US20080150228A1 - Sheet processing apparatus - Google Patents
Sheet processing apparatus Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20080150228A1 US20080150228A1 US11/615,339 US61533906A US2008150228A1 US 20080150228 A1 US20080150228 A1 US 20080150228A1 US 61533906 A US61533906 A US 61533906A US 2008150228 A1 US2008150228 A1 US 2008150228A1
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- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- papers
- discharge
- paper
- processing apparatus
- sheet processing
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H33/00—Forming counted batches in delivery pile or stream of articles
- B65H33/06—Forming counted batches in delivery pile or stream of articles by displacing articles to define batches
- B65H33/08—Displacing whole batches, e.g. forming stepped piles
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
- B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
- B65H2301/42—Piling, depiling, handling piles
- B65H2301/421—Forming a pile
- B65H2301/4211—Forming a pile of articles alternatively overturned, or swivelled from a certain angle
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
- B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
- B65H2301/42—Piling, depiling, handling piles
- B65H2301/421—Forming a pile
- B65H2301/4213—Forming a pile of a limited number of articles, e.g. buffering, forming bundles
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
- B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
- B65H2301/42—Piling, depiling, handling piles
- B65H2301/421—Forming a pile
- B65H2301/4219—Forming a pile forming a pile in which articles are offset from each other, e.g. forming stepped pile
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2404/00—Parts for transporting or guiding the handled material
- B65H2404/70—Other elements in edge contact with handled material, e.g. registering, orientating, guiding devices
- B65H2404/72—Stops, gauge pins, e.g. stationary
- B65H2404/725—Stops, gauge pins, e.g. stationary retractable
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2405/00—Parts for holding the handled material
- B65H2405/10—Cassettes, holders, bins, decks, trays, supports or magazines for sheets stacked substantially horizontally
- B65H2405/11—Parts and details thereof
- B65H2405/111—Bottom
- B65H2405/1115—Bottom with surface inclined, e.g. in width-wise direction
- B65H2405/11151—Bottom with surface inclined, e.g. in width-wise direction with surface inclined upwardly in transport direction
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2801/00—Application field
- B65H2801/03—Image reproduction devices
- B65H2801/06—Office-type machines, e.g. photocopiers
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2801/00—Application field
- B65H2801/24—Post -processing devices
- B65H2801/27—Devices located downstream of office-type machines
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2801/00—Application field
- B65H2801/24—Post -processing devices
- B65H2801/31—Devices located downstream of industrial printers
Definitions
- FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing an operation of a sheet discharge unit in the sheet processing apparatus of this invention.
- FIG. 2 is a perspective view of essential parts of the sheet post-processing apparatus 2 , as viewed from the direction of the arrow x in FIG. 1 .
- the lateral alignment device 46 is used for sorting and discharging papers by controlling the movement of the lateral alignment plates 47 a , 47 b.
- the third paper is discharged to the same position as the first paper P 1
- the fourth paper is discharged to the same position as the second paper P 2 .
- the subsequent papers are similarly discharged to the alternately shifted positions. Alternately moving the lateral alignment plates 47 a , 47 b to shift the papers P 1 , P 2 is carried out by the sorting control unit 80 .
Landscapes
- Pile Receivers (AREA)
- Delivering By Means Of Belts And Rollers (AREA)
- Separation, Sorting, Adjustment, Or Bending Of Sheets To Be Conveyed (AREA)
- Forming Counted Batches (AREA)
Abstract
A sheet processing apparatus according to this invention is for sorting and discharging papers supplied from an image forming apparatus, and includes an alignment device configured to shift the papers transported from the image forming apparatus into a direction orthogonal to the direction of the transport and thus align the papers in the direction of width, and a paper discharge unit configured to guide the aligned and shifted papers to a discharge port and discharge the shifted papers from the discharge port and at different angles from each other.
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- This invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus that performs post-processing of sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copy machine, printer, or multifunction peripheral.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- Recently, for some image forming apparatuses, a sheet post-processing apparatus is provided next to the paper discharge unit in the body of the image forming apparatus in order to perform post-processing such as sorting sheets after images are formed thereon, or performing stapling processing to the sheets.
- JP-A-5-139610 (laid open on Jun. 8, 1993) describes a sheet post-processing apparatus that can carry out sorting processing of sheets. In this example, it is described that an aligning unit that aligns a sheet pack is provided and the alignment position of the sheet pack is shifted, thereby discharging each sheet of the sheet pack in an offsetting manner.
- Also, JP-A-5-278921 (laid open on Oct. 26, 1993) describes a paper discharge tray mounted on an image forming apparatus. The paper discharge tray in this example can freely open and close in a sectorial form.
- Moreover, JP-A-2001-2314 (laid open on Jan. 9, 2001) describes a sheet processing apparatus that sorts sheets into plural tray groups. In this example, the plural tray groups attached to an image forming apparatus can be turned in a sectorial form.
- However, in the above examples, no technique is described for clarifying the distribution of sheets when sorting the sheets.
- This invention provides a sheet processing apparatus that enables discharge of sheets in a distributed manner to a predetermined angular direction when performing sorting processing of the sheets.
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration view showing a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of this invention. -
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing essential parts of the sheet processing apparatus of this invention. -
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a paddle of the sheet processing apparatus of this invention. -
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a longitudinal alignment roller of the sheet processing apparatus of this invention. -
FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a standby tray and a processing tray of the sheet processing apparatus of this invention. -
FIG. 6 is a top view showing the standby tray and the processing tray of the sheet processing apparatus of this invention. -
FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a lateral alignment plate and a transport belt of the sheet processing apparatus of this invention. -
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a control system of the sheet processing apparatus of this invention. -
FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing an operation of sorting processing in the sheet processing apparatus of this invention. -
FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing another operation of sorting processing in the sheet processing apparatus of this invention. -
FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing still another operation of sorting processing in the sheet processing apparatus of this invention. -
FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing an operation of a sheet discharge unit in the sheet processing apparatus of this invention. -
FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing another operation of the sheet discharge unit in the sheet processing apparatus of this invention. - Throughout this description, the embodiments and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than limitations on the apparatus of the present invention.
- Hereinafter, an embodiment of this invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same parts are described with the same reference numerals.
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration view showing asheet post-processing apparatus 2 with animage forming apparatus 1 such as a copy machine arranged next to it. A paper P on which an image has been formed by theimage forming apparatus 1 is discharged frompaper discharge rollers 4 and transported to thesheet post-processing apparatus 2. Thepaper discharge rollers 4 include anupper roller 4 a and alower roller 4 b. - The
sheet post-processing apparatus 2 has astandby tray 10, aprocessing tray 12, astapler 14, a firstpaper discharge tray 16, a secondpaper discharge tray 18, and a fixedtray 20. - The paper P discharged by the
paper discharge rollers 4 of theimage forming apparatus 1 is received byentry rollers 22 provided near an entry port of thesheet post-processing apparatus 2. Theentry rollers 22 include anupper roller 22 a and alower roller 22 b and are driven by a motor (not shown). -
Paper feed rollers 24 are provided downstream of theentry rollers 22. The paper P received by theentry rollers 22 is sent to thestandby tray 10 via thepaper feed rollers 24. Between theentry rollers 22 and thestandby tray 10, a paper path 23 for guiding the paper P to thepaper feed rollers 24 is provided. Thepaper feed rollers 24 include an upper roller 24 a and alower roller 24 b. - The
standby tray 10 has the papers P stacked thereon and is structured to be openable. When a predetermined number of papers P are stacked thereon, thestandby tray 10 opens and the papers P fall down to theprocessing tray 12 because of their own weight. Below thestandby tray 10, theprocessing tray 12 is provided on which the papers P falling from thestandby tray 10 are stacked. The processing tray 12 aligns and supports the papers P while thestapler 14 as a post-processing mechanism staples the papers P. - The papers that have fallen onto the
processing tray 12 are guided to thestapler 14 byrollers 28 and stapling processing is performed. Therollers 28 include anupper roller 28 and alower roller 28 b. In the case of performing stapling processing, the plural papers P that have fallen onto theprocessing tray 12 from thestandby tray 10 are aligned in the longitudinal direction, which is the transporting direction, and also aligned in the lateral direction orthogonal to the transporting direction, and are then stapled. -
Turnable paddles 40 are arranged at a position to which the rear end of the papers P falls when the papers P fall onto the processing tray 12. - The
paddles 40 are attached to arotary shaft 26 and are to slap down the papers P falling from thestandby tray 10 onto theprocessing tray 12 and thus send the papers P toward thestapler 14. The details of thepaddles 40 will be later described with reference toFIG. 3 . - A
stopper 45 that regulating the rear end position of the papers P is provided at the end of theprocessing tray 12 near thestapler 14. Also, atransport belt 50 is provided that transports the sorted or stapled papers P to the firstpaper discharge tray 16 or the secondpaper discharge tray 18. - The
transport belt 50 is laid betweenpulleys transport belt 50 has apawl member 50 a attached thereto that hooks the rear end of the papers P and sends them. Thelower roller 28 b of therollers 28 is arranged coaxially with thepulley 38. Therollers 28 rotate in opposite directions when guiding the aligned papers toward thestapler 14 and when discharging the stapled papers P. - The
pulley 36 is attached to ashaft 34, andplural discharge rollers 30 are rotatably attached to thisshaft 34. Thedischarge rollers 30 will be described with reference toFIG. 2 . - The papers P transported by the
transport belt 50 are discharged to the firstpaper discharge tray 16 or the secondpaper discharge tray 18, and the firstpaper discharge tray 16 and the secondpaper discharge tray 18 are lifted and lowered by a driving unit (not shown) and thus receive the papers P. - Also, the papers P stacked on the
standby tray 10 may be discharged to the firstpaper discharge tray 16 or the secondpaper discharge tray 18 without being stapled. In this case, the papers P are discharged by aroller 32 without causing them to fall onto theprocessing tray 12. - The
standby tray 10 is arranged at an inclination angle of θ1 to support the papers P in the state where the distal end of the papers P is higher than their rear end. Also thepaper discharge trays - The papers P that do not require post-processing can also be discharged to the fixed
tray 20. A transport passage to guide the papers P to the fixedtray 20 is provided, though not shown. -
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of essential parts of the sheetpost-processing apparatus 2, as viewed from the direction of the arrow x inFIG. 1 . - In
FIG. 2 , theshaft 34 is arranged orthogonally to the direction of transporting the papers P. Thepulley 36 is attached to an intermediate part of theshaft 34 and thebelt 50 is laid on thispulley 36. Thedischarge rollers 30 includecentral rollers side rollers central rollers 30 a are attached to both sides of thepulley 36, and the turning of thebelt 50 causes thecentral rollers 30 a to rotate, too. - The
side rollers shaft 34. Theside rollers central rollers 30 a. - The
central rollers 30 a rotate, interlocked with the driving of thebelt 50. Theside roller 30 b and theside roller 30 c are rotationally controlled by their respective driving units synchronously with the rotation of thecentral rollers 30 a, and they rotate when discharging the papers P to thetray -
FIG. 3 shows the configuration of thepaddle 40. Thepaddle 40 has itsattachment member 41 attached to therotary shaft 26. Theattachment member 41 includes a receivingpart 42 that receives the rear end of the papers P falling from thestandby tray 10, a slappingpart 43 that slaps the papers P down onto theprocessing tray 12, and afeed part 44 that feeds the papers P on theprocessing tray 12 toward thestapler 14. - In the case of feeding the papers P on the
processing tray 12 toward the stapler 14 (arrow q), theupper roller 28 a of therollers 28 rotates counterclockwise and thelower roller 28 b rotates clockwise. In the case of discharging the papers P on theprocessing tray 12, theupper roller 28 a rotates in the direction of the arrow r and thelower roller 28 b rotates in the direction of the arrow s. - The
rotary shaft 26 is rotationally driven by a motor 54 (seeFIG. 4 ). Alternatively, the rotation force of the motor can be transmitted to therotary shaft 26 via a gear mechanism. The slappingpart 43 and thefeed part 44 of thepaddle 40 are made of a rubber material and are elastic. - As can be seen from
FIG. 2 , theplural paddles 40 are attached to therotary shaft 26. Moreover, guidemembers 52 are provided to guide the papers to theprocessing tray 12. Theguide members 52 serve as guides when pulling the rear end of the transported papers P toward thestapler 14. -
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of therollers 28 for longitudinal alignment of the papers P and thetransport belt 50. As shown inFIG. 4 , thetransport belt 50 is laid between thepulleys motor 56, thus moving in a circulating manner between thestapler 14 and a paper discharge port 100 (FIG. 1 ) along the direction of discharging the papers. - When transporting the papers P toward the
paper discharge trays transport belt 50 moves in the direction of the arrow t and theupper roller 28 a and thelower roller 28 b for longitudinal alignment rotate in the direction of the arrow r and the direction of the arrow s shown inFIG. 3 . Theupper roller 28 a for longitudinal alignment is rotationally driven by amotor 58. Thelower roller 28 b is rotationally driven by themotor 56, which drives thetransport belt 50. -
FIG. 5 andFIG. 6 schematically show thestandby tray 10 and theprocessing tray 12. Thestandby tray 10 has a pair oftray members tray members standby stoppers - The
standby tray 10 is slid in the directions of the arrows m and n by a motor (not shown). Before the papers P reach theprocessing tray 12 from thestandby tray 10, the papers P may deviate in the lateral direction orthogonal to the transporting direction when the papers P on thestandby tray 10 are dropped and supplied to theprocessing tray 12. - Therefore, a
lateral alignment device 46 that prevents the deviation of the papers P is provided, as shown inFIG. 7 . Thelateral alignment device 46 has a pair oflateral alignment plates lateral alignment plates motor 48. - Also, the
lateral alignment device 46 is used for sorting and discharging papers by controlling the movement of thelateral alignment plates - The driving units such as the
motors - Next, a post-processing operation by the sheet
post-processing apparatus 2 will be described along the flow of papers. The post-processed papers are discharged to either thepaper discharge tray 16 or thepaper discharge tray 18. Hereinafter, the case of discharging the papers to thepaper discharge tray 16 will be described as a representative example. - The papers P transported from the
entry rollers 22 via the paper path ceiling 23 are supplied onto thestandby tray 10 by thepaper feed rollers 24. Next, the papers P fall onto theprocessing tray 12. - When the papers P fall, the
upper roller 28 a for longitudinal alignment is retreating above and the receivingparts 42 of thepaddles 40 receive the rear end of the papers P. - Then, the
paddles 40 rotate in the direction of the arrow y as shown inFIG. 3 . The rear end of the papers P falls off the receivingparts 42, and the slappingparts 43 slap the papers down to theprocessing tray 12. The papers fall while both lateral sides of the papers P contact thelateral alignment plates paddles 40 send the papers P in the direction of the arrow q by thefeed parts 44. As the rear end of the papers P is abutted against thestopper 45, longitudinal alignment of the papers P is completed. - In this way, the papers P on which images have been formed are guided from the
paper feed rollers 24 to theprocessing tray 12 while the papers are sequentially aligned laterally and longitudinally. - In the case of performing stapling processing, when the number of papers P stacked on the
processing tray 12 has reached a predetermined number, thestapler 14 staples the papers P on theprocessing tray 12 at a desired position and thus forms a sheet pack. After this, theupper roller 28 a rotating in the direction of the arrow r and thelower roller 28 b rotating in the direction of the arrow s, as shown inFIG. 3 , nip and transport the sheet pack toward thepaper discharge tray 16. - When the rear end of the sheet pack has passed the
rollers feed pawl 50 a of thetransport belt 50, transported toward thepaper discharge tray 16, and then discharged onto thepaper discharge tray 16 by thedischarge rollers 30. - Meanwhile, in the case of performing sorting processing as post-processing, the lateral position of the papers P is shifted one by one by the
lateral alignment plates paper discharge tray 16. - The overall operations of the sheet
post-processing apparatus 2 have been described above. Next, the configuration of a sorting processing unit, which is a characteristic unit of this invention, will be described. -
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a control system that controls the sorting processing unit. InFIG. 8 , 60 denotes a control circuit that controls theimage forming apparatus 1. It is formed by, for example, a microprocessor including a CPU and controls animage forming unit 64 or the like in response to an operation of anoperating unit 62. The operatingunit 62 has keys for entering the number of print sheets and the like, and aninstruction unit 66 that instructs post-processing such as sorting processing. -
Numeral 70 denotes a control circuit that controls the sheetpost-processing apparatus 2. It is formed by, for example, a microprocessor including a CPU, transmits information to and from thecontrol circuit 60 for theimage forming apparatus 1, and controls each part for sheet post-processing so that the image forming operation and the operation of the sheetpost-processing apparatus 2 are linked with each other. - Also, the
control circuit 70 is connected to a paperdischarge control unit 72 that controls the rotation of thedischarge rollers sorting control unit 80 that controls thelateral alignment plates - The paper
discharge control unit 72 has afirst driver 74 that controls the turning or rotation of thetransport belt 50 and thedischarge rollers 30 a, asecond driver 76 that controls the rotation of thedischarge roller 30 b, and athird driver 78 that controls the rotation of thedischarge roller 30 c. - The
discharge rollers first driver 74, thesecond driver 76 and thethird driver 78. When discharging normal papers P, thedischarge rollers - Also, the sorting
control unit 80 controls the motor 48 (FIG. 7 ) to slide the positions of thelateral alignment plates -
FIG. 9 andFIG. 10 are explanatory views for explaining the operations of the paper discharge unit under the control of thecontrol circuits - In the case of sorting and discharging the papers P, for example, in the case of making two copies of plural originals, then sorting and discharging them, the papers P are shifted one by one alternately in the direction of width by the
lateral alignment plates paper discharge tray 16. -
FIG. 9 shows a discharge state in ordinary sorting processing. It shows an example in which the first paper P1 and the second paper P2 are shifted in the direction of width and thus discharged. The first paper P1 is shifted to the left inFIG. 9 by thelateral alignment plates FIG. 9 by thelateral alignment plates paper discharge tray 16 by the rotation of thedischarge rollers - The third paper is discharged to the same position as the first paper P1, and the fourth paper is discharged to the same position as the second paper P2. The subsequent papers are similarly discharged to the alternately shifted positions. Alternately moving the
lateral alignment plates control unit 80. -
FIG. 10 is for explaining another operation of sorting processing according to this invention.FIG. 10 is similar toFIG. 9 in that the first paper P1 is shifted to the left inFIG. 10 by thelateral alignment plates FIG. 10 by thelateral alignment plates - Also, the papers P1, P2 are discharged to the
paper discharge tray 16 by the rotation of thedischarge rollers discharge rollers paper discharge tray 16. - That is, while the first paper P1 is discharged toward the
paper discharge tray 16, the rotation speed of thedischarge roller 30 b becomes lower than the rotation speed of thedischarge rollers 30 a, and the rotation speed of thedischarge roller 30 c becomes higher than the rotation speed of thedischarge rollers 30 a. Thus, the discharge of the paper P1 at the left end in the direction of width becomes slower and the discharge at the right end becomes faster. Therefore, the paper P1, shifted to the left inFIG. 10 , is further inclined to the left and discharged. - On the other hand, when discharging the second paper P2, while the second paper P2 is discharged toward the
paper discharge tray 16, the rotation speed of thedischarge roller 30 b becomes higher than the rotation speed of thedischarge rollers 30 a, and the rotation speed of thedischarge roller 30 c becomes lower than the rotation speed of thedischarge rollers 30 a. Thus, the discharge of the paper P2 at the left end in the direction of width becomes faster and the discharge at the right end becomes slower. Therefore, the paper P2, shifted to the right inFIG. 10 , is further inclined to the right and discharged. - As a result, the papers P1 and P2 are discharged to the
paper discharge tray 16 as they are inclined at a predetermined angle into diffusing directions from each other. Similarly, the subsequent papers are sequentially inclined at a predetermined angle alternately in diffusing directions from each other and are discharged to thepaper discharge tray 16. - The first, second and
third drivers discharge rollers discharge rollers discharge rollers 30 a, thus inclining the papers P1, P2. - Moreover, the rotation of the
discharge rollers paper discharge tray 16. Thus, the papers P1, P2 are discharged to thepaper discharge tray 16 by inertia. - As the rotation speed of the
discharge rollers 30 a is thus kept constant and the rotation speeds of thedischarge roller 30 b and thedischarge roller 30 c are alternately made higher or lower, the papers can be inclined to different directions from each other and discharged. - Also, since corners P01, P02 of the papers P1, P2 protrude from the
paper discharge tray 16, as shown inFIG. 10 , one can take out the papers P1, P2 by holding these corners P01, P02, and the take-out after the sorting processing can be easier. - The directions of discharging the papers P1, P2 and the like may be the opposite directions to those shown in
FIG. 10 . That is, when the discharge of the left end of the paper P1 in the direction of width is made faster and the discharge of the right end is made slower, the paper P1 is inclined to the right and discharged, as shown inFIG. 11 . On the other hand, when the discharge of the left end of the paper P2 in the direction of width is made slower and the discharge of the right end is made faster, the paper P2 is inclined to the left inFIG. 11 and discharged. Thus, the shifted papers P1, P2 can be discharged into angular directions that cross each other. - Also in this case, since corners P01, P02 of the papers P1, P2 protrude from the
paper discharge tray 16, as shown inFIG. 11 , one can take out the papers P1, P2 by holding these corners P01, P02, and the take-out after the sorting processing can be easier. - Also, since the
paper discharge tray 16 is inclined at the inclination angle 02 as described with reference toFIG. 1 , the discharged papers P1, P2 and the like slip and fall in this state. The inclinations of the discharged papers may be lost, and this may cause the state ofFIG. 9 . - Thus, a
movable pin 90 is provided on the paper stacking surface of thepaper discharge tray 16, and in the case of performing sorting processing, thepin 90 can be protruded from thepaper discharge tray 16. Thus, even when the papers P1, P2 discharged at predetermined angles are about to slip down because of the inclination angle θ2 of thetray 16, it can be prevented by thepin 90. - When the
pin 90 is protruded, the thickness of the papers stacked on thepaper discharge tray 16 may exceed the height of thepin 90 in some cases. Therefore, thepin 90 may be configured to movably protrude from the body of the sheetpost-processing apparatus 1. -
FIG. 12 shows the case where thepin 90 is protruded on the paper stacking surface of thepaper discharge tray 16.FIG. 13 shows the case where apin 91 is protruded from the body of the sheetpost-processing apparatus 1. - Also,
FIG. 12 is a view for explaining the state before the papers P are discharged to thepaper discharge tray 16, andFIG. 13 is a view for explaining the state after the papers P are discharged to thepaper discharge tray 16. - Moreover, the angle of the
paper discharge tray 16 can be made adjustable, instead of providing thepin - In this manner, according to this invention, a sheet post-processing apparatus can be provided in which, when discharging papers to the paper discharge tray, the papers are distributed into different angular directions and thus discharged, thus clarifying the distinction of the sorted papers.
- This invention is not limited to the above description and various modifications can be made without departing form the claims. For example, stapled sheet packs can be sorted and discharged. Also, the paper
discharge control unit 72 may be controlled in accordance with the mode selection by the user so that a mode of discharging without inclination as shown inFIG. 9 and a mode of discharging with inclination as shown inFIG. 10 orFIG. 11 can be selected. - Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those having ordinary skills in the art that a number of changes, modifications, or alterations to the invention as described herein may be made, none of which depart from the spirit of the present invention. All such changes, modifications, and alterations should therefore be seen as within the scope of the present invention.
Claims (15)
1. A sheet processing apparatus capable of sorting and discharging papers supplied from an image forming apparatus, comprising:
an alignment device configured to shift the papers sequentially transported from the image forming apparatus into a first direction orthogonal to the direction of the transport and a second direction opposite to the first direction, and thus align the papers in the direction of width;
a paper discharge unit configured to guide the papers aligned by the alignment device to a discharge port and discharge the papers shifted to the first direction and the second direction, from the discharge port and at different angles from each other; and
a paper discharge tray configured to receive the papers discharged from the discharge port.
2. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the paper discharge unit discharges the papers shifted to the first direction and the second direction, into angular directions dispersing from each other.
3. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the paper discharge unit discharges the papers shifted to the first direction and the second direction, into angular directions crossing each other.
4. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the paper discharge unit has a first roller member that guides the papers aligned by the alignment device to the discharge port, and plural discharge rollers arranged on a shaft orthogonal to the direction of discharge of the papers, the plural discharge rollers including a first discharge roller that supports a central part of the papers to be discharged and second and third discharge rollers that support both side of the papers to be discharged, and
the papers guided by the first roller member are transported to the discharge port by rotations of the first, second and third discharge rollers, and in the course of the transport, the rotation speeds of the second and third discharge rollers are relatively switched with reference to the rotation speed of the first discharge roller.
5. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the paper discharge unit alternately switches the rotation speeds of the second and third discharge rollers every time the paper shifted to the first direction and the paper shifted to the second direction are discharged.
6. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the paper discharge unit stops the rotation of the first, second and third discharge rollers immediately before the papers shifted to the first direction and the second direction are discharged to the paper discharge tray.
7. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the paper discharge tray is arranged at a predetermined inclination angle, and is provided with a slip preventing member for reducing slip of the papers discharged at a predetermined angle to the paper discharge tray because of the inclination angle.
8. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the slip preventing member includes a pin that can protrude on a paper stacking surface of the paper discharge tray when sorting and discharging the papers.
9. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the slip preventing member includes a pin that can protrude from the discharge port side to a paper stacking surface of the paper discharge tray when sorting and discharging the papers.
10. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the paper discharge tray has an angular-adjustable paper stacking surface, and the paper stacking surface becomes closer to a flat surface when sorting and discharging the papers.
11. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the alignment devices includes a pair of lateral alignment plates that align the papers in the direction of width, and alternately shifts the papers sequentially transported from the image forming apparatus into the first direction and the second direction by moving the pair of lateral alignment plates.
12. A sheet processing apparatus capable of sorting and discharging papers supplied from an image forming apparatus, comprising:
an alignment device including a pair of alignment plates that align the papers in the direction of width, and capable of shifting the papers sequentially transported from the image forming apparatus into a first direction orthogonal to the direction of the transport and a second direction opposite to the first direction;
a paper discharge unit including a first discharge roller that is arranged near a paper discharge port and that supports a central part of the papers to be discharged, and second and third discharge rollers that support both sides of the papers to be discharged;
a paper discharge tray configured to receive the papers discharged from the discharge port;
a first control unit configured to shift the pair of alignment plates to the first direction and the second direction; and
a second control unit configured to control rotation states of the first, second and third discharge rollers, transport the shifted papers to the discharge port, relatively switch the rotation speeds of the second and third discharge rollers with reference to the rotation speed of the first discharge roller, and thus control discharge angle of the papers.
13. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the second control unit rotates the first, second and third discharge rollers to transport the papers shifted to the first direction and the second direction, to the discharge port, and relatively switches the rotation speeds of the second and third discharge rollers in the course of the transport, thus controlling the discharge angle of the papers.
14. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the paper discharge unit alternately switches the rotation speeds of the second and third discharge rollers every time the paper shifted to the first direction and the paper shifted to the second direction are discharged.
15. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the paper discharge unit stops the rotation of the first, second and third discharge rollers immediately before the papers shifted to the first direction and second direction are discharged to the paper discharge tray.
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/615,339 US20080150228A1 (en) | 2006-12-22 | 2006-12-22 | Sheet processing apparatus |
JP2007327457A JP2008156124A (en) | 2006-12-22 | 2007-12-19 | Paper processing apparatus |
CNA2007103016073A CN101205028A (en) | 2006-12-22 | 2007-12-20 | Sheet post-processing apparatus |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/615,339 US20080150228A1 (en) | 2006-12-22 | 2006-12-22 | Sheet processing apparatus |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20080150228A1 true US20080150228A1 (en) | 2008-06-26 |
Family
ID=39541720
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/615,339 Abandoned US20080150228A1 (en) | 2006-12-22 | 2006-12-22 | Sheet processing apparatus |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20080150228A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2008156124A (en) |
CN (1) | CN101205028A (en) |
Cited By (2)
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US20070145660A1 (en) * | 2005-12-26 | 2007-06-28 | Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha | Sheet post-processing apparatus and sheet post-processing method |
US20150098101A1 (en) * | 2013-10-09 | 2015-04-09 | Konica Minolta, Inc. | Image forming system and image forming system control method |
Families Citing this family (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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JP5257223B2 (en) * | 2009-04-27 | 2013-08-07 | コニカミノルタビジネステクノロジーズ株式会社 | Post-processing apparatus, paper discharge method thereof, and image forming system |
JP5742299B2 (en) * | 2011-02-28 | 2015-07-01 | 株式会社リコー | Paper processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, and paper processing method |
JP6158760B2 (en) * | 2014-07-02 | 2017-07-05 | 京セラドキュメントソリューションズ株式会社 | Post-processing apparatus and image forming apparatus |
US10562731B2 (en) * | 2016-12-09 | 2020-02-18 | Canon Finetech Nisca Inc. | Apparatus for processing sheets and apparatus for forming images provided with the apparatus |
US10042305B2 (en) * | 2016-12-28 | 2018-08-07 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Sheet processing device and sheet processing method |
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- 2006-12-22 US US11/615,339 patent/US20080150228A1/en not_active Abandoned
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US20070145660A1 (en) * | 2005-12-26 | 2007-06-28 | Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha | Sheet post-processing apparatus and sheet post-processing method |
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US9213926B2 (en) * | 2013-10-09 | 2015-12-15 | Konica Minolta, Inc. | Image forming system and image forming system control method for controlling image forming conditions of a job in accordance with a designated post-processing |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
CN101205028A (en) | 2008-06-25 |
JP2008156124A (en) | 2008-07-10 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
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AS | Assignment |
Owner name: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA, JAPAN Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:TERAO, YASUNOBU;REEL/FRAME:018673/0212 Effective date: 20061201 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |