JPH1111788A - Sheet stacking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet stacking device that can cope with a demand of taking out sheets or the like, with an auxiliary rising face vertically adjusted in sliding contact with a sheet supporting rising face according to the height of stacked sheets, and miniaturize the outline of the device. SOLUTION: A sheet stacking device is provided with stacking trays 9A, 9B for stacking sheets conveyed from an image forming device 2, elevating driving means for driving the stacking trays 9A, 9B elevatingly, and a vertical wall 50 with a rising face formed coming in sliding contact with the stacking trays 9A, 9B so as to support the sheets on the stacking trays 9A, 9B by one edge. The sheet stacking device is further provided with an auxiliary support body 220 vertically movable with a rising face (circular arc face) 221 formed being extended along the vertical wall 50a, and a following part 224 for moving the auxiliary support body 220, following the moving of the sheets on the stacking trays 9A, 9B.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention receives a plurality of sheets, such as a series of image-recorded sheets, sequentially discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, etc., on a processing tray for post-processing. The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a sheet stacking apparatus for stacking a sheet bundle that has been processed and transferred.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a sheet processing apparatus as described above, a series of sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus are aligned on a processing tray to form a sheet bundle, and a sheet stapled by a stapler as required by an operator. 2. Description of the Related Art To facilitate removal, loading on a loading tray is performed. A plurality of sheet bundles are sequentially stacked on the stacking tray. Also, in order for the transported sheet bundle to be properly stacked on the stacking tray, the stacking tray is raised and lowered so that the upper surface of the sheet bundle is always at a predetermined height as the sheet bundle is stacked on the stacking tray. It is also known to move.

[0003]

In the above-described sheet stacking apparatus, there is a case where the height of the stacking tray is required to be higher than the state when the stacking operation is performed in order to facilitate taking out the stacked sheet bundle. is there. On the other hand, it is required to classify various types of sheet bundles so as to be stackable. In order to classify and stack the sheet bundle, it is necessary to provide a plurality of stacking trays and to oppose the stacking tray to a required position for discharge and stacking for each type of sheet bundle. It is necessary to move the other loading tray in order to make the tray face the required position. In each of the above movements, the height of the stacking tray is raised by raising the height of the stacking tray, and the upper surface thereof exceeds the rising surface supporting one edge of the sheet, and the sheet stacking is performed. The installation will be affected. It is not preferable from the viewpoint of design to provide the rising surface in advance.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and according to the height of a stacked sheet bundle, it is added to the height of the rising surface, and a rising surface provided as an auxiliary is provided. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet stacking apparatus of a sheet processing apparatus which can be adjusted up and down to cope with a demand for taking out a sheet or the like and to make the outer shape of the apparatus compact.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a stacking tray for stacking sheets conveyed from an image forming apparatus, an elevating drive unit for driving the stacking tray up and down, and the stacking tray. A main support having a surface that rises in sliding contact with the stacking tray to support the upper sheet at one end edge, in order to supplement the height of the main support. An auxiliary support member that forms a surface extending along and is movable vertically, and a driven portion that moves the auxiliary support member following the movement of the sheet on the stacking tray. Is what you do.

If necessary, when the stacking tray is raised, the driven portion moves in accordance with the vertical movement of the upper surface of the sheet, and the auxiliary support moves in the vertical direction to compensate for the height of the main support.

The auxiliary support has a center of rotation,
The auxiliary support member allows the sheet sliding contact surface of the main support to be extended vertically in an arc based on the center of rotation so that the main support can be moved up and down. The height of the body is supplemented.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of one side of the sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of another side of the sheet processing apparatus. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view in which a part of the sheet processing apparatus is cut away, FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view of the sheet processing apparatus, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the sheet processing apparatus.

1 to 3, a sheet processing apparatus 1
Has a post-processing device main body 20 and an integrated processing device main body 50 each having an independent housing.

FIG. 6 is a front view in which a part of the post-processing apparatus main body 20 is cut away.

As shown in FIG. 3, the post-processing apparatus main body 20 transfers the image-formed sheets S sequentially discharged from the copying machine (image forming apparatus) 2 to the top tray 3 when no post-processing is performed. In the case where the processing is performed, the pre-conveying means 5 for transporting the sheet to the processing tray 4 so as to be sortable, the alignment means 6 for aligning a plurality of sheets S received on the processing tray 4, and the aligned sheet bundle S ' A first gripper 7 for gripping and transporting, a stapler 8 for stapling the sheet bundle S ′ held by the first gripper 7, and above the processing tray 4 shown in FIG. And an auxiliary tray 13 located at the same position.

As shown in FIG. 3, the post-processing apparatus main body 20 includes a vertical wall 20a serving as a reference surface for storing the sheet S with respect to the processing tray 4, an opening 20b through which the sheet S is discharged,
Rail grooves 20c and 20d that allow movement of the later-described alignment member 30 and holding member 34, and rail grooves 20e that allow movement of the first gripping means 7 are formed. As shown in FIG. 1, a slit 20g for passing a sheet is formed on the rising surface 20f on the stacking tray 9A, 9B side in the post-processing apparatus main body 20.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main body 50 of the integrated processing apparatus,
FIG. 8 is a front view in which a part of the integrated processing apparatus main body 50 is cut away.

As shown in FIG. 3, the stacking apparatus main body 50 is held by first stacking means 7 and stackable trays 9A and 9B capable of stacking the sheet bundle S 'after being bound by the stapler 8. In the state, the sheet bundle S ′ conveyed toward the stacking trays 9A and 9B is inherited and gripped, and the sheet bundle S ′ is conveyed to a predetermined position on the stacking trays 9A and 9B.
7 and 8, a sheet height detection sensor 11 for detecting the height of the sheet bundle S 'accumulated on the stacking trays 9A and 9B, and the stacking trays 9A and 9B.
While continuously stacking the sheet bundle on the upper side, a take-out sensor 14 for detecting that an operator has removed a part or all of the sheet bundle, and a lifting / lowering means 12 for raising / lowering the stacking trays 9A and 9B. 9 to 11 described later.
As shown in FIG. 5, a shutter 15 is provided in conjunction with the lifting and lowering of the stacking trays 9A and 9B.

As shown in FIG. 1, a vertical wall (regulating member) 50a for positioning and alignment with which one side of the sheet bundle S 'conveyed to the stacking trays 9A and 9B abuts, as shown in FIG. A horizontal opening 50b that allows the horizontal movement of the second gripping means 10 and a vertical opening 50c that communicates with the horizontal opening 50b and allows the second gripping means 10 to rotate in the vertical direction are formed. .

As shown in FIG. 3, the top tray 3 is formed by inclining the upper part of the outer frame of the post-processing apparatus main body 20, and its upstream side is located downward and its downstream side is located upward. A vertical wall 3a is formed from the upstream end of the top tray 3, and an opening 3b for discharging is provided in an upper portion of the vertical wall 3a.

As shown in FIG. 6, the pre-stage conveying means 5 has a conveying port 21 opened on one side surface of the post-processing apparatus main body 20 on the rear side, and the conveying port 21 is an outlet of the copying machine 2 (not shown). Z)
Is matched to. A flapper 23A is provided downstream of the transport port 21 to switch the transport path of the sheet S between the transport path 24A on the upper top tray 3 side and the transport path 24B on the lower processing tray 4 side, following the transport roller pair 22. Have been. The transport path 24A has a transport roller pair 25A,
25B are provided. The transport path 24B is provided with discharge rollers 26A and 26B and a sensor 17 for detecting that the sheet S reaches the processing tray 4. A reversing path 24 is provided between the unloading paths 24A and 24B.
C is provided, and when the sheet is turned over and discharged onto the processing tray 4, the reversing flapper 2 provided on the transport path 24 </ b> A is provided.
When the trailing edge of the sheet passes through 3B, the pair of transport rollers 25A,
The sheet is supplied to the reversing path 24C by reversing the sheet 25B. Note that a sensor 23C is attached to the reversing flapper 23B.

The processing tray 4 is located below the top tray 3 and is inclined parallel to the top tray 3. A series of sheets S is sequentially conveyed from the conveying roller pair 22 to the processing tray 4 in the discharging direction A by the discharging rollers 26A and 26B at the end of the conveying path 24B for binding by the stapler 8. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing tray 4 is formed such that the inclined lower end rises in a direction perpendicular to the tray surface, and the inner surface thereof corresponds to one side of the sheet S extending in the transport direction B perpendicular to the discharge direction A. The vertical wall 20a contacts.

The aligning means 6 contacts the reference surface 4a of the processing tray 4 shown in FIG. 6 in the discharging direction A, that is, in the left-right direction when aligning the plurality of sheet bundles S 'stored on the processing tray 4. In the transfer direction B orthogonal to the discharge direction A, that is, in the front-back direction, the alignment members 30 disposed on both sides of the processing tray 4 and the shutter-type reference movable up and down as shown in FIG. Aligned by plate 31.

The mechanism for moving the alignment member 30 includes the processing tray 4
A rail 32 extending in the width direction is provided at a lower portion of the rail. A holding member 34 that supports the alignment member 30 so as to be able to travel by a conical roller 33 is disposed inside the rail 32. Further, a belt is provided between a pair of pulleys 35A and 35B. A part of the holding member 34 is fixed in the middle of the belt 36. Then, one pulley 35B is driven by an alignment motor 37 (see FIG. 17 described later), and the alignment member 30 moves.

As a result, while the sheets S are successively conveyed in the discharge direction A, the alignment member 30 is at the retreated open position, and after receiving a predetermined number of sheets S, the sheets S are advanced. It is aligned by pressing against the reference plate 31.

On the upper part of the main body 50 of the stacking apparatus, an auxiliary support 220 which is movable in the vertical direction in order to supplement the height of the vertical wall 50a with which the stacking trays 9A and 9B are in sliding contact.
It has. The auxiliary support 220 has a rising surface 221 that forms an arc surface, and the rising surface (arc surface) 2.
The central processing unit 21 is pivotally connected to a vicinity of an upper edge of the main body 50 on the opposite side to the vertical wall 50a by a rotation center shaft 222 (see FIG. 7) inserted therethrough. By this rotation, the rising surface 221 is brought into sliding contact with the inner surface of the upper edge of the integrated processing device main body 50 on the side of the vertical wall 50a so as to be protruded and retracted from the upper edge.

The auxiliary support body 220 has a flat top plate 223 on the upper surface thereof, the front and rear sides are formed in a fan-shaped box shape, and the main body 50 of the integrated processing apparatus 50 is rotated during the rotation operation. To cover the top of the The top plate portion 223 forms a follower portion 224 protruding from the upper portion of the rising surface 221 toward the loading trays 9A and 9B, and forms an L shape together with the upper portion of the rising surface 221.
In the state where one end of the sheet bundle S 'stacked on the sheets A and 9B is in contact with the vertical wall (main support) 50a, when the upper surface of the sheet bundle S' is raised, the upper surface contacts the driven portion 224. I have to.

FIG. 9 shows the shutter 1 of the main body 50 of the integrated processing apparatus.
5, FIG. 10 is a side view showing the shutter 15 of the integrated processing apparatus main body 50, FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the shutter 15 of the integrated processing apparatus main body 50, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a detailed view of 1 (shutter 15).

As shown in FIG. 12, the shutter type reference plate 31 includes a fixed plate 311 fixed to the inner wall of the post-processing device main body 20, a shutter solenoid 312 held by the fixed plate 311, and a shutter solenoid 312. A connecting plate 313 provided at the tip, a pair of arms 314 having one end connected to the connecting plate 313, and a connecting pin for converting a rotational movement of the arm 314 into a linear movement by a guide groove 315 formed in the fixed plate 311. 31
And a shutter plate 318 connected to the other end of the arm 314 via the second and third arms 317.

The shutter solenoid 312 is provided so that one sheet bundle S 'can be moved from the processing tray 4 to the stacking trays 9A and 9B.
When the sheet S of the next sheet bundle S ′ is discharged onto the processing tray 4 in the course of being conveyed to the processing tray 4, the shutter plate 319 is used to enable the alignment of the sheet S.
The arm 314 is rotated so that abuts on the upper surface of the sheet bundle S ′ in the conveying process.

The first holding means 7 holds the rear end of the sheet bundle S 'arranged on the processing tray 4 from above and below and conveys the sheet bundle S' in the conveying direction B orthogonal to the discharge direction A. Also, the first
As shown in FIG. 5, the gripping means 7 is provided with upper and lower clamping levers 41 which open and close the moving frame 40. Although a detailed mechanism is not shown, the sheet bundle S 'is operated with the operation of the bundle holding solenoid 43. Of one side. The holding lever 41
Is performed by driving a holding lever motor 42 shown in FIG. 17 described later.

6 is located above the processing tray 4 between a discharge roller pair 26 rotated by the drive of the transport motor 19.
A flat auxiliary tray 13 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the auxiliary tray, and FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the auxiliary tray.

The auxiliary tray 13 has a shorter length and a smaller width than the processing tray 4, and is provided to be able to move forward and backward on the reference position side of the processing tray 4. That is, both ends of the auxiliary tray 13 are slidably supported by the upper and lower guide rollers 45, the pinion gear 47 is meshed with the rack 46 at the center, and the auxiliary tray 13 is slid and driven by the driving of the pinion gear 47 in conjunction with the driving of the auxiliary tray motor 48. You. FIG. 13 shows a state in which the auxiliary tray 13 is moving forward.

The auxiliary tray 13 has a series of sheet bundles S
′ Is discharged onto the processing tray 4 and the sheet bundle S
While the alignment of ′ is being performed, the advance operation is performed before the next series of sheets S is conveyed, and the sheet bundle S ′ being conveyed (during staple binding) by receiving the next sheet S
And separate.

When a sheet S is placed on the auxiliary tray 13 as shown in FIG. 13, the sheet S is conveyed in a return direction C opposite to the discharge direction A. It has a return function. This return function has a discharge roller pair 26A and a discharge roller 26B which is in elastic contact with the discharge roller 26A. The diameter of the discharge roller 26B is larger than that of the discharge roller 26A and is formed of a soft material, and the outer peripheral surface thereof comes into light contact with the sheet S on the auxiliary tray 13 so that the leading end of the sheet S abuts on the vertical wall 20a. It is sent out in the return direction C to make contact.

Since only about one or two sheets S are placed on the auxiliary tray 13, a mechanism for changing the thickness of the sheets S is unnecessary. In addition, auxiliary tray 1
The timing of the advance and retreat of 3 is arranged on the upstream side in the discharge direction of the sheet S by the discharge rollers 26A and 26B as the discharge means, and the leading end of the sheet S discharged by the discharge rollers 26A and 26B reaches the processing tray 4. This is performed based on the detection result of the sensor 17 shown in FIG.

That is, the processing tray 4 has a plurality of rail grooves 20c, 20d and 20e extending in a direction perpendicular to the sheet S transport direction as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the sheets S are not stacked on the processing tray 4,
When the first sheet S is directly discharged to the processing tray 4, the buckling of the leading end of the sheet S due to the height of the processing tray 4,
Alternatively, there is a possibility that the above-described catching on the rail grooves 20c, 20d, and 20e may occur. In addition, processing tray 4
Even when the sheets S are stacked on top, there is a possibility that the leading end of the next sheet S abuts on the preceding sheet S and buckles. Furthermore, the above-mentioned sheet bundle S ′ and the next sheet S must be separated.

The above-mentioned problem is solved by detecting the leading edge of the sheet S by the sensor 17 to advance the auxiliary tray 13 and retracting the auxiliary tray 13 by detecting the trailing edge of the sheet S by the sensor 17. Is done.

At this time, the sheet S is a set of a sheet bundle S '.
It is conceivable that a plurality of sheet sizes are mixed. For this reason, the retract timing of the auxiliary tray 13 by the auxiliary tray motor 48 is determined based on the sheet size information output from the copying machine 2 and the sheet detection result by the sensor 17.
The larger the sheet size information output from the copying machine 2 is, the faster the sheet size information can be, so that buckling according to the sheet size can be prevented. In addition, even when the sheet sizes are not mixed, any sheet size (for example,
(A4 landscape) as a reference, the evacuation timing may be earlier as the size becomes larger.

When the sheet bundle S 'on the lower processing tray 4 is being conveyed to the stacking trays 9A and 9B, the auxiliary tray 13 is almost simultaneously conveyed to the stacking trays 9A and 9B. Is immersed, and the sheet S on the auxiliary tray 13 is dropped onto the processing tray 4.

FIG. 13 shows a state in which a relatively large sheet S is being conveyed to the processing tray 4.
In this case, the sheet S on the auxiliary tray 13 is supported so as to hang from the auxiliary tray 13 onto the processing tray 4. When a small-sized sheet S is conveyed, it can be placed only by the auxiliary tray 13.

The stapler 8 binds the vicinity of the edge of the sheet bundle S 'with staples (binding needles), and is disposed near the front end of the vertical wall 20a of the processing tray 4 on the side of the stacking apparatus main body 50. I have.

The sheet bundle S 'to be bound by the stapler 8
The binding position and the number of bindings are performed as the first gripper 7 and the second gripper 10 convey. That is, when binding is performed at one location, the document is held by the first gripping means 7 and stopped while the sheet is conveyed at a predetermined position in accordance with the stapler 8 to perform binding. In the case of binding at two places, after binding and transporting by the first gripping means 7 and binding the first position to the stapler 8,
After switching to the second gripping means 10, the second position is bound to the stapler 8 and bound. Note that the stapler 8 may be provided so as to be movable in the discharge direction A so that the stapling position can be changed.

The stacking trays 9A and 9B are displaced in front of the processing tray 4, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the discharge direction A, and are arranged in parallel with the processing tray 4, and recesses 9C and 9D for taking out are formed on the side edges of the upper surface. ing. Also, the loading tray 9
A and 9B are provided with paper presence / absence detection sensors 9E and 9F.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the stacking trays 9A and 9B are provided with side walls 50L,
The vertical wall 50a of the main body 50 is an accumulation reference plane (regulation member). The position of this accumulation reference plane is more than the position of the vertical wall 4a in the processing tray 4 in the discharge direction A by a distance d (FIG. 4).
See)).

Both ends of the stacking trays 9A and 9B in the width direction are fixedly supported by side walls 52L and 52R of a U-shaped elevating frame 52.
It is guided to be able to move up and down along a vertical groove 54 provided in 50R.

The upper frame 62 and the lower frame 63 on the rear side of the main assembly 50 have pulleys 55,
A belt 57 is hung between the upper and lower pulleys 55, 56, and a driven gear 58 fixed to a rotating shaft of the pulley 55 meshes with a driving gear 59 of a loading tray motor 60 (elevation driving means). The upper pulley 55 is driven to rotate.
The elevating frame 52 is fixed in the middle of the belt 57 by a fixture 52a, and moves up and down as the belt 57 runs.

A spring 65 is mounted between the lifting frame 52 and the upper frame 62.
The upward supporting force is obtained by the urging force of
The reduction mechanism is such that the weight of the upper sheet bundle S ′ does not excessively act on the stacking tray motor 60.

The lifting frame 52 is provided with a transmissive tray position detecting sensor 61 and a lower tray position detecting sensor 64. The loading tray is determined by whether or not the light is shielded by the light shielding plate 66 attached to the side wall 50R. The positions of 9A and 9B can be detected.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part of the second gripping means 10 in an initial state, and FIG. 16 is an enlarged sectional view of an important part of the second gripping means 10 in a state where a sheet bundle is dropped.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the second holding means 10 is held by the first holding means 7 and transported from the processing tray 4 so as to be pushed out onto the stacking trays 9A and 9B. In addition, the second gripping means 10 includes a vertical holding lever 7 that presses and holds the upper surface and the lower surface of the sheet bundle S ′ in a plane.
The opening / closing mechanism holds and releases the sheet bundle S ′, and transports the held sheet bundle S ′ in the transport direction B orthogonal to the discharge direction A by the transport mechanism.
Further, the gripping portion of the sheet bundle S ′ gripped in the inclined state is pivoted to a horizontal state by the pivoting mechanism, and is also slightly moved to the stacking trays 9A and 9B.

The upper holding lever 71 is rotatably supported at its base end by a first shaft 74 with respect to a swing frame 73, and the lower holding lever 72 is turned by a second shaft 75 with respect to the swing frame 73. It is freely pivoted. A first arm 76 is pivotally supported on the first shaft 74 so as to rotate integrally with the partial gear 77, and a tip pin 76 a of the first arm 76 engages with a groove 71 a of the upper holding lever 71 to open and close. . Similarly the second
A second arm 78 is pivotally supported on the shaft 75, and its tip pin 7
8a engages with the groove 72a of the lower holding lever 72 to open and close, and a gear portion 79 is provided at a pivotal support portion of the second arm 78. The gear portion 79 meshes with a partial gear 77 of the first arm 76. The upper holding lever 71 and the lower holding lever 72 are provided so as to rotate as the arms 76 and 78 rotate in conjunction with each other.

The other part of the partial gear 77 includes the swing frame 7
The drive gear 8 of the opening / closing motor 83 having the swing frame 73 mounted on the intermediate gear 81 which rotates with the pinion gear 80 supported by the pinion gear 80
2 mesh with each other to form an opening / closing drive mechanism. In addition,
The open / close state of the upper and lower holding levers 71 and 72 is detected by a sensor (not shown) of the operating piece 84 that rotates integrally with the upper holding lever 71.

At the time of opening and closing operation of the second gripping means 10, the opening angle of the partial gear 77 of the upper gripping lever 71 is large and the diameter of the gear portion 79 of the lower gripping lever 72 is small. 71 opens about 30 °, while the lower holding lever 72 opens about 90 ° downward (see FIG. 16).

The swing frame 73 has a swing shaft 85 at the lower end.
Accordingly, the movable frame 87 is pivotally supported by the movable frame 87. A rotating gear 89 is supported on a shaft 88 parallel to the swing shaft 85 on the moving frame 87, and an eccentric position of the rotating gear 89,
The rear portion of the swing frame 73 above the swing shaft 85 is connected by a link 90, and with the rotation of the rotating gear 89,
The swing frame 73 swings between the retracted position in FIG. 15 and the projected position in FIG. 16 via the link 90.

A pinion gear 91 pivotally supported by the moving frame 87 in a direction perpendicular to the swing shaft 85 meshes with the outer peripheral gear portion of the rotary gear 89, and the moving frame 87 is engaged with an intermediate gear 92 integrated with the pinion gear 91. The drive gear 93 of the swing motor 94 attached to the gears meshes to form a swing mechanism.

The transport mechanism of the moving frame 87 is such that a traveling member 95 protruding left and right in front of and behind the moving frame 87 is provided in a guide groove (not shown) extending in the front-rear direction formed in the guide frame 100 fixed to the main body. The moving frame 87 is supported so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (transport direction B).

A pulley 102 is provided inside and behind the guide frame 100 with a pulley shaft 101 (one is not shown).
And the belt 103 is hung. A moving frame 87 is fixed to a part of the belt 103 by a clamp member 104, a driven pulley 105 is fixed to an end of one pulley shaft 101, and a driving shaft of a transport motor 108 attached to a lower portion of the guide frame 100 is driven. A drive belt 106 is hung between the pulley 107 and the pulley 107.

The moving frame 87 moves forward or backward in the transport direction B together with the second gripping means 10 by the forward or reverse rotation drive of the transport motor 108. The initial position (home position) of the second gripping means 10 is a receiving position close to the processing tray 4 side.
Is moved to the intermediate stop position for binding and the most advanced discharge position. The opening and closing operation of the second gripping means 10 is performed at the initial position and the release position, and swinging is performed at the release position.

Further, such a transport mechanism, an opening / closing mechanism of the second gripping means 10 and a swinging mechanism are arranged in the cover of the main body 50 of the integrated processing apparatus, the moving range is covered, and a slit-shaped horizontal The opening 50b is opened, the second gripping means 10 moves while holding the sheet bundle S 'along the horizontal opening 50b, and the upper and lower holding levers 71, 72 which swing at the discharge end protrude. .

As shown in FIG. 7, the seat height detecting means 11 pivotally supports a rotation detector 110 having an arc-shaped tip on the frame of the fixed portion.
The spring 11
1 is provided so as to be rotatable in and out. The tip of the rotation detector 110 can contact the upper surface of the sheet bundle S 'on the stacking trays 9A and 9B, and the amount of rotation detects the position of the upper surface of the sheet bundle S' on the processing tray 4 and the processing tray 4 To control the vertical movement of

When the stacking tray 9A is rising through the horizontal opening 50b, the sheet bundle S 'on the stacking tray 9A is caught in the horizontal opening 50b as the stacking tray 9A is inclined. Is a shutter plate 1 for closing the horizontal opening 50b.
6 and a drive unit 1 for raising and lowering the shutter plate 16
8 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 11, the shutter plate 16 is provided with long holes 16A at the upper portions on both sides, and is moved up and down in the long holes 16A by pins 16B provided on the side walls 50L and 50R as shown in FIG. It is freely supported.
The shutter plate 16 has a horizontal opening 16C and openings 16D to 16F.

The opening 16D is, as shown in FIG.
6H is covered by a movable plate that is rotatably supported by a long hole 16G, and as shown in FIG.
The gripping means 10 is pushed out by a rotating operation.

The lifting plate 16K is supported by the guide 16L so as to be able to move up and down on both sides of the opening 16E, and is pushed down by the rotation of the second gripping means 10 as shown in FIG. The return operation is performed by the spring 16M. Therefore, when the second gripping means 10 does not rotate, the movable plate 16J and the elevating plate 16K are closed, which is safe. The opening F is a hole through which the rotation detectors 110 and 14A of the sensor 11 and the sensor 14 enter and exit. The shutter plate 16 includes a rack 16N and an open position detection lever 16.
Q is provided.

On the other hand, a support frame 18A is horizontally mounted between the side walls 50L and 50R, and a drive unit 18 and a sensor 18C for detecting the open position detection lever 16Q are provided. The drive unit 18 includes a pulse motor 18D, a timing pulley 18E, a timing belt 18F, a timing pulley 18G, and a pinion 18H that meshes with the rack 16N.

When the copying operation is started, the shutter plate 16 is lowered and opened so that the horizontal opening 16C coincides with the horizontal opening 50b. When the copying operation of the set function is completed, the shutter plate 16 is raised and closed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the post-processing device main body 20
Is a rising surface 20f on the loading tray 9A, 9B side.
The sheet is provided with a slit 20g for passing the sheet through it. The rising surface 20f locks the sheet bundle S 'stacked on the stacking trays 9A and 9B in a free posture. The slit 20g makes the processing tray 4 and the bottom face substantially coincide with each other, and the sheet bundle S ′ gripped by the first gripping means 7 and stapled from the processing tray 4 to the stacking trays 9A and 9B.
Allows cooperative movement to

When the sheet bundle S 'is stacked on the stacking tray 9A or 9B, the sheet bundle S' is appropriately carried out by the operator. In some cases, the user may want to move the height of the loading tray 9A or 9B up or down from the state at the time of loading operation for carrying out or temporary storage. In the sheet processing apparatus 1, the stacking trays 9A and 9B are moved up and down based on the operation of the operator.

Note that, with the operation, the second gripping means 10
Is confirmed to be not gripping the sheet bundle S ′, and then assumes the retreating posture shown in FIG. 15, so that the rotation detector 110 is isolated from the sheet bundle S ′.

When the height of the sheet S on the stacking tray 9A exceeds a predetermined level, the motor 60 is driven to move the lifting frame 52 up and down.
Rise, and the lower stacking tray 9B moves to the storage position and stops.

As described above, when the upper surface of the sheet bundle S rises, the driven portion 224 is pushed up, and the auxiliary support 220 is rotated clockwise in the drawing, and when it is lowered, it is rotated counterclockwise by its own weight. The driven part 224 is the main body 5 of the integrated processing device.
0 is locked to the upper edge.

With the auxiliary support 220 configured as described above, in a normal state in which the driven portion 224 is locked to the upper edge of the main assembly 50, the top plate 223 is in a horizontal state and the main assembly 223 is horizontal. Since the upper surface of the main body 50 is closed and there is no unnecessary protrusion, the integrated processing apparatus main body 50 can be formed in a good design.

The operation of each mechanism is linked and controlled by a control unit. The number of sheets, the number of sets, the presence or absence of staples, the staple position, etc. are set by an operator on a control panel of the control unit, and the drive of each unit is controlled based on the settings. You.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a control system of the sheet processing apparatus 1.

As shown in the figure, the various driving systems described above include a CPU 120 and storage means 121 such as a ROM and a RAM.
Is driven and controlled via a parallel I / O 122 by input / output signals from the CPU.

Next, the post-processing step of the sheet S is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 18 and 19 are flowcharts showing the post-processing steps of the sheet processing apparatus, and FIG. 20 is a timing chart showing the post-processing steps of the sheet processing apparatus.

In each of the above figures, two sheets S (same size) are stacked as a sheet bundle S 'and stapled and then stacked. In addition, the numbers attached to the reference character M in the drawing indicate the operation divisions of each unit or the operation time.

One of the stacking trays 9A and 9B is moved to the discharge port according to the state of the sheet presence / absence detection sensors 9E and 9F and the tray position detection sensors 61 and 64 of the stacking trays 9A and 9B. When the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 2 is started, the motor 18D shown in FIG.
When the sensor 18B detects P, the motor 18D stops. In this state, the horizontal opening 50b coincides with the horizontal opening 16C of the shutter plate 16, and the opening 50b is released as shown in FIG.

In the flowchart, as an initial setting, the number of conveyed sheets N of the sheets S discharged from the image forming apparatus 2 is set to 0, and the sheet alignment flag is determined assuming that the previously conveyed sheets S have been aligned. , F0 =
0 (matching completed) (S1, S2). The sheets S are sequentially discharged from the image forming apparatus 2 (S3), and at this time, the auxiliary tray 13 is protruded and conveyed here to increase N, and a series of a plurality of (two) sheets S are stacked ( S
4, S5, S6), and N = 0 for the next transport (S
7). Assuming that the sheets have been aligned (S
8) The auxiliary tray 13 is immersed, and the sheet bundle S ′ falls onto the processing tray 4 and is accommodated therein (S9, S10). They are aligned (M1: operation of a paper ejection sensor and a transport motor not shown). Subsequently, the alignment member 30 moves and pushes the rear side of the sheet S and presses the front side thereof against the reference plate 31 so that the sheet S
Are aligned (matched) in the front-rear direction (S11, M2: matching). During the alignment of the sheet S (F0
= 1), the projecting operation is performed when the next series of sheets S is carried in (M3).
The sheet is held for separation from the sheet S being conveyed (S11 to S11).
S14).

FIG. 21 shows a state in which the sheet bundle S ′ is transferred from the processing tray 4 to, for example, the stacking tray 9A (leftward in FIG. 21) from the first gripping means 7 to the second gripping means. 10 shows the process until it is inherited. 7A, 7B, and 7C show states in which the conveyance of the sheet bundle S ′ proceeds sequentially, respectively.
And the stapler 8 are in a fixed position during the moving stroke.

When the alignment is performed, the first gripping means 7 moves to the initial position (shown by a solid line in FIG. 4) (S15, M
Four). At this point, the second gripping means 10 is at the initial position (shown by a solid line in FIG. 4) (S16). Here, a flag indicating whether or not the sheet bundle S 'is being transferred is set to F1 = 0 (not being transferred) (S17). The sheet bundle S 'in the above-mentioned alignment state
Is gripped (nip) by the first gripping means 7 (S18, S19, M5, shown by a dashed line in FIG. 21A).

The reference plate 31 (shutter) is raised (S
20, M6), and waits for a new transfer of the sheet bundle S '(F1
= 1, S21), after the sheet bundle S ′ is made movable in the transport direction B, the first gripping means 7 is driven forward to move a predetermined amount forward, and the sheet bundle S ′ intersects the discharge direction A. It is moved to the first staple position in the direction of the stacking tray 9A (S22, M7, indicated by a solid line in FIG. 21A), and the first staple is stapled by the stapler 8 (S2).
3, M8). When the reference plate 31 rises, the sheet bundle S
The sheet bundle S 'is lowered immediately after it enters, but in this lowered state, the sheet bundle S' is lightly pressed to allow passage.

Subsequently, the first gripping means 7 moves further forward and stops at the second staple position (S24,
M9, (b) in FIG. 21, and the state of the solid line in FIG. 3). At this time, the second gripping means 10 is moved to the initial position on the processing tray 4 side (FIG. 4,
After stopping at the retracted position shown in FIG. 15 and waiting for the first gripping means 7 to stop, the second gripping means 10 moves to the reference position of the inclined sheet bundle S ′. One side on the position side is handed over and held in the stopped state (S25, M10).

After performing the above-described gripping by the second gripping means 10, the gripping of the first gripping means 7 is released (S26,
M11, (c) in FIG. 21), the first gripping means 7 moves to the holding position (indicated by a solid line in FIG. 4) to hold the next sheet bundle S '(S27), and the next sheet bundle The transfer of S 'is enabled (S28). Then, the second position is bound by the stapler 8 (S29, M12). The transfer amount of each of the staple positions is set for the first gripping means 7 based on an instruction from the operator.

Subsequently, the second gripping means 10 moves to the front release position (the position indicated by the dashed line in FIGS. 4 and 5), ends the transport in the transport direction B, and stops (S30, M13). At this release position, the second gripping means 10 is swung from the retracted swinging position shown in FIG. 15 to the protruding position shown in FIG. 16, so that the gripping state of the second gripping means 10 becomes a horizontal state and the transport direction. It is moved in a direction orthogonal to B (S31, M14).

When the second gripping means 10 swings from the backward swinging position shown in FIG. 15 to the protruding position shown in FIG. 16, the movable plate 16J is rotated by the second gripping means 10 and the lifting plate is moved. 16K falls.

When the end position coincident with the reference position on the processing tray 4 is gripped and conveyed by the second gripping means 10 as shown in FIG. 15 and is swung to the state shown in FIG. Is moved to the stacking tray 9A side in this case. The moved positions are the loading trays 9A and 9B.
Of the vertical wall (reference plane) 50a. With this movement, the gripped sheet ends become horizontal (M14), and the upper and lower holding levers 71 and 72 are opened as indicated by the dashed lines (S32 and M15), and the gripped sheet bundle S 'is directly lowered. And is stacked on the sheet bundle S 'already accumulated on the stacking tray 9A.

At this time, the end of the sheet bundle S ′ does not largely deviate from the end of the sheet bundle S ′ stacked below, and the end of the falling sheet bundle S ′ is shifted downward.
Stack without being locked at the staple position.

In the state where the second gripping means 10 is released, the swinging frame 73 is moved backward (S33, M16), and then the transporting direction B is set so that the second gripping means 10 returns to the initial state.
(S34, M17).
At this time, even if the next sheet bundle S ′ is sent out, the sheet bundle S ′ does not interfere with the upper sheet holding levers 71 and 72 because the upper sheet holding levers 71 and 72 are sufficiently opened.
Subsequently, in the initial position, the closing operation is performed and the next sheet bundle S
'Can be gripped.

As described above, when the second gripping means 10 is swung horizontally (M14), the actuator (bundle holding solenoid) 112 operates, and the rotation detecting body 110 enters the sheet bundle holding state ( S35) The seat height is detected (S36, M18), the operation of the actuator 112 is subsequently released, and the holding state is released (S37, M1).
9). When the height is higher than the predetermined position, the loading tray 9A
The lowering operation is performed to a predetermined level by the operation of the lifting / lowering means 12 (S
38, M20). Further, when the sheet bundle S ′ that has been accumulated in the middle is taken out by the operator, the sheet bundle S ′ is moved up in accordance with the detection by the middle take-out sensor 14.

The second gripping means 10 is moved within the cover when transported in the front-rear direction.
And a transport mechanism for the sheet bundle S ′ on the stacking tray 9A.
Does not interfere with the operator trying to retrieve the.
Further, since the sheet bundle S ′ is conveyed in a gripped state,
During the conveyance, the alignment of the sheet bundle S ′ is not disturbed.

When it is detected by the sensor 11 that a predetermined number or more sheets S are stored in the stacking tray 9A, the motor 60 is driven to raise the lifting frame 52, and the lower stacking tray 9B is moved to the storage position. Stops when moved.
When the sheet bundle S ′ on the stacking tray 9A comes into contact with the driven portion 224 of the auxiliary support 220 due to the upward movement, the auxiliary support 220 is rotated clockwise about the rotation center axis 222 with the upward movement. And rise surface (arc surface) 221
Are extended upward to supplement the vertical wall 50a. Therefore, the stacked state of the sheet bundle S 'on the stacking tray 9A is stably maintained.

At this time, the shutter 15 is closed and does not enter the sheet bundle S 'on the stacking tray 9A into the horizontal opening 50b. Thereafter, the sheet bundle S ′ is similarly stored in the stacking tray 9B.

FIGS. 22 and 23 are simplified diagrams showing the state of each part when the sheet bundle S 'is loaded on the stacking trays 9A and 9B, and FIG. 24 is a simplified diagram showing the operating state of the auxiliary support 220. FIGS. 22 (a) and 22 (b), FIGS. 23 (c) and 23 (d), and FIGS. 24 (d) and 24 (e) sequentially show the state of each part at each operation stage. The post-processed sheet bundle S 'passes through the slit 20g and is stacked.

The stacking trays 9A and 9B have a sheet bundle S '
Are already loaded as shown in FIG. As described above, the sheet bundle S ′ on the processing tray 4
15 is transferred by the second gripping means 10 in the posture shown in FIG. 15 to the front discharge position (the position shown by the dashed line in FIGS. 4 and 5) (the state shown in FIG. 22B), and swings to the state shown in FIG. Then (the state of FIG. 23 (c)), the end of the gripped sheet bundle S 'is moved to the stacking tray 9A side. The moved position substantially coincides with the vertical wall 50a of the stacking trays 9A and 9B. With this movement, the end of the sheet gripped becomes substantially horizontal, and in this state, the upper and lower holding levers 71 and 7 are held.
2 is opened as indicated by a chain line, and the held sheet bundle S 'is dropped and discharged downward as it is, and is stacked on the sheet bundle S' already stacked on the stacking tray 9A ((d in FIG. 23). )).

At this time, the end of the sheet bundle S 'does not largely shift from the end of the sheet bundle S' stacked below, and the end of the falling sheet bundle S 'is
Stack without locking to the staples.

The operation of the seat height detecting means 11 detects the seat height, and when the seat height is higher than a predetermined position,
The loading tray 9A is lowered to a predetermined level by the operation of the lifting / lowering means 12. Further, when the sheet bundle S stacked on the way is taken out by the operator, the sheet bundle S is moved up in accordance with the detection.

When the sheet bundle S 'on the stacking tray 9A reaches a predetermined height or higher, the lifting frame 52 rises, and stops when the lower stacking tray 9B moves to the storage position (FIG. 23 (e)). When the sheet bundle S ′ on the stacking tray 9A comes into contact with the driven portion 224 of the auxiliary support 220 due to this rise, the arc surface 221 rises, and this complements the vertical wall 50a.
Therefore, the stacked state of the sheet bundle S 'on the stacking tray 9A is stably maintained.

Further, when the sheet bundle S is stacked on the stacking tray 9A as shown in FIG. 24D, the stacking tray 9A may be easily taken out by the operator to take out the sheet bundle S '. There is a case where it is desired to make the height of the stacking tray 9B higher than the state when the loading operation is performed. When the operator specifies that the loading tray 9A is to be lifted, the loading tray 9A is lifted and the rising surface (arc surface) 221 is extended upward as described above. Therefore, the sheet bundle S 'is moved to a high position, and is easily carried out by the operator.

In the above-described embodiment, the first gripping means 7 and the second gripping means 10 are constituted by holding levers which press and hold in a planar shape. You may make it hold | maintain. The transport mechanism of each part can be changed, and the actuator can also be changed to a known mechanism.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the copying machine 2 as an image forming means has been described.
Can be applied to various types of image forming means (image recording apparatus) such as a printing machine (including a laser printer) and a facsimile, in addition to being applied to both digital and analog systems.

[0101]

As described above, according to the present invention, a stacking tray for stacking sheets conveyed from an image forming apparatus, elevating drive means for driving the stacking tray up and down, and one end edge of the sheet on the stacking tray. A sheet stacking device having a main support having a surface that rises in sliding contact with the stacking tray to support the main support, a surface extending along the main support to compensate for the height of the main support. An auxiliary support that is formed and movable in the vertical direction and a driven unit that moves the auxiliary support by following the movement of the sheet on the stacking tray are provided. To make it easier to take out, raise the loading tray,
As the upper surface of the sheet bundle rises, the driven portion follows the operation, the auxiliary support moves upward, and moves to a position where the sheet bundle can be easily taken out.

The auxiliary support is always moved downward, or when the sheet bundle is carried out and its upper surface is lowered, the auxiliary support is moved downward. The design is obtained.

The auxiliary support is formed in an arc shape so as to extend the sheet sliding contact surface of the main support, and can be vertically moved in an arc shape based on the center of rotation. The arc-shaped surface compensates for the height of the main support, so that the sheet bundle can be moved to a desired height in the same manner as described above.

[0104]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention as viewed from one side.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the sheet processing apparatus viewed from another side.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view in which a part of the sheet processing apparatus is broken.

FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view of the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a front view in which a part of a post-processing apparatus main body is cut away.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of an integrated processing apparatus main body.

FIG. 8 is a front view in which a part of the main body of the integrated processing apparatus is cut away.

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view showing a shutter of the integrated processing apparatus main body.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a shutter of the main body of the integrated processing apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a shutter of the main body of the integrated processing apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a detailed view of a reference plate (shutter).

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an auxiliary tray.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the auxiliary tray.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of an initial state of a second gripping means.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the second holding unit in a state where a sheet bundle is dropped.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a control system of the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 18 is a first half flowchart illustrating a post-processing step of the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 19 is a second half flowchart illustrating a post-processing step of the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 20 is a timing chart illustrating a post-processing step of the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a process until a sheet bundle is transferred from a first gripping unit to a second gripping unit.

FIG. 22 is a simplified diagram showing a state of each unit when a sheet bundle is loaded on a loading tray.

FIG. 23 is a simplified diagram showing a state of each unit when a sheet bundle is loaded on a loading tray.

FIG. 24 is a simplified diagram showing an operation state of an auxiliary support.

[Explanation of symbols]

 S: Sheet S ': Sheet bundle 1: Sheet processing apparatus 2: Copy machine (image forming apparatus) 4: Processing tray 9A, 9B: Loading tray 12: Elevating means 20: Post-processing apparatus body 20g ... Slit 26: Discharge roller pair (Ejecting means) 50: Main body of the stacking processing apparatus 50a: Vertical wall (regulating member, main support) 60: Loading tray motor (elevation driving means) 220: Auxiliary support 221: Rising surface (arc surface) 222: Rotating center Shaft 223: top plate 224: driven part (driven member)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A tray for stacking sheets conveyed from an image forming apparatus in a tilted manner, an elevating drive unit for driving the stacking tray to move up and down, and a stacking tray on the stacking tray opposed to an inclined lower side of the stacking tray. In a sheet stacking device having a sheet support surface provided upright at one end of a stacked sheet, an auxiliary support that is disposed along the sheet support surface and is movable, and is provided on the stacking tray. And a driven portion that engages with the sheet and drives the auxiliary support. 2. The sheet stacking device according to claim 1, wherein the engagement of the driven portion with the sheet is engagement with an upper surface of the sheet. 3. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the driven portion is fixed to the auxiliary support or is integral with the auxiliary support. 4. The auxiliary support body has a center of rotation, and the auxiliary member of the auxiliary support extends up and down in an arc based on the center of rotation so as to extend the sheet sliding surface of the sheet support surface. The sheet stacking device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet stacking device is movable in a direction. 5. The sheet stacking device according to claim 4, wherein a sheet sliding contact surface of the auxiliary support forms an arc surface in an axial cross section of the rotation center.