JP2006124163A - Sheet post-processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet post-processing apparatus which is miniaturized, and capable of enhancing the alignment property of sheets stacked on a standby tray. <P>SOLUTION: The sheet post-processing apparatus comprises a standby tray to make sheets to be ejected from an image forming device stand by, a pair of upper and lower paper feed rollers provided above and below the standby tray to guide the sheets, a processing tray which is arranged below the standby tray to stack the sheets dropped from the standby tray or the sheets ejected from the image forming device without passing through the standby tray, a post-processing mechanism to perform post-processing of the sheets stacked on the processing tray, and an ejection tray to eject the sheets post-processed by the post-processing mechanism, and a jump suppressing member to prevent jump of a rear end of the sheets to be guided to the standby tray is provided on at least one of the upper and lower paper feed rollers. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus that performs post-processing of a sheet such as a sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a multifunction peripheral such as an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral).

  There is known a post-processing device that performs a process (stapling process) for binding and stopping a plurality of sheets printed by an MFP. In this post-processing apparatus, the sheets sent from the MFP are sequentially conveyed to the processing tray, bound by a stapler, punched by a hole punch, and then discharged to a discharge tray.

In this post-processing apparatus, there is a binding process and a hole punching process using a stapler, so a delay mechanism that absorbs the processing speed of the MFP is necessary, and therefore, the conveyance path is lengthened (see Patent Document 1). For this reason, it has been difficult to sufficiently downsize the apparatus. In addition, a width guide with which the rear end in the sheet conveyance direction contacts is not sufficient (see Patent Document 2).
Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-99070 JP 2004-142868 A

The present invention is considered in view of the problems of the conventional sheet post-processing apparatus as described above.
It is an object of the present invention to reduce the distance from the paper discharge unit of the image forming apparatus to the processing mechanism that performs post-processing, thereby reducing the size.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a standby tray that waits for a sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus, a pair of upper and lower upper and lower feed rollers that guide the sheet to the standby tray, and the standby tray A processing tray disposed below and loaded with the sheet dropped from the standby tray or the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus without passing through the standby tray, and the sheet stacked on the processing tray A post-processing mechanism for post-processing, and a discharge tray for discharging the sheet post-processed by the post-processing mechanism, and a rear end of the sheet guided to the standby tray on at least one of the upper and lower paper feed rollers A sheet post-processing apparatus is provided, which is provided with a spring-up suppressing member that prevents the paper from jumping up.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a sheet post-processing apparatus that is miniaturized and has improved alignment of sheets stacked on the standby tray.

  Embodiments of the present invention applied to an MFP will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the post-processing apparatus in the best mode will be described using a staple which is an apparatus that bundles and stops a plurality of sheets. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a top view of the post-processing apparatus. The post-processing apparatus basically includes a standby tray 10, a processing tray 12, a stapler 14, a first paper discharge tray 16, and a second paper discharge tray 18.

  The paper 20 sent from the MFP is received by the pair of entrance rollers 22, supplied to the pair of paper feed rollers 24, and sent from the paper feed rollers 24 to the standby tray 10 (conveying direction X). The entrance roller 22 is driven by an entrance roller motor 26. The entrance roller 22 includes an upper entrance roller 22a and a lower entrance roller 22b. The paper feed roller 24 includes an upper paper feed roller 24a and a lower paper feed roller 24b.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the standby tray 10 includes a pair of standby tray components 10 a and 10 b that can move to the left and right, and receives sheets with the standby tray components 10 a and 10 b closed. In order to align sheets in this state, a standby tray roller 28 is provided.

  The standby tray roller 28 can move up and down, and its control is executed by the standby tray roller drive source 30. The standby tray roller 28 is rotated by a standby tray roller motor 32.

  When a predetermined number of sheets, for example, two sheets are accumulated in the standby tray 10, as shown in FIG. 3, the standby tray motors 34 open the standby tray parts 10a and 10b to the left and right, which are perpendicular to the paper transport direction X. The paper 20 is dropped on the processing tray 12 by its own weight. This operation is called active drop.

  A paper path is provided to guide sheets sent from the MFP to the standby tray 10 and the processing tray 12, and this paper path is constituted by a paper path ceiling 36 as shown in FIG.

  The paper sent to the processing tray 12 is subjected to alignment processing in the vertical direction (paper conveyance direction) and the horizontal direction. In the vertical alignment, as shown in FIG. 4, the paper is arranged with reference to the stopper 45 by a vertical alignment upper roller 38 a driven by the vertical alignment upper roller motor 40 and a vertical alignment lower roller 38 b acted by the vertical alignment lower roller motor 42. . When the sheet is fed to the processing tray 12, the vertical alignment upper roller 38a is opened by the vertical alignment upper roller motor 40 so as not to contact the vertical alignment lower roller 38b. A paddle 44 is provided to assist this alignment, and the paddle 44 is driven by a paddle motor 46.

  On the other hand, the lateral alignment is executed by a lateral alignment mechanism 47 and a lateral alignment motor 48 as shown in FIG.

  When a predetermined number of sheets are aligned and accumulated in the processing tray 12, the stapling process is performed by the stapler 14 as shown in FIG. The stapler 14 is positioned by the staple driving unit 49, and the staple processing is controlled.

  The stapled sheet bundle is sent to the first and second discharge trays 16 and 18 by the transport mechanism 50 as shown in FIG. The first and second paper discharge trays 16 and 18 are selected by moving the paper discharge trays up and down by the paper discharge tray driving unit 52.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a step A is provided between the lower surface 64 of the standby tray 10 and the contact surface 66 of the paper feed roller 24a and the paper feed roller 24b. Without this level difference A, the lower curled paper supplied to the standby tray 10 may block the paper feed roller 24 and fall to the processing tray 12 out of order of jam and paper stacking. The step A is for preventing such inconvenience.

  By the way, the paper 20 sent to the standby tray 10 by the pair of paper feed rollers 24a and 24b is freely dropped onto the processing tray 12 and then stapled. What is important for discharging from the machine body after this processing is completed is the sheet stacking position and posture on the standby tray 10. If there is a curl at the trailing edge of the first sheet placed on the standby tray 10, the first sheet is pushed out by the second sheet that has entered from the paper feed rollers 24a and 24b. Therefore, in order to place the paper on the standby tray 10 with good alignment, it is necessary to make the curl amount at the rear end of the paper placed on the standby tray 10 lower than the roller entry position.

  Therefore, this embodiment of the present invention includes such a mechanism. This mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. In other words, in order to reduce the curl amount, the upper sheet feeding roller 24a is provided with a splash prevention plate 78. The splash prevention plate 78 is disposed at the same rotation center as the roller shaft.

  When the paper enters between these paper feed rollers, the jumping prevention plate 78 is pushed up in the C direction at the leading edge of the paper. When the sheet continues to be conveyed and comes close to the rear end, the sheet is returned to the D direction by the softening of the sheet and the dead weight of the bounce prevention plate 78. When the trailing edge of the sheet is released by the nip, the trailing edge of the sheet is pressed down by the bounce suppression plate 78 and waits for the next entering sheet.

  With such a mechanism, the trailing edge of the paper can always be kept lower than the roller entry position, and the alignment of the paper deposited on the standby tray can be improved, and consequently the alignment of the paper can be improved. It becomes.

  Next, the operation of the post-processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 8, the paper 20 sent from the MFP is sent to the paper feed roller 24 through the entrance roller 22 as indicated by an arrow.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the first sheet 20 is accumulated on the standby tray 10 through the sheet feed roller 24. At that time, the standby tray roller 28 is lowered as indicated by an arrow, and the sheet 20 supplied to the standby tray 10 is aligned with the rear end (upstream side) 60 of the standby tray 10. Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the standby tray roller 28 rises and prepares to receive the second sheet 20a.

  When the preparation is completed, as shown in FIG. 11, the second sheet 20 a is sent to the standby tray 10, and the standby tray roller 28 is lowered to adjust the sheet position to the rear end 60 of the standby tray 10. In this way, a sheet bundle 20b composed of two sheets 20 and 20a is formed on the standby tray 10.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 12, the standby tray roller 28 is raised, and as shown in FIG. 3, the standby tray parts 10a and 10b are opened, and active drop is executed as shown in FIG. Is sent to the processing tray 12.

  Thereafter, the third sheet 20c is sent directly from the sheet feeding roller 24 to the processing tray 12 without passing through the standby tray 10, as shown in FIG. 14, and is accumulated on the two sheet bundles 20b. Thus, a predetermined number of sheet bundles 21 are formed. At this time, the vertical alignment mechanism 38 and the horizontal alignment mechanism 47 function to execute vertical and horizontal sheet alignment.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 14, the rear end 60 of the standby tray 10 and the processing tray 62 are arranged so that the rear end of the standby tray 10 exists downstream of the rear end (upstream side) 62 of the processing tray 12. The rear end 62 is spaced laterally by a distance L. With this configuration, the sheet bundle 20b can be easily dropped from the standby tray 10 to the processing tray 12, and the alignment operation by the vertical alignment mechanism 38 and the horizontal alignment mechanism 47 can be facilitated. As a result, the occurrence of jam can be prevented.

  Note that the standby tray 10 and the processing tray 12 are desirably disposed obliquely. That is, the rear ends 60 and 62 are positioned at the lowest position, and the paper 20 and the paper bundle 21 can be aligned with the rear ends 60 and 62 by the dead weight of the paper 20 and the paper bundle 21.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 15, the sheet bundle 21 is stapled by the stapler 14. As shown in FIG. 16, the post-processing is completed by feeding the sheet bundle 21 to the paper discharge tray 16 by the transport mechanism 50.

  When no post-processing is required, the paper is discharged directly from the standby tray 10 to the paper discharge tray 16 without passing through the processing tray 12, as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 17, the sheet sent from the MFP is sent to the paper discharge tray 16 via the entrance roller 22, the paper feed roller 24, and the standby tray 10. The standby tray roller 28 descends and transports the paper 20. As shown in FIG. 18, the paper discharge tray 16 is slightly raised by the paper discharge tray driving unit 52 and receives the paper sent from the standby tray 10.

  In the above embodiment, post-processing of paper made of paper has been described. However, what is post-processed according to the present invention is not limited to paper, and may be OHP or other sheet-like recording media, and is referred to as a sheet here.

  The post-processing in the present invention is, for example, a stapling process in which a plurality of printed sheets are bundled and bound, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  In the description of the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is provided to the MFP has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be generally applied to post-processing of a sheet printed by an image forming apparatus.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and each component can be changed within the scope of the same technical idea of the present invention. included.

The perspective view of the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. The top view of the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of a standby tray in the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating a vertical alignment and a sheet | seat bundle conveyance mechanism in the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating a horizontal alignment mechanism in the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of a stapler in the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the mechanism of the bounce suppression plate in the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the 1st sheet | seat flow between an entrance roller and a paper feed roller in the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the flow of the 1st sheet | seat between a paper feed roller and a standby tray in the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the flow of the 2nd sheet | seat between a paper feed roller and a standby tray in the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of a standby tray roller in the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of a standby tray roller in the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of active drop in the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a flow of a third sheet between a sheet feeding roller and a standby tray in the post-processing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of a stapler in the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a flow of a sheet bundle between a processing tray and a paper discharge tray in the post-processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a flow of direct paper discharge from the standby tray to the paper discharge tray in the post-processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure for demonstrating the operation | movement of the position change of a paper discharge tray in the post-processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10: Standby tray,
10a, 10b ... standby tray parts,
12 ... processing tray,
14 ... Stapler,
16: First discharge tray,
18 ... second discharge tray,
20 ... paper,
20b, 21 ... sheet bundle,
22 ... Inlet roller,
22a ... Upper entrance roller,
22b ... Lower entrance roller,
24a, 24b ... paper feed rollers,
26: Inlet roller motor,
28: Standby tray roller,
30: Standby tray roller drive source,
32 .. standby tray roller motor,
34 ... standby tray motor,
36 ... Paper path ceiling,
38 ... vertical alignment mechanism,
38a... Vertical alignment upper roller,
38b... Vertical alignment lower roller,
40: Vertical alignment upper roller motor,
42... Vertical alignment lower roller motor,
44 ... Paddle,
45 ... stopper,
46: Paddle motor,
47 ... Lateral alignment mechanism,
48 ... Lateral alignment motor,
49 ... Staple drive unit,
50 ... transport mechanism,
52... Discharge tray drive unit,
60, 62 ... rear end,
78 ... Bounce prevention plate.

Claims (1)

A standby tray for waiting for a sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus;
A pair of upper and lower sheet feed rollers provided above and below for guiding the sheet to the standby tray;
A processing tray disposed below the standby tray and configured to stack the sheets dropped from the standby tray or the sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus without passing through the standby tray;
A post-processing mechanism for post-processing the sheets stacked on the processing tray;
A discharge tray for discharging the sheet post-processed by the post-processing mechanism,
A sheet post-processing apparatus, wherein at least one of the upper and lower sheet feeding rollers is provided with a bounce suppressing member that prevents the rear end of the sheet led to the standby tray from bounce-up.

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