JPH08198502A - Sheet finisher - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a sheet finisher which permits a prescribed number of sheets to be aligned in a prescribed condition and stacked more completely without damage of the sheets, and whose structure is simple. CONSTITUTION: Sheet S are discharged in an arrowheaded direction A from a conveyance device 2 and are received onto the placement surface 10A of a tray 10 and the placement surface 20A of a stacker 20 by a prescribed number for forming a sheet group SG. After the sheet group SG is stapled by a stapler 70, the sheet group SG is shifted in an arrowheaded direction A, moved onto the placement surface 20A of a stacker 20, and stacked in order.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet finisher for receiving and stacking sheets discharged from a sheet discharging position of a copying machine or the like, and more particularly to a tray for receiving discharged sheets and stacking sheets. The present invention relates to a seat finisher that is combined with a vertical lifting type stacker.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional seat finisher, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-28469 is known.

Such a sheet finisher is provided with an upper tray portion and a lower tray portion which are spaced apart at a fixed upper and lower position, and the sheets discharged from the sheet discharging position are sequentially accumulated on the upper tray portion and a predetermined number of sheets are stacked. After forming the seat group of
After stapling the sheet group on the upper tray portion, the stapled sheet group is dropped from the upper tray portion onto the lower tray portion, and the sheet group is sequentially stacked on the lower tray portion. .

A sorter is also known in which sheets discharged from the sheet discharge position are divided and accumulated on a plurality of trays.

[0005]

However, although the former sheet finisher regulates the falling posture of the sheet group from the upper tray, the sheet group dropping from the upper tray by a predetermined distance does not fall. In some cases, the sheets may be unevenly stacked on the lower tray due to a shock or the like, and in that case, it is necessary to take out the sheet group and then re-align them, which is troublesome. Further, when the sheet group falls onto the lower tray, the sheets forming the sheet group may be bent and may be damaged.

On the other hand, the latter sorter must have a large number of trays according to the number of sheets of the sheet group to be separately accumulated on the trays, and the number of the arranged sorters is, for example, 10 or 20, so that the entire apparatus is large. However, there is a problem that it leads to higher price.

An object of the present invention is to provide a seat finisher which can more surely stack and stack a predetermined number of sheets in a predetermined shape without causing any pain in the sheets and has a simple structure. is there.

[0008]

A sheet finisher of the present invention is a sheet finisher for receiving and stacking sheets discharged from a sheet discharging position, the sheet finisher being disposed at a position for receiving sheets discharged from the sheet discharging position,
A tray having a placement surface portion on which at least a part of the sheet can be placed; and a stacker provided with a placement surface portion that is vertically movable at a position adjacent to the tray and on which the sheets can be stacked, First moving means for shifting and moving the sheets on the tray on the stacker by a predetermined number, and stacker driving means for lowering the stacker by a predetermined amount in conjunction with the operation of the first moving means. It is characterized by having.

[0009]

The sheet finisher of the present invention shifts the sheets on the tray every predetermined number of sheets onto the stacker, and lowers the stacker in conjunction with this, so that the predetermined number of sheets placed on the tray can be moved. Smoothly move and stack on one stacker.

[0010]

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

1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body of a sheet finisher provided with a carriage portion 1A and a vertical wall portion 1B, which is arranged at a position for receiving a sheet S discharged from an apparatus 100 such as a copying machine. There is. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the main body 1 is provided with a conveyance device 2 that conveys the sheet S received from the apparatus 100 in the direction of arrow A and ejects the sheet S from the sheet ejection position P1. . Also, the main body 1
Is provided with a tray 10 and a stacker 20 for receiving and stacking the sheets S discharged from the sheet discharge position P1 as described later.

The tray 10 is provided at a fixed position on the vertical wall portion 1B of the main body 1 so as to be located below the sheet discharge position P1. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a sheet mounting surface portion 10A that is inclined upward in the sheet discharge direction A is formed on the upper portion of the tray 10, and the sheet mounting surface portion 10A on the rear side of the mounting surface portion 10A is formed. A vertical wall portion 10B extending downward is formed at the edge (the edge on the left side in FIGS. 3 and 4). As shown in FIG. 6, the placement surface portion 10A in this example is a flat surface having a size such that only a portion of the length S of the sheet S closer to the front side (portion closer to the right side in FIG. 6) can be partially placed. It is a rectangle. On the front side of the mounting surface portion 10A,
As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet stopper 10 is bent upward.
C and left and right notches 10D, 1 for moving the push member
0E and left and right cutouts 10F, 10 for tamper movement
G and a notch 10H for moving the stapler are formed. The notches 10D and 10E are the sheet stopper 10
It extends from C in the direction of arrow A, and also has notches 10F, 10
G extends in the left-right direction (up-down direction in FIG. 6).

The upper portion of the stacker 20 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in, a sheet mounting surface portion 20A that is inclined upward along the direction of arrow A is formed. As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet mounting surface portion 20A in this example has a bottom surface portion 20A.
Side surface portions 20A-2 located on the left and right of A-1 are inclined upward to form a so-called boat bottom shape. A nut member 21 and a linear bearing 22 are attached to each of the left and right side portions 20B and 20C of the mounting surface portion 20A. The left and right nut members 21, 21 are the left and right screw shafts 2 rotatably supported by the main body 1 so as to extend in the vertical direction.
3 and 23 are screwed together to form a feed mechanism using a ball screw. A highly accurate die cast screw may be used as the feeding mechanism. The left and right linear bearings 22, 22 are also supported by the main body 1 so as to extend in the vertical direction.
4 is slidably fitted. Then, the left and right screw shafts 23, 23 are synchronously driven to rotate by the rotation motor 25, so that the stacker 20 moves up and down along the left and right guide shafts 24, 24. In this way, the stacker 20 is rotated according to the rotation of the rotation motor 25.
Stacker drive mechanism (stacker drive means) 9 for moving up and down
1 is configured. The rotation motor 25 is drive-controlled by a control signal related to the operation of the first moving mechanism 94 described later. As shown in FIG. 6, the left and right screw shafts 23, 23 and the left and right guide shafts 24, 24 are respectively attached to the tray 1.
The stacker 20 is installed so as to be located on the side of the mounting surface 10A of 0, and the stacker 20 moves up and down at a position adjacent to the tray 10.

The stacking surface portion 20A of the stacker 20 is shown in FIG.
Left and right notches 20 for the push member, as shown in FIG.
D and 20E and a cutout 20F for taking out the sheet are formed. The notches 20D and 20E extend in the arrow A direction so as to be continuous with the notches 10F and 10G of the tray 10 in a plan view.

A sheet aligning mechanism (sheet aligning means) 30 as shown in FIG. 7 is provided below the mounting surface portion 10A of the tray 10.

The sheet aligning mechanism 30 is provided with a case-shaped movable body 33 slidable in the left-right direction on a rail 32 of a base 31 provided at a fixed position on the main body 1 side. The left and right linear bearings 34, 35 are provided on both sides of the movable body 33.
The left and right levers 36 and 37 are slidably guided in the left and right direction via the. Left and right tampers 38, 39 protruding upward from the notches 10F, 10G of the tray 10 are attached to one ends of the left and right levers 36, 37 protruding outward of the movable body 33, respectively.

The movable body 33 is equipped with a reversible motor (rotating motor) 40 which can rotate in the directions of arrows X and Y, and its output shaft 40A has a rotating body as shown in FIG. 41 and the eccentric cam 42 are attached via first and second one-way clutches 43 and 44, respectively. The clutches 43 and 44 have different directions,
The first clutch 43 transmits the rotation to the rotating body 41 only when the output shaft 40A rotates in the arrow X direction, and conversely, in the second clutch 44, the output shaft 40A rotates in the arrow Y direction. The rotation is transmitted to the eccentric cam 42 only when the eccentric cam 42 is rotated.

A pin 45 is provided at an eccentric position of the rotating body 41, and a long hole 46A formed at one end of a link 46 is loosely fitted in the pin 45. The link 46 is rotatably supported by a shaft 47 at a fixed position of the movable body 33, and one end of each of the left and right crank arms 48 and 49 is provided at a position equidistant from the shaft 47 in the longitudinal direction. It is rotatably connected by a pin. Each of the other ends of the crank arms 48, 49 has a movable body 3
The left and right levers 36 and 37 located inside 3 are rotatably connected by a pin. In this way first
The tamper driving means is configured to rotate the motor 40 in the arrow X direction and rotate the rotating body 41 in the same direction via the first one-way clutch 43.
6. The left and right tampers 38, 39 are repeatedly moved by the same distance by the crank mechanism 92 constituted by the crank arms 48, 49 in the directions C1 and D1 which are close to each other and in the directions C2 and D2 which are separated from each other. become.

On the other hand, the cam surface 42A of the eccentric cam 42 faces the side surface 31A of the base 31, and the movable body 33 is biased by the spring 50 in the direction of arrow B1. Is pressed against. In this way, the second tamper driving means is configured, the motor 40 rotates in the arrow Y direction, and the eccentric cam 42 rotates in the same direction via the second one-way clutch 44. At this time, the movable body 33 slides in the directions of arrows B1 and B2 together with the left and right tampers 38 and 39. In this example, the movable body 33 reciprocates once in the directions of arrows B1 and B2 each time the eccentric cam 42 makes one rotation in the direction of arrow Y. In FIG. 7, the movable body 33 moves in the direction of arrow B2. The state of moving to the right is shown.

The left arm 36 is divided into first and second arm portions 36-1 and 36-2, which are formed in the arm portions 36-1 and 36-2 as shown in FIG. With the nut member 51 screwed into both of the reverse threaded parts
The arm portions 36-1 and 36-2 are connected. Therefore, the arm portions 36-1 and 36-2 and the nut member 51 constitute a turnbuckle mechanism 93 that adjusts the length of the arm 36 according to the rotation of the nut member 51. A spur gear portion 51A is formed on the outer periphery of the nut member 51, and the spur gear portion 51A is meshed with a spur gear 53 that is driven to rotate by a stepping motor 52. Therefore, the arrows C1 and C in FIG.
The nut member 51 can be rotationally adjusted by a predetermined angle by the stepping motor 52 regardless of whether the nut member 51 is slid in two directions.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the main body 1 is provided with a first moving mechanism (first moving mechanism) for moving the sheet S on the tray 10 onto the stacking surface portion 20A of the stacker 20 while shifting it. Moving means) 94.

In the first moving mechanism 94, the left and right push members 62, 62 are respectively attached to the base 61 mounted at fixed positions on the vertical wall portion 1B of the main body 1 in the inclination direction of the mounting surface portion 10A of the tray 10. It is held slidably in the directions of the arrows E1 and E2. Reference numeral 63 is a guide member for slidably guiding the push member 62. A sheet pressing portion 62A that bends downward is formed at the tip of the push member 62. Then, the left and right push members 62, 62 move in the direction of arrow E1, and the cutouts 10D, 10E of the tray 10 corresponding to the sheet pressing portions 62A, 62A, and the cutout 20 of the stacker 20.
By being slightly inserted into the D and 20E, the rear end SG1 of the stacking group (hereinafter referred to as “sheet group”) SG of the sheets S located on the tray 10 is moved to the arrow E1 as described later.
Push in the direction and slide. The sheet pressing portion 62A has a flat contact surface with the rear end SG1 of the sheet group SG in order to avoid damage to the rear end SG1 of the sheet group SG.

The push members 62, 62 located on the left and right sides are provided with a drive mechanism for synchronously moving them in the directions of the arrows E1, E2. As shown in FIG. 11, the drive mechanism of this example includes racks 64 and 64 attached to the left and right push members 62 and 62, and a pinion that meshes with the racks 64 and 64 and meshes with each other. 65 and 65, and a reversible motor 66 that rotates one of the pinions 65. Then, by the motor 66 rotating in the direction of arrow F1,
The left and right push members 62, 62 move in synchronization with the arrow E1 direction, and the motor 66 rotates in the arrow F2 direction, so that the left and right push members 62, 62 move in the arrow E2 direction.
Move in sync with the direction.

Further, the vertical wall portion 1B of the main body 1 has a structure shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the stapler 70 is swingably supported about the axis O1, and by swinging from the standby position of the solid line in FIG. 12 to the position of the two-dot chain line on the left side of FIG. 12, Rear end SG1 of the sheet group SG on the tray 10
Staple the part nearer. At that time, the stapler 70
Enters the notch 10H of the tray 10 and staples a portion of the sheet group SG located on the notch 10H near the rear end SG1.

Next, the operation will be described.

Here, the operation when the sheets S continuously discharged from the apparatus 100 are stapled and accumulated in units of a predetermined number of sheet groups SG will be described. For example, when the apparatus 100 is a copying machine, in order to copy a predetermined number of copies of a plurality of originals, the copying operation is performed while the original reading operation is repeated for the number of copies to be copied, or the data of the original once read is stored in the memory. Then, the copying operation is executed while repeatedly reading the data from the memory, and the copied sheets S are continuously discharged. In the latter case, the original is less damaged and the memory is cheap, so it is becoming popular.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, the stacker 20 is moved to the initial position so that the stacking surface portion 20A of the stacker 20 is located on substantially the same inclined surface as the stacking surface portion 10A of the tray 10.

After that, the sheet S from the apparatus 100 is discharged from the sheet discharge position P1 to the arrow A by the conveying apparatus 1. The sheet S is received on the mounting surface portions 10A and 20A of the tray 10 and the stacker 20, and is slid downward along the inclinations of the mounting surface portions 10A and 20A, and the sheet stopper 10C causes the reference position PA1 (see FIG. (Refer to 6)
Be positioned at. At the initial position of the stacker 20,
When the mounting surface portion 20A is located slightly lower than the mounting surface portion 10A of the tray 10 in the height direction, that is, when a step is formed between the tray 10 and the stacker 20, the sheet S is discharged. At the time of discharging from the position P1, at least the first sheet S of the sheet group SG stacked at the lowest position has its rear end in the stacker tip direction to the left in FIG. 6 from the vertical wall portion 10A of the tray 10. The rear end of the sheet S is fixed to the vertical wall portion 1 so as not to move.
Avoid being locked by 0A. The discharge angle of the sheet S, the discharge speed, the arrangement position of the conveyance device 2, and the like are determined so as to satisfy such conditions.

In this way, the tray 10 and the stacker 2 are
The sheets S are sequentially stacked on the 0 mounting surface portions 10A and 20A, and their rear ends are regulated at the reference position PA1.

When the sheets S are stacked, the motor 40 of the sheet aligning mechanism 30 rotates in the arrow X direction,
By the crank mechanism 92, the left and right tampers 38, 39 are repeatedly moved by the same distance in the directions of arrows C1 and D1 approaching each other and in the directions of arrows C2 and D2 separating from each other,
They strike both sides of the sheet S to align them. Tamper 3
The minimum approach distances of 8 and 39 are set in advance using the turnbuckle mechanism 93 to a length corresponding to the size of the width W of the seat S. That is, when the nut member 51 is rotated by the stepping motor 52 and the approach distance between the tampers 38, 39 is minimized, they regulate and align both side portions of the seat W with an optimum margin. , Adjust the length of the arm 36 in advance.

Therefore, the sheets S sequentially stacked on the tray 10 and the stacking surface portions 10A and 20A of the stacker 20.
Are aligned in the width direction at the reference position PA1.

When a predetermined number of sheets S are stacked as the first side sheet group SG at the reference position PA1, the sheet group SG is stapled by the stapler 70.

After that, the stapled first sheet group SG is displaced in the arrow E1 direction by the push members 62, 62 of the first moving mechanism 94 (see FIGS. 10 and 11). The shift amount at that time is set to be slightly larger than the distance LA between the reference position PA1 and the vertical wall 10A of the tray 10, and when the push members 62, 62 return in the direction of arrow E2, the sheet group SG is set. Rear end SG1
Slips down to the step between the tray 10 and the stacker 20 and is locked by the vertical wall 10B of the tray 10. Therefore, by this time, the stacker 20 has been lowered to such an extent that the step can be formed sufficiently. In this way, the first sheet group SG is completely placed on the stacker 20.

Thereafter, similarly, the second sheet group S
The sheets S forming G are sequentially stacked on the tray 10 and the mounting surface portions 10A and 20A of the stacker 20, and they are aligned in the width direction at the reference position PA1. Then, the reference position PA
1, the predetermined number of sheets S is the second sheet group SG
Then, the sheet group SG is stapled by the stapler 70.

Thereafter, before the second sheet group SG is displaced on the stacker 20 by the push members 62, 62, the motor 40 of the sheet aligning mechanism 30 (see FIG. 7).
Rotates 180 degrees in the direction of arrow Y, and the eccentric cam 42 causes the movable body 33 to move the left and right tampers 38, 3 as shown in FIG.
Slide with 9 in the direction of arrow B2. At this time, the tampers 38, 39 are located at the minimum approach distance that regulates both side portions of the second sheet group SG, and the sheet group SG
Will be displaced in the direction of arrow B2 while being restricted by those tampers 38, 39. The arrow B2
The maximum shift amount LB in the direction is set to a size that shifts both side portions of the sheet group SG from positions PB1 and PB2 to positions PC1 and PC2, as shown in FIG. In this way, when the sheet group SG is displaced, the movable body 33 is arranged so that the facing distance between the tampers 38 and 39 does not widen.
At, the displacement of the tamper 38, 39 is restricted. The binding force is, for example, that the tampers 38 and 39 are relatively close to each other,
First tamper driving means for driving in a direction of separating,
Or it is generated by special braking means.

Then, after the second sheet group SG is shifted in the width direction in this way, the first sheet moving unit 94 is moved in the same manner as the first sheet group SG described above.
Push members 62, 62 (see FIGS. 10 and 11)
The rear end SG1 is locked to the vertical wall portion 10B of the tray 10 by shifting in the arrow E1 direction by. Therefore, by this time, the rear end SG1 of the second sheet group SG
The stacker 20 is lowered by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the sheet group SG to such an extent that the sheet can be sufficiently locked.

Therefore, the second sheet group SG is stacked on the first sheet group SG with a shift of the distance LB in the width direction. Then, the motor 40 further rotates 180 degrees in the arrow Y direction, and the movable body 33 returns to the arrow B1.

Thereafter, the third sheet group SG is stacked in the same manner as the first sheet group SG, and the fourth sheet group SG is stacked in the same manner as the second sheet group SG. That is, the plurality of sheet groups SG stacked on the stacker 20 are shown in FIG.
As shown in, the distance LB is alternately shifted in the width direction. Therefore, it is easy to confirm the number of copies of the sheet group SG, specify the sheet group SG that has been error copied, and extract the sheet group SG. Further, since the plurality of sheet groups SG are stacked on the stacker 20 with a smooth shift, they are surely aligned and stacked in a desired form.
The sheet group SG thus accumulated on the stacker 20
Insert your hand into the notch 20F of the stacker 20 and take it out. In that case, a plurality of sheet groups SG can be collectively taken out.

(Other Embodiments) By setting the mounting surface portion 10A of the tray 10 to be large, not only the portion near the rear end SG1 of the sheet group SG as in the above embodiment but also the entire sheet group SG is mounted. You may set it. In short, it is sufficient that the push members 62 of the first moving mechanism 94 can shift the sheet group SG onto the placement surface portion 20A of the stacker 20.

Also, the shift amount L in the width direction of the sheet group SG
By setting a plurality of B, it is possible to stack a plurality of sheet groups SG by shifting in the width direction by three or more steps. Further, the stapler 70 does not necessarily have to be provided, and a plurality of sheet groups SG of the sheets S can be simply shifted and stacked on the stacker 20.

[0041]

As described above, since the sheet finisher of the present invention is configured to shift the sheets on the tray onto the stacker for every predetermined number of sheets and to lower the stacker in conjunction with this, the sheet finisher is placed on the tray. A predetermined number of sheets placed can be smoothly moved onto one stacker, and as a result, a predetermined number of sheets can be reliably aligned and stacked on one stacker. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a seat finisher according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view taken along the line ΙΙ in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a partial cutout when the stacker shown in FIG. 1 is in an initial position.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a partial cutout when the sheet group is accumulated in the stacker shown in FIG.

5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the tray and the stacker shown in FIG. 2 are separated from each other.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the tray and stacker shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG.

8 is a sectional view of an output shaft portion of the motor shown in FIG.

9 is an enlarged view of a turnbuckle mechanism portion shown in FIG.

10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

11 is a plan view of the first moving mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the stapler portion shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 2 Conveying apparatus 10 Tray 10A Loading surface part 20 Stacker 20A Loading surface part 30 Sheet aligning mechanism (sheet aligning means) 38, 39 Tamper 40 Reversible motor (rotating motor) 41 Rotating body 42 Eccentric cam 43 First One-way clutch 44 Second one-way clutch 91 Stacker drive mechanism (stacker drive means) 92 Crank mechanism 93 Turnbuckle mechanism 94 First moving mechanism (first moving means) S seat SG seat group

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A sheet finisher that receives and stacks sheets discharged from a sheet discharging position, is placed at a position for receiving sheets discharged from the sheet discharging position, and is capable of mounting at least a part of the sheet. A tray having a stacking surface portion, a stacker provided with a stacking surface portion that is vertically movable at a position adjacent to the tray and capable of accumulating the sheets, and a predetermined number of the sheets on the tray. A sheet finisher comprising: a first moving unit that shifts and moves the stacker onto the stacker; and a stacker driving unit that lowers the stacker by a predetermined amount in conjunction with the operation of the first moving unit. 2. The sheet finisher according to claim 1, further comprising sheet aligning means having left and right tampers for aligning both sides of the sheet on the tray by pushing. 3. A second moving means for moving the sheet on the tray in a direction different from the shifting direction before shifting the sheet onto the stacker. Alternatively, the seat finisher described in 2. 4. Disposed on both left and right sides of the tray,
The left and right tampers, which are displaceable in the left and right directions along the width direction of the sheet on the tray, and the left and right tampers are relatively moved toward and away from each other,
First tamper drive means for pushing and aligning both left and right sides of the sheet on the tray by the left and right tampers; and the left and right tampers simultaneously while the positions of both sides of the sheet are restricted by the left and right tampers. The seat finisher according to claim 1, further comprising a second tamper driving unit that displaces to the left or to the right. 5. The first tamper driving means has a crank mechanism for synchronously displacing the left and right crank arms connected to the left and right tampers, respectively, in a direction in which they approach and in a direction away from each other. The seat finisher according to claim 4. 6. The second tamper driving means holds the left and right tampers and the first tamper driving means, and is a movable body which is guided so as to be displaceable in the left and right directions; and the movable body in the left and right directions. The seat finisher according to claim 4, further comprising a driving motor. 7. The first tamper drive means is a crank mechanism for displacing left and right crank arms connected to the left and right tampers, respectively, in a direction of approaching and separating from each other by rotation of a rotating body. The second tamper drive means has a movable body that holds the left and right tampers and the first drive means and that is displaced in the left-right direction by the rotation of an eccentric cam, and the rotation body is a first body. One unidirectional clutch is connected to the rotary motor, and the eccentric cam is a reversible rotary motor via a second one-way clutch whose directionality is opposite to that of the first one-way clutch. The seat finisher according to claim 4, wherein the seat finisher is connected to the seat finisher. 8. A turnbuckle mechanism capable of adjusting the length of the lever is provided on at least one of the left and right levers that connect the left and right tampers and the left and right crank arms, respectively. The seat finisher according to any one of 4 to 7. 9. The sheet finisher according to claim 1, further comprising a stapler capable of stapling the sheet received on the tray.