JPH0333626B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is directed to a series of sheets conveyed from a printing, image, or other forming device such as a printer, facsimile machine, copying machine, or printing machine, by a predetermined number of sheets or The present invention relates to a paper storage device that separates each page and stores them in a paper stacker.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, when a series of sheets continuously conveyed from a printing, image, etc. forming device are easily sorted, the sheets are stacked and accommodated in different postures on a sheet discharge stacker for each number of sheets to be sorted.

That is, for example, a series of sheets with a predetermined number of pages and a series of sheets with the next number of copies are stacked in different orientations, and the sheets are separated and stored without using a sorter.

Conventionally, such a device has been designed to either transport a series of sheets in a straight line along the paper ejection path or to transport the sheets diagonally using oblique rollers, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-18495. , the paper is stored in the paper stacker in two different orientations.

In addition, in the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-114260, when a sorting command is issued, the trailing edge of the paper discharged from the paper discharge path and floating in the air is struck to change the storage posture in the paper discharge stacker. It's set.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in the former case, since the conveying posture of the paper is varied by the oblique rollers while conveying the paper, the rollers tend to slip during the diagonal conveyance of the paper, and it is not possible to reliably change the conveying posture.

In the latter case, the trailing edge of the paper is struck while it is in the air immediately after being ejected, so if the timing of striking changes, the shift amount changes and the shift posture tends to become unstable.

Furthermore, if the leading edge of the ejected paper is in contact with the stacked paper, there is a risk that the stacked paper will shift when the ejected paper is shifted.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a paper storage device that can reliably change the conveying posture of paper in a paper discharge path.

[Means for solving problems]

A first paper storage device of the present invention stacks and stores a series of sheets conveyed from a printing, image, etc. forming device after forming prints, images, etc. on a sheet discharge stacker via a sheet discharge path. In the storage device, a reversing unit is provided in the paper ejecting path and reverses the transport direction of the paper by once storing the transported paper and then transporting the paper in a reverse direction in the direction in which the paper was transported; a reversing section provided in the paper path and reversing the front and back sides of the sheet whose conveyance direction has been reversed in the reversing section; and a shift means provided in the reversing section capable of freely changing the conveyance posture of the sheet accommodated in the reversing section. It is characterized by having the following.

A second paper storage device of the present invention stacks and stores a series of sheets conveyed from a printing, image, etc. forming device after forming prints, images, etc. on a sheet discharge stacker via a sheet discharge path. In the storage device, a reversing section for reversing the conveying direction of the paper is provided in the paper ejection path, and operates when reversing the conveying direction of the paper to freely change the conveying posture of the paper stored in the reversing section. The present invention is characterized in that a shift means is provided in the reversing section.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in Fig. 1, printing, image, etc. forming device 1
is equipped with, for example, an electrostatic copying mechanism for forming an image on copy paper P, and the image formed on drum 3 is transferred to paper P and fixed by printer 5.

A document (original) circulation feeding device 7 is provided on the forming device 1, and is configured to feed and eject a series of documents by circulating them between a platen 9 and a document table 11 a number of times depending on the number of copies to be made. It's getting old. In addition,
13 indicates a conveyor belt.

A paper storage device is attached to the forming apparatus 1, and the paper P processed by the forming apparatus 1 is stored in a paper discharge stacker 17 via a paper discharge path 15.

However, in the illustrated example, since the circulation feeding device 7 feeds the original from the first page, the copy of the first page is conveyed from the forming device 1 facing upward, and if it is stored in the paper discharge stacker 17 as it is, the page It gets out of order.

Therefore, the paper ejection path 15 once stores the paper P supplied from the forming device 1, and then transports the paper P in the opposite direction toward the forming device 1. A switchback path 21 (reversing section) reverses the traveling direction of the paper P. ) and a reversing path 19 (reversing section) for making a U-turn upward and reversing the paper P.

In the switchback path 21, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, there are rotating bodies, such as a conveyor belt 27 and auxiliary belts 29, 31, which can rotate forward and backward in the conveyance direction between the left and right guides 23, 25, and two conveyor belts 29, 31 for carrying the paper P. Shift means movable to different positions, for example a shift belt 33 rotatable in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction
(rotating body) is provided.

In such a configuration, the operation will be described using an example in which a plurality of copies of a continuous page document are to be copied.

The first page of paper P that has been copied and discharged from the forming device 1 is transferred to the shift belt 3 by the conveyor belt 27 of the paper discharge path 15 and the auxiliary belts 29 and 31.
3. Transported to the top. Then, the conveyor belt 27 and the auxiliary belts 29, 31 stop.

In this state, the shift belt 33 rotates and the paper P
For example, shift to the guide 25 side. As a result, the side edge of the copy paper P comes into contact with the guide 25. When the shift belt 33 rotates and a predetermined period of time elapses, the shift belt 33 stops rotating and the conveyor belt 27
Then, the auxiliary belts 29 and 31 rotate in the opposite direction to switch back the paper P that has been brought to the side of the guide 25 and send it out along the guide 25. Therefore, this sheet P passes through the reversing path 19 and is stored in the sheet discharge stacker 17.

In this way, the second and subsequent pages of the original are also copied, moved toward the guide 25 by the shift belt 33, and stored in the paper discharge stacker 17. Therefore, one set of sheets consisting of a plurality of pages is stacked on the sheet discharge stacker 17.

Next, a second copy is made, but in this case, when the copy paper P is fed onto the shift belt 33, the shift belt 33 rotates toward the guide 23,
Move the paper P to the guide 23 side. Therefore, the sheets are stored in the discharge stacker 17 with a shift toward the front side compared to the first sheet that was stored earlier.

In this manner, the odd-numbered copies and the corner-numbered copies of the sheets P are alternately stored in the stacker 17 at different levels.

Note that when sorting the paper P, it is not always necessary to shift the paper P to one side using the shift belt 33; for example, the odd-numbered copies may be ejected straight, and the corner copies may be delivered by shifting them to one side. .
In addition, if there is no need to separate paper P,
Discharge straight or to one side.

According to this embodiment, since the switchback path 21 is provided with a shift means that can freely change the conveying posture of the paper, the conveying posture can be changed without providing a special path for changing the conveying posture of the paper. By discharging the sheets through the reversing path 19, the sheets can be sorted and stored in the order of original documents.

Furthermore, since the conveying posture of the paper P is changed after being accommodated in the switchback path 21, the sheet is shifted in a stable state, and the conveying posture can be reliably changed.

Furthermore, when the conveyance direction of the paper is reversed, the paper is in a stopped state or a state of low-speed conveyance, so that the shifting operation of the paper is easy and there is less risk of damaging the paper.

Note that the switchback path 21 can also be configured as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, FIGS. 6 and 7, FIGS. 8 and 9, and FIGS. 10 and 11.

First, the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 will be described. Note that the same parts as those in the above embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, a cutout roller 35 having an arcuate portion 35A and a cutout portion 35B for moving the paper P left and right in place of the shift belt 33 is provided. A conveying force reinforcing member for pressing the roller 35, for example, a leaf spring 37, is provided, and the leaf spring 37 presses the paper P fed onto the cutout roller 35 against the cutout roller 35, and the circular arc portion 35A of the cutout roller 35 pushes the paper P is moved from side to side.

In this embodiment, not only can the same effects as in the previous embodiment be obtained, but also when the paper P is conveyed onto the cutout roller 35 and when the paper P
Since the cutout portion 35B can be made parallel to the paper P when transporting the paper, the cutout roller 35 does not come into contact with the paper P, making transport easier.

Furthermore, at least when moving the paper P left and right, the leaf spring 37 presses the paper P against the cutout roller 35, so that the paper P can be stably moved left and right.

Next, the embodiments shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 will be described.

In this embodiment, an idle roller 45 is provided on an intermediate tray 43 having guides 39 and 41, and a shift roller 49 is mounted on the idle roller 45 and rotates up and down via an arm 47 and rotates forward and backward.
Further, an arm 51 that rotates up and down is provided with a conveyance roller 53 that rotates forward and reverse in the conveyance direction.

In such a configuration, the operation is as follows. That is, the conveyance roller 53 falls onto the conveyed paper P and sends the paper P onto the idle roller 45. Then, as the conveyance roller 53 rises, the shift roller 49 falls onto the paper P to move the paper P left and right, and while the shift roller 49 rises, the conveyance roller 53 falls to eject the paper P.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it goes without saying that the same effects as the first embodiment can be obtained;
Since the shift roller 49 is raised when the paper P is carried in and out, the paper P is carried in and out smoothly, and when the paper P is moved from side to side and carried in and out, the fallen shift roller 49 and transport roller 53 move the paper Since P is held down, the paper P can be moved and loaded/unloaded reliably.

Next, the embodiments shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 will be described.

This embodiment has guides 55, 57 on the left and right sides, an intermediate tray 67 having lever grooves 59, 61, 63, 65, and lever grooves 55, 57.
Shift levers 69, 71, 7 that move left and right by solenoids and motors at 9, 61, 63, 65
3 and 75 are provided, and the paper P transported by transport rollers 77 and 79 is moved left and right by a shift lever 69 and a shift lever 71, and a shift lever 73 and a shift lever 75.

In this embodiment, shift levers 69, 71, 73, 75 are used instead of a rotating body as the shift means,
Since the side surface of the paper P is struck to change the conveyance posture of the paper, slips unlike those caused by oblique rollers do not occur, and the paper P can be reliably moved from side to side. In addition, shift levers 69, 7
1, 73, and 75 do not touch the surface of the paper,
The degree of contamination of the paper surface is greatly reduced.

Furthermore, since the conveyance posture of the paper P is varied by hitting the side surface of the paper P in the paper ejection path 15 before being ejected to the paper ejection stacker 17, when the trailing edge of the paper P is in the air immediately after being ejected, Compared to those that tap the trailing edge of the paper, the accuracy of the tapping timing is rough and the shift posture is stable.

Next, the embodiments shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 will be described.

In this embodiment, a rotary arm 83 that moves up and down and rotates by a predetermined angle is provided on the intermediate tray 81, and the conveyed paper P can be discharged as is, or the rotary arm 83 can be lowered and rotated by 90 degrees, and then discharged. This is how it was done.

That is, in the previous embodiments, the paper P was moved left and right, but in this embodiment, the paper P is rotated and set in two different positions.

Therefore, the purpose is achieved by simply moving the rotary arm 83 up and down and rotating it, so the structure is simple and inexpensive.

Note that this invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

For example, in the embodiment described above, the paper P is displaced to one or two different positions by the shift means, but it may be displaced to three or more different positions.

Further, in the embodiment described above, the paper P displaced by the shift means is switched back and discharged, but in some cases, the paper P may be discharged in one direction without being switched back.

Furthermore, it is also possible to implement various combinations of the above embodiments.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In summary, the first invention provides a paper storage device for stacking and storing a series of sheets conveyed from a printing, image, etc. forming device after forming prints, images, etc. on a paper ejection stacker via a paper ejection path. A reversing unit is provided in the paper path and once accommodates the conveyed paper, and then conveys the paper in the opposite direction in the direction in which the paper was conveyed, reversing the conveyance direction of the paper. The reversing unit is equipped with a reversing unit that reverses the front and back sides of the paper whose conveying direction has been reversed in the reversing unit, and a shift means that is provided in the reversing unit and can freely change the conveying posture of the paper stored in the reversing unit. After the paper has been stored, the conveyance position of the paper is changed by the shift means, so that the paper is shifted in a stable state, and the paper is reliably shifted in the paper ejection path without providing a special path to change the conveyance position. It is possible to change the paper conveyance posture.

The second invention is to transport a series of sheets of paper after forming prints, images, etc. from a printing, image, etc. forming device.
In a paper storage device that stacks and stores paper in a paper stacker via a paper ejection path, a reversing unit for reversing the paper conveyance direction is provided in the paper ejection path, and is activated to reverse the paper conveyance direction. Since the reversing section is equipped with a shift means that can freely change the conveying posture of the paper stored in the reversing section, when reversing the conveying direction of the paper, the paper is in a stopped state or a state of low-speed conveyance, making it easy to shift the paper. Therefore, there is less risk of damaging the paper, and the conveyance posture of the paper can be reliably changed during the paper ejection path.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 11 are diagrams showing embodiments of the present invention, with FIG. 1 being a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the device, and FIG.
This figure is a plan view of the vicinity of the switchback path, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view thereof. FIGS. 4 and 5, FIGS. 6 and 7, FIGS. 8 and 9, FIGS. 10 and 11 are planes of modified examples around the switchback path corresponding to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a diagram and a cross-sectional view. 1... Printing, image forming device, 7... Circulation feeding device, 15... Paper discharge path, 17... Paper discharge stacker, 21
...Switchback route, 23, 25...Guide, 3
3... Shift belt, 35... Notch roller, 37... Leaf spring, 39, 41... Guide, 45... Idle roller, 49... Shift roller, 55, 57... Guide,
59, 61, 63, 65...Lever groove, 69, 7
1, 73, 75...shift lever, 81...rotating arm.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A paper storage device that stacks and stores a series of sheets conveyed from a printing, image, etc. forming device after forming prints, images, etc. on a paper ejection stacker via a paper ejection path, comprising: a reversing unit provided in the paper path and configured to once accommodate the transported paper and then reverse transport the paper in the direction in which the paper was transported to reverse the transport direction of the paper; provided in the paper discharge path; A reversing unit for reversing the front and back of a sheet whose conveyance direction has been reversed in the reversing unit; and a shifting means provided in the reversing unit and capable of freely changing the conveying posture of the sheet accommodated in the reversing unit. Characteristic paper storage device. 2. A paper storage device that stacks and accommodates a series of sheets conveyed from a printing, image, etc. forming device after forming prints, images, etc. on a sheet discharge stacker via a sheet discharge path, wherein the paper is conveyed to the sheet discharge path. A reversing section for reversing a direction is provided, and the reversing section is provided with a shift means that operates when reversing the conveying direction of the sheet and can freely change the conveying posture of the sheet accommodated in the reversing section. Characteristic paper storage device.