JP2002265126A - Sheet processor with protruded sheet support tray and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent generation of discrepancy in a sheet sheaf even in starting an after process to the sheet sheaf. SOLUTION: A finisher 1 comprises a processing tray 130 loaded with a sheet, a staple unit applying an after process to the sheet loaded in this process tray 130, a protruded sheet support tray 170 arranged under the process tray to support a protruded part of the sheet P protruded from the process tray protruded from a device main unit 51, and a control device returning the protruded sheet support tray 170 to a refuge position after starting operation of the staple unit to make the protruded sheet support tray 170 release its supporting of the protruded part of the sheet.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus which is incorporated in a main body of a sheet handling apparatus as a part of the equipment and performs post-processing on the sheet in a state where the sheet is not shifted, and the sheet processing apparatus. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and a multifunction peripheral thereof, which performs post-processing of a sheet on which an image is formed by using a sheet processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sheet processing apparatus is incorporated in a main body of an image forming apparatus, which is an example of an apparatus for handling sheets, as a part of image forming equipment, and aligns, binds, and holes a sheet bundle on which an image is formed. Post-processing such as opening processing or bending processing is performed.

[0003] In this case, the sheet processing apparatus receives the image-formed sheet once in a processing tray, forms a bundle, performs post-processing on the sheet bundle, and then transfers the post-processed sheet bundle to the sheet bundle. The sheet is discharged onto the stack tray by the discharge unit. In some cases, the sheet processing apparatus performs post-processing on a single sheet without forming the sheet into a bundle. In this case, the binding process is not performed.

[0004] Sheets and sheet bundles stacked on the processing tray may protrude from the processing tray and fall depending on the size. For this reason, the sheet processing apparatus is provided between the processing tray and the stack tray with a protruding sheet support tray for receiving the protruding portion of the sheet or the sheet bundle protruding from the processing tray so as to be able to come and go in the sheet processing apparatus main body.

[0005]

However, in the conventional sheet processing apparatus, even if the protruding sheet supporting tray receives the protruding portion of the sheet or the sheet bundle protruding from the processing tray, the post-processing for the sheet or the sheet bundle is performed. If the protruding sheet support tray is retracted to the retreat position before the end, the position of the sheet or the sheet bundle shifts, and the predetermined position of the sheet or the sheet bundle cannot be accurately processed. In particular, when the number of sheets in the sheet bundle is large or when the sheet bundle is curved in an inverted U-shape, the amount of displacement increases, and it is impossible to accurately perform processing at a predetermined position of the sheet bundle.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the sheet bundle stacked on the processing tray from being displaced by not retreating the projecting sheet support tray until the post-processing of the sheet bundle is started and the sheet bundle is not shifted. It is an object of the present invention to provide a possible sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the apparatus in a main body.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a sheet processing apparatus with a protruding sheet supporting tray according to the present invention comprises a sheet stacking means on which sheets are stacked, and a sheet stacking means for stacking sheets on the sheet stacking means. Sheet post-processing means for performing post-processing, projecting sheet supporting means disposed below the sheet stacking means, and projecting and supporting the projecting portion of the sheet projecting from the sheet stacking means from the apparatus main body; and Control means for returning the protruding sheet support means to the retracted position after the start of the operation of the post-processing means, and releasing the support of the protruding portion of the sheet by the protruding sheet support means.

In the sheet processing apparatus with a protruding sheet supporting tray according to the present invention, the sheet post-processing means is a sheet binding apparatus for binding sheets on the sheet stacking means, and the control means is such that the sheet binding apparatus is located at one position of the sheet. After the sheets are bound, the protruding sheet supporting means is returned to the retracted position.

In the sheet processing apparatus with a protruding sheet supporting tray according to the present invention, the post-processing means is a sheet punching apparatus for punching a sheet on the sheet stacking means, and the control means is a sheet punching apparatus for punching a sheet. After the operation is completed, the protruding sheet supporting means is returned to the retracted position.

In the sheet processing apparatus with a protruding sheet supporting tray according to the present invention, the sheet loading surface of the sheet loading means is higher on the side supporting the protruding portion of the sheet than on the side supporting the remaining portion of the sheet. End aligning means disposed at the lowest end of the inclined surface to align the edge of the sheet, and disposed at both sides of the inclined surface to align both sides of the sheet. It has at least the end aligning means among the side aligning means.

The sheet processing apparatus with a protruding sheet support tray according to the present invention includes sheet discharging means for discharging the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means under the control of the control means, and the control means is controlled by the sheet discharging means. When the sheet is discharged, the protruding sheet supporting means is retracted.

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises: an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet; A sheet processing device with a sheet support tray.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and a print as an example of an image forming apparatus incorporating the sheet processing apparatus as a part of the apparatus will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The sheet processing apparatus can be incorporated not only into a printer but also into a main body of another image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, and a multifunction peripheral as a part of the apparatus. Therefore, the sheet supply device of the present embodiment is not incorporated only in the main body of the printer.

(Printer) In FIG. 1, a platen glass 906, a light source 907, a lens system 908, and an automatic document feeder for feeding a document to the platen glass 906 are provided on a main body 301 of a printer (image forming apparatus) 300. An image reading unit 903 including the device 500 and the like is provided.

The main body 301 of the printer 300 includes:
Sheet supply unit 909, image forming unit (image forming unit) 90
2 etc. are provided. Further, the main body 30 of the printer 300
1 is provided with a finisher 1 and the like as a sheet processing apparatus for processing an image-formed sheet discharged from the printer main body.

A sheet supply unit 909 includes a sheet P for recording.
And cassettes 910 and 911 that can be attached to and detached from the main body 301 of the printer 300 and a deck 913 that is disposed on a pedestal 912. Image forming unit 902
Is a cylindrical photosensitive drum 914, a developing device 915 disposed around the photosensitive drum 914, a transfer charger 916,
Separate charger 917, cleaner 918, primary charger 919
Etc. are provided. Downstream of the image forming unit 902, a transport device 920, a fixing device 904, a discharge roller pair 399, and the like are provided.

To form an image, first, the printer 30
A sheet supply signal is output from a control device 930 provided in the main body 301 of the “0”. Then, the cassettes 910, 911,
Alternatively, the sheet P is conveyed from the deck 913 into the main body 301.

On the other hand, the light reflected from the light source 907 on the original D placed on the platen glass 906 is reflected by
The light is irradiated on the photosensitive drum 914 via the lens system 908. The photosensitive drum 914 is uniformly charged in advance by a primary charger 919. When the photosensitive drum 914 is irradiated with light, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 914. The electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 915 to become a toner image.

When the sheet P fed from the sheet supply unit 909 is skewed, the skew is straightened by the registration roller pair 901 and then the photosensitive drum 914.
The toner image is sent to the image forming unit 902 at a suitable timing so that the toner image is aligned with the upper toner image.

In the image forming unit 902, the photosensitive drum 914
Is transferred to the sheet P by the transfer charger 916. The sheet P to which the toner image has been transferred is charged by the separation charger 917 to a polarity opposite to that of the transfer charger 916, and is separated from the photosensitive drum 914. Then, the separated sheet P is transferred to the fixing device 9 by the conveying device 920.
The toner image is conveyed to the sheet No. 04 and the toner image is permanently fixed by applying heat and pressure. The sheet P on which the toner image is fixed is discharged from the main body 301 of the printer 300 by the discharge roller pair 399, and is sent to the finisher 1.

The printer 300 described above is provided with a finisher 1 that does not bend the sheet, which will be described later, so that the image formed on the sheet is less likely to be damaged.

(Schematic Description of Finisher) In FIG. 2, a finisher 1 which is a sheet processing apparatus is arranged on a side of a main body 301 of the printer 300, and
A variety of post-processing such as alignment, stapling, and punching are performed on the sheet discharged from the main body 301 or the sheet bundle stacked on a plurality of sheets. Note that the finisher 1 may perform only the alignment process or only the alignment process and the stapling process.

The entrance roller pair 2 receives the sheet P discharged from the discharge roller pair 399 of the main body 301 of the printer 300. The transport roller pair 3 continuously transports the received sheet P. The sheet detection sensor 31 detects passage of the sheet P conveyed by the conveying roller pair 3.

Thereafter, the punching unit 50 punches a hole near the rear end of the sheet based on the detection of the passage of the sheet by the sheet detection sensor 31. Note that the perforating unit 50
Does not necessarily need to perforate the sheet.

The switching flapper 11 includes a non-sort path 21
And the sort path 22 are switched. Switching flapper 1
0 switches between the sort path 22 and the buffer path 23 for temporarily storing the sheets P. Switching flapper 10
Selects the buffer path 23, the pressing rollers 12, 1 arranged around the outside of the buffer roller 5 having a relatively large diameter.
3 and 14 use the buffer rollers 5
And temporarily stored on the outer periphery of the buffer roller 5. Thereafter, the transport roller pair 6 is switched to the switching flapper 10.
The sheet guided in the sort path 22 is conveyed to the discharge roller pair 7.

The processing tray (sheet stacking means) 130
The sheets P sequentially discharged from the discharge roller pair 7 are temporarily stacked in a bundle. The staple unit (sheet post-processing device, sheet binding device) 101 includes a processing tray 130.
A stapler (not shown) staples the stacked sheets.

When the staple unit 101 staples a sheet bundle, if the length of the sheet is long in the left-right direction in FIG. 2, the sheet may protrude from the processing tray 130, and may be displaced or dropped. There is. Therefore, when the sheet is long, the processing tray 13
A protruding sheet supporting tray (protruding sheet supporting means) 170 disposed below the main body 51 supports the protruding portion of the sheet. The processing tray 130, the protruding sheet support tray 170, and the configuration and operation related to these trays will be described later.

A bundle discharge roller pair (sheet discharge means) 180
A roller 180a disposed on the processing tray 130,
When the staple processing of the sheet bundle on the processing tray 130 is completed, the roller 180b is brought close to the roller 180a to pinch the sheet bundle, and the rollers 180a, 180
The sheet is discharged onto the stack tray 200 by the rotation of b. At this time, the protruding sheet support tray 170 is retracted to the standby position because it interferes with sheet bundle discharge.

On the other hand, the discharge roller 9 above the finisher 1 discharges the sheet guided to the non-sort path 21 by the switching flapper 11 onto the sample tray 201.

The operation of each section of the finisher 1 described above is performed under the control of the control device (control means) 4.

(Explanation of the processing tray and the periphery of the protruding sheet support tray) In FIG.
A rear end stopper (end aligning means) 131 that is tiltably disposed at the rear end of the processing tray 130, a side aligning unit (side aligning means) 140 for aligning the side of the sheet bundle on the processing tray 130, and processing A swing guide 150 that swings above the tray 130, a draw-in paddle 160 that returns a sheet discharged from the discharge roller pair 7 to the rear end stopper 131, and a protruding sheet support tray 1 that is disposed below the processing tray 130.
70, a bundle discharge roller pair 180 is provided.

The sheet loading surface 130a of the processing tray 130
Is on the downstream side (left side of the figure) upward, and on the upstream side (right side of the figure)
Leaning down. The side alignment unit 140 includes:
When the sheets are discharged onto the processing tray 130 with the sides aligned, the side portions along the sheet conveying direction are aligned. This is not always necessary.

The projecting sheet support tray 170 is disposed between the processing tray 130 and the stack tray 200. The protruding sheet support tray 170 protrudes and retracts from the main body 51 of the finisher 1 along the sheet conveyance direction (the direction of the arrow X) while substantially following the inclination of the processing tray 130 below the roller 180a. Further, the protruding sheet support tray 170 has a tip 170a overlapping the stack tray 200 in the protruding state, and the tip 170a retreats from the bundle discharge roller pair 180 to the inside of the finisher main body 51 in the retracted state. ing. Tip 170 of projecting sheet support tray 170 in the projecting state
“a” is located on the downstream side (left side in the figure) of the center of gravity of the sheet bundle placed on the processing tray 130.

The swing guide 150 is located on the upstream side (right side in the figure).
, And swings up and down with the rotation of a rotating cam 152 connected to the motor M150. Further, the swing guide 15
0 is a roller 18 so that when the sheet is discharged to the processing tray 130, the discharge and alignment of the sheet are not hindered.
0b is separated from the roller 180b to be in an open state. When the sheet bundle is ejected from the processing tray 130, the swing guide 150 is rotated to bring the roller 180b closer to the roller 180a to close the sheet bundle, and to sandwich the sheet bundle between the rollers 180b and 180a. Transport. The rollers 180a and 180b of the bundle discharge roller pair 180 are driven to rotate forward and reverse by receiving a drive from the motor M180.

(Explanation of Stack Tray and Sample Tray) Stack tray 200 and sample tray 20
As shown in FIG. 2, both motors M2
The finisher body 1 is moved up and down by 00 and M201. The finisher body 1 includes a sheet upper surface detection sensor 204 for detecting the upper surface of the sheet discharged to the sample tray 201, a sheet upper surface detection sensor 205 for detecting the upper surface of the sheet discharged to the stack tray 200, and various sensors described below. Is provided.

The sample tray 201 moves up and down between a pair of upper and lower sheet upper surface detection sensors 204 and 205. However, the upper limit sensor 203a disposed near the discharge roller 9 restricts the excessive movement of the sample tray 201. Lower limit sensor 20 arranged at a position corresponding to when loaded
Normally, the number of stacked sheets is limited by 3b.

The stack tray 200 moves up and down between the sheet upper surface detection sensor 205 and the lower limit sensor 203f. When the stack tray 200 is lowered, the sensor 203c is arranged at a position corresponding to when about 1000 sheets are stacked in order to limit the number of stacked sheets by the height, and further, when about 2000 sheets are stacked. The sensor 203d is arranged at the position.

The sample tray 201 and the stack tray 200 are provided with a sheet presence / absence detection sensor 206 for detecting whether or not sheets are stacked.

Normally, the sample tray 201 waits at the position of the sheet upper surface detection sensor 204 and the stack tray 2
00 stands by at the position of the sheet upper surface detection sensor 205. Usually, it is the stack tray 200 that stacks the sheets discharged from the processing tray 130. The stack tray 200 can receive a sheet processed by the staple unit 101 or a sheet bundle that is unbound and discharged in a small number of sheets.
About 000 sheets can be stacked. When 2,000 or more sheets are discharged, the stack tray 200 is further lowered to the sensor 203e arranged at a position where about 1,000 sheets can be stacked, and
Tray 2 up to the sheet upper surface detection sensor 205 for
01 is allowed to fall. Therefore, the 2000th and subsequent sheets are stacked on the sample tray 201.

As shown in FIG. 4, a motor M200 for raising and lowering the stack tray 200 is connected to a control device 4 (see FIG. 1) for controlling the operation of the finisher 1, and the sheet upper surface detection sensor 205 and other components are provided. It rotates under the control of the control device 4 based on the signal from the sensor. Also,
The control device 4 is connected to the control device 930 of the main body 301 of the printer 300 by the communication unit 932.

Sample tray 201, stack tray 2
00 or a predetermined distance (for example, about 1 mm) above the uppermost sheet bundle on the sample tray 201 and the stack tray 200.
The position where the optical axis 05 comes is the initial position of the sample tray 201 and the stack tray 200. Therefore,
Each time a sheet is stacked on the sample tray 201 or the stack tray 200, the control device 4 lowers the sample tray 201 or the stack tray 200 until the sheet upper surface detection sensors 204 and 205 are not interrupted by the sheet. 201, stack tray 200
At the initial position.

(Operation of Discharging Sheet Bundle on Processing Tray) FIG. 5
As shown in (a), the sheet that has passed through the large conveying roller 5 is sent to the sort path 22 by the switching flapper 10 and is discharged onto the processing tray 130 by the discharge roller pair 7.

The sheet discharged from the discharge roller pair 7 is
Due to its own weight and the rotational contact of the paddle 160, the sheet slides down on the processing tray 130 until the rear end of the sheet comes into contact with the rear end stopper 131 (see FIG. 3). Rear end stopper 131
Receives the sheet and aligns the upstream end of the sheet.
At this time, the protruding sheet support tray 170 is in the protruding state, preventing the leading ends of the sheets stacked on the processing tray 130 from hanging down and causing a return failure, and improving the alignment of the sheets on the processing tray 130. . When a predetermined number of sheets are stacked and aligned on the processing tray 130, at this point, the staple unit 101 staples one place as needed. Staple unit 1
When the stapler 01 staples the sheet bundle, the rear end stopper 131 (see FIG. 3) rotates from the position indicated by the solid line to the position indicated by the broken line, and retracts below the processing tray 130.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, the swing guide 150 is lowered, and the roller 180b is placed on the sheet bundle. After that, the second stapling is performed as needed.

The retracting timing of the protruding sheet support tray 170 is at the time when the first staple is completed. As shown in FIG. 6, the protruding sheet support tray 170 prevents the alignment bundle P from curving downward.
Is retracted, there is a possibility that the uppermost sheet and some of the sheets under the uppermost sheet are shifted as shown by the reference character Y as shown in FIG. This shift phenomenon appears remarkably in proportion to the number of stacked sheets. In particular, when the sheet is curled in an inverted U-shape, the sheet remarkably appears.

Most preferred protruding sheet support tray 170
The retreat timing is just before the bundle discharge roller pair 180 starts the operation of discharging the sheet bundle after the staple unit 101 staples all the predetermined locations. With such timing, it is possible to reliably staple the sheet bundle, and to reliably prevent the bending deformation due to the hanging down of the sheet bundle.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the number of sheets to be discharged in a bundle is equal to or more than a predetermined number, the stack tray 200 is controlled by the motor M200 (see FIG. 2) controlled by the controller 4 (see FIG. 3). Is rotated by a predetermined distance before the bundle is discharged and before the protruding sheet support tray 170 retreats, and stops at the correction position shown in the figure. The predetermined distance to be raised may be determined, for example, by a user setting the number of sheets setting unit 931 connected to the control device 930 of the main body 301 of the printer 300.
It is determined by the control of the control device 4 of the finisher 1 in accordance with the set number inputted in (see FIG. 4).

There is a small head L1 between the sheet bundle P0 discharged at this time and the stack tray 200. This prevents the leading end of the discharged sheet bundle from abutting against the already stacked sheet bundle (not shown) and curling,
Further, the lowermost sheet of the discharged sheet bundle is prevented from buckling due to a drop.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9A, the bundle discharge roller pair 180 rotates to discharge the sheet bundle P0 to the stack tray 200. At this time, in order to drop the sheet bundle to the stack tray 200, the projecting sheet support tray 1
Reference numeral 70 denotes a retracted position before the sheet bundle exits the bundle discharge roller 180. Then, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the sheet bundle P0 is stacked on the stack tray 200 at a height that blocks the sheet upper surface detection sensor 205, the controller 4 uses the sheet upper surface detection sensor 205 to control the uppermost sheet. The stack tray 200 is lowered until a surface is detected. Then, when the upper surface of the stacked sheets falls below a predetermined position, the protruding sheet support tray 170 protrudes from the main body 51 of the finisher 1 to support the next sheet to be discharged.

In the present embodiment, the finisher 1 performs post-processing on the sheet by a stapler. However, a punching unit is provided instead of the staple unit 101, and the finisher 1 collectively forms holes on the processing tray. Even when the post-processing is performed, the sheet bundle before the post-processing can be prevented from being shifted.

In this case, when a plurality of holes are formed in the sheet bundle, if the projecting sheet support tray 170 is retracted into the main body 51 of the finisher 1 before all of the plurality of holes are formed, the sheet bundle collapses, and Since the punching unit may not be able to punch holes at predetermined positions, the projecting sheet support tray 170 must be retracted into the main body 51 of the finisher 1 after all the holes are punched in the sheet. .

Although the above description has been made on the sheet bundle, the stapling process is not performed when the number of sheets is one. A hole can be accurately formed in a predetermined position of the sheet.

[0054]

According to the sheet processing apparatus with the protruding sheet supporting tray of the present invention, the protruding portion of the sheet from the sheet stacking means is supported by the protruding sheet supporting tray until the sheet post-processing operation is started. Post-processing can be reliably performed on the sheet by preventing the sheet from shifting during processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front sectional view of a printer which is an image forming apparatus having a finisher which is a sheet processing apparatus with a protruding sheet support tray according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front sectional view of a finisher.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a processing tray and a configuration around the processing tray;

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of a stack tray.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a sheet bundle stacking operation. (A) is a state diagram when a sheet is being discharged to a processing tray. FIG. 4B is a state diagram when the sheet bundle is stapled.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet is supported by a protruding sheet support tray.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the sheet bundle is shifted when the protruding sheet support tray is quickly retracted to the retracted position.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the finisher when the stacker tray is at a correction position.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a sheet bundle discharging operation. (A) is a state diagram when a sheet is being discharged to a stack tray. (B) is a state diagram when a sheet bundle is discharged to a stack tray.

[Explanation of symbols]

P sheet Po sheet bundle 1 Finisher (sheet processing device with protruding sheet support tray) 4 Finisher control device (control means) 51 Finisher main body (device main body) 101 Staple unit (sheet post-processing means,
Sheet binding device) 130 Processing tray (sheet stacking means) 130a Sheet stacking surface 131 Rear end stopper (end aligning means) 140 Side aligning unit (side aligning means) 170 Projecting sheet support tray (projecting sheet supporting means) 180 Bundle Discharge Roller Pair (Sheet Discharge Means) 300 Printer (Image Forming Apparatus) 902 Image Forming Unit (Image Forming Means)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A sheet stacking unit on which sheets are stacked, a sheet post-processing unit for performing post-processing on the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit, and the sheet stacking unit is disposed below the sheet stacking unit, and is disposed below the sheet stacking unit. A projecting sheet supporting means for projecting and supporting a projecting portion of the sheet projecting from the stacking means from the apparatus main body; Control means for canceling the support of the protruding portion of the sheet by means of the sheet processing apparatus. 2. The sheet post-processing means is a sheet binding device for binding sheets on the sheet stacking means, and the control means is configured to control the protruding sheet supporting means after the sheet binding device binds one position of the sheet. The sheet processing apparatus with a protruding sheet support tray according to claim 1, wherein the sheet processing device is returned to the retracted position. 3. The sheet processing device according to claim 1, wherein the post-processing unit is a sheet punching device that punches a sheet on the sheet stacking unit.
The sheet processing apparatus with a protruding sheet support tray according to claim 1, wherein the protruding sheet supporting means is returned to a retracted position. 4. A sheet loading surface of the sheet loading means,
An inclined surface having a side supporting the protruding portion of the sheet higher than a side supporting the remaining portion of the sheet,
End aligning means arranged at the lowest end of the inclined surface to align the edge of the sheet; and side aligning means arranged at both sides of the inclined surface to align both sides of the sheet. The sheet processing apparatus with a protruding sheet support tray according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising at least the end aligning means. 5. A sheet discharging means for discharging sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means under control of the control means, wherein the control means is configured to output the protruding sheet when discharging the sheets by the sheet discharging means. The sheet processing apparatus with a protruding sheet support tray according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the support means is retracted. 6. The protruding sheet support tray according to claim 1, wherein an image forming means for forming an image on the sheet, and post-processing of the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming means. An image forming apparatus comprising: