JPH0417864B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a sheet sorting device that sorts and stacks sheets discharged from an image forming device, and particularly to a small sorter used attached to a copying machine. In particular, the present invention relates to a bin tray conveying device in a sheet sorting device.

(B) Prior Art Recently, various compact and low-cost sheet sorting devices have been devised to be attached to image forming apparatuses, especially copying machines. The trunnions protruding from the tips of the bin trays are guided so as to be movable up and down, and the helical lead cams are sequentially engaged with the contact portions between the trunnions to sequentially transfer the trunnions. , a sheet sorting device that expands each bin tray to accommodate sheets in the sheet ejection section of an image forming apparatus in order to accommodate sheets, and sequentially receives and stacks the ejected sheets in the expanded bin tray, has improved performance such as high speed. From this point of view, it is used as a relatively suitable product.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention By the way, in the above-mentioned sheet sorting device, when the spiral lead cam is rotated to transfer each bin tray, the tip of the rotating cam enters the contact area between the trunnions at high speed. As a result, a loud impact noise is generated, and the rear end of the cam in the rotating direction separates from the trunnion at high speed, causing the trunnion to collide with the adjacent trunnion with force.
It also had the disadvantage of producing a large impact sound.

Therefore, in order to reduce the above-mentioned impact noise, a solution was devised in which a relatively thin scooping acute angle part made of a rigid member was formed at both ends of the above-mentioned spiral lead cam. It was not possible to reduce the situation in a meaningful way.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems, and as shown in FIGS. bin tray 9
Trunnions 17a, 9a-12a, 19a, 9b-12b protruding from the tips of ~12 are guided to be movable up and down, and scoop portions 35b, 36b are formed at both ends at the contact portion between these trunnions. Sheet classification in which the spiral lead cams 22 and 23 are sequentially engaged in rotation to sequentially transport the respective trunnions, and each bin tray is expanded to face the sheet discharge section of the image forming apparatus 1 in a state in which sheets can be sequentially fed. In the device 3, a detected part 37 rotates in synchronization with the cams 22 and 23, and includes a detected range including positions corresponding to the rake parts at both ends of the cam.
a and 37b, and a sensor 39 capable of detecting the detected portion of the rotation detection plate.
Based on the detection signal of the sensor, the rotation of the cam is decelerated immediately before the rake parts 35b and 36b at the rear of the cam in the rotation direction are separated from the trunnion, and the rake part 3 at the front of the cam in the rotation direction is decelerated.
Control means 42 that controls the cam to stop rotating at a position where 6b, 35b approaches the next trunnion, and scoop the trunnion at low speed when the next rotation starts.
It is characterized by having the following.

(E) Effect With the above means and adoption, the cams start rotating from the position where the rake portions 36b, 35b at the front in the rotational direction of the cams 22, 23 are close to the trunnions 17a, 9a to 12a, 19a, 9b to 12b. When the rotational speed of the cam is low, the rake portion at the forward end of the cam in the rotational direction enters the contact portion of the trunnion and scoops up the trunnion, so that no large impact noise is generated when the cam enters. Next, the cam is rotated at high speed, but the rotation of the cam is decelerated from a high speed state to a low speed state at a stage before the rake portions 35b and 36b at the rear in the rotational direction of the cam are separated from the trunnion. Since the trunnion is brought into soft contact with the adjacent trunnion when the rake part is disengaged, no large impact noise is generated even when the disengagement contact occurs. When the rotation of the cam ends, the rotation of the cam is stopped at a position where the rake part at the front in the rotation direction of the cam is close to the trunnion to be transferred next. The rake section scoops up the trunnion at low speed, and the same noiseless transfer as described above is repeated.

Note that the symbols in the brackets above are shown for reference and do not limit the configuration in any way.

(F) Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows a side sectional view of a sheet sorting device to which the present invention can be applied, in which copied sheets that are successively discharged from a pair of paper discharge rollers 2 of a copying machine 1 are placed facing the pair of paper discharge rollers 2. A pair of conveying rollers 7 passes between the entrance guide plates 5 and 6 of the sheet sorting device 3 arranged as shown in FIG. The bottles are sequentially fed into bin trays 9, 10, 11, and 12 and stored therein.
The plurality of bin trays 9 to 12 are arranged in a stacked manner so as to be vertically transportable, and the rear ends of the stacked bin trays 9 to 12 are supported by a support arm 13 protruding from the main body of the sheet sorting device 3. so that they can slide against each other. There are also pillars 1 on the left and right sides of the sheet receiving side of the main body of the sheet sorting device 3.
5, 16 are arranged (see Fig. 5), and slots 15a, 16a extending vertically are formed in the side walls of these supports 15, 16, and bin trays 9, 10, 1
Cylindrical trunnions 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a,
11b, 12a, 12b are slidably engaged with each other, and the trunnions 9a-12a, 9b-
12b are adapted to be engaged with support frames 17 and 19, respectively (see FIGS. 4 and 5). The support frames 17 and 19 include one support frame 1 as shown in FIG.
As shown in the enlarged view of 9, the aforementioned slot 15
Similarly to trunnions a and 16a, elongated holes 17c (see FIG. 3) and 19c having a length one trunnion longer than the sum of the diameters of all the trunnions to be accommodated are formed, and each support frame 17, Cylindrical support frame trunnions 17a and 19a having the same diameter as the trunnions of the respective bin trays are fixedly installed in the upper part of the bin tray so as to be in contact with the upper ends of the upper long holes 17c and 19c, respectively. It can be slid up and down along the slots 15a and 16a. Therefore, the support frames 17 and 19 are connected to the slot 15 via the trunnions 17a and 19a, respectively.
a, 16a, each bin tray 9-1
The second trunnions 9a to 12a, 9b to 12b move up and down within the elongated holes 17c and 19c of the support frames 17 and 19, respectively, and the slots 15a and 16a.
It is designed to move along the Further, the above-mentioned left and right columns 15 and 16 are respectively provided with rotating shafts 20 and 21 perpendicularly, and the rotating shafts 20 and 21 are vertically provided.
Above the trunnion 17a,
Spiral lead cams 22 and 23 that engage with 9a to 12a, 19a, and 9b to 12b are fixedly provided, respectively. Further, sprockets 25 and 26 are fixed to the lower portions of the rotating shafts 20 and 21, respectively, so that the rotation of the motor 27, which can be rotated forward and backward, is controlled by the motor shaft 2.
The signal is transmitted to the rotating shaft 20 via a gear 30 directly connected to the gear 9 and a gear 31 that meshes with the gear 30 and has the same number of teeth. The rotation of the rotating shaft 20 is controlled by the sprocket 2.
5. It is transmitted to the rotating shaft 21 via the chain 32 and sprocket 26, and the rotating shafts 20 and 21, that is, the spiral lead cams 22 and 23, are both synchronously rotated forward D and reversed D' in the same direction, and each bin tray 9 to 12 is the trunnion 17a, 9a to 12a, 19a, 9b
-12b, it is designed to be moved vertically in a horizontal state.

The spiral lead cams 22 and 23 are
Each has an external appearance as shown in FIG. 2, and a cam shape as shown in the exploded view of FIG. 1a.
That is, each of the spiral lead cams 22 and 23 has a horizontal portion 33 having a thickness equivalent to one trunnion described above at a portion in the circumferential direction, and the other portion in the circumferential direction from one end of the horizontal portion 33 to the other end. The portion has a slope 35a that allows the trunnion to be lifted by one trunnion from the horizontal portion 33, and has a substantially triangular scooping acute-angled portion 35 with an acute-angled tip 35b; The horizontal portion 33 is located at another portion in the circumferential direction from the other end of the 33 to one end.
A roughly triangular scooping acute angle part 3 having an inclination 36a capable of lifting two trunnions toward the direction, and having an acute-angled tip 36b.
It has a cam shape with 6.

Further, a disk-shaped rotation detection plate 37 is fixedly attached to the motor shaft 29 shown in FIG. 5 so as to rotate in synchronization with the spiral lead cams 22 and 23.
On the circumference of the rotation detection plate 37, the spiral lead cams 22, 2 are arranged as shown in FIG.
3 Tips 35 of the sharp angle parts 35 and 36 for scooping on both ends
Two detected parts 37a and 37b are formed so that the positions corresponding to b and 36b are included in the detected range. Further, a sensor 39 is positioned and arranged on the main body of the sheet sorting device 3, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 1b, so as to be able to detect the passage of the detected portions 37a and 37b. Note that the detected parts 37a and 37b are configured with cutouts, light reflectors, magnets, etc. as necessary, and the sensor 39 is also configured with a transmission type optical sensor, a reflective type optical sensor, a reflective type optical sensor, etc.
A magnetic sensor or the like may be used.

In addition, the reference numeral 40 in FIG. 3 is a micro switch for detecting sheet passage, and the micro switch 40 detects a break between a sheet that is sequentially conveyed at a predetermined interval and the next sheet. When this happens, the rotation of the pair of transport rollers 7 is stopped, and conversely, the motor 27 starts rotating forward. In addition, in FIGS. 3 to 5, reference numeral 15
b, 16b indicate slots 15a, 16
A stopper provided at the lower end of a, when the motor 27 is reversed and the support frames 17, 19 are lowered the most, the lower ends of the support frames 17, 19 will stop at the stopper 15.
b, 16b, and at the same time a micro switch 41 disposed near the stopper 16b is activated. As a result, the rotation detection plate 37 and the sensor 39
When it is detected that the spiral lead cams 22 and 23 have reached the normal rotation start position,
The motor 27 completes its reverse rotation, and the transport roller pair 7
starts rotating, and the motor 27 waits in a state where it can start normal rotation.

On the other hand, a control section 4 that controls the sheet sorting device 3
2, the motor 27 is controlled based on the signal detected by the detected portions 37a, 37b of the rotation detection plate 37 from the sensor 39, and the spiral lead cams 22, 23 are controlled.
However, the tip 3 of the acute angle part 35 for rake at the rear in the rotation direction
5b (in the case of reverse rotation, the tip 3 of the acute angle part 36 for rake
6b) in contact with trunnions 17a, 9a to 12
Just before separating from a, 19a, 9b to 12b, the rotation is decelerated, and the tip 36b of the acute angle part 36 for scooping at the front in the rotation direction (the tip 35b of the acute angle part 35 for scooping in the case of reverse rotation) is moved to the next trunnion. A control means 42a is stored therein which is programmed to stop rotation in close proximity and scoop the trunnion at low speed when the next rotation begins.

Since this embodiment has the above configuration, when copying is started by the copying machine 1, if the bin trays 9 to 12 in the sheet sorting device 3 are not all set to the lowered initial position, the copying from the copying machine 1 is In response to the instruction signal, the motor 27 is first reversed, and the bin trays 9 to 12 are quickly reset to the initial position shown at A in FIG. 1A. Then, at the same time as the reset is completed, the conveying roller pair 7 starts rotating, and the copied first sheet is stored in the topmost bin tray 9, which is in a standby state ready for feeding.
Then, in the process of conveying the first sheet, the first
When the sheet passage detection microswitch 40, which had been lifted to the upper operating position by the sheet, is lowered to the lower operating position by the passage of the first sheet, the rotation of the transport roller pair 7 is stopped. At the same time, the first normal rotation of the motor 27 is started. At the same time, the cams 22 and 23 also start normal rotation D, and the trunnion 17 shown in FIG.
a (hereinafter, the same applies to the cam 23, so the cam 23 and its associated trunnions 19a, 9b to 12
b) is the slope 35a of the cam 22.
begins to rise. At the same time, the tip 36b of the sharp rake portion 36 of the cam 22, which has started rotating and is still in a low speed state, comes extremely close to the contact portion between the trunnion 9a and the trunnion 10a, which are disposed below the trunnion 17a. The trunnion 9a and the trunnion 10a are separated by the scooping acute angle 36, and the trunnion 9a and the trunnion 10a are
a begins to be raised by the slope 36a of the cam 22. Next, the cam 22 is rotated at a high speed, and the trunnions 17a, 9a to 12a move from the state shown in FIG. 1A to the state shown in FIG. Then, the rotation detection plate 3 which is being rotated in synchronization with the cam 22
The front edge of the detected portion 37b of No. 7 is detected by the sensor 39, a deceleration signal is issued, and the motor 27 is decelerated from high speed to low speed.
The trunnion 17a and the trunnion 9a, which are separated from the tip 35b of the cam 22, are in soft contact with each other in the state shown in C of FIG. Approaching position A in figure a. Then, this time, the front edge of the detected portion 37a of the rotation detection plate 37 is connected to the sensor 3.
9, a temporary stop signal is issued to the motor 27, and the trunnions 17a, 9a to 12a are
The trunnions 17a and 9a are in the horizontal part 3 at position A.
3, and the trunnions 10a to 12a are in the state shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, in which each of the trunnions 10a to 12a is raised by one trunnion by the lifting action of the support frame 17. In this state, as shown in FIG.
The space between the bin tray 10 and the bin tray 10 of the second stage is expanded, and the second sheet that has been copied and discharged from the copying machine 1 is transferred to the feeder by the rotation of the pair of conveyor rollers 7, which is restarted at the same time as the motor 27 is temporarily stopped. The bin tray 10 is stored in the second stage bin tray 10, which is ready for use. In this way, copied sheets are sorted and stored one after another in the lower bin tray in the same manner, and the n-1st bin tray is raised as described above in order to store the sheets in the preset n-th stage. In this case, the rotation detection plate 37 and the sensor 39
The n-1st rotation of the cam 22 is detected using
b is stopped at a position close to the trunnion 17a and trunnions 9a to 12a shown in c of FIG. , the motor 27 starts reverse rotation, and the bin trays 9 to
11 are lowered one after the other, automatically reset to the initial position described above, and then the motor 2
Similarly, the second and subsequent classifications are performed by forward rotation of 7.
An accumulation operation is performed. In addition, bin trays 9 to 11
When reversing the motor 27 to reset the
Trunnions 12a to 9a, 17a by cam 22
Since the separation and contact actions are exactly the same, their explanation will be omitted below.

(g) Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the present invention, the rotation of the cam is decelerated immediately before the rake portion at the rear in the rotational direction of the cam is separated from the trunnion, and the rake portion at the front in the rotational direction of the cam is decelerated. Since the cam is configured to stop rotating at a position close to the next trunnion, whether the cam is in the forward or reverse direction, the rake portion at the front of the cam in the rotational direction is It enters between the contact portions of the trunnion, and no large impact sound is generated during the entry. Further, when the cam separates from the rake portion at the rear in the direction of rotation, the trunnion comes into very soft contact with the adjacent trunnion, and no large impact noise is generated upon this contact. In this way, it has become possible to significantly reduce the noise conventionally generated during the operation of the sheet sorting device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the operating principle of the sheet sorting device according to the present invention, in which a is a developed view of a helical lead cam and a diagram showing the operating state of the trunnion related thereto, and b is a diagram showing the rotation shown in relation to the cam. 2 is a side view of the spiral lead cam, 3 is a sectional side view of the sheet sorting device, and 4 is a view of the sheet sorting device taken along the line C-C in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a rear view of the sheet sorting device as seen from the direction of arrow A-A in FIG. 3. 1... Image forming device (copying machine), 3... Sheet sorting device, 9, 10, 11, 12... Bin tray, 17a, 9-12a, 19a, 9b-12b
...Trunion, 22, 23...Spiral lead cam, 35b, 36b...Rake part (acute angle part for rake), 35b, 36b...(acute angle part for rake)
Tip, 37... Rotation detection plate, 37a, 37b...
Detected part, 39...sensor, 42a...control means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Trunnions protruding from the tips of a large number of bin trays are guided in a vertically movable manner, and a helical lead cam having scoops formed at both ends is sequentially rotated at the contact portion between the trunnions. In a sheet sorting device that engages and sequentially transports each trunnion so that each bin tray is unfolded and faces a sheet discharge section of an image forming apparatus in a state where sheets can be sequentially fed, a rotation detection plate that rotates and has a detected part whose detection range includes positions corresponding to the rake parts at both ends of the cam; a sensor capable of detecting the detected part of the rotation detection plate; and the sensor. Based on the detection signal, the rotation of the cam is decelerated just before the rake part at the rear in the rotational direction of the cam separates from its trunnion, and the rake part at the front in the rotational direction of the cam approaches the next trunnion. A sheet sorting device comprising: control means for stopping the rotation of the cam and controlling the trunnion to be scooped at a low speed when the next rotation starts.