Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6168145
-
Patent Number
6,168,145
-
Date Filed
Friday, May 29, 199826 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, January 2, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Ellis; Christopher P.
- Ridley; Richard
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 270 5811
- 270 5809
- 414 7899
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
An apparatus and method for processing paper ejected from an image forming device includes the use of a plurality of bins for sorting the paper ejected from the image forming device into packets and for housing the packets. A tray for stacking the packets is provided, along with a packet conveying device for conveying the packets from the plurality of bins to the tray. A detection device is included for detecting the maximum amount of paper that can be stacked onto the tray. A control device is also included which performs a number of controlling functions such as halting the packet conveying device, counting the number of empty bins from which the packets have already been removed and transmitting the number to an image forming device controller, in addition to controlling the guidance of the paper subsequently ejected from the image forming device in the empty bins.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention generally relates to an apparatus and method for processing paper, and more particularly, to a paper processing apparatus and method that can sort and staple sheets of paper ejected from a copying machine or printer, on which images have been formed.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
In recent years, various types of sorters for image forming devices such as copying machines and printers have been proposed. These sorters sort sheets of paper on which images have been formed into multiple bins in proper page sequence and staple them together when necessary.
In order to handle a large amount of paper, a sorter of this type must be constructed such that it contains a large-capacity tray separate from the multiple bins, wherein packets of sheets (hereinafter termed “packets”) once sorted into the bins are transferred to the tray such that more sheets may be sorted into the emptied bins. A sorter of this type is conventionally known. See, for example, Japanese Published Patent Application No. 4-66786.
However, in a sorter of the type in which packets are sent from the bins to the high-capacity tray, if the tray reaches the limit of its capacity then Subsequent copy processing must be stopped. As a result, this reduces the productivity of the copy procedure. If copy processing were nonetheless to continue and subsequent sheets were to be sent to the sorter, then the sheets that could not be transferred to the tray and the sheets that were subsequently sent into the sorter would mix together, creating problems.
Thus, there reins an opportunity to improve the sorting and housing of paper in sorters. In particular, there exists a need for a paper processing apparatus and method that can perform continuous sorting for a number of packets exceeding the number of installed bins, and that can continue the image formation process even after the large-capacity tray to which the packets are transferred has reached the limit of its capacity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a paper processing apparatus and method that, in paper sort mode, can perform continuous sorting for a number of packets exceeding the number of installed bins, and that can continue the image formation process even after the large-capacity tray to which the packets are transferred has reached the limit of its capacity.
In order to attain the above object, an apparatus and method for processing paper ejected from an image forming device are disclosed. The apparatus comprises a plurality of bins for sorting the paper ejected from the image forming device into packets, and for housing the packets, a tray for stacking the packets; packet conveying device for conveying the packets from the plurality of bins to the tray, detecting device for detecting the maximum amount of paper that can be stacked onto the tray; and control device for halting the packet conveying device when the detecting device detects the maximum amount of paper that can be stacked onto the tray, for counting the number of empty bins from which the packets have already been removed, for transmitting the counted number of empty bins to an image forming device controller, and for controlling the guiding the of paper subsequently ejected from the image forming device in the empty bins.
In the invention, where, for example, 30 packets are to be made but only 20 bins exist to handle them, initially the copy operations for the first 20 packets are performed, and one packet is sent to and housed in each bin. The packets are then removed from the bins and conveyed to and housed in the large-capacity tray by device of the packet conveying means. The subsequent copy operations for the remaining 10 packets are then performed. In this example, where it is detected by the detecting device that the tray has reached the limit of its capacity when the 17
th
packet has been sent to the tray to be housed, the operation of the packet conveying device is stopped temporarily and the counted number of empty bins from which packets have been removed (in this case, 17) is sent to the image forming device controller. The image forming device then performs copying for the remaining 10 packets, and the paper ejected from the image forming device is distributed to and housed in the empty bins.
As is clear from the above explanation, since the number of empty bins is counted and the sheets that are subsequently sent to the sorter are housed in the empty bins, the image forming operation need not be completely prohibited even when the large-capacity tray has become full. Instead, the image forming operation can be continued in accordance with the number of empty bins, and this results in an improved copying efficiency. Moreover, the problem of sheets already housed in the bins becoming commingled with the sheets newly sent to the bins can be prevented.
The above features and advantages of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description taken into conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following description, like parts are designated by like reference numbers throughout the several drawings.
FIG. 1
is an elevational view of the external appearance of a stapler/sorter comprising an embodiment of the invention and a copying machine.
FIG. 2
is a drawing showing the basic construction of the stapler/sorter.
FIG. 3
is a drawing explaining the packet removal and stacking operations in the stapler/sorter.
FIG. 4
is a drawing continuing the explanation of
FIG. 3
of the packet removal and stacking operations in the stapler/sorter.
FIG. 5
is a drawing continuing the explanation of
FIG. 4
of the packet removal and stacking operations in the stapler/sorter.
FIG. 6
is a drawing continuing the explanation of
FIG. 5
of the packet removal and stacking operations in the stapler/sorter.
FIG. 7
is a drawing continuing the explanation of
FIG. 6
of the packet removal and stacking operations in the stapler/sorter.
FIG. 8
is a drawing continuing the explanation of
FIG. 7
of the packet removal and stacking operations in the stapler/sorter.
FIG. 9
is a block diagram showing the controller for the copying machine and the stapler/sorter.
FIG. 10
is a flow chart showing the main routine of the control sequence of the CPU controlling the stapler/sorter.
FIG. 11
is a flow chart showing the sorting subroutine.
FIG. 12
is a flow chart showing the stacking subroutine.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
An embodiment of the paper processing apparatus pertaining to the invention will be explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiment explained below, the invention is applied in a stapler/sorter connected to an electrophotographic copying machine.
In
FIG. 1
, reference numeral
1
is an electrophotographic copying machine and reference numeral
10
is a stapler/sorter. Copying machine
1
forms images on paper using the public domain electrophotographic method, and is equipped with recycle-type automatic original document feeder
5
on top it. This automatic original document feeder
5
feeds the pages of a multi-page original document that sits in a tray to the platen glass in proper page sequence, ejects them from the platen glass when exposure of the number of copies designated by the operator has been performed, and then returns them to the tray.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, the stapler/sorter
10
comprises essentially a large-capacity non-sort tray
20
a bin assembly
30
having
20
bins
31
(
31
1
through
31
20
), a removal unit
40
to remove the packets housed in the bins
31
, a stapling unit
70
, a paper conveying unit
80
, a packet conveying gate
100
, and a punch unit
120
.
The stapler/sorter
10
can process sheets of paper on which images have been formed and that have been ejected from copying machine
1
in accordance with the various modes described below: (1) stacking of sheets in non-sort tray
20
without sorting them (non-sort mode), (2) sorting of sheets into bins
31
in proper page sequence (sort mode), (3) stapling of sorted packets (sort/staple mode), (4) removal of stapled packets housed in bins
31
and stacking the packets in non-sort tray
20
(sort/staple/stack mode), (5) removal of sorted packets from bins
31
and stacking them in non-sort tray
20
without stapling them (sort/stack mode), (6) distributing each page of a document to a different bin
31
(group mode), (7) stapling of grouped packets (group/staple mode), (8) removal of stapled packets from bins
31
and stacking them in non-sort tray
20
(group/staple/stack mode), and (9) removal of grouped packets from bins
31
and stacking them in non-sort tray
20
without stapling them (group/stack mode). Moreover, each of these modes can be combined with punch processing, in which punch holes are formed on a single sheet basis at a time while paper conveyance by paper conveying unit
80
is underway.
The internal construction of stapler/sorter
10
will now be explained in detail.
First, paper conveying unit
80
comprises a pair of receiving rollers
81
that receive sheets ejected from copying machine
1
, a switching claw
82
that switches the direction of paper conveyance, a first conveying assembly
83
that extends essentially vertically, and a second conveying assembly
90
that extends essentially horizontally from the first conveying assembly
83
toward bin assembly
30
. The switching claw
82
is mounted with pin
82
a
as a fulcrum such that it can rotate based on the switching ON and OFF of solenoid SL
50
. When the solenoid SL
50
is in the OFF state, the switching claw
82
is set in the position indicated by the solid line in FIG.
2
. When this condition is present, the sheet being received by the pair of receiving rollers
81
are guided by the curved, right-hand side surface of the switching claw
82
and sent to the first conveying assembly
83
. When the solenoid SL
50
is in the OFF state, the switching claw
82
revolves slightly in a clockwise direction. When this condition is present, the sheets are guided by the top surface of the switching claw
82
and guide plate
79
and conveyed onto the non-sort tray
20
via packet conveying gate
100
. This is further explained below.
The first conveying assembly
83
comprises guide plates
84
.
85
,
86
and
87
, as well as pairs of conveying rollers
88
and
89
. The second conveying assembly
90
comprises conveying rollers
91
and
92
, as well as guide plates
93
and
94
, and can rotate approximately 90° upward with shaft
95
as a fulcrum. When the sort mode or group mode is active, the second conveying assembly
90
is set in the conveyance position indicated by the solid line in Fill.
2
, and sends sheets conveyed from the first conveying assembly
83
to the bins
31
via the conveying rollers
91
and
92
. When packet removal processing is performed as explained below, the second conveying assembly
90
rotates approximately 90° in a counter-clockwise direction with the shaft
95
as a fulcrum, rising, and retracting from the paper conveying position.
The pair of rollers
81
,
88
and
89
and the rollers
91
and
92
are driven to rotate by motor M
50
.
The bin assembly
30
comprises
20
bins
31
1
through
31
20
. Each bin
31
is oriented diagonally at a fixed distance from the adjacent bins, and engages with a spiral thread formed on the outer circumference of a drive shaft not shown in the drawings, on which pins
32
at the lower ends of the bins
31
are vertically mounted. By rotating this drive shaft forward or backward by means of motor M
60
, the bins
31
are raised or lowered by one pitch through one rotation of the drive shaft. The position indicated by the solid line in
FIG. 2
is the lowermost position (home position) of the bin assembly
30
. When it is in this position, the first bin
31
1
faces the conveying rollers
91
and
92
. From here on, the position of bin
31
facing the conveying rollers
91
and
92
is termed level X
2
. When the drive shaft rotates once backward, the first bin
31
1
descends to level X
1
, and the packet is bound by staple unit
70
at this level X
1
. When the drive shaft rotates once forward, the first bin
31
1
rises to level X
2
, and the packet is removed at this level X
2
. At this time, the subsequent bins
31
2
through
31
20
also rise one pitch, and the bin
31
2
is set at level X
1
. When any bin
31
is set at levels X
1
or X
2
, the spacing between itself and the adjacent bins
31
above and below is set more widely. The setting of the bin spacing is obtained by changing the pitch of the spiral thread of the drive shaft.
The removal unit
40
will now be explained.
The removal unit
40
grasps and removes a packet from the bin
31
set at level X
2
, and comprises essentially an upper roller
42
supported by an upper arm
45
, and a lower roller
43
supported by a lower arm
46
. When the second conveying assembly
90
retracts upwards, the upper arm
45
rotates counter-clockwise using shaft
95
as a fulcrum, and the lower arm
46
rotates clockwise using shaft
47
as a fulcrum. As a result, the leading edge of the packet in the bin
31
is grasped and lifted by the rollers
42
and
43
, and the packet is removed through the driven rotation of the rollers
42
and
43
.
Next, the packet conveying gate
100
will be explained.
The packet conveying gate
100
is equipped with a pair of rollers
102
and
103
, as shown in FIG.
2
. The rollers
102
and
103
can rotate in a forward or backward direction by motor M
21
. This packet conveying gate
100
is guided by a guide in ember not shown in the drawings such that it may rise or descend, and the motor M
20
operates as its drive source. The home position of the packet conveying gate
100
is the position indicated by the solid line in
FIG. 2
, and at this home position, the gate
100
conveys packets sent from the pair of receiving rollers
81
while being guided by the upper surface of the switching claw
82
to the left in FIG.
2
through the rotation of the rollers
102
and
103
, and sends them to the non-sort tray
20
.
On the other hand, in order to receive stapled or non-stapled packets, the packet conveying gate
100
descends to the position facing the bin
31
set at level X
2
(see FIG.
3
). At this removal position, the gate
100
grasps by means of rollers
102
and
103
packet S grasped and then removed from the bin
31
by the removal rollers
42
and
43
(see FIG.
4
), and places packet S in the gate
100
based on the forward rotation of the rollers
102
and
103
(see FIG.
5
). When the packet S is completely received by the gate
100
, the forward rotation of the rollers
102
and
103
stops, and the gate
100
simultaneously rises (see FIG.
6
). When the gate
100
rises to a prescribed height, the rollers
102
and
103
rotate backward, and the grasped packet S is ejected onto the non-sort tray
20
(see FIG.
7
). The gate
100
then descends to the removal position (see FIG.
8
), and the stacking operation is repeated.
The packet conveying gate
100
normally ejects non-sort sheets onto the tray
20
one sheet at a time at the position indicated in
FIG. 2
(home position), and when the packets are stacked, the gate
100
begins ejecting packets onto the tray
20
from a position slightly lower than the home position. As the number of packets stacked on the tray
20
increases, the gate
100
rises above the home position and then stops, whereupon its packet is ejected onto the tray
20
. The position at which the gate
100
rises and stops corresponds to a position at which a fixed distance is maintained between the packet ejection height from the rollers
102
and
103
and the top surface of the sheets stacked on the tray
20
. In other words, the gate
100
rises to a position at which it can drop the next packet from a prescribed distance to the top surface of the paper on the tray at all times.
Incidentally, a sensor SE
23
is provided for detecting the accumulation of sheets of paper on the non-sort tray
20
to its maximum capacity by detecting the top surface of the paper on tray
20
. The sensor SE
23
is located above the tray
20
.
The stapling unit
70
will now be explained.
The stapling unit
70
consists of a public domain motor-powered mechanism, and comprises a head member
71
on which a cartridge that holds staples can be detachably mounted and an anvil member
72
that catches and bends staples that have been fired from the head member
71
. This stapling unit
70
moves toward the bin
31
set at the level X
1
, and drives staples into the packets at one corner location or two center locations (see FIG.
4
). In other words, where the front side of the stapler/sorter
10
is deemed the home position, the stapling unit
70
moves toward the back side, stops at a prescribed position, moves toward the bin
31
drives in a staple, and finally returns to the home position.
FIG. 9
shows the controller for the copying machine
1
and the stapler/sorter
10
. This controller mainly comprises a CPU
125
for controlling the copying machine
1
, and a CPU
130
for controlling the stapler/sorter
10
. The CPU
130
is equipped with a ROM
131
that houses a control program and a RAM
132
that houses the parameters for the execution of the control program, and is connected to the sensor SE
23
and the motors M
20
and M
21
by I/O ports
133
. The CPUs
125
and
130
exchange information by interface
140
.
The sort mode operation of the stapler/sorter
10
having the construction described above will now be briefly explained.
The automatic original document feeder
5
can count how many times the original document has been recycled to the automatic original document feeder for copying, and in the sort mode, where the set number of copies exceeds
21
, the original document is recycled for copying jobs comprising 20 copies each. For example, where the number of packets to be made is
50
, first, 20 copies of each original document are made and distributed to bins
31
1
to
31
20
(first cycle). This is termed job one. After job one is completed, the packets in the bins
31
are sequentially stapled if necessary, and are then stacked on the non-sort tray
20
by the packet conveying gate
100
. Another 20 copies are then made of the original document (second cycle), distributed to the bins
31
1
through
31
20
, and stacked on the tray
20
as before. In the third cycle, the original document is copied 10 times, and the copies are distributed to the bins
31
1
through
31
10
and then stacked on the tray
20
.
Incidentally, when the 37
th
packet has been stacked on the tray
20
, if it is detected by the sensor SE
23
that the maximum capacity of the tray has been exceeded, then the gate
100
is held at the home position, and subsequent stacking operations are prohibited. The CPU
130
then counts the number of empty bins from which the packets were removed (in this case 17), and transmits the counted number of empty bins (17) to the CPU
125
. The CPU
125
compares the transmitted number of empty bins and the number of packets remaining to be made, sets the number of packets to be made, which is less than the number of empty bins, and continues copying. In this example, because the number of empty bins is 17 and the number of remaining packets to be made is 10, copying for 10 packets is performed. The remaining 10 packets made are distributed to the empty bins
31
. If the packets are removed from the non-sort tray
20
during this time, then the packets distributed to the bins
31
are stacked on the tray
20
by the gate
100
.
The control process of the CPU
130
will now be explained with reference to the flow charts of
FIGS. 10 through 12
.
FIG. 10
shows the main routine for the CPU
130
.
When the power is turned ON and the program starts, first, in step S
1
, various control parameters and various devices are initialized. In step S
2
, the internal timer is started. Next, the subroutines of steps S
3
through S
7
are called in sequence and necessary processing is performed. Finally, when the ending of the internal timer is confirmed in step S
8
the CPU
130
returns to step S
2
.
In step S
3
, detection signals from various sensors, etc., in the stapler/sorter
10
are read. In step S
4
, the control signals are output to various motors, etc. In step S
5
, the routine to sort sheets that are sent from the copying machine
1
to the stapler/sorter
10
and to house them in the bins
31
is performed. In step S
6
, the routine to convey the packets housed in each bin
31
to the non-sort tray
20
for stacking is performed. In step S
7
, other routines such as the detection of paper jam is performed.
FIG. 11
shows the subroutine for the sorting operation performed in the step S
5
.
First, when it is confirmed in step S
11
that copying by copying machine
1
has begun, the routine to sort the copy sheets into the bins
31
is begun in step S
12
. Next, when it is confirmed in step S
13
that the sheets have been ejected to the prescribed bins
31
, the number of ejected copy sheets is counted in step S
14
and the next bin
31
is moved to paper eject level X
2
in step S
15
.
Then in step S
16
, it is determined whether or not the last paper for job one has been ejected. If it has, sorting is stopped in step S
17
.
FIG. 12
shows the subroutine for the stacking operation performed in step S
6
. First, it is determined in step S
21
whether or not the job one has been completed. If the job one has not been completed (if copying is still underway), in step S
30
the holding operation is performed i.e., the removal unit
40
or the gate
100
are held in a stand-by state. If the job one is completed, after confirmation in step S
22
that the stack mode has been set, a bin
31
from which a packet is to be removed is sought in step S
23
. Where it is determined in step S
24
that such a bin exists, the bin
31
is moved to the level X
2
in step S
25
and stacking is performed. The number in the empty bin counter is then increased by 1 in step S
26
.
It is then determined in step S
27
based on detection signals from the sensor SE
23
whether or not the capacity of the non-sort tray
20
is being exceeded. If its capacity is not being exceeded, then the processes of steps S
24
through S
26
are repeated. If its capacity is being exceeded, then the stacking operation is prohibited in step S
28
, and the number in the empty bin counter is transmitted to copying machine control CPU
125
in step S
29
. The CPU
125
then sets the remaining number of copies to be performed based on the transmitted number of empty bins and continues the copying operation. When this occurs, the copy sheets ejected from the copying machine
1
are distributed to the empty bins
31
.
The paper processing apparatus pertaining to the invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and may be modified in various ways within its essential scope.
For example, the stapling unit
70
and the punch unit
120
are not essential to the invention.
Moreover, the invention may be applied in an apparatus other than the copying machine
1
, such as a sorter connected to a printer that outputs image information transmitted from a host computer as hard copies.
While the invention has been described in detail with reference to a preferred embodiment and selected variations thereof it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations are possible without departure from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. An apparatus for processing paper ejected from an image forming device, comprising:a plurality of bins for sorting the paper ejected from the image forming device into packets, and for housing the packets; a tray for stacking the packets; packet conveying device for conveying the packets from the plurality of bins to the tray; detecting device for detecting the maximum amount of paper that can be stacked onto the tray; and control device for halting the packet conveying device when the detecting device detects the maximum amount of paper that can be stacked onto the tray, for counting the number of empty bins from which the packets have already been removed, for transmitting the counted number of empty bins to an image forming device controller, and for controlling the guiding of the paper subsequently ejected from the image forming device in the empty bins.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a stapling unit for stapling the paper.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a punch unit for punching holes in the paper.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image forming device is a digital copier.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image forming device is an analog copier.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image forming device is a computer printer.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising means for detecting paper jam.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image forming device controller sets the number of packets to be made by comparing the counted number of empty bins and the number of packets remaining to be made.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the digital copier comprises memory for storing data representing the image being formed.
- 10. A method for processing paper ejected from an image forming device, comprising:sorting and housing the paper ejected from the image forming device into packets in a plurality of bins; conveying the packets from the plurality of bins to a stacking tray; detecting the maximum amount of paper that can be stacked on the stacking tray; halting the conveying when the maximum amount of paper that can be stacked on the stacking tray is detected; counting the number of empty bins from which the packets have already been removed; and housing the paper subsequently ejected from the image forming device in the empty bins from which the packets have already been removed.
- 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising transmitting the counted number of empty bins to an image forming device controller after the counting of the number of empty bins.
- 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising detecting paper jam.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
9-142780 |
May 1997 |
JP |
|
US Referenced Citations (17)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
61-217464 |
Sep 1986 |
JP |
61-287656 |
Dec 1986 |
JP |