JPH0859065A - Image former - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an image former equipped with a staple sorter which is made up of enabling it to select whether the operation of a paper jogging mechanism is executed or not by a user's judgment. CONSTITUTION: In a staple sorter which sorts sheets fo paper being successively discharged out of an image foe, and performs paper jogging and stapling operations, at the completion of the sorting operation, whether paper jogging operations are performed or not is displayed on a display 3, and when this paper jogging operation is executed, a paper jogging operation starting key 6 is operated. On the other hand, when this paper jogging operation is not executed, the stapling operation is started at a time when measurement by a timer 5 operating simultaneously with the completion of the sorting operation has elapsed the specified time. Since execution of the paper jogging operation is selectable, even such a large-sized sheet of paper as jutting out of a paper bundle can be neatly stapled together.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, and sorts and binds sheets of paper, which are mounted in the image forming apparatus and sequentially discharged from the image forming apparatus, into a bundle of sheets. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a staple sorter for finishing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a copying machine, a sorter (sorting mechanism) is installed at a discharge port of a copy sheet in order to sort copy sheets when copying a plurality of pages of a document. Further, there is also provided a staple sorter in which the sorter includes a stapler (binding mechanism) that binds the sorted copy sheets into a bundle of sheets. In order to operate the stapler, it is necessary to align the edges of the sorted sheets, and the sorter is provided with a sheet aligning mechanism. FIG. 4 shows a side view of the staple sorter and FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the staple sorter. The sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus is supplied to the staple sorter 30 from the position of the arrow shown in FIG. The sheets are sequentially distributed from the introduction mechanism 31 onto the sorter bin 32 having a plurality of stages, and the sheets obtained by copying a plurality of pages of a document into a plurality of sheets are sorted. The staple sorter 30 is provided with a binding mechanism 35 so that the sorted sheets can be bound together. As shown in the figure, since the sorter bin 32 is installed so as to be inclined, the sheets sent to the respective stages of the sorter bin 32 fall to the lower side where the binding mechanism 35 is arranged and one side of the sheet is aligned, but the other side is orthogonal. The sides are not evenly aligned, and it is necessary to align them when binding. Therefore,
A sheet aligning mechanism 33 (FIG. 5) is provided to align the positions of the sheets stacked on each stage of the sorter bin 32. Figure 5
As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet aligning mechanism 33 rotates the width-shifting bar 34 in the direction of the arrow in the figure to move the sorter bin 32.
By pressing the paper on the upper side and making it widthwise, the paper is pressed against the alignment surface 36, and the edges of the paper in the width direction are evenly aligned. After the edges of the sheets are aligned, the sheets stacked on the sorter bins 32 can be bound by the binding mechanism 35 to complete a bundle of sheets.

[0003]

In the above configuration, the sheet aligning mechanism is operated when, for example, a sheet of another size, which is a cover sheet, is placed and bound on a plurality of sorted sheets. If the size of the paper placed later is different, wrinkles or misalignment may occur. Therefore, in the conventional apparatus, there is a problem in that the paper alignment mechanism operates in such a case, which causes an adverse effect.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus provided with a staple sorter which allows a user to select whether or not to execute the operation of the sheet aligning mechanism according to his / her judgment.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the means adopted by the present invention are a sorting mechanism for sorting sheets sequentially discharged from an image forming apparatus into a plurality of sorter bins, and a sorting mechanism for sorting the sorter bins. An image forming apparatus comprising: a sheet aligning mechanism for aligning the sorted sheets; a sheet aligning operation start key for instructing the operation of the sheet aligning mechanism; and a binding mechanism for binding the sorted sheets on a sorter bin. When the paper alignment operation start key is operated within a predetermined time after the sorting operation by the sorting mechanism, the paper alignment operation is performed by the paper alignment mechanism and the papers are bound by the binding mechanism, and the predetermined time is reached. If the paper alignment operation start key is not operated in the inside, the paper binding operation is performed without performing the paper alignment operation. It is configured as an image forming apparatus which is characterized in that the stitching of the sheets I.

[0005]

According to the present invention, whether or not to operate the sheet aligning mechanism can be selected by the user. When the user selects to execute paper alignment, the paper alignment operation start key is operated, and the paper sorted by the sorting mechanism operates in the order of paper alignment by the paper alignment mechanism and binding by the binding mechanism. Complete. On the other hand, when the sheet alignment operation is not executed, if the sheet alignment operation start key is not operated, the timer operation starts at the end of the sorting operation by the sorting mechanism, and the sheet sorting mechanism operates after the elapse of a predetermined time. The binding operation is started without any action. It is possible to perform an operation such that a separately prepared sheet is placed on the sorted sheets within this predetermined time. Therefore, in this apparatus, execution of sheet alignment operation can be selected, so that the above-mentioned manual work can be performed before the above predetermined time elapses, and an image forming apparatus having a sorting and binding mechanism can be used. The degree of freedom of can be improved.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings for the understanding of the present invention. The following embodiments are examples embodying the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. Here, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control configuration in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine which is an example of an image forming apparatus, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control procedure, and FIG. 3 is an overall configuration of the copying machine according to the embodiment. It is a side surface block diagram shown. The same elements as those of the conventional configuration are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. The control configuration shown in FIG. 1 is the same as the control unit 1 for controlling each operating mechanism unit of the staple sorter shown in the conventional configuration except for the newly loaded timer 5, and the hardware configuration is the same as that of the staple sorter. 30 is installed on the paper discharge side of the copying machine 10 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the copying machine 10 includes a copying machine main body 11, a paper feeding unit 12, and the staple sorter 30. The copying machine main body 11 forms an image from a document feeding mechanism 13 that automatically conveys a document on a document table, a document scanning unit 16 that optically reads a document placed on the document table, and an optical read signal. An image forming unit 15, a fixing unit 14 for fixing the image transferred on the paper, and a paper reversing unit 17 for enabling copying on both sides of the paper are provided, and the paper supplied from the paper feeding unit 12 is predetermined. It is configured to sequentially discharge the copied sheets conveyed to the staple sorter 30 from the discharge roller 18.

The staple sorter 30 includes a sorter bin 32 having a plurality of stages as shown in FIG.
7 is configured to sequentially move to the position of the introducing mechanism 31 to receive the paper discharged from the introducing mechanism 31 for each page. The paper on the sorter bin 32 is edged by the paper aligning mechanism 33 shown in FIG. After the positions are aligned, the binding mechanism 35 is configured to bind the sheet bundle. The bound paper bundle is ejected by the ejection mechanism 38.
Thus, the paper is discharged from the sorter bin 32 onto the stack tray 39. The control unit 1 uses the staple sorter 30.
In order to control the operation of each mechanism constituting the above, a display signal indicating whether or not to execute the sheet aligning operation is displayed on the display device 3 in accordance with a sorting end detection signal input from the sorting end detector 4 to the CPU 2. At the same time, the timer 5 measures a predetermined time from the end of sorting, and controls the operations of the sheet alignment mechanism 33 and the binding mechanism 35 according to whether the sheet alignment start key is operated within the time limit of the keyer 5. Is configured. The procedure of the control operation of the control unit 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Symbols S1, S2 ... Shown in the figure are step numbers indicating the control procedure, and coincide with the symbols in the text.

When the operation of the sorting mechanism is completed in response to the end of copying by the copying machine (S1) and the sorting of the paper is completed, the end of sorting operation is detected by the sort end detector 4, and a detection signal is input to the CPU 2. It PCU2
Causes the display device 3 to display a display for selecting whether or not to execute the paper alignment operation by signal input (S2).
At the same time, the timer 5 is operated to start measuring a predetermined time (S3). According to the selection display on the display 3, the user operates the paper alignment start key 6 when he / she wants to execute paper alignment, for example, when a large-sized paper or the like which is inconvenient for paper alignment is not placed. When the CPU 2 receives an operation input from the paper alignment start key 6, an operation start signal is transmitted to the paper alignment mechanism 33 to start the paper alignment operation (S
5). When the operation of the sheet alignment mechanism 33 is completed, the CPU 2
Outputs a signal for starting the binding operation to the binding mechanism 35, so that the binding operation is performed (S6), and the sorting and binding operation ends. On the other hand, when the user does not operate the sheet alignment operation start key 6 (S4), for example, when the sheet bundle includes a cover sheet or a drawing having a size larger than the automatically supplied sheet, the operation of the timer 5 is continued, When a time-up signal is input to the CPU 2 after a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) (S7), the CPU 2 causes the binding mechanism 35 to operate.
The operation start signal is output to start the binding operation. In this case, since the sheet alignment operation is not performed, there is no inconvenience such as the occurrence of wrinkles due to the sheet alignment even if there is a large-sized sheet protruding from the sheet bundle. With the above configuration, in the copying machine 10 provided with the staple sorter 30 capable of performing a series of operations of sorting, sheet alignment, and binding, a different size is placed on the sorted sheets during the predetermined waiting time. Manual operation such as placing paper is also possible,
The degree of freedom in using the device can be improved. The timer in the above-described embodiment may be configured by software as well as by an individual circuit to reduce the cost. Also for the sort end detector, the cost can be reduced by using a software configuration such that the sort amount is judged by counting the discharge amount of the sheet in addition to the switch for detecting the sheet discharge.

[0009]

As described above, according to the present invention, the sorting mechanism for sorting the sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus,
In an image forming apparatus equipped with a sheet aligning mechanism for aligning the edges of sheets and a binding mechanism for binding the aligned sheets, it is possible to select whether or not to operate the sheet aligning mechanism according to a user's judgment. When the user chooses to execute sheet alignment, the sheets sorted by the sorter mechanism are completed in the order of sheet alignment by the sheet aligning mechanism and binding by the binding mechanism. On the other hand, when the sheet alignment operation is not executed, if the sheet alignment operation start key is not operated, the timer operation starts at the end of the sorting operation by the sorting mechanism, and the sheet sorting mechanism operates after the elapse of a predetermined time. The binding operation is started without any action. Therefore, it is possible to neatly bind even large-sized paper that is wrinkled when the paper alignment mechanism is operated. Further, it is possible to perform an operation such that a separately prepared sheet is placed on the sorted sheets within this predetermined time. Therefore, in this apparatus, since it is possible to select the execution of the sheet alignment operation, it is possible to perform the above-mentioned manual work within the elapse of the predetermined time, and to use the image forming apparatus having the sorting and binding mechanism. The degree of freedom of can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of a staple sorter according to an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a control unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side configuration diagram showing the configuration of the copying machine according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a configuration example of a staple sorter.

FIG. 5 is a plan configuration diagram showing a configuration example of a staple sorter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control part 2 ... CPU 3 ... Indicator 5 ... Timer 6 ... Paper alignment operation start key 10 ... Copier (image forming apparatus) 30 ... Staple sorter 32 ... Sorter bin 33 ... Paper alignment mechanism 35 ... Staple mechanism

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masayuki Nakayasu 1-2-2 Tamatsukuri Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Mita Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sorting mechanism for sorting the sheets sequentially discharged from the image forming apparatus into a plurality of sorter bins, a sheet aligning mechanism for aligning the sorted sheets on the sorter bin, and an instruction to operate the sheet aligning mechanism. In an image forming apparatus having a sheet alignment operation start key and a binding mechanism for binding sheets sorted on a sorter bin, the sheet alignment operation start key is set within a predetermined time after the sorting operation by the sorting mechanism is completed. When operated,
The sheet aligning operation is performed by the sheet aligning mechanism, the sheets are bound by the binding mechanism, and when the sheet aligning operation start key is not operated within the predetermined time, the binding is performed without performing the sheet aligning operation. An image forming apparatus characterized in that sheets are bound together by an aligning mechanism.