JP2008094567A - Paper processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To layer paper in a bundle with excellent reproducibility, in a tip aligned state of the paper of hourly changing in the thickness, by raking a paper surface in an optimal position, when holding paper. <P>SOLUTION: This paper processor for aligning and temporarily holding predetermined paper 3', has a paper carrying part 10 carrying the paper 3' to a predetermined position, and a binding paper aligning unit 30 for aligning and temporarily holding a plurality of paper 3' carried by this paper carrying part 10. The binding paper aligning unit 30 has a paper tip abutting mechanism 39 abutting on a shutter 83 arranged with the tip of the paper 3' as a reference position. The paper tip abutting mechanism 39 adjusts a position for raking in the paper surface based on the intrusion number of the paper 3' to the unit 30. This constitution can rake the paper surface in an optimal position adjusted by following the intrusion number of the paper 3'. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper processing apparatus suitable for use in a binder paper aligning unit that aligns and binds recording paper output from a black-and-white or color copier or printing apparatus. Specifically, the paper holding means for temporarily holding a plurality of sheets of paper is provided with a paper tip abutting mechanism, and when the leading edge of the paper is brought into contact with the reference position, based on the number of sheets entering the paper holding means. The position where the paper surface is scraped is adjusted so that the paper surface can be scraped at the optimal position adjusted following the number of paper entering, and the leading edge of the paper whose thickness changes from moment to moment is aligned. Thus, the paper can be stacked in a bundle (booklet) with good reproducibility.

  In recent years, there are many cases where a punching device is used in combination with a black-and-white and color copier or printing device. According to this type of punching apparatus, the recording paper after image formation is received and punched on the downstream side of the paper using the punch function. The punched sheets are aligned again, and the binding process such as ring binding is automatically performed using the holes.

  By the way, a sheet storage unit is provided on the downstream side of the punch processing unit, and the sheets are aligned and temporarily stored in preparation for the binding process. The sheet holding unit has a height of the conveyance path larger than the sheet conveyance path through which one sheet passes so that a plurality of sheets can be reserved. On the other hand, a paddle wheel is arranged in the paper transport path, and a scraping operation for aligning the front end of the paper to the reference position and a side-by-side operation for pressing the paper in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction and aligning the lateral edges are performed. Yes.

  The paddle wheel is provided with a single fin on one side or a plurality of sides, the paper is scraped by the bending repulsive force of the fin, and the front end of the paper is aligned with the reference position. In addition, the paper side-by-side processing is dealt with by a paper side-by-side operation that presses the paper in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction and aligns the horizontal edges.

  In connection with this type of paddle wheel, Patent Document 1 discloses a post-processing apparatus for a copying machine. According to this post-processing device, the paper storage unit includes a paddle wheel that scrapes the paper to a predetermined position, and the paddle wheel that is in contact with the paper storage surface during the stapling process is moved to the paper storage surface after the staple processing is completed. It is made to separate from. In this way, the bookbinding product can be discharged from the paper storage unit without being caught on the paddle wheel.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 01-58560 (first page, FIG. 1)

  However, the sheet processing apparatus according to the conventional method has the following problems with respect to the paddle wheel provided with fins.

  i. The paddle wheel is raked by the bending repulsion force of the fins, so if the stacked paper is thin, the paper will be misaligned at the reference position if there is no bending repulsion force. End up. Further, when the sheets stacked and held in the sheet holding portion are thickened, the bending repulsive force of the fins becomes strong, and the sheets may be buckled.

  ii. Incidentally, an up / down mechanism that addresses the above problems by changing the height of the paddle wheel can be considered, but simply raising the paddle wheel by a certain amount changes the thickness of the paper bundle depending on the type of paper. There is a problem that the pressing force acts as a conveyance resistance and jamming occurs, or the paper is completely separated from the paddle wheel and the effect of scratching cannot be obtained sufficiently.

  In view of this, the present invention solves the above-described problems. When the paper is held, the paper surface is scraped at an optimal position set in stages, and the leading edge of the paper whose thickness changes from moment to moment. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet processing apparatus in which the sheets can be stacked in a bundle with good reproducibility in an aligned state.

  In order to solve the above problems, a paper processing apparatus according to the present invention is a paper processing apparatus that aligns predetermined papers and temporarily holds them, a paper transporting means for transporting papers to a predetermined position, and the paper transporting means. A sheet holding unit that aligns and temporarily holds a plurality of conveyed sheets, and the sheet holding unit has a sheet tip contact mechanism that contacts the leading end of the sheet to the reference position, and the sheet tip contact mechanism Is characterized in that the position to scrape the sheet surface is adjusted based on the number of sheets entering the sheet holding means.

  According to the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, when a plurality of sheets are aligned and temporarily held, the sheet conveying unit conveys the sheet to a predetermined position. The paper holding means aligns and temporarily holds a plurality of sheets conveyed by the paper conveying means. A paper front end abutting mechanism provided in the paper holding means abuts the front end of the paper at the reference position. Based on this assumption, the paper leading edge abutting mechanism adjusts the position where the paper surface is scraped on the basis of the number of sheets entering the paper holding means.

  Accordingly, it is possible to scrape the paper surface at an optimum position that is adjusted step by step following the number of sheets entering the paper.

  According to the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, the sheet holding unit that temporarily holds a plurality of sheets in a single line is provided with the sheet leading end abutting mechanism, and when the leading end of the sheet contacts the reference position, the sheet holding unit The position for scraping the sheet surface is adjusted based on the number of sheets entering the sheet.

  With this configuration, the sheet surface can be scraped at an optimum position adjusted according to the number of sheets entering. As a result, the sheets can be stacked in a bundle (booklet) with good reproducibility, with the leading edges of the sheets changing in thickness from moment to moment.

  Hereinafter, a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration example of a binding device 100 to which a paper processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

  A binding apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 constitutes an example of a paper processing apparatus, punches recording paper (hereinafter simply referred to as paper 3) output from a copier or printing apparatus, and then performs predetermined binding components (consumables). ) 43 for binding and discharging. Of course, the sheet processing apparatus may be applied only to an apparatus that arranges predetermined sheets 3 and temporarily holds them. The binding device 100 has a device main body (housing) 101. The binding apparatus 100 is preferably used side by side with a copying machine, a printing machine (image forming apparatus), and the like, and the apparatus main body 101 has a height comparable to that of a copying machine, a printing machine, or the like.

  In the apparatus main body 101, a paper transport unit 10 that constitutes an example of a paper transport unit is provided. The paper transport unit 10 includes a first transport path 11 and a second transport path 12. The transport path 11 has a paper feed port 13 and a discharge port 14, and has a through-pass function for transporting the paper 3 drawn from the paper feed port 13 toward the discharge port 14 at a predetermined position.

  Here, the through-pass function means that the conveyance path 11 positioned between the upstream copying machine or printing machine and the downstream downstream sheet processing apparatus transfers the sheet 3 from the copying machine or printing machine to another sheet processing apparatus. A function that directly transfers When this through-pass function is selected, the later-described conveyance roller acceleration processing, binding processing, and the like are omitted. The sheet 3 is usually sent face down in the case of single-sided copying. A paper feed sensor 111 is attached to the paper feed port 13 to detect the leading edge of the paper 3 and output a paper feed detection signal S11 to the control unit 50.

  The transport path 12 has a switchback function capable of switching the transport path from the transport path 11. Here, the switchback function decelerates and stops the conveyance of the sheet 3 at a predetermined position in the conveyance path 11, and then switches the conveyance path of the sheet 3 from the conveyance path 11 to the conveyance path 12, and The function to send in the reverse direction. The conveyance path 11 is provided with a flap 15 so that the conveyance path is switched from the conveyance path 11 to the conveyance path 12.

  Three transfer rollers 17c, 19a 'and 19a are provided at a switching point between the transfer path 11 and the transfer path 12. The transport rollers 17c and 19a rotate clockwise, and the transport roller 19a 'rotates counterclockwise. For example, the transport roller 19a 'is a driving roller and the transport rollers 17c and 19a are driven rollers. The sheet 3 taken in by the transport rollers 17c and 19a 'decelerates and stops. However, when the flap 15 is switched from the upper position to the lower position, the paper 3 is fed by the transport rollers 19a' and 19a and transported to the transport path 12. The A paper detection sensor 114 is disposed in front of the three transport rollers 17c, 19a ′, 19a, and detects the front and rear ends of the paper and outputs a paper detection signal S14 to the control unit 50. .

  A punch processing unit 20 is disposed on the downstream side of the conveyance path 12. In this example, the conveyance path 11 and the conveyance path 12 are designed to have a predetermined angle. For example, a first depression angle θ <b> 1 is set between the conveyance surface of the conveyance path 11 and the sheet punching surface of the punch processing unit 20. Here, the paper perforated surface is a surface for perforating the paper 3. The punch processing unit 20 is disposed so as to set the sheet perforated surface at a position having a depression angle θ1 with respect to the transport surface of the transport path 11.

  The punch processing unit 20 switches back from the transport path 11 and punches two or more binding holes (hereinafter referred to as holes) at one end of the paper 3 transported by the transport path 12. The punch processing unit 20 includes, for example, a motor 22 that drives a punch blade 21 that can reciprocate. The sheets 3 are punched one by one by a punch blade 21 driven by a motor 22.

  An openable / closable fence 24 serving as a reference for the punching position is provided in the punch processing unit 20, and is used to apply the paper 3. Further, the punch processing unit 20 is provided with a side jogger 23 to correct the posture of the paper 3. For example, the front end of the sheet 3 is in contact with the openable / closable fence 24 evenly. The fence 24 serves as a position reference when aligning the sheet edge. A paper detection sensor 118 is provided in front of the side jogger 23 to detect the front and rear edges of the paper and output a paper detection signal S18 to the control unit 50.

  The punch processing unit 20 stops the sheet 3 by bringing it into contact with the fence 24, and then punches the leading end of the sheet 3. A punch residue storage 26 is provided below the punch processing body so as to store punch scraps cut off by the punch blade 21. A discharge roller 25 is provided on the downstream side of the punch processing unit 20 so as to convey the sheet 3 'after punching the sheet to the next stage unit.

  On the downstream side of the punch processing unit 20, a binder paper alignment unit 30 which is an example of a paper storage unit is arranged, and the positions of the holes of the plurality of sheets 3 ′ discharged from the punch processing unit 20 are temporarily aligned. It is made to hold (accumulate). The binder paper alignment unit 30 is disposed so as to set the paper holding surface at a position having the second depression angle θ2 with respect to the conveyance surface of the conveyance unit 11. Here, the sheet retaining surface refers to a surface that retains (stacks) the sheets 3 ′ having the holes. In this example, the relationship between the depression angle θ1 and the depression angle θ2 is set to θ1 <θ2. The depression angle θ1 is set to 0 ° <θ1 <45 °, and the depression angle θ2 is set to 0 ° <θ2 <90 °. This setting is for reducing the width of the main apparatus 101 and for conveying the sheet 3 'linearly under this condition.

  The binder paper alignment unit 30 has a paper curl pressing mechanism 31. The paper curl pressing mechanism 31 is disposed in the vicinity of the paper entrance in the unit 30, and guides the paper 3 ′ to a predetermined position (paper holding portion 32, etc.) of the binder paper alignment unit 30 when the paper enters, and the paper entry is completed. Sometimes, the operation of pressing the rear end side of the sheet 3 'is taken over before and after the sheet 3'.

  Further, the binder paper alignment unit 30 has a paper tip contact mechanism 39. In this example, the paper front end abutting mechanism 39 adjusts the upper position where the paper surface is scraped based on the number of sheets 3 ′ entering the binder paper alignment unit 30. The unit 30 is provided with a paddle roller 37 that constitutes an example of a multi-spindle-shaped rotating member so that the leading edge of the sheet 3 ′ comes into contact with the reference position when the sheet enters. Note that the side edges of the sheet 3 ′ are offset by the side jogger 70 so as to align the sheet bundle.

  The binder paper alignment unit 30 further has a clamp moving mechanism 80. The clamp moving mechanism 80 is configured to move the sheet bundle 3 ″ obtained by stacking the sheets 3 ′ after the sheet punching by the clamp member and move in the sheet conveying direction.

  Further, a bind processing unit 40 is disposed downstream of the binder paper alignment unit 30, and a booklet 90 is created by binding a plurality of sheet bundles 3 ″ aligned by the unit 30 with a binding component 43. The booklet 90 is a sheet bundle 3 ″ in which the binding component 43 is fitted and bound.

  In this example, the bind processing unit 40 has a moving mechanism 41. The moving mechanism 41 moves so as to reciprocate between the paper conveyance direction of the binder paper alignment unit 30 and the position orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance unit 11 described above. The binding processing unit 40 includes a binder (binding component) cassette 42. A plurality of binding components are set in the binder cassette 42. The binding components are, for example, injection molded, and a plurality of types are prepared according to the thickness of the sheet bundle 3 ″.

  For example, the moving mechanism 41 pulls out and holds one binding component 43 from the binder cassette 42 at a position orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance unit 11, and in this state, a position where the paper conveyance direction of the binder paper alignment unit 30 can be seen. To turn. At this position, the bind processing unit 40 receives the sheet bundle 3 ″ in which the punch holes are positioned from the binder paper aligning unit 30, and inserts the binding component 43 into the punch holes to execute the binding process (automatic bookbinding function). ).

  A discharge unit 60 is disposed on the downstream side of the bind processing unit 40, and the booklet 90 created by the bind processing unit 40 is discharged. The discharge unit 60 includes, for example, a first belt unit 61, a second belt unit 62, and a stacker 63.

  The belt unit 61 receives the booklet 90 falling from the binder paper alignment unit 30 and switches the sending direction. For example, the belt unit main body is turned in a predetermined discharge direction from a position where the binder paper alignment unit 30 can see the paper conveyance direction.

  The belt unit 62 constitutes an example of a booklet transport unit, and receives the booklet 90 whose sending direction is switched by the belt unit 61 and transports the booklet 90 by relay. The stacker 63 constitutes an example of a booklet accumulating unit, and stores the booklet 90 conveyed by the belt units 61 and 62.

  Next, a paper processing method according to the present invention will be described. 2A to 2D are process diagrams illustrating an example of functions of the binding device 100.

  The sheet 3 shown in FIG. 2A is fed from the upstream side of the binding device 100. The punch hole is not opened. The sheet 3 ′ is transported toward a predetermined position on the transport path 11 illustrated in FIG. 1, and is decelerated and stopped at a predetermined position on the transport path 11. Thereafter, the conveyance path of the sheet 3 ′ is switched from the conveyance path 11 to the conveyance path 12, and the sheet 3 is sent in the reverse direction and conveyed to the punch processing unit 20.

  In the punch processing unit 20, as shown in FIG. 2B, a predetermined number of binding holes are formed at one end of the paper 3. The sheet 3 ′ on which the binding hole is formed is conveyed to the binder sheet aligning unit 30. In the binder paper alignment unit 30, when the number of sheets 3 ′ reaches a preset number of sheets and becomes the sheet bundle 3 ″ shown in FIG. 2C, the positions of the binding holes are aligned and cooperate with the bind processing unit 40. Then, the binding component 43 is inserted into the hole portion, whereby a booklet 90 as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the binder paper alignment unit 30 and shows a state where the shutter 83 is opened. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the paper leading end contact mechanism 39 and the peripheral mechanism. The binder paper alignment unit 30 shown in FIG. 3 aligns and temporarily holds the paper 3 'conveyed by the paper conveyance unit 10 shown in FIG.

  The binder paper alignment unit 30 has a paper front end abutting mechanism 39 in the vicinity of the center right side of the paper storage unit 32 so that the front end of the paper 3 ′ is brought into contact with the reference position by the paddle roller 37 when the paper enters. To be made. The paper leading edge abutting mechanism 39 adjusts the upper position where the paper surface is scraped based on the number of sheets 3 ′ entering the binder paper alignment unit 30. The paper holding unit 32 accumulates the paper 3 'and temporarily holds it.

  A shutter 83 is provided in the vicinity of the paper carry-out port of the paper holding unit 32, and the paper conveyance path is closed when paper bundles are aligned. On the inner side of the shutter 83 (on the paper storage unit 32 side), the clamp member including the movable upper arm 801a and the fixed lower arm 801b of the clamp moving mechanism 80 is opened, and the paper 3 'is bundled in this state. When the paper is carried out, the shutter 83 is opened, and the paper bundle is sandwiched between the upper arm 801a and the lower arm 801b and carried out to the next process.

  4 includes, for example, a paddle drive mechanism 703, a paddle attitude control mechanism 706, and a paddle HP sensor 724. The sheet tip contact mechanism (paddle roller unit) 39 illustrated in FIG.

  The paddle drive mechanism 703 is configured such that the leading edge of the paper 3 ′ that has entered the binder paper alignment unit 30 comes into contact with the reference position. The paddle drive mechanism 703 includes, for example, a rotary main body 701, first and second belt drive shafts 702 and 713, a main body arm 707, a motor 708, a first belt 709, and a second belt 710. The first belt drive shaft 702 is cantilevered, and the rotary main body 701 is fixed to the tip of the belt drive shaft 702 by screwing or the like.

  A pair of paddles 705a and 705b are arranged on the rotating main body 701. In this example, a combination of the rotating main body 701, the fins 704, and the paddles 705a and 705b is referred to as a paddle roller 37. The paddle roller 37 has a multiple fin structure. According to this structure, a plurality of multiple fins formed by stacking two or more fins 704 having a predetermined thickness and a predetermined elasticity are provided around the rotary main body 701. This structure maintains the bending repulsive force of the fin 704 within an appropriate range even if the bending state of the fin 704 changes as the thickness of the stacked sheet bundle 3 ″ changes, and the paddle roller 37 This is in order to suitably secure the scraping force.

  For example, the paddles 705a and 705b are arranged on the left and right sides of the rotating main body 701 so as to scrape the paper 3 '. Eight sets (45 degrees) of fins 704 are attached to the paddles 705a and 705b. The paddles 705a and 705b are formed by processing a thin rubber plate having a thickness of about 0.8 mm to 1.2 mm into a fin shape, and stacking the two on the outer periphery. An elastic member such as rubber is used for the fin 704.

  The rotary main body 701 is detachable from the belt drive shaft 702. During assembly, the rotary main body 701 is fitted into the belt drive shaft 702 and fixed with screws (not shown). At the time of disassembly, the screw is loosened, and the rotating main body 701 is handled so as to be pulled out from the belt drive shaft 702.

  The belt drive shaft 702 is movably engaged with bearing portions 711 and 712 provided on the main body arm portion 707. One of the first belts 709 is engaged with the belt drive shaft 702.

  A second belt drive shaft 713 is attached to the main body arm portion 707. A double pulley 714 for belt relay is rotatably attached to the belt drive shaft 713. The other end of the first belt 709 is hooked (engaged) with one of the double pulleys 714.

  One end of the second belt 710 is engaged with the other of the double pulley 714. The other end of the second belt 710 is engaged with a motor 708 that constitutes an example of a drive unit to drive the double pulley 714. The motor 708 is attached to a predetermined position of the binder paper alignment unit 30. For example, a stepping motor is used as the motor 708.

  In this example, the belt drive shaft 713 forms an up / down fulcrum shaft of the paddle drive mechanism 703. For example, a paddle up / down rack part (hereinafter referred to as a UD rack part 722) that constitutes a part of the paddle attitude control mechanism 706 is attached to the belt drive shaft 713. The UD rack portion 722 has a fan shape, and an arc portion thereof forms a part of a gear.

  A gear unit 726 having a reduction gear set with a predetermined reduction ratio is engaged with the UD rack portion 722. Further, a motor 728 is engaged with the gear unit 726, and a UD rack portion 722 driving force is applied to rotate forward and reverse. The gear unit 726 and the motor 728 are attached to predetermined positions of the binder paper alignment unit 30. For example, a stepping motor is used as the motor 728.

  Between the paddle drive mechanism 703 and the paddle attitude control mechanism 706 described above, a paddle roller home position detection sensor (hereinafter referred to as a paddle HP sensor 724) constituting an example of a detection unit is disposed, and the home position HP of the paddle roller 37 is disposed. And the paddle HP detection signal S24 is output to the control unit 50. A transmissive optical detection element is used for the paddle HP sensor.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of power transmission in the paddle drive mechanism 703. According to the driving force transmission example shown in FIG. 5, the rotational force of the motor 708 is transmitted from the belt 710 to the double pulley 714. The rotational force of the double pulley 714 is transmitted from the belt 709 to the belt drive shaft 702. When the belt drive shaft 702 rotates, the paddles (rotating body 701 + fins 704 shown in FIG. 4) 705a and 705b rotate. As a result, the paddle roller 37 using the two belts 709 and 710 can be rotationally controlled independently of the paddle attitude control mechanism 706.

  Table 1 shows the relationship among the pulse rate (pps), paddle rotation speed (rpm), and paddle peripheral speed (mm / s) of the motor 708.

  According to Table 1, when the pulse rate is 1000 (pps), the paddle rotation speed is 450 (rpm) and the paddle circumferential speed is 1413.7 (mm / s). In this example, the pulse rate is 1600 (pps), the paddle rotational speed is 720 (rpm), and the paddle peripheral speed is 2261.9 (mm / s) as shown by the hatched lines in Table 1. Constant pulse rate).

  In this example, the circumferential speed (circumferential speed) of the paddle roller 37 is set higher than the conveyance speed of the paper 3 ′ to the paper storage unit 32. When the peripheral speed is set high in this way, the sheet 3 'can be brought into contact with the reference position so as to be scraped at a high speed, so that the sheet 3' can be aligned at high speed.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a control example in the paddle attitude control mechanism 706. In this example, the paddle attitude control mechanism 706 has an up / down function for adjusting the height of the paddle roller 37. The paddle attitude control mechanism 706 controls the attitude of the paddle drive mechanism 703 based on the attitude detection signal S24 obtained from the paddle HP sensor 724.

  In this example, the motor 728 drives the main body arm portion 707 up and down with the belt drive shaft 713 as a reference. By this driving, the posture of the paddle driving mechanism 703 can be controlled.

  The distance between the belt drive shaft 702 and the belt drive shaft 713 of the paddle roller 37 shown in FIG. The inter-axis distance L is designed to be about 70 mm, for example. Further, in the figure, the position Pa is the home position HP of the main body arm portion 707, and the position Pb is the maximum rising position of the main body arm portion 707.

In this example, the main body arm portion 707 rotates around the belt drive shaft 713. Here, the moving distance in the vertical direction of the belt drive shaft 702, that is, the vertical distance from the lower position Pa to the upper position Pb is defined as a height h. In this example, the height h is set to about 20 mm. Here, when θ is the arm rotation angle of the main body arm portion 707, the arm rotation angle θ is about 17 ° (= sin ⁻¹ 20/70).

  According to the attitude control example shown in FIG. 6, regarding the rotation direction of the UD rack portion 722, the gear unit 726 (reduction gear), and the motor 728, the clockwise direction is “a” and the counterclockwise direction is “b”. . The home position HP of the paddle roller 37 is equal to the position Pa in the figure.

  In this example, when the motor 728 rotates counterclockwise “b” from the state where the main body arm portion 707 of the paddle roller 37 is at the home position HP shown in FIG. 6, the reduction gear of the gear unit 726 rotates clockwise. Rotate to a ". The UD rack portion 722 engaged with the gear unit 726 rotates counterclockwise “b”. Thereby, the main body arm portion 707 can be rotated from the home position HP to the upper position Pb in the drawing.

  Further, when the motor 728 rotates clockwise “a” from the state where the main body arm portion 707 is at the position Pb shown in FIG. 6, the reduction gear of the gear unit 726 rotates counterclockwise “b”. The UD rack portion 722 engaged with the gear unit 726 rotates clockwise “a”. Thereby, the main body arm portion 707 can be rotated so as to return to the home position HP (lower position Pa in the figure).

  7A and 7B are diagrams showing an example of the paddle roller 37 being up. The paddle roller 37 shown in FIG. 7A is a case where the number of sheets 3 ′ entering is small and the thickness is small. In the figure, p1 is a position indicating the center of the rotary main body 701 (belt drive shaft 702). The paddle 705a and the like press the fin 704 against the upper surface of the sheet bundle 3 ″ with a constant force.

  The paddle roller 37 shown in FIG. 7B is a case where the number of sheets 3 ′ entering is increased and the thickness is increased. The center position of the rotary body 701 (belt drive shaft 702) is raised by a distance h 'and moved to a position p2. Also at this time, the paddle 705a and the like press the fins 704 against the upper surface of the sheet bundle 3 ″ with the same constant force as when the sheet 3 ′ is thin (small).

  In either case, the paddle attitude control mechanism 706 gradually raises (ups) the paddle drive mechanism 703 with reference to the belt drive shaft (fulcrum shaft) 713, so that the fin 704 such as the paddle 705a and the like is fed with a constant force. As a result, the sheet surface can be scraped at the optimum positions p1, p2, etc. adjusted to follow the number of sheets entering the sheet. With this configuration, the sheet 3 ′ can be brought into contact with the reference position by the paddle roller 37 that is optimally adjusted above the sheet 3 ′ whose thickness changes every moment, and the sheet 3 ′ is bundled with good reproducibility. (Booklet) can be stacked.

  Next, the clamp moving mechanism 80 and its peripheral mechanisms will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the clamp moving mechanism 80 and its peripheral mechanisms.

  The clamp moving mechanism 80 shown in FIG. 8 includes a pair of up arm 801a and lower arm 801b that constitute the clamper 801. The clamp moving mechanism 80 is configured to move slightly from the sheet curl pressing mechanism 31 (see FIG. 3) to the downstream side along the sheet conveying direction by fixing the end of the sheet bundle 3 ″ on the hole side.

  The clamp moving mechanism 80 includes a main body substrate 81, a right clamp member 82a (not shown), a left clamp member 82b, a shutter 83, an alignment pin 85, a motor 86, a cam 87, and a gear unit 88. .

  Clamp members 82a and 82b are movably attached to the upper portions of both side ends of the main body substrate 81, and operate to hold and fix the bundled sheets 3 'and to release them freely. The clamp member 82b on the left end side includes, for example, a pinched member 801 and a joint plate 802 having a tip sword shape.

  The clamper 801 constituting the left clamp member 82b includes, for example, an up arm 801a and a lower arm 801b. A first clamp shaft (connecting rod) 803 is movably attached to one end of one upper arm 801a.

  A second clamp shaft 804 is movably attached to one end of the other lower arm 801b. The other ends of the upper arm 801a and the lower arm 801b are movably engaged with the fulcrum shaft member 805 together with the other end of the joint plate 802.

  A comb-shaped upper pressing member 84a is attached to the above-described clamp shaft 803, and a comb-shaped lower pressing member 84b is attached to the clamp shaft 804. The comb-shaped upper presser member 84a has a comb tooth portion cut into a U shape. The arrangement pitch of the comb teeth portion is equal to the arrangement pitch of the punch holes of the sheet bundle 3 ″.

  The joint plate 802 has an elongated opening 806 for restricting the opening and closing of the clamp that restricts the movement of the clamp shafts 803 and 804. The opening 806 is assembled so that the ends of the clamp shafts 803 and 804 are exposed.

  Since the clamp member 82a on the right end side is formed in the same manner as the left end side, description thereof is omitted. The clamp member 82b on the left end side and the clamp member 82a on the right end side are movably engaged by the fulcrum shaft member 805 described above at the rear end, and clamp shafts 803 and 804 attached to the clamper 801 at the front end. Is movably engaged with the joint plate 802. The left and right clamp members 82a and 82b move along the sheet conveyance direction while holding the bundled sheets 3 'with respect to the main body substrate 81. As a result, the clamp moving mechanism 80 is configured.

  The motor 86 is attached to a motor attachment area provided inside the left side surface portion. The motor 86 is engaged with the gear unit 88, converts the motor rotational speed by a predetermined gear ratio, and transmits the motor rotational force to the left 8-side cam 87b and the right cam 87a. One cam 87 b is attached to the gear unit 8. The cam 87b is attached to the other cam 87a via a cam interlocking member 809. The above-described upper arm 801a or 801b has a cam action portion. In each of the clamp members 82a and 82b, the cams 87a and 87b are pressed against the cam action portion of the upper arm 801a or the lower arm 801b, so that the pinching members 801 of the respective clamp members 82a and 82b are opened and closed synchronously. .

  A clamp HP sensor 821 is disposed in the vicinity of the above-described cam 87b, detects the home position (HP) of the clamper 801, and outputs a home position detection signal (hereinafter referred to as HP detection signal S21) to the control unit 50. Made. The home position HP of the clamper 801 is set to a position where the clamp moving mechanism 80 has moved most upward.

  Further, a sheet thickness detection sensor 822 constituting an example of a sheet thickness detection unit is disposed on the main body substrate 81 (in the unit), and a slit unit 823 is provided on the upper arm 801a, and is used in combination with the sheet thickness detection sensor 822. Is done. A transmissive photosensor is used as the paper thickness detection sensor 822.

  For example, the slit portion 823 has a slit shape with a predetermined pitch, and the sheet thickness detection sensor 822 detects the edge of the upper arm 801a every time the sheet bundle 3 ″ reaches a certain thickness, and the upper arm 801a opens and closes. By doing this, the sheet thickness is detected. In this example, the number of pulses to be raised by the paddle roller 37 is preset for each position of the thickness of each sheet bundle 3 ″. The position of the thickness of the sheet bundle 3 ″ is a position where the number passing through the slit is detected. Thus, the sheet thickness detection sensor 822 enters the binder sheet alignment unit 30 and is stacked (bundled). The sheet thickness detection signal S22 is output to the control unit 50 by detecting the thickness of 3 ′.

  Adjacent to the paper thickness detection sensor 822, a 50-sheet thickness detection sensor (hereinafter referred to as 50-sheet sensor 824) is disposed on the main body substrate 81, and a light-shielding portion 825 is provided on the upper arm 801a. Used in combination with 824. The 50 sheet detection sensor 824 detects the thickness when 50 sheets of the sheet 3 ′ are bundled and outputs a 50 sheet detection signal S 42 to the control unit 50.

  9 and 10 are diagrams showing an operation example (parts 1 and 2) of the clamp moving mechanism 80. FIG.

  The clamp moving mechanism 80 shown in FIG. 9 is in a state where the clamper 801 is fully opened. According to the clamp moving mechanism 80 in this state, when the paper is aligned, the clamp shaft 804 is disposed in the elongated opening (groove) of the joint plate 802 so that the lower arm 801b of the clamper 801 is disposed flush with the running surface of the paper storage unit 32. ) 806 to be fixed. The upper arm 801a is fully opened with respect to the lower arm 801b. The upper arm 801a is always urged in the closing direction by an elastic member such as a spiral spring or a string spring, and the clamper 801 is opened / closed by driving the clamp opening / closing cam 87b.

  The clamp moving mechanism 80 shown in FIG. 10 is in a state in which the clamper 801 holds (holds) the sheet bundle 3 ″. According to the clamp moving mechanism 80 in this state, the upper pressing member 84a of the upper arm 801a of the clamper 801 and The sheet bundle 3 ″ is clamped by the lower pressing member 84b of the lower arm 801b.

  In this example, when the clamper 801 is closed, the sheet thickness detection sensor 822 detects how many slits the slit portion 825 of the upper arm 801a has passed. Since the closed position of the upper arm 801a increases every time the thickness of the bundled sheets 3 ′ (sheet bundle 3 ″) increases, the number of slits passing through the sheet thickness detection sensor 822 decreases. In this example, since the relationship between the point at which the slit decreases and the thickness of the sheet bundle 3 ″ is set in advance, the thickness of the clamped sheet bundle 3 ″ can be detected.

  Note that only the clamper 801 of the clamp moving mechanism 80 moves to the binding unit in the binding unit which is the next step of the bind paper alignment unit 30. At the same time, the upper arm 801a moves to the binding unit by retracting the clamp opening / closing cam 87b. Accordingly, the cam 87b is disconnected from the drive, and the clamper 801 is always closed by the bias of the spring, so that the sheet bundle 3 ″ is held and moved to the downstream side (binding unit side). The

  Next, an example of the relationship among the paddle roller 37, the number of sheets, and the sheet thickness detection sensor 822 will be described. FIG. 11 is a graph showing an example of up / down adjustment of the paddle roller 37.

  11, the vertical axis represents the height h of the paddle roller 37 (see FIG. 6). In this example, the initial position Pa is, for example, 3.6 mm, which is the home position HP. The maximum position Pb is about 16.6 mm, for example. The horizontal axis represents the number of stacked sheets 3 '. In the figure, every ten sheets are surrounded by a square, such as 0, 10, 20. The step-like solid line shows an example of up / down adjustment of the paddle roller 37 by a predetermined pulse output to the motor driving unit 186.

  In this example, the paper thickness detection sensor 822 detects the number passing through the slit. The number of slits is set at, for example, five locations corresponding to the thickness of the sheet bundle 3 ″. In this example, when the number of sheets is small, for example, when the number of sheets 3 ′ is about 0 to 25, the clamper 801 is used. Is closed, the sheet thickness detection sensor 822 crosses the slit five times, and the case where the slit is crossed five times is defined as the number of edge detections = “5”. When the number of edge detections = “5” changes to “4”, for example, the control code “4” is set.

  Further, when the number of sheets is increased and the number of sheets 3 'is, for example, more than about 25 sheets and about 50 sheets, the slit is crossed four times in the same manner. This is defined as the number of edge detections = “4”. When the number of edge detections = “4” changes to “3”, for example, the control code “3” is set. Further, when the number of sheets increases and the number of sheets 3 'exceeds, for example, about 50 sheets and about 75 sheets, the slit is crossed three times. This is defined as the number of edge detections = “3”. When the number of edge detections = “3” changes to “2”, for example, the control code “2” is set.

  Furthermore, when the number of sheets increases and the number of sheets 3 'exceeds, for example, about 75 sheets and about 100 sheets, the slit is crossed twice. This is defined as the number of edge detections = “2”. When the number of edge detections = “2” changes to “1”, for example, the control code “1” is set. When the number of sheets increases and the number of sheets 3 'exceeds 100, the slits are crossed once. This is defined as the number of edge detections = “1”. When the number of edge detections = “1” changes to “0”, for example, a control code “0” is set. Note that the case where the thickness of the maximum sheet bundle 3 ″ handled by the bind sheet aligning unit 30 is exceeded is a case where the slit is not traversed at all (0 times). This is defined as the number of edge detections = “0”. The control code is set to “0”.

  In this example, the 50 sheet detection sensor 824 detects whether or not the half of the maximum sheet bundle 3 ″ handled by the bind sheet aligning unit 30 has been reached. For example, the sheet 3 ′ has 0 to 60 sheets. During the detection period, a high level signal is output to the control unit 50. The period during which the sheet 3 ′ exceeds 60 sheets and reaches the maximum sheet bundle 3 ″ is detected during the low period. A level signal is output to the control unit 50.

  In the figure, (a), (b), (c), and (d) are four correction points. In this example, the height h of the paddle roller 37 is adjusted when the clamper 801 is closed and the falling edge of the sheet thickness detection signal S28 is detected.

  At the correction point (a), the height h of the paddle roller 37 is adjusted downward. This is a correction corresponding to the thickness of the sheet bundle 3 ′ when the number of sheets entering by the sheet detection sensor 119 is detected, for example, 28 sheets. The target height (target increase amount) of the paddle roller 37 corresponding to the thickness of the sheet bundle 3 ′ when 28 sheets are detected is h ′ = 6.2 mm from the graph. The target height h ′ is a set value obtained by outputting a predetermined pulse based on the number of entering vehicles to the motor driving unit 186.

  On the other hand, the actual value obtained from the paper thickness detection sensor 822 is the height h (i) = 5.5 mm of the paddle roller 37 from the graph. There is a difference between the set value = 6.2 mm and the actual value of 5.5 mm. In order to eliminate this difference, at the correction point (a), when the falling edge of the sheet thickness detection signal S28 is detected, the initial value of the set value from the alignment of the sheets 3 ′ exceeding 28 sheets is changed from 6.2 mm. By rewriting to 5.5 mm, a predetermined pulse based on the number of entering sheets is output to the motor driving unit 186.

  In this example, even at the correction points (b) and (c), the height h of the paddle roller 37 is adjusted down with respect to the height h (ii) and (iii) of the paddle roller 37. Refer to the correction point (a) for these correction contents.

  At the correction point (d), the height h of the paddle roller 37 is adjusted up. This is a correction corresponding to the thickness of the sheet bundle 3 ′ when the number of sheets entering by the sheet detection sensor 119 is detected, for example, 100 sheets. The target height of the paddle roller 37 corresponding to the thickness of the sheet bundle 3 ′ when 100 sheets are detected reaches h ′ = 11.5 mm. The target height h ′ is a set value obtained by outputting a predetermined pulse based on the number of entering vehicles to the motor driving unit 186.

  On the other hand, the actual value obtained from the sheet thickness detection sensor 822 is the height h (iv) of the paddle roller 37 = 12.2 mm. There is a difference between the set value = 11.5 mm and the actual value 12.2 mm. In order to eliminate this difference, when the falling edge of the sheet thickness detection signal S28 is detected at the correction point (d), the initial value of the set value from the alignment of the sheet 3 ′ exceeding 100 sheets is changed from 11.5 mm. By rewriting to 12.2 mm, a predetermined pulse according to the number of entering sheets is output to the motor driving unit 186. As a result, it is possible to execute control for raising or lowering the paddle roller 37 based on the difference between the raising amount of the paddle roller 37 and the target raising amount.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a control system of the binder paper alignment unit 30.

  12 includes motor drive units 35 and 36, a sheet thickness detection sensor 822, a 50-sheet detection sensor 824, a paddle HP sensor 724, a press roller HP sensor 115, a curl fence HP sensor 117, A paper detection sensor 119, a discharge roller driving unit 122, and motor driving units 180 to 186 are connected.

  The sheet detection sensor 119 constitutes an example of a sheet number detection unit, detects the number of sheets 3 ′ discharged from the punch processing unit 20, and outputs a sheet number detection signal S <b> 19 to the control unit 50.

  A discharge roller rotating motor 205 is connected to the discharge roller driving unit 122. The discharge roller driving unit 122 receives the motor control signal S22 from the control unit 50, drives the motor 205, and rotates the discharge roller 25. The sheet 3 ′ discharged from the punch processing unit 20 is conveyed by the rotation of the discharge roller 25 and enters the binder sheet aligning unit 30.

  The HP sensor 117 detects the position of the protruding portion 342 such as the curl fence portion 34 b and outputs a home position (hereinafter referred to as HP) detection signal S 17 to the control unit 50. The control unit 50 outputs a motor control signal S35 to the motor driving unit 35 based on the paper number detection signal S19 and the HP detection signal S17.

  A motor 301 for rotating the curl fence is connected to the motor drive unit 35. The motor drive unit 35 receives the motor control signal S35 from the control unit 50, rotates the motor 301, and drives the curl fence units 34a and 34b.

  A motor 708 for rotating paddle rollers is connected to the motor drive unit 36. The motor drive unit 36 receives the motor control signal S36 from the control unit 50, rotates the motor 708, and drives the paddle roller 37.

  The sheet thickness detection sensor 822 detects the thickness of the sheet bundle 3 ″ that has entered and laminated into the binder sheet alignment unit 30. For example, the sheet thickness detection sensor 822 detects the slit shape of the upper arm 801a and detects the sheet thickness detection signal. S28 is output to the control unit 50. The 50 sheet detection sensor 824 detects the thickness when 50 sheets 3 ′ are bundled and outputs a 50 sheet detection signal S42 to the control unit 50. Paddle The HP sensor 724 detects the home position HP of the paddle roller 37 and outputs a paddle HP detection signal S24 to the control unit 50. The control unit 50 detects the paddle HP detection signal S24 and the sheet thickness detection signals S28 and 50. A motor control signal S86 is output to the motor drive unit 186 based on the sheet detection signal S42.

  The motor drive unit 186 constitutes an example of a drive unit, and drives the paddle roller 37 so as to be raised or lowered by a predetermined amount. A motor 726 for moving the paddle roller is connected to the motor driving unit 186. The motor driving unit 186 receives the motor control signal S86 from the control unit 50, rotates the motor 726, and drives the paddle roller 37 to be up and down.

  The control unit 50 controls the motor driving units 35 and 36 and the motor driving units 180 to 186 based on the paper number detection signal S19. With respect to the sheet front end abutting mechanism 39, the control unit 50 adjusts the upper position where the paddle roller 37 scratches the sheet surface so as to be up and down based on the information on the number of sheets entering the sheet 3 '. For example, the control unit 50 outputs a motor control signal S86 to the motor driving unit 186 based on the paper number detection signal S19 obtained from the paper detection sensor 119. The control unit 50 uses the home position HP detected by the paddle HP sensor 724 as the origin (zero sheets), and outputs a predetermined pulse to the motor driving unit 186 every time the sheet 3 ′ enters or every time the sheet 3 ′ enters (every entry number). Then, the paddle roller 37 is raised.

  Further, the control unit 50 sets the actual value of the paddle roller 37 in the motor driving unit 186 based on the paper thickness detection signal S28 obtained from the paper thickness detection sensor 822. The paper thickness detection signal S28 is obtained for each paper thickness detection point. The control unit 50 calculates the difference between the target increase amount of the paddle roller 37 based on a predetermined number of pulses output to the motor driving unit 186 and the actual value of the paddle roller 37 based on the paper thickness detection signal S28. Based on the difference between the actual value of 37 and the target increase amount, the motor drive unit 186 is output-controlled so that the paddle roller 37 is raised or lowered.

  In this way, the position of the paddle roller 37 can be raised or lowered by an amount corresponding to the predetermined number of pulses. The sheet 3 'can be brought into contact with the reference position by the paddle roller 37 at the optimally adjusted position. Accordingly, the sheets 3 'whose thickness changes from moment to moment can be stacked in a bundle (booklet) with the leading ends thereof aligned.

  A motor 308 for a clamp movement mechanism is connected to the motor drive unit 180. The motor driving unit 180 receives the motor control signal S80 from the control unit 50, rotates the motor 308, and drives the clamp moving mechanism 80. For example, in the clamp moving mechanism 80, the shutter 83 is opened, and the clamp member holding the sheet bundle 3 ″ is lowered to shift to the next process. Thereafter, the sheet bundle 3 ″ is opened, The clamp member is raised and the shutter 83 is closed.

  A motor 86 for driving the clamp member is connected to the motor drive unit 181. The motor drive unit 181 receives the motor control signal S81 from the control unit 50, rotates the motor 86, and drives clamp members such as the lower arm 801b and the upper arm 801a. When the sheets are aligned, the clamp member is opened. When pinching the sheet bundle 3 ″, the clamp member is closed.

  The motor driving unit 182 is connected to a motor 89 for driving the alignment pins. The motor drive unit 182 receives the motor control signal S82 from the control unit 50, rotates the motor 89, and drives pin members such as alignment pins and connecting members. When aligning the sheet bundle, the alignment pin is passed through the hole of the sheet bundle 3 ″.

  Side motor joggers 74 a and 74 b are connected to the motor drive unit 183. The motor driving unit 183 receives the motor control signal S83 from the control unit 50, rotates the motors 74a and 74b, and drives the side jogger 70. At the time of sheet bundle alignment, the width adjusting member of the side jogger 70 moves toward the width direction of the sheet bundle 3 ″. When the sheet bundle is discharged, the width adjusting member of the side jogger 70 is retracted.

  The HP sensor 115 detects the position of the press roller 33 and outputs a roller detection signal S15 to the control unit 50. The home position of the press roller 33 refers to a position that is elevated a predetermined distance from the sheet alignment surface. The press roller 33 waits at this position. The controller 50 controls the press roller 33 and the feeding roller 38 based on the roller detection signal S15 when the sheet bundle is discharged.

  A motor 814 for moving the press roller is connected to the motor driving unit 184. The motor driving unit 184 receives the motor control signal S84 from the control unit 50, rotates the motor 814, and drives the press roller 33.

  A motor 815 for rotating the feeding roller is connected to the motor driving unit 185. The motor driving unit 185 receives the motor control signal S85 from the control unit 50, rotates the motor 815, and drives the feeding roller 38. When the sheet bundle is discharged, the above-described press roller 33 and feeding roller 38 are configured to press the sheet bundle 3 ″ from the front and back to send out to the next process.

  Next, a control example of the binder paper alignment unit 30 will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a control example at the time of paper alignment in the binder paper alignment unit 30.

  In this example, the discharge roller driving unit 122 that has received the motor control signal S22 from the control unit 50 drives the motor 205 to rotate the discharge roller 25, and the sheet 3 ′ discharged from the punch processing unit 20 The case where it enters into 30 is assumed. In addition, the number of pulses that the paddle roller 37 has risen for each entry of the sheet 3 ′ is stored, the amount of increase (pulse number) set for each sheet thickness detection point is compared, the difference is corrected, and the paddle is corrected. The roller 37 is moved up and down.

  For example, at the point at which the slit decreases, the difference between the number of pulses that the paddle roller 37 should rise and the sum of the predetermined number of pulses that the paper tip contact mechanism 39 has increased every time the paper 3 'enters is increased or increased. A case where correction is made to the optimum paddle roller position corresponding to the thickness of the sheet bundle 3 ″ by lowering is taken as an example.

  Under these control conditions, the control unit 50 detects the entry of the sheet 3 ′ into the binder sheet aligning unit 30 in step A <b> 1 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 13. At this time, the paper detection sensor 119 detects the paper 3 ′ discharged from the punch processing unit 20 and outputs a paper detection signal S 19 to the control unit 50. The controller 50 detects the entry of the sheet 3 'based on the sheet detection signal S19.

  After detecting the entry of the sheet 3 ', the control unit 50 raises the paddle roller 37 by n pulses in step A2. At this time, the control unit 50 controls the output of the motor driving unit 186 based on the information on the number of sheets 3 ′ entered from the paper detection sensor 119. For example, when the sheet 3 ′ enters, the paddle roller 37 is raised only once every time or a plurality of times so that the position of the paddle roller 37 rises as the thickness of the sheet bundle 3 ″ increases. .

  Thereafter, in step A3, the clamp moving mechanism 80 releases the clamper 801. At this time, the control unit 50 outputs a motor control signal S80 to the motor driving unit 180. The motor driving unit 180 rotates the motor 308 based on the motor control signal S80 input from the control unit 50, and drives the clamp moving mechanism 80. For example, in the clamp moving mechanism 80, the clamp member is opened, the upper arm 801a is raised, and the shutter 83 is closed. As a result, the sheet 3 ′ discharged from the punch processing unit 20 reaches the shutter 83.

  In step A <b> 4, the paper front end contact mechanism 39 contacts the paper front end with the shutter 83. At this time, the control unit 50 outputs a motor control signal S36 to the motor driving unit 36. The motor driving unit 36 rotates the motor 708 based on the motor control signal S36 input from the control unit 50, and drives the paddle roller 37.

  Thereafter, in step A5, the clamp moving mechanism 80 closes the clamper 801. At this time, the control unit 50 outputs a motor control signal S81 to the motor driving unit 181. The motor drive unit 181 rotates the motor 86 based on the motor control signal S81 input from the control unit 50, and drives the lower arm 801b to close the upper arm 801a.

  In step A <b> 6, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the number of edge detections is decreased by the sheet thickness detection sensor 822. At this time, the control unit 50 calculates the difference between the target increase amount of the paddle roller 37 driven based on the information on the number of entering sheets 3 ′ and the actual value of the paddle roller 37 based on the sheet thickness detection information, and the paddle roller Based on the difference between the actual value of 37 and the target increase amount, the motor drive unit 186 is output-controlled so that the paddle roller 37 is raised or lowered. In this way, the paddle roller 37 can be raised or lowered so as to approach the actual value as much as possible.

  When the number of detected edges decreases, the bundled sheets 3 'have increased, so that the process proceeds to step A7 and correction relating to the up / down adjustment of the paddle roller 37 is executed. Here, when the sheet thickness detection sensor 822 changes the edge detection count = “5” to “4”, the control code “4” is set as in the correction point (a) shown in FIG. The height h of the paddle roller 37 is adjusted downward. When the number of edge detections = “4” changes to “3”, the control code “3” is set and the height h of the paddle roller 37 is lowered as shown in the correction point (b) in FIG. It is made to adjust.

  Further, when the number of edge detections = “3” changes to “2”, the control code “2” is set and the height h of the paddle roller 37 is set as in the correction point (c) shown in FIG. Will be made to adjust down. When the number of edge detections = “2” changes to “1”, the control code “1” is set and the height h of the paddle roller 37 is increased as in the correction point (d) shown in FIG. It is made to adjust. When the number of edge detections = “1” changes to “0”, the control code “0” is set, and an error is output such as the sheet bundle being too thick.

  If the number of detected edges does not decrease in step A6, the process proceeds to step A8 to determine whether or not the sheet 3 'is the final sheet. Whether or not it is the final sheet is identified by detecting an end-of-flag or the like from the upper control system and comparing it with a reference value.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step A9, and the control unit executes a binding process or a discharge process. For example, when the binding process is performed by the binding component 43 in the next process, the HP sensor 115 detects the position of the press roller 33 and outputs a roller detection signal S15 to the control unit 50. The control unit 50 recognizes that the press roller 33 is waiting at the home position that is raised a predetermined distance from the sheet alignment surface. The press roller 33 waits at this position.

  The clamp moving mechanism 80 is lowered so as to shift the clamp member to the next process. Thereafter, when the binding component 43 is attached to the sheet bundle 3 ″, the clamp member is opened, the booklet 90 to which the binding component 43 is attached is freely dropped, the clamp member is raised, and the shutter 83 is closed. The

  In the next step, when the sheet bundle is discharged without being bound by the binding component 43, the control unit 50 controls the press roller 33 and the feeding roller 38 based on the roller detection signal S15. At this time, the motor drive unit 184 receives the motor control signal S84 from the control unit 50, rotates the motor 814, and drives the press roller 33. At the same time, the motor driving unit 185 receives the motor control signal S85 from the control unit 50, rotates the motor 815, and drives the feeding roller 38. The press roller 33 and the feeding roller 38 described above are configured to feed the sheet bundle 3 ″ from the front and back to the next process.

  As described above, according to the binding apparatus 100 as the embodiment, when the plurality of sheets 3 ′ are aligned and temporarily held, the sheet transport unit 10 transports the sheet 3 ′ to a predetermined position. The binder sheet aligning unit 30 aligns and temporarily holds a plurality of sheets 3 ′ conveyed by the sheet conveying unit 10. A paper front end abutting mechanism 39 provided in the binder paper alignment unit 30 abuts the front end of the paper 3 'with a shutter 83 provided with a reference position. Based on this assumption, the paper leading edge abutting mechanism 39 adjusts the position where the paper surface is scraped based on the number of sheets 3 ′ entering the binder paper alignment unit 30.

  Therefore, the sheet surface can be scraped at an optimum position adjusted according to the number of sheets 3 'entering. In addition, the optimum height of the paddle roller 37 can be maintained in accordance with the change in the thickness of the sheet bundle 3 ″ regardless of the type of the sheet 3 ′. Thereby, the sheet 3 whose thickness changes every moment. The sheet 3 'can be stacked in a bundle (booklet) with good reproducibility in a state in which the tips of' are aligned.

  In this example, the variation in the height h of the paddle roller 37 between the sheet thickness detection points can be minimized by increasing the paddle roller 37 every time the sheet 3 ′ enters. In addition, since it is not necessary to set the paper thickness detection point in detail, the structure of the paper thickness detection system is simplified, and the paper detection system can be configured with inexpensive detection means.

  Further, since the peripheral speed of the paddle roller 37 is set to be faster than the conveyance speed of the entering sheet 3 ′, the sheet 3 ′ is not decelerated by the rotation of the paddle roller 37.

  The present invention is extremely suitable when applied to a binder paper aligning unit that aligns and binds recording sheets output from a black-and-white or color copier or printing apparatus.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration example of a binding device 100 to which a paper processing device as an embodiment according to the invention is applied. (A)-(D) are process drawings which show the function example of the binding apparatus 100. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of a binder paper alignment unit 30. FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of a paper leading end contact mechanism 39 and a peripheral mechanism. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of power transmission in a paddle drive mechanism 703. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of control in the paddle attitude | position control mechanism 706. (A) And (B) is a figure which shows the up example of the paddle roller 37. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the clamp moving mechanism 80 and its periphery mechanism. It is a figure which shows the operation example (the 1) of the clamp moving mechanism. It is a figure which shows the operation example (the 2) of the clamp moving mechanism. 6 is a graph showing an example of up / down adjustment of the paddle roller 37. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a control system of a binder paper alignment unit 30. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of control at the time of paper alignment in the binder paper alignment unit 30.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Paper conveyance part 11 1st conveyance path 12 2nd conveyance path 15 Flap 20 Punch processing part 21 Punch blade
22, 25, 74a, 74b, 86, 89, 301, 308, 726, 708, 814, 815, 824 Motor (drive unit)
23, 70 Side jogger 30 Binder paper alignment unit (paper holding means)
31 Paper Curl Pressing Mechanism 32 Paper Reserving Section 37 Paddle Roller (Multiple Rotating Member)
39 Paper front end abutting mechanism 40 Binding processing unit 41 Moving mechanism 42 Binder cassette 43 Binding component 50 Control unit 55 CPU (control means)
60 Discharging Unit 61 First Belt Unit 62 Second Belt Unit 80 Clamp Movement Mechanism 100 Binding Device (Paper Processing Device)
119 Paper detection sensor (paper detection unit)
186 Motor drive unit (drive unit)
822 Paper thickness detection sensor (paper detection unit)

Claims (7)

A paper processing device that arranges predetermined papers and temporarily holds them,
Paper transport means for transporting the paper to a predetermined position;
A paper holding means for temporarily holding a plurality of paper sheets conveyed by the paper conveying means,
The paper holding means is
A paper front end contact mechanism that contacts the front end of the paper to a reference position;
The paper tip contact mechanism is
A paper processing apparatus that adjusts the position of scraping the paper surface based on the number of sheets entering the paper holding means. The paper tip contact mechanism is
A sheet number detection unit for detecting the number of sheets entering the sheet holding unit;
A multi-spindle-shaped rotating member that abuts the leading end of the paper that has entered the paper holding means to the reference position;
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that adjusts a position at which the rotating member scratches the sheet surface based on information on the number of sheets entering the sheet obtained from the detection unit. A drive unit that drives the rotating member to move up or down by a predetermined amount;
The controller is
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein output control of the driving unit is performed based on information on the number of sheets entered from the sheet detection unit. The controller is
4. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a predetermined number of pulses are output to the driving unit each time the sheet enters the sheet holding unit or a plurality of times. A paper thickness detector that detects the thickness of the stacked paper bundle that has entered the paper holding means and is stacked;
The controller is
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a target amount of increase of the rotating member is set in the driving unit based on sheet thickness detection information obtained from the sheet thickness detection unit. When the actual increase amount of the rotating member driven based on the information on the number of sheets entering the paper is regarded as the actual increase amount,
The controller is
Calculating the difference between the actual increase amount of the rotating member and the target increase amount of the rotating member set based on the paper thickness detection information;
6. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein output control of the driving unit is performed so as to raise or lower the rotating member based on a difference between the actual increase amount of the rotating member and a target increase amount. .   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a speed of a circumferential portion of the rotating member is set higher than a conveyance speed of the sheet to the sheet holding unit.

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