JPS597619B2 - Seat Kubunsouchi - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for sorting and dispensing copy sheets fed from an electrostatographic printing machine or the like.

This application is filed under U.S. Patent No. 3,567, which relates to an original image feeder.
, No. 214 is cited as a reference. Sorting machines are required to have increased capabilities to sort copy sheets fed from high speed electrostatographic printing machines.

Many of the prior art sorting devices are described in US Pat. No. 3,638, for example.
, No. 937, No. 3.774, No. 906 and No. 3, 802.
, No. 694, No. 0, in which numerous modules have been added to a printing press to meet various business requirements. Although these devices according to the prior art are satisfactory in handling various tasks, they are not compact while making it easy to modify the components of the sorter X5 to correct paper jams. It does not completely satisfy the strict spatial requirements that the design requires. It is an object of the present invention to improve sorting devices for use with copying or printing machines.

Another object of the invention is to improve the production of collated copy sets printed by copiers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sorting device with a compact storage area.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a sorting device that can be easily modified to correct paper jams.

A sheet sorting device according to the invention for sorting sheets into a plurality of storage compartments consists of two units, one of which includes a horizontal conveyor arranged to receive sheets entering an inlet; a vertical conveyor arranged to receive sheets from and deliver them to the plurality of bins; and a first vertically movable deflector for directing sheets conveyed by the vertical conveyor to a selected bin. a drive means for vertically moving the first deflector; and a second deflector provided at the entrance of the horizontal conveyor to select whether to direct the sheet onto the horizontal conveyor or to another position. The other unit is provided with a plurality of storage sections, each of which has an inlet arranged along the vertical conveyor, and a second deflector arranged along the horizontal conveyor. and a main tray having an inlet for receiving sheets directed to the other location.

The sheet sorting device according to the present invention is composed of two units, and one unit is provided with a sheet conveyor and the other unit is provided with a storage section, so that the storage section in which collated copy sets are sorted is Not only does it have an extremely compact shape, but the entire device can also be assembled extremely compactly, making it extremely easy to construct, assemble, and repair the entire device.

Furthermore, since the main tray is provided separately from the storage section, it can be used not only as a tray when no sorting operation is being performed, but also as an overflow tray when there are not enough storage sections during the sorting operation. . In the present invention, it is further provided that one of the two units has a second position which is located further away from the other unit from the first position for the sorting operation.
The vertical conveyor is pivotably mounted so that it can be moved to a position such that the vertical conveyor can be accessed in the event of a paper jam.

This feature has the advantage that when a paper jam occurs, it is extremely easy to remove the paper jam. For a better understanding of the invention as well as other objects and features thereof, reference should be made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In FIG. 1, the electrostatographic printing machine includes a xerographic copying machine 25, which is provided with a document feeder 22 and a control panel 32. In addition to a counter, buttons (not shown), etc., a copy start switch S1 is provided. In the copy sheet output section of the copying machine 25,
A sheet sorting device 28 according to the invention is installed.
The sheet sorter is controlled by a sorter enable switch S2 and a disable switch S3 on the copier control panel 32. The copying machine 25 is provided with a photosensitive drum 40 consisting of a conductive base layer and a photoconductive layer thereon, and this drum 40 rotates in the direction of the arrow to perform various processes and copy images from original documents. and make a copy.

Hereinafter, the operation at each processing station will be schematically explained. At the charging station A, a uniform electrostatic charge is applied to the photoconductive layer of the photoreceptor drum 40.

At the exposure station B, an optical image of the original to be copied is projected onto the drum surface to discharge the charges on the drum surface within the exposure area, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the drum surface. At development station C, a developer containing toner particles having an electrostatic charge opposite to that of the electrostatic latent image is caused to flow down onto the drum surface, thereby causing the toner particles to adhere to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image.

At transfer station D, the toner image is electrostatically transferred from the drum surface to the sheet.

At the drum cleaning/discharging station E, residual toner particles remaining on the drum surface are removed with a brush after image transfer, and the drum surface is exposed to relatively bright light to almost completely remove the static charge remaining on the drum surface. Let it discharge.

Fuser station F permanently affixes the toner image to the sheet being transferred to sheet sorting device 28.

For a more detailed description of copy processing stations, see
U.S. Patent No. 3,301,126, assigned to the present applicant.
Please refer to the specification.

The sorting device 28 shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 has two units 101 and 103. The first unit port 01 is located on the outside, and when the knob 107 is rotated, the attachment part
It is hinged so that it can pivot about an axis passing through it (Fig. 3). The second unit 103 is located inside the copying machine 2.
1 is fixed to the frame of 5. This unit mouth 03
has a number of stacked storage units (i.e., trays) 110 that receive sheets copied from originals supplied by the original supply device 22. Additionally, there is a main tray (or overflow tray) 115 that is used as an overflow in non-sorting or sorting modes of operation (described below). 1st unit 10
1 is provided with a belt-type horizontal conveyor 120 and a belt-type vertical conveyor 125, each conveyor is vacuum-suctioned so that sheets adhere to the conveyor surface, and the copying machine is driven by the conveyor. The sheets sent from the storage section 25 are sent to the storage section 110.

In the horizontal conveyor 120, the sheet is conveyed horizontally to the left in FIGS. 1 to 3 with the sheet attached to the lower surface of the conveyor, then turned vertically and transferred to the vertical conveyor 125. Also in the vertical conveyor 125, sheets are attached to the surface of the conveyor (the right side in FIG. 3) by vacuum suction and conveyed downwardly. The horizontal conveyor 120 has a belt 121 and a shaft 124 that drives the belt.
As shown in the figure, it is driven by a motor 129 via a belt.

The mechanism of FIG. 6, including this motor 129, is mounted within the first unit. The belt 121 is vacuumed as described above, and the sheet is attached and supported on the belt surface on the lower side of the drawing. Vertical conveyor 125 is belt 1
26, and the surface of the bell opening 26 on the side of the storage section (the right side in FIG. 3) is vacuum-suctioned so as to attract and hold the sheet. The belt 126 of the vertical conveyor is connected to the drive shear shaft 1 over which the belt 121 of the horizontal conveyor 120 is passed.
24 and is therefore driven at the same speed as the horizontal conveyor belt 121.

Note that each of the belts 121 and 126 is made up of a large number of long and thin belts arranged in a row, and it is preferable that the belts are arranged in a staggered manner on the drive shaft 124. A plow device (not shown) is also provided for vacuum suction. First unit 101
further includes a horizontal conveyor 120 and a vertical conveyor 12.
A mechanism is provided for directing the sheets sent by 5 to a predetermined storage section 110.

The first member constituting the mechanism for directing the sheet to a predetermined storage section 110 is a first deflection member 145 that protrudes rightward in FIG. 3 from the sheet support surface of the vertical conveyor belt 126. The upper surface of the member is curved and serves as a guide 149 for the sheet. This deflection member 14
It is preferable that a plurality of sheets 5 are arranged in the width direction of the belt 126 so as to contact several places at the leading edge of the sheets being fed, and to direct the sheets being fed in the vertical direction toward the entrance of the storage section 110. . The first deflecting member 145 can be moved up and down to be positioned at the entrance of each storage section 110. Therefore, the first deflection member 145 is supported by the lifting device 140. The lifting device 140 includes a carriage 147 extending across the width of the vertical conveyor 125 and comprising a pair of helically threaded threaded rods extending vertically on opposite sides of the vertical conveyor belt 126. 1
50, 151 (FIGS. 3 and 6),
The screw rods 150 and 151 are rotated to move up and down, and the deflection member 145 is also moved up and down by the carriage 147. Threaded rod 150 (15
The mechanism for rotation of 1) is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In these figures, the threaded rod 150 (151) is connected to a spiral drive spring 160 via a bevel gear 165 and a shaft 166, which drives the upper roller 167 in FIG. Each threaded rod 15 is biased clockwise so that the carriage 147 (and thus the first deflection member 145) moves from the top to the bottom.
0,151 is biased in the direction of rotation. Therefore,
The carriage 147 is always urged downward. On the other hand, a pulley 168 is fixed to the shaft 166,
The pulley 168 is connected to another shaft 169 via a belt and a pulley, and a notched wheel 162 is fixed to this shaft 169.

A latch member 164' extending from a solenoid 164 fixed to the frame of the first unit 101 is engaged in the notch in the wheel 162. Therefore, regardless of the biasing force of the clockwork drive spring 160, the threaded rod 150 (1
51) is not rotating, and the carriage 147 (and thus the first deflection member 145) is stationary. When the solenoid 164 is energized and the latch member 164' is retracted, the wheel 162 is no longer restrained, and the biasing force of the clockwork drive spring 160 acts to rotate the threaded rod 150 (151) and lower the carriage 147. In the illustrated example, wheel 162
When the carriage 147 rotates once, the carriage 147 is lowered by one step of the storage section 110. In order to lower the carriage 147 step by step in this manner, the solenoid may be energized intermittently. The shaft 169 is connected to an electromagnetic clutch 163 whose shaft 169' is connected via a pulley to a conveyor belt drive shaft 124 driven by a motor 129.

When the carriage 147 moves downward, the electromagnetic clutch 163 is turned on, causing the threaded rod 150 to rotate in the opposite direction to return the carriage 147 to the uppermost position and wind up the clockwork drive spring 160 from the roller 167. (Rotate the mouth roller 167 counterclockwise). If the electromagnetic clutch 163 is turned off in this state, energy is stored in the spiral drive spring 160 and the latch member 16
By disengaging 4', the carriage 147 is moved downward again. The entrance of each storage section 110 of the second unit 103 is narrow in a normal state, so that the height of each storage section 110 is not made unnecessarily high, and wasted space is eliminated.

However, in this state, there is a risk that the path of the sheet will be obstructed when the sheet enters, so it is preferable to widen the interval between the entrances. For this reason, each compartment 110 is inclined downward at an angle of about 15° from its entrance, and each compartment 110
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 4A, only the frame 133 of the second unit 103 is accommodated in the lower end of the frame 132,
Furthermore, it is held by an extension part 134 that is integrated with a frame 133, and each storage part 110 is rotatably supported in a groove 132. Furthermore, arms 135 are attached to the frame 131 on both sides of the entrance of each storage section of the second unit 103.
A pin is provided at the tip of each arm 135, and the pin of the resistor is received in a guide groove 138 (FIG. 4) provided at the entrance side end of the storage portion 110. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when the arm 135 is pivoted counterclockwise, the tip of the arm 135 moves upward to widen the entrance of the storage section. Note that the pin 136 attached to the frame 131 restricts the clockwise rotation of the arm 135, thereby restricting the lowering of the tip of the arm 135 and stopping the lowering of the entrance of the storage section 110. 11
The inlet portion of 0 is retained. On the other hand, the first unit 101
The carriage 147 of the lifting device 140 is provided with a pair of cams 142 that drive the arm 135 to rotate.

As shown in detail in FIG. 4, the cam 142 presses down the extension of the arm 135 that extends toward the carriage 147, pivots the arm 135 counterclockwise, and widens the entrance of the predetermined storage section 110. do. A first deflection member 145 extends through the widened entrance, and the sheet is advanced into the storage section 110 by this deflection member 145. Naorimu 1
42 is a carriage 147 as shown by the broken line in FIG.
It is pivotably mounted on a bracket 141 mounted on the arm 135 so that it does not come into contact with the arm 135 when the lifting device 140 returns from the lower position to the uppermost position. In addition, a sensor switch 143 is attached to the carriage 147, and this switch allows
It is detected that the leading edge of the sheet has entered the storage section, and it is also detected that the sheet has entered the storage section.

The signal of this sensor switch is input to a logic circuit (not shown) of the sorting device, and the logic circuit is connected to the sheet storage section 11.
After confirming that the solenoid 164 in FIG.
151) by a predetermined amount of rotation, and move the carriage 147 to the storage section 110 of the next stage. Apart from the first deflection member 145,
At the entrance of the horizontal conveyor 120 of the first unit 101,
A second deflection member 180 (FIG. 3) is provided.

This second deflection member 180 selects whether to direct the sheet sent from the copying machine 25 to the main tray 115 or to the storage section 110 through the vertical conveyor 125, and is indicated by the solid line in FIG. It can be rotated freely as shown by the broken line. A solenoid 181 rotates the second deflection member 180, and when the second deflection member 180 is in the solid line position in FIG. I am made to do so. When in the dashed position, the sheet is directed toward the main tray 115. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the second unit 103 is numbered as the storage section 110.
Further, an indicating member 201 is attached to the carriage 147 of the elevating device 140 of the first unit 101 to indicate the storage section 110 into which a sheet should enter (that is, the selected one).

Therefore, the operator can know which storage section 110 is being entered. The advantage of this indicator member 201 is that when a paper jam occurs in the copying machine 25 or the sorting device 28, it is possible to know in what storage section the sheet is stored.

Detection and handling of paper jams will not be described in detail as they are not directly related to the present invention, but sheet sensors are provided in the sheet path of the copying machine 25 and in the sheet path of the sorting device 28, and these sensors are turned on. - Detects a paper jam when the off is not performed at a predetermined timing, and thereby stops the operation of the copying machine and the sorting device, for example, the control panel 32
Indicates a paper jam using the display, etc. If this occurs, the carriage 147 also stops and the indicator 201 points to the final storage 110, so that the operator knows which storage is to be entered next. The sheet sorting device 28 according to the invention performs two types of operation.

When performing non-separation operation, switch S on the control panel 32
Press 3. As a result, the second deflection member 180 of the horizontal conveyor 120, which is provided with an input mark, is urged to the position shown by the broken line in FIG. Point to 115. Therefore, all the sheets are stored in the main tray 115. When performing a sorting operation, switch S2 on the control panel 32 is pressed.

As a result, the second deflection member 180 θ is returned to the position shown in solid line in FIG.
It is advanced horizontally by belt 121 driven by belt 24 and then rotates approximately 802 times downwardly toward vertical conveyor 125 .

The sheets advanced downward by the vertical conveyor 125 are stored in the first storage section 110 by the first deflection member 145 . In the case of the next sheet having the same image, the carriage 147 is lowered one step by rotation of the threaded rod 150 (151), so that the first deflection member 145 faces the entrance of the next storage section, and the arm 135 is moved by the cam 142. It pivots to widen its entrance and the sheet is placed into the second compartment. This operation is repeated for a predetermined number of divisions. When the last division is completed, the electromagnetic clutch 163 (FIG. 6) is turned on, and at the same time the spiral drive spring 160 is wound up from the roll 167, the threaded rod 150 (151) is reversed, and the lifting device 140 is moved to the deflection member 145. The copy sheet on which the next image has been formed is then raised to the uppermost position, and the copy sheet on which the next image has been formed is sequentially moved from the first storage section 110 to the lower storage section 110.
to be accommodated.

If the number of compartments to be divided is greater than the number of storage units 110 (11 or more in the illustrated example), the main tray 115 is used.

That is, when the overflow amount of sheets is sent to the sorting device 28, the solenoid 181 is deenergized (or energized).
The first deflection member 180 is then pivoted to the dashed position in FIG. 3 to feed the sheet to the main tray 115. It is preferable that the lifting device 140 is returned to the uppermost position during storage of the overflow sheet. The main tray 115 is
It may also be available in the event of a paper jam, such as on conveyors 120 and 125 of the sorting device 28.

Although the above has pointed out and explained the basic novel features of the invention as applied to the preferred embodiments, the configuration of the device has been illustrated and described without departing from the technical idea of the invention. Various omissions, substitutions, and changes in details can be easily made by those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 schematically shows an electrostatographic printing machine with a sorting device according to the invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the sorting device. FIG. 3 is a front view of the sorting device when it is opened. FIG. 4 is a front view of the sheet distribution mechanism and storage section. FIG. 4a is a sectional view taken along line 4A-4A in FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the drive portion of the sheet distribution mechanism of the sorting device.
FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the drive section. FIG. 7 is a front view of the indicating device of the storage section. 28... Seat division preparation, 110... Division storage section, 115...
...Main tray, 120...Horizontal conveyor, 12
5...Vertical conveyor, 145...1st
Deflection member, 147...Carriage, 150,1
51... Threaded rod, 160... Clockwork drive spring, 163... Electromagnetic clutch, 180
...Second deflection member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sheet sorting device for sorting sheets into a plurality of storage sections, which comprises two units, one of which includes a horizontal conveyor arranged to receive sheets entering an entrance; a vertical conveyor arranged to receive sheets from the horizontal conveyor and deliver them to the plurality of bins; and a vertically movable conveyor configured to direct the sheets delivered by the vertical conveyor to selected bins. 1st
a deflector, a drive means for vertically moving the first deflector, and a second deflector provided at the entrance of the horizontal conveyor for selecting whether to direct the sheet onto the horizontal conveyor or to another position. is provided, and the other unit includes the plurality of storage portions arranged such that each inlet is aligned along the vertical conveyor, and the plurality of storage portions arranged along the horizontal conveyor, the plurality of storage portions being arranged by a second deflector. a main tray having an inlet for receiving sheets directed to said separate position. 2. One of the two units is pivotally mounted so that it can be moved from a first position for sorting operation to a second position away from the other unit, in the event of a blockage. 2. A sheet sorting device according to claim 1, wherein said conveyor is accessible.