JP2008036752A - Punching device and post-processing unit of image formation device equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a punching device which quickly performing a switching operation in a short period of time when a plurality of operation groups are switched by a transmission member such as a slide cam, in which a plurality of punch members are reciprocated with a designated stroke. <P>SOLUTION: The punching device comprises: the transmission member 50 for reciprocating at a designated stroke between a left end position and a right end position by a drive motor; and a cam means for moving up and down the plurality of punching member divided into first and second groups by the movement of the transmission member. The cam means operates the punching member of the first group by one-way rotation of the drive motor while the transmission member becomes a base point (home position) as an intermediate position between the left end position and right end position, and operates the punching member of the second group in the opposite rotation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a punching device that punches punched holes in a sheet transported from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printing machine, or a printer, and a post-processing device such as an image forming apparatus incorporating the punched hole as a unit.

  Generally, a punching device that punches filing punch holes in a sheet of paper or the like is used as an office machine by manually pressing a punch member on several sheets and punching a sheet from a printing machine, a copier, or the like Those that drill automatically are known. The former is widely known as a device in which a cylindrical punch member is disposed on a frame member so as to be movable up and down with a sheet interposed therebetween, and is pushed down by an operation lever to penetrate the sheet. On the other hand, the latter is used by being incorporated in various devices as a device for setting a sequentially conveyed sheet at a predetermined processing position and pressing a punch member with a driving motor to make a hole. In these apparatuses, the sheet is simultaneously punched at two, three, or four positions at a predetermined interval, and the standard for the number and interval of these holes is set.

  Therefore, conventionally, as the latter device, for example, a structure disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In this document, an upper frame and a lower frame are arranged opposite to each other at a predetermined interval, and a sheet to be punched is set between them. A plurality of punch members are supported on the upper frame so as to be movable up and down. A die (blade receiving hole) that is compatible with each punch member is formed. The plurality of punch members are engaged with a V-groove cam formed on a slide cam plate that reciprocates at a predetermined stroke, and each punch member is perforated by moving the slide cam with a drive motor. Similarly, Patent Document 2 proposes a structure in which a punch member having the same configuration as described above is moved up and down by an eccentric cam to perform a punching operation.

  Such a structure in which the punch members arranged in a plurality of rows are moved up and down by a linearly moving slide cam or a rotating eccentric cam is widely known. The plurality of punch members are moved in the horizontal direction of the slide cam or the eccentric cam. It is also disclosed in Document 2 to select the hole position and hole interval such as 2 holes, 3 holes, or 4 holes in the rotation direction. A drive motor is connected to the slide cam or the eccentric cam, and the punch member is moved from the top dead center to the bottom dead center by controlling the rotation of the drive motor. Although not disclosed in this document, the drive motor is generally controlled by an electric brake when a DC motor is used, and the stepping motor controls the stop position by power pulse control.

Therefore, in Patent Document 3, a plurality of punch members are moved up and down by a slide cam plate in the same manner as in Document 1, and this slide cam plate is moved to a first activation position, a first punch operation position, a second punch operation position, Control structure for detecting the position in the order of the two starting positions and moving the cam plate to the starting position corresponding to the selected punching operation in the initialization operation before drilling when the first and second punching operations are selected Is disclosed. Further, Patent Document 4 discloses a control configuration in which the punch member is activated before the sheet is set at the punching position when the punch member is moved from the top dead center to the bottom dead center in the same configuration as in Reference 2. Yes.
JP 2001-9791 A (FIGS. 6 to 8) JP 2001-26370 A (FIG. 5) Canon Aptex Japanese Patent No. 3684166 Canon JP 2000-334694 A Hitachi Metals

  As described above, when the plurality of punch members are divided into the first and second groups and selectively actuated in the perforating direction by the cam means, conventionally, a slide cam plate that reciprocally moves left and right as described in Patent Document 3 is used. A first standby position is provided on the left limit side and a second standby position is provided on the right limit side, and the first and second groups of punch members are selectively selected by moving the slide cam plate with reference to the two home positions. It is operating. For this reason, when the first group of punch members is operated on the continuously conveyed sheets and the second group of punch members is operated on the subsequent next sheet, the sheets are fed and delivered to the paper platform (die plate). In this case, the home position has to be moved while the sheet is being fed. At the same time, the two home positions may be misaligned with each other. For example, when the cam plate is moved to the home position on the right limit side and when the cam plate is moved to the home position on the left limit side, positional deviation occurs due to backlash or the like. This misalignment causes a delay in the punching timing of the sheet, so that the punching process cannot be performed at high speed. If the punching timing is delayed due to backlash or the like, it does not coincide with the timing of carrying out the sheet. Therefore, if the punching time is not set late, a jam is induced.

  Further, the above-mentioned patent document 4 discloses a control mechanism for starting the punch member before setting the sheet on the die plate. However, the encoder detects the rotational shaft of the eccentric cam that drives the punch member, and the punch member is detected. Only the configuration in which the eccentric cam and the punch member are axially connected and do not move with each other because they are activated in advance. At the same time, there is no disclosure of selectively operating the first and second groups of punch members. This is because it is almost impossible to selectively operate the punch members of the first and second groups by connecting a plurality of punch members to a plurality of eccentric cams and reversing the rotation direction of the cam shafts. It is.

  Therefore, when the operation of the punch members of each group is switched by a transmission member such as a slide cam that reciprocates at a predetermined stroke by dividing a plurality of conventional punch members into the first and second groups, the transmission member and the punch member Neither patent document discloses a drilling mechanism that can appropriately control the engagement position and execute both the switching operation time and each punching operation time at high speed and in a short time.

Therefore, the present invention provides a drilling device capable of performing this switching operation time in a short time and at a high speed when switching a plurality of operation groups with a transmission member such as a slide cam that reciprocates a plurality of punch members at a predetermined stroke. This is the first issue.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a punching device capable of punching a sheet that is continuously fed and discharged in a punching operation in which the punch member reciprocates between a top dead center and a bottom dead center at high speed and in a short time. Is the second issue.

  The present invention adopts the following configuration in order to solve the above problems. First, in order to achieve the first problem, the present invention includes a transmission member that reciprocates between a left limit position and a right limit position with a predetermined stroke by a drive motor, and movement of the transmission member into the first and second groups. Cam means for moving up and down the plurality of divided punch members is provided, and the cam means first rotates in one direction of the drive motor with the transmission member as a base point (home position) between the left limit position and the right limit position. The group of punch members are actuated and configured to actuate the second group of punch members in the opposite direction of rotation.

  Next, in order to achieve the second problem, the present invention relates to a punch member between a transmission member such as a slide cam that reciprocates at a predetermined stroke and the punch member or between the punch member and the apparatus fret. A cam member is provided on one side and a cam follower member is provided on the other so as to move up and down between the bottom dead center and (1) the drive motor is started before the sheet is conveyed and set on the paper platform by the sheet conveying means. Then, the cam member is moved before the standby position set in advance, or (2) when the punch member is moved back from the bottom dead center to the top dead center, the drive motor is reversed and the cam member is rotated. The engagement position is set back to the standby position set in advance to be on standby.

  A paper table on which the sheet is placed, a plurality of punch members that are arranged above and below the paper table so as to be movable up and down at predetermined intervals, and a drive unit that moves the punch members up and down. The drive means is a transmission member that reciprocates between a left limit position and a right limit position with a predetermined stroke, a cam means that moves the punch member up and down by moving to the transmission member, and a reciprocating movement of the transmission member. A drive motor capable of forward / reverse rotation and a control means for controlling the drive motor are included. The plurality of punch members are divided into at least first and second groups. The cam means is configured such that the transmission member is rotated in one direction of the drive motor from the intermediate position between the left limit position and the right limit position, and the first group of punch members is rotated in the opposite direction, and the second group of punch members is rotated in the opposite direction. Is configured to move up and down. The control means actuates the first group of punch members by reciprocating the transmission member between the base point and the right limit, and reciprocating between the base point and the left limit position. The drive motor is controlled to operate the two groups of punch members.

  The cam means is disposed between the transmission member and the punch member or between the punch member and the apparatus frame. The transmission member is constituted by a slide member that linearly reciprocates at a predetermined stroke or a rotary member that reciprocates at a predetermined stroke.

  The control means includes punch setting means for selecting whether to operate the first group of punch members or the second group of punch members according to the length size of the sheet, and the punch setting means. The drive motor is controlled to rotate in the rotation direction set in step (1).

  Further, the transmission member includes a home position sensor for detecting a base point located between the left limit position and the right limit position, and the control means is configured to end the job when a series of sheets have been punched and / or the apparatus. At the time of start-up, the transmission member is moved to the base position and waits.

A paper table on which the sheet is placed, a sheet conveying means for feeding / discharging the sheet to / from the paper table, a plurality of punch members arranged above and below the paper table at a predetermined interval, and the punch members, Punch driving means for moving the punch member up and down, and control means for controlling the sheet conveying means and the punch driving means. The punch driving means is composed of a transmission member that reciprocates at a predetermined stroke, and a drive motor that can move forward and backward to reciprocate the transmission member. Between the transmission member and the punch member or between the punch member and the apparatus frame, the cam member is moved to one side so that the punch member moves up and down between the top dead center and the bottom dead center. A cam follower member is provided.
The control means (1) activates the drive motor and moves the engagement position of the cam member in advance of a preset standby position before the sheet conveyance means conveys and sets the sheet on the paper table. Or (2) when the punch member is moved back from the bottom dead center to the top dead center, the drive motor is reversely rotated so that the engagement position of the cam member is retracted to a preset standby position to be on standby. .

  The control means carries out the sheet from the paper table in the process of rotating the drive motor to move the punch member from bottom dead center to top dead center, and reversely rotates the drive motor by a predetermined amount to rotate the cam. The engagement position of the member is retracted to a standby position set in advance to wait, and the next sheet is fed to the paper table.

  The preset standby position of the cam member is set so that the punch member is located between the top dead center and the bottom dead center, and the control means moves the punch member from the set position to the bottom dead center. The sheet is punched by moving.

  Between the drive motor and the transmission member, an encoder and other movement amount detection means for detecting the movement amount of the transmission member are provided. The movement amount detecting means detects a movement amount by which the engagement position of the cam member overruns from a preset standby position when the transmission member moves the punch member from the bottom dead center to the top dead center. The control means moves the engagement position of the cam member to a preset standby position in accordance with the overrun movement amount.

  When the drive motor is formed of a stepping motor, the control means waits with the engagement position of the cam member set in advance when the transmission member moves the punch member from the bottom dead center to the top dead center. A counter is provided for measuring the number of pulses while stopping from overrunning from the position. The control means moves the engagement position of the cam member to a preset standby position in accordance with the number of overrun pulses.

When the drive motor is constituted by a DC motor, the control means sets the speed at which the drive motor is moved backward from the top dead center to the standby position with respect to the speed at which the punch member moves from the bottom dead center to the top dead center. In this standby position, the drive motor is stopped and the punch member is made to wait at this position. After the next sheet is fed and set on the paper table, the punch member is moved toward the bottom dead center. .
Furthermore, a post-processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a processing tray that sequentially punches sheets from the image forming apparatus, a punching device that is disposed on the processing tray, and a storage stacker that stacks and stores sheets from the processing tray. Prepare. And the said perforation apparatus is provided with the above-mentioned structure.

  In the present invention, a transmission member that reciprocates at a predetermined stroke by a drive motor and a plurality of punch members divided into first and second groups are engaged with each other by cam means, and the transmission member is placed at a left limit position and a right limit position. Since the first group of punch members is operated by one-way rotation of the drive motor with the intermediate position as the base point (home position), the second group of punch members is operated by rotation in the opposite direction. The punch member that operates by controlling the rotation direction of the drive motor for the transmission member located at the intermediate position can be switched, and the selected punch member such as two holes and four holes can be instantaneously moved without moving the position of the transmission member. Can be activated. Therefore, when different punch holes are formed in continuously fed sheets, it is possible to execute punch processing at high speed without taking time.

  Further, according to the present invention, the transmission member that reciprocates at a predetermined stroke and the punch member are engaged by the cam member, and the engagement position of the cam member is set in advance before the sheet is conveyed and set on the paper platform by the sheet conveying means. When moving before the standby position, or when the punch member is moved back to the top dead center, the drive motor is reversely rotated so that the engagement position of the cam member is retracted to the preset standby position for standby. Therefore, even if the cam member is moved to the top dead center side and the cam engagement position is overrun, the position of the engagement will be corrected to the predetermined standby position. It is possible to punch a sheet at a suitable timing. In particular, by setting the standby position between the top dead center and the bottom dead center, the drilling process can be speeded up.

  The present invention will be described in detail below based on the illustrated embodiment. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the overall configuration of a perforating apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an essential part thereof, FIG. 3 (a) is a perspective view of a punch member, and FIG. It is shape explanatory drawing of a cam. FIG. 4 is an operation state explanatory view showing a perforated state in the apparatus of FIG.

  First, a perforating apparatus A according to the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a base frame (hereinafter referred to as an “upper frame”) 30 having a length according to a perforated sheet S (hereinafter simply referred to as a “sheet”), From a lower frame 35 having an interval Sd for setting a sheet between the upper frame 30, a punch member 40 attached to the upper frame 30, and a blade receiving hole 38 provided in the lower frame (die plate) 35. Composed. The punch member 40 is formed in a normal cylindrical shape, and a drilling blade 41 is provided at the tip thereof. This punch member 40 is spaced from the upper frame 30 in accordance with a predetermined standard (file hole standard), such as 2 holes, 3 holes, 4 holes, etc., as shown in FIG. 40b, the 3rd punch member 40c, and the 4th punch member 40d are arrange | positioned. Particularly in the present invention, the first, second, third, and fourth punch members 40a to 40d constitute a first group, and four punch holes are drilled. In addition, the second and third punch members 40b and 40c constitute a second group and punch two punch holes. Thus, the punch member 40 is divided into at least two groups according to the punch hole standard. This grouping is not limited to 2 holes / 4 holes but can be divided into 2 holes / 3 holes or 2 holes / 5 holes. Hereinafter, the structure of the punch member 40 having 2 holes / 4 holes will be described as an example.

  Since the punch members 40a to 40d have the same structure, one of them will be described below. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper frame 30 is composed of a channel member having a U-shaped cross section, and guide holes 31a and 32a are provided in an upper guide 31 and a lower guide 32 that face each other vertically. In the punch member 40, the upper shaft portion 42a is fitted and supported in the guide hole 31a, and the lower shaft portion 42b is supported in the guide hole 32a. Therefore, the punch member 40 is supported by the upper frame 30 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction (perforation direction) in FIG.

  Further, the lower frame 35 is provided with a blade receiving hole 38 adapted to the punching blade 41 at the tip of the punch member 40. The diameter D of the blade receiving hole 38 has a relationship of D = d + α (α is a gap) so as to form a small gap (gap) with respect to the diameter d of the drilling blade 41. A guide plate 37 (hereinafter referred to as a die plate) is overlaid on the upper surface of the lower frame 35. The die plate 37 forms a paper table, and a sheet is conveyed by a sheet conveying means 26b (FIG. 11B) described later. Is placed and set by guiding it to the drilling position.

  Therefore, the punch member 40 is integrally provided with cam means (the illustrated cylindrical cam 44), and a cam groove 45 having an inclined cam surface 45θ is formed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical cam 44. The cam means constituted by the cylindrical cam 44 converts the driving force acting on the punch member 40 between the thrust direction and the radial direction, as will be described later. On the other hand, a cam follower member 33 that engages with the cam groove 45 is fixed to the upper frame 30, and the punch member 40 having the cam groove is moved in the vertical thrust direction. The illustrated cam follower member 33 includes a pedestal portion 33a, a guide shaft portion 33b, and a cam engagement portion (hereinafter referred to as a lead pin) 33c, and is formed in the upper frame 30 so as to have a predetermined positional relationship with the guide holes 31a and 32a. The base portion 33a is fixed with screws or the like. The guide shaft portion 33b guides a slide member 50 described later, and the lead pin 33c is configured in a pin shape that engages with the cam groove 45. Accordingly, the punch member 40 is supported by the upper frame 30 so as to be slidable up and down, and the cam groove 45 is engaged and held by the lead pin 33c provided thereon. The lead pin 33c constitutes a cam follower.

  A passive gear 46 is integrally attached to the punch member 40. The passive gear 46 is meshed with a transmission member (a slide member 50 described later) connected to the drive motor M. In the punch member 40 configured in this way, the punching blade 41 and the upper and lower shaft portions 42a and 42b are made of a material having good polishing properties such as SUS steel. In addition, it may be formed of iron-based metal or ceramic. The cylindrical cam 44 and the passive gear 46 are preferably molded from a synthetic resin such as POM (Duracon resin) from the viewpoint of workability and silence, but the material is not particularly specified. The punching blade 41 of the punch member 40, the cylindrical cam 44, and the passive gear 46 are integrated. This integration is for these three members to rotate integrally, and is integrated by insert molding at the time of molding, or fixed with a fixing screw, an adhesive or the like. For example, the shaft portion of the punch member 40 is formed in a non-circular cross section (square axis, D-cut shaft, etc.), and a cylindrical cam 44 and a passive gear 46 integrally molded with, for example, resin are press-fitted into this to fix the screw as required. Fix with adhesive. The shape of the cam groove 45 formed in the cylindrical cam 44 will be described later.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the shape of the punching blade 41 provided at the tip of the punch member 40 is such that the tip surface is cut into a wave shape such as a U-shaped cross section or a V-shape, and the end surface contacting the sheet S has an uneven shape. Is formed. This is because the punching blade 41 penetrating the sheet S is formed in a sharp shape, and at the same time, the shearing action when punching while rotating the punch member 40 in the radial direction is increased. Further, although the shape of the drilling blade 41 is not shown, the shearing action at the time of drilling can be further increased by forming an oblique shape with one end sharpened sharply.

  Next, the next transmission member is disposed on the upper frame 30 in order to move the punch member up and down. This transmission member is provided with a slide member (configuration shown in FIG. 6) that moves left and right linearly with a predetermined stroke or a drive shaft (configuration shown in FIG. 9) that reciprocates with a predetermined stroke. The slide member 50 shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 is incorporated in the upper frame 30 so as to be movable in the left-right direction, and a rack gear 51 is formed. (4 places) It meshes | engages with each passive gear 46 of the punch members 40a-40d arrange | positioned. A driving motor M is connected to the slide member 50. A drive motor M is attached to the upper frame 30 by a bracket 53, and its rotation shaft is connected to the drive gear G1 via a reduction gear. The drive gear G1 is meshed with the rack gear 51 of the slide member 50. Therefore, the slide member 50 moves in the left-right direction in FIG. 54 is an encoder provided on the rotating shaft of the motor, and Se is an encode sensor for detecting this, but its operation will be described later.

  The slide member 50 is provided with a position sensor for detecting its position. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the slide member 50 is provided with first sensor flags 55a, 55b, 55c and a second sensor flag 56, and the first sensor flags 55a to 55c are set to the first position. The sensor Sp1 detects the position of the second sensor flag 56 by the second position sensor Sp2 and the third position sensor Sp3. Each position sensor will be described later.

Next, the cam groove 45 of the punch member 40 configured as described above will be described. As described above, the cam groove 45 as shown in FIG. 4 is provided in the cylindrical cam 44 provided in each of the punch members 40a to 40d. FIG. 5B is an explanatory diagram in which a cylindrical cam is developed in a planar shape. One inverted V-shaped groove cam (groove cam A) is provided on the first and fourth punch members 45a and 45d at one outer periphery. On the second and third punch members 45b and 45c, two inverted V-shaped groove cams (groove cam A and groove cam B) are formed at two locations on the outer periphery.
Accordingly, inverted V-shaped cams (groove cams A) are formed at the 90 ° outer periphery positions of the first to fourth punch members, respectively, and the first and fourth punch members are inverted V-shaped at the outer periphery 270 ° positions. A grooved cam (groove cam B) is formed. The center 180 degree position is set as a base point HP (home position) for the punching operation, and when the cam is rotated between this base point HP and the 90 degree position P1, the first to fourth punch members 40a to 40d are grooved. The cam A moves from the top dead center A to the bottom dead center C, and punch holes are drilled at four locations. When rotating between the base point Hp and the 270-degree position Wp2, only the second and third punch members 40b and 40c are moved from the top dead center P1 to the bottom dead center P2 by the groove cam B, and punch holes are punched at two locations. .

  The groove cam A and the groove cam B of each of the cam grooves 45a to 45d are each formed by an inclined cam surface 45θ inclined at a predetermined angle (θ) with respect to the drilling direction (vertical direction in FIG. 4A). The surface 45θ is disposed at substantially the same angular position (first angular position) such as a 90-degree position of the cylindrical cam 44, and the second cams of the second and third cam grooves 45b and 45c are also predetermined with respect to the drilling direction. The inclined cam surface 45θ is inclined at an angle (θ) and is formed at an angular position (second angular position) different from the first angular position. At the second angular position, the first and fourth cam grooves 45 a and 45 d are formed as linear grooves that are horizontal in the outer circumferential direction of the cylindrical cam 44. Therefore, when the cylindrical cam 44 is rotated clockwise with respect to the base point Hp, four punch holes are punched, and when the cylindrical cam 44 is rotated counterclockwise, two punch holes are punched.

  Further, the groove cams 44 provided in the punch members 40a to 40d are attached to the upper frame 30 so as to have a phase difference by a predetermined angle (see FIG. 8). As shown in FIG. 1, for example, when four holes are formed, each punch member 40a to 40d has a time difference (in order of the first punch member 40a, the second punch member 40b, the third punch member 40c, and the fourth punch member 40d). The drilling timing is shifted with the cam groove transition difference. Similarly, when the two holes are formed, the second punch member 40b and the third punch member 40c are provided with a phase difference in this order.

  Next, the control operation of the cam means will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the groove cam 44 has a home position HP at an intermediate position between the groove cam A and the groove cam B. When four-hole punching is performed, when the slide member 50 is moved to the right, the groove cam 44 is changed from HP to W1. (Standby) → P2 moves, the punch member 40 moves from the top dead center P1 to the bottom dead center P2, and then moves in the order of P2 → W1 ′ (pass) → R1, the punch member moves upward from the bottom dead center P2. Move to dead point P1. During this time, the preceding first sheet is perforated. Next, when the drive motor is reversed and the slide member 50 is moved to the right in FIG. 5, the groove cam 44 is moved from R1 → W1 ′ (standby) → P2, and the punch member is moved from the top dead center P1 to the bottom dead center P2. Then, move from P2 to W1 to HP. During this time, the subsequent sheet is punched. In this manner, the four holes are sequentially punched in the sheet while reciprocating between FIG. 5HP and R1.

  Similarly, in the case of 2-hole punching, if the groove cam is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 4 from the home position HP, it moves from HP → W2 (standby) → P2, then P2 → W2 ′ (pass) → R2 and precedes it. When one sheet is punched and the slide member 50 is moved in the opposite direction, the sheet moves from R2 → W2 ′ (standby) → P2, precedes the succeeding sheet, and then returns to P2 → W2 ′ (pass) → HP.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, (1) before the sheet is fed and set to the punching position, the drive motor M is activated to move the punch member from the home position HP to the standby positions W1 (W1 ′) and W2 (W2 ′). It is characterized in that high-speed processing is achieved by waiting, and restarting the drive motor M when the sheet is fed and set, and moving the punch member from the standby position to the bottom dead center P2. For this reason, a preset standby position is set between the top dead center and the bottom dead center, and the standby position moves at a low speed. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the movement in the figure H is set at a high speed, and the movement in the figure L is set at a low speed. This low speed control is controlled by the duty of the power pulse when the drive motor is a stepping motor, and is controlled by chopper control when the drive motor is a DC motor.

  Further, as a method different from the above (1), (2) when the punch member is moved back from the bottom dead center to the top dead center, the drive motor is reversely rotated so that the engagement position of the cam member is set in advance. High-speed processing is also possible by retracting to a position and waiting. In the cases (1) and (2), for example, the drive motor M is braked and stopped by the rising signal detected by the position sensor Sp1 of the flag 55b of the slide member 50 shown in FIG. 8C. At the same time, an encoder (movement amount detection means) 54 connected to the drive motor M detects an overrun amount (movement amount) from the detection signal until the motor stops (see FIG. 7C). Then, the drive motor M is reversely rotated to move the slide member 50 backward by a distance corresponding to the amount of movement detected by the encoder. Accordingly, the cam member is retracted from the home position HP to the standby positions W1 and W2.

  Next, the alignment between the punching blade 41 of the punch member 40 and the blade receiving hole 38 of the lower frame 35 will be described. The perforating blade 41 and the blade receiving hole 38 have the same cross-sectional shape, and the blade receiving hole 38 needs to be slightly larger and formed in the relationship (D = d + α) described above. When both have the same diameter (D = d), they interfere with each other, causing a problem of wear and increasing the drilling load. On the contrary, if the gap (α) is large, the load at the time of punching is large, and the hole quality at the time of punching thin paper is lowered. If this gap is biased, the shape of the drilled hole may be distorted. Therefore, in order to align the drilling blade 41 and the blade receiving hole 38 without biasing the gap (α), the lower frame 35 is configured as follows. The lower frame 35 includes a frame base 36 and a die plate 37.

  Next, the operation control of the punch member 40 will be described. First, the slide member 50 is provided with a first sensor flag 55 and a second sensor flag 56, and a first position sensor Sp1 and second position sensors Sp2 and Sp3 for detecting these flags. The drive motor M is provided with an encoder 54 and an encode sensor Se. Therefore, the first sensor flag 55 includes three flags 55a, 55b, and 55c arranged on the slide member 50 at equal intervals as shown in FIG. These flags are arranged in a positional relationship in which the first position sensor Sp1 detects whether or not the punch member 40 is perforated in the sheet S. The second sensor flag 56 is disposed on the slide member 50 at a position facing the second and third position sensors Sp2 and Sp3.

  These sensor flags and position sensors are arranged in the positional relationship shown in FIG. In the state of FIG. 5A, Sp1 “ON”, Sp2 “OFF”, and Sp3 “ON” are detected, and the left limit position of the slide member 50 and the return R1 (operation start & end position) when the four holes are drilled are detected. That is, when the slide member 50 is moved to the left side of the figure by the drive motor M, the left limit position is detected by this position detection, the motor is stopped, and the slide member 50 is returned. When the slide member 50 is moved to the right side of the figure, the return position RP1 (operation start position) when the four holes are drilled is detected by this position detection, and the amount of rotation of the drive motor M is controlled from this return position. Whether the slide member 50 is moving in the right direction or in the left direction is determined, for example, from the operation order of the sensors or from the encoder 54 provided in the drive motor M. In addition, in the state shown in FIG. 8B, Sp1 “OFF”, Sp2 “ON”, and Sp3 “ON” are detected, and the four-hole drilling operation position is detected. In this state, the punch members 40a, 40b, 40c, and 40d are performing punching of the sheet S.

  Next, in the state shown in FIG. 8C, Sp1 “ON”, Sp2 “ON”, and Sp3 “OFF” are set, and this position is set to the home position HP as a base point of control of the slide member. That is, the slide member 50 is controlled on the basis of the position HP in the case of drilling any of the 2 holes and 4 holes. Based on this position HP, the slide member 50 is moved to the left in FIG. 8 when four holes are drilled, and moved to the right in the figure when two holes are drilled. Next, when Sp1 “OFF”, Sp2 “OFF”, and Sp3 “OFF” in FIG. 8D, the 2-hole drilling operation position is detected. In this state, the punch members 40b and 40c are punching the sheet S.

  Next, when Sp1 “ON”, Sp2 “OFF”, and Sp3 “OFF” in FIG. 8E, the return R2 of the two-hole drilling operation is detected. That is, when two holes are drilled, the drive motor M is stopped by detecting this state, and then the rotation is reversed. The encoder 54 provided in the drive motor M described above detects the amount of rotation of the rotating shaft of the motor M and obtains a timing signal for controlling the rotation of the motor.

In the apparatus configuration described above, the punching operation for punching 2 or 4 holes in the sheet S to be punched such as paper is performed as follows. The punching apparatus A is provided with a control means (not shown), for example, by a control CPU. The above-described slide member 50 is basically controlled as follows.
The slide member is moved to the home position (c) when the apparatus is activated and when the apparatus is restarted after the interruption. This is determined from the states of the sensors Sp1 “ON”, Sp2 “ON”, and Sp3 “OFF”.
When a series of punching operations is completed, for example, when a job end signal is received from an image forming apparatus or the like, the slide member 50 is positioned at the home position.
Thus, the slide member 50 is positioned at the home position when the apparatus is activated and when the operation is completed. For example, (3) in the case of 2-hole punch, the slide member 50 is moved from the home position HP to the right side in response to a signal from the image forming apparatus or the like from the 2-hole / 4-hole punch setting means. To the right limit R2. When the two-hole punching is continued, the punching process is performed in the process of moving the next sheet to (e), (d), and (c). Further, when the two-hole punch is continued, the above operation is repeated. When the “job end” signal indicating the end of the operation is received, the slide member 50 is moved to the home position HP and all the operations are ended.

  On the other hand, (4) at the time of 4-hole punch, the slide member 50 is moved from HP to the left side, and the operations (b) and (a) are executed to move to the left limit position R1. In this process, the sheet is punched into four holes. Next, when the next sheet is also perforated with four holes, the next sheet is punched in the process of moving in the order of (a), (b), and (c). Further, when the four-hole punch is continued, the above operation is repeated. When the “job end” signal indicating the end of the operation is received, the slide member 50 is moved to the home position HP and all the operations are ended.

  Next, the punching operation will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. When the apparatus power is turned on and the apparatus is activated (St100), the control means performs an initialization operation. This operation detects whether or not the slide member 50 is positioned at the home position HP. When the position is not this position, the position is detected by the sensors Sp1, Sp2, and Sp3, and the slide member 50 is moved to the home position HP. (St101). At this time, if the slide member 50 does not move to HP, an error warning is given as a device failure. Next, for example, the post-processing apparatus A receives the selection signal (St102) of the drilling mode whether the post-processing apparatus A is 2-hole drilling or 4-hole drilling. Therefore, the control means drives the drive motor M at a low speed to move to the standby position W1 in FIG. 4 when punching four holes, and to the standby position W2 of FIG. 4 when punching two holes (St103). Then, the drive motor is stopped and waits.

  The low speed drive of the drive motor M will be described. As described above, the control means rotates the drive motor M in the opposite direction between the two-hole punch and the four-punch. Then, the slide member 50 is moved at low speed from the home position HP shown in FIG. 4 to preset standby positions W1 and W2 (St103). This low speed movement sets the duty of the pulse power source to be sparse when the drive motor M is a stepping motor. When the drive motor M is a DC motor, it is driven at a low speed by chopper control. The low speed value is set to a speed slower than the speed at which the punch member moves from the top dead center to the bottom dead center and the speed at which the punch member moves from the bottom dead center to the top dead center. Note that the amount of movement of the slide member 50 from the home position to the standby position moves based on the detection value detected by the movement amount detection means (encoder 54) as described above.

  Next, when the sheet S is prepared at a predetermined set position, the control means rotates the drive motor M by the set end signal (St104) to move the slide member 50 rightward or leftward in FIG. Then, the punch member 40 moves in the perforating direction (thrust direction) while gradually rotating counterclockwise from the state of FIG. 6 (a) to the state of (b), (c), and (d). In this process, 4 holes or 2 holes are punched in the sheet S (St105).

  Next, the control means determines whether or not the punching operation is completed by the first second position sensor (when Sp1 is “OFF”, both Sp2 and Sp3 are “ON” or “OFF”) (St106). Then, it is determined whether or not the next sheet exists. When the next sheet exists, the drive motor M is stopped, and the process returns to step 103. If there is no next sheet, the slide member 50 is returned to the home position HP, and the drive motor M is stopped. If, for example, a preset jam time has elapsed in step St106, the sensor does not detect the operation end position, it is determined that a jam has occurred, and the drive motor M is reversely rotated (St108). The slide member 50 and the punch member 40 are returned to the home position by the reverse rotation of the drive motor M, and this is detected by the first and second position sensors (St109). Therefore, a control means jam signal is issued to display “jam” on the control panel of the post-processing apparatus A, for example. At the same time, the apparatus power is turned off (St110).

  When the slide member 50 and the punch member 40 do not move to the home position due to the reverse rotation of the drive motor M, it is regarded as a device failure and an error signal is issued, and “device failure” is displayed on the control panel (St111). When the punching of the sheet S is normally executed, the control unit issues a punching end signal to the post-processing apparatus A, for example, and the post-processing apparatus A carries the sheet S out of a predetermined set position. Before and after the sheet S is unloaded, the control means reversely rotates the drive motor M to return the slide member 50 to the home position.

  In this process, according to the present invention, when the punch member 40 moves from the home position to the drilling position, the drilling blade 41 rotates in the radial direction simultaneously with the movement in the thrust direction, and FIGS. 6 (a), 6 (b), 6 (c). , (D) punch holes are punched in the sheet S by twisting motion. For this reason, the shearing force exerted on the sheet of the perforating blade 41 increases several times as compared with the case where the blade is simply moved in the thrust direction. For example, in this embodiment, the shearing force can be increased by a factor of 2, and as a result, the load torque of the drive motor can be halved. Conversely, even if the punching speed is doubled, the load on the motor does not increase, and the transmission mechanism can be simplified and the punching operation can be speeded up.

  In the above-described apparatus, the case where the inclined cam surface 45θ is formed on the cylindrical cam 44 integrated with the punch member 40 and the cam follower member 33 is disposed on the base frame 30 has been described. On the other hand, the cam means and the cam follower member can be configured in reverse, as shown in FIG. The same reference numerals as those in FIG. A lead pin 33c constituting a cam follower member is press-fitted into and integrated with the shaft portion of the punch member 40, and the semicircular cylindrical cam 44 having the inclined cam 45θ is fixed to the upper frame 30 with screws or the like. Other configurations are the same as those in FIG. 1, and the same reference numerals are given and the description thereof is omitted. Even in the configuration shown in FIG. 12, the punch member 40 moves in the thrust direction while rotating in the radial direction, and punch holes are punched in the sheet S in the process. As described above, the cam means and the cam follower member may be configured in the opposite manner to those in FIG.

  1 and 12, the punch member 40 has been described as being driven to rotate by the drive motor M with the slide member 50 and the rack gear 51 formed thereon. However, the slide member 50 is not provided. Needless to say, the punch member 40 and the drive motor M may use a transmission mechanism such as a timing belt or a gear train.

  Next, an embodiment different from the apparatus of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. The above-mentioned thing shown in FIG. 1 showed the case where the cylindrical cam 44 of the punch member 40 was rotated with the rack gear 51 provided in the slide member 50, and the thrust force was applied to the drilling blade 41, but what is shown in FIG. The case where the cylindrical cam 66 is fixed to the base frame and the lead pin 65 that engages with the cam groove 67 of the cylindrical cam 66 is provided on the punch member side is shown. The same components as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  Therefore, the upper frame 30 and the lower frame 35 are configured in the same manner as in FIG. 1, and are combined into a unit. A drive motor M and a drive shaft 60 connected to the drive motor M are arranged on the upper frame 30 as shown in FIG. The upper frame 30 is provided with an upper guide 31 and a lower guide 32 as described above, and a punch member 40 is fitted and supported in the upper and lower guide holes 31a and 32a so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. The punch members 40 are appropriately disposed at a plurality of locations, and the illustrated ones are provided with first to fourth punch members 40a, 40b, 40c, and 40d at predetermined intervals in the same four locations as described above. Each of the punch members 40a to 40d is integrally formed with a lead pin 65 at its shaft portion. On the other hand, a cylindrical cam 66 is fixed to the upper frame 30, and a cam groove 67 having an inclined cam surface 67 θ is provided in the cylindrical cam 66, and the lead pin 65 is engaged with the cam groove 67. The inclined cam surface 67θ is inclined at a predetermined angle (θ) with respect to the drilling direction (vertical direction in FIG. 9).

  The cylindrical cam 66 is formed of synthetic resin, for example, in the same manner as described above, the punch member 40 is formed of SUS-based steel material, and a drilling blade 41 is formed at the tip thereof. Further, the punch member 40 is provided with a flange-shaped flange 68 at its shaft portion, and a return spring 69 is disposed between the flange-shaped flange 68 and the cylindrical cam 66. Therefore, a drive cam 61 is attached to the drive shaft 60 as shown in FIG. A first drive cam 61a is disposed at a position facing the first punch member 40a, a second drive cam 61b is disposed at a position opposed to the second punch member 40b, and similarly, a third drive cam 61c and a fourth drive cam 61d are disposed.

  The first and fourth drive cams 61a and 61d have a first cam surface 61X at one location, and the second and fourth drive cams 61b and 61c have a first cam surface 61X and a second cam surface 61Y at two locations. Each is formed. Each of the drive cams 61a to 61d is engaged with the head of the first to fourth punch members 40a to 40d substantially simultaneously with the drive shaft 60 at the first cam surface 61X. The punch member 40b, the third punch member 40c, and the fourth punch member 40d are engaged with each other with a slight time difference.

  Accordingly, when the drive shaft 60 is rotated by a predetermined angle at the position of the first cam surface 61X, the first to fourth punch members 40a to 40d move in the punching direction, and the sheet S is punched with four holes. When the second cam surface 61Y rotates by a predetermined angle, the second and third punch members 40b and 40c perforate the sheet S with two holes. After this drilling, the punch members 40a to 40d are returned to their original positions by the return spring 69. Although not shown, the drive motor M is provided with an encoder and an encode sensor as in the apparatus of FIG. 1, and a position sensor is provided at the home position of the drive shaft 60. Accordingly, as in the apparatus of FIG. 1, 2-hole punching and 4-hole punching are selected by angle control of the drive cam 61 by the rotation control of the drive motor M, and punch holes are punched at predetermined positions of the sheets by the punch members 40a to 40d. Will be.

In the above description, the punch holes are made into two holes and four holes. However, by changing the arrangement interval and arrangement number of the punch members 40 described above, three holes are punched, or four holes are formed above and below the sheet by changing the central interval. Of course, it is also possible to perforate. In the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the cylindrical cam 44 has a cam groove 45 formed on the entire outer periphery thereof, but this is formed only on the inclined cam surface 45θ, and the punch member 40 is reciprocated by this cam portion. There may be. Furthermore, in the present invention, the case where the end face shape of the perforating blade 41 is cut into a U shape or a V shape has been shown, but this may be a semicircular shape.
[Description of Embodiment of Post-Processing Apparatus]

  Next, the configuration of the post-processing apparatus in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The image forming system shown in FIG. 11 includes an image forming apparatus B that sequentially prints sheets, and a post-processing apparatus C that is attached downstream of the image forming apparatus B. The sheet formed by the image forming apparatus B is subjected to punching processing on the printed sheet by the post-processing apparatus C. First, the image forming apparatus B can employ various structures such as a copying machine, a printer, and a printing machine, but the illustrated one shows an electrostatic printing apparatus. In the image forming apparatus B, a paper feed unit 2, a printing unit 3, a paper discharge unit 4, and a control unit (not shown) are built in a casing 1. A plurality of cassettes 5 corresponding to the sheet size are prepared in the sheet feeding unit 2, and a sheet having a size designated by the control unit is fed out to the sheet feeding path 6. A registration roller 7 is provided in the sheet feeding path 6 and the sheet is fed to the downstream printing unit 3 at a predetermined timing after the leading edges of the sheets are aligned.

  An electrostatic drum 10 is provided in the printing unit 3, and a print head 9, a developing device 11, a transfer charger 12, and the like are disposed around the drum 10. The print head 9 is composed of, for example, a laser light emitter, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the electrostatic drum 10. A toner ink is attached to the latent image by the developing device 11 and printed on a sheet by the transfer charger 12. . This print sheet is fixed by the fixing device 13 and carried out to the paper discharge path 17. The paper discharge unit 4 is provided with a paper discharge port 14 and a paper discharge roller 15 formed in the casing 1. Reference numeral 16 denotes a circulation path. The print sheet from the paper discharge path 17 is turned upside down on the switchback path and then sent to the registration roller 7 again to form an image on the back surface of the print sheet. In this way, the print sheet on which one side or both sides are formed is carried out from the paper discharge port 14 by the paper discharge roller 15.

  In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a scanner unit which optically reads a document image to be printed by the print head 9. As is generally known, the platen 23 on which a document sheet is placed and set, a carriage 21 that scans a document image along the platen 23, and an optical device that photoelectrically converts an optical image from the carriage 21. It comprises a reading means (for example, a CCD device) 22. In the illustrated example, a document feeder 25 for automatically feeding a document sheet to the platen is provided on the platen 23.

  Therefore, a post-processing device C is connected to the paper discharge port 14 of the image forming apparatus B. The post-processing apparatus C includes a sheet conveyance path 26, a punch unit 27 and a paper discharge stacker 28 disposed in the conveyance path 26. The sheet conveying path 26 is provided with an aligning means 26a on the upstream side of the punch unit 27, and aligns the sheet trailing edge. In addition, a forward / reverse roller 26b is disposed in the conveyance path 26, and a sheet from the carry-in entrance 26c is abutted and aligned with the aligning means 26a. . Si shown in the figure is a sheet detection sensor. The punch unit 27 is composed of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 or the apparatus shown in FIG.

  The post-processing apparatus C configured as described above receives the printed sheet from the image forming apparatus B from the carry-in entrance 26c, detects the sheet rear end by the sheet detection sensor Si, and the timing at which the sheet rear end passes through the aligning unit 26a. Thus, the forward / reverse rotation roller 26b is reversely rotated (counterclockwise in the figure). Then, the sheet is switched back and the rear end of the sheet is abutted and aligned with the aligning means 26a. After this alignment, the forward / reverse roller 26b stops and holds the sheet in that position. In this state, the punch unit 27 drives the drive motor M to execute the above-described punching operation. After execution of the punching operation, the forward / reverse rotation roller 26b is rotated in the clockwise direction in the figure by the end signal from the position sensor S1, and the punched sheet is carried out to the discharge stacker 28. In addition, although not shown, a staple unit, a stamp unit, and the like are incorporated in the post-processing apparatus C according to apparatus specifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Explanatory drawing which shows the whole structure of the punching apparatus concerning this invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part in the apparatus of FIG. 1. Explanatory drawing of the punch member in the apparatus of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the cam member of the punch member in the apparatus of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the operation state of the cam member of the punch member in the apparatus of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the punching operation state of the punch member in the apparatus of FIG. It is a block diagram of the position sensor of the drive mechanism in FIG. 1 apparatus, (a) is the top view, (b) is sectional drawing, (C) is explanatory drawing of the detection state of a sensor. Explanatory drawing of the operation state of the slide member in the apparatus of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the drive cam structure of the punch member different from the apparatus of FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing control of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 9. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a post-processing apparatus in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. Sectional drawing which shows the modification of the cam means in the apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

30 Upper frame (base frame)
31 Upper guide 31b Marker 32 Lower guide 33 Lead pin (cam follower)
35 Lower frame 36 Frame base 37 Die plate 38 Blade receiving hole 39 Fixing screw 40 Punch member 40a First punch member 40b Second punch member 40c Third punch member 40d Fourth punch member 41 Perforating blade 46 Passive gear 42a Upper shaft portion 42b Lower shaft portion 42c D cut 43 bowl-shaped stepped portion 44 cylindrical cam 45θ inclined cam surface 45 cam groove 50 slide member 51 rack gear 53 motor bracket 54 encoder Se encode sensor Sp1 first position sensor Sp2 second position sensor Sp3 third position sensor M drive motor G1 drive gear

Claims (11)

A paper platform on which a sheet is placed;
A plurality of punch members arranged vertically above the paper table at predetermined intervals;
Drive means for moving the punch member up and down,
The driving means is
A transmission member that reciprocates between a left limit position and a right limit position with a predetermined stroke;
Cam means for moving the punch member up and down by reciprocation of the transmission member;
A forward / reverse drive motor that reciprocates the transmission member;
Control means for controlling the drive motor;
Consists of
The plurality of punch members are divided into at least first and second groups,
The cam means is configured such that the transmission member rotates the drive motor in one direction with respect to an intermediate position between the left limit position and the right limit position, and the second group punches in the opposite direction. Each member is configured to move up and down,
The control means actuates the first group of punch members by reciprocating the transmission member between the base point and the right limit, and reciprocating between the base point and the left limit position. A punching apparatus, wherein the drive motor is controlled to operate two groups of punch members. The cam means is disposed between the transmission member and the punch member or between the punch member and the apparatus frame,
2. The perforating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission member includes a slide member that linearly reciprocates at a predetermined stroke or a rotary member that reciprocally rotates at a predetermined stroke. The control means includes punch setting means for selecting whether to operate the first group punch member or the second group punch member according to the length size of the sheet, and is set by the punch setting means. The perforation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive motor is rotationally controlled in the rotated direction. The transmission member includes a home position sensor for detecting a base point located between the left limit position and the right limit position;
4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the transmission member to move to the base position at the end of the job when the punching of a series of sheets is completed and / or when the apparatus is activated. The drilling device described. A paper platform on which a sheet is placed;
Sheet conveying means for feeding and discharging sheets to and from the paper table;
A plurality of punch members arranged vertically above the paper table at predetermined intervals;
Punch driving means for moving the punch member up and down;
Control means for controlling the sheet conveying means and the punch driving means,
The punch driving means includes a transmission member that reciprocates at a predetermined stroke, a cam means that moves the punch member up and down by the reciprocation of the transmission member, and a forward / reverse drive motor that reciprocates the transmission member. And
The cam means is configured by arranging a cam member on one side and a cam follower member on the other side between the transmission member and the punch member or between the punch member and the apparatus frame,
The control means (1) activates the drive motor and moves the engagement position of the cam member in advance of a preset standby position before the sheet conveyance means conveys and sets the sheet on the paper table. Or (2) when the punch member is moved back from the bottom dead center to the top dead center, the drive motor is reversely rotated so that the engagement position of the cam member is retracted to a preset standby position to be on standby. A perforating apparatus. The control means rotates the drive motor to move the punch member from the bottom dead center to the top dead center, and then reversely rotates the drive motor by a predetermined amount to wait for a predetermined engagement position of the cam member. 6. The perforating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the drilling apparatus is retracted to a position to be stopped and waited. The preset standby position of the cam member is set so that the punch member is located between the top dead center and the bottom dead center, and the control means moves the punch member from the standby position to the bottom dead center. The punching device according to claim 5, wherein the punching is performed on the sheet by moving. Between the drive motor and the transmission member, an encoder and other movement amount detection means for detecting the movement amount of the transmission member are provided,
The movement amount detecting means detects a movement amount by which the engagement position of the cam member overruns from a preset standby position to a stop position when the transmission member moves the punch member from a bottom dead center to a top dead center. Detect
6. The perforating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the control means moves the engagement position of the cam member backward to the standby position in accordance with the amount of overrun. The drive motor is composed of a stepping motor,
The control means is a counter that measures the number of steps until the engagement position of the cam member stops from a preset standby position when the transmission member moves the punch member from bottom dead center to top dead center. With
6. The perforating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the control means moves the engagement position of the cam member back to the standby position in accordance with the number of overrun steps. The drive motor is a DC motor,
The control means sets the speed at which the drive motor moves backward from the top dead center to the standby position with respect to the speed at which the punch member moves from bottom dead center to top dead center, The drilling device according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the drive motor is stopped. A processing tray for sequentially punching sheets from the image forming apparatus;
A perforating device disposed in the processing tray;
A storage stacker for stacking and storing sheets from the processing tray,
12. A post-processing apparatus in an image forming apparatus, wherein the perforating apparatus has the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

Images