JP2003261256A - Sheet processor and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase a loadable sheet bundle by controlling a moving distance of a stopper mechanism of a sheet on the basis of a detecting signal by detecting the height of the sheet bundle on a sheet stacker. <P>SOLUTION: This sheet processor loads the sheet bundle S on the sheet stacker 500 by delivering the sheet bundle by delivery means 60a and 60b, and loads the sheet bundle on a loading means by delivering the sheet bundle by the delivery means, and has a regulating means 501 movable in the sheet delivery direction or its inverse direction on the sheet stacker 500, and regulating the front end of the sheet bundle S, a height detecting means 603 for detecting the loading height of the sheet bundle on the sheet stacker 500, and a control means 550 for controlling a movement of the regulating means 501 on the basis of the detecting signal of the height detecting means 603. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

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 and an image forming apparatus having a function of stacking a sheet bundle obtained by folding a sheet on which an image is formed by an image forming unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of sheet processing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 7, a bundle of folded sheets S discharged from discharge rollers 60a and 60b are stacked on a sheet stacker 500. In order to increase the stacking amount of the sheet bundle S, a movable stopper mechanism (regulating member 501) is provided on the sheet stacker 500. And
The number of copies and the number of sheets bound in the sheet bundle discharged from the discharge roller are counted, and the stopper mechanism (regulating member 501) is moved by the driving means such as the motor 504 based on the counted number and the sheet size of the sheet bundle.

Alternatively, the sheet size of the sheet bundle,
Number of bundles (number of sheets bound or folded when not bound,
The same applies hereinafter) and the amount of movement of the stopper mechanism (regulating member 501) is changed according to the number of stacked sheets,
There is also known a stopper control means for increasing the number of sheets to be stacked when the number of sheets to be bound or folded is small.

[0004]

However, as described above, in the method of controlling the movement amount of the stopper based on the number of copies of the sheet bundle and the sheet size, the number of copies of the sheet bundle is constant regardless of the number of sheets bound and the thickness of the sheet. Only can be loaded.

When the number of sheets to be stacked is small and the number of sheets to be stacked is increased by changing the moving amount of the sheet stopper according to the sheet size of the sheet bundle, the number of sheets to be bundled, and the number of sheets to be stacked. When the number of bundled sheets is small, more sheet bundles can be stacked. However, even if the number of sheets bundled is small, the bulge of the folded sheet bundle after folding differs depending on the sheet type or sheet size used, and the folding height of the sheet bundle becomes high.

Therefore, before the sheet stopper moves, there is no space for stacking the sheet bundle, and as shown in FIG. 7A, the stacked sheet bundle S1 has a stopper mechanism (regulating member 501). Overcoming, or
As shown in FIG. 7B, there is a problem in that the rear sheet bundle S3 gets into the front sheet bundle S2 and is jammed, resulting in a jam.

The present invention solves such a problem by detecting the height of the sheet bundle on the stacking means and controlling the movement amount of the sheet bundle stopper mechanism based on the detection signal. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus capable of increasing the stack of sheets that can be stacked.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus for discharging a sheet bundle by a discharging means and stacking it on a stacking means, in which the stack of sheets is discharged in the sheet discharge direction or A restricting unit that has a slide member that is movable in the opposite direction and that stacks and moves the sheet bundle and a stopper member that restricts the front end of the sheet bundle, and the sheet bundle stacked on the stacking unit. It is characterized by comprising height detection means for detecting height and control means for controlling movement of the regulation means based on a detection signal of the height detection means.

Further, the present invention comprises a pressing means for pressing the sheet bundle stacked on the stacking means to suppress the bulge of the fold, and the height detecting means is a sensor for the position of the pressing means. It is characterized in that it is configured to detect.

Further, the invention is characterized in that the control means is configured to move the regulating means in the sheet discharge direction of the sheet bundle based on a signal from the height detecting means.

According to the present invention, the control means moves the regulating means in the sheet bundle discharging direction based on a signal from the height detecting means, and then moves it in the opposite direction to the sheet bundle discharging direction. It is characterized in that it is configured to match.

Further, according to the present invention, a sheet conveying table provided between the sheet bundle discharging means and the stacking means is rotatably supported by the stacking means, and the back surface of the sheet conveying table is supported by a spring. It is characterized by

Further, the present invention is characterized by comprising an image forming means and the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

Further, according to the present invention, the image forming means, the stacking means for discharging the sheet bundle image-formed by the image forming means by the discharging means, and stacking the sheet bundle, and the sheet bundle discharging on the stacking means. Regulation means having a slide member that is movable in the paper direction or the opposite direction and that stacks and moves the sheet bundle, and a stopper member that regulates the front end of the sheet bundle, and the stacking means that is stacked on the stacking means. It is characterized by comprising height detection means for detecting the height of the sheet bundle, and control means for controlling the movement of the regulation means based on a detection signal of the height detection means.

Further, according to the present invention, a means for sending sheet size information provided in the image forming means and a receiving means for receiving the sheet size information are provided, and the position of the slide member is based on the sheet size information. Is provided.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, an example of an image forming apparatus to which the sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied will be described based on FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the main body 901 of the image forming apparatus 900 includes a platen glass 9 as a document placing table.
06, a light source 907, a lens system 908, a paper feeding unit 909, an image forming unit 902, and the like. 940 is the original D
9 shows an automatic document feeder for automatically feeding the document to the platen glass 906.

The paper feeding unit 909 is a cassette 910, 91 on which recording sheets S are stacked and which can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body 901.
1 and deck 91 located in pedistyle 912
Have three. The image forming unit 902 includes a cylindrical photosensitive drum 914, a developing device 915 around the photosensitive drum 914, a transfer charger 916, a separation charger 917, a cleaner 918, a primary charger 919, and the like. Image forming unit 90
A transport device 920, a fixing device 904, a pair of discharge rollers 905, and the like are disposed on the downstream side of 2.

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 900 will be described.

When a paper feed signal is output from the controller 150 provided on the apparatus main body side 901, the cassette 91
The sheet S is fed from 0, 911 or the deck 913. On the other hand, the document D placed on the document table 206
The light reflected from the light source 907 is applied to the photosensitive drum (image forming unit) 914 via the lens system 908. The photosensitive drum 914 has a primary charger 9 in advance.
The electrostatic latent image is formed by being charged by 19 and irradiated with light, and then the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 915 to form a toner image.

The sheet S fed from the sheet feeding unit 909 is
The skew feeding is corrected by the registration roller 901, and the timing is adjusted to send the image to the image forming unit 902. In the image forming unit 902, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 914 is transferred to the sent sheet S by the transfer charger 916, and the sheet S onto which the toner image is transferred is separated by the separation charger 91.
7 is charged to the opposite polarity to the transfer electric device 916 and separated from the photosensitive drum 914.

Then, the separated sheet S is conveyed to the fixing device 904 by the conveying device 920, and the fixing device 9
The transfer image is permanently fixed to the sheet S by 04. The sheet S having the image fixed thereon is ejected from the apparatus main body 901 by the ejection roller pair 905. In this way, an image is formed on the sheet S fed from the sheet feeding unit 909, and the sheet S is discharged to the sheet processing apparatus 2.

2 and 3 are views showing the details of the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, the sheet processing apparatus 2 is for post-processing a sheet discharged from a sheet discharge roller 905 provided on the main body 901 side of the image forming apparatus 900.

The transport guide 3 receives the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge roller 905 and guides the sheet into the sheet processing apparatus 2. The sheet detection sensor 4 detects a sheet conveyed in the conveyance guide 3. The sheet detection by the sheet detection sensor 4 determines the alignment timing and the like, and also detects whether the sheet is jammed in the conveyance guide 3.

The discharge roller 6 is for nip-conveying the sheet in the conveyance guide 3. The processing tray 8 is for placing and stacking sheets that are successively discharged by the discharging roller 6. The processing tray 8 is provided with an aligning plate 9 as an aligning unit that guides both ends of the sheet to be discharged by the discharge roller 6 and aligns the width. The alignment plates 9 are arranged on both ends in the width direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction. The alignment plate 9 is an alignment motor 1 that is a stepping motor arranged below the processing tray 8.
4 has a pin-on 15 provided on the shaft and a rack 16 integrally formed with the alignment plate 9, and is provided so that the alignment plate 9 can be appropriately moved in the seat width direction by the rotation of the alignment motor 14. Has been.

The carry-in guide 7 guides the sheet discharged from the discharge roller 6 into the processing tray 8. Below that, in order to ensure the carry-in of the sheet, the sheet is brought into contact with the upper surface of the sheet and is rotated by a certain amount. A paddle 17 made of a rubber material having elasticity is arranged.

The paddle 17 is adapted to be rotationally driven about a shaft 17a, and is integrally molded so as to support the paddle surface by fins 17b extending radially about the shaft 17a. The sheets are deformed as they are stored in the processing tray 8 and are given a proper conveying force.

In this processing tray 8, the first pulley 1 mounted on the left and right first pulley shafts 10a in FIG.
0, and the second pulley 11 attached to the second pulley shaft 11a is arranged. A transfer belt 12 is stretched around the first pulley 10 and the second pulley 11, and a pushing claw 13 is provided on a part of the outer circumference of the transfer belt 12. Further, a lower conveyance roller 18 is provided coaxially with the first pulley shaft 10a, and above this, a position where the upper conveyance roller 19 presses the lower conveyance roller 18 side (a chain line in FIG. 2) and a lower conveyance direction. Separation position away from the roller (solid line in Figure 2)
It is rotatable between and.

The stopper 21 is discharged onto the processing tray 8 by the discharge roller 6 and falls by its own weight.
It regulates the edge of the sheet that moves by rotation. One end of the stopper 21 is supported by the first pulley shaft 10a, and the stopper 21 is normally spring-loaded to a position that regulates the end of the seat.
(Not shown) and so on.

A stapling unit 30, for example, is provided as a binding unit and is configured as a unit body shown by a chain line in FIG. 2, and the unit 30 is configured to be pulled out from the sheet processing apparatus 2. The stapling unit 30 includes a staple driving head unit 31 having a staple cartridge (not shown) on the lower side of the transport passage,
An anvil unit 32 that bends the needle that is driven from the needle driving head unit 31 is provided above. The needle driving head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32 are movable in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction.

The driving head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32 are supported by upper and lower rods 33 and 34 so as to move (shift) in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction. The screw shafts 35 and 36 have a spiral thread groove for performing the shift movement of the head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32. Drive shaft 37,
Numeral 38 is for causing each of the driving head unit 31 and the anvil unit 32 to perform a needle driving operation and a needle bending operation.

The conveyance guide 39 is a guide for a bundle of sheets conveyed in the staple unit 30, and the upper guide 46a can freely move in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction.

The sheet bundle folding unit 50 is constructed as a unit body shown by a chain line in FIG. 2, and can be pulled out from the sheet processing apparatus 2 like the stapling unit 30. The sheet bundle conveyance guide 53 is provided on the conveyance upper roller 19 located on the entrance side of the staple unit 30.
And the sheet lowering roller 18 guides the sheet bundle nipped and conveyed.

A bundle conveying upper roller 51 is provided on the inlet side of the folding unit 50, and a bundle conveying lower roller 52 is arranged so as to face the bundle conveying upper roller 51. The bundle conveying upper roller 51 is configured to be movable between a position pressed against the bundle conveying lower roller 52 (position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2) and a position separated (position indicated by a chain line in FIG. 2). This bundle conveying upper roller 5
1 and the bundle lower conveying roller 52 are the upper conveying roller 19 and the lower conveying roller 18 located on the inlet side of the staple unit 30.
Thus, the leading end portion of the sheet bundle is in a separated state (the position indicated by the chain line in FIG. 2) until it passes through the upper bundle conveyance roller 51 and the lower bundle conveyance roller 52, and then moves to the pressing position (the solid line position in FIG. 2). .

An edge detecting sensor 54 of the sheet bundle is arranged in the vicinity of the bundle conveying upper roller 51.
By detecting the leading edge of the sheet bundle, the upper bundle conveying roller 51 is pressed against the lower bundle conveying roller 52, and the folding position of the sheet bundle in the conveying direction is set and controlled.

Above the exit side of the bundle conveying guide 53, there is provided a projecting plate 55 made of a stainless plate having a plate thickness of about 0.25 mm at the tip. Below the exit side of the bundle conveying guide 53, a pair of folding rollers 57a and 57b are arranged. The pair of folding rollers 57a and 57b are columnar rollers extending in a direction intersecting the sheet bundle conveying direction and partially having a flat surface portion. The folding rollers 57a and 57b are biased in a direction to press each other, and are driven to rotate. Has become. Veneer 5
The reference numeral 5 is located almost directly above the folding rollers 57a and 57b, and its leading edge moves to the vicinity of the nip of the folding rollers 57a and 57b.

Around the upper portions of the folding rollers 57a and 57b, backup guides 59a and 59b having a substantially arc shape are provided together with the transport guide 53 for guiding the transport of the sheet bundle. The backup guides 59a and 59b are interlocked with the vertical movement of the pushing plate 55, and when the leading edge of the pushing plate 55 moves near the nip of the folding rollers 57a and 57b, the backup guides 59a and 59b move the peripheral surface of the folding rollers 57a and 57b against the sheet bundle. Move to open.

A sheet bundle guide 56 is provided on the side of the folding roller 57a. This guide 56
Is for changing the conveying direction of the sheet bundle nipped and conveyed by the bundle conveying upper roller 51 and the bundle conveying lower roller 52 to the lower side, and the leading end portion of the sheet bundle is configured to hang down in the sheet bundle passage 58. ing. Folding rollers 57a, 5
At the exit of 7b, bundle discharge rollers 60a and 60b are provided.

The elevating tray 90 is vertically movable with respect to the apparatus main body 20, and moves to the position shown by the chain line in FIG. Although this movement is not particularly shown, it can be moved up and down by engaging the elevating tray support portion 92 with a part of the belt which is rotationally moved by a driving means such as an elevating tray motor. A paper surface sensor 93 detects the uppermost surface of the sheet on the elevating tray. A rear end guide 94 guides the rear end of the sheet on the elevating tray 91 that moves up and down in the vertical direction. Reference numeral 91 denotes an auxiliary tray that can be pulled out from the elevating tray and is used when the large tray or the like is stored and the auxiliary tray 91 is pulled out.

A sheet stacker 500 for stacking a folded sheet bundle is provided below the apparatus body 20 of the sheet processing apparatus 2. The sheet stacker 500 is for stacking a sheet bundle that is folded by the folding operation of the folding rollers 57a and 57b and discharged by the bundle discharge rollers 60a and 60b.

At the rear part of the sheet stacker 500, a sheet carrying table 515 is provided. This sheet transport table 51
A sheet retainer 600 is provided in front of 5. The sheet presser 600 includes a main presser plate 600a that is swingably supported by a shaft 604, and a sub-presser plate 600b attached to the main presser plate 600a. Sheet presser 600
Is configured to press the bulge of the fold of the sheet bundle discharged by the spring, its own weight or the weight.

Next, the sheet stopper mechanism will be described (see FIGS. 2, 3 and 4).

The sheet stopper mechanism SK includes the discharge roller 6
A regulation member 501 that regulates the leading end of the sheet bundle discharged onto the sheet stacker 500 from the sheet stackers 0a and 60b, and a motor 504, for example, as a driving unit of the regulation member 501 are provided. The regulation member 501 includes a slide member 501a that slides in a groove 530 formed in the sheet stacker 500 as shown in FIG.
A stopper member 501b formed at the end of 1a at a substantially right angle
Consists of.

The drive of the motor 504 is transmitted from a pulley 505 coaxial with the motor shaft to a pulley 507 via a timing belt 506. A gear 508 is attached coaxially with the pulley 507,
The drive is transmitted to the gear 509 meshing with this. Gear 509
A pulley 510 is coaxially attached to the timing belt 511 and is stretched between the pulley 510 and the pulley 512 to transmit the drive to the timing belt 511. Timing belt 511
Is coupled to the slide member 501 a of the regulation member 501 via the fastener 513. Upon being driven by the motor 504, the regulating member 501 moves in the forward direction (sheet discharge direction 5
20) and the reverse direction (the opposite direction to the sheet discharge direction 5
21) Sliding operation is possible.

By the above drive transmission, the regulating member 501
Is in the positive direction according to the movement of the timing belt 511.
The sliding operation can be performed in the opposite direction (arrow 520) (arrow 521 direction). The stopper home position sensor 503 (FIG. 2) prevents the regulating member 5 from moving when maximum loading is performed.
01 is arranged at a position for detecting a flag 501c formed in a part of 01.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the control of the above-described sheet post-processing apparatus. The CPU of the control unit 550 internally stores a program corresponding to the operation description to be described later and executes it to execute control and control in the apparatus. It communicates with the image forming apparatus. The control unit 550 includes the control unit 150 of the image forming apparatus main body, the edge detection sensor 54, the sheet detection sensor 4, the sheet height detection sensor 603, the home position sensor 503, and the motor 5.
04, the tray paper sensor 502, and the like, and exchanges sensor information, control signals, and the like with the connected sensors, control units, motors, and the like.

Next, the operation of the sheet stopper mechanism SK will be described.

The regulating member 501 is 1 depending on the sheet size.
The amount of movement for each movement is predetermined. The sheet bundle S that is folded by the folding operation of the folding rollers 57a and 57b and discharged by the bundle discharge rollers 60a and 60b is conveyed from the sheet conveying base 515 onto the sheet stacker 500, is stacked on the slide member 501a, and holds the sheet pressing member 60.
By 0, the bulge of the sheet fold can be suppressed.

When the sheet bundle S is discharged one after another and the flag 602 attached to the sheet presser 600 enters the sheet height detection sensor 603, the detection signal enters the control unit 550, and the CPU of the control unit 550 forms an image. The motor 504 is controlled based on the sheet size information of the sheet bundle sent from the control unit 150 of the apparatus 900, and the predetermined movement amount is set.
The regulation member 501 moves in the sheet discharge direction 520 (for example, the length of the sheet bundle). As a result, the sheet bundle stacked on the slide member 501a also moves.

Next, similarly, the sheet bundle S sliding down from the sheet conveying table 515 hits the rear portion of the sheet bundle S stacked on the slide member 501a of the regulating member 501, and the sheet stacker is regulated at its leading end. It is loaded on 500. This operation is repeated until the regulating member 501 reaches the home position sensor 503. Regulating member 5
When 01 goes to the home position sensor 503 and the flag 602 attached to the sheet presser 600 is detected by the sheet height detection sensor 603, the sheet stack reaches the maximum stacking amount.

After that, the sheet bundle on the sheet stacker 500 is removed, the tray paper detection sensor 502 confirms that there is no paper, and the sheet bundle height detection sensor 603 detects the flag 6
When it is detected that 02 is pulled out, the CPU moves the regulation member 501 in the direction 521 opposite to the sheet discharge direction to a predetermined distance from the home position 503, and the stack of sheets can be stacked.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show another example of the structure of the sheet conveying table 515. The sheet conveying table 515 has a shaft 516.
It is rotatably attached via a spring 517 and is supported on the back surface by a spring 517. Reference numeral 502 is a sheet detection sensor provided on the sheet conveying table 515 and the sheet stacker 500.

As described above, the sheet conveying table 515 is attached to the spring 5
When the sheet bundle S is stacked and supported by the sheet retainer 600 by being supported by 17, the sheet conveying table 515 rotates according to the thickness of the stacked sheets, and the sheet bundles are sequentially aligned and stacked to achieve stackability. We can make improvements.

In the above-described embodiment, when the sheet height detection sensor 603 detects a certain height, the regulating member 501 moves only in the sheet bundle discharging direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. After moving in the discharge direction of the sheet bundle, it moves in the opposite direction, pushes back the stacked sheet bundle, aligns the remaining sheet bundle that did not move following the regulation member 501, and stacks it on the sheet stacker 500 without gaps. It may be configured to be loaded.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the sheet retainer 600 and the sheet height detection flag 602 are integrated, but they may be independent from each other.

[0056]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the height of the stacked sheet bundle is detected and the movement of the regulating member is controlled based on this detection signal, the regulating member moves when the stacking amount becomes constant, regardless of the number of sheets to be bound and the quality of paper, As a result, when the number of sheets to be bound (or the number of sheets to be folded) in the sheet bundle is small or the paper thickness is thin, the number of sheets to be stacked in the sheet bundle can be increased as compared with the conventional case.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus to which a sheet processing apparatus of the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a stacking operation of a sheet bundle.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a sheet stacker.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another structural example of the sheet conveying table.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an operation during stacking of a sheet bundle.

7A and 7B are side views showing a stacking operation in a conventional sheet stacker.

FIG. 8 is a control block diagram.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 sheet processing equipment 60a, 60b bundle discharge roller 500 sheet stacker 501 regulation member 501a slide member 501b Stopper member 504 motor 550 controller 600 sheet presser 603 Seat height detection sensor 900 image forming apparatus SK seat stopper mechanism

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A sheet processing apparatus for ejecting a sheet bundle by a discharge means and stacking the sheet bundle on a stacking means, wherein the sheet bundle is stackable on the stacking means in a sheet bundle discharge direction or in a direction opposite thereto. Regulating means having a slide member that moves in parallel and a stopper member that regulates the front end of the sheet bundle, height detecting means for detecting the height of the sheet bundle stacked on the stacking means, and the height detection A sheet processing apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the movement of the regulating unit based on a detection signal of the unit. 2. A structure is provided in which a pressing unit that presses a sheet bundle stacked on the stacking unit to suppress the bulge of the fold, and the height detecting unit detects the position of the pressing unit with a sensor. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is provided. 3. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to move the regulation unit in the sheet bundle discharge direction based on a signal from the height detection unit. . 4. The control means moves the regulating means in the sheet bundle discharge direction based on a signal from the height detecting means, and then moves the regulating means in the opposite direction to align the sheet bundle. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein 5. A sheet carrying table provided between the sheet stack discharging means and the stacking means is rotatably supported by the stacking means, and a back surface of the sheet carrying table is supported by a spring. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. 6. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit; and the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1. 7. An image forming means, a stacking means for discharging the sheet bundle on which the image is formed by the image forming means by a discharging means to stack the sheet bundle, and a sheet bundle discharging direction on the stacking means or And a regulating member having a slide member that is movable in the opposite direction and that stacks and moves the sheet bundle, and a stopper member that regulates the front end of the sheet bundle, and the height of the sheet bundle stacked on the stacking unit. An image forming apparatus comprising: a height detecting unit that detects a height; and a control unit that controls the movement of the restricting unit based on a detection signal of the height detecting unit. 8. A means for sending sheet size information provided to the image forming means and a receiving means for receiving the sheet size information, and means for controlling the position of the slide member based on the sheet size information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: