JPS6218461B2 - - Google Patents

Description

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

Collators typically include a sheet transport path, multiple sheet storage bins, and a movable deflection device for distributing sheets to these bins, and can be used in either collation or sorting modes. It has a unique structure. That is, even in the collation mode, in which sheets of the same page are stored one by one in separate bins, or in the collation mode, sheets are stored in one bin consecutively and when a predetermined number of sheets are stored, the sheets are stored in the next bin. It can also be operated in sorting mode. However, the number of sheet storage bins is limited, and it may be desired to collate or sort a large number of sheets that exceeds 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 are connected in series.
However, this increases the cost and space for the additional unit, and also increases the number of jamming locations on the seat. Also, the number of components of the control circuit increases accordingly.

Therefore, it is desirable to be able to collate or sort more copies than the total number of bins with one collator without providing an additional collator, that is, to enable limitless collation. In principle, when collating or sorting more copies than the total number of bins, the entire bin is divided into two blocks, an upper block and a lower block, at an arbitrary number of bins, and the upper block and lower block are used alternately. It is sufficient to collate or sort the items, and finally complete the collation or sorting of all the items. That is, while collation or sorting is being performed in the lower block or upper block, sheets in the upper block or lower block that have already been collated or sorted are taken out. Of course, if the number of pieces to be collated or sorted is less than the total number of bins,
In this way, the entire bin is used continuously without dividing it into upper and lower blocks.

One problem in making the former type of limitless collation possible is that it is necessary to additionally determine the boundary position between the upper block and lower block, as well as the position where the direction of movement of the deflection device is reversed (second home position). There is. This second home position can be determined based on the number of sheets detected to be discharged from the bin, but since the number of sheets is counted based on the first home position, the deflection device is When returning from the bin to the first bin of the lower block, it is necessary to return the deflection device to its first home position, that is, to the first bin of the upper block. This waiting time causes disadvantages such as the need to temporarily stop the copying operation of the copying machine. Furthermore, in the case of the sorting mode, if the number of sheets to be sorted to be stored in each bin differs from bin to bin, setting the second home position becomes extremely complicated.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and effective means for determining the second home position without such drawbacks.

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 a sheet receiving roller pair together with the receiving roller 6, and forms a guide roller pair together with the guide roller 7. 8 is a sheet acceptance detector, and 9 is an acceptance guide plate. A large number of trays 10 forming a seat storage bin
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 14 by 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 in each deflecting 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 so as to convey the sheet in cooperation with the conveying belt 1. This is what we are doing.

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 deflection section sheet detector. The deflection plates 11, 11' are
It is equipped with a fixed deflection cam 22, with the deflection plate and the deflection cam normally located in the position indicated by the dashed line.
That is, the deflection plates 11 and 11' are located at positions that do not interfere with the conveyance of the sheet by the conveyor belt 1, and the deflection cams 2
2 is located at a position outside the range of the sheet conveyance path and in contact with the deflection pin 20 of the deflection device 12. FIG.
It is shown in a position cooperating with 1'. Deflection device 1
2 is lowered and its deflection pin 20 comes into contact with the deflection cam 22, and the deflection cam 22, together with the deflection plate 11', pivots counterclockwise around the pivot 15' to the operating position shown in solid lines. In this operating position, the deflection plate 1
1' protrudes into the sheet conveyance path by the conveyor belt 1, deflects the conveyed sheet away from the conveyor belt 1, and guides it to a pair of discharge rollers 17 and 18. For this purpose, each deflection plate 11, 11' is provided with a deflection guide surface 11a, 11'a. The sheet is then fed into the tray 10, at which time the feeding into the tray is monitored by the deflector sheet detector 21. When the feeding of the sheet to the tray 10 is completed and the deflection device 12 is lowered to move to the next tray position, the deflection pin 20 and the deflection cam 22 come out of contact, and the deflection plate and the deflection cam return to their original positions shown by broken lines. Return to.

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. Although the vertical drive mechanism of the deflection device 12 is not shown, for example, the deflection device is coupled to a belt device provided in parallel with the conveyor belt 1, and a pulse motor is used to securely position each bin via the belt device. move it to

In Figure 1, the number of trays or bins is 9, but is not shown, but for convenience of explanation below, it is assumed that there are 20 bins, and when collating or sorting a large number of copies,
Here, these 20 bins are divided into an upper block and a lower block. In each bin of both the upper and lower blocks, a bin sheet detector 31 is installed at a deep position away from the sheet insertion opening of the tray to detect the presence or absence of sheets or the number of sheets inserted.
is installed. A switch 30 provided at the top of the guide rail 14 is a home position detector for detecting whether the deflection device 12 is at the home position (the highest position), and a switch 32 is a home position detector for detecting whether the deflection device 12 is at the home position (the highest position). This is an end detector to detect when the end position (lowest position) has been reached.

In order to be able to arbitrarily select and determine the number of bins for both the upper and lower blocks, a second home position is set in the middle of the movement path of the deflection device 12, as shown in FIG. A detection device 33 is provided. This setting detection device 33 includes a belt or wire 28 provided in parallel with the conveyor belt 1 on the side of the deflection device 12 that does not face the bin.
The deflection device 12 is composed of a permanent magnet 34 fixed to the permanent magnet 34 and a Hall element 35 attached to the back surface of the deflection device 12 so as to be adjacent to and opposite to the magnet. The position of the second home position is determined by the belt 28 by the pulse motor 29.
Magnet (second home position designation element) 3
By changing the position of 4, the position of any bin can be changed and set. Whether or not the deflection device 12 is in its second home position is determined by the Hall element (second home position detector) 35. It can be detected by

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of the control section of the collator. The outline of the operation in collation mode will be explained as follows with reference to FIG.

In the case of collation mode, the designated number N of copies to be obtained by collation and the designated number P of pages to be collated must be considered. First, it is determined whether the specified number of copies N is greater than the total number of bins, 20 (step). If the specified number of copies N is less than or equal to the total number of bins, there is no need to divide the bins into blocks. The second home position control device 36 moves the second home position designating element 34 to the bin position corresponding to the designated portion.
move (step). A sheet arrives at the deflection device 12 located at the first bin, and the end of the sheet is detected by the deflection section sheet detector 21 (step). When it is confirmed that a sheet is stored in the bin, the deflection device control device 37 lowers the deflection device 12 by one bin.
Transferred to the second bin (step). Control circuit 3
8, it is determined whether the deflection device has reached the second home position, that is, whether the detector 35 has reached the position of the designated element 34 (step). As a result, when it is determined that the deflection device has not yet reached the second home position, the process returns to step, the deflection section sheet is detected in the second bin, and the upper operation is repeated. .

When the deflection device 12 successively descends and reaches a preset second home position, distribution of the first page of the designated number of copies is completed. Second
An output signal appears on the home position detector 35, and the control circuit 38 compares the designated page number P with the collated page number executed above (step). If the specified number of pages P has not been collated yet, the deflection device control circuit 37 raises the deflection device 12 until the first home position detector 30 is activated (step). This returns to the step again and the distribution of sheets of the second page continues sequentially from the first bin. Repeat the above steps ~, and finally the specified number of pages P
collation is completed. If the specified number of copies N is equal to or smaller than the total number of bins, all collation is completed (step).

If the designated number N is greater than the total number of 20 bins, the second home position designating element 3 is moved to the designated bin position for the purpose of dividing the bins into blocks.
Move 4 (step 〓). Thereafter, collation for the upper block is performed by repeating the above steps. When the collation in the upper block is completed, the process proceeds from step to step, and the deflection device 12 is subsequently lowered one bin.
Enter collation in the lower block. Each time the end of the sheet is detected by the sheet detector 21 of the deflection section, the deflection device is lowered by one bin (step,
). When the deflection device 12 is lowered to the lowest position and the end switch 32 is actuated, the process proceeds from step 1 to determine whether distribution of the specified number of pages P has been completed. When the specified number of pages P is plural, the deflection device 12 is raised to the second home position (step) until the detector 35 matches the position of the specified element 34, and the next page is distributed again. It will be done.

When the collation in the lower block is completed by repeating steps .about., the deflection device is returned to the first home position (step). Returning to step again, the remaining number of copies from the designated number of copies is set as a new designated number of copies, and compared with the total number of bins. If the new designated number of copies is less than or equal to the total number of bins, the second home position designation element 34 is moved to the bin position corresponding to the new designated number of copies; otherwise, collation is performed at the second home position as it is. will be carried out.

In this way, in order to determine which bin position the deflection device 12 is currently in, there is no need to count the number of ejected sheets from the first home position; It is sufficient to judge whether the position of the second home position designating element 34 has been reached. Therefore, there is no need to return the deflection device to the first home position when collating the lower block and transferring the lower block to the first bin. Further, even in the sorting mode in which different numbers of sheets are distributed to each bin, there is no need for complicated calculation circuits or processing to determine which sheet discharge corresponds to which bin.

In the above embodiment, there is only one second home position detector 35, and therefore the first bin in the lower block overlaps with the last bin in the upper block. After the end,
It is desirable to first extract the collated documents in the final bin of the upper block that overlap. If you do this,
It is now possible to collate up to the maximum number of sheets that can be stored in one bin, and documents with only the first page missing can be obtained from duplicate bins by collating them in the lower block, so you can add the first page later. become. The second home position is configured by arranging second home position switches at appropriate bin positions on the movement path of the deflection device, and selectively designating one of these switches to detect the deflection device. You can do it like this.

Next, another embodiment of the collator of the present invention will be described.

In FIG. 6, the conveyor belt 1 is connected to the drive roller 2.
A first chain 25 is connected to a sprocket 23 fixed to the shaft of the drive roller 2 and a sprocket 24 loosely attached to the shaft of the driven roller 3. In this case, since the diameter of the sprocket 23 is smaller than the diameter of the drive roller 2, the speed of the chain 25 is slower than that of the conveyor belt. Furthermore, the chain 25 is connected to each sprocket 39 and the deflection device 12 provided in the conveying section.
It is hung on sprockets 40, 41, 42, and 43 provided in the.

The deflection device 12 is designed to rise when the ascending chain 25 and the sprocket of the deflection device are fixed, and to descend when the descending chain and deflection device are fixed. For this purpose, a spring clutch 44 is attached to a sprocket 40 mounted on the fixed shaft of the deflection device. This clutch 44 is
It is controlled by a lifting solenoid 45 via a lever 46, and by energizing the solenoid 45, the clutch 44 is released and the sprocket 4 is
0 becomes free, only the chain 25 rotates and the deflection device 12 does not move. Lifting solenoid 45
When the lever 46 is released, the lever 46 springs back and the sprocket 40 is locked onto its fixed shaft via the clutch 44, so that the sprocket 40 and thus the deflection device 12 are entrained in the ascending chain 25. When the deflection device 12 rises to the highest position at which it should be stopped, it operates the home position switch 30 (FIG. 9), which energizes the solenoid 45, and when the clutch 44 is released, the deflection device 12 moves to the chain 25. The connection is severed and the ascent stops.

The downward movement of the deflection device 12 is essentially the same as the upward movement described above, but it is important that it must descend by a precisely determined amount. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 7, a sprocket 43 that meshes with the chain 25, a spring clutch 47 attached to this sprocket, an electromagnetic clutch 49 provided between this spring clutch 47 and a shaft 48, and a A descending solenoid 50 for connecting and disconnecting, a lever 51 connected to the plunger of this solenoid, and a cam sleeve having a notch 52a for engaging and disengaging with one end of the lever and controlling the connection and disconnection of the spring clutch 47. 52 are provided. A further sprocket 53 is fixed to the shaft 48, as shown in FIG. 8, and this sprocket 53 meshes with a second chain 54 which is fixed to the conveyor and therefore stationary.

When the lowering solenoid 50 is deenergized, the engaging end of the lever 51 engages with the notch 52a of the cam sleeve 52 and disconnects the spring clutch 47. Therefore, even if the sprocket 43 is rotated by the chain 25, the shaft remains unchanged. 48 does not rotate, and the deflection device 12 is stopped. When the lowering solenoid 50 is energized, the engaging end of the lever 51 engages with the notch 52a of the cam sleeve.
When the spring clutch 47 is disengaged, the rotation of the sprocket 43 by the chain 25 is transmitted to the shaft 48 via the electromagnetic clutch 49, which is normally on, so that another sprocket 53 rotates together with the shaft 48. , this is sprocket 5
3 rolls along the stationary second chain 54, and eventually the deflection device 12 is lowered. The lowering solenoid 50 is deenergized again immediately after the engaging end of the lever 51 is disengaged from the notch 52a of the cam sleeve, so the engaging end of the lever 51 moves around the cam sleeve 52 while maintaining the engaged state. The cam sleeve 52 slides along the surface and, after half a turn, engages with another notch 52a to stop the cam sleeve 52. Therefore, the spring clutch 47 is again disengaged, and the deflection device 12 is stopped in accordance with the shaft 48 and the sprocket 53 fixed thereto. In this manner, the deflection device 12 is lowered by exactly a distance corresponding to half the circumference of the cam sleeve 52 during its lowering, which distance corresponds to the spacing between adjacent bins.

In FIG. 9, a vacuum chamber 58 is disposed between both running sides of the conveyor belt 1, which is applied to the drive roller 2 and the driven roller 3, and is constantly maintained at a negative pressure by a blower 59. At the wall portion of the vacuum chamber 58 opposite to the row of bottles and at the contact position of the conveyor belt,
A large number of suction holes are provided in a row, and the conveyor belt 1 is also provided with suction holes. The drive roller 2 is rotationally driven by a motor 4. 32
is an end detection switch for lowering the guide device. A motor 2 is installed near the bin side of the deflection device 12.
A second home position setting detection device 33 driven by the reference numeral 9 is disposed. The second home position designation element 34 is one piece, but unlike the case in FIG. 3, the detector is composed of two pieces 35a and 35b, and both detectors are arranged vertically apart by an interval equivalent to one bin. has been done. It can be arbitrarily determined which of the belt 28 or the deflection device 12 the designated element is provided with, and whether a plurality of designated elements or detectors are provided. In this embodiment, for convenience, a case will be described in which one magnet 34 is provided on the belt 28 and two Hall elements 35a and 35b are provided on the deflection device.

When the copy comes to the point where the suction hole of the vacuum chamber and the suction hole of the conveyor belt match, the copy is sucked by the conveyor belt and is carried along with the movement of the conveyor belt until it reaches the guide device 1.
2, where it is deflected by a guide cam 11 shown in FIG. 10 and fed into a predetermined bin.

In FIG. 10, the copies sent to the deflection device 12 by the conveyor belt 1 are deflected by the deflection cam 11 attached to each bin, which corresponds to the bin where the deflection device is stopped in order to feed the copies. Since the cam is located at a position protruding from the conveyor belt 1, the curved surface of this deflection cam is separated from the surface of the conveyor belt 1, and the guide plates 55, 5 supported by the deflection device 12
6, is gripped by a pair of discharge rollers 17 and 18, and discharged into a bin. The deflection cam 11 is held at a position protruding from the surface of the conveyor belt 1 by locking a deflection cam drive lever 57 provided on the deflection device 12 at the solid line position. When the deflection device is lowered, this deflection cam drive lever 57 is at the position shown by the solid line, causing the required deflection cam to protrude from the surface of the conveyor belt, but when the deflection device is raised, it moves to the position shown by the broken line, and comes into contact with each deflection cam. be prevented from doing so. This lever 57 is controlled by the lifting solenoid 4 mentioned above.
5. That is, the rising solenoid 4
When solenoid 45 is OFF, the guide device 12 is raised with the lever 57 at the dashed line position in FIG. 10, and conversely, when the solenoid 45 is ON, the lever 57 is at the solid line position in FIG. The guide device 12 is in a state in which it expects the lowering solenoid 50 to be turned on.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the control circuit of the collator. CPU is the central processing unit, 60 is the I/0 port, timer, and random access memory
It is a device consisting of RAM. ROM is a read-only memory, and 61 is a timer circuit that is controlled by the CPU and monitors the sheet conveyance time in each bin. The timer circuit 61 functions as a jam detection time generating circuit that generates a jam detection signal when the end of the sheet is not detected within a predetermined conveyance time. Reference numeral 62 indicates a control circuit of the main body of the copying machine. 8', 21', and 31' are the I/O devices of the sheet receiving detector 8, the deflecting section sheet detector 21, the bin sheet detector 21, and 3, respectively.
0' and 32' are I/0 devices of the first home position detector 30 and end detector 32, respectively. 29' is a second home position designation element 34
35' is a control circuit for the motor 29 that moves the second home position detector 3.
5a and 35b are I/0 devices. 45' is a drive circuit for the ascending solenoid 45 and the electromagnetic clutch 49 (hereinafter referred to as the "ascent drive circuit"), and 50' is a drive circuit for the descending solenoid 50.

The control operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 11 will be explained in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG. 12 in the collation mode.

Collator control information is input to the CPU from the control circuit 62 of the copying machine main body (step in FIG. 12). Based on this input information, the CPU performs the following operations.

First, the CPU is the first home position detector 30
It is determined whether the deflection device 12 is at the home position (the highest position in this embodiment) by specifying the I/0 port of the deflection device 12 (step in FIG. 12). If the first home position detector 30 does not detect the deflection device 12, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the lifting drive circuit 45' and sends a signal to turn off the lifting solenoid 45 and the electromagnetic clutch 49. send out. As a result, the deflection device 12 is fixed to the chain 25 via the spring clutch 44, and the deflection device 12 is raised (step). When the deflection device 12 ascends and the first home position detector 30 detects the deflection device, that is, when the deflection device reaches the topmost bin, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the ascending drive circuit 45'. hand,
Lifting solenoid 45 and electromagnetic clutch 49
Sends a signal to turn on. This causes the deflection device to remain stationary at the top bin position (step).

Next, the CPU determines whether there is a second home position at the position of the first home position, that is, the first home position.
Whether or not the second home position designating element 34 is present at the position of the home position detector 30 is determined by the second
The I/O port of the home position detector 35 (lower side 35a) is designated and viewed (step). If the designation element 34 is not at the position of the detector 35a, the I/0 port of the second home position moving motor control circuit 29' is designated and a rising signal of the second home position designation element 34 is output. (step). When the second home position designating element 34 reaches the position of the deflection device, that is, the first home position, the CPU then designates the I/0 port of the bin sheet detector 31 to check whether there is a sheet in each bin. See (step). If there is a sheet in any of the bins, the CPU inputs the bin in which the sheet is located from the I/0 port of the bin sheet detector 31, and sends the bin signal in which the sheet is located to the control circuit 62 of the copier main body. Output (step). As a result, the main body of the copying machine externally displays the bin in which the sheet is located using the display. Sheet feeding to the collator, ie, copy making, has not yet started. If the bin seats are taken out or if all the bins are originally empty of seats,
The CPU reads collator control information from the copier main body. In this case, it is determined whether the specified number of pages P from the copying machine body is within the maximum number of sheets that can be stored in one bin (100 sheets in this embodiment) (step). If the designated number of pages P is 101 or more, the pages are collated twice or the rest is continued with the next collator, but the explanation is omitted here. If the specified number of pages P is less than 100, the CPU sets the specified number of pages P in the page number set register _R1 inside the CPU (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 20 bins or less, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the motor control circuit 29' and outputs a signal that lowers the second home position designation element 34 to the specified number of bins (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.

Here, the CPU determines the number of bins to be used in the upper and lower blocks based on the specified number of pages P. In other words, when the copying machine main body makes copies of the specified number of pages P by the specified number N, it is preferable that the number of times the document is replaced for each page is reduced as much as possible, and the maximum number of specified pages P can be accommodated in one bin. Number of sheets (100 sheets)
The closer you get to that point, the more the means of exchange and time loss become a problem. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the specified number of pages P is 6 pages or more, 14 bins in the upper block and 6 bins in the lower block are used to collate or sort a predetermined number of copies with a relatively small number of document exchanges. 10 if used separately and less than 5 pages
Use each bottle separately. If you do this,
For example, if the specified number of pages P is 6, collating up to 34 copies in a total of 20 bins will require document exchange 18 times: 6 times in the upper block, 6 times in the lower block, and 6 times again in the upper block. You can do it with If this were to be divided into 10 bins, the upper block and lower block would each be used twice to collate the same 34 copies, meaning that the manuscript would have to be replaced 24 times. Therefore, it is advantageous to increase the number of bins in the upper block so that the number of document exchanges is reduced in areas where the designated number of copies is small, which is generally a frequently used area.

Now, returning to the flowchart again, the CPU has the specified number of copies N.
If it is found that there are 21 bins or more, and the specified number of pages P is found to be within 5 pages in the step, the 20 bins are divided into 1/2 each, with 10 bins in the upper block and 10 bins in the lower block. do.
That is, the CPU is connected to the motor control circuit 29' I/
A step of specifying port 0 and outputting a signal to move the second home position designating element 34 to the 10th bin. If the designated number of pages P is 6 or more, the pages are divided into an upper block of 14 bins and a lower block of 6 bins, and the second home position designating element 34 is
Output a signal to move to the 14th bin (step). The CPU then sets an internal lower block usage flag (step). Of course, it is also possible to divide the bins into ratios other than those mentioned above.

When the CPU determines how to use the bin, it outputs a paper feed start signal to the control circuit 62 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 topmost first bin, 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 17, 1 will be deflected by the first deflection plate 11 belonging to the first bin.
8, the sheet is first discharged into the first bin of the upper block. Therefore, the CPU first specifies the I/0 port of the acceptance detector 8 and determines whether there is an acceptance sheet (step). When the sheet acceptance detector 8 detects the leading edge of the sheet, the CPU specifies the timer circuit 61 to add a margin time δ to the actual sheet conveyance time T to the deflection unit sheet detector 21 set in the first bin. Outputs a signal to start measuring time. If the deflection unit sheet detector 21 does not detect the leading edge of the sheet even after the timer time T+δ has elapsed, the CPU outputs a jam signal to the control circuit 62 of the copying machine main body (step
). This includes a sheet acceptance detector 8 and a deflection device 12.
This is a jam detection in the middle of the conveyance path between.
If the leading edge of the sheet is detected by the deflection unit sheet detector 21 before the time T+δ has elapsed, then
In order to detect jams around the deflection section, the CPU sends a signal to the timer circuit 61 to start measuring the time t required for the sheet to finish passing through the deflection section sheet detector 21 plus a margin time δ. Output. If the trailing edge of the sheet is still not detected by the deflection unit sheet detector 21 even after the timer period t+δ has elapsed, the CPU outputs a jam signal to the control circuit 62 (step). Timer time t+δ for jam detection around this deflection part
If the size of the sheet to be conveyed changes, the length of time is changed to a corresponding length of time by a signal from the copying machine main body, but normally it is constant.

When the sheet has finished passing through the deflection unit sheet detector 21 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 specifies the I/0 port of the second home position detector 35 (lower side 35a) and checks whether the deflection device is located at the second home position (step 〓). If there is no deflection device at the second home position, the CPU designates the I/0 port of the descending solenoid drive circuit 50' for collation in the next bin, and Outputs a solenoid drive signal. As a result, the lowering solenoid 50 is turned ON, and the lever 51 is removed from the notch 52a of the cam sleeve, and the cam sleeve 5
2 rotates by half a revolution, and the deflection device descends by one bin and stops at the second bin (step). Then go back to the steps.

After the main body of the copying machine has sent out sheets corresponding to the number of copies up to the second home position, it stops feeding the sheets. That is, in the case of limitless collate operation, 10 or 14 sheets corresponding to the number of upper parts are sent out, and in the case of non-block division operation, N sheets are sent out and then stopped (step 〓).

The CPU repeats the above series of operations (steps ~) for each sheet that is sent, and the deflection device discharges the sheets into each bin and sequentially descends into the lower bins. Then, the deflection device reaches the second home position, and this is determined in step 〓. In other words, distribution of the first page out of the number of pages P set in the register _R1 has been completed.

Next, the CPU subtracts -1 from the contents of the page number set register _R1 (step 〓), and determines whether the result of the subtraction is zero (step 〓). If it is not zero, the deflection device must be returned to the first bin to dispense the next second page. The CPU determines whether the deflection device is at the first home position by specifying the I/0 port of the first home position detector 30 (step 〓). First home position detector 30
If no deflection device is detected, the CPU outputs a deflection device raising signal to the raising drive circuit 45' via the I/0 port (step 〓). The lifting solenoid 45 and the electromagnetic clutch 49 are turned off and the deflection device is lifted. When the deflection device rises and reaches the first home position, which is detected by the first home position detector 30, the CPU eliminates the deflection device rise signal (step 〓).
Therefore, the lifting solenoid 45 and the electromagnetic clutch 4
9 is turned on, and the deflection device again comes to rest at the topmost first bin. The CPU outputs a paper feed start signal to the copying machine. In other words, return to step.

When the next page of sheets is detected by the receiving detector 8, the above steps are repeated to insert the sheet into the N bin or the upper 10 or 14 bin. Subsequent pages are similarly distributed to bins, and the sheets are stacked in page order in one bin.

When the CPU finishes collating the desired number of copies (N or upper 10 or 14 bins) of all pages P, it checks the lower block use flag (step). If the specified number of copies N is 20 bins or less, the lower block use flag is zero, so collation of N copies for the number of pages P is completed at this point (step). If the lower block usage flag is not zero, that is, if a large number of copies are to be collated, then collation in the lower block will begin.

The CPU detects whether a sheet exists in each bin of the lower block using a bin sheet detector 31.
Specify and view the I/0 port of (step).
If a sheet is present, a signal indicating the bin in which the sheet is present is output to the copying machine main body, and the collation operation of the lower number of copies is not performed (step 〓). If there are no sheets and collation is possible, the CPU operates the deflection device 12.
is lowered by one bin and transferred to the first bin of the lower block (step 〓), and a lower block use signal is output to the main body of the copying machine (step 〓). Based on this, the “lower block in use” display allows the operator to
Until the collation operation of the lower block is completed, the collated sheets of the upper block are taken out to the outside.

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, it is determined whether or not there is a deflection device at the end switch 32, rather than whether there is a deflection device at the second home position. Also, in step <<>, it is determined whether or not there is a deflection device at the second home position rather than at the first home position. Precisely, the upper side 35b of the second home position detector 35 performs the function of detecting the second home position, thereby avoiding duplication of sheet feeding to the blocking boundary bins. Because of this structure, when the first page N parts (lower block bin number 10 or 6) are completed in the lower block, the deflection device switches to the end switch 3.
When it descends to position 2, it is directly returned to the second home position without passing through the first home position, and is stopped at the position of the first bin of the lower block.

When the CPU completes collating all the set pages P in the lower block, the CPU moves from step 〓 to 〓
Proceed to , and print the specified number of copies from the copier itself.
Perform subtraction of 20 bins (step 〓). The result of this subtraction becomes the new specified number of copies N'. The CPU determines whether the deflection device is at the first home position by specifying the I/0 port of the detector 30, outputs a deflection device raise signal to the drive circuit 45', and moves the deflection device to the first home position. Return to position (step)
〓、〓）. Then, the lower block usage flag is reset (step 〓).

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 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.

First, the CPU determines whether the new specified number of copies N' is larger or smaller than the total number of bins, 20 (step 〓). If the new specified number of copies N′ is less than 20 bins, there will be as many empty bins (the number of bins with no sheets) as the specified number of copies N′ to see if it is okay to collate them at any time. (Step 〓) The number of empty bins is the specified number of copies.
If N′ is not reached, a sheet “presence” is reported to the copier body (Step 〓). When the number of empty bins is equal to or greater than the designated number N', the second home position designation element 34 is set to the designated number N'.
It is moved to the bin position corresponding to N' (step 〓) and returns to the step as shown by symbol A.

On the other hand, in step 〓, the new specified number of copies is
If N' is 20 or more bins, the CPU determines whether the specified number of pages P is less than 6 pages (step 〓), and if it is less than 6 pages, the CPU determines whether there is a sheet in the 10th bin of the upper block. Please, see you again 6
If it is more than a page, check whether there is a sheet in the upper block 14 bins (Step 〓,
〓). When there is a sheet in bin 10 or 14 of the upper block, the CPU notifies the main body of the copying machine that the sheet is present (steps 〓, 〓). If there are no sheets and all bins are empty, the CPU advances to step -, sets the bottom block usage flag, and returns to step.

As mentioned above, the deflection device does not need to return to the first home position once during collation at the lower block, and can directly reciprocate between the second home position and the end switch. Therefore, it is compatible with high-speed copying machines. There is still no need to constantly monitor which bin position the deflection device is currently in, and it is sufficient to simply detect that the second home position detector matches the second home position. Therefore, limitless collation can be performed more easily and reliably, and the operation is also simplified. These effects are obtained by determining the second home position using a designated element and a detector rather than using a counter or other means.

In the above embodiment, the designation element 34 is moved by a motor, but it may also be moved manually, or a plurality of designation elements may be provided and one of them may be selected. Of course, only one designated element may be provided in a fixed manner. The designated element and detector can be anything other than permanent magnets and Hall elements.

FIG. 13 shows the second home position designating element 3.
4 is an example in which a stopper member 64 threadably engaged with the feed screw 63 is used, and a lever 66 for stopping the rise of the deflection device 12 is also used as an actuator of a limit switch 35 as a second home position detector. The stopper member 64 can be moved up and down by rotation of the feed screw 63 while being guided by the guide rod 65. When the deflection device 12 rises and hits the lever 66 against this stopper member 64, the lever is slightly rotated as shown by the dotted line in the figure, thereby causing the chain 2 of the spring clutch 40 to
5 is released and the deflection device is stopped, switch 35 is actuated to generate a second home position signal.

In FIG. 14, a limit switch 35 is provided on the side of the stopper member 65 in FIG.
In this example, 2' is in contact with this.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the mechanical part of an embodiment of the collator of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the deflection device portion thereof, Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the drive mechanism, and Fig. 4 is a control circuit of the collator. 5 is a flowchart showing one example of its operation, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the mechanism of another embodiment of the collator of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a clutch control for lowering the guide device. Diagram showing the mechanism,
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the stepwise feeding of the deflection device, FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the conveying section and the second home position setting detection section, and FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the cooperative operation of the deflection device and the guide cam. FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the control circuit of the collator shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a specific example of its operation, FIG. 13 is another example of second home position setting detection, and FIG. 14 is a block diagram of the collator control circuit of FIG. is a diagram showing a modification thereof. 1... Conveyor belt, 8... Sheet acceptance detector, 10
... Tray, 12 ... Deflection device, 17, 18 ... Discharge roller pair, 21 ... Deflection section sheet detector, 29' ... Motor control circuit of second home position,
30...First home position detector, 31...Bin seat detector, 32...End detector, 33...Second
Home position setting detection device, 34... second home position designating element, 35... second home position detector.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Sheet conveying means 1, 2, which conveys sheets;
3, 4, a plurality of sheet storage bins 10 arranged along a sheet conveyance path by a sheet conveyance means,
A collator comprising a deflection device 12 that distributes the conveyed sheets to the respective sheet storage bins by moving along the sheet conveyance path, the sheet storage at one end of the plurality of sheet storage bins 10; a first home position detection means 30 for detecting when the deflection device 12 is at a first home position, which is a position facing the bin; and a sheet storage bin at the other end of the plurality of sheet storage bins 10. an end position detection means 32 that detects when the deflection device 12 is at an end position opposite to the first home position; Second home position detecting means 34, 35 detecting when the set second home position is present; first home position detecting means; second home position detecting means; and end position detecting means. A collator comprising: a control device 37 that controls movement of the deflection device based on deflection device detection information from the collator. 2 The second home position detection means includes a designation element 34 arranged at a fixed position with respect to the sheet storage bin 10 and a second home position detection means provided on the deflection device 12.
The collator according to claim 1, further comprising a home position detector 35. 3. The second home position detection means is characterized in that it has a designation element 34 provided on the deflection device, and a second home position detector 35 arranged at a fixed position with respect to the sheet storage bin. A collator according to claim 1. 4. The collator according to claim 1, wherein the second home position is movable to a position corresponding to any seat storage bin.