JPS62211267A - Tray for receiving discharged sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the unevenness of piled sheets by placing sheet edge part supporting members on both sides interposing the moving lines of the center of gravities of sheets which are discharged on a tray in between, in the captioned tray for a copying machine, etc. CONSTITUTION:A discharged sheet E slides on a bottom face 32 and is brought into contact with, e.g., sheet side edge guide members 36, further slides down on the bottom face 32 along the members 36, and is stopped in the state of the sheet F with its rear end edge being brought into contact with the ridge 40 only at the corresponding point (f). In this case, the greater part of the sheet is placed on the left-side inclined bottom face 32 with the center of gravity (g) of the sheet being positioned on the left-side bottom face 32, and the ridge 40 is positioned on the opposite side to the sheet side edge guide members 36 with respect to the moving line of the center of gravities. Thereby, a sheet always receives a turning force toward a sheet side edge guide members 36 side whenever its rear end edge is brought into contact with the ridge 40 which serves as a supporting part, and is piled up being securely in contact with the sheet size edge guide members 36, preventing unevenness.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an ejected sheet receiving tray that is attached to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printing machine, or a page printer.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as a tray for receiving discharged sheets used in image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printing machines, and page printers, the following structure has been proposed, for example, in Utility Model Application No. 60-67888. In other words, the sheets disposed near the discharge port for sheets processed in equipment such as an image forming apparatus are installed to receive sheets distributed and discharged in different directions by means. Ori,
The central part of the bottom plate lifts up into a chevron shape, the ridgeline of the chevron gently descends toward the sheet ejection direction, and the width of the sheet support surface, which is made up of the slopes on the left and right sides of the ridgeline, gradually becomes narrower toward the sheet ejection direction. A sheet end abutment wall having a notch for taking out the sorted sheets is provided at the end thereof, and a sheet side edge guide member is provided on the side facing the ridge line of the double-ended slope. The discharged sheet slides on the +lJl slope along the sheet side edge guide member in the direction in which it was distributed, and stops when the sheet tip abuts the sheet tip abutment wall in a line contact state. , a structure has been proposed in which the inner edges of the sheets facing each other are overlapped with each other.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, as described above, the tray is moved so that the side edges of the ejected sheets are moved along the sheet side edge guide members, and the edges in the sheet movement direction are in line contact with the tip end abutting wall to be stacked and stored. In this case, when the sheet is ejected, the side edge of the sheet hits the guide member and bounces, causing some variation in the moving posture. Therefore, the entire edge in the sheet moving direction does not touch the tip abutment wall at the same time, and a part of it bounces off the guide member. The seat contacts the abutment wall first, and the seat receives a rotational force due to the reaction force.

If the direction in which the seat is trying to rotate due to the rotational force is toward the seat side edge guide member, and if the side edge of the seat is in contact with the guide member or there is a slight gap,
The sheet is rotated by that amount and placed in contact with the sheet side edge guide member. However, if the direction of rotation of the seat due to the reaction force is opposite, the guide member is not arranged in that direction, so the only resistance to the rotation direction is the resistance due to the inclination of the inclined seat support surface, and if the reaction force is large That is, when the rotational force is large, the inclined sheet support surface is raised, which has the disadvantage that the stacked sheets become uneven.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems in conventionally proposed ejected sheet receiving trays. To provide a discharge sheet receiving tray which prevents misalignment of stacked sheets 1- by applying a reaction force that rotates the sheets toward the other supporting member when the discharge sheets come into contact with each other. The purpose is to

[Means and effects for solving the problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a discharge sheet whose sheet supporting surface has an inclination angle with respect to the horizontal direction in the sheet discharge direction and in a direction perpendicular thereto. In the receiving tray, two sheet 1 part supporting members each supporting the two sloped lower sides of the two opposing sides 2 & Il of the sheet on the sheet support surface are used to support the sheet discharged onto the tray. They are arranged on opposite sides of the center of gravity movement line.

With this configuration, when a sheet to be delivered to a tray comes into contact with one sheet edge support member, the sheet receives a reaction force in the direction of the other sheet edge support member, so that the sheet smoothly moves between the two sheets. The first part of the sheet is aligned and held between the supporting members, allowing sheets to be stacked on the tray with less irregularities.

〔Example〕

Examples will be described below. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a discharge sheet receiving tray 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to a sorting device 2 installed in an image forming device 1 such as a copying machine, a printing machine, or a page printer. be. Reference numeral 3 denotes a sorting VT device main body, which is fixed to the image forming device 1 by a mounting bracket (not shown). For this sorting, the apparatus 2 is configured to receive a signal from the image forming apparatus 1 in this illustrated example, and to control the discharging of the sheets to the tray 4. A control circuit is provided in 3,
It may be configured to count the number of ejected sheets and sort them according to a predetermined number of sheets.

FIG. 2 is a partially omitted enlarged sectional view of the sorting device 2. As shown in FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 5 denotes a main body frame, and a driven roller 6 for sorting along the sheet conveying path 10 is attached to the frame 5 so as to be rotatable about a support shaft 22 substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction. On the other hand, a sub-frame 7 is rotatably attached to the main body frame 5 around a support shaft 8, and a sorting drive roller 9 is installed on the sub-frame 7 substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the ejected sheets. It is rotatably attached around a support shaft 21 coaxial with the rotation support shaft 22 of the driven roller 6 . The sorting drive roller 9 forms a pair with the sorting driven roller 6, and the sorting rollers cooperate with each other.

An upper sheet conveyance guide 1) is provided on the subframe 7 side along the sheet conveyance path 10, while a lower sheet conveyance guide 12 is fixedly provided to the main frame 5 opposite to the upper sheet conveyance guide 1). It is being

The re-conveying guide 1)゜12 across the sheet conveying path 10
A sheet detector consisting of an LED 13 and a phototransistor 14 is provided on the outside of both sheet conveyance guides 1). The passage of the sheet can be detected through the through hole provided in 12.

Guide pins 15 are fixed to support members 16 that support the lower sheet conveyance guide 12 so as to protrude into the sheet III conveyance path 10 on both sides of the lower sheet conveyance guide 12 on the sheet carry-in side. Note that this support member 16 is fixed to the main body frame 5.

In the tray 4, a tray holding portion 18, which is integrally formed with the tray 4 and is formed to protrude from a hole formed in the sheet discharge side cover 17, is inserted into a tray holding member 19 disposed within the main body frame 5. It is configured to be fixed by this. The tray holding member 19 has guide rollers (
(not shown) on the main body frame 5 in a vertically movable manner, and is biased upward by a spring 20 whose one end is hooked to the main body frame 5 and whose other end is hooked to the tray holding member 19 . Then, depending on the weight of the sheet discharged onto the tray 4, the tray 4 is lowered together with the holding member 19.

Next, the operation of the sorting roller will be explained based on FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the sheet distribution and ejection operation as seen from above. Hereinafter, the term "right side" or "left side" refers to the right side or left side in FIG. 3.

In the initial state where no signal is sent out for sorting from the image forming bag Wl at the start, each sorting is done by the third roller 6.9.
As shown by the solid line in the figure, α degrees (8.5 degrees in this illustrated example) il? It is now possible to be kicked. In this state, the sheet A discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 is bitten into the sorting roller 6.9, but the leading edge of the sheet remains perpendicular to the central axis 25 and is moved to the right in the α degree direction to the position indicated by sheet B. progress towards. When the ejected sheet reaches the position of sheet B, its right edge contacts the guide pin 15.

When the sheet is in contact with the guide pin 15, the leading edge of the sheet remains perpendicular to the central axis 25 and cannot move to the right at α degrees. rotates. Then, when the sheet reaches a state of sheet t-c in which the direction of the sheet coincides with the α degree direction, the rotation is stopped and the sheet is discharged in the α degree direction. The sheet is then stored at the position indicated by sheet D on the tray 4.

By the way, in order for the ejected sheet to rotate from the state of sheet B to the state of sheet C, the sheet must slide at the nip of the roller 6.9 during sorting, but if it is slippery at the nip, for example, the conveyance guide 1) ．． The sheet rotates due to the load caused by friction between the sheet 12 and the sheet, causing problems such as uneven stacking of discharged sheets on the tray 4.

The factors that cause the sheet to rotate include the width of the roller for sorting;
Although the material and nip pressure are different, we found the optimal conditions where the feed is stable, the roller rotates under the load of contact with the guide pin 15, and does not rotate under other loads, and the shape of the roller for sorting is as follows. It has been found that the shape shown in FIG. 4 is preferable.

In other words, since the drive roller 9 and the driven roller 6 are supported separately by separate frames, it is difficult to maintain constant line contact during operation, and the axes of both rollers may be misaligned and cause a point. This may result in a contact state and the sheet feeding direction may become extremely unstable. In order to prevent this point contact from occurring, in this illustrated example, the diameter of the central portion of the drive roller 9 is made smaller than the diameter of the outer portion, so that both rollers 6.9 are always in contact at two points. It consists of

Further, on the driven roller side, a stiffening roller 27 is provided to give stiffness to the discharged sheet.

This stiff roller 27 is arranged near both ends of the driven roller 6 for sorting, and the sorting roller 27 is formed by a roller having a slightly larger diameter than the driven roller 6. Due to the shape of the driven roller 6 and the waist roller 27, the sheet 28
This prevents the sheets 28 from bending in the discharge direction due to their own weight, and is effective for stably discharging and stacking the sheets 28 onto the tray 4. Note that disposing this stiffened roller is a technique commonly used in a discharge device in an image forming apparatus.

Now, after a series of sheets have been ejected to the right side of tray 4, that is, for example, after printing out some data,
When moving to print out the next data, the sorting roller 6.9 is rotated 7 degrees to the left (8.5" in this illustrated example) using a solenoid (not shown) from the main body of the image forming apparatus. This position remains until the next printout is completed, that is, while the sheet is being ejected to the left side.In this case, the mechanism for ejecting the sheet to the left side is The same is true for emissions to.

When the ejection to the left side is finished and the next data is to be printed out, a signal is received from an image forming device such as a printer, and the sorting is performed by roller 6.
9 is tilted to the right again.

This series of discharges is called a job, and the operation of sorting the jobs (in this configuration example, the operation of sorting them left and right) is called job separation, and the apparatus for such sorting is generally called a job separator.

The sheets that are distributed to the left and right on the tray 4 are partially overlapped with each other on the central axis 25.
Each acts as a "bookmark" for the other. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish between jobs no matter how many times the job is repeated.
It becomes extremely convenient to organize the ejected sheets after printing out. In addition, in this configuration example, the left and right distribution angle is 8.5
Although the shown angle is not limited to this, in order to sort, the left and right distribution should be done at an angle of 5"~
It can be set within a range of 45''.

Next, the construction of an embodiment of the discharge sheet receiving tray according to the present invention, which is used by being attached to the sorting apparatus described above, will be explained. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration, Fig. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the inclination of the ridge line between the central axis and A, and Fig. 7 shows the tray shown in Fig. 5 in the direction of arrow A. It is an end view seen along the inclination of the ridgeline.

As can be seen from these figures, in this embodiment, the shape of the tray 4 is such that the central portion is raised in a chevron shape, and the ridgeline 31
is tilted upward along the discharge direction, and is configured such that its tip gradually becomes wider. The ridgeline 31 is inclined from 01-20° to 40° with respect to the horizontal plane, and the left and right bottom surfaces 32 and 33 have an inclination of θ x 5 e to 20'' with respect to the horizontal plane. The guide member 36 for supporting the side edge of the chevron-shaped sheet is set at θ, with respect to the perpendicular line.
- They are arranged facing outward at an angle of ~10°. In addition, a cutout recess 37 is provided at the center of the tip of the bottom surface in the sheet ejection direction to make it easier to reach when taking out the sheets accumulated on the tray 4, so that the accumulated sheets can be taken out all at once with one hand. . A wall portion 38 having a ridge 40 serving as a sheet trailing edge stopper is formed in the center on the sheet discharge port side of the tray 4, and a pair of protrusions 41 are provided on the sheet discharge side cover 17 on both sides of the nuclide 40. A pair of recesses 39 into which the projections 41 can be fitted are formed at positions corresponding to (see FIG. 7).

Note that this convex portion 41 abuts and supports the rear edge of the sheet overflowing from the ridge 40 of the wall portion 38 after the discharge sheets are sequentially stacked on the tray 4 and the tray 4 finishes descending due to its weight. It is something.

Furthermore, a pair of tray holding parts 18 for fixing the trays 4 to the main body 3 of the sorting apparatus are integrally formed on the wall part 38 and protrude toward the sheet discharge port side. Also the bottom 32.33
A substantially horizontal sheet side edge holding surface 34,35 is formed at a portion of the left and right corners of the sheet discharge port side.

For the tray 4 configured in this manner, as shown in Fig. 8, the sheets that are sorted and discharged from the rollers 6.9 do not bend or sag due to the action of the waist rollers, and are almost It is discharged horizontally, and the ridge line 3 of tray 4
The point above 1 contacts tray 4. After that, the sheets are sorted and discharged by roller 6゜9, and the discharge speed is v0.
The leading edge of the sheet reaches point C due to the force. The sheet that has reached point C gradually falls because air is trapped between the sheet and the bottom of the tray 4, and then slides on the tray bottom 32 or 33 due to the inclination angle θ of the ridgeline and the inclination θ2 of the bottom. Edge 40 of the sheet side edge guide member 36 and wall portion 38
It is designed to stop when it comes into contact with.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, the rear edge of the sheet G that has been ejected and slid down is stacked on the wall 38' and stored in line contact with the wall 38', as in the conventional tray. ' and the sheet side edge guide member 36' are arranged, as described above, when the ejected sheet slides down, the sheet side edge hits the guide member 36' and rebounds, causing the moving posture to be slightly distorted. Because of the variation, one point that contacts the ridge 40 of the sheet and a point h of the rear edge corner of the sheet that contacts the wall 38' at a position distant from the ridge 40 simultaneously contact the ridge 40 and the wall 38', respectively. This rarely happens, and in some cases, one point touches the edge 40 first, and in some cases, the h point touches the wall 38 first.
′. If one point comes into contact with the edge 40 first, it will receive a rotational force due to the reaction force, and if the sheet side edge is in contact with the guide member 36' or there is a slight gap, it will rotate by that amount. The sheet is placed with its side edge in contact with the guide member 36'. However, if they first come into contact at point h, they will receive a rotational force in the direction of the arrow due to the reaction force of the collision, and because no support member such as a guide member is arranged in that direction, they will be bounced back to the state shown by sheet H. If the reaction force (rotational force) is large, the sheets tend to rise on the inclined bottom surface, and the sheets that are deposited tend to be irregular.

In the present invention, in order to solve this problem, the trailing edge support part that abuts and supports the trailing edge of the sheet is not a support part in a line contact state, but a support part in a point contact state, and the trailing edge support part is in a point contact state. A trailing edge support portion or a sheet side that abuts and supports the trailing edge of the sheet, and is positioned on the opposite side of the guide member that supports the side edge of the sheet with respect to the movement line of the center of gravity of the ejected sheet. When the discharge sheet comes into contact with one of the guide members supporting the edge, a reaction force is applied to rotate the sheet toward the other guide member or supporting portion, thereby preventing the stacked sheets from becoming uneven. ing.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the ejected sheet E slides on the bottom surface 32, contacts, for example, the sheet side edge guide member 36, and continues along the sheet side edge guide member 36. It slides down on the bottom surface 32, and the trailing edge of the sheet abuts only at one point corresponding to the ridge 40, which is the trailing edge support portion, and stops in the state of the sheet F. At this time, most of the sheet rests on the left inclined bottom surface 32, and the center of gravity of the sheet is g.
is on the left bottom surface 32, and the edge 40 is on the left side bottom surface 32, and
is located on the opposite side from the seat side edge guide member 36. Therefore, when the edge of the sheet comes into contact with the edge 40, which is a supporting portion, the sheet always receives a rotational force toward the sheet side edge guide member 36, ensuring that the sheet is stacked in contact with the sheet side edge guide member 36, and that irregularities are avoided. It can be prevented.

In this way, the ejected sheets are sequentially stacked on the tray 4 while preventing misalignment, but in the tray configured as in this embodiment, the sorting of the sheets is further determined based on the ejecting speed v0 from the roller 6.9 and the sorting. is the discharge angle θ4 of the roller 6.9, the inclination angle θ of the edge [31] of the tray 4, and the bottom surface 3.
It was found that the slope θ2 of 2.33 interacts with each other and influences the manner in which the sheets are deposited, and by appropriately setting these relationships, a better deposited state can be obtained.

That is, as a result of the experiment, the sheet discharge speed v0 is 3
00~900-me/sec, slope angle θ of ridgeline = 20
It was found that a range of -40@, an inclination angle θ2 of the bottom surface of 2-5 to 20°, and a roller discharge angle θ of -θ to 15° for sorting are good. However, depending on the sheet discharging speed of the image forming apparatus, the sorting is performed at the sheet discharging speed V by the roller 6.9. Since this is fixed, other elements are set accordingly.

The ejection speed of the page printer tested this time was 160
m5/sec, the sheet discharge speed of the device for sorting was set to 5501-/see. The best sorted deposition state was obtained when the angle θ4=56.

Next, further explanation will be given regarding the relationship between each element that influences the sheet deposition mode. First, if the sheet ejection speed v0 is too fast relative to the ridgeline inclination angle θ1, or if the ridgeline inclination angle θ1 is small relative to the sheet ejection speed v0, the sheet may jump out of the tray 4, or the sheet may By the time the edge reaches the ridge 40 of the wall 38, the trailing edge of the sheet has completely fallen onto the bottom of the tray or the lower sheet, and the sheet stops sliding due to frictional resistance with the tray bottom or the lower sheet. A problem arises in that it stops before reaching the ridge 40 of the wall portion 38.

The most desirable embodiment is that the trailing edge of the sheet is at the edge 40 of the wall portion 38.
The sheet falls onto the bottom of the tray or the lower sheet until it reaches the bottom of the tray, and the sliding movement is braked by the frictional resistance between the bottom of the tray and the lower sheet, and when it reaches the edge 4o, which is the abutting support, the sheet's sliding speed decreases. It is a mode in which it hits the ridge 40 in a state where it has become considerably smaller.

On the other hand, if the inclination angle θ1 is large, the sheet hits the edge 40 at a high speed, and the sheet is bounced back by the reaction, causing the sheets to be stacked unevenly.

Therefore, it is also not good to set the inclination angle θ1 of the ridgeline to be thicker than necessary.

For sorting, the discharge angle θ4 of the roller 6.9 adjusts the position of the point where the tray 4 and the sheet first come into contact, and is closely related to the inclination angle θ1 of the ridge line 31 of the tray. If the angle θ (which is determined by the inclination angle θ1 of the edge wA31 and the discharge angle θ4) is large, the discharged sheet may push out the sheet below it.

An appropriate inclination angle θ2 of the bottom surface is necessary to prevent the sorted sheets from shifting in the left-right direction. That is, when the ejected sheet falls onto the bottom surface of the tray, air is trapped between the sheet and the bottom surface of the tray. Then, as the air escapes, the sheets gradually fall, but if the bottom of the tray is horizontal, the sheets will fall while swinging back and forth to the left and right, just like falling leaves, so the sheets will be piled up. will be uneven.

Therefore, it is necessary to tilt the bottom surface of the tray to the left and right, and to slide the sheets on the bottom surface to improve alignment.

The longitudinal inclination of the tray is determined by the inclination angle θ1 of the ridgeline, and the horizontal inclination of the tray is determined by the inclination angle θ2 of the bottom surface. Since the portion of the ejected sheet beyond the contact point is already in contact with the tray, the left and right deflection is suppressed and the sheet falls, but not completely.

When using a warp sheet (*a sheet with fibers extending in the feeding direction), the stiffness in the thickness direction in the horizontal direction is even weaker than in the vertical direction, so the inclination angle θ of the bottom surface
If 2 is increased, buckling will occur and the deposition condition will deteriorate. Therefore, the inclination angle θ□ of the bottom surface cannot be as large as the inclination angle θ of the ridgeline.

Also, if the inclination angle 0□ of this tray bottom is large, then
- As shown in Figure 1, the sheet is on the bottom surface 32 on the ridge IM31.
．． 33, the distance e from the ridge line 31 to the top surface of the stacked sheets is large and the inclination angle θ2 of the bottom surface is small, considering the number of sheets to be stacked at ttC.
As shown in Figure 2, the distance e3 from the ridge line 31 to the top surface of the sheet can be small.

In addition, if the inclination angle θ2 of the bottom of the tray is large,
As shown in FIG. 1, the side edge 44 of the stacked sheet 42 contacts the tip of the first sheet 43 sorted on the opposite side, so the stacked sheet 42 may be pushed out. In particular, the edges of the sheet have protruding fibers and are easily caught, making this phenomenon more likely. For the above reasons, the inclination angle θ2 of the bottom surface of the tray cannot be set to a large value, and the most preferable value is 02-10° as described above.

By the way, as mentioned above, the inclination angle θ1 of the ridgeline of the tray is set to the above-mentioned suitable value from the relationship of various factors, but even if it is set to such a value, it is difficult to use a thin and rigid tray. When a small sheet is used, if the inclination angle θ1 of the ridgeline is large, the perspective view in Figure 12 and the mountain in Figure 12)
As shown in the cross-sectional view, the sheet 51 that has slid down the slope 32 of the tray 4 collides with the ridge 40, and this collision causes the sheet 51 to slide down the slope 32 of the tray 4.
Since this is the main sliding direction of the sheet 51, the impact is large, so the rear edge of the sheet 51 comes into strong contact with the ridge 40, and a partial recessed portion 51A is formed at the rear edge. When the recessed portion 51A is formed, a rotational force cannot be properly generated against the sheet 51 toward the side edge guide member 36, resulting in a problem that the sheets 51 are stacked unevenly.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention, which prevents the occurrence of irregularities in the stacked sheets due to a large inclination angle θ1 even when a thin sheet with low rigidity is used. . In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the sheet 1 is provided on the wall 38 of the tray 4! A rubber plate 52 is attached to the sheet abutting portion of the ridge 40 that serves as the support portion of the edge. By pasting this rubber plate 52, the impact when the discharge sheet comes into contact with the ridge 40 is softened, and the moderate frictional force of the rubber plate 52 prevents the occurrence of partial sink-in portions.

As the material of the rubber plate 52, a rubber material such as urethane rubber or chloroprene rubber is used, and the rubber hardness is 20° to 90°, preferably 5 as measured by a stylus rubber hardness meter.
It was found that the angle between 0° and 70″ is good.

In each of the above embodiments, the application to a job separator has been shown, but the present invention is capable of handling sheets discharged in a single direction.
) can also be applied to a tray for stacking and storing trays, and an example thereof is shown in FIG.
The sheet loading surface 0 is formed to be inclined by IIj'l in the sheet discharging direction and in the direction perpendicular thereto. A sheet side edge guide member 62 is formed on the inclined lower edge of the placing surface 61 in the direction perpendicular to the sheet discharging direction, and near a high position of the inclined lower edge in the sheet discharging direction. A seat rear edge support portion 63 is formed. When the sheet 64 discharged in a single direction comes into contact with the sheet rear @ edge support part 63, a reaction force is applied to the side of the sheet side edge guide member 62, and the two adjacent sides of the sheet 64 are moved toward the sheet side edge guide. The sheets are supported by a member 62 and a sheet trailing edge support portion 63 so that they can be stacked and stored in the tray 60 in an orderly manner.

In order to prevent the occurrence of a sinking portion when a thin sheet with low rigidity is used, it is sufficient to attach a rubber plate 65 to the sheet abutting support surface of the sheet trailing edge support portion 63. The same effects as in the embodiment can be obtained.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the tray is formed such that the sheet placement surface is inclined upward with respect to the sheet ejection direction, but the present invention is directed to a tray formed such that the sheet placement surface is inclined downward with respect to the sheet ejection direction. Of course, it can also be applied.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above in detail based on the embodiments, according to the present invention, when the discharge sheet comes into contact with one of the sheet edge support members, the sheet exerts a reaction force in the direction of the other sheet edge support member. Since the sheets are smoothly held in alignment between both sheet edge support members, a less irregular stack of sheets on the tray is easily obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which an ejected sheet receiving tray according to the present invention is attached to a sheet sorting apparatus of an image forming apparatus, and FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the sorting apparatus shown in FIG. The enlarged sectional view shown in FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of sorting sheets into trays of the sorting apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the tray according to the present invention, FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view thereof, FIG. 7 is an end view thereof, and FIG. 8 is a plan view of the sorting roller. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of discharging and stacking sheets onto the tray; FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the stacking mode of the discharged sheet when the trailing edge support portion of the discharged sheet is in line contact with the supporting portion; FIG. 10 is the fifth
1)-1 and 1)-2 respectively show the manner in which the discharge sheets are deposited due to the difference in the inclination of the bottom surface of the tray. 12^, CB) are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view showing how the ejection sheets are stacked when thin ejection sheets with low rigidity are stored in the embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig. 5, and Fig. 13. 14 is a perspective view of a main part showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an image forming device, 2 is a sorting device, 4 is a tray, 31 is a ridgeline, 32, 33 is a bottom surface, 36 is a sheet side edge guide member, 38 is a wall portion, and 40 is a sheet rear edge stopper. ridge, 51 is a discharge sheet, 51A is a recessed part,
52 is a rubber plate, 62 is a seat side edge guide member, and 63 is a seat rear edge support portion. Patent Applicant: Olympus Optical Industry Co., Ltd. Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 4 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 12 (A) η (B)

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A discharged sheet receiving tray whose sheet supporting surface has an inclination angle with respect to the horizontal direction in the sheet discharging direction and in a direction perpendicular to the sheet discharging direction, and in which two sets of sheets on the sheet supporting surface are arranged opposite to each other. The two sheet edge support members that respectively support the two sloped lower sides of the sides are arranged on opposite sides of the center of gravity movement line of the sheet discharged onto the tray. Features a tray for receiving ejected sheets. (2) Of the two sheet edge support members, the sheet edge support member that strongly contacts the sheet is configured to make point contact with the sheet, and at least its surface is formed of a rubber material. 2. A tray for receiving discharged sheets according to claim 1, characterized in that: