JPS6326062B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention The present invention is applicable to image forming devices such as ruler plates, printing devices, simple printing machines, and other sheets (cut sheet paper,
It is used by being attached to the sheet output unit of a device that outputs sheets of paper (cards, thin plates, etc.) one after another, and it receives the sheets sequentially output from the sheet output device, and automatically aligns the receiving sheets with each other (sheet The present invention relates to an automatic sheet processing device that automatically performs bookbinding (stapling, gluing, etc.) on the aligned sheet bundle, and further automatically discharges the aligned sheet bundle.

This type of automatic sheet processing device is effective in streamlining office processing, and various proposals have already been made (for example, JP-A-50-99548, JP-A-53-
119047, etc.), and there are also practical machines. However, conventional devices are generally large, complex, and expensive devices that are used in combination with special and high-grade sheet output devices of specific models, and cannot be easily combined and used with general-purpose copying machines, for example. However, it lacked versatility.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above, and has versatility that can be used in combination with various existing sheet output devices, and is highly reliable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide this type of automatic sheet processing device that is compact and low-cost as a whole.

A detailed explanation will be given below based on an embodiment shown in the figure. In the figure, 1 is the overall code of the automatic sheet processing apparatus of this example, 100 is a sheet output device, and 200 is a pedestal on which the sheet output device is installed. In this example, the sheet output device 100 is a copying machine. Reference numeral 101 indicates a sheet output device port (sheet discharge port) formed horizontally on the left end face plate 102 of the ruler plate machine housing, and reference numeral 103 indicates a sheet discharge pinch disposed inside the sheet output port 101 and near the output port. It's Laura. A copy sheet on which an image has been formed by an image forming process mechanism (not shown) built into the copying machine housing is discharged and conveyed by the sheet discharge pinch roller 103 and outputted from the output port 101 to the outside of the machine.

(1) General configuration of automatic sheet processing device 1 The device 1 of this example uses a tilted tray 6 for sheet alignment.
The binding is performed by first and second sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 arranged at right angles to each other, and the bookbinding is performed by stapling.The general structure is as follows:・The mechanism is assembled.

a. A pair of upper and lower sheet guide plates 3, 3 that successively accept the sheet P output from the sheet output port 101 of the copying machine 100 and guide it forward. b. A sheet ejection pinch provided at the leading edge of the sheet guide plate. Rollers 4 and 5 c Sheet collection tray 6 disposed in an inclined position to receive the sheets sent out from the pinch rollers d Sheet collection tray 6 disposed in an inclined position receives the sheets sent out from the pinch rollers d The sheets that are successively discharged and accumulated into the tray are collected by a cooperative action with the inclined tray. Assemble the two corresponding right-angled sides so that they are aligned,
First and second sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 arranged at right angles to each other; e Tray swing mechanism 9 that supports the tray in a freely swinging manner and selectively converts it into the first and second inclined positions; f Inside the tray A stapler mechanism 10 that collectively staples (binds) a stack of sheets that are aligned and stacked.
Cables (signal transmission/reception lines) etc. connecting to the electric circuit on the 00 side (2) Equipment chassis 2 (Figure 2) The equipment chassis 2 connects the left end face plate 102, which is the sheet output port side of the copying machine 100, and the copying machine left in place. The main body is a vertical back plate portion 2a that is large enough to cover both sides of the left end face plate 201 of the pedestal 200, and left and right side plate portions 2b and 2c protrude forward from the upper left and right sides of the vertical back plate portion 2a, respectively; A horizontally long intermediate shelf section 2d is disposed at a position slightly higher than the middle section of the vertical back panel section 2a so as to substantially cross the back panel from the left side to the right side of the back plate, and on the left end side of the intermediate shelf section. A forward protruding arm part 2e formed in series with the shelf board, a wide shelf part 2f also formed in series with the shelf board on the right end side of the intermediate shelf part, and a surface near the top of the vertical back board part 2a. Horizontal window hole 2g formed in the part and vertical back plate part 2
Long holes 2h for inserting vertical screws are formed at each of the four corners of the substantially lower half of the portion a.

The intermediate shelf section 2d, the arm bar section 2e on the left end side, and the wide shelf section 2f on the right end side, which are connected to the intermediate shelf section 2d, are generally arranged in the vertical back section 2 in relation to the inclination of the tray, which will be described later.
It is arranged so that it is tilted upward forward with respect to a and tilted β downward to the right.

(3) Sheet guide plates 3 and 3 and sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5 (Figures 1, 3, and 4) The sheet guide plates 3 and 3 continue to guide the sheets P output from the sheet output port 101 of the copying machine 100. It is for receiving the sheet and guiding the leading edge of the sheet to the nip portion of the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5, and is disposed between the left and right side plates 2b and 2c of the chassis, with both ends fixed to the inside of the side plates.

The sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5 are disposed on the tip sides of the sheet guide plates 3 and 3, and pinch the sheets sent through the gap passages between the guide plates 3 and 3 into the tray 6 described later. It serves to discharge water to the In this example, the lower roller 4 is a driving roller, and the upper roller 5 is a driven pressure roller.The driving roller 4 is rotatably supported between the left and right side plates 2b and 2c of the chassis, and is supported by being attached to the outside of the left side plate 2b of the chassis. Three rotary shafts 11 are fixedly supported at predetermined intervals along the length of the rotary shaft 11, which is rotationally driven by a motor M1. The driven rollers 5 for each driving roller 4 are connected to the left and right side plates 2 of the chassis.
A support arm 12 made of a spring plate whose base is fixed to a stay 13 disposed between b and 2c with screws etc. is rotatably supported by a bearing on the tip side, and the downward biasing force of each spring plate support arm 12 It is in constant pressure contact with the upper surface of the drive roller 4.

The passage formed by the upper and lower sheet guide plates 3 should preferably have a small gap of about 1 to 2 mm in order to prevent the sheets from flapping between the two guide plates. In addition, the sheet guide plate is made of a wire-like member or a wire-like member to prevent condensation of water vapor generated from the sheets passing between them, and to prevent sheet conveyance problems due to the dew condensation, as long as the conveyance of the sheet is not hindered.・It is preferable to use a mesh member, etc.

The rotation speed of the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5 is set to be slightly faster than that of the sheet discharge pinch roller 103 on the copying machine 100 side in order to prevent sheets from sagging between the sheet guide plates 3 and 3. , and the nip pressure is determined by the roller 10 on the copying machine 100 side.
It is set weaker than that of 3.

(4) Sheet collection tray 6 and its swing mechanism 9 (Figs. 1, 3 to 5)
The base is firmly held by the fixed support member 14 at a position slightly closer to the left end than the intermediate position of the shelf board,
In addition, the back surface is connected and supported via bearing members 16 to a shaft 15 which is disposed so as to be inclined (α) forward and upward, so as to be able to swing freely left and right about the shaft 15. Therefore, the tray 6 is attached to the palm arm part 2.
Tension spring 17 stretched between the lug 2i formed on the e side and the back surface of the tray 6 near the left side (Figs. 1 and 5)
The tray is always subjected to a tensile force and is urged to rotate counterclockwise around the shaft 15, and the rear surface of the left side of the tray is usually received by coming into contact with the upper surface of the palm arm part 2e, and it moves forward. It is held in a tilted posture state in which the front is tilted upward (α) and the front is tilted downward (β) to the right. Hereinafter, this posture state will be referred to as the first posture. Above tray 6
The front upward inclination angle α and the right downward inclination angle β in the first attitude are set and designed within the ranges of, for example, 23 to 26 degrees and 6 to 10 degrees, respectively.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a tray swinging cam, and this cam is connected to the tip of the forward-protruding rotating shaft 19 of the forward/reverse pulse motor M2, which is fixedly disposed at a position near the left end of the shelf on the back surface of the chassis intermediate shelf 2d. By controlling the motor M to rotate approximately 90 degrees in the normal and reverse directions, the left horizontal position shown by the solid line in FIG. The patient is returned to a horizontal position. When the cam 18 is in the horizontal position, it is not in contact with the tray 6 and the tray 6 is maintained in the above-mentioned first position.
When the tray 6 is converted into an upward rotational position by approximately 90° normal rotation drive, the tip of the cam comes into contact with the rear surface of the rear left corner of the tray and presses it in the upward direction, causing the tray 6 to resist the tension spring 17. It is rotated clockwise around the shaft 15 and is converted to and held in the posture shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. . Hereinafter, this posture state will be referred to as a second posture. Cam 1 in this upward position
When the tray 8 is again changed to the horizontal position by the approximately 90° reverse rotation drive of the motor M2, the tray in the second position returns to the first position again.

In this example, the tray swing mechanism 9 refers to the entire mechanism including the above-mentioned tray support shaft 15, tension spring 17, cam 18, motor M2, etc. as constituent members.

(5) Sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 (No. 1 to 6, 11
(Figure) The sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 are placed on two right-angled sides on the sliding down side of the sheet that is ejected into the tray 6 in the first posture state and slides down in the tray due to the inclination of the tray, that is, in this example, the sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 Posterior side P _B (11th
This is a member that receives the right side P _R and aligns each sheet that is ejected and deposited one after another into the tray one after another (alignment state), and the rear side of the sheet
The ruler plate 7 on the side that receives P _B is the first sheet alignment ruler plate, and the ruler plate 8 on the side that receives the right side P _R of the sheet is the second sheet alignment ruler plate.

The first ruler plate 7 is attached and supported via a bracket 20 (FIGS. 2 and 3) along the front edge of the chassis intermediate shelf section 2d, and the second ruler board 8 is attached to the chassis wide shelf section 2d. The rear end of the ruler plate 2f is fixedly attached and supported in a cantilever manner via a bracket 21, and both ruler plates 7 and 8 are perpendicular to each other. The right corner of the rear side of the tray 6 is cut off diagonally (Figures 1 and 11), and the right end of the first ruler plate 7 and the rear end of the second ruler plate 8 are cut off at the cut-off part of the tray. The openings 22 are formed by extending the openings 22 up to the corresponding positions and not allowing them to meet each other.

The lower sides of both the FIG. 1 and second ruler plates 7 and 8 are bent inward at right angles to form narrow projecting edges 7a and 8a. Therefore _, when the tray 6 is in the first posture, as shown in FIGS. d1, and the right side _6R corresponds to the lower narrow projecting edge 8a of the second ruler plate 8 with a small tray rotation allowance gap d2 in between. Also, at this time, the first and second ruler plates 7 and
8, the upper surface 7 of each lower side narrow overhanging edge 7a, 8b
The relationship is structured so that a step W is created so that a' and 8a' are the lower surfaces.

(6) Stapler mechanism 10 (FIGS. 1, 7 to 10) The stapler mechanism 10 includes a stapler main body 23 provided above the wide shelf section 2f, and a stapler main body 23 provided above the wide shelf section 2f.
It consists of a drive mechanism section assembled on the lower side of f.

The stapler main body 23 is positioned and fixed at the rear end of a channel type guide member 24 which is positioned and fixed on the upper surface of the wide shelf section 2f with its longitudinal axis facing toward the opening 22 between the first and second ruler plates 7 and 8. axis 25
The shaft 25 is connected to the
The guide member 24 and stapler main body 23
The guide member 24 is constantly urged to open and rotate upwardly by a torsion spring 26 stretched between the guide members 24.

The stapler main body 23 has a box-shaped head portion 27 with an open upper surface provided at its tip, a staple loading guide groove portion 28, and a series of staple needles 29 loaded in the groove portion 28, by constantly pressing the rear end side to staple. Needle pushing member 30 that presses the tip end side of the needle 29 against the outer surface of the opposing side wall 27a of the head portion 27
, a spiral spring 31 that urges the staple pushing member 30 and has one end locked to the stapler body; It consists of a staple point member 32, and a coil spring 33 compressed between the head portion 27 and the point member 32.

The dot member 32 is made by bending a metal band plate into a substantially U-shape, and turns it upside down to attach the two leg plates 32 facing downward.
Between a and 32b, there is a staple receiving side wall 27a of the head section 27 and the opposite side front wall 27 of the head.
It is placed over the head portion 27 so as to sandwich the portion b.
A slit hole 27c is formed in the vertical direction in the front wall 27b of the head, as shown in the enlarged views in FIGS. At a position near the lower side, a diagonally upwardly cut claw side 32c is formed so as to protrude inward from the leg plate, and is inserted into the slit hole 27c of the head portion 27. Also, side wall 3
Since 2d and 32e are restricted to 27e and 27f, there is no lateral displacement. It can freely slide up and down with respect to the head portion 27, and is normally pushed upward against the head portion 27 by the pushing force of the contracted coil spring 33 until the claw side 32c hits the upper edge of the slit hole 27c and is received. It is held in an upwardly pushed state relative to the head portion 27 until it is stopped in the raised state.

In the above, the spring pressure F26 of the torsion spring 26 which urges the stapler body 23 to open and rotate relative to the guide member 24 about the shaft 25, and the coil spring 33 compressed between the head portion 27 and the striking point member 32 are applied. The spring pressure F33 is set to satisfy the relationship F26<<F33.

Reference numeral 34 denotes an L-shaped stapler body push-down lever that has a horizontal arm portion 34a and a downward arm portion 34b, and is freely swingable about a shaft 35, and the tip of the horizontal arm portion 34a is provided with a striking member of the stapler body horizontally. 32 is formed with a lug 34c that comes into contact with the upper surface of the 32, and the lower side of the downward arm 34b is connected to the wide shelf 2.
It projects below the shelf 2f from a slit hole 2j (FIG. 2) drilled in the f-plane.

M3 is a forward/reverse motor for driving a stapler that is attached and held on the vertical back plate 2a of the chassis, 37 is a rotating arm whose base is fixedly supported on the rotating shaft 36 of the motor, and 38 is a cam plate also fixed to the shaft 36. ,
MS1 and MS2 are first and second micro switches that are turned on and off as the cam plate 38 rotates. The rotary arm 37 has a long hole 37a formed along its length on the arm surface.
7a, the downward arm 3 of the L-shaped lever 34
A pin shaft 34d implanted in the lower end of the arm 4b is inserted to connect the rotating arm 37 and the L-shaped lever 34 to each other.

The rotating arm 37 is always held in a standby position at a rotation angle diagonally upward to the left as shown by the solid line in FIG.
In this state, the cam plate 38 turns off the first micro switch MS1 and turns off the second micro switch MS1.
MS2 is held in the on position, and the L-shaped lever 34 is rotated clockwise about the shaft 35 so that the horizontal arm 3
4a is held in a rotation angle position diagonally upward to the left.
Then, the stapler main body 23 is opened and rotated relative to the guide member 24 around the shaft 25 until the upper surface of the dot member 32 comes into contact with and is received by the lower surface of the lug 34c of the sideways arm 34a due to the opening rotation force of the torsion spring 26. maintained in the state. The above state is called a stapler standby state.

Here, from the copying machine 200 to the sheet automatic processing device 1
The sheets sequentially discharged to the tray 6 are individually detected by the sheet sensor S (FIG. 3) to pass through the output port 101 of the copying machine at the rear end, or to pass through the sheet discharge ports 4 and 5 on the automatic sheet processing device side. The control circuit starts driving the motor M3 in the normal rotation after a predetermined delay time T required for the copy sheet ejected to the tray 6 to be completely aligned in the tray has elapsed based on the detection signal. Ru. The rotation arm 37 and the cam plate 38 are rotated clockwise in FIG. 7 by the forward rotation of the motor M3. Accordingly, the L-shaped lever 34 is also rotated counterclockwise about the shaft 35 while pushing down the stapler body 23 against the torsion spring 26. The first microswitch MS1 is kept turned on by the start of rotation of the cam plate 38. The second microswitch MS2 remains on for a while thereafter, and is turned off when the rotating arm reaches a substantially vertical rotating angle position 37' shown by a chain line. At this time, the stapler main body 23 is pushed down and rotated by the L-shaped lever 34 until the lower surface of the head portion 27 comes into contact with the staple receiving seat 39 fixedly arranged on the upper surface of the wide sheet shelf 2f. Figure 7 (1-dot chain line 23'). In this state, the striking member 32 has not yet reached the point where it acts on the leading edge of the loaded staple 29 inside the stapler body 23 which has been pushed down against the coil spring 33. This depressed state of the stapler is referred to as first stage depression.

When the second micro switch MS2 is turned off, the motor M3 is reversed and the first micro switch MS2 is turned off.
The rotating arm 37 returns and rotates counterclockwise until the micro switch MS1 is turned off again, and the stapler returns to its initial standby state. This pressing down of the stapler to the first stage and return to the standby state is repeated every time a copy sheet is output/ejected from the copying machine 100 to the tray 6.

By repeatedly pressing down and returning to the first stage of the stapler, a copy sheet is ejected from the copying machine 100 side to the tray 6, and each time the copy sheet reaches the alignment position, the opening 22 between the first and second ruler plates 7 and 8 is opened. The right corner of the rear side of the sheet that protrudes from the side toward the wide shelf board 2f and is located above the staple catch seat 29 is the staple catch seat 29 and the lower surface of the head portion 27 of the stapler body 23 pushed down in the first stage. This improves the mutual alignment of the sheets.

40 (Figures 1, 9, and 10) is the stapler body 2
This is a rod-shaped member for paper pressing made of an elastic and flexible material, which has a base attached to the side surface of the head portion 27 of No. 3 and is disposed approximately parallel to the inner longitudinal direction of the first sheet alignment ruler plate 7. . This paper pressing member 40 moves up and down in accordance with the vertical movement of the head section 27 during the first stage push-down/return cycle of the stapler, and presses down the upper surface of the rear side of the aligned sheet in the tray. 40 widens the paper holding range, and even if the sheet has curls, the curls are suppressed and corrected, thereby further improving the mutual alignment of the sheets.

When the paper presser member 40 is lowered to press the sheet, the tip end of the paper presser member 40 first comes into contact with the sheet surface, and as the member 40 continues to descend, the base side surface sequentially comes into contact with the sheet surface, and finally the member 40 comes into contact with the sheet surface. The alignment of the sheet with respect to the second ruler plate 8 is further improved by arranging the sheet in such an angular position that the entire lower surface contacts the sheet surface and presses the sheet.

When the copy sheets are sequentially discharged from the copying machine 100 into the tray 6 and the last copy sheet is output, a condition signal indicating that the copy sheet is the final sheet is sent to the copying machine 100. The signal is input from a circuit (not shown) to a control circuit (not shown) on the automatic sheet processing device 1 side. The trailing edge of the last copy sheet passes through sensor S (Figure 3).
After a predetermined delay time T has elapsed after this detection, normal rotation of the motor M3 is started and the stapler main body 23 is pushed down in the same way as in the case of sheets up to that point. However, in this case, even after the stapler is pushed down to the first stage and the second micro switch MS2 is turned off based on the input of the above condition signal, the rotating arm 37 is The first micro switch is rotated slightly more clockwise than when it is pressed down to the almost vertical vertical rotation angle position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
The forward rotation of the motor M3 continues until MS1 is also turned off. During the counterclockwise rotation process of the L-shaped lever 34 due to the forward rotation of the motor M3 that continues from the time when the stapler is pressed down to the first stage, the striking member 32 of the stapler body 23 resists the coil spring 33 and hits the head. 27 (FIG. 8c). By pressing down the dotting point member 32, one of the leading ends of the loaded stapling needles 29 in the stapler body 23 is pushed down to the downward leg plate 32a of the dotting point member 32.
The lower edge of the needle is pushed out from the needle push-out gap opening 27d toward the needle receiving seat 39, and as a result, the head portion 2
The sheet bundle portion sandwiched between the lower surface of the sheet 7 and the staple receiving seat 39 is stapled all at once.
When the above-mentioned point member is pressed down, the stapler
This is called step push down.

When the stapler is pressed down to the second stage and the first microswitch MS1 is turned off, the motor M3 is reversed and the stapler returns to its initial standby state (solid line state in FIG. 7).

(7) Attaching the automatic sheet processing device 1 to the copying machine 100 (FIG. 1) The automatic sheet processing device 1 is attached to the copying machine 100, which is a sheet output device, in the following manner. First, the normal ejection sheet tray that is attached to the sheet output port 101 on the left side plate of the copying machine 100 and protrudes outward is removed. Then, once remove the set screws 202 at the four corners fixing the left end face plate 201 of the pedestal 200 on which the copying machine 100 is placed,
Set screws 202 are installed in each of the vertical holes 2h at the four corners of the lower half of the
This is done by inserting the pedestal left end face plate 201 and the lower half of the chassis back plate 2a of the device 1 together to the pedestal main body. In this case, vertical hole 2
Using h, the vertical position of the apparatus 1 with respect to the copying machine 100 is adjusted such that the opening 2g formed in the vertical back plate 2a of the chassis on the apparatus 1 side faces the sheet output port 101 on the copying machine 100 side, and the copying machine 100 Adjust the position so that the sheet receiving opening side of the pair of upper and lower sheet guide plates 3, 3 on the apparatus 1 side directly faces the sheet discharge pinch roller 103 on the side, and tighten each screw 202.

Although not shown in the figure, the device 1 has a cable (signal line) that connects the electric circuit on the device side and the electric circuit on the copying machine 100 side, and the plug at the end of the cable must be inserted into the outlet on the copying machine side. This also electrically connects both devices 1 and 100. This completes the attachment of the apparatus 1 to the copying machine 100.

(8) Operation a. Set the number of copies per copy N and the number of required copies M to the copying machine 100 and start copying. When the copying machine is operated, first copy sheets are output one after another from the sheet output port 101 of the copying machine 100. The output sheet P passes through the gap passage between the upper and lower guide plates 3 and 3 on the apparatus 1 side, and is sandwiched between the nip portions of the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5, and is held in the first posture state by the pinch rollers. It is sent out to the tray 6 and discharged into the tray 6.

In this example, sheets of various sizes are discharged from the copying machine 100 side to the tray 6 along the dotted line R-R near the right side of the tray (Fig. 11).
It is assumed that one-sided reference transport (sheet right-side reference transport) is performed using the reference line as the reference line.

b The sheet P that has started to be fed out to the tray 6 side by the pinch rollers 4 and 5 is fed out a certain length, and the fed out sheet part resists the strength of the waist due to its own weight, as shown by the solid line in Figure 3. Since the tray 6 is tilted downward to the right, the left corner _P1 of the leading edge of the downwardly curved sheet portion is first aligned with the tray 6 surface (or the second and subsequent sheets are already in the tray). (top surface of the sheet ejected into the interior). At this time, the sheet approach angle θ to the tray 4 surface is an acute angle.

c Next, the pinch roller 4 of the subsequent sheet P
As the sheet is fed to the tray 6 side by 5, the leading edge side of the sheet is moved to the tray 6 by the sheet feeding force.
The sheet P moves up and slides smoothly along the front upward slope toward the leading edge of the tray, and the sheet P is fed into the tray.

d When the rear end of the sheet P passes through the nip portion of the pinch rollers 4 and 5 and comes out,
The sheet P falls into the tray 6 and becomes discharged (solid line in FIG. 11).

e The sheet P discharged into the tray 6 then moves along the front upward slope of the tray 6, or conversely, along the combined slope of the rear downward slope and the right downward slope, toward the rear right corner of the tray 6. A (Figure 11)
It slides down naturally under its own weight.

f In the process of sliding down the sheet P in the direction A, in this example, the right side P _R of the sheet P first hits the inner surface of the second sheet alignment ruler plate 8 and is restricted in position (as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure). state).

g Then, the sheet P'' is placed on the second ruler plate 8
The sheet slides down in direction _B toward the first ruler plate 7 along situation).

h In other words, the sheet P ejected into the tray 6 will finally reach the right side P _R which is the two right-angled sides on the sliding down side
and rear side P _B are received in the inner surfaces of the first and second ruler plates 7 and 8, which are perpendicular to each other and serve as alignment rulers, respectively, and are placed in the tray 6 in a positioned state. At this point, as explained in item (6) above, the stapler mechanism presses the first stage down once.
As a result, the lower surface of the stapler head 27 and the paper presser member 40 descend and return to press the paper of the aligned sheet and discharged into the tray 6.

i Thus, the second and subsequent output sheets also follow the above b
In the same process as described in items 1 to 1, the sheets are sequentially discharged, aligned, and pressed into the tray 6, and are aligned and stacked one after another. The right corner of the rear side of the sheet bundle aligned in the tray 6 protrudes from the opening 22 between the first and second alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 toward the wide sheet shelf plate 2f, and serves as a staple receiver. It will now be positioned on the seat 39.

j Then, the last copy sheet of the first set is output and ejected into the tray 6, and when it is aligned, the stapler mechanism pushes down the second stage as explained in item (6) above. As a result of the return operation, all the sheet bundles in the tray are stapled at the right corner of the rear side, and are collectively stapled (bookbinding process) (FIG. 8c).

k When the stapler mechanism returns to the standby state,
Based on the signal, the motor M2 of the tray swinging mechanism 9 is driven to rotate approximately 90 degrees in the normal direction, and the cam 18 assumes an upward rotating position. As a result, the tray 6 moves from the first posture shown by the solid line in FIG.
The right side of tray 6 and the second
A gap opening is created between the lower edges of the ruler plate 8, and a bundle of bound copy sheets in the tray 6 slides down to the right along the right diagonal of the tray, and is placed on the sliding side from the gap opening. They are automatically discharged and stored in a storage container (stacker) 43 with the stapled side first. By discharging the stapled sheet bundle from the tray 6 to the stacker 43 side with the stapled side at the beginning, it is possible to prevent the sheets from coming loose.

l After the predetermined timer time (usually about 1 second) required for the bound sheet bundle in the tray to be completely discharged from the tray after the tray 6 is changed to the second posture state, or the stacker 43 After a sensor (not shown) disposed at the entrance of the stacker detects that the sheet bundle has been discharged and stored on the stacker side, the motor M2 is driven approximately 90 degrees in the reverse direction, and the tray 6 is again changed to the first posture state. be done.

m Next, the copy sheets for the second set are output one after another from the copying machine 100 side to the apparatus 1 side, and the second set of copy sheets is automatically aligned, automatically bound, and automatically ejected in the same manner as described above. In this way, through the repeating cycle of the above items b to m, each bound copy sheet bundle of the M section is finally automatically adjusted and placed in the stacker 4.
3.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of the above sequence control.

(9) Other configurations, functions, modifications, etc. a As mentioned above, the tray 6 is inclined upward in the front with respect to the sheet ejection openings 4 and 5, and is also inclined downward to the right. The head distance l _R between the left end side of the sheet exit in the longitudinal direction of the outlet section and the left side of the tray (Fig. 4) is greater than the head distance l _R between the right end side of the sheet exit on the opposite side and the right side of the tray. It's a big relationship. Therefore, the sheet discharge port 4.
If the sheet P fed from the tray 5 to the tray 4 has weakened stiffness due to high temperature and high humidity environments, or if the sheet P is originally weak, the sheet When P is sent out by a certain length from the sheet discharge ports 2 and 3 to the tray 4 side, the degree of downward curvature of that sheet portion becomes large, and the sheet leading edge left corner P ₁ side has a drop distance from the tray. l Since _L is relatively small, even if the sheet enters at an acute angle to the 6th tray surface, the right corner of the leading edge of the sheet
Since the drop distance l _R from the tray on the P ₂ side is large, it is easy to enter the tray at an obtuse angle θ' or an angle close to 90° with respect to the tray 6 surface, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3.

In such a case, the leading edge of the sheet that is in contact with the tray 6 surface continues to move up the front upward slope of the tray 6 toward the tray leading edge side and does not slide, and as a result, the sheet P is reversed and placed in the tray 4. It is something that is expelled inside.

Such sheet reversal and ejection troubles can also occur in a tray device in which the tray 4 is tilted forward and downward.

Therefore, in this example device, in order to eliminate the sheet reversal discharge trouble caused by the above-mentioned causes, the sheet exit section of the sheet discharge port for the tray is provided with a tray-side tray for the sheet sent out from the sheet output toward the tray. A member is provided to warp upward the sheet side portion on the side corresponding to the lower side of the direction inclination.

In Figures 1, 4, and 12, 50 is a roller provided as the sheet warping member. This roller 50 is located at the sheet conveyance reference line R-R (11th
) and the pinch roller drive shaft 11 between the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5 closest to the reference line.
Snap springs 51 and 51 are fitted to the portions to restrict the shifting movement along the shaft 11 and to freely rotate around the shaft 11, and the outer diameter thereof is more suitable than the outer diameter of the drive roller 4 of the pinch rollers 4 and 5. It has been made larger. The roller 50 may be rotatably mounted on the shaft 11 via a bearing.

The sheet side side of the sheet P sent from the sheet output of the sheet discharge port to the tray 6 corresponding to the lower side of the tray lateral direction inclination, in this example, the right side of the sheet corresponds to the roller 50. Passing over 50. As mentioned above, the diameter of the roller 50 is appropriately larger than the diameter of the drive roller 4 of the sheet discharge pinch roller, so due to the diameter difference, the right side of the sheet P is
In the process of passing over the roller 50, the sheet passes through the roller 50 portion while resisting the elasticity within the elastic range of the sheet and warping upward as shown by P _C in Figures 4 and 12. Based on the rib-like effect caused by the upward warping P _C at the roller 50 portion of the sheet,
Even if the seat has weakened due to moisture absorption, or is originally weak, the seat P
When the sheet is sent out a certain length from the sheet exit to the tray 6 side, the large downward curvature of the sheet portion is alleviated, and the sheet approach angle θ with respect to the tray 6 surface is ensured at an acute angle over the entire length of the sheet leading edge. This makes it possible to eliminate the above-mentioned sheet reversal and discharge trouble.

FIG. 13 shows another embodiment. In this example, the right corners of the leading end sides of the sheet guide plates 3, 3 are garbed upward to give warps 3', 3', and this guide plate Due to the warpage 3' and 3', the sheet warps as in the case of the roller 50 above.
P _C can be given.

b. In order to ensure sheet alignment by preventing the sheet from bouncing due to the contact shock when the sheet discharged into the inclined tray slides down the slope of the tray and hits the alignment ruler side plate, It is preferable that at least one of the matching ruler plates 7 and 8 has a cushioning material pasted on its inner surface, or the side plate itself is made of a slow-impact material.

In this example, as described above, the sheet P discharged into the tray 6 and then sliding down the slope of the tray first has its right side P _R aligned with the second alignment ruler plate 8.
(state P'' shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 11), and then the sheet is placed on the ruler plate 8.
The sheet slides down in the direction B toward the first alignment ruler plate 7 along the same axis, and the rear side P _B of the sheet hits the first ruler plate 7 and is aligned under position control (Fig. 3 Since the sheet is in a moving form (state P shown by the dotted chain line), the second ruler plate 8 is made of a material with a small coefficient of friction, such as a metal surface or a resin surface, and the first ruler plate 7 is coated with urethane on its inner surface. Cushioning material 7b such as foam sheet, seagull suede (product name) (Fig. 6-8)
a)) is pasted to alleviate the shock at the final abutment.

c Sheet alignment The side edges of the sheet should be placed in contact with the inner surface of the ruler plate in order to reduce the impact of the contact and to prevent the corners of the sheet from being bent or crushed due to the corners of the sheet hitting the ruler first. It is desirable that it be received in parallel contact with the . Then, the trailing edge of the sheet fed into the tray from the sheet ejection port passes through the sheet ejection port, and the entire sheet is ejected into the tray. In relation to the posture of the sheet in the tray at the time of the fall, each sheet alignment ruler plate that receives each sheet side is placed approximately parallel to the two right-angled sides on the sliding down side of the sheet in the tray. It is recommended to set it up.

In this example, as shown in Figure 11, the second alignment ruler plate 8 for aligning the right side P _R of the sheet discharged in the tray is aligned with the sheet conveyance direction by the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5, that is, with the sheet one side conveyance reference line R-R. The first alignment ruler plate 7 is disposed at an angle γ with respect to the second alignment ruler plate 8, and the first alignment ruler plate 7 is disposed at right angles to the second alignment ruler plate 8.

In other words, the right side P R of the sheet P fed into the tray 6 from the sheet ejection opening section is aligned with the sheet one side conveyance reference line R- _R until the trailing side P _B passes through the sheet ejection pinch rollers 4 and 5.
(state P' shown by the dashed line in FIG. 11). However, when the trailing edge of the sheet P _B passes through the pinch rollers 4 and 5 and falls onto the tray 6, the tray 6 is tilted forward at an angle α and rightward at an angle β. The sheet is placed at the left corner of the leading edge of the sheet that is already in contact with the tray surface.
It rotates around P ₁ and falls onto the tray.
As a result, the position of the sheet P in the tray at the time when it has finished falling into the tray 6 is such that the right side P _R of the sheet is tilted by an angle γ with respect to the sheet one side conveyance reference line R-R, as shown by the solid line in FIG. state. In reality, the angle γ is 5 when the inclination angle of the tray 6 is α = 23 to 26 degrees, β = 6 to 10 degrees, and the falling distance of the rear right corner of the sheet from the sheet discharge port is 75 mm.゜It was hot both inside and outside. Therefore, in this example, the second alignment ruler plate 8 for aligning the right side P _R of the sheet with respect to the angle γ is tilted in advance with respect to the sheet one-side conveyance reference line R-R, and the right side P R of the sheet is aligned with the right side P _R of the sheet at the angle γ. 2 ruler board 8
The whole length was made to contact simultaneously in parallel to the two parts. Regarding the rear side P _B of the sheet, after the right side P _R of the sheet is regulated in position by the second ruler plate 8, the sheet P'' slides down along the ruler plate 8 in the direction B, so that the position of the right side P R of the sheet is regulated by the first ruler plate 8. It contacts the plate 7 in a parallel state.

d If sheets of various sizes are discharged to the tray 6 by one-sided standard conveyance using the right or left side of the sheet as a reference, the horizontal inclination of the tray 6 should be such that the side of the sheet conveyance reference line is lower. It is better to use a slope.
In this example, the inclination of the tray 6 in the lateral direction is such that the side of the sheet conveyance reference line RR is lower. By doing this, even if the size of the sheets ejected to the tray 6 is different, the two right-angled sides P _R on the tray sliding side of the sheet immediately after being ejected and dropped onto the tray 6.
The distance between P _B and the first and second sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 disposed on the sheet sliding side of the tray is always approximately constant, and the sliding path of the sheet after it is discharged and dropped into the tray 6. - The form and alignment completion time are approximately the same for sheets of various sizes, allowing stable sheet alignment.

e It is better to set the angle formed by the first and second sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 to 88 to 89 degrees, which is slightly smaller than setting it exactly to 90 degrees, so that the trailing edge P _B of the sheet P is It was confirmed that there was no deviation after hitting the ruler plate 7, and that better consistency was obtained.

f The sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 have inwardly projecting edges 7a and 8a formed on their lower sides, as explained in item (5) above and FIGS. 6a and 6b. The rear side 6 _B and right side 6 _R of the tray 6 in one posture are placed in corresponding positions,
And the upper surface 7 of each of the projecting edges 7a and 8a
Since the relational structure is such that a step W is created so that a' and 8a' are lower than the tray top surface 6', the sheet (the first ejected sheet) that is ejected into the tray and slides down the tray surface. right side
The sheet edge is caused by the sheet edge entering the boundary gap d2 or d1 between the tray and the ruler plate before P _R or the rear edge P _B comes into contact with the inner surfaces of the second and first alignment ruler plates 8 and 7, respectively. This prevents the tray from getting stuck in the middle of sliding down, ensuring sheet alignment.

g. In this example, the sheet alignment means mechanism is composed of an inclined tray 6 and first and second sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 arranged perpendicularly to each other. Other alignment means mechanisms such as alignment, paddle alignment, etc. may also be employed.

h Instead of the bookbinding mechanism 10 using staples,
It is also possible to provide a bookbinding mechanism by gluing. Any other post-processing mechanism for aligned sheet bundles, such as a punching mechanism, can also be provided.

i The sheet guide plates 3 and 3 and the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5 on the apparatus 1 side do not need to be provided if the sheet discharge port on the sheet output apparatus 100 side can be positioned above the tray 6.

j In the case of the embodiment apparatus, the first sheet alignment ruler plate 7 may be provided integrally with the rear side of the tray 6.

The cam 18 for swinging the tray 6 can be rotated by, for example, an electromagnetic solenoid-plunger or other suitable driving means.

l The apparatus 1 is self-supporting on the floor or on a table, and is equipped with necessary components such as a paper receiving tray 6, sheet aligning means 7, 8, bookbinding means 10, etc. The device 1 is constructed by assembling means mechanisms in a predetermined positional relationship with each other, and the sheet receiving portion of the device is a sheet output device 10 to be used.
It is also possible to adjust the height appropriately so as to match the sheet output port 101 on the 0 side, and arrange them adjacent to the sheet output port side of the sheet output device for use in combination.

(10) Key Points and Effects of the Invention In summary, the present invention provides a sheet collection tray that receives sheets output from a sheet output device;
a sheet aligning means for aligning each sheet sequentially discharged and accumulated in the tray so that at least two corresponding right angle sides thereof are aligned with each other; a bookbinding means for collectively binding the bundle of aligned sheets in the tray; and the bookbinding means. a bookbinding means driving means for swinging the book into three positions: a standby position where it does not act on the sheets in the tray, a first swinging position where the sheets are held down, and a second swinging position where the sheet bundle is bound. Then, the bookbinding means is moved from the standby position to the first swing position, and then returned to the standby position so that the bookbinding means presses down the sheets in the tray, or the bookbinding means is moved from the standby position to the second stage swing position. The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic sheet processing apparatus, comprising: a control means for controlling a bookbinding means drive means so as to cause the bookbinding means to perform a sheet binding operation by displacing the bookbinding means to a stage swing position.

As a result, sheet alignment → bookbinding can be performed automatically, and since the bookbinding means also works as a sheet pressing member and acts as a sheet pressing member for each sheet discharged from the tray, mutual alignment of sheets is possible. This type of sheet is practical, has a simple structure, is compact, has high reliability, and can be used in combination with various types of sheet output devices without any problems. Automatic processing equipment can be obtained at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the device of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device installed on the sheet output port side of the sheet output device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device chassis, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the device. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional front view of the same, FIG. 5 is a front view of the tray swinging mechanism,
6a and 6b are sectional views of the first and second sheet alignment ruler plates, respectively, FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional side view of the stapler mechanism, and FIGS. 8a to 8c are front views of the stapler head portion, respectively. Fig. 9 is a plan view of the paper pressing member portion, Fig. 10 is a front view of the same, Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the sheet alignment process, Fig. 12 13 is a front view of the sheet warping roller portion, FIG. 13 is a diagram of an example in which the sheet is warped by warping the sheet guide plate, and FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the operation of the apparatus. 1 is an automatic sheet processing device, 100 is a sheet output device such as a copying machine, 200 is a pedestal, 6 is a sheet collecting inclined tray, 7 and 8 are first and second sheet alignment ruler plates, and 9 is a swinging tray. 10 is a stapler mechanism (bookbinding means);

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A sheet collection tray that receives sheets output from a sheet output device, and an aligned state in which each sheet sequentially discharged and accumulated in the tray is aligned with at least two corresponding right-angled sides thereof. a bookbinding means for collectively binding a bundle of aligned sheets in the tray; a standby position in which the bookbinding means does not act on the sheets in the tray; a first swing position in which the sheets are pressed; a bookbinding means driving means for swingingly displacing the sheet bundle to three positions including a second stage swinging position for binding a sheet bundle; and a bookbinding means driving means for displacing the bookbinding means from a standby position to a first stage swinging position and then returning to the standby position. Controlling the bookbinding means driving means so as to cause the bookbinding means to perform a pressing operation on the sheets in the tray, or to displace the bookbinding means from a standby position to a second stage swinging position to cause the bookbinding means to perform a bookbinding operation on the sheets. An automatic sheet processing device comprising: a control means for controlling; and a control means for controlling a sheet.