JP2008254857A - Sheet processing device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet processing device capable of bookbinding sheets by adhering the sheets in a simple constitution without lowering productivity. <P>SOLUTION: Driving of each of a pair of rollers 45 and 46 provided in a width direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction of a sheet conveying passage to be independently driven is controlled, the sheets P are turned by a difference between sheet conveying speed of the pair of rollers 45 and 46, and corner parts of the sheets P are passed an adhesive coating part 41. After turning and inclining the sheets P in this way, the sheets P are turned in an opposite direction. When the sheets P are turned in the opposite direction, the sheets P are passed the adhesive coating part 41. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for binding a sheet on which an image is formed with an adhesive.

  In recent years, in image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, and multifunction machines, sheets are stacked in a state where sheets are overlapped by applying an adhesive, for example, glue to a predetermined position of the sheet on which an image is formed. Some have a sheet processing apparatus for binding and binding each other.

  In such a conventional sheet processing apparatus, as a method of applying glue (adhesive) to a sheet on which an image has been formed, the glue is applied by bringing a glue wheel whose glue is supplied to the outer peripheral surface into contact with the sheet. There is a method of applying to a sheet. In addition, there is a method of discharging glue onto a sheet using a glue discharge nozzle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-273298 A

  Incidentally, in such a conventional sheet processing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 8, there is one in which glue N is applied to the corners of the sheet. And as such a sheet processing apparatus, when applying the glue N to the corner | angular part of the sheet P, when the corner | angular part of the sheet | seat P passes, the sheet | seat which supplied the glue to the outer peripheral surface is sheeted. The glue wheel is separated from the sheet P after being brought into contact with P and passing through the corners.

  However, in such a configuration, in order to guarantee the accuracy of the glue application position and to stabilize the amount of glue application, it is necessary to reduce the sheet conveyance speed when applying glue, and thus the sheet conveyance speed is reduced. In such a case, productivity is significantly reduced.

  In addition, when applying glue with a glue wheel, it is necessary to bring the glue wheel into and out of the sheet after applying the glue. Is required and the configuration is complicated.

  Furthermore, it is necessary to move the glue wheel according to the size of the sheet. Note that this is not limited to the configuration in which the glue is applied by the glue wheel, and the same applies to the configuration in which the glue is applied to the sheet using the glue discharge nozzle. When the glue wheel or the glue discharge nozzle is moved according to the sheet size in this way, the configuration becomes more complicated.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a current situation, and provides a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus capable of applying an adhesive to a sheet with a simple configuration without reducing productivity. It is intended to do.

  The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus that applies an adhesive to a sheet and bonds and binds the sheets in a stacked state, and an adhesive application unit that applies the adhesive to the sheet; and a sheet conveyance direction of the sheet conveyance path; A pair of rollers provided in the orthogonal width direction and driven independently of each other, and by rotating the sheet according to the difference in sheet conveying speed of the pair of rollers, The driving of the pair of rollers is controlled so that the corners pass.

  The present invention also provides an adhesive application unit that applies an adhesive to a sheet to be conveyed, and a sheet that has been conveyed in a state in which an end portion of the sheet is parallel to the conveyance direction. A conveying means that can be rotated and conveyed so that a portion of the sheet excluding the corner portion of the sheet does not pass through the adhesive application portion, and the conveying means The adhesive application unit applies the adhesive to the corners of the sheet being conveyed.

  As in the present invention, by turning the sheet so that the corners of the sheet pass through the adhesive application part, the sheet can be bonded and bound with a simple configuration without reducing productivity. it can.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a copying machine which is an example of an image forming apparatus provided with a sheet processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, 100 is a copying machine, 101 is a copying machine body, 3 is an automatic document feeder (ADF) provided on the upper surface of the copying machine body 101, and 31 is a bookbinding process for sheets discharged from the copying machine body 101. The finisher is a sheet processing apparatus that performs the above.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 102 denotes an image reader unit (image input device) that converts a document into image data, and 103 includes sheet cassettes 21a to 21c, which output image data as a visible image on a sheet by a print command. A printer unit which is an image forming unit.

  In the copying machine 100 configured as described above, when an image is read and an image is formed, first, the document D stacked upward on the document tray 4 of the automatic document feeder 3 is sequentially placed one sheet from the top page. Feeds left one by one. Thereafter, the platen glass 2 is flowed from the left through a curved path and conveyed to the right through the reading position. At this time, the document size is detected by a detection unit (not shown).

  Here, when the document D passes through the sink reading position on the platen glass 2 from the left to the right as described above, the document image is read by the scanner unit 104 held at a position corresponding to the sink reading position. This reading method is generally referred to as document scanning.

  Specifically, when the document D flows and passes through the reading position, the reading surface of the document D is irradiated with light from the lamp 5 of the scanner unit 104, and reflected light from the document is formed by the mirrors 6-8. The light is guided to the lens 9 through the bent optical path. The light that has passed through the lens 9 forms an image on the imaging surface on the image sensor (CCD element) 10 and is read as image data.

  In this way, by transporting the document D so as to pass through the flow reading position from left to right, the width direction, which is a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the document D, is set as the main scanning direction, and the transport direction is the sub-scanning direction. Is scanned. That is, when the document D passes the reading position, the document image is read in the sub-scanning direction while reading the document image line by line by the image sensor 10 in the main scanning direction.

  Thereafter, the optically read original image is converted into image data by the image sensor 10 and output. The image data output from the image sensor 10 in this way is input as a video signal to an exposure control unit (not shown) provided in the printer 103 after a predetermined process.

  The image reader unit 102 conveys a document onto the platen glass 2 by the automatic document feeder 3 and stops it at a predetermined position. In this state, the scanner unit 104 scans from left to right to read a document image. It is also possible.

  Next, the exposure control unit of the printer unit 103 irradiates the photosensitive drum 13 whose surface is previously charged with laser light from the laser scanner 11 based on the input video signal. Thereby, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the scanned laser beam is formed on the photosensitive drum 13. Next, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 13 in this manner is visualized as a developer image by the developer supplied from the developing device 14 thereafter.

  On the other hand, among the sheets P stored in the cassettes 21a to 21c in parallel with the developer image forming operation, a sheet P corresponding to the detected document size is fed, and the sheet P is fed to the vertical path portion. 22 and then conveyed to the registration roller 23. Thereafter, the sheet P is skew-corrected by the registration roller 23 and then conveyed to a transfer unit constituted by the photosensitive drum 13 and the transfer separation charger 24. When passing through the transfer portion, the developer image formed on the photosensitive drum 13 is transferred onto the sheet by the transfer separation charger 24.

  Next, the sheet P on which the developer image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 26, and is heated and pressed in the fixing unit 26, whereby the developer image is fixed on the sheet. After the developer image is fixed in this way, the sheet P is discharged from the printer unit 103 to the outside (finisher 31) via the discharge roller 27.

  On the other hand, the finisher 31 is for taking in a plurality of sheets from the copying machine main body 101 and bonding the plurality of taken-in sheets with glue, which is an example of an adhesive, for bookbinding. The finisher 31 includes a glue applying portion 41 that applies glue to the sheet P, an alignment unit and a pressing unit (not shown), and is formed by overlapping the sheets P to which the glue is applied while aligning them. And an alignment pressurizing unit 42 that pressurizes the glue application unit of the bundle.

  As a result, the paste is first applied to the sheet P conveyed from the copying machine main body 101 by the paste applying unit 41 in the finisher 31. Next, the sheet P on which glue has been applied by the glue applying unit 41 is conveyed to the aligning and pressing unit 42 by the paper discharge roller 50, and in this aligning and pressing unit 42, the sheet bundle is aligned and the glue applying unit is pressed. Is performed, the sheet bundle is glued and bound.

  FIG. 2 is a side view for explaining the configuration of the glue application unit 41 which is an adhesive application unit provided in such a sheet processing apparatus 31, and FIG. 3 is a top view thereof.

  The glue application unit 41 includes a glue application unit 41A for applying glue to the back side of the sheet P conveyed from the copier body 101, and the sheet P conveyed from the copier body 101 to the glue application unit 41A. A conveyance roller 49 for conveyance is provided.

  Here, the glue application execution unit 41A includes a glue reservoir 44 filled with the glue 56 and a glue wheel 43 that is a rotating member immersed in the glue 56 accumulated in the glue reservoir 44 at the lower part. The glue wheel 43 is in contact with a follower roller 43 a that holds the sheet P together with the glue wheel 43. Accordingly, when the glue wheel 43 rotates, the sheet P is conveyed while being applied with the glue 56 attached to the peripheral surface of the glue wheel 43 while being sandwiched between the driven roller 43a and the glue wheel 43.

  Further, on the upstream side of the sheet conveying path R from the glue wheel 43 in the sheet conveying direction, as shown in FIG. 3, it is provided coaxially in the width direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction and can be driven independently. A pair of possible rollers, first and second swivel rollers 45, 46 are provided.

  Here, the first and second turning rollers 45 and 46 turn the sheet P according to the difference in rotational speed, that is, the sheet conveying speed. In the present embodiment, when the sheet P is turned, one of the first and second turning motors 47 and 48 that drive the first and second turning rollers 45 and 46 is stopped. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet P transferred from the conveying roller 49 to the first and second swivel rollers 45 and 46 has a sheet end portion (side edge) P1 parallel to the sheet conveying direction. Yes.

  The glue application unit 41 is provided with a sheet sensor 55 for detecting the sheet P conveyed from the copier body 101. When the sheet sensor 55 detects the conveyed sheet P, the detection signal is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.

  Based on this detection signal, the control device 57 stops one of the first and second turning motors 47 and 48. The control device 57 may be provided in either the finisher 31 or the copying machine main body 101.

  Here, in the present embodiment, when the sheet sensor 55 detects the conveyed sheet P, the control device 57 first stops the first turning motor 47. Here, when the first turning motor 47 is stopped in this way, the sheet in the state indicated by reference numeral PF turns in the direction toward the glue wheel 43 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3 and tilts as indicated by reference numeral PM. It becomes a state.

  Next, the first motor 47 is rotated and the second turning motor 48 is stopped. Thereby, the sheet in the tilted state as indicated by the symbol PM turns in a direction away from the glue wheel 43 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. With the sheet turning at this time, the end portion P <b> 1 indicated by the reference numeral PE is in a state parallel to the transport direction in the inclined state.

  Then, when the sheet turns in such a direction as to move away from the glue wheel 43, the corner portion Pc of the sheet passes through the glue wheel 43. At this time, since the sheet is turning, only the corner portion Pc of the sheet passes through the glue wheel 43, and portions other than the corner portion of the sheet do not pass through the glue wheel 43.

  That is, in the present embodiment, by controlling the driving of the first and second turning motors 47 and 48, the sheet P is turned to the glue wheel 43 and then turned in the opposite direction. The corners of the sheet P pass through the glue wheel 43. As a result, the paste can be applied to the corners of the sheet P while the sheet P is being conveyed.

  Next, the glue application operation in the glue application unit 41 having such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the sheet P is fed from the copying machine main body 101 to the glue application unit 41, the sheet P is conveyed by the conveying roller 49, and the sheet sensor 55 that detects the sheet is turned ON (Y in S1). Then, the control device 57 controls the driving of the first and second turning motors 47 and 48 for a predetermined time based on the ON state of the sheet sensor 55 to rotate the first and second turning rollers 45 and 46 at a constant speed ( S2).

  Next, the control device 57 continues to rotate the second swivel roller 46, while stopping the first swivel motor 47 for a predetermined time according to the sheet size based on the ON state of the sheet sensor 55. 45 is stopped (S3). Then, due to the difference in rotational speed at this time, that is, the difference in sheet conveyance speed, the sheet P turns in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.

  Next, after the first turning roller 45 is stopped in this manner based on the ON state of the sheet sensor 55, the glue wheel is immersed in the glue 56 filled in the glue reservoir 44 before the sheet reaches the glue wheel 43. 43 is rotated for a predetermined time (S4). Then, after rotating the glue wheel 43 in this way, the second turning motor 48 is stopped for a predetermined time according to the sheet size to stop the second turning roller 46 and the first turning motor 47 is driven. Thus, the first turning roller 45 is rotated (S5).

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the sheet P turns in the reverse direction and returns to the posture before turning, and at the time of turning, the sheet P passes through the rotating glue wheel 43. At this time, the sheet P is conveyed while being sandwiched between the driven roller 43a and the glue wheel 43, and at this time, the glue 56 attached to the peripheral surface of the glue wheel 43 is applied to the corner portion Pc of the sheet P. Become.

  Note that, after the paste 56 is applied to the sheet P in this manner based on the ON state of the sheet sensor 55, the first and second swiveling rollers 45 and 46 are returned after the sheet returns to the pre-turning posture due to the difference in rotation speed. Is rotated at a constant speed (S6).

  Next, the sheet P on which glue has been applied by the glue applying unit 41 is conveyed to the aligning and pressing unit 42 by the paper discharge roller 50, and in this aligning and pressing unit 42, the sheet bundle is aligned and the glue applying unit is pressed. Is performed (S7). As a result, the sheet bundle is glued and bound.

  Here, when configured as in the present embodiment, it is not necessary to separate the glue wheel 43 from the sheet, so that the amount of glue application can be stabilized without complicating the application mechanism, and reliably Glue can be applied. Further, since the paste can be applied without reducing the sheet conveyance speed, it is possible to prevent a decrease in productivity.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the turning time is changed according to the sheet size. In other words, the amount of turning of the sheet is changed according to the sheet size, so that the paste is applied. The position can be constant. Thereby, paste can be applied reliably without moving the glue wheel 43.

  Thus, after turning the sheet P toward the glue wheel 43 while turning, the sheet P passes through the glue wheel 43 when turning in the opposite direction and turning in the opposite direction. The sheet can be bound and bound with a simple configuration without lowering.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the glue application unit provided in the sheet processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 6, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 described above indicate the same or corresponding parts.

  In FIG. 6, reference numeral 52 denotes a glue discharge nozzle that is a discharge member that discharges glue toward one surface, for example, the lower surface, of the sheet P conveyed from the copier body 101. The glue discharge nozzle 52 discharges glue toward the lower surface of the sheet P conveyed by the conveying roller 49 by the operation of the actuator 54. The actuator 54 is driven by a control device 57 via a driver 60 as shown in FIG.

  Next, the glue application operation in the glue application unit 41 configured as described above will be described.

  First, when the sheet sensor 55 detects the conveyed sheet P, the control device 57 removes the sheet P from the glue discharge nozzle in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above, based on the detection signal from the sheet sensor 55. To 52. Thereafter, the seat P is turned in the reverse direction to return to the posture before turning.

  When the sheet P is swung in this way, the sheet P passes above the glue discharge nozzle 52, and when the sheet P passes in this way, the control device 57 causes the actuator 54 to move based on the detection signal from the sheet sensor 55. Operate. As a result, the glue is discharged from the glue discharge nozzle 52 onto the lower surface of the sheet P, and the glue is applied to the lower surface of the sheet P.

  The sheet P on which the glue is applied by the glue applying unit 41 is conveyed to the aligning and pressing unit 42 by the paper discharge roller 50. In the aligning and pressing unit 42, the alignment of the sheet bundle and the paste applying unit 42 Pressurization is performed. As a result, the sheet bundle is glued and bound.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, the sheet is turned toward the glue discharge nozzle 52 while turning, and then the sheet is turned in the reverse direction so that the sheet passes through the paste discharge nozzle 52 when turning in the reverse direction. I have to. As a result, it is possible to bind and bind sheets with a simple configuration without reducing productivity.

  In the past, by controlling the driving of the first and second turning motors 47 and 48, the sheet P is turned in one direction and directed toward the glue application unit 41, and then turned in the other direction. In addition, the form in which the corner portion Pc of the sheet P passes through the paste applying portion 41 is illustrated.

  However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the paste is applied by the glue application unit 41 when the sheet received from the conveying roller 49 is turned by controlling the driving of the first and second turning motors 47 and 48. You may make it apply | coat to the corner | angular part.

  Further, after the sheet received from the conveying roller 49 is turned by a predetermined amount by controlling the driving of the first and second turning motors 47 and 48, both the first and second turning motors 47 and 48 are driven. You may make it apply | coat paste to a corner | angular part, when conveying in a conveyance direction.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a copier that is an example of an image forming apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The figure explaining the structure of the paste application part provided in the said sheet processing apparatus. The top view of the said paste application part. The figure explaining the glue application method by the said glue application part. The flowchart explaining the glue application | coating operation | movement in the said glue application part. The figure explaining the structure of the paste application part provided in the sheet processing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The control block diagram of the said paste application part. The figure which shows the sheet | seat by which the glue was applied to the corner | angular part.

Explanation of symbols

31 Finisher 41 Glue Application Unit 41A Glue Application Execution Unit 42 Alignment Pressing Unit 43 Glue Wheel 43a Driven Roller 44 Glue Pool 45 First Revolution Roller 46 Second Revolution Roller 47 First Revolution Motor 48 Second Revolution Motor 52 Glue Discharge Nozzle 54 Actuator 55 Sheet sensor 57 Control device 100 Copying machine 101 Copying machine body 103 Printer part P Sheet Pc Sheet corner R Sheet transport path

Claims (9)

In a sheet processing apparatus that applies an adhesive to a sheet and bonds and binds the sheets in a stacked state,
An adhesive application section for applying an adhesive to the sheet;
A pair of rollers provided in the width direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction of the sheet conveyance path and driven independently from each other,
The drive of the pair of rollers is controlled such that the corner of the sheet passes through the adhesive application section by turning the sheet according to the difference in sheet conveyance speed of the pair of rollers. Processing equipment.   Due to the difference in sheet conveyance speed between the pair of rollers, the sheet is swung toward the adhesive application portion, and then swung in the reverse direction. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving of the pair of rollers is controlled so as to pass through the agent application unit.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an amount by which the sheet is swung is changed according to a sheet size.   The said adhesive application part is equipped with the rotating member which clamps and conveys a sheet | seat in the state which adhered the adhesive agent to the surrounding surface, The any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Sheet processing device.   4. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive application unit includes a discharge member that discharges the adhesive toward the sheet. 5. An adhesive application section for applying an adhesive to the conveyed sheet;
A sheet that has been conveyed in a state in which the end portion of the sheet is parallel to the conveying direction, the sheet corner portion passes through the adhesive application unit, and the sheet portion excluding the sheet corner portion is the adhesive. Conveying means capable of turning and conveying so as not to pass through the application unit,
The sheet processing apparatus, wherein the adhesive application unit applies an adhesive to a corner portion of a sheet being conveyed by the conveyance unit.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the adhesive application unit applies the adhesive to a corner portion of the sheet being conveyed by the conveyance unit after the conveyance unit rotates the sheet. .   The adhesive applying unit applies the adhesive to the sheet when the conveying unit rotates the sheet in one direction and then rotates the sheet in the other direction. The sheet processing apparatus according to the description.   An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, which bonds an image forming unit and a sheet on which an image is formed in the image forming unit.

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