JP2007051003A - Paper carrying device, paper processing system, and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry a bound paper bundle formed by a post-processing device installed on the upstream side of paper in the carrying direction to a paper post-processing device on the downstream side without carrying it to a next stage post-processing device when the paper post-processing devices are connected. <P>SOLUTION: This image forming system is formed by arranging an image forming device 1, the first paper post-processing device 2, the second paper post-processing device 3, and the third paper post-processing device 4 in order from the upstream side of the paper in the carrying direction. The paper carrying device 5 is disposed on the lower side of the second paper processing device 3. The paper bundle is fed directly from the first paper post-processing device 2 to the paper carrying device 5, discharged from the paper carrying device 5 to the third paper post-processing device 4, for example, for edge cutting processing by the third paper post-processing device. Consequently, the paper bundle is carried and processed while bypassing the second paper post-processing device 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet conveying apparatus that conveys a sheet or a sheet bundle from the first apparatus to a third apparatus located downstream in the sheet conveying direction with respect to the second apparatus, and conveys the sheet or sheet bundle. , Provided integrally or separately in an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a printer, and discharged after performing predetermined processing, such as sorting, stacking, binding, and saddle stitching, on an image-formed sheet (recording medium) The present invention relates to a sheet processing system including a plurality of sheet processing apparatuses and an image forming system including the sheet processing system and the image forming apparatus.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for post-processing on documents output from image forming apparatuses such as copy, FAX, and printers. On the other hand, the speed of image forming apparatuses has been increasing, and accordingly, the need for speeding up post-processing of documents has increased. In addition, the image quality of an image forming apparatus has been improved, and accordingly, there has been an increasing demand for higher accuracy in post-processing of a document.

As a system including such a post-processing device, for example, an image forming system including a paper post-processing device as shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 is known. FIG. 5 shows the form of a copying machine or digital multifunction machine equipped with an ARDF (circular automatic document feeder), and FIG. 6 shows the form of a printer. The system as a copying machine shown in FIG. 5 includes an image forming apparatus PR, a paper feeding apparatus PF that supplies paper to the image forming apparatus PR, a scanner SC for reading an image, and a circulating automatic document feeder ARDF. . The sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus PR is conveyed to the entrance guide plate of the finisher FR via the relay unit CU. FIG. 6 shows an outline of a printer-type system without the scanner SC and the circulation type automatic document feeder ARDF, and the other configuration is the same as that of the copying machine. The sheet post-processing device indicated as the finisher FR is attached to the side portion of the image forming apparatus PR as described above, and the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus PR is guided to the paper post-processing device FR, and the rear of the paper Various post-processing are performed by the function of the processing device FR. The image forming apparatus PR is an apparatus having a known image forming function, such as an apparatus for an electrophotographic image forming process or an apparatus having an inkjet print head.

The demand for such a system has been increasing in recent years, for example, post-processing for a document, particularly the alignment of the end face when generating a saddle-stitched booklet. As an apparatus for aligning the end faces, for example, there is a cutting machine that cuts the end faces of the binding sheet bundle including the saddle stitch booklet. Normal,
The cutting machine performs a cutting process by conveying a sheet bundle, which has been subjected to a predetermined process by a post-processing apparatus directly connected to the image forming apparatus, to a cutting apparatus directly connected to the post-processing apparatus.

As such a technique, for example, the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known. Among these, Patent Document 1 discloses an invention in which a saddle-stitched booklet is generated in a large amount on a small-size tray in a post-processing apparatus with a saddle-stitched booklet generation function. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses an invention relating to an apparatus that reliably cuts a sheet bundle and aligns the fore edges by setting a cutting amount for each sheet bundle for unevenness of the end faces of the sheet bundle.
JP 2004-331332 A JP 2004-338170 A

If there is no means for conveying the sheet bundle to the cutting device, it is necessary to change the mechanism of the post-processing device itself. Specifically, in the post-processing apparatus, when the sheet bundle discharge port is installed at the upper part of the apparatus, or by connecting the post-processing apparatus, the sheet bundle generated by the upstream post-processing apparatus is used. The case where the process made to convey to a cutting processing apparatus is mentioned. In such cases,
Since it is necessary to change the mechanism of the post-processing apparatus itself, it is difficult to realize a configuration in which the sheet bundle is conveyed to the cutting apparatus with a simple structure.

Further, in Patent Document 1, since the generated saddle-stitched booklet is intended to be stacked on a small tray, it is not provided with a transport means to the transport downstream apparatus, and accordingly, the sheet bundle to the transport downstream apparatus is not provided. Delivery is difficult. Further, Patent Document 2 has means for receiving a sheet bundle from an apparatus on the upstream side in the transport direction, and it is possible to align the end face of the sheet bundle by cutting the edge surface of the received sheet bundle. . However, when a post-processing device having another processing function is connected between the saddle stitching generation device and the cutting device, it does not include means for transporting the sheet bundle discharged from the saddle stitching device. It becomes difficult to accept a stack of paper.

The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object thereof is binding paper generated by a post-processing device installed on the upstream side in the paper transport direction when the paper post-processing device is connected. An object of the present invention is to enable a bundle to be transported to a downstream paper post-processing device (cutting processing device) without being transported to the post-processing device of the next stage.

In order to achieve the object, the first means transports the sheet or sheet bundle from the first apparatus to the second apparatus or the third apparatus, and conveys the sheet to the second apparatus. The apparatus further comprises a conveying unit that conveys the sheet or sheet bundle by bypassing the second apparatus to the third apparatus located on the downstream side in the direction.

The second means is characterized in that, in the first means, a mounting surface for mounting the second device on an upper surface is provided.

The third means is the second means, wherein the transport means includes a transport path connected to the paper discharge port of the first apparatus and the paper feed port of the third apparatus, The portion is provided below the placement surface.

A fourth means is the third means, wherein the transport path includes a plurality of transport belts and a plurality of transport forces that press the paper or the paper bundle against the transport belt and apply a transport force to the paper or the paper bundle. It is characterized by having a roller.

  The fifth means is characterized in that, in the fourth means, a gap is formed between the conveyor belt and the roller.

  The sixth means is characterized in that, in the fourth means, there is provided means for changing the gap according to the number of bound sheets.

  A seventh means is characterized in that, in the fourth means, means for changing the gap according to the size of the paper is provided.

  The eighth means is characterized in that in the fourth to seventh means, means for driving the roller is provided.

  A ninth means is characterized in that, in the eighth means, the means for driving the roller applies a driving force to the roller when the number of sheets bundled is equal to or larger than a preset number.

  A tenth means includes a guide plate that is provided at a position facing each of the conveyor belts in the fourth to ninth means and guides the sheet or the sheet bundle between the conveyor belt and the roller. It is characterized by being.

  According to an eleventh means, in any one of the fourth to tenth means, the plurality of transport belts are divided into three along the transport direction of the sheet or sheet bundle, and one is positioned below the placement surface. A first conveyor belt unit that performs the second conveyance of the sheet or sheet bundle from the sheet discharge port of the first apparatus to the first conveyor belt unit. A conveying belt unit, and the other one includes a third conveying belt unit that conveys the sheet or sheet bundle delivered from the first conveying belt unit to a sheet feeding port of the third device. Features.

  A twelfth means is characterized in that, in the first means, the sheet conveying means is provided integrally with the second apparatus.

  A thirteenth means is characterized in that, in the twelfth means, the paper conveying device is provided in a lower part of the second device.

  A fourteenth means is characterized in that a paper processing system is constituted by the paper conveying apparatus according to any one of the first to thirteenth means and a paper processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process on the paper.

  A fifteenth means is the paper processing apparatus according to the fourteenth means, comprising a plurality of the paper processing devices, wherein the first device is a paper processing device that performs saddle stitching and center folding on the paper bundle, and the second device is a paper bundle. It is a paper processing apparatus that performs edge binding on the paper.

  A sixteenth means is the fifteenth means characterized in that the second device further comprises punch means for punching paper.

  The seventeenth means is characterized in that, in the fifteenth or sixteenth means, the second apparatus further comprises sorting means for sorting the sheets.

  According to an eighteenth means, in any one of the fifteenth to seventeenth means, the third device is a cutting device for cutting a fore edge of a sheet bundle.

  A nineteenth means is characterized in that an image forming system is constituted by a paper processing system according to any one of the fourteenth to eighteenth means and an image forming apparatus for forming a visible image on a recording medium.

  In the following embodiments, the first device is the first paper post-processing device 2, the second device is the second paper post-processing device 3, and the third device is the third paper post-processing device. 4, the sheet conveying device corresponds to the reference numeral 5, the conveying means corresponds to the conveying belt 20, the rollers correspond to the pressing rollers 19, and the image forming apparatus corresponds to the reference numeral 1.

According to the present invention, when the sheet post-processing apparatus is connected, the binding sheet bundle generated by the post-processing apparatus installed on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction is downstream without being conveyed to the subsequent stage post-processing apparatus. Can be transported to other paper post-processing devices

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming system including a sheet post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This system basically includes an image forming apparatus 1, a first sheet post-processing apparatus 2, a second sheet post-processing apparatus 3, a third sheet post-processing apparatus 4, and a sheet conveying apparatus 5 from the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction. It is configured.

The first sheet post-processing device 2 is a post-processing device having a saddle stitching and middle folding function, and is a saddle stitching tray 6, a saddle stitching stapler 7, a middle folding plate 8, and a middle folding roller (a middle folding paper discharge roller) 9.
Is provided.

The second sheet post-processing device 3 is a post-processing device having a punched end surface binding function, and is provided with a punch unit 11, an end surface binding tray 12, an end surface binding stapler 13, and a paper discharge tray.

The third paper post-processing device 4 is a post-processing device having a cutting processing function, here a cutting processing device, and cuts a small edge of the conveyed paper bundle.

The sheet conveying device 5 is arranged below the second sheet post-processing device 3 so as to support the device 3, and the saddle stitch booklet is conveyed under the second sheet post-processing device 3. As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, the sheet bundle received by the fourth sheet post-processing device 4 drives the conveying belt 20 disposed at the lower part of the sheet bundle, and the pressing roller 19 disposed at the upper part of the sheet bundle. Is transported to the third sheet post-processing device (cutting processing device) 4 while suppressing the opening of the sheet bundle. The sheet conveying device 5 includes three conveying units U1, U2, and U3 each having one conveying belt 20 from the upstream side in the conveying direction, a pressing roller 19 for conveying the sheet bundle while being held by each conveying belt 20, and Entrance guide plate 16 provided in each unit.
An intermediate guide plate 17 and a paper discharge guide plate 18 are provided, and a paper discharge sensor 24 is disposed at the exit of the paper transport device 5.

In the system configured as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the single-sheet processing and end-face binding processing mode, the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 passes through the transport path B and is directly after the second paper. It is conveyed to the processing device 3. Then, the sheet passes through a transport path having post-processing means for performing post-processing on one sheet (in the embodiment, the punch unit 11 as a punching means). In the single-sheet processing mode, the proof tray 15 or the transport path D is used. The paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 14. In the end face binding processing mode, the paper is transported to the end face binding tray 12 through the transport path E, and after a predetermined number of sheets are stacked on the end face binding tray 12, the end face binding stapler 13 performs end face binding. Is bundled and discharged to the paper discharge tray 14 by a discharge claw (not shown).

In the mode for generating the saddle stitch booklet, the sheet passes through the conveyance path A of the first sheet post-processing device 2 and is directly conveyed to the saddle stitching tray 6, and a predetermined number of sheets are stacked on the saddle stitching tray 6. Then, saddle stitching is performed by the saddle stitching stapler 7 and the bound sheet bundle is conveyed to the middle folding plate 8 side. When the sheet reaches a predetermined position (usually, the central portion is the leading end position of the center folding plate 8), the sheet stops at that position and the center folding plate 8 pushes the sheet bundle into the nip of the center folding roller 9 so that the center folding is performed. Done. The half-folded sheet is discharged to the fourth sheet post-processing device 5 by a saddle stitch booklet discharge roller that also functions as the center folding roller 9.

The saddle-stitched booklet ejected by the paper ejection roller 9 is conveyed as it is from the paper conveying device 5 to the cutting processing device which is the third paper post-processing device 4 by the entrance guide plate 16 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the saddle stitch booklet cutting processing mode. This processing is performed by the first to fourth paper post-processing devices 2, 3, 4, 5 from the control device of the image forming apparatus 1.
This is performed by cooperation of control devices provided in each of the devices. The configuration of the control device itself is centered on the CPU, and the following processing is performed by the CPUs of the sheet post-processing devices 2, 3, 4 and the sheet transport device 5 according to instructions from the CPU of the image forming apparatus 1. This is performed by executing a program stored in a ROM provided in each device.

In this mode, first, the operator selects a saddle stitching, half-folding, and cutting process mode with the operation unit 21, and the mode is set (step S1). Then, the sheet on which the image has been formed is discharged from the main body of the image forming apparatus 1 (step S2) and conveyed to the first post-processing apparatus 2, and the conveyance path A
Led to. In the transport path A, the staple paper discharge roller 22 is driven (step S3), and the paper is discharged (carried in) to the saddle stitching tray 6 (step S4). Next, a not-shown tapping roller is actuated to knock the paper to the trailing edge fence side, and the jogger fence is operated to perform an aligning operation in the direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction (paper width direction) (step S5). This operation is repeated until the predetermined number of sheets are stacked on the saddle stitching tray 6 (step S6).
When the number of sheets necessary for binding is reached, the saddle stitching stapler 7 is driven, and the center portion of the sheet bundle is saddle stitched (steps S7 and S8). When the binding operation is completed, the conveyance roller is driven, and the sheet bundle is conveyed to the center folding portion (step S9). When the sheet bundle reaches the middle folding position, the middle folding plate 8 and the middle folding roller 9 are driven to execute the middle folding of the sheet bundle (step S10,
S11). The sheet bundle is ejected by the center folding roller (center folded booklet sheet ejection roller) 9 while being folded in half (step S12), and a sheet ejection sensor (not shown) provided in the sheet ejection section of the first sheet post-processing device 2 is provided. When turned on (step S13), the sheet is guided to the sheet conveying device 5, the conveying belt 20 is driven (step S14), and the sheet bundle is the first, second and third units U1, U1.
The paper is discharged to the third paper post-processing device 4 through U2 and U3 (steps S15 and S16). The fore edge is cut by the cutting processing device of the third paper post-processing device, and the end faces of the paper bundle are aligned.

The paper transport device 5 does not perform any special processing on the paper other than the transport, but can be considered as a fourth paper post-processing device when considered as one of the transport processes (see FIG. 3).

<Second Embodiment>
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming system according to the second embodiment.

In this embodiment, the sheet conveying apparatus (fourth sheet post-processing apparatus) 5 in the first embodiment is integrally provided at the lower part of the second sheet post-processing apparatus 3. In this second embodiment,
The third unit U3 of the fourth post-processing device 5 shown in FIG. 2 is omitted, and the first and second units U1 and U2 constitute one transport device. With this configuration, since the second sheet post-processing device 3 functions only, the cost for the fourth sheet post-processing device (paper transport device) 5 can be reduced.

In addition, since each part which is not demonstrated especially is comprised similarly to 1st Embodiment, and functions similarly, the same referential mark is attached | subjected and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

<Third Embodiment>
FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams showing a main part of the paper transport device 5 in the paper post-processing apparatus according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a control procedure in the third embodiment. Since the image forming system itself is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts, and the duplicate description is omitted.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a bracket guide plate 23 having a pressing roller (driven conveyance roller) 19 on the lower surface. The bracket guide plate 23 is attached between the side plates 26 of the paper conveying device 5 in a cantilevered manner by a shaft 23a, and can be opened and closed around the shaft 23a on the free end side. As shown in the front view of FIG. 6, the pressing roller 19 is not provided with a driving mechanism as in the first embodiment, and a predetermined gap is provided from the conveying belt 20. A long hole 26a is vertically cut in the support portion of the shaft 23a on the side plate 26 side. A shaft 23a is inserted into the long hole 26a, and the bracket guide plate 23 can move within a range of several tens of mm in the vertical direction (see FIG. 8). Other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 recognizes in advance the number of image forming sheets (the number of sheets to be bound) and the size of the sheet to be formed, and notifies the information to the sheet post-processing apparatuses 2 to 5. The saddle stitch booklet generated by the first paper post-processing device 2 is discharged to the paper transport device 5 by the saddle stitch discharge roller 9. The paper transport device 5 is formed by a transport mechanism in which a transport belt 20 is disposed on the lower surface of the transport, and a driven transport roller 19 that is not driven by a drive mechanism is disposed on the upper surface. The conveyor belt 20 is rotationally driven by a driving roller driven by driving means. The other roller is a driven roller that is rotated by the conveyor belt 20. The pressing roller 19 includes a pressing function for preventing the sheet bundle from being opened. Here, in consideration of the case where the bundle of sheets is a large number of sheets and the opening of the bundle is large, the arrangement of the driven conveyance rollers 19 is arranged so that the sheet bundle easily enters the nip formed by the conveyance belt 20 and the driven rollers 19. It is arranged so as to have a gap of about several millimeters without contacting the belt 20 (FIG. 6). The pressing roller 19 is attached to the side plate 26 through a long hole 26a together with the bracket 23 by a shaft 23a. Reference numeral 25 denotes a bracket guide plate.

  The sheet bundle received by the sheet conveying device 5 is guided by the entrance guide plate 16 and conveyed onto the conveying belt 20. The sheet bundle dropped onto the belt 20 is conveyed by the conveying belt 20, and the pressing roller 19 and the conveying belt 20 are conveyed. The press roller 19 side moves so as to be lifted up by the bracket 23 fastened according to the thickness of the sheet bundle. A conveyance force is generated by the friction between the pressing roller 19 and the conveyance belt 20 with respect to the sheet bundle, the sheet bundle is conveyed, and the sheet bundle is delivered to the third post-processing device 4.

  With respect to the gap between the conveyance belt 20 and the pressing roller 19, a mechanism for adjusting the gap interval according to the number of sheets of the saddle stitch booklet notified in advance may be provided. When such an adjustment mechanism is provided, for example, the gap between the conveying belt 20 and the pressing roller 19 is adjusted to 5 mm if the number of sheets is 5 or less, 10 mm if the number is 10 or less, and 15 mm if the number is 15 or less. can do. Further, regarding the gap adjustment, the gap interval can be adjusted according to the paper size notified in advance. In this case, for example, when the number of binding sheets is 10 or more, the interval is adjusted to 10 mm when the binding sheet size is A4 size, and 15 mm when the binding sheet size is B5 size. When the number of sheets to be bound increases, the interval is adjusted accordingly.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the saddle stitch booklet cutting processing mode when the conveying belt 20 is driven and the pressing roller 19 is driven (one-side driving). In this processing procedure, steps S1-1 to 7 are provided in the subsequent stage of step S1 and steps S15-1 and S2 are provided in the subsequent stage of step S15 to the flowchart of FIG. 3 in the first embodiment described above. It is. Therefore, only the newly inserted processing procedure will be described.

  In step S1, saddle stitching, center folding, and cutting processing are set by the image forming apparatus 1, and when the number of sheets bound and the sheet size are recognized (step S1-1), the number and size are set on the sheet transport device 5 side in the subsequent stage. Notice. On the paper transport device 5 side, if the number of sheets to be bound is less than 5 (step S1-2), the distance between the pressing roller 19 and the transport belt 20 is 5 mm (step S1-3), and the number of sheets to be bound is 5 or more 10 If it is less than the number of sheets (step S1-4) to 10 mm (step S1-5), if the number of sheets to be bound is 11 sheets or more and less than 15 sheets (step S1-6) to 15 mm (step S1-7), 15 sheets or more If so, it is adjusted to 20 mm (step S1-8). Thereafter, the conveyor belt 20 is driven in step S14. It should be noted that the gap spacing and case classification are merely examples, and it is needless to say that the set thickness can be changed according to the thickness of the paper and the conveyance capability.

  Further, after the sheet bundle is discharged in step S15, when the trailing end of the sheet bundle is detected by the sheet discharge sensor 24, the driving of the conveying belt 20 is stopped and the conveying belt of the third sheet post-processing device 4 is driven. The process proceeds to the cutting process (step S16).

  In this embodiment, only the downstream side in the sheet bundle conveyance direction is supported by the shaft 26a and is configured to be movable in the vertical direction. However, as shown in FIG. It can also be configured such that it can be pivoted about the shaft 23a and moved in the vertical direction by loosely fitting it in 26b. Such a configuration is advantageous in positioning the bracket 23. Further, in order to ensure the pivotability, the upstream shaft 23b is formed to have a smaller diameter than the downstream shaft 23a, and is configured to sufficiently allow movement in the front-rear direction with respect to the transport direction.

  Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as the first embodiment and function in the same manner.

<Fourth Embodiment>
In this embodiment, the pressing roller 19 of the third embodiment is a driven roller, and a driving force is applied to form a driving roller. Since the other parts are configured in the same way as in the first and third embodiments described above, the processing procedure when the pressing roller 19 is driven on both sides of the sheet bundle as a driving roller is shown in the flowchart of FIG. Only processing procedures that differ depending on the roller will be described.

  In this processing procedure, after the conveying belt 20 is driven in step S14, the pressing roller 19 is further driven (step S14-1), and the sheet discharge sensor 24 detects the trailing end of the sheet bundle (step S15-1). The driving of the belt 20 is stopped (step S15-2), and the driving of the pressing roller 29 is also stopped (step S15-3).

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the pressing roller 19 is driven regardless of the thickness (number of sheets to be bound) of the sheet bundle. When the sheet bundle binding number is small, the pressing roller 19 is not driven and driven as in the third embodiment. When the conveyance load is large, that is, when the sheet bundle binding number is large, the conveying belt 20 It is also possible to perform control so as to perform conveyance using both-side driving of the driving and pressing roller 19.

As described above, according to these embodiments, the following effects can be obtained.
1) When paper post-processing devices are connected, downstream paper post-processing without transporting the binding paper bundle generated by the post-processing device installed upstream of the image forming apparatus to the next-stream post-processing device It is possible to realize a transport apparatus that transports the apparatus (cutting processing apparatus).
2) A sheet bundle can be conveyed to the next process by simply incorporating a conveying means into the current mechanism configuration.
3) By providing a gap between the conveyance belt 20 and the pressing roller 19, it is possible to reduce the conveyance load of the sheet bundle and to perform stable sheet bundle conveyance.
4) Since the transport load is reduced, the load on the transport motor can be reduced.
5) Since the gap between the conveyance belt 20 and the pressing roller 19 can be changed according to the number of sheets bundled, the conveyance load can be reduced and stable sheet bundle conveyance can be performed.
6) Since the gap between the conveyance belt 20 and the pressing roller 19 can be changed according to the sheet size of the sheet bundle, the conveyance load can be reduced and stable sheet bundle conveyance can be performed.
7) By applying a driving force to the pressing roller 19, it is possible to generate conveyance from both sides with respect to the upper and lower surfaces of the sheet bundle, thereby enabling more stable sheet bundle conveyance.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which expands and shows the conveying apparatus in FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure in the image forming system in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the image forming system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a main part of a paper transport device in a paper post-processing device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view which shows the principal part of the paper conveying apparatus in the paper post-processing apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control procedure in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of the modification of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control procedure in the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the image forming system which concerns on a prior art example. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the image forming system which concerns on another prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 1st paper post-processing apparatus 3 2nd paper post-processing apparatus 4 3rd paper post-processing apparatus (cutting processing apparatus)
5 Conveying device (fourth paper post-processing device)
16 Inlet guide plate 17 Intermediate guide plate 18 Discharge guide plate 19 Holding roller 20 Conveying belt 23 Holding roller bracket 24 Discharge sensor

Claims (19)

In a paper transport device that transports a paper or a bundle of paper from a first device to a second device or a third device,
The image forming apparatus includes a conveying unit that conveys the sheet or the sheet bundle by bypassing the second apparatus to the third apparatus located downstream in the sheet conveying direction with respect to the second apparatus. Paper transport device. The paper conveying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a placement surface on which the second device is placed on an upper surface. The transport means includes a transport path connected to a paper discharge port of the first device and a paper feed port of the third device,
3. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a part of the conveying path is provided below the placement surface. The transport path is
A plurality of conveyor belts;
A plurality of rollers for pressing the sheet or sheet bundle against the conveying belt to apply a conveying force to the sheet or sheet bundle;
The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:   The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a gap is formed between the conveying belt and the roller.   5. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising means for changing the gap according to the number of sheets of the sheet bundle.   5. A paper conveying apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising means for changing the gap according to the size of the paper.   The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising means for driving the roller.   9. The paper conveying apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the means for driving the roller applies a driving force to the roller when the number of sheets bundled is greater than or equal to a preset number.   The guide plate according to any one of claims 4 to 9, further comprising a guide plate that is provided at a position facing each of the transport belts and guides the sheet or the sheet bundle between the transport belt and the rollers. The sheet conveying apparatus according to the item. The plurality of conveyance belts are divided into three along the conveyance direction of the sheet or sheet bundle, one being a first conveyance belt portion located below the placement surface, and the other being the first conveyance. A second conveying belt unit that transfers the sheet or sheet bundle from the discharge port of the first device to the first belt unit, and another one from the first conveying belt unit to the belt unit. 11. The sheet conveyance according to claim 4, further comprising a third conveyance belt unit that conveys the delivered sheet or sheet bundle to a sheet feeding port of the third device. apparatus.   2. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet conveying means is provided integrally with the second apparatus.   The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the sheet conveying apparatus is provided in a lower part of the second apparatus. A paper conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 13,
A paper processing device for performing predetermined processing on paper;
A paper processing system comprising: A plurality of the paper processing devices;
The first apparatus is a sheet processing apparatus that performs saddle stitching and folding on a sheet bundle,
15. The sheet processing system according to claim 14, wherein the second apparatus is a sheet processing apparatus that performs edge binding on a sheet bundle.   The paper processing system according to claim 15, wherein the second apparatus further includes punching means for punching the paper.   17. The sheet processing system according to claim 15, wherein the second apparatus further includes a sorting unit that sorts the sheets.   18. The sheet processing system according to claim 15, wherein the third apparatus is a cutting apparatus that cuts a front edge of a sheet bundle. A paper processing system according to any one of claims 14 to 18,
An image forming apparatus for forming a visible image on a recording medium;
An image forming system comprising:

Images