JP4150928B2 - Sheet processing method and processing apparatus, and sheet processing apparatus equipped with the apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet processing method and processing apparatus, and a sheet processing apparatus including the apparatus, and more specifically, discharges an old order sheet group while loading a new order sheet group in accordance with an order change. The present invention relates to a sheet processing method and a processing apparatus that make it possible, and a sheet processing apparatus including the apparatus.

Conventionally, a plate-like sheet, for example, a corrugated cardboard sheet, is continuously fed along a feeding line, cut into a predetermined length in the feeding direction, and each sheet is a stacker installed on the most downstream side of the line. 1 are sequentially loaded on the loading table, moved from the loading position to the unloading position together with the loading table, and discharged out of the line.
At this time, particularly when the sheet cutting length is changed in accordance with the sheet order change, the following problems occur in relation to the continuous feeding of the sheet to be cut to the stacker.
That is, the sheet group of the old order loaded on the loading table is moved along with the loading table, discharged out of the line, and another loading table is set for the new order. Therefore, before the sheet group is fed to the stacker, the old order sheet group and the new order sheet group are separated and the old order sheet group is loaded. While moving the loading table from the loading position to the discharge position, it is necessary to secure time until the loading table for loading the new order sheet group is completely moved to the loading position.

For example, JP-A-8-34556 and JP-A-6-219623 disclose a sheet grouping technique that solves this problem.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-34556 relates to a method and apparatus for sorting and stacking plate sheets, and when a cut sheet is fed to a down stacker along a feed line in a so-called shingling state, the order of the sheets is changed. In this case, it is disclosed that a plurality of conveyor groups each extending to the down stacker is switched by a switching conveyor.
On the other hand, JP-A-6-219623 similarly relates to a sheet-sheet sorting and loading method and apparatus, in the case of feeding a plate-like sheet to be cut to a down stacker along a feeding line in a so-called single ring state. It is disclosed that a plurality of shingling conveyors are provided adjacent to each other in series along the feeding line, and the respective traveling speeds are appropriately increased or decreased when changing the order of the sheets.

JP-A-8-34556 JP-A-6-219623

As described above, in any case, when changing the order of the sheets, it is possible to secure the replacement time of the stacker in the stacker by dividing the old sheet group and the new sheet group on the feeding conveyor. became.
However, both have the following new technical problems.
First, since the separation of the old sheet group and the new sheet group is performed on the feeding conveyor, a plurality of conveyor groups, or a plurality of stages of conveyors and a traveling speed control device are required, which increases the cost accordingly. .
Second, when changing the order of sheets, it is difficult to deal with small orders, for example, orders that cut more than a dozen sheets, and the new order sheet group is loaded on the old order sheet group. It was necessary to perform so-called common stacking and manually separate the sheet groups for each order.

Accordingly, in view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to supply a sheet fed based on an old order while continuing to stack a group of sheets fed based on a new order when changing the order of sheets. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet processing method and a processing apparatus that can discharge a finished sheet group.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet processing apparatus that can be divided into sheet groups and stacked on a loading table without decelerating or stopping a feeding line even in order change of a small order group. is there.

In view of the above problems, the sheet processing method of the present invention provides:
Cutting a continuous sheet fed along a feeding line into a predetermined length in the feeding direction, feeding each cut sheet to a stacking position, and feeding each fed sheet in order In the sheet processing method, the sheet stacking step includes offsetting the sheet groups adjacent to each other in the feeding direction. By stacking, the step of forming a step between the end surface of one sheet group and the end surface of the other sheet group at the boundary between the adjacent sheet groups, the discharging step, The lower layer sheet group is discharged to the outside of the line while holding the lower surface of the lowermost sheet group immediately above the lowermost sheet group using the stepped portion.

  According to the sheet processing method having the above configuration, when sheets to be cut that are fed in the feeding direction are sequentially stacked, the sheets adjacent to each other in the feeding direction are stacked while being offset in the feeding direction. Thus, a step is formed between the surface and the end face of the adjacent sheet group, and the lower surface of the lowermost sheet of the sheet group immediately above the lowermost sheet group is held using this step. However, it is possible to discharge the lowermost sheet group out of the line. In particular, when changing the order of seats, there is no need to distinguish between a group of sheets fed based on the new order and a group of already fed sheets fed based on the old order. By performing sheet grouping and sheet group discharge independently of each other, the loaded sheet group fed based on the old order is maintained while continuing to stack the sheet group fed based on the new order. Can be discharged.

In the holding step, a first space is formed between the upper surface of the lower sheet group and the lower surface of the upper sheet group among the sheet groups adjacent to each other in the stacking direction at one end of the sheet group in the feeding direction. And using the first space, the upper surface and the lower surface are gradually separated along the feeding direction to form a second space between the upper surface and the lower surface at the other end of the sheet group. And a step of holding the lower surface facing the second space from the side, whereby the lower surface of the upper layer sheet group is preferably held at both ends in the sheet feeding direction.
Further, in the step of forming the stepped portion, at the boundary between adjacent sheet groups in the stacking direction, the end surface of the lowermost sheet of the upper layer sheet group protrudes from the end surface of the uppermost sheet of the lower layer sheet group. Preferably, the method includes a step of offsetting the groups for each group.
Furthermore, after discharging the lowermost sheet group, it may have a step of moving downward to the discharge level while holding the upper layer sheet group.
In addition, the feeding stage includes a predetermined interval between the front end of the cut sheet on the upstream side in the feed direction and the rear end of the cut sheet on the downstream side in the feed direction between the cut sheets adjacent in the feed direction. It is also possible to have a step of feeding in a form spaced apart.
Further, the feeding step may include a step of feeding sheets to be cut adjacent to each other in the feeding direction so as to overlap in the feeding direction.
Furthermore, the offset placement step is applied to a predetermined number of sheets from the lowermost sheet of the upper layer sheet group, and the remaining sheets of the upper layer sheet group exceeding the predetermined number of sheets with respect to the feeding direction position of the predetermined number of sheets. Further, it may be arranged at a position that does not protrude from the end face of the uppermost sheet of the lower layer sheet group.

In view of the above problems, the sheet stacker of the present invention is
Sheets to be cut that are cut to a predetermined length in the feeding direction and are continuously fed along the feeding line are sequentially stacked, and the stacked sheets are discharged out of the line for each different sheet group. The sheet stacker further comprises sheet group sorting means for sorting adjacent sheet groups in the stacking direction, and the sheet group sorting means is movable in the feeding direction and is to be cut A sheet group aligning means for aligning the sheet group in the feeding direction and having a receiving surface for receiving the front end surface of the sheet, and the upper sheet group is separated from the lower sheet group among the adjacent sheet groups in the stacking direction. And a sheet group separating means.
Further, the sheet group separating means is a sheet group lifting means for lifting one end of the sheet group formed by sequentially stacking while being aligned by the sheet group aligning means from the lower sheet group adjacent in the stacking direction; A gap is formed between the other end of the sheet group adjacent in the stacking direction by being inserted from the side between the sheet group lifted by the sheet group lifting means and the lower sheet group adjacent in the stacking direction. And a sheet group holding means for holding the sheet group from below by being inserted into the gap formed by the gap forming means.

Further, the sheet group holding means has a thin plate fork extending in the feeding direction so as to support the lower surface of the sheet by inserting from the side of the sheet, and the gap forming means has one end tapered. A separator having a lower surface corresponding to the upper surface of the lower sheet group of the sheet group adjacent to the stacking direction and an upper surface corresponding to the lower surface of the upper sheet group, and the separator has a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction. In addition, it is preferably movable in the feeding direction.
Further, the receiving surface is disposed such that a lower edge is directed to the surface of the sheet, and is movable in a vertical direction, and the separator may be movable in a vertical direction independently of the receiving surface. .
Furthermore, it is preferable that the separator has a roller that is disposed so as to protrude from the outer surface of the separator and that can rotate about an axis substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the separator.
In addition, it is preferable to further include a rotation driving means for rotating at least one of the rollers around the axis.
Further, the thin plate fork includes a plurality of forks spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in the width direction of the sheet, and the receiving surface has a notch facing downward that can be engaged with each of the plurality of forks from above. The sheet fork and the receiving surface cooperate to form a sheet receiving portion having an L-shaped cross section.
Furthermore, the separator is tapered at both ends, and is positioned at a predetermined midway position in the feeding direction of the sheets stacked from the other end of the sheet group to form the second sheet group holding means. Good.
In addition, the one end of the sheet group is a rear end in the sheet feeding direction, and the sheet aligning unit moves the upper sheet group adjacent to the stacking direction from the lower sheet group in the feeding direction return direction. You may arrange so that it may protrude.
Further, the upper surface of the separator may be positioned so that the lower surface of the thin plate fork is substantially flush.

In view of the above problems, the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention is
A cutting means for cutting a continuous sheet continuously supplied along the feeding line into a predetermined length in the feeding direction; a feeding means for feeding each cut sheet to a stacking position; In a sheet processing apparatus having a sheet stacker that sequentially stacks each sheet at a stacking position and discharges the stacked sheets out of the line for each different sheet group, the sheet stacker is further movable in the feeding direction And having a receiving surface for receiving the front end surface of the sheet to be cut, and sheet stacking means for aligning the sheets in the feeding direction, and sequentially stacking while aligning by the sheet aligning means A sheet group lifting means for lifting one end of the formed sheet group from a lower-layer sheet group adjacent in the stacking direction, and lifting by the sheet group lifting means A gap forming means for forming a gap between the sheet groups adjacent to each other in the stacking direction, inserted between the sheet group and the lower layer sheet group adjacent to the stacking direction from one side. A pair of sheet group holding means for holding the sheet group from below by being inserted into the gap formed by the gap forming means.

  According to the sheet processing apparatus having the above configuration, it is possible to form a group of sheets by sequentially stacking them while being aligned by receiving the cut sheet fed in the feeding direction by the receiving surface. It is. In order to sort adjacent sheets in the stacking direction when changing the order of sheets, first, one end of the sheet group is lifted from the lower sheet group by the sheet group lifting means, and the sheet group adjacent in the stacking direction by the gap forming means. By forming a gap between them and inserting a pair of sheet group holding means into this gap to hold the sheet group, the sheet group fed based on the new order without stopping the feeding line It is possible to achieve downsizing of the entire apparatus by eliminating the need to separate the sheet group that has been fed based on the old order during feeding. In particular, when changing the order of so-called small orders, the sheet grouping and the discharge of the sheet groups are performed independently of each other, so that even a few sheets of small orders are continuously loaded. However, it is possible to achieve automatic sorting.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a processing device 10 for a sheet S according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, taking a corrugated cardboard as an example of processing.
FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram of a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a frame driving mechanism of the stacker of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a pair of forks and separators of the stacker of FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a front stopper of the stacker of FIG. FIG. 5 is a modification of the front stopper shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a further modification of the front stopper shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the separator of FIG. FIG. 8 is a modification of the separator of FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a control system of the sheet processing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic side view showing the sheet grouping and stacking status by the stacker of FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic side view showing a stacking state of sheet groups. FIG. 12 is a modification of the back fork shown in FIG. FIG. 13 shows a modification of the fork shown in FIG. FIG. 14 (A) is a further modification of the front stopper, and FIG. 14 (B) is a schematic partial plan view showing a state where the front stopper and the front fork cross each other. FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 10 showing another mode of stacking the sheet group. FIG. 16 is a view similar to FIG. 10 showing still another aspect of how the sheet group is stacked.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet processing apparatus 10 includes a rotary cutter 12, a cutter conveyor 14, a shing conveyor 16, an inclined conveyor 18, a horizontal line from upstream to downstream of the feeding line (from left to right in the drawing). The conveyor 20 and the stacker 22 are roughly configured.
The rotary cutter 12 is configured to cut a continuous sheet S fed along a feeding line along a machine width direction orthogonal to the feeding direction to form a sheet S having a predetermined length in the feeding direction. Yes. The predetermined length in the feeding direction can be adjusted by adjusting the rotational speed of the rotary cutter 12, and the cutting length data and the cutting frequency data of the sheet S for each order are transmitted from the higher-level production management device 210 described later. I am doing so.

The cutter conveyor 14 accelerates the sheet S cut by the rotary cutter 12 from the speed when passing through the position of the rotary cutter 12. The acceleration rate may be determined in accordance with the degree of single ring S, which will be described later, and is, for example, about 20%.
The shingling conveyor 16 is decelerated with respect to the feeding speed of the cutter conveyor 14 so that the individual cut sheets S fed are overlapped like a roof tile in the feeding direction (singling state). Like to do. The deceleration rate may be determined according to the traveling speed of the cutter conveyor 14. For example, the traveling speed is about two-thirds of the traveling speed of the cutter conveyor 14. By feeding the sheet S in such a single ring configuration, it is possible to stably feed the sheet group by preventing the sheet group to be fed from shifting in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction. In addition, a deflator (not shown) is provided between the cutter conveyor 14 and the shingling conveyor 16, and the defective sheet is fed by the deflator in case a defective sheet is generated at the time of sheet order change. The sheet is discharged out of the feeding line so that the defective sheet is not fed to the stacker 22.

  As for the inclined conveyor 18 and the horizontal conveyor 20, when the sheet group to be fed approaches the stacking position, the horizontal conveyor 20 is provided immediately before the stacker 22 because it is necessary to feed the sheet group substantially horizontally. In order to adjust the installation height of the single ring conveyor 16, an inclined conveyor 18 having a predetermined inclination angle is provided. The height of the horizontal conveyor 20 and thus the inclination angle of the installation of the inclined conveyor 18 are adjusted in accordance with the stacking height of the sheet group so that the sheet S in the single ring state is suitably stacked on the stacking table 24. ing.

  The stacker 22 is installed at the front end portion of the horizontal conveyor 20, and is roughly configured by a stacking base 24 on which the cut sheets S are stacked, a front stopper 26, a pair of front forks 30 and a back fork 28, and a separator 32. While the height of the loading table 24 is fixed, sheets are stacked while adjusting the height of the front stopper 26 and the horizontal conveyor 20 and the inclination angle of the inclined conveyor 18 according to the uppermost position of the stacked sheets. Stacker type.

  The stacking table 24 has a receiving surface 34 having a size capable of stacking the sheets S to be fed, and is carried by, for example, a conveyor (not shown). On the conveyor, a stacking table 24 on which sheets are not stacked is separately arranged outside the line. As the order changes, the conveyor is a sheet higher than the lowermost sheet group among the sheet groups divided by order as will be described later. While holding the group, the lowermost sheet group is moved to the discharge position outside the line together with the stacking table 24, and at the same time, the stacking table 24 on which no sheets are stacked is loaded to the stacking position for loading the next order sheet group. The conveyor is controlled to reach. In other words, the preparation of a new loading table and the discharge of the loading table on which sheets have been stacked are performed simultaneously by the conveyor.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the stacker 22 has a frame 38 having a rectangular opening 36 in which sheets S to be stacked can be arranged. The pair of opposing side surfaces 40 and 42 of the frame 38 are arranged so as to be parallel to the sheet S feeding direction. As shown in FIG. 2, each of the four corners of the frame 38 is supported by upright bars 44 having a rectangular cross section, and is movable in the vertical direction. The upright bar 44 is positioned at the front end of the horizontal conveyor 20 so that the sheet fed into the rectangular opening 36 is accommodated.

  More specifically, each upright bar 44 is wound on one surface 46 by a pair of rollers 48, 50 provided near the upper and lower ends of the upright bar 44, and the pair of rollers 48, 50. It has an existing endless chain 52, a drive motor 54 connected to one of a pair of rollers 48 and 50, and a linear guide 56. The linear guide 56 functions to keep the movement direction in the vertical direction and reduce the frictional resistance during movement when the frame 38 moves in the vertical direction. A rail portion (not shown) of the linear guide 56 is fixed to the upright bar 44, and a slider portion (not shown) is fitted to the rail portion and is fixed to the frame 38. The rollers 48 of each upright bar 44 are adapted to transmit the rotational driving force of the driving motor 54 through the connecting shaft 49. Accordingly, the chain 52 is rotated by the driving force of the single drive motor 54, so that the frame 38 moves in the vertical direction along the upright bar 44.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pair of back / front forks 28 and 30 and the separator 32 are supported by a pair of side surfaces 40 and 42 and move integrally with the frame 38 in the vertical direction, while in the sheet feeding direction. , Each can be moved independently. In the drawing, the left side shows the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction. As shown in FIG. 3B, the upper surface 33 of the separator 32 and the lower surface 35 of the back fork 28 are positioned so as to be substantially flush with each other. Thereby, as will be described later, it is easy to insert the separator 32 into the space between the sheet groups formed by inserting the lower surface 35 of the back fork 28 into the sheet group.
More specifically, like the upright bar 44, a pair of rollers 58, 60, a pair of rollers 58, 60 wound around a pair of side surfaces 40, 42, and an endless chain 62 extending in the vertical direction, A drive motor 64 connected to one of the pair of rollers 58 and 60, a linear guide 66, and a connection shaft 67 that transmits a rotational driving force by the drive motor are provided. Accordingly, each of the pair of back / front forks 28 and 30 and the separator 32 is configured to be movable in the sheet S feeding direction independently of each other. As described above, the pair of back / front forks 28 and 30 and the separator 32 are configured to reciprocate in the feeding direction between the standby position and the operating position.

As shown in FIG. 4, the front stopper 26 includes a contact surface 68 that extends in the vertical direction to receive the front end of the sheet S fed in the feeding direction. It is movable in the vertical direction. The structure of the front stopper 26 will be described. The front stopper 26 has a support stand 76 that supports the front stopper 26. The support stand 76 is disposed so that the front stopper 26 faces in the sheet feeding orthogonal direction and can cover the width of the fed sheet.
The front stopper 26 is an elongated plate formed in a comb shape, and is provided with cuts 78 provided at predetermined intervals in the width direction of the sheet S, and the cuts 78 are directed downward. The length of the front stopper 26 in the longitudinal direction may be determined according to the width of the sheet S in the width direction. The front stopper 26 includes a screw shaft 74, a guide 80 that extends substantially parallel to the screw shaft 74, a block 84 that is screwed into the screw shaft 74, and passes through the guide 80, and a drive servo motor 82 that is connected to the screw shaft 74. And have. Accordingly, the screw shaft 74 is rotated by driving of the drive motor 82, and the block 84 that is screwed to the screw shaft 74, and thus the front stopper 26 moves along the guide 80 in the sheet feeding direction. The support stand 76 is an upright screw shaft 86 extending in the vertical direction, a guide 88 extending substantially parallel to the screw shaft 86, a vertical movable block 90 threadingly engaged with the screw shaft 86 and passing through the guide 88, and a screw And a drive servo motor 92 coupled to a shaft 86. Accordingly, the screw shaft 86 is rotated by the drive of the drive motor 92, and the block 90 that is screwed to the screw shaft 86, and thus the front stopper 26 is configured to move vertically along the guide 88. As described above, the front stopper 26 is movable in the feeding direction and the up-down direction of the sheet S.

  FIG. 5 shows a modification of the front stopper 26. A coil spring 100 that generates an urging force in the vertical direction and a pressing bar 102 connected to the coil spring are provided at the lower end of the front stopper 26. According to such a configuration, when the front stopper 26 is moved from the receiving position of the old order to the receiving position of the new order, as shown in FIG. 5, first, as shown in FIG. Reverse U-shaped movement that moves upward from the receiving position (arrow a), then moves in the feeding direction (arrow b), and then moves downward toward the receiving position of the new order (arrow c) Even when the trajectory is adopted, when the tip of the pressing bar 102 is pressed against the upper surface of the sheet group, the coil spring 100 exhibits a buffering action, thereby reducing the possibility of damaging the upper surface of the sheet group. It becomes possible.

FIG. 6 shows a further modification of the front stopper 26. The difference between this modified example and the modified example of FIG. 5 is that a rotatable roller 103 is provided at the lower end of the pressing bar 102 so as to protrude from the lower surface of the pressing bar 102. Thus, unlike FIG. 5, it is possible to change the movement locus of the front stopper 26 while further protecting the upper surface of the sheet group. That is, the front stopper 26 is moved upward from the receiving position of the old order, then moved downward toward the upper surface of the sheet of the old order, and then the upper surface of the sheet is slid by the roller 103 while receiving the sheet of the new order. Then, move to the receiving position of the new order in the feeding direction.
Thus, in the case of FIG. 5, after the front stopper 26 is moved to the new order receiving position, the new order sheet starts to be received, whereas in the case of FIG. While the new order sheet is received, the received sheet is moved back to the new order receiving position while being pushed back. In this respect, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the front stopper 26 is used before the new order sheet is fed. This is effective when it is difficult to complete the movement.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pair of forks including the front fork 30 and the back fork 38 are arranged substantially parallel to the sheet S feeding direction with a predetermined interval in the width direction of the sheet S. A plurality of thin plate-like strips 104 are provided. The front fork 30 is arranged such that the elongated piece 104 extends in the downstream direction in the feeding direction, while the back fork 28 is arranged so that the elongated piece 104 extends in the upstream direction in the feeding direction. In particular, the thickness of each elongate piece 104 is such a thickness that it can be inserted between the sheets S while having a strength capable of holding the sheet group. Similar to the front stopper 26, each fork is movable in the sheet feeding direction and the vertical direction by a driving means, for example, a servo motor. In this case, the forks 28 and 30 move independently of each other in the feeding direction, and move together with the frame 38 in the up and down direction. With such a configuration, the sheet group can be held by lifting the top ends of the plurality of thin plate-like strips 104 inserted into the sheet S upward.
Further, the length of each elongated piece 104 of the front fork 30 in the feeding orthogonal direction is preferably slightly shorter than each cut length of the front stopper 26 (see FIG. 4). Thus, when the front end of the front stopper 26 and the front end of the front fork 30 are positioned at a level where they intersect, the notches 78 of the front stopper 30 correspond to the front fork 28 as shown in FIG. By disposing the elongated strip 104 so as to cover from above, it is possible to move the strip 104 in the feeding direction while avoiding interference with each other.
In the case of a corrugated cardboard sheet, the sheet is divided and cut into several sheets in the width direction, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction (so-called trimming). Each of the cut widths must be smaller than the minimum width of the sheet to be trimmed.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the separator 32 is a thin plate having a generally flat cross section so that the separator 32 is inserted between the sheets S and is movable. The upper surface 109 corresponds to the lower surface of the sheet group of the new order, and the lower surface 111 corresponds to the upper surface of the sheet group of the old order, and extends between the side surfaces 40 and 42 of the frame 38. The upper surface of the separator 32 is preferably positioned so that the lower surface of the thin plate fork is substantially flush. From the viewpoint of inserting between sheets, the cross-sectional shape of the separator 32 is preferably tapered. In particular, when the separator 32 is reciprocated in the feeding direction, both ends of the separator 32 are preferably tapered.
The longer the length of the separator 32 in the longitudinal direction, the greater the friction between the sheets. On the other hand, the shorter the length of the separator 32, the smaller the space formed in front of the separator due to the insertion of the separator 32 between the sheet groups. It may be determined according to the weight, material, surface condition, and the like.
Like the pair of front forks 28, 30, the separator 32 can reciprocate in the feeding direction independently of the pair of front forks 28, 30 and is integrated with the pair of front forks 28, 30 through the frame 38. It is possible to move up and down.

As shown in FIG. 7, the separator 32 is disposed so as to protrude from the outer surface in the feed direction by a predetermined distance (d1 and d2 in the drawing) along the cross section in the feed direction, and is substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the separator 32. There are a plurality of rollers (four in the figure) that can rotate around the axis. A plurality of such sets of rollers 108 are provided in the feeding orthogonal direction. At least one of the rollers 108 preferably has a drive motor 110 that rotates around an axis. As shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, the number of the rollers in the moving direction of the separator and the number of protrusions in the vertical direction and the protruding amount are made of the sheet material, the weight of the sheet group to be lifted, the length in the feeding direction, the surface What is necessary is just to set suitably based on a condition.
With such a configuration, the separator 32 is inserted between the sheet groups to reciprocate the separator 32 in the sheet feeding direction. At that time, the separator 32 is inserted between the sheets S and moved in the feeding direction. In doing so, it is possible to reduce the friction with the surface of the sheet S and reduce the possibility of damaging the surface of the sheet S.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a control system of the sheet processing apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 1A, the sheet processing apparatus 10 includes an I / O port 200 and a control unit 208 including a CPU 202, a ROM 204, a RAM 206, and the like connected to the I / O port 200. The ROM 204 controls the processing apparatus 10. The control program which manages is stored. A host production management device 210 is connected to the I / O port 200. The host production management apparatus 210 manages and controls the production of the entire processing apparatus 10 that performs cutting and the like, and stores production order data such as the cutting length of the sheet S and the number of cuttings. Transfers a control signal based on the data to the target drive unit.
A general-purpose operation unit 212 such as a keyboard or a touch panel is connected to the I / O port 200, and necessary information can be input from the outside, and a timer 213 and a speed detector 214 are connected.
More specifically, a speed detector 214 is installed in each of the cutter conveyor 14, the shingling conveyor 16, the inclined conveyor 18, and the horizontal conveyor 20 to detect the traveling speed of each conveyor, and the detected value and rotary cutter driving described later. From the sheet cutting pulse signal obtained from the unit 218, the approximate leading position of each sheet is detected. Further, distance sensors 216 and 216 ′ are connected to the I / O port 200 at one position above the horizontal conveyor 20 and one position where the upper surface of the stacked sheets of the front stopper 26 can be detected. More specifically, the distance sensor 216 fixed above the horizontal conveyor 20 detects the distance between the sensor and the upper surface of the sheet, thereby accurately detecting the feeding state of each sheet immediately before stacking. The accurate leading edge position of the last sheet of the old order and the accurate leading edge position of the leading sheet of the new order are obtained from the value, the speed detection value of each conveyor, and the approximate leading position of each sheet obtained from the sheet cutting pulse signal. . These leading end positions are necessary for positioning control in the vertical direction and the sheet feeding direction in the order change of the front stopper 26 of the stacking unit.

On the other hand, the distance sensor 216 ′ that detects the upper surface of the stacked sheets of the front stopper 26 always detects the vertical distance between the uppermost surface of the stacked sheets and the distance sensor 216 ′ itself, and this detected value is the vertical direction of the front stopper 26. By subtracting from the value of the vertical position of the distance sensor 216 ′ calculated from the position, the position of the uppermost surface of the stacked sheets that changes each time the sheets are stacked is obtained. This position of the uppermost surface is necessary for the vertical positioning control of the front stopper 26 and the horizontal conveyor 20. Further, the vertical position of the uppermost surface of the sheet group of the old order at the time of the order change is particularly necessary for the vertical positioning control of the pair of forks 28 and 30 and the separator 32 when the sheets are reloaded, which will be described later. So remembered.
Further, a rotary cutter drive unit 218, a cutter conveyor drive unit 220, a shingling conveyor drive unit 222, an inclined conveyor drive unit 224, and a stacker drive unit 226 are connected to the I / O port 200, respectively. The rotary cutter drive unit 218 has a drive motor that rotationally drives the rotary cutter 12, and the stacker drive unit 226 includes a frame vertical servo drive unit 228, front / back fork feeding, as shown in FIG. 9B. A direction servo drive unit 230, a front stopper vertical direction servo drive unit 232, a front stopper feed direction servo drive unit 233, and a separator feed direction servo drive unit 234. Each servo drive unit is connected to each servo motor and a pulse generator to drive the servo motor, and the pulse generator detects the current position and transmits a detection signal to the servo drive unit.

The operation of the sheet processing apparatus 10 having the above configuration will be described below with reference to FIG. 10 together with processing methods including sheet grouping, stacking and discharging. In FIG. 10, the vertical movement of the pair of forks and separators 32 is performed by the vertical movement of the frame 38, but the frame 38 is omitted from the viewpoint of clarity.
First, the continuous sheet S is cut to a predetermined length in the feeding direction by the rotary cutter 12, and the cut sheet S reaches the shingling conveyor 16 through the cutter conveyor 14. Here, the feeding speed is reduced by a predetermined rate compared to the cutter conveyor 14, so that the cut sheets S adjacent in the feeding direction overlap each other like a roof tile in the feeding direction over a predetermined rate. It becomes possible to. When a defective sheet is generated due to the order change, the sheet is discharged out of the feeding line by the deflator. Next, the sheet S to be cut reaches the stacker 22 through the inclined conveyor 18 and the horizontal conveyor 20 in a single ring state. Thereby, the to-be-cut sheet S is continuously fed to the stacker 22 along the feeding line. The height of the horizontal conveyor 20 and the inclination angle of the inclined conveyor 18 are adjusted according to the stacking height of the sheet group in the stacker 22.
A sheet group processing method in the stacker 22 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 10A shows a scene in which a group of A-order sheets that have been loaded is loaded onto the loading table 24, that is, a pair of forks 28, 30 held by a pair of forks 28, 30 and a separator 32. The scene where 30 and the separator 32 are moved down to the transshipment level and transshipped to the loading table 24 is shown.
More specifically, the frame 38 is moved to the transshipment level, the pair of forks 28, 30 and the separator 32 are horizontally moved to the standby position, and the back fork 28 and the separator 32 are fed to the first standby position in the feeding direction. In the direction return direction, the front fork 30 is horizontally moved in the feed direction advance direction to the second standby position in the feed direction. By moving the pair of forks 28, 30 and the separator 32 to the standby position, the A-order sheet group held by the pair of forks 28, 30 is unloaded on the loading table 24, and the B-order sheet It is possible to prepare for grouping.
In this case, the B-order sheet group of the next order is stacked on the A-order sheet group while being continuously received by the front stopper 26. More specifically, by moving the position of the front stopper 26 over the distance t in the sheet S feeding direction, when the B-order sheet group is stacked on the A-order sheet group, the A-order sheet The sheets are stacked at an offset position on the downstream side in the sheet S feeding direction over a predetermined distance (t in the figure) from the sheet group. Accordingly, a step 300 is formed on the upstream side of the sheet group in the feeding direction, that is, on the rear end side, by projecting a distance t from the end surface of the A-order sheet group in the upstream direction of the feeding direction by the distance t. As a result, the lower surface 302 of the B-order sheet group faces downward.

The movement of the front stopper 26 will be described in more detail. The lower end position of the front stopper 26 after the first sheet S of the B-order sheet group is received by the front stopper 26 until the last sheet S is received. Are gradually moved upward in accordance with the stacking level of the sheet group, that is, the upper surface level of the sheet group. The distance t that determines the step formed between the sheet groups is appropriately determined according to the weight, material, length, and the like of the stacked sheet groups, and the amount of movement of the front stopper 26 in the feeding direction is determined accordingly. .
More specifically, FIG. 11A shows a case where a step is provided on the rear end side of the sheet group. When the sheet length of the new order is Ln, the sheet length of the old order is Lf, and the length of the step set between the sheet groups of the new and old orders is Ld, FIG. 11A shows that Ln−Ld> Lf. On the other hand, FIG. 11B shows a case where Ln−Ld <Lf. In the case of FIG. 11A, the front stopper 26 only needs to be moved in the sheet feeding direction as shown by the arrow in the figure, whereas in the case of FIG. 11B, the last sheet of the old order. After the front end 26 is moved upward, as shown by the arrow in the figure, after the front end of the leading sheet of the new order has reached the receiving position, the front stopper 26 is first moved upward. , It is necessary to move the front stopper 26 in each direction quickly because it is necessary to move the sheet in the sheet feeding direction and further along the reverse U-shaped movement locus in the sheet feeding direction. There is. When the front stopper 26 of FIG. 6 is employed, as described above, the sheet is moved to the receiving position while pushing back the sheet while receiving the sheet, and thus such a speed is not required.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, the B-order sheet group is divided from the A-order sheet group. More specifically, the back fork 28 is moved upward from the position of FIG. 10A to the lower surface 302 of the rear end of the B-order sheet group, and then the tip of the back fork 28 is applied to the protrusion of the B-order sheet group, By lifting upward, a first space 304 is formed between the lower surface 302 of the B-order sheet group and the upper surface of the A-order sheet group. Accordingly, the front fork 30 and the separator 32 are moved to the same level as well as the back fork 28.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10C, the separator 32 moved from the position of FIG. 10B upward to the lower surface 302 at the rear end of the B-order sheet group is inserted from the side using the first space 304, and the sheet group By running between A and B to the front end of the sheet group, a second space 306 facing the front end of the sheet group is formed. At that time, by reducing the friction between the separator 32 and the surface of the sheet group by the roll 108 provided in the separator 32, it is possible to prevent the surface of the sheet S from being damaged as the separator 32 travels. Become. Further, the front fork 30 can prevent the sheet group from moving in the feeding advance direction as the separator 32 moves.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10D, by using the second space 306, the front fork 30 is moved upstream in the feeding direction, so that the front end of the front fork 30 is moved to the lower surface 302 of the other end of the B-order sheet group. The B-order sheet group is lifted upward by the pair of forks 28 and 30 by lifting it further upward, so that the B-order sheet group can be separated from the A-order sheet group. . The size of the second space 306 is determined by the weight of the sheet group, the paper quality, the distance between the separator 32 and the front end of the sheet S, and the like. During this period, the B-order sheet group is stacked while being continuously aligned in the sheet feeding direction by the front stopper 26. In this case, when the length of the B-order sheet group is longer than the length of the A-order sheet group, the separator 32 is returned to the approximate center position of the length of the B-order sheet group, and the pair of forks 28, 30 At the same time, the lower surface 302 of the B-order sheet group may be held. As a result, the B-order sheet group can be more stably held by the pair of forks 28 and 30 and the separator 32.

Next, the loading table 24 is moved downward by a predetermined distance to completely separate the B-order sheet group from the A-order sheet group, and the A-order sheet group loaded on the loading table 24 is discharged out of the line. That is, it moves from the loading position to the unloading position. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10E, the stacking of the B-order sheet group is completed, and the stacking of the next-order C-order sheet group is started. More specifically, the front stopper 26 is quickly moved in the vertical direction and the feeding direction from the receiving position of the B-order sheet group to the receiving position of the C-order sheet group.
Next, as shown in FIG. 10F, the B-order sheet group is moved downward to the loading level while being held by the pair of forks 28, 30 and the separator 32, and the same state as in FIG. 10A is reached. As described above, since the position of the uppermost surface of the stacked sheets also changes every time as the B-order sheet group is moved downward, it is based on the detection value detected by the detection sensor on the uppermost surface of the stacked sheets. Thus, it is necessary to control the vertical position of the front stopper 26 and the horizontal conveyor 20.

As described above, since it is possible to feed the sheet group outside the line and sort the sheet group in parallel, it is necessary to sort the sheet group on the conveyor as in the past. By eliminating it, the equipment can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.
By repeating the above steps, it is possible to discharge the sheet group out of the line and sort the sheet group independently of each other, thereby enabling the new order sheet group and the old order to be separated on the conveyor as in the past. It is not necessary to secure an exchange time for the loading table 24 by providing an interval between the sheet group, and for example, even in the case of a small lot order of several sheets to several tens of sheets, it can be separated from other sheet groups. Then, it can be discharged out of the line.
When the upper sheet group is positioned in the retracted position with respect to the lower sheet group when offset placement is performed between different sheet groups, two types of large and small forks 402 are used in the front fork of the pair of forks. 404 may be provided. The small fork 402 bites into the lower part of one end face of the upper sheet group (FIG. 12A), thereby lifting one end of the upper sheet group upward, and then into the space formed between the upper sheet group and the lower sheet group The large fork 404 may be inserted and the entire upper sheet group may be lifted as described above (FIG. 12B). In this case, the lifting height of the upper sheet group by the small fork 402 is sufficient to form a space in which the separator 32 can be inserted at one end. It can be dealt with just by biting into the bottom.

  As a modification of the sheet holding means, as shown in FIG. 13, instead of a type in which a pair of forks 28 and 30 are inserted from the front and rear ends of the sheet group, the sheet holding means can be inserted from one end of the sheet group. A type in which the length of the piece is at least one-half or more of the feeding length of the sheet group (FIGS. 13A and 13B), a plurality of small-diameter rollers are arranged at predetermined intervals instead of the thin plate-like elongated pieces. A roller type aligned at a distance may be used. According to these types, depending on the material of the sheet or the weight of the sheet group, the front fork 30 and the separator 32 are not used, but the step provided at the front end of the sheet group is used to make a difference between the old and new sheet groups. The sheet group of the new order can be separated from the sheet group of the old order by inserting the sheet into the sheet, moving the sheet toward the rear end as it is, and lifting it upward. In particular, in the former case, it is necessary to select a metal material having sufficient strength to hold the sheet group. In the latter case, the insertion can be smoothly performed by reducing friction with the surface of the sheet group at the time of insertion. Is possible. In the case of the roller type, a type having a pair at the front and rear ends of the sheet group (FIG. 13C), or a type having at least one-half or more of the feeding length of the sheet group, as with the thin plate-like strip. (FIG. 13D) may be used. Further, a thin plate-like strip may be provided at one end and a roller at the other end (FIGS. 13E and 13F).

  Further, the front stopper 26 and the front fork 30 may be used as a seat guide. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 14A, when the first sheet S is directly stacked on the stacking table 24 at the start of work, the lower surface of the sheet S is damaged by the upper surface of the stacking table 24 that is not necessarily flat. I may receive it. In order to cope with this, the front end of the sheet S fed to the upper surface of the front fork 30 is received by the receiving surface 68 while being guided in parallel to the upper surface of the stacking table 24, thereby protecting the lower surface of the sheet S. It is possible to feed to a predetermined position. In this case, as shown in FIG. 14 (B), the front stopper 26 and the front fork 30 are arranged so that the notches 78 of the front stopper 26 and the corresponding elongated pieces 104 of the front fork 30 are engaged with each other. Can cooperate to form a receiving surface having an L-shaped cross section as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 15, when the length of the upper sheet group in the sheet group adjacent to the stacking direction is considerably longer than that of the lower layer (for example, 100% or more), a separator is used. By positioning the separator 32 on the lower surface of the portion where the upper sheet group protrudes from the lower sheet group while the upper sheet group is stacked on the lower sheet group, the upper sheet group is supported from below. Thus, the upper sheet group can be stably stacked on the lower sheet group.

  As shown in FIG. 16, regarding the stacking position of the first several sheets S of the B-order sheet group, there is a step in the sheet feeding direction between the stacking position of the A-order sheet group. However, the remaining sheets S after that are not offset with the A-order sheet group, and between the B-order sheet group and the C-order sheet group. The same shall apply. As a result, every time a group of sheets of the order A, B, C is stacked, the order sheet S gradually shifts in the feeding direction, and in this case, the sheet approaches the tip of the horizontal conveyor 20 and is discharged from the horizontal conveyor 20. It is possible to prevent a situation where the position is forced to change.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention described in the claims. For example, in this embodiment, a step between adjacent sheet groups in the stacking direction is formed at the end of the sheet S on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction, that is, the rear end of the sheet S. You may form in the feed direction downstream side, ie, the front end of the sheet | seat S. FIG.
Further, in this embodiment, the step between adjacent sheet groups in the stacking direction is offset so that the lower surface of the upper sheet group protrudes from the upper surface of the lower sheet group, but the upper layer sheet group is not limited thereto. May be offset so as to retract from the upper surface of the lower layer sheet group.
Furthermore, although the case where the sheet S to be cut is fed in a so-called shingling state has been described, the sheet to be cut on the upstream side in the feeding direction is not limited thereto, It may be fed in a form with a predetermined interval between the front end of S and the rear end of the cut sheet S downstream in the feeding direction. According to the single ring configuration, since the sheets S are overlapped and fed, it is possible to prevent the running stability of the sheet S, in particular, the shift in the direction orthogonal to the feeding direction of the sheet S. However, it is necessary to reduce the traveling speed relative to the traveling speed of the upstream conveyor by providing the single ring conveyor 16, resulting in a decrease in feeding efficiency and an increase in equipment cost including the speed control device. According to the above, while overcoming these technical drawbacks, it is possible to ensure the stability of traveling of the sheet S by, for example, vacuum feeding.
In addition, although the present embodiment has been described with respect to a so-called up stacker, the present invention is not limited thereto and can be applied to a so-called down stacker.

1 is an overall schematic view of a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the frame drive mechanism of the stacker of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows a pair of fork and separator of the stacker of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the front stopper of the stacker of FIG. It is a modification of the front stopper shown in FIG. It is the further modification of the front stopper shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the separator of FIG. It is a modification of the separator of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the control system of the processing apparatus of the sheet | seat of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the control system of the processing apparatus of the sheet | seat of FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating a grouping and stacking state of sheet groups by the stacker of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating a grouping and stacking state of sheet groups by the stacker of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating a grouping and stacking state of sheet groups by the stacker of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating a grouping and stacking state of sheet groups by the stacker of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating a grouping and stacking state of sheet groups by the stacker of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating a grouping and stacking state of sheet groups by the stacker of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a schematic side view illustrating a stacking state of sheet groups. It is a modification of the back fork shown in FIG. It is a modification of the fork shown in FIG. FIG. 14 (A) is a further modification of the front stopper, and FIG. 14 (B) is a schematic partial plan view showing a state where the front stopper and the front fork cross each other. FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10 showing another aspect of how the sheet group is stacked. FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10 showing still another aspect of how the sheet group is stacked.

Explanation of symbols

S Sheet 10 Sheet processing device 12 Rotary cutter 14 Cutter conveyor 16 Singling conveyor 18 Inclined conveyor 20 Horizontal conveyor 22 Stacker 24 Loading platform 26 Front stopper 28 Back fork 30 Front fork 32 Separator 34 Receiving surface 36 Rectangular opening 38 Frame 40 Side surface 44 Upright Bar 48 A pair of rollers 52 Endless chain 54 Drive motor 56 Linear guide 68 Contact surface 72 Horizontal support bar 74 Screw shaft 76 Support stand 78 Notch 84 Block 100 Coil spring 102 Pressing bar 104 Elongated piece 108 Roller 200 I / O port 202 CPU
204 ROM
206 RAM
210 Upper-level production management device 212 General-purpose operation unit 226 Stacker drive unit 302 Step section 304 First space 306 Second space

Claims (16)

Cutting a continuous sheet fed along a feeding line into a predetermined length in the feeding direction, feeding each cut sheet to a stacking position, and feeding each fed sheet in order And a sheet processing method having a step of discharging the stacked sheets out of the line for each different sheet group,
The stacking step stacks the sheet groups adjacent to each other in the stacking direction while offsetting them in the feeding direction, so that an end surface of one sheet group and an end surface of the other sheet group at a boundary portion between the adjacent sheet groups. And forming a step between
The discharging step includes a step of discharging the lowermost sheet group out of the line while holding the lower surface of the lowermost sheet of the lowermost sheet group using the stepped portion. And
The holding step includes forming a first space between the upper surface of the lower sheet group and the lower surface of the upper sheet group among the sheet groups adjacent to each other in the stacking direction at one end in the feeding direction of the group of sheets;
Using the first space, gradually separating the upper surface and the lower surface along the feeding direction to form a second space between the upper surface and the lower surface at the other end of the sheet group; When,
Holding the lower surface facing the second space from the side,
Thereby, the sheet processing method of holding the lower surface of the upper layer sheet group at both ends in the sheet feeding direction. In the step of forming the stepped portion, the sheet group is formed so that the end surface of the lowermost sheet of the upper layer sheet group protrudes from the end surface of the uppermost sheet of the lower layer sheet group at the boundary portion of the adjacent sheet group in the stacking direction. The sheet processing method according to claim 1, further comprising an offset arrangement for each group. 2. The sheet processing method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of moving downward to a discharge level after holding the lowermost sheet group while holding the upper layer sheet group. In the feeding step, a predetermined interval is formed between the front end of the cut sheet on the upstream side in the feed direction and the rear end of the cut sheet on the downstream side in the feed direction between the cut sheets adjacent in the feed direction. The sheet processing method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of feeding in a separated form. The sheet processing method according to claim 1, wherein the feeding step includes a step of feeding sheets to be cut adjacent to each other in the feeding direction so as to overlap in the feeding direction. The offset arrangement step is applied to a predetermined number of sheets from the lowermost sheet of the upper sheet group,
3. The remaining sheets of the upper layer sheet group exceeding the predetermined number are arranged at positions that do not protrude from the end surface of the uppermost sheet of the lower sheet group with respect to the feeding direction position of the predetermined number of sheets.
A method for processing a sheet according to claim 1. Sheets to be cut that are cut to a predetermined length in the feeding direction and are continuously fed along the feeding line are sequentially stacked, and the stacked sheets are discharged out of the line for each different sheet group. In the sheet stacker,
Furthermore, it has a sheet group dividing means for dividing adjacent sheet groups in the stacking direction,
The sheet group sorting means includes a sheet group aligning means for aligning the sheet group in the feeding direction, and having a receiving surface that is movable in the feeding direction and receives a front end surface of the sheet to be cut. ,
Among sheet groups adjacent in the stacking direction, the sheet group separating means for separating the upper sheet group from the lower sheet group,
The sheet group separating means is a sheet group lifting means for lifting one end of the sheet group formed by sequentially stacking while being aligned by the sheet group aligning means from a lower sheet group adjacent in the stacking direction;
A gap is formed between the other end of the sheet group adjacent in the stacking direction by being inserted from the side between the sheet group lifted by the sheet group lifting means and the lower sheet group adjacent in the stacking direction. Gap forming means for
Sheet group holding means for holding the sheet group from below by being inserted into the gap formed by the gap forming means;
A sheet stacker having The sheet group holding means has a thin plate fork extending in the feeding direction in order to be inserted from the side of the sheet and support the lower surface of the sheet,
The gap forming means has a separator having one end tapered and having a lower surface corresponding to the upper surface of the lower sheet group of the adjacent sheet group in the stacking direction and an upper surface corresponding to the lower surface of the upper sheet group,
The separator has a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction and is movable in the feeding direction.
The sheet stacker according to claim 7. The receiving surface is arranged so that the lower edge is directed to the surface of the sheet, and is movable in the vertical direction,
The sheet stacker according to claim 8, wherein the separator is movable in the vertical direction independently of the receiving surface. The sheet stacker according to claim 8, wherein the separator includes a roller that is disposed so as to protrude from an outer surface of the separator and that can rotate about an axis substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the separator. The sheet stacker according to claim 10, further comprising a rotation driving unit configured to rotate at least one of the rollers about the axis. The thin plate fork is composed of a plurality of forks spaced from each other at a predetermined interval in the width direction of the sheet,
The receiving surface has a notch facing downward that can mesh with each of the plurality of forks from above,
The sheet stacker according to claim 8, wherein the thin plate fork and the receiving surface cooperate to form a sheet receiving portion having an L-shaped cross section. 9. The separator according to claim 8, wherein the separator is tapered at both ends, and is positioned at a predetermined midway position in the feeding direction of the sheets stacked from the other end of the sheet group to form a second sheet group holding unit. The sheet stacker described. The one end of the sheet group is a rear end in the sheet feeding direction,
The sheet aligning means aligns the upper layer sheet group adjacent to the stacking direction so as to protrude from the lower sheet group in the feeding direction return direction.
The sheet stacker according to claim 7. The sheet stacker according to claim 8, wherein an upper surface of the separator is positioned so as to be substantially flush with a lower surface of the thin plate fork. A cutting means for cutting a continuous sheet continuously supplied along the feeding line into a predetermined length in the feeding direction; a feeding means for feeding each cut sheet to a stacking position; In a sheet processing apparatus having a sheet stacker that sequentially stacks each sheet at a stacking position and discharges the stacked sheets out of the line for each different sheet group,
The sheet stacker further has a receiving surface that is movable in the feeding direction and receives a front end surface of a sheet to be cut to be fed, and a sheet aligning means for aligning the sheets in the feeding direction;
A sheet group lifting means for lifting one end of the sheet group formed by sequentially stacking while being aligned by the sheet aligning means from a lower sheet group adjacent in the stacking direction;
For inserting a gap between a sheet group lifted by the sheet group lifting means and a lower sheet group adjacent in the stacking direction to form a gap between the sheet groups adjacent in the stacking direction. A gap forming means;
A pair of sheet group holding means for holding the sheet group from below by inserting one into the gap formed by the gap forming means;
A sheet processing apparatus comprising:

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