JPH0977351A - Sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) A sheet processing apparatus capable of increasing the amount of sheets that can be stacked on a sheet stacking apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the same. SOLUTION: After the sheet detecting means detects the sheets stacked on the sheet placing portion 116, the control device causes the sheet placing portion 11 until the sheet detecting means stops detecting the sheet.
Sheets are sequentially stacked by lowering 6. Further, after the sheet stacking unit 116 descends to a position where the maximum stacking amount of sheets is stacked, the drive of the moving wall raising device is controlled to raise the moving wall 117 to enable additional sheet stacking. In addition, the control device controls the moving wall 117.
When the stacked sheets are taken out after the stacking operation is continued, the sheet placing unit 116 is raised to the position where the sheet detecting unit detects the sheet, while the sheet placing unit 1
When the sheet cannot be detected even when 16 returns to the sheet stacking start position, the moving wall 117 is lowered.

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 stacking sheets sequentially discharged from an image forming apparatus on a sheet stacking apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is a conventional sheet processing apparatus in which sheets sequentially discharged from an image forming apparatus are stored in a sheet tray and then the sheets are transferred to a sheet stacking apparatus. The sheet stacking device is arranged below the sheet bundle removing device that sequentially takes out the sheet bundles stacked on the sheet tray. It is arranged below by a predetermined distance so that it will not get caught in.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional sheet processing apparatus, when the sheet stacking apparatus is arranged below the sheet bundle take-out apparatus, the sheets are restricted due to the height limitation of the sheet processing apparatus. There is a problem that the maximum stacking amount of sheets that can be stacked on the stacking device cannot be increased.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and provides a sheet processing apparatus capable of increasing the amount of sheets that can be stacked on a sheet stacking apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the same. It is intended to be provided.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, in a sheet processing apparatus in which discharged sheets are stored in a sheet tray and then transferred to a sheet stacking apparatus, the sheet stacking apparatus is moved up and down. Device moving means, a moving wall provided on a side wall of the sheet stacking device so as to be able to rise, and a moving wall raising device for raising the moving wall,
A sheet detection unit that is provided on the moving wall and detects a sheet stacked on the sheet stacking unit of the sheet stacking apparatus;
After the sheet detection unit detects the sheet, the sheets are sequentially stacked by lowering the sheet placement unit until the sheet detection unit no longer detects the sheet, while the sheet placement unit has the maximum loading amount of sheets. A control device for controlling the drive of the sheet stacking device moving means and the moving wall elevating device to raise the moving wall after allowing the sheets to be additionally stacked. It is characterized by that.

Further, according to the present invention, when the stacked sheets are taken out while the stacking operation is continued after the moving wall is raised, the control device raises the sheet placing section until the detecting means detects the sheet. On the other hand, when the sheet cannot be detected even when the sheet placing portion returns to the sheet stacking start position, the moving wall is lowered.

Further, according to the present invention, a stacking amount detection means for detecting the amount of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking portion is provided on a side wall of the sheet stacking device, and the stacking operation is continued after the moving wall is raised. When the stacked sheets are taken out, the control device lowers the moving wall when the stacked amount detecting means cannot detect the sheets.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the stacking amount detecting means is provided at a position capable of detecting that the maximum stacking amount of sheets has been stacked on the sheet placing portion.

The present invention further provides an image forming apparatus comprising an image forming section for forming an image on a sheet, and a sheet processing apparatus for post-processing a sheet image-formed by the image forming section. The sheet processing apparatus is the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

With such a configuration, the control device causes the sheet stacking device to stack the sheets until the sheet sensing device no longer detects the sheet after the sheet sensing device detects the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit. Sheets are sequentially stacked by lowering the unit. In addition, after the sheet stacking unit is lowered to the position where the maximum stacking amount of sheets is stacked, the drive of the sheet stacking device moving means and the moving wall raising device is controlled to raise the moving wall, and additional sheets can be stacked. And so on.

Further, the control device raises the sheet placing portion to a position where the sheet detecting means detects the sheet when the stacked sheets are taken out while the stacking operation is continued after raising the moving wall, If the sheet cannot be detected even when the stacking unit returns to the sheet stacking start position, the moving wall is lowered.

Further, the control device is provided with a stack amount detection means for detecting the amount of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit on the side wall of the sheet stacking device, and after the moving wall is raised, the stacking operation is continued. When the stacked sheets are taken out and the stacking amount detecting means cannot detect the sheets, the moving wall is lowered.

Further, the stacking amount detecting means is provided at a position where it can detect that the maximum stacking amount of sheets has been stacked on the sheet stacking unit, and when the maximum stacking amount of sheets is not stacked on the sheet stacking unit. Try to lower the moving wall.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the internal structure of an electrophotographic copying machine which is an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied. In FIG. 1, 200 is an electrophotographic copying machine. Is a copying machine main body 201 and an automatic document feeder 202 provided on the upper part of the copying machine main body 201.
And a sheet processing apparatus 203 that performs post-processing of the sheet S on which an image is formed in the copying machine main body 201. In addition, the sheet processing apparatus 203 is the folding apparatus 20.
4 and a stapling / stacking device 205.

By the way, in the electrophotographic copying machine 200, the originals 207 placed on the original placing table 206 of the automatic original feeding device 202 are separated in order from the lower side and passed on the platen glass 208 of the copying machine main body 201. The sheet is fed through the platen glass 207 and then read by the optical system 210 of the copying machine body 201.
Then, the sheet is discharged to the uppermost surface on the document table 205 via the path 211.

Further, the sheet S is fed from the deck 212 and image-formed by the image forming unit 213, and the fixing unit 214.
After being fixed by the sheet, the sheet is normally passed through the folding device 204 and the sheet inlet 21 of the staple / stack device 205 is passed.
5 is to be transported. The image forming process of the copying machine 200, which is the main body of the present invention, is well known and will not be described here.

On the other hand, the sheet inlet 215 is provided with a first deflector 3 as shown in FIG. 2, and the sheet S is guided by the first deflector 3 to the upper direction of the first conveying path 1 or The stapling / stacking device 205 selectively advances to the second transport path 2 leading to the lower bin module B ₂ which is a sheet sorting device. In addition, the first deflector 3 is provided in the first transport path 1.
A second deflector 4 that constitutes a switchable transfer means is also provided, and the sheet S is guided by the second deflector 4 to the third transport path 6 or the stapling / stacking device 205 that guides the sheet S to the non-sort tray 5. It selectively travels to the fourth transport path 7 leading to the upper bin module B ₁ which is a sheet sorting device.

In the figure, 8a to 8p are roller pairs arranged in the respective conveying paths 1, 2, 6 and 7, and the sheet S is formed by these roller pairs 8a to 8p in the non-sort tray 5 and the upper bin. It is designed to be transported to module B ₁ and lower bin module B ₂ .

By the way, of these roller pairs 8a to 8p, the two discharge roller pairs 8g and 8f provided at the discharge end of the fourth conveying path 7 have the first variable rotation speed as shown in FIG. First roller pair motor M70 which is a drive motor
The pair of conveying rollers 8d and 8e provided on the upstream side of the pair of discharging rollers 8g and 8f are a second roller pair motor which is a second drive motor whose rotation speed is constant. It is designed to rotate at M71. The two discharge roller pairs 8p and 8o and the transport roller pair 8 provided at the discharge end of the second transport path 2
Similarly, h, 8i, 8j, 8k, 8l, 8m, and 8n are each rotated by a roller pair motor whose rotation speed is variable and a roller pair motor whose rotation speed is constant.

Here, this first roller pair motor M70
Has become possible to rotate the conveying rollers 8d, faster than the second roller pair motor M71 so that a sheet sent from 8e by accelerated can be upper bin module B ₁ F emissions In this way, by increasing the speed of the sheet and discharging it to the upper bin module B _1, it is possible to lengthen the time until the next sheet is conveyed after the sheet is conveyed, and the bin shift can be margined. I can do it with.

On the other hand, a sheet detection sensor S70 for detecting the leading edge of the fed sheet is provided on the upstream side of the discharge roller pair 8g, 8f, and on the upstream side of the other roller pair 8g. The upper bin module B ₁ is provided with a sheet discharge sensor S71 for detecting the trailing edge of the sheet as it is being discharged.

Here, each of these sensors S70, S71
Is connected to a control device 270 shown in FIG. 30, which will be described later. The control device 270 first detects the sheet detection sensor S.
When the signal from 70 is input (when the sensor S70 is turned on), as shown in FIG. 35, the first roller pair motor M7
The number of revolutions of 0 is increased to accelerate the fed sheet and discharge it to the upper bin module B ₁ .

After that, when a signal from the paper discharge sensor S71 is input, the number of rotations of the first roller pair motor M70 is changed so that the sheet can be surely stored in the upper bin module B ₁ . I try to reduce it a little.
Further, after the signal from the sheet discharge sensor S71 is input in this way, the control device 270 is configured to turn on the bin shift motor M1 and perform bin shift, as shown in FIG. After ejecting the sheet in this way, the control device 270 is configured to return the rotation speed of the first roller-pair motor M70 to the normal rotation speed.

On the other hand, the pair of conveying rollers 8d and 8e have a structure shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, a one-way (one-way) clutch CT is provided.
Even if the number of rotations of the roller pair motor M70 increases and the speed of the sheet being fed out increases, the pair of conveying rollers 8d and 8e rotate together, so that the sheet does not slip.

By the way, this one-way clutch CT
Are independently incorporated into the pair of conveying rollers 8d and 8e, whereby the pair of conveying rollers 8d and 8e are independently rotated together. Then, the sheet is conveyed by rotating the pair of conveying rollers 8d and 8e independently in this manner.
After passing through the roller pair 8d on the upstream side of e, the roller pair 8d returns to the normal rotation speed by the second roller pair motor M71.

Here, in this way, the upstream roller pair 8d
By returning to the normal rotation speed, even when the next sheet is sent toward the pair of conveying rollers 8d, the sheet is not pulled and the sheet does not slip. In the second transport path 2, the one-way clutch CT includes at least two transport roller pairs 8h, 8i, 8j, 8k, 8l, 8m, 8n on the discharge roller pair 8p, 8o side. It should be installed in 8m and 8n.

On the other hand, when the sheet is once folded by the folding device 204 and then conveyed to the stapling / stacking device 205, as shown in FIG. 3, the inlet rollers 227 and 228 are used.
Then, it is introduced into the first folding path 233 by the entrance decreter 229. By the way, this folding device 204
Has three modes, a C-folding mode, a Z-folding mode, and a through-pass mode.

The through-pass mode is a mode in which the sheet is allowed to pass without being folded. When this mode is selected, the sheet carried in by the pair of inlet rollers 227 and 228 is conveyed by the inlet deflector 229 to the paper path 230.
And is delivered to the stapling / stacking device 205 by the pair of paper ejection rollers 231 and 232.

Here, the C-folding mode is to fold an LGL folding sheet into two LTRs (vertical size), and when this mode is selected, it is introduced into the first folding path 233. The first sheet is the first folding path 23
The folding deflector 234 provided at the outlet of the third roller heads toward the pair of guide rollers 237 and 238, is wound around the pair of guide rollers 237 and 238, and is then introduced into the second folding path 236.

Next, the sheet S thus introduced into the second folding path 236 moves upward along the second folding path 236, and the leading edge of the sheet S eventually reaches the stopper 243 as shown in FIG. Upon contact, a loop 250 is formed in the central part. Then, when the sheet S is further introduced into the second folding path 236, the loop 250 becomes large and is caught in the nip between the folding rollers 238 and 239, which is a folding unit, and is drawn in the central portion on the downstream side of the sheet S. As shown in FIG. 5, a fold 251A is formed to form a half-folded sheet.

Finally, as for the sheet S folded in two, the sheet S is stapled / stuck device 2
_No. 05 of the upper bin module B ₁ and the lower bin module B ₂ pass through a paper discharge path 240 which is a conveyance path, and a pair of paper discharge rollers 231 and 232 (see FIG. 3) send the staple / stack device 205. It is like this.

On the other hand, in the Z-folding mode, the sheet S is once folded in half, and one of the sheets is folded back to the opposite side. When this mode is selected, the first folding path 233 is performed. The introduced sheet is first sent to the third folding path 242 by the folding deflector 234 facing in the direction opposite to the guide rollers 238 and 237 as shown in FIG. 6, and its tip comes into contact with the stopper 245. There is.

As a result, similar to the two-fold mode, a loop is formed at a portion of about 1/4 from the leading edge of the sheet S, and the loop is formed by the guide roller pair 238, 237.
The crease 25 is inserted in the nip of the
1B is formed into a folded sheet.

Next, the sheet S folded in this way is introduced into the second folding path 236, and when the fold line 251B is abutted against the stopper 244, the sheet S folded in half is brought to the center. A loop is formed in the same manner as described above, and the loop is gripped in the nip between the pair of folding rollers 238 and 239 to form the second fold 2 as shown in FIG.
51C is formed. Finally, the Z-folded sheet S folded back and forth passes through the paper ejection path 240 and is delivered to the stapling / stacking device 205 by the paper ejection roller pairs 231 and 232.

By the way, the discharge path 240 is provided with a pair of pressure rollers 246 and 247 as a pressure means as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, for folding in each folding mode. Before reaching the sheet discharge roller pair 231, 232, the sheet S is re-forced by the pressure roller pair 246, 247.

Then, by applying a folding pressure again to the folds 251A, 251B, 251C which are the folded portions of the sheet S folded in this way, it is possible to prevent the folding from becoming blunt, and thus the folding height can be increased. Can be lowered and the seat S can be moved to the upper bin module B.
₁ and the lower bin module B ₂ can be loaded in a stable state.

It should be noted that this pressure roller pair is used as the paper discharge path 24 of the folding roller pair 238, 239 as shown in FIG. 7, for example.
The pressure roller 246 may be pressed against the 0-side roller 239. However, in this case, when the sheet is folded two or more times, the fold 251C is the second fold in Z folding. Is the output path 240
When the sheet comes into contact with the wall surface 240a of the sheet and lags behind the leading edge 251D of the sheet, the leading edge 251D of the sheet and the fold line 251C may not simultaneously enter the nip of the pressure roller pair 239, 246.

Then, in this way, the leading edge 251D of the sheet
And the fold line 251C simultaneously with the pressure roller pair 239, 24.
When it does not enter the nip of 6, the pressure roller pair 23
First fold line 251 when passing through 9,246
B will have another crease. Therefore, the pressure roller pairs 246 and 247 need to be configured independently of the folding rollers 238 and 239.

If the pressure roller pairs 246 and 247 and the folding rollers 238 and 239 are too close to each other, the leading edge 251D of the sheet and the fold line 251C simultaneously move the pressure roller pairs 239 and 246 even if they are independent. Since the sheet may not pass through, the pressure roller pair 239, 246 needs to be provided at a position separated from the folding rollers 238, 239 by a predetermined distance so that the leading edge 251D of the sheet and the fold line 251C pass through at the same time.

By the way, the stapling / stacking device 20
Two bin modules B ₁ and B ₂ above and below 5 are bins B _{11 to} B _1n (n = 6 in FIGS. 1 and 2) which are a plurality of sheet trays for storing sheets as shown in FIG. Reference rods 14a, 14b, a matching wall 15, and a lifting column 16
a, 16b, 16c.

[0042] Here, the reference rod 14a, 14b in each bin B ₁₁ .about.B _1n (lower bin module B ₂ is B ₂₁
~ B _2n ) for determining a reference line for post-processing such as stapling on the sheet discharged above,
Normally, it is set to be slightly retracted from the position of the end portion when the sheet is discharged.

The aligning wall 15 is provided so as to be movable in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction (the direction of arrow A in the figure), and by moving in this way, it is discharged onto each of the bins B _{11 to} B _1n. The sheets S are aligned one by one or a plurality of sheets and the opposite ends are abutted against the reference rods 14a and 14b to align the sheets S.

A shaft 22 is crimped to the alignment wall 15 as shown in FIG. 9 which is a plan view and FIG. 10 which is a side view of the alignment wall drive section. The shaft 22 has a U-shape. It is stopped by penetrating the support plate 23. On the other hand, a compression spring 24 is installed inside the support plate 23 while being slightly biased in the compression direction. One side of the compression spring 24 abuts on the inner wall of the plate 23 and the other side abuts on a stopper 25 provided on the shaft 22. Has been. And this compression spring 24
The shaft 22 and the matching wall 15 are urged downward in FIG.

The lower end of the support plate 23 is fixed to the moving side of a slide rail 27 composed of two members via a slide plate 26, and the fixed side of the slide rail 27 is in the sliding direction of the alignment wall 15. It is fixed to the slide rail plate 28 that extends in the vertical direction. On the other hand, shafts 29 and 30 are projectingly provided at both ends of the slide rail plate 28, and the pulleys 3 are attached to the shafts 29 and 30, respectively.
1, 32 are attached.

Further, a timing belt 33 is passed between these pulleys 31 and 32, and the slide plate 26
Is fixed to this belt 33. The motor gear 34 of the matching wall drive motor M2 is adapted to mesh with the gear portion 31a of the pulley 31, whereby the driving force of the matching wall drive motor M2 is transmitted via both pulleys 31, 32 and the timing belt 33. The alignment wall 15 is transmitted to the alignment wall 15, and the alignment wall 15 moves in the alignment direction.

The home position of the matching wall 15 is
It is adapted to be detected by the sensor S4. Also,
In FIG. 10, reference numeral 35 denotes a guide member 35 attached to the upper end of the support plate 23.
A rail 36 fixed above the support plate 23
The movement of the support plate 23 is guided by engaging with the recessed portion.

On the other hand, the lifting columns 16a, 16b, 16c
Is one on the front side of the bins B _{11 to} B _1n as shown in FIG.
Two of them are provided upright on the back side, and a spiral lead cam 16A is formed on the outer circumference. Then, the roller portion B protruding from the bins B _{11 to} B _1n into the lead cam 16A
a, Bb, with respectively engaged to Bc, each of these lifting struts 16a, 16b, by rotating in synchronization with 16c, roller portion Ba, Bb, bin B ₁₁ ~ with Bc
B _1n can be moved up and down by a predetermined pitch of the lead cam 16A.

Here, these lifting columns 16a, 16
b and 16c are rotated by the driving force of the bin shift motor M1 synchronously transmitted via the motor pulley 18, the belt 19 and the lead cam pulleys 20a, 20b and 20c shown in FIG. Then, by rotating the bin shift motor M1 in the forward and reverse directions, for example, the lifting columns 16a,
16b, by one rotation 16c, thereby making it possible to lift only one pitch bin B ₁₁ .about.B _1n lead cam 16A.

The bin shift motor M1 is a pulley 1
An encoder 21 is provided on the side opposite to 8, and the sensor S1 detects one rotation. In addition, each bin module B _1, B _2, there are home position detecting sensor (not shown), this detection sensor, the top bin B ₁₁
Are detected at the respective sheet receiving positions.

By the way, FIG. 36 shows the lifting columns 16a,
It is a figure which shows a part of developed view of the lead cam 16A formed in the peripheral surface of 16b, 16c. Here, in FIG.
Numerals 61 to 164 are lead cam portions, of which 162 is a first lead cam portion for holding a bin from which sheets are discharged, and 163 is a second lead cam portion to hold a bin from which a sheet bundle is taken out. In the embodiment of the present invention, the bins from which the sheets are discharged are the second bin B ₁₁ from the top in the upper bin module B _{1 and} the bin 4 from the top in the lower bin module B ₂ as shown in FIG. It is the second bin B ₂₄ .

Then, each of these lead cams 161 to 16
Reference numeral 4 denotes a horizontal portion 16A1 for holding a bottle, and is formed so as to connect between the horizontal portions, and the lifting support column 16 is provided.
It has inclined portions 16A2 and 16A3 for moving each bin up and down toward the horizontal portion 16A1 of the first lead cam portion 162 in accordance with the synchronous rotation of a, 16b and 16c.

Here, the first lead cam portion 162 is
Since it is necessary to maintain a stable state so that the sheet can be stored without being displaced or disturbed, the length L2 of the horizontal portion 16A1 is increased (about 180 ° in the figure).

On the other hand, the bin from which the sheet bundle is taken out is the same as the other bins, but even if the bin is not so stable, it does not affect the taking out of the sheet bundle, so the second lead cam portion 163 and the other lead cam portions are not affected. The lengths L1, L3, and L4 of the horizontal portion 16A1 of 161 and 164 are shortened, and the inclined portions 16A2 and 16A3 are elongated (250 ° or more in the embodiment of the present invention).

Then, in this way, the inclined portions 16A2, 16
By lengthening A3, the inclined portions 16A2, 16A3
The inclination of can be reduced. As a result, the bin can be slowly moved up and down, vibration of the bin can be reduced, and noise can be reduced. Furthermore, since the torque of the bin shift motor M1 can be reduced by slowly moving the bin up and down, the bin shift motor M1 can be a small motor. In the embodiment of the present invention, Lead cam 1
The surfaces of the rollers Ba, Bb, and Bc that move 61 to 164 are covered with an elastic material such as rubber, which can reduce the vibration of the bottle when moving up and down, and can reduce noise. So that it can be reduced. Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the first lead cam portion 162 and the other lead cam portion 16 are provided.
In order to detect the position of each horizontal portion 16A1 at 1, 163 and 164, as shown in the figure, for example, a photo sensor 410 and a photo interrupter 411 that blocks light from the light emitting portion of the photo sensor 410 are arranged. The first detection means 410A and the second detection means 410B are provided.

Here, the photo sensor 410 is attached to the main body of the stapling / stacking device 205, and when light is blocked by the photo interrupter 411, the horizontal portions 16A1 of the lead cams 161 to 164 lock the bins. A signal indicating that the position has been reached is input to the control device 270 shown in FIG. 30, which will be described later.

Then, as described above, the first detection means 410A
And the lead cams 161 to 1 by the second detection means 410B.
By detecting the position of the horizontal portion 16A1 of 64, the control device 270 can easily move the lifting columns 16a, 16b, 16c even if the lifting columns 16a, 16b, 16c are rotated for repair or maintenance. The original bottle can be returned to the lockable state.

On the other hand, in each of the bins B _{11 to} B _1n , as shown in FIG. 12, notches Bd corresponding to the reference rods 14a and 14b,
In addition to the hole Be corresponding to the alignment wall 15, a notch Bf corresponding to the first-out gripper 10 described later, a notch Bg for the bin standing drive mechanism, and a notch Bh necessary for operation are formed.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 13, the bins B _{11 to} B _1n are arranged in parallel with each other at a certain angle with respect to the horizontal, and the bin roller portions Ba, Bb, Bc are arranged in the bin B _11.
It is configured that all of B _1n have the same height in a tilted state. That is, the position of the bin roll Bb near the right side of the bin B ₁₁ .about.B _1n is whereas at the reference plane near the bin B ₁₁ .about.B _1n, position near bin roll Bc to the left of the bin B ₁₁ .about.B _1n Is substantially below the reference plane of the bins B _{11 to} B _1n , and the bin roller Bc is connected to the bin by a V-shaped fixed arm.

As a result, even when the adjacent bins such as B ₁₅ and B ₁₆ approach each other, the interference of the arm portions can be avoided.
Further, since the bin roller portions Ba, Bb, Bc are all at the same height, the height-wise positions of the lifting columns 16a, 16b, 16c can all be set at the same height, and the overall size can be reduced.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 13 which is a side view of the bin and FIG. 14 which is a partial top view thereof, each of the bins B _{11 to} B _1n has a sheet stacking portion Bi and an inclined end of the sheet stacking portion Bi. It is composed of a matching portion Bj rotatably provided in. Here, the aligning portion Bj is rotatably held at a position substantially vertical to the normal sheet stacking portion Bi as shown by the solid line, and in this state, the aligning portion Bj is brought into contact with the rear end of the stacked sheets to align the sheets. Is for doing.

When the sheet bundle is subjected to post-processing or stacking, the stacking sheet is rotated downward as shown by a broken line with the rotating shaft 45b as a fulcrum until it becomes substantially flush with the stacking surface of the sheet stacking section Bi. It is possible to convey the sheet by releasing the contact with the sheet. In addition, the upright spring 3 is attached to the matching portion Bj.
11, the aligning portion Bj is biased and held by the upright spring 311 so as not to fall down due to the weight of the stacked sheets. Further, a stopper portion 310 is projectingly provided at the tip of the aligning portion Bj, and the rear end of the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle stacked on the sheet stacking portion Bi is pressed by the stopper portion 310, and the aligning portion Bj is pressed. You can't get over Bj.

By the way, the rotating shaft 45b of the matching portion Bj.
A driving arm 45 is attached to the matching arm Bj at a predetermined angle, and a pin 45a is erected at the tip of the driving arm 45. On the other hand, on the base 46, the bin standing drive solenoid SL1 is connected to the arm 48 of this solenoid SL1 via the pin 47a, and the solenoid S1 is connected to the solenoid S1.
A link 47 that is rotated from the solid line portion to the two-dot chain line portion by the operation of L1 is supported. Further, a pin contact member 47b that contacts the pin 45 at the tip of the drive arm 45 at the time of rotation is attached to the tip of the link 47.

Then, when the sheet discharge onto the bin B is completed and the sheet bundle in the bin B is post-processed or stacked, the corresponding bin shifts to the position shown in FIG. 13, and then the solenoid SLl is operated, Accordingly, when the link 47 rotates from the solid line portion to the two-dot chain line portion, the pin abutting member 47b abuts the pin 45a of the drive arm 45 and the matching portion Bj rotates to the position of the two-dot chain line in FIG. Come to do.

As a result, the aligning portion Bj becomes substantially flush with the stacking surface, and the sheets can be conveyed. The pin contact member 47b is separated from the pin 45a in the normal state so that it does not hinder the up-and-down movement of the bin B. Further, when the solenoid SLl is turned off, the link 47 returns to the original solid line position by the action of the spring 49, and correspondingly the aligning portion Bj also returns to the position orthogonal to the stacking surface.

By the way, when the aligning portion Bj is rotated downward as described above, if the stopper portion 310 is projected above the stacking surface Bk of the sheet stacking portion Bi, the sheet bundle is pulled by the first-out gripper described later. When the sheet is pulled out from the bin B, the bottom sheet of the sheet bundle is caught by the stopper portion 310.

Therefore, when the sheet bundle is pulled out, the aligning portion B is prevented from catching on the stopper portion 310.
When j is rotated downward, the stopper portion 310 causes the sheet stacking surface Bi of the sheet stacking portion Bi as shown by the broken line in FIG.
It is configured to rotate downward to a position where it does not project above k, so that the sheet bundle can be reliably transferred.

On the other hand, when performing post-processing, the aligning portion Bj guides the sheet bundle to the staple driving portion 11A which is a binding opening for receiving and binding the sheet bundle of the stapler 11 shown in FIG. To play the role of. From this, the aligning portion Bj is provided to the stopper portion 310 so that the leading end of the sheet bundle can be reliably guided to the staple driving portion 11A.
Is rotated downward to a position facing the needle striking portion 11A.

When the post-processing is performed as described above, the aligning portion Bj is rotated to a position where the stopper portion 310 does not project above the stacking surface Bk of the sheet stacking portion Bi and faces the staple striking portion 11A of the stapler 11. By moving the sheet, the leading edge of the sheet bundle can be guided to the staple driving section 11A without being caught by the bottom sheet, and the sheet bundle can be bound with certainty.

On the other hand, the matching section Bj has the same structure as shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 7, a cutout portion 405 is formed. Here, as shown in FIG. 37, the notch 405 is rotatably projected above the sheet stacking portion Bi because the paddle 406 rotatably provided below the discharge passage 400 presses the sheet bundle Sa. Is to enable.

By the way, the paddle 406 includes a paddle solenoid 450, a drive lever 451 for the paddle solenoid 450, and the drive lever 4 as shown in FIG.
A first arm 453, one end of which is connected to 51 via a connecting plate 452, and the other end of the first arm 453 is connected to the other end of the first arm 453 through a connecting pin 454 and the other end of the rotating shaft 45.
The pivoting means 457 is composed of a second arm 456 which is pivotally supported by the armature 5 and has a paddle 406 attached to the center thereof.
It is designed to be rotated by. That is, the paddle solenoid 450 is turned on by the control device described later,
When the drive lever 451 projects in the direction shown by the arrow, the first
The arm 453 is pulled up as shown by the arrow, and the second arm 456 moves in the counterclockwise direction as shown by the arrow with the rotating shaft 455 as a fulcrum, and the paddle 406 also moves in the counterclockwise direction accordingly. It rotates so as to rotate to a position where it projects above the sheet stacking portion Bi shown by the broken line. Then, the paddle 406 can press the sheet bundle by projecting and rotating above the sheet stacking portion Bi in this manner.

On the other hand, after a predetermined period of time elapses after the projecting rotation of the loading section Bi, the paddle solenoid 450 is turned off and the drive lever 451 is pulled in the direction opposite to the arrow. As a result, the first arm 4
As the 53 is lowered in the direction opposite to the arrow, the second arm 456 moves in the clockwise direction, and accordingly, the paddle 406 also rotates in the clockwise direction and, as shown in FIG. Return to the lower position and rotate.

Here, during the return and rotation, the tip portion 406a of the paddle 406 comes into contact with the lower guide member 402 of the discharge passage 400 and bends toward the bin B side. Then, by making the tip portion 406a of the paddle 406 bend to the bin B when returning and turning in this way, the tip portion 406a can be made when the next paddle 406 turns again.
The moment the part leaves the lower guide member 402, the tip 40
6a is bent not to the side of the bin B but to the side opposite to the bin B due to the repulsive force of the bending.

As a result, when the paddle 406 rotates,
Since the paddle 406 does not abruptly hit the upper surface sheet Sa of the sheet bundle S, the sheet bundle S is not disturbed, and it is possible to appropriately carry out subsequent sheet bundle transfer and sheet binding.

By the way, the paddle 406 is adapted to rotate to a predetermined position even after the upper sheet Sa is pressed, but when the paddle 406 is rotated in this manner, the paddle 406 presses the upper sheet Sa. , So that they are urged toward the matching portion Bj side. Here, when the paddle 406 has a straight fin-like shape, the urging force of the paddle 406 increases and the top sheet Sa is pressed against the aligning portion Bj with a strong force, and along the aligning portion Bj. It will turn up.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the tip portion 406a of the paddle 406 is bent toward the bin B side at a predetermined angle so that the top sheet Sa does not turn up. By bending the tip portion 406a in this way, the biasing force of the paddle 406 can be reduced. Here, this predetermined angle is an angle that can exert a biasing force such that the upper surface sheet Sa can be abutted against the alignment portion Bj without flipping up.

By bending the tip portion 406a toward the bin B side in this manner, the paddle 406 is formed.
When it is returned and rotated, it can easily enter the lower part of the discharge passage 400 and can be bent toward the bin B side by contacting the lower guide member 402.

On the other hand, the stapling / stacking device 205
In the space K between the fourth transport path 7 to the upper bin module B ₁ and the second transport path 2 to the lower bin module B ₂ shown in FIG. The grip / stapling unit 9 is provided with a frame 9A, a first-out gripper 10, a stapler 11 and a first-out gripper 1 attached to the frame 9A.
A transport gripper 12 that constitutes a sheet bundle extracting means together with 0
And

Here, as shown in FIG. 15 which is a top view of the grip / staple unit 9 and FIG. 16 which is a front view thereof, the frame body 9A includes a unit front side plate 50, a unit rear side plate 51, and these units. Two upper and lower guide stays 52 and 53 and a side stay 54 passed between the side plates 50 and 51.
It is formed by.

On both sides of the unit rear side plate 51, a total of four lifting rollers 55, two upper and two lower, are crimped.
A guide member 53a for guiding the sheet bundle when the sheet bundle is conveyed is attached to the inner side of the lower guide stay 53.

On the main body side of the stapling / stacking device 205, a pair of rails 56 for vertically holding four elevating rollers 55 are erected, and the pair of rails 56 each have a frame. A rack that meshes with a pinion gear 58 that is rotated by a forward / reverse lifting motor M4 attached to the body 9A is formed.

As a result, the pinion gear 58 meshes with the rack of the rail 56 so that the frame 9A moves up and down when the elevating motor M4 rotates forward and backward. Reference numeral 57 denotes a pinion gear 58 at both ends while penetrating the frame body 9A in the lateral direction.
Is attached to the frame 9A. The shaft 57 rotates the two pinion gears 58 at the same timing by the lifting motor M4 to lift and lower the frame 9A.

On the other hand, the first-out gripper 10 is attached to the frame 9A so as to be movable in the direction of arrow D so as to grip the vicinity of the right end on the front reference side of the sheet bundle S on the bin and pull it out to the stapler 11 side. . The distance l ₄ from the right end of the advance gripper 10 to the leading end of the sheet bundle S
Is set to be longer than the distance l ₅ from the left end of the stapler 11 to the leading end of the sheet bundle S when the drawing is completed.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 12 which is a top view of the drive portion of the advance gripper 10 and FIG. 18 which is a front view thereof, a grooved roller 72 is caulked on the front side surface of the advance gripper 10. , This roller 72 is a frame 9A
Is engaged with an elongated hole 50a formed in the front side plate 50.

Here, the long hole 50a is formed by the stapler 11
18 is formed substantially horizontally on the right side of FIG. 18, while the left side of FIG. 18 near the bin is formed at an angle according to the inclination of the bin. It should be noted that, in FIGS. 17 and 18, 73 is a connecting sheet metal 73 for fixing the tip ends of the shafts of the two rollers 72, and a pin member 74 is attached to the connecting sheet metal 73.

On the front side of the front side plate 50, on the other hand, a forward / reverse feed-out motor M7 is mounted via a mounting member 75, and a swing arm 76 is fixed to the tip of its drive shaft. A long hole 76a is formed at the tip of the swing arm 76, and the tip of the pin member 74 of the connecting sheet metal 73 is engaged with the long hole 76a.

As a result, for example, when the advance motor M7 rotates forward for a predetermined time, the swing arm 76 moves from the two-dot chain line position shown in the figure to the solid line position, and the advance gripper 10 has the elongated hole 50a of the front side plate 50 accordingly. It is designed to move to a horizontal position while grasping the sheet bundle along. Further, after this, when the rotation is reversed for a predetermined time, the swing arm 76 moves from the solid line position to the two-dot chain line position, and accordingly, the first-out gripper 10 separates the sheet bundle at the horizontal position and returns to the inclined position again. It has become.

On the other hand, the transport gripper 12 is the stapler 1
After being selectively stapled at 1, the front end of the bundle is movably attached to the frame 9A so as to be sandwiched by the transport gripper 12 and transported in the direction indicated by the arrow G in FIG.

By the way, the transport gripper 12 is supported by the two shafts 77 and 78 at its lower position as shown in FIG. 19 which is a top view of the drive section and FIG. 20 which is a front sectional view. . Here, one shaft 77 is constituted by a ball screw and is rotatably supported by front and rear side plates 59, 60 (see FIG. 15), and the other shaft 78 is constituted by a normal shaft and front and rear side plates 59. , 60 are fixed.

Guide rollers 79 are provided on the unit front side plate 50 and the unit rear side plate 51 (see FIG. 15) of the frame 9A.
The guide rollers 79 are attached to the rear side plate 51.
It can be moved in the left-right direction along the elongated hole 5la formed in the. Although not shown, a similar elongated hole is also formed in the unit front side plate 50.

On the other hand, a conveyance gripper horizontal movement motor M8 is attached to the rear side plate 51, and the rotation of the motor M8 is transmitted to the penetrating shaft 83 via the motor pulley 80, the belt 81 and the pulley 82. There is. Here, a drive pulley 84 is provided on the front side of the through shaft 83,
One belt is attached to each of the back sides, and a belt 86 is hung between the driven pulleys 85 facing each other. Then, a part of the belt 86 is attached to the rear plate 6 by the regulating member 87.
By being fixed on 0, the drive of the motor M8 is transmitted to the transport gripper 12 and can be moved in the direction of arrow G in FIG. 15 and in the left-right direction shown by the arrow in FIG.

By the way, the transport gripper 12 is shown in FIG.
5 can be moved in the direction of arrow G, but arrow F shown in FIG.
It can be moved in any direction. Further, by making it movable also in the direction of the arrow F, it is possible to grip the approximate center position of the sheet width according to the size of the sheet bundle. As a result, when the sheets are conveyed, the sheets are first moved in the direction of arrow F, then the sheet bundle is conveyed in the direction of arrow G, and the sheet bundle is completely pulled out from the bin and conveyed to the stacker described later. ing.

Here, in order to enable such an operation, as shown in FIG. 19, a transport gripper forward / backward movement motor M9 is attached via a base 88 on the rear side plate 60. The rotation is transmitted to the ball screw shaft 77 via the motor pulley 89, the belt 90, and the pulley 91. When the ball screw shaft 77 rotates in this way, a similar screw is also cut in the portion of the transport gripper 12 that engages with the ball screw shaft 77, so that the transport gripper 12 moves forward and backward. Has become.

The position of the transport gripper 12 is determined by detecting the home position and the rotation amount of the motor M8. That is, for position control in the left-right direction, the home position sensor S7 detects the upper protrusion 87a of the regulating member 87, the sensor S8 that reads the encoder 92 of the motor M8 detects the amount of movement, and stops at a predetermined position. Is configured. In addition, the transport gripper 12
The position control in the front-back direction of the home position sensor S9
Is used to detect the negative part of the transport gripper, the sensor SlO that reads the encoder 93 of the motor M9 to detect the movement amount, and stop the transport gripper 12 at a predetermined position.

By the way, the movement of the transport gripper 12 in the direction of the arrow F is used for the purpose of sorting on the stacker, in addition to the movement corresponding to the size of the sheet as described above. That is, when the bundle is conveyed to the stacker, the conveyance amount in the arrow G direction depends on the sheet bundle size, but by changing the conveyance amount of the sheet bundle in the F direction, sorting of sheet bundles of the same size or different jobs is performed. It is possible to sort between.

The depth dimension l _{6 of the} transport gripper 12
Is set to a size such that the leading edge of the sheet bundle S can be held even when the stapler 11 is operating with respect to the sheet bundle S.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 21, the grip portions 61 of the advance gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12 have two side plates 62, 62 (only one side plate is shown in the figure) and three shafts 63. , 64, 65 are supported, an upper gripper 66 and a lower gripper 67 are arranged on the first shaft 65, and a lower gripper cam 68 fixed on the second shaft 63 and a third gripper 64 are fixed on the third shaft 64. Upper gripper cam 69 installed
By the rotation in the directions of and, the rocking in the directions of the arrow H and the arrow I is repeated (solid line and broken line diagrams).

The first spring member 70 is the lower gripper 67.
Cam portion 67a of the upper gripper 66 is biased to the lower gripper cam 68, and the second spring member 71 biases the cam portion 66a of the upper gripper 66 to the upper gripper cam 69 so that the contact pressure between the upper gripper and the lower gripper becomes substantially constant. Have control over. The gripper cams 69 and 68 are driven by a pinching motor (not shown).

The first-out gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12 have the same basic structure as described above, but the conditions such as the clamping pressure, the width of the gripper, and the maximum opening amount are optimally set according to the respective usage conditions. I don't mind.

For example, in the case of the present embodiment, the first-out gripper holds the width small in terms of space, but clamps only on the reference side. Therefore, the clamping pressure is set high to prevent the bundle misalignment, and the opening amount is set between the bins. Hold down to enter. On the other hand, since the transport gripper can clamp the sheet bundle center, the clamping pressure can be set low. Other,
It can be generally set according to the curl amount of the sheet, the basis weight, the presence or absence of folding, the number of sheets, and the like.

By the way, when the grippers 10 and 12 clamp the sheet bundle, the upper and lower grippers 66 and 67 do not simultaneously swing to clamp the sheet bundle, but rather the conveying gripper 1
2 (same for the first-out gripper 10), first, the lower gripper 67 is rotated upward to support the sheet bundle S, and then the upper gripper 66 is rotated downward as shown in FIG. The bundle S is sandwiched.
The lower gripper 67 supports the sheet bundle S from below as described above, so that the grippers 10 and 12 can reliably sandwich the sheet bundle S.

On the other hand, when the holding of the sheet bundle S is released, as shown in FIG. 40, first, the upper gripper 66 which generates the pressure for holding the sheet bundle S is rotated upward, and then the lower gripper 67. Is rotated downward to stack the sheet bundle S on a stack unit described later.

By thus rotating the upper gripper 66 first, the force due to the pressure of the upper gripper 66 does not act on the sheet bundle S, and the sheet bundle S comes from the grounded side. The sheet bundle S1 that has already been loaded can be dropped and loaded only by the weight of S itself,
The deviation of the sheet bundle S itself at the time of landing can be eliminated.

By the way, the bin in which the first-out gripper 10 holds the sheet bundle is the second bin B ₂₂ from the top in the lower bin module B ₂ (the fourth bin from the top in the upper bin module B ₁ ) as shown in FIG. In the case of the bin B ₁₄ ), if the side edges of the sheet bundle are stacked in a state of being curled upward, the upper surface of the sheet bundle can be pressed even if the upper gripper 66 rotates downward so as to sandwich the sheet bundle. In some cases, it may not be possible to perform the operation shown in FIG.
As shown in, a first curl presser 500, which is a first presser member for pressing the side end portion of the sheet bundle from above, is rotatably provided.

On the other hand, if the end portions of the sheet bundles stacked in the bins (bin B ₂₃ and bin B ₁₅ in FIG. 2) immediately below this bin are curled upward, the sheet bundles are When the lower gripper 67 is rotated upward so as to be pinched, the lower gripper 67 may be caught on this sheet bundle and cannot press the bottom surface of the sheet bundle, so that the lower side of the first curl presser 500 is shown in FIG. As described above, the second curl presser 501, which is the second presser member for pressing the side end portion of the lower sheet bundle from above, is rotatably provided.

In the figure, reference numeral 502 denotes a curl pressing solenoid, and a drive lever 503 of the curl pressing solenoid 502 has a rack 504 formed at two places. On the other hand, each of the first and second curl pressers 500 and 501 is formed with a pinion gear portion 505, so that when a sheet bundle is transferred, a curl press solenoid 502 is actuated by a control device described later to drive the drive lever 503.
When the sheet is pulled up, the first and second curl retainers 500 and 501 are rotated downward to the positions shown by the broken lines with the rotating shafts 500a and 501a as fulcrums, and the side end portions of the sheet bundle are pressed. You can do it.

On the other hand, the stapler 11 can be moved to a front or rear retracted position where it does not overlap with the sheet width or an arbitrary position on the leading end of the sheet bundle as shown by arrow E in FIG.
It is movably attached to the frame 9A so as to be movable in the direction.

The stapler 11 is fixed on a base 94, as shown in FIG. 22 which is a left side view of the stapler driving unit and FIG. 23 which is a top view thereof, and the stapler 11 is fixed to the base 94. A slider 95 is attached to the upper part. Here, the slider 95 is slidably held by two shafts 96 and 97 fixed between the unit front side plate 50 and the unit rear side plate 51 of the frame 9A.

Further, a stapler forward / backward motor Ml0 is attached to the unit rear side plate 51 side through a motor base 98, and the rotation of the motor Ml0 is performed by a motor gear 99,
Motor pulley 100, driven pulley 101 and both pulleys 9
The slider 9 fixed to the belt 102 by the restricting member 103 via the belt 102 passed between 9 and 100.
5, so that the stapler 11 can move in the direction of arrow J in FIG.

The stapler 11 can be stopped at any position between the retracted position 1la on the front side and the retracted position 1lb on the rear side. The position setting of the stapler 11 is performed by the position sensor on the front side. From the detection by Sll or the position sensor S12 at the back, the encoder 104 of the motor M10
Is read by the sensor Sl3.

Then, the grip /
The staple unit 9 moves to the position shown by the broken line in FIGS. 1 and 2 after the bins B _{11 to} B ₁₆ are filled with the sheet bundle, and the first-out gripper 10 moves the sheets on the bins B _{11 to} B _16. The stack of sheets is conveyed to the right in FIGS.
After being selectively stapled at 1, the bundle tip is nipped by the transport gripper 12 and further transported to the right.

By the way, in the case of binding a sheet bundle in this way, normally, after the stapler 11 is stapled, the transport gripper 12 is moved in the direction of the sheet bundle. For example, as shown in FIG. If the stapler is to be bound in one place, the stapler 11
The sheet has moved to a position deviating from the trajectory of the second sheet bundle S, that is, a position where it does not collide with the transport gripper 12.

Here, when the stapler 11 is in the position where it does not collide with the transport gripper 12 as described above, the transport gripper 12 is moved to the position indicated by the broken line in advance toward the sheet bundle S before the binding operation is performed. I will let you do it.

Then, as described above, the transport gripper 12 is previously prepared.
Is moved to a position near the sheet bundle S,
The transport gripper 12 nips the central portion of the sheet bundle S immediately after the binding operation is completed, and also the stack unit 1 described later.
It is possible to reduce the time required for the sheet bundle to be transferred.

Incidentally, during the binding operation, the first, second and third safety sensors S20, S2 are provided as shown in the figure so that the transport gripper 12 and the stapler 11 do not collide with each other.
1, S22 are provided.

Here, the first safety sensor S30 is
When it is located above the first transport gripper safety flag 200, it outputs a signal to the control device 270 described later, and when it deviates from the end of the first transport gripper safety flag 200 on the sheet bundle side, it stops outputting the signal. By doing so, it is detected that the transport gripper 12 deviates from the movement trajectory of the stapler 11. It should be noted that the control device 270 is configured to determine that the transport gripper 12 is out of the movement trajectory of the stapler 11 as long as the signal from the first safety sensor S30 is input.

The second safety sensor S31 outputs a signal to the control device when the second transport gripper safety flag 201 is located above, while it outputs a signal when the second transport gripper safety flag 201 is removed. By stopping the output, when the transport gripper 12 moves to the sheet bundle S side, it is a second detection unit that detects that the gripper 12 is in a position where it does not collide with the stapler 11 that is bound at one front position. In addition, the control device 270, as long as the signal from the second safety sensor S31 is input,
The transport gripper 12 determines that it is in a position where it does not collide with the stapler 11.

Furthermore, the third safety sensor S32 is
When the stapler safety flag 202 is located below, a signal is output to the control device, and when the stapler safety flag 202 is removed, the output of the signal is stopped, so that the stapler 11 is moved to the position where the stapler 11 is bound at one front side. It is the first detection means for detecting that the operation is being performed.
The control device 270 controls the third safety sensor S32.
As long as the signal from the stapler 11 is input, it is determined that the stapler 11 has been moved to the front binding position.

By the way, the control device 270, when binding the front one place, these second and third safety sensors S3.
1, S32 is used to determine whether the stapler 11 has moved to a position where it is bound at one front side, and whether the transport gripper 12 is in a position where it does not hit the stapler 11.

When it is determined that the stapler 11 has moved to the front binding position and the transport gripper 12 is in a position where it does not collide with the stapler 11, the transport gripper 12 performs the binding operation before performing the binding operation. 12 is moved in advance toward the sheet bundle S.

In the above description, the case where the transport gripper 12 is moved in advance at the time of binding at one front side has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the stapler 11 is the last when binding at a plurality of times. A detection unit that detects that the transport gripper 12 has moved to the binding position is provided, and when the detection unit and the second safety sensor S31 determine that the transport gripper 12 is in a position where it does not hit the stapler 11, the binding operation is performed. It is also possible to move the transport gripper 12 toward the sheet bundle S in advance before performing.

By the way, the stapling / stacking device 20
In this way, while the sheet bundle is being taken out from the bin of the upper bin module B ₁ by the grip / staple unit 9 in this way, the sheets are conveyed to the bins B _{21 to} B ₂₆ of the lower bin module B _2. I have to.

After taking out the sheet bundle from the bins B _{11 to} B ₁₆ , the lower bin module B ₂ bins B _{21 to} B
After the conveyance to the sheet ₂₆ , the grip / stapling unit 9 is lowered to the solid line position in FIGS. 1 and _2, and the sheet bundle is taken out from the lower bin module B ₂ at this solid line position. Then, by repeating this operation, copying can be continuously continued until the stack unit described later becomes full.

The bin modules B ₁ and B ₂ include
Through sensor S3 for detecting the sheet on the bin B ₁₁ .about.B ₁₆
There are (see FIG. 2), the bin B ₁₁ ~ This sensor S3
Modules B ₁ and B ₂ are detected by detecting the presence or absence of a sheet on B _16.
The timing for switching is determined.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, in the space K sandwiched between the fourth transport path 7 to the upper bin module B ₁ and the second transport path 2 to the lower bin module B ₂ , the grip / staple unit 9 A stack unit 13 which is a sheet stacking device is vertically movable below the sheet stacking unit, and the stack unit 13 stores the sheet bundle transported by the transport gripper 12. The right end portion of the stapler 11 and the left end portion of the stack unit 13 substantially overlap each other in the left-right direction as shown in FIG. 2 (area of width l _{15 in} FIG. 2).

By the way, the stack unit 13 is
As shown in FIG. 24, which is a top view of the stack unit 13, FIG. 25, which is a front view thereof, and FIG. 26, which is a left side view, a stack frame 1 which is an outer frame of the stack unit 13.
05, a stack tray 116 that is a sheet stacking unit,
The stack frame 105 has a reference wall 117 and a pressing member 118, which are movable walls provided on the side wall of the stack frame 105 so as to be able to rise.

The stack frame 105 is composed of a rear side plate 105a, a left side plate 105b, a right side plate 105c and a bottom plate 105d. Here, the left and right side plates 1
Four lifting rollers 106 are mounted on each of the upper and lower outer surfaces of 05b and 105c, two vertically and two vertically, and are guided by rails 107 fixed to the stapling / stacking device 205 main body. In addition, this rail 1
07 is the grip / staple unit 9 shown in FIG.
The rail 56 may be made of the same material and coexist.

On the other hand, the chain 109 is held by the holding plate 108 at the inner bent portions of the left and right side plates 105b and 105c, respectively, as shown in FIGS.
These left and right chains 109 are passed between upper and lower sprockets 110 and 111, respectively.

A staple / stacking device 205 main body is fixed with a stack frame elevating motor Mll, which is a sheet stacking device moving means and is capable of forward and reverse rotations. The rotation of the motor Mll is downward via gears 113 and 114. It is adapted to be transmitted to the through shaft 112 fixing the sprocket 111. As a result, the motor Ml
When 1 rotates, the lower sprocket 111 rotates, and the stack frame 105 moves up and down accordingly.

The stack frame 105 is normally stopped at two stop positions corresponding to the two stop positions of the grip / staple unit 9 shown in FIG. 2 (the upper broken line portion and the lower solid line portion). In addition, the stacker tray pull-out position and the stacker limit number change position are set in a plurality of places. Also, the stack frame 105
The home position of is the position corresponding to the upper bin module B ₁ , but the encoder 1 of the motor Mll is
By reading 15 with the sensor Sl4, it is possible to stop at the various setting positions.

On the other hand, the stack tray 116 is provided in the stack frame 105 so as to stack the sheet bundle conveyed by the conveying gripper 12. by the way,
When a large number of sheets are stacked, the upper surface of the sheet bundle gradually rises and eventually approaches the gripper / stapling unit 9. When the distance between the upper surface of the sheet bundle and the gripper / stapling unit 9 becomes narrower than a predetermined distance, the sheet bundle cannot be conveyed and stacked properly, and the sheet bundle is locked.

Therefore, in order to prevent such locking of the sheet bundle, after the stacking of the sheet bundle is started, the stack tray 116 is gradually adjusted so that the distance between the upper surface of the sheet bundle and the gripper / stapling unit 9 is always kept constant. I am trying to lower it.

Then, in this way, the stack tray 116
24 is a plan view of the stack tray 116 and FIG. 27 is a front view of the stack tray 116, the U-shaped roller receiving plates 131 are attached to both end surfaces of the stack tray base 129. At the same time, two rollers 132 are crimped on each roller receiving plate 131, while these rollers 132 are fixed to the side plates 105b and 105c of the stack frame 105 by rails 128.
It is supposed to be guided by.

A rack is vertically formed at one end of the rail 128, and the pinion gear 13 attached to both ends of a shaft 133 that laterally penetrates the base 129.
It is designed to mesh with 4. On the other hand, a stack tray lifting motor M13, which is a sheet stacking unit moving device, is attached to the stack tray base 129 via a motor base 135, and the rotation of the motor M13 is performed by the gear 13
It is adapted to be transmitted to the through shaft 133 by 6, 137.

The motor M13 can be rotated by a minute number of revolutions. As a result, when the stack tray elevating motor M13 rotates by a minute number of revolutions, the pinion gear 134 is rotated. Along with this, the stack tray 116 is gradually lowered. An encoder 138 is attached to the other end of the motor M13.
Is attached, and the amount of lowering of the stack tray 116 is controlled by reading with the sensor S15.

By the way, the stack unit 13 (the stack frame 105 in the present embodiment) may be gradually lowered so as to prevent the lock of the sheet bundle, but the stack frame lifting motor Mll causes the stack unit 13 to move to the upper bin module B _1. And the lower bin module B ₂ is a motor suitable for moving a long distance at high speed, and the upper surface of the sheet bundle and the gripper / stapling unit 9
It is not suitable for gradually lowering the stack unit 13 at a low speed so as to always keep the interval between and.

Therefore, as in the present embodiment, the movement between the bin modules B ₁ and B ₂ is achieved by moving the stack unit 13 at high speed by the stack frame lifting motor Mll.
By configuring the stack tray elevating motor M13 to gradually lower the stack tray 116 when stacking sheets, it is possible to perform more accurate sheet height control and improve stackability.

The stack tray 116 is constructed so that it can be pulled out from the stack tray base 129 by the accurride 130.
When No. 3 is not in operation, the stack tray 116 can be pulled out toward the front side to arbitrarily take out the sheet bundle.

On the other hand, the reference wall 117 is for regulating the rear end of the sheet bundle S stacked on the stack tray 116, as shown in FIG. In addition, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
a is rotatably supported so that the rear end of the sheet bundle does not remain on the upper inclined surface 117b of the reference wall 117.

A proximity prevention sensor Sl6 is attached to the upper end of the reference wall 117 as shown in FIG. 25, and detects the distance between the stack unit 13 and the upper gripper / stapling unit 9, When they are close to each other within a certain distance, control is performed to stop the driving in the approaching direction to prevent interference.

Further, a stack height detecting sensor Sl7, which is a sheet detecting means for detecting the upper surface of the stacked sheet bundle, is attached to the side surface of the reference wall 117, and the sheet bundle is sequentially stacked on the stack tray 116. When the upper surface of the sheet bundle exceeds the sensor S17, the sensor 17 outputs a detection signal to the control device (CPU) 270 shown in FIG.

By the way, the reference wall 117 is provided on the side surface of the stack frame 105 so as to be movable upward, as shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 299 denotes an inner box that holds the reference wall 117 so that it can move upward. A plurality of protrusions 299a protruding from the upper end of the inner box 299 are formed at the lower end of the reference wall 117. By engaging the plurality of notches 117b with each other, the reference wall 117 is held by the inner box 299 so as to be movable upward.

Further, on both side ends of the reference wall 117,
As shown in FIG. 24, a lifting roller 119 is provided,
The lifting roller 119 is a staple / stack device 205.
It is guided by rails 120 and 121 fixed to the main body. A rack is formed in the vertical direction at the upper part of one end of the reference wall 117, and the rack is engaged with the pinion gear 122 rotated by the reference wall lifting motor M117 which is a moving wall lifting device. Has become.

Here, this reference wall elevating motor M117
Is controlled by a control device 270 as shown in FIG. 30, and this reference wall lifting motor M1
When the reference wall 117 is driven, the reference wall 117 is guided by the rails 120 and 121 through the lifting roller 119 and is raised by a predetermined height, which is 800 sheets in the embodiment of the present invention. ing.

On the other hand, the control device 270 is configured as shown in FIG. 30, and outputs a switching signal to the first deflector 3 and the second deflector 4 after the sheets are stored in one sorter. And then starts to store the sheet in the other sorter, while the stack frame lifting motor M
11 is driven to vertically move the stack unit 13 toward one sorter, and then the first-out gripper 10 is moved through the first-out motor M7 and the left-right transfer gripper left-right movement motor M8 and the front-back transfer motor M9 are used to move the transfer gripper. 12 is driven to sequentially stack the sheet bundle on the stack tray 116.

Further, when the stack tray 116 is loaded with the sheet bundle, and a detection signal from the stack height detection sensor Sl7 is input, the stack tray lifting motor M13 is driven according to this signal to detect the stack height. Sensor S
The stack tray 116 is lowered until the detection signal from l7 is no longer input, and sheets are sequentially stacked while keeping the distance between the upper surface of the sheet bundle and the stack unit 13 constant.

By the way, the control device 270 is arranged to count the number of clocks required for driving, for example, when driving the stack tray elevating motor M13 in this way. The determined sheet amount (the number of sheets) is determined to be the maximum stacking amount of the stack tray 116, that is, 1200 normal sheets in the embodiment of the present invention.

When it is determined that the sheets thus stacked reach the maximum stacking amount, the control device 270 drives the reference wall lifting motor M117 to raise the reference wall 117. Here, the reference wall 11
When 7 rises, the height of the side wall surface of the stack unit 13 becomes higher, in other words, the depth of the stack unit 13 becomes deeper. Therefore, the maximum stacking amount of sheets that can be stacked on the stack tray 116 should be increased to 2000 normal sheets. Will be able to.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, when the reference wall 117 is raised in this manner, the grip staple unit 9 located above is prevented from colliding with the grip staple unit 9.
First, the stack unit 13 is lowered to a predetermined position, and then the reference wall 117 is raised.

After raising the reference wall 117 in this way, the stack tray 116 is raised until the detection signal from the stack height detecting sensor Sl7 is input. Then, when the detection signal from the stack height detection sensor Sl7 is input, the next sheet stacking is started,
The sheets are stacked until the sheet stacking amount becomes 2000 sheets.

By the way, when the sheets are stacked with the reference wall 117 raised in this way, the sheet take-out door of the stapling / stacking device 205 is opened and the sheets stacked on the stack tray 116 are taken out. There are cases.

When the number of remaining sheets taken out is 1200 or more, it is possible to stack the sheets continuously with the reference wall 117 raised, but when the number of remaining sheets is 800 or less. With the reference wall 117 still elevated, the number of stacked sheets on the stack tray 116 is 8 even if the stack tray 116 is elevated to the upper end of the stack frame 105, which is the sheet stacking start position.
Since the number of sheets is 00 or less, the stack height detection sensor Sl7 cannot detect the paper surface.

Here, in this way, the stack tray 116
When the stack height detection sensor Sl7 cannot detect the sheet surface even if the stack height is increased to the upper end of the stack frame 105, the control device 270 determines that the number of remaining sheets is 800 or less, and after lowering the reference wall 117. The stack tray 116 is raised until the stack height detection sensor Sl7 detects the sheet surface. Then, after the stack tray 116 is raised in this way, the stack tray 116 is sequentially lowered until the maximum load is reached.

If the number of remaining sheets is 800 to 1200, the stack height detection sensor Sl7 can detect the sheet surface even if the reference wall 117 is raised and the stack height detection sensor Sl7 can detect the sheet surface. Can be loaded.

By the way, although the number of sheets to be stacked can be increased by the structure described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the side plates 105b and 105c facing the stack unit 13 are respectively arranged as shown in FIGS. A 1200-sheet detection sensor 123 including the attached light emitting portion 123a and light receiving portion 123b is provided.

Here, the 1200-sheet sensor 123 is
For example, it is for detecting whether 1200 sheets are stacked on the stack tray 116 by emitting light according to a signal from the control means 270 after the sheets are taken out and the sheet take-out door is bound. When the signal from the sensor 123 is input, the control device 270
It is determined that 1200 sheets are stacked on the stack tray 116, and the reference wall 117 is kept raised.

The 1200-sheet detection sensor 123
32, the light emitting portion 123a and the light receiving portion 123b are arranged so that the light from the light emitting portion 123a obliquely traverses the paper surface as shown in FIG. 32, so that the presence or absence of the sheet can be surely detected. I have to.

On the other hand, when the signal from the sensor 123 is not input, the control device 270 determines that 1200 sheets are not stacked on the stack tray 116 and lowers the reference wall 117. .

Then, by configuring in this way,
Even when the number of remaining sheets is 800 or less, the stack tray 116 is once moved up, and after a lapse of a predetermined time, it is determined that the number of remaining sheets is 800 or less and the reference wall 117 is lowered. The reference wall 117 can be lowered in a shorter time as compared with the embodiment,
Sheet loading can be resumed in a short time.

On the other hand, the pressing member 118 is for pressing the sheet bundle S on the stack tray 116 from above as shown in FIG. 33. By pressing the sheet bundle S by the pressing member 118 in this way, Disturbance of the already stacked sheet bundle due to the sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray 116 can be prevented, and the sheet bundle stacked next on the stack tray 116 shifts in the sheet bundle when dropped and stacked. Can be prevented.

By the way, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 43, a deviation preventing member 280 which comes into contact with the rear end of the sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray 116 is provided at the upper end portion of the side surface of the reference wall 117. Cage and this deviation prevention member 2
80 prevents the sheets from being displaced in the direction along the reference wall 117 of the sheet bundle.

Here, the deviation prevention member 280 is formed by densely gathering soft hair-like wire rods, so that when the sheets are stacked on the stack tray 116, the sheet bundle hits the deviation prevention member 280. Also, since the hair-like wire is placed downward, the sheet bundle can be stacked without being obstructed by the prevention member 280.

Further, the hair-like wire has such a length that it can contact the rear end of the sheet bundle even when the rear end of the sheet is located away from the reference wall 117. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent the sheet from slipping. Further, by thus providing the deviation prevention member 280 on the reference wall 117, the deviation prevention member 280 comes to be positioned above the sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray 116, so that the sheet bundle can be pressed. It is possible to improve the loadability. In the figure, reference numeral 280a is a mounting plate for mounting the deviation prevention member 280 on the reference wall 117.

By the way, the stack unit 13 is shown in FIG.
9, tip stopper 290 as shown in FIGS. 31 and 32.
Is provided. Here, this tip stopper 290
Is for aligning the sheet bundle by protruding from the stack tray 116 and contacting the leading end of the sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray 116, and the stopper 29 on the fixed side.
1 and a moving-side stopper 293 that moves up and down via a slide rail 292.

Further, an L-shaped arm 294 is fixed to the upper part of the moving-side stopper 293.
The back side of 94 is fixed to a slider 295 that is movable in the left-right direction indicated by the arrow. In addition, this slider 29
5 is guided by two upper and lower shafts 296a and 296b, and is fixed to a timing belt 297 that is rotated in the forward and reverse directions by a stopper motor M290 that moves the leading end stopper 290 in the sheet bundle transfer direction.

Further, a roller 298 is rotatably attached to the lower portion of the fixed stopper 291 and is guided by a rail member 300 fixed to the bottom surface of an inner box 299 provided below the reference wall 117. It is like this. The stopper motor M290, the slide rail 292, the shafts 296a and 296b, and the timing belt 297 are fixed to an extending reference wall 117A extending in a direction perpendicular to the rear end of the reference wall 117. Similarly, as the reference wall 117 expands and contracts, the reference wall 117 is similarly moved up and down.

By the way, the protruding amount of the leading end stopper 290 from the stack tray 116 is set to be larger than the maximum thickness of the stacked sheet bundle. By regulating the protrusion amount of the leading end stopper 290 in this way, even if a sheet bundle is stacked on the stack tray 116 without being stapled, the sheets above the sheet bundle do not pass over the leading end stopper 290. You can do it.

The leading end stopper 290 can be moved in the transport direction by a stopper motor M290, whereby the leading end stopper 290 and the leading end stopper 290 are moved in accordance with the size of the sheets stacked. While facing each other, the distance from the reference wall 117 that holds the sheet together with the leading end stopper 290 can be changed according to the size of the sheet.

In FIG. 29, reference numeral 300 is a guide groove formed on the extending reference wall 117A, and 301 is a guide groove formed on the sheet stacking surface of the stack tray 116. The grooves 300 and 301 allow the leading edge stopper 290 to move to an appropriate position where it abuts on the leading edge of the stacked sheet bundle.

Next, the staple /
The operation of the stack device 205 in the sort mode will be described.

First, the grip / staple unit 9
Moves to a position (position indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2) corresponding to the sheet bundle removal of the upper bin module B _{1 and} stands by. At this time, the first-out gripper 10 stands by at the position shown in FIG. 15 with the grip portion 61 (see FIG. 21) opened so as not to obstruct the sheet on the bin when the bin in the bin module is moved up and down. ing. In the sort mode, the stapler 11 is not operated, so the stapler 1
1 moves to the front retracted position 11a indicated by the broken line in FIG.

On the other hand, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 15, the transport gripper 12 can grip the approximate center of the conveyed sheet bundle S in the arrow F direction, and is advanced by the advance gripper 10 in the arrow G direction. The gripping portion 61 is released at the position 12a where the front end of the sheet bundle S can be gripped, and stands by.

Next, the stack unit 13 moves to the position shown by the broken line in FIG. 2 and can receive the sheet bundle conveyed by the grip / staple unit 9. At this time, as shown in FIG. 25, the stack tray 116 moves to a position where the upper surface can receive the sheet bundle, and the reference wall 117 and the pressing member 118 move to a position corresponding to the stack tray 116.

As described above, when the sheet processing apparatus is in the standby state, the original is fed, the image is formed, and the sheet is conveyed, the first sheet passes the folding apparatus 204 as shown in FIG. And is conveyed from the carry-in port 215 to the upper side by the first deflector 3 and further leftward by the second deflector 4 and discharged onto the bin B ₁₁ by the discharge roller 8g.

Then, the paper discharge sensor S18 puts 1 in the bin B ₁₁ .
When it detects that the second sheet has been discharged, the bin will
The bin B ₁₂ shifts to the upper side of the bin and rises to the storage position. By repeating the above operation, the upper bin module B ₁
When the sheets of the same image are discharged to all the bins, the original is replaced and the image is formed on the second original.

In the bins of the upper bin module B ₁ , the lowermost bin (B _{16 in} FIG. 2) is at the sheet accommodating position, and the second sheet is accommodated in order from the lowermost bin. Repeat the above operation for all originals,
The operation of storing the sheets in the bin is completed. The sheets stacked on the bin are the reference rods 14a and 14b shown in FIG.
On the other hand, the alignment wall 15 is aligned by operating in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance.

When the sorting and alignment are completed in this way, first, the first-out gripper 10 moves from the solid line position to the broken line position with the gripper portion 61 open in FIG. 16, and then holds the sheet bundle S.

Next, as shown in FIG. 13, the bin standing portion Bj
However, the sheet bundle can be conveyed by being opened by the solenoid SLl. At this time, the sheet bundle has both sides by the reference rods 14a and 14b (see FIG. 12) on the front side, the alignment rod 15 (see FIG. 12) and the guide member 53a (see FIG. 15) on the back side. It is regulated and is guided by the bin surface, the tilted bin standing portion Bj and the guide stay 53 in the downward direction, and the guide stay 52 in the upward direction, so that it can be conveyed to the conveyance gripper 12 side in FIG.

After that, the first-out gripper 10 holding the sheet bundle S moves from the two-dot chain line position shown in FIG. 18 to the solid line position, and then stops at the solid line position shown in FIG. 15, where the first-out gripper 10 and the transport gripper are arranged. The sheet bundle S between the sheets 12 is transferred. That is, the transport gripper 12 that has been waiting at the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 15 first nips the substantially central portion of the sheet bundle, and then the first-out gripper 10 releases the nipping, and then from the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. Move to the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line and prepare for the next conveyance.

On the other hand, the transport gripper 12 is shown in FIG.
The sheet bundle S is conveyed rightward by being driven in the right direction of arrow G, and is stopped at an appropriate position according to the size. In this state, as shown in FIG. 28, the rear end of the sheet bundle S is dropped on the upper surface of the stack tray 116, the left side is regulated by the stacker reference wall 117, and the upper surface of the bundle is driven by a solenoid. The pressing member 118 is pressed.

From this state, the transport gripper 12 is opened and the leading end of the sheet bundle is also dropped onto the stack tray 116. At this time, the pressing member 118 has a function of preventing deviation in the falling bundle.

Next, when the second sheet bundle is conveyed, the conveyance gripper 12 grasps the approximate center of the sheet bundle,
The operation up to the point where the bundle is transferred between the grippers is the same as that of the first bundle, so only the subsequent operation will be described.

After the transfer of the bundle, the transport gripper 12 moves by a predetermined amount in the direction of arrow F in FIG. At this time, the reference rod, the alignment wall, and the guide member 53a may escape so that the trailing edge of the sheet bundle is not regulated. Further, after the trailing edge of the sheet bundle is completely removed from these width regulating members, The transport gripper 12 may be moved in the arrow F direction. By this movement, when stacking the sheet bundle on the stack tray 116, it is possible to identify the sheet bundle from the first sheet bundle.

During the rightward conveyance by the conveyance gripper 12, as shown in FIG. 30, before the rear end of the sheet bundle S ₂ reaches a predetermined position, the central portion of the sheets comes first on the stack tray 116. It dropped on the top of ₁ ,
If the conveyance is continued as it is, the conveyed sheet bundle S ₂ may disturb the alignment of the already stacked sheet bundle S ₁ . On this occasion,
As shown in the figure, the stacking sheet S ₁
By pressing the upper surface of the sheet stack, it is possible to prevent the deviation of the already stacked sheet bundle S ₁ .

By the way, with respect to the sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray 116, the uppermost surface thereof is always the reference wall 1.
It is detected by the stack height detection sensor Sl7 sensor 17 and the control device 270 gradually lowers the stack tray 1116 so that the distance between the upper grip / staple unit 9 and the uppermost stacking surface is always constant. I have to.

Regarding the sheet bundle on the stack tray 116, the sheet bundle can be arbitrarily taken out when the stack unit 13 is not in operation. Therefore, when the operator presses a take-out button (not shown), the stack unit 13 moves to the take-out position, and only the stack take-out cover can be opened and closed. Further, after taking out the sheet bundle, the cover is closed to continue. Processing becomes possible.

Next, the case of the staple sort mode will be described. Note that, here, the conveyance of the sheet and the sheet bundle is the same as that in the case of the sort mode described above, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted and the movement control of the stapler will be described.

First, the case of binding at one front position will be described. In this case, in the non-stapling mode, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 22, the stapler 11 at the retracted position 1la on the front side or the retracted position 11b on the rear side moves to the standby position 11c. As shown in FIG. 15, even when the stapler 11 is at the standby position 11c, the transport grippers 17 can stand by without interfering with each other.

The stapler 11 performs the stapling operation on the sheet bundle conveyed by the first-out gripper 10, and then moves to the retracted position 1la on the front side, and thereafter, the sheet bundle is conveyed rightward by the conveying gripper 12. . When the trailing edge of the sheet bundle comes out of the moving area of the staple 11, the stapler 11 again returns to the standby position 1lc for binding one place.
Go to and wait for the next stack of sheets.

In the case of binding at the back one place, the binding is performed only on the back side of the paper size center.
On the contrary, the stapler reciprocates between the retracted position 11b on the back side and the binding position.

Next, the case of binding at two places will be described.

The two binding positions take various positions depending on the size of the sheet bundle in the width direction, but it is assumed that there is a size in which the two binding positions of the stapler positions 1ld and 1le shown in FIGS. Also in this case, as shown in FIG.
Even if it is in lle, it does not interfere with the position of the transport gripper 12a.

At the time of standby for binding in two places, the stapler 1
1 moves from the retracted position 1la on the front side to two driving positions 1ld on the front side and stands by. At this time, the transport gripper 12 stands by at the position of the solid line 12b. Then, when the sheet bundle is conveyed by the first-out gripper 10, the first-out gripper 10 holds the sheet bundle and the stapler 1
When 1 is 1ld, staple one place on the front side.
Next, the stapler 11 moves to the position of 1 le and staples the two positions on the back side.

The stapler 11 moves from the position 1ld to 1le.
Immediately after moving to the position of
From the standby position of No. 12 to the holding position of 12a. Then, the transport gripper 12 holds the sheet bundle, while the first-out gripper 10 releases the sheet bundle. Stapler
After performing the second stapling operation at the position of 1le, it moves to the retracted position 11b on the back side.

When the trailing end of the first bundle of sheets passes through the stapler moving region, the stapler 11 moves from the retracted position 1lb to the staple position 1le on the inner side and receives the second bundle of sheets. This time, after hitting the back side of the two places first, it moves to the position ld in front. The transport gripper 12
Like the first bundle, hit the first place and staple the second place.
It waits at the position 12b until 1 is moved, then moves to 12a, waits for the retracting operation of the stapler 111 to the near side, and the bundle of sheets is conveyed. As mentioned above, 2
At the time of stapling, the processing time is shortened by alternating the retracted position of the stapler between the front side and the back side.

[0196]

As described above, according to the present invention, additional sheets can be stacked by lowering the sheet stacking unit to a position where the maximum stacking amount of sheets is stacked and then raising the moving wall. Therefore, the amount of sheets that can be stacked on the sheet stacking device can be increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of an electrophotographic copying machine which is an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view of a sheet processing apparatus provided in the electrophotographic copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional front view of a folding device provided in the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a folding operation in the C folding mode of the folding device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which a sheet folded in the C-folding mode is sent to a conveyance path.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a folding operation in a Z folding mode of the folding device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which a sheet folded in the Z-folding mode is sent to a conveyance path.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a bin module provided in the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a matching wall driving unit provided in the bin module.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the matching wall driving unit.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the bottle module.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the bin module.

FIG. 13 is a side view of the bin standing portion drive unit.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the bin standing portion drive unit.

FIG. 15 shows a grip / provided on the sheet processing apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the staple unit.

FIG. 16 is a side view of the grip / staple unit.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a first-out gripper driving unit provided in the grip / staple unit.

FIG. 18 is a side view of the first-out gripper driving unit.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of a transport gripper driving unit provided in the grip / staple unit.

FIG. 20 is a side view of the transport gripper drive unit.

FIG. 21 is a side view of grip portions of the transport gripper driving unit and the first-out gripper driving unit.

FIG. 22 is a left side view of a staple unit driving portion provided in the grip / staple unit.

FIG. 23 is a plan view of the staple unit driving section.

FIG. 24 is a plan view of a stack unit provided in the grip / staple unit.

FIG. 25 is a front view of the stack unit.

FIG. 26 is a left side view of the drive unit of the stack unit.

FIG. 27 is a front view of a stack tray provided in the stack unit.

FIG. 28 is an operation view showing an effect of a stack pressing member provided in the stack unit.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of the stack unit.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control device provided in the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 31 is a side view of the stack tray provided with a tip stopper.

FIG. 32 is a plan view of the stack tray.

FIG. 33 is a view showing a state where the stack pressing member prevents the stack of stacked sheets from being displaced.

FIG. 34 is an enlarged view of a conveyance path provided in the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 35 is a timing chart showing increase / decrease in the number of rotations of the first roller pair motor provided in the transport path.

FIG. 36 is a development view of a spiral cam formed on a peripheral surface of a lifting column of the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing how a paddle provided in the sheet processing apparatus is rotated.

FIG. 38 is a view showing a rotating means for rotating the paddle.

FIG. 39 is a view showing a state where the transport gripper holds a sheet bundle.

FIG. 40 is a view showing a state where the transport gripper separates the sheet bundle.

FIG. 41 is a side view of the advance gripper including the curl pressing member.

FIG. 42 is a diagram showing how the transport gripper moves when performing a binding operation.

FIG. 43 is a front view of the reference wall of the stack unit to which the deviation prevention member is attached.

[Explanation of symbols]

13 stack unit 116 stack tray 117 reference wall 123 1200 sheets detection sensor 203 sheet processing apparatus 270 control unit S17 stack height detection sensor M11 stack frame lifting motor M117 reference wall elevating motor S sheet _{B 11 ~B 1n, B 21 ~B} 2n bottle

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A sheet processing apparatus in which discharged sheets are stored in a sheet tray and then transferred to a sheet stacking apparatus, a sheet stacking apparatus moving means for vertically moving the sheet stacking apparatus, and the sheet stacking apparatus. A moving wall provided on a side wall of the apparatus so as to be able to rise, a moving wall raising apparatus for raising the moving wall, and a sheet provided on the moving wall and detecting a sheet stacked on a sheet stacking unit of the sheet stacking apparatus. Sheet detecting means, and after the sheet detecting means detects a sheet, the sheets are sequentially stacked by lowering the sheet placing part until the sheet detecting means no longer detects the sheet, while the sheet placing part is After descending to the position where the maximum stack amount of sheets is stacked, the sheet stacking device moving means and the transfer device are arranged so as to enable additional stacking of the sheets. Sheet processing apparatus characterized by and a control device for raising the said mobile wall by controlling the driving of the wall rising device. 2. When the stacked sheets are taken out while the stacking operation is continued after the moving wall is raised, the control device raises the sheet placing section until the detecting means detects the sheet, 2. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if the sheet cannot be detected even when the sheet stacking unit returns to the sheet stacking start position, the moving wall is lowered. 3. A side wall of the sheet stacking device is provided with a stacking amount detection means for detecting the amount of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking section, and the stacking operation is continued during the stacking operation after the moving wall is raised. 2. When the sheet is taken out, the control device lowers the moving wall when the stacking amount detection means cannot detect the sheet.
The sheet processing apparatus described. 4. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the stacking amount detecting means is provided at a position capable of detecting that the maximum stacking amount of sheets has been stacked on the sheet stacking portion. . 5. An image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet,
An image forming apparatus comprising: a sheet processing apparatus that performs post-processing of a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming unit, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. Image forming apparatus.