JP2004244153A - Sheet post-treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To change a retreat position of a swing arm in alignment of the final sheet in order to shorten the time for the sheet post-treatment. <P>SOLUTION: The time required for an opening/closing action of the swing arm is shortened by switching the retreat position of the swing arm by whether or not the paper is discharged to a processing tray without inhibiting the sheet from being discharged to the processing tray and impairing an aligning property of a bundle of sheets loaded on the processing tray. Thereby, high productivity can be realized. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet stacking and aligning apparatus for aligning and stacking sheets, a sheet processing apparatus having the sheet stacking and aligning apparatus, and an image forming apparatus having the sheet processing apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a printing machine, a copying machine, and a printer, a sheet on which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus main body is temporarily stacked on a processing tray in a sheet processing apparatus, and the sheet alignment and binding processing is performed here. And other sheet post-processing.
[0003]
In a sheet post-processing apparatus as disclosed in JP-A-11-171396, as shown in FIG. 14, an operation of returning a sheet to a sheet rear end abutting member for aligning the rear end of a sheet on a processing tray. In addition, the operation of discharging the processed sheet bundle to the stack tray is performed by an arm that swings up and down and a roller provided at the tip of the arm.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case of such a sheet post-processing apparatus, when the sheet is discharged to the processing tray, the swing arm is moved so that the leading end of the sheet discharged to the swing arm does not damage the sheet. Must be rotated upward to retreat from the sheet passing area of the discharged sheet. Further, in order to align and stack the sheets discharged to the processing tray in the width direction of the sheets, the roller at the tip of the swing arm must be separated from the sheets to be aligned and stacked.
[0005]
In such a case, the number of times the swing arm operates for processing one sheet increases, and the processing time for post-processing the sheet becomes very long.
[0006]
In order to shorten the processing time, the speed of the swing arm must be increased, and for this purpose, there is a problem that a motor or the like for driving the swing arm becomes large and the cost increases. .
[0007]
In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to reduce the time required for the operation of the swing arm and reduce the processing time of the sheet post-processing device without increasing the size of a motor or the like for driving the swing arm. It is to plan.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in a sheet post-processing apparatus that performs post-processing on a sheet, a sheet loaded into the post-processing apparatus is stacked, and a processing unit for performing the post-processing, and the sheet is loaded into the post-processing apparatus. A discharge unit for discharging sheets to the processing unit, a conveying unit for nipping and conveying the sheet bundle stacked in the processing unit, and a conveying unit for conveying the sheet bundle stacked in the processing unit. Swinging means for swinging so as to be able to contact and separate from the sheet bundle; and wherein the swinging means has a plurality of positions when the conveying means is separated from the sheet bundle.
[0009]
Further, one of the positions when the conveying unit is separated from the sheet bundle is a first retreat position outside a sheet passing area through which a sheet passes when the sheet is discharged to the processing unit. , A second retreat position within the paper passing area.
[0010]
Further, the second retreat position may be a position within a range of a position where the conveying unit is separated from the sheet bundle, and a position closest to a position where the conveying unit contacts the sheet bundle stacked on the processing unit. Features.
[0011]
Furthermore, the second retreat position is switched according to the thickness of the sheet bundle stacked on the processing unit.
[0012]
Further, when the transport means is moved to a position away from the sheet bundle by the swinging means, the sheet moves to the first retreat position when the sheet is discharged to the processing section by the discharge means, and when the sheet is not discharged, It is characterized by moving to the second retreat position.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of a sheet stacking alignment apparatus, a sheet processing apparatus, and an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
[0014]
[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an image forming apparatus main body 200 equipped with a sheet processing apparatus 500 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a top view of the sheet processing apparatus 500, and FIG. It is.
[0015]
(overall structure)
As shown in FIG. 1, an image-formed sheet S discharged from the image forming apparatus main body 200 is disposed above the image forming apparatus main body 200 and below the document reading apparatus 100, and temporarily serves as a processing tray 540. A sheet processing apparatus 500 that stacks the sheets S on the stack tray 504 disposed substantially horizontally after performing post-processing such as staple binding, alignment, and the like, will be described as an example. .
[0016]
However, according to the present invention, the sheet stacking aligner that aligns and stacks the image-formed sheets S discharged from the image forming apparatus main body 200 on the stack tray 504 is directly connected to the image forming apparatus main body 200 without passing through the processing tray 540. This is also effective in a case where the sheet processing apparatus 500 is mounted outside the image forming apparatus main body 200.
[0017]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 500 denotes a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention mounted on the image forming apparatus main body 200, and an automatic document reading apparatus 100 is mounted on the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body 200. Although the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is configured by the image forming apparatus main body 200, the sheet processing apparatus 500, and the automatic document reading apparatus 100, the sheet processing apparatus 500 may not include the processing tray 540.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 1, a document reading unit 150 is mounted on the image forming apparatus 200, and the automatic document reading apparatus 100 is mounted on the document reading unit 150. The automatic document reading apparatus 100 separates an original set upward, feeds the original one sheet at a time in order from the first page to the left, conveys the original onto a platen glass 102 via a curved path, and After reading, the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge tray 112. The light of the lamp of the scanner unit 104 is applied to the document, and the reflected light from the document is guided to the image sensor 109 via the mirrors 105 and 106 and the lens 107 to read the document. The image of the document read by the image sensor 109 is subjected to image processing, sent to the exposure control unit 202, and emitted a laser beam.
[0019]
Next, the laser light is reflected by the rotating polygon mirror, and is again turned back by the reflecting mirror to irradiate the photosensitive drum 203 serving as an image forming means whose surface is uniformly charged, and the electrostatic latent image is formed. An image is formed. After the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 203 is developed by the developing device 205, it is transferred as a toner image onto a sheet S composed of paper, an OHP sheet, or the like.
[0020]
The sheet S is appropriately and selectively fed out of the sheet cassettes 231, 232, 233, and 234 by a pickup roller 238 constituting a sheet feeding unit, separated by a separating unit 237, and fed one by one. After the skew is corrected, the toner is sent to the transfer position in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 203, and the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 203 is transferred to the sheet S via the transfer belt 211.
[0021]
Thereafter, the sheet S is guided to the fixing roller pair 206, and the toner image transferred to the sheet S after being heated and pressed by the fixing roller pair 206 is permanently fixed. The upper fixing claw and the lower fixing claw are in contact with the fixing roller pair 206, respectively, whereby the sheet S is separated from the fixing roller pair 206.
[0022]
The separated sheet S is conveyed to the outside of the image forming apparatus main body 200 by the main body side discharge roller pair 207, and is guided to the sheet processing apparatus 500 connected to the image forming apparatus main body 200.
[0023]
Next, the configuration of the sheet processing apparatus 500 will be specifically described.
[0024]
In FIG. 1, a sheet processing apparatus 500 includes a processing tray 540 serving as sheet stacking means provided on the upstream side and a stack tray 504 provided substantially horizontally on the downstream side. The sheet S discharged from the roller pair 207 is conveyed in the sheet processing apparatus 500, is post-processed by the processing tray 540, and is stacked on the stack tray 504. The post-processing mode performed on the processing tray 540 includes a sort mode for sorting a plurality of sets, a staple mode (staple) mode for binding a plurality of sheets by the staple unit 510, and the like. Selected and set by means. It is also possible to select a staple binding position such as one-point binding or two-point binding, and the staple unit 510 moves from the setting contents such as the sheet size and the binding position to the actual staple binding position.
[0025]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sheet S discharged from the image forming apparatus 200 is discharged toward the stack tray 504 by a discharge unit 508 including a discharge roller 508a on the sheet processing apparatus 500 side and a discharge roller 508b driven by the discharge roller 508a. However, at the timing when the trailing end of the sheet S has passed the discharge unit 508, the trailing end of the sheet S is dropped onto the processing tray 540 by the swing roller 550, and is pinched by the swing roller 550 and the driven roller 571. .
[0026]
<Swing arm and swing roller configuration>
The operation of the swing arm 551 and the swing roller 550 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 4, 12, 8, 9, and 10.
[0027]
As shown in FIG. 4, the swing roller 550 is attached to a swing arm 551 that can swing vertically about a swing roller shaft 552. The drive from the swing arm drive motor 643 is transmitted to the swing arm shaft 553 via the swing cam 554. When the swing arm drive motor 643 rotates, the swing arm 551 is connected to the swing cam 554. It swings up and down about the swing roller shaft 552 integrally. When the swing cam 554 faces upward, the tip of the swing cam 554 pushes the swing arm 551 upward, and the swing arm 551 is retracted upward (FIG. 8). The swing arm 551 is provided with a swing arm extension spring 555 for assisting upward swing (FIG. 4A). When the swing cam 554 faces downward, the tip of the swing cam 554 pushes the pressing force generating spring 558 via the swing cam receiving portion 559 (FIGS. 9 and 10). At this time, the swing arm 551 is in a state of being lowered, and the swing roller 550 presses the sheet S on the processing tray 540 from above. The pressure applied to the sheet by the swing roller changes depending on the position where the swing cam is stopped.
[0028]
The oscillating roller 550 is connected to the oscillating roller drive motor 642 from the oscillating roller shaft 552 via an oscillating roller drive belt 556 and an oscillating roller driven pulley 557, and a drive signal from the finisher CPU 611 is used to drive the oscillating roller. When transmitted to the swing roller drive motor 642 via the motor driver 622, the swing roller 550 rotates.
[0029]
<Swing arm and swing roller operation>
The operation of the swing arm 551 and the swing roller 550 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4, 8, 9, and 11. The home position of the swing arm 551 is above the sheet passing area through which the sheet passes when the sheet S is discharged onto the processing tray 540 by the discharge unit 508. When the sheet S is discharged, since the swing arm is at the home position, the swing arm 551 and the swing roller 550 do not interfere with the sheet S (FIG. 8). When the sheet S is discharged from the discharge unit 508, the swing cam 554 rotates by receiving the drive of the swing arm drive motor 643, so that the swing arm 551 rotates counterclockwise around the swing roller shaft 552. , The swing roller 550 is lowered, the rear end of the sheet S is pressed by the swing roller 550, and the sheet rear end is dropped into the processing tray 540 (FIG. 9). The stop position of the swing cam 554 at this time is as shown in FIG. 9, and the pressing force generated by the pressing force generating spring 558 is small. Even when a sheet is already on the processing tray 540, only the uppermost sheet is Is set to a value that will be drawn in.
[0030]
The oscillating roller 550 forms a nip with the driven roller 571, and rotates counterclockwise under the driving of the oscillating roller drive motor 642, thereby being the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle on the processing tray 540. Until the rear end of the sheet S contacts the return belt 560, the sheet S is pulled in along the lower guide 561 in the direction opposite to the previous conveying direction (FIG. 4C). Thereafter, when the sheet S is further pulled in by the return belt until the rear end abuts on the sheet rear end stopper, the swing arm 551 moves up to the home position again. In this state, the sheet S discharged earlier is aligned in the front-rear direction, and then the next sheet S is discharged.
[0031]
However, when the discharged and aligned sheet S is the last sheet of the sheet bundle at the time of discharging the bundle, the position at which the swing arm is raised again is not the home position, but a position below the home position. (FIG. 11).
[0032]
The second retreat position is set such that the roller surface of the swing roller 550 is slightly higher than the loading surface of the largest sheet bundle that can be loaded on the processing tray 540.
[0033]
Therefore, when aligning the bundle of sheets stacked on the processing tray in the front-back direction, the roller surface of the swing roller and the stacking surface of the bundle of sheets come into contact with each other, so that the alignment is not hindered due to sliding resistance. It has become.
[0034]
For this reason, the time required for the operation is shorter than retracting the swing arm to the home position, and there is no adverse effect such as deterioration of the alignment of the sheet bundle.
[0035]
The closer the second retracted position is to the position where the rear end of the sheet S is dropped into the processing tray 540 (the position in FIG. 9), the less time is required to operate the swing arm.
[0036]
The second retreat position may be changed according to the thickness of the sheet bundle stacked on the processing tray when retreating. In this case, the time required for the operation of the swing roller is shorter, and the processing time can be further reduced.
[0037]
Next, the operation of the return belt will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0038]
The return belt 560 is supported vertically by the discharge roller shaft 509 and is normally set at a position where it comes into contact with the sheet S on the processing tray 540. A return belt 560, which is at least one or more sheet feed rotating members, is disposed in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet S abuts against the sheet rear end stopper 562. The return belt 560 is supported by the discharge roller 508a and the housing 563. The belt member 565 conveys the sheet S in the direction of the sheet rear end stopper 562 as the discharge roller shaft 509 rotates counterclockwise (FIG. 5A). ).
[0039]
Further, the return belt 560 is adapted to escape in the sheet thickness direction in accordance with the number of sheets S stacked on the processing tray 540 (FIG. 5B).
[0040]
As described above, the counter-clockwise rotation of the swing roller 550 and the return belt 560 causes the rear end of the sheet S to be positioned at the end of the processing tray 540, and to be a sheet receiving unit that receives the sheet S on the processing tray 540. The sheet S is sent to the rear end stopper 562, and the sheet S is aligned one by one in the sheet conveying direction.
[0041]
The alignment in the sheet width direction will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0042]
The front alignment plate 541 and the rear alignment plate 542 are driven by a front alignment motor 646 and a rear alignment motor 647, respectively, and move in a direction parallel to the discharge roller shaft 509.
[0043]
When the sheet processing apparatus 500 is not operating, the front alignment plate 541 and the rear alignment plate 542 stand by at positions where the front alignment home position sensor 530 and the rear alignment home position sensor 531 (not shown) are detected. This position is called an alignment home position position, and is set to a position where the sheet does not hit the alignment plate when the sheet is conveyed.
[0044]
The alignment plates 541 and 542 move to a standby position corresponding to the size of the sheet before the sheet is conveyed from the image forming apparatus. After the sheets S are aligned in the transport direction as described above, the alignment plates 541 and 542 are moved to alignment positions in the post-processing mode set before the start of the job, whereby alignment in the sheet width direction is performed.
[0045]
For example, in the case of the sort mode, when aligning the Nth sheet in the width direction, the front alignment plate 541 waits at the reference position, and the rear alignment plate 542 moves from the standby position to the sheet alignment position, thereby determining the front side as the reference. The sheet is discharged to the stack tray 504 by the operation described later. When aligning the (N + 1) th sheet, the rear aligning plate 542 waits at the reference position, and the front aligning plate 541 moves from the standby position to the sheet aligning position to perform alignment based on the rear side, and stacks. The sheet is discharged to the tray 504. Thus, the sheets can be stacked on the stack tray 504 in a sorted state each time the bundle is discharged.
[0046]
Of course, it is also possible to perform alignment based on the center position of the sheet. In that case, the alignment is performed by moving both of the alignment plates 541 and 542 from the standby position to the alignment position based on the center position.
[0047]
When the staple binding mode is selected, the above-described width alignment operation is performed at a position corresponding to the set staple binding position.
[0048]
When the staple binding mode is selected, the staple binding operation is subsequently performed. The stapler unit 510 performs a stapling operation by driving the staple clinch motor 648. The stapler unit 510 can be moved in the front-rear direction by driving the staple slide motor 649.
[0049]
When the job is started, the stapler unit 510 moves to the actual staple binding position determined from the contents of the staple binding position set before the start of the job and the sheet size. The stapler unit 510 performs a staple binding operation on the aligned sheet bundle S that has been subjected to the above-described width direction alignment.
[0050]
<Bunch discharging means>
Next, the bundle discharging means will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 12, and 10. FIG.
[0051]
After the alignment in the sheet conveying direction, the alignment in the sheet width direction, and the staple binding operation, the swing roller 550 is driven by the swing arm drive motor 643 and abuts on the sheet bundle S about the swing roller shaft 552. (FIG. 10). At this time, the stop position of the swing cam 554 is as shown in FIG. 10, and the pressing force generated by the pressing force generating spring 558 is large. At this time, the pressing force of the swing arm 551 is set to a value that can hold and transport all the sheets on the processing tray 540.
[0052]
Further, since the pressing force is large, the time during which the oscillation of the swing roller 550 stops is shorter than when no pressure is applied. Before the oscillating roller 550 performs the next operation, a sufficient stabilization time is required for the oscillation to stop. This time is called a second settling time. The second stabilization time is set shorter than the first stabilization time, whereby the extra stabilization time when the pressing force is large can be reduced, so that the processing time can be shortened.
[0053]
After forming the nip with the driven roller 571, the sheet bundle S is rotated clockwise, conveyed and stopped until the rear end of the sheet bundle S reaches near the upper end of the rear end alignment wall 570 (FIG. 6B).
[0054]
Thereafter, the swing roller 550 separates from the sheet bundle S and returns to the home position (FIG. 6C). At the same time, the rear end alignment wall 570 swings around the cam swing rotation shaft 573 by the cam 572 located below the rear end alignment wall 570 in the direction opposite to the sheet conveyance.
[0055]
<Sheet trailing edge alignment>
Means for discharging the sheet bundle S on the processing tray 540 onto the stack tray 504, aligning and stacking the sheet bundle S will be described with reference to FIG. The rear end alignment wall 570 is urged by a spring 512, and swings about a swing rotation shaft 573 by contacting the cam 572 at the home position (FIGS. 3 and 7).
[0056]
In a state in which the rear end of the sheet bundle S discharged by the bundle discharge unit is in contact with the upper end of the rear end alignment wall 570 (FIG. 6B), the rear end alignment wall 570 is retracted upstream in the sheet conveyance direction (FIG. 6C). The rear end of the sheet bundle S is brought into contact with the slope of the rear end alignment wall 570 (FIG. 7A). In the process of returning the retracted rear end alignment wall 570 to the home position around the pivot axis of rotation, the rear end of the sheet bundle S is pressed horizontally by the rear end alignment wall 570 to align the rear end of the sheet bundle S. , The sheet bundle S is stacked on the stack tray 504 (FIGS. 7B and 7C).
[0057]
The sheet bundle placed on the stack tray 504 is pulled back by the sheet return member 583 to the rear end alignment wall side after the sheet bundle is discharged, and is pressed from the upper surface of the sheet bundle. The sheet return member 583 is a paddle-shaped member, and is configured to rotate around a paddle rotation shaft 590 (FIGS. 6 and 7) extending in the rear end alignment wall. The sheet return member 583 makes one rotation counterclockwise each time the sheet bundle is discharged onto the stack tray 504, thereby pulling the discharged sheet bundle back toward the rear end alignment wall 570 each time and pressing the rear end of the sheet bundle. be able to.
[0058]
Note that the sheet return member 583 is held in a state as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B except during the sheet return operation, and presses the sheet. The position of the member at this time is detected by a paddle home position sensor 532 (not shown).
[0059]
The stack tray 504 is configured to be able to move up and down by driving means (not shown) in order to keep the upper surface height of the stacked sheet bundle S constant.
[0060]
In this embodiment, the sheet stacking surface of the stack tray 504 is set to be substantially horizontal. However, even when the sheet stacking surface is inclined, the sheet trailing edge alignment means works effectively, and the sheet stacking surface is substantially In the case of horizontal, the effect is further increased. Further, the sheet stacking surface 504a is inclined downward by 18 ° or less toward the sheet rear end alignment wall, so that the sheet bundle already stacked on the stack tray 504 is discharged from the processing tray 540. The apparatus can be downsized while avoiding interference with a subsequent sheet bundle.
[0061]
<System block diagram>
Next, a configuration of a controller that controls the entire image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a controller that controls the entire image forming apparatus of FIG.
[0062]
As shown in FIG. 13, the controller has a CPU circuit section 350. The CPU circuit section 350 includes a CPU 351, a ROM 352, and a RAM 353, and each block 320, 330, 340, 353, 360, 370, and 600 are generally controlled. The RAM 353 temporarily stores control data and is used as a work area for arithmetic processing associated with control.
[0063]
The document feeder control section 360 controls the drive of the document feeder 100 based on an instruction from the CPU circuit section 350. The image reader control unit 370 performs drive control on the above-described scanner unit 104, image sensor 109, and the like, and transfers an analog image signal output from the image sensor 109 to the image signal control unit 330.
[0064]
After converting the analog image signal from the image sensor 109 into a digital signal, the image signal control unit 330 performs various processes, converts the digital signal into a video signal, and outputs the video signal to the printer control unit 340. Further, the digital image signal input from the computer 310 via the external I / F 320 is subjected to various processes, and the digital image signal is converted into a video signal and output to the printer control unit 340. The processing operation of the image signal control unit 330 is controlled by the CPU circuit unit 350. The printer control unit 340 drives the above-described laser scanner unit 202 based on the input video signal.
[0065]
The operation unit 353 includes a plurality of keys for setting various functions related to image formation, a display unit for displaying information indicating a setting state, and the like, and outputs a key signal corresponding to operation of each key to the CPU circuit unit 350. At the same time, the corresponding information is displayed on the display unit based on the signal from the CPU circuit unit 350.
[0066]
The sheet processing apparatus control section 600 is mounted on the sheet processing apparatus 500, and controls driving of the entire sheet processing apparatus by exchanging information with the CPU circuit section 350. The details of this control will be described later.
[0067]
<Sheet processing device block diagram>
Next, a configuration of the sheet processing apparatus control unit 600 that drives and controls the sheet processing apparatus 500 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the sheet processing apparatus control unit in FIG.
[0068]
As shown in FIG. 12, the sheet processing apparatus control unit 600 includes a CPU circuit unit 610 including a CPU 611, a ROM 612, a RAM 613, and the like. The CPU circuit section 610 communicates with the CPU circuit section 350 provided on the image forming apparatus main body side via the communication IC 614 to exchange data, and various programs stored in the ROM 612 based on instructions from the CPU circuit section 350. To control the driving of the sheet processing apparatus 500.
[0069]
When performing this drive control, detection signals from various sensors are taken into the CPU circuit section 610. The various sensors include an entrance sensor 521, a swing home position sensor 522, a swing snow home position sensor 523, a tray detection sensor 524, a paper surface detection sensor 525, a return belt retreat sensor 526, a staple slide home position sensor 527, a staple clinch. There is a home position sensor 528. Drivers 621 to 630 of each motor are connected to the CPU circuit unit 610, and each driver drives the motor based on a signal from the CPU circuit unit 610.
[0070]
Here, as the motor, a pair of entrance conveyance rollers 520, a discharge motor 641 that is a driving source of the return belt 560, and a swing roller 550 attached to the tip of the swing arm 551 for the sheet conveyed by the entrance conveyance roller pair 520. The swing roller drive motor 642 serves both as a drive for returning the sheet and a drive for discharging the bundle of sheets processed on the processing tray 540 to the stack tray 504. The swing roller driving motor 642 swings to catch the rear end of the sheet discharged to the processing tray 540. A swing arm drive motor 643, which is a drive source for driving the moving arm 551 in the vertical direction, and a drive source for driving the rear end alignment wall 570 for aligning the rear end of the sheet bundle discharged onto the stack tray 504 A paddle which is a pressing member for pressing down the rear end of a bundle of sheets stacked on the stack tray 504 with a certain rear end aligning wall drive motor 644 A front alignment motor 646, a rear alignment motor 647, and a staple unit 510 are driving sources of a paddle motor 645, an alignment plate that aligns the sheets stacked on the processing tray 540 in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction, and a staple unit 510. Include a staple slide motor 649 as a drive source for driving the stack tray 504, a stack tray motor 650 as a drive source for the stack tray 504, and a staple clinch motor 648 as a drive source for stapling by the stapler 510.
[0071]
The discharge motor 641, the swing roller drive motor 642, the swing arm drive motor 643, the rear end alignment wall drive motor 644, the paddle motor 645, the front alignment motor 646, the rear alignment motor 647, and the staple slide motor 649 are composed of stepping motors. By controlling the excitation pulse rate, the roller pair driven by each motor can be rotated at a constant speed or at a unique speed. Also, a paper discharge motor 641, a swing roller drive motor 642, a swing arm drive motor 643, a front alignment motor 646, a rear alignment motor 647, and a staple slide motor 649 are a paper discharge motor driver 621, a swing roller drive motor driver 622, respectively. The motor can be driven in forward and reverse directions by a swing arm drive motor driver 623, a front alignment motor driver 626, a rear alignment motor driver 627, and a staple slide motor driver 629.
[0072]
The staple clinch motor M8 and the stack tray motor M10 are DC motors.
[0073]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the position at which the swing arm is retracted is changed between when the sheet is discharged to the processing tray and when the sheet is not discharged, thereby deteriorating the integrity of the sheet bundle. In addition, the time required for the operation of the swing arm can be reduced without increasing the size of the motor or the like for driving the swing arm, and the processing time of the sheet post-processing apparatus can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view illustrating an overall configuration of a sheet processing apparatus according to first and second embodiments.
FIG. 2 is a top view of the sheet stacking alignment device according to the first and second embodiments.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a mechanism for moving a swing roller and an alignment member provided on a processing tray according to the first and second embodiments.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the operation of the swing roller according to the first and second embodiments.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the operation of the return belt according to the first and second embodiments.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a sheet bundle discharging operation according to the first and second embodiments.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an operation of aligning the rear end of the sheet bundle according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a position of a swing arm when a sheet is discharged to a processing tray.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the position of a swing arm when returning and aligning a sheet discharged to a processing tray.
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a position of a swing arm when a bundle of sheets discharged to a processing tray is discharged.
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the position of a swing arm when only alignment in the front-back direction is performed without discharging a sheet to a processing tray.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a sheet processing apparatus control unit.
FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit of the entire image forming apparatus system.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a processing tray unit of a conventional sheet processing apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 Document reading device
101 Document Set Tray
102 Platen glass
104 Scanner unit
105 mirror
106 mirror
107 lenses
109 Image Sensor
112 Output Tray
150 Document reading unit
202 Exposure controller
203 Photoconductor drum
205 developer
206 fixing roller pair
207 Main unit side discharge roller
200 Image forming apparatus
237 Separation means
238 Pickup roller
500 sheet processing equipment
504 stack tray
508 discharge section
508a discharge roller
508b Discharge roller
509 Discharge roller shaft
510 staple unit
512 Rear end alignment wall biasing spring
520 paddle
521 Inlet sensor
522 swing HP sensor
523 Snowboard HP Sensor
524 tray detection sensor
525 Paper surface detection sensor
526 Return belt retraction sensor
527 slide HP sensor
528 Clinch HP Sensor
529 Processing tray paper detection sensor
530 Pre-aligned HP sensor
531 Post-match HP sensor
532 paddle HP sensor
533 Stack Tray Paper Detection Sensor
534 Stack Tray Encoder Clock Sensor
535 Paper surface detection sensor
536 Paper surface detection lower sensor
537 Tray upper limit sensor
538 Tray lower limit sensor
539 Front cover open / close detection sensor
540 processing tray
541 Front alignment plate
542 Rear alignment plate
550 swing roller
551 Swing arm
552 swing roller shaft
553 swing arm axis
554 Swing cam
555 Swing arm extension spring
556 Swing roller drive belt
557 Oscillating roller driven pulley
558 Pressing force generating spring
559 Cam receiver
560 Return belt
561 Lower Guide
562 sheet rear end stopper
563 housing
564 Return belt pulley
565 belt
570 Rear end matching wall
571 driven roller
572 cam
573 Swing rotation axis
574 pinion gear
575 Rear end matching wall home position sensor
577 Rack support roller
578 Rack gear
580 Bundle discharging means
581 Stack Tray
582 Gripper
583 Seat return member (paddle)
585 Tip regulation plate
590 Paddle rotating shaft
644 rear end matching wall drive motor
S sheet

Claims (4)

In a sheet post-processing apparatus for performing post-processing on a sheet, a sheet loaded into the post-processing apparatus is stacked, and a processing section for performing the post-processing, and a sheet carried into the post-processing apparatus is discharged to the processing section. Discharging means for carrying out, a conveying means for holding the sheet bundle stacked in the processing section and conveying the sheet bundle, and a conveying means for swinging the sheet bundle stacked in the processing section so as to be able to contact and separate therefrom. Equipped with rocking means for moving,
A sheet post-processing apparatus, wherein there are a plurality of positions when the conveying means is separated from the sheet bundle by the swinging means. One of the positions when the conveyance unit is separated from the sheet bundle is a first retreat position outside a paper passing area through which a sheet passes when the sheet is discharged to the processing unit, and another is a first retreat position. 2. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second retreat position is located in a paper area. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second retreat position is switched according to a thickness of a sheet bundle stacked on the processing unit. When the transport means is moved to a position away from the sheet bundle by the swing means, the sheet moves to the first retreat position when the sheet is discharged to the processing section by the discharge means, and when the sheet is not discharged, the sheet moves to the second retreat position. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sheet post-processing apparatus moves to a position.

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