JPH0656330A - Sheet storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a sheet storage device that is able to sort each sheet, on which an image is formed, in size through a simple structure. CONSTITUTION:A sheet P on which an image is formed by an image former 507 is discharged out of a sheet discharge port 507a. At the time of sheet discharge, a large size sheet P2 is discharged to a second stacker 501B after being guided by a guide plate 502, and a small size sheet P1 is dropped in a first stacker 501A after passing through an interspace between the guide plates 502a and 502b. With this constitution, those of sheets P after image formation are sortable to each of these first and second stackers 501A and 501B in size through a simple structure.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet storage device for storing sheets discharged after image formation by an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

[Prior art]

<Prior Art 1> Conventionally, sheets are stored in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer in such a manner that a sheet on which an image such as a copy or a print is formed is discharged from an outlet of the image forming apparatus regardless of a sheet size. It was stored directly in the storage portion or in a sorter which is a device for automatically distributing sheets. <Prior Art 2> Conventionally, the sheet after the image is formed in the image forming section is discharged to a stacking plate which is inclined in a direction in which the downstream side is directed upward so as to improve the alignment of the sheet.

A sheet storage device of this type is shown in FIGS.
Shown in. In FIG. 15, the sheets fed from the cassette 662 into the image forming apparatus 661 in the image forming apparatus 661 are image-formed in an image forming unit (not shown) in the image forming apparatus 661, and then ejected by the discharge roller 663. The sheet is discharged onto a stacking plate 664 formed on the main body.
Although FIG. 15 shows a reverse discharge method in which the front and back sides are different from the stacked state of the sheets on the cassette, FIG. 16 shows a method in which the sheets are discharged in the same front and back states as the cassette. Sheets fed from the cassette 665 are discharged onto a paper discharge tray (stacking plate) 667 after image formation in the image forming apparatus 666, and the discharged sheets have the same front and back as the stacked state on the cassette 665.

The stacking plate 664 and the paper discharge tray 667.
Is configured such that the discharge portion side (upstream side) is lower than the downstream side.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

<Problem of the First Invention> In the above-mentioned <Prior Art 1>, the stacker (container) has one sheet after image formation.
However, there were the following drawbacks because they had to be thrown in one after another or equipped with a completely different device called a sorter. (1) When the sheets are stored in the stacker one by one, the small size sheet is buried in the large size sheet, and it is difficult to find and take out the image formed on the small size sheet. (2) Since it is difficult to take out the small size sheet, other sheets may be damaged or folded. (3) When the sorter is equipped, the device becomes very expensive.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet storage device which can sort sheets by size with a simple structure. <Problem of the Second Invention> In the above-described <Prior Art 2>, as shown in FIG. 17, when the sheet 671 discharged from the discharge roller 663 is stacked on the stacking plate 664, the sheet 671 is discharged. In the direction indicated by the arrow, the sheet 671 is lower near the discharge roller 663 as shown in the drawing even if it goes too far. Therefore, the sheet 671 slides down toward the discharge portion by its own weight, hits the wall portion 672, and the sheet leading edge is Easy to align.

However, when the sheet is discharged or when the sheet slides down, the unevenness due to the displacement in the arrow Y direction is
As shown in the figure, there was a problem that the end face 675 was not corrected, and the alignment was extremely poor.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet storage device in which the alignment of sheets on which an image is formed and discharged is improved.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

<Means of First Invention> The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus (50
In the sheet material storage device for storing the sheet (P) discharged from the sheet discharge port (507a) of 7), the first stacker (501A) on the discharge port side and the downstream side of the first stacker (501A) Second stacker (501)
B) and a small-sized sheet (P ₁ ) discharged from the sheet discharge port (507a), to the first stacker (50).
1A) and a large size sheet (P ₂ ) can be discharged to the second stacker (501B).
2a, 502b). <Means of Second Invention> The present invention is capable of stacking the sheets (P) discharged from the sheet discharge section (609) of the image forming apparatus, and has a stacking plate (611) inclined so that the downstream side rises. ), And one first corner portion (612) in the sheet width direction of the stacking plate (611) is inclined to be lower than the other second corner portion (612a). Is characterized by.

[0010]

[Action]

<Operation of First Invention> The sheet (P) on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus (507) is discharged from the sheet discharge port (507a). At the time of this sheet discharge, the large size sheet (P ₂ ) is guided by the guide plate (502) and discharged to the second stacker (501B), and the small size sheet (P ₁ ) moves between the guide plates (502). It passes through and falls into the first stacker (501A). With this, the sheet (P) after the image formation can be sorted by size into the first and second stackers (501A, 501B) with a simple configuration. <Operation of the Second Invention> The image-formed sheet (P) is
The sheet is discharged from the discharge section (609) onto the stacking plate (611). The discharged sheet (P) is discharged from the discharge portion (609).
While sliding down to the upstream portion on the side, it further slides down toward the lower corner portion (612) of the both corner portions (612, 612a) in the seat width direction.

As a result, the end faces of the discharged sheet (P) in the oblique direction can be aligned, and the side edge portions of the sheet (P) can be aligned, so that the alignability of the sheet (P) is improved. Can be made.

The reference characters in parentheses are shown for reference to the drawings and do not limit the structure of the present invention.

[0013]

【Example】

<Embodiment 1 of the first invention> In FIG. 1, a plurality of sheet rolls 509 (the other one is not shown) are arranged in an image forming apparatus 507, and the sheet fed from this sheet roll 509 is After being cut to an appropriate length on the way, it is conveyed to the photosensitive drum (image forming portion) 511 by the conveying roller and the registration roller 513. A toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 511 by a known electrophotographic component including a developing device 510, a cleaning device 512, and the like. The sheet onto which the toner image has been transferred is discharged from the sheet discharge port 507a of the image forming apparatus 507 after the toner image is fixed by the fixing unit 512 by the conveying unit 516.

On the downstream side of the sheet discharge port 507a,
The first stacker 501A is arranged, and further, the second stacker 501B is arranged adjacent to the downstream side thereof. FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the first stacker 501A. Guide plates 502a and 502b are arranged at predetermined intervals 505 (see FIG. 2) on both upper sides of the first stacker 501A which is open upward.

The interval 505 is defined by the first stacker 501.
It is set according to the sheet width you want to store in A,
Depending on the setting, it will be possible to store sheets of any size. The guide plate 502a is attached to the first stacker 50.
It may be configured to be fixed to 1A, or may be movable so that the interval 505 can be changed. Reference numeral 5 in FIG.
Reference numeral 06 denotes a guard for facilitating the storage of the sheets to be stored, for example, C chamfering or arc processing, which is not necessarily provided. 503 is
A handle for carrying the first stacker 501A is shown.

FIG. 2A shows the guide plate 502a integrally formed with the first stacker 501A, and FIG. 2B shows the guide plate 502b which is a separate part of the first stacker 501A.
Shows an example of mounting with bolts and nuts.
(b) According to the method shown in the figure, the present invention can be implemented at low cost by performing a simple process of attaching the guide plate 502b after forming the bolt holes in the existing stacker.
By providing a large number of bolt holes in advance, it is possible to change the distance between the guide plates 502b according to the sheet size.

Next, the operation of this apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 shows an example of storing the small size sheet P ₁ . In the figure, the small size sheet P ₁ on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus 507 is the sheet discharge port 5
It is discharged from 07a to the outside of the machine. The space 505 between the guide plates 502a is set to be larger than the width of the small size sheet P ₁ , and the discharged small size sheet P ₁ is stored in the first stacker 501A from the sheet storage port 519a.

When the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus 507 has a large size, as shown in FIG. 4, the large size sheet P ₂ discharged from the sheet discharge port 507a is guided by the guide plate 502a and is on the downstream side. Sheet storage opening 51
9b to the second stacker 501B. Since the large-sized sheet P ₂ has a width larger than the space 505 between the guide plates 502a, the large-sized sheet P ₂ is not stored in the first stacker 501A and is adjacent to the second stacker 501 on the downstream side.
It is stored in B. In this way, the sheets P ₁ and P ₂ of different sizes can be transferred to the predetermined stacker 50 with a simple structure.
It can be stored in 1A and 501B.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the guide plate. The guide plate 502c of the present embodiment is the image forming apparatus 507.
It is provided on the side. Also in this embodiment, the same sorting effect as that of the above-mentioned stacker provided with the guide plate is realized. The guide plate 502c may be fixed to the image forming apparatus 507, or may be configured by processing an exterior plate of the image forming apparatus 507. According to the above method, the same first stacker 50
There is an advantage that 1A can be used.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which the guide plate 502d is formed in a step shape. The small size sheet P ₁ has a guide plate 5
The first stacker 501A from between the inner edges 502f of 02d.
The large size sheet P ₂ is guided by the guide plate 502d and stored in the second stacker 501B.

FIG. 7 shows an inner edge 502g of the guide plate 502e.
Shows an example in which is formed in a divergent shape. Also in this embodiment, the sheets can be distributed in the same manner as in the above embodiments. The guide plates 502d and 502e shown in FIGS.
Can also be applied to the above-mentioned stackers 501A and 501B.

By the way, the above-described embodiment is an example in which the sheet is conveyed on the basis of the center, but it can also be applied to the case of conveying the sheet on the basis of one side. In that case, the guide may be provided on only one side. <Embodiment 1 of the Second Invention> In FIG. 8, a photosensitive drum (image forming portion) 604 forms a toner image by forming a latent image by scanning a polygon scanner 605 and developing by a developing device (not shown). . Paper feed cassette 60
The sheet in 1 is fed by the feed roller 602 and is registered by the registration roller at a predetermined timing by the registration roller.
It is transported to 04.

The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred by the transfer charger 606 has the toner image fixed by the fixing device 607, and is discharged onto the stacking plate 611 by the discharge roller (the edge portion) 609 while being guided by the conveyance guide 608. To be done.

The stacking plate 611 is formed so that the upstream side (discharging roller 609 side) is lower than the downstream side, and one corner portion in the sheet width direction on the upstream side (first side) is formed.
Corner portion 612 of the other corner portion (second corner portion) 6
It is formed to be lower than 12a.

The sheet on which the image is formed and discharged by the discharge roller 609 slides down to the discharge roller 609 side after landing on the stacking surface 611 as shown in FIG. At the same time, on the discharge roller 609 side of the stacking plate 611, the first corner portion 612 and the second corner portion 612 in the sheet width direction.
Since it is lower than a, the sheet P slides down to the first corner portion 612. As a result, the discharged sheet P slides down to one corner 612 of the stacking plate 611 as indicated by the arrow, and the sheet P is discharged to the side wall 610 on the discharge roller 609 side and the side wall 613 in the sheet width direction. Abutted and aligned. As a result, the sheets P discharged one after another are
Sliding on the previously discharged sheet P, the first corner portion 612
And is loaded in an aligned state as shown in FIG.

Depending on the state of the sheet P and the environmental conditions, it may happen that the sheet P is difficult to move to the intended corner portion 612 only by the natural falling action.

For such a case, a mechanism as shown in FIG. 11 can be adopted. That is, the width-shifting plate 620 is provided so as to be movable in the arrow 622 direction along the slit 621. The sheet P discharged onto the stacking plate 611 is pressed against the side end portion by the reciprocating movement of the width-shifting plate 620, and is moved to a predetermined first corner portion 612 to be aligned.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a mechanism for moving the width-shifting plate 620. In the figure, this width-shifting plate 6
The movement of 20 can be taken directly from the movement of the discharge roller 609, but may be driven by another drive system. The width-shifting plate 620 is slidably supported by a step portion (not shown) that abuts on the stacking plate 611 and a support plate 627 that abuts on the back side of the stacking plate 611, and a side wall side (in the figure) by a tension spring 626. The left side) is urged. A cam follower 623 integrated with the width-shifting plate 620
Is a cam 625 mounted on the output shaft of the motor 624.
Is pressed against.

Cam 625 mounted on motor 624
The cam follower 623 is driven by the rotation in the direction of the arrow and reciprocates in the direction of the arrow 622. This cam follower 6
By the reciprocating motion of 23, the side edge of the sheet P is pressed, and the sheet P is reliably moved to the first corner portion 612 and aligned.

FIG. 13 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the stacking plate 640 is formed such that the downstream side in the sheet advancing direction is lower than the upstream side (discharge unit side). Then, one of the corners of the downstream portion is formed lower than the other corner 642. The corners where the sheets P are moved have the effect of aligning the sheets in any of the stacking plates 640. Reference numeral 641 is
The width-shifting board which presses the side edge part of the sheet | seat P is shown.

FIG. 14 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. Although the embodiment of FIG. 1 is a reversing type stacking plate (stacking tray) formed on the main body of the apparatus, the present invention can be applied to not only this but also a straight sheet discharging type stacking plate. A stacking plate (sheet discharge tray) 6 is provided in the discharge section of the image forming apparatus.
51 is provided, and the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus is discharged onto the stacking plate 651. This loading plate 65
1 indicates that at a lower position (upstream portion) in the sheet traveling direction, one corner portion (first corner portion) 652 has the other second corner portion 6
It is set to be lower than 53. With this configuration, the sheets P discharged onto the stacking plate 651 are naturally dropped so as to be aligned with the positions of the first corner portions 652.

[0033]

【The invention's effect】

<Effect of the First Invention> According to the present invention, since the guide plate for guiding the sheet discharged after the image formation is provided on the downstream side of the sheet discharge port, it is possible to easily change the size of the sheet after the image formation. It can be sorted by various configurations and stored in a predetermined stacker. <Effect of the Second Invention> According to the present invention, the stacking plate on which the sheets after image formation are stacked is set so that one corner portion is lower than the other corner portions, so that the sheet is discharged. The sheet is easily moved to a predetermined corner portion, whereby the sheet can be discharged with good alignment, and the user can easily handle the image-formed sheet.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a sheet storage device showing an embodiment of the first invention, and FIG. 1B is a vertical sectional side view.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first stacker.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a paper discharging action of the small size sheet.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a paper discharging action of a large size sheet.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the guide plate of the same.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the guide plate of the same.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of the guide plate of the same.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a sheet storage device showing an embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 9 is a paper discharge operation diagram of the same.

FIG. 10 is likewise a paper discharge operation diagram.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a sheet storage device similarly showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the drive mechanism for the width-shifting plate.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the sheet storage device similarly showing the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the stacking plate.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional sheet storage device.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing another example of a conventional sheet storage device.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a sheet discharge operation of the sheet storage device in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

501 Stacker 501A First Stacker 501B Second Stacker 502, 502a, 502b, 502c, 502d, 5
02e Guide plate 507 Image forming apparatus 507a Sheet discharge port P ₁ Small size sheet P ₂ Large size sheet 609 Discharging roller (discharging part) 611 Stacking plate 612 First corner corner 612a Second corner corner P sheet 620 Width alignment Plates 623, 625 Drive mechanism 623 Cam followers 625 Cams 640 Stacking plates 642 Lower corners 651 Stacking plates (sheet discharge tray) 653 Corners 652 Lower corners

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A sheet material storage device for storing sheets discharged from a sheet discharge port of an image forming apparatus, wherein a first stacker on the sheet discharge port side and a second stacker on the downstream side of the first stacker. A stacker; and a guide plate capable of discharging a small size sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port to the first stacker and discharging a large size sheet to the second stacker. Sheet material storage device. 2. A stacking plate capable of stacking sheets discharged from a sheet discharging section of the image forming apparatus, and having a stacking plate inclined in a direction in which a downstream side thereof rises. A sheet material storage device, wherein one corner portion is inclined so as to be lower than the other second corner portion. 3. The second sheet discharged onto the stacking plate
3. The sheet storage device according to claim 2, further comprising a pressing mechanism that presses a side edge portion on the corner side of the sheet.