JP2708186B2 - Sheet sorter - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet sorting apparatus attached to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser beam printer, and more particularly, to a sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus. And a sheet sorter (hereinafter, referred to as a sorter) that sorts and stores sheets in a bin.

(B) Conventional technology Conventionally, a fixed bin sorter that sorts and stores sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus into bins is known. In this sorter, the bin farthest from the sorter entrance is known. Since the distance to the sheet is longer than the length of the sheet, various sorters provided with conveying means for conveying the sheet in the middle of the conveying path have been proposed. For example, a belt pair is provided in a conveying path, and a sheet is pinched and conveyed by the belt pair (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-7969), and a sheet is conveyed by suctioning a sheet to a perforated belt by vacuum. 55−3951
No. 6, JP-A-58-58, and JP-A No. 58-118, in which a plurality of pairs of conveying rollers and a flapper provided in each bin are used to convey and classify.
No. 130858).

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention By the way, all of the above-mentioned devices have been increased in size and complexity. As a solution to this drawback, there has been proposed a sorter in which the length from the sorter carry-in port to the discharge means is shorter than the length of the sheet in the feed direction and the bin stores the sheet substantially vertically (Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-43497). In the sorter, the sheets are stored almost vertically in the sorter.
There is a drawback that a sheet having a weak waist is easily buckled, and when a curl sheet is stored, incorrect pages are generated.

Further, there has been proposed a sorter in which a sheet conveyed from a carry-in port is nipped by a pair of paper discharge rollers constituting a carriage, and the roller pair moves to a predetermined bin while nipping the sheet and discharges the sheet to the bin. (See Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-105982), but it takes time for the carriage to return.
We could not handle high-speed machines.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet sorting apparatus having a simple structure and corresponding to a high-speed machine.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,
A large number of bins arranged to accommodate sheets, discharge means arranged movably along the arrangement direction of these bins, and a sheet discharging means for sequentially discharging sheets to each bin; And a discharge path for guiding the sheet to the discharge means, wherein the discharge path has a guide portion having a variable length for guiding the sheet between the sheet carry-in port and the discharge means. A guide portion of the guide member, wherein a length of the guide portion of the guide member is extended along the arranging direction with movement of the discharge unit with respect to the sheet carry-in direction in a separating direction, and the discharge unit with respect to the sheet carry-in port. Is shortened along the arrangement direction with the movement in the approach direction.

In addition, a storage portion is provided for storing a portion of the guide member other than the guide portion.

Further, the discharge path is constituted by the guide portion for guiding one surface of the sheet and an inner surface of the apparatus main body for guiding the other surface of the sheet.

(E) Operation Based on the above-described configuration, when the discharging means is moved along the arrangement direction of the bins in order to discharge the sheet to each bin, the movement of the sheet between the sheet entrance and the discharging means is accompanied by the movement. The length of the guide portion for guiding the conveyance is extended or shortened in the bin arrangement direction. At this time, since the length of the guide portion is changed in the bin arrangement direction in the same manner as the moving direction of the discharging means, the space required for the length change is small. Further, when the sheet is discharged to one bin and the sheet is discharged to the next bin, the discharging unit does not need to return to the vicinity of the sheet carry-in port, unlike the above-described conventional carriage.

(F) Example Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sorter 1 is mounted on a laser beam printer 2, and sorts and stores sheets S discharged from the laser beam printer 2. The laser beam printer 2 has a cassette 5 detachably mounted on the body 3, and the cassette 5 includes a sheet S from the cassette 5.
And a feed roller pair 6 for feeding the toner. A registration roller pair 7 is provided downstream of the roller 6, and an image forming unit 10 for forming an image based on a laser signal from the laser scanner unit 9 is provided downstream of the roller pair 7. ing. Further, a fixing device 11 is provided downstream of the image forming unit 10, and a U-shaped conveyance path 12 is provided downstream of the fixing device 11. A paper discharge roller 13 is provided at the end of the path 12, and a paper discharge tray 15, which constitutes the upper surface of the machine body 3, is provided downstream of the roller 13. Further, the image forming unit 10 includes a cylindrical photosensitive drum 18, and a primary charger 17, a developing device 19, a transfer charger 18, and a cleaner 20 are provided around the drum 16. And the members other than the transfer charger 18 are the cartridge C
Is housed inside. Further, the sorter 1 includes side plates 21 and 22 each having a U-shape in a side view.
An upper stay 23 is provided, and a bottom stay 25 is provided. The side plates 21 and 22 and the stays 23 and 25 are covered with an exterior cover 26, thereby forming an airframe. Further, a part of the bottom stay 25 is cut and raised to form opposed cut and raised portions 25a, 25a, and the shafts 27 are fixed to the cut and raised portions 25a, 25a, respectively. Further, a flapper 29 is rotatably supported by the shafts 27, 27.
30 has been fixed. And the cut-and-raised parts 25a, 25a
, Shafts 31 and 32 are fixed substantially in parallel, a roller 33 is rotatably supported by the shaft 31, and a guide roller 35 is rotatably supported by the shaft 32. A bearing 36 is fixed to the side plates 21 and 22.
The shaft 37 is rotatably supported by 6,36. Further, at one end of the shaft 37, a pulley 39 having a gear formed at the tip is provided, and at the other end, a pulley 40 is provided. A shaft 41 is fixed above the side plates 21 and 22, and a pulley 42 is rotatably supported on the shaft 41. Further, a timing belt 43 is stretched between the pulley 42 and the pulley 39, and a timing belt 43 is stretched between the pulley 42 and the plate 40.
Further, a motor base 45 is provided on the side plate 21, and a motor 46 is fixed to the motor base 45. A gear 47 is fixed to the shaft of the motor 46, and the gear 47 meshes with a gear formed on the pulley 39 via an idle gear 49. Further, the timing belts 43, 4
A paper discharge unit (discharge means) 50 is installed on 3,
The unit 50 has a long hole (not shown) formed in the side plate 21.
The right end 50a is inserted into the elevating guide member 51 slidable along the left side, and the left end 50b is inserted into the elevating guide member 51 slidable along a long hole (not shown) formed in the side plate 22. It is inserted. Further, the unit 50 includes a frame 52, and a part of the frame 52 is cut and raised to form a projection 52a. And, by the frame 52, a paper discharge roller
53 is rotatably supported, and a guide plate 55 having a notch 55a is fixed to the frame 52. Also,
The guide plate 55 is provided with a leaf spring 56,
The rollers 57 and 59 are rotatably supported by 56 and are urged against the paper discharge roller 53 by pressing. Further, a gear 60 is fixed to the shaft of the paper discharge roller 53, and the gear 60 is connected to driving means (not shown). At the left end of the paper discharge unit 50, a sensor 61 for position detection and a light-shielding plate 62 are provided, and the sensor 61 is provided on Member 63 having projection 63a
ON / OFF by. Further, a sensor 65 is provided on the bottom stay 25, and the sensor 65 is turned ON / OFF by the light shielding plate 62. Further, the lower side of the lowermost bin B is covered with a cover (storage portion) 66, and a spring 67 is disposed between the cover 66 and the bin B with one end fixed to the cover 66. .
A sheet-like guide member 69 is stretched between the other end of the spring 67 and the frame 52, and the guide member 69
Constitutes one surface of the paper discharge path A. A door 70 is supported on the exterior cover 26 by a hinge 71 so that the door 70 can be opened and closed. The rib 72 is located in the notch 55a of the guide plate 55.

Since the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, when the operator selects discharge to the paper discharge tray 15 by using an operation unit (not shown), a control unit (not shown) that receives a signal from the operation unit includes a motor. When the sheet discharge unit 50 is lowered by activating the 46 and the light shielding plate 62 turns off the sensor 65, the motor 46 is stopped. As a result, the paper discharge unit 50 is located at the home position (see FIG. 1). At this time, the projection 52a of the frame 52 of the unit 50 contacts the leaf spring 30 to rotate the flapper 29 clockwise, and the flapper 29 is located at a position separated from the sheet S discharged by the discharge roller 13. The guide member 69 is located between the bin B and the cover 66 by being pulled by the spring 67. Then, when an image signal is transmitted from an external device (not shown) to the laser beam printer 2, the control unit forms an image on the image forming unit 10 by the laser scanner unit 9 based on the image signal. Then, the sheet S is fed from the cassette 5 to the registration roller pair 7 by the feed roller 6, and the sheet S is conveyed to the image forming unit 10 by the registration roller pair 7 in synchronization with the image of the image forming unit 10. Then, an image is printed by the image forming unit 10. Further, the sheet S is conveyed to the fixing device 11, where the image is fixed. Then, the sheet S is conveyed to a paper discharge roller 13 through a U-shaped reversing path 12, and is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 15 by the roller 13.

When the sheet S is sorted and stored by the sorter 1, when the operator selects discharge to the sorter 1 by the operation unit, the control unit that receives a signal from the operation unit activates the motor to activate the discharge unit 50. At the position facing the lowermost bin B, that is, when the sensor 61 is
It rises to the FF position (see FIG. 3). At this time, the projection 52a of the frame 52 is separated from the leaf spring 30, so that the flapper 29 rotates counterclockwise by its own weight and guides the sheet S discharged by the paper discharge roller 13 into the sorter 1. The guide portion 69a is pulled out of the guide member 69 against the spring 67 from between the bin B and the cover 66 as the sheet discharging unit 50 is raised (see FIG. 3). The sheet S on which the image is fixed by the same operation as described above.
Is discharged out of the machine body 3 by the discharge rollers 13 and the flapper
It is guided to the carry-in roller 33 by 29. Then, the sheet S is transported by the carry-in roller 33 through the paper-discharge path A between the rib 73 and the guide portion 69a of the guide member 69.
Is transported to the nip between the rollers 53 and 59.
And is guided by the guide plate 55 to be conveyed to the nip between the discharge rollers 53 and the rollers 57. Further, the sheet S
Is discharged onto the lowermost bin B while being nipped by these rollers 53 and 57 (see FIG. 3). Thereafter, the control unit starts the motor 46 to raise the sheet discharging unit 50, and when the sensor 61 is turned off by the second projection 63a from the bottom of the member 63, the motor
Stop 46. As a result, the discharge unit 50 is
The guide portion 69a of the guide member 69 is located at a position facing the second bin B, and is further pulled out by the movement of the unit 50.
Then, the sheet S on which the image has been formed is stored in the second-stage bin B by the same operation as described above. Then, by the same operation, the sheet discharging unit 50 is raised one bin B at a time to discharge the sheet S. When the discharge of the sheet S to the uppermost bin B is completed (see FIG. 4), the control unit controls the discharge unit 50
Is lowered to a position facing the lowermost bin B, and the same operation as described above is performed.

If the movement of the paper discharge unit 50 is shorter than the time required for image formation of the sheet S, it is possible to cope with a random bin B designation.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the explanation has been made using the sheet-like guide member 69 as the guide member. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. A foldable guide member 69 'composed of the guide plate 69'a may be used.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a thin metal plate 69 "having both flexibility and rigidity may be used.
The metal 69 ″ is housed between the flapper 29 and a cover 75 provided on the back side of the flapper 29, and has a lower end so as to engage with the flapper 29 when pulled out. It is bent (see Fig. 9), whereby the lower end portion of the metal plate 69 "can be stabilized. Also, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG.
May be stored between the lowermost bin B and the cover 66 that covers the lower side of the bin B. In the drawings, reference numerals 76 and 77 are bending guides for guiding the metal plate 69 "between the bin B and the cover 66.

Further, in the above embodiment, the sheet-like guide member 69
Is stored between the bin B and the cover 66, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be wound around the retractor 79 and stored as shown in FIG. The guide member 69 has an end connected to a spring (not shown) and is constantly urged in a winding direction.

In the above-described embodiment, the sorter 1 is mounted on the laser beam printer 2, but the present invention is not limited to this.
As shown in FIGS. 15 to 15, the sorter 1 'may be attached to the laser beam printer 2'. When performing the jam processing, the sorter 1 'is separated from the laser beam printer 2' and the door 70 is opened. This way,
Since the guide member is movable, there is no need to provide a switching guide such as a flapper at a position corresponding to each bin.

(G) Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the length of the guide portion of the guide member that guides the sheet conveyed between the sheet conveyance port and the discharge unit is such that the discharge unit moves. As a result, the space is extended or shortened along the direction in which the bins are arranged in the same manner as the discharging means, so that the space required for changing the length can be small, the overall configuration can be simplified, and the space can be saved. . Further, when the discharging unit discharges the sheet to one bin and finishes discharging the sheet to the next bin,
Unlike the above-described carriage of the related art, it is not necessary to return to the vicinity of the sheet carry-in port, so that it is possible to cope with high-speed operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing a sheet sorting apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view thereof. 3 and 4 are front sectional views showing the operation of the present invention. FIGS. 5 to 15 show another embodiment of the present invention. 1, 1 ': sheet sorter, 50: discharge means (discharge unit), 66: storage section (cover), 69, 69', 69 ": guide member, 69a: guide section, 72: inner surface (rib) A: discharge path, B: bin, S: sheet.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of bins arranged to store sheets, discharge means disposed movably along the arrangement direction of these bins, and for sequentially discharging sheets to each of these bins; And a discharge path for guiding the sheet carried in from the sheet discharge means to the discharge means, wherein the discharge path has a variable length for guiding the sheet between the sheet carry-in port and the discharge means. A guide member having a guide portion, wherein a length of the guide portion of the guide member is extended along the arrangement direction with movement of the discharge unit in a direction away from the sheet carry-in port, and The sheet sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the length of the sheet sorting device is shortened along the arrangement direction with movement of the discharge unit in the approach direction with respect to a mouth. 2. The sheet sorting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage portion that stores a portion of the guide member other than the guide portion. 3. The patent according to claim 2, wherein the discharge path includes the guide portion for guiding one surface of the sheet and an inner surface of an apparatus main body for guiding the other surface of the sheet. The sheet sorting device according to claim 1 or 2,