JPH1087151A - Sheet material processor and picture image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrain cost increase due to increase of the number of trays and enlargement of a device and to carry out stable carrying of a sheet material by devising an oscillating member on the upstream side to stay at a position not to obstruct a common carrier passage in the case when an oscillating member to classify the sheet material is the one on the downstream side. SOLUTION: A sheet material recording a picture image is detected by sensors 46, 47 at an inlet part of a common carrier passage by delivering it to a sheet material processor 10. When a solenoid 37 is put on in accordance with signals of the sensors 46, 47, flappers 82, 84 try to oscillate in the clockwise direction, head end parts make contact with the sheet material at the time of their oscillating to a position to obstruct the common carrier passage of the second flapper 82 by tensile force of a tension spring 45 connecting the second flapper 82 and a link 39 to each other. The tension spring 45 is extended by the sheet material, and the flapper 82 stops at a position where it makes contact with the sheet material without obstructing the common carrier passage. Consequently, it is possible to restrain cost increase and enlargement of a device and to carry out stable carrying of the sheet material.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet material processing apparatus having a function of arbitrarily sorting and carrying out sheet materials to a plurality of receiving trays, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile. The present invention relates to a sheet material processing apparatus to be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in an image forming apparatus represented by a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile or the like, a sheet material processing apparatus having a function of arbitrarily sorting a sheet material on which an image is recorded into a plurality of trays and carrying out the material is provided. Used.

[0003] In an image forming apparatus such as a network printer used by a plurality of persons, when a large amount of recorded sheet material is carried out to one tray, a sheet bundle stacked on the tray becomes Documents (recorded sheet material) output by each person may be lost, so it is possible to arbitrarily sort them out to multiple trays, carry them out, and separate them for each document. It is.

In this conventional sheet material processing apparatus, for example, a sheet material conveyed from an image forming apparatus main body is received, and the sheet material is conveyed through a common sheet material conveyance path (common conveyance path) and a plurality of discharges are performed. There is a so-called sorter device which arbitrarily sorts and discharges and loads the trays. As is well known, this sorter apparatus is mainly used by being attached to a medium-speed to high-speed copying machine for copying a plurality of copies of the same document and a large-sized printer for printing a large amount of sheet materials.

[0005] Specifically, for example, there is a sheet material processing apparatus of a type in which a discharge tray is fixed. In this sheet material processing apparatus, a plurality of discharge trays and a plurality of discharge roller pairs for discharging the sheet material onto each discharge tray are fixed to the apparatus main body. A conveyance guide for forming a branch path for guiding the sheet material from the conveyance path to the position of each discharge roller pair, a switching flapper for arbitrarily switching the conveyance direction of the sheet material at a branch portion of the common conveyance path, and the switching; A solenoid for driving the flapper is arranged for each discharge tray.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, there is a problem that the cost is increased because the solenoid for driving the flapper for distributing the sheet material to each tray is arranged for each tray. .

In the recent market, there is a demand for a device that is small in size and low in cost, can randomly specify a tray for discharging sheet materials during continuous recording, and has a larger number of trays. However, in the apparatus shown in the conventional example, members such as a flapper and a solenoid are required for each discharge tray, and it has been difficult to satisfy the requirements in terms of cost, size of the apparatus, and the like.

As the number of trays further increases, the number of solenoids increases by the same number, and accordingly, electric parts for driving the solenoids are required, which causes a problem that the cost is further increased. In particular, in the sheet material processing apparatus, since the cost of the portion for distributing the sheet material greatly affects the cost of the entire apparatus, arranging the solenoid corresponding to each tray is greatly disadvantageous to the cost of the apparatus. Had become.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly reliable sheet material processing apparatus capable of minimizing the cost and the size of the apparatus due to an increase in the number of trays and stably conveying the sheet material. .

[0010]

A typical configuration of the present invention for achieving the above object is a sheet material processing apparatus having a function of arbitrarily sorting and carrying out sheet materials to a plurality of trays. A conveying unit configured to convey the sheet material substantially parallel to a direction in which the trays are lined up, and blocking the common transport path to guide the sheet material from the common conveying path to each tray. A swing member that can swing selectively between a position and a position that does not block the common transport path to guide the sheet material along the common transport path, and a transport direction is switched by the swing member. Carrying-out means for carrying out the sheet material to the receiving tray, operating means for rotating the swinging member, connecting means for connecting a plurality of swinging members to one operating means, Between the swing member And an elastic member for respectively interposed, 1
When operating a plurality of swinging members by one operating means, if there is a sheet material being conveyed at a position where the swinging member rotates, the swinging member should remain at a position where the swinging member does not block the common conveyance path. It is characterized by comprising.

According to the above construction, the sheet material conveyed on the common conveyance path is controlled by one of the plurality of oscillating members which are simultaneously operated via the connecting means and the elastic member by one operating means. It is sorted and guided in an arbitrary tray direction. When the swing member for sorting the sheet material is a downstream member among the swing members operating simultaneously,
The swinging member on the upstream side remains at a position where it does not block the common conveyance path (specifically, it only contacts the sheet material being conveyed).
Therefore, the conveyance of the sheet material is not restricted. Therefore,
Even if the upstream swinging member operates simultaneously with the downstream swinging member, the downstream swinging member smoothly sorts the sheet materials.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a sheet processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiment, a sheet processing apparatus used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine will be described as an example.

[First Embodiment] A sheet material processing apparatus according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet material processing apparatus according to a first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus including the sheet material processing apparatus.

First, a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus will be briefly described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, an automatic document feeder 2 for automatically circulating a document is provided on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus 1, and a face-up tray 22 and a plurality of face-down trays 50 are provided downstream (left side in the figure). Is installed.

The image forming apparatus 1 employs a well-known electrophotographic system, and a detailed description thereof is omitted here. However, an image of a document positioned on the platen glass 3 is transferred to a photosensitive drum by an optical system (not shown). 4 and the drum 4
The toner image is formed by a developing unit 5 provided around the sheet, and is transferred to a sheet material by a transfer unit 6.
Is permanently settled.

The sheet material on which the image forming process has been completed as described above is normally discharged and stacked on a face-up tray by the discharge roller pair 8 with the image face up. However, when images are formed in the page order (for example, 10 pages from 1 page), if the sheets are sequentially stacked with the image side up, the sheet material is in the reverse order to the page order. Will be loaded. In order to arrange the sheet materials in the order of pages, the sheet material processing apparatus 10 having the sheet material reversing mechanism as shown in the figure is mounted near the discharge port 9 of the image forming apparatus 1. Thereby, when the sheet material is formed in the order opposite to the page order, the sheet material is sequentially discharged and stacked on the face-up tray 22 with the image side up, and when the image formation is performed in the page order. By sequentially discharging and stacking the sheet material on one of the face-down trays 50 with the image side down and the image side down, the page order of the sheet material can be aligned.

Next, the configuration of the sheet material processing apparatus 10 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 11, 12, and 13 denote conveying roller groups, and a plurality of conveying rollers are arranged on the same circumference of the conveying roller 11 which is driven and rotated in one direction (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. (Two in this embodiment) rotatable rollers 12, 13 are in pressure contact. That is, the transport roller 11 and the roller 12 which is in pressure contact with the upper side of the roller 11 function as a carry-in roller pair for carrying in the sheet material S, and the transport roller 11 and the roller 13 which is in pressure contact with the lower part of the roller 11 Functions as an unloading roller pair for unloading the sheet material S. Therefore, the sheet material S is
The sheet is carried in by the contact roller 11 and the pressing roller 12, and is carried out by the transport roller 11 and the pressing roller 13.

Numeral 14 denotes a flapper as a switching means, which is disposed downstream of the carry-in roller pair 11, 12, and which is shown in FIG. 1 around an axis of rotation 14a by an actuator means such as a solenoid (not shown). It is configured to be selectively switched between the solid line position and the two-dot chain line position shown.
That is, the flapper 14 selectively switches a plurality of transport paths downstream of the transport roller 11. Specifically, when the flapper 14 is switched to the solid line position shown in FIG.
Will be guided to. When the flapper 14 is switched to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line shown in FIG. 1, the sheet material S is guided to the face-up discharge path 20 with the image side up without being turned over. Therefore, by selectively switching the flapper 14, it is possible to select whether to discharge and stack the sheet material S with the image side up, or to discharge and stack the sheet material S with the image side down.

A discharge roller pair 21 is disposed in the face-up discharge path 20, and discharges the fed sheet material S onto a face-up tray 22 outside the apparatus. The face-up tray 22 is detachably attached to the apparatus 10 and sequentially stacks and holds the sheet materials S discharged by the discharge roller pair 21.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a reverse feed roller, which always rotates in the direction opposite to the conveying roller 11 (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1) in order to carry out the sheet material S carried in the reverse path 24. The reverse feed roller 16 is located below the extension of the nip tangent line of the carry-in roller pair 11, 12 and at a position where the leading end of the sheet material S carried in from the carry-in roller pair 11, 12 reaches. , 12 side. Therefore, the sheet material S guided by the flapper 14 switched to the solid line position shown in FIG.
It is carried into 24.

A roller 15 as a driven rotating member is rotatably attached to the flapper 14 at a position facing the reverse feed roller 16. Therefore, when the flapper 14 is switched to the two-dot chain line position shown in FIG. 1, the roller 15 rotates in contact with the reverse feed roller 16, and when the flapper 14 is switched to the solid line position shown in FIG. Feed roller 16
Are spaced apart from each other.

That is, the sheet material S carried into the reversing path 24 by the flapper 14 switched to the solid line position shown in FIG. The sheet is discharged onto the reversing tray 25.
At this time, the sheet material S is temporarily exposed outside the apparatus, but the temporary discharge port 24a is disposed between the face-up tray 22 and a face-down tray 51 described later. For this reason, the sheet material S that is temporarily exposed to the outside of the apparatus from the temporary discharge port 24a is protected by the trays 22 and 51, and is not easily touched by the user. Therefore, skewing and damage of the sheet material S due to touch by a person can be prevented, and smooth reverse conveyance can be performed. Furthermore, since the temporary exposure of the sheet material S can be hidden by the trays 22 and 51, the aesthetic appearance during operation is also favorable.

The tray 25 disposed below the temporary discharge port 24a prevents the temporarily discharged sheet material S from coming into contact with the sheet material S already stacked on the face-down tray 51. doing. Thereby, irregularities caused by rubbing the sheet materials S stacked on the face-down tray 51 can be prevented, and a good stacked state can be maintained.

On the upstream side of the carry-in roller pairs 11 and 12, sensors 17 and 18 are disposed as detecting means for detecting the rear end of the sheet material S. When the sensors 17 and 18 detect that the rear end of the sheet material S has passed at the time of face-down discharge, the flapper 14 is moved by a solid line shown in FIG. The position is switched from the position to the two-dot chain line position. Therefore, the tip of the flapper 14 is smoothly transferred from the nip of the pair of carry-in rollers 11, 12 to the nip of the pair of carry-out rollers 11, 13.

Then, the sheet material S is pushed toward the reverse feed roller 16 by the switching (lowering) operation of the flapper 14. That is, when the flapper 14 is switched to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line shown in FIG.
Abuts on the reverse feed roller 16, the sheet material S is sandwiched between the reverse feed roller 16 and the roller 15, and is carried out toward the carry-out roller pair 11, 13 in the direction opposite to the carry-in direction.

The sheet material S carried out by the carry-out roller pairs 11 and 13 is guided to one of a plurality (five in the present embodiment) of face-down discharge ports 61 to 65 located downstream thereof, and is discharged therefrom. The sheets are discharged and stacked from the exits 61 to 65 onto the face-down trays 51 to 55 with the image side down (face-down). For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the flapper 81 is switched from the solid line position shown in FIG. Provided discharge roller pair 71
Is discharged onto the face-down tray 51 and stacked. That is, the sheet material S is discharged and stacked with the image side down (in the order of image formation).

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 19 denotes a guide member for guiding the sheet material S discharged from the discharge port 9 of the image forming apparatus 1 to the nip of the pair of carry-in rollers 11, 12. The guide member 19 is provided in accordance with a sheet material discharge position (a discharge port or a nip of a discharge roller pair) of the image forming apparatus.
It is configured to be swingable about the rotation center axis of the transport roller 11. Therefore, by swinging the guide member 19 as necessary, it is possible to correspond to various image forming apparatuses having different discharge positions of the sheet material S.

Here, a case where a plurality of sheet materials are continuously carried in and sequentially stacked on the face-down tray 51 will be described. Sensor 1 detects the rear end of the loaded sheet material
When the sheet material is detected at 7, 18, the rear end of the sheet material is
As described above, the flapper 14 descends and guides the sheet material to the discharge roller pairs 11 and 13 at the timing when the sheet material passes through the nips 1 and 12, and the reverse feed roller pairs 15 and 16 pinch the sheet material to cause the discharge roller pair 11 to sandwich the sheet material. , 13.

Here, as shown in FIG.
14 is configured such that its tip overlaps the transport roller 11 in the axial direction. Therefore, this flapper 14
The sheet material can be conveyed better due to the friction between the leading edge of the sheet and the conveying roller 11, and can also serve as a guide to the pair of discharge rollers 11, 13 to smoothly guide the sheet material to the nip of the pair of discharge rollers 11, 13. Can be. Further, if the lowering position (the position indicated by the two-dot chain line) of the leading end of the flapper 14 is lower than the rotation center axis of the conveying roller 11, the leading end (the rear end before reversing) of the sheet material does not hit the conveying roller 11, It can be more smoothly guided to the nip between the carry-out roller pair 11 and 13.

More specifically, the carry-in roller pair 1
The rear end of the sheet material that has passed through the nips 1 and 12 is pressed against the transport roller 11 by the tip of the swingable flapper 14, and the rotational frictional force of the transport roller 11 causes the pair of carry-in rollers to move.
Even after passing through the nips 11 and 12, they are conveyed in the same direction. This conveyance is performed at a position where the frictional force of the conveyance roller 11 disappears, that is, a lowering position of the conveyance roller 11 and the tip of the flapper 14 (a two-dot chain line position)
To the lower intersection point of Then, when the rear end of the sheet material passes through the intersection point, the flapper 14 further descends, and when the sheet material is nipped and reversely fed by the pair of reverse feed rollers 15 and 16, the rear end of the sheet material is Transport roller 11
And smoothly guided to the nip of the carry-out roller pair 11, 13.

When the front end (the rear end before reversing) of the sheet material is nipped between the pair of discharge rollers 11 and 13, the flapper 14
Rises, and the pair of reverse rollers 15 and 16 are separated. At this timing, the leading end of the next sheet material is nipped by the pair of carry-in rollers 11 and 12 and guided to the reversing path 24. Therefore, the next sheet material is guided to the temporary discharge port 24a along the upper surface (image surface side) of the previous sheet material, and is conveyed without contacting the reverse feed roller 16. When the trailing edge of the previous sheet material (the leading edge before reversing) passes through the nip of the pair of output rollers 11 and 13, the trailing edge of the next sheet material is detected by the sensors 17 and 18, and the nip of the pair of input rollers 11 and 12 is detected. , The above-described inversion operation is similarly repeated.

Accordingly, it is possible to reliably and reversely convey the continuously fed sheet material at a high speed, and it is possible to provide an apparatus particularly suitable for an image forming apparatus which performs an image forming process at a high speed. Further, since the transport roller 11 and the reverse feed roller 16 are always rotating in one direction, a complicated drive mechanism and drive control for rotating the conventional rollers forward and reverse are not required, and an inexpensive apparatus is provided. be able to.

Next, the structure of a mechanism for sorting and transporting sheet materials to respective face-down trays will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a sheet material processing apparatus having five face-down trays is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the tray is not necessary. There may be any number of stages depending on the situation.

First, the overall configuration of the sheet material processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, 51 to 55
Is a discharge tray (face-down tray) as a tray
This is for stacking and holding the sheet material carried out from the discharge port. Reference numerals 71 to 75 denote discharge roller pairs as discharge means, which are disposed for each discharge tray and are for discharging the sheet material to the discharge trays 51 to 55. Reference numeral 30 denotes a common transport path for vertically transporting the sheet material conveyed after recording to each of the sorting units (portions branching from the common transport path to each tray). The sheet material transport path is formed substantially parallel to the direction in which the trays are arranged from the material inlet to the most downstream discharge roller pair 75. The common transport path 30 is provided with a pair of transport rollers 31 to 34 as transport means at predetermined intervals, and the sheet material is moved in the vertical direction (upward in FIG. (Below). Numerals 81 to 84 denote flappers as swinging members for arbitrarily guiding the conveyed sheet material to the respective discharge roller pairs 71 to 74. The flappers 81 to 84 have their rotation centers located on the discharge port side with respect to the common conveyance path 30,
It is configured to be able to swing to a position where the block 30 is not blocked (solid line position in the figure) and a block position (double-dot chain line position in the figure). And
The transport roller pairs 31 to 34 are respectively disposed immediately after the flappers 81 to 84 (downstream side) in the transport direction of the common transport path 30.

Next, the operation of the flapper when sorting sheet materials will be described. Reference numerals 36 and 37 denote solenoids as operating means for selectively swinging the flappers 81 to 84. The solenoid 36 swings the flappers 81 and 83, and the solenoid 37 swings the flappers 82 and 84.
The sheet material processing device 10
(Not shown). Reference numerals 38 and 39 denote links as connecting means, which are connected so as to operate integrally with the movable parts of the solenoids 36 and 37, and are disposed so as to be movable only in the vertical direction in FIG. Reference numerals 40 and 41 denote tension springs, one ends of which are engaged with hooks of the links 38 and 39, and the other ends of which are engaged with hooks formed by a frame of the apparatus. Reference numerals 42 to 45 denote tension springs as elastic members, of which the tension springs 42 and 43 are the aforementioned solenoids.
Each hook portion of the link 38 connected to 36 and the flapper 81,
The tension springs 44 and 45 connect the hooks of the link 39 connected to the solenoid 37 and the hooks of the flappers 82 and 84, respectively.

FIG. 1 shows a state where the solenoid is turned off. When the solenoids 36 and 37 are OFF, the links 38 and 39 are located below by the tension of the tension springs 40 and 41. At this time, since the projections 81b, 82b, 83b, 84b formed in the non-sheet passing area are pushed downward by the ends of the links 38, 39 near the hooks, the flappers 81 to 84 are pushed down. It is located at a position (solid line position in the drawing) where the common transport path 30 that has swung counterclockwise around 81a, 82a, 83a, and 84a is not blocked. Here, for example, the solenoid
When the solenoid 36 (or the solenoid 37) is turned on, the link 38 (or the link 39) is pulled upward (in the direction of the arrow a), and the flappers 81 and 83 (or the flappers 82 and 84)
A position that swings clockwise by the tension of 43 (or the tension springs 44 and 45) and blocks the common transport path 30 (the position indicated by the broken line in the figure).
Go to

Next, the sheet material is discharged by the fourth flapper 84.
A series of operations for guiding to 64 will be described as an example. The sheet material on which the image has been recorded by the image forming apparatus 1 is transferred to the sheet material processing apparatus 10, and after reversing, the common transport path 30.
The front end (rear end before reversal) is detected by the sensors 46 and 47 at the entrance of. Next, the sheet material is conveyed downward at a predetermined speed from the upper portion of the common conveyance path 30 by a pair of conveyance rollers 31, 32, and 33. Then, based on the detection signals of the sensors 46 and 47, the solenoid 37 is turned on at the timing when the leading end of the sheet material reaches the transport roller pair 33 located immediately after the third flapper 83. When the solenoid 37 is turned on, the link 39 is pulled up in the direction of the arrow a so that the flappers 82 and 84 are turned on.
Tries to swing clockwise, but the second flapper
The tension of the tension spring 45 connecting the link 82 and the link 39 is set to be sufficiently higher than the swing resistance of the flapper 82 and lower than the waist of the conveyed sheet material. Therefore, when the second flapper 82 swings to a position where the second flapper 82 blocks the common conveyance path 30 and the leading end thereof abuts on the sheet material being conveyed in the common conveyance path 30, the tension of the sheet material causes the tension spring. 45 extends, and the flapper 82 stops at a position where it abuts on the sheet material without blocking the common transport path 30. On the other hand, the fourth flapper 84 swings to a position where it blocks the common transport path 30. Then, the sheet material is further conveyed further downward by the conveying roller pair 33 of the common conveying path 30, and hits the flapper 84. Then, since the direction of the force caused by the front end of the sheet material abutting on the flapper 84 is the direction in which the flapper 84 is rotated clockwise, the sheet material is surely moved in the direction of the fourth discharge roller pair 74. The sheet is guided and discharged onto the fourth discharge tray 54 by the discharge roller pair 74. At this time, the sheet material rubs against the tip of the flapper 82, but the tip of each flapper (the contact portion with the sheet material) has an R-shape as shown in the figure. The paper is rubbed smoothly without being caught on the front end, and is conveyed downward by a conveyance roller pair disposed immediately after the flapper.

Although the description is omitted here, the third
The operation when the sheet material is guided to the discharge port 63 by the flapper 83 is the same as the operation described above. Also, regarding the setting of the tension of the tension springs 42 to 44,
The setting is the same as 45. Furthermore, flappers 81, 83,
Like the flapper 82, the tip of the portion 84 (the contact portion with the sheet material) is also formed in an R shape.

In the apparatus having the above-described configuration, when discharging the sheet material to the lowermost discharge tray 55, it is sufficient that none of the flapper is operated (the solenoids 36 and 37 are OFF), and the sheet material is commonly conveyed. The sheet is guided to the discharge port 65 through the path 30 and discharged to the discharge tray 55 by the discharge roller pair 75 to be stacked.

Further, as described above, by employing a configuration in which one flapper is operated by one solenoid, when the sheet material is guided to the discharge roller side by the third or fourth flapper, the first or second flapper is used. The flapper and the conveying sheet material rub against each other, but in order to prevent the sheet material from being restrained by rubbing against the first or second flapper, a common conveying path is used.
Each of the transport roller pairs 31 to 34 disposed in 30 is set to have a transport force sufficiently larger than the sliding friction resistance.

As described above, the tension springs 42 to 45
As a result, the flappers 81 to 84 and the solenoids 36 and 37
Even if a plurality of flappers are operated by one solenoid, the flapper other than the flapper that performs the sorting operation (the flapper that interrupts the common conveyance path) is configured so that the conveyance sheet is connected to the conveyance sheets. There is no binding of the material. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a highly reliable sheet material processing apparatus capable of minimizing the cost increase and the increase in the size of the apparatus due to the increase in the number of trays, and performing stable conveyance of the sheet material.

[Second Embodiment] A sheet material processing apparatus according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 are partially enlarged cross-sectional views illustrating the configuration of the main part of the sheet material processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. Since the overall configuration of the apparatus is substantially the same as that of the above-described first embodiment, members having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted here.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet material processing apparatus according to this embodiment has substantially the same configuration as that described in the first embodiment, and includes a combination of flappers 81 to 84 operated by solenoids 36 and 37 and a link 38. , 39 only differ. Specifically, the first and second flappers 81,
Activate 82 and use solenoid 37 to set third and fourth flapper
83 and 84 are configured to operate.

In the apparatus having the above-described structure, the sheet material is moved to the fourth position.
Solenoid 37 turns on when discharging to the discharge tray of
By operating the link 39, the flappers 83 and 84 are simultaneously rotated (moved to a position where the common transport path 30 is blocked). And
Similarly to the above-described embodiment, the fourth flapper 84 rotates to a position (solid line position in FIG. 3) that blocks the common transport path 30.
The third flapper 83 comes into contact with the sheet material nipped and transported by the transport roller pair 33 and stops its position. The sheet material is guided by the fourth flapper 84 while being conveyed by the conveying roller pair 33, and is discharged onto the fourth discharge tray 54 by the fourth discharge roller pair 74 shown in FIG.

That is, in the first embodiment described above, a plurality of flappers operated simultaneously by one solenoid are alternately arranged every other flapper.
Even in a configuration in which a plurality of flappers operated simultaneously by one solenoid are continuously arranged, the same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

Next, the conditions of the flapper which can be operated by the same solenoid will be described with reference to FIG. here,
The case where the third flapper 83 and the fourth flapper 84 are operated by the same solenoid 37 (see FIG. 3) will be described as an example. In FIG. 4, L indicates the length of the minimum transportable sheet material in the transport direction, and H indicates the distance between the minimum sheet materials S ₁ and S ₂ when the sheet material is continuously transported. The flapper 83 operated by one solenoid 37,
Flapper located upstream of 84 in the sheet material transport direction
The sheet material conveyance distance from a position A where the rotary member 83 rotates to block the common conveyance path 30 to a position B of the discharge roller pair 74 reached after the sheet material is guided to the discharge port side by the flapper 84 located on the downstream side. M is assumed. At this time, the flappers that can be operated by the same solenoid have a positional relationship such that the sheet material conveyance distance M is smaller than the length L + H obtained by adding the minimum sheet material length L and the minimum sheet material interval H. is required. That is, in the present embodiment, the flappers 83 and 84 that can be operated by the solenoid 37 are arranged and configured to have the above-described positional relationship.

Third Embodiment A sheet material processing apparatus according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a main part of the sheet processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing characteristics of a tension spring. Since the overall configuration of the apparatus is substantially the same as that of the above-described first embodiment, members having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted here.

As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet material processing apparatus according to this embodiment has substantially the same configuration as that described in the first embodiment, and has the shapes of the links 38 and 39 operated by the solenoids 36 and 37 and the flapper 81. And the characteristics of the tension springs 42 to 45 are different.

More specifically, the tension springs 42 to 45 are arranged as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the initial load is not applied, and the load N is set to be 0 when the elongation L is La. When the elongation L becomes smaller than the elongation La, a compression load is applied. work. The flappers 81 to 84 are fixed to the links 38 and 39 by the tension springs 42 to 45.
Therefore, as indicated by the flapper 81, the solenoid 36 is turned off.
In the case of F, the extension of the extension spring 42 is La and stops at the solid line position. When the solenoid 36 is ON, the extension spring is
42 is displaced to the position indicated by the dashed line while the extension of La is kept at La and stops. At this time, if the stoppers 90 and 91 are provided at the respective stop positions,
It can be stopped at a more accurate position.

Although not shown, when the stoppers 90 and 91 are provided as described above, the stoppers are similarly provided at the respective stop positions of the flappers 82 to 84.

Next, the sheet material sorting operation in the apparatus having the above configuration will be described. In the present embodiment, the flapper 81
84 can bend in both directions of rotation. That is, when the flapper 81 operates while the sheet material is present in the common transport path 30, the flapper 81 comes into contact with the sheet material by a pulling force and stops rotating. If the solenoid is turned off at the timing after the leading end of the sheet material is pulled by the flapper 81, the flapper 81 tries to rotate in the counterclockwise direction, but the compression force of the tension spring 42 causes the sheet material to rotate. Stops in contact with. Although the operation of the flapper 81 is illustrated here, the same can be said for the operations of the flappers 82 to 84.

As described above, if the respective flappers 81 to 84 are held at the neutral position by the respective tension springs 42 to 45, the flapper can be operated at the timing when the leading end position of the sheet material comes just before the flapper at the discharge port to be sorted. For this reason, the provision of the configuration (such as the flapper position and the length of the conveyance path) due to the large size of the sheet material as described above may be eliminated, and the operation timing of the flapper does not need to be complicatedly changed.

After the sheet material is drawn into the discharge port by the flapper, the solenoid of the flapper can be turned off, so that the duty of the solenoid can be reduced and an inexpensive solenoid can be used. That is, a lower-cost device can be provided.

[Fourth Embodiment] A sheet processing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a main part of the sheet material processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are explanatory views showing a state of a spring provided in a link. Since the overall configuration of the apparatus is substantially the same as that of the above-described first embodiment, members having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted here.

As shown in FIG. 7, the sheet processing apparatus according to this embodiment has substantially the same configuration as that described in the first embodiment, and has the shapes of the links 101 and 102 operated by the solenoids 36 and 37 and the flapper 121. And the characteristics of the springs 111 to 114 are different.

As shown in FIG. 8, the link 101 is provided with a compression spring 111 and a cap 115 for holding the end of the compression spring 111. One end 121a of the flapper 121 is provided with a gap in an engagement hole 101a provided in the link 101. (Play) is engaged with t.
Although not shown, the configuration of the connecting portion between the link 101 and the flapper 112 and the connecting portion between the link 102 and each of the flappers 113 and 114 are the same.

The state shown in FIG. 8 is either when the solenoid 36 is OFF or when the solenoid 36 is ON and there is no sheet material in the common conveyance path 30 and the flapper 121 blocks the common conveyance path 30. Further, the state shown in FIG. 9 is a state in which the solenoid 36 is ON, a sheet material is present in the common transport path 30, and the flapper 121 is in contact with the sheet material in the common transport path 30. That is, with the configuration described above, the solenoid 36 is
N, when the link 101 moves in the direction of arrow a, one end 121a of the flapper 121 is lifted by the cap 115 as shown in FIG. 8, and the flapper 121 rotates clockwise to block the common transport path 30. Go to At this time, if there is a sheet material in the common conveyance path 30, the flapper 121 comes into contact with the sheet material and stops by pushing down the cap 116 as shown in FIG.

Further, in the above configuration, since the one end 121a of the flapper 121 and the engaging hole 101a of the link 101 are engaged with play, the sheet material is pulled in by the flapper 121, the solenoid 36 is turned off, and the link 114 is turned off. The flapper 121 can stay in a state of being rotated even if the flapper moves downward. That is, one end 121a of the flapper 121
(Indicated by the broken line in FIG. 8), the flapper 121 can be stopped with the common transport path 30 being blocked. Therefore, after the sheet material is pulled in by the flapper 121, the solenoid 36 can be turned off, so that the duty of the solenoid can be reduced and an inexpensive solenoid can be used. That is, a lower-cost device can be provided.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment,
Although the case where two flappers are operated simultaneously by one solenoid has been described as an example, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration in which three or more flappers are operated simultaneously by one solenoid may be used.

In the above-described embodiment, a spring member such as a tension spring or a compression spring is exemplified as the elastic member.
The present invention is not limited to this, and another elastic member such as rubber may be used.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Similar effects can be obtained by combining or deforming a link as a connecting means, a spring as an elastic member, and a flapper as a swinging member. can get.

In the above-described embodiment, a sheet material processing apparatus having a function of arbitrarily sorting and carrying out sheet materials on a plurality of trays has been exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also effective to apply the present invention to an apparatus having a processing unit such as a stapler for performing a process such as binding on a sheet bundle ejected and discharged.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the sheet material processing apparatus used in the image forming apparatus in which the image surface is formed on the upper surface of the sheet material has been exemplified. However, the image surface is formed on the lower surface of the sheet material. In a sheet material processing apparatus used in an image forming apparatus, a tray for discharging and stacking sheet materials without reversing the sheet material is a face-down tray, and a tray for reversing and stacking sheet materials is a face-up tray. The present invention is effective.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, as a form of the image forming apparatus, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like is exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function, information such as a computer, etc. The present invention may be in the form of an image output terminal of a processing device. By applying the present invention to a sheet material processing device used in these devices, the same effects as described above can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, an electrophotographic method is exemplified as a recording form by the image forming means. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an ink jet method, a thermal transfer method, a heat-sensitive method, a wire dot method It is also possible to adopt a recording method such as the above or a recording method other than the above. The same effects as described above can also be obtained by applying the present invention to a sheet material processing apparatus used in an image forming apparatus having these recording modes. The effect of is obtained.

[0066]

【The invention's effect】

As described above, according to the present invention, the sheet material conveyed on the common conveyance path is one of a plurality of swinging members which are simultaneously operated via the connecting means and the elastic member by one operating means. It is sorted by one swinging member and guided in an arbitrary tray direction. If the swing member that sorts the sheet material is the downstream one among the simultaneously operating swing members, the upstream swing member remains at a position that does not block the common conveyance path (specifically, It only touches the sheet material being conveyed), so that the conveyance of the sheet material is not restricted. Therefore, even if the upstream swinging member operates at the same time as the downstream swinging member, the sorting of the sheet material is smoothly performed by the downstream swinging member. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a highly reliable sheet material processing apparatus capable of minimizing the cost increase and the increase in the size of the apparatus due to the increase in the number of trays, and performing stable conveyance of the sheet material.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional configuration diagram of a sheet material processing apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus including the sheet material processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a sectional configuration diagram of a sheet material processing apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of a sheet material processing apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of a sheet material processing apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing characteristics of a tension spring in a sheet material processing apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional configuration diagram of a sheet material processing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a compression spring in a link in a sheet material processing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a compression spring in a link in the sheet processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 S: Sheet material 1: Image forming apparatus 2: Automatic document feeder 3: Platen glass 4: Photoconductor drum 5: Developing unit 6: Transfer unit 7: Fixing unit 8: Discharge roller pair 9: Discharge port 10: Sheet material processing Apparatuses 11, 12, 13 ... Conveying rollers 14 ... Flappers 14a ... Shafts 15 ... Rollers 16 ... Reverse rollers 17, 18 ... Sensors 19 ... Guide members 20 ... Face-up discharge paths 21 ... Discharge roller pairs 22 ... Face-up trays 24 ... Reversing path 24a ... Temporary discharge port 25 ... Reversing tray 30 ... Common conveying path 31-34 ... Conveying roller pair 36, 37 ... Solenoid 38, 39 ... Link 40-45 ... Tension spring 46, 47 ... Sensor 50 ... Face down tray 51 55 to discharge tray 61 to 65 discharge outlet 71 to 75 discharge roller pair 81 to 84 flapper 81a to 84a shaft 81b to 84b protrusion 90, 91 stopper 101, 102 link 101a engagement hole 111 ~ 114 ... Spring 115 ... Cap 121 ~ 124 ... Flapper 121a ... One end

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Tsuyoshi Waratani 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A sheet material processing apparatus having a function of arbitrarily sorting and carrying out sheet materials to a plurality of trays, comprising a transporting means for transporting the sheet materials, wherein the sheet material is transported substantially parallel to a direction in which the trays are arranged. A common conveyance path for conveying, a position blocking the common conveyance path for guiding the sheet material from the common conveyance path to each tray, and the common conveyance for guiding the sheet material along the common conveyance path. A swinging member that can be selectively swung to a position where the path is not blocked, an unloading unit that unloads the sheet material whose conveyance direction has been switched by the swinging member to the tray, and rotates the swinging member. Operating means for connecting a plurality of swinging members to one operating means, and elastic members interposed between the connecting means and each of the swinging members, respectively. Multiple by operation means When the swinging member is operated, if there is a sheet material being conveyed at a position where the swinging member rotates, the swinging member is configured to remain at a position where the swinging member does not block the common conveyance path. Sheet processing equipment. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is a spring member, and a tension of the elastic member is set to be greater than a swing resistance of the swing member and smaller than a waist of the conveyed sheet material. Item 2. The sheet material processing apparatus according to Item 1. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the elastic member is a spring member having no initial tension, and the swinging member is fixed to the connecting means at a neutral position of a tension load and a compression load of the spring member. The sheet material processing apparatus according to claim 1. 4. The sheet material processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the swing member is engaged with the connecting unit with a gap. 5. The sheet material processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material processing apparatus includes a conveyance roller group for reversing a conveyance direction of the sheet material, and a reverse feeding rotating in a direction opposite to the feeding direction for reversely feeding the fed sheet material. A roller, and switching means for guiding the sheet material to be sent and the sheet material to be fed back upstream of the reverse feeding roller. The sheet material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a sheet material conveying force by the feed roller is adjusted. 6. The switching means is a flapper, and the transport roller group is a triple roller in which pressure rollers are respectively pressed above and below a transport roller rotating in a feeding direction, and a swinging front end of the flapper has the transport roller. 6. The sheet material processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the sheet roller overlaps the roller in the axial direction, and is located on the sheet material discharge side beyond the axis from the sheet material carry-in side of the transport roller when the sheet material is reversed and conveyed. . 7. An image forming means, a feeding means, and an apparatus according to claim 1.
An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.