JPS6143269B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a collator for collating sheets successively fed from a copying machine or a printing machine.

Typically, a collator includes a sheet transport path, a plurality of sheet storage bins, and a movable deflection device for distributing sheets to the bins. By moving the deflection device, a collation operation is performed in which sheets corresponding to the same page of the original are stored one by one in separate bins. In this work, the number of sheet storage bins is finite, and it may be desired to collect a large number of fractions that exceed the total number of bins. In this case, it is desirable that the input device of the collator, that is, the copying machine, produce all the copies at once without stopping operation midway. For this reason, conventionally several collator units have been continued. However, this increases the cost and space for the additional unit, and also increases the number of jamming locations on the seat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to enable collation of more copies than the total number of bins without providing additional collators.

In the method of the present invention, when collating more copies than the total number of bins, the entire bin is divided into two blocks, an upper block and a lower block, and collation is carried out alternately between the upper block and the lower block. This completes the collation of all numbers. That is, while performing collation in the lower block or upper block,
The sheets in the upper block or lower block that have already been collated are taken out. Of course,
When the number of collated copies is smaller than the total number of bins, the entire bin is used continuously without dividing into upper and lower blocks like this.

The method of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

In FIG. 1, a conveyor belt 1 is wrapped around a drive roller 2 and a driven roller 3, and the drive roller 2 is driven by a motor 4 via a belt 5 as shown in FIG. The driven roller 3 forms, together with the receiving roller 6, a sheet receiving roller pair, and together with the guide roller 7, forms a guide roller pair. 8
is a sheet receiving detector, and 9 is a receiving guide plate. A large number of trays 1 forming a seat storage bin
0 are arranged vertically in parallel, and the sheet insertion opening of each tray is located at a position facing the conveyor belt. Between the trays 10 and the conveyor belt 1, a deflection plate 11 is attached to each tray and arranged along the conveyor belt. Reference numeral 12 denotes a deflection device, which is mounted so as to be movable up and down along a guide rail by means of rollers 13.
Each deflection plate 11, 11' is mounted pivotably about a pivot 15, 15', and the deflection plates 11' located at substantially constant intervals have a conveying roller 16 on its pivot 15'. is provided. The distance between the conveying rollers 16 provided on the deflection plate 11' is smaller than the minimum size of the sheet to be used, and the conveying rollers 16 are connected to the conveying belt 1 in cooperation with the conveying belt 1 to convey the sheet. It is something that

In FIG. 2, the deflection device 12 has a pair of discharge rollers located between the deflection plate 11 and the tray 10.
7, 18 and a discharge guide plate 19, and a deflection pin 20 in the region of the deflection plate. 21 is a sheet discharge detector. The deflection plates 11, 11' are provided with deflection cams 22 fixed thereto, the deflection plates and the deflection cams being normally in the position shown in broken lines. That is, the deflection plates 11 and 11' are located at positions that do not interfere with the conveyance of copies by the conveyor belt 1, and the deflection cams 22
is in contact with the deflection pin 20 of the deflection device 12 outside the range of the copy conveyance path. FIG. 2 shows that the deflecting device 12 includes a deflecting plate 11' having a conveying roller 16.
Indicates that it is in a position to cooperate with. When the deflection device 12 is lowered and its deflection pin 20 comes into contact with the deflection cam 22, the deflection cam 22 moves along the pivot axis 1 with the deflection plate 11'.
5' counterclockwise to the operating position shown in solid line. In this operating position, the deflection plate 11' projects into the sheet conveyance path by the conveyor belt 1,
The fed sheet is deflected away from the conveyor belt 1 and guided to a pair of discharge rollers 17 and 18. Therefore, each deflection plate 11, 11' has a deflection guide surface 11
a, 11'a. The sheet is then fed into the tray 10, at which time the feeding of the tray is monitored by a sheet discharge detector 21.
When the feeding of the sheet to the tray 10 is finished and the deflection device 12 descends to the next tray position, the deflection pin 20 and the deflection cam 22 come out of contact, and the deflection plate and deflection cam return to their original positions shown by broken lines. Return.

In FIG. 3, a sprocket 23 is fixedly attached to the shaft of the drive roller 2.
and the sprocket 24 attached to the shaft of the driven roller 3.
A discharge roller drive chain 25 is hung between the two. The chain 25 passes through sprockets 26, 26 attached to the shafts of both rollers 13 of the deflection device 12, and then connects to the sprocket 2 fixed to the discharge roller 18.
7, thereby causing the ejection roller 1
8. Therefore, the discharge roller 17, which is a driven roller thereof, is constantly rotated while the conveyor belt 1 is rotating. The deflection device 12 is connected to a belt device 28 arranged in parallel with the conveyor belt 1, and is reliably moved to the position of each bin via the belt device by a pulse motor 29.

In Figure 1, the number of trays or bins is 9.
Although only one bin is shown, for the sake of explanation below, it is assumed that there are 20 bins, and when collating a large number of copies, this
Here, the 20 bins are divided into 10 bins with 10 bins as the upper block and 10 bins as the lower block. In each of the first bins of the upper block and lower block, which are divided into 10 bins, there is a sheet detector 31 located at a back position away from the sheet insertion opening of the tray for detecting the presence or absence of sheets or the number of sheets inserted. , 32 are arranged. Guide rail 14
The switch 30 provided on the top of the deflection device 1
This is a home position detector for detecting whether or not 2 is at the home position (the highest position).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control circuit of the collator. Here, the central processing unit, RAM, and ROM are collectively shown as a CPU. 10
8 and 121 are the I/0 ports of the sheet receiving detector 8 and the sheet discharging detector 21, 130 is the I/0 port of the home position detector 30, and 131 and 132 are the upper block first bin sheet detector 31.
and the I/0 port of the lower block first bin sheet detector 32, and 129 is the pulse motor 29.
This is the I/0 port of the driver circuit (not shown).
Reference numeral 110 indicates a control circuit of the main body of the copying machine, which is not shown.

The operation of this control circuit will be explained below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Collator control information is input to the CPU from the control circuit 110 of the copying machine main body (step in FIG. 5). Based on this input information, the CPU performs the following operations.

First, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the home position detector 30 and determines whether the deflection device 12 is at the home position (the highest position in this embodiment) (see FIG. 5). step). The home position detector 30 is the deflection device 1
2 is not detected, the CPU sends a deflection device rise signal (pulse motor counterclockwise rotation signal) to the pulse motor drive circuit port 129. As a result, a signal is applied to the pulse motor 29 to move the deflection device by exactly one bin, and the deflection device 12 is moved by one bin.
Bottle rises (step). Each time the deflection device moves one bin, the CPU designates the home position detector port 130 to determine whether the deflection device is in the home position. When the home position detector 30 detects the deflection device, that is, when the deflection device reaches the position of the highest bin (the first bin of the upper block), the pulse motor is stopped and the deflection device is stopped at this position.

Next, the CPU detects all bins in both the upper and lower blocks by specifying the upper block first bin sheet detector port 131 and the lower block first bin sheet detector port 132 to see if there are sheets in both bins. Check the presence or absence of the sheet (step). If there is a sheet in the bin, the CPU outputs a "sheet present" signal to the control circuit 110 of the copying machine main body (step). As a result, the main body of the copying machine uses an indicator to display to the outside that the sheet is in the collator. Sheet feeding to the collator, ie, copy making, has not yet started. When all the sheets in the bin are taken out, or when there are no sheets in the bin, the CPU reads the collator control information from the copying machine and collates it into the page number set register R1, which is an internal register of the CPU. Set the number of pages P you want to collate, and set the number N of copies you want to collate in the specified number of copies set register R2 (step
).

Next, the CPU determines how to use the bin, that is, whether to divide the entire bin into upper and lower blocks for use. In this embodiment, the total number of bins is 20, so it is determined whether 20 bins are sufficient to collate the specified number of copies N, that is, whether 21 or more bins are required (step). If the specified number of copies N is less than 20 bins, the CPU sets the number N in the upper copy number register R3, which is an internal register (step). On the other hand, if the specified number of copies N is 21 bins or more, a total of 20 bins are divided into two parts, an upper block and a lower block, for use. In this embodiment, the bins are divided into an upper block of 10 bins and a lower block of 10 bins, so the first bin of the lower block is the 11th bin counting from the top bin. The number of bins for each block divided into the upper and lower parts of the CPU is 10 for the upper part and 10 for the lower part.
The copies are respectively set in the upper copy number register R3 and the lower copy number register R4 inside the CPU (step).

When the CPU determines how to use the bin, it outputs a paper feed start signal to the control circuit 110 of the main body of the copying machine (step). Upon receiving this start signal, the main body of the copying machine starts making copies and therefore starts feeding sheets.

The sheet copied by the copying machine main body passes through the sheet acceptance detector 8 and is transported by the conveyor belt 1, as described above. Initially, the deflection device 12 is located in the first bin of the upper block, so unless the sheet jams on the way, it will be deflected by the first deflection plate 11 belonging to the first bin, and the discharge roller pair
7, 18, the sheet is first placed in the upper block No. 1.
It will be discharged into the bin. Therefore, the CPU first specifies the receiving detector port 108 to determine the presence or absence of the received sheet (step), and after the sheet receiving detector 8 detects the sheet, the sheet discharge detector 21 provided in the deflection device detects the sheet. The sheet jam detection is performed by checking the time T until detection of the sheet jam (step). Sheet discharge detector 2
1 detects a sheet, and if the sheet is successfully discharged into the first bin, this should be confirmed by the sheet detector 31 mounted on the first bin of the upper block. The CPU sees this by designating the first bin sheet detector port 131 of the upper block (step). When the sheets stored in the bin are confirmed, the CPU increases the value of the upper sheet detection counter R5 inside the CPU by +1 (step). Then, the time from when the sheet ejection detector 21 of the deflection device detects the sheet to when the sheet is no longer detected by the detector, that is, until the sheet is ejected, is checked, and a jam around the deflection device is also detected (step). .

When the sheet passes through the discharge detector 21 of the deflection device and the sheet is no longer detected by the detector (that is, when the sheet is stored in the first bin of the upper block), the CPU reads the number of copies from the preset upper copy number register R3. Subtract 1 (step). As mentioned above, this upper copy number register is set to N if the specified number of copies N is 20 bins or less, and 10 if it is 21 bins or more, so 1 is subtracted from this value. That will happen. here,
The CPU determines whether collation (distribution) of the specified number of copies N of the first page of the set number of pages P has been completed, that is, whether the content of the upper number of copies register R3 has become zero as a result of the above subtraction. Make a judgment (step). If the number of copies set in the step is 1, distribution ends immediately. If the process does not end, the CPU specifies the pulse motor drive circuit port 129 and outputs a signal for lowering the deflection device by one bin (step). The deflection device 12 is therefore lowered by one bin. Next, the CPU steps
Returning to step 13, the I/0 port of the sheet receiving detector 8 is designated to detect the next sheet to be carried in.

On the other hand, the copying machine main unit prints the predetermined number of copies (N or 10
When the sheet of the first section) is fed, the feeding of that sheet is stopped (step 〓).

The above steps are repeated until the contents of the upper copy number register R3 become zero. When register R3 becomes zero, the predetermined number of copies (N
This means that the distribution of the upper block 10 bins has been completed, and the process proceeds to step.

In step, the CPU compares the content P of the page register R1, which has been set in advance, with the content of the upper detection counter R5. Since the content of the upper detection counter R5 increases by 1 each time a sheet is inserted into the first bin of the upper block, the specified number of pages P can be determined by comparing it with the number of pages P set in the page register R1. It can be determined whether distribution of a predetermined number of copies (N or top 10 bins) for all pages has been completed. If the set number of pages P is 2 or more, the content of the detection counter R5 does not yet match the set number of pages P at this point. In this case, the CPU raises the deflection device 12 to the home position (steps 〓, 〓). Once the deflection device is raised to and held in the home position,
The CPU outputs a paper feed start signal to the copying machine body (step 〓). The CPU again sets the desired number of copies (N or upper 10 bins) in the upper copy number register R3, and prepares for distribution of the next page (step ⓓ).

When the next page is detected by the receiving detector 8, repeat the above steps to
A sheet is inserted into 10 bins. Subsequent pages are similarly distributed to bins, and the sheets are stacked in page order in one bin.

When the CPU completes collating the desired number of copies (N or upper 10 bins) for all pages P, the CPU checks the contents of the lower number of copies register R4 (step 〓).
If the specified number of copies N is less than 20 bins, the content of the lower number of copies register R4 is zero, so collation of N copies for the number of pages P is completed at this point (step 〓). If the lower number of copies register R4 is not zero, then
That is, when collating a large number of copies, the collation is then performed in the 10 bins of the lower block.

The CPU determines whether a sheet is present in the first bin of the lower block by designating the lower block first bin sheet detector port 132 (step). If there is a sheet, a signal indicating that there is a sheet is output to the copying machine body (step). If there are no sheets and collation is possible,
The CPU lowers the deflection device 12 by one bin and moves it to the first bin of the lower block (step). A lower block use signal is output to the copying machine main body (step 〓). Based on this, the "lower block in use" display causes the operator to take out the collated sheets from the upper block to the outside until the collating operation for the lower block is completed.

The collating operation in the lower block is performed in the same manner as in the upper block described above. The steps 〓 to 〓 in the figure correspond to the steps 〓 to 〓 of the collating operation in the upper block. However, in step 1, the deflection device is returned to the first bin of the lower block each time the sheets have been distributed to all the bins of the lower block. In the lower block, when the set number of copies (10 bins) has been collated for all set page numbers P (step
〓), the CPU starts from the specified number of copies specified from the copying machine, that is, from the contents of the specified number of copies set register R220
Performs bin subtraction (step 〓). The result of this subtraction becomes the new specified number of copies. Then, the CPU resets both the upper and lower detection counters R5 and R6 (step 〓). The CPU returns the deflection device 12 to the home position (steps 〓, 〓).

In this way, the upper block returns to a state in which collation is possible. Up to this point, the collation of copies equivalent to 20 bins has been completed. However, when dividing the 20 bins into an upper block and a lower block, the number of copies to be collated exceeds 20 bins, so the remaining copies are subsequently collated in the upper block. However, check whether there is a sheet in the first bin of the upper block (step 〓).
If the sheet has not been taken out yet, a signal indicating that the sheet is present is output to the copying machine main body, and the operator is notified to take out the sheet (step 〓).

When it is confirmed that there is no sheet in the upper block, the CPU compares the number of bins in the upper block (10 bins) with the new specified number of copies (N'=N-20) (step <). If the new designated number of copies N' is within the number of bins of the upper block, the CPU sets the new designated number of copies N' in the upper number of copies register R3 (step 〓) and returns to the step as indicated by symbol A. If the new specified number of copies N' is not less than 10 bins, the CPU determines whether the new specified number of copies N' exceeds the total number of collator bins (20 bins) in step <<. If there are 21 or more bins, return to the step as indicated by symbol B. If the number is within 20 bins, the CPU sets the upper number of copies (10 bins) in the upper number of copies register R3 (step 〓), and subtracts the upper number of copies (10 bins) from the new specified number of copies N' and sets the result in the lower number of copies register R3.
4 (step 〓) and return to the step as shown by symbol A. Unlike the case of steps, the reason for dividing the sheets into upper and lower blocks in this manner is to take into consideration the time required to take out the sheets that were previously collated and inserted into the lower block.

Although the collation mode has been described above, it is also possible to store several sheets in one bin and then move the deflection device to the next bin. To use this kind of sorting mode, for example 1
The sheet discharge detector 21 detects the number of sorted sheets entering the bin.
It is sufficient to detect it with a separate counter, count it with another counter, and lower the deflection device by one bin when it reaches a predetermined value.

As described above, in the present invention, the entire bin is used continuously in one row when collating a small number of copies less than the total number of bins, and is divided into an upper block and a lower block when collating a large number of copies exceeding the total number of bins. It is possible to collate a large number of copies without stopping the operation of the copying machine, as in the past.

In the collator of the embodiment, the deflection device moves from the upper bin to the lower bin during collation, but it is clear that the deflection device may move conversely from the bottom to the top.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a collator to which the present invention is applied;
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the deflection device part, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the drive part of the deflection device, FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example of a control circuit for implementing the method of the present invention, and FIG. 5a
-d are flowcharts showing an example of the method of the present invention. 1... Conveyor belt, 8... Sheet receiving detector,
10... Tray (bin), 12... Deflection device, 2
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Sheet discharge detector, 30... Home position detector, 31... Upper block first bin sheet detector, 32... Lower block first bin sheet detector, 110... Control circuit of the main body of the copying machine.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for collating a colleter comprising a sheet conveyance path, a plurality of sheet storage bins, and a movable deflection device for distributing sheets to these bins, comprising: It is determined whether the specified number of copies to be printed is less than the total number of bins, and if the specified number of copies is greater than the total number of bins, the entire bin is divided into an upper block and a lower block, and sheet distribution work is performed for each bin belonging to one of the blocks. After the sheet distribution work is completed, the sheet distribution work is started for each of the remaining bins belonging to the other block, and after the sheet distribution work for each bin belonging to the other block is completed, the sheet distribution work for each bin belonging to the other block is A collating method characterized in that a sheet distribution operation is started again for each bin belonging to. 2. When transferring sheet distribution work from either the upper block or the lower block to the other block, check whether there is a sheet in the bin of the next block to which the transfer is to be made, and confirm that no sheet exists. 2. The collating method according to claim 1, wherein the method starts distributing sheets for each bin belonging to the next block when it is confirmed.