JP2006232410A - Paper folding device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper folding device capable preventing jamming attributable to expansion of a paper by holding an upper surface of the paper by using a deflection means during the final folding of the paper to suppress the expansion of the paper. <P>SOLUTION: The paper folding device comprises first and second folding roller pairs 11, 12 arranged across a predetermined space therebetween, a conveying roller pair 14 to feed a paper between the first and second folding roller pairs, two deflection means 20, 21 to be respectively operated to lead a paper tip to a nip part of any one of the folding roller pairs, and a control means 202, and is capable of continuously folding the paper a plurality of times by alternately changing the folding direction in cooperation with the first and second folding roller pairs and each deflection means. A discharge passage is continuously provided to the outer side of the nip part of the second folding roller pairs. The control means discharges the paper by suppressing expansion of the paper while the deflection means on the second folding roller pair side on the discharge side on an upper surface of the paper when the final folding is performed by the first folding roller pair. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement of a sheet folding device used as a post-processing device or the like of an image forming apparatus.

As an example of a post-processing device that receives an image formed by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, an ink jet printer, or a printing apparatus, and accepts the discharged paper and performs various post-processing, the paper is placed at an arbitrary position There is known a paper folding device that folds the paper.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-67266 discloses an apparatus that performs an operation of bending a sheet in a zigzag shape. In this apparatus, the leading end portion of the supplied sheet is configured as a second folding roller pair, for example. After gripping between the upper roller and the lower roller (at this time, the folding knife as the deflecting means guides the leading edge of the paper), the paper part that becomes the first fold of zigzag folding is guided with the folding knife. Between the upper roller and the lower roller of the first folding roller pair, and then the portion that becomes the next fold of the zigzag fold is guided with a folding knife to be connected with the upper roller and the lower roller of the second folding roller pair. Repeat the action of holding between the rollers.
Next, Japanese Patent No. 3356851 discloses an apparatus for multiple folding of a sheet. In this apparatus, when folding a sheet, for example, a group of folding rollers located on the upstream side and a conveyance on the downstream side are disclosed. By cooperating with the roller pair and the two extruding rollers located between the two roller pairs, the half-rotation clutch is operated after the sheet has passed a predetermined length between the two folding rollers on the upstream side, and is driven The side conveying roller and the two extruding rollers are moved to the first position. At this time, the sheet between the conveying roller pair and the folding roller group is pushed out to the other roller side by the pushing roller, and the sheet is bent. At this time, the central roller located at the center of the folding roller group rotates in the forward direction. For this reason, the bending part of a sheet | seat is bitten between a center roller and another folding roller, and a crease | fold is formed. In this way, the sheet can be folded. Thereafter, in the same manner, the sheet can be folded in multiples by appropriately operating the 1/2 rotation clutch.
As described above, there are two pairs of folding rollers that fold the paper, a pair of conveying rollers that feeds the paper to one of the roller pairs, and a deflection unit that switches a direction in which the paper is folded by one of the folding rollers. As an apparatus capable of continuously diffracting a sheet of paper by alternately switching the folding direction, there are folding apparatuses such as the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-67266 and Japanese Patent No. 3356851. These apparatuses have a deflecting means for extruding the intermediate portion of the sheet toward the rolling position at the nip of the folding roller. This deflecting means is a folding knife in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-67266, and an extrusion roller in Japanese Patent No. 3356851.
JP 2004-67266 A Japanese Patent No. 3356851

However, in these conventional folding devices, the deflecting means only guides the paper to the folding roller, and it has not been possible to prevent the occurrence of jam due to the swelling of the paper in the folding operation. That is, when a part of the sheet is bent and bulges during the folding operation, the bulged part is often caught in a movable part such as a roller, and jamming often occurs. However, no measures have been taken in the past to eliminate such a bulge.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and is caused by the swelling of the paper by pressing the upper surface of the paper using the deflecting means at the time of final folding of the paper to suppress the swelling of the paper. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet folding device that can prevent jamming.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet between the first and second folding roller pairs arranged at a predetermined interval and the first and second folding roller pairs. A pair of conveying rollers to be fed, two deflecting units that operate to guide the leading end of the sheet to the nip portion of one of the pair of folding rollers, and a control unit. A sheet folding apparatus capable of alternately switching a folding direction and continuously diffracting a plurality of sheets by cooperation of a roller pair and each of the deflecting means, and a discharge path outside a nip portion of a second folding roller pair The control means abuts the deflection means of the second folding roller pair on the discharge side against the upper surface of the sheet when the final folding is performed by the first folding roller pair. It is characterized by discharging while holding down the bulge
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the paper folding device according to the first aspect, the control means keeps the deflecting means on the second folding roller pair side in contact with the paper until the discharged paper passes. It is characterized by that.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, when the final folding is performed by the second folding roller pair, the control unit is configured to change the second folding roller side deflection unit. The sheet is kept in contact with the upper surface of the sheet until the sheet passes.

According to the paper folding device of the first aspect, when the final folding and the discharging direction are opposite directions, the deflecting means that operates for the pair of folding rollers on the discharging side is discharged while being in contact with the upper surface of the paper. It is possible to prevent jamming by suppressing the floating of the sheet.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to finish the thickness by a plurality of times of folding by contacting the deflecting unit until the sheet passes.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the final fold and the discharge direction are the same, the deflecting means that operates for the pair of folding rollers on the discharge side is brought into contact with the upper surface of the paper until the paper passes, thereby reducing the thickness of the multiple folds. It can be finished.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration example in which the paper folding device of the present invention is mounted on a copying apparatus, FIGS. 2 to 5 are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the paper folding device, and FIG. 6 is a drive configuration of the paper folding device. 7, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are perspective views showing the configuration of the deflecting means, FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the sheet folding device, FIGS. 10 and 11 are flowcharts of the present embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a sheet of the present embodiment. FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 show the operation in which the deflecting means is in contact with the upper surface of the sheet when ejected when the rear end of the sheet is on the left side and the right side after the final folding. It is explanatory drawing which shows.
First, the overall configuration of the folding apparatus and the copying apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 200 is a copying apparatus main body, 1 is connected to a side surface of the copying apparatus main body 200 provided with a paper discharge port, and is subjected to end face folding, bellows-like folding, etc. Is a sheet folding device for applying The sheet folding device 1 includes a connecting portion 6 connected to the apparatus main body 200, an end surface folding portion 2 that folds the end surface of the front end of the paper received from the connecting portion 6, and a sheet whose end surface is folded by the end surface folding portion 2 in the transport direction. A sheet folding section 3 that folds along a bellows shape, and a tray 13 that discharges and stacks sheets folded in a bellows shape at the sheet folding section 3.
An image reading device 205 (reading optical system 205a, automatic document feeder 205b) is disposed at the upper part of the copying machine main body 200, and an image forming unit 206 and a manual feed tray 208 are sequentially provided at the lower part thereof. Has been placed. When the paper set on the manual paper feed tray 208 is fed toward the reading unit, the paper is temporarily stopped by the registration roll 207 and supplied to the image forming unit 206 at a timing. In the image forming unit 206, a latent image corresponding to the image data is formed on the photoconductor 206a, the latent image is developed with toner from the developing device 206b, and the toner is transferred onto a sheet by the transfer device 206c. It is fixed by. The recorded paper on which the toner is fixed by the fixing device 210 is discharged to the paper folding device 1 by the recorded paper discharge roll 211 when the paper is folded. When the sheet is not folded, the sheet is discharged into the main body by the upper discharge roller 209 by a switching claw (not shown).
Next, when folding the paper, the paper is sent from the recorded paper discharge roll 211 to the connecting portion 6 to the paper folding device 1 and further sent to the inside by the entrance conveyance roller pair 7. When folding the end face of the sheet, the end face of the end of the sheet is folded by the end face folding unit 2. After the end surface of the sheet is folded by the end surface folding unit 2, the sheet is folded into a bellows shape a required number of times in the transport direction by the sheet folding unit 3, and the sheet that has completed the bellows folding is stacked on the tray 13.

Next, the configuration of the first embodiment of the paper folding device that folds the paper in a bellows shape in the conveyance direction will be described. FIGS. 2 to 5 show a state in which the main part of the sheet folding unit 3 in FIG. 1 is enlarged and its operation.
First, the leading edge detection sensor 15 for detecting the leading edge of the sheet P conveyed in FIG. 2 is disposed at the entrance of the sheet folding unit 3, the conveyance roller pair 14 is disposed downstream thereof, and the nip portion of the conveyance roller pair 14. It is configured such that the paper enters the paper. The left and right folding roller pairs 11 (11a, 11b) and 12 (12a, 12b) that transport while changing the transport direction to a direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction are arranged on the left and right sides of the downstream side of the transport roller pair 14, respectively. Then, the pair of folding rollers 11 and 12 are rotated in the normal direction and the reverse direction to fold the paper in a bellows shape. A folding width left detection sensor 16 and a folding width right detection sensor 17 are arranged outside the pair of folding rollers 11 and 12, respectively, and detect the leading edge of the sheet and the folded edge of the folded sheet. Further, a lower guide plate 18 is disposed between the pair of folding rollers 11 and 12, and the folded edge of the folded paper is guided to the pair of folding rollers 11 and 12, respectively. The left side of the folding roller pair 11 is the direction in which the folded paper is discharged.
The folding roller pair 12 is a first folding roller pair, and the folding roller pair 11 is a second folding roller pair (discharge-side folding roller pair).
On the left and right sides of the conveying roller pair 14, deflecting means 20 and 21 for selectively switching the conveying direction of the leading edge of the sheet to the folding roller pair 11 or 12 are arranged so as to be movable up and down. The deflection means 20 is a deflection means on the second folding roller pair 12 side, and the deflection means 21 is a deflection means on the first folding roller pair 11 side.
When the deflecting means 20 and 21 are moved up and down, respectively, a substantially arcuate shape or an arcuate shape is brought into contact with the lower folding rollers 12b and 11b (near the nip portions of the folding roller pairs 12 and 11) at the respective leading ends. It is driven by drive gears 22 and 23 which have a movement locus and mesh with gear portions 20b 'and 21b' formed along the outer peripheral surfaces of the deflecting means 20 and 21, respectively. The leading edge of the sheet conveyed downward by the conveying roller pair 14 is guided to the vicinity of the folding roller pairs 12 and 11 by the operation of the deflecting means 20 and 21 and enters the nip of each folding roller pair 12 and 11. At this time, depending on which of the deflecting means 20 and 21 is operated, it is selected which of the folding roller pairs 12 and 11 the paper leading edge enters. In the following description, the deflecting means 20 for guiding the right folding roller pair 12 will be described as the right deflecting means, and the deflecting means 21 for guiding the left folding roller pair 11 as the left deflecting means. The deflecting means 20 and 21 guide one surface of the sheet to the nip of the pair of folding rollers 12 and 11 when the sheet is folded. At this time, the rollers 20a and 21a formed at the tips of the deflecting means 20 and 21 come into contact with the lower folding rollers 12b and 11b, respectively.

Next, a specific configuration example of the deflection unit will be described with reference to FIGS. The changing means shown here is the left deflection means 21, but the right deflection means 20 has the same configuration as the left deflection means 21 except that it has a bilaterally symmetric shape. The left deflection means 21 has a substantially rectangular frame shape with a rectangular space inside, and is provided with side plates 21b on both sides in the longitudinal direction. Each side plate 21b is formed with a gear portion 21b ′ that meshes with the gear 23. ing. The lower end portions of both side plates 21b are connected by a guide plate 21d that guides the leading edge of the sheet, and the upper end portions of both side plates 21b are connected by a stay 21e. The stay 21e has a light shielding plate 21c that shields the deflection means home position sensor (hereinafter referred to as the deflection means HP sensor) 25 shown in FIG. 2 and the like (for the right deflection means 20, the deflection HP sensor 24 and the light shielding plate 20c). Is provided). The deflecting means HP sensors 24 and 25 are arranged outside the movement trajectories of the deflecting means 20 and 21, and the light shielding plates 20 c and 21 c are arranged at positions where the home positions can be detected by the sensors 24 and 25. .
A roller 21a having a length equal to or greater than the maximum sheet width is rotatably supported at the lower ends (tips) of the side plates 21b. The rollers 21a are not only supported at both ends by the side plates, but are also guided by a guide plate 21d. The outer peripheral surface is supported by a tip portion (tip edge) 21g. In this example, the tip 21g of the guide plate 21d supports the entire width of the roller 21a, but may be partially supported. The tip 21g of the guide plate may be made to have low friction resistance by being coated with Teflon (registered trademark), but the guide plate 21d itself may be made of a resin material having a low friction coefficient. The roller 21a may be a pipe material.
Further, a plurality of rollers 21f are arranged on the outer surface of the both side plates 21b. As shown in FIG. 8, each roller 21f is provided in the rail groove 60a of the arc-shaped groove grooves 60a and 60b provided on the inner surface of the rail member 60 disposed on both outer sides of the deflecting means 21 and 20, respectively. The deflection means 21 is configured to move up and down along an arcuate trajectory and to come into contact with the lower folding roller 11b at the tip thereof by being fitted and rolled. Similarly, a roller 20f (not shown) provided on the other deflecting means 20 is fitted into the rail groove 60b and guided up and down, and comes into contact with the lower folding roller 12b at its tip. As a result, the deflecting means 21 and 20 can move up and down individually while drawing a circular locus. The rollers 21f and 20f roll in the rail grooves 60a and 60b, the gear portions 21b 'and 20b' of the deflecting means 21 and 20 are engaged with the drive gears 23 and 22, and the rollers 21f and 20f are rail rails 60a and 60b. By rolling inward, the deflecting means 21 and 20 rotate while drawing an arc trajectory so as to contact and separate from the lower folding rollers 11b and 12b, respectively.

Next, the configuration of the drive mechanism of the sheet folding device of this embodiment will be described with reference to the schematic diagrams shown in FIGS. 6 (a), 6 (b), and 6 (c).
FIG. 6A is a diagram schematically illustrating the driving-side rollers of the conveying roller pair 14 in relation to the driving source. The conveying roller pair 14 includes a pulley 50 and a driving belt 51 connected to the shaft end portions thereof. Rotational force from the transport motor 52 is transmitted via and is driven in the transport direction (arrow direction). Further, a tip detection sensor 15 is disposed at the center in the longitudinal direction of the transport roller pair 14.
Next, FIG. 6B is an explanatory diagram of the drive mechanism of the deflecting means. The drive of the deflecting means 20 and 21 is bilaterally symmetrical and has the same drive configuration. Only will be described. First, drive gears 23 are connected to gear portions 21b ′ provided on the side plates 21b located at both ends of the left deflection means 21, respectively. The drive gears 23 at both ends are fixed on the same drive shaft 54, and the left deflection means 21 moves up and down along an arcuate locus by the amount that the drive gear 23 is rotationally driven by the drive shaft 54. become. A drive pulley 42a is coupled to the drive shaft 54 via a torque limiter 42b, the drive pulley 42a and the drive pulley 40 are coupled and driven by the drive belt 41, and the drive pulley 55 on the same shaft 39 as the drive pulley 40 is coupled to the drive belt. 37 is connected to the deflection means left motor 36 through 37. Accordingly, when the deflection means left motor 36 rotates in the arrow direction, the left deflection means 21 moves in the arrow direction. At that time, when a load equal to or greater than the rotational load torque (allowable torque) of the torque limiter 42b is applied to the left deflection means 21, the slipping is generated while generating torque between the torque limiter 42b and the drive pulley 42a. Further, a light shielding plate 21c is provided at a suitable end portion of the left deflection unit 21, and the deflection unit left HP sensor 25 is shielded from light at a position where the left deflection unit 21 is waiting to be lifted, thereby detecting a standby position. The right deflection means 20 has the same configuration, and FIG. 6B shows the rotation direction when the right deflection means 20 descends.

Next, the drive mechanism of the folding roller pairs 11 and 12 will be described with reference to FIG. The driving pulley 35 is connected to the end of the driving side upper folding roller 11a, and the shaft center of the driving pulley 33b is connected and fixed to the end of the driving side upper folding roller 12a. The driving pulley 35 and the driving pulley 33b are connected to each other. They are connected by a drive belt 34. Further, the drive pulley 33 a coaxially integrated with the drive pulley 33 b is connected to the drive pulley 57 a via the drive belt 31, and the drive pulley 57 b integrated with the drive pulley 57 a is folded via the drive belt 56. It is connected to the output shaft of the motor 30. Therefore, when the folding motor 30 rotates in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, the upper folding rollers 11a and 12a on the driving side rotate in the direction of the arrow in synchronization. Further, a driving belt (not shown) connects the driving-side upper folding roller 11a and the driven-side lower folding roller 11b, and the driving-side upper-folding roller 12a and the driven-side lower folding roller 12b, respectively. When the roller 30 is rotated, the rollers constituting the folding roller pair 11 and 12 are configured to rotate in the conveyance direction in synchronization with each other. Further, a folding width right detection sensor 17 and a folding width left detection sensor 16 are arranged outside the center portions in the longitudinal direction of the pair of folding rollers 11 and 12, respectively.
Each drive mechanism described above is driven by controlling each motor by the paper folding controller (control means) 100 shown in FIG. Further, by the operation from the operation unit 201 of the image forming apparatus main body 200, the main body control board 202 receives input signals such as the folding type (folding mode) and size, and the information is sent to the paper folding controller 100, and each sensor information is received. Based on this, each motor is controlled to perform a sheet folding operation.

The sheet folding apparatus having the above configuration has the following characteristic configuration.
In other words, the sheet folding device 1 of the present invention includes two pairs of folding rollers 11 and 12 (second and first folding roller pairs) and a pair of folding rollers that are arranged close to each other at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction. A pair of conveying rollers 14 for feeding the paper P from above between 11 and 12, and two deflecting means 21 and 20 that operate to guide the leading edge of the paper to the nip portion of one of the pair of folding rollers 11 and 12, respectively. And the control means 100, and by the cooperation of the pair of folding rollers 11, 12 and the deflection means 21, 20, it is possible to alternately switch the folding direction and diffract a plurality of times continuously. A discharge path is provided outside the nip portion of the roller pair 11. Then, when the final folding is performed by the first folding roller pair 12, the control unit 100 causes the deflecting unit 21 on the second folding roller pair 11 side on the discharge side to abut on the upper surface of the sheet to suppress the swelling. However, the structure is characterized in that it is discharged (FIG. 13). With this configuration, it is possible to prevent jamming by suppressing the floating of the trailing edge of the sheet discharged toward the discharge path disposed in communication with the outside of the nip portion of the pair of folding rollers 11.
Further, in this case, the control unit 100 controls the deflecting unit 21 on the second folding roller opposite side 11 so as to keep contacting the sheet until the discharged sheet passes. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the thickness of a plurality of foldings by bringing the deflecting unit 21 into contact in the discharge direction until the sheet passes.
Further, when the final folding is to be performed by the second folding roller pair 11, the control unit 100 controls the deflection unit 21 so as to continue to contact the upper surface of the sheet until the sheet passes through the deflection unit 21 ( FIG. 14). Since it comprised in this way, it becomes possible to finish thinly by multiple times of folding.

Next, a series of sheet folding operations by the sheet folding apparatus of the present invention will be described based on the configuration explanatory diagrams of FIGS. 1 to 9 and the flowcharts of FIGS.
First, when a paper folding presence signal is input by the operation of the main body operation unit 201 in FIG. 9, the signal is sent to the paper folding controller 100 via the main body control board 202. In that case, on the sheet folding apparatus 1 side, the flowchart of FIG. 10 starts, the transport motor 52 shown in FIGS. 6A and 9 is turned on, and the transport roller pair 14 starts to rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. (S0). Next, when a sheet is fed from the apparatus main body 200 toward the sheet folding apparatus 1 and enters the sheet folding unit 3, and the leading edge of the sheet passes the leading edge detection sensor 15, the ON signal of the leading edge detection sensor 15 is changed to the sheet folding controller 100. (S1). Next, based on a signal indicating the sheet folding type input from the main body operation unit 201, it is determined whether or not the sheet folding type (mode) is set so that the sheet enters the right folding roller 12 in the first sheet conveyance (S2). . Here, a case will be described in which the signal regarding the sheet folding type is the sheet folding type that enters the right folding roller 12 in the first sheet conveyance. Next, the folding motor 30 shown in FIG. 6C and FIG. 9 is turned on and rotates in the direction of the arrow (here, normal rotation) (S3). Next, the deflection means right motor 43 shown in FIG. 6B and FIG. 9 is turned on, and the right deflection means 20 starts moving from the solid line position in FIG. 2 toward the broken line position (the rotation direction at this time is normal). (S4).
At this time, the deflection means right HP sensor 24 is turned off (S5), and after the drive time T1 seconds when the right deflection means 20 reaches the broken line position from the solid line position, the deflection means right motor 43 is turned off (S6). At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the roller 20a at the tip of the right deflection means 20 and the lower folding roller 12b are not in contact with each other, and the right deflection means 20 is stopped with a slight gap between them. In this state, as shown in FIG. 2, the leading edge of the paper P enters the nip of the right folding roller pair 12 and turns on the folding width right detection sensor 17 located outside (S7). Thereafter, in order to return the right deflection means 20 to the standby position, the deflection means right motor 43 is turned on in the reverse direction (S8), the deflection means right HP sensor 24 is turned on (S9), and the deflection means right motor 43 is turned off ( S9), the right deflection means 20 returns to the standby state at the solid line position in FIG.

Next, after the front end of the sheet enters the nip portion of the right folding roller pair 12, it is determined whether or not there is a next folding operation (left folding) (S11). To do. T4 seconds after the folding width right detection sensor 17 is turned on, the folding motor 30 is turned off (S12). This time, the inner surface of the sheet curved rightward is pressed by the left deflecting means 21 and the left folding roller pair 11 is turned on. In order to guide to the nip, the deflection means left motor 36 is turned on, and the left deflection means 21 starts moving in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 3 (the rotation direction at this time is assumed to be normal rotation) (S13). ). At this time, since the left deflection means 21 leaves the home position, the deflection means left HP sensor 25 is turned OFF (S14).
Simultaneously with the operation of the left deflection means 21, the folding motor 30 is turned on in the reverse direction T3 seconds after the tip detection sensor 15 is turned on as shown in FIG. 3 (S15). For this reason, the sheet starts to be returned to the left by the reverse rotation of the folding roller pair 12. At this time, since the moving speed of the left deflecting means 21 is set to be faster than the slacking speed of the paper, the slack of the paper disappears as shown by the broken line in FIG. 21a contacts. After this time, the moving speed of the left deflection means 21 cannot move beyond the slacking speed of the sheet, so that a load is applied to the torque limiter 42b in FIG. 6B, and torque is generated between the torque limiter 42b and the drive pulley 42a. Begin to slip while generating. Accordingly, the roller 21a at the front end of the left deflection unit 21 applies tension to the paper by the amount of the idling torque of the torque limiter 42b, and the paper moves while keeping the tensioned state, and the front end of the left deflection unit 21 as shown in FIG. The roller 21a is brought into contact with the lower folding roller 11b on the left side. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, since the pressure F corresponding to the idling torque of the torque limiter 42b is applied to the roller 21a and the lower folding roller 11b at the leading end, the paper P further forms a slack to form a loop, and the top of the loop As shown in FIG. 12, the sheet is held in the nip of the left folding roller pair 11 rotating in the direction of the arrow and conveyed to the outside, and the sheet is folded to the left. The sheet continues to be fed to the left. When the leading edge of the folded sheet reaches the folding width left sensor 16 and is turned on (S16), the deflection means left motor 36 is stopped (S17). This completes the first folding.

When there is repeated folding, as shown in the flow B of FIG. 11, the left deflection means 21 is returned to the standby position, and further when the deflection means left motor 43 is turned on in the reverse direction (S55), the return to the home position is performed. When the deflection means left HP sensor 25 is turned on (S56) and the deflection means left motor 43 is turned off (S57), the left deflection means 21 returns to the standby state (HP) at the solid line position in FIG. Further, in the case of the final fold when there is no repeated folding, the left deflection means 21 does not return to the standby state in order to suppress the bulge of the paper, and the state is maintained until the folding width left sensor 16 is turned off, and the flow C is entered.
After the leading edge of the sheet has entered the right folding roller pair 12, it is determined whether or not there is a next folding operation (left folding). If there is no next folding operation, the paper discharge direction is the left folding roller pair. 11, the sheet needs to be discharged in the same direction, and the folding motor 30 is turned off when the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the leading edge detection sensor 15 in the process of conveying the sheet by the pair of right folding rollers 12 (S 19). In order to suppress the swelling of the paper in the final folding, the deflection means left motor 36 is rotated forward to move the left deflection means 21 downward (S20 to S22). Therefore, the folding motor 30 is rotated in the reverse direction (S23), and the rear end of the sheet is conveyed toward the left folding roller pair 11 to enter the discharge operation flow C.
In the determination of whether or not the first sheet conveyance in S2 is the sheet folding type to be inserted into the right folding roller 12, if it is the sheet folding type to be inserted into the left folding roller 11, the sheet is fed into the right folding roller 12. The difference is that the left and right are reversed. Further, since the control of the deflecting means is different in the final folding direction, the operation timings in steps S30 to S32 and S39 to S41 are different, but the operations are almost the same from S24 to S42. However, in S29 in which it is determined whether or not there is the next right folding, if there is no folding, the discharge direction is on the left folding roller pair 11 side, so the discharge operation flow C is entered as it is.

Here, it is determined whether or not there is repeated folding (S18, S42). When the first folding is on the left side and there are repeated foldings, the flow enters the right repeated folding flow B and there is no repeated folding. Enters the discharge operation flow C as it is.
Further, when the first fold is on the right side and there are repeated folds, the flow enters the repetitive fold flow A on the left side, and when there are no repeated folds, the sheet is discharged. When the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the leading edge detection sensor 15 with the right folding roller pair 12 transporting the sheet and is turned OFF, the folding motor 30 is turned OFF (S43), and the deflection means left motor 36 is pressed to suppress the swelling of the sheet in the final folding. The left deflection means 21 is moved forwardly (S44 to S46). Accordingly, the folding motor 30 is rotated in the reverse direction (S47), and the rear end of the sheet is conveyed toward the left folding roller pair 11 to enter the discharge operation flow C.
Next, in the case of the repetitive folding flows A and B, first, the left folding flow A is almost the same as the first folding flow S12 to S18, and the folding width when the timing of reverse rotation of the folding motor 30 in S51 is repetitive folding. The rotation is reversed T6 seconds after the right detection sensor 17 is turned ON. Similarly, the right-folding flow B is substantially the same as the first-folding flows S30 to S42, and when the forward rotation timing of the folding motor 30 in S61 is repeated folding, the folding width right detection sensor 16 is turned on and then T6. It is reversed after 2 seconds.
If there is further repeated folding after that, the flow A and B are repeated. If the final folding is the right folding with the right folding roller pair 12, the paper discharge direction is on the opposite side to the left folding roller, and therefore to the left. It will be discharged toward (FIG. 13). When the trailing edge of the paper in the introduction path passes through the leading edge detection sensor 15 with the right folding roller pair 12 transporting the paper and turns off, the folding motor 30 is turned off (S68), and the deflection means left to suppress the swelling of the paper in the final folding. The motor 36 is rotated forward, and the left deflection means 21 is moved downward (S69 to S71). Therefore, the folding motor 30 is rotated in the reverse direction (S72), and the rear end of the sheet that has passed through the conveying roller pair 14 is conveyed toward the left folding roller pair 11, and the discharging operation flow C is entered.

When the final folding is the left folding by the left folding roller 11, the discharge operation flow C is entered as it is (FIG. 14). In the state of FIG. 14, the left folding is not completed, and the end of the sheet is illustrated with respect to the left folding roller pair 11 while pressing the left end of the sheet by the deflecting unit 21 to start the left folding. A left fold is performed by pushing further to the left than the position.
Finally, in the discharge operation flow C, the rear end of the sheet (the rear end in the paper discharge direction) passes through the folding width left detection sensor 16 and the folding width left detection sensor 16 is turned OFF (S73). (S74), the left deflection means 21 is returned to the standby state (S75). The folding motor 30 is stopped (S76), and the conveying motor 52 is stopped (S77), thereby completing the discharge.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the paper folded repeatedly in a bellows shape is stacked on the tray 13 by the discharge roller 19, but the paper folded in a bellows shape is further folded in a cross shape and folded into a certain size vertically and horizontally. Similarly, the present embodiment can be used for the folder cross-folding mechanism.
The present invention can be applied to other image forming apparatuses such as ink jet printers and printers in addition to electrophotographic image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, and facsimile machines.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration example in which a sheet folding device of the present invention is mounted on a copying apparatus. Explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of a paper folding apparatus. Explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of a paper folding apparatus. Explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of a paper folding apparatus. Explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of a paper folding apparatus. The drive block diagram of a paper folding apparatus. The perspective view which shows the structure of a deflection | deviation means. The perspective view which shows the structure of a deflection | deviation means. The block diagram of a paper folding device. The flowchart of this embodiment. The flowchart of this embodiment. The enlarged view when the paper of this embodiment approachs a folding roller. Explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement which has contact | abutted the deflection | deviation means to the paper upper surface at the time of discharge | emission when the last fold is the right side. Explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement which has contact | abutted the deflection | deviation means to the paper upper surface at the time of discharge | emission when the last fold is the left side.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper folding device, 2 End surface folding part, 3 Paper folding part, 11, 12 Folding roller pair, 14 Conveying roller pair, 15 Tip detection sensor, 16 Folding width left detection sensor, 17 Folding width right detection sensor, 20, 21 Deflection Means, 20a, 21a Roller, 24, 25 Deflection means HP sensor, 30 Folding motor, 36, 43 Deflection means motor, 52 Conveyance motor, 100 Paper folding controller, 200 Copier main body, 201 Operation unit, 202 Main body control board.

Claims (3)

A pair of first and second folding rollers arranged at a predetermined interval; a pair of conveying rollers for feeding paper between the first and second folding roller pairs; and one of the pair of folding rollers Two deflecting units that operate to guide the leading edge of the sheet to the nip portion of the sheet, and a control unit, respectively, and the folding direction by the cooperation of the first and second pair of folding rollers and the deflecting units. Is a paper folding device capable of alternately switching a plurality of times and continuously diffracting, wherein a discharge path is continuously provided outside the nip portion of the second pair of folding rollers.
When the final folding is performed by the first pair of folding rollers, the control unit discharges the second folding roller pair side deflection unit on the discharge side while abutting against the upper surface of the sheet and suppressing the swelling. A paper folding device characterized by the above.   2. The paper folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means keeps the deflecting means on the second folding roller pair side in contact with the paper until the discharged paper passes. apparatus.   When the final folding is performed by the second pair of folding rollers, the control unit continues to contact the upper surface of the sheet until the sheet passes through the deflecting unit on the second folding roller side. The sheet folding device according to claim 1 or 2.

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