JPS63134469A - Sorter with finisher - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a staple function independently usable and a staple process performable while distributing each sheet, by making the staple process at an off-line staple mode performable at time other than selection of a finish mode. CONSTITUTION:In the subroutine of an off-line staple process, when an off-line staple mode is elected, a staple process is performed upon making sure that a sheet is inset onto a staple tray 91 with the on or off of a sensor Se6. That is to say, the staple process only is executable at an on-line, and an independent staple process at the off-line is prohibited when a finish mode is selected, but it is not selected, the independent staple process is performed. Thus, the staple process at the off-line is made performable in parallel with copy action at a copying machine body part and distribution handling at a sorter part.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a sorter with a Fini-7 shear that distributes sheets discharged from a copying machine or the like and staples them using a stapling means, and particularly relates to a control means thereof. .

Conventional technology and its problems In recent years, due to the demand for automation of paper handling in copying machines, various options such as automatic document feeders and sorters for sorting and grouping copied sheets have been developed and put into practical use. As one of the final forms, there is a demand for a sorter with a finisher that automatically staples and stacks the sheets distributed and accommodated in the sorter, and this has already been put into practical use in some large copying machines.

By the way, in this type of sorter with a finisher, the main body of the copying machine, the sorter section, and the stapling section are controlled online, and it is said that it is not possible to meet the desire to use only the stapling function independently. There are problems.

In order to solve the problems beyond the means for determining the gap, the sorter with a finisher according to the present invention has an online mode in which the main body, sorter, and stapler of a copying machine etc. operate together,
The present invention is characterized in that it has an off-line stapling mode in which stapling processing is performed independently, and includes a control means that enables stapling processing in the off-line stapling mode except when the finishing mode is selected.

In other words, in the above configuration, the main unit, sorter unit, and stapling unit of the copier or the like usually work together and are controlled online, and staple processing is performed in offline stapling mode except when finishing mode is selected. becomes possible. That is, if the finishing mode is not selected, it is impossible to execute the finishing process online, so it is possible to use only the stapling function alone (offline) at this time. Therefore, off-line stapling processing can be performed while distributing sheets in the sorter section.

[Overall configuration] The sorter with a finisher (40) according to the present invention has a first
As shown in the figure, it is attached to the side of the copying machine (1), and the copying machine (1) has an automatic paper feeder (15) and an automatic document feeder (30) (hereinafter referred to as ADF). It is fully equipped.

The copying machine (1) uses a well-known electrophotographic method, and a photosensitive drum (2), which is rotated in the direction of arrow (a), is first given a certain electric charge by a charger (3). Then, the optical system (4) scans in the direction of arrow (b), whereby the original set at a predetermined position in the ADF (30) is exposed to slit light. With this, the photoreceptor drum (2)
The electrostatic latent image formed on the top is transferred to a magnetic brush type developing device (5
), the toner image is separated and transferred to a sheet by a transfer charger (6).

Sheets are stored in the nilevate-type and cassette-type automatic paper feeders (10), (11) inside the copying machine (1), or in the three-stage paper feeder cassette (1) of the automatic paper feeder (15) installed outside the machine.
6), (17), and (18) are selectively fed one by one, and sent to the transfer section at a predetermined timing by a pair of timing rollers (19). The sheet after the transfer is sent to the fixing device (21) by the conveyor belt (20), where the toner image is fixed, and then sent from the ejection roller pair (22) to the sorter (40), and then the ejection roller pair Immediately before (22), the passage is detected by the discharge switch (Sv3) (see FIG. 2). Also, a copying machine (1)
A refeeding device (25) for double-sided copying and composite copying is built in, and a sheet conveyance switching claw (26) for this purpose is installed in front of the ejection roller pair (22).

On the other hand, the photoreceptor drum (2) continues to rotate in the direction of the arrow (a) even after the transfer, and the remaining toner is wiped off by a blade-type cleaning device (7), and the eraser lamp (8)
) to erase residual charges and prepare for the next copy operation.

A D F (30) is well known in itself, and feeds a document placed on a document tray (31) to a pair of paper feed rollers (3
The documents are fed one by one by the rotation of the conveyor belt (34) and placed in a predetermined position on the document platen glass (29) after exposure of 6 images. The photographic material is discharged onto a discharge tray (36) through a reversing photographing path (35).

As shown in FIG. 2, the sorter (40) includes a sorter section (41) that distributes sheets into bins (60), and a stapler section (90) that has a stapler (100) that staples the sheets.
and a stack section (110) for stacking and accommodating stapled sheets.
90) is arranged below the sorter section (41), and the stack section (110) is arranged below the staple section (90).

[Structure and operation of sorter section] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bin (60) has a claw (60a) on the sorter section (41) side that prevents sheets from flowing backward;
The trunnion (61) is provided with a trunnion (61) projecting laterally, and this trunnion (61) is engaged with a groove (65a) extending in the vertical direction formed in a guide unit (65) attached to the frame of the sorter (40). By combining the bins (
60) is restricted in the vertical direction. Each bin (60) is supported on a pin receiver (62), and the trunnion (61) is shifted with the rotation of a floating cam (50), which will be explained below, to widen the interval between the bins. It looks like this.

The sorter unit (41) is configured to handle a pair of discharge rollers (2) of the copying machine (1).
The sheet conveying section (42) and the bin (60) facing the copying machine (2) move relative to each other in the vertical direction.
The sheets discharged from step 1) are distributed and stored in each bin (60). As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet conveying section (42) includes an upper unit (52) having a guide surface (52a), a lower unisort (43) having a guide surface (43a),
It consists of a feed roller (47>) and a pinch roller (55), and the sheet is guided by guide surfaces (52a) and (43a).
It passes between the rollers (47) and (55) and is conveyed to each bin (60).

The lower unit (43) has both ends of a support shaft (44) provided at right angles to the sheet conveyance direction [arrow (c) 1] at the end on the bin (60) side as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown in Figure 2, by engaging the rail part (65b) provided on the guide unit (65) through the collar (45), it is possible to swing vertically and also to move toward the copying machine (1) side. The provided bottle (46) is supported by a guide member (66), so that it can be slid in the horizontal direction.

The spindle (44) has a plurality of feed rollers (47).
A fixed roller shaft (47a) is rotatably mounted,
A swing plate (48) is suspended on this roller shaft (47a). The rocking plate (48) is connected by a rod (49), and the lower part thereof is located between the backflow prevention claws (60a) of the bottle (60). On the other hand, both ends of the support shaft (44) are marked with Fig. 6.

As shown in FIG. 7, a floating cam (50) with notches (50a) and (50a) formed at an interval of 180 degrees on its outer circumference is not fixed. This floating cam (50) is intermittently rotated by 180° by a drive source different from the feed roller (47), and the lower unit (
43) and a trunnion (61) on the outer periphery.
The rear end of the bottle (60) is also supported by this contact. Further, the floating cam (50) can move up and down from the bottom bin position (xl) to the top bin position (x8) as shown in FIG. 7, and each detection switch (SWI) is located at each position.

(SW2) allows detection. Furthermore, as shown in FIG.
An actuator (51) that is rotatable about a) and a photosensor (Sel) that is turned on and off when the actuator (51) contacts and rotates the sheet being conveyed are installed.

On the other hand, the upper unit (52) is swingable in the vertical direction by engaging the engaging piece (53) on the bin (60) side with the rail portion (65b), and also allows the upper unit (52) to swing in the vertical direction.
The bin (54) provided on the side is connected to the top cover (
By engaging with the guide member (68) provided in the guide member (67), it can be slid horizontally. This upper unit (53) has a pinch roller (55) attached to a support shaft (55a).
), the sheet static elimination brush (56), which is rotatably mounted and can be conveyed, is installed, and the pinch roller (55)
) is in pressure contact with the delivery roller (47) by its own weight and can be driven to rotate.

Further, in this sorter section (41), a transmission type photosensor (Se5) (see Fig. 2) whose optical axis is located at the rear end of each bin (60) can be installed, and a transmissive photo sensor (7 ) It is employed to detect the presence or absence of sheet distribution and accommodation.

In the above configuration, the floating cam (50) rotates 180° in the opposite direction to the arrow (d), thereby cutting out the trunnion (61) that slides on the outer circumference (5
0a), moves upward by itself, and shifts the taken-in trunnion (61) downward to come into sliding contact with the next trunnion (61). By repeating this operation, each bin (60) is shifted downward one step at a time, and the conveyance section (42) is moved upward. floating cam (
50) is a copying machine which is located at the bottom bin position (X,) shown in FIG. 7 when the sort mode is selected, and moves upward from this position sequentially to widen the intervals between the bins (60). The sheet ejected from (1) is placed on the guide surface (
52a) and (43a), and the feed roller (
47) and pinch rollers (55), each bottle (60) is separated by a floating cam (50).
The upper and lower bins (6o) can be distributed and accommodated in sequence.
By rotating the floating cam (5o) forward in the direction of the arrow (d), the floating cam (5o) sequentially shifts each bin (60) upward and moves downward together with the conveyance section (42).

The sorter section (41) having the above configuration can accommodate sheets in three modes. The first is a sort mode in which each copy of one document is distributed to each bin (60) and page alignment is performed, and the second is a sort mode in which copies of each document are distributed to each bin (60). It is in grooving mode. The third is one bin (
60) is a non-sort mode.

[Structure and operation of fix cam] Next, the fix cam (70) and the conveying section (80) for conveying the sheets distributed and housed in each bin (60) to the staple tray (91) described below will be explained. .

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the fix cam (70) has a spiral groove (7) on its outer periphery that can be engaged with the trunnion (61).
0a) is carved three times, and can be rotated in forward and reverse directions by a motor (not shown) via a support shaft (71). That is, by rotating normally in the direction of arrow (e), the fix cam (70) moves the trunnion (61) of the bin (60), which has been shifted to the bottom bin position (X+) by the floating cam (50), into the spiral groove ( 70a) to lower the sheet to the sheet take-out position (X,).

On the other hand, at the sheet take-out position (X,), as shown in FIG. The trunnion (61) is installed in an open state and elastically holds the trunnion (61) that has been lowered to the take-out position (X,). This removal position is
, ) is equipped with a take-out roller (75〉), a pinch roller (76) that presses against it with its own weight, and a sheet guide (78). Also, between the bottom bin position (X+) and the take-out position (X, ), a As shown in Figure 2,
The sheet backflow prevention guide (79) has been installed. As shown in Fig. 8, the sheet guide (78) has a guide surface (78a) on the upper surface slightly higher than the sheet backflow prevention claw (60a) of each bin (60) that is tilted down to the take-out position (X,). It is set up so that it will. As shown in FIG. 2, the pinch roller (76) is connected to the support shaft (7) via the arm (77).
7a), and can be moved toward and away from the take-out roller (75) by turning on and off a solenoid (not shown).

Additionally, a drive pulley (86) is attached to the lower end of the support shaft (71) of the fix cam (70), as shown in FIG.
and gear (87a) are integrally fixed, and gear (87a)
is meshed with the gear (87c) via the gear (87b), and the disc (88) is rotatable integrally with the gear (87c).A notch (not shown) is formed in the disc (88). By detecting this notch with the photosensor (Se2), it is possible to control the rotation speed of the fix cam (70).

As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyance section (80)
5), (76), and conveyance rollers (81a), (81b)
) ~(83a).

(83b), guide plate (84a), (84b) bar 85
a) and (85b). Conveyance roller (
81a), (82a), and (83a) are made of rubber material, and transport rollers (81b), (82b), and (83b) are made of rubber material.
) is made of sponge material and is said to be able to absorb the thickness of the stacked sheets.

In the above configuration, when the sorter section (41) finishes distributing sheets, the fix cam (70) is rotated three times in the direction of arrow (e). The trunnion (61) of the bottle (60) at the bottom bin position (xl) is now fully guided by the spiral groove (70a), and the take-out position (X,)
It descends to a point where it can be held by the receiving member (72).

At this take-out position (X,), the bin (6o) is tilted at a larger angle than the bottom bin position (Xl), and the sheets being distributed and accommodated are guided by their own weight (78).
The take-out roller (75), which exerts a sliding force while being guided by the guide surface (78a) of
), the leading edge of the sheet passes through the roller (75).

(76), and the sheet is conveyed by conveying rollers (81) by o-5 (75) and (76).
a), (81b>). At this time, even if the sheet is curled downward, it is guided by the guide (7B) and the take-out roller (75), so that it is reliably removed from the backflow fat prevention claw (60a). Beyond the guide plate (84a), (84
b) conveyed between.

Moreover, even if the sheet curls upward, it is guided by the backflow prevention guide (79) and the guide plate (84a).

(84b) The conveyance is completed in between.

Pinch roller (76) has sheet o-5 (81a),
(81b>, the solenoid (not shown) is turned off in the initial state,
When the bin (60) is retracted upward from above the take-out roller (75) and reaches the take-out position (X,) as described above, the solenoid is turned on and the sheet is sandwiched between the take-out roller (75) and the bin (60). Here, take out roller (75)
, conveyance roller (81a), (81b>, (8
2a), (82b), (83a).

(83b) are rotationally driven, and the sheet is transported as shown by the arrow (f) in FIG.
b) onto the staple tray (91).

On the other hand, the bloating cam (50) is located at a position corresponding to the bottom bin position (X,) as shown in FIG.
The trunnion (
61) and rotate 180° at this position (Xt).
In this embodiment, the bin (60) is intermittently reversed in the direction opposite to the arrow (d) and sequentially feeds the trunnion (61) into the fix cam (70). In order to increase the inclination angle of the sheet and make it easier for the sheet to slide out under its own weight, the interval between the bottom bin position (xl) and the take-out position (L), in other words, the stroke of the bin (60) that moves between these positions, is set large. ing. Therefore, the torque of the fix cam (70) when the trunnion (61) moves up and down is reduced as much as possible by making three turns of the spiral groove (70a) carved on the outer shoulder of the fix cam (70). Then, the trunnion (
61) [By holding the part shown in (A) in Fig. 6, this trunnion (61) can be attached to
This prevents it from being fed into the spiral groove (70a) during the third and third rotations.

As mentioned above, the floating cam (50) is 180''
With each reversal and three rotations of the fix cam (70), each bin (60) is lowered one step at a time to the take-out position (X,), and the sheets distributed and accommodated in each bin (60) are transferred to the conveying section (8
0) onto the staple tray (91).

In addition, each bottle (60) that has descended to the take-out position (X,)
is held in an upwardly biased state by the receiving member (72), and after the sheets have been taken out from all the bins (60) in which the sheets are distributed and stored, the fix cam (70) moves in the direction indicated by the arrow (e). The floating cam (50) returns upward by being reversely driven in the opposite direction and by being driven forward in the direction of arrow (d).

[Structure and operation of staple unit] As shown in FIG. 2, the staple unit (90) includes a staple tray (91) and a motor (93) that vibrates the staple tray.
It consists of a guide plate (95), a stopper (96), and a stapler (100). The staple tray (91) can be swingably installed around a support shaft (92), and is vibrated by the centrifugal force of the weight (94) by rotating an eccentric weight (94) with a motor (93). Due to this vibration, the sheets sent from the conveying section are aligned while being regulated by the guide plate <95) and the stopper (96).

As shown in FIG. 11, the stapler (100) has a motor output shaft (101) fixed, and an arm (104) that can swing freely around a bin (103) as a fulcrum to connect the peripheral part of a cam (102) and the head. (105), the head (105) moves upward via the arm (104) when the cam (102) is rotated in the direction of arrow (g) by the motor.
A staple (106) staples the sheets aligned on the tray (91). The staple metal t (106) is completely stored in the cartridge (107), and is sent to the head section by a conveyor belt (108) that is rotationally driven from the motor output shaft (101).

The stopper (96) is rotatably installed around a support shaft (g7) by a solenoid (not shown), and is normally positioned above the lower end of the staple tray (91) to position the leading edge of the sheet. This stopper (96) retracts downward when the solenoid is turned on, releasing the positioning of the seat.

In addition, this stapler (100) has a staple needle (
106) empty detection photosensor (Se3),
A staple motor rotation speed detection sensor (Se4) is installed, the sensor (Se3) directly detects the staple (106), and the sensor (Se4) detects the motor output shaft (101).
) is designed to detect a notch (109a) in a disc (109) fixed to the disc (109). .

Further, the stapling unit (90) is equipped with a photosensor (Se6) for detecting the critical condition of the sheet on the staple tray (91) and a switch (SW4) for detecting attachment/detachment of the stapler (100). There is.

In the above configuration, the sheet completely conveyed from the conveyance section (80) onto the staple tray (91) is moved by the motor (9
As the tray (91) vibrates based on the rotation of step 3), it is regulated by the guide plate (95) and the stopper (96) to complete alignment, the motor (93) is stopped, and the staple motor is driven to perform the binding. It will be done. When the solenoid is turned on, the stopper (96) moves the bound sheets to the tray (9).
1) By retracting from above, it slides down from above the tray (91), is guided by the guide plate (98), and is accommodated on the stack tray (111). Such stapling processing is repeated every time the pin (60) is lowered to the take-out position (X,) by the fix cam (70) and the sheet is completely conveyed onto the staple tray (91).

[Structure of Stack Unit The stack unit (110) is composed of a stack tray (111), and finally stores and stores sheets bound by the stapler (100). Stack tray (111
), as shown in FIG. 12, a notch (lla) is formed in the stapled part of the sheet (S), that is, in the part where the part bound with the staples (106) is located. With this, when sheets bound with the stapler (100) are stacked and stored on the tray (111), the stapled part will sag into the notch (lla) due to its own weight, and only the stapled part will become bulky. This will prevent this, and the loading capacity will increase accordingly.

[Operation Banelco In this embodiment, the operation panel is as shown in FIG.

As shown in Figures 14 and 15, the copying machine panel (120
), ADF panel (140), and sorter panel (150)
It is installed in three locations.

The copier panel (120) has a print key (
121), Interrupt key (122) for temporarily interrupting multi-floppy operation, Clear/Stop key (123) for stopping copy operation or canceling the set number.
, A group of ten keys (
124), a display section (125) for displaying the number of copies and the status of the copying machine (1), up/down keys (126) and (127) for setting the copy density, and a group of display LEDs (128) , sheet selection key (129) for selecting copy sheet size and its display L
ED group<130), a group of magnification selection keys (131) for selecting the copy magnification and a group of display LEDs (132)
etc. are provided.

The ADF panel (140> is provided with only a start key (141) for starting the ADF operation. When this start key (141) is turned on, the documents on the document tray (31) are automatically sequentially moved. Document table glass (2
9) After the paper has been conveyed upward, the copying operation is started.

The sorter panel (150) has a sorter mode selection key (1
51) and its display section, the non-sort mode display L E
D (152) and sort mode display L E D (1
53) and grooving mode display LED (154)
), the finish mode selection key (155) and its display section, the non-finish mode display LED (
156) and finish mode display LED (15
7) A vignette start key (158) and its display LED (159) are provided. This L
E D (159) lights up to indicate that finishing processing is in progress, and blinks to display a warning to remove copies from the staple tray (91). Additionally, there is an LED (160) that displays a warning to remove sheets from the bin (60), and a stapler (106).
LED (161) indicates that the stapler (100) is empty, and LED (161) indicates that the stapler (100) is set incorrectly.
162) is provided. Sorter mode selection key (1
51) switches sequentially to non-sort mode, sort mode, and grouping mode each time it is pressed, and the corresponding L E D (152), (153).

(154) lights up. Finishing mode selection key (
155) also switches between non-finish mode and finish mode each time you press it, and the corresponding L
E D (156) and (157) light up. Each time the finish start key (158) is pressed, it outputs the start of finish operation and its cancellation, and the LED (159) lights up at the time of start.

Furthermore, the offline stapling mode selection key (163
) and its display LED (164) are provided.

This LED (164) indicates that the offline stapling mode is selected by lighting up, and displays a warning that the offline stapling mode is not possible by blinking. This offline stapling mode is a mode in which only stapling processing is executed independently.

[Control Circuit] Figure 16 is a block diagram of the control circuit, and the micro computer (CPU) includes a copying machine panel (120).

ADF panel (140), sorter panel (150)
is connected, and further includes a copy process means <170),
An ADF process means (171) is connected, and a sorter process means (172) and a finisher process means (173) are also connected to exchange their respective signals.

Figure 17 shows the main parts of the control circuit, and the input/output board of the microcomputer (CPU) includes a print switch,
The ADF start switch and the display LEDs (180), (181) built into them, the selection switches of the sorter panel (150), and the display LEDs (1
52) etc. are not connected.

[Control Procedure] Next, a control procedure based on the above-described copying machine (1), sorter (40), and control circuit will be explained with reference to FIG. 18 and subsequent figures.

FIG. 18 shows the main routine of the microcomputer (CPU).

The microcomputer (cpu) is reset,
When the program starts, in step (sl), the random access memory is cleared, various registers are initialized, and initial settings are made to put each device into an initial mode. Next, in step (s2>), an internal timer is started. This internal timer determines the time required for the main routine, and its value is set in advance in the initial setting of step (Sl).

Next, in steps (52a) to (s8), each subroutine described in detail below is sequentially called, and when the processing of all subroutines is completed, the end of the internal timer is waited for in step (s9), and step ( Return to s2). This one
The length of the routine is used to count the various timers in each subroutine.

FIG. 18a shows a subroutine for offline stapling processing executed in step (S2a).

First, in step <5300), it is determined whether the offline stapling switch (163) is turned on.

If it is not turned on, this subroutine is immediately terminated, and if it is turned on, the offline stapling mode flag is set to 11'' in step (5301), and step (5301) is set to the offline stapling mode flag.
302) to display offline stapling mode LED
(164) is turned on. Next, step (5303)
It is determined whether the finish mode flag is I″1” or not, and if it is “1”, the warning flag (
FIO) is set to 1'', and in step (5310), a message indicating that offline stapling mode is not available is displayed on the display unit.

Then, in step (5311), the offline stapling mode flag is reset to "r'0", and in step (53
12) to display the offline stapling mode display LED (16).
4) is turned off and this subroutine ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (5303) that the finish mode flag is "O", step (53
In step 04), it is determined whether the warning flag (FIO) is I″1″, and if it is rOl, the process moves to step (5307).
1. If so, the warning flag (FI
O) is reset to r□, the display indicating that offline stapling mode is not possible displayed on the display unit in step (5306) is canceled, and the process proceeds to step (5307). Next, in step (5307), the staple tray (91) is
It is determined whether there is a sheet on top by turning on or off the sensor (Se6), and if there is a sheet, that is, when the sheet is inserted onto the tray (91) for offline stapling processing, In step (5214), a subroutine for stapling processing, which will be detailed below, is executed.

Subsequently, in step (5308), it is determined whether or not the offline stapling switch (163) is off, and the above-described offline stapling process is continued until this switch (163) is turned off. When the offline stapling switch (163) is turned off, the offline stapling mode flag is reset to "0" in step (5311), and the offline stapling mode display LED (164) is turned off in step (5312). Cancels offline stapling processing and returns to the main routine.

FIG. 19 shows the input processing subroutine executed in step (B3).

First, in step (510), a set number (A) is inputted using a group of ten keys (124) on the copier panel (120).
Sheet size (SX) selected in step (511)
is input, and in step (512) A D F (30
) is selected. If use has been selected, the ADF mode flag is set to "1" in step (513), and if not all selections are made, the ADF mode flag is reset to I"0" in step (514).

Next, in step (515), a subroutine for setting the sort mode is executed, in step (516), a subroutine for setting the finish mode is executed, and in step (517), a subroutine for setting the finish mode is executed.
It is determined whether the sort mode flag is "11" or not. If the sort mode flag is 10'', sorting and stapling processing will never be completed, so step (52)
2), enter the number of bins (a) in step (518), and input the number of bins (a) in step (519).
A) and the number of bins (a) are compared.

If the number (A) is less than or equal to the number of bins (a), the sort mode can be executed, and in step (520) it is determined whether the finish mode flag is 11. If the finish mode flag is "0", the process moves to step (522), and if it is "1", it is determined in step (521) whether the sheet size (Sl) is A4 size or B5 size. In this embodiment, the sheet size that can be stapled is A4 or B5, and if YES, step <
522), other input processing is executed.

Furthermore, in step (523') it is determined whether or not the print switch is turned on, and if it is turned on, step (523') is performed.
524), the copy flag is set to "1" to enable copy processing. If the ADF start switch is not turned on, it is determined in step (525) whether or not the ADF start switch is turned on, and if it is turned on, the step (524) is performed.
is executed, and if it is not turned on, this subroutine ends.

On the other hand, in the step (519), the set number (A) is changed to the number of bins (
a), step (526)
Set the warning flag (Fl) to "1" in step (
In step S27), system operation is prohibited. This warning flag (
Fl) is used to indicate that the number of distributions exceeds the number of bins. Next, step (528),
In (536), as in steps (523) and (525), it is determined whether the print switch is turned on or not, and
Determine whether the DF start switch is turned on.

YES in this step (52g) or (536).

That is, when the operator's intention to execute the copy even if a warning is issued is confirmed, the non-sort mode flag is set to "1" in step (S29) to switch to non-sort mode processing, and the process is switched to non-sort mode in step (530). ) to reset the warning flag (Fl) to rO, and step (S3
0a) to cancel the prohibition of system operation, and proceed to step (53).
7) sets the copy flag to "1".

Also, in the step (521), the sheet size (B8)
If it is determined that the size is other than A4 size or B5 size, stapling processing is impossible, so step (531
) sets the warning flag (F2) to 11'' and prohibits system operation in step (532). This warning flag (F2) is for displaying that the selected sheet size is incompatible. Next, step (533
), <538) −+? Said step (523), (
525), it is determined whether the print switch is turned on and whether the ADF start switch is turned on. In this step (533) or (538)
ES, that is, when the operator's intention to perform copying even if a warning is issued is confirmed, step (534) is performed.
) to set the finish mode flag.

to disable stapling and step (5)
35), reset the warning flag (F2) to 1″0yo,
In step (S35a), the prohibition of system operation is canceled,
In step (539), the copy flag is set to "1."

FIG. 20 shows the sort mode setting subroutine executed in step (515).

In this subroutine, each step (540), (54
2).

In (544), it is determined whether the non-sort mode, sort mode, or grouping mode is selected, and if selected, each step (541>) is performed.

(543), (545) non-sort mode flag,
Set the sorting mode flag and grouping mode flag to “1”.
”.

FIG. 21 shows the finish mode setting subroutine executed in step (516).

First, in step (SSO) it is determined whether or not the finish mode is selected. If it is not selected, this subroutine is immediately terminated. If it is selected, the finish mode flag is set to "1" in step (551). ., and in step (552) set the allowable staple number (C).
Set b). Next, in step (553), the stapling permission size is set to A4. Set to B5 and step (554
) sets the sort mode flag to rl to permit processing in sort mode.

FIG. 22' executes a display processing subroutine that can be executed in step (B4) of the main routine.

First, in step (560), the ADF mode flag is set to "1".
．． Determine whether or not, and if rl, ADF mode display L
ED (180) lights up, RL" and 10" are displayed in step (562) in either case LED (152),
(153).

(154) is lit to display the selected sorter mode. In step (563), it is determined whether the finish mode flag is rl, and if it is "11", then in step (564) the finish mode display LED (1
57> is lit.

Next, in step (565), it is determined whether the warning flag (Fl) is "1.", and if it is '14, step (56
In step 6), the display unit (125) displays that the number of bins is over. In step (567), the warning flag (
It is determined whether or not F2) is "1", and if it is "rl", then in step (568) the display section (125) displays that the sheet size is unsuitable. In step (569), it is determined whether the warning plug (F3) is "1" or not. If it is "1", in step (570) the display section (125) displays that the finish mode is not possible. Step (57
In 1), it is determined whether the warning flag (F4) is "11" or not.
rl.

If so, in step (572), the display unit (125) displays that the document is empty. Step (573
) determines whether the warning flag (F5) is rl or not, and
1'', the display section (125) displays in step (574) that the finish capacity is over. In step (575), it is determined whether the warning flag (F6) is "1" or not. Step (585)
) determines whether the warning flag (Fil) is "1" or not.
1. If so, in step (586) L E D (16
0) to indicate that a sheet needs to be removed from the bin (60).

Next, in step (581), it is determined whether or not the copy flag is "1", and if it is "1", in step (582), "
0”, in step (583) each display section (1
25) displays the number of copies or the number of remaining copies. Subsequently, other display processing is executed in step (5g4), and this subroutine is ended.

FIG. 23 shows a subroutine of copy system processing executed in step (B5) of the main routine.

First, in step (590), the ADF mode flag is set to rl.
, and if it is '1', step (591)
Determine whether the copy flag is ``1.'' and if it is ``1'', the copy process is acceptable, so step (
At step 595), the ADF control subroutine is executed, and the process moves to step (597). Further, if it is determined in step (590) that the A'DF mode flag is "10", then in step (596) the copy flag is "10".
', and if '1', step (597)
to move to. If it is determined that the copy flag is r□ in both steps (591> and (596>), the process returns to the main routine.

Next, steps (597), (5100), (51
02) are the non-sort mode flag and sort mode flag, respectively.

The grouping mode flag is 11. After confirming that , step (599), (5101), (51
04), each subroutine of non-sort mode processing, sort mode processing, and grouping mode processing is executed. In step (5105), a copy processing subroutine is executed, and in step (5106), a subroutine for other processing is executed.

Note that the subroutines that can be executed in steps (599) and (5104) are the same as the conventional procedure, and the details thereof will be omitted.

Figure 24 shows the ADF traced in the step (595).
Shows the control subroutine.

First, in step (5120), it is determined whether there is a document in the document tray (31) by turning on or off the sensor, and if there is, the warning flag (F4) is set to "1" in step (5133).
Determine whether or not. This warning flag (F4) is set to "1" in step (5131) described below, but if it is "1," it is reset to "10" in step (5134). Then, in step (5121), a document feeding process subroutine, in step (5122), a document size detection subroutine, and in step (5123), a document transporting process subroutine is executed. If there is no yX draft, step (
5130) to determine whether the document count is I″0″,
“If 0., then in step (5131) the warning flag (F
4) to "1" to prepare the document empty display, reset the copy flag to rO4 in step (5132), and return to the main routine.

On the other hand, in step (5124), it is determined whether the optical system (4) has scanned one copy, and if it has scanned, sets the scan end flag to "rl". Then, in step (5126), the scan end flag is set to 11.
After confirming that
28) executes the document ejection processing subroutine, and
In step (5129'), other processing subroutines are executed.

Note that this ADF control subroutine has the same procedure as the conventional one, and includes the steps (5121) to (512).
3), details of (5128) are omitted.

Figures 25a and 25b show a subroutine for sort mode processing that can be executed in step (5101). In this subroutine, the operation of the sorter bin (60) is made different depending on whether the finish mode is selected or not. This corresponds to the fact that the order in which sheets are taken out from the bin (60) differs depending on whether or not finish mode is selected.
This is because the distribution order of 0)- is different. If finishing mode is selected, the sheet will be attached to the staple section (
The sheets are distributed from the lower bin (60>) in order to be delivered to the sheets 90), and when all the sheets are not selected, the sheets are distributed from the upper bin (60) to make it easier for the operator to directly take out the sheets.

Specifically, in step (5140) it is determined whether the finish mode flag is "1" or not, and if rl, in step (5141) the sensor ( Judgment is made by turning on or off Se5), and if there is no sheet, a warning flag (Fi
l) is rl. This warning flag (Fi
l) includes steps (5158), (51
61), but if it is rl, it is reset to ``0.'' in step (5185), and step (5
185a), the inhibition of system operation is canceled. and,
In step (5142), the bottom bin detection switch (SW
I') is on, that is, the bin (60> is located at the bottom bin position (X,), which is the home position when finishing mode is selected, and sheet distribution in finish mode is possible. Therefore, if YES, the process directly moves to step (5148>) and sets the rotation direction flag to "OJ" to reverse the bin operation for performing the sorting operation, that is, to reverse the floating cam motor (not shown). Reset.

If NO, follow the steps (5143) to (5147).
) to move the bin (60) to the bottom bin position (x
l). That is, in step <5143), the motor of the floating cam (50) is rotated in the normal direction, and in step (5144), a sorter weight is applied. Sorter weight means that while the bin (60) is moving, the sheet is being moved to the sorter section (41).
This means that copy operations are prohibited so that it is not sent to the After confirming that the bottom bin detection switch (SWI) is turned on in step <5145, the floating cam (5146)
0) is turned off, the sorter weight is released in step (5147), and the floating cam rotation direction flag is reset to r□ in step (5148), so that the rotation direction of the floating cam (50) is reversed thereafter. do.

On the other hand, if the finish mode is not fully selected,
The sensor (Se5) is turned on in step (5149).

Check the presence or absence of sheets in the bin (60) when turning off,
If there is no sheet, check whether the top bin detection switch (SW2) is on or not in step (5150), that is, whether the top bin detection switch (SW2) is on or not.
) is located at the top bin position (X, ), which is the home position in the non-finish mode, and it is determined whether or not sheet distribution in the non-finish mode is possible.

Therefore, if YES, proceed to step (5156).
, and set the floating cam rotation direction flag to "1".
to allow normal rotation of the floating cam (50). If No, follow the steps (5151) to (5
Step 155) is executed to move the bin (60) to the top bin position ( (
After confirming that the top bin detection switch (SW2) is turned on in step (5153), the floating cam (SO) motor is turned off in step (5154). Next, in step (5155), the sorter weight is released, and in step (5156), the floating cam rotation direction flag is reset to r I J, and the subsequent floating cam (
50) is assumed to be forward rotation.

Further, if it is determined in the steps (5141) and (5149) that there is a sheet in the bin (60), it is determined in steps (5157) and (5160) whether or not the number of copies is counted as "0", If 'O', step <5
158).

At step (5161), the warning flag (Fil) is set to "1" to prepare for lighting up the copy removal display LED (160), and at steps (5159) and (5162), system operation is prohibited.

Next, in step (5163), it is determined whether the ejection switch (SW3) of the copying machine (1) is on-edge. That is,
Waiting for the leading edge of the sheet to reach the discharge switch (SW3), turn on the sorter conveyance motor in step (5164),
Sorter discharge sensor (Set) in step (5165)
Determine whether or not is off-edge. That is, when the trailing edge of the sheet passes the discharge sensor (Set), it is considered that the sheet is stored in the bin (60), and if the sheet is off-edge, step (516) is executed.
6) starts the sorter conveyance motor timer, increments the sheet count in step (5167), waits for the end of the sorter conveyance motor timer in step (5168), and turns off the sorter conveyance motor in step (5169). do. Subsequently, in step (st70) it is determined whether or not the sheet conveyed earlier is the last sheet, and if it is the last sheet, the floating cam rotation direction flag is reversed in step (5171). That is, if the floating cam rotation direction flag is ``0'', it is set to ``11'', and if it is ``1'', it is reset to ``0''. In order to continue the sorting operation if it is not the last sheet, the floating cam rotation direction flag is checked in step (5172), and if it is "0", step (5173) is performed.
The floating cam motor is turned on in reverse rotation at step (5174), and if rl, the floating cam motor is turned on in forward rotation at step (5174). That is, the sheets are distributed by reciprocating from the lower bin (60) to the upper bin (60) and from the upper bin (60) to the lower bin (60).

Next, in step (5175) it is determined whether the finish mode flag is "1" or not, and if it is '1', step (
Step 5175a) calculates the number of sheets per bin (M), and step (5176) calculates the number of sheets per bin (M) and the permissible number of stapling sheets (Cb) [Step (55
2) Reference]. Number of sheets per bottle (M
) is greater than or equal to the staple permissible number (cb), step (5177
) to set the warning flag (F5) to "1" and prepare to display that the finisher capacity is exceeded. Furthermore, in step (5178), the copy flag is reset to "0", in step (5179) it is determined whether the print switch is turned on, and in step (5180) it is determined whether the ADF start switch is turned on. If either of the judgments is turned on, that is, if the operator's intention to execute the copy even if a warning is issued is confirmed, step (5)
181) to reset the finish mode flag to 10'', and step (5182) to reset the warning flag (F5) to ``10''.
0'' and sets the copy flag to rl in step (5183) to enable execution in sort mode, and ends this subroutine.

If you want to finish the copy operation and perform finish processing when the finisher capacity over warning has been issued by executing steps (5176) and (5177), turn on the finish start switch. Good [see step (5205)].

FIG. 26 shows the copy processing subroutine executed in step (5105).

First, in step (5190), it is determined whether the optical system (4) has scanned one copy, and if YES, the scan end flag is set to "1" in step (5191), and if NO, the scanning end flag is set to "1". In step (5192), a copy process processing subroutine is executed. This subroutine is a routine for executing a normal copying process by the copying machine (1), and its details will be omitted.

Next, in step (5193), the scan end flag is set to “
1", reset the scan end flag to "O" in step (5194), and proceed to step (5194).
In step 5195), the copy flag is reset to rO'', and in step 5196, other processing subroutines are executed.

FIG. 27 shows a finish processing subroutine that can be executed in step (S6) of the main routine.

First, in step (5200) the finish mode is turned off.

It is determined whether the lag is "1" or not, and if it is "o", the process ends immediately. If it is '1', it is determined in step (5201) whether or not the finish mode is prohibited, and if it is not prohibited. If so, in step (5202) the staple tray (
91) The presence or absence of a sheet is checked by determining whether the upper sheet detection sensor (Se6) is on or off. If the sheet detection sensor (Se6) is turned on and it is determined that there is a sheet on the tray (91), the existing sheet will be stapled together with the sheet that will be fed into the tray (91) from now on. To avoid the risk of exceeding the number of sheets to be bound, please
In step 5203), the warning flag (F6) is set to ``1'' to prepare for displaying a warning to remove the sheet from the staple tray (91), and in step 5204, the finish mode is prohibited.

On the other hand, if it is confirmed in step (5201) that the finish mode has not been prohibited completely, or that there is no sheet on the tray (91) in step (5202), the warning flag (F6) is set in step (5201a). is I''
1”, and if it is ’11, step (520
1b), reset to r□, and step (5201C)
to cancel the prohibition of finish mode. Next, in step (5205) the finish start switch (15
8) is turned on. If it is turned on, set the finish processing flag to 11 in step (5206).
'', the number of sheets (M) per bin is calculated in step (5207), and it is determined in step (520g) whether the number of sheets (M) per bin is one. That is, if the number of sheets <M> that can be distributed and accommodated in each bin (60) is one, there is no need to staple.

Therefore, if it is determined in step (5208) that the number of sheets per bin is 1, step (5209)
Set the warning flag (F3) to ``1.'' in step 5210 to prepare to display the finish mode not possible.
) to reset the finish mode flag to 0.
Cancel finish mode.

If the number of sheets (M) per bin is not 1, the warning flag (F3) is set to "1." in step (5208g>).
If it is '1', step (S208b
) to reset it to “0”. Next, step (5211
), the presence or absence of a sheet on the staple tray (91) is checked again by turning the sensor (5e6) on and off. (5203
), (5204> is executed to issue a warning and cancel finish mode. If there is no sheet, start
Execute finish processing. That is, step (521
2), the subroutine for bin movement processing, step (521
3) is the sheet retrieval processing subroutine, step (
5214), each stapling processing subroutine is executed. After these processes are completed, the presence or absence of sheets in the bin (60) is determined in step (5215), and the presence or absence of sheets on the staple tray (91) is determined in step (5216).
In step 7), the finish processing flag is reset to "0".

In addition, in this finish processing subroutine,
To cancel finish mode prohibition, step (5202)
) detects that the sheet has been removed from the staple tray (91), and resets the warning flag (F6) to "rO" in step (S201b). The restart of the finish process may be performed automatically via a timer after the finish mode prohibition is released, or may be performed by inputting a finish start switch.

FIG. 28 shows a subroutine for bin movement processing that can be executed in step (5212).

First, in step (5220), the sensor (Se5) is turned on.

The presence or absence of a sheet in the bin (60) is determined when the process is turned off, and if there is no sheet, the process immediately ends. Although such a situation cannot occur in practice, it can occur if the operator removes the sheet from the bin (60) immediately after copying is complete. If there is a sheet, it is determined in step (5221) whether the bottom bin detection switch (SWI) is on. If the switch (SWI) is not on, step (522) is executed to move the floating cam (50) to the bottom bin position (X,).
In step 2), the motor of the floating cam (50) is rotated in the normal direction, and when the off-edge of the floating cam rotation detection switch is confirmed in step (5223), the motor of the floating cam (50) is rotated in the normal direction.
24) turns off the motor. And this step (
5222), (5223), and (5224), the floating cam (50) is at the bottom bin position (X,)
This will continue until you move to .

The bloating cam (50) is in the bottom bin position (
X+), that is, the step (5221)
When it is determined that the bottom bin detection switch (SWI) is turned on, the fix cam motor is rotated forward in step (5225''), and it is determined whether the fix cam rotation detection sensor (Se2) is on edge in step <5226). Determine. If it is on-edge, the bin (60) in the bottom bin position (X,) is now at the sheet take-out position (X,).
, ), the bin counter is incremented in step (5227), and step (522B
) to turn off the fix cam motor.

Next, in step (5229), the pin counter changes to the set number (A
) [see step (510)]. If the pin counter is smaller than the set number (A), a process is executed to move the next bin (60) to the sheet take-out position (X,). That is, the floating cam motor is reversed in step (5230), and the floating cam motor is reversed in step (5231).
), when the off-edge of the floating cam rotation detection sensor is confirmed, the floating cam motor is turned off in step (5232). This causes the next bin (60) to move to the bottom bin position (Xl).

This step (5230), (5231).

(5232) is repeated until the pin counter becomes equal to the set number (A).

When the pin counter becomes equal to the set number (A), it means that the stapling process is finished, and in step (5233) it is confirmed that there are no sheets in the bin (60), and in step (5234), the bin position is reset. Execute a subroutine.

FIG. 29 shows the subroutine of the sheet retrieval process executed in step (5213). This subroutine executes the bin (
60) to convey the sheet to the staple tray (91) via the conveying means (8o).

First, in step (5240), the sheet take-out position (X
, ), the sensor (Se5) is turned on for the bottle (60) that has descended to the bottom.

In the off state, it is determined whether or not there is a sheet, and if there is no sheet, an appropriate warning is displayed (not shown in the flowchart) and the process moves to step (5246). When the presence of the sheet is confirmed, in step (5241) it is determined whether the fix cam rotation detection sensor (Se2) is off-edge, in other words, whether the fix cam (70) has started to rotate normally. When it is determined that the sheet is off-edge, that is, when the fix cam (70) starts normal rotation and the bin (60) begins to descend to the sheet take-out position (X,), step (5) is performed.
At step 242), the pinch roller (76) (7) solenoid is turned on, and at step (5243), the pinch roller solenoid timer is started. The sheet on the bin (60) is
When the fix cam (70) starts to descend based on normal rotation, the solenoid inside the bin (60) is turned on.
At the sheet take-out position (X,), the take-out roller (75
) and a pinch roller (76). - Next, in step (5244), it is determined whether the fix cam rotation detection sensor (5e2) is on-edge, in other words, whether the bin (60) has completed its descent to the sheet take-out position (X,). However, if it is determined that the sheet is on-edge, the sheet take-out motor is turned on in step (5245). The sheet is now on the roller (75).

(76), (81a), (81b), etc., to the staple tray (91), and when it is confirmed in step (5246) that the pinch roller solenoid timer has finished, the pinch roller is transferred in step (5247). Turn off the roller solenoid. With this pinch roller (76)
is retracted upward from the take-out roller (75). This prevents the pinch roller (76) from retracting from the take-out position (X,) before the next bin (60) begins to descend from the bottom bin position (X,), and is distributed and housed in the bin (60). This is to prevent interference with the sheet.

Next, in step (524B) the staple tray (91
) sensor (Se6) is turned on and it is confirmed that the sheet is stored in the tray (91), the sheet take-out motor is turned off in step (5249) and this subroutine is ended.

FIG. 30 shows a stapling subroutine that can be executed in step (5214).

First, in step (5251) the staple tray (91
) is on-edge. This sensor (Se6) is turned on when a sheet is conveyed onto the tray (91). Therefore, if it is on-edge, the vibration motor (93) is turned on in step (5252) to align the sheets on the tray (91),
A vibration motor timer is started in step (5253). On the other hand, in step (5251) it is determined that the device is not on-edge, and in step (5254) the sensor (S
e6) is on, that is, if it is determined that there is already a sheet on the tray (91), step (5255)
to move to.

Next, when the end of the vibration motor timer is confirmed in step (5255), the vibration motor is turned off in step (5256), and the staple motor is turned on in step (5257). Then, when it is determined in step (5259) that the rotation detection sensor (Se4) of the staple motor is on-edge, that is, when the head (105) moves and the sheets are stapled with the staples (106), step The staple motor is turned off in step (5260), and the stopper solenoid is turned on in step (5262).

As a result, the stopper (96) is retracted from above the tray (91), and the sheet slides off the tray (91) and is stored on the stack tray (111).

Next, in step (5263) the staple tray (91
) sensor (Se6) is determined to be off-edge,
That is, when it is determined that the sheet has been discharged to the stack tray (111), the stopper solenoid is turned off in step <5264) and the stopper (96) is moved to the tray (9).
1) Return to the top and end this subroutine.

That is, in this embodiment, in the offline stapling processing subroutine (see FIG. 18a), when the offline stapling mode is fully selected, [step (530)
0), YES, sensor (Se6) on and off to confirm that the sheet is inserted onto the staple tray (91) [Step (5307), YF3, execute stapling process [Step (5214) 1. That is, only offline stapling processing can be executed independently, and such offline individual stapling processing is prohibited when finish mode is selected, but can be executed when finish mode is not selected [step (5303)].
]. With this, offline stapling processing is now possible, and offline stapling processing can be performed in parallel with the copying operation in the copier main unit and the distribution processing in the sorter section, and processing can be performed in online mode. There is no possibility that sheets processed in the offline mode and sheets processed in the offline mode will be mixed on the staple tray (91).

光aBOυ剋朱As is clear from the above description, the present invention has an online mode and an offline stapling mode in which stapling is performed independently, and the offline stapling mode is used when the finishing mode is not selected. The stapling function can be used independently during operation of the main body of a copying machine or during distribution in the sorter section, and the functions of the optional finisher can be used more widely. can be converted into

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the entire copying machine, Fig. 2 is an internal configuration diagram of a sorter with a finisher, Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the sorter section, and Fig. 4 is a diagram of the sorter. 5 is a perspective view of the conveyance section, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the floating cam and fixed cam, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the floating cam, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the sheet take-out position. Fig. 9 is a plan view showing the engagement between the trunnion and the fix cam, Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view showing the rotation detection part of the fix cam, Fig. 11 is a plan view of the stapler, and Fig. 12 is a plan view of the stack tray. 13, 14, and 15 are plan views of the operation panel, FIGS. 16 and 17 are control circuit diagrams, and FIGS. 18 to 30 are flowcharts showing control procedures. . (1)...Copy machine, (4G>...sorter with finisher, (41)...sorter section, (50)...floating cam, (60)...bin, (61)...・
Trunnion, <70>...Fix cam, (90)
... Staple part, (100) ... Stapler, (1
10)...Stack section, (163)...Offline staple mode selection key, (164)...Offline staple mode display LED1 (L)...Bottom bin position, (Xt)...Top bin position ,
(xi)... Sheet take-out position.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A sorter unit that receives sheets discharged from a copying machine or the like and distributes them to a plurality of bins, a stapling unit that has stapling means that staples the sheets conveyed from each bin, and a stapling process. In a sorter equipped with a finisher, the main body of the copier, etc., the sorter section, and the stapling section operate together in an online mode, and an offline mode in which the stapling process is performed independently. A sorter with a finisher, the sorter having a staple mode, and comprising a control means that enables stapling processing in the offline stapling mode other than when the finish mode is selected.