JPH0671978B2 - Sheet material output device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a recording sheet (reception sheet) as a sheet material, a print-out sheet, etc. as a sheet material such as a facsimile machine or a printer as a computer terminal device. The present invention relates to an image recording device that sequentially outputs sheets, and other output devices that sequentially output sheet materials.

[Conventional technology and problems]

 For convenience, a facsimile machine will be described as an example.

A facsimile machine generally uses a long roll of paper set in the machine as recording paper and rewinds the roll paper to perform image recording of the received image information, and to print one page of the original sent from the other party. Each time the recording of the corresponding image information is completed, the cutter unit is operated to cut the image-recorded sheet portion and the succeeding sheet portion, and the recording sheet as the cut sheet material is sequentially output.

The recording paper output by reception may be completed by only one communication-one sheet, or one communication-one set of plural sheets (several pages 1
Group).

If such output recording papers are not removed each time reception of one communication is completed, recording papers for a plurality of communication with different senders and different page numbers will be sequentially piled up. In the case of automatic reception such as at night / holiday, such a state often occurs.

When a large number of output recording sheets for a plurality of communications with different senders and different numbers of pages are piled up and piled up together, it is not uncommon for the user to be confused by the sorting (sorting) and to sort by mistake.

The present invention is intended to solve such a problem.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention is directed to a sheet material stop member that regulates the movement of at least one side of sheet materials that are sequentially output to align the output sheet material, and a sheet material stop member that is regulated by the stop member and sequentially overlaps to become an aligned state. Also, a sheet material binding unit that operates on a plurality of output sheet materials that form a set to put the plurality of output sheet materials into a booklet, and a sheet that is bound as a booklet by the operation of the binding unit. A sheet, or a sheet material that has not been spelled, has means for retracting it from the operating position of the binding means, a. If there is only one sheet material that does not form a pair of output sheet materials, the output sheet material is As the spelling process is not required, the retracting means retracts the spelling means without operating it. B. When the number of output sheet materials is a pair or more to a preset predetermined number value N or less When the final sheet material is output, the stapling means spells them as a booklet and retracts them by the retracting means. C. If the output sheet materials are a large number of sheets N + 1 or more, the final sheet The sheet material output device is characterized in that when the eye sheet material is output, the large number of sheet materials are retracted by the retracting means without operating the binding means.

[Work]

In the above, the predetermined number of sheets value N is the maximum number of sheets that can be satisfactorily stapled together by the stapling means, and if the stapling means is, for example, a stapler, the length of the staple leg of the used staple and the thickness of the output sheet material. In consideration of the above, the number of sheets is set as large as possible so that the batch stitching process can be favorably performed.

If the sheet material output device is, for example, a facsimile device as in the above example, even if output recording sheets for a plurality of communications with different senders or different page numbers are sequentially overlapped, they are included in them. One communication-a plurality of output recording sheets to be set as one set, the number of recording sheets forming each set is 2 or more and the predetermined number value N or less that can be bound by the binding unit. If so, all the sheets are collectively bound as one booklet, and good batch binding for all sheets becomes difficult or impossible.
Although the above-mentioned set of a large number of output recording sheets is not spelled, the distinction from the other set of spelled sheet materials is clear, so that there is no confusion or mistake in the subsequent sorting.

Further, since the sheet material that has been spelled as a booklet by the operation of the stapling means or the sheet material that has not been spelled is retracted from the operating position of the splicing means by the retracting means, a plurality of sheets to be spelled next output. The stapling process by the stapling means for the sheet material that forms one set can be performed without any trouble.

〔Example〕

The figure shows a concrete example apparatus (facsimile apparatus). FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the apparatus, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the apparatus in which a recording paper holder plate provided on the front side of the apparatus is tilted and opened, and FIG. 3 is a recording / ejecting mechanism portion of the apparatus. FIG.

A, Transmission In FIG. 1, 1 is an outer casing of the apparatus, 2 is an upper lid that also serves as an original table on which an original (sheet original) O to be image-transmitted is placed and set, and 3.3 are both-sided guides provided on the upper lid. The movable plate (slider) is a plate, and the distance between the originals can be adjusted to be wide or narrow according to the width of the document O. Reference numeral 4 is an operation panel (console panel), 5 is a tray for discharging the transmitted originals, and 6 is a handset.

The original O to be image-transmitted is placed on the upper lid 2, and in the case of the apparatus of this embodiment, the original O is faced down with the image surface to be transmitted, and the leading end of the original is placed on the upper lid 2.
One or a plurality of sheets are stacked and set by sufficiently inserting them into the clearance opening 7 for inserting the document between the inner side of the sheet and the operation panel 4. When the transmission start button is pressed, the above-mentioned placed set original O is passed through the lower side of the operation panel 4 by the not-shown pull-in roller means arranged below the operation panel 4 to a predetermined speed. Then, it is pulled in and conveyed (central reference conveyance). When a plurality of originals are stacked and set, one of the lowest originals is separated and the original is conveyed. With respect to the document that has been pulled in and conveyed, its document image is photoelectrically read as a time-series electric pixel signal by a photoelectric reading unit (not shown) sequentially from the leading end side to the trailing end side of the document and is transmitted to a destination device. The document whose image has been read is discharged and conveyed to the tray 5.

B, Reception In FIG. 3, reference numeral 8 is a roll-wound long heat-sensitive recording sheet as a recording sheet contained in a receiving member 9 in the apparatus. The roll-wound recording paper 8 is raised by opening the upper lid 2 of the apparatus by unlocking the locking means (not shown) and opening and raising the hinge portion (not shown) provided on the inner side of the upper lid as shown by the two-dot chain line. It is accommodated by opening the inside of the device and dropping it into the receiving member 9 and placing it on the receiving member 9. The front end side of the roll-wound recording paper is slightly unwound to be positioned on the upper surface of the platen roller 10 and the upper lid 2 is tilted and closed. When the upper lid 2 is fully closed, the locking means is engaged and the closed state shown by the solid line is held. As a result, the element array surface of the heating element array assembly (recording head) 11 serving as recording means arranged on the inner surface side of the upper lid 2 is brought into a predetermined pressure contact state with the recording paper 8 on the upper surface of the platen roller 10. Reference numeral 12 is an urging spring that presses the recording head 11 against the upper surface of the platen roller 10.

13 and 14 are paper cutters composed of a fixed blade and a movable blade arranged next to the platen roller 10, and 15 and 16 are paper feed roller pairs arranged next to the cutters 13 and 14, which are lower rollers. 15
Is a drive roller that is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow, the upper roller 16 is a driven roller, and the driven roller 16 is the upper lid 2.
It is disposed on the side, and when the upper lid 2 is folded down and closed, it comes into pressure contact with the drive roller 15.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a front side wall plate of the apparatus chassis, and 18 and 18 respectively have a part of the outer surface on the right and left portions of the side wall plate as shown in FIG.
Is a friction roller made of rubber or the like that is provided so as to project to the outside of the roller 18. The rollers 18 and 18 are respectively supported by a support shaft 19 via a one-way clutch 20, and the outer ring of the one-way clutch 20 and the paper A belt 21 communicates with the shaft 15A of the driving roller 15 of the pair of delivery rollers. When the shaft 15A of the drive roller 15 is rotationally driven, the friction rollers 18 and 18 are rotated in the same direction as the drive roller 15 in conjunction with this.
On the other hand, the one-way clutch 20 prevents the friction rollers 18 from rotating even when an external force is applied to rotate them in the opposite direction.

Reference numeral 22 is a recording paper (reception paper) holder plate disposed outside the above-mentioned apparatus chassis front side wall plate 17, and the holder plate is centered around hinge portions 23, 23 provided on both left and right ends of its lower side.・
3 As shown in the drawing, the tilting operation can be freely performed in a state in which it is raised substantially parallel to the chassis front side wall plate 17 and closed, and in a state in which it is tilted forward and opened as shown by a chain line in FIGS. 2 and 3. . It is normally raised and closed, and this state serves as a locking means, as shown in the second illustration, by an elastic member provided relatively to the left and right end portions of the holder plate 22 and the corresponding surface portion of the front side wall plate 17 of the apparatus chassis. The claw members 24, 24 and the engaging holes 25, 25 are stably held, and an upward pocket space 26 as a recording paper stacker portion having a gap width d is formed between the two plates 17, 22. Further, the upper side 22A of the holder plate 22 in the above-mentioned raised closed state
And a recording paper outlet 27 which is horizontally long is formed between the lower side 2A of the downwardly bent edge provided on the front side of the closed upper lid 2.
Reference numeral 28 indicates a reference (chassis bottom plate) of the apparatus, and 29 indicates a pedestal surface on which the apparatus is mounted.

The platen roller 10 is driven to rotate intermittently for each one line recording based on the recording start signal of the received image information. Further, the pair of paper feed rollers 15 and 16 are rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow at a predetermined peripheral speed. The friction rollers 18, 18 are also rotated in the direction of the arrow in conjunction with the rotational driving of the rollers 15.

The roll-wound thermal recording paper 8 has a platen roller at its leading end.
It is sandwiched between the upper surface of 10 and the recording head 11, and when the platen roller 10 is driven to rotate intermittently by one line recording, a pulling force acts, and the force causes the pulling direction in the receiving member 9. The recording paper is rolled up and the roll-wound recording paper is sequentially fed out. The feeding paper portion is the platen roller 10
Between the recording head 11 and the recording head 11, that is, each heating element of the recording head 11 corresponds to the time-series electric pixel signal of the image information received from the transmission source in the process of being intermittently conveyed through the recording portion for each one line. By controlling the heat generation by the heat generation, image information corresponding to the received image information is sequentially recorded on the upper surface of the feeding sheet for each line.

The recorded paper part is the fixed blade 13 and movable blade 14 of the cutter.
Between the pair of rollers 15 and 16 and is sent out in a diagonally downward direction by the pair of rollers 15 and 16, and the chassis front side wall plate 17 and the recording paper holder plate 22 in the upright closed state. The upper side of the pocket space 26 as a stacker portion formed between the upper side and the lower side of the recorded paper enters the inside of the pocket space 26 from top to bottom as shown by the dashed line 8a in FIG. I will do it.

The leading edge 8b of the recorded paper portion that has entered the pocket space 26 due to the subsequent feeding of the paper is the recording paper holder plate 22.
As shown in FIG. 4 (A), it is received by the receiving bottom surface 22B serving as a stop member provided inwardly on the lower side of the sheet and is restricted from further entering into the pocket space 26 on the side of the leading edge of the sheet. (Blocked).

After that, the recorded paper portion that is further sent out from the roller pair 15 and 16 is bent outward in a loop shape between the upper side 22A of the holder plate 22 and the upper roller 16 of the roller pair 15 and 16 and is shown in FIG. A) As shown by the chain double-dashed line 8c, it emerges in a loop from the recording paper outlet 27 to the outside of the apparatus. The loop becomes a large loop 8d as the recorded paper portion is continuously fed out.

When the trailing edge of the image on the image-recorded sheet has reached between the cutter sides 13 and 14 after the recording of one page is completed, the movable blade 14 of the cutter is centered on the axis 14A as shown in FIG. 4 (B). Is rotated in a clockwise direction to engage with the fixed blade 13, and is returned and rotated again. As a result, the sheet portion 8 ₁ (received sheet) on which one page of image has been recorded and the succeeding sheet portion 8 on the roll winding side are cut 8e.

Rear edge 8e side of the image recorded sheet 8 ₁ which is cut gradually fed by the continued feed roller pair 15, 16. Further, the platen roller 10 is driven in reverse after the paper is cut, whereby the paper portion separated from the image recording side is conveyed in reverse, and the leading edge of the paper moves backward to the contact position between the platen roller 10 and the heating element array 11. Then, the reverse rotation drive of the platen roller 10 is stopped at that time.

Recording paper as receiving paper that has passed through the roller pairs 15 and 16 8 ₁
The rear end side of the recording paper naturally exits from the recording paper outlet 27 to the outside of the apparatus by the weight of the paper portion protruding in a loop shape from the recording paper outlet 27 and the elastic return reaction force of the loop (FIG. 4B). It escapes like the chain double-dashed line 8f.

As a result, the portion of the paper that has exited from the recording paper outlet 27 to the outside of the apparatus is bent by its own weight into a U-shape at the portion corresponding to the upper side 22A of the holder plate 22, and outside the holder plate 22 as shown in FIG. It hangs down.

In this way, from the recording paper outlet 27 to the outside of the holder plate 22, the rear edge
Pre-cut paper 8 as a receiving paper 8e side becomes suspended state _1, leading edge 8b side of the stop of the sheet portion in the leading edge 8b pocket space 26 in the pocket space 26 of the stacker of the inner holder plate It is in a sufficiently advanced state until it hits the receiving bottom surface 22B as a member, and the paper portion of the recording paper outlet 27 is bent in a U-shape with a small curvature on the upper side 22A of the holder plate 22 and hooked on the upper side 22A of the holder plate. In addition, the surface of the paper part that has entered the pocket space 26 is
Since the retaining frictional force acts by coming into contact with the outer surface of 18, it does not naturally fall out and is stably held in the hanging state of FIG. 4 (C).

The received records of the second and third pages ...
The cut recording paper as the receiving paper for the second and third pages ... is sequentially overlapped with the recording paper already output from the recording paper outlet 27 to the outside of the holder plate 22. It becomes drooping. In FIG. 4 (D), the cut recording paper 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ as the receiving paper for three pages are sequentially overlapped, and the leading edge side is held in the pocket space 26 as the stacker portion and the recording paper is held. There the exit 27 to the hanging holding state on the outside of the holder plate 22, the fourth page of the recording paper 8 ₄ shows a state in the middle output. Each chart paper 8 ₁ 8 ₂ 8 ₃ ...
The tip side 8b of the abuts against the receiving bottom surface 22B as a stop member to be received and aligned.

C, the sheet (output sheet) spelling means recording paper 8 ₁ - as a receiving paper will be held by the holder unit as in the fourth view in sequentially outputted one after another overlap from the apparatus as described above (D) 8 ₂・ 8 ₃ … 1 each other
For two or more recording sheets that form a set, that is, two or more recording sheets that form one set, they are automatically spelled as one set and a booklet, and another output recording sheet that does not fit into the set. And is a mechanism for differentiating.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 30 denotes a sheet binding means mechanism arranged on the apparatus substrate 28, which is an electric stapler unit in this embodiment. FIG. 5 shows an enlarged plan view of a part of which is cut away.
31 is a mechanism substrate, 32 is a forward / reverse motor (stapler motor) mounted and supported on the substrate 31 with the rotating shaft 33 facing upward, and 34 is a rotatable unit around a support shaft 36 planted upward on the substrate 31. A pulley, 35 is a cam plate provided integrally with the pulley under the pulley, 35A is a cam claw portion thereof, and 37 is a motor 3
2, a rotational force transmission belt suspended between the rotary shaft 33 and the pulley 34, 34A is an outwardly projecting crank arm integrally provided on the pulley 34, 34B is a crank pin implanted in the arm, and 38 is the crank. An elongated advancing / retreating plate as a sheet retracting means rotatably supported by a pin, 38A is a slit hole provided longitudinally on the surface of the elongated advancing / retreating plate, 39 is a pin shaft planted upward at a predetermined position of the substrate 31. The slit shaft 38A of the elongated advancing / retreating plate is fitted and engaged with this pin shaft. A stapler sensor 40 is, for example, a microswitch, a photoelectric sensor, or the like. This sensor defines the reference rotation angle position of the pulley 34 and the cam plate 35, detects a staple jam described later, and is fixedly arranged at a predetermined position on the substrate 31.

31A is a front-rear side wall formed by bending the right side of the substrate 31 upward, 41 is a slider guided in the front-rear direction with the inner side of the side wall as a guide surface, and 42 is projected forward from the tip of the slider. A staple striking plate provided, 43 is a tension spring that constantly urges the slider 41 in the backward direction, 31B
Is an anvil mounting plate portion formed by extending the front end side of the front-rear direction side wall 31A forward and bending the extension portion at a right angle to the left, and 44 is firmly mounted and supported by a screw 45 on the inner surface of the mounting plate portion 31B. An anvil (staple both-leg bent plate), 46 is a base part of the slider 41 which is rotatably mounted by a pin shaft 47, an acting arm for the cam plate 35, and 48 is a biasing member for constantly rotating the acting arm in the cam plate direction. A pressing spring, and 49 are stopper pins for interfering with the working arm 46.
It has been planted in a predetermined position.

Reference numeral 50 denotes a staple magazine fitting member that is fixed to the front side of the substrate 31 in parallel with the front side. The member is a channel member (see FIG. 9) having a U-shaped cross section, and the opening side is the front side. It is attached to 31. Reference numeral 51 denotes a staple magazine which is long in the left-right direction and which is fitted and held in the fitting member 50 on the rear half side. 52 is a large number of staple parallel bodies loaded in the magazine 51, 53 is free to slide along the guide rod 53A, and the staple parallel body 52 is constantly biased by a coil spring 53B fitted on the guide rod 53A. A staple pusher that pushes and urges the inside of the magazine 51 toward the front end.

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of the staple magazine fitting member 50 and the staple magazine 51 removed from the staple magazine fitting member 50. 50A and 50A are small inward projections formed by press-pressing the upper surface plate and the lower surface plate of the fitting member 50 at the surface positions near the left end, and 51A (51A) is the upper surface plate and the lower surface plate of the staple magazine 51. Is a notch hole into which the inward small convex portion provided at the surface position near the left end is fitted and engaged, and mounting of the staple magazine 51 to the fitting member 50 is performed by the small convex portion 50A on the fitting member 50 side. Notch hole 51A (51A (51
A) is fitted and engaged and the magazine 51 is pushed into the fitting member 50. The mounted magazine 51 is a small convex part
It is freely rotatable around 50A and 50A.

54 is a substrate 31 corresponding to the leading end side of the staple magazine 51.
Is a reflection type photoelectric staple remaining amount detection sensor which is fixedly arranged at a predetermined surface position of. FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of this sensor portion. When the staples in the staple magazine 51 are consumed and the remaining amount becomes smaller or smaller than a predetermined amount, the reflecting surface 53 provided on the surface of the staple pusher 53.
C moves to the front surface of the sensor 54 and faces it, and the emitted light from the sensor 54 is reflected and enters the light receiving element of the sensor 54. As a result, it can be detected that the staple remaining amount has become small or has disappeared.

The above stapler unit 30 is the same as the output recording paper 8 ₁ 8 ₂
In the pocket space 26 as a stacker portion that receives and holds the leading end side of 8 ₃ ..., the paper recording paper 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ that enters the pocket space 26 and abuts against the bottom surface 22B as a stop member, respectively.・ The inner surface of the anvil 44 is located at the outer position corresponding to the right corner of the tip side of 8 ₃ ...
The substrate 31 of the stapler unit 30 is firmly fixed and arranged on the upper surface of the apparatus substrate 28 so that the staple magazines 51 mounted on the 50 are positioned substantially parallel to each other inside the apparatus chassis front side wall plate 17. is there.

The stapler 30 causes a considerably large impact force on the anvil 44, the staple striking mechanism, and the like by the staple driving operation.
So the stapler unit 30, or at least the anvil
Reference numeral 44 is a solid support, and is installed by being firmly attached to a frame such as a base 28 of a main body device (facsimile device).

The surface portion of the apparatus chassis front side wall plate 17 corresponding to the staple magazine 51 is a cutout window portion 17A. The recording paper holder plate 22 is also used for the anvil 44 and the staple magazine.
The surface portion corresponding to the substantially first half portion of 51 is a cutout window portion 22C. The staple magazine 51 is attached to and detached from the fitting member 50 through the cutout window portion 17A of the apparatus chassis front side wall plate 17 by tilting down the recording paper holder plate 22 as shown in FIG.

D, Staple Driving Operation FIG. 5 shows the mechanism in a standby state. Motor 32
Is off, and the pulley 34 and the cam plate 35 are stopped at the reference rotation angle position shown in the figure. In this state, the slender advancing / retreating plate 38 as the sheet retracting means is in the most retracted position because the crank arm 34A is at the turning angle position facing rearward, and the rear end portion 38B of the advancing / retreating plate 38 corresponds to the sensor 40. is doing. Further, the slider 41 provided with the anvil striking plate 42 has its working arm 46 abutted on the lower surface of the cam plate 35 and pulled to the retracted position by the spring 43.

The motor 32 is driven in the normal direction based on the staple driving signal. As a result, the motor rotation shaft 33 rotates in the clockwise direction a, and the pulley 34 and the cam plate 35 also rotate in the clockwise direction about the support shaft 36. The forward rotation of the pulley 34 and the cam plate 35 causes the tip of the working arm 46 of the slider 41 to move to the cam plate 35.
It is pushed by the cam claw portion 35A of. The pressing force causes the slider 41, that is, the staple striking plate 42, to move forward against the spring 43 toward the tip of the staple magazine 51.

During the forward movement, the leading edge of the striking plate 42 is the staple magazine.
The staple magazine 51 hits the upper side of the leading staple 52A of the staple juxtaposed body 52 loaded in the 51, and the staple magazine 51 pivots and swings clockwise around the small convex portions 50A and 50A on the rear end side (FIG. 6). Then, the staple outlets on the leading end side enter the pocket space 26 of the recording paper holder portion, and the leading end sides 8b are received by the bottom face 22B as a stop member, respectively, and are received in one set so that the leading end is aligned. Plural output recording papers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ ... strike the anvil 44 with the right corner of the leading edge side sandwiched inside. When the staple striking plate 42 is further advanced as the slider 41 is further advanced, only one leading staple 52A in the staple magazine is pushed out from the exit portion, and both legs are fed with paper 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 _{3 ,} . Pierce, anvil
Folded inward at 44. That is, staples are driven in. FIG. 6 shows a state in which staples have been driven in. As a result, a plurality of output recording papers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 _3, ... Which should form one set are processed as a booklet.

The staple driving based on the forward movement of the slider 41 is completed when the pulley 34 and the cam plate 35 are rotated by about 45 °.
The action arm 46 of the slider 41 contacts the stopper pin 49 while the cam plate 35 rotates about 45 ° and resists the spring 48 to move the slider 41.
When the cam plate 35 finishes rotating by approximately 45 °, the tip end of the working arm 46 climbs up onto the uppermost surface of the cam pawl portion 35A and the cam pawl portion 35A. Disengaged with
The pressing force on the working arm 46 by the cam claw portion 35A is released. Therefore, the slider 41, that is, the staple striking plate 42 is pulled back to the retracted position by the spring 43. Further, as the staple striking plate 42 moves back and forth, the staple magazine 51 is also pulled back and rotated around the rear end side small convex portions 50A, 50A.

The normal rotation of the pulley 34 and the cam plate 35 continues, and in the process of continuing the normal rotation, a slender advancing / retreating plate as a sheet retracting means.
38 moves forward in accordance with the rotation of the crank arm 34A and the crank pin 34B, and the tip of the 38 moves from the cutout window portion 17A of the side wall plate 17 of the apparatus chassis and the cutout window portion 22C of the recording paper holder plate 22 to the front side of the apparatus. It projects outward as shown in FIG.
The amount of protrusion becomes maximum when the pulley 34 and the cam plate 35 rotate about 200 ° from the reference rotation angle position in FIG.

Due to the protruding operation of the elongated advancing / retreating plate 38, the staple 52
The right corner side of the leading edge of the paper 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 _3, ... on which the A has been driven is projected outward from the cutout window 22C of the recording paper holder plate 22 and the staple 52A is driven. paper 8 ₁ - 8
_The right corner of the tip of ₂・ 8 ₃ … is removed from the inner surface of the anvil 44 to the outside.

The normal rotation of the pulley 34 and the cam plate 35 continues, and the elongated advancing / retreating plate 38 moves backward until one rotation (360 °) is completed. When the pulley 34 and the cam plate 35 have completed one rotation, the rear end portion 38B of the elongated advancing / retreating plate 38 corresponds to the sensor 40,
The corresponding signal is fed back to the control circuit and the motor
The driving of 32 is stopped, and the state returns to the same standby state as in FIG.

The right corner of the leading edge of the paper 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ ... in which the staples 52A have been ejected outward from the inner surface side of the anvil 44 by the forward movement of the slender advancing / retreating plate 38 is the slender advancing / retreating plate 38. After the backward movement, the paper returns to its original position and is positioned on the outer surface side of the anvil mounting plate 31B as shown in FIG. That is, the sheets that have been stapled as a booklet by driving the staples are retracted from the operating position of the stapling means (staple driving position).

Therefore, since the corners of the sheet on which the staple driving has already been performed do not exist on the inner surface side of the anvil 44, the staple driving processing can be performed on the next output recording sheets of a set of plural sheets.

When the recording paper output from the apparatus is a single paper which is completed by 1 communication-1 page, the staple driving operation is not required. In this case, the motor 32 is energized in the reverse direction, and the pulley 34 and the cam plate 35 are rotated once in the reverse direction. As a result, the forward movement of the slider 41 is not performed, that is, the staple driving operation is not performed, and only the slender advancing / retreating plate 38 is moved forward / backward once to project the right corner of the leading edge of the one sheet out of the anvil. That is, the stapling means is retracted from the operating position.

E, Control of Stapler FIG. 11 is a control block diagram of the facsimile apparatus including the control unit of the electric stapler unit 30.

The control unit of this example includes a main CPU 100 that controls the entire apparatus (facsimile apparatus), an NCU (network control apparatus) 101, and a modem 10.
2, a data control unit 103, a modem control unit 104, a ROM 105 storing the programs shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B described in (4) and (5) below, and work It has a RAM 106 used for the purpose, an operation control unit 4, an I / O 107, a drive control unit 111, a driver 112, a recording control unit 115, and a control unit 116 of the stapler unit 30.

The operation control unit 4 is the operation panel (control panel) of FIG.
4, the display unit controls the display and receives a reception instruction from the reception button.

The I / O 107 receives signals from the recording sheet presence sensor 108 and the recording sheet width detection sensor 109.

The driver 112 of the drive control unit 111 drives the recording motor 113 and the cutter motor 114.

The driver 117 of the stapler controller 116 is a stapler motor.
The I / O 118 drives the sensor 32 and the sensor 54 for detecting the remaining amount of the staple 52 in the staple magazine 51.
Receive the signal from.

The stapler operation (staple driving operation) at the time of reception will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Here, N in step is the maximum number of sheets that can be stapled by the stapler 30, and may be a preset fixed number or a variable number freely set by the user. Further, in an apparatus that can use recording sheets of different thickness and paper quality, N may be set by detecting the type of sheet. That is, a plurality of N may be set such that N is small for thick paper and N is large for thin paper.

(1) When the output recording paper is only one page (1 communication-1
First, the image information received from the transmission side is demodulated by the modem 102 via the NCU 101 (FIG. 11) to be a digital signal and sent to the data control unit 103. The data control unit 103 sends data to the RAM 106 via the data bus and sends the data in the RAM 106 to the CUP 100.
Decrypt the data and store the decrypted data in the RAM 106 again. When one line of data is stored in the RAM 106 in this way, the data is sent to the recording head 11 via the recording control unit 115 to record one line on the paper 8 (step). When recording for one line is completed,
The CPU 100 drives the recording motor 113 and the platen roller 10 rotates to convey the recording paper 8 for one line (step).

The above operation is repeated until one page is completed (step YES). After that, the recording paper 8 is slightly continuously conveyed by the platen roller 10 (step), and when the trailing edge position of the image reaches the cutters 13 and 14, the cutter motor 114 is driven to cut the recording paper 8 by the cutters 13 and 14. (Step, FIG. 4 (B)). And cut recording paper
The rear end side of 8 ₁ is completely fed out of the apparatus from the recording paper outlet 27 by the pair of feeding rollers 15 and 16 (Fig. 4 (B) 2
Dotted line 8f). The platen roller 10 is driven reversely rotated slightly after paper cutting, leading edge portion of the sheet 8 has been made of disconnection is pulled back to the recording position of the recording head 11 from the position of the cutter 13, 14 is thereby the recording paper 8 ₁ (step ).

After that, in the case of this item (1), since the number of received sheets is only one (step NO, step YES), the main C
The PU 100 causes the stapler control unit 116 to retract, that is, the D-
The reverse rotation one rotation drive of the stapler motor 32 of the item (1) is instructed (step), and the reception is ended (step).

(2) When the number of output recording papers is 2 pages or more to N pages or less (1 communication-in the case of one set of a plurality of sheets) The reception of the first page is compared with the case where the output recording paper of the above (1) is only one page. After finishing similarly, there is a next page (YES in step), so the process returns to the step again and recording of the next page is started. The following steps are repeated until the next page is exhausted (NO in step). Thereafter, in the case of this item (2), since the output recording paper is 2 pages or more to N pages or less (NO in step, NO in step), the main CPU 100 instructs the stapler control unit 116 to perform the stapling operation (step), The reception ends (step). Stapling operation, that is, the D -...
.. A plurality of recording sheets P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , which form one set and are output by the stapling operation of item
The retracting operation of the staple driving sheet portion (the retracting operation from the operating position of the stapling means (staple driving position) is performed.

(3) When the number of output recording sheets is N + 1 pages or more In this case, recording is executed in the same manner as in item (2) until there is no next page (NO in step). Thereafter, in the item (3), since the received recording paper is N + 1 pages or more (NO in step, YES in step), the main CPU 100 instructs the stapler control 116 to perform the retracting operation (step). As a result, the staple driving process is not performed on a large number of N + 1 or more sheets that form a set,
It is retracted from the staple driving processing position. Then, the reception ends (step).

(4) Staple Operation FIG. 13 (A) is a flowchart of the stapler controller showing the "staple operation" in the step in the flow of FIG.

When the stapler controller receives the stapling operation instruction,
First, the step counter T ₁ for detecting the stapler jam is reset to 0 (step). Next, if the stapler sensor 40 is not on (NO in step),
It is determined that a stapler jam (a state in which the stapler mechanism has not returned to the standby state of FIG. 5 for some reason) has occurred in the previous stapling operation, and the stapler does not operate. If the stapler sensor 40 is on (YES in step), the step counter T ₁ is started and the stapler motor 32 is driven to rotate normally (step).

In step, Tmax is just 1 for pulley 34 and cam plate 35
It is the number of motor steps that is obtained by adding a slight margin to the number of rotating motor steps. Whether the stapler sensor 40 is turned on (step) or the step counter T ₁ is set to Tmax.
(Step), the stapler motor 31 is driven to rotate normally, and then stopped (step) to complete the stapling operation.

In the above, if the stapler sensor 40 is turned on first, the stapling operation is normally completed, and conversely, if the step counter T ₁ has reached Tmax, the stapling operation can be regarded as causing a jam. . Since this result is held by the stapler sensor 40, the quality of the stapler operation is judged by checking the output of the stapler sensor 40 after the main CPU 100 finishes all the receiving operations.

(5) Retraction Operation FIG. 13 (B) is a flowchart of the stapler control section showing the "retraction operation" in the step in the flow of FIG.

When the stapler control unit receives an instruction for a retract operation from the main CPU 100, it first resets a step counter T ₁ for detecting a stapler jam to 0 (step). Next, the step counter T ₁ starts and the stapler motor
32 is driven in reverse. Then the stapler sensor 40 is turned on (step) or the step counter T ₁
The stapler motor 32 is reversely driven until it reaches Tmax (step), and then stopped (step) to complete the retracting operation.

In the above, if the stapler sensor 40 is turned on first, the retreating operation has been completed normally, and if the step counter T ₁ has reached Tmax _first, it can be considered that the retreating operation has caused a jam. Since this result is held by the stapler sensor 40, after the completion of all the receiving operations, the main CPU 100 observes the output of the stapler sensor 40 to judge whether the evacuation operation is good or bad.

(6) Processing of stapler jam If the stapler sensor 40 is not turned on after the reception operation is completed, the main CPU 100 determines that it is a stapler jam (NO in step of the flow in FIG. 12) and displays “Stapler inspection” on the display of the operation panel 4. Is displayed (step).

Based on this display, the operator removes the staple magazine 51 from the fitting member 50, removes the jammed staples, sets the staple magazine 51 on the fitting member 51 again, and presses the reset button (not shown) on the operation panel 4. . This flowchart is shown in FIG. That is, when the reset button is pressed (step), the main CPU 100 instructs the stapler control unit 116 to perform a retracting operation (step),
If the stapler sensor 40 is turned on after the evacuation operation is completed, it is determined that the stapler sensor 40 has returned to normal, and if it is not turned on, a message such as "stapler check" is displayed again (step = step in Fig. 12). Prompt.

(7) Replenishment of staples When the staple 52 in the staple magazine 51 becomes less than a predetermined amount or disappears due to consumption, the above-mentioned (Fig. 10).
As described above, it is detected by the sensor 54 (YES in the step of FIG. 12), and the fact is displayed / warned by the main CPU 100 on the display of the operation panel 4 (step).

Even if it is detected that the staples are lost during reception,
Reception and recording sheet output are continued, and the display and warning are given during or after the reception.

When the display / warning is issued, the operator removes the staple magazine 51 from the fitting member 50, refills and inserts the staple 52 in the magazine, and sets the magazine 51 on the fitting member 50 again.

F, etc. (1) As the sheet (sheet material) stapling means, in addition to the staple driving means, a glue-stitching stapling means, a rivet-stitching stapling means, a means for making a stapling state by making a cut with a press blade shape, etc. You can

(2) Sheets that are spelled as a booklet by the stapling means or sheets that do not need to be spelled (for example, a sheet for one communication minus one sheet, etc.) are used for spelling processing of the sheet to be output next. For this purpose, the means for retracting from the operating position of the stapling means is not limited to the push-out method of pushing out and moving out from the operating position of the stapling means by the advancing / retreating member 38 as in the above-described embodiment. A conveying means is provided, and the operation thereof discharges and conveys the above-mentioned paper that has undergone the binding processing or the paper that does not need to be subjected to the binding processing from the inside of the pocket space 26 as the recording paper stacker to a receiving box or the like outside the apparatus.

b. The recording paper holder plate 22 is provided with an automatic opening / closing means, and the holder plate is tilted and opened as shown in FIG. Remove the paper that does not need to be processed by sliding it into an external receiving box.

c, a means for pushing the sheets held in the pocket space 26 as the stacker portion in the direction opposite to the operating position side of the stapling means in the width direction is provided, and the sheet is moved from the operating position of the stapling means by its operation. Move out of position.

And the like can be adopted.

(3) In the case of an apparatus capable of using at least two kinds of papers having different width dimensions as output papers, it is equipped with a means for detecting the width of the papers used, and according to the detected paper widths. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a means for changing the position of the spelling means to an appropriate position is provided.

(4) Similarly, in the case of an apparatus capable of using at least two kinds of papers having different widths as output papers, those papers are output by one-sided reference conveyance, and are bound on the one-sided reference conveyance line side. The means may be fixedly arranged.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, with respect to the sheet materials sequentially output by the sheet material output device, a plurality of output sheet materials forming one set can be bound by the binding means 2
If the number of sheets is equal to or more than the number of sheets and the number of sheets is equal to or less than the predetermined number of sheets N, when the sheet material of the last page of the set is output, it is processed as a booklet into a binding state for each set, so there is a confusion or mistake in sorting after that. For example, when applied to a facsimile apparatus as in the embodiment, the output recording sheets for a plurality of communications with different senders or different numbers of pages are piled up in a large amount by overlapping when applied to a facsimile apparatus as in the embodiment. It will be extremely easy to sort and organize after that.

Further, the sheet material that has been spelled as a booklet by the operation of the stapling means or the sheet material that has not been spelled is retracted from the operating position of the splicing means by the retracting means. The stapling process by the stapling means for the sheet material that forms one set can be performed without any trouble.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings show an example of a facsimile machine as one embodiment of the apparatus. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the machine, and FIG. 2 is the same as the above-mentioned figure with the recording paper holder plate on the front side of the machine folded down.
The figure shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the recording / sheet discharging mechanism of the apparatus. Figs. 4 (A), (B), (C), and (D) show the process of feeding the recording sheet on which an image has been recorded, and Fig. 5 FIGS. 6 and 7 are enlarged plan views showing the operation process of the stapler unit, and FIG. 8 shows the staple driving portion of the recording paper on which the staple driving process is performed, from the inner surface side of the anvil to the outer surface side of the anvil mounting member. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the retracted state, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the stapler magazine and the fitting member of the magazine.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the staple remaining amount detection sensor portion, FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the stapler control unit, FIG. 12 is a control flowchart, and FIGS. 13 (A) and (B) are program diagrams stored in ROM. FIG. 14 is a flowchart for releasing the stapler jam. 8 is the recording paper, 8 ₁ 8 ₂ 8 ₃ ... is the output recording paper, 10
11 is a platen roller and recording head, 13 and 14 are paper cutters, 22 is a recording paper holder plate, 22B is a recording paper holder plate bottom surface as a stop member that receives and regulates the leading edge of the output recording paper, 30 is a stapler unit, 42 is a staple striking plate, 44 is an anvil, and 51 is a staple magazine.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. At least one of sheet materials that are sequentially output.
For a sheet material stop member that regulates the movement of the sides to align the output sheet materials, and for a plurality of output sheet materials that are paired with each other and are aligned by sequentially overlapping with each other by being regulated by the stop member And a sheet material binding unit that operates to output the plurality of output sheet materials as a booklet in a bound state,
Sheet material that has been spelled as a booklet by the operation of the spelling means,
Alternatively, it has a means for retracting the sheet material which has not been subjected to the binding processing from the operating position of the binding means, and in the case where there is only one sheet material which forms a pair of the output sheet material, the output sheet material is subjected to the binding processing. If the number of output sheets is not less than 2 sheets and the sheet number is equal to or less than a preset predetermined sheet number value N, the final sheet When the sheet materials of (1) are output, they are bound as a booklet by the stapling means and retracted by the retracting means. C. In the case of a large number of output sheet materials N + 1 or more, the final sheet material is A sheet material output device, wherein when output, the large number of sheet materials are retracted by the retracting means without operating the binding means.