JP2000289922A - Sheet processing device and image forming device with this device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the disorder of sheet rear ends accumulated in an intermediate processing tray by rotating a second roller in the direction of making the rear end of a sheet butt against a contact member on the lower part of the intermediate processing tray by a rotating mechanism. SOLUTION: A sheet S is stiffened by a discharge roller 17 and a presser roller 18 and discharged to an intermediate processing tray 25. The elastic paddle wheel 26 of a second roller is rotated by a drive motor at the discharged timing and also rotated in the direction protruding into the intermediate processing tray 25, and the elastic paddle wheel 26 is moved to the vicinity of the center of the intermediate processing tray 25. The sheet S is discharged into the intermediate processing tray 25 by this motion and fallen by the dead weight, and the elastic paddle tip of the elastic paddle wheel 6 touches the sheet S. The sheet S is carried toward an alignment position. At this time, the rear end of the sheet S is caught by a discharge alignment belt 19 and made to butt against a contact plate 20, whereby the sheet S is vertically aligned.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus having processing means for performing processing such as binding and stacking sheets discharged from a copying machine, a laser beam printer, and the like, and an image forming apparatus having the same. It is.

[0002]

FIG. 19 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional sheet processing apparatus. A sheet S discharged from an image forming apparatus main body (not shown) is processed through a pair of conveying rollers 203 with the image forming surface facing upward. Transported into the device 201,
By switching the flapper 204, the roller pair 205, 20
5 is switched to a route sent to the transport path 206 via the roller pair 215 and a route sent to the transport path 207 via the roller pairs 215 and 215. Then, the sheet S sent to the transport path 207 is discharged into the intermediate processing tray 225 by the discharge rollers 217 and 218, and at this time, the rear end of the sheet S is wound by the rotation of the discharge alignment belt 219 in the arrow direction. , Butted against the lower butting member 220 to be aligned. Next, the sheet S is pressed against one side of the intermediate processing tray 225 by the wind pressure of the fan 226 in the direction of the arrow to secure a discharge space 225b for the sheet S to be discharged, and further, the arrow of the stapler 210 disposed below. Stapled by a staple driving operation from the
4, 233, the sheet bundle is conveyed and discharged to the discharge tray 223.

In the case where the fan 226 is not used, after the sheet S is discharged into the intermediate tray 225 by the discharge rollers 217 and 218, the retraction member 234 made of an elastic material is moved around the support shaft 234a by an arrow. The sheet S discharged into the intermediate processing tray 225 is pulled in, and wound and aligned by the discharge alignment belt 219.

[0004]

However, in the conventional structure, when the discharged sheet S has a large curl, the sheet S is stacked on the intermediate processing tray 225 in a curled state. As the number increases,
The curl of the leading end of the stacked sheets S is set to the intermediate processing tray 22.
5, the discharge space in the intermediate processing tray 225 is narrowed. Therefore, the subsequently discharged sheet S
Is caught between the inner wall of the intermediate processing tray 225 and the curled end of the stacked sheets S, so that the sheet cannot fall under its own weight, and the sheet trailing end is
19, the sheets S stacked and aligned on the intermediate processing tray 225 may be uneven.

In order to solve this problem, in a type in which an elastic pull-in member 234 for pulling the sheet S discharged into the intermediate processing tray 225 is provided, the number of sheets stored in the intermediate processing tray 225 is reduced. As it increases,
The amount of flexure during the retraction operation of the retraction member 234 is increased, so that the retraction of the sheet S becomes excessive and the sheet S buckles, possibly leading to a jam (paper jam). Further, it is necessary to secure a space for driving means for rotating the drawing member 234,
For this reason, there is a problem that the apparatus becomes large and the manufacturing cost increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to prevent irregularities in the trailing edge of sheets stacked on an intermediate processing tray and to prevent excessive pulling force when pulling a sheet into a butting member below the intermediate processing tray. It is another object of the present invention to provide a sheet processing apparatus capable of stabilizing a sheet stacking operation and capable of conveying a stacked sheet bundle, and an image forming apparatus including the same.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a sheet discharging means for discharging a sheet conveyed upward and a sheet discharging means for discharging the sheet discharged by the sheet discharging means are provided. With the rear end down, an intermediate processing tray capable of temporarily accumulating sheets, and an upper side of the sheet discharging means and disposed on both sides of the intermediate processing tray so as to face each other, and are stacked on the intermediate processing tray. A first roller and a second roller capable of nipping and discharging the sheet bundle, a rotation mechanism for driving the first and second rollers to be rotatable in forward and reverse directions, and the first and second rollers. A moving mechanism for relatively moving the rollers relative to each other, and the moving mechanism moving the second roller in a direction approaching the first roller to eject the sheet discharged from the sheet discharging means. When sliding on Control means for controlling the rotation mechanism to rotate the second roller in a direction in which a rear end of the sheet abuts against an abutting member below the intermediate processing tray. I do.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the control means includes:
As the number of sheets stacked on the intermediate processing tray increases, the moving mechanism is controlled to gradually reduce the amount of movement of the second roller in the direction of approach to the first roller. And

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the first roller has an elastic body formed around the first processing roller, and is disposed on one back surface of the intermediate processing tray. The paddle is formed so as to protrude and is arranged on the other surface of the intermediate processing tray.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the elastic paddle is inclined at a predetermined angle in a rotational direction with respect to a normal direction extending from the center of the second roller.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the second roller is coaxially and alternately provided with an elastic roller having an elastic body formed therearound and an elastic paddle wheel having a large number of elastic paddles formed thereon. The elastic paddle wheel is formed of a hybrid roller group disposed, the outer diameter of the elastic paddle wheel is formed to be larger than the outer diameter of the elastic roller, and the outer diameter of a portion of the elastic paddle wheel excluding the elastic paddle is the elasticity. The roller is formed smaller than the outer diameter of the roller.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a binding mechanism is provided below the intermediate processing tray for binding a rear end side of a bundle of sheets stacked on the intermediate processing tray, and the abutting member below the intermediate processing tray. Are partially retracted, and the sheet bundle is bound by the binding mechanism.

[0013] The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to claims 1 to 5.
A sheet processing apparatus according to any one of the above, an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, and a main body discharging unit that discharges a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming unit to the sheet processing apparatus, It is characterized by the following.

According to the present invention, each time a sheet is discharged to the intermediate processing tray by the sheet discharge means, the second roller moves in the direction approaching the first roller by the moving mechanism. While slidingly contacting the sheet discharged from the sheet discharging means, the second roller is rotated by a rotating mechanism in a direction to move the sheet downward, and the rear end of the sheet is brought into contact with the abutting member below the intermediate processing tray. Hit it. In this case, as the number of sheets stored in the intermediate processing tray increases, the amount of movement of the second roller in the approaching direction of the second roller with respect to the first roller is controlled so as to gradually reduce the number of sheets. It is possible to prevent the sheets from being buckled due to excessive drawing when the sheet abuts against the abutting member below the intermediate processing tray for stacking.

Therefore, even when the curl of the sheet discharged to the intermediate processing tray is large, a stable storing operation can be performed. Further, when discharging the sheet bundle accumulated in the intermediate processing tray, the second roller is moved closer to the first roller than the above by the moving mechanism,
This is performed by nipping (close contact) the sheet bundle stored in the intermediate processing tray and rotating the first and second rollers in the sheet bundle discharging direction. In the present invention, the work of stacking the sheets discharged into the intermediate processing tray from the sheet discharging means on the intermediate processing tray and the operation of discharging the sheet bundle are performed by the first and second rollers. The device can be made compact.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an internal configuration of a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention and an image forming apparatus having the same. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention;
Denotes an image forming apparatus, 150 denotes a cassette for stacking a plurality of sheets having different sizes, and 300 denotes a document feeder (hereinafter referred to as RDF) for automatically feeding a document.

The image forming apparatus 100 is sent from an original platen glass 101 on which an original is loaded, scanning reflecting mirrors 103 and 104 for changing the optical path of the reflected light of the original, a lens 105 having a focusing and zooming function, and an RDF 300. A first scanning mirror 106 having an illumination lamp and a mirror for reading a scanned original, a registration roller 107 for correcting skew of a sheet, a photosensitive drum (image forming unit) 108,
The image forming apparatus includes a pressure roller 110, a conveyance belt 111 that conveys the sheet S on which an image is recorded to the fixing side, and a fixing device 112 that thermocompresses the conveyed sheet S. The sheet S is conveyed by conveying rollers 113 and 117, the conveying direction of the sheet S is switched by a flapper 114, and is conveyed in the direction of the sheet processing apparatus 1 by conveying rollers (main body discharging unit) 115. A reversing path 116 for reversing the front and back of the conveyed sheet S is provided upstream of the conveying roller 115.

Sheets S are loaded on the cassette 150, and a feed roller 151 for extracting the sheets S, and an intermediate roller 15 for transferring the extracted sheets S upward.
2. A roller 119 having a conveying roller 118 for conveying the sheet S from the manual feed tray 120, a separation pad 121, a laser unit 122 for generating a laser beam, and a polygon mirror 12
3. It has a mirror 125 for changing the optical path and a motor 124 for driving the polygon mirror 123.

As described above, the sheet S set in the cassette 150 or the manual feed tray 120 is fed by the feeding roller 151 or 119, and
07 and the photosensitive drum 108 with accurate timing.
And the leading edge of the latent image coincides with the leading edge of the sheet S. Thereafter, the sheet S passes between the photosensitive drum 108 and the pressure roller 110, so that the toner image on the drum 108 is transferred onto the sheet S. Further, sheet S
Is separated from the photosensitive drum 108, guided to the fixing device 112 by the conveyor belt 111, and the toner image is fixed by pressure and overheating. The sheet S on which the image is formed is branched by the flapper 114 and enters the reversing path 116. When the trailing end of the sheet S passes through the flapper 114, the transport roller 117 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow shown in the drawing. In this way, the sheet S travels in the reverse direction (to the left in FIG. 1) in the reversing path 116, and its leading end is conveyed by the flapper 114 toward the discharge roller 115, and discharged to the sheet processing apparatus main body 1 with the print surface facing downward. Is done.

By the way, on the upper part of the sheet processing apparatus 1,
The sheet processing apparatus 1 is provided with a stopper member 2.
When the image forming apparatus 100 is connected to the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 100 is positioned and attached to the holding section 133 coupled to the side surface of the image forming apparatus 100 via the stopper member 2. Further, a mounting table 70 for supporting the sheet processing apparatus 1 is disposed below the sheet processing apparatus 1, and a caster 80 is movably mounted on the mounting table 70.

With this arrangement, when performing a jam processing near the paper discharge unit of the image forming apparatus 100 or a jam processing at the transfer unit between the sheet processing apparatus 1 and the image forming apparatus 100, first, the stopper member 2 is released. Then, the sheet processing apparatus 1
This can be easily performed by moving the camera horizontally to separate it from the image forming apparatus 100.

[First Embodiment] Next, FIG. 2 shows a sheet processing apparatus 1.

The sheet S conveyed to the sheet processing apparatus 1 with the image side up is conveyed by the carry-in roller 3, and the flapper 4 disposed downstream of the carry-in roller 3 processes the sheet S. The process branches into a sub-transport path 6 where the sheet is not performed and a main transport path 7 for performing sheet processing of the sheet S (for example, sheet binding work). As described above, the sheet S discharged from the image forming apparatus 100 is normally discharged with the image surface facing upward, and may be discharged with the image surface facing downward as necessary. If the sheet bundle binding process described below is not performed, the sheet S can be conveyed on the sub-conveyance path 6 and discharged directly to the discharge tray 23 without passing through the main conveyance path 7.

Next, the configuration of the sheet processing apparatus 1 for performing the binding processing of the sheet bundle will be described.

The intermediate processing tray 25 for temporarily storing the conveyed sheet is provided with a pair of opposite front and back holding plates 2.
5c and 25d. The upper end of the intermediate processing tray 25 joins with the downstream end of the sub-transport path 6, and a discharge roller for discharging the sheet (or sheet bundle) S to the outside of the apparatus body is provided near the junction. Pairs 32 and 33 are provided. The discharge roller 32 rotates in a direction to discharge the sheet S, and the moving discharge roller 33 is freely movable toward and away from the discharge roller 32 as described later. Sheet S at the time of contact
Is discharged to the discharge tray 23. Further, the sheet bundle stored in the intermediate tray 25 is discharged to the discharge tray 23 by the discharge roller 32 and the moving discharge roller 33. Reference numeral 34 denotes a tray unit which moves vertically while holding the discharge tray 23. The tray unit 34 is vertically moved by a driving device (not shown) built in a lower part thereof. .

The downstream end of the main transfer path 7 is directed upward, and the lower opening of the intermediate processing tray 25 is
Discharge roller 17, holding roller 18 and discharge alignment belt 19
Are provided, and a sheet discharging means for discharging the sheet S conveyed by these to the intermediate processing tray 25 is configured. The discharge matching belt 19
Is provided with an endless rib (not shown) near the center inside the belt as a measure for preventing the belt from coming off.

If the sheet S discharged from the discharge roller (main body discharging means) 115 of the image forming apparatus 100 is not subjected to sheet processing (for example, staple processing) in the sheet processing apparatus 1 (if not staple mode data), In FIG. 2, the sheet passes through the carry-in roller 3, is conveyed in the sub-conveying path 6 by the pair of conveying rollers 5 and 5 via the flapper 4 at the position indicated by the broken line, and is discharged and stacked on the discharge tray 23 by the pair of discharge rollers 32 and 33. Is done. When the sheet S to be conveyed is in the staple mode, the flapper 4 rotates to the solid line position, and the sheet S
The paper is sent to the main transport path 7 via 15.

Reference numerals 10, 11, 12, and 13 denote sheet detection sensors that detect a passing sheet S, a staying sheet S, and the like. Further, as described later, at the time of stapling, the sheet S
The rear end is abutted against an abutment plate 20 provided at a lower portion of the intermediate processing tray 25 to perform vertical alignment.
The abutment plate 20 is configured to be able to take a home position (solid line position) where the rear ends of the sheets S are sequentially aligned, and a retracted position (dashed line position) that does not hinder the movement of the stapler 400. Below the abutment plate 20, a stapler (binding mechanism) 400 for binding the ends of the sheet bundle aligned and aligned in the page order is provided. When the stapler 400 moves, the abutment plate 20 rotates to the retracted position so as not to hinder the movement of the stapler 400.

On the other hand, the widthwise alignment of the sheet S is as shown in FIG.
This is performed by the width shifting guide 21 in FIG. 4 and the reference plate 29 against which the sheet end surface is abutted. The sheet S is discharged into the intermediate processing tray 25, and the intermediate processing tray 25
The width adjusting guide 21 starts operating within a predetermined time until it abuts against the lower abutment plate 20, and moves from a position on the back side of the main body toward the front side by a predetermined dimension from the width dimension of the sheet S. , Sheet S are aligned in the front direction. Hereinafter, for the second and subsequent sheets S, the above operation is repeated until all the sheets set by the user are stacked on the intermediate processing tray 25. Then, when the number of sheets set by the user is aligned on the intermediate processing tray 25, the stapler 400 operates next, and the operation of stapling to the set position is performed.

In FIG. 2, the discharge roller 32
When the sheet S is discharged, the pin 39b of the disk 39 shown in FIG. 5 is rotated by the discharge motor 40 in the direction opposite to the arrow in FIG. The arm 31b of the rotation guide 31 supported by the pin 39b is lowered, and as shown in FIG. 6, the rotation guide 31 is rotated downward with the rotation shaft 31a as a fulcrum, and the movable discharge roller 33 is moved by one roller. The sheet is pressed against a certain sheet discharge roller 32.

When the sheet S is sent to the main transport path 7 in the staple mode, which will be described later, the rotation guide 31 moves the movable discharge roller 33 upward so as to separate from the discharge roller 32 as shown in FIG. Then, the sheet S is rotated from the dischargeable state to the sheet discharge disabled state, and the conveyance path (discharge port 50) of the sheet bundle S stacked and aligned on the intermediate processing tray 25.
To secure.

When the leading end of the sheet bundle S conveyed by the elastic roller 24 and the elastic paddle wheel 26, which will be described later, comes to a position downstream of the discharge roller 32, the moving discharge roller 33 is moved downward as described above. Is rotated to discharge the sheet bundle by sandwiching the sheet bundle and rotating the discharge roller 32.
It is stacked on the discharge tray 23. Also, the tray unit 34
Can be moved up and down while holding the discharge tray 23 by a driving device (not shown) built in the lower part.

In the present invention, the sheet discharging means 17,
A first roller and a second roller which are disposed on the upper side of the intermediate processing tray 18 and on both the front and back sides of the intermediate processing tray 25 and which can sandwich and discharge the sheet bundle accumulated on the intermediate processing tray 25; A rotating mechanism for driving the first and second rollers so as to be rotatable in forward and reverse directions, a moving mechanism for relatively moving the first and second rollers toward and away from each other; Control means for controlling the mechanism.

In FIG. 7, an elastic roller 24 as a first roller is provided on both sides of the intermediate processing tray 25.
And an elastic paddle wheel 26 as a second roller are disposed opposite to each other. The elastic roller 24 has an elastic body 24a formed around the elastic roller 24 and is disposed on the holding plate 25c side (back side) of the intermediate processing tray 25. The elastic paddle wheel 26 has a large number of elastic paddles 26a protruding therearound, and has a holding plate 25d side (front surface side) of the intermediate processing tray 25.
Are located in

The elastic roller 24 and the elastic paddle wheel 26 can be driven to rotate in forward and reverse directions by a drive motor 35 constituting a rotating mechanism. A pulley 56 is fixed to an output shaft of the drive motor 35. ing. A shaft 65 is disposed adjacent to the pulley 56, and the shaft 65 has a pulley 58 and a pulley 58a which are integrally formed.
Are rotatably mounted. A timing belt 57 is wound between the pulley 56 and the pulley 58.

The shaft 66 is adjacent to the pulley 58 and the like.
The gear 66 and the pulley 60a are integrally mounted on the shaft 66 so as to be rotatable.
A timing belt 59 is wound between the pulley 58a and the pulley 60a. The gear 60 includes:
The gear 61 rotatably mounted on the shaft 67 is meshed with the gear 61,
The gear 61 and the pulley 61a are integrally formed.
Further, on the holding plate 25c side of the intermediate processing tray 25, an intermediate transport shaft 64 is disposed.
The pulley 62 and the pulley 58a
, A timing belt 37 is wound. An intermediate transport shaft 64a is disposed on the holding plate 25d side of the intermediate processing tray 25, and a pulley 6 is attached to the intermediate transport shaft 64a.
3 and the pulley 63 and the pulley 61
and a timing belt 37a is wound between the timing belt 37a.

With the above construction, the rotation of the drive motor 35 is transmitted from the pulley 56 to the pulleys 58 and 58a via the timing belt 57, and transmitted from the pulley 58a to the pulley 62 via the timing belt 37. The elastic roller 24 is driven by a shaft 64 integrated with the pulley 62. The other power transmission is transmitted from the pulley 58a to the pulley 60a and the gear 60 via the timing belt 59, and transmitted to the pulley 61a by the gear 61 engaged with the gear 60. Further, the elastic paddle wheel 26 is transmitted from the pulley 61a to the pulley 63 via the timing belt 37a, and is transmitted through the intermediate conveyance shaft 64a.
Is driven in a direction opposite to that of the elastic roller 24.

Next, a description will be given of a moving mechanism for relatively moving the elastic roller 24 and the elastic paddle wheel 26 toward and away from each other.

A worm gear 49 is fixed to the output shaft of the swing motor 36 constituting the moving mechanism, and a worm wheel 51 is engaged with the worm gear 49. The worm wheel 51 and the support plate 52 are fixed to 67. A support plate 53 is provided on the distal end side of the support plate 52 via a shaft 54.
Are rotatably supported, and an intermediate transport shaft 64 a is supported at the distal end side of the support plate 53 via a bearing 68.
The plurality of elastic paddle wheels 26 provided on the intermediate transport shaft 64a are pulled by the elastic force of the coil spring 38 stretched between the support plate 52 and the support plate 53, and are substantially pulled by the stopper shaft 55. They are connected linearly.
This allows the elastic paddle wheel 26 to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise about the support shaft 67 in accordance with the forward and reverse operations of the swing motor 36.

A sensor flag 51a is formed at one end of the worm wheel 51. The sensor flag 51a is detected by the home sensor 69 at a position where the elastic paddle wheel 26 has moved to the outside of the intermediate processing tray 25. Is determined.

The rotating mechanism including the drive motor 35 and the moving mechanism including the swing motor 36 are controlled by a control device 160 as control means shown in FIG. The operation of the elastic paddle wheel 26 going into and out of the intermediate processing tray 25 will be described later in detail.

Next, the case of the staple mode in which the stacked sheet bundle is stapled will be described.

In FIG. 2, the sheet S sent to the main conveyance path 7 by the solid line position of the flapper 4 is stiffened by the downstream discharge roller 17 and the pressing roller 18, and the image surface of the sheet S is directed rightward in the figure on the intermediate processing tray 25. (Facing the holding plate 25d) and discharged. At the timing of ejection, FIG.
9 is rotated by the drive motor 35 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 9 while swinging about the shaft 67 in the direction in which the elastic paddle wheel 26 appears in the intermediate processing tray 25. To move the elastic paddle wheel 26 to a position near the center of the intermediate processing tray 25. By this operation, the sheet S is discharged into the intermediate processing tray 25 by the discharge roller 17 and the pressing roller 18 and thereafter falls by its own weight, and the elastic paddle wheel 2
The tip of the sixth elastic paddle 26a touches. The sheet S is conveyed toward the alignment position by the elasticity and rotation of the elastic paddle 26a. At this time, the trailing end of the sheet S is rotated by the discharge alignment belt 1 rotating in synchronization with the discharge roller 17.
The sheet S is entangled with the sheet 9 and abuts against the abutment plate 20 to align the longitudinal direction of the sheet S. In the meantime, the elastic paddle wheel 26 is retracted to the home position in FIG. 8, and stops rotating until the next sheet S is discharged, and waits.

By repeating the above operation every time the sheet S is discharged, the curl of the sheet stacked on the intermediate processing tray 25 prevents the next discharged sheet S from falling under its own weight. Even in the case where the sheet S is ejected, only the discharged sheet S can be conveyed to the alignment position, so that it is possible to prevent the sheet S from being irregular. Then, as the number of sheets stacked on the intermediate processing tray 25 increases, the control device 160 (refer to FIG. 1) so that the amount of appearance (projection) of the elastic paddle wheel 26 in the intermediate processing tray 25 gradually decreases. By controlling the swing motor 36 in (1), it is possible to prevent the sheet S from buckling due to excessive pull-in when the sheet S is conveyed toward the alignment position.

After the sheet bundle stored in the intermediate processing tray 25 is stapled by the stapler 400, the elastic paddle wheel 26 waiting at the home position rotates in a direction in which the elastic paddle wheel 26 comes into pressure contact with the elastic roller 24.
Nip the sheet bundle as shown at 0. In addition, the paddle wheel 26 has a crushed paddle tip due to this nip.
Can rotate around the shaft 54 and press the sheet bundle by extending the coil spring 38. After the nip, the elastic roller 24 and the elastic paddle wheel 26 are driven by the drive motor 35 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. Rotate to convey the sheet bundle.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the elastic paddle wheel 26 is configured so as to be capable of moving toward and away from the sheet S so that the operation of aligning the discharged sheet S and the operation of transporting the stored sheet bundle are performed. And can be done.

Here, the stapling operation of the stapler 400 will be described.

In FIG. 12, reference numeral 400A denotes a staple unit having a stapler 400 for performing a binding operation on the sheet bundle stacked on the intermediate processing tray 25 when the sheet bundle is stapled. As shown in the drawing, the sheet S is moved in the direction of the arrow Y, and the sheet S stacked on the intermediate processing tray 25 is bound at one position on the front side (binding position H1) and at two positions (binding position H).
2, H3) and one back side binding (binding stop position H4). In FIG. 11, the sizes of the sheets S to be stapled are A4 and B5.
It is not limited to this paper size.

On the other hand, in the case of performing such a binding operation, a regulating member for abutting the trailing end of the sheet S to adjust the sheet bundle is necessary. Therefore, as shown in FIG. At the rear end, the abutment plate 20 described above is provided.

The abutment plate 20 is provided with an intermediate processing tray 25.
The spring member 44 is rotatably held by a shaft member 457 fixedly mounted on the shaft member 457, and is wound around the shaft member 457.
8 is urged in the counterclockwise direction in the figure. In this state, when the sheets S are stacked on the intermediate processing tray 25, the rear end of the sheet S comes into contact with the abutment plate 20, and the rear end of the sheet bundle S is adjusted. .

Incidentally, since the abutment plate 20 and the stapler 400 have an overlapping positional relationship,
When the stapler unit 400A moves or performs a stapling operation, the abutment plate 20 becomes an obstacle.
For this reason, the stapler unit 40 is
A retracting mechanism 449 is provided for retracting the abutment plate 20 to a position that does not hinder the movement of the stapler unit 400A when the 0A moves.

Here, the retracting mechanism 449 includes a gear portion 450 fixed to the abutment plate 20 and attached to the shaft member 457, and a gear portion 450 having a lower end portion pivotally supported.
Rotatable sector gear 451 meshing with the gear unit 450
And the stapler unit 400 fixed to the movable base 433.
When A moves, it comes into contact with the sector gear 451 and
And a stopper regulating member 438 for rotating the shaft 51 about the shaft 456 as a fulcrum.

The sector gear 451 has a contact portion 45.
1a is provided, and when the stapler unit 400A moves, the stopper regulating member 438 contacts the contact portion 451a. When the stopper regulating member 438 abuts in this manner, the sector gear 4
51 is pushed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the stapler unit 400A, and rotates to the position indicated by the broken line in FIG.

When the sector gear 451 rotates, the gear part 450 meshing with the sector gear 451 rotates, and the abutment plate 20 moves the lower part of the processing tray 25 while contracting the spring member 448. Stapler unit 400
The shaft member 457 is pivoted downward to the retreat position where the movement of A is not hindered.

When the stapler unit 400A further moves, the stopper regulating member 438 moves the sector gear 45.
1 comes off the contact portion 451a, so that the abutment plate 20 returns to the position where the rear end of the sheet bundle S is regulated by the return force of the spring member 448 together with the sector gear 451. It has become.

Incidentally, a plurality of the abutting plates 20 are provided in the width direction of the sheet S as shown in FIG.
Each of these butting plates 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 2
0e is provided with the retracting mechanism 449, respectively, so that each abutment plate 20a, 20b, 20c,
20d and 20e are configured to be independently rotatable.

In FIG. 13, three abutment plates 20a, 20a are provided according to the position of the stapler unit 400A.
20b and 20c are at positions where the rear end of the sheet bundle is adjusted,
The other two abutment plates 20d and 20e are in a position where they do not hinder the movement of the stapler unit 400A.

Next, a specific configuration and operation of the stapler 400 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 14, the stapler 400 has a crocodile shape and a stapling portion 400a including an upper forming portion 401 and a lower staple table 402. A needle cartridge 403 is detachably attached to the forming section 401, and about 5,000 needles H connected in a plate shape are loaded in the needle cartridge 403.

The needle H loaded in the needle cartridge 403 is urged downward by a spring 404 provided on the upper side of the needle cartridge 403, and applies a conveying force to a feed roller 405 arranged on the lower side. It has a configuration. Then, the needle H sent out by the feed roller 405 swings the forming section 401,
One by one is formed in a U-shape.

When the staple motor 406 is started, the eccentric cam gear 408 rotates through the gear train 407 to form an eccentric cam (not shown) integrally attached to the eccentric cam gear 408. Due to the action of (1), it swings toward the staple table 402 as shown by the arrow to perform a clinch operation (staple binding operation). The absence of the needle H loaded in the needle cartridge 403 is detected by a reflective sensor 409 provided below the needle cartridge 403.

In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 is of a digital type, which includes a scanner unit for reading an image of a document and a printer unit for reproducing the image. , And can operate independently. That is, the scanner unit irradiates the original with a lamp and decomposes the reflected light into small points (pixels) with a light receiving element, and at the same time, converts (electrical conversion) into an electric signal corresponding to the density of the original. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-207, a drum is irradiated with a laser beam based on an electric signal sent from a scanner unit, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the drum, and a copy image is formed through development, transfer, and fixing.

Therefore, the digital image forming apparatus 10
As shown in FIG. 1, an interface 500 is connected to transfer a signal of a document read by the scanner unit to another facsimile 501, and conversely, an electric signal received from another facsimile It is also possible to send the image to the sheet S by sending it to the printer unit through the printer 500. Similarly, an image signal received from a computer device 502 such as a personal computer is
The image can be sent to the printer unit through the interface 500 and copied to the sheet S, or the image read by the scanner unit can be taken into the personal computer through the interface 500.

As described above, the current digital image forming apparatus 100 not only reads and copies a document sent from the RDF 300 or a document placed on the platen glass 101, but also interposes the interface 500. By doing so, it can be used as a facsimile or as a printer for a personal computer.

In the above description, a plurality of elastic paddle wheels 26 disposed on a shaft have been described as examples of the second roller of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, for example, as shown in FIG. 17, a plurality of elastic paddle wheels 26 and elastic rollers 24 are alternately arranged on the intermediate transport shaft 64a, and at this time, as shown in FIG. X, the outer diameter Y of the distal end portion of the elastic paddle 26a of the elastic paddle wheel 26 is set to a larger diameter, and the elastic paddle 2 is larger than the outer diameter X of the elastic roller 24.
When the sheet discharged to the intermediate processing tray 25 is aligned by using a configuration in which the root diameter Z of the base 6a is small, the diameter Y of the tip of the elastic paddle 26a is used. When the sheet bundle stored in the tray 25 is transported, the sheet is nipped by the outer diameter X of the pair of elastic rollers 24 and transported, so that the transport of the sheet bundle can be performed more reliably.

Further, as the second roller of the present invention,
For example, as shown in FIG. 18, an elastic roller 24 and two elastic paddle wheels 26, 26 sandwiching the elastic roller 24 are arranged as a roller pair on an intermediate conveyance shaft 64a, and such a roller pair is mounted on the shaft. A plurality may be provided.

In the above description, the elastic paddle 2
6a shows a case extending in the normal direction from the center of the mounting shaft. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG.
May be inclined at a predetermined angle in the direction of the arrow so that the elastic paddle 26a is easily collapsed when the sheet bundle is nipped.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the sheets stored in the intermediate processing tray 25 are bound by the stapler 400 is shown. However, it is not always necessary to bind the sheets, and the sheets are conveyed in an unbound state. Of course, it may be discharged.

[0070]

According to the present invention, the first and second rollers are opposed to each other on both the front and back sides of the intermediate processing tray for temporarily accumulating the conveyed sheets, and the first and second rollers are arranged. The curl of the sheet discharged to the intermediate processing tray is large because the sheet is rotatable in the normal and reverse directions and can be relatively freely moved toward and away from the intermediate processing tray. Even when the sheet is ejected, the second roller appears in the intermediate processing tray every time the sheet is discharged, so that the second roller slides on the sheet and the rear end of the sheet is located below the intermediate processing tray. By abutting against the abutting member, it is possible to prevent irregularities during stacking of the sheets.

Further, according to the present invention, as the number of sheets stacked on the intermediate processing tray increases, control is performed such that the appearance amount (projection amount) of the second roller in the intermediate processing tray is reduced. By doing so, excessive retraction of the sheet into the abutment member can be prevented, and buckling of the sheet can be prevented.

Further, according to the present invention, the sheet bundle accumulated in the intermediate processing tray is nipped by the first and second rollers and pressed to be used as a bundle transport roller. Furthermore, since the sheet stacking operation and the sheet bundle conveying operation described above can be performed by the first and second rollers, the apparatus can be made compact.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an entire image forming apparatus provided with a sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view of a sheet processing apparatus in the same.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an alignment unit of the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a rotation guide section of the movable discharge roller.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a rotation guide section of the movable discharge roller.

FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of first and second rollers opposed to each other on both front and back sides of an intermediate processing tray, and a rotation mechanism and a movement mechanism thereof.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing a state where a second roller is at a home position.

FIG. 9 illustrates a state in which a second roller moves into the intermediate processing tray,
FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the sheet is slid on the sheet and transferred downward.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing a state when a sheet bundle is discharged by first and second rollers.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing stapling positions of sheets stacked in an intermediate processing tray by a stapler;

FIG. 12 is a side view of a stapler unit.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a stapler unit.

FIG. 14 is a side view of the stapler unit.

FIG. 15 is a side view showing another embodiment of the second roller.

FIG. 16 is a side view showing another embodiment of the second roller.

FIG. 17 is a rear view showing another embodiment of the second roller.

FIG. 18 is a rear view showing another embodiment of the second roller.

FIG. 19 is a vertical sectional side view of a conventional sheet processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sheet processing apparatus 17 Discharge roller (sheet discharge means) 18 Holding roller (sheet discharge means) 19 Discharge alignment belt 20 Butt plate 24 Elastic roller (first roller) 24a Elastic body 25 Intermediate processing tray 26 Elastic paddle wheel (No. 2 roller 26a elastic paddle 32 discharge roller 33 moving discharge roller 35 drive motor 36 swing motor 49 worm gear 51 worm wheel 52, 53 support plate 100 image forming apparatus 160 control apparatus 400 stapler

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H072 GA08 3F049 AA01 AA08 CA02 CA05 DA11 DA12 DB18 LA02 LB03 3F054 AA01 AB01 AC02 BA01 BA11 BB03 BB14 BH04 BH07 BJ04 CA11 CA40 DA01 3F108 HA32 JA02

Claims (7)

[Claims] A sheet discharge means for discharging the conveyed sheet upward, an intermediate processing tray capable of temporarily stacking the sheets with the rear end of the sheet discharged by the sheet discharge means facing down; A first roller and a second roller, which are disposed on the upper side of the sheet discharging means and on both sides of the intermediate processing tray so as to be able to sandwich and discharge the sheet bundle accumulated on the intermediate processing tray; A roller, a rotation mechanism for driving the first and second rollers to be rotatable in forward and reverse directions, a movement mechanism for relatively moving the first and second rollers toward and away from each other, and the movement mechanism With this, the second roller is moved in the direction approaching the first roller to slidably contact the sheet discharged from the sheet discharging means, and the second roller is moved by the rotating mechanism to the sheet. Rear end Serial intermediate processing and control means for controlling the tray of the lower abutment is rotated in a direction that is abutting the member, and a sheet processing apparatus characterized by. 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the moving mechanism to move the second roller closer to the first roller in the approach direction as the number of sheets stacked on the intermediate processing tray increases. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a control for gradually decreasing the sheet processing is performed. 3. The first roller has an elastic body formed around the first roller, and is disposed on one back surface of the intermediate processing tray. The second roller has a large number of elastic paddles formed around the first roller. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is disposed on another surface of the intermediate processing tray. 4. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the elastic paddle is inclined by a predetermined angle in a rotation direction with respect to a normal direction extending from the center of the second roller. 5. A hybrid roller group in which said second roller is coaxially and alternately provided with an elastic roller having an elastic body formed therearound and an elastic paddle wheel having a plurality of elastic paddles formed thereon. The outer diameter of the elastic paddle wheel is formed to be larger than the outer diameter of the elastic roller, and the outer diameter of the elastic paddle wheel excluding the elastic paddle is larger than the outer diameter of the elastic roller. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is formed small. 6. A stapling mechanism for stapling a rear end side of a bundle of sheets stacked on the intermediate processing tray below the intermediate processing tray, and partially retreating the abutting member below the intermediate processing tray. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet bundle is bound by the binding mechanism. 7. A sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet, and a sheet on which an image has been formed by said image forming means is discharged to said sheet processing apparatus. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a main body discharging unit.