JP2853326B2 - Paper collating device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper collating apparatus that can be used as an auxiliary device such as an electrophotographic copying apparatus or a printing apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a sheet collating apparatus includes a plurality of sheet trays and a device for sorting sheets discharged from a copying machine to these trays. In order for the sheet collating device to easily accommodate a large number of sheets and also to accommodate curved sheets, the interval between the sheet trays needs to be widened. Further, it is desirable that the apparatus for sorting the sheets to the tray have a straight sheet transport path in order to prevent a paper jam.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for fixing a sheet tray and conveying a sheet by a belt or the like is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 59-4369. Explaining with reference to FIG.
The paper is sent between the elastic belts 3a and 3b stretched between 1a and 1b and 2a and 2b, discharged between the paper trays (hereinafter referred to as trays) 4d and 4e, and stacked on the tray 4e. In this case, the tray group 4 itself is fixed at the same position as a whole, and the trunnion 6 provided at the base of the tray is moved up and down by the groove 7 by rotating the screw cam 5, and the paper is introduced. The mouth is configured to widen. At this time,
The rollers 2a and 2b also synchronize with the upper and lower portions of the screw cam 5 to form slits 8
To move. Reference numeral 9 denotes a shaft of the screw cam.

Next, a technique for fixing the sheet discharge port and moving the sheet tray up and down will be described with reference to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 61-55066. FIG. 9 is a side sectional view thereof.

When the driving means 10 rotates clockwise to prepare a tray at a predetermined stage for receiving the copied paper, the first and second support members 11 and 12 move upward. At this time the first
The end 13a of the rotating plate 13 of the support member 11 abuts on the guide plate. And when it is still pulled up, the rotating plate
Since the end 13a of the thirteen is regulated by the guide plate 14, one end of the end 13a rapidly rotates about the bearing 15 as shown by the arrow ▲, and is guided by the guide plate 14 in this state to regulate the position. On the other hand, one end of the tray group 16, 16a, 16b rises while being pulled in the horizontal direction according to the rotation of the rotation plate 13, but the inclined one formed on the second support member 12 moving upward. Since the other end rises in the horizontal direction along the cam groove 17, they operate in synchronization.

Therefore, the paper receiving opening is enlarged by the vertical movement of the tray, so that the paper can be easily stored and even a curved paper can be stored without jamming. Reference numeral 18 denotes a sheet discharge roller, and 19 denotes a sheet.

However, in the above configuration, in the former case, the screw cam 5 is used to move the tray 4 on which the sheets are loaded up and down and to support the full load of the raised tray 4. The rotation of the line cam 5 requires a considerably large driving force. Further, since the configuration is such that the load of the roller group that moves synchronously for feeding the paper is also supported, the drive motor becomes large, and there is a problem that the entire sorter becomes large. This is the same in the latter case.
The motor for driving the second support member needs to be large, and there is a disadvantage that the device becomes large in the same manner as described above. Therefore, the number of trays is limited to 10 to 20 bins at the maximum. To increase the number of trays to 40 bins or more, two sorters must be connected, occupying a large installation space, and
A sheet passing path for one sorter had to be provided, which was very expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention drives a multi-stage tray with a small motor by simplifying the configuration, makes a 40 to 50 bin sorter compact, and greatly reduces the installation space.
To provide a paper collating device that solves various problems of a multi-bin sorter at once, such as eliminating the need for a conventional device for connecting two sorters and a paper passing path between the two devices at the price of a single device. Things.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a paper collating device for sorting paper discharged from a paper discharging device into a plurality of trays, wherein one end of each of the trays is held and a horizontal axis A plurality of push-up arms rotatably supported between the ascending position and the descending position and having a sliding end at the other end; and the push-up arm guided to be movable relative to the plurality of push-up arms. An arm push-up member having a cam surface capable of engaging with a sliding contact end of the push-up arm, and forming an upper cam portion and a lower cam portion near respective bearing portions of the push-up arm, When the lifting arm is at the lowered position, the upper cam of the lifting arm is separated from the lower cam of the adjacent upper lifting arm, and when the lifting arm is at the rising position, the upper cam of the lifting arm is positioned at the adjacent upper stage. of A horizontal shaft that contacts the lower surface cam of the push-up arm and that supports the push-up arm on the normal line of the cam surface at the contact point, and pushes up the arm at the sliding contact end of the push-up arm at the lowered position. A structure is provided in which the push-up arm is rotated from the lowered position to the raised position by engaging the cam surface of the member.

According to the present invention, the load of the push-up arm in the raised position is supported by the bearing of the adjacent lower push-up arm by the above-described configuration. Since an excessive load is not applied to the cam surface of the arm push-up member that performs the switching, it is possible to reduce the power for driving the paper collating device, and thus reduce the drive motor of the paper collating device. Therefore, the size of the sheet collating apparatus can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. Especially in a large paper collating apparatus having a large number of trays, the number of trays to be stacked in one row can be increased. It became possible to provide.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a sheet collating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a paper collating device, and a plurality of trays 21a.
One is supported by push-up arms 22a... 22x, and the other is supported by a groove 24 formed in a tray guide 23.

The push-up arm 22 is rotatably supported in the vicinity of an end thereof and has a sliding contact end 26 at the end.

Reference numeral 27 denotes an arm push-up slider, which is arranged so as to be able to move up and down by a drive pulley 32 that wraps a belt 31 wound over rollers 28, 29, and 30. And this arm push-up slider
A cam surface is formed on the push-up arm 22 so that the push-up arm 22 comes into contact with the sliding end 26 to regulate the push-up arm 22.

33 is a paper discharge roller, and an arm lifting slider 27
The guide sheet 35 connected to the paper discharge guide plate 34 is pulled out from the winding drum 36 and wound up again. Reference numeral 37 denotes a transport belt for guiding the paper to the paper discharge guide plate 34.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part for explaining the configuration of the push-up arm and the arm push-up slider. A roller 26 is rotatably provided at the base end of the push-up arm 22 on which the bearing 25 is mounted. A sliding end is formed. The cam surface is formed with a protruding flat surface 39, an inclined surface 40, and a separation / contact edge 41 so that the roller 26 and the cam surface 38 of the arm lifting slider 27 are separated from each other.

Therefore, when the arm push-up slider 27 rises,
Roller 26d of push-up arm 22d is arm push-up slider 27
The regulation is released from the detaching edge 41 of the shaft, and the other end descends in the direction of arrow A from the two-dot chain line around the bearing 25d. Conversely, when the arm push-up slider 27 is lowered, the separation / contact edge 41 comes into contact with the roller 26d to push up the other end to be horizontal with the bearing 25d as a center, and to be regulated by the projecting plane 39. .

In the vicinity of the bearing 25 of the push-up arms 22a... 22x, an upper cam portion 42 and a lower cam portion 43 are formed with a convex curved surface and a concave curved surface, respectively. With this configuration, when the push-up arm is lifted, the upper cam portion 42 is horizontally positioned while being in sliding contact with the lower cam portion 43 of the adjacent upper push arm.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the load of the adjacent upper tray is received by each of the bearings 25 of the adjacent lower push-up arm, and the load received by the arm push-up slider 27 is shown in the following description of FIG. The load is small as Therefore, the driving force of the arm push-up slider may be small, and the use of a small motor makes it possible to reduce the size of the device.

44 is a guide side plate of the arm lifting slider 27,
FIG. 3 shows an overall plan view.

Next, the operation of the configuration of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

One end of the tray is rotatably supported by the lifting arm,
The other end is slidably supported in the groove of the tray guide,
Most of the weight of the tray and the paper loaded on the tray is loaded on the push-up arm. Hereinafter, FIG. 4C will be described. The load at this time is F _1. The lifting arm 22c itself, the horizontal distance L ₁ and F ₁ from Bearing 25c of the rotation moment M ₁ and push-up arm resulting from the both sides of the weight imbalance about its journalled 25c portion to the support portion 45c of the tray The sum of the rotational moments F ₁ · L ₁ of the product, that is, the rotational moment of M ₁ + F ₁ · L ₁ acts. On the other hand, push-up arm 22
reaction force to a stationary and c, the distance L ₂ and rollers 26c from Bearing 25c portion from A to contact the roller 26c is force F ₃ of the component force F ₂ in contact with the cam surface of the arm push-up sliders 27 Product.

That is, M ₁ + F ₁ · L ₁ = F ₂ L ₂ F ₃ cos θ = F ₂ Becomes

The force F ₃ is usually becomes considerably large force, yet are integrated by the number of tray exerted on the arm push-up slider 27 in the configuration described in the conventional example. For example, if the number of trays is two or three, the load acting on the cam surface of the arm push-up slider 27 is limited, and frictional loss generated between the roller and the cam surface and between the arm push-up slider and the guide side plate is also accepted. It can be a limit.

However, for example, when all the loads of the 50 trays are applied, the friction loss becomes enormous, and the driving force for driving the arm push-up slider 27 requires extremely large energy. Becomes difficult.

However, in this embodiment, since the rotational moment of the adjacent upper push-up arm is configured to act on the bearing 25 of the push-up arm, the contact force of the above-described arm push-up slider with the cam surface is reduced. It will not be added. A more detailed description will be given for the push-up arm 22b. The lower cam portion 43b of the push-up arm 22b and the push-up arm
The reaction force at the contact point B between the upper surface cam portion 42c of the 22c and F _4. In this embodiment, the lower cam portion 4 of the upper push-up arm 22b
3b and the bearing 25c of the lower push-up arm 22c on the normal line of the point B which is a sliding contact between the upper push-up arm 22c of the lower push-up arm 22c and the point B.
It is configured to be. Therefore, the lower bearing 25
Since c is subjected to a reaction force F ₄ of the rotation moment of the lifting arm 22b of the upper adjacent, will not be added to the contact force to the cam surface of the arm push-up slider 27. Therefore, the push-up arm 22b does not rotate in the direction of the arrow B even if the roller 26b in FIG. This means that the rotational moment of the push-up arm on the second stage is borne by the bearing of the push-up arm on the lower stage, so that there is no load on the arm push-up slider.

In this way, the upper tray and the weight of the paper are sequentially supported by the bearings of the push-up arm, and the energy when the tray is displaced by raising and lowering the arm push-up slider is the potential energy and friction related to the displaced tray. Loss and friction loss in sliding contact with the upper push-up arm, so that even 50 or more trays can be fully used,
Therefore, it can be made compact. This means that only the push-up arm 22c abuts the arm push-up slider 27 and the push-up arms 22a and 22b are separated from each other, and that the push-up arm 22a
Or 22b does not act on the contact between the push-up arm 22c and the arm push-up slider.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the details of the paper introduction section,
The push-up arm 22 is rotatably supported in the vicinity of the base end of the tray. The base end of the tray 21 has a rear end receiving portion 46 of the sheet formed to protrude upward. Each of them is configured to enter the notch 47 of the adjacent step, thereby making the whole compact. When the paper is introduced, a large opening is formed between the push-up arms 22c and 22d, so that the paper is smoothly discharged and stacked on the tray.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a sheet collating apparatus showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part. The same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In this embodiment, a plurality of trays 21a... 21x, push-up arms 22a.
The block is integrally formed by 48, and is configured to be able to move up and down along the guide side plate 44 by rollers 49a, 49b, 49c, and 49d provided in this block. The lifting and lowering is connected by a belt 31 and is performed by a winding drum 32.

In this case, the arm push-up slider 27 is fixed to the guide side plate with a screw 50 or the like.

In the present embodiment, the arm lifting slider 27 is fixedly provided at the introduction portion of the discharged paper, and by raising and lowering the arm mounting frame 48, the same operation and operation as those in the first embodiment described above. The effect is obtained.

As described in detail above, the paper collating apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of push-up devices which hold one end of each tray and are rotatably supported between a raised position and a lowered position while being supported by a horizontal shaft. An upper surface cam portion and a lower surface cam portion are formed in the vicinity of each bearing portion of the push-up arm, and when the push-up arm is at the lowered position, the upper surface cam of the push-up arm is located at an adjacent upper stage. The upper surface cam of the push-up arm comes into contact with the lower surface cam of the adjacent upper-stage push-up arm when the push-up arm is in the raised position, and is separated from the lower surface cam of the push-up arm, and the cam surface at the contact point. Since the horizontal axis that supports the push-up arm is positioned on the line, the load on the tray on the adjacent upper surface will be received by the bearings of the push-up arm on the adjacent lower part. The load applied is about the tray load of the push-up arm. Therefore, the driving force of the arm push-up slider may be small, and the use of a small motor makes it possible to reduce the size of the device.

This means that the same effect can be obtained even in a type in which the push-up arm group supporting the tray is integrally moved up and down by the arm mounting frame and the arm push-up slider is fixed. In addition, since the bearing of the push-up arm is located very close to the sliding contact end, if the tray support is made longer, the amount of vertical displacement will increase accordingly, and the paper introduction opening will be widened and paper jams will occur. Many effects can be obtained, such as smooth discharge and loading.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a sectional view of a sheet collating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part thereof, FIG. 3 is a plan view, and FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the tray base, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet collating apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part thereof, FIG. FIG. 9 is a sectional side view for explaining a conventional sheet collating apparatus. 20 …… A paper collating device. 21a-21x ... Tray, 22a-22x ...
… Push-up arm, 23 …… Tray guide, 25 …… Bearing, 26
Roller (sliding end), 27 Arm slider (arm lifting member), 31 Wire, 32 Winding drum, 33 Paper discharge roller, 38 Cam surface, 41 ... Separating edge, 42 ... Upper cam part, 43 ... Lower cam part, 44 ... Guard side plate, 48 ... Arm mounting frame, 49a-49d ... Roller.

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] A paper collating device for sorting paper discharged from a paper discharging device to a plurality of trays, wherein one end of each of the trays is held and is supported by a horizontal shaft between a raised position and a lowered position. A plurality of rotatable push-up arms are provided, and an upper surface cam portion and a lower surface cam portion are formed in the vicinity of the bearings of the push-up arms, respectively. The upper cam moves away from the lower cam of the adjacent upper push-up arm, and when the push-up arm is in the raised position, the upper cam of the push-up arm comes into contact with the lower cam of the adjacent upper push-up arm. A sheet collating device in which a horizontal axis for supporting the push-up arm is positioned on a normal line of the cam surface at a contact point. 2. A sheet collating device for distributing paper discharged from a paper discharging device to a plurality of trays, wherein one end of each of the trays is held and is supported by a horizontal shaft between a raised position and a lowered position. A plurality of push-up arms which are rotatable and have a sliding contact end at the other end, and a cam surface which is guided so as to be able to move relative to the plurality of push-up arms and which can engage with the sliding contact end of the push-up arm. And an upper surface cam portion and a lower surface cam portion are formed in the vicinity of each bearing portion of the push-up arm, and when the push-up arm is at a lowered position, The upper cam is separated from the lower cam of the adjacent upper push-up arm, and when the push-up arm is in the raised position, the upper cam of the push-up arm contacts and contacts the lower cam of the adjacent upper push-up arm. Contact point A horizontal axis for supporting the push-up arm is positioned on the normal line of the cam surface, and the cam surface of the arm push-up member is engaged with the sliding contact end of the push-up arm at the lowered position. A sheet collating device configured to rotate a raising arm from a lower position to a higher position. 3. A paper collating device for distributing paper discharged from a paper discharging device to a plurality of trays, wherein one end of each of the trays is held and is supported by a horizontal shaft between a raised position and a lowered position. A plurality of push-up arms which are rotatable and have a sliding contact end at the other end, and a cam surface which is guided so as to be able to move relative to the plurality of push-up arms and which can engage with the sliding contact end of the push-up arm. And an upper surface cam portion and a lower surface cam portion are formed in the vicinity of each bearing portion of the push-up arm, and when the push-up arm is at a lowered position, The upper cam moves away from the lower cam of the adjacent upper push-up arm, and when the push-up arm is in the raised position, the upper cam of the push-up arm comes into contact with the lower cam of the adjacent upper push-up arm. Contact point A horizontal axis for supporting the push-up arm is positioned on the normal line of the cam surface, and the cam surface of the arm push-up member is brought into contact with the sliding contact end of the push-up arm at the uppermost position of the push-up arm at the lowered position. A paper collating device in which the push-up arm is rotated from the lowered position to the raised position by being engaged, and the rotational load of the push-up arm at the raised position is supported by the bearing of the adjacent lower push-up arm. . 4. An arm push-up member is guided so as to be movable up and down, and the arm push-up member is pushed to the sliding contact end of the push-up arm at the uppermost position of the push-up arm at the lowered position by the downward movement of the arm push-up member. By engaging the cam surface of the member, the push-up arm is rotated from the lowered position to the raised position, and the push-up arm at the lowest position of the cam surface of the arm push-up member and the raised position at the raised position. The load of the push-up arm at the lowermost position is supported by the cam surface of the push-up arm by the engagement with the sliding contact end of the push-up arm. 5. The sheet collating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the sliding contact end of the push-up arm is disengaged from the cam surface of the arm push-up member to rotate the push-up arm to the lowered position by gravity. . 5. An arm push-up member is fixed, a plurality of push-up arms and a bearing thereof are formed in an integral push-up arm block, and the push-up arm block is vertically moved relative to the arm push-up member. The upward movement of the push-up arm block causes the cam surface of the arm push-up member to engage with the sliding contact end of the push-up arm at the uppermost position of the push-up arm at the lowered position, whereby the push-up arm is moved. The push-up arm at the lowermost position is rotated from the lower position to the upper position, by engaging the cam surface of the arm pusher with the sliding contact end of the push-up arm at the lowermost position of the pusher arm at the upper position. Is supported by the cam surface of the push-up arm, and the sliding contact end of the push-up arm at the lowest position of the push-up arm at the ascending position by the downward movement of the push-up arm block is a cam of the arm push-up member. In claim (3) made as rotating engagement in the lowered position of the lifting arm by gravity by solving the paper collating apparatus according. 6. A sheet collating device for distributing paper discharged from a paper discharging device to a plurality of trays, wherein the arm is supported by a horizontal shaft and is rotatable between a raised position and a lowered position. A plurality of push-up arms that hold one end of the tray and have a sliding contact end at the other end, are guided so as to be able to move relative to the plurality of push-up arms, and engage with the sliding contact end of the push-up arm. The push-up arm has an upper cam portion and a lower cam portion in the vicinity of a bearing, and the push-up arm is in a lowered position. The upper cam of the push-up arm is separated from the lower cam of the adjacent upper push-up arm,
When the push-up arm is in the raised position, the upper surface cam of the push-up arm contacts the lower surface cam of the adjacent upper push-up arm, and the horizontal axis of the push-up arm is set on the normal line of the cam surface at the contact point. Paper collating device located.