JPH03192028A - Sheet alignment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To expedite to make a picture image forming motion and so forth at a high speed by making alignment plates wait in a sheet re-feed motion with kept at an alignment position for the last sheet of a series of sheets to eliminate wasteful time of moving the alignment plates to the alignment position at the time of starting sheet re-feed. CONSTITUTION:There is provided a detecting means to detect that a sheet to be transferred into a sheet deck 3 is the last sheet of a series of sheets. Sheet alignment plates 51, 52 are made to wait in a sheet re-feed motion by a sheet feed means 7 through a control means 15 with kept at the sheet alignment position 5d by the detected output of the detecting means. If a sheet to be transferred into the sheet deck 3 is the last sheet, the sheet alignment plates 51, 52 wait in the sheet re-feed motion by the sheet feed device 7, kept at the alignment position 5d without moving them to a waiting position 5c. It is thus possible to eliminate wasteful time of moving the sheet alignment plates 51, 52 to the alignment position 5d at the time of starting sheet re-feed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a sheet alignment device that aligns both side edges of a sheet according to its size in the width direction.

[Prior Art] Generally, in a double-sided image forming apparatus or a circulating document feeder, a sheet alignment plate that is movable in the width direction of the sheet is provided on a sheet loading table, and the sheet aligning plate that is movable in the width direction of the sheets is arranged on the sheet loading table. It has been well known in the past that an alignment operation for aligning side edges is performed and a subsequent sheet refeeding operation is performed easily.

Conventionally, in such sheet alignment 1, there is a sheet standby position in which the sheet alignment plate is positioned slightly wider than the size in the width direction of the sheet, and a sheet standby position in which the sheet alignment plate is positioned at a width approximately equal to the size in the width direction of the sheet. A sheet alignment position is set in which the sheet alignment plate is positioned to align the side edges of the sheet, and by repeatedly positioning the sheet alignment plate at these sheet standby positions and sheet alignment positions each time a sheet is brought in, the sheet is accepted and aligned. It's supposed to be repeated.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the sheet placing table. The sheet placing table 3 is provided with a pair of sheet alignment plates 51 and 52 that are movable in the width direction of sheets to be carried in. The plate 51 moves to a home position 5a, a sheet receiving position 5b, a standby position 5c, and an alignment position 5d, and receives and aligns sheets.

Here, the home position 5a is a position having a detection sensor for confirming the position of the alignment plate 51, and the position of the alignment plate 51 for each sheet size is managed by the number of movement pulses from this home position. Further, the sheet receiving position 5b is a position where the sheet alignment plate 51 is positioned slightly wider than the size of the sheets in the width direction so that the sheets that are sequentially carried in can easily enter the sheet mounting table 3. Further, the standby position 5C is a position where sheets are waited for to be carried in, and the sheet alignment plate 51 is positioned at a position that is slightly wider than the widthwise size of the sheet and slightly narrower than the sheet receiving position. Further, the alignment position 5d is a position where the sheets are aligned by bringing the sheet alignment plate 51 into contact with one side edge of the sheets carried in.

In a sheet aligning device having such a moving position of the sheet aligning plate 51, the conventional sheet aligning device is as shown in FIG. 6(a).

The sheet alignment operation is performed according to the sequence shown in (b).

In other words, if the sheet aligning device is built into the main body of a copying machine capable of double-sided copying, a sheet that has been copied on one side is ejected from the main body of the copying machine and is conveyed toward the sheet aligning device. When the sheet alignment device starts, if the sheet is the first sheet, the sheet alignment plate 51 is moved from the home position 5a to the standby position 5C and waits for the sheet to be carried in (steps 100, 101).

Next, when it is confirmed that the sheet has reached the alignment operation start position, the alignment plate 51 is moved to the receiving position 51) so that the sheet can easily enter the mounting table 3 (steps 102, 103).

Next, when the alignment plate 51 has finished moving to the receiving position 5b, the alignment plate 51 is moved again to the standby position 5C, and then the alignment plate 51 is moved to the alignment position 5d (step 10).
4, 105), the side edges of the sheets are aligned by moving the alignment plate 51 to the alignment position 5d. After this, in order to wait for the next sheet to be carried in, the alignment plate 51 is moved back to the waiting position 5.
It is moved to C (step 106). As a result, the alignment operation for one sheet is completed, and the operation is repeated in the same manner from step 102 for the next sheet to be brought in.

After that, once the final sheet alignment is completed, the remaining sheets are sent out in the order in which they were placed to form an image on one side, but once a paper feed start signal is received from the copier main body, The alignment plate 51 is moved from the standby position 5c to the alignment position 5d to start the paper feeding operation (step i).
io, it1, 1i2).

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention 1] In the conventional sheet aligning device that operates as described above,
After completing the alignment of the final sheet, the alignment plate 51 moves to the standby position 5c when restarting feeding in the order of placement.
After the paper is moved to the alignment position 5d again, paper refeeding is started. Therefore, when refeeding sheets, there is a time loss required to move the alignment plate 51 from the standby position 5c to the alignment position 5d, and when the number of sheets to be placed is small, this time loss increases, resulting in an increase in image forming speed. There was a problem in that it was not possible to increase the speed.

In addition, if the alignment plate 51 is returned to the standby position 5c after the last sheet is carried in and moved to the alignment position 5d when refeeding sheets, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. The side edge of the top layer sheet 60 that has shifted toward the position side is caught between the sheet bundle 61 and the alignment plate 51 that is about to move to the alignment position 5d, causing the top layer sheet 60 to shift or the sheet bundle 61 to move toward the alignment position 5d. There was a problem in that the corners of the paper were bent, causing jams and skews.

The present invention was made to solve such problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet aligning device that can speed up image forming operations, etc., and can further suppress the occurrence of jams and skews.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The sheet aligning device of the present invention includes at least a sheet placing table on which sheets are placed, a paper feeding means for feeding out the sheets placed on the sheet placing table in the order in which they are placed. A pair of sheet alignment plates, one of which moves in the width direction of the sheet and regulates the side edges of the sheet placed on the sheet mounting table, and the sheet alignment plates face each other when the sheet is carried into the sheet placement table. moving means for moving one of the alignment plates to a sheet standby position where the interval is slightly wider than the sheet width, and moving the one alignment plate to a sheet alignment position where the side edges of the sheets are aligned after receiving the sheets; a detection means for detecting that the sheet carried into the sheet loading table is the last sheet in a series of sheets, and a detection output of the detection means for detecting that the sheet is fed while the sheet alignment plate is held at the sheet alignment position. The above object is achieved by including a control means for making the paper refeeding operation by the paper means standby.

[Operation] According to the above configuration, when the sheet to be carried into the sheet loading table is the final sheet, the sheet alignment plate is not moved to the standby position, but is held at the alignment position by the sheet feeding means. Since the machine waits for the paper refeeding operation, there is no need to waste time moving the sheet alignment plate to the alignment position when starting the paper refeeding operation, and the paper refeeding state can be immediately shifted to the paper refeeding state after the final sheet alignment operation is completed. , it becomes possible to accelerate processing speed. In addition, since the sheet alignment plate is held in the alignment position, there is no possibility of the top layer sheet getting caught in the process until paper re-feeding starts, thereby suppressing the occurrence of jams and skews. can do.

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an intermediate tray installed in an image forming apparatus. In the figure, 1 is an intermediate tray, and 2 is a sheet intake port for receiving sheets into the intermediate tray 1, which sequentially receives sheets that have been copied on one side.

The sheet received from the sheet intake port 2 is sent toward the sheet loading table by the feed roller 11 and the pinch row 212 that is in rolling contact with the feed roller 11.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a sheet loading table, on which the sheets fed by the feeding row 211 and the pinch roller 12 are brought in by the feeding row 210 and placed one after another. Reference numeral 4 denotes a sheet alignment plate for aligning the sheets placed on the sheet mounting table 3, and as shown in FIG. 5, it is composed of a pair of sheet alignment plates 51 and 52 that are movable in the width direction of the sheets.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a kick roller that feeds out the sheets placed on the sheet loading table 3 one by one starting from the topmost sheet, and 7 feeds the fed sheets to the sheet feedout port 5 direction which guides them to the transfer section of the image forming apparatus. A paper feeding roller 8 is used to press the paper feeding roller 7 to separate two or more sheets fed out from the sheet loading table 3 into one sheet. It is a stopper that aligns the leading edge of the sheet being
When feeding paper, it is retracted below the feeding surface of the sheet mounting table 3.

5ENI is a sensor that detects a sheet carried into the intermediate tray 1, 5EN2 is a sensor that detects the presence or absence of a sheet on the sheet placement table 3, 5EN3 is a sensor that detects a sheet fed out from the sheet feeding port 5, and 10 is a sheet This is a pulse motor that is a power source for moving the alignment plate 4 in the width direction of the sheet.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of a mechanism for moving the pair of alignment plates 51 and 52 of the sheet alignment plate 4, in which the rotation of the pulse motor 10 is transmitted to the pinion 55 by a ring-shaped wire 56. A rack 53.54 meshing with a binion 55 moves an alignment plate 51.52 fixed to one end of the rack 53.54 in the width direction of the sheet. Note that 57 is a spring that maintains the wire 56 at an appropriate tension.

Therefore, according to the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the alignment plates 51 and 52 can be moved in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure by rotating the pulse motor 10 in the forward and reverse directions. However, although sheet alignment is performed by moving both of the alignment plates 51 and 52, it may be configured to be performed by moving only one of the alignment plates.

Regarding the sheet alignment operation related to the above configuration, 70 in FIG.
- This will be explained with reference to the chart and the time chart in FIG.

First, when a sheet that has undergone single-sided copying is discharged from the copying machine main body and begins to be conveyed toward the intermediate tray 1, the apparatus moves the sheet alignment plate 51 to the home position if the sheet is the first sheet. It is moved from the sheet seat 5a (see Figure 5) to the standby position 5c and waits for the sheet to be carried in (step 1).
00,101).

Next, when it is confirmed that the sheet has been detected by the sensor 5ENI and has reached the alignment operation start position, the alignment plate 51 is moved to the receiving position 5b so that the sheet can easily enter the mounting table 3 (step 102, 103).

Next, when the alignment plate 51 has finished moving to the receiving position 5b, the alignment plate 51 is moved again to the standby position 5C, and then the alignment plate 51 is moved to the alignment position 5d (step 10).
4,105). By moving the alignment plate 51 to the alignment position 5d, the side edges of the sheets are aligned. After this, the alignment plate 51 is moved back to the standby position 5C in order to wait for the next sheet to be carried in.
(Step 106), thereby completing the alignment operation for each sheet, and the operations from Step 102 are repeated in the same manner for the next sheet to be carried in.

However, in such a series of alignment operations, the last sheet is not moved to the standby position 5C, but is moved to the alignment position 5d.
Leave it as it is. That is, if it is confirmed that it is the last sheet by the count value of the copy number counter or the instruction tube from the user (step 10
6), the alignment plate 51 is not moved to the =12- standby position 5c, but is maintained at the alignment position 5d.

When the alignment of the last sheet is completed and a paper feeding start signal is received from the copying machine main body, the paper feeding operation is started immediately, and the kick roller 6 feeds the sheet in the direction of the sheet feeding port 5 starting from the top layer. issue (step 110,
112).

Therefore, for the last sheet, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 4, the required darkness T for alignment of the previous sheets is
The alignment operation is completed in 12 hours, which is shorter than 1 hour, and the paper refeeding operation can be started immediately. For this reason, the standby position 5
It is possible to perform high-speed processing corresponding to the time required to move from c to alignment position 5d.

Further, since the sheet is prepared for refeeding operation while being maintained at the alignment position 5d, the uppermost sheet will not be shifted or bent, and there will be no cause for skew or jam.

Incidentally, the above alignment operation is controlled by the central control section 15 of the main body of the copying machine.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the present invention, for the last sheet in a series of sheets, the re-feeding operation is made to wait 8!1 while the aligning plate is maintained in the aligning position. There is no need to waste time in moving the alignment plate to the alignment position when starting the paper, and the paper refeeding operation can be started immediately after the alignment operation for the last sheet is completed. Therefore, the speed ratio of the image forming operation list can be increased. Furthermore, the uppermost sheet does not bend during the process until paper refeeding is started, making it possible to suppress the occurrence of jams and skews.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a mechanism for moving the sheet alignment plate, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of sheet alignment operation, and FIG. 4 is a sheet FIG. 5 is a plan view of the sheet alignment plate; FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a conventional sheet alignment operation;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a state where the uppermost layer sheet is folded. 1... Intermediate tray 3... Sheet mounting table 6... Kick roller 10/11φ pulse motor 51.52... Sheet alignment plate 53.54... Rack 60... Top layer sheet 2 and 5・ 7 φ 15・ 55・ 61 ・・Sheet intake port・Sheet feed port・Paper feed roller・Central control unit・・Pinion・・Sheet bundle

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A sheet placing table for placing sheets, a sheet feeding means for feeding out the sheets placed on the sheet placing table in the order in which they are placed, at least one of which moves in the width direction of the sheets, A pair of sheet alignment plates that regulate the side edges of the sheets placed on the sheet mounting table, and a sheet standby position where the opposing interval between the sheet alignment plates is slightly wider than the sheet width when the sheet is carried into the sheet placement table. moving means for moving one of the alignment plates to a sheet alignment position where the side edges of the sheets are aligned after the sheets have been received; a detection means for detecting that the sheet is the last sheet in the sheet; and a control means for holding the sheet alignment plate at the sheet alignment position and waiting for the paper feeding operation to be performed again by the paper feeding means based on the detection output of the detection means. A sheet aligning device equipped with.