JPH10152260A - Image forming system, sheet material after-treatment device and sheet material after-treatment method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly execute image forming processing to documents so large in number as to exceed the maximum number of sheets that can be stacked by detecting whether sheet material is stacked, discriminating the number of stacked sheet material, and controlling switching of a sheet stacking module on the basis of the detected result and discriminated result. SOLUTION: Space in an upper bin module is confirmed by an upper bin module piercing sensor (S702), and a deflector 3 is switched (S703). Space in a lower bin module is confirmed by a lower bin module piercing sensor, and the deflector 3 is switched (S705). Whether the number of stacked sheets in the corresponding bin module has reached the maximum number of stacked sheets (n) is judged (S708), and if the number of stacked sheets in the corresponding bin module has not reached the maximum number of stacked sheets (n), processing is repeated (S706). Which one of the upper and lower bin modules is in an overflow state is judged according to the switched state of the deflector 3 (S709).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming system including a document conveying device, an image forming device, and a sheet material post-processing device, a sheet material post-processing device used for the same, and a sheet material post-processing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to reduce the labor required for copy processing, an image forming apparatus includes an automatic document feeder for automatically feeding a document, a page alignment and a classification of a sheet on which a document image is recorded, and the like. A sheet post-processing device, a so-called sorter / finisher, or the like that selectively executes various processes such as a sorting process to be performed and a stapling process of stapling a plurality of sets of paper bundles with a stapler is attached.

This sheet material post-processing apparatus includes a sorter means for transporting a sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus along one transport path, and sorting the transported sheet into each bin by moving a plurality of bins. Some of the devices include stapling means for stapling the paper sorted in each bin with staples, and storage means for taking out the paper sorted in each bin and storing the paper in a stack unit.

[0004] One image forming system is constructed by attaching the sheet post-processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus together with the automatic document feeder.

In the image forming system constructed as described above, the original is fed to the image forming apparatus by the automatic document feeder in response to a paper feed request from the image forming apparatus, and the image of the original is read by the image forming apparatus. The read document image is formed on a sheet material and discharged, and the sheet material discharged in response to a discharge request from the image forming apparatus is stacked in each bin by a sheet material post-processing device, and sorting, stapling, etc. are performed. I do.

In this image forming system, when the number of sheets of sheets stacked in each bin exceeds the maximum number of stacked sheets in the automatic document feeder, the number of sheets stacked in each bin is set. Is controlled so that the feeding of the document is stopped when the number of sheets exceeds the maximum stackable number.

[0007]

However, as described above, when the number of documents loaded in each bin exceeds the maximum loadable number of sheets in the automatic document feeder, When the number of sheets loaded in each bin exceeds the maximum number of sheets loaded, control is performed to stop document feeding.Therefore, sheets are taken out of the bin and unread documents are removed. The user is required to perform operations such as checking and setting the document in the automatic document feeder again, and the copying process cannot be performed smoothly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to smoothly perform an image forming process on a number of documents such that the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means exceeds the maximum stackable number without bothering the user. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming system, a sheet material post-processing apparatus, and a sheet post-processing method that can perform the above-described processes.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A document conveying device that conveys a document placed on a document mounting table, an image forming device that reads an image of a document conveyed by the document conveying device and forms the read image on a sheet material, and the image forming device A plurality of sheet stacking modules having sheet material stacking means for stacking the sheet material discharged from the apparatus are provided so as to be independently driven, and a sheet material post-processing apparatus for performing post-processing on the sheet material. Detecting means for detecting whether or not the sheet material is loaded on each of the sheet material loading means of each of the sheet loading modules; and loading of the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading means of each of the sheet loading modules. Determining means for determining the number of sheets; and switching means for selectively switching the sheet stacking module. And controlling the switching of said sheet stacking module according to the switching means based on the discrimination result of the different means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming system according to the first aspect, wherein the sheet material is loaded on the sheet material loading means of one sheet loading module which is the current loading destination of the sheet material based on the determination result of the determination means. When it is determined that the number of sheet materials that have been
A sheet stacking module having an empty sheet stacking unit is found based on the detection result of the sensing unit, and the switching unit is controlled to switch one of the sheet stacking modules to the found sheet stacking module. It is characterized by the following.

[0011] The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material post-processing device is provided with a bundle transport unit that performs a bundle transport process capable of transporting the sheet materials loaded on the sheet material loading unit to a storage unit in bundle units. The bundle transporting means is controlled so that the bundle transporting processing of the sheet materials loaded on the sheet loading means is sequentially performed from the sheet loading module in which the sheet loading is completed on the loading means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the third aspect, the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit reaches a maximum number of stacked sheets, and When the switching is performed, after performing the bundle conveying process on the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the sheet stacking module before the switching,
The bundle conveying means is controlled so as to execute a bundle process on the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means of the sheet stacking module after the switching.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the third aspect, the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means reaches a maximum number of stacked sheets, and When the switching is performed, the bundle conveying process for the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the sheet stacking module before the switching, and the bundle for the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the sheet stacking module after the switching. The bundle conveying means is controlled so as to alternately execute the conveying process.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 4 or 5.
In the image forming system described above, the sheet material post-processing device is provided with a bundle processing unit that performs a bundle process of bundling the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking unit in a bundle unit, and the sheet material stacking unit is configured to perform the sheet material loading by the bundle processing unit. When the execution of the bundle processing for the sheet material loaded on the means is selected,
When the switching of the sheet stacking module is performed due to the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit reaching the maximum stacking number, the execution of the bundle processing by the stack processing unit is canceled. And

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a document transport device for transporting a document placed on a document table, reading an image of the document transported by the document transport device, and converting the read image to a sheet material. A sheet material post-processing apparatus used in an image forming system including an image forming apparatus that forms a plurality of sheet stacking modules each including a sheet material stacking unit that stacks sheet materials discharged from the image forming apparatus. A sheet material post-processing device that is drivably provided and performs post-processing on the sheet material; a detecting unit that detects whether the sheet material is stacked on the sheet material stacking unit; and the sheet material stacking unit. A determination unit configured to determine the number of sheets stacked on the sheet material, and a switching unit configured to selectively switch the sheet material stacking unit. And controlling the switching of said sheet stacking module according to the switching means based on the discrimination result of the preliminary said discriminating means.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to the seventh aspect, the sheet material stacking means in one sheet stacking module to which the sheet material is currently loaded based on the determination result of the determination means. When it is determined that the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacker has reached the maximum number of stacked sheets, a sheet stacking module having an empty sheet stacking unit is found based on the detection result of the detecting unit, and one of the sheet stacking modules is found. The switching means is controlled so as to switch one to the found sheet stacking module.

The ninth aspect of the present invention is the seventh or eighth aspect.
The sheet material post-processing device according to the above, wherein the sheet material post-processing device is provided with a bundle transport unit that performs a bundle transport process capable of transporting a sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading unit to a storage unit in bundle units. It is characterized in that the bundle conveying means is controlled so as to sequentially carry out the bundle conveying processing of the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means from the sheet stacking module in which the sheet material stacking is completed.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means reaches the maximum number of stacked sheets. When the switching of the module is performed, after performing the bundle conveying process on the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the sheet stacking module before the switching, the sheet is stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the switched sheet stacking module. The bundle conveying means is controlled so as to execute a bundle process on the sheet material.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means reaches the maximum number of stacked sheets. When the module is switched, the bundle transport process for the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading means of the sheet loading module before the switching, and the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading means of the sheet loading module after the switching And the bundle transport means is controlled so as to alternately execute the bundle transport processing.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to the tenth or eleventh aspect, the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking means is bundled in the sheet material post-processing device in a bundle unit. A sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking means when the execution of the bundle processing on the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking means is selected by the bundle processing means. When the number of sheets reaches the maximum number of sheets and the sheet stacking module is switched, the execution of the bundle processing by the bundle processing means is canceled.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a document transport device for transporting a document placed on a document table, reading an image of the document transported by the document transport device, and converting the read image to a sheet material. A plurality of sheet stacking modules each having an image forming apparatus to be formed and a sheet stacking unit for stacking the sheet ejected from the image forming apparatus are provided so as to be independently driven, and a sheet for performing post-processing on the sheet is provided. In a sheet material post-processing method used in an image forming system including a material post-processing device, a step of detecting whether the sheet material is stacked on the sheet material stacking unit,
Determining a number of stacked sheets of the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit, and switching the sheet stacking module based on a detection result of the detection unit and a determination result of the determination unit. Features.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet material post-processing method according to the thirteenth aspect, the sheet material stacking means in one sheet stacking module to which the sheet material is currently loaded based on the determination result of the determining means. When it is determined that the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacker has reached the maximum number of stacked sheets, a sheet stacking module having an empty sheet stacking unit is found based on the detection result of the detecting unit, and one of the sheet stacking modules is found. One is switched to the found sheet stacking module.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the sheet material post-processing method according to the thirteenth or fourteenth aspect, wherein the sheet material loaded on the sheet material stacking means is transported in bundles to the storage unit. The bundle conveying means includes a step of performing a bundle conveying process of the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means in order from the sheet stacking module in which the sheet material stacking is completed on the sheet material stacking means.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet material post-processing method according to the fifteenth aspect, the number of sheets stacked on the sheet material stacking means reaches the maximum number of stacked sheets. When the switching of the module is performed, after performing the bundle conveying process on the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the sheet stacking module before the switching, the sheet is stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the switched sheet stacking module. The bundle conveying means is controlled so as to execute a bundle process on the sheet material.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet material post-processing method according to the fifteenth aspect, the number of sheets stacked on the sheet material stacking means reaches the maximum number of stacked sheets. When the module is switched, the bundle transport process for the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading means of the sheet loading module before the switching, and the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading means of the sheet loading module after the switching And the bundle transport means is controlled so as to alternately execute the bundle transport processing.

According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet material post-processing method according to the sixteenth or seventeenth aspect, a step of performing a bundling process for bundling the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking unit in a bundle unit by the bundle conveying means. Wherein when the bundle processing means selects the execution of the bundle processing for the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means, the number of sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means is the maximum number of stacked sheets. When the switching of the sheet stacking module is performed due to the arrival of the sheet stacking module, the execution of the bundle processing by the bundle processing unit is released.

[0027]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the configuration of an embodiment of the image forming system of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the configuration of the staple / stack apparatus in detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electrophotographic copying machine 200 includes a copying machine main body 201, an automatic document feeder 202 provided above the copying machine main body 201, and discharge of the sheet material S of the copying machine main body 201. Sheet post-processing device 2 arranged on the side
03.

The sheet material post-processing device 203 includes the folding device 2
04 and a staple / stack device 205.

The document table 20 of the automatic document feeder 202
6 are separated one by one in order.
Pass 20 on platen glass 208 of copier body 201
It is fed through 9. The image of the original 207 fed onto the platen glass 208 is copied to the optical system 2 of the copier main body 201.
The original 207 is read from the platen glass 208 via a path 211 after the reading is completed.
06.

The image of the original 207 read by the optical system 210 is formed as an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 220 of the image forming unit 213. The image forming unit 213 visualizes the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 220 and transfers the visible image to the sheet material S fed from the deck 212.

The sheet material S to which the visible image has been transferred is transported on the conveying path 2
The sheet is conveyed to a fixing unit 214 via the fixing unit 21, and the visible image is fixed on the sheet material S by the fixing unit 214.

The sheet material S discharged from the fixing unit 214
The sheet material S is switched by the switching operation of the deflector 216.
Out of the reversing path 217 for switching the image forming surface (surface switching in the double-sided copy mode) and the path for leading to the folding device 204.

The sheet material S sent to the reversing path 217
Indicates that the intermediate tray 2 has been switched after the image forming surface is switched.
18 and once loaded. The sheet material S on the intermediate tray 218 is sent again to the image forming unit 213 via the re-feeding path 219, and an image is formed on the switching surface of the sheet material S.

On the other hand, the sheet material S sent to the path for leading to the folding device 204 is usually
Staple / stack device 20
The sheet is conveyed to a fifth sheet carry-in port 215.

The image forming process in the copying machine main body 201 is known, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. The folding device 204 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-23237.
2. It is the same as the folding device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-59002 and the description thereof is omitted.

The stapling / stacking device 205 is the same as that shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the bin modules B1 and B2 are vertically divided into two to receive the sheet material conveyed to the sheet carry-in entrance 215, and each bin module B1 and B2 has a plurality of bins B11 to B1n and B21. To B2n (n = 6 in the present embodiment). Each of the bin modules B1 and B2 is configured to be able to move each bin to a sheet receiving position and a sheet bundle discharging position by changing the bin interval and the bin position of each bin independently of each other.

The sheet entrance 215 has a first upward direction.
A deflector 3 for selectively switching between the transport path 1 and the second transport path 2 in the downward direction is provided, and the sheet material S entering the sheet carry-in entrance 215 by the deflector 3 is provided.
Is determined. The deflector 3 is driven by a solenoid (not shown).

The first transport path 1 is branched into a discharge path 6 to a non-sort tray 5 and a path 7 to a bin module B1 by a deflector 4 driven by a solenoid (not shown). When the transport path from the first transport path 1 to the discharge path 6 is selected by the deflectors 3 and 4, the sheet material S is transported by the respective roller pairs 8a, 8b and 8c to the sheet entrance 2
The paper is conveyed from 15 through the first conveyance path 1 to the non-sort tray 5. When the transport path from the first transport path 1 to the path 7 is selected by the deflectors 3 and 4, the sheet material S is passed through the first transport path 1 from the sheet entrance 215 by the respective roller pairs 8a, 8b and 8d to 8g. Bin module B1
Transported to

On the other hand, the second transport path 2 forms a path from the sheet entrance 215 to the bin module B2,
When the second transport path 2 is selected by the deflector 3, the sheet material S is transported to the bin module B2 by each of the roller pairs 8a, 8h to 8p.

In the space between the path 7 to the bin module B1 and the second transport path 2 to the bin module B2,
A bundle processing unit 9 is provided. Bundle processing unit 9
The bundle on each bin is conveyed to the right in FIGS. 1 and 2 by the advance gripper 10, selectively stapled by the stapler 11, the leading end of the bundle is clamped by the conveyance gripper 12, and further conveyed to the right. Similarly, in the space between the path 7 to the upper module B1 and the path to the lower module B2, the stack unit 13 is located below the bundle processing unit 9.
Are on standby, and the stack unit 13 stores the bundle transported by the transport gripper 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the right end of the stapler 11 and the left end of the stack unit 13 substantially overlap each other in the left-right direction, and the overlap region in the left-right direction is an area indicated by a width 115.

When a predetermined number of sheet bundles are filled in each of the bins B11 to B16 of the bin module B1, the stack processing unit 9 and the stack unit 13 are moved to the positions shown by broken lines in FIGS. The sheet bundle is taken out from B11 to B16.

After the completion of taking out the sheet bundle from each bin B11 to B16, or each bin B2 of the bin module B1
After the operation of conveying the sheet material to the sheets 1 to B26, the bundle processing unit 9 and the stack unit 13 take out the sheet bundle from the bin module B2 at the positions indicated by the solid lines in FIGS.

The operation of taking out the sheet bundle is continuously repeated until the stack unit 13 is fully loaded, and the copying operation can be continued during the period until the stack unit 13 is fully loaded. The stacking height of the stack unit 13 is determined by the height from a stack tray stacking surface to be described later to the upper end of the stacker reference wall. In FIG. 2, the maximum stacking height of the stack unit 13 is set to 17.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the bin modules B1 and B2 is provided with a penetrating sensor S3 for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet material S on each bin, and a detection signal of each penetrating sensor S3 will be described later. Bin module B1,
It is used to determine the timing of switching B2, the timing of starting the copy operation of the next job, and the like.

Next, a detailed configuration of each section will be described.

First, the bin modules B1 and B2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 is a perspective view showing a bin module provided in the staple / stack apparatus of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a top view showing a bin module provided in the staple / stack apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view showing a bin module provided in the stapling / stacking device of FIG. Since the bin module B1 and the bin module B2 have the same configuration, the bin module B1 will be described, and the description of the bin module B2 will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the bin module B1 includes a plurality of bins B11 to B1n, two reference rods 14a,
14b, an alignment wall 15, three lead cams 16a to 16c for raising and lowering each bin, and a drive unit for driving these members.

The reference rods 14a and 14b are members for determining a reference line when post-processing such as stapling is performed on the sheet material S discharged onto each bin. The position is set to a position slightly retracted from the position.

The alignment wall 15 narrows the width of the sheet material S discharged onto each of the bins B11 to B1n in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction by a predetermined number of sheets.
a, and 14b are aligned.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lead cams 16a and 16b are arranged on the back side of the bin.
6c is disposed on the front side of the bin.

A spiral cam portion is formed on the outer periphery of each of the lead cams 16a, 16b, 16c. Each of the lead cams 16a, 16b, and 16c engages with a corresponding one of the bin rollers Ba, Bb, and Bc provided so as to project from each of the bins.
Raises and lowers each bin by a predetermined pitch every time one rotation is performed in synchronization.

As shown in FIG. 4, a notch Bd corresponding to the reference rod 14a and a hole Be corresponding to the alignment wall 15 are formed in each of the bins B11 to B1n. , Notch Bg for bin standing drive mechanism
And a notch Bh necessary for operation.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bins B11 to B1n are arranged in parallel with each other and inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal direction. The vertical interval between the bins B11 to B1n is variable according to the conditions such as receiving and discharging the sheet bundle. For example, when B14 is at the bundle transport position, the bin interval of B11 to B15 is set to 117,
The interval between 15 and B16 is set to 118.

On the other hand, each of the bin rollers Ba, Bb, B
c is configured such that all the bins B11 to B1n have the same height in a state where they are inclined. In other words, the position of the bin roller portion Bb located on the back side of the bin is near the reference surface of the bin, whereas the position of the bin roller portion Ba in front of the bin and the position of the bin roller Bc in the middle of the bin are below the reference surface of the bin. The bin rollers Ba and Bc and the corresponding bin are fixed by a V-shaped fixing arm.

Next, the bin shift drive will be described with reference to FIGS.

The bin shift drive is performed by a bin shift motor M1, as shown in FIGS. The driving force of the bin shift motor M1 is synchronously transmitted to the lead cams 16a to 16c by the motor pulley 18, the belt 19, and the lead cam pulleys 20a to 20c. Each of the lead cams 16a to 16c rotates in the forward or reverse direction in accordance with the forward or reverse rotation of the bin shift motor 17, and the rotation of each of the bins B11 to B1n is performed.

The bin shift motor M1 has two output shafts. One output shaft is provided with a pulley 18 and the other output shaft is provided with an encoder 21. The rotation speed of the encoder 21, that is, the rotation speed of the bin shift motor M1 is detected by the sensor S1. Similarly, the encoder 22 is attached to the lead cam 16c, and the rotation of the encoder 22 is read by the sensor S100. The rotation of the lead cam 16c is detected based on the output signal of the sensor S100.

Each of the bin modules B1 and B2 is provided with a bin home position detection sensor (not shown), and the home position detection sensor detects the home position of the bin.

Next, the driving configuration of the alignment wall 15 for aligning the sheet material S on the bin will be described.

The matching wall 15 is driven by a matching wall drive motor (not shown) composed of a stepping motor.
The driving force of the matching wall drive motor is transmitted to the matching wall 15 via a transmission mechanism (not shown) such as a gear, a timing belt, and the like. Position control is performed. The home position of the matching wall 15 is detected by a sensor (not shown).

Next, a description will be given of a drive configuration of a bin standing portion that forms an alignment reference plane in the transport direction of the sheet material S on the bin with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view showing the configuration of the bin stand provided in the staple / stack apparatus of FIG.

Each bin Bmn (m = 1, 2, n = 1, 6)
As shown in FIG. 6, the sheet stacking section Bi and the matching section B
j (also referred to as a bin standing portion), and a matching portion Bj
Is provided with a support shaft Bk rotatably fitted in a hole provided in the sheet stacking portion Bi. The alignment unit Bj is angularly rotated about the support shaft Bk between a position where the alignment unit Bj rises substantially perpendicular to the loading surface of the sheet loading unit Bi and a position that is substantially parallel to the loading surface of the sheet loading unit Bi. , The rotation angle of which is approximately 90 degrees. When the aligning unit Bj is at a position rising perpendicular to the stacking surface of the sheet stacking unit Bi, an aligning surface for aligning the sheet bundle stacked on the bin Bmn by the aligning unit Bj is formed. On the other hand, when the alignment unit Bj moves to a position that is substantially parallel to the stacking surface of the sheet stacking unit Bi, a carry-in port for transferring the sheet bundle stacked on the bin Bmn to the bundle processing unit 9 is formed. You. The driving of the matching unit Bj is called bin standing driving.

The aligning section Bj is provided with a drive arm 45 for discharging upward from the bin sheet material loading surface, and a pin 45a is provided at the tip of the drive arm 45.

The matching section Bj is driven by the solenoid SL1. The solenoid SL1 is supported on a base (not shown). The output shaft of the solenoid SL1 is connected to a pin 47a of a link 47 via an arm 48. One end of the link 47 is attached to a support shaft 47c fixed to the base so as to be angularly rotatable therearound, and the other end of the link 47 is provided with a pin contact member 47b.

A spring member 49 is attached to the pin 47a of the link 47.
Is attached, and the other end of the spring member 49 is attached to a base.

The link 47 is angularly rotated according to the operation of the solenoid SL1. When the solenoid SL1 is turned off, that is, in the normal state, the link 47 is moved to the solid line position shown in FIG. That is, the aligning unit Bj is moved to a position where the aligning unit Bj rises perpendicularly to the stacking surface of the sheet stacking unit Bi, and an aligning surface for aligning the sheet bundle stacked on the bin Bmn is formed.
In this position, the pin contact member 47b of the link 47
And the pin 45a are separated from each other, so that in the normal state, the bin Bmn can be moved up and down without interference between the pin abutting member 47b of the link 47 and the pin 45a.

When the sheet bundle on the bin Bmn is conveyed to the bundle processing unit 9, the solenoid SL1 is turned on after the bin Bmn is shifted to a predetermined position. The link 47 is rotated by the ON operation of the solenoid SL1,
The pin contact member 47b contacts the pin 45a. When the link 47 further rotates, the alignment unit Bj is moved to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, and a carry-in port for carrying the sheet bundle stacked on the bin Bmn to the stapling / stacking device 205 is formed. .

In this embodiment, as described above, the bin standing drive unit is constituted by the solenoid, but instead, the amount of rotation of the matching unit Bj is controlled using a DC motor and a sensor. By doing so, it is also possible to configure a bin standing drive unit that performs bin standing driving.

Next, the bundle processing unit 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 is a top view showing the bundle processing unit provided in the staple / stack apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 8 is a front view of the bundle processing unit of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the bundle processing unit 9 has a frame in which guide stays 52 and 53 and a right stay 54 are passed between a unit front side plate 50 and a unit rear side plate 51. Four lifting rollers 55 are caulked, two on each side. A member 5 for guiding the sheet bundle S when conveying the sheet bundle is provided behind the lower guide stay 53.
3a is attached. The four elevating rollers 55 are guided in two rails 56 fixed to the main body side, and a rack cut integrally with the rails 56 and pinion gears provided at both ends of a shaft 57 penetrating in the lateral direction of the frame body. The entire frame is moved up and down by transmitting the drive from the elevating motor M4 to the pinion gear 58.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the frame of the bundle processing unit 9 is provided with a pair of sensors S23 for detecting the uppermost surface of a sheet bundle stacked on a stack tray 116 described later. ing. The sensors 23 cooperate with each other to form a detection optical path extending in the direction indicated by the arrow G in FIG.

In the frame of the bundle processing unit 9, there are disposed three moving bodies, namely, an advance gripper 10, a stapler 11, and a transport gripper 12. Hereinafter, these moving objects will be described.

The advance gripper 10 is configured to be movable in the direction indicated by the arrow D in FIG. Advance gripper 1
Reference numeral 0 indicates that the sheet bundle S is pulled out in the direction indicated by the arrow D by gripping the vicinity of the right end on the near reference side of the sheet bundle S on the bin. The distance from the right end of the advance gripper 10 to the leading end of the sheet bundle S is set to 14, and the distance 14 is set to be longer than the distance 15 from the left end of the stapler 11 to the leading end of the sheet bundle S.

The driving mechanism of the advance gripper 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a view showing a driving mechanism of the advance gripper of the bundle processing unit of FIG.

On the front side of the unit front side plate 50, FIG.
As shown in the figure, a leading motor M7 is attached, and a swing arm 76 is fixed to the tip of the drive shaft. The other end of the swing arm 76 has an elongated hole 76a formed therein.
The leading end of the pin member 74 interlocked with the advance gripper 10 is engaged with a. The pin member 74 is formed on the coupling plate 73, and the coupling plate 73 is supported by the shafts of the two grooved rollers 72. Each roller 72 is attached to the side surface of the advance gripper 10, and the groove of each roller 72 is a slot 5 of the unit front side plate 50.
0a. When the advance motor M7 is driven, the swinging calm 76 reciprocates between the solid line position and the two-dot chain line position in FIG.

The stapler 11 is configured to be movable in the direction indicated by the arrow E in FIG. 7, and the movable positions are a retracted position on the near side (a position 11a shown in FIG. 7) which does not overlap with the sheet width, and a back side. Retreat position (position 11 in FIG. 7)
b), and are set at arbitrary positions (for example, positions 11c, 11d, and 11e in FIG. 7) at the leading end of the sheet bundle.

The driving of the stapler 11 is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a left view showing a driving mechanism of a stapler of the bundle processing unit of FIG. 7;
FIG. 14 is a top view showing the drive mechanism of the stapler of the bundle processing unit of FIG.

The stapler 11, as shown in FIG.
It is fixed to a base 94. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, two shafts 96 and 97 for suspending and supporting the stapler 11 penetrate through the slider 95 attached to the upper portion of the base 94, respectively.
Are supported by unit front and rear side plates 50 and 51, respectively. The slider 95 is fixed to the belt 102 by the regulating member 103, and the belt 102 is
0 and the driven pulley 101
In 00, a driving force is transmitted via a gear 99 from a stapler forward / reverse motor M 10 fixed to the substrate 98.

Therefore, the slider 95, that is, the stapler 11, is driven by the stapler forward / reverse motor M10 in FIG.
Is moved between the retreat position 11a on the near side and the retreat position 11b on the back side in the direction indicated by the arrow J, and the stop position is between the retreat position 11a on the near side and the retreat position 11b on the back side. It can be set at any position. The position is set based on the detection signal from the front position sensor S11 or the back position sensor S12 and the encoder 10 of the stapler forward / reverse motor M10.
4 is performed on the basis of the detection signal from the sensor S13 that reads the output of No. 4.

The transport gripper 12, as shown in FIG.
It is configured to be movable in the direction indicated by the arrow F and to be movable in the direction indicated by the arrow G including the front and rear side plates 59 and 60 as a whole. The transport gripper 12 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow F according to the size of the sheet bundle, grips the approximate center position of the sheet width, and moves in the direction indicated by the arrow G so as to completely pull out the sheet bundle from the bin. To the stack unit 13. The movement in the F direction indicated by the arrow is performed for the purpose of sorting on the stack unit 13 in addition to the movement corresponding to the above-described sheet size. That is, when the sheet bundle is conveyed to the stack unit 13, the conveyance amount in the direction indicated by the arrow G depends on the sheet bundle size.
By changing the conveyance amount in the direction of arrow F, it is possible to sort a sheet bundle of the same size and to sort between different jobs.

FIG. 1 shows the driving mechanism of the transport gripper 12.
1 and FIG. FIG. 11 shows FIG.
FIG. 12 is a front cross-sectional view illustrating a driving mechanism of the transport gripper of the bundle processing unit in FIG. 7.

The transport gripper 12 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 7, two shafts 77 and 78 are supported. One shaft 77 is constituted by a ball screw, and the other shaft 78 is constituted by a normal shaft. Both ends of the shaft 77 are rotatably supported between the front and rear plates (the front plate is omitted, and the rear plate 60).
Are fixed at both ends. Two rollers 79 on the front and rear side plates
Each roller 79 is movably fitted into an elongated hole 51 a provided in the unit side plate 51.

First, the driving of the transport gripper 12 in the sheet bundle transport direction, that is, the longitudinal direction of the unit side plate 51 will be described.

For driving the transport gripper 12 in the sheet bundle transport direction, a transport gripper left / right moving motor M8 attached to the unit side plate 51 is used. The driving force of the transport gripper left / right moving motor M8 is
0, a belt 81 and a driven pulley 82 are transmitted to a through shaft 83. A pulley 84 is fixed to the through shaft 83 together with a driven pulley 82, and a belt 86 is wound around the pulley 84 and a pulley 85 opposed thereto. Since a part of the belt 86 is fixed to the rear side plate 60 by the regulating member 87, the belt 86 is rotated by the driving of the transport gripper left / right moving motor M8. 51a, that is, the rear side plate 60 is moved. Therefore, the transport gripper 12 is moved in the sheet bundle transport direction.

Next, the driving of the transport gripper 12 in the direction orthogonal to the sheet bundle transport direction will be described.

The transport gripper 12 is driven in a direction orthogonal to the sheet bundle transport direction by a transport gripper forward / reverse motor M9 mounted on the rear plate 60 via a substrate 88.
Is used. The driving force of the transport gripper forward / reverse motor M9 is transmitted to the shaft 77 via a transmission mechanism including a driving pulley 89, a belt 90, and a driven pulley 91. Since a portion of the transport gripper 12 that is engaged with the shaft 77 is formed with a threaded portion that is screwed to the shaft 77, the transport gripper is moved in the axial direction of the shaft 77 as the shaft 77 rotates.

The positioning control of the transport gripper 12 is performed based on the detection of the home position and the detection of the rotation amount of the motor. Specifically, the movement in the sheet bundle conveyance direction and the stop position thereof are determined by the detection signal from the home position sensor S7 for detecting the protrusion 87a of the regulating member 87 and the reading sensor S8 of the encoder 92 of the conveyance gripper left / right movement motor M8. The movement in the direction orthogonal to the sheet bundle conveyance direction and the stop position thereof are determined based on the detection signal and the detection signal from the home position sensor S9 and the reading sensor S of the encoder 93 of the conveyance gripper forward / reverse motor M9.
10 is determined based on the detection signal from Note that it is also possible to omit the encoder 93 and the like by using a stepping motor as the transport gripper forward / reverse motor M9.

Next, the configuration of the grip portions of the advance gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a grip portion of the advance gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12 of the bundle processing unit of FIG.

The grip portion for holding the sheet bundle in the advance gripper 10 and the grip portion for holding the sheet bundle in the transport gripper 12 have a common configuration.

As shown in FIG. 9, the grip portion 61 has an upper gripper 66 and a lower gripper 67 rotatably supported on a fixed shaft 65 of the side plate 62, respectively. The upper gripper 66 is urged by a spring member 71 such that its end 66a comes into contact with an eccentric cam 69 which is rotated about the shaft 64 in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure. The eccentric cam 66
It is fixed to a shaft 64, and the shaft 64 is rotated by a motor M5 (not shown). As the eccentric cam 66 rotates, the upper gripper 66 swings in the direction indicated by the arrow I.

The lower gripper 67 has its end 67a
The spring 3 is urged by a spring member 70 so as to come into contact with an eccentric cam 68 which is rotated around the center 3 in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure. The eccentric cam 68 is fixed to a shaft 63, and the shaft 63 is rotated by a motor M6 (not shown). As the eccentric cam 68 rotates, the lower gripper 67 swings in the direction indicated by the arrow H.

The opening / closing operation by the upper grip 66 and the lower grip 67 is performed by repeating swinging in the directions indicated by arrows I and H (solid line and broken line diagram).

Next, the configuration of the stack unit 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. 15, 17 and 18. 15 is a top view showing a configuration of a stack unit provided in the staple / stack apparatus of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1, FIG. 17 is a front view showing a stack frame of the stack unit of FIG. 15, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a left view showing the stack unit of FIG.

The stack frame 105 serving as the outer frame of the stack unit 13 is, as shown in FIG.
5a, left side plate 105b, right side plate 105c, bottom plate 105d
And four parts. Two elevating rollers 106 are attached to the outer surfaces on the left side of the left and right plates 105b and 105c of the outer frame, respectively, and each elevating roller 106 is guided by a rail 107 fixed to the main body. The rail 107 can be shared by the same member as the rail 56 of the bundle processing unit 9 shown in FIG.

The left and right plates 105b and 105c have the configuration shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 18, the chain 109 is fixed by the regulating member 108, and each chain 109 is bridged between the upper and lower sprockets 110 and 111.
The lower sprocket 111 is fixed to a penetrating shaft 112, and a driving force from a stack frame lifting / lowering motor M <b> 11 is transmitted to the penetrating shaft 112 via gears 113 and 114.
The stack frame 105 moves up and down with the rotation of the penetrating shaft 112 by the driving force from the stack frame elevating motor M11.

The stop positions of the stack frame 105 are usually two stop positions corresponding to the two stop positions (the upper broken line portion and the lower solid line portion) of the bundle processing unit 9 shown in FIG. A plurality of positions are set, such as a stack tray pull-out position described later and a position when changing the stack limit number. The home position of the stack frame 105 is set at a position corresponding to the bin module B1. Positioning control for this stop position is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the detection is performed based on a detection signal from the reading sensor S14 of the encoder 115 of the stack frame lifting / lowering motor M11.

The left side plate 105b of the stack frame 105
15 and 17, a stacker reference wall 1 serving as a reference wall of a sheet bundle on the stack tray 116 is provided.
17 is supported so as to be able to move up and down.

The upper inclined surface 117 of the stacker reference wall 117
A guide roller 117a for preventing the trailing end of the sheet bundle from remaining on the inclined surface is attached to b.
The stacker reference wall 117 is arranged in accordance with the number of sheets stacked on the stack tray 116.
19 moves up and down while being guided by the corresponding guide rails 120 and 121.
12 (not shown).

The proximity prevention sensor S16 is attached to the upper end of the stacker reference wall 117.
The distance between the stack unit 13 and the bundle processing unit 9 above the stack unit 13 is detected based on the detection signal from. When the stack unit 13 and the bundle processing unit 9 approach to each other within a certain distance or less, control is performed to stop driving in the respective approach directions, and their interference is prevented.

A stack height detection sensor S17 is attached to the side surface of the stacker reference wall 117.

Next, the stack tray 116 shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 16 shows FIG.
It is a front view which shows the stack tray of 5 stack units.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the stack tray 116 is configured so as to be able to move up and down inside the stack frame 105, and the accumulator 1 is mounted on the stack tray base 129.
At 30, it can be pulled out in the front direction. A U-shaped roller receiving plate 131 is attached to both end surfaces of the stack tray base 129, and each roller 132 provided on the roller receiving plate 131 is guided by a rail 128.

A stack tray elevating motor M13 is attached to the stack tray base 129. The driving force of the stack tray elevating motor M13
137 is transmitted to the through shaft 133. Through shaft 13
Pinion gears 134 are fixed to both ends of the pinion 3, and each pinion gear 134 is meshed with a rack formed to extend in a vertical direction on a corresponding guide rail 128. As described above, the stack tray base 129 is moved up and down while being guided by the guide rail 128 with the rotation of the penetrating shaft 133 by the driving force of the stack tray elevating motor M13. That is, the stack tray 116
Performs an elevating operation by the driving force of the stack tray elevating motor M13.

An encoder 138 is attached to the auxiliary shaft of the stack tray elevating motor M13.
The number of rotations of 8 is read by the sensor S15. The detection signal from the sensor S15 is used for controlling the amount of movement of the stack tray 116.

The stack tray 116 is provided with a copy sheet detecting sensor S30 for detecting a bundle of sheets stacked on the stacking surface.

Next, the stopper 300 of the stack unit
Will be described with reference to FIGS. 15, 19 and 20. 19 is a top view showing the configuration of the stopper of the stack unit in FIG. 15, and FIG. 20 is a front view showing the configuration of the stopper of the stack unit in FIG.

The stopper 300 is, as shown in FIG.
The stack tray 116 cooperates with the stacker reference wall 117.
The mechanism for preventing the collapse of the sheet bundle at the time is described.

As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the stopper 300 is fixed to the fixing member 301 which rises perpendicularly to the stacking surface of the stack tray 116, and is fixed to the fixing member 301 while being guided by the accumulate 302 provided on the fixing member 301. And a movable member 303 that can move in the axial direction.

A roller 308 is attached to a lower portion of the fixing member 301, and the roller 308 is movably engaged with a rail member 310 for guiding the roller 308 in a direction orthogonal to the side plate 105c. The rail member 310 is fixed to the bottom plate 105a. On the other hand, at the tip of the moving member 303,
One end of an L-shaped arm 304 is attached.
The other end of the arm 4 is connected to the slider 305.

The slider 305 is supported by two shafts 306a and 306b extending in a direction parallel to the axis of the rail member 310 so as to be movable in the axis direction. Each axis 306
a, 306b are fixed to the stacker reference wall 117.

A belt 307 is fixed to the slider 305. The belt 307 is composed of a driving pulley 312 and a driven pulley 31.
It is wound around 3. The driving pulley 312 receives a driving force from the stopper moving motor M30 as an output pulley 311.
Through the driving pulley 31 by the driving force.
2 is rotated. The slider 305 fixed to the belt 307 with the rotation of the driving pulley 312
a, and moves while being guided by 306b. That is, with the movement of the slider 305, the stopper 300 is moved parallel to the loading surface of the stack tray 116 along the guide direction of the rail member 310.

The position of the stopper 300 in the direction parallel to the stacking surface of the stack tray 116 is
16 is set according to the size of the sheet bundle stacked on
Positioning with respect to the set position is performed by a detection signal from a reading sensor (not shown) of an encoder (not shown) of the stopper moving motor M30 and a detection from a home position sensor (not shown) for detecting a home position position. This is performed based on a signal. The stopper moving motor M
It is also possible to configure the step 30 with a stepping motor, and in this case, it is possible to omit an encoder and the like.

On the other hand, the stopper moving motor M30,
Since the driving pulley 312 and the driven pulley 313 are fixed to the stacker reference wall 117, the stacker reference wall 11
7, the moving member 303 moves up and down the stack tray 1.
The stacker 16 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the loading surface, and the amount of movement is equal to the amount of elevation of the stacker reference wall 117.

Next, the driving mechanism of the transport system of the stapling / stacking device 205 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 21 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a driving mechanism of a transport system of the staple / stack apparatus of FIG. In the drawings, the hatched roller in each roller pair indicates the driving side,
The other roller indicates the driven side.

The drive system is roughly divided into three systems as shown in FIG. 21, and each drive system is provided with a corresponding transport motor M14, M15, M16.

First, the transport motor M14 is connected to the copying machine main body 20.
Responsible for driving the roller pair closer to 1. In particular,
Each roller pair 8a, 8b, 8c for guiding the sheet material to the bin module B1 and the non-sort tray 5, and four roller pairs 8 for guiding the sheet material to the bin module B2
h to 8k are driven. Next, the transport motor M15
Responsible for the sheet discharge section to bin module B1,
The four roller pairs 8d to 8g are driven. Further, the transport motor M16 is responsible for the sheet discharge to the bin module B2 and drives the five roller pairs 8l to 8p.

Since the portion surrounded by the broken line in the drawing is a portion which is drawn out to the near side in the case of a jam processing which will be described later, couplings 139 and 140 are provided so that they can be separated from the driving side. Is configured. In the system driven by the transport motor M16, the lower roller is the driving side for each roller pair 8l to 8n, but the right roller or the upper roller is the driving side for each roller pair 8o to 8p. Therefore, the rotation direction is configured to be reversed by the gear 141.

Next, the cover structure of the sheet material post-processing device 203 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 22 is a front view showing a cover configuration of the sheet material post-processing apparatus of FIG.

The folding device 204, as shown in FIG.
It is covered with a fold cover 142. The stapling / stacking device 205 includes a fixed cover 143 that vertically covers the right side of each bin module, a front cover 144 that covers the paths 2a and 2b to the lower bin module and a part of the bundle processing unit 9, and a take-out unit. A stack tray 116 at a possible position and a stack removal cover 145 that covers the sheet bundle S on the stack tray 116, and a bin cover 1 that vertically covers the left side of each bin module.
46 and an upper pass cover 147 are provided. The upper pass cover 147 has the non-sort tray 5 and
It forms the upper surface of the path to the upper bin module.
A rotation fulcrum is provided on the back side of the upper pass cover 147,
The upper pass cover 147 is configured such that the front side opens upward in the direction indicated by the arrow K.

Next, a control system for controlling the operation of the electrophotographic copying machine 200 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the electrophotographic copying machine of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 24, a control system for controlling the operation of the electrophotographic copying machine 200 includes a CPU 2000 mounted on the copying machine main body 201 and a sheet material post-processing apparatus 2.
03 mounted on the CPU 3000 and the CPU 200
I / F 30 for communicatively connecting CPU 3000 and CPU 3000
04.

The CPU 2000 controls the system of the copying machine main body 201 as a whole and controls each section corresponding to the selected mode, controls the operation of the automatic document feeder 202, and issues instructions to the sheet post-processing device 203. Performs response control. Specifically, the CPU 2000
Operating state of copier main body 201, automatic document feeder 202
And the operation state of the sheet material post-processing device 203 notified from the CPU 3000 via the I / F 3004, and is directly controlled in accordance with the monitoring result.
An instruction indicating the control content is sent to the CPU 3 via the I / F 3004.
000.

The CPU 3000 transmits the I
The motor driver 3 controls the operation of the solenoid group 3003 of the sheet material post-processing device 203 based on the instruction content notified via the / F 3004 and the detection signal from each sensor group 3002, and controls the driving of each motor.
001, display device group 3005 for notifying the state of each part
Is given a control instruction corresponding to each.

Next, the operation of the electrophotographic copying machine 200 will be described.

First, the basic operation will be described.

First, a document is set on the document table 106 of the automatic document feeder 202. Next, a predetermined mode condition is input from an operation unit (not shown), and a start key is pressed. Each part of the sheet post-processing device 203 is controlled to be in a standby state in response to a start key press signal. The description will be made below for each mode condition.

(A) In the case of the non-sort mode In FIG. 2, the deflector 3 is positioned in the direction of the solid line, the deflector 4 is positioned in the direction of the broken line, and the roller pairs 8a, 8b, 8c existing in the discharge path 6 rotate. Transport motor M1
4 (shown in FIG. 19) is controlled.

The sheet discharged from the copying machine main body 201 after the image forming process passes through the upper path of the folding device 204 and enters the staple / stack device 205 from the carry-in entrance 215. The sheet is deflected vertically upward by the deflector 3, conveyed vertically upward on the right side of the deflector 4, and discharged onto the non-sort tray 5 by the roller pair 8 c.

(B) In the case of the sort mode The operation in the present sort mode is the operation in the general sort mode, and the operation will be described.

First, as a standby operation, each of the deflectors 3 and 4 is positioned so as to be in the direction of the solid line. The upper and lower bin modules B1 and B2 are the uppermost bin B1.
The bin shift operation is performed so that 1, B21 is located at a position facing the discharge roller pair 8g, 8p. The alignment wall 15 of each bin module B1, B2 waits at a home position corresponding to the width of the sheet material. The driving of the bin standing portion is controlled so as to stop at the non-operation position.

The bundle processing unit 9 moves to the position corresponding to the sheet bundle removal of the upper bin module B1 (the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 2) and waits.

Each moving body in the bundle processing unit 9 will be described with reference to FIG.

The advance gripper 10 stands by at the position shown in FIG. 7, and does not interfere with the sheets on the bin when the bin is moved up and down in the bin module located on the left side of the bundle processing unit 9 at the standby position.

The stapler 11 does not operate, and moves to the retreat position just before indicated by the broken line in FIG.

As shown by the broken line in FIG. 7, the transport gripper 12 is moved to the position where it grips the approximate center of the sheet bundle conveyed by the movement in the direction indicated by the arrow F, and the arrow G is moved in the direction by the movement in the direction. The leading end of the sheet bundle advanced by the advance gripper 10 is on standby at a position 12a where it can be gripped.

Advance gripper 10, transport gripper 12
Are waiting at their respective positions with their upper and lower grippers open.

Next, the stack unit 13 moves to the position shown by the broken line in FIG. 2, and can receive the sheet bundle conveyed by the bundle processing unit 9. In FIG. 17, the stack tray 116 and the reference wall 117 inside the stack unit 13 are shown.
Is moved to a position where the upper surface of the stack tray 116 can receive the sheet bundle or to another position corresponding to the stack tray 116, and the stopper 300 shown in FIG. Move accordingly.

The discharged sheet material passes through the upper path of the folding device 204, enters through the entrance 215, is guided to the path toward the bin module B1 by the deflectors 3 and 4, and is discharged onto the bin B11 by the roller 8g. Is done.

After the sheet is completely discharged to bin B11, the bin is set to 1
By shifting the bin upward, the bin B12 rises to the sheet storage position. The above operation is repeated for each document, and sheets are stored in the bin of the upper module B1. The bin of the upper module B1 is the lower bin (B in FIG. 2).
16) At the sheet storage position, sheets are stored sequentially from the bottom bin for the second sheet material.

After the above operation is repeatedly performed for all the originals, the operation of storing the originals in the bin ends.

In the state where the sheet storage is completed, the operation of transferring the sheet bundle to the stacker is started. Advance gripper 10
Moves from the solid line position to the broken line position in an open state, as shown in FIG. 8, and then clamps the sheet bundle on the bin. Next, the alignment portion (bin standing portion) Bj shown in FIG. 6 is opened by the solenoid SL1 to form a sheet bundle conveyance port.

In the sheet bundle, the front side is the reference rod 14 shown in FIG.
7a and 14b, and the back side is regulated by the alignment rod 15 and the guide member 53a of FIG. Then, the advance gripper 10 is arranged as shown in FIG.
At the position indicated by the solid line, the sheet bundle is transferred between the advance gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12.

In this transfer, first, the transport gripper 12, which is open and waiting at the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 7, clamps the substantially central portion of the sheet bundle. Next, the advance gripper 10 releases the holding, and prepares for the conveyance of the next bundle. The transport gripper 12 is driven rightward as indicated by an arrow G in FIG. 7 to transport the sheet bundle rightward, and stops at an appropriate position according to the size. In this state, as shown in FIG. 23, the rear end of the sheet bundle S is dropped on the upper surface of the stack tray 116, and the left side is regulated by the stacker reference wall 117. From this state, the transport gripper 12 is released, and the leading end of the sheet bundle is also dropped onto the stack tray 116. At this time, the right end of the sheet bundle S is regulated by the stopper 300.

Next, when the second sheet bundle is conveyed, the conveyance gripper 12 grasps the substantially central portion of the sheet bundle, and
The operation until the transfer of the bundle between the grippers is the same as that of the first bundle, so only the subsequent operation will be described.

After the delivery of the sheet bundle, the transport gripper 12
Moves by a predetermined amount in the direction indicated by arrow F in FIG. This movement makes it possible to identify the first sheet bundle when stacking on the stack tray 116.

The uppermost surface of the sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray 116 is always detected by the sensor S23, and the interval between the upper bundle processing unit 9 and the uppermost surface of the stack is always constant. Is controlled by gradually descending.

As for the sheet bundle on the stack tray 116, when the operator presses an ejection button (not shown), the operation of the bundle processing unit 9 and the stack unit 13 is interrupted, and the operation of the bundle processing unit 9 is stopped. And the stack unit 13 are moved to the removal position, and the stack removal door 145 can be opened and closed. After taking out the sheet bundle, if the cover is closed, processing can be continued.

(C) In the case of the staple sort mode The conveyance of the sheets and the sheet bundle is the same as in the case of the above-described sort mode, and the description thereof will be omitted.
Here, the movement control of the stapler will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 13, the stapler 11 has a retracting position 11a on the near side and a retracting position 1 on the far side.
It can be stopped at any position between 1b.

(Ci) In the case of one-point binding in the front In the non-staple mode, the stapler 11 was at the retracted position 11a in the front, but when the one-point binding in the front is selected, FIGS. 11c shown in 13
Wait at the position. As is clear from FIG. 7, even when the stapler 11 is at the position 11c, the stapler 11 can stand by without interfering with the transport gripper 12 at the position 12a. The stapler 11 performs a stapling operation on the sheet bundle conveyed by the advance gripper 10, and then moves to the retreat position 11a on the near side. Next, the stapled sheet bundle is transported rightward by the transport gripper 12. When the trailing end of the sheet bundle exits the moving area of the stapler 11, the stapler 11 moves to the one-position binding position 11c again and waits for the reception of the next sheet bundle.

(C-ii) Two-Binding When the sheet bundle is conveyed by the advance gripper 10, the stapler 1 holds the sheet bundle held by the advance gripper 10.
1 staples one position on the front side at the position 11d, and then the stapler 11 moves to the position 11e to staple two positions on the back side of the sheet bundle held by the advance gripper 10. As soon as the stapler 11 moves from the position 11d to the position 11e, the transport gripper 12 immediately starts to enter the position 12a from the standby position 12b and holds the sheet bundle at the position 12a. After gripping the sheet bundle by the transport gripper 12, the advance gripper 10 releases the sheet bundle.

On the other hand, after the second stapling operation at the position 11e, the stapler 11 moves to the evacuation position 11b on the far side. When the rear end of the first sheet bundle passes through the staple movement area, the stapler 11 moves to the position 11.
e to receive the second bundle of sheets.

(C-iii) Binding at One Back Position This case is a case where binding is performed only on the back side of the paper size center, so that the above operation (c-i) is reversed.
The stapler 11 reciprocates between the retracted position 11b on the far side and the binding position.

(D) Folding Mode Also in the folding mode, a sheet relatively long in the transport direction is processed by a folding operation by the folding device 204 (shown in FIG. 2), and the folded sheet is a normal sheet. alike,
It is discharged on a bin, selectively post-processed, and loaded on the stack unit 13.

However, in the case of origami paper, especially so-called Z-folding, which has a folded portion at the center in the transport direction of the sheet or slightly downstream from the center in the transport direction, or C-folding, which folds a legal size of an overseas size into a lator size, etc. At the time of loading, the leading edge of the discharged origami may collide with the folded portion of the already loaded origami, and may be disturbed, or the discharged origami may not be properly loaded. In order to solve such a problem, a control is performed in which the uppermost bin is lowered from a normal sheet discharge position, and origami is stored only in the uppermost bin.

Next, a control operation according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 25 to 33 are flowcharts showing the control operation of the sheet material post-processing apparatus of FIG.

First, the mode processing, which is the overall processing of the sheet material post-processing apparatus 203, will be described.

Referring to FIG. 25, first, step S1 is executed in association with the start of the mode processing, and in step S1,
It is determined whether a sorter start signal indicating that sheet discharge from the copying machine main body 201 is started is output.

If the sorter start signal is ON, it is determined in step S2 whether or not the folding mode is selected as the operation mode. If the folding mode is selected, step S3 is executed, and the folding mode is set. If not, step S4 is executed.

In step S3, the folding motor is turned on,
In the following step S4, the entire transport motor is turned on.

Next, step S100 is executed, and in step S100, a sheet processing mode discriminating process for discriminating a method of loading / storing sheets on the non-sort tray / bin of the finisher is performed. Details of the sheet processing mode determination processing will be described later.

The processing for determining the sheet processing mode indicated by the determination result of the sheet processing mode determination processing is performed in steps S5 and S6, and the upper sorting processing (step S300) and the lower sorting processing (step S300) are performed according to the determination result. S3
50), a shift to each processing of the non-sort processing (step S200) is performed, and the processing is executed. Details of each of these processes will be described later.

The upper sort processing (step S300), the lower sort processing (step S350), and after execution, step S5
00 is performed, and in step S500, a bundle processing mode determination process for determining whether to perform the sheet bundle transport operation to the bundle processing unit 9 / stack unit 13 is performed.
Details of this bundle processing mode determination processing will be described later.

Next, in step S9, a determination is made with respect to the determination result obtained by the bundle processing mode determination processing. If the determination result obtained by the bundle processing mode determination processing indicates selection of the bundle transport processing by the bundle processing unit 9, step S600 is executed.
When the determination result of the bundle processing mode determination process does not indicate selection of the bundle transport process by the bundle processing unit 9, the process returns to step S1.

In the step S600, the bundle processing knit 9 /
A stacker bundle transport process for transporting the sheet bundle to the stack unit 13 is performed. In this stacker bundle transfer process,
The stapling operation of the sheet bundle is included, and the details of the stacker bundle conveying process will be described later.

After the execution of step S600, the process returns to step S1 again, and waits for a sorter start signal output next from copying machine main body 201.

Next, the sheet processing mode determination processing (step S100) will be described with reference to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 26, first, at step S1
01 is executed, and in a step S101, it is determined whether or not the sheet processing mode is the sort mode.

If the sheet processing mode is the sort mode, it is checked in steps S105 and S107 which of the upper and lower bin modules B1 and B2 has been designated, and the processing mode is determined in steps S113 and S115. I do. In addition, when designations other than the upper and lower bin modules B1 and B2 are performed, the non-sort mode is selected as the processing mode in step S117.

If it is determined in step S101 that the sheet processing mode is not the sort mode, step S1 is executed.
In step 17, non-sort processing is selected as the processing mode.

Next, the non-sort processing (step S20)
0) will be described with reference to FIG.

When the non-sort mode is selected, FIG.
As shown in (2), step S201 is executed. In step S201, the deflectors 3 and 4 are switched so as to continuously discharge the sheet paper to the non-sort tray 5,
The sheet transport path 6 is selected as the transport path.

In the following step 202, the sheet conveying operation is monitored, and when the sheet is carried in, it is determined in step S203 whether or not folding is designated. When the folding is designated, step S205 is executed to perform the folding process on the sheet. The operation related to the folding process is already known, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

If it is determined in step S202 that the sheet has not been carried in and that the folding has not been designated in step S203, or if the folding process has been completed in step S205, step S207 is executed, and The signal of a path sensor (not shown) arranged near the discharge roller 8c is monitored. Subsequent step S
At 209, it is checked whether or not there is a sorter start signal from the copying machine main body indicating that the sheet is being discharged.

If it is determined in steps S207 and S209 that the path sensor is off and the sorter start signal is off, step S211 is executed to stop the transport motor and turn off the solenoids for driving the deflectors 3 and 4. I do. After the execution of step S211, the non-sort processing ends.

Next, the upper sorting process (step S300)
Will be described with reference to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 28, first, in step S3
At 01, the switching operation of the deflectors 3 and 4 is performed to store / sort the sheet paper in the upper bin module B1, and the sheet transport path 7 is selected as the transport path.

In the subsequent step S302, it is determined whether or not a bin initial signal for storing sheets from the highest bin is output.
Step S303 is executed, and if there is no output of the bin initial signal, step S305 is executed.

In step S303, as the bin initialization, the uppermost bin is lowered to the position of the roller 8g. Next, in step S305, the sheet conveyance operation is monitored, and when the sheet is carried in, step S307 is performed.
It is determined whether folding is specified. When the folding is designated, step S311 is executed, and the sheet is folded.

If it is determined in step S305 that the sheet has not been carried in, the operation of storing the sheet in the bin is monitored in step S309, and when the storage of the sheet is completed, the process proceeds to step S313. Perform matching operation.

In the following step S315, it is determined whether or not there is a shift direction inversion signal.
Step S321 is executed, and if there is no shift direction inversion signal, step S319 is executed.

In step S309, one bin shift is performed to change the storage bin. In contrast, step S3
At 21, an inversion process is performed. The reversing process is a process of reversing the subsequent bin shift direction, and the bin shift operation is not performed.

After execution of step S311, step S319 or step S321, step S323 is executed to determine whether the sorter start signal is on or off.
If the sorter start signal is on, the process returns to step S304. If the sorter start signal is off, the transport motor is stopped in step S325, the solenoid of the deflector is turned off, and the sorting process ends.

Next, lower sort processing (step S350)
Will be described with reference to FIG.

When the lower sort process is selected, first, as shown in FIG. 29, step S351 is executed, and in step S351, the sheet paper is placed in the lower bin module 1B2.
The switching operation of the deflector 3 is performed in order to store / sort in the bin, and the second transport path 2 is selected as the transport path. Subsequent processing in step S352 and subsequent steps are the same as the processing in step S302 and subsequent steps of the above-described sorting processing, and a description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the bundle processing mode determination processing (step S
500) will be described with reference to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 30, first, at step S5
01, the sheet length in the bundle conveyance direction is a specified value (for example, 36
4 mm) is determined.

If the sheet length in the bundle conveyance direction is longer than the specified value, the sheet bundle is transferred to the bundle processing unit 9 / stack unit 1.
3, the bundle processing unit 9 / stack unit 13 is set as the bundle processing mode in step S503.
If the sheet length in the bundle transport direction is within the specified value in step S502, the bundle of sheets discharged to the bin is bundled one by one. The “stacker bundle transfer process” to be transferred and stacked in the stack unit 13 is selected.

Next, the stacker bundle transport process will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

When the stacker bundle transfer process is selected, the process shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, first, step S601 is executed,
In step S601, process A is started. This processing A
Then, the bundle processing unit 9 and the stack unit 13
Is moved to the bin module for carrying the bundle. In a succeeding step S602, the process B is started. In the process B, the bin shift operation to the position where the bundle is transported is performed. The processing A and the processing B can be executed at the same time, and by executing them at the same time, the processing time can be reduced.

Next, in step S603, the process waits for the end of both processes A and B.

When both the processing A and the processing B are completed,
Step S604 is executed. In step S604, the advance gripper (hereinafter, referred to as SG) 10 is moved into the bin by moving in the X direction, and the bundle is held by SG10. Here, (X), (Y),
(Z) indicates the moving direction of the moving member, (X) indicates the conveying direction (left-right direction) of the sheet bundle, (Y) indicates the front / depth direction when viewed from the front of the finisher,
(Z) indicates the vertical direction.

In the following step S605, in order to convey the bundle from the bin, the bin entrance is opened by lowering the bin stand. Next, in step S606, it is determined whether or not the staple mode is included. If the staple mode is included, step S616 is executed as shown in FIG. 32. If the staple mode is not included, step S6 is executed.
07 is executed.

In step S607, the transport gripper (hereinafter referred to as FG) 12 for transporting the bundle is moved to the bundle transfer position from the SG 10, and in step S608, the SG 10 is retracted from the bin to the bundle transfer position.

In the following step S609, the sheet bundle held by the SG 10 at the bundle transfer position is held by the FG 12. When the FG 12 clamps the sheet bundle, the process proceeds to step S
At 610, the SG 10 releases the sheet bundle,
Perform delivery.

Next, in step S611, the bundle is conveyed by moving the FG 12 to the bundle stacking position.
In step S612, the bin stand is closed.

When the FG 12 stops at the stacking position, step S613 is executed, and in step S613, the FG
Releases the sandwich of the bundle to release the stack unit 1
3 is stacked.

Next, it is confirmed whether or not the sheet bundle stacked in step S614 is the last bundle of the corresponding bin module. If it is not the final bundle, a shift operation is performed for one bin in the shift direction set in step S615, and the process returns to step S604. On the other hand, if it is the last bundle, the bundle transport operation in the corresponding module ends.

On the other hand, in step S616 executed in accordance with the determination in step S606 that the staple mode is included, the stapler 11 is moved to the corresponding staple position, and in step S617, the bin is moved from the bin to the staple position by SG10. Move the bundle.
When the sheet bundle is moved to the staple position, step S
At 618, a stapling operation is performed.

Next, in step S619, it is determined whether or not the stapling mode is the two-point stapling mode. If the stapling mode is the two-point stapling mode, the stapler 11 is continuously moved in step S620 to perform the stapling operation. .

In step S619, the staple mode is set to 2
If it is determined that the mode is not the stapling mode, or if the stapling operation in step S620 ends, the process proceeds to step S620.
Step 621 is executed, and in step S621, the stapler 11 is retracted.

In the following step S622, FG12 is set to S
The FG 12 is moved to the bundle transfer position from G10, and after the movement of the FG 12, the process proceeds to step S609.

Next, the bin loading over process will be described with reference to FIG.
4 will be described. Here, N originals are set on the original placing table 206 of the automatic original feeder 202,
A case where M copies are copied in the sort mode will be described. If the maximum number of stacked sheets in each bin (B11 to B26) is n, the maximum number of stacked sheets n is n <N <2.
It is assumed that the relational expression of n is satisfied and no paper is loaded in each bin.

In the bin loading over process, as shown in FIG. 34, first, in step S701, the presence or absence of a copy start signal serving as a start condition of the present process is monitored. When the copy start signal is detected, step S702 is executed. .
In step S702, the empty space of the upper bin module B1 is confirmed by the penetration sensor S3 of the upper bin module B1,
When the empty space of the upper bin module B1 is confirmed, step S703 is executed, and when the empty space of the upper bin module B1 is not confirmed, step S704 is executed.
In step S703, the solenoid is turned on to switch the deflector 3 so that the sheet material from the carry-in entrance 215 can be conveyed to the upper bin module B1.

On the other hand, in step S704, the vacancy of the lower bin module B2 is confirmed by the penetration sensor of the lower bin module B2. When the vacancy of the lower bin module B2 is confirmed, step S705 is executed, and the lower bin module B2 is executed. If the empty space of B2 is not confirmed, the processing returns to step S702 again, and the upper and lower bin modules B1,
Wait for the space of B2. In step S705, the loading entrance 21
The solenoid is turned off and the deflector 3 is switched so that the sheet material from No. 5 can be conveyed to the lower bin module B2.

Step S703 or step S705
Is performed, the sheet material is discharged in step S706, and in step S707, it is determined whether or not copying of the set number of originals N is completed. If not completed, step S708 is executed. In step S708, it is determined whether or not the number of stacked bin modules has reached the maximum number n, and if the number of bin modules has not reached the maximum number n, step S7.
The processing from step 06 is repeated. In the present embodiment, since the maximum number n of stacked bin modules satisfies the relational expression of n <N <2n, the number of stacked bin modules before the copying of N sets of originals is completed. Has reached the maximum number n, and the number of the corresponding bin modules reaches the maximum number n, step S709.
Then, it is determined which one of the upper and lower bin modules B1 and B2 is overflowing according to the switching state of the deflector 3. In this determination, the deflector 3
The switching position of the deflector 3 is detected, and the bin module that has overflowed is identified based on the detection result. Instead, the switching position of the deflector 3 is not detected, and another detection method is used in step S709. It is also possible to use a method of detecting the corresponding bin module immediately before the transfer and specifying the overflow bin module based on the detection result.

If the upper bin module B1 has overflowed, the upper bin module B1 is set in step S710.
A flag is set in the memory indicating that the bundle processing of the sheet materials stacked in No. 1 is possible. Lower bin module B2
Is overflow, in step S711, a flag is set in the memory indicating that the bundle of sheets stacked on the lower bin module B2 can be processed. It is to be noted that, instead of setting the flag in the memory, the setting can be performed by a hard signal set such as a flip-flop.

After this flag is set, the process returns to step S702, and the process is performed on the remaining Nn originals. For example, if the first n sheets are processed using the upper bin module B1, the remaining N-
The processing for the n documents is performed using the lower bin module B2, and steps S704 and S705 are executed subsequent to step S702, and the discharge destination of the sheet material is switched to the lower bin module B2. Next, the processing of steps S706, S707, and S708 is repeatedly executed.

In the processing for the remaining N-n originals, the maximum number n of stacked bin modules is n <N <2n
Is satisfied, the copying of the set number of originals N is completed before the number of stacked sheets of the bin module reaches the maximum number of stacked sheets n. In step S707, the copy of the number of set originals N is completed. Is determined to have ended. When copying of the set number of originals N has been completed, it is determined in step S712 whether the number of copies has reached M. If the number of copies has not reached M, the process returns to step S702.

If the number of copies has reached M, in step S713, it is determined which one of the upper and lower bin modules B1 and B2 is loaded with a sheet according to the switching state of the deflector 3. . When the sheet material is stacked on the upper bin module B1, a flag indicating that the sheet material stacked on the upper bin module B1 can be bundled is set in the memory in step S714, and the sheet is set on the lower bin module B2. When materials are loaded, the lower bin module B is set in step S715.
A flag is set in the memory indicating that the bundle processing of the sheet materials stacked in 2 is possible, and after setting this flag,
This processing ends.

As described above, the bin module is switched when the number of sheets stacked on the bin module reaches the maximum number of stacked sheets by the bin stacking over process. There is no need for the user to check the original that has not been taken out or read and place it on the original transporter again.
The copying process can be smoothly performed on a number of documents such that the number of sheets stacked on the bin module exceeds the maximum stackable number without bothering the user.

When the bin modules are switched in accordance with the number of sheets stacked on the bin module reaching the maximum number of stacked sheets, the bundle processing for the sheets stacked on the bin module before the switching is performed. By setting a flag indicating that it is possible, bundle processing can be performed on the bin module for which this flag is set, and if bundle processing is started when bundle processing for this bin module becomes possible, an empty A bin module can be quickly secured.

Further, by setting a flag indicating that the sheet material stacked on each of the bin module before switching and the bin module after switching can be bundled, the bundle processing can be performed on each bin module. If the bundle processing is started when the bundle processing for each bin module becomes possible, it becomes possible to execute the bundle transport processing equivalent to the normal bundle transport processing in which the stacking does not occur.

[0219]

As described above, according to the image forming system of the first aspect, the detecting means for detecting whether or not the sheet material is loaded on each of the sheet material loading means of each sheet loading module. Determining means for determining the number of sheets loaded on the sheet material loading means of each sheet loading module; and switching means for selectively switching the sheet loading module. Since the switching of the sheet stacking module by the switching unit is controlled based on the determination result of the unit, the sheet material is taken out from the sheet material stacking unit when the number of sheets stacked on the sheet material stacking unit exceeds the maximum number of stacked sheets.
In addition, the user is not required to perform operations such as checking an unread document and placing the document on the document transport device again, so that the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking means can be used without bothering the user. The image forming process can be smoothly performed on a number of originals whose number exceeds the maximum stackable number.

According to the image forming system of the present invention, the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means in one sheet stacking module which is the current sheet stacking destination is determined based on the result of the judgment by the judgment means. When it is determined that the maximum number of stacked sheets has been reached, a sheet stacking module having an empty sheet stacking unit is found based on the detection result of the sensing unit, and one of the sheet stacking modules is switched to the found sheet stacking module. Since the switching unit is controlled as described above, it is possible to reliably prevent the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit from exceeding the maximum stackable number.

According to the image forming system of the present invention, the bundle transport means for performing the bundle transport processing capable of transporting the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading means to the storage unit in a bundle unit in the sheet material post-processing apparatus. Since the bundle transport unit is controlled to perform the bundle transport process of the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading unit in order from the sheet loading module in which the sheet material loading is completed, the bundle transport process is performed. Even in the case of performing, the processing can proceed smoothly without bothering the user.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the switching of the sheet material stacking means is performed due to the number of sheets stacked on the sheet material stacking means reaching the maximum number of sheets, the switching is performed. After executing the bundle conveying process on the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the previous sheet stacking module, the stacking process on the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the switched sheet stacking module is executed. Since the bundle conveying means is controlled, it is possible to reliably secure an empty sheet material stacking means.

According to the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect, when the switching of the sheet material stacking means is performed due to the number of sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means reaching the maximum number of stacked sheets, Alternately executes the bundle conveying process for the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the sheet stacking module before the switching and the bundle conveying process for the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the sheet stacking module after the switching. The bundle transport unit is controlled to perform the same bundle transport process as the normal bundle transport process even when the number of sheets loaded on the sheet material loading unit exceeds the maximum stackable number. It is possible to

According to the image forming system of the sixth aspect, the sheet material post-processing apparatus is provided with a bundle processing means for performing a bundle process for bundling the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking unit in bundles. When the execution of the bundling process on the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means is selected, the sheet stacking module is associated with the number of sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means reaching the maximum number of stacked sheets. Is performed, the execution of the bundle processing by the bundle processing means is canceled, so that it is possible to prevent beforehand that the bundle processing of the bundle processing means is not effectively performed by the switching of the sheet stacking module.

According to the sheet material post-processing apparatus of the seventh aspect, the detecting means for detecting whether or not the sheet material is loaded on the sheet material loading means, and the detecting means of the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading means. Determining means for determining the number of stacked sheets, and switching means for selectively switching the sheet material stacking means,
Since the switching of the sheet stacking module by the switching unit is controlled based on the detection result of the detection unit and the determination result of the determination unit, when the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit exceeds the maximum number of stacked sheets, This eliminates the need for the user to take out the sheet material from the stacking means, check the unread document, and place it again on the document feeder. It is possible to smoothly perform image forming processing on a number of documents such that the number of sheets stacked on the stacking unit exceeds the maximum stackable number.

[0224] According to the sheet material post-processing device of the eighth aspect, the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading means of one sheet loading module which is the current sheet material loading destination based on the determination result of the determination means. When it is determined that the number of sheets has reached the maximum number of stacked sheets, a sheet stacking module having an empty sheet stacking means is found based on the detection result of the detecting means, and one of the sheet stacking modules is found. Since the switching means is controlled so as to switch the number of sheets, it is possible to reliably prevent the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means from exceeding the maximum stackable number.

According to the sheet material post-processing apparatus of the ninth aspect, the bundle conveying processing for performing the sheet conveying process capable of conveying the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means to the storage unit in the sheet material post-processing apparatus. Means is provided, and the bundle transport unit is controlled to perform the bundle transport processing of the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading unit in order from the sheet loading module in which the sheet material loading is completed on the sheet material loading unit. Even when performing the processing, the processing can be smoothly performed without bothering the user.

According to the sheet material post-processing apparatus of the tenth aspect, when the number of sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means reaches the maximum number of stacked sheets, switching of the sheet stacking module is performed. After executing the bundle conveying process on the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking means of the sheet stacking module before the switching, the bundle process on the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the switched sheet stacking module is executed. Since the bundle conveying means is controlled in a short time, an empty sheet material stacking means can be reliably secured.

According to the sheet material post-processing device of the eleventh aspect, when the number of the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means reaches the maximum number of stacked sheets, switching of the sheet stacking module is performed. The bundle conveying process for the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the sheet stacking module before the switching and the bundle conveying process for the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the sheet stacking module after the switching are alternately executed. In this case, even if the number of sheets stacked on the sheet material stacking unit exceeds the maximum stackable number, it is necessary to execute the same bundle transfer process as the normal bundle transfer process. Is possible.

According to the sheet material post-processing device of the twelfth aspect, the sheet material post-processing device is provided with a bundle processing means for performing a bundle process for bundling the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking unit in a bundle. When the execution of the bundle processing for the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means is selected by the processing means, the number of the sheets stacked on the sheet material stacking means reaches the maximum number of stacked sheets. When the stacking module is switched, the execution of the bundle processing by the bundle processing unit is canceled, and the execution of the bundle processing by the bundle processing unit is canceled. Therefore, the bundle processing of the bundle processing unit is enabled by switching the sheet material stacking unit. Can be prevented beforehand.

[0229] According to the sheet material post-processing method of the thirteenth aspect, the step of detecting whether or not the sheet material is loaded on the sheet material loading means, and the loading of the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading means. The method includes a step of determining the number of sheets, and a step of switching the sheet stacking module based on the detection result of the detection unit and the determination result of the determination unit, so that the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit is equal to the maximum number of stacked sheets. When it exceeds, take out the sheet material from the sheet material loading means,
In addition, the user is not required to perform operations such as checking an unread document and placing the document on the document transport device again, so that the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking means can be used without bothering the user. The image forming process can be smoothly performed on a number of originals whose number exceeds the maximum stackable number.

According to the sheet material post-processing method of the fourteenth aspect, the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading means in one sheet loading module which is the current sheet material loading destination based on the determination result of the determination means. When it is determined that the number of sheets has reached the maximum number of stacked sheets, a sheet stacking module having an empty sheet stacking means is found based on the detection result of the detecting means, and one of the sheet stacking modules is found. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means from exceeding the maximum stackable number.

[0231] According to the sheet material post-processing method according to the fifteenth aspect, the bundle transport means for performing a bundle transport process capable of transporting the sheet materials loaded on the sheet material loading means to the storage unit in bundles,
Since the method includes a step of carrying out a bundle transport process of the sheet materials loaded on the sheet loading means in order from the sheet loading module in which the sheet material loading is completed on the sheet material loading device, the user's hand is troublesome even when performing the bundle transport process The process can proceed smoothly without any processing.

According to the sheet material post-processing method of the present invention, when the number of sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means reaches the maximum number of stacked sheets, switching of the sheet stacking module is performed. After executing the bundle conveying process on the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking means of the sheet stacking module before the switching, the bundle process on the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the switched sheet stacking module is executed. Since the bundle conveying means is controlled in a short time, an empty sheet material stacking means can be reliably secured.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the sheet material stacking means is switched when the number of sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means reaches the maximum number. And alternately perform the bundle conveying process for the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the sheet stacking module before the switching and the bundle conveying process for the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the sheet stacking module after the switching. Since the bundle transport unit is controlled to perform the same, even when the number of sheets stacked on the sheet material stacking unit exceeds the maximum stackable number, the same bundle transport process as the normal bundle transport process is executed. It is possible.

[0234] According to the sheet material post-processing method of the eighteenth aspect, the method includes a step of performing a bundle process of bundling the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking unit in bundle units by the bundle conveying means. When the execution of the bundle processing for the sheet materials stacked on the stacking means is selected, the switching of the sheet stacking module is performed in accordance with the number of the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means reaching the maximum number of stacked sheets. When this operation is performed, the execution of the bundle processing by the bundle processing unit is canceled, so that it is possible to prevent beforehand that the bundle processing of the bundle processing unit is not effectively performed by the switching of the sheet material stacking unit.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration of an embodiment of an image forming system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the configuration of the staple / stack apparatus of FIG. 1 in detail.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a bin module provided in a staple / stack apparatus of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top view showing a bin module provided in the stapling / stacking device of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a bin module provided in the staple / stack apparatus of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a bin standing portion provided in the staple / stack apparatus of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1;

7 is a top view illustrating a bundle processing unit provided in the staple / stack apparatus of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the bundle processing unit of FIG. 7;

9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a grip portion of the advance gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12 of the bundle processing unit of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a driving mechanism of an advance gripper of the bundle processing unit in FIG. 7;

11 is a top view showing a drive mechanism of a transport gripper of the bundle processing unit of FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is a front sectional view showing a driving mechanism of a transport gripper of the bundle processing unit of FIG. 7;

FIG. 13 is a left view showing a driving mechanism of a stapler of the bundle processing unit of FIG. 7;

FIG. 14 is a top view illustrating a driving mechanism of a stapler of the bundle processing unit of FIG. 7;

FIG. 15 is a top view illustrating a configuration of a stack unit provided in the staple / stack apparatus of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 16 is a front view showing a stack tray of the stack unit in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a front view showing a stack frame of the stack unit in FIG. 15;

18 is a left view showing the stack unit of FIG.

FIG. 19 is a top view showing a configuration of a stopper of the stack unit in FIG. 15;

20 is a front view illustrating a configuration of a stopper of the stack unit in FIG. 15;

FIG. 21 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a drive mechanism of a transport system of the staple / stack apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 22 is a front view showing a cover configuration of the sheet material post-processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet bundle is conveyed into the stack unit in FIG. 15;

24 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the electrophotographic copying machine of FIG.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the sheet material post-processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the sheet post-processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the sheet material post-processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the sheet material post-processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the sheet material post-processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating a control operation of the sheet material post-processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the sheet material post-processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the sheet material post-processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the sheet material post-processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 9 bundle processing unit 11 stapler 13 stack unit 200 electrophotographic copying machine (image forming apparatus) 201 copying machine main body 203 sheet material post-processing apparatus 204 folding apparatus 205 staple / stack apparatus 300 stopper 2000, 3000 CPU B1, B2 bin module B11 B16, B11-B26 bottle

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Koichi Murakami 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Norika Miyake 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Non Corporation

Claims (18)

[Claims] An image forming apparatus configured to read an image of a document conveyed by the document conveying apparatus and form the read image on a sheet material; A plurality of sheet stacking modules each having a sheet stacking unit for stacking the sheet ejected from the image forming apparatus, the plurality of sheet stacking modules being independently drivable, and a sheet material post-processing device for performing post-processing on the sheet material. In the image forming system provided with, a detecting unit that detects whether or not the sheet material is loaded on each of the sheet material loading units of each of the sheet loading modules, and a sheet material loading unit that is loaded on the sheet material loading unit of each of the sheet loading modules. Determining means for determining the number of stacked sheet materials, and switching means for selectively switching the sheet stacking module. An image forming system configured to control switching of the sheet stacking module by the switching unit based on a result of the determination and a determination result of the determination unit. 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein a determination is made that the number of sheets loaded on the sheet loading means in one sheet loading module to which the sheet is to be loaded has reached the maximum loading number based on the determination result of the determination means. Then, based on the detection result of the detection unit, a sheet stacking module having an empty sheet stacking unit is found, and the switching unit is configured to switch one of the sheet stacking modules to the found sheet stacking module. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The sheet material post-processing device is provided with a bundle transport means for performing a bundle transport process capable of transporting a sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading means to a storage unit in a bundle unit. 3. The bundle transport unit according to claim 1, wherein the bundle transport unit is controlled to perform a bundle transport process of the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading unit in order from the sheet loading module on which the sheet material loading is completed. Image forming system. 4. When the switching of the sheet stacking module is performed in accordance with the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means reaching the maximum number of stacked sheets, the sheet member of the sheet stacking module before the switching is switched. After executing the bundle conveying process on the sheet material stacked on the stacking unit, the bundle conveying unit is controlled to execute the bundle process on the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the switched sheet stacking module. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: 5. When the switching of the sheet stacking module is performed due to the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means reaching the maximum number of stacked sheets, the sheet material of the sheet stacking module before the switching is switched. The bundle transport unit is controlled so as to alternately execute the bundle transport process for the sheet material loaded on the loading unit and the bundle transport process for the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading unit of the switched sheet loading module. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: 6. The sheet material post-processing apparatus is provided with a bundle processing means for performing a bundle process for bundling the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking unit in a bundle unit, and the sheet material stacking means is provided by the bundle processing means. When the execution of the bundle processing for the stacked sheet materials is selected, the switching of the sheet stacking module is performed in accordance with the number of the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking unit reaching the maximum number of stacked sheets. 6. The image forming system according to claim 4, wherein the execution of the bundle processing by the bundle processing unit is canceled when the image is processed. 7. A document conveying device for conveying a document placed on a document table, an image forming device for reading an image of the document conveyed by the document conveying device, and forming the read image on a sheet material. A sheet material post-processing apparatus used in an image forming system including: a plurality of sheet stacking modules having sheet material stacking means for stacking sheet materials discharged from the image forming apparatus are provided so as to be independently driven, In a sheet material post-processing device that performs post-processing on the sheet material, a detection unit that detects whether the sheet material is stacked on the sheet material stacking unit, and a sheet stacked on the sheet material stacking unit Determining means for determining the number of stacked sheets; and switching means for selectively switching the sheet material stacking means. A sheet material post-processing device, wherein switching of the sheet stacking module by the switching means is controlled based on another result. 8. A determination is made that the number of sheets loaded on the sheet loading means in one sheet loading module which is the current loading destination of the sheet has reached the maximum loading number based on the determination result of the determination means. Then, based on the detection result of the detection unit, a sheet stacking module having an empty sheet stacking unit is found, and the switching unit is configured to switch one of the sheet stacking modules to the found sheet stacking module. The sheet material post-processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein: 9. The sheet material post-processing device is provided with a bundle transport means for performing a bundle transport process capable of transporting a sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading means to a storage unit in a bundle unit. 9. The bundle conveying means according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the bundle conveying means is controlled so as to sequentially carry out the bundle conveying processing of the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means from the sheet stacking module on which the sheet material stacking is completed. Sheet material post-processing equipment. 10. When the switching of the sheet stacking module is performed due to the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means reaching the maximum number of stacked sheets, the sheet material of the sheet stacking module before the switching is changed. After executing the bundle conveying process on the sheet material stacked on the stacking unit, the bundle conveying unit is controlled to execute the bundle process on the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the switched sheet stacking module. 10. The sheet material post-processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein: 11. When the switching of the sheet stacking module is performed in accordance with the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means reaching the maximum number of stacked sheets, the sheet member of the sheet stacking module before the switching is switched. The bundle transport unit is controlled so as to alternately execute the bundle transport process for the sheet material loaded on the loading unit and the bundle transport process for the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading unit of the switched sheet loading module. The sheet material post-processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein: 12. The sheet material post-processing device is provided with a bundle processing means for performing a bundle process for bundling the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking unit in a bundle unit. When the execution of the bundle processing for the stacked sheet materials is selected, the sheet stacking module is switched in accordance with the number of sheets stacked on the sheet material stacking unit reaching the maximum number of stacked sheets. 12. The sheet material post-processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the execution of the bundle processing by the bundle processing unit is canceled when the sheet processing is performed. 13. A document conveying device for conveying a document placed on a document table, an image forming device for reading an image of the document conveyed by the document conveying device, and forming the read image on a sheet material. A plurality of sheet stacking modules each having a sheet stacking unit for stacking the sheet ejected from the image forming apparatus, the plurality of sheet stacking modules being independently drivable, and a sheet material post-processing device for performing post-processing on the sheet material. A sheet material post-processing method used in an image forming system provided with the image forming apparatus, wherein a step of detecting whether the sheet material is loaded on the sheet material loading means; Determining a number of sheets, and switching the sheet stacking module based on the detection result of the detection unit and the determination result of the determination unit. Sheet material post-processing method. 14. A determination is made that the number of sheets loaded on the sheet loading means in one sheet loading module which is currently the loading destination of the sheet reaches the maximum loaded number based on the determination result of the determination means. Then, a sheet stacking module having an empty sheet material stacking unit is found based on the detection result of the detecting unit, and one of the sheet stacking modules is switched to the found sheet stacking module. The sheet material post-processing method according to claim 13. 15. A sheet conveying device for performing a sheet conveying process capable of conveying a sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking device to a storage unit in a bundle unit, wherein the sheet material stacking device completes the sheet material stacking. 15. The sheet material post-processing method according to claim 13, further comprising a step of performing a bundle conveying process of the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means in order from the module. 16. When the switching of the sheet stacking module is performed in accordance with the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means reaching the maximum number of stacked sheets, the sheet material of the sheet stacking module before the switching is changed. After executing the bundle conveying process on the sheet material stacked on the stacking unit, the bundle conveying unit is controlled to execute the bundle process on the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit of the switched sheet stacking module. The sheet material post-processing method according to claim 15, wherein: 17. When the switching of the sheet stacking module is performed due to the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means reaching the maximum number of stacked sheets, the sheet material of the sheet stacking module before the switching is changed. The bundle transport unit is controlled so as to alternately execute the bundle transport process for the sheet material loaded on the loading unit and the bundle transport process for the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading unit of the switched sheet loading module. The sheet material post-processing method according to claim 15, wherein: 18. A sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking means by the bundle processing means, the method including a step of performing a bundle process of bundling the sheet materials stacked on the sheet material stacking means in a bundle unit by the bundle conveying means. When the execution of the stacking process is selected, when the switching of the sheet stacking module is performed due to the number of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means reaching the maximum stacking number, the stacking process is performed. 18. The sheet material post-processing method according to claim 16, wherein the execution of the bundle processing by the means is canceled.