JPH0664828A - Sorter device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure thick paper sheets delivered from an image formation device to be stacked in a sorter device. CONSTITUTION:A sorter device 10 is provided with the first carrying passage 5 comprising an inlet feed roller pair 12 for carrying general recording paper sheets, feed rollers 4 laid at the upper section of the device 10 and the first guide plate 4A. Also, the device 10 is provided with the second carrying passage 6 for carrying thick paper sheets 18, comprising inlet feed rollers 12 laid in an approximately horizontal direction from the delivery port 1a of an image formation device 1, and the second guide plate 7. In addition, a selector guide 3 is provided at a position where the first and second carrying passages 5 and 6 are branched. This guide 3 is selectively operated for carrying the general recording paper sheets via the first carrying passage 5, and the thick paper sheets 18 or the like via the second carrying passage 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sorter device connected to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sorter connected to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer has bins arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction, and recorded sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus are binned in each bin. It is designed to be inserted one by one in order and collated.

[0003]

However, in a sorter device having a relatively large number of bins, the recording paper discharge port of the image forming apparatus is located in the substantially central portion of the sorter device, and the discharged recording paper is temporarily removed. After being conveyed upward to the uppermost (or the lowermost) bin, it makes a U-turn in the vertical direction, and is inserted into the lower bin sequentially from the open gate provided corresponding to each bin so that the bins can be gathered. It has become. Therefore, when transporting recording paper such as thick paper, generally, the sorting function is not performed, and only the uppermost bin (or the lowermost bin) is stacked. However, even in that case, the transport load is remarkably increased especially in the U-turn portion and the transport force is increased. Has a drawback that it cannot be reliably conveyed because of a decrease in the temperature.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a sorter device having a path capable of reliably carrying and stacking recording paper such as thick paper without applying a carrying load. To aim.

[0005]

The object of the present invention is to arrange the recording papers in a sorter device for collating the recording papers discharged from the discharge port of the image forming apparatus in a vertically stacked bin. It has a first transport path for transporting in the order of bins, and has a second transport path and a bin which are provided in a substantially horizontal direction with the discharge port, and selectively transports each transport path to transport the recording paper. It is achieved by a sorter device characterized in that

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention is a side sectional view showing the constitution of a second conveying path for conveying thick paper in FIG. 1 and a side sectional view showing the constitution of a sorter device connected to the image forming apparatus of FIG. Explain by and. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus 1
The sorter device 10 connected to the right side of the is arranged with a large number of bins 11 that are vertically stacked.

A guide roller 12a is provided at a position corresponding to the uppermost bin 11 of the apparatus 10 (left side in FIG. 1), and a guide roller 12b is provided at a position substantially horizontal to the discharge port 1a of the image forming apparatus 1. An upper conveyor belt 13 is vertically stretched on each of the guide rollers 12a and 12b.

The lower conveyor belt 14 is vertically stretched between the guide roller 12c and the guide roller 12d provided corresponding to the lowermost bin 11 at a predetermined distance below the upper conveyor belt 13 so as to extend vertically. The conveyor belts 13 and 14 divided into two below are rotated in the same direction at a constant speed in synchronization with each other. A space between the upper conveyor belt 13 and the lower conveyor belt 14 serves as an inlet for conveying the thick paper bin 11A from the second conveyor path 6 described later.

A guide roller 11a corresponding to the bin 11 is provided diagonally above and to the left of each bin 11 arranged from the uppermost stage to the lowermost stage so as to be rotatably slidably in contact with the respective upper and lower conveying belts 13 and 14. Along with each guide roller 11a below each bin 11
A gate 15 corresponding to each bin 11 is provided between and. A transport path 16 for transporting the general recording paper 8 is formed in the vertical direction by the upper and lower transport belts 13 and 14 and the guide rollers 11a and the gate 15 faces.

One end of each gate 15 is rotatably supported by a frame (not shown) of the sorter device 10, and the conveyance path 16 is sequentially closed under the control of the CPU incorporated in the image forming apparatus 1, and the gate 15 is opened. Along with the recording paper 8 is a predetermined bin 11
It is designed to be inserted inside.

On the left side surface of the sorter device 10, a pair of conveying rollers 12 is provided at a position facing the discharge port 1a of the image forming apparatus 1.
And a pair of conveying roller pairs 4 provided above the sorter device 10 and a first guide plate 4A connecting the conveying roller pair 4 and the upper end portion of the upper conveying belt 13 to each other. A first transport path 5 for transporting a general recording paper 8 is formed by 2, the transport roller pair 4, and the first guide plate 4A.

On the right side of the pair of entrance conveying rollers 2, a switching guide 3 is rotatably supported by a frame (not shown) of the sorter device 10 by a support shaft 3a and is located at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. A general recording paper 8 is conveyed upward to the first conveyance path 5.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the switching guide 3 rotates in the clockwise direction shown by the arrow about the support shaft 3a to move the conveying path 5a.
When the cover is closed, the discharge port 1a and the upper transfer belt 13 and the lower transfer belt 14 facing the discharge port 1a and the transfer roller pair 2
The second conveyance path 6 formed by the second guide plate 7 provided in the substantially horizontal direction is opened. The second transport path 6 serves as a transport path for transporting the thick paper 18. The switching guide 3 is provided at a position where the transport path 5 and the transport path 6 branch, and the general recording paper 8 passes through the first transport path 5 opened by the switch guide 3 and the upper end portion of the upper transport belt 13 and the guide. It is conveyed to and from the roller 11a and is inserted into the bin 11 along the opened gate 15 corresponding to the uppermost bin 11.

Next, when the recording paper 8 is conveyed at a predetermined timing, the uppermost gate 15 is rotated to open the conveying path 16, and at the same time, the gate 15 corresponding to the second stage closes the conveying path 16 and Gate 15 opened to open the second bin 11
The recording paper 8 is inserted along the surface. In this way, the general recording paper 8 is sequentially inserted from the uppermost bin 11 into the lower bin 11, and when the lowermost bin 11 is reached, the ordinary recording paper 8 is further inserted from the lowermost bin 11 toward the upper part, and by repeating this process. The designated number of recording sheets 8 are collected.

When a special recording paper such as the thick paper 18 is collated as shown in FIG. 1, a thick paper mode button provided on the display panel (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 1 is pressed to convey the thick paper. When the mode is set, the CPU controls the switching guide 3 shown by the solid line to rotate in the clockwise direction shown by the arrow to close the conveyance path 5 and open the second conveyance path 6. Therefore, the thick paper 18 is the second guide plate 7 of the second transport path 6.
Along the gate 15A opened between the upper end of the lower conveyor belt 14 and the guide roller 11a in the direction of the arrow, and accommodated in the thick paper bin 11A designated for the thick paper 18. To be done. This cardboard bottle 11A is cardboard 18
It is used not only for stacking sheets but also for collating recording sheets 8. The number of thick paper bins is not limited to one, but may be located substantially horizontally with the discharge port 1a if necessary.
It does not matter if you specify the location. Therefore, the gates corresponding to the two bins are sequentially opened and closed to be accommodated in the predetermined bins.

In this way, when the special paper such as the thick paper 18 is conveyed and stacked, it is conveyed and bent in a substantially horizontal direction by the second conveying path 6 provided substantially horizontally with the discharge port 1a of the image forming apparatus 1. Cardboard bins that face each other without
Since the paper is conveyed to the 11a, the cardboard 18 stacks it in the sorter device 10 very smoothly without lowering the conveyance force. The switching guide 3 and the opening / closing operations of the gates 15 and 15A, their timings, and the like are all controlled by a previously stored CPU.

[0018]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION Since the sorter device is provided with the second conveying path for conveying the special recording paper such as the thick paper of the present invention in the substantially horizontal direction, the conveying force does not decrease during the conveyance of the thick paper. It can now be stored smoothly and reliably in a designated cardboard bin.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a second conveyance path for conveying cardboard according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a sorter device connected to an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Entrance conveyance roller pair 3 Switching guide 4 Conveyance roller pair 4A 1st guide plate 5 1st conveyance path 6 2nd conveyance path 7 2nd guide plate 8 Recording paper 10 Sorter device 11 Bin 11A Thick paper bin 13 Upper transport belt 14 Lower transport belt 15 Gate 15A Gate for thick paper 16 Transport path 18 Thick paper

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sorter device for collating recording paper discharged from a discharge port of an image forming apparatus in a vertically stacked bin, wherein the recording paper is conveyed in the order of arranged bins. And a second transport path provided substantially horizontally with the discharge port and a bin, and each transport path is selectively switched to transport the recording paper. Sorter device.