JPH0223464B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention The present invention relates to so-called sheet materials (hereinafter also simply referred to as sheets) called copying machines, transfer paper, and recording paper that are carried out from image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printing machines, and other recording devices. This relates to a sheet sorting device (hereinafter also referred to as a sorter) that handles the distribution, accumulation, etc. of sheets.

Generally, a sorter has about 10 to 20 or more sheet material stacking tables (hereinafter referred to as trays), and the sheets that are continuously delivered at regular intervals from a device such as a copying machine are conveyed by a belt. The materials are sequentially conveyed and stacked on a predetermined tray by a conveying means, a plurality of roller means, or a conveying means combining these means.

However, when a sorter is placed close to the sheet output port of a copying machine or the like and a group of trays are sequentially moved, the trays of the conventional sorter are arranged at equal intervals, and the interval between the trays only at the sheet input section becomes wide, and after the sheets are loaded, This is a configuration that returns to the original interval. In this type of sorter, when a sheet conveyance failure occurs at the tray entrance, the sheet is caught between the trays, and when processing the sheet that caused the conveyance failure, this process is extremely difficult in the case of a sorter configured with narrow tray spacing. It is difficult to

In the present invention, since the tray group is integrally configured and can be easily attached and detached from the sorter body, it is possible to very easily process, for example, a poorly conveyed copy sheet that is sandwiched between the trays. It became.

In addition, there are various ways to use sorters in offices, etc. With conventional sorters, the tray size and number of trays cannot be selected with one type of sorter. Use a sorter with a tray or use a 5-inch tray for sorting copy paper.
- Offices that only require about 10 trays are still using trays with 20 or more trays, and they are not used appropriately according to the purpose.

In the present invention, since the tray unit is detachable as a unit, it is possible to select tray units with different tray sizes and number of trays, so that the sorter body is the same and the tray unit suitable for the purpose can be selected, thereby eliminating waste. It becomes possible to use it in various ways.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of a sorter showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is the main body of the copying machine, 2a,
2b, the copy sheet 3 discharged by the discharge roller of the copying machine 1 reaches a carry-in port of a sorter 4 arranged oppositely, and is guided by a carry-in guide 5 to conveyance rollers 6a, 6b. The end of the tray ₇₂ near the sheet receiving port is arranged opposite to the nip of the conveying rollers 6a, 6b, and the sheets conveyed from the conveying rollers 6a, 6b are stored and placed on the tray ₇₂ . If it is possible to further shorten the carry-in guide 5, the discharge rollers 2a, 2b of the copying machine 1 can be replaced by the conveyance rollers 6a, 6.
It becomes possible to configure the structure so that b can also be used.

In the tray group 7, except for the lowest tray 7', both ends of the far end in the sheet conveyance direction are placed in the engagement groove portions 8a of the tray swing support plate 8, and can be operated in the sheet conveyance direction.

Also, the protruding member 7 at the proximal end on the sheet receiving port side
A is supported by an arm member 19 so as to be movable up and down along the long groove 9a of the arm support plate. Further, the arm member 19 is attached to the arm support plate 9 so as to be rotatable about its fulcrum.

Further, the lowermost tray 7' is screwed or spot welded to the tray swing support plate 8 and the tray support plate 9 (it is also possible to integrate 7', 8, and 9).
It has a structure that doubles as a copy sheet storage tray and a frame structure that supports all tray groups.

FIG. 2 is a view of the sorter seen from the K direction of the sectional view of FIG. The tray support plate 9 has a pair of protruding members (FIG. 2) 14a, 14b caulked to one end thereof, which can engage with the lead surfaces of the pair of lead cams 10a, 10b, and each time the lead cam rotates, the tray The group can be moved up and down, and the sheet receiving openings of each tray can be sequentially set at positions facing the conveying rollers 6a and 6b.

That is, the tray support plate 9 can move up and down along the cam plate 10 in FIG. 1 by at least a distance corresponding to the distance from the tray 7 to the tray 7'.

Incidentally, FIG. 3 is a part of a rear view of the tray section when FIG. 1 is viewed from the M direction. In this way, the tray has a structure in which both ends of its far end are folded back. Two guide rollers 15a and 15b are rotatably attached to the bin support plate 9 in the vertical direction, and these guide rollers 15a and 15b engage on the linear surface of a cam plate 17 fixed to the sorter side plate 16 with screws so that they can be positioned freely. It guides the vertical movement of the plate 9.

First, the copy sheet 3 discharged from the paper discharge roller of the copying machine main body 1 is fed into the carry-in guide 5 on the sorter 4 side, and the leading edge passes through a reed switch and is gripped by conveyance rollers 6a, 6b.
In the figure, it is carried into tray ₇₂ . At this time, after the rear end of the copy sheet 2 has passed through the read switch 18, an electric circuit (not shown) counts the time period sufficient for the copy sheet to be carried into the tray ₇₂ , and then the motor 13 is activated. The motor 13 transmits drive to the lead cam 10b. Further, a portion of the lead surfaces of the lead cams 10a, 10b are substantially horizontal surfaces. Also, on the lead cam surface, the motor 13 is provided with gears 30a and 3 to which the drive is transmitted.
The cam 5 has a structure in which a part of the circumference protrudes in order to allow the micro switch 20 to detect 0b and 1 rotation.
0 makes up one. Sprocket 12a, 1
2b rotates in synchronization with the lead cams 10a, 10b, and the pair of lead cams 10a, 10b are configured to be rotatable in the same direction and at the same period via the chain 11.

The lead cam 10b, driven by the motor 13 through the chain, rotates once and the micro switch 20
When the protruding part of the cam part 50 is detected, it stops.

Further, arm members 19 are rotatably attached to the bottle support plate 9 at equal intervals on the front and back sides of the plate. As described above, the tip of this arm member 19 contacts the projection member 7a that is spot-welded to the end of each tray at both ends near the copy sheet entrance of each tray, and the end of the arm member 19 contacts the far end of each tray in the sheet conveying direction. The tray group 7 is supported together with a tray swing support plate 8 that is swingably supported. Further, as described above, the tray plate 9 has protruding members 14a and 14b attached to its both ends so as to be able to engage with the lead surfaces of the lead cams 10a and 10b. Along the line, the tray support plate 9 rises by the amount of the lead, determines its position in the height direction on a substantially horizontal surface of a portion of the lead surface, and stops.

Next, to explain the operation of the sorter, initially, the tray group 7 is lowered to the bottom by rotation of the motor 13 in the clockwise direction shown in the figure (the lead cam is rotated counterclockwise), and the sheet receiving opening of the uppermost tray 7 is rotated by the conveyance roller. When the position detection sensor 21 detects that the position corresponds to the nip portions 6a and 6b, the motor 13 is stopped by an appropriate control circuit.
The lower end of the bin support plate 9 comes into contact with a part of the sorter bottom plate (not shown) and is kept at a certain lowermost position. Therefore, the sheet is carried into the tray ₇₁ and transported by the conveying rollers 6a and 6b.
When the reed switch 18 detects that the sheet is stored in the tray 7 ₁ , the motor 13 is rotated counterclockwise (the reed cam is clockwise) as shown in the figure after a certain period of time after the rear end of the sheet is detected, and the sheet is driven by the reed switch 18. The lead cam rotates once in the clockwise direction, is positioned on the aforementioned predetermined horizontal plane, and stops. The stop control is performed when the motor 13 is turned on because the load exerted by the protruding members 14a and 14b of the bottle support plate on the lead surfaces of the lead cams 10a and 10b is sufficient to maintain the permissible rotation stop accuracy when the motor 13 is turned on and off. ,
When turned OFF, the protruding members 14a and 14b of the bottle support plate
Positioning in the height direction is performed by stopping the lead cams 10a, 10b within one horizontal plane of the lead surfaces of the lead cams 10a, 10b.

51a and 51b in FIG. 2 are spring members attached to shafts 10'a and 10'b that support the lead cam. For example, if the micro switch 21 is not detected due to some defect even after the tray group 7 reaches the lowest position (home position), the motor continues to rotate in the same direction, and the lead cams 10a, 10
Both protruding members 14a of the arm support plate 9 that engage with b.
There is a possibility that a force exceeding the allowable shear stress will be applied to 14b and it will be damaged. Even if such a phenomenon occurs, if the spring members 51a and 51b as described above are inserted into the shafts 10'a and 10'b that support the lead cam and are configured to press the lead cam downward, the motor 13 can be Even if the rotation continues due to some malfunction after the tray group 7 reaches the home position, the tray group 7 remains positioned at the home position and the lead cams 10a, 10b move upward along the lead cam shafts 10'a, 10'b. Spring member 51 in the direction
The structure is such that damage to both the protruding members 14a and 14b of the arm support plate 9 can be prevented by raising and lowering them while contracting the arms a and 51b.

Thereafter, after the above-described operations are repeated as many times as necessary, the tray group is returned to the initial position, which is the lowest position, in response to a return signal from the main body of the copying machine.

Next, the functions of the arm members will be explained in detail. The arm member 19 is a cam portion 1 of an immovable cam plate 17 fixed to the sorter side plate 16 with screws so as to be positionable.
7a, one end of the arm plate rotates downward around the fulcrum of the arm plate, and the upper tray in FIG _.
the tray 7 by lifting it along the long groove of the bottle support plate 9.
moves so that the sheet receiving opening of the lower tray ₇₂ opens.

Also, at this time, the tray 7 moves in the sheet conveyance direction, but since it is supported by the tray swing support plate 8 so as to be operable in the sheet conveyance direction, displacement in the sheet conveyance direction due to changes in the inclination angle of the trays 7 _{to 10} is absorbed. . At this time, even if the tray rotates around the fulcrum ₇₁₂ , the near end face on the tray entrance side and the two conveyor rollers 6
The positions of the cam plate 17 and the arm member 19 are determined so that the distance between the nip portions a and 6b does not change. Note that when the arm member 19 is positioned in the normal position in which the tray group is not pushed up, the protrusion member 5 is positioned on the tray support plate 9 and crimped.
This is made possible by 1.

Finally, a series of processes after the copy sheets are carried into the sorter will be briefly explained.

First, the copy sheet 3 is discharged by the discharge rollers 2a and 2b of the copying machine main body 1, and is sent to the conveyance rollers 6a and 6b by the carry-in guide 5 on the sorter 4 side, and after the trailing edge of the copy sheet is detected by the read switch 18, the conveyance roller exits. are loaded onto a tray positioned at After the conveyance of the copy sheet is completed by the reed switch 18, the motor 13 is activated and the reed cams 10a, 10b are rotated when the time for the copy sheet 3 to be loaded on the tray has elapsed, and when the aforementioned one rotation is detected by the micro switch 20, the motor 13 stops. During this process, the arm member 19
has its one end abutted against the immovable cam plate 17, and the tray group supported by the arm member rises along the long groove portion of the tray support plate 9, and the lead cams 10a, 1
Position and stop at the horizontal part of the lead surface of 0b.

Thereafter, the above steps are repeated one after another, and after the operation is repeated the required number of times while maintaining a constant interval at the copy sheet loading section, the motor 13 is continuously reversed, and the lowest position detection sensor 21 detects that the tray group is It operates until it detects that it has reached the home position, and then stops.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a tray group (hereinafter referred to as a tray unit) of the sorter according to the present invention in a state where it is independently removed from the sorter side main body. As mentioned above, the tray support plate 9 that supports the entire bin is spot welded or screwed to the lowermost tray ₇₁₀ that also serves as a tray and supports the entire tray group, forming a frame structure for the entire tray group. The tray unit shown in FIG.
5a and 15b, the tray unit can be moved up and down by being guided by the side plate on the side of the sorter body. In the sorter in this embodiment, the guide roller 15
A cam plate (also used as a guide rail) 17 (Fig. 1) fixed to the side plate on which a and 15b are guided is bent at the top as shown in the figure, and when the tray unit reaches the top stage, the tray unit is moved upward. If you lift it up, the guide roller 15a will come off the guide rail. At this time, the trunnion member 14 engaged with the lead cam is at the position shown in FIG. 2A (two-dot chain line).
a and 14b, the entire tray unit can be easily removed from the sorter body by lifting the tray unit upward and pulling it in the sheet conveyance direction.

Further, the position at which the tray unit is removed does not have to be the position at which the tray unit reaches the uppermost stage. For example, after the tray unit has been positioned at the lowermost position, it can be removed from the lowest position by removing a simple locking member (not shown).

As described above, the present invention makes it possible to integrally and easily remove the tray unit from the sorter body, making it possible to select the tray size and number of trays depending on the application, for example.
For offices that only take A4-sized copies, installing a tray unit specifically for A4-sized sheets enables stable, waste-free sorting of sheets. For example, the number of trays can be changed to 5 depending on the purpose.
It is now possible to select tiers, 10 tiers, 20 tiers...

In addition, by increasing the number of trays, the interval between each tray becomes narrower, and even when it is difficult to process defective sheets at the tray entrance, it becomes possible to easily and reliably process the defective sheets.

In addition, when transporting the sorter main body to a remote location, for example, by packaging and transporting the tray group, which tends to bend easily when a large force is applied, separately from the main body side, it is possible to reduce the risk of bending or deforming the tray group. And so.

Furthermore, during maintenance of the sorter main body, for example, it has become possible to remove the bin unit and perform inspection or repair without separating the sorter from the main body.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of a lead cam in another embodiment of the present invention. The pitch of the lead cam 10a is configured such that only the lowermost pitch is larger than the other pitches. As a result, when the tray group 7 reaches the lowest position, the positional relationship between the transport rollers 6a and 6b of the uppermost tray with respect to the nip portion becomes relatively lower than the positional relationship with respect to the nip portion of the other trays. With this configuration, the number of copy sheets that can be stacked on the top tray is greater than on the other trays, and for example, when used in non-sort mode, the copy sheet stacking limit is significantly increased. Further, 52 is a micro switch that detects when the tray group 7 has reached the top. By installing the micro switch 52, there is no need to count copy sheets using the sorter body.

Furthermore, FIG. 6a is a view of only the conveyance roller 6a viewed from the direction M in FIG. Further, FIG. 6b is a sectional view of FIG. 6a. The lower stay member 53 of the sorter is made of, for example, a sheet metal, and is screwed to the side plate of the sorter body. As can be understood from FIG. 6, a certain portion of the conveying roller 6a is cut out, and furthermore, the tip region A of the notched portion has a structure that protrudes from at least the outer periphery of the conveying roller in the sheet conveying direction. The rear end of the copy sheet is stored in the tray group by a copy sheet stopper (FIG. 2, 7d) bent at the end near the sheet inlet of the tray group 7. 7d as conveyor roller pair 6a, 6b
If it is placed as close as possible to the conveyor roller 6a, when a large number of copy sheets are stacked, the trailing edge of the copy sheet will come into contact with the conveyance roller 6a, causing a portion of the copy sheet to be bent.
In the present invention, if the conveying roller 6a is configured as shown in FIG. 6 by the lower stay member of the sorter main body, even when a large number of copy sheets are stacked, the rear end of the conveyor roller 6a is connected to the lower stay member before it comes into contact with the conveyor roller 6a. 5
It is possible to prevent the copy sheet from folding as it is received by the cut and raised area A of No. 3.

FIG. 7 53 shows a clutch plate, 54 is a clutch gear, 55 is a spring member, and 56 is a spring receiving plate. The motor 13 is driven by a clutch gear 54
and the lead cam 10b via the idler gear 57.
However, the force exceeding the maximum allowable rotational force necessary to rotate the lead cam is transmitted to clutch gear 5.
4, the clutch gear 54 separates from the clutch plate 53, pushes the spring member 55 upward, the rotation of the motor is absorbed by the clutch gear, and the transmission of the drive from the motor 13 is stopped.

Similar to the effect of the spring members 51a and 51b applied to the lead cam shafts 10'a and 10'b, if the above configuration is adopted, for example, when the tray group 7 reaches the lowest position (home position), some Even when the micro switch 21 is not detected due to a malfunction, this configuration allows both protruding members 14a, 14 of the arm support plate 9 to engage with the lead cams 10a, 10b due to the effect of one spring member 55.
This prevents damage to the tray unit 7 and allows the tray unit 7 to remain stopped at the home position even if the motor 13 continues to rotate.

FIG. 8 shows an improved version of the bottle swinging support plate 8, in which the inclined portion 8a that engages with the far end of the tray group 7 has a larger inclination angle of the swinging portion b than the inclination angle of the tray group 7 with respect to the horizontal plane. With this structure, it is possible to widen the interval between the trays at the far end in the longitudinal direction of each tray in accordance with the opening at the near end on the sheet input side of the tray group 7, which is advantageous for stacking a larger number of copy sheets. .

A diagram of the switching circuit and logic circuit is generally shown in FIG. The on-off switch is adapted to activate the system under non-sort-sort-collate control. The non-sort switch is automatically closed when the copying machine is turned on, but when it is closed, the motor M is connected to the power supply through the circuit 100 to the shaft position switch SP and the non-sort switch NS, and the shaft is connected to the shaft position switch. When the non-sort switch NS is turned on when the tray group is not in the home position at the position determined by SP, the lead cam moves all the tray groups downward until the lower limit micro switch 21 is detected and the motor stops. Continuously drive in the direction.

If classification is desired at this point, the classification switch is closed and power is connected via circuit 200 to the shaft position switch SP, motor M. , is also present in the circuit 300 connected to the sheet detection switch SD.

Reverse switch OS that is an override switch
400 and the upper limit microswitch 52 is moved downwardly to a position where the 10 copies in the 10-sheet sorter pass into the storage and the uppermost tray is moved upwardly. Excited after moving. Therefore reversing switch OS
can be configured as a switch that automatically shuts off when the copying machine is set to make a large number of classified copies in excess of the capacity of the tray unit.

As described above, the sheet sorting device according to the present invention is configured such that the tray group can be attached to and detached from the device body from the vertical direction, so that the sheet sorting device can be easily assembled, inspected, processed, etc. There is.

Furthermore, since the tray group and the apparatus main body can be transported separately during transportation, there is an effect that the tray group can be prevented from being bent during transportation.

Further, by preparing tray groups having various numbers of trays, it is possible to provide a sheet sorting device with a number of trays depending on the purpose.

Further, by making it possible to remove the tray group when a sheet is jammed, it is possible to easily remove the jammed sheet.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a detailed side sectional view of the sorter according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the sorter according to the present invention (view K in FIG. 1), and FIG. 3 is a rear view showing a part of the tray (view K). 1), FIG. 4 is a side view of the tray unit alone, FIG. 5 is a front view of the sorter body showing the lead cam portion of the sorter body in another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6a is a side view of the tray unit alone. A rear view showing only the lower stay and conveyance roller part of the sorter main body (view from direction M in FIG. 1), FIG. 6b is a sectional view of FIG. 6a, and FIG. A rear view of the sorter body showing the lead cam part and the clutch part in the embodiment, FIG. 8 is a partial view of the tray rocking plate in another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the functional system. be. 1 is a copying machine main body, 7 is a tray group, and 9 is a tray support plate.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A sheet sorting device that distributes sheets by moving a group of trays in the longitudinal direction integrally by a lead cam means and sequentially aligning one of the plurality of trays with a sheet conveying means, comprising: A guide means is provided in the main body of the apparatus for guiding the movement of the tray group in the vertical direction and is detachable from the longitudinal direction, and an engaging means that engages and is guided by the guide means is provided on the sheet conveying means side of the tray group. further comprising cam follower protrusion means that vertically engages or disengages from the lead surface of the lead cam means when the tray group is attached to and detached from the apparatus main body through attachment and detachment of the guide means and the engagement means. A sheet sorting device characterized in that: is provided in the tray group.