JPH10279173A - Image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming system in which a bin can be moved to a position where an operator easily takes the sheet out after the last sheet is contained in the bin in a series of image forming process, and in which a moving position of it can be designated. SOLUTION: In an image forming system comprising a copying machine and a sorter having plural bins, the sorter containes copied sheets in the order of pages while plural bins are vertically moving by the pitch in execution of a sorting mode. In a sorting mode process, a moving position of a bin after the last copied sheet is contained in the bin can be designated by use of designation keys 111, 112, 113 displayed in a liquid crystal touch panel 101 in an operation panel.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image forming system, and more particularly to an image forming system in which an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine is combined with a sorter having a plurality of bins for sorting sheets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers have been provided with various sorters for sorting sheets on which images have been formed in the order of pages and performing stapling as required. Conventionally, as a sorter of this type, there is known a sorter having a plurality of bins movable in a vertical direction, and sorting sheets into bins by moving the bins up and down by one pitch.

In a bin-movable sorter, after a final sheet is stored in a bin in a series of copying processes, the bin in which the final sheet is stored is stopped at the storage position. Since the bin stop position corresponds to the number of copies, the operator does not always stop at an optimal position for taking out a sheet from the bin, and may stop at a position where it is difficult to take out the sheet.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to automatically move the bin to a position where the operator can easily take out the sheet after the final sheet is stored in the bin in a series of image forming processes.
An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming system capable of designating the movement position.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To achieve the above object, an image forming system according to the present invention comprises an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet corresponding to the number of copies designated by an operator, and an image forming apparatus which moves up and down. A sorter that has a plurality of bins that are enabled, sorts sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus into each bin while moving the bins up and down by one pitch, and a final sheet in a series of image forming processes. Means for designating the bin movement position after the bin is accommodated in the bin, and control means for moving the bin to the designated position after the last sheet is accommodated in the bin when the bin position is designated by the designation means. And

In the present invention, when starting the image forming process in the sort mode, the operator specifies in advance a bin position from which sheets can be easily taken out. During a series of image forming processes, the bin accommodates sheets one by one while moving up or down, and when the last sheet is accommodated in a predetermined bin, the bin moves to a designated position. Therefore, even if the bin position where the last sheet is stored is a position where it is difficult to take out the sheet, the bin moves to an appropriate position designated by the operator. Therefore, according to the present invention, an image forming system with good usability can be obtained.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an image forming system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the embodiment described below, the electrophotographic copying machine 1 has a sorter 4
Are combined.

In FIG. 1, a copying machine 1 forms an original image on a sheet by a well-known electrophotographic method. An automatic document feeder 3 that feeds one sheet at a time onto a platen glass is mounted.

The sorter 4 is connected to the left side of the copying machine 1,
The copied sheets sent from the copying machine 1
And a function of forming a punch hole in the sheet and binding the sheet with a stapler.
The sorter 4 can be attached to and detached from the copying machine 1 for maintenance and paper jam processing, and the attachment / detachment is detected by the set switch SW1. Set switch SW
The operation of the sorter 4 is possible only when 1 has detected the connection state.

The overall configuration of the sorter 4 is as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and includes a bin assembly 10, a sheet transport mechanism 50, a punch mechanism 60, a sheet alignment mechanism 40, a sheet chucking mechanism 70, and a stapler 90. It is configured. In the following, a mechanism related to processing in the sort mode will be described, and the sheet transport mechanism 50 and the punch mechanism 6 will be described.
0, sheet alignment mechanism 40, sheet chucking mechanism 70
The description of the stapler 90 is omitted.

The bin assembly 10 is formed by stacking the bins 12 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. The bin 12 _(n) at the uppermost stage used as a non-sort tray, and the bin 20 at the upper stage used as a sort tray 12 _{(1) to} 12 ₍₂₀₎
It has. The sheet is sent to each bin 12 from the position A in FIG. Therefore, each bin 12 can be shifted upward and downward as a whole so that the sheet can be received at the discharge position A. Also, the stapling by the stapler 90 is shown in FIG. 2 B ₁ position in the height direction (a plane in the figure 3 B ₂ positions), each bin 12 during stapling is one level upper than the sheet discharge position A so that the move to the stapling position B _2.

The copied sheet discharged from the copying machine 1 is first received by the roller pair 51 and
And is discharged to each bin 12 from the pair of rollers 53 and 54. At this time, the discharged sheet is detected by the sensor SE5.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each bin 12 has a substantially dish-like shape, has a sheet backflow preventing projection 12a at the end thereof, and has a large cutout 12b formed at the left open portion. The sheet is easy to take out. Each bottle 12
Pins 13 and 13a are protrudingly provided on both sides of the roller 13. Rollers 14 and 15 (see FIG. 5) are rotatably mounted on the pin 13, and a roller 14a is rotatably mounted on the pin 13a. The roller 14a is a guide plate 2 extending in the vertical direction.
It is located between 1 and 22 and can move up and down. The rollers 14 are located on guide plates 23 and 24 extending in the vertical direction, and can move up and down.

On the other hand, on both sides of the bin assembly 10,
A drive shaft 25 for vertically moving the bin 12 as a whole is provided in the vertical direction. As shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, the bin drive shaft 25 has a spiral cam groove 25 on its outer peripheral surface.
The roller 15 attached to each pin 13 is engaged with the cam groove 25a. The back side of the sorter 4 (upper in FIG. 3)
Is provided with a bin moving motor M2 that can rotate forward and backward, and this motor M2 is connected to the bin driving shaft 25 on the back side. Further, the drive shaft 25 on the rear side and the drive shaft 25 on the front side are connected by a chain (not shown), and both rotate in synchronization. The cam groove 25a of the bin drive shaft 25 has
_{(1) to} 12 ₍₂₀₎ and the non-sort bin 12 _(n) are held, and the interval (pitch) between the bins is determined by the pitch of the cam groove 25a. As shown in FIG. 2, at the position (discharge position A) of the discharge roller pair 54 for discharging the sheet to the bin, the pitch of the cam groove 25a is twice as large as that of the other portions. The interval widens. FIG.
This shows a state in which the bin 12 _(n) is located at the discharge position A, and the bin assembly 10 moves up or down by one pitch by one pitch based on one rotation of the drive shaft 25 in the forward or reverse direction. In the sorting operation, each bin 12 _{(1) to} 12
₍₂₀₎ is sequentially positioned at the discharge position A.

The state shown in FIG. 2 is the lower limit position of the bin assembly 10, and this position is detected by the sensor SE1. The bin drive shaft 25 on the front side has a notch 26
a is fixed (see FIG. 3).
Each bin 1 is detected by a sensor SE2 for monitoring the rotation state of the bin.
2 is detected to be opposite to the sheet discharge position A (hereinafter, referred to as a bin fixed position). Further, the sorter 4 is provided with a sensor SE3 for detecting whether or not sheets are stored in the bin 12 (see FIG. 2). The sensor SE3 includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and is set so that the optical axis vertically passes through a hole 12c formed in each bin 12.

FIG. 7 shows an operation panel 10 provided on the copying machine 1.
Indicates 0. On the operation panel 100, a liquid crystal touch panel 101, a numeric keypad 102 for inputting the number of copies and a copy magnification, a clear key 103 for returning the number input by the numeric keypad 102 to an initial state, and operation modes of the copying machine 1 and the sorter 4 are displayed. A reset key 104 for returning to the initial state, a stop key 105 for stopping the copy operation, a start key 106 for starting the copy operation, and a mode setting key for inputting the type of the original to be processed by the automatic document feeder 3 (single-sided original or double-sided original) 107 and sheet size selection key 108
Is installed.

The initial screen of the liquid crystal touch panel 101 is shown in FIG.
When the bin position designation mode setting key 110 displayed on this screen is turned on, the panel 10
1 is switched to the screen shown in FIG. The designation of the bin position means that after the last sheet is stored in a predetermined bin 12 in a series of copy processes in the sort mode, the bin assembly 1
This means that the operator specifies to which position 0 is to be moved. The designation of the bin position is as shown in FIG.
Three types, an upper position 1, a middle position 2, and a lower position 3, can be designated, and the operator designates a position where it is considered easy to take out the sheet from the bin 12. The designation is performed by turning on any of the designated designation keys 111, 112, and 113.

FIG. 9 shows a control unit, which mainly comprises a CPU 150 for controlling the copying machine 1 and a CPU 160 for controlling the sorter 4. The CPUs 150 and 160 include ROMs 151 and 161 storing control data and RAMs 152 and 162 storing control parameters. CPU
Signals from various keys on the operation panel 100 and signals from various sensors in the copier 1 are input to the input unit 153 of the 150. The operation panel 1 is output from the output unit 154.
Signals to various display devices and control signals to various devices are output. The CPU 160 receives signals from the switch SW1, the sensors SE1, SE2, SE3, SE5, and the like, and outputs control signals to various devices such as the bin moving motor M2.

Here, the processing in the sort mode will be described. The sort mode is a mode in which the sheets discharged from the copying machine 1 are distributed and stored _{one by one} into the sort bins 12 _{(1) to} 12 ₍₂₀₎ . By setting the sort mode, the bin assembly 10 is moved from the home position shown in FIG. 2 by one rotation of the bin drive shaft 25, so that the sort bin 12 ₍₁₎ faces the sheet discharge position A (hereinafter, referred to as the sheet discharge position A ₎ .
To the bin sort initial position).

The sheet on which an image has been formed by the copying machine 1 passes through the transport mechanism 50 and is sent from the discharge roller pair 54 to the sort bin 12 ₍₁₎ . The trailing edge of the sheet is a discharge sensor S
When detected at E5, a predetermined time (for example, 50 ms
c) Later, the bin moving motor M2 is driven to rotate forward, and the bin assembly 10 moves up one stage. Then, after the sheet alignment processing is performed, the next sheet is discharged, and the next bin 1
2 Stored in ₍₂₎ . In the same manner, sheets are successively placed in bins 12.
_{(3) to} 12 ₍₂₀₎ .

Incidentally, the sorter 4 performs reciprocating collation on a plurality of pages of copy sheets. That is, the bin assembly 10 performs the sorting process while moving up the bin assembly 10 step by step with respect to the odd-numbered page sheets, and reverses the bin moving motor M2 to move the bin assembly 10 down by one step with respect to the even-numbered sheet sheets. Perform sorting while moving. For example, when copying a 5-page document, the sheets on the second and fourth pages are bins 12 ₍₅₎ , 12 ₍₄₎ ... 12 ₍₁₎
And distributed and housed.

When the bin position is not designated by the designation keys 111, 112 and 113, the bin assembly 10 is set at a position where the bin 12 containing the last sheet faces the discharge position A after the operation of the sort mode is completed. To stop in On the other hand, the designation keys 111, 112,
If any one of bin positions 1, 2, and 3 is designated in advance by 113, the bin assembly 10 moves to the designated position after the end of the operation in the sort mode.

Next, a control procedure by the CPUs 150 and 160 will be described with reference to flowcharts of FIGS.

FIG. 10 shows a CPU 150 for controlling the copying machine 1.
The main routine of FIG. When the CPU 150 is reset and the program starts, first, in step S
In step 1, the internal RAM is cleared, various registers are cleared, and initial settings for setting each device to the initial mode are performed. Next, an internal timer is set in step S2. The internal timer determines the time required for one routine in this main routine, and its value is set in advance in step S1.

Next, at step S3, a subroutine for communication processing with the CPU 160, at step S4, a subroutine for setting a copy mode, at step S5, a subroutine for copy operation, and at step S6, other processes (temperature control of the fixing unit, Subroutines such as setting and specifying the next bin at the time of sorting are sequentially called to perform necessary processing. Finally, in step S7, the process returns to step S2 after waiting for the end of the internal timer. Various timers appearing in each subroutine are counted using the time unit of this one routine.

FIG. 11 shows a subroutine of the communication process executed in step S3. Here, in step S31, reception from the CPU 160 is processed, and in step S32, C
Process transmission to PU 160.

FIG. 12 shows a subroutine of the transmission process executed in step S32. First, in step S321, it is determined whether a bin movement request has been set. The bin movement request is defined by keys 111 and 11 on the operation panel 100.
2, 113 indicates that bin movement after the sort mode processing has been designated. If the bin movement request is set, the bin movement request is reset in step S322, and then a bin movement request command is transmitted to the CPU 160 in step S323, and the bin position information is transmitted to the CPU 160 in step S324. The bin position information means bin positions 1, 2, and 3 shown in FIG. Further, other information is transmitted to CPU 160 in step S325.

FIG. 13 shows a subroutine of the copy operation executed in step S5. Here, step S51
To determine whether to start the copy operation, and to determine whether to end the copy operation in step S52. Further, other copy operations are processed in step S53.

FIG. 14 shows a subroutine for judging the end of copying executed in step S52. First, step S5
At 21, it is determined whether the document currently being copied is the last document. This determination utilizes the document detection function of the automatic document feeder 3. If it is the last document, it is determined in step S522 whether or not the number of sheets (the number of copies) has been discharged from the copying machine 1. If the discharge of the last sheet has been completed, a bin movement request is set in step S523, and other processing is performed in step S524.

FIG. 15 shows a CPU 160 for controlling the sorter 4.
The main routine of FIG. When the CPU 160 is reset and the program starts, first, in step S
At 21, the internal RAM is cleared, various registers are cleared, and initial settings for setting each device to the initial mode are performed. Next, an internal timer is set in step S22. The internal timer determines the time required for one routine in this main routine, and its value is set in advance in step S21.

Next, the subroutines of steps S23 to S28 (steps S23, S24, and S25 will be described in detail below) are sequentially called to perform necessary processing. S2
Return to 2. Using the time unit of this one routine, various timers (each counting time is stored in the ROM 161) appearing in each subroutine are counted.

FIG. 16 shows a subroutine of the communication process executed in step S23. Here, step S23
In step S23, the reception from the CPU 150 is processed.
In step 2, transmission to the CPU 150 is processed.

FIG. 17 shows a subroutine of the receiving process executed in step S231. First, step S231
After confirming that the bin move request command has been received in step 1, the bin move request is set in step S2312.
Then, after confirming that it has received the bottle location information in step S2313, it sets the bin located in the bin designated counter C ₃ based on the bin location information in step S2314. The bin position to be set where the counter C _3,
The bin number means the number of bins 12 facing the sheet discharge position A at the bin positions 1, 2, and 3 shown in FIG. Further, other information is received in step S2315.

FIGS. 18 to 24 show a subroutine of bin movement 1 executed in step S24. Here, the bin 12 is first set at the bin sort initial position for the sort mode processing, and then moved up or down by one stage. First, in step S141, the state counter A is checked, and the following processing is performed according to the counter value.

When the state counter A is "1", it is determined in step S142 whether or not the bin 12 is set to the lower limit position based on the on / off state of the sensor SE1. If the bin 12 is set at the lower limit position, the state counter A is set to "3" in step S143. If the bin 12 is not set at the lower limit position, the bin moving motor M2 is rotated in the reverse direction to move the bin 12 downward in step S144, and the bin moving trouble timer T
₁ is set, and the state counter A is set to "2".

When the state counter A is "2", it is determined in step S145 whether the bin 12 has been set to the lower limit position based on the ON / OFF state of the sensor SE1. If the bin 12 is set at the lower limit position, step S146
In the bin motor M2 is stopped to clear the bin moving trouble timer T _1. At the same time, reset to "0" bin counter C _1, is set to "3" and the state counter A. The discharge bin counter C ₁ indicates the sort bins 12 _{(1) to} 12 ₍₂₀₎ set at the sheet discharge position A. At this time, the non-sort bin 12
_{Since (n)} is set, its value is set to "0".

On the other hand, before the bin 12 is set to the lower limit position, at step S147, the bin movement trouble timer T ₁
Is completed, the sensor SE is determined in step S148.
2, it is determined whether or not the bin 12 is at the home position, that is, whether or not any of the bins 12 is correctly set at the sheet discharge position A. If it is the home position, step S149
To set the sort function failure flag to prohibit the sort mode processing. At this time, it is possible to discharge sheets to the bin 12 set at the discharge position A in the non-sort mode. If the bin 12 is not at the fixed position, the tray function failure flag is set in step S150, and the copying process in the copying machine 1 is prohibited.

When the state counter A is "3", it is determined in step S151 whether or not the sort mode is set. If the sort mode is set, step S151 is executed.
At 152, it is determined whether or not the current position is the bin sort initial position. The bin sort initial position means a state where the sort bin 12 ₍₁₎ is set at the sheet discharge position A. If the bin is not at the initial bin sort position, the bin moving motor M2 is rotated forward in step S153 to move the bin 12 upward. When the bin moving motor M2 is set to the bin sort initial position, the bin moving motor M2 is stopped in step S154, and the state counter A is set to "4" in step S155.

When the state counter A is "4", it is determined in step S156 whether or not the sheet has been discharged to the bin 12 based on the on / off state of the sensor SE5. If the discharge of the sheet is completed, it compares the bin counter C ₁ and the next bin counter C ₂ in step S157. The following bin counter and C ₂ In the time of this sort mode processing refers to the number of bottles to be accommodated next sheet transferred from CPU150 of the copying machine 1 to the CPU160 of the sorter 4. Initially, the discharge bin counter C ₁ is “0” (step S
146 reference), the following bin counter C ₂ is "1". C ₁
If ≠ C ₂ , the state counter A is set in step S158.
Is set to “5”.

When the state counter A is "5", the state
Discharge bin counter C in step S159 ₁And next bin counter
C_TwoCompare with C₁> C_TwoIf so, the next upper bin 12
Bin is moved in step S160 to accommodate sheets
The motor M2 is rotated in the reverse direction.
The counter A is set to "6". C₁> C_TwoIf not
In order to store sheets in the bin 12 one step below, step S
In step S161, the bin moving motor M2 is rotated forward and
At 162, the state counter A is set to "6".

When the state counter A is "6", it is determined in step S163 whether or not the bin is at the bin fixed position based on the ON / OFF state of the sensor SE2. Next, if the bin 12 for accommodating the sheets is set at the fixed position, the process proceeds to step S16.
4, the bin 12 based on the rotation direction of the bin moving motor M2.
Is determined to be moving up. Step S if moving up
Incrementing the bin counter C ₁ in 165, bin counter C ₁ in step S166, if moving downward
Is decremented. Then, by comparing the bin counter C ₁ and the next bin counter C ₂ in step S167, C ₁ =
If C ₂ stops the bin motor M2 in step S168, it is set to "4" the state counter A.

Thereafter, the next sheet is transferred from the copying machine 1 to the sorter 4
And the sort mode process is continued. In addition,
During the execution of the sort mode processing, the next bin counter C ₂
When the next sheet is discharged from the copier 1, the CPU 15
The signal is switched from 0 to a value indicating the number of bin stages for accommodating the next sheet.

FIGS. 25 to 27 show a subroutine of bin movement 2 executed in step S25. Here, after the end of the sort mode processing, the bin 12 is moved to the designated position. First, after confirming that the bin movement request is set in step S251, the state counter B is checked in step S252, and the following processing is performed according to the count value.

[0044] When the state counter B is "1", bin counter C ₁ in step S2521 is equal to or greater than the bin designated counter C _3. If C ₁ > C ₃ , the bin moving motor M2 is reversely rotated in step S2522 to lower the bin 12, and the state counter B is set to “2” in step S2524. If C ₁ > C _{3 is} not satisfied, the bin moving motor M2 is rotated forward in step S2523 to move the bin 12 upward, and the state counter B is set to “2” in step S2524.

When the state counter B is "2", it is determined in step S2525 whether or not the bin 12 is at the home position by the sensor SE2. If it is the home position, step S25
At 26, it is determined whether or not the bin 12 is moving up. If moving upward increments the bin counter C ₁ in step S2527, it decrements the bin counter C ₁ in step S2528 if moving downward. Then, by comparing the bin counter C ₁ and bin specified counter C ₃ in step S2529, if C ₁ = C ₃ step S253
Reset the bin move request to 0. Next, step S2
At 531, the bin moving motor M2 is stopped, and the state counter B is set to "1".

The image forming system according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified within the scope of the invention. For example, a staple function and a punch function are not necessarily required for a sorter. The image forming apparatus may be a laser printer that outputs image information transferred from a host computer as a hard copy, in addition to a copying machine.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevation view showing the internal configuration of the sorter shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an internal configuration of the sorter.

FIG. 4 is an elevation view showing a bin moving mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view showing an engagement relationship between a bin driving shaft and a roller in the bin moving mechanism.

FIG. 6 is an elevation view showing an engagement relationship between a bin driving shaft and a roller in the bin moving mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an operation panel.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing one screen of a liquid crystal touch panel on the operation panel.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a copying machine control CPU.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of a communication process.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of a transmission process.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of a copy operation.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for determining the end of copying.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a main routine of a sorter control CPU.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a communication process.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a receiving process.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of bin movement 1;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of bin movement 1, and is a continuation of FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of bin movement 1, and is a continuation of FIG. 19;

21 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of bin movement 1, and is a continuation of FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of bin movement 1, and is a continuation of FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of bin movement 1, and is a continuation of FIG. 22.

24 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of bin movement 1, and is a continuation of FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of bin movement 2;

26 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of bin movement 2, and is a continuation of FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of bin movement 2, and is a continuation of FIG. 26;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Copy machine 4 ... Sorter 10 ... Bin assembly 12 ... Bin 100 ... Operation panel 110 ... Bin position designation mode setting key 111, 112, 113 ... Designation key 150 ... Copy machine control CPU 160 ... Sorter control CPU M2 ... Bin movement motor

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Eiichiro Kawasaki 2-3-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshimichi Iwai Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka 2-3-13 Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet in accordance with the number of copies designated by an operator, and a plurality of bins movable up and down, the bins being moved up by one pitch While moving down, the sorter sorts the sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus into the respective bins, and after storing the final sheets in the bins in a series of image forming processes,
Designation means for designating the bin movement position; and control means for moving the bin to the designated position after the last sheet is accommodated in the bin when the bin position is designated by the designation means. Characteristic image forming system.