside the sheet tray (B) and a pressing section that enters along the sheet tray (B) and presses a side edge of the sheet (S). Notch (96) formed in the sheet tray (B)
1), and the operating arm (303) may be engaged with the guide portion (961) only in the pressing section.

Further, the operating arm (3
03) may be provided with a restricting member (377) that engages with the actuating arm (303) to position it.

[0018]

According to the above construction, when the sheet post-processing device (1) is installed on the discharge side of the image forming apparatus (101) and the sheet (S) is discharged from the image forming apparatus (101), The sheet (S) is placed on the sheet tray (B). After the sheet (S) is placed on the sheet tray (B), when the driving means (373) is activated based on a predetermined signal, the operating arm (303) is pressed. Then, the operating arm (303) moves while being engaged with the guide portion (961), and moves the sheet (S) placed on the sheet tray (B).

The reference numerals in parentheses are for the purpose of comparison with the drawings and do not limit the structure of the present invention.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of a copying apparatus 101 and a sheet post-processing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as "sorter") 1 according to the present invention. The copying apparatus 101 is provided with a copying apparatus main body 102 and an automatic document feeder 103. First, these components will be briefly described.

The copying apparatus main body 102 is provided with a photosensitive drum 102b in the center of the inside thereof.
Is rotatably supported by the apparatus main body 102 and is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow by a driving means (not shown). Around the photosensitive drum 102b, in order, a primary charging device b1 that uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 102b, and toner is attached to an electrostatic latent image (described later) formed on the photosensitive drum 102b. A developing device b2 for forming a toner image by the above, a transfer device b3 for transferring the toner image to a fed sheet S (described later), the sheet S
Is provided with a separation charging device b4 for separating the photosensitive drum 1 from the photosensitive drum 1, a cleaning device b5 for removing the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 102b, and a discharging device b7 for discharging the photosensitive drum 1. The photosensitive drum 102b
It is configured to form a toner image thereon.

Further, on the side portion of the copying apparatus main body 102,
A deck 102a accommodating a large number of sheets S is arranged, and a pickup roller R1, a feeding roller R2, a registration roller R3, and the like are arranged between the deck 102a and the photosensitive drum 102b. The pickup rollers R1 and the like feed the sheets S one by one between the photosensitive drum 102b and the transfer device b3. In addition, the transfer device b3
A transport device R5, a fixing device 102c, a discharge roller R6, and the like are disposed on the downstream side (the left side in FIG. 1) of the sheet, and the sheet S after transfer is further transported to the downstream side, and then fixed. It is configured to be discharged to the outside of the copying apparatus main body 102.

Further, an exposure device 102d is arranged above the photosensitive drum 102b, and the exposure device 10d is provided.
Reference numeral 2d designates the light corresponding to the original image to the photosensitive drum 102.
b is irradiated to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 102b.

On the other hand, the copying apparatus main body 10 having such a configuration
An automatic document feeder 103 is provided on the upper side of 2, and the automatic document feeder 103 includes a document tray 105 on which the document E is placed. Then, the document tray 10
The document E placed on the copying machine 5 is separated from the lower order in order, and passes the path 1 on the platen glass 106 of the copying apparatus main body 102.
After being read, the sheet is fed through the exposure device 102d and is discharged from the platen glass 106 through the path 109 to be discharged onto the document E placed on the document tray 105. ing.

A folding device 600 is provided on the downstream side of the copying device main body 102 (the side opposite to the deck 102a), and a sorter 1 is provided further downstream of the folding device 600. There is.

Next, the structure of the sorter 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the structure of the sorter 1 in detail, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the sorter 1.

The sorter 1 has a sorter body 6,
As shown in FIG. 3, the sorter body 6 has a pair of side plates 3 (one side is not shown), a base plate 5, and a cover 4. Guide rails 7 are formed on the pair of side plates 3 along the top and bottom, respectively, and a bin unit 9 is attached so as to be vertically movable. The bin unit 9 has a large number of bins (sheet trays) B ... And these bins B ... are constructed so as to sequentially sort and store the sheets S on which images are formed by the copying apparatus 101. There is.

Further, the sorter body 6 is the folding device 6
00, and the carry-in port 10 is formed in the sorter body 6 at a position facing the discharge port of the folding device 600 (FIG. 2). A first sheet conveyance path 11 is formed from the carry-in port 10 toward the bin unit 9, and a second sheet conveyance path 12 is formed by branching from the first sheet conveyance path 11. Has been done. Further, an upper discharge roller pair 13 for discharging non-sorted sheets (sheets that are not classified) is provided on the downstream side of the first sheet conveying path 11, and a sort sheet (a sheet for sorting) is provided on the downstream side of the second sheet conveying path 12. A lower discharge roller pair 15 for discharging sheets to be sorted is arranged (FIG. 2).

In addition, a carry-in roller pair 16 and a deflector 17 are arranged at the branch portions of the first and second sheet conveying paths 11 and 12, and the deflector 17 is in a non-sort mode (a mode in which sheets are not classified). ) Is selected, the sheet S is displaced so as to be guided to the first sheet conveying path 11, and the sorting mode (sheet sorting mode) is selected.
Is selected, the sheet S is displaced so as to be guided to the second sheet conveying path 12.

On the other hand, a sheet sensor (not shown) for detecting the sheet S is arranged in the vicinity of the sheet discharging portion of the second sheet conveying path 12, and this sheet sensor has
A reed switch with a built-in photo interrupter or a transmissive sensor is used. Further, the sheet S discharged from the copying apparatus main body 102 is
It is detected by a sheet discharge sensor (not shown) disposed inside, and in this embodiment, the passage time of the sheet S and the interval (sheet interval) between the sheet S and the next sheet S can also be measured. In addition, an arithmetic circuit incorporated in the copying apparatus main body 102 issues a sheet S discharge signal and a sheet interval signal to transmit the signals to the microcomputer in the sorter main body 6.

Next, the structure of the bin unit 9 is shown in FIG.
Follow along. Here, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the structure of the bin unit 9.

The bin unit 9 has a bin frame 19, and the bin frame 19 includes the pair of side plates 3.
A pair of upright portions 19a are provided along the line. A slit 41 is formed in each of the pair of upright portions 19a, and the slit 41 is configured to extend along the guide rail 7. Then, the pair of upright portions 19
a bottom portion 19b is projected from the lower end portion of a,
The upright portion 19a and the bottom portion 19b form a pair of frame structures. Also, the pair of bottom portions 19b
A pair of bin sliders 20 are attached to the tip ends of the upright portions 19a so as to be parallel to the pair of upright portions 19a. Further, the upper end portions of the upright portions 19a and the upper end portions of the bin sliders 20 are A bin cover 21 is attached.

Further, at a position on the inner side of the lower portion of the bin frame 19, a support plate 23 is horizontally attached to the upright portion 19a and the bottom portion 19b, and between the support plate 23 and the bin cover 21, The first alignment member 38 is swingably interposed. The first alignment member 38 has a center rod 27, and the upper end of the center rod 27 has a rotating shaft 29.
Is rotatably supported by the bin cover 21 and the lower end of the center rod 27 by the support plate 23. A lower arm 26 extends from the lower end of the center rod 27, and a fan-shaped gear 31 is attached to the lower arm 26. An upper arm 25 extends from the upper end of the center rod 27.
A matching rod 36 is interposed between the tip portions of the Nos. 5, 26.
Further, notches 35 are formed in each of the bins B, and the alignment rod 36 penetrates the notches 35 over all the bins B. Further, on the support plate 23, a gear 33 is rotatably supported while being meshed with the fan-shaped gear 31.
Is rotated by a pulse motor 32, and the alignment rod 36 is swung via the sector gear 31.

A second aligning member 155 is provided in parallel with the first aligning member 38, and the second aligning member 155 is
It has an upper arm 151 rotatably supported by the bin cover 21 via a rotation center shaft 153. A lower arm 152 is rotatably supported on the lower side of the bin frame 19 via a rotation center shaft 154, and a matching rod 150 is provided between the tips of the arms 151, 152.
Is installed. A notch 157 is formed in each of the bins B ...
Penetrates through these notches 157 over all the bins B ... Further, the aligning rod 150 is rocked by a driving means (not shown) so that the end faces of the bundle of sheets S placed on all the bins B ... Are aligned.

On the other hand, one end of each of the bins B ... Stored in the bin unit 9 is movably placed in the comb-shaped groove (not shown) of the bin slider 20, and both sides of the base end of the bin B. The trunnion 30 passing through the slit 41.
Is rotatably supported (Fig. 4). Here, the support structure of the trunnion 30 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, the trunnion 30 on one side is the guide rail 7
FIG. 3 is a detailed view showing a state in which the pin B is supported by a pin 140. As is apparent from the figure, a pin 140 projects from the base end of the bin B. The trunnion 30 is attached to the pin 140 via an O-ring 141 as a cushioning material, and the trunnion 30 is slidably supported by the guide rail 7. The trunnion 30 of the other bin B is also supported by the guide rail 7 in the same manner,
The lowermost trunnion 30 (in this configuration, the uppermost and lowermost trunnions do not have a bin) is rotatably supported by an upright portion 19a (the rear side is not shown) of the bin frame 19 and is a lower guide roller. 42 (FIG. 4), and the uppermost trunnion 30 is attached to the upright portion 1 of the bin frame 19.
By contacting an upper guide roller 43 (FIG. 4) rotatably supported by 9a, each bin B ... Is supported by the bin unit 9 so that the bin interval is kept constant and equal to the diameter of the trunnion 30. The bin unit 9 is configured such that the upper guide roller 43 and the guide roller 42 are fitted into the guide rail 7 and can move up and down along the guide rail 7. A tension spring is stretched between the metal plate fixed to the bin unit 9 and the side plate 3, and the elasticity of the tension spring pulls up the bin unit 9.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the cam shaft holders 47 are attached to the left and right side plates 3 so as to be substantially at the same height as the lower discharge roller pair 16.
The cam shaft holder 47 includes a lead cam (spiral cam means) 4
0 is rotatably supported. The lead cam 40 has a spiral-shaped spiral cam surface, and the trunnion 33 is configured to move on the spiral-shaped cam surface, as shown in detail in FIG. 7.

Further, the lead cam shaft 50, which is a rotating shaft of the lead cam 40, extends downward, and the lower end of the lead cam shaft 50 stays via a bearing 41 as shown in detail in FIG. It is rotatably supported by 100. A motor 52 is attached to the stay 100, and the driving force of the motor 52 is transmitted to the lead cam 40 via the belt 53, the pulley 51, the lead cam shaft 50, and the like. .. That is,
When the lead cam 40 rotates in the forward and reverse directions by the motor 52, the trunnion 33 moves up and down along the groove of the lead cam 40 and the guide rail 7,
Along with that, each of the bins B ... Is configured to move up and down. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the lead cam 40
The trunnion 30d is moved to the position 30c in the drawing of the lead cam 40 by one rotation in the direction of arrow A, and is moved to the position 30b in the drawing by another rotation. And one more
It is moved to a position 30a in the figure by one rotation. In addition, in the present embodiment, the lead cam 40 is configured as a so-called three-row type in which the space between the bins B can be expanded at three positions of the expansion parts X, X ′, X ″ (FIG. 5).

On the other hand, an electric stapler 200 for binding the bundle of sheets discharged to the bin Bc is arranged near the lower discharge roller pair 15 as shown in FIG. 2, and the electric stapler 200 is not shown. The driving means is capable of moving forward and backward in the direction of arrow C. That is, the electric stapler 200 is retracted to the position of 200a so as not to interfere with the vertically moving bin B when the sheet S is discharged, and when the sheet S on the bin B is bound by 200b. Is configured to move to the position. After the binding is completed, the electric stapler 200 moves to the retracted position 200a again. The electric stapler 200 is provided at two positions (200A, 200B) at right angles to the sheet S loading direction, as shown in FIG.

The electric stapler 200 performs a stapling operation by rotating a motor (not shown). When binding the sheets S of the plurality of bins B ..., the bin unit 9 moves one bin after detecting the staple end signal of the sheets S of one bin B, and the electric stapler 200
The sheets S to be stored in the next bin B facing the electric stapler 200 are bound. Here, FIG.
As will be described in detail below, cutout portions 160 are provided at the entrance portions of the electric stapler 200, respectively.
It does not interfere with the electric stapler 200. In addition, since the electric stapler 200 is provided at two places as described above, 200A, 200A and 200A are selected by the operator.
B is operated independently (single binding), 20
It is possible to operate both 0A and 200B (binding at two places).

Next, regarding the take-out means of the sheet bundle,
Description will be given with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11.

The sorter main body 6 includes the electric stapler 2
The sheet take-out device (sheet conveying means) 3 is placed at a position (height) opposite to the bin Bc for binding sheets by 00.
00 (FIGS. 7, 9 and 10), the sheet take-out device 300 is configured to further push the sheet S once placed on the bin B out of the bin B.

The sheet take-out device 300 includes a support plate 38.
8 (see FIG. 8), the supporting plate 388 is provided with a regulating member 377 having an L-shaped cross section. A rotation center shaft 301 is rotatably supported by the support plate 388, and an arm 303 'is rotatably supported by the rotation center shaft 301 (see FIG. 8). The arm 303 '
Is configured to be rotationally driven by a motor (driving means) 373 via a gear 374 and the like, and an arm (operating arm) 303 is rotatably attached to the arm 303 ′ via a rotation center shaft 370. It is supported. As a result, the arm 3003 is rotatably supported along the bin B. Further, the arm 303 has two positioning members 375 and 376.
75 and 376 are rotatably supported by the arm 303, and have small diameter portions 375a and 37 at the center.
It has a shape with 6a. Also, the arm 303
An extruding rod 302 is attached to the tip of the.

As shown in detail in FIG. 10, if the diameters of the small diameter portions 375a and 376a are φd and the diameters of the large diameter portions other than the small diameter portions 375a and 376a are φD, then φd <φD. .. On the other hand, if the thickness of the restriction member 377 is t ₁ , the vertical width of the small diameter portions 375a and 376a is t ₂ , and the thickness of the bin B is t ₃ , then these t ₁ , t ₂ , t ₃
The relationship is t ₂ > t ₁ , t ₃ .

Further, the arm 303 and the arm 30
A spring 371 is disposed between the arm 303 and 3 ', and the arm 303 is biased in the direction indicated by the arrow 372.

FIG. 8 shows the positional relationship when the arms 303 and 303 'are in the standby position.
3 is pressed against the regulating member 377 side by the force of the spring 371, and the groove portion 376a of the positioning member 376 is positioned so as to abut against the regulating member 377. In this state, since the regulating member 377 and the groove portion 376a of the positioning member 376 are engaged with each other, the movement of the sheet take-out device 300 in the direction of arrow 379 (vertical direction) is regulated.

The sheet take-out device 300 is
The bin unit 9 is configured to face the bin Bc that always binds sheets regardless of the vertical movement of the bin unit 9, and is held in the standby position when the bin unit 9 vertically moves so as not to interfere with the bin unit 9. There is. Then, when the sheet is taken out, the arms 303 and 303 'are rotated so that the arm 3 is moved to the opening X that is wider than between the other bins.
03 moves so as not to interfere with the upper and lower bins Bb and Bc,
It is configured to take a pressing section that presses the side edge of the sheet S. The amount of displacement from the standby position to the pressing section is changed according to the size of the sheet S. Here, the standby position and the pressing section (maximum pushing position) are shown by a solid line 300a and a chain double-dashed line 300b in FIG. 10, respectively.

Next, the shape of the bin Bc and the engagement relationship with the sheet take-out device 300 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line QQ of FIG.

As shown in detail in FIG. 11, an inclined portion 313 is provided at the end of the bin Bc facing the sheet take-out device 300.
Is formed, and the bin Bc is provided with a mounting surface 310 of the sheet S and an end surface 312 lower than the mounting surface 310 by a height “Z”. In addition, in the bin B,
A notch portion 35 is formed through which the alignment rod 36 of the first aligning member 38 passes, and the notch portion 35 is formed across the placement surface 310 and the inclined portion 313. Then, with the movement of the arm 303, the positioning member 376 and the like attached to the arm 303 are configured to enter the cutout portion 35 without interfering with the bin Bc. The cutout portion 35 is not formed in the bottle end portion 314 due to the strength of the bottle Bc. In addition, the groove 375 a of the positioning member 375 has an end edge (guide portion) 9 of the cutout portion 35.
It is configured to engage with 61 (see FIG. 7).

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the lower end surface 311 of the push rod 302 attached to the tip of the arm 303 is "Y" (where Y <
Z) ″ and is guided by the above-mentioned operation to the notch 35 provided in the bin Bc, and the distance Y
The sheet S is pushed out while maintaining

As shown in detail in FIG. 10, a pair of grip rollers 351 and 352 are rotatably supported at the position of the leading edge 320b of the moved sheet S by a driving means (not shown). It is configured to be rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Then, based on the rotational driving, the sheet S is conveyed in the W direction in the figure,
The stacker 400 is configured to be stacked on the stack tray 401. The upper roller 352 is
Normally, it is located at the upper standby position 352a, and when the detection of the leading edge of the sheet is detected by the detection unit K, the driving unit (not shown) descends to the grip position 352b and grips the sheet S together with the lower roller 351. Has been done. (Sheet S is in the state of 354). The tray 401 is configured to be movable in the direction of arrow 355 depending on the stacking state of the sheets, and in order to sort the sheets for each bin, the arrow 3
It can also be moved (shifted) in 56 directions by a rack and pinion.

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

An image is formed on the copying apparatus main body 102, and the discharged sheet S is carried into the folding apparatus 600 and is fed from the carry-in port 10 in a non-sort mode (a mode in which the sheets are not classified) or a sort mode (sheets). In a mode for classifying), and is guided to the deflector 17 which is displaced and is introduced into the first sheet conveying path 11 or the second sheet conveying path 12 (FIGS. 1 and 2).

When the non-sort mode is selected, the sheet S passes through the first sheet conveying path 11 and is discharged onto the bin cover 21 which is the first bin of the bin unit 9 by the upper discharge roller pair 13. It is stored.

On the other hand, when the sort mode is selected,
In the bin unit 9, the trunnion 30 is sequentially moved by the rotation of the lead cam 40 by the spiral cam of the lead cam 40, and three expansion portions X, X ', X "are formed at positions facing the lower discharge roller pair 15. At the same time, the upper guide roller 43 or the lower guide roller 42 is pushed and moved by the moving trunnion 30. Then, the sheet S passes through the second sheet conveying path 12 and is moved by the lower discharge roller pair 15 to the first sheet. Next bin B opened from the first bin B _{1 in} order
It is discharged and stored in ₂ , B ₃ , ....

Then, for example, when the sheet S is discharged to the bin Bb which has been moved to the position facing the lower discharge roller pair 15, the sheet S is arranged with the rear end stopper ST (FIG. 2) inclined downward. The rear end stopper ST on the bin Bb by its own weight
Move towards.

Further, the second aligning member 155 is moved from the standby position 155b to the position 155a which is the reference of the sheet end surface by the driving means of the motor and the gear train before the stacking of the sheets on the bin B is started. (FIG. 7) Further, the aligning rod 36 of the first aligning member 38 is moved by a predetermined amount in the arrow E direction from the standby position 38a by the pulse motor 32 that rotates based on the pulse signal corresponding to the sheet size, and the aligning rod 36 of the sheet S is moved. The side end is pressed against the alignment rod 150 of the second alignment member 155 (FIG. 7). Further, the first aligning member 38 returns to the standby position 38a in preparation for the ejection of the next sheet S after moving by a predetermined amount. In the alignment work, the sheet S is discharged from the copying apparatus main body 102 onto the bin B of the sorter 1 based on the line 330 on the front side (the discharge position on the front side of the sheet is constant). Therefore, the sheet S is separated by the distance 331. Only moved and aligned. At this time, even if the first aligning member 38 described above is used as the reference side and the second aligning member 155 is moved from the standby position to the aligning position and aligned in accordance with the stacking of sheets on the bin B, the regulating members on both sides are also provided. Of course may be moved to the above position for alignment. The above-described operation is repeated so that the plurality of sheets S ... Side ends of the second aligning member 1 in one bin Bb.
55, and the rear end is brought into contact with the rear end stopper ST of the bin B to be aligned.

Further, the aligning rods 36 and the like of the first aligning member 38 penetrate all the bins B ... And the sheets S ... Stored in the other bins B ... are similarly aligned.

Then, it is possible to select the binding of the sheets S discharged / stored in the bins B ... If the binding mode is not selected, the operation of the sorter 1 is temporarily terminated here.

When the binding mode is selected, the electric stapler 200 is moved from the standby position 200a to 200b by the binding start signal from the control means (not shown), and is moved to the binding position shown by the solid line in FIG. To do.

At this time, the head portion 210 of the electric stapler 200 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper opening and closing formed between the bin Bc for storing the sheets S to be bound and the upper bin Bb. The anvil part 211 enters the lower part of the expanding part X ″ and moves to the binding position.

When the electric stapler 200 is moved to the binding position, a control unit (not shown) outputs a binding stop permission signal to drive the electric stapler 200 and bind the sheets S ...

When the binding work is finished, the electric stapler 200 is returned to the position 200a, and the binding for one bin is completed.

In the binding operation of a plurality of bins B, it is most efficient to perform the binding operation sequentially from the last bin B from which the sheets have been discharged and stored. At this time, a series of operations of the electric stapler 200 is performed based on the bin shift completion signal, the next bin shift operation is performed by the series of operation completion signals of the electric stapler 200, and the binding operation is automatically performed by repeating the bin shift operation. Complete.

Now, the operator operates the bin unit 9
When it is specified to create a bundle of copies having a number of copies equal to or larger than the number of bins B included in the copying machine 1, as described above, the copying apparatus 1
02 and the sorter 1 first create sheet bundles for the number of bins B. Then, the sheet take-out signal is issued from the control means, and the sheet take-out operation is started.

Next, the sheet take-out operation will be described.

First, the bin Bc from which a sheet is taken out moves and faces the sheet taking-out device 300. Then, the second alignment member 155 rotates from the alignment reference position 155a to the standby position 155b that does not interfere with the sheet S when taking out the sheet S.

As described above, when the bin unit 9 moves up and down, the sheet take-out device 300 is held at the standby position 300a. At this time, the positioning is performed by the engagement of the groove portion 376a of the positioning member 376 and the restriction member 377.

Next, when the motor 373 is activated, the arm 303 'rotates. However, the arm 303 has the spring 3
Since it is biased in the direction of 372 by 71, the groove portion 376a moves while being in contact with the regulating member 377. When the arm 303 further rotates in this state, the positioning member 375 moves to the bin B side. At this time, since the inclined portion 313 is formed at the end of the bin B and the cutout portion 35 is formed in the inclined portion 313, the positioning member 375 and the like are cut without interfering with the bin Bc. Move into the notch 35.

When the arm 303 further moves, the groove portion 375a of the positioning member 375 and the end edge 961 of the cutout portion 35 are newly engaged (see FIG. 7). At this time, since the arm 303 is biased by the spring 371, the groove portion 375a moves along the edge of the cutout portion 35. Further, since the relationship between the width t _{2 of the} groove portion 375a and the thickness t _{3 of the} bin Bc is t ₂ > t ₃ , the vertical position 379 is restricted. The arm 3
03 moves to a predetermined position (300b) while expanding the angle β with the arm 303 'with the central axis 370 as a fulcrum.
Further, after the positioning member 375 is engaged with the end edge 961 of the cutout portion 35, the positioning member 376 and the regulating member 377 are disengaged from each other, and therefore, the positioning member 376 has Groove 376
a does not come off from the edge 961. Then, the sheet take-out device 300 moves from the standby position 300a to a predetermined push-out position 300b according to the paper size.

When the arm 303 moves in this way, the rear end 360 of the sheet S on the bin Bc is pushed out by the push rod 30.
2, the side edge 360 is pushed by the initial alignment position 3
It is moved from 60a to the take-out position 360b (see FIGS. 7 and 10). In FIG. 7, a solid line 320a indicates the front side end position of the sheet before movement, and the dashed-dotted line 3
20b shows the position after the movement. At this time, the sheet S moves while being guided by the trailing end stopper ST at the trailing end of the sheet S, so that it does not shift on the bins B ... After moving a predetermined amount of sheets, the sheet take-out device 3
00 is returned to the initial standby position 300a.

A pair of grip rollers 351 and 352 stand by at the position of the leading end 320b of the sheet S after the movement, and the upper roller 352 is usually in the upper standby position 3
When the front end of the sheet is detected by the detecting means K, the driving means moves down to the grip position 352b and the biasing means grips the sheet together with the lower roller 351. After that, the rollers 352 and 351 rotate in the arrow direction, the sheet S is conveyed in the arrow W direction, and the stacker 4
00 tray 401 (sheet S is 354
Condition). The tray 401 is configured to be movable in the direction of arrow 355 depending on the stacked state of the sheets, and is also movable (shifted) in the direction of arrow 356 by a rack and pinion in order to sort the sheets into bins.

Then, a new sheet S is further discharged to the bin B where the sheet bundle has been moved onto the tray 401 and emptied, and a sheet bundle is created.

By the above operation, the sheet taking-out for one bin is completed. When the sheets are unbound in the sheet taking-out operation of the plurality of bins B ...
It is most efficient to start from the last stored bin B and, in the case of binding, sequentially take out sheets from the last bin B to which the sheets S have been bound. At this time, a series of operations of the sheet take-out device 300 and the stacker 400 are performed based on the bin shift completion signal, the next bin shift operation is performed by the series of operation completion signals, and the sheet is automatically taken out by repeating this operation. The stacking operation on the stacker is completed. Here, of course, it does not matter if bin shift is performed during sheet removal.

When the bin is moved up and down, at least one of the first aligning member 38 and the second aligning member 155 is in the sheet aligning position, and if the movable aligning rod aligns after the shift, unbinding is performed. The sheets will not shift on the bin.

As a result, the leading end portion (push-out rod 302) of the sheet take-out device 300 is positioned by the positioning members 375 and 376 in the up-down direction (direction of arrow 379) at the time of entering the bin Bc and after entering the bin Bc. Since the arm 303 is restricted, it hardly moves in that direction even when the arm 303 moves, and therefore the bins Bb, Bc
The gap between them can be minimized.

Further, the bin B of the sheet take-out device 300
Since the trajectory after entering c is determined by the shape of the end edge 961, the trajectory of the push rod 302 can be arbitrarily determined (straight line shape or the like).

Further, the positioning member 375 is biased to the end edge 961 by the spring 371, and the arrow 99
Since it does not move in the 9 directions (FIG. 7), the size of the cutout portion 35 can be minimized, and therefore, the reduction in the strength of the bin B can be minimized.

Furthermore, the lead cam 40 is provided outside the hatched area (the area surrounded by the stackable sheet width G1 and the stackable height G2) provided in the bin in the sheet take-out direction shown in FIG. Therefore, the sheet bundle can be taken out by a simple method while being guided by the rear end stopper ST of the bin B as described above.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the second aligning member 155 is provided on the bin frame 19 of the bin unit 9 and the first aligning member 38 including the aligning rod 36 for aligning the sheets is mounted on the bin unit 9. Therefore, the sheets S in the bin B can be reliably aligned. Further, the alignment of the sheets is performed by moving the alignment rods 36 penetrating the notches 35 in all the bins B ... And the alignment rods 36 are mounted on the bin unit 9, so that the sheets are placed in the bins B. After the sheet is discharged, the sheet S can be aligned by moving the aligning rod 36 even during the bin shift. That is, the sheet S is always aligned unless the sheet S is entering the bin B.

Further, in this embodiment, the first and second alignment members 38, 155 are moved about the rotation axis, and the rotation axis is integrally arranged in the bin unit 9, so that it is always stable. The aligned sheets can be aligned.

Further, since the electric stapler 200 is provided with the three expanded portions X, X ', X "at the position facing the arrangement position, the head of the electric stapler 200 is fixed when the electric stapler 200 is bound to the sheets. Part 210 and anvil part 2
11 can be easily moved to the binding position, and the sheets can be reliably bound without interfering with the sheet S stored in the lower bin B.

As described above, the bin-top sheet aligning means at the time of one side reference on the front side has been described. However, even when the sheet has a reference on the back side or when the sheets are loaded onto the bin by distributing the sheet width centering on the center line. Of course it doesn't matter.

Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
Follow along. The same parts as those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 11 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

The aligning member (sheet conveying means) 455 includes an aligning rod 456, an arm C (operating arm) 459, and an arm D.
451 and the like, and the arm C459 is an arm D
It is rotatably supported around a rotation center shaft 452 provided at 451. Further, the arm C459 is provided with a spring 45.
4 is urged in the direction of arrow 460. The arm D451 is a rotation center shaft 4 provided on the bin frame 19.
A drive means (not shown) is rotatable about 53. The alignment rod 456 is attached to the tip of the arm C459, and is installed so as to penetrate the notch 470 provided in each bin B ... All bins (sheet trays). Further, an alignment reference plate 458 is provided on the opposite side of the alignment member 455 across the sheet S.

With this structure, the aligning rod 456 of the aligning member 458 causes the end surface (guide portion) 4 of the bottle cutout portion 470 to move.
When the arm D451 is rotated counterclockwise (in the direction of arrow 462 in the figure) by the driving means (not shown), the aligning rod 456 is guided by the bottle cutout end surface 457, and the arrow 461 is guided. The sheets S on the bins B are pressed against the alignment reference plate 458, and the sheets S on all the bins B ... Are aligned in the same manner as described above.

As a result, the cutout portion 470 of the bin B ...
As described above, it can be minimized as necessary, and the pushing direction of the sheet S can be made into an arbitrary shape such as a straight line by the shape of the bin cutout end surface 457 instead of the conventional arc movement.
Sheet consistency is also improved.

14 and 15 show a further modified embodiment, in which the aligning rod 456 of the aligning member 455 is not the notched end face of the bin B but the end face of the guide member 476 provided on the bin frame 19 ( The aligning rod 475 is guided by the guide portion) 475 and the aligning rod 456 is moved in the same manner as described above. In this case, the cutout portion 470 of the bin B is slightly larger than in the above-described embodiment, but the sheet S is pushed. The direction can be set to any shape, and the matching can be performed efficiently.

In the above-described modified embodiment, the one having the matching member only on one side has been described, but it is of course possible to use the one having the matching members on both sides as described above.

Although the bin moving type sorter using the lead cam has been described in the above-described embodiments, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a type in which the bins are opened and closed by the link 1000 shown in FIG. 58-17063), the Geneva type sorter shown in FIG. 17 (JP-A-60-223764), the bottle fixed type, and the finisher having only one tray (actually developed sho6).
2-20046) and the sorter unit 9 shown in FIG.
The same effect can be obtained by using two 00s in the sorting station 901 and the post-processing station 902 which are alternately moved to the post-processing station section of the limitless sorter 903 (Japanese Patent Application No. 2-332688).

Further, it is of course possible to provide post-processing means such as punching and gluing instead of the stapler, and it is of course possible to use it in a sorter or the like which is not provided with post-processing means such as a binding device.

[0092]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The movement trajectory of the operating arm is defined based on the engagement with the guide portion. Therefore, the movement amount of the operating arm can be secured by optimizing the movement locus of the operating arm and the direction in which the driving means presses the operating arm. Therefore, in order to avoid interference with other devices, the drive means is arranged at a position apart from the sheet tray to some extent, and
Even if the operating arm is made compact to some extent,
The required amount of movement of the sheet placed on the sheet tray can be secured.

Further, since the sheet conveying means can be provided outside the sheet tray as described above, even in a sheet post-processing apparatus of a type having a plurality of sheet trays, the sheet tray can be moved up and down by a method. It is possible to move the sheets placed on the respective sheet receiving trays by one sheet conveying means with the sheet conveying means facing all the sheet receiving trays. Therefore, the structure of the entire device is relatively simple, and reliability and durability are improved. At the same time, the distance between the trays becomes smaller,
A high-performance device equipped with a large number of sheet trays can be created.

Furthermore, by restricting the vertical movement of the second arm member by the engagement with the guide portion, the distance between the upper and lower sheet trays when the second arm member moves can be reduced. Can be made smaller.

Further, as described above, the second arm member and the like can be made compact, the movement locus of the second arm member can be restricted by the guide portion, and the first arm member and the second arm can be regulated. Since the members are linked to each other, the movement locus of the second arm member is minimized. Therefore, even if the notch is formed in the sheet tray and the pushing member attached to the second arm member is inserted into the notch to push out the sheet, the notch is required to be the minimum required. As a result, the strength of the sheet tray is not impaired and the sheet transportability is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a structure of a copying apparatus and a sheet post-processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a sheet post-processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sheet post-processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bin unit.

FIG. 5 is a detailed explanatory diagram of a lead cam.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a support structure for a bottle.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the bottle unit.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a sheet takeout device.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a movement trajectory of the sheet takeout device.

10 is a sectional view taken along the line QQ of FIG.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a sectional view taken along the line QQ of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing another embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing another embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing still another embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory view showing a bin expanding mechanism.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory view showing a bin expanding mechanism.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory view showing a mechanism for expanding the bottle.

FIG. 19 is a vertical sectional view showing a first conventional example including a slide member.

FIG. 20 is a plan view showing a second conventional example.

FIG. 21 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a second conventional example.

FIG. 22 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a third conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 sheet post-processing device (sorter) 7 guide rail 15 lower discharge roller pair 30 trunnion 35 notch portion 40 lead cam 200 electric stapler 300 sheet conveying means (sheet take-out device) 302 push-out rod 303 operating arm (arm) 303 'arm 351 grip Roller 352 Grip roller 373 Driving means (motor) 375 Positioning member 376 Positioning member 377 Controlling member 400 Stacker 401 Stack tray 455 Sheet conveying means (aligning member) 456 Aligning rod 961 Guide portion (edge) B Sheet tray (bin)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location G03G 15/00 113 7369-2H 114 7369-2H // B41J 29/00

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A sheet post-processing apparatus, which is connected to an image forming apparatus and comprises at least one sheet tray for placing sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus, wherein the sheet post-processing apparatus is placed on the sheet tray. An operating arm that abuts a side edge of the seat, a driving means that supports the operating arm such that the operating arm is rotatable along the sheet tray, and presses a portion that supports the operating arm.
A sheet post-processing apparatus, comprising: a sheet conveying unit having: and a guide unit with which the operation arm is engaged to define a movement locus of the operation arm. 2. The actuating arm has a standby position outside the sheet tray, and a pressing section that enters along the sheet tray to press a side edge of the sheet, and the guide portion includes: 2. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet is a cutout portion formed in the sheet tray, and the operating arm engages with the guide portion only in the pressing section. 3. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a regulating member that engages with the operating arm at the standby position to position the operating arm.