JPS61286859A - Document copying system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To permit a long-period unmanned copying operation by providing a document collector near a sorter so that the copied paper housed in the sorter is collected to a collecting tray by a driving means when the copying operation with one original group ends. CONSTITUTION:A collecting plate 6 moves between a bin 4b and the collecting tray 7 along the tray surface of the bin when a supporting member 11 is moved in a stationary plate 12 in parallel with guide shafts 13a, 13b by turning of a DC servocontrol motor. A gear 8a is fixed to the turning shaft of the DC servocontrol motor 8 of the plate 12 and a DC servocontrol motor 9 is disposed to a holding member 7a of the tray 7 by fixing a gear 9a to the turning shaft thereof. The gears 8a, 9a engage with a rack gear 27 constituted to a pole 14 which is fixed to a base 26. The plate 12 and the member 7a are moved vertically with respect to the pole 14 by turning of the motors 8, 9, by which the plate 6 and the tray 7 are moved vertically on both sides of the bin 4b. The unmanned copying operation is thereby realized.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a document copying system for a copying machine equipped with an automatic document feeder and a sorter, and in particular to a copying operation including sorting and sorting operations for a plurality of document groups. This invention relates to a document copying system that continuously performs.

<Summary of the Invention> The document copying system according to the present invention is equipped with a document accumulating device near a sorter in order to continuously perform copying operations including sorting operations for a plurality of document groups. At times, the driving means is enabled to collect the copied sheets stored in the sorter into the collecting tray.

<Prior art and its drawbacks> In a copying system in which an automatic document feeder is installed on the document table of the copying machine body and a sorter is attached to the paper ejection section, the document placed on the document tray of the automatic document feeder is processed as a single sheet. The sheets are fed one by one to the original table, and the sheets for which the copying operation for the original has been completed are sorted and stored in respective bins arranged in the sorter. Thereafter, the original on the document tray is ejected to the outside, and the next document is sent from the document tray to the document tray, and similar copying and storage operations are performed. Therefore, in such a copying system, it is possible to simplify the copying work including the classification work for a plurality of original documents, and in particular, there is no need for an operator's operation during the copying work, so that the work can be simplified. In addition, a reservation sheet in which data such as copy mode, number of copies, copy magnification, etc. are written using the mark sheet method is placed at the beginning of each document group and placed on the document tray, and a reservation sheet is placed on the document tray and placed in the document feeder. A system has also been devised that reads the data entered in the paper and performs a copying operation based on this data. As a result, copying work for a plurality of document groups can be performed without requiring data input operations by an operator.

However, in conventional copying systems, after the copying work including sorting work is completed, the operator must collect the copied sheets that have been sorted and stored in each bin of the sorter before proceeding with the next copying work including sorting work. I can't.

For this reason, it is not possible to continuously perform copying operations on a plurality of document groups for which copying operations are to be performed using the sorter function. Moreover, at the end of the copying operation including the sorting work for one document group, the operator must take out the sheets from each bin of the sorter, which has the disadvantage that it is not possible to promote labor-saving and unmanned copying operations. In addition, the originals ejected from the automatic document feeder after the copying operation has been completed must be collected by the operator after the copying operation for one group of originals has been completed. There is a drawback that originals may be mixed in during the copying operation.

<Object of the Invention> In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional art, the object of the present invention is to automatically collect the sheets sorted and stored in the sorter at the end of the copying operation of one group of originals, and to also collect the ejected originals. It is an object of the present invention to provide a document copying system that can perform copying operations including classification work continuously on a plurality of document groups, and can realize unmanned copying operations over a long period of time.

<Structure and Effects of the Invention> The document copying system of the present invention includes a document conveying means for storing a document ejected from an automatic document feeder into a specific bin of a sorter, and a document conveying means arranged to be movable up and down on both sides of the bin. an accumulating plate and an accumulating tray; an accumulating plate driving means and an accumulating tray driving means for moving the accumulating plate and accumulating tray up and down; and moving the accumulating plate along the tray surface of each bin in the direction of the accumulating tray. a document stacking device having a stacking plate horizontal drive means; when a copying operation for one group of documents is completed, the stacking plate drive means, the stacking tray drive means and the stacking plate horizontal drive means are enabled, and the documents are stored in a sorter; The present invention is characterized in that original documents and copied sheets are collected in a collection tray.

With the above configuration, according to the present invention, the stacking plate and the stacking tray are operated when the copying operation for one group of documents is completed, and the documents and paper stored in each bin of the sorter can be collected.

Therefore, it is possible to omit the need for the operator to collect the paper from the sorter and the document from the paper ejection unit when the copying operation is completed, and the sorting work can be performed continuously on multiple groups of documents. It is possible to ensure the collection work and realize unmanned copying work that lasts a long time.

<Embodiment> (a) Structure description FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a copying machine using a document copying system which is an embodiment of the present invention.

A copying machine body 1 placed in a cabinet 2 is equipped with an automatic document feeder 3, a sorter 4, and paper cassettes 20, 21. The paper cassette 21 attached to the paper feed section 19 is a large cassette that can store about 1,500 blank sheets, and is suitable for continuous copying work of a large number of sheets.

The automatic document feeder 3 disposed on the top surface of the copying machine main body l includes a document feed section 3a, a document transport section 3b, and a document discharge section 3C.
It consists of A document tray 1 is provided in the document feed section 3a.
5 is installed. This document tray 15 has a regulating plate 1.
6 is provided to regulate the placement position of the paper. The originals placed on the original tray 15 are fed in order from those located below the E, and are conveyed to the original table on the upper surface of the copying machine main body 1. The document tray 15 is capable of holding a large number of documents. The manuscript 17 is composed of a plurality of manuscript groups, and a reservation sheet 18 is located at the beginning of each manuscript group. This reservation sheet 18 is made using the mark sheet method.
Data such as the set number of sheets are written therein. The contents of the reservation sheet 18 are read in the document feeding section 3a of the automatic document feeder 3, and subsequent copying operations are controlled.

A sorter 4 is attached to a paper discharge section of the copying machine main body l.

The sorter 4 is composed of a paper conveyance section 4a and bins 4b arranged in a stacked manner. Bin 4C located at the bottom
is used as the document output area. Bin 4b of this sorter 4
A document accumulating device 5 is arranged so as to surround the document accumulating device 5. The document stacking device 5 includes a stacking plate 6 and a stacking tray 7 located on both sides of the bin. The stacking board 6 is a support member 11
A fixing plate 12 is fixed to this support member 11.
Two guide shafts 13a and 13b are inserted. A DC servo motor 10 is disposed on the fixed plate 12, and a pulley 10a is fixed to its rotating shaft. A rotatable pulley 10b is provided on the other side of the fixed plate 12.
A wire 25 is stretched between the pulleys 10a and 10b. Both ends of this wire 25 are fixed to the support member 11. With the above configuration, the support member 11 is moved within the fixed plate 12 in parallel to the guide shafts 13a and 13b by rotation of the DC servo motor 10. By this operation, the stacking plate 6 moves between the stacking tray 7 along the tray surface of the bin 4b.
A servo motor 8 is installed, and a gear 8 is attached to its rotating wheel.
a is fixed. Further, a DC servo motor 9 is disposed on the holding member 7a that holds the stacking tray 7, with a gear 9a fixed to its rotation shaft. Gear 3a.

Each of the gears 9a is mounted on a rank gear 27 formed on a pawl 14 fixed to a base 26. With the above configuration, the rotation of the DC servo motors 8 and 9 causes the fixed plate 12 and the holding member 7a to move in the vertical direction with respect to the pole 14. Therefore, the stacking plate 6 and the stacking tray 7 move vertically on both sides of the bin 4b.

Note that the fixed plate 12 and the holding member 7a are positioned in the horizontal direction by a support mechanism not shown.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the document accumulation device.

A photosensor 31 is fixed to the side surface of the stacking board 6 that does not face the bins 4b. This photosensor 31 detects a slit plate 32 attached to the paper conveyance section 4a of the sorter via an attachment member 32a. The slit plate 32 has a bottle 4
A slit is opened at a position corresponding to position b.

A photosensor 34 is arranged on the back side of the tray surface of the bin 4b. This photosensor 34 detects the accumulation tray 7.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a slit plate detected by a photosensor provided in the document accumulation device.

Slits 33a to 33h are provided on the slit plate 32 at positions corresponding to the bins 4b of the sorter 4. Accumulating board 6
When moving vertically along the side surface of the bin 4b, the photosensor 31 is turned on when it matches the position of the slits 33a to 33h, and detects the current position of the stacking plate 6.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing the action of the photosensor disposed in the sorter bin of the document stacking device.

A photosensor 34 is disposed at the end of the stacking tray 7 on the back side of the tray surface 35 of the bin 4b. The photosensor 34 includes a light emitting element that distributes light onto the vertical plate 7b of the stacking tray 7, and a light receiving element that receives reflected light from the vertical plate 7b. Therefore, when no paper is placed on the accumulation tray 7, the photosensor 34 detects the accumulation tray 7 in the state shown by the solid line in the figure, and when the paper 41 is placed on the accumulation tray 7, The photosensor 34 detects the stacking tray 7 in the state shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the shape of the tray surface constituting each bin of the sorter of the document stacking device.

A recessed portion is continuously formed in the tray surface 35 constituting the bin 4b in the direction in which the paper 41 is ejected. Further, the stacking plate 6 is formed with a convex portion that engages with a concave portion of the tray surface 35. With the above configuration, even when one document 41 is stored on the tray surface 4b, the movement of the stacking plate 6 causes the paper 41 to
can be moved in the direction of the collecting tray 7.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a state in which sheets are stacked on a stacking tray that constitutes a part of the document stacking device.

By changing the amount of movement of the stacking plate 6 in the direction of the stacking tray 7 one step at a time, sheets 413 to 41h can be stacked as shown in the figure.
can be sorted and accumulated by each bin in which it was stored. This makes it extremely easy to perform the collection operation after the copying operation. (b) Description of Operation FIGS. 1A to 1C are flowcharts showing the operation of the document copying system.

The stacking plate 6 and the stacking tray 7, which constitute a part of the document stacking device, undergo step nl (hereinafter step ni) before starting the operation.
is simply called ni. ) is stopped at the initial position above the topmost bin. Originals or paper are transferred from the automatic document feeder 3 or the copying machine main unit 1 to the sorter 4.
When the original is ejected in the direction, it is determined in n2 whether or not the original has been ejected. When the original is ejected from the automatic original feeder 3, the process proceeds to n3 and is stored in the lowermost bin 4C of the sorter. This n2. The operation n3 corresponds to the document conveying means of the present invention.

If the document has not been ejected, the process advances to n4 and it is determined whether or not the paper has been ejected. If the paper has been ejected, the process proceeds to n5, where the number of copies of the same document is detected, and the paper is stored in the corresponding bin.

By repeating operations n2 to n5 during the copying operation,
The sheets on which the images of the originals have been copied are collated, and the originals are stored in the bottom bin. If the copying operation is completed at n6, the process advances to n7 and the content of the counter i is set to 1. This counter i represents the position from the top of the bin where the accumulating plate 6 and accumulating tray 7 are stopped. Next, at n8, the DC servo motors 8 and 9 are turned on to move the stacking plate 6 and the stacking tray 7 downward. If the photosensor 31 detects the slit of the slit plate 32 and turns on at n9, the process proceeds to nlO, where the DC servo motor 8 is turned off and the flag F is turned on.
Turn on 1. This flag F1 indicates the operating state of the DC servo motor 8. Next, in n11, it is determined whether the photosensor 34 is turned on. Photo sensor 34
If it detects the accumulation tray 7, it proceeds to n12 and the DC
Turn off the servo motor 9. Next, flag F1 is set at n13.
It is determined whether or not it is turned on, and if it is not turned on, the process returns to n9. If the sensor 31 is not on at n9, the process goes directly to nil, and if the sensor 34 is not on, the process returns to n9. By the above operations n8 to n13, the stacking plate 6 and the stacking tray 7 can be moved from the initial position to the position of the first or next bin.

If the flag Fl is on at n13, that is, when the stacking board 6 and the stacking tray 7 have moved to the predetermined positions, the process proceeds to n14 and the flag F1 is turned off. Next, the DC servo motor 10 is turned on at n15, and the stacking plate 6 is moved toward the stacking tray 7 at n16. After moving the stacking board 6 to a predetermined position, the DC servo motor 10 is reversed to return the stacking board 6 to its original position. After the above operations
At step 17, the DC servo motor 10 is turned off. Then n18
It is determined whether the contents of the counter i match the total number M of bins stacked on the sorter 4. If the two do not match at n18, it is determined at n19 whether the contents of the counter i are equal to the set number of copies m. n19
If the content of the counter i and the number of copies m do not match, the process proceeds to n20, where the content of the counter i is incremented by 1, and the process returns to n8. By repeating the operations from n8 to n20, the stacking plate 6 and the stacking tray 7 can be moved one step at a time to the lower bin position, and the stored sheets can be collected into the stacking tray 7.

If the contents of the counter i match the total number M of the bins 4b in 018, or if the contents of the counter i match the number of copies m in n19, the process goes to n21, the DC servo motors 8 and 9 are turned on, and the stacking board 6 and the collection tray 7 are moved upward. When the stacking plate 6 and the stacking tray 7 reach the initial position at n22, n
23, the DC servo motors 8 and 9 are stopped to complete the operation.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 1(A), in the accumulation operation at n16, it is first determined at n24 whether the contents of the counter i are an even number. If the content of the counter i is an odd number, the process proceeds to n25 and the stacking board 6 is moved to the final position. If the content of the counter i is an even number at n24, the process proceeds to n6, and the stacking plate 6 is moved to a position approximately 20 mm before the final position. After the operations of n25 and n26 are completed, the process proceeds to n27, where the DC servo motor 10 is reversed to return the stacking board 6 to the initial position.

Through the above operations, the sheets are accumulated in the stacking tray 7 in the state shown in FIG. 7, and when collecting the sheets from the stacking tray 7, it is easy to sort the sheets one by one as if they had been sorted into each bin. be able to.

FIG. 1(C) is a flowchart showing the operation of a copying machine using the document copying system described above.After the power is turned on, warming-up is performed at n31, and the content of counter j is set to 1. After the warming-up is completed, the process advances to n32 and the ready lamp is turned on. This ready lamp indicates that the copying operation can be started. Next, the operator inputs data at n33, and the printer prints at n34.
When the 1 switch is operated, the process advances to n35. n35
Then, turn off the ready lamp, operate the automatic document feeder 3, and guide the document to the document table.In step n36, it is determined whether or not the document fed from the document tray 15 is the reserved sheet 18, and the document is reserved. If the sheet is 18, the data is read in the document feeder 3a at n42, the process proceeds to n43 without performing a copying operation, the sheet is ejected to the bottom bin 4C of the sorter, and then the process returns to n35.

If the sheet is not a reserved sheet at n36, the process proceeds to n37, where the document is stopped on the document table of the copying machine main body 1, and the copying process is performed at n38. After copying process n3
At step 9, it is determined whether the contents of the counter j are equal to the number of copies m, and if they are not equal, the contents of the counter j are incremented by 1 at n44, and the process returns to n35. If the content of the counter j is equal to the number of copies m at n39, the process advances to n40 and waits for the completion of the stacking operation of the document stacking device.

If the stacking operation is completed in n40, the process proceeds to n41, and it is determined whether or not the original 17 or reserved sheet 18 remains in the original tray 15. If there is a document or reserved sheet on the document tray at n41, the process returns to n35. When the reservation sheet 18 is fed toward the document table by the above-described operation, the contents thereof are read by the document feeding section 3a.

Furthermore, data such as the number of copies, copy paper size, etc. are controlled based on the read contents, and the copying process is performed. Therefore, by placing a reservation sheet containing data related to the copying operation of the original at the beginning of each group of originals, when the copying operation of one group of originals is completed, the sheets stored in the sorter can be transferred to the stacking tray. can be recovered. Therefore, copying operations including collation operations can be performed continuously on a plurality of document groups unattended.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1(A) to (C) are flowcharts showing the operation of a document copying system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the document copying system, and FIG. 3 is a configuration of the document copying system. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the action of a photosensor disposed on a stacking plate that constitutes a part of the document accumulating apparatus, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the document accumulating apparatus that constitutes a part of the document accumulating apparatus. Fig. 6 is a front view of the tray surface that forms part of the sorter, and Fig. 7 shows the action of the photosensor installed in the sorter. FIG. 3 is a side view showing how sheets of paper are stacked. 3-automatic document feeder, 4-sorter, 6-accumulating plate, 7-accumulating tray, 8-1O-DC servo motor, 8a, 9a-gear, 10a, 10b-pulley, 18-reservation sheet, 25-wire, 27-Rank gear.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Equipped with an automatic document feeder that feeds originals placed on a document tray to a document table, and a sorter having multiple bins for sorting and storing copied sheets ejected from a paper ejecting section. A document copying system that performs a copying operation based on data written on a reservation sheet placed at the beginning of a group of documents, the document copying system storing the documents ejected from the automatic document feeder in a specific bin of the sorter. a conveying means; a stacking plate and a stacking tray arranged vertically movably on both sides of the bin; a stacking plate driving means and a stacking tray driving means for moving these up and down; a document stacking device having a stacking plate horizontal driving means that moves along a surface in the direction of the stacking tray, and when the copying operation for one document group is completed, the stacking plate driving means, the stacking tray driving means and the stacking plate horizontal A document copying system that activates a driving means to stack originals and copied sheets stored in a sorter on a stacking tray.