JPH0367937B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a collating machine used in conjunction with an image forming machine such as a copying machine or a printer to align the pages of sheets discharged from the image forming machine. It is related to.

2. Description of the Related Art A collating machine is known which has a function of distributing and storing sheets discharged from an image forming machine into a plurality of sorting shelves. FIG. 3 shows an example of this, in which sorting shelves 02 are arranged and stored in multiple stages inside a box 01 equipped with moving wheels W. Paper P
enters the collating machine from the arrow A part, is carried to the left by the conveyor belt 03, is caught between the conveyor belt 03 and the roller 04, and then is a plurality of sheets arranged parallel to each other. With the rotation of the conveyor belt 05,
A plurality of gate fingers are sandwiched between the pinch rolls 06, 06... and the conveyor belt 05 and proceed downward, and belong to a predetermined sorting shelf 02.
The paper P is caught by the tilting movement of the roller 07, and is sent into the sorting shelf 02 by the conveying force of the driving roller pair 08.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention FIG. 4 shows an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 3, and FIG.
indicates a belt support that applies back pressure to the conveyor belt 05. In order to receive paper P into the sorting shelf 02A, a claw member 07 belonging to the sorting shelf 02A is used.
A, 07B is tilted forward, and the claw member 07B
Although the paper is captured, the claw member 07A fails to capture the paper. After this, the paper P will inevitably be torn and a paper jam will occur. The reason why the pawl member 07A fails to capture the paper is that when the paper P advances, wind pressure acts on the leading edge of the paper P, causing the paper P to fall and deform between the conveyor belts, or the paper P falls and deforms between the conveyor belts. It is thought that this deformation occurs due to a slight speed difference.

Means and Effects for Solving Problems An object of the present invention is to provide a collating machine that can always reliably store sheets in a desired sorting shelf without paper jams or the like.

The purpose of this is to capture the paper that is traveling between multiple conveyor belts and a large number of pinch rolls that are arranged parallel to each other at intervals. In a collating machine structured to guide the paper to a specific sorting shelf by selectively tilting the paper-taking claw member, a brush guide for regulating and preventing the falling deformation of the advancing paper at least between the conveyor belts where the paper-taking claw member is located. This is achieved by arranging the body.

According to this structure, the paper traveling between the conveyor belt and the pinch rolls is supported by the brush guide on its back side at least between the conveyor belts where the paper take-in claw member is located, and is prevented from being deformed by falling. The paper is caught by the tilting of the sheet-taking claw member belonging to a predetermined sorting shelf without causing any separation, and enters the sorting shelf.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described. The overall structure of the collating machine in this embodiment is basically the same as that of the collating machine shown in FIG. The different parts of the structure will be explained.

Reference numeral 10 indicates a brush guide body, and the brush guide body 10 is formed of a brush support plate 12 and a brush 14 implanted therein, and each conveyor belt 5,
5 and outside the conveyor belt 5 at both ends. The brush 14 is preferably made of straight resin fibers (e.g., polyacrylonitrile, polyamide), carbon fiber, etc., and has a length such that its tip contacts or sufficiently approaches the back surface of the advancing paper. Therefore, when the paper take-in claw member 7 is tilted to the take-in position,
Some of the fibers forming the brush 14 will be pressed and bent. Note that static electricity is generated when the brush 14 and the paper come into frictional contact, so it is preferable to dissipate this static electricity. It is effective to use such fibers, and the brush 14 may be formed entirely of such fibers, or the brush 14 may be formed by appropriately dispersing the fibers in non-conductive fibers. Also,
Since the fibers forming the brush 14 need to return to their original shape after being curved,
A certain degree of elasticity is required, and in order to ensure smooth tilting of the claw member 7, fiber shapes that form loops must be avoided.

This embodiment is configured as described above, and the first
While the paper P advances downward in FIG.
When the claw members 7A and 7B belonging to a specific sorting shelf 2A are tilted, the leading edge (lower end) of the paper P is moved to the claw member 7.
The paper P is caught by the rollers A and 7B, and then bitten by the driving roller pair 8, and is stored in the sorting shelf 2A.

By the way, since the brush 14 is located on the back side of the paper P which is sandwiched between the conveyor belt 5 and the pinch roll 6 and moves along with the conveyor belt 5, the paper P may fall and become deformed due to wind pressure or the like. Even if the paper P is caught incorrectly by the claw member 7 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the brush 14 regulates it and prevents deformation, and paper jams can be reliably prevented. .

In addition, since the back side of the advancing paper P is supported by the brush 14 and its deformation is effectively prevented, the number of used conveyor belts 5 can be reduced within the range that can secure the conveyance force, thereby reducing costs. becomes possible. Furthermore, considering that the positional relationship between the conveyor belt 5 and the pinch roll 6 requires sufficient accuracy, the positional relationship between the conveyor belt 5 and the brush 14 does not require much precision. By reducing the number of conveyor belts 5 used, it is possible to expect not only the effect of simply reducing the number of parts, but also effects such as a reduction in machine assembly man-hours and an improvement in assembly work efficiency, resulting in cost reduction. Great effect.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, there is provided a collating machine which is provided with a brush guide for regulating and preventing the falling deformation of advancing sheets at least between the conveyor belts where the sheet taking-in claw members are located. Ta.

If such a configuration is adopted, the brush guide prevents the paper from falling and deforming as it progresses while being carried by the conveyor belt, eliminates the possibility of mis-catching the paper by the claw members, effectively prevents paper jams, and constantly It is possible to collate sheets stably.

In addition, since the flat shape of the advancing paper is effectively maintained by the brush guide, it is possible to reduce the number of conveyor belts used while ensuring the paper conveyance force, which can lead to cost reductions. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the main parts of a collating machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view of the main parts along the - line, and FIG.
The figure is a schematic diagram of a known collating machine, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the main part of the collating machine, and FIG. 5 is a view of the main part taken along the line -. 1... Box body, 2... Sorting shelf, 3... Conveyor belt, 4
...Roller, 5...Transport belt, 6...Pinch roll, 7...Claw member, 8...Driving roller pair, 9...Belt support stand, 10...Brush guide body, 12...Brush support plate, 14...Brush.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of conveyor belts arranged in parallel at intervals and driven to rotate, and a large number of conveyor belts arranged at equal intervals in contact with the surface of each conveyor belt and driven to rotate. In a collating machine having a structure in which paper traveling between pinch rolls is guided to a specific sorting shelf by selectively tilting a paper taking-in claw member provided corresponding to a plurality of sorting shelves, A collating machine characterized in that a brush guide member is disposed at least between the conveyor belts where the paper take-in claw member is located, for regulating and preventing the falling and deformation of the advancing paper.