JPH02233459A - Sheet post-processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely align sheets by vertically moving a second after-processing means so as to have a different height to a first after-processing means in order to crosswise stiffen the sheets bridging between the first and second after-processing means. CONSTITUTION:When sheets led from a copying machine 3 through an introduction port 71 and a conveying path 73, are discharged bridging between a processing tray 77 and a stack tray 103 by means of a pair of discharge rollers 78 in the case of a non-folding mode, the stack tray 103 is slightly lowered so as to have a different height to the processing tray 77, crosswise stiffening the sheets which are therefore aligned by a side guide plate 80. Then, a swingable roller 78 is lowered making contact with a discharge roller 86 which rotates reversely so as to allow the sheets to abut against the rear end of the processing tray 77 in order to align the sheets in the longitudinal direction. Then, the swingable roller 89 and the discharge roller 86 normally rotate to discharge the sheets onto the tray 103 which is then lowered by the height of the sheets. Thus, it is possible to surely align the sheets.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention is applied to, for example, operations such as sorting, stacking, binding, punching, etc. of sheet materials installed in parallel with an image forming apparatus etc. and discharged from the image forming apparatus. This paper relates to a sheet post-processing device that performs this process. (Ex) Conventional technology Conventionally, sheet post-processing devices have been known that include a processing tray for post-processing sheets, such as binding or punching, and a sheet storage tray. The sheets on which images have been formed are bound or punched on a processing tray, and then stacked on a sheet storage tray. Additionally, the processing tray has ribs perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction. It has been proposed that the seat is provided with a seat to provide stiffness in the width direction of the seat.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the above-mentioned sheet post-processing device has the disadvantage that the device becomes large because the processing tray and sheet storage tray are provided separately. To solve this drawback, there is a sheet post-processing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-47760 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,963. During post-processing, the operator cannot check the quality of the image formed on the sheet, the alignment of the sheet bundle, and the binding condition.
The drawback was that there was a delay in responding when a problem occurred. Further, in the case where ribs are provided on the tray as a hardware, the ribs are uniquely determined, and there is a limit when the number of sheets increases.

Therefore, the present invention divides the 1-ray, and if the divided portions of the tray are hereinafter referred to as the first post-processing means and the second f & processing means, the first post-processing means and the second post-processing means are used. The device can be miniaturized by arranging them adjacent to each other, and can be aligned even with sheets with large curls and sheets with strong waist, for example.
The purpose is to provide sheet post-processing equipment. (2) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and for example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a tray (77, 103) divided into a plurality of A sheet post-processing device (2
7), means for independently moving each of the divided trays (77, 103>), means (61) for controlling the position of each of the trays independently and in cooperation with each other, and aligning the sheets on the trays. The sheet aligning means (80) is characterized in that the position of the tray is controlled so that a step is created in the divided portions of the tray (77, 103).

(f) Effect Based on the above-mentioned configuration, the first and second post-processing means (77,
103), when aligning the sheets (S) that span the
Move the post-processing means (103) in the vertical direction, create a step between the first post-processing means part (77) and the second post-processing means part (103), and lower the height in the width direction of the seal (S). This improves the certainty, precision, and reliability of sheet alignment.

Note that the numbers in the above brackets are shown for reference and do not limit the configuration in any way. (f) Examples Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 6, the copying machine 1 has a main body 3 containing a copying section 2, and the main body 3 has a platen 5,
Light source 6, mirrors 7, 8, 9, 10, lens 11, sea I
~ Two cassettes 12.13 and deck 1 containing S
5, the cassette 12.13 and the deck 15
Paper feed rollers 16, 17, and 19 are disposed above the paper, respectively. A conveying section 20 is disposed on the machine main body 3 side downstream of the paper feed roller 19, and a pair of registration rollers 2 is disposed downstream of the conveyance section 20 and the paper feed rollers 16, 17.
1 is installed. Further, the copying section 2 is disposed downstream of the roller pair 21, and the conveying belt 22 and the fixing device 23 are disposed downstream of the copying section 2. Further, downstream of the fixing device 23, a discharge port-ra pair 24,
A flapper 25 and a pair of paper ejection rollers 26 are disposed, and a folding section 27a adjacent to the copying machine main body 3 is provided downstream of the pair of paper ejection rollers 26 for folding the sheet S in half or Z-folding. A sheet post-processing device 27 is provided which includes a finisher section 27b for preloading or stabilizing the sheet S. Further, a re-conveyance path 29 is provided branching off from the flapper 25, and the re-conveyance path 29 is provided with an intermediate tray device 30. In addition, S1.82. S3
What is shown is a sensor.

On the other hand, the copying machine main body 3 has an automatic document feeder 1 mounted on its upper part.
! 31, and the feeding device 31 has a document tray 32 on which documents M are stacked. Then, the tray 3
A paper feed roller 33 that feeds the document M on the tray 32 is disposed near the tray 32, and downstream of the roller 33, a separation belt 35 that rotates counterclockwise and a separation belt 35 that rotates counterclockwise. A rotating conveyor belt 36 is provided. Further, near the belt 36, sensors 37 and 39 for detecting the size of the document M are arranged in a straight line in the lateral direction with respect to the document conveyance direction, and downstream of the sensors 37 and 39, , a conveyor belt 42 is stretched between the drive roller 40 and the driven roller 41.

Further, a flapper 45 is disposed at the document discharge section on the left side of the belt 42, and around the flapper 45 are transport paths 48, 47 that are switched and guided by the flapper 45.
．． 49 are provided.

A pair of conveyance rollers 50 is disposed on the conveyance path 46, a pair of conveyance rollers 51 is provided on the conveyance path 47, and a discharge port roller 52 is disposed on the conveyance path 49.
is installed. Note that the reference numeral 84 in the figure is a sensor that detects one cycle of the sheet. Furthermore, the sheet post-processing device 27, as shown in FIG.
The controller 61 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 82, a ROM 63 storing a control program for controlling the CPU 62, and a RAM 65 serving as a main storage device. It is connected to an output interface 66 that outputs signals and an input interface 67 that inputs detection signals from each sensor. Further, each load, each sensor, etc. of the copying machine main body 3 and automatic document feeder 31 are also connected via respective interfaces (not shown). The output interface 66 includes an east conveyance motor Ml, a seeding motor M2, a stepping motor 82,
A stabilizer motor M3, a tray lifting motor M4, and a conveyance motor M5 are connected to the input interface 6.
7 are connected to the seat 1 to detection sensors S5, 86, width plate home position sensor S7, seat level sensor 105, and micro switch 97. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the sheet post-processing device 27 has a movable hook 70 that engages with an engaging member 69 provided on the side surface of the copying machine main body 3. 7
0 engages with the engaging member 69, the sheet post-processing device 27 is positioned. A carry-in port 71 is provided on the side of the device 27 to carry in the sheet S discharged by the pair of paper discharge rollers 26, and a deflector 2 is disposed downstream of the carry-in port 71. ing. Further, on the downstream side of the deflector 2, a first conveyance path 7 is provided.
3, and a pair of conveying rollers 75 is disposed on the first conveying path 73.

Further, a wandering paper roller pair 76 is provided on the downstream side of the first conveyance path 73.
A processing tray 77 is provided downstream of the pair of rollers 76. A portion of a belt 79 is wound around the lower roller 76a of the roller pair 76, and the lower end of the belt 79 is in contact with the processing tray 77. Further, the tray 77 is provided with a movable horizontal plate 80 and a positioning plate (not shown) for aligning the sheets S in the width direction, and a positioning plate (not shown) is provided at the bottom of the width plate 80. A rack 81 is provided, and the rack 81 is connected to the processing tray 7.
It meshes with a pinion gear 83 driven by a stepping motor 82 disposed below the motor 7. Furthermore, a stapler 85 is disposed adjacent to the processing tray 77, and the stapler 85 is configured to staple the sheets S loaded on the tray 77. A paper ejection roller 86 is disposed at the tip of the tray 77, and a swing guide 88 is disposed at one corner of the roller 86 and is supported by a shaft 87 so as to be freely movable. Further, a guide lever 90 is provided upright on the guide 88, and a spring 92 with one end fixed to a protrusion of the fuselage frame 91 is attached to the lever 90. are connected to each other, thereby urging the swing guide 88 in the counterclockwise direction.Furthermore, a disc 93 rotated by the swing motor M2 is disposed adjacent to the guide lever 90. A pin 95 that engages with the guide lever 90 is provided upright on the disc 93.
A leaf spring 96 having an L-shape when viewed from the front is swingably supported adjacent to the disc 93, and a microswitch 97 is disposed adjacent to the spring 96. Furthermore, a rail plate 99 is provided on the body frame 91 so as to extend in the horizontal direction, and a rotatable roller 101 provided on the drainboard guide 100 is supported by the rail plate 99. A tray moving table 102 is supported on the guide 100 so as to be movable up and down.
A stack tray 103 having a concave base end and on which sheets S are stacked is disposed. In addition, the seeding guide 8
8 is provided with a sheet level sensor 105 that detects the level of the sheets S loaded on the stack tray 103. It is composed of a lever 106 and a photosensor 107.

On the other hand, the second conveyance path 10 is branched to the deflector 72.
9 is disposed, and a deflector 110 is disposed at the end of the conveyance path 109. In addition, the deflector 11
A bending third conveyance path 111 is provided downstream of the first conveyance path 7. The inner guide surface of the conveyance path 111 is constituted by a large roller 112.
It is connected to 3. Further, a folding conveyance path 113 is provided branching off from the deflector 110.
3, the folding portion 27a is provided. Note that 95 and S6 in the figure are sheet detection sensors that detect sheets.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. When the power is turned on,
CP[J62 clears the storage number counter to 0 (Fl
), the stepping motor 82 is reversed and started to move the width board 8
0 toward the home position. Then, C.P.
The U82 determines whether the width board 80 is located at the home position based on the signal from the width board home position sensor S7 (CF2), and if it is determined that the width board 80 is located at the home position, the stepping motor 82 Stop <<F3). Furthermore, the CPtJ62 turns the tray lifting motor M4 ON, the stack tray 103 comes into contact with the sensor lever 106, swings the lever 106, and determines whether the sheet level sensor 105 is turned on (F4
)． Then, the CPU 82 operates the tray lifting motor M
4 to finish moving the stack tray 103 (
F5).

As a result, the tray 103 becomes ready to store the sheets S. In addition, if it is determined that the home position sensor S7 is not ONLz in the above-mentioned F2, the stepping motor 82 is reversed until the sensor S7 is turned ON (F6). If it is determined that there is not, the tray lifting motor M4 is rotated in the upward direction until the sensor 105 turns ON (F7). Then, when the document M (see FIG. 1) is loaded on the document tray 32 and a start key (not shown) is turned on, a motor (not shown) is rotated to drive the paper feed roller 33, and the separation belt 35 and conveyor The belt 36 is driven counterclockwise, and the document M stacked on the document tray 32 is fed by the paper feed roller 33 and separated from the bottom by the separation belt 35 and the conveyance belt 36. Separated and transported one by one.

Then, the document M is conveyed between the first platen 5 and the conveyor belt 42, and conveyed and stacked on the document reference position on the platen 5 by the conveyor belt 42. Then, the image of the original M is read by the lamp 6, mirrors 7, 8, 9, and 10, and the lens 11, and an image is formed on the copying section 2. On the other hand, the cassette 12. selected by a selection switch (not shown).
13 or the sheet S from the deck 15 is transferred to the paper feed roller 16
, 17 or 19, and the sheet S is further conveyed by a pair of registration rollers 21 in synchronization with the image formed on the copying section 2. Then, the sheet S is transferred to the copying section 2.
The image is copied by the transfer belt 1-22, and then transported to the fixing device 23 by the transport bell 1-22. Next, the image is fixed on the sheet S by a fixing device 23, and in the case of single-sided copying, the sheet S is guided by a flapper 25 and conveyed to a sheet post-processing device 27 by a pair of paper discharge rollers 26. Further, in the case of double-sided copying for multiple copies, the sheet S is branched and guided by the flapper 25 and transported to the re-transport path 29. Furthermore, by the same operation as described above, the sheet S has an image copied onto the back side and is transferred to the sheet post-processing device 27.
will be transported to. On the other hand, the CPU 62 of the sheet post-processing device 27
When a start signal is received from , transfer motor M5 is turned on.
t and drive each roller (F8). At this time, copy machine 3
When the binding mode is selected from the operation unit (not shown), the CPU 62 causes the swing motor M2 to rotate the disc 93 by a predetermined amount, and causes the guide lever 90 to be rotated by the bin 95 that rotates together with the disc 93. is swung clockwise (see Figure 1). Furthermore, the swinging guide 88 is sown clockwise about the shaft 87 by the sowing of the lever 9, and the sowing roller 89 is sown.
and the paper discharge roller 86 are separated from each other. Then, the sheet S discharged from the copy a3 is transferred to the carry-in port 7.
1, and is transported through the first conveyance path 73 by the deflector 72.
Or it is guided to the second conveyance path 109. For example, in the non-folding mode, the sheet S is guided to the first conveyance path 73, and conveyed by the pair of conveyance rollers 75 to the pair of discharge rollers 76 (see FIG. 7(a)). At this time, the CPU 82 determines whether or not the sensor S5 has detected the leading edge of the sheet S based on the signal from the sheet detection sensor S5 (F9), and if it is determined that the leading edge of the sheet S has been detected, the sensor S5 It is determined whether the rear end of the toto S has been detected (FIO). When it is determined that the sensor S5 has detected the rear end of the sheet S, C
The PU 62 starts a tray storage timer set at a predetermined time (Fil), and then the sheet S is ejected across the processing tray 77 and the stack tray 103 by the paper ejection roller pair 76 (7th (See figure (b)).

In this embodiment, the upper surfaces of the sheets on the processing tray 77 and the stack tray 103 are controlled so that they are substantially on the same plane, but the first sheet S of each job is ejected and 77 and the stack tray 103, the stack tray 103 is slightly lowered (specifically, 11lIIl to 2!5mm) to form a step, and the stack tray 103 is ejected across the sheet Do koshikke.

The sheet S is brought into alignment in the width direction by being brought into contact with the positioning plate by the width plate 80, and the sheet discharge roller 86 rotates clockwise only with respect to the first sheet S, and counterclockwise. The processing tray 77 is moved by the belt 79 rotating in the direction
is aligned in the front-back direction by abutting against the proximal end of the Furthermore, when the tray storage timer ends (Fl 2). CPU
62 is an increment l-shi (Fl) which is a storage sheet number counter.
3) Based on the signal from the sensor S4, it is determined whether the original M has gone through one cycle, that is, whether one cycle of copy processing has been completed (F14). Furthermore, if it is determined that one cycle of copy processing has not been completed, the CPU
82 checks the height of the stack tray 103 in the same way as F4 and F5 described above, and then performs the operations from F9 onwards. Furthermore, when one cycle of copy processing is completed, the CPtJ82 starts the swing motor M2 to rotate the disk 9.
3 clockwise (F15) Then, as the disk 93 rotates, the urging force of the guide lever 90 by the pin 95 disappears, and the lever 90 is urged counterclockwise by the spring 92. Then, the lever 90 is activated by the leaf spring 96.
When the spring 96 comes into contact with the microswitch 97 and swings counterclockwise, the microswitch 97 turns ON, and the ON signal from the switch 97 causes the CPU 62 to stop the swing motor M2 (Fl
6). At this time, due to the seeding of the lever 90, the lever 9
The discharging guide 88 is also disseminated in the counterclockwise direction together with the discharging roller 86 and the swinging roller 89 come into contact with each other. Then, after confirming that the sheets S are on the processing tray 77 using a sensor (not shown), the CPU 62 operates the stapler 85 to staple the bundle S of sheets 1 (
Fl7), then when stable is finished (F18
), the CPU 62 turns on the bundle conveyance motor M1 (not shown).
L/ (Fl 9), the sheet bundle S... is stacked on the stack tray 1 by the sheet discharge q-ra pair 86 and the swing roller pair 89.
03 (see FIG. 7(c)). At this time, the sensor lever 106 is pushed up by the sheet bundle S, and the beam of the photosensor 107 is turned on (see FIG. 8).The root portion 106' of the sensor lever 106 is
It is composed of a flexible rubber member or a spring member,
The sensor lever 106 is prevented from being destroyed by external force. Note that the first sheet S of the next job is
2, is guided to the third conveyance path 11, stays in the path 1l, and after discharging the sheet bundle S of the previous job, is stacked with the second sheet S and discharged to the processing 1/ray 77. (See Figure 7(d)). Furthermore, CPtJ62 starts the tray lift motor M4 to lower the stack tray 103 (F2
0), a timer is started for a descending amount according to the number of stored sheets counter (F21). For example, if the sheet thickness is 0.11 layers, if the counter value is 10, this timer value will decrease by 2 mm, and if the counter value is 20, it will decrease by 3 mm.
The value is set to be slightly larger than the sheet thickness, such as a value that decreases by . Then, when the timer ends (F22
), the CPU 62 turns off the tray lifting motor M4 (F23).

At this time, the CPU 62 moves the stack tray 103 and the drainboard guide 100 in the direction of the sheet cap using a drive means (not shown), offsets the sheet bundle S... loaded on the tray 103, and moves the stack tray 103 and the drainboard guide 100 toward the sheet cap to offset the stack of sheets S... loaded on the tray 103 so as to move the stack tray 103 and the drainboard guide 100 toward the sheet cap. Make sure the part does not swell. Then, the CPU 62 executes the above-mentioned F1
After performing initial processing from to F5 (F24)
, perform the operations from F9 onwards for the next job. In addition, in the above-mentioned F18, the microswitch 97 is ONI.
7, that is, if there is a foreign object (for example, a hand, finger, book, etc.) on the processing tray 77, the CPtJ 62 stops the system (F25).

Further, when the folding mode is selected, the sheet S carried in from the carry-in port 7l is guided by the deflector 72 to the deflector 110, and the sheet
The sheet is guided through the conveyance path 113 to the folding section 27a, and is folded in half or Z-folded by the folding section 27a. Then, the folded sheet S is transferred to a third path 111 by a large roller 112.
, and the operations after F8 described above are performed.

Note that when the non-stapling mode is selected, the feeding roller 89 is in a position where it is in contact with the paper ejection roller 86 (see Fig. 3).
The sheet S carried in from the carry-in port 71 is guided to the first conveyance path 73 by a deflector 72 and onto the stack tray 103 by a pair of paper discharge rollers 76, a paper discharge roller 86, and a driving roller 89. It is directly discharged. In the above-described embodiment, the seeding roller 89 is supported in a swingable manner, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the processing tray 77' may be supported in a swingable manner as shown in FIG. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, the same effect can be obtained by aligning the sheets by keeping the processing tray 77' in a position where it is vertically moved by a certain amount.

(g) Effects of the invention As explained above, according to the present invention, the first post-processing means and the second post-processing means are provided adjacently, and the first post-processing means and the second post-processing means are provided adjacently. Since sheets are stacked across the means and are post-processed by the first and second post-processing means, the apparatus can be made smaller.

Further, by controlling the second post-processing means to slightly lower the second post-processing means in the longitudinal direction of the sheet spanning the first and second post-processing means, for example, by making the sheet stiffer in the width direction, the sheet alignment effect can be improved. Certainty, precision and reliability can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing a sheet post-processing device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control section thereof, and FIG.
The figure is an operational diagram of FIG. 1. Further, FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the operation of the sheet post-processing device.
Furthermore, the 65th! J, Figures 7 and 8 are front sectional views showing the operation of the sheet post-processing device. FIG. 9 is a front sectional view showing another embodiment of the sheet post-processing device. 27... Sheet post-processing device, 61... Control means,
77... First post-processing means (clam removal tray) 80...
Matching means Nll board) 89...1,000 discharge stages
103...Second post-processing means (sheet storage tray)
S... Sheet

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sheet post-processing device having a plurality of divided trays, comprising means for independently moving each of the divided trays, and controlling the position of each of the trays independently and in cooperation with each other. and a sheet aligning means for aligning the sheets on the tray, and controlling the position of the tray so that a step is created between the divided portions of the tray.