JP2002193493A - Punching device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small and inexpensive punching device capable of punching paper in a proper position by correcting a conveyance skew of the paper. SOLUTION: This punching device punches the paper S conveyed and discharged by a paper discharging roller 7C of an image forming device body A. It comprises a punching means 10 positioned near a receiving opening C1 of the paper S conveyed and discharged from the image forming device body A and a resist member 60 positioned near the punching means 10. A tip of the paper S is butted to the resist member 60 by a conveying force of the paper S by the paper discharging roller 7C of the image forming device body A, the conveyance skew of the paper S is corrected, and then punching is performed by the punching means 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a perforation processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a file on a sheet on which an image is recorded and discharged by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a multifunction peripheral thereof. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a punching apparatus for forming a punch hole for binding in a hole.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and a multifunction machine thereof, work efficiency is improved by combining a punching processing apparatus for forming a punch hole for binding to a file with the image forming apparatus. Is being improved.

In this punching process, it is important that the punch holes are always positioned at the same position on each sheet so that the positions of the punch holes are not deviated and the alignment is good when the sheets are filed. It is. However, because the perforation position is slightly different for each sheet due to the occurrence of bending or offset during conveyance of each sheet, even if the edges of the perforated sheets are aligned, the position of the punch hole is However, there is a problem that the file cannot be filed at once, or even if the file is filed, the edges of the paper are not uniform and the appearance is poor.

For this reason, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-56334 discloses that
The sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus main body is once received by a conveying roller in the perforation processing apparatus, and the sheet is bent by abutting the leading end of the sheet against an abutting member provided to be able to move forward and backward along the conveying path. Is corrected and then introduced into the perforation means to perform perforation processing.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, a conveying means (a pair of conveying rollers) for feeding the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus main body to the abutting member is required, and the conveying load is accordingly increased. In addition to increasing the size, it has hindered miniaturization and cost reduction of the device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a small-sized and low-cost perforation processing apparatus capable of performing perforation processing at an appropriate position on a sheet by correcting the sheet conveyance bending.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a punching apparatus for punching a sheet conveyed and discharged by a sheet discharging roller of an image forming apparatus main body. A registration member is disposed in close proximity to a receiving port of a sheet conveyed and discharged from the image forming apparatus main body, and a registration member is disposed in close proximity to the perforation means. A punching process is performed by a punching unit after the sheet is skewed against a resist member to correct the sheet conveyance skew.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the piercing means includes:
Paper side edge detection means configured to be movable along a direction orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction and configured to detect a side edge position parallel to the paper conveyance direction; 2. The punching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the punching unit moves the punching unit to the center of the sheet and performs a punching process based on the position information of the sheet detected by the apparatus.

[0009]

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

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, wherein A is an image forming apparatus main body, B is an image reading apparatus, and C is a punching processing apparatus.

The image forming apparatus main body A includes a charging means 2, an image exposure means (writing means) 3, a developing means 4, a transfer means 5A, a charge removing means 5B, a separation means 5 around a photosensitive member 1 as a rotating image carrier. After the nail 5C and the cleaning unit 6 are arranged, and the surface of the photoconductor 1 is uniformly charged by the charging unit 2, laser beam scanning based on image data read from a document by the laser beam of the image exposure unit 3 is performed. A latent image is formed by performing the process, and the latent image is reversely developed by the developing unit 4 to form a toner image on the surface of the photoconductor 1.

On the other hand, the sheet S, which is the transfer sheet fed from the sheet storage means 7A, is sent to the transfer position. At the transfer position, the toner image is transferred onto the sheet S by the transfer unit 5A. Thereafter, the electric charge on the back surface of the paper S is erased by the charge removing means 5B, separated from the photoreceptor 1 by the separation claw 5C, conveyed by the intermediate conveyance unit 7B, and subsequently heated and fixed by the fixing means 8, and then discharged by the paper discharge roller 7C. Is discharged.

When forming images on both sides of the sheet S,
The sheet S, which has been heated and fixed by the fixing unit 8, is branched from a normal sheet discharge path by a transfer path switching plate 7D, is switched back by a reverse transfer 7E, is turned over, and is conveyed to a transfer position. After being separated, fixed, and discharged by the paper discharge roller 7C. Paper discharge roller 7
The sheet S discharged from the image forming apparatus main body A by C is
It is fed into a perforation processing device C arranged adjacent to the image forming apparatus main body A.

On the other hand, the developer remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor 1 after the image processing is removed by the cleaning means 6 downstream of the separation claw 5C, and the surface is prepared for the next image formation.

An image reading device B provided with an automatic document feeder of a document moving exposure type reading system is provided above the image forming apparatus main body A.

As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the perforation processing apparatus C receives the paper S discharged by the paper discharge roller 7C of the image forming apparatus main body A, and binds the paper S to the file at the rear end side in the transport direction of the paper S. Punching means 10 for forming a punch hole for punching, a first transport path 20 for transporting and discharging the sheet S having passed through the punching means at a short distance, and a second transport path 30 for transporting and discharging the sheet S over a long distance. The first transport path 20 and the second transport path 30 are selectively switched by operating the switching guide plate 40.

The perforating means 10 is disposed in proximity to a receiving port C1 for receiving the sheet S discharged by the paper discharge roller 7C of the image forming apparatus main body A, and is discharged from the paper discharge roller 7C of the image forming apparatus main body A. The sheet S received from the receiving port C1 of the punching device C is immediately
0 is introduced.

On the downstream side of the punching means 10 in the transport direction of the sheet S, a pair of registration rollers 60
Are disposed adjacent to the perforating means 10. The registration roller pair 60 also serves as a conveying unit that conveys the sheet S that has passed through the perforation unit 10 by being rotationally driven by a drive motor (not shown). At least the sheet S is transferred from the image forming apparatus main body A to the perforation processing apparatus C. When the sheet is conveyed, the driving motor is stopped to bring it into a stopped state. Therefore, the sheet S that has passed through the transport path P of the punching means 10 by the transport force of the paper discharge roller 7C of the image forming apparatus main body A
Is a pair of registration rollers 60 whose tips are in a stopped state.
To simply hit it. Then, the conveying force of the sheet discharging roller 7C of the image forming apparatus main body A is further applied thereto, so that the sheet S is bent at the entrance side of the registration roller pair 60, and the sheet S is bent.

The punching means 1 for the registration roller pair 60
The upper guide plate 61a and the lower guide plate 61b are arranged on the upstream side facing the pair 0 so as to sandwich the sheet S abutting on the registration roller pair 60 from above and below. Since the sheets S face each other so as to be greatly expanded, the sheet S is guided to bend during this time.

The switching guide plate 40 is disposed on the downstream side of the registration roller pair 60. After the bending is corrected by the registration roller pair 60, the switching guide plate 40 is conveyed by rotating the registration roller pair 60 after a predetermined time has elapsed. Paper S
Depending on the size or the presence or absence of the perforation process, the solenoid valve (not shown) operates the transport path to the first transport path 20 for transporting and discharging at a short distance or the second transport path 30 for transporting and discharging at a long distance. Works to switch.
Then, in the first transport path 20, the sheet S is quickly discharged from the perforation processing device C by a transport roller pair 21 driven by a drive motor (not shown), and in the second transport path 30, The paper is discharged from the punching apparatus C by the transport roller pair 21 after following a long path by the transport roller pairs 31 and 32 driven by a drive motor (not shown).

Next, the details of the perforating means 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Shown in FIG. 3 is a plan view of the perforating means 10, and FIG. 4 is a side view thereof.

The punching means 10 is arranged along a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet S is conveyed, and has a suitable number of punch blades 11 (in the illustrated example, movable in the vertical direction (indicated by arrows in FIG. 4)). And a die 12 disposed below the punch blade 11 so as to be opposed to each other with the conveyance path P of the sheet S interposed therebetween.

Above the punch blade 11, a rotating shaft 13 which is rotated by a driving force of a driving means (not shown) is horizontally mounted on a casing 14 so as to extend along a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the sheet S. A cam 13 a is provided on the rotating shaft 13 so as to contact the upper end of the punch blade 11. In addition,
The punch blade 11 is urged by urging means (not shown) so that the upper end thereof comes into contact with the cam 13a. As a result, the rotation of the rotary shaft 13 causes the cam surface of the cam 13a to slide on the upper end of the punch blade 11, and the punch blade 11 is moved downward by pressing the punch blade 11 toward the die 12 by the action of the cam 13a. A punch hole is formed in the hole.

An upper guide plate 15a is provided below the punch blade 11 along the upper side of the transport path P for the sheet S.
The lower guide plate 1 is provided on the die 12 on the upstream side in the transport direction of the sheet S.
5b, the upper guide plate 15a and the lower guide plate 15b are opposed to each other so as to sandwich the transport path P from above and below, so that the paper S received from the receiving port C1 can be smoothly transferred to the transport path P. invite.

In the punching means 10, the punch blade 1
1, die 12, rotating shaft 13, and respective guide plates 15a, 15b
Are integrally formed in the same casing 14, and the casing 14
A rack gear 14a is attached to one end of the rack gear 14a. The rack gear 14a meshes with a pinion gear 16a provided on the drive motor 16, and when the drive motor 16 is driven to rotate in the forward and reverse directions, the driving force is transmitted to the pinion gear 16a.
The sheet is transmitted to the housing 14 via the rack gear 14a, so that the entire perforating means 10 can be moved in a direction perpendicular to the sheet S transport direction (the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 3).

Reference numeral 17 denotes a sheet side edge detecting means for detecting a side edge position parallel to the sheet S transport direction. The paper-side end detecting means 17 includes reflection-type optical sensors S1 to S5. A plurality of the paper-side edge detection means 17 are provided along a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the paper S so as to correspond to paper widths of various sizes to be punched. (5 in the illustrated example) is the upper guide plate 15a
Attached to. Therefore, when the entire punching means 10 is moved for detecting a sheet side edge described later, the amount of movement can be reduced, and the efficiency of the punching process is improved.

The paper side edge detecting means 17 is provided with a drive motor 1
6 can be moved together with the perforating means 10 by driving the same. As a result, even if the size (length in the width direction) of the sheet changes, the punch blade 11 is arranged at the center position of the sheet width.

In this embodiment, each sensor S
1 to S5 indicate modes that are set so as to be located at an ideal position of paper S of various sizes, that is, at a position 5 mm inside one end at a position where there is no deviation, but the present invention is limited to this. Instead, it may be arranged at a position near the inside or outside near one end of each sheet size. Also, the number of sensors does not necessarily have to correspond to all paper sizes that can be processed by the apparatus, and may be smaller than that, and at least one can function.

The upper guide plate 15a has sensors S1 to S
5, an opening 15c is formed corresponding to each sensor S.
Reference numerals 1 to S5 project light to the lower guide plate 15b through the opening 15c, and detect the side end of the sheet S based on the intensity of the reflected light. That is, the perforation means 10 is
Move in the direction of the arrow, the sheet side end detecting means 17 (any of the sensors S1 to S5) corresponding to the size of the sheet S provided on the upper guide plate 15a is moved to one side end of the sheet S. Traverses from inside to outside (or from outside to inside), and it is possible to detect the side end position of the sheet S based on the presence or absence of reflected light at this time.

As described above, by fixing the direction in which the paper side edge detecting means 17 crosses one side edge of the paper S from the inside to the outside (or from the outside to the inside), the detection error can be reduced. There are advantages. In other words, when detecting the side end position with the same detecting means, if there is a mixture of crossing from inside to outside and crossing from outside to inside, there will be a difference in the detection position. Although there is a problem that it is easy, this embodiment can solve this problem.

The paper side edge detecting means 17 can detect the leading edge of the paper S by detecting the passage of the leading edge of the paper S conveyed along the transport path P. The detection of the leading end of the paper S is performed by a plurality of sensors S1 to S1.
It is preferable to use the innermost sensor S5 among S5.

Similarly, it is possible to detect the trailing edge of the sheet S by detecting the passage of the trailing edge of the sheet S conveyed on the conveying path P.

Reference numeral 50 denotes a punch waste receiver disposed below the perforating means 10 for storing punch waste.

Next, the punching operation of the punching apparatus C will be described.

When the sheet S on which the image is recorded is discharged from the image forming apparatus main body A by the discharge roller 7C and discharged to the perforation processing device C from the receiving port C1, the leading end of the sheet S is moved to the upper guide plate. From the space between the lower guide plate 15a and the lower guide plate 15b, the guide is immediately guided to the transport path P of the punching means 10 waiting at a predetermined reference position. The leading end of the sheet S guided to the transport path P abuts between the pair of registration rollers 60 arranged on the downstream side via the perforating means 10. At this time, the registration roller pair 60 is in the drive stop state, the leading end of the sheet S abuts, and in this state, the sheet S is further fed by the conveying force of the sheet discharge roller 7C of the image forming apparatus main body A, so that the upper guide plate 61a And lower guide plate 61
b, the sheet S is bent, and the transport of the sheet S is corrected so that the sheet S has an appropriate posture.

After a lapse of a predetermined time (after the correction of the transport skew), the rotation of the drive motor (not shown) causes the registration roller pair 60 to rotate.
Starts rotating, and the first transport path 20 according to the paper size.
Alternatively, the sheet is transported to the second transport path 30.

On the other hand, when the passage of the leading end of the sheet S guided to the conveying path P is detected by the innermost sensor S5 of the sheet side end detecting means 17 (FIG. 5), after a predetermined time (conveyance straightening). Later), the registration roller pair 60
Is transported, the drive motor 16 is driven, and a sensor corresponding to the size of the sheet S (here, as an example of the case where the size of the sheet S is the A3 size,
Until the outermost sensor S1) detects the side end of the sheet S, the entire punching means 10 is moved so that the sensor S1 moves from the inside to the outside of the sheet S (FIG. 6). In FIG. 5, the sensor S5 functioning as the sheet leading end detecting means is used to switch the algorithm for detecting the sheet before the movement of the entire perforating means 10 is started. Prepare for detection.

When the side edge of the sheet S is detected by a sensor (here, the sensor S1) corresponding to the size of the sheet S, the drive motor 16 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the sensor S1 is again turned on. Until the sensor S1 is detected, the entire punching means 10 is moved so that the sensor S1 moves from the outside to the inside of the sheet S (FIG. 7). Thereby, the side end position of the sheet S is detected.

After the detection of the side edge position of the sheet S, a CPU (not shown) calculates the amount of movement from the side edge position so that the center of the punch blade 11 of the punching means 10 comes to the center of the sheet S. The punching means 10 is moved by controlling the drive motor 16 to position the center of the punch blade 11 at the center of the sheet S (FIG. 8).

Next, after the sensor S5 provided for detecting the trailing edge of the sheet S detects the trailing edge of the sheet S, after the sheet S is conveyed by a predetermined distance, the rotation of the registration roller pair 60 is stopped to stop the sheet S. Is temporarily stopped, the punch blade 11 is moved downward at a predetermined timing, and a hole is punched at a predetermined position of the sheet S (FIG. 9). Thus, a punch hole can be accurately formed at the central position on the rear end side of the sheet S.

The sheet S in which the punch holes are formed is conveyed again by the rotation of the registration roller pair 60, and is discharged from the punching device C.

As described above, according to the present invention, the perforating means 1 is inserted into the receiving port C1 of the sheet S conveyed and discharged from the main body A of the image forming apparatus.
0, and a pair of registration rollers 60 is disposed in the vicinity of the perforating means 10 on the downstream side, and the sheet S is transported by the paper discharge roller 7C of the image forming apparatus main body A.
Since the leading end of the sheet S abuts against the registration roller pair 60 to correct the transport bend of the sheet S, the punching process is performed by the punching means 10. ) Is unnecessary, and the apparatus can be reduced in size and cost accordingly.

Further, the punching means 10 is movable in the vicinity of the registration member in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the paper S, and detects the side end position parallel to the transport direction of the paper S. Since the perforating means 10 is moved to the center of the paper S by the edge detecting means 17 to perform the perforation processing, a punch hole can always be formed at an appropriate position of the paper S, and the paper S can be formed. The appearance when filing can be arranged beautifully.

[0044]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a small-sized and low-cost perforation processing apparatus capable of performing perforation processing at an appropriate position on a sheet by correcting the sheet conveyance skew.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically illustrating an image forming apparatus including a punching device.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a configuration of a main part of the punching apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a punching means.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a punching means.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a punching operation by the punching means.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a punching operation by the punching means.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a punching operation by the punching means.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a punching operation by the punching means.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a punching operation by the punching means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A: Image forming apparatus main body B: Image reading apparatus C: Perforation processing apparatus C1: Receiving port 10: Perforation means 11: Punch blade 12: Die 13: Rotating shaft 13a: Cam 14: Housing 15a: Upper guide plate 15b: Lower part Guide plate 16: Drive motor 16a: Pinion gear 17: Side end position detecting means 20: First transport path 30: Second transport path 40: Switching guide plate 50: Punch dust receiver 60: Registration roller pair

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masanobu Kono 2970 Ishikawa-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Konica Corporation In-house (72) Inventor Hideyo Ohashi 1-9-4 Higashi-Tokorozawa Wada, Tokorozawa-shi, Saitama 201 (72) Inventor Kazunori Hinomi 873-10 Terao, Kawagoe-shi, Saitama (72) Inventor Yu Yu 3-30-16-102, Fujimidai, Nerima-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Yuki Nagaoka 1-228-, Tenjincho, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo 2 404 Hana Koganei 404 (72) Inventor Kazuaki Fukuda 3-10-13 Yoshida Shinmachi, Kawagoe-shi, Saitama F-term (reference) 3C024 GG00 3C060 AA02 BA01 BF01 BG15 BH02 3F102 AA02 AA10 AA11 AB01 BA02 BB02 BB04 3F108 GA02 GA03 GA04 GB07

Claims (2)

[Claims] In a punching apparatus for punching a sheet conveyed and ejected by a sheet ejection roller of an image forming apparatus main body, a perforating means is arranged in proximity to a receiving port of the sheet conveyed and ejected from the image forming apparatus main body. In addition, a registration member is disposed in proximity to the perforation means, and the leading end of the sheet is abutted against the registration member by a sheet conveyance force of a sheet discharge roller of the image forming apparatus main body, and the sheet is perforated after correcting a sheet conveyance bend. A perforation processing apparatus, wherein perforation processing is performed by means. 2. A sheet side edge detecting means which is movable along a direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction and detects a side end position parallel to the sheet conveying direction. 2. The perforating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the perforating unit moves the perforating unit to the center of the sheet based on the side edge position information of the sheet detected by the sheet side edge detecting unit. Processing equipment.