JP2008036834A - Adhesive coating device and bookbinding device equipped therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inexpensively and structurally simply provide an adhesive coating device, to the outside of which little evaporated material including in an adhesive dispersingly sticks at the hot-melting of the adhesive housed in a storage container up to a predetermined temperature. <P>SOLUTION: An adhesive storage container is so constituted as to be movable to a retreating position separated from a coating position from a sheet bundle held at the coating position. A sucking means for sucking the evaporating component of the adhesive is arranged at the retreating position. The sucking means is so constituted as to have, for example, a vacuum duct and a suction fan and a filter to filt dusts in the duct built therein under the condition that the suction port of the duct is arranged above the retreating position of the storage container. In addition, a container moving means, in which the adhesive storage container is held by a device frame movably along the edge face of the sheet bundle set at the coating position and which reciprocally move the adhesive container along the edge face of the sheet bundle, is provided under the condition that the container moving means is so controlled for the storage container as to move to the retreating position under the condition that the temperature of the adhesive is above the predetermined value and/or under the condition that the temperature of the adhesive is raised at the starting of the device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an adhesive application device that applies an adhesive to the end surfaces of sheets stacked in a bundle of sheets, and the sheet conveyed from an image forming apparatus or the like is aligned in a bundle and bound to a cover sheet. The present invention relates to an improvement in a coating mechanism that effectively collects foreign matter released from a hot-melt adhesive in a bookbinding apparatus or the like.

  2. Description of the Related Art In general, automatic bookbinding apparatuses that align sheets formed by an image forming apparatus or the like in a bundle and bind them to a cover sheet are widely known. In such a bookbinding apparatus, when the back end face of the sheet bundle aligned in a bundle shape is bound with an adhesive, a method of adhering the back of the sheet with an adhesive sheet previously formed on the sheet and a liquid adhesive are applied. Solidification methods are widely used.

  The former method using the adhesive tape has a technical problem that causes a missing page when the sheet bundle is thick, and at the same time, there is a problem that the cost for manufacturing the adhesive tape is high and the bookbinding cost increases. . On the other hand, when applying the latter liquid adhesive, a hot-melt adhesive that solidifies at room temperature is used, and this adhesive is heated to a predetermined temperature (usually 130 ° C. to 150 ° C.) to be liquefied and sheeted. It is applied to the bundle and solidified and bonded by cooling to room temperature after application. As an apparatus for applying the adhesive, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an adhesive application unit that accumulates sheets formed with an image forming apparatus in a bundle and applies the adhesive to one end surface (back part) of the sheet bundle. It is disclosed.

  In this publication, a glue container equipped with a coating roll is filled with a heat-meltable adhesive, and the adhesive liquefied with a heater is applied to the end face of the sheet bundle with a coating roll. For this reason, a structure is disclosed in which an adhesive is applied with an application roll built in the paste container while moving the glue container with respect to the sheet bundle stationaryly set at the application position. In this way, an apparatus configuration for applying the adhesive by moving the adhesive container containing the adhesive along the lower edge of the sheet bundle and an adhesive container longer than the maximum size length of the sheet bundle are provided in advance and applied in this container. An apparatus configuration for applying an adhesive to the end face of a sheet bundle while reciprocating a roll is known.

Regardless of the configuration of the device, the glue container is equipped with heating means such as an electric heater. When the device is started, the adhesive that has solidified at room temperature is heated and melted. When the adhesive is replenished, the temperature of the adhesive is controlled to a predetermined temperature by heating in the same manner. In this case, the adhesive generally used includes additives such as a tackifier that increases the viscosity of the synthetic rubber as a main component.
JP 2003-292230 A

  As described above, when applying a solid adhesive contained in a container to a sheet bundle by heating and liquefying the adhesive, this type of adhesive contains additives such as a viscosity accelerator and is heated to a high temperature. Contains components that evaporate into the atmosphere when melted. This evaporated component has the property of scattering inside the apparatus or outside the apparatus and adhering to surrounding objects, and solidifying and remaining as an adhering substance when cooled to room temperature. The scattering of these deposits is not preferable in order to maintain the environmental influence, particularly the office environment.

  Therefore, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, it is proposed that the container containing the adhesive is moved and applied to the end face of the sheet to reduce the size of the container and reduce the amount of the adhesive dissolved therein. If the amount of the adhesive that dissolves in this way is small, the evaporation component that scatters to the outside can be suppressed, but on the other hand, the problem of frequent replenishment of adhesive occurs. When the adhesive is replenished or when the apparatus is warmed up, it is necessary to melt the solidified adhesive in a relatively short time and raise the temperature to a usable adhesive temperature.

  However, when rapid temperature rise is attempted, it is difficult to uniformly stir the sol-like adhesive, and therefore the adhesive is partially heated and may be heated to a temperature higher than the set temperature to increase the evaporation component. Therefore, it is conceivable to use a means for sucking the evaporated component of the adhesive, for example, a vacuum device, but in order to suck the evaporated component effectively, it is necessary to set a large vacuum space, and the adhesive container is moved. The stroke may be large, and the problem may be that the size of the apparatus is long and the coating process takes time.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a simple configuration of an adhesive application device in which when the adhesive contained in the storage container is heated and melted to a predetermined temperature, the evaporation material contained in the adhesive is less likely to scatter and adhere to the outside. The main challenge is to provide it at low cost.
Furthermore, the present invention provides an adhesive capable of reducing the size of the apparatus and shortening the coating process time by efficiently collecting the evaporated components when the container is moved to apply the adhesive to the sheet bundle. An object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus and a bookbinding apparatus.

  The present invention adopts the following configuration in order to solve the above problems. First, the adhesive container is configured to be movable to a retracted position separated from the application position with respect to the sheet bundle held at the application position. A suction means for sucking the evaporated component of the adhesive is disposed at the retracted position. The suction means in this case is configured, for example, by incorporating a vacuum duct, a suction fan and a filter for filtering dust in the duct, and arranging the suction port of the duct above the retracted position of the storage container.

  Further, in the above configuration, the adhesive container is movably supported along the end surface of the sheet bundle set at the application position in the apparatus frame, and the adhesive container is moved back and forth along the end surface of the sheet bundle. Means are provided. The container moving means is configured to move and hold the adhesive container in the retracted position when the temperature of the adhesive is raised to a predetermined temperature when the apparatus is activated (so-called warming up).

  Further, the container moving means is configured to reciprocate the adhesive storage container along the end face of the sheet bundle in the order of the retracted position, the standby position, and the return position, and continuously apply the adhesive to the end face of the sheet bundle. During continuous application operation, the adhesive container is reciprocated between the standby position and the return position to start the apparatus and / or when the adhesive temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature during the continuous application operation. Control is performed to move the adhesive container to the retracted position.

  Further, the bookbinding apparatus according to the present invention includes a sheet stacking unit that stacks sheets sequentially conveyed from the sheet discharge outlet in a bundle, and a sheet bundle that conveys and sets the sheet bundle from the sheet stacking unit to a predetermined adhesive application position. A conveying means, an application means for applying an adhesive to the sheet bundle at the adhesive application position, an adhesive storage container having the application means for containing a hot-melt adhesive inside, and set at the adhesive application position Container moving means for moving the adhesive container along the edge of the sheet bundle, and cover binding means for connecting a cover sheet to the edge of the sheet bundle disposed downstream of the adhesive application position. Is provided. The container moving means is configured to move the adhesive storage container to a retracted position separated from the adhesive application position, and suction for sucking the evaporated component of the adhesive from the adhesive storing container to the retracted position. Arrange the means.

In the present invention, the container for storing the adhesive is configured to be movable to a retracted position separated from the application position, and a suction means for sucking the evaporated component of the adhesive is disposed at the retracted position. The evaporating component generated during use can be sucked by the suction means, and the floating substance contained in the adhesive is not diffused and adhered to the inside or outside of the apparatus.
In addition, when the adhesive container is warmed up when the apparatus is started up or when the adhesive temperature is higher than a predetermined temperature, it is possible to suck the evaporation component generated by moving the container to the retracted position. Small and compact.

  Further, the present invention is configured to apply the adhesive to the sheet end surface when the adhesive container is reciprocated between the standby position and the return position with respect to the sheet bundle set at the application position. By placing the suction means at the retracted position of the adhesive container set outside the area, it is possible to set the standby position and return position to the optimal position according to the sheet size, and bond to the sheet bundle with a shorter movement stroke The agent can be applied, and the coating process can be executed in a short time. At the same time, when the apparatus is prone to generate evaporating components or when the adhesive temperature reaches a predetermined temperature or higher, the evaporating component generated by moving the adhesive container to the retracted position is sucked to process the apparatus. Can be made compact and compact.

  As described above, the present invention makes it possible to significantly reduce the size of the apparatus without reducing the efficiency of the adhesive application processing of the evaporation component contained in the adhesive and compared with the case where the suction means is arranged in the entire moving range of the adhesive container. There are effects such as being possible.

  The present invention will be described in detail below based on the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an image forming system provided with a bookbinding apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a detailed explanatory view of a bookbinding apparatus B, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the structure of a glue storage container.

"Configuration of image forming system"
The image forming system shown in FIG. 1 includes an image forming apparatus (a copying machine shown in the figure) A, a bookbinding apparatus (bookbinding section) B connected to a paper discharge port 19 of the image forming apparatus A, and a bookbinding apparatus B. And a post-processing apparatus (post-processing unit) C disposed downstream of the sheet, and a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus A is automatically bound by the bookbinding apparatus B or automatically by the post-processing apparatus C. Constitutes a post-processing system. The bookbinding apparatus B incorporates the adhesive application device according to the present invention as a unit.

  First, the image forming apparatus A shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The image forming apparatus A includes an image forming unit 3 provided in the casing 2, an image reading device (scanner unit) 7 mounted on the upper part of the casing 2, and a document. It comprises a supply device (ADF unit) 5. An image forming unit 3 is provided in the casing 2 and forms an image on a sheet such as plain paper or an OHP sheet supplied from the paper supply unit 9. The image forming unit 3 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 8 by the light irradiating unit 13, attaches toner with a developing unit, and transfers the toner onto a sheet supplied from the paper feeding unit 9. This transfer sheet is fixed by the fixing device 6 and carried out from the paper discharge port 19. In the case of double-sided printing in which images are formed on the front and back sides of a sheet, the sheet printed on one side is turned upside down by the switchback path 17 and then sent again to the photosensitive drum 8 from the circulation path 18 to be printed on the back side and discharged. Unload from 19 In addition, 12 shown in the figure is a manual sheet feeding port, for example, for supplying a thick sheet such as a cover sheet and a special sheet such as a coating sheet.

  An image reading device (scanner unit) 7 is disposed on the casing 2. The image reading device 7 scans a document placed on the platen with a photoelectric conversion element and transfers image data to the data storage unit 14 of the image forming unit 3. Further, the image reading device 7 is provided with a document supply device (ADF unit) 5 for automatically feeding a document to the platen. The document feeder 5 separates the documents set on the sheet feeding tray one by one and automatically feeds them to the platen. Such an image forming apparatus A is widely used and known in various structures. However, the image forming apparatus A is not limited to the electrostatic printing system shown in the figure, and a system such as screen printing or ink jet printing can be employed.

"Configuration of bookbinding equipment"
A bookbinding device B is attached to the paper discharge port 19 of the image forming apparatus A. As shown in FIG. 1, the bookbinding apparatus B includes a “stacking portion B1” that stacks and aligns sheets in a bundle, an “adhesive application portion B2” that applies an adhesive to the sheet bundle, and a sheet bundle. It is composed of a “cover binding portion B3” for binding the cover sheets, a “trimming cutting portion B4” for cutting the periphery of the binding sheet, and a “storage stack portion B5” for storing the sheet bundle.

  Then, after receiving the image-formed sheet from the sheet carry-in path T1 connected to the paper discharge port 19 of the image forming apparatus A, a series of sheets are stacked and aligned in the stacking unit B1, and then this is applied in the adhesive application unit B2. Gluing is performed on one side edge (back part) of the bundle-like sheet, and the booklet-like sheet is formed by binding together with the cover sheet at the cover binding portion B3. Thereafter, the trimming and cutting section B4 cuts and finishes the peripheral edge of the booklet-like sheet, and stores it in the storage stack section B5 to perform a series of bookbinding processes.

  The bookbinding apparatus B includes a sheet carry-in path T1 that is continuous with the paper discharge port 19 of the image forming apparatus A, an intermediate paper transport path T2 that is continuous with the carry-in path T1, and a cover sheet transport path T3. The sheets from A are sorted and conveyed. Further, a bookbinding path T4 is provided on the downstream side of the intermediate sheet conveyance path T2 via the stacking unit B1, and the bookbinding path T4 is configured to intersect with the cover sheet conveyance path T3 (the illustrated one is orthogonal).

  The stacking unit B1 will be described. The stacking unit B1 is composed of a stacking tray 42 that is disposed with a vertical step formed at the sheet discharge port 40 of the intermediate paper transport path T2. The illustrated stacking tray 42 is disposed on the downstream side of the sheet discharge port 40 so as to stack and store sheets from the sheet discharge port 40 in a substantially horizontal posture. The stacking tray 42 is provided with a carry-in guide, a carry-in roller that can be rotated forward and backward, and a rear end regulating member. The sheet from the paper discharge port 40 is guided onto the tray by the carry-in guide and carried by the carry-in roller. It is configured. Further, the rear end regulation guide has an abutment regulation surface that abuts the rear end of the sheet to regulate the position, and in particular, the illustrated one regulates the positioning of the end face on which the adhesive is applied to the stacked sheet bundle in a subsequent process. And the sheet is aligned with the abutment regulation surface by the reverse rotation of the carry-in roller.

  Although not shown in the drawing, the stacking tray 42 is provided with alignment means for aligning the side edges of the sheets, and aligns the sheet width direction by restricting the width of the sheet loaded from the sheet discharge port 40 in the conveyance orthogonal direction. This aligning means is provided with, for example, a pair of aligning members that engage with the left and right side edges of the sheet above the tray, and when aligning the sheets with the center reference, the left and right aligning members are the same toward the sheet center (reference line). It is configured to reciprocate by an amount. Further, when the sheets are aligned on the one side reference, one alignment member is fixed at the reference position, and the opposite alignment member is reciprocated.

  The stacking tray 42 configured as described above is attached to the apparatus frame so as to be movable up and down in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 1, and moves between an upper stacking position P1 and a lower unloading position P2. This is because the stacking tray 42 is moved from the stacking position P1 to the unloading position P2 spaced apart from the stacking position P1, and is transferred to the grip transporting means 55 for unloading the sheet bundle at the unloading position P2. By arranging in this way, the apparatus can be configured compactly, and the sheet bundle aligned on the tray can be taken over by the grip conveying means 55 in an orderly manner. A bookbinding path T4 is provided downstream from the stacking tray 42, and a grip conveying means 55 is provided in the bookbinding path T4.

  The grip conveying means 55 deflects the sheet bundle accumulated on the accumulation tray 42 from a substantially horizontal posture to a vertical posture (direction c as viewed in FIG. 1), and an adhesive application position P3 (hereinafter referred to as a glue application position) in the bookbinding path T4. To be conveyed). For this reason, the grip conveying means 55 is composed of a pair of gripper members that grip the front and back of the sheet bundle, and a unit frame (not shown) that carries the gripper members and rotates approximately 90 degrees. The unit frame is supported by the apparatus frame so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow c in FIG. 1, and is configured to turn approximately 90 degrees by a turning motor (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the unit frame configured as described above includes main grippers 55a and 55b and sub grippers 56a and 56b. The main grippers 55a and 55b are constituted by long plate-like members so as to grip the paste application end surface (back portion; hereinafter the same) of the sheet bundle over the entire length, and the sub grippers 56a and 56b are the main grippers at the center of the sheet bundle. The shafts 55a and 55b are pivotally supported by a rotating shaft 55c. The main gripper 55 and the sub gripper 56 are configured to be pressed and separated by a grip motor (not shown). In this way, the sheet bundle is constituted by the main gripper 55 and the sub gripper 56. When the sheet bundle is transported from the stacking tray 42 to the downstream glue application position P3 by the both grippers, the lower end edge of the sheet bundle is skewed. It is for correcting.

  The lower end edge (glue application end surface) of the sheet bundle is abutted against a path guide plate 57 (shown in FIG. 4) of the cover sheet conveyance path T3 with the main gripper being released, and the posture is corrected along the guide plate. The grippers 55a and 55b are used for gripping. For this skew correction, the sub grippers 56a and 56b are pivotally supported by the main grippers 55a and 55b so as to be able to swing in the sheet width direction, and the path guide plate 57 is used as a reference for the sheet bundle posture for applying glue (a glue applying roller described later). In parallel with the moving direction of The path guide plate 57 is retracted from the bookbinding path T4 after skew correction.

  Although not shown, the grip conveying means 55 is provided with a bundle thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the sheet bundle. This detection means is disposed on the movable member of the main grippers 55a and 55b or the sub grippers 56a and 56b, and detects the distance that the gripper moves from the release position (home position) to the nip position where the gripper contacts the surface of the sheet bundle. To detect the bundle thickness. The thickness information of the sheet bundle detected in this way is used for controlling the subsequent operation, for example, adjusting the amount of subsequent glue application according to the thickness of the sheet bundle.

  Next, the configuration of the adhesive application part B2 will be described. The adhesive application part B2 is disposed at the glue application position P3 of the bookbinding path T4, and an adhesive container (hereinafter referred to as an adhesive container) and the application incorporated in the container are provided. It comprises a roll and container moving means for moving the glue container along the glue application end face of the sheet bundle for coating operation. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the glue container 66 includes a container body 66a for storing hot melt glue and an application roll 67, and the container 66 is filled with a solid adhesive. Is heated and melted and applied to the sheet bundle by the application roll 67. For example, a heater (heating means) 66b such as an electric heater is built in the container body 66, and the adhesive in the container is melted into a liquid. 66c in the figure is a temperature sensor for controlling the heating means.

  The coating roll 67 is made of impregnating heat-resistant rubber, and is rotatably supported on the container body 66a by a rotating shaft 67a. A roll rotation motor MR is connected to the rotation shaft 67a. The glue container 66 configured in this manner is fitted and supported by a guide rail 68 provided on the apparatus frame, and the guide rail 68 is moved along the glue application end surface S1 of the sheet bundle held by the grip conveying means 55 described above. Are arranged in parallel. As described above, the glue container 66 containing the application roll 67 is supported so as to reciprocate along the glue application end face S1 of the sheet bundle, and is fixed to a timing belt 69 stretched along the guide rail. A shift motor MS is connected to the timing belt 69. Accordingly, the guide rail 68, the timing belt 69, and the shift motor MS constitute a “container moving means”.

  The glue container 66 includes an application area L1 for applying glue to the glue application end surface S1 of the sheet bundle, and a retreat area L2 that can be moved to a retreat position (home position Hp shown in the figure) spaced apart from this area. It is configured. Then, the shift motor MS reciprocates between the home position Hp, the standby position Wp, and the return position Rp. At the home position Hp, the glue container 66 is located when the apparatus is activated, and a suction means 70 described later is disposed at the home position Hp. The standby position Wp positions the glue container 66 when glue is applied to subsequent sheet bundles when glue is continuously applied. For this reason, the standby position Wp is preferably laid out in the vicinity of the paste application region L1. Similarly, the return position Rp is preferably arranged in the vicinity of the paste application region L1.

  When the glue container 66 moves from the standby position Wp to the return position Rp, glue may be applied to the glue application end surface S1 of the sheet bundle by the application roll 67, but the illustrated one is applied in the forward path and the return path of the glue container 66. I try to cloth. That is, in the forward path (movement from Wp to Rp), the coating roll 67 presses and separates the end surface S1 of the sheet bundle, and in the backward path (movement from Rp to Wp), the coating roll 67 applies glue to the glue application end surface S1. To do. At this time, the gap between the roll surface and the paste application end surface S1 is adjusted so that the coating amount is large when the sheet bundle is thick and small when the sheet bundle is thin. The glue application amount is adjusted by the sheet conveyance amount of the grip conveyance means 55.

  The present invention is characterized in that the following suction means 70 is arranged at the home position (retracted position) Hp of the above-described glue container 66. As described above, the glue container 66 is configured to be movable to the retracted position (the illustrated one is the home position Hp) retracted at a distance from the glue application region L1. Above this retracted position Hp, a suction means 70 for sucking the evaporated component of the hot melt adhesive is disposed. As shown in FIG. 5, the suction means 70 includes a hood 71, a duct 72 communicating with the hood, a suction fan 73 disposed in the duct, and a filter 74.

  The suction means 70 is configured for the purpose of collecting dust containing an evaporation component of the hot melt adhesive in the glue container 66. This is because the hot-melt adhesive (for example, hot-melt synthetic rubber) accommodated in the glue container 66 generates an evaporation component when it is dissolved. This evaporative component contains the main component of the adhesive or the added adhesive modifier, etc., and is finely dispersed and scattered in the apparatus and adheres to internal components, sheet bundles, etc. Bring. The suction means 70 effectively collects the evaporated component before adhering to the sheet bundle or the like.

  For this reason, the hood 71 is disposed on an appropriate apparatus frame so as to substantially cover the upper surface of the glue container 66 at the retracted position Hp. Accordingly, at the standby position Wp, the evaporation component in the glue container 66 evaporates toward the hood 71. A duct 72 is connected to the hood 71, and the duct 72 is configured to vent to the outside of the apparatus (outside of the exterior case) or to ventilate an appropriate place in the apparatus. A suction fan 73 is built in the duct 72, and a fan motor Mf is connected to the suction fan 73. A filter 74 for dust filtration is provided in the duct 72.

  With this configuration, an air flow sucked by the suction fan 73 is generated in the duct 72, the above-mentioned evaporation component is sucked, and the scattered substance contained in the evaporation component is filtered and removed by the filter 74. The filter 74 is made of a filter cloth such as felt, and is made of a filter material such as activated carbon when removing odor. The above-described configuration of the suction means 70 may be a configuration in which the evaporation component is forcibly sucked by a duct covering the upper part of the glue container 66 without necessarily providing the hood 71. For example, it is possible to use a cooling fan that introduces cool air (outside air) into the apparatus without being incorporated in the duct 72.

  The suction means 70 configured as described above is controlled as follows. FIGS. 6A to 6C are explanatory views of the operating state of the suction means 70, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart for operating the suction means. As described above, the illustrated glue container 66 is configured to apply adhesive to the glue application end surface S1 of the sheet bundle by reciprocating between the home position Hp, the standby position Wp, and the return position Rp. The setting is as described above. Therefore, the operation of the suction means 70 is controlled by the method described below.

(1) Control for operating the suction means 70 by moving the glue container 66 that reciprocates between the standby position Wp and the return position Rp to the retracted position Hp when the glue temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature.
As described above, when the adhesive is applied to the sheet bundle continuously fed and set to the glue application position P3, when the glue temperature reaches a predetermined temperature or higher, the glue container 66 is moved to the retreat position Hp. And the suction means 70 is operated. When the temperature sensor 66c attached to the glue container 66 reaches the “set temperature” or higher, the control is performed by controlling the shift motor MS to move the glue container 66 to the retracted position Hp and stop at this position. . The fan motor Mf is activated before and after the container movement, and an air suction flow is generated in the duct 72. As a result, the above-mentioned evaporation component is sucked into the duct and collected and filtered. At the same time, the paste fan 66 is cooled by the operation of the suction fan 73.

  In the above operation, whether the application operation is interrupted when the glue temperature becomes equal to or higher than the set temperature and the glue container 66 is moved to the retracted position Hp or after the operation is finished is set according to the apparatus configuration. It is preferable to select the former when emphasizing the prevention of scattering of evaporation components (unpleasant odors and foreign substances), and selecting the latter when emphasizing the efficiency of the bookbinding process. As shown in FIG. 7, the operating time of the fan motor Mf is detected by the temperature sensor 66c when the temperature of the adhesive in the glue container is adjusted below the set temperature, and the glue container 66 is moved to a predetermined operating position. Return to. Further, unlike FIG. 7, whether to return the glue container 66 to, for example, the standby position Wp at a predetermined activation timing is selected according to the device configuration.

(2) When the apparatus is activated, the glue container 66 is positioned at the retracted position Hp and the suction means is operated.
When the apparatus is started up, for example, when the apparatus power is turned on, the adhesive temperature is raised to the optimum temperature by the heating means 66b of the glue container 66. At this time, the glue container 66 is moved to the retreat position Hp (as shown in the figure). When the temperature sensor 66c detects a set temperature or higher (overheated state), the fan motor Mf is activated and the suction means 70 is operated. Then, after the adhesive is cooled to the optimum temperature by the control method shown in FIG. 7, the fan motor Mf is stopped and the glue container 66 is moved to the standby position Wp.

  The “set temperature” set in advance when operating the suction means 70 by the above-described method is higher than the melting point of the adhesive, and has a large amount of evaporation components in an overheating state higher than the optimum temperature applied to the sheet bundle. It is set in advance according to the adhesive to be used.

  Next, the configuration of the cover binding portion B3 will be described. The bookbinding path T4 is provided with a cover binding position P4 on the downstream side of the glue application position P3, and the cover sheet conveying path T3 is arranged in a direction orthogonal to the bookbinding path T4 at the cover binding position P4. Back folding plates 58a and 58b and a back plate 59 are arranged at the cover binding position P4 located at this intersection. The back folding plates 58a and 58b are composed of a pair of left and right plate-like members across the cover sheet conveyance path T3, and are provided so as to be movable between positions that are separated from each other (retracted positions) and are in contact with each other. It is connected to the press motor Mp.

  The back plate 59 is disposed so as to be movable between a retracted position retracted from the cover sheet conveyance path T3 and an operating position entering the path, and is connected to an operating means (not shown) such as an electromagnetic solenoid. Yes. Therefore, the sheet bundle coated with the adhesive by the coating roll 67 is transported to the cover binding position P4 by the grip transport means 55. At this time, the cover sheet is already fed and set from the cover sheet conveyance path T3 to the cover binding position P4. In this configuration, the sheet bundle is transferred from the bookbinding path T4 to the cover binding position P4 with the back folding plates 58a and 58b positioned at the retracted position and the backrest plate 59 positioned at the operating position.

  Then, the sheet bundle is joined to the cover sheet in an inverted T shape. At this time, the back plate 59 supports the cover sheet as a backup. Next, when the back folding plate 58 is moved from the retracted position to the operating position, the left and right back folding plates 58a and 58b press-mold the back portion of the cover sheet. In this process, the adhesive applied to the sheet bundle is solidified to bind the cover sheet and the sheet bundle.

  Next, the configuration of the trimming cutting part B4 will be described. As described above, the sheet bundle that is bound together with the cover sheet in a booklet form is sent to the folding roll 60 on the downstream side by the grip conveying means 55. At this time, the back plate 59 and the back folding plates 58a and 58b are respectively retracted to the retracted positions. In the bookbinding path T4, a cutting position P5 is provided on the downstream side of the cover binding position P4, and a cutting means 61 is disposed. The cutting unit 61 includes a rotary table 62, a cutting edge press unit 63, and a cutting blade 64, which are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the bookbinding path T4. The rotary table 62 grips the sheet bundle sent from the folding roll 60 and deflects the direction, and simultaneously conveys the lower end edge of the sheet bundle so as to form a cutting margin set in advance at the cutting position P5. . Therefore, the rotary table 62 is provided with a turning motor and a lifting motor.

  The cutting position P5 includes a cutting blade 64 and a cutter motor Mc that drives the cutting blade 64, and cuts a sheet bundle by a predetermined amount. The illustrated cutting blade 64 is constituted by a flat blade cutter, and is supported by the apparatus frame so as to be movable between a standby posture retracted from the bookbinding path T4 and the cutting posture shown in FIG. 2, and is reciprocated by a cutter motor Mc. The sheet bundle is cut by the above.

  Next, the storage stack portion B5 will be described. On the downstream side of the cutting blade 64, a stacker 65 for accommodating a sheet bundle and a waste disposal tray 66 are disposed. The cut sheet bundle is stored in a box-shaped stacker 65 by a paper discharge roller 67. In addition, a waste disposal tray 66 is provided adjacent to the stacker 65, and accommodates paper scraps cut by the upstream cutting blade 64. Reference numeral 100 denotes a sweeper member that swings so as to guide paper scraps from the cutting blade 64 to a waste disposal tray, and includes a drive motor (not shown).

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming system including a bookbinding apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a main part of a bookbinding apparatus in the system of FIG. 1. The internal structure of the adhesive agent storage container concerning this invention is shown, (a) is the sectional drawing, (b) is sectional drawing different from (a). Explanatory drawing of the grip conveyance means in the system of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the shift structure which moves the adhesive agent storage container of FIG. 4 along a sheet | seat bundle. It is explanatory drawing which shows the application | coating operation | movement of the adhesive agent storage container of FIG. 4, and the operation state of a suction means, (a) is the state of a retracted position, (b) is the state of a standby position, (c) is the state of a return position. Show. The block diagram which shows the control structure of a suction means.

Explanation of symbols

B1 Stacking part B2 Adhesive application part B3 Cover binding part B4 Trimming cutting part B5 Storage stack part P1 Stacking position P2 Unloading position P3 Adhesive application position (glue application position)
T1 sheet carry-in path T2 middle sheet transport path T3 cover sheet transport path T4 bookbinding path 42 stacking tray 55 grip transport means 55a, 55b main grippers 56a, 56b sub gripper 61 cutting means 66 glue container 66a container main body 66b heater (heating means)
66c Temperature sensor 67 Application roll 67a Rotating shaft 68 Guide rail 69 Timing belt 70 Suction means 71 Hood 72 Duct 73 Suction fan 74 Filter MR Roll rotation motor MS Shift motor

Claims (8)

Sheet bundle holding means for holding the sheet bundle at the adhesive application position;
Application means for applying an adhesive to a sheet bundle at the adhesive application position;
An adhesive container that includes the application means and contains a hot-melt adhesive inside;
Heating means for heating and melting the adhesive stored in the adhesive storage container;
Container moving means for moving the adhesive storage container to a retracted position separated from the adhesive application position;
A suction means for sucking the evaporated component of the adhesive from the adhesive storage container,
The adhesive applicator characterized in that the suction means is arranged above the adhesive storage container located at the retracted position. The suction means includes a vacuum duct, a suction fan, and a filter that filters the evaporated component of the adhesive,
The adhesive applicator according to claim 1, wherein the suction port of the vacuum duct is disposed above a retracted position of the adhesive container. The adhesive container is provided with temperature detecting means for detecting the adhesive temperature,
The adhesive application device according to claim 2, wherein the suction fan is driven by suction when the temperature of the adhesive detected by the temperature detection means is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature. The adhesive container is supported by the apparatus frame so as to be movable with respect to the sheet bundle held by the sheet bundle holding means,
4. The adhesive application device according to claim 1, wherein the container moving unit reciprocates the adhesive container along an edge of the sheet bundle. 5. The container moving means moves the adhesive container between a retracted position separated from the adhesive application position, a standby position adjacent to the base end edge of the sheet bundle, and a return position adjacent to the other end edge of the sheet bundle. Controlled to reciprocate,
5. The adhesive application according to claim 4, wherein the application unit provided in the adhesive storage container applies the adhesive to the sheet bundle in a process of reciprocating between the standby position and the return position. apparatus. The adhesive container is provided with a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the internal adhesive,
6. The adhesive application device according to claim 5, wherein the container moving means holds the adhesive storage container at the retracted position when the temperature of the adhesive is raised to a predetermined temperature when the apparatus is activated. The adhesive container is provided with a temperature detecting means for detecting an adhesive temperature inside,
The container moving means moves the adhesive container to the retracted position when the adhesive temperature in the adhesive container is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature when moving the adhesive container from the return position to the standby position. 5. The adhesive application device according to claim 4, wherein the adhesive application device moves to a standby position. Sheet stacking means for stacking sheets sequentially delivered from the discharge port in a bundle;
A sheet bundle conveying unit configured to convey and set a sheet bundle from the sheet stacking unit to a predetermined adhesive application position;
Application means for applying an adhesive to a sheet bundle at the adhesive application position;
An adhesive container that includes the application means and contains a hot-melt adhesive inside;
Container moving means for moving the adhesive container along the edge of the sheet bundle set at the adhesive application position;
A cover binding means that is disposed downstream of the adhesive application position and joins a cover sheet to an edge of the sheet bundle,
The container moving means is configured to move the adhesive storage container to a retracted position spaced apart from the adhesive application position;
The bookbinding apparatus, wherein a suction means for sucking an evaporated component of the adhesive from the adhesive storage container is disposed at the retracted position.

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