JP2010083108A - Bookbinding device and image forming apparatus equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure excellent bookbinding quality level and simultaneously, effective bookbinding process, when making a bookbinding by binding together a cover sheet and a batch of intermediate paper sheets to which an adhesive is applied. <P>SOLUTION: The bookbinding device includes a control means which performs a bookbinding process by transferring the batch of sheets to an adhesive applying position, a cover binding position and a cutting position in that order, and also, a finish mode setting means and a standby time setting means for setting a standby time for the batch of sheets. The finish mode setting means is constituted in the way that either of a cutting finish mode to use the cutting means and cut and put in order the edges of the batch of sheets bound together with the cover, using a cover binding means, or a non-cutting finish mode to convey to a stacker the batch of sheets bound together with the cover by the cover binding means, without cutting and putting in order the edges of the batch of sheets, is selectively executed. Further, the standby time setting means is constituted in the way that the standby time during executing the cutting finish mode is set longer than the standby time during executing the non-cutting finish mode. Then, the control means controls so as to transfer the batch of sheets to the downstream side after the lapse of the standby time which is set by the standby time setting means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a bookbinding apparatus in which an adhesive is applied to a bundle of sheets that are stacked and bundled and bound to a cover sheet, and relates to an improvement in the cooling and solidifying process of the adhesive in the finishing process of the bound sheet bundle.

In general, this type of bookbinding apparatus is used as a terminal device of an image forming system such as a printer or a printing machine, and after image-formed sheets are stacked in the order of pages and aligned in a bundle shape, an adhesive is applied to the end surface of the cover. It is widely used as a bookbinding system that binds to a sheet or a bookbinding apparatus that aligns print sheets supplied from a sheet feeding port and binds them to a cover sheet. In particular, recently, as on-demand printing such as electronic publishing, a system is known that simultaneously executes printing and bookbinding processing for printing a predetermined document and binding it automatically and displaying it as a booklet. .

  As such a system, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus configuration for automatically bookbinding finishing a sheet output from an image forming system. In this document, a sheet output from an image forming system is received from the sheet discharge outlet, guided to a sheet carry-in path, and accumulated on a loading tray provided downstream of the path, and the horizontal posture accumulated in the tray The sheet bundle is rotated 90 degrees and guided to a gluing device in a vertical posture to perform coating processing. A system device is disclosed in which the glued sheet bundle is folded and bound together with a cover sheet supplied from an image forming system or an inserter device.

  Conventionally, the bookbinding method in such a bookbinding system is a case binding in which a sheet bundle glued to the back is joined to the center of a cover sheet carried in from a direction orthogonal thereto, and the cover sheet is folded to form a booklet sheet. Bookbinding is known. In this case, the back portion is formed by press-forming a cover sheet having a sheet bundle bonded at the center with a pair of left and right back folding blocks. Therefore, the pair of left and right back folding blocks are formed in a press mold shape, and a structure in which the back portion of the cover sheet is folded at the central back folding position by approaching each other from the separated position separated by the left and right distance with respect to the central back folding position. Adopted.

Patent Document 2 discloses that after binding a cover sheet to a sheet bundle coated with an adhesive, the cooling time for cooling and solidifying the adhesive is adjusted according to the thickness of the sheet bundle. Yes. The publication discloses that the time from the bookbinding and binding process to the subsequent cutting process is set as the adhesive cooling time.
JP 2004-209869 A JP 2005-104063 A

As described above, in a bookbinding apparatus that applies an adhesive to a sheet bundle (inner paper sheet) that is stacked and bundled in a bundle and joins the adhesive to the cover sheet, the booklet is then folded back to cool the adhesive. Time is a problem. This is because of the long cooling and solidification time of hot melt adhesives that are widely used at present. When trying to perform the bookbinding process at high speed, the adhesive on the sheet bundle after bookbinding becomes incomplete, and it is difficult to carry out the process during the conveyance process. There arises a problem that the cover is deformed such as wrinkles. Further, if the bookbinding sheet is carried out toward the stacker after the adhesive is completely cooled and solidified, a problem of inferior processing efficiency occurs.

In particular, in an apparatus configuration in which a bundle of sheets (bookbinding sheets) subjected to bookbinding processing is cut and aligned in three directions (trimming cut), for example, on the downstream side of the cover binding position, the bookbinding sheet is arranged on the downstream side after a sufficient cooling time has elapsed. It is necessary to carry it out to the cutting unit. This is because a sharp cut surface cannot be obtained unless the cutting edge is strongly pressed by pressing means when cutting the periphery of the sheet bundle. For this reason, conventionally, a bookbinding sheet that has been folded back at the cover binding position is controlled to wait at this position for a predetermined period of time and then transferred to a downstream cutting position after an expected time for the adhesive to completely cool and solidify. ing.

However, the cooling and solidifying time of the adhesive varies depending on the composition of the adhesive, varies depending on the melting temperature, varies depending on the adhesive thickness and the bundle thickness of the sheet bundle, and also varies depending on the environmental temperature. If the waiting time for solidification is not set longer than necessary, bookbinding defects will be caused. On the other hand, in the apparatus configuration in which the bookbinding sheet is carried out to the stacker without trimming, the above-described cooling standby time is necessary, but even if this time is set short, it is due to incomplete cooling of the adhesive as compared with the case of cutting processing. There are few bookbinding defects. That is, in this case, it is sufficient that the sheet is solidified to such an extent that it is not easily deformed by a pressing force of a conveying roller or the like that carries the bookbinding sheet from the cover binding position to the stacker.

Therefore, in an apparatus configuration provided with a cutting unit downstream of the cover binding position, both a control mode for cutting processing (cutting mode) and a control mode for carrying out without cutting processing (non-cutting mode) are selectively executed. In the case of the control configuration, the above-described cooling and solidification times of the adhesives contradict each other, and conventionally, even in the non-cutting mode, the same cooling standby time as that in the cutting mode is set. For this reason, there has been a problem that the processing efficiency is particularly inferior in the non-cutting mode.

The present invention selectively executes a cutting mode for cutting and finishing a sheet bundle after binding and a non-cutting mode for finishing without cutting and aligning when binding a booklet of an intermediate paper sheet with an adhesive applied to a cover sheet. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bookbinding apparatus that is excellent in bookbinding quality and capable of efficient bookbinding at the same time.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configuration. A bookbinding path sequentially arranged in the order of adhesive application position, cover binding position, and cutting position on the downstream side, and a hot-melt adhesive on the back end face of the sheet bundle arranged at the adhesive application position An application means for applying a cover sheet, a cover binding means for binding a cover sheet to a sheet bundle that is disposed at the cover binding position and applied with an adhesive, and at least one side of the sheet bundle that is disposed at the cutting position and bound at the cutting position A cutting unit for cutting and aligning; a waiting unit for temporarily waiting the sheet bundle in the bookbinding path from the cover binding unit to the cutting unit to solidify the adhesive; and the sheet bundle from the cutting unit A stacker unit, a sheet bundle transfer unit that is arranged in the bookbinding processing path and sequentially conveys the sheet bundle, and a control unit that controls sheet bundle conveyance by the sheet bundle transfer unit.

The control means includes a finishing mode setting means and a standby time setting means for setting the standby time of the sheet bundle by the standby means. The finishing mode setting means includes a cutting finishing mode in which the edge of the sheet bundle bound by the cover binding means is cut and aligned by the cutting means, and the edge of the sheet bundle bound by the cover binding means is cut. The non-cutting finishing mode that is carried out toward the stacker without being aligned is selectively executed, and the waiting time setting means sets the waiting time when the cutting finishing mode is executed when the non-cutting finishing mode is executed. It is configured to set longer than the waiting time. Therefore, the control means controls the sheet bundle transfer means so as to transfer the sheet bundle downstream after the elapse of the waiting time set by the waiting time setting means.

The control means includes a thickness recognizing means for identifying the bundle thickness of the bundle of sheets that have been stacked together, and the waiting time setting means waits based on the bundle thickness information from the thickness recognizing means. Configure to have different times.

In the bookbinding path, stacking means for aligning and stacking the sheets is arranged upstream of the adhesive application position, and the sheet bundle transfer means for transferring the sheet bundle from the stacking means to the adhesive application position is a sheet. A bundle thickness detecting means for detecting the bundle thickness of the bundle is provided, and the coating means adjusts the amount of adhesive applied to the sheet bundle based on the bundle thickness information from the bundle thickness detecting means. Configure.

The sheet bundle transfer means for transferring the sheet bundle from the cover binding position to the cutting position includes a sheet attitude deflecting means for deflecting the attitude of the sheet bundle at the cutting position. The finishing mode setting means can be configured to select whether to cut and align one edge of the sheet bundle in the cutting finishing mode, or to cut and align three sides of the top and bottom of the sheet bundle.

The standby unit is constituted by a back plate member that folds the cover sheet disposed at the cover binding position, and the back plate member is provided with cooling means for cooling the adhesive.

The image forming apparatus includes an image forming apparatus that sequentially forms an image on a sheet and a bookbinding apparatus that binds and stacks the sheets from the image forming unit and binds them. And this bookbinding apparatus is provided with the structure mentioned above.

The present invention provides an apparatus configuration having a control mode for cutting and finishing after binding a sheet bundle of cover sheets and a cover sheet coated with an adhesive, and a control mode for finishing without cutting at a predetermined standby position. Waiting time setting means for setting the time for waiting the bookbinding sheet is provided, and this setting means is configured to set the waiting time when executing the trimming finishing mode to be longer than the waiting time when executing the non-cutting finishing mode. From the following effects.

When the cutting finish mode is executed, a long standby time is set, so that the cutting process is performed after the adhesive is completely cooled. Therefore, for example, the spine cover does not lose its shape and wrinkles are not generated during the cutting process, and a process with excellent bookbinding quality is possible. On the other hand, since the standby time is set to be long when the non-cut finishing mode is executed, high-speed processing is possible, and at the same time, there is no possibility that the bookbinding quality is inferior.

Further, according to the present invention, the bookbinding sheets are temporarily kept waiting at the cover binding position where the middle sheet bundle is bound to the cover sheet, thereby waiting at different positions when the cutting finishing mode is executed and when the non-cutting finishing mode is executed. There is no need to arrange the means, and the apparatus can be configured in a compact and compact manner.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an image forming system provided with a bookbinding apparatus B according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory view of a main part of the bookbinding apparatus B. 3A and 3B are explanatory views of the adhesive application mechanism.

[Image forming system]
The bookbinding apparatus B of the present invention is connected to, for example, an image forming apparatus A as shown in FIG. 1, aligns sheets formed with images from the image forming apparatus A into a bundle shape, and pastes on the end face of the sheet bundle. The cover sheet is joined to this, and back-fold press molding is performed and bookbinding is performed. The cover sheet is supplied from the image forming apparatus or the sheet feeding unit from the direction intersecting the sheet bundle conveyance path. FIG. 1 shows such an image forming system. Hereinafter, the image forming apparatus A and the bookbinding apparatus B will be described in this order.

[Image forming apparatus]
The image forming system shown in FIG. 1 includes an image forming apparatus A, a bookbinding apparatus B, and a post-processing apparatus I. The image forming apparatus A will be described. The image forming apparatus A prints a series of documents transferred from a computer, a word processor, or the like on a sheet and carries it out from a paper discharge port 9. As this printing means, laser, ink jet, offset printing or the like can be employed. The illustrated one is a printing drum 10 such as an electrostatic drum, a paper feed cassette 2 that supplies a sheet to the printing drum 10, a printing head 8 such as a laser that forms an image on the printing drum 10, and a developing device 4. And a fixing device 5. A sheet of a predetermined size is supplied from the sheet feeding cassette 2 to the sheet feeding path 3, and a printing drum 10 is disposed in the sheet feeding path 3. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the printing drum 10 by the print head 8, and toner ink is attached to the latent image by the developing device 4. After the toner image formed on the printing drum is transferred onto the sheet, it is fixed by the fixing device 5 and discharged from the paper discharge port 9. The fixing device 5 is composed of a roll, a belt, and the like, and heats and fixes the toner ink transferred in a sheet shape. Accordingly, the sheet carried out from the paper discharge port 9 is heated to a predetermined temperature (Tt1; hereinafter referred to as a fixing temperature) and sent to the subsequent bookbinding apparatus B.

  6 shows a duplex path in which a sheet on which an image is printed on one side is reversed in the reverse path, and is again guided to the printing drum 10 and printed on the back side of the sheet. An image reading apparatus 11 shown in FIG. 1 includes a platen on which an original sheet is set, a scanning carriage that reciprocates along the platen, and a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD that photoelectrically converts an original image scanned by the carriage. Yes. In addition, FIG. 12 shows a document feeding / feeding device, and includes a tray for setting a document, a conveyance path for guiding the document from the tray to the platen, and a paper discharge tray for automatically supplying the document to the platen. ing. The document data read by the image reading device is transferred to the data storage unit of the print head 8. On the other hand, the data storage unit is connected to an external device such as a computer or a word processor, and receives document data from the external device.

[Bookbinding device]
The bookbinding apparatus B includes a sheet stacking unit C that stacks sheets sequentially discharged from the sheet discharge port 9 of the image forming apparatus A in the order of pages and aligns them in a bundle, and binds a sheet bundle from the sheet stacking unit C. A bundle conveying unit D for transporting along the path, an adhesive application means E for applying an adhesive to the back end face of the sheet bundle disposed at the adhesive application position of the bookbinding path, and downstream of the adhesive application position Stores a cover conveying means F for feeding and setting a cover sheet at the arranged binding position, a cover binding means G for joining the cover sheet and the sheet bundle arranged at the binding position, and a bookbinding finished sheet bundle. Storage stack means H. Each configuration will be described below.

"Sheet collection means"
As shown in FIG. 1, a carry-in path P1 is connected to the paper discharge port 9 of the above-described image forming apparatus A, and this carry-in path P1 is arranged in a substantially horizontal direction and is constituted by a path crossing the center of the apparatus. . A paper feed path P2 of the paper feed unit J that feeds the cover sheet and a transport path P3 that transports the sheet from the image forming apparatus A are connected to the carry-in path P1. A route switching flapper 15 is provided at these route branching portions. The conveyance path P3 is disposed so as to guide the sheet upward from the carry-in path P1 disposed in the center of the apparatus, and a sheet discharge roller 21 and a sheet sensor Se are provided at the sheet discharge port 20.

On the downstream side of the transport path P3, the stacking tray 22 is disposed below the paper discharge port 20 with a step. The stacking tray 22 is provided with a sheet guide 25, an alignment roller 24, and a trailing edge regulating member 23 for regulating the position of the trailing edge of the sheet. The sheet guide 25 is constituted by a guide member that guides the sheet from the sheet discharge port 20 onto the stacking tray, and the alignment roller 24 moves the sheet that has entered the tray along the sheet guide 25 in the sheet discharge direction (left direction in FIG. 2). After the sheet is transferred and the rear end of the sheet enters the tray, the sheet is switched back in the reverse direction (right direction in FIG. 2), and the rear end is abutted and aligned with the rear end regulating member 23. For this reason, the alignment roller 24 is connected to a drive motor M2 capable of forward and reverse rotation. Further, the sheet guide 25 is configured to be swingable so as to move the sheet from the sheet discharge port 20 onto the stacking tray to guide the sheet when the sheets on the stacking tray are switched back and aligned with the trailing edge regulating member 23. Driving means such as an operating solenoid (not shown) is connected.

The stacking tray 22 is provided with alignment means (not shown) for aligning the width direction posture of the sheets. This aligning means, for example, arranges a pair of left and right aligning plates on the tray so as to be movable in the width direction so that the sheets are width-shifted by one side reference or center reference, and at least one of the aligning plates is reciprocated by a drive motor or the like To be configured. The above loading tray 22 may be fixed to the apparatus frame, but the illustrated one is attached to the apparatus frame so as to be movable up and down between the loading position and the unloading position in FIG. The rack gear 28 provided on the stacking tray side is engaged with a pinion 27 connected to the tray lifting / lowering motor M4, and the stacking tray 22 is loaded in the loading position (solid line in FIG. 2) and unloading position (see FIG. 2) by forward / reverse rotation of the tray lifting / lowering motor M4. It moves up and down between the broken lines). Accordingly, the sheets stacked on the stacking tray are moved down in the direction of arrow a from the stacking position, then transferred in the direction of arrow b and transferred to the subsequent grip transport means 30.

The stacking tray 22 is provided with sheet bundle thickness detecting means St for detecting the thickness of the stacked sheet bundle. This detection means is, for example, a slidac sensor, which detects the position of the gripper that holds the sheets on the stacking tray, and detects the thickness of the sheet bundle from, for example, the resistance value. This sheet bundle thickness detecting means St detects the thickness of the sheet bundle stacked on the stacking tray 22, and (1) the gap between the adhesive application roll and the sheet bundle, which will be described later, depends on the thickness of the sheet bundle. To set. (2) The cover sheet setting position and its feed amount are adjusted according to the thickness of the sheet bundle so that the sheet bundle coincides with the center of the cover sheet. (3) Used for subsequent processing operations such as adjusting the starting position (separation position) of the back folding press means described later according to the thickness of the sheet bundle. Accordingly, the sheet bundle thickness detection means St can employ various thickness detection methods, for example, configured by counting the number of sheets by the sheet sensor Se of the sheet discharge outlet 20 and multiplying by the average sheet thickness. It is.

"Bundle transport unit"
A bundle conveying unit D that conveys a sheet bundle from the stacking tray 22 to the adhesive application position X on the downstream side includes a grip conveying means (sheet bundle conveying means; hereinafter the same) 30 as shown in FIG. The grip conveying means 30 is provided in a bookbinding path P5 arranged in the vertical direction in FIG. In this way, the bookbinding path P5 is arranged so as to cut through the bookbinding apparatus B, and the sheet bundle received from the stacking tray 22 in a substantially horizontal posture is rotated by 90 degrees and deflected to the vertical posture, and the downstream adhesive Transfer to application position X. For this reason, the grip conveying means 30 is composed of a pair of clampers 33a and 33b for holding the sheet bundle and a unit frame (not shown) provided with both the clampers 33a and 33b. The unit frame is rotatably supported on the apparatus frame by a shaft, and is rotated by a rotation motor M5 provided on the apparatus frame side.

The clampers 33a and 33b are supported by the unit frame so as to be movable up and down, and the sheet bundle is vertically moved in the bookbinding path by a lifting motor (not shown). Accordingly, the clampers 33a and 33b execute a grip operation for gripping the sheet bundle by a grip motor (not shown), deflect the gripped sheet bundle from the horizontal posture to the vertical posture by the turning motor M5, and then the sheets in the vertical posture. The bundle is transferred to the adhesive application position X on the downstream side along the bookbinding path P5 by the lifting motor.

"Adhesive application means"
The adhesive application means E includes an adhesive container 50 for storing an adhesive such as adhesive glue, an application roll 51 made of a heat-resistant porous material rotatably mounted in the container, and the application roll 51. A drive motor M8 that rotates and a drive motor M9 that reciprocates the glue container 50 along the sheet bundle are configured. FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) show the structure and FIG. 4 shows the operating state. The glue container 50 is formed with a short length (dimension) with respect to the lower end edge of the sheet bundle (the spine portion at the time of bookbinding) S1. It is supported by a guide rail 52 (see FIG. 4) of the apparatus frame so as to move along the lower end edge S1 of the sheet bundle together with the coating roll 51 incorporated therein. The glue container 50 is connected to a timing belt 53 attached to the apparatus frame, and a driving motor M9 is connected to the timing belt 53. A heating element 50 h is disposed in the glue container 50, and the adhesive filled in the glue container 50 is melted and liquefied, and at the same time, the temperature of the adhesive applied by the application roll 51 is controlled. Ts shown in FIG. 3 (b) is a temperature sensor, which detects the temperature of the adhesive in the glue container, and controls the temperature of the adhesive by adjusting the power supplied to the heating element 50h by the temperature control means. The illustrated adhesive is composed of components having a melting point of 65 ° C. to 95 ° C.

As described above, the configuration in which the glue container itself moves along the sheet bundle is shown. This is because the glue container 50 is configured in a tray shape longer than the length of the sheet bundle, and only the coating roll 51 moves in the left-right direction in FIG. You may make it do.

Therefore, the glue container 50 is reciprocated by the drive motor M9 between the home position HP, the return position RP for starting the backward movement along the sheet bundle, and the replenishment position EP for replenishing the adhesive. Each position is set to the positional relationship shown in FIG. 4, and the return position RP is set by size information of the sheet width. Further, when the apparatus power is turned on (initial time), the home position HP is set, and after a predetermined time from the preceding sheet grip signal of the grip sensor Sg of the grip conveying means 30, for example, the sheet bundle reaches the adhesive application position. It moves from the home position HP toward the return position RP at the estimated time). Simultaneously with this movement, the application roll 51 starts to rotate by the drive motor M8. Note that S7 in the figure is a home position sensor of the glue container 50.

With the rotation of the drive motor M9, the glue container 50 starts to move along the guide rail 52 from the right side to the left side in FIG. In this forward path, the application roll 51 presses against the sheet bundle to disperse the sheet end, and in the return path from the return position RP to the home position HP, a predetermined gap Ga is formed between the sheet end and the adhesive is applied (see FIG. 5), the feed amount of the grip conveying means 30 is adjusted by the lifting motor (not shown). The application amount adjustment by the feeding amount of the sheet bundle is based on the bundle thickness information from the sheet bundle thickness detecting unit St described above, and when the bundle thickness is thick, the gap Ga is increased to set the application amount to a larger value. When the thickness is thin, the gap Ga is set small to reduce the coating amount. In this way, instead of adjusting the feed amount of the sheet bundle by controlling the lifting motor of the grip conveying means 30, roll position adjusting means for adjusting the position of the coating roll 51 up and down may be provided. Further, the drive motor M9 moves to a retracted position (replenishment position) EP which is retracted at a distance from the operation position where the adhesive is applied to the sheet bundle by a retract instruction signal, and the adhesive disposed at the retracted position (replenishment position) EP. The adhesive is supplied from the agent tank 54.

"Configuration of Paper Feed Unit"
In addition to the image forming apparatus A, a paper feeding unit J that supplies a saddle stitch sheet or a cover sheet is provided in the carry-in path P1 connected to the image forming apparatus A described above. As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet feeding unit J has one or more stages for stacking sheets, the illustrated one is a two-stage stack tray 16, and a pickup means 17 for separating the sheets on the stack tray one by one. The sheet feeding path P2 guides the sheet from the pickup means 17 to the carry-in path P1.

  After a series of sheets (saddle-stitched sheets) are unloaded from the image forming apparatus A, the cover sheet set on the stack tray is supplied from the stack tray 16 after the final sheet. Therefore, a special sheet such as a thick sheet or a coated sheet is prepared as a cover sheet in the stack tray 16, and the sheet on the stack tray is carried into the carry-in path P1 by a control signal from the bookbinding apparatus B described later. The two stack trays 16 are provided so that different types of cover sheets can be prepared in advance in the stacker, and the cover sheets are supplied from one selected stacker.

"Cover transportation means"
In the system of FIG. 1, a paper feed path P2 of the paper feed unit J is connected to the carry-in path P1, and a cover sheet from the paper feed path P2 is guided to the cover sheet feed path P4 via the path switching flapper 15. It has become. The cover sheet feeding path P4 intersects the bookbinding path P5 so as to be orthogonal to each other, and a sheet bundle from the bookbinding path P5 and the cover sheet are joined in an inverted T shape at an intersection (hereinafter referred to as a binding position) K. It is designed to bind. The cover sheet feeding path P4 includes upper and lower conveyance guides 63a and 63b and a lower conveyance guide 63d that are vertically opposed to each other at a predetermined interval, and the upper conveyance guides 63a and 63b pass through an intersection (binding position) K with the bookbinding path P5. A right upper first transport guide 63a and a left second upper transport guide 63b are divided at the boundary, and the left and right transport guides 63a and 63b are individually opened and closed.

In the cover sheet feeding path P4, registration means for aligning the cover sheet in the conveyance direction and the conveyance orthogonal direction, and cover sheet conveyance means F for conveying the cover sheet aligned by the registration means to the binding position K are provided. Has been placed. This cover sheet conveying means F is composed of a pair of conveying rollers arranged in the cover sheet feeding path P4, and is composed of a driving roller 63e attached to the lower conveying guide 63d and a driven roller 63c attached to the upper conveying guides 63a and 63b. Has been. A drive motor M10 is connected to the drive roller 63e. On the other hand, the upper conveyance guides 63a and 63b and the driven roller 63c are attached to the apparatus frame by a cam lever or the like so as to be movable between a position where the upper conveyance guides 63a and 63b are pressed against the driving roller 63e and a position where the upper conveyance guides 63a and 63b are lifted and separated.

Accordingly, the upper conveyance guides 63a and 63b and the driven roller 63c are separated from the cover sheet by an operation position in which the upper cover guide 63a and 63b and the driven roller 63c are brought into pressure contact with the cover sheet in the cover sheet feeding path by a cam motor driving motor (not shown). It is configured to be movable between the retracted position that has floated. In this way, the cover sheet is conveyed to the binding position K, which is the intersection of the cover sheet feeding path P4 and the bookbinding path P5, and is set at a predetermined position. The upper conveyance guides 63a and 63b at the binding position K are constituted by opening and closing guide plates, and move between a position where the bookbinding path P5 is blocked and the upper part of the cover sheet is guided and a retreat position retracted from the bookbinding path P5. It is configured freely. Then, after the upper conveyance guides 63a and 63b guide the cover sheet as shown in FIG. 7, the upper conveyance guides 63a and 63b retreat upward to open the bookbinding path P5.

"Matching unit"
At the binding position K, a cover binding means 65 is provided, and a sheet bundle from the bookbinding path P5 and a cover sheet from the cover sheet feeding path P4 are joined in an inverted T shape, and the back portion (back cover portion). Is press-molded. First, in the bookbinding path P5, the sheet bundle held by the grip conveying means 30 is glued to the lower edge S1 of the sheet bundle by the adhesive application means E, and the glue container 50 is retracted to the home position HP outside the path. The grip conveying means 30 then transfers the sheet bundle from the adhesive application position X toward the binding position K along the bookbinding path P5. At the same time, the cover sheet is fed to the binding position K and set stationary in the cover sheet feed path P4.

[Configuration of cover binding means]
Therefore, the cover binding means 65 includes a back plate member 64 and back folding press members 65a and 65b as shown in FIGS. The back plate member 64 is provided so as to be able to advance and retract between an operating position (solid line in FIG. 7) that has entered the bookbinding path P5 and a retracted position (dashed line in FIG. 7) that has been retracted outside the path. The back plate member 64 backs up and supports the cover sheet stationary on the cover sheet feeding path P4 in the operating position, and reverses the sheet bundle and the cover sheet conveyed by the grip conveying means 30 from the bookbinding path P5. Join in a letter shape.

The back plate member 64 is configured to form a small gap Gb with the lower end surface S1 of the sheet bundle as described later in the operating position (see FIG. 8B). This is to prevent the adhesive from being cooled and solidified by the back plate member 64 when the cover sheet is folded back by the back folding press members 65a and 65b. The back plate member 64 opens the bookbinding path P5 in the retracted position, and the grip conveying means 30 moves the sheet toward the folding roll 70 located on the downstream side by retracting the back plate member 64 from the bookbinding path P5. The bundle can be carried out.

Therefore, the back plate member 64 is supported by the apparatus frame so as to be movable so as to cross the bookbinding path P5 in the orthogonal direction, and is connected to drive means (electromagnetic solenoid, motor, etc.) not shown. In particular, the illustrated back plate member 64 is formed of a metal plate having a high thermal conductivity and a large heat dissipation effect, and cools the adhesive (shown is a hot-melt adhesive) applied to the sheet bundle. ing.

[Configuration of standby means]
The present invention is characterized in that a sheet bundle bound with a cover is temporarily placed on the back plate member 64 and the adhesive is cooled and solidified at this position. Therefore, the back plate member 64 is formed of a metal plate having a high thermal conductivity, and further provided with a cooling means 64f. As shown in FIG. 8A, the cooling means 64f is composed of a heat radiation fin 64a and a cooling fan 64b integrally attached to the back plate member 64. As a result, the back plate member 64 is maintained at a temperature lower than the internal temperature of the apparatus, and the adhesive of the back folded sheet bundle in contact with the back plate member 64 is cooled and solidified. As the cooling means 64f, a Peltier element may be used in addition to the cooling fan 64b. Accordingly, the back plate member 64 and the above-mentioned grip conveying means (sheet bundle transferring means) 30 for transferring the sheet bundle to this member constitute a standby means for temporarily waiting the sheet bundle. Hereinafter, the back plate member 64 will be described as standby means.

[Configuration of back folding press]
As shown in FIG. 6, the back folding press means (cover binding means; the same applies hereinafter) 65 includes a pair of left and right back folding press members 65a and 65b, and the press members 65a and 65b between the back folding position and the retracted position. A shift means 66 that reciprocates and a control means (control CPU to be described later) 80 that controls the shift means 66 are configured. The right press member 65a and the left press member 65b are slidably supported by an apparatus frame (not shown), and a press piece 65c is provided at the tip thereof, and the back portion of the cover sheet is bent by the left and right press pieces 65c. .

Therefore, a rack gear 66a is integrally provided on the pair of left and right back folding press members 65a and 65b, and a pinion 66b connected to the shift motors M3a and M3b is engaged with the rack gear 66a. The shift motors M3a and M3b are stepping motors. Sb1 and Sb2 shown in the figure are home position sensors that detect flags provided on the back folding press members 65a and 65b. Therefore, the shift means 66 is composed of the shift motors M3a and M3b and the transmission means (the pinion 66b and the rack gear 66a).

The back folding press members 65a and 65b are provided with a guide surface (the aforementioned lower conveyance guide; the same applies hereinafter) 63d for guiding the cover sheet conveyed through the cover sheet feeding path P4. As described above, the back folding press members 65a and 65b are provided with the press piece 65c at the tip, and at the same time the guide surface 63d for guiding the cover sheet on the upper surface facing the cover sheet feeding path P4. The guide surface 63d is provided with a pinch roller (the driving roller described above; the same applies hereinafter) 63e. The pinch roller 63e is configured to pass this path when the back folding press members 65a and 65b close the bookbinding path P5 at the back folding position. When the crossing cover sheet is guided by the guide surface 63d and the pinch roller 63e and retracted to the retracted position outside the path, the pinch roller 63e is buried below the guide surface 63d in the state of FIG.

Therefore, the operating lever 67 is engaged with the pinch roller 63e biased by a biasing spring (not shown) so as to always protrude so that the pinch roller 63e is buried from the guide surface 63d against the biasing spring. The operating lever 67 is suspended by a spring 68 stronger than the urging spring and is rotated counterclockwise in the drawing. The apparatus frame is provided with an abutting stopper 69 for rotating the operating lever 67 in the clockwise direction at the back folding position.

As a result, when the back folding press members 65a and 65b are in the back folding position (the state shown in FIG. 6), the pinch roller 63e protrudes upward from the guide surface 63d by a biasing spring, and when separated from the back folding position to the retracted position side, the spring 68. Thus, it is buried downward from the guide surface 63d. In this way, the pinch roller 63e protrudes and retracts from the guide surface 63d because the pinch roller 63e protrudes at the back folding position where the cover sheet is conveyed to smoothly guide the movement of the cover sheet, and the back sheet is folded back to fold the cover sheet back. This is because when the folding press members 65a and 65b are moved to the retracted position, the cover sheet set at the binding position K is buried below the guide surface 63d so as not to move unnecessarily.

[Description of cover binding operation]
The back folding press members 65a and 65b configured as described above are controlled as follows. The back folding press members 65a and 65b are located at the back folding position (FIG. 10A) when the cover sheet is fed from the cover feeding path P4 to the binding position K, and in the cover feeding path P4. Guide the cover sheet to be fed. In this state, the cover sheet waits for the adhesive to be applied to the sheet bundle set at the adhesive application position X.

Next, when the sheet bundle to which the adhesive is applied and the cover sheet are joined from the bookbinding path P5, the back folding press members 65a and 65b are positioned at the home position (FIG. 5B) retracted from the bookbinding path P5. To be controlled. Therefore, the sheet bundle is joined in an inverted T shape at the center of the cover sheet, and the adhesive layer Ns is located between the two sheets. In this state, the back folding press members 65a and 65b move from the home position to the standby position, and wait for the joining operation of both sheets to be completed (state shown in FIG. 10C). Then, the back folding press members 65a and 65b move from the standby position to the back folding position in a state where the both sheets are joined (see FIG. 11D). The cover sheet is then folded back as shown in the figure.

In the above-described back folding process, the back plate member 64 is already in the operating position and back-supports the back part when the cover sheet is back folded. A small gap Gb is formed between the back plate member 64 and the cover sheet as shown in FIG. This gap is for managing the adhesive so that the adhesive does not leak to other than the back part during back folding molding, and at the same time, preventing the adhesive from being cooled and solidified by contacting the back cover part to the back plate member 64. It is. Therefore, it is possible to perform the back folding process by press molding in a state where the back plate member 64 and the back cover portion are in contact with each other without forming the gap Gb.

[Standby operation]
Next, the control CPU 80 (described later) retracts the back folding press members 65a and 65b to the standby position, and releases the clampers 33a and 33b of the grip conveying means 30 before and after this (releases the nip). Then, the sheet bundle falls on the back plate member 64 and comes into contact therewith. In this state, the sheet bundle is temporarily kept waiting for the adhesive to cool and solidify. Therefore, the cooling fan 64b of the cooling means 64f is blown and the back plate member 64 is cooled to near room temperature. Therefore, the back cover portion of the sheet bundle is cooled and the adhesive is solidified in a relatively short time. When a predetermined cooling time elapses in this state, the control CPU 80 retracts the back plate member 64 from the bookbinding path P5.

[Configuration of bundle posture deflection means]
On the downstream side of the folding roll 70, a bundle posture deflecting means 94 for deflecting the top and bottom direction of the sheet bundle and a cutting means 95 for cutting the periphery of the sheet bundle are arranged. The bundle posture deflecting unit 94 deflects the sheet bundle mounted from the binding position K in a predetermined direction (posture) and simultaneously transfers the sheet bundle to the cutting unit 95 on the downstream side. Accordingly, the bundle posture deflecting means (the turntable mechanism shown in the figure) 94 constitutes a function of deflecting the sheet bundle in the vertical direction and a sheet bundle conveying means for feeding the posture-deflected sheet bundle to the downstream cutting position. is doing. Further, the cutting unit 95 cuts and aligns the periphery of the sheet bundle.

[Composition of cutting means]
As shown in FIG. 2, the cutting means 95 includes a cutting edge press member 95b for pressing and supporting the cutting edge of the sheet bundle on the blade receiving member 96, and a cutting blade unit 95a. The cutting edge press member 95b is disposed at a position facing the blade receiving member 96 disposed in the bookbinding path P5, and includes a pressure member (pressure means) that moves in a direction orthogonal to the sheet bundle by a driving means (not shown). ing. The cutting blade unit 95a is composed of a flat blade-shaped cutting blade 95x and a cutter motor (driving means) Mc for driving the cutting blade unit 95x. By the cutting means 95 having such a configuration, a predetermined amount of the periphery of the sheet bundle that has been bound into a booklet is cut and aligned.

The cutting blade 95x is a flat blade-shaped blade tip having a blade width longer than the sheet width, and is capable of reciprocating between a home position spaced from the blade receiving member 96 and a cutting position contacting the blade receiving member 96. And is connected to a cutter motor (driving means) Mc. A sheet discharge roller 97 and a storage stack unit H are disposed on the downstream side of the cutting unit 95 so as to store a sheet bundle from the bookbinding path P5 (see FIG. 1).

[Configuration of control means]
The configuration of the control means for controlling the above-described sheet bundle conveying means (grip conveying means) 30 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. In a system in which the image forming apparatus A and the bookbinding apparatus B are connected as shown in FIG. 1, for example, a control panel 81 and a mode setting unit 82 are provided in the control unit of the image forming apparatus A. Then, the control CPU 79 of the image forming apparatus A executes the bookbinding operation of the bookbinding apparatus B in accordance with, for example, “print processing mode” and “bookbinding processing mode” set on the control panel 81. In the print processing mode, the bookbinding apparatus B conveys the print sheet carried into the carry-in path P1 by the path switching flapper 15 to the post-processing apparatus I from the cover sheet feeding path P4 and the paper discharge path P6 shown in FIG. It is stored in the stacker provided in I. Accordingly, the print sheet only passes through the bookbinding apparatus B.

Further, the bookbinding processing mode in the present invention is set to “cutting finishing mode” and “non-cutting finishing mode”. In the “cutting finishing mode”, the edge (bottom edge in FIG. 2) of the sheet bundle bound by the cover binding means 65 is cut and aligned by the cutting means 95 and is stored in the storage stack means H after the cutting process. In the “non-cutting finishing mode”, the edge of the sheet bundle bound by the cover binding means 65 is directly stored in the storage stack means H from the bookbinding path P5 without cutting and aligning. The processing contents of each mode will be described later.

When the bookbinding mode is selected in this way, the control means (control CPU) 79 of the image forming apparatus A causes the bookbinding mode instruction signal (instruction signal for the trimming finishing mode or the non-trimming finishing mode) and at the same time the print sheet The size information is transmitted to the bookbinding apparatus B. At this time, thickness information such as the basis weight of the cover sheet and material information such as whether the paper sheet is hard paper or soft paper are input from the control panel 81, and the binding processing control means (hereinafter referred to as control) of the bookbinding apparatus B is input. CPU)). At the same time, when printing the number of copies, for example, n pages, a job end signal is transferred to the control CPU 80 when the last n pages have been printed.

The control CPU 80 is connected to a transport system driver circuit such as a drive motor for the transport roller in the carry-in path P1, a drive motor M1 for the paper discharge roller 21 in the transport path P3, and a drive motor M10 for the drive roller 63e in the cover sheet feed path P4. Has been. Similarly, the tray raising / lowering motor M4 for raising and lowering the stacking tray 22, the grip motor and the raising / lowering motor of the grip conveying means (sheet bundle conveying means) 30, and the drive circuits of the shift motors M3a and M3b are connected. The lift motors and the shift motors M3a and M3b are both configured by stepping motors, and the number of steps, speed, and the like are instructed by a command signal from the control CPU 80. That is, the control CPU 80 issues command signals such as the number of pulses of the pulse power supply, duty, drive start timing, and drive end timing to the power supply pulse generator of each motor.

On the other hand, the control CPU 80 detects a detection signal from the sheet bundle thickness detecting means St, the grip sensor Sg, the home position sensor S7 of the glue container 50, the detection signals of the home position sensors Sb1 and Sb2 of the back folding press members 65a and 65b, and Wires are connected so that the detection signals of the sheet detection sensors arranged in the paths P1 to P6 are transmitted. Then, the control CPU 80 has an “operation for stacking saddle-stitched sheets on the stacking tray 22”, “an operation for transferring a sheet bundle from the stacking tray 22 to the adhesive application position X and the binding position K by the grip conveying means 30. "Operation to apply adhesive at adhesive application position X", "Operation to join sheet bundle and cover sheet at binding position K", "Back folding press operation to fold cover sheet after joining", "Back A storage unit (ROM) 84 of a control program for executing “the operation of carrying out the folded sheet bundle” is provided. At the same time, the control CPU 80 includes storage means (RAM) 85 for control data such as speed information and start timing (timer table) of the shift motors M3a and M3b for driving the back folding press members 65a and 65b.

Therefore, a standby time setting unit 87 and a standby time timing unit 89 are provided to execute the “operation to carry out the back-folded sheet bundle”. The waiting time setting means 87 is based on the cooling time data of the adhesive stored in the control data storage means (RAM) 85, the cooling time Th1 in the “cutting finishing mode”, and the time in the “non-cutting finishing mode”. The cooling time Th2 is set. The RAM 85 is provided with a reference cooling time Th1 in the cutting finishing mode and a reference cooling time Th2 in the non-cutting finishing mode, and these times are set to Th1> Th2. The control CPU 80 reads the reference cooling time Th1 from the RAM 85 when the “cutting finishing mode” is executed, and adds or subtracts the time from the bundle thickness (= adhesive application amount) information from the sheet bundle thickness detection unit St to this reference time. Similarly, when the “non-cutting finishing mode” is executed, the cooling time is set by adding or subtracting the time to the reference cooling time Th2 from the bundle thickness information.

The control CPU 80 constitutes a counter for measuring the waiting time, and is configured to manage the waiting time for waiting the sheet bundle in the waiting means (back plate 64). That is, in the “cutting finishing mode”, the sheet bundle is kept waiting at the position of the back plate 64 for “Th1” time, and in the “non-cutting finishing mode”, it is kept waiting for “Th2” time.

[Bookbinding operation]
Therefore, the control CPU 80 executes the bookbinding process according to the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. When a predetermined print sheet is aligned on the stacking tray 22 (St01), the control CPU 80 recognizes the thickness of the sheet bundle based on a signal from the sheet bundle thickness detection unit St based on a job end signal from the image forming apparatus A. (St02). Information on the thickness of the sheet bundle is obtained in the following processing operation: (1) Adjustment of the adhesive application amount of the application roll 51 (2) Setting of the press time of the back folding press members 65a and 65b (3) Setting of the back plate member 64 Used for cooling time setting respectively. Next, the control CPU 80 drives the tray lifting / lowering motor M4 to lower the stacking tray 22 to the carry-out position (the broken line position in FIG. 1) and deliver the sheet bundle to the grip conveying means 30. The grip conveying means 30 deflects the posture of the sheet bundle from the horizontal posture to the vertical posture by the turning motor M5 (St03).

Then, the control CPU 80 activates an elevating motor (not shown) of the grip conveying means 30 to transfer the sheet to the adhesive application position X (St04). At this time, the control CPU 80 varies the conveyance amount of the sheet bundle based on the thickness information of the sheet bundle and forms the gap Ga between the coating rolls 51. In this control, the number of steps of the lifting motor is increased / decreased depending on the number of power pulses, and the gap Ga is set large when the sheet bundle is thick and small when the sheet bundle is thin.

Before and after the transfer of the sheet bundle, the control CPU 80 transfers the cover sheet to the binding position K. This cover sheet is set in advance by the user's selection of whether to form an image (such as a title) in the image forming apparatus A or to supply it from the paper feed unit J when the previous mode is selected. Therefore, the control CPU 80 operates the path switching means 15 to guide the cover sheet supplied to the carry-in path P1 to the cover sheet feeding path P4. Then, a sensor for detecting the position of the leading edge or the trailing edge of the sheet is provided in this path, and the sheet center (center) is set so as to be positioned at the reference of the binding position K by a signal from this sensor (St05). Around this time, the control CPU 80 moves the back plate member 64 to the operating position in the bookbinding path (St06).

Next, the control CPU 80 moves the glue container 50 forward from the home position HP to the return position RP when the above-described lifting motor has moved by a predetermined step, and then moves back from the return position RP to the home position HP. During the reciprocating motion of the glue container 50, the coating roll 51 applies an adhesive to the lower edge S1 of the sheet bundle (St07). In response to a signal (St08; signal from the home position sensor S7) that the glue container 50 returns to the home position HP, the control CPU 80 transfers the sheet bundle to the binding position K (St09). This control is executed by step-controlling the lift motor. At this time, the control CPU 80 controls the lifting motor so as to form a predetermined gap Gb between the lower edge S1 of the sheet bundle and the back plate member 64.

On the other hand, prior to the operation of transferring the sheet bundle to the binding position K, the control CPU 80 moves the back folding press members 65a and 65b to the retracted position (home position) in FIG. The operation for feeding and setting the cover sheet to the feeding path P4 is completed. Therefore, the control CPU 80 executes cover binding processing (St10). In this binding processing operation, as shown in FIG. 11D, the back folding press members 65a and 65b are moved from the retracted position (home position) to the back folded position. At this time, a small gap gap Gb is formed between the back plate member 64 and the lower end edge S1 of the sheet bundle.

Next, the control CPU 80 maintains the back folding press members 65a and 65b in the state shown in FIG. 11D for a predetermined pressing time according to the thickness of the sheet bundle. After the pressing time is over, the shift motors M3a and M3b are activated to move the back folding press members 65a and 65b to the standby position.

The control CPU 80 operates the cooling fan 64b of the back plate member 64 before and after the retracting operation of the back folding press members 65a and 65b (St11). Next, the control CPU 80 reverses the grip motor of the grip conveying means 30 to release the grip (St12). With this grip releasing operation, the sheet bundle falls by its own weight to the state shown in FIG. 11E, and the spine cover part comes into contact with the back plate member 64 (St13). With the spine cover in contact with the back plate member 64, the spine is formed on a flat surface on the plate plane. At the same time, the adhesive between the spine and the sheet bundle is forcibly cooled by the back plate member 64.

Therefore, the control CPU 80 sets the cooling time based on the setting mode information from the finishing mode setting means 82 (St014). As described above, the time setting is set by adjusting the thickness of the sheet bundle to the reference time Th1 in the cutting finishing mode and to the reference time Th2 in the non-cutting finishing mode. This set value is configured such that Th1> Th2. Therefore, the control CPU 80 sets the cooling time according to the setting mode (St15, St16). Then, the control CPU 80 counts the time from when the sheet bundle comes into contact with the back plate 64, and compares and determines whether or not the count value reaches the set cooling time (St17). When the set cooling time has elapsed, the control CPU 80 stops the cooling fan 64b (St18) and retracts the back plate 64 to the outside of the bookbinding path P5 (St19). Next, the control CPU 80 rotates the folding roll 70 and transfers it to the downstream side while folding the sheet bundle (St20). The illustrated folding roll 70 is composed of a pair of opposed rolls, and as shown in FIG. 11 (f), one roll 70a is configured to be movable between a nip position and a separation position according to the thickness of the sheet bundle. It is controlled by operating means such as a solenoid.

Next, the control CPU 80 executes a cutting process in the cutting finishing mode (St21). In this cutting process, the sheet bundle sent from the folding roll 70 is deflected in posture by the bundle posture deflecting means 94, and is cut by a predetermined amount by the cutting blade 95x in the order of the top portion, the ground portion, and the fore edge portion, for example. When the control CPU 80 determines that the three directions of the sheet bundle have been cut (St22), the sheet discharge roller 97 is rotated (St23), and the sheet bundle after the cutting finish is stored in the storage stack means H (St24).

On the other hand, in the non-cutting finishing mode, the control CPU 80 takes over and conveys the sheet bundle sent from the folding roll 70 without executing the cutting process by the paper discharge roller 97 (St23) and stores it in the storage stack means H (St24). ).

The present invention is characterized in that the cooling time of the adhesive is varied depending on the content of the finishing process (cutting or non-cutting) of the sheet bundle after binding as described above. The cooling times Th1 and Th2 in the above-described embodiment are preferably obtained experimentally according to the composition of the adhesive used and the configuration of the cutting mechanism.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus including a bookbinding apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory view of a bookbinding apparatus in the apparatus of FIG. 1. The whole explanatory drawing of the adhesive agent application means in the apparatus of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the state which apply | coats the adhesive agent in the adhesive agent application means of FIG. FIG. 5 shows a state diagram of the adhesive application means of FIG. 5, (a) shows the moving state of the forward container, (b) shows the moving state of the return container, and (c) is a side view of (a). , (D) shows a side view of (b). It is explanatory drawing of the cover binding means in the apparatus of FIG. 1, and shows the state which closed the bookbinding path | route. It is explanatory drawing of the cover binding means in the apparatus of FIG. 1, and shows the state which opened the bookbinding path | route. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a detailed structure of the back folding press member and the back plate member in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, (a) is a state in which the cover sheet is fed to the binding position, and (b) is a back fold of the cover sheet. Each state is shown. It is explanatory drawing of the detailed structure of a back folding press member and a back plate member, (c) shows the cooling state after back folding a cover sheet, (d) shows the case where a Peltier device is used for a heating means. FIGS. 3A and 3B are operation explanatory diagrams of a cover binding procedure in the apparatus of FIG. 2, and FIGS. 3A and 3B show a state in which a back folding press member moves from a home position to a separated position. FIGS. 3A and 3B are operation explanatory views of the cover binding means in the apparatus of FIG. 2, and FIGS. 3D and 3E show a state after the back folding press member has moved to the back folding position. The block diagram which shows the structure of the cover binding control means in the apparatus of FIG. The flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the cover binding control means in the apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

A Image forming apparatus B Bookbinding apparatus K Binding position (intersection)
X Adhesive application position 30 Grip conveying means (sheet bundle conveying means)
50 Paste container 51 Application roll 64 Back plate member 64f Cooling means 64a Radiating fin 64b Cooling fan 65 Cover binding means (back folding press means)
65a Back folded press member (right press member)
65b Back folded press member (left press member)
65c Press piece 70 Folding roll 79 Control CPU
80 control CPU
84 ROM
85 RAM
87 Standby time setting means 89 Standby time timing means 94 Bundle attitude deflection means 95 Cutting means 95a Cutting blade unit 95b Cutting edge press member 95x Cutting blade 96 Blade receiving member 97 Paper discharge roller

Claims (6)

A bookbinding process path arranged in the order of the adhesive application position, the cover binding position, and the cutting position on the downstream side sequentially,
Application means for applying a hot-melt adhesive to the back end face of the sheet bundle, which is arranged at the adhesive application position and is partly integrated,
A cover binding means for binding a cover sheet to a sheet bundle disposed at the cover binding position and coated with an adhesive;
A cutting means arranged at the cutting position and cutting and aligning at least one side of the bound sheet bundle;
A standby unit that temporarily sets the sheet bundle on standby during the bookbinding process path from the cover binding unit to the cutting unit to solidify the adhesive;
Stacker means for accommodating the sheet bundle from the cutting means;
A sheet bundle transfer means arranged in the bookbinding path and sequentially conveying the sheet bundle;
Control means for controlling sheet bundle conveyance by the sheet bundle conveying means;
With
The control means includes
Finishing mode setting means;
Standby time setting means for setting the standby time of the sheet bundle by the standby means;
Have
The finishing mode setting means is
A cutting finish mode in which the edge of the sheet bundle bound by the cover binding means is cut and aligned by the cutting means;
A non-cutting finishing mode for carrying out toward the stacker without cutting and aligning the edge of the sheet bundle bound by the cover binding means;
Is configured to run selectively,
The waiting time setting means is configured to set a waiting time when the cutting finishing mode is executed to be longer than a waiting time when the non-cutting finishing mode is executed,
The bookbinding apparatus, wherein the control unit controls the sheet bundle transfer unit to transfer the sheet bundle downstream after the elapse of the standby time set by the standby time setting unit. The control means includes a thickness recognizing means for identifying the bundle thickness of the sheet bundles that are collected in a set,
The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waiting time setting unit is configured to vary the waiting time based on bundle thickness information from the thickness recognition unit. In the bookbinding processing path, stacking means for aligning and stacking the sheets is arranged upstream of the adhesive application position,
The sheet bundle transferring means for transferring the sheet bundle from the stacking means to the adhesive application position is provided with a bundle thickness detecting means for detecting the bundle thickness of the sheet bundle,
2. The bookbinding according to claim 1, wherein the coating unit is configured to adjust the amount of adhesive applied to the sheet bundle based on bundle thickness information from the bundle thickness detection unit. apparatus. The sheet bundle transfer means for transferring the sheet bundle from the cover binding position to the cutting position includes a sheet posture deflecting means for deflecting the posture of the sheet bundle at the cutting position,
The finishing mode setting means is configured to be able to select whether to trim and align one edge of the sheet bundle in the cutting finishing mode or to trim and align the three sides of the top and bottom of the sheet bundle. The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1. The waiting means is constituted by a back plate member that folds a cover sheet arranged at the cover binding position,
The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the back plate member is provided with a cooling means for cooling the adhesive. An image forming apparatus for sequentially forming images on sheets;
A bookbinding apparatus for binding and binding sheets from the image forming unit;
Consisting of
An image forming apparatus comprising the bookbinding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.