JPH07285728A - Sheet after-treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a sheet after-treatment device, which can prevent the reverse feed of the sheet, which is supplied from an image forming device, to a roller of an intake part or the like at the time of moving distributing trays. CONSTITUTION:The sheet after-treatment device provided with multiple stages of distributing trays, which receive the sheets taken in the intake direction by an intake means 2 provided in a machine body frame and which are moved forward one by one in the vertical direction so that the sheet bundles are laminated on the surface thereof, is provided with a shutter 20 of an intake part, which can prevent the reverse conveyance of the sheet on the distributing tray to the roller 2 of the intake part, so as to interrupt an intake passage between the roller 2 of the intake part and the distributing trays at the time of moving forward the distributing trays one by one in the vertical direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus for recorded sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a post-processing apparatus for page-aligned sheet bundles collected in a sorter distribution tray.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, for example, in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or an OA equipment printer, copying or printing of a plurality of pages may be required. Generally, a sorter is used. That is, when the image forming apparatus and the sorter are used together,
Since the page-aligned sheets are collected in a divided state in the distribution trays of a large number of stages, the operator may take the recorded sheet bundles from these distribution trays, but these sheet bundles are used for the subsequent distribution or the like. Therefore, it is necessary to put them in a separate state again or to bind them one by one with staples.
Subsequent processes require considerable effort and time.

Therefore, conventionally, a sheet post-processing apparatus as shown in FIG. 13 has been proposed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-288292. That is, “A” in FIG. 13 is a sorter / distribution tray that collects the sheet a taken in from an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine into each part, and the position of the sheet a on both sides of the distribution tray A. A pair of alignment rods B and C for aligning are aligned. A pair of stapler means E and F are arranged on a part of the machine body D facing the trailing edge of the sheet a, and the rear side portion of the machine body D faces the storage tray G movable in the arrow K direction. A moving member H that pushes out the sheet a is provided.

Therefore, in the staple mode of such a conventional sheet post-processing apparatus, the trailing edge of the sheet a is 1 to 1.
After being bound by a plurality of staples, the sheets are discharged to the storage tray G, and in the jogging mode, the storage tray G is moved in the arrow K direction according to the sheets a discharged from the distribution tray A for each stage, and the sheet a is discharged. It is in a so-called "stacked" state.

[0005]

The distribution tray A of the conventional sheet post-processing apparatus described above has a body D.
The sheet a is sent from the image forming apparatus onto each distribution tray A by the rotational movement of the intake roller I provided in the distribution tray A. If the sheet a discharged to A is inclined, the sheet a may be caught by the intake roller I when the distribution tray A is stepwise advanced in the vertical direction, which may cause a serious accident such as "jam". is there. In other words, the sheet a
When the paper is caught in the intake roller I, the distribution tray A
This "jam" not only hurt the step feed of
A great deal of labor is required to remove the sheet a, which makes maintenance troublesome.

Further, although the trailing edge of the sheet a in the above-mentioned sheet post-processing apparatus is positioned with reference to the position regulating wall provided on the distribution tray A, the distribution tray A is moved in the vertical direction as described above. Therefore, the position regulating wall of the distribution tray A is in an unstable state with respect to the apparatus fixing portion. In other words, even if the position of the trailing edge of the sheet a is strictly positioned by the same position regulation wall, the distribution tray A itself is in an unstable state with respect to the device fixing part (machine), and therefore, the trailing edge provided on the device fixing part is Accommodating tray G, stapler means E, F and sheet a
Since it was not possible to obtain a strict positional relationship between and, it was difficult to obtain highly accurate subsequent processing.

In view of the problems of the conventional sheet post-processing apparatus as described above, the first object of the present invention is that the sheet supplied from the image forming apparatus is caught in the intake roller when the distribution tray is moved. There is no sheet post-processing equipment.

A second object of the present invention is a sheet post-processing apparatus capable of achieving the first object, wherein the position of the sheet on the distribution tray with respect to the apparatus fixing portion is accurately determined, and therefore the subsequent processing is performed. There is a need for a sheet post-processing apparatus that can accurately perform the above.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned first object is to receive the sheet taken in in the taking-in direction by the taking-in roller provided in the machine body frame and to step it up and down. In a sheet post-processing apparatus having a large number of distribution trays on the surface of which a stack of sheets is piled up, when the distribution tray is stepwise fed in the vertical direction, it is interrupted by an intake passage leading from the intake roller to the distribution tray. This is achieved by a sheet post-processing apparatus having an intake shutter capable of preventing the sheet on the distribution tray from being caught in the intake roller.

The second object is the sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention which can achieve the first object, wherein the rear end wall of the machine frame supporting the intake shutter is This is achieved by fixing at least one trailing edge regulating member that regulates the position of the trailing edge of the sheet on each distribution tray. In the present invention, as will be apparent from the following description, a stepping mechanism for stepwise feeding the distribution tray in the vertical direction, a cam means for displacing by the stepping mechanism, and a displacement of the cam means as an opening / closing operation. A sheet post-processing device is also proposed, which comprises a transmission means for transmitting to the intake shutter.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. First, the overall sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention used by connecting to an image forming apparatus M such as an electrophotographic copying machine. Is equipped with a body frame 1 on a frame 1B having casters 1A.

That is, at the rear end of the machine body frame 1 facing the discharge port m of the image forming apparatus M, the intake section guide 2 is provided.
a and the intake roller 2 provided with the pressure roller 2b
Is positioned and one sheet a is taken in from the image forming apparatus M by the rotational movement of the intake roller 2 on the intake roller shaft 2c arranged in the intake passage 2d. Inside the machine body frame 1, there are a number of stepwise feeds in the vertical direction by three vertical feed screw rods 3A, 3B, 3C arranged on the front side and the rear side of the seat a in the intake direction. The distribution trays 4 are arranged, and the stepwise movement of the distribution trays 4 in the vertical direction causes the sheets a, which are page-aligned on the surface of the distribution tray 4, to be in a piled state.

As will be apparent from the following description, a plurality of pages of sheets a are placed on the surfaces of these distribution trays 4 in alignment with respect to their trailing edges and one side edge. . The vertical feed of the distribution tray 4 will be described. Each of the distribution trays 4 is provided in the thread groove 3b of the feed screw rod 3A, 3B, 3C which is intermittently rotated by one rotation about the lower feed screw shaft 3a. Although the driven piece 4a to be engaged is provided, as can be understood from FIGS. 1 and 3, the thread pitch of these thread grooves 3b is a portion corresponding to the intake portion roller 2 in the horizontal direction and is larger than other portions. Since the distribution tray 4 corresponding to the intake section roller 2 and the distribution tray 4 directly above the distribution tray 4 are increased in space, the distribution tray corresponding to the intake section roller 2 is increased. The sheet a is surely placed on the surface of No. 4 in the accumulated state.

At the front end portion of the machine body frame 1, a vertical leading edge regulating rod 5 which is moved based on the size information of the sheet a from the image forming apparatus M is provided. As can be understood from FIG. 2, the leading edge regulation rod 5 fixed to the tip of the regulation arm shaft 5b rotatable about the regulation arm shaft 5a at the lower part of the machine body frame 1 is formed in each distribution tray 4. Based on the size information, the first releasing portion 4b is rotated to the position indicated by the one-dot chain line and stopped, so that the leading edge of the sheet a taken in by the leading edge regulating rod 5 is locked, The position of the sheet bundle X in the take-in direction on the distribution tray 4 can be specified. In order to specify the position of the trailing edge of the sheet a which is regulated by the leading edge regulating rod 5, a plurality of vertical trailing edge regulating members 6 which will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. The trailing edge restricting members 6 are provided to restrict the position of the sheet a positioned in each distribution tray 4 in the take-in direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper end portion 5c of the front edge regulating rod 5 is terminated in a horizontal plane slightly higher than the intake portion roller 2, so that the sheet a taken in the distribution tray 4 is manually operated. The leading edge regulating rod 5 does not get in the way when it is taken out. Therefore, the urgent acquisition of the recorded sheet a on the distribution tray 4 and the removal of the sheet a in the "jam" state on the distribution tray 4 can be easily performed.
When the sheet bundle X is discharged from the distribution tray 4, the front edge regulation rod 5 is retracted to the home position shown by the solid line.

At the rear side of the machine body frame 1, there is arranged an alignment rod 7 which swings each time a sheet a is taken into the distribution tray 4 and presses the sheet bundle X toward the front side part of the machine body frame 1. It As shown in FIG. 1, the upper and lower ends of the alignment rod 7 extending in the vertical direction have alignment shafts 7a (FIG. 2).
Is fixed to the front end of the alignment arm 7b that can be reciprocally rotated about the center of the sheet. After the sheet a is taken in, it is reciprocated once in the second release portion 4c formed in each distribution tray 4,
The sheet bundle X on the distribution tray 4 is pressed in a direction perpendicular to the take-in direction. Further, for the purpose of preventing abnormal "folding" of the sheet a due to the swinging of the aligning rod 7, the rear side portion 4d of each distribution tray 4 is bent upward from other general surfaces, so that the aligning rod 7 is bent. The sheet a, which is point-contacted to the sheet 7, is not locally bent and is aligned along the surface of the distribution tray 4 with the swing of the alignment rod 7 in a direction perpendicular to the take-in direction. The aligning rod 7 is retracted to the home position shown by the solid line when the sheet a is taken into the distribution tray 4 corresponding to the take-in roller 2.

In order to receive the sheet bundle X pressed by the aligning rod 7, the side edge regulating shutter 8 which can be opened and closed is provided on the front side of the machine body frame 1 corresponding to the distribution tray 4 in the "processing station" position. However, when the sheet bundle X is discharged from the distribution tray 4, the side edge regulating shutter 8 is elevated and retracted to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. That is, on the upper part of the side edge regulating shutter 8 that can move in the vertical direction, the driven hooks 8d that are positioned within the movement range of the plurality of release claws 8c of the endless open / close belt 8b driven by the open / close shaft 8a are fixed. Therefore, when the driven hook 8d is released from the release claw 8c, the side edge regulating shutter 8 can be lowered by its own weight to the closed position shown by the phantom line. It should be noted that the distribution tray 4 at the "processing station" position in the illustrated embodiment refers to the same distribution tray 4 as the distribution tray 4 corresponding to the intake roller 2 into which the sheet a is taken. Since the distribution tray 4 to be taken in and the distribution tray 4 to take out the sheet bundle X do not necessarily have to be the same,
In this specification, the distribution tray 4 at the “processing station” position means the distribution tray 4 from which the sheet bundle X is discharged.
Used to mean.

As will be understood from FIG. 2, the front edge of each of the distribution trays 4 is formed with a notch portion 4e in which nipping pieces 9a and 9b of a nip device 9, which will be described in detail later, can be located.
At the position of the cutout portion 4e, the sheet bundle X on the surface of the distribution tray 4 located at the "processing station" position is held by the holding piece 9a,
It is clamped from the up and down direction by 9b and translated in the horizontal plane without changing the direction. The nipping pieces 9a and 9b of the nip device 9 will be described later with reference to FIG. 5, but have two first nip positions P ₁ and second nip positions P ₂ that differ by a distance L in the sheet a taking-in direction. Can be taken. In addition, the sandwiching piece 9 supported by sandwiching arms 9e and 9f whose base is rotatably supported by nip shafts 9c and 9d.
a and 9b can release the sheet bundle X sandwiched at the home position shown by the solid lines in FIGS. 2 and 5, and therefore the same positions rotated by about 90 degrees from the first nip position P ₁ and the second nip position P ₂ When the sheet bundle X is moved up to, the moving direction of the sheet bundle X is changed to the discharge direction perpendicular to the take-in direction.

Further, on the front side of the machine body frame 1, there is arranged a sheet bundle discharging means 10 which is horizontally adjacent to the distribution tray 4 at the "processing station" position, and the upper conveyance belt 10a and the lower conveyance belt 10a. Belt 10b
The sheet bundle discharge means 10 having the above-mentioned means conveys the sheet bundle X in the discharge direction at right angles to the intake direction. That is, the sheet bundle discharging means 10 for pulling the sheet bundle X from the nip device 9 includes the upper transport belt 10a and the lower transport belt 10b which are synchronously driven by the belt drive shaft 10c, but these upper transport belt 10a and The lower conveyance belt 10b is reversely driven as necessary in a staple mode described later.

A stapler means 11 containing a large number of binding staples S is arranged in the conveying path of the sheet bundle X by the sheet bundle discharge means 10, and the stapler means 11 causes the trailing edge of the sheet bundle X to be one or more. The staples S are bound together. Since the stapler means 11 has a well-known structure that can be easily obtained, detailed description thereof will be omitted, but as will be understood from the drawings, the position where the stapler means 11 is incorporated is excluded from the movement range of the nip device 9. Because it is a large space,
It is also possible to prepare a plurality of groups along the discharge direction of the sheet bundle X.

A storage tray 13 is attached to the outside of the front side of the machine body frame 1 to collect the sheet bundle X discharged from the discharge port 12 of the machine body frame 1 which is connected to the sheet bundle discharge means 10. As understood from FIG. 3, the lower end portion 13a of the storage tray 13 is supported by the machine body frame 1 at a position lower than the sheet bundle discharging means 10, and is inclined obliquely upward from the lower end portion 13a. It has an upper end portion 13b terminated at a position sufficiently higher than the sheet bundle discharging means 10. Therefore, not only can the size of the storage tray 13 in the horizontal plane be reduced by the structure of the storage tray 13 having such a structure, but also the sheet bundle X discharged from the sheet bundle discharge means 10 can be received in the staple mode described later. Enables binding without distortion.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view around the intake roller 2 described above. The intake roller shaft 2c is provided on the rear end wall 1a of the machine frame 1 which supports the intake roller 2 and the intake guide 2a. A plurality of vertical trailing edge regulating members 6 aligned in the longitudinal direction of the sheet bundle X are fixed by the end surfaces 6a of the trailing edge regulating members 6 and the position of the trailing edge of the sheet bundle X on the surface of each distribution tray 4 is regulated. It In addition, when each distribution tray 4 is moved in the vertical direction, each distribution tray 4
In order to prevent the occurrence of "jamming" due to the entrainment of the upper sheet a, an intake shutter 20 is arranged above the press roller 2b. That is, the intake shutter 20 is held in the release position shown by the solid line by the biasing spring 21.
Is the rear end wall 1 due to the horizontal fulcrum shafts 22 at both ends.
It is supported by a and can be interrupted by the excitation of the opening / closing solenoid 23 into the intake passage formed by the intake roller 2 and the pressure contact roller 2b. As will be understood later, since the opening / closing movement of the intake shutter 20 may be synchronized with the movements of the feed screw rods 3A, 3B, 3C and the alignment rod 7 described above, these feed screw rods 3 will be described.
The opening / closing solenoid 23 is opened / closed by a switch opened / closed by A, 3B, 3C or a cam provided on the alignment shaft 7a of the alignment rod 7.
(Shown in FIG. 8) can be controlled. In the present invention,
If a peripheral surface cam is provided in the middle portion of the feed screw rod 3B or 3C in the longitudinal direction and the driven lever of the intake shutter 20 is mechanically controlled by this peripheral surface cam, the same purpose can be achieved at low cost.

5 and 6 show the details of the nip device 9 described above. A pair of guide rods 31 and 32 extending in the vertical direction are rotatably supported by a nip frame 30 of the nip device 9 and have a non-circular cross section. Said same guide rod 3
Vertical movable bases 33 and 34, which can move along 1, 32, are supported by the nip frame 30. The up and down movable bases 33 and 34 respectively support the base ends of the sandwiching arms 9e and 9f that can rotate about the support shafts 35 and 36, and the tip ends of these sandwiching arms 9e and 9f are
Clamping pieces 9a and 9b that can freely rotate around the nip shafts 9c and 9d and that can clamp the sheet bundle X therebetween are supported. Although illustration is omitted, since the configurations of the upper and lower movable bases 33 and 34 are the same, the lower movable base 34 will be described as a representative of the two, and the lower movable base 34 rotates integrally with the guide rods 31 and 32. Control gear 3
7 and a relay gear 38, a direction correction gear 39 that is meshed with the relay gear 38 at the same time is fixed to the support shaft 36 of the lower holding arm 9f, and the support shaft 36 and the lower nip shaft 9d.
The sprocket gears 40 and 41 having the same diameter fixed to the above are synchronously moved by a synchronous timing belt 43 which is stretched over them. Therefore, as can be understood from FIG. 5, when the control gear 37 is rotated in the normal direction, the two holding arms 9e and 9f at the home position shown by the solid line show the first nip position P ₁ shown by the one-dot chain line, or 2 Although it can be rotated to the second nip position P ₂ shown by the dotted line, the orientations of the sandwiching pieces 9a and 9b with respect to the stationary horizontal plane do not change during this time.

Returning to FIG. 6, a nip solenoid 45, which is excited by a nip control signal, is installed above the nip frame 30. The nip solenoid 45 connects the nip frame 30 and the upper movable bases 33 and 34. The sandwiching link 48 engaged with the movable joint of the toggle links 46 and 47 arranged therebetween can be operated. Further, since both ends of the link link 50 having the intermediate portion supported by the pin 49 at the lower portion of the nip frame 30 are engaged with the lower movable table 34 and the upper movable table 33, the upper movable table 33 is held by the sandwiching link 48. When is lowered, the lower movable base 34 is raised to the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line by the linkage link 50 with this movement, and the sheet bundle X is strongly sandwiched between the sandwiching pieces 9a and 9b.

Since the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, the image forming apparatus M in the non-sort mode in which the sheet post-processing apparatus is not substantially operated does not operate.
The sheets a taken in from the above are sequentially placed on each distribution tray 4 and the sheets a for which page alignment is performed are collected on the distribution tray 4 for each part in a sorter mode, and the sheet bundle X on each distribution tray 4 is sorted. While jogging mode in which the sheet is discharged to the storage tray 13, the sheet bundle X on each distribution tray 4
The operation can be performed in a staple mode in which the trailing edge is bound with the designated number of staples S and then collected in the storage tray 13. In the non-sort mode among these operation modes, each distribution tray 4 is placed in the lowered position, and the sheet a discharged from the image forming apparatus M is moved to the uppermost position by the rotational movement of the intake roller 2. Since all the sheets a are collected in the distribution tray 4, the operator can collect all the sheets a from the distribution tray 4. Therefore, in the following description, FIGS. 7 to 9 showing the drive system of the sheet post-processing apparatus will be described.
10 to 12, the details of each mode operation other than the non-sort mode will be described with reference to FIG.

-Sorter mode-When the sorter mode is selected by the operator and the size information of the sheet a discharged from the image forming apparatus M is inputted, the alignment motor 60 of FIG. 7 which is a reversible motor is rotated, The regulating arm shaft 5a of the leading edge regulating rod 5 is rotated by the aligning motor 60 via the aligning gear 61, the fan-shaped gear 62, the timing belt 63, the gear 64, the position regulating gear 65, and the timing belt 67, and the sheet a is taken in. The leading edge regulating rod 5 advances to the distribution tray 4 up to a position corresponding to the size of, and the leading edge regulating rod 5 is stopped by the locking of the lock member 68 provided on the position regulating gear 65. Therefore, the conveyance unit motor 70 shown in FIGS.
The sheet a is taken in on the distribution tray 4 aligned with the intake roller 2 by the rotational movement of the intake roller 2 driven by the sheet a on the upper surface of the distribution tray 4 and the position of the leading edge regulating rod 5 and the same. Leading edge control rod 5
The end face 6a of the trailing edge regulating member 6 facing the position of the rear edge regulating member 6 regulates the position in the intake direction. After the sheet a has been completely taken in on the distribution tray 4, the alignment rod 7 is moved through the relay gear 71 and the alignment shaft 7a by the subsequent rotation of the alignment gear 61.
Is advanced to the surface of the distribution tray 4, and the side edge of the sheet a on the distribution tray 4 is pushed by the alignment rod 7. Therefore, the opposite side edge of the sheet a on the distribution tray 4 is brought into contact with the surface of the descending side edge regulating shutter 8, and as a result, the position of the sheet a on the distribution tray 4 is on one side edge. And the trailing edge is used as a reference. In addition,
After the position of the sheet a is determined, the alignment motor 60 is reversely rotated and the alignment rod 7 returns to the home position.

After that, the distribution tray drive motor 75 is rotated, and the distribution tray drive motor 75 is synchronized with the synchronization chain 76.
And feed screw rods 3A, 3B, 3 via the synchronization chain 77.
It is transmitted to the C feed screw shaft 3a, and the feed screw rods 3A, 3
B and 3C are rotated once, and the next distribution tray 4 corresponds to the intake roller 2. When the distribution tray 4 is raised, the opening / closing solenoid 23 is excited, and the intake shutter 20 interrupts between the sheet a on the distribution tray 4 and the intake roller 2 as shown by the phantom line in FIG. While the distribution tray 4 is being raised, the trailing edge of the sheet a is inadvertently brought into contact with the peripheral surface of the intake roller 2 and the position of the sheet a is deviated, or the sheet a is caught between the intake roller 2 and the pressure roller 2b. It is prevented from being caught and causing a serious accident. Therefore, by repeating the stepwise feed motion of the distribution trays 4 as described above, the sheet bundles X of each page aligned on each distribution tray 4 are collected. Since the edge regulating member 6 returns to the home position, the operator can collect the sheet bundle X from the distribution tray 4 in the raised position without the trailing edge regulating member 6 getting in the way.

-Jogging Mode- When the jogging mode is selected by the operator, all the distribution trays 4 are set to the most raised position and the uppermost distribution tray 4 is set to the "processing station" position.
That is, in the initial state of the jogging mode, FIG.
As shown in, the side edge regulating shutter 8 is in the lowered position,
The nipping pieces 9a and 9b of the nip device 9 are at the home position shown by the solid line. The transport unit motor 70 of FIG. 8 starts to rotate by the jogging mode signal, and the transport unit motor 70 of FIG.
Is transmitted to the belt driving shaft 10c of the sheet bundle discharging means 10 via the conveying chain 81 and the bevel gear 82, and the upper conveying belt 10a of the sheet bundle discharging means 10 is driven. The rotational movement is transmitted to the opening / closing shaft 8a for opening / closing the side edge regulating shutter 8 via the first and second timing belts 83 and 84, and the side edge regulating shutter 8 is lifted by the opening / closing belt 8b driven by the opening / closing axis 8a. Then, the inlet of the sheet bundle discharging means 10 is opened.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 10B, the gripping arms 9e and 9f are rotated about the support shafts 35 and 36 by the rotation of the control gear 37, and the gripping pieces 9a and 9b of the nip device 9 are moved. It is moved to the first nip position P ₁ .
Next, the nip solenoid 45 of the nip device 9 is excited, and the sheet bundle X of the distribution tray 4 located at the "processing station" position is strongly nipped by the nip pieces 9a and 9b. 10 is reversed, and the holding arms 9e and 9f hold the same sheet bundle X as shown in FIG.
Return to the home position of (c), and nip solenoid 4
Degaussing 5 releases sheet bundle X. Nip device 9
When the sheet bundle X is moved by the gripping piece 9 of the nip device 9
Since a and 9b hold the sheet bundle X without changing the direction, the sheet bundle X is similarly translated in the horizontal plane without changing the direction, and the sheet bundle X is driven by the sheet bundle discharging means 10. Are discharged onto the storage tray 13.

When the discharge of the sheet bundle X is detected, the feed tray driving motor 75 drives the feed screw rods 3A, 3B, 3C.
Is rotated once again and the second-stage distribution tray 4 is set to the "processing station" position. However, in this step, as shown in FIG. 10D, the rotation angle of the control gear 37 is controlled. clamping pieces 9a of the nip apparatus 9, 9b is rotated to the second nip position P _2, the second nip position P ₂
While keeping the state that the sheet bundle X is sandwiched by
As shown in (e), the sandwiching pieces 9a and 9b are returned to their home positions. Therefore, the position of the sheet bundle X discharged by the sheet bundle discharging means 10 is set to the first nip position P ₁
The distance L in the take-in direction due to the difference between the second nipping position P ₂ and the second nip position P ₂ is discharged onto the surface of the containing tray 13 different from the previously discharged sheet bundle X.

When the second discharge of the sheet bundle X is detected, the distribution tray 4 is advanced downward by one step. In this case, the first nip position P ₁ Thus, the sheet bundle X is pinched. In other words, in the jogging mode, the first nip position P ₁ is used for the odd-numbered distribution trays 4, and the second nip position P ₂ is used for the even-numbered distribution trays 4. The sheet bundle X collected on the accommodating tray 13 is in a so-called "stacked" state in which the position of the trailing edge is changed for each stage, so that the operator can move the sheet bundle X from the accommodating tray 13 to the sheet bundle X. You can check the number of copies and sort by simply picking up.

-Stapling Mode- FIG. 11 shows a stapling mode when the trailing edge of the sheet bundle X is bound by one staple S.
That is, in the staple mode, the above-mentioned second nip position P ₂ is used. This second nip position P
_{At 2} , the sheet bundle X is sandwiched by the sandwiching pieces 9a and 9b and supplied to the sheet bundle discharging means 10. As described in the jogging mode, the sheet bundle X sequentially taken out from the distribution tray 4 by the stepwise feeding of the distribution tray 4 is taken by the sheet bundle discharging means 10, but the sheet bundle discharging means 1
When the sheet bundle X conveyed at 0 is detected, the sheet bundle X
When the binding position of the sheet bundle coincides with the stapler means 11, the sheet bundle discharging means 10 is temporarily stopped, the stapler means 11 is operated, and the sheet bundle X is stapled by the staple S.
Are bound together. Therefore, after this binding,
In response to the operation end signal of the stapler means 11, the sheet bundle discharging means 10 is driven again, and the bound sheet bundle X is discharged to the storage tray 13.

FIG. 12 shows two or more staples S.
Shows the staple mode for binding the sheet bundle X,
The sheet S is driven from the staple S on the rear side in the discharge direction. That is, in this staple mode, even if the sheet bundle X conveyed by the sheet bundle discharging means 10 is detected, as shown in FIG.
0 continues to be conveyed, and is stopped for the first time when the portion of the sheet bundle X where the staple S on the rear side is to be driven corresponds to the stapler means 11. Therefore, when the stapler means 11 has driven the staple S on the rear side and then the operation completion signal is transmitted from the stapler means 11, the conveyance section motor 70 of the sheet bundle discharge means 10 reverses while holding the same sheet bundle X. Then, as shown in FIG. 12B, after returning the sheet bundle X by a predetermined distance, the sheet bundle discharging means 10 is stopped again and the necessary staple S
Is driven. Therefore, by repeating the temporary stop and the reverse rotation of the sheet bundle discharging means 10 as described above, the sheet bundle X can be bound with the required number of staples S without any obstacle. That is, as in the conventional case, when the staple S on the front side in the discharging direction is driven in, the leading end side in the discharging direction of the sheet bundle X protruding from the sheet bundle discharging means 10 hangs down in a gradually curved state. Even when S is driven, when the sheet bundle X is returned to the flat surface, a partially raised binding state is obtained. However, as described above, when the staple S on the rear side is driven, it is completed. A perfect binding state can be obtained.

The sheet a and the sheet bundle X on the distribution tray 4 in the above jogging mode and staple mode
The position of the trailing edge is determined by the trailing edge regulating member 6 that is fixed to the machine body frame 1 that is the device fixing portion.
Needless to say again, the strict positional relationship between the stapler means 11 and the storage tray 13 provided in the device fixing portion can be obtained, and the post-processing can be performed with high accuracy.

[0034]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the sheet take-in portion is provided with the take-in shutter which is interposed between the take-in roller and the tray when the distribution tray is moved. It is possible to prevent the sheet on the distribution tray from being fed back to the intake roller and causing a serious accident. Further, according to the present invention, since the position of the trailing edge of the sheet on the distribution tray is determined by the trailing edge regulating member fixed to the machine body frame which is the device fixing portion, the member and the device provided in the device fixing portion. There is an advantage that the subsequent processing by can be strictly performed. According to the sheet processing apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, by utilizing the step mechanism that moves the distribution tray up and down, there is an effect that the synchronizing structure of the intake shutter is simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention taken along line 1-1 of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the sheet post-processing device taken along line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the sheet post-processing device taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part around the intake roller of the sheet post-processing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a lower sandwiching piece of the sheet post-processing device.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a nip device of the sheet post-processing device.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a driving device of a feed screw and an alignment rod of the sheet post-processing device.

FIG. 8 is a front view of an intake shutter control device and a side edge regulating plate drive device of the sheet post-processing device.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a take-in roller of the sheet post-processing device and a driving device of a conveying device.

10A to 10E are process diagrams of a jogging mode of the sheet post-processing apparatus.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a one-point stapling staple mode of the sheet post-processing apparatus.

12A and 12B are process diagrams of the sheet post-processing apparatus in the two-point stapling staple mode.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of a conventional sheet post-processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

L Distance M Image forming device P ₁ First nip position P ₂ Second nip position S Staple X Sheet bundle 1 Machine frame 2 Intake roller 2d Intake passage 4 Distribution tray 5 Leading edge regulating rod 6 Trailing edge regulating member 7 Alignment rod 8 Side Edge Control Shutter 9 Nip Device 9a, 9b Nipple Piece 10 Sheet Bundle Discharging Means 11 Stapler Means 13 Storage Tray 20 Intake Portion Shutter

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] August 24, 1994

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0003

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Therefore, conventionally, a sheet post-processing apparatus as shown in FIG. 17 has been proposed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-288292. That is, “A” in FIG. 17 is a sorter / distribution tray that collects the sheet a taken in from an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine into each part, and the position of the sheet a on both sides of the distribution tray A. A pair of alignment rods B and C for aligning are aligned. A pair of stapler means E and F are arranged on a part of the machine body D facing the trailing edge of the sheet a, and the rear side portion of the machine body D faces the storage tray G movable in the arrow K direction. A moving member H that pushes out the sheet a is provided.

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0011

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. First, the overall sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention used by connecting to an image forming apparatus M such as an electrophotographic copying machine. Is equipped with a body frame 1 on a frame 1B having casters 1A.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0024

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Since the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, the image forming apparatus M in the non-sort mode in which the sheet post-processing apparatus is not substantially operated does not operate.
The sheets a taken in from the above are sequentially placed on each distribution tray 4 and the sheets a for which page alignment is performed are collected on the distribution tray 4 for each part in a sorter mode, and the sheet bundle X on each distribution tray 4 is sorted. While jogging mode in which the sheet is discharged to the storage tray 13, the sheet bundle X on each distribution tray 4
The operation can be performed in a staple mode in which the trailing edge is bound with the designated number of staples S and then collected in the storage tray 13. In the non-sort mode among these operation modes, each distribution tray 4 is placed in the lowered position, and the sheet a discharged from the image forming apparatus M is moved to the uppermost position by the rotational movement of the intake roller 2. Since all the sheets a are collected in the distribution tray 4, the operator can collect all the sheets a from the distribution tray 4. Therefore, in the following description, FIGS. 7 to 9 showing the drive system of the sheet post-processing apparatus will be described.
The details of the operation of each mode other than the non-sort mode will be described with reference to FIGS.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0027

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

-Jogging Mode-When the jogging mode is selected by the operator, all the distribution trays 4 are set to the most raised position and the uppermost distribution tray 4 is set to the "processing station" position.
That is, in the initial state of the jogging mode, as shown in FIG. 10, the side edge regulating shutter 8 is in the lowered position, and the nipping pieces 9a and 9b of the nip device 9 are in the home position shown by the solid line. The transport unit motor 70 in FIG. 8 starts to rotate in response to the jogging mode signal, and the rotational movement of the transport unit motor 70 is transmitted to the belt drive shaft 10c of the sheet bundle discharging unit 10 via the transport chain 81 and the bevel gear 82. Although the upper conveying belt 10a of the sheet bundle discharging means 10 is driven, the rotational movement of the belt driving shaft 10c is the first,
It is transmitted to the opening / closing shaft 8a for opening / closing the side edge regulating shutter 8 via the second timing belts 83 and 84, and the opening / closing shaft 8a is also opened.
The side edge regulating shutter 8 is lifted by the opening / closing belt 8b driven by, and the entrance of the sheet bundle discharging means 10 is released.

[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0028

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, the holding arms 9e and 9f are rotated by the rotation of the control gear 37 so that the support shaft 35,
The nip device 9 is rotated about 36 to hold the nipping device 9
a and 9b are moved to the first nip position P ₁ . next,
The nip solenoid 45 of the nip device 9 is excited,
The sheet bundle X of the distribution tray 4 at the "processing station" position is strongly nipped by the nip pieces 9a and 9b, and thereafter, the control gear 37 of the nip device 9 is reversed and the nip arm 9 is held.
The sheet bundles e and 9f return to the home position in FIG. 12 while holding the sheet bundle X, and the sheet bundle X is released by demagnetizing the nip solenoid 45. When the sheet bundle X is moved by the nip device 9, the holding pieces 9a and 9b of the nip device 9 hold the sheet bundle X without changing the direction. Therefore, the sheet bundle X similarly does not change its direction. The sheet bundle X is moved in parallel in the horizontal plane, and the sheet bundle X is discharged onto the storage tray 13 by driving the sheet bundle discharging means 10.

[Procedure correction 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0029

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

When the discharge of the sheet bundle X is detected, the feed tray driving motor 75 drives the feed screw rods 3A, 3B, 3C.
Is rotated once again to bring the second-stage distribution tray 4 to the "processing station" position, but in this step, as shown in FIG. 13, the nip device 9 is controlled by controlling the rotation angle of the control gear 37. clamping piece 9a, 9b is rotated to the second nip position P _2, while maintaining the state of sandwiching the sheet bundle X at the same second nip position P _2, as shown in FIG. 14,
The sandwiching pieces 9a and 9b are returned to the home position. Therefore, the positions of the sheet bundle X discharged by the sheet bundle discharging means 10 are set to the first nip position P ₁ and the second nip position P _2.
Therefore, the sheet bundle X is discharged on the surface of the storage tray 13 different from the sheet bundle X previously discharged by the distance L in the intake direction.

[Procedure Amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0031

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

-Staple Mode- FIG. 15 shows a staple mode when the trailing edge of the sheet bundle X is bound by one staple S.
That is, in the staple mode, the above-mentioned second nip position P ₂ is used. This second nip position P ₂
The sheet bundle X is sandwiched by the sandwiching pieces 9a and 9b and is supplied to the sheet bundle discharging means 10. As described in the jogging mode, the distribution tray 4 is moved forward by stepwise.
Although the sheet bundle X sequentially taken out from the sheet bundle X is taken by the sheet bundle discharge means 10, when the sheet bundle X conveyed by the sheet bundle discharge means 10 is detected, the binding position of the sheet bundle X is set to the stapler means 11. When they match,
The sheet bundle discharging unit 10 is temporarily stopped, the stapler unit 11 is operated, and the sheet bundle X is bound by the staple S. Therefore, after this binding, the sheet bundle discharging means 10 is driven again by the operation end signal of the stapler means 11 to bind the bound sheet bundle X.
Are discharged to the storage tray 13.

[Procedure Amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0032

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

FIG. 16 shows two or more staples S.
Shows the staple mode for binding the sheet bundle X,
The sheet S is driven from the staple S on the rear side in the discharge direction. That is, in this staple mode, even if the sheet bundle X conveyed by the sheet bundle discharging means 10 is detected, as shown in FIG.
0 continues to be conveyed, and is stopped for the first time when the portion of the sheet bundle X where the staple S on the rear side is to be driven corresponds to the stapler means 11. Therefore, when the stapler means 11 has driven the staple S on the rear side and then the operation completion signal is transmitted from the stapler means 11, the conveyance section motor 70 of the sheet bundle discharge means 10 reverses while holding the same sheet bundle X. Then, as shown in FIG. 16B, after returning the sheet bundle X by a predetermined distance, the sheet bundle discharging means 10 is stopped again and the necessary staple S
Is driven. Therefore, by repeating the temporary stop and the reverse rotation of the sheet bundle discharging means 10 as described above, the sheet bundle X can be bound with the required number of staples S without any obstacle. That is, as in the conventional case, when the staple S on the front side in the discharging direction is driven in, the leading end side in the discharging direction of the sheet bundle X protruding from the sheet bundle discharging means 10 hangs down in a gradually curved state. Even when S is driven, when the sheet bundle X is returned to the flat surface, a partially raised binding state is obtained. However, as described above, when the staple S on the rear side is driven, it is completed. A perfect binding state can be obtained.

[Procedure Amendment 9]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

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

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention taken along line 1-1 of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the sheet post-processing device taken along line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the sheet post-processing device taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part around the intake roller of the sheet post-processing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a lower sandwiching piece of the sheet post-processing device.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a nip device of the sheet post-processing device.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a driving device of a feed screw and an alignment rod of the sheet post-processing device.

FIG. 8 is a front view of an intake shutter control device and a side edge regulating plate drive device of the sheet post-processing device.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a take-in roller of the sheet post-processing device and a driving device of a conveying device.

FIG. 10 is a process diagram of a jogging mode of the sheet post-processing device.

FIG. 11 is a process diagram of a jogging mode of the sheet post-processing apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a process diagram of a jogging mode of the sheet post-processing apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a process diagram of a jogging mode of the sheet post-processing device.

FIG. 14 is a process diagram of a jogging mode of the sheet post-processing apparatus.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a one-point stapling staple mode of the sheet post-processing apparatus.

16 (a) and 16 (b) are process diagrams of the sheet post-processing apparatus in the two-point stapling staple mode.

FIG. 17 is a schematic plan view of a conventional sheet post-processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols] L distance M Image forming apparatus P ₁ First nip position P ₂ Second nip position S Staple X Sheet bundle 1 Machine frame 2 Intake part roller 2d Intake part passage 4 Distribution tray 5 Leading edge regulating rod 6 Rear edge Restricting member 7 Alignment rod 8 Side edge restricting shutter 9 Nip device 9a, 9b Holding piece 10 Sheet bundle discharging means 11 Stapler means 13 Storage tray 20 Intake section shutter

[Procedure Amendment 10]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All drawings

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

[Fig. 2]

[Figure 3]

[Figure 4]

[Figure 5]

[Figure 6]

[Figure 7]

[Figure 8]

[Figure 9]

[Figure 10]

FIG. 11

[Fig. 12]

[Fig. 13]

FIG. 14

FIG. 15

FIG. 16

FIG. 17

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Takehiko Saito, 430 Kobayashi, Masuho-cho, Minamikoma-gun, Yamanashi Prefecture, Nisuka Co., Ltd. (72) Masahiro Kono, 430 Kobayashi, Masuho-machi, Minamikoma-gun, Yamanashi Prefecture Within NISKA Corporation

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A sheet provided with a multi-tiered distribution tray on which a sheet bundle is placed in a piled state by receiving a sheet taken in in a take-in direction by a take-in means provided in a machine body frame and being stepped up and down. In the post-processing device, an intake shutter that can prevent the sheet on the distribution tray from being fed back to the intake means by interrupting the intake passage from the intake means to the intake tray when the distribution tray is stepwise advanced in the vertical direction. A sheet post-processing device characterized by being provided. 2. A stepping mechanism for stepwise feeding the distribution tray up and down, a cam means for displacing by the stepping mechanism, and a transmission means for transmitting the displacement of the cam means as an opening / closing operation to the intake shutter. A sheet post-processing device consisting of 3. At least one trailing edge regulating member for regulating the position of the trailing edge of the sheet on each of the distribution trays is fixed to a rear end wall of the machine body frame supporting the intake shutter. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet post-processing apparatus is a sheet post-processing apparatus.