JP2007153485A - Sheet post-processing device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To securely move surplus objects generated by post-processing between storage parts to prevent flying of the surplus objects. <P>SOLUTION: In a sheet post-processing device having a post-processing means for performing post-processing with respect to sheets of which image formation is completed, an opening/closing cover 35 is provided in a moving storage part 32 provided in the post-processing means and temporarily storing surplus objects, such as staple feet, generated by a binding process. When a stapler 10 is moved to a standby position, an inclined part 35b provided in the opening/closing cover 35 is engaged with a roller member 37. At this time, a projecting part 35a generates vibration. Due to the vibration, staple waste is shaken down and is fallen down to a staple waste storage part 34 by the deadweight. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a sheet post-process that is provided in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, and a facsimile machine and performs post-processing such as binding processing on an image-formed sheet. It is suitable for application to a processing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sorter or finisher is known as a sheet post-processing apparatus having processing means such as a binding process for sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, or a facsimile. As a means for binding sheets, a configuration using a staple means (stapler) is widely known.

  Some devices using the staple means can handle sheets with a small thickness to a thick sheet, and in order to improve the quality of the bound sheets, the staple means of the staple means is used during the binding operation. There are some which improve the quality of appearance by bending after cutting. The cut needle legs are first collected in a moving storage unit provided in the stapling means, and then moved to another storage unit from the moving storage unit when the stapling means is in a predetermined position, and then discarded. The

  FIG. 12 shows a case where the needle foot is not cut, and FIG. 13 shows a state where the needle foot is cut. As shown in FIG. 12A, the needle legs overlap when the sheet bundle is thin. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13A, when the needle foot is cut, the needle foot is always in the same state without depending on the thickness of the paper bundle and without overlapping.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the cut needle legs are first collected in the moving housing portion 32 provided in the stapler 10 as the stapling means. Thereafter, the stapling means moves to a predetermined position, and the opening / closing lid 41 (see FIG. 6) provided in the movable housing portion 32 so as to be freely opened and closed is opened. As a result, the cut needle foot falls from the moving storage portion 32 due to its own weight and is stored in the needle waste storage portion 34.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-25931

  However, the above-described prior art has the following problems. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the cut needle feet (hereinafter referred to as needle scraps) collected in the movable housing portion 32 as the first housing portion are opened by the opening / closing lid 41 and the second housing portion. When being accommodated in a certain needle waste storage portion 34, a part of the needle waste (needle waste 43) may adhere to the opening / closing lid 41. According to the knowledge of the present inventor, the sticking of the needle scraps to the opening / closing lid 41 is caused by static electricity generated in the opening / closing lid 41 or burrs generated when the needle is cut.

  As a result, when the staple base 31 moves to the staple position, that is, when the opening / closing lid 41 is closed, the needle scraps 43 are sandwiched between the moving housing portion 32 and the opening / closing lid 41. In addition, a gap is generated between the movable housing portion 32 and the opening / closing lid 41, and the cut needle foot may be spilled from the gap with the binding operation of the stapler 10.

  For this reason, firstly, there has been a problem that surplus items such as needle dust generated by post-processing such as stapling processing are scattered in the apparatus.

  In some cases, the scattered surplus is transported to a drive unit or the like of the apparatus and abnormally operates in the drive unit or the like. In addition, since it is necessary to periodically clean up the scattered surplus, troublesome work for the user or the like has occurred.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the problems in the prior art, and to prevent a surplus generated by post-processing from being scattered in the apparatus and an image post-processing apparatus and image It is to provide a forming apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides:
Post-processing means for performing post-processing on the sheet;
Moving means for moving the post-processing means;
A first storage unit that is provided in the post-processing unit and stores surplus generated by the post-processing executed by the post-processing unit;
A second accommodating part from which the surplus is delivered from the first accommodating part,
When the post-processing means is moved by the moving means to the position where the surplus is delivered to the second accommodating portion, the surplus is removed while vibrating the first accommodating portion. It is configured to be delivered to the second accommodating portion.

  According to the present invention, the cut waste can be satisfactorily accommodated in the staple waste storage portion without remaining in the opening / closing lid, so that the waste dust can be prevented from being scattered in the apparatus. It is possible to prevent the scattered needle dust from going to the drive part of the device and causing abnormal operation, and to reduce troublesome work without having to clean the scattered needle dust regularly. It becomes.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings of this embodiment, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus and a sheet post-processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

(Image forming device)
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus main body 900 according to the first embodiment is provided with a document placing table 906 made of platen glass, a light source 907, a lens system 908, a paper feeding unit 909, and an image forming unit 902. ing. Further, outside the image forming apparatus main body 900, an automatic document feeder 500 configured to be able to feed a document to the document placing table 906, and a sheet after image formation discharged from the image forming apparatus main body 900. A sheet post-processing apparatus 100 that performs processing is connected and provided.

  The sheet feeding unit 909 includes a cassette 910 that accommodates a recording sheet S and is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body 900 and a deck (not shown) disposed in the pedestal. An image forming unit 902 serving as an image forming unit includes a cylindrical photosensitive drum 914, a peripheral developing unit 915, and the like. A conveying device 920, a fixing device 904, a discharge roller pair 905, and the like are disposed on the downstream side of the image forming unit 902.

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus main body according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. That is, first, when a paper feed signal is output from the control device 950 provided on the image forming apparatus main body 900 side, the sheet S is fed from a cassette 910 or a deck (not shown).

  On the other hand, light is emitted from the light source 907 to the original D placed on the original placement table 906, and the reflected light of this light is applied to the photosensitive drum 914 through the lens system 908. The photosensitive drum 914 is charged by a primary charger, and an electrostatic latent image is formed by light irradiation. Subsequently, the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing unit 915 to form a toner image.

  The sheet S fed from the sheet feeding unit 909 is fed to the image forming unit 902 at the same timing after the skew is corrected by the registration roller 901. The toner image on the photosensitive drum 914 is transferred by the transfer charger 916 to the sheet S that has been sent. The sheet S on which the toner image has been transferred is charged to a polarity opposite to that of the transfer charger by the separation charger and separated from the photosensitive drum 914.

  The separated sheet S is conveyed to the fixing device 904 by the conveying device 920, and the transfer image is permanently fixed on the sheet S by the fixing device 904. The sheet S on which the image has been fixed is discharged from the image forming apparatus main body 900 by a discharge roller pair 905 as discharge means in accordance with the straight discharge mode or the reverse discharge mode. Note that the straight discharge mode is a discharge mode in which the image surface is on the upper side, and the reverse discharge mode is conveyed to the sheet reverse path 930 after the image is fixed and turned upside down so that the image surface is on the lower side. The paper discharge mode.

  On the other hand, when the duplex mode is designated by the user or the like, first, an image is formed on one side of the sheet S and passes through the fixing device 904. Thereafter, the sheet S on which the image is formed is switched back in the sheet reversing path 930, conveyed to the double-sided path 932, and conveyed to the image forming unit 902 which is a process unit unit as an image forming unit. Then, an image is formed on the back surface. In this way, an image is formed on the sheet S fed from the sheet feeding unit 909 and is carried into the sheet post-processing apparatus 100.

(Sheet post-processing equipment)
Next, the sheet post-processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 shows a sheet post-processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus main body 900 is delivered to the inlet roller pair 102 of the sheet post-processing apparatus 100. At this time, the delivery timing of the sheet S is simultaneously detected by the entrance sensor 109.

  When the sheet S conveyed by the inlet roller pair 102 is discharged to the upper tray 136, the sheet S first passes through the conveyance path 103. Then, the upper path switching flapper 118 is guided to the upper path conveying path 117 by driving means such as a solenoid (not shown). Subsequently, the sheet S fed to the upper path conveyance path 117 is discharged to the upper tray 136 by the upper discharge roller 120.

  On the other hand, when the sheet S is not discharged to the upper tray 136, the sheet S is guided to the bundle conveyance path 22 by the upper path switching flapper 118. When saddle (saddle stitching) processing is performed on the sheet S, first, the saddle path switching flapper 125 is driven by driving means such as a solenoid (not shown). As a result, the sheet S is conveyed to the saddle path 133 and guided to the saddle unit 135 by the pair of saddle entrance rollers 134, and saddle processing (saddle stitching processing) is performed. The saddle process (saddle stitching process) is a conventionally known general process, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

Further, when the conveyed sheet S is discharged to the lower tray 201, it is conveyed to the lower path 126 by the saddle switching flapper 125. Thereafter, the sheet S is discharged to the processing tray 101 by the lower discharge roller pair 7. Subsequently, the sheet S is aligned in the conveyance direction by the return means such as the paddle 131 and the knurled belt 129 and the trailing end stopper 3 as the conveyance direction alignment means shown in FIG.

  Then, alignment in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction is performed by an alignment plate that is movable in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, is moved by a drive source (not shown), and aligns in the width direction of the sheet S. As a result, the alignment process is executed for a predetermined number of sheets S on the processing tray 101. Thereafter, a binding process is performed on a sheet bundle or the like by a stapler 10 which is a stapling unit as an example of a post-processing unit, and is then discharged onto the lower tray 201 by a bundle discharge roller pair 180a and 180b. The configuration around the stapler 10 will be described later.

(Device control system)
Next, an apparatus control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 shows an apparatus control system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the apparatus control system is constituted by a microcomputer system.

  In FIG. 4, the microcomputer system basically includes a CPU 50, a ROM 51, and a RAM 52. The ROM 51 stores a control program such as a post-processing rational program in advance. Various programs stored in the ROM 51 are read and executed by the CPU 50, and input data processing is performed while appropriately exchanging data with the RAM 52. A predetermined control signal is created by the CPU 50 by this data processing.

  In such a system, signals supplied from the operation unit of the image forming apparatus main body 900 and various detection sensors are taken into the CPU 50 via the input interface circuit 53 as input data. Further, each control signal from the CPU 50 is supplied via the output interface circuit 54 to each control device such as an operation unit control as shown in FIG. Each control device is appropriately controlled.

  In the first embodiment, the image forming apparatus main body side CPU provided on the image forming apparatus main body 900 side and the CPU of the sheet post-processing apparatus 100 connected to the CPU are configured separately. Is also possible. It is also possible to perform mutual data communication by a controller that connects the CPU of the divided image forming apparatus and the CPU of the sheet post-processing apparatus. Various information such as the document size and the number of copies of the document by ADF may be taken into the CPU 50.

(Staple unit)
Next, a stapler unit that performs stapling as an example of post-processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 shows the stapler unit according to the first embodiment.

  That is, the stapler 10 is fixedly provided on a stapler base 30 as a support base that is movable in the front-rear direction of the apparatus on the support base 33. The stapler base 30 is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction of the apparatus by being transmitted with a drive source (not shown) as a moving means and a drive train 38.

Further, a rail member 36 is provided on the support base 33. The stapler stage 30 moves along the rail member 36, and performs an oblique binding process on the sheet bundle corner and a W binding process on one end of the sheet bundle at a desired position.

  The stapler 10 is provided with a detachable (replaceable) needle cartridge 31 and a needle foot cut mechanism (not shown). The needle scraps from which the needle legs have been cut are supplied to the moving housing portion 32 as the first housing portion.

  An opening / closing lid 35 configured to be rotatable around a rotation shaft 47 shown in FIG. Further, the opening / closing lid 35 is supported so as to be closed by the urging means with respect to the moving housing portion 32. Further, during the stapling operation, the open / close lid 35 is closed, so that the needle waste is temporarily stored in the moving storage portion 32.

  The stapler 10 is configured to be movable to a position for performing the above-described stapling operation and a standby position on the front side of the apparatus (front side in FIG. 5). The standby position is specified by a staple position detecting means (not shown). An engaging member base 48 is fixed to the support base 33 on the front side of the apparatus in FIG. Further, the roller member 37 is rotatably supported on the engagement member base 48.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the stapler 10 moves to the standby position, the inclined portion 35b provided on the opening / closing lid 35 and the roller member 37 are engaged. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 8, the opening / closing lid 35 is rotated from the closed position (shaded position) to the open position (solid line position). Thereby, the needle dust accommodated in the movement accommodating part 32 falls and accommodates in the needle waste accommodating part 34 as a 2nd accommodating part with dead weight.

(Open / close lid)
Next, the opening / closing lid 35 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. 7 and 9 show a mechanism having the opening / closing lid 35 according to the first embodiment.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the opening / closing lid 35 is provided with an inclined portion 35 b that can be engaged with the roller member 37. The inclined portion 35b is provided with a convex portion 35a that is a convex rib. 7B, when the stapler 10 moves to the standby position and the inclined portion 35b of the opening / closing lid 35 and the roller member 37 are engaged, the opening / closing lid 35 is moved in the vertical direction by the convex portion 35a (the arrow (FIG. 8)). B) Open while vibrating in the direction).

  This vibration causes the needle waste to be accommodated in the needle waste accommodating portion 34 without adhering to the open / close lid 35. Here, the moving speed of the stapler is 40 mm / s to 600 mm / s. Further, the convex cross section of the convex portion 35a has a substantially pointed apex and a height of 0.2 mm to 2 mm.

  In the first embodiment, an example in which a plurality of convex portions 35a are provided as a desirable form is shown, but a plurality of protrusions 35a are not necessarily provided. Further, the pitch is preferably about 3 to 10 mm, but is not necessarily limited to this range. Moreover, you may make the convex part 35a into a concave shape instead. That is, when the opening / closing lid 35 is engaged with the roller member 37, it is only necessary to vibrate in any direction, preferably up and down. In addition, instead of vibrating the opening / closing lid 35, the needle waste container 34 itself may be inclined at the standby position of the stapler 10 to discard the needle waste. It is also possible to vibrate.

(Container)
Next, the movement accommodating part 32 by this 1st Embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 10 shows the moving accommodating portion 32 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the moving housing portion 32 is provided with a seal member 45 in order to improve the sealing performance with the opening / closing lid 35. The sealing member is preferably a foamable elastic member such as a sponge member, and is difficult to form a gap with the opening / closing lid even if the needle foot is temporarily sandwiched.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, a sheet member 46 is provided in the moving accommodating portion 32. This is for guiding the needle dust so that it is smoothly accommodated in the needle dust accommodating portion 34 without being caught by the seal member 45. Further, it is effective to improve the slidability of the surface of the open / close lid 35, that is, the surface on which the needle dust is stacked and the needle dust slides at the time of disposal, for example, by applying a texture processing or coating. is there.

  As described above, the opening / closing lid 35 is opened while being vibrated in conjunction with the operation of returning the stapler to the standby position, so that the needle waste is not disposed on the opening / closing lid 35 and is smoothly discarded in the needle waste container 34. Is done. As a result, the object of the present invention can be achieved, and it is also possible to simplify the structure without providing an electrically operated vibrating member in the opening / closing lid.

(Second Embodiment)
Next explained is the second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 11 shows an opening / closing lid and a storage portion in the sheet post-processing apparatus of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the accommodating portion and the opening / closing lid according to the second embodiment are different from the first embodiment in that a protrusion 56 a is provided on the roller member 56.

  As a result, when the opening / closing lid 41 is engaged with the roller member 56, the roller member 56 rotates and vibration is applied to the opening / closing lid 41 by the convex portion 56a, while the stapler 10 returns to the standby position. Thereby, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

  In the second embodiment, the friction pad 57 is attached to the inclined surface 41 b (engagement portion) of the opening / closing lid 41. This is to rotate the roller member 56 smoothly. Therefore, it is not always necessary to attach the friction pad 57 to the roller member 56. Further, as in the second embodiment, by providing the rotating roller member with a convex shape, it is possible to reduce the impact load during engagement.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described concretely, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, The various deformation | transformation based on the technical idea of this invention is possible.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, a stapler is taken as an example, and a staple needle piece of a staple is taken as an example of the surplus, but is not necessarily limited to a stapler. For example, a cut piece obtained by cutting a sheet It may be. In this case, it is preferable to use a storage unit for temporarily storing the cut piece as the first storage unit and a storage unit for disposal as the second storage unit. In other words, the present invention can be applied to any case where surplus materials that require disposal are generated when post-processing is performed on a sheet.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an entire image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the sheet | seat post-processing apparatus by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the sheet | seat post-processing part by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the control part by 1st Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a perspective view around a stapler according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a stapler according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a conventional technique. FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation around the stapler according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the stapler periphery by 1st Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a perspective view showing an opening / closing lid according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the movement accommodating part of the sheet | seat post-processing apparatus by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the periphery of the stapler by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram when a bundle of sheets is bound with a stapler. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram when a sheet bundle is bound by a stapler with a needle foot cut function.

Explanation of symbols

3 Rear end stopper 7 Lower paper discharge roller pair 10 Stapler 22 Bundle conveyance path 30 Stapler base 31 Needle cartridge 32 Moving storage part 33 Support base 34 Needle dust storage part 35 Opening / closing lid 35a Protruding part 35b Inclining part 36 Rail member 37 Rolling member 38 Drive train 41 Opening / closing lid 41b Inclined surface 43 Needle dust 45 Seal member 46 Sheet member 47 Rotating shaft 48 Engaging member base 53 Input interface circuit 54 Output interface circuit 56 Roll member 56a Protruding portion 57 Friction pad 100 Sheet post-processing device 101 Processing tray 102 Inlet roller pair 103 Conveying path 109 Inlet sensor 117 Upper path conveying path 118, 125 Flapper 120 Upper discharge roller 126 Lower path 129 Knurled belt 131 Paddle 133 Saddle path 134 Saddle inlet roller pair 135 Saddle Yu 136 Upper tray 180a, 180b Bundled discharge roller pair 201 Lower tray 500 Automatic document feeder 900 Image forming apparatus main body 901 Registration roller 902 Image forming unit 904 Fixing device 905 Discharge roller pair 906 Document placement table 907 Light source 908 Lens system 909 Paper feed unit 910 Cassette 914 Photosensitive drum 915 Developer 916 Transfer charger 920 Conveyor 930 Sheet reversing path 932 Double-sided path 950 Controller

Claims (5)

Post-processing means for performing post-processing on the sheet;
Moving means for moving the post-processing means;
A first storage unit that is provided in the post-processing unit and stores surplus generated by the post-processing executed by the post-processing unit;
A second accommodating part from which the surplus is delivered from the first accommodating part,
When the post-processing means is moved by the moving means to the position where the surplus is delivered to the second accommodating portion, the surplus is removed while vibrating the first accommodating portion. A sheet post-processing apparatus, wherein the sheet post-processing apparatus is configured to be delivered to the second storage unit. The first accommodating portion has an opening / closing lid configured to be openable and closable,
The opening / closing lid is engaged with an engaging member provided on a support base that supports the post-processing means when the post-processing means is moved to the surplus delivery position with respect to the second accommodating portion by the moving means. Having a mating engagement part,
When the engaging portion engages with the engaging member, the opening / closing lid is configured to be opened, and when the opening / closing lid is opened, the surplus is transferred to the second accommodating portion,
The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a step is provided in the engaging portion.   The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the step provided in the engaging portion is formed of a convex rib.   The sheet post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the post-processing means is a stapling means, and the surplus is a staple foot cut from staples used for stapling.   An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet; and the sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1.

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