JPH11305507A - Copying system and method for controlling the system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a desired set of copies without damaging sheets and sheet stacking parts such as bins or interrupting processes even when documents exceeding the number that can be stacked on the sheet stacking parts such as bins are to be processed. SOLUTION: A CPU compares the number of one bundle of documents which are sequentially read with the number of sheets which can be stacked on the bins B11-B16, B21-B26 of bin modules B1, B2, and when the comparison result shows that the number of the one bundle of documents is greater than the number of sheets that can be stacked on the bins B11-B16, B21-B26 of the bin modules B1, B2, one bundle of sheets copied from the one bundle of documents is distributed to the bin modules B1, B2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a copying apparatus for sequentially copying a document image sequentially read from a set of document bundles onto a sheet material and discharging the sheet material, and one or more sheets for stacking the sheet material discharged from the copying device. The present invention relates to a copying system including a sheet post-processing apparatus having a plurality of stacking units and having a plurality of independently-processable post-processing units, and a control method of the copying system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional copying systems and the like include a process of folding a sheet (sheet material) on which a document image is recorded, a sort process of performing page alignment processing, classification, and the like; The sheet material post-processing apparatus, which selectively executes each processing such as stapling processing for stapling sheets and processing for storing a sheet bundle, so-called sorter / finisher or the like can be attached.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional sheet material post-processing apparatus, an apparatus having a sheet material stacking unit such as a so-called bin is used to process an amount of documents exceeding the number of sheets that can be stacked in the bin. In such a case, there is a problem that the processing must be interrupted, or sheets or bins are damaged when trying to stack more sheets than can be stacked.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the first to tenth aspects of the present invention is to provide an original image which is sequentially read from a set of original documents. A plurality of independently-operable post-processing means having a copying apparatus for sequentially copying and discharging sheet materials, and one or a plurality of stacking units for stacking sheet materials discharged from the copying apparatus; and each of the post-processing means And a sheet material post-processing device having a storage unit for storing a sheet bundle stacked on each stacking unit. If the number of sheets that can be stacked is compared with the number of sheets that can be stacked, and it is determined from the result of the comparison that the number of sheets of the set of originals is larger than the number of sheets that can be stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units, A set of sheets copied from a bundle Is distributed to the plurality of post-processing means, so that even if an attempt is made to process an amount of documents exceeding the number of sheets that can be stacked on the sheet material stacking section such as a bin, the sheet material stacking section such as a sheet material or a bin may be damaged. It is an object of the present invention to provide a copying system and a control method of the copying system, which can obtain a desired copy set without giving the image data or interrupting the processing.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a copying apparatus (a copying machine main body shown in FIG. 1) for sequentially copying a document image sequentially read from a set of document bundles onto a sheet material and discharging the sheet material. 201) and one or more stacking units (bin B shown in FIG. 1) for stacking the sheet material discharged from the copying apparatus.
11 to B16, B21 to B26) and a plurality of post-processing means (bin modules B1, B1 shown in FIG. 1) which can be driven independently.
In a copying system having a sheet material post-processing device (sheet material post-processing device 203 shown in FIG. 1) provided with B2), a document number recognizing means (CPU 2000 shown in FIG. 23) for recognizing the number of documents in the set of document bundles. And / or C
PU3000) and comparison means (ROM 3007 shown in FIG. 23) for comparing the number of documents in the set of document bundles recognized by the number-of-documents recognition means with the number of sheets that can be stacked on each stacking section of each post-processing means. CPU 3000 for comparing based on a control program stored in the CPU), and when the comparing unit determines that the number of sheets of the set of originals is larger than the number of sheets that can be stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units, Control means for distributing and controlling one set of sheet bundles copied from one set of document bundles to the plurality of post-processing means (FIG. 23)
And a CPU 3000 for performing distribution control based on a control program stored in a ROM 3007 shown in FIG.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage unit (stack unit 13 shown in FIG. 2) for storing a sheet bundle stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units. When storing each of the sheet bundles distributed and stacked on each stacking unit of each post-processing unit in the storage unit, the sheet bundle stacked on any stacking unit of each of the post-processing units is stored in the storage unit. After storing, the storing process is repeated for the sheet bundles stacked on any one of the stacking units of the respective post-processing units, and all the sheet bundles stacked on the stacking units of the respective post-processing units are stored. 23 (the CPU 3000 shown in FIG.
(Based on a control program stored in M3007).

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the sheet bundle loaded on each loading section of each of the post-processing means is stored in the storage means, the direction in which the sheet bundle is stored in the storage means is determined. Moving means (a transport gripper 1 movable in the direction of arrow F shown in FIG. 7) for moving the sheet bundle in a substantially right angle direction;
2), wherein the control means changes and controls the driving state of the sheet moving means each time a sheet bundle loaded on any one of the loading sections of the respective post-processing means is stored in the storage means. The CPU 3000 shown in FIG.
7 based on the control program stored in the control program 7).

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the document number recognizing means counts the number of documents in the set of document bundles by a document feeder (automatic document feeder 202 shown in FIG. 1). The number of originals in the set of originals is recognized.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the document number recognizing means inputs the number of documents of the set of document bundles through an input unit (an operation unit 2003 shown in FIG. 23), and The number of originals in the original bundle is recognized.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a copying apparatus (copying apparatus main body 201 shown in FIG. 1) for sequentially copying a document image sequentially read from a set of document bundles onto a sheet material and discharging the sheet material.
And one or a plurality of loading units (bins B11 to B16 shown in FIG. 1) for loading sheet materials discharged from the copying apparatus.
B21 to B26) and a plurality of independently driveable post-processing units (bin modules B1 and B2 shown in FIG. 1), and a storage unit for storing a sheet bundle to be stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units. In a method of controlling a copying system having a sheet material post-processing device (the sheet material post-processing device 203 shown in FIG. 1) having the stack unit 13) shown in FIG.
A comparing step of comparing the recognized number of documents of the set of document bundles with the number of sheets that can be loaded on each loading unit of each of the post-processing units (a step (not shown) before step (3) in FIG. 33); If it is determined from the comparison result that the number of sheets of the set of originals is larger than the number of sheets that can be stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units, one set of sheets copied from the set of originals And a distribution step (steps (4) and (5) in FIG. 33) for distributing the bundle to the plurality of post-processing means.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, when each of the sheet bundles distributed and stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units is stored in the storage unit, any one of the stacks of the post-processing units may be stacked. After storing the sheet bundles stacked in the stacking unit in the storage units, the storing process is repeated for the sheet bundles stacked in any one of the stacking units of the post-processing units. It has a storage step (steps (15), (16), (17) in FIG. 33) for storing all the sheet bundles stacked in each stacking section in the storage section.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the storing step, each time a sheet bundle loaded on any one of the loading sections of the post-processing means is stored in the storage section, the sheet bundle is The position where the sheet bundle is stored is changed to a position that is substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet bundle is stored (steps (16) and (17) in FIG. 33 and subsequent steps (not shown)). The storage position of the stored sheet bundle is changed).

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the number of originals in the set of originals is recognized by being counted by an original feeder (automatic original feeder 202 shown in FIG. 1). is there.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the number of originals in the set of originals is determined by an input unit (operation unit 20 shown in FIG. 23).
03) is recognized.

[0015]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining the configuration of a copying system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, an electrophotographic copying machine and a staple / stack apparatus will be described as examples.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 200 denotes a copying system. Reference numeral 201 denotes a copying machine main body. Reference numeral 202 denotes an automatic document feeder, which is disposed above the copying machine main body 201. Reference numeral 203 denotes a sheet material post-processing device, which is a sheet material S
Is arranged on the discharge side. Thus, the copying system 20
0 is the copier main body 201 and the automatic document feeder 202
And a sheet material post-processing device 203 and the like.

The sheet material post-processing device 203 includes a folding device 2
04 and a staple / stack device 205.
A detailed description of the sheet material post-processing device 203 will be described later,
Here, the configuration and operation of the copying machine main body 201 and the automatic document feeder 202 will be described.

The automatic document feeder 202 includes a document table 2
The originals 207 placed on the original 06 are sequentially separated one by one,
Pass 20 on platen glass 208 of copier body 201
Feed through 9 Reference numeral 210 denotes an optical system,
1 and reads an image of the document 207 fed onto the platen glass 208. The automatic document feeder 2
02 is the original 2 after reading of the original by the optical system 210 is completed.
07 is conveyed again from the platen glass 208 to the document table 206 via the path 211.

Reference numeral 220 denotes a photosensitive drum, and an image of the document 207 read by the optical system 210 is formed as an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 220 of the image forming unit 213. 213
Denotes an image forming unit which develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 220 into a visible image, and transfers the visible image to the sheet material S fed from the deck 212.

Reference numeral 214 denotes a fixing unit which fixes the visible image of the sheet material S on which the visible image is transferred by the image forming unit 213 conveyed through the conveyance belt 221 to the sheet material S. The sheet material S discharged from the fixing unit 214 is sent out to one of the path 230 and the path for leading to the folding device 204 by the switching operation of the deflector 216.

The sheet material S sent to the path 230 is supplied to the reversing path 217 for switching the image forming surface of the sheet material S by the deflector 231 (surface switching in the duplex copy mode) or the sheet material S to the intermediate tray 218. Sent to any of the paths to send.

The sheet material S sent to the reversing path 217
Indicates that the intermediate tray 2 has been switched after the image forming surface is switched.
18, and once stacked on the intermediate tray 218. The sheet material S on the intermediate tray 218 is placed in the re-feeding path 21.
Then, the sheet S is sent to the image forming unit 213 again to form an image on the switching surface of the sheet material S.

On the other hand, the sheet material S sent to the path for leading to the folding device 204 normally passes (when the sheet material folding instruction is not set) without being processed by the folding device 204 and is stapled. The sheet is conveyed to the sheet carry-in port 215 of the stacking / stacking device 205.

The image forming process in the copying machine main body 201 is known, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. The folding device 204 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-23237.
This is the same as the folding device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2 and JP-A-62-59002, and the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining in detail the configuration of the stapling / stacking device 205 shown in FIG.

In the figure, a staple / stack device 2
05 has upper and lower divided bin modules B1 and B2 for receiving the sheet material conveyed to the sheet entrance 215, and each bin module B1 and B2 has a plurality of bins B11 to B11.
B1n, B21 to B2n (n is a natural number.
In this embodiment, n = 6). The bin modules B1 and B2 are configured to be able to move each bin to a sheet receiving position and a sheet bundle SS discharging position by changing the bin interval and bin position of each bin independently of each other. The staple / stack device 20
The number of bin modules provided in 5 is not limited to “2”, and the present invention can be applied even when a plurality (three or more) of bin modules that can be independently driven are provided. Needless to say.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a first transport path. Reference numeral 2 denotes a second transport path, which transports the sheet material S to the bin module B2 by the pair of rollers 8h to 8p. Reference numerals 3 and 4 denote deflectors for switching the conveying path of the conveyed sheet material S, which are driven by a solenoid (not shown). Reference numeral 5 denotes a non-sort tray on which the sheet material S discharged through the discharge path 6 is placed. A pass 7 conveys the sheet material S to the bin module B1 by a pair of rollers 8d to 8g.

Numeral 9 denotes a bundle processing unit. The bundle of sheet materials S placed in the bins B11 to B16 and B21 to B26 of the bin modules B1 and B2 is moved by the advance gripper 10 in the direction of arrow A (right side) shown in FIG. Direction), the stapler 11 selectively staples the sheets, and furthermore, the sheet bundle is conveyed in the direction of arrow A by the conveying gripper 12, and the sheet bundle is stacked on the stack unit 13.

S23 is a sensor, which is a stack unit 13
Is to detect the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle SS stacked on the sheet bundle SS.

Hereinafter, the operation of the staple / stack apparatus 205 will be described in detail.

The sheet entrance 215 has a first upward
A deflector 3 for selectively switching between the transport path 1 and the second transport path 2 in the downward direction is provided, and the sheet material S entering the sheet carry-in port 215 by the deflector 3 is provided.
Is determined. The deflector 3 is driven by a solenoid (not shown).

The first transport path 1 branches into a discharge path 6 to a non-sort tray 5 and a path 7 to a bin module B1 by a deflector 4 driven by a solenoid (not shown). When the transport belt from the first transport path 1 to the discharge path 6 is selected by the deflectors 3 and 4, the sheet material S is transferred from the sheet transport entrance 215 to the first transport path 1 by the respective roller pairs 8a, 8b and 8c. Through non-sort tray 5
Conveyed toward.

When the transport belt from the first transport path 1 to the path 7 is selected by the deflectors 3 and 4, the sheet material S is transported from the sheet transport port 215 to the first transport path by the respective roller pairs 8a, 8b and 8d to 8g. 1 via bin module B1
Transported to

On the other hand, the second conveyance path 2 forms a path from the sheet entrance 215 to the bin module B2,
When the second transport path 2 is selected by the deflector 3, the sheet material S is transported to the bin module B2 by each of the roller pairs 8a, 8h to 8p.

In the space between the path 7 to the bin module B1 and the second transport path 2 to the bin module B2,
A bundle processing unit 9 is provided. Bundle processing unit 9
2 is transported in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2 by the advance gripper 10 and selectively stapled by the stapler 11, and the leading end of the sheet bundle SS is pinched by the transport gripper 12, and Transport in the direction.

Similarly, in the space between the path 7 to the upper module B1 and the path to the lower module B2 (the second transport path 2), the stack unit 13 waits below the bundle processing unit 9; The stack unit 13 stores the bundle transported by the transport gripper 12.

The bundle processing unit 9 and the stack unit 13 are moved to the positions indicated by broken lines in FIGS. 1 and 2, and take out the sheet bundle SS from each of the bins B11 to B16. When the removal of the sheet bundle SS from the bin module B1 is completed, the bundle processing unit 9 and the stack unit 13 move to the positions indicated by the solid lines in FIGS. 1 and 2, and remove the sheet bundle SS from the bin module B2.

The operation of taking out the sheet bundle SS is continuously repeated until the stack unit 13 is fully loaded, and the copying operation can be continued until the stack unit 13 is fully loaded with the sheet bundle SS. The height at which the stack of sheets SS can be stacked on the stack unit 13 is determined by the height from the stack tray stacking surface described below to the upper end of the stacker reference wall. In FIG. 2, the maximum stacking height of the stack unit 13 is L7. Is set.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bin modules B1 and B2 have respective bins B11 to B16 and B22.
A penetration sensor S3 for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet material S on B26 to B26 is provided, and a detection signal of each penetration sensor S3 determines a timing for switching between bin modules B1 and B2 described later, a timing for starting a copy operation of the next job, and the like. Used for

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 21, the configuration of each unit shown in the staple / stack apparatus 205 shown in FIG. 2 will be described in detail.

First, the configuration of the bin modules B1 and B2 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 shows the bin module B shown in FIG.
It is a perspective view explaining the structure of 1 and B2. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a top view illustrating the configuration of the bin modules B1 and B2 shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows the bin module B shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the configuration of the first and second B2. Since the bin module B1 and the bin module B2 have the same configuration, the bin module B1 will be described, and the description of the bin module B2 will be omitted. The same components as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 and those common to FIGS. 3 to 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the drawing, the bin module B1 is
As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of bins B11 to B1n, two reference rods 14a and 14b, an alignment wall 15, three lead cams 16a to 16c for raising and lowering each bin, and a driving unit (for driving these members) And the like (bin shift motor M1 shown in FIG. 5).

In FIG. 3, reference numerals 14a and 14b denote reference bars, which are members for determining a reference line for performing post-processing such as staple processing on the sheet material S discharged onto each bin. Is set at a position where it is slightly retracted from the position of the end.

Numeral 15 denotes an alignment wall which, when a predetermined number of sheets S are discharged onto each of the bins B11 to B1n, shifts the width of the sheet S in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction. To the reference rods 14a and 14b, and the sheet bundle SS
Perform the matching.

Reference numerals 16a, 16b and 16c denote lead cams.
A spiral cam portion is formed on the outer periphery of each lead cam. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
a and 16b are arranged on the back side of the bin, and the lead cam 16c
Is located in front of the bin.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Bin roller portions Ba, Bb, and Bc provided so as to protrude from each bin are engaged with the cam portions 6a to 16c, respectively. Each of the lead cams 16a to 16c is driven by the bin shift motor M1 so that
a to 16c can be rotated in synchronization, and each bin is raised and lowered by a predetermined pitch each time each of the lead cams 16a to 16c makes one rotation.

Bd is a notch, which is formed in each of the bins B11 to B1n corresponding to the reference rod 14a. Be
Is a notch formed in each of the bins B11 to B1n corresponding to the alignment wall 15. Bf is a notch, which is necessary for the advance gripper 10 shown in FIG. 2 to hold the sheet bundle SS placed on the bins B11 to B1n.
Bg is a notch, which is a notch for a later-described bin standing drive mechanism. Bh is a notch, which is a notch necessary for operation formed to make it easier for the user to take the placed sheet bundle SS.

In FIG. 5, M1 is a bin shift motor for driving the lead cams 16a to 16c. The driving force of the bin shift motor M1 is motor pulley 18, belt 19, and lead cam pulleys 20a to 20c.
Is transmitted to the lead cams 16a to 16c via the.

S1 is a sensor for detecting the rotation speed and the like of the encoder 21 attached to the output shaft of the bin shift motor M1. S100 is a sensor which can detect the rotation of the encoder 22 attached to the lead cam 20c every one rotation.

As shown in FIG. 5, each bin B11-B1n
Are arranged parallel to each other and inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal direction. The vertical interval between the bins B11 to B1n is variable according to the state of receiving and discharging the sheet bundle SS. For example, when B14 is at the bundle transport position, the bin interval of B11 to B15 is set to L17,
The interval between B15 and B16 is set to L18.

On the other hand, the bin rollers Ba, Bb, Bc (shown in FIG. 5) attached to the same bin are configured so that all the bins B11 to B1n are at the same height in a state where the bins B11 to B1n are inclined. Have been. That is, while the position of the bin roller portion Bb located on the back side of the bin is near the reference plane of the bin, the position of the bin roller portion Ba located in front of the bin and the position of the bin roller portion Bc located in the middle of the bin are located higher than the reference surface of the bin. Below, the bin rollers Ba and Bc and the corresponding bin are fixed by V-shaped fixing arms.

The bin shift drive will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The bin shift drive is performed by a bin shift motor M1, as shown in FIGS. The driving force of the bin shift motor M1 is synchronously transmitted to the lead cams 16a to 16c by the motor pulley 18, the belt 19, and the lead cam pulleys 20a to 20c. Each of the lead cams 16a to 16c rotates in a forward or reverse direction in accordance with the forward or reverse rotation of the bin shift motor M1, and the rotation of each of the bins B11 to B1n is performed with this rotation.

The bin shift motor M1 has two output shafts. One output shaft is provided with a motor pulley 18, and the other output shaft is provided with an encoder 21.
The rotation speed of the encoder 21, that is, the bin shift motor M
1 is detected by the sensor S1. The encoder 22 is also attached to the lead cam 20c.
By reading this with the sensor S100, one rotation of the lead cam can be detected.

Each of the bin modules B1 and B2 is provided with a bin home position detection sensor (not shown).
It is configured so that the home position can be detected.

The driving structure of the alignment wall 15 for aligning the sheet material S on the bin shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 will be described below.

The matching wall 15 is driven by a matching wall drive motor (not shown) composed of a stepping motor.
The driving force of the matching wall drive motor is transmitted to the matching wall 15 via a transmission mechanism (not shown) such as a gear, a timing belt, and the like. Position control is performed. The home position of the matching wall 15 is detected by a sensor (not shown).

Next, referring to FIG. 6, each bin B11-B1
The driving configuration of the bin standing portion that forms the alignment reference plane in the transport direction of the sheet material S on n, B21 to B2n will be described.

FIG. 6 is a side view for explaining the configuration of the bin stand provided in the staple / stack apparatus 205 shown in FIG.

In the drawing, Bi is a sheet stacking section, where a sheet material S to be conveyed is stacked. Bj is a matching portion (bin standing portion), and a support shaft Bk rotatably fitted in a hole provided in the sheet stacking portion Bi is provided. Thus, each bin Bmn (m = 1, 2, n = 1
To 6) include a sheet stacking unit Bi and a matching unit Bj.

The alignment portion Bj is located at a position which rises substantially at right angles to the stacking surface of the sheet stacking portion Bi and the sheet stacking portion Bj.
between the position substantially parallel to the loading surface of i and the support shaft Bk
, And the rotation angle is approximately 90 degrees. When the aligning portion Bj is at a position rising perpendicular to the stacking surface of the sheet stacking portion Bi, an aligning surface for aligning the sheet bundle SS stacked on the bin Bmn by the aligning portion Bj is formed.

On the other hand, the aligning section Bj is the sheet stacking section B
When the sheet bundle SS moves to a position substantially parallel to the stacking surface i, an outlet for conveying the sheet bundle SS stacked on the bin Bmn to the bundle processing unit 9 is formed. This matching part B
The driving of j is called bin standing driving.

Reference numeral 45 denotes a drive arm, which is provided on the aligning portion Bj so as to discharge toward the upper side of the bin sheet material loading surface, and a pin 45a is provided at the tip of the drive arm 45.

SL1 is a solenoid for driving the matching portion Bj. The solenoid SL1 is supported on a base (not shown). The output shaft of the solenoid SL1 is connected to a pin 47a of a link 47 via an arm 48. One end of the link 47 is attached to a support shaft 47c fixed to the base so as to be angularly rotatable therearound,
The other end of the link 47 is provided with a pin contact member 47b. One end of a spring member 49 is attached to the pin 47a of the link 47, and the other end of the spring member 49 is attached to a base.

Hereinafter, the operation of the bin standing section will be described in detail.

The link 47 is angularly rotated according to the operation of the solenoid SL1. When the solenoid SL1 is turned off, that is, in the normal state, the link 47 is moved to the solid line position shown in FIG.
That is, the alignment unit Bj is moved to a position where the alignment unit Bj rises at a right angle to the stacking surface of the sheet stacking unit Bi, and an alignment surface for aligning the sheet bundle SS stacked on the bin Bmn is formed.

In this position, the pin contact member 47b of the link 47 and the pin 45a are separated from each other, so that the bin contact member 47b of the link 47 and the pin 45a do not interfere with each other in a normal state. The operation of raising and lowering the bin Bmn can be performed.

When the sheet bundle SS on the bin Bmn is conveyed to the bundle processing unit 9, the solenoid SL1 is turned on after the bin Bmn is shifted to a predetermined position.
The link 47 is rotated by the ON operation of the solenoid SL1, and the pin contact member 47b contacts the pin 45a. When the link 47 further rotates, the alignment unit Bj is moved to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, and a carry-in port for carrying the sheet bundle SS stacked on the bin Bmn to the staple / stack device 205 is formed. Is done.

As described above, in this embodiment, the solenoid S
Although the bin standing drive unit is configured by L1, the bin standing drive unit may be configured to control the rotation amount of the bin standing by using a DC motor and a sensor.

Next, the bundle processing unit 9 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 is a top view for explaining the configuration of the bundle processing unit 9 shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a front view illustrating the configuration of the bundle processing unit 9 shown in FIG. Less than,
The configuration and operation of the bundle processing unit 9 will be described.

7 and 8, the bundle processing unit 9
Has a frame body between the unit front side plate 50 and the unit rear side plate 51, with the guide stays 52, 53 and the right stay 54 passed over, and a total of four lifting rollers 55 are provided two on each of the left and right sides on the back side. . A member 53 for guiding the sheet bundle SS at the time of conveying the sheet bundle SS is provided behind the lower guide stay 53.
a is attached.

The four elevating rollers 55 are guided in two rails 56 fixed to the main body (the staple / stack device 205 shown in FIG. 1), and a rack integrally cut with the rails 56 and a frame The pinion gears 58 provided at both ends of the shaft 57 penetrating in the lateral direction mesh with each other, and the drive is transmitted from the lifting / lowering motor M4 to the pinion gear 58, whereby the entire frame is raised and lowered.

The frame of the bundle processing unit 9 is provided with a pair of sensors S23 shown in FIG. 7 for detecting the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle SS stacked on the stack tray 116 described later. The sensors S23 cooperate with each other to form a detection optical path extending in the direction indicated by the arrow G in FIG.

In the frame of the bundle processing unit 9, there are disposed three moving bodies, namely, an advance gripper 10, a stapler 11, and a transport gripper 12. Hereinafter, these moving objects will be described.

The advance gripper 10 is configured to be movable in the direction indicated by the arrow D in FIG. Advance gripper 1
0 grips the sheet bundle SS near the right end on the near reference side of the sheet bundle SS on the bin Bmn and pulls out the sheet bundle SS in the direction indicated by the arrow D. The distance from the right end of the advance gripper 10 to the leading end of the sheet bundle SS is set to L4 shown in FIG.
4 is set to be longer than the distance L5 shown in FIG. 7 from the left end of the stapler 11 to the leading end of the sheet bundle SS when the sheet bundle SS is pulled out. In addition, FIG.
At 0, the configuration and operation of the advance gripper 10 will be described in detail.

The stapler 11 is configured to be movable in the direction indicated by the arrow E in FIG. 7, and the movable positions are a retracted position on the front side (a position 11a shown in FIG. 7) which does not overlap with the sheet width, and a rear side. Retreat position (position 11 in FIG. 7)
b), it is set at an arbitrary position (for example, each position 11c, 11d, 11e in FIG. 7) at the leading end of the sheet bundle SS. 13 and 14, which will be described later, the configuration and operation of the stapler 11 will be described in detail.

The transport gripper 12, as shown in FIG.
It is configured to be movable in the direction indicated by the arrow F and to be movable in the direction indicated by the arrow G including the entire front and rear side plates 59 and 60. The transport gripper 12 is configured to
Moves in the direction indicated by arrow F according to the size of S, grips the approximate center position of the sheet width, and moves in the direction indicated by arrow G so as to completely pull out sheet bundle SS from above the bin.
It is transported to the stack unit 13.

The movement in the F direction indicated by the arrow is performed for the purpose of sorting on the stack unit 13 in addition to the above-described movement corresponding to the sheet size. That is, when the sheet bundle SS is conveyed to the stack unit 13, the conveyance amount in the direction indicated by the arrow G depends on the sheet bundle SS size.
By changing the conveyance amount in the direction of, sorting of the sheet bundle SS of the same size and sorting between different jobs can be performed. The configuration and operation of the transport gripper 12 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

Next, with reference to FIG. 9, the configuration of the grip portions of the advance gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 will be described.

FIG. 9 shows the advance gripper 10 shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a grip portion of a transport gripper 12. The grip portion of the advance gripper 10 for holding the sheet bundle SS and the grip portion of the transport gripper 12 for holding the sheet bundle SS have a common configuration.

In the drawing, reference numeral 61 denotes a grip portion, and the advance gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12 shown in FIG.
To hold the sheet bundle SS provided in the printer. 66
Is an upper gripper, and 67 is a lower gripper, which is rotatably supported on a fixed shaft 65 of the side plate 62.

The upper gripper 66 has its end 66a
A spring member 71 urges the eccentric cam 69 to rotate in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. The eccentric cam 69 is fixed to a shaft 64, and the shaft 64 is rotated by a motor M5 (not shown). Eccentric cam 69
The upper gripper 66 swings in the direction shown by the arrow I with the rotation of.

The lower gripper 67 has its end 67 a
The spring 3 is urged by a spring member 70 so as to come into contact with an eccentric cam 68 which is rotated around the center 3 in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure. The eccentric cam 68 is fixed to a shaft 63, and the shaft 63 is rotated by a motor M6 (not shown). As the eccentric cam 68 rotates, the lower gripper 67 swings in the direction indicated by the arrow H.

The opening / closing operation by the upper grip 66 and the lower grip 67 is performed by repeating swinging in the directions indicated by arrows I and H (solid line and broken line).

Next, a driving mechanism of the advance gripper 10 shown in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 10 shows the advance gripper 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a zero. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation will be described.

In the figure, reference numeral M7 denotes a leading motor, which is attached to the front side of the unit front side plate 50, and a swing arm 76 is fixed to the tip of the drive shaft. Swing arm 7
An elongated hole 76a is formed at the other end of the pin 6, and a tip end of a pin member 74 interlocked with the advance gripper 10 is engaged with the elongated hole 76a. The pin member 74 is formed on the coupling plate 73, and the coupling plate 73 is supported by the shafts of the two grooved rollers 72. Each roller 72 is attached to the side of the advance gripper 10,
The groove of each roller 72 is engaged with the elongated hole 50 a of the unit front side plate 50.

When the advance motor M7 is driven, the swinging calm 76 reciprocates between the solid line position and the two-dot chain line position in FIG.

Next, referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, FIG.
The driving mechanism of the transport gripper 12 shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 shows the transport gripper 12 shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a top view for explaining the drive mechanism of FIG. FIG. 12 is a front sectional view for explaining a drive mechanism of the transport gripper 12 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation will be described.

In the figure, the transport gripper 12 is supported by two shafts 77 and 78, one of which is constituted by a ball screw, and the other of which is constituted by a normal shaft.
Both ends of the shaft 77 are rotatably supported between the front and rear side plates 59 and 60 (the front side plate 59 is omitted and not shown in FIG. 11), and both ends of the shaft 78 are fixed. Front and rear side plate 5
Each of the rollers 9 and 60 is provided with two rollers 79, and each roller 79 is movably fitted into a long hole 51 a provided in the unit side plate 51.

Hereinafter, the driving of the transport gripper 12 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 in the sheet bundle SS transport direction, that is, the direction parallel to the arrow A shown in the figure (the longitudinal direction of the unit side plate 51) will be described.

For driving the transport gripper 12 in the sheet bundle SS transport direction, a transport gripper left / right moving motor M8 attached to the unit side plate 51 is used. The driving force of the transport gripper left / right moving motor M8 is transmitted to the through shaft 83 via a transmission mechanism including a driving pulley 80, a belt 81, and a driven pulley 82. A pulley 84 is fixed to the through shaft 83 together with a driven pulley 82, and a belt 86 is wound around the pulley 84 and a pulley 85 opposed thereto.

Since a part of the belt 86 is fixed to the rear plate 60 by the regulating member 87, the belt 86 is rotated by the driving of the transport gripper left / right moving motor M8.
With the rotation of the belt 86, each roller 79 moves the unit side plate 51.
Is moved along the long hole 51a, that is, the rear side plate 60
Is moved. Therefore, the transport gripper 12 moves the sheet bundle S
It is moved in the S transport direction (the direction parallel to the arrow A shown in FIG. 12).

Next, the driving of the transport gripper 12 in a direction orthogonal to the sheet bundle SS transport direction (a direction parallel to the arrow F shown in FIG. 12) will be described.

To drive the transport gripper 12 in the direction perpendicular to the sheet bundle SS transport direction, the substrate 88 is placed on the rear plate 60.
The transporting gripper forward / reverse motor M9 attached via the motor is used. The driving force of the transport gripper forward / reverse motor M9 includes a driving pulley 89, a belt 90, and a driven pulley 91.
Is transmitted to the shaft 77 via a transmission mechanism consisting of Since a threaded portion that engages with the shaft 77 is formed in a portion of the transport gripper 12 that is engaged with the shaft 77, the transport gripper 12 moves in the axial direction of the shaft 77 (the direction of arrow F) with the rotation of the shaft 77. ).

The positioning control of the transport gripper 12 is performed based on the detection of the home position and the detection of the rotation amount of the motor. Specifically, the movement of the sheet bundle SS in the transport direction and the stop position thereof are determined by the detection signal from the home position sensor S7 for detecting the protrusion 87a of the regulating member 87 and the reading sensor S8 of the encoder 92 of the transport gripper left / right moving motor M8. Is determined on the basis of the detection signal.

The movement in the direction orthogonal to the sheet bundle transport direction and its stop position are determined by the detection signal from the home position sensor S9 and the transport gripper forward / reverse motor M9.
This is performed based on a detection signal from the reading sensor S10 of the encoder 93 of FIG. Further, the transport gripper forward / reverse motor M
It is also possible to omit the encoder 93 and the like by using a stepping motor in FIG.

Hereinafter, the driving of the stapler 11 shown in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG. 13 and FIG.

FIG. 13 is a left view for explaining the drive configuration of the stapler 11 shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a top view for explaining the drive configuration of the stapler 11 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation will be described.

In the figure, the stapler 11 is fixed to a base 94 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, two shafts 96 and 97 for suspending and supporting the stapler 11 penetrate through the slider 95 mounted on the upper portion of the base 94, respectively. Are supported by unit front and rear side plates 50 and 51, respectively.

The slider 95 is fixed to the belt 102 by the regulating member 103, and the belt 102 is
0 and the driven pulley 101
In 00, a driving force is transmitted via a gear 99 from a stapler forward / reverse motor M 10 fixed to the substrate 98.

Therefore, the slider 95, ie, the stapler 11, is moved by the stapler forward / reverse motor M10 between the retracted position 11a on the near side and the retracted position 11b on the far side in the direction indicated by the arrow J in FIG. Can be set to an arbitrary position between the near-side retreat position 11a and the far-side retreat position 11b.

The position of the stapler 11 is set by detecting the detection signal from the front position sensor S11 or the back position sensor S12 and the detection signal from the sensor S13 shown in FIG. It is performed based on.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the stack unit 13 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 15, 16, and 17.

FIG. 15 is a top view illustrating the configuration of the stack unit 13 shown in FIG. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a front view illustrating a configuration of a stack frame 105 illustrated in FIG. FIG. 17 is a left view illustrating the configuration of the stack unit 13 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation will be described.

In the figure, reference numeral 105 denotes a stack frame, which serves as an outer frame of the stack unit 13, and is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, it is composed of four parts: a rear plate 105a, a left plate 105b, a right plate 105c, and a bottom plate 105d.

Reference numeral 106 denotes elevating rollers, two of which are attached to the outer outer surfaces of the left and right plates 105b and 105c of the stack frame, and each elevating roller 106 is guided by a rail 107 fixed to the main body. The rail 107 may be formed of the same member as the rail 56 of the bundle processing unit 9 shown in FIG.

The right and left side plates 105 shown in FIGS.
The b and 105c are fixed to a chain 109 by a regulating member 108, respectively, and each chain 109 is stretched over upper and lower sprockets 110 and 111. The lower sprocket 111 is fixed to a penetrating shaft 112, and a driving force from a stack frame lifting / lowering motor M <b> 11 is transmitted to the penetrating shaft 112 via gears 113 and 114. Penetrating shaft 112 driven by driving force from stack frame lifting motor M11
The stack frame 105 moves up and down with the rotation of.

The stack frame 105 normally stops at two stop positions of the bundle processing unit 9 shown in FIG. 2 (the staple / stack apparatus 2 shown in FIG. 2).
In addition to the two stop positions corresponding to the upper broken line portion and the lower solid line portion in FIG. 5, a plurality of positions such as a stack tray pull-out position described later and a position at the time of changing the stack limit number are set.

If the home position of the stack frame 105 is set at a position corresponding to the bin module B1, the positioning control for this stop position is performed as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the detection is performed based on a detection signal from the reading sensor S14 of the encoder 115 of the stack frame lifting / lowering motor M11.

As shown in FIG. 15 and FIG.
Reference numeral 7 denotes a stacker reference wall which serves as a reference wall for the sheet bundle on the stack tray 116.
5 is supported so as to be able to move up and down. 11
Reference numeral 7a is a guide roller for preventing the rear end of the sheet bundle SS from remaining on the upper inclined surface 117b of the stacker reference wall 117, and is attached to the upper inclined surface 117b. S16 is a proximity prevention sensor, which is a stacker reference wall 117.
Attached to the upper end of the S17 is a detection sensor for detecting the stack height, which is attached to the side surface of the stacker reference wall 117.

The stacker reference wall 117 moves up and down while the guide rollers 119 are guided by the corresponding guide rails 120 and 121 in accordance with the number of stacked sheet bundles SS on the stack tray 116. A driving force from a motor M12 (not shown) is used.

The distance between the stack unit 13 and the bundle processing unit 9 above the stack unit 13 is detected based on the detection signal from the proximity prevention sensor S16. Stack unit 13
When the bundle processing unit 9 and the bundle processing unit 9 approach each other within a predetermined (predetermined) distance or less, control is performed to stop driving in the respective approaching directions, and their interference is prevented.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 15 and 18, FIG.
The configuration and operation of the stack tray 116 shown in FIG.

FIG. 18 is a front view illustrating the configuration of the stack tray 116 shown in FIG.

In FIGS. 15 and 18, reference numeral 116 denotes a stack tray.
It is configured to be able to move up and down, and is configured to be able to be pulled out to the near side by the Accuride 130 with respect to the stack tray base 129. At both end surfaces of the stack tray base 129, U-shaped roller receiving plates 131 are provided.
Are attached, and each roller 1 provided on the roller receiving plate 131 is
32 are guided by rails 128.

A stack tray elevating motor M13 shown in FIG. 15 is attached to the stack tray base 129. As shown in FIG. 15, the driving force of the stack tray elevating motor M13 is transmitted to the through shaft 133 via the gears 136 and 137. Pinion gears 134 are fixed to both ends of the through shaft 133, and each pinion gear 134 is engaged with a rack formed to extend in the vertical direction on a corresponding guide rail 128.

As described above, the stack tray elevating motor M
The stack tray base 129 is moved up and down while being guided by the guide rail 128 as the penetrating shaft 133 is rotated by the driving force of the stack 13. That is, the stack tray 116 moves up and down by the driving force of the stack tray elevating motor M13.

As shown in FIG. 15, an encoder 138 is mounted on the auxiliary shaft of the stack tray elevating motor M13, and the rotation speed of the encoder 138 is determined by a sensor S1.
Read at 5. The detection signal from the sensor S15 is used for controlling the amount of movement of the stack tray 116. Further, the stack tray 116 is provided with a copy sheet detection sensor S30 for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet bundle SS stacked on the stacking surface.

Next, the structure and operation of the stopper 300 of the stack unit 13 shown in FIG. 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. 15, 19 and 20.

FIG. 19 shows the stopper 300 shown in FIG.
It is a top view explaining the structure of. FIG. 20 is a front view illustrating the configuration of the stopper 300 shown in FIG.

In FIGS. 19 and 20, reference numeral 300 denotes a stopper, which constitutes a mechanism for preventing collapse of the sheet bundle SS on the stack tray 116 in cooperation with the stacker reference wall 117 as shown in FIG. . Stopper 30
Reference numeral 0 denotes a fixing member 30 that rises vertically to the stacking surface of the stack tray 116 as shown in FIGS.
1 and Accuride 3 provided on the fixing member 301
A movable member 303 and the like that can move in the axial direction of the fixed member 301 while being guided by the second member 02.

A roller 308 is attached to a lower portion of the fixed member 301, and the roller 308 is movably engaged with a rail member 310 for guiding the roller 308 in a direction orthogonal to the side plate 105c. 310 is a rail member fixed to the bottom plate 105a. On the other hand, one end of an L-shaped arm 304 is attached to the tip of the moving member 303. The other end of the arm 304 is connected to a slider 305.

Reference numeral 305 denotes a slider, and two shafts 306a and 306b extending in a direction parallel to the axis of the rail member 310.
Are supported so as to be movable in the axial direction. Each axis 30
Both ends of 6a and 306b are fixed to the stacker reference wall 117.

As shown in FIG. 20, reference numeral 307 denotes a belt.
The belt 307 is fixed to the slider 305, and is wound around a driving pulley 312 and a driven pulley 313. Driving force from the stopper moving motor M30 is transmitted to the driving pulley 312 via the output pulley 311 and the driving pulley 312 is rotated by this driving force. Drive pulley 3
With the rotation of 12, the slider 305 fixed to the belt 307 moves while being guided by the shafts 306a and 306b. That is, with the movement of the slider 305, the stopper 300 is moved parallel to the loading surface of the stack tray 116 along the guide direction of the rail member 310.

The position of the stopper 300 in the direction parallel to the stacking surface of the stack tray 116 is
The position is set in accordance with the size of the sheet bundle SS loaded on the sheet stack 16, and the positioning with respect to the set position is determined by the detection signal from the reading sensor (not shown) of the encoder (not shown) of the stopper moving motor M30 and the home position. This is performed based on a detection signal from a home position sensor (not shown) that detects the position (position). The stopper moving motor M30 can be constituted by a stepping motor, and in this case, an encoder or the like can be omitted.

On the other hand, the stopper moving motor M30,
Since the driving pulley 312 and the driven pulley 313 are fixed to the stacker reference wall 117, the stacker reference wall 11
7, the moving member 303 moves up and down the stack tray 1.
The stacker 16 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the loading surface, and the amount of movement is equal to the amount of elevation of the stacker reference wall 117.

Next, with reference to FIG. 21, a description will be given of the drive configuration and drive operation of the transport system in the staple / stack apparatus 205 shown in FIG.

FIG. 21 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining a drive mechanism of a transport system in the staple / stack apparatus 205 shown in FIG. In the drawings, the hatched roller among the roller pairs 8a to 8p indicates the driving side, and the other roller indicates the driven side.

In the figure, reference numeral M14 denotes a transport motor, which is responsible for driving a pair of rollers near the copying machine main body 201. Specifically, each roller pair 8a, 8b, 8 for guiding the sheet material S to the bin module B1 and the non-sort tray 5
c and 4 for guiding the sheet material S to the bin module B2.
The two roller pairs 8h to 8k are driven.

M15 is a transport motor, and bin module B
Responsible for the sheet discharge section to 1, 4 roller pairs 8
Drive from d to 8 g. M16 is a conveyance motor that takes charge of the sheet discharge section to the bin module B2 and drives five roller pairs 81 to 8p. Thus, the drive system of the transport system is roughly divided into three systems, and each drive system is provided with a corresponding transport motor M14, M15, M16.

The portions surrounded by broken lines in the drawing are portions that are drawn out to the front side in the event of a later-described jam processing or the like, so that couplings 139 and 140 are provided so that they can be separated from the drive side. Is configured.

In the system driven by the transport motor M16, the lower roller is used as the driving side for each roller pair 8l to 8n, but the right roller or upper roller is used for each roller pair 8o to 8p. Since the drive system is used, the gear 141 is configured to rotate in the reverse direction.

Next, the cover structure of the sheet material post-processing device 203 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 22 is a front view for explaining the cover configuration of the sheet material post-processing apparatus 203 shown in FIG.

In FIG. 22, reference numeral 142 denotes a folding cover.
The folding device 204 is covered. A fixed cover 143 covers the right side of each bin module B1, B2 of the stapling / stacking device 205 in the vertical direction. A front cover 144 covers the paths 2a and 2b to the bin module below the stapling / stacking device 205 and a part of the bundle processing unit 9.

A stack take-out cover 145 covers the stack tray 116 at the take-out position and the sheet bundle SS on the stack tray 116. A bin cover 146 vertically covers the left side of each bin module B1 and B2 of the stapling / stacking device 205. 1
Reference numeral 47 denotes an upper path cover, which has the non-sort tray 5 and forms the upper surface of a path reaching the upper bin module B1.

A rotation fulcrum is provided on the back side of the upper pass cover 147, and the upper pass cover 147 is configured such that the front side is open upward in the direction indicated by the arrow K.

Next, a control system for controlling the operation of the copying system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 23 shows the copying system 20 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of No. 0.

In the figure, a CPU 2000 is mounted on the copying machine main body 201 and controls the copying machine main body 201 based on a control program stored in the ROM 2002 and performs communication with the sheet post-processing device 203. 2001
Denotes a RAM, which is mainly used as a work area of the CPU 2000.

Reference numeral 2003 denotes an operation unit for inputting the number of copies and the number of documents placed on the document table 206, setting various copy modes, and giving various operation instructions.

Reference numeral 3000 denotes a CPU which is mounted on the sheet post-processing apparatus 203 shown in FIG. 1 and based on the control program stored in the ROM 3007.
It performs overall control and communication with the copier main body 201 via an I / F (interface) 3004.

Reference numeral 3001 denotes a motor driver for controlling the driving of each motor. Reference numeral 3002 denotes each sensor group, which includes the above-described various sensors and the like.
000. Reference numeral 3003 denotes each solenoid group, which includes the various solenoids described above. 3004 is I
/ F (interface), CPU2000 and CPU3
000 is performed via the I / F 3004. A display device group 3005 is a sheet post-processing device 203.
The operation status, setting status, etc. are displayed.

A signal TXD is a control signal transmitted from the CPU 2000 to the sheet post-processing device 203,
The number of copies, the number of documents, and the like input by the operation unit 2003. RXD is a signal which indicates the operation state of the sheet post-processing device 203 transmitted from the CPU 3000 to the CPU 2.
000.

As shown in the figure, a control system for controlling the operation of the copying system 200 includes a CPU 2000 mounted on the copying machine main body 201, a CPU 3000 mounted on the sheet post-processing device 203, a CPU 2000 and a CPU 3
And an I / F 3004 for communicatively connecting the I.F.

The CPU 2000 controls the system of the copying machine main body 201 as a whole and controls each section corresponding to the selected mode, controls the operation of the automatic document feeder 202, and issues instructions to the sheet post-processing device 203. Performs response control. Specifically, the CPU 2000
The operating state of the copying machine body 201 and the automatic document feeder 202
And the operation state of the sheet material post-processing device 203 notified from the CPU 3000 via the I / F 3004, and is directly controlled in accordance with the monitoring result.
An instruction indicating the control content is sent to the CPU 3 via the I / F 3004.
000.

The CPU 3000 sends the I
The motor driver 3 controls the operation of the solenoid group 3003 of the sheet material post-processing device 203 based on the instruction content notified via the / F 3004 and the detection signal from each sensor group 3002, and controls the driving of each motor.
001 is given a control instruction. In addition, a control instruction is given to a display device group 3005 for notifying the state of each unit and the like.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 1 to 23 described above,
The operation of the copying system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

First, the basic operation will be described.

First, a document is set on the document table 106 of the automatic document feeder 202. Next, the operation unit 200
At 3, predetermined mode (image forming mode, sorter processing mode, etc.) conditions are input, and the start key is pressed. Each part of the sheet post-processing device 203 is controlled to a standby state based on a mode condition that is input in response to a start key press signal. Hereinafter, the operation of the sheet material post-processing apparatus 203 will be described for each mode condition.

(A) Non-sort mode When the non-sort mode is input, as shown in FIG. 2, the deflector 3 is positioned in the direction of the solid line, the deflector 4 is positioned in the direction of the broken line, and Existing roller pair 8
The transport motor M14 (shown in FIG. 19) is controlled so that a, 8b, and 8c rotate.

The sheet discharged from the copying machine main body 201 after the image forming process passes through the upper path of the folding device 204 and enters the stapling / stacking device 205 from the carry-in entrance 215. The transport direction of the sheet material S is deflected vertically upward by the deflector 3, transported vertically upward on the right side of the deflector 4, and discharged onto the non-sort tray 5 by the roller pair 8 c.

(B) In the case of the sort mode The operation in the present sort mode is the operation in the general sort mode, and the operation will be described.

First, as a standby operation, as shown in FIG. 2, the deflectors 3 and 4 are positioned so as to be in the directions of the solid lines. Upper and lower bin modules B1,
B2 is the uppermost bin B11, B21 is the discharge roller pair 8g, 8
The bin shift operation is performed so as to be at a position facing p. The alignment bar 15 of each bin module B1, B2 waits at the home position corresponding to the width of the sheet material. The driving of the bin standing portion Bj is controlled so as to stop at the non-operation position.

The bundle processing unit 9 moves to a position (a broken line position shown in FIG. 2) corresponding to the sheet bundle removal of the upper bin module B1 and waits.

Each moving body in the bundle processing unit 9 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the advance gripper 10 stands by at the position shown in FIG. 7, and when the bin (Bin Bmn) in the bin modules B1 and B2 located on the left side of the bundle processing unit 9 moves up and down at the standby position. Does not interfere with sheets on the bin.

The stapler 11 does not operate and moves to the retreat position 11a in front of the stapler indicated by the broken line in FIG. As shown by the broken line in FIG. 7, the transport gripper 12 stands by at a position 12b where the sheet bundle SS conveyed by the movement in the direction indicated by the arrow F is gripped substantially at the center. The advance gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12 stand by at the above-described standby positions with the upper and lower grippers opened.

Next, the stack unit 13 moves to the position shown by the broken line in FIG. 2, and can receive the sheet bundle SS conveyed by the bundle processing unit 9. Stack tray 11 inside stack unit 13 shown in FIG.
6, the reference wall 117 moves to a position where the upper surface of the stack tray 116 can receive the sheet bundle SS or to another position corresponding to the stack tray 116, and FIG.
Move according to the size of the sheet bundle SS stacked on the stack tray 116.

The above is the standby operation. Hereinafter, an operation when a sheet material is conveyed from the copying machine main body 201 will be described.

The discharged sheet S is fed to the folding device 204.
Passes through the upper entrance path and enters from the carry-in entrance 215, and is guided by the deflectors 3 and 4 to the path toward the bin module B1,
It is discharged onto the bin B11 by the roller 8g.

After the sheet is completely discharged to bin B11, the bin is set at 1
By shifting the bin B12 upward, the bin B12 is raised to the sheet storage position. The above operation is repeated for each document, and sheets are stored in the bin of the upper module B1. The bin of the upper module B1 is the lower bin (B in FIG. 2).
16) is in the sheet storage position, and the second sheet material is stored in the bin from the last bin (here, B16) from which the first sheet material S was discharged in the reverse order to the above. S is accommodated.

After the above operation is repeatedly performed for all the originals, the operation of storing the originals in the bin ends.

When the sheet storage is completed, the sheet bundle transfer operation to the stacker is started. Advance gripper 10
From the solid line position to the broken line position as shown in FIG.
After moving with the grip 61 shown in the open state,
The sheet bundle SS on the bin is pinched. Next, the alignment section (bin standing section) Bj shown in FIG. 6 is opened by the solenoid SL1 to form a sheet bundle SS conveyance port.

[0169] The sheet bundle SS has reference bars 14a and 14b shown in FIG.
7 and the guide member 53a shown in FIG. 7, respectively, and are conveyed in the direction (rightward) indicated by the arrow A shown in FIG. Then, the advance gripper 10 stops at the solid line position (the gripper 10 indicated by the solid line) shown in FIG.
And the delivery of the sheet bundle SS is performed.

In this delivery, first, the 1 shown in FIG.
The transport gripper 12, which has been waiting at the position 2b with the grip 61 open, moves to the position 12a shown by the broken line, and clamps the substantially central portion of the sheet bundle SS. Next, the advance gripper 10 releases the nipping and prepares for conveyance of the next sheet bundle SS. The transfer gripper 12 is moved by the arrow G shown in FIG.
Is driven rightward to convey the sheet bundle SS rightward, and stops at an appropriate position according to the size of the sheet material S as shown in FIG.

FIG. 24 is a side view for explaining an example of conveying the sheet bundle SS to the stack unit 13 shown in FIG. The same components as those in FIGS. 1 to 23 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the figure, the rear end of the sheet bundle SS falls on the upper surface of the stack tray 116, and the left side is regulated by the stacker reference wall 117.

In this state, the transport gripper 12 is released, and the leading end of the sheet bundle SS is also dropped onto the stack tray 116. At this time, the right end of the sheet bundle SS is the stopper 3
Regulated by 00.

Next, when the second bundle of sheets is conveyed, the operation from gripping the substantially central portion of the sheet bundle SS by the transport gripper 12 and transferring the sheet bundle SS between the grippers is the same as that of the first bundle. Since they are the same, only the subsequent operation will be described.

After the delivery of the sheet bundle SS, the transport gripper 12 moves by a predetermined amount in the direction indicated by the arrow F shown in FIG. This movement makes it possible to identify the first sheet bundle SS when the sheets are stacked on the restack tray 116.

The uppermost surface of the sheet stack SS stacked on the stack tray 116 is always detected by the sensor S23, and the stack tray is maintained at a predetermined distance from the uppermost stack processing unit 9 to the stacking upper surface. 116 is controlled to gradually descend.

As for the sheet bundle SS on the stack tray 116, when the operator presses a takeout button (not shown), the operation of the bundle processing unit 9 and the stack unit 13 is interrupted, and the operation of the bundle processing unit 9 is stopped. And the stack unit 13 are moved to the removal position, and the stack removal door 145 shown in FIG. 22 can be opened and closed.

After taking out the sheet bundle SS, if the cover is opened, the processing can be continued.

(C) In the case of the staple sort mode The conveyance of the sheet material S and the sheet bundle SS is the same as that in the case of the above-described sort mode, and the description thereof is omitted. Here, the movement control of the stapler will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 13, the stapler 11 can be stopped at an arbitrary position between the retracted position 11a on the near side and the retracted position 11b on the far side.

(Ci) In the case of one-point binding in the front In the non-staple mode, the stapler 11 was at the retracted position 11a in the front, but when the one-point binding in the front is selected, FIGS. 11 shown in 13
Wait at the position of c. The stapler 11 performs a stapling operation on the sheet bundle SS conveyed by the advance gripper 10, and then moves to the retreat position 11a on the near side. Next, the stapled sheet bundle SS is transferred to the transport gripper 1.
2 to the right.

When the trailing end of the sheet bundle SS falls out of the moving area of the stapler 11, the stapler 11 moves again to the binding position 11c and waits for the next sheet bundle SS.

(C-ii) In the case of two-position binding When the sheet bundle SS is conveyed by the advance gripper 10, the stapler 11 is located at a position on the near side at a position of 11d with respect to the sheet bundle SS held by the advance gripper 10. Then, the stapler 11 moves to the position 11e and staples the position on the back side of the sheet bundle SS held by the advance gripper 10, and staples a total of two places.

Thereafter, the stapler 11 moves to 11a or 11a.
When the transfer gripper 12 moves to the position b,
From the standby position of b, entry into the position of 12a is started, and
The sheet bundle SS is held at the position a. Transfer gripper 12
After gripping the sheet bundle SS, the advance gripper 10 releases the sheet bundle SS.

On the other hand, after the second stapling operation at the position 11e, the stapler 11 moves to the evacuation position 11b on the far side. When the rear end of the first sheet bundle SS passes through the staple movement area, the stapler 11 moves to the position 11e and receives the second sheet.

(C-iii) Binding at one back position This case is a case where binding is performed only on the back side of the center of the sheet size (sheet bundle SS), so that the above-described operation (c-i) is reversed. The stapler 11 is located at the evacuation position 11 on the back side.
b and the binding position (11e) reciprocate.

(D) In the case of the folding mode In the case of the folding mode as well, a relatively long sheet in the transport direction is processed by a folding operation by the folding device 204 (shown in FIG. 2), and the folded sheet is a normal sheet. alike,
The paper is discharged onto the bin Bmn, selectively post-processed, and loaded on the stack unit 13.

However, in the case of origami paper, particularly so-called Z-folding, which has a folded portion in the transporting direction or downstream from the center of the sheet in the transporting direction or downstream, or C-folding in which the overseas legal size is folded into the lator size, etc., the bin Bmn During loading, the leading edge of the discharged origami collides with the folded part of the loaded origami, and the discharged origami may go under the folded part of the loaded origami. Origami may be disturbed or the origami that is ejected may not be loaded correctly.

In order to solve such a problem, the uppermost bin (B11, B21) is set lower than the normal sheet discharging position, and control is performed to store origami only in the uppermost bin.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view for explaining an example of a state where the sheet bundle SS is stacked on the stack tray 116 shown in FIG. Here, bins B11 to B16,
An example in which four copies of an original having a number (N) exceeding the number (N0) that can be stacked on B21 to B26 will be described.

In the drawing, reference numeral Sa1 denotes a sheet bundle, which is a part of the whole sheet bundle Sa of the first copy stacked in the bin B11 of the bin module B1. Sa2 is a sheet bundle, which is a part of the entire first sheet bundle Sa stacked in the bin B21 of the bin module B2. Similarly, Sb1 is a sheet bundle, and 2b stacked in bin B12 of bin module B1.
This is a part of the entire sheet bundle Sb of the set. Sb2 is a sheet bundle, which is a part of the whole sheet bundle Sb of the second copy stacked in the bin B22 of the bin module B2.

Sc1 is a sheet bundle, which is a bin module B1.
Is a part of the whole sheet bundle Sc of the third copy stacked in the bin B13. Sc2 is a sheet bundle, and bin module B
The entirety of the third sheet bundle Sc loaded in the second bin B23
Is a part of Sd1 is a sheet bundle, and the entirety of the fourth sheet bundle S stacked in the bin B14 of the bin module B1
d. Sd2 is a sheet bundle, which is a part of the entire sheet bundle Sd of the fourth copy stacked in the bin B24 of the bin module B2.

As described above, the entirety of the first sheet bundle Sa is the bins B11 and B21 of the upper and lower bin modules B1 and B2.
However, when the sheets are conveyed to the stack tray 116, the first set of sheet bundles SSa1 and Sa
2 are stacked on top of each other.

Similarly, the whole sheet bundle Sb of the second copy is also stacked so that the sheet bundles SSb1 and Sb2 are vertically overlapped. The sheets are stacked at positions shifted in the direction shown. 3,4
The entire sheet bundle Sc, Sd of the set is similarly stacked on the stack tray 116.

Hereinafter, an example of a control procedure and a control operation in the copying system according to the present invention will be described with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 26 to 33. Note that FIG.
The flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6 to 33 correspond to data processing and control processing procedures by the CPU 3000 based on the control program stored in the ROM 3007 shown in FIG.

First, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 26, the mode processing, which is the entire processing of the sheet material post-processing apparatus 203 shown in FIG. 2, will be described.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a first data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention. This data processing procedure corresponds to the mode processing procedure of the sheet material post-processing apparatus 203. In addition, (1)-
(13) shows each step.

First, it is determined whether a sorter start signal is output (ON / OFF) indicating that sheet discharge from the copying machine main body 201 is started with the start of the mode processing (1). If it is determined to be OFF, the process returns to step (1). If it is determined that the sorter start signal is ON, it is determined whether or not the folding mode is selected as the operation mode (2). When it is determined that the mode is not selected, the process proceeds to step (4), and when it is determined that the folding mode is selected, the folding motor is turned on (3), and step (4) is performed.
Proceed to.

Then, in step (4), the conveyance motor of the entire sheet material post-processing device 203 is turned on, and a sheet processing mode discrimination process for discriminating a method of loading / storing sheets on the non-sort tray / bin of the finisher is performed. (5). Details of the sheet processing mode determination processing will be described later.

Next, processing for determining the sheet processing mode determined by the sheet processing mode determination processing in step (5) is performed in steps (6) and (7). That is, it is determined whether the sheet processing mode determined in step (5) is the upper sort processing (6), and if it is determined that the sheet processing mode is the upper sort processing, the process proceeds to step (8) to determine that the upper sort processing is not performed. If so, it is determined whether the sheet processing mode determined in step (5) is the lower sort processing (7). If it is determined that the sheet processing mode is the lower sort processing, the process proceeds to step (9) and the lower sort is performed. If it is determined that the process is not performed, the process proceeds to step (10).

That is, in accordance with the determination result of the sheet processing mode in step (5), a shift to each of the upper sort process (8), the lower sort process (9), and the non-sort process (10) is performed. Is executed. The details of each of these processes will be described later. When the process of step (10) is completed, the process returns to step (1).

Next, after executing the upper sort processing in step (8) and the lower sort processing in step (9), it is determined whether or not the sheet bundle SS is to be transported to the bundle processing unit 9 / stack unit 13. A bundle processing mode discriminating process is performed (11). The details of the bundle processing mode determination processing will be described later.

Next, it is determined whether or not the bundle processing mode determined by the bundle processing mode determination processing in step (11) includes the bundle transport processing by the bundle processing unit 9 (1).
2) If it is determined that the bundle transport process is included, a stacker bundle transport process for transporting the sheet bundle SS to the bundle processing unit 9 / stack unit 13 is performed (13), and the process returns to step (1), where the copying machine is returned. The process waits for a sorter start signal to be output next from the main body 201 and returns to step (1) when it is determined that the bundle transport process is not included.

The stacker bundle transport process of step (13) includes a stapling operation of the sheet bundle SS, and the details of the stacker bundle transport process will be described later.

The details of the sheet processing mode discriminating process in step (5) shown in FIG. 26 will be described below with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the second data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention. This data processing procedure corresponds to the sheet processing mode discrimination processing procedure. Note that (1) to (6) indicate each step.

First, it is determined whether or not the processing mode of the sheet input from the operation unit 2003 is the sort mode (1). If it is determined that the mode is not the sort mode, the process proceeds to step (6), and the process proceeds to step (6). If it is determined that the processing mode is the sort mode, it is determined in steps (2) and (3) which of the upper and lower bin modules B1 and B2 the sheet storage is specified.

That is, in step (2), it is determined whether or not the sheet storage specification is the upper bin module B1 (2). If it is determined that the sheet storage specification is the upper bin module B1, Proceeding to step (4), if it is determined that the bin module is not the upper bin module B1,
It is determined whether the designation of sheet storage is the lower bin module B2 (3). If it is determined that the lower bin module B2 is specified, the process proceeds to step (5), and it is determined that the lower bin module B2 is not present. If so, proceed to step (6).

Next, the processing mode is determined in steps (4) and (5), respectively. If it is a designation other than the upper and lower modules, the non-sort mode is selected as the processing mode in step (6), and the process returns.

That is, in step (4), the processing mode is determined to be upper sort processing, in step (5), the processing mode is determined to be lower sort processing, and in step (6), the processing mode is determined to be non-sort processing. And return.

The non-sort processing in step (10) shown in FIG. 26 will be described in detail below with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the third data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention. This data processing procedure corresponds to the non-sort processing procedure. Note that (1) to (7) indicate each step.

When the non-sort mode is selected, first,
In order to continuously discharge the sheet material to the non-sort tray 5 shown in FIG. 2, the switching operation of each of the deflectors 3 and 4 shown in FIG. 2 is performed (1), and the sheet transport path (discharge path) 6 is transported. Select as

Then, in step (2), the conveying operation of the sheet material is monitored to determine whether or not the sheet material has been carried in. If it is determined that the sheet material has not been carried in, the process proceeds to step (5). If it is determined that the sheet material has been carried in, it is determined whether or not the folding is designated (3). If it is determined that the folding is not designated, the process proceeds to step (5). The sheet is folded by the folding device 204 shown in FIG. 2 (4). In addition,
Since the details of the folding operation of the sheet material are already known technologies, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Then, it is determined whether the path sensor is OFF. (5) If it is determined that the path sensor is not OFF, the process returns to step (2). If it is determined that the path sensor is OFF, whether the sorter start signal is ON is determined. (6), if it is determined that the sorter start signal is ON, the process returns to step (2). If it is determined that the sorter start signal is not ON, the transport motor is stopped, and each deflector 3 The solenoid for driving the motor 4 is turned off (7), and the process returns.

That is, if it is determined in steps (5) and (6) that the path sensor is off and the sorter start signal is off, step (7)
Then, the transport motor is stopped, the solenoids for driving the deflectors 3 and 4 are turned off, and the non-sort processing ends, and the process returns.

The details of the upper sorting process in step (8) shown in FIG. 26 will be described below with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the fourth data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention. This data processing procedure corresponds to the upper sorting processing procedure. Note that (1) to (13) indicate each step.

First, the sheet material is placed on the upper bin module B1.
The deflectors 3 and 4 shown in FIG.
(1), and selects the sheet transport path (pass) 7 as the transport path. Then, it is determined whether or not there is a bin initial signal output for storing sheets from the top bin (2). If it is determined that a bin initial signal is output, the bin of the upper module B1 is initialized as the initial bin. The upper bin is lowered to the position of the roller pair 8g (3), and the process proceeds to step (4). If it is determined that no bin initial signal is output, the process proceeds to step (4).

[0220] Next, in step (4), the transport operation of the sheet material is monitored to determine whether the sheet material has been carried in from the copying machine main body 201. If it is determined that the sheet material has been carried in, the process proceeds to step (4). It is determined whether or not there is a fold specification (5). If it is determined that there is no fold specification, the process proceeds to step (12). If it is determined that there is a fold specification, the folding process for the sheet material to be carried in is performed by the folding device 204. (6), and proceed to step (12).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (4) that the sheet material is not carried in, the operation of storing the sheet material in the bin is monitored to determine whether the sheet material has been stored in the bin (7). If it is determined that the storage is not completed, the process proceeds to step (12), and if it is determined that the storage is completed, the sheet material alignment operation is performed (8).

Next, it is determined whether or not there is a shift direction inversion signal (9). If it is determined that there is a shift direction inversion signal, an inversion process is performed (10), and the process proceeds to step (12). If it is determined that there is no bin, the upper module B1 is shifted by one bin to change the storage bin (11), and the process proceeds to step (12). Note that the reversing process of step (10) refers to a process of reversing the subsequent bin shift direction, and the bin shift operation is not performed.

Then, in step (12), it is determined whether the sorter start signal is on or off. If it is determined that the sorter start signal is on, the process returns to step (4) again and the sorter start signal is turned off. If it is determined that is, the conveying motor is stopped, the solenoid of the deflector is turned off (13), and the sorting process is terminated.
To return.

Hereinafter, the details of the lower sort process in step (9) shown in FIG. 26 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the fifth data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention. This data processing procedure corresponds to the lower sort processing procedure. Note that (1) to (13) indicate each step.

When the lower sort processing is selected, first, as shown in FIG. 30, the sheet material S is first moved to the lower bin module B2.
The switching operation of the deflector 3 is performed in order to store / sort in the bin (1), and the second transport path 2 is selected as the transport path. Next, the process proceeds to the step (2) and the subsequent steps.
Subsequent processing is the same as the processing after step (2) in the flowchart of the upper sort processing shown in FIG. 29, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The details of the bundle processing mode determination processing in step (11) shown in FIG. 26 will be described below with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the sixth data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention. This data processing procedure corresponds to a bundle processing mode discrimination processing procedure. Note that (1) to (3) indicate each step.

First, it is determined whether or not the sheet length in the bundle transport direction is longer than a specified value (for example, 364 mm) (1). If it is determined that the sheet length in the bundle transport direction is longer than the specified value, Since the sheet bundle SS cannot be stored in the bundle processing unit 9 / stack unit 13, the non-bundle transport process is a process in which bundle transport is not performed in the bundle processing mode.
Is selected (2), and when it is determined that the sheet length in the bundle transport direction is within the specified value, the sheet bundle SS on the bin is transported one by one in the bundle processing mode, and the stack unit 1
Then, the "stacker unit bundle transfer process" to be loaded in 3 is selected (3), and the process returns.

The details of the stacker bundle transport process in step (13) shown in FIG. 26 will be described below with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the seventh data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention. This data processing procedure corresponds to the stacker bundle transport processing procedure. Note that (1) to (22) indicate each step, and (X), (Y), (Z) in the flowchart.
Indicates the moving direction of the moving member, and (X) indicates the sheet bundle SS.
(Y) is a front / rear direction when viewed from the front of the finisher (parallel to the arrow F shown in the figure). (Z) indicates the vertical direction.

When the stacker bundle transport process is selected, first, the following process A is started (1). In this process A, the bundle processing unit 9 and the stack unit 13 are
The stopper 300 is moved to a position corresponding to the sheet material size while being moved to the bin module position where the bundle is conveyed.

Next, the following processing B is started (2). In the process B, the bin shift operation to the position where the bundle is transported is performed. It should be noted that the processing A and the processing B in steps (1) and (2) can be executed simultaneously, and the processing time can be shortened by executing them at the same time.

Next, it is determined whether both the processing A and the processing B have been completed (3). If it is determined that the processing has not been completed, the process returns to the step (3), and the processing A and the processing B are performed. Wait for the end of B.

On the other hand, when it is determined that both the processing A and the processing B have been completed, the advance gripper (hereinafter referred to as SG) 10 is moved into the bin by moving in the X direction,
The sheet bundle SS is clamped by G10 (4).

Then, in order to transport the sheet bundle SS from the bin, the sheet entrance is opened by lowering the bin standing portion Bj (5), and it is determined whether or not the staple mode is included (6). If it is determined that the staple mode is included, the process proceeds to step (16). If it is determined that the staple mode is not included, the process proceeds to step (7).

In the processing after step (7), first, the transport gripper (hereinafter referred to as FG) 12 for performing bundle transport is set to SG1.
The bundle transfer position from position 0 (for example, position 12 shown in FIG. 7)
a) (movement in the X and Y directions) (7), and SG1
0 is retracted (moved in the X direction) from the bin to the bundle transfer position (8).

Next, at the bundle transfer position, the sheet bundle SS held by the SG is held by the FG 12 (9). When the FG holds the sheet bundle SS, the SG 10 releases the sheet bundle SS (10), and Deliver the SS.

Next, the bundle is conveyed by moving the FG 12 to the bundle stacking position (movement in the X direction) (11), the bin standing portion Bj is opened (12), and when the FG 12 stops at the bundle stacking position, The FG 12 releases the nipping of the sheet bundle SS to stack the sheets on the stack unit 13 (13).

Next, it is determined whether or not the stacked sheet bundle SS is the final bundle of the corresponding bin module (14). If it is not the final bundle, the shift operation for one bin is performed in the set shift direction. Perform (15), and the process returns to step (4) again. On the other hand, if it is determined that the bundle is the last bundle, the bundle transport operation in the corresponding module ends and the process returns.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (6) that the staple mode is included, the stapler 11 is moved to the corresponding staple position (movement in the Y direction) (16), and the staple is moved from the bin to that staple position by SG10. Of the sheet bundle SS (movement in the X direction) (17). When the sheet bundle SS is moved to the stapling position, a stapling operation is performed (18).

Next, it is determined whether or not the stapling mode is the two-point binding mode (19). If it is determined that the staple mode is not the two-point binding mode, the process proceeds to step (21), where the staple mode is set. When it is determined that the binding mode is the two-position binding mode, the stapler 11 is moved (moved in the Y direction) continuously, a stapling operation is performed (20), and the process proceeds to step (21).

Then, the stapler 11 is retracted (moved in the Y direction) (21), and the FG 12 is moved to the bundle transfer position from the SG 10 (moved in the X and Y directions) (2).
2) After the movement of the FG 12, the process proceeds to step (9).

In step (11), FG1
The movement of the FG 12 to the bundle stacking position is (movement in the X direction), but the movement of the FG 12 to the bundle stacking position may be (movement in the X and Y directions).

As a result, as shown in FIG. 25, the sheet bundle can be stacked on the stack unit 13 with a part shifted.

Referring now to the flowchart of FIG. 33 and FIGS. 1, 7, 26, 29, 30, and 25, the document is placed on the document placing table 206 of the automatic document feeder 202. When the number of originals 207 is bin B11 to B1n, B21
The operation in the case where the number of sheets that can be stacked in each of bins B2n to B2n is exceeded will be described.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart for explaining an example of an eighth data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention. This data processing procedure is based on the assumption that the number of originals 207 placed on the original B11 to B1n,
This corresponds to the processing procedure when the number of stackable sheets of B21 to B2n is exceeded. In addition, (1) to (18) indicate each step.

The processing shown in the flow chart of FIG. 33 is performed by one or both of the CPU 2000 and the CPU 3000 shown in FIG.
It is executed based on a control program stored in the OM3007.

Note that, in FIG.
An example in which the required number of copies M is input from the first operation unit 2003 and N originals are stacked on the original mount 206 will be described. Here, N0 is bins B11 to B1n, B
T is a counter value of the number of sheets already loaded in the bin, and T is the number of sheets that can be stacked in the bin N0.
(N> N0).

Here, the number N of the originals 207 placed on the original placing table 206 is determined when the originals are placed or when the operation unit 200
The automatic document feeder 202 may count in advance before the copy operation is started when the copy start key 3 is pressed, or the count may be sequentially performed while performing the copy operation.

The number N of the originals 207 may be input in advance by the user through the operation unit 2003. In any case, the number of documents N is recognized by the CPU 2000 and transmitted to the CPU 3000 via the I / F 3004.

First, a copy mode is input from the operation unit 2003 of the copying machine body 201 shown in FIG. 23 (1), and a copy start key (not shown) is pressed (2), and when copying is started, bin loading is performed. Number of completed sheets T and event flag f
Is cleared to 0 (3).

Next, the bin number of each bin module, ie, 6
Are processed according to the upper sort process (the same process as step (8) in FIG. 26) shown in the flowchart of FIG. 29 (4), and the counter T
Is counted up (5), and it is determined whether or not T = N0 is satisfied (6). If it is determined that T = N0 is not satisfied, the process returns to step (4) and the counter T of the number of loaded sheets is set to the number of bins that can be loaded. The sorting operation is repeated until it becomes equal to N0.
If it is determined to be equal to 0, the loaded sheet number counter T is cleared to 0 (7).

Next, the six copies corresponding to the bin number 6 of the bin module are processed according to the lower sort processing (the same processing as step (9) in FIG. 26) shown in the flowchart in FIG. The event flag f is checked and it is determined whether or not copying of the N originals has been completed (9). If it is determined that the event flag f is 0 and the N sorted copies have been completed, the process proceeds to step S9. (15)
Proceed to.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (9) that the event flag f is not 0 or that the N sheets have not been sorted and copied, the loaded sheet number counter T is counted up (10). , T = N0 or whether the copying of the M copies, which is the number of copies to be set, has been completed (11), and until the counter T becomes equal to the number N0 of stackable bins or until the copying of the M copies is completed, the step ( Returning to 8), the sorting operation is repeated.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (11) that the loaded sheet number counter T is equal to the bin stackable sheet number N0 or that the copying of the M copies, which is the set number of copies, has been completed, an event occurs. The flag f is set to 1 (12), and the operation of the subsequent bundle transport process is determined.

Then, the sheet bundle SS loaded on the upper bin module B1 is transported to the stacker (1).
3) The entire sheet bundle of the upper bin module B1 is subjected to the bundle conveying process, and the sheet bundle is stacked on the stack tray 116.

Next, a process of transporting the sheet bundle SS loaded on the lower bin module B2 to the stacker is performed (1).
4) The entire sheet bundle of the lower bin module B2 is conveyed and the sheet bundle is stacked on the stack tray 116. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step (18).

On the other hand, in step (15), the sheet bundle SS loaded on the upper bin module B1 is conveyed to the stacker, and one of the sheets in the upper bin module B1 is processed.
(Only the bundle of sheets stacked in any one of bins B11 to B16) is subjected to the bundle conveyance process, and the stack tray 11
6, the sheet bundle SS loaded in the lower bin module B2 is transported to the stacker in step (16), and a part of the sheet bundle of the lower bin module B2 (bins B11 to B16) is processed. (Only the sheet bundle stacked in any one of the bins) is conveyed, and the sheet bundle is stacked on the stack tray 116. Then, step (17)
Proceed to.

Next, it is determined whether or not all the sheet bundles SS stacked on the upper bin module B1 and the lower bin module B2 are stacked on the stack tray 116 (1).
7) If it is determined that all the sheets are not stacked on the stack tray 116, the process returns to step (15), and the processes of steps (15) and (16) are repeated. , And proceed to step (18).

The steps (15) and (1)
In 6), when performing the bundle transport process to the stacker, the transport gripper 12 in FIG. 7 performs the sorting operation by moving in the direction indicated by the arrow F, but moves its position (the subsequent movement of the transport gripper 12). By performing the position, that is, changing the subsequent drive state of the transport gripper 12) only after the process of step (16), one copy set is collected as shown in FIG. It becomes identifiable by shape.

Then, it is determined whether or not copying of the M copies, which is the number of copies to be set, has been completed (18). If it is determined that copying of the M copies has not been completed, step (4) is performed.
When the process is repeated and it is determined that the copy of the M copies has been completed, the process ends.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when an apparatus having a so-called bin or the like is to process a document exceeding the number of sheets that can be stacked in the bin, the bin can be stacked. Since processing can be performed within the range, a desired copy set can be obtained without damaging the document or interrupting the processing. Also, by providing a paper bundle moving mechanism when storing the stacked bundles and performing the above-described processing, the bundles can be aligned for each set of copies obtained from the document bundle, and the sheet bundle can be identified. become,
Handling becomes very easy.

In this embodiment, the sheet material post-processing apparatus having two bin modules has been described as an example. However, the present invention is also applicable to a sheet material post-processing apparatus having a single or a plurality of bin modules other than two. It goes without saying that can be applied. Further, the number of bins included in one bin module may be singular or plural.

In a copying system having a sheet material post-processing apparatus having only one bin module, when copying a sheet bundle exceeding the number of sheets that can be stacked in a bin,
A configuration may be adopted in which a set of copied sheets is distributed and controlled to a plurality of bins of the bin module. With this configuration, even in a copying system having only one bin module, even when copying sheets exceeding the number of sheets that can be stacked in the bin, the desired copy can be performed without damaging the sheet materials and the bin. You can get a set.

In the automatic document feeder 202, the number of documents fed on the platen glass 208 can be counted. Further, the number of documents may be input by the user via the operation unit 2003. The number of this document is C
It is transmitted to PU2000 and CP via I / F3004.
It is also transmitted to U3000.

In the present embodiment, a case has been described where the copying machine body 201 copies and outputs a document image read from the document 207 fed by the automatic document feeder 202 to the sheet material S. The copier main body 201 may be configured to copy and output a document image read from a document directly placed on the platen glass 208 by the user to the sheet material S. With such a configuration, even in a copying system that does not include the automatic document feeder 202, the distribution control of the sheet bundle SS when the number of documents exceeds the stackable number of bins can be performed.

Further, the copying machine body 201 copies and outputs a document image read from the document placed on the document placing table 206 to the sheet material S, and the staple / stack device 205 outputs the sheet discharged from the copying machine body 201. The case where the sheet material post-processing device such as the stapling / stacking device 205 post-processes the material S has been described. However, the image processing device outputs image information transmitted from the information processing device via a predetermined communication medium to the sheet material. The sheet material discharged from the image processing apparatus may be configured to be post-processed by a sheet material post-processing apparatus.

In this case, the number of pages of image information transmitted from the information processing apparatus is bin 11 to B1n, B21 to B2n
When the number of loaded sheets in each bin exceeds
It may be configured to distribute the data to B1 and B2.

Further, the number of pages of the image information may be configured to be transmitted from the information processing apparatus, or may be configured to be input from the operation unit 2003.

With such a configuration, it is possible to control the distribution of the sheet material on which the image is printed based on the image information transmitted from the information processing apparatus, and to generate the sheet material generated by overloading the sheet material on the bin. It is possible to prevent damage to the bottles and the like.

Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, when an apparatus having a so-called bin or the like attempts to process an original of an amount exceeding the stackable number of the bin, the original may be damaged or the processing may be interrupted. It is possible to obtain a desired copy set without performing.

As described above, the copying system according to the above embodiment comprises an image forming apparatus for copying an image read by a document reading section, document transport means for transporting a sheet to the document reading section, and a flow of the copied sheet. In a copying system having a sheet post-processing means for continuously performing processing along a plurality of sheet post-processing means, the sheet post-processing means having one or a plurality of sheet stacking means and being independently drivable, One or more sheet bundle storage means for storing one or more stacked sheet bundles, and a key for automatically counting the number of sheets of a set of sheets conveyed from the document conveyance means to the document reading section Sheet number recognizing means recognized by input such as input, the number of sheets recognized by the sheet number recognizing means, and the number of sheets that can be stacked on the sheet stacking means of the sheet post-processing means Comparing means for comparing, and one set of originals when it is determined that the number of sheets recognized by the recognizing means by the comparing means is larger than the number of sheets that can be stacked on the sheet stacking means of the sheet post-processing means Sheet distribution control means for controlling a set of sheets copied from a sheet to be stacked on a plurality of sheet post-processing means,
When an apparatus having a so-called bin or the like is used to process an amount of documents exceeding the number of sheets that can be stacked in the bin, the processing can be performed within the stackable range of the bin. The desired copy set can be obtained without interruption.

Further, regarding the storage of the sheet bundle distributed to the sheet stacking means of the plurality of sheet post-processing means by the sheet distribution control means, after the sheet bundle storage of one sheet post-processing means is completed, the next sheet post-processing is performed. After the sheet stacking of the first sheet post-processing means is completed after the completion of one sheet stacking of all the sheet post-processing means on which the sheet bundle is stacked, the sheet bundle storage of the first sheet post-processing means is repeatedly performed. By storing the sheet bundles of all the sheet stacking units on which the sheet bundles are stacked, the sheet material can be stored for each set of copies obtained from the document bundle.

Further, there is provided a sheet moving means for moving the sheet bundle in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet bundle of the sheet post-processing means is stored in the sheet bundle storing means from the sheet post-processing means, and the sheet bundle is stacked. After the stacking of one sheet by all the sheet post-processing means is completed, the position of storing the sheet bundle in the re-sheet storing means is changed by the sheet moving means, so that the sheet bundle moving mechanism at the time of storing the stacked bundle. By performing the above-described processing, the bundle can be aligned for each set of copies obtained from the original bundle, and the sheet bundle can be identified, so that the handling becomes very easy.

As described above, the storage medium storing the program codes of the software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the system or the apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MP) of the system or the apparatus is supplied.
It goes without saying that the object of the present invention is also achieved when U) reads out and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, C
DR, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, RO
M, EEPROM and the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) And the like perform part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instructions of the program code, The CPU provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing is also included.

Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus. In this case, by reading a storage medium storing a program represented by software for achieving the present invention into the system or the apparatus, the system or the apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention. .

Further, by downloading and reading out a program represented by software for achieving the present invention from a database on a network by a communication program, the system or apparatus can be
It is possible to enjoy the effects of the present invention.

[0283]

As described above, the first embodiment according to the present invention is described.
According to the invention, there is provided a copying apparatus for sequentially copying a document image sequentially read from a set of document bundles onto a sheet material and discharging the sheet material, and one or a plurality of loading units for loading the sheet material discharged from the copying device. And a sheet number post-processing apparatus having a plurality of independently-processable post-processing means provided in the copying system. Comparing means for comparing the number of originals of the set of original bundles and the number of sheets that can be stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing means; and If it is determined that the number of sheets that can be stacked on each stacking unit of the unit is larger than the number of sheets that can be stacked,
Control means for distributing and controlling the set of sheet bundles to the plurality of post-processing means, so that even when copying a sheet bundle exceeding the number of sheets that can be stacked on the stacking unit, the sheet bundle that exceeds the number of sheets that can be stacked is It is possible to prevent the sheets from being stacked on the sheet stacking section, and to obtain a desired copy set without damaging the sheet bundle or the sheet stacking section.

[0284] According to the second invention, storage means is provided for storing a sheet bundle stacked on each stacking section of each of the post-processing means, and the control means is distributed to each stacking section of each of the post-processing means. When each of the sheet bundles stacked on the stacking unit is stored in the storage unit, the sheet bundle stacked in any one of the stacking units of each of the post-processing units is stored in the storage unit. The control is repeated so that the sheet bundle stacked on any one of the stacking units of the processing unit is stored in the storage unit, and the sheet bundle stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units is controlled. A set of sheet bundles divided and stacked in the stacked sheet stacking section can be collectively stored, and the user can obtain a sheet bundle grouped for each set.

According to the third aspect, when the sheet bundle stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units is stored in the storage unit, the direction is substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet bundle is stored in the storage unit. Moving means for moving the sheet bundle in the direction, wherein the control means, each time the sheet bundle loaded in any one of the stacking units of the respective post-processing means is stored in the storage means, Since the driving state is controlled to be changed, the sheet stacking position can be changed each time one set of sheet bundles is stored, so that the user can easily copy one set of sheet bundles even when a plurality of sets of sheet bundles are stored. Can be identified.

According to the fourth aspect, the document number recognizing means recognizes the document number of the set of document bundles by counting the document number of the set of document bundles by the document feeding unit. Therefore, distribution control can be performed based on the number of documents counted by the document feeding unit.

According to the fifth aspect, the document number recognizing means recognizes the document number of the set of document bundles by inputting the document number of the set of document bundles at the input section. Distribution control can be performed based on the number of documents input from the operation unit by the user.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided a copying apparatus for sequentially copying document images sequentially read from a set of document bundles onto a sheet material and discharging the sheet material, and one or more sheets for stacking the sheet material discharged from the copying apparatus. A copying machine having a sheet material post-processing device having a plurality of independently-processable post-processing units having a plurality of stacking units and a storage unit for storing a sheet bundle stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units. A control step of comparing the number of documents of the set of document bundles recognized with the number of sheets that can be stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units; and If it is determined that the number of originals is larger than the number of sheets that can be stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units, a set of sheet bundles copied from the one set of originals is distributed to the plurality of post-processing units. Distribution process Therefore, even when copying a sheet bundle exceeding the number of sheets that can be stacked on the stacking unit, it is possible to prevent the sheet bundle that exceeds the number of sheets that can be stacked from being stacked on the sheet stacking unit, and to prevent the sheet bundle and the sheet stacking from being performed. A desired copy set can be obtained without damaging the copy.

According to the seventh aspect, when each of the sheet bundles distributed and loaded on each loading section of each of the post-processing means is stored in the storage section, the sheet bundle is stored in any one of the loading sections of each of the post-processing means. After each of the stacked sheet bundles is stored in the storage section, the storing process is repeated for the sheet bundles stacked in any one of the stacking sections of the post-processing sections, and the stacking of the post-processing sections is performed. Since the storage unit has a storage step of storing all the sheet bundles stacked in the stacking unit in the storage unit, it is possible to collectively store a set of sheet bundles divided and stacked in different sheet stacking units. It is possible to obtain a sheet bundle arranged for each set.

[0290] According to the eighth aspect, in the storing step, the sheet bundle is stored in the storing section each time the sheet bundle stacked in any of the stacking sections of the post-processing means is stored in the storing section. Since the position where the sheet bundle is stored is changed to a position substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet bundle is stored,
The user can easily identify one set of sheet bundles even when a plurality of sets of sheet bundles are stored.

According to the ninth aspect, the number of originals in the set of originals is recognized by being counted by the original feeder, and is thus determined based on the number of originals counted by the original feeder. Distribution can be controlled.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, since the number of originals in the set of originals is recognized by being input through the input unit, the number of originals is recognized based on the number of originals input from the operation unit by the user. Distribution can be controlled.

Accordingly, even when processing an amount of documents exceeding the number of sheets that can be stacked in the sheet material stacking section such as a bin,
It is possible to obtain a desired copy set without damaging a sheet stacking portion such as a sheet material or a bin or interrupting the processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a configuration of an image processing system to which a sheet post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining the configuration of the staple / stack apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in detail.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a bin module illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view illustrating the configuration of the bin module shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front view illustrating the configuration of the bin module shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a bin standing portion provided in the staple / stack apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1;

7 is a top view illustrating the configuration of the bundle processing unit illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a front view illustrating a configuration of a bundle processing unit illustrated in FIG. 2;

9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a grip portion of the advance gripper and the transport gripper illustrated in FIG. 7;

10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the advance gripper illustrated in FIG. 7;

11 is a top view for explaining a drive mechanism of the transport gripper shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is a front sectional view illustrating a drive mechanism of the transport gripper illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 13 is a left view illustrating a driving configuration of the stapler illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 14 is a top view illustrating a drive configuration of the stapler shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 15 is a top view illustrating the configuration of the stack unit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 16 is a front view illustrating the configuration of the stack frame shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a left view illustrating the configuration of the stack unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 18 is a front view illustrating the configuration of the stack tray shown in FIG.

19 is a top view illustrating the configuration of the stopper illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 20 is a front view illustrating the configuration of the stopper illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 21 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining a driving mechanism of a transport system in the staple / stack apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 22 is a front view illustrating a cover configuration of the sheet material post-processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the electrophotographic copying machine shown in FIG.

24 is a side view illustrating an example of conveying a sheet bundle to the stack unit illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a state in which a sheet bundle is stacked on the stack tray illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a first data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a second data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a third data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a fourth data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a fifth data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sixth data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a seventh data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an eighth data processing procedure in the copying system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2000 CPU 3000 CPU 3001 Motor driver 3002 Each sensor group 3003 Each solenoid group 3004 I / F 3005 Display device group

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A copying apparatus for sequentially copying a document image sequentially read from a set of document bundles onto a sheet material and discharging the sheet material, and one or a plurality of loading units for loading the sheet material discharged from the copying device. And a sheet material post-processing device having a plurality of independently-processable post-processing devices, the document number recognizing device recognizing the document number of the set of document bundles, and the document number recognizing device recognizing the document number recognizing device. Comparing means for comparing the number of documents of the one set of document bundles with the number of sheets that can be stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing means; Control means for distributing and controlling one set of sheet bundles copied from the one set of document bundles to the plurality of post-processing means when it is determined that the number of sheets that can be stacked on each stacking portion is larger than Have And a copying system characterized by the following. 2. A storage device for storing a sheet bundle loaded on each loading section of each post-processing means, wherein the control means distributes each sheet loaded on each loading section of each post-processing means. When the bundle is stored in the storage unit, after storing the sheet bundles stacked in any one of the stacking units of the respective post-processing units in the storage unit, the storage process is performed by any of the other post-processing units. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control is performed such that all of the sheet bundles stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units are stored in the storage unit. Copy system. 3. When the sheet bundle stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units is stored in the storage unit, the sheet bundle is stacked in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet bundle is stored in the storage unit. Moving means for moving, wherein the control means changes and controls the driving state of the sheet moving means each time a sheet bundle loaded on any one of the loading sections of each of the post-processing means is stored in the storage means. 3. A copying system according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The document number recognizing means recognizes the document number of the set of document bundles by counting the document number of the set of document bundles in a document feeding unit. Item 2. The copying system according to Item 1. 5. The document number recognizing means inputs the number of documents in the set of document bundles at an input unit, and
2. The copying system according to claim 1, wherein the number of originals in the set of originals is recognized. 6. A copying apparatus for sequentially copying a document image sequentially read from a set of document bundles onto a sheet material and discharging the sheet material, and one or a plurality of loading units for loading the sheet material discharged from the copying device. A plurality of post-processing units that can be independently driven, and a sheet material post-processing device including a storage unit that stores a sheet bundle stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units. A comparing step of comparing the number of documents of the one set of document bundles recognized with the number of sheets that can be stacked on each stacking unit of each of the post-processing units; A distribution step of distributing one set of sheet bundles copied from the one set of document bundles to the plurality of post-processing means, when it is determined that the number of sheets that can be stacked on each loading portion of the processing means is greater than
A control method for a copying system, comprising: 7. When storing each sheet bundle distributed and loaded on each loading section of each post-processing means in the storage section, the sheet bundle loaded on any one of the loading sections of each of the post-processing means is stored in the storage section. After each of the sheets stored in the storage unit, the storage process is repeated for the sheet bundle stacked in any one of the stacking units of the post-processing units, and the sheets stacked in the stacking units of the post-processing units. 7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising a storing step of storing all the bundles in the storing unit. 8. The storing step, wherein each time a sheet bundle stacked on any one of the stacking units of each of the post-processing units is stored in the storage unit, the position where the sheet bundle is stored in the storage unit. The position of the sheet bundle is changed to a position substantially perpendicular to a direction in which the sheet bundle is stored.
The control method of the copying system described in the above. 9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the number of documents in the set of document bundles is recognized by being counted by a document feeding unit. 10. The control method for a copying system according to claim 6, wherein the number of originals of said one set of originals is recognized by being input at an input unit.