JP2010207966A - Sheet cutting device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the probability of discharging cutting chips by separately constructing a member for discharging the cutting chips and a member for closing a discharge port; and to enhance cutting processing efficiency by shortening sheet transfer interval. <P>SOLUTION: A pair of guide pieces are located when an upper cutting edge 1 and a lower cutting edge 2 cut a sheet. A first stopper 3 of a sheet cutting section 15 is rotated from a receiving position where the lower guide piece 3n out of a pair of guide pieces closes the chip discharge port 16b to receive a downstream end of the sheet, to a discharge position where the pair of upper and lower guide pieces are rotated downward to drop and discharge the cutting chips occurred during cutting of the sheet by the upper cutting edge 1 and the lower cutting edge 2, and to a guide position where the upper surface of the upper guide piece 3m out of the pair of guide pieces closes the cutting chip discharge port to guide passage of the sheet after cutting. The cutting chips are discharged by the lower guide piece, and the discharge port is closed by the upper guide piece. This increases the probability of discharging the cutting chips, thus enhancing the cutting processing efficiency. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a sheet cutting device that smoothly discharges cutting waste generated when a sheet conveyed on a sheet conveying path is cut by a cutting means from a discharge port of the sheet conveying path, and shortens the conveying interval of the cut sheet. And an image forming apparatus provided with the sheet cutting apparatus.

  A conventional sheet cutting apparatus (Patent Document 1) 801 is shown in FIG. The sheet cutting device 801 collects cutting waste Pd generated by cutting the downstream end portion of the sheet bundle Pa in the sheet conveying direction by the cutting blade 847 from the discharge port 880 to the dust box 849 by opening and closing the sheet receiving seat 879. It is supposed to be.

JP 2005-7539 A

  However, the conventional sheet cutting device has the following problems because the sheet receiving seat 879 has two functions of discharging the cutting waste and blocking the discharge port.

  (1) As shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the cutting waste Pd adheres to the sheet receiving seat 879 and interferes with the sheet bundle conveyed downstream after cutting, so that the sheet after cutting is cut. The bundle could get stuck. This phenomenon has occurred even when one sheet is cut (hereinafter, both one sheet and a sheet bundle are collectively referred to as “sheet”).

  (2) Further, after the sheet is cut, if the cut sheet passes over the discharge port before the sheet receiving seat 879 closes the discharge port 880, the sheet may be caught by the discharge port 880 and become jammed (see FIG. 15 (C)). For this reason, the cut sheet needs to be conveyed after the sheet receiving seat 879 closes the discharge port 880. However, the sheet receiving seat 879 rotates largely downward to a position where the cutting waste adhering to the sheet receiving seat can surely fall, or even if it does not rotate greatly downward, the cutting waste falls for a certain time until it falls by its own weight. It must be kept tilted downward.

  For this reason, the conventional sheet cutting apparatus requires a long opening and closing time of the sheet receiving seat 879, so that the time for starting the conveyance of the sheet after the cutting is delayed, the conveyance interval between the sheets is widened, and the sheet cutting process is performed. There was a problem of low efficiency.

  In other words, it has been difficult for the conventional sheet cutting apparatus to simultaneously discharge the cutting waste and to improve the sheet cutting processing efficiency.

  The object of the present invention is to separate the member for discharging cutting waste generated by the cutting means and the member for closing the discharge port, to increase the probability of discharging the cutting waste, and to shorten the sheet conveyance interval for cutting. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet cutting apparatus with high processing efficiency. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus provided with this apparatus in the apparatus main body.

  The sheet cutting device according to the present invention is provided to extend upstream in the sheet conveying direction with a positioning unit receiving the downstream end of the sheet conveyed in the sheet conveying direction, and is movable in the vertical direction. A receiving member having an upper guide piece and a lower guide piece, a cutting means for cutting a downstream end portion of the sheet received in the positioning portion in the sheet conveying direction, and formed in the sheet conveying path, and by the cutting means A discharge port through which cutting scraps of the cut sheet are discharged, and a downstream side of the sheet guided by the lower guide piece closing the discharge port according to the cutting means cutting the sheet. Moving from the receiving position where the end portion is received by the positioning portion to the guide position where the upper guide piece closes the discharge port and guides the passage of the cut sheet And stage, with a, characterized in that.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, and a sheet cutting device that cuts the sheet on which the image is formed, and the sheet cutting device is the sheet cutting device described above. It is characterized by that.

  The sheet cutting device according to the present invention discharges cutting waste with the lower guide piece of the receiving member and closes the discharge port with the upper guide piece, and closes the discharge port with a member that serves to discharge the cutting waste. The members that serve to guide the sheet are separated. For this reason, the sheet cutting apparatus of the present invention has the following effects.

  The cutting waste can be discharged with the lower guide piece, and the discharge opening can be closed with the upper guide piece, which is a separate member from the lower guide piece. The sheet cutting process efficiency can be increased by shortening the sheet length.

  Further, since the sheet is guided by closing the discharge port with the upper guide piece on which the cutting waste is not placed, the sheet immediately after cutting does not interfere with the cutting waste that cannot be discharged and become jammed.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention along the sheet conveyance direction. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a sheet cutting unit serving as a sheet cutting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a sheet cutting unit as a sheet cutting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction. It is an enlarged view of the sheet cutting part in FIG. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a sheet | seat cutting part. (A) is the figure by which the 1st stopper is hold | maintained in the receiving position. (B) is the figure which the 1st stopper rotated to the discharge position. (C) is the figure which the 1st stopper rotated to the guide position. It is an external appearance perspective view of a horizontal registration movement unit. It is a figure for operation | movement explanation which a horizontal registration movement unit moves a sheet | seat to a sheet width direction. (A) is a figure when the conveyed sheet is received. (B) is the figure which moved the sheet | seat to the width direction. (C) It is the figure rotated to the original position. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a sheet | seat cutting part, and is a figure which abbreviate | omitted the 2nd stopper. (A) is the figure by which the 1st stopper is hold | maintained in the receiving position. (B) is the figure which cut the sheet | seat. (C) is the figure which the 1st stopper rotated to the discharge position. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the sheet cutting unit following FIG. 8. (A) is the figure which the 1st stopper has rotated to the discharge position. (B) is the figure which the 1st stopper rotated to the receiving position. 2 is a control block diagram of the image forming apparatus. FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a sheet cutting unit. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a sheet position and an index position when the sheet is cut. It is an external appearance perspective view of the sheet | seat bundle in which the index was formed. It is a figure of the conventional sheet cutting apparatus. (A) is a front view. (B) is the figure by which the cutting waste was discharged | emitted. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the conventional sheet | seat cutting apparatus.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus 900 and a sheet cutting apparatus 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Image forming apparatus 900)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention along the sheet conveying direction. The image forming apparatus 900 includes an apparatus main body 900A of the image forming apparatus, a sheet cutting apparatus 50, and a finisher 100 as a sheet post-processing apparatus. The apparatus main body 900A includes an automatic document feeder 950 and an image reading device 951 on top of each other.

  In the apparatus main body 900A, the sheets P set in the paper feed cassettes 902a to 902e are conveyed to the registration rollers 910 by the paper feed rollers 903a to 903e and the conveyance roller pair 904. On the other hand, the image reading device 951 reads the image of the document sent by the automatic document feeder 950, converts the read image information into digital information, and sends the digital information to the exposure unit 908. The exposure device 908 exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 906 charged by the primary charger 907 based on the digital information to form a latent image on the photosensitive drum 906. The developing unit 909 develops the latent image with toner to form a toner image.

  The sheet is fed between the photosensitive drum 906 and the transfer unit 905 at a timing at which the registration roller 910 aligns the leading end of the sheet and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 906, and the toner image is transferred by the transfer unit 905. .

  The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 912 by the conveying belt 911 and is nipped between the heating roller and the pressure roller of the fixing device 912 to fix the toner image. At this time, foreign matter such as residual toner that is not transferred to the sheet and adheres to the photosensitive drum 906 is scraped off by the blade of the cleaning device 913. For this reason, the surface of the photosensitive drum 906 is cleared and prepared for the next image formation. The sheet on which the toner image is fixed is conveyed to the sheet cutting device 50 by the paper discharge roller 914 or is conveyed to the double-side reversing device 901 by the guide roller 915 to form an image on the other surface. The sheet with the image formed on the other side is also conveyed to the sheet cutting apparatus 50.

(Finisher 100)
The pair of entrance rollers 102 of the finisher 100 receives the sheet that has passed through the sheet cutting apparatus 50 from the apparatus main body 900A of the image forming apparatus. At this time, the sheet delivery timing is detected by the entrance sensor 109. When the sheet is discharged to the upper tray 136, the sheet is guided to the upper path conveyance path 117 by the switching member 118 and discharged to the upper tray 136 by the upper discharge roller 120.

  When the sheet is not discharged to the upper tray 136, the sheet is guided to the bundle conveyance path 122 by the switching member 118. When the sheet is subjected to saddle (saddle stitching) processing, the sheet is guided to the saddle path 133 by the switching member 125 and guided to the saddle unit 135 by the pair of saddle entrance rollers 134 to be subjected to saddle processing (saddle stitching processing). . Since the saddle process is a general process, a description of the saddle process is omitted.

  When the sheet guided to the bundle conveyance path 122 by the switching member 118 is bundled or bound at the rear end and discharged to the lower tray 203, the sheet is conveyed to the lower path 126 by the switching member 125. Thereafter, the sheet is discharged to the processing tray 101 by the lower discharge roller pair 153, received by the rear end stopper 152 by the paddle 131 and the knurled belt 129 and aligned at the rear end, and conveyed by the width alignment plate 103. The side edges along the direction are aligned. When a predetermined number of sheets are stacked on the processing tray 101, the trailing edge is bound by the stapler 151, or the sheets are discharged to the lower tray 203 by the bundle discharge roller pair 180 without being bound. In the bundle delivery roller pair 180, the upper bundle delivery roller 180b descends from the state shown in FIG. 1, and the sheet bundle is ejected with the lower bundle delivery roller 180a sandwiched.

(Sheet cutting device)
A sheet cutting device 50 including a sheet cutting unit 15 as a sheet cutting device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13. Note that the sheet conveyance direction is an arrow X, and the direction intersecting the sheet conveyance direction (the front-back direction and the sheet width direction) is an arrow Y direction.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the sheet cutting apparatus 50 cuts a portion (broken line portion) of the leading end of the sheet (downstream end in the sheet conveying direction) and uses the remaining portions indicated by reference characters A to C as indexes. It is designed to perform index processing. In FIG. 12, the sheet at the right end is not cut, and the entire left end (downstream end) becomes the index D.

  In FIG. 1, an inlet sensor 30 that detects the downstream end of the sheet and a sheet position detection sensor 31 that detects a position in the width direction of the sheet are disposed downstream of the conveying roller pair 201. A moving unit 200 that moves the sheet in a direction (width direction) intersecting the sheet conveying direction is disposed downstream of the sheet.

  The sheet sent out from the moving unit 200 is further conveyed downstream by the conveying roller 5. Downstream of the conveying roller 5, a first stopper 3 and a second stopper 8 (which are used when index processing is performed by a cutting upper blade 1 and a cutting lower blade 2 described later on the leading edge (downstream end) of the sheet. 2 and 3) are arranged. A conveyance roller 6 that conveys the sheet from the sheet cutting device 50 to the finisher 100 is disposed downstream of the first and second stoppers 3 and 8.

  A dust box 4 for storing cutting waste generated when the sheet is cut is disposed below the sheet cutting portion 15 including the cutting upper blade 1 and the cutting lower blade 2.

  The sheet cutting unit 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. The sheet cutting unit 15 includes a cutting upper blade 1 serving as an elevating blade and a cutting lower blade 2 serving as a fixed blade for cutting sheets serving as cutting means disposed above and below the conveyance path 16. The cutting upper blade 1 and the cutting lower blade 2 cut a part of the downstream end portion of the sheet received by the first stopper 3 and the second stopper 8 (the portion indicated by the broken line in FIG. 12), and the remaining code A Index processing is performed using the portions indicated by C to C as indexes.

  The cutting upper blade 1 is supported by a guide member (not shown) so that it can be moved up and down with respect to the cutting lower blade 2. 2 and 3, the rotation of the cutting blade moving motor 21 is transmitted to the rack gear 22 fixed to the cutting upper blade 1 via the drive gears 23 and 24, and the cutting upper blade 1 is moved up and down integrally with the rack gear 22. It is supposed to be. The rising position of the cutting upper blade 1 is detected by a cutting position detection sensor 20. An optical sensor is used as the cutting position detection sensor 20, but a mechanical sensor that performs a detection operation in contact with the cutting upper blade 1 may be used.

  The sheet is conveyed in the direction of arrow X from right to left in FIG. 1, and is advanced from the right side to the left of the sheet cutting section 15 shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, and as shown in FIG. The back side is cut and the index part remains on the near side. The indexes A to C have different lengths in the sheet width direction (arrow Y direction), but processing to make them different will be described later.

  A Y blade 1c that cuts a portion along the sheet width direction and an X blade 1b that cuts a portion along the sheet conveyance direction are formed at the lower portion of the cutting upper blade 1. The Y blade 1c and the X blade 1b (FIG. 3) are formed so as to mesh with the Y blade surface 2c and the X blade surface 2b of the fixed cutting lower blade 2, respectively. The shape of the blade may be arbitrarily changed according to the desired index shape.

  The 1st stopper 3 opens and closes the cutting waste discharge port 16b shown in FIG. 5, FIG. The cutting waste discharge port 16b serving as the discharge port is a portion that is formed in the lower guide 16a of the conveyance path 16 and discharges the cutting waste Pd of the sheet cut by the cutting upper blade 1 and the cutting lower blade 2.

  The first stopper 3 (FIGS. 4 and 8) serving as a receiving member is formed by integrating a pair of upper and lower guide pieces composed of an upper guide piece 3m and a lower guide piece 3n extending from downstream to upstream in the sheet conveying direction. Have. Further, the first stopper 3 is configured to receive the downstream end of the sheet conveyed in the sheet conveyance path by the sheet positioning unit 3f. The sheet positioning portion 3f as the positioning portion is located between the guide base end portions of the pair of upper and lower guide pieces 3m and 3n so that the downstream end of the sheet can be received when the first stopper 3 is in a receiving position described later. Is formed.

  The first stopper 3 (FIGS. 2 and 4) includes guide surfaces 3a and 3e that receive the downstream end of the sheet when cutting the sheet, and a sheet positioning portion 3f that receives the downstream end of the sheet and positions the sheet. A U-shaped inner surface 3k is formed. The upper guide piece 3m of the first stopper 3 is formed with an upper guide surface 3g that serves as a sheet guide when the sheet passes through the first stopper 3, as shown in FIG. 5C. Yes. The first stopper 3 is rotatably supported (rotatable and movable) on the shaft 25 by the support hole 3d. When the first stopper 3 receives the downstream end of the sheet, the first stopper 3 is held at the receiving position pulled by the spring 12 and stopped by the fixed positioning member 11, and receives the downstream end of the sheet by the inner surface 3k. ing. The positioning member 11 is provided between the shaft 25 and the spring 12 in the sheet conveyance direction (arrow X direction). The positioning member 11, the abutted portion 3c, and the spring 12 constitute positioning means for receiving and positioning the first stopper 3 at the receiving position.

  Further, the first stopper 3 (FIG. 2) is provided with a contacted portion 3h (FIG. 2) on which a contact portion 1a provided on the cutting upper blade 1 contacts. The contacted portion 3h protrudes upstream in the sheet conveying direction. When the cutting upper blade 1 cuts the sheet and further descends, the abutted portion 3h is pushed by the abutting portion 1a that descends integrally with the cutting upper blade 1 to move the first stopper 3 downward. It is designed to rotate toward. However, the timing at which the abutting portion 1a abuts on the abutted portion 3h is such that the cutting upper blade 1 cuts the sheet so that the sheet cutting process by the cutting upper blade 1 and the cutting lower blade 2 can be performed smoothly. After a while, after a while (FIG. 5A). The contact portion 1a and the contacted portion 3h are provided between the cutting upper blade 1 and the first stopper 3, and the first stopper 3 is further lowered by the lowering of the cutting upper blade 1 after the sheet cutting. The moving means is configured to rotate (move) from the receiving position to the discharge position for discharging the cutting waste Pd. The cutting blade moving motor 21 also constitutes a moving means.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the link 13 is formed in an L shape and is supported on the shaft 27 by the support hole 13 a so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction. One end of the link 13 is engaged with the plunger 14 a of the solenoid 14. At the other end, there is formed a push-up portion 13b that contacts the lower surface of the contacted portion 3c of the first stopper 3 and pushes up the contacted portion 3c.

  Therefore, when the solenoid 14 is turned on and the plunger 14a is sucked, the link 13 (FIG. 5C) rotates counterclockwise around the shaft 27 and pushes up the contacted portion 3c with the push-up portion 13b. The first stopper 3 is retracted from the transport path 16. The retracted first stopper 3 has a guide position in which the upper guide piece 3m is flush with the lower guide 16a of the conveyance path 16 or slightly lower to close the cutting waste discharge port 16b and guide the passage of the cut sheet. Is supposed to be retained.

  The first stopper 3 and the second stopper 8 are arranged along the width direction of the sheet as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet positioning unit 3f of the first stopper 3 and the sheet positioning unit 8c of the second stopper 8 can simultaneously receive the downstream end of the sheet. The direction position is aligned. The sheet positioning portion 8c of the second stopper 8 receives the downstream end of the portion remaining as indexes A to C (FIG. 12) when the downstream end of the sheet is cut by the cutting upper blade 1 and the cutting lower blade 2, and the sheet It is the part which positions.

  The second stopper 8 (FIGS. 3 and 4) is supported on the shaft 26 by the support hole 8a so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction. The second stopper 8 is biased in the clockwise direction by the spring 9 and received by the positioning member 10. The rotation is restricted. Further, a pressed piece 8b that is pressed by the pressing piece 3b provided on the first stopper 3 is provided on the side of the second stopper 8 (FIG. 3). For this reason, the second stopper 8 is rotated in conjunction with the rotation of the first stopper 3 (FIGS. 5B and 5C).

  Usually, as shown in FIG. 4, the second stopper 8 is pulled by a spring 9 and is restricted in rotation by a positioning member 10. At this time, the sheet positioning unit 8 c protrudes into the conveyance path 16 from the opening 16 c (FIG. 7) of the lower guide 16 a of the conveyance path 16. Then, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the solenoid 14 is turned on, the plunger 14a is pulled in, the first stopper 3 rotates right, and the pressing piece 3b pushes down the pressed piece 8b. Then, the second stopper 8 rotates counterclockwise against the spring 9 and retreats below the lower guide 16 a of the transport path 16. As a result, the sheet positioning portion 8c retracts downward from the lower guide 16a and allows the sheet to pass over the second stopper 8.

  The moving unit 200 (FIG. 7) conveys the sheet P conveyed based on the position information of the sheet position detection sensor 31 (FIG. 1) that detects the position in the front-rear direction with respect to the sheet conveyance direction and the sheet cutting instruction information. Is moved forward and backward. The movement unit 200 moves the sheet in the front-rear direction by changing the length in the front-rear direction of the downstream end of the sheet cut by the sheet cutting unit 15 and moving the front of the indexes A to C (FIG. 12). This is to change the length of the direction.

  The moving unit 200 (FIG. 6) has a frame 202 that supports transport rollers 206 and 207 and a transport motor 208 that drives them. The transport roller 207 is rotated by a transport motor 208, and the transport roller 206 is rotated by the transport roller 207 via a belt 213. The frame 202 is provided on a fixed member and is supported by bearings 205a to 205d on a pair of parallel slide guides 204, 204 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. The frame 202 is connected by a connecting member 212 to a belt 211 that is rotated by a sheet moving motor 210 supported by a fixed member.

  The moving unit 150 provided in the finisher 100 has the same configuration, and the sheet moved by the moving unit 200 of the sheet cutting apparatus 50 can be moved to a desired position as necessary. .

  The sheet cutting device 50 according to the present embodiment is configured to fix the sheet cutting unit 15 and move the sheet to the front in the conveyance direction by the moving unit 200. However, the sheet cutting unit 15 does not move the sheet. May be moved in the front-rear direction. In addition, the second stopper 8 may be disposed on both sides of the first stopper 3 in the front-rear direction.

(System block diagram)
FIG. 10 is a control block diagram for controlling the entire image forming apparatus.

  The control device 70 includes a CPU 60, a ROM 59, a RAM 61, and the like configured by a microcomputer system. Various programs such as a puncher processing program, a stapling processing program, and an image forming program are stored in the ROM 59 in advance. The CPU 60 executes each program and performs input data processing while appropriately transferring data to and from the RAM 61, thereby creating a predetermined control signal.

  Detection signals from the inlet sensor 30, the cutting position detection sensor 20, the sheet position detection sensor 31, and the like of the sheet cutting apparatus 50 are input to the CPU 60 as input data via the input interface 57. Various control signals are output from the CPU 60 via the output interface 58.

  The output signal is transmitted to a control device such as a motor driver, and the control device is controlled to operate the cutting blade moving motor 21, the solenoid 14, the conveying motor 208, the sheet moving motor 210, and the like.

  Note that a CPU may be provided in each of the apparatus main body 900A, the finisher 100, and the sheet cutting apparatus 50 of the image forming apparatus, and data communication and control signal exchange may be performed between the CPUs.

  Further, the CPU 60 inputs sheet information and conditions relating to the sheet type (plain paper, coated paper, special paper), the sheet size, and the like by the user's operation from the operation panel 71 (FIG. 1) of the apparatus main body 900A of the image forming apparatus. As a result, the sheet conditions can be recognized. In addition to the above sheet size, the sheet conditions include sheet types such as stiffness, thickness, basis weight, physical properties such as surface resistance and smoothness (surface properties), punch paper, and tab paper. Yes.

  Next, the operation of the sheet cutting apparatus will be described by taking as an example the creation of a booklet that is subjected to index processing at four locations for every 20 sheets in total (10 pages on the front and back sides).

  When the operator sets the size, basis weight (thickness) and presence / absence of index processing on the operation panel 71, the sheet is indexed by raising and lowering the cutting upper blade 1 (FIG. 11, S121). ).

  The sheets are reversed by the double-side reversing device 901 in the apparatus main body 900A of the image forming apparatus to form images on both sides, and then sequentially discharged from the paper discharge roller 914 of the apparatus main body 900A. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the sheet is moved in the width direction of the sheet by the moving unit 200 in accordance with a position where a preset index is formed. When the conveying rollers 206 and 207 of the moving unit 200 move in the sheet width direction (arrow Y direction) while conveying the sheet, the sheet is moved to a position where an index is formed (S123, S125).

  The distance by which the sheet is moved in the width direction is small in the sheet movement amount (L1 <L2 <L3) in the sheet width direction in the order of the indexes indicated by reference signs A, B, and C in FIG. The index indicated by the symbol D is formed without cutting the sheet by the sheet cutting unit 15 unless the sheet is moved in the width direction. The distance (L4) between the Y blade 1c of the cutting upper blade and the sheet positioning portion 3f of the first stopper 3 is set to the sheet cutting width W (W = L4). The first sheet is moved by the distance L1 by the moving unit 200.

  In the first stopper 3 (FIG. 4A), the upper guide piece 3m protrudes into the conveyance path 16, the lower guide piece 3n closes the cutting waste discharge port 16b, and the contacted portion 3h It waits in the receiving position which can receive a downstream end. The first stopper 3 is held at the receiving position by the contacted portion 3 c of the first stopper 3 being pulled by the spring 12 and received by the positioning member 11. Further, the second stopper 8 (FIG. 4) is pulled by the spring 9 and received by the positioning member 10, and the sheet positioning portion 8 c protrudes into the conveyance path 16. For this reason, the second stopper 8 also stands by at a receiving position where the downstream end of the sheet can be received.

  4 and 8A show the first and second stoppers in which the sheet P, which has been subjected to lateral registration correction by the moving unit 200 (FIG. 7), is conveyed to the conveying roller 5 (FIG. 1) and is in the receiving position. FIGS. 3 and 8 are views showing a state where the downstream end of the sheet is received and positioned. At this time, the conveying roller 5 slides and rotates on the sheet on which the downstream end is positioned, and after the sheet is skewed, it stops (S127, S129). Note that FIG. 8 does not show the second stopper 8 in order to simplify the drawing.

  5A and 8B, the cutting upper blade 1 is lowered by the rotation of the cutting blade moving motor 21 (FIG. 2) and overlaps the cutting lower blade 2, and the downstream end of the sheet P is cut. FIG. The cutting waste Pd generated at this time is temporarily held in the inner surface 3k of the first stopper 3. That is, it is placed on the lower guide piece. On the other hand, the cut sheet P is notched at the downstream end, and an index is formed at the downstream end. (S131)

  FIG. 5B and FIG. 8C are diagrams in a state where the cut upper blade 1 after cutting is further lowered to ensure cutting. As the cutting upper blade 1 is lowered, the contact portion 1 a (FIG. 2) contacts the contacted portion 3 h of the first stopper 3. Then, the first stopper 3 is rotated about the shaft 25 from the receiving position to the discharge position for dropping and discharging the cutting waste Pd. At this time, the cutting waste Pd is temporarily received by the drop assisting member 7 at the upstream end (FIG. 8C).

  FIG. 9A is a view of the state in which the cutting upper blade 1 is further lowered from FIG. 8C, and is a view of the state in which the first stopper 3 is held at the discharge position. At this time, the cutting scrap Pd whose upstream end has been received by the drop assisting member 7 is knocked down by the guide surface 3 a of the first stopper 3 and falls into the dust box 4. The drop assisting member 7 is disposed below the cutting waste discharge port 16b, and contacts the cutting waste on the lower guide piece 3n to drop the cutting waste Pd when the first stopper 3 rotates downward. It is like that.

  5C and 9B, the solenoid 14 is turned on, the first and second stoppers 3 and 8 are held in a rotated state, and the cutting upper blade 1 is returned to the home position. It is a figure of a state. At this time, the first stopper 3 is rotated from the discharge position to a guide position that guides passage of the cut sheet by closing the cutting waste discharge port 16b with the upper guide surface 3g that is the upper surface of the upper guide piece 3m. That's right. The guide position is halfway between the discharge position and the receiving position. The timing at which the solenoid 14 is turned on is the timing at which cutting is completed (FIG. 8C). At this time, the transport roller 5 and the transport roller 6 (FIG. 1) start to rotate and transport the stopped sheet P. Then, the sheet P passes over the upper guide surface 3g of the first stopper 3. Thereby, since the cutting waste Pd does not protrude on the upper guide surface 3g, the sheet P passing on the upper guide surface 3g does not interfere with it.

  The first stopper 3 is held at the guide position by a stopper driving solenoid 14, a plunger 14a, and a link 13 as holding means until the sheet P passes. Note that the first stopper 3 may be directly rotated by the plunger 14 a without using the link 13.

  The rotating means constituted by the abutting part 1a and the abutted part 3h, and the holding means constituted by the stopper driving solenoid 14, the plunger 14a, etc. constitute moving means.

  By repeating the above, up to the fifth sheet is stacked on the processing tray 101 of the finisher 100. At this time, since the front end (downstream end) of the sheet in the conveyance direction of the sheet is cut, the upstream end of the rear end that has not been cut to the rear end stopper 152 provided on the processing tray 101 (FIG. 1). (S133).

  The sixth and subsequent sheets are moved in the sheet width direction by the distance L2 by the moving unit 200 in order to cut a position different from that of the fifth sheet and the conveyance position is changed. Then, the paper is stacked on the processing tray 101 through the same cutting process. The above operation is repeated up to the 20th sheet, and one set bundle is stacked on the processing tray 101 (S135). However, the 16th to 20th sheets are not cut because the index is the part indicated by the symbol D (NO in S121). Thereafter, the 20 sheets are stapled by a stapler 151 as a binding means to form a booklet as shown in FIG. 13 (S137). The sheet bundle as a booklet is discharged to the lower tray 203 by the bundle discharge roller pair 180 with the index at the top (S139). Then, the above operation is repeated for the desired number of copies, and is completed.

  The height direction position of the discharge position of the first stopper 3 can be changed according to the timing of contact between the contact portion 1a and the contacted portion 3h. The height direction position of the guide position of the first stopper 3 can also be changed by the suction distance of the plunger 14 a of the solenoid 14 or the shape of the link 13.

  Further, the first stopper 3 is discharged from the state in which the first stopper 3 is in contact with the positioning member 11 and held at the receiving position by the contact between the contact portion 1a and the contacted portion 3h by the lowering of the cutting upper blade 1. Rotate to position. The first stopper 3 is held at the guide position by the solenoid 14.

  Further, instead of the solenoid 14 as a moving means, a motor may be used to rotate the first stopper 3 by the rotation of the motor. In this case, the motor is started by a detection operation of a sensor (not shown) that detects that the cutting upper blade 1 has cut the sheet, and a motor of a center (not shown) that detects that the sheet has passed through the first stopper 3. It is reversed and locked by the detection operation. When a motor is used, the first stopper 3 is detected in the height direction by detecting the rotation speed of the motor or the rotation angle of the first stopper 3 in the height direction. It can be rotated and locked.

  In the above description, the number of indexes is four, but this number can be changed to a desired number by changing the amount of movement of the conveyance rollers 206 and 207 in the movement unit 200 in the sheet width direction. When the sheet is not indexed, if the lateral registration operation by the moving unit 200 and the cutting operation of the sheet cutting unit 15 of the sheet cutting device 50 are stopped, the sheet passes through the sheet cutting device without being processed. To do.

  In the present invention, the index processing is shown as an example of the sheet. However, by changing the shapes of the cutting upper blade 1 and the cutting lower blade 2, for example, end-stitching, saddle-stitching, and folding of a sheet bundle that has been subjected to folding processing are performed. It can also be applied to those that cut the edge. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to cutting the entire sheet width direction of the downstream end portion of the sheet. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the sheet cutting unit 15 that is the sheet cutting device of the present invention is incorporated in the sheet cutting device 50 with the conveyance path 16 being horizontal, but is incorporated with the conveyance path 16 being inclined. It may be.

  As described above, the sheet cutting unit 15 discharges the cutting waste by discharging the cutting waste by the lower guide piece 3n of the first stopper 3 and closing the cutting waste discharge port 16b by the upper guide piece 3m. And a member that serves to block the cutting waste outlet are separated. In addition, the upper guide piece 3m is positioned above the lower guide piece 3n, and the lower and upper guide pieces 3n, 3m are integrally rotated in the vertical direction. For this reason, the sheet cutting part 15 has the following effects.

  When the sheet cutting part discharges the cutting waste with the lower guide piece 3n, the upper cutting piece 3m above the lower guide piece 3n can block the cutting waste discharge port 16b. Can be closed as soon as possible. Therefore, the sheet cutting unit can shorten the sheet conveyance interval and increase the sheet cutting processing efficiency.

  Furthermore, since the discharge port is closed by the upper guide piece on which the cutting waste is not placed, the sheet immediately after cutting does not interfere with the cutting waste that cannot be discharged and is not clogged.

  As described above, the sheet cutting unit 15 is configured such that the lower guide piece 3n, 3m rotates integrally with the lower side of the first stopper 3, and the upper guide piece 3n discharges the cutting waste with the lower guide piece 3n. The cutting waste outlet 16b is blocked by 3 m. Moreover, the upper guide piece 3m is located above the lower guide piece 3n. For this reason, the sheet | seat cutting part 15 has the following effect.

  (1) Since the sheet cutting unit 15 can discharge the cutting waste with the lower guide piece 3n and close the sheet discharge port 16b with the upper guide piece 3m located above the lower guide piece, the sheet discharge port 16b can be closed earlier than before. For this reason, the sheet cutting unit 15 can shorten the sheet conveyance interval and increase the sheet cutting processing efficiency.

  (2) Since the sheet cutting unit 15 closes the sheet discharge port 16b with the upper guide piece 3m on which the cutting waste Pd is not placed, the sheet cutting portion 15 does not interfere with the cutting waste that cannot be discharged immediately after cutting and is not clogged. .

  Further, the sheet cutting unit 15 performs the cutting process after the sheet is abutted against the sheet positioning units 3f and 8c provided in the first and second stoppers 3 and 8 to remove the resist. For this reason, the sheet cutting unit 15 can reduce variations in the positions of the cutting surfaces of the stacked sheets.

  Furthermore, since the sheet cutting part 15 includes the drop assisting member 7, the cutting waste can be discharged without remaining in the lower guide piece 3n, and the cutting waste can be discharged quickly.

  Further, since the sheet cutting unit 15 can cut the leading end portion (downstream end portion) of the sheet, the finisher 100 can bind the upstream end portion of the sheet with the stapler 151 without inverting the sheet. Can be increased.

  Further, the sheet cutting unit 15 performs the cutting process after the sheet is abutted against the sheet positioning units 3f and 8c provided in the first and second stoppers 3 and 8 to remove the resist. For this reason, the sheet cutting unit 15 of the present invention can reduce variations in the position of the cut surface for each stacked sheet.

  P: sheet, Pd: cutting waste, X: sheet conveying direction, Y: sheet width direction, 1: cutting upper blade (cutting means, lifting blade), 1a: contact portion (rotating means, moving means, interlocking means) 1b: X blade, 1c: Y blade, 2: Cutting lower blade (cutting means, fixed blade), 2b: X blade surface, 2c: Y blade surface, 3: First stopper (receiving member), 3a, 3e : Guide surface, 3b: pressing piece, 3c: contacted portion (positioning means), 3d: support hole, 3f: sheet positioning portion (positioning portion), 3g: upper guide surface (upper surface of upper guide piece), 3h: Contacted part (rotating means, moving means, interlocking means), 3k: inner surface, 3m: upper guide piece, 3n: lower guide piece, 4: dust box, 7: drop assisting member, 8: second stopper, 8a : Support hole, 8b: pressed piece, 8c: sheet positioning part, 9: spring, 10: positioning part 11: positioning member (positioning means), 12: spring (interlocking means), 13: link, 14: solenoid (holding means, moving means), 14a: plunger (holding means, moving means), 15: sheet cutting section ( Sheet cutting device), 16: transport path (sheet transport path), 16a: lower guide, 16b: cutting waste discharge port (discharge port), 16ba: downstream edge of the cutting waste discharge port, 16c: opening, 21: cutting blade Moving motor (rotating means), 50: sheet cutting device, 60: CPU, 70: control device, 71: operation panel, 100: finisher, 151: stapler (binding means), 200: moving unit, 900: image forming device, 900A: main body of image forming apparatus, 906: photosensitive drum (image forming means), 950: automatic document feeder, 951: image reading apparatus

Claims (8)

An upper guide piece and a lower guide piece that are provided to extend upstream in the sheet conveyance direction with a positioning portion that receives the downstream end in the sheet conveyance direction of the sheet conveyed on the sheet conveyance path, and are movable in the vertical direction A receiving member having
A cutting means for cutting a downstream end of the sheet received in the positioning portion in the sheet conveying direction;
A discharge port that is formed in the sheet conveyance path and discharges cutting waste of the sheet cut by the cutting unit;
As the cutting means cuts the sheet, the receiving member is moved from the receiving position where the lower guide piece receives the downstream end portion of the sheet guided by closing the discharge port with the positioning portion. A moving means for closing the discharge port to move the guide position to guide the passage of the sheet after cutting;
A sheet cutting apparatus characterized by that. The moving means has holding means for holding the receiving member in the guide position, and the holding means is a position below the guide position before holding the receiving member in the guide position, and It is cut by the cutting means and moved to a discharge position for discharging cutting waste on the lower guide piece,
The sheet cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The moving means is configured to receive the downstream end portion of the sheet, which is guided by the lower guide piece closing the discharge port, by the positioning portion in conjunction with the cutting operation of the cutting means; Interlocking means for rotating to a discharge position for discharging cutting waste on the lower guide piece below the receiving position;
Holding means for holding the receiving member at a position between the receiving position and the discharge position, the upper guide piece closing the discharge port and guiding passage of the cut sheet; With
The receiving member is held at the guide position by the holding means in the middle of returning to the receiving position after being rotated from the receiving position to the discharge position by the interlocking means.
The sheet cutting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The cutting means has a lifting blade and a fixed blade for cutting a sheet,
The interlocking means rotates the receiving member from the receiving position to the discharge position by further lowering the sheet after cutting the lifting blade.
The sheet cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: When the receiving member is disposed below the discharge port and rotates downward, it includes a drop assist portion that contacts the cutting waste on the lower guide piece and drops the cutting waste.
The sheet cutting apparatus according to claim 1 or 3, wherein The cutting means cuts the downstream end of the sheet to form an index at the downstream end of the sheet.
The sheet cutting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sheet cutting device is provided. Image forming means for forming an image on a sheet;
A sheet cutting device for cutting a sheet on which an image is formed,
The sheet cutting device is the sheet cutting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
An image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a binding unit that binds the sheet cut by the sheet cutting apparatus.

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