JPH0940264A - Sheet body storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet body storage device that stabilizes the stored state of sheet bodies. SOLUTION: An intermediate arm 6 is oscillatingly supported on an aligning arm 34, and the intermediate arm 6 is provided with an intermediate guide part 7. Both pressing force of a guide part 41 and the intermediate guide part 7 act upon a sheet body P discharged to a tray 1 by a discharge roller R, so that the flying action of the sheet body P is suppressed. The behavior of the sheet body P is thereby stabilized, so that the sheet bodies can be stacked in a position aligned state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet-shaped storage device for stacking and storing sheet-shaped members arranged in a tray by guiding the sheet-shaped members discharged from a discharge port along the traveling direction thereof. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a medium processing device such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile, and a recording paper storage device such as a sorter and a mail box, a medium (hereinafter, referred to as a sheet) on which a predetermined process is performed is placed on a tray. It is normal to discharge and load and store. The sheet-like bodies are sequentially discharged from the discharge port to the tray by the conveying force applied by the discharge rollers.At this time, since each sheet-like body flies until it reaches the bottom of the tray from the discharge port, each sheet is discharged. The unstable behavior of the sheets causes the sheets to be stacked in an irregular state. In this way, if the storage state becomes unstable, not only is the handling of the stacked sheet-shaped bodies troublesome, but also the appearance becomes poor, which is not preferable.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, there has been proposed a device for accommodating a sheet-shaped body which stabilizes the behavior of the sheet-shaped body discharged from the discharge port. When the sheet R is ejected onto the tray 1 from the ejection port 2 by the conveying force applied by the ejection roller R, the sheet P is moved along the bottom surface 1a inclined downward as it approaches the ejection port 2 and The ends are abutted against the side surface 1b and the sheets are stacked with their positions aligned.

The alignment arm 3 has a support shaft 3a near the discharge port 2.
Is supported so as to be swingable in the vertical direction. At the tip of the alignment arm 3, a sheet-like body P that advances into the tray 1 is provided.
A guide portion 4 is provided which guides the upper surface of the sheet along the traveling direction and presses the sheet-like body P toward the bottom surface 1a of the tray 1. The guide portion 4 includes a roller 4a that is rotatably supported by the alignment arm 3, and an inclined portion 4b that extends from the lower surface of the alignment arm 3 to the lower portion of the outer peripheral surface of the roller 4a. The alignment arm 3 is constantly urged by its own weight in the direction in which the roller 4a comes into contact with the bottom portion 1a of the tray 1, that is, in the direction in which the sheet-like bodies P to be stacked and stored are pressed downward.

According to the above structure, when the sheet P is discharged from the discharge port 2, the front end of the sheet P contacts the lower surface of the downwardly inclined alignment arm 3 and faces the bottom surface 1a of the tray 1. Will be guided. Therefore, the flight operation of the sheet P is forcibly suppressed.

The sheet P advances along the inclined portion 4b of the guide portion 4 between the lower outer peripheral surface of the roller 4a and the bottom surface 1a of the tray 1. At this time, the roller 4a is the sheet P
While being in contact with the upper surface of the sheet P, the sheet-like body P is guided while regulating the lateral shift with respect to the traveling direction.

As the number of sheet-shaped bodies P stacked on the tray 1 increases, the position of the roller 4a in contact with the uppermost surface of the stacked sheet-shaped bodies P, that is, the position of the alignment arm 3 is increased. Move to. Therefore, since the alignment arm 3 suppresses the flight of the sheet-like body P and regulates the lateral shift, the behavior of the sheet-like body P is stabilized, and thus the sheet-like bodies can be aligned and stacked. The stored state can be stabilized.

[0008]

However, when the sheet-like body P has a strong rigidity or is curled, the flying force of the sheet-like body P is due to the alignment arm 3. Sometimes it exceeds the pressing force due to its own weight.
At this time, since the restraint by the alignment arm 3 and the guide portion 4 does not sufficiently act on the sheet-like body P, the behavior of the sheet-like body P becomes unstable, and it is difficult to align and stack the sheet-like bodies P. Further, when the flying force of the sheet-like body P is large, there is a possibility that it may deviate from the end portion of the tray 1 and the storage state may become unstable, or the tray may drop. The present invention has been made based on such a situation, and even if a sheet-like body having a strong stiffness or a sheet-like body with curling occurs, the sheets are aligned, stacked and stored without departing from the tray. An object is to provide a storage device for a sheet-like body that can stabilize the state.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a sheet-like member discharged from a discharge port is stacked and stored, and a tray is inclined downward as the bottom surface is closer to the discharge port and a support near the discharge port. An alignment arm supported by a shaft so as to be swingable in the vertical direction, and an upper surface of the sheet-like body that is provided at a predetermined portion of the alignment arm and that advances into the tray along the traveling direction, In a storage device for a sheet-like body, comprising: a guide portion for pressing the sheet-like body toward the bottom surface of the tray, a front end portion of the sheet-like body is provided at a tip end portion of the alignment arm extending to a terminal end portion of the tray. Is provided, and the guide portion is provided at a position corresponding to the middle of the central portion and the end portion of the tray.

The present invention is characterized in that the stopper of the alignment arm has a spring property.

According to the present invention, the base end portion of the alignment arm extends rearward of the support shaft to form a rear end portion, and the rear end portion is provided with a balance weight which is movable in a direction of contacting and separating from the support shaft. The feature is that it is provided.

According to the present invention, an intermediate support shaft is provided at an intermediate portion between the guide portion and the support shaft of the alignment arm, and the intermediate support shaft supports the intermediate arm in a vertically swingable manner. An intermediate guide part that guides the upper surface of the sheet-like body stacked on the tray along the traveling direction and presses the sheet member toward the bottom surface of the tray, the intermediate guide part including the guide part and the intermediate support part. It is characterized by being located between the axes.

The present invention is characterized in that the pressing force applied to the sheet-like body by the guide portion is set to be smaller than the pressing force applied to the sheet-like body by the intermediate guide portion.

[0014]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a sheet-shaped storage device according to the present invention.
In FIG. 1, the same or corresponding members as those in FIG. 5 showing the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the aligning arm 31 extends to the end of the tray 1, and a stopper 32 for restricting the front end of the sheet P is provided at the tip. In addition, the guide portion 4 is provided in the alignment arm 31 at a position corresponding to the middle of the center portion and the end portion of the tray 1.

On the other hand, the base end of the aligning arm 31 has a support shaft 3
A rear end portion 33 is formed so as to extend rearward of a, and a rear end portion 33 is provided with a balance weight 5 that is movable in a direction in which it comes in contact with and separates from the support shaft 3a. 5a is a fixing screw for fixing the balance weight 5.

According to the above structure, when the sheet P (position (1)) is discharged into the tray 1 by the roller R, the front end of the sheet P is located at the lower surface of the alignment arm 31 and the guide portion 4. Between the inclined surface 4b and the bottom surface 1a of the tray 1 in the arrow F direction. The roller 4a is a sheet P
The sheet-like body P is guided to the end portion of the tray 1 while contacting the upper surface of the sheet 1 and being driven, while regulating the lateral shift with respect to the traveling direction. At this time, the sheet P (position (2))
Has its front end beyond the end of the tray 1 and the stopper 3
When it collides with 2, the arrow F
Move in the direction of b. Here, the roller 4a comes into contact with the upper surface of the sheet P and is driven in the opposite direction to the above,
The sheet-like body P is guided to the side surface 1b of the tray 1 while restricting the lateral displacement with respect to the traveling direction. As a result, the sheet-shaped body P (position (3)) is aligned with its rear end abutting against the side surface 1b. Therefore, the sheet P
Are aligned and loaded.

Further, even when the sheet-like body P has a strong stiffness and a strong flying force, the sheet-like body P deviates from the end of the tray 1 because the front end of the sheet-like body P is restricted by the stopper 32. Is prevented. The stopper 32 may be provided so that the front end portion of the sheet-like body P curled downward can come into contact with the stopper 32.

As described above, since the position of the balance weight 5 can be moved in the front-rear direction, the guide portion 4
The pressing force applied by the sheet-shaped body P can be adjusted according to the strength of the waist of the sheet-shaped body P.

According to the above-mentioned structure, when the sheet-like body P has a length enough to reach the guide portion 4 and the curl amount is relatively small, the sheet-like body P is surely held. Can be lined up and stored.

However, in the above structure, since the one guide portion 4 is located between the central portion and the end portion of the tray 1, the rear end portion of the sheet P passes through the outlet port 2. Since the front end reaches the guiding portion 4, it is a short distance, but since it flies, the stability of the behavior of the sheet-like body P is slightly impaired, and the sheet P shifts laterally. There is a risk. Therefore, the sheet P
If the sheet does not have a length that can reach the guide portion 4 or if the curl amount is large, the behavior of the sheet-like bodies P becomes unstable, and thus the sheets cannot be reliably aligned and stacked.

Therefore, in order to eliminate the above-mentioned inconvenience,
A second embodiment will be described in which the behavior of the sheet-like body P is made more stable so that the sheet-like body P can be reliably stacked and stored regardless of the length and curl of the sheet-like body P. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a second embodiment,
3 is a top view showing a main part of FIG. 2, and FIG.
It is explanatory drawing which shows the state by which the sheet-like object P was stacked in the structure of this.

An intermediate support shaft 6a is provided at an intermediate portion between the guide portion 41 and the support shaft 3a in the alignment arm 34, and the intermediate support shaft 6a is provided.
Thus, the intermediate arm 6 is supported swingably in the vertical direction. Further, the intermediate arm 6 is provided with a locking piece 6b for locking the alignment arm 34 and restricting the downward rotation amount of the intermediate arm 6.

At the tip of the intermediate arm 6, an intermediate guide portion for guiding the upper surface of the sheet-like members P stacked on the tray 1 along the traveling direction and pressing the sheet member P toward the bottom surface 1a of the tray 1. 7 is provided.

The intermediate guide portion 7 has a roller 7a and an inclined surface 7b which is continuous from the lower surface of the intermediate arm 6 to the lower portion of the outer peripheral surface of the roller 7a.

The intermediate guide portion 7 is located between the guide portion 41 and the intermediate support shaft 6a.

The stopper 3 is provided at the tip of the alignment arm 34.
5 are provided. The stopper 35 is formed by bending a material having a spring property, the base end portion 35a is connected to the tip end portion of the alignment arm 34, and the tip end portion 35b is bent downward. The downward distance of the stopper 35 is set so that the front end portion of the sheet-like body P curled downward can come into contact with the stopper 35.

Further, the lower surface of the base end portion 35a of the stopper 35 from the inclined surface 4c of the guide portion 41 forms an inclined surface which is inclined slightly upward from the bottom surface 1a of the tray 1.
This is for smoothly guiding the front end of the sheet-like body P curled upward with less friction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the intermediate arm 6 is housed inside the alignment arm 34 having a U-shaped cross section which opens downward when the intermediate arm 6 is rotated upward with the intermediate support shaft 6a as a fulcrum. It has become.

According to the above configuration, when the sheet P (position (1)) is discharged into the tray 1 by the roller R, the front end of the sheet P is the lower surface of the intermediate arm 6 and the guide portion 7. Between the inclined surface 7b and the bottom surface 1a of the tray 1 in the arrow F direction. The roller 7a contacts the lower surface of the sheet-like body P and is driven thereby, and guides the sheet-like body P to the end portion of the tray 1 while regulating the lateral shift with respect to the traveling direction.

When the front end of the sheet P (position (2)) exceeds the end of the tray 1, it collides with the stopper 35 and is moved in the direction of arrow Fb by the reaction force generated at that time. At this time, the roller 4a contacts the upper surface of the sheet P and follows the direction opposite to the above, and guides the sheet P to the side surface 1b of the tray 1 while restricting lateral displacement with respect to the traveling direction. To do. As a result, the sheet P
Has its rear end abutted against the side surface 1b and aligned. Therefore, the sheet-like bodies P are aligned and stacked. Here, since the stopper 35 has a spring property, a strong reaction force is generated when the sheet-like body P collides, so that the sheet-like body P is reliably moved in the direction Fb and the side surface 1 is pressed.
The position can be surely aligned by contacting b.

Further, even if the force of strong flight of the sheet-like body P acts strongly, it is restricted by the stopper 35, so that the sheet-like body P is prevented from deviating from the end portion of the tray 1.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which a large number of sheet-like members P are stacked and stored in the tray 1. In this case,
When the sheet P (position (1)) is discharged into the tray 1 by the roller R, the front end portion of the sheet P is attached to the lower surface of the intermediate arm 6 and the inclined surface 7b of the guide portion 7 and the tray 1. It advances in the direction of arrow F between the stacked uppermost sheet P. The roller 7a contacts the upper surface of the sheet-like body P and is driven, and guides the sheet-like body P to the terminal end portion of the tray 1 while regulating the lateral shift with respect to the traveling direction. When the front end of the sheet P (position (2)) exceeds the end of the tray 1, it collides with the stopper 35 and
The reaction force generated at that time moves in the direction of arrow Fb. The roller 7a guides the sheet-like body P to the side surface 1b of the tray 1 while being in contact with the upper surface of the sheet-like body P and following the opposite direction. As a result, the sheet-shaped body P (position (3)) is aligned with its rear end abutting against the side surface 1b. Therefore, the sheet-like bodies P are aligned and stacked.

As in the case of FIG. 1 described above, the pressing force applied to the sheet P by the guide portion 4 can be adjusted by moving the position of the balance weight 5 in the front-rear direction.

According to the above construction, since the intermediate guide portion 7 is located at the central portion of the tray 1, the sheet-like body P has its rear end portion passing through the discharge port 2 and its front end portion being a guide portion. The sheet-like body P can be pressed and guided by the intermediate guide portion 7 until the sheet-like body P reaches 4, so that the behavior of the sheet-like body P can be stabilized and the lateral displacement can be eliminated. Therefore, even if the sheet-like body P does not have a length that can reach the guide portion 4 or the curl amount is large, by stabilizing the behavior of the sheet-like body P, the sheet-like bodies P can be aligned and stacked. it can.

Since the discharging speed of the sheet P decreases as the distance from the roller R increases, the pressing force of the guide portion 41 farther from the roller R is applied to the intermediate guide portion 7 closer to the roller R.
When the pressure is set to be lighter than the pressing force by the sheet-like body P, the pressing force applied to the sheet-like body P is gradually reduced corresponding to the decrease in the discharging speed of the sheet-like body P, so that the sheet-like body is smoothly guided, which is preferable. .

Further, the rollers 4a of the guide portion 41 and the rollers 7a of the intermediate guide portion 7 have a large coefficient of friction on the outer peripheral surface thereof in order to regulate the lateral displacement of the sheet P, and the sheet-like shape. In order to smoothly guide the body P, a material having low bearing friction is preferable. This is exactly the same in the case of the first embodiment described above.

Even in the case of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the stopper 32 of the aligning arm 31 is made to have a spring property, so that a strong reaction force is generated when the sheet P collides. Now, it is possible to surely move the sheet-like body P in the direction Fb and abut against the side surface 1b to surely align the positions.

[0039]

As described above in detail, according to the sheet-shaped member accommodating apparatus of the present invention, the stopper for restricting the front end of the sheet-shaped member is provided at the tip of the alignment arm extending to the end of the tray. Since the guide portion is provided at a position corresponding to the middle of the central portion and the end portion of the tray, the sheet-shaped body discharged to the tray has its front end regulated by the stopper of the alignment arm. Since it does not deviate from the tray and is pressed against the tray bottom surface by the guide portion, the flight operation of the sheet-shaped body is suppressed. Therefore, the sheet-like bodies can be stacked with the positions aligned.

When the stopper of the aligning arm has a spring property, a large reaction force acts on the sheet-shaped body that collides with the stopper, so that the positions of the sheet-shaped bodies can be reliably aligned.

In the case where the base end of the alignment arm extends rearward of the support shaft to form a rear end, and the rear end is provided with a balance weight movable in a direction toward and away from the support shaft, ,
The pressing force applied to the sheet-shaped body by the guide portion can be adjusted.

An intermediate support shaft is provided at an intermediate portion between the guide portion and the support shaft in the alignment arm, and the intermediate support shaft swingably supports the intermediate arm in the vertical direction, and the intermediate arm is loaded on the tray at the tip thereof. An intermediate guide portion that guides the upper surface of the sheet-like body along the traveling direction and presses the sheet member toward the tray bottom surface is provided, and the intermediate guide portion is located between the guide portion and the intermediate support shaft. If set to
Since two pressing forces of the guide portion and the intermediate guide portion act on the sheet-shaped body, the suppression of the flight operation of the sheet-shaped body is strengthened. Therefore, even a sheet-shaped body having a large curl or a strong sheet-shaped body can be aligned and stacked.

When the pressing force applied to the sheet-like body by the guide unit is set to be smaller than the pressing force applied to the sheet-like member by the intermediate guide unit, the discharge speed of the sheet-like member is reduced. Since the pressing force applied to the sheet-shaped body is gradually reduced, the sheet-shaped body can be smoothly guided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a storage device for a sheet-shaped body of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of a storage device for a sheet-shaped body of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view showing a main part of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state in which sheet-like bodies are stacked in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Tray 1a Bottom face 1b Side face 2 Discharge port 31,34 Alignment arm 32,35 Stopper 33 Rear end 3a Support shaft 4,41 Guide part 4a Rollers 4b, 4c Inclined surface 5 Balance weight 6 Middle arm 6a Middle support shaft 7 Middle guide Part 7a Roller 7b Inclined surface R Roller P Sheet-like body

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display part H04N 1/00 108 H04N 1/00 108C

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A tray for stacking and accommodating sheet-like materials discharged from a discharge port and tilting downward as a bottom surface approaches the discharge port, and a support shaft near the discharge port so that the tray can be swung vertically. And an alignment arm supported on the top surface of the sheet-like body which is provided at a predetermined portion of the aligning arm and which advances into the tray, along the traveling direction, and the sheet-like body on the bottom surface of the tray. In a storage device for a sheet-shaped body having a guide portion that is pressed toward, a stopper that restricts the front end portion of the sheet-shaped body is provided at the tip end portion of the alignment arm that extends to the end portion of the tray, The sheet-shaped storage device, wherein the guide portion is provided at a position corresponding to the middle of the central portion and the end portion of the tray. 2. The storage device for the sheet-like body according to claim 1, wherein the stopper of the alignment arm has a spring property. 3. A rear end portion is formed by extending a base end portion of the aligning arm rearward of a support shaft, and a rear-end portion thereof is provided with a balance weight which is movable in a direction toward and away from the support shaft. The storage device for the sheet-like body according to claim 1, wherein 4. An intermediate support shaft is provided at an intermediate portion between the guide portion and the support shaft in the alignment arm, and the intermediate support shaft swingably supports the intermediate arm in a vertical direction, and a tray is provided at a tip end portion of the intermediate arm. And an intermediate guide portion for guiding the upper surface of the sheet-like members stacked on the sheet along the traveling direction and pressing the sheet member toward the tray bottom surface, the intermediate guide portion being the guide portion and the intermediate support shaft. The storage device for the sheet-like body according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the storage device is located between them. 5. The sheet-shaped body according to claim 4, wherein the pressing force applied to the sheet-shaped body by the guide section is set to be smaller than the pressing force applied to the sheet-shaped body by the intermediate guide section. Storage device.