JP2013086894A - Form postprocessing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain the high alignment precision of high quality with high productivity, in a process in which a plurality of forms are stacked and aligned to perform post-processing.SOLUTION: There is provided a form postprocessing apparatus including a pair of jogger fences 22, 23 aligning width directions of a plurality of forms stacked on a staple tray 21, a driving source driving the jogger fences 22, 23 individually, and a stapler 50 processing an aligned form bundle. The form post-processing apparatus is configured to drive the jogger fences 22, 23 on both sides from a form carry-in position during the alignment processing after form carry-in processing, and to drive the jogger fence 23 on an inner side as a position side of binding by a stapler to make a form bundle end face strike on the jogger fence 22 at a stop from the position side of binding after stopping the jogger fence 22 on a front side as a side opposite to the position (inner side) of binding.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus that performs post-processing on a sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus.

  Some of the sheet post-processing apparatuses form a sheet bundle by stacking and aligning a plurality of sheets in a process of performing post-processing such as binding on sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus. For example, a plurality of sheets are transported to a stacking means such as a staple tray, and a plurality of stacked sheets are aligned in a transport direction and a width direction orthogonal to the transport direction to form a sheet bundle, and a binding process is performed on the sheet bundle. What to give is known.

  As the alignment means in the width direction, a configuration is known in which a pair of jogger fences having the same drive source are provided on the back side and the near side in the width direction. When paper is loaded into the staple tray, the rear and front jogger fences are driven according to the paper width to stop at a paper carry-in position having a predetermined margin on both sides of the paper width. At the time of alignment processing, both-side drive control is generally performed in which the jogger fence on the back side and the near side from the paper carry-in position is driven and moved to reach the paper width so as to abut against both side end surfaces of the paper bundle.

  However, even with the same size paper, there is a slight variation in size, and the above-described double-sided drive control has a problem in that a decrease in alignment accuracy due to this variation is distributed to both sides of the sheet bundle. . On the other hand, one-sided drive control is known as one that realizes high-quality alignment accuracy on the binding side, that is, the side on which the sheet bundle is desired to be aligned (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the one-side drive control device, a pair of jogger fences having individual drive sources are provided on the back side and the near side. When paper is loaded into the staple tray, the back and front jogger fences are driven according to the paper width in the same way as in the above-described both-side drive control, so that the paper loading position has a predetermined margin on both sides of the paper width. Stop. During alignment processing, while holding the jogger fence on the side to be aligned, that is, the side opposite to the side to be aligned, at the paper carry-in position, only the jogger fence on the side to be aligned is driven to contact the end surface on one side of the paper bundle. In this state, move it to the jogger fence on the opposite side until the paper width is almost the same. In such a one-sided drive control, the influence due to the variation in the sheet appears on the end face of the sheet bundle opposite to the side to be aligned, so that high-quality alignment accuracy can be obtained on the side to be aligned.

  In recent years, the demand for high quality and high productivity has increased due to the increase in business efficiency. In the configuration in which the one-side driving control of the matching means is performed, high-quality matching accuracy can be obtained as compared with the conventional both-side simultaneous driving control. However, the moving distance of the jogger fence on the side to be aligned, which is moved from the paper carry-in position, becomes longer, and the time required for the alignment process is increased as compared with the conventional simultaneous driving control on both sides. Thus, it has been difficult for the conventional apparatus to achieve both high-quality alignment accuracy and high productivity.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet post-processing apparatus capable of performing high-quality alignment accuracy with high productivity in a process in which a plurality of sheets are integrated and aligned and post-processing is performed. Is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, a stacking unit that stacks a plurality of sheets ejected from the image forming apparatus, and a pair of aligning units that align the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the plurality of sheets stacked on the stacking unit, A sheet post-processing apparatus comprising post-processing means for processing the sheet bundle aligned by the alignment means;
The pair of aligning means are stopped at a paper carry-in position wider than the paper width when carrying the paper into the stacking means, and the paper carry-in position is driven by driving both sides of the pair of aligning means during the alignment process after carrying in the paper. The sheet is moved closer to the sheet bundle, and the aligning unit opposite to the post-processing position side by the post-processing unit is stopped at a predetermined timing, while the aligning unit on the post-processing position side is aligned with the opposite aligning unit. The gap is moved until the gap becomes approximately the paper width.

  In the present invention, during the alignment process, the alignment means on both sides are moved from the paper carry-in position so as to approach the sheet bundle, and the alignment means on the side opposite to the post-processing position side is stopped first, while the alignment means on the post-processing position side Is moved until the gap with the opposite aligning means that has stopped is substantially equal to the sheet width. By driving the aligning means, the aligning means on the post-processing position side is brought into contact with the end face of the sheet bundle, and the opposite end face of the sheet bundle is brought into contact with the stopped aligning means that has been stopped to contact the sheet bundle. Align. In such an alignment process, the alignment accuracy on the post-processing position side to be aligned can be improved as compared with the above-described conventional both-side drive control in which alignment is performed by abutting against the sheet bundle end face while moving the alignment means on both sides. . Further, after driving both sides of the pair of aligning means to move closer to the sheet bundle from the sheet carry-in position, the opposite aligning means is stopped. As a result, the moving distance for moving the post-processing position side aligning means is shorter than that of the conventional one-side drive control until the distance between the post-processing position side aligning means and the opposite aligning means becomes substantially the sheet width. can do. For this reason, an increase in time for performing the alignment process can be suppressed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an excellent effect that high-quality alignment accuracy can be performed with high productivity in a process in which a plurality of sheets are integrated and aligned and post-processing is performed.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sheet post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the jogger fence drive control which concerns on Example 1. FIG. 4 is a timing chart of jogger fence drive control according to the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart of jogger fence drive control according to the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart of jogger fence drive control according to the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a sheet post-processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sheet post-processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. This paper post-processing apparatus is used as a paper post-processing apparatus for paper on which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer.

  The sheet post-processing apparatus is attached to the left side of an image forming apparatus (not shown). The sheet post-processing apparatus includes an introduction path 1 that receives and conveys the image-formed sheet P discharged from the image forming apparatus, and three conveyance paths that branch from the introduction path 1. The three conveyance paths include an upper conveyance path 2 toward the proof tray 6, a straight conveyance path 3 that performs a shift process and an end binding process, and a lower conveyance path 4 that performs a saddle stitching and folding process.

  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. A paper punching unit 15 is disposed downstream of the inlet roller 10 in the introduction path 1, and a front roller 11 is disposed further downstream. Branching claws 7 and 8 for sorting the conveyance direction of the paper P into the upper conveyance path 2, the straight conveyance path 3, and the lower conveyance path 4 by rotation are arranged at the branch portion at the end of the introduction path 1. The paper P is transported through the introduction path 1 and processed by the paper punching unit 15 as necessary, and then the transport direction is changed by the branch claws 7 and 8 to the upper transport path 2, the straight transport path 3, and the lower transport. Sorted into one of the paths 4.

  The straight conveyance path 3 is provided with a conveyance roller rear 12. Further, a staple tray 21 as a stacking means that is gently inclined in the horizontal direction is provided obliquely below and to the left of the rear 12 of the transport rollers, and the paper P transported by the rear 12 of the transport rollers is discharged onto the staple tray 21. The A paper discharge roller 26 and a paper discharge sensor 28 are disposed at the left end of the staple tray 21 and serve as a discharge port from the paper post-processing device to the paper discharge tray 5. The paper discharge roller 26 has a pair structure in which the paper on the staple tray 21 can be sandwiched and discharged to the paper discharge tray 5 by a driven roller 27 that can be contacted and separated. This pair structure can selectively take a closed state in which the paper can be pinched and discharged and an open state in which the paper is not pinched by selectively displacing a discharge guide (not shown) that supports the driven roller 27. Yes. In the sort mode, the transport roller 12 having a shift mechanism moves by a fixed amount in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction during transport of the paper by a driving unit (not shown), so that the paper P is constant on the staple tray 21. Shift amount. After the shift operation is completed, a discharge guide (not shown) is displaced, the paper is nipped and discharged by the paper discharge roller 26 and the driven roller 27, and sequentially stacked on the paper discharge tray 5.

  In addition, a filler 40 is provided as a detection means for controlling the height of the paper discharge tray 5 above the paper discharge tray 5 in the vicinity of the paper discharge port. The filler 40 is freely rotatable so that the front end thereof is in contact with the upper surface of the paper stacked on the paper discharge tray 5 in the vicinity of the center position, and an upper surface detection that detects that the height position of the front end has reached a certain level near the root. A sensor (not shown) is provided. As a result, it can be detected that the paper surface height of the paper discharge tray 5 has reached a certain level. When the upper surface detection sensor (not shown) is turned on as the paper height rises due to an increase in the number of sheets accumulated on the paper discharge tray 5, a control unit (not shown) drives the drive tray (not shown) to move the paper discharge tray 5 up and down. The sheet discharge tray 5 is lowered by controlling (shown). When the tray is lowered and the upper surface detection sensor is turned off, the lowering of the discharge tray 5 is stopped. This operation is repeated, and when the paper discharge tray 5 reaches the specified tray full height, a stop signal is issued from the sheet post-processing device to the image forming device to stop the image forming operation of the system.

  The staple tray 21 abuts the stapler 50 as binding means, the jogger fences 22 and 23 for aligning a plurality of sheets P stacked in a direction perpendicular to the sheet surface in the width direction, and the leading end of the sheet. Thus, rear end fences 24 and 25 are provided for aligning the plurality of sheets P stacked in the vertical direction. Further, above the staple tray 21, a return roller 41 that performs a pendulum motion and strikes the upper surface of the paper P is provided. Further, a discharge claw 29 that can move in the paper discharge direction is provided.

  In the end binding process, the return roller 41 performs a pendulum motion and strikes the upper surface of the sheet P, so that the rear end of the sheet is abutted against the rear end fences 24 and 25 to align the vertical position of the sheet bundle. Further, the jogger fences 22 and 23 move in the width direction to align the position in the width direction of the sheet bundle. The sheet bundle aligned in this way is subjected to edge binding by the stapler 50. The stapler 50 moves in a direction perpendicular to the sheet surface and staples the appropriate portion of the lower edge of the sheet bundle to perform the end binding process. The edge-bound paper bundle is moved in the paper discharge direction by the discharge claw 29, the paper discharge roller 26 and the driven roller 27 are closed, and the paper bundle is sandwiched so that the paper bundle is discharged into the paper discharge tray 5. Discharged to the top.

  On the other hand, the conveyance of the paper P to the lower conveyance path 4 is detected by the sheet leading edge detection sensor 14 in the straight conveyance path 3 after the conveyance roller 12 at the leading edge of the paper P passes, and the trailing edge of the paper P branches from the lower conveyance path 4. The timing which passes a part is calculated and the branch nail | claw 8 is switched. Then, after the branch claw 8 is switched, the conveyance roller rear 12 is rotated in the reverse direction to switch the paper P back to the lower conveyance path 4.

  In the lower conveyance path 4, saddle stitch conveyance rollers 61, 62, and 63, a saddle stitch tray (not shown), a saddle stitch stapler 51, a sheet folding stopper 64, and the like are provided. Further, a sheet folding blade 71, a sheet folding plate 72, and the like are provided as the sheet folding portion. The sheet P introduced into the lower conveyance path 4 is conveyed to the saddle stitching tray (not shown) by the saddle stitching conveyance rollers 61, 62, 63, and after being stacked and aligned on the saddle stitching tray (not shown), the saddle stitching stapler. By 51, binding processing is performed at the center of the paper P. Next, the sheet is conveyed to the sheet folding stopper 64 at the sheet folding portion by the saddle stitch conveying rollers 62 and 63, and is folded by the sheet folding blade 71 and the sheet folding plate 72 and discharged to the saddle stitching tray 9 by the middle folding discharge roller 73. The

  In the above-described embodiment, the paper post-processing device has been described as post-processing paper ejected from an image forming device (not shown), but a folding device is provided between the image forming device and the paper post-processing device. The image-formed paper discharged from the image forming apparatus by the folding device can be conveyed to the paper post-processing device in a Z-folded state, for example.

  Next, operations of the jogger fences 22 and 23 that are alignment means in the paper width direction that is orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction in the staple tray 21, which is a characteristic part of the present embodiment, will be described based on examples. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to the present embodiment has respective drive sources (not shown) that individually drive the jogger fences 22 and 23.

<Example 1>
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of drive control of the jogger fences 22 and 23 by the respective drive sources. 2A to 2C are views of the staple tray 21 as viewed from above, and FIG. 2D is a view of the staple tray 21 as viewed from the sheet conveyance direction. In FIG. 2, the arrow A indicates the movement of the jogger fences 22 and 23, and the arrow B indicates the movement of the paper P. Further, the binding position by the stapler 50 is the back side (right side in FIG. 2), and the front jogger fence 22 will be described as the side opposite to the binding position, and the back jogger fence 23 will be described as the binding position side.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, when the leading edge of the paper P enters the staple tray 21 (arrow B in the figure), each drive source (not shown) stops at a standby position (broken line in the figure). The jogger fences 22 and 23 are driven and moved by 3.7 mm (arrow A in the figure), and each is stopped at the paper carry-in position maintaining a distance of 3.5 mm from the end face of the paper P. In this state, the paper P is sequentially carried onto the staple tray 21.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the trailing edge of the paper P is completely conveyed into the staple tray 21, the return roller (41 in FIG. 1) performs a pendulum motion to strike the upper surface of the paper P. As a result, the sheet P returns to the rear end side (arrow B in the figure), and the alignment operation of the sheet bundle conveyance direction is performed by the rear end fence (24, 25 in FIG. 1).

  After completion of the alignment operation in the transport direction, as shown in FIG. 2C, the jogger fences 22 and 23 are driven to move at a constant speed (for example, 180 mm / s) (arrow A in the figure), Perform the matching operation. Here, the moving distance of the jogger fence 22 on the near side is 2 mm, and the moving distance of the jogger fence 23 on the far side is 5 mm so as to have a distance difference. As a result, the jogger fence 22 on the near side stops before the jogger fence 23 on the far side. On the other hand, the rear jogger fence 23 is in contact with the end face of the paper P, and moves in the state of contact until the gap with the jogger fence 22 becomes substantially the paper width.

  As shown in FIG. 2D, the jogger fence 23 moves the paper P from the binding position side by moving the rear jogger fence 23 until the gap between the rear jogger fence 22 and the front jogger fence 22 becomes substantially the paper width. It strikes against the fence 22 (arrow A in the figure). Thereby, the alignment operation of the paper P is performed.

  FIG. 3 is a timing chart illustrating the jogger fence control according to the first embodiment. In the timing chart of FIG. 3, the jogger fence 23 on the back side (binding processing side) is represented as jogger 1, and the jogger fence 22 on the near side is represented as jogger 2. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of jogger fence control according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the jogger fences 22 and 23 are driven to return to the standby position at a predetermined timing after completion of alignment. Specifically, the jogger fence 22 is moved by 5.7 mm and the jogger fence 23 is moved by 8.7 mm.

  In such jogger fence control, the jogger fence 22 on the near side opposite to the binding position is stopped, and then the jogger fence 23 on the binding position side to be aligned is driven to contact the end face of the sheet bundle. By doing so, the alignment accuracy is improved as compared with the conventional double-sided drive control. Further, since the moving distance of the jogger fence 23 can be shortened as compared with the conventional one-side drive control in which only one side is driven, productivity can be improved.

<Example 2>
In the first embodiment, the jogger fences 22 and 23 are controlled so as to have a movement distance difference. In the second embodiment, the movement distances of the jogger fences 22 and 23 are the same, and the movement speed difference is set. Is controlled. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the jogger fence control according to the second embodiment. After completion of the conveying direction alignment operation, the front jogger fence 22 is driven to move 3.5 mm at a moving speed of 226 mm / s, and the rear jogger fence 23 is moved to 3.5 mm at a moving speed of 180 mm / s. As a result, the movement of the front jogger fence 22 is stopped before the rear jogger fence 23 contacts the end surface of the paper P. By such drive control, the jogger fence 23 performs the alignment operation of the paper P by abutting the paper P against the jogger fence 22 from the binding position side. Note that the jogger fences 22 and 23 are driven to return to the standby position at a predetermined timing after completion of alignment. Specifically, the jogger fences 22 and 23 are moved by 7.2 mm.

  In the jogger fence control according to the second embodiment, after the jogger fence 22 on the near side opposite to the binding position is stopped, the jogger fence 23 on the binding position side to be aligned is driven to move to the sheet bundle end surface. By bringing them into contact with each other, the alignment accuracy is improved as compared with the conventional double-sided drive control. Further, since the moving distance of the jogger fence 23 can be shortened as compared with the conventional one-side drive control in which only one side is driven, productivity can be improved.

What has been described above is merely an example, and the present invention has a specific effect for each of the following modes.
(Aspect A)
A stacking unit such as a staple tray 21 that stacks a plurality of sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus, and a pair of jogger fences 22 and 23 that align the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the plurality of sheets stacked on the stacking unit The sheet post-processing apparatus includes an aligning unit and a post-processing unit such as a stapler 50 that processes the sheet bundle aligned by the aligning unit. In this sheet post-processing apparatus, the pair of aligning means are stopped at a sheet carry-in position wider than the sheet width when the sheets are loaded into the stacking means, and both sides of the pair of aligning means are driven during the alignment process after loading the sheets. Move from the paper carry-in position closer to the paper bundle. Then, at a predetermined timing, the aligning means on the side opposite to the post-processing position side by the post-processing means is stopped, while the aligning means on the post-processing position side is stopped until the gap between the aligning means on the opposite side becomes substantially the sheet width. Move. According to this, as described in the above-described embodiment, high-quality alignment accuracy can be performed with high productivity in the process of stacking and aligning a plurality of sheets and performing post-processing.
(Aspect B)
In (Aspect A), the pair of aligning means is driven at the same speed, and the moving distance of the jogger fence 22 that is the aligning means on the side opposite to the post-processing position is the aligning means on the post-processing position side. The distance is shorter than the moving distance of the jogger fence 23. According to this, as described in the above embodiment, it is possible to satisfactorily realize the driving of the matching means.
(Aspect C)
In (Aspect A), the jogger which is the aligning means in which the moving distance of the pair of aligning means is the same and the moving speed of the jogger fence 22 which is the aligning means opposite to the post-processing position is on the post-processing position side Drive to be faster than the moving speed of the fence 23. According to this, as described in the above embodiment, the driving of the matching means can be easily realized.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Introduction path 2 Upper conveyance path 3 Straight conveyance path 4 Lower conveyance path 5 Paper discharge tray 6 Proof tray 7, 8 Branching claw 9 Saddle stitching tray 10 Inlet roller 11 Before conveyance roller 12 After conveyance roller 13 Inlet sensor 14 Sheet edge detection sensor 21 Staple tray 22 Jogger fence (front side)
23 Jogger fence (back side)
24, 25 Rear end fence 26 Paper discharge roller 27 Driven roller 28 Paper discharge sensor 29 Release claw 40 Filler 41 Return roller 50 Stapler 51 Saddle stitching stapler 61, 62, 63 Saddle stitch feeding roller 64 Sheet folding stopper 71 Sheet folding blade 72 Sheet Folding plate 73 Middle folding paper discharge roller

JP 2009-62107 A

Claims (3)

In order to achieve the above object, a stacking unit that stacks a plurality of sheets ejected from the image forming apparatus, and a pair of aligning units that align the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the plurality of sheets stacked on the stacking unit, A sheet post-processing apparatus comprising post-processing means for processing the sheet bundle aligned by the alignment means;
The pair of aligning means are stopped at a paper carry-in position wider than the paper width when carrying the paper into the stacking means, and the paper carry-in position is driven by driving both sides of the pair of aligning means during the alignment process after carrying in the paper. The sheet is moved closer to the sheet bundle, and the aligning unit opposite to the post-processing position side by the post-processing unit is stopped at a predetermined timing, while the aligning unit on the post-processing position side is aligned with the opposite aligning unit. The sheet post-processing apparatus is moved until the gap of the sheet becomes substantially the sheet width.   2. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pair of aligning means is driven at a constant speed, and the moving distance of the aligning means opposite to the post-processing position is greater than the moving distance of the aligning means on the post-processing position side. A paper post-processing apparatus characterized by being short.   2. The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving distance of the pair of aligning means is the same, and the moving speed of the aligning means on the side opposite to the post-processing position is higher than the moving speed of the aligning means on the post-processing position side. A sheet post-processing apparatus that is driven to be faster.

Images