JPH04140269A - Sheet sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stably store discharged sheets even having different sizes, in a bin by changing the timing with which the bin is shifted, in accordance with data concerning a size of a sheet or the like to be fed into the bin from an image forming device, and by delaying the timing so that the timing of feed of a large size sheet is later than that upon feed of a small size. CONSTITUTION:The timing of shift of a bin B is set such that the timing of shift-up of the bin B upon feed of a large size sheet can be delayed from that upon feed of a small size sheet, in accordance with a signal transmitted from a size detecting means in an image forming device body M. Further, the timing of initiation of the bin shift is set such that the timing of shift-down can be delayed from that of shift-up. With this arrangement, even a relatively long sheet P or a sheet P having a large upward curl, is stably stacked in the bin B.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to copy paper, transfer paper, or recording paper discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printing machine, or other recording equipment. The present invention relates to a sheet sorting device (hereinafter referred to as a sorter) used for distributing and stacking so-called sheet-like members (hereinafter referred to as sheets).

(B) Conventional technology In general, this type of sorter has sheet stacking tables (hereinafter referred to as bins) in about 10 to 20 or more stages spaced apart from each other at a predetermined distance. The sheet is continuously discharged from the image forming apparatus at regular intervals, and is sequentially conveyed and fed to each predetermined bin by a conveying means using a belt, a plurality of roller means, or a conveying means combining these. There is.

These types of sorters include movable bin sorters, in which a group of bins that accumulate sheets move relative to a fixed transport bus, and bin movable sorters, in which a group of bins is arranged in a fixed state, and a discharge unit corresponds to each bin. , fixed-bin type sorter, in which sheets are fed into each bin from a fixed mainstream bus using a flapper (direction changing means).

Here, to briefly explain the configuration of conventionally known bin moving type sorters, when the bin is moved to the position where sheets are to be delivered, the bin is moved so that the entrance of the bin is widened. It has been known. Examples of this type of device include JP-A-56-78770 and JP-A-56-78770.
78769, JP-A-57-4855, JP-A-57-48
56, the means described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 57-141357 is known.

In these devices, a pair of protruding members individually attached to the end of each bin on the entrance side are engaged with an expanding mechanism using a rotating Geneva or a lead cam, thereby sequentially increasing the interval between each bin in the sheet loading section. By sequentially accumulating this operation in the expansion mechanism, the entire bin group can be raised and lowered.

An example of the essential parts of this sheet sorting device is shown in FIG. Trunnions (hereinafter referred to as bin rollers) 151a and 15 provided at both ends of each of the plurality of bins B, Bb, and Bc, respectively.
1b and 151c are guided by a pair of left and right guide rails 152 to be able to rise and fall freely, and their ends can be engaged with the grooved cam surfaces of a pair of left and right gluing cams 153a and 153b, respectively, and the lead cams 153a , 153b can be moved up and down by rotating them in the A, D directions and the opposite direction. By positioning the bin rollers 151a and 151b on the lead cams 153a and 153b as shown,
The area between the bins BarBb and between the bins Bb and Be is locally widened to facilitate the reception of sheets from the pair of discharge rollers 155 of the main body. After receiving the sheets, the bins B1, Bb, etc. are stacked one after the other on top or bottom.

At this time, the upper surfaces of the lead cams 153a and 153b support the load of the entire bin group (bin unit), and raise or lower the bin unit (lead cam 153a, 153b).
, 153b) is an efficient device that achieves one rotation of the bin roller 151). Therefore, the mechanical structure is simple and the necessary functions are provided.

In addition, other advantages of the bin moving type sorter include the conveyance path from the main body of the image forming apparatus to the discharge roller pair 155 that discharges sheets into the sorter, and the number of bins (for example, from 1 bin to 20 bins). Since it is constant without any change, the structure is simple and has absolute reliability in terms of sheet conveyance.

On the other hand, an example of the latter fixed bin type sorter will be explained with reference to the schematic diagram shown in FIG. 22. In FIG. 22(a), a conveyance path 157 having a plurality of pairs of guide rollers 156 is provided above a plurality of bins B fixedly installed in the sorter. A pair of ejection rollers 159a, 159b that can be raised and lowered is disposed along the entrance of each bin B, and the pair of ejection rollers 159a, 159b and guide rollers 160, 161 that are rotatably provided at the upper and lower portions are arranged. Guide belt 1
It has 62 turns. Further, a pair of discharge rollers 159a,
A sheet path 165 that guides the sheet discharged from the conveyance path 157 downward is formed by an elastic member 163 whose one end is locked to the portion 159b and whose upper portion has a winding tendency, and the guide belt 162.

The above device transports sheets discharged from the conveyance path 157 into predetermined bins by associating a pair of discharge rollers 159a and 159b with each bin of the sorter,
The discharge roller pair 159a, 159b is configured to be used as an indexer for each bin.

In addition, in FIG. 22(b), during a series of conveyance paths from the first bin to the last bin of the sorter, a direction changing means 166 such as a flapper for guiding the sheets to each bin is installed for each bin. are provided in each. The sheets discharged from the conveyance path 157 can be distributed to the respective bins by respectively operating the deflection means 166 corresponding to the bins into which the sheets are discharged.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention The above-mentioned conventional bin moving type sorter and bin fixed type sorter each have drawbacks that are contradictory to each other as described below.

First, regarding the fixed bin type sorter, in terms of noise, it can be said that it has an advantage over the bin moving type sorter in that it does not operate a bin unit with a considerable load. However, in a bin fixed type sorter with an indexer type discharge unit, the length of the sheet path that guides the sheet to the discharge section of the indexer including the pair of discharge rollers 159a and 159b is determined by the bin from which the sheet is discharged. For example,
A means to absorb the difference in the length of the transport path between the 1st and 20th bins (for example, a means to absorb the difference in length using a belt and a tensioner that winds it) is required, which increases the cost of the device. There is also the problem that the reliability of the sheet path itself deteriorates as the device configuration becomes more complex.

In addition, in a type in which the bin is fixed and has a flapper 166 corresponding to each bin, it has an advantage in terms of noise reduction, but the number of bins increases, and the flapper 166 and the solenoid that operates it The number of parts such as the number of parts increases, which causes an increase in the cost of the device.

To summarize the above explanation, in a bin fixed type sorter,
This means that the cost is high and the reliability of the sheet path is lower than that of a moving bin type sorter.

Next, regarding the bin moving type sorter, as mentioned above, this sorter has a fixed distance from the main body of the copying machine to the sheet discharge section for each bin, so it is not reliable in terms of sheet conveyance. This can be said to be superior to fixed bin sorters.

However, since the entire bin unit is moved so that each bin of the sorter corresponds to the sheet discharge section, impact noise is generated due to inertia etc. when the bin unit moves up and down, so it is difficult to make the bins quieter. This is a disadvantage compared to fixed sorters. In particular, as the speed of copying machines increases, in order to prevent the productivity of the entire copying system from decreasing, a sorter that is compatible with the speedup of the copying machine itself is required. In order to do this, it is necessary to shorten the shift time of bin B so that bin B can be
This will require a complete end to the shift.

Therefore, for example, it is necessary to increase the speed of one rotation of the above-mentioned grid cam 153a, and the increase in impact noise caused by the faster vertical movement of the sorter results in a configuration that is more disadvantageous in terms of noise than a fixed bin type sorter. It becomes. Therefore, although the movable bin type sorter achieves its purpose with a simpler configuration than the fixed bin type sorter and improves the reliability of the sheet path, it is not as efficient as the fixed bin type sorter in terms of faster operation and quieter operation. It is disadvantageous.

To summarize the above explanation, a moving bin type sorter is suitable as a highly reliable sorter with a simple configuration (low cost), and a fixed bin type sorter is suitable in terms of speed and noise reduction. This can be said to be a characteristic of conventional sorters.

Furthermore, as an example of achieving quietness and high speed by taking advantage of the advantages of the bin moving type sorter, such as the simplification of the sheet path and high reliability, the present applicant has published Japanese Patent Application No. 1-271146. The sheet sorting device described in . In the configuration of this sheet sorting device,
A configuration is shown in which the sorting operation is realized without reducing the number of rotations of the lead cam and without stopping the lead cam.

However, when a sheet is longer than a certain length in the ejection direction, the resistance of the air layer between it and the sheets that have already been stacked is large. It takes time for the paper to land on the top compared to the case of paper that is short in length in the ejection direction.

Therefore, when the bin is lowered immediately after the sheet is ejected, the sheet P returns in the direction of arrow a before its trailing edge lands, and the bin B descends in the direction of arrow A, as shown in Fig. 25. , the sheet P rides on the rear end of the bin as shown in FIG. The impact force of the bin shift is added to the impact force of the bin shift, and especially when the paper is curled, the sheet P tends to slip and ride on the rear end of the sheet P or the rising part of the rear end of the bin.

In addition, if it is necessary to align the stacked sheets P in a direction perpendicular to the discharge direction, as shown in FIG. It needs to be easier to align.

When a sheet P with a short length in the discharge direction is loaded in a bin B having this shape, as shown in FIG. 28, the sheet P tends to follow the shape of the bin B, but the sheet P with a long length in the discharge direction When the sheets P are loaded, as shown in FIG. 29, the sheets P follow the shape ahead of the protrusion of the bin B in the discharge direction,
The rear end of the sheet P is lifted up, and the distance β from the uppermost sheet P to the uppermost position at the rear end of the bin becomes shorter.

In this state, if the bin B descends before the sheet P lands as shown in Figure 25, there is a high possibility that the sheet P will ride on the rear end of the bin B. Bottles (generally A4R) are stiff in the transport direction and are difficult to follow the convex portion of bottle B, as shown in FIG.

In addition, those with strong upper curls, as shown in Figure 30,
After all, there is a high possibility that ρ will become too short and it will ride on the rear end of the bottle.

According to experiments, it has been confirmed that the mote having the structure described in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-271146 can reliably convey sheets when the length of the sheet in the discharge direction is 8 inches.

Therefore, the present invention ensures that the ejected sheets are placed in the bins in the sorter even when sheets of different sizes are ejected from the image forming apparatus and even when the bins that receive the sheets are shifted in different vertical or vertical directions. The object of the present invention is to provide a sheet sorting device that can be stored in a storage space.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and will be described with reference to, for example, FIGS. 1, 6, 8, and 11. The unit is equipped with a trunnion (33), and the trunnion (33) is guided by a guide member (9) to move a plurality of bins (B), and these bins (B) are equipped with an image forming device (
A sheet discharging means (16) for discharging the sheet (P) conveyed from M), and a trunnion ( and a lead cam means (43) for transporting the image forming apparatus (M).
means (111) for recognizing information (130) such as a size signal and a sheet spacing signal of the sheet (P) transmitted from the lead cam means (43); means (63, 65) for recognizing the position;
Speed control means (59, 11) for the self-driving cam (43) means
1,513) and control that makes it possible to synchronize the start of rotation of the trunnion (33) in the substantially parallel portion (H) of the lead cam (43) means and the start of ejection of the sheet (P). A circuit (110) is provided, and when the sheet (P) is a predetermined size according to a sheet size signal from the image forming apparatus (M), the bin shift timing is delayed compared to when the sheet (P) is a non-predetermined size.

Further, the present invention includes a plurality of bins (B) for storing sheets (P) discharged from the image forming apparatus (M), and the bins (
B) is made to correspond to the sheet discharge position (16), and after conveying the sheet (P) to the bin (B), the bin (B) is raised or lowered, thereby discharging the sheet (P) into each of the bins (B). In a sheet sorting device that can distribute P),
1), a sheet detection means (19) disposed near the sheet discharge position (16), and the sheet detection means (19)
a control circuit (110) that varies the raising or lowering operation timing of the bin (B) according to a signal from the bin group (B) after receiving the bin (B) or the sheet (P); It is characterized in that the timing of descending after receiving the bin group (B) or the sheet (P) is delayed to be equal to or less than the timing of ascending.

(N) Effect Based on the above configuration, the timing of bin shift is determined by the sheet size signal (130) sent to the sorter (1) by the size detection means of the image forming apparatus main body CM). It is possible to shift up later than the upshift of bin (B) when the size is small.

Additionally, the timing to start the bin shift can be delayed from the timing for downshifting or the timing for upshifting.

As a result, even if the sheets (P) are relatively long or the sheets (P) have a large upward curl, they can be stably loaded in the bin (B).

Note that the symbols in parentheses above are shown for reference to the drawings, and do not similarly limit the structure of the present invention.

(F) Example A first example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2, a bin moving type sorter 1 (sheet sorting device) has a sorter main body 7 consisting of a pair of left and right side plates 3, a base 5, a cover 6, and the like. This sorter 1 has a large number of bins B.

-Br, and is provided with a bin unit 2 which is movable in the vertical direction along a pair of guide rails (guiding members) 9 provided on the side plates 3, respectively.

The sorter main body 7 is connected to an image forming apparatus M disposed upstream @ (on the right side in FIG. 1), and has a carry-in port 10 through which sheets P discharged from the image forming apparatus are carried in.
and 11 pairs of carry-in rollers. A first sheet conveyance path 12 and an upper discharge roller 13 are provided from the carry-in roller pair 11 toward the bin unit 2, and a second sheet conveyance path 15 and a bin branching from the upper discharge roller pair 13 and directed downward. A pair of lower discharge rollers (sheet discharge means) 16 facing each unit 2 is provided. A deflector 17 is disposed at the branching portion of both sheet conveyance paths 12.degree. A sheet to be guided to the sheet conveyance path 12 or to be discharged from the lower discharge roller pair 16 to the bin B is guided to the second sheet conveyance path 15.

Near the sheet discharge section of the second sheet conveyance path 15,
A paper sensor 19 for detecting the sheet P is provided, and in this embodiment, the paper sensor 19 is configured as a REETSUI SOCH with a built-in photointerrupter, or a transmission type sensor can also provide the same function. .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bin unit 2 has a pair of bin support plates 20 having a frame structure at the front and rear. A bottle slider 21 is attached to the tip of the bottle support plate 20, and a bottle cover 22 is fixed to the bottle support plate 20 and the pin slider 21. An alignment reference member 23 extends from the bottle cover 22 to the bottle support plate 20.
or fixed. Further, an alignment rod 26 passes through the notches 25 formed in each bin B over all the bins B, and the alignment rod 26 is pivotally supported at the top and bottom via a pair of support members 27. The alignment rod 26 is swingable about a shaft 29. The sheets P stored in each bin B are pressed against the alignment reference member 23 and aligned by the swinging of the alignment rod 26.

Each bottle B stored in the bin unit 2 has both free ends movably mounted on the comb-shaped grooves (as shown) of the pin slider 21, and the base end of the pin slider 21. As shown in detail in FIG. 4, bins 30 are fixedly installed on the left and right sides of the section, respectively. This bottle 30
passes through slits 31 provided in the left and right bottle support plates 2o, and a trunnion 33 is rotatably attached to the outer end of the slit via an O-ring 32 as a cushioning material.

The trunnion 33 is fitted into the guide rail 9 so that the trunnions 33 of each bin B are stacked, and the lowest trunnion 33 contacts the lower guide roller 35 rotatably supported by the bin support plate 20, In addition, the uppermost trunnion 33 contacts the upper guide roller 36 rotatably supported by the bin support plate 20, and each bin B maintains a constant bin interval equal to the outer diameter of the trunnion 33. Supported by Unit 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bin unit 2 can move up and down along the guide rail 9 with the upper guide roller 36 and the lower guide roller 35 fitted into the guide rail 9. A tension spring 39 is stretched between the metal fitting 37 fixed to the bin unit 2 and the side plate 3, and its elasticity acts to pull up the bin unit 2.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, camshaft holters 40 are disposed at positions facing the pair of lower discharge rollers 16 supported by the left and right side plates 3, respectively. A bearing 41 is provided between the holder 40 and the base plate 5.
A lead cam shaft 42 is rotatably disposed via the lead cam shaft 42. A pair of left and right glued cams (spiral cam means) 43a and 43b each having a spiral cam surface are fixed above the lead cam shafts 42 arranged on the left and right sides, respectively.

5 and 9, a shift motor 45 capable of forward and reverse rotation is fixed to one side plate 3, and a full-toothed gear 46b integrated with a pulley 46a is attached to one end of the output shaft 45a.
The upper pulley 46a is connected via a belt 47 to a pulley 49 that is fixed to the lead cam shaft 42 of the lead cam 43b. A full-tooth gear 51 fixed to one end of the penetrating shaft 50 meshes with the full-tooth gear 46b, and a full-tooth gear 52 fixed to the other end of the penetrating shaft 50 is integrated with a pulley 53 (not shown). All tooth gears are in mesh. As shown in FIG.
3 via a belt 55. With the drive transmission system configured as described above, when the shift motor 45 rotates forward and backward, the lead cams 43a and 43b rotate upward in FIG. 9 or in the opposite direction.

A clock disk 56 is fixed to the other end (lower end in FIG. 5) of the output shaft 45a of the shift motor 45, and an interrupter 59 held on one side plate 3 via a sensor holder 57 It becomes possible to read the rotation speed of the shift motor 45, that is, the rotation speed of the lead cams 43a, 43b, and it becomes possible to freely control the rotation speed of the lead cams 43a, 43b together with the load cam control circuit in the microcomputer of the sorter 1. There is.

Furthermore, lead cams 43a and 4 are located below the lead cam 43b shown in FIG.
A pair of flags 61, 62 for detecting the position of 3b are fixed, and FIGS. 6 and 7 respectively show enlarged views thereof. In Figures 6 and 7, flag 6
The interrupter 63.65 for reading 1.62 is
It is held by a holder 66 fixed to the side plate 3.

The interrupters 63 and 65 have the same flag angle, but are arranged with a predetermined phase shift.

Two interrupters due to this phase shift 63.65
As will be described later, it is determined whether the bin B is at the home position in the upward direction or in the downward direction by turning on or off.

The lead cams 43a and 43b have a parallel portion (approximately 180°) as will be described later, and the phase shift of the flags 61 and 62 is determined in accordance with this parallel portion. By the way, the phase of flags 61 and 62 is at a predetermined angle (approximately 30°
), and by turning on/off the interrupter 63.65 due to the angular deviation of the flag 61.62,
The positions of lead cams 43a and 43b are determined.

Next, the operation of the bin B determined by the shape of the lead cams 43a, 43b and the trunnion (bin roller) 33 that engages with them will be explained.

FIG. 8(a) is a diagram showing the relationship between the left side lead cam 43a, the trunnion 33, and the bin B, and FIG. 8(b) is a diagram showing the relationship between the right side lead cam 43b and the trunnion 33. , and FIG. 9 shows the lead cam 43.
It is a top view of the drive transmission system of a and 43b.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the lead cam 4
In this embodiment, 3a and 43b are formed so that the rotational direction is opposite, so that the spiral direction is opposite, and they are mirror-symmetrical to each other. In addition, in this embodiment, the space between 128 and 128 is configured as a two-row type that can be expanded at two locations, the expanding portions x and x'. 67, and if it functions as a sorter rack, the expanded portion may be only the expanded portion X into which the sheets P are carried.

The lead cams 43a, 43 are driven by the shift motor 45.
When the trunnion 33 rotates in the direction of the arrow b or the opposite direction, the trunnion 33 is pressed by the grooves in the lead cams 43a and 43b and is guided by the guide rail 9 to ascend or descend. It should be noted that the sorter 1 in this embodiment has a bent part in a part of the guide rail 9 shown in FIG.
The seat closing mechanism 67 is provided for displacing the bin B in the front-rear direction (sheet advancing direction), and is not intended to limit the structure of the present invention in any way.

In FIG. 10(a), a lead cam 43a according to this embodiment is shown.
FIG. 10(b) shows a cam diagram of a conventional glued cam.

Note that the shaded portion in the figure indicates the cam groove of the lead cam 43a. The cam diagram in FIG. 10(a) (bl both shows the left side (left side in the traveling direction of the sheet P), but the cam diagram of the other lead cam 43b is symmetrical. The cam diagram shows a range from 0° to 360°, and is a cam diagram in this embodiment, so it is a cam diagram with two lines.

The positions of the trunnions 33 within the grooves of the lead cam 43a are indicated by symbols 33a, 33b, and 33c, respectively. Further, a portion indicated by the symbol H in FIG. 10 indicates a substantially parallel parallel portion of the lead cam 43a, and in this embodiment, the parallel portion is set at an angle of about 180°. In the above cam diagram, when the lead cam 43a moves to the right, that is, when the lead cam 43a rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 9 (the trunnion 33 moves relatively to the left), the bin B rises and the lead cam When 43a moves to the left (the trunnion 33 moves relatively to the right)
, bin B is lowered. The parallel portion H is the lead cam 4
The sheet ejection position 1 of 3a is shown, and the shift position is shown on the slope.

Here, when the sheet P is discharged from the lower discharge roller pair 16 in [No. The home position when the trunnion 33 is ascending is 33x, and the home position when the trunnion 33 is descending is 33y. In this embodiment, the phases of the home position 33x and the home position 33y are 1 as shown in FIG. 10(a).
It is shifted by 800. Further, the positions 33x and 33y of the lead cam 43a correspond to the flag areas (2) and (2), respectively, in FIG. 6.

Lead cam 43 (43a, 43b) in this embodiment
Let one round of the sheet P be 2π (rad), the parallel portion H be θ (rad), and the time it takes for the sheet P to pass through the lower discharge roller pair 16 is 1.
+, the rotation speed R+ (rpm) of the lead cam 43 can be expressed by the following equation (1).

Therefore, the shorter the ejection time of the sheet P, the more the number of rotations (process speed) of the lead cam 43 increases.

Next, if the time interval (sheet interval) between each sheet P when the sheets P are continuously discharged from the image forming apparatus M is t, one rotation of the lead cam 43 can be made in time for ten sheets P to be discharged. The remaining 2π-θ (lead cam 43a
It must be stapled at the sloping part of the paper.

Here, if the angle θ of the parallel portion H of the lead cam 43 is set so that R,=R, the rotational speed of the lead cam 43 will theoretically be the same speed when discharging the sheet and at the paper surface, and the lead cam 43 It becomes possible to receive the sheet P into the bin B and shift the bin while rotating the bin B. That is,
When the lead cam 43 is rotating at a constant speed, the image forming apparatus M
It is possible to achieve a series of sheet sorting functions for the sheets P discharged from.

Moreover, when the image forming apparatus M is a high-speed machine, especially t
Therefore, even if the rotation speed of the lead cam 43 is not constant, if two-speed control from R1 to R2 is performed, the lead cam 43 will not stop even if the rotation speed changes. As a result, in this example, the impact noise that was generated by the impact force corresponding to the inertia of the bin unit due to the rotation and stop of the lead cam in this type of bin moving type sorter is eliminated and the noise is reduced. Design becomes possible.

Another feature of this embodiment is that it is suitable for higher-speed copying machines (hybroductivity), and the set angle θ of the parallel portion H of the lead cam 43 can be changed to some extent (for example, , 180° or more), the rotation angle of the lead cam 43 between sheets becomes smaller, so even if the rotation speed of the sword cam 430 is considerably lowered, it can still be used at higher speeds than conventional copying machines (piplotufftivity). It is possible to respond to this.

Furthermore, since the ON/OFF control (movement and stop operation) of the bin unit 2, which has a large mass, is no longer necessary, the power consumption loss of the copying machine can be reduced.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the rotational speed of the lead cam 43 is calculated by a calculation circuit in the sorter that receives the size signal and the sheet spacing signal of the connection main body (image forming apparatus main body M).
It is configured to rotate at the optimum speed according to the process speed of the main body connected to the lead cam drive control circuit, sheet size, and paper spacing.

That is, trunnion 3 of bin B corresponding to sheet discharge
The sheet P is discharged while moving from the beginning to the end of the parallel portion H of the lead cam 43.

Next, a series of operations in which a sheet P is carried into the sorter 1 from the image forming apparatus M, is discharged to the bin B, and is further shifted from the bin B will be described.

First, a sheet P discharged from an image forming apparatus FM (not shown) to which a sorter 1 (see FIG. 1) is connected is carried in through a carry-in port 10 and discharged into a bin B via a pair of carry-in rollers 11 and a deflector 17. be done. When the sheets P are discharged, when not sorted, the sheets P are discharged from the upper discharge roller pair 13 to the bin B, and when sorted, the sheets P are discharged from the lower discharge roller pair 16 to the bin B via the second sheet conveyance path 15.
is discharged.

Here, the paper sensor 19 measures the passage time of the sheet P and the interval between the sheet P and the next sheet P (paper distance),
This measured information 130 (see FIG. 11) is transmitted to the microcomputer in the bin unit 2.

Note that if a sheet conveyance failure occurs and the detection time for a sheet P exceeds a predetermined time, or if only the next sheet P can be detected within a predetermined time, a stagnation/delay jam occurs as with a normal sensor. A signal is issued to the microcomputer in the main body of the image forming apparatus M to stop the entire system in the jam state.

Sorter 1 receives the passage time and paper surface information of the sheet P above.
The internal microcomputer controls the rotational speed of the lead cam 43 and the position of the lead cam 43 based on the data.

The position control of the lead cam 43a is performed in synchronization with the timing of discharging the sheet P into the bin B and the start timing of the parallel portion H of the lead cam 43.

As mentioned above, the clock disk 56 (
5) and an interrupter 59, the lead cam 4
It becomes possible to recognize the speed of No. 3, and flags 61 and 62 (6th
7), the approximately parallel portion H of the lead cam 43
It becomes possible to recognize one end and the other end.

For example, when sorting the bin unit 2 in the ascending direction, the first
When the trunnion 33 of the bin B corresponding to the home position 33x shown in FIG. All you have to do is set the lead cam rotation speed to complete the process.

Furthermore, either the bin unit 2 is bin shifted between positions 33y and 33z, or the trunnion 33 rotates from 33y to 33z within the time between sheets, since the time between sheets is recognized from the above information. All you have to do is implement it. At this time, the next bin B has reached the position 33x, and the next sheet P is accepted. This operation is repeated for each bin B.

Also, when the bin unit 2 is sorted in the descending direction, the trunnion 33 of bin B, which is ready for discharge, is placed in the lowest position! When the position 33y is reached, the sheet P is started to be discharged, and the sheet P is finished being discharged at the position 33x. Paper distance between sheets P to be ejected: 33x → 3
The trunnion 33 is rotated to 3w, the next bin B has reached the receiving port 33y, and the above operation is repeated.

The configuration of the sorter 1 as described above not only accommodates differences in ejection time depending on the size of the sheets P, but also adapts to each image forming apparatus M even when the sorter 1 is connected to different models with different process speeds and paper distances. This enables the best lead cam control for the sorter (sheet sorting device f).
1. This enables stable support for a wide range of models.

As shown in FIG. 11, the sorter 1 in FIG. 1 includes a central processing unit (CPLJ) 111, a read-only memory (ROM) 112, and a random access memory (RA).
M) 113, an input boat 114, an output boat 116, and the like.The ROM 112 stores a control program, the RAM 113 stores input data and work data, and the input boat 114 includes: Each sensor and switch such as the non-sort bus sensor 81 is connected, and the output boat 116 has a pair of carry-in rollers 11.
, a transport motor 117 that drives the lower discharge roller pair 16, etc.
etc. are connected, and the CPU 111 is connected to the ROMI.
Each unit connected via the bus is controlled according to a control program stored in the bus 12. Further, the CPU III is provided with a serial interface, and performs serial communication with, for example, the CPU of the main body of the copying machine (image forming apparatus M), and controls each section by signals from the main body of the copying machine M.

Accordingly, the operation of this embodiment will be explained along the flows shown in FIGS. 12 to 18.

First, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, when a copy start key on the copying machine main body M is pressed to start a copying operation, a sorter start signal is sent from the copying machine main body as a serial signal. Sorter 1 is waiting for this signal (Step
l O1), 5 when a sorter start signal is sent.
Proceed to tepl O2. In step 102, the mode of operation for one job is determined until the next sorter start signal disappears, and mode data is stored in the RAM 113. Then, in order to detect the position of the alignment rod 26, the -degree alignment bar 26 is returned to the home position (Step O3).

Next, each part is operated based on the mode determined at 5tepl O2. That is, 5tepl O4 is used to determine whether or not it is in non-sort mode, and if it is in non-sort mode, it is determined whether or not to staple.
epl O5), stable non-sort mode (Step O7) when stapling, non-sort mode (Step O8) when not stabling
Proceed to. If it is determined at 5tepl O4 that the non-sort mode is not in effect, the process proceeds to 5tepl O6 and it is determined whether or not the mode is sorted. If it is in sort mode, proceed to sort mode 5 tepl O9, if not in sort mode, judge it to be group mode and proceed to 5 tepl
After completing the operation in any of the above modes, the program advances to 5 tepl 11 to determine whether there is a sorter start signal, that is, whether one job has been completed. If there is a sorter start signal, 1
It is determined that the shot has not finished, and the 5tepl O is executed again.
Return to 4. In addition, if there is no sorter start signal, one job is considered completed and the program proceeds to the first 5 tepl O1.

Next, the operation in the stable non-sort mode will be described along FIG. 13.

The position of the bin unit 9 in the stable non-sort mode is the home position, and in step 5201, the bin unit 9 is moved to the home position. At this point, the stapler (sheet closing mechanism) 67 is unable to stabilize the sheets placed on the bin cover 22, and when stapling the sheets P stored in the bin B, the stapler mode is selected even if the sheets are non-sorted. If the sheet P needs to be delivered to the bin B, the flapper solenoid 122 is turned off, and the sort discharge port (lower discharge roller pair) 1
Select 6 (Step 202), then wait until a size confirmation signal is received (Step 203), and when the size confirmation signal is received, proceed to Step 5204. 5tep20
4, the size data sent from the main body of the copying machine M is stored in the RAM 113, and if the first sheet is ejected from the main body of the copying machine (Step 205), the alignment rod 26
should be at the home position, so move the matching rod 26 to the width alignment position 26a (Step 206) a
If it is determined in step 205 that it is not the first sheet, and after the alignment rod 26 has been moved to the width alignment position 26a in 5step 206, the program proceeds to 5step 207.

5 step 207, wait for the paper ejection signal from the main body of the copying machine M, and when the paper ejection signal is generated, move the alignment rod 26 to the width alignment position 2.
Move from 6a to standby value 143b 5tep208
), transport the sheet into bin B (5step 209)
, move the alignment rod 26 to the width adjustment position 26a to align the sheets (Step 201), and the program is 5t.
Proceed to ep211. In step 211, it is determined whether or not there is a stapling signal, and if there is, a stabilizing operation is performed (step 211), and if not, the program returns to the main routine.

Next, the operation in the non-sort mode will be explained along FIG. 14.

In the non-sort mode, sheets are discharged onto the bin cover 22, so move the bin unit 2 to the lowest position, which is the home position (step 310), and turn on the flapper solenoid 122 to discharge the sheets from the non-sort paper discharge port 15. (Step 311). After that, wait for the size confirmation signal (Step 312), and when the size confirmation signal comes, confirm the size.Step 313
), the program proceeds to 5step 314. 5t
At step 314, wait for a paper discharge signal from the copying machine main body M, and when the paper discharge signal comes, proceed to 5 step 315, where the binka 8-
22 and the program returns to the main routine.

Next, the operation of the sort mode will be explained along FIG. 15.

Determine whether or not there is a bin initial signal indicating whether or not to return the bin unit 2 to the home position from the main body of the copying machine M (5tep 401), and only if yes, move the bin unit 2 to the home position (5tep 402)
), then turn off the flapper solenoid 122 to select the sort outlet 16 (Step 403).
, the program proceeds to step 404. 5tep
In step 404, the process waits for the size confirmation signal to arrive, and when the size confirmation signal arrives, the process advances to step 5405. 5tep40
5 to determine the size, and then determine whether the size of the first sheet is determined (5 step 406), and move the alignment rod 26 to the convergence position 26a only if it is the first sheet (S step 406).
step407), the program proceeds to step 5408. In step 408, wait for a paper discharge signal from the main body of the copying machine M, and when the paper discharge signal is generated, move the alignment rod 26 to the standby position 43.
b Move (5 step 410). Next, Bin B
...Performs a conveyance operation to eject the sheet inside (Ste
p411), move the alignment rod 26 to the width-adjusting position 26a (5tep413), and move the bloc to the width adjustment position 26a (5tep414).
Proceed to. In step 414, it is determined whether or not there is a stapling signal, and only if there is a stapling signal, the stapling operation is performed (step 415), and the program returns to the main routine.

Note that the movement of bin B during sorting will be further described later.

Next, the operation in group mode will be explained along FIG. 16.

First, it is determined whether or not there is a bin initial signal from the main body of the copying machine M (Step 501), and only if there is, move the bin unit 2 to the home position (Step 501).
p502). Next, wait for the size confirmation signal (Step
503), when the size confirmation signal comes, 5tep504
Proceed to. 5 step 504, confirm the size, and then decide whether the size of the first sheet is confirmed 5 step 505
), if it is the first sheet, move the alignment rod 26 to the width alignment position 2.
Move to 6a (Step 506), program is 5
Proceed to step 507. At step 507, the process waits for a paper discharge signal, and when the paper discharge signal is received, the process advances to step 508. 5 step 508, move the alignment rod 26 to the standby position 26
b, then performs a conveyance operation to convey the sheet into bin B (Step 509), and after the conveyance operation is completed, 5te
Progresses to p510. 5tep 510, it is determined whether or not there is a bin shift signal from the main body of the copying machine M, and only if there is, the bin B... is shifted by one bin.
p511), after moving the alignment rod 26 to the width alignment position 26a to align the sheets (Step 512),
The program returns to the main routine.

Next, the conveyance operation will be explained along FIG. 17.

During the conveyance operation, when sorter 1 receives sheets from the main body of copying machine M, if the sheet conveyance speed of sorter 1 is slower than the sheet ejection speed of the main body of copying machine M, the sheets may form a loop between sorter 1 and copying WAM. paper jams occur. Furthermore, if the sheet conveying speed of the sorter 1 is faster than the sheet discharging speed of the main body of the copying machine M, the sheets will be pulled against each other, and there is a risk of generating abnormal noise or damaging the sheets. Therefore, the conveyance speed of the sorter 1 is synchronized with the process speed of the main body of the copying machine M (Step 601).Next, it is determined whether the flapper solenoid 122 is turned on or not, that is, whether the sorting outlet 16 or the non-sorting outlet 15 is selected. If the flapper solenoid 122 is on, the non-sort outlet 15 is selected, so go to step 603, which is detected by the non-sort pass sensor S1, and if the flapper solenoid 122 is off, then sort is selected. Since the discharge port 16 is selected, the sort path sensor S2 detects 5 steps.
Proceed to 604. 5tep603 and 5tep60
4, wait until the non-sort bus sensor S1 and sort bus sensor S2 are turned on, and then turn on 5tep60.
Proceed to 5. In step 605, a counter is set to measure the point at which the transport motor 117 is controlled during ejection. After that, it is difficult to judge whether the counter set at 5tep605 has finished counting or not at 5tep606.
), if the count has increased, the process proceeds to 5step 609; if the count has not increased, the process proceeds to 5step 607.

5 step 607, it is determined whether or not there is a paper discharge signal from the copying machine main body, and only if there is no paper discharge signal, the sheet is cut off from the copying machine main body and the conveyance speed is maximized (St
ep608).

5tep 609 proceeds after 5tep 608 is determined to be the point at which ejection control is performed, and the conveyance motor 117 is controlled to the sheet ejection speed of the copying machine main body M. After that, set the counter to measure the point at which the discharge is completed.
ep610), and when the counter increases, the operation ends (Step 611).

Next, the stapling operation will be explained along FIG. 18.

At step 5 701, the stapler swing motor 119 is turned on to move the stapler 67, and the stapler operating position sensor S7 and stapler positioning sensor S6 are turned on.
The stapler swing motor 11 is turned on until both are turned on, that is, until the stapler 67 moves to the operating value M67a.
Drive 9. Next, drive the stapler motor 71,
Stapling is performed by the stapler motor 7.
After confirming that the stapler cam sensor SIO is turned off, the stapler motor 71 is turned off until it is turned on, that is, after one rotation, and one stapling operation is completed (Step 702). After that, the stapler operating position sensor S7 is turned off, and the stapler positioning sensor S7 is turned off.
6 is turned on, that is, the stapler 67 is at the retracted position 6.
The stapler swing motor 119 is driven until the stapler moves to 7b (Step 703), and then it is determined whether or not all bins B... have been completed, and if they have not been completed, the stapler swing motor 119 is shifted by one bin (Step 705). The process advances to 5step 701 to perform the next stapling, and when the stapling is completed, the stapling operation is completed.

Next, the shift operation during sort mode will be explained using FIG. 19.

In the shift operation of the sort mode, first, it is determined whether the sheet P being conveyed is large size or small size based on the size confirmation signal.
2) If the size is small, the operation is performed by a mote (hereinafter referred to as smooth mote) that continues to rotate the lead cam 43 in the series of operations described below.
OO4).

If the size is large, by temporarily stopping or rotating the lead cam 43 at low speed when discharging sheets during reverse sorting (lowering the bin), the rear end of the sheet will land on the stacked sheets, or the rear end of the sheet will land on the stacked sheets. The operation is performed in a mode (hereinafter referred to as smoothless mode) in which the bottle B is lowered after it collides with the stopper portion at the end or the rear end of the bottle (Step OO6).

In the shift operation of smooth sort mode, first the sheet P
In order to synchronize with the image forming apparatus M, monitor the sheet discharge signal of the image forming apparatus M (step 801), and when the sheet discharge signal arrives, check the timing at which the leading edge of the sheet P or the end of the parallel portion of the sheet cam 43 enters the bin B. Let's do it. Specifically, set the counter for synchronization (Step 803), and when it counts up (Step 805), step 80.
Proceed to 7.

In step 807, it is determined whether the transfer sheet is the last sheet of one document, and if it is the last sheet, there is no need to advance the lead cam 43 any further;
3 stops rotating (Step 809).

However, if there is no final paper, the program is 5 step 81
1 to change the speed of the lead cam 43. The speed of the lead cam 43 at this time is determined by dividing the parallel portion of the lead cam 43 by the time (paper length/conveying speed). Note that this paper length information 130 is sent from the main body through serial communication shown in FIG.

After that, the program proceeds to 5tep813, and in order to know the rear end of the sheet P, first the O
Wait for the N confirmation, then wait for the sort path sensor S2 to turn off (Step 815), then turn off the sort path sensor S2 to detect the trailing edge of the sheet P, and then finish storing the sheet P in the bin B. Set the counter of Step 5 step 817) When the power/soto is up (Step 817)
p819) The program proceeds to 5step821.

In 5tep821, change to shift speed on paper or
The speed is determined by the amount of movement of the non-parallel portion divided by the time between sheets.

Note that this paper interval time is sent from the copying machine main body via serial communication. After determining the shift speed, the program returns to step 801 for processing the next sheet P.

Next, speed control of the shift motor (bin unit drive motor) 45 will be explained using FIG. 20.

The shift motor 45 is controlled using the timer interrupt function and clock interrupt function of the CPU 111.

The timer interrupt function is a function that generates an interrupt at arbitrary intervals using a heart counter in the CPU 11, and the clock interrupt function is a function that generates an interrupt based on the edge of an external pulse. This control is
For clock interrupt, the clock sensor S13 attached to the encoder of the shift motor 45 is input.

The control method is to set the timer interrupt interval to the clock interrupt time when the shift motor 45 reaches the target speed, provide an increase/decrease counter for this ideal time and the number of clock interrupts, and set the increase/decrease counter to 0. The ideal speed can be achieved by controlling the speed so that it is.

A detailed flowchart of the above control is shown in FIG. 20(a).
, shown in (b).

FIG. 20(a) shows clock interrupt processing, in which a shift control counter, which is an increase/decrease counter, is incremented. Note that this shift control counter is
113.

FIG. 20(b) shows the timer interrupt processing. First, the shift control counter is decremented (St
ep951). Next, turn on/off the shift motor 45.
Please judge whether the shift control counter is larger than ○ to determine the FF or not (5 step 953), if it is larger, the shift motor 45 is too fast and turn it off.
(Step 955).

Also, at step 953, the shift control counter becomes 0.
If the value is less than 0, it is determined in step 957 whether it is less than 0.

If the shift control counter is not less than 0, the shift control counter is 0, which means that the target speed is reached, and the timer interrupt is terminated.

If the shift control counter is less than 0, it means that the speed is slower than the target speed, so turn on the shift motor 45 (5t
ep959) End the timer interrupt. In the manner described above, the speed of the shift motor 45, which operates the vertical movement of the bin unit 2 and the expansion of the bin B, is controlled.

The above is smooth moat.

Next, the smoothless mode will be explained.

Other than the speed change program, it is the same as smooth mode. After timing the moment when the leading edge of the sheet P enters the bin B and the end of the parallel portion H of the lead cam 43 (S
(Step 101), if the final paper is not available (Step
l107) Changing the speed of the lead cam 43 (St
epl 111). The speed of the lead cam 43 at this time can be found by dividing the parallel portion H of the lead cam 43 by (paper length ÷ transport speed + T) (T>0).

Here, T has the relationship TNT', where T' is the time from when the trailing edge of the paper is ejected until it hits the stopper at the rear end of the bin. T' is the value obtained by experiment, and is 8
At 4 o'clock it is approximately 200m5.

After a time T after the sheet P is discharged, the lead cam 43 changes its speed (Step 121). The speed of the lead cam 43 at this time is determined by: Amount of movement of the non-parallel portion ÷ (inter-sheet time - T).

By correcting the speed after paper discharge by the amount that the speed of the lead cam 43 is slowed down during paper discharge (by shortening the time by T), it is possible to sort the sheets P without slowing down the process speed.

Note that when the size is large, the lead cam 43 may be temporarily stopped at the home position 33y. Trunnion 3
When the paper reaches the home position, the lead cam 43 is stopped for a distance of T (T>0), and then the lead cam 43 is rotated at a speed of parallel portion/(paper length/conveying speed). lead cam 43
After passing through the parallel portion H, the lead cam 43 rotates at a speed of non-parallel portion/(paper interval time−T).

(G) As described in detail, according to the present invention, the timing of shifting the bin is changed according to information such as the sheet size sent from the image forming apparatus to the bin, and the timing of shifting the bin is changed. Because the large size is delayed compared to the small size, even if the sheets being ejected are different sizes,
This can be stored stably in a bottle.

In addition, the timing to start the bin shift is delayed during shift down rather than when the bin is shifted up, so even if the ejected sheet is a long large size,
Furthermore, even sheets with large upward curls can be stored stably in the bin, thereby improving the sorting and stacking properties of the sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a sheet sorting device (sorter) to which a first embodiment of the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sheet sorting device, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bin unit. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional plan view of the lead cam and trunnion section, Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the device shown in Fig. 1, viewed from the opposite side, and Fig. 6
The figure is a side view of the flag part of the lead cam, FIG. 7 is a plan view, and FIG. 8 is a side view showing the relationship between the lead cam and the bottle.
FIG. 9 is a plan view of the drive system of the beam cam, FIG. 10 is a cam diagram of the lead cam, FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a control device applied to the sheet sorting device of the present invention, and FIG.
20 are flowcharts according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 21 is a side view showing the relationship between the lead cam and the bin section in a conventional bin moving type sorter, and FIG. 22 is a main part of a conventional bin fixed type sorter. 23 and 24 are flowcharts related to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 25 to 24 are schematic side views of
The figure below shows the relationship between the bottle and the sheet. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Sheet sorting device (sorter) 2...Bin unit, 9...Guide rail (guide member) 16...Lower discharge roller pair (sheet discharge means), 19...Paper sensor (sheet size and paper distance measurement), 33... trunnion, 43...
・Lead cam (spiral cam means) 61.62, 63.65
...Means for detecting the rotational position of the lead cam, 110
... Control device 111 ... Central processing unit (information 130
(means for recognizing), 130... Information such as sheet size signal and paper spacing signal, 59,111. S13・
...Speed control means for lead cam means P...Sheet, M...Image forming device, B...Bin H...
・Substantially parallel part of sort cam (sheet discharge position) K... Inclined part of lead cam (shift part) Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7 Fig. 9 Fig. 1 fill: Figure 18 (a) Figure 20 (b) Figure 21 (a) Figure 21 Figure 22 (b) Figure 24 Figure 25 (a) (b) Figure 26 Figure 27 Figure 28 29 wards former 30 tsu

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A plurality of bins each having a trunnion at its base end, the trunnions moving while being guided by a guide member, and a sheet discharging means for discharging sheets conveyed from the image forming apparatus to these bins. and a lead cam means for transporting a trunnion of each bin so as to open the bins facing the sheet ejecting means, the sheet sorting apparatus comprising: a sheet size signal and a sheet spacing transmitted from the image forming apparatus; means for recognizing information such as signals; means for recognizing the position of a predetermined amount of substantially flat surface on the cam surface of the lead cam means; speed control means for the lead cam means; and the trunnion in the substantially parallel portion of the lead cam means. a control circuit capable of synchronizing the start of rotation of the sheet and the start of ejection of the sheet, and a control circuit that can synchronize the start of rotation of the sheet with the start of ejection of the sheet, when the sheet is a predetermined size and when the sheet is a non-predetermined size according to a sheet size signal from the image forming apparatus. A sheet sorting device characterized by delayed bin shift timing. 2. The lead cam means rotates at a speed equal to the length of the parallel portion ÷ (sheet length ÷ transport speed + t) when the trunnion moves on the parallel portion when the size is not the predetermined size; The sheet sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet sorting device rotates at a speed equal to the length of the parallel portion ÷ (sheet length ÷ transport speed + T) when the sheet is of the predetermined size, and 0≦t<T. 3. When the lead cam means is of the non-predetermined size,
The sheet sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the trunnion temporarily stops when the trunnion is positioned on the parallel portion. 4. The sheet sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet of the predetermined size is a sheet having a length of 8 inches or more in the sheet conveyance direction. 5. A sheet sorting device characterized in that when conveying sheets of the predetermined size, the bin shift timing is delayed only when the bin is lowered. 6. A plurality of bins are provided for storing sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus, and the bins are made to correspond to sheet discharge positions,
A sheet sorting device capable of distributing sheets to each of the bins by raising or lowering the bins after the sheets are conveyed to the bins, comprising: a sheet detecting means disposed near the sheet discharge position; a control circuit that varies the timing of the raising or lowering operation of the bin according to a signal from the detection means;
, and the timing at which the bin group (B) descends after the bin group receives a sheet is delayed to the same level or less with respect to the timing at which the bin group ascends after the bin receives a sheet. sheet sorting device. 7. The system according to claim 6, characterized in that the speed at which the group of bins descends after the bins receive sheets is set to be equal to or lower than the speed at which the group of bins ascends after the bins receive sheets. Sheet sorting device. 8. The sheet according to claim 6, wherein when the sheet is discharged into the bin, the shift of the bin is started after the rear end of the sheet in the feeding direction comes into contact with a protrusion at the rear end of the bin. Classification device.