JPH0448707B2 - - 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 processing (stapling, gluing, etc.) on the aligned sheet bundle (mutual alignment), and then automatically discharges the same.

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.), or 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 the versatility to be widely used in combination with various existing sheet output devices, is highly reliable, is compact overall, and is low cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide this type of automatic sheet processing device.

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a sheet collection tray that receives sheets output from the sheet output port on a chassis that is freely adjustable in height and height corresponding to the sheet output port of a sheet output device. , a sheet aligning means for aligning the sheets sequentially output to the sheet collection tray, and a bookbinding means for collectively binding the bundle of sheets aligned by the sheet aligning means, and the following are assembled and held. That is.

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. 101 is a sheet output port (sheet discharge port) formed horizontally on the left end face plate 102 of the ruler plate machine housing;
A sheet discharge pinch roller 103 is disposed inside the sheet output port 101 and near the output port. 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. Sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5 arranged at the tip side of the sheet guide plate.

c. A sheet collection tray 6 disposed in an inclined position to receive the sheet sent out from the pinch roller.

d. The sheets that are successively discharged and deposited into the tray are aligned so that two corresponding right-angled sides are aligned with each other by cooperation with the inclined tray.
First and second sheet alignment ruler plates 7, 8 arranged at right angles to each other.

e. A tray swinging mechanism 9 that supports the tray in a freely swinging manner and selectively converts it into the first and second inclined positions.

f A stapling mechanism 10 that collectively staples (binds) a bundle of sheets aligned and stacked in a tray.

g Other electrical circuits, electrical circuits and copying machines 1
Cables (signal transmission/reception lines), etc. that connect with the electrical circuit on the 00 side.

(2) Apparatus chassis 2 (Fig. 2) The apparatus chassis 2 has a vertical structure that is large enough to almost span both the left end face plate 102, which is the sheet output port side of the copying machine 100, and the left end face plate 201 of the pedestal 200 on which the copying machine is placed. The back plate part 2a is the main body, and the left and right side plate parts 2b and 2c are respectively protruded forward from the upper left and right sides of the vertical steep plate part 2a, and the vertical back plate part 2a.
A horizontally elongated intermediate shelf section 2d is disposed at a position slightly higher than the intermediate section of the back plate from the left side of the back plate to the right side of the back plate, and a horizontally long intermediate shelf section 2d is disposed at a position slightly higher than the intermediate section of the back plate, and a horizontally long intermediate shelf section 2d is disposed at a position slightly higher than the intermediate section of the back plate, and a horizontally long intermediate shelf section 2d is disposed substantially across the back board from the left side of the back plate to the right side of the back plate. A forward protruding arm part 2e formed in the middle shelf part 2e, a wide shelf part 2f formed in series with the shelf board on the right end side of the intermediate shelf part, and a horizontally elongated part formed in the surface part near the upper side of the vertical back part 2a. It is provided with a window hole 2g and long holes 2h for inserting vertical screws formed at the four corners of the substantially lower half of the vertical back plate portion 2a.

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, 3 and sheet discharge pinch rollers 4, 5 (Figs. 1, 3, 4) The sheet guide plates 3, 3 continue to guide the sheet 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 chassis side plates.

Sheet discharge pinch rollers 4 and 5 are disposed on the leading edge sides of the sheet guide plates 3 and 3, and pinch the sheets fed through the gap passages between the guide plates 3 and 3 into a tray 6 to be 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, which are rotatably driven by a motor M1, are fixedly supported along the length of the rotary shaft 11 at predetermined intervals. The driven roller 5 for each drive roller 41 is rotatably supported by a bearing on the tip side of a support arm 12 made of a spring plate whose base is fixed to a stay 13 disposed between the left and right side plates 2b and 2c of the chassis with screws or the like. The upper surface of the drive roller 4 is always pressed against the upper surface of the drive roller 4 by the downward biasing force of the spring plate support arm 12, respectively.

The passage formed by the upper and lower sheet guide plates 3, 3 is preferably provided with a small gap of about 1 to 2 mm in order to prevent the sheet from flapping between the two guide plates. In order to prevent condensation of water vapor generated from the sheet passing between the sheet guide plates and trouble with sheet conveyance due to the dew condensation, the sheet guide plates may be provided with ventilation holes or wire-like members, 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 the sheet 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 tray 6 is located on the back side of the chassis intermediate shelf section 2d, a little closer to the left end than the intermediate position of the shelf section. The base is firmly held in position by the fixed support member 14, and the back side is attached to the shaft 15, which is disposed so as to be tilted forward upward at α, through the bearing members 16, 16, to the left and right around the shaft 15. It is connected and supported so that it can swing and rotate freely. The tray 6 has tension springs 17 (first and fifth
(Fig.), and is urged to rotate counterclockwise around the shaft 15, and normally, the rear surface of the left side of the tray comes into contact with the upper surface of the chassis arm part 2e and is received. Inclined forward and upward,
Moreover, it is held in a tilted posture state in which it is tilted downward to the right. Hereinafter, this posture state will be referred to as the first posture. The front upward inclination α and the right downward inclination angle β in the first posture of the tray 6 are set and designed, for example, in the range of 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 chassis intermediate shelf board 2d on the back surface of the chassis intermediate shelf board 2d. By controlling the motor M2 to rotate approximately 90° 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, but the cam 18 is rotated upward by approximately 90° normal rotation drive of the motor M2. When the cam is converted into a position, the tip of the cam contacts the rear surface of the rear left corner of the tray and presses it in the upward direction, causing the tray 6 to rotate clockwise around the shaft 15 against the tension spring 17. It is converted to and held in the posture shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5, which is tilted downward to the right at an angle β' that is larger than the downward rightward inclination angle β in the first posture. Hereinafter, this posture state will be referred to as a second posture. When the cam 18 in the upward position is again changed to the horizontal position by approximately 90° reverse rotation of the motor M2, the tray in the second position returns to the first position.

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, 8 (1st to 6th, 11th
(Figure) The sheet alignment ruler plates 7 and 8 are placed on the 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 inside 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
The ruler plate 7 on the receiving side is a first sheet alignment ruler plate, and the ruler plate 8 on the side receiving the right side _PR of the sheet is a 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 part 2d, and the second ruler plate 8 is attached to the chassis wide shelf part 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, 8 are bent inward at right angles to form narrow projecting edges 7a, 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,
8, the upper surface 7 of each lower side narrow overhanging edge 7a, 7b
The relationship is structured so that a step W is created so that a' and 7a' are on the lower side.

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

The stapler main body 23 has a chassis wide shelf section 2f.
A shaft 2 is attached to the rear end of a channel type guide member 24 which is positioned and fixed on the upper surface with its longitudinal axis in the direction toward the opening 22 between the first and second ruler plates 7 and 8.
They are connected to each other so that they can freely swing vertically around shaft 2.
5 and the guide member 24 and stapler body 2.
The guide member 24 is constantly urged to open and rotate upwardly by a torsion spring 26 stretched between the guide members 24 and 3.

The stapler main body 23 has a box-shaped head portion 27 with an open upper surface provided at the tip, a staple loading guide groove portion 28, and a series of stapler staples 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, the staple receiving side wall 27a of the head section 27 and the head front wall 27 on the opposite side.
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. A lug 34c is formed to abut on the upper surface of the chassis 32, and the lower side of the downward arm 34b projects downward from the shelf 2f through a slit hole 2j (FIG. 2) made in the wide shelf 2f of the chassis.

M3 is a forward/reverse rotation 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 rotary shaft 36 of the motor; 38 is a cam plate also fixed to the shaft 36;
MS1 and MS2 turn on and off as the cam plate 38 rotates.
The first and second microswitches are turned off. The rotary arm 37 has a long hole 37a formed along its length on the arm surface, and the long hole 37a
The downward arm portion 34b of the L-shaped lever 34
A pin shaft 34d implanted in the lower end of the rotary arm 37 and the L-shaped lever 34 are connected to each other by fitting the pin shaft 34d.

The rotating arm 37 is normally held in a standby position at a rotating angle diagonally upward to the left as shown by the solid line in FIG. In this state, the first micro switch MS1 is held off and the second micro switch MS2 is held on by the cam plate 38, and the L-shaped lever 34 is rotated clockwise about the shaft 35 so that the sideways arm 34a is held at a rotation angle position diagonally upward to the left. The stapler body 23 has a torsion spring 26.
Due to the opening rotation force caused by this, the hitting point member 32 is held open and rotated about the shaft 25 with respect to the guide member 24 until the upper surface of the hitting point member 32 comes into contact with and is received by the lower surface of the lug 34c of the lateral arm 34a. 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) when they pass through the copying machine output port 101 on the trailing edge, or when they pass through the sheet discharge ports 4 and 5 on the sheet automatic processing device side. Based on the detection signal, the control circuit starts driving the motor M3 in the normal rotation after a predetermined delay time T required for the copy sheet discharged to the tray 6 to be completely aligned in the tray. . 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 micro switch MS2 remains on for a while after that.
When the rotating arm reaches a substantially vertical rotating angle position 37' shown by a dashed line, it is turned off. 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 chassis wide shelf 2f (the seventh (23' shown by the dashed line in FIG. 1). In this state, the striking member 32 is still pushed down against the coil spring 33 and has not yet reached the point where it acts on the leading edge of the loaded stapling needle 29 within the stapler body 23. 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, 8 is opened. The right corner of the rear side of the sheet protruding from the side toward the chassis wide shelf board 2f and positioned 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, 10) is the stapler body 2
This is a rod-shaped member for holding paper which can be made of an elastic and flexible material and has a base attached to and held on 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 holding member 40 is the head part 2 of the first stage push-down/return cycle of the stapler.
It moves up and down in accordance with the up and down movement of the sheet 7, and presses down the upper surface of the rear side of the aligned sheet in the tray.The presence of this paper presser member 40 expands the paper presser range, and also prevents the sheet from curling. The curl is suppressed and corrected, thereby improving the mutual alignment of the sheets.

When the sheet is pressed by lowering the paper presser member 40, first the tip side of the paper presser member 40 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 is pressed down. 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. 8(c)). By pressing down the dot member 32, the loaded stable staples 2 inside the stapler body 23 are pressed down.
9, the most advanced one is the downward leg plate 3 of the hitting point member 32.
The lower edge of the sheet 2a is pushed out from the needle push-out gap opening 27d toward the needle receiving seat 39, whereby the sheet bundle portion sandwiched between the lower surface of the head portion 27 and the needle receiving seat 39 is stapled all at once. . The above-mentioned pressing down state of the striking member is referred to as the second stage pressing down of the stapler.

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 end face plate side of the copying machine 100 and protrudes outward is removed. And set screws 2 at the four corners fixing the left end face plate 201 of the pedestal 200 on which the copying machine 100 is placed.
02 and insert the set screws 202 into each of the vertical holes 2h in the four corners of the lower half of the chassis vertical back plate 2a of the device 1 to attach the pedestal left end face plate 201 and the lower half of the chassis back plate 2a of the device 1 to the pedestal main body. This is done by tightening them together. 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 chassis vertical back plate 2a 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 1,100. 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 required number of 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, 3 on the apparatus 1 side, and is sandwiched between the nip portions of the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4, 5, and is held in the first posture 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 dashed line R-R near the right side of the tray (Fig. 11).
It is assumed that one-sided reference conveyance (sheet right-side reference conveyance) 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 P ₁ of the leading edge of the downwardly curved sheet portion is first placed on the tray 6 surface (or the second and subsequent sheets are already on 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 entire sheet P falls into the tray 6 and is in a discharged state (FIG. 11).

e The sheet P that has been dropped into the tray 6 is then directed toward the right corner of the rear side of the tray 6 along the front upward slope of the tray 6, or conversely, the rear downward slope, and the synthetic resin surface that slopes downward to the right. Direction A (11th
It slides down naturally under its own weight to (Fig.).

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 ).

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 the 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 Section 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 sheet discharged and aligned into the tray 6.

i Thus, the second and subsequent output sheets also follow the above b
In the same process as in items 1 to 1, the sheets are sequentially discharged, aligned, and pressed into the tray 6, and are stacked one after another in alignment. 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 chassis wide shelf plate 2f, and serves as a staple receiver. seat 39
It will be positioned above.

j Then, the last copy sheet of the first copy is output and discharged into the tray 6, and when it is aligned, the stapler mechanism performs the second stage push-down/return operation as explained in the above section 6. As a result, all the sheet bundles in the tray are stapled at once (bookbinding process) by driving a staple needle into the right corner of the rear side (FIG. 8(c)).

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° 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 slope 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 discharge port (pinch rollers 4, 5), and is also inclined downward to the right. From, the drop distance between the left end side of the sheet outlet in the length direction of the sheet outlet and the left side of the tray L _L
(FIG. 4), the drop distance l _R between the right side of the sheet exit on the opposite side and the right side of the tray is larger. Therefore, the sheet P fed from the sheet discharge port to the tray 6 may have weakened stiffness due to high temperature and high humidity environments, or the sheet P may have weak stiffness to begin with. In this case, when the sheet P is fed a certain length from the sheet discharge port to the tray 6 side, the degree of downward curvature of the sheet portion becomes large, and the sheet leading edge left corner P ₁ side overlaps with the tray. Since the head distance l _L is relatively small, even if the sheet enters at an acute angle to the tray 6 surface, the right corner _P2 side of the leading edge of the sheet has a large head distance l _R from the tray, so the two-dot chain line in Figure 3 As shown in the figure, a situation is likely to occur where the tray enters at an acute angle θ' or an angle close to 90° with respect to the surface of the tray 6.

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

Such sheet reversal and ejection troubles can also occur in a tray device in which the tray 6 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 output section of the sheet discharge port section for the tray is provided with a tray-side tray for the sheet sent from the sheet exit 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 FIGS. 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, 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, 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 out from the sheet outlet 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 0, 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 Pc in FIGS. 4 and 12. Based on the rib-like effect caused by the upward warping Pc 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 which the right corner of the leading end side of the sheet guide plates 3, 3 is curved upward to give warps 3', 3'; Due to the warpage 3', 3', the sheet is warped as in the case of the roller 50 above.
I can give you a PC.

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 slow impact material pasted on its inner surface, or the side plates themselves are 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 rear side P _B of the sheet touches the first ruler plate 7 and aligns with the position control (3 points in the same figure). Since this is the sheet moving form (state P shown by the 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 made of a urethane foam sheet or the like on its inner surface. Slow impact material 7b such as 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 enters the tray. In relation to the posture of the sheet in the tray at the time of ejection and falling, each sheet alignment ruler plate that receives each sheet side is placed approximately parallel to the two right-angled sides of 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 ruler plate 8, and the first alignment ruler plate 7 is disposed at right angles to the second ruler plate 8.

That is, until the trailing edge P _B of the sheet P fed into the tray 6 from the sheet ejection port passes through the sheet ejection pinch rollers 4 and 5, its right side P _R is aligned with the sheet one side conveyance reference line R-R.
(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. The angle γ is actually 5 when the inclination angle of the tray 6 is α = 23 to 26 degrees, β = 6 to 10 degrees, and the falling distance from the sheet ejection port at the rear right corner of the sheet is 75 mm. °It was hot 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 second alignment ruler plate 8 is arranged to align the right side _P The entire length of the ruler plate 8 is brought into contact with the ruler plate 8 at the same time in a parallel state. 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 in the direction B along the ruler plate 8, so that the position of the right side P R of the sheet is regulated by the second ruler plate 8.
contact the ruler plate 7 in a parallel state.

d If sheets of various sizes are discharged to the tray 6 by one-sided reference transport based on the right or left side of the sheet, the horizontal slope of the tray 6 should be such that the sheet transport reference line side is lower. It is better to make it 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 sheet discharged to the tray 6 is different, the two right-angled sides of the tray sliding down side of the sheet immediately after being discharged and dropped to the tray 6.
P _R and P _B , the first and second sheet alignment ruler plates 7 arranged on the sheet sliding side of the tray,
8 is always approximately constant, and the sliding path and manner of the sheet after it is ejected and fallen onto the tray 6, and the alignment completion time are approximately the same for sheets of various sizes, making it possible to perform 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 closer to the first 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, 8 have inwardly projecting edges 7a, 8a formed on the lower sides as explained in the above item 5 and FIGS. The rear side _6B and right side _6R of the tray 6 are placed in corresponding positions, and the upper surface 7a' of the corner projecting edges 7a, 8a,
Since the relational configuration is such that a step W is created so that 8a' is a lower surface than the upper surface of the tray 6', the sheet ejected into the tray and sliding down the tray surface (the right side P _R of the first ejected sheet or The sheet slides down the tray due to the sheet edge entering the boundary gap d2 or d1 between the tray and the ruler plate before the trailing edge P _B contacts the inner surfaces of the second and first alignment ruler plates 8 and 7, respectively. Stagnation on the way is prevented and sheet alignment is ensured.

g. In this example, the sheet aligning means mechanism is composed of an inclined tray 6 and first and second sheet aligning ruler plates 7 and 8 arranged at right angles to each other, but alignment by vibrating the tray,
Other alignment mechanisms such as alignment using a drive belt or paddles may also be used.

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 It is not necessary to provide the sheet guide plates 3, 3 and the sheet discharge pinch rollers 4, 5 on the apparatus 1 side 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 sheet receiving tray 6, sheet alignment means 7, 8, bookbinding means 10, etc. on a chassis whose height can be freely adjusted. 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) Effects of the Invention As explained in detail above, the present invention can be used for various types of sheet output devices by assembling and holding the required members and mechanisms in a predetermined arrangement relationship on a common chassis. However, on the sheet automatic processing equipment side, each member important for sheet alignment is
The overall positional relationship of the mechanisms is always kept constant, and stable sheet alignment is performed.

In addition, since the chassis is freely adjustable in height to correspond to the sheet output port of the sheet output device, it is possible to adjust the height of the sheet output port for various types of sheet output devices with different heights. On the other hand, an automatic sheet processing device can be installed or used in series by adjusting the sheet receiving opening on the device side to match. In other words, it is a versatile device.

In addition, this type of automatic sheet processing device can be obtained at low cost, with a simple overall structure, a compact design, high reliability, and practical use.

[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 device. 1 is a sheet automatic processing device, 2 is a device chassis, 100 is a sheet output device such as a copying machine,
101 is a sheet output port, 6 is a sheet collection inclined tray (sheet collection tray), 7 and 8 are first and second sheet alignment ruler plates (sheet alignment means), 10
is a stapler mechanism (bookbinding means).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A sheet collecting tray that receives sheets output from the sheet output port, and a sheet collection tray that receives sheets output from the sheet output port, on a chassis that is freely adjustable in height and height corresponding to the sheet output port of the sheet output device; A sheet automatic machine comprising: a sheet aligning means for aligning sheets sequentially output to a collection tray; and a bookbinding means for collectively binding a bundle of sheets aligned by the sheet aligning means; assembled and held. Processing equipment.