JP2003026367A - Sheet post-processing device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent defective performance of sheet alignment caused by clogging of a sheet discharge part with a bundle of sheets deflected upward when large-sized sheets are transported to over a sheet placing table. SOLUTION: The leading edge of each sheet of paper S placed on the sheet placing table 71 is beaten by an upper roller 61A swung by a driving means and a discharged sheet guiding means 68 so as to be separated from the upper roller 61A, and a space admitting passage of the sheet is formed forcedly to allow the following sheet S to pass, and the sheet S is moved onto the sheet placing table 71, and the trailing edge of the sheet S is abutted to an abutting member 78 to establish alignment of sheets.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic copying machine,
Receiving sheets discharged from image forming devices such as printers, facsimiles, and multi-function machines that have these functions, stacks them in the paper storage unit, performs post-processing such as binding, and discharges them to the paper discharge unit. The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus having a function to perform.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A large number of sheets on which an image is recorded by a main body of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and a complex machine of these are gathered for each number of prints and bound by a binding means (stapler). A sheet post-processing device for binding together is provided. The sheet post-processing device is connected to and driven by the print function of the main body of the image forming apparatus.

As a sheet post-processing device for binding a bundle of a plurality of sheets as a set, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-276
691, No. 8-319054, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 5-4199
No. 1 publications and the like are disclosed.

[0004]

The conventional sheet post-processing apparatus for binding processing has the following problems.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet storage section in a conventional sheet post-processing apparatus. The sheet S nipped by the conveyance rollers 15 and conveyed to the binding processing unit 70 is stored on the sheet mounting table 7.
1 is conveyed above and goes up (conveyance direction a). Paper S
After the trailing edge of the trailing edge has passed the nipping position of the transport roller 15, the sheet S turns downward due to its own weight (transporting direction b), slides down on the sheet loading table 71, and the trailing edge of the sheet strikes the lower sheet. The member is abutted, stopped, and aligned.

Large paper S (B4 size paper, 8.5 × 14)
When an inch size sheet or the like) is conveyed above the sheet mounting table 71, the leading end of the sheet S bent downward in a convex shape as shown in the drawing is disposed above the sheet mounting table 71. Means 6
When it is held in contact with the upper roller 61A held in the open state of 0 or the guide plate or the like, the leading edge of the succeeding sheet S is pinched by the sheet discharging means 60 and becomes jammed,
It may not fall to the position where it hits the lower sheet pressing member 72 and may not be aligned. In particular, the more sheets S are stacked on the sheet mounting table 71, the more easily the sheets S are misaligned and the sheets S are jammed.

[0007]

The above problems can be solved by a sheet post-processing apparatus, a sheet post-processing method, and an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

(1) Conveying means for conveying the paper discharged from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and a paper storage section for stacking the conveyed paper in a predetermined position on the paper mounting table. In a sheet post-processing apparatus having a binding unit for binding sheets to be bound and an ejection unit for ejecting the bound sheets, an upper roller and a lower unit which are arranged to be openable and closable are provided above the inclined sheet forming table. A pair of discharge rollers composed of rollers, a discharge guide means that supports the upper roller and is movable, and a drive means that swings the discharge guide means.
The drive unit includes an abutting member that is disposed below the sheet placement table and that abuts and aligns the ends of the sheets to be stacked, and a control unit that controls the drive of the drive unit. The leading end portion of the sheet placed on the sheet placing table is struck by the sheet discharge guide means that is swung by the drive means, and is separated from the upper roller to form a forcible sheet passing space. A sheet post-processing apparatus, wherein a succeeding sheet is allowed to pass through, the sheet is moved onto the sheet mounting table, and a rear end portion of the sheet is brought into contact with the abutting member for alignment.

(2) An image forming apparatus comprising an image forming apparatus main body including an image writing means, an image forming means, and a sheet conveying means, and the sheet post-processing apparatus described in (1) above.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, a sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention,
An image forming apparatus including a sheet post-processing apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.

[One Embodiment of Image Forming Apparatus] FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus main body A, an image reading apparatus B, and a sheet post-processing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a post-processing apparatus) FS. is there.

The image forming apparatus main body A has a charging unit 2, an image exposing unit (writing unit) 3, a developing unit 4, and a transfer unit 5 around a rotating image carrier (hereinafter referred to as a photoconductor) 1.
A, a charge removing unit 5B, a separating claw 5C, and a cleaning unit 6 are provided in the image forming unit. The charging unit 2 uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor 1 and then the laser beam of the image exposing unit 3 is used. Exposure scanning is performed based on the image data read from the original to form a latent image, and the latent image is reversely developed by the developing means 4 to form a toner image on the surface of the photoconductor 1.

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

When images are formed on both sides of the paper S,
The sheet S heated and fixed by the fixing unit 8 is branched from the normal sheet discharge path by the conveyance path switching plate 7D, switched back and turned upside down in the reverse conveyance 7E, and then discharged to the outside of the apparatus by the sheet discharge unit 7C. It The paper S discharged from the paper discharge unit 7C is sent to the receiving unit 11 of the post-processing device FS.

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

An operation unit 9 for selecting and setting an image forming mode and a sheet post-processing mode is arranged on the upper front side of the image forming apparatus main body A.

On the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body A, an image reading apparatus B equipped with an automatic original feeding apparatus of a moving original reading type is installed.

[Post-Processing Device] FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing the transport path of the sheet S in the post-processing device FS according to the present invention.

In the post-processing apparatus FS, the first sheet feeding means 20A, the second sheet feeding means 20B, and the fixed sheet discharge table 30 are arranged in the upper stage of the drawing, and the punching means 40, the shift means 50, and the sheet discharge means are arranged in the middle stage. 60 are arranged in series on the same plane which is almost horizontal,
The binding processing unit (paper storage unit) 70 and the folding processing unit 80 are provided in the lower stage.
Are arranged in series on the same plane forming an inclined surface.

Further, on the left side surface of the post-processing device FS in the drawing,
Shifted sheet S and edge-stitched sheet bundle S
An elevating and discharging tray 91 for stacking a and a fixed discharging tray 92 for stacking a processed sheet bundle Sb that has been folded in three or two are arranged.

The post-processing apparatus FS is installed with its position and height adjusted so that the receiving section 11 for the sheet S carried out from the image forming apparatus main body A coincides with the sheet discharging section 7C of the image forming apparatus main body A.

In the receiving section 11, the sheet S subjected to the image forming process from the image forming apparatus main body A, the interleaving sheet K1 for separating the sheet bundle supplied from the first sheet feeding means 20A, and the second sheet feeding means 20B. The cover sheet K2 supplied from

(Paper feeding means) Interleaving paper K1 accommodated in the paper feeding tray of the first paper feeding means 20A
Are separated and fed by the paper feed unit 21, and the transport roller 2
It is sandwiched by 2, 23, 24 and introduced into the receiving unit 11. Further, the cover sheet K2 stored in the sheet feeding tray of the second sheet feeding unit 20B is separated and fed by the sheet feeding section 25, nipped by the transport rollers 23 and 24, and introduced into the receiving section 11. .

(Punching means) A punching means 40 is arranged on the downstream side of the receiving section 11 in the sheet conveying direction. The punching means 40 has a movable punch that is driven up and down, and a fixed die that fits into the blade of the punch.

(Paper Branching Means) A paper branching means composed of switching means G1 and G2 is provided on the downstream side of the punching means 40 in the paper carrying direction. The switching means G1 and G2 are selectively driven by driving a solenoid (not shown) to one of the three paper conveyance paths, that is, the first conveyance path for discharging the upper stage, the second conveyance path in the middle stage, and the third conveyance path in the lower stage. Branch.

(Simple paper discharge) When this paper transport is set, the switching means G1 moves to the second
The transport path and the third transport path are shut off, and only the first transport path is opened.

The sheets S passing through the first transport path are nipped by the transport rollers 31 and ascended, discharged by the discharge rollers 32, placed on the fixed discharge tray 30, and sequentially stacked. A maximum of about 200 sheets of paper S can be stacked on the fixed paper output tray 30.

(Shift processing) When this transport mode is set, the switching means G1 retracts upward, the switching means G2 shuts off the third transport path, opens the second transport path, and allows the sheet S to pass. to enable.
The sheet S passes through a sheet passage formed between the switching means G1 and G2.

The image-formed sheet S discharged from the image forming apparatus main body A, the interleaf sheet K1 fed from the first sheet feeding means 20A, or the cover sheet fed from the second sheet feeding means 20B. The sheet K2 passes through the intermediate sheet passage of the switching units G1 and G2, is subjected to a shift process by the shift unit 50 so as to be moved by a predetermined amount in the direction orthogonal to the sheet transport direction, and is transported in the sheet discharge direction by the transport rollers. To be done.

The shift means 50 carries out a shift process for changing the paper discharge position of the paper S in the carrying width direction every predetermined number of sheets. The shift-processed sheets S are discharged by the sheet discharging unit 60 to the up-and-down sheet discharge tray 91 outside the machine and sequentially placed. The elevating and discharging tray 91 is configured to sequentially descend when discharging a large number of sheets S, and a maximum of about 3000 sheets (A4, A4
It is possible to store the sheet S of B5).

(Binding Processing) FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the post-processing unit 10 including the binding processing section 70 and the folding processing section 80.

When the binding process or the folding process is set in the operation unit 9, the image-formed sheet S that has been subjected to the image forming process in the image forming apparatus main body A and sent to the receiving unit 11 of the post-processing apparatus FS is After passing through the punching means 40, it is sent to the third conveying path below the switching means G2, is sandwiched by the conveying rollers 12, and is conveyed downward.

When a sheet S of a size larger than A4 or B5 is conveyed in the third conveying path, the solenoid S
D1 is driven, and the sheet S passes through the sheet passage 13A on the left side of the switching unit G3 in the figure, is nipped by the conveying rollers 14, and is conveyed downward. The paper S is sandwiched and sent out by a pair of transport rollers 15 on the further downstream side, is discharged to a space above the inclined paper placement table 71, and is stacked on the paper placement table 71 or the paper placement table 71. It contacts the upper surface of the and is transported diagonally upward. After the trailing end of the sheet S in the traveling direction is discharged from the nipping position of the transport roller 15, the sheet S turns downward due to its own weight and is transported on the inclined surface of the sheet mounting table 71, and is bound by a stapling means (stapling means). 70
The rear end portion of the sheet S comes into contact with the sheet abutting surface of the first edge abutting member (the above-mentioned sheet abutting member) 72 for edge binding in the vicinity of 0 and stops. Reference numeral 16 is a rotating winding belt which is slidably brought into contact with the leading edge of the sheet S and is wound into the first abutting member 72.

In the third transport path, in order to efficiently and continuously transport small-sized paper S such as A4 and B5 sizes to improve copy productivity, a movable switching means G3,
A paper passage 13B parallel to the paper passage 13A on the left side of the switching means G3 in the drawing is provided.

Solenoid S connected to switching means G3
When D1 is driven, the passage 13A is closed and the passage 13B is closed.
Open up.

The leading end portion of the first small-sized sheet S sent out from the conveying roller 12 passes through the sheet passage 13B, comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the conveying roller 15 in the rotation stopped state, and stops.

Next, the energization of the solenoid SD1 is turned off, the tip of the switching means G3 swings clockwise, the paper passage 13B is closed, and the paper passage 13A is opened. The leading edge of the second sheet S sent out from the transport roller 12 is
The conveyance roller 1 that has passed through the paper passage 13A and is in a rotation stopped state
It comes into contact with the peripheral surface of No. 5 and stops. Therefore, the transport roller 15
Near the nip position of the first sheet S and the second sheet S
The respective leading end portions of are overlapped and stopped, and a standby state is set.

At a predetermined timing, the transport roller 1
When the sheet 5 is driven and rotated, the two sheets S are nipped and conveyed at the same time, and ejected onto the sheet table 71. After the third sheet, the transport roller 15 discharges the sheets S one by one.

Reference numeral 73A denotes a pair of upstream side width aligning members movably provided on both side surfaces of the sheet mounting table 71. The width alignment member 73A is movable in a direction orthogonal to the sheet transport direction, and is opened wider than the sheet width when the sheet S is received on the sheet mounting table 71. When the sheet S is conveyed on the sheet mounting table 71 and comes into contact with the first abutting member 72 and stops, the width alignment member 73A taps the side edge of the sheet S in the width direction and the width of the sheet bundle Sa. Align (width match). At this stop position, when a predetermined number of sheets S are stacked and aligned on the sheet mounting table 71, the binding unit 700 performs the binding process, and the sheet bundle Sa is bound.

A notch is formed in a part of the sheet stacking surface of the sheet stacking table 71, and a discharge belt (discharging means) 75 wound around a drive pulley 74A and a driven pulley 74B is rotatably driven. To be done. A discharge claw 76 is formed integrally with a part of the discharge belt 75, and the tip end portion thereof draws an elliptical locus X as shown by a dashed line in the drawing. The binding process of the sheet bundle Sa is performed by the ejection claws 76 of the ejection belt 75.
The rear end of the belt is pressed and placed on the discharge belt 75,
It slides on the placement surface of the sheet placement table 71 and is pushed up diagonally upward, and advances to the position where the discharge roller 61 of the sheet discharge means 60 is held. Sheet bundle S sandwiched by rotating discharge rollers 61
The sheet a is discharged and stacked on the elevating sheet discharge tray 91 (see FIG. 2).

FIG. 4 shows the case where various binding processes are executed.
7 is a plan view showing the arrangement of a sheet bundle Sa and a binding unit 700. FIG. FIG. 4A is a plan view showing a flat stitching process in which the staples SP are stapled at two locations in the center in the vicinity of the side edges of the sheet bundle Sa, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an edge stitching process of striking a staple SP at a position.
FIG. 7C is a plan view showing a saddle stitching process of striking the staples SP at two central portions of the sheet bundle Sa.

(Saddle Stitching Processing) As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet stacking table 7 on which the sheet bundle Sa is mounted
1, the binding processing unit 70, and the folding processing unit 80 are arranged on the pedestal of the post-processing unit 10 and can be pulled out to the front side of the post-processing device FS by being guided by the slide rails R1 and R2.

The binding means 700 has a two-divided structure including a stapling mechanism 701 and a staple receiving mechanism 702, and a sheet passage 77A through which the sheet S can pass is formed in the middle thereof.

Two sets of the binding means 700 are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction, and can be moved in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction by a driving means (not shown).

When the side-to-side binding mode is set, the binding needles SP are struck by the two sets of binding means 700 at the two central locations in the sheet width direction of the sheet bundle Sa (see FIG. 4A).

When the edge binding mode is set, the binding means 700 moves straight and swings to strike the binding needle SP at one corner of the sheet bundle Sa corresponding to the sheet size (FIG. 4). (See (b)). When the saddle-stitching and center-folding processing is set, the staples SP are struck at two central portions of the sheet bundle Sa (see FIG. 4).
(See (c)).

When the saddle stitching mode is set, the stitching means 7
The first butting member 72 near the binding processing position of 00 (stitching position of the stapling needle) retracts from the transport path, and at the same time, the second butting member 78 for saddle-stitching and center-folding downstream of the first butting member 78 passes through the paper passage 77A. The paper path 77B is blocked by moving in the direction of the extension surface of the paper.

The saddle-stitching stopper unit having the second abutting member 78 is located below the sheet bundle Sa to be saddle-stitched when the size (length in the carrying direction) of the cover sheet K2 and the sheet S is set or detected. It moves to a position where it abuts the end and stops.

After the cover sheet K2 is placed at a predetermined stop position on the sheet placing table 71, the sheet S carried out from the image forming apparatus main body A is the third sheet from the receiving section 11 of the post-processing apparatus FS.
After passing through the transport path, the cover sheets K2 placed on the sheet placing table 71 are sequentially stacked on the upper surface of the sheet S, and the leading end of the sheet S contacts the second abutting member 78 and is positioned.

After the final sheet S is positioned and placed on the sheet mounting table 71, saddle stitching processing by the binding means 700 is performed on the sheet bundle Sa including the cover sheet K2 and all the pages of the sheet S. By this saddle-stitching process, the binding needle SP is driven into the central portion of the cover sheet K2 and the sheet S in the transport direction. The staple SP is driven from the staple driving mechanism 701 on the staple driving side toward the staple receiving mechanism 702 on the staple clinching side.

(Folding Process) As shown in FIG. 3, a folding process unit 80 is disposed obliquely below the binding process unit 70. After the saddle stitching process, the second abutting member 78 linearly moves in the downstream direction of conveyance of the sheet bundle Sa to open the passage downstream of the paper passage 77A. The movable second abutting member 78 regulates the stop position of the sheet bundle Sa at the time of saddle stitching processing at the upper position and regulates the stop position of the sheet bundle Sa at the time of center folding processing at the lower position.

The saddle-stitched cover sheet K2 and the sheet bundle Sa composed of the sheet S are conveyed obliquely downward in a sheet passage 81A formed by a guide plate (frame) 81, and are then applied to the second abutting member 78. The ends of the sheet bundle Sa in the transport direction come into contact with each other,
Stop in place. The second abutting member 78 can be moved to a predetermined position by the result of setting or detecting the sheet size and the driving unit.

A sheet mounting table 71 of the post-processing unit 10,
The paper passages 77A, 77B, 81A are formed in substantially the same plane and form a steep slope of about 70 degrees.

The folding processing section 80 includes a protruding plate 82, a pair of first folding upper rollers 83, a first folding lower roller 84, and a second folding lower roller 84.
Folding roller 85, transport belt 86, transport switching member 8
7 and the like, and enables the folding process and the tri-folding process of the sheet bundle Sa.

(Drive System of Stitching Processing Section) FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a drive system for driving the rotation of the discharge belt 75 and the swinging of the discharge roller 61. FIG. 6 shows the binding processing section 70 and the discharge section. It is a principal part top view.

The motor M1 includes a belt B1, a pulley P1,
The upper roller 61A of the discharge roller 61 is driven and rotated through the belt B2, and the lower roller 61B of the discharge roller 61 is driven and rotated through the belt B3, the pulley P2, and the belt B4. Further, the motor M1 includes a belt B3 and a pulley P.
2, drive belt 74A via belt B5 and pulley P3
Is driven and rotated to rotate one discharge belt 75.

The gear 74D fixed to the shaft end of the rotary shaft 74C of the drive pulley 74A meshes with the cam member 74E and rotates. The cam member 74E has a cam-shaped test portion. When the sensor PS1 detects this portion to be inspected, the standby position when the discharge claw 76 fixed to the discharge belt 75 rotated by the motor M1 is stopped is set.

The motor M2 moves the two upstream side width matching members 73A via the belt 731 in accordance with the sheet width. The motor M3 translates and rotationally moves the two binding units 700 via the belt 703 to set them at the binding position. The motor M4 moves the downstream width matching member 73B via the belt 732.

The first abutting member 72 is driven by a motor (not shown) to block and open the paper passage 77B. The second abutting member 78 is also driven by a motor (not shown), moves in the paper passages 77B and 81A, and is installed at a predetermined position.

In FIG. 5, the motor M5 drives and rotates the pair of conveying rollers 15 and also rotates the winding belt 16.

(Conveyance of Sheet Bundle after Stitching Process) FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the discharge belt 75 showing a state in which the sheet bundle Sa after the edge binding process is discharged.

The rear end portion of the sheet bundle Sa, which has been positioned and stacked on the sheet mounting table 71 and has been end-stitched, is rotated in the arrow direction by the forward rotation of the motor M1 which can rotate in the forward and reverse directions. Discharge claw 7 fixed to one end of belt 75
The sheet is held by 6 and slides on the sheet mounting table 71, is pushed forward in the direction of the outlined arrow diagonally above and is ejected.

Standby position HP of the discharge claw 76 during edge binding processing
1 is below the sheet stacking table 71, and the discharge belt 75
After the start of the rotation of the sheet bundle Sa, the sheet bundle Sa is swiftly set to the position where the rear end portion of the sheet bundle Sa is pressed. The standby position HP1 described above
Is arbitrarily positioned at a predetermined position when detected by a photo sensor (not shown) and timed by a timer.

FIG. 7B shows a sheet bundle Sa after saddle stitching processing.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a discharge belt 75 showing a state in which is conveyed to the folding processing unit 80 in the next step.

The rear end of the saddle stitched sheet bundle Sa, which is positioned and stacked on the sheet table 71, is fixed to the discharge belt 75 which is rotated in the arrow direction by the reverse rotation of the motor M1. Due to the rearward pushing by the ejected claws 76 and the own weight of the sheet bundle Sa, the sheet bundle Sa is slid on the sheet placing table 71 and is pushed forward in the direction of the outlined arrow diagonally below and conveyed to the folding processing unit 80 in the next step.

Standby position HP of the discharge claw 76 during saddle stitching processing
2 is set to a position where the rear end portion of the sheet bundle Sa of the maximum size is quickly pressed after the discharge belt 75 starts rotating in the arrow direction. The standby position HP2 can be arbitrarily set to a predetermined position by detection by a photo sensor (not shown) and timing processing by a timer.

(Discharge Belt) The discharge belt 75 is a timing belt having a tooth shape and has an endless shape. A discharge claw 76 is integrally formed on a part of the outer peripheral portion of the discharge belt 75. The discharge belt 75 and the discharge claw 76 have a width of 6 mm, for example, and are made of urethane rubber. The discharge claw 76 formed of urethane rubber has an advantage that when the slide claw 76 is in sliding contact with the rear end of the sheet bundle Sa, it has less scratches than chloroprene rubber (CR) or the like used in the conventional discharge claw. .

That is, when the ejecting claw 76 moves on the sheet placing table 71 while slidingly contacting the rear end of the sheet bundle Sa, and the ejecting claw 76 retracts from the upper surface of the sheet placing table 71, the ejecting claw 76 moves the sheet bundle Sa. There are very few scratches when moving by sliding on the bottom side of the.

(Upper roller unit) FIG. 8A is a plan view of the upper roller unit 62, and FIG.
(B) is a front view.

The frame 63 of the upper roller unit 62 includes a support shaft 6 rotatably supported by both front and rear plates of the post-processing device FS.
4 is supported by a bearing 65. The shaft portion 63A fixed to one end of the upper portion of the frame 63 has the crank lever 6
It is fitted to one end of 6. The other end of the crank lever 66 is connected to the eccentric position of the disc 67. The disk 67 is rotated by the drive rotation of the motor M6 via the gears g1 to g6.

The gears g1 to g6 are driven by the motor M6.
The disk 67 is rotated via drive transmission means such as. The disk 67 causes the crank lever 66 to swing, and the frame 63
Is swung around the support shaft 64.

Near the center of the support shaft 64, one end of the paper discharge guide member 68 is fixed. Paper ejection guide member 68
The rotating shaft of the upper roller 61A is supported at the other end of the. The paper ejection guide member 68 is biased by a torsion spring 68A wound around the support shaft 64, and can press the upper roller 61A in the lower roller 61B direction.

A solenoid SD2 is fixed near the shaft 63A of the frame 63. One end of the lever 69 is engaged with the plunger of the solenoid SD2. Lever 69
The base portion of is fitted and fixed to the support shaft 64. Lever 69
Is biased by a spring 69A.

When a voltage is applied to the solenoid SD2,
The plunger is sucked and swings the lever 69 counterclockwise. Since the paper discharge guide member 68 and the lever 69 are fixed and integrated with the support shaft 64, the paper discharge guide member 68 is also swung counterclockwise by the swing of the lever 69, and the paper discharge guide member 68. The upper roller 61A, which is supported by, moves in the direction of the arrow.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing the swinging process of the upper roller unit 62. In FIG. 9A, the upper roller unit 62 is moved downward and the upper roller 61A is changed to the lower roller 61B.
It shows the closed state of the paper discharge passage that is pressed against. In this state, the sheet S passing through the shift means 50 is discharged. Further, the small size sheet S is conveyed by the conveying rollers 15 and discharged to the sheet mounting table 71.

FIG. 9B shows a state in which the upper roller unit 62 is moved upward and the upper roller 61A is separated from the lower roller 61B to open the sheet discharge path. In this state, the large size sheet S is transported by the transport rollers 15 and discharged onto the sheet mounting table 71.

Large size paper S (for example, A3 size paper,
(8.5 × 14 inch size paper) is conveyed and stacked in the conveyance direction a on the paper placing table 71, as shown in FIG. 12, the leading end portion of the paper S bent upward is the upper roller 61A.
Or, the sheet S held in contact with a guide plate, etc.
The leading end of the sheet may be pinched by the sheet discharging unit 60 and may be jammed.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing the swing of the paper discharge guide member 68. FIG. 11 shows the sheet discharging unit 60 and the binding processing unit 7.
It is a block diagram of the control means 100 which controls the drive of 0.

The control means 100 includes a motor M1 for driving the discharge belt 75 and the discharge roller 61, a motor M2 for driving the width aligning member 73A, a motor M3 for moving the binding means 700, and a motor M4 for driving the width aligning member 73B. A motor M5 for driving the conveying roller 15 and the winding belt 16,
The motor M6 that drives the upper roller unit 62, the discharge guide member 68, the solenoid SD2 that drives the swing of the upper roller 61A, and the like are controlled according to the sheet size and post-processing.

In the operation section 9 of the image forming apparatus main body A,
Signals such as post-processing setting, sheet size setting, and sheet number setting are input to the control unit 100.

In the operation section 9, edge-stitching processing for a large size sheet S (for example, A3 size sheet, 8.5 × 14 inch size sheet, 1 inch is 25.4 cm) (FIG. 4).
When (a) and (b) are set, the motor M6 of the paper discharge means 60 starts driving, and the disc 67 is rotated via the drive transmission means such as the gears g1 to g6. The rotation of the circular plate 67 causes the crank lever 66 to swing, and the frame 63
Is swung around the support shaft 64 to move the upper roller 61A supported by the frame body 63 upward from the holding position of the lower roller 61B to open the paper passage.

When the sheet discharge path of the sheet discharging means 60 is open, the large-sized sheet S is nipped and conveyed by the conveying rollers 15 and advances in the conveying direction a indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. Go up.

The timing at which the front end of the conveyed sheet S reaches the space between the upper roller 61A and the lower roller 61B in the opened state, that is, a predetermined time is set by a timer after the sensor PS2 detects the passage of the rear end of the sheet. After the time is counted, the control means 100 controls the timing of voltage application to the solenoid SD2 fixed to the frame 63 of the upper roller unit 62.

The solenoid SD2 causes the plunger to perform a suction operation to swing the lever 69 shown in FIG. Lever 69
Rotates the support shaft 64 to which the lever 69 is fixed. The support shaft 64 swings the frame 63 fixed to the support shaft 64. The upper roller 61A, which is rotatably supported by the frame 63, is swung to hit the surface of the sheet S that is going up on the sheet mounting table 71 in the vicinity of the leading end.

The solenoid SD2 is turned on and off each time the leading edge of the sheet S, which is nipped by the conveying roller 15 and conveyed to the sheet mounting table 71, reaches the upper roller unit 62. By driving the solenoid SD2, the upper roller unit 62 reciprocates, and the upper roller 61A and the paper discharge guide member 68 strike the surface of the paper S near the front end thereof, so that the front end of the paper S moves from the surface of the upper roller 61A. Separated from each other, a space through which paper can be forced is formed.

After the succeeding sheet S is nipped by the conveying rollers 15 and conveyed to the sheet placing table 71, after the leading end of the sheet S reaches the sheet passing space formed below the upper roller unit 62 without any trouble. , The preceding paper S due to its own weight
Falls along the upper surface of the sheet S, the rear end of the sheet S contacts the first abutting member 72, stops, and is aligned.

The control means 100 controls the time when the leading edge of the sheet S reaches the upper apex of the sheet loading table 71 and the time when the operation of hitting the leading edge of the sheet S ends.

The upper roller 61A and the discharge guide means 68 are
After the number of sheets S placed on the sheet table 71 reaches a predetermined number (for example, about 10 sheets), the control means 100 controls the solenoid SD2 to operate at least every one sheet. The number of sheets S loaded into the sheet loading table 71 is determined by the sensor P installed upstream of the transport roller 15.
It is determined by detection of passage of the paper S by S2 and counting by the control means 100.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the post-processing device connected to the main body of the copying machine has been described. However, after the post-processing device is connected to the main body of the image forming device such as a printer, a facsimile, a multifunction peripheral, a light printing machine, etc. It is also applicable to a processing device.

[0090]

As is apparent from the above description, the post-processing apparatus and the image forming apparatus of the present invention have the following effects.

(1) Even if the leading end of a large-sized sheet bundle stacked on the sheet placing table is bent upward and is in contact with the upper roller, the upper roller and the sheet discharge guide member are driven to swing. By separating the leading edge of the sheet bundle from the upper roller, the succeeding sheets are smoothly introduced on the sheet stacking table and fall by their own weight, the trailing edge of the sheet is aligned, and the edge of the edge-stitched sheet bundle is aligned. The parts are aligned accurately.

(2) In the post-processing apparatus connected to the main body of the image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a printer, desired digital processing is performed by the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the paper discharged after the fixing processing is the present invention. The post-processing device allows the binding process to be performed quickly, accurately and efficiently. The post-processing apparatus according to the present invention can perform high-speed post-processing on a sheet that is subjected to high-speed processing by the image forming apparatus main body to generate bending and then discharged by the post-processing apparatus of the present invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus main body, an image reading device, and a post-processing device.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing a sheet conveyance path in a post-processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a post-processing unit including a binding processing unit and a folding processing unit.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an arrangement of a sheet bundle and a binding unit when performing various binding processes.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a drive system that drives rotation of a discharge belt and swing of a discharge roller.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a main part of a binding processing unit and a paper discharge unit.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a discharge belt showing a state in which a sheet bundle after the edge-stitching process is discharged.

FIG. 8 is a plan view and a front view of an upper roller unit.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing the swinging process of the upper roller unit.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing the swinging of a paper discharge guide member.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a control unit that controls driving of a sheet discharging unit and a binding processing unit.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet storage unit in a conventional post-processing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Post-processing unit 15 Conveyor roller 16 entanglement belt 60 paper ejection means 61 discharge roller 61A Upper roller 61B Lower roller 62 Upper roller unit 63 frame 64 spindle 66 crank lever 67 discs 68 Paper ejection guide member 69 lever 70 Binding processing section (paper storage section) 71 Paper loading table 72 First Abutting Member (Paper Abutting Member) 75 Discharge belt (discharging means) 76 Discharge claw 80 Folding section 91 Lifting / Discharging Table 100 control means 700 binding means A Image forming apparatus body FS paper post-processing device (post-processing device) M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6 motor PS1, PS2 sensor SD1, SD2 solenoid (drive means)

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor, Masato Hattori             2970 Ishikawa-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Konica stock             In the company (72) Inventor Hirohiko Okabe             47, 1067 Wakamatsucho, Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture F term (reference) 2H072 AB15 CA01 CA05 FB08 FB10                       HB05 JA02 JA03 JA04                 3F054 AA01 AB01 AC02 AC03 AC05                       BA11 BB09 BD02 BE04 BG03                       BG09 BH04 BH13 BH23 BJ04                       DA11                 3F100 AA02 BA24 CA03 EA03 EA17

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A transport unit configured to transport a sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus main body, a sheet storage unit configured to stack the transported sheet at a predetermined position on a sheet mounting table, and the sheets are aligned and stacked. In a sheet post-processing device having a binding unit for binding sheets and an ejection unit for ejecting the bound sheets, an upper roller and a lower roller that are openably and closably disposed above the inclined sheet mounting table. A pair of discharge rollers, a discharge guide unit that supports the upper roller and is movable, a drive unit that swings the discharge guide unit, and a stacking unit that is arranged below the sheet mounting table. An abutting member that abuts and aligns the end portion of the sheet, and a control unit that controls the drive of the drive unit, the drive unit being the leading end of the sheet placed on the sheet mounting table. Is oscillated by the drive means. The sheet is struck by the sheet ejection guide means to be separated from the upper roller to form a space through which the sheet can be forcibly passed so that the succeeding sheet can pass therethrough, and the sheet is moved onto the sheet mounting table. A sheet post-processing apparatus, characterized in that a rear end portion of the sheet is brought into contact with the abutting member for alignment. 2. The sheet discharge guide means strikes the leading edge of the sheet when the leading edge of the sheet reaches the upper apex of the sheet loading table after detecting the passage of the trailing edge of the sheet being conveyed. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls the operation so that the operation ends. 3. The paper discharge guide means is controlled by the control means such that after the number of sheets placed on the sheet placing table reaches a predetermined number, it is operated by the driving means at least every one sheet. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that. 4. An image forming apparatus main body comprising an image writing unit, an image forming unit, and a sheet conveying unit, and the sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1. Image forming apparatus.