JPS6212575A - Sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent error in speed of rotation from taking place by providing a pair of subsidiary conveying rollers on a receiving means and connecting supporting shaft of one of said rollers to the supporting shaft of the supporting roller of a conveying belt means, in a sorter for a copying machine. CONSTITUTION:A pair of subsidiary conveying rollers 14, 15 are provided on the receiving means of a sorter for receiving sheets which are discharged from a copying machine, to guide the sheet heading for an overlapped part of a conveying belt 31 with a retractable tape 51, while applying a conveying force to the sheet. And, the supporting shaft 15a of the subsidiary roller 15 is connected to the supporting shaft 34a of a supporting roller 34 by means of an idle gear which is a rotation transmitting means, to synchronize the conveying speed by means of the subsidiary rollers 14, 15 with the speed of the conveying belt 31. Thereby, conveyance to a sorter can be smoothly carried out, while preventing error in the speed of rotation from taking place, with a simple construction.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Mouse! BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sorter that sequentially distributes sheets discharged from a copying machine into a plurality of aligned bins.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the past, various types of sorters have been provided, and in particular, there are sorters equipped with a retractable tape for pinching and conveying sheets between endlessly stretched conveyor belt means. The one described in JP-A-58-89560 is known.

This sorter transports the sheets ejected from the copying machine from the receiving means to the sending means using an endless conveyor belt and a tractor-pull tape based on the rotation of the conveyor belt. The sheets are sequentially distributed to each bin while moving intermittently along the bin. In this case, the retractable tape is reversible from the receiving means to the delivering means. Further, the conveyor belt is supported by rotatable rollers within the sending means, and is stretched endlessly over the entire moving range of the sending means, and the distance from the receiving means to the sending means increases as the sending means moves. Change automatically.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Incidentally, in the above sorter, the conveyor belt is rotating but the retractable tape is stationary.
If the leading edge of the sheet does not bite into the overlap between the two, especially if the distance from the pair of ejection rollers on the copying machine main body is long, the sheet may form a loop between them, causing misfeeds. There is.

Means for Solving the Problems Therefore, the sorter according to the present invention is a sorter of a type in which sheets are sandwiched and conveyed between a conveyor belt means and a tape means, and includes a receiving means for receiving sheets discharged from a copying machine. The present invention is characterized in that a pair of auxiliary conveyance rollers is provided, and a support shaft of the pair of auxiliary conveyance rollers and a support roller support shaft of the conveyance belt means are connected by a rotational force transmission means.

In other words, in the above configuration, even if the overlapping portion between the conveying belt means and the tape means is poorly bitten, the leading edge of the sheet is guided by the pair of auxiliary conveying rollers located immediately in front of the overlapping portion, and the conveying force is not applied. It will be bitten in the applied state, and misfeed will be reliably prevented.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of a sorter according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Configuration of Sorter] In FIG. 1, the sorter generally includes a bin assembly (1) in which a plurality of bins (2) are arranged vertically and a static elimination brush (3) is provided at the entrance, and a copying machine (not shown). a receiving means (10) for receiving sheets discharged from a pair of discharge rollers (70) of the machine body; A movable feeding means (20), a conveyor belt means (30) comprising an endless conveyor belt (31), and a tape means (30) comprising a retractable tape (51).
50).

The receiving means (10) is a pair of upper and lower guide plates (U).

(12), (13), (14), and a pair of upper and lower auxiliary conveyance rollers (14), (15), and the auxiliary conveyance roller (15) serves as a rotational force transmission means (56) as described below.
The auxiliary conveyance roller (14) is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow (a) by this rotation, and the auxiliary conveyance roller (14) is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow (b). Further, the nip portion of the rollers (14) and (15) is located at the conveyor belt (31) as shown by the arrow (C) in FIG.
) is opposed to the lower side of the overlap part of the tractor pull tape (51), and after the leading edge of the sheet conveyed by the rollers (14) and (15) comes into contact with the conveyor belt (31), the belt (31) and the tape (51) are bitten into the overlap part.

The feeding means (20) is arranged in a box (21) and consists of feeding means (25) and (26), and furthermore, in the box (21) there is a support roller (35) for the conveyor belt (31) and a tractor pull. A roller (54) to which the tip of the tape (51) is fixed is installed.

The box (2) is vertically movably supported by a guide member (60) attached to the main body frame of the sorter on the population side of each bin (2), and each bin (2) is moved downward by a drive means (not shown). It is possible to stop at each entrance and move intermittently.

The conveyor belt means (30) includes a conveyor belt (31), a drive roller (32), and a rotatable support roller (33).

(34), (35), and (36) in an endless manner, a part of which passes through the box (21), and the feeding means (
20), and cover the entire length of the vertical movement of the box (20).
1) is supported by a roller (61) rotatably provided on the main frame. When the box (21) moves downward, this roller (61) is used because the length of the conveyor belt (31) between the support rollers (34) and (35) is long.
It has the effect of applying auxiliary tension to the force A (I-pressure-down-nast-me-comb-hand-bell) (31). In addition, the support roller (
33) is held by a lever (38) biased in the direction of arrow (c) by a torsion spring (37), and the conveyor belt (3I)
It gives the right amount of tension.

On the other hand, the drive roller (32) contacts the conveyor belt (31) from the outside, and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, its support shaft (
A pulley (45) fixed to the end of the belt 32a) is connected to an idle pulley (43) via a timing belt (44), and another idle pulley (42) fixed coaxially with this idle pulley (43) is connected to a timing belt (44). The conveyor belt (31) is connected to the output pulley (40a) of the belt drive motor (40) via the belt (41).
is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow (e). Also, an idle pulley (42).

The support shaft (46) of (43) is attached to the frame (48) via an adjustment plate (47) so as to be adjustable in the directions of arrows (d) and (d').

The tape means (50) is wound around the roller (52) by the spring force of a spring means (not shown), and tensions the retractable tape (51) around the support roller (53), and also places the tip of the retractable tape (51) on the roller (54). It's stuck. The retractable tape (51) alternately overlaps the conveyor belt (31) between the rollers (53) and (54) (see Figure 4), and is pulled out from the roller (52) when the feeding means (20) descends. When it rises, it is wound up. Also millitractor pull tape (51)
has electrical conductivity.

This is to prevent the tape (51) from being triboelectrically charged and adsorbing the sheet.

As shown in Figure 4, multiple belts (31) and tapes (51) are installed alternately, and the reason why they overlap slightly is to prevent the sheet from buckling when it is held. This is to give the seat a ``waist'' so to speak. Further, the support rollers (34) and (53) have a width slightly larger than the width of the belt (31) and the tape (51), and between the support rollers (53) there is a conveyance roller (
55) is rotatably mounted, and a conveyance roller (39) is fixed to a support shaft (34a) between the support rollers (34).

Next, the rotational force transmission means (5) to the auxiliary conveyance roller (15)
6) will be explained.

This rotational force transmission means (6) is, as shown in FIG.
The support shaft (34) of the support roller (34) of the conveyor belt (31)
Gear (57) and auxiliary conveyance roller (15) fixed to a)
A gear (59) fixed to a support shaft (15a) is meshed with the gear (59) via an idle gear (58).

Furthermore, the drive transmission means for the feed rollers (25) and (26) has the same structure as the rotational force transmission means (56) from the support shaft (35a) of the support roller (35). Although gears are used as the rotational force transmitting means in this embodiment, a belt may also be used.

The conveyance speed of the sheet is determined by the feed roller (25).
, (26), the conveyance speed is (Vυ, conveyor belt (31
), the conveyance speed is (V, ), and the auxiliary conveyance roller (14)
, (15) is (v3), then V+
>Vt >V3.

Further, at least the sending means (2o) is the topmost (first
(solid line position in the figure), the auxiliary conveyance roller (14),
Feeding rollers (25), (2) from the nip part of (15)
The distance to the nip section 6) is set shorter than the length of the minimum size sheet.

[Operation of Sorter] At the start of co-tooling, the delivery means (20) returns to its home position, that is, it is located opposite the inlet of the topmost bin (2). When the belt drive motor (40) is started in this state, the conveyor belt (31) is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow (e), and the rotational force transmitting means (56) is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow (e).
), the auxiliary conveyance rollers (14) and (15) also follow the arrows (
b), rotates in the (a) direction, and feeds out the roller (
25) and (26) are also rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow in FIG. .

The sheet ejected from the copying machine is transported by an auxiliary conveyance roller (1
4) and (15), the leading edge of the sheet receives a conveying force toward the overlap between the belt (31) and the tape (51), and as shown by the arrow (b) in FIG.
3I), then belt (31) and tape (51)
is bitten by the conveyor belt (31), is conveyed to the sending means (20) by the rotation of the conveying belt (31), and is conveyed to the sending roller (25), (
26) into the top bin (2). At this time, the sheet is attached to the static elimination brush (3) installed at the entrance of the bottle (2).
) to prevent floating during feeding and to remove static electricity.

Sheet feeding is detected by transmission type photosensors (62a) and (62b) provided at the top and bottom of the sorter body, and the presence or absence of sheets on the bin (2) is detected by transmission type photosensors (63c) and (63d). Detected at When a sheet is fed into one bin (2), the feeding means (2)
0) moves down one step to face the entrance of the next bin (2), performs the same feeding operation as described above, and when the required number of sheets has been sorted or fed to the bottom bin (2), Return to home position.

In the above operation, the sheet is guided by the auxiliary conveying rollers (14) and (15) and conveying force is applied to it just before it is bitten into the overlap part of the belt (31) and tape (51), so that the sheet can be reliably It will be eaten up. Furthermore, just before the tape (51) is bitten, the belt (51) is in a rotating state without contacting the tape (51) in a stopped state.
3I) from the direction of rotation and direction, the biting itself becomes smooth. The auxiliary conveyance roller (15) is driven by the support shaft (34a) of the conveyance belt support roller (34).
Since the conveyor belt (31) and the auxiliary conveyance rollers (14) and (15) can be rotated in synchronization, the structure can be simplified. Furthermore, since the conveyance speed of the auxiliary conveyance rollers (14) and (15) (v3) is set slightly lower than the conveyance speed of the conveyor belt (31) (V,), sheet loops occur. There is no danger, and problems such as paper folding do not occur.

On the other hand, since the conveyor belt (31) is stretched around the drive roller (32) from the outside, there is no need to remove the drive roller (32) when replacing the belt, and therefore the drive system from the motor (40) is not required. There is no need to remove certain pulleys (45), timing belts (44), etc., and there is no need to readjust these, especially readjust the tension of the timing belt (44), making the belt replacement work easy.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, the present invention provides a pair of auxiliary conveyance rollers in the receiving means for receiving sheets discharged from a copying machine, so that the sheet is guided toward the overlap portion between the conveyance belt and the tape. At the same time, conveying force can be applied, and the sheet can be bitten smoothly and reliably. Further, since the support shaft of the auxiliary conveyance roller pair and the support roller support shaft of the conveyance belt means are connected by the rotational force transmission means, the structure of the drive system of the auxiliary conveyance roller pair is simplified, and the conveyor belt means and the support roller support shaft of the conveyance belt means The rotation of the pair of transport rollers is synchronized, and there is no risk of an error in rotational speed compared to a case where a separate drive system is used.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the sorter according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a front view showing the overall schematic configuration, FIG. 2 is a front view of the receiving means, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the rotational force transmitting means. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the support roller portion, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are a side view and a front view of the belt drive section. (1)...Pin assembly IJ, (2)...Bin, (10)...Receiving means, (14), (15
)... Auxiliary conveyance roller, (15a)... Support shaft,
(20)... Feeding means, (30)... Conveying belt means, (31)... Conveying belt, (33a)
... Support roller spindle, (50) ... Tape means,
(51)...Retractable tape, (56)...
- Rotational force transmission means, (57). (5B),, (59)...Gear. Patent Applicant Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Aobai Ao and 2 others Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A bin assembly in which a plurality of bins are arranged vertically, a receiving means for receiving sheets discharged from a copying machine, and a receiving means along the entrance of each bin for sequentially feeding the sheets to each bin. a feeding means movable intermittently;
a conveyor belt means stretched endlessly between the receiving means and the sending means for conveying the sheet toward the sending means; and the receiving means for holding and conveying the sheet between the conveyor belt means. In the sorter, the receiving means is provided with a pair of auxiliary conveyance rollers, and a support shaft of the pair of auxiliary conveyance rollers and a support roller support shaft of the conveyance belt means are rotated. A sorter characterized by being connected by a force transmission means.