JP4289915B2 - Sheet discharging apparatus, sheet processing apparatus, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheet discharge apparatus, a sheet processing apparatus, and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a configuration for preventing a sheet discharged to a sheet stacking unit from being lifted.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional image forming apparatus includes a sheet discharge device that discharges a sheet on which an image is formed to a discharge tray that is a sheet stacking unit. Also, in a sheet processing apparatus that processes a sheet on which an image is formed, the sheet on which the image has been formed is discharged to a processing tray that is a sheet stacking unit, or the processed sheet (bundle) is discharged. A sheet discharge device for discharging the tray is provided.
[0003]
Incidentally, the sheet stacking means of the image forming apparatus, the processing tray of the sheet processing apparatus, and the sheet discharge tray (hereinafter referred to as a sheet discharge tray) are inclined so that the downstream side in the sheet discharge direction is up. It is common (refer patent document 1).
[0004]
Here, the sheet discharge tray or the like is inclined in this way because after the discharged sheets are stacked on the sheet discharge tray or the like, they slide down on the sheet discharge tray or the like in the direction opposite to the discharge direction. This is for the rear end to come into contact with the rear end regulating member provided on the upstream side of the like. Then, the trailing edge of the stacked sheets can be regulated by abutting the trailing edge against the trailing edge regulating member in this way, whereby the sheets can be neatly aligned, and appearance and handling are improved. be able to.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-219403
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such a conventional sheet discharging apparatus and a sheet processing apparatus or image forming apparatus including the sheet discharging apparatus, when the discharged sheet is curled upward, for example, the sheets stacked on the sheet discharge tray are or lifted the upper stream side end portion by curling, which may result in or leaning against the trailing edge regulating member.
[0007]
Then, when such upper flow end portion is lifted, the causes to fall from extruded and sheet discharge tray or the like by subsequent sheet lifted stacked sheets come is then discharged, the loading is lowered. Further, when the sheet is leaned against the trailing edge regulating member, the stacked sheets block the sheet discharge port, so that the next sheet cannot be discharged and a jam may occur.
[0008]
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and provides a sheet discharge apparatus, a sheet processing apparatus, and an image forming apparatus capable of preventing a decrease in stackability of discharged sheets and occurrence of a jam. It is for the purpose.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention provides a sheet discharge device that discharges a sheet onto a sheet stacking unit by a discharge unit, and abuts the trailing end of the sheet discharged to the sheet stacking unit by the discharge unit, and the trailing end of the discharged sheet A rear end regulating member that regulates the position, and is pivotally supported above the ejection unit in the vicinity of the ejection unit, and presses the sheet ejected by the ejection unit from above when the sheet is ejected. as well as, after the sheet discharged and a pressing member rotatable in the vertical direction of pressing from above the rear end of the sheet abuts on the trailing edge regulating member, before Symbol trailing edge regulating member, wherein When the pressing member rotates in the vertical direction, a notch portion is provided that extends in the vertical direction so that the pressing member can be rotated and is opened upward, and the pressing member is the rear end regulating member. Abut As press the floating of the trailing end of the sheet, and is characterized in that it has a pressing surface which enters from above into the cutout portion of the trailing edge regulating member.
[0011]
According to the present invention, the sheet stacking height on the sheet stacking unit is detected based on the angle of the pressing member when pressing the sheet on the sheet stacking unit.
[0012]
The present invention also relates to a sheet processing apparatus and is characterized with processing means for processing the sheet over bets, further comprising a sheet discharging apparatus according to any one of the above.
[0013]
In the invention, it is preferable that the sheet stacking unit is a processing tray for stacking sheets processed by the processing unit.
[0014]
In the invention, it is preferable that the sheet stacking unit is a paper discharge tray on which sheets after being processed by the processing unit are stacked.
[0015]
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including the image forming unit and any one of the sheet processing apparatuses described above.
[0016]
In the invention, it is preferable that the sheet stacking unit is a sheet discharge tray for stacking sheets not processed by the processing unit .
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0018]
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an overall configuration of a laser beam printer which is an example of an image forming apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus including a sheet discharging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
[0019]
In the figure, reference numeral 100A denotes a laser beam printer, and reference numeral 100 denotes a laser beam printer main body (hereinafter referred to as a printer main body). The laser beam printer 100A is independently connected to a computer or a network such as a LAN. Based on the sent image information, print signal, etc., an image is formed (printed) on a sheet by a predetermined image forming process and discharged.
[0020]
Reference numeral 200 denotes a sheet processing apparatus. The sheet processing apparatus 200 is arranged above the printer main body 100, and a face-down sheet with the image surface facing downward is discharged from the printer main body 100 to the outside of the apparatus. After being placed on the processing tray 203 in a state, alignment is performed, the sheets are bundled for each predetermined job, and one or a plurality of the sheets are stapled and discharged and stacked on the stacking tray 201, or simply loaded face-down. The tray 201 is discharged and stacked.
[0021]
Next, the configuration of each unit of the printer main body 100 will be described along the conveyance path of the conveyed sheet S.
[0022]
The printer main body 100 includes a feeding cassette 60 on which a plurality of sheets S are stacked. The uppermost sheet S1 stacked on the feeding cassette 60 is sequentially separated one by one by a feeding roller 61 and a retard roller pair 62. It is designed to be fed. Then, the uppermost sheet S1 is fed from the feeding cassette 60 by a predetermined print signal supplied from a computer or a network, and this sheet S1 first forms a toner image by a so-called laser beam type image forming process. The toner image is transferred to the upper surface in the image forming unit 101, and then the toner image is permanently fixed by applying heat and pressure in the fixing device 103 on the downstream side.
[0023]
Next, the sheet S1 on which the toner image is fixed is provided on the upper portion of the printer main body 100 by, for example, a discharge roller 71 according to the position of the flapper 70 that rotates based on a control signal from a control unit (not shown). The paper is discharged to a paper discharge tray 73 which is a face-down (FD) discharge unit or to the sheet processing apparatus side.
[0024]
By the way, the sheet processing apparatus 200 discharges a sheet bundle that has been subjected to processing such as stapling after being stored in the processing tray 203 and a discharge roller 202 that is a discharge unit that discharges the sheet S1 to the processing tray 203. A sheet discharge device 220 having a discharge lever 204 for receiving the sheet.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet support surface of the processing tray 203 includes a left lateral alignment member 203a that presses one side end (left side) of the sheet S and a right lateral alignment that presses the other side end (right side) of the sheet S. It is comprised from the member 203b.
[0026]
Here, the left lateral alignment member 203a moves to any one of the retracted position, the standby position, the alignment position, and the alignment release position, and the right lateral alignment member 203b moves to the retracted position or the standby position. When the operation is performed, only the left lateral alignment member 203a moves according to the sheet size.
[0027]
The left and right lateral alignment members 203a and 203b constitute a sheet support surface of the processing tray 203 that holds the sheet S1 discharged by the paper discharge roller 202 when each is in the standby position. Further, when the left and right lateral alignment members 203a and 203b are moved from the standby position to the standby position for releasing the holding of the sheet, a bundle discharge described later becomes possible.
[0028]
Further, after the sheet S is held by the left and right lateral alignment members 203a and 203b in the standby position, the left lateral alignment member 203a moves to the alignment position, so that the side edges of the sheets are aligned, and the side of the sheet S After the ends are aligned, when the left lateral alignment member 203a moves to the lateral alignment release position, the pressure contact of the left and right lateral alignment members 203a and 203b with respect to the sheet S is released.
[0029]
Since the left and right lateral alignment members 203a and 203b are inclined at a predetermined angle, when the pressure contact of the left and right lateral alignment members 203a and 203b with respect to the sheet S is released, the sheet S has its own weight or is not illustrated. The sheet is moved from the return member such as a paddle toward the sheet discharge roller and comes into contact with a rear end regulating member (not shown), whereby the rear end of the sheet S is regulated.
[0030]
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 208 denotes a stapler unit which is an example of a processing unit. The stapler unit 208 performs stapling processing based on a command output in advance from a computer or the like.
[0031]
In the sheet processing apparatus 200 configured as described above, when the sheet S1 is carried in, the sheet S1 is conveyed upward by the paper discharge roller 202. At this time, the left and right lateral alignment members 203a and 203b are in the standby position, thereby forming the processing tray 203, and the sheet S1 conveyed by the paper discharge roller 202 and discharged from the discharge port 210 shown in FIG. And right lateral alignment members 203a and 203b.
[0032]
Next, the left lateral alignment member 203a moves to the alignment position, and thereby the alignment operation in the width direction of the sheet S1 is started. After such alignment in the width direction, the left lateral alignment member 203a moves to the alignment release position, whereby the sheet S1 is abutted against a rear end regulating member (not shown) by its own weight or a return member. Align. After such an alignment operation, the left lateral alignment member 203a moves to the standby position so that it can cope with the discharge of the next sheet.
[0033]
Next, such an operation is repeated to align the last (nth) sheet of one job, and then staple the sheet bundle by the stapler unit 208. When the stapling operation is completed in this manner, the left and right lateral alignment members 203a and 203b are moved to the retracted positions, and the sheet discharge lever 204 pushes out the sheet bundle, whereby the sheet bundle is discharged to the stacking tray 201. It has come to be.
[0034]
As shown in FIG. 1, the stacking tray 201 is inclined so that the downstream side in the discharging direction is upward, and thus the sheet bundle discharged to the stacking tray 201 has a discharge port 210 formed at the upper end. It is loaded in a state of being abutted against the rear end wall 205 as a regulating member.
[0035]
By the way, the sheet discharge device 220 of the sheet processing apparatus 200 includes a pressing unit that is a pressing unit that presses the rear end portion of the stacked sheets in a state of being abutted against the rear end wall 205 as shown in FIG. A lever 207 is provided.
[0036]
Here, the pressing lever 207 is provided in the vicinity of the paper discharge roller 202 and above the sheet S1 discharged by the paper discharge roller 202, and is provided coaxially with the paper discharge roller 202 in this embodiment. The shaft 207a is rotatably supported.
[0037]
Further, the pressing lever 207 can press the rear end portion of the sheet from above without being obstructed by the rear end wall 205, that is, the pressing lever 207 can move up and down on the stacking tray. As shown in FIG. 4, the rear end wall 205 is provided with a slit 206 that is a cutout portion that extends in the vertical direction and opens upward.
[0038]
By the way, the pressing lever 207 is in contact with the lower end of the slit 206 by its own weight until the sheet is discharged, but when the sheet S1 is discharged by the paper discharge roller 202, it is pressed by the sheet S1, and FIG. As shown by the broken line in FIG. As a result, the sheet S can be discharged without being blocked by the pressing lever 207.
[0039]
After that, as described above, a predetermined number of sheets are discharged to the processing tray 203, and after binding processing or the like is performed on the sheet bundle, the sheet bundle is pushed out by the paper discharge lever 204 to be stacked on the stacking tray 201. When stacked, the pressing lever 207 rotates downward together with the sheet bundle and enters the slit 206 of the alignment wall 205 as shown in FIG. As a result, the rear end portion of the sheet bundle Sa stacked on the stacking tray 201 can be reliably pressed by the pressing lever 207, and the sheet can be prevented from being lifted by curling or the like.
[0040]
In this way, the rear end portion of the sheet S abutting against the alignment wall 205 is pressed from above by the pressing lever 207, and the rear end portion of the sheet bundle Sa stacked on the stacking tray 201 is securely pressed, so that the sheet Since the floating can be prevented, it is possible to prevent the sheets stacked on the stacking tray 201 from being pushed out by the succeeding sheets, and to prevent the sheet discharge port 210 from being blocked by leaning against the alignment wall 205. .
[0041]
As a result, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the stackability caused by the stacked sheet being pushed out by the succeeding sheet and the occurrence of a jam caused by the discharge sheet 210 being blocked by the stacked sheet. The stackability of the stacked sheets is improved, and the appearance and handling are improved.
[0042]
The pressing lever 207 is formed of a lightweight material having a predetermined strength so that it can rotate upward when pressed by the sheet S and can press the sheet S.
[0043]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0044]
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet processing apparatus including the sheet discharge apparatus according to the present embodiment. Note that the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 3 indicate the same or corresponding parts.
[0045]
In the figure, reference numeral 301 denotes a photo interrupter provided in the sheet processing apparatus, and a light shielding portion 302 that shields the photo interrupter 301 is provided at one end of the holding lever 207.
[0046]
Here, when the sheet S is discharged to the stacking tray 201 and the pressing lever 207 returns to the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 6, the light blocking unit 302 blocks the photo interrupter 301. .
[0047]
On the other hand, when the sheets are sequentially stacked on the stacking tray 201 thereafter, the presser lever 207 is lifted by the sheet S, and the height of the stacked sheet S eventually becomes a predetermined height. When the position indicated by the solid line is reached, the photo interrupter 301 is not shielded from light.
[0048]
When the photo interrupter 301 is not shielded from light in this way, a control unit (not shown) determines that the stacking tray 201 is full and stops the subsequent sheet discharging operation.
[0049]
In this way, by detecting the sheet stacking height on the stacking tray based on the angle of the stacking tray 201, the sheet S is stacked on the stacking tray 201 with the trailing edge of the sheet S being securely pressed by the pressing lever 207. The height of the sheets to be controlled can be restricted, and this prevents the stacked sheets from being disturbed and jammed due to overloading.
[0050]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0051]
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet processing apparatus including the sheet discharge apparatus according to the present embodiment. Note that the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 3 indicate the same or corresponding parts.
[0052]
In the drawing, reference numeral 401 denotes a rear end regulating member on which the sheet S1 is abutted by its own weight or a return member after being stacked on the processing tray 203 and aligned as described above. Is provided with a slit extending in the vertical direction similar to the slit 206 formed in the rear end wall 205 shown in FIG.
[0053]
Reference numeral 402 denotes a pressing lever that presses the trailing edge of the sheet S that is abutted against the trailing edge regulating member 401 and is aligned. The pressing lever 402 is discharged by the discharge roller 202 in the vicinity of the discharge roller 202. In the present embodiment, provided above the sheet, it is rotatably supported by a shaft 404 provided above the paper discharge roller 202.
[0054]
Also in this embodiment, the pressing lever 402 is ejected by the paper ejection roller 202 by pivotally supporting the pressing lever 402 by the shaft 404 provided above the paper ejection roller 202 in this way. The sheet S is pressed by the sheet to rotate upward, and descends by its own weight after passing through the sheet, so that the trailing edge of the sheet S can be pressed through the slit of the trailing edge regulating member 401.
[0055]
Here, by pressing the trailing edge of the sheet S in contact with the trailing edge regulating member 401 by the pressing lever 402 in this manner, the sheet is aligned with the processing tray 203 in the same manner as the sheets stacked on the discharge tray 201. Even with respect to the sheet S, it is possible to prevent misalignment or jamming due to the trailing edge floating.
[0056]
In the description so far, the sheet discharging apparatus provided in the sheet processing apparatus 200 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is provided in the printer main body 100 (image forming apparatus main body). The present invention can be similarly applied to a sheet discharge device that discharges the sheet to a discharge tray 73 (see FIG. 1) on the printer main body side.
[0057]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, as in the present invention, the rear end portion of the sheet in contact with the rear end regulating member is pivotally supported in the vicinity of the discharge means and above the sheet discharged by the discharge means. By pressing from above with the pressing member, the trailing edge of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means can be securely pressed, and the sheet can be prevented from being lifted. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the stackability of discharged sheets and the occurrence of jamming.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an overall configuration of a laser beam printer which is an example of an image forming apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus including a sheet discharging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sheet processing apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a sheet discharge device provided in the sheet processing apparatus.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a sheet discharge device provided in the sheet processing apparatus.
FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the operation of a pressing lever provided in the sheet discharging apparatus.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet processing apparatus including a sheet discharging apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet processing apparatus including a sheet discharging apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
73 discharge tray 100A laser beam printer 100 laser beam printer main body 101 image forming unit 200 sheet processing apparatus 201 stacking tray 202 discharge roller 203 processing tray 205 rear end wall 206 slit 207 pressing lever 207a shaft 208 stapler unit 210 discharge port 220 sheet Ejector 301 Photointerrupter 302 Light-shielding portion 401 Rear end regulating member 402 Holding lever 404 Axis S Sheet

Claims (7)

In the sheet discharge device for discharging the sheet onto the sheet stacking means by the discharge means,
A trailing edge regulating member that abuts the trailing edge of the sheet discharged in the sheet stacking means by the discharging means and regulates the trailing edge position of the discharged sheet;
In the vicinity of the discharge means, it is pivotally supported above the discharge means, and when discharging the sheet, the sheet discharged by the discharge means is pressed from above, and after the sheet discharge, the rear end A pressing member that can be rotated in the vertical direction to press the rear end of the sheet in contact with the regulating member from above;
With
The front Symbol trailing edge regulating member, when the pressing member is rotated in the vertical direction, extends in the vertical direction so as to enable rotation of the pressing member, and the upper cutout portion having an opening is provided, The pressing member has a pressing surface that enters the notch portion of the trailing edge regulating member from above so as to suppress lifting of the trailing edge of the sheet that is in contact with the trailing edge regulating member. Sheet discharge device.   2. The sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a sheet stacking height on the sheet stacking unit is detected based on an angle of the pressing member when pressing the sheet on the sheet stacking unit.   A sheet processing apparatus comprising: a processing unit that processes a sheet; and the sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.   4. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the sheet stacking unit is a processing tray for stacking sheets processed by the processing unit.   5. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the sheet stacking unit is a paper discharge tray for stacking sheets processed by the processing unit.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the sheet stacking unit is a sheet discharge tray on which sheets that are not processed by the processing unit are stacked.   An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit; and the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3.

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