Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.

Keiichi Taguchi

Yoshio Sugishima

Keiji Okumura

Jun Miyoshi

Satoru Hayama

Noriaki Okamoto

Takatoshi Nishimura

Hiroyuki Nagai

Hiroyuki Fujita

Takeshi Aoki

Kazushi Takimoto

Yuichiro Iwase

Nobukazu Otsuka

A sheet stack handling apparatus discharges sheet stacks from a bin of a sorter disposed on the side of an image forming apparatus, and includes a sheet stocker, a sheet stack transporting route, and a sheet grasping mechanism. The stack handling or discharge apparatus is disposed on the front side of the sorter. The sheet stocker is disposed in the bottom of the discharging apparatus and stores the sheet stacks. The sheet stack transporting route is provided in the discharging apparatus and extends laterally from the side of the bin and downward to the sheet stacker. The sheet stack grasping mechanism is disposed under the sheet stack transporting route. The sheet stack grasping mechanism grasps a sheet stack in a bin of the sorter, then moves length-wise away from the image forming apparatus, and then moves width-wise to transfer the stack from the bin into the sheet stocker.

Apparatus for discharging sheets from a sorter

Image forming apparatus including a sheet finish-processing unit for finish-processing sheets discharged from a copying machine to which the unit is laterally positioned and stored thereby into a plurality of stacks. A sheet stack finish-processing mechanism of the unit, incorporating a stapler, is shiftable by an associated drive mechanism in the widthwise direction along the adjacent end of a positioned stack in storage. A sheet stack handling mechanism therein draws the end of the positioned stack into a finishing locale of the finish-processing mechanism, and subsequent to a finishing (stapling) operation, returns the finished sheet stack into storage. Thereupon, the stack is transversely discharged frontward of the image forming apparatus from storage, during which operation a subsequent finishing operation is concurrently executable; by such discharge a number of copy stacks greater than the number of stacking storages can be processed. The stacks are linearly inserted into and withdrawn from the finish-processing mechanism, eliminating the need for complex movements thereof, and allowing the finish-processing mechanism to be functional at a number of linear positions along the stack end margin. Furthermore, the sheet stacks are discharged to the apparatus front, wherein they are readily accessible for removal by an operator.

Sheet finish-processing unit in image forming apparatus

A sorter for stapling is provided with an arrangement of a plurality of sorting bins and a paper guide means which discharges the papers to predetermined bins. A stapling means is provided to move to the positions corresponding to the predetermined bins. The stapling means moves to a position corresponding to a bin in which are held the papers to be stapled among the predetermined bins, and effects the stapling process under the condition where the papers are held in said bin. The stapling number setting means sets the number of bins in which are held the papers that are to be stapled. A control means is provided which, after the papers are discharged to the predetermined bins by the paper guide means, causes the stapling means to effect the stapling process for only those papers that are held in the bins of a number corresponding to the number of said bins.

Sorter for stapling

An automatic sheet feeder for a copying machine etc. for correctly resuming a continuous copying operation after power to the sheet feeder (as well as the copying machine) is stopped by an emergency (safety) power stop. The copying machine has a state memory in which the state of the automatic sheet feeder (whether it is operating or not operating) at the time of a power stoppage to the automatic sheet feeder is stored. When the supply of power to the automatic sheet feeder begins, the state data is sent from the copying machine to the automatic short feeder. When the state data from the copying machine indicates that the sheet feeder was not operating, the automatic sheet feeder performs a preset initializing process in which the feeding rollers are rotated to eject the original sheet on the contact glass plate of the copying machine. When the state data indicates that the sheet feeder was operating when the power supply was stopped however the sheet feeder does not perform the initializing process and the original sheet still on the contact glass plate (which has not yet copied due to the emergency stop) is copied, and the continuous copying operation is resumed without missing any copies of plural original sheets.

Automatic sheet feeder having means for resuming continuous copying

A multiple sorter includes several sorter units disposed in series at a paper discharge outlet of an image forming apparatus. Each of the sorter units includes a paper distributing mechanism for distributing paper to several sort bins, and a first path change-over mechanism for changing over the connection of a paper lead-in path to either a paper feeding path to the paper distributing mechanism or a paper discharging path to a non-sort bin. The sorter also includes several bypass carrying paths, each provided across the paper discharging path of each of the sorter units and the paper lead-in path of another one of the sorter units which is adjacent to the one sorter unit in a serially connecting direction of the sorter units. The non-sort bin is provided on an upper portion of the bypass carrying path of each one of the sorter units so that the non-sort bin serves another one of the sorter units upstream of the one sorter unit. The sorter further includes several second path change-over mechanisms, each for switching the connection between the paper discharging path to the non-sort bin and the bypass carrying path.

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Kyoto, Japan

Keiichi Taguchi