JP6025501B2 - Discharge device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a discharge device that discharges a sheet molded product (booklet, sealed letter) produced by, for example, a bookbinding device or a sealing device that is a post-processing device, and in particular, a discharge tray that is a discharge destination of the sheet molded product is full. In particular, the present invention relates to a discharge device that can perform discharge processing without stopping the manufacturing process.

  Conventionally, as a post-processing device that is connected to an image forming apparatus and performs post-processing on a plurality of printed sheets printed by the image forming apparatus, for example, a sheet bundle composed of a plurality of printed body sheets is bound with a cover sheet. 2. Description of the Related Art A book making apparatus for producing a sealed letter by enclosing and sealing the contents with an envelope made from an envelope form or an envelope form is widely used.

  By the way, in this type of post-processing apparatus, a series of systems connected to an image forming apparatus is often constructed, and the produced sheet molding (booklet or sealed letter) generally has a thickness larger than that of general printed paper. Have. Therefore, the smaller the installation space, the better, and there is a demand for an apparatus configuration that can stack more produced sheet moldings in the apparatus.

  Patent Document 1 below discloses a booklet stacking apparatus that secures a stacking amount in the apparatus and saves space. In this apparatus, a carry-out roller that sequentially carries out a plurality of booklets, a transfer belt that sequentially transfers a plurality of booklets that are sequentially carried out from the carry-out roller in a partially overlapping state, and a transfer belt that is transferred Booklet loading capacity in the apparatus, comprising a stacking tray on which booklets are loaded, and a control circuit for controlling the transfer amount per booklet on the transfer belt to a transfer amount corresponding to the amount of booklets loaded on the loading tray Is secured.

JP 2007-119089 A

  In the booklet stacking apparatus of Patent Document 1, as a booklet stacking method in the discharge process, the stacking amount is constantly increased by stacking a part of the produced booklet while being shifted little by little (so-called sashimi stacking state). Secured. For this reason, although the stacking amount in the apparatus can be secured, the convenience of the user of quickly discharging without stacking when the amount of booklets to be produced is small is impaired.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a discharge device that can secure the load amount of the produced sheet molded product in consideration of user convenience. Is.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the discharge device according to claim 1 includes a conveyance unit that discharges and conveys a sheet molding produced by a post-processing device that performs post-processing to predetermined paper to a discharge tray;
A tray empty detection sensor that detects that the discharge tray is empty, a thickness D of the sheet molded product to be produced, a length X in the conveyance direction of the sheet molded product, and between the sheet molded products at the time of stacking. The number of sheet moldings that can be stacked on the discharge tray obtained from sheet molding information including the interval d, device information including the stacking upper limit height A of the discharge tray, and the total length L of the stacking area of the sheet molding. a fullness detection unit having at least a load amount calculation unit for calculating n ;
When the tray empty detection sensor detects that the discharge tray is empty, the driving of the conveying unit is started, and when the number n of sheet molded products calculated by the stacking amount calculating unit is conveyed, the conveying A control unit for controlling the transport unit in a control mode of stacking and stacking at least a part of the sheet molding on the transport path of the unit;
It is provided with.

The discharge device according to claim 2 is the discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the integrated amount calculation unit is provided in the transport unit obtained from the number n of sheet molded products, the sheet molded product information, and the device information. Calculate the sheet molding load upper limit N indicating the maximum stacking upper limit amount in the apparatus, which is the sum of the number of sheet moldings n ′ that can be stacked,
When the number of conveyed sheet molded articles conveyed since the driving of the conveying section reaches the upper limit amount N of sheet molded article stacks from the integrated amount calculating section, It is determined that the load amount has been reached, and the post-processing device is controlled to stop the production of the sheet molding .

The discharge device according to claim 3 is the discharge device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a predetermined printing process is performed on the paper fed from a paper feeding unit, and the paper printed by the printing device is used. It is mounted on a sheet molded product production system configured with the post-processing apparatus that performs the predetermined post-processing to produce the sheet molded product,
When the full detection unit detects a full state of the discharge tray, the control unit stops the sheet feeding from the sheet feeding unit, and produces a sheet molded product in the middle of production remaining in the sheet molded product producing system. The sheet molding production system is controlled so as to execute only the processing .

According to the discharge device of the first aspect, it is obtained from the tray empty detection sensor for detecting that the discharge tray is empty, the sheet molded product information set by the sheet molded product to be produced, and the device information of the device. When the full tray detection unit configured with a load amount calculation unit that calculates at least the number n of molded products that can be stacked on the discharge tray is detected to start emptying the discharge tray, When the number n of molded products calculated by the quantity calculation unit is transported, the transport unit is controlled in a control mode in which sheet moldings are stacked and stacked on the transport path of the transport unit. Overflow of the sheet tray due to overloading of the discharge tray can be prevented without immediately stopping the line. Further, when the discharge tray is not full, the sheet molding is normally discharged and conveyed, so that the user can immediately confirm the sheet molding produced.

According to the discharge apparatus according to claim 2 Symbol placement, molded sheet number can be stacked on the discharge tray obtained from the device information of the molded sheet information device that is set by the molded sheet made in accumulated amount calculating section n and the number n ′ of sheet molded products that can be stacked on the transport unit are calculated, a sheet molded product stacking upper limit N indicating the maximum stacking upper limit amount in the apparatus is calculated, and the sheet molding transported after starting the transport unit is started. In order to control the production of the sheet molded product to stop when the number of conveyed products reaches the sheet molded product stacking upper limit amount N, the production of the sheet molded product may be continued until the maximum stacking amount in the apparatus is reached. It is possible to save time for the user to remove the sheet molding in the discharge tray without unnecessarily stopping the production line .

According to the discharge device of claim 3 Symbol placement, discharge while the tray is stacked superposed sheets molded on the conveying section, even when a full state, the molded sheet produced system after stopping the feeding of the sheet feeding section Since only the sheet molded product that is still in the process of being produced is produced, even if production of a new sheet product is stopped, the sheet molded product production process does not stop immediately, and the user can suppress the decrease in productivity as much as possible. Time to remove the sheet molding in the discharge tray can be earned.

It is a schematic block diagram of the bookbinding system in which the discharge device of the 1st form concerning the present invention is carried. (A), (b) is a schematic block diagram of the discharge device of the 1st form. It is a functional block diagram of the discharge device of the 1st form. (A)-(c) is an operation | movement figure of the normal mode in the discharge device of a 1st form. (A)-(e) is an operation | movement figure of the stacking mode in the discharge device of a 1st form. (A), (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the full detection part in the discharge device of a 1st form. It is a flowchart figure which shows the processing operation example in the discharge device of the 1st form. It is a schematic block diagram of the sealed letter preparation system by which the discharge | emission apparatus of the 2nd form which concerns on this invention is mounted. It is a schematic block diagram of the discharge device of the 2nd form. It is a functional block diagram of the discharge device of the 2nd form. (A) is an operation | movement figure of the normal mode in the discharge apparatus of a 2nd form, (b) is an operation | movement figure of the stacking mode in the discharge apparatus of a 2nd form. It is a flowchart figure which shows the processing operation example in the discharge device of a 2nd form.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the present invention is not limited by this embodiment, and all other forms, examples, operation techniques, and the like that can be implemented by those skilled in the art based on this form are included in the scope of the present invention. .

  In the following description, a book is used as a discharge unit of a post-processing device (a bookbinding device in the first form and an encapsulating sealer in the second form) that connects to the printing device and performs predetermined post-processing on printed paper. Although an example in which the discharge device according to the invention is mounted will be described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the discharge device according to the present invention can be connected to the subsequent stage of the post-processing device.

  In addition, various types of paper printed by the printing apparatus are post-processed by the post-processing apparatuses described above (ie, a “booklet” manufactured by the bookbinding apparatus or an “encapsulated sealing apparatus”. A “sealed letter” is defined as a “sheet molding”.

  Furthermore, although an example using an inkjet recording apparatus as a printing apparatus will be described, it is only necessary that a desired image can be formed on the printing paper according to the content of the sheet molded product to be manufactured. Various image forming apparatuses such as a stencil printing apparatus, a copying machine, and a laser printer can also be employed.

[1. First form]
<1-1. Bookbinding system configuration>
First, a bookbinding system in which the discharge device of the first form is mounted will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a bookbinding system 100 as a sheet molded product production system for producing a sheet molded product is obtained by subjecting a cover sheet and a text sheet printed by a printing apparatus 110 to a bookbinding process by a bookbinding apparatus 120. A booklet that is

  The printing device 110 is a device that prints and discharges a cover sheet and a sheet serving as a text sheet. A plurality of paper feed units 111 that can store paper), a loop-like conveyance path 113 that conveys the paper from the introduction path 112, cyan (C), black (K), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). Printing means 114 composed of four inkjet devices C, K, M, and Y that discharge ink of each color, a first discharge path 115 that discharges each printed paper to the bookbinding device 120, and the paper outside the loop A second discharge path 116 for discharging, and a switchback path 117 for reversing the sheet after receiving the sheet conveyed through the conveyance path 113 and returning the sheet to the conveyance path 113 to invert the sheet up and down are provided.

  The bookbinding apparatus 120 includes an introduction conveyance path 121 for introducing printed cover sheets and text sheets conveyed from the printing apparatus 110, an alignment unit 122 that aligns the printed text sheets and forms a sheet bundle, An upper bookbinding conveyance path 123 that branches from the introduction conveyance path 121 and conveys the printed cover sheet and text sheet to the alignment unit 122 side, a stock tray 124 that temporarily waits for the printed cover sheet, and a printed sheet A cutting unit 125 that cuts the cover sheet so as to have a size corresponding to the thickness of the sheet bundle, and an adhesive application unit 126 that applies an adhesive to the back surface and a part of the side surface of the sheet bundle sent from the alignment unit 122. And a pair of clampers 127 that can move up and down and left and right with the bundle of sheets held open and closed, and the cover sheet from the left and right with the cover sheet in contact with the back of the sheet bundle that has been coated with adhesive. Then, the folding unit 128 that folds the cover sheet by pressing the sheet bundle, the lower bookbinding conveyance path 129 for conveying the printed cover sheet fed from the upper bookbinding conveyance path 123 to the folding unit 128, and the folding unit 128. A guide member 130 that guides the completed booklet falling from the paper, a discharge unit 131 that discharges and conveys the booklet that has fallen from the bent portion 128 to the discharge tray 131a while passing between the guide members 130, and driving of each part in the bookbinding system 100 It is composed of an overall control unit 132 (mounted on the bookbinding apparatus 120 in the illustrated example) that performs control.

  The discharge device 1 according to the first embodiment functions as the discharge unit 131 of the bookbinding device 120 in the bookbinding system 100, and discharges and conveys the booklet produced in accordance with the loading state of the discharge tray 131a while changing the method. Yes.

<1-2. Configuration of discharge device>
Next, the discharge device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 2 or 3, the discharge device 1 of the first embodiment functions as the discharge unit 131 of the bookbinding device 120 described above, and the produced booklet is the same as the discharge tray 2 (the same as the discharge tray 131a of the bookbinding device 120). Yes, for the sake of convenience of explanation, the following explanation will be given as “discharge tray 2”). The discharge device 1 is configured to include a transport unit 3, a full detection unit 4, a control unit 5, and a notification unit 6, and as shown in FIG. When the discharge tray 2 is discharged and conveyed and the discharge tray 2 becomes full, booklets are stacked and stacked on the transfer unit 3 as shown in FIG. In addition to the configuration provided as a configuration dedicated to this apparatus, the overall control unit 132 described above may provide the function of the control unit 5.

  Further, in this embodiment, the stacking upper limit height of the discharge tray 2 is “A”, the thickness of the produced booklet (the thickness of the sheet molding) is “D”, and the length of the booklet in the conveyance direction (the length of the sheet molding in the conveyance direction). "X", the interval between the booklets during stacking (interval between sheet moldings) is "d", and the number of booklets that can be stacked on the discharge tray (number of sheet moldings) is "n", which will be described later. The number of booklets that can be stacked in the second transport unit 3b (the number of sheet molded products) is “n ′”, and the total length of booklet stacking regions in the second transport unit 3b (the total length of the stacking regions of sheet molded products) is “ L ”and the remaining booklet height (residual sheet molded product height) when the booklet remains in the discharge tray 2 are denoted as“ h ”, respectively.

  The conveyance part 3 is comprised by conveyance apparatuses, such as a belt conveyor, and is provided with the 1st conveyance part 3a and the 2nd conveyance part 3b. In the transport unit 3, the transport method of the second transport unit 3 b is appropriately variably controlled by the control of the control unit 5 depending on whether or not the discharge tray 2 is full.

  The first transport unit 3a is disposed below the guide member 130, receives a booklet produced by adhering a cover sheet to a sheet bundle by the folding unit 128, and receives the received booklet to the second transport unit 3b. Conveying. In this embodiment, since the booklet is disposed above the second transport unit 3b, the booklet transported in a predetermined direction falls from the first transport unit 3a along with the transport and is delivered to the second transport unit 3b.

  The second transport unit 3b is disposed below the first transport unit 3a, receives the booklet transported from the first transport unit 3a on the upstream side, and discharges and transports the booklet to the discharge tray 2 installed on the downstream side. . In this embodiment, a booklet that has been dropped along with the transport of the first transport unit 3a is received, and the received booklet is transported to a discharge tray 3b that is a discharge destination.

  Here, the drive method of the conveyance part 3 is demonstrated, referring FIG. 4 or FIG. The transport unit 3 is controlled in two types of control modes of “normal mode” or “overlapping mode” according to transport mode information from the control unit 5.

(Normal mode)
The normal mode is a control mode that is set when the discharge tray 2 has not reached the upper limit of stacking and does not need to be stacked and stacked on the second transfer unit 3b and performs normal discharge transfer processing.
As shown in FIG. 4A, first, when the first transport unit 3a receives a booklet that has dropped through the guide member 130, the booklet is directed toward the upstream side (left direction in the figure) of the second transport unit 3b. Transport. Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the second transport unit 3b is driven in the direction opposite to the discharge direction (left direction in the drawing) to receive the booklet transported by the first transport unit 3a, The booklet conveyed from the first conveying unit 3a is received on the upstream side. 4C, the second transport unit 3b transports the booklet received from the first transport unit 3a in the discharge direction (right direction in the figure) and discharges it to the discharge tray 2.

  Note that the booklet transport interval in the normal mode is the next when the booklet to be discharged next is discharged at the timing when the booklet is discharged to the discharge tray 2 or when there is an undischarged booklet on the downstream side of the second transfer unit 3b. Either the control of receiving the booklet to be discharged can be used.

(Stacking mode)
The stacking mode is a control mode that is set when the discharge tray 2 reaches the stacking upper limit and the second transport unit 3b is in a discharging state that requires stacking.
As shown in FIG. 5A, when the first transport unit 3a first receives a booklet that has dropped through the guide member 130, the booklet is directed toward the upstream side (left direction in the figure) of the second transport unit 3b. Transport. Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the second transport unit 3b receives the booklet transported by the first transport unit 3a with a preset overlap interval d in order to receive the booklet transported in the reverse direction (left in the figure). The booklet conveyed from the first conveyance unit 3a is received on the upstream side. Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the received booklet is conveyed in the discharge direction (right direction in the drawing) by a preset overlap distance d. Then, as shown in FIG. 5D, the next booklet is received from the first transport unit 3a while transporting the booklet again from the position moved by the overlap interval d in the direction opposite to the discharge direction (left direction in the figure). . Thereby, the newly received booklet is stacked in a state where at least a part of the previously received booklet is overlapped (so-called sashimi stacking state).

  Thereafter, the stacking is gradually performed toward the discharge tray 2 by repeating the operations shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D. And as shown in FIG.5 (e), when a booklet is detected by the conveyance part full sensor 4b provided in the discharge | emission side edge part in the 2nd conveyance part 3b, a booklet will be to the stacking upper limit of the 2nd conveyance part 3b. The conveyance of the booklet is stopped to indicate that it is stacked. Thereby, the booklet is not discharged to the discharge tray 2 that has reached the upper limit of loading, and it is possible to prevent the booklet from overflowing from the discharge tray 2 due to overloading.

  In the stacking mode, when the full state of the discharge tray 2 is released (that is, when the booklet detection by the tray full sensor 4a is not detected), until the tray full sensor 4a detects the booklet again. The booklet is discharged and conveyed to the discharge tray 2 in the normal mode.

  When the full detection unit 4 detects that the stacking state of the discharge tray 2 or the second transport unit 3b is full, the control unit displays full state information (tray full state information, transport unit full state information) indicating this full state. 5 is output. As the fullness detection unit 4, a configuration for detecting the fullness of the discharge tray 2 or the second conveyance unit 3b using a sensor installed at a predetermined location, and production information (thickness, size, conveyance interval, etc.) of the produced sheet molding There are two types of configurations in which full detection is performed based on the maximum stacking number of the discharge tray 2 or the second transport unit 3b calculated from the booklet information and the device information of the apparatus and the number of booklet transports, and the usage environment, etc. Depending on the situation, it can be appropriately selected or combined.

(Configuration using sensor)
As shown in FIG. 6A, the fullness detection unit 4 using various sensors such as a light projecting / receiving sensor as a fullness detection sensor is a tray fullness sensor 4a that detects the upper limit of stacking from the booklet loading state of the discharge tray 2. And a transport unit full sensor 4b for detecting the upper limit of stacking of the booklet stacked and stacked on the second transport unit 3b. In the illustrated example, the tray full sensor 4a is disposed in the vicinity of the stacking upper limit position of the discharge tray 2, and the transport unit full sensor 4b is disposed in the vicinity of the discharge side end of the second transport unit 3b. The tray full sensor 4a can also detect whether or not the booklet loaded in the discharge tray 2 has been removed. When detecting that the booklet has been removed from the full discharge tray 2, this detection is performed. The tray empty information indicating the result is output to the control unit 5.

Next, a process for detecting the full state of the discharge tray 2 or the second transport unit 3b by the full detection unit 4 configured using a sensor will be described.
When the full detection unit 4 receives a full detection processing start instruction from the control unit 5, the discharge tray 2 is full, and when the booklet loaded by the tray full sensor 4a is detected, the discharge tray 2 is full. Is output to the control unit 5. Thereby, the control mode of the transport unit 3 is switched from the normal mode to the stacking mode.

  When the stacking mode is switched, the driving of the transport unit full sensor 4b is started. When the transport unit full sensor 4b detects a booklet that is gradually transported toward the discharge tray 2 while being stacked in the stacking mode, the transport unit full state information indicating that the second transport unit 3b is full. Is output to the control unit 5. Thereby, the conveyance and bookbinding processing of the second conveyance unit 3b are stopped, and a notification indicating that the second conveyance unit 3b is full is notified from the notification unit 6 to the user.

  If the tray full sensor 4a detects that the booklet has been removed from the discharge tray 2 when the discharge tray 2 is full, the tray empty state information indicating the detection result is output to the control unit 5. . As a result, after the stacking mode is stopped and the booklet stacked and stacked on the second transport unit 3b is discharged and transported to the discharge tray 2, when the set number of production copies has not been reached, the mode is switched to the normal mode again. Transport is performed.

(Configuration by calculation process)
As shown in FIG. 6 (b), the fullness detection unit 4 based on the calculation process has booklet information (booklet thickness D, booklet transport direction length X, booklet information) that is set by the produced booklet. The number n of booklets that can be stacked on the discharge tray 2 and the second information obtained from the stacking interval d) and device information (the stacking upper limit height A of the discharge tray 2 and the total length L of booklet stacking areas in the second transport unit 3b). A load amount calculation unit 4c that calculates a sheet product stacking upper limit amount N that indicates the maximum stacking upper limit amount in the apparatus, which is the total number of booklets n ′ that can be stacked on the transport unit 3b, and various sensors such as a light emitting / receiving sensor, for example. And a tray empty detection sensor 4d for detecting the presence or absence of a booklet in the discharge tray 2.

Next, a process of detecting the full state of the discharge tray 2 or the second transport unit 3b by the full detection unit 4 configured to perform the calculation process will be described.
When the full detection unit 4 receives a full detection process start instruction from the control unit 5 and the tray empty detection sensor 4d confirms that the inside of the discharge tray 2 is empty, the undischarged remaining in the second transport unit 3b. In order to discharge the booklet, a conveyance control instruction for the second conveyance unit 3 b is output to the control unit 5. When the transport control of the second transport unit 3b is completed by the control unit 5, the number n of booklets that can be stacked on the discharge tray 2 is calculated from the following formula 1 from the booklet information of the booklet to be produced and the device information of the apparatus. The number of booklets n ′ that can be stacked on the second transport unit 3b is calculated from the following formula 2, and the sheet molded product stacking upper limit N (N = n + n ′), which is the sum of these, is calculated.
(Formula 1) A <D × n
(Formula 2) L <d × n ′ + X

Further, when the booklet remains in the discharge tray 2, the remaining booklet height in the discharge tray 2 obtained from the following equation 3 is obtained in order to grasp the upper limit of stacking in the state where the remaining booklet is discharged into the discharge tray 2. The number n of booklets that can be stacked on the discharge tray 2 is calculated using h.
(Formula 3) Ah <D × n

  As a condition for satisfying the above formulas 1 to 3, the tray empty detection sensor 4d detects that the discharge tray 2 is empty, and the booklet is not left on the second transport unit 3b. Therefore, it is necessary to drive the second transport unit 3b once and discharge the booklet remaining on the transport unit 3b to the discharge tray 2. The calculated number n of booklets that can be stacked on the discharge tray 2 and the number of booklets n ′ that can be stacked on the second transport unit 3b employ lower limits that satisfy the above expressions 1-3.

  Next, when the sheet molded product stacking upper limit N is calculated using the above formulas 1 to 3, the conveyance start information for starting conveyance of the booklet by the conveyance unit 3 is output to the control unit 5. Then, when the conveyance of the booklet is started by the conveyance unit 3 and the number of booklets n that can be stacked on the discharge tray 2 is conveyed, the control unit displays tray full state information indicating that the discharge tray 2 is full. 5 is output. Thereby, the control mode of the transport unit 3 is switched from the normal mode to the stacking mode.

  When the stacking mode is switched, the booklet is gradually transported toward the discharge tray 2 while being stacked and stacked until the number of booklets n ′ that can be stacked on the second transport unit 3b is reached. When booklets are stacked and stacked up to the number n ′ of booklets that can be stacked on the second transport unit 3b, transport unit full state information indicating that the second transport unit 3b is full is output to the control unit 5. Accordingly, the conveyance and bookbinding processing of the second conveyance unit 3b are stopped, and a notification indicating that the second conveyance unit 3b is full is notified from the notification unit 6 to the user.

  When the tray empty detection sensor 4d detects that the booklet has been removed from the discharge tray 2 when the discharge tray 2 is full, the tray empty state information indicating that the discharge tray 2 has become empty is sent to the control unit 5. Output to. As a result, after the stacking mode is stopped and the booklet stacked and stacked on the second transport unit 3b is discharged and transported to the discharge tray 2, when the set number of production copies has not been reached, the mode is switched to the normal mode again. Discharge conveyance is performed.

  The control unit 5 is composed of a microcomputer composed of, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The control unit 5 controls the output of the full detection start instruction to the full detection unit 4, the conveyance control of the conveyance unit 3 according to the control mode appropriately set according to the full state information from the full detection unit 4 and the tray empty state information, Control for determining whether the discharge tray 2 and the second transport unit 3b are full based on the full state information from the detection unit 4, control for outputting notification control information according to the control mode to the notification unit 6, and transport from the full detection unit 4 In addition to the control for outputting the bookbinding stop control information based on the full state information and the control for resuming the bookbinding after the full discharge tray 2 becomes empty, drive control of each part constituting the discharge device 1 is performed. .

  The notification unit 6 is composed of a ringing device such as a buzzer, and various display devices such as an LED lamp and a liquid crystal panel, and is notified to the user according to full notification information (tray full notification information, conveyance unit full notification information) from the control unit 5. It is notified that the discharge tray 2 or the second transport unit 3b is full.

  In addition, according to the content of the notification control information, a notification method (for example, notification of ringing only, notification of only lighting or flashing display, notification of only message display and ringing, lighting / flashing display, notification by selective combination of message display) ) Is set to be identifiable in advance, there is an effect of making it easier to grasp which of the paper discharge tray 2 and the second transport unit 3b is full when the user receives a notification.

<1-4. Discharging device processing operation>
Next, the processing operation in the first embodiment of the discharge device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, an example of processing operation when the apparatus is mounted on the bookbinding apparatus 1 in the bookbinding system 100 described above. In the following description, only the processing operation when the bound booklet is discharged and conveyed to the discharge tray 2 will be described, and the description of the bookbinding processing and the like in the bookbinding apparatus 100 will be omitted.

  First, as the bookbinding conditions, the number of booklets to be produced, the booklet size, the number of pages per book, the optimum overlap distance d for the produced booklet, print settings (for example, color / monochrome settings, duplex / single-sided settings, etc.) Is set (ST1). Next, the bookbinding process is started to produce a booklet (ST2). Then, when transporting the produced booklet to the discharge tray 2, it is determined whether or not the discharge tray 2 is full (ST3).

At this time, if it is determined that the discharge tray 2 is full (ST3-Yes), the stacking mode is set as the control mode of the transport unit 3 (ST4), and the user is notified that the discharge tray 2 is full. After that, the booklet produced by the stacking mode is started to stack (ST6). Then, it is determined whether or not the booklet on the discharge tray 2 has been removed and is empty (ST7).
On the other hand, if it is determined that the discharge tray 2 is not full (ST3-No), the normal mode is set as the control mode of the transport unit 3 (ST9), and the booklet produced in the normal mode is discharged and transported to the discharge tray 2. (ST10). Then, it is determined whether or not a booklet having the number of copies set in the bookbinding conditions has been produced (ST11).

If it is determined in ST7 that the discharge tray 2 is empty (ST7-Yes), the stacking mode is stopped, and the booklet stacked and stacked on the second transport unit 3b is discharged and transported to the discharge tray 2 (ST8). ), It is determined whether or not a booklet having the number of copies set in the bookbinding conditions has been produced (ST11).
On the other hand, if it is determined that the discharge tray 2 is not empty (ST7-No), it is further determined whether or not the second transport unit 3b is full (ST13).

In ST11, when the number of booklets set under the bookbinding conditions is produced (ST11-Yes), the booklets remaining in the apparatus are discharged to the discharge tray 2 (ST12), and the process is terminated.
On the other hand, if the booklet of the number of copies set under the bookbinding conditions has not been produced (ST11-No), the process returns to ST2 again to continue the booklet production process.

When it is determined in ST13 that the second transport unit 3b is also full (ST13-Yes), the production of the booklet is stopped (ST14), and the user is informed that the second transport unit 3b is full. Is notified that the sheet has been loaded up to the maximum stackable upper limit amount (sheet molded product stacking upper limit amount N) (ST15). Then, after the user notification, it is determined whether the booklet has been removed from the apparatus (ST16).
On the other hand, when it is determined that the second transport unit 3b is not full (ST13-No), the process returns to ST6 again to continue the stacking.

In ST16, when the booklet is removed from the apparatus (ST16-Yes), the process returns to ST2 to restart the bookbinding process.
On the other hand, if the booklet has not been removed from the apparatus (ST16-No), the process returns to ST15 again to continue notification to the user.

  As described above, the discharge device 1 of the first embodiment described above detects the stacking state of the discharge tray 2 by the full detection unit 4 when the booklet produced by the bookbinding device 100 is conveyed to the discharge tray 2. Then, when the full detection unit 4 detects that the discharge tray 2 is not full, the normal mode is set as the control mode of the transport unit 3 according to the detection result. Then, the conveyance unit 3 is driven and controlled in the set normal mode, and the booklet is discharged and conveyed to the discharge tray by normal conveyance.

  When the full detection unit 4 detects that the discharge tray 2 is full, the control mode is switched from the normal mode to the stacking mode according to the detection result, and the discharge tray 2 is full to the user. Notify that. Then, the conveyance unit 3 is driven and controlled in the set stacking mode so that the booklet is stacked and stacked on the second conveyance unit 3b. When the second conveyance unit 3b reaches the stacking upper limit, the inside of the apparatus is full. To the user to stop the bookbinding process.

  Accordingly, the user can quickly obtain a prepared booklet that is transported in the apparatus in the normal mode, and the discharge tray 2 is stacked by stacking the booklets on the second transport unit 3b in the stacking mode. Even if the book is full, the user can gain time to remove the booklet from the discharge tray 2 without stopping the bookbinding process.

  Further, in the stacking mode, the stacking is finished at the discharge side end of the second transport unit 3b, so that it is possible to prevent the booklet from overflowing and scattering around the discharge tray 2 due to overloading of the booklet. Further, when the discharge tray 2 becomes empty during the stacking mode, the control mode is switched to the normal mode, so that the user can quickly obtain a prepared booklet transported in the apparatus.

  Further, when the fullness detection unit 4 includes the tray full sensor 4a and the conveyance unit full sensor 4b, the loading state on the second conveyance unit 3b is monitored by the conveyance unit full sensor 4b. Even when the user removes the sheet molded product stacked and stacked on the unit 3b, the full state of the transport unit 3 can be accurately detected.

  Further, as a configuration of the fullness detection unit 4, a configuration for detecting fullness by sensors (tray full sensor 4a, transport unit full sensor 4b) and a configuration for performing fullness detection by calculation (loading amount calculation unit 4c, tray empty detection sensor 4d) Is combined even if the booklet is removed from the second transport unit 3b by the user before reaching the sheet molded product stacking upper limit N indicating the maximum stacking upper limit amount in the apparatus calculated by the stacking amount calculation unit 4c. Since the stacking of the booklets is continued until it is detected by the transport unit full sensor 4b that the second transport unit 3b is full, the full state of the second transport unit 3b can be accurately detected.

[2. About the second form]
<2-1. Configuration of sealed letter production system>
First, a sealed letter preparation system on which a discharge device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is mounted will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, a sealed letter production system 200 as a sheet molded article production system for producing a sheet molded article includes a printing device 210 and an encapsulating sealing device 220, and prints on an envelope form or a sheet of contents. After enclosing, the contents are enclosed and sealed with an envelope form to produce a sealed letter as a sheet molding.

  The printing device 210 is a device that prints and discharges envelope forms and sheets of contents, and has a plurality of types of sheets (sheet-fed sheets and envelopes as contents) inside or on the side of a housing that stores each part. A plurality of paper feed units 211 that can store foam), a loop-shaped conveyance path 213 that conveys paper from the introduction path 212, cyan (C), black (K), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). Printing means 214 composed of four ink jet devices C, K, M, and Y for ejecting ink of each color, a first discharge path 215 for discharging the paper to the enclosing and sealing device 220, and a first discharge passage for discharging the paper out of the loop. 2, and a switchback path 217 that reverses the sheet after receiving the sheet conveyed through the conveyance path 213 and returns the sheet to the conveyance path 213 to turn the sheet upside down.

  The encapsulating and sealing device 220 includes a content folding unit 221 that performs a predetermined folding process as needed while transporting a sheet as a content, and an envelope form folding that performs a predetermined folding process while transporting an envelope form as an envelope. A part 222, an enclosing part 223 for enclosing the contents so as to be wrapped in an envelope form as it is conveyed, and a water application processing part 224 for applying water to a re-moistened paste portion previously transferred to the envelope enclosing the contents, , A sealing unit 225 that seals the envelope after water application with conveyance, a discharge unit 226 that discharges the sealed seal to a discharge tray 226a disposed outside the apparatus housing, and each part of the seal preparation system 200 And an overall control unit 227 for overall control.

  The discharge device 11 of the second form functions as the discharge unit 226 of the sealed sealing device 220 in the sealed letter preparation system 200, and discharges and conveys while changing the method of conveying the sealed letter produced according to the loading state of the discharge tray 226a. doing.

<2-2. Configuration of discharge device>
Next, the discharge device 11 according to the second embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 10, the discharge device 11 of the second form functions as the discharge unit 226 of the above-described enclosure sealing device 220, and includes the transport unit 13, the fullness detection unit 14, the control unit 15, and the notification. And a portion 16. The discharge device 11 is the same as the discharge tray 11 (the discharge tray 226a of the sealed sealing device 220) disposed outside the device casing. This is described as “tray 11”.), And when the discharge tray 11 becomes full, sealed letters are stacked and stacked on the conveyance unit 13. In addition to the configuration provided as a configuration dedicated to this apparatus, the overall control unit 227 described above may cover the function of the control unit 15.

  The conveyance part 13 is comprised by conveyance apparatuses, such as a belt conveyor, and is provided with the 1st conveyance part 13a and the 2nd conveyance part 13b. In the transport unit 13, the transport method of the second transport unit 13 b is appropriately variably controlled by the control of the control unit 15 depending on whether or not the discharge tray 12 is full.

  The first transport unit 13a is provided in the latter stage of the sealed paper transport path inside the housing of the sealed sealing device 220 for transporting the sealed paper sealed by the sealing unit 225 to the second transport unit 13b. It functions as a pre-discharge transport section that transports to the transport section 13b.

  The second transport unit 13b can be easily removed when transporting the sealed paper transported from the first transport unit 13a to the discharge tray 12, so that the outside of the device housing (in this embodiment, the sealed sealing device is used). 220 is exposed). The second transport unit 13b functions as a shooter unit that receives the sealed letter transported from the first transport part 13a, transports it to the opening of the discharge tray 12, and drops and discharges the sealed letter to the discharge tray 12 by free fall. In addition, when the second transport unit 13b shifts to a stacking mode to be described later, it is possible to stack all envelopes produced from the envelope form and contents remaining in the envelope production system 200 and remaining in the envelope production system 200. It is designed to be at least larger than the longitudinal direction of the envelope.

  Here, a method of driving the transport unit 13 will be described with reference to FIG. The transport unit 13 is controlled in two types of control modes of “normal mode” or “overlapping mode” according to transport mode information from the control unit 15.

(Normal mode)
The normal mode is a control mode that is set when the discharge tray 12 does not reach the upper limit of stacking and does not need to be stacked and stacked on the second transport unit 13b and performs normal discharge transport processing.
As shown in FIG. 11A, the sealed letters sealed from the first transport unit 13a are sequentially transported to the second transport unit 13b. The second transport unit 13b receives the sealed letter transported from the first transport unit 13a, transports it in the discharge direction (right direction in the figure), and drops and discharges it to the discharge tray 12. Thus, the produced sealed letter is loaded and placed on the discharge tray 12.

(Stacking mode)
The stacking mode is a control mode that is set when the discharge tray 12 reaches the stacking upper limit and is in a discharging state that requires stacking by the second transport unit 13b.
As shown in FIG. 11B, when the full detection unit 14 detects that the sealed letter stacked on the discharge tray 12 has reached the stacking upper limit position, the normal mode is switched to the stacking mode, and the first transport unit 13a The sealed letters that have been sealed are sequentially conveyed to the second conveyance unit 13b. Then, the second transport unit 13b stops the transport operation and sequentially stacks the sealed letters transported from the first transport unit 13a. Thereby, the sealed letter is not discharged to the discharge tray 12 that has reached the upper limit of loading, and it is possible to prevent the sealed letter from overflowing from the discharged tray 12 due to overloading.

  In addition, when the stacking mode is set, a new sealed letter preparation process is stopped by stopping the paper feeding operation of the printing apparatus 210, and a light projecting / receiving sensor provided at the discharge side end of the first transport unit 13a. Until the conveyance detection unit 13c detects the last envelope produced using the envelope form and contents remaining in the envelope production system 200. A sealed letter preparation process is executed. When the conveyance detection unit 13c detects the last letter to be produced in the letter production system 200 after the paper feeding is stopped, the stacking of letters and the letter production process are stopped, and the discharge tray 12 is full for the user. A notification indicating this is notified from the notification unit 16.

  In addition, in the stacking mode, when the full state of the discharge tray is released (that is, when the detection of the sealed letter by the tray full sensor is not detected), the sealed letter once stacked on the second transport unit 13b. Is discharged to the discharge tray 12 and when the set number of copies has not been reached, the mode is switched to the normal mode, and the sealed letter is discharged and conveyed again until the full detection unit 14 detects the sealed letter.

  The full detection unit 14 includes a tray full sensor 14a including various sensors such as a light projecting / receiving sensor. When the fullness detection unit 14 detects that the discharge tray 12 is full by a sealed letter conveyed by the conveyance unit 13, the fullness detection unit 14 outputs full state information (tray full state information) indicating the full state to the control unit 15. .

  In this embodiment, the control mode of the transport unit 13 is switched to prevent the envelope from overflowing from the discharge tray 12 due to overloading. Therefore, the control unit is arranged at a position higher than the installation position of the normal tray full sensor 14a. Can be set. Thereby, the upper limit of stacking of the discharge tray 12 is increased more than usual, and as a result, the maximum stacking capacity in the apparatus can be increased.

  Further, the tray full sensor 14a can detect whether or not the sealed letter loaded in the discharge tray 12 has been removed. When detecting that the sealed letter has been removed from the full discharged tray 12, this detection is performed. The tray empty information indicating the result is output to the control unit 15. Therefore, after the stacking mode is stopped and the sealed letters stacked and stacked on the second transport unit 13b are discharged and transported to the discharge tray 12, when the set number of preparations has not been reached, the normal mode is switched again to transport the sealed letters. Is done.

  The control unit 15 is configured by a microcomputer including, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The control unit 15 controls the output of the full detection start instruction to the full detection unit 14, the conveyance control of the conveyance unit 13 according to the control mode appropriately set according to the tray full state information from the full detection unit 14, and the full detection unit 14 Control for determining whether the discharge tray 12 is full or empty based on the tray full status information, control for outputting notification control information (tray full notification information, sealed letter production stop information) according to the control mode to the notification unit 16, full detection Control for outputting stop control information for stopping the paper feeding of the paper feeding unit 211 based on the tray full state information from the unit 14, the envelope form and the contents in the middle of production remaining in the sealed letter making system 200 due to the stop of the paper feeding unit 211 Control to execute the sealed letter preparation process until the last detection letter made using the object is detected by the conveyance detection unit 13c, the full discharge tray 12 is emptied Other control resuming the sealed document preparation process, is carried out drive control of each unit constituting the discharge device 11.

  The notification unit 16 includes a ringing device such as a buzzer and a display device such as an LED lamp and a liquid crystal panel, and the discharge tray 12 is full for the user in accordance with notification control information (tray full notification information) from the control unit 15. Is informed.

<2-3. Discharging device processing operation>
Next, the processing operation in the discharge device 11 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Here, it is an example of processing operation when the present apparatus is mounted on the sealed sealing apparatus 220 in the sealed letter production system 200 described above. In the following description, only the processing operation when the produced sealed letter is discharged and conveyed to the discharge tray 12 will be described, and the description of the sealed sealing process of the sealed letter in the sealed sealing apparatus 220 will be omitted.

  First, the number of copies of a letter to be produced, the size of the letter, and print settings (for example, color / monochrome setting, duplex / single-side setting, etc.) are set as sealed letter preparation conditions (ST21). Next, a sealed letter preparation process is started and a sealed letter is prepared (ST22). Then, when the produced sealed letter is conveyed to the discharge tray 12, it is determined whether or not the discharge tray 12 is full (ST23).

At this time, if it is determined that the discharge tray 12 is full (ST23-Yes), the stacking mode is set as the control mode of the transport unit 13 (ST24), and the paper feed stop information is output to the printing apparatus 210 and supplied. The paper feeding by the paper unit 211 is stopped (ST25), and the driving of the transport detection unit 13c is started (ST26). Next, after notifying the user that the discharge tray 12 is full (ST27), the stacking of the letters prepared in the stacking mode is started (ST28). Then, it is determined whether or not the sealed letter is removed from the discharge tray 12 (ST29).
On the other hand, when it is determined that the discharge tray 12 is not full (ST23-No), the normal mode is set as the control mode of the transport unit 13 (ST32), and the produced sealed letter is discharged and transported to the discharge tray 12 in the normal mode. (ST33). Then, it is determined whether or not the number of copies set under the sealed letter preparation conditions has been prepared (ST34).

In ST29, when the discharge tray 12 is empty (ST29-Yes), the stacking mode is stopped (ST30), and the envelopes stacked and stacked on the second transport unit 13b are discharged and transported to the discharge tray 12 ( ST31), it is determined whether or not the number of copies set under the sealed letter preparation conditions has been prepared (ST34).
On the other hand, if it is determined that the discharge tray 12 is not empty (ST29-No), the process returns to ST25 again to continue notifying the user that the discharge tray 12 is full.

In ST33, when the number of sealed letters set in the sealed letter preparation conditions is prepared (ST34-Yes), the sealed letters remaining in the apparatus are discharged to the discharge tray 12 (ST35), and the process is terminated.
On the other hand, when the number of sealed letters set under the sealed letter preparation conditions has not been prepared (ST34-No), the process returns to ST22 again to continue the sealed letter preparation process.

  As described above, the discharge device 11 of the second form detects the stacking state of the discharge tray 12 by the full detection unit 14 when the sealed letter produced by the sealing device 220 is conveyed to the discharge tray 12. When the full detection unit 14 detects that the discharge tray 12 is not full, the normal mode is set as the control mode of the transport unit 13 according to the detection result. Then, the conveyance unit 13 is driven and controlled in the set normal mode, and the sealed letter is discharged and conveyed to the discharge tray 12 by normal conveyance.

  Further, when the full detection unit 14 detects that the discharge tray 12 is full, the control mode is switched from the normal mode to the stacking mode according to the detection result, and the discharge tray 12 is full to the user. Notify that. Then, the transport unit 13 is driven and controlled in the set stacking mode to stack and stack the sealed letters on the second transport unit 13b, and the sheet feeding unit 211 is stopped. And while making the last sealed letter produced using the envelope form and the contents in the middle which remain in the sealed letter production system 200 detect the conveyance detection part 13c, while performing the sealed letter production process, the discharge tray 12 is full. Notify the user that there is.

  As a result, even when the discharge tray 12 is full, the sealed letter is produced on the second conveying unit 13b while being stacked and stacked in the sealed letter system 200 after the paper feeding unit 211 stops feeding. Therefore, even if the paper feeding of the paper feeding unit 211 is stopped, the sealed letter preparation process does not stop immediately, and the user can gain time to remove the sealed letter in the discharge tray 12 while suppressing a decrease in productivity as much as possible. it can.

  Further, since the control mode of the transport unit 13 is switched to prevent the sealed letter from overflowing from the discharge tray 12 due to overloading, it can be arranged at a position higher than the installation position of the normal tray full sensor 14a. And the maximum load capacity in the apparatus can be increased.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 11 ... Discharge device 2, 12 ... Discharge tray 3, 13 ... Conveyance part (3a, 13a ... 1st conveyance part, 3b, 13b ... 2nd conveyance part, 13c ... Conveyance detection part)
4, 14 ... Full detection unit (4a, 14a ... Tray full sensor, 4b ... Conveying unit full sensor, 4c ... Loading amount calculation unit, 4d ... Tray empty detection sensor)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5,15 ... Control part 6,16 ... Notification part 100 ... Bookbinding system 110, 210 ... Printing apparatus 120 ... Bookbinding apparatus 200 ... Sealed letter preparation system 220 ... Sealing sealing apparatus

Claims (3)

A transport unit that discharges and transports a sheet molding produced by a post-processing device that performs post-processing to predetermined paper to a discharge tray;
A tray empty detection sensor that detects that the discharge tray is empty, a thickness D of the sheet molded product to be produced, a length X in the conveyance direction of the sheet molded product, and between the sheet molded products at the time of stacking. The number of sheet moldings that can be stacked on the discharge tray obtained from sheet molding information including the interval d, device information including the stacking upper limit height A of the discharge tray, and the total length L of the stacking area of the sheet molding. a fullness detection unit having at least a load amount calculation unit for calculating n ;
When the tray empty detection sensor detects that the discharge tray is empty, the driving of the conveying unit is started, and when the number n of sheet molded products calculated by the stacking amount calculating unit is conveyed, the conveying A control unit for controlling the transport unit in a control mode of stacking and stacking at least a part of the sheet molding on the transport path of the unit;
A discharge device characterized by comprising: The integrated amount calculation unit is configured to add the number n of sheet moldings and the maximum number of sheet moldings n ′ that can be stacked on the transport unit obtained from the sheet molding information and the device information. Calculate the sheet molding load upper limit N indicating the upper limit,
When the number of conveyed sheet molded articles conveyed since the driving of the conveying section reaches the upper limit amount N of sheet molded article stacks from the integrated amount calculating section, discharge device of claim 1, wherein it is determined to have reached the load amount and performing control to stop the production of the molded sheet to the post-processing apparatus. A printing apparatus that performs a predetermined printing process on the paper fed from a paper feed unit, and a post-processing apparatus that performs the predetermined post-processing on the paper printed by the printing apparatus to produce the sheet molding. It is installed in the configured sheet molding production system,
When the full detection unit detects a full state of the discharge tray, the control unit stops the sheet feeding from the sheet feeding unit, and produces a sheet molded product in the middle of production remaining in the sheet molded product producing system. The discharging apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the sheet molding production system is controlled so as to execute only processing .

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