JPH05308B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a collating device (hereinafter referred to as a sorter) that sorts and stores papers.

[Prior art]

Conventional sorters of this type are controlled so that the fed paper is stored in a designated bin by the sorter number and bin selection signal supplied from the recording device, and each of the sorter conveyance paths is At the bin entrance, there is a switching guide to guide the paper into the bin.
A solenoid is provided to drive this switching guide. In addition, each bin is configured so that a sensor detects the state of paper contained in that bin, and when one bin is detected to be full,
The next bin is now specified.

[Problem that the invention is trying to solve]

However, in such conventional sorters, a bin selection signal supplies a signal via a control circuit to a solenoid that drives the switching guide for that bin, but noise may be superimposed on these signals. be. For this reason, a switching solenoid for a bin other than the designated bin is activated, and the paper may not be stored in the designated bin but in another bin. The same problem may also occur if the solenoid itself remains activated due to a failure of the solenoid itself, or if the solenoid in the specified bin is activated but its activation is delayed. paper is stored in a different bin than the designated bin.

If this happens in the sorter, information will be leaked in designated bins where paper was not stored, and information will be overflowed in bins where paper was mistakenly stored. Since there is no way to detect it, the operator ends up treating it as having been classified without realizing it. Even if the operator notices this, in a sorter with many bins, it is not easy to put the incorrectly accommodated paper back into the correct bin.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to detect misaccommodation of paper without complicating the configuration, and to facilitate processing by the handler. The goal is to provide equipment.

[Means and actions to solve the problem]

That is, the present invention provides transport means 1A for transporting paper,
1B, a plurality of storage means 27A to 27J for storing papers transported by the transport means, and designation means 100 and 101 for specifying a storage means as a storage destination for paper from among the plurality of storage means 27A to J; ,10
2, 34A-J, the plurality of storage means 27A-J
includes first detection means 32A and 32B for detecting that paper has arrived at the entrance of the storage means, a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and a paper detection position corresponding to a state in which a predetermined amount of paper is stored in the storage means. second detection means 43A-J, 41A-J for detecting a full state of the specified storage means by blocking light entering the light-receiving element from the light-emitting element; the first detection means 32A; Judgment means 100 for determining whether or not the paper has been stored in the storage means designated by the designation means based on the output of the second detection means 43A-J, 41A-J; warning means 120 for outputting a warning signal based on the output from the determining means 100 when the storage device is not stored in the storage means designated by the designating means;
121, and the determination means 100 determines whether the arrival of paper is detected by the first detection means 32A and 32B (step 2000), and the determination means 100 determines whether the paper has arrived at the second detection means 32A or 32B.
After a time T sufficient for the detection means 43A-J, 41A-J to reach the paper detection position (steps 204-207), the second detection means 43A
~J, When 41A~J is detecting a full state,
It is determined that the paper has been properly stored in the storage means designated by the designation means (steps 216 and 2).
18, 219), the second detection means 43A to 43J,
To provide a collating device characterized in that when the full state of the paper storage means 41A to 41J is not detected, it is determined that the paper is not stored in the designated storage means (steps 216 and 217).

As a result, the output of the first detection means for detecting that the paper has reached the entrance of the plurality of storage means;
Misaccommodation of papers is detected based on the output of the second detection means for detecting the full state of the designated storage means, and a warning signal is output in the case of misaccommodation.

〔Example〕

According to the embodiment of the present invention, an indicator for a bin in which paper has been incorrectly stored is lit, and at the same time, the next paper to be sent and subsequent papers are ejected to the sample tray, and the number of sheets is notified to the recording device. As a result, a collating device is obtained in which the handler can easily perform post-processing of erroneous accommodation.

The present invention will be explained in detail below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present invention, where 1 and 2 are first and second sorters used in connection with a recording device such as a laser beam printer (hereinafter abbreviated as LBP) 3. The LBP 3 is provided with a photosensitive drum 4, and a laser beam 5 modulated by a recording signal is irradiated onto the primarily charged drum 4 to form a latent image. This latent image is developed by a developing device 6 to become a developed image, this developed image is transferred onto a recording paper 8 by a transfer device 7, and the recording paper 8 is further passed through a fixing roller 9. Fix the upper image.

The recording paper 8 that has been fixed is transported by the paper ejection roller 10.
The paper is discharged from the LBP 3 to the outside, but the paper feeding speed during conveyance and the discharge speed by the roller 10 are always kept constant. Reference numeral 11 is an arm provided near the ejection port 3A of the LBP 3, and when the recording paper (hereinafter referred to as paper) 8 is ejected, the arm 1
1 in the direction of the arrow to drive the switch 12, thereby detecting that the paper 8 has been sent out. Note that the paper ejection roller 10 is provided with a one-way clutch (not shown), and normally the paper conveyance speed within the LBP 3 and the paper ejection speed by the paper ejection roller 10 are kept constant. However, the action of this clutch can increase the paper withdrawal speed.

21A to 21D are the horizontal conveyance section 1 of the first sorter 1
A pair of upper and lower recording paper guide plates are provided at A, and along these two guide plates, horizontal conveyance rollers 22A to 22D and their presser rollers 2
3A to 23D are placed one above the other in contact with each other. 24 is a position detector provided between guide plates 21C and 21D, and a light source 24A and a light emitting element 24B.
and detects the paper 8 being conveyed to this position. 25 is a switching guide, and this guide 2
5, the paper 8 conveyed to the horizontal conveyance section 1A of the first sorter 1 is further conveyed to the second sorter 2 or guided to the vertical conveyance section 1B of the first sorter 1. When transferring to the vertical conveyance section 1B, it is kept in an upright position as shown by the solid line in this figure, and when being transferred to the second sorter 2, it is transferred to the second sorter 2 by a solenoid (not shown) as indicated by the broken line. It can be rotated to the horizontal position as shown.

Also, the position 26 indicated by the two-dot chain line is the horizontal conveyance section 1.
This shows the state in which the upper half of A has been moved, and the paper 8 sent to the horizontal conveyance section 1A is moved between the guide plates 21A and 21A.
If a jam or the like occurs between 21D and 21D, the upper half of the paper 8 can be rotated diagonally upward to a position 26 as shown in the figure, thereby making it easier to remove and inspect the paper 8.

27A to 27J are storage bins (hereinafter, unspecified bins will be referred to as bins 27) having respective entrance portions 28A to 28J along the vertical conveyance portion 1B, and each of the abovementioned entrance portions 28A to 28J on the vertical conveyance portion 1B side. Vertical conveyance rollers 29A to 29J are provided at positions corresponding to 28J. 30A, 30B, 30C and 30D are vertical conveyance rollers 29A, 29D, 29G and 2
31A, 31B, 31C and 31D are vertical guide plates that guide the paper 8 in the perpendicular direction together with these auxiliary rollers 30A to 30D.

Further, 32A and 32B are a light receiving element and a light emitting lamp, and the light projected from the lamp 32B is transmitted to the bottle entrances 28A to 28J and the vertical conveyance roller 2.
9A to 29J in the vertical direction shown by arrow D and enters the light receiving element 32A.

FIG. 2 shows the vertical conveyance section 1 in the first sorter 1.
This is an enlarged view of the parts of the device related to B and bins 27A and 27B, and other bins 27C to 27C.
27J has the same configuration as shown in FIG. 2, and its explanation and illustration will be omitted.

In FIG. 2, 33A and 33B are switching guides for guiding the paper 8 conveyed to the vertical conveyance section 1B to the respective bin entrances 28A and 28B. These switching guides 33A, 33B
can be configured to be able to rotate around guide shafts 35A and 35B by switching solenoids 34A and 34B, and as shown in this figure, when the switching guide 33A is rotated clockwise, the The paper 8 is guided to the bin 27A.

Here, 40A to 40C are bins 27A to 2.
This is a light emitting element for empty bottle detection installed at 7C, and 4
1A to 41C are light receiving elements that receive light E emitted in the direction of the arrow from the light emitting elements 40A to 40C. These light receiving elements 41A to 41C are attached to the surface of each of the bottles 27A to 27C, and
Detection windows 42A to 42C are opened in 7A to 27C so that the light E from the light emitting elements 40A to 40C is not blocked by the bottom surfaces of the bottles 27A to 27C. Therefore, in the bin 27 in which the paper 8 is stored, the above-mentioned light E is blocked by the paper 8, and in the bin 27 in which no paper is stored, that is, in an empty state, the light receiving element 41A ~41C
Since the light E is not incident on the bottle, the empty bottle state is detected.

Numerals 43A to 43C are light emitting elements that detect when the bin is full and also detect when the paper 8 is erroneously accommodated in another bin.
Light F emitted upward from C in the direction of the arrow
are incident on the light-receiving elements 41A to 41C provided on the back surface of the bin 27 one step above, respectively. For example, the light F emitted from the light emitting element 43A of the bottle 27A is incident on the light receiving element 41B provided on the back surface of the bottle 27B. Therefore, when the paper 8 accumulates in the bin 27 and the light from the light emitting elements 43A to 43C is blocked, the light F will not be incident on the light receiving element 41B, so the bin 27 is determined to be full, and As will be described later, if the light F is never blocked in the designated bin 27, it is determined that no paper is stored in this bin 27.

In this way, among the light receiving elements 41A to 41C, the other light receiving elements 41B and 41C except 41A
have light emitting elements 40B, 43A and 4, respectively.
Lights E and F emitted from 0C and 43B, respectively
are incident on the light emitting elements 40B and 43A,
Furthermore, the lighting timings of 40C and 43B must not be at the same time, and it is necessary to shift these timings. Therefore, the detection of full bottles and empty bottles in each of the bottles 27A to 27J is performed using the light emitting element 4.
It is configured so that the lights are turned on sequentially from 0A and the same procedure is repeated for the bins 27A to 27J.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the detection circuit of the collation device of the present invention, where 100 is a control circuit, in addition to a central processing unit CPU that controls various devices, a lead in which a program to be described later is written in advance. It has only memory ROM, random access memory RAM that stores various data, timer, counter, etc. 101 is a decoder, 102 is a driver, and based on a signal supplied from the control circuit 100 to the decoder 101, the corresponding driver 10
2, the bin switching solenoid 34A~
Operate 34I. A driver 103 operates a solenoid 104 for sorter switching.
Further, 105 is a solenoid that flips up the upper half (referred to as a horizontal door) of the horizontal conveyance section 1A to position 26, and 106 is a driver that operates the solenoid 105.

107 is an interface that connects the LBP 3 and the control circuit 100, and signals SL1 to SL4 input from the LBP 3 to the interface 107 constitute a 4-bit bin selection signal. Also,
The signal SL5 supplied from the LBP3 to the interface 107 is a sorter designation signal that designates a sorter that detects full and empty bottles, and the signal SL6 similarly supplied to the interface 107 is
This is a sorter status sense request signal that requests detection of the paper accommodation state of each sorter. This signal SL6
When the signal rises, an 8-bit serial signal SL7 indicating the paper accommodation state is supplied from the control circuit 100 to the LBP3 via the interface 107. These signals SL1-SL5 are supplied to control circuit 100 via latch 108. Further, the signals SL1 to SL5 and the discharge sensor signal are guided to the next stage sorter via the interface 109.

110 is a pulse synchronizer, which synchronizes with the clock supplied from the clock generator 112 when a detection signal is supplied from the paper ejection sensor (hereinafter referred to as the paper ejection sensor) 12 via the interface 111. and outputs the rising signal to the control circuit 100. 113 is the detector 24
This pulse synchronizer similarly outputs the rising edge of the paper position detection signal supplied from the gate 114 to the control circuit 100. Further, 115 is a pulse synchronizer that outputs a rising signal and a falling signal to the control circuit 100 based on the detection signal from the bottle entrance sensor 32A.

Reference numeral 116 denotes an analog switch for driving phototransistors 41A to 41J for detecting full/empty bottles, and is controlled by a decoder 117 to which a 4-bit parallel signal is supplied. Further, the full bottle and empty bottle detection signals taken out from the analog switch 116 are supplied to the control circuit 100. 118 is a light emitting diode (LED) 43 for detecting fullness of the bottle by a 4-bit parallel signal from the decoder 119.
It is a driver that causes A to 43J to emit light, and 120
is a driver which causes the full bottle display LEDs 122A to 122J to blink at a certain constant period via a latch 121.

FIGS. 4A to 4D show the sorter 1 configured in this way,
2, the timing at which the paper 8 is conveyed and the bin control timing are shown. FIG. It shows the spacing between sheets 8 when they are continuously conveyed at speed V1.

The paper 8 that has passed through the fixing roller 9 is delivered to the paper ejection roller 1.
When the paper 8 is sandwiched between the conveyance roller 22A and the presser roller 23A, the speed is increased to V2 (V2>V1), so the paper ejection switch is The output from the paper discharge sensor 12 is as shown in FIG. 4(B) (here, T1 indicates the period in which the paper 8 is conveyed), and the interval G1 becomes G2. Thus, the output timing from the detector 24 at the time when the paper 8 passes through the detector 24 becomes as shown in FIG. 4C, where the interval becomes even larger to G3. After that, the paper 8 is guided to the vertical conveyance section 1B and stored in the designated bin 27. FIG. 4D shows, as an example, the state of the output of the bin entrance sensor 32 until the paper 8 is stored in the designated bin 27. In this example, the first bin 27A and the tenth bin 27
This shows the case where they are housed alternately in J. Figure 4 E, F
and G indicate the timing of the rising pulse at the detector 24, the rising pulse at the sensor 12, and the falling pulse at the bottle entrance sensor 32, respectively.

FIGS. 4B to 4K show the bin selection signals, and the timing of outputting the bin selection signals will be explained below with reference to FIG. 3. When the paper 8 is now discharged from the LBP 3 (see Fig. 4B) and a predetermined period of time has elapsed,
Bin selection signals SL1 to SL4 are supplied from LBP3 to control circuit 100 of sorter 1 via interface 107 and latch 108. At this time, the sorter switching signal SL5 is also connected to the interface 1.
07 and is latched by latch 108, and the latch pulse at this time is the discharge sensor rising pulse shown in FIG. 4F.

Bin selection signal SL latched in latch 108
1 to SL4 and the sorter switching signal SL5 are taken into the control circuit 100 and then converted into the sorter switching signal SL5.
If it is a command for your own sorter,
The signal is output to the decoder 101, and the decoder 101 energizes the driver 102 to operate the solenoid 34 corresponding to the designated bin 27 among the bin switching solenoids 34A to 34I. Note that the driver 102 is composed of nine switching circuits composed of transistors, and drives nine solenoids 34A to 34I. That is, the topmost bin 27J is not provided with a solenoid, but only the switching guide 33J is provided. Therefore, when storing paper 8 in the topmost bin 27J, the other switching guides 33A to 33I need not be operated, and instead, the switching guide 33J always leaves the path open toward the entrance 28J of the bin 27J. Leave it in the same state.

FIG. 4 L to O show the timing of bin switching signals SL8 to SL10 supplied to the decoder 101, and these signals SL1 to SL4 are supplied to the detector 24.
Output at the rising edge of the output pulse. Further, FIG. 4P shows the timing of the signal that drives the solenoid 34A of the bin 27A closest to the entrance of the sorter 1, and when switching the storage bin 27 by driving the solenoids 34A to 34I in this way, It is necessary to prevent the paper 8 that has arrived from being caught in the switching guides 33A to 33J. For this reason, it is necessary to switch the storage bin 27 to the next bin 27 after the preceding paper 8 is stored in the bin 27. Therefore, when setting the position of the detector 24, it is necessary to change the storage bin 27 to the next bin 27. When the incoming paper 8 reaches the detector 24, the previous paper is always stored in the bin.

Next, with reference to FIG. 5, a procedure for detecting poor accommodation, full bottles, and empty bottles according to the present invention will be described.

As the accommodation defect detection procedure, first, it is determined whether the paper 8 has been guided to the bin inlets 28A to 28J of the sorter 1 based on the output of the bin inlet sensor 32A (step 200 in FIG. 5; below, only the step number is used). ) If the output is at a high level, paper 8 is blocking the sensor 32A, so paper 8
It is determined that the paper 8 is being guided to one of the bin inlets 28A to 28J, and the presence or absence of a rising signal of the output is determined (step 201). If there is a rising signal, that is, the leading edge of the paper 8 is detected by the sensor 32A. If it is detected and the sensor flag SEFLG is zero,
The timer is reset for initialization and made ready for counting (step 202). Here the timer is
A little more time is allowed between when the paper 8 reaches the entrance of one of the bins 27 and the light supplied to the bin entrance sensor 32A is interrupted until the optical path F for detecting a full bin is interrupted. It counts the time T that has lasted, and increments it by "+1" each time a predetermined time elapses in the activated state (step 203). Next, proceed to step 203A and set the sensor flag.
Set SEFLG to "1" and proceed to step 204, determine whether the count value of the timer is equal to time T, and if they are equal, set the flag CKFLG to check for accommodation failure to "1" and proceed to step 2.
Proceed to 09. If the determination in step 204 is negative, it is determined in step 206 whether or not the count value of the timer is greater than the set time T. If it is greater than the set time T, step 20
At step 7, it is determined whether the check flag CKFLG is "1" or not, and only when it is set to "1", the process moves to the defective accommodation detection procedure described below. Note that if the timer value is smaller than time T in step 206, and if the flag is
If CKFLG is not “1”, step 208
Then, the flag CKFLG is set to "0".

Next, the accommodation defect detection procedure will be explained for the case of the bin 27A.

First, in step 209, a signal corresponding to the bin number CKBNO for which detection of a full bottle state, an empty bottle state, etc. is to be performed, that is, a status sense is to be performed, is supplied to the decoder 119, and the driver
18 and the corresponding full bottle detection LED 43A
to emit light. Then, in step 210, the check bin number CKBNO is updated with a time delay.
A signal corresponding to the full-bin detection phototransistor 41A is outputted to the decoder 117, and the analog switch 116 is activated so that the output of the corresponding full-bin detection phototransistor 41A can be taken out. After that, proceed to step 211 and check the bin number CKBNO for which the status sense is to be performed.
and the pin number where paper 8 is currently being stored.
Determine if STBNO matches. If they do not match, that is, if the paper 8 is being stored in a bin other than the bin 27A, the process proceeds to step 212 following the flow of "NO", the output of the full bin detection phototransistor 41A is taken out, and the output is Determine whether it is high level or not. If it is at a high level, it is determined whether the full bottle counter FLCNT is already 1 or more (step 213).
Here, as will be described later, the full bin counter FLCNT is a counter that is incremented by "+1" when the output of the phototransistor 41B is still at a high level immediately after the trailing edge of the paper 8 passes the sensor 32a. It is. If the value of this counter FLCNT is 1 or more than 1, then the bin 2 of bin number CKBNO
It is determined that 7A is a true groove bottle, and the process moves to the next empty bottle detection (step 214). Also, step 2
If it is determined in step 12 that the paper is not a groove bin, the process advances to step 214. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 23, the process advances to step 215, in which the paper 8 is identified as a bin 27 with a different bin number STBNO, for example, 27B.
It is determined that it is accommodated in A and the error flag ERFLG is set.
is set to “1”.

If the bin number CKBNO for which the status sense is to be performed in step 211 matches the bin number STBNO in which the paper 8 is being stored, an affirmative determination is made and the process proceeds to step 216. In step 216, a full bin is determined based on the output of the full bin detection phototransistor 41B corresponding to the bin number CKBNO. That is, here, it is determined whether the paper 8 is stored in a predetermined bin based on the output of the full bin detection phototransistor 41B. If the bin is not full, it is determined that paper 8 was not accommodated in the specified bin 27A, and the accommodation error flag ERFLG is set.
is set to "1" (step 217), and the process proceeds to the next empty bottle detection (step 214).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 216 that the bin is full, it is determined whether the count value of the full bin counter FLCNT is 1 or more than 1 (step 218). In other words, it is determined that the full bin counter FLCNT has already counted a predetermined value before the paper 8 that was accommodated immediately before is accommodated, and an empty bin is detected (step 214).
Proceed to. Also, here, the full bin counter FLCNT
When the count value is 0, paper 8 is the bin number being detected.
It is judged that the CKBNO is correctly stored in the bin 27, and the check flag is set in step 219.
CKFLG is reset to "0", and then the process proceeds to step 214 to detect an empty bottle.

In addition, in step 23 and step 218, it is determined whether the count value of the full bin counter FLCNT is 1 or more because the bin has become full due to the newly accommodated paper 8, or if the bin has already been filled. This is to determine whether the bottle was full before then. Here, if it is thought that there is a risk of misjudgment with only one full bottle detection, set the full bottle setting value of this full bottle counter FLCNT to a desired value of 1 or more. It may be determined that the bottle is truly full when the set value is reached.

Above, we have mainly described the procedure for detecting poor accommodation, that is, incorrect accommodation in the bin 27A using the full bottle detection sensor 41B.Next, after the paper 8 passes the entrance sensor 32a, the full bin detection The procedure for detecting a full bottle using 41B to 41J will be mainly explained.

First, in step 200, it is determined whether the paper 8 has been introduced into the bin inlets 28A to 28J.
When the paper 8 is not detected by the entrance sensor 32a, it is determined whether the error flag ERFLG is set to "1" (step 220);
If it is set, the error flag ERFLG is reset after canceling the accommodation failure as described later (step 221). If the error flag ERFLG is not set to "1", the next paper 8 is placed in the bin 27A. Determine whether or not it has been contained. That is, in step 222, it is determined whether the sensor flag SEFLG is "1" or not, and if it is "1", step 2 immediately after the paper 8 is stored
Since the judgment is in step 22, it is assumed that the paper 8 is stored in the bin 27A, and the process proceeds to step 222. In step 223, the bin number whose status is being detected is
Bin number where CKBNO and bin accommodation output are matched
It is determined whether the STBNO and STBNO match, and if they match, in step 224, the full bottle is detected by the full bottle detection phototransistor 41A. If the bin is full, the full bin counter FLCNT is incremented by "+1" in step 225, and the process proceeds to step 226A.

On the other hand, if negative determinations are made in steps 222 and 223, full bottle detection is performed in step 227. In this case, even if the bin is determined to be full, the full bin counter will be displayed.
The FLCNT does not advance and proceeds to step 226A. Also, step 227 and step 224
When a negative determination is made in step 226, that is, the optical path F of the full bottle sensor is not obscured by the paper 8, the process proceeds to step 226, where the full bottle counter is
After setting FLCNT to "0", the process advances to step 226A. In step 226A, the set flag SEFLG is set to ``0'' and the process proceeds to step 208, where the check flag (accommodation defect check) CKFLG is set to ``0'', and then the process proceeds to step 214 described above to execute empty bottle detection.

After completing the defective storage and full bin detection means in this way, the process moves to empty bin detection (step 214), but first, the bin number whose status is to be investigated is detected via a decoder (not shown).
The driver (not shown) corresponding to CKBNO is driven to turn on the empty bottle detection LED 40A (see Figure 2), and after a while, the analog switch 116 of the empty bottle detection phototransistor 41A corresponding to this bin number CKBNO is turned on. is driven, and the output signal from the transistor 41A is input to the control circuit 100 to determine whether the bottle is empty. Thereafter, in step 28, the counter CKBNO corresponding to the bin number whose status is to be detected is incremented by "+1" to set the next bin number to be detected. that counter
It is determined in step 229 whether the content of CKBNO is equal to "11", and if the determination is negative, step 20 is performed.
Returns to 0 and detects the status of the next bin. On the other hand, if an affirmative determination is made in step 229, it means that the status of all bins has been detected, so in step 230, the counter CKBNO
The content of the bin is set to "1", and the status of each bin is detected by going around.

Next, we will discuss the measures to be taken when accommodation failure occurs and the means for resolving the failure state.

When the accommodation failure is determined as described above and the error flag ERFLG is set, the control circuit 10
0, the driver 130 shown in FIG. 3 is driven to disengage the conveying clutch 131 of the vertical conveying section 1B and stop it (the signal waveforms are shown in H and I in FIG. 6). Due to the vertical conveyance section 1B being stopped, the paper 8 that was about to be stored in the wrong bin 27 is transferred from the rollers 29A to 29J to the bin entrance section 28.
A ~ 28
It is possible to determine whether or not a housing defect has occurred, and post-processing can be easily carried out.

Here, in order to further notify the handler of the bin number of the poorly accommodated bin, the full bin display LED1
22A to 122J (see FIG. 3) are preferably used. That is, as described above, when the full state of a predetermined bin 27 is detected a predetermined number of times or more, it is determined that the bin is truly full, and the latch 1
21, the driver 120 is driven to blink the full bottle display LEDs 122A to 122J at regular intervals, but in the case of poor storage, the full bottle display
It is assumed that the LEDs 122A to 122J are always lit. That is, it is necessary to perform error recovery in the case of poor accommodation, and it is necessary to give priority to notification that the bin is full. Furthermore, full bottle indicator LED
122A to 122J, steps 211, 212, 213 and 2 in FIG.
If the paper 8 is stored in a bin that is not the designated bin, as shown by step 15, the bin number in which the paper was stored is also specified as shown by steps 211, 216, and 217. The bin numbers of the bins in which paper 8 is not accommodated are outputted from the latches 121, respectively, and the driver 120 is driven to keep the lights on.

On the other hand, regarding the horizontal conveyance section 1A, the paper 8
Conveyance of the paper 8 continues as long as it is ejected from the LBP 3. Therefore, in a normal state where there is no storage failure or the like, when the paper 8 reaches the detector 24, the bin selection signal SL latched in the latch 108 is released.
Needless to say, the bin switching solenoids 34A to 34I and the sorter switching solenoid 104 are driven by the bin switching solenoids 34A to 34I and the sorter switching solenoid 104, respectively, to store the paper in a designated bin of a predetermined sorter 1 or 2.

If a storage failure occurs here, since the conveyance has already been stopped in the vertical conveyance section 1B as described above, the control circuit 100 sends a sorter changeover signal (see FIG. J) and paper 8
is guided from the discharge port 50 of the first sorter 1 to the horizontal conveyance section 2A of the second sorter 2. Further, bin selection signals SL1 to SL4 and a sorter selection signal SL5 are supplied from the control circuit 100 to the second sorter 2 via the interface 109. however,
In the second sorter 2, there is no bin 27 that corresponds to the bin selection signals SL1 to SL4, and in this example there is no third sorter, so the sorter switching solenoid (not shown) of the second sorter 2 is driven as is. Therefore, the paper 8 is discharged to the outside of the second sorter 2 and stored in a basket 60 (see FIG. 1) called a sample tray.

The above has described an example in which a storage failure occurs in the bin 27 of the first sorter 1, but if a storage failure occurs in the bin 27 of the second sorter 2, an interface is connected from the terminal 132 shown in FIG. The accommodation failure signal is input to the control circuit 100 via the ace 133, and the control circuit 100
3 drives the sorter switching solenoid 104, so all subsequent sheets 8 are discharged to the sample tray 60 in the same manner as described above.

The above describes the operation for ejecting paper 8 when a storage failure occurs in the bin 27, but if this continues, the operator will not know which bin 27 to return the paper 8 ejected to the sample tray 60. Therefore, the recorded data must be stored in the upper sorters 1 and 2 again. Therefore, in order to eliminate such a wasteful procedure, the number of sheets of recording paper 8 remaining in the sorters 1 and 2 is counted after the accommodation failure occurs.

Now, as long as the paper 8 is being conveyed in the normal state in the sorters 1 and 2, the least significant digit (LSB) of the up-down counter UPCNT in the control circuit 100 indicates that the paper is being ejected as shown in FIG. 6E. A rising pulse from the sensor (see FIG. 6B) causes the counter to count up by 1, and a rising pulse from the detector 24 (see FIG. 6D) causes the counter to count down by 1. However, when a housing failure occurs and the housing failure signal (see H in Figure 6) goes to high level "H", the up-down counter is activated in response to the rising edge of the signal.
The UPCNT is incremented by 1 (see Fig. 6F), so that it does not count down at the detector rising pulse, and the up-down counter UPCNT is incremented by 1 in response to the rising edge of the next discharge sensor rising pulse. The number of recorded sheets discharged from the LBP 3 during the storage failure is counted.

This counting is not performed after the sorter start signal (see FIG. 6K) falls. The sorter start signal is sent to terminal 135A as shown in FIG.
from the control circuit 10 via the interface 136
This is a signal that goes high only when the operator uses the sorter. Here, when the accommodation failure signal is input to the control circuit 100, the control circuit 100 displays a sorter error in the same way as when a conveyance failure occurs, and also displays the paper that has been in the LBP 3 since the occurrence of the accommodation failure after completing ejection. ,
After a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the sorter start signal is also turned down, whereby the drive motors of the sorters 1 and 2 are stopped, and the horizontal conveyance section is also stopped.
Therefore, after the sorter start signal falls,
Since no paper is supplied from LBP3, the up-down counter UPCNT does not count.

At this point, an accommodation failure signal is generated and LBP3
When setting the predetermined time from when the paper is ejected to when the sorter start signal falls, it is necessary to set the predetermined time period from when the paper 8 is ejected to when the sorter start signal falls. Allow enough time for this. Therefore, during this time, all of the paper 8 that has arrived at the horizontal transport section 1A can be discharged onto the sample tray 60.

In this way, the number of defective sheets is counted, and the number of defective sheets is determined in each sorter at the fall of the sorter start signal. Then, in response to the fall of the signal, a sorter status request signal SL6 for the sorter 1 is output to the control circuit 100 via the interface 107, as shown in FIG. The latched bin selection signals SL1 to SL4 and sorter switching signal SL5 are used to check the status of full bins and empty bins in the corresponding bin number of the corresponding sorter, and also to check the status of the entire sorters 1 and 2, that is, the number of jammed sheets, the number of unaccommodated sheets, etc. Here, the number of defective sheets is checked, and these status signals are outputted from the terminal 137 to the LBP 3 via the interface 107. Although the sorter status signal is serially transmitted in FIG. 3, it can also be a parallel signal.

In this way, by obtaining the status of the number of poorly accommodated sheets in the LBP3, the LBP3 can resume recording by that number of sheets, but unless the state of poorly accommodated sheets is canceled on the sorters 1 and 2, The paper 8 conveyed to the sorters 1 and 2 is again improperly accommodated. Therefore, when the LED indicating poor storage is lit, the operator first checks from the paper ejection sensor 12 that all the paper 8 remaining between the sorters 1 and 2 has been ejected to the sample tray 60, and then Then, the vertical conveyance section 1B or 2B is opened, the bin 27 whose accommodation failure indicator LED is lit is checked, and the incorrectly accommodated paper 8 is taken out. Then, as shown in FIG. 6(L), the bottle inlet sensor 32
The glare caused by the incorrectly accommodated paper in A is canceled. Furthermore, the accommodation failure is canceled only when it is detected that the vertical door switch 51 is turned on by closing the door (not shown) of the vertical conveyance section (Fig. 6 N
reference).

When the accommodation failure is cleared in this way, as shown in FIG. It is determined that the defect has been resolved (see FIG. 6H).

In addition, in the explanation of the true full bottle detection procedure, ``If the error flag ERFLG is set, reset the error flag ERFLG after canceling the accommodation failure as described later (indicated by the broken line in Fig. 5). The steps 220 and 221) surrounded by
Reset the accommodation failure signal that was driving the LED,
Furthermore, an output signal is provided to a driver 130 which drives a vertical transport clutch 131. Furthermore, the up-down counter UPCNT is similarly cleared to return to the normal state (see E, F and G in FIG. 6).

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the present invention, and in the above description, the bottle entrance sensor 32A and full bottle detection sensors 41A to 4 are used as means for detecting poor accommodation.
1J was used, but in this example, a reflective sensor was further provided to enable more accurate detection of poor accommodation.

Here, 70A to 70J are light emitting elements, and 70A to 70J are light emitting elements.
1A to 71J are detection sensors including a light emitting element 70A and a sensor 71A, a light emitting element 70B and a sensor 71B...
A reflective sensor is constructed. So now,
For example, if the paper 8 is at position J, the light emitted from the light emitting element 70A is reflected by the paper 8 and enters the detection sensor 71A, thereby detecting the location of the paper 8. In this example, a case will be described in which it is detected whether or not the paper 8 has been accurately guided to the bin 27A. When the paper 8 is now conveyed to the vertical conveyance section 1B, it is detected at a predetermined timing whether the paper 8 has reached the detection position K of the sensor 71A, and then the paper 8 is completely accommodated in the bin 27A. At this timing, the full bin detection sensor 41B detects that the optical path F is not blocked, and at that timing, the paper 8 is moved to the upper bin 27.
It is detected that the detection sensor 71B corresponding to B is not detected. Thereby, it is determined that the paper 8 has been accurately guided to the bin 27A from the position K of the vertical conveyance section 1B. In addition, if a storage error occurs, the vertical transport section is immediately stopped, the horizontal transport section off solenoid 105 is activated, the upper half of the horizontal transport section is flipped open, and the LBP3 is transferred to sorters 1 and 2 after the incorrect storage occurs. It is also possible to collect the paper sent out from the machine.

As explained above, the bin entrance sensor and the bin full sensor detect whether or not the paper has been accurately accommodated in the designated bin, and if an accommodation failure occurs, the subsequent bin accommodation operation is immediately stopped. Therefore, there is no need for the operator to check later on the recording paper of each bin to see if there is a storage defect in each bin. In addition, by displaying a bin with defective accommodation and discharging the defective paper onto a sample tray or the like, the operator can easily recognize the occurrence of defective accommodation, and can easily carry out post-processing operations. Furthermore, by notifying the LBP of the number of sheets of paper that is defective, the procedure for clearing the defective paper will be easier.
Further, by providing the defective storage release detection means, it is possible to accurately return the sorter to a normal state.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the output of the first detection means detects that paper has reached the entrance of a plurality of storage means, and the second detection means detects the full state of a designated storage means. It detects incorrect storage of paper based on the output of can do.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the collating device of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged diagram showing an example of the configuration of the bin switching device and full/empty bottle detection sensor in the vertical conveyance section, and FIG. 3 is the configuration of the control section of the collating device of the present invention. A block diagram showing an example, FIGS. 4A to 4P are waveform diagrams of output signals in each part, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the detection procedure by the collating device of the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 7 is a waveform diagram showing the states of the signals in each part until the accommodation defect is canceled when the accommodation defect occurs in the system. FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged line diagram. 1, 2... Sorter, 1A, 2A... Horizontal conveyance section, 1
B, 2B...Vertical transport unit, 3...LBP, 3A...Discharge port, 4...Photosensitive drum, 5...Laser beam, 6...Developer, 7...Transfer device, 8...Recording paper, 9...Fixing roller, 10...Discharge Paper roller, 11... Arm, 12... Switch (paper discharge sensor), 21A to 21D... Guide plate,
22A to 22D...Horizontal conveyance roller, 23A to 23
D... Presser roller, 24... Position detector, 24A... Light source, 24B... Light receiving element, 25... Switching guide, 2
6...Position, 27A to 27J, 27...Bin, 28A
~28J...Entrance section, 29A-29J...Vertical conveyance section, 30A-30D...Auxiliary roller, 31A-31
D... Vertical guide plate, 32A... Light receiving element, 32B... Light emitting lamp, 33A to 33J... Bin switching guide,
34A to 34I, 34...Switching solenoid, 35
A, 35B... Guide shaft, 40A to 40J... Light emitting element, 41A to 41J... Light receiving element (phototransistor), 42A to 42J... Detection window, 43A to 43I
...Light emitting element, 50...Ejection port, 51...Vertical door switch, 60...Sample tray, 70A to 70J...
Light emitter, 71A to 71J...Detection sensor, 100...
Control circuit, 101...decoder, 102, 103,
106... Driver, 104, 105... Solenoid, 107, 109, 111... Interface,
108... Latch, 110, 113, 115... Pulse synchronizer, 112... Clock generator, 1
14...Gate, 116...Analog switch, 11
7,119...Decoder, 118,120...Driver, 121...Latch, 122A-122J...LED for full bottle indication, 130...Driver, 131...Clutch, 132,135,137,139...Terminal, 133,136...Interface , 138...
ORGATE, 200-230...STEP, E, F
...Optical path, G1, G2, G3... Interval, V1, V2...
Speed, SL1~SL11...Signal, T...Time,
CKFLG, ERFLG...Flag, CKBNO, STBNO
…bin number, FLCNT, UPCNT…counter,
RAM, ROM...recording device, CPU...central processing unit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Conveyance means 1A, 1B for conveying paper; a plurality of storage means 27A to 27J for storing paper conveyed by the conveyance means; and paper from among the plurality of storage means 27A to J. Specifying means 10 for specifying a storage means for storing items such as
0,101,102,34A-J, first detection means 32A for detecting that paper has reached the entrance of the plurality of storage means 27A-J,
B. A light-emitting element and a light-receiving element are provided, and light entering the light-receiving element from the light-emitting element is blocked at a paper detection position corresponding to a state in which a predetermined amount of paper is stored in the storage means; a second detection means 43 for detecting a full state of the specified storage means;
A to J, 41A to J, the output of the first detection means 32A and B and the second
Judgment means 10 for judging whether or not the paper is stored in the storage means designated by the designation means based on the outputs of the detection means 43A-J and 41A-J.
0, warning means 120, 121 for outputting a warning signal based on the output from the determining means 100 if the paper is not stored in the storage means designated by the determining means; the determining means 100; is the first detection means 32
After the arrival of the paper is detected by A and B (step 200), the paper is detected by the second detection means 43A.
~J, 41A~J after a sufficient time T has elapsed to reach the paper detection position (steps 204~2).
07), the second detection means 43A-J, 41A-
When J detects a full state, it is determined that the paper has been properly stored in the storage means designated by the designation means (steps 216, 218, 219);
When the second detection means 43A-J, 41A-J do not detect the full state, it is determined that the paper is not stored in the designated storage means (step 2).
16,217).