JPH11116124A - Curl holding device and paper sheet accommodating device with it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet accommodating device which can take out sheets stacked on a bin without hindrance while eventual curl of the sheet is held flat. SOLUTION: A curl holding belt 1000 is suspended on a pulley 1002 installed coaxially with a transport roller 92 which is for discharging sheets of paper onto a bin 31 and taking out the sheets therefrom 31. When the transport roller 92 is driven for discharging the sheets onto the bin 31, the belt 1000 moves in the direction of the bin 31 to hold the curl of the sheet(s) placed on the bin 31. If the roller 92 is rotated reversely when the sheets are to be taken out of the bin 31, the belt 1000 moves in the direction of going apart from the bin 31 to result in retraction from the sheet transport path.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper storage device, and more particularly, to a paper storage device for storing paper discharged from a paper processing device such as an image-formed paper discharged from a copying machine or a printer or a document discharged from a document transport device. The present invention relates to a paper storage device to be used. In addition, the present invention relates to a curl holding device that holds down the curl of the paper stored in the paper storage device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various functions such as a stapling process for a sheet are added to a sheet accommodating device such as a device for processing an image-formed sheet called a finisher. In recent years, there has been a demand for increasing the capacity of paper. In order to increase the capacity, a mechanism for stapling a sheet bundle distributed to a plurality of trays called bins or taking out the sheet bundle without stapling and storing the bundle in a large capacity stacker is required.

By the way, in order to perform post-processing such as stapling, punching, and storing in a large-capacity stacker, it is known that sheets are temporarily accumulated on a tray before the post-processing to form a sheet bundle. ing. In such a configuration, the sheet bundle on the tray needs to be aligned.

[0004]

However, in the conventional sheet storage device, the curl of the individual sheets stacked on the tray may not be sufficiently aligned with the sheet bundle on the tray. If the sheet bundle on the tray is not aligned, there is a problem that the sheet bundle cannot be post-processed, or the sheet is damaged such as bending the sheet during post-processing. In order to solve such a problem, it is conceivable to fix a holding member for holding the curl to the tray. However, it is difficult to provide a holding member so as not to hinder post-processing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet storage device capable of suppressing curl of sheets stacked on a tray and reliably aligning a bundle of sheets on the tray. Further, it is possible to provide a curl pressing device capable of holding down the curl of the paper on the tray with a simple configuration.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, a curl holding device according to claim 1 is provided with a belt for holding the curls of the sheets stacked on a tray, and a forward / reverse rotation in the vicinity of the tray. Provided, and the belt is suspended, and a belt transport member that transports the belt,
Stopping means for contacting the belt at a position other than the contact position between the belt conveying member and the belt to prevent the movement of the belt.

In the above arrangement, the movement of the belt is partially blocked by the blocking means. Therefore, when the belt conveying member rotates, only the portion of the belt not blocked by the blocking means moves. For this reason, the belt moves to one side of the blocking unit when the belt conveying member rotates forward, and moves to the other side of the blocking unit when the belt conveying member rotates reversely. Since the belt is suspended by a belt conveying member provided near the tray, the belt advances to the tray side when the belt conveying member is rotated in a predetermined direction, so that the curl of the paper on the tray is suppressed. be able to. On the other hand, if the belt conveying member is rotated in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction, the belt is retracted from the tray, and does not hinder post-processing. Thus, according to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to suppress the curl of the sheet on the tray with a simple configuration.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet storage device, wherein a tray for stacking sheets, discharge means for discharging sheets discharged from a sheet processing apparatus, and the tray are stacked on the tray. A post-processing unit that performs post-processing on the sheet bundle, a curl pressing member that presses the curl of the paper stacked on the tray, and a post-processing unit that performs post-processing of the post-processing unit.
Evacuation means for evacuation of the curl pressing member from the sheet,
A paper storage device comprising:

In this configuration, a curl pressing member for suppressing the curl of the paper stacked on the tray is provided, and a means for retracting the curl pressing member from the paper during post-processing is provided. The curl can be reliably suppressed, and the curl pressing member does not hinder post-processing. Therefore, it is possible to reliably post-process the sheet bundle on the tray.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet accommodating device, which is provided with a tray for accumulating sheets, and is provided near the tray so as to be rotatable forward and backward. Paper transport means for taking out the paper on the tray when the paper transport means rotates forward, and advances on the paper on the tray to suppress the curl of the paper; and when the paper transport means rotates in the reverse direction, the paper on the tray And a curl pressing means for retreating from the device.

In this configuration, when the paper is discharged to the tray, the curl of the paper on the tray is surely pressed by the curl pressing member, and when the paper is taken out from the tray, the curl pressing member is retracted. Therefore,
The paper on the tray can be reliably aligned by the curl pressing member, and the curl pressing member does not become an obstacle when taking out the sheet bundle from the tray.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the curl holding means in the third aspect includes a belt for holding down the curl of the sheets stacked on the tray, and the belt is suspended. A belt conveying means that is provided coaxially with the paper conveying means so as to be capable of normal and reverse rotation, and conveys the belt; and abuts on the belt at a position other than a contact position between the belt conveying means and the belt; Blocking means for blocking the movement of

According to this configuration, the effect of the third aspect can be achieved with a simple configuration of the belt, the belt conveying means, and the blocking means.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a curl press device and a paper storage device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiments described below, the present invention is applied to a staple sorter connected to an electrophotographic copying machine.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an electrophotographic copying machine;
Is a staple sorter. The copier 1 forms an image on a sheet by a well-known electrophotographic method, and includes a circulation type automatic document feeder 5 at an upper portion thereof. The automatic document feeder 5 sequentially feeds a group of documents stacked on a tray onto a platen glass, and discharges the document from the platen glass when exposure processing is performed for the number of copies (number of copies) designated by an operator. Return to top. If copying is still necessary after a group of originals has made one round, the second and third rounds of original transport processing are further performed. The automatic document feeder 5 has a function of counting the number of conveyed documents.

As shown in FIG. 2, the staple sorter 10 has a large capacity non-sort tray 20 and a bin assembly 3 having 20 bins 31 (31 1 to 3 120).
0, a take-out unit 40 for taking out a sheet bundle contained in each bin 31, and a staple unit 70
, A sheet transport section 80 and a sheet bundle transport gate 100.

The staple sorter 10 can process an image-formed sheet discharged from the copying machine 1 in the following modes. Non-sort tray 20 without sorting paper
Processing to load and store on top (non-sort). Paper in each bin 3
1. Sorting (sorting) pages in order. Processing for stapling the sorted sheet bundle (sort / staple).
A process of taking out a stapled sheet bundle from each bin 31 and stacking and storing it in the non-sort tray 20 (sort / staple / stack). A process (sort / stack) for taking out the sorted sheet bundle from each bin 31 without stapling and stacking and storing it in the non-sort tray 20. Further, a process (group) for sorting paper into each bin 31 for each page. Processing to staple a grouped sheet bundle (group / staple). A process of taking out a stapled sheet bundle from each bin 31 and stacking and storing it in the non-sort tray 20 (group / staple / stack). A process of taking out the grouped sheet bundle from each bin 31 without stapling and stacking and storing them in the non-sort tray 20 (group / stack).

Next, the internal structure of the staple sorter 10 will be described in detail.

First, the paper transport section 80 includes a pair of receiving rollers 81 for receiving the paper discharged from the copying machine 1,
A switching claw 82 for switching a sheet conveyance direction, a first conveyance unit 83 extending substantially vertically, a second conveyance unit 90 extending substantially horizontally from the first conveyance unit 83 to the bin assembly 30 side, and It is composed of The switching claw 82 is rotatably mounted on the pin 82a as a fulcrum based on ON / OFF of the solenoid SL50. When the solenoid SL50 is off, the switching claw 82 is set at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. At this time, the sheet received by the pair of receiving rollers 81 is guided by the curved right side surface of the switching claw 82 and sent to the first transport unit 83. Solenoid S
When L50 is turned off, the switching claw 82 slightly rotates clockwise. At this time, the sheet is guided by the upper surface of the switching claw 82 and the guide plate 79 and is fed onto the non-sort tray 20 through the sheet bundle conveying gate 100 described below.

The first transport section 83 includes guide plates 84, 85,
A punch unit 75, which includes a pair of feed rollers 86 and 87 and a pair of feed rollers 88 and 89, and forms a binding hole at a leading end or a trailing end in the sheet conveying direction is provided at the middle stage. The details of the punch unit 75 are omitted.

The second transport section 90 includes a pair of transport rollers 9.
1 and 92 and guide plates 93 and 94. Guide plate 9
4 is attached to the side plate portion 93a of the guide plate 93 (see FIGS. 3 and 4), and the transport roller 91 is mounted on one end of the guide plate 94. The second transport section 90 is rotatable about a support shaft 95 in the direction of arrow a substantially 90 °. Another transport roller 92 is mounted on a frame 96 via a support shaft 97. A belt 1000, which is a curl holding member for holding the paper on the bin 31, is also suspended from the support shaft 97 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). When executing the sort mode or the group mode (when distributing paper to the bin 31),
The second transport unit 90 is set at a transport position indicated by a solid line in FIGS. 2 and 3, and feeds the paper transported from the first transport unit 83 by the transport rollers 91 and 92 to each bin 31. The paper fed into the bin 31 is curled at the rear end by the curl pressing belt 1000. At the time of taking out a sheet bundle, which will be described below, the second transport section 90 is turned upright by about 90 ° in the direction of arrow a with the support shaft 95 as a fulcrum (see FIG. 4), and retracts from the sheet transport position. Further, at the time of taking out the sheet bundle, the curl pressing belt 1000 also retreats from the sheet transport position (see FIG. 4).

The second transport unit 90 includes a sensor SE21.
Is installed, and the sensor SE21 detects the sheet housed in the bin 31 and the sheet bundle taken out of the bin 31. The roller pair 81, 88, 89, the rollers 91, 92 and the take-out rollers 42, 43 described below are motor M50.
, And is rotationally driven via a driving force transmitting means (not shown).

The bin assembly 30 includes 20 bins 31
Each of the bins 31 is installed at an interval with a predetermined interval, and each pin 32 provided on the lower end side is formed in a spiral groove formed on an outer peripheral surface of a drive shaft (not shown) provided vertically. Is engaged. By rotating the drive shaft forward / reversely by the motor M60, each rotation of the drive shaft causes each bin 3
1 goes up and down one pitch. The position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 2 is the lower limit position (home position) of the bin assembly 30. At this time, the first bin 311 is connected to the transport rollers 91 and 92.
Facing. Hereinafter, the position of the bin 31 facing the transport rollers 91 and 92 is referred to as a level X2. When the drive shaft makes one rotation (reverse rotation), the first bin 311 moves down to the level X1, and at this level X1, the sheet bundle is moved to the staple unit 70.
Bound. Further, when the drive shaft makes one rotation (forward rotation), the first bin 311 rises to level X2, and this level X2
2. The paper bundle is taken out. At this time, the next stage bin 312
-3120 is also raised by one pitch, and bin 312 is set to level X1. When each bin 31 is set to the levels X1 and X2, the upper and lower intervals with the other bins 31 are set wide. The setting of the bin interval is achieved by forming the spiral groove of the drive shaft at a different pitch.

The bin assembly 30 includes each bin 31
(Not shown) for detecting that is set to the lower limit position (home position) and the drive shaft is 1
A sensor (not shown) is provided for detecting that each bin 31 has been rotated and raised by one pitch. Further, a transmission sensor SE34 for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet on each bin 31 is provided. Further, a sensor SE35 for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet on the bin 31 set at the level X2 is provided. If the sensor SE35 does not detect the sheet bundle on the bin 31 set to the level X2 (it is assumed that the operator has extracted the sheet bundle, etc.), the removal process from the bin 31 and the stacking process are stopped. Then, the processing shifts to the processing for taking out the sheet bundle on the next bin 31 and the stacking processing.

Here, the staple unit 70 will be described. The staple unit 70 has a well-known electrically driven structure, and includes a head portion 71 capable of attaching and detaching a cartridge containing a staple, and an anvil portion 72 that receives and bends a staple ejected from the head 71. Have been. The staple unit 70 moves toward the bin 31 set at the level X1, and drives a staple at one corner or two centers in the sheet bundle (see FIG. 14). That is, the staple unit 70 has the front side of the staple sorter 10 as a home position, and is movable toward the back side. The staple unit 70 is temporarily stopped at a predetermined position, moved to the bin 31 side, drives a staple, and finally moves home. Return to position. A notch is formed at the lower end of each bin 31 at a position corresponding to staples, so that the leading end of the staple unit 70 can enter the bin 31.

Next, the take-out unit 40 will be described.

The take-out unit 40 is used to pinch and take out a sheet bundle from the bin 31 set at the level X2. As shown in FIGS. It has a lever 41 that pushes back from the stopper 34, a lower roller 43 that lifts the sheet bundle from below, and an upper roller 42 that presses the sheet bundle from above. Upper roller 4
Numeral 2 is attached to an upper arm 45 that is rotatable about a support shaft 95, and lower roller 43 is attached to a lower arm 46 that is rotatable about a support shaft 47 as a fulcrum.

The take-out unit 40 and the second transport unit 90
Means a motor M70 that can rotate forward and reverse, as shown in FIG.
Drive system 50A and second drive system 50B
Will be repositioned via The first drive system 50A operates the second transport unit 90 and the upper arm 45, and the second drive system 50B
Operates the lower arm 46. First and second drive systems 50
A and 50B each have a one-way mechanism (not shown), and the first drive system 50A operates by the forward rotation of the motor M70.
The second drive system 50B operates by the reverse rotation.

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, a belt 49 is stretched between the output pulley 48 of the motor M70 and the one-way pulleys 51a and 51b. First
In the drive system 50A, the support shaft 52 of the one-way pulley 51a
The worm gear 53a is fixed to the worm gear 53a.
a meshes with the worm wheel 54a. In the second drive system 50B, a worm gear 53a is fixed to a support shaft 52b of the one-way pulley 51b, and the worm gear 53a meshes with a worm wheel 54b.

Further, the first drive system 50A is provided with a boss 56a.
The levers 56 and 57 are connected with each other. Lever 5
6 is rotatable about a support shaft 58 as a fulcrum,
Are engaged with pins 55a protruding from the worm wheel 54a. Another end of the lever 57 is connected to a side plate 93 a of the guide plate 93 via a pin 59.
When the motor M70 rotates forward (in the direction of arrow a), in FIG. 7, the worm wheel 54a rotates in the direction of arrow a, and the lever 56 also rotates in the direction of arrow a with the support shaft 58 as a fulcrum.
In conjunction with this, the lever 57 and the second transport section 90 (guide plates 93 and 94) also rotate in the direction of arrow a with the support shaft 95 as a fulcrum (see FIG. 8). At the same time, the upper arm 45 also rotates in the direction of arrow a with the support shaft 95 as a fulcrum, and the upper roller 42 is pressed against the sheet bundle S on the bin 31 set at the level X2 from above.

The second drive system 50B is provided with a sector gear 60 that is rotatable about a support shaft 61 as a fulcrum. Sector gear 6
0 meshes with the gear 62, and the gear 62 is provided integrally with the lower arm 46 and the support shaft 47. The groove 60a of the sector gear 60 is engaged with a pin 55b projecting from the worm wheel 54b. When the motor M70 rotates reversely (in the direction of the arrow b), the worm wheel 5 shown in FIG.
4b rotates in the direction of arrow b, and the sector gear 60
, The gear 62 rotates in the direction of arrow c in conjunction with this. At the same time, the lower arm 46 rotates in the direction of arrow c with the support shaft 47 as a fulcrum (see FIG. 3). Thus, the lower roller 43 lifts the sheet bundle S on the bin 31 set at the level X2 from below.

Further, when the motor M70 rotates forward or backward, the worm wheels 54a and 54b further rotate in the directions of the arrows a and b, and the second transport section 90 and the upper and lower rollers 42 and 43 move to the take-out position shown in FIG. To the paper distribution position shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second transport section 90 guides the guide plates 93, 9 when the sheets are distributed in the sort / group processing.
4 and the frame 96 form a paper transport path. The frame 96 is connected to a lever 64 via a pin 63, and the lever 64 is connected to a guide plate 66 via a pin 65, and the guide plate 66 is connected to a pin 59. Therefore,
When the second transport unit 90 stands up during the sheet bundle removal process, as shown in FIG. 4, the projecting piece 93b of the guide plate 93, the frame 96, and the guide plate 66 form a sheet bundle transport path. At this time, the transport roller 91 retreats upward.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sensor SE53 detects that the second transport section 90 is set at the sheet distribution position, and the sensor SE53 indicates that the second conveyance section 90 has risen to the sheet bundle take-out position.
Detected at 54. The sensor SE55 detects that the lower arm 46 is retracted, and the sensor SE56 detects that the lower arm 46 has moved to the sheet bundle lifting position during the take-out processing.

On the other hand, a stopper 34a for sheet alignment provided at the lower end of each bin 31 is formed with a protrusion 34a for preventing the sheet from falling due to the elevation and vibration of the bin 31 and vibration ( 2 and 3). Therefore, when the sheet bundle is lifted by the lower roller 43 at the time of taking out the sheet bundle, it is necessary to prevent the leading end of the sheet bundle from rubbing against the stopper 34 or being caught on the projection 34a. The push-back lever 41 slightly retracts the sheet bundle on the bin 31 during the take-out processing, and
4 and are provided to prevent interference with the projection 34a. The push-back lever 41 is supported by a support shaft 97 of the transport roller 92.
Is mounted so as to be rotatable with the fulcrum as a fulcrum, hangs down by its own weight, and is in contact with the lower arm 46. During the removal process,
When the lower arm 46 rotates in the direction of arrow c as described above, the cam surface 46a formed on the lower arm 46
Press. As a result, the push-back lever 41 rotates in the direction of arrow e with the support shaft 97 as a fulcrum, and retracts the sheet bundle on the bin 31. The push-back lever 41, the lower roller 43, and the lower arm 46 are provided at the lower end of each bin 31 and the stopper 34, respectively.
Is formed so that a notch can enter.

The upper arm 45 holding the upper roller 42 is
When the second transport unit 90 is set at the paper distribution position, the second transport unit 90 is erected by the projecting piece 93b of the guide plate 93 and stands up. When the second transport unit 90 rotates in the direction of arrow a during the sheet bundle removal process, the urging of the protruding piece 93b is released, and the upper arm 45 is supported by the support shaft 95 as a fulcrum. To the direction of arrow a by its own weight. The upper roller 42 is pressed against the upper surface of the sheet bundle S by lifting the sheet bundle S on the bin 31 by the lower roller 43, and pinches the sheet bundle S with the lower roller 43. When the rollers 42 and 43 are driven to rotate in this state, the sheet bundle S is moved in the direction of arrow d in FIG.
Will be drawn from. Thereafter, the sheet bundle S is moved down to the take-out position by the rollers 10 of the sheet bundle transport gate 100.
2,103.

Next, the sheet bundle transport gate 100 will be described.

The sheet bundle transport gate 100 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG.
02 and 103 and paper guide plates 104 and 105 are provided. The rollers 102 and 103 can be driven forward / reversely by a motor M21. The sheet bundle transport gate 100 can be moved up and down by being guided by a guide member (not shown), and a motor M20 is installed as a drive source thereof. The home position of the sheet bundle transport gate 100 is shown in FIG.
In this home position, the gate 100 is moved from the receiving roller pair 81 to the switching claw 8.
Roller 1 feeds the sheet guided and transported on the upper surface of
By rotating 02 and 103, the sheet is conveyed to the left in FIG.

On the other hand, the sheet bundle transport gate 100 descends to a position corresponding to the bin 31 set at the level X2 to receive a stapled or unstapled sheet bundle (see FIG. 13). In this take-out position, the gate 100 holds the sheet bundle S pulled out of the bin 31 by the take-out rollers 42 and 43, by the rollers 102 and 103 (see FIG. 14), and the rollers 102 and 103 rotate forward. The sheet bundle S is taken into the gate 100 based on the driving (see FIG. 15). When the sheet bundle S is completely taken into the gate 100, the normal rotation of the rollers 102 and 103 is stopped, and at the same time, the gate 100 is raised (FIG. 1).
6). When the gate 100 rises to a predetermined height,
The rollers 102 and 103 are rotated in the reverse direction, and the sandwiched sheet bundle S
Is discharged onto the non-sort tray 20 (see FIG. 17).
Next, the gate 100 is lowered to the take-out position (FIG. 1).
8), and the stack operation described above is repeated.

The sheet bundle transport gate 100 also serves as a non-sorted sheet discharge path and a sheet bundle discharge path, and the interval between the sheet guide plates 104 and 105 is set to a size that allows a sheet bundle to pass. Further, the movable guide plate 79 installed in the first transport unit 83 is lifted by the sheet bundle S raised by the gate 100 and retracts upward with the support shaft 78 as a fulcrum.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 19, the gear 124 is moved from the gear 124 to the gears 125, 12 with respect to the gate roller 102.
6, through the gear 124 to the gate roller 103.
, And the driving force is transmitted via the gear 127.
The link 128 holding the roller 102 and the link 129 holding the roller 103 are the support shaft 12 holding the gear 124.
They are connected at 1. Accordingly, when the sheet bundle is clamped, the rollers 102 and 103 expand in the vertical direction according to the thickness of the sheet bundle with the support shaft 121 as a fulcrum. As shown in FIG. 20, the sheet bundle S hangs rightward, and the rollers 102, 1
When the transmission of the rotational force to the sheet bundle S03 is interrupted (corresponding to the case where the sheet bundle S is raised from the take-out position to the non-sort tray 20), the rollers 102, 1 are driven by the weight of the sheet bundle S.
03 receives a force to rotate in the directions of arrows g and g ′. At this time, a force to rotate the link 128 downward and the link 129 upward with the support shaft 121 as a fulcrum acts, and the rollers 102 and 103 pinch the sheet bundle S with a stronger force. I do. As a result, deviation of the sheet bundle S when the gate 100 moves up, and in particular, in a sheet bundle that has not been stapled, disturbance of alignment and falling off can be prevented.

The rollers 102 and 103 are provided so as to be able to contact and separate from each other as described above, and as shown in FIG.
A guide plate 111 extends between the lower rollers 103, and a guide plate 115 is disposed between the lower rollers 103. Guide plate 111
21 is rotatable about a support shaft 112, is urged in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 21 by a coil spring 113, and is regulated at a position shown in the counterclockwise direction. The guide plate 111 is used by the lower surface 111a to roll one sheet of paper conveyed in the direction of arrow f during non-sort discharge.
It guides to the nip part of 2,103. On the other hand, the guide plate 1
Reference numeral 11 denotes an upper roller 4 by a sheet bundle carried in the direction of arrow d between the rollers 102 and 103 when the sheet bundle is taken out.
2 and lifted upwards. In this case, first, the upper roller 42 is lifted by the sheet bundle, and the tip of the guide plate 111 is lifted by the support shaft 122 against the coil spring 113. As a result, the guide plate 111 retracts upward with respect to the sheet bundle and has a guide function for the sheet bundle, but does not act as a large resistance.

Another guide plate 115 is a support shaft 116.
, And is urged in a counterclockwise direction by a coil spring 117, and is regulated at a position shown in the counterclockwise direction. During non-sort discharge, as shown in FIG. 22, the guide plate 115 exerts a spring force of the coil spring 117 as a resisting force on one sheet of paper s, and discharges the paper s with its waist. On the other hand, the coil spring 1
The spring force of the sheet bundle 17 is weaker than the stiffness of the sheet bundle. As shown in FIG. 23, when the sheet bundle S enters the nip portion of the rollers 102 and 103, the guide plate 115 retreats downward with the support shaft 116 as a fulcrum. I do. The spring force of the coil spring 117 is set such that the guide plate 115 does not retreat even when special paper such as thick paper or OHP paper is passed during non-sort discharge.

When stacking unstacked sheets on the non-sort tray 20 using the sheet bundle transport gate 100, the sheet bundles S1, S2, S3
.. Are alternately shifted in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. This shift is performed by moving the sheet bundle of the even-numbered copy to the gate roller 1.
When the gate rollers 02 and 103 are pinched and rise from the take-out position to the discharge position (see FIG. 16), the gate rollers 102 and 10
3 is shifted by a dimension W (see FIG. 25).

In order to enable the above operation, a fixed frame 130 and a movable frame 133 for holding the rollers 102 and 103 are provided in the gate 100 as shown in FIG. The fixed frame 130 is fixed in the box 101. The movable frame 133 includes side plates 133a, 13
3b are connected by a connecting plate 133c.
22 and 123 are held by the side plates 133a and 133b. The movable frame 133 includes side plates 133a and 133b.
Is slidably mounted on a guide shaft 131 provided on the fixed frame 130, and is constantly urged in the direction of arrow h by the coil spring 132 being pressed against the side plate 133a.

Further, a guide member 135 having a concave cross section is provided on the vertical path of the sheet bundle transport gate 100, and two guide grooves 135a and 135b extending in the vertical direction by a rail member 136 fixed at the center. Is formed. A switching claw 137 is provided at the lower end of the rail member 136 with a pin 1.
38, the switching pawl 137
Is connected to the solenoid SL51. Solenoid S
When L51 is off, the switching claw 137 is located at the center of the guide member 135 as shown by the solid line in FIG. 24, and swings rightward as shown by the two-dot chain line when the solenoid SL51 is turned on. A pin 134 is fixed to the side plate 133a. The pin 134 is located in the guide member 135 and is movable in the guide grooves 135a and 135b.

In the above configuration, usually, the solenoid S
L51 is turned off, and the movable frame 133 is urged by the coil spring 132 to move the pin 134 into the guide groove 135a.
The gate 100 moves up and down in a state where the gate 100 is engaged. At this time,
The movable frame 133 does not shift. On the other hand, when the gate 100 ascends the sheet bundle S of the even-numbered copy, which has not been stapled, by the rollers 102 and 103, the solenoid SL51 is turned on. As a result, the switching claw 137 swings to the right, and the pin 134 is guided by the switching claw 137 during the ascent and enters the guide groove 135b.
The movable frame 133 shifts by the dimension W together with the rollers 102 and 103. In this state, the gate 100 moves up to the sheet bundle discharge position, and discharges the sheet bundle onto the non-sort tray 20. When the odd-numbered sheet bundle is conveyed, the solenoid SL51 is kept in the off state, and the non-sort tray 20
The stack of sheets S1, S2, S3,...
As shown in (2), sorting is performed in a state of being shifted by the dimension W alternately.

Next, a description will be given of the holding plate 140 for holding the trailing end of the sheet bundle discharged onto the non-sort tray 20 by the gate rollers 102 and 103. Holding plate 1
Numeral 40 is arranged at a position shown in FIG. 26 with respect to a direction orthogonal to the sheet bundle conveying direction, and rotates in the direction of arrow i when discharging the sheet bundle S2 onto the non-sort tray 20, as shown in FIG. Then, the rear end of the sheet bundle S1 already stored is pressed down. When the sheet bundle S2 is discharged onto the sheet bundle S1, the sheet bundle S2 to which the conveying force is applied from the gate rollers 102 and 103 may push the sheet bundle S1 forward. In particular, in the present embodiment, the unstapled sheet bundle can be stacked on the tray 20.
In an unstapled sheet bundle, the upper sheet is easily pushed out. The holding plate 140 is provided to prevent such extrusion.

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 27 and 28,
The holding plate 140 has a rubber member 140a with a large coefficient of friction protruding at the tip, and is projected from a pipe 141 provided in parallel with the roller spindles 122, 123. The spindle 141 is inserted into the pipe 141. . Pipe 141 and spindle 1
Reference numeral 42 is rotatable with respect to each other, and both are connected via torque limiters 143 and 144. The gear 146 fixed to the support shaft 142 meshes with the gear 127 fixed to the lower roller support shaft 123 via the idle gear 145.

The pressing plate 140 is normally set upright as shown in FIG. To discharge the sheet bundle S2 onto the non-sort tray 20, the gate roller 10
2 and 103 are rotationally driven, respectively, as shown in FIGS.
9, the gear 127 to the idle gear 145,
Rotational force is transmitted to the pipe 141 via the gear 146, the support shaft 142, and the torque limiter 143. At this time, the pressing plate 140 rotates together with the pipe 141 in the direction of the arrow i, and presses the rear end of the sheet bundle S1 in which the rubber member 140a is stored on the tray 20. Even after the pressing plate 140 is pressed, the gate rollers 102 and 103 are driven to rotate to discharge the sheet bundle S2, and the gear 146 and the support shaft 142 continue to rotate, but the pressing plate 140 is pressed by the action of the torque limiter 143. Hold. This prevents the sheet bundle S1 from being pushed out in the discharge direction.

When the sheet bundle S2 is discharged onto the non-sort tray 20, the gate rollers 102 and 103 are driven to rotate for a short time in a direction opposite to the direction at the time of discharging. At this time, gear 1
27, the torque is transmitted to the pipe 141 via another torque limiter 144, and as shown in FIG.
The holding plate 140 rotates together with the pipe 141 in the direction of the arrow i 'to release the pressing on the sheet bundle S1. Holding plate 1
When the reference numeral 40 rotates to the standing position shown in FIG. 30, the rotation in the direction of the arrow i 'is restricted by a stopper (not shown), and the standing position is maintained.

In the case of non-sort discharge, the torque limiter 143 is turned off, and the holding plate 140 does not operate, and maintains the state where it is held at the upright position.

The pushing of the sheet bundle is prevented by the two pressing plates 140 (a) located substantially at the center shown in FIG.
Performs its function exclusively. The rightmost holding plate 14 in FIG.
0 (b) presses the sheet bundle S on the concave portion 20a formed at the corner of the non-sort tray 20. When the sheet bundle stapled at the corner is stored on the non-sort tray 20, the staples overlap the concave portion 20a, and this portion becomes bulky. By forming a concave portion 20a on the tray 20 and pressing the stapled portion with the pressing plate 140 (b), the upper surface of the sheet bundle already accommodated at the next sheet bundle discharge is held flat, and the sheet bundle Interference can be prevented and the consistency at the time of stacking can be ensured.

By the way, in the above-mentioned sheet bundle stacking operation, the bin assembly 30 is raised by one pitch.
The stacking operation of the stapled sheet bundle is performed in parallel with the stapling of the sheet bundle on the bin 31 set at the level X1.

The sheet bundle transport gate 100 is normally
The non-sorted sheets are discharged onto the tray 20 one by one at the home position shown in FIG. 12, and the sheet bundle is discharged to the tray 20 at the second position shown in FIG. The tray 20 is capable of storing a large amount of paper, and the gate 100 is located at the second position shown in FIG.
The sheet bundle can be raised to an arbitrary height from the position to the upper limit position indicated by the dashed line and stopped, and the sheet bundle can be discharged. The ascent / stop position is determined by the rollers 102 and 103
Corresponds to a position where a certain distance is maintained from the top surface of the sheets stacked and stored on the non-sort tray 20. That is, the gate 100 rises to a height at which the next sheet bundle can be discharged at a predetermined drop from the top surface of the sheet.

As shown in FIG. 2, a sensor S for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet on the non-sort tray 20 is provided above the non-sort tray 20 to enable the above operation.
E33, a sensor SE23 for detecting the uppermost surface of the sheet on the non-sort tray 20 (the upper surface of the tray 20 when there is no sheet) is provided. Further, a sensor SE20 for detecting the home position of the gate 100 and a sensor SE22 for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet bundle in the gate 100 are provided. Further, a sensor SE24 (FIG. 12) for detecting that the gate 100 has risen to the upper limit.
On the other hand, a cover 21 is provided at a position facing the lower end of the non-sort tray 20, as shown in FIGS. This cover 21 is for regulating the trailing end of the paper discharged on the non-sort tray 20 in the discharging direction, and rises in synchronization with the paper bundle transport gate 100, and when the gate 100 descends, It is configured to be held at the raised position. That is, the cover 21 has a vertical frame portion 22a and a horizontal frame portion 22b, which are integrally guided by a guide member (not shown) so as to be able to move up and down. A frame 29 having a ratchet 29a is fixed to the main body frame 11 of the staple sorter 10, and a claw member 24 attached to the cover 21 via a bracket 23 is engaged with the ratchet 29a. The claw member 24 is rotatable counterclockwise with the pin 24a as a fulcrum, and its rotation is regulated clockwise.

When the sheet bundle conveying gate 100 is set at the second position, the cover 21 is set at the lower limit position shown by a solid line in FIG. 12, and the claw member 24 is engaged with the lowermost ratchet 29a. I have. When the number of sheets stored on the non-sort tray 20 increases, the gate 100 rises higher than the second position, and the horizontal frame 22
When the box b is pushed up by the box 101, the cover 21 moves up. At this time, the claw member 24 rotates counterclockwise around the pin 24a, and the ratchet 29a
Step by step. When the ascent of the gate 100 stops, the claw member 24 engages with the opposing ratchet 29a, and when the gate 100 descends next, the cover 21 holds the stopped state at that position. By the above operation,
At the time of stacking the sheet bundle, the nip portion between the rollers 102 and 103 and the upper end 21a of the cover 21 maintain a certain distance.

The upper limit of the cover 21 is the position indicated by the dashed line in FIG. When the sheet is removed from the non-sort tray 20 by the operator, the clockwise rotation regulation of the claw member 24 is released (for example, the regulation member (not shown) is retracted from the regulation position by driving the solenoid), and the cover is removed. 21 descends to the lower limit position.

Next, a curl holding device including the curl holding belt 1000 will be described with reference to FIGS. The curl pressing belt 1000 is suspended on a pulley 1002 coaxially supported by a support shaft 97 of the transport roller 92. The curl holding belt 1000 has teeth on the inside, and the pulley 1002 has teeth on the surface.
As a result, the curl pressing belt 1000 is
002. At the position where the curl pressing belt 1000 is sandwiched with respect to the pulley 1002, the conveyance of the curl pressing belt 1000 is performed in the tray direction (left direction in the figure) and the direction retracted from the bin 31 and the paper conveying path (lower right side in the figure). There is provided a belt guide 1001 for guiding the guide. The interval between the pulley 1002 and the belt guide 1001 is narrow at a position opposite to the tray with respect to the pulley 1002 (part A in FIG. 33). This interval is wide enough for the curl holding belt 1000 to pass through, and
It is set narrow enough to prevent tooth jump between 000 and pulley 1002. Below the pulley 1002, a pin B is provided substantially in parallel with the pulley 1002 as a blocking means for preventing the conveyance of the curl pressing belt 1000, and a curl pressing belt is provided between the pin B and the pulley 1002. 1000 passes. The distance between the pin B and the pulley 1002 is set sufficiently larger than the thickness of the curl pressing belt 1000. With this configuration, the curl pressing belt 1000 contacts the pulley 1002 only at the portion A, and the pulley 1
002 does not abut.

Next, the operation of the curl holding device will be described. First, when the transport roller 92 is rotated forward to discharge the paper to the bin 31, the pulley 1002 coaxial with the transport roller 92 also rotates forward, and the curl pressing belt 1000 also moves in the same direction, that is, the direction toward the bin 31. Conveyed.
At this time, the portion of the curl holding belt 1000 that is in contact with the pin B is prevented from moving, so that the portion of the curl holding belt 1000 that is farther from the bin 31 than the pin B moves to the bin 31 side. As a result, the curl pressing belt 1000 projects to the bin 31 side (FIG. 33).
(See (a)), the curl of the trailing edge of the paper on the bin 31 can be suppressed. On the other hand, when the transport roller 92 is reversed to take out the paper from the bin 31,
The coaxial pulley 1002 also rotates in the reverse direction, and the curl holding belt 1000 is also conveyed in the same direction, that is, in a direction away from the bin 31. At this time, since the portion of the curl pressing belt 1000 that is in contact with the pin B is prevented from moving, the curl pressing belt 1000 is such that the portion closer to the bin 31 than the pin B is closer to the bin 31 than the pin B. (See FIG. 33 (b)). In addition, at this time, the curl pressing belt 1000 is guided by the belt guide 1001 in the direction of retreating from the bin 31 and the sheet conveying path, and is in a protruding state (see FIG. 33C). Therefore, the curl pressing belt 1000 does not hinder the removal of the sheet bundle from the bin 31 (see FIG. 4).

FIG. 34 shows another embodiment of the curl holding device. In this embodiment, the transport roller 92 is eliminated,
The sheet is nipped and transported by the transport roller 91 and the curl pressing belt 1000. That is, the curl holding belt 100
A pulley 1011 for transporting the curl transport belt 91 and the pulley 1011 cooperates with the transport roller 91 to transport the curl transport belt 1000 and the sheet. .
Although not shown in FIG. 34, the point that the pin B is provided below the pulley 1011 is the same as in the previous embodiment. In this embodiment, since the member for conveying the sheet and the member for moving the curl pressing member are also used, the configuration of the sheet storage device can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The paper storage device according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified within the scope of the invention.

In particular, the present invention may be applied to a staple sorter connected to a printer which outputs image information transferred from a host computer as a hard copy, other than the copying machine 1.

The structures of the bin assembly 30 and the paper transport section 80 are arbitrary. For example, if the copying machine or printer has an image memory function and forms a desired number of images in page order, only one bin 31 may be provided. Alternatively, a bin dedicated to stapling may be provided separately from the sort bin.

Further, as a means for binding a sheet bundle,
Instead of using a staple, a method using a clip or gluing may be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of a staple sorter and a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevation view showing a schematic configuration of the staple sorter.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a second transport unit and a take-out unit in the staple sorter, showing a state in which paper is distributed to bins.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the second transport unit and a take-out unit, showing a state in which a sheet bundle is taken out.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a drive system of the take-out unit.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the drive system.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing the drive system, showing when paper is distributed.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing the drive system, showing a state in which a sheet bundle is taken out.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a state of taking out a sheet bundle.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a state of taking out a sheet bundle.

FIG. 11 is an elevation view showing the upper part of the staple sorter;
Indicates the home position of the gate.

FIG. 12 is an elevation view showing an upper part of the staple sorter;
3 shows a second position of the gate.

FIG. 13 shows staples / sheet bundles in a staple sorter.
Operation | movement explanatory drawing of a removal / stack.

FIG. 14 shows a sheet bundle staple / in a staple sorter.
Operation | movement explanatory drawing of the removal / stacking, continuation of FIG.

FIG. 15 shows staples / sheet bundles in a staple sorter.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of the operation of taking out / stacking, and FIG.

FIG. 16 shows staples / sheet bundles in a staple sorter.
Operation | movement explanatory drawing of a removal / stack, continuation of FIG.

FIG. 17 shows staples / sheet bundles in a staple sorter.
Operation | movement explanatory drawing of a removal / stack, continuation of FIG.

FIG. 18 shows staples / sheet bundles in a staple sorter.
Operation | movement explanatory drawing of a removal / stack, continuation of FIG.

FIG. 19 is a side view showing a gate roller.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the gate roller.

FIG. 21 is a side view showing a guide plate attached to the gate roller.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet is conveyed by a gate roller.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which a sheet bundle is conveyed by gate rollers.

FIG. 24 is an elevation view showing a shift mechanism of the gate roller.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which a sheet bundle is stacked on a non-sort tray.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which a sheet bundle is stacked on a non-sort tray.

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a mounting structure of a paper pressing plate.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the paper pressing plate.

FIG. 29 is an explanatory view of the operation of the sheet pressing plate, continued from FIG. 28;

FIG. 30 is an explanatory view of the operation of the sheet pressing plate, continued from FIG. 29;

FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing a curl holding device.

FIG. 32 is a sectional view showing the curl holding device.

FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the curl pressing belt of the curl pressing device.

FIG. 34 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the curl holding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electrophotographic copying machine 10 ... Staple sorter 20 ... Non-sort tray 31 ... Bin 34 ... Stopper 40 ... Ejection unit 41 ... Push-back lever 42,43 ... Ejection roller 45 ... Upper arm 46 ... Lower arm 46a ... Cam surface 100 ... Sheet bundle transport gates 102 and 103 Gate roller 1000 Curl holding belt M70 Drive motor S Sheet bundle

Claims (4)

[Claims] A belt for suppressing curling of sheets stacked on a tray; a belt transport member provided near the tray so as to be rotatable forward and backward, the belt being suspended, and transporting the belt. A curling device, comprising: a belt contact member that comes into contact with the belt at a position other than the contact position between the belt conveying member and the belt to prevent movement of the belt. 2. A tray for accumulating sheets, a discharging unit for discharging sheets discharged from a sheet processing apparatus on the tray, and a post-processing for performing post-processing on a sheet bundle stacked on the tray Means, a curl pressing member for pressing the curl of the paper stacked on the tray, and a retracting means for retracting the curl pressing member from the paper at the time of post-processing of the post-processing means. Paper storage device. 3. A tray for accumulating sheets, a sheet conveyer provided near the tray so as to be rotatable forward and backward, and discharges the sheets onto the tray during normal rotation and removes the sheets from the tray during reverse rotation. And a curl presser that advances onto the paper on the tray when the paper transporter rotates in the forward direction to curl the paper and retracts from the paper on the tray when the paper transporter rotates in the reverse direction. Paper storage device characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. A curl presser, comprising: a belt for suppressing curl of the sheets stacked on the tray; and a belt suspended from the curl presser and rotatably and coaxially provided with the sheet transporter. A belt conveying unit that conveys the belt; and a blocking unit that contacts the belt at a position other than the contact position between the belt conveying unit and the belt, and that inhibits movement of the belt. The sheet storage device according to claim 3, wherein: