JP2008127188A - Sheet material post-processor and image forming device having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet material post-processor for aligning a sheet material for post-processing based on a position of aligning plates, and an image forming device having the same. <P>SOLUTION: This sheet material post-processor has a loading means 002 loading the sheet material 007 ejected from an image forming part 001, the two movable aligning plates 003 arranged to sandwich both side ends in the orthogonal direction to the ejecting direction of the sheet material 007 ejected to the loading means 002, a driving means 005 for moving the aligning plates 003, a position detecting means 010 detecting a present position of the aligning plates 003, and an aligning plate control means 004 driving the driving means 005 so that a distance between the two aligning plates 003 becomes the length between both side ends of the sheet material 007 based on the present position of the aligning plates 003 by receiving information on the length between both side ends of the sheet material 007 from the image forming part 001. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet material post-processing apparatus that aligns the side portions of a sheet material that has been imaged and discharged, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet material post-processing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in image forming apparatuses such as copiers and printers, a sheet material on which an image is formed is folded in two, folded in three (Z-fold) or the like (paper folding process), or filing at a predetermined position on a sheet. There is provided a sheet material post-processing device (so-called finisher) that performs post-processing of paper such as punching holes (punching processing) and binding using staples (stapling processing). Here, the sheet material refers to transfer paper, a transfer material containing OHP, and an intersheet that is paper inserted between the transfer paper.

  When post-processing is performed, the sheet material after image formation is discharged to the stack portion. Thereafter, the sheets are collected in the stack unit, and the side edges of the accumulated sheet materials are aligned (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “alignment”) to form a sheet bundle. The alignment of the sheet material is performed by moving the alignment plate. When a sheet bundle is formed in the stack unit, a post-processing function performs post-processing such as stapling on the sheet bundle.

  As described above, when post-processing such as stapling is performed, if the sheet material is not correctly aligned, the position of the staples may be shifted, resulting in a defect.

  Therefore, conventionally, an optical sensor for detecting the position of the alignment plate in the stack portion is provided in the stack portion, and the alignment is performed based on the distance from the home position with the position where the optical sensor is located as the home position. It was. In this case, the alignment plate returns to the home position every time alignment operation is performed in order to obtain positional accuracy or to simplify the control program. However, in this configuration, since the optical sensor is provided at the end of the stack portion, it takes time to move the alignment plate from the home position to the alignment position and to return to the home position, and the work efficiency is reduced. For distance control based on the home position, a motor driven with the number of pulses corresponding to the distance from the home position to the alignment position is used, and the alignment operation is performed by moving that number of pulses. However, in this method, when the motor cannot follow the specified number of pulses (for example, step out), the alignment operation may be performed at a position other than the alignment position.

  Therefore, in order to increase the work efficiency, an apparatus (for example, see Patent Document 1) in which two or more home positions are provided and returned to the closest home position after the alignment operation has been proposed.

  Further, as a post-processing apparatus that does not use such a home position, the position of the guide member that aligns the sheet material loaded on the loading means is detected, and the size of the sheet material is determined based on the position detection result of the guide member. By doing so, an apparatus (for example, refer to Patent Document 2) that controls the sheet material conveying means so as to match the size of the sheet material has been proposed.

  Furthermore, as a position detection technique, a loop coil having a plurality of turns is arranged in the position detection direction, a loop coil predicted to be closest to the resonance circuit for indicating the position is selected, and the loop coil is selected. When sending the transmission command and receiving the electromagnetic wave sent back from the resonance circuit due to the electromagnetic interaction caused by this transmission signal, the signal characteristic distribution necessary for position detection is obtained by scanning all the loop coils. A technique for determining the position of the resonance circuit from the distribution (see, for example, Patent Document 3) has been proposed. With this technique, the S / N in the position detection circuit can be greatly improved, the detection accuracy can be greatly improved, and a resolution of 0.1 mm can be obtained by arranging the loop coils.

JP-A-5-85081 JP-A-10-198084 JP-A-8-161100

  However, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a plurality of home positions, so that the time for returning to the home position is shortened compared to the conventional case, but it is still necessary to return to the home position. Since it takes time, it is difficult to significantly improve the work efficiency, and control is based on the distance from the home position, so if the specified pulse cannot be followed, it will be accurate. Operation may not be performed.

  The apparatus described in Patent Document 2 detects the size of the discharged sheet material, and uses a volume resistance whose resistance value changes corresponding to the distance of movement for detection. However, the position detection using the volume resistor has a resolution of only about 5 mm, and even if it can be said that the accuracy is sufficient for detecting the size of the sheet material, more accurate matching is required in the post-processing. It is difficult to match the required accuracy.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a sheet material post-processing apparatus that aligns a sheet material for post-processing based on the position of an alignment plate, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet material post-processing apparatus. The purpose is that.

  In order to achieve the above object, a sheet material post-processing apparatus according to claim 1 performs post-processing on a sheet material discharged from an image forming unit, and is discharged from the image forming unit. A stacking means for stacking the sheet material, and two movable alignment plates installed so as to sandwich both side ends in a direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet material discharged to the previously described stacking means, A driving unit for moving the alignment plate; a position detection unit for detecting a current position of the alignment plate; and information on a length between the both side edges of the sheet material from the image forming unit, And alignment plate control means for driving the drive means so that the distance between the two alignment plates is the length between the both side edges of the sheet material based on the current position of the alignment plate. To do.

  Invention of Claim 2 is a sheet | seat post-processing apparatus of Claim 1, Comprising: After the said alignment board control means makes the distance of the said 2 alignment board the length between the said both ends, The drive means is driven so that the distance between the two alignment plates is longer than the length between both side edges of the sheet material.

  Invention of Claim 3 is the sheet | seat post-processing apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2, Comprising: The said position detection means has a position instruction | indication means which has the resonance circuit provided in the said alignment board, A sensor substrate in which a plurality of loop coils are arranged in a moving direction of the alignment plate and on a path along which the position indicating means moves, and the resonance circuit and the loop coil of the sensor substrate The present position of the alignment plate is detected by an electromagnetic induction action.

  5. The sheet material post-processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the sheet material discharged from the image forming unit is post-processed, and the sheet material discharged from the image forming unit is loaded thereon. Means, two movable alignment plates installed so as to sandwich both side ends in a direction perpendicular to the discharge direction of the sheet material discharged to the product means, and for moving the alignment plate Drive means, position detection means for detecting the current position of the alignment plate, and alignment plate control means for driving the drive means and moving the alignment plate to a predetermined position, the alignment plate control means, Receiving information on the length between the both side ends of the sheet material from the image forming unit, the alignment at a predetermined standby position corresponding to the length between the both side ends based on the current position of the alignment plate Drive the drive means so that the plate is positioned, Based on the current position of the alignment plate located at the standby position, the driving means is driven so that the distance between the two alignment plates from the standby position is the length between the both side edges of the sheet material. It is characterized by this.

  6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein image forming means for forming an image on a sheet material, discharge means for discharging the image-formed sheet material, and loading means for stacking the discharged sheet material. And two movable alignment plates installed so as to sandwich both side ends in a direction perpendicular to the discharge direction of the sheet material discharged to the product means, and a drive for moving the alignment plate Means, a position detecting means for detecting the current position of the alignment plate, and information on the length between the both side edges of the sheet material from the image forming unit, and based on the current position of the alignment plate. After driving the driving means so that the distance between the two alignment plates is the length between both side edges of the sheet material and aligning the side portions of the sheet material, the distance between the two alignment plates is Said longer than the length between both side edges of the sheet material And aligning plate control means for controlling the driving of the moving means and is characterized in that it comprises post-processing means for performing post-processing on the sheet material on described product means before aligned by said alignment means.

  According to the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to claim 1 and the image forming apparatus according to claim 5, the alignment plate is controlled based on the current position of the alignment plate. Recovery is possible, and the next alignment operation can be performed accurately even if the operation is stopped at a predetermined distance after the alignment operation. As a result, the work efficiency of post-processing can be improved.

  According to the sheet material post-processing apparatus of the second aspect, it is not necessary to return the alignment plate to the home position after the alignment operation, so that the alignment operation time can be shortened. Thereby, the work efficiency of the post-processing of the sheet material can be increased.

  According to the sheet material post-processing apparatus of the third aspect, since the position of the alignment plate is detected by electromagnetic induction, the position can be detected accurately without contact. Thereby, it becomes possible to improve the accuracy of control of the alignment plate based on the current position.

  According to the sheet material post-processing apparatus of the fourth aspect, since the alignment plate is moved to the predetermined standby position before the alignment operation, the alignment operation time can be shortened. Thereby, the work efficiency of the post-processing of the sheet material can be increased.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a sheet material post-processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating functions of the sheet material processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The alignment plate control means and post-processing means in FIG. 1 are composed of a CPU and a program that defines its operation. The position detection unit 010 includes a position instruction unit 011 and a sensor substrate 012. Here, the position indicating means 011 has a resonance circuit. Further, solid line arrows in FIG. 1 represent signal exchange, and dotted line arrows represent physical action relationships. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the alignment plate, the position detecting unit, and the driving unit of the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the alignment plate, position detecting means, and driving means of the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. Here, the same reference numerals in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 indicate the same functions.

  The sheet material 007 sent from the image forming unit 001 is sequentially discharged to the stacking unit 002 from the first sheet to the last sheet material 007.

  Further, the image forming unit 001 sends the size information of the sheet material 007 to the alignment plate control unit 004 before discharging the first sheet material 007, and further the last sheet before discharging the last sheet material 007. A signal indicating that the material is 007 is sent to the matching plate control means 004. Here, the image forming unit 001 grasps in advance how many images are to be formed when the image to be formed is read to form an image, and therefore the sheet material 007 on which the last image is printed is used as the last sheet material. As 007, it notifies the alignment plate control means 004.

  Furthermore, every time one sheet material 007 is discharged, the image forming unit 001 sends a discharge completion signal to the alignment plate control unit 004.

  The loading unit 002 receives the sheet material 007 from the image forming unit 001 and stacks them one by one.

  As shown in FIG. 3, two alignment plates 003 are arranged at opposing positions in a direction perpendicular to the discharge direction of the sheet material 007 so as to sandwich the sheet material 007 with the sheet material 007 interposed therebetween. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the alignment plate 003 is movable by a driving unit 005 in a direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet material 007. Further, the drive means 005 is composed of an alignment plate drive motor 201 and a belt 202 (endless belt) shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, one of the alignment plates 003 is fixed to the forward path side of the belt 202 and the other is fixed to the return path side. Move in the direction or outward direction. Each time the sheet material 007 is loaded on the loading means 002 one by one, as shown in FIG. 3, the alignment plate 003 is moved inward by the driving means 005 to narrow the width therebetween, The sheet material 007 is aligned by aligning both ends of the sheet material 007 with the sheet material 007 interposed therebetween.

  The drive unit 005 receives the command from the alignment plate control unit 004 and drives the alignment plate drive motor 201 to rotate the belt 202 and simultaneously rotate the two alignment plates 003 to the discharge direction of the sheet material 007. Move to.

  The position detecting means 010 includes a position indicating means 011 provided so as to adhere to the alignment plate 003 and a plurality of loop coils formed in a conductive pattern in a moving direction of the alignment plate 003 provided in a position opposed to the position indicating means 011 Are arranged on a sensor substrate 012. Further, the position indicating means 011 has a resonance circuit composed of a coil and a capacitor.

  This position detecting means 010 transmits an electromagnetic signal to the position indicating means 011 from the loop coil of the sensor substrate 012 closest to the position indicating means 011 and generates electromagnetic induction in the coil of the position indicating means 011. Electromagnetic signals are stored in the capacitor. Thereafter, while the electromagnetic signal is stored, the coil and the nearby loop coil are coupled, and the electromagnetic signal is sent back to the loop coil of the sensor substrate 012. Then, all the loop coils of the sensor substrate 012 are scanned, and the signal characteristic distribution of the returned electromagnetic signal is acquired. The current position of the matching plate 003 can be obtained from the peak position of the signal characteristic distribution. In the position detection means 010, the S / N ratio can be improved by increasing the number of turns of the loop coil of the sensor substrate 012, and the detection resolution can be reduced to about 0.1 mm. (See Patent Document 3)

  In this way, the location of the position indicating means 011 is detected by the sensor substrate 012 by electromagnetic induction. Since the resolution of the position detection means 010 is about 0.1 mm and is more accurate than the position detection using a volume resistor with a resolution of about 5 mm, the position of the alignment plate 003 can be detected accurately.

  The alignment plate control unit 004 uses a sheet material 007 of a predetermined size (for example, a sheet material 007 having a size of A4) before shipping in advance, and the position indicating unit 011 with respect to the sensor substrate 012 at that size. The position (hereinafter referred to as “reference position”) is stored. Then, the alignment plate control means 004 determines the position of the position instruction means 011 based on the stored reference position. The alignment plate control unit 004 stores the correspondence between the size of a predetermined sheet material 007 and the distance of the alignment plate 003 at the time of alignment from the reference position with respect to the size of the predetermined sheet material 007. Further, the alignment plate control means 004 stores information of 10 mm from the size of the sheet material 007 as a position (hereinafter referred to as “standby position”) for waiting the alignment plate 003 before performing the alignment operation. Yes.

  The alignment plate control unit 004 receives the size information of the sheet material 007 sent from the image forming unit 001 before the sheet material 007 is sent. The alignment plate control means 004 refers to the correspondence between the stored size of the predetermined sheet material 007 and the distance of the alignment plate 003 at the time of alignment from the reference position with respect to the stored size, and the alignment plate at the time of alignment of the sheet material 007 The position of 003, that is, the position where the distance between the alignment plates 003 is the length in the direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet material 007 (hereinafter referred to as “alignment position”) is obtained (the position of 003-b in FIG. 3). ). Next, the alignment plate control unit 004 issues a command for acquiring the position of the alignment plate 003 to the sensor substrate 012 and acquires the current position of the alignment plate 003 from the sensor substrate 012.

  Then, the alignment plate control means 004 is positioned 10 mm away from the alignment position based on the current position and alignment position of the alignment plate 003 (the position of 003-a in FIG. 3) before the first sheet material 007 is discharged. Position), that is, the alignment plate 003 is moved to the standby position. At this time, the position indicating means 011 is located at 011-a in FIG. Here, in the present embodiment, the sheet material 007 is discharged to the stacking unit 002 in order to smoothly discharge the sheet material 007, reduce the displacement of the discharged sheet material 007, and reduce the movement distance of the alignment plate 003. The alignment plate 003 is set at an interval of 10 mm from the alignment position, but if the time required for the movement of the alignment plate 003 is shortened, the distance may be shorter, or the distance may be increased to ensure discharge. The value may vary depending on the required condition, and is not limited to this value.

  Next, the alignment plate control unit 004 receives a signal for discharging the sheet material 007 from the image forming unit 001. Then, the alignment plate control unit 004 issues a command for detecting the position of the alignment plate 003 to the sensor substrate 012 and acquires information on the position of the alignment plate 003 from the sensor substrate 012. Further, the aligning plate control unit 004 drives the driving unit 005 based on the position information of the aligning plate 003 to move the aligning plate 003 to the aligning position of the sheet material 007 (the position of 003-b in FIG. 3). The side edges of the material 007 are aligned.

  When the alignment is completed, the alignment plate control unit 004 drives the drive unit 005 to move the alignment plate 003 to a position 10 mm away from the alignment position of the sheet material 007 (position 003-a in FIG. 3). The alignment plate control means 004 repeats the above alignment operation until the last sheet material 007 is discharged.

  The alignment plate control unit 004 receives a signal that is the last sheet material 007 from the image forming unit 001, and when the last sheet material 007 is discharged, performs the alignment operation and then drives the drive unit 005 to perform the sheet operation. The alignment plate 003 is moved to a position 10 mm away from the alignment position of the material 007 (position 003-a in FIG. 3) to complete the alignment operation, and a signal indicating the end of the alignment operation is sent to the post-processing means 006. Here, in the present embodiment, the position of the alignment plate 003 after completion of the alignment operation is made the same as the standby position, but this is the same as the standby position such as taking a sufficient distance in consideration of the sheet material 007 to be aligned next. Other different values may be taken. In that case, it is necessary to store the value in the matching plate control means 004 in advance.

  The post-processing means 006 performs post-processing on the aligned sheet material 007 in response to the end signal of the alignment operation.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the alignment position is the same as the length in the direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet material 007. However, when the alignment operation is to be performed strongly, the alignment position is in the direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet material 007. The width may be slightly narrower than the length. In this case, the alignment operation is performed to a width that is slightly narrower than the length in the direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet material 007, and the alignment is performed by intentionally stepping out the motor that drives the drive unit 005. Even in this case, the position of the alignment plate 003 is detected every time the alignment operation is performed, and the alignment operation is performed based on the position, so that a stable alignment operation can be performed.

  Next, the flow of the alignment operation of the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the alignment operation of the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to the present invention.

  Step S001: The alignment plate control unit 004 acquires information on the size of the sheet material 007, issues a command for acquiring the current position of the alignment plate 003 to the position detection unit 010, and sends an electromagnetic signal to the sensor substrate 012. Based on the signal characteristic distribution obtained by the sensor substrate 012 receiving the electromagnetic signal sent back by the position indicating means 011 that received the signal, the current position of the alignment plate 003 is acquired, and based on those information, The driving unit 005 is driven to move the alignment plate 003 to a place 10 mm away from the alignment position.

  Step S002: The sheet material 007 discharged by the image forming unit 001 is placed on the sheet material 007 as it is in the case of the first sheet material 007, and if there is already the sheet material 007, it is superimposed on it. .

  Step S003: The alignment plate control unit 004 receives a signal for discharging the sheet material 007 from the image forming unit 001, causes the position detection unit 010 to detect the position of the alignment plate 003, and based on that position, aligns the alignment plate 003 to the alignment position. To align the side edges of the sheet material 007 and perform alignment.

  Step S004: The alignment plate control means 004 moves the alignment plate 003 to a position (standby position) 10 mm away from the alignment position.

  Step S005: The alignment plate control means 004 confirms whether or not it has received a signal from the image forming unit 001 that it is the last sheet material 007. If not, steps S002 to S004 are repeated.

  Step S006: The alignment plate control means 004 ends the alignment operation and sends a signal indicating the end of the alignment operation to the post-processing means 006.

  Step S007: The post-processing means 006 receives a signal indicating the end of the alignment operation and performs post-processing on the aligned sheet material 007.

  As described above, the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to the present invention and the image forming apparatus including the same detect the current position of the alignment plate 003 every time the alignment operation is performed, and control the alignment plate 003 based on the position. Therefore, for example, even when the motor steps out, recovery can be performed in the next alignment operation, and a stable alignment operation can be performed, and the work efficiency of the sheet material post-processing apparatus can be increased. Further, the sheet material 007 can be accurately aligned by using a digitizer for position detection.

[Second Embodiment]
As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to the second embodiment drives the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b separately by separate first drive means 505a and second drive means 505b. It is the structure to make. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating functions of the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. Here, the alignment plate control means 504 and the post-processing means 506 in FIG. 5 are composed of a CPU and a program that defines its operation. The solid arrows in FIG. 5 represent signal exchange, and the dotted arrows represent physical action relationships. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the alignment plate, position detecting means, and driving means of the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the alignment plate, position detection means, and drive means of the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to this embodiment. Here, in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7, the same reference numerals indicate the same functions.

  In this embodiment, the image forming unit 501, the loading unit 502, and the post-processing unit 506 operate in the same manner as the image forming unit 001, the loading unit 002, and the post-processing unit 006 in the first embodiment, respectively. . Therefore, hereinafter, other parts will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b are arranged at opposing positions in a direction perpendicular to the discharge direction of the sheet material 507 so as to sandwich the sheet material 507 in a state attached to the loading means 502. Has been. Further, the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b are respectively moved by the first drive unit 505a and the second drive unit 505b in a direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet material 507 as shown in FIG. Further, the first driving means 505a and the second driving means 505b are constituted by a first alignment plate driving motor 601a and a first belt 602a, a second alignment plate driving motor 601b and a second belt 602b, respectively. As shown in FIG. 6, both the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b move in the inner direction or the outer direction at the same time. Each time the sheet material 507 is loaded one by one on the loading means 502, as shown in FIG. 7, the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b are moved inward from each other, so The sheet material 507 is aligned by narrowing the width and aligning both ends of the sheet material 507 with the sheet material 507 interposed therebetween.

  The first driving unit 505a and the second driving unit 505b receive the command from the alignment plate control unit 504, and drive the first alignment plate control motor 201a and the second alignment plate control motor 201b, respectively, thereby the first belt. The first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b are simultaneously moved in a direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet material 507 by rotating the belt 602a and the second belt 602b.

  The first position detecting means 510a and the second position detecting means 510b are respectively opposed to the first position indicating means 511a and the second position indicating means 511b provided on the first aligning plate 503a and the second aligning plate 503b. The first sensor substrate 512a and the second sensor substrate 512b are arranged in a non-contact position and arranged with a plurality of loop coils formed of a conductor pattern in the moving direction of the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b. Is done. Further, the first position indicating unit 511a and the second position indicating unit 511b have a resonance circuit including a coil and a capacitor.

  And the position of the 1st position instruction | indication means 511a and the 2nd position instruction | indication means 511b is detected by the 1st sensor board | substrate 512a and the 2nd sensor board | substrate 512b by electromagnetic induction.

  The alignment plate control unit 504 uses a sheet material 507 of a predetermined size before shipment, and the first sensor substrate 512a and the second sensor of the first position instruction unit 511a and the second position instruction unit 511b at that size, respectively. A position (hereinafter referred to as “reference position”) with respect to the substrate 512b is stored, and the positions of the first position instruction means 511a and the second position instruction means 511b are determined based on the stored reference position. Further, the alignment plate control means 504 stores it in a storage means (not shown) having an internal correspondence with the interval between the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b at the time of alignment with respect to the size of the predetermined sheet material 507. Yes. Furthermore, information that the standby position is 10 mm from the size of the sheet material 507 is also stored.

  The alignment plate control unit 504 receives the size information of the sheet material 507 sent from the image forming unit 501 before the sheet material 507 is sent. Next, the alignment plate control means 504 issues a command for obtaining the positions of the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b to the first sensor substrate 512a and the second sensor substrate 512b, respectively, and the first sensor substrate 512a and the second sensor substrate 512b. The positions of the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b are obtained from the sensor substrate 512b. Then, the alignment plate control unit 504 receives the size information of the sheet material 507 received from the image forming unit 501 and the current information of the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b before the first sheet material 507 is discharged. Based on the position, the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b are respectively moved to the standby positions (the positions of 503a-a and 503b-a in FIG. 7) of the sheet material 507 of that size. At this time, the first position indicating means 511a and the second position indicating means 511b are respectively located at 511a-a and 511b-a in FIG.

  Next, the alignment plate control unit 504 receives a signal for discharging the sheet material 507 from the image forming unit 501. Then, the alignment plate control means 504 sends a command for detecting the positions of the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b to the first sensor substrate 512a and the second sensor substrate 512b, respectively. In response to the command, the first sensor substrate 512a and the second sensor substrate 512b send electromagnetic signals to the first position instruction means 511a and the second position instruction means 511b, and the first position instruction means 511a and the second position instruction means 511b. The signal characteristic distribution is received, and the signal characteristic distribution is sent to the matching plate control means 504. The alignment plate control means 504 obtains information on the positions of the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b from the signal characteristic distribution. Further, the alignment plate control unit 504 drives the first drive unit 505a and the second drive unit 505b based on the information on the positions of the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b, respectively. By aligning the side edges of the sheet material 507 by moving the second alignment plate 503b to the respective alignment positions (the positions of 503a-b and 503b-b in FIG. 7) of the sheet material 507, the sheet material 507 is aligned.

  Next, the alignment plate control unit 504 drives the first drive unit 505a and the second drive unit 505b, respectively, and is in a standby position (503a-a and 503b in FIG. 7) that is 10 mm away from the alignment position of the sheet material 507. The first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b are moved to the position −a).

  Further, the alignment plate control means 504 receives a signal indicating that it is the last sheet material 507 from the image forming unit 501, and when the last sheet material 507 is discharged, after performing the alignment operation, the first drive The means 505a and the second driving means 505b are respectively driven, the first alignment plate 503a and the second alignment plate 503b are moved to the standby positions (the positions of 503a-a and 503b-a in FIG. 7), and the alignment operation is completed. An end signal of the matching operation is sent to the post-processing means 506.

  As described above, by controlling the two alignment plates separately based on the position, the alignment by each alignment plate is performed with high accuracy, and the sheet is more stable than the control by only one alignment plate. Post-treatment of the material can be performed.

Block diagram of a sheet material post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment The top view of the alignment board in the sheet material post-processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment, a position detection means, and a drive means Sectional drawing of the alignment board in the sheet | seat post-processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment, a position detection means, and a drive means Flowchart of the alignment operation by the sheet material post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. Block diagram of a sheet material post-processing apparatus according to a second embodiment The top view of the alignment board in the sheet material post-processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, a position detection means, and a drive means Sectional drawing of the alignment board in the sheet material post-processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, a position detection means, and a drive means

Explanation of symbols

001 Image forming unit 002 Loading unit 003 Alignment plate 004 Alignment plate control unit 005 Driving unit 006 Post processing unit 007 Sheet material 010 Position detection unit 011 Position indicating unit 012 Sensor substrate 201 Alignment plate driving motor 202 Belt 501 Image forming unit 502 Product means 503a First alignment plate 503b Second alignment plate 504 Alignment plate control means 505a First drive means 505b Second drive means 506 Post-processing means 507 Sheet material 510a First position detection means 510b Second position detection means 511a First position Instruction means 511b Second position instruction means 512a First sensor substrate 512b Second sensor substrate 601a First alignment plate drive motor 601b Second alignment plate drive motor 602a First belt 602b Second belt

Claims (5)

Post-processing is performed on the sheet material discharged from the image forming unit,
A loading means for loading the sheet material discharged from the image forming unit;
Two movable alignment plates installed so as to sandwich both side ends in a direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet material discharged to the stacking means;
Drive means for moving the alignment plate;
Position detecting means for detecting a current position of the alignment plate;
Receiving information on the length between the both side edges of the sheet material from the image forming unit, the distance between the two alignment plates based on the current position of the alignment plate is between the both side edges of the sheet material. A sheet material post-processing apparatus, comprising: an alignment plate control unit that drives the driving unit to have a length. The alignment plate control means includes
After the distance between the two alignment plates is set to the length between the two side ends, the driving means is driven so that the distance between the two alignment plates is longer than the length between the two side ends of the sheet material. The sheet material post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The position detecting means includes
Position indicating means having a resonance circuit provided on the matching plate;
A sensor substrate in which a plurality of loop coils are arranged in a moving direction of the alignment plate and on a path along which the position indicating unit moves in accordance with the movement;
The sheet material post-processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a current position of the matching plate is detected by an electromagnetic induction effect between the resonance circuit and a loop coil of the sensor substrate. Post-processing is performed on the sheet material discharged from the image forming unit,
A loading means for loading the sheet material discharged from the image forming unit;
Two movable alignment plates installed so as to sandwich both side ends in a direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet material discharged to the stacking means;
Drive means for moving the alignment plate;
Position detecting means for detecting a current position of the alignment plate;
Alignment plate control means for driving the drive means and moving the alignment plate to a predetermined position;
The alignment plate control means includes
Receiving information on the length between the both ends of the sheet material from the image forming unit,
Based on the current position of the alignment plate, the driving means is driven so that the alignment plate is positioned at a predetermined standby position according to the length between the both ends.
Based on the current position of the alignment plate located at the standby position, the drive means is driven so that the distance between the two alignment plates from the standby position is the length between the both side edges of the sheet material. A sheet material post-processing apparatus. Image forming means for forming an image on a sheet material;
Discharging means for discharging the image-formed sheet material;
A loading means for loading the discharged sheet material;
Two movable alignment plates installed so as to sandwich both side ends in a direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet material discharged to the stacking means;
Drive means for moving the alignment plate;
Position detecting means for detecting a current position of the alignment plate;
Based on the current position of the alignment plate, the distance between the two alignment plates is the length between the both ends of the sheet material, based on the information on the length between the both ends of the sheet material from the image forming unit. After the driving means is driven so that the side portions of the sheet material are aligned, the distance between the two alignment plates is longer than the length between both side edges of the sheet material. Alignment plate control means for controlling driving;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a post-processing unit that performs post-processing on the sheet material on the pre-stacking unit aligned by the alignment unit.

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