JPS6326061B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention The present invention is applicable to image forming devices such as ruler plates, printing devices, simple printing machines, and other sheets (cut sheet paper,
It is used by being attached to the sheet output unit of a device that outputs sheets of paper (cards, thin plates, etc.) one after another, and it receives the sheets sequentially output from the sheet output device, and automatically aligns the receiving sheets with each other (sheet The present invention relates to an automatic sheet processing device that automatically performs bookbinding (stapling, gluing, etc.) on the aligned sheet bundle, and further automatically discharges the aligned sheet bundle.

This type of automatic sheet processing device is effective in streamlining office processing, and various proposals have already been made (for example, JP-A-50-99548, JP-A-53-
119047, etc.), and there are also practical machines. However, conventional devices are generally large, complex, and expensive devices that are used in combination with special and high-grade sheet output devices of specific models, and cannot be easily combined and used with general-purpose copying machines, for example. However, it lacked versatility.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above, and has the versatility to be widely used in combination with various existing sheet output devices, is highly reliable, is compact overall, and is low cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide this type of automatic sheet processing device.

A detailed explanation will be given below based on an embodiment shown in the figure. In the figure, 1 is the overall code of the automatic sheet processing apparatus of this example, 100 is a sheet output device, and 200 is a pedestal on which the sheet output device is installed. In this example, the sheet output device 100 is a copying machine. 101 is a sheet output port (sheet discharge port) formed horizontally on the left end face plate 102 of the ruler plate machine housing;
A sheet discharge pinch roller 103 is disposed inside the sheet output port 101 and near the output port. A copy sheet on which an image has been formed by an image forming process mechanism (not shown) built into the copying machine housing is discharged and conveyed by the sheet discharge pinch roller 103 and outputted from the output port 101 to the outside of the machine.

(1) General configuration of automatic sheet processing device 1 The device 1 of this example uses a tilted tray 6 for sheet alignment.
The binding is performed by first and second sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 arranged at right angles to each other, and the bookbinding is performed by stapling.The general structure is as follows:・The mechanism is assembled.

a. A pair of upper and lower sheet guide plates 3, 3 that successively accept the sheet P output from the sheet output port 101 of the copying machine 100 and guide it forward. b. A sheet ejection pinch provided at the leading edge of the sheet guide plate. Rollers 4 and 5 c A sheet collection tray 6 disposed in an inclined position that receives the sheets sent out from the pinch rollers d A sheet collection tray 6 that is arranged in an inclined position and receives the sheets sent out from the pinch rollers. First and second sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 arranged at right angles to each other, aligning two corresponding right-angled sides to each other; A tray swinging mechanism 9 f that selectively converts to a stacked stack of sheets in a tray A stapler machine 10 g that collectively staples (binds) a bundle of sheets aligned and stacked in a tray g Other than that, an electric circuit, the electric circuit and a copying machine 10
Cables (signal transmission/reception lines) etc. connecting to the electric circuit on the 0 side (2) Equipment chassis 2 (Figure 2) The equipment chassis 2 connects the left end face plate 102, which is the sheet output port side of the copying machine 100, and the copying machine left in place. The main body is a vertical back plate portion 2a that is large enough to cover both sides of the left end face plate 201 of the pedestal 200, and left and right side plate portions 2b and 2c project forward, respectively, from the upper left and right sides of the vertical back plate portion 2a; A horizontally long intermediate shelf section 2d is disposed at a position slightly higher than the middle section of the vertical back panel section 2a, extending substantially across the backboard from the left side to the right side of the backboard, and on the left end side of the intermediate shelf section. A forward protruding arm part 2e formed in series with the shelf board, a wide shelf part 2f also formed in series with the shelf board on the right end side of the intermediate shelf part, and a surface near the top of the vertical back board part 2a. A horizontally long window hole 2g formed in the part and a vertical back plate part 2a
Long holes 2h for inserting vertical screws are formed at each of the four corners of substantially the lower half of the plate.

The intermediate shelf section 2d, the arm bar section 2e on the left end side, and the wide shelf section 2f on the right end side, which are connected to the intermediate shelf section 2d, are generally arranged in the vertical back section 2 in relation to the inclination of the tray, which will be described later.
It is arranged so that it is tilted upward forward with respect to a and tilted β downward to the right.

(3) Sheet guide plates 3 and 3 and sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5 (Figures 1, 3, and 4) The sheet guide plates 3 and 3 continue to guide the sheets P output from the sheet output port 101 of the copying machine 100. It is for receiving the sheet and guiding the leading edge of the sheet to the nip portion of the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5, and is disposed between the left and right side plates 2b and 2c of the chassis, with both ends fixed to the inside of the side plates.

The sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5 are disposed on the tip sides of the sheet guide plates 3 and 3, and pinch the sheets sent through the gap passages between the guide plates 3 and 3 into the tray 6 described later. It serves to discharge water to the In this example, the lower roller 4 is a driving roller, and the upper roller 5 is a driven pressure roller.The driving roller 4 is rotatably supported between the left and right side plates 2b and 2c of the chassis, and is also mounted and supported on the outside of the left side plate 2b of the chassis. Three rotary shafts 11 are fixedly supported at predetermined intervals along the length of the rotary shaft 11, which is rotationally driven by a motor M1. The driven rollers 5 for each driving roller 4 are connected to the left and right side plates 2 of the chassis.
A support arm 12 made of a spring plate whose base is fixed to a stay 13 disposed between b and 2c with screws etc. is rotatably supported by a bearing on the tip side, and the downward biasing force of each spring plate support arm 12 It is in constant pressure contact with the upper surface of the drive roller 4.

The passage formed by the upper and lower sheet guide plates 3 should preferably have a small gap of about 1 to 2 mm in order to prevent the sheets from flapping between the two guide plates. In order to prevent condensation of water vapor generated from the sheet passing between the sheet guide plates and trouble with sheet conveyance due to the dew condensation, the sheet guide plates may be provided with ventilation holes or wire-like members, as long as the conveyance of the sheet is not hindered.・It is preferable to use a mesh member, etc.

The rotation speed of the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5 is set to be somewhat faster than that of the sheet discharge pinch roller 103 on the copying machine 100 side in order to prevent sheets from sagging between the sheet guide plates 3 and 3. , and the nip pressure is determined by the roller 10 on the copying machine 100 side.
It is set weaker than that of 3.

(4) Sheet collection tray 6 and its swing mechanism 9 (Figs. 1, 3 to 5)
The base is firmly held by the fixed support member 14 at a position slightly closer to the left end than the intermediate position of the shelf board,
In addition, the shaft rod 1 is arranged so as to be inclined upwardly forward.
5 to the shaft rod 1 through the bearing members 16 and 16.
It is connected and supported so that it can freely swing left and right around 5. The tray 6 is then subjected to a tensile force by the lug 2i formed on the side of the palm arm 2e and the tension spring 17 (see FIGS. 1 and 5) stretched on the back side of the tray 6 near the left side. It is urged to rotate counterclockwise around the shaft 15, and normally, the back surface of the left side of the tray comes into contact with the upper surface of the palm arm portion 2e and is received, and the tray tilts forward upwardly. Moreover, it is held in a tilted posture state in which it is tilted downward to the right. Hereinafter, this posture state will be referred to as the first posture. The front upward inclination angle α and the right downward inclination angle β in the first posture of the tray 6 are set and designed within the ranges of, for example, 23 to 26 degrees and 6 to 10 degrees, respectively.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a tray swinging cam, and this cam is connected to the tip of the forward-protruding rotating shaft 19 of the forward/reverse pulse motor M2, which is fixedly disposed at a position near the left end of the shelf on the back surface of the chassis intermediate shelf 2d. By controlling the motor M2 to rotate approximately 90 degrees in the normal and reverse directions, the left horizontal position shown by the solid line in FIG. It is returned to its original horizontal position. When the cam 18 is in the horizontal position, it is not in contact with the tray 6 and the tray 6 is maintained in the above-mentioned first position, but the cam 18 is rotated upward by approximately 90° normal rotation drive of the motor M2. When the cam is converted into
is rotated clockwise around the shaft 15 against the tension spring 17, and is tilted downward to the right at an angle β' that is even larger than the downward downward inclination angle β in the first attitude.
The posture is changed and maintained as shown by the dotted chain line. Hereinafter, this posture state will be referred to as a second posture. When the cam 18 in the upward position is again changed to the horizontal position by approximately 90° reverse rotation of the motor M2, the tray in the second position returns to the first position again.

In this example, the tray swing mechanism 9 refers to the entire mechanism including the above-mentioned tray support shaft 15, tension spring 17, cam 18, motor M2, etc. as constituent members.

(5) Sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 (No. 1 to 6, 11
(Figure) The sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 are placed on two right-angled sides on the sliding down side of the sheet that is ejected into the tray 6 in the first posture state and slides down in the tray due to the inclination of the tray, that is, in this example, the sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 Posterior side P _B (11th
This is _a member that receives the right side _P
The ruler plate 7 on the receiving side is a first sheet alignment ruler plate, and the ruler plate 8 on the side receiving the right side _PR of the sheet is a second sheet alignment ruler plate.

The first ruler plate 7 is attached and supported via a bracket 20 (FIGS. 2 and 3) along the front edge of the chassis intermediate shelf section 2d, and the second ruler board 8 is attached to the chassis wide shelf section 2d. The rear end of the ruler plate 2f is fixedly attached and supported in a cantilever manner via a bracket 21, and both ruler plates 7 and 8 are perpendicular to each other. The right corner of the rear side of the tray 6 is cut off diagonally (Figures 1 and 11), and the right end of the first ruler plate 7 and the rear end of the second ruler plate 8 are cut off at the cut-off part of the tray. The openings 22 are formed by extending the openings 22 up to the corresponding positions and not allowing them to meet each other.

The lower sides of both the FIG. 1 and second ruler plates 7 and 8 are bent inward at right angles to form narrow projecting edges 7a and 8a. As shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b, when the tray 6 is in the first posture, its rear side _6B has a very small gap with respect to the lower narrow protruding edge 7a of the first ruler plate 7. d1, and the right side _6R corresponds to the lower narrow projecting edge 8a of the second ruler plate 8 with a small tray rotation allowance gap d2 in between. Also, at this time, the first and second ruler plates 7 and
8, the upper surface 7 of each lower side narrow overhanging edge 7a, 8b
The relational structure is such that a step W is created so that a' and 8a' are the lower surfaces.

(6) Stapler mechanism 10 (FIGS. 1, 7 to 10) The stapler mechanism 10 includes a stapler main body 23 provided above the wide shelf section 2f, and a stapler main body 23 provided above the wide shelf section 2f.
It consists of a drive mechanism section assembled on the lower side of f.

The main body of the stapler is mounted on the rear end of a channel-type guide member 24 which is positioned and fixed on the upper surface of the wide shelf section 2f with its longitudinal axis facing toward the opening 22 between the first and second ruler plates 7 and 8. 25, and is connected to the shaft 25 so that it can freely swing up and down, and is constantly opened and rotated upward relative to the guide member 24 by a torsion spring 26 that is fitted onto the shaft 25 and stretched between the guide member 24 and the stapler body 23. It is dynamically energized.

The stapler main body 23 has a box-shaped head portion 27 with an open upper surface provided at its tip, a staple loading guide groove portion 28, and a series of staple needles 29 loaded in the groove portion 28, by constantly pressing the rear end side to staple. Needle pushing member 30 that presses the tip end side of the needle 29 against the outer surface of the opposing side wall 27a of the head portion 27
, a spiral spring 31 which urges the staple pushing member 30 and whose one end is locked to the stapler body; Staple point member 32, head portion 27, and point member 32
It consists of a coil spring 33 contracted in between.

The dot member 32 is made by bending a metal band plate into a substantially U-shape, and turns it upside down to attach the two leg plates 32 facing downward.
Between a and 32b, there is a staple receiving side wall 27a of the head section 27 and the opposite side front wall 27 of the head.
It is placed over the head part 27 so as to sandwich the parts b.
A slit hole 27c is formed in the vertical direction in the front wall 27b of the head, as shown in the enlarged views in FIGS. At a position near the lower side, a diagonally upwardly cut claw side 32c is formed so as to protrude inward from the leg plate, and is inserted into the slit hole 27c of the head portion 27. Also, side wall 3
Since 2d and 32e are restricted to 27e and 27f, there is no lateral displacement. It can freely slide up and down with respect to the head portion 27, and is normally pushed upward against the head portion 27 by the pushing force of the contracted coil spring 33 until the claw side 32c hits the upper edge of the slit hole 27c and is received. It is held in an upwardly pushed state relative to the head portion 27 until it is stopped in the raised state.

In the above, the spring pressure F26 of the torsion spring 26 which urges the stapler body 23 to open and rotate relative to the guide member 24 about the shaft 25, and the coil spring 33 compressed between the head portion 27 and the striking point member 32 are applied. The spring pressure F33 is set to satisfy the relationship F26<<F33.

Reference numeral 34 denotes an L-shaped stapler body push-up lever that has a horizontal arm portion 34a and a downward arm portion 34b, and is freely swingable about a shaft 35.The tip of the horizontal arm portion 34a is provided with a striking member of the stapler body horizontally. 32 is formed with a lug 34c that comes into contact with the upper surface of the 32, and the lower side of the downward arm 34b is connected to the wide shelf 2.
It projects downward from the shelf portion 2f through a slit hole 2j (FIG. 2) drilled in the f-plane.

M3 is a forward/reverse rotation motor for driving a stapler which is attached and held on the surface of the vertical back plate 2a of the chassis; 37 is a rotating arm whose base is fixedly supported on the rotary shaft 36 of the motor; 38 is a cam plate also fixed to the shaft 36;
MS1 and MS2 are first and second micro switches that are turned on and off as the cam plate 38 rotates. The rotary arm 37 has a long hole 37a formed along its length on the arm surface.
7a, the downward arm 3 of the L-shaped lever 34
A pin shaft 34d implanted in the lower end of the arm 4b is inserted to connect the rotating arm 37 and the L-shaped lever 34 to each other.

The rotating arm 37 is normally held in a standby position at a rotating angle diagonally upward to the left as shown by the solid line in FIG. In this state, the first micro switch MS1 is held off and the second micro switch MS2 is held on by the cam plate 38, and the L-shaped lever 34 is rotated clockwise about the shaft 35 so that the sideways arm 34a is held at a rotation angle position diagonally upward to the left. The stapler body 23 has a torsion spring 26.
Due to the opening rotational force caused by this, the hitting point member 32 is held in a rotated state relative to the guide member 24 about the shaft 25 until the upper surface of the hitting point member 32 comes into contact with and is received by the lower surface of the lug 34c of the sideways arm portion 34a. The above state is called a stapler standby state.

Here, from the copying machine 200 to the sheet automatic processing device 1
The sheets sequentially discharged to the tray 6 are individually detected by the sheet sensor S (FIG. 3) to pass through the output port 101 of the copying machine at the rear end, or to pass through the sheet discharge ports 4 and 5 on the automatic sheet processing device side. The control circuit starts driving the motor M3 in the normal rotation after a predetermined delay time T required for the copy sheet ejected to the tray 6 to be completely aligned in the tray has elapsed based on the detection signal. Ru. The rotation arm 37 and the cam plate 38 are rotated clockwise in FIG. 7 by the forward rotation of the motor M3. Accordingly, the L-shaped lever 34 is also rotated counterclockwise about the shaft 35 while pushing down the stapler body 23 against the torsion spring 26. The first microswitch MS1 is kept turned on when the cam plate 38 starts rotating. The second microswitch MS2 remains on for a while thereafter, and is turned off when the rotating arm reaches a substantially vertical rotating angle position 37' shown by a chain line. At this time, the stapler main body 23 is pushed down and rotated by the L-shaped lever 34 until the lower surface of the head portion 27 comes into contact with the staple receiving seat 39 fixedly arranged on the upper surface of the wide sheet shelf 2f. (23' shown by the dashed line in FIG. 1). In this state, the striking member 32 is still pushed down against the coil spring 33 and has not yet reached the point where it acts on the leading edge of the loaded stapling needle 29 within the stapler body 23. This depressed state of the stapler is referred to as first stage depression.

When the second micro switch MS2 is turned off, the motor M3 is reversed and the first micro switch MS2 is turned off.
The rotating arm 37 returns and rotates counterclockwise until the micro switch MS1 is turned off again, and the stapler returns to its initial standby state. This pressing down of the stapler to the first stage and return to the standby state is repeated every time a copy sheet is output/ejected from the copying machine 100 to the tray 6.

By repeatedly pressing down and returning to the first stage of the stapler, a copy sheet is ejected from the copying machine 100 side to the tray 6, and each time the copy sheet reaches the alignment position, the opening 22 between the first and second ruler plates 7 and 8 is opened. The right corner of the rear side of the sheet that protrudes from the side toward the wide shelf board 2f and is located above the staple catch seat 29 is the staple catch seat 29 and the lower surface of the head portion 27 of the stapler body 23 pushed down in the first stage. This improves the mutual alignment of the sheets.

40 (Figures 1, 9, and 10) is the stapler body 2
This is a paper presser rod-shaped member made of an elastic flexible material, which has a base attached to and held on the side surface of the head portion 27 of No. 3, and is disposed approximately parallel to the inner longitudinal direction of the first sheet alignment ruler plate 7. This paper pressing member 40 moves up and down in accordance with the up and down movement of the head section 27 during the first stage push-down/return cycle of the stapler, and presses down the upper surface of the rear side of the aligned sheets in the tray.
The presence of this paper pressing member 40 widens the paper pressing range, and even if the sheet has curls, the curls are suppressed and corrected, thereby further improving the mutual alignment of the sheets.

When the paper presser member 40 is lowered to press the sheet, the tip side of the paper presser member 40 first comes into contact with the sheet surface, and as the member 40 continues to descend, the base side surface sequentially comes into contact with the sheet surface, and finally the member 40 comes into contact with the sheet surface. The alignment of the sheet with respect to the second ruler plate 8 is further improved by arranging the sheet in such an angular position that the entire lower surface contacts the sheet surface and presses the sheet.

When the copy sheets are sequentially discharged from the copying machine 100 into the tray 6 and the last copy sheet is output, a condition signal indicating that the copy sheet is the final sheet is sent to the copying machine 100. The signal is input from a circuit (not shown) to a control circuit (not shown) on the automatic sheet processing device 1 side. The trailing edge of the last copy sheet passes through sensor S (Figure 3).
After a predetermined delay time T has elapsed after this detection, normal rotation of the motor M3 is started and the stapler main body 23 is pushed down in the same way as in the case of sheets up to that point. However, in this case, even after the stapler is pushed down to the first stage and the second micro switch MS2 is turned off based on the input of the above condition signal, the rotating arm 37 is The first micro switch is rotated slightly more clockwise than when it is pressed down to the almost vertical vertical rotation angle position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
The forward rotation of the motor M3 continues until MS1 is also turned off. During the counterclockwise rotation process of the L-shaped lever 34 due to the forward rotation of the motor M3 that continues from the time when the stapler is pressed down to the first stage, the striking member 32 of the stapler body 23 resists the coil spring 33 and hits the head. 27 (FIG. 8c). By pressing down the dotting point member 32, one of the leading ends of the loaded stapling needles 29 in the stapler body 23 is pushed down to the downward leg plate 32a of the dotting point member 32.
The lower edge of the needle is pushed out from the needle push-out gap opening 27d toward the needle receiving seat 39, and as a result, the head portion 2
The sheet bundle portion sandwiched between the lower surface of the sheet 7 and the staple receiving seat 39 is stapled all at once.
When the above-mentioned point member is pressed down, the stapler
This is called step push down.

When the stapler is pressed down to the second stage and the first microswitch MS1 is turned off, the motor M3 is reversed and the stapler returns to its initial standby state (solid line state in FIG. 7).

(7) Attaching the automatic sheet processing device 1 to the copying machine 100 (FIG. 1) The automatic sheet processing device 1 is attached to the copying machine 100, which is a sheet output device, in the following manner. First, the normal ejection sheet tray that is attached to the sheet output port 101 on the left end face plate side of the copying machine 100 and protrudes outward is removed. Then, once remove the set screws 202 at the four corners fixing the left end face plate 201 of the pedestal 200 on which the copying machine 100 is placed,
Set screws 202 are installed in each of the vertical holes 2h at the four corners of the lower half of the
This is done by inserting the pedestal left end face plate 201 and the lower half of the chassis back plate 2a of the device 1 together to the pedestal main body. In this case, vertical hole 2
Using h, the vertical position of the apparatus 1 with respect to the copying machine 100 is adjusted such that the opening 2g formed in the vertical back plate 2a of the chassis on the apparatus 1 side faces the sheet output port 101 on the copying machine 100 side, and the copying machine 100 Adjust the position so that the sheet receiving opening side of the pair of upper and lower sheet guide plates 3, 3 on the apparatus 1 side directly faces the sheet discharge pinch roller 103 on the side, and tighten each screw 202.

Although not shown in the figure, the device 1 has a cable (signal line) that connects the electric circuit on the device side and the electric circuit on the copying machine 100 side, and the plug at the end of the cable must be inserted into the outlet on the copying machine side. This also electrically connects both devices 1 and 100. This completes the attachment of the apparatus 1 to the copying machine 100.

(8) Operation a: Set the number of copies per copy N and the number of required copies M to the copying machine 100 and start copying.
When the copying machine is operated, first copy sheets are output one after another from the sheet output port 101 of the copying machine 100. The output sheet P passes through the gap passage between the upper and lower guide plates 3 and 3 on the device 1 side, and is pinched into the nip portion of the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5, and is held in the first posture by the pinch rollers. The paper is sent out to the tray 6 which is located inside the tray 6, and is discharged into the tray 6.

In this example, from the copying machine 100 side, the tray 6
When discharging sheets of various sizes, sheets of various sizes are transported based on one side reference line (sheet right side reference transport) using the dashed line R-R (Figure 11) near the right side of the tray as a reference line.
shall be made at

b The sheet P that has started to be fed out to the tray 6 side by the pinch rollers 4 and 5 is fed out a certain length, and the fed out sheet part resists the strength of the waist due to its own weight, as shown by the solid line in Figure 3. Since the tray 6 is tilted downward to the right, the left corner _P1 of the leading edge of the downwardly curved sheet portion is first aligned with the tray 6 surface (or the second and subsequent sheets are already in the tray). (top surface of the sheet ejected into the interior). At this time, the sheet approach angle θ to the tray 4 surface is an acute angle.

c Pinch rollers 4 and 5 for the subsequent sheet P
As the sheet is sent out toward the tray 6 side, the sheet leading side smoothly moves up the front upward slope of the tray 6 along the slope toward the tray leading edge side by the sheet feeding force, and slides into the tray of the sheet P. The delivery is progressing.

d When the rear end of the sheet P passes through the nip portions of the pinch rollers 4 and 5 and is completely removed, the entire sheet P falls into the tray 6 and is in a discharged state (solid line in FIG. 11).

e The sheet P discharged into the tray 6 then moves along the front upward slope of the tray 6, or conversely, along the combined slope of the rear downward slope and the right downward slope, toward the rear right corner of the tray 6. It naturally slides down to A (Fig. 11) under its own weight.

f In the process of sliding down the sheet P in the direction A, in this example, the right side P _R of the sheet P first hits the inner surface of the second sheet alignment ruler plate 8 and is restricted in position (as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure). state).

g Then, the sheet P″ slides down along the second ruler plate 8 in the direction B toward the first ruler plate 7, and the rear side _P of the sheet hits the inner surface of the first ruler plate 7. It hits and is subject to position restriction (state P shown by the three-dot chain line in the same figure).

h In other words, the sheet P discharged into the tray 6 is finally placed on the right side P _R and the rear side P _B , which are the two right-angled sides on the sliding down side, respectively, and the two right-angled sides P
Then, it is received in the inner surface of the second ruler plates 7 and 8 and is placed in the tray 6.
At this point, as explained in item (6) above, the stapler mechanism performs the first stage pressing down and returning operation once, and as a result, the lower surface of the stapler head 27 and the paper presser member 40 are lowered and returned to the inside of the tray 6. Paper holding of the ejected and aligned sheet is executed.

i Thus, the second and subsequent output sheets also follow the above b~
In the same process as in section h, the sheets are sequentially discharged, aligned, and paper-pressed into the tray 6, and are aligned and stacked one after another. Note that the right corner of the rear side of the sheet bundle aligned in the tray 6 protrudes from the opening 22 between the first and second alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 toward the wide sheet shelf plate 2f, and the staple needles are inserted into the tray 6. It will be in a state where it is located on the receiving seat 39.

j Then, the last copy sheet of the first set is output and ejected into the tray 6, and when it is aligned, the stapler mechanism pushes down the second stage as explained in item (6) above. As a result of the return operation, all the sheet bundles in the tray are stapled at the right corner of the rear side, and are collectively stapled (bookbinding process) (FIG. 8c).

k When the stapler mechanism returns to the standby state, the motor M of the tray swing mechanism 9 is activated based on the signal.
2 is driven to rotate approximately 90 degrees in the normal direction, and the cam 18 assumes an upward rotating position. As a result, the tray 6 is converted from the first posture shown by the solid line in FIG. A gap opening is created between the lower edges of the plate 8, and a bundle of bound copy sheets in the tray 6 slides down to the right along the right slope of the tray, and a storage container is provided on the sliding side from the gap opening. The sheets are automatically discharged and stored in the stacker 43 with the stapled side at the beginning. By discharging the stapled sheet bundle from the tray 6 to the stacker 43 side with the stapled side at the beginning, it is possible to prevent the sheets from coming loose.

l After the predetermined timer time (usually about 1 second) required for the bound sheet bundle in the tray to be completely discharged from the tray after the tray 6 is changed to the second posture state, or the stacker 43 After a sensor (not shown) disposed at the entrance of the stacker detects that the sheet bundle has been discharged and stored on the stacker side, the motor M2 is driven approximately 90 degrees in the reverse direction, and the tray 6 is again changed to the first posture state. be done.

m Next, the copy sheets for the second set are output one after another from the copying machine 100 side to the apparatus 1 side, and the second set of copy sheets is automatically aligned, automatically bound, and automatically ejected in the same manner as described above. In this way, by repeating the cycle of the above items b to m, each bundle of bound copy sheets of the M section is finally automatically adjusted and stored in the stacker 43.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of the above sequence control.

(9) Other configurations, functions, modifications, etc.a As described above, the tray 6 has a sheet discharge port 4 and a
5, it is tilted forward upward and also downward to the right, so the head distance between the left end side of the sheet outlet in the length direction of the sheet outlet and the left side of the tray _L (Fig. 4) On the other hand, the drop distance l _R between the right side of the sheet exit and the right side of the tray on the opposite side is larger. Therefore, the sheet P sent out from the sheet discharge ports 4 and 5 to the tray 4 may be in a state where its stiffness has weakened due to, for example, a high temperature and high humidity environment.
Alternatively, if the sheet P is originally weak, the degree of downward curvature of the sheet portion when the sheet P is sent out a certain length from the sheet discharge ports 2 and 3 toward the tray 4 side is large. Therefore, since the drop distance l _L from the tray on the left corner P ₁ side of the sheet leading edge is relatively small, even if the sheet enters at an acute angle to the tray 6 surface, the right corner P ₂ side of the sheet leading edge is on the tray side. Since the drop distance l _R between the tray and the tray is large, it is easy to enter the tray at an obtuse angle θ or close to 90° with respect to the surface of the tray 6, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.

In such a case, the leading edge of the sheet that is in contact with the tray 6 surface continues to move up the front upward slope of the tray 6 toward the tray leading edge side and does not slide, and as a result, the sheet P is reversed and placed in the tray 4. It is something that is expelled inside.

Such sheet reversal and ejection troubles can also occur in a tray device in which the tray 4 is tilted forward and downward.

Therefore, in this example device, in order to eliminate the sheet reversal discharge trouble caused by the above-mentioned causes, the sheet output section of the sheet discharge port section for the tray is provided with a tray-side tray for the sheet sent from the sheet exit toward the tray. A member is provided to warp upward the sheet side portion on the side corresponding to the lower side of the direction inclination.

In Figures 1, 4, and 12, 50 is a roller provided as the sheet warping member. This roller 50 is connected to the sheet conveyance reference line R-R (FIG. 11),
The pinch roller drive shaft 11 between the sheet ejection pinch rollers 4 and 5 closest to the reference line is fitted with snap springs 51 and 51 to restrict displacement along the shaft 11 and to freely rotate around the shaft 11. The outer diameter of the drive roller 4 of the pinch rollers 4 and 5 is appropriately larger than the outer diameter of the drive roller 4 of the pinch rollers 4 and 5. The roller 50 may be rotatably mounted on the shaft 11 via a bearing.

The sheet side side of the sheet P sent out from the sheet outlet of the sheet discharge port to the tray 6 corresponding to the lower side of the tray lateral direction inclination, in this example, the right side of the sheet corresponds to the roller 50. Passing over 50. As mentioned above, the roller 50 has a diameter that is appropriately larger than the diameter of the driving roller 4 of the sheet discharge pinch roller, so due to the difference in diameter, the right side of the sheet P changes the elastic range of the sheet in the process of passing over the roller 50. It passes through the roller 50 part while resisting the elasticity inside and bending upward as shown by Pc in Figures 4 and 12. This sheet's roller 5
Based on the rib-like effect caused by the upward curvature P _c at the 0 portion, even if the sheet P has weakened due to moisture absorption, or is originally weak, the sheet P can be moved from the sheet exit to the tray 6 side. The large downward curvature of the sheet portion when fed out a certain length to the tray is alleviated, and the sheet approach angle θ with respect to the tray 6 surface is ensured at an acute angle over the entire length of the sheet leading edge. This solves the problem of sheet reversal and ejection.

FIG. 13 shows another embodiment. In this example, the right corners of the leading end sides of the sheet guide plates 3, 3 are garbed upward to give warps 3', 3', and this guide plate Due to the warps 3' and 3', a warp Pc can be given to the sheet as in the case of the roller 50 described above.

b. In order to ensure sheet alignment by preventing the sheet from bouncing due to the contact shock when the sheet discharged into the inclined tray slides down the slope of the tray and hits the alignment ruler side plate, It is preferable that at least one of the matching ruler plates 7 and 8 has a slow-impact material pasted on its inner surface, or the side plates themselves are made of a slow-impact material.

In this example, as described above, the sheet P that is discharged into the tray 6 and then slides down the slope of the tray first hits the second alignment ruler plate 8 with its right side P _R and is regulated in position (point 2 in Figure 11). The sheet then slides down along the ruler plate 8 in the direction B toward the first alignment ruler plate 7, so that the rear side P _B of the sheet moves toward the first alignment ruler plate 7.
(Fig. 3)
Since the sheet movement mode is shown (P state shown by the dotted chain line), the second ruler plate 8 is made of a material with a small coefficient of friction, such as a metal surface or a resin surface, and the first ruler plate 7 is made of a urethane foam sheet on its inner surface. - A shock absorbing material 7b (Fig. 6, 8a)) such as Seagull Suede (trade name) is attached to soften the shock at the final impact.

c Sheet alignment The side edges of the sheet should be placed in contact with the inner surface of the ruler plate in order to reduce the impact of the contact and to prevent the corners of the sheet from being bent or crushed due to the corners of the sheet hitting the ruler first. It is desirable that it be received in parallel contact with the .
Then, the trailing edge of the sheet fed into the tray from the sheet ejection port passes through the sheet ejection port, and the entire sheet is ejected into the tray. In relation to the posture of the sheet in the tray at the time of the fall, each sheet alignment ruler plate that receives each sheet side is placed approximately parallel to the two right-angled sides on the sliding down side of the sheet in the tray. It is recommended to set it up.

In this example, as shown in Figure 11, a second alignment ruler plate 8 aligns the right side P _R of the discharged sheet in the tray.
is arranged at an angle γ with respect to the sheet conveyance direction by the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5, that is, with respect to the sheet one side conveyance reference line R-R, and the first alignment ruler plate 7 is tilted at an angle γ with respect to the second ruler plate 8. They are arranged at right angles.

In other words, the right side P R of the sheet P fed into the tray 6 from the sheet discharge port section is not aligned with the sheet one side conveyance reference line R- _R until the trailing side P _B passes through the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5. and are conveyed in a state in which they are substantially aligned on a plane (state P' shown by a dashed line in FIG. 11). However, the rear side of the sheet P _B
When the rear side of the sheet falls onto the tray 6 after passing through the pinch rollers 4 and 5, the sheet is already in contact with the tray surface because the tray 6 is tilted upward at an angle α and downward to the right at an angle β. The sheet P falls onto the tray while rotating around the left corner _P1 of the leading edge of the sheet, and the position of the sheet P in the tray at the time it finishes falling into the tray 6 is as shown by the solid line in Figure 11. As shown, the right side P _R of the sheet is inclined by an angle γ with respect to the sheet one side conveyance reference line RR. In reality, the angle γ is 5 when the inclination angle of the tray 6 is α = 23 to 26 degrees, β = 6 to 10 degrees, and the falling distance of the rear right corner of the sheet from the sheet discharge port is 75 mm.゜It was hot both inside and outside. Therefore, in this example, the second alignment ruler plate 8 for aligning the right side P _R of the sheet with respect to the angle γ is tilted in advance with respect to the sheet one-side conveyance reference line R-R, and the right side P R of the sheet is aligned with the right side P _R of the sheet at the angle γ. The entire length of the ruler plate 8 is brought into contact with the ruler plate 8 of No. 2 at the same time in parallel. Regarding the rear side P _B of the sheet, after the right side P _R of the sheet is regulated in position by the second ruler plate 8, the sheet P'' is moved along the ruler plate 8 to
By sliding down in the direction, it comes into contact with the first ruler plate 7 in a parallel state.

d If sheets of various sizes are discharged to the tray 6 by one-sided standard conveyance using the right or left side of the sheet as a reference, the horizontal inclination of the tray 6 should be such that the side of the sheet conveyance reference line is lower. It is better to use a slope. In this example, the inclination of the tray 6 in the lateral direction is such that the side of the sheet conveyance reference line RR is lower. By doing this, even if the size of the sheet ejected to the tray 6 is different, the two right-angled sides P _R and P _B on the tray sliding down side of the sheet immediately after being ejected and fallen onto the tray 6, and the sheet sliding of the tray. The distance from the first and second sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 arranged on the descending side is always approximately constant, and the sliding path and manner of the sheet after it is discharged and dropped onto the tray 6, as well as the alignment completion time for various sizes. All of the sheets are substantially the same, and stable sheet alignment can be performed.

e The angle formed by the first and second sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 is slightly smaller than setting it to exactly 90°.
It was confirmed that when the angle is set at 88 to 89 degrees, the right side P _B of the sheet P does not shift after hitting the first ruler plate 7, and better consistency can be obtained.

f Sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 are
As explained in Figures a and b, inwardly projecting edges 7a and 8a are formed on the lower side, and the rear side _6B and right side _6R of the tray 6 in the first posture correspond to the projecting edges 7a and 8a. In addition, since the upper surfaces 7a' and 8a' of the projecting edges 7a and 8a are lower than the upper surface 6 of the tray, the step W is created, so that the tray is discharged into the tray and the tray surface Before the right side P _R or rear side P _B of the sheet (the first ejected sheet) that has slid down the tray comes into contact with the inner surfaces of the second and first alignment ruler plates 8 and 7, respectively, the boundary gap d2 between the tray and the ruler plate is reached. This prevents the sheet from becoming stuck in the middle of sliding down the tray due to the sheet edge entering the position or d1, thereby ensuring alignment of the sheet.

g. In this example, the sheet aligning means mechanism is composed of an inclined tray 6 and first and second sheet aligning ruler plates 7 and 8 arranged at right angles to each other.
Other alignment means mechanisms such as alignment by vibrating the tray, alignment by a drive belt, alignment by paddles, etc. may also be employed.

h Instead of the bookbinding mechanism 10 that uses stapling, a bookbinding mechanism that uses gluing may be provided. Any other post-processing mechanism for aligned sheet bundles, such as a punching mechanism, can also be provided.

i The sheet guide plates 3 and 3 and the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5 on the apparatus 1 side do not need to be provided if the sheet discharge port on the sheet output apparatus 100 side can be positioned above the tray 6.

j In the case of the embodiment apparatus, the first sheet alignment ruler plate 7 may be provided integrally with the rear side of the tray 6.

The cam 18 for swinging the tray 6 can be rotated by, for example, an electromagnetic solenoid-plunger or other suitable driving means.

l The apparatus 1 is self-supporting on the floor or on a table, and is equipped with necessary components such as a sheet receiving tray 6, sheet alignment means 7, 8, bookbinding means 10, etc., with respect to a chassis whose height can be freely adjusted. The device 1 is constructed by assembling the means mechanisms in a predetermined positional relationship, and the height of the device 1 is adjusted appropriately so that the sheet receiving portion of the device matches the sheet output port 101 of the sheet output device 100 to be used. It is also possible to adjust the height and arrange the sheets adjacent to the sheet output port side of the sheet output device for use in combination.

(10) Key Points and Effects of the Invention In summary, the present invention provides a sheet collection tray that receives sheets output from a sheet output device;
A sheet aligning means for aligning each sheet sequentially discharged and accumulated in a tray so that at least two corresponding right angle sides thereof are aligned with each other; a bookbinding means for collectively binding a bundle of aligned sheets in the tray; and the bookbinding means. A sheet pressing member disposed to be supported on the side, a standby position in which the bookbinding means does not act on the sheets in the tray, and a first stage swinging that causes the sheet pressing member to press the sheet. location and,
A bookbinding means driving means for swingingly displacing the sheet bundle to three positions, a second stage swinging position for binding a sheet bundle, and a bookbinding means driving means for displacing the bookbinding means to a standby position, a first stage swinging position and a second stage swinging position. The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic sheet processing apparatus comprising: a control means for controlling a bookbinding means driving means;

As a result, sheet alignment → bookbinding can be performed automatically, and sheet alignment is achieved by disposing a sheet holding member and operating the sheet holding member by acting on the drive mechanism of the bookbinding means to eject the sheet into the tray. Since the effect is applied to each sheet, it is possible to improve the mutual consistency of the sheets, and the overall structure is simple and compatible, with high reliability, and is easily compatible with various types of sheet output devices. A versatile and practical product that can be used together without any problems.
This type of automatic sheet processing device can be obtained at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the device of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device installed on the sheet output port side of the sheet output device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device chassis, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the device. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional front view of the same, FIG. 5 is a front view of the tray swinging mechanism,
6a and 6b are sectional views of the first and second sheet alignment ruler plates, respectively, FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional side view of the stapler mechanism, and FIGS. 8 a to 8c are front views of the stapler head portion, respectively. , a vertical side view, a vertical side view with the needle pushed down, FIG. 9 is a plan view of the paper pressing member, FIG. 10 is a front view of the same, FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the sheet alignment process, and FIG. 12 is a Figure 13 is a front view of the sheet warping roller portion, and Figure 13 is a diagram of an example in which the sheet is warped by warping the sheet guide plate.
Figure 4 is a flowchart of the operation of the device. 1 is an automatic sheet processing device, 100 is a sheet output device such as a copying machine, 200 is a pedestal, 6 is a sheet collecting inclined tray, 7 and 8 are first and second sheet alignment ruler plates, and 9 is a swinging tray. 10 is a stapler mechanism (bookbinding means);

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A sheet collection tray that receives sheets output from a sheet output device, and an aligned state in which each sheet sequentially discharged and accumulated in the tray is aligned with at least two corresponding right-angled sides thereof. a sheet aligning means for binding the bundle of aligned sheets in the tray at once; a sheet pressing member disposed to be supported on the bookbinding means; Bookbinding means drive for swinging to three positions: a standby position for operation, a first swinging position where the sheet pressing member presses the sheet, and a second swinging position where the sheet bundle is bound. An automatic sheet processing device comprising: means; and a control means for controlling the bookbinding means driving means to displace the bookbinding means to a standby position, a first stage swing position, and a second stage swing position. .