JPH05294539A - Paper sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] Minimize the paper sorting for aligning copy paper on one side. [Structure] The straight rollers 10 and 10 are provided with skew rollers 20 and 20 on the exit side. Skew rollers 20 and 20
Is a rotary type that can switch between a straight traveling state and a skewed state. After the skew rollers 20 and 20 are brought close to the straight rollers 10 and 10 and the copy sheet 60 is discharged from the straight rollers 10 and 10, the skew rollers 20 and 20 are switched from the straight state to the skew state. If the copy sheet 60 does not require skewing, the skew rollers 20 and 20
Keeps going straight.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used in a copying machine or the like in which sheets are conveyed on the basis of a center, and sheets of various sizes discharged from the copying machine on the basis of the center are aligned in one side. Regarding the paper sorter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one of the functions for improving the convenience of a copying machine, there is a contract stapling function for stapling the corners of copy sheets discharged from the copying machine. In a copying machine in which the paper is conveyed based on the center, in order to perform the stapling, it is necessary to align the copy paper discharged from the copying machine to one side, which is conventionally done by a sorter.

A conventional example of a sorter having a stapling function is shown in FIG.

The sorter is attached to the exit side of the copying machine body M. The copying machine main body M carries the paper with reference to the center. The copy sheet 60 discharged from the copying machine main body M on the basis of the center is moved straight by the straight advance rollers 61 and 61 in the sorter main body while keeping the center reference, and then the skew rollers 62 provided on the downstream side of the straight advance rollers 61 and 61. And 62. The skew rollers 62 and 62 are tilted and fixed at an angle of about 30 degrees with respect to the sheet transport center, and cause the bitten copy paper 60 to skew at an angle corresponding to the tilt angle. This skew causes copy paper 60
The one side edge is brought into contact with the guide 64 of the sorter bin 63 attached to the exit side of the sorter body, and is aligned in one side. Then, the corner of the copy paper 60 is
It is closed by a stapler 65 provided inside the sorter body.

[0005]

In a sorter using such a skew roller, the copy sheet cannot be skewed while the copy sheet is being caught by the straight advance roller. If the copy sheet is caught by the skew roller before being ejected from the straight-ahead roller, the copy sheet is wrinkled. Therefore, the distance D from the straight-advance roller to the skew roller needs to be adjusted to the maximum size of the sheet that needs the skew alignment. Staple requirements are typically A3
From B to B5 in many cases, for example, if B4 under A3 is the maximum size of oblique alignment, the distance D needs to be about 35 cm. Therefore, the total length of the sorter becomes long. In addition, it is easier to take out small paper such as postcards that does not require staples more straightly when discharged straight while keeping the center reference, rather than shifting to one side. There is an inconvenience that the paper is also pushed to one side.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a paper sorter capable of shortening the distance from the straight-ahead roller to the skew roller and discharging a sheet for which skew alignment is not required with the center reference. The purpose is to do.

[0007]

The paper sorter of the present invention is
A straight advancing roller for advancing the paper carried in on the basis of the center, an oblique feed roller provided on the exit side of the linear advancing roller for switching the paper into a straight advancing status and a skewed advancing status, and the oblique feed roller. A state switching mechanism that switches between a state in which the sheet advances straight and a state in which the sheet skews, and after detecting the discharge of the sheet from the rectilinear roller, the skew roller skews for a time corresponding to the size of the sheet after the detection. And a control means for controlling the state switching mechanism so as to maintain the state, whereby the above object is achieved.

[0008]

When the distance from the straight advance roller to the skew roller is shorter than the length of the sheet in the sheet conveyance direction, the sheet is caught by the skew roller before the sheet is discharged from the straight roller. At this time, since the skew roller is in the straight traveling state, the paper cannot be wrinkled. When the paper is ejected from the straight advance roller, the skew roller switches from the straight advance state to the skew state,
Start skewing the paper. As described above, since the skew feeding of the sheet is started in the middle of the sheet passing through the skew feeding roller, the skew feeding roller can be installed close to the straight advance roller.
For a sheet for which skew alignment is not required, the skew roller can be maintained in a straight-ahead state so that the sheet can be discharged with the center reference.

[0009]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below with reference to examples.

As shown in FIG. 1, the paper sorter of the present invention is attached to the paper exit side of the copying machine main body M which carries the paper with the center as a reference. The paper sorter is a copying machine body 10.
It is provided with a pair of right and left straight rollers 10 and 10 that directly move the copy paper 60 discharged from the center of the copy paper 60 as it is. The straight-moving roller 10 is composed of a combination of a driving roller and a driven roller which are provided above and below the conveyance path of the copy sheet 60. Oblique rollers 20 and 20 are disposed on the respective outgoing sides of the straight-moving rollers 10 and 10. The support mechanism and drive mechanism for the skew rollers 20 and 20 are shown in FIG. The subscript L indicates the left side in the sheet conveyance direction, and the R indicates the right side. Further, U indicates the upper side of the paper transport path, and D indicates the lower side.

The skew roller 20 on the left side is a driven roller 20LU and a drive roller 20L which are provided opposite to each other with a sheet conveying path interposed therebetween.
It consists of D and. The driven roller 20LU is located above the sheet conveying path and is rotatably supported by the bracket 21LU. The bracket 21LU is adapted to rotate on a horizontal plane with the front end as the center. Bracket 21L
The rear end of U is located at the upper lever 22 perpendicular to the paper transport direction.
It is rotatably connected to U.

A drive roller 2 located below the paper transport path.
A pulley 23L is attached to the 0LD. The drive roller 20LD and the pulley 23L are driven rollers 20LU.
Similarly, the pivotal bracket 21LD is pivotally supported, and the rear end of the bracket 21LD is connected to the lower lever 22D. A drive shaft 24 is provided below the lever 22D. The drive shaft 24 has a pair of left and right pulleys 25L.
And 25R are attached to the pulley 25 on the left side.
L and the pulley 23L attached to the drive roller 20LD include a belt 2 for rotating the drive roller 20LD.
6L is wrapped around.

Similarly to the left-side skew roller 20, the right-side skew roller 20 also has a driven roller 20RU and a driving roller 20.
RD and a rotatable bracket 21R
It is pivotally supported by U and 21RD. The rear ends of the brackets 21RU and 21RD are rotatably connected to the levers 22U and 22D, respectively, and the pulley 23R attached to the drive roller 20RD and the drive shaft 2 are attached.
A belt 26R is wound around the right pulley 25R attached to the drive roller 4 in order to rotate the drive roller 20RD in synchronization with the drive roller 20LD.

The right ends of the levers 22U and 22D are connected by a vertical pin 27. A plunger 28a of a solenoid 28 is connected to the pin 27. When the solenoid 28 is not energized, the plunger 28
The spring a keeps a pulled out. And in this state, the bracket 21LU,
LD, RU, RD are parallel to the paper transport center, and the rotation axes of the left and right skew rollers 20 and 20 are perpendicular to this center. Therefore, the skew rollers 20 and 20 cause the copy sheet 60 to go straight. When the solenoid 28 is energized, the plunger 28a retracts to move the levers 22U and 2U.
Pull 2D to the solenoid 28 side (right side). As a result, the left and right skew rollers 20 and 20 are tilted to the left at the same angle, and the copy sheet 60 is skewed to the left at the tilt angle.

A copy sheet 60 discharged from the skew rollers 20 and 20 is provided on the exit side of the skew rollers 20 and 20.
A sorter bin 30 for arranging and accommodating are arranged. A guide 31 for aligning the copy sheets 60 is attached to the sorter bin 30 only on the left side which is the skew side. On the side of the guide 31, the copy paper 6 that is obliquely aligned is provided.
A stapler 40 for stapling 0 is provided.

The inclination angle of the skew rollers 20 and 20 is preferably 60 degrees or less, particularly about 30 degrees. When the inclination angle is 30 degrees, a conveyance distance of 17 mm is required to move the paper laterally 10 mm. The target of the skew feeding alignment is the straight advance state before the skew feeding, that is, the side edge of the copy sheet 60 fed with the center reference and the guide 3.
It is determined based on the separation distance from 1, and in the present embodiment, the case of vertical feed of B5 is used as a reference, and the case of paper feed having a separation distance of less than that is targeted. The transport distance required for the oblique alignment is B5 width (182 mm) x 1/2
× 1.7, which is about 155 mm. The distance d from the straight advance roller 10 to the skew roller 20 in this embodiment is set to 155 mm, which is almost half the distance of about 35 cm required by the conventional paper sorter.

Next, the state switching of the skew rollers 20 and 20 will be described.

As described above, the skew rollers 20 and 20 are switched by the solenoid 28 between the straight traveling state in which the copy sheet 60 moves straight and the skew state in which the copy sheet 60 skews to the left. This switching control is performed by the control means 50 that controls the solenoid 28 (see FIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 3, the control means 50 controls the size sensor 51 for detecting the size of the copy sheet 60 carried into the sheet sorter and the timing at which the copy sheet 60 is discharged from the straight advance roller 10 of the sheet sorter. And a timing sensor 52 for detecting. The size sensor 51 is built in the copying machine main body M. The outputs of the size sensor 51 and the timing sensor 52 are input to the CPU 53 together with a mode selection signal, a signal indicating that the copy sheet 60 discharged from the copying machine main body M is the final sheet, and the like. C
The PU 53 performs a predetermined calculation using the input information and outputs a control signal for the solenoid 28 to the driver 54. The driver 54 controls ON / OFF of the solenoid 28 based on the input control signal. The algorithm executed by the CPU 53 is shown in FIG.

When the body M of the copying machine is turned on, the linear rollers 10 and 10 and the skew rollers 20 and 20 start to rotate. When the non-sort mode in which the skew alignment is not performed is selected, the solenoid 28 maintains the off state and continues this state until the last sheet (S1, S2). As a result, the skew rollers 20 and 20 maintain the straight traveling state, and the copy sheet 60 discharged from the copying machine main body M is
It goes straight on with the center reference and is accommodated in the sorter bin 30.

When the sort mode or stapling mode requiring the skew alignment is selected, it is determined whether or not the copy paper 60 discharged from the copying machine main body M is the target size (B5 or more) of the skew alignment. (S1, S3). When the target size for skewed alignment (B5 or more), the solenoid 28 remains off until the trailing edge of the copy sheet 60 comes out of the straight advance rollers 10 and 10, and the copy sheet 60 is removed from the straight advance rollers 10 and 10. When the timing sensor 52 detects the discharge (S4), the control signal is given to the driver 54 until the solenoid 28 is turned on (S5). As a result, the skew rollers 20 and 20 are switched from the straight traveling state until then to the skew state.

At this time, since the distance d from the straight advance roller 10 to the skew roller 20 is set to 155 mm, the copy sheet 60 of the target size (B5 or more) for skew alignment straddles the straight roller 10 and the skew roller 20. During this period, the skew roller 20 is in the straight traveling state during this period, and after the copy sheet 60 is discharged from the straight traveling roller 10, the skew roller 20 is switched to the skew state.
There is no fear of wrinkling at 0, and after the skew roller 20 is switched to the skew state, the copy sheet 60 smoothly skews.

Here, the skew feeding time required to align the copy sheets 60 on one side becomes shorter as the copy sheet 60 becomes larger, and when the copy sheets 60 are skewed beyond the required time, the copy sheets 60 are It is forced against the guide 31 of the sorter bin 30. Therefore, the timer starts to operate at the same time when the skew roller 20 is switched to the skew state, and a control signal for turning off the solenoid 28 is output after the required skew time corresponding to the sheet size has elapsed from the start of the timer operation. Then, the skew rolls 20 and 20 are returned to the straight traveling state (S
6).

By continuing this to the final paper (S
7), the distance d from the straight advance roller 10 to the skew roller 20
The copy paper 60 is smoothly obliquely aligned in spite of the short length. When the staple mode is selected, the obliquely aligned copy sheets 60 are stapled by the stapler 40.

When the copy sheet 60 is out of the target size for skew alignment, that is, when the copy sheet 60 has a small size such as A5, A6R, or a postcard, the skew rollers 20 and 20 maintain the straight-ahead state, and are placed in the sorter bin 30 with the center reference. Be accommodated. Such a small size sheet has a very low staple usage frequency, and there is no particular problem even if it is stored in the sorter bin 30 which is the center reference. Rather, if the paper is stored in the sorter bin 30 based on the center, it is easier to take out the paper from the sorter bin 30, and the usability of the copying machine is improved.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the target of oblique alignment is
Although the case of vertical feed of B5 is used as a reference and the case of paper feed with a separation distance less than that is targeted, the reference paper feed may be arbitrarily determined.

[0027]

As described above, the paper sorter of the present invention can be miniaturized because the distance between the straight-moving roller and the skew roller can be shortened by switching the skew roller between the straight traveling state and the slanting state. Is. Paper that does not require skewed alignment can be discharged with the center reference, which facilitates removal of the paper.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a mechanical component part of an example of a paper sorter of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a skew roller used in a machine component and a peripheral structure thereof.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of control means for switching the state of the skew rollers.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control means.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional paper sorter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Linear Roller 20 Oblique Roller 28 Solenoid 30 Sorter Bin 40 Stapler 50 Control Means 60 Copy Paper

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location G03G 15/00 113 7369-2H

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A straight advancing roller for advancing a sheet of paper carried in on a center basis, and a skew roller provided on the exit side of the straight advancing roller for switching between a state of advancing the sheet of paper and a state of skewing the sheet. A state switching mechanism that switches the skew roller between a state in which the sheet advances straight and a state in which the sheet skew, and after detecting the discharge of the sheet from the rectilinear roller, after the detection, skews for a time corresponding to the size of the sheet. A sheet sorter comprising: a control unit that controls the state switching mechanism so that the row roller is maintained in a skewed state.