JP2001072310A - Sheet processing device and image forming device equipped with sheet processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the conveying distance from a sheet not to be processed to a processing tray below that from a sheet to be processed to the processing tray. SOLUTION: This sheet processing device is provided with a first sheet processing means, which processes a sheet whose position is regulated by a first sheet mounting means 8 for mounting the sheet sent into, a second sheet mounting means to which the sheet is sent from the first sheet mounting means 8, and a position regulating means 21 for receiving the sheet to regulate the position of the sheet, a conveying means 13, which takes either a receiving position PreHP for receiving the sheet sent into the first mounting means 8 or a waiting position HP for not receiving the sheet, and a sheet mounting standard position selection control means, which moves/controls the conveying means 13 to the waiting position HP, when the sheet is processed, but to the receiving position PreHP, when the sheet is not processed. In this case, the receiving position PreHP is situated on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction than the position regulating means 21.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus for processing a sheet, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus, such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile, and a composite machine thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an example of a sheet processing apparatus, there is a recording paper processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2783327.

This recording paper processing apparatus switches the sheet conveyance path when not performing a binding process on an image-formed sheet conveyed from the main body of the image forming apparatus.
When the sheet is directly conveyed to the discharge tray and discharged, and the binding process is performed on the sheet on which the image is formed, the sheet is temporarily stacked on the processing tray, subjected to the binding process, and then placed on a stack tray different from the discharge tray. Transported and discharged.

[0006] In general, the sheet processing apparatus is configured to discharge the sheets to different trays depending on whether the sheets are bound or not, similarly to the recording sheet processing apparatus.

[0005] In addition to the binding process, the sheet process includes a punching process.

The sheets include plain paper, thin resin sheets, postcards, cardboard, which are substitutes for plain paper,
There are sealed letters and plastic thin plates.

[0007]

However, in the conventional sheet processing apparatus, it is necessary to provide an extra discharge tray for stacking the sheets which have not been subjected to the binding processing. If the sheet is removed, the sheets that are not to be bound must also be transported to the sheet binding position on the processing tray, stacked, and then transported to the stack tray. Since it takes time to transfer the sheet to a position, it is difficult to increase the sheet processing efficiency.

According to the present invention, the transfer distance of the unprocessed sheet to the processing tray is such that both the unprocessed sheet and the processed sheet are stacked on the processing tray and then discharged to a common tray. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet processing apparatus in which the length of the sheet to be processed is shorter than the transport distance of the sheet to be processed, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet processing apparatus comprising: first sheet stacking means for stacking an incoming sheet; and a downstream end of the first sheet stacking means in the sheet conveying direction. And a second sheet stacking unit for stacking the sheets sent from the first sheet stacking unit, and an upstream end of the first sheet stacking unit in the sheet conveying direction. A position regulating unit that receives the sheet and regulates the position of the sheet; and a sheet processing unit that is disposed on the upstream end side and performs processing on the sheet whose position is regulated by the position regulating unit.
A transfer unit that takes a receiving position that receives the sheet sent to the first sheet stacking unit and a standby position that does not receive the sheet; and the transfer unit, when the processing is performed on the sheet, A sheet stacking reference position selection control means for controlling the movement to the standby position, and controlling the movement to the receiving position when the sheet is not subjected to the processing, wherein the receiving position is greater than the position regulating means. Is set on the downstream side in the transport direction.

In the sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention, the transfer unit transfers the sheets stacked on the first sheet stacking unit to the second sheet stacking unit while moving from the receiving position to the standby position. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet can be sent.

In the sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention, a downstream end of the first sheet stacking means in the sheet conveying direction is set lower than an upstream end.

The sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the sheet stacked on the first sheet stacking means is fed back to the upstream end side in the sheet conveying direction and is brought into contact with the position regulating means. It has.

In the sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention, the processed sheet that has been subjected to the processing may be transferred from the position regulating unit to the second sheet.
A sheet moving unit for moving the processed sheet moved from the position regulating unit to the first sheet stacking unit by the sheet moving unit. The control means operates the transfer means to transfer the sheet from the first sheet stacking means to the second sheet stacking means.

In the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, the sheet stacked on the first sheet stacking unit is sent to the position regulating unit, and after the sheet is subjected to the processing, the sheet is processed by the second sheet stacking unit. A sheet reciprocating means for moving the sheet toward the sheet stacking means, wherein the transfer means receives the fed sheet at the receiving position, and the sheet is sent to the position regulating means by the sheet reciprocating means. After the processed sheet that has been moved and the processed sheet is moved to the first sheet stacking unit by the sheet reciprocating unit, the first sheet stacking position is controlled by the sheet stacking reference position selection control unit. The processed sheet on the sheet stacking means of the second
To the sheet stacking means.

[0015] The transfer means of the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention has a wrapping body that circulates, and a protruding piece that protrudes outward from the wrapping body and abuts on the rear end of the sheet. The projecting piece takes the receiving position and the standby position by circulation of the wound body.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet, a sheet discharging unit for discharging a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming unit, and a sheet discharged by the sheet discharging unit. And any one of the above-described sheet processing apparatuses.

(Operation) The sheet processing apparatus of the present invention has a case where a sheet is processed and a case where a sheet is not processed.

A case in which processing is performed on a sheet will be described.

First, in order to make it easy for the sheet fed to the first sheet stacking means to be stacked on the first sheet stacking means, the sheet stacking reference position selection control means controls the movement of the transfer means to the standby position. Then, the transfer means does not interfere with the fed sheet.

Rear end of the sheet sequentially fed onto the first sheet stacking means (upstream end in the sheet conveying direction)
The position is regulated by the position regulating means.

When a predetermined number of sheets are stacked on the first sheet stacking unit and formed into a bundle, the sheet processing unit processes the sheet bundle.

A case where no processing is performed on a sheet will be described.

The sheet stacking reference position selection control means controls the movement of the transfer means to the sheet receiving position in advance.

The sheets fed to the first sheet stacking means are received by the transfer means, and when a predetermined number of sheets are fed, the sheets are bundled.

Since the receiving position of the transfer means is set downstream of the position regulating means in the sheet conveyance direction, the sheet not subjected to the processing is the second sheet stacking means than the sheet subjected to the processing. When a sheet is discharged from the first sheet stacking unit to the second sheet stacking unit, the discharge distance of the unprocessed sheet is short, and the sheet is discharged earlier accordingly.

If the downstream end of the first sheet stacking means of the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention in the sheet conveying direction is set lower than the upstream end, the sheet fed into the first sheet stacking means will be Due to its own weight, it slides on the first sheet stacking means or on a sheet already stacked on the first sheet stacking means, abuts against the position stacking means, and aligns the ends of the sheets.

The sheet processing apparatus of the present invention is provided with sheet reversing means for reversing the sheets stacked on the first sheet stacking means to the upstream end side in the sheet conveying direction and abutting on the position regulating means. The sheet fed to the first sheet stacking means is moved on the first sheet stacking means or the first sheet stacking means.
Is forcibly fed over the sheets already stacked on the sheet stacking means, and abuts against the position stacking means to align the ends of the sheets.

The sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention may further include a sheet moving unit that moves the processed sheet from the position regulating unit to the second sheet stacking unit.
The processed sheet moved from the position regulating means to the first sheet stacking means by the sheet moving means may be subsequently transferred from the first sheet stacking means to the second sheet stacking means by the transfer means. It is possible.

According to the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, the sheets stacked on the first sheet stacking unit are sent to the position regulating unit, and after the sheets are processed, the sheets are moved toward the second sheet stacking unit. When the sheet reciprocating means for moving the sheet is provided, the transferring means receives the incoming sheet at the receiving position, and when the sheet is sent to the position regulating means by the sheet reciprocating means, moves and escapes, and the processing is performed. After the processed processed sheet is moved to the first sheet stacking means by the sheet reciprocating means, the processed sheet on the first sheet stacking means is controlled by the sheet stacking reference position selection control means, and is then moved to the second sheet stacking means. Can be transferred to the sheet stacking means.

[0030]

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

First, a copying machine 900 as an example of an image forming apparatus to which the finisher 2 as a sheet folding apparatus according to the present invention can be applied will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 18 is a schematic front sectional view of a copying machine 900.

The sheets include plain paper, thin resin sheets which are substitutes for plain paper, postcards, cardboard, sealed letters,
There is a plastic thin plate.

The main body 1 of the copying machine 900 includes a platen glass 906 as a document table, a light source 907, and a lens system 9
08, a sheet supply unit 909, an image forming unit 902, and the like. Reference numeral 940 denotes a platen glass 906 for the original D.
1 shows an automatic document feeder that automatically feeds documents.

The sheet supply unit 909 includes a sheet S for recording.
And cassettes 910 and 911 detachably mounted on the main body 1 of the copying machine 900 and a deck 913 arranged in a peddy style 912. The image forming unit 902 includes
A cylindrical photosensitive drum 914 and a developing device 915 around it;
Transfer charger 916, separation charger 917, cleaner 91
8, a primary charger 919, and the like. Downstream of the image forming unit 902, a transport device 920, a fixing device 904, a discharge roller pair 905, and the like are provided.

The operation of the main body 1 of the copying machine 900 will be described.

When a sheet supply signal is output from the control device 921 provided in the main body 1 of the copying machine 900, the sheet S is fed from the cassette 910, 911 or the deck 913. On the other hand, the light reflected from the light source 907 on the document D placed on the document placing table 906 is reflected by a photosensitive drum (image forming unit) 914 via a lens system 908.
Is irradiated. The photosensitive drum 914 is charged in advance by a primary charger 919, and is irradiated with light to form an electrostatic latent image, and then the developing device 915 develops the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image. .

The skew of the sheet S fed from the sheet supply unit 909 is corrected by the registration roller 901, and the sheet S is sent to the image forming unit 902 at a proper timing.
In the image forming unit 902, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 914 is transferred to the fed sheet S by the transfer charger 916, and the sheet S on which the toner image has been transferred is transferred to the transfer charger 916 by the separation charger 917. It is charged to the opposite polarity and separated from the photosensitive drum 914.

Then, the separated sheet S is conveyed to the fixing device 904 by the conveying device 920, and
04, the transfer image is permanently fixed on the sheet S. The sheet S on which the image has been fixed is discharged from the main body 1 of the copying machine 900 by the discharge roller pair 905.

In this manner, an image is formed on the sheet S fed from the sheet feeding unit 909, and the sheet S is discharged to the finisher 2.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front sectional view of a finisher 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a sheet discharge roller 1b is a sheet discharge roller pressed by the sheet discharge roller 1a, and the sheet discharge rollers 1a and 1b constitute a pair of sheet discharge rollers.

The transport guide pair 3 receives the sheet discharged from the discharge roller 1a of the copying machine 900 and the sheet discharge roller 1b pressed against the roller, and guides the sheet into the finisher 2. The transport guide pair 3 is provided with a transport roller pair 5.

The sheet detection sensor 4 detects a sheet conveyed in the conveyance guide pair 3.
Therefore, the sheet detection sensor 4 can determine the alignment timing and the like and can detect whether or not the sheet is jammed in the transport guide pair 3. The discharge roller pair 6 nip-conveys the sheet in the conveyance guide pair 3.

The processing tray 8 is a discharge sheet stacking means for stacking and stacking sheets sequentially discharged by the discharge roller pair 6. The processing tray 8 is provided with an alignment plate 9 as alignment means for guiding both ends of the sheet to be discharged by the discharge roller pair 6 to align the sheets.
The alignment plates 9 are arranged at both ends in the width direction crossing the sheet conveyance direction. The alignment plate 9 is provided on the processing tray 8.
A pin 16 provided on the shaft of a matching motor 14 composed of a stepping motor and a rack 16 integrally formed with the matching plate 9.
The alignment plate 9 is provided so as to be appropriately moved in the sheet width direction by the rotation of.

The carry-in guide 7 guides the sheet discharged from the discharge roller pair 6 into the processing tray 8. Below the carry-in guide 7, formed of a rubber material having a certain elasticity which rotates in contact with the upper surface of the sheet.
A paddle 17 is provided to ensure sheet conveyance.

The paddle 17 is rotatably driven about a shaft 17a, and is integrally formed so as to support the paddle surface with fins 17b extending radially about the shaft 17a. Therefore, the sheet is easily deformed as it is stored in the processing tray 8, and an appropriate conveying force can be applied to the sheet.

In FIG. 1, the processing tray 8 is disposed on the right side and integrated with the first pulley shaft 10a, and is disposed on the left side and integrated with the second pulley shaft 11a. A second pulley 11, a transfer belt 12 stretched between the first pulley 10 and the second pulley 11, and an extruding claw 13 projecting from the outer periphery of the transfer belt 12.

The lower transport roller 18 is provided coaxially with the first pulley shaft 11a.
Above the lower roller 18 (see FIG. 1).
Middle dashed line) and an upper conveying roller 19 rotatable between a position separated from the lower conveying roller 18 (solid line in FIG. 1).
Are arranged.

The stopper 21 is provided at a position where it is discharged to the processing tray 8 by the discharge roller pair 6, falls by its own weight, and receives the end of the sheet which is moved by the rotation to the paddle 17. One end of the stopper 12 is supported on the first pulley shaft 10a, and is always held by a spring or the like (not shown) at a position for regulating the sheet end.

Stapler unit 30 as binding means
1 is configured as a unit body indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, and is provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the frame 2 a of the finisher 2.

The stapler unit 30 includes a needle driving head unit 31 having a needle cartridge (not shown) on the lower side of the conveyance path, and an anvil unit 32 for bending a needle driven from the needle driving head unit 31 upward. have. The needle driving head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32 can be moved in a direction (the front and back sides of the paper) intersecting the sheet conveyance direction (from right to left in FIG. 1).

The guide rods 33 and 34 guide the movement (shift movement) of the needle driving head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32 in a direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction, and are arranged vertically. Have been.

The screw shafts 35 and 36 are a kind of screw shafts (see FIG. 4) for performing the above-mentioned shift movement between the needle driving head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32. The drive shafts 37 and 38 are shafts that cause the needle driving head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32 to perform a needle driving operation and a needle bending operation, respectively.

The transport guide 39 is a stapler unit 3
This is a portion for guiding a sheet bundle conveyed in the area 0.

The sheet bundle folding unit 50 is configured as a unit body similarly to the stapler unit 30 shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, and is provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the frame 2a of the finisher 2.

The sheet bundle transport guide 53 transports the sheet bundle transported by the nip between the upper transport roller 19 and the lower transport roller 18 located at the entrance side of the stapler unit 30.

The upper bundle transfer roller 51 is
2 are disposed on the entrance side of the folding unit 50 so as to face each other. The upper bundle transfer roller 51 is connected to the lower bundle transfer roller 5.
2 is arranged so as to move between a position pressed against the position 2 (the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1) and a position separated from the position (the position indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 1). That is, the upper end of the sheet bundle is moved by the upper conveying roller 19 and the lower conveying roller 18 located at the entrance side of the stapler unit 30 so that the leading end portion of the sheet bundle is the upper conveying roller 51 and the lower conveying roller 52.
Until it passes through the lower portion of the bundle transport lower roller 52 (the position indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 1), and then moves to a position where the roller 52 is pressed against the lower roller 52 (solid line position in FIG. 1). Has become.

The sheet bundle edge detection sensor 54 detects the leading end of the sheet bundle, presses the upper bundle transport roller 51 against the upper bundle transport roller 52, and sets and controls the folding position in the transport direction of the sheet bundle. It is used to

The plate 55 has a tip thickness of about 0.25 m.
m stainless steel plate. Folding rollers 57a, 57
Reference numeral b denotes a columnar roller having a partly flat portion extending in a direction intersecting the sheet bundle conveying direction, and is urged in directions to press each other, and each is driven to rotate.
The abutting plate 55 is located substantially directly above the folding rollers 57a and 57b, and its leading edge moves to near the nip of the folding rollers 57a and 57b.

Around the folding rollers 57a, 57b in FIG. 1, backup guides 59a, 59b having a substantially arc shape for guiding the sheet bundle together with the conveyance guide 53 are provided. This backup guide 59a, 59b
When the leading edge of the pushing plate 55 moves close to the nip of the folding rollers 57a and 57b in conjunction with the vertical movement of the pushing plate 55, the peripheral surface of the folding rollers 57a and 57b with respect to the sheet bundle is opened. It has become.

The sheet bundle guide 56 changes the transport direction of the sheet bundle nip-conveyed by the lower bundle transport roller 52 and the upper bundle transport roller 51 to the lower side, so that the leading end of the sheet bundle is in the sheet bundle path 58. So that it hangs down.

The bundle discharge roller pair 60 includes a driving roller 60a that is driven to rotate, and a driven roller 60b that is pressed by the driving roller 60a and is driven to rotate.

Folded sheet discharge stacker 8 for folded sheet bundle
0 is folded by the folding operation of the folding rollers 57a and 57b, and the sheet bundle discharged by the bundle discharge roller pair 60 is stacked.

The folded sheet presser 81 presses the sheet bundle discharged from the folded sheet discharge stacker 80 by a spring or its own weight.

A space is provided between the frame 2a of the finisher 2 and the stack discharge stacker 80 as a sheet bundle passage 58 that permits the movement of the sheet bundle.

The elevating tray 90 moves up and down between a position indicated by a solid line and a two-dot chain line in a direction perpendicular to the frame 2a. The elevating tray 90 is moved up and down by the rotation of the elevating tray motor because the part of the elevating tray support portion 92 is engaged with a part of a belt that is rotated by a driving means such as an elevating tray motor. I have.

The sheet surface detection sensor 93 is connected to the lifting tray 9
It is a sensor that detects the top surface of the sheet on the zero. The rear end guide 94 guides the rear end of the sheet on the elevating tray 90 that moves up and down in the vertical direction. The auxiliary tray 91 is provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the elevating tray 90, and is used by being pulled out when stacking large-size sheets or the like on the elevating tray 90.

Next, the configuration of the processing tray 8, the stapler unit 30, and the folding unit 50 of the finisher 2 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the processing tray 8.

The first pulley 10 and the second pulley 11 are provided on both sides substantially at the center in the sheet width direction with the transfer belt 12 stretched. On the first pulley shaft 10a, four lower conveying rollers 18 are provided, two on each side substantially at the center in the sheet width direction, for convenience. The transport lower roller 18 is a hollow roller of a tire type having a hollow inside.

As described above, the first pulley 10 for rotating the transfer belt 12 is disposed on the first pulley shaft 10a, and a one-way is provided between the first pulley 10 and the first pulley shaft 10a. The clutch 75 is interposed. The first pulley shaft 10a is moved from the first pulley shaft 10a by the one-way clutch 75 to the first position.
In FIG. 1, the transmission of the rotational force to the pulley 10 is performed when the first pulley shaft 10a rotates in the counterclockwise direction, and is not performed when the first pulley shaft 10a rotates in the clockwise direction.

A pulley 73 is fixed on the first pulley shaft 10a. The first pulley shaft 10a is linked to a motor shaft 70a of a stepping motor 70 as a transport drive source via a pulley 73, a timing belt 74, a gear pulley 72, and a motor pinion 71.

Accordingly, the stepping motor 70 causes the sheet on the processing tray 8 to be moved by the stapler unit 3 shown in FIGS.
When it is rotated in the direction of movement toward the “0” side (in the direction of arrow B in FIGS. 1 and 2), the transport lower roller 18 fixed to the first pulley shaft 10a is integrated with the first pulley shaft 10a in FIG. Is rotated in the rotation direction of the transfer belt 1
No. 2 is stopped because the rotational force is not transmitted from the one-way clutch 75. When the stepping motor 70 rotates in the direction to move the sheet toward the lifting tray 90, the lower transport roller 18 and the transfer belt 12 are both located on the lifting tray 90 side (in the direction of arrow A in FIGS. 1 and 2). ) To rotate.

Next, the transfer belt 12 will be described with reference to FIG.

An extruding claw 13 protrudes from a transfer belt 12 stretched between the first pulley 10 and the second pulley 11 with the one-way clutch 75 interposed between the first pulley shaft 10a. In order to position the pushing claw 13 at the home position (the position of HP in FIG. 3), the pushing claw detection arm 76 and the pushing claw detection sensor 77 which engage with the pushing claw 13 are provided on the lower surface of the processing tray 8. Is provided.

The home position (HP) is a position where the push-out claw 13 is moved by the transfer belt 12, pushes the push-out claw detection arm 76, and the push-out claw detection sensor 77 switches from OFF to ON. FIG. 3 shows the positional relationship at this time. Assuming that the nip between the lower transport roller 18 and the upper transport roller 19 is P, the stopper 21
The length from the nip P to the pushing claw 23 is L2. Here, the length relationship is set to L1 <L2.

The operation of the processing tray 8 will be described.

The upper conveying roller 19 is lowered from the position of the working line in FIG. 3 to a two-dot chain line by the operation of a cam or the like (not shown), and is pressed by the lower conveying roller 18. Thereafter, the transport stepping motor 70 is started, and the first pulley rotating shaft 10
When a is rotated in the counterclockwise direction (the direction of arrow A in FIGS. 1 and 2), the transport lower roller 18 also rotates in the same direction,
The sheet bundle is moved in the direction of the lifting tray 90 (the direction of arrow A). The upper transfer roller 19 is also rotated by the stepping motor 70.

Accordingly, the sheet bundle moves from the position of the stopper 21 that has entered the stapler unit 30 by the rotation of the pressing nip between the lower conveying roller 18 and the upper conveying roller 19. When the sheet bundle passes the nip position P,
This time, with the rotation of the transfer belt 12, the pushing claws 13 hit the ends of the sheet bundle. Then, the sheet bundle is pushed by the pushing claws 13 and is moved in the direction of the elevating tray 90 (FIG. 1,
(FIG. 2, arrow A direction).

In this case, since the length relationship L1 <L2 is satisfied, the pushing claw 13 is pushed up from below the sheet bundle. Further, the push-out claw 13 always pushes out the end portion of the sheet bundle in a state perpendicular to the conveyor belt 12. For this reason, no extra stress (for example, stress due to a force applied in the thickness direction of the sheet) is generated when the sheet is transported.

The operation of the push-out claw 13 is described in FIG.
From the position of P, move in the direction opposite to the clock rotation direction,
This is an explanation of a case where the sheet bundle at the position of the stopper 21 is pushed out. The pushing claw 13 is normally waiting at a position where the binding process is performed by the stapler unit 30 (see FIG. 1).

On the other hand, when the sheets carried into the processing tray 8 are not bound by the stapler unit 30, there is no need to carry the sheet bundle to the position of the stopper 21. For this reason, the push-out claw 13 is moved in advance from the HP position in FIG. 3 to the side of the elevating tray 90 beyond the nip point between the lower conveyance roller 18 and the upper conveyance roller 19 by driving the conveyance stepping motor 70, and waits. You need to keep it. The standby position is the movement standby position for (L2 + α), that is, the position of PreHP in FIG. This (L2 + α) is set by counting the number of steps of the stepping motor 70.

Therefore, the sheet that does not need to be bound does not need to be transported to the stopper 21, and is pushed out onto the elevating tray 90 after being stacked in advance at the position of the PreHP where the pushing claw 13 has moved. For this reason, the sheet not subjected to the binding processing is discharged to the elevating tray 90 faster than the sheet subjected to the binding processing.

Therefore, this finisher 2 is
Even if the image processing speed of 00 is high, the sheet bundle can be processed in accordance with the image processing speed of the copying machine.

[0086] As shown in FIG.
The position of the PreHP is the loading guide 7 and the pushing claw 13.
When the upper end of the sheet is overlapped with the upper end of the sheet, the sheets conveyed one by one do not get over the pushing claws 13. Therefore, the push-out claw 13 reliably stacks the sheet at the PreHP position, and thereafter,
It can be quickly discharged to the lifting tray 90.

Next, the stapler unit 30 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows the stapler unit 3 of FIG.
FIG. 2 is a view of the camera as viewed from the left.

The stapler unit 30 is provided with guide rods 33, 34, screw shafts 35, 36, and drive shafts 37, 38 between left and right unit frames 40, 41, an anvil unit 32 above, and a needle driving head below. A unit 31 is provided.

The screw shaft 36 and a part of the needle driving head unit 31 are engaged with each other. When the screw shaft 36 is rotated by a drive source (not shown), the needle driving head unit 31 moves in the left-right direction in FIG. 4, that is, the direction approaching and separating from the unit frames 40 and 41.

The anvil unit 32 has the same mounting configuration as the needle driving head unit 31. Outside the unit frame 40 of the screw shaft 36, a stapler slide motor 42 interlocking with the screw shaft 36 via two gears is provided. The torque of the motor 42 is transmitted by the timing belt 43 as the moving force of the anvil unit 32.

For this reason, the needle driving head unit 31
The anvil unit 32 and the anvil unit 32 move in a direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 4, the sheet width direction) without shifting the position in the vertical direction.

Accordingly, when the stapler slide motor 42 is driven according to the sheet width to control the needle driving head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32 to move to the predetermined positions, the stapling head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32 can be arbitrarily set according to the sheet width. The slal needle can be driven freely into the position.

The driving force required for moving the driving head for driving a needle (not shown) in the needle driving head unit 31, moving the needle, and moving the needle for breaking the needle in the anvil unit 32 is as follows. , Coupling device 4
4 receives it from the finisher 2 side. The driving force from the coupling device 44 is also transmitted to the anvil unit 32 via the timing belt 45 on the unit frame 40 side.

Next, based on FIG. 5, the stopper 21 for setting the position where the staples are driven into the end of the sheet bundle by moving the staple driving head unit 31 in the width direction of the sheet is moved into and out of the staple transport guide 39. The configuration to be performed will be described.

Under the needle driving head unit 31 in FIG. 4, a stopper engaging projection 24 engageable with the moving arm 23 is provided.

The moving arm 23 moves counterclockwise around the moving arm rotating shaft 23a as shown in FIG. 5 by engaging the moving arm projection 23b by the movement of the needle driving head unit 31. I do. The moving arm projection 23b is provided with the stopper engaging projection 24, and the stopper 2 is provided with the stopper 2.
1 protrudes from the lower part. The moving arm 23 rotates downward around the pulley shaft 10a via the connecting lever 22 and the stopper 21, and moves to a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The connection lever 22 is connected to one end of the moving arm 23 by a connection pin 23c, and is connected to an intermediate portion of the stopper 21 by a connection pin 21d.

Therefore, the stopper 21 does not hinder the movement of the needle driving head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32 in the sheet width direction.

Next, the structure of the folding unit 50 as the folding means and the folding operation of the folding unit 50 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the folding unit frame 49 of the folding unit 50.

Since the folding unit 50 is provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the frame 2a of the finisher 2, the shape on the back side of the folding unit frame 49 is also formed in the same shape as the front side.

The folding unit frame 49 of the folding unit 50 is provided with a folding roller drive shaft 61 as a rotation shaft of the folding roller 57a and a drive shaft 69a of the drive roller 60a of the bundle discharge roller pair 60.

A folding roller drive shaft 62 of one folding roller 57b has a folding roller folder 63 which rotates about a drive shaft 69b of a driven roller 60b of a pair of bundle discharge rollers 60b.
It is attached to. A tension spring 67 having a tension of about 5 kg is stretched between the folding roller folder 63 and the folding unit frame 49.

The folding roller unit frame 49 is provided with a hole for allowing the folding roller drive shaft 62 to move by the folding roller folder 63, that is, a frame guide 64.

Therefore, the folding rollers 57a and 57b transport the sheet bundle while applying a substantially constant pressure to the sheet bundle by the tension spring 67, so that the sheet bundle can be reliably bent. Can be.

The folding unit frame 49 has a veneer 5
Rollers 66, 6 standing on support holder 110 supporting
A veneer frame guide 65 is formed as an elongated hole for guiding the movement of the frame 6. The thrust plate frame guide 65 allows the thrust plate 55 to move toward and away from the pressing point between the folding rollers 57a and 57b.

Further, the folding unit frame 49 includes
A cam drive shaft 111 that rotatably supports a cam plate 114 that moves a pushing plate 55 described later is provided.

The upper frame shaft 101 and the lower roller shaft 102 of the lower bundle transport roller 52 which transport the bundle of sheets into the folding unit 50 are also supported by the folding unit frame 49.

The upper bundle transfer roller 51 is used to move the lower bundle transfer roller 5 until the sheet bundle is conveyed into the folding unit 50.
It is located away from 2. For this reason, the folding roller unit frame 49 is provided with the following mechanism.

That is, the upper roller shaft 101 of the upper bundle transfer roller 51 is supported by the bearing holder 103, and a cam floor 112 is erected at one end of the bearing holder 103, and the cam floor 112 is rotatably attached to the folding unit frame 49. The upper roller moving force 68 is engaged.

The other end of the bearing holder 103 is hooked on the lower roller shaft 102 to
A tension spring 104 for applying a tension of g is stretched in a U-shape. The tension spring 104 always pulls the upper bundle transfer roller 51 in the direction of urging the lower bundle transfer roller 52, but the rotation of the upper roller moving cam 68 raises the bearing holder 103 and causes the bundle transfer The upper roller 51 can be controlled between a position where the upper roller 51 is separated from the lower roller 52 and a position where the upper roller 51 is pressed.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are front views of a mechanism for performing a folding operation.

The mechanism for performing the folding operation is provided inside the folding unit frame 49 shown in FIG. 6, and the folding unit frame 49 is omitted.

The cam drive shaft 111 is integrally provided with a cam plate 114. The cam plate 114 is driven to rotate in accordance with the rotation of the shaft 111. This cam plate 114 has
A cam 114a and a cam groove 114b are formed. A cam floor 116 enters the cam groove 114b. The cam floor 116 is set up substantially at the center of an operation arm 115 rotatable about a shaft 113.

At the tip end of the operating arm 115, the pushing plate 5
5 is attached via a veneer support holder 110.

Therefore, when the cam plate 114 is driven to rotate, the operating arm 115 also performs the elevating operation, and the pushing plate 55 attached to the operating arm 115 also performs the elevating operation.

The part where the pushing plate 55 presses the sheet bundle is as follows.
It is formed of a stainless steel plate of about 0.25 mm.
The support holder 110 that supports the thrust plate 55 is also linked to the elevating operation of the thrust plate 55 with respect to the backup guides 59a and 59b that guide the peripheral surfaces of the folding rollers 57a and 57b.

The backup guides 59a and 59b are cylindrical folding rollers 5 extending in a direction crossing the sheet conveying direction.
The folding rollers 57a and 57b are arranged so as to cover the outer peripheral surfaces thereof, and rotate about the shafts 61 and 62 of the folding rollers 57a and 57b with respect to the outer peripheral surfaces of the folding rollers.

At the outer peripheral ends of the backup guides 59a and 59b, lever pieces 119 and 120 are provided, respectively. The backup guides 59a and 59b are suspended from each other by a spring 121. Lever piece 1
Reference numerals 19 and 120 are in contact with bifurcated operating pieces 117 and 118 of the support holder 110.

Therefore, the backup guides 59a, 59
b, when in the state of FIG. 7, the folding rollers 57a,
It is located at a position that covers the outer peripheral surface of the transport path side of the sheet bundle 57b, and can convey the sheet bundle in a state in which it is in sufficient contact with the rubber surfaces of the folding rollers 57a and 57b, and further functions as a guide for backing up the transport of the sheet bundle. ing.
In addition, the backup guides 59a and 59b usually function as a lower conveyance guide of the sheet bundle together with the bundle conveyance guide.

When the sheet bundle is folded, the lever pieces 119 and 120 are pushed up in accordance with the lowering of the operating pieces 117 and 118 of the support holder 110 as shown in FIG.

As a result, the backup guides 59a, 59a,
Reference numeral 9b rotates around the shafts 61 and 62 against the spring 121, so that the outer peripheral surfaces of the folding rollers 57a and 57b reliably contact the sheet bundle.

Next, the drive transmission mechanism of the folding unit 50 will be described.

The drive transmission system of the folding unit 50 is shown in FIG.
The rotation and separation of the upper bundle transfer roller 51 and the lower bundle transfer roller 52 shown in FIG. 10 and the drive transmission of the movement of the folding rollers 57a and 57b and the pushing plate 55 shown in FIG. These drive transmission members are all provided on the back frame side in FIG. 1 of the folding unit frame 50 in FIG.

First, the driving force of the upper sheet conveying roller 51 and the lower sheet conveying roller 52 shown in FIG. The input signal is input to the gear pulley 129 on the folding unit side via the switch.

Since the one-way clutch 123 is interposed between the gears 127 and 128 and the shaft 113 for driving the upper roller moving cam 68 (see FIGS. 6 and 9), the gears 127 and 128 are not shown. Only when the sheet rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow 9, the upper roller moving cam 68 rotates, and the sheet bundle conveying upper roller 51 moves in the vertical direction.

The rotational force from the gear pulley 129 is transmitted to the upper roller shaft 101 and the lower roller shaft 102 by the pulleys 130 and 131 via the timing belt 135. The pulleys 130 and 131 and the shafts 101 and 102
Between them, one-way clutches 124 and 125 are interposed, and when the pulleys 130 and 131 rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 9, the shafts 101 and 102 rotate in the same direction.

Further, a timing belt 135 is stretched so as to rotate the bundle discharge roller pair 60 (see FIG. 6) via the idle pulleys 132 and 133.

When the gears 128 and 129 in FIG. 9 are rotating in the direction of the arrow, the upper and lower rollers 51 and 52 are rotated in the direction for transporting the sheet bundle into the folding unit 50. When rotating in the direction opposite to the illustrated arrow, the upper roller moving cam 68 rotates to separate or press the lower roller 52 as described above, and these operations are not particularly illustrated. However, a flag projection provided on the shaft 133 is detected and controlled by a sensor or the like.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a drive system of the folding rollers 57a and 57b. This drive system is attached to the frame on the back side of the drive system shown in FIGS.

The coupling device 137 receives the rotational force of the staple / folding motor 170 from the finisher 2 side. The staple / folding motor 1
When 70 rotates forward, the coupling device 44 of the stapler unit in FIG. 4 is driven, and when rotated reversely, the coupling device 137 rotates.

The rotational driving force from the coupling device 137 is transmitted to the gear 139 rotating the folding roller 57 a by the gear 138 provided on the coaxial 61 and also to the gear 142 provided on the gear shaft 140. Is done.

The gear 142 meshes with the gear 141,
The shaft 111 rotates. The shaft 111 is provided with an operating arm 1 for moving the thrust plate 55 (see FIGS. 7 and 8).
The cam plate 144 for operating the motor 15 is driven.

Note that the position of the cam plate 144 is
A flag projection (not shown) fixed to 1 is detected by a sensor.

Next, the folding operation of the folding unit 50 will be described with reference to FIGS.

In order to carry out staple processing (saddle stitching) at substantially the center of the sheet bundle in the processing tray 8 (see FIG. 1) in the conveying direction, the sheet is transported in a state where the upper roller 51 and the lower roller 52 are separated. Is carried in.

Thereafter, the leading end of the sheet bundle is detected, and the binding process is performed on the sheet bundle when the center of the sheet bundle in the transport direction (half the sheet length (L / 2)) is determined. The upper roller moving cam 68 is rotated to cause the lower bundle transport roller 52 to press and rotate the upper bundle transport roller 51, and convey the sheet bundle to a position where the center in the sheet transport direction is directly below the pushing plate 55.

At this time, the backup guides 59a, 59
b is located at a position covering the peripheral surfaces of the folding rollers 57a and 57b, and backs up the lower surface of the sheet.
The sheet bundle is smoothly conveyed. The bundle detection sensor 54 detects that the approximate center of the sheet bundle in the conveyance direction has reached below the thrust plate 55.

Thereafter, the rotation of the upper bundle transfer roller 51 and the lower bundle transfer roller 52 is stopped. In this state, the sheet bundle
As shown in FIG. 12, since the sheet is suspended only by the upper bundle transfer roller 51 and the lower bundle transfer roller 52, they are aligned. Then, since the downstream side of the sheet bundle pushing plate 55 hangs down, a sheet path may be simply provided without providing a mechanism such as a sheet stopper.

Further, since it is inclined downward, the folding unit 50 and the whole apparatus can be made compact.

When the sheet bundle reaches the state shown in FIG. 12,
This time, when the folding roller driving shaft 61 is driven to rotate, the folding rollers 57a and 57b rotate together, and the cam plate 11
4 (see FIGS. 7 and 8) is also rotated to move the pushing plate 55 to the nip point of the folding rollers 57a and 57b.

Thus, the sheet bundle is folded by the folding rollers into 57a and 57b, and is discharged to the folded sheet bundle discharge stacker 80 by the rotation of the bundle discharge roller 60.

When the pushing plate 55 pushes the sheet bundle toward the folding rollers 57a and 57b, the bundle transport upper roller 5
1. The bundle transport lower roller 52 is in a stopped state, but the one-way clutches 124 and 12
5, the sheet is smoothly folded without being pulled by the upper bundle transport roller 51 and the lower bundle transport roller 52 by the folding operation of the pushing plate 55. After that, the bundle conveying upper roller 51 and the bundle conveying lower roller 52 rotate again, so that the bundle discharging rollers 60a and 60b are rotated.
(See FIGS. 7 and 8) also rotates, and discharges the sheet bundle into the folding unit 50.

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram related to the control of the finisher 2.

The control block 149 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 149a, a ROM 149b in which control procedures executed by the CPU are stored in advance, and an RA which stores calculation data of the CPU, control data received by the copying machine 900, and the like.
M149c.

This control block 149 includes various 1 /
An arrow O on the control block 149 is defined as an input side, and an arrow toward the opposite side is defined as an output side.

First, in relation to the sheet alignment, the near-side alignment home position (HP) sensor 151 and the back-side alignment home position (HP) sensor 152 adjust the width of the sheets on the processing tray 8 so that the sheets are aligned. This is a home position (HP) sensor of the matching plate 9 for matching. The matching plate 9
Until the first sheet is carried into the processing tray 8, it stands by at the position of the sensors 151 and 152.

The front alignment motor 14 is a pulse motor for moving the alignment plate 9. The matching motor 14 is
Is moved, so that a shift (job, sheet width alignment) in a direction intersecting the transport direction for each sheet bundle can be set freely.

Next, the control block 149 uses information relating to the elevating tray 90 as a sheet surface detection sensor 93 for detecting the uppermost sheet on the elevating tray 90 and the amount of rotational movement of the elevating tray motor 155 by an encoder. The signals are obtained from input signals from the control block 149 from the ascending and descending clock sensor 150 to be detected, the upper limit switch 153 and the lower limit switch 154 for restricting the ascending and descending movement range of the ascending and descending tray 90. Further, the control block 149 controls a lifting / lowering tray motor 155 for driving the lifting / lowering tray 90 based on these signals.

The control block 149 sends information related to detection of a stacked sheet on the lifting tray 90 and whether or not a sheet or a sheet bundle is stacked in the folded sheet discharge stacker 80 to the sheet on the lifting tray 90. Is detected by an input signal from an elevating tray sheet detection sensor 156 for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet, and a folded sheet discharge stacker sheet detection sensor 157 in the folded sheet discharge stacker 80.

These sensors 156 and 157 are also used as sensors to warn the operator when sheets are left before the finisher 2 is activated or when the sheet bundle is not removed after a predetermined time has elapsed. It has become.

The control block 149 includes a front door sensor 158 and a door device detection related information for detecting whether the door of the finisher 2 is opened or whether the finisher 2 is correctly connected to the main body 1 of the copying machine. And the joint switch 159 for detecting whether or not the main body 1 and the finisher 2 are properly mounted.

The control block 149 transmits information relating to the sheet conveyance and the sheet bundle conveyance in a state where the sheets are stacked, by notifying the conveyance guide pair 3 that the sheet has been conveyed from the main body 1 of the copying machine to the finisher 2. , A processing tray sheet detection sensor 160 for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet on the processing tray 8, and a position for driving a stepple needle to the center of the sheet conveyed from the processing tray 8 in the conveyance direction. And an end detecting sensor 54 for detecting the leading end of the sheet bundle in the conveying direction to determine the position at which the sheet is folded at the same position as the position where the stepping needle is driven.
And an extruding claw 13 provided on a transfer belt 12 for transferring a sheet bundle on the processing tray 8 to the lifting tray 90.
And a bundle transfer upper roller HP (home position) for detecting a home position position where the upper bundle transfer roller 51 input from the folding unit 50 is separated from the lower roller 51. It is obtained from an input signal from the sensor 161.

Further, the control block 149 controls the transport motor 162 and the stepping motor 70 based on these input signals. Transport motor 1
The driving torque of 62 is transmitted to the transport roller pair 5, the discharge roller pair 6, the upper bundle transport roller 51, the lower bundle transport roller 52, and the bundle discharge rollers 60a and 60b. An upper roller moving cam 68 for moving the bundle conveying upper roller 51 is also rotated.

The driving torque of the stepping motor 70 is
The first pulley 10 for moving the lower transport roller 18, the upper transport roller 19, and the transport belt 12 disposed on the processing tray 8
Has been transmitted to.

The control block 149 includes information relating to the control of the paddle 17, a paddle HP sensor 163 for detecting the rotational position of the paddle 17, and a transport upper roller for detecting the position at which the transport upper roller 19 is separated from the transport lower roller. It is obtained from an input signal from the HP sensor 164. The control block 149 controls the operation of the paddle 17 via the paddle motor 156 based on these input signals.

The control block 149 stores information relating to the control of the stapling / folding operation in the stapler unit 30.
A staple HP sensor 166 for detecting that the middle needle driving head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32 are each capable of needle driving, and a needle driving head unit 30
A needle sensor 167 for detecting whether or not a staple is set in the unit, and a unit for moving the staple driving head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32 in the sheet conveying direction to the initial position (the position in FIG. 4). 3
A staple slide HP sensor 168 for detecting whether or not there are 0, 31, 32, and a veneer HP sensor 169;
A stapling / folding motor 170 that switches between driving the stapler unit 30 and driving the folding unit 50 in forward and reverse rotations
And a safety switch 172 for detecting whether or not the stapler unit 30 and the folding unit 50 are in an operable state.

The control block 149 controls the stapler slide motor 42 and the stapling / folding motor 170 based on these input signals.

The stapler slide motor 42 has a screw shaft 36 for moving the needle driving head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32 in a direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction.
Is driven to rotate. The stapling / folding motor 170 drives the coupling device 44 (see FIG. 4) of the stapler unit 30 by one-way rotation of the forward / reverse rotation drive and the coupling device 137 (FIG. 11) of the folding unit 50 by the other rotation. ing.

Next, the operation of the finisher having the above configuration in each processing mode will be described.

The basic processing modes include: (1) non-staple mode: a mode in which sheets are stacked on the elevating tray 90 without binding processing (first processing mode); and (2) side staple mode: in the sheet conveyance direction. One or more binding trays 9 at the end (side)
0 (second processing mode), (3) Saddle step mode, binding is performed at a plurality of locations at half of the sheet length in the two-sheet transport direction, and the sheet is folded at the binding position to bind and discharge the folded sheet. Stacker 80
(Third processing mode).

[(1) Non-staple mode] When the user selects the non-staple mode, the control block 14
9 (see FIG. 14) is a stepping motor 70
(See FIG. 2) to drive the extruding claw 13 at the home position to the pre-home position (PrHP position in FIG. 2) on the processing tray 8 as a sheet accumulation reference. At the same time, the control block 149
Controls the drive of the transport motor 162 (see FIGS. 1 and 14) to rotate the transport roller 5 and the discharge roller pair 6, and the sheet is discharged from the sheet discharge rollers 1a and 1b of the main body 1 of the copying machine 199. Wait for

When the sheet is discharged from the main body 1, the sheet is conveyed to the processing tray 8 by the conveying roller 5 and the discharging roller pair 6. At this time, the sheet detection sensor 4 (see FIGS. 1 and 14) detects the sheet. The control block 149 includes alignment motors 14 and 14 that move the alignment plate 9.
(See FIG. 2), paddle motor 16 for rotating paddle 17
5 (see FIG. 14).

The control block 149 controls the alignment motor 14 while the sheets are discharged and stacked on the processing tray 8.
And drive control of the paddle motor 165. By this drive control, the alignment plate 9 moves in the width direction crossing the sheet conveying direction, and aligns both ends of the sheet. Further, the paddle 17 rotates so that the sheet end abuts against the push-out claw 13 which is located at the Pre HP position in advance and is aligned. This operation is repeated each time a sheet is discharged to the processing tray 8.

When a predetermined number of sheets are aligned with the pushing claws 13, the control block 149 stops the conveyance motor 162 and the paddle motor 165 and controls the driving of the stepping motor 70 for driving the transfer belt 12. Thereby, the sheet bundle is moved to the lifting tray 90 side (FIG.
(In the direction of arrow A). The moved sheet bundle is stacked on the elevating tray 90. Accordingly, the control block 149 controls the lifting tray motor 155
(See FIG. 14) to lower the elevating tray 90 once by a predetermined amount in the lowering direction. Then, the lifting tray 90
, Ascends and stops until the sheet surface detection sensor 93 (see FIGS. 1 and 14) detects the uppermost sheet, and waits until the next sheet bundle is placed.

[(2) Side Staple Mode] When the user selects this mode, the control block 149
Drive control of the transport motor 162 (see FIGS. 1 and 14)
By rotating the conveying roller 5 and the discharge roller pair 6, the sheet is discharged from the copying machine main body 1 to the processing tray 8, and is stacked.

The control block 149 controls the alignment motor 14 while the sheets are being discharged and stacked on the processing tray 8.
(See FIGS. 2 and 14), and drives and controls the paddle motor 165 (see FIG. 14). As a result, the sheet is aligned at both ends in the width direction by the alignment plate 9, and the sheet end is transferred to the stopper 21 and stopped. This is repeated for a specific number of sheets.

In a state where the sheet bundle is restricted by the stopper 21, the control block 149 moves the upper conveying roller 19 toward the lower conveying roller 18 by a mechanism not shown in the drawing to nip the sheet bundle. Thereafter, in order to perform the binding process by the driving head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32, the staple folding motor 170 is driven in the staple operation direction to perform the binding process.

When the binding process is performed at a plurality of positions at the end of the sheet, the staple slide motor 42 (FIG.
(See FIG. 14) to perform the binding process after the movement.

When the binding processing is completed, the control block 149 moves the sheet bundle after the binding processing toward the elevating tray 90 (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1) by moving the lower transport roller 18, the upper transport roller 19, and the transport belt 12. Drive control is performed by a stepping motor 70. As a result, the sheet bundle is pushed out from the lower conveyance roller 18 and the upper conveyance roller 19 to the elevating tray 90 by the pushing claws 13 and stacked.

The operation of the elevating tray 90 is the same as in the non-staple mode described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

[(3) Saddle Step Mode] The saddle step mode is a mode for performing a binding process and a folding process at a position substantially at the center of the sheet length in the sheet conveying direction. The operation of stacking the sheets discharged from the copying machine 1 on the processing tray 8 is the same as in the above-described side staple mode, and the description of the operation will be omitted.

The control block 149 controls the upper rollers 19
Is moved to the lower conveying roller 18 side by a mechanism not shown in the drawing to nip the sheet bundle.

Next, in order to transfer the sheet bundle in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1, the staple slide motor 42 (see FIG. 4) is driven to retract the stopper 21 from the sheet bundle conveying path.

By driving the staple slide motor 42, the stopper engaging projection 24 of the needle driving head unit 31 also moves as shown in FIGS. 31,
Retreat from the moving area of the anvil unit 32.

Head unit 31, anvil unit 3
No. 2 is stopped at a driving setting position in a direction intersecting with the sheet moving direction. Subsequently, the stepping motor 7
0 is driven in a direction opposite to the non-staple mode or the side staple mode.

By this driving, the sheet bundle is moved to the elevating tray 9
It is transported in the direction opposite to 0 (the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1). When the bundle detection sensor 54 (see FIGS. 1 and 14) in the folding unit 50 detects the leading end of the sheet bundle in the conveying direction by this transfer, the control block 149 controls the driving of the stepping motor 70 to advance the feeding. Based on the sheet length information in the conveying direction, the sheet is conveyed to a position substantially coincident with the binding position in the sheet conveying direction and stopped.

When the stepping motor 70 rotates in the reverse direction, a one-way clutch 75 (see FIG. 2) is interposed between the first pulley 10 on which the transfer belt 12 is stretched and the first pulley shaft 10a. Therefore, the drive belt is not transmitted, and the transfer belt 12 and the pushing claws 13 are kept stopped.

Next, the control block 149 controls the staple / folding motor 170 that drives the head drive shaft 38 and the anvil drive shaft 37 to rotate in the direction in which these shafts 38 and 37 are operated, thereby performing the binding process. Do. When binding a plurality of positions, the stapler slide motor 42 is driven to move to a predetermined position in a direction intersecting the sheet conveyance direction by rotation of the screw shafts 35 and 36, and then the binding process is performed.

When the sheet bundle is conveyed to the binding position, the position of the sheet bundle on the leading end side in the conveying direction is
It is located at a position where the bundle transport lower roller 52 in the folding unit and the bundle transport upper roller 51 separated from the roller 52 have already passed.

After the binding process is completed, the folding process is performed.
The control block 149 first controls the transport motor 162 in the reverse direction to rotate the upper roller moving cam 68 shown in FIGS. 6, 9 and 10. This rotation causes the bearing holder 1
03 is moved by being pulled by the tension spring 104, and lowers the upper bundle transport roller 51 toward the lower bundle transport roller 52;
The sheet bundle is brought into a nip state by the tension spring 104.

Next, the upper transfer roller 19 on the processing tray 8
To release the nip of the sheet bundle. This time, the control block 149 controls the drive of the transport motor 162 to transport the sheet bundle further downstream by the upper bundle transport roller 51 and the lower bundle transport roller 52. At the time of this conveyance, the control block 149 controls the conveyance motor based on the signal of the bundle detection sensor 54 (see FIG. 1) and the sheet length information so that the substantially central portion in the conveyance direction of the sheet bundle, that is, the binding position is the folding position. 162 is stopped while decelerating. In this state, the sheet bundle is nip-supported while being suspended in the sheet bundle transport passage 58 by the upper bundle transport roller 51 and the lower bundle transport roller 52.

Next, when the control block 149 controls the driving of the staple / folding motor 170 in the direction opposite to the binding process, as described with reference to FIG.
As b rotates in the direction to nip the sheet bundle, the pushing plate 55 descends. At the same time, the backup guides 59a and 59b are also folded by the folding rollers 57a and 57b on the sheet bundle side.
Move so as to open the peripheral surface of b.

After the pushing plate 55 moves so as to nip the rotating sheet bundles 57a and 57b, the sheet bundle is wound around the folding rollers 57a and 57b. Subsequently, the pushing plate 55 moves in a direction away from the sheet bundle, and the sheet bundle is further folded by the folding rollers 57a and 57b. At this stage, the upper roller 5
1, bundle transport lower roller 52, and bundle transport rollers 60a, 60
0b by the transport motor 162
It rotates in the direction in which the sheet bundle is discharged in the direction of 0. On the other hand, the folding plates 57a and 57b raise the pushing plate 55,
When the thrust plate 55 is detected by the thrust plate Hp sensor 169 (see FIG. 14), the operation stops. Bundle discharge rollers 60a, 6
The sheet nipped at 0b is discharged to the folded sheet bundle discharge stacker 80 and stacked.

The folded sheet bundle is pressed by the folded sheet presser 81 so that the folded sheet bundle does not open and hinder the loading of the next folded sheet bundle.

After the time period during which the sheet bundle can be discharged by the bundle discharge rollers 60a and 60b elapses, the upper bundle transport roller 51 rises so as to be separated from the lower bundle transport roller 52 and prepares for carrying in the next sheet bundle. .

In the saddle step mode of the present embodiment, the binding process and the folding process are performed in a series. However, it is needless to say that the saddle step mode can be adopted when only the folding process is performed without performing the binding process.

(Other Embodiments) Further, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, when sheets are stacked on the processing tray 8 and the binding process is executed, the pushing claws 13 are set in advance. Must be retracted to the position of the home position (HP) to stack the sheets. When the binding process is not performed, the pushing claws 13 need to be moved and shifted in advance to the position (PerHP) moved to the lifting tray 90 side before stacking the sheets.

That is, the stacking reference position on the processing tray 8 is made different depending on whether or not the binding process is executed. As another embodiment, FIGS.
Regardless of whether or not the binding process is executed, the position where the push-out claw 13 is always moved toward the elevating tray 90 is set as the home position (HP) position, and this position is set as the home position (HP) for all the conveyed sheets. There is a method in which sheets are stacked as a stacking reference position, and then the sheet transfer direction is changed depending on whether or not to execute the binding process.

The configuration of this embodiment differs from the configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG.
It is not provided coaxially with the pulley shaft 10a, but is rotatably provided on another conveyance lower roller shaft 218a different from the first pulley shaft 10a in the middle of the processing tray 8, and the upper conveyance roller 219 is also provided with the lower conveyance roller 218. And is located in the middle of the processing tray 8.

It is to be noted that, when a bundle of sheets S is conveyed, the upper conveying roller 219 descends toward the lower conveying roller 218 to nip and convey the sheet bundle as in FIG.

Next, each operation when the binding process is executed and when the binding process is not executed will be described.

FIG. 15 is a view showing a state in which sheets S discharged from the discharge rollers 6 are stacked on the processing tray 8 regardless of whether or not the binding process is performed. is there.

In this state, the home position (HP) of the push-out claw 13 is shifted to the side of the elevating tray 90 at a distance D from the stopper 21 serving as the staple reference position of the side staple.

[0194] This HP position is a stacking reference position of all the sheets carried into the processing tray 8.

FIG. 16 shows a non-staple mode in which the stapler unit 30 does not execute the binding process after the stacking operation of the predetermined number of sheets on the processing tray 8 is completed (the operation of FIG. 15 is completed). FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a transfer state of discharging a sheet bundle.

That is, FIG. 16 shows the end of the sheet that has been stacked at a position separated by a distance D from the stopper 12 serving as the staple reference position of the side staple in FIG.
A state is shown in which the sheet is transferred to an elevating tray 90 (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 16) by an extruding claw 13 provided on the transfer belt 12 and the sheets are stacked on the elevating tray 90.

Therefore, the transfer of the sheet toward the lifting tray 90 can be started from the position where the push-out claw 13 is separated from the stopper 12 by the distance D. According to the other embodiment, the transfer of the sheet from the stapler position is possible. It can be transferred and discharged to the elevating tray 90 earlier than the conventional one that starts.

FIG. 17 shows a predetermined number of sheet processing trays 8.
After the stacking operation on the stacker is completed (the operation in FIG. 15 is completed), when the side stable mode or the saddle step mode for performing the binding process by the stapler unit 30 is executed,
The upper conveying roller 219 is moved down to the lower conveying roller 218 side, and the sheet bundle is transferred to the lower conveying roller 218 and the upper conveying roller 2.
FIG. 19 is a diagram of a state sandwiched between nips with the nipple 19;

In the state shown in FIG.
When the belt 8 and the transfer belt 12 are driven to rotate in the direction of the stapler unit 30, the sheet bundle is also transferred in the same direction (the direction of arrow B in FIG. 17). In the side stapling mode, the sheet is brought into contact with the stopper 21 and the stapler unit 30 performs the binding process. In the saddle step mode, the stopper 21 is retracted from the sheet conveying path in advance, and After the sheet bundle is conveyed by the distance, a binding (saddle stitching) process is executed at the center in the sheet conveying direction, and then a folding operation is performed.

As described above, in the sheet processing apparatus according to another embodiment, the sheet conveyed in advance on the processing tray 8 at a position close to the lifting tray 90 at a distance D from the step tray 30 is separated. When the binding process is not required, the sheet can be immediately transferred and discharged from the position near the elevating tray 90, so that the sheet processing efficiency of the sheet processing apparatus can be improved.

In the above two embodiments, the stapler unit for performing the binding process is shown as the means for executing the post-processing for the sheet. However, the present invention is also applicable to a sheet processing apparatus for performing the post-processing such as punching or gluing. is there.

Finally, the configuration of the finisher 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be schematically described according to the claims.

The finisher 2, which is a sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, is provided with a processing tray 8, which is a first sheet stacking means for stacking fed sheets, and a downstream end of the processing tray 8 in the sheet conveying direction. An elevating tray 90 which is a second sheet stacking means from which sheets are fed from the processing tray 8 and an upstream end of the processing tray 8 in the sheet conveyance direction, receive the sheet, and receive the sheet. A stopper 21 serving as a position regulating unit for regulating the position, and a stopper 21 disposed at the upstream end in the sheet conveying direction of the processing tray 8,
A stapler unit 30 which is a sheet processing means for performing processing on a sheet whose position is regulated by the stopper 21, and a receiving position for receiving the sheet sent to the processing tray 8 (the position of PerHP in FIG. 3, and the pushing in FIG. 15) The position of the claw 13) and the standby position where the sheet is not received (the position of the HP in FIG. 3, and the pushing claw 1 in FIG. 17).
3), the push-out claw 13 and the transfer belt 12 as the transfer means, and the push-out claw 13 and the transfer belt 12
A control block 149 that is a sheet stacking reference position selection control unit that controls movement to a standby position when processing is performed on a sheet, and controls movement to a receiving position when processing is not performed on the sheet. The receiving position is set downstream of the position regulating unit in the sheet conveying direction.

The pushing claw 13 and the transfer belt 1 which are the transfer means of the finisher 2 which is the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention.
2 moves from the receiving position to the standby position while the first
The sheet stacked on the processing tray 8 as the sheet stacking means can be sent to the elevating tray 9 as the second sheet stacking means.

The downstream end (the right side in FIG. 1) of the processing tray 8 as the first sheet stacking means of the finisher 2 which is the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention is the upstream end side (the left side in FIG. 1). It is set lower than.

The finisher 2, which is a sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, reversely feeds the sheets stacked on the processing tray 8 as the first sheet stacking means to the upstream end side in the sheet conveyance direction, and the stopper as the position regulating means. A paddle 17 is provided as a sheet reverse feeding means to be brought into contact with 21.

The finisher 2, which is a sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, moves the processed sheet from the stopper 21 as the position regulating means to the lifting tray 90 as the second sheet stacking means. A lower transport roller 18 and an upper transport roller 19 are provided.
The control block 149, which is a sheet stacking reference position selection control unit, operates the push-out claw 13, which is the transfer unit, and the transfer belt 12 to move the processed sheet, which has been moved to the processing tray 8, which is the first sheet stacking unit, from the printer. Then, the wafer is transferred from the processing tray 8 to the elevating tray 90.

The finisher 2 (see FIGS. 15 to 17), which is the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, sends the sheets stacked on the processing tray 8 as the first sheet stacking means to the stopper 21 as the position regulating means. FIG. 15 illustrates a sheet reciprocating unit that moves the sheet toward the lifting tray 90 that is the second sheet stacking unit after the sheet is processed.
Lower roller 218 and upper roller 21 of FIGS.
The push-out claw 13 and the transfer belt 12, which are transfer means, receive the fed sheet at a receiving position (the position of the push-out claw 13 shown in FIG. 15), and the sheet is transported by the lower transport roller 218 and the upper transport roller 219. After the processed sheet is moved to the stopper 21 and is moved to the processing tray 8 by the lower conveying roller 218 and the upper conveying roller 219, a sheet stacking reference position selection control unit is provided. Under the control of the control block 149, the processed sheets on the processing tray 8 are transferred to the elevating tray 90.

The pushing claw 13 and the transfer belt 1 which are transfer means of the finisher 2 which is the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention.
2 includes a transfer belt 12 that is a wrapping body that circulates, and an extruding claw 13 that is a protruding piece that protrudes outward from the transfer belt 12 and abuts on the rear end of the sheet. Takes a receiving position and a standby position by circulation of the transfer belt.

Copier 900 as Image Forming Apparatus of the Present Invention
18 (see FIG. 18) includes an image forming unit 902 that is an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, a discharge roller pair 905 that is a sheet discharging unit that discharges a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming unit 902, and a discharge. And a finisher 2 that is a sheet processing apparatus that performs processing on the sheet discharged by the roller pair 905.

[0211]

According to the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, a sheet stacking reference position for executing a process such as a sheet binding process on a processing tray serving as a first sheet stacking means and a sheet stacking for a case where the process is not executed. Since the reference position is different from the reference position, when processing is not performed, no extra transfer time is required, and sheet processing efficiency can be improved.
Further, since the sheet stacking reference position on the first sheet stacking unit is set to a position at a position away from the post-processing unit at a distance from the post-processing unit, when the post-processing is not required, the sheet is positioned in a different direction from the post-processing unit. It is possible to quickly transfer and discharge the sheet to the second sheet stacker, and to improve the sheet discharging efficiency.

Since the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes the above-described sheet processing apparatus having improved sheet processing efficiency,
Correspondingly, the efficiency of forming an image on a sheet can be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front sectional view of a finisher which is a sheet post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a processing tray portion of the finisher of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the transfer belt portion of the finisher of FIG. 1 taken along the direction in which the transfer belt circulates.

FIG. 4 is a view of the stapler unit when the finisher of FIG. 1 is viewed from the left side.

FIG. 5 is a movement explanatory view of a stopper of the finisher of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front sectional view of a frame of the folding unit of the finisher of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a folding unit mechanism of the finisher of FIG. 1 and is a state diagram when a folding roller is not folding a sheet bundle.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of a folding unit mechanism of the finisher of FIG. 1, and is a state diagram when a folding roller is folding a sheet bundle.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a drive system of a folding unit of the finisher in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a drive system of a folding unit of the finisher in FIG. 1;

11 is an explanatory diagram of a drive system of a folding roller of the finisher of FIG. 1;

12 is a diagram for explaining a sheet bundle folding operation of the folding unit of the finisher in FIG. 1;

13 is a view for explaining a sheet bundle folding operation of the folding unit of the finisher in FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a control block diagram of the finisher of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a mechanism around a transfer belt according to another embodiment of the finisher in FIG. 1 and is a diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet is being received.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a mechanism around a transfer belt according to another embodiment of the finisher in FIG. 1, illustrating a state in which a received sheet is being sent out.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a mechanism around a transfer belt according to another embodiment of the finisher in FIG. 1, illustrating a state where a received sheet is being sent to a staple unit.

18 is a front view of a copying machine which is an image forming apparatus having the finisher of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

S sheet PreHP receiving position HP standby position 1 main body of copying machine (main body of image forming apparatus) 1a paper discharge roller (sheet discharge means) 1b paper discharge roller (sheet discharge means) 2 finisher (sheet processing apparatus) 8 processing tray (first 1 sheet stacking means) 12 transfer belt (wrapping body, transfer means) 13 push-out claw (projection piece, transfer means) 17 paddle (sheet reverse feed means) 18 transport lower roller (sheet moving means) 19 transport upper roller (sheet) Moving means) 21 stopper (position regulating means) 30 stapler unit (sheet processing means) 90 elevating tray (second sheet stacking means) 149 control block (sheet stacking position selection control means) 218 transport lower roller (sheet reciprocating moving means) 219 Upper conveying roller (sheet reciprocating means) 900 Copier (image forming apparatus) 9 02 Image forming unit (image forming means)

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hisashi Nagata 430-1, Kobayashi, Masho-cho, Minamikoma-gun, Yamanashi Prefecture Inside Niska Corporation (72) Inventor Yusuke Asao 430-1, Kobayashi, Masho-cho, Minamikoma-gun, Yamanashi Nisuka Corporation F-term (Reference) 2H072 FB01 GA08 3F054 AA01 AB01 AC02 AC03 AC05 BA01 BG02 BG11 BH07 BJ05 BJ06 DA01

Claims (8)

[Claims] A first stacking means for stacking the fed sheets;
And a second sheet stack disposed on the downstream end side of the first sheet stacking unit in the sheet conveying direction and stacking the sheets sent from the first sheet stacking unit. Means, disposed at the upstream end side of the first sheet stacking means in the sheet conveying direction, for receiving the sheet and restricting the position of the sheet, and disposed at the upstream end side. A sheet processing unit configured to process the sheet whose position has been regulated by the position regulating unit; a receiving position for receiving the sheet sent to the first sheet stacking unit; and a standby position for not receiving the sheet. Transfer means, which takes the following, when the processing is performed on the sheet, controls the movement to the standby position, and when the processing is not performed on the sheet, A sheet stacking reference position selection control unit that controls movement to a recording receiving position, wherein the receiving position is set downstream of the position regulating unit in the sheet conveying direction. . 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer unit moves the sheet stacked on the first sheet stacking unit to the second sheet stacking unit while moving from the receiving position to the standby position. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a downstream end of the first sheet stacking unit in the sheet conveying direction is set lower than an upstream end. 4. A sheet reversing means for reversing the sheets stacked on the first sheet stacking means to an upstream end side in the sheet conveying direction and making contact with the position regulating means. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3. 5. A sheet moving means for moving the processed sheet subjected to the processing from the position regulating means to the second sheet stacking means, wherein the sheet moving means moves the sheet from the position regulating means to the second sheet stacking means. The sheet stacking reference position selection control unit operates the transfer unit to move the processed sheet moved to the first sheet stacking unit from the first sheet stacking unit to the second sheet stacking unit. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet is transferred to a sheet processing apparatus. 6. The sheet stacked on the first sheet stacking unit is sent to the position regulating unit, and after the sheet is subjected to the processing, the sheet is transferred to the second sheet stacking unit. A sheet reciprocating means for moving, wherein the transfer means receives the incoming sheet at the receiving position, moves following when the sheet is sent to the position regulating means by the sheet reciprocating means, and After the processed sheet that has been processed is moved to the first sheet stacking unit by the sheet reciprocating unit, the first sheet stacking unit is controlled by the sheet stacking reference position selection control unit. 4. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processed sheet is transferred to the second sheet stacking unit. 7. The transfer means includes a wrapping body that circulates, and a protruding piece protruding outward from the wrapping body and abutting against a rear end of the sheet, wherein the protruding piece is 7. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiving position and the standby position are set by the circulation of the winding body. 8. An image forming means for forming an image on a sheet, a sheet discharging means for discharging a sheet on which an image has been formed by the image forming means, and a process for processing the sheet discharged by the sheet discharging means. An image forming apparatus comprising: the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7.