JP2007126234A - Bunched sheet folding device, sheet treatment device, and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bunched sheet folding device for reliably feeding bunched sheets to a pressure contact line between a pair of roller members without causing a great shift between inner and outer sheets of the bunched sheets in a two-folded condition while causing no folding wrinkle or breakage of the bunched sheets. <P>SOLUTION: Toward the pressure contact line between the pair of folding rollers 26, 27 in pressure contact with the sheet surface in the vertical direction, a bunched sheet protruding member 125B having an opening 125h protrudes the bunched sheets into the two-folded condition to be nipped between the pair of folding rollers 26, 27, thereby giving bunched sheet folding treatment thereto. The bunched sheet protruding member 125B is stopped in the protruding condition and the bunched sheets are held in the opening 125h to put the pair of folding rollers 26, 27 in pressure contact therewith. After the bunched sheets pass therethrough, the bunched sheet protruding member 125B is reset to a stand-by position on the front side of the pressure contact line between the pair of bunched sheets 26, 27. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet bundle folding device that folds a fold line of a sheet bundle that has been bound on a predetermined fold line with a pair of roller members, and a sheet processing apparatus including the sheet bundle folding device. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art A sheet processing apparatus that receives sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile and performs processing such as sorting, stacking, staple binding, punching, and inspection has been put into practical use. Also, in some models of image forming apparatuses, such a sheet processing apparatus is built in or connected as a purchase option (so-called option).

  In the sheet processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, after a staple binding process is performed on a predetermined fold line of a sheet bundle, the sheet bundle is moved to position the fold line at a pressure contact line of a pair of roller members, and on the fold line of the sheet bundle A so-called saddle stitch bookbinding process is performed by projecting the projecting member and causing the sheet bundle to be nipped between the pair of roller members in a folded state.

  Here, the protruding member is formed in a planar shape having a linear folding blade in which only the needle binding portion is retracted, and the protruding member protrudes only until the linear folding blade reaches the position immediately before the nip point. Thus, the nip of the folded sheet bundle is achieved by the rotating roller member rubbing the outermost sheet surface of the sheet bundle and pulling the entire sheet bundle to the nip point.

  If the frictional force between the sheets is insufficient at the time of pulling, the inner sheet is pulled by the protruding member and shifted rearward, causing creases with the needle binding part as a base point, or needle binding part. Since the possibility of tearing the sheet increases, surface treatment to reduce the frictional force is applied to the front end surface of the protruding member, and the force that the protruding member pulls the sheet bundle drawn into the nip of the roller member is reduced. Yes.

JP-A-11-193176

  The sheet processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 performs saddle stitch binding processing without causing creases and tearing even when the frictional force between sheets is small by applying a surface treatment to reduce the frictional force to the protruding member. It can be carried out. However, when the protruding member is brought close to the nip point, the pair of roller members strongly presses the sheet against the surface of the protruding member to increase the frictional force. Therefore, the frictional force between the sheets is further reduced or the frictional force is low. When the upper sheet is thin and weak, when the outer sheet is pulled into the nip of the roller member, the inner sheet is pulled by the protruding member and displaced, which may cause creases and tears. Yes.

  However, if the protruding member is not brought too close to the nip point in order to avoid this frictional force, only the outer sheet will be drawn first to the nip point and the staple will be broken or the sheet will be thick and folded. If the resistance is too large, the sheet bundle may not be properly nipped.

  However, when the diameter of the roller member is reduced in order to reduce the pressure on the protruding member while bringing the protruding member close to the nip point, the roller member becomes insufficient in strength and cannot generate a uniform pressing force. The sheet bundle cannot be nipped.

  The present invention reliably feeds the sheet bundle to the pressure tangent lines of the pair of roller members without causing a large shift between the inner and outer sheets of the folded sheet bundle, and does not cause folding or tearing of the sheet bundle. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet bundle folding device. Further, even if no special surface treatment is applied to the protruding member, the force by which the protruding member pulls the sheet inside the folded sheet bundle is reduced, and the folded sheet bundle is nipped by a pair of roller members. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet processing apparatus that reduces the deviation of the inner and outer sheets at the time and does not cause folding or tearing of the sheet bundle.

  The sheet bundle folding device according to the present invention includes a pair of roller members that can be rotated by pressure contact, a positioning mechanism that can position a folding line of the sheet bundle on the pressure contact line of the roller member, and can be advanced and retracted toward the pressure contact line. A sheet bundle folding device provided with a projecting member that is disposed and projects to the fold line so that the sheet bundle can be fed into the pressure tangential line in a folded state, and the projecting member is located at a position beyond the pressure tangent line. And a control means for projecting the projecting member to the folding line of the sheet bundle and for causing the projecting member to reach a position beyond the pressure tangent and for folding the sheet bundle. is there.

  In the sheet bundle folding device of the present invention, a so-called saddle stitch binding process is performed by projecting the projecting member to the folding line of the sheet bundle positioned by the positioning mechanism and causing the pair of roller members to nip the sheet bundle in a folded state. Do. Then, the protruding member protrudes to the opposite side beyond the pressure contact line of the pair of roller members, and before the friction between the protrusion member and the sheet begins to rub at the pressure contact line of the roller member, (Compression of the folding line) is completed, and the projecting member and the sheet do not move relative to each other in the crease process, and the projecting member does not pull the inner sheet. Therefore, when the folded sheet bundle is nipped by a pair of roller members, in other words, the deviation of the inner and outer sheets in the process of creasing the sheet bundle is reduced, causing folds and tears in the sheet bundle. You don't have to.

  In addition, creases and tears in the process of creasing are avoided in this way, but if the protruding member is forcibly pulled out from a state where it is sandwiched between two folded sheet bundles and pressed by a pair of roller members Since there is a possibility that a large frictional force acts between the inner sheet and the protruding member, the protruding member is stopped at a position beyond the pressure tangent line, and the protruding member is moved after the sheet bundle passes through the pair of roller members. It is desirable to return to the near side of the pressure tangent line.

  Hereinafter, a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and a copier as an embodiment of an image forming apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the sheet bundle folding apparatus of the present invention may be an independent two-folding apparatus that does not have a sheet stacking unit, and may be configured to perform trimming of the three sides of the sheet bundle and glue binding after the folding. You may add the structure which performs other processes, such as a punching process, before or after forming a bundle. The image forming apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the copying machine of the present embodiment, and may be implemented by a facsimile, a printer, a complex machine of these, or the like.

  Further, the sheet processing apparatus 2 of the present embodiment may be connected to a printing apparatus other than the apparatus main body 900 of the copying machine 1 or other office machines, and the sheet processing apparatus 2 can be separated from the apparatus main body 900. Even if it comprises a housing | casing, you may incorporate in the housing | casing of the apparatus main body 900 so that separation is impossible. When incorporated in the casing of the apparatus main body 900, the MPU 170 independent from the control apparatus 150 that is an arithmetic control apparatus is not provided in the sheet processing apparatus 2, and the input / output of the MPU 170 is connected to the control apparatus 150, and is shared by the control apparatus 150. A configuration in which the program is controlled may be adopted.

<Image forming apparatus>
FIG. 1 is a front view of a copying machine provided with a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The copier 1 that is an image forming apparatus of the present invention includes, for example, an apparatus main body 900 that is an image forming unit, and a sheet processing apparatus 2 that is a sheet processing apparatus. The copying machine 1 according to the present embodiment includes a pair of roller members such as a pair of folding rollers 26 and 27, a positioning mechanism such as a leading end stopper 23, a protrusion member such as a sheet bundle protruding member 125, and an urging unit. For example, an urging member 99 and a control unit such as an MPU 170 are provided.

  The apparatus main body 900 of the copying machine 1 includes an automatic feeding device 940 that conveys the original document D one by one and places it on the document placing table 906 (platen glass). The image on the lower surface of the copy original D is illuminated linearly by a light source 907 that moves in the left-right direction in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 914. Light emitted from the illuminated linear image passes from the moving mirror that moves together with the light source 907, passes through the fixed mirror, passes through the lens system 908, and reaches the photosensitive drum 914 through another fixed mirror. The lens system 908 projects the image of the lower surface of the copy source document D onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 914 and determines the image.

  The photosensitive drum 914 is cleaned by a cleaner 918 disposed at a rotational position before an image is projected, and is uniformly charged by a primary charger 919. The surface of the photosensitive drum 914 is projected by the projected image. An electrostatic latent image is formed. The electrostatic latent image is developed with toner supplied from a developing device 915 disposed at a rotational position after the image is projected, and converted into a toner image.

  The toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 914 is transferred to the sheet P fed to the image forming unit 902. The sheet P is sent out from the paper feeding unit 909, the skew feeding is corrected by the registration roller 901, and fed to the image forming unit 902 by the registration roller 901 with the same timing as the head of the toner image. The transfer charger 916 disposed at the rotational position where the sheet P overlaps the toner image charges the sheet P to attract the toner image to the sheet P, and the separation charger 917 disposed at the subsequent rotational position The image is charged to the opposite polarity and separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum 914.

  Thereafter, the sheet P to which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 904 by the conveying device 920, and is heated and pressurized by the fixing device 904, whereby the toner image is fixed on the sheet surface. The sheet P on which the image of the copy original D has been fixed and is copied is discharged to the sheet processing apparatus 2 by the discharge roller pair 1a, 1b.

  The sheet feeding unit 909 is provided with cassettes 910 and 911 that store sheets P and are detachably mounted, and a pedestal 912 having a lifting deck 913 on which a large number of sheets can be placed. Reading of the copy original D and image formation on the sheet P in the apparatus main body 900 are controlled by the control device 150.

<Sheet processing device>
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view schematically showing the configuration of the sheet processing apparatus, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a drive system of each part of the sheet processing apparatus, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a positional relationship of each part of the sheet processing apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the sheet width adjusting mechanism, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the folding drive mechanism viewed from the front side, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the folding drive mechanism viewed from below, and FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of the urging mechanism of the roller pair, and FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of the folding process using the protruding unit portion and the folding roller pair. The sheet processing apparatus 2 according to this embodiment includes a pair of roller members such as a pair of folding rollers 26 and 27, a positioning mechanism such as a leading end stopper 23, and a protrusion member such as a sheet bundle ejecting member 125 and a biasing force. For example, an urging member 99 as a means, an MPU 170 as a control means, a pair of discharge rollers 30 and 31 as a discharge member, and a stacking tray 32 as a sheet stacking means are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet P discharged from the discharge roller pair 1 a and 1 b of the apparatus main body 900 has a horizontal discharge guide 4 and lower upper guide portions 11 and 12 depending on the direction of the entrance flapper 3. The transport direction can be switched to. The sheet P conveyed to the sheet discharge guide 4 is discharged and stacked on the stack tray 7 through the stacker discharge roller pairs 5 and 6, while the sheet P conveyed to the upper guide portions 11 and 12 is directed to the leading end stopper portion 23. A sheet bundle is formed by stacking a predetermined number of sheets while abutting the leading edge.

  The sheet bundle is stapled by the stapler unit 18 on the center fold line, and then the fold line is projected to the press-contact line of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 by the projecting unit 25 to be nipped in a folded state. After that, the sheet is discharged and stacked on the stacking tray 32 by the discharge roller pair 30 and 31.

  The inlet flapper 3 is driven by the inlet solenoid 3d (FIG. 3) and rotates up / down around the shaft 3a in response to the on / off of the inlet solenoid 3d, thereby switching between the binding mode and the stack mode. .

  The discharge roller pairs 5 and 6 are configured by pressing the discharge roller 6 against the stacker discharge roller 5 and discharge the sheet conveyed through the discharge guide 4 to the stack tray 7. The stacker discharge roller 5 is driven by a stacker discharge motor 95 (FIG. 3). The stack tray 7 is supported so as to be able to move up and down along the main body frame 8 of the sheet processing apparatus 2. The stack tray 7 is driven by a driving mechanism (not shown) as the sheet stacking progresses and gradually descends to stack the stacked sheets P. Maintain the top surface at a nearly constant height.

  Switching flappers 15 and 16 are arranged in the upper guide portions 11 and 12. The switching flapper 15 (16) is urged to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 2 by a spring 15c (16c) shown in FIG. 3. By turning on the flapper switching solenoid 15d (16d), the flapper link 15b (15d) is turned on. And rotate to the position of the one-dot chain line in FIG. The switching flappers 15 and 16 guide the succeeding sheet P to the gap between the sheet bundle brought close to the upper guide portion 11 side by the elastic member 17d and the upper guide portion 12, and abut the leading end against the leading end stopper portion 23. Sheets P are stacked in order of discharge from left to right.

  When the sheet size is large, the sheet P is guided to the upper guide portion 12 by the switching flapper 15 held at the solid line position. However, when the sheet P is an intermediate size, the switching flapper 15 that has been rotated to the one-dot chain line position is passed through the switching flapper 16 held at the solid line position, and when the sheet size is small, the switching flapper. 15 and 16 are rotated to a one-dot chain line position, and the sheet P is guided to the upper guide part 12 by the curved surface below the upper guide part 11, respectively.

  The transport roller 13 and the transport roller 14 are disposed in pressure contact with the upper guide portions 11 and 12 upstream, and the upper transport roller 17a is disposed in contact with the elastic member 17d downstream of the upper guide portions 11 and 12. Is done. On the downstream side of the upper conveyance roller 17a, a lower conveyance roller 22a is disposed in contact with the elastic member 22d.

  The conveyance roller 13, the upper conveyance roller 17a, and the lower conveyance roller 22a constitute a conveyance system for the sheet P when forming a sheet bundle, and are communicated with each other by the timing belts 53 and 54 in FIG. The transport motor pulley 52 attached to the output shaft rotates in the same direction by driving the timing belt 53. The elastic member 17d presses the sheet P against the upper conveying roller 17a, and the elastic member 22d presses the lower conveying roller 22a. As described above, the elastic member 17d urges the sheet P toward the upper guide portion 11 to form a gap between the upper guide portion 12 and the sheet bundle.

  The upper transport roller 17a and the lower transport roller 22a receive the sheet P transported by the transport roller 13 and transport it further downward. The transport motor 51 is stopped when the sheet P reaches the leading end stopper 23 and the leading edge of the sheet P is detected by the sensor 33.

  The discharge roller pair 30, 31 is configured by pressing the discharge roller 31 against the discharge roller 30, and the discharge roller 30 is driven by the discharge motor 91 of FIG. 3 via the pulley 92, the timing belt 93, and the pulley 30b. .

  The discharge motor 91 is constituted by a stepping motor, and is set so that the peripheral speed of the discharge roller 30 is somewhat faster than the peripheral speed of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27. Further, since the conveying force of the folding roller pairs 26 and 27 is set higher than the conveying force of the discharge roller pairs 30 and 31, the saddle stitched sheet bundle is folded in half by the folding roller pairs 26 and 27. When the sheet bundle that has been folded in two passes through the folding roller pairs 26 and 27, the sheet is conveyed by the discharging roller pairs 30 and 31 and slipping occurs. It will be resolved.

  The stapler unit 18 staples the left and right two places on the folding line at the center of the sheet bundle positioned by the leading end stopper 23. The lower guide portions 20 and 21 arranged on the downstream side of the stapler unit portion 18 hold the lower end side of the sheet bundle in the thickness direction at a position that does not interfere with the leading end stopper portion 23 and the sheet width alignment unit 24. The sheet width alignment unit 24 aligns the width direction of the sheet bundle by moving in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface and contacting the side edge of the sheet bundle.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the leading end stopper portion 23 is positioned at a height position corresponding to the sheet size, and abuts the leading end of the sheet P conveyed through the lower guide portions 20 and 21 to staple the folding line of the sheet P. The unit 18 is positioned at the staple binding position. Further, when the staple binding is completed, it is lowered by one step, and the staple-bound fold line of the sheet bundle is positioned at the tangent line of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27. The pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 are rotated in pressure contact with each other with a required pressing force, and the sheet bundle ejected by the ejection unit 25 is conveyed in a folded state to form a fold along the fold line.

  The projecting unit 25 includes a sheet bundle ejecting member 125 that is supported so as to be able to advance and retreat, and waits behind the lower guide portion 21, and the pair of folding rollers 26 is formed when the staple-bound sheet bundle is lowered by the leading end stopper portion 23. , 27 is positioned, the sheet bundle protruding member 125 is protruded on the folding line of the sheet bundle to fold the sheet bundle in two, and sent to the pressure contact lines of the folding roller pairs 26, 27.

  The discharge guide 28 guides the sheet bundle conveyed in a folded state by the folding roller pairs 26 and 27 to the discharge roller pairs 30 and 31. The discharge sensor 29 is an optical sensor that detects the leading and trailing ends of a sheet bundle that passes through the discharge guide 28. The stacking tray 32 is also supported so as to be able to move up and down along the main body frame 8 of the sheet processing apparatus 2, and is driven by a driving mechanism (not shown) every time a bundle of sheets is stacked, and is gradually lowered and stacked. The top surface of P is maintained at a substantially constant height.

<Stapler unit section>
As shown in FIG. 5, the stapler unit portion 18 has two staplers 18 </ b> A and 18 </ b> B arranged corresponding to the left and right staple binding positions in the width direction of the sheet bundle. The stapler 18A (18B) includes a drive unit 100 attached to a support plate 100a fixed to the main body frame 8 (FIG. 2), and a forming unit 101 attached to the drive unit 100 so as to be swingable about a shaft 18b. And an anvil part 19 fixed to the guide member 102 (see FIG. 2) in a form facing the forming part 101 through a notch hole 111a formed in the guide part 111, and the notch is formed by swinging the forming part 101. Needle binding is performed by penetrating the needle punched from the hole 111a into the sheet bundle and bending the tip side of the penetrating needle at the anvil portion 19.

  A needle cartridge 104 is detachably attached to the forming unit 101, and a large number of binding needles 105 connected in a plate shape are loaded in the needle cartridge 104 and are urged downward by a spring 106. . The feed roller 107 conveys the binding needles 105 one by one in the left direction in FIG. As the binding needles 105 are separated one by one as the forming unit 101 swings, the binding needles 105 are formed into a U shape and driven into a sheet bundle.

  When the staple motor 108 of the drive unit 100 rotates and rotates the eccentric cam gear 110 via the gear train 109, an eccentric cam (not shown) provided integrally with the eccentric cam gear 110 moves the forming unit 101 toward the anvil unit 19. Clinch operation (oscillate). At this time, both ends of the stitched binding needle 105 are guided by the depressions in the binding surface 103 of the anvil portion 19 and both are bent inward.

<End stopper and sheet width alignment section>
As shown in FIG. 2, the tip stopper portion 23 has a pair of rollers 23 a, 23 a that are rotatably attached to the left and right ends in the width direction, and is provided in a guide groove (not shown) formed in the main body frame 8. The rollers 23a and 23a are held so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. The front end stopper portion 23 has rack gears 23e attached to both left and right ends in the width direction, and a pinion gear 23b driven by a stopper motor 61 (FIG. 6) meshes with the rack gear 23e.

  A flag 63a is attached to the tip stopper 23, and by detecting the flag 63a with the stopper home sensor 63, it is possible to determine that the tip stopper 23 has reached the lowermost home position. The leading end stopper sensor 33 detects the presence or absence of the sheet P received in the leading end stopper portion 23.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the forward / reverse rotation of the stopper motor 61 raises / lowers the entire configuration of the tip stopper portion 23. The rotation of the stopper motor 61 is transmitted from the output gear 62 to the stopper gear 23d, and rotates the pinion gear 23b via the drive shaft 23c (FIG. 2). A stepping motor is employed as the stopper motor 61, and the leading end stopper portion 23 is positioned at a height position corresponding to the sheet size by counting drive pulses.

  The sheet width aligning unit 24 reciprocates the pair of left and right width aligning members 24a and 24b to a position corresponding to the sheet size in the width direction of the sheet P, and pushes in the side edge of the sheet P, thereby The sheet P positioned in the length direction by 23 is also positioned in the width direction.

  The rack gear 24f formed downward on the width adjusting member 24a and the rack gear 24g formed upward on the width adjusting member 24b are vertically opposed to each other at the center portion, and are connected to the width adjusting alignment motor 24d. It meshes with the gear 24c. A stepping motor is employed as the width alignment motor 24d, and the amount of movement according to the sheet size can be set by drive pulse count control.

  A width adjusting home sensor 24e, which is a photo interrupter arranged corresponding to the outermost position of the width adjusting member 24a, detects a light blocking flag attached to the width adjusting member 24a and discriminates the home positions of the width adjusting members 24a and 24b. .

<Extrusion unit and folding roller pair>
As shown in FIG. 7, a projecting unit portion 25 is disposed at a position facing the folding roller pairs 26 and 27 with the lower guide portions 20 and 21 interposed therebetween. The projecting unit 25 can project the sheet bundle projecting member 125 to the tangent line of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 and project the sheet bundle projecting member 125 to the side beyond the tangent line.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the upper folding roller 26 in the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 has a rotating shaft held by a pair of holding plates 98 disposed on both outer sides of the folding roller 26. A pivot shaft 98a fixed to the frame 8 (FIG. 8) is supported so as to be swingable. The upper folding roller 26 is in pressure contact with the lower folding roller 27 by lifting the rotating end of the holding plate 98 by a biasing member 99 such as a spring.

  The pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 are fixed coaxially to the folding gears 69 and 68 meshed with each other, and the folding motor 64 is fed from a pulley 65 attached to its output shaft to a timing belt 66 and an idler pulley. Folding gears 68 and 69 are rotated via 67. The folding roller pairs 26 and 27 are driven by a folding motor 64 to nip and convey the sheet bundle in a folded state.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the sheet bundle ejecting member 125 of the ejecting unit section 25 is formed of a thin and hard material such as stainless steel so as to pass through the nip of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 together with the sheet bundle. It is sandwiched and held between plate holders 25b and 25d.

  Shafts 25c and 25e are fixed to the front and rear end faces of one veneer holder 25b, and sliding rollers 25f and 25g are rotatably attached to the outer circumferences of the shafts 25c and 25e. One end of a link 71 is rotatably attached to the shaft 25 c, and the other end of the link 71 is rotatably attached to a shaft 72 provided on the side surface of the drive gear 73. The pair of front and rear drive gears 73 are fixed to both ends of the shaft 73a and rotate integrally, and reciprocate the thrust plate holder 25b in a crank / piston manner via the links 71, respectively.

  The diameter of the drive gear 73 and the mounting position of the shaft 72 are designed to correspond to the distance (stroke) of the reciprocating movement. As will be described later, the distance (stroke) of the reciprocating movement is the tip of the sheet bundle protruding member 125. Is determined to be a distance protruding to a position beyond the pressure contact of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27.

  A flag 81 having a notch formed in part is fixed on the shaft 73a of the drive gear 73, and a home sensor 82 is provided at a position where the notch of the flag 81 is detected. The protruding home sensor 82 detects the cutout of the flag 81 corresponding to the home position where the sheet bundle protruding member 25a is most retracted from the conveyance surface of the guide 21.

  An idler gear 75 is engaged with the drive gear 73. The shaft 76 of the idler gear 75 is provided with a protruding clutch 74a, which is an electromagnetic clutch. The protruding clutch 74a transmits / idly rotates the rotation of the pulley 74 to the shaft 76 by turning on / off the power source. A timing belt 70 is wound around the outer periphery of the pulley 74, and the other end of the timing belt 70 is wound around an idler pulley 67 driven by a folding motor 64 as shown in FIG.

  Accordingly, the rotation of the idler pulley 67 is transmitted to the pulley 74 on the ejecting clutch 74 a via the timing belt 70, and the rotation of the pulley 74 is transmitted to the shaft 76 by the ON of the ejecting clutch 74 a and is driven via the idler gear 75. The gear 73 rotates. When the shaft 72 on the side surface of the drive gear 73 moves circularly, the link 71 fitted to the shaft 72 protrudes and causes the unit unit 25 to move linearly. When the drive gear 73 makes one rotation, the link 71 reciprocates the thrust plate holder 25b once in the projecting direction, and the sheet bundle projecting member 125 moves from the standby position to the projecting position shown in FIG. Return to.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, the sliding roller 25g that moves along the groove 8a has substantially the same diameter as the width of the groove 8a, but the sliding roller 25f has a smaller diameter than the width of the groove 8a. is there. The sliding roller 25f has a correction margin h in the upper part with respect to the groove part 8a of the frame 8, slides with the groove part 8a in the lower part, and is urged downward by a spring 97. A margin h is obtained. One end 97a of the spring 97 is coupled to the shaft portion of the sliding roller 25f, and the other end 97b is coupled to the frame 8.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, the sheet bundle ejecting member 125 moves up and down within the range of the correction margin h in accordance with the pressure difference between the upper and lower sides in the process of guiding the sheet bundle PB to the nip of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27. It can rotate and can accurately protrude into the nip of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 while offsetting the difference in frictional force between the front and back sides. As shown in FIG. 10B, the sheet bundle PB ejected by the sheet bundle projecting member 125 is sandwiched between the sheet bundle ejecting member 125 and the nip portion of the folding roller pairs 26 and 27 to generate a pressing force. In a folded state, the sheet is sandwiched between the folding rollers 26 and 27 and is creased.

<Control system and processing sequence of sheet processing apparatus>
11 is a block diagram of a control system of the sheet processing apparatus, FIG. 12 is a first half of a flowchart of bookbinding control, FIG. 13 is a latter half of a flowchart of bookbinding control, and FIG. 14 is a flowchart of flapper control according to the sheet size. FIG. 15 is a flowchart of stack mode control.

  The sheet processing apparatus 2 is program-controlled by an MPU (main control unit) 170 that is an arithmetic and control apparatus independent of the control apparatus 150 that controls the apparatus main body 900. As shown in FIG. 11, the MPU 170 stores programs such as processes corresponding to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 12 to 15 and various data. The MPU 170 holds the read processing program, and working data, input data, communication data, calculation results, and the like that are sequentially generated in the control process are written / erased each time. The MPU 170 exchanges control data with the control device 150 of the apparatus main body 900.

  The input port of the MPU 170 includes a stack sensor 84, an inlet sensor 83, a width home sensor 24e, a stopper home sensor 63, a stopper sensor 33, a protruding home sensor 82, a discharge sensor 29, a conveyance roller sensor 34, a protruding position sensor 25h, and the like. A sensor and an external device are connected.

  The output port of the MPU 170 is connected to the inlet solenoid 3d, the stack discharge motor 95, the switching solenoids 15d and 16d, the transport motor 51, the width adjusting motor 24d, the stopper motor 61, the folding motor 64, and the ejecting clutch 74a via drivers D1 to D12. The discharge motor 91 and other motors and actuators are connected.

  The MPU 170 refers to the output of these sensors in accordance with the read processing program, performs necessary arithmetic processing based on the control data sent from the control device 150 (FIG. 1) of the apparatus main body 900, and performs these various motors. By controlling the actuator and the like, each part of the sheet processing apparatus 2 is controlled.

  When the read document D is set in the automatic feeding device 940 shown in FIG. 1 and the copying conditions are set in the apparatus main body 900, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12 with reference to FIG. To the booklet mode or the stack mode, the size information of the vertical length L and the horizontal width W of the sheet S to be handled, the number information N and the number of copies information M are transmitted. A start signal is transmitted (S201).

  The MPU 170 confirms the received mode information (S202), and if it is in the bookbinding mode (Y in S202), next, the length L of the sheet P is from the upper limit Lmax that can be processed by the sheet processing apparatus 2 to the lower limit Lmin. It is confirmed whether or not the sheet is within the range (S203). If it is within the range (Y in S203), then whether the width W of the sheet P is within the range from the upper limit Wmax to the lower limit Wmin that can be processed by the sheet processing apparatus 2 If it is within the range (Y in S204), the bookbinding mode processing starting from step S207 is started.

  However, when the mode information is not the bookbinding mode (N in S202), the length L of the sheet P is out of the above range (N in S203), and the width W of the sheet P is out of the above range (N in S204). First, the stack mode control shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15 is started (S205).

  As shown in FIG. 15, when stack mode control is started (S271), the stack counter CNT is cleared (S272), and the stack discharge motor 95 is turned on while the inlet flapper 3 is rotated downward. Then, it waits for the sheet P conveyed through the sheet discharge guide 4 to pass through the stack sensor 84 with the pair of discharge rollers 5 and 6 (FIG. 2) rotated.

  After the leading edge of the sheet P is detected by the stack sensor 84 (Y in S274), when the trailing edge of the sheet P passes through the stack sensor 84 (Y in S275), 1 is added to the counter CNT, and the number of passing sheets Until the set number N is reached (N in S277), the stacking on the stack tray 7 is continued (S274 to S277). When the number of passing sheets reaches the set number N (Y in S277), the stack discharge motor 95 is turned off after a lapse of a predetermined time (S278), and the stack mode control is terminated (S279).

  On the other hand, in the bookbinding mode control, the MPU 170 turns on the inlet solenoid 3d to rotate the inlet flapper 3 upward to guide the sheet P to the upper guide portions 11 and 12 (S207), and starts the transport motor 51. Then, the conveying roller 13, the upper conveying roller 17a, and the lower conveying roller 22a are rotated (S208). Further, the MPU 170 executes control of the switching flapper shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14 (S209), and sets the switching flappers 15 and 16 in the direction corresponding to the sheet size (length) as described above.

  That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14 with reference to FIG. 4, when the control of the switching flappers 15 and 16 is started (S251), it is determined whether or not the sheet length is a large size (S252). If it is not the size (NO in S252), it is determined whether or not the sheet length is an intermediate size (S254). If the sheet length is large (Y in S252), the switching solenoids 15d and 16d are kept off. If the sheet length is intermediate (Y in S254), only the switching solenoid 15d is turned on (S255). ), If it is a small size that is neither a large size nor an intermediate size (N in S254), the switching solenoids 15d and 16d are turned on and the control is terminated (S253).

  As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12 with reference to FIG. 11, the MPU 170 calculates the moving distance to the standby position of the sheet width adjusting members 24a and 24b according to the sheet size (width), and sets the moving distance. The corresponding width adjusting motor 24d is actuated to move the sheet width adjusting members 24a and 24b to the standby position (S210). That is, the MPU 170 widens a pulse having the number of steps in which the distance P between the sheet width adjusting members 24a and 24b is P = W + α (α is a gap between the sheet bundle and the abutting portions of the width adjusting members 24a and 24b). It is sent to the driver D8 of the alignment motor 24d.

  Further, the MPU 170 calculates the moving distance of the leading end stopper portion 23 according to the sheet size (length), and operates the stopper motor 61 corresponding to the moving distance so that the folding line of the sheet P and the stapler unit portion 18 are operated. And the staple point 19a (FIG. 4). That is, a pulse having the number of steps for the movement from the staple point 19a to the position where l = L / 2 is sent to the driver D9 of the stopper motor 61 (S211).

  Thereafter, the number counter CNT1 is set to “0” (S212), and the signal from the inlet sensor 83 is confirmed to wait for the sheet P to pass (S213). Then, the entrance sensor 83 is turned on at the leading edge of the sheet P (Y in S213), and then the trailing edge of the sheet P passes and turns off (Y in S214). After confirming that the conveyance roller sensor 34 is turned off (S214a), After time t when the leading edge of the sheet P hits the leading edge stopper portion 23, the sheet width adjusting members 24a and 24b are moved inward to align the width direction of the sheet P (S215), and then returned to the original standby position (S216). ).

  That is, the width is equal to the number of steps corresponding to the movement of the sheet width adjusting members 24a and 24b from the standby position to a position where P = W−β (β is the amount by which the sheet width adjusting members 24a and 24b push the sheet P for alignment). The shifting motor 24d is rotated (S215), and then the shifting motor 24d is rotated in the reverse direction by the number of steps corresponding to the movement of the sheet width adjusting members 24a and 24b to a position where P = W + d (S216).

  Further, after the sheet counter CNT1 is advanced by “1” (S217), it is confirmed whether or not the sheet counter CNT1 has reached the set number N of sheet bundles (S218). If the desired number N has not been reached (S218). In step S218, the process returns to step S213 to wait for the next sheet P to be discharged, and the operations in steps S213 to S218 are repeated. When the number counter CNT1 reaches the set number N (Y in S218), the sheet width adjusting members 24a and 24b are moved outward (S219 to S220a). That is, the width adjusting motor 24d is rotated to move the sheet width adjusting members 24a and 24b to the outside (S219), and when the width adjusting home sensor 24e detects the flag of the sheet width adjusting member 24a (Y in S220), the width adjusting operation is performed. The motor 24d is stopped (S220a).

  Then, a stapling process is performed on the set number N of sheet bundles formed in the leading end stopper portion 23 by a pair of left and right staplers 18A and 18B arranged in the stapler unit portion 18.

  First, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 13, the staple motor A corresponding to one stapler 18A is turned on (S221) to execute the staple binding process, and when the staple sensor A detects the end of this process (S222). ), The staple motor A is turned off (S223). Subsequently, the other stapler 18B is also processed in the same procedure (S224, S225, S226).

  When the two stapling processes are completed, the MPU 170 lowers the leading end stopper portion 23 to position the stapled folding line of the sheet bundle at the pressure contact line of the folding roller pairs 26 and 27. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the stopper motor 61 is rotated by a step corresponding to the distance C between the staple point 19a and the folding position (S227), and the tip stopper 23 is lowered. As a result, the sheet bundle driven by the conveyance motor 51 is also lowered together with the leading end stopper 23, and the stapled folding line position is a protrusion that connects the nip position of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 and the sheet bundle protruding member 125. Positioned on the line.

  At this time, the conveyance motor 51, the inlet solenoid 3d, and the switching solenoids 15d and 16d are turned off to prepare for the folding process (S228, S229, S230). Subsequently, after confirming that the tip stopper sensor 33 is on (Y in S231), the discharge motor 91 is turned on (S232) and the folding motor 64 is turned on (S233).

  Next, when the protruding clutch 74a is turned on (S234), the protruding operation of the sheet bundle protruding member 125 is started, and the leading end of the sheet bundle protruding member 125 protrudes and protrudes toward the folding line where the sheet bundle is stapled. The sheet bundle is nipped between the folding roller pairs 26 and 27 in a folded state. This process is continued until the home sensor 82 is turned on (S235), and when it is turned on, the protrusion clutch 74a is turned off (S236).

  Next, when the discharge sensor 29 is turned off (Y in S237), a timer is started, and a sufficient time has passed for the trailing end of the folded sheet bundle to pass through the discharge roller pairs 30 and 31. , The folding motor 64 is turned off (S238), and then the discharge motor 91 is turned off (S239). In this case, immediately after the discharge sensor 29 is turned off, the speed of the discharge motor 91 is also reduced so that the sheet bundle is discharged to the outside by the pair of discharge rollers 30 and 31 at a relatively low speed. Here, the copy counter CNT2 is advanced by “1” (S240). If the number of copies counter CNT2 has not reached the desired number of copies M, the process returns to step S206 to repeat the processing operation. If the number of copies counter CNT2 has reached the desired number of copies M, the operation is terminated (S242).

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 16 is an explanatory view of the sheet bundle protruding member according to the first embodiment, FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the protruding unit portion, and FIG. 18 is an explanatory view of a modified example of the sheet bundle protruding member. The sheet bundle ejecting member 125 of Embodiment 1 is the sheet bundle ejecting member 125 shown in FIG. 8, and more specifically, as shown in FIG. A notch 125q is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the folding roller 26 is held in pressure contact with the folding roller 27 while holding the rotating shaft in a double-supported manner by a pair of holding plates 98. ), The pressure contact pressure at both end portions 112 is higher than that at the central portion.

  For this reason, when the sheet bundle protruding member 125 is protruded beyond the nip point at both end portions 112, the frictional force between the sheet bundle protruding member 125 and the sheet bundle at both end portions 112 becomes excessive, and the inner sheet P becomes a sheet. There is a possibility that the sheet P may be wrinkled or torn by being pulled by the bundle protruding member 125.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 17, the sheet bundle protruding member 125 is formed with notches 125q at both ends corresponding to the both end portions 112 of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27, and the pressure pressure at the central portion 113 is relatively low. Protrusion beyond the nip point is performed only at the part.

  Further, in correspondence with the two staples processed by the staplers 18A and 18B shown in FIG. 6, the sheet bundle protruding member 125A has two notches 125p as shown in FIG. Further, a plurality of cuts 125r are formed at the front end of the sheet bundle protruding member 125A, and portions protruding beyond the pressure tangent lines of the folding roller pairs 26 and 27 are intermittently arranged.

  Accordingly, the friction area of the sheet bundle protruding member 125A along the pressure tangent line is reduced, and the innermost sheet P folded in half is made difficult to be pulled by the sheet bundle protruding member 125A.

  In the first embodiment, a portion with a low pressure contact pressure is formed in the central portion 113 of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 and this central portion 113 is projected to the side beyond the nip point. By forming irregularities on the rotating cross section to reduce the pressure contact pressure of the concave portion, for example, a roller portion having a low elastic coefficient is arranged in the axial direction of the folding roller 29 to intentionally reduce the pressure pressure of the roller portion. The bundle protruding member 125 may be formed with a portion protruding beyond the nip point so as to correspond to these low pressure contact portions.

  However, as shown in FIG. 18C, the sheet bundle protruding member 125 may adopt a linear tip shape that does not form the cuts 125p and 125r. A modified sheet bundle protruding member 125A shown in FIG. 18C is used by replacing the sheet bundle protruding member 125 of the protruding unit portion 25 shown in FIG.

  Corresponding to both end portions 112 where the pressure of the folding roller 26 is high as shown in FIG. 18A, the sheet bundle protruding member 125A shown in FIG. 18C also has notches 125q at both ends. .

<Embodiment 2>
19 is an explanatory diagram of a sheet bundle ejecting member in the second embodiment, FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of the sheet bundle folding process in the second embodiment, and FIG. 21 is a flowchart of the sequence of the sheet bundle folding process in the second embodiment. Since the second embodiment is obtained by slightly modifying the protruding unit portion 25 shown in FIG. 8 in the configuration of the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 15. 8 is used as it is, and also with respect to FIG. 19, the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 19, the sheet bundle ejecting member 125B of the ejecting unit 25 is formed of a thin and hard material such as stainless steel so as to pass through the nip of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 together with the sheet bundle. It is sandwiched and held between the plate holders 25d and 25b.

  The pair of front and rear drive gears 73 reciprocate the thrust plate holder 25b in a crank / piston manner via the links 71, respectively. The diameter of the drive gear 73 and the mounting position of the shaft 72 are designed to correspond to the distance (stroke) of this reciprocation, and the distance (stroke) of this reciprocation moves the sheet bundle protruding member 125B in FIG. The distance from the home position shown in FIG. 20 to the protruding position shown in FIG. That is, in the sheet bundle ejecting member 125B of the second embodiment, since the reciprocating movement distance (stroke) is set larger than that of the sheet bundle ejecting member 125 of the first embodiment, the diameter of the drive gear 73 is the first shown in FIG. It is larger than the embodiment, and the mounting position of the shaft 72 is set to the outside.

  A flag 81 having a notch formed in part is fixed on the shaft 73a of the drive gear 73, and a home sensor 82 is provided at a position where the notch of the flag 81 is detected. The protruding home sensor 82 detects the cutout of the flag 81 corresponding to the home position where the sheet bundle protruding member 25a is most retracted from the conveyance surface of the guide 21.

  Further, a protrusion position sensor 25h is disposed inside the frame 8 adjacent to the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27, and the protrusion position sensor 25h can be shielded by a flag 25i that reciprocates together with the sheet bundle protrusion member 125. The protruding position sensor 25h detects the protruding position of the sheet bundle protruding member 125.

  The sheet bundle protruding member 125B has an opening 125h corresponding to the pressure contact region of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27. Further, at the leading end of the sheet bundle protruding member 125B, two notches 125p are formed corresponding to the two staples processed by the staplers 18A and 18B shown in FIG. The remaining portion of the leading end of the sheet bundle protruding member 125B is made to equally hit the bottom of the fold of the sheet P without being hit by the gap between the needle and the sheet.

  As shown in FIG. 20A, the sheet bundle ejecting member 125B waits at the home position facing the pressure tangent line of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 to complete the formation of the sheet bundle and the subsequent staple binding process. Waiting, as shown in FIG. 10, the sheet bundle ejecting member 125B is ejected to the folding line of the staple-bound sheet bundle PB.

  In the ejecting process, the sheet bundle ejecting member 125B and the sheet bundle PB move in the same direction. Therefore, the sheet bundle ejecting member 125B pushes the inner layer of the sheet bundle PB, and the folding roller pairs 26, 27 are the outer layers of the sheet bundle PB. The difference with the speed at which the sheet is conveyed becomes small, and by preventing the difference in movement between the inner layer and the outer layer of the sheet bundle PB, the folding operation can be performed without causing wrinkles or tears.

  However, in the latter half of the reciprocating movement, the movement direction of the sheet bundle protruding member 125B and the sheet bundle PB is reversed, and a large frictional force may be generated. Therefore, as shown in FIG. After waiting for the sheet bundle to pass with the pressure contact areas 26 and 27 positioned at the opening 125h, the sheet bundle ejecting member 125B is then retracted to the home position shown in FIG. In other words, the sheet bundle ejecting member 125B and the sheet bundle PB are nipped by the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 so as not to move relative to each other in a strong pressure state.

  As shown in FIG. 19, in a state where the sheet bundle protruding member 125B is protruded and the opening 125h is moved to the nip position of the folding rollers 26 and 27, the protruding position sensor 25h detects the flag 25i of the sheet bundle protruding member 125B. . By turning off the ejection clutch 74a at this timing, the drive of the pulley 74 is not transmitted to the shaft 76, and the sheet bundle ejection member 125B stops. The sheet bundle PB is gently brought into contact with the surface of the sheet bundle ejecting member 125B and is not pulled by friction, but is sandwiched between the folding roller pairs 26 and 27 located in the opening 125h, conveyed and pushed out as it is, and the discharge roller pair 30. To 31.

  After the discharge motor 91 is turned on in step S232 in FIG. 13 and the folding motor 64 is turned on in step S233, as shown in FIG. 21 with reference to FIG. 8, the MPU 170 turns on the ejecting clutch 74a (S334). Then, the sheet bundle protruding member 125B is moved from the home position to the protruding position. When the protrusion position sensor 25h is turned on (Y in S335), the MPU 170 turns off the protrusion clutch 74a (S336), and stops the sheet bundle protrusion member 125B at the protrusion position as shown in FIG.

  When the rear end of the sheet bundle PB passes through the nip between the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 and the discharge sensor 29 is turned off (Y in S337), the MPU 170 has the rear end of the sheet bundle PB with the discharge roller pairs 30 and 31. After the timer confirms that a sufficient time has passed to exit, the protrusion clutch 74a is turned on again, and the sheet bundle protrusion member 125B is moved from the protrusion position to the home position. Note that immediately after the discharge sensor 29 is turned OFF, the speed of the discharge motor 91 is also reduced so that the trailing end of the sheet bundle PB can pass through the discharge roller pair 30 and 31 at a low speed.

  When the protruding home sensor 82 is turned on (Y in S339), the MPU 170 turns off the clutch 74a (S340) and stops the sheet bundle protruding member 125B at the home position.

  Thereafter, returning to the flowchart of FIG. 13, the folding motor 64 is turned off after a lapse of a predetermined time (S238), and the discharge motor 91 is also turned off (S239). Subsequently, the copy counter CNT2 is advanced by 1 (S240). If the copy counter CNT2 has not reached the desired number of copies M (S241), the process returns to S206, and if it has reached the desired number of copies M, the operation is terminated (S242). .

<Embodiment 3>
22 is an explanatory view of a sheet bundle protruding member according to the third embodiment, FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a sheet bundle protruding member according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a sheet bundle protruding member according to a modification of the third embodiment. The sheet bundle projecting members 125D and 125F according to the third embodiment include a support arm portion 125f that is a support member and a folding wire member 125k or a folded plate material 125m that are folding blade members, for example.

  The configuration used in the third embodiment is the configuration of the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 15 with a slight modification to the protruding unit 25 shown in FIG. 8 is used as it is, and also with regard to FIG. 22, the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 22, shafts 25c and 25e are fixed to the front and rear end faces of the veneer holder 25j, and sliding rollers 25f and 25g are rotatably attached to the outer circumferences of the shafts 25c and 25e. One end of a link 71 is rotatably attached to the shaft 25 c, and the other end of the link 71 is rotatably attached to a shaft 72 provided on the side surface of the drive gear 73. The pair of front and rear drive gears 73 are fixed to both ends of the shaft 73a and rotate integrally, and reciprocate the thrust plate holder 25b in a crank / piston manner via the links 71, respectively.

  Support arm portions 125f protrude from the front and rear end faces of the pushing plate holder 25j toward the tangent lines of the folding rollers 26 and 27. The support arm portion 125f is opposed to the folding roller pair 26, 27 at a larger distance than the length of the pair of folding rollers 26, 27, and a fold wire 125k is stretched on the distal end side of the support arm portion 125f.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the fold line material 125k supported by the pair of support arm portions 125f protrudes onto the staple-bound fold line of the sheet bundle, and nips the sheet bundle into the folding roller pairs 26 and 27 in a folded state. Let Then, the pair of support arm portions 125f pass through both ends of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 to cause the folding wire 125k to reach the opposite side of the nip point of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27.

  The diameter of the drive gear 73 and the mounting position of the shaft 72 shown in FIG. 22 are designed to correspond to the distance (stroke) of this reciprocation, and the distance (stroke) of this reciprocation moves the sheet bundle ejecting member 125B in FIG. The distance is determined to be moved from the home position shown in FIG. 20A to the protruding position shown in FIG. That is, in the sheet bundle ejecting member 125B of the second embodiment, since the reciprocating movement distance (stroke) is larger than that of the sheet bundle ejecting member 125 of the first embodiment, the diameter of the drive gear 73 is the first shown in FIG. It is larger than the embodiment, and the mounting position of the shaft 72 is set to the outside.

  As shown in FIG. 23, the sheet bundle ejecting member 125D according to the third embodiment waits in front of the pressure tangent line of the pair of folding rollers 26 and 27 to form a sheet bundle, staple binding processing on the fold line, and fold line material 125k. After the fold line of the sheet bundle is positioned relative to the sheet bundle, the fold line material 125k is projected onto the sheet bundle PB as shown in FIG. The folded sheet bundle PB conveyed by the folding roller pairs 26 and 27 is discharged and stacked on the stacking tray 32 through the discharge roller pairs 30 and 31.

  The folded wire member 125k of the sheet bundle protruding member 15D of Embodiment 3 may be replaced with a thin plate-shaped folded plate member 125m as shown in FIG.

  Further, the bundle folding process of the sheet bundle protruding members 125D and 125F of the third embodiment may be controlled according to the flowchart of FIG. 21 described in the second embodiment.

  According to the sheet processing apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, the sheet bundle protruding members 125, 125A, 125B, 125D, and 125F penetrate the sheet bundle beyond the nip point of the folding roller pairs 26 and 27 to the opposite side. The protrusions 125D and 125F do not become frictional resistance when folding the sheet bundle, so that the sheet deviation inside and outside the sheet bundle can be surely prevented.

1 is a front view of a copying machine including a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a sheet processing apparatus typically. It is explanatory drawing of each part drive system of a sheet processing apparatus. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a positional relationship of each part of the sheet processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of a stapler. It is explanatory drawing of a sheet width alignment mechanism. It is explanatory drawing of the structure which looked at the folding drive mechanism from the front side. It is explanatory drawing of the structure which looked at the folding drive mechanism from the downward direction. It is explanatory drawing of the urging mechanism of a folding roller pair. It is explanatory drawing of the folding process using a protrusion unit part and a folding roller pair. It is a block diagram of a control system of the sheet processing apparatus. It is the first half part of the flowchart of bookbinding control. It is the latter half part of the flowchart of control of bookbinding processing. It is a flowchart of the flapper control according to the sheet size. It is a flowchart of control of stack mode. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a sheet bundle protruding member according to the first embodiment. It is a perspective view of a protrusion unit part. It is explanatory drawing of the modification of a sheet | seat bundle protrusion member. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a sheet bundle protruding member in Embodiment 2. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of sheet bundle folding processing in Embodiment 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a sequence of sheet bundle folding processing in Embodiment 2. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a sheet bundle protruding member in Embodiment 3. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a sheet bundle protruding member according to Embodiment 3. FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a sheet bundle protruding member according to a modified example of Embodiment 3.

Explanation of symbols

1 Image forming device (copier)
2 Sheet processing device 5, 6, 30, 31 Discharge means (discharge roller pair)
7 32 Sheet stacking means (stack tray, stack tray)
18 Stapler unit 18A, 18B Stapler 20, 21 Lower guide 23 Positioning mechanism (tip stopper)
24 Sheet width alignment unit 25, 26, 27, 30, 31 Sheet bundle folding device (extruding unit, folding roller, folding roller, discharge roller, discharge roller)
25h Protrusion position sensors 26, 27 A pair of roller members (a pair of folding rollers)
29 Discharge sensor 64 Folding motor 70 Timing belt 71 Link 73 Drive gear 74a Projecting clutch 82 Projecting home sensor 99 Energizing means (urging member)
125, 125A, 125B, 125D, 125E Extruding member (sheet bundle protruding member)
125f Support member (support arm part)
125k, 125m Folding blade member (folded wire material, folded plate material)
170, 150 Control means (MPU, control device)
900 Image forming means (apparatus body)

Claims (9)

A pair of roller members that can rotate in pressure contact;
A positioning mechanism capable of positioning the folding line of the sheet bundle to the pressure contact line of the roller member;
In the sheet bundle folding apparatus, comprising: a protruding member that is arranged so as to be able to advance and retract toward the pressure tangent line, protrudes to the fold line, and can feed the sheet bundle into the pressure tangential line in a folded state.
The protruding member is arranged to reach a position beyond the pressure tangent line,
Control means for projecting the projecting member to the fold line of the sheet bundle and causing the projecting member to reach a position beyond the pressure tangent line to fold the sheet bundle. apparatus.   The control means stops the protruding member at a position beyond the pressure tangent, and returns the protruding member to the near side of the pressure tangential line after the sheet bundle passes through the pair of roller members. The sheet bundle folding apparatus according to claim 1.   The sheet bundle folding apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the protruding member is formed into a planar shape capable of protruding to the fold line while avoiding a region where the pressure contact pressure on the pressure tangent line is increased. Biasing means for urging the roller member in the press-contact direction is disposed outside both ends in the axial direction of the roller member,
4. The sheet bundle folding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the protruding member is formed into a planar shape that can be protruded along the folding line while avoiding both end portions in the axial direction of the roller member.   3. The sheet bundle folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protruding member has a planar shape in which an opening is disposed at a position corresponding to the pressure tangent when protruding to a position beyond the pressure tangent.   The projecting member includes a pair of support members disposed so as to be able to advance and retreat at both ends of the roller member, and a linear or plate that is passed to the distal end side of the pair of support members and projects on the fold line. The sheet bundle folding device according to claim 5, further comprising: a folding blade member. A needle binding means for binding the folding line of the sheet bundle;
A sheet bundle folding device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A sheet stacking means for stacking the folded sheet bundle;
Discharging means for discharging the sheet bundle folded by the sheet bundle folding device to the sheet stacking means,
The sheet processing apparatus, wherein the control unit positions the fold line stapled by the staple binding unit to the press-contact line. Image forming means for forming an image on a sheet;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7, which receives a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming unit and performs a sheet bundle folding process. Image forming means for forming an image on a sheet;
A pair of roller members that can rotate in pressure contact;
A positioning mechanism capable of stacking image-formed sheets to form a sheet bundle, and positioning a fold line of the sheet bundle to a pressure contact line of the roller member;
An extruding member that is arranged so as to be capable of advancing and retreating toward the pressure tangent line, protrudes to the fold line, and is capable of feeding the sheet bundle into the pressure tangential line in a folded state;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that forms an image on a sheet by the image forming unit and forms a sheet bundle by the positioning mechanism;
The protruding member is arranged to reach a position beyond the pressure tangent line,
The control means protrudes the protruding member to the folding line of the sheet bundle positioned by the positioning mechanism, and causes the protruding member to reach a position beyond the pressure tangent line to perform the bundle folding process. Image forming apparatus.

Images