JP2007076893A - Paper sheet treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper sheet treatment device capable of certainly aligning and delivering paper sheets and enhancing reliability. <P>SOLUTION: The post-treatment device is provided with a stand-by tray 4 for receiving the paper sheets M fed from a digital copying machine; a treatment tray 6 for receiving the paper sheets dropped off from the stand-by tray 4; a conveying mechanism 34 for conveying the paper sheets M received in the treatment tray 6 in a first direction; a rear end stopper 50 provided in an upstream side in the first direction than the treatment tray 6 and abutting one end of the paper sheets M received in the treatment tray 6; and an assist arm for moving one end of the paper sheets M abutted on the rear end stopper 50 to a second position positioned in a downstream side in the first direction than the first position abutted on the rear end stopper 50 in a movement mode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper sheet processing apparatus that aligns one end of a paper sheet received in a processing tray by contacting a stopper. The present invention relates to a paper sheet processing apparatus.

  Conventionally, as a paper sheet processing apparatus, a staple tray that receives and stacks supplied sheets, a rear end fence that abuts a rear end of the stacked sheets, and a rear end of a bound sheet bundle are engaged. A discharge claw and a discharge belt that holds the discharge claw and conveys the paper engaged by the discharge claw, and when in a mode in which the paper bundle is not bound, is moved to a first standby position that does not interfere with the discharge claw; There is known a paper transport device that moves a paper bundle to a second position that does not interfere with entry into the staple tray in the mode of binding the paper bundle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In this apparatus, the end-face stitching stapler S1 is configured to move in the sheet width direction and perform stippling. For this reason, since it is necessary to secure a moving mechanism and a moving space for the stapler, there is a problem that the apparatus is increased in size and complexity, and the cost is increased accordingly. Further, in this apparatus, the discharge claw is brought into contact with the rear end of the sheet along the curved surface of the discharge roller 56 and is transported. It was.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-210418 (Abstract)

  An object of the present invention is to provide a paper sheet processing apparatus capable of reliably arranging and discharging paper sheets and improving reliability.

  In order to achieve the above object, a paper sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a processing tray that receives paper sheets to be processed, and a transport mechanism that transports the paper sheets received in the processing tray in a first direction. A stopper that is provided upstream of the processing tray in the first direction and that contacts one end of the paper sheet received in the processing tray; and one end of the paper sheet that is in contact with the stopper Is moved to a second position located downstream of the first position in contact with the stopper in the first direction.

  According to the above invention, the sheet can be discharged without damaging the rear end of the paper sheet, and the reliability can be improved.

  Since the paper sheet processing apparatus of the present invention has the above-described configuration and operation, it can be discharged without damaging the rear end of the paper sheet, and the reliability can be improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a post-processing apparatus 1 that functions as a paper sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a digital copying machine 10 to which the post-processing apparatus 1 is connected.

  The digital copying machine 10 includes a housing 12 that forms an outer shell of the apparatus, and a document placing table 12 a made of a transparent glass plate on the upper surface of the housing 12. An automatic document feeder 14 (hereinafter simply referred to as ADF 14) is provided on the document table 12a so as to be openable and closable. The ADF 14 operates to automatically send the document D to a predetermined position on the document placing table 12a.

  For example, when the document D is set on the paper feed tray 14a of the ADF 14, the presence / absence of stapling, the method of stapling, the number of copies, the paper size, etc. are set, and the copy start switch is pressed, the original on the paper feed tray 14a D is automatically fed one by one to the document reading position on the document table 12a, and is automatically discharged at an appropriate timing after the document is read.

  Inside the housing 12, a scanner unit 16, a printer unit 18, cassettes 21, 22, and 23 for copy paper P are disposed. Further, a large-capacity feeder 24 that accommodates a large amount of paper of the same size and a manual feed tray 25 are attached to the right wall of the housing 12 in the drawing. Further, a post-processing device 1 to be described later is connected to the left wall of the housing 12 in the figure.

  The scanner unit 16 illuminates and scans the document D fed to the document reading position on the document table 12a by the ADF 14, scans the reflected light, performs photoelectric conversion, and acquires image information of the document D.

  The printer unit 18 biases the laser device 18a based on the image information read by the scanner unit 16, and forms an electrostatic latent image based on the image information on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 18b. Then, the printer unit 18 supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 18b via the developing device 18c to make it visible, and transfers the toner image onto the copy paper P by the transfer charger 18d. At this time, the copy paper P is fed from the cassettes 21, 22, 23, the large capacity feeder 24, and the manual feed tray 25. Further, the printer unit 18 supplies the copy paper P onto which the toner image has been transferred to the fixing device 18 e, heats and melts the toner image to fix it on the copy paper P, and discharges it to the post-processing device 1 through the discharge port 20. . The copy paper P discharged through the discharge port 20 corresponds to the paper sheet M of the present invention.

  After passing through the fixing device 18e, the copy paper P that requires double-sided copying is transported to the reverse transport path 26 and turned upside down, and sent again to the fixing region between the photosensitive drum 18b and the fixing device 18e. .

  On the other hand, the post-processing apparatus 1 stacks copy sheets on which images are formed, that is, sheets M discharged through the discharge port 20 of the digital copying machine 10 in units of copies (units for the number of sheets to be bound together). Operates to prepare and staple. The stapling process is a process of arranging and binding one end of a plurality of stacked paper sheets M.

  The post-processing apparatus 1 has an entrance roller 2 and an entrance sensor 3 at a position facing the discharge port 20 of the digital copying machine 10. The inlet sensor 3 detects the front end and the rear end passage of the paper sheet M fed into the post-processing apparatus 1 via the inlet roller 2 in the feeding direction (in the direction of arrow T in the figure).

  The post-processing apparatus 1 accepts the sheet M dropped from the standby tray 4 and the standby tray 4 for collecting and waiting several sheets M fed in the direction of the arrow T via the entrance roller 2. A processing tray 6 that arranges the rear ends thereof for stapling processing, and a stapler (binding means) 8 that staples (bindings) the rear ends of the sheets M stacked and arranged on the processing tray 6 are provided. The standby tray 4 and the processing tray 6 are inclined downward toward the rear end of the paper sheet M in the feeding direction. The stapler 8 is fixed to the rear end in the feeding direction of the paper sheets M on the processing tray 6 and can staple the paper sheets M placed on the processing tray 6 without moving.

  Since the staple processing by the stapler 8 requires a certain processing time, when the paper sheets M in the processing tray 6 are stapled, the next number of copies of the paper sheets M is different from the processing tray 6. You need to wait at the place. In the present embodiment, when stapling the paper M of the previous number of copies, two sheets M out of the paper M of the next number of copies are made to wait on the standby tray 4, and the front The time for stapling the paper sheets M in the number of copies was ensured.

  That is, the first sheet M and the second sheet M fed in the direction of the arrow T are stacked on the standby tray 4 and waited after the stapling process for the previous number of copies is completed. Two sheets M were dropped onto the processing tray 6 and the third and subsequent sheets M were directly stacked on the processing tray 6 via the standby tray 4.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the standby tray 4 is opened and closed in a direction intersecting with the feeding direction T of the sheet M (in the direction of arrow W in the figure) (hereinafter, this direction is referred to as the width direction W). Open / close trays 4r and 4f. The open / close trays 4r and 4f are connected to, for example, a standby tray drive motor 78, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 5, and support the vicinity of the rear end corner in the feed direction of the sheet M fed in the arrow T direction. The position and the release position for releasing the support are opened and closed in synchronization with each other.

  When the open / close trays 4r and 4f are opened to the release position, the accumulated sheets M are dropped to the processing tray 6. At this time, since the width of the opening formed between the two open / close trays 4r and 4f is widened toward the upstream side in the feed direction T, the open / close trays 4r and 4f are stacked when opened. The rear end of the paper sheet M in the feeding direction is first dropped onto the processing tray 6.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a paper feed roller 31 is provided on the upstream side of the standby tray 4 in the feeding direction T to clamp the paper sheet M fed in the direction of the arrow T and feed it to the standby tray 4. ing. The paper feed roller 31 has a plurality of upper rollers 31a and lower rollers 31b facing each other. The sheet feeding roller 31 starts to rotate when the above-described entrance sensor 3 detects passage of the paper sheet M in the feeding direction, and the entrance sensor 3 causes the paper sheet M to pass through the trailing edge of the feeding direction. It is controlled to stop the rotation with the detection as a trigger.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a standby tray roller 32 is provided on the downstream side of the standby tray 4 in the feeding direction (not shown in FIG. 2). The standby tray roller 32 is disposed so as to face and separate from the paper sheet placement surface of the standby tray 4 and is rotatable in both forward and reverse directions. In other words, the sheets M fed to the standby tray 4 are slightly conveyed in the direction opposite to the feeding direction T and rotated in order to be aligned, and the sheets M that do not require stapling processing are accumulated in the standby tray 4. Thereafter, the paper is rotated forward to be discharged toward the paper discharge trays 36 and 38. The paper discharge trays 36 and 38 can be moved up and down according to the processing target.

  More specifically, when the sheets M are stacked on the standby tray 4, the standby tray roller 32 is retracted upward, and the sheets M are stacked and then lowered toward the standby tray 4. In this manner, in a state where the standby tray roller 32 is in contact with the stacked paper sheets M, the standby tray roller 32 is reversed, and the rear end of the paper sheet M in the feeding direction is abutted against a stopper (not shown) and aligned. To do. Thereafter, in order to receive the next sheet M to be fed onto the standby tray 4, the standby tray roller 32 is retracted upward again.

  The processing tray 6 has a flat paper sheet placement surface 6a on which the paper sheets M dropped from the standby tray 4 are placed and accumulated. Further, the processing tray 6 uses the belt surface of the transport mechanism 34 (see FIG. 1) for sending out the paper sheets M stacked and placed on the processing tray 6 toward discharge trays 36 and 38 to be described later. An opening 6b for exposing to the mounting surface 6a is provided.

  A feeding member 40 is provided between the standby tray 4 and the processing tray 6. In the present embodiment, the two feeding members 40 are provided apart from each other in the rotation axis direction, but three or more feeding members 40 may be attached.

  That is, these feeding members 40 are arranged at positions that act on the rear end of the paper sheet M received in the standby tray 4 in the feeding direction, guide the rear end of the paper sheet M toward the processing tray 6, and process it. It operates so as to scrape the vicinity of the rear end of the sheet M dropped on the tray 6 in the direction opposite to the feeding direction. The paper sheet M scraped in the direction opposite to the feeding direction by the feeding member 40 comes into contact with the rear end stopper 50 (which will be described later with reference to FIG. 3), and the rear end is aligned. That is, the feeding member 40 can vertically align the paper sheet M by scraping the paper sheet M toward the rear end stopper 50.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the trailing edge stopper 50 is located upstream of the processing tray 6 in the conveyance direction (arrow U direction) of the paper sheets M, and abuts one end of the paper sheets M received in the processing tray 6. It functions as a stopper. The rear end stopper 50 is composed of two members having the same configuration arranged in the width direction W, and the two members are symmetrical from the center of the processing tray 6 (that is, the position where the transport mechanism 34 is disposed). It is provided in the position. In this way, by supporting the paper sheet M between two points, vertical alignment can be easily achieved, and inclination (skew) in the width direction W can be prevented.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, lateral alignment mechanisms 52 that move in the width direction W and perform lateral alignment of the sheets M are provided on both ends of the processing tray 6 in the width direction W.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality (for example, four) of discharge rollers 53 assisting the transport mechanism 34 that transports the paper sheet M in the transport direction U on the downstream side of the processing tray 6 in the transport direction U of the paper sheet M. Is provided. The plurality of discharge rollers 53 are arranged coaxially and are rotatably provided by the same drive motor (discharge roller drive motor 75 described later with reference to FIG. 5).

  In the center of the processing tray 6 in the width direction W, a transport mechanism 34 exposed from the above-described opening 6b is disposed. The transport mechanism 34 will be further described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state where the transport mechanism 34 is taken out from the configuration around the processing tray 6 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the transport mechanism 34 includes a bundle transport belt 54 that transports the placed paper sheet M in the direction of the arrow U (first direction).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the bundle conveying belt 54 includes a first rotating roller 54 a, a second rotating roller 54 b, and a third rotation extending in a second direction (width direction W) orthogonal to the first direction U. Power is provided by the bundle hook driving motor 60 in a state of being hung around the roller 54c, and is held movably in the first direction U. A bundle claw 56 that assists the conveyance of the sheets M of the bundle conveyance belt 54 is fixed to a predetermined position of the bundle conveyance belt 54. In the present embodiment, the first rotating roller 54 a is arranged coaxially with the plurality of discharge rollers 53.

  The bundle claw 56 is located on the stopper surface 56a orthogonal to the moving direction of the bundle conveyance belt 54, and above the stopper surface 56a, that is, on the side facing the bundle conveyance belt 54, in the first direction U of the bundle conveyance belt 54. And a protruding portion 56b that protrudes. With this configuration, the bundle claw 56 moves along with the movement of the bundle conveyance belt 54, and the sheet M that is not conveyed by the bundle conveyance belt 54 can be pushed out from the rear end, thereby assisting the conveyance of the bundle conveyance belt 54. . Further, the protruding portion 56 can prevent the paper sheet M colliding with the stopper surface 56a from jumping upward.

  On the upstream side of the bundle conveying belt 54 in the first direction U, the rear end is aligned by the rear end stopper 50, and the assist arm that delivers the paper sheet M that has been stapled by the stapler 8 to the bundle hook 56. 58 is arranged. The assist arm 58 is composed of two members having the same configuration, and is disposed on both sides of the bundle conveying belt 54. Thus, by supporting the paper sheet M between two points, vertical alignment can be easily achieved, and inclination (skew) in the width direction W can be prevented. Moreover, the assist arm 58 is arrange | positioned inside the width direction W rather than the rear-end stopper 50, as shown in FIG.

  More specifically, the assist arm 58 moves in the first direction U at a predetermined timing, and the bundle claws 56 move the paper sheets M placed on the processing tray 6 by the bundle conveyance belt 54. Pass to. The assist arm 58 has a hook shape protruding toward the upstream side in the first direction U, and a support portion 58a provided so as to be movable in the first direction U with respect to the transport mechanism 34; It has a rising portion 58b that is raised approximately 90 degrees from the support portion 58a, and a folded portion 58c that is bent approximately 90 degrees from the rising portion 58b and faces the support portion 58a. The rising portion 58 b of the assist arm 58 pushes out the rear end of the paper sheet M, transfers it to the bundle hook 56, and is conveyed in the first direction U by the bundle conveyance belt 54. In the present embodiment, the assist arm 58 is connected to an assist arm coupling electromagnetic clutch (power transmission member) 62, and from the bundle hook driving motor 60 connected via the assist arm coupling electromagnetic clutch 62. Operated with power. The folded portion 58c has a function of preventing the paper sheet M from protruding upward due to the impact of the rear end of the paper sheet M coming into contact with the assist arm 58.

  Next, the control system having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the finisher control unit 71 includes a vertical alignment unit 72, a horizontal alignment unit 73, a belt drive unit 74, an assist arm coupling electromagnetic clutch 62, a discharge roller drive motor 75, a conveyance motor 76, a movable tray drive motor 77, The standby tray drive motor 78 is connected. The vertical alignment unit 72, the horizontal alignment unit 73, the belt drive unit 74, the assist arm coupling electromagnetic clutch 62, and the discharge roller drive motor 75 are configured to be used when discharging the paper sheet M received in the processing tray 6. Therefore, it is defined as a processing tray unit section.

  The finisher control unit 71 comprehensively controls the post-processing device 1.

  The vertical alignment unit 72 includes a vertical alignment motor 81 and a vertical alignment motor home position sensor 82 respectively connected to the finisher control unit 71, and the vertical alignment motor 81 is connected to the feed member 40. The vertical alignment motor 81 rotates the feed member 40 when the finisher controller 71 instructs the vertical alignment of the paper sheet M. The vertical alignment motor home position sensor 82 indicates that the rotated feed member 40 has reached a predetermined home position, that is, the feed member 40 has rotated and the trailing edge of the sheet M has reached the trailing edge stopper 50. When detected, the vertical alignment motor 81 stops the feed member 40.

  The lateral alignment unit 73 includes a lateral alignment motor 83 and a lateral alignment motor home position sensor 84 that are respectively connected to the finisher control unit 71, and the lateral alignment motor 83 is connected to the lateral alignment mechanism 52. The horizontal alignment motor 83 moves the horizontal alignment mechanism 52 in the width direction W when the finisher controller 71 instructs the horizontal alignment of the paper sheet M. The lateral alignment motor home position sensor 84 indicates that the moved lateral alignment mechanism 52 has reached a predetermined home position, that is, that the lateral alignment mechanism 52 has moved in the width direction W to complete the lateral alignment of the sheet M. When detected, the lateral alignment motor 83 stops the lateral alignment mechanism 52.

  The belt driving unit 74 includes a bundle hook driving motor 60 and a bundle hook home position sensor 85 respectively connected to the finisher control unit 71. The bundle hook driving motor 60 spans the bundle conveying belt 54 as described above. It is connected to at least one of the first to third rotating rollers 54 a, 54 b and 54 c, and supplies power to the bundle conveying belt 54. The bundle hook driving motor 60 moves the bundle conveyance belt 54 in the first direction U when the finisher control unit 71 instructs the paper sheet M to be discharged. Accordingly, the bundle hook 56 also moves as the bundle conveyance belt 54 moves. The home position of the bundle claw 56 is defined until the bundle claw 56 that has pushed out the paper sheet M travels below the paper sheet placement surface 6a of the processing tray 6 and returns to the assist arm 58 side. When the bundle hook 56 reaches the home position, the finisher control unit 71 determines that the discharge of the sheets M from the processing tray 6 has been completed. Then, the bundle hook driving motor 60 stops the bundle conveyance belt 54.

  The assist arm coupling electromagnetic clutch 62 is connected to the finisher control unit 71, transmits the power from the bundle hook driving motor 60 to the assist arm 58, and moves the assist arm 58 at a predetermined timing as described above.

  The discharge roller drive motor 75 is connected to the finisher control unit 71 and provides power to the discharge roller 53. In the present embodiment, the discharge roller 53 is controlled by the finisher control unit 71 so that the paper sheet M discharged from the processing tray 6 is rotated when it passes over the discharge roller 53.

  Although not shown, the transport motor 76 is connected to, for example, the entrance roller 2, the paper feed roller 31, the standby tray roller 32, and the like, and rotates each at a timing controlled by the finisher control unit 71.

  The movable tray drive motor 77 is connected to, for example, the paper discharge trays 36 and 38 and moves the paper discharge trays 36 and 38 up and down in accordance with the processing target.

  As described above, the standby tray drive motor 78 is connected to the open / close trays 4r and 4f of the standby tray 4, and when the finisher control unit 71 instructs to release the support, the standby tray drive motor 78 causes the open / close trays 4r and 4f to move. Open and close with motivation.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8, the assist arm 58 and the rear end stopper 50 described above will be described in detail, and the operation when the paper sheet M is discharged from the processing tray 6 will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the periphery of the assist arm 58 as viewed from the width direction W in the standby mode. The standby mode is a state where the assist arm coupling electromagnetic clutch 62 is turned off, and the assist arm 58 is stopped at the position shown in FIG. 6 due to its own weight.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the rear end stopper 50 is provided above the contact portion 50 a and a contact portion 50 a with which the rear end of the paper sheet M dropped from the standby tray 4 to the processing tray 6 contacts. And a presser part 50b disposed to face the paper sheet M. The contact portion 50a of the rear end stopper 50 includes a first surface 501a on the side that contacts the paper sheet M, and the first surface 501a is at a first position P1 where the rear ends of the paper sheet M are aligned. Fixed in position. The trailing edge stopper 50 is configured such that the trailing edge of the sheet M protrudes beyond the bundle conveying belt 54 and is aligned at the trailing edge so that the trailing edge of the sheet M is stapled by the stapler 8. Rather than the stapler 8 side.

  In the standby mode as shown in FIG. 6, the assist arm 58 has the inner surface (second surface) 581 b of the rising portion 58 b on the upstream side in the first direction U with respect to the first surface 501 a of the rear end stopper 50. So positioned. Therefore, in the schematic cross-sectional view as shown in FIG. 6, a gap D <b> 1 is formed between the second surface 581 b of the rising portion 58 b and the first surface 501 a of the rear end stopper 50.

  Further, the pressing portion (first protruding portion) 50b of the rear end stopper 50 includes a third surface 501b on the side facing the processing tray 6, and the folded portion (second protruding portion) 58c of the assist arm 58 is The fourth surface 581c is included on the side facing the processing tray 6. The fourth surface 581c of the assist arm 58 is located on the side farther from the processing tray 6 than the third surface of the rear end stopper 50. Therefore, in the schematic sectional view as shown in FIG. 6, a gap D <b> 2 is formed between the fourth surface 581 c of the assist arm 58 and the third surface of the rear end stopper 50.

  As described above, the assist arm 58 is arranged downstream of the rear end stopper 50 in the first direction U in the standby state. In other words, by leaving the assist arm 58 on standby with the distances D1 and D2 with respect to the rear end stopper 50, the sheet M that contacts the rear end stopper 50 and has the rear end aligned becomes the assist arm 58. There is no risk of contact. For this reason, since the trailing edge stopper 50 can support the paper sheet M between two points by the two members that are configured, it is possible to stably achieve vertical alignment and to prevent the skew in the width direction W. Can be prevented.

  Further, the folded-back portion of the assist arm 58 moved in the first direction U by making the length in the thickness direction of the paper sheet M of the assist arm 58 longer than that of the rear end stopper 50 and leaving a gap D2. It is possible to prevent 58 c from colliding with the paper sheet M supported by the trailing edge stopper 50 and damaging the rear edge of the paper sheet M.

  As described above, when falling from the standby tray 4 to the processing tray 6 and the sheets M of the number of copies are collected on the processing tray 6 and the rear end is prepared, the stapler 8 provided along the rear end Paper sheets M in units of copies are bound at appropriate positions.

  Then, the finisher control unit 71 instructs the discharge of the bundle of sheets M bound to the rear end of the processing tray 6, that is, the movement mode of the assist arm 58 is started, as shown in FIG. The bundle conveying belt 54 is moved by the bundle hook driving motor 60, and the assist arm coupling electromagnetic clutch 62 is turned on at a predetermined timing. In this embodiment, the predetermined timing means that the stopper surface 56a of the bundle hook 56 and the second surface 581b of the rising portion 58b of the assist arm 58 are simultaneously transferred to the second position P2 where the paper sheet M is delivered. It is time to arrive. In the present embodiment, the second position P2 is such that the stopper surface 56a of the bundle claw 56 that has received the paper sheet M from the assist arm 58 abuts substantially perpendicularly to the rear end of the paper sheet M. Thus, the stopper surface 56a of the bundle hook 56 reaches the position where the paper sheet M is conveyed in the first direction U.

  More specifically, the paper sheet M whose rear end is supported by the rear end stopper 50 is moved from the first position P1 to the second position P2 by moving the assist arm 58 in the first direction U. Moved to. At this time, the bundle claw 56 moved along with the movement of the bundle conveyance belt 54 has reached the second position P. Accordingly, the paper sheet M that has been transported to the second position P2 by the assist arm 58 is transferred to the bundle hook 56 and transported in the first direction U as shown in FIG. At this time, the stopper surface 56 a of the bundle claw 56 is brought into contact with the rear end of the paper sheet M perpendicularly and conveyed in the first direction U. Then, the assist arm coupling electromagnetic clutch 62 is turned off and returned to the home position as shown in FIG. That is, the standby mode is set.

  On the other hand, the paper sheet M discharged from the processing tray 6 is transported to the downstream side in the first direction U by the bundle transport belt 54 and the bundle pawl 56, and is discharged to the discharge tray 36 or the discharge tray 38 via the discharge roller 53. It is discharged towards.

  As described above, the assist arm 58 contacts the rear end of the paper sheet M, and the paper is moved to the second position P2 located downstream of the first position P1 in the first direction U by the rear end stopper 50. Leaves M can be moved. As a result, the stopper surface 56a of the bundle hook 56 can be conveyed in the first direction U while being in contact with the rear end of the paper sheet M perpendicularly. Therefore, the paper sheet M can be discharged without damaging the rear end thereof, and the reliability can be improved.

  Incidentally, when the bundle claw 56 pushes the paper sheet M positioned at the first position P1 by the rear end stopper 50 in the first direction U without being moved to the second position P2 by the assist arm 58, There is a possibility that the rear end of the sheet M is buckled by the bundle claws 56 rotated as indicated by the arrow Y shown in FIG. 7 along the curve of the second rotating roller 54b. Further, when the first position P1 supported by the rear end stopper 50 is brought closer to the second position P2, the stapling process by the stapler 8 cannot be executed. Alternatively, it is necessary to move the stapler 8 and perform a stapling process. Therefore, in such a configuration, since it is necessary to secure a moving space for the stapler 8, there is a problem that causes an increase in size and complexity of the apparatus.

  By adopting the configuration of this embodiment, such a problem can be solved. Therefore, the apparatus can be reduced in size and weight, and the cost can be reduced.

  The bundle conveying belt 54 conveys the bundle of paper sheets M only by contacting the bottom surface of the bundle of paper sheets M. Therefore, by adopting the configuration of the present embodiment, the bundle claw 56 can assist the conveyance of the bundle conveyance belt 54, so that even a bundle of a large number of sheets M can be reliably discharged. Can do.

  Further, as in this embodiment, the assist arm 58 and the bundle transport belt are connected to the assist arm 58 by connecting the bundle pawl drive motor 60 that is the drive source of the bundle transport belt 54 via the assist arm coupling electromagnetic clutch 62. Since the motors can be reduced by using the power source 54 in common, the cost can be reduced.

  The rear end stopper 50 and the assist arm 58 are preferably made of a material (a material that is not a rigid body) that can flexibly follow bending. This is because the impact of the paper sheet M colliding with the rear end stopper 50 or the assist arm 58 is increased with the increase in the speed of the post-processing apparatus 1, and by applying the material, The buckling of the paper sheet M can be prevented, the paper sheet M can be stably conveyed, and the reliability can be improved.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, you may delete some components from all the components shown by embodiment mentioned above. Furthermore, you may combine the component covering different embodiment suitably.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which sheets M on which images are formed on copy paper are prepared and stapled. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an apparatus that prepares other media such as mail and banknotes is used. The present invention may be applied.

  In the present embodiment, the second position P2 has been described as the position where the stopper surface 56a of the bundle hook 56 abuts substantially perpendicularly to the rear end of the paper sheet M. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The bundle claw 56 only needs to be in a position where the rear end of the paper sheet M can be stably and sufficiently pushed out.

  Furthermore, although the assist arm 58 has been described as being configured with two members in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured with three or more members. Further, by increasing the length of the assist arm 58 in the width direction W, the skew of the paper sheet M can be minimized and conveyed in the first direction U and transferred to the bundle hook 56.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the timing at which the assist arm coupling electromagnetic clutch 62 is turned on is the same as the time when the stopper surface 56a of the bundle hook 56 and the second surface 581b of the rising portion 58b of the assist arm 58 are simultaneously adjusted. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and after the second surface 581b of the rising portion 58b of the assist arm 58 has reached the second position P2, the present invention is not limited to this. The timing at which the stopper surface 56a of the bundle hook 56 reaches the second position P2 may be used.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the stapler 8 is fixed to the rear end in the feeding direction of the paper sheets M on the processing tray 6 and staples the paper sheets M placed on the processing tray 6 without moving. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the stapler 8 is configured so that when the rear end of the staple unit 8 is collected on the processing tray 6 and the rear end is prepared, the stapler 8 is arranged along the rear end. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which paper sheets M in units of copies are bound at an appropriate position.

1 is a schematic view showing a digital copying machine including a post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The schematic perspective view which shows the standby tray and processing tray of the post-processing apparatus of FIG. The schematic perspective view which shows the processing tray of the post-processing apparatus of FIG. The schematic perspective view which shows the conveyance mechanism of FIG. The block diagram explaining the control system of the post-processing apparatus of FIG. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement in the standby mode of the assist arm shown in FIG. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement in the movement mode of the assist arm shown in FIG. The schematic sectional drawing which shows the state which returned to the standby mode from the movement mode of the assist arm shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Post-processing apparatus, 4 ... Standby tray, 4r, 4f ... Opening / closing tray, 6 ... Processing tray, 6a ... Paper sheet mounting surface, 6b ... Recessed part, 8 ... Stapler, 10 ... Digital copying machine, 40 ... Feeding member , 50 ... rear end stopper, 54 ... bundle conveying belt, 56 ... bundle claw, 58 ... assist arm, M ... paper sheets.

Claims (11)

A processing tray for receiving paper sheets to be processed;
A transport mechanism for transporting the paper sheets received in the processing tray in a first direction;
A stopper that is provided upstream of the processing tray in the first direction and that contacts one end of a paper sheet received in the processing tray;
In the movement mode, one end of the paper sheet that is in contact with the stopper is moved to a second position that is located downstream of the first position in contact with the stopper in the first direction. A paper sheet processing apparatus comprising a moving unit.   The paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a claw portion that is provided at a predetermined position of the transport mechanism and assists the transport of the paper sheet by the transport mechanism. The stopper includes a first surface with which one end of the paper sheet abuts,
The moving unit includes a second surface that is in contact with one end of the paper sheet in the moving mode and is positioned upstream of the first surface in the first direction in the standby mode. The paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The stopper includes a first projecting portion projecting downstream from the first surface in the first direction,
The moving portion protrudes downstream from the second surface in the first direction, and further away from the processing tray than the third surface of the first protruding portion facing the processing tray. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a second protrusion having a fourth surface positioned.   The timing at which the surface of the claw portion that contacts the paper sheets reaches the second position and the timing at which the second surface of the moving portion reaches the second position are the same. The paper sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   5. The surface of the claw portion that contacts the paper sheets reaches the second position after the second surface of the moving portion reaches the second position. The paper sheet processing apparatus of any one of these.   The moving part is composed of two members having the same configuration, and the two members are arranged on both sides of the claw part in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The paper sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The transport mechanism rotates a belt member supported by a plurality of shaft members extending in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and rotates the plurality of shaft members, and the paper sheets among the belt members A drive unit that moves the contacting side in the first direction,
The paper sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the claw portion is fixed to a predetermined position of the belt member and moves as the belt member moves.   The paper sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the moving unit is connected to a driving unit of the transport mechanism through a power transmission member, and power is provided by the driving unit. Processing equipment.   10. The binding device according to claim 1, wherein a binding unit that performs binding processing on one end of the paper sheet is fixed upstream of the moving unit in the first direction. Paper sheet processing equipment.   When the surface of the claw portion that contacts the paper sheet reaches the second position, the surface of the claw portion that contacts the paper sheet is one end of the paper sheet delivered by the moving unit. The paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the paper sheet processing apparatus is in perpendicular contact with the paper sheet.

Images