JP2008156045A - Recording material postprocessor and recording material processor using the postprocessor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording material postprocessor and a recording material processor using this postprocessor, capable of efficiently selecting and storing a recording material in response to the existence/absence of postprocessing, while securing incorporation performance and installation space-saving performance into an image forming device. <P>SOLUTION: This recording material postprocessor has a processor casing having a horizontal directional casing part 1a extending in the horizontal direction, arranging a recording material carrying passage 2 extending in the horizontal direction in this horizontal directional casing part 1a and arranging a carrying member 3 applying carrying force to the recording material in this recording material carrying passage 2, a postprocessing part 4 arranged near the downstream side in the recording material carrying direction of the recording material carrying passage 2 of the horizontal directional casing part 1a and postprocessing the recording material carried via the recording material carrying passage 2, a postprocessing recording material storage part 5 arranged on the side of the processor casing and storing the recording material postprocessed by the postprocessing part 4, and an ordinary recording material storage part 6 arranged above the horizontal directional casing part 1a and storing an ordinary recording material without postprocessing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording material post-processing apparatus and a recording material processing apparatus using the same.

As a recent recording material processing apparatus, a recording material post-processing apparatus such as a finisher for performing a binding process or a punching process is added to the subsequent stage of the image forming apparatus.
For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known as such a recording material processing apparatus. These patent documents present a configuration in which a recording material post-processing device is incorporated in place of the recording material discharging portion using a recording material discharging portion provided in a recess in the housing of the image forming apparatus. Thus, a recording material discharge unit and a recording material post-processing apparatus can be selected as appropriate. Further, as the recording material post-processing apparatus to be incorporated, post-processing such as saddle stitching processing and edge-binding processing is appropriately selected, and when the recording material post-processing apparatus is incorporated into the image forming apparatus, one place on the image forming apparatus side Regardless of whether or not the recording material is subsequently processed, the recording material discharged from the discharge port of the recording medium is accommodated in a recording material accommodating portion provided on the downstream side of the recording material post-processing device via the inside of the recording material processing device. ing.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-154080 (Embodiment of the Invention, FIG. 1) JP 2004-277037 A (Embodiment of the Invention, FIG. 1)

  The technical problem of the present invention is that a recording material post-processing apparatus capable of efficiently storing and storing recording materials according to the presence or absence of post-processing while ensuring ease of incorporation into an image forming apparatus and space-saving installation. And providing a recording material processing apparatus using the same.

That is, the invention according to claim 1 has a lateral housing portion extending in the lateral direction, and the lateral housing portion is provided with a recording material transport path extending in the lateral direction, and recording is performed in the recording material transport path. An apparatus housing provided with a conveying member for applying a conveying force to the material, and a recording material conveying path of the lateral housing portion provided downstream of the recording material conveying direction and conveyed via the recording material conveying path A post-processing unit that performs post-processing on the recording material to be recorded, a post-processing recording material storage unit that is provided on a side of the apparatus housing and stores the post-processing unit post-processed by the post-processing unit, and the lateral direction The recording material post-processing apparatus includes a normal recording material storage unit that is provided in an upper portion of the housing unit and stores a normal recording material without post-processing.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the recording material post-processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the normal recording material accommodating portion includes an inclined portion that extends upward in a direction along the recording material conveyance direction of the recording material conveyance path. Recording material post-processing apparatus.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the recording material post-processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the post-processing recording material container is provided with a moving mechanism that can move up and down along the apparatus housing. Device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having an image forming portion capable of forming an image on a recording material, and a recording which is provided so as to be mounted on the upper portion of the image forming portion and is discharged from the image forming portion. 2. The recording material post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording material post-processing apparatus is a plane when the lateral housing portion is at least when the image forming apparatus is viewed from above. In the recording material processing apparatus, the normal recording material storage unit is provided in a projection surface and stores a non-post-processing recording material discharged from the image forming unit.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the recording material processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the recording material post-processing device is provided with an end binding processing unit that binds one edge of the recording material stacked as the post-processing unit. The recording material processing apparatus includes a processing unit that performs post-processing different from the end binding processing on the recording material discharged from the image forming unit on the upstream side of the recording material conveyance path of the end binding processing unit.
The invention according to claim 6 is the recording material processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recording material is provided between the image forming apparatus and the recording material post-processing apparatus, and the recording material discharged from the image forming apparatus is disposed on the post-processing section side. Or it is a recording material processing apparatus provided with the branch part branched and led to the normal recording material accommodating part side.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the recording material processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the image forming apparatus is provided above the image forming portion and spaced apart from the normal recording material accommodating portion of the recording material post-processing device. The recording material processing apparatus further includes an image reading unit capable of reading a document image.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having an image forming portion capable of forming an image on a recording material, and a recording which is provided so as to be mounted on the upper portion of the image forming portion and is discharged from the image forming portion. 2. A recording material post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording material is post-processed from the image forming unit when post-processing is selected for the recording material discharged from the image forming unit. Housed in a post-processing recording material container through a post-processing unit in the processing apparatus, and when the post-processing is not selected, a normal recording material is provided from the image forming unit on the upper surface of the casing of the recording material post-processing apparatus. The recording material processing apparatus is accommodated in a part.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the recording capable of efficiently storing and storing the recording material according to the presence or absence of the post-processing while ensuring good incorporation into the image forming apparatus and narrow installation space. A material post-processing apparatus can be provided.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the upstream side of the normal recording material accommodating portion can be made lower than the downstream side, and the recording materials accommodated in the normal recording material accommodating portion can be easily aligned, and the image forming apparatus can be arranged. Incorporation improves more.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the amount of recording material accommodated in the post-processing recording material accommodating portion can be adjusted, and a large amount can be accommodated.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the recording material discharged from the image forming unit is not post-processed while suppressing the installation space as the recording material processing apparatus, it is normal without passing through the post-processing unit. The recording material can be discharged to the recording material container, and the first discharging time with the recording material without post-processing is shortened.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 5, post-processing other than an edge binding process part is also attained, and post-processing performance is expanded.
According to the sixth aspect of the invention, it is possible to cope with the case where the recording material discharge path of the image forming apparatus is one place, and the application of the recording material post-processing apparatus can be expanded.
According to the seventh aspect of the invention, it is possible to increase the number of functions as the recording material processing apparatus.

  According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the storage destination of the recording material varies depending on whether or not post-processing is performed on the recording material, the recording material becomes easy to be identified, and the first discharge time of the recording material without post-processing Can be shortened.

First, an outline of an embodiment model to which the present invention is applied will be described.
Outline of Embodiment Model FIG. 1A shows an outline of a recording material processing apparatus according to an embodiment model embodying the present invention. In FIG. 1, the recording material processing apparatus includes an image forming apparatus 7 having an image forming unit 8, and a recording material post-processing device 1 mounted on the upper part of the image forming unit 8. An image reading unit 9 that reads a document image and is spaced apart from the recording material post-processing apparatus 1 can be provided above the recording material post-processing apparatus 1. Here, the image forming method in the image forming unit 8 is not particularly limited, and for example, an electrophotographic method or an ink jet method can be applied. Further, the recording material post-processing apparatus 1 may be integrated into the image forming apparatus 7 or may be configured to be detachable. FIG. 1B shows an outline of the recording material post-processing apparatus 1.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1B, one of the representative models of the recording material post-processing apparatus 1 has a lateral casing portion 1a extending in the lateral direction. Is provided with a recording material conveyance path 2 extending in the lateral direction and an apparatus housing provided with a conveyance member 3 for applying a conveyance force to the recording material in the recording material conveyance path 2 and recording in the lateral direction casing portion 1a. A post-processing section 4 that is provided downstream of the recording material conveyance path 2 in the recording material conveyance direction and that performs post-processing on the recording material conveyed via the recording material conveyance path 2, and is provided on the side of the apparatus housing. And a post-processing recording material storage unit 5 for storing the recording material post-processed by the post-processing unit 4 and a normal recording material which is provided on the upper side of the lateral casing 1a and stores no post-processing. And a recording material container 6.
The recording material is not particularly limited as long as an image can be formed, and includes a normal paper base paper, an OHP sheet, and the like.

The post-processing unit 4 in the present embodiment model is not particularly limited as long as the post-processing is performed on the recording material. However, from the viewpoint of facilitating the inclined shape of the normal recording material storage unit 6, the post-processing unit 4 is overlapped. It is preferable to provide an end binding processing unit that binds the peripheral edge of one side of the recording material.
Further, from the viewpoint of storing a large amount of post-processed recording material that has been post-processed by the post-processing unit 4, the post-process recording material storage unit 5 is a moving mechanism that can move up and down along the apparatus housing. It is preferable to provide.
Further, from the viewpoint of facilitating the storage of the recording material, the normal recording material storage unit 6 preferably includes an inclined portion that extends upward in the direction along the recording material conveyance direction of the recording material conveyance path 2. The part may have a slope shape or a curved surface shape, or a combination of both.
Furthermore, from the viewpoint of enabling various post-processing on the recording material, the recording material post-processing apparatus 1 includes the recording material conveyance path 2 of the end binding processing unit in addition to the end binding processing unit as the post-processing unit 4. It is preferable that a processing unit different from the end binding processing is provided on the recording material discharged from the image forming unit 8 on the upstream side of the image forming unit 8. In addition, as a typical aspect of such a processing unit, there are a punching process and a creasing process.

As the recording material processing apparatus, when post-processing is selected for the recording material discharged from the image forming unit 8, the post-processing unit 4 in the recording material post-processing device 1 from the image forming unit 8. Is stored in the post-processing recording material storage unit 5, and when the post-processing is not selected, the image forming unit 8 may store it in the normal recording material storage unit 6.
From the viewpoint of improving the convenience as a recording material processing apparatus, the recording material on which an image is formed by the image forming unit 8 includes a plurality of recording material discharge paths through which the recording material can be discharged from the image forming apparatus 7. In the aspect having the recording material discharge path toward the recording material post-processing apparatus 1, the recording material post-processing apparatus corresponding to the two lowermost recording material discharge paths among the plurality of recording material discharge paths. 1 is preferably provided.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1
FIG. 2 shows Embodiment 1 of a recording material processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, the recording material processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes an image forming unit 20 capable of forming a monochrome image on a recording material, and an image reading unit 11 for reading an original image on the image forming unit 20. And the recording material post-processing device 40 provided above the image forming unit 20 of the image forming device 10 and separated from the image reading unit 11. Reference numeral 12 denotes a document feeder 12 for feeding a document to the image reading unit 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, the recording material processing apparatus according to the present embodiment has an upper housing 10 a of the image forming unit 20 in a space between the image forming unit 20 and the image reading unit 11 of the image forming apparatus 10. In addition, the lateral casing 41 of the recording material post-processing device 40 is just inserted and incorporated.
Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 10 before the recording material post-processing device 40 is incorporated, the upper housing portion 10a is a recording material accommodating portion of the image forming apparatus 10 itself, and the image forming portion is included in the recording material accommodating portion 10a. A discharge roll 37 for discharging the recording material on which an image is formed at 20 is provided. In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 is provided with two discharge rolls 36 and 37 from the beginning, and before the recording material post-processing apparatus 40 is assembled, for example, a discharge gate (a later-described first roll) is formed by the switching gate 39. The recording material is not conveyed to the one discharge roll 36 side, and the switching gate 39 is switched when the recording material post-processing device 40 is installed, so that the discharge roll 36 side is also switched. The recording material is conveyed. The arrangement of the two discharge rolls 36 and 37 is not limited to this, and the number of discharge rolls is not limited to two.

Next, the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the switching gate 39 is omitted.
The image forming unit 20 used in the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment employs, for example, an electrophotographic system, and charges a photosensitive drum 21 that forms and holds a toner image, and the photosensitive drum 21. A charger 22 such as a charging roll, a laser exposure unit 23 that forms a latent image on the charged photosensitive drum 21, and an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 are developed and visualized. The developing unit 24 and a transfer unit 25 such as a transfer roll for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 onto the recording material supplied from the recording material supply units 13 to 16 are configured.

The recording material conveyance system in the image forming apparatus 10 is as follows. Positioning of the recording material supplied from the recording material supply units 13 to 16 is regulated in the vertical conveyance path 31 extending substantially vertically upward from each of the recording material supply units 13 to 16, and the recording material is conveyed downstream at a predetermined timing. A roll 17 and a fixing unit 18 for fixing the toner image transferred by the transfer unit 25 onto the recording material conveyed from the positioning roll 17 are provided.
The downstream side of the vertical conveyance path 31 is branched in two directions by a switching gate (not shown) and the like, and the conveyance path 32 connected to the first discharge roll 36 that guides the recording material to the recording material post-processing device 40 side. And a conveyance path 33 connected to a second discharge roll 37 that is discharged to a normal recording material storage portion 41a provided in the upper part of the housing of the recording material post-processing device 40.

  Further, in the present embodiment, in order to form an image on both sides of the recording material, a reversing conveyance path 34 is provided for reversing and conveying the recording material from the second discharge roll 37 side to the upstream side of the positioning roll 17. Yes. Further, on the upstream side of the positioning roll 17, a manual feed unit 19 that allows manual insertion of a recording material from the side wall side of the image forming apparatus 10 is provided, and a manual feed path 35 from the manual feed unit 19 is also provided. It has become. In these conveyance paths, conveyance members (such as conveyance rolls) for conveying the recording material are appropriately disposed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the recording material post-processing device 40 in the present embodiment is mounted on the upper portion of the image forming unit 20 between the image forming unit 20 and the image reading unit 11 of the image forming apparatus 10. . The recording material post-processing device 40 has a lateral housing part 41 extending in the lateral direction. The lateral housing part 41 is provided with a recording material transport path extending in the lateral direction, and recording is performed in the recording material transport path. A conveying member for conveying the material is appropriately provided. Further, an end binding processing unit that performs binding processing along the upstream one end edge of the recording material bundle in which a plurality of recording materials are stacked as a post-processing unit on the downstream side in the recording material conveyance direction in the lateral casing 41. 80 is provided. Further, a connecting portion 42 is provided on the side of the horizontal casing portion 41 so as to support the horizontal casing portion 41 in the vertical direction. The connecting portion 42 includes a horizontal casing portion. A post-processing recording material accommodating portion 43 for accommodating the recording material via 41 is provided. Furthermore, a normal recording material accommodating portion 41a for accommodating a recording material that is not subjected to post-processing by the recording material post-processing device 40 is formed on the upper surface of the lateral casing 41 on the surface of the casing.

  The lateral casing 41 in the present embodiment is provided in the upper part of the image forming unit 20 of the image forming apparatus 10 and in the plane projection plane when the image forming apparatus 10 is viewed from above. Is provided with a recording material conveyance path provided with conveyance members such as conveyance rolls as appropriate. Further, the upper portion of the lateral casing 41 is provided with an inclined portion that extends upward along the recording material conveyance path. Therefore, a large space is provided between the inclined portion and the image reading portion 11 in the upstream direction. It is supposed to be formed. The inclined portion serves as a normal recording material accommodating portion 41 a that accommodates a recording material discharged from the second discharge roll 37 of the image forming apparatus 10.

  Inside the lateral casing 41, a small punching processing unit that performs punching processing at a predetermined position of the recording material from the upstream side along the recording material conveyance path on the upstream side of the end binding processing unit 80. 50, a folding processing unit 60 for pre-folding the recording material in a direction crossing the recording material conveyance direction is provided. In particular, the end binding processing unit 80 is disposed in a region downstream of the central position of the normal recording material storage unit 41a of the lateral housing unit 41.

Here, each processing unit will be described. As shown in FIG. 5A, the punching processing unit 50 is provided with a punching receptacle in which a recording material conveyance path is provided between two upper and lower members and a hole 52 is opened between these two members. The base 51, a bar member 53 that can move up and down along the hole wall in the hole 52 (52a, 52b) of the hole receiving base 51, a cam 54 that moves the bar member 53 up and down, and the hole An alignment conveying member 56 that is usually arranged on the downstream side of the opening cradle 51 and is separated from the recording material conveyance path and conveys the recording material for alignment, and the recording material is arranged on the downstream side of the alignment conveying member 56. It is comprised with the conveyance roll 57 which enables reversal conveyance. The aligning and conveying member 56 is provided with a plurality of elastic guide vanes extending in the radial direction around the rotation axis. When the recording material is perforated (perforating processing), the rear end of the recording material is the perforation cradle 51. The recording material is pressed back so as to be positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the hole 52.
When the hole forming process is performed on the recording material, as shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), the cam 54 rotates around the rotation shaft 54a, so that the bar member 53 is opened on the hole receiving base. 51 is lowered, and a predetermined punching process is performed on the recording material positioned by the punching base 51. At this time, since the hole 52b on the lower side of the hole receiving base 51 has substantially the same shape as that of the bar member 53, the hole 52b is formed in the hole 52 of the hole receiving base 51. Needless to say, the mold is not limited to round holes, square holes, or the like.

Further, in order to position the recording material on the punching cradle 51, the recording material sandwiched by the transport roll 57 is returned to the upstream side by the reverse operation of the transport roll 57. At this time, the aligning and conveying member 56 is lowered so as to contact the recording material surface, and the recording material is fed upstream. On the other hand, in the punching cradle 51, a stop member 55 for restricting the recording material rear end position protrudes on the recording material conveyance path. Will be done. A side end stop member (not shown) is provided on the side surface of the punching cradle 51, and the side end of the recording material is positioned on the side end stop member along the direction of the side end stop member. An aligning member for aligning the recording material by hitting the side edges is provided.
Therefore, the recording material is aligned at the rear end and the side end of the recording material by the aligning and conveying member 56 and the aligning member, and the rod member 53 is lowered by the cam 54, so that the leading end of the rod member 53 brings the recording material to a predetermined position. A hole can be drilled.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the folding processing unit 60 has a pair of folding rolls 62 for performing pre-crease on the recording material, and a recording material conveyance path opposite to the clamping region of the folding roll 62. And a folding processing unit main body 61 that accommodates a folding blade 63 that can be moved forward and backward with respect to the clamping region side at a predetermined timing, and is provided downstream of the folding processing unit main body 61 in the recording material conveyance path. The two conveying rolls 64 and 65 (the upstream roll 64 and the downstream roll 65) are configured.
The folding processing unit 60 according to the present embodiment is configured to pre-crease the recording material in a substantially central position in the transport direction in order to perform, for example, a saddle stitching process described later, and is substantially orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording material. In order to make a crease in the direction, the upstream roll 64 can correct the bending of the recording material. In the present embodiment, since the folding roll 62 is provided at a position slightly separated from the recording material conveyance path, the folding roll 62 may interfere with the conveyance of the recording material when the crease is not performed. There is no such thing. Further, the folding blade 63 is advanced and retracted by a solenoid (not shown), for example.

In the case where the recording material is creased by such a folding processing unit 60, the recording material whose bending is corrected by the upstream roll 64 is directly held by the downstream roll 65 as shown in FIG. 6B. Is done. Thereafter, at a predetermined timing, the reversing operation of the downstream roll 65 and the advancing operation of the folding blade 63 are performed, and the recording material enters the nipping region of the folding roll 62 with the approximate center position of the recording material as the head, and a crease is added to the recording material. Be able to.
The recording material to which the crease has been imparted is creased at a predetermined position by the retraction of the folding blade 63, the reversing operation of the folding roll 62, and the reversing operation of the downstream roll 65 (operating in the direction along the conveying direction of the recording material). In the imparted state, it is conveyed downstream. At this time, the upstream roll 64 may be stopped during the reversing operation of the folding roll 62 (the operation after the crease is applied), or conversely, the upstream roll 64 may be operated in the direction in which the recording material is pulled back to the upstream side.

Further, an end binding processing unit 80 that performs an end binding process on a plurality of aligned recording material bundles is provided on the downstream side of the folding processing unit 60. As shown in FIG. 7, the end binding processing unit 80 according to the present embodiment has an upper binding member 81 so as to sandwich the upper and lower sides of the recording material bundle aligned by the recording material alignment unit 70 (see FIG. 4) described later. And a lower binding member 85 are disposed. The end binding processing unit 80 according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to guide the lower binding member 85 provided with the driving member 86 for arranging the means for driving the binding needle while sliding along the guide rod 88 (88a, 88b). Therefore, a belt member 99 for driving the lower binding member 85 is provided.
On the other hand, the upper binding member 81 located at the upper part of the recording material is provided with a bending member 82 for bending and stopping the front end of the binding needle, and a guide rod 84 (for guiding the upper binding member 81). 84a, 84b), and is configured to be driven by a belt member 96.
Further, the upper binding member 81 and the lower binding member 85 are respectively provided with guide plates 83 and 87 for guiding the recording material bundle between them, and the recording materials aligned by the recording material aligning unit 70 according to the rear end reference. The guide action is performed on the material bundle.

  Further, in order to slide the upper binding member 81 and the lower binding member 85 along the respective guide rods 84 and 88, a driving device 90 is disposed, and the rotation of the motor 91 is rotated through the gear train 92 and the rotation shaft 93. To be communicated to. A pulley 95 is disposed on the rotating shaft 93 via a clutch 94, and the belt member 96 is driven via the pulley 95 to move the upper binding member 81. On the other hand, a pulley 98 is provided below the rotary shaft 93 via a clutch 97, and the belt member 99 is driven by the pulley 98 so that the lower binding member 85 can move integrally with the upper binding member 81. It has become. Then, by configuring the motor 91 as a stepping motor that can rotate in the forward and reverse directions, the upper binding member 81 and the lower binding member 85 are moved by a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction to be positioned at the binding position of the recording material bundle. Then, the binding operation using the binding needle can be performed.

  In the present embodiment, the end binding processing unit 80 performs end binding in the vicinity of the downstream side of the end binding processing unit 80, so that the recording materials are aligned to form a recording material bundle by aligning the recording materials based on the rear end. A portion 70 is provided. FIG. 8 shows a schematic configuration of the recording material aligning unit 70. The recording material aligning container 71 on which recording materials are stacked and accommodated, and the upstream side of the recording material aligning container 71, along the recording material conveying direction. A movable reference wall 72 is provided so that it can be moved by driving means (not shown). In addition, an alignment conveyance member 73 for feeding the recording material loaded on the recording material alignment container 71 to the reference wall 72 side is provided above the recording material alignment container 71, and further on the downstream side of the alignment conveyance member 73. Is provided with an aligning member 74 for hitting and aligning the recording material in order to align the end side in the conveyance direction of the recording material. For this reason, the recording material bundle loaded on the recording material aligning container 71 is aligned along the reference wall 72 by the action of the aligning and conveying member 73 and the aligning member 74, and the rear end and the side end of the recording material are regulated. The recorded recording material bundle can be formed. In particular, at this time, since the recording material aligning container 71 is arranged at an angle from the horizontal so that the leading end side of the recording material is directed obliquely upward, the action of the gravity of the recording material itself is applied when aligning the recording material bundle. The recording material can be more evenly aligned based on the rear end reference. By moving the reference wall 72, the binding distance from the one end edge (the rear end of the recording material) of the binding position to the recording material by the end binding processing unit 80 is adjusted. Further, the recording material matching container 71 of the present embodiment is not particularly limited as long as the recording material bundle can be stacked, and may be a plate-like member or a dish-like member.

  In order to transport the recording material to such a recording material aligning unit 70, as shown in FIG. 4, the first sheet that has passed through the recording material transport path in the lateral housing portion 41 of the recording material post-processing device 40 is used. The recording material is sandwiched from the transport roll 66 by the discharge roll 45 in the connecting portion 42 of the recording material post-processing device 40. Thereafter, by rotating the discharge roll 45 in the reverse direction, the first recording material slides onto the recording material alignment container 71 with the rear end side at the top. Then, the nipping of the discharge roll 45 is released, and the recording material from the second sheet is placed on the preceding recording material, so that the rear end side of the recording material sequentially advances toward the reference wall 72 (see, for example, FIG. 8). Therefore, the recording material is matched.

  Then, the recording material bundle bound by the edge binding processing unit 80 is sandwiched by the second clamping operation of the discharge roll 45, conveyed by the discharge roll 45, and stored in the post-processing recording material storage unit 43 as it is. Become. At this time, as will be described later, since the position of the saddle stitching processing portion 44 moves at the connecting portion 42, the transportability of the end-stitched recording material bundle is not affected.

  Further, the post-processing recording material accommodating portion 43 of this embodiment is connected to a vertical movement mechanism (not shown) provided in the connecting portion 42 of the recording material post-processing device 40, and is post-processed and discharged. The recording material bundle sent out from 45 is accommodated at a predetermined upper position. Further, if the storage capacity of the recording material bundle increases, the storage capacity can be secured in the post-processing recording material storage section 43 by appropriately descending.

In the present embodiment, the connecting portion 42 is provided with a saddle stitching processing portion 44 that is movable in the vertical direction above the post-processing recording material accommodation portion 43. The saddle stitching processing unit 44 of the present embodiment performs the saddle stitching process by binding the middle of the aligned recording material bundle in the middle of the direction substantially perpendicular to the recording material conveyance direction. The saddle stitching processing unit 44 is provided above and below the recording material bundle after the recording material bundle aligned by the rear end reference by the recording material aligning unit 70 is moved to a predetermined position by the discharge roll 45. The binding process is performed by the upper and lower binding members 441 (in this embodiment, the upper portion is a bending member and the lower portion is a driving member). Then, the recording material bundle subjected to saddle stitching is accommodated in a post-processing recording material accommodating portion 43 provided below from the saddle stitching processing portion 44. Incidentally, reference numeral 442 in the drawing is an alignment conveying member provided in the saddle stitching processing section 44, and is used when recording materials are aligned. Further, when performing the saddle stitching on the recording material bundle in the saddle stitching processing unit 44, the folding processing unit in the lateral housing unit 41 is provided to facilitate positioning of the recording material in the recording material aligning container 71. A recording material that has been previously creased at 60 may be used. Although the saddle stitching processing unit 44 is shown to be movable up and down with respect to the coupling unit 42, the present invention is not limited to this, and the saddle stitching processing unit 44 may be provided in a fixed manner or the end may be swung. You may be comprised so that it can rock | fluctuate as a center.
Usually, the binding member 441 of the saddle stitching processing unit 44 is different from the above-described end binding processing unit 80 and has a small number of recording material bundles to be bound. become.

In the present embodiment, the end binding processing unit 80 has a configuration of a type that translates substantially along the edge of the recording material bundle (the binding direction is constant), but may be configured as follows.
FIG. 9 shows a binding member moving mechanism as a modified example of the end binding processing unit 80, and is a mechanism capable of binding the corner of the recording material bundle. In the figure, on the guide plate 100, the upper and lower binding members 102 (in this example, the upper binding member and the lower binding member are arranged at positions where they overlap each other along the edge of the recording material bundle. A guide track 103 for guiding the bending member (the lower part is a driving member) is attached. The guide track 103 has, for example, a straight line portion 103a corresponding to the length in the longitudinal direction of an A4 size recording material, and an inclination connected to the straight line portion 103a so that both ends of the straight line portion 103a are inclined by about 45 degrees. Parts 103b and 103c. Two guide rolls 104 (104 a and 104 b) that are rotatably attached to the upper end of the binding member 102 can travel along the guide track 103.

  The guide plate 100 is provided with five driven pulleys 105 (105 a to 105 e) that are driven to rotate, and belt members 106 are stretched around the driven pulleys 105. Of these driven pulleys 105, four are fixedly supported by the guide plate 100, and the driven pulley 105e provided on the linear portion 103a can move by pressing the belt member 106 to the left side of the drawing by an elastic member not shown. It is like that. Further, a support portion 107 configured integrally with the binding member 102 is attached to the belt member 106 so that the binding member 102 can move along the guide track 103 as the belt member 106 moves. Yes. Then, another driven belt 108 is stretched over the driven pulley 105d provided on the one inclined portion 103c side of the driven pulley 105, and one of the drive belts 108 is a rotating shaft of the drive motor 109. Is stretched over a drive pulley 110 attached to the motor.

In the moving mechanism having such a configuration, the drive belt 109 is rotated by the rotation of the drive motor 109, and the belt member 106 starts rotating by the rotation of the driven pulley 105d. As a result, the guide roll 104 of the binding member 102 moves along the guide track 103, and as a result, the binding member 102 moves between both the inclined portions 103b and 103c and the linear portion 103a. Thus, it is possible to perform binding processing on the corners and straight portions of the recording material bundle.
At this time, since the driven pulley 105e is urged toward the left in the drawing by an urging member (not shown), the tension of the belt member 106 can always be maintained properly, and the binding member 102 can be moved. It can be done stably. FIG. 10 schematically shows this state. As the binding member 102 moves with respect to the guide plate 100, binding is performed at both corners and straight portions of the recording material bundle. Reference numeral 111 denotes a reference wall for aligning the recording material bundle with the rear end reference, and the recording material bundle is regulated at this position.
Even when such a binding member moving mechanism is employed, the end binding processing unit 80 can be provided in the downstream region of the normal recording material storage unit 41a as in the above-described embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the two discharge rolls on the image forming apparatus 10 side are the first discharge roll 36 and the second discharge roll 37. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and more discharge rolls are provided. You can do that. In this case, among the plurality of discharge rolls that discharge the recording material in the direction toward the recording material post-processing device 40, the same configuration as that of the above-described embodiment is adopted for the two discharge rolls from the bottom. It may be.

Embodiment 2
FIG. 11 shows Embodiment 2 of the recording material processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the present exemplary embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 and the recording material post-processing apparatus 40 include a branching portion that branches the conveyance path of the recording material discharged from the image forming apparatus 10 and the image forming apparatus 10. The point which the discharge roll of the side is one place differs greatly from Embodiment 1. Components similar to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  In the same figure, the branching unit 150 of this embodiment uses the recording material discharged from the discharge roll 36 (corresponding to the first discharge roll) on the image forming apparatus 10 side to the inside of the recording material post-processing device 40 and the recording material. The branching portion branches to a normal recording material accommodating portion 41a provided in the upper portion of the post-processing device 40. For this reason, the branching portion 150 is appropriately provided with a switching member and a conveying member. Further, a discharge roll 151 for discharging the recording material to the normal recording material accommodating portion 41a is provided above the branching portion 150. In the present embodiment, since such a configuration is adopted, for example, even when the recording material is discharged from the image forming apparatus 10 side, the branching unit 150 may be used.

As described above, in the recording material processing apparatus having the configuration shown in the first embodiment or the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, the recording material is supplied from the recording material supply units 13 to 16 or the manual supply unit 19. When post-processing is performed on the recording material after the predetermined image is formed by the image forming unit 20, the recording material is conveyed from the first discharge roll 36 into the recording material post-processing device 40, and predetermined post-processing is performed. After being made, it is accommodated in the post-processing recording material accommodating portion 43. On the other hand, when post-processing is not performed on the recording material on which image formation has been performed, the recording material is accommodated in the normal recording material accommodating portion 41a provided on the upper portion of the recording material post-processing device 40 from the second discharge roll 37 side. become.
Therefore, when the post-processing is not performed on the recording material on which the image is formed, the recording material is discharged from the second discharge roll 37 directly to the normal recording material container 41a, so that the recording material discharge time, So-called FCOT (First Copy Output Time) is shortened.
In the second embodiment as shown in FIG. 11 as well, these are similarly achieved by branching the recording material conveyance path at the branching section 150.

This is because it depends on the shape of the recording material post-processing device 40 mounted on the image forming apparatus 10.
That is, when the binding processing (end binding processing) with the binding needle is performed along the edge of the recording material bundle as the post processing unit in the recording material post-processing device 40, the size of the end binding processing unit 80 itself is a problem. Become. Since the end binding processing unit 80 has a large number of sheets that can be bound, and the recording material post-processing device 40 requires a recording material conveyance path above the end binding processing unit 80. The part to be accommodated requires a large occupied volume, and the apparatus itself is easily increased in size. On the other hand, the recording material post-processing device 40 itself is not incorporated in the image forming apparatus 10 (for example, a type installed next to the image forming apparatus 10), but is incorporated in the image forming apparatus 10 at the time of post-processing. This is because it is necessary to align the recording materials on the trailing edge basis in order to align the recording materials.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration corresponding to the monochrome image is shown as the image forming unit 20 of the image forming apparatus 10, but the configuration is not limited to this, and the configuration corresponding to the color image may be used. Furthermore, although the configuration in which the image reading unit 11 is provided on the upper portion of the image forming apparatus 10 is shown, it is obvious that the image reading unit 11 may not be provided. Furthermore, although the configuration in which the recording material post-processing device 40 is mounted on the image forming apparatus 10 is shown, the present invention is not limited to this, and the image forming apparatus 10 and the recording material post-processing device 40 may be configured integrally. .

(A) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the recording material processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment model which embodies this invention, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the recording material post-processing apparatus of (a). . It is explanatory drawing which shows the recording material processing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 to which this invention was applied. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a stage in which the recording material post-processing device according to the first embodiment is incorporated. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a recording material post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the punching process part of Embodiment 1, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the operation state. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the folding process part of Embodiment 1, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the operation state. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an outline of an end binding processing unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an outline of a recording material matching unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a binding member moving mechanism of an end binding processing unit as a modification of the first embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of the edge binding process of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the recording material processing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 to which this invention was applied.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Recording material post-processing apparatus, 1a ... Horizontal direction housing part, 2 ... Recording material conveyance path, 3 ... Conveyance member, 4 ... Post-processing part, 5 ... Post-processing recording material accommodating part, 6 ... Normal recording material accommodating part 7, image forming apparatus, 8 ... image forming unit, 9 ... image reading unit

Claims (8)

A lateral housing portion extending in the lateral direction is provided. The lateral housing portion is provided with a recording material transport path extending in the lateral direction, and a transport member for applying a transport force to the recording material is provided in the recording material transport path. A device housing provided; and
A post-processing section that is provided near the downstream of the recording material conveyance direction of the recording material conveyance path of the lateral casing and that performs post-processing on the recording material conveyed via the recording material conveyance path;
A post-processing recording material storage unit that is provided on a side of the apparatus housing and stores the recording material post-processed by the post-processing unit;
A recording material post-processing apparatus, comprising: a normal recording material storage unit that is provided at an upper portion of the lateral housing portion and stores a normal recording material without post-processing. The recording material post-processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The recording material post-processing apparatus, wherein the normal recording material accommodation unit includes an inclined portion that extends upward in a direction along a recording material conveyance direction of the recording material conveyance path. The recording material post-processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The recording material post-processing apparatus, wherein the post-processing recording material container includes a moving mechanism that can move up and down along the apparatus housing. An image forming apparatus having an image forming unit capable of forming an image on a recording material;
The recording material post-processing device according to claim 1, wherein the recording material post-processing device is provided so as to be attached to an upper portion of the image forming unit and performs post-processing on the recording material discharged from the image forming unit,
In the recording material post-processing device, the lateral housing portion is provided at least in a plane projection plane when the image forming apparatus is viewed from above, and the normal recording material storage portion is discharged from the image forming portion. A recording material processing apparatus for storing a recording material without post-processing. The recording material processing apparatus according to claim 4,
The recording material post-processing device is provided with an end binding processing unit that binds one edge of the recording material stacked as the post-processing unit, and further from the image forming unit on the upstream side of the recording material conveyance path of the end binding processing unit. A recording material processing apparatus comprising: a processing unit that performs post-processing different from the edge binding processing on the discharged recording material. The recording material processing apparatus according to claim 4,
A branching unit is provided between the image forming apparatus and the recording material post-processing apparatus, and includes a branching unit that branches and guides the recording material discharged from the image forming apparatus to the post-processing unit side or the normal recording material storage unit side. Recording material processing apparatus. The recording material processing apparatus according to claim 4,
The image forming apparatus further includes an image reading unit provided above the image forming unit and spaced from the normal recording material storage unit of the recording material post-processing device and capable of reading a document image. Processing equipment. An image forming apparatus having an image forming unit capable of forming an image on a recording material;
The recording material post-processing device according to claim 1, wherein the recording material post-processing device is provided so as to be attached to an upper portion of the image forming unit and performs post-processing on the recording material discharged from the image forming unit,
When post-processing is selected for the recording material discharged from the image forming unit, the recording material is stored in the post-processing recording material storage unit via the post-processing unit in the recording material post-processing device, A recording material processing apparatus, wherein when the post-processing is not selected, the image forming unit accommodates the recording material in a normal recording material accommodating unit provided on an upper surface of a casing of the recording material post-processing apparatus.

Images