JP2010001149A - Sheet processing device and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the following problem: in the existing sheet processing device having a sheet bundle saddle stitching function, when a bundle of sheets stored in an intermediate tray is aligned by a jogger fence, friction between the buckling portion of the bundle of sheets and a chute causes sheet misalignment (misregistration). <P>SOLUTION: This sheet processing device includes: the jogger fence provided above a stapler stapling the approximately center of the bundle of sheets on the intermediate tray, reciprocating in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the bundle of sheets, and aligning the ends of the bundle of sheets in the width direction according to reciprocating motion; and the chute fixed to the lower portion of the intermediate tray and having a surface opposed to the sheet bundle storage surface of the intermediate tray. A paddle rotating around a rotating shaft and promoting alignment of the ends of the bundle of sheets in a conveying direction is provided in the lower portion of the intermediate tray, and a rotating member having a plurality of blades is fixed to the rotating shaft. By rotating the rotating member, the blades of the rotating member intermittently abut on the rear surface of the chute. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming system for processing a sheet (paper).

  Conventionally, many proposals have been made on sheet processing apparatuses that perform processing such as folding, punching, and stapling on recorded sheets discharged from image forming apparatuses such as printers and copiers.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a plurality of sheets (sheet bundle) discharged from an image forming apparatus are stored in a staple tray (intermediate tray), and the width direction of the sheet bundle is aligned by a pair of jogger fences. A sheet post-processing apparatus has been proposed. A known mechanism (for example, Patent Document 2) is employed as the jogger fence drive mechanism.

  In this sheet post-processing apparatus, since the pair of jogger fences abuts (applies) over substantially the entire area of the end of the sheet bundle in the width direction of the sheet bundle stored in the staple tray, the width direction of the sheet bundle is surely determined. Can be aligned.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-005666 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-084059

  However, the above-described sheet post-processing apparatus staples the substantially central portion of the sheet bundle because the jogger fence is in contact with the substantially entire area of the end portion of the sheet bundle in the width direction of the sheet bundle stored in the staple tray. There is a problem that the book cannot be bound. This is because if the stapler (sheet binding device) is provided at the substantially central portion of the staple tray, the jogger fence collides with the stapler, so that the end portions of the sheet bundle stored in the staple tray cannot be aligned.

  In order to solve such a problem, as shown in FIG. 8, a stapler 64 is provided at a substantially central portion in the sheet conveying direction A of the staple tray 63, and the jogger fence 66 and the stapler 64 are prevented from colliding with each other. It is conceivable that a chute 65 is provided only above 64 and below the stapler 64.

  However, with such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 8, the sheet bundle 61 is bent due to the curl of the sheet bundle 61 or the weight of the sheet bundle 61, and the sheet bundle 61 and the chute 65 come into contact with each other at the bent portion 62 of the sheet bundle 61. There are things to do. In this case, when the sheet ends in the width direction of the sheet bundle 61 are aligned by the jogger fence 66, the sheets are aligned as shown in FIG. 9 due to friction between the buckled portion 62 of the sheet bundle 61 and the chute 65. There is a problem that a mistake (miss registration C) occurs. Here, cramping means that the sheet is crushed or bent.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and even when the sheet bundle is bent, the end portions of the sheets can be aligned, and staples (in the middle of the sheet) An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet processing apparatus capable of binding.

(First invention)
A sheet processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is provided with an intermediate tray that stores a sheet bundle, a stapler that binds a substantially central portion of the sheet bundle on the intermediate tray, and is provided above the stapler and stored on the intermediate tray. A jogger fence that reciprocates in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet bundle and aligns the end of the sheet bundle in the width direction according to the reciprocation, and is fixed to the lower part of the intermediate tray, A chute having a surface facing the storage surface.

  The lower portion of the intermediate tray is provided with a paddle that rotates about the rotation axis and facilitates alignment of the end portions of the sheet bundle in the conveying direction, and a rotation member having a plurality of blades is fixed to the rotation shaft. As the rotating member rotates, the blades of the rotating member abut on the back surface of the chute intermittently.

  Here, the paddle is a plurality of wings made of an elastic member (meaning wings, but expressed as “wings” in order to distinguish them from the wings of the rotating member) attached to the rotating shaft. Is. When the rotation shaft is rotated by the power from the drive source, the paddle functions to cause a plurality of blades to hit the sheet and abut the end of the sheet in the sheet conveyance direction against the end guide. That is, the paddle facilitates the alignment of the end portions of the sheet bundle in the conveyance direction.

  With the configuration described above, when the rotating shaft rotates, the plurality of blades of the rotating member intermittently hit the back surface of the chute, and vibration occurs in the chute. Since the chute is fixed to the intermediate tray at the lower part of the intermediate tray, the vibration generated in the chute is directly transmitted to the intermediate tray. Since the sheet bundle on the intermediate tray floats intermittently at the lower part due to the vibration of the intermediate tray, the end portions in the width direction of the sheet bundle can be aligned by the jogger fence. That is, even if sheet alignment is performed using a jogger fence that exists only above the stapler (upper part of the intermediate tray), the above-described misregistration does not occur.

(Second invention)
A sheet processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the sheet processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the number of blades of the rotating member is different from the number of paddle blades.
With this configuration, it is possible to increase the frequency with which the sheet bundle is lifted from the intermediate tray when the paddle wing has a weak function of abutting the sheet against the end guide. For this reason, the effect of the first invention can be obtained in a shorter time.
(Third invention)
A sheet processing apparatus according to a third invention is the sheet processing apparatus according to the first or second invention, wherein the chute is provided with one or a plurality of holes.
By providing one or a plurality of holes in the chute, vibration is likely to occur in the chute. For this reason, it is possible to increase the vibration of the chute that is generated when the blades of the rotating member abut on the back surface of the chute, and to more reliably align the end portions in the width direction of the sheet.

(Fourth invention)
An image forming system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet, and a sheet according to the first, second, or third aspect for performing post-processing on the sheet output from the image forming apparatus. And a processing device.
With this configuration, it is possible to provide an image forming system free from sheet alignment defects (misregistration).

  It is possible to provide a sheet processing apparatus or an image forming system capable of stapling at a substantially central portion of a sheet bundle without misalignment of sheets.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming system, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a first post-processing device, FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a second post-processing device 50, and FIG. 4 is a lower part of a saddle stitching unit of the first post-processing device. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the rear surface of the chute (indicated by arrow D in FIG. 4).

(Image forming system)
An image forming system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an image forming apparatus 2 such as a printer or a copier that forms a color image by an electrophotographic method, and a sheet on which a toner image is formed by the image forming apparatus 2, for example. And a sheet processing apparatus 3 that performs processing.

(Sheet processing equipment)
Then, the sheet processing apparatus 3 includes a conveying apparatus 10 that conveys the sheet output from the image forming apparatus 2 further downstream, and a combination of thick paper, window empty sheets, and the like with respect to the sheet conveyed by the conveying apparatus 10. And an interleaf feeder 20 for feeding paper.

  Further, the sheet processing apparatus 3 includes a folding apparatus 30 that performs a folding process such as an inner tri-fold (C-fold) and an outer tri-fold (Z-fold) on the sheet conveyed from the conveying apparatus 10, and a downstream of the folding apparatus 30. And a first post-processing device 40 that is provided on the side and performs punching, edge binding, and saddle stitching on the sheet.

Further, a second post-processing device 50 is provided on the downstream side of the first post-processing device 40 and performs further post-processing on the sheet bundle (booklet) that is folded or saddle-stitched.
In addition, the sheet processing apparatus 3 includes a control unit 100 that controls the entire sheet processing apparatus 3. The control unit 100 is provided in the first post-processing device 40, for example.

(First post-processing device)
As shown in FIG. 1, the first post-processing device 40 of the sheet processing apparatus 3 includes a punching unit 41 for punching (punching) a sheet, and an end binding stapler unit 42 for binding the end of the sheet bundle. Yes.

  In addition, the first post-processing device 40 produces a stacker tray (stacking unit) 43 that stacks the edge-bound sheet bundles so that the user can easily take them, and creates a double-page booklet by folding the sheet bundles. A saddle stitching unit 44. Furthermore, the first post-processing device 40 includes a top tray 45 that stacks sheets that are not processed by the first post-processing device 40 or sheets that are only punched.

(Saddle stitching unit)
Here, the saddle stitching unit 44 provided in the first post-processing device 40 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the saddle stitching unit 44 includes a compile tray 441 that is an intermediate tray for stacking a required number of sheets after image formation when producing a booklet that is folded or saddle-stitched (binding). A discharge roll 442 that discharges the sheet to the compile tray 441 and an end guide 443 that moves along the compile tray 441 in order to determine the saddle stitching position and the middle folding position by providing a positioning stopper so as to protrude onto the compile tray 441. And.

  The saddle stitching unit 44 also includes a sheet aligning member 444 made of a paddle that rotates to align the sheets stacked on the compilation tray 441 toward the end guide 443, and the sheets stacked on the compilation tray 441 in the width direction. A jogger fence 445 composed of a pair of alignment plates that slide to align with each other, and a stapler 446 for saddle stitching a bundle of sheets stacked on the compilation tray 441.

  Further, the saddle stitching unit 44 includes a folding knife 447 that moves so as to protrude downward from above the compile tray 441 in order to fold the sheet bundle that has been saddle-stitched by the stapler 446 at the saddle stitching position, and a folding knife 447. A folding roll 448 composed of a pair of rolls that sandwich the sheet bundle that has started folding, and a transport roll 449 that transports the sheet bundle sandwiched by the folding roll 448 to the second post-processing device 50 are provided.

  When the first post-processing device 40 produces a half-folded / saddle-stitched booklet, the sheet conveyed via the folding device 30 passes through the punching unit 41 based on an instruction from the control unit 100. To the saddle stitching unit 44.

  The discharge roll 442 of the saddle stitching unit 44 sequentially places the conveyed sheets on the compilation tray 441. For example, 5 sheets, 10 sheets, 15 sheets, etc., for example, the number of sheets set by the control unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 2 is accumulated in the compile tray 441. At this time, the end guide 443 moves and stops so that, for example, the central portion of the sheet is positioned at the staple position by the stapler 446.

  Further, at this time, the sheet aligning member 444 rotates toward the end guide 443 and presses the stacked sheets against the end guide 443 to promote (auxiliate) alignment of the sheets in the conveyance direction. Further, the jogger fence 445 slides in the width direction of the sheets stacked on the compilation tray 441 and aligns the sheets from the width direction with respect to the stacked sheet bundle.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the sheet bundle 61 may be bent and a bent portion 62 may be generated. Even in such a case, the end portions in the width direction of the sheet bundle can be aligned without causing misregistration.

Here, the configuration and operation will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 5 (enlarged view of arrow D in FIG. 4), chutes 73 are fixed by a plurality of screws 70 at both ends of the lower portion of the compile tray 441. In addition, a plurality of paddles 52 and a plurality of rotating members 78 are provided below the compilation tray 441.

  The paddle 52 and the rotating member 78 are fixed to a rotating shaft 74, and the rotating shaft 74 is supported by bearings 71 so as to be rotatable at both ends. Although the bearing 71 is not fixed at the location, it may be fixed to the housing of the sheet processing apparatus or the compilation tray 441.

  When power such as a motor (not shown) is transmitted to the gear 72 fixed to one end of the rotating shaft 74, the rotating shaft 74 rotates and the paddle 52 and the rotating member 78 rotate. Then, the wings 53 of the paddle 52 serve to apply (press) the sheet to the end guide 443, that is, to align the end portions in the sheet conveyance direction.

  The blades 79 of the rotating member 78 serve to lift the sheet bundle from the compilation tray 441 by vibration. That is, when the rotating shaft 74 rotates, the blades 79 of the rotating member 78 intermittently collide with the back surface of the chute 73, so that vibration occurs in the chute 73. As described above, since the chute 73 is fixed to the lower portion of the compile tray 441, vibration generated in the chute 73 is transmitted to the compile tray 441 as it is. Here, the surface of the chute 73 refers to a surface where the chute 73 faces the sheet bundle, and the back surface of the chute 73 refers to a surface opposite to the surface of the chute 73.

  As described above, no misregistration occurs in the sheet bundle 61 on the compilation tray 441 even if the sheets are aligned in the sheet width direction using the jogger fence 445 that exists only on the top of the compilation tray 441.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the number of the wings 53 of the paddle 52 is three, and the number of the wings 79 of the rotating member 78 is four. Thus, it is desirable to make the number of the wings 53 of the paddle 52 different from the number of the wings 79 of the rotating member 78. This is because when the action of the paddle 52 is small, the action of the rotating member 78 is large.

  This point will be described in detail. When the action of the paddle 52 is small, that is, when the force with which the wing 53 applies the sheet to the end guide 443 is weak, naturally, the force with which the wing 53 presses the sheet against the compile tray 441 is also weak. At this time, if the blade 79 of the rotating member 78 collides with the back surface of the chute 73 to generate vibration, the sheet bundle is lifted from the compilation tray 441 by this vibration. That is, the effect of the present invention can be increased by causing the action of the paddle 52 and the action of the rotating member 78 to occur at different timings.

  As described above, after the sheet bundle is aligned by the jogger fence 445 and the sheet bundle is collected on the compilation tray 441, the stapler 446 performs saddle stitching on a predetermined portion (for example, the central portion) of the sheet.

  Then, the sheet bundle after the saddle stitching is moved by the upward movement of the end guide 443 so that the folded portion (for example, the central portion of the sheet) coincides with the tip position of the folding knife 447.

  Note that the folding knife 447 is configured such that the tip of the folding knife 447 is retracted above the compile tray 441 in the sheet stacking stage on the compilation tray 441, the saddle stitching stage by the stapler 446, and the sheet transport stage after the saddle stitching. ing.

  After the folding position of the sheet bundle has moved to the tip position of the folding knife 447, the folding knife 447 is pushed downward from above. That is, the front end of the folding knife 447 presses the sheet bundle from the top to the bottom in a direction perpendicular to the accommodation surface of the compilation tray 441 provided with an opening at a position facing the folding knife 447.

  Further, the tip of the folding knife 447 is pushed downward from the opening of the compilation tray 441, whereby the sheet bundle is pushed down from the accommodation surface of the compilation tray 441 and is sandwiched between the folding rolls 448. In this case, the folding knife 447 is configured to move to a position where the sheet bundle sufficiently bites into the folding roll 448.

  The sheet bundle subjected to the saddle stitching by the stapler 446 and the folding by the folding knife 447 and the folding roll 448 is then conveyed to the second post-processing device 50 by the conveying roll 449.

(Second post-processing device)
Next, the second post-processing device 50 to which a sheet bundle (booklet) subjected to saddle stitching and half-folding in the first post-processing device 40 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the second post-processing device 50 transports the booklet that has been subjected to saddle stitching and center folding in the first post-processing device 40 and corrects the deviation of the posture of the booklet, A reference member 52 that serves as a reference for correcting a deviation in the orientation of the booklet, a clamp member 53 that holds the booklet so as to sandwich the front end part (center folding / saddle binding part) of the booklet, and pressing the front end part of the booklet And a pressing roll member 54 for flattening the tip by moving.

  Further, the second post-processing device 50 includes a cutting unit 55 for cutting the booklet so as to align the rear end portion (spreading portion) of the booklet, a feed roll 56 for feeding the booklet into the cutting unit 55, and a rear end portion of the booklet. In order to determine the cutting position, a cutting position setting unit 57 that moves while holding the booklet is provided.

  Further, a cutting waste storage unit 58 that stores cutting waste from the booklet cut by the cutting unit 55 and a booklet transport roll 59 that transports the booklet whose rear end portion is cut by the cutting unit 55 are provided. .

  Further, the second post-processing device 50 is provided with a booklet tray 60 for collecting booklets that have been bound, and the booklets sent from the booklet transport roll 59 are stacked while being sequentially transported one by one in the booklet tray 60. Is done.

A second embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the back surface of the chute. Only differences from the first embodiment will be described in detail, and the same parts as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

The main difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that a hole 77 is provided in the chute 73.
With such a configuration, the vibration generated when the blades 79 of the rotating member 78 collide with the chute 73 can be increased, so that the alignment of the end portions in the width direction of the sheet can be further ensured.

  The above-described embodiments are illustrated for the purpose of explanation, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. The present invention can be recognized by those skilled in the art from the scope of the claims, the description, and the drawings. Modifications, deletions, and additions are possible as long as they are not contrary to the technical idea of the above.

  For example, in the above-described second embodiment, the number of the holes 77 provided in the chute 73 is one. However, the number is not limited to this, and a plurality of holes 77 may be used as shown in FIG.

  In the above-described embodiment, the number of the blades 79 of the rotating member 78 is four and the number of the blades 53 of the paddle 52 is three. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The number of the wings 53 and the number of the wings 79 of the rotating member 78 may be the same. In this case, it is necessary to shift the positions of the wings 53 and 79 for the reasons described above. That is, when viewed from the axial direction of the rotating shaft 74, the blade 79 is positioned between the blade 53 adjacent to the blade 53. It is desirable that the blade 79 is positioned in the middle of the blade 53 adjacent to the blade 53.

  In the above-described embodiment, the chute 73 may be fixed to the compilation tray 441 (intermediate tray) with a hinge or the like, and the chute 73 may be movable with respect to the compilation tray 441. In this case, the chute 73 may be oscillated by urging the chute 73 in one direction (a direction in which the rear surface of the chute 73 is pulled) with a spring or the like and hitting the rear surface of the chute 73 with the blades 79 of the rotating member 78.

  The present invention is applied to a sheet processing apparatus that performs processing such as folding, punching, and stapling on a recorded sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine.

Overall Configuration of Image Forming System (Example 1) Configuration of first post-processing apparatus (Example 1) Configuration diagram of second post-processing apparatus (Example 1) Configuration of the lower part of the saddle stitching unit of the first post-processing device (Example 1) Enlarged view of backside of chute (arrow D in FIG. 4) (Example 1) Enlarged view of chute back (Example 2) Enlarged view of the back of the chute Side view of conventional intermediate tray Diagram explaining sheet sheet misregistration

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming system 2 Image forming apparatus 3 Sheet processing apparatus 10 Conveying apparatus 30 Folding apparatus 40 1st post-processing apparatus 50 2nd post-processing apparatus 52 Paddle 53 Wing 61 Sheet bundle 62 Bending part 73 Chute 74 Rotating shaft 78 Rotating member 77 Hole 441 Compilation tray (intermediate tray)
445 Jogger fence 446 Stapler

Claims (4)

An intermediate tray for storing sheet bundles;
A stapler for binding the substantially central portion of the sheet bundle on the intermediate tray;
The sheet bundle is provided above the stapler and reciprocates in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet bundle stored on the intermediate tray, and the end portion of the sheet bundle in the width direction is moved according to the reciprocation. Jogger fence to align,
A sheet processing apparatus having a chute that is fixed to a lower portion of the intermediate tray and has a surface facing a storage surface of the sheet bundle of the intermediate tray.
At the bottom of the intermediate tray, a paddle that rotates about a rotation axis and facilitates alignment of the end of the sheet bundle in the transport direction is provided,
A rotating member having a plurality of blades is fixed to the rotating shaft,
The sheet processing apparatus, wherein the rotating member rotates and the blades of the rotating member abut on the back surface of the chute intermittently.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of the blades of the rotating member is different from the number of the blades of the paddle.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the chute is provided with one or a plurality of holes. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet;
An image forming system comprising: the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein post-processing is performed on the sheet output from the image forming apparatus.

Images