JP2014144607A - Paper post-processing device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper post-processing device capable of preventing a binding capacity from being deteriorated due to paper refuse, toner contamination and the like, caused by a binding operation, by having a cleaning control part for performing an operation for cleaning an uneven blade.SOLUTION: A paper post-processing device 3 for binding a paper bundle 34 by engagement of an uneven blade 31 includes a crimp-binding part that binds the loaded paper bundle 34 by the engagement of the uneven blade 31, and a cleaning control part that controls an operation for cleaning the uneven blade 31.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus and an image forming system that perform maintenance of an apparatus that binds sheets without using a metal needle.

  Conventionally, a staple using a metal needle has been widely used as a method of binding a bundle of sheets. However, when paper bundles are discarded or shredded, they are used for the purpose of sorting and resource recycling, and in the food, welfare, and education industries, there are concerns about injury caused by metal needles. Ingredients are drawing attention.

  These are generally known as “needleless binding”, and are entangled in the fiber by pressing the tongue-shaped piece provided on the paper into the locking hole and binding with a half-punch method or uneven teeth. Various methods are already known, such as a pressure bonding method in which binding is performed by using an adhesive or a toner method in which toner is applied to a binding portion and bound.

  In the toner method, the mechanism is enlarged by reheating after applying the toner, and in the half-punch method, the point for processing the paper and the mechanism for inserting the tongue-like piece into the locking hole become complicated, Concerns include the point that a hole is formed in the bound sheet bundle and the thickness of the binding portion is increased due to the presence of a tongue-like piece.

  On the other hand, in the crimping method, it is a simple mechanism that can be bound only by pressurizing a bundle of paper with a pair of concave and convex teeth, and because it does not process the paper, it is mounted on the paper post-processing device. The method is considered optimal.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a structure of a binding tool for the purpose of binding a bundle of sheets without using a needle. A presser is horizontally slidably moved back and forth with pins on both side walls of a base plate. A concavo-convex occlusion piece is fixed to the lower surface of the front part, an concavo-convex occlusion element that engages with the concavo-convex occlusion element is fixed to the upper surface of the front part of the base plate, and an operation handle having a cam part at the lower end of the pressing element There is disclosed a structure of a paper binding device in which an elastic member such as a synthetic rubber is provided at the rear part of a plywood, which is pivotally attached to a pin and is in contact with the lower surface of the lower surface of the cam portion.

  Patent Document 2 discloses the structure of a binding tool for the purpose of binding a bundle of sheets without using a needle. The lower end surface of the pressure rod and the upper end surface of the fixed block are formed so as to mesh with each other. A large number of fine teeth are formed, and the end opposite to the fold of the recording paper is located between these teeth. At this time, a technique is disclosed in which the upper and lower minute teeth are engaged with each other with the recording paper interposed therebetween, and a tooth mold is formed on the two paper portions, and these are intertwined with each other and pressed.

  However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which the tooth portions of the concavo-convex bite are bitten together by finger pressure. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, binding is performed by meshing of uneven blades. In these conventional techniques, when the binding operation is performed for many years, there is a problem that the uneven shape is changed due to paper residue or toner stains, which may affect the binding ability.

  The present invention is for solving the above-mentioned problems, and the object of the present invention is to have a cleaning control unit that performs the cleaning operation of the uneven blade, thereby causing paper scraps and toner stains caused by the binding operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet post-processing apparatus capable of preventing the deterioration of the binding ability due to the sheet.

  In order to achieve this object, the present invention has the following features.

  The sheet post-processing apparatus according to the present invention is a sheet post-processing apparatus that binds a bundle of sheets by meshing of an uneven blade, the crimp binding portion that binds the stacked sheet bundle by meshing of the uneven blade, and the uneven And a cleaning control unit that controls the cleaning operation of the blade.

  According to the present invention, by including the cleaning control unit that performs the cleaning operation of the concavo-convex blade, it is possible to prevent the binding ability from being deteriorated due to paper waste or toner contamination caused by the binding operation.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming system according to an exemplary embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement which an uneven | corrugated blade carries out the crimping | bonding binding of the paper bundle. It is a figure which shows a mode that the deposit | attachment has attached to the uneven | corrugated blade. It is a figure which shows the cleaning part which concerns on this embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the horizontal direction which shows the cleaning part which concerns on this embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the horizontal direction which shows the cleaning part which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the mechanism which detects the adhesion state of the deposit | attachment to an uneven | corrugated blade. It is a figure which shows the image imaged with the camera. It is a perspective view which shows the light emitting / receiving element which concerns on this embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the light emitting / receiving element which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the case where there exists a deposit on an uneven | corrugated blade. It is a flowchart which shows the relationship between the detection part which has a light emitting / receiving part, and cleaning operation | movement. It is a flowchart which shows the other relationship of the detection part and cleaning operation | movement which has a light emitting / receiving part.

  Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the image forming system according to the present embodiment. The image forming system 1 includes an image forming apparatus 2 and a sheet post-processing apparatus 3 as a sheet processing apparatus. The image forming apparatus 2 and the sheet post-processing apparatus 3 are connected so as to communicate with each other. In the image forming system 1, the image forming apparatus 2 forms an image on a sheet, and the sheet post-processing apparatus 3 receives the sheet from the image forming apparatus 2 and performs various post-processing on the received sheet.

  The sheet post-processing device 3 has a plurality of conveyance paths. This is because the image forming paper (hereinafter referred to as “paper”) discharged from the image forming apparatus 2 is discharged to the discharge tray as it is. In order to obtain a bundle of sheets, a conveyance path B for performing edge binding and a conveyance path C for performing saddle stitching are provided.

  The printed sheet is conveyed from the image forming apparatus 2, and thereafter, the sheet is sent to the conveyance path B by the branch tab 16. As a result, the sheets are collected on the sheet collecting tray 17 and at the same time, the sheet aligning jogger 18 can align the sheet bundle.

  When the predetermined number of sheets is collected, a predetermined position of the sheets is bound by the crimping binding unit 19, and the bound sheet bundle is conveyed again. The bound sheet bundle is joined to the conveyance path A by the branch claws 20 and 21 and is discharged to the paper discharge tray 22. As a result, an edge-bound sheet bundle can be obtained.

  Further, the saddle stitched sheet bundle passes through the sheet collecting tray 17 in the transport path B as it is in the end binding, and the sheet is transported to the transport path C by the branch pawl 20. The sheets are stacked at the end of the conveyance path C until a predetermined number of sheets are reached.

  Thereafter, after the saddle stitching is performed by the saddle stitch crimping unit 23, the sheet bundle is lifted to the middle folding position, and the sheet bundle is folded by the middle folding blade 24 and the roller 13. The sheet bundle that has been creased and folded in half is discharged to the second discharge tray 25 by the roller 14.

  Further, the sheet post-processing device 3 includes a control unit. The control unit is a computer having a CPU, a storage unit, a communication interface, and the like. The storage unit of the control unit is configured by a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and stores a program executed by the CPU. The control unit (CPU) drives and controls each unit of the sheet post-processing device 3 according to a program stored in the storage unit. The control unit is connected to the control unit of the image forming apparatus so that data communication is possible.

  Here, crimp binding will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation in which the uneven blade 31 performs the crimping and binding of the sheet bundle 34. In the crimping binding, an uneven blade 31 (upper uneven blade 32, lower uneven blade 33) having unevenness is arranged at a position facing the sheet bundle 34. A state of pressure bonding by the uneven blade 31 is shown in FIGS. First, the sheets are stacked on the crimped binding portion (FIG. 2A).

  After the predetermined number of sheets has been reached, the concavo-convex blade 31 moves and presses against the sheet bundle 34 (FIGS. 2B to 2C). As the applied pressure is increased, the uneven shape is transferred to the sheet bundle 34 and the binding is completed (FIG. 2D). In this crimping binding, the sheets are bound by the fitting of unevenness and the entanglement of fibers between the sheets.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the deposit 35 is attached to the uneven blade 31. When binding with the concave and convex blade 31 is performed for many years, the deposit 35 such as paper waste or toner may remain on the concave and convex blade 31. When the next crimping and binding is performed in this state, a predetermined pressure cannot be applied or the shape cannot be formed, and the binding may not be performed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the cleaning unit 41 according to the present embodiment. In this figure, a brush 42 is used as the cleaning unit 41. A brush 42 is inserted between the upper concavo-convex blade 32 and the lower concavo-convex blade 33 used for pressure bonding, and the brush 42 is rotated by a rotation mechanism (not shown).

  As described above, the adhering matter adhering to the blade surfaces of the upper concavo-convex blade 32 and the lower concavo-convex blade 33 can be removed by the rotation of the brush, and the crimp binding ability by the concavo-convex blade can be maintained. In addition, since the cleaning unit for cleaning the concavo-convex blade is provided, it is possible to reliably prevent the deterioration of the binding ability due to paper waste or toner stains caused by the binding operation.

  In this figure, the state at the time of cleaning is shown, but insertion of the brush 42 can be facilitated by widening the gap between the upper and lower concavo-convex blades 32 and the lower concavo-convex blade 33 by the concavo-convex blade up-and-down mechanism 43 before cleaning. .

  Further, by narrowing the interval between the upper concavo-convex blade 32 and the lower concavo-convex blade 33 by the concavo-convex blade up-and-down mechanism 43 during the rotation of the brush, the brush hits the valley portion of the concavo-convex, and it becomes possible to remove the deposits. Further, at the time of non-cleaning operation, the brush 42 is moved from between the upper uneven blade 32 and the lower uneven blade 33 by the cleaning unit retracting mechanism 44 and retracted to a position (home position) that does not obstruct paper conveyance or crimp binding. it can.

  FIG. 5 shows the cleaning unit 41 according to the present embodiment, which is a cross-sectional view in the horizontal direction of FIG. In this way, during the cleaning operation by the brush 42, the air exhaust part 51 and the air intake part 52 are arranged in the vicinity of the concavo-convex blade, and the air flow is generated (air is blown / inhaled), thereby removing the attachment by the brush 42. Since the kimono is not left in the sheet post-processing apparatus, it is possible to prevent jamming and sheet contamination due to the removed deposits adhering to other transport paths.

  Further, if the removed deposits remain attached to the brush 42, the deposits remaining on the brush 42 at the next cleaning may adhere to the uneven blade again. Therefore, by using the brush 42 and the air intake / exhaust portions 51 and 52 together, the deposits remaining on the brush 42 can be removed, and the brush 42 can be kept clean.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, cleaning is possible only with the air exhaust part 51 and the air intake part 52, and a slight deposit can be removed. In this case, the brush 42 is retracted to the home position by the cleaning unit retracting mechanism 44 shown in FIG. 4, the air discharged from the air exhaust unit 51 directly hits the uneven blade, and the adhering matter is removed from the uneven blade. This makes it possible to collect the deposits. Note that it is possible to operate only the air exhaust part 51 without operating the air intake part 52.

  Further, even if the continuous air-bonding and binding are performed by arranging the air intake / exhaust portions 51 and 52 outside the paper conveyance path or other than the pressure-bonding place and performing air blowing and intake from the position, Cleaning can be performed between the timing when the bundle is conveyed to the paper discharge tray and the timing when the next sheet is stacked.

  In addition, when it is only slightly soiled (or has a low frequency of crimping and binding), the structure can be simplified and the cost can be reduced by using only the air exhaust part 51 and the air intake part 52 as the cleaning part 41.

  In this way, depending on the state of the deposit and the frequency of cleaning, “cleaning only the brush”, “cleaning the brush and air intake / exhaust part”, “cleaning only the air intake / exhaust part”, and “cleaning only the air exhaust part” ”And the like can be adjusted to adjust productivity and cleaning ability.

  In addition, although cleaning with the brush 42 and air has been taken as an example so far, for example, a method of removing an adhering substance by vibrating a concavo-convex blade by a vibration source (not shown), a method of attaching a concavo-convex blade to a solution, or a concavo-convex blade The method of rubbing is also effective.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a mechanism for detecting the adhesion state of the deposit on the concavo-convex blade. In order to optimize the number of cleanings, it is necessary to grasp the state of adhesion to the uneven blade and perform cleaning when necessary. Further, as described above, by changing the cleaning method according to the adhesion state of the deposit, it is not necessary to wastefully reduce the productivity due to the cleaning operation.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, an example in which an imaging unit using a camera 61 is used as a detection unit that detects the adhesion state of the deposit on the uneven blade. A camera 61 is arranged at a position where the blade surface of the concavo-convex blade can be imaged, and an adhering matter is detected from the captured image.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an image captured by the camera. FIG. 8A shows a state where there is no deposit, and FIG. 8B shows a state where there is a deposit 71. In this way, for example, by storing an image with no deposit as a master image and comparing the luminance values in the image at the time of detection, it is possible to reliably detect the presence or absence of deposit.

  In FIG. 7, the camera 61 is moved to a position where the upper uneven blade 32 and the lower uneven blade 33 can be imaged. However, for example, the uneven blade may be moved. Further, in the case of a mechanism in which the fracture surfaces of the upper concavo-convex blade 32 and the lower concavo-convex blade 33 face the direction of the camera 61, it is possible to capture an image at a time, thereby reducing the detection time.

  9 and 10, an example in which a light receiving / emitting element is used as a detection unit is shown below. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the light emitting / receiving element, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the light emitting / receiving element. A light emitting unit 83 composed of a light emitting element 81 and a condensing lens 82, a light receiving element 84, and a light receiving unit composed of a light receiving circuit (not shown) are arranged at positions facing the concave and convex blades.

  When light (irradiation light 85) is emitted from the light emitting unit 83, the light is irradiated to the fracture surface of the uneven blade by the condenser lens 82, and the reflected light 86 enters the light receiving element 84. By having a light emitting / receiving element part as the detection part, it is possible to detect the state of attachment simply and at low cost.

  Fig.11 (a) is a figure which shows the case where the deposit | attachment 91 exists in an uneven | corrugated blade. When the irradiated light 85 from the light emitting unit 83 is scanned with respect to the fracture surface, a waveform as shown in FIG. 11B can be obtained. Incidentally, in the case where there is no deposit 91, a constant amount of light is reflected by the fracture surface, and the reflected light 86 enters the light receiving element 84, and the voltage value of the light receiving portion becomes a constant value V ′.

  However, in the case where the deposit 91 is present (t1, t2, t3), the irradiation light 85 is irregularly reflected by the deposit 91, and the voltage value of the light receiving portion changes. Therefore, by setting an arbitrary threshold value Vsh, it is possible to determine that the deposit 91 is adhered when the threshold value is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

  In addition, since the voltage changes depending on the size of the attached matter 91, for example, by preparing a plurality of threshold values, it is possible to determine the attached matter that does not affect the crimp binding and the affected attached matter. It is also possible to change the cleaning method according to the threshold value. For example, in the case of the threshold value Vsh1, cleaning using air intake / exhaust is performed, and in the case of the threshold value Vsh2, cleaning using a brush is performed.

  In this case, the irradiation light irradiates a part of the concavo-convex blade and senses the light to determine the state of deposits on the entire concavo-convex blade, but this is not the only case. By using a condensing lens that can irradiate the entire light, it is not necessary to move the light emitting portion. In this case, the amount of light obtained by the light receiving unit is the entire light amount.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the relationship between the detection unit having the light emitting / receiving unit and the cleaning operation. First, the concavo-convex blade and the light emitting / receiving unit are moved to the inspection position (steps S1 and S2), and irradiation light is emitted from the light emitting unit (step S3). The light emitting unit is moved so that the irradiation light can sense the blade (step S4). In this state, the amount of reflected light is measured by the light receiving unit (step S5), and the light from the light emitting unit is stopped (step S6).

  It is determined whether or not the amount of reflected light is greater than or equal to a threshold value (step S7). If the amount is less than or equal to the threshold value (step S7, No), it is determined that there is no deposit (step S8), and the detection unit by the light emitting and receiving unit is retracted. (Step S11), a state in which crimping and binding can be performed is set (Step S12).

  If the amount of reflected light is greater than or equal to the threshold (step S7, Yes), it is determined that there is an attached substance, and the uneven blade is cleaned by a predetermined cleaning unit (step S10). After cleaning, the cleaning unit and the detection unit by the light emitting and receiving unit are retracted (step S11), and a state in which crimping and binding is possible is performed (step S12).

  As described above, since the detection unit has the abnormality determination unit that determines the presence or absence of an adhering matter, the cleaning control unit controls the execution of the cleaning operation only when there is adhering matter, and the state of the uneven blade Can be kept clean and the binding capacity can be prevented from being lowered, and it is not necessary to wastefully reduce the productivity of the cleaning operation. The cleaning control unit can confirm the removal status of the deposit by performing a cleaning operation when the detection unit detects the deposit.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing another relationship between the detection unit having the light emitting and receiving unit and the cleaning operation. The same steps as those in FIG. 12 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
The process up to the cleaning operation is the same as that shown in FIG. 12 (steps S1 to S10), but it is determined whether the cleaning has been performed N times after the cleaning operation (step S21). When the cleaning has not been performed N times (No at Step S21), the detection unit determines again whether or not there is a deposit (Step S7).

  As a result, it is possible to avoid insufficient cleaning and deposits remaining on the concavo-convex blade, keeping the concavo-convex blade clean and preventing a decrease in binding ability. In addition, by designating the number of times of cleaning, productivity can be maintained without unnecessarily increasing an increase in time due to the cleaning operation.

  In the above, the detection unit detects that the deposits are attached to the uneven portion, and performs the cleaning operation. For example, when the apparatus is started up or before / after the binding operation starts, a plurality of paper bundles Cleaning control is effective during the binding of the user or by a user request.

  Next, as a cleaning control unit for controlling the cleaning operation of the uneven blade, for example, a cleaning-dedicated paper is inserted, conveyed to the binding portion, and adhered to the uneven blade by performing a crimping operation on the cleaning-dedicated paper. Alternatively, a method may be used in which deposits such as paper waste and toner are transferred to a cleaning-dedicated paper. Thereby, the cleaning of the uneven blade is completed.

  As the crimping operation at this time, for example, a method of performing the crimping operation a plurality of times (or the same location or a different location while conveying the paper continuously) Crimping force of the crimping operation (force to press the uneven blade) It is also possible to lengthen the holding time at the time of maximum pressurization in the method of weakening the pressure, or in the pressure-bonding operation. Further, when the cleaning paper itself has strength, the pressure-bonding force may be increased.

  In addition, these crimping operations are not a single unit. For example, a plurality of operations are performed, and at first, the normal crimping force is used to weaken each time the number of times is increased. There is an effect even when combined, such as a (quick) method.

  In addition, as the cleaning-dedicated paper, for example, the surface (contact portion with the uneven blade) may be processed with an adhesive material. In addition, a similar effect can be obtained even with paper used for normal printing.

  According to another embodiment, since the image forming system 1 including the paper post-processing device 3 does not perform binding with a metal needle, it prevents injuries caused by the needle of the obtained booklet, and at the time of shredding or disposal. No need to separate the needles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming system 2 Image forming apparatus 3 Paper post-processing apparatus 31 Concavity and convexity blade 32 Upper concavity and convexity blade 33 Lower concavity and convexity blade 34 Paper bundle 35 Adhering matter 41 Cleaning part 42 Brush 51 Air exhaust part 52 Air intake part 61 Camera 83 Light emission part 84 Light reception element

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 36-013206 JP-A-7-165365

Claims (10)

A paper post-processing device that binds a bundle of paper by meshing of the concave and convex blades,
A crimped binding unit that binds the stacked paper bundles by meshing the concave and convex blades; and
A cleaning control unit for controlling the cleaning operation of the uneven blade;
A sheet post-processing apparatus.   The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning control unit controls at least one of a number of times of crimping, a crimping force, and a crimping time.   The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning unit that cleans the uneven blade.   The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a detection unit configured to detect an adhering matter to the uneven blade.   The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the cleaning control unit performs a cleaning operation when the detection unit detects the attached matter.   The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cleaning unit has a brush shape.   The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cleaning unit includes an air intake / exhaust unit.   The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the detection unit includes an imaging unit using a camera.   The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the detection unit includes a light emitting / receiving unit.   An image forming system comprising the sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1.

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