JPH10265121A - Sheet treatment device and picture image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To continue motion by efficiently using remained functions as much as possible even in the case when one of a plural number of the functions becomes inoperative. SOLUTION: A sheet treatment device 203 to apply treatment on a sheet output from a copying machine main body 201, etc., has a plural number of modules MJ divided for treatment functions against the sheet, a detection means Y to detect respective malfunction of a plural number of the modules MJ and a CPU to control motion of a plural number of the modules MJ in accordance with a detection signal of the detection means Y. When the detection means Y detects malfunction of the modules MJ, the modules except for the module from which malfunction is detected are actuated, and control to transfer to an emergency motion mode to apply treatment on the sheet is carried out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a sheet processing apparatus. The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus that performs processing such as taking in, folding, sorting, and binding the sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine is provided with an automatic document feeder for automatically feeding a document or a sheet feeding apparatus for automatically feeding a document in order to reduce the time required for processing such as copying. The apparatus is configured such that a sheet processing apparatus for performing various processes is attached thereto.

For example, various processing functions for the copied sheet include a sort process for aligning and classifying the sheets, a punching process for punching holes in a sheet, and a folding process for folding a sheet (for example, a large-size sheet). There are staple processing for binding a bundle of a plurality of sheets with a stapler or the like, and stacker processing for stacking and storing a large number of sheets (or a sheet bundle). Many have even been released.

[0004]

However, conventionally,
In a sheet processing apparatus having a plurality of functions, when one of the plurality of functions becomes inoperable (for example, a failure of a drive motor), the sheet processing apparatus stops all operations and becomes unusable. Was common.

Therefore, in order to continue the image forming operation and the like in such a situation, conventionally, it is necessary to physically (and in some cases, further, electrically) separate the image forming apparatus and the sheet processing apparatus. In this case, a great deal of labor is required just to operate the image forming apparatus alone.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to continue operation by effectively utilizing the remaining functions as much as possible even when one of a plurality of functions becomes inoperable.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a representative configuration of the present invention is a sheet processing apparatus for processing a sheet output from an image forming apparatus or the like. A plurality of modules divided for each of the plurality of modules, detection means for detecting an operation failure of each of the plurality of modules, and control means for controlling the operation of the plurality of modules based on a detection signal of the detection means,
When the detection unit detects an operation failure of the module, control is performed to shift to an emergency operation mode in which a module other than the module in which the operation failure is detected is operated to process the sheet. It is characterized by being performed. The control means controls ON / OFF of the power supply of each of the plurality of modules. When the detection means detects an operation failure of the module, the control means turns off the power supply of the module in which the operation failure is detected. It is characterized by doing.

According to the above configuration, among the modules divided for each processing function, the power supply of the inoperable module is turned off and the remaining operable modules are controlled to perform the sheet processing operation (hereinafter, referred to as the sheet processing operation). (Referred to as the emergency operation mode), the sheet processing operation can be performed by a module capable of continuing the operation, and the downtime of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

Further, when the operation mode is shifted to the emergency operation mode, the operator is notified that the operation mode has been changed to the emergency operation mode, or an operable module or an inoperable module. Therefore, it is possible for the operator to easily determine a function that can be continued.

When the detecting means detects an operation failure of the same module a plurality of times, control for shifting to the emergency operation mode is performed, so that a certain module cannot operate during the sheet processing operation. , The device is temporarily stopped as an error and the power is turned off.
/ ON, but does not immediately shift to the emergency operation mode. For example, by performing control to shift to the emergency operation mode when the same error occurs continuously in the same module, disturbance noise, etc. In the case where the sheet processing apparatus malfunctions, the mode is erroneously shifted to the emergency operation mode, and it is possible to minimize the problem that the apparatus is used while the functions of the sheet processing apparatus are restricted.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a sheet processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, an image forming apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus will be described as an example.

First Embodiment A sheet processing apparatus according to a first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In this embodiment, an electrophotographic copying machine including the sheet processing apparatus will be described as an example.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an electrophotographic copying machine provided with the sheet processing apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a detailed configuration of the stapling / stacking apparatus of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electrophotographic copying machine 200 includes a copying machine main body 201, an automatic document feeder 202 provided on the top of the copying machine main body 201, and a sheet S of the copying machine main body 201.
And a sheet processing apparatus 203 disposed on the discharge side of the sheet.

The sheet processing device 203 includes a folding device 204,
And a staple / stack device 205.

The originals 207 placed on the original placing table 206 of the automatic original feeder 202 are separated one by one in order,
It is fed via a path 209 onto a platen glass 208 of 201. The image of the original 207 fed onto the platen glass 208 is read by the optical system 210 of the copier body 201, and after the reading is completed, the original 207 is passed from the platen glass 208 to the path 21.
After passing through 1, the document is again sent to the document table 216.

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. In the image forming unit 213, the photosensitive drum 22
The electrostatic latent image formed at 0 is visualized, and the visible image is transferred to the sheet S fed from the deck 212.

The sheet S on which the visible image has been transferred is conveyed to the conveying path 221.
Then, the visible image is fixed to the sheet S by the fixing unit 214.

The sheet S discharged from the fixing unit 214 is guided to a reversing path 217 and a folding device 204 for switching the image forming surface of the sheet S (surface switching in the duplex copy mode) by the switching operation of the deflector 216. To one of the two paths.

The sheet S sent to the reversing path 217 is sent to the intermediate tray 218 after the image forming surface is switched, and is temporarily stacked. Sheet S on intermediate tray 218
Is sent again to the image forming unit 213 via the re-feeding path 219,
An image is formed on the switching surface of the sheet S.

On the other hand, the sheet S sent to the path for leading to the folding device 204 usually passes through the folding device 204 without being processed, and is conveyed to the sheet entrance 215 of the stapling / stacking device 205. .

It should be noted that the image forming process in the copying machine main body 201 is known, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Also,
The folding device 204 is the same as the folding device disclosed in JP-A-60-232372, JP-A-62-59002, etc., and the description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the stapling / stacking apparatus 205 includes a vertically divided bin module B ₁ , which receives a sheet conveyed to the sheet carry-in port 215.
Has a B _2, each bin module B _1, B ₂ includes a plurality of bins B ₁₁ .about.B _1n, bin B ₂₁ ~B _2n (n = 6 in this embodiment)
It is composed of Each bin module B ₁ , B ₂
By changing the bin interval and bin position of each bin independently of each other, each bin can be moved to a sheet storage position and a sheet bundle take-out position.

The sheet entrance 215 is provided with a deflector 3 for selectively switching between the first transport path 1 in the upward direction and the second transport path 2 in the downward direction. The traveling direction of the sheet S that has entered 215 is determined. The deflector 3 is driven by a solenoid (not shown).

The first transport path 1 includes a solenoid (not shown)
Non-sort tray 5 by deflector 4 driven by
Branches to the sheet conveying path 6 and the sheet conveying path 7 to the bin module B ₁ to. First by deflectors 3 and 4
When the conveyance path from the conveyance path 1 to the sheet conveyance path 6 is selected, the sheet S is directed from the sheet conveyance port 215 to the non-sort tray 5 via the first conveyance path 1 by the respective roller pairs 8a, 8b, 8c. Conveyed. When the transport path from the first transport path 1 to the sheet transport path 7 is selected by the deflectors 3 and 4, the sheet S is transferred to each roller pair 8a, 8b and 8d.
It is conveyed to the bin module B ₁ through the first transport path 1 from the sheet transport inlet 215 by to 8 g.

On the other hand, the second transport path 2 forms a path from the sheet entrance 215 to the bin module B ₂ ,
When the second conveying path 2 is selected by the deflector 3, the sheet S is roller pairs 8a, is conveyed to the bin module B ₂ by 8H～8p.

Sheet transport path 7 to bin module B ₁
A bundle processing unit 9 is disposed in a space between the second transport path ₂ to the bin module B2. The bundle processing unit 9 conveys the sheet bundle on each bin to the right in FIGS. 1 and 2 by the advance gripper 10, selectively staples the sheet bundle with the stapler 11, and holds the leading end of the sheet bundle with the transport gripper 12. And further conveyed to the right. Similarly, in the space between the sheet transport path 7 to the bin module B ₁ and the second transport path 2 to the bin module B ₂ , the stack unit 13 waits below the bundle processing unit 9, The unit 13 stores the bundle transported by the transport gripper 12.

The bundle processing unit 9 and the stack unit 13
Is moved to the broken line position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, taken out of the sheet bundle from the bin B ₁₁ .about.B ₁₆ of the bin module B _1.

When the sheet bundle of the bin module B ₁ has been taken out, the bundle processing unit 9 and the stack unit
13 is moved to the solid line position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, taken out of the sheet bundle from each bin B ₂₁ .about.B ₂₆ of the bin module B _2.

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. Stack height of the stack unit 13 is determined by the height of the stack tray stacking surface to be described later to the upper end of the stacker reference wall, in Figure 2, the maximum stack height of the stack unit 13 is set to l ₇ .

[0031] Each bin module B _1, B _2, as shown in FIG. 2, the through sensor S ₃ for detecting the presence of the sheet S is provided on each of the bins, the detection of each through sensor S ₃ The signals are bin modules B ₁ and B described later.
₂ is used to determine the timing of switching, 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, bin module B₁, B_Twoabout
This will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows the steps of FIG.
Bin module installed in iple / stack device
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the staple / stack apparatus of FIG.
FIG. 5 is a top view showing the bin module provided in FIG.
The bin provided in the staple / stack apparatus of FIG.
It is a front view which shows a module. In addition, bin module B
₁And bin module B _TwoHas the same configuration as
Then bin module B₁Describes the bin module
Le B_TwoThe description of is omitted.

The bin module B ₁ represents, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of bins B ₁₁ .about.B _1n, 2 two reference bars 14a, 14b,
Alignment wall 15, 3 lead cams to raise and lower each bin
16a to 16c, and a drive unit for driving these members.

The reference rods 14a and 14b are members for setting a reference line when a process such as a stapling process is performed on the sheet S discharged onto each bin. It is set at a position where it is slightly retracted.

The alignment wall 15 narrows the width of the sheets S discharged onto each of the bins B _{11 to} B _{1n in} a direction substantially orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction for each predetermined number of sheets, and sets the ends of the sheets S to the reference rods 14a, 14b. 14b
To perform alignment.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lead cams 16c and 16b are arranged at the back of the bin, and the lead cam 16a is arranged at the front of the bin.

A spiral cam portion is formed on the outer periphery of each of the lead cams 16a, 16b, 16c. Each lead cam 16
Each of the lead cams 16a, 16b, and 16c is engaged with the cams of the a, 16b, and 16c so that each of the lead cams 16a, 16b, and 16c is rotated by one rotation. Then, each bin is raised and lowered by a predetermined pitch.

[0039] Incidentally, each bin B ₁₁ .about.B _16, as shown in FIG. 4, notch Bd corresponding to the reference rod 14a, with holes Be is formed corresponding to the aligning wall 15, a gripper which will be described later A notch Bf, a notch Bg for a bin standing drive mechanism, and a notch Bh necessary for operation are formed.

Each of the bins B _{11 to} B ₁₆ is, as shown in FIG.
They are arranged parallel to each other and inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal direction. The vertical interval between the bins B _{11 to} B ₁₆ is variable according to the conditions such as storage and removal of the sheet bundle. For example, when bin B ₁₄ is at the bundle removal position,
Bin Interval bin B ₁₁ ~ bin B ₁₅ is set to l _17, the spacing between the bottles B ₁₅ and the bin B ₁₆ is set to l _18.

On the other hand, each of the roller portions Ba, Bb, B
c All in a state in which each bin B ₁₁ .about.B ₁₆ is inclined is formed at the same height. That is, 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 on the front side of the bin and the position of the bin roller portion Bc in the middle of the bin are below the reference surface of the bin. The bin rollers Ba, Bc and the corresponding bin are fixed by V-shaped fixing arms.

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

The bin shift driving, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, is performed by a bin shift motor M _1. Driving force of the bin shift motor M ₁ is a motor pulley 18 and the belt
19, Lead cam 16a by lead cam pulleys 20a-20c
To 16c. Each lead cam 16a~16c is rotated in the forward direction or reverse direction in accordance with forward and reverse rotation of the bin shifting motor M _1, the lifting of the bin B ₁₁ .about.B ₁₆ due to the rotation is performed.

The bottle shift motor M ₁ has two output shafts, pulley 18 on one of the output shaft, the other output shaft encoder 21 are respectively attached. Encoder
21 rotational speed, namely the rotational speed of the bin shifting motor M ₁ is detected by the sensor S _1. The encoder 22 is also attached to the lead cam 16c. By reading the encoder 22 by the sensor S _2, can detect the rotation of the lead cam.

Each of the bin modules B ₁ and B ₂ is provided with a bin home position detection sensor (not shown) so that the home position can be detected.

Next, an alignment wall for aligning the sheet S on the bin
The fifteenth drive configuration 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 and a timing belt, and the position of the matching wall 15 is supplied by supplying an appropriate number of pulses to the matching wall drive motor. 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 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 B _mn (m = 1, 2 in this embodiment,
n = 1 to 6), as shown in FIG. 6, the sheet stacking portion Bi
And a matching portion Bj (also referred to as a bin standing portion). The matching portion Bj is provided with a support shaft Bk rotatably fitted in a hole provided in the sheet stacking portion Bi. . The alignment section Bj is located at a position substantially perpendicular to the stacking surface of the sheet stacking section Bi (solid line position in the figure) and at a position substantially parallel to the stacking surface of the sheet stacking section Bi (two-dot chain line position in the figure). Are angularly rotated about the support shaft Bk, and the rotation angle is approximately 90 °. When aligning portion Bj is positioned rising perpendicular to the stacking surface of the sheet stacking section Bi, alignment surfaces for aligning the sheet bundle stacked on the bin B _mn by aligning portion Bj is formed. In contrast,
When the aligning section Bj moves to a position substantially parallel to the stacking surface of the sheet stacking section Bi, a carry-in port for transferring the sheet stack stacked on the bin _Bmn to the bundle processing unit 9 is formed. The driving of the matching unit Bj is called bin standing driving.

The matching section Bj is provided with a drive arm 45 for discharging the sheet B above the sheet stacking surface of the bin _Bmn , 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 by 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 rotatably attached to a support shaft 47c fixed to the base, and the other end of the link 47 has a pin contact member 47.
b is provided.

One end of a spring member 49 is attached to the pin 47a of the link 47, 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 section Bj is moved to a position where the aligning section Bj rises at a right angle to the stacking surface of the sheet stacking section Bi, and an aligning surface for aligning the sheet bundle stacked on the bin _Bmn is formed. In this position, since the pin contact member 47b of the link 47 and the pin 45a are separated from each other, in the normal state, the pin contact member 47b of the link 47 and the pin 45a do not interfere with each other and the bin B _mn
Can be performed.

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, and the pin contact member 47b contacts the pin 45a. When the link 47 further rotates, the aligning portion 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. .

As described above, in the present embodiment, the bin standing drive unit is constituted by the solenoid, but can be constituted similarly by controlling the rotation amount of the bin standing by using a DC motor and a sensor.

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, 53 and a right stay 54 are provided 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 guide member 53a for guiding the sheet bundle S at the time of conveying the sheet bundle is attached to the back side of the lower guide stay 53. The four elevating rollers 55 are guided in two rails 56 fixed to the main body side, 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. 58 and engage the entire frame is up and down by transmitting a drive from the lifting motor M ₄ to the pinion gear 58.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the frame of the bundle processing unit 9 has a pair of sensors S for detecting the uppermost surface of a sheet bundle stacked on a stack tray 116 described later.
₂₃ are provided. Each sensor S ₂₃ forms a detection beam path extending in the direction of arrow G in FIG. 7 in cooperation with each other.

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 of arrow D in FIG. The advance gripper 10 pulls the sheet bundle S in the direction of arrow D by gripping the vicinity of the right end on the near reference side of the sheet bundle S on the bin. Distance from the right edge of the first-out gripper 10 until the leading edge of the sheet stack S is set to l _4, the distance l ₄ than the distance l ₅ to the tip of the sheet stack S when the sheet bundle S is drawn from the left end of the stapler 11 It is set long.

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 10 of the bundle processing unit 9 of FIG.

[0062] on the front side of the unit front plate 50, as shown in FIG. 10, first-out motor M ₇ is mounted, the swing arm 76 is fixed to the driving shaft tip. Swing arm
An elongated hole 76a is formed at the other end of the pin 76, and the distal end of a pin member 74 interlocked with the advance gripper 10 is engaged with the elongated hole 76a.
The pin member 74 is formed on the coupling plate 73, and the coupling plate 73 is supported by the shafts of 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 engaged with the elongated hole 50a of the unit front side plate 50.

[0063] When driving the first-out motor M _7, the swing arm 76 is a solid line position of FIG. 10, reciprocates between the two-dot chain line position.

The stapler 11 is configured to be movable in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 7, and its movable position is a retracted position on the near side that does not overlap with the sheet width (position 11 shown in FIG. 7).
a), a retreat position on the back side (position 11b in FIG. 7), an arbitrary position of the leading end of the sheet bundle (for example, each position 11c, 11 in FIG. 7).
d, 11e) and so on.

The driving of the stapler 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 is a left view showing a stapler driving mechanism of the bundle processing unit of FIG. 7, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a top view illustrating a stapler drive mechanism of the bundle processing unit.

The stapler 11, as shown in FIG.
Fixed to 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 mounted on the upper portion of the base 94, respectively. Both ends of unit 50
Each is supported by 51. The slider 95 is the regulating member 10
3, the belt 102 is wound around a driving pulley 100 and a driven pulley 101, and a driving force is applied to the driving pulley 100 from a stapler forward / reverse motor M ₁₀ fixed to the substrate 98. Conveyed through.

[0067] Thus, the slider 95, i.e. the stapler 11 is moved between a retracted position 11a of the front side in the direction of arrow J in FIG. 13 by the stapler before reverse motor M _10, and a retracted position 11b on the rear side, the stop position Is the evacuation position 11a on the near side,
It can be set to an arbitrary position between the retreat position 11b on the back side. Position setting, the detection signal from the position sensor S ₁₂ in front of the position sensor S ₁₁ or the inner side and the stapler forward and reverse motor M
Is performed based on a detection signal from the sensor S ₁₃ for reading the output of the ₁₀ the encoder 104.

As shown in FIG. 7, the transport gripper 12 can be moved in the direction of arrow F, and its front and rear side plates 59 and 60 can be moved.
It is configured to be movable in the direction of arrow G including the whole.
The transport gripper 12 moves in the direction of arrow F according to the size of the sheet bundle, grips the approximate center position of the sheet width, and moves in the direction of arrow G so as to completely pull out the sheet bundle from above the bin. Transport to 13. The movement in the direction of the arrow F 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 amount of conveyance in the direction of arrow G depends on the size of the sheet bundle.
By changing the transport amount in the direction, it is possible to sort the sheet bundle of the same size and to sort between different jobs.

The drive mechanism of the transport gripper 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 is a top view showing the drive mechanism of the transport gripper of the bundle processing unit of FIG. 7, and FIG. 12 is a front sectional view showing the drive mechanism of the transport gripper of the bundle processing unit of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the transport gripper 12 is supported by two shafts 77 and 78. One shaft 77 is formed by a ball screw, and the other shaft 78 is formed by a normal shaft. ing. Both ends of the shaft 77 are between the front and rear plates (the front plate 59 is omitted, the rear plate
(Only 60 is shown) so as to be rotatable, and both ends of the shaft 78 are fixed. Two rollers 79 are respectively provided on the front and rear side plates, and each roller 79 is an elongated hole 51a provided on the unit side plate 51.
It is movably fitted in.

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.

[0072] The driving of the sheet bundle conveying direction of the conveying gripper 12, transport gripper lateral movement motor M ₈ attached to the unit side plate 51 is used. Driving force of the transport gripper lateral movement motor M ₈ are driven pulley 80, a belt 81, through shaft via a transmission mechanism comprising a driven pulley 82 83
Is transmitted to Pulleys along with driven pulleys 82
The belt 86 is wound around the pulley 84 and the pulley 85 facing the pulley 84. Since a portion of the belt 86 is secured to the rear side plate 60 by the regulating member 87, a belt driven by the transport gripper lateral movement motor M ₈ 86
Is rotated, and each roller 79 is moved along the elongated hole 51a of the unit side plate 51 with the rotation of the belt 86, that is, the rear 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 a direction orthogonal to the sheet bundle transport direction will be described.

For driving the transport gripper 12 in a direction perpendicular to the sheet bundle transport direction, a transport gripper forward / reverse motor M ₉ mounted on the rear plate 60 via a substrate 88 is used. Driving force of the conveying gripper forward and backward motor M _9, the drive pulley 89, a belt 90, is transmitted to the shaft 77 via a transmission mechanism comprising a driven pulley 91. Since a portion of the transfer gripper 12 that engages with the shaft 77 is formed with a threaded portion that is screwed to the shaft 77, the transfer gripper 12 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 mobile and the stop position of the sheet bundle conveying direction, a detection signal from the home position sensor S ₇ for detecting the projection 87a of the regulating member 87, the reading of the encoder 92 of the transport gripper lateral movement motor M ₈ is determined based on the detection signal from the sensor S _8, the movement and stop position in the direction perpendicular to the sheet bundle conveyance direction, a detection signal from the home position sensor S _9, the encoder of the transport gripper forward and backward motor M ₉ is performed based on a detection signal from the reading sensor S ₁₀ 93. It is also possible to omit the encoder 93 or the like by using a stepping motor in the transport gripper forward and backward motor M _9.

Next, the advance gripper 10 and the transport gripper
The configuration of the 12 grip portions will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 shows the advance gripper 10 of the bundle processing unit of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a view showing a configuration of a grip section of the transport gripper 12.

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

As shown in FIG. 9, the grip 61 is provided with a side plate.
An upper gripper 66 and a lower gripper 67 are rotatably supported by the 62 fixed shafts 65, respectively. The upper gripper 66
The end 66a is urged by a spring member 71 so as to be in contact with an eccentric cam 69 which is rotated about the shaft 64 in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The eccentric cam 69 is fixed to the shaft 64, the shaft 64 is rotated by the motor M ₅ (not shown). As the eccentric cam 69 rotates, the upper gripper 66 swings in the direction of arrow I.

The lower gripper 67 is urged by a spring member 70 so that its end 67a comes into contact with an eccentric cam 68 rotated about a shaft 63 in a direction indicated by an arrow in the drawing. Eccentric cam 68 is shaft
The shaft 63 is fixed to the shaft 63 and rotated by a motor M ₆ (not shown). As the eccentric cam 68 rotates, the lower gripper 67 swings in the direction of arrow H.

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

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.

As shown in FIG. 15, the stack frame 105 serving as the outer frame of the stack unit 13 is composed of four parts: a rear plate 105a, a left plate 105b, a right plate 105c, and a bottom plate 105d. Two elevating rollers 106 are respectively attached to the outer outer surfaces of the left and right side plates 105b and 105c of the outer frame, 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.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 18, chains 109 are fixed to the left and right side plates 105b and 105c by regulating members 108, respectively.
Multiplied by 111. Sprocket 111 below is fixed to the through shaft 112, the through shaft 112 the driving force from the stack frame lifting motor M ₁₁ via the gears 113, 114 are transmitted. Stack frame 105 with the rotation of the through shaft 112 by the driving force from the stack frame lifting motor M ₁₁
Moves up and down.

As the stop positions of the stack frame 105, normally, in addition to the 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 to be described later and a position when changing the stack limit number. Home position of the stack frame 105 is set at a position corresponding to the bin module B _1. The positioning control for the stop position, as shown in FIG. 15, is performed based on a detection signal from the reading sensor S ₁₄ of the encoder 115 of the stack frame lifting motor M _11.

On the left side plate 105b of the stack frame 105,
As shown in FIGS. 15 and 17, a stacker reference wall 117 serving as a reference wall of the sheet bundle on the stack tray 116 is supported so as to be able to move up and down.

A guide roller 117a is attached to the upper inclined surface 117b of the stacker reference wall 117 to prevent the trailing end of the sheet bundle from remaining on the inclined surface. The stacker reference wall 117 has guide rails 120 and 121 corresponding to the guide rollers 119 according to the number of sheets stacked on the stack tray 116.
, And a driving force from a lifting motor M ₁₂ (not shown) is used for the lifting operation.

[0087] At the upper part of the stacker reference wall 117, attached proximity prevent sensor S _16, the distance between the stack unit 13 based on the detection signal from the proximity prevention sensor S ₁₆ and bundle process unit 9 of the upper is detected You. When the stack unit 13 and the bundle processing unit 9 approach each other within a certain distance or less, control for stopping driving in the respective approach directions is performed, and their interference is prevented.

[0088] the side surface portion of the stacker reference wall 117 is detecting sensor S ₁₇ for detecting the stack height is mounted.

Next, the stack tray 116 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 16 is a front view showing a stack tray of the stack unit in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the stack tray 116 is constructed so as to be able to move up and down inside the stack frame 105, and is positioned at the front of the stack tray base 129 by an accuride 130. It is configured to be able to be pulled out in the direction. Stack tray base 129
U-shaped roller receiving plates 131 are attached to both end surfaces of the roller, and each roller 132 provided on the roller receiving plate 131 is a rail 128.
Guided by.

The stack tray base 129 has a stack
Ray lifting motor M₁₃Is attached. Stuck
Ray lifting motor M₁₃Drive force is transmitted through the gears 136 and 137.
Then, it is transmitted to the through shaft 133. Pins at both ends of the penetration shaft 133
Nion gear 134 is fixed, and each pinion gear 134 corresponds
Guide rail 128 that extends vertically.
Is engaged with the rack. Thus, the stack
Cut tray lifting motor M ₁₃Of the penetration shaft 133 by the driving force of
The stack tray base 129 moves along with the guide rail 128
It is moved up and down while being guided by. That is,
The tray 116 is a stack tray elevating motor M₁₃Drive
It moves up and down by force.

[0092] The encoder 138 is attached to the auxiliary shaft of the stack tray lifting motor M _13, the rotational speed of the encoder 138 is read by the sensor S _15. Detection signal from the sensor S ₁₅ is used to control the lift amount of the stack tray 116.

The stack tray 116 has a copy sheet detection sensor S for detecting a bundle of sheets stacked on the stacking surface.
₃₀ are installed.

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

As shown in FIG. 15, the stopper 300 cooperates with the stacker reference wall 117 to constitute a mechanism for preventing the sheet bundle in the stack tray 116 from collapsing.

As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the stopper 300 is provided with a fixing member 301 which rises perpendicularly to the stacking surface of the stack tray 116, and a fixing member which is guided by an accuride 302 provided on the fixing member 301. 301, which is movable in the axial direction.

A roller 308 is attached to a lower portion of the fixed member 301, and the roller 308 is movably engaged with a rail member 310 for guiding the roller 308 in a direction perpendicular to the side plate 105c.
The rail member 310 is fixed to the bottom plate 105d. On the other hand, an L-shaped arm 304
One end is attached. The other end of the arm 304 is connected to a 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 axial direction. Both ends of each shaft 306a, 306b are fixed to the stacker reference wall 117.

A belt 307 is fixed to the slider 305.
The belt 307 is wound around a driving pulley 312 and a driven pulley 313. A drive pulley 312, the driving force from the stopper moving motor M ₃₀ is transmitted through the output pulley 311, drive pulley 312 by the driving force is rotated.
With the rotation of the driving pulley 312, the slider 305 fixed to the belt 307 moves while being guided by the shafts 306a and 306b. That is, as the slider 305 moves, the stopper 300
The stack tray along the guide direction of the rail member 310.
116 is moved parallel to the loading surface.

The position of the stopper 300 in the direction parallel to the stacking surface of the stack tray 116 is set according to the size of the sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray 116, and the positioning with respect to the set position is performed by the stopper moving motor M The detection is performed based on a detection signal from a reading sensor (not shown) of the ₃₀ encoders (not shown) and a detection signal from a home position sensor (not shown) for detecting the home position. Stopper moving motor M ₃₀ is possible to a stepping motor, it is possible to this case omitted encoder or the like.

On the other hand, the stopper moving motor M ₃₀ , the driving pulley 312 and the driven pulley 313
The moving member 303 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the stacking surface of the stack tray 116 as the stacker reference wall 117 moves up and down.
It is the same as the amount of elevation.

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

The driving system is roughly divided into three as shown in FIG.
One of the divided system, the conveying motor M _14, M _15, M ₁₆ of the respective driving systems corresponding is provided.

[0104] First, the transport motor M ₁₄ is responsible for driving the side of the roller pair closer to the copying machine main body 201. Each roller pairs 8a for specifically guiding the sheet into the bin module B ₁ and non-sort tray 5, 8b, 8c and, bin module B
The four roller pairs 8h to 8k for guiding the sheet to ₂ are driven.

[0105] Next, the conveying motor M ₁₅ is responsible for up sheet discharge portion of the bin module B _1, to drive the four roller pairs 8D～8g.

[0106] Furthermore, the conveying motor M ₁₆ is responsible for up sheet discharge portion of the bin module B _2, to drive the 5 pairs of rollers 8L～8p.

Since the portion surrounded by a broken line in the drawing is a portion which is drawn out to the front side in the case of a later-described jam processing or the like, couplings 139 and 140 are provided so that they can be separated from the drive side. Is configured. In the system driven by the conveying motor M _16, each pair of rollers 8l
Although the lower roller is the driving side for the roller pairs 8o to 8n, the right roller or the upper roller is the driving side for each roller pair 8o to 8p. Have been.

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

The folding device 204 is covered with a folding cover 142 as shown in FIG. The stapling / stacking device 205 includes a fixed cover 143 that covers the right side of each bin module in the vertical direction, 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. Stack tray in available position
A stack take-out cover 145 covering the sheet bundle S on the stack tray 116, a bin cover 146 covering the left side of each bin module in the vertical direction, and an upper pass cover
147 are provided. The upper path cover 147 has the non-sort tray 5 and forms the upper surface of the path leading to the upper bin module. A rotation fulcrum is provided on the back side of the upper pass cover 147, and the upper pass cover 147 is configured such that the front side opens upward in the direction of 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
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the electrophotographic copying machine of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 24, the control system for controlling the operation of the electrophotographic copying machine 200 includes a CPU 2000 mounted on the copying machine main body 201, a CPU 3000 mounted on the sheet processing apparatus 203, and a CPU 2000. An I / F 3004 for communicably connecting to the CPU 3000.

The CPU 2000 controls the entire system of the copier 201 and controls each unit corresponding to the selected mode, controls the operation of the automatic document feeder 202, and controls the instruction response with the sheet processing unit 203. I do.
Specifically, the CPU 2000 monitors the operation state of the copier main body 201, the operation state of the automatic document feeder 202, and the operation state of the sheet processing apparatus 203 notified from the CPU 3000 via the I / F 3004, and the monitoring result Is controlled directly according to the instruction, and an instruction indicating the content of the control is issued via the I / F 3004 to the CP.
Send to U3000.

The CPU 3000 is connected to the I / F 3004
The solenoid group 30 of the sheet processing device 203 is based on the instruction content notified through the
A control instruction is given to a motor driver 3001 for controlling the operation of each motor and for controlling the driving of each motor. In addition, a control instruction is given to a display device group 3005 for notifying the state of each unit and the like.

As will be described later in detail, the CPU 3000 as control means controls the operation of the modules MJ divided for each processing function based on the detection signal from the detection means Y, and more specifically, the power supply for each module. V ON / OF
F control is being performed.

{Description of Operation} Next, the present electrophotographic copying machine 200
Will be described.

First, the basic operation will be described.

First, the document table of the automatic document feeder 202
The original is set on 106. Next, an operation unit (not shown)
, A predetermined mode condition is input, and the start key is pressed. The sheet processing apparatus 203 according to the start key press signal
Are controlled to a standby state. Hereinafter, description will be given separately 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, and the deflector 4 is positioned in the direction of the broken line. Then, the transport motor M ₁₄ (see FIG. 21) 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, and is conveyed vertically upward on the right side of the deflector 4 to form a roller pair 8.
The sheet is discharged onto the non-sort tray 5 at 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, in the standby state, 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 B ₁ and B ₂ perform a bin shift operation such that the uppermost bins B ₁₁ and B ₂₁ are located at positions (sheet storage positions) opposed to the discharge roller pairs 8g and 8p. The alignment walls 15 of the bin modules B ₁ and B ₂ stand by at a home position corresponding to the width of the sheet. The driving of the bin standing portion is controlled so as to stop at the non-operation position.

[0122] bundle process unit 9 waits moved to a position corresponding to the sheet bundle taken out of the bin module B ₁ of the upper (dashed line position of FIG. 2).

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 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 near-side retreat position 11a shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the transport gripper 12 stands by at a solid line position 12b gripping substantially the center of the sheet bundle conveyed by the movement in the direction of arrow F.

The advance gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12 are waiting at their respective positions with the upper and lower grippers opened.

Next, the stack unit 13 moves to the position shown by the broken line in FIG. 2, and the sheet bundle conveyed by the bundle processing unit 9 can be stored. Figure 17 Stack unit
The stack tray 116 and the reference wall 117 inside the stacker 13 move to a position where the upper surface of the stack tray 116 can accommodate the sheet bundle or another position corresponding to the stack tray 116, and the stopper 300 shown in FIG. It moves according to the size of the sheet bundle loaded on the tray 116.

The ejected sheet passes through the upper path of the folding device 204 and enters through the entrance 215, where the deflector 3
4 is guided to the path towards the bin module B ₁ in, it is discharged onto the bin B ₁₁ at roller pair 8 g.

[0130] After completion of the sheet discharge to the bin B _11, the bottle 1
By shifting the bottle upward, the bin B ₁₂ rises in the sheet storage position. The operation is repeated for each document, sheet storage onto bin module B ₁ bin is performed. At that time, use all or part of the bottle,
The sheets are sorted and stored by alternately performing a bin raising / lowering operation (hereinafter, referred to as “shift operation”).

For example, in the case of storing 6 copies (sorting 6 copies)
Bin B is stored in bin B₁₁→ B₁₂→ B₁₃→ B₁₄→ B_Fifteen→
B₁₆→ B₁₆→ B_Fifteen→ B₁₄→ B₁₃→ B₁₂→ B₁₁In the order
Bin B for storage of 4 copies (4 copies sorted)₁₁→ B₁₂→
B₁₃→ B₁₄→ B₁₄→ B₁₃→ B ₁₂→ B₁₁Shift operation in the order of
Are repeated, and the sheets are sorted and stored.

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

After the sheet storing operation is completed, the sheet bundle transfer operation to the stack unit 13 is started. As shown in FIG. 8, the advance gripper 10 is moved from the solid line position to the broken line position in an open state, and then clamps the sheet bundle on the bin. Next, a matching portion (bin standing portion) Bj shown in FIG.
Is opened by the solenoid SL1 to form a sheet bundle conveying port.

The sheet bundle has the reference rod 14a,
14b, and the back side is the alignment wall 15 and the guide member of FIG.
Each of them is regulated by 53a, and is conveyed rightward in FIG. Then, the advance gripper 10 stops at the solid line position shown in FIG. 8, where the sheet bundle is transferred between the advance gripper 10 and the transport gripper 12.

In this transfer, first, the position of the solid line in FIG.
The transport gripper 12, which has been waiting with the grip portion open at 12b, moves to the two-dot chain line position 12a in FIG. 7 and 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
The sheet bundle is driven rightward by the arrow G in FIG. 7 to convey the sheet bundle rightward, and stopped 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 end is regulated by the stacker reference wall 117. In this state, the transport gripper 12 is released, and the leading end of the sheet bundle is also moved to the stack tray 116.
Drop it up. 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 operation from gripping the substantially central portion of the sheet bundle by the conveyance gripper 12 and transferring the sheet bundle between the grippers is one.
Since it is the same as the bundle, only the subsequent operations will be described.

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

[0138] The sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray 116, the top surface is always detected by the sensor S _23, the stack and the distance between the bundle process unit 9 and the load top surface located above is always constant The control is performed by gradually lowering the tray 116.

As for the sheet bundle on the stack tray 116, when the operator presses an ejection button (not shown), the bundle processing unit 9 and the stack unit
13 stops the operation, the bundle processing unit 9 and the stack unit 13 are moved to the removal position, and the stack removal cover 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 can be stopped at an arbitrary position between the retracted position 11a on the near side and the retracted position 11b on the far side.

(Ci) In the case of one-side binding In the non-staple mode, the stapler 11 was at the retracted position 11a on the front side. However, when the one-side binding mode is selected, FIG. It waits at the position 11c shown in FIG. Then, 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 conveyed rightward in FIG.

When the trailing end of the sheet bundle falls out of the moving area of the stapler 11, the stapler 11 is again moved to the one-position binding position 11c.
And wait for the next sheet bundle to be accepted.

(C-ii) In the case of two-position binding When the sheet bundle is conveyed by the advance gripper 10, the stapler 11 staples the sheet bundle sandwiched by the advance gripper 10 at one position on the front side at a position 11d. Subsequently, the stapler 11 moves to the position 11e and staples the second deep position with respect to the sheet bundle held by the advance gripper 10. Thereafter, when the stapler 11 moves to the position 11a or the position 11b, the transport gripper 12 immediately starts to enter the position 12a from the standby position 12b, and pinches the sheet bundle at the position 12a. After holding the sheet bundle by the transport gripper 12, the advance gripper 10 opens the sheet bundle.

On the other hand, after the second stapler operation at the position 11e, the stapler 11 moves to the retreat position 11 on the back side.
Move to b. When the trailing end of the first sheet bundle passes through the staple movement area, the stapler 11 moves to the position 11e and receives the second sheet bundle.

(C-iii) In the case of binding at the back of one position In this case, the binding is performed only on the back side of the paper size center. Reciprocate between the retreat position 11b and the binding position.

(D) Folding Mode Also in the folding mode, a sheet relatively long in the transport direction is processed by the folding device 204 (see FIG. 2) by a folding operation.
The folded sheets are discharged onto bins, selectively post-processed, and stacked on the stack unit 13 in the same manner as normal sheets.

However, a folded sheet (hereinafter referred to as a “folded sheet”), particularly a so-called Z having a folded portion at the center in the transport direction of the sheet or slightly downstream from the center in the transport direction.
In folding or C-folding, which folds overseas legal size into letter size, when stacking on a bin, the leading edge of the discharged folded sheet collides with the folded portion of the already loaded folded sheet, so that the folded sheet may be entangled. There is a possibility that the alignment of the stacked folded sheets may be disturbed, and the discharged folded sheets may not be stacked properly. In order to solve such a problem, a control is performed in which the uppermost bin is set lower than the normal sheet storage position and the folded sheet is stored only in the uppermost bin.

{Mode Processing} Next, the control operation in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Figure 25-Figure
32 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the sheet processing apparatus of FIG.

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

As shown in FIG. 25, first, step 1 is executed with the start of the mode processing. In step 1, the copier body 20
It is determined whether or not a sorter start signal indicating that sheet discharge from 1 is started is output.

If the sorter start signal is ON, step
In step 2, it is determined whether the folding mode is selected as the operation mode. If the folding mode is selected, step
Step 3 is executed, and if the folding mode is not selected, step
4 is executed. In step 3, turn on the folding motor and continue
In step 4, the entire transport motor is turned on.

Next, step 100 is executed. step100
Then, a sheet processing mode discriminating process for discriminating a loading / storing method of sheets on the non-sort tray / bin module 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 result of the determination by the sheet processing mode determination processing is step.
The processing is performed in steps 5 and 6, and in accordance with the determination result, a transition to each of the upper sort processing (step 300), the lower sort processing (step 350), and the non-sort processing (step 200) is performed, and the processing is executed. Details of each of these processes will be described later.

After execution of the upper sort process (step 300) and the lower sort process (step 350), step 500 is executed. step50
At 0, a bundle processing mode determination process for determining whether or not to perform a sheet bundle transport operation to the bundle processing unit 9 / stack unit 13 is performed. Details of the bundle processing mode determination processing will be described later.

Next, in step 9, a determination is made on the result of the determination made by the bundle processing mode determination processing. When the result of the mode discrimination processing does not indicate selection of the bundle conveyance processing by the bundle processing unit 9, the processing returns to step 1 again.

In step 600, a stacker bundle transport process for transporting the sheet bundle to the bundle processing unit 9 / stack unit 13 is performed. The stacker bundle transport process includes a sheet bundle stapling operation. Details of the stacker bundle transport process will be described later.

After execution of step 600, the process returns to step 1 again, and waits for the next sorter start signal output from the copying machine main body 201.

(Sheet Processing Mode Determination Processing) Next, the sheet processing mode determination processing (step 100) will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 26, first, step 101 is executed. In step 101, it is determined whether or not the sheet processing mode is the sort mode.

If the sheet processing mode is the sort mode, in steps 105 and 107, it is checked which of the upper and lower bin modules B ₁ and B ₂ has been designated for sheet storage,
At 113 and 115, the processing mode is determined. If the designation is other than the upper and lower modules, the non-sort mode is selected as the processing mode in step 117.

If the sheet processing mode is not the sort mode in step 101, non-sort processing is selected as the processing mode in step 117.

(Non-Sort Processing) Next, the non-sort processing (step 200) will be described with reference to FIG.

When the non-sort mode is selected, step 201 is executed as shown in FIG. In step 201, the deflectors 3 and 4 are switched to continuously discharge sheets to the non-sort tray 5, and the sheet transport path 6 is selected as a transport path.

Next, in step 202, the sheet conveying operation is monitored, and if a sheet is carried in, it is determined whether or not a fold is designated in step 203. If the fold is designated, the sheet is folded (step 205). . Here, since the details of the sheet folding operation are already known technologies, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

In steps 207 and 209, the path sensor is turned off.
If F and the sorter start signal are determined to be OFF, step 211 is executed to stop the transport motor and turn off the solenoids for driving the deflectors 3 and 4. step
After the execution of 211, the non-sort processing ends.

(Upper Sort Processing) Next, upper sort processing (st
ep300) will be described with reference to FIG.

[0169] When the upper sorting process is selected, as shown in FIG. 28, first, in STEP 301, in order to storage / sorting sheets into the bin module B ₁ bottle above, the deflector 3 and 4
Is performed, and the sheet transport path 7 is selected as the transport path.

In the following step 302, it is determined whether or not a bin initial signal for storing sheets from the highest bin is output.
Is executed, and if there is no bin initial signal output, step
304 is executed.

[0171] In STEP 303, moves the uppermost bin B ₁₁ to the position of the roller pair 8g as the initialization of the bin position.

Next, in step 304, the sheet transport operation is monitored, and if a sheet is carried in, it is determined in step 305 whether or not a fold is designated. If the fold is designated, the sheet is folded (step 307).

In step 306, the operation of storing the sheet in the bin is monitored, and when the storage is completed, the sheet is aligned in step 308.

Next, in step 309, it is determined whether or not there is a shift direction inversion signal.
Step 1 is executed, and if there is no inverted signal, step 310 is executed.

In step 310, to change the storage bin, 1
Perform a bin shift.

On the other hand, in step 311, 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 that, step 312 is executed, and ON / OFF of the sorter start signal is determined. If the sorter start signal is on, the process returns to step 304 again. If the sorter start signal is off, the transport motor is stopped in step 313, the solenoid of the deflector is turned off, and the upper sorting process ends.

(Lower Sort Processing) Next, lower sort processing (st
ep350) will be described with reference to FIG.

When the lower sort processing is selected, step 351 is first executed as shown in FIG. In step351,
In order to storage / sorting sheets under the bin module B ₂ bins performs switching operation of the deflector 3, selects the second conveying path 2 as the transport path. Subsequent processing in step 352 and subsequent steps are equivalent to the above-described processing in step 302 and subsequent steps of the above sorting processing, and a description thereof will be omitted.

(Bundle Processing Mode Determination Processing) Next, the bundle processing mode determination processing (step 500) will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 30, first, in step 501, it is determined whether or not the sheet length in the bundle conveyance direction is longer than a specified value (for example, 364 mm).

If the sheet length in the bundle conveyance direction is longer than the specified value, the sheet bundle cannot be stored in the bundle processing unit 9 / stack unit 13, so that in step 503, the bundle processing mode is set and the bundle conveyance is not performed. If you select "Non-bundle transport process" and the sheet length in the bundle transport direction is within the specified value,
In step 502, the bundle processing mode is set to 1
The “stacker unit bundle transfer process” for carrying the bundles one by one and loading them in the stack unit 13 is selected.

(Stacker Bundle Transporting Process) Next, the stacker bundle transporting process (step 600) will be described with reference to FIG.

When the stacker bundle transfer process is selected, the process shown in FIG.
First, step 601 is executed. step601
Then, the process A is started. In this process A, the bundle processing unit 9 and the stack unit 13 are moved to the bin module position for carrying the bundle, and the stopper 300 is moved to a position corresponding to the sheet size.

In the following step 602, process B is started. In the process B, the bin shift operation to the position where the bundle is transported is performed.

Note that 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.

Then, in step 603, the control waits for the end of both the processing A and the processing B.

When both the processing A and the processing B are completed in step 603, step 604 is executed. In step 604, the advance gripper (hereinafter referred to as SG) 10 is moved in the direction of arrow X to enter the bin, and the sheet bundle is pinched 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, and (Z)
Indicates a vertical direction.

In the following step 605, in order to convey the sheet bundle from the bin, the bin stand is lowered to open the sheet carry-in entrance.

Next, at step 606, it is determined whether or not the staple mode is included. Including staple mode,
If step616 is executed and staple mode is not included,
Step 607 is executed.

In step 607, the transport gripper (hereinafter, referred to as FG) 12 for transporting the sheet bundle is moved to the sheet bundle transfer position from the SG 12, and in step 608, the SG 10 is retracted from the bin to the sheet bundle transfer position.

In the following step 609, the sheet bundle sandwiched by the SG 10 at the sheet bundle transfer position is clamped by the FG 12. When the FG 12 sandwiches the sheet bundle, in step 610 the SG 10
Performs delivery by releasing the sheet bundle.

Next, in step 611, the sheet bundle is conveyed by moving the FG 12 to the sheet bundle loading position.
In step 612, close the bottle stand.

When the FG 12 stops at the sheet bundle loading position,
Step 613 is executed. In step 613, the FG 12 releases the pinching of the sheet bundle to load the sheet bundle on the stack unit 13.

Next, in step 614, it is confirmed whether the sheet bundle stacked is the last bundle of the corresponding bin module. Here, if it is not the final bundle, a shift operation for one bin is performed in the shift direction set in step 615, and the processing is performed again in step 60.
Return to 4. On the other hand, if it is the final bundle, the bundle transport operation in the corresponding bin module ends (return processing).

Next, if it is determined in step 606 that the staple mode is included, step 616 is executed. In step 616, the stapler 11 is moved to the corresponding staple position, and in step 617, the sheet bundle is moved from the bin to the staple position by SG10. When the sheet bundle is moved to the stapling position, a stapling operation is performed in step 618.

Next, in step 619, the staple mode is set to 2
It is determined whether or not the stapling mode is selected. If the stapling mode is the stapling mode, the stapler 11 is continuously moved in step 620 to perform a stapling operation.

If it is determined in step 619 that the stapling mode is not the two-point binding mode, or if the stapling operation in step 620 is completed, step 621 is executed. step
At 621, the stapler 11 is moved to the evacuation position.

In the following step 622, the FG 12 is moved to the position for transferring the sheet bundle from the SG 10, and after the movement of the FG 12, the process proceeds to step 609.

{Operation Control of Module} Next, referring to FIG. 32, an operation when an operation failure occurs in any of the processing units (modules divided for each processing function) constituting the sheet processing apparatus. The control will be described in detail. Fig. 32
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in which each processing unit of the sheet processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 is divided into a plurality of modules for each processing function.

In FIG. 32, MJ ₁ represents a non-sort module, which is a module in which the sheet path section of the folding apparatus 204 and the non-sort section of the stapling / stacking apparatus 205 are combined. Reference numeral MJ ₂ denotes a folding module, which is a module of a folding operation unit of the folding device 204. M
J ₃ and MJ ₄ represent an upper bin module and a lower bin module, respectively, and are a module in which a sheet path section reaching each of them and each bin module B ₁ and B ₂ are combined.
MJ ₅ represents a bundle processing module, and is a module in which the bundle processing unit 9 and the stack unit 13 are put together.

In FIG. 32, Y (Y ₁ , Y ₂ ,
Y ₃ , Y ₄ , Y ₅ ) are detecting means provided for each of the modules, and detect malfunctions of the modules. As shown in FIG. 24, the signal detected by the detection means Y is configured to be sent to a CPU 3000 as a control means for controlling the operation of the module.

Further, in FIG. 32, V (V ₁ , V ₂ , V
₃ , V ₄ , V ₅ ) are power supplies (for example, DC 24 V) used in the above five modules, and the detecting means Y
CPU 3000 based on the detection signal from
N / OFF control is performed.

When one of the detection means Y detects an operation failure of the module MJ, the CPU 3000 stops the operation of the module in which the operation failure is detected, and By operating the operable module, control is performed to shift to an emergency operation mode in which a sheet carried out from the copying machine main body 201 is processed.

When one of the detection means Y detects an operation failure of the module, the CPU 3000 turns off the power supply of the module in which the operation failure is detected.
F is controlled.

[0206] Here, for example, in the sheet processing operation, the detection means if the malfunction of the lower bin module MJ ₄ is detected by Y ₄ (e.g. if the bin shift motor of the bin module B ₂ becomes inoperative, etc. ) Is the CPU
The processing operation is temporarily stopped by 3000. Then, when the power is turned on again, the mode shifts to the emergency operation mode described above,
That is, the operable modules MJ ₁ , MJ ₂ , MJ ₃ , MJ ₅ other than the lower bin module MJ ₄ are operated,
The processing is performed on the sheet carried out from the copying machine main body 201.

Further, when the mode has shifted to the emergency operation mode, the information, that is, the mode has shifted to the emergency operation mode,
The inoperable lower bin module MJ ₄ (or the operable modules MJ ₁ , MJ ₂ , MJ ₃ , MJ ₅
Is notified to the operator on a display device or the like.

[0208] When the above-described emergency operating mode, such as is not possible successive bundle processing operations for the lower bin module MJ ₄ is not available, the module MJ except lower bin module MJ _{4 1,} MJ _2, MJ _3, By operating the MJ ₅ , other bundle processing operations can be performed only by reducing the productivity of the copy processing.

[0209] Also, for example, if the by the detection unit Y is malfunction of the bundle processing module MJ ₅ is detected, can not stack processing of the sheet bundle, by performing control to shift to the aforementioned very operation modes such as It is possible to convey the sheet to the upper and lower bin modules MJ ₃ and MJ ₄ and perform the sorting operation of the sheet.

[0210] Incidentally, in the sheet processing apparatus according to this embodiment, the stapling module (stapler 11) into the bundle processing module MJ ₅ is also contains further fine-grained if caused to separate independent stapling module Emergency operation is possible.

As described above, when the detecting means Y detects an operation failure of the module MJ divided for each processing function, it is controlled so that an operable module other than the operation defective module performs a sheet processing operation. Therefore, downtime of the entire image forming system can be significantly reduced.

The CPU 3000 controls ON / OFF of the power supply V of each module MJ. When the detecting means Y detects an operation failure of the module MJ, the operation failure is detected. Module MJ
Since the power supply V is controlled to be turned off, the sheet processing operation can be performed by the operable module while the malfunctioning module is prevented from becoming dangerous.

Also, the transition to the emergency operation mode
Since the inoperable module (or operable module) is notified on a display device or the like, the operator can immediately understand the restricted function and can easily respond thereafter. become.

[Other Embodiments] In the embodiments described above,
Although the control configuration in which the operation is shifted to the emergency operation mode only by detecting the operation failure of the module once has been exemplified, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a plurality of times (for example, twice).
Control may be performed so that the operation mode shifts to the emergency operation mode when the operation failure of the same module is continuously detected, or when the operation failure of the same module is detected a predetermined number of times in total. According to this configuration, it is almost impossible to shift to the emergency operation mode due to malfunction due to disturbance noise or the like, and good control can be performed. In the case of this configuration, the latter control enables better control.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration in which each processing unit constituting the sheet processing apparatus is divided into five modules for each processing function is exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is effective even if the configuration is divided into three or less or six or more modules. As described above, the processing function of one module may be a single function or a combination of a plurality of functions, and may be appropriately configured as needed. Alternatively, the present invention is effective even in a sheet processing apparatus having other processing functions (for example, punching processing such as punching).

In the above-described embodiment, a sheet processing apparatus having two bin modules has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any number of bin modules may be provided as needed. In addition, although the case where the number of bins of the bin module is six has been exemplified, the number is not limited to this, and any number of bins may be provided as needed.

In the above-described embodiment, an electrophotographic copying machine is exemplified as an image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and another image forming apparatus such as a printer or a facsimile may be used.

[0218]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Among the modules divided according to the processing functions, the operable modules other than the inoperable module are controlled to perform the sheet processing operation (emergency operation mode). It is possible to continue, and the downtime of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

Each of the power supplies of a plurality of modules is turned on.
/ OFF is controlled by the control means, and when the detecting means detects an operation failure of the module, the power of the module in which the operation failure is detected is turned off. A sheet processing operation can be performed by a module that can operate while avoiding a state of being in a state.

When the operation mode is shifted to the emergency operation mode, the operator is notified on the display device or the like of the shift to the emergency operation mode, the operable module, or the inoperable module. Because of the configuration, the operator can immediately understand the restricted function, and the subsequent response is facilitated.

When the detecting means detects an operation failure of the same module a plurality of times, control for shifting to the emergency operation mode is performed. And the problem of using the apparatus with the functions of the sheet processing apparatus being restricted can be minimized.
Good operation control becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration of an electrophotographic copying machine including a sheet processing apparatus according to 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 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;

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

FIG. 6 is a side view showing the configuration of a bin stand provided in the staple / stack apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a top view showing a bundle processing unit provided in the stapling / stacking device of FIG. 1;

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

9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a grip portion of the advance gripper and the transport gripper 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;

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

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

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

14 is a top view illustrating a driving mechanism of a stapler of the bundle processing unit in 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 in FIG. 15;

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

20 is a front view showing a configuration of a stopper of the stack unit in FIG.

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

FIG. 22 is a front view illustrating a cover configuration of the sheet 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 shown in FIG.

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

26 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the sheet processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating a control operation of the sheet processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating a control operation of the sheet processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

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

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the sheet processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

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

FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which each processing unit of the sheet processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is divided into a plurality of modules for each processing function.

[Explanation of symbols]

B _1, B ₂ ... bin module B ₁₁ .about.B _1n, bin B ₂₁ .about.B _2n ... bin Ba, Bb, Bc ... bin roll Bd, Bf, Bg, Bh ... cutout Be ... hole Bi ... sheet stacker Bj ... matching part Bk ... spindle _{l 4, l 5, l 17} , l 18 ... distance _{M 1, M 4, M 5} , M 6, M 7, M 8, M 9, M 10, M
_{11, M 12, M 13,} M 14, M 15, M 16, M 30 ... motor S ... sheet _{S 1, S 2, S 3} , S 7, S 8, S 9, S 10, S 11, S
_{12, S 13, S 14,} S 15, S 16, S 17, S 23, S 30 ... sensor SL1 ... solenoid _{MJ 1, MJ 2, MJ 3} , MJ 4, MJ 5 ... module V _1, V _2, V ₃ , V ₄ , V ₅ ... power supply Y ₁ , Y ₂ , Y ₃ , Y ₄ , Y ₅ ... detecting means 1 ... first transport path 2 ... second transport path 3, 4 ... deflector 5 ... non-sort tray 6 ... Ejection pass 7 ... Pass 8a-8p ... Roller pair 9 ... Bundling unit 10 ... Stick gripper 11 ... Stapler 11a-11e ... Position 12 ... Transport gripper 13 ... Stack unit 14a, 14b ... Reference rod 15 ... Alignment wall 16a-16c ... Lead cam 18 ... Motor pulley 19 ... Belt 20a-20c ... Lead cam pulley 21, 22 ... Encoder 45 ... Drive arm 45a ... Pin 47 ... Link 47a ... Pin 47b ... Pin contact member 47c ... Support shaft 48 ... Arm 49 ... Spring member 50 ... Unit front side plate 50a ... Slot 51 ... Uni G Rear side plate 51a ... Long hole 52,53 ... Guide stay 53a ... Guide member 54 ... Right stay 55 ... Elevating roller 56 ... Rail 57 ... Shaft 58 ... Pinion gear 59,60 ... Side plate 61 ... Grip part 62 ... Side plate 63,64 ... Shaft 65 ... Fixed shaft 66 ... Upper gripper 66a ... End 67 ... Lower gripper 67a ... End 68,69 ... Eccentric cam 70,71 ... Spring member 72 ... Roller 73 ... Coupling plate 74 ... Pin member 76 ... Swing arm 76a… Long hole 77,78… Shaft 79… Roller 80… Drive pulley 81… Belt 82… Driving pulley 83… Penetrating shaft 84,85… Pulley 86… Belt 94… Base 95… Slider 96,97… Shaft 98… Substrate 99 ... gear 100 ... drive pulley 101 ... driven pulley 102 ... belt 103 ... regulating member 104 ... encoder 105 ... stack frame 105a ... rear side plate 105b ... left side plate 105c ... right side plate 105d ... bottom plate 106 ... elevating roller 107 ... rail 108 ... regulation Member 109: Chain 110, 111: Sprocket 112: Penetration shaft 113, 114: Gear 115 … Encoder 116… Stack tray 117… Stacker reference wall 117a… Top inclined surface 117b… Guide roller 119… Guide rollers 120, 121… Guide rail 128… Rail 129… Stack tray base 130… Acuraide 131… Roller receiving plate 132… Roller 133 ... penetrating shaft 134 ... pinion gear 136, 137 ... gear 138 ... encoder 139, 140 ... coupling 141 ... gear 142 ... folding cover 143 ... fixed cover 144 ... front cover 145 ... stack removal cover 146 ... bin cover 147 ... upper pass cover 200: electrophotographic copying machine 201: copier body 202: automatic document feeder 203: sheet processing device 204: folding device 205: staple / stack device 206: original mounting table 207: original document 208: platen glass 209: path 210: optical System 211: Path 212: Deck 213: Image forming unit 214: Fixing unit 215: Sheet carry-in port 216: Deflector 217: Reverse path 21 8… Intermediate tray 219… Refeed path 220… Photoconductor drum 221… Conveyance path 300… Stopper 301… Fixed member 302… Acuraide 304… Arm 305… Slider 306a, 306b… Shaft 307… Belt 308… Roller 310… Rail member 312… Driving pulley 313… Driving pulley 2000, 3000… CPU 3001… Motor driver 3002… Sensor group 3003… Solenoid group 3004… I / F 3005… Display device group

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiromichi Tsujino 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Noritsu Miyake 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inc.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A sheet processing apparatus for processing a sheet output from an image forming apparatus or the like, wherein a plurality of modules divided for each processing function for the sheet and an operation failure of each of the plurality of modules are detected. And control means for controlling the operation of the plurality of modules based on a detection signal of the detection means. When the detection means detects a malfunction of the module, the malfunction is detected. A sheet processing apparatus for performing control to shift to an emergency operation mode in which a module other than the selected module is operated to process the sheet. 2. The control means controls ON / OFF of a power supply of each of the plurality of modules, and when the detection means detects an operation failure of the module, the control unit controls the power supply of the module in which the operation failure is detected. 2. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power is turned off. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, when shifting to the emergency operation mode, notifying the operator of the shift to the emergency operation mode, an operable module, or an inoperable module. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the detection unit detects a malfunction of the same module a plurality of times, control for shifting to the emergency operation mode is performed. 5. The processing to be performed on the sheets includes sorting processing for aligning and classifying the sheets, punching processing for punching holes in the sheets, stapling processing for binding a sheet bundle including a plurality of sheets, 2. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the module has at least one of the processing functions, such as a folding process of folding a sheet and a stack process of stacking and storing a large number of sheets or sheet bundles. 3. 6. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1. Description: