JP2009078921A - Sheet folding device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet folding device excellent in conveying accuracy and capable of stably conveying sheets in each of conveying paths even in the case of performing a folding process in different combination of conveying path, through which the sheets are conveyed. <P>SOLUTION: In this sheet folding device, a plurality of conveying paths including guide plates are arranged on both sides of a sheet in its thickness direction, being linked from an upstream side to a downstream side in a conveying direction of the sheet. A stopper member is arranged in at least one of the plurality of conveying paths to make contact with a leading edge of the sheet conveyed through the conveying paths. A pair of rollers structured of a pair of folding rollers brought in pressure contact with each other are arranged between the conveying paths, which are connected to each other, to nip the bending portion of the sheet, which is formed by the stopper member, with the pair of rollers to form a folding line. An adjusting member for adjusting a space between the guide plates is provided in the guide plate in the conveying paths on the upstream side and the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction with the pair of rollers between them. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet folding apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and in particular, for a sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a printer, different folding processes such as two-fold, three-fold, and four-fold are realized by a combination of conveyance paths. The present invention relates to a technique suitably applied to a paper folding apparatus having a paper folding mode.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a folding mechanism for folding a sheet such as Z-folded paper, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a sheet conveyance path to a roller pair composed of two folding rollers is advanced. After the front end of the sheet comes into contact with the first stop member, it bends in the vicinity of the roller pair, and the bent portion is sandwiched between the roller pair to be creased and doubled, and the next second stop member is left as it is. So that the second folding is performed via another roller pair. It is known that the paper transport path is composed of guide plates provided on both sides in the thickness direction of the paper.

  However, the gap between the guide plates was made so that there was no difference between the conveyance path with the first stop member and the conveyance path with the second stop member, and there was no particular specification of the size. . When the folding process as described above is performed, the state of the sheets passing through each conveyance path is not the same, and the thickness of the sheet increases after each folding process is performed. That is, the sheet passing through the conveyance path where the first stop member is installed is one sheet before the folding process, and the sheet passing through the conveyance path including the second stop member is folded in two. It has the thickness of two sheets of paper. As described above, since the thickness of the sheet to be conveyed changes as the folding process proceeds, it is not preferable to make the gap between the guide plates the same in all the conveyance paths. If it is too large, the conveyance accuracy and folding accuracy will deteriorate, making it difficult to convey, and if it is too small relative to the thickness of the paper, friction will increase in the conveyance path and troubles such as jams will easily occur.

On the other hand, Patent Document 3 proposes a paper folding apparatus that has high accuracy with respect to the folding position and bending and has no conveyance failure such as jam occurrence. In the sheet folding apparatus, the gap between the guide plates on the downstream conveyance path is made larger than the gap between the guide plates on the upstream conveyance path with the pair of folding rollers interposed therebetween.
Japanese Utility Model Publication Sho 62-68773 JP-A-4-64577 JP 2002-332159 A

  However, some paper folding devices have a plurality of conveyance paths and folding roller pairs, and different folding processes (two folds, Z folds, outer three folds, inner three folds, simple four folds) depending on the combination of the conveyance paths through which the paper passes. Some of them have a paper folding mode that realizes, for example, quadrant folding. In the case of such a paper folding device, the folding mode (folding process) does not change the thickness of the paper conveyed upstream and downstream across the folding roller, or the change (increment) in the paper thickness increases. As in the paper folding device of Patent Document 3, it is not sufficient to simply make the gap between the guides on the downstream conveyance path larger than the gap between the guides on the upstream conveyance path with the pair of folding rollers interposed therebetween. May go wrong.

  Therefore, in view of the above-described circumstances, the present invention has a good conveyance accuracy that allows a sheet to be stably conveyed in each conveyance path even when folding is performed with different combinations of conveyance paths through which the sheet passes. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet folding device and an image forming apparatus equipped with the same.

  In order to achieve such an object, according to the present invention, a plurality of conveyance paths for conveying a sheet are formed by guide plates provided on both sides in the sheet thickness direction, and the plurality of conveyance paths are formed from the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction. A stop member that is sequentially connected to the downstream side and stops the contact of the leading edge of the conveyed paper is provided in at least one of the plurality of conveyance paths, and is composed of a pair of folding rollers pressed against each other. A sheet folding device that performs a folding process in which a pair of rollers is provided between the connected conveyance paths and sandwiches the deflection of the sheet formed by the stop member to form a crease. A restriction member for restricting a gap distance between the guide plates is provided on the guide plates in the upstream and downstream conveyance paths in the sheet conveyance direction with the pair interposed therebetween.

  According to the present invention, in the above paper folding apparatus, a first conveyance path for conveying a sheet that has not been folded and a leading end of the sheet conveyed from the first conveyance path are brought into contact with and stopped. A second conveying path having a stop member provided in the conveying path and a pair of rollers formed by sandwiching the bending of the paper formed by the first stopping member between the first roller pair and from the roller pair. A sheet formed by the second conveying member having a second stopping member provided in the conveying path for conveying the conveyed sheet and stopping the leading end of the conveyed sheet, and the second stopping member. A third stop member that transports the paper unloaded from the roller pair while sandwiching the bending of the second roller pair between the second roller pair and forms a second fold, and abuts and stops the leading edge of the unloaded paper. A fourth transport path provided in the interior, and a third transport path And a fifth conveyance path for conveying the sheet unloaded from the roller pair while forming a third fold by sandwiching the bending of the sheet formed by the stop member between the third roller pair. It may be a thing.

  In the sheet folding device according to the present invention, the gap distance formed by the restriction member is equal to or greater than the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction with the roller pair interposed therebetween. It may be a thing.

  In the paper folding device according to the present invention, the gap distance formed by the regulating member may be determined based on the thickness of the paper conveyed to each conveyance path.

  According to the present invention, in the above paper folding device, the gap distance formed by the regulating member is a maximum paper thickness among the paper thicknesses of the paper conveyed to each conveyance path. Also good.

  Further, the present invention may be characterized in that, in the paper folding apparatus, the regulating member is movable in a direction perpendicular to the paper to be conveyed.

  Further, the present invention may be characterized in that, in the paper folding apparatus, the movement distance of the restricting member is individually set for each of the plurality of transport paths.

  Further, the present invention may be characterized in that, in the above-described sheet folding apparatus, the restriction member can be moved only in a conveyance path in which sheets having different sheet thicknesses are conveyed.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the paper folding apparatus, the movement distance of the restricting member is determined based on a paper folding mode that realizes different folding processes depending on a combination of transport paths that pass therethrough. May be.

  Further, the present invention may be characterized in that, in the paper folding apparatus, the restriction member is configured using an idler roller.

  In the sheet folding device according to the present invention, the restriction member may be configured using a mylar.

  As another aspect, the present invention is an image forming apparatus equipped with the paper folding apparatus.

  According to the present invention, even when folding is performed with different combinations of conveyance paths through which paper passes, a paper folding apparatus with good conveyance accuracy that can stably convey the paper in each conveyance path, and this Is provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sheet folding apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The paper folding apparatus according to the present embodiment receives a paper on which an image has been formed from the image forming apparatus side, performs a predetermined paper folding process, and then performs a folding process to the post-processing apparatus side when performing post-processing such as punching or stapling. When the subsequent sheets are discharged and no post-processing is performed, the folded sheets are stacked on a stocker inside the apparatus.

  The sheet folding apparatus according to the present embodiment has a first conveyance path 101, a second conveyance path 102, a third conveyance path 103, a fourth conveyance path 104, and a fifth conveyance path 105 as conveyance paths for conveying the sheet. , A sixth transport path 106 and a seventh transport path 107. Each transport path is formed by arranging guide plates for guiding the transport of the paper with a predetermined gap distance on both sides in the thickness direction of the paper. In addition, the respective conveyance paths are arranged such that the conveyance paths are directly connected or sequentially connected with a pair of rollers including two folding rollers interposed therebetween. Further, in the transport paths of the third transport path 103, the fourth transport path 104, and the fifth transport path 105, a first stopper 501 and a second stopper are used as stop members for stopping and abutting the leading edge of the transported paper. 502 and a third stopper 503 are provided.

  In this embodiment, the sheet folding operation in each folding mode (bi-folding, Z-folding, outer tri-folding, inner tri-folding, simple four-folding, and Kannon quadruple folding) as shown in FIG. 2 is possible with this configuration. It becomes. Each folding operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 to 8. 3 to 8 show the folding order of each folding mode in the present embodiment, and are diagrams for explaining the sheet folding operation along the order.

<Folded>
First, a sheet received from the image forming apparatus side is guided to the first conveyance path 101 by the first switching claw 301 (FIG. 3A). Then, the sheet is guided to the third conveyance path 103 so that the leading edge of the sheet abuts against the first stopper 501 that is arranged in the third conveyance path 103 and is movable according to the folding position (FIG. 3B). Then, the bent portion of the sheet generated when the leading end abuts against the first stopper 501 enters the nip between the first folding roller 201 and the second folding roller 202 to perform the first folding. This completes the folding process in half (FIG. 3C).

  After the folding is completed, the processed paper does not enter the fourth conveyance path 104, and the nip (second nip) between the second folding roller 202 and the third folding roller 203, the third folding roller. It passes through a nip (third nip) between 203 and the fourth folding roller 204 (FIG. 3D). That is, the sheet is conveyed without performing the folding operation at the second nip and the third nip of the folding roller.

And it is guide | induced to the 7th conveyance path 107 by the 3rd switching nail | claw 303, and is stacked | stacked on the stacker 400 (FIG.3 (e)). Further, when post-processing is performed on the paper that has been subjected to the folding process, the folded paper does not enter the fourth conveyance path 104, and the second folding roller 202 and the third folding roller 203 do not enter. The sheet passes through the nip and the nip between the third folding roller 203 and the fourth folding roller 204, is guided to the sixth transport path 106 by the third switching claw 303, and is transported to the post-processing apparatus side. Alternatively, the conveyance to the post-processing apparatus side may be performed through the fourth conveyance path 104 after the first folding roller 201 and the second folding roller 202 perform the first folding (in this case, the second stopper). 502 has been removed).
<Z-fold>
First, the sheet received from the image forming apparatus side is guided to the second conveyance path 102 by the first switching claw 301 and the second switching claw 302 (FIG. 4A). Then, the front end of the sheet abuts against a second stopper 502 that is disposed in the fourth conveyance path 104 and is movable according to the folding position after passing through the nip between the first folding roller 201 and the second folding roller 202. Then, the sheet is guided to the fourth conveyance path 104 (FIG. 4B). Then, the bent portion of the sheet caused by the front end hitting the second stopper 502 enters the nip between the second folding roller 202 and the third folding roller 203 to perform the first folding (FIG. 4C). .

  Subsequently, the sheet is guided to the fifth conveyance path 105 so that the leading end of the sheet abuts against the third stopper 503 that is arranged in the fifth conveyance path 105 and is movable according to the folding position. Then, the bent portion of the sheet generated when the leading end abuts against the third stopper 503 enters the nip between the third folding roller 203 and the fourth folding roller 204 to perform the second folding (FIG. 4D). This completes the Z-folding process.

  After the Z-folding is completed, the processed paper is guided to the seventh transport path 107 by the third switching claw 303 and stacked on the stacker 400. When post-processing is performed, the folded paper is guided to the sixth transport path 106 by the third switching claw 303 and transported to the post-processing apparatus side (FIG. 4E).

<Tri-fold outside>
First, the sheet received from the image forming apparatus side is guided to the first conveyance path 101 by the first switching claw 301 (FIG. 5A). Then, the paper is guided to the third transport path 103 so that the front end of the paper hits the first stopper 501 (FIG. 5B). Then, the bent portion of the paper generated when the leading end abuts against the first stopper 501 enters the nip between the first folding roller 201 and the second folding roller 202 to perform the first folding (FIG. 5C). .

  Subsequently, the sheet is guided to the fourth conveyance path 104 so that the leading end of the sheet hits the second stopper 502. Then, the bent portion of the sheet generated when the leading end abuts against the second stopper 502 enters the nip between the second folding roller 202 and the third folding roller 203 to perform the second folding (FIG. 5D). . This completes the folding process of the outer trifold.

  After the outer tri-fold (inner tri-fold, simple four-fold) is completed, the processed paper does not enter the fifth conveyance path 105, and the nip between the third folding roller 203 and the fourth folding roller 204 is completed. , And is guided to the seventh conveyance path 107 by the third switching claw 303 and stacked on the stacker 400 (FIG. 5E). Passes through the nip between the third folding roller 203 and the fourth folding roller 204, is guided to the sixth transport path 106 by the third switching claw 303, and is transported to the post-processing apparatus side.

<Inner tri-fold, simple four-fold>
The inner trifold and the simple four fold are almost the same as the above-described outer trifold and the folding operation, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted. That is, FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (e) and FIGS. 7 (a) to 7 (e) correspond to the above-described order of FIGS. The paper passes through the same conveyance path as in the case, and is folded and conveyed at the same nip. Note that the difference between the outer trifold, inner trifold, and simple quadfold is the first folding position, and the folding position of the sheet can be adjusted by changing the position of the first stopper 501. . Then, the subsequent second folding position is determined according to the first folding position on the sheet, and each folding process is performed.

<Kannon quadrifold>
First, the paper received from the image forming apparatus side is guided to the first conveyance path 101 by the first switching claw 301 (FIG. 8A), and the third paper is placed so that the front end of the paper hits the first stopper 501. The sheet is guided to the conveyance path 103 (FIG. 8B), and the bent portion of the sheet generated when the leading end abuts against the first stopper 501 enters the nip between the first folding roller 201 and the second folding roller 202. The first folding is performed (FIG. 8C).

  Subsequently, the sheet is guided to the fourth conveyance path 104 so that the leading end of the sheet hits the second stopper 502. Then, the bent portion of the sheet caused by the front end abutting against the second stopper 502 enters the nip between the second folding roller 202 and the third folding roller 203, and the second folding is performed (FIG. 8D).

  Subsequently, the sheet is guided to the fifth conveyance path 105 so that the leading end of the sheet comes into contact with the third stopper 503. Then, the bent portion of the sheet generated when the leading end abuts against the third stopper 503 enters the nip between the third folding roller 203 and the fourth folding roller 204 to perform the third folding. This completes the folding process of the Kannon quadruple (FIG. 8E).

  After the Kannon quad folding is completed, the processed paper is guided to the seventh transport path 107 by the third switching claw 303 and stacked on the stacker 400, or the post-processing is performed, as in the case of Z folding. When performing, it is guided to the 6th conveyance path 106, and is conveyed to the post-processing apparatus side (FIG.8 (f)).

  Incidentally, in the third conveyance path 103 to the seventh conveyance path 107, first idler rollers 603 to fifth idler rollers 607 are provided corresponding to the respective conveyance paths as members for regulating the gap distance between the guide plates. Here, an idler roller is used as a restricting member for the gap distance between the guide plates, but it is also possible to configure the restricting member using a mylar.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement example of a member (idler roller) that regulates the gap between the guide plates. In the third transport path 103, the distance is controlled by the distance of the gap D3 by the first idler roller 603, in the fourth transport path 104 is controlled by the distance of the gap D4 by the second idler roller 604, and in the fifth transport path 105 by the third idler roller 605 D5 is regulated by the distance D5, the sixth conveyance path 106 is regulated by the distance D6 by the fourth idler roller 606, and the seventh conveyance path 107 is regulated by the fifth idler roller 607 by the distance D7. Yes.

  Further, the sheet thickness of the sheet conveyed to each of the conveyance paths 103 to 106 varies depending on the folding mode, and the contents are shown in Table 1.

  As can be seen from the above table, the sheet thickness conveyed to the downstream conveyance path is equal to or larger than the sheet thickness conveyed to the upstream conveyance path across the folding roller. If the gap distance between the guide plates is the same for all the conveyance paths, the gap will be large and the paper will run out while the guide plate is being conveyed, or the gap will be small and jammed, leading to poor paper conveyance. There is. Therefore, a member for regulating the gap distance between the guide plates is provided on the upstream and downstream conveyance paths with the folding roller interposed therebetween. As a result, the sheet can be stably conveyed.

  In addition, a member for regulating the gap of the guide plate is arranged so that the gap on the downstream side is equal to or larger than the gap on the upstream side across the folding roller pair. Thereby, the folded paper can be stably conveyed.

  Further, the gaps provided in the first idler roller 603 to the fifth idler roller 607, which are members for regulating the gap distance between the guide plates, are determined by the thickness of the sheet passing through the respective conveyance paths 103-107. As a result, it is possible to provide an appropriate gap with respect to the thickness of the paper transported through each transport path.

Specifically, the gap distance provided by the first idler roller 603 to the fifth idler roller 607 is:
Third transport path 103: D3 = paper thickness × 1
Fourth transport path 104: D4 = paper thickness × 2
Fifth transport path 105: D5 = paper thickness × 2
Sixth transport path 106: D6 = paper thickness × 4
Seventh transport path 107: D7 = paper thickness × 4
Arrange each idler roller so that In this way, the gap distance provided in each idler roller is set to the maximum sheet thickness of the sheet conveyed through each of the conveyance paths 103 to 107, so that the sheet hits the idle roller for all folding modes and jams. The sheet can be conveyed without any trouble.

  However, depending on the folding mode, the sheet thickness of the sheet conveyed through each conveyance path changes. Specifically, the sheet thickness conveyed to the fourth conveyance path 104 when performing the Z-folding operation is sheet thickness × 1 (unfolded sheet), and the gap D4 in the fourth conveyance path 104 is defined as the sheet. When the thickness is set to 2, the gap becomes larger than the sheet thickness, and thus there is a possibility that the sheet cannot be stably conveyed. Therefore, the regulating member for the gap distance between the guide plates can be moved in the direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction. As a result, it is possible to prepare means for providing an appropriate gap depending on the thickness of the sheet conveyed through each conveyance path.

  Further, according to the folding mode, the fourth transport path 104 transports a sheet having a sheet thickness of 1 × sheet thickness × 2, but the seventh transport path 107 transports a sheet thickness × 2, a sheet thickness × 3. A sheet having a sheet thickness x 4 is conveyed. Therefore, if the movement distance of the restriction member is the same in each conveyance path, the paper may hit the restriction member, or the gap may become large and may not be stably conveyed. Therefore, the movement distances of the first idler roller 603 to the fifth idler roller 607 are individually set for the respective transport paths 103 to 107. Thereby, an appropriate gap can be given to each conveyance path.

  However, in each conveyance path, there is also a conveyance path in which a sheet having the same sheet thickness is conveyed for all folding modes. If a mechanism that can be moved with respect to all the conveyance paths is provided, the mechanism becomes complicated accordingly. It will be costly. Therefore, the transport path for transporting sheets of the same sheet thickness for all folding modes is not moved, but only the transport path for transporting sheets of paper having different thicknesses according to the folding mode is moved. Specifically, the third conveyance path 103 and the fifth conveyance path 105 are fixed. As a result, unnecessary mechanisms are not provided, and unnecessary costs are not incurred.

  Further, since the sheet thickness of the sheet conveyed through each conveyance path varies depending on the folding mode, it is possible to move each conveyance path individually, and the movement distance of the regulating member is determined based on the folding mode. As a result, the gap between the conveyance paths for each folding mode can be set to an appropriate gap, and the sheet can be conveyed stably for all folding modes.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a change in the gap distance due to the movement of the regulating member in the conveyance path, and shows the vicinity of the fourth conveyance path 104 and the first folding roller 201 to the third folding roller. Referring to FIG. 10, the second idler roller 604 moves in the direction approaching the opposing guide plate to form the gap D4 when performing the Z-fold folding process, and when performing the double-fold folding process. The gap D4 ′ is formed by moving in a direction away from the opposing guide plates.

As a result of the above method, the clearance between the conveyance paths for each folding mode is as follows.
<Folded>
Third transport path 103: D3 = paper thickness × 1
Fourth transport path 104: D4 = paper thickness × 2
Fifth transport path 105: Arbitrary (not transported)
Sixth transport path 106: D6 = paper thickness × 2
Seventh transport path 107: D7 = paper thickness × 2
<Z-fold>
Third transport path 103: Arbitrary (not transported)
Fourth transport path 104: D4 = paper thickness × 1
Fifth transport path 105: D5 = paper thickness × 2
Sixth transport path 106: D6 = paper thickness × 3
Seventh transport path 107: D7 = paper thickness × 3
<Outer trifold, inner trifold>
Third transport path 103: D3 = paper thickness × 1
Fourth transport path 104: D4 = paper thickness × 2
Fifth transport path 105: Arbitrary (not transported)
Sixth transport path 106: Arbitrary (not transported)
Seventh transport path 107: D7 = paper thickness × 3
<Simple quad fold>
Third transport path 103: D3 = paper thickness × 1
Fourth transport path 104: D4 = paper thickness × 2
Fifth transport path 105: Arbitrary (not transported)
Sixth transport path 106: Arbitrary (not transported)
Seventh transport path 107: D7 = paper thickness × 4
<Kannon quadrifold>
Third transport path 103: D3 = paper thickness × 1
Fourth transport path 104: D4 = paper thickness × 2
Fifth transport path 105: D5 = paper thickness × 2
Sixth transport path 106: Arbitrary (not transported)
Seventh transport path 107: D7 = paper thickness × 4

  Specifically, the position of the restricting member is moved in accordance with the flow of FIGS. 11 and 12, and the clearances of the respective transport paths are adjusted. First, initialization is performed after the power is turned on (step S1), and the restriction member (idler roller) is set to the default position and waits (step S2). Here, the default positions are a gap D3 = paper thickness × 1 for idler roller 603, a gap D4 = paper thickness × 1 for idler roller 604, a gap D5 = paper thickness × 1 for idler roller 605, and a gap D6 = paper thickness × 2 for idler roller 606. The idler roller 607 is positioned so that the gap D7 = paper thickness × 2.

  After the folding mode setting function is activated, the set mode is determined and the position of the idler roller corresponding to the corresponding folding mode is determined. Then, when each idler roller is moved to the determined position, the folding process is started. For example, when the input mode is the outer tri-fold mode (step S11 / NO, step S13 / NO, step S15 / YES), the moving position of the idler roller is determined at a position corresponding to the outer tri-fold mode (step S16). ). The positions corresponding to the outer tri-fold mode are the gap D3 = paper thickness × 1, the gap D4 = paper thickness × 2, the gap D5 = paper thickness × 1, the gap D6 = paper thickness × 2, and the gap D7 = paper thickness × 3. This is the position of the idler roller. Note that the positions of idler rollers corresponding to the respective folding modes shown in FIG. 12 are based on Table 1 and the gaps between the respective transport paths.

  By performing the configuration and operation as described above, the folded sheet can be stably conveyed.

[Embodiment 2]
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment is a copying machine that includes the paper folding apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment and a post-processing apparatus, and forms a toner recorded image in an image forming process of an electrophotographic method. The image forming apparatus is not limited to this, and may be a printer, a facsimile, a multifunction machine having a copy function, a print function, and a facsimile function, or an inkjet printer.

  The image forming apparatus 90 includes an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 1, a document table 2, a paper feed roller 3, a feed belt 4, a delivery roller 5, a contact glass 6, a document set detection unit 7, 1 tray 8, 2nd tray 9, 3rd tray 10, 1st paper feed unit 11, 2nd paper feed unit 12, 3rd paper feed unit 13, vertical transport unit 14, photoconductor 15 A conveyor belt 16, a fixing unit 17, a paper discharge unit 18, a developing unit 27, an exposure lamp 51, a first mirror 52, a lens 53, a CCD (Coupled Charge Device) image sensor 54, a second mirror 55, A reading unit 50 including a third mirror 56, a writing unit 57 including a laser output unit 58, an imaging lens 59, and a mirror 60, a sheet folding device 70, and a post-processing device 8 If, it consists of.

  Next, an image forming processing operation in the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment will be described.

  A bundle of documents placed on the document table 2 of the ADF 1 with the image surface of the document facing up is pressed from the top document to the feed roller 3 by feeding the start key on the operation unit. It is fed to a predetermined position on the contact glass 6 by the feeding belt 4.

  The document fed to a predetermined position on the contact glass 6 is read by the reading unit 50, and the document that has been read is discharged via the feeding belt 4 and the discharge roller 5. Further, when the document set detection unit 7 detects that there is a next document on the document table 2, it is fed onto the contact glass 6 in the same manner as the processing operation described above. The feeding roller 3, the feeding belt 4, and the discharging roller 5 are driven by a conveyance motor.

  The sheets stacked on the first tray 8, the second tray 9, and the third tray 10 are fed by the first paper feeding device 11, the second paper feeding device 12, and the third paper feeding device 13, respectively, and are conveyed vertically. 14 is conveyed to a position where it abuts against the photoreceptor 15.

  The image data read by the reading unit 50 is written on the photoconductor 15 by the laser from the writing unit 57, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor 15. The electrostatic latent image is developed by passing through the developing unit 27, and a toner image is formed on the photoreceptor 15.

  The paper transported from the vertical transport unit 14 is transported by a transport belt 16 having the same speed as the rotational speed of the photoconductor 15, and at this time, the toner image formed on the photoconductor 15 is transferred onto the paper. It is conveyed to the fixing unit 17.

  The sheet on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 17. In the fixing unit 17, the toner image transferred onto the paper is thermally fixed.

  Note that the photoconductor 15, the transport belt 16, the fixing unit 17, the paper discharge unit 18, and the development unit 27 are driven by a main motor (not shown). Each of the paper feeding devices 11 to 13 is driven by transmitting a driving of the main motor by a paper feeding clutch (not shown). Further, the vertical conveyance unit 14 is driven by an intermediate clutch (not shown) transmitting the drive of the main motor.

  The paper discharge unit 18 discharges the paper on which the image is formed to the paper folding device 70. The sheet folding device 70 performs various folding processes as described in the first embodiment. After the folding process, the sheet folding device 70 discharges the folded sheet to the post-processing device 80. The post-processing device 80 performs post-processing such as punch processing and stapling processing in addition to sorting for each original or each copy unit sorted by the image memory.

  The above-described embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment alone, and various modifications are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Implementation is possible.

  According to the embodiment described above, it is possible to stably convey the sheet by providing the member that regulates the gap between the guide plates on the guide plates of the upstream and downstream conveying paths sandwiching the folding roller. Become.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the gap provided by the member that regulates the gap between the guide plates is equal to or greater than the gap on the upstream side with respect to the gap on the upstream side with the pair of folding rollers interposed therebetween. By doing so, the folded paper can be stably conveyed.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the gap provided by the member that regulates the gap between the guide plates is determined by the thickness of the paper that is conveyed to each conveyance path, so that the thickness of the paper that is conveyed through each conveyance path is determined. An appropriate gap can be provided.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the gap provided by the member that regulates the gap between the guide plates is the gap where the sheet thickness of the sheet conveyed to each conveyance path is the largest, The paper can be transported without the paper transported through the transport path hitting a member that regulates the gap between the guide plates.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the member that regulates the gap between the guide plates is movable in the vertical direction with respect to the paper using the drive source, so that the thickness of the paper due to the difference in the folding mode that is conveyed on the same conveyance path. It is possible to provide means for responding to the change and providing an appropriate gap.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the movement distance in the vertical direction with respect to the sheet of the member that regulates the gap between the guide plates is set for each of the plurality of conveyance paths, so that each conveyance path is set. An appropriate gap can be provided.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the movement of the member that regulates the gap between the guide plates in the direction perpendicular to the sheet can be moved only in the conveyance path through which the sheet having a different sheet thickness is conveyed. And no unnecessary costs are incurred.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the movement distance in the direction perpendicular to the sheet of the member that regulates the gap between the guide plates is determined by the sheet folding mode, so that the clearance of each conveyance path for each folding mode is determined. Can be set to an appropriate gap, and the sheet can be stably conveyed in all folding modes.

  According to the embodiment described above, by using an idler roller or a mylar as a member that regulates the gap between the guide plates, it is possible to transport the paper without damaging the paper.

It is the figure which showed schematic structure of the paper folding apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the kind of paper folding performed in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for showing the folding order of the paper folding in the embodiment of the present invention, and explaining the paper folding operation along the order. It is a figure for showing the folding order of the paper folding in the embodiment of the present invention, and explaining the paper folding operation along the order. It is a figure for showing the folding order of the paper folding in the embodiment of the present invention, and explaining the paper folding operation along the order. It is a figure for showing the folding order of the paper folding in the embodiment of the present invention, and explaining the paper folding operation along the order. It is a figure for showing the folding order of the paper folding in the embodiment of the present invention, and explaining the paper folding operation along the order. It is a figure for showing the folding order of the paper folding in the embodiment of the present invention, and explaining the paper folding operation along the order. It is a principal part enlarged view of the paper folding apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and is a figure for demonstrating the clearance gap formed with the limitation member for every conveyance path. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part of the sheet folding device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram for explaining a change in a gap distance due to movement of a regulating member in a conveyance path. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the clearance gap adjustment operation | movement of each conveyance path in embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the clearance gap adjustment operation | movement of each conveyance path in embodiment of this invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 1st conveyance path 102 2nd conveyance path 103 3rd conveyance path 104 4th conveyance path 105 5th conveyance path 106 6th conveyance path 107 7th conveyance path 201 1st folding roller 202 2nd folding roller 203 3rd folding roller 204 Fourth folding roller 301 First switching claw 302 Second switching claw 303 Third switching claw 400 Stacker 501 First stopper 502 Second stopper 503 Third stopper 603 First idle roller 604 Second idle roller 605 Third idle roller 606 Fourth idle roller 607 5th idlero

Claims (12)

A plurality of conveyance paths for conveying the sheet are formed by guide plates provided on both sides in the sheet thickness direction, and the plurality of conveyance paths are sequentially connected and arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction. A stop member for stopping and abutting the leading edge of the sheet is provided in at least one of the plurality of transport paths, and a pair of rollers composed of a pair of folding rollers that are in pressure contact with each other is disposed in a connected manner. A sheet folding device that is provided between the conveying paths and performs a folding process of forming a crease by sandwiching the deflection of the sheet formed by the stop member between the roller pair,
A sheet folding device, wherein a regulating member for regulating a gap distance between the guide plates is provided on the guide plates in the conveyance path on the upstream side and the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction across the roller pair. A first transport path for transporting the paper that has not been folded;
A second transport path provided in the transport path with a first stop member for stopping and contacting the leading edge of the paper transported from the first transport path;
The sheet of paper formed by the first stop member is sandwiched between the first roller pair to convey the paper carried out from the roller pair while forming a first fold, and the leading edge of the carried-out paper A third conveying path in which the second stop member that stops the contact is provided in the conveying path;
The sheet of paper formed by the second stop member is sandwiched between the second roller pair to form a second fold, and the sheet conveyed from the roller pair is conveyed, and the leading edge of the unloaded paper A fourth transport path provided in the transport path with a third stop member for stopping and abutting
A fifth transport path for transporting the paper unloaded from the pair of rollers while forming a third fold by sandwiching the bending of the paper formed by the third stop member between the third roller pair;
The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   3. The sheet folding according to claim 1, wherein the gap distance formed by the regulating member is equal to or greater than the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction across the roller pair with respect to the upstream side. apparatus.   4. The sheet folding device according to claim 1, wherein the gap distance formed by the restricting member is determined based on a thickness of a sheet conveyed to each conveyance path. 5.   5. The sheet folding according to claim 1, wherein the gap distance formed by the restricting member is a maximum sheet thickness among the sheet thicknesses of sheets conveyed to each conveyance path. apparatus.   6. The sheet folding device according to claim 1, wherein the regulating member is movable in a direction perpendicular to a sheet to be conveyed.   The sheet folding device according to claim 6, wherein the movement distance of the restricting member is individually set for each of the plurality of transport paths.   The sheet folding device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the regulating member can be moved only in a conveyance path in which sheets having different sheet thicknesses are conveyed.   8. The sheet folding according to claim 5, wherein the movement distance of the restricting member is determined based on a sheet folding mode that realizes a different folding process depending on a combination of transport paths that pass therethrough. apparatus.   The paper folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the restriction member is configured using an idler roller.   The sheet folding device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the restricting member is configured using Mylar.   An image forming apparatus comprising the paper folding device according to claim 1.

Images