JP2005082325A - After-treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an after-treatment device capable of aligning ends of paper sheets in the carrying direction with a smaller number of members than a current one and capable of improving productivity in comparison with the current one, while saving a space. <P>SOLUTION: In this after-treatment device, tips of the paper sheets delivered onto a first loading tray 10 are aligned by a lateral guide plate 11 and one cursor 13B of a plurality of cursors 13 provided in an endless belt 12, and after the predetermined number of paper sheets are delivered and after-treatment is finished, the top surface of the endless belt 12 is moved in the carrying direction, and the cursor 13B separates from a paper sheets bundle, and the cursor 13A positioned closest to a rear end of the paper sheets bundle abuts on the rear end of the paper sheets bundle to carry the paper sheets bundle downstream in the carrying direction. The paper sheets bundle is carried to a second loading tray provided under a third loading tray in a bottom surface of a barrel-inside paper delivery space through a guide unit provided downstream the first loading tray 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention is a post-processing apparatus provided in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, in which sheets to be post-processed are once stacked on a stacking tray, aligned and post-processed, and then transferred to another stacking tray. The present invention relates to a moving post-processing apparatus.

  Currently, various types of image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers have been proposed that include post-processing apparatuses that perform post-processing operations such as stapling and punching on sheets after image formation. The post-processing device is attached to the paper discharge side of the image forming apparatus main body, and is configured by a predetermined number of sheets with respect to the image-formed paper discharged from the image forming apparatus and loaded on the post-processing stacking tray. For each copy, post-processing such as stapling or punching is performed. Then, in order to automate post-processing work, post-processing is provided with a paper bundle transporting means for transporting the post-processed paper stack loaded on the post-processing stacking tray to the tray on which the post-processed paper stack is stacked. Devices are generally known.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of a proposal for an image forming apparatus having a post-processing apparatus having a sheet bundle conveying unit. The outer shape of the image forming apparatus 40 is partitioned by a main body housing 41. In the main body housing 41, a tray 42 is formed in the middle in the vertical direction. The tray 42 is loaded with paper that enters the inner side in a substantially horizontal direction from the outer surface of the housing and is not post-processed. A reading mechanism for reading a document is built in the upper part of the image forming apparatus 40, and an operation panel 43 is provided on the front side thereof. A paper tray is built in the lower part of the image forming apparatus 40. In addition, a transport path for taking out the paper from the paper tray and transporting it, an image forming unit for forming a toner image, and the formed toner image on the paper A transfer unit for transferring the toner image and a fixing unit for fixing the toner image transferred to the paper are also incorporated. A staple processing unit (post-processing unit) 46 for stapling a predetermined number of sheets after the image has been fixed and stapling them together is incorporated in the main body housing 41.

  Here, a predetermined number of sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus 40 are stacked on a post-processing stacking tray 44 provided in the paper discharge space 42, the rear ends are aligned, and then processed by the post-processing unit 46. The sheet is conveyed and stacked on an external stacking tray 45 provided so as to protrude from the left side surface of the main body housing 41 by a sheet bundle conveying means (not shown). The external stacking tray 45 may be provided so as to protrude from the right side surface of the main body housing 41. FIG. 10 shows the operation of the post-processing apparatus in more detail in this case.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, the paper P sent out from the fixing device 35 is discharged onto the post-processing stacking tray 44 one by one by a discharge roller. Each time a sheet of paper P is discharged onto the post-processing stacking tray 44, as shown in FIG. 10B, the front paddle 49 is rotated and the rear end of the paper P is brought into contact with the stopper to be aligned. . Then, the width adjusting member (lateral guide plate) 37 provided on the back side of the main body housing 41 is moved to the front side, and the sheet is aligned at a position where the staple processing unit 46 can staple (C in FIG. 10). Then, the operations of B and C in FIG. 10 are repeated a predetermined number of times, so that a predetermined number of sheets to be stapled are aligned on the post-processing stacking tray 44 at a stapling enabled position. Then, the paper P is stapled by the staple processing unit 46 (E in FIG. 10). Next, the cursor (transfer plate) 48 is operated so that the stapled sheet bundle is fed to the right side on the post-processing stacking tray 44, and as shown in FIGS. (See Patent Document 1).

  However, in the above proposal, when post-processed sheets are stacked on the external stacking tray 45, there is only one push-out cursor 48, so a waiting time occurs until the cursor 48 returns to the original position. End up. Further, in the case of the switchback structure (returned to the upstream side in the transport direction), the next sheet is in a standby state until the operation is completed, and there is a problem of the length of the standby time in either case.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of a proposal for a technique corresponding to the above problem. The post-processing stacking tray 58 provided in the post-processing device 56 is inclined so that the upstream side in the paper transport direction is lowered, and the paper discharged onto the post-processing stacking tray 58 by the discharge roller 57 is The width direction is aligned by the horizontal guide plate 59 and the rear end is brought into contact with the rear end alignment guide 50 due to its own weight, and the post-processing unit 51 performs post-processing. The post-processing stack tray 58 includes a sheet bundle conveying unit 52, and the sheet bundle conveying unit 52 includes an endless belt 54 and a cursor 55 provided on the endless belt 54. The endless belt 54 is driven by the driving roller 53. When the driving roller 53 rotates in the direction of the arrow, the endless belt 54 moves in the direction of the arrow b, and accordingly the cursor 55 also moves, and the post-processed paper Is pushed by the cursor 55 and conveyed in the direction of arrow a, and is loaded on a tray 65 on which post-processed sheet bundles are loaded. When one cursor 55 moves to the downstream side in the transport direction, the other cursor 55 provided on the opposite side of the endless belt 54 moves to the upstream side in the transport direction. Will be located. (Patent Document 2).

  However, in any of the above proposals, members such as a front paddle and a rear end alignment guide are provided in order to align the end in the conveyance direction of the paper loaded on the post processing stacking tray. From the viewpoint of cost reduction and the influence on the global environment when disposing of used post-processing devices, it is desirable to align the ends in the paper transport direction with fewer members. That is, it is desirable to align the edges in the paper transport direction with fewer members and to reduce the waiting time while the cursor moves to increase productivity.

  By the way, even in an image forming apparatus having a post-processing device, when discharging a sheet that is not subjected to post-processing, a paper discharge space is provided in the cylinder of the image forming device or the paper is discharged on the upper surface to save space. However, when performing post-processing, the paper must first be discharged into the cylinder or discharged from the top, then post-processed, and then discharged to another location. Therefore, there is a problem that the tray on which the final post-processed sheet bundle is stacked is externally attached and the installation space is widened. However, in the proposal of Patent Document 1, the image-formed sheet itself is used. Is devised so that it is discharged to a post-processing stacking tray that does not protrude from the apparatus main body, and the tray for stacking post-processed paper bundles on which post-processed paper bundles are placed also does not protrude from the side of the apparatus main body. For post-processing Possible to arrange the trays for stacking sheet bundle post-processed provided stacking tray and next to it the sheet discharge space of both the image forming apparatus main body has been proposed. However, when both stacking trays are arranged in this way, both stacking trays divide and use the area in the discharge space, so the paper size that can be handled is limited, and the entire area in the discharge space is limited. Cannot handle large-size paper.

  Further, in order to satisfy both the space saving and the expansion of the corresponding paper size, the image forming apparatus main body is switched back by switching the sheet bundle that has been post-processed by the post-processing stacking tray provided so as not to protrude from the side surface of the image forming apparatus. However, since this paper discharge space is generally a space where paper that is not post-processed is discharged, normal paper that is not post-processed and paper that is post-processed are also proposed. There is a possibility that a bundle is mixed in the paper discharge space, and in order to prevent this, it is necessary to stop normal paper printing when performing post-processing. In other words, since there is a problem that post-processing and normal paper printing cannot be performed in parallel, it is desirable to solve this problem and improve productivity.

JP 2001-48403 A JP 2002-68570 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a post-processing apparatus having a high productivity while aligning the ends in the sheet conveyance direction with fewer members than in the prior art. It is another object of the present invention to provide a post-processing apparatus that is space-saving and has higher productivity than conventional ones.

Accordingly, in order to solve such a problem, the present invention provides a first stacking tray that is provided in the image forming apparatus and stacks sheets to be processed after being discharged, and both ends in the width direction of the stacked sheets. A rear side having a sheet aligning unit for adjusting, a post-processing unit that post-processes a bundle of sheets including a predetermined number of the sheets, and a cursor that conveys the post-processed sheet bundle to the second stacking tray on the downstream side in the paper discharge direction A processing device comprising:
Two or more cursors are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt provided in the transport direction on the first stacking tray with an interval of at least the length of the maximum paper size that can be processed,
When the paper is ejected, one of the cursors contacts the front end of the paper in the paper ejection direction, and after the paper bundle is post-processed, the other cursor closest to the rear end of the paper bundle Proposes a post-processing device in which the operation of the endless belt is set such that the endless belt contacts the rear end of the sheet bundle and conveys it to the second stacking tray.

In this way, by providing two or more cursors for conveying the post-processed paper bundle on the endless belt, the time required for the cursor that pushed out the paper bundle to return to the initial position is shortened.
Since the paper bundle transfer cursor is also used to align the front end of the paper, it is possible to achieve a high productivity state and to prepare the end in the paper transfer direction with fewer members without preparing additional members. Can be post-processed.

The present invention also provides a first stacking tray that is provided in the image forming apparatus and stacks sheets to be processed after being discharged, a sheet aligning unit that aligns both ends in the width direction of the stacked sheets, A post-processing device having a post-processing unit that post-processes a bundle of sheets of predetermined sheets, and a cursor that conveys the post-processed sheet bundle to a second stacking tray on the downstream side in the paper discharge direction,
The cursor is projected on the outer peripheral surface of two or more endless belts provided along the conveying direction on the first stacking tray, and the two or more endless belts are divided into two or more groups and each group is separated. Cursor position detection means that is driven and controlled to detect that the cursor is positioned near the rear end of the sheet bundle,
When the sheet is ejected from the image forming apparatus main body, a cursor provided on one set of the endless belts comes into contact with the front end in the sheet ejection direction, and another process is completed until the post-processing of the sheet bundle is completed. A cursor provided on one end of the endless belt moves to a position detected by the cursor position detecting means and stands by, and the cursor that waits after the sheet bundle is post-processed is at the rear end of the sheet bundle. A post-processing apparatus is proposed in which the operation of the endless belt is set such that the endless belt moves in the transport direction and retracts while abutting and transporting to the second stacking tray.

  In this way, by providing a cursor on a plurality of endless belts and separately driving the cursor that presses the leading edge of the paper bundle and the cursor that contacts the trailing edge of the paper bundle and conveys the paper bundle, Productivity can be improved by shortening the time until the cursor reaches the rear end of the bundle.

Furthermore, the post-processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a third stacking tray for stacking sheets not to be post-processed on the bottom surface of the in-body discharge space of the image forming apparatus casing, and the first stacking tray includes the first stacking tray. 3 is provided at a position above the stacking tray 3 and not projecting from the side surface of the image forming apparatus casing.
The second stacking tray is a position that does not protrude from the side surface of the image forming apparatus casing, is positioned below the third stacking tray, and is positioned immediately below the downstream end in the transport direction of the first stacking tray. Has an opening on the top surface,
A guide portion for guiding the post-processed sheet bundle to the opening is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the first stacking tray.

  As described above, since the second stacking tray is provided under the third stacking tray without being externally attached, it is possible to perform space-saving from the post-processing of the paper to the discharge of the paper bundle, and no post-processing is performed. Even if post-processing is performed in parallel with normal printing, paper that is not post-processed is stacked on the third stacking tray, and a bundle of paper that has been post-processed is stacked on the second stacking tray. Since a post-processed sheet bundle can be transported simultaneously with paper, productivity is further improved.

Note that the guide portion of the post-processing apparatus according to the present invention is a rotation that extends in the transport direction width direction at a distance equal to or more than the protrusion amount of the cursor tip from the downstream end of the first stacking tray in the transport direction. A shaft and a guide piece attached to the pivot shaft at a position avoiding the cursor,
A guide direction of the guide piece is provided by projecting from the side surface of the image forming apparatus main body and a direction of guiding the sheet bundle to the opening of the second stacking tray by rotating the rotation shaft. A switching means for switching to a direction in which the post-processed sheet bundle is guided is provided on an external stacking tray.

In this way, the post-processed sheet bundle is discharged to a second stacking tray that normally does not protrude from the side surface of the image forming apparatus main body, and a space-saving state is achieved. By enabling discharge to the tray and switching the discharge destination to any stacking tray, the user can freely select the discharge destination according to the needs.
From the viewpoint of space saving, the external stacking tray is detachable, slides out from the main body of the image forming apparatus, or is attached as a cover on the side of the main body of the image forming apparatus and is provided below the cover when in use. Usually, it is preferable not to protrude from the side surface of the image forming apparatus main body from the viewpoint of space saving, such as a method in which a cover is opened and fixed around the rotation shaft and used as a stacking tray.

The present invention provides a first stacking tray that is provided in the image forming apparatus and stacks sheets to be processed after being discharged, a sheet aligning unit that adjusts both ends in the width direction of the stacked sheets, and the sheet A post-processing device having a post-processing unit that post-processes a bundle of sheets of a predetermined number of sheets, and a sheet bundle transport unit that transports the post-processed sheet bundle to a second stacking tray on the downstream side in the paper discharge direction. ,
A third stacking tray for stacking sheets not to be post-processed is provided on the bottom surface of the in-body discharge space of the image forming apparatus casing, and the first stacking tray is above the third stacking tray and is positioned above the third stacking tray. Provided at a position that does not protrude from the side of the forming device housing,
The second stacking tray is a position that does not protrude from the side surface of the image forming apparatus casing, is positioned below the third stacking tray, and is positioned immediately below the downstream end in the transport direction of the first stacking tray. Has an opening on the top surface,
A post-processing apparatus is provided, characterized in that a guide portion for guiding the post-processed sheet bundle to the opening is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the first stacking tray.

  As described above, since the second stacking tray is not provided externally and is provided below the third stacking tray, it is possible to perform space-saving from the post-processing of the paper to the discharge of the paper bundle, and no post-processing is performed. Even if post-processing is performed in parallel with normal printing, sheets that are not post-processed are stacked on the third stacking tray, and post-processed sheet bundles are stacked on the second stacking tray. That is, even if the second stacking tray is not externally attached to the apparatus housing, the post-processed paper bundle can be conveyed at the same time while discharging the paper that is not post-processed. Compared with, productivity is improved.

  The guide unit of the post-processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a position for guiding the sheet bundle to the opening of the second stacking tray, and an externally provided projection protruding from a side surface of the image forming apparatus main body. It is preferable that the stacking tray is provided with switching means for switching to a position for guiding the post-processed sheet bundle.

In this way, the post-processed sheet bundle is discharged to a second stacking tray that normally does not protrude from the side surface of the image forming apparatus main body, and a space-saving state is achieved. By enabling discharge to the tray and switching the discharge destination to any stacking tray, the user can freely select the discharge destination according to the needs.
Even in this case, from the viewpoint of space saving, the external stacking tray can be attached / detached, can be slid out of the image forming apparatus main body, or can be attached as a cover on the side of the image forming apparatus main body, In general, it is preferable from the viewpoint of space saving that the cover is opened and fixed around the rotation shaft provided to the image forming apparatus so as not to protrude from the side surface of the image forming apparatus main body.

  As described above, the post-processing apparatus of the present invention provides two or more cursors and uses the paper transport cursor to align the front end of the paper, thereby reducing the end in the paper transport direction with fewer members than in the past. And an after-treatment device with high productivity can be obtained. In addition, the stacking tray on which post-processed sheet bundles are stacked is provided at a position that does not protrude from the side surface of the image forming apparatus housing, while being separate from the stacking tray on which unprocessed sheets are stacked. However, there is an advantage that a post-processing apparatus with higher productivity than the conventional one can be provided.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified, but are merely illustrative examples. Not too much.

  1 is a top view of a first stacking tray on which sheets to be post-processed according to the present embodiment are stacked, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the first stacking tray of FIG. Thus, an operation of conveying a sheet bundle is shown. Referring to FIG. 1, an endless belt 12 is provided at the center in the width direction of the first stacking tray 10 on which sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus are once stacked so as to extend in the sheet conveying direction. Two cursors 13 are provided so as to protrude on the belt 12. Note that the protruding height of the two cursors 13 from the first stacking tray 10 is equal to or greater than the allowable height of the sheet bundle, and the distance between the two cursors is the length of the maximum sheet size that can be post-processed by the post-processing apparatus. The intervals are as described above, and only one cursor is visible from above in FIG. Further, in the width direction upstream of the first stacking tray 10 in the conveying direction, a pair of horizontal guide plates 11 are provided for contacting the stacked sheets from both sides in the width direction so as to align the sheet ends in the width direction. Yes. In addition, the first stacking tray 10 is provided with a sheet detection switch 18 including a contact switch for detecting whether or not sheets are stacked, and the position can be detected even with the smallest size sheet that can be processed. , Positioned upstream in the paper discharge direction.

  Referring to FIG. 2A, a driving roller 14 is provided at one end of the endless belt 12 in the extending direction, and a driven roller 15 is provided at the other end. The rollers 14 and 15 are in contact with the endless belt 12 from the inside. Yes. That is, the endless belt 12 is stretched between both rollers 14 and 15, and the endless belt 12 is conveyed in conjunction with the rotation of the drive roller 14 in both forward and reverse directions at a constant speed by a control unit (not shown). Move at a constant speed in the direction and vice versa. Now, when printing processing is started in the image forming apparatus and a sheet on which an image has been formed is discharged from the discharge port 17, the discharge of the sheet is detected by a discharge detection switch 17 a including a contact switch provided in the discharge port 17. The control unit controls the operations of the horizontal guide plate 11 and the cursor 13 in accordance with the timing of the detection signal. In other words, when the control unit receives a detection signal from the discharge detection switch 17a and detects that the paper discharge has started, the paper is stacked on the first stacking tray 10 in accordance with the length of the paper to be printed. At this time, the drive roller 14 is rotated so that one of the cursors 13B is moved slightly downstream in the transport direction from the position where the leading edge of the sheet is located. The moved cursor 13B stands by at that position until the discharge of the one sheet is completed. The horizontal guide plate 11 also stands by at a position slightly outside the width of the paper size until the discharge of the one sheet is completed. Each cursor is moved to a target position by controlling the rotation direction and rotation time of the drive roller. When the discharge of one sheet is completed, the detection signal from the discharge detection switch 17a is turned OFF, and it is further detected by the sheet detection switch 18 that the discharged sheet is placed on the first stacking tray 10. Then, the control unit first moves the cursor 13B to the upstream side in the transport direction (in the direction of the broken line arrow) to align the leading edge of the sheet, and then moves the lateral guide plate 11 inward in the width direction to align both edges of the sheet. . Thereafter, when the discharge of the next sheet is started, the control unit receives the detection signal from the discharge detection switch 17a and waits for the cursor 13B and the lateral guide plate 11 as described above to complete the printing for one set. Repeat the above operation. When printing for one set is completed and a predetermined amount of paper is stacked, the control unit moves the lateral guide plate 11 to the front side in the figure, and accordingly, the paper is also carried to the front side in the figure. It is set at the staple position of a stapler (not shown) provided upstream in the transport direction (left front in the figure). Then, the sheet is stapled by the stapler to be a post-processed sheet bundle.

When the stapling process is completed, the control unit rotates the drive roller so that the upper surface of the endless belt 12 moves in the transport direction (FIG. 2B). As the endless belt 12 moves, the cursor 13B leaves the front end of the sheet bundle and advances in the transport direction, and the cursor 13A reaches the rear end of the sheet bundle. As the endless belt 12 moves, the cursor 13A moves in the transport direction, and the paper is transported by the cursor 13A to a tray on which a post-processed paper bundle (not shown) provided downstream in the transport direction is stacked. (FIG. 2 (c)). Thereafter, before the next set of printing is started and the sheet is ejected from the image forming apparatus, the control unit moves the cursor 13A in the direction of the broken line arrow so that the cursor 13A is stacked on the first stacking tray 10. The drive roller 14 is rotated so as to come to a position where it abuts against the leading edge of the sheet (FIG. 2D). The above operation is repeated until printing and post-processing of all sets are completed.
Thus, when one of the two cursors 13A, 13B finishes transporting the sheet bundle, the next sheet bundle is transported to the other cursor, so that one of the cursors is at the initial position after transporting the sheet bundle. The next sheet bundle can be conveyed without waiting for the return, and in addition to good productivity, both the cursors 13A and 13B alternately align the leading edge of the sheet and convey the sheet bundle. There is no need to add a separate component to the post-processing device for alignment.

  FIG. 3 is a top view of the first stacking tray of the post-processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the first stacking tray of FIG. Show. Moreover, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the component same as a previous Example. Referring to FIG. 3, four endless belts 12A and 12B are provided in the first stacking tray 10 on which the sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus are once stacked so as to extend in the sheet conveying direction. Drive control is performed with this one set. One cursor 13A is provided on one belt protruding on one set of endless belts 12A, and one cursor 13B is provided on one belt protruding on the other set of endless belts 12B. 13B is located at a position that cannot be seen in FIG. 3 (the back side of the first stacking tray 10). The endless belt 12A is stretched between the driving roller 14A and the driven roller 15A, the endless belt 12B is stretched between the driving roller 14B and the driven roller 15B, and the driving rollers 14A and 14B are independently driven by the control unit. Be controlled. Further, in the width direction upstream of the first stacking tray 10 in the conveying direction, a pair of horizontal guide plates 11 are provided for contacting the stacked sheets from both sides in the width direction so as to align the sheet ends in the width direction. Yes. In addition, the first stacking tray 10 is provided with a sheet detection switch 18 including a contact switch for detecting whether or not sheets are stacked, and the position can be detected even with the smallest size sheet that can be processed. , Positioned upstream in the paper discharge direction.

  Referring to FIG. 4A, drive rollers 14A and 14B are provided at one end in the extending direction of endless belts 12A and 12B, and driven rollers 15A and 15B are provided for the respective other belts. , 14B, 15A, 15B are in contact with the endless belts 12A, 12B from the inside, and the driving rollers 14A, 14B are rotated at a constant speed in both forward and reverse directions by a control unit (not shown) so that the endless belts are interlocked therewith. 12A and 12B move at a constant speed in the transport direction and in the opposite direction. Now, when printing processing is started in the image forming apparatus and a sheet on which an image has been formed is discharged from the discharge port 17, the discharge of the sheet is detected by a discharge detection switch 17 a including a contact switch provided in the discharge port 17. The control unit controls the operations of the horizontal guide plate 11 and the cursor 13 in accordance with the timing of the detection signal. In other words, when the control unit receives a detection signal from the discharge detection switch 17a and detects that the paper discharge has started, the paper is stacked on the first stacking tray 10 in accordance with the length of the paper to be printed. At this time, the drive roller 14B is rotated so as to move one set of the cursors 13B out of the two sets of cursors slightly downstream from the position where the leading edge of the sheet is located. The moved cursor 13B stands by at that position until the discharge of the one sheet is completed. The horizontal guide plate 11 also stands by at a position slightly outside the width of the paper size until the discharge of the one sheet is completed. In addition, a cursor detection switch (cursor detection means) 19 for detecting the presence of the cursor 13 at a position near the upstream side in the paper discharge direction is provided in the casing constituting the first stacking tray 10. The control unit positions another set of cursors 13A at a position detected by the cursor detection switch 19, and the cursor 13A stands by at that position. Each cursor is moved to a target position by controlling the rotation direction and rotation time of the drive roller. When the discharge of one sheet is completed, the detection signal from the discharge detection switch 17a is turned OFF, and it is further detected by the sheet detection switch 18 that the discharged sheet is placed on the first stacking tray 10. Then, the control unit first moves the cursor 13B to the upstream side in the transport direction (in the direction of the broken line arrow) to align the leading edge of the sheet, and then moves the lateral guide plate 11 inward in the width direction to align both edges of the sheet. . Thereafter, when the discharge of the next sheet is started, the control unit receives the detection signal from the discharge detection switch 17a and waits for the cursor 13B and the lateral guide plate 11 as described above to complete the printing for one set. Repeat the above operation. When printing for one set is completed and a predetermined amount of paper is stacked, the control unit moves the lateral guide plate 11 to the front side in the figure, and accordingly, the paper is also carried to the front side in the figure. It is set at the staple position of a stapler (not shown) provided upstream in the transport direction (left front in the figure). Then, the sheet is stapled by the stapler to be a post-processed sheet bundle.

  When the stapling process is completed, the control unit rotates both sets of drive rollers 14A and 14B so that the upper surfaces of both sets of endless belts 12A and 12B move in the transport direction (FIG. 4B). As the endless belt 12B moves, the cursor 13B leaves the front end of the sheet bundle and advances in the transport direction, and the endless belt 12B is moved until the cursor 13B is positioned on the back side of the first stacking tray 10. As the endless belt 12A moves, the cursor 13A reaches the rear end of the sheet bundle. Since the cursor 13A is already positioned near the rear end of the sheet bundle, the time from the start of movement of the endless belt 12A until the cursor 13A reaches the rear end of the sheet bundle is compared to the distance c ( 2), the amount of processing per unit time can be increased as compared with the case of the first embodiment, and the productivity is further increased.

Thereafter, if the endless belt 13A continues to move as it is, the cursor 13A moves in the transport direction as the endless belt 12 moves, and a sheet bundle of post-processed paper (not shown) provided on the downstream side of the transport direction by the cursor 13A. It is conveyed to the tray to be loaded (FIG. 4C). Thereafter, before the next set of printing is started and the sheet is ejected from the image forming apparatus, the control unit moves the cursor 13A in the direction of the broken line arrow so that the cursor 13A is stacked on the first stacking tray 10. The driving roller 14A in contact with the endless belt 12A is rotated so as to come to a position where it abuts against the leading edge of the paper to be printed. Further, the drive roller 14B in contact with the endless belt 12B is rotated until the cursor 13B reaches a position near the rear end of the stacked paper and is detected by the cursor detection switch 19. (FIG. 4 (d)). The above operation is repeated until printing and post-processing of all sets are completed.
In this way, both the cursors 13A and 13B alternately align the leading edge of the sheet and convey the sheet bundle, so that it is not necessary to add a separate component to the post-processing device in order to align the leading edge of the sheet, and the two cursors are driven separately. As a result, while one cursor is aligning the leading edge of the paper, the other cursor can be moved to the vicinity of the trailing edge of the paper in advance, further increasing the throughput per unit time and improving productivity. I can give you.

  FIG. 5 is a side view showing an overall image of the image forming apparatus including the post-processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the post-processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the image forming apparatus 1 has a first stacking tray 10 on which sheets for post-processing are stacked at a position that does not protrude from the side surface of the main body. Is provided with a paper discharge space 3 for discharging normal paper P which is not post-processed. Also, below the paper discharge space 3 is a third stacking tray 25 on which normal sheets P that are not post-processed are stacked, and a post-processed sheet bundle Q is separated from the third stacking tray 25. The second stacking tray 20 to be stacked is also provided so as not to protrude from the side surface of the main body of the image forming apparatus 1. The second stacking tray 20 has an opening 24 positioned immediately below the downstream end of the first stacking tray 10, and a post-processed sheet bundle is disposed downstream of the first stacking tray 10. Is provided to guide the opening to the opening 24 of the second stacking tray 20. The guide portion 21 basically guides the post-processed sheet bundle to the second stacking tray 20, but the side portion of the first stacking tray 10 is adapted to the user's purpose of use. 2 is mounted with an external stacking tray (not shown) protruding from the side of the main body of the image forming apparatus 1, and the discharge destination is switched so that the sheet bundle can be discharged to the external post-processed sheet stacking tray. Can do.

Next, the structure of the guide part 21 is demonstrated. The configurations of the first stacking tray 10 and the sheet bundle conveying means for conveying the post-processed sheet bundle are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the same components as those in the previous embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. Is attached.
First, referring to FIG. 6, the guide portion 21 is disposed on the downstream side of the first stacking tray 10, and a rotation shaft 23 attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus 1 in parallel with the width direction of the first stacking tray 10. It consists of a plurality of triangular plate-like guide pieces 22 fixed to the rotation shaft 23 with the rotation shaft 23 penetrating through the center. The interval between the guide pieces 22 is wider than the width of the cursor 13 and is provided at a position avoiding the cursor 13. When the configuration of the first stacking tray 10 and the sheet bundle conveying means for conveying the post-processed sheet bundle is the same as that of the second embodiment, the guide pieces 22 are arranged so as to avoid all the cursors 13. It is necessary to provide it.

Furthermore, referring also to FIG. 7 which is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the first stacking tray 10 and the guide portion 21, the cursor 13 provided on the endless belt 12 is now on the front side of the first stacking tray 10 ( The top end protrudes from the downstream end of the first stacking tray 10 by L ₁ , and this protrusion amount is the downstream end of the first stacking tray 10 of the cursor 13. It is the maximum protrusion amount from The rotation shaft 23 of the guide portion 21 is provided at a position separated from the downstream end of the first stacking tray 10 by L ₂ longer than L ₁ and does not come into contact with the cursor 13.

  That is, the paper discharged to the first stacking tray 10 is aligned at the end in the width direction by the lateral guide plate 11 and is provided so as to protrude from the endless belt 12 provided along the transport direction of the first stacking tray 10. The control unit (not shown) moves the end of the endless belt 12 so that the cursor 13 is moved upstream in the transport direction when the tip of the plurality of cursors 13 is aligned by one cursor 13 and a predetermined number of sheets are discharged. The paper is moved to the upstream side in the transport direction by being pushed by one cursor 13, and post-processing such as stapling is performed by the post-processing unit 16 provided on the upstream side in the transport direction. Thereafter, the control unit drives the endless belt 12 so that the upper surface thereof moves in the transport direction, and accordingly, one cursor 13 leaves the leading end of the sheet bundle, and the other cursor 13 closest to the trailing end of the sheet bundle moves the sheet bundle. The sheet bundle is conveyed to the downstream side in the conveying direction by contacting the rear end. At this time, the one cursor 13 is sent to the downstream side in the transport direction and can move to the back side of the first stacking tray 10 without contacting the guide portion 21.

  Next, the discharge direction switching operation of the guide portion 21 will be described. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 8, the rotation shaft 23 is attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus 1 so as to be able to be repeatedly rotated by a self-holding rotary solenoid (rotary solenoid) (not shown). Yes. The self-holding rotary solenoid does not need to be energized after being energized by energization, and maintains its state (on state) by a permanent magnet (that is, the arm provided on the movable iron core has a predetermined angle) It is of the intermittent energization type (self-holding type) in which the arm provided on the movable iron core returns to its original position when it is energized again when held in a rotated state.

  Now, the guide piece 22 is positioned away from the downstream end of the first stacking tray 10 at a fixed position, and after the post-processed sheet bundle is conveyed on the first stacking tray 10, its leading end is It strikes the side surface of the guide piece 22 and is guided to the opening 24 of the second stacking tray 20 along the arrow direction. Here, when the solenoid is energized, the arm of the solenoid rotates, and accordingly, the rotating shaft 23 attached to the solenoid arm and the guide piece 22 provided on the rotating shaft 23 rotate in the direction of the broken line arrow. (FIG. 8A), the space where the tip of the guide piece 22 contacts the downstream end of the first stacking tray 10 and leads to the opening 24 is closed (FIG. 8B). In this state, after the post-processed sheet bundle is conveyed on the first stacking tray 10, it is directly discharged onto the guide piece 22 in the direction of the arrow, and an externally attached second sheet provided at the end. Is loaded on a stacking tray (not shown).

  The sheet bundle after the post-processing is transported to the opening of the second stacking tray by the guide portion even after the first stacking tray is transported in the downstream direction and is not transported by applying a driving force by a separate transport roller or the like. It leads to energy saving.

FIG. 6 is a top view of a first stacking tray and a sheet bundle conveying unit of the post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIGS. 2A and 2B are side views of the first stacking tray and the sheet bundle conveying unit in FIG. 1, in which FIG. 2A is a side view showing how the cursor of 1 aligns the leading edge of the sheet, and FIG. FIG. 2C is a side view showing a state in which the other cursor transports the paper bundle, and FIG. 2D is a side view showing the state where the other cursor is at the front end of the paper. It is a side view which shows a mode that aligns. It is a top view of the 1st stacking tray and sheet bundle conveyance means of the post-processing apparatus concerning the 2nd example. FIG. 2A is a side view of the first stacking tray and the sheet bundle conveying unit in FIG. 3, FIG. 2A is a side view showing how a pair of cursors aligns the leading edge of a sheet, and FIG. FIG. 2C is a side view showing a state in which the cursor of the other group has moved to the rear end of the sheet bundle, FIG. 2C is a side view showing how the other set of cursors conveys the sheet bundle, and FIG. It is a side view which shows a mode that the cursor of this group aligns the front-end | tip of a paper. It is a side view which shows the whole image formation apparatus provided with the post-processing apparatus concerning a 3rd Example. It is a perspective view of the post-processing apparatus of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the positional relationship of a 1st stacking tray and a guide part. FIG. 8A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet bundle is guided to a second stacking tray that does not protrude from the side surface of the image forming apparatus main body. FIG. 7B is a conceptual diagram illustrating a state in which the sheet bundle is guided to an external second stacking tray attached to the side surface of the image forming apparatus main body. It is a perspective view which shows the whole image formation apparatus provided with the conventional post-processing apparatus. It is a side view which shows operation | movement of the post-processing apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the structure of the other conventional post-processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Side part of 1st stacking tray 3 Discharge space 10 1st stacking tray 12 Endless belt 13 Cursor 16 Post-processing part 20 2nd stacking tray 21 Guide part 22 Guide piece 23 Rotating shaft 24 Opening Part 25 Third loading tray

Claims (6)

A first stacking tray that is provided in the image forming apparatus and stacks sheets to be processed after being discharged, a sheet aligning unit that aligns both ends in the width direction of the stacked sheets, and a predetermined number of the sheets are collected In a post-processing apparatus having a post-processing unit that post-processes a sheet bundle and a cursor that conveys the post-processed sheet bundle to a second stacking tray on the downstream side in the paper discharge direction.
Two or more cursors are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt provided in the transport direction on the first stacking tray with an interval of at least the length of the maximum paper size that can be processed,
When the paper is ejected, one of the cursors contacts the front end of the paper in the paper ejection direction, and after the paper bundle is post-processed, the other cursor closest to the rear end of the paper bundle The post-processing apparatus is characterized in that the operation of the endless belt is set such that the endless belt is brought into contact with the rear end of the sheet bundle and conveyed to the second stacking tray. A first stacking tray that is provided in the image forming apparatus and stacks sheets to be processed after being discharged, a sheet aligning unit that aligns both ends in the width direction of the stacked sheets, and a predetermined number of the sheets are collected In a post-processing apparatus having a post-processing unit that post-processes a sheet bundle and a cursor that conveys the post-processed sheet bundle to a second stacking tray on the downstream side in the paper discharge direction.
The cursor is projected on the outer peripheral surface of two or more endless belts provided along the conveying direction on the first stacking tray, and the two or more endless belts are divided into two or more groups and each group is separated. Cursor position detection means that is driven and controlled to detect that the cursor is positioned near the rear end of the sheet bundle,
When the sheet is ejected from the image forming apparatus main body, a cursor provided on one set of the endless belts comes into contact with the front end in the sheet ejection direction, and another process is completed until the post-processing of the sheet bundle is completed. A cursor provided on one end of the endless belt moves to a position detected by the cursor position detecting means and stands by, and the cursor that waits after the sheet bundle is post-processed is at the rear end of the sheet bundle. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation of the endless belt is set so as to abut and transport to the second stacking tray and to move another cursor in the transport direction and retract. A third stacking tray for stacking sheets not to be post-processed is provided on the bottom surface of the in-body discharge space of the image forming apparatus casing, and the first stacking tray is above the third stacking tray and is positioned above the third stacking tray. Provided at a position that does not protrude from the side of the forming device housing,
The second stacking tray is a position that does not protrude from the side surface of the image forming apparatus casing, is positioned below the third stacking tray, and is positioned immediately below the downstream end in the transport direction of the first stacking tray. Has an opening on the top surface,
3. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a guide unit that guides the post-processed sheet bundle to the opening is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the first stacking tray. The guide portion includes a pivot shaft extending in a width direction in the transport direction at a distance equal to or more than a protruding amount of the cursor tip from a downstream end in the transport direction of the first stacking tray, and a position avoiding the cursor. It consists of a guide piece attached to the rotating shaft,
A guide direction of the guide piece is provided by projecting from the side surface of the image forming apparatus main body and a direction of guiding the sheet bundle to the opening of the second stacking tray by rotating the rotation shaft. 4. A post-processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising switching means for switching an external stacking tray to a direction in which the post-processed sheet bundle is guided. A first stacking tray that is provided in the image forming apparatus and stacks sheets to be processed after being discharged, a sheet aligning unit that aligns both ends in the width direction of the stacked sheets, and a predetermined number of the sheets are collected In a post-processing apparatus having a post-processing unit that post-processes a sheet bundle, and a sheet bundle transport unit that transports the post-processed sheet bundle to a second stacking tray on the downstream side in the paper discharge direction.
A third stacking tray for stacking sheets not to be post-processed is provided on the bottom surface of the in-body discharge space of the image forming apparatus casing, and the first stacking tray is above the third stacking tray and is positioned above the third stacking tray. Provided at a position that does not protrude from the side of the forming device housing,
The second stacking tray is a position that does not protrude from the side surface of the image forming apparatus casing, is positioned below the third stacking tray, and is positioned immediately below the downstream end in the transport direction of the first stacking tray. Has an opening on the top surface,
A post-processing apparatus, wherein a guide portion for guiding the post-processed sheet bundle to the opening is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the first stacking tray.   The guide unit is configured to guide the sheet bundle to a position where the sheet bundle is guided to the opening of the second stacking tray and to an external stacking tray provided so as to protrude from a side surface of the image forming apparatus main body. 6. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising switching means for switching to a position for guiding the bundle.

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