JP2012166941A - Sheet post-processing apparatus, and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption during a center folding operation, in a sheet post-processing apparatus.SOLUTION: The apparatus includes: a stapler 41 that performs saddle stitch processing to a bundle of sheets where a plurality of sheets discharged from an image forming device are stacked and adjusted; a folding blade 203 that makes a crease on a saddle stitch position of the bundle of sheets; a pair of press plates 219 and 220 that grip the bundle on the saddle stitch position of the bundle of sheets; press guide rollers 211 and 212 that pressurize the press plates 219 with respect to each other; wedged pressure release members 209 and 210 that push and spread the press guide rollers 211 and 212; a driving source that moves the wedged pressure release members 209 and 210 in a direction of pushing a space between the press guide rollers 211 and 212; and a pressure release control part that controls an operation of the driving source on the basis of the thickness of the bundle of sheets.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus and an image forming system, and more particularly to a sheet post-processing apparatus including a saddle stitched sheet folding apparatus and an image forming system including the sheet processing apparatus.

  As a post-processing device that is arranged downstream of the image forming apparatus and performs post-processing such as binding processing and punching on output image output paper, a bundle of image output paper is bound at the center of the paper and folded at the binding portion. Some include a saddle stitching sheet bundle folding device.

  Conventionally, as such a sheet post-processing device, a folding plate can be used to securely bite a sheet bundle and fold it symmetrically and beautifully with respect to a folding position by a folding plate, and to enable reliable middle folding with a simple mechanism. Has been proposed which folds a sheet by bringing the sheet into contact with the sheet surface in a direction perpendicular to the sheet surface and pushing it into the nip of a pair of folding rollers.

  In Patent Document 1, a pair of swing arms supported so as to be swingable at one end and elastically biased in directions close to each other at the other end, a folding roller supported rotatably on one arm, respectively, A guide roller provided coaxially with the roller, and a folding plate slider disposed between the pair of guide rollers and performing advancing and retreating operation in conjunction with the advancing and retreating operation of the folding plate, and the advancing and retreating direction of the folding plate A sheet folding device is described in which the folding roller is supported by the arm so that the folding roller moves in a substantially symmetrical manner with respect to the surface that is extended.

  However, in the paper folding device described in Patent Document 1, the pair of folding rollers is configured to constantly pressurize the pair of folding rollers with an elastic force such as a spring, and when the folding blade pushes the sheet bundle between the nips, the pair of folding rollers The nips are separated from each other, and it is necessary to separate them against a high pressurizing force, and a large force is required for the drive source for separating them. In addition, since the separation distance is always a constant distance, the folding roller may be separated more than necessary depending on the thickness of the saddle-stitched sheet bundle, and the drive source operation requires a large amount of power. There was a problem to do.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a sheet post-processing apparatus and an image forming system that can reduce power consumption during a folding operation.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention for solving the above-described problem, an alignment tray that stacks and aligns a plurality of sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus, and a binding that performs a saddle stitching process on a sheet bundle aligned on the alignment tray. And a folding blade that folds the saddle stitching position of the sheet bundle that has been saddle-stitched by the binding means, and a conveying means that transports the bundle of sheets starting from the saddle stitching position that is creased by the folding blade. , A pair of folding members sandwiched at the saddle stitching position of the sheet bundle conveyed by the conveying unit, a pressing unit that pressurizes the pair of folding members, and the pair of the countering unit against a pressing force of the pressing unit. In order to increase the distance between the folding members, the press pressure releasing member whose thickness is reduced in the direction of the direction of the distal end pressure releasing movement, and the press pressure releasing member is applied to the pressurizing means A pressure release drive unit that moves in a direction that pushes the gap between the pair of folding members in a reverse direction, and a pressure release control unit that controls the movement distance of the press pressure release member by the pressure release drive unit, In the sheet post-processing apparatus, the pressure release control unit sets the movement distance of the press pressure release member based on information on the thickness of the sheet bundle obtained from the apparatus main body. It is a processing device.

  Similarly, according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the paper post-processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the pressure release driving unit includes a stepping motor, and the pressure release control unit determines a set current value of the stepping motor. It adjusts according to the movement amount of the pressed pressure release member.

  Similarly, the invention according to claim 3 is the paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressure release control unit is a press in which the pressure release control unit determines a set current value of the stepping motor. It has a function of adjusting according to the pressure release member movement distance.

  Similarly, the invention according to claim 4 is the sheet post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pressure release control unit includes a CPU.

  Similarly, the invention according to claim 5 is the sheet post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the press pressure release member uses a DC motor as a drive source.

  Similarly, the invention according to claim 6 is the paper post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the press pressure releasing member has a thickness inclined in a direction side direction of the tip pressure releasing movement. It is characterized by having a shape that becomes thin while inclining.

  Similarly, the invention according to claim 7 is the paper post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the press pressure releasing member has a thickness in a direction side direction of the tip pressure releasing movement. A plurality of shapes are provided.

  Similarly, the invention according to claim 8 is directed to image processing on the sheet post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and a sheet that is provided in a preceding stage of the sheet processing apparatus and is conveyed to the sheet post-processing apparatus. And an image processing apparatus.

  According to the present invention, the pressure releasing force of the folding roller or the folding press plate when receiving a sheet bundle can be set to an optimum value according to the thickness of the sheet bundle to be received, so that power consumption during the folding operation is reduced. be able to.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a sheet post-processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the whole clamp bundle conveyance part of a paper post-processing apparatus similarly. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion H in FIG. 2 showing a clamp portion of the sheet post-processing apparatus. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion R in FIG. 2 showing a clamp portion of the sheet post-processing apparatus. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view from a direction different from FIG. 4 of the R portion in FIG. 2 showing the clamp portion of the sheet post-processing apparatus. It is an enlarged perspective view which similarly shows the clamp release mechanism of a paper post-processing apparatus. It is an expansion perspective view from the direction different from FIG. 6 which shows the clamp release mechanism of a paper post-processing apparatus similarly. It is a perspective view which similarly shows the structure of the press folding part of a paper post-processing apparatus. It is a side view of the press folding part of a paper post-processing apparatus. It is a perspective view from the direction different from FIG. 8 which similarly shows the structure of the press folding part of a paper post-processing apparatus. FIG. 10 is a side view of the press folding unit of the paper post-processing apparatus from a direction different from FIG. 9. It is the perspective view which removed the moving plate from FIG. 10 which similarly shows the structure of the press folding part of a paper post-processing apparatus. FIG. 13 is an enlarged side view of a portion H in FIG. 12 of the press folding unit of the sheet post-processing apparatus. It is a perspective view which similarly shows the structure of the pressurization mechanism by the press folding part pressurization member of a paper post-processing apparatus. It is a perspective view which similarly shows the inside of the press folding part of a paper post-processing apparatus. It is a side view which shows the inside of the press folding part of a paper post-processing apparatus similarly. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation for performing press folding on a sheet bundle of the sheet post-processing apparatus. The shape of the press pressure releasing member is also shown, and (a) is a perspective view showing the press pressure releasing member according to the first embodiment, and (b) is a perspective view showing the press pressure releasing member according to the second embodiment. .

  The sheet post-processing apparatus according to the embodiment includes a matching tray that stacks and aligns a plurality of sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus, and a binding unit that performs a saddle stitching process on the bundle of sheets aligned on the alignment tray. A folding blade that folds the saddle stitching position of the sheet bundle that has been saddle-stitched by the binding means, and a conveying means that transports the sheet bundle starting from the saddle stitching position that is creased by the folding blade; A pair of folding members sandwiched at the saddle stitching position of the sheet bundle conveyed by the conveying unit, a pressing unit that pressurizes the pair of folding members, and the pair of countering against the pressurizing force of the pressing unit In order to increase the distance between the folding members, the press pressure releasing member whose thickness is thinned in the direction of the direction of the distal end pressure releasing movement, and the press pressure releasing member is applied to the pressurizing force of the pressing means. Accordingly, a pressure release drive unit that moves the gap between the pair of folding members in a direction that widens, and a pressure release control unit that controls the movement distance of the press pressure release member by the pressure release drive unit, It is equipped with.

  The pressurization release control unit sets the movement distance of the press pressure release member based on information on the thickness of the sheet bundle obtained from the image forming apparatus. As a result, an optimum force can be set according to the thickness of the sheet bundle that receives the pressure release force of the folding roller or folding press plate when the sheet bundle is received, and power consumption during the folding operation can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, a sheet post-processing apparatus and an image forming system according to embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as embodiments) will be described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the true spirit and scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will be able to conceive numerous improvements, changes, modifications, substitutions and application examples without departing from the invention.

<Example 1>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The sheet post-processing apparatus 100 according to the first exemplary embodiment includes an introduction path 1 that receives an image-formed sheet p discharged from an image forming apparatus (not shown) that forms an image forming system together with the sheet post-processing apparatus 100. , A transport path 2 for stacking the paper p on the paper discharge tray 22, a transport path 3 for intermediate stacking of the paper p, and a paper bundle P in which the paper length center portion is saddle-stitched in the transport path 3 is pressed and folded B And a transport path 4 for transporting to the right.

  The introduction path 1 is arranged in the vicinity of the sheet entrance. An inlet roller 10 and an inlet sensor 13 are arranged in the introduction path 1 to detect that the paper p is carried into the paper post-processing apparatus 100. A paper punching unit 310 is disposed downstream of the entrance roller 10, and the transport rollers 11 and 12 are disposed further downstream. Through this, the paper p is transported to the transport path 3.

  The transport path 2 transports the paper p to the paper discharge tray 22, and the paper p whose traveling direction has been changed by the branching claw 20 from the introduction path 1 is transported to the paper discharge tray 22 by the discharge roller 21. .

  In the transport path 3, a driven roller 31, a paper discharge roller 33, and a paper discharge sensor 35 are arranged. In the sort mode in which the paper is sorted, the transport roller 12 having a shift mechanism is driven by a driving unit (not shown). By moving a certain amount in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction during conveyance, the sheet p is shifted by a certain amount and discharged to the discharge tray 32 by the discharge roller 33 and sequentially stacked.

  A paper discharge roller 33 and a driven roller 31 are disposed at the discharge port portion to the paper discharge tray 32, and the paper p or the paper bundle P is sandwiched and discharged. This operation selects a closed state in which the paper p or the paper bundle P can be pinched and discharged by a discharge guide provided with a driven roller 31 that moves toward and away from the paper discharge roller 33 and an open state in which the paper p is not pinched. Can be switched with. After the paper shift operation is completed, the paper is nipped and discharged. Here, the sheet bundle P refers to a plurality of sheets that have been stapled, and the sheet p refers to a sheet that has not been stapled. The paper p may be one sheet or plural sheets (the same applies hereinafter).

  A filler 34 is provided in the vicinity of the upper portion of the paper discharge port. The filler 34 is rotatably disposed near the center of the paper p when stacked, and the tip of the filler 34 is in contact with the upper surface of the paper p. An upper surface detection sensor (not shown) for detecting the height position of the tip of the filler 34 is arranged near the attachment portion of the filler 34, and detects the paper surface height of the stacked paper p or the paper bundle P by these. To do. When the height of the sheet p or the sheet bundle P increases as the number of sheets accumulated on the sheet discharge tray 32 increases, the upper surface detection sensor is turned on, and a control unit (not shown) moves the sheet discharge tray 32 up and down. (Not shown) is controlled to lower the discharge tray 32. When the discharge tray 32 is lowered and the upper surface detection sensor is turned off, the discharge tray 32 stops descending. This operation is repeated, and when the paper discharge tray 32 reaches a specified tray full height, a stop signal is issued from the paper post-processing apparatus 100 to the image forming apparatus to stop the image forming operation of the system.

  In the transport path 3, a staple tray 36 that is divided by a staple tray 36 that is an alignment tray, a hitting roller 30, and a driver and a clincher that are advanced and retracted in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface at the end position of the transport path 3. And are arranged. Furthermore, jogger fences 37 and 38 for moving the sheet in the direction perpendicular to the sheet and aligning the sheets on the staple tray 36 are provided. The sheet p conveyed to the conveyance path 3 is discharged onto the staple tray 36 and aligned in the width direction by the jogger fences 37 and 38.

  Further, the tapping roller 30 performs a pendulum motion and abuts against the upper surface of the sheet to switch back in the direction of the stapler 41 and abuts the rear end of the sheet against the reference fences 39 and 40 to align the vertical positions of the plurality of sheets p. . The plurality of sheets p thus aligned are bound by the stapler 41 moving in a direction orthogonal to the sheet surface in the end binding mode and stapling at a suitable position at the lower edge of the sheet p, and the driven roller 31. When the paper discharge roller 33 is sandwiched, the paper bundle P is discharged as an end-stitched sheet on the paper discharge tray 32.

  In the saddle stitching mode, the rear end of the aligned sheet or a predetermined number of sheets p is clamped by the clamp movable fences 120 and 121 in the clamp bundle transport unit A. At this time, the reference fences 39 and 40 are configured to be retracted outside the sheet width so as not to interfere with the sheet bundle conveyance. Subsequently, the clamp movable fences 120 and 121 instructing the rear end of the paper p are conveyed by the clamp bundle conveyance unit A.

  In the clamp bundle conveyance unit A, the clamp movable fences 120 and 121 move along the clamp vertical axis 106 in the vertical direction, and have the same locus as the conveyance path 4 in the horizontal direction (left and right direction in FIG. 1). The guide rail 110 moves while being guided. As a result, a predetermined number of sheets p are transported along the transport path 4. In the clamp bundle transport unit A, a predetermined number of sheets p sandwiched between the rear ends are transported to a predetermined position corresponding to the sheet size along the track of the guide rail 110, and the stapler 41 is placed at a proper position in the center in the transport direction of the sheet p. The saddle stitching is performed by performing the stapling process. The predetermined position corresponding to the paper size is set by sending a predetermined predetermined pulse after the leading edge of the paper is detected by the clamp movable fence home position sensor 49. Further, the paper p can be not stapled.

  The saddle-stitched sheet bundle P is further conveyed downward by the clamp movable fence 120, and stops when the center portion of the sheet size in the conveyance length direction is the position of the folding blade 203 that is a folding blade. That is, the sheet bundle P is detected by the folding position sensor 50 at the trailing edge of the sheet, and stopped at a stop position to which a predetermined pulse corresponding to the sheet size is sent.

  In the press folding part B, the center part in the conveyance direction of the carried paper p or the paper bundle P is sandwiched between press plates 219 and 220 which are folding members, and is pressed from above and below to perform the middle folding process. The sheet p or the sheet bundle P that has been subjected to the center folding process is discharged onto the saddle stitching tray 62 by transport rollers 206 and 207 serving as transport means and a paper discharge roller 58.

  The sheet p or the sheet bundle P discharged to the saddle stitching tray 62 is pressed by a sheet pressing roller 61 attached to the sheet pressing unit 60 so that the folded sheet swells and does not obstruct the sheet discharging to be discharged next. It has become.

  Here, the paper punching unit 310 and the press folding unit B including the transport path 4 are configured to be detachable from the main body of the paper post-processing apparatus 100, and the paper post-processing apparatus according to the needs of the user. It becomes the structure which can provide.

  Next, the clamp bundle conveyance unit A will be described. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of a clamp bundle conveying unit of the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The clamp bundle conveying unit A includes upper and lower conveying belts 104 a and 104 b that are stretched up and down and driven by a clamp moving motor 101. The upper and lower conveying belts 104 a and 104 b are arranged below the upper and lower driving pulleys 103 via the driving belt 102. It is driven by. The upper and lower conveyor belts 104a and 104b are disposed on both sides in the width direction of the clamp bundle conveyor A.

  Clamp vertical moving members 107a and 107b are attached to the vertical conveyor belts 104a and 104b, respectively. The clamp vertical movement members 107a and 107b are supported so as to be movable in the vertical direction along the shafts 106a and 106b. The clamp vertical movement members 108a and 108b are attached to the clamp vertical movement members 107a and 107b, and the clamp horizontal movement members 108a and 108b can move in the horizontal direction (arrow D in FIG. 1). In addition, a clamp stay 114 is connected between the clamp laterally moving members 108a and 108b, and the clamp stay 114 is linked to the vertical movement of the vertical conveying belts 104a and 104b and the side plate rails of the side plates 109a and 109b. It moves in the direction of arrow Q along 110a and 110b.

  The paper p or the paper bundle P held with the rear end sandwiched between the clamp portions R passes through the transport path 4 formed by the transport guide plates 111a, 111b, 112a, 112b, 113, 115, 116, 117. Be transported. The conveyed paper p or paper bundle P is detected by the folding position sensor 118, and the conveyance stops at a predetermined position.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion H in FIG. 2 showing a clamp portion of the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the embodiment. The slidable clamp lateral movement members 108a and 108b are disposed in the clamp vertical movement members 107a and 107b, and the clamp stay shafts 114a and 114b are inserted therein. The clamp stay 114 is movable in the lateral direction (arrow D in FIG. 3) along the side plate rails 110a and 110b while moving up and down.

  On the clamp stay 114, clamp upper members 120a and 120b are rotatably arranged around the clamp shaft 123. The clamp upper members 120a and 120b are attached to clamp lower members 121a and 121b fixed by springs 122a and 122b. It is pressed.

  4 is an enlarged perspective view of the R portion in FIG. 2 showing the clamp portion of the paper post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 5 is the same as FIG. 4 of the R portion in FIG. It is an expansion perspective view from a different direction. In FIG. 5, the clamp portion R shows a state where the rear end of the sheet or sheet bundle P is sandwiched. In the clamp portion R, the upper clamp members 120 a and 120 b and the lower clamp members 121 a and 121 b are pivotally supported by the clamp shaft 123. Further, the upper clamp members 120a and 120b are connected by the clamp portion connecting sheet metal member 124, and the upper clamp members 120a and 120b arranged on the left and right perform the same operation.

  The lower clamp members 121a and 121b and the upper clamp members 120a and 120b hold the rear end of the sheet or sheet bundle P by the spring force of the springs 122a and 122b. The clamp state of the clamp part is released by the clamp release mechanism V.

  FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view showing the clamp release mechanism of the paper post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view from a different direction from FIG. The clamp release mechanism V is attached to the stay 125 and is driven by a clamp release motor 127 attached to the clamp release motor bracket 126.

  The driving force of the clamp release motor 127 is transmitted to the rack portion of the clamp pressure-disengaging lever 132 having the shafts 130 and 131 as the horizontal axis via the gear 129 having the shaft 128 as the rotation axis. When the clamp pressure release lever 132 moves in the direction of the arrow Q2 and presses the clamp portion connecting sheet metal member 124, the movable clamp upper members 120a and 120b are opened with respect to the sheet or sheet bundle P, and the sheet or sheet bundle P is released. As a result, the sheet or sheet bundle P is in a state in which the clamp is released during the folding process after conveyance and press folding is performed to perform the middle folding process. This press folding is performed at the press folding portion B.

  Next, the press folding part B will be described. FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a press folding unit of the paper post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a side view of the press folding unit of the paper post-processing apparatus. The press folding section B includes a press plate driving cam 201, a folding blade driving cam 202, a folding blade 203, and a side plate 205 of the folding blade support bar 204. When the folding blade driving cam 202 rotates, the blade support bar 204 moves horizontally along the groove of the blade driving cam 202, and the folding blade is moved to the center of the sheet length of the sheet bundle P that moves the folding blade 203 in the arrow Q3 direction. Press 203.

  FIG. 10 is a perspective view from the direction different from FIG. 8 showing the configuration of the press folding unit of the paper post-processing apparatus, and FIG. 11 is a side view of the press folding unit of the paper post-processing apparatus from a different direction from FIG. is there. Here, FIG. 10 shows a state in which the stay 125 is removed from the press folding portion shown in FIG. Processing for folding the sheet bundle P guided to the folding portion by the folding blade 203 will be described. The press folding section B includes conveying rollers 206 and 207, a moving plate 208, press guide rollers 211 and 212 as pressing means, and press pressure releasing members 209 and 210.

  The sheet bundle P guided to the folding portion by the folding blade 203 is conveyed by the conveying rollers 206 and 207 at the folding leading end portion of the sheet bundle P. In the press folding part B, the movable guide plate 208 has a structure in which the press guide rollers 211 and 212 and the press pressure release members 209 and 210 connected to the movable plate 208 can move to the left and right as the movable plate 208 moves.

  12 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a press folding unit of the paper post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, FIG. 13 is an enlarged side view of a portion H in FIG. 12 of the press folding unit of the paper post-processing apparatus, and FIG. It is a top view which shows the structure of the pressurization mechanism by the pressurization member of the press folding part of a paper post-processing apparatus. Here, FIG. 12 shows a state in which the moving plate 208 is removed from the press folding part B shown in FIG.

  The upper press unit 217 and the lower press unit 218 are attached to the side plate 205 via a pressure spring 235 as shown in FIG. Here, the pressure spring 235 is disposed between the hook 205a and the hooks 217a and 218a, and a force is applied to the upper press unit 217 and the lower press unit 218 in the attracting direction.

  That is, the lower press unit 218 is pulled between the hook 205a of the side plate 205 and the hook 218a of the lower press unit 218 by the pressure spring 235, and is pressed against the upper press unit 217 side. Further, force is applied to the press plate 219 of the upper press unit 217 and the press plate 220 of the lower press unit 218 in a direction approaching each other. Here, the upper press unit 217 and the lower press unit 218 are applied with force by a total of eight pressure springs 235 at the four corners.

  In the standby state, the press pressure releasing members 209 and 210 arranged inside the moving plate 208 are in a state in which the upper press unit 217 and the lower press unit 218 are separated from each other, and accept the folded leading end portion of the sheet bundle P. Can do.

  In this state, when the moving plate 208 is moved in the direction of the arrow Q4, the press pressure release members 209 and 210 connected to the moving plate 208 are moved, and the rollers 213 and 214 of the upper press unit 217 and the lower press unit 218 are moved. The rollers 214 and 216 move in the directions of arrows Q5 and Q6 by the inclined surfaces of the press pressure release members 209 and 210. Thereby, the folded portion of the sheet bundle P is pressed.

  FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the inside of the press folding section of the paper post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 16 is a side view showing the inside of the press folding section of the paper post-processing apparatus. As described above, the press plates 219 and 220 are arranged inside the press fold B. By moving the press pressure release members 209 and 210, the press plate 219 is moved in the arrow Q5 direction and the press plate 220 is moved in the arrow Q6 direction in conjunction with the upper press unit 217 and the lower press unit 218. P is sandwiched between press plates 219 and 220 and subjected to a folding process.

  That is, the press guide rollers 211 and 212 connected to the moving plate 208 move on the press plates 219 and 220 in conjunction with the movement of the moving plate 208 in the arrow Q4 direction, and the grooves 221 and 222 on the side surface of the press unit. 223 and 224 (see FIG. 13), and the press plates 219 and 220 that are turnable by being guided are bent toward the folding front end portion of the sheet bundle P.

  FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation of press folding the sheet bundle P of the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. First, as shown in FIG. 17A, press pressure release members 209 and 210 are inserted into the rollers 213 and 215 of the upper press unit 217 and the rollers 214 and 216 of the lower press unit 218. As the moving plate 208 moves, the press pressure release members 209 and 210 and the press guide rollers 211 and 212 move to the left. When the press pressure release members 209 and 210 are disengaged from the rollers 213, 214, 215, and 216 above and below the upper press unit 217 and the lower press unit 218, the upper press unit 217 and the lower press unit 218 approach each other (see FIG. )).

  When the press pressure release members 209 and 210 are completely removed from the rollers 213, 214, 215, and 216, the press plates 219 and 220 are brought into close contact with each other, and a vertical press pressure is applied to the sheet bundle P between the press plates (FIG. )).

  Until this state is reached, the press plates 219 and 220 are loaded only in the vertical direction from the press guide rollers 211 and 212 by the horizontal portions 230a and 231a of the guide members 230 and 231 of the press plates. The attitude of is not changed.

  When the moving plate 208 further moves, the press plate guide members 230 and 231 have the same shape as the press plate, so the press guide rollers 211 and 212 cause the press plates 219 and 220 to be folded toward the leading end of the rolled sheet bundle. (Fig. (D)).

  Next, press pressure release will be described. In the sheet post-processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, a state between the state illustrated in FIG. 17A and the state illustrated in FIG. It is a state. That is, when the positions of the press pressure release members 209 and 210 are between the state shown in FIG. 10A and the state shown in FIG. Thus, the paper receiving interval can be adjusted by the position of the press pressure releasing member.

  The sheet post-processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment uses the drive source such as a motor that sets the positions of the press pressure release members 209 and 210 as the pressure release drive unit described above as the pressure release drive unit. A pressure release control unit that controls a moving distance of the press pressure release member by the unit. Then, when adjusting the paper receiving interval, the position of the press pressure releasing member is determined based on information on the paper thickness from the image forming apparatus, and the drive source is driven and controlled.

  In the first embodiment, the pressure release control unit is configured as a computer device including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and executes control by executing a program stored in the ROM by the CPU. For this reason, in Example 1, it becomes possible to easily realize simplification of control and cost reduction of the apparatus without making the pressure release control unit complicated.

  That is, when the operator specifies a saddle stitch folding process using the paper post-processing device and starts a job such as copying, the pressure release control unit of the paper post-processing device 100 receives the paper thickness plain paper, Information about the thickness of the sheet bundle P such as thick paper and the number of bundles is obtained. Then, based on the thickness information of the sheet bundle P, a minimum separation distance required for the upper unit 217 and the lower unit 218 to receive the sheet bundle P is determined, and a motor is driven to realize the separation distance. Then, the press pressure release members 209 and 210 are moved by a necessary amount to adjust the amount of the press pressure release members 209 and 210 entering the nips of the rollers 213 and 214.

  Accordingly, a minimum required separation distance is secured between the upper press unit 217 and the lower press unit 218, and the sheet bundle P is received. For example, the drive amount is stored in a ROM as an appropriate amount for the thickness of the sheet bundle P as a table, and the appropriate amount for the thickness of the sheet bundle P calculated from the obtained thickness of the sheet p and the number of sheets is determined from the table. It is obtained by reading.

  In the paper post-processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, the press pressure release members 209 and 210 use a DC motor as a drive source for entering the nips of the rollers 213 and 214, and the pressure release force is reduced. Since the current value is also reduced, it is easily controlled. When a constant current drive stepping motor is used as the drive source, the motor setting current value changes according to the amount of movement of the press pressure release member so that the current value is also reduced by the amount of the pressure release force being reduced. It is necessary to construct such a circuit.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating the shape of a press pressure releasing member used in the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the embodiment. In the paper post-processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, the press pressure releasing member shown in FIG. The press pressure releasing member 209 according to the first embodiment is configured as a wedge-shaped member including two inclined surfaces S11 and S12 that are narrowed toward the entering direction E to form an acute angle. The bases of the slopes S11 and S12 are parallel surfaces S13 and S14. The press pressure releasing members 209 and 210 adjust the amount of expansion of the rollers 213 and 214 by adjusting the amount of movement in the direction of the arrow E. Thereby, the separation amount between the upper press unit 217 and the lower press unit 218 is set. In other words, the thickness of the slopes S11 and S12 determines which thickness portion of the slopes S11 and S12 abuts and sandwiches depending on the amount of movement of the press pressure release members 209 and 210, whereby the separation distance between the press upper unit 217 and the press lower unit 218 Determined.
According to the press pressure releasing member according to the first embodiment, the moving distance of the press pressure releasing member can be set in a stepless manner.

<Example 2>
As the press plates 219 and 220, those having other shapes can be used. In the example shown in FIG. 18 (b), the press pressure releasing members 209 and 210 according to the second embodiment have two pairs of slopes S21 and S22 and two pairs of slopes S23 and S24 along the moving direction (arrow E). The parallel surfaces S25 and S26, and parallel surfaces S27 and S28 are formed so that the dimension of the surface in contact with the rollers 213 and 214 can be changed in two stages. In the press pressure releasing member according to the second embodiment, the distance between the rollers 213 and 214 can be adjusted in two stages. In the second embodiment, the moving distance of the press pressure releasing member can be set with simple control.

  As described above, according to the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the first and second embodiments, the force is optimized according to the thickness of the sheet bundle that receives the pressure release force of the folding roller or the folding press plate when the sheet bundle is received. It is possible to reduce power consumption during the folding operation.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Introduction path 2 Conveyance path 3 Conveyance path 4 Conveyance path 10 Inlet rollers 11 and 12 Conveyance roller 13 Inlet sensor 20 Branch claw 21 Discharge roller 22 Discharge tray 30 Tapping roller 31 Followed roller 32 Discharge tray 33 Discharge roller 34 Filler 35 Paper discharge sensor 36 Staple tray (alignment tray)
37, 38 Jogger fence 39, 40 Reference fence 41 Stapler (binding means)
49 Clamp movable fence home position sensor 50 Position sensor 58 Paper discharge roller 60 Paper presser 61 Paper presser roller 62 Saddle stitching tray 100 Paper post-processing device 101 Clamp moving motor 102 Drive belt 103 Upper and lower drive pulleys 104a and 104b Vertical transport belt 106 Clamp Vertical axis 106a, 106b Shaft 107a, 107b Clamp vertical movement member 108a, 108b Clamp horizontal movement member 109a, 109b Side plate 110 Guide rail 110a, 110b Side plate rail 111a, 111b, 112a, 112b, 113, 115, 116, 117 Conveyance guide plate 114 Clamp stay 114a, 114b Clamp stay shaft 118 Position sensor 120, 121 Clamp movable fence 120a, 120b Clamp upper member 120, 121 Clamp movable fence 121a, 121b Clamp lower member 122a, 122b Spring 123 Clamp shaft 124 Clamp part connection sheet metal member 125 Stay 126 Clamp release motor bracket 127 Clamp release motor 128 Axis 129 Gears 130, 131 Axis 132 Clamp pressure release lever 201 Press plate drive Cam 202 Blade drive cam 203 Folding blade (folding blade)
204 Blade support rod 205 Side plate 205a Hook 206, 207 Conveying roller (conveying means)
208 Moving plates 209, 210 Press pressure release members 211, 212 Press guide rollers (pressure means)
213, 214, 215, 216 Roller 217 Press upper unit 217a, 218a Hook 218 Press lower unit 219, 220 Press plate (folding member)
221, 222, 223, 224 groove 230, 231 guide member 230 a, 231 a horizontal part 235 pressure spring 310 paper punch unit A clamp bundle transport part B press folding part p paper P paper bundle R clamp part V clamp release mechanism

Japanese Patent No. 3824985

Claims (8)

An alignment tray for stacking and aligning a plurality of sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus;
Binding means for performing saddle stitching on the bundle of sheets aligned in the alignment tray;
A folding blade that creases the saddle stitching position of the sheet bundle that has been saddle-stitched by the binding means;
Conveying means for conveying the sheet bundle with the saddle stitch position where the crease is made by the folding blade as a head;
A pair of folding members sandwiched at the saddle stitching position of the sheet bundle conveyed by the conveying means;
A pressurizing means for pressurizing the pair of folding members;
A press pressure release member whose thickness is reduced in the direction of the direction of the distal end pressure release movement, in order to push the gap between the pair of folding members against the pressurizing force of the pressurizing means;
A pressure release drive unit that moves the press pressure release member in a direction that widens the interval between the pair of folding members against the pressure applied by the pressurizing unit;
In a sheet post-processing apparatus comprising: a pressure release control unit that controls a movement distance of the press pressure release member by the pressure release drive unit;
The paper post-processing apparatus, wherein the pressure release control unit sets a moving distance of the press pressure release member based on information on a thickness of the paper bundle obtained from the apparatus main body.   The pressure release drive unit includes a stepping motor, and adjusts a set current value of the stepping motor in accordance with a movement amount of the press pressure release member determined by the pressure release control unit. The paper post-processing device as described in 1.   The said pressure release control part is provided with the function to adjust the setting electric current value of the said stepping motor according to the press pressure release member movement distance which the said pressure release control part determined. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to 2.   The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure release control unit includes a CPU.   5. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the press pressure releasing member uses a DC motor as a drive source. 6.   The sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the press pressure releasing member has a shape in which the thickness thereof becomes thinner while being inclined obliquely in a direction side direction of the tip pressure releasing movement. Post-processing device.   The sheet post-processing according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the press pressure releasing member has a shape in which a plurality of steps are provided in a direction side direction of the tip pressure releasing movement. apparatus.   A sheet post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and an image processing apparatus that is provided in a preceding stage of the sheet processing apparatus and that performs image processing on a sheet conveyed to the sheet post-processing apparatus. An image forming system.