JPH1059611A - Paper sheet processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a punch chip receiving port of a punch chip receiving tank small by opening a cover of a punch chip housing means by a recovering means in a condition where a punching machine is positioned in a home position, and constituting so as to close the cover in a condition where the punching machine moves to a punching position. SOLUTION: An opening-closing cover 380 of a hopper 372 to temporarily store punch chips is opened by an opening-closing operation lever 393 in a condition where a frame body 342 mounted with a punching machine 355 is positioned in a home position. The opening-closing cover 380 is closed by coming off of contact of the opening-closing operation lever 393 in a condition where the frame body 342 comes off the home position and moves to a punching position. With such constitution, punch chips generated by performing punching processing on a booklet of transfer paper, are once temporarily stored in the hopper 372 to move by being accompanied by the frame body 342, and are automatically transferred to a punch chip recovering tank 390 from the hopper 372 when the frame body 342 returns to the home position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, and more particularly to a sorter for processing punch dust after punching holes for binding into a transfer sheet after sorting. Paper processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer has a sorter, transfers a plurality of identical documents by a required number of copies, sorts these transfer papers, and stores one copy in a bin. Such is known. In particular, recently, there has been known an apparatus provided with a punching machine for punching a binding punch hole in a plurality of transfer sheets (hereinafter referred to as a booklet) stored in a bin in a stacked state. By doing so, the booklet taken out of the bin can be easily bound to a file cover or the like without performing punching using a separate punching jig, which is very convenient. That is, the booklet on the bin is punched by being sequentially sent to the punching machine,
The generated punch waste falls into a punch waste collection tank disposed below the punching machine and is stored.

[0003]

By the way, a plurality of punch holes are formed in a booklet on a bin over the entire length of the booklet in the width direction. Occurs over the width dimension. Therefore, in order to cope with this, the punch waste collection tank has a punch waste recovery opening which is open over the entire length of the bin in the width direction.

However, if a punch dust collecting port is provided in the image forming apparatus so as to cross in the width direction, a space for the punch dust to fall must be secured between the punching machine and the punch dust collecting tank. Therefore, it is not possible to arrange various members for transfer and a conveyance path for paper in this portion, and there is a problem that the image forming apparatus becomes large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and it is not necessary to provide a collecting port for punch waste over the entire length of the bin in the width direction. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet processing apparatus for a sorter that can effectively utilize an upper space and can contribute to downsizing of an image forming apparatus.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In a paper processing apparatus in which a formed image is transferred and a paper processing is performed on transfer papers sorted and discharged to a bin, a punching process is performed in which a punching process is performed at a predetermined position in a width direction of the transfer paper discharged to the bin. A machine, a moving means for reciprocating the punching machine between a home position and a punching position in the width direction of the bin, and a punch waste provided at a bottom portion of the punching machine and containing punch waste generated by the punching process. The punch waste storage device includes a storage means, a punch waste collection tank disposed below the punching machine, and a collection means for recovering the punch waste stored in the punch waste storage means into the punch waste collection tank. The means has a punch dust discharge port provided with a lid that can be opened and closed at the bottom thereof. A punch dust receiving port facing the punch dust discharge port in a state where the punching machine is located at the home position, and the collecting means opens the lid only when the punching machine is located at the home position. It is a feature.

According to the present invention, the formed image is transferred,
The plurality of transfer sheets stacked in the bin of the sorter are punched by a punching machine whose predetermined position in the width direction has been moved from the home position to the punching position. And the punch dust generated by this drilling process is
When the punching machine returned to the home position, the lid at the bottom of the punching waste storage means was temporarily opened in the punch waste storage means provided at the bottom of the punching machine and opened by the recovery means, and was temporarily stored therein. The punch waste is collected in a punch waste collection tank through a punch waste receiving port.

[0008] As described above, the punch waste generated as a result of performing the punching process on the transfer paper is temporarily stored in the punch waste accommodating means that is temporarily moved along with the punching machine, and is returned when the punching machine returns to the home position. The punch waste collection tank can be transferred from the punch waste collection tank, making it possible to reduce the size of the punch waste receiving port of the punch waste collection tank. If the punch waste is collected in the punch waste collecting tank, the punch waste receiving port must be opened so as to cover the entire moving range of the punching machine. The inconvenience of being unable to effectively use the space above is solved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the lid can be opened and closed by moving relative to the punch waste accommodating means in the moving direction of the punching machine, and The punch waste is urged by an urging means in a direction to close the punch dust discharge port.

According to this invention, when the punching machine shifts to the home position, the lid is opened by pressing the lid in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the punching machine against the urging force of the urging means. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the collecting means comprises an abutting member, and abuts on a part of the lid immediately before the punching machine returns to the home position. It is characterized by having.

According to this invention, when the punching machine shifts to the home position, the contact member presses the lid against the urging force of the urging means, and the lid is opened by this pressing.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a copying machine as an example of an image forming apparatus to which a sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. In this figure, the copying machine includes a copying machine main body 1, a paper feeding unit 2 provided on the right side of the copying machine main body 1, and a sorter 3 provided on the left side of the copying machine main body 1. I have.

The copier main body 1 has a housing 4, a contact glass (not shown) is provided at the center of the upper surface of the housing 4, and an automatic document feeder 5 is provided above the contact glass. . The automatic document feeder 5 includes a document placement unit 6 and a document discharge unit 7, and automatically transports a plurality of documents placed on the document placement unit 6 onto the above-mentioned contact glass automatically. It is configured to be discharged to the discharge unit 7.

An optical system for optically scanning an original on a contact glass, an image forming unit having various components such as a photosensitive drum and a developing unit, and a toner image are fixed on a transfer paper inside the housing 4. Each component (not shown) such as a fixing unit to be transferred and a transfer paper transport system is provided.

An operation panel 8 is provided on the upper portion of the housing 4. The operation panel 8 includes a start switch 9, a copy number setting key 10, a mode selection key 11 of the sorter 3, and an interrupt copy key 12. And the like, and a display 13 for displaying setting contents and the like.

The paper feed unit 2 feeds the transfer paper to the image forming unit side of the copying machine main body 1 via a transport system, and can store transfer papers of different sizes.

The sorter 3 is provided with a detachable housing 30 and is disposed at the front end side (left side in FIG. 1) of the housing 30 to sort the transfer paper conveyed from the copier main body 1. And a shift tray 32 disposed above the bin unit 31 for stacking transfer sheets subjected to sheet processing, and a transfer sheet disposed above the shift tray 32 and not performing sorting is discharged. And a non-sort tray 33.

In the above copying machine, when the original is conveyed onto the contact glass by the automatic original conveying section 5, the original image is read by the optical system and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum of the image forming section. This electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image. This toner image is supplied to the paper feed unit 2
Is transferred to a transfer sheet fed through a transport system from the printer, and is subjected to a fixing process in a fixing unit. The transfer paper on which the toner image is fixed is discharged from the transfer paper discharge port of the housing 4 to the adjacent sorter 3 side, and the transfer paper is sorted by the sorter 3 as necessary.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the internal configuration of the sorter 3. In this figure, the sorter 3 has
In addition to the bin unit 31, the shift tray 32, and the non-sort tray 33, a sheet processing unit 34 for performing predetermined sheet processing such as staple processing and punching processing on the laminated transfer paper P2 inside the housing 30; Body 1
A transfer port 35 that guides transfer paper discharged from the sorter 3 side (FIG. 1) into the housing 30, a first transfer path 36 that transfers the transfer paper transferred from the transfer port 35 to the bin unit 31, A second transport path 37 for transporting the laminated transfer paper P2, which has been subjected to predetermined paper processing by the processing unit 34, to the shift tray 32, and transports one transfer paper P1 loaded from the carry-in entrance 35 to the shift tray 32. The third transport path 38 and the non-sort tray 33
And a fourth transport path 39 for transporting the paper to the second transport path.

The second transport path 37 and the third transport path 38
Are configured to share the downstream portion with each other. A predetermined direction switching plate is provided at a required point of a branch point or a junction of the transport paths 36, 37, 38, and 39, and the transfer sheet P1 is moved to the selected predetermined transport path by switching the direction switching plate. It is going to head. Note that the laminated transfer paper P
2, the shift tray 3 passes through the second transport path 37.
Only two courses are selected.

The bin unit 31 includes a plurality of bins 40 arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction, and a pair of side plates 41 (only one is shown in the drawing) opposed to both sides in the width direction of each bin 40. , And each bin 40 is raised and lowered by lifting means 50 comprising a screw shaft. Driving force is transmitted to the lifting / lowering means 50 via a predetermined driving force transmitting means by driving of the driving motor 53, whereby the lifting / lowering means 50 rotates forward and reverse around the axis.

Each bin 40 has a flat plate portion 42 on which transfer paper is placed and stacked, and a rear end side of the flat plate portion 42 (right side in FIG. 2).
And a substantially L-shaped stopper 43 disposed at the center.
First pins 46 are formed on both sides in the width direction at the front end side (left side in FIG. 2) of the flat plate portion 42 so as to protrude outward.
The second pin 47 and the third pin
A pin 48 is formed to protrude outward. This first pin 4
6 is fitted into a guide groove (not shown) of the side plate 41,
The second pin 47 is fitted in the groove 51 of the helical cam 52 of the elevating means 50, whereby the bin 40 moves up and down in accordance with the forward / reverse rotation of the elevating means 50. Also, the side plate 4
1 moves up and down in synchronization with the bin 40.

The stopper 43 regulates the transfer paper discharged from the first transport path 36 from dropping from the rear end of the flat plate portion 42, and restricts the transfer paper collected on the flat plate portion 42 to one end side. It is rotatably attached to the flat plate portion 42 via connection pins 44 serving as rotation fulcrums on both sides in the width direction of the flat plate portion 42 so that predetermined processing such as staple processing and punching processing by the paper processing section 34 can be performed. ing.

When performing a stabilizing process or a punching process on the laminated transfer paper P2, the bin 40 located at a position facing the paper processing unit 34 is slid down diagonally backward by a mechanism (not shown), and then the stopper 43 is connected. By rotating clockwise around the pin 44, the lower end of the laminated transfer paper P2 is loaded into the paper processing unit 34. After the loading, the stacked transfer paper P2 is subjected to a stabilizing process and a punching process by the paper processing unit 34, and then the stopper 43 is returned to the original position, and the bin 40 is slid up. The stacked transfer paper P2 on which the paper processing has been completed is stored in the located bin 40.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the paper processing unit 34 as viewed from the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a view as viewed from the direction of the arrow B in FIG. The paper processing unit 34 is provided at a lower portion in the housing 30 (FIG. 1) detachably mounted on the sorter 3, and is capable of receiving a stack of sorted transfer papers (hereinafter referred to as a booklet) from the bin 40. The layout is set.

The sheet processing section 34 includes a guide member 341 attached to the inner side wall 30a of the housing 30, a frame 342 guided and guided by the guide member 341, and a frame 342. Stable 5 attached
3 and a punching machine 54, a drive motor 360 for moving the frame 342, and a punch dust collecting unit 370 provided integrally below the frame 342.

The guide member 341 is formed by an elongated member having a U-shape in cross section, and the rear portion of the elongated member is fixed by abutment over the entire length of the side wall 50a in the width direction. It is mounted in 30. The guide member 341 has an upper guide plate 341a and a lower guide plate 341b that are inclined so that the edges are directed upward with respect to the longitudinal direction. And each guide plate 3
The inclination angles of the bins 41a and 341b match the inclination angles of the bins 40 (FIG. 2) located at positions facing the frame 342. A guide rail 341c extending over the entire length in the width direction is laid on the top edge of the upper surface of the lower guide plate 341b.

The frame 342 is formed by opening two adjacent surfaces of a rectangular parallelepiped box, and is supported by a guide member 341 so that the two open surfaces face the bin 40 so as to be able to travel. I have. The frame body 342 includes a pair of side plates 342a in the width direction, a bottom plate 342b bridged between lower end edges of these side plates 342a, and a back plate 342c bridged between right end edges of the respective side plates 342a. The back plate 342c is provided with a pair of wheels 343 in the width direction outside thereof.

The outer peripheral concave portions of the wheels 343 are fitted to the guide rails 341c, and the rear plate 342c
The frame 342 is movable in the width direction while being guided by the guide member 341 in a state where the upper edge of the frame 342 is in sliding contact with the lower surface of the upper guide plate 341a. And the frame 3
42 is supported by the guide member 341, the bottom plate 34
The angle 2b is set so as to have the same inclination angle as that of the bin 40 located at a position facing the frame 342.

On the other hand, the drive motor 360 is fixed to the upper surface of one end of the upper guide plate 341a with its drive shaft passing through the upper guide plate 341a. A drive pulley 361 is attached to the drive shaft,
Guide plates 341a, 341 at the other end of guide member 341
A driven pulley 362 is attached between the driven shafts and the endless belt 363 between the pulleys 361 and 362.
Is stretched.

The back plate 342c is provided with a pair of connecting pieces 364 in the width direction projecting outward, and these connecting pieces 364 are connected to the endless belt 363.
Thus, the driving pulley 36 is driven by the driving of the driving motor 360.
1 and the endless belt 363 between the driven pulley 362
Is rotated forward and reverse, so that the frame 342 moves forward and backward in the width direction while being guided by the guide member 341 in the housing 30.

Each of the side plates 342a is provided with a bottom plate 342.
A notch 344 having the same inclination as b is provided. The cut portion 344 is for fitting the lower edge of the booklet that slides obliquely from the bin 40, and is set to a size that is approximately half the front-to-rear size of the side plate 342a.

In the frame 342, a stable 350 and a punching machine 355 are arranged in parallel in the width direction on a bottom plate 342b. The upper surface of the stable 350 is the bottom plate 3.
There is a pedestal 351 having the same inclination as that of the pedestal 42b, and a gap is formed between the pedestal 351 and the stable 350 so that the booklet is fitted. The punching machine 3
55 also has a pedestal 3 whose upper surface has the same inclination as the bottom plate 342b.
56, the pedestal 351 and the punching machine 355
And a gap into which the booklet fits is formed.

The punching machine 355 has a punching blade 358 that moves up and down by driving a punch motor 357.
Are provided, and a relief hole 359 corresponding to the drilling blade 358 is provided through the pedestal 356 so that the pedestal 356 is provided.
The punch dust formed by punching the edge of the booklet mounted between the punching blade 358 and the punching blade 358 by descending the punching blade 358 is collected by the punch dust collecting unit 370 through the relief hole 359. It is supposed to be.

The frame 342 is normally set at a so-called home position, which is located at one side (left side in FIG. 3) in the width direction from the transfer paper transport path, as shown in FIG. The frame 342 is moved from the home position by the drive of the drive motor 360 only when the booklet sent from 40 is subjected to the stabilizing process and the punching process, and the booklet is subjected to the stabilizing process and the punching process while being temporarily stopped during the movement. It has become.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a punch waste collecting section 370.
FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows a state in which a punch dust discharge port 373 is closed by an opening / closing cover 380, and FIG. Each state is shown. As shown in these figures and FIG.
Is a box 371 having a rectangular parallelepiped lower surface opened, a hopper (punch waste accommodating means) 372 provided in the box 371, which is narrower in a side view, and a punch waste outlet 373 at the bottom of the hopper 372. And an opening / closing lid 380 that opens and closes. The box body 371 has a punch dust receiving hole 371a corresponding to a relief hole 359 that penetrates the pedestal 356 and the bottom plate 342b (FIG. 4) on the top plate, and the punch dust receiving hole 371a is formed as a relief hole of the bottom plate 342b. 35
9, the box 371 is fixed to the bottom plate 342b with screws.

The hopper 372 includes a pair of inclined side walls 374 in the front-rear direction, a bottom plate 375 having these inclined side walls 374 extended to the lower edge, and an upper edge of the bottom plate 375 attached to the top plate of the box 371. And a connecting portion 376 formed by being bent outward so as to be parallel to the connecting portion. The punch dust discharge port 373 is formed by cutting the right side in the width direction of the bottom plate 375 in FIG. 5 with a predetermined width toward the center.

The width of the hopper 372 is set slightly shorter than the width of the inside of the box 371, and the upper and lower dimensions are set slightly shorter than the upper and lower dimensions of the inside of the box 371. ing. As a result, the connection portion 376 of the hopper 372 abuts on the top plate of the box 371 in a state where the hopper 372 is fitted into the box 371 from the lower opening, and both side edges in the width direction are in the width direction of the box 371. The punch dust is in contact with the side wall and does not leak from inside the hopper 372.

The opening / closing cover 380 is a flat cover body 38.
1 and a part of the lid body 381, for example, an opening / closing operation piece 38 formed by bending a base end side (right side in FIG. 5) downward.
2, a protruding piece 383 projecting in the width direction from the front end side (left side in FIG. 5) of the lid main body 381, and the front end is bent downward. It consists of a pair of engagement pieces 384 cut and raised upward.

Each of the engaging pieces 384 is cut and raised so that the both side portions of the lid body 381 are in sliding contact with the opposing edges of the punch dust discharge port 373 of the bottom plate 375, and the upper edges are mutually separated. The punched portion is bent in the opposite direction, and the bent portion is fitted to the edge of the punch dust discharge port 373 so that the opening / closing lid 380 can move forward and backward in the longitudinal direction. The punch dust discharge port 373 of the hopper 372 is opened when the lid body 381 moves to the left in FIG. 5, and is closed when moved to the right.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the hopper 372 has a spring box 37 extending in the width direction projecting downward from the bottom surface thereof and to the left of the punch chip discharge port 373.
7, a coil spring 58f is loaded in the spring box 377. A coil spring 378 is inserted into the spring box 377 in a compressed state, and the tip of the projection 383 of the opening / closing lid 380 is pressed by the coil spring 378. As a result, when the frame 342 comes off the home position, the opening / closing lid 380 is closed by the urging force of the coil spring 378, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, a guide plate 379 made of a flexible synthetic resin plate is provided in the hopper 372 at the back (left side) in a state of crossing the hopper 372 in the width direction. And a punch waste outlet 373 from the upper left corner.
, And the punch chips dropped from the escape hole 359 are easily guided to the punch chip discharge port 373 by the guide plate 379.

A punch waste collecting tank 390 is arranged in the housing 30 and below the punch waste collecting section 370. The punch debris collection tank 390 is moved to the hopper 37 by the operation of the punching machine 355.
2 collects and stores the punch waste collected. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the punch dust collecting tank 390 has a punch dust receiving port 391 opened at a portion corresponding to the punch dust discharge port 373 of the hopper 372 in a state where the frame 342 is located at the home position. Have.

The punch waste collection tank 390 is mounted in the housing 30 as shown in FIG.
The movement in the housing 30 is prevented by closing the tank fixing plate 392 that can be opened and closed.

An opening / closing operation rod (contact member (lid opening portion)) 393 extending in parallel with the guide member 341 and operating to open / close the opening / closing cover 380 is fixed to the inner wall surface of the punch dust receiving port 391. Have been. This opening / closing operation lever 39
3, when the frame 342 is located at the home position, the tip of the opening / closing operation rod 393 contacts the opening / closing operation piece 382 of the opening / closing lid 380 and relatively moves the opening / closing operation piece 382 as shown in FIG. The installation position and length are set so that the cover 380 is pressed to thereby open the opening / closing lid 380 against the urging force of the coil spring 378.

Therefore, when the frame body 342 of the paper processing unit 34 is displaced from the home position and shifts to the punching position, that is, when punching dust is generated by the punching machine 355, as shown in FIG. The discharge port 373 is closed by the opening / closing lid 380, thereby preventing the leakage of the punch dust from the hopper 372. On the contrary, when the frame 342 is at the home position, as shown in FIG. The opening / closing lid 380 is opened by the opening / closing operation lever 393, and the punch waste temporarily stored in the hopper 372 is moved into the punch waste collection tank 390.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, on the inner side wall 30a of the housing 30, a conveying path insertion window 30b is provided below the guide member 341. The transport path insertion window 30b is for inserting the second transport path 37 located below the guide member 341. And
A pair of transport rollers 152 is disposed in parallel with the guide member 341 in a space above the top plate 390a of the punch waste collection tank 390 and not interfering with the moving frame 342. A second transport path 37 is provided so as to surround the contact portion of the roller.

According to the configuration of the sheet processing unit 34 of the present invention,
With the frame body 342 on which the punching machine 355 is mounted at the home position, the opening / closing lid 380 of the hopper 372 for temporarily storing punch dust by the opening / closing operation rod 393.
Is opened, the frame 342 is displaced from the home position and moved to the punching position, and the opening / closing lid 380 is released from contact with the opening / closing operation rod 393 and the opening / closing lid 380 is closed. Punch waste generated as a result of the punching process is temporarily stored in a hopper 372 that moves once with the frame 342, and is automatically transferred from the hopper 372 to the punch waste collection tank 390 when the frame 342 returns to the home position. be able to.

Accordingly, it is possible to make the punch dust receiving port of the punch dust collecting tank 390 small, and to drop the punch dust downward during the movement of the frame 342 to collect the punch dust in the punch dust collecting tank 390. In this case, the punch dust receiving port must be opened so as to cover the entire moving range of the frame 342, and the large punch dust receiving port effectively utilizes the space above the punch dust collecting tank 390. However, in the present invention, such an inconvenience does not exist, and the upper space of the punch dust collecting tank 390 can be effectively used. Second
The transport path 37 can be provided, which can contribute to downsizing of the copying machine.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but also includes the following contents.

(1) In the above embodiment, the frame 3
42 has a stable 350 and a punching machine 35.
5 is mounted, but the present invention is not limited to mounting the stable 350 on the frame 342, and it is sufficient that at least the punching machine 355 is mounted.

(2) In the above embodiment, the frame 3
Although the endless belt 363 that circulates between the driving pulley 361 and the driven pulley 362 by driving the driving motor 360 is applied as the moving means of the moving member 42, the present invention is limited to using the endless belt 363 as the moving means. Instead, for example, a screw shaft may be passed through the frame 342 in the width direction and screwed, and the frame 342 may be moved by rotating the screw shaft.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the opening / closing lid 380 attached to the hopper 372 is of a sliding type. However, instead of the sliding type, the opening / closing lid 380 is rotated around the hinge axis. A hinge type that opens and closes may be employed. When a hinge-type opening / closing lid is adopted, the opening / closing lid is normally closed by the urging force of the urging means, and when the hopper 372 moves to the home position, the opening / closing operation rod 393 is attached to the opening / closing lid 393. The opening / closing lid may be rotated around the hinge by bringing the parts into contact with each other, whereby the opening / closing lid may be opened.

(4) In the above embodiment, the opening / closing lid 380 of the hopper 372 is configured to be opened / closed by a mechanical structure. Instead, the position of the frame 342 is electrically sensed by a sensor. When it is detected that the frame 342 is positioned above the punch dust receiving port 391, a predetermined motor is started to activate the opening / closing lid 38.
The opening / closing structure may be configured electrically, for example, by opening 0.

(5) In the above embodiment, the punch dust receiving port 391 of the punch dust collecting tank 390 is provided at one end in the width direction of the housing 30 of the sorting unit 4. The punch dust receiving port 391 is not limited to being provided at the end, but can be provided at any place according to the layout of the internal structure of the copying machine.

[0057]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the lid of the punch waste accommodating means for temporarily storing the punch waste while the punching machine is at the home position is opened by the collecting means, and the punching machine is moved to the home position. Since the lid is configured to be closed in a state where the lid is moved out of the punching position, the punch dust generated as a result of performing the punching process on the transfer paper is temporarily stored in the punch dust accommodating means that temporarily moves along with the punching machine, When the punching machine returns to the home position, it can be automatically transferred from the punch waste storage means to the punch waste collection tank, thereby making it possible to reduce the size of the punch waste receiving port of the punch waste collection tank. Punch dust is dropped during the movement of the punching machine. If the punch waste is collected in a punch, the punch waste receiving opening must be opened so as to cover the entire moving range of the punching machine. The inconvenience of being unable to effectively use can be solved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the lid can be opened and closed by moving relative to the punch waste accommodating means in the moving direction of the punching machine, and the punch waste can be opened and closed by the urging force of the urging means. Because the discharge port is closed, when the punching machine shifts to the home position, the lid is opened by pressing the lid in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the punching machine against the urging force of the urging means. It is possible to open and close the lid with a simple operation.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the collecting means includes the contact member for pressing the lid relatively against the urging force of the urging means when the punching machine shifts to the home position. When the punching machine shifts to the home position, the contact member presses the lid against the urging force of the urging means, whereby the lid can be opened. As described above, it is possible to make the recovery means of a very simple structure, which is effective in reducing equipment costs.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a copying machine as an example of an image forming apparatus to which a sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of an internal configuration of a sorter.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a paper processing unit, taken along line A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view on arrow B of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of a punch waste collecting unit, and shows a state in which a punch waste outlet is closed by an opening / closing lid.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of a punch waste collecting unit, and shows a state in which a punch waste outlet is opened by opening an opening / closing lid.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Copier main body 3 Sorter 31 Bin unit 32 Shift tray 33 Non-sort tray 34 Paper processing part 37 Second conveyance path 341 Guide member 341c Guide rail 342 Frame 350 Stable 355 Punching machine 356 Base 358 Punching blade 359 Escape hole 360 Drive motor 363 Endless belt 364 Connection piece 370 Punch waste collection part 371 Box body 372 Hopper (punch waste storage means) 373 Punch waste discharge port 380 Opening / closing lid 382 Opening / closing operation piece 390 Punch waste collection tank 391 Punch waste receiving port 393 Open / close operation rod 4 housing 43 stopper 5 automatic document feeder

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A sheet processing apparatus for performing a sheet process on a transfer sheet on which a formed image is transferred and sorted and discharged to a bin, wherein the transfer sheet discharged to the bin is punched at a predetermined position in a width direction. A punching machine for processing,
A moving means for reciprocating the punching machine between a home position and a punching position in the width direction of the bin, a punch waste accommodating means provided at the bottom of the punching machine, for accommodating punch waste generated by the punching process; A punch waste collecting tank disposed below the punching machine; and a collecting means for collecting the punch waste stored in the punch waste storing means into the punch waste collecting tank. A punch waste discharge port having a lid that can be opened and closed at the bottom has a punch waste discharge port, and the punch waste collection tank has a punch waste receiving port facing the punch waste discharge port in a state where the punching machine is located at a home position. The collecting means opens the lid only when the punching machine is at the home position. Sheet processing apparatus characterized by. 2. The lid is made openable and closable by moving relative to the punch waste accommodating means in the moving direction of the punching machine, and is biased in a direction in which the punch waste discharge port is closed. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is biased. 3. A sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said collection means comprises an abutting member and abuts on a part of said lid immediately before the punching machine returns to a home position. .