JP2007091476A - Paper processing device, paper processing system, and paper processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper processing device capable of loading a large number of paper bundles saddle stitched and folded into two parts thereon and used in common to a paper discharge tray for normal paper not folded into two parts. <P>SOLUTION: A paper bundle folded into two parts by a folding means is discharged by folding rollers 451, 452 with its folded side positioned at the head thereof. In this case, the discharge direction of the paper bundle folded into two parts by an opening/closing end fence 311 is faced to the vertical lower side, and the paper bundle is loaded on an inverted and tilted lower side loading tray 301. The tray is inverted by a guide plate facing the end of the paper bundle to be discharged forcibly downward and discharging the paper bundle. When the normal paper not folded into two parts is discharged, the guide plate is closed, and retarded to or more of the same face of a rear end fence in contact with the rear end of the paper bundle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus, a sheet processing system, and a sheet processing method that perform sheet processing such as binding, punching, and folding on sheets, and relates to a sheet processing apparatus alone or a copier, printer, facsimile, printing machine, and the like. In addition, the present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus, a sheet processing system, and a sheet processing method that are integrated into the sheet output apparatus and that are attached to the sheet output apparatus to realize the functions.

  For example, a paper processing apparatus that performs processing such as binding on a sheet on which an image is recorded by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, punching for filing, and folding the bound sheet Various proposals have been made in the past. As an example of this, a sheet processing apparatus having a function of performing saddle stitching and center folding of a plurality of sheets as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-279163 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-193162 is known. . In these sheet processing apparatuses, a sheet bundle which is bound at the center of the sheet bundle (saddle stitching) and further folded into two at the center (center folding) is folded on the stacking tray by a discharge roller and a discharge roller. It is configured to discharge.

  As described above, in the sheet post-processing apparatus with a simple bookbinding function that can bind and fold the center of the conventional sheet bundle, the sheet bundle that is bound at the center and further folded into two is stacked and stacked. The sheets are stacked on the tray so that the bound side of the sheet bundle is directed in the sheet conveyance direction, in other words, the sheet bundle is positioned on the side away from the sheet post-processing apparatus main body. When loaded in such a form, the unfolded side of both ends of the sheet swells.

  On the other hand, the tray is generally raised on the downstream side in the paper discharge direction, so as the number of stacks increases, the volume of the paper bundle that is originally lowered increases, and the paper bundle stacking surface on the downstream side in the paper discharge direction increases. Becomes lower. When a sheet bundle is discharged onto the sheet bundle stacking surface in such a front-lowering state, the sheet bundle falls from the sheet bundle stacking surface and cannot be successfully stacked on the stacking tray. In order to avoid this, it is necessary to limit the loading capacity. If the stacking amount is limited in this way, image formation must be stopped by the number of sheets processed corresponding to the stacking amount, resulting in a reduction in processing efficiency. In addition, since the amount of swelling varies depending on the thickness and number of sheets to be folded in half, or the strength of the waist, even if the stacking amount is limited, it may not be stacked on the tray.

  Moreover, in the said prior art example, since the tray is arrange | positioned horizontally, the tendency of the said front fall becomes still stronger. Since the stacking amount is naturally reduced, in order to suppress this, a sheet pressing arm is provided which has a fulcrum on the upper side of the paper discharge port and presses the sheet bundle on the free end side. However, in such a sheet pressing arm, the pressing range is limited by the relationship between the arm length and the arm mounting position, and the sheet stacking amount cannot be greatly increased.

  Further, in the conventional example, the stacking tray for stacking the sheet bundle that is saddle-stitched and folded in half is provided exclusively, and the inclination of the tray is set to exclusive (horizontal) and is fixed. When a dedicated tray is provided in this way, the mechanism of the entire sheet post-processing apparatus becomes complicated, and it cannot be denied that the cost is increased accordingly. In addition, since a space for providing a dedicated tray is required, the entire apparatus becomes large, and the demand for space saving and miniaturization cannot be met.

  As shown in FIG. 35, when a saddle-stitched and folded sheet bundle is ejected to a stacking tray whose downstream side in the paper ejection direction is inclined upward, at the front end of the folding side, a bulging portion caused by a crease occurs. In such a state, the loading state is unstable, and a situation in which the vehicle falls from the loading tray may occur. As a result, the load capacity cannot be increased.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a paper processing apparatus that can be shared with a normal paper discharge tray that is not folded in two.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet processing apparatus that can stack a folded sheet bundle without increasing the size.

  Another object is to provide an image forming system including such a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a saddle stitching unit, a center folding unit, and a stacking tray for stacking discharged sheets or sheet bundles, and a sheet bundle sent from the sheet output device side. In the sheet processing apparatus that binds the central portion by the saddle stitching unit and folds the bound sheet bundle into two by the half-folding unit, and then discharges the sheet bundle without folding it or stacks it on the stacking tray. A sheet discharge unit that discharges a sheet bundle that has been folded in half by the center folding unit with the folded side as a leading end, and the sheet folded by the sheet discharge unit and stacked on the stacking tray. Reversing means for reversing the sheet side so as to face the upstream side in the paper transport direction, and the reversing means forcibly discharges the leading end side of the sheet bundle discharged from the paper discharge means downward. From the guide plate Ri, the guide plate is closed in the case of the normal paper ejection not folded, wherein the rear end of the sheet bundle is recessed from the same surface or flush with the rear end fence in contact.

  Further, the reversing means can be constituted by an angle changing means for changing the angle of the stacking tray so that the angle of the stacking tray becomes a steep angle compared to the case of the normal paper discharge not folded in half. At that time, the angle changing means is configured such that the front end portion of the sheet bundle discharged when the front end portion of the folded sheet bundle is brought into contact with the uppermost sheet surface of the stacking tray or the stacked paper bundle. The angle of the stacking tray is changed to an angle larger than an angle sufficient to cause a downward slip. The angle changing means may be configured to change only a part of the stacking tray. As described above, when only a part of the stacking tray is changed, the configuration can be realized by the auxiliary tray rising from the stacking tray with the preset position of the upper stacking tray as a fulcrum. The preset position is preferably set within a range of 40 mm ± 10 mm from the rear end fence. The means for raising the auxiliary tray can be constituted by cam means that operates according to the position of the stacking tray.

  The stacking tray drive control means controls the driving of the lifting and lowering means and the stacking tray drive control means for controlling the driving of the lifting and lowering means, and the stacking tray drive control means is set to a mode in which a folded sheet bundle is discharged. In this case, the stacking tray is moved from a normal paper discharge position where it is not folded in two to a preset lower position, and the cam means is operated to raise the auxiliary tray. Thus, there is provided locking means for locking the position of the auxiliary tray when the auxiliary tray rises. The lock means needs to release the lock when the stacking tray moves upward from the preset position. Further, the auxiliary tray is configured so that, in the case of normal paper discharge that does not perform double paper discharge, even if the stacking tray moves to the preset lower position, the auxiliary tray cannot be raised due to the weight of the paper. To do.

  In order to perform the reversal, the paper discharge means is composed of a pair of paper discharge rollers, and the peripheral speed of the upper paper discharge roller of the paper discharge roller pair is made larger than the peripheral speed of the lower roller. You can also. In this case, drive control means for driving the roller pair is introduced as reversing means.

  Further, saddle stitching means, center folding means, stacking tray for stacking discharged sheets or sheet bundles, lifting means for lifting and lowering the stacking tray, and stacking tray drive control means for controlling the driving of the lifting means The center portion of the sheet bundle sent from the sheet output device side is bound by the saddle stitching means, and the bound sheet bundle is folded in half by the middle folding means, and then discharged and stacked on the stacking tray. In the sheet processing apparatus, when a mode is set for ejecting the sheet bundle folded by the half-folding means with the folded side as the leading end and a mode for ejecting the folded sheet bundle, The stacking tray drive control means for moving the stacking tray from a normal sheet discharging position where the stacking tray is not folded in two to a preset lower position shorter than the conveyance length of the folded sheet bundle; Guide means for deflecting and discharging the leading end of the sheet bundle discharged by the stage downward, and the leading end of the folded sheet bundle is guided by the guide means to allow the stacking tray or the top of the stacked sheet bundle to be stacked. In this state, the paper discharge unit can continue the paper discharge operation so that the paper bundle is reversed and stacked on the paper upper stacking tray.

  At that time, in order to make the reversal more reliable, at least when the leading end of the folded sheet bundle comes into contact with the uppermost sheet surface of the stacking tray or the stacked stack of sheets, at least from the leading end Alternatively, a pushing member that pushes the rear end side and pushes the non-binding side downstream in the paper discharge direction may be provided.

  Furthermore, the present invention provides a sheet processing apparatus according to each of the above-described inventions, an image forming unit that forms an image based on input image data, a saddle stitching mode for binding at least at the center of the sheet bundle, and the center of the sheet bundle In a sheet processing system including an image forming apparatus including an input unit for a user to select a half-folding mode for folding in half, a first control unit that controls each unit of the sheet processing apparatus, and the first control unit The sheet processing apparatus includes a second control unit that communicates with the control unit, transmits control information to the first control unit, and controls each part of the image forming apparatus. When the saddle stitching mode and the center folding mode are set from the apparatus side, the sheet bundle is reversed by the reversing means set in the sheet processing apparatus and stacked on the sheet stacking tray. It was.

  The present invention also includes saddle stitching means, center folding means, and a stacking tray for stacking discharged sheets or sheet bundles, and the center portion of the sheet bundle sent from the sheet output device side In the sheet processing method in which the bundle of sheets bound and bound by the binding means is folded in half by the half-folding means and then discharged or not folded in two and stacked on the stacking tray. The folded sheet bundle is ejected with the folded side as the leading end, and the sheet bundle is ejected and closed in the case of normal ejection that is not folded in two while being stacked on the stacking tray, The leading edge side of the sheet bundle is forcibly discharged downward by a guide plate that is the same surface as the trailing edge fence with which the trailing edge side of the sheet bundle abuts or is retracted from the same surface. Upstream It may be so as to invert such.

  As described above, according to the present invention configured as described above, it is possible to stack a bundle of sheets without providing a special stacking tray, and this can be shared with a normal sheet discharge tray that is not folded in half. Can do. Further, since it is shared with a normal paper discharge tray, it does not increase in size. Further, the guide plate is closed in the case of normal paper discharge that is not folded in two, and the rear end side of the sheet bundle is retracted from the same surface or the same surface as the rear end fence. Never come.

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

1. Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sheet post-processing apparatus connected to a copying machine. The configuration and operation of each unit will be described with reference to this figure.

        The paper post-processing device 2 is connected to the paper discharge port of the copying machine 1. As a result, the copy paper discharged from the copying machine main body 1 is carried into the paper post-processing apparatus main body from the entrance guide plate 201 of the paper post-processing apparatus 2 and conveyed into the paper post-processing apparatus 2 by the conveying rollers 202 and 203. The A known rotary punch 501 is provided on the upstream side of the branching claws 211 and 221. If there is an instruction for punching operation from the copier 1 side, the rotary punch 501 is driven to a predetermined position (sheet rear end) of the sheet. Perforate.

  When the non-staple mode is selected in the operation unit 12 of the copying machine main body 1 (see FIG. 30 described later), the sheet passes through the branching claws 211 and 221 (normally, the branching claws 211 and 221 are transported in a non-staple manner). The paper is discharged and stacked on the lower stacking tray 301 and the upper stacking tray 321 by the paper discharge roller 211 (located in the direction of the path 220). At this time, the paper discharge guide plate 231 is in a closed state, and the paper discharge roller 232 is in contact with the paper discharge roller 211.

  The lower stacking tray 301 and the upper stacking tray 321 can be moved up and down by independent drive units (not shown), and can be moved to the sheet discharge position of the discharge roller 211, respectively. The lower stacking tray 301 and the upper stacking tray 321 move according to the selected discharge mode, and the stacking tray can be switched. The paper post-processing apparatus is provided with an interrupt tray 214. When the interrupt tray discharge mode is selected in the operation unit 12 of the copying machine 1, the branch claw 211 rotates and the paper is interrupted. The paper is transported to the tray transport path 210, discharged to the interrupt tray 214 by the paper discharge roller 213, and stacked. In addition, sensors S1 and S2 for detecting the paper surface of the upper stacking tray 321 or the lower stacking tray 301 are provided at the sheet discharge positions of the discharge roller 211 and the folding roller 451. The load amount can be known from the detection outputs of the paper surface sensors S1 and S2 and the respective positions of the lower stacking tray 301 and the upper stacking tray 321. The paper surface sensor S1 corresponds to a paper surface sensor 332 described later.

  In the combination in which the stapling mode is selected in the operation unit 12 of the copying machine body 1, the branching claw 221 operates to carry the paper into the staple conveyance path 240, and the staple conveyance path 240 is moved to the staple tray 402 side by the conveyance roller 241. Further, the sheet is discharged to the stable tray 402 by the staple tray discharge roller 242 and stacked on the staple tray 402. The paper discharged to the staple tray 402 is dropped downward on the staple tray 402 one by one by the hitting roller 250 and pressed against the paper trailing edge reference fence 410 to align the paper trailing edges. Further, the jogger fence 422 performs alignment in the sheet width direction (direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction) for each sheet. The staple tray 402 is used when executing functions such as sheet alignment, saddle stitching (stapling), and center folding, and functions as a sheet processing tray.

  When edge binding is further selected from the operation unit 12 when the mode is selected, the sheet discharge guide plate 231 is opened via the link 233 by the rotation of the cam 234 as shown in FIG. When the last sheet is selected, after the final sheet is aligned by the jogger fence 422, the end surface binding stapler 401 performs one or two binding processes at a predetermined position at the rear end of the sheet bundle. Then, the bundle of sheets subjected to the binding process is lifted up by a discharge claw 423 integrated with a discharge belt (not shown) until at least the leading end thereof reaches the position of the paper discharge roller 211. Thereafter, the paper discharge guide plate 231 is closed by the rotation of the cam 234, and the paper discharge roller 211 is pressed by the weight of the paper discharge guide plate 231. The paper is discharged and stacked on the stacking tray 301 or the upper stacking tray 321.

1.1 Paper Stacking Tray FIG. 2 is a view showing the up-and-down moving machine groove of the upper stacking tray 321, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are views showing the operation thereof. The configuration and operation of the upper stacking tray 321 will be described with reference to these drawings. In addition, the figure (a) is the front view which partially cut, and the figure (b) is a top view which shows the principal part.

  In the figure, the upper stacking tray 321 is fixed to a receiving base 322, and the receiving base 322 is fixed to a belt (not shown) that transmits the raising / lowering drive. The cradle 322 is provided with a DC solenoid 325, a lever 326, a clutch 324, and a binion gear 323, and the end (rear end) fence 331 can move up and down integrally via the rack 333 and the pinion gear 323. It is like that.

  Normally, when the DC solenoid 325 is OFF, the clutch 324 is set so as to be rotatable only in the direction of arrow A in the figure. Therefore, the end fence 331 is lowered by its own weight in the downward direction by the rack 333 and the pinion gear 323. Can be moved up and down while maintaining the positional relationship with the upper stacking tray 321. When the upper stacking tray 321 is not at the paper discharge position, that is, when it is waiting above the paper discharge roller 211, or when it is lowered from the standby position to the paper discharge position, it changes from the discharge position to the standby position. When rising, the DC solenoid 325 is in an OFF state, and the upper stacking tray 321 and the end fence 331 move together. When the DC solenoid 325 is turned on, the lever 326 is pulled in the direction of arrow B, and the lock of the clutch 324 is released. As a result, the pinion gear 323 can rotate in both directions, and the end fence 331 is not obstructed in the downward direction, and is movable in the vertical direction.

  When the upper stacking tray 321 moves from the standby position (FIG. 1—solid line position) to the paper discharge position (FIG. 1-1 dotted line position), the DC solenoid 325 is in an OFF state, When the end fence 331 reaches a predetermined paper discharge position, it is stopped by a stopper (not shown). After the upper stacking tray 321 is further lowered by a predetermined distance (at this time, only the upper stacking tray 321 can be lowered due to the locking direction of the clutch 324 even if the end fence 331 is stopped by a stopper). At the same time as the DC solenoid 325 is turned on, the clutch 324 is released and only the upper stacking tray 321 is raised, and when the upper stacking tray 321 reaches the paper surface detection sensor 332 as shown in FIG. 325 is also turned OFF.

When the sheets are sequentially discharged to the upper stack tray 321, a sheet discharge signal is received from the copying machine main body 1 (see FIG. 30), and at the same time, the upper stack tray 321 has a predetermined distance from the position of the sheet surface detection sensor 332. When the trailing edge of the discharged paper is detected by the paper surface detection sensor 332, it is lowered again by a predetermined distance. The upper stacking tray 321 repeatedly rises to the position of the paper surface detection sensor 332 and descends a predetermined distance for every predetermined number of discharged sheets, with the DC solenoid 325 being turned ON / OFF. By this operation, the distance between the paper discharge position by the paper discharge roller 211 and the paper stacking surface position is maintained (see FIG. 4).

  When the interrupt tray discharge mode is selected in the operation unit 12 of the copier body 1, the branching claw 211 rotates, the paper is transported to the interrupt tray transport path 210, and discharged to the interrupt tray 214 by the paper discharge roller 213. And loaded.

  When the stable mode is selected in the operation unit 12 of the copying machine main body 1, the branching claw 221 operates to carry the paper into the stable transport path 240, and the paper is further transferred to the stable tray 402 by the stable tray discharge roller 242. Discharged and loaded. The paper discharged to the stable tray 402 is dropped by the hitting roller 250 in the downward direction of the stable tray 402 for each sheet and pressed against the paper trailing edge reference fence 410 to align the paper trailing edge. Further, the sheet width direction is aligned for each sheet by the Jiyoga fence 422.

  When the stable mode is selected, the paper discharge guide plate 231 is opened through the link 233 by the rotation of the cam 234, and when the binding at the rear end of the paper is selected, the final paper is aligned by the jigyo fence 422. Thereafter, binding processing is performed at one or two positions at a predetermined position of the rear end of the sheet bundle by the end face binding stapler 401, and the bound sheet bundle is discharged integrally with a discharge belt (not shown). At least its tip is lifted up to the position of the paper discharge roller 211 by the pawl 423 (see FIG. 14), and after stopping, the paper discharge guide plate 231 is closed by the rotation of the cam 234, and the opening / closing guide plate 231. The paper discharge roller 211 is pressed by its own weight, and the lower stacking tray 301 and the upper product are loaded by the paper discharge roller 211. Which it is discharged to the tray 321 and stacked.

1.2 Saddle Stitching Processing Mechanism Unit FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a mechanism unit that performs saddle stitching processing.

  If the saddle stitching is further selected from the operation unit 12 when the mode is selected, after the final sheet is aligned by the jogger fence 422, the central portion of the sheet bundle is moved to the saddle stitching position by the discharge claw 423 as described above. It is lifted upward so as to be positioned, and is bound at two locations in the center by two saddle stitching staplers 403 provided at a predetermined interval (120 mm in this embodiment) in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction. Processing is performed. At the position facing the saddle stitch stapler 403, two clinchers 407 attached to a fixing member 408 that is rotatably attached have a saddle stitch stapler rotated by the eccentric cam 409 as shown in the operation explanatory diagram of FIG. It moves in the 403 direction and stops at a predetermined position, and the saddle stitching stapler 403 moves in the direction of the clincher 407 to pinch the sheet bundle and perform a binding process at a predetermined position of the sheet bundle. This operation is shown in more detail in FIG.

  That is, the sheet bundle that is saddle-stitched by the operation shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is lifted upward by the discharge claw 423 as described above, and the position of the staple bound by the saddle-stitching stapler 403 is set to a predetermined position. Stop when it reaches. Next, the sheet discharge guide plate 231 in the open state indicated by the chain line in FIG. 14 is closed as indicated by the solid line, and the vicinity of the front end of the sheet bundle is sandwiched. Further, a drive motor (not shown) of the paper discharge roller 211 is locked and the paper discharge roller 211 is fixed to fix the leading end of the paper bundle, and the folding plate 466 is folded so that the needle position of the paper bundle is opposed as shown in FIG. After pressing in the direction of the rollers 451 and 452 and folding processing is performed on the center of the sheet by the folding rollers 451 and 452, the sheet bundle is discharged and stacked on the stacking tray 301.

  When the leading end of the sheet bundle is fixed by the sheet discharge guide plate 231 in this way, the movement of the sheet bundle due to the deflection caused by the pressing of the folding plate 466 is only from a certain direction at the rear end of the unfixed sheet bundle. The folding position is stable. In addition, by locking the paper discharge roller 211, the paper bundle can be reliably fixed by the paper discharge guide plate 231.

  Note that, after the saddle stitching, the sheet bundle discharging operation when the center folding is not performed is the same as in the case of the edge binding described above, and the sheet is discharged via the discharge roller 211.

1.3 Folding Mechanism Unit FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mechanism unit that performs sheet folding processing.

  In the drawing, a folding plate 466 is provided with a shaft portion 464 integrated with the folding plate 466 so as to be movable along the guide groove 465, and the rotational driving force of the folding plate drive motor 461 causes the intermediate gear 462 to move. Via the link 463, the folding plate 466 is reciprocated. Further, as can be seen from the perspective view showing the positional relationship between the folding plate 466 and the folding rollers 451 and 452 in FIG. 9, the front end portion of the folding plate 466 is provided with three convex portions 466a, 466b, and 466c, The two convex portions 466a and 466c on both sides are provided so as to be at the same position as the needle position of the saddle stitching stapler 403 (in this embodiment, at an interval of 120 mm). The central convex portion 466b is provided so as to be positioned at the central portion of the two needle positions of the saddle stitching stapler 403.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the folding rollers 451 and 452 transmit the driving force of the folding roller driving motor 453 to the driving gear pulley 455 via the timing belt 454, and further transmit the driving force to the intermediate gear 456 and the driven gear 457. The folding rollers 451 and 452 are both driven to rotate. The drive gear pulley 455, the intermediate gear 456, and the driven gear 457 are connected by arms 458 and 459, and are configured to be movable while maintaining the distance between the axes. As a result, even when the sheet bundle is sandwiched between the folding rollers 451 and 452 and the rollers are separated from each other, the rotational driving force can be reliably transmitted to both the folding rollers 451 and 452.

The folding rollers 451 and 452 are elastically biased toward each other by a tension spring (not shown) and are pressed against each other with a predetermined force at the nip portion.

1.4 Operation of Folding Process FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view showing the operation when folding and discharging the sheet bundle by the folding plate 466.

  In these drawings, the convex portions 466a, 466b, 466c of the folding plate 466 press the needle position of the sheet bundle as shown in FIG. 12 to be described later, and advance from the nipping position of the folding rollers 451, 452 to a position where it overlaps further. Then, the folding process is performed on the central portion of the sheet bundle by the pressing and rotation of the folding rollers 451 and 452. Since the folding roller pair 451 and 452 cannot directly press the portion of the sheet bundle sandwiched between the convex portions 466a, 466b, and 466c of the folding plate 466 and the folding rollers 451 and 452, the folding state is poor due to the thickness of the folding plate 466. Become. Since the folding state of the needle position is worse than that without the needle depending on the thickness of the needle, the convex portions 466a and 466c of the folding plate 466 are made to coincide with the needle position of the sheet bundle as shown in FIGS. As a result, the position at which the folded state becomes worse coincides with the needle position, and a minimum folded state can be ensured.

  Further, the convex portions 466a, 466b, and 466c of the folding plate 466 press the sheet bundle, and the leading end portion of the sheet bundle is fixed at a position overlapping from the nipping position of the folding rollers 451 and 452, and the folding plate 466 is attached to the sheet bundle. After pressing the needle position in the direction of the opposing folding rollers 451 and 452 and performing folding processing on the center of the sheet by the folding rollers 451 and 452, the sheet bundle is discharged onto the stacking tray 301 and stacked. At this time, as described above, the folding position is stabilized by fixing the leading end of the sheet bundle with the discharge guide plate 231 as shown in FIG. In addition, by locking the paper discharge roller 211, the paper bundle can be reliably fixed by the paper discharge guide plate 231.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the convex portions 466a, 466b, 466c of the folding plate 466 press the sheet bundle and advance from the nipping position of the folding rollers 451, 452 to the overlapping position, and the folding rollers 451, 452 In the operation of folding the central portion of the sheet bundle by press contact and rotation, the convex portions 466a, 466b, and 466c of the advanced folding plate 466 need to retreat from the pressurization state of the folding rollers 451 and 452 and the sheet bundle. At this time, the portions where the folding plate 466 is sandwiched between the folding rollers 451 and 452 are only the convex portions 466a, 466b and 466c, and since the area is small, the frictional force of the folding rollers 451 and 452 is small and the folding plate 466 is retracted. Less load on the drive unit.

  In addition, when there are two convex portions of the folding plate 466, when the sheet bundle is pressed against the folding rollers 451 and 452, the center part of the sheet bundle is not completely pressed and is bent, and the folded state is set to the center part. Since wrinkles occur, three convex portions 466a, 466b, and 466c are provided. Further, the folding plate 466 pushes directly above the position of the staple bound by the saddle stitch stapler 403 (FIGS. 11 and 12), and the sheet discharge guide plate 231 catches the needle of the sheet bundle whose tip is fixed, thereby causing friction. The folding roller is pushed in the directions of 451 and 452 while receiving the resistance of (FIG. 13). As a result, a folding process in which the needle position and the folding position of the sheet bundle are surely matched can be performed.

1.5 Ejection and Stacking Mechanism and Operation of the Sheet Bundle that has been Folded As shown in FIGS. 13 and 15, the sheet bundle is pushed between the folding rollers 451 and 452 by the folding plate 466 at the center of the sheet bundle and folded in the middle. The sheet bundle is discharged as it is from the sheet discharge opening opened to the end fence 331 by the folding rollers 451 and 452. The discharged sheet bundle is discharged first from the folding side F of the sheet bundle from the folding rollers 451 and 452 as can be seen from the explanatory view showing the reverse state of FIG. 18, but on the lower stacking tray 301 or the lower stacking tray. When stacked on a bundle of sheets stacked on 301, the folding side F is directed toward the end fence 331, that is, in a reversed state.

  In order to invert the sheet bundle in this way, in this embodiment, as can be seen from the front view of the main part showing the open / close end fence part (sheet discharge port) and the lower stacking tray 301 in FIG. An open / close end fence 311 is provided at the discharge port portion. That is, the sheet bundle that has been folded by the folding rollers 451 and 452 pushes the open / close end fence 311 and is discharged onto the lower stacking tray 301. The open / close end fence 311 is biased in the closing direction by an elastic member (not shown), and the open / close end fence 311 is provided with a sensor 313 for detecting the closed state. This sensor 313 detects when the saddle stitched sheet bundle stops abnormally in the middle of discharge. The opening / closing end fence 311 has a maximum opening / closing angle and is elastically biased in the closing direction as described above. Otherwise, the stack of sheets discharged from the folding rollers 451 and 452 is not reversed as shown in FIG. 17, and the lower stacking is performed with the folding side F of the stack of sheets positioned downstream in the sheet discharge direction. Stacked on the tray 301, the above-mentioned problem occurs. Further, as shown in FIG. 18, the open / close end fence 31 is flush with the end fence 331 by the elastic force of the elastic member in the case of normal paper discharge, and the lower stacking tray 301 or the upper stacking tray The tray 321 is configured not to obstruct the lifting operation along the end fence 331. Here, the open / close end fence 31 is set flush with the end fence 331, but may be retracted from the end fence 331.

  For the lower stacking tray 301, the saddle stitching processing mode and the middle folding mode are selected by the copying machine main body 1 and transfer is started. At the same time, the non-stable discharged paper near the paper discharge roller 211 and the end surface stable paper bundle It descends along the end fence 331 from the stacking position, and descends to a predetermined distance below the pressure plate 343 provided below the end fence 306 for suppressing the bulge on the binding side of the saddle stitching sheet bundle, and stops.

  As shown in the front view showing the internal structure of FIG. 20 and the plan view of FIG. 21, the pressure plate 343, the pressure plate drive motor 345 for moving the pressure plate 343 forward and backward, and the pressure plate drive motor 345 A cam 346 driven by the motor, a motor fixing plate 342 that fixes the pressure plate driving motor 345, a spring 348 that constantly elastically biases the motor fixing plate 342 around the fulcrum 342a in the counterclockwise direction shown in the figure, and the motor It basically includes a sensor 346 that detects the position of the fixed plate 342.

Immediately after the lower stacking tray 301 is stopped, the pressure plate driving motor 345 rotates the cam 346 and advances the pressure plate 343 along the guide shaft 344 provided on the motor fixing plate 342. The pressure plate 343 stops at a position protruding a predetermined amount from the reference plane of the end fence 331. Immediately after the stop, the lower stacking tray 301 starts to rise again and lifts the pressure plate 343 until the sensor 347 detects a part of the motor fixing plate 342. The motor fixing plate 342 is provided integrally with a housing 341 so as to be rotatable, and the housing 341 is fixed to the end fence 331. The motor fixing plate 342 is connected to the housing 341 by a spring 348. As a result, the pressure plate 343 can press the upper surface of the lower stacking tray 301.

  FIG. 22 is an explanatory view showing the stack operation and the operation of the pressure plate 343. In the same figure, the sheet bundle discharged from the folding rollers 451 and 452 is discharged before the folding side F as shown in FIG. 19 and is dropped vertically downward by the open / close end fence 311. It is reversed on the lower stacking tray 301 and the folding side F faces downward (toward the end fence 331) and is stacked on the pressure plate 343 (FIG. 24A). The state where the auxiliary tray 302 is used is illustrated). When the first copy is stacked, the lower stacking tray 301 is lowered, and at the same time, the pressure plate 343 is retracted, and the sheet bundle is placed on the lower stacking tray 301 (FIG. 24B). When the lower stacking tray 301 is lowered by a predetermined distance and stopped, the pressure plate 343 moves forward onto the sheet bundle again, and further, the upper stacking tray 301 moves up to place the sheet bundle between the pressure plate 343. To suppress the swelling (FIG. 24C). Next, the next sheet bundle is discharged and stacked on the pressure plate 343 in an inverted state (FIG. 24D). By repeating the above operation for sequentially ejected sheet bundles, it is possible to stack multiple sheet bundles. The lowering distance for each copy of the lower stacking tray 301 is set such that the distance increases as the number of sheets increases, depending on the number of sheets of the bundle of discharged sheets. By this control, it is possible to reliably suppress the bulging of the folded portion due to the increase in the number of sheets of the bundle of paper discharged, by the pressure plate 343. In this embodiment, after the sheet bundle is released from the nips of the folding rollers 451 and 452, the sheet bundle falls freely with its drop direction regulated by the open / close end fence 311, so that the lower stack tray 301 or the lower stack tray 301 The distance H between the uppermost sheet surface of the stacked sheet bundle and the nip portion of the folding rollers 451 and 452 or the separation part of the sheet bundle is set to be larger than the conveyance length of the folded sheet bundle. ing. This ensures free fall.

Further, as shown in FIG. 23, the lower stacking tray 301 is provided with an auxiliary tray 302 that can be raised at a predetermined angle with a preset position as a fulcrum. The sheet stacking surface angle of the side stacking tray 301 can be changed. As shown in FIG. 23, the auxiliary tray 302 can be changed to an angle of θ2 with respect to the stacking surface angle θ1 of the lower stacking tray 301 measured from the horizontal state. In this embodiment,
θ1 = 30 °
θ2 = 55 °
It is set to. The stacking surface angle is changed from θ1 to θ2 by the auxiliary tray 302, and the stacking surface angle is steeped only when the bundle of sheets subjected to the saddle stitching process is discharged. The auxiliary tray 302 can be raised only when it is moved to the saddle stitching processing mode position. As a result, the sheet bundle subjected to the saddle stitching and folding process is securely reversed and stacked on the lower stacking tray 301, and the non-stable discharged paper and the end stapled paper are stacked at an optimum stacking angle. Can be set.

1.6 Auxiliary Tray Mechanism and Operation FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the positions and operating states of the lower stacking tray 301 and the auxiliary tray 302, and FIG. 26 is a diagram showing details of the raising mechanism (rotating mechanism) of the auxiliary tray 302. FIG. 27 is a diagram showing the state of the auxiliary tray raising mechanism when used for normal paper discharge.

  As shown in FIG. 26, the auxiliary tray 302 is attached to the lower stacking tray 301 so as to be rotatable within a predetermined range with an end portion on the lower side in the inclined direction as a fulcrum 301a.

The lower stacking tray 301 is provided with a presser bar 304 and an arm 303, and the arm 303 is pulled by a spring 305 in the direction of arrow C in the figure. When the lower stacking tray 301 is in a discharge mode position other than the saddle stitch discharge, the presser bar 304 is pushed by an end fence 331 and the arm 303 is rotated to move the auxiliary tray 302 to the stacking tray 301. It is made to correspond to the upper surface (FIG. 25). On the other hand, when the lower stacking tray 301 is lowered to a predetermined position in the saddle stitching mode, the presser bar 304 reaches the concave portion 307 of the end fence 331 and the press by the end fence 331 is released. The arm 303 is raised by the spring 305, and the auxiliary tray 302 is raised clockwise in the figure. A protrusion 308 is provided on the back side of the auxiliary tray 302, and the tip of the arm 303 is in contact with the lower end of the protrusion 308. Thus, the angle of the auxiliary tray 302, in other words, the angle of the stacking surface is steep. It is held in the state. Further, when a sheet other than the saddle stitched discharged paper, that is, a sheet in a normal discharge state is stacked and the lower stack tray 301 reaches the saddle stitched discharged paper stacking position, the auxiliary weight is caused by the weight of the stacked paper. The tray 302 is pressed, the push-up by the arm 303 is prevented, and the angle of the stacking surface is maintained. That is, the elastic force of the spring 305 is set so as to be like this. The position of the fulcrum 301a is L = 40mm from the end fence 331.
A position that is about a distance away is preferable, and L = 40 mm ± 10 mm even when taking into account the size of the folded paper
It is preferable to set in the range.

  Further, when the lower stacking tray 301 is raised above the formation part of the concave shape 307 of the end fence 331, the arm 303 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. As a result, the distal end portion of the arm 303 is disengaged from the protruding portion 308, and the lock is released. As a result, the auxiliary tray 302 returns to the original state on the lower stacking tray 301, and normal discharge becomes possible.

1.7 Stacking tray angle As described above, the stacking tray angle is a problem in order to reliably reverse the sheet bundle. That is, the strength of the sheet bundle discharged from the folding rollers 451 and 452 and deflected downward by the open / close end fence 311 varies depending on the thickness of the sheet bundle. When the number of bound sheets is small, in other words, when the waist is weak, the paper can be dropped at an angle close to vertical by the elastic biasing force of the opening / closing end fence 311 in the closing direction. In this case, even when the angle of the lower stacking tray 301 is the same as that of the normal sheet discharge, when the leading end of the folding side F of the sheet bundle comes into contact with the lower stacking tray 301 or the sheet stack stacked thereon, Since the angle between the front end of the folding side F and the mounting surface of the lower stacking tray 301 becomes an obtuse angle on the end fence 331 side, slipping occurs on the lower side (end fence 331 side), and the reversing operation is performed smoothly. Is called.

  However, when the sheet bundle becomes thick, that is, when the sheet bundle becomes stiff, the elastic urging force of the open / close end fence 311 surely deflects the folding side of the sheet bundle to an angle close to vertical and falls. There is no guarantee that you will be allowed to. In such a case, when the leading end of the folding side F of the sheet bundle comes into contact with the lower stacking tray 301 or the stack of sheets stacked thereon, the leading end of the folding side F and the lower stacking tray 301 In some cases, the angle between the mounting surface and the end fence 331 becomes an acute angle. When the end fence 331 side becomes an acute angle in this way, the sheet bundle cannot be reversed, and the sheet bundle is unintentionally reversed. It can no longer be loaded.

  Therefore, taking into account the discharge angle of the sheet bundle from the folding rollers 451 and 452, the angle of the auxiliary tray 302 is set up as described above so that it can be reliably stacked on the tray. Basically, when the leading end of the folding side F of the sheet bundle comes into contact with the lower stacking tray 301 or the auxiliary tray 302 or the uppermost sheet surface of the sheet bundle on these trays, If the tip slides toward the end fence 331, it can be loaded in a state of being reliably reversed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the rising angle θ2 of the auxiliary tray 302 is set so that the angle is equal to or larger than the angle at which the sheet bundle is reliably slid to the end fence 331 and reversed. Since this angle is set in relation to the slip as described above, the discharge angle of the folding rollers 451 and 452, the maximum opening of the open / close end fence 311, and the elastic biasing force to the open / close end fence 311 in the closing direction. Set by

1.8 Other Reversing Mechanism In the above-described embodiment, the reversal of the sheet bundle is mainly performed by deflecting the sheet bundle discharge direction by the open / close end fence 311. In addition to reversing the stack of paper
(1) The circumferential speed of the pair of folding rollers 451 and 452 for discharging the sheet bundle is changed so that the discharge direction of the sheet bundle is directed downward.

(2) Extrude the sheet bundle in a state where the leading end of the sheet bundle is in contact with the stacking tray, bend it and turn it over.

(3) The sheet bundle is pushed out with the leading end of the sheet bundle in contact with the stacking tray, and in this state or in a curved state, the trailing end is pushed from the end fence side by the pushing member and reversed.

There are other methods.

First, as an example of (1), in this example, as shown in FIG. 28, the peripheral speed of the folding rollers 451 and 452 that also function as the discharge rollers is set to the peripheral speed of the folding roller 452 positioned on the upper side in the figure. If the circumferential speed of the folding roller 451 located on the lower side is S2, S1> S2
Set to be. With this configuration, the paper can be reliably discharged with the folding side F facing downward without providing the open / close end fence 311. The other parts including the lower stacking tray 301 and the auxiliary tray 302 are configured in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment.

  An example of (2) is shown in FIG. This embodiment is an example in which a sheet bundle is forcibly bent and inverted. In this embodiment, the lower stacking tray 301 is raised, and the height h between the nip positions of the folding rollers 451 and 452 and the lowest position of the lower stacking tray 301 is smaller than the conveyance length of the folded sheet bundle. Thus, the leading end of the folding side F of the sheet bundle is forcibly guided by the open / close end fence 311 to the lowermost part of the lower stacking tray 301 or the lowermost part of the uppermost sheet of the stacked sheet bundle. In this state, the folding rollers 451 and 452 are further driven. By doing so, the sheet bundle is curved as shown in FIG. 29, and is reversed and stacked on the stacking tray when it is discharged from the folding rollers 451 and 452. At that time, in order to make the reversal more reliable, the pushing member 455 and the driving device 456 for moving the pushing member 455 forward and backward as described in (3) are provided, and the pushing member 455 is used when the sheet bundle is separated from the nip. Is advanced so that the non-binding side of the sheet bundle is pushed to the lower stacking tray 301 side. In this case, since the position of the leading end of the sheet bundle, that is, the leading end of the folding side F is restricted, it is reversed if the non-binding side is pressed beyond that position, but the non-binding side is pressed further than the center. Can perform more reliable reversal operation.

2. Control Configuration 2.1 Overall Configuration FIG. 30 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet processing system including a sheet post-processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As can be understood from the above description, this system includes a sheet post-processing apparatus 2 and a copying machine (sheet output apparatus) 1 to which the sheet post-processing apparatus 2 is connected. Each of the devices 1 and 2 is provided with control units 10 and 20 each having a CPU and a ROM and a RAM associated therewith, and by sending / receiving processing information between them, the saddle stitching unit of the sheet post-processing device 2 21 and the control content of the middle folding part 22 are determined. In other words, the sheet post-processing apparatus 2 has a configuration in which the control unit 20 controls the saddle stitching unit 21 and the middle folding unit 22, and the folding unit 22 and folding plate unit 24 are further controlled as the middle folding unit 22. As described above, the folding roller unit 23 controls the folding motor 453 and the folding plate unit 24 controls the driving of the folding plate drive motor 461. Further, the driving unit of the punch unit 31, the end binding unit 32, and the paper discharge guide unit 33 is also controlled by the control unit 20. On the other hand, on the copier 1 side, the display unit 11, the operation unit 12, and the paper output control unit 13 are controlled by the control unit 10.

  In such a control configuration, the information input to the operation unit 12 of the copying machine 1 includes the presence / absence information of the saddle stitching process and the presence / absence information of the middle folding process as shown in FIG. By touching a desired display portion of the unit 12, the selection is made as described later, and it is transmitted to the paper post-processing side. Based on these input information, information such as paper size and processing mode is transmitted from the control unit 10 of the copying machine 1 to the control unit 10 of the paper post-processing apparatus 1, and the control unit 20 of the paper post-processing apparatus 2 includes these information. Based on this, the saddle stitching portion 21 and the middle folding portion 22 are controlled.

2.2 Discharge of Sheet Bundle after Folding FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for discharging a bundle of sheets after the sheet is folded in half by the folding apparatus. This processing is executed by a CPU (not shown) of the control unit 20 of the paper post-processing apparatus 2 according to a program stored in a ROM (not shown). The control unit 20 is further provided with a RAM. This RAM functions as a work area when the CPU executes the program.

  In this process, when the sheet bundle discharge process is started (step 1-1), a discharge abnormality detection timer is started (step 1-2), the open / close sensor 313 of the open / close end fence 311 is checked, and the fence is detected. Is checked (step 1-3). -Even if the fixed time has elapsed (step 1-7), if the fence opening cannot be detected, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the discharge, and the discharge abnormality process is performed (step 1-9). When the opening of the fence is detected in step 1-3, the abnormality detection timer is started again (step 1-4), and the open / close sensor 313 of the open / close end fence 311 is checked to determine whether the fence is closed (step). 1-5). If the fence closure is not detected even after a certain time has elapsed (step 1-8), it is determined that there is an abnormality in the discharge, and an abnormal discharge process is performed (step 1-9). If it is detected in step 1-5 that the fence is closed, it is determined that the discharge of the sheet bundle has been completed normally, and the process proceeds to the next process.

2.3 Control of Lower Stacking Tray at Start of Saddle Stitching Processing FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for movement control of the lower stacking tray 301 to the standby position at the start of saddle stitching processing.

  In this process, when the process is started (step 2-1), first, the lower stacking tray 301 starts to descend (step 2-2) and descends to the position of the pressure plate 343 (step 2-3). . At this time, the position of the pressure plate 343 is detected by a sensor (not shown). When the pressure plate 343 is lowered to the position of the pressure plate 343, detection of the descent distance is started (step 2-4). An encoder is attached to a lifting drive motor (not shown) of the lower stacking tray 301 so that the moving distance can be easily detected. Therefore, when it is detected that the encoder has lowered by a predetermined amount (step 2-5), the lowering of the tray is stopped (step 2-6, FIG. 24B). It is sufficient that the predetermined lowering amount is lowered to a position where the operation of the pressure plate 343 is not hindered, and is set to about 20 mm in this embodiment.

  Immediately after the lowering of the lower stacking tray 301 is stopped, the pressure plate 343 is advanced (step 2-7), and when it is advanced to a predetermined position (step 2-8), the pressure plate 343 is stopped (step 2-9). The pressure plate drive motor 345 uses a stepping motor, and can be easily advanced to a predetermined position by being controlled with a predetermined pulse. As soon as the pressure plate 343 is stopped, the lower stacking tray 301 starts to rise (step 2-10), the state of the pressure plate sensor 347 is checked (step 2-11), and the pressure plate sensor 347 is in the detection state. That is, when the pressure plate sensor 347 detects the motor fixing plate 342, the lower stacking tray 301 is stopped from rising (step 2-12 (FIG. 24C)), and the saddle stitching processing standby state is entered.

2.4 Control of Lower Stacking Tray at Saddle Stitch Discharge FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the lower stacking tray 301 at the time of saddle stitch discharge.

  When the discharge process is started (step 3-1), the pressure plate 343 moves back to the home position (step 3-2), the lower stacking tray 301 starts to descend (step 3-3), and a certain amount. It continues to descend until it descends (step 3-4) and stops (step 3-5... FIG. 24B). An encoder is attached to the tray lower drive motor so that the moving distance can be easily detected, and the amount of lowering is changed depending on the number of sheets to be bound, and the fold is controlled to be surely pressed. In this embodiment, the descending amount is set to about 20 mm when the number of binding sheets is 5 sheets, about 30 mm when the number of sheets is 6 to 10, and 50 mm when 11 sheets or more. The discharge of the sheet bundle is monitored (step 3-6), and when a certain time has elapsed after the discharge, the pressure plate 343 is advanced (step 3-7). Here, the fixed time is a time during which the sheet bundle stably drops on the tray after being discharged. In this embodiment, about 2 seconds have elapsed after the opening / closing sensor 313 confirms the discharging. When the pressure plate 343 moves forward to a predetermined position (step 3-8), the pressure plate 343 is stopped (step 3-9). The pressure plate drive motor 343 includes a stepping motor as described above, and can be advanced to a predetermined position by applying a predetermined pulse. When the pressure plate 343 is stopped, the lower stacking tray 301 starts to rise immediately (step 3-10), the output of the pressure plate sensor 347 is checked (step 3-11), and the pressure plate sensor 347 is moved to the motor fixing plate. If 342 is detected, the raising of the lower stacking tray 301 is stopped (step 3-12... FIG. 24C), and the next processing standby state is entered.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment connected to a copier for explaining the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the raising / lowering movement machine groove | channel of the upper stacking tray of the paper post-processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the raising / lowering moving machine groove | channel of the upper side stacking tray in FIG. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the raising / lowering moving machine groove | channel of the upper side stacking tray in FIG. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the mechanism part which performs the saddle stitch process of the paper post-processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the mechanism part of the saddle stitching of FIG. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the mechanism part of FIG. 5 in detail. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the mechanism part which performs the paper folding process of the paper post-processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the positional relationship of the folding plate of FIG. 8, and a folding roller. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when a sheet bundle is folded and discharged by a folding plate. FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a folding position and a folding operation related to a staple in the case of folding a sheet bundle by a folding plate. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a folding position when a sheet bundle is folded by a folding plate. It is a figure which shows a state when folding a folding plate to the back from the nip of a folding roller with a sheet bundle. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state when a paper discharge guide plate is closed and a folding operation is started by sandwiching the vicinity of the front end of a sheet bundle. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state when a front end portion of a sheet bundle is fixed and a folding plate presses the needle position of the sheet bundle in a facing folding roller direction to perform folding processing on the center portion of the sheet. It is a principal part front view which shows an opening-and-closing end fence part and a lower loading tray. FIG. 6 is a front view of a principal part showing a state where a front end portion on the folding side of a sheet bundle is discharged toward the downstream side in the discharge direction and stacked. It is a principal part front view which shows the state at the time of normal paper discharge. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state where a sheet bundle falls while being reversed. It is a principal part front view which shows the structure of a pressurization board. It is a top view which shows the structure of a pressurization board. It is explanatory drawing which shows stack operation | movement and operation | movement of the pressurizing plate 343. FIG. It is a figure which shows the angle relationship of a lower stacking tray and an auxiliary tray. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operation state of the reverse stacking | stacking state of a sheet | seat bundle when using an auxiliary tray, and a pressurizing plate. It is a figure which shows the position and operating state of a lower stacking tray and an auxiliary tray. It is a figure which shows the detail of the raising mechanism (rotation mechanism) of an auxiliary tray. It is a figure which shows the state of the raising mechanism of the auxiliary tray at the time of using for normal paper discharge. It is a figure which shows embodiment which changes the circumferential speed of a folding roller and reverses a sheet bundle. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which a front end of a sheet bundle is brought into contact with a lower stacking tray and the sheet bundle is bent and inverted. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet processing system including a sheet post-processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display state of the operation part in which a user inputs the saddle stitching and center folding process. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure for discharging a sheet bundle after the sheet is folded by a half-folding device. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of the movement control to the standby position of the lower side stacking tray at the time of a saddle stitching process start. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of the lower stacking tray at the time of saddle stitch discharge. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state when a folded sheet bundle according to a conventional example is stacked.

Explanation of symbols

1 Paper output device (copier)
2 Paper Post-Processing Device 10 Control Unit 11 Display Unit 12 Operation Unit 13 Paper Output Control Unit 20 Control Unit 21 Saddle Stitching Unit 22 Middle Folding Unit 23 Folding Roller Unit 24 Folding Plate Unit 301 Lower Stacking Tray 311 Open / Close End Fence 321 Upper Stack Tray 331 End (rear end) fence 332 Paper surface sensor (S2)
343 Pressure plate 451 Folding roller 452 Folding roller 455 Extruding member 456 Drive unit 466 Folding plate

Claims (17)

A saddle stitching means, a center folding means, and a stacking tray for stacking discharged sheets or sheet bundles are provided, and the center portion of the sheet bundle sent from the sheet output device side is bound and bound by the saddle stitching means. In the sheet processing apparatus, the sheet bundle is folded in half by the half-folding means and then ejected or ejected without being folded in two and stacked on the stacking tray.
A paper discharge means for discharging the paper bundle folded in half by the half-folding means with the folded side as the leading edge;
Reversing means for reversing so that the folded side is directed to the upstream side in the paper conveying direction while being discharged by the paper discharging means and stacked on the stacking tray;
With
The reversing means comprises a guide plate that forcibly discharges the leading end side of a bundle of sheets discharged from the paper discharge means downward;
The sheet processing device is characterized in that the guide plate is closed in the case of normal paper discharge that is not folded in two, and is retracted from the same surface or the same surface as the rear end fence with which the rear end side of the sheet bundle abuts.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising detection means for detecting an open / closed state of the guide plate.   The paper discharge means comprises a pair of paper discharge rollers, and the reversing means drives the roller pair by making the peripheral speed of the upper paper discharge roller of the paper discharge roller pair larger than the peripheral speed of the lower roller. 2. A sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising drive control means.   2. A sheet according to claim 1, wherein said reversing means comprises an angle changing means for changing the angle of the stacking tray so that the angle of the stacking tray becomes steeper than that in the case of normal paper discharge without folding in half. Processing equipment.   The angle changing means is configured such that when the front end of the folded sheet bundle is brought into contact with the uppermost sheet surface of the stacking tray or the stacked sheet bundle, the front end of the sheet bundle to be discharged is directed downward. 5. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an angle of the stacking tray is changed to an angle greater than an angle sufficient to cause slippage.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the angle changing unit changes only an angle of a part of the stacking tray.   7. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the means for changing only a part of the angle of the stacking tray includes an auxiliary tray rising from the stacking tray with a preset position of the stacking tray as a fulcrum.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the preset position is provided within a range of 40 mm ± 10 mm from the rear end fence.   8. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the means for raising the auxiliary tray includes cam means that operates in accordance with the position of the stacking tray. Elevating means for elevating and lowering the stacking tray, and loading tray drive control means for controlling the driving of the elevating means,
The stacking tray drive control unit moves the stacking tray from a normal discharge position where the stacking tray is not folded in two to a preset lower position when a mode in which the folded sheet bundle is discharged is set. 9. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the auxiliary tray is raised by operating the cam means.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising: a lock unit that locks a position of the auxiliary tray when the auxiliary tray rises.   12. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the lock unit releases the lock when the stacking tray moves upward from the preset position.   In the case of normal discharge that does not perform folded paper discharge, the auxiliary tray cannot be raised due to its own weight even if the stacking tray moves to the preset lower position. The paper processing apparatus according to claim 9 or 10. Saddle stitching means, center folding means, stacking tray for stacking discharged sheets or sheet bundles, lifting and lowering means for lifting and lowering the stacking tray, and stacking tray drive control means for controlling the driving of the lifting and lowering means The sheet processing is performed by binding the center portion of the sheet bundle sent from the sheet output device side by the saddle stitching unit, folding the bound sheet bundle in two by the middle folding unit, and then discharging and stacking on the stacking tray. In the device
A paper discharge means for discharging the paper bundle folded in half by the half-folding means with the folded side as the leading edge;
The stacking tray drive control means for moving the stacking tray to a preset lower position shorter than the conveyance length of the folded sheet bundle when a mode for discharging the folded sheet bundle is set;
Guide means for deflecting and discharging the front end portion of the sheet bundle discharged by the discharge means downward;
The leading end of the folded sheet bundle is guided by the guide means and brought into contact with the uppermost sheet surface of the stacking tray or the stacked sheet bundle, and in this state, the paper discharge operation by the paper discharge means is continued. A sheet processing apparatus, wherein the sheet bundle is reversed and stacked on the sheet upper stacking tray. The reversing means pushes at least the rear end side from the front end when the front end of the folded sheet bundle is in contact with the uppermost paper surface of the stacking tray or stacked paper bundle, The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 14, comprising a pushing member that pushes the non-binding side downstream in the paper discharge direction. A paper processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 15,
Image forming means for forming an image based on the input image data, and input means for the user to select a saddle stitching mode for binding at least at the center of the sheet bundle and a half-folding mode for folding in half at the center of the sheet bundle An image forming apparatus including:
An image forming system for executing processing on a sheet bundle discharged from the image forming apparatus,
First control means for controlling each part of the sheet processing apparatus;
A second control unit that communicates with the first control unit, transmits control information to the first control unit, and controls each part of the image forming apparatus;
And when the saddle stitching mode and the center folding mode are set from the image forming apparatus side, the sheet processing apparatus reverses the sheet bundle by a reversing unit set in the sheet processing apparatus. An image forming system which is stacked on a tray. A saddle stitching unit, a center folding unit, and a stacking tray for stacking discharged sheets or sheet bundles are provided, and the center portion of the sheet bundle sent from the sheet output device side is bound and bound by the saddle stitching means. A sheet processing method in which the sheet bundle is folded in half by the half-folding means and then discharged or not folded in two and discharged onto the stacking tray.
The sheet bundle folded in half by the middle folding means is discharged with the folded side as the leading edge,
While the sheet bundle is discharged and stacked on the stacking tray, it is closed in the case of normal sheet discharge that is not folded in half, and is the same as the rear end fence with which the rear end side of the sheet bundle contacts or more than the same surface A paper processing method, wherein the front end side of the sheet bundle is forcibly discharged downward by a guide plate that moves backward, and is reversed so that the half-folded side faces the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction.

Images