JPS6175745A - Intermediate tray device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a the deviation of sheet to be automatically corrected by constituting a movable side regulating plate of an intermediate tray device in a duplex copier or the like from a side regulating member driven movably and a sheet guide member followed and a moved by said member. CONSTITUTION:In an intermediate tray device 36 on which sheets completing one surface copy are stacked and then supplied sequentially to a copy section from the lowermost sheet in cooperation with a paper resupply roller 45 and a separating roller 46, a sheet receiving member 39 is constituted from a sheet receiving portion 39a and a paper resupply portion 39b. To the sheet receiving portion 39a is secured fixedly a side regulating plate 40 which is the one side reference for sheets transferred from the direction B, while a movable side regulating member 41 opposed to said plate 40 and conformed with the size of sheet is pivotably mounted about a shaft 42. And the side regulating member 41 is constituted from a side regulating member 50 moved by a drive means 47 and a sheet guide member 44 movably 44 following said member 50.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (a) Industrial Application The present invention relates to an intermediate tray device in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, and more specifically, to an intermediate tray device in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine. The present invention relates to an intermediate tray device for temporarily storing a desired number of sheets that have been completely copied inside a copying machine in order to make further copies on the back side or the same side thereof.

(b) Prior Art Recently, image forming apparatuses such as copying apparatuses have been increasingly automated as a system, and apparatuses equipped with automatic double-sided copying mechanisms and automatic multiple copying mechanisms have been developed. In configuring the above-mentioned automatic double-sided copying mechanism, etc., -
A stock unit called an intermediate tray device is used in tS, and the desired number of sheets that have been copied on one side are temporarily stored there, and from there the sheets are fed again to the copying unit to make the one-sided copies mentioned above. A method in which copies are made again on the back side or on the same side of a completed sheet is widely used, and this method is extremely effective, especially when making double-sided copies or multiple copies. .

A conventionally used intermediate tray device a is shown in FIG. 4(a).
, as shown in (b), has a sheet receiving member and regulates the side position of the sheet conveyed from the direction A in the figure,
In order to align a plurality of sheets to be sorted, a pair of side regulating plates c and d are provided on the upper surface thereof, facing each other substantially perpendicularly and parallel to each other. One side regulating plate C of the pair of side regulating plates is fixed to the upper surface of the sheet receiving member, and the other side regulating plate d is fixed to the rack e formed at one front end thereof. A binion g, which is rotated forward and backward by a stepping motor f, is engaged with the lower part of the sheet receiving member, so that the sheet can be moved in directions q to 8 perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet. Side jJLllIJ board c, d corresponding to the size
The interval is determined according to the number of pulses driven by the stepping motor f from a reference position defined by a flag plate provided on the side of the side regulating plate d and a sensor provided on the top surface of the sheet receiving member. It looks like this. Further, a paper refeed roller h is disposed at the front lower part of the sheet receiving member, and a separation roller l is provided at the front of the sheet receiving member so as to face the roller h. A large number of sheets placed on the sheet receiving member are conveyed sequentially from below to the image forming section again. A guide groove is appropriately formed on the lower surface of the sheet receiving member, and the guide groove is fitted into a guide rail fixed to the main body of the copying machine. When it is necessary to remove the sheet 114M from tray device a, by grasping the handle provided on the side of the sheet receiving member and pulling it toward the outside of the copying device, The intermediate tray device a is configured such that the entire side regulating plate C#d% stepping motor f, sensor, and four-ra h and i can be pulled out to the outside of the copying machine.

(8) Problems to be Solved by the Invention By the way, the distance between the pair of side regulating plates c and d facing parallel to each other in the intermediate tray device a described above is determined by the sheet size l.
When L>j, that is, the stored sheet size (
If the distance between the side regulating plates C2d is larger than the width (width) I, the regulating action on the conveyed sheets will be loose, and the sheets will be stored in a disjointed state on the sheet receiving member. As a result, when refeeding the sheet, the sheet may become skewed or cannot be conveyed, and conversely, if L<1, the sheet may not enter between the side regulating plates c and d or may become caught. Similarly, since a paper feed failure occurs when refeeding paper, the distance between the side regulating plates c and d is set to a value that is neither too large nor small relative to the sheet size l to be stored, specifically, the side regulating plate c. , d is set to be approximately 1.0 to 1.5 larger than the sheet size l. However, even if the spacing between the side regulating plates c and d is set as described above, in the structure of the intermediate tray device a described above, if the sheet being carried in is fed diagonally, the sheet will be stuck to the side regulating plate c. Even if the side regulating plates c and d are not properly stored between
When storing a large number of sheets between the stacked sheets, there is no place for the air between the stacked sheets to escape, resulting in an unsatisfactory storage condition in which the central part of the collected sheets swells, and as the number of sheets stored increases, the side regulating plate This had the disadvantage that the regulatory effects of c and d did not work.

(2) Means for Solving the Problem The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned point F.
The sheet guiding member is composed of a side regulating member provided on the sheet carrying-out end side and moved directly by a driving means, and a sheet guiding member provided on the sheet carrying-in end side and moved following the side regulating member. It is characterized by being configured to be able to swing around an axis provided at the sheet carry-in end side and further outside the width of the largest size sheet to be carried.

(f) Effect By employing the above means, the side regulating plate on the fixed side and the side on the movable side correspond to the width l of the sheets to be stacked, 9! Side of control plate * ft1 Between the J member F! The distance between IJL or a pair of moving side regulating members is determined by the above-mentioned L=j
Even if it is set to +1.0 to 1.5-, the sheet guide member will always be wide open in a V-shape toward the sheet carrying end, and even if the sheet being carried in is skewed, the sheet guide member will not fit properly. The skewed state of the sheet is corrected by the sheet guide member,
It is appropriately accumulated between the side regulating members, etc. In addition, since the sheet guide member is wide open in the shape of a square as described above, the air intervening between the stacked sheets easily escapes from that part, and the central part of the stacked sheets swells with air. Therefore, the sheets are properly accumulated between the side regulating members and the like.

(F) Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The copying apparatus 1 that performs automatic double-sided copying and automatic multiple copying has a second
It has a configuration as schematically shown in the figure, and when a document is placed on the document table z and a copy start button (not shown) is operated, the image written on the document is transferred to the scanning system 3 as appropriate.
The toner image is developed as a toner image on a rotating photoreceptor 6 in the copying section 5 via the toner image. Then, a sheet supply section 1 such as a sheet cassette 7.9 or a manual feed table 10 is provided.
The blank sheet from 1 to paper feed roller 12, 13° 15
, the pair of conveyance rollers 16 and 17, and the registration roller 19, and is conveyed to the copying section 5 in synchronization with the transfer section 20.
The above toner image is transferred onto the top surface of the sheet,
The thus-copied sheet passes through the conveyor belt 21, is fixed by the fixing section 22, and is further conveyed toward each of the subsequent fixing mechanisms. If only one side of the sheet needs to be copied, the sheet is guided by the first switching guide 23, which is in the switching state shown by the dotted line in the figure, and passes through the pair of transport rollers 25, which is provided outside the copying machine. They are sequentially accumulated on the tray 26. When double-sided copying or multiple copying is required, the sheet is directed to the second switching guide 29 via the transport roller pair 27 by the guiding action of the first switching guide 23 in the switching state shown by the solid line in the figure. transported. Here, when performing double-sided copying, the second
The sheet is conveyed by the switching guide 29 to a reversing section 30, where it is subjected to a reversing action by a reversing roller 31 that rotates in forward and backward directions, and then, in the case of a large sheet, passes through a pair of conveying rollers 32 to the third sheet shown in the solid line state in the figure. Due to the guiding action of the switching guide 33, the sheets pass through the lower side of the guide 33 and are sequentially stacked on the intermediate tray device 36, and in the case of small sheets, they pass through the pair of conveying rollers 32 and reach the upper surface of the third switching guide 33, which is shown in the dotted line in the figure. The sheets are guided by a pair of transport rollers 35, and are sequentially stacked on the intermediate tray device 3G. When performing multiple copying, the second switching guide 29, which has been switched to the dotted line state in the figure, directly passes through the conveyance roller pair 32, etc.
The sheets are sequentially stacked on the intermediate tray device 36 in the same manner as in the case of double-sided copying described above. In this way, the intermediate tray assembly W3
After a predetermined number of single-sided copied sheets are stacked on the document table 2, place the second side of the previous document on the document table 2, or place the document to be copied multiple times, and press the double-sided copy start button. When this operation is performed, the paper refeed roller 45 and separation roller 46 in the intermediate tray device 36 are driven, and the sheets accumulated on the intermediate tray device W136 are sequentially transferred from the bottom to the transport roller pair 37, the transport roller pair 17, etc. After that, the sheets are conveyed again to the copying section 5, and the sheets, which have been copied as described above, are then conveyed to be stacked 1a on the tray 26.

What is shown in FIGS. 1(&) to 1(C) is an embodiment of the above-mentioned intermediate tray group 't136, and the intermediate tray device 36 has a sheet receiving member 39 on one side of which a copy can be made. A sheet storage section 39a for storing m stacks of completed sheets, and a re-feeding section for transporting the many stored sheets from the bottom to the copying section 5 (see Figure 2) again. It is composed of a paper section 39b. and,
On the sheet storage section 39a, one side regulating plate 40 is fixed on the sheet storage section 39a so as to serve as a reference for one side of the sheet, which is conveyed from the direction A in the figure, approximately perpendicularly to the storage surface of the sheet storage section 39a. In addition, the sheet guide member 44, which is a component of the other side regulating plate 41, is arranged so that the sheet guide member 44, which is a component of the other side regulating plate 41, can move according to the size of the sheet being conveyed. It is configured to be rotatable around a shaft 42 provided so as to be located further outward than the width of the holder, and is always biased by a spring 43 so as to be able to rotate counterclockwise in the figure. The paper refeeding section 39b is provided with a paper refeeding roller 45 and a separating roller 46 in order to separate and feed the sorted sheets accumulated on the sheet storage section 39a one by one starting from the bottom. In addition, in order to move the side regulating member 50, which is the other component of the side regulating plate 41, in accordance with the size of the sheet, a stepping motor 47, for example, is provided. The forward and reverse rotations are transmitted via the binion 49 and the rank 50a to the side regulating member 50 that abuts and engages the seat guide member 44, and the seat guide member 4
4 to a predetermined position against the force of a spring 43. Then, as shown in Figure 1(C),
Guides 11f53, 53 having a T-shaped cross section are formed on the lower surface of the sheet storage portion 39&, and the guide grooves 53, 53 are fitted into idle rails 55°55, which also have a T-shaped cross section and are fixed to the main body of the copying bag w1. copying device 1 when necessary.
By opening the front door (not shown) and grasping and pulling the handle 57 provided on the side of the rate storage section 39, the sheet storage section 39a can be pulled out of the copying apparatus 1 in the X direction.

Since the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, the distance between the fixed side regulating plate 40 and the side regulating member 50 of the movable side regulating plate 41 corresponding to the width l of the stacked sheets is determined by the stepping motor. 47 and the binion 49
, by moving the side regulating member 50 via the rack 50a in a direction perpendicular to the sheet carrying direction. At that time, no matter how the interval is adjusted according to the sheet width, the sheet guide member 44 that is moved following the movement of the side regulating member 50 will be wider than the maximum sheet width to be carried in. Rotating around a shaft 42 provided on the outside, the sheet guide member 44 is always kept open in a large U-shape toward the sheet carry-in t4 collar. As a result, even if the sheet being carried in is skewed, the skewed state of the carried sheet is corrected by the guiding action of the sheet guide member 440, and the sheet is finally brought in between the fixed side regulating plate 40 and the side regulating member 50. For example, L = l
+ are neatly aligned and accumulated within a set interval of 1.0 to 1.5 m. In addition, as the sheet guide member 44 is wide open in the shape of a curved line toward the sheet carrying-in end as described above, the air that remains between the sheets being accumulated can easily escape from that part. It is possible,
Therefore, when a large number of sheets are stacked, the central part of the sheets is prevented from becoming swollen with air that has no place to escape, and the sheets carried in are properly stacked in a flat state within the interval.

Next, FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c) show another embodiment of the intermediate tray device, and this embodiment C has basically the same configuration as the first embodiment described above. Therefore, the constituent parts that are different from the first embodiment will be explained below.

The intermediate tray device 36 according to this other embodiment includes sheet guide members 44 and 44' disposed on the sheet storage section 39a.
and a side regulating member 50 disposed on the paper refeeding section 39b,
A pair of side regulating plates 41 and 41' consisting of 50' are configured to move together, and sheets conveyed from the direction A in the figure are guided by the pair of sheet guide members 44.4.
4' so that the sheets are stacked on the seat storage section 39a with the center reference. The pair of sheet guide members 44, 44' are arranged further outward than the width of the largest size sheet to be conveyed at the sheet conveyance end side so that they can move according to the size of the sheet being conveyed. The seat storage portion 39g is pulled out of the copying device 11 in the X direction, the pair of sheet guide members 44 and 44' rotate until they respectively abut against the stoppers 60 and 60'. The pair of side regulating plates 41 and 41' control the forward and reverse rotation of the motor 47 installed on the side of the paper refeeding section 39°b via a pinion 49 to side regulating members having racks 50a and 50'a, respectively. 50, 50', and the side regulating member so,
By abutting the respective sheet guide members 44, 44' against the springs 43 and 43', the sheets are moved to predetermined positions.

The above-mentioned other embodiments have the above-mentioned configuration, but the operation related to the sheet conveyance is similar to the first embodiment described above.
Since this embodiment is almost the same as the embodiment, the explanation thereof will be omitted below.

(G) As described in detail, according to the present invention, 1. Movable side regulating plate 41.41' in the intermediate tray device 36
Drive means 47, 49, 5 provided on the sheet delivery end side
0a, 50'a, and sheet guide members 44, 44' provided on the sheet carry-in end side and moved following the side regulating members so, so'. comprising the sheet guide member 44,
44' is configured to be able to swing around the shafts 42, 42' provided at the sheet carrying end side and further outside the width of the largest size sheet to be carried. Side regulation plate 4 on the fixed side according to the seat
0 and the side regulating member 50 of the moving side regulating plate 41 or the pair of moving side regulating members 50,
No matter how the interval of 50' is set, the sheet guide members 44 and 44' will always be left wide open in the shape of an angular shape toward the conveying end of the sheet, and even if the sheet being conveyed is Even if the sheet is
Since the skewed state is corrected by the guiding action of 44', the sheets can be properly stacked between the side regulating members so and so'. In addition, the open portions of the sheet guide members 44, 44' allow air between the sheets that are stacked one after another to escape, so that the center portion of the stacked sheets is prevented from being swollen by the air, and the sheets are moved closer to the side regulating members 50.
．． It can be appropriately accumulated between 50' and the like. Furthermore, since the sheet guide members 44, 44' are configured to be able to swing around the shafts 42, 42', the opening angle of the V-shape becomes large for small size sheets. Size sheets tend to be largely skewed due to short holding time by the pair of conveyor rollers, but the skewed small size sheets can also be reliably guided by the sorting guide member 44° 44' with a large opening angle. , and a side regulating member so consisting of parallel parts,
For large-sized sheets that can be properly stacked in so' and that require a long regulating section in the feeding direction, the sheet guide members 44, 44' have a relatively small opening angle. The angled sheet guide member guides the sheet to prevent skewing, and allows the sheet to be properly aligned with the side regulating members 50, 50'. Therefore, according to the present intermediate tray device 36, the sheets are properly stored without any trouble and then smoothly re-fed toward the copying section 5.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1(a) to 1(e) are views showing a first embodiment of the intermediate tray device according to the present invention, and FIG. 1(a) is a plan view thereof, and FIG. bl is a side view taken along arrow A-A in (a), and Fig. 1 (e
) FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a copying machine to which the intermediate tray device according to the present invention can be applied;
3(a) to 3(c) are views corresponding to FIG. 1 showing other embodiments of the intermediate tray device according to the present invention, and FIG. 4(&) is a plan view of the conventional intermediate tray device. , FIG. 4(b) is a side view taken along the line A--A of (&). 5... Image forming section (copying section), 36... Intermediate tray device, 39... Sheet receiving member, 42.4
2'...Axis, Figure 1 A (C) C, q Rara

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A pair of side regulating plates disposed substantially perpendicularly on the sheet receiving member, at least one of which is configured to be movable in the width direction of the sheets to be accumulated; and for moving the at least one side regulating plate. In the intermediate tray device, the movable side regulating plate is provided on the sheet output end side. It is composed of a side regulating member that is directly moved by the driving means, and a sheet guiding member that is provided on the sheet carrying-in end side and is moved following the side regulating member, and the sheet guiding member is arranged on the sheet carrying-in end side and An intermediate tray device characterized in that it is configured to be able to swing around a shaft provided so as to be located further outside the width of the largest size sheet to be carried in.