JPH05238604A - Sheet discharging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To certainly put the sheets on a sheet receiving table in order by providing a sheet putting-in-order member comprising a positioning plate and a draw-up plate, which is formed so as to be rotated in parallel with the top face of the sheet receiving table, and a draw-up plate driving means to rotate the draw-up plate. CONSTITUTION:A sheet putting-in-order means 50, which has put-in-order members comprising a positioning plate 51 and draw-up plate 52 on both sides in the sheet cross direction orthogonally crossing the sheet discharging direction in which sheets are discharged from the sheet receiving table to a discharge tray 44, is constituted so as to put the sheets on a sheet receiving table 43 to a reference position in the cross direction of a sheet with the positioning plate 51 and draw-up plate 52. The draw-up plate 52 is rotatably formed in parallel with the top face of the sheet receiving table 52, and a draw-up plate driving mean to rotate the draw-up plate 52 is provided. When putting sheets in order, the draw-up plate 52 of the putting-in-order means is rotated in parallel with the top face of the sheet receiving table 43 while drawing up in the sheet cross direction, as a result, both end sections of the draw-up plate 52 abuts on the side of sheets alternately to sufficiently push the sheets toward the positioning plate 51.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is provided in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a laser beam printer.
The present invention relates to a sheet discharge device that discharges a sheet carried in from these devices onto a discharge tray after performing, for example, stapling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recent copying machines are used in combination with an automatic document feeder and a post-processing device for automating copying operations and post-processing operations such as stapling or punching operations on sheets after copying. It has become so. The automatic document feeder is provided on a document table of a copying machine and, for example, conveys a plurality of documents one by one onto the document table of the copying machine. Also, the post-processing device is
With respect to a sheet in which an original image is copied and discharged from a copying machine, a process such as stapling or punching is performed for each copy of a predetermined number of sheets.

In the above-mentioned conventional post-processing apparatus, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-144370, when stapling is performed, the sheets discharged from the copying machine are stacked on a processing tray. Alignment is performed at a reference position in the sheet width direction and alignment is performed by an aligning device including width aligning plates and positioning plates provided on both sides in the sheet width direction. After that, the sheets are stapled by a stapler, and the bundled sheets, that is, the sheet bundle, are discharged onto a discharge tray by upper and lower discharge rollers.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional post-processing apparatus, when the sheet is aligned with the reference position in the sheet width direction, the aligning device only aligns the width aligning plate in the sheet width direction. Therefore, for example, if the sheet is soft and weak, bending or warping occurs, and the sheet cannot be sufficiently pushed in the direction of the positioning plate by the width-shifting plate. Therefore, in such a case, there is a problem that it becomes difficult to surely align the sheets on the sheet pedestal.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a sheet discharging device of the present invention is provided with a sheet receiving tray for receiving a sheet carried in from a main body device and a sheet ejecting from this sheet receiving tray. In a sheet discharging apparatus having a receiving tray for receiving, a sheet aligning member including a positioning plate and a width aligning plate is provided on both sides in a sheet width direction orthogonal to a discharging direction for discharging a sheet from a sheet receiving tray to the discharging tray. The sheet aligning member is provided with an aligning unit for aligning the sheet on the sheet pedestal to a reference position in the sheet width direction, and the width aligning plate is formed so as to be rotatable parallel to the upper surface of the sheet pedestal, and It is characterized in that a width-shifting plate drive means for rotating the width-shifting plate is provided.

[0006]

According to the above construction, when the sheets are aligned, the width aligning plate of the aligning means is rotated in parallel with the upper surface of the sheet receiving base while aligning in the sheet width direction, so that both end portions of the width aligning plate are aligned. Alternately contact the side surface of the sheet, and the sheet can be sufficiently pushed toward the positioning plate. Therefore, it is possible to surely align the sheets on the sheet receiving table.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, a sheet post-processing device as a sheet discharging device is applied to a copying machine.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet post-processing device 41.
Is provided in the copying machine main body 1 as a main body device.
An RDH (Recirculating Doc), which is a kind of an automatic document feeder for transporting a document M onto a document table glass 3 of the copying machine body 1, is provided on the copying machine body 1.
A document handler 31 is provided.

The copy machine main body 1 is provided with the above-mentioned original platen glass 3 at the upper end thereof, and below the original platen glass 3, an optical system including a light source lamp 4, mirrors 5, 6, and 7 and a lens 8 is provided. A system 9 and a photosensitive drum 10 are arranged. The optical system 9 optically scans the document M conveyed on the document table glass 3 by the RDH 31 with the light emitted from the light source lamp 4, and reflects the reflected light on the respective mirrors 5, 6, 7.
By irradiating the exposure point A on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 via the lens 8 and the lens 8, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image of the document M is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 uniformly charged by the main charger 11. To form.

Around the photosensitive drum 10, a main charger 11, a developing device 12, and a transfer charger 13 are provided.
And the peeling charger 14 are disposed, and the photoconductor drum 1
The electrostatic latent image formed on the surface 0 is developed as a toner image by the developing device 12, and the toner image is transferred to the transfer charger 1.
3 is transferred onto the sheet S, and the sheet S is peeled off from the photosensitive drum 10 by the peeling charger 14.

A sheet conveying path 15 for conveying the sheet S to the photosensitive drum 10 is provided below the photosensitive drum 10, and the sheet S for supplying the sheet S is provided on the upstream side of the sheet conveying path 15. A table 19, a paper feed cassette 20, and a paper feed deck 21 are arranged. On the other hand, the sheet conveying path 15
A conveyor belt 22 that conveys the sheet S on which the toner image is transferred, and a fixing device 23 that fixes the toner image on the sheet S are provided on the downstream side of the sheet.

At the downstream side of the fixing device 23, a deflector 24 for switching the conveying direction of the sheet S between the sheet post-processing device 41 direction and the re-conveying path 25 direction is provided. The re-conveyance path 25 forms a circulation path for re-conveying the sheet S on which the toner image has been transferred by the photoconductor drum 10 to the photoconductor drum 10, and an intermediate tray 26 is disposed on the way to the sheet S. It enables double-sided copying.

The RDH 31 has a manuscript tray 32 at the top, a feeding belt 33 on one side of the manuscript tray 32, and a feeding belt 34 on the manuscript table glass 3, which are circulated. Are connected by the document transport path 35. Then, the RDH 31 sends the document M stacked on the document tray 32 onto the document table glass 3 by the feeding belt 33, and positions the document M at a predetermined position on the document table glass 3 by the transport belt 34. At the same time, after the document scanning by the optical system 9 is completed, the document is returned to the document tray 32.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet post-processing apparatus 41 is provided with a post-processing conveyance path 42 for conveying the sheet S carried out from the copying machine main body 1 in the sheet post-processing apparatus 41. , The sheet S by the post-processing conveyance path 42
A stapling plate 43 as a sheet pedestal is provided in the sheet conveying direction, and a discharge tray 44 is provided in the sheet S conveying direction from the staple plate 43.

The post-processing conveying path 42 has a carrying-in port 42a formed at one end thereof for carrying in the sheet S carried out from the copying machine main body 1, and has a lower main path 42b and an upper bypass 42c in the middle thereof. It is bifurcated into. A pair of upper and lower transport rollers 45, 45 and a transport roller 46 are provided at the end portions of the main path 42b and the bypass 42c.
・ 46 is provided, the bypass 42c and the main path 42b
A deflector 47 that rotates in the B ₁ -B ₂ direction and switches the conveying direction of the sheet S between the main path 42b direction and the bypass 42c direction is provided at the branch point of the and. Further, in order to detect the sheet S, as shown in FIG. 4, the main path 42b is provided with a sheet detection switch SW ₁ and the bypass 42c is provided with a sheet detection switch SW ₂ .

The stapling plate 43 binds (staples) the sheets S that have passed through the post-processing conveyance path 42.
The sheets S to be stacked are stacked. The stapling plate 43 is disposed so as to be inclined such that the front end of the sheet S when the conveyance direction of the sheet S is the front side is located above the rear end, and the front end is near the discharge port 114 of the sheet S. Has reached. On the staple plate 43, there is provided a paddle 48 which is rotated in the C direction while the lower end portion of the blade portion is in contact with the upper surface of the staple plate 43. The paddle 48 is rotated as described above to retreat the sheet S by its blade portion to a position where the rear end of the sheet S contacts the stopper 49, and aligns the sheet S in the transport direction.

At the rear of the stapling plate 43, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the stapling plate 43 seen from diagonally rearward and above except the paddle 48, and FIG. 1 on the stapling plate 43. As shown in FIG. 6 which is a view in the P direction, an extrusion device 60 for ejecting the sheet S on the staple plate 43 to the ejection tray 44 is provided. The pushing device 60 pushes the sheet S on the staple plate 43 toward the discharge tray 44, and the push member 61 pushes the sheet S on the staple plate 43 onto the discharge tray 44. consisting of D ₁ direction advanced position, and extruding member driving device 109 for moving to the retracted position of the D ₂ direction side end position of the staple plate 43. The push-out member driving device 109 is used in the push-out member 6
An extrusion belt 62 to which 1 is connected, belt support rollers 63, 63, a guide shaft 65, a connecting member 66, a sliding member 67, and an extruding member drive motor (not shown) are provided.

The extruding member 61 is a flat plate-shaped base portion 6.
1a, standing portions 61b, 61b on both side edges in the width direction.
A sheet contact portion 61c that contacts the rear end portion of the sheet S is formed at the front portion of each standing portion 61b. The push-out member 61 is arranged such that the upright portions 61b and 61b project above the staple plate 43 through the insertion holes 43a and 43a formed in the staple plate 43. The pushing belt 62 is disposed below the stapling plate 43, and is parallel to the upper surface of the stapling plate 43 by the belt supporting rollers 63, 63 and along the upper surface of the stapling plate 43 D ₁ -D.
It is supported so that it can move in _two directions. Extrusion belt 62
Is connected to the base portion 61a of the pushing member 61 by the connecting member 66.
Is connected to one of the belt supporting rollers 63, 63, and an unillustrated pushing member drive motor is connected to the belt supporting roller 63. The guide shaft 65 is supported on the lower surface of the stapling plate 43 in parallel with the lower surface, and a sliding member 67 slidably provided on the guide shaft 65 is connected to the base portion 61a of the pushing member 61 to thereby push the pushing member. The guide shaft 61 is guided by the guide shaft 65 to move back and forth in the D ₁ -D ₂ direction.

Between the upper edge of the stopper 49 on the stapling plate 43 and the lower conveying roller 45 in the main path 42b, the lower portion is the stopper 4 described above.
A sheet guide plate 73 connected to the sheet guide 9 is provided.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the stopper 49 has push-out member passage holes 49 a, 4 a for passing the push-out member 61.
9a is formed.

At the front end of the staple plate 43,
As also shown in FIG. 6, a rotary shaft 74 extending in the width direction of the staple plate 43 is provided, and the rotary shaft 74 is provided with a plurality of discharge rollers 75. Rotating shaft 74
Is connected to a discharge roller drive motor (not shown), and driven by this discharge roller drive motor, the rotating shaft 74, that is, the discharge rollers 75, is rotated in the G ₁ -G ₂ direction shown in FIG. That is, the discharge roller 75 rotates in the G ₂ direction to move the sheet S on the stapling plate 43 in the stopper 49 direction to assist the alignment in the conveyance direction, while rotating in the G ₁ direction. The bound sheet S is discharged onto the discharge tray 44.

A driven roller 78 is provided above the discharge roller 75. The driven roller 78 is rotatably supported at one end of the offset guide 77 of the offset guide device 80. Offset guide device 8
The other end of 0 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 79,
In the offset mode, the above-mentioned offset guide 77 which guides the upper surface side of the sheet S carried out from the main path 42b and guides it toward the discharge tray 44, and an offset guide drive device (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 2, in the discharge tray 44, a lower portion of the receiving surface of the sheet S, that is, a portion corresponding to the discharge roller 75 is a recessed portion 44a which is the lowermost surface of the discharge tray 44, and the sheet receiving portion is provided. The upper part of the surface is an inclined surface having substantially the same angle as the inclination angle of the stapling plate 43.

The discharge tray 44 is provided on the tray shift unit 81. In the tray shift unit 81, a shift frame 82 extending in the width direction of the staple plate 43 is supported movably in the width direction of the staple plate 43. Then, the power of the tray shift motor 85 is transmitted to the shift frame 82 via a plurality of gears or the like, so that the shift frame 82, that is, the discharge tray 44 and the tray back plate 94 shown in FIG.
And are integrally shifted in the width direction of the staple plate 43.

The discharge tray 44 is driven in the vertical direction by the tray lifting unit 95 shown in FIG. The tray elevating unit 95 includes a tray elevating motor (not shown), a belt 97 vertically provided on the inner surface of the tray back plate 94, belt supporting rollers 98 and 98 for supporting the belt 97, and a tray shift unit 81. Elevating auxiliary rollers 99 provided and pressed against the outer surface of the tray back plate 94, a pulley 100 provided on the drive shaft of the tray elevating motor, and the pulley 10
0 and a belt 101 hung between the lower belt supporting roller 98. A tray shift unit 81 is connected to the belt 97, and is driven by a tray lifting motor to move the belt 97, whereby the discharge tray 44 is lifted and lowered.

As shown in FIG. 4, the stapling plate 43 is provided with a sheet detection switch SW ₃ and a push-out detection switch SW ₄ . The sheet detection switch SW ₃ is D _{1 on the} stapling plate 43.
The sheet S to the discharge tray 44 provided at the front end of the sheet
It is designed to detect the discharge of. On the other hand, the push-out detection switch SW ₄ is turned on / off by the movement of the push-out member 61 in the push-out device 60, and when the push-out member 61 pushes out the sheet S on the staple plate 43 to the discharge tray 44, The state immediately before the completion of the pushing operation is detected. It should be noted that the means for detecting this state may be constituted by, for example, a timer that measures the elapsed time from the start of the movement of the pushing member 61, in addition to the pushing detection switch SW ₄ described above.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, width aligning devices 50 as aligning means are provided on both sides of the staple plate 43 in the width direction. This width adjusting device 5
Reference numeral 0 denotes a positioning plate 51 as a sheet aligning member, which is erected in a fixed state on one side in the width direction of the staple plate 43, and a width aligning plate as a sheet aligning member driven in the width direction of the staple plate 43. And 52.

As shown in FIG. 6, the width-shifting plate 52 is provided on a support plate 54 which is guided by a guide rail 53 and is movable in the width direction of the stapling plate 43. On the support plate 54, a width-shifting plate rotation motor 52d and gears 52b and 52c as width-shifting plate driving means are provided. The rack gear 5 is provided on the side edge of the support plate 54.
4a is formed, and the power of the support plate drive motor 55 is transmitted to the rack gear 54a via the pulley 56, the belt 57, and the pinion gear 58, so that the width-shifting plate 5 is formed.
2 is driven in the width direction of the staple plate 43, and the sheet S is width-shifted to the reference position set by the positioning plate 51.

As shown in FIG. 7, the width-shifting plate 52 has a support plate 5 formed by a connecting plate 52a formed at the lower end thereof.
4 is connected to the upper surface of the stapling plate 43 so as to be rotatable in the direction of J ₁ -J _{2 in} FIG. Gears are formed on the side edges of the connecting plate 52a, and the power of the width-shifting plate rotation motor 52d capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions is transmitted to the gears via the gears 52b and 52c. When the width-shifting plate 52 is rotated parallel to the upper surface of the staple plate 43 in the vicinity of the sheet S on the staple plate 43 by the power of the width-shifting plate rotation motor 52d, both ends of the width-shifting plate 52 alternate. Contacting the side surface of the sheet S many times, the sheet S
Is reliably aligned with the reference position set by the positioning plate 51. The means for rotating the width-shifting plate 52 in parallel with the upper surface of the stapling plate 43 includes a width-shifting plate rotation motor 5 capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions.
Other than 2d, for example, a motor and a cam mechanism that can rotate only in one direction can be used.

The above-mentioned alignment operation by the width-shifting plate 52 is performed by the support-plate driving motor 55 and the width-shifting plate rotating motor 5.
2d is controlled by a control device (not shown) so that the width of the sheet S is adjusted according to the width of the sheet S being used. The rotation direction of the width-shifting plate rotation motor 52d is switched by the control device each time the end of the width-shifting plate 52 contacts the sheet S.

A stapler 59 for closing the corners on the stopper 49 side and the positioning plate 51 side of the sheet S aligned by the stapling plate 43 is provided at the rear position of the positioning plate 51 in the width-shifting device 50. There is.

Further, the sheet post-processing device 41 is described above based on the sheet detection switches SW ₁ , SW ₂ , SW ₃ , the push-out detection switch SW ₄ and the input from the control device (not shown) on the copying machine body 1 side. A control device (not shown) for controlling the operation of each unit is provided. This controller is
It is composed of a microcomputer provided with a storage device, a counter, a timer, etc., and controls each of the above-mentioned means in accordance with the offset mode, staple single mode, and staple multi mode set in the copying machine main body 1 as described later. It has become.

The above offset mode is used in the copying machine main body 1
In the staple single mode, the sheets S conveyed from the copying machine body 1 are sequentially discharged onto the discharge tray 44 one by one without being subjected to post-processing, that is, staple processing. After staple processing is performed on S to perform binding as a part of the sheet S, the bound sheet S (hereinafter, referred to as a binding sheet S)
Is a processing mode in which the sheets are discharged once to the discharge tray 44 and the processing is finished. In the staple multi mode, the sheets S conveyed from the copying machine body 1 are stapled to form the bookbinding sheet S, and then the bookbinding sheet S Is a processing mode in which a series of operations for discharging the sheet to the discharge tray 44 are continuously performed a plurality of times.

In the above structure, the sheet post-processing device 4
The operation of the sheet post-processing device 41 based on the control of the first control device will be described below.

First, in the offset mode, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8, when the offset number, that is, the number of copies is set in the copying machine main body 1, a signal indicating the offset number is transmitted from the control device of the copying machine main body 1. To be done. Upon receiving the above signal (S1), the control device of the sheet post-processing device 41 sets the offset number of sheets in the storage device (S2). Next, when the control device of the sheet post-processing device 41 receives a signal indicating an operation start from the copying machine main body 1 (S3), a predetermined start process is performed (S4),
The counter for counting the number of processed sheets is cleared (S5).

In the start processing of S4, for example,
The deflector 47 is driven in the B ₁ direction, the tray elevating unit 95 positions the discharge tray 44 at a predetermined position, and the driven roller 78 causes the driven roller 78 to move to the discharge roller 7.
5, the offset guide 77 is driven in the F ₁ direction, the discharge roller 75 is rotated in the G ₁ direction, and the conveying rollers 45, 45 are rotated.

After that, when the sheet S obtained by copying the image of the document M from the copying machine main body 1 is carried into the carry-in port 42a of the post-processing conveying path 42, the sheet S passes through the main path 42b and then the discharge rollers. The sheet is discharged onto the discharge tray 44 through between the roller 75 and the driven roller 78. At this time, when the sheet detection switch SW ₁ is turned on, the conveyance operation of the sheet S on the main path 42b is detected (S6), the sheet detection switch SW ₃ is turned on (S7), and then turned off.
By (S8), the passage of the sheet S between the rollers 75 and 78 is detected. As a result, the count value of the number of processed sheets is increased (S9).

Next, the control device of the sheet post-processing device 41 determines whether or not the current number of processed sheets has reached the previously set offset number (S10), and the number of processed sheets must reach the offset number of sheets. If so, the operation proceeds to S6. On the other hand, if the number of processed sheets reaches the offset number of sheets, the number of processed sheets of the counter is cleared (S11), the discharge tray 44 is lowered (S12), and the tray shift unit 81 shifts (S13), and then the predetermined position again. (S14). It should be noted that the shift operation of the discharge tray 44 in S13 includes the partial sheet S discharged onto the discharge tray 44 by the current discharge operation and the partial sheet S discharged onto the discharge tray 44 by the next discharge operation. This is for distinguishing between and on the discharge tray 44.

Thereafter, it is judged whether or not a signal indicating the end of the operation from the copying machine main body 1 is received (S15). If this signal is not received, the process proceeds to S6, while the above signal is received. A predetermined end process (S16),
The operation ends.

Next, in the staple single mode,
As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, when the control device of the sheet post-processing device 41 receives a signal indicating the number of staples (S21), the number of staples is set in the storage device (S22). Next, when a signal indicating the operation start is received from the copying machine body 1 (S23), a predetermined start process is performed (S24), and the counter for counting the number of processed sheets is cleared (S25).

In the start processing of S24, for example, the deflector 47 is driven in the B ₁ direction and the discharge tray 44 is driven.
Are arranged at a predetermined position, the offset guide 77 is driven in the F ₂ direction, the discharge roller 75 is rotated in the G ₂ direction, the paddle 48 is rotated in the C direction, and the conveying rollers 45, 45 are rotated.

After that, when the sheet S is carried into the carry-in port 42a of the post-process carrying path 42 from the copying machine main body 1, the sheet S goes through the main path 42b and then the carrying roller 45.
・ By 45, it is sent out toward the discharge roller 75,
The discharge roller 75 rotating in the G ₂ direction and the paddle 48 rotating in the C direction cause the rear end of the stopper 49.
And is placed on the stapling plate 43 in a state of abutting.

At this time, O of the sheet detection switch SW ₁
The passage of the sheet S through the main path 42b is detected by N (S26) and then OFF (S27).
As a result, the control device clears the timer (S28),
The count value of the number of processed sheets is increased (S29).

After that, when the predetermined time set by the timer elapses (S30), it is determined that the sheet S is placed on the stapling plate 43 as described above, and the width aligning device 50 Position the sheet S on the positioning plate 5
It is moved to the reference position set in 1 and aligned in the width direction (S31).

Here, in aligning the sheet S in the width direction in S31, if the width aligning plate 52 is only aligned with the sheet S, for example, if the sheet S is soft and weak, it will bend. Due to warping or warpage, the width-shifting plate 52 cannot sufficiently push in the direction of the positioning plate 51, which makes it difficult to reliably align the sheet S on the stapling plate 43. However, in the sheet post-processing device 41, the width-shifting plate 52 of the width-shifting device 50 rotates in parallel with the upper surface of the stapling plate 43 while performing width-shifting in the sheet width direction, so as shown in FIG. Width plate 52
Both ends of the sheet alternately come into contact with the side surface of the sheet S many times to sufficiently push the sheet S toward the positioning plate 51. Therefore, the alignment of the sheet S on the staple plate 43 can be surely performed.

Next, the control device determines whether or not the current number of sheets to be processed has reached the preset number of sheets to be offset (S32). If the number of sheets to be processed has not reached the number of staples, the operation proceeds to S26. To do. On the other hand, if the number of processed sheets has reached the number of staples, the number of processed sheets of the counter is cleared (S33), and the stapler 59 performs stapling processing (S34).

Next, the bookbinding sheet ejection / ejection tray position adjustment processing is performed (S35). This bookbinding sheet discharge / discharge tray position adjustment processing is a series of processing for discharging the bookbinding sheet S on the staple plate 43 to the discharge tray 44 and adjusting the position of the discharge tray 44, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Is. That is, first, after the discharge roller 75 is rotated in the G ₁ direction (S41), the pushing member driving device 109 advances the pushing member 61 in the D ₁ direction (S42). By the operation of S42, the bookbinding sheet S on the stapling plate 43 is discharged to the discharge tray 44.
Pushed out. Next, when the push-out detection switch SW ₄ is turned on by the movement of the push-out member 61 (S4
3), the discharge tray 44 is lowered (S44), and then
The extruding member 61 that has completed the extrusion of the bookbinding sheet S is retracted (S45). Next, the tray shift unit 81
To shift the discharge tray 44 (S46), and then raise the discharge tray 44 to a predetermined position (S4).
7).

After that, when a signal indicating the end of the operation is received from the copying machine main body 1 (S36), a predetermined end process is performed (S37), and the operation ends.

When it is desired to push the bookbinding sheet S onto the discharge tray 44 more smoothly, the above S31 is performed.
After the alignment is performed by the width adjusting device 50 in S32,
If the number of staples is not reached, the width aligning plate 52 is retracted to the home position, while if the number of staples is reached, the width aligning plate 52 is pushed until the pushing operation by the pushing device 60 described later is completed. Is held at the position where the width is adjusted.

Next, in the staple multi mode, the operations shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 11 to 15 are performed.
The bookbinding sheet ejection / ejection tray position adjustment processing in each flowchart is the operation shown in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 11, the control device of the sheet post-processing device 41 receives a signal indicating the number of staples for forming the bookbinding sheet S of each part (S6).
1) Set the number of staples in the storage device (S6)
2). Next, when a signal indicating the operation start is received from the copying machine body 1 (S63), a predetermined start process is performed (S64), and the counter for counting the number of processed sheets is cleared (S65).

In the start processing of S64, for example, the deflector 47 is driven in the B ₁ direction and the discharge tray 44
Is arranged at a predetermined position, the offset guide 77 is driven in the F ₂ direction, the discharge roller 75 is rotated in the G ₂ direction, the paddle 48 is rotated in the C direction, and the transport rollers 45 and 46 are rotated.

Thereafter, the first part of the first part from the copying machine main body 1
When the sheet S of the first sheet is carried into the carry-in port 42a of the post-processing conveyance path 42, the sheet S passes through the main path 42b and then is conveyed by the conveyance rollers 45, 45 toward the discharge roller 75. Discharge roller 7 that rotates in _two directions
The paddle 48, which rotates in the 5th and C directions, is placed on the stapling plate 43 with its rear end in contact with the stopper 49.

At this time, the sheet detection switch SW ₁ is turned off.
The passage of the sheet S through the main path 42b is detected by N (S66) and then OFF (S67).
As a result, the control device clears the timer (S68),
The count value of the number of processed sheets is increased (S69).

Next, since the sheet S being conveyed on the main path 42b is the first sheet S of the first copy,
The number of sheets to be processed is 1 (S70), and the stapling plate 43 is in the ready state in which the sheet S is not placed (S71). Therefore, the process proceeds to S78 shown in FIG. The device 50 aligns the sheet S in the width direction (S79). At this time, since the width-shifting plate 52 of the width-shifting device 50 rotates in parallel with the upper surface of the staple plate 43 while moving in the sheet width direction, both ends of the width-shifting plate 52 are alternately arranged on the sheet S many times. The sheet S can be pushed sufficiently toward the positioning plate 51 by coming into contact with the side surface, and the sheet S can be surely aligned. Since the number of staples has not been reached (S80),
The process moves to S66.

Next, when the second sheet S of the first set is carried into the main path 42b, the above S66-
After performing the operation of S69, the number of processed sheets becomes 2.
70) and shifts to S78 in FIG. And S78
After the operation of S79, if the number of staples set in advance is reached, that is, if the number of staples set in advance is 2 (S80), the counter for the number of processed sheets is cleared (S81), and the stapler is set. Staple processing by 59 is performed (S82), and the process proceeds to S66.

On the other hand, if the number of staples is not reached in S80, S66 to S70 and S78 to S8.
The operation of 0 is performed until the number of staples is reached, and when the number of staples is reached, the operations of S81 and S82 are performed, and then S66.
Move to.

Next, in S66, when the sheet detection switch SW ₁ is not turned on after the stapling process in S82, the process proceeds to S83 shown in FIG. And S
If the above-described bookbinding sheet discharge / discharge tray position adjustment processing is not completed in 83 (S84),
The process proceeds to S66 again. Further, if the bookbinding sheet discharge / discharge tray position adjustment processing is completed in S83, it is determined whether or not a signal indicating the end of operation is received from the copying machine body 1 (S85), and if no signal is received. S66
On the other hand, if the signal has been received while proceeding to (S86), a predetermined termination process is performed (S86), and the operation is terminated.

[0058] Further, after the stapling process in S82 in S66, when already ON sheet detection switch SW ₁ by the first sheet S of the second copy, the sheet detection switch SW ₁ in S67 is not OFF,
The process moves to S87 in FIG.

Then, in S87, the binding sheet is discharged.
If the discharge tray position adjustment process is not completed, this process is performed (S88) and the process proceeds to S67, while if the bookbinding sheet discharge / discharge tray position adjustment process is completed, the process directly proceeds to S67.

Next, the sheet detection switch SW ₁ is turned on and then turned off in the above S66 and S67.
After performing the operations of S68 and S69 based on the above, the sheet S conveyed on the main path 42b is the first sheet of the second copy.
If it is the first sheet, since the number of sheets to be processed is 1 in S70, the process proceeds to S71. Then, in this S71,
By the bookbinding sheet ejection / ejection tray position adjustment processing, the first part of the bookbinding sheet S has already been pushed out from the staple plate 43, and the staple plate 43 is ready.
If the state is No, the process proceeds to S78 of FIG. 12 and the following operation is performed.

On the other hand, in S71 described above, if the pushing out of the bookbinding sheet S of the first copy on the stapling plate 43 is not completed, the conveying rollers 45, 45 are stopped to make the second copy of the second copy. The first sheet S is stopped on the main path 42b (S72). afterwards,
Rotate the deflector 47 in the B ₂ direction to move the main path 42
b is closed (S73). As a result, the post-processing conveyance path 42
The second sheet S of the second set, which has been carried in, is conveyed through the bypass 42c. Next, after the sheet detection switch SW ₂ is turned on by the second sheet S (S7
4) When it is turned off (S75), the conveyance of the second sheet S of the second copy in the bypass 42c is confirmed by this, and the deflector 47 is moved in the B ₁ direction, that is, the bypass 42.
Rotate in the closing direction of c (S76), and convey roller 45
45 is rotated to restart the conveyance of the first sheet S of the second copy (S77). As a result, the first and second sheets S of the second set are synchronously placed on the stapling plate 43.

If the sheet detection switch SW ₂ is not turned on in S74, the process proceeds to S89 shown in FIG. If the above-described bookbinding sheet discharge / discharge tray position adjustment processing is not completed in S89 (S90), the processing proceeds to S74 again. If the bookbinding sheet ejection / ejection tray position adjustment processing is completed in S89, the process directly proceeds to S74.

Next, S68 to S70 and S78 to S8
2 operation, or S68 to S70, S78 to S80, S
The stapling process is performed through the operations of 66 to S70 and S78 to S82. After that, when the production of the bookbinding sheet S is finished in the second part, the sheet detection switch SW ₁ is not turned on in S66, whereby the process proceeds to S83 shown in FIG. 13 and the operation is finished as described above. To do. On the other hand, when the production of the bookbinding sheet S is continued even after the third copy, the operations of S66 to S70, S78 to S84 and S87 to S90 are appropriately performed, and then S85 and S8.
After the operation of 6, the operation of the staple multi mode is completed.

As described above, in the staple multi mode of the sheet post-processing apparatus 41, a part of the bookbinding sheets S is prepared from a plurality of bookbinding sheets S.
However, when the sheet S remains on the staple plate 43 in a state where the ejection to the discharge tray 44 is not completed, the timing at which the first sheet S of the next portion is placed on the staple plate 43 is changed. Since the first sheet S is delayed and placed on the stapling plate 43 in synchronization with the second sheet S, the processing speed is high.

[0065]

As described above, the sheet discharging apparatus of the present invention includes the sheet having the positioning plate and the width-shifting plate on both sides in the sheet width direction orthogonal to the discharging direction for discharging the sheet from the sheet receiving tray to the discharging tray. The aligning member is provided, and the aligning means for aligning the sheet on the sheet receiving base to the reference position in the sheet width direction by the sheet aligning members is provided. And a width-shifting plate drive means for rotating the width-shifting plate.

Accordingly, when the sheets are aligned, the width aligning plate of the aligning means rotates in parallel with the upper surface of the sheet receiving base while aligning in the sheet width direction, so that the both ends of the width aligning plate are alternately turned many times. Also comes into contact with the side surface of the sheet, and the sheet can be sufficiently pushed toward the positioning plate. Therefore, it is possible to surely align the sheets on the sheet receiving table.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part in FIG. 2, showing an overall configuration of a sheet post-processing device which is a sheet discharging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of a sheet post-processing apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an overall configuration diagram of a copying machine including the sheet post-processing device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement positions of respective detection switches in the sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG.

5 is a perspective view of the structure on the stapling plate shown in FIG. 1 as seen obliquely from behind and with the paddle removed.

FIG. 6 is a view in the direction of arrow P in FIG.

7 is an enlarged view of a width-adjusting plate of the width-adjusting device shown in FIG.

8 is a flowchart showing an operation of the sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in an offset mode.

9 is a flowchart showing an operation in the staple single mode in the sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG.

10 is a flowchart showing the operation contents of the bookbinding sheet discharge / discharge tray position adjustment processing shown in FIG.

11 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation in the staple multi mode in the sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG.

12 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation in the staple multi mode in the sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG.

13 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation in the staple multi mode in the sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG.

14 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation in the staple multi mode in the sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation in the staple multi mode in the sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation performed by the width aligning plate of the width aligning device shown in FIG. 1 when aligning sheets.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Copying Machine Main Body (Main Unit Device) 41 Sheet Post-Processing Device (Sheet Ejecting Device) 42 Post-Processing Conveying Path 42b Main Path 43 Staple Plate (Sheet Cradle) 44 Ejection Tray 44a Recess (Bottom Bottom) 47 Deflector 48 Padler 49 Stopper 50 Width Adjusting Device (Aligning Means) 51 Positioning Plate (Sheet Aligning Member) 52 Width Adjusting Plate (Sheet Aligning Member) 52a Connecting Plate 52d Width Adjusting Plate Rotating Motor (Width Aligning Plate Driving Means) 59 Stapler 60 Extrusion Device 61 Extrusion Member 61c Sheet abutting portion 75 Ejection roller 77 Offset guide 80 Offset guide device 81 Tray shift unit 95 Tray elevating unit 109 Extrusion member drive device 114 Ejection port S Sheet SW ₁ Sheet detection switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sheet discharging device having a sheet receiving tray for receiving a sheet carried in from a main body device and a discharge tray for receiving a sheet discharged from the sheet receiving tray, wherein the sheet is discharged from the sheet receiving tray to the discharge tray. Alignment that aligns the sheet on the sheet pedestal with the reference position in the sheet width direction by these sheet alignment members on both sides in the sheet width direction orthogonal to the discharge direction. And the width-shifting plate is formed so as to be rotatable in parallel to the upper surface of the sheet pedestal,
Further, the sheet discharging device is provided with a width-shifting plate driving means for rotating the width-shifting plate.