JP2001096987A - Automated enclosing-sealing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an enclosing-sealing apparatus which enables integrated execution of processes from printing to sealing by combination with a printing machine or a copying machine. SOLUTION: An automated enclosing-sealing apparatus 100 is equipped with a taking-in means 1 which takes in printed paper discharged from a printer 200, a folding means 4 which folds up the paper taken in by the taking-in means, an enclosing means 5 which encloses in an envelope the paper folded by the folding means, by one or a plurality of sheets thereof as a unit, a sealing means 5 which seals the envelope wherein the paper is enclosed and conveying means 2 and 3 which convey the paper between the above means. The taking-in means 1 can be fitted removably to a paper discharge opening of the printer 200 and it is integrated with the printer. According to this constitution, a printed matter can be enclosed and sealed, with the secrecy thereof maintained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic enclosing and sealing device, and more particularly, to an enclosing and sealing device capable of continuously and automatically performing printing and sealing of a document by being integrated with a printing machine or a copying machine. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been a demand for an apparatus for directly enclosing and sealing a document, such as a content certification mail, which requires confidentiality of contents from a printer into an envelope.

[0003] As a conventional enclosing / sealing device, a device that takes in a printed document from a tray-shaped supply unit, folds, encloses and seals (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-25198), and contents provided separately from the enclosing / sealing device are provided. Documents which supply documents one by one from an article feeding mechanism and enclose and seal them (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-58193) have been proposed, but none of them have a mechanism for use in combination with a printing machine. For this reason, the conventional enclosing and sealing device cannot maintain the complete confidentiality of the enclosed document.

[0004] In recent printing machines having a high processing speed, the direction of the output document is often the leading end in the longitudinal direction. However, in the conventional enclosing and sealing apparatus, paper from a dedicated paper supply unit is processed. Therefore, even if an attempt is made to connect between the printing press and the paper supply unit thereof, the direction in which the paper is discharged from the printing press and the direction in which the paper is fed by the enclosing and sealing device may not always match. In this case, a mechanism for changing the transport direction of the sheet between the printing machine and the enclosing / sealing device is required. In addition, there is a great possibility that the two cannot be successfully combined due to restrictions on the position of the discharge port in the printing press and the position of the paper supply unit in the enclosing / sealing device.

Further, when a printing machine and an enclosing / sealing device are combined, it is necessary to provide consistency between the processing speeds of the two in order to prevent paper jams and a reduction in processing capacity.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an enclosing and sealing apparatus which can perform all steps from printing to sealing by combining with a printing machine or a copying machine. Another object of the present invention is to provide an enclosing and sealing device having high confidentiality. A further object of the present invention is to provide an enclosing and sealing device which has a high-speed processing capability in accordance with the discharge speed of a printing press and effectively prevents paper jams.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an enclosing and sealing apparatus for taking in a printed sheet discharged from a printing means, and a folding means for folding the sheet taken in by the taking means. Means, an enclosing means for enclosing the paper folded by the folding means in one or more sheets in an envelope, a sealing means for enclosing the envelope in which the paper is enclosed, and transporting the paper between the respective means. Transport means, and the take-in means is detachable from a paper outlet of the printing means.

[0008] By providing a take-out means which can be attached to and detached from the paper discharge port of the printing means and directly takes in the printed paper discharged from the printing means into the apparatus, the processing from printing to sealing can be continuously performed. Can be done.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the automatic enclosing and sealing apparatus of the present invention is provided with a conveying means having a conveying path for conveying a sheet in a vertical direction between the taking-in means and the folding means.

By moving the paper taken in from the printing means in the vertical direction, access to each means from the front of the enclosing and sealing device, for example, replenishment of envelopes, removal of envelopes after sealing, maintenance of the transport mechanism, etc. It will be easier.

[0011] Preferably, the conveying means includes at least two sensors for detecting double feeding of sheets in the conveying path. As a result, a double feed error of paper can be promptly dealt with, and occurrence of a trouble in a subsequent process can be prevented.

[0012] Preferably, the intake means is physically separated from the transport means. As a result, even when an error such as a paper jam occurs at the discharge port of the printing means, the error can be dealt with simply by removing the intake means from the discharge port without moving the enclosing / sealing device itself.

[0013] In still another aspect of the automatic enclosing and sealing apparatus of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises:
There is provided a means for changing the transport direction of the sheet.

Even when the direction of the sheet discharged from the printing unit and the direction of the sheet to be processed by the folding unit do not match, by providing a unit for changing the conveying direction of the sheet, the both can be matched.

In a preferred aspect of the automatic enclosing and sealing apparatus of the present invention, the enclosing means includes a plurality of envelope supply means and means for individually moving these envelope supply means, and one of the envelope supply means is enclosing. When it is in the position where it is possible, the other envelope supply means is driven to be in the standby position retracted from the position where it can be sealed.

By supplying the envelope to the envelope supply means at the standby position, the envelope can be supplied without stopping the enclosing operation. In addition, there is no danger of touching the enclosing means when refilling the envelope.

In still another aspect of the automatic enclosing and sealing apparatus of the present invention, the enclosing means includes a flap folding member having a wall surface at which the angle of the enclosed envelope with respect to the conveyance path changes from approximately 180 degrees to approximately 0 degrees.

The flap portion of the envelope can be smoothly closed only by passing the flap turning member.

[0019]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show the overall structure of the enclosing and sealing device 100, wherein FIG. 1A is a schematic front view and FIG. 1B is a schematic side sectional view. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the sealing device.

The enclosing / sealing apparatus 100 is installed in a printer or a copier 200 (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer), and is a series of steps for folding a printed sheet-like document discharged from the printer, enclosing the same in an envelope, and sealing. An apparatus configured to perform an operation, and mainly takes in a take-in unit 1 connected to a paper discharge unit (inverter unit) of a printer and a sheet supplied from the take-in unit 1 in a vertical direction, and then conveys the sheet horizontally. Transport mechanism 2, a transport direction converting unit 3 for converting the transport direction of the sheet sent from the transport mechanism 2, and a folding unit for folding the sheet sent from the transport direction converter 3 by a predetermined method such as three-fold. 4, an enclosing and sealing section 5 for enclosing and enclosing the folded paper in an envelope, and an outlet 6 for discharging the envelope after encapsulation.
The front side is provided with an envelope replenishing window 7 for supplying an envelope to the enclosing / sealing unit 5 and a water supply port 8 for supplying a size water required for the sealing.

Further, the enclosing / sealing apparatus has a control system 9 for controlling the driving of each part, and an indicator light for warning errors such as paper jam, running out of paper, etc., and a warning that the remaining amount of the envelope and the paste water is low. (Not shown).

An outline of the operation of the enclosing and sealing device will be described. Documents such as printed hybrid mail and content certification mail discharged from the printer 200 are taken in by the take-in unit 1, then conveyed in the vertical direction of the conveyance mechanism 2, and then further conveyed in the horizontal direction to the upper part of the folding unit 4. Move.
The sheet ejected from the printer 200 is ejected, for example, with the long side of A4 as a leading end, and is conveyed as it is by the conveying mechanism 2, but is folded along the short side of A4. Therefore, the transport direction of the sheet is changed by 90 degrees by the transport direction conversion unit 3 provided at the latter stage of the horizontal transport, and the sheet is sent to the folding unit 4 with the short side of the sheet as the leading end.

The folding section 4 folds the paper, for example, into three along its short side. The folded sheets are discharged to a vertically movable tray provided at the rear of the folding section 4. When the number of sheets reaches a predetermined number to be accommodated in one envelope, the tray is lowered and sent to the enclosing and sealing section 5.

The enclosing / sealing section 5 comprises an enclosing section provided with a pusher which moves in the depth direction of the apparatus, and a sealing section for moving and enclosing the envelope after document enclosing in the lateral direction of the apparatus. The documents in the tray are pushed out by a pusher and sealed in an envelope opened by a fork. Next, while moving the envelope in the lateral direction of the apparatus, the paste water is supplied to the flap of the envelope which has been previously glued, and the flap is closed and sealed. The sealed envelope is taken out from the outlet 6.

Next, the configuration and operation of each part of the enclosing and sealing device that operates as described above will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 3, the capture unit 1 is a printer.
The base unit 11 includes a base 11 that can be engaged with the inverter unit 201 and a paper guide unit 12 that is integrally fixed to the base 11, and the base 11 has a shape of a portion that engages with the printer 200. It has substantially the same shape as the catch tray, and removably engages with the catch tray engaging portion 202 provided in the inverter portion 201 of the printer.

The paper guide section 12 is a guide plate for guiding paper.
When the take-in section 1 is engaged with the inverter section 201, the printer side of the guide plate 13 comes to face the paper discharge port 203 of the inverter section. Thus, the printed sheet discharged from the printer is guided into the guide plate 13 as it is. The guide plate 13 has an arc-shaped cross section, and an end of the guide plate 13 on the side of the enclosing / sealing device faces a vertical transport portion of the transport mechanism 2 described later. As a result, the sheet discharged from the printer is guided by the guide plate 13 and is almost guided to the vertical transport section of the transport mechanism 2.

The take-in unit 1 having such a configuration is physically separated from other mechanisms of the enclosing / sealing device, and is merely mounted on the printer. Therefore, when a paper jam or the like occurs in the inverter unit, maintenance can be easily performed by removing the intake unit 1.

The transport mechanism 2 mainly includes a vertical transport section for guiding the sheet in a substantially vertical direction and a horizontal transport section for guiding the sheet in a substantially horizontal direction. Guide plates 21 and 22 for guiding the sheet to each transport section. And a plurality of pairs of paper feed rolls 23. The paper feed roll 23 is driven at a predetermined speed by a motor (not shown). A substantially arc-shaped guide 24 is provided between the vertical transport unit and the horizontal transport unit, and guides the sheet from the vertical transport unit to the horizontal transport unit. Vertical transport guide
The vicinity of the upper end of the shaft 21 is pivotally supported by a shaft perpendicular to the transport direction, and can be opened and closed by rotating around the shaft. As a result, maintenance in the vertical transport unit becomes possible.

A CCD camera 25 is provided on the transport path of the vertical transport section.
The information such as the ID number of the document to be conveyed is checked and collated with the ID number of the envelope. This ensures that the paper, i.e., the document, is sealed in the envelope of the address to be sent.

On the other hand, a pair of end sensors 26 and 27 are provided at regular intervals in the horizontal transport section. These end sensors
26 and 27 function as double feed detection sensors. That is, after the end sensor 26 detects the leading edge of the sheet, after a lapse of a predetermined time, the end sensor 26 detects the rear end of the sheet and after a lapse of a certain time,
When the edge sensor 27 detects the trailing edge of the sheet, it is determined that there is no double feed. If either of the end sensors 26 and 27 does not detect the trailing edge of the sheet after a predetermined time has elapsed after the edge sensor 26 has detected the leading edge of the sheet, the sheets are being transported in an overlapping manner. Paper feed roll)
Stop driving of 23. A signal from the edge sensor 27 that detects the leading edge of the sheet is used to control the driving of the transport direction conversion unit 3 described later.

The transport direction conversion unit 3 has a function of converting a paper sent with one end in the vertical direction as a leading end and transporting the paper so that one end in the horizontal direction is a leading end. As shown, two upper and lower trays 30 and 30 ′, a switching gate 31 provided between these trays 30 and 30 ′ and the transport mechanism 2 and guiding the paper to one of the two trays,
And a transport unit 32 for transporting the sheet in a direction (second direction) orthogonal to the transport direction (first direction) of the transport mechanism 2. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the tray and one (upper) tray.
Only 30 is shown.

Each of the trays 30, 31 'includes a timing belt 33, 33' for transporting the paper in the first transport direction, and a motor 34, 3 for driving the timing belts 33, 33 ', respectively.
4 'and the stopper 3 where the leading edge of the conveyed paper abuts
5, 35 '. The stoppers 35 and 35 'have a function of correcting the skew of the sheet by bringing the sheet into contact, and are provided with a pair of skew sensors (not shown) for detecting the skew. That is, when the two skew sensors respectively detect the edge of the sheet, it is determined that there is no skew, and the next operation, that is, the conveyance by the second conveyance means 32 starts.

When only one of the skew sensors detects the end of the sheet, the sheet is bent, and the timing belts 33 and 33 'are further driven. Normally, the skew of the sheet is corrected by this operation. However, if both sensors do not detect the end even after the lapse of a certain time, a warning is issued without driving the transporting means 32 as skew. This allows the user to manually correct the skew.

The upper tray 30 can rotate about one axis of a pulley around which the timing belt 33 is wound, thereby coping with the above-described skew correction, trouble such as paper jam, and maintenance. I can do it.

The switching gate 31 is composed of a plurality of members supported by a shaft provided along a direction perpendicular to the first transport direction, is rotated by a solenoid (not shown), and is not supported by the solenoid. One end swings up and down. When one end of the switching gate 31 is on the upper side, the sheet sent from the transport mechanism 2 is guided to the lower side of the switching gate 31 and sent to the lower tray 30 '. When one end of the switching gate 31 is at the bottom, the sheet is sent to the upper tray 30 via the upper surface of the switching gate 31. The solenoid is operated by a signal from the end sensor 27 of the transport mechanism 2 described above.

As shown in FIG. 6, the transport means 32 includes a driven roll 36, upper and lower drive rolls 37 and 37 ', and a drive roll 3
And a motor 38 for driving the gears 37 and 37 'via gears, belts and the like. The driven roll 36 can contact one of the upper and lower drive rolls 37 and 37 ′ by a solenoid (not shown) and move between the two drive rolls so as to be separated from the other. When the driven roll is in contact with the driven roll, the other driving roll is at a position separated from the driven roll, and only one of the driving rolls is configured to be in contact with the driven roll.

The nip position between the driven roll 36 and the upper drive roll 37 substantially corresponds to the height of the transport path of the upper tray 30, and the nip position between the driven roll 36 and the lower drive roll 37 'is substantially lower. It corresponds to the height of the transport path of the tray 30 'on the side. As a result, the second transporting means 32 has two transport paths (a driven roll 36 and an upper drive roll) corresponding to the two-stage tray.
The transport path formed by 37, the driven roll 36 and the lower drive roll
37 ').

These three rolls are set so as to overlap a part of the transport path in the first direction in the two-stage tray. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when the sheet is sent to the tray 30 in the first direction, the sheet is sent on the upper tray 30 by the timing belt 33 until the leading end thereof contacts the stopper 35. When one end of the paper in the horizontal direction (the upper end in the figure) is the driven roll 36 and the upper drive roll
It is designed to be inserted between 37 and. Paper is in the lower tray
Similarly, when the sheet is fed to 30 ', the upper end of the sheet is inserted between the driven roll 36 and the lower drive roll 37'.

At this time, the driven roll 36 and the driving rolls 37 and 37 'are partially conical in order to enable smooth insertion of the paper. The leading edge of the paper contacts the stopper 35,
When it is detected that there is no skew, the sheet is nipped between the cylindrical portion of the driven roll 36 into which the sheet is inserted and one of the driving rolls, and is conveyed in the second direction.

In the transport direction conversion unit 3 having such a configuration,
In the initial state, the solenoid of the gate 31 and the driven roll 36
Are turned off, and the paper transported from the transport mechanism 2 is transported to the upper tray 30. Here, when it is detected by the stopper 35 that there is no skew, the solenoid of the driven roll 36 is turned on for a certain time,
The paper on the tray is nipped between the drive roll 37 and is conveyed to the folding section 4 side. At this time, when the end sensor 27 of the transport mechanism 2 detects the next sheet, the solenoid of the gate 31 is turned on, and the next sheet is transported to the lower tray 30. When the stopper 35 'detects that there is no skew, the solenoid of the driven roll 36 is turned off, and the sheet on the tray is nipped between the drive roll 37' and conveyed to the folding unit 4 side.

In this way, the paper sequentially fed from the transport mechanism 2 is sorted into two upper and lower trays, and the transport direction is changed and sent to the folding section 4. Accordingly, it is possible to eliminate the delay of the conveyance due to the change of the conveyance direction, and convey the sheet to the folding unit 4 while maintaining the conveyance speed by the conveyance mechanism 2.

A merging guide 39 is provided between the conveying means 32 of the conveying direction changing section 3 and the folding section 4 so as to make two conveying paths formed by the conveying means 32 one. The merging guide 39 guides the sheets respectively discharged from the two conveying paths of the second conveying means 32 to one folding section 4.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the folding section 4
The paper folding rolls 41 to 44 and the two folding trays 45 and 46 arranged on both sides of the paper folding rolls 41 to 44 are provided. The folding trays 45 and 46 have one end open and the other end closed. It is a thin box-shaped member, and the length from one end to the other end is substantially 1/3 of the length of the paper in the vertical direction. Rolls 41 and 4
2, 43 and 44 are arranged so as to abut each other, and roll
The rolls 41 and 42 rotate in the direction to send the sheet to the folding tray 45, and the rolls 42 and 43 rotate in the direction to send the sheet to the folding tray 46.
The rolls 43 and 44 rotate in a direction to discharge the sheet from the folding unit 4.

In such a configuration, the sheet inserted between the rolls 41 and 42 is first introduced into the folding tray 45 and further fed by the rolls 41 and 42 so that the leading end of the sheet closes the folding tray 45. Abut the end. Further, as the paper continues to advance by the rolls 41 and 42, FIG.
As shown in (1), the sheet bends between the folding tray 45 and the roll 42, and the bent portion is caught between the rolls 42 and 43. As a result, the sheet is folded at a position about 1/3 from the leading end, passes between the rolls 42 and 43 with the folded portion as the leading end,
It is introduced into the folding tray 46.

When the sheet is further fed after the folded portion of the sheet comes into contact with the closed end of the folding tray 46, this time,
As shown in FIG. 4C, the paper is roll 43 and folding tray 46.
And the bent portion is caught between the rolls 43 and 44 together with the leading end portion of the sheet introduced last in the folding tray 46. As a result, the sheet is further folded at a position about 2/3 from the leading end of the sheet, and the sheet is folded in three, and is discharged by the rolls 43 and 44 as shown in FIG.

A tray (elevator tray) 47 is provided between the folding section 4 and the enclosing / sealing section 5 for conveying the three-folded sheet to the enclosing / sealing section 5 (FIG. 8). ). As shown in FIG. 9, the tray (elevator tray) 47 includes a pair of left and right members including a horizontal bottom and a side wall and a rear wall perpendicular to the bottom. There is a space between the side walls of the member so that the folded sheet can be accommodated.

Such an elevator tray 47 is fixed to a timing belt 472 driven by the same stepping motor 471 as shown in FIG. 8, and has three positions of a sheet receiving position A, a sheet rejecting position B and a sealing position C. Move between. Each position A, B, C is a sensor
473a to 473c are provided to control the driving of the tray 47.

That is, when a certain number of sheets to be enclosed in one envelope are accumulated in the elevator tray 47 at the sheet receiving position A, the sensor 473a detects this and the elevator tray 47 is lowered to the enclosed position C. Here, when the sheet in the tray is moved by the enclosing mechanism described later and discharged from the tray 47, this is detected by the sensor 473c, whereby the elevator tray 47 returns to the sheet receiving position A. When the sensor 473a detects that sheets remain in the elevator tray 47 when the apparatus is started, the elevator tray 47 moves to the sheet reject position B, and the sheets in the tray are discharged.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the enclosing portion is provided from the rear of the elevator tray 47.
A pusher 51 for pushing out a document D, a fork 52 for opening the envelope E, and an envelope tray 53 for receiving the envelope after being enclosed.
It has. A rail (not shown) that guides the linear movement of the pusher 51 is provided between the enclosing position C of the elevator tray 47 and the envelope tray 53.

As shown in FIG. 9, the pusher 51 is a substantially L-shaped member having a bottom portion and a plate portion perpendicular to the bottom portion. The bottom portion is fixed to the above-mentioned rail, and is driven by a motor (not shown). Then, it reciprocates between the enclosing position C of the elevator tray 47 and the envelope tray 53. The width of the plate portion of the pusher 51 is substantially equal to the interval between the pair of elevator tray members. When the pusher 51 is located at the end of the rail, the plate portion is located exactly between the pair of elevator tray members, The document is placed behind the document placed on the document.

The fork 52 comprises a pair of members having a tapered shape, and moves in the same direction as the pusher 51 along the side wall of the moving path of the pusher 51. At this time, at the starting point of the movement, the level is lower than the moving path of the pusher 51, and at the ending point of the moving, the level is the same as the moving path of the pusher 51. In order to enable such movement of the fork 52, a guide (a long hole) (not shown) for guiding the fork 52 is provided on the side wall of the moving path of the pusher 51. The pair of forks 52 reciprocate between the start point and the end point along the guide by the same drive motor. The movement of the fork 52 is controlled by a signal from a sensor (not shown) that detects the pusher 51.

The envelope tray 53 includes a plate member 531 on which an envelope is placed and an envelope pressing plate 533 rotatable around a shaft 532 provided at an end of the plate member. The envelope pressing plate 533 is formed by a spring (not shown). It is configured to be urged toward the side of 531 and slightly bent at the end so that an envelope can be inserted between itself and the plate member 531. The envelope tray 53 is provided at one end of the moving path of the pusher 51 so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the moving path of the pusher 51, and is located at the end of the moving path of the pusher 51 when the enclosing operation is performed. After the operation is completed, drive control is performed so that the pusher 51 moves in a direction orthogonal to the moving path. These controls are controlled by pusher 51
This is performed by a signal from a sensor (not shown) that detects the position of.

Further, below the moving path of the pusher 51,
An envelope supply unit 70 described later is provided, and a movable envelope box 71 is installed in the envelope supply unit 70. The envelope is stored in the envelope box 71 with the flap opened and facing the fork 52 where the flap advances. At the bottom of the envelope box 71, a spring 711 for urging the envelope upward is provided. Regardless of the number of envelopes stored in the envelope box 71, the uppermost envelope is always forked.
It is at a level opened by 52 tips.

In such a configuration, first, the fork 52
, The fork 52 is moved leftward in the figure, and the leading end is inserted into the flap portion of the envelope at the top of the envelope tray 71 to open the envelope.

The pusher 51 is operable when the fork 52 is at the level of its moving path, and the elevator tray 47 on which a signal from a sensor for detecting the position of the fork 52 and a document and the document are loaded is placed at the sealing position. The drive motor for the pusher 51 is operated by a signal from the sensor 473c that detects that the pusher 51 has dropped to C, and the pusher 51 moves forward. As a result, the pusher 51 moves the document on the elevator tray 47 forward, that is, toward the envelope tray 53 with its flat front surface, and places the document on the envelope tray 53 while enclosing the document in the envelope opened by the fork 52. Envelope tray 53
Then moves to the seal.

The elevator tray 47 rises simultaneously with the advance of the pusher 51, returns to the sheet receiving position A of the folding section 4, and receives the subsequent sheet discharged from the folding section 4.
On the other hand, the pusher 51 and the fork 52 return to their original positions immediately after the enclosing operation.

FIG. 11 is a view schematically showing an envelope supply section 70. The envelope supply section 70 has two envelope boxes as shown in FIG.
71, 71 ', a guide rail 72 and a drive motor (not shown) for moving these envelope boxes between the home position D and the standby positions E, E'. The home position D is a position where the fork 52 is filled. When one of the two envelope boxes, for example, the upper box 71 is at the home position D, the lower box 71 'is at the standby position E, and envelopes can be supplied from the envelope supply window 7.

At the home position, a sensor (not shown) for detecting the remaining amount of the envelope is provided, and a warning is issued when the remaining amount of the envelope becomes less than a predetermined number.
Thus, the user supplies the envelope to the envelope box 71 'at the standby position from the envelope supply window 7. During this time, the other envelope box 71 is at the home position and can continue the enclosing operation. And the envelope box 71 in the home position
When the remaining amount of the envelope is further reduced, the motor for driving the envelope box 71 is operated by a signal from the sensor, and the motor for driving the other envelope box 71 'is simultaneously operated by retracting the envelope box 71 to the standby position E. Then, the envelope box 71 'is moved from the retreat position E' to the home position.

As described above, by providing two envelope boxes in the envelope supply unit 70 and sequentially moving them to the home position, envelope replenishment can be performed while the enclosing operation is continued. There is no danger of touching the fork and pusher.

As shown in FIG. 12, the sealing section is a timing belt for transporting the envelope tray 53 on which the envelopes after being sealed are placed.
54 and its driving motor 55, a nip motor 56 for feeding an envelope onto the timing belt 54, a timing belt
A spray nozzle 57 (FIG. 3) that supplies water to the flaps above the transport upstream side of 54, a fold plate 58 that folds the flaps at the same time as the transport, and a pair of pressure and discharge rolls 59 for ensuring gluing. And its drive motor.

The timing belt 54 and the nip motor 55
After the filling operation by fork 51 and pusher 52 is completed,
The envelope tray 53 is driven in accordance with a signal from a sensor for detecting the position of the pusher 52, thereby conveying the envelope tray 53 in the lateral direction of the apparatus. At this time, an electromagnetic valve for driving the spray nozzle 57 is simultaneously operated, and thereby the paste water is supplied to the flap of the envelope in the form of a mist.

As shown in FIG. 13, the folded plate 58 installed on the upper side of the transporting path of the timing belt 54 has a shape in which one flat band-shaped plate is twisted, and one end forms a transporting surface. The angle is an obtuse angle close to 180 degrees, and the other end is configured to be an acute angle close to 0 degrees with the transport surface. That is, the angle between the folded plate 58 and the transport surface gradually decreases from 180 degrees to 0 degrees from upstream to downstream. Therefore, the envelope conveyed with the flap opened is folded back by the folding plate 58 during the conveyance, and the flap is closed at the end point of the conveyance.

Since the flap is supplied with the paste water by the spray nozzle 57, the sealing is almost completed at this point. In this state, the envelope on the envelope tray 53 is inserted between the pair of pressure rolls 59. You. The pressure roll 59 is composed of a driving roll and a driven roll capable of coming into contact with and separating from the driving roll, and the driven roll comes into contact with or separates from a signal from a sensor that detects the position of the envelope tray 53. Also pressure roll
59 has an axis parallel to the transport direction of the envelope, and the envelope tray 53
It also functions as a discharge roller for discharging the envelope in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the envelope.

In such a configuration, when the envelope tray 53 moves to the position of the pressure roll 59, the driven roll is driven so as to come into contact with the drive roll, thereby nipping the envelope between the two rolls 59. . When the envelope is discharged while being nipped between the pressure rolls 59, the sealed portion is securely glued. When the gap between the pressure rolls 59 nips the envelope, the envelope tray 53 returns to the original enclosing portion, and the enclosing operation is continued for the subsequent envelope.

A stacker 60 for receiving the sealed envelope is provided near the pressure roll 59, and the envelope is stored in the stacker 60. The stacker 60 can be taken out together with the stacker 60 from the outlet 6 provided on the front of the apparatus.

The above-described transport mechanism 2, transport direction converter 3,
With the operation of the folding unit 4 and the enclosing / sealing unit 5, the paper taken in from the take-in unit 1 into the apparatus is automatically subjected to a series of processing from folding to enclosing and sealing, and the confidentiality is maintained. Is discharged to the stacker 60. The operation of each part during this time is controlled by a sensor that detects the position of each part,
Continuous processing becomes possible.

Further, when a trouble such as paper jam occurs in any of the transport mechanism 2, the transport direction changing unit 3, the folding unit 4 and the enclosing / sealing unit 5, or when the remaining amount of the envelope and the size of the adhesive water in the enclosing / sealing unit 5 is reduced. When it is low, the sensor detects this and warns with an indicator light. The user can take necessary measures in response to these warnings by opening the front or top cover.

The enclosing and sealing device of the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. However, the enclosing and sealing device of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications may be made within the scope described in the claims. It is possible.

For example, as the configuration of the transport direction converting unit 3,
Although the configuration in which the upper and lower receiving sections (tray) are provided has been described, the processing capacity is slower, but the receiving section may be a single-stage receiving section or may have three or more receiving sections.

The drive mechanisms employed in the above embodiments are merely examples, and a known drive mechanism may be used instead. For example, in the above embodiment, the transport unit 2
Although a case where a roll and a guide plate (guide) are used has been described above, all or a part of these may be replaced with another transporting means, for example, a timing belt or the like. It is also possible to replace the portion using the timing belt as the transport mechanism with a roll and a guide plate (guide).

Further, as for the control mechanism, the case where the drive of the drive mechanism of each component is controlled by the signal from the sensor has been described, but it is also possible to perform programmable control by a sequencer or the like. However, it is preferable to provide some sensors in order to detect an error such as a paper jam or a double feed during conveyance.

[0074]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the enclosing / sealing apparatus of the present invention, the enclosing / sealing apparatus and the printer can be integrated, whereby the processes from printing to sealing can be continuously performed. It is possible to enclose and seal documents requiring confidentiality. Further, according to the enclosing and sealing device of the present invention, by providing the conveying means having the vertical conveying path and the conveying direction changing means, when the direction of the paper discharged from the printer and the direction of the processing by the folding means are different. However, continuous processing is possible, and there is no need to increase the size of the apparatus, and the operator can easily access each unit from the front of the apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing one embodiment of an enclosing and sealing device of the present invention;
(A) is a front view, (b) is a side sectional view.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the sealing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a part of a transport mechanism of the enclosing and sealing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a main part of one embodiment of the transport direction changing means of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a main part of one embodiment of a transfer direction changing means of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing another essential part of one embodiment of the transport direction changing means of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a folding section of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a mechanism between the folding section and the sealing section according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing one embodiment of an enclosing portion of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a main part of an enclosing part according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of an envelope supply unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the sealing portion of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a top view and a front view of the folded plate of the sealing portion of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 1... Take-in section 2... Transport means 26 and 27... Sensor 3.・ Folding part 5 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Enclosing and sealing part 6 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Discharge part 58 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Folding plate 70 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Envelope supply part

Claims (7)

[Claims] An input unit for receiving printed sheets discharged from a printing unit; a folding unit configured to fold the sheets captured by the intake unit; and a sheet folded by the folding unit. An enclosing means for enclosing the envelope in units of sheets or a plurality of sheets, a sealing means for enclosing the envelope in which the paper is enclosed, and a transport means for transporting the paper between the respective means, and An automatic enclosing and sealing device, which is detachable from a paper outlet of the means. 2. The automatic enclosing and sealing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transport means includes at least two sensors for detecting a double feed of the paper in a transport path. 3. The automatic enclosing and sealing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transporting means having a transporting path for transporting a sheet in a vertical direction, between the intake means and the folding means. 4. The automatic enclosing and sealing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said take-in means is physically separated from said transport means. 5. Between the transport means and the folding means,
5. The automatic enclosing and sealing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for changing a conveying direction of the sheet. 6. An enclosing means comprising: a plurality of envelope supply means;
Means for individually moving these envelope supply means, and when one of the envelope supply means is at a position capable of enclosing, the other envelope supply means is driven to be at a standby position retracted from the position at which encapsulation is possible. The automatic enclosing and sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: 7. The sealing means according to claim 1, wherein said sealing means comprises a flap folding member having a wall surface at which the angle of the enclosed envelope with respect to the conveyance path changes from approximately 180 degrees to approximately 0 degrees. 2. The automatic enclosing and sealing device according to claim 1.