JPH0891689A - Sheet processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To properly conduct post-processing after the loading of sheet materials is completed by guiding the sheet materials collated and sorted by a collating means to a prescribed extraction port with a bundle pushing means, and switching the use or nonuse of the bundle pushing means with a switching means before the image formation. CONSTITUTION: This sheet processing device (sorter) 400 is constituted of a frame 402 and a bin unit 403. The frame 402 is arranged with a pair of carry-in rollers 405 near a carry-in port 404 and a flapper 409 switching the sheets to multiple conveyance paths 406, 407 downstream of them. A stapler 412 is arranged near one roller 411 of a pair of conveyance rollers 408, 411 arranged on the conveyance paths 406, 407. A reference plate (push-up rod) 455 is driven by a push-up motor 460 via a timing belt 461, and it is reciprocated along a guide rod 463 penetrated horizontally from the base end front of a bin B to the tip front, and a sheet bundle is pushed up.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus for collecting and sorting sheet materials discharged from an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sheet processing apparatus of this type has a structure in which sheet materials discharged from an image forming apparatus are gathered and sorted and then guided to an outlet in the same direction as the sheet material transport direction. Therefore, it may be difficult to take out the sheet material if there is not enough space on the side surface of the sheet processing apparatus.

[0003]

Therefore, a structure is considered in which the sheet material is provided in a direction different from the conveying direction, for example, a front side of the apparatus, and the sheet material is automatically guided there. .

However, if the sheet materials are automatically guided to the take-out port in the conveying direction after the stacking is finished, there is a problem that the post-processing designation such as stapling after the stacking may be impossible.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet processing apparatus configured to appropriately perform post-processing after completion of stacking of sheet materials.

[0006]

A sheet processing apparatus provided by the present invention is a sheet processing apparatus having a collating means for collating and sorting sheet materials discharged from an image forming apparatus, wherein the collating means is used. A bundle pressing unit that guides the sorted and sorted sheet materials to a sheet material outlet other than the direction in which the sheet materials are conveyed from the image forming apparatus; and the bundle before the image forming processing by the image forming apparatus. The switching means is provided to switch between enabling and disabling the pressing means.

In the sheet processing apparatus, when the bundle pushing means is switched to be usable by the switching means, use or non-use of the bundle pushing means is selected before the image forming processing by the image forming apparatus. A first selection means can be provided.

In the sheet processing apparatus provided with the first selecting means, when the unused of the bundle pushing means is selected by the first selecting means, the bundle pushing is performed after the image forming processing by the image forming apparatus. It is possible to provide a second selection means for selecting whether the means is used or not.

[0009]

According to the present invention, even after the sheet materials are stacked in the sheet processing apparatus, the subsequent processing can be designated.

[0010]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a copying machine equipped with the sheet processing apparatus of the embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows the overall structure of the copying machine.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, 100 is a main body and 200 is
Is a pedestal, 300 is a circulation type automatic document feeder (R
DF), 400 is a sheet processing apparatus. These detailed configurations will be described in the following sections A to D.

A. Main Body (100) In the main body 100 of FIG. 2, 101 is a platen glass on which an original is placed, 103 is an illumination lamp (exposure lamp) for illuminating the original, and 105, 107, and 109 are scanning mirrors for changing the optical path of the original. (Scanning mirror), 111 is a lens having focusing and zooming functions, and 113 is a fourth reflecting mirror (scanning mirror) that changes the optical path. Reference numeral 115 denotes an optical system motor 117, 119, 12 for driving the optical system.
1 is a sensor, respectively.

Reference numeral 131 is a photosensitive drum, 133 is a main motor for driving the photosensitive drum 131, 135 is a high voltage unit, 137 is a blank exposure unit, 139 is a developing device,
140 is a developing roller, 141 is a transfer charger, 143 is a separation charger, and 145 is a cleaning device.

Reference numeral 151 is an upper cassette, 153 is a lower cassette, 171 is a manual paper feed port, 155 and 157 are paper feed rollers, and 159 is a registration roller. Also, 161
Is a conveyor belt that conveys the recording paper on which an image has been recorded to the fixing side, 163 is a fixing device that fixes the conveyed recording paper by thermocompression bonding, and 167 is a sensor used during double-sided recording.

The surface of the photosensitive drum 131 is composed of a photoconductor and a seamless photoreceptor using the conductor.
Reference numeral 31 is rotatably supported by a shaft and is started to rotate in a direction indicated by an arrow by a main motor 133 which operates in response to pressing of a copy start key described later. Then, the drum 131
When the predetermined rotation control process and the potential control process (pre-process) are completed, the document placed on the platen glass 101 is illuminated by the illumination lamp 103 integrated with the first scanning mirror 105, and the reflected light of the document is reflected. Is the first scanning mirror 10
5, the second scanning mirror 107, the third scanning mirror 109, the lens 111, and the fourth scanning mirror 113, and then the drum 1
Image on 31.

The drum 131 is corona charged by the high voltage unit 135. After that, the image (original image) irradiated by the illumination lamp 103 is slit-exposed, and an electrostatic image is formed on the drum 131 by the known Carlson method.

The electrostatic image on the photosensitive drum 131 is developed by the developing roller 140 of the developing device 139 and visualized as a toner image, and the toner image is transferred onto the transfer paper by the transfer charger 141 as described later. .

That is, the transfer paper in the upper cassette 151 or the lower cassette 153 or the manual paper feed port 171.
The transfer paper set on the paper feed roller 155 or 1
57 and the registration roller 159.
Is sent to the photosensitive drum 131 with accurate timing, and the leading edge of the latent image and the leading edge of the transfer paper are aligned. After that, the transfer sheet passes between the transfer charger 141 and the drum 131, so that the toner image on the drum 131 is transferred onto the transfer sheet. After the completion of the transfer, the transfer paper is separated from the drum 131 by the separation charger 143, guided to the fixing device 163 by the conveyor belt 161, and fixed by pressing and heating, and then discharged by the discharge roller 165 to the main body 1.
Is discharged to the outside of 00.

After the transfer, the drum 131 continues to rotate, and its surface is cleaned by a cleaning device 145 composed of a cleaning roller and an elastic blade.

B. Pedestal (200) The pedestal 200 in FIG. 2 has a deck 201 that can be separated from the main body 100 and can store 2,000 sheets of transfer paper, and an intermediate tray 203 for double-sided copying. Also, the deck 201 that can store 2,000 sheets
The lifter 205 rises according to the amount of transfer paper so that the transfer paper always contacts the paper feed roller 207. Also, 2
Reference numeral 11 is a paper discharge flapper for switching the path between the double-sided recording side or the multiplex recording side and the discharge side path, 213 and 215 are conveyor belt conveyance paths, and 217 is an intermediate tray weight for pressing the transfer paper, and a paper ejection flapper. 211 and transport path 21
The transfer paper that has passed through the sheets 3 and 215 is turned upside down and stored in the double-sided copy intermediate tray 203. Reference numeral 219 denotes a multiple flapper for a double-sided recording and a multiple recording path. The multiple flapper is provided between the transport paths 213 and 215 and rotates upward to guide the transfer sheet to the multiple recording transport path 221. A multiple paper ejection sensor 223 detects the end of the transfer paper passing through the multiple flapper 219. A sheet feeding roller 225 feeds the transfer sheet to the drum 131 side through the path 227. A discharge roller 229 discharges the transfer paper to the outside of the machine.

At the time of double-sided recording (double-sided copying) or multiplex recording (multiplexing copying), first, a paper discharge flapper 211 of the main body 100.
The transfer paper that has been copied by raising the
It is stored in the intermediate tray 203 via the transport paths 213 and 215. At this time, the multiple flapper 219 is lowered during double-sided recording, and the multiple flapper 219 is raised during multiplex recording. The intermediate tray 203 can store, for example, up to 99 copy sheets. The transfer sheet stored in the intermediate tray 203 is pressed by the intermediate tray weight 217.

During the next reverse recording or multiple recording, the transfer sheets stored in the intermediate tray 203 are operated one by one from the bottom with the sheet feeding roller 225 and the weight 217, and the main body is passed through the path 227. It is guided to the registration roller 159 of 100.

FIG. 3 shows an arrangement configuration example of the operation panel provided in the main body 100 described above. The operation panel has a key group 600 and a display group 700 as described later.

C. RDR (recycling automatic document feeder)
(300) As shown in FIG. 4, the RDF 300 is equipped with a stacking tray 310 as a first document tray on which the document stack S is set.

The stacking tray 310 is equipped with a feeding means which constitutes one part of the document feeding means. This feeding means includes a half-moon roller 331 and a separation / conveyance roller 332.
A separation belt 333, a separation motor SPRMTR,
Registration roller 335, full-face belt 336, belt motor BELTMTR, conveyance large roller 337, conveyance motor FEEDMTR, paper discharge roller 340, flapper 341, recycle lever 342, paper discharge stopper 343, paper feed sensor ENTS, inversion sensor TRNS,
The sheet discharge sensor EJTS and the like are used.

The half-moon roller 331, the separation / conveyance roller 332, and the separation belt 333 referred to here are the separation motor SPRM.
By rotating by TR, the documents are separated one by one from the lowermost part of the document stack S on the stacking tray 310.

Registration roller 335 and entire belt 336
Is a document table glass 10 which is rotated by a belt motor BELTMTR and separates a document through sheet paths a and b.
The sheet is conveyed to the exposure position (sheet path c) above 1. Also,
The large conveyance roller 337 is rotated by the conveyance motor FEEDMTR and conveys the document on the platen glass 101 from the sheet path c to the sheet path e. The document conveyed to the sheet path e is returned to the document stack S of the stacking tray 310 by the discharge roller 340.

The recycle lever 342 detects one circulation of the original document. When the original document feeding is started, the recycle lever 342 is placed on the upper part of the original document stack S, and the original documents are sequentially fed.
When the trailing edge of the final document falls out of the recycle lever 342 due to its own weight, one cycle of the document is detected.

In the feeding means 330, when a double-sided original is used,
The original is once guided from the sheet paths a, b to c, then the large conveyance roller 337 is rotated, the flapper 341 is switched to guide the leading edge of the original to the sheet path d, and then the registration roller 335 passes the sheet path b. The original is inverted by being conveyed by the rear entire surface belt 336 onto the original table glass 101 and stopped. That is, the document is reversed on the path of the sheet paths c-d-b.

The originals of the original bundle S are passed through the sheet paths a to b to c to d to the recycle lever 34 one by one.
The number of originals can be counted by transporting the sheet until it is detected that the sheet has made one circulation in step 2.

On the right side of the main body of the RDF 300, the platen 1
The sheet document S after the image reading on 01 is carried out to the side opposite to the carrying-in direction to the platen 101, and the document tray 3
A second document discharge path (sheet path g) for discharging the document stack S on the uppermost part of the document stack S is formed. During the sheet path g, the first transport roller 34 for transporting the sheet document S is used.
3, second conveying rollers 344 are arranged, and further, a second sheet discharging roller 345 is provided downstream of the sheet path g. The sheet bundle S conveyed on the sheet path g is placed on the original tray 310. The document stack S is discharged to the top. A document discharge cover 346 is arranged above the sheet path g. The sheet path g is a second optical sensor that is a transmissive optical sensor for detecting the front end and the rear end of the sheet document S in the sheet discharge path.
A paper discharge sensor LOOPEJTS is arranged.

Next, the swinging operation of the document tray 310 will be described. The motor output shaft of the tray swing motor TRAYMTR is coupled to the tray swing arm shaft 348.
A tray swing roller 347 is coupled to the lower surface of the document tray 310. The tray swinging roller 347 is provided at the tip of the tray swinging arm 349, and the opposite side of the tray swinging arm 349 is fixed to the tray swinging arm shaft 348. The swing arm 349 swings between the solid line and broken line positions in the drawing, and swings the document tray 310 around the swing center between the solid line position and the broken line position in the drawing.

TRAYUPLMTSW is an original tray 31.
0 is an upper limit switch for detecting that 0 has reached the upper position (solid line position), and TRAYDOWNLMTSW is a lower limit switch for detecting that the document tray 310 has reached the lower position (broken line position). TRAYMTR controls rotation by detecting upper and lower limit switches.

D. Sheet Processing Apparatus (400) Next, the sheet processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8. In the figure, a sheet processing apparatus (sorter) 400 comprises a machine body 402 and a bin unit 403, and this machine body 402 is provided with a carry-in roller pair 405 near a carry-in entrance 404. A flapper 409 for switching the sheet conveyance direction to the conveyance path 406 or 407 is disposed downstream of the carry-in roller pair 405. And
One of the transport paths 406 extends in a substantially horizontal direction, and a transport roller pair 408 is disposed downstream thereof, and the other transport path 407 extends in the downward direction and a transport roller pair 411 is disposed downstream thereof. Further, a stapler 412 is arranged near the roller pair 411.

A pair of carry-in rollers 405 and a pair of carry rollers 40
8, 411 are driven by a transport motor 413 (not shown). A non-sort path sensor S401 that detects the passage of a sheet is provided on the transport path 406, and a sort path sensor S402 is provided on the transport path 407. A bin unit 403 having a large number of bins B is arranged on the downstream side of the conveying roller pairs 408 and 411. One end of the bin unit 403 is engaged with a hook of the bin unit 403 and the other end is fixed to the machine body 402. By holding the weight with a spring, the bin unit 403 is supported so that it can move up and down.

Guide rollers 417 and 419 are rotatably supported on the upper and lower portions of the base end side of the bin unit 403, and the guide rollers 417 and 419 are connected to the machine body 4 described above.
02 is provided with a guide groove 420 extending vertically.
It is configured to roll inside and guide the bin unit 403. In addition, the shift motor 4
21 are provided. A lead cam 423 and a sprocket 425 are fixed to a rotary shaft 422 pivotally supported by the machine body 402. A chain 426 is stretched around the sprocket 425 and the output shaft of the shift motor 421, so that the rotation of the motor 421 is prevented by the rotation of the chain 4.
It is adapted to be transmitted to the rotary shaft 422 via 26.

The bin unit 403 is supported by a bottom frame 427 composed of an inclined portion and a vertical portion, a pair of frames 429 vertically provided on the front side and the back side of the front end of the bottom frame 427, and a frame 429. Unit body 431 configured with the cover 430
have. On the front side of this unit main body 431,
A reference plate (push-up bar) 455 that can be brought into contact with and aligned with the sheet S (see FIG. 8) is provided.

At the rear end of the bottom frame 427,
A lower arm 433 which is rotated by the alignment motor 432 is rotatably supported (see FIG. 7). Further cover 43
0 at a position facing the lower arm 433 of the upper arm 43
5 is a shaft 43 rotatably supported by the cover 430.
A shaft 437 is provided at the center of rotation of the upper arm 435 and the center of rotation of the lower arm 433. The tip of the lower arm 433 and the upper arm 43
An aligning rod 439 is installed at the tip of the sheet No. 5, and the aligning rod 439 is configured to be rotated by an aligning motor 432 to align the sheet S on the bin B to the front side. ing.

The alignment motor 432 is a stepping motor, and the position of the alignment rod 439 can be accurately controlled by the number of pulses given to the stepping motor. Also, S40
Reference numeral 3 denotes a matching rod home sensor for detecting the position of the aligning rod 439. The position of the aligning rod 439 can be controlled by the number of pulses given to the aligning rod home sensor and the aligning motor 432.

As shown in FIG. 8, the bin B has engagement plates 440 formed on the front side and the back side of the tip, respectively. The engagement plate 440 engages with a support plate (not shown) provided inside the frame 429, so that the front end side of the bin B is supported. A support shaft 441 is fixed to the front and rear sides of the base end of the bin B, and a roller 442 is rotatably supported on the support shaft 441.

In the bin B, a predetermined distance from the shaft 437 is longer than the rotation distance of the alignment rod 439 and the alignment rod 4 is provided.
A long hole 443 that is sufficiently wider than the width of 39 is provided.

The base end portion Ba of the bin B stands upright with respect to the sheet storage surface Bb. The front end of the bin B is inclined upward by a predetermined angle with respect to the machine body 402, and this inclination causes the sheet S to slide on the sheet storage surface Bb and abut the rear end on the base end portion Ba to align the front-back direction. It has become so.

The bin B is provided with a notch BC at the portion where the stapler 412 enters so that it does not interfere with the stapler 412. The aligning rod 439 is fitted in the long holes 443 of the bins B1, B2 ... And the aligning rod 439 rotates in the long holes 443 so that the sheet S on the bin B is aligned to the front side. It is configured.

The lead cam 423 is connected to the roller 44.
A groove 423a slightly wider than 2 is formed in a spiral shape and engages with the roller 442, and the rotation of the lead cam 423 causes the roller 442 to move up and down along the groove 423a. One rotation of the lead cam 423 is detected by the lead cam sensor S404 provided near the lead cam 423. Also, the bin unit 4
The position of 03 is detected by the bin home position sensor S405. The presence of the sheet S on the sort bin B is
This can be detected by the sort tray paper presence / absence detection sensor (sheet processing position selection means) S407.

In the vicinity of the front side lead cam 423,
An electric stapler 412 for binding the sheets S stored in the bin B is arranged at a position oblique to the sheet S carrying-in direction so as to be able to advance and retreat by the driving means, and normally does not interfere with the vertical movement of the bin B. First, when the bundle of sheets S on the bin B is being bound, the bundle of sheets S is moved to the position b and the bundle of sheets S is bound. After finishing binding,
The electric stapler 412 is returned to the position a by a driving unit (not shown).

The electric stapler 412 performs a stapling operation by rotation of a motor (not shown), and a plurality of bins B ...
When binding the sheets S of S, the bin unit 403 moves to a predetermined bin position after the stapling operation of the sheets S of one bin B, and the sheets S stored in the bin B are moved.
Is designed to be bound.

Note that S406 is a manual stapling key, and if the manual stapling key S406 is pressed after completion of sorting, the stapling operation is performed.
Further, S416 and S417 are manual up / down keys, respectively, and when the manual up / down key is pressed while the copying operation of the main body 100 is waiting, the 1-bin shift up / down operation is performed. Furthermore, S
Reference numeral 418 denotes a manual bundle pushing key. When the manual bundle pushing key S418 is pressed after sorting, a manual bundle pushing process described later is performed.

The reference plate (pushing rod) 455 is the sorter 4
00 through the notch T on the front side of the base end vertically,
The reference plate (push-up rod) 455 has its upper end side surface attached to a part of a bundle push motor 460 installed on the lower surface of the cover 430 and a timing belt 461 stretched by a pulley 462, and transmitted from the bundle push motor 460. By the driving force thus generated, a guide rod 463 that penetrates substantially horizontally from the front side of the base end of the bin B to the front end of the front end of the bin B above the reference plate (push-up rod) 455.
The sheet bundle S can be moved back and forth along the line, and the abutting position is changed when the sheet bundle S is aligned, and the sheet bundle S is pushed up at the time of a collective bundle pushing operation described later. At this time, the reference plate home sensor S414c, the reference plate push-up sensor S414b, and the reference plate retreat sensor S414a for determining the stop position of the reference plate (push-up rod) 455 are located in the bottom frame in the moving range of the reference plate (push-up rod). It is attached inside 427.

FIG. 3 shows a group of keys 600 and a group of displays 7.
00 is shown. These detailed configurations will be described in the following E and F items.

E. Key Group (600) In FIG. 3, an asterisk (*) key 601 is used by the operator (user) to set a binding margin amount or a mode such as a size setting for erasing a document frame.
An all reset key 606 is pressed when returning to the standard mode. Reference numeral 602 denotes a preheat key, which is pressed to bring the machine of the main body 100 into a preheat state and release the preheat state. The key 602 is also pressed when returning from the auto shutoff state to the standard mode. A copy start key (copy start key) 605 is pressed to start copying.

A clear / stop key 604 has the function of a clear key during standby (standby) and a stop key during copy recording. This clear key is pressed to cancel the set number of copies. It is also used when canceling the * (asterisk) mode. The stop key is pressed to interrupt continuous copying. After the copying at the time of pushing is completed, the copying operation is stopped.

Reference numeral 603 is a ten-key pad which is pressed to set the number of copies. It is also used when setting the * (asterisk) mode. A memory key 619 allows the user to register modes that are frequently used.
Here, four types of registration of M1 to M4 can be performed.

Reference numerals 611 and 612 denote copy density keys,
Press to adjust the copy density manually. An AE key 613 is pressed when the copy density is automatically adjusted according to the density of the original, or when the AE (automatic density adjustment) is canceled and the density adjustment is switched to manual. 607 is a cassette selection key, which is the upper cassette 1
51, middle cassette 153, lower paper deck 201
Press to select. When a document is placed on the RDF 300, APS (automatic paper selection) can be selected by the key 607. When APS is selected, a transfer paper cassette having the same size as the original is automatically selected.

Reference numeral 610 denotes a unity size key, which is pressed to make a unity size (original size) copy. An automatic scaling key 616 is pressed to automatically reduce or enlarge the image of the original according to the designated transfer paper size. Zoom keys 617 and 618 are pressed to specify an arbitrary magnification between 64% and 142%. Reference numerals 608 and 609 denote fixed-size variable keys, which are pressed to specify reduction / enlargement of fixed-size.

Reference numeral 626 denotes a double-sided key, which is pressed to make a double-sided copy from a single-sided original, a double-sided copy from a double-sided original, or a single-sided copy from a double-sided original. A binding margin key 625 can create a binding margin of a designated length on the left side of the transfer sheet. A photo key 624 is pressed when copying a photo original. A multiple key 623 is pressed when creating (combining) images from the two originals on the same surface of the transfer paper.
A document frame erasing key 620 is pressed when the user uses the frame erasing of a standard size document, and the size of the document at that time is set by the asterisk key 601. Reference numeral 621 denotes a sheet frame erasing key, which is pressed when erasing a document frame according to the size of the cassette. Reference numeral 622 denotes a page continuous shooting key, which is pressed to copy the left and right pages of the original on different sheets.

Numeral 614 is a paper discharge method (staple, sort,
Group) selection key, if a stapler capable of stapling printed sheets with staples is connected, staple mode or sort mode can be selected or released, and a sorting tray (sorter) is connected Can select or cancel sort mode or group mode.

Reference numeral 615 denotes a paper folding selection key, which allows selection and cancellation of Z-folding in which a recorded sheet of A3 or B4 size is folded into a Z-shaped cross section and half-folding in half. Reference numeral 627 denotes an interrupt key, and when pressed during copying, the copying is interrupted and a new copying (hereinafter referred to as interrupt copying) is enabled. If the button is pressed during interrupt copy mode setting, the interrupt enable state is canceled.

Reference numeral 628 is a reservation key, which enables registration / cancellation of reservation copying. When the reservation key 628 is pressed, a copy mode different from the copy mode already set can be set. Here, the copy mode to be registered is set, and when the setting is completed, the reservation setting key 629 is pressed.
As a result, the set copy mode is stored in the RAM 805.

Numeral 630 denotes a 2-inl mode key, which allows selection and cancellation of the 2-inl mode in which two originals are placed side by side on a platen glass and the images of these two originals are formed on one copy sheet. Reference numeral 632 is a horizontal writing vertical writing original selection key, which can select the placing order of a plurality of originals when the 2 inl mode is designated by the 2 inl mode key, and when omitted, the vertical writing original selection is performed. Numeral 634 is an odd-even input key, which can inform the copying machine of the number of originals by pressing this key when the total number of originals is odd. Reference numeral 636 denotes a cover mode key, which can cancel the setting of a mode in which a cover is added to the discharged sheet when specified. A collective-bundle pressing selection key 640 can be used to select and cancel the collective-bundle pressing mode for automatic take-out processing of the stacked sheets after the sorting processing.

F. Display Group (700) In FIG. 3, reference numeral 701 denotes an LCD (liquid crystal) type message display, which displays information relating to copying. For example, one character consists of 5 × 7 dots, a 40 character sentence message, and a fixed form It is possible to display the copy magnification set with the magnification keys 608 and 609, the equal magnification key 610, and the zoom keys 617 and 618. The display 701 is a semi-transmissive liquid crystal and uses two colors for the backlight. Normally, the green backlight is lit, and the orange backlight is lit when there is an abnormality or the copying is impossible.

Reference numeral 706 denotes a unity-magnification display, which lights up when the unity-magnification is selected. Reference numeral 703 denotes a color developing device display, which lights up when the sepia developing device is set. A copy number display 702 displays the number of copies or a self-diagnosis code. Reference numeral 705 denotes a used cassette indicator, which is an upper cassette 151, a middle cassette 153, and a lower deck 201.
Is displayed. 704 is A
It is an E indicator and lights up when AE (automatic density adjustment) is selected by the AE key 613. Reference numeral 709 denotes a preheat indicator, which is a two-color LED of green and orange, which lights up green when ready (when copying is possible) and lights up orange when waiting (when copying is not possible). 708
Is a double-sided copy display, and is turned on when either double-sided copy from double-sided original or double-sided copy from single-sided original is selected.

When the RDF 300 is used in the standard mode, the number of copies is one, the density AE mode, automatic paper selection, normal magnification, single-sided copy to single-sided copy are set. In the standard mode when the RDF 300 is not used, the number of copies is one, the density manual mode is the same size, and the settings are for single-sided copy to single-sided copy. The difference between when the RDF 300 is used and when it is not used is determined by whether or not a document is set on the RDF 300. A power lamp 710 is turned on when the power switch is turned on. Reference numeral 711 denotes an interrupt indicator which lights up when the interrupt copy mode is set and during interrupt copy. Reference numeral 713 denotes a reservation registration display, which lights up when reservation copying is registered.

G. Main Unit Control Device (800) FIG. 9 shows a circuit configuration example of the control device 800 in the embodiment of FIG. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 801 denotes a central processing unit (CP) that performs arithmetic control for executing the sheet processing of this embodiment.
U), for example, a microcomputer V50 manufactured by NEC (NEC) is used. Reference numeral 803 denotes a read-only memory (ROM) that stores control means (control program) in advance, and the CPU 801 has the ROM.
It controls each constituent device connected via the bus in accordance with the control means stored in. A random access memory (RAM) 805 is a main storage device used as a storage area for input data, a work storage area, and the like.

Reference numeral 807 is a load C such as the main motor 133.
An interface (I / O) that outputs a control signal from the PU 801; an interface 809 that inputs an input signal from the image sensor 121 or the like and sends it to the CPU 801;
Is an interface for controlling input / output of the key group 600 and the display group 700. These interfaces 807, 809, 811 use, for example, an NEC input / output circuit port μPD8255.

Further, a known communication IC (eg, μPD8251) is connected via a bus, and the communication IC
Is further connected to the RDF and the communication IC on the sorter side, and sequentially exchanges control data necessary for mutual control of the copying machine main body, the RDF, and the sorter.

The data transmitted from the main body of the copying machine to the RDF includes a paper feed signal for prompting the feeding of the originals stacked on the RDF, a paper ejection signal for prompting the ejection of the originals on the platen glass 101, and a reserved original. This is a paper feeding / discharging mode that determines the paper feeding / discharging form of the document, and the data transmitted from the copying machine main body to the sorter are the image forming mode, the sorter storing mode, the stored sheet size, the timing signal, and the like.

H. RDF Control Device (900) FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the control device (900) of the circulating automatic document feeder 300. The device includes a central processing unit (CPU) 901, a read only memory (ROM) 902, a random access memory (RAM) 903, an output port 904, and an input port 90.
The ROM 90 is provided with a control device 900 composed of 5 or the like.
2 stores a control program, and RAM 903 stores input data and work data. Further, the output port 904 is connected to various motors such as the above-described separation motor and solenoid driving means, the input port 905 is connected to a paper feed sensor, and the CPU 901 is in the ROM 902.
Each unit connected via a bus is controlled according to the control program stored in. Further, the CPU 901 has a serial interface function, and the CP of the main body of the copying machine.
It performs serial communication with U and exchanges control data with the main body of the copying machine. The data transmitted from the RDF to the main body of the copying machine is a paper feed completion signal or the like indicating the completion of feeding the original onto the platen glass.

I. Sorter Control Device (1000) FIG. 11 shows a control device (10) of the sheet processing apparatus of this embodiment.
00) is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration. The device is
Central processing unit (CPU) 1001, read-only memory (ROM) 1002, random access memory (R
AM) 1003, output port 1004, input port 10
05, etc., the ROM 1002 stores a control program, and the RAM 1003 stores input data and work data. Various motors such as the shift motor 416 described above are connected to the output port 1004, and the non-sort path sensor S4 is connected to the input port 1005.
01 and other sensors and switches are connected to the CPU 10
01 controls each unit connected via the bus according to the control program stored in the ROM 1002. Also, C
The PU 1001 has a serial interface function, performs serial communication with the CPU of the main body of the copying machine and the CPU of the stacker, controls each unit by signals from the main body of the copying machine, and outputs operation signals to the stacker.

Next, the flow of control in the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flow charts of FIGS.

First, the mode processing, which is the overall processing of this embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG. step101
In a, it is determined whether the automatic batch extraction is prohibited, and if prohibited, the disable flag disable_g is set (step 101c), and if allowed, it is reset (step 101b).

If it is permitted, it is judged whether the automatic batch extraction is designated (step 101d).
If specified, the specified flag dof_g
Is set, and if not specified, it is reset (step 101e).

Next, in step 101, it is judged whether or not there is a "sort start signal" indicating that sheet ejection from the copying machine main body is started, and if yes, step 10
Go to 3. When the "sort start signal" is not present in step 101, a manual check is performed in step 125 and the process is returned to step 101.

In step 103 to step 107, the mode determination regarding the storage of the sheet discharged from the copying machine is performed, and the non-sort processing (step 103, st) described later is performed.
ep109), sort processing described later (step 105, step 111), group mode described later group processing (step 107, s)
otherwise, the process proceeds to a stack process (step 115) described later.

After each of the above processes, if the staple mode is set (step 117), a staple process (step 119) described later is performed, and then the dis
If ablef_g is reset and dof_g is set (step121, step122),
Perform the batch bundle processing (step 123) described below, and st
The process is returned to ep101.

Next, the aforementioned manual check process will be described with reference to FIG. step2103 to step2
At 109, the process regarding the pressing of the manual switch is determined, and the process described below is performed. That is, when the manual stapling key is pressed, the manual stapling process (step 2103, step 2111), when the manual stap key is pressed, the manual stapling process (step 2105, step 2113),
When the manual down key is pressed, the manual down process (step 2107, step 211
5) If the manual bundle pushing key is pressed, the manual bundle pushing process (step 2109, step 21)
Proceed to 17), if there is no pressing of each manual key,
When the processes of steps 211 to 2117 are completed, the manual check process is completed.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned non-sort mode will be described with reference to FIG. First, in order to store the sheets in the uppermost bin, the bin unit is lowered to the non-sort home position as initialization of the bin (step 20).
1). Then, the flapper 409 is switched to select the conveyance path 406 as the sheet conveyance path inside the sorter (step 203). The flapper 409 has a drive solenoid (not shown) for switching it, and when it is normally off, it is at a position where the transport path 407 is selected, and when it is on, the transport path 406 is selected. . After step 203, step
At 205, the conveyance motor is turned on, and the pass sensor is checked to be turned on and off (step 207) and the presence or absence of a "sorter start signal" is checked (step 209). st
Only when the path sensor is turned off in ep207 and step209 and the "sorter start signal" is turned off, step
In step 211, the carry motor is stopped in step 211, the flapper is turned off in step 213, and the non-sort processing is ended.

Next, the operation of the sort mode will be described with reference to FIG. First, the presence / absence of a "bin initial signal" for storing sheets from the uppermost bin is checked (step 301). If there is no "bin initial signal", the process proceeds to step 305, and if there is, the process proceeds to step 303. In step 303, the bin unit is lowered to the non-sort home position for bin initialization. Three
In 05, the conveyance motor is turned on, then the path sensor is turned on,
The off-state is checked (step 307). step3
If the pass sensor is not turned on at 07, the process proceeds to step 323, and if it is turned on, at step 309, the aligning rod is retracted because the aligning operation is performed later on the discharged sheet. After that, when it is detected that the pass sensor is off (step 311), the alignment operation to the sheet is performed (st
ep313). Then, in step 315, the matching rods are respectively withdrawn depending on the presence or absence of the shift direction inversion signal (step 3
17), and 1-bin shift (step 319) and inversion processing (step 321) are performed. Here, in the reversing process, a process of reversing the subsequent bin shift direction is performed, and the bin shift operation is not performed. If the "sort start signal" is turned on in step 323, step 307
If the "sorter start signal" is turned off, the carry motor is stopped at step 325, and the sorting process is ended.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned group mode will be described with reference to FIG. First, it is checked whether or not there is a "bin initial signal" for storing sheets from the uppermost bin (step 401). If there is no "bin initial signal", the process proceeds to step 405, and if there is, the process proceeds to step 403. In step 403, the bin unit is lowered to the non-sort home position for bin initialization.
In step 405, the carry motor is turned on, and then the pass sensor is checked for on / off (step 407).
If the pass sensor is not turned on at step 407, step is performed.
When it is turned on in step 421, in step 409, the aligning rod is retracted because the aligning operation is performed later on the discharged sheet. After that, when it is detected that the pass sensor is off (step 411), the alignment operation to the sheet is performed (step 413). Then, in step 415, if there is a bin shift signal, the matching rod is retracted (s
Step 417) and 1-bin shift (step 419) are performed, and if there is no shift, the process proceeds to step 421. And ste
If the "sorter start signal" is turned on in p421, the process is returned to step 407, and if the "sorter start signal" is turned off, the carry motor is stopped in step 423 to end the sort process.

Next, the stapling process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the flow of stapling processing. First, in step 601, the bin position is initialized for a series of stapling processes. The bin position to be initialized is the top or bottom bin among the used bins and the closest position to the current bin position. When the movement is completed, the shift direction is set downward when the position is at the upper side, and the shift direction is set upward when the position is at the lower side. Next, ste
In step 605, it is determined whether the stapler has no staples. If there is no staples, the process proceeds to step 617. If not, the process proceeds to step 607. step6
At 07, the alignment process before stapling is performed on the sheet bundle stacked in the bin. In step 609, the staple motor is turned on to perform stapling, and in step 611, the alignment rod is retracted (step 611). step61
After the needleless alarm is output in step 7, or step
After the aligning rod is retracted in 611, it is determined in step 613 whether or not it is the final sheet bundle. If it is not the final sheet bundle, the bin is shifted by 1 bin and the process proceeds to step 615 in preparation for the next stapling process. In the case of the final bundle, the stapling process is ended.

Next, the manual stapling operation will be described with reference to FIG. Manual stapling is a mode that staples a bundle of paper stored in the bin only after the user takes out the bundle of paper in the bin after performing sorting without stapling, or the paper inserted by the user in the bin. This is a mode for stapling a bundle. The former staples all storage bins by the sorting process, and the latter staples only one bin. First, in step 801, the stapler is moved to the stapling position, and in step 803, the presence or absence of paper is detected by a staple paper sensor,
If paper is present (sensor is on), step 805 is stapled. In addition, when the negative determination is made in step 803 or after stapling in step 805, the stapler is moved to the retracted position (step 807).

The manual up process will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step 2401, it is determined whether or not the current bin is the uppermost bin, and if it is not the uppermost bin, it is shifted up by 1 bin (step 2403).

The manual down process will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step 2501, it is determined whether or not the current bin is the bottom bin, and if it is not the bottom bin, it is shifted down by one bin (step 2503).

The batch pressing process will be described with reference to FIGS. 21, 23, 24, and 25. First, step22
In 01, the sheet size (A4 size in the embodiment) that can be bundle-pressed is determined, and if it is not the sheet size that can be processed, the batch extrusion process is ended.
Proceed to step 2203. In step 2203, the alignment rod is returned to the home position, the position is corrected, and the step is performed.
In 2205, as shown in FIG. 23, the reference plate is moved from the aligned reference wall position (pushing-up position when pushing the bundle) P2 to the bundle push-out position P.
3, and the sheet bundle is moved to L1 by the aligning rod. After that, as shown in FIG. 24, the reference plate is moved from the bundle pushing and retracting position P3 to the bundle pushing and pushing position (alignment reference wall position) P2 with the position of the aligning rod fixed. ste
In p2207, as shown in FIG. 25, the aligning rod is moved to the push-cut position L2 so that the end face of the sheet bundle is pushed out along the guide G toward the front side of the take-out line L3. After that, in step 2209, the aligning rod is returned to the home position, and the collective bundle pushing process ends.

The manual bundle pushing process will be described with reference to FIGS. 22, 23, 24 and 25. Manual bundling process is in sort mode, when batch bundling mode is not specified in group mode, after sort process,
Alternatively, it is a mode in which bundle pressing is performed after group processing. First, in step 2301, a sheet size (A4 size in the embodiment) that can be bundled is determined. If not, go to step 2303. step230
In step 3, the aligning rod is returned to the home position to correct the position, and in step 2305, the reference plate is moved from the aligning reference wall position (pushing-up position when pushing the bundle) P2 to the bundle push-out position P3 as shown in FIG. The sheet bundle is moved to L1 by the aligning rod. After that, as shown in FIG. 24, while the position of the alignment rod is fixed, the reference plate is pushed from the retracted position P3 to the bundle push position when pushing the bundle (alignment rod reference wall position).
Move to P2. In step 2307, as shown in FIG. 25, the alignment rod is moved to the push-cut position L2 so that the end face of the sheet bundle is pushed out along the guide G to the front side of the take-out line L3. After that, step230
At 9, the aligning rod is returned to the home position, and the manual bundle pushing process ends.

[0085]

As described above, according to the present invention,
With the above-described configuration, it is possible to specify post-processing even after stacking sheet materials in the sheet processing apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a copying machine including a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the copying machine of FIG.

3 is a plan view of an operation unit and a display unit of the copying machine of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an automatic document feeder of the copying machine of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment.

9 is a circuit configuration diagram of a control device of the copying machine of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a circuit configuration diagram of a control device of the circulating automatic document feeder of the copying machine of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a circuit configuration diagram of a controller of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a control flow in the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a control flow in the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a control flow in the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a control flow in the embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a control flow in the embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a control flow in the embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the flow of control in the embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a control flow in the embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the flow of control in the embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the flow of control in the embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the flow of control in the embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 main body 200 pedestal 300 recycle automatic document feeder (RDF) 400 sheet processing device (sorter) 402 machine 403 bin unit B bin

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A sheet processing apparatus having a collating means for collating and sorting sheet materials discharged from an image forming apparatus, wherein the sheet material collated and sorted by the collating means is the image forming apparatus. From the sheet material take-out port other than the direction in which the sheet material is conveyed, and before the image forming process by the image forming apparatus,
A sheet processing apparatus comprising switching means for switching between enabling and disabling of the bundle pushing means. 2. A first selecting means for selecting whether the bundle pushing means is used or not before the image forming processing by the image forming apparatus when the bundle pushing means is switched to be usable by the switching means. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. A second selection method for selecting whether to use the bundle pressing means after the image forming process by the image forming apparatus when the unused of the bundle pressing means is selected by the first selecting means. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a selection unit.