JPH03182461A - Sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the number of components and facilitate assembly by providing an exciting mechanism for exciting a guide mechanism to the discharge rollers side. CONSTITUTION:Fed sheets are guided by a guide mechanism 34 and discharge rollers 35 in the vertical direction. The sheets are stored to the sheet receivers 30b side by the action of a sort claw 36 corresponding to an optional guide receiver. When the sheets are vertically guided between the guide mechanism 34 and the discharge rollers 35, the sheets are pinched between the guide mechanism 34 and the discharge rollers 35 by the exciting force of the guide mechanism 34 via an exciting mechanism 41. Since the guide mechanism 34 is excited by the exciting mechanism 41, the exciting mechanism 41 is not individually required for the discharge rollers 35, thus the number of components is reduced, and assembly is facilitated. The pinching action between the guide mechanism 34 and the discharge rollers 35 is surely performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a sorter, and more particularly to a sorter for distributing and storing fed sheets.

[Conventional technology]

For example, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine may be equipped with a sorter for distributing and storing sheets that have been subjected to image forming processing in the image forming apparatus. This sorter generally includes a plurality of paper trays disposed at intervals in the vertical direction, a plurality of discharge rollers disposed at the bases of the paper trays, and a guide belt extending vertically while facing the discharge rollers. Any paper receiver is provided with a plurality of sorting claws for orienting the paper sheets conveyed by the guide belt to the side. In this sorter, sheets supplied from the image forming apparatus are first conveyed in the vertical direction between a guide belt and a discharge roller. And the paper is
The paper is guided to an arbitrary paper receiving side by the action of the sorting claw, and that paper receiving side is stored above.

In such a paper conveyance operation, it is necessary to ensure pressure contact between the guide bed and the conveyance roller.

Therefore, a biasing mechanism for biasing the central axis of each discharge roller toward the guide belt 0 is provided individually for each discharge roller. This biasing mechanism maintains the pressure contact between each D1 output roller and the guide belt, and the paper is conveyed while being held between the discharge roller and the guide belt.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In such conventional sorters, each discharge roller must be provided with an individual biasing mechanism.

Therefore, as the number of paper receivers increases and the number of ejection rollers increases, the number of biasing mechanisms also increases. For this reason, if the number of paper holders increases, the number of items in the biasing mechanism increases, and the installation thereof becomes troublesome.

In particular, this type of biasing mechanism generally includes a small spring-like member and is not easy to install.

Furthermore, as the number of biasing mechanisms increases, it becomes difficult to homogenize the operating characteristics of each biasing mechanism, and the failure rate also increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sorter that reduces the number of parts, reduces assembly work, and improves operational stability.

[Means to solve the problem]

The sorter according to the present invention is a sorter for distributing and storing supplied sheets. This sorter includes a plurality of paper receivers, a plurality of ejection rollers, a guide mechanism, a biasing mechanism, and a plurality of sorting claws.

The paper receivers are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. The ejection rollers are for sending the paper to the paper receiver, and are arranged at the base of the paper receiver.

The guide mechanism is for vertically guiding the paper between the paper and the discharge roller, and extends vertically while facing the discharge roller. The biasing mechanism is a mechanism for biasing the guide mechanism toward the discharge roller. The sorting claws are for guiding the paper vertically guided by the guide mechanism to the side of an arbitrary paper tray, and are respectively arranged at the base of the paper tray.

[Effect]

In the sorter according to the present invention, the supplied paper is guided in the vertical direction by the guide mechanism and the discharge roller. Then, by the action of the sorting claw corresponding to an arbitrary guide receiver, the paper is stored to the side of the paper receiver. In this operation, when the paper is guided in the vertical direction between the guide mechanism and the ejection roller, the paper is held between the guide mechanism and the ejection roller by the biasing force of the guide mechanism. be done.

Here, the guide mechanism is biased by a biasing mechanism, and there is no need to separately provide a biasing mechanism for each discharge roller, so the number of parts is reduced and assembly is easy.

Furthermore, the nipping operation between the guide mechanism and the discharge roller can be performed reliably.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows an example of a copying machine employing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a document table 2 is fixed to the upper surface of a copying machine main body l, and a document presser 3 that can be opened and closed is arranged on the document table 2. As shown in FIG. On the right side of the copying machine body l, there is a bypass tray 4! A pair of paper feed cassettes 5 and 6 are detachably attached. A sorter 7 as an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on the left side of the copying machine main body 1 in the figure.

Inside the copying machine main body 1, an exposure device 8 for reading a document is provided at the top thereof.

This exposure device 8 is composed of a light source, a mirror, a lens, etc. Further, a photosensitive drum 9 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed is arranged in the center of the copying machine main body 1. Surrounding the photoreceptor drum 9 are a main charging device 10 that charges the photoreceptor drum 9 to a predetermined charge, a developing device 11 that develops an electrostatic latent image, transfer devices 1 & 12 that transfers a toner image onto paper, and a photoreceptor drum. A paper separation device I3 that separates paper from the photosensitive drum 9, and a cleaning device 14 that removes residual toner from the photosensitive drum 9 are arranged.

Between the bypass tray 4, the paper feed cassette 5.6, and the image forming section constituted by the photosensitive drum 9, etc., and on the downstream side of the image forming section, there are provided a paper feed conveyance path 17 and a paper conveyance path 17 for conveying paper, respectively. A paper discharge conveyance path 18 is provided.

At the end of the paper feed cassette 5.6 on the paper feed conveyance path 17 side, paper feed rollers 16a and 16b are provided for feeding the sheets in the paper feed cassette 5.6 to the paper feed conveyance path 17 side one by one. ing.

Also, between the iJ1 paper transport path 18 and the sorter 7, there is a fixing device 20 for fixing the transferred image on the transported paper, and a fixing device 20 for delivering the fixed paper to the sorter 7 side. A discharge roller 19 is arranged.

The sorter 7 includes a carry-in path 29 that receives sheets Cf from the discharge roller 19, a plurality of paper receivers 30a and 30b (for example, 11 sheets) arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, and the carry-in route 29 and the paper receiver 30a. .

30b. Of the paper receivers 30a and 30b, the non-sort paper receiver 30a is disposed at the upper end, and the sort paper receiver 30b is disposed below it.

As shown in FIG. 2, the distribution mechanism 31 has a pair of large rollers 32 and 33 arranged above and below. A drive source (not shown) can be connected to the lower large roller 33.

A guide belt 34 is wrapped around both of the rollers 32 and 33. On the other hand, a plurality of ejection rollers 35 corresponding to each paper receiver 30b are provided at the base of the sort paper receiver 30b.
is located. Each discharge roller 35 is in pressure contact with the front surface of the guide belt 34 on the paper receiver 30b side. This discharge roller 35 is supported by the case 7a of the sorter 7 so that it can only rotate freely. As shown in FIG. 3, sorting claws 36 are arranged below each discharge roller 35, respectively. Each sorting claw 36 is connected to a solenoid mechanism (not shown) that can operate independently. It is possible to switch between a non-sorted position and a non-sorted position. In addition, each village's discharge roller 3
5 and the wall surface 7b between the sorting claw 36 and the corresponding paper receiver 30b, there is an opening 37 through which the paper passes.
is formed.

On the inner peripheral side of the guide belt 34, one pair of upper and lower guide holders 40 as shown in FIG. 2, and one pair of left and right guide holders 40 as shown in FIG. 4 are arranged. This guide holder 40 is a member made of sheet metal. A biasing mechanism 41 is arranged on the back surface of the guide holder 40 (the right side surface in FIG. 2). Four biasing mechanisms 41 are provided at both upper and lower ends and at both left and right ends of each guide holder 40. As shown in Figure 4,
The biasing mechanism 41 is attached to a stay 42 extending in the horizontal direction and having both ends fixed to the case 7a. Stay 4
2, one end of a stud pin 43 of the biasing mechanism 41 is fixed. The stand pin 43 projects horizontally from the stay 42 in a perpendicular direction and has a head portion at its tip. Further, the intermediate portion of the stand pin 43 is slidably inserted into holes 44 provided on both sides of the guide holder 40. A coil spring 45 is mounted in a compressed state on the stud pin 43 between the guide holder 40 and the stay 42. The guide holder 40 is always urged toward the discharge roller 35 by the coil spring 45. The guide holder 40 has roller housing portions 46 having holes 44 on both sides thereof. Roller storage section 4
A guide roller 47 is disposed within the discharge roller 6 and faces the discharge roller 35 via the guide belt 34. A center shaft 48 of the guide roller 47 is rotatably supported by the guide holder 40.

As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of ejection rollers 51 are disposed in an opening 1'' 50 disposed above the base of the non-sort paper receiver 30a through which the paper passes. Between the discharge roller 51 and the carry-in path 29, there is a contact roller 52 that contacts the upper surface of the large roller 32 via a guide belt 34.
and a branching claw 53 for sorting the conveyance direction of the paper. The branching pawl 53 is connected to a solenoid mechanism (not shown), and can be used in both the conveying posture towards the sort paper receiver 30b shown in FIG. 2 and the non-sort paper receiver 30a.
The posture can be switched between a side transport posture (not shown).

Note that a guide plate 54 is provided below the branch claw 53 and extends toward the discharge roller 35 side with a slight gap from the guide belt 34 . Also, the lowest U+-exit-
A sorting claw corresponding to the roller 35 is not provided, but a fixed guide plate 55 is provided instead.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

In the copying machine shown in FIG. 1, when the copying operation is started,
Paper is supplied to the transfer device 12 from a selected one of the bypass tray 4 and paper feed cassettes 5 and 6. Meanwhile, on manuscript table 2! The original placed on the Si is scanned by the exposure device 8, and image information of the original is formed on the photosensitive drum 9 as an electrostatic latent image. The formed electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing device 11, and the obtained toner image is transferred onto paper by a transfer device 12. After the paper to which the image has been transferred is subjected to fixing processing by the fixing device t20,
It is introduced into the carry-in route 29 of the sorter 7.

Here, if the non-sort mode is set, the branch claw 53 of the sorter 7 in FIG.
It is in a state where it has been rotated to the side.

Therefore, the paper is transferred from the carry-in path 29 to the discharge roller 51.
and is placed on the paper receiver 30a through the opening 50.

On the other hand, when the sorting mode is set, the branching claws 53 of the sorter 7 are arranged in the attitude shown in FIG. As a result, the paper passes from the carry-in path 29 under the branching claw 53, passes between the guide Fi 54 and the guide heald 34, and is conveyed to the lower blade. At this time, the guide belt 34 is circulating in the direction of the arrow X by driving the large l]-ra 33.

Here, since the guide roller 47 is elastically urged toward the discharge roller 35 by the urging mechanism 41, the guide belt 34. The discharge roller 35 and the discharge roller 47 are in pressure contact with each other. Therefore, when the guide belt 34 circulates, the discharge roller 35 and the guide roller 47 also rotate accordingly. As a result, the paper is conveyed downward by the driving force of the guide belt 34.

When the first sheet is guided and conveyed by the guide belt 34, the uppermost sorting claw 36 is in a position tilted toward the guide holder 40 as shown in FIG. As a result, the paper is sandwiched between the guide belt 34 and the discharge roller 35 and conveyed, and at the same time is guided along the upper surface of the sorting claw 36 toward the paper receiver 30b. As a result,
When the paper passes through the opening 37 and the zero-order paper is conveyed to be stored in the uppermost paper receiver 30b, the uppermost sorting claw 36 is in the retracted position, and the second sorting claw 36 is moved toward the guide holder 40 side. It becomes a fallen position. As a result, the paper is stored in the second paper receiver 30b. In this way, the sorting claws 36 are switched one after another according to the number of sheets to be sorted, and the sheets are stored in a distributed state in the sorting sheet receptacle 30b.

Note that here, four guide holders 40 are used to press the guide rollers 47 against all the discharge rollers 35, and each guide holder 40 is biased by four bias mechanisms 41, respectively. There is. As a result, compared to the case where all the pile removal rollers 35 are provided with independent biasing mechanisms, the biasing mechanism is simplified, breakdowns are less likely to occur, and reliable operation can be maintained. Further, when assembling the sorter 7, since the biasing mechanism 41 has a simple structure, the number of parts is small and assembly can be performed easily.

[Other Examples]

(a) The guide roller 47 is omitted and the surface of the guide holder 40 is pressed against the guide belt 34 side.
C is also good. In this case, the high-speed operation performance is inferior to that when the guide roller 47 is used, but the structure is simpler.

(b) The guide belt 34 may be omitted and each guide roller 47 may be driven directly.

In this case, the paper will be held between the guide roller 47 and the discharge roller 35.

(C) In the above embodiment, the guide holder 40 is
Although four biasing mechanisms 41 are provided in each guide holder 40, the number of guide holders 40 and biasing mechanisms 41 can be selected as appropriate.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the sorter according to the present invention is equipped with a biasing mechanism for biasing the guide mechanism toward the discharge 1:J-RA side, the biasing mechanism is simplified, the number of ``C parts'' is reduced, and the number of parts for set 3''L is reduced. can be easily performed.Also, since the structure is simple,
There are fewer failure points and operation is reliable.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a copying machine employing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the same. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along IV-IV in FIG. 3. 7... Sorter, 30b... Paper tray, 34...
Guide held, 35... Discharge roller, 36... Sorting claw, 40... Guide holder, 41... Biasing mechanism, 47... Guide roller. 0th th

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A sorter for distributing and storing supplied paper, comprising a plurality of paper trays arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, and a sorter disposed at the base of each paper tray for storing the paper. a plurality of ejection rollers for feeding the paper to the paper receiver; a guide mechanism that extends vertically while facing the ejection roller and guides the paper in the vertical direction between the ejection rollers; a biasing mechanism for biasing toward the roller side; and a plurality of sorters each disposed at the base of the paper receiver and for guiding the paper vertically guided by the guide mechanism to a desired paper receiver. Sorter with claws and .