JP2007084186A - Post-processing device for sheets of paper - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a post-processing device for sheets of paper equipped with standby trays to operate calmly and make quick motions without disturbing the alignment of the sheets being transported. <P>SOLUTION: A pair of standby trays 10 are provided to receive sheets P in a state of having slid to the width of the sheets P and support the two sides of each sheet P. Each standby tray 10 is furnished approximately with a shaft and four wings stretching in the axial direction. The wings admit placing temporary of the sheet P on its oversurface, and should not necessarily be particularly shaped. The standby tray 10 is borne at one end through a gear and arranged rotatable by a drive motor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper post-processing apparatus that performs post-processing of paper discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a multifunction peripheral.

In recent years, in an image forming apparatus, in order to perform post-processing of paper such as sorting or stapling of paper after image formation, the paper post-processing device is adjacent to the paper discharge unit of the image forming apparatus main body. There is something to provide. In such a paper post-processing apparatus, the post-processing of the succeeding paper is performed after completion of the post-processing of the preceding paper. In order to make the subsequent sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus main body stand by in this way, there has conventionally been a device that provides a retracting path such as a standby tray in the middle of the path to reach the staple (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-10-279160

  Conventionally, when a predetermined number of sheets are accumulated in the standby tray, the pair of standby trays are horizontally moved in the opposite directions to open the space between the standby trays, and the sheets are dropped onto the processing tray by their own weight. In these operations, the alignment of the sheets is disturbed, the reversing sound of the standby tray driving motor, the roller, etc. is large, and it takes time to open between the standby trays, resulting in poor throughput.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a paper post-processing apparatus having a standby tray that has good sheet alignment, quiet operation, and quick movement when transporting paper. To do.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, a standby tray that waits for paper discharged from the image forming apparatus, and the paper and / or the standby tray that is disposed below the standby tray and is supplied by being dropped from the standby tray. A processing tray for stacking the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus without going through the processing, a processing mechanism for performing post-processing on the paper stacked on the processing tray, and completion of post-processing discharged from the processing tray A paper post-processing apparatus comprising a paper discharge tray for stacking the subsequent paper, wherein the standby tray has a shaft portion, and the wing-like portion on which the paper is placed extends in the axial direction of the shaft portion in all directions. A sheet post-processing apparatus is provided, which is extended to the shaft, is pivotally supported at one end, and is rotatable.

  According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a paper post-processing device, wherein the standby tray rotates only in a direction in which the placed paper is dropped toward the processing tray. The

  According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a sheet post-processing apparatus, wherein the standby trays are a pair, and synchronize and rotate approximately 45 degrees in the sheet dropping direction. .

  According to the present invention, since the standby tray can move quickly and quietly without disturbing the alignment of the paper during the conveyance of the paper, the throughput of the paper post-processing can be increased.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of a sheet post-processing apparatus 7 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a sheet post-processing apparatus 7 disposed adjacent to an image forming apparatus 5 such as a copying machine. is there.

  The sheet post-processing device 7 basically includes a standby tray 10, a processing tray 12, a stapler 14, a first discharge tray 16, and a second discharge tray 18.

    A sheet P formed by an image forming apparatus 5 such as a copying machine and discharged from a pair of paper discharge rollers 6 is received by a pair of entrance rollers 22 and supplied to a pair of paper feed rollers 24 for supply. It is sent from the paper roller 24 to the standby tray 10. The entrance roller 22 is driven by an entrance roller motor 26. A paper path ceiling 36 for guiding the paper P to the paper feed roller 24 is provided between the entrance roller 22 and the standby tray 10. The entrance roller 22 includes an upper entrance roller 22a and a lower entrance roller 22b. The paper feed roller 24 also includes an upper paper feed roller and a lower paper feed roller.

    Below the standby tray 10 is disposed a processing tray 12 on which the sheets P dropped from the standby tray 10 are stacked.

    The processing tray 12 aligns and supports the stacked paper P while the paper P is stapled by the stapler 14 which is a processing mechanism that performs post-processing.

    As shown in FIG. 5, the stapler 14 is positioned by the staple driving unit 49, and the staple processing is controlled. The processing tray 12 has a pair of upper and lower upper alignment rollers 38a and a lower vertical alignment roller 38b shown in FIG. 6 for aligning a plurality of sheets P dropped and supplied from the standby tray 10 in the vertical direction as the transport direction. The vertical and vertical alignment rollers 38 a and 38 b also serve as a bundle conveying roller that sandwiches the sheet bundle T after the stapling process and picks it up from the stapler 14. The upper vertical alignment roller 38a is driven by a vertical alignment upper roller motor 40, and the lower vertical alignment roller 38b is driven by a vertical alignment lower roller motor 42.

    Further, at the position where the trailing edge of the paper P falls when the paper P is dropped and supplied to the processing tray 12, it can be rotated to align the uppermost paper P placed on the processing tray 12 in the vertical direction. A paddle 44 is disposed. As shown in FIG. 7, the paddle 44 aligns the receiving portion 44 a of the paper P that is dropped and supplied onto the processing tray 12, the punching portion 44 b that scrapes off the paper P on the processing tray 12, and the paper P on the processing tray 12. It has a feed portion 44 c and is driven by a paddle motor 46. The paddle 44 is made of a rubber material and has elasticity.

    A stopper 45 is provided at the end of the processing tray 12 on the side of the stapler 14 to abut the rear end of the paper P and regulate the rear end position. Near the center of the processing tray 12, there is a conveying belt 50 that carries the stapled and the sheet bundle T taken out from the stapler 14 by the vertical and vertical alignment rollers 38a and 38b to the first or second discharge trays 16 and 18. Provided. A feed claw 50 a that hooks the rear end of the sheet bundle T is attached to the transport belt 50.

    As shown in FIG. 2, the standby tray 10 can supply the paper P to the processing tray 12 while being transported in the direction of the first or second paper discharge tray 16 or 18. The conveyance of the paper P in the direction of the paper discharge trays 16 and 18 is performed by bringing the standby tray roller 28 that aligns the paper P into contact with the paper P on the standby tray 10. The standby tray roller 28 is controlled to move up and down by a standby tray roller drive source 30.

    The standby tray 10 is disposed so as to have an inclination angle θ1 in order to support the paper P in a state where the leading edge of the paper P is higher than the rear end. The first or second paper discharge tray 16 or 18 is lifted or lowered by the paper discharge tray driving unit 52 to select either one. The first or second paper discharge trays 16 and 18 are raised and lowered to substantially the same height as the standby tray 10 or the processing tray 12 when the paper P is stacked to improve the consistency of the paper P to be discharged. The first or second paper discharge trays 16 and 18 are arranged at an inclination angle θ2 to support the paper P with the leading edge of the paper P being higher than the trailing edge. FIG. 3 is a top view showing the main part around the standby tray according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a side view showing the main part around the standby tray. The standby tray 10 is composed of a pair, receives the paper P while being slid to the width of the paper P, and supports both sides of the paper P. The standby tray 10 includes a shaft portion 10a and a wing-like portion 10b extending in the axial direction of the shaft portion 10a. The wing-like portion 10b temporarily places the paper P on the upper surface thereof, and does not need to have a particularly limited shape. The standby tray 10 is pivotally supported at one end through a gear 11 and can be rotated by a rotary motor 13. The standby tray 10 is made of, for example, ABS resin. This is to make the wind noise during rotation quiet.

  It is preferable that the wing-like portion 10b is provided with a standby stopper 10c that regulates the rear end of the paper P.

  Since the standby tray 10 is supported from both sides of the paper P, it is preferable to synchronize the movement of the left and right standby trays 10 accurately. That is, when a predetermined number of sheets P are stacked on the wing-shaped portion 10b, the sheet P is rotated forward by approximately 45 degrees in the sheet dropping direction, for example, by the rotary motor 13 constituted by a stepping motor. Here, the positive rotation means a direction in which the paper P falls toward the processing tray 12. When the standby tray 10 is rotated, the paper P falls toward the processing tray 12, but the rotating wing-like portion 10b knocks down the falling paper P. Therefore, the falling paper P is stacked on the processing tray 12 without being separated from the aligned state. Any standby tray 10 is rotated only in the forward direction and is not reversed. This is for quietness.

    The standby tray 10 is slid in the horizontal direction in accordance with the width direction of the paper P by the standby tray motor 34. This sliding movement is performed via the belt 33, and the standby tray 10 is engaged with the belt fixing portion 33a. As shown in FIG. 3, the standby tray motor 34 and the belt 33 are supported by frames 35L and 35R.

  During the period from the standby tray 10 to the processing tray 12, when the paper P on the standby tray 10 is dropped and supplied to the processing tray 12, the paper P is prevented from being disturbed in the lateral direction perpendicular to the transport direction. Lateral alignment plates 47a and 47b shown in FIG. The lateral alignment plates 47a and 47b are formed to be slidable so as to be adjusted to the width of the paper P by the lateral alignment motor 48.

    Next, the operation will be described. When an image is formed by the image forming apparatus 5 and the paper P is supplied from the paper discharge roller 6, the paper post-processing device 7 performs the post-processing when the paper P is post-processed or not. Different operations are performed depending on whether the process is being executed or the post-processing is finished.

    When the post-processing is not performed, for example, the first paper discharge tray 16 is slid to the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 2, and the paper P discharged from the standby tray 10 can be stacked with good consistency. When no post-processing is performed, the paper P conveyed from the entrance roller 22 to the paper feed roller 24 through the paper path ceiling 36 is fed to the standby tray 10 by the paper feed roller 24. Next, the paper P is transported by the standby tray roller 28 that is lowered onto the standby tray 10 and rotated in the direction of the arrow f, and is discharged onto the first paper discharge tray 16.

    In this way, the sheets are sequentially stacked on the first paper discharge tray 16. The first paper discharge tray 16 is arranged so that the inclination angle is θ2, and the front end of the paper is higher than the rear end. For example, the paper P is curled in a mountain as shown by the dotted line in FIG. Even if the paper is discharged onto the first paper discharge tray 16 in the state, the paper P placed on the first paper discharge tray 16 in advance is pushed out by contact with the leading edge of the subsequent paper P. There is no. That is, the discharged paper P is sequentially placed on the first paper discharge tray 16 without being out of order. Even if the preceding paper P is pushed by the succeeding paper P and is slightly misaligned, the paper P falls by its own weight on the first paper discharge tray 16 due to the inclination angle θ2. Thus, the rear ends are aligned and stacked, and the paper P discharge processing is completed.

    Next, a case where a stapling process as a post-process is performed and there is no sheet P on which the stapling process is being executed prior to the processing tray 20 will be described.

  In this case, the standby tray 10 rotates the wing-like portion 10b by approximately 45 degrees by the rotation motor 13 so that the paper P is placed on the processing tray 12 as shown in FIGS. 10 (a), 10 (b), and 10 (c). Drop supply. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the horizontal alignment plates 47a and 47b are arranged so that the width between the horizontal alignment plates 47a and 47b is substantially the same as that of the paper P in order to align the horizontal direction of the paper P to be dropped. . As a result, the paper P fed by the paper feed roller 24 is dropped and supplied onto the processing tray 12 via the standby tray 10.

    At the time of dropping, the upper vertical alignment roller 38a is retracted upward, and the receiving portion 44a of the paddle 44 receives the rear end of the paper P. Both sides of the paper P fall while contacting the horizontal alignment plates 47a and 47b, and are aligned in the horizontal direction. Next, the paddle 44 rotates in the direction of the arrow o, the trailing edge of the paper P is dropped from the receiving portion 44a, and is knocked onto the processing tray 12 by the knocking portion 44b. Further, the paddle 44 feeds the paper P in the direction of the arrow q by the feeding portion 44c, and the rear end of the paper P is brought into contact with the stopper 45 to complete the vertical alignment of the paper P. The vertical alignment of the paper P on the processing tray 12 may be performed by the upper vertical alignment roller 38a by moving the upper vertical alignment roller 38a up and down each time.

    In this way, the paper P on which the image has been formed is stacked on the processing tray 12 from the paper feed roller 24 via the standby tray 10 while being sequentially aligned in the horizontal and vertical directions. When the number of sheets P reaches a predetermined number, the stapler 14 staples the sheets P on the processing tray 12 at a desired position to form a bundle of sheets T. Thereafter, the upper vertical alignment roller 38a is lowered onto the sheet bundle, and the sheet bundle T is sandwiched between the upper vertical alignment roller 38a rotating in the direction of arrow r and the lower vertical alignment roller 38b rotating in the direction of arrow s. The sheet is conveyed in the direction of the paper discharge tray 16.

  When the rear end of the sheet bundle T passes through the vertical and vertical alignment rollers 38 a and 38 b, the sheet bundle T is caught on the feeding claw 50 a of the conveyance belt 50 rotated in the direction of the arrow t and bundled on the first paper discharge tray 16.

    At this time, the first paper discharge tray 16 is slid from the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 2 to the position indicated by the solid line. The first paper discharge tray 16 is arranged so that the inclination angle is θ2, and the front end of the paper is higher than the rear end, so that the paper bundled on the first paper output tray 16 in advance is bundled. P is not pushed out by contact with the leading end of the subsequent sheet bundle T. Even if the preceding sheet bundle T is slightly misaligned by the succeeding sheet P, the sheet bundle T falls due to its own weight on the first discharge tray 16 because of the inclination angle θ2. The stapling process of the paper P stacked in a state where the rear ends are aligned is completed.

    Next, a case where the stapling process as the post-process is performed and the sheet P on which the stapling process is being executed remains on the processing tray 20 will be described.

  In this case, the sheet P can be supported in the standby tray 10. The standby tray roller 28 is retracted above the standby tray 10 so as not to interfere with the paper P. The paper P discharged from the image forming apparatus 5 and supplied by the paper feed roller 24 is temporarily placed on the standby tray 10 in order to wait for the processing tray 12 to become empty.

    The paper P placed on the standby tray 10 is sent in the direction of the standby stopper 10c by the standby tray roller 28 rotated in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow f, and the paper P is abutted against the standby stopper 10c and vertically aligned. The Further, since the standby tray 10 is arranged so that the inclination angle is θ1, and the leading end of the sheet is higher than the trailing end, the sheet P is vertically aligned by contacting the trailing end with the standby stopper 10c by its own weight. .

    Further, since the standby tray 10 is arranged so that the inclination angle is θ1, even if the paper P is supplied from the paper supply roller 24 in a curled state and fed onto the standby tray 10, for example, The paper P placed on the standby tray 10 in advance is not pushed out by contact with the leading edge of the subsequent paper P. That is, the supplied paper P is sequentially placed on the standby tray 10 without being out of order. Even if the preceding sheet P is pushed by the succeeding sheet P and is slightly misaligned, the sheet P falls to the position where the trailing edge comes into contact with the standby stopper 10c due to its own weight because of the inclination angle θ1. Thus, the rear end of the standby tray 10 is aligned and stacked.

    During this time, when the preceding paper P on the processing tray 12 is discharged to the first paper discharge tray 16 side and the processing tray 12 becomes empty, the standby tray 10 rotates the wing-like portion approximately 45 degrees forward, as shown in FIG. As shown, the paper P is dropped and supplied onto the processing tray 12. At this time, the interval between the lateral alignment plates 47a and 47b is arranged to be substantially the same width as the paper P. Accordingly, the sheet P dropped from the standby tray 10 is regulated in the lateral direction by being regulated by the lateral alignment plates 47a and 47b on both sides.

    The lower sheet P of the two sheets P dropped on the processing tray 12 is sent in the direction of the arrow q by the lower vertical alignment roller 38b rotated in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow s, and the rear end of the sheet P is stopped by the stopper. 45, the vertical alignment of the paper P is completed. The upper sheet P of the two sheets P dropped on the processing tray 12 is sent in the direction of the arrow q by the upper vertical alignment roller 38a rotated in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow r, and the trailing end of the sheet P is stopped at the stopper 45. The vertical alignment of the paper P is completed, and then the upper vertical alignment roller 38a is retracted upward.

    The third and subsequent sheets P discharged from the image forming apparatus 5 are directly dropped onto the processing tray 12 from between the wings 10 b without waiting on the waiting tray 10. Thereafter, the third and subsequent sheets P are sequentially aligned on the sheet P loaded on the processing tray 12 by the paddle 44 first.

    When the number of sheets P stacked on the processing tray 12 reaches a predetermined number, the stapler 14 performs a stapling process to form a sheet bundle T. Thereafter, the sheet bundle T is conveyed in the direction of the first sheet discharge tray 16 by the vertical and vertical alignment rollers 38a and 38b, and the rear end of the sheet bundle T is hooked on the feed claw 50a of the conveyance belt 50. Bundled up, the stapling process for the paper P is completed.

    In this embodiment configured as described above, the sheet can be moved quickly and quietly without disturbing the alignment of the sheet when the sheet is conveyed from the standby tray to the processing tray. Post-processing throughput can be increased.

  Further, by providing the standby tray 10 with the inclination angle θ1, it is possible to align the paper P on the standby tray 10 by its own weight, and there is a possibility that the paper P previously placed may be pushed out by the subsequent paper P. In addition, the consistency of the sheets P on the standby tray 10 can be improved, jamming of the sheets P can be prevented, and the order of placing the sheets on the standby tray 10 can be prevented. Similarly, by providing the first or second paper discharge trays 16 and 18 with an inclination angle θ2, the paper P or the paper bundle placed prior to the first or second paper discharge trays 16 or 18 is provided. There is no fear that T will be pushed out by the subsequent paper P or the paper bundle T, the consistency of the paper P on the first or second paper discharge trays 16 and 18 can be improved, and jamming of the paper P can be prevented. Alternatively, it is possible to prevent the placement order of the paper P or the paper bundle T on the second paper discharge trays 16 and 18.

    The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and these are also included in the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

    In the present invention, stapling is described as the post-processing performed on the sheets stacked on the processing tray. However, this post-processing is not limited to the case where stapling is performed, and there is no problem even in post-processing such as performing hole punching (punching) processing on a sheet. In this case, there is no problem even if the sheets stacked on the processing tray are not a plurality of sheets but a single sheet. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention is effective even for an aftertreatment apparatus having such an aftertreatment mechanism.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and these are also included in the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of the paper post-processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the paper post-processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the principal part of the periphery of the standby tray which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the periphery of the standby tray which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a perspective view showing a stapler of a paper post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the vertical alignment roller which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the paddle which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the horizontal alignment board and conveyance belt which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state by which the paper on the standby tray or paper discharge tray which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is extruded. It is explanatory drawing which shows rotation operation | movement of the standby tray which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 ... Image forming apparatus, 7 ... Paper post-processing apparatus, 10 ... Standby tray, 10a ... Shaft part, 10b ... Wing-like part, 10c ... Standby stopper, 11 ... Gear , 12 ... Processing tray, 13 ... Rotary motor, 14 ... Stapler, 16 ... First discharge tray, 18 ... Second discharge tray, 22 ... Inlet roller, 22a ... Upper entrance roller, 22b ... Lower entrance roller, 24 ... Feeding roller, 26 ... Inlet roller motor, 28 ... Standby tray roller, 30 ... Standby tray roller drive source, 32 ... Standby tray roller motor, 33 ... Belt, 34 ... Standby tray motor, 35R, 35L ... Frame, 36 ... Paper path ceiling, 38a ... Upper vertical alignment roller, 38b ... Down Vertical alignment roller, 40 ... Vertical alignment upper roller motor, 42 ... Vertical alignment lower roller motor, 44 ... Paddle, 45 ... stopper, 46 ... paddle motor, 47 ... lateral alignment plate, 48 ... lateral alignment motor, 49 ... staple driving unit, 50 ... conveyor belt, 50a ... feed pawl.

Claims (6)

A standby tray for waiting for paper discharged from the image forming apparatus;
A processing tray that is disposed below the standby tray and that stacks the paper that is dropped from the standby tray and / or the paper that is discharged from the image forming apparatus without passing through the standby tray;
A processing mechanism for performing post-processing on the paper stacked on the processing tray;
A paper post-processing apparatus comprising a paper discharge tray for stacking the paper after completion of post-processing discharged from the processing tray;
The standby tray has a shaft portion, and a wing-like portion on which the paper is placed extends in the axial direction of the shaft portion in four directions, is pivotally supported at one end portion, and is rotatable. Paper post-processing device.   The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the standby tray rotates only in a direction in which the loaded sheet is dropped toward the processing tray.   2. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the standby trays are a pair, and are synchronized and rotate approximately 45 degrees in the sheet dropping direction.   The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation of the standby tray is driven by a stepping motor.   2. The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the standby tray is made of ABS resin.   2. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interval between the standby trays can be adjusted in accordance with the sheet width direction.

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