JPS6332700B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a document copying apparatus in which one or more collators are continuously connected, and more particularly to a method for controlling the number of copies thereof.

Collators typically include a sheet transport path, multiple sheet storage bins, and a movable deflection device for distributing sheets to these bins, and can be used in either collation or sorting modes. It has a unique structure. That is, there is a collation mode in which sheets of the same page are stored one by one in separate bins, or a sorting mode in which sheets are stored consecutively in one bin and when that bin is full, the sheets are stored in the next bin. It can also be operated in mode. However, the number of sheet storage bins is limited, and it may be desired to collate or sort a large number of sheets that exceeds the total number of bins. In this case, it is desirable that the input device of the collator, ie, the copying machine, the printing machine, etc., produce all the sheets at one time as one cycle of paper feeding, without stopping the operation midway. For this reason, conventionally, several collators were used continuously, and when the first collator could no longer process, the second collator was used, and when the second collator could no longer process, the third collator was used, and so on. is being carried out.

However, although it is possible to collate or sort a large number of copies, continuously connecting a number of collators in order to be able to process a large number of copies that are handled very infrequently is expensive and requires less space. It is also uneconomical. Normally, the number of collators to be connected depends entirely on the number of copies that are frequently handled by the user of the apparatus. Furthermore, the number of connected collators will also differ depending on the user. In this way, the number of collators connected is restricted to a smaller number, and the number differs depending on the user.As a result, the handling of document copying devices and collators is unified, and the number of collators connected exceeds the total number of bins. It is desirable to be able to efficiently use the limited number of collators for collation or sorting.

An object of the present invention is to clearly display the number of sheets in a copy set so that an operator can efficiently use a collator and easily perform desired collation or sorting without having to make a troublesome evaluation.

If the number of connected collators is Q, and the number of bins of one collator is B, the total number of collator bins is
BQ, which typically represents the collation or sorting capacity (total processing capacity) of all connected collators. However, among these Q collators, there are usually some empty collators with no copies stored in their bins. This is because the previous operator may have been in the middle of collating or sorting, or may have not removed the document copies from the collator's bin after collating or sorting. If the number of empty collators among Q collators is q, then
The total number of bins for all empty collators, that is, the effective processing capacity is
It is Bq.

Therefore, a storage register is provided to accept and store the specified number of copies N regardless of the total processing capacity BQ of the connected collators, and the collated information in this storage register is compared with the total processing capacity BQ and the effective processing capacity Bq. If the collation information N in the storage register is smaller than the effective processing capacity Bq of the collators, collation is performed using these empty collators. In addition, if the information in the storage register is within the total processing capacity BQ of the collator but greater than the effective processing capacity Bq, collation is performed in several batches using an empty collator, and the effective processing capacity Bq is completely reduced. If there is no empty collator, that is, if there is no empty collator, this is not carried out. Furthermore, if the information in the storage register exceeds the total processing capacity of the collator, it is a good idea to perform collation or sorting if there is effective processing capacity Bq, but not to perform it if there is no effective processing capacity Bq. In this case, the display to the operator is important for simplifying the handling of the device.

On the other hand, looking at the relationship with the number of times manuscripts are exchanged, if the collated information is within BQ and greater than Bq as described above, unless there is no effective processing capacity at all, it is divided into several times and the specified number of exchanges is performed. It is not a good idea to collate the number of copies. This is because, in the case of collation, after repeating the distribution of a predetermined number of pages and collating them once, it is necessary to exchange originals for the same page when collating the remaining copies again. It is from. Therefore, as an alternative method, it may be possible to prevent collation when the number of copies to be collated is within BQ and greater than Bq. However, not being able to collate even when all connected collators are empty collators is contrary to general requirements, so we decided to perform collation in several batches only in that case. Become. In this case as well, the display for the operator is important for simplifying the handling of the device.

In the present invention, when collating is performed in several stages using empty collators because the collated information exceeds the effective processing capacity, the number of collated copies for each empty collator is 1 register and the remaining number of collated copies into a second register, the collated number of copies in the first register is collated, and when the collation is completed, the contents of the second register are transferred to a storage register. In this case, if the contents of the storage register are displayed on the display section, when the collation of the number of copies in the first register is completed, the display section will change from the specified number of collated copies to the remaining number of collated copies. It becomes obvious at first glance.

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

In FIG. 1, a first
A collator K1 and a second collator K2 are arranged, and an automatic document handling device ADH is placed on the contact glass 4 of the main body of the copying machine.

The copying machine main body 1 has, around the photosensitive drum 5, a static elimination charger 6, a charging charger 7, a static elimination lamp 8, a developing unit 9, a transfer charger 10, a separation charger 11, a separation claw 12, and a cleaning unit 13. Reference numeral 14 denotes a halogen lamp as a scanner of the slit exposure device. The surface of the photoreceptor drum 5 is first subjected to charging treatment. The halogen lamp 12 moves to illuminate the original on the contact glass 4, and the reflected light is reflected from the first mirror 15 and the second mirror.
The light is reflected by the mirror 16, passes through the through lens 17, is reflected by the third and fourth mirrors 18 and 19, and slit-exposes the surface of the photoreceptor drum. The surface of the photoreceptor drum on which the latent image has been formed through the exposure process is then visualized with toner by the developing unit 9. Prior to this, the sheet sent out from the paper feeding unit 20 by the lower paper feeding roller 21 and waiting at the registration rollers 23 is fed by the registration rollers 23 at a good timing and is superimposed on the toner image. A toner image is transferred to a sheet by a transfer charger 10, and the sheet is transferred to a separation charger 11 and a separation claw 1.
2 from the surface of the photoreceptor drum, and sent to the fixing unit 25 by the transport tank 24.
The fixed sheet is normally discharged from the machine via a switching gate 27 via a discharge roller 26 and delivered to the first collator 2. However, when the switching gate 27 is at the dotted line position, the paper is discharged to the first temporary tray 29 via the roller pair 28. 29' is a first temporary paper discharge detector. The surface of the photosensitive drum is cleaned by a cleaning unit 13 and reused.

A sheet feed unit sheet detector 22 is provided near the sheet gripping side of the registration roller 23 to monitor sheet feeding.

The automatic document handling device ADH has a driving roller 36 on the scanner's home position side on the contact glass 4, and a driven roller 36' on the other end, and a conveying belt 38 for conveying the original between the two rollers.
is wrapped around it. 37 is this conveyor belt 38
This is an electromagnetic clutch for driving the drive roller. A document tray 40 is disposed above the conveyor belt 38, and only one document 40' on the tray is taken out at a time by a paper feed roller 30 and a fixed separating roller 32 that are in contact with each other. This removal is controlled by an electromagnetic clutch 31 for driving the paper feed roller. Then, the taken out document waits at a position of a pair of registration rollers 33 and 34 provided in the middle of a path 44 from the paper feed roller 30 to the entrance of the conveyance belt 38. The document in this waiting position is fed along the path 44 onto the conveyor belt 38 when the registration roller 34 is started to rotate by the electromagnetic clutch 35 for driving the registration roller. And clutch 37
It moves between the belt and the contact glass by a conveyor belt 38 that is controlled by the operator, and comes to rest upon contacting a stop pawl 39' at the other end of the contact glass.
When the next document is replaced, the stop pawl drive solenoid 39 is activated to release the stop pawl 39' and allow the document on the contact glass to return to the document tray 40. 41 is a sheet detector (registration document detector) in the registration roller section; 42 is a document discharge detector;
And 43 is a document detector on the document tray 40.

Each collator K1, K2, K3... consists of a sheet alignment section A, a feeder section B located below it, a bin row 2, a vertically movable deflection device 3 for feeding copies into a desired bin, and this deflection device. The apparatus is provided with a conveyor belt 64 and a motor M for carrying the sheet and conveying the copies from the paper arrangement section A or the feeder section B to the deflection device.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, copies ejected from the copying machine main body move toward the first collator K1 in the direction of arrow P.
The sheet is then gripped by a pair of receiving rollers 46 while being monitored by a sheet receiving detector 45, and then, according to the position of the receiving guide plate 48, which is controlled by a guide plate solenoid 47, the sheet is normally advanced horizontally and diagonally. It is sent to the facing roller 51.

Due to the action of the diagonal roller 51, the copy is brought to a reference plate (not shown), placed in a fixed position and posture by the reference plate, and sent to the intermediate roller pair 52. Next, when the intermediate guide plate 54 in the feeder section B is in the solid line position in the figure, it is directed toward the conveyor belt 64, and when the intermediate guide plate 54 is in the dotted line position, it is transferred to the second collator K2 via the pair of delivery rollers 55. sent to. An intermediate sheet detector 53 is arranged behind the intermediate roller pair 52. In case of copy jam or failure in the part after the diagonal roller part, the receiving roller pair 46 and the ejecting roller pair 49
The rotation of all other rollers except for the rotation of
All the sheets are sent to the temporary tray 50 through the temporary discharge detector 50'.

Next, when collating or sorting the copies stored in the temporary tray 50 or the copies made with another copying machine, you can set these copies on the paper feed table 60 and issue a paper feed start command. The electromagnetic clutch 98 is connected and the feed roller 96 starts rotating, feeding out one sheet at a time starting from the topmost copy of the stack. When the leading edge of the copy reaches the intermediate roller pair 55 and is detected by the intermediate roller sheet detector 53,
The paper feed roller clutch 98 is disconnected and the paper feed roller 9
6 is interrupted, and the copy is thereafter sent out by the intermediate roller pair 55. In this case, a separation roller 97 is provided that contacts the paper feed roller 96 with an appropriate pressing force and rotates in the opposite direction to the paper feed roller 96 or is fixed, thereby allowing the paper feed roller 96 to feed one sheet of copy. is guaranteed.

The dashed-dotted line section F shown in FIG. 2 is the manual feed section,
Insert the paper along the lower guide plate 57 in the direction of the arrow. When the manual paper sheet detection sensor 58 detects a paper, the manual paper feed roller 59 starts rotating by actuating a clutch (not shown) provided on the manual paper feed roller 59, provided that manual paper feeding is possible. When the paper advances further, it reaches the manual feed section roller 59 and is fed into the receiving roller pair 46. The feeder section B and the paper arrangement section A are hinged to each other on the rear side, and the paper arrangement section A can be lifted upward from the front. Thereby, it is possible to easily remove jammed paper on the conveyance path and set the copy stack on the paper feed table 60. A feeder section sheet detector 61 detects the presence or absence of paper on the paper feed tray 60.

The conveyor belt 64 is wound around a driving roller 62 and a driven roller 63, and the driving roller 62 is driven by a motor M via an electromagnetic clutch 65. 99 is an encoder pulse generator provided coaxially with this motor M.

In FIG. 3, the conveyor belt 64 is hooked around a drive roller 62 and a driven roller 63, and a first chain 68 is hooked around a sprocket 66 fixed to the shaft of the drive roller 62 and a sprocket 67 loosely attached to the shaft of the driven roller 63. ing. in this case,
Since the diameter of sprocket 66 is smaller than the diameter of drive roller 62, the speed of chain 68 is slower than that of the conveyor belt. Furthermore, chain 68
The sprockets 69 provided in the conveying section and the sprockets 70, 71, 7 provided in the deflection device 3 are
It is attached to 2,73.

The deflection device 3 is designed to rise when fixing the ascending chain 68 and the sprocket of the deflection device, and to descend when fixing the descending chain and deflection device. For this purpose, a spring clutch 74 is attached to a sprocket 70 mounted on the fixed shaft of the deflection device. This clutch 74 is controlled by a lifting solenoid 75 via a lever 76, and by energizing the solenoid 75, the clutch 74 is released and the sprocket 70 is released.
becomes free, only the chain 68 rotates, and the deflection device 3 does not move. When the lifting solenoid 75 is deenergized, the lever 76 is spring-backed and the sprocket 70 is locked onto its fixed shaft via the clutch 74, so that the sprocket 70 and therefore the deflection device 3 are entrained in the lifting chain 68. Ru. When the deflection device 3 rises to the highest position where it should be stopped, it activates the home position detector 85 (FIG. 6), which energizes the solenoid 75, and when the clutch 74 is released, the deflection device 3 is activated. The connection with the chain 68 is cut off and the ascent is stopped.

The downward movement of the deflection device 3 is basically the same as the upward movement described above, but it is important that it must descend by a precisely determined amount. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 4, a sprocket 73 that engages with the chain 68, a spring clutch 77 attached to this sprocket, an electromagnetic clutch 79 provided between this spring clutch 77 and a shaft 78, and a A descending solenoid 80 for connecting and disconnecting, a lever 81 connected to the plunger of this solenoid, and a cam sleeve having a notch 82a for engaging and disengaging with one end of the lever, and controlling the connection and disconnection of the spring clutch 77. 82 is provided. A further sprocket 83 is fixed to the shaft 78, as shown in FIG. 5, and this sprocket 83 meshes with a second chain 84 which is fixed to the conveyor and therefore stationary.

When the lowering solenoid 80 is deenergized, the engaging end of the lever 81 engages with the notch 82a of the cam sleeve 82 and disconnects the spring clutch 77. Therefore, even if the sprocket 73 is rotated by the chain 68, the shaft remains unchanged. 78 does not rotate, and the deflection device 3 is stopped. When the lowering solenoid 80 is energized, the engaging end of the lever 81 is disengaged from the notch 82a of the cam sleeve, the spring clutch 77 is brought into contact, and the chain 68 rotates the sprocket 73 by turning on the electromagnetic clutch 79, which is normally on. The shaft 78 is transmitted through the shaft 78, so that another sprocket 83 rotates together with the shaft 78;
3 rolls along the stationary second chain 84, and the deflection device 3 eventually descends. The lowering solenoid 80 is deenergized again immediately after the engaging end of the lever 81 is disengaged from the notch 82a of the cam sleeve, so the engaging end of the lever 81 moves around the cam sleeve 82 while maintaining the engaged state. sliding along the surface,
After half a turn, the cam sleeve 82 is stopped by engaging with another notch 82a. Therefore, the spring clutch 77 is again in the disengaged state, and the deflection device 3 is moved in accordance with the shaft 78 and the sprocket 83 fixed thereto.
stops. In this way, when the deflection device 3 is lowered, it is lowered exactly by a distance corresponding to half the circumference of the cam sleeve 82, which distance corresponds to the distance between adjacent bins.

In FIG. 6, the driving roller 62 and the driven roller 6
A vacuum chamber 87 is disposed between both running sides of the conveyor belt 64, which is placed between the conveyor belt 3 and the conveyor belt 64, and is constantly maintained at a negative pressure by a blower 88. A large number of suction holes are provided in a row in the wall portion of the vacuum chamber 87 that faces the row of bottles and is in contact with the conveyor belt, and the conveyor belt 64 is also provided with suction holes. 86 is an end detector for lowering the deflection device. When the copy comes to the point where the suction hole in the vacuum chamber and the suction hole in the conveyor belt match, the copy is attracted by the conveyor belt and is carried along with its movement until it reaches the deflection device 3, where it is deflected as shown in FIG. cam 89
and is fed into a predetermined bin while being monitored by the deflection section sheet discharge detector 94.

In FIG. 7, the copies sent to the deflection device 3 by the conveyor belt 64 are transferred to the guide corresponding to the bin where the deflection device is stopped in order to feed the copies among the deflection cams 89 attached to each bin. Since the cam is located at a position protruding from the conveyor belt 64, the curved surface of the guide cam is spaced apart from the surface of the conveyor belt 64, and the guide plate 90 carried by the deflection device 64,
91, is gripped by a pair of discharge rollers 92, and discharged into a bin.

The deflection cam 89 is held at a position protruding from the surface of the conveyor belt 64 by locking a deflection cam drive lever 93 provided on the deflection device 3 at the solid line position. When the deflection device is lowered, this deflection cam drive lever 93 is in the solid line position, causing the required guide cam to protrude from the conveyor belt surface, but when the deflection device is raised, it moves to the position shown by the broken line, and comes into contact with each guide cam. be prevented from doing so. Control of this lever 93 is performed by the above-mentioned lifting solenoid 75. That is, when the lifting solenoid 75 is OFF, the deflection device 3 is raised with the lever 75 at the position shown by the broken line in FIG. position, and the deflection device 3 is in a state in which it expects the lowering solenoid 80 to be turned on. 94 is a deflection section sheet detector.

Note that 79a and 79b shown in FIG. 1 are a pair of light emitting/receiving elements as the bin sheet detector 79, and when there is a sheet in one of the bins, it optically detects this and outputs an output. Occur.

The second, third, fourth, etc. collators K2, K3, K4, etc. following the first collator K1 have exactly the same configuration.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the control circuit of the document copying apparatus. CPU is a central processing unit, 20
0 is a device with a built-in I/O port controlled by the CPU, 201 is a read-only memory ROM, and 202 is a random access memory RAM. The circuit 203 is a pulse counter/jam detection circuit that counts pulses from the encoder pulse generator 99 under the control of the CPU to monitor the sheet conveyance time until the sheet is stored in a predetermined bin. Check for the presence of jam. Therefore, circuit 203 also functions as a timer. However, there are two jam check points for each collator, namely, a jam check in the conveyance path from the sheet acceptance detector 45 to the sheet discharge detector 94 in the deflection section, and a jam check in the sheet discharge detector 94. There is a jam check around the deflection section to see if the sheet has passed through. Since the length of the transport path from the former detector 45 to the detector 94 varies depending on the position of the deflection device 3, the count number of the circuit 203 also varies accordingly. The counting method of the circuit 203 is also controlled by the CPU so as to differ depending on whether the collator operates in collation mode or sorting mode.

The circuit 204 is a keyboard IC/display control circuit that includes a RAM for storing data to be displayed by the CPU and a segment decoder, and is a keyboard IC/display control circuit that has a built-in RAM for storing data to be displayed by the CPU.
It also has 103 control circuits built-in. 101 is a clear key, 102 is a collation mode key with a built-in collation display lamp 102', 103 is a sorting mode key with a built-in sorting display lamp 103', 10
4 is a copy start key, and 105 is a feeder section start key. 106 is a display lamp that displays "copies in bin"; 107 is a jam display lamp; 108 is a copy set number display section A;
09 indicates the number display section B of fed sheets.

Dotted line blocks 110, 110'... indicate I/0 device groups of collators K1, K2...
The individual I/O devices are shown with the corresponding element number plus 100. However, 175 is a drive circuit for lifting the deflection device which drives the lifting solenoid 75 and the electromagnetic clutch 79. Reference numeral 120 is a collator connection detector circuit provided for each collator, which notifies that the collator is connected.

I/0 device group 1 for one collator
10, 110'..., I/Os other than those related to the temporary tray 50 and feeder section B, respectively.
0 devices, those for input, namely, intermediate sheet detector circuit 153, deflection section sheet discharge detector circuit 194, bin sheet detector circuit 156, home position detector circuit 185, and end detector circuit 1.
86 and collator connection detector circuit 120 are each connected to device 200 via a multiplexer using tristate 111.
In addition, there are I/0 devices for output, namely a drive circuit 175 for raising the deflection device, and a drive circuit 18 for lowering the deflection device.
0 and the conveyor belt control circuit 165 also have 2 inputs.
It is connected to device 200 through a multiplexer using AND gate 112. Therefore, which collator is selectively activated is determined by the control terminal of the tristate 111 and the other input terminal of the AND gate 112.
This is automatically done by outputting a selection signal in common. A flip-flop 113 is provided in front of the deflection device raising drive circuit 175, and the flip-flop is reset by the output of the home position detector 185 when the deflection device returns to the home position. Other I/O devices, namely, sheet receiving detector 145, encoder pulse generator 199, feeder section sheet detector 161, receiving guide plate drive circuit 147, intermediate guide plate drive circuit 154, and feeder section electromagnetic clutch 198 are directly connected to the device. 200.

The operation of this control circuit will be explained below in Figures 9 to 9.
This will be explained according to the flow shown in FIG. For convenience of explanation, the total number of bins B for one collator is B = 20.
Make it into a bottle.

As will be described later, the paper feed unit sheet detector 22 in the copying machine main body 1, which is the paper feed side, has a paper feed counter C0 that counts the number of sheets detected by the detector 22.
are related. On the other hand, on the collator side as well, the sheet acceptance detector 45 is associated with a sheet acceptance counter C1, and the deflection section sheet discharge detector 94 is associated with a discharge counter C2 and a discharge total counter C3. Further, an intermediate detection counter C4 is associated with the intermediate sheet detector 53, and a deflection counter C5 is also provided which counts up each time the deflection device descends by one bin.

The operator presses both collation and sorting mode key 1.
Select either 02 or 103 and press the number using the replacement key 100. The information inputted by this number key is the specified number of copies N (equal to the number of copies of the same page) in the collation mode, and the total number of copies in the sorting mode.

In FIG. 9a, when there is an input using the numeric key, the CPU resets the paper feed counter C1, the registers S1 and S2, and the jam flag in steps 1 and 1. Register S1, S2
As described later, if the specified number of copies N is large,
It is used when the number of collator bins that are currently connected and empty exceeds the number of collator bins, and the specified number N is divided into a processable number. Also, the jam flag is used to indicate when a jam has occurred in the collator. It is set when Then CPU
always sets the above-mentioned key input to the number register S0, regardless of the total processing capacity BQ of the connected collators. The quantity information stored in the number register S0, that is, the number entered, is passed through the circuit 204 to the display section A10 as the copy set number.
8 is displayed.

On the other hand, when the sorting mode key 103 is selected among the two mode keys, steps 1 and 2 are selected.
At this point, the collation mode flag, jam flag, and paper feed counter C1 are reset. Then, the sorting mode flag is set and the sorting display lamp 103' is turned on. The collation and sorting mode flags clarify that collation or sorting processing will be performed, respectively. When the other collation mode key 102 is selected, in steps 1 and 3, the sorting mode flag, jam flag, and paper feed counter C1 are reset, then the collation mode flag is set, and the collation display lamp is turned on. 102' lights up.

Three keys 100, 102, 10 as above
3, the paper feed counter C0 and the jam flag are reset, so the desired operation can be started by operating only the necessary keys.

Next, the CPU determines the mode, that is, checks whether the collation mode flag is 1 and further checks whether the sorting mode flag is 1 (steps 1, 4,
1,5). Then, the CPU enters the sorting flow in the sorting mode, and enters the collating flow in the collating mode.

In collation mode, the CPU sets number register S0
Put the data in register S1 (step 1,
6). Therefore, here, the contents of the S1 register match the number of copies to be collated. Next, reset the P1 flag (steps 1 and 7). The P1 flag is a flag that is set once a copy is stored in the bin.
It continues to be set and remains at "1" until the desired collation or sorting is completed, that is, while the collation or sorting continues. Therefore, as will be described later, the P1 flag is used to determine that the collation or sorting is completed and a new collation or sorting by another operator is to begin.

On the other hand, being in sorting mode is the first step.
If it is confirmed in step 5, the number M of sheets to be stored in each bin at one time is set (steps 1 and 8). In this case, of course, it is not possible to set more than the maximum number of sheets that can be accommodated in one bin, but an explanation of this point will be omitted. The CPU then resets the P1 flag (step 1,
9).

(1) Determining the collator to be used in the collation mode The CPU enters the step shown in Figure 1b, as shown in Figure 1, and determines the collator to be used by looking at the relationship between the total processing capacity BQ and the effective processing capacity Bq with respect to the specified number of copies N. Determining and sorting the processing, that is, deciding whether to collate at once or how many times to collate. Therefore, first determine the size of the number of copies to be collated (steps 2, 1,
2, 2, 2, 3...).

a. When the number of copies to be collated is 20 or less bins In this case, collation can be performed with one empty collator k. Then, the connected collators K1, K2, K3, . If an empty collator is found, collation is performed using that collator, otherwise collation is not performed.

The CPU first specifies the first collator K1, and determines whether this collator is empty by specifying the I/0 port of the bin sheet detector 56 (step 3, 1). If the first collator K1 is empty, this collator will be used, and the first collator code indicating that the first collator K1 is to be used is
It is set in the CPU's internal register (steps 3 and 4). Actually, prior to this, confirmation and correction is performed to confirm that the deflection device (first deflection device) 3 of the first collator K1 is at the start position. That is,
The CPU detects whether the first deflection device is at the home position using the home position detector 85.
Specify and check the I/0 of (step 3, 2), and if the first deflector is not in the home position
In order to return this to the home position, the first deflection device raising signal is specified and outputted to the I/0 port of the deflection device raising drive circuit 175 (step 3,
3). When the first deflection device is at the home position, the CPU sets the first collator code as described above (steps 3 and 4).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 3,1 that the first collator K1 is not empty, then
The CPU checks whether the second collator K2 is further connected (steps 3 and 5). If the second collator K2 is not provided, the CPU specifies the indicator lamp 162 to output "copy in bin", causes the lamp 106 to indicate this (steps 3 and 6), and as shown in Step 1,
Return to 4. If the second collator is connected, specify this second collator and do the same as steps 3, 1 to 3, 4 above for the first collator to determine whether there is a copy in the second collator and this collator. After confirming whether or not the deflection device (second deflection device) is at the home position, the second collator code is set, and the step starts (steps 3, 7 to 3, 10). If this second collator also has a copy, it is determined whether the next third collator K3 is connected, and the same operation as described for the second collator above is performed (step 3, 5'~3,10'). The same applies to collators after K4. The figure shows steps 3, 5', 3, and 6'' for the fourth collator, and the steps thereafter are omitted.

b When the number of collated copies is within 21 to 40 bins In this case, if the number of connected collators K is 2 or more (Q ≥ 2) and there are 2 empty collators K (q = 2), this collation There is no need to process the combined number separately. If there is only one empty collator k, collation will be performed twice using this collator. This determination of between 21 bins and 40 bins is made when it is determined in steps 2 and 1 that the bins are not within 20 bins, as shown by 〓〓, the process proceeds to steps 2 and 2 in Figure 9c, where the bins are determined to be within 40 bins. It can be obtained by determining whether

If the number of collated copies is within 40 bins, check whether two or more collators are connected by specifying the connection I/O port of each collator (steps 3 and 11). If two or more collators are not connected, subtract 20 from the number of copies register S1 and add the result to the S2 register (step 3,
12). This subtraction result means the remaining number of copies to be collated for the second time after collating 20 copies by the first collator K1. Note that since the S2 register is in the state of "0", the result of the subtraction is set as is. The CPU puts 20 copies, which are the number of copies to be collated for the first time, into the S1 register (steps 3 and 13). Then, as indicated by 3', the CPU enters step 3,1 of FIG. 9b. The operations of steps 3, 1 to 3, 10', etc. are as described above. Then, as will be described later, the first and second collations are performed, and the contents of the S2 register become "0" and the collation ends.

If it is found in steps 3 and 11 that two or more collators are connected, the CPU specifies each collator and connects these connected collators K.
Check whether there are two or more empty collators k (steps 3 and 14). If there is only one empty collator, one-time collation is impossible, so the process returns to steps 3 and 12 as shown by . If there are two or more empty collators k (q≧2), the CPU selects the first collator k1 of those empty collators k.
It is checked whether the deflection device (k1 deflection device) is at the start position, that is, the home position (steps 3, 15). If the k1st deflection device is not at the home position, the k1th collator is designated and a k1th deflection device raise signal is output (steps 3, 16).
When the k1 deflector is in its home position, the CPU then moves to the empty k2 deflector with no copies in the bin.
Check whether the deflection device k2 of the collator is at the home position (steps 3, 17). If it is not at the home position, a k2th deflection device raising signal is output (steps 3, 18). When both the k1 and k2 deflection devices are at the home position,
The CPU sets the k1 and k2 collator codes in internal registers (steps 3 and 19), and enters the flow.

c When the number of collated copies is within 41 to 60 bins In this case, there are three or more connected collators K,
If there are three empty collators k among them, this number of copies can be collated without being divided. If there are only two empty collators, you can first collate 40 copies and then collate the remaining copies using one of the two collators.If there is only one empty collator, that collator All you have to do is use 3 times to collate. Furthermore, if there are no more than three connected collators K, it is necessary to collate the data in several batches, as in the case where there are two or fewer empty collators.

If it is determined in steps 2 and 2 that the number of collated copies is 41 bins or more, proceed to steps 2 and 3 in Figure 9d, as shown in Figure 9, to determine whether the number of collated copies is within 60 bins. It is done.

As a result, if it is determined that the number is within 41 to 60 bins, the collator connection port is specified and it is determined whether there are three or more collators K connected (steps 3 and 20). If there are not three or more copies, 40 is subtracted from the number of copies register S1, and the result of the subtraction, that is, the remaining number of copies to be processed at the end, is added to the S2 register (step 3, 21). Next, put the number of copies 40 in the S1 register (step 3, 22), as shown by 〓〓.
Step 3 of the flow when the number of copies is 21 to 40 bins,
11 (Figure 9c). Then, it is determined whether there are two or more empty collators k (step 3,
14), if there are two empty collators, the above S1
and the contents of the S2 register remain the same, and with two empty collators, the contents of the S1 register 40
The divisions are finally collated. However, when there is only one empty collator, 20 copies are added to the contents of the S2 register above in steps 3 and 12, and 40 copies are added to the contents of the S1 register in steps 3 and 13.
The number of copies will be changed from 1 to 20, and 20 copies will be collated using one empty collator. remaining S2
Number of copies stored in register (more than 20 copies)
is then moved to the S1 register.

If the number of connected collators K is three or more, the process proceeds from step 3, 20 to step 3, 23, and the CPU checks for each collator whether there are three or more empty collators with no copies in the bin. Specify and view the sheet detector I/0 port. 3 empty collators
If there are no more than 300
Return to If there are three or more empty collators,
Check whether these deflectors, that is, the k1, k2, and k3 deflectors, are at their home positions, or if they are not at their home positions, make corrections to their home positions (step 3,
24-3, 29), then set the k1, k2, and k3 collator codes (steps 3, 30). These are steps 3, 15 to 3 when the number of copies is 21 to 40.
Same as 3, 19.

When the number of collated copies is 60 or more bins, the collators to be used and their usage are determined in the same manner as described above, their collator codes are set, and the flow begins. This is indicated by 〓〓 in Figure 1d.

In the above, if the specified number of collated copies exceeds the total processing capacity BQ of the connected collators, but some of those connected collators are empty, the collation is performed in several batches using these empty collators. The purpose was to decide which collator to use. However, as an alternative method, if the specified number of copies to be collated is so large that it exceeds the total processing capacity BQ, collation is performed in several batches only if all connected collators are empty. You can also decide which collator to use as in

For example, if it is found in steps 3 and 14 of FIG. 9c and steps 3 and 20 of FIG. 9d that the desired two or more or three or more empty collators do not exist, or Instead of returning to the step, it is sufficient to output "copy in bin" to the outside as shown by the dotted line. In other words, this is displayed on the display lamp 106, and the process returns to the step without collating.

(2) Determining the collator to be used in the sorting mode If it is confirmed that the sorting mode is selected in steps 1 and 5 in Figure 9a, the CPU sets the number M of sheets stored in one bin, as already stated. Reset the P1 plug and enter the flow.

In FIG. 9e, the CPU first checks whether there is a copy in the first collator K1 (step 4, 1). If there is no copy, make a confirmation correction to the home position of the deflection device, set the first collator code, and output a paper feed prediction signal, that is, a signal indicating that it is OK to start paper feeding of the copying machine. (Steps 4, 2, 4, 5).

If there is a copy in the first collator, it is checked whether the first deflection device is in the home position (steps 4 and 6). If it is not in the home position, this means that out of the total number of bins of the first collator, sorting has been performed up to the intermediate bins and the bins below the deflection device are empty. Therefore, the remaining empty bins can be used for sorting, so the code of the first collator is set (steps 4 and 7). If the deflection device returns to the home position, there are no such empty bottles left in the first collator, so check whether the second collator is connected (step 4,
8). When the second collator is not connected,
Since sorting is not possible at all, the presence of copies in the bin is displayed via the display lamp 106 (steps 4 and 9).

If the second collator is connected, go through the same steps as steps 4, 1 to 4, 9 above to output a paper feed acknowledgment signal, set the code of the second collator, or Output that there is a copy in the bin (steps 4, 10~
4, 18).

Furthermore, even if sorting is not possible at all up to the second collator, the presence or absence of the third collator is determined and the same operation is performed (steps 4, 10' to 4, 18').
The same applies below.

(3) Actual collation operation In the explanation so far, we have described that the code of the collator used is set and the flow starts.

In FIG. 9f, when the collator code for the collator to be used is set, the intermediate guide plate driving circuit 154 of each collator of the collator code is specified, and the intermediate guide plates 54 are moved as shown in the solid line in FIG. position (step 5, 1). The first of these collators is then ready to be loaded with sheets.

Next, in order to determine the collator to actually use, the CPU sequentially examines the collator code starting from the first collator K1 (steps 5, 2', 5, 2'', 5,
2...). Then, all the read collator codes are set, and the kn-th collator flag for the earliest collator code is always set (steps 5 and 3). Now, register 1, 2,
3rd... 1st, 2nd, 3rd corresponding to the bit
...If we form a collator code,
101000... indicates that the first and third collator codes are set, and the other second and fourth collator codes are reset. In this case, since the first collator code is read out first, the collator flag for the first collator K1 belonging to this code is set first. However, as will be explained later, this first collator code is used unless there is no other collator code.
When the first collation in that collator is completed, it is reset, so the collator flag for the next third collator K3 is set. next
The CPU determines whether the knth deflection device is at the home position by specifying the knth home position detector circuit 185 belonging thereto (steps 5 and 4).
If it is at the home position, a collator usage approval signal indicating that paper feeding may be started is output by specifying the copy start key 104 (steps 5, 5). Next, the CPU determines whether the P1 flag is 1 (steps 5 and 6).

The P1 plug is reset at steps 1 and 7 in FIG. 1a and is initially at "0". In this case, the flow goes into Figure 9g. In FIG. 9g, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the sheet acceptance detector circuit 145 of the relevant collator and performs a sheet acceptance check (step 6, 1).

When a sheet is detected by the receiving detector, the CPU specifies the circuit 203 to start the pulse counter TN to start counting pulses from the encoder pulse generating circuit 199 (step 6,
2). Immediately after the sheet passes through the sheet acceptance detector 45, +1 is added to the sheet acceptance counter C1 inside the CPU (steps 6 and 3).

Next, with regard to collator switching that may occur in the case of collating 21 or more copies, the CPU determines the appropriate switching point of the intermediate guide plate 54 for sending copies from the 21st sheet of the collator to the next empty collator. Go through the following flow to be able to determine:

First, as shown in Figure 9h, steps 6 and 4.
and check whether the collation mode flag is "1". If it is not “1”, that is, if it is in sorting mode,
Since several sheets are successively placed in the same bin, there is no need to particularly consider the timing of switching the intermediate guide plate 54, and it is sufficient to switch the intermediate guide plate 54 when the final bin of the collator is reached. Therefore, in the case of sorting mode, immediately proceed to steps 6 and 10 in Figure 9g, as shown in .
Proceed to. On the other hand, if the collation mode flag is "1", that is, in the collation mode, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the intermediate sheet detector circuit 153 to detect sheets (steps 6, 5). If the intermediate sheet detector does not detect a sheet, the process proceeds to the flow shown in (steps 6 and 6), and if a sheet is detected, the CPU adds +1 to the intermediate detection counter C4 (steps 6 and 6). Next, the CPU determines whether the content of the intermediate detection counter C4 has reached "20" (steps 6 and 7). If “20” has not been reached, enter the flow. If it is “20”, then
Designate the I/0 port of the kn intermediate guide plate drive circuit 154 and output the solenoid OFF signal (steps 6 and 8). Then, the intermediate detection counter C4 is reset (steps 6 and 9), and the flow proceeds to step 9. In this way, the intermediate guide plate 54
It is switched in a timely manner at the 20th bin.

Next, proceeding to steps 6 and 10 in FIG. 9g, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the discharge detector circuit 194 to check the sheet discharge. If the sheet is not detected by the ejection detector, the CPU
designates the circuit 203 and checks the contents of the pulse counter TN started in steps 6 and 2 above (steps 6 and 11). If the sheet is not detected by the discharge detector 94 even after reaching the predetermined count value T'N corresponding to the time required for the sheet to be sent from the acceptance detector 45 to the discharge detector 94 of the deflection device, during that time It is determined that the sheet is jammed, and the jam flow shown in FIG. 9i is entered as shown by Jam.

Until the contents of the counter reach T'N, the process returns to step 6, 1 again, and the system enters the acceptance check mode for the next sheet. If the sheet is successfully detected by the discharge detector 94, the CPU resets the pulse counter. Next, the CPU specifies the circuit 203 and starts the pulse counter T1 in order to check the presence or absence of a jam around the deflection section (step 6,
12). Next, the CPU checks whether the sheet is no longer detected by the discharge detector 94 and whether the sheet has successfully passed through the discharge detector (steps 6 and 13). A predetermined count value T′1 corresponding to the time required for one sheet to pass through the discharge detector
Until the counter counts T'1, the process returns to step 6, 1 to check the reception of the next sheet. However, if the discharge detector 94 still detects a sheet even after the counter counts T'1, It is determined that a jam has occurred, and the jam flow shown in FIG. 1 i is entered (steps 6 and 14).

If the discharge detector 94 no longer detects the sheet,
Since the sheet has been safely fed into the bin, the CPU resets the pulse counter T1 and increases the content of the discharge counter C2 by +1.
Next, the contents of the discharge total counter C3 are also increased by +1 (steps 6, 15, 6, 16). Next, the CPU checks whether the collation mode flag is "1" (steps 6 and 17). Since it is naturally "1" in the collation mode, the process proceeds to steps 6 and 19, and the CPU designates the I/0 port of the deflection device lowering drive circuit 180 and outputs a signal to lower the deflection device by one bin. This causes the deflection device to move down to the next bin. The CPU then resets the discharge counter C2 and adds +1 to the deflection counter C5 (steps 6, 21, 6, 21). In other words, in collation mode,
The discharge counter C2 is reset immediately after counting 1, and the deflection counter C5 is reset when the deflection device 3 counts 1.
Each time the bin goes down, its contents increase by one. This deflection counter C5 is "1" at first, "20" when the deflection device descends one step at a time and reaches the 20th bin, and "20" when it comes into contact with the end detector 86 and returns to the home position. 1”. Since the sheet has been stored in the first bin, the CPU sets the P1 flag to indicate that collation is continuing (step 6).
twenty two).

Next, the CPU checks whether the deflection counter C5 is 20 (steps 6, 23). In the case of 20, the flag of the deflection counter "20" is set to indicate that the deflection device 3 is at the final position (steps 6, 24). What we are describing now is that the deflection device has been moved to the second bin, so here we proceed from step 6, 23 to step 6, 25, where the CPU checks whether the contents of the numeric register and the deflection counter C5 are equal. look. The specified number of copies N or the total number of sorted sheets is normally stored in the register, so if the two are equal, collation of the predetermined number of copies N (i.e., the number of bins) for the first page is completed in the case of collation. In the case of sorting, this means that the predetermined total number of sheets has been sorted. Therefore, the knth deflection device rise signal is output (steps 6, 27). However, while the content of the deflection counter C5 is not equal to that of the position register, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the end detector circuit 186 to determine whether the deflection device 3 is at the end detector position. Look (steps 6, 26). If the collator is not at the end detector position, that is, if the collator has not finished distributing the sheets, the process returns to the sheet reception check flow and collation or sorting continues. When it comes to the end detector position, sorting with that collator or 1
Since the first collation has ended, that knth collation has ended.
A deflection device raise signal is output, and the deflection device 3 is returned to the home position (steps 6, 27).

The CPU checks whether there is only one collator code in use (steps 6 and 28). There are cases where the collator code is set for only one car from the beginning, and cases where it is set for two or more cars.

If there are two or more collator codes set, the collator code of the collator that has been used up to that point is reset and the collator code is updated to the next collator code, and the process proceeds to steps 6 and 35 (steps 6 and 29). Therefore, in the above example, the code 101000... changes to 001000... Determine whether the collation mode flag is “1” (step 6, 35),
If it is in collation mode, then go back to step 5, 2' in Figure 9f, as shown by , to enter collation using the next empty collator k2 (collator code 001000...). . As a result, collation of the same page is performed in the next empty collator k2. By repeating such operations, the collator codes are reset one after another, and when the collation with the last empty collator is completed, step 6,
The judgment in 28 is "one collator code".
The same is true for the sorting mode, the only difference being that from steps 6 and 35, steps 1 and 4 in FIG. 9a are entered, as shown by .

Now, if there is only one collator code from the beginning, or if there is only one collator code in the end, this is either the end of sorting or one collation, or an intermediate break before that. In other words, if the number of sheets to be collated or sorted exceeds the effective processing capacity for an empty collator, it is necessary to remove sheets from the bin and create an empty collator, and if the number is within the effective processing capacity, it is necessary to sort or sort once. This is the end of collation. Therefore, when the CPU determines that there is one collator code, the process proceeds from steps 6 and 28 to steps 6 and 30, and resets the sheet acceptance counter C1. Furthermore, the discharge total counter C
3 and the deflection counter C5 are also reset to set all collator codes, ie, 101000 in the above example (steps 6, 31 to 6, 33). Then,
The CPU specifies the I/0 port of the intermediate guide plate drive circuit 154 of each set collator code, outputs the solenoid drive signal, and then enters steps 6 and 35 (steps 6 and 34).

In steps 6 and 35, it is determined whether the collation mode flag is "1", and if it is the collation mode,
In order to start the next round of collation, the process returns to steps 5 and 2' in FIG. 9f, as shown by . If it is the sorting mode, the process returns to steps 1 and 4 in FIG. 9a, as shown by .

Thus, the end or break of sorting or first collation is reached. At this point, the P1 flag has become "1" in steps 6 and 22 (FIG. 9g), thus indicating that collation is continuing in the collation mode. When the P1 flag becomes "1", in FIG. 9f, the CPU checks whether there is a sheet in the collator bin used so far (steps 5 and 7). If you have a sheet,
It just means that collation is continuing. Therefore, since the next collation can be continued, the process returns to the flow and repeats the above series of operations (steps 6, 1 to 6, 35) for the next page. Therefore, the deflection device sequentially descends to the lower bins, discharging one sheet to each bin. Until the content of the deflection counter C5 matches the content of the numeric register, the deflection device returns to the home position when the end detector turns on, and collation of different pages is repeated with the same collator. . The point in time when collation is completed in this collator is determined by the operator determining that the desired number of pages have been copied and no longer making any copies. Therefore, if there is, for example, only one empty collator k at the beginning of collation,
When it is desired to collate more copies than the total number of bins in one bin, at least one of the connected collators K needs to take out sheets from the bin and empty it.

If a sheet is taken out from the bin by the operator and any connected collator becomes empty, the determination in steps 5 and 7 will be "there is no sheet in the kn-th collator's bin." Therefore, at this point, judge whether the desired number of collated copies has been obtained.
If there is a shortage, it is next necessary to determine how many more collated copies need to be processed.

Therefore, in order to know whether the predetermined number of copies have been collated, the CPU sets the contents of the S2 register to “0”.
(Steps 5 and 8). If the content of the S2 register is "0", it means that the predetermined number of copies has been obtained, so the process returns to the flow. If it is not “0”, the CPU is used to collate the remaining copies.
puts the contents of the S2 register into the S1 register and sets it as the remaining number of collated copies (steps 5 and 9). Also
The CPU puts the data in the S1 register into the number register, designates the circuit 204, and displays the remaining number of copies on the display section A108 (steps 5 and 10).
For example, if the number of copies N initially specified by the operator is 25, display section A that had previously displayed "25" will display the remaining 5 copies at the end of one collation. The display changes to "5" as shown. Next, the CPU sets the S2 register to "0" (steps 5 and 11) and begins collating the remaining five copies, that is, enters steps 2 and 1 in FIG. 9b as shown in FIG.

(4) Actual collator operation If a completely empty collator is found and therefore the collator code is set in steps 4, 4, 4, 13, 4, 13'... in Figure 9e, the above into the flow. As already mentioned in the explanation of the collation mode, a jam check is performed on the transport path to the discharge detector and around the discharge detector, and the discharge counter C
2 and the discharge total counter C3 are incremented by 1 for each sheet (steps 6, 1 to 6, 16).
Next, it is determined in steps 6 and 17 whether the collation mode flag is "1", but since it is not "1",
Proceed to steps 6 and 18, and here set the number of sheets stored in one bottle M.
It is determined whether or not the contents of the discharge counter C2 match. As long as they do not match, return to step 6, 1 and repeat the above operation. When a predetermined number M of sheets are stored in the same bin, steps 6 and 19 are entered, and the deflection device is lowered by one bin.

On the other hand, if a collator is found in which some bins in the collator are empty, and therefore the collator code is set in steps 4, 7, 4, 16, 4, 16', etc. of FIG. 9e, then Steps 6 and 19 in the flow shown in are entered, and the deflection device is immediately lowered by one bin. Therefore, the next empty bin will be sorted.

The operation after the deflection device is lowered by one bin is as already described together with the explanation of the collation mode.
When the 20th bin of the collator has been sorted, the process returns from step 6, 26 to step 6, 1, and if the content of the deflection counter C5 matches the content of the number register, the deflection device is returned to the home position. Then, as shown by , the process returns from steps 6 and 35 to steps 1, 4, 1 and 5 of FIG. 9a.

(5) Jam processing The jam detection location for one collator is as follows:
As already mentioned, there are two. One is jam detection in the middle of the conveyance path between the sheet acceptance detector 45 and the deflection section sheet discharge detector 94, and the other is jam detection in the deflection device while passing through the pair of discharge rollers 92, 92 of the deflection device. This is peripheral jam detection. The fact that the sheet is jammed in the middle of the sheet conveyance path in the former case or around the deflection device in the latter case is detected in steps 6 and 11 or 6 and 14, respectively.

When a jam is detected, the ninth
Proceeding to step 7,1 in Figure i, the CPU sets the jam flag. Next, in order to stop the conveyor belt, the I/0 port of the conveyor belt control circuit 165 is designated and a signal is output to turn off the electromagnetic clutch 65 (FIG. 6) (steps 7 and 2). Then, the paper feed of the copying machine is also stopped (step 7,
3). Next, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the drive circuit 147 of the receiving guide plate 48 in order to urgently discharge the sheets sent after the jam occurs to the temporary tray 50 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Then, a signal is output to turn on the receiving guide plate solenoid 47 (steps 7 and 4). The solenoid 47 is energized and the receiving guide plate 48 is switched to open the passage toward the temporary tray 50, that is, moved from the dotted line position to the solid line position in FIG. Therefore, all the sheets that first enter the first collator K1 after the jam occurs are discharged to the temporary tray 50, and these sheets are later fed to the conveyor belt 64 of a predetermined collator using the feeder section B.

Therefore, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the sheet acceptance detector 45 of the first collator K1 to perform a sheet acceptance check regarding the sheet actually accepted by the collator and discharged to the temporary tray 50 (steps 7 and 5). ). Each time a sheet is detected, +1 is added to the sheet acceptance counter C1 (steps 7 and 6). On the other hand, each time a sheet is no longer detected by the acceptance detector 45, it is checked whether a predetermined time Tn has elapsed since the jam occurred (steps 7, 7).
This time Tn is the time required for all the copies in the conveyance path of the copying machine main body to be sent to the temporary tray 50 of the first collator K1 after a jam occurs. When the preset time Tn has elapsed, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the jam processing lamp and outputs the display signal of the jam display lamp 107 (steps 7 and 8).

By the way, in this embodiment, the number of sheets to be discarded due to jamming (number of jammed sheets)
Define n as follows. Regarding one sheet feeding cycle of the copying machine main body 1 during normal operation without jamming, it is confirmed that the total number of sheets passed to the collator K1 from the beginning to the time when the jamming is actually stored in the bin is confirmed. The difference between the total number of sheets and the total number of sheets is the number of jams. The operator disposes of all the sheets that are being conveyed in the collator as jammed. This greatly simplifies page matching and other operator decisions.

After the operator has finished processing the jammed sheets, the operator sets the sheet bundle on the temporary tray 50 on the paper feed tray 60 of the feeder section B. Then, the feeder section start key 105 is turned on.

In FIG. 10, paper feeding in the feeder section starts. CPU is feeder section sheet detector circuit 16
I/O port 1 is specified and the presence or absence of a sheet on the paper feed tray 60 is checked (step 8, 1). While there is a sheet on the paper feed tray 60, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the drive circuit of the electromagnetic clutch 98 for the paper feed roller and outputs a clutch ON signal ((steps 8, 2). 96 rotates and the sheet is sent out.Next, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the intermediate sheet detector 53 to check the sheet feeding (steps 8 and 3).The intermediate sheet detector detects the leading edge of the sheet. When detecting this, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the electromagnetic clutch drive circuit of the paper feed roller 96 and outputs a clutch OFF signal (steps 8 and 4).Next, the CPU specifies the circuit 203 and outputs the clutch OFF signal. then start the pulse counter T3 (step 8,
5, 8, 6).

Next, the CPU specifies the I/0 port of the sheet discharge detector 94 of the deflection section and checks whether the discharge detector 94 has detected a sheet (steps 8 and 7).
If no sheet is detected, the circuit 203 is designated to check whether the pulse counter T2 has reached a predetermined count value T'2 (steps 8, 8). T′2
represents the time required for a sheet to be conveyed from the intermediate sheet detector 53 of the first collator K1 to the discharge detector 94 of a predetermined collator. If it is the predetermined count value T'2, go to the Jam flow (Fig. 9 i), and if not T'2, specify the circuit 203 and set the pulse counter T3 to the predetermined count value.
Check whether it has reached T'3 (step 8,
9). T'3 represents the time required for feeding one sheet by the paper feed roller 96 of the feeder section. Therefore, if the period T'3 has not elapsed, the paper is being fed, and the process returns to the intermediate sheet check (steps 8 and 3). However, when T'3 is reached, the process returns to step 8,1 in order to feed the next sheet.

In steps 8 and 7, when the leading edge of the sheet is detected by the detection detector 94, a pulse counter T1 for the timer time around the deflection section is started (steps 8 and 10). And steps 8 and 12
The method of detecting a jam around the deflection section is the same as before. If no jam occurs, the discharge counter C2 and the discharge total counter C3 are incremented by 1 (steps 8, 13, 8, 14). The initial value of the discharge counter C2 indicates the number of sheets stored in the bin when a jam occurs. Next, the value of the discharge counter C2 is compared with the number M of sheets stored in one bin (1 in the collation mode) (steps 8 and 15), and the above operation is repeated until the two become equal. If they are equal, the value of the discharge counter C2 is (steps 8, 16) and lower the deflector one bin (steps 8, 16).
17). Then repeat the above Ata action again,
When there are no more sheets on the paper feed tray, paper feeding using the feeder section ends (steps 8 and 18).

(6) Paper feeding operation Now, when the copying machine is in collation mode, it continuously feeds one cycle of copies until the number of copies stored in the S1 register matches the content of the paper feeding counter C0. It's starting to stop. Therefore, normally, the number of sheets fed in one paper feeding cycle is equal to the number of copies, which is the content of the S1 register. However, if a jam occurs and the jam flag is set to "1", the paper feeding is immediately stopped (steps 7 and 3 in Figure 9i), and the feeder section is not allowed to collate the temporarily discharged sheets. After the copying is finished, the next copy key start will feed the total number of sheets that is the sum of the remaining sheets in that one sheet feeding cycle and the insufficient number of jammed sheets n. In this case, the paper feed counter re-counts the number of sheets actually stored in the bin.

The paper feeding operation in FIG. 11 is as follows. When the operator presses the copy start key 104, it is first determined whether the jam flag is "1" (step 9, 1). Jam flag is “1”
If so, to calculate the number of jams n, the CPU
is from paper feed counter C0 to discharge total counter C
3 is subtracted (step 9, 2). This result becomes the number of jams n mentioned above. This is because the sheets in the main body of the copying machine are discharged to the temporary tray 50, passed through the feeder section B, and are discharged to a predetermined bin. In other words, the content of the discharge total counter C3 is a value that has already been counted for the number of sheets discharged into the bin via this feeder section. Next, paper feed counter C0
The number of jam sheets n is subtracted from the number of sheets n, and the value of the paper feed counter C0 is changed to the value actually discharged into the bin (steps 9 and 3). Then, the paper feeding start subroutine (steps 9 and 4 onwards) is entered. In the normal case where the jam flag is not "1", the content of the paper feed counter C0 is not changed as described above, and the subroutine for starting paper feeding is entered.

Next, the CPU checks whether the collation mode flag is set (steps 9 and 5). If the collation mode flag is “1”, that is, collation mode,
Enter the paper feed flow for collation. First, it is checked whether the jam flag is set (steps 9 and 6). If the jam flag is not set and therefore the collation operation is normal, the paper feed counter C0 is reset and the paper feed section sheet check of the step is entered (steps 9 and 7). but,
If a jam occurs and the jam flag is "1", the paper feed counter C0 is not reset and the paper feed section sheet check is performed. Therefore, if paper feeding is started after a jam occurs, the contents of the paper feed counter C0 will return to the initial state of the value changed in steps 9 and 3 (same as the contents of the discharge total counter C3). exist.

Next, the CPU performs a sheet check in the paper feed section (step 10, 1), and when a sheet is detected by the paper feed section sheet detector 22, the content of the paper feed counter C0 is incremented by +1 (step 10, 2). Therefore, in the case of one normal paper feeding cycle, the content of the paper feeding counter C0 is changed from the initial state "0", and at the beginning of paper feeding after a jam occurs, the content of the paper feeding counter C0 is changed from the initial state changed in steps 9 and 3. This is expected to increase. Next, the CPU designates the circuit 204 to display the respective contents of the paper feed counter C0 on the display section B109 (steps 10 and 3).

Next, check whether the number of copies, that is, the contents of the S1 register and the contents of the paper feed counter C0 are equal (step
10, 4). If they are not equal, return to the step again and check the sheet in the paper feed section. Therefore, by repeating this operation, the numerical value displayed on the display section B increases by 1 for each fed sheet. When the content of the paper feed counter matches the content of the S1 register, it means that the remaining paper feeding has been completed to make up for the number of jammed sheets n lost due to a jam, or it means that the paper feeding is normal. This means that one paper cycle has ended. Therefore, the CPU resets the jam flag and ends the paper feeding for collation (steps 10 and 5).

On the other hand, the paper feeding operation in the sorting mode is performed as follows. First, when it is determined in steps 9 and 5 that the mode is sorting, steps 11 and 1 are performed.
Enter the paper feed section and perform a sheet check. Every time a sheet is detected, the content of paper feed counter C0 increases by 1.
The contents are displayed on display section B (steps 11, 2, 11, 3). and paper feed counter C
It is determined whether the contents of 0 match the contents of the number register, that is, whether they match the total number of copies (steps 11 and 4). The initial value of the paper feed counter C0 is "0" if the operation is normal, but if the paper is fed after a jam occurs, it is the value set in steps 9 and 3. Therefore, in the latter case, sorting ends when the value matches the value in the register. Therefore, the jam flag is reset and paper feeding for sorting is stopped (steps 11 and 5).

If the value of the paper feed counter C0 does not match the value of the register, check whether the flag of the deflection counter "20" is set (step 11,
6). This flag is set to "1" when the deflection device reaches the final 20th bin (step 6, 24), so as long as this flag is not "1", that is, as long as there is an empty bin in the collator. Continue with paper (steps 11, 6). If deflection counter “20”
If the flag is "1", in order to see whether a predetermined number M of sheets has been fed to the 20th bin, it is determined whether the content of the paper feed counter C0 matches M sheets (step 11, 7). Then continue feeding until the two match, and if they match,
Since all bins up to the 20th bin have been sorted, the jam flag is reset, the deflection counter "20" flag is reset, and paper feeding is stopped (steps 11, 8, 11, 9).

Due to the above sorting paper feeding operation, the number of jam sheets n
This means that we have been able to make up for it.

Next, focusing only on display sections A and B, the operation in the collation mode will be described as follows, using an example in which the specified number of copies to be collated is 25.

First, a case will be described in which there are two or more empty collators and therefore a predetermined number of 25 copies can be collated in one collation operation.

In FIG. 12a, first, the number of copies (number of copies=25) is set on the display section A by the operator's key input. Display portion B initially shows zero, and each time the copy start key is pressed and one copy is fed, the displayed value changes by +1. Then, when the paper feed counter reaches "25" and therefore the value on display section B becomes "25", paper feeding is stopped. Here, the original is replaced by the next page by the operator or by the ADH, and the copy start key is pressed. At this time, the value on display section B becomes "0". Thereafter, the same process is repeated until copies of a predetermined number of pages are fed and collation is completed. During this time, the value on display A is “25”
does not change.

Next, a case will be explained in which there is only one empty collator and therefore 25 copies cannot be collated in one collation operation.

In Fig. 12b, first, the number of copies (copies = 25) is set on display section A by the operator, and display section B is initially set to zero, as in the previous case, but the paper feed The unit feeds as many sheets as the number of usable empty collator bins (20 bins). The copy start key is pressed,
Each time a copy is fed, the value on display section B increases by +1. Paper feeding stops at “20”. The original is replaced and the next copy start key is pressed.
At this time, display section B returns to "0", and in the same manner +
When the count increases by one and reaches "20", paper feeding stops. By repeating this process, the collation of 20 copies is first completed. A stack of 20 copies is thus removed from each bin. During this time, the display section A is displaying "25".

When the next copy start key is pressed, display section A changes from "25" to "5" to indicate the remaining number of collated copies. The display section B counts up again from "0" and when it reaches "5", paper feeding stops. When the original is replaced and the copy start key is pressed, display section B
becomes "0", the count increases by +1 according to the number of sheets fed, and paper feeding stops when it reaches "5". By repeating this process, the remaining five copies are collated.

The above is the case in collation mode, but in case of sorting operation, it is as follows. First, the number of copies (total number of copies) is set on display section A by the operator. Here, it is assumed to be 125 sheets.

Whether or not the total number of copies, 125, can be sorted at one time depends on the value of the number of copies stored in one bin, M, and the position of the first bin in which the deflection device was placed. If the number of sorted copies is within 20 bins, display section B changes as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 13b, the display on display B increases by +1 from "0", and when the paper feed counter reaches "125", and therefore, when display B displays "125", the paper feed is started. The paper stops. Display section A does not change during this time. This completes the sorting of the predetermined number of copies.

However, if there are no more empty bins to store copies, for example, as shown in Figure 13b, if there are no more empty bins to store copies at the 100th copy (corresponding to the 20th bin), then Paper feeding is stopped with the value "100" of the paper feeding counter displayed on the display section B. If a copy of the bin is removed or there is another empty collator, the copy start key is then pressed to copy and sort the remaining 25 copies. Therefore, display part B is “100”
The count continues to increase and finally "125" is displayed.

As described above, according to the present invention, if the collation information is larger than the effective processing capacity of all empty collators, the specified number of copies to be collated is stored in the S1 register and the S1 register.
The S1 register stores the number of collated copies corresponding to the total number of empty collator bins to be used initially, and this collated portion is processed first. When the collation is completed, the display section A displays the number of remaining copies to be collated and notifies the operator of this, and the remaining number of copies to be collated is then collated. Therefore, it is extremely easy to judge whether a sheet should be removed from the bin during this time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall view of a document copying device whose display is controlled by the method of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a view showing part of the paper arrangement section and feeder section of the collator, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the conveyance section and deflection of the collator. An explanatory diagram showing the cooperative operation of the device, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the clutch control mechanism, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the clutch control mechanism.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the stepwise feeding of the deflection device, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the conveying section, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the cooperation between the deflection device and the deflection cam, and FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the control device. Figures 9 a to i, Figures 10 and 11 are flowcharts of an embodiment of the control method of the present invention, Figure 12 is a display example of the display section in collation mode, and Figure 13 is a display in sorting mode. FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Copying machine main body, 3... Deflection device, 22... Paper feed section sheet detector, 35... Clutch, 45... Sheet acceptance detector, 50... Temporary tray, 53... Intermediate sheet detector, 56... Bin sheet detector, 61 ...Feeder section sheet detector, 65...Electromagnetic clutch, 75...
Lifting solenoid, 79...Electromagnetic clutch, 80...
Lowering solenoid, 85... Home position detector, 86... End detector, 94... Deflection section sheet discharge detector, 98... Electromagnetic clutch, 99... Encoder pulse generator, 100... Numerical key, 102... Collation mode Key, 103... Sorting mode key, 10
4...Copy start key, 105...Feeder section start key, 106...Copying indicator lamp,
107... Jam indicator lamp, 108... Copy set sheet number display section A, 109... Paper feed number display section B, K
...connected collator, h...empty collator.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A method for controlling the display of the expected number of sheets to be collated by a document copying device having one or more connected collators using a computer according to the following steps (a) to (e). (a) The total number of bins for all connected collators, that is, the specified number of collated copies is stored in the storage register regardless of the total processing capacity, and the value is displayed on the copy set number display section. (b) Whether the collation information stored in the storage register is larger than the total processing capacity, and whether it is larger than the total number of bins for all empty collators without sheets among the connected collators, that is, the effective capacity. Please judge. (c) If the collation information exceeds the total processing capacity or the effective processing capacity, and the collation is performed in several batches using an empty collator, the collation for one empty collator is Place the number of copies in the first register and the remaining number of collated copies in the second register. (d) The number of copies to be collated in the first register is collated, and when the collation of the number of collated copies is completed, the contents of the second register are transferred to the storage register, and the remaining copies are displayed in the copy set number display area. Display the total number of copies. (e) Return to step (b) above.