JP2002179323A - Paper stacking device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a paper stacking device capable of preventing variations in stacked papers and reducing damage to the papers. A paper discharge roller (20) for discharging paper, a paper discharge tray (3) for stacking paper discharged by the paper discharge roller (20), and a rotatable width adjusting roller (21) disposed opposite to the paper discharge tray (3). A detection unit 24 for detecting the highest sheet height of the sheets stacked on the discharge tray 3, and a tray for adjusting the highest sheet height of the discharge tray 3 based on a signal from the detection unit 24 In the sheet stacking device 30 including the elevating unit 60, the drive transmitting unit 50 that transmits the drive to the width adjusting roller 21 with the rotation of the discharge roller 20.
, And the width adjusting roller 21 swings while being rotated by the drive transmission unit 50.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Copying machines, printers, fax machines
And a sheet stacking apparatus as a post-processing apparatus of an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A sheet stacking apparatus has a plurality of sheet detecting members in order to stack sheets with high accuracy regardless of the state of the sheets (sheet size, curl state, etc.) when the sheets are stacked on a discharge tray. Proposed is one that always controls the falling distance from the paper discharge roller to a fixed position by the tray elevating member based on the detection of the paper detection member, and further includes a rotatable width-adjusting roller opposed to the paper discharge tray. Have been.

[0003]

However, in the above-described paper stacking apparatus, since the width-shifting roller is rotated at a fixed position, paper having large curl or paper having high friction between the papers is not properly processed. There is a problem that the paper is hard to slide down, and consequently the paper is likely to be irregular when stacked. Further, since the width adjustment roller is at a fixed position and is constantly in contact with the sheet, there is also a problem that the end face of the sheet is easily stained and the sheet is damaged.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet stacking apparatus capable of preventing variations in stacked sheets and reducing damage to the sheets.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper discharge roller for discharging paper, a paper discharge tray for stacking the paper discharged by the paper discharge roller, and a paper discharge tray facing the paper discharge tray. A rotatable width adjusting roller disposed, a detecting unit for detecting the highest sheet height of the sheets stacked on the discharge tray, and a highest sheet height of the discharge tray based on a signal from the detecting unit. A sheet stacking device having a tray elevating means for adjusting the height of the sheet, and a drive transmitting means for transmitting the drive to the width adjusting roller with the rotation of the discharge roller, and the width adjusting roller is rotated by the drive transmitting means. It is characterized by swinging while swinging.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the paper is ejected to the paper ejection tray by the rotation of the paper ejection roller, and the drive transmission means transmits the drive to the width adjustment roller, so that the width adjustment roller is driven. Swing while rotating. The width shifting roller aligns the edges of the paper on the paper output tray by rotating the paper discharged to the paper output tray by the rotation in the rotation direction.

The paper is ejected regardless of the size of the paper from a wide range of sizes, from small to large, the curl state of the paper, and the post-processing form (staple, punch, etc.) of the paper, by the swinging roller rotating and swinging. It is possible to prevent defects and variations in the stacking position of the paper on the paper discharge tray, and to reliably and accurately stack the paper on the paper discharge tray. In addition, since the width adjusting roller swings, the width adjusting roller does not always contact the paper,
It is possible to prevent the paper from being stained and to prevent the paper from being damaged. Furthermore, the structure is simple, only the drive transmission means is provided, and the cost can be reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the drive transmission means includes a drive transmission member eccentrically mounted on a drive shaft of the discharge roller, and a drive from the drive transmission member. A plurality of driven transmission members for transmitting to the width-adjusting roller, a holding member holding the drive transmission member and the driven transmission member, and a rotating shaft of the width-adjusting roller integrally provided, and abutting and holding the holding member A regulating member that regulates rotation of the member.

[0009] According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
In addition to the same operation and effect as the invention described in (1), when the drive shaft rotates, the discharge roller rotates and the drive transmission member that rotates together with the drive shaft allows the drive force of the drive shaft to be controlled by a plurality of driven transmission members. Is transmitted to the width-adjusting roller via the roller and the width-adjusting roller rotates. Further, the rotation of the drive gear eccentrically attached to the drive shaft and the regulation of the regulating member cause the width shifting roller to swing together with the holding member.

[0010] The width adjusting roller can be swung by a simple structure that holds the drive transmission member and the plurality of driven transmission members and also has a holding member in which the rotation shaft of the width adjustment roller is integrally provided. In addition, the cost can be further reduced.

[0011] The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In the invention described in (1), the width adjustment rollers are provided at target positions with respect to a center line along the sheet conveyance direction.

[0012] The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In addition to the same operation and effect as the invention described in (1), since the width-adjusting roller is provided symmetrically with respect to the center line of the sheet along the sheet conveying direction, the width-adjusting roller can adjust the rotation of the sheet in the rotation direction. Skew can be prevented, and sheets can be stacked on the sheet discharge tray with higher accuracy.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a finisher (sheet post-processing device) including a sheet stacking device according to the present invention. The finisher is attached to the side of the copying machine 1 and guides the sheet discharged from the copying machine 1 directly to the discharge tray 3 by the deflecting claw 2 and to the conveyance path B for stapling. The paper stacking device 30 is provided at the most downstream side.

The transport roller 4 is a transport roller for receiving the sheet discharged from the copying machine 1. An entrance sensor S1 is provided immediately before the transport roller 4 to detect the leading edge and the trailing edge of the transported sheet. It has become. A plurality of transport rollers 5 and 6 and driven rollers 7 and 8 that follow the transport rollers 5 and 6 are arranged in the transport path A, and guide the sheet discharged from the copying machine 1 directly to the discharge tray 3.

The stapling unit C is a stapler 1 that can be moved in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface according to the paper size.
3. A brush roller 15 for bringing the trailing end of the discharged sheet to the guide plate 14, a pair of jogger fences 16 for aligning the trailing end in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and a tapping for bringing the discharged sheet to the guide plate 14. Roller 17, staples the paper into the output tray 3 of the paper stacking device 30
And a discharge claw 19 fixed to the discharge belt 18 and the like. In addition, hitting roller 1
Numeral 7 is movable to the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 1 and moves and rotates each time the sheet is discharged to move toward the guide plate 14.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a sheet stacking apparatus. The paper stacking device 30 is provided at a discharge port of the finisher, and includes a paper discharge tray 3, a paper discharge roller 20 for discharging non-stapled paper or staple-bound paper to the paper discharge tray 3, and a paper discharge roller 20. A width shifting roller 21 provided facing the paper tray 3;
(Detection means) 24 for detecting the highest sheet height of the sheets stacked on the tray, and a tray elevating unit 6 for adjusting the highest sheet height of the discharge tray 3 based on a signal from the detection unit 24
0, with the rotation of the discharge roller 20,
And a drive transmission unit (see FIG. 4) 50 which is a drive transmission means for transmitting the drive of the drive shaft to the width adjusting roller 21.

The paper discharge tray 3 can be moved up and down by a guide roller 51 of a tray raising / lowering portion 60, and the guide roller 51 is rotated by a drive mechanism (not shown) based on the detection of the height of the detector 24. When driven, it moves up and down to adjust the height of the stacked sheets.

The discharge roller 20 includes a discharge driven roller 26
The paper discharge roller 20 discharges the paper toward the paper discharge tray 3 while nipping the paper between the paper discharge driven roller 26 and the driven shaft 100 of the paper discharge roller 20. This paper discharge roller 2
The drive of the zero drive shaft 100 is transmitted to the width adjusting roller 21 by the drive transmission unit 50, and the width adjusting roller 21 is configured to swing while rotating.

The width adjusting roller 21 is formed of an elastic member such as sponge, and is provided below the sheet discharging roller 20. As shown in FIG. 3, two width shifting rollers 21 are provided symmetrically with respect to a center line CL along the sheet conveyance direction. The paper discharged by the paper discharge roller 20 and dropped on the paper discharge tray 3 is abutted against the abutting guide plate 22 by the rotation of the width shift roller 21 so that the edges of the paper are aligned. . Roller 2
2 are provided symmetrically with respect to the center line CL along the sheet conveyance direction, the sheet 1 can be abutted against the width shift roller 21 and skewed of the sheet brought to the guide plate 22 can be prevented. Can be accurately stacked on the discharge tray 3.

The width shifting roller 21 is provided with a detection unit 24, and the detection unit 24 has a detection filler 25 and shielding type detection sensors S3 and S5. Detection filler 25
Is located directly below the paper discharge roller 20, and the detection member 25 a of the detection filler 25 comes into contact with the uppermost surface of the paper stacked on the paper discharge tray 3. Therefore, the detection filler 25 swings around the fulcrum b by the vertical movement of the sheet discharge tray 3, and the detection plate 25a of the detection filler 25 shields the shielded detection sensors S3 and S5 by the swing.
By releasing the shielding, the height of the uppermost sheet of the sheet discharge tray 3 is detected.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the drive transmission unit.
FIG. 5 is a front view schematically showing the drive transmission unit of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the drive transmission unit 50 includes a drive gear (drive transmission member) 100 fixed to the drive shaft 100 of the paper discharge roller 20, and a drive from the drive transmission gear 100 to the width shifting roller 21. Gear (driven transmission gear) 103 for transmitting to the gears, a gear for driven-roller (driven transmission gear) 104 meshed with the idle gear 103, and each of these gears 1
00, 103, and 104, and a stopper (restriction member) 105 for restricting rotation of the holder 102.
(See FIG. 6).

The rotation center L of the drive gear 100 is eccentric from the rotation center M of the drive shaft 100 of the paper discharge roller 20 by a distance d, and a boss 101a concentric with the drive gear 100 is formed integrally with the drive gear 100. ing. Boss 1
A holder 102 is fitted on a peripheral surface (boss surface) of the gear 01a, and a rotating shaft 102a of the idle gear 103 and a rotating shaft 10
2b are provided integrally.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the width adjusting roller 21 is attached to the rotating shaft 102b of the width adjusting roller gear 104. The width adjusting roller 21 and the width adjusting roller gear 104 It is provided integrally. Accordingly, with the rotation of the drive shaft 100 of the paper discharge roller 20, the drive gear 101 rotates eccentrically, and the driving force is transmitted through the idle gear 103 to the width adjustment roller 21 provided integrally with the width adjustment roller 21. The drive is transmitted to the gear 104.

As shown in FIG. 6, one end of the holder 102 is provided with a stopper 105 for restricting the rotation of the holder 102 about the paper discharge roller 20.
Drive shaft 1 of paper discharge roller 20 by rotation of drive gear 101
The holder 102 moves between the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 4 and the position indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG.
When the holder 102 swings, the width adjusting roller 21 swings together with the holder 102.

This makes it possible to intermittently move the sheet after the sheet is ejected, and to reduce the damage to the sheet while reducing the variety of sheets (a wide range of sizes from small to large). Paper, curled paper, staple-bound paper, paper with punched holes, etc.) can be secured, and the alignment accuracy of paper can be improved. Sheets can be reliably and accurately stacked on the tray 3.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the gears 101, 10
The driving shaft 1 of the discharge roller 20 is
Although the driving force of 00 is transmitted to the width adjusting roller 21, the invention is not limited to this. For example, the driving force of the driving shaft 100 of the paper discharging roller 20 may be transmitted by friction due to contact between rubber rollers.

Although the present invention has been applied to a finisher, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention may be directly provided in an image forming apparatus main body such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a multifunction peripheral thereof.

[0028]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the paper of a wide range of sizes from a small size to a large size, the curl state of the paper,
It is possible to prevent a discharge failure and a variation in the stack position of the paper on the paper discharge tray regardless of the post-processing form (staple, punch, etc.) of the paper, and to reliably and accurately stack the paper on the paper discharge tray. it can. In addition, since the width adjusting roller swings, the width adjusting roller does not always contact the sheet, so that it is possible to prevent the sheet from being stained and to prevent the sheet from being damaged. Furthermore, the structure is simple, only the drive transmission means is provided, and the cost can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the same effects as those of the first aspect of the invention can be obtained, and the driving transmission member and the plurality of driven transmission members are held, and the rotation shaft of the width adjusting roller is integrally provided. The width adjustment roller can be swung with a simple configuration in which only the holding member is provided, and the cost can be further reduced.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the same effects as those of the first or second aspect can be obtained, and the same effects as those of the first or second aspect can be obtained.
Since the width adjusting roller is provided symmetrically with respect to the center line of the sheet along the sheet conveying direction, it is possible to prevent the sheet skewed in the rotating direction by the width adjusting roller, and discharge the sheet. Stacking can be performed more accurately on the tray.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a finisher to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a sheet stacking apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an arrangement position of a width shifting roller.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a drive transmission unit.

FIG. 5 is a front view schematically showing the drive transmission unit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining swinging of a width approach roller.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Discharge Tray 20 Discharge Roller 21 Width Roller 24 Detector (Detector) 30 Paper Stacking Device 50 Drive Transmitter (Drive Transmitter) 60 Tray Elevator (Tray Elevator) 100 Drive Shaft 101 Drive Gear (Drive Transmission) 102) Holder (holding member) 103 Idle gear (driven transmission member) 104 Gear for driven-roller (driven transmission member) 105 Stopper (restriction member)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiromoto Saito 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tsuyoshi Sasaki 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Nobuyoshi Suzuki 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Kenji Yamada 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Ricoh Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3F054 AA01 AC02 AC03 AC05 BA04 BD02 BE03 BH03 CA11 CA40 DA12

Claims (3)

[Claims] A discharge roller for discharging the paper, a paper discharge tray for stacking the paper discharged by the paper discharge roller, a rotatable width-adjusting roller disposed opposite to the paper discharge tray, and a paper discharge A paper stack including a detecting unit that detects the highest sheet height of the sheets stacked on the tray, and a tray elevating unit that adjusts the highest sheet height of the discharge tray based on a signal from the detecting unit. A sheet stacking device, comprising: a drive transmitting unit that transmits drive to a width-adjusting roller in accordance with rotation of a sheet discharge roller, wherein the width-adjusting roller swings while being rotated by the drive transmitting unit. 2. The drive transmission means includes: a drive transmission member eccentrically mounted on a drive shaft of a paper discharge roller; a plurality of driven transmission members for transmitting drive from the drive transmission member to the width-adjusting roller; It has a holding member that holds the transmission member and the driven transmission member and is integrally provided with a rotation shaft of the width shifting roller, and a regulating member that contacts the holding member and regulates rotation of the holding member. The sheet stacking device according to claim 1. 3. The sheet stacking device according to claim 1, wherein the width shifting rollers are respectively provided at target positions with respect to a center line along a sheet conveying direction.