JP2004284749A - Sheet handling device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the occurrence of wrinkle on a cover when binding a book by overlapping the cover having different type of paper on recorded papers. <P>SOLUTION: This sheet handling device is constituted in such a way that a paper width aligning member 34 aligning sheets loaded on a compile tray 31 receiving a sheet from an image formation device 1 in the direction of width by moving a front tamper 341 and a rear tamper 342 changes travel amount of the front tamper 341 and/or the rear tamper 342 before binding sheets by a stapler 35 binding the sheets loaded on the compile tray 31 after loading of predetermined number of sheets on the compile tray 31 is completed based on the result of recognition by a control part 7 recognizing type of sheet loaded on the compile tray 31. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus that processes sheets (sheets) discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a printer and a copying machine, and more particularly, to a sheet processing apparatus having a sheet (sheet) binding function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Sheet processing apparatuses that receive recorded paper (sheets) discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine and perform predetermined post-processing have been widely used in recent years. This is because, with the online use of the image forming apparatus, high productivity of recording by the image forming apparatus has been promoted, and stapling (staple) binding, punching (round hole punching), paper folding, and the like have been performed on the paper after image formation. This is because image forming apparatuses that ensure high productivity while equipped with processing means have become popular.
[0003]
Above all, many proposals have been made for a sheet post-processing apparatus that binds and takes out recorded sheets (sheets) discharged from an image forming apparatus. For example, a paper post-processing apparatus has been proposed in which a stack of sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus is bound at a central portion, the sheet is saddle-stitched at the binding position, folded into two, and the sheet is taken out as a bookbinding. I have.
[0004]
As these sheet post-processing devices, for example, each time a recording medium is stacked, the two alignment plates are driven to press the side surfaces of the recording medium with a predetermined pressing force to adjust the width direction of the recording medium, and the final When the recording media are stacked, by driving the two alignment plates and binding the recording media while pressing the side surfaces of the recording media with a predetermined pressing force, after the final recording media are stacked on the stacking means, There is a technique for shortening the processing time by making it unnecessary to perform the alignment with a predetermined pressing force again (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-160864 (page 3-5, FIG. 1)
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the case where the recorded paper (sheets) discharged from the image forming apparatus is saddle-stitched and folded into two for bookbinding, a predetermined number of recorded papers are temporarily accumulated on a compile tray as paper stacking means. There is a case where different types of paper such as thick paper are stacked on the stacked paper as a cover for bookbinding.
[0007]
However, since the recorded paper is heated when passing through the fixing device of the image forming apparatus, the paper shrinks at that time. As a result, a situation occurs in which the cover thick paper supplied from the interposer, the manual feed tray or the like without passing through the fixing device is relatively larger in size than the recorded paper. Therefore, if the alignment is performed in the width direction of the bundle of sheets with the cover made of thick paper or the like superimposed on the recorded paper, the size of the cover is larger than that of the recorded paper. If the alignment plate is pressed against the sheet bundle in the same manner as when only the sheets are aligned, only the cover swells greatly in the width direction. If saddle stitching is performed in this state, the cover swells between the two stitches, and the folding of the saddle-stitched sheet bundle into two may cause folds on the surface of the cover. there were.
[0008]
In the technology described in Patent Document 1 described above, the recording medium is bound in a state in which the side surface of the recording medium is pressed with a predetermined pressing force. Therefore, when a cover made of thick paper or the like is overlaid on the recorded paper, Is difficult to suppress the swelling in the width direction of the cover because the width direction of the paper is completely constrained. It becomes extremely easy for me to occur.
[0009]
The present invention has been made to solve such a technical problem, and an object of the present invention is to fold a cover on a cover when a cover of a different paper type is overlapped on a recorded paper to bind the book. It is to suppress the occurrence.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
With this object in mind, the sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a sheet aligning unit that aligns a sheet placed on a sheet receiving unit that receives a sheet from the image forming apparatus in a sheet width direction by moving an alignment member. After the number of sheets have been placed on the sheet receiving unit, the amount of movement of the alignment member before the sheet binding unit that binds the sheet placed on the sheet receiving unit binds the sheet is determined by the sheet receiving unit. It is characterized in that it is variably configured based on the recognition result by the sheet type recognition means for recognizing the type of sheet to be placed. Further, the sheet binding means may be characterized in binding a central portion of the sheet. Further, it is possible to further comprise a sheet folding means for folding the sheet bound by the sheet binding means at the binding position.
[0011]
Here, the sheet type recognizing means can be characterized in that the sheet type is recognized as a sheet type. In particular, the sheet aligning means is characterized in that, when the sheet type recognizing means recognizes that the sheet includes thick paper, the moving amount of the aligning member before the sheet binding means binds the sheet is smaller than in the case of plain paper. be able to. Further, the sheet type recognizing means may uniformly recognize that the sheet is a thick sheet when the sheet is fed from a predetermined sheet feeding means.
[0012]
The sheet type recognizing means may recognize the type of the sheet based on information from the image forming apparatus. Further, the sheet aligning means sets a plurality of moving amounts of the aligning member before the sheet binding means binds the sheet, and selects one transport speed from the plurality of transport speeds based on the recognition result of the sheet type recognizing means. Can be characterized. Still further, the sheet aligning means may be characterized in that the aligning members are formed in a pair, and one of the pair of aligning members is configured to be variable in the amount of movement before the sheets are bound by the sheet binding means. . Further, the sheet aligning means may be characterized in that the aligning members are formed as a pair, and both of the pair of aligning members are configured to be variable in the movement amount before the sheet binding means binds the sheet.
[0013]
From other viewpoints, the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention includes a sheet aligning unit that aligns a sheet placed on a sheet receiving unit that receives a sheet from the image forming apparatus in the sheet width direction by moving an alignment member. After the predetermined number of sheets have been placed on the sheet receiving means, and before the sheet binding means for binding the sheets placed on the sheet receiving means binds the sheets, the image-recorded sheets are aligned. The first moving amount and the second moving amount for aligning the image-recorded sheets on which the covers are stacked are selected to move the alignment member. Further, the sheet binding means may be characterized in binding a central portion of the sheet. Further, it is possible to further comprise a sheet folding means for folding the sheet bound by the sheet binding means at the binding position.
[0014]
Here, the apparatus further includes a cover type recognizing means for recognizing a paper type of the cover conveyed to the sheet receiving means, and the sheet aligning means sets the second movement amount based on a recognition result by the cover type recognizing means. It can be a feature. Further, the cover type recognizing means may be characterized in that the cover thickness is recognized as the cover paper type. Further, the sheet aligning means may set the second movement amount based on information from the image forming apparatus.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a sheet processing apparatus to which the present embodiment is applied. The sheet processing apparatus (sheet processing apparatus) 2 is connected to the image forming apparatus 1 such as a printer or a copying machine that forms a color image by an electrophotographic method, and is used as a post-processing apparatus. The sheet processing apparatus 2 includes a transport unit 3 connected to the image forming apparatus 1, a folding unit 4 for performing a folding process on a sheet (paper) taken in by the transport unit 3, and a folding unit 4. The apparatus includes a finisher 5 that performs a predetermined final process on the passed sheet, an interposer 6 that supplies an interleaf such as a booklet cover, and a control unit 7 that controls each mechanism of the sheet processing apparatus 2. The control unit 7 is provided in the housing of the finisher 5 in the sheet processing apparatus 2 in FIG. 1, but may be provided in the housing of another unit. Further, all the control functions can be integrated in the main body of the image forming apparatus 1.
[0016]
When the sheet processing apparatus 2 composed of these units is divided by function, the sheet processing apparatus 2 is provided in the finisher 5, and is provided in the staple function unit 10 that generates a sheet bundle and executes stapling (staple) binding, and the finisher 5, A saddle stitch bookbinding function unit 30 that saddle stitches a sheet bundle and performs bookbinding, a folding function unit 50 that is provided in the folding unit 4 and that performs inner trifold (C-fold) and outer trifold (Z-fold) on a sheet, for example, A punch function unit 70 provided in the finisher 5 for punching two or four holes, an interposer 6, and the like are provided to supply a slip sheet such as a thick sheet or a window-open sheet used as a cover of a sheet bundle. It has a slip sheet function unit 80.
[0017]
Next, the saddle stitching function unit 30 provided in the finisher 5, which is a characteristic configuration of the present embodiment, will be described in detail.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the saddle stitching function unit 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the saddle stitching function unit 30 includes a compile tray 31 as an example of a sheet receiving unit that accumulates a required number of sheets (sheets) after image formation when a booklet is created. A discharge roll 21 as an example of a sheet conveying means for discharging the sheet 31; an end guide 32 having a positioning stopper protruding above the compile tray 31 and moving along the compile tray 31 to determine a saddle stitching position and a folding position; In order to align the sheets stacked on the compile tray 31 toward the end guide 32, a sheet aligning member 33 composed of a rotating paddle, and in order to align the sheets stacked on the compile tray 31 in the width direction, Sheet as an example of a sheet aligning unit constituted by an aligning plate which is a pair of aligning members that slide Arranging member 34, a stapler 35 as an example of a sheet stapling means for saddle stitching a sheet which is integrated in the compile tray 31.
[0018]
Further, as a sheet folding means for folding the bundle of sheets stapled by the stapler 35 from the saddle stitching position, a folding knife 36 which moves so as to protrude upward from below the compile tray 31 and a folding knife 36 A first folding roll 37, which is a pair of rolls, and a second folding roll, which is a pair of rolls, for further strengthening the folding of the sheet bundle conveyed by the first folding roll 37, which sandwiches the sheet bundle whose folding has been started. 38. In addition, a transport roll 39 that transports the bundle of sheets sandwiched by the second folding rolls 38 to the discharge port, and a booklet tray 43 on which the bound bundle of sheets is stacked are provided.
[0019]
Next, the operation of the saddle stitching function unit 30 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, in the finisher 5, a printed (recorded) sheet output via the discharge roll 9 of the folding unit 4 is received at a sheet inlet 71, and is provided near the sheet inlet 71. After passing through the entrance roll 11, which is a pair of rolls for receiving sheets, a punching process is performed in the punch function unit 70 as necessary. The paper that has passed through the punch function unit 70 is sorted by the first gate 12 to the saddle stitching function unit 30 or the top tray 41 or the staple function unit 10.
[0020]
In the mere sheet discharge or creation of the edge-bound booklet, the sheet is turned upward at the first gate 12 based on an instruction from the control unit 7 and is further conveyed by the conveying rolls 13 to the top tray 41 or the staple function. It is sent to the unit 10. On the other hand, when a booklet with saddle stitching is created, the sheet is turned downward at the first gate 12 based on an instruction from the control unit 7, and is sent to the discharge roll 21 via the transport roll 14.
The discharge roll 21 sequentially places the conveyed sheets so that the sheets are stacked on the compile tray 31. For example, the number of sheets set by the control unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 1, such as 5, 10, 15, or the like, is accumulated on the compile tray 31. At this time, the end guide 32 has been moved and stopped, for example, so that the central portion of the sheet is located at the stapling position by the stapler 35. Further, at this time, the sheet aligning member 33 rotates toward the end guide 32 and presses the stacked sheets against the end guide 32 to assist the sheet alignment. Further, the paper width aligning member 34 slides in the width direction of the paper stacked on the compile tray 31 and aligns the stacked paper from the width direction.
[0021]
After a predetermined number of sheets are stacked on the compile tray 31, the stapler 35 performs saddle stitching on a predetermined portion (for example, a central portion) of the sheet. Next, the sheet bundle having undergone the saddle stitching is moved by the upward movement of the end guide 32 so that the folded portion (for example, the central portion of the sheet) is positioned at the tip end of the folding knife 36. Note that the folding knife 36 has its tip retracted below the compile tray 31 at the stage of accumulating sheets on the compile tray 31, the stage of saddle stitching by the stapler 35, and the stage of sheet transport after saddle stitching. It is configured not to appear on the surface of the tray 31.
[0022]
After the folding position of the sheet bundle has moved to the tip position of the folding knife 36, the folding knife 36 is pushed upward from below. That is, the folding knife 36 is directed upward in a direction perpendicular to the housing surface of the compile tray 31, and the leading end of the folding knife 36 contacts the sheet bundle. Further, the leading end is pushed upward, and the sheet bundle is lifted and sandwiched by the first folding roll 37. The folding knife 36 is configured to move to a position where the sheet bundle sufficiently digs into the first folding roll 37. In this way, the sheet bundle that has been subjected to the first-stage folding by the first folding roll 37 is conveyed to the second folding roll 38, and sufficient folding is performed by the load from the second folding roll 38. You. Thus, the fold is completed by passing through the second folding roll 38. After that, the bookbinding that is transported by the transport rolls 39 and generated is stacked on the booklet tray 43.
[0023]
Next, the operation of the end guide 32 will be described first. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an operation mechanism of the saddle stitching bookbinding function unit 30 including the end guide 32 and the like. As an operation mechanism of the end guide 32, an end guide tray 322 provided with a positioning stopper 321 projecting from the bottom and supporting a sheet is connected to the end guide tray 322, and the end guide tray 322 is rotated by itself. 323, a drive roll 324 for driving the belt 323, an end guide motor 325 composed of a stepping motor that repeats normal rotation and reversal as a drive source of the drive roll 324, and a home position of the end guide tray 322 are detected. And a home position sensor 326 including a photo sensor.
Further, a paper alignment member 33 is disposed near the end guide 32. The sheet aligning member 33 includes a paddle 331 that rotates to align the sheets stacked on the compile tray 31 toward the positioning stopper 321 of the end guide tray 322, and a paddle motor 332 that includes a DC motor that drives the paddle 331. It has.
[0024]
From the state where the home position sensor 326 is positioned, the end guide motor 325 rotates under the control of the control unit 7 shown in FIG. 324 rotates clockwise and counterclockwise. The rotation of the drive roll 324 causes the belt 323 to rotate in one direction and the opposite direction, and the rotation of the belt 323 causes the end guide tray 322 to reciprocate in parallel with the compile tray 31. The end guide tray 322 stops at, for example, a predetermined position set in advance as a home position. In this state, based on an instruction from the control unit 7, the sheet is aligned with the center stapling position by the stapler 35 according to the size of the sheet carried into the compile tray 31. At this time, the paddle 331 of the sheet aligning member 33 is rotated by the paddle motor 332, and aligns the sheet carried into the compile tray 31 toward the positioning stopper 321 of the end guide tray 322.
Thereafter, the end guide motor 325 rotates to move the end guide tray 322 so that the center of the sheet bundle saddle stitched by the stapler 35 and the saddle stitch portion are aligned with the folding position by the folding knife 36, and the end guide tray 322 is moved by a predetermined distance. Stop after With these operations, positioning of the sheets stacked on the compile tray 31 to the saddle stitching position and positioning to the folding position are performed.
[0025]
Next, the operation of the discharge roll 21 when a sheet is placed on the compile tray 31 from the discharge roll 21 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an operation mechanism of the discharge roll 21. As shown in FIG. 4, the operation mechanism of the discharge roll 21 includes a shaft 22 that is rotatably supported by both side plates 25 a and 25 b of the saddle stitching function unit 30 and has four discharge rolls 21 fixed thereto. An idle roll 23 that is disposed opposite the discharge roll 21 and pinches and transports the paper; a paddle 24 that is fixed to the shaft 22 and presses the paper against the compile tray 31; and is installed on a side plate 25a, and drives the shaft 22 to rotate. , A drive motor 26 composed of a plurality of gears and transmitting a driving force from the drive motor 26, and a sheet for detecting that the sheet has been conveyed to the saddle stitching function section 30 A detection sensor 28 is provided.
[0026]
When the image forming apparatus 1 starts an image forming operation, the drive motor 26 starts rotating based on an instruction from the control unit 7. The drive from the drive motor 26 is transmitted to the shaft 22 via the drive transmission unit 27, and the discharge roll 21 rotates with the peripheral speed on the outer peripheral surface of the roll set to the first transport speed of 800 mm / sec. When the printed sheet is conveyed, the sheet is conveyed to the compile tray 31 while being sandwiched between the discharge roll 21 and the idle roll 23. At this time, the paddle 24 rotates coaxially with the discharge roll 21, and works so as to press the rear end of the sheet conveyed to the compile tray 31 against the compile tray 31. As a result, the sheet is always kept in close contact with the compile tray 31, and when the sheet is placed on the compile tray 31, it is prevented that the sheet is turned back and forth in page order.
[0027]
On the other hand, the paper detection sensor 28 is configured by a photosensor that irradiates light to the paper and detects the presence or absence of the paper based on the reflected light. Are arranged at a predetermined interval. Then, it is detected whether or not the paper has been conveyed to the area where the paper detection sensor 28 is located, and whether or not the paper has passed through the paper detection sensor 28.
[0028]
When the paper detection sensor 28 detects that the paper has passed through the paper detection sensor 28, the control unit 7 controls the driving of the drive motor 26 to reduce the peripheral speed of the discharge roll 21 on the outer peripheral surface of the roll. The speed is reduced to the second transport speed of 250 mm / sec. That is, in a state where the rear end of the sheet has passed through the sheet detection sensor 28 and the rear end of the sheet is sandwiched between the discharge rollers 21, the peripheral speed of the discharge roller 21 is reduced to the first transport speed of 800 mm / sec. To reduce the second transport speed to 250 mm / sec, thereby reducing the transport speed of the paper at the final stage in which the paper is placed on the compile tray 31.
[0029]
With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the impact when the leading end of the sheet abuts against the end guide 32, and as a result, it is possible to prevent the leading end of the sheet from being damaged or broken. Further, it is possible to suppress the rebound from the end guide 32 when the paper abuts against the end guide 32, and to prevent the paper from being misaligned in the transport direction. Further, the discharge roll 21 is decelerated only during a period in which the rear end of the sheet is nipped and conveyed by the discharge roll 21 and the idle roll 23, so that the recording productivity in the image forming apparatus 1 does not decrease. .
After the paper has passed through the discharge roll 21, the peripheral speed of the discharge roll 21 is increased again to the first transport speed of 800 mm / sec, and the next paper is transported.
[0030]
Next, the operation of the booklet tray 43 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation mechanism of the booklet tray 43. The operation mechanism of the booklet tray 43 includes a drive mechanism for driving the tray belt 432 while stretching one of the two belt belts 432 and one of the tray belts 432 for transporting the bound sheet bundle to the sheet removal tray 431 of the booklet tray 43. A roll 433, a support roll 434 that stretches the other of the tray belt 432, a drive transmission belt 435 that transmits drive to the drive roll 433, and a tray belt drive motor 436 that drives the tray belt 432 as a drive source of the tray belt 432. I have.
[0031]
The sheet bundle bound and saddle stitched and bound is discharged to the booklet tray 43 by the transport roll 39. Since the booklet tray 43 is installed at a position lower than the transport roll 39, the sheet bundle discharged from the transport roll 39 is placed so as to fall on the booklet tray 43. In synchronization with the sheet bundle being placed on the booklet tray 43, the tray belt drive motor 436 starts rotating under the control of the control unit 7 shown in FIG. Is transported to the paper take-out tray 431 from the printer. Then, the sheet bundle is conveyed to the sheet take-out tray 431 by the tray belt 432. When a plurality of sheet bundles are created, these sheet bundles are stacked on the sheet take-out tray 431.
[0032]
Next, the operation of the paper width alignment member 34, which is a feature of the present embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the operation mechanism of the sheet width aligning member 34 includes a front tamper 341 and a rear tamper 342 as alignment members for aligning the sheet in the sheet width direction, and the front tamper 341 is fixed in the sheet width direction. The front rack gear 343 provided, the rear rack gear 344 fixed to the rear tamper 342 in the width direction of the paper, the front pinion gear 345 connected to the front rack gear 343, the rear pinion gear 346 connected to the rear rack gear 344, the front A front tamper motor 347 composed of a stepping motor that repeats normal rotation and reversal as a drive source of the tamper 341, a rear tamper motor 348 composed of a stepping motor that repeats normal rotation and reversal as a drive source of the rear tamper 342, and the front tamper 3 Front home sensor 349 for detecting a home position, and a rear home sensor 350 for detecting the home position of Riatanpa 342.
[0033]
The front tamper 341 and the rear tamper 342 are adjusted to the size of the sheet to be conveyed based on the instruction from the control unit 7 shown in FIG. 1 from the state where the positioning is performed by the front home sensor 349 and the rear home sensor 350, respectively. The home position is set for each paper size. Then, during a period until the sheet is conveyed and placed on the compile tray 31 and further the next sheet is conveyed to the compile tray 31, the front tamper motor 347 and the rear tamper motor 348 sequentially rotate forward and reverse, respectively. Do. The driving of the front tamper motor 347 and the rear tamper motor 348 is transmitted from the front pinion gear 345 and the rear pinion gear 346 to the front tamper 341 and the rear tamper 342 via the front rack gear 343 and the rear rack gear 344, respectively. And the rear tamper 342 are slid. Then, by the sliding movement of the front tamper 341 and the rear tamper 342, the paper placed on the compile tray 31 is aligned (tamped) from both sides in the paper width direction.
[0034]
Specifically, after the front tamper 341 and the rear tamper 342 have once moved in the direction to sandwich the paper, they return to the home position for each paper size. Then, first, the rear tamper 342 moves in the direction away from the sheet, and the front tamper 341 moves in the direction away from the sheet slightly after the movement operation of the rear tamper 342. Thereafter, the front tamper 341 and the rear tamper 342 again Perform the operation of returning to the home position.
A series of tamping operations including the operation of sandwiching the sheet and the operation of separating the sheet from the sheet are performed every time the sheet is placed on the compile tray 31, and the tamping operation is performed in the sheet width direction with respect to the newly placed sheet. Paper alignment is performed.
[0035]
Further, at the stage where the stacking of a predetermined number of sheets on the compile tray 31 is completed, the tamping operation of the front tamper 341 and the rear tamper 342 is repeated a plurality of times. In that case, first, the front tamper 341 and the rear tamper 342 perform an operation of pinching the sheet with a normal stroke (movement amount) once, and then, repeatedly perform a tamping operation of a stroke smaller than the pinching amount a plurality of times. With such a configuration, complete alignment of the entire sheet bundle is achieved without disturbing the sheet bundle that has already been aligned.
Then, the end guide 32 aligns the sheet carried into the compile tray 31 with the position of the saddle stitch by the stapler 35. At the time when the positioning with respect to the stapler 35 is completed, the tamping operation is performed again with a small stroke to further prepare the sheet bundle, and then the stapling is performed by the stapler 35.
[0036]
In the present embodiment, in the tamping operation (tamping before staple) performed at the time of completing the alignment with the stapler 35, the stroke at the time of tamping can be changed according to the type of the paper placed on the compile tray 31. It is configured as follows. That is, for example, in the pre-staple tamping performed when a cover made of thick paper is placed on the sheet bundle, the stroke of the pre-staple tamping performed when the sheet bundle is only recorded normal paper (plain paper) is smaller than the stroke of the pre-staple tamping. Also, the tamping operation can be performed with a small stroke. Further, the configuration is such that the stroke of pre-staple tamping can be changed according to the type of paper, for example, the thickness of the paper.
Here, the thick paper generally refers to paper whose weighing is 129 gsm or more, but also includes resin sheets such as OHP and highly rigid sheets such as synthetic paper.
[0037]
Specifically, when the stapling position reference of the stapling by the stapler 35 is set to the front tamper 341 side, the stroke of the front tamper 341 is used as the stroke of the staple before staple performed when the sheet bundle is only the recorded plain paper. Is set to 5 mm, and the stroke of the rear tamper 342 is set to 8 mm, whereas in the pre-staple tamping performed when a cover made of thick paper is placed on the sheet bundle, the stroke of the front tamper 341 is set to a fixed value of 5 mm. The stroke of the rear tamper 342 is set as short as 5 mm, for example. Further, the setting of the stroke of the rear tamper 342 can be changed in 1 mm steps from 0 to 8 mm depending on the thickness of the sheet placed as the cover.
Here, the stroke reference of the front tamper 341 is set to be constant because the position reference of the saddle stitching by the stapler 35 is set to the front tamper 341 side. The strokes of both the front tamper 341 and the rear tamper 342 can be configured to be variable.
[0038]
This is because if tamping before stapling is performed with the same stroke as when the cover sheet made of thick paper or the like is placed on the sheet bundle and the sheet bundle is only the recorded sheet, the recorded sheet is subjected to image formation. Since the paper is heated when passing through the fixing device of the apparatus 1 and the paper size slightly shrinks, the thick paper for the cover supplied from the interposer 6 or the manual feed tray (not shown) without passing through the fixing device is more suitable. Since the size is relatively large as compared with the recorded plain paper, only the cover is greatly expanded in the width direction. In this state, if the sheet bundle is saddle-stitched and folded into two to bind the book, it may cause folds on the surface of the cover.
On the other hand, when a cover made of thick paper or the like is placed on the sheet bundle, tamping before stapling is performed with a smaller stroke than when the sheet bundle is only recorded paper, so that the cover is formed on the cover. On the other hand, since no extra pressing force acts in the width direction, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of swelling in the width direction of the cover. As a result, even when the saddle stitching is performed, the cover does not swell between the two bindings, and even if the saddle stitched sheet bundle is folded into two, no fold is generated on the surface of the cover.
[0039]
Also, the rigidity of the paper varies depending on the type of paper placed as a cover on the recorded plain paper, for example, the thickness of the paper, but if the rigidity of the paper is different, the swelling amount in the saddle stitch portion even if the pressing force applied in the width direction is the same. Is different. That is, when a certain pressing force is applied in the width direction, the swelling amount in the saddle stitching portion is small if the rigidity of the paper is small, but the swelling amount in the saddle stitching portion is large if the rigidity of the paper is large. Therefore, the stroke in the tamping before staple is made variable, and the stroke is set smaller as the rigidity of the paper is larger, so that the pressing force applied from the width direction of the paper is adjusted to be smaller. Thus, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of swelling in the width direction of the cover regardless of the type of the paper placed as the cover. As a result, no matter what kind of paper is used for the cover, no swelling occurs between the bindings of the cover at the time of saddle stitching. No creasing occurs.
[0040]
In the present embodiment, the control unit 7 having a function as a sheet type recognizing unit determines the type of the sheet conveyed to the compile tray 31. When the sheet is supplied from the interposer 6 or a manual tray (not shown). In addition, the control unit 7 uniformly determines that the interleaving mode such as thick paper used for the front cover of the sheet bundle or open window paper is conveyed to the compile tray 31, and the stroke of the rear tamper 342 is changed to the case of plain paper. It is set to automatically change from 8 mm to 5 mm.
[0041]
Here, the control of the stroke of the rear tamper 342 performed by the control unit 7 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing performed by the control unit 7 regarding a change in the stroke of the rear tamper 342 according to the type of paper. 6, when the image forming apparatus 1 starts an image forming operation, the stroke of the rear tamper 342 is set to 8 mm (S101). Then, it is determined whether or not the next sheet to be conveyed has been supplied from the interposer 6 or a manual feed tray (not shown) (S102). If the paper is not supplied from the interposer 6 or the manual feed tray (not shown), it is determined that the plain paper is conveyed to the compile tray 31, and the stroke of the rear tamper 342 is set to 8 mm (S101).
[0042]
In step S102, when it is determined that the conveyed paper is supplied from the interposer 6 or the manual feed tray (not shown), it is uniformly determined that the thick paper is conveyed to the compile tray 31, and the stroke of the rear tamper 342 is reduced to 5 mm. It is changed (S103). Thereafter, it is determined whether there is a sheet to be conveyed next (S104). If there is a sheet to be conveyed next, the stroke of the rear tamper 342 is set to 8 mm again (S101). On the other hand, if there is no sheet to be conveyed next, the determination is stopped (S105).
[0043]
Further, based on an input from an operation panel provided in the image forming apparatus 1, the control unit 7 determines that the paper type is plain paper (64 to 128 gsm), thick paper 1 (129 to 162 gsm), or thick paper 2 (163 to 220 gsm). ), For example, the stroke of the rear tamper 342 may be set to 8 mm for plain paper, 5 mm for thick paper 1 and 3 mm for thick paper 2.
[0044]
Here, the control of the stroke of the rear tamper 342 performed by the control unit 7 when the paper type is classified into plain paper (64 to 128 gsm), thick paper 1 (129 to 162 gsm), and thick paper 2 (163 to 220 gsm) will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process performed by the control unit 7 regarding changing the stroke of the rear tamper 342 according to the type of paper. 7, when the image forming apparatus 1 starts the image forming operation, the stroke of the rear tamper 342 is set to 8 mm (S201). Then, it is determined whether or not the next sheet to be conveyed is plain paper (S202). If the paper is plain paper, the stroke of the rear tamper 342 is set to 8 mm (S201).
[0045]
If it is determined in step S202 that the transported paper is not plain paper, it is determined whether the next transported paper is the thick paper 1 (S203). If it is determined in step S203 that the sheet is thick paper 1, the stroke of the rear tamper 342 is set to 5 mm (S204). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S203 that the sheet is not thick paper 1, the transported sheet is determined to be thick paper 2, and the stroke of the rear tamper 342 is set to 3 mm (S205). Thereafter, it is determined whether there is a sheet to be conveyed next (S206). If there is a sheet to be conveyed next, the stroke of the rear tamper 342 is set to 8 mm again (S201). On the other hand, if there is no sheet to be conveyed next, the determination is stopped (S207).
[0046]
When the control unit 7 determines the type of paper conveyed to the compile tray 31, a paper thickness sensor is provided in the paper conveyance path before the paper is conveyed to the compile tray 31, It is also possible to judge by a sensor. That is, the stroke of the rear tamper 342 can be made variable according to the detection result of the paper thickness sensor. As the paper thickness sensor in this case, for example, a sensor that detects light transmittance in a non-image area of the paper or a sensor that includes a pair of rolls and detects a displacement amount of the roll when the paper passes through the roll And the like.
[0047]
As described above, in the present embodiment, by changing the stroke at the time of tamping in accordance with the type of the paper placed on the compile tray 31, a different type of paper is overlapped as a cover on the recorded plain paper to perform bookbinding. Even when the saddle-stitching is performed, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of swelling between the two binding positions of the cover, so that even when the saddle-stitched sheet bundle is folded into two, the cover does not wrinkle. .
[0048]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of folds on the surface of the cover when binding the cover with the recorded paper.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a sheet processing apparatus to which an exemplary embodiment is applied;
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a saddle stitching function unit.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation mechanism of a saddle stitching function unit.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an operation mechanism of a discharge roll.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an operation mechanism of the booklet tray.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process related to a change in a stroke of a rear tamper according to a type of paper.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process related to a change in a stroke of a rear tamper according to a type of paper.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus, 2 ... Sheet processing apparatus, 5 ... Finisher, 6 ... Interposer, 7 ... Control part, 30 ... Saddle stitching function part, 31 ... Compile tray, 32 ... End guide, 33 ... Paper aligning member, 34 ... Paper width alignment member, 35 ... Stapler, 43 ... Booklet tray, 341 ... Front tamper, 342 ... Rear tamper, 343 ... Front rack gear, 344 ... Rear rack gear, 345 ... Front pinion gear, 346 ... Rear pinion gear, 347 ... Front tamper Motor, 348: Rear tamper motor, 349: Front home sensor, 350: Rear home sensor

Claims (16)

A sheet processing apparatus for processing a sheet after an image is recorded by the image forming apparatus,
Sheet receiving means for receiving a sheet from the image forming apparatus;
Sheet alignment means for aligning the sheet placed on the sheet receiving means in the width direction of the sheet by moving an alignment member,
A sheet binding unit that binds the sheet placed on the sheet receiving unit; and a sheet type recognition unit that recognizes a type of the sheet placed on the sheet receiving unit.
The sheet aligning unit is configured to determine the amount of movement of the aligning member after the predetermined number of sheets have been placed on the sheet receiving unit and before the sheet binding unit binds the sheet. A sheet processing apparatus variably configured based on a recognition result by the means. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet binding unit binds a central portion of the sheet. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sheet folding unit that folds the sheet bound by the sheet binding unit at a binding position. 2. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet type recognition unit recognizes a sheet thickness as the type of the sheet. 5. The sheet according to claim 4, wherein the sheet alignment unit reduces the amount of movement of the alignment member when the sheet type recognition unit recognizes that the sheet includes thick paper as compared with a case of plain paper. 6. Processing equipment. 5. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the sheet type recognizing unit uniformly recognizes that the sheet is a thick sheet when the sheet is fed from a predetermined sheet feeding unit. 2. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet type recognition unit recognizes the type of the sheet based on information from the image forming apparatus. The sheet aligning means sets a plurality of the movement amounts of the aligning member, and selects one transport speed from the plurality of transport speeds based on a recognition result of the sheet type recognizing means. 2. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1. 2. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the sheet alignment unit, the alignment member is formed as a pair, and one of the pair of alignment members is configured to change the amount of movement. 3. 2. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the sheet aligning unit, the alignment member is formed as a pair, and both of the pair of alignment members are configured to change the amount of movement. 3. A sheet processing apparatus for processing a sheet after an image is recorded by the image forming apparatus,
Sheet receiving means for receiving a sheet from the image forming apparatus;
Sheet alignment means for aligning the sheet placed on the sheet receiving means in the width direction of the sheet by moving an alignment member,
Sheet binding means for binding the sheet placed on the sheet receiving means,
The sheet aligning unit aligns the image-recorded sheets after a predetermined number of sheets have been placed on the sheet receiving unit and before the sheet binding unit binds the sheets. A sheet processing apparatus comprising: selecting a movement amount and a second movement amount for aligning an image-recorded sheet on which a cover is stacked, and moving the alignment member. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the sheet binding unit binds a central portion of the sheet. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a sheet folding unit that folds the sheet bound by the sheet binding unit at a binding position. The image processing apparatus further includes a cover type recognizing unit that recognizes a paper type of the cover conveyed to the sheet receiving unit, and the sheet alignment unit sets the second movement amount based on a recognition result by the cover type recognizing unit. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein: 15. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the cover type recognition unit recognizes a paper thickness as the paper type of the cover. 12. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the sheet alignment unit sets the second movement amount based on information from the image forming apparatus.

Images