JP2016132524A - Sheet processing device, image formation system and sheet processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the productivity without deteriorating the quality of a saddle-stitched booklet.SOLUTION: A sheet processing device comprises: a moving saddle 332 which supports a saddle-stitched booklet from below in a saddle-riding manner; a conveyance part (base part and first drive part) which conveys the moving saddle 332 in the state of supporting the saddle-stitched booklet; a clamp part 340 which holds the vicinity of the fold of the saddle-stitched booklet supported by the moving saddle 332 conveyed by the conveyance part to lift it up from the moving saddle 332; and a sheet processing control part which executes a retreat operation for returning the moving saddle 332 to the initial position by controlling the conveyance part after lifting up the saddle-stitched booklet from the moving saddle 332 by the clamp part 340. The sheet processing control part decides any of the execution timing at which the moving saddle 332 is brought into contact with the saddle-stitched booklet at the time of the retreat operation and the execution timing at which the moving saddle 332 is not brought into contact with the saddle-stitched booklet at the time of the retreat operation in accordance with sheet conditions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus, an image forming system, and a sheet processing method.

Conventionally, in a device that performs bookbinding of saddle-stitched booklets, in order to reduce the size of the device and improve operability, the saddle-stitched booklet is held in a vertical state with the crease portion facing upward with respect to a horizontal plane, and is conveyed inside the device. Is known (see Patent Document 1).
In the apparatus of Patent Document 1, a saddle-stitched booklet in a vertical state with a fold portion at the top is supported from below by a saddle-shaped placement portion, and the placement portion is slid to move the saddle-stitched booklet. The saddle-stitched booklet is transferred to the holding unit that holds the vicinity of the fold portion from above, and after the delivery, the saddle-stitched booklet that has undergone the saddle-stitching process is sequentially conveyed by performing a retreat operation to return the placement unit to the initial position. It is the composition which goes.
Further, in this apparatus, when the saddle-stitching booklet is in contact with the placement unit and the placement unit is retracted, depending on the type of the saddle-stitching booklet, scratches may occur and the quality may deteriorate. For the reason that a load is applied to the part, the saddle stitch booklet is completely moved above the placement part and then the retracting operation of the placement part is executed.

JP 2013-124171 A

  However, in the above-described apparatus, since the saddle-stitched booklet is completely moved upward and then the retraction movement of the saddle-shaped placement unit is executed, the processing speed is reduced by the waiting time, so that the productivity is lowered. there were.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a sheet processing apparatus, an image forming system, and a sheet processing method capable of improving productivity without deteriorating the quality of a saddle stitch booklet. It is to be.

In order to solve the above problems, according to one aspect of the present invention,
The paper handling device
A support part for hooking a mountain-shaped sheet with a crease part formed in the center part and supporting it from below;
A transport unit that transports the support unit in a state of supporting paper;
A holding unit that holds the vicinity of the fold portion of the paper supported by the support unit conveyed by the conveyance unit and lifts it from the support unit;
A control unit that performs a retreat operation of controlling the transport unit and returning the support unit to an initial position after lifting the sheet from the support unit by the holding unit;
With
The control unit determines, according to a sheet condition, either an execution timing at which the support unit contacts the sheet during the retraction operation or an execution timing at which the support unit does not contact the sheet during the retraction operation. And

According to another aspect of the invention,
The image forming system
An image forming apparatus for forming an image on paper;
The paper processing apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus and configured to perform predetermined paper processing on paper on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus;
It is provided with.

According to another aspect of the invention,
A support part for hooking a mountain-shaped sheet with a crease part formed in the center part and supporting it from below;
A transport unit that transports the support unit in a state of supporting paper;
A holding unit that holds the vicinity of the fold portion of the paper supported by the support unit conveyed by the conveyance unit and lifts it from the support unit;
A control unit that performs a retreat operation of controlling the transport unit and returning the support unit to an initial position after lifting the sheet from the support unit by the holding unit;
In the paper processing method by the paper processing apparatus provided with
A determination step of determining, by the control unit, either an execution timing at which the support unit contacts the paper during the retraction operation or an execution timing at which the support unit does not contact the paper during the retraction operation according to a paper condition. When,
A retreat operation execution step in which the retreat operation is executed at the execution timing determined by the determination step by the control unit controlling the transport unit;
It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, productivity can be improved without degrading the quality of the saddle stitch booklet.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming system. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a configuration of a paper transport mechanism of a paper processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the clamp part of a paper processing apparatus, a fore edge cutting part, and a fore edge holding part. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the paper transport mechanism. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the paper transport mechanism. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration relating to operation control of an image forming system. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the evacuation operation | movement of a conveyance part. It is a figure which shows the retraction | saving operation | movement of the conveyance part in the state which does not contact with a saddle stitch booklet. It is a figure which shows the retraction | saving operation | movement of the conveyance part in the state which contacted the saddle stitch booklet. 10 is a flowchart showing timing change processing for subsequent paper processing.

  Hereinafter, an image forming system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the image forming system 1.
The image forming system 1 includes an image forming apparatus 100, an intermediate conveyance apparatus 200, a sheet processing apparatus 300, and a side stitching processing apparatus 400.
In the following description, the vertical direction is the Z direction, and the direction along the direction in which the image forming apparatus 100, the intermediate transport apparatus 200, the sheet processing apparatus 300, and the side stitching processing apparatus 400 shown in FIG. A direction perpendicular to the X direction and the Z direction is taken as a Y direction.
Further, the X direction will be described with a front side and a rear side, the Y direction will be described with a right side and a left side, and the Z direction will be described with an upper side and a lower side. Here, the front side is the upstream side in the transport direction in the image forming system 1, and the rear side is the downstream side. Further, the right side is the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction in the middle folding / saddle stitching process of the sheet processing apparatus 300, and the left side is the downstream side.

The image forming apparatus 100 forms an image on a sheet.
Specifically, the image forming apparatus 100 develops a toner image corresponding to bitmap data on a primary transfer member such as a transfer roller, for example, a paper transport unit that pulls out a paper stock stored as a recording medium from the paper tray and transports it. A developing unit, a primary transfer unit that transfers a toner image developed on the primary transfer member to a secondary transfer member such as the transfer drum 150, and a toner image transferred to the secondary transfer member on a sheet conveyed by a sheet conveying unit. A secondary transfer unit for transferring, a fixing unit for fixing the transferred toner image on the sheet, a discharge unit for discharging the sheet after fixing processing by the fixing unit, and the like are provided, and an image is formed on the sheet.
In addition, the image forming apparatus 100 delivers the sheet on which the image is formed and discharged to the intermediate transport apparatus 200. In other words, the image forming system 1 is connected so that the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 100 is delivered to the intermediate conveying apparatus 200.

The intermediate transport apparatus 200 is an apparatus that can temporarily wait for a sheet and can perform creasing and cutting on the sheet.
Specifically, for example, the intermediate conveyance device 200 conveys the sheet conveyed from the image forming apparatus 100 so as to be lowered, and temporarily stops and waits in a state where the sheet surface of the sheet is substantially along the Z direction. Section (stacker), alignment section for aligning the position of the standby paper, a creasing section for creasing the aligned paper, and a margin portion of the paper while conveying the creasing paper A blank cutting section (slitter) or the like is provided.
That is, the intermediate conveyance device 200 performs alignment by the alignment unit with the paper delivered from the image forming apparatus 100 being temporarily stopped at the standby unit, and then performs creasing processing by the creasing unit, and then performs creasing. The margin portion of the sheet is cut by the margin cutting unit while the sheet with the mark is conveyed. Thereafter, the intermediate conveyance device 200 delivers the paper whose margin has been cut by the cutting unit to the paper processing device 300.
The intermediate conveyance device 200 can also deliver the paper delivered from the image forming apparatus 100 to the paper processing device 300 without performing some or all of the various processes performed by the intermediate conveyance device 200.

The sheet processing apparatus 300 performs a half-folding process for folding a sheet into two (folded), a saddle stitching process for creating a saddle-stitched booklet by overlapping and binding a predetermined number of the folded sheets, and a small-edge cutting of the saddle-stitched booklet. Is a device that performs a cutting process and the like.
Specifically, for example, the sheet processing apparatus 300 superimposes the sheet folded from the intermediate folding unit 310 and the sheet folded from the intermediate folding apparatus 310 by folding the sheet delivered from the intermediate conveyance apparatus 200 along the Y direction. , A saddle stitching section 320 that forms a saddle stitching booklet, a sheet feeding mechanism 330 that receives the saddle stitching booklet that is saddle-stitched by the saddle stitching section 320 and transports the saddle stitching booklet in a direction (X direction) perpendicular to the fold portion. , A clamping unit (holding unit) 340 that holds and holds the vicinity of the fold portion of the saddle-stitched booklet conveyed by the paper conveyance mechanism 330, and a cutting unit 350 that performs a cutting process of the edge of the saddle-stitched booklet held by the clamping unit 340. When the saddle-stitched booklet is discharged to the outside, there are provided a fore edge holding portion 360 for holding the edge-side end portion of the saddle-stitched booklet, a discharge portion 370 for discharging the saddle-stitched booklet to the outside, and the like.
The sheet processing apparatus 300 may transfer the sheet delivered from the intermediate conveyance apparatus 200 to the side stitching processing apparatus 400 without performing some or all of the various processes performed by the sheet processing apparatus 300. it can.

The middle folding section 310 is disposed, for example, along a YZ plane that is positioned below the pair of middle folding rollers and is positioned below the pair of middle folding rollers and that can be operated to enter between the pair of middle folding rollers. A plate-shaped folding knife.
The paper delivered from the image forming apparatus 100 is transported to a position where the central portion in the X direction of the paper faces the folding knife. Then, the folding knife enters between the pair of middle folding rollers and performs an operation of pushing the paper into the nip portion. As a result, the sheet is folded in a state in which a crease portion along the Y direction is formed at the contact position with the folding knife. In other words, the paper has a so-called mountain fold shape (mountain paper) with the crease portion on the upper side and the fore ends of both ends thereof on the lower side.
The folded sheet is conveyed in a direction along the fold (Y direction) by a sheet conveying unit (not shown) and reaches the saddle stitching unit 320.

The saddle stitching section 320 is folded over by the middle folding section 310 and then is placed above the hooking section for stacking and stacking sheets conveyed in a direction along the fold line (Y direction). It includes a provided needle portion, a needle receiving portion provided inside the hooking portion, and the like.
When a predetermined number of sheets are stacked on the hooking portion, the binding needle is driven onto the crease portion of the sheet bundle by the cooperation of the hitting portion and the receiving portion to form a saddle stitch booklet. The formed saddle-stitched booklet is pushed out to the downstream paper transport mechanism 330 by the aligning section provided at the right end (the upstream end in the transport direction) of the hooking section.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the paper transport mechanism 330.

  The sheet transport mechanism 330 transports the saddle stitch booklet pushed out from the saddle stitching section 320 from the rear in the X direction to the front and delivers it to the clamp section 340.

The paper transport mechanism 330 includes a moving unit U that reciprocates on the support plate S in the X direction.
Specifically, the moving unit U includes a flat rectangular parallelepiped pedestal 331 that can reciprocate on the support plate S in the X direction. The pedestal portion 331 supports the moving rod 332, the first pressing portion 333, and the second pressing portion 334, and can reciprocate while sliding in the X direction by driving the first driving portion 331a (see FIG. 6). It has become.
Note that the pedestal 331 and the first drive unit 331a function as a transport unit that transports the moving rod 332 in a state where the saddle stitch booklet is supported.

The moving rod 332 is a plate-like member along the YZ plane, and is provided at the front end portion of the pedestal portion 331. The moving rod 332 functions as a support portion that supports the saddle stitch booklet pushed out from the saddle stitching portion 320 so as to support the fold portion (binding portion) from below.
A detection unit 332 a such as a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of paper is provided on the upper side of the moving rod 332. The detection unit 332a detects a sheet after the sheet is supported by the moving rod 332 and the first pressing unit 333 presses the sheet under the control of a sheet processing control unit 505 (described later). .
Further, an upper portion of the moving rod 332 is provided with a retracting portion 332b that contacts the clamp portion 340 and retracts downward when the saddle stitch booklet is delivered to the clamp portion 340.

The first pressing portion 333 includes, for example, a standing portion 333a erected in the Z direction, and a movable portion 333b extending forward from the upper end of the erected portion 333a, and a central portion in the Y direction on the upper surface of the pedestal portion 331. In FIG. 2, the slide movement is possible in the X direction.
When the saddle-stitched booklet is held on the movable rod 332, the first pressing portion 333 is configured such that the standing portion 333a slides forward on the pedestal portion 331, and the movable portion 333b rotates downward so that the tip portion Thus, the central portion of the fold portion of the saddle stitch booklet can be pressed from above. Note that the movable portion 333b has a shape in which a tip portion thereof is curved downward and bifurcated, and comes into contact with a position that does not overlap with the detection portion 332a provided on the movable rod 332 when rotated.
In FIG. 2, the state in which the first pressing portion 333 presses the saddle stitch booklet is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

The second pressing portion 334 includes, for example, a pair of arm portions 334a and 334a that are erected at a position that sandwiches the first pressing portion 333 along the Y direction at the rear end portion of the pedestal portion 331.
The pair of arm portions 334a and 334a are symmetrical with respect to the first pressing portion 333, and the pair of arm portions 334a and 334a operate so as to gradually fall with the forward movement of the pedestal portion 331. .
The second pressing portion 334 has a rear surface in the conveyance direction of the saddle-stitched booklet by the abutting portion 334a3 at the tip end portion thereof as the arm portion 334a gradually falls forward as the pedestal portion 331 moves forward. Can be suppressed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the clamp unit 340, the cutting unit 350, and the fore edge holding unit 360 of the paper processing apparatus 300. 4 and 5 are diagrams for explaining the operation of the paper transport mechanism 330. FIG.

The clamp part 340 is provided above the cutting part 350. The clamp unit 340 includes two clamping members 341 and 342, and clamps the saddle stitch booklet conveyed forward from the rear by the paper conveyance mechanism 330.
Here, a plurality of (for example, six) guide wires 343 are provided in parallel along the Y direction on the side of the sandwiching member 342 positioned forward of the two sandwiching members 341 and 342. Each guide wire 343 extends along the Z direction, and is provided in parallel at almost equal distances.
The guide wire 343 is provided at a position where the guide wire 343 comes into contact with the front surface in the conveyance direction of the saddle stitch booklet when the saddle stitch booklet is conveyed from the rear to the front by the paper conveyance mechanism 330. Accordingly, the saddle-stitched booklet conveyed by the paper conveyance mechanism 330 is folded because it is sandwiched between the second pressing portion 334 and the guide wire 343 as it advances forward (see FIG. 4).

When the saddle stitch booklet is positioned between the clamp part 340 and the cutting part 350, the clamp part 340 is lowered so that the two sandwiching members 341 and 342 are fold parts of the saddle stitch booklet supported by the movable rod 332. It is positioned at a position where the vicinity can be sandwiched (see FIG. 5).
Then, when the clamp unit 340 descends and comes into contact with the upper portion of the moving rod 332 and the retracting portion 332b at the upper portion of the moving rod 332 retracts, the lifter plate (not shown) of the clamp portion 340 supports the saddle stitch booklet from below. In this state, the two sandwiching members 341 and 342 move so as to approach each other, whereby the saddle stitch booklet is held in a sandwiched state. Here, since the retracting portion 332b is provided in the moving rod 332, the movement of the lifter plate is not disturbed. In addition, the movable portion 333b of the first pressing portion 333 is rotated upward before the clamp portion 340 is lowered so that the movement of the two holding members 341 and 342 is not obstructed.

After the saddle-stitched booklet is clamped by the two clamping members 341 and 342, the clamp unit 340 moves upward to lift the saddle-stitched booklet from the moving rod 332, and after the saddle-stitched booklet is lifted from the moving rod 332, the moving rod 332 is retracted to a rear initial position by the pedestal portion 331.
Then, the clamp part 340 can be made to descend | fall along the guide rail L provided along the Z direction, and can make the edge part edge side of a saddle stitch booklet approach into the cutting part 350. FIG.
In the present embodiment, the retracting operation of the moving rod 332 to the initial position is controlled for each saddle-stitched booklet based on the sheet conditions. Details of such control will be described later.

  The cutting unit 350 includes cutting and clamping units 351 and 352, and causes the edge of the saddle-stitched booklet to enter a gap between the cutting and clamping units 351 and 352. Then, the cutting blade 353 is operated to cut the edge portion of the saddle stitch booklet. Thereby, the fore edge portion of the saddle-stitched booklet whose end edge portions are not aligned is trimmed.

When the saddle stitch booklet is ejected, when the saddle stitch booklet is delivered to the ejection unit 370 provided above the clamp unit 340, the fore edge holding unit 360 has two When changing the clamping positions of the clamping members 341 and 342, the saddle stitch booklet is held.
The fore edge holding portion 360 includes a holding member 361 having a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape that can be rotated around a rotation axis G1.
The holding piece 361 is in a state where the main surface 361A is perpendicular to the YZ plane (see FIG. 3) when the cutting process is performed, but around the rotation axis G1 when the saddle stitch booklet is discharged. The main surface 361A is turned into a substantially horizontal state (not shown) along the XY plane.
The main surface 361A of the holding piece 361 is provided with a small edge holding member (not shown) that stands up on the main surface 361A when the holding piece 361 becomes substantially horizontal. The edge portion of the bound booklet can be sandwiched and held.

  The discharge unit 370 discharges the saddle stitch booklet that has been subjected to the cutting process. Note that a saddle-stitched booklet that has not been subjected to cutting processing may be discharged.

Returning to FIG. 1, the side stitching processing apparatus 400 performs a side stitching process on a plurality of sheets.
Specifically, the side binding processing device 400 is, for example, a staple processing unit that performs a staple process on a plurality of sheets delivered from the sheet processing apparatus 300, and is parallel to a spine cover among the plurality of sheets subjected to the staple process. In order to align the edges, a page edge trimming unit that cuts off a part of the edge and a discharge unit that ejects sheets after processing by each connected device is provided.
It should be noted that the side stitching processing device 400 can also discharge the paper delivered from the paper processing device 300 without performing some or all of the various processes performed by the side stitching processing device 400.

Next, operation control of the image forming system 1 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration relating to operation control of the image forming system 1.

  The image forming system 1 receives a user input operation related to the operation of the image forming system 1, and performs an operation display unit 501 that performs display output related to the operation of the image forming system 1, and a central control that controls the operation of the entire image forming system 1. Unit 502, image formation control unit 503 that performs operation control of image forming apparatus 100, intermediate conveyance control unit 504 that performs operation control of intermediate conveyance device 200, and sheet processing control unit (control unit) that performs operation control of sheet processing apparatus 300. 505 and a side stitching processing control unit 506 that performs operation control of the side stitching processing apparatus 400.

The operation display unit 501 includes, for example, a touch panel type operation display device, various input switches, keys, and the like, and transmits a signal corresponding to a user input content to the central control unit 502.
A central control unit 502, an image formation control unit 503, an intermediate conveyance control unit 504, a paper processing control unit 505, and a side stitching processing control unit 506 are respectively a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only memory) and the like, and read and execute software programs and various data according to the processing contents.

The central control unit 502 sets various conditions related to the image forming system 1 according to the input contents of the user input via the operation display unit 501.
The setting conditions include, for example, the paper size, the number of colors at the time of image formation (for example, color, gray scale, monochrome, etc.), the number of sheets to be folded in half, the nip pressure in the folding process, and the saddle stitching process. Number of sheets of paper, type of paper to be subjected to saddle stitching processing, size, basis weight, the number of binding needles to be driven into the crease portion of the paper in saddle stitching processing, and the position at which the binding needle is driven in the saddle stitching processing (binding position) In addition, execution / non-execution of the edge of the edge portion of the saddle stitch booklet, the width of the edge to be cut, and the like are included.
The central control unit 502 performs processing corresponding to the setting contents on the control units of the image formation control unit 503, the intermediate conveyance control unit 504, the paper processing control unit 505, and the side stitching processing control unit 506. Output instructions. Each control unit controls the operation of the device to be controlled according to the command.

For example, the central control unit 502 outputs a command for performing a folding process, a saddle stitching process, a fore edge trimming process, a discharge process, and the like to the paper processing control unit 505.
In response to this, the sheet processing control unit 505 controls the center folding unit 310, the saddle stitching unit 320, the sheet transport mechanism 330, the clamp unit 340, the cutting unit 350, the fore edge holding unit 360, and the discharge unit 370 to perform each process. I do.

  In the present embodiment, the sheet processing control unit 505 performs a retraction operation for each saddle-stitched booklet to the initial position behind the moving saddle 332 after the saddle-stitched booklet supported by the moving saddle 332 is transferred to the clamp unit 340. Control is based on paper conditions.

Specifically, when the saddle stitch booklet has low rigidity (that is, the saddle stitch booklet is soft) and is not easily damaged, the paper processing control unit 505 moves before the clamp unit 340 has completely moved upward. The evacuation operation of the heel 332 to the initial position is executed.
On the other hand, when the saddle stitch booklet has a high rigidity (ie, the saddle stitch booklet is hard) and is easily damaged, the paper processing control unit 505 waits for the clamp 340 to move completely upward before Execute the retreat operation to the initial position.

  Further, the sheet processing control unit 505 changes the timing of the subsequent sheet processing (the cutting process by the cutting unit 350 and the fore edge holding process by the fore edge holding unit 360) in accordance with the timing at which the retreat operation is executed. The subsequent sheet processing is performed in advance as an initial setting in accordance with the case where the retraction operation of the moving rod 332 to the initial position is executed after the clamp unit 340 has completely moved upward. Is set.

  Hereinafter, the retraction operation of the moving rod 332 to the initial position and the timing change process of the subsequent sheet processing will be described in detail.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the retracting operation of the moving rod 332.
Such an evacuation operation is executed under the control of the sheet processing control unit 505 according to a command output from the central control unit 502. In addition, as a premise of the evacuation operation, conditions for saddle-stitched booklets are set by a user input operation.

First, the sheet processing control unit 505 determines whether or not the number of saddle-stitched booklet bundles is equal to or smaller than a predetermined number (for example, 30) (step S101). After the binding booklet has moved completely upward, it is determined that the retracting operation of the moving rod 332 is to be executed (step S102: determination step), that is, the moving rod 332 is retracted without contacting the saddle-stitched booklet. Is set, and the process proceeds to step S109 described later.
The state in which the moving saddle 332 does not contact the saddle-stitched booklet is a state in which the fore edge portion of the saddle-stitched booklet is located above the position (L1) in the Z direction of the upper end of the moving saddle 332 as shown in FIG. It is.

  On the other hand, if it is equal to or smaller than the predetermined number (step S101: YES), the paper processing control unit 505 determines whether the basis weight of the paper on which the saddle stitch booklet is formed is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value (for example, 160 g) (step). S103) If the basis weight is not less than the predetermined value (step S103: NO), the process proceeds to step S102.

On the other hand, if the basis weight is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value (step S103: YES), the paper processing control unit 505 determines whether the type of paper on which the saddle stitch booklet is formed is plain paper (step S104). If it is not plain paper (step S104: NO), the process proceeds to step S102.
The non-plain paper is a paper whose surface is easily damaged as compared with plain paper, such as coated paper or coated paper.

  On the other hand, if it is plain paper (step S104: YES), the paper processing control unit 505 determines whether or not the length of the paper on which the saddle stitch booklet is formed is equal to or longer than a predetermined value (eg, 297 mm) (step S105). ), If the length is not greater than or equal to the predetermined value (step S105: NO), the process proceeds to step S102.

  On the other hand, when the length is equal to or greater than the predetermined value (step S105: YES), the sheet processing control unit 505 determines whether the printing rate on the sheet forming the saddle stitch booklet is equal to or less than a predetermined value (for example, 50%). Is determined (step S106), and if the printing rate is not less than or equal to the predetermined value (step S106: NO), the process proceeds to step S102.

  On the other hand, when the printing rate is equal to or lower than the predetermined value (step S106: YES), the paper processing control unit 505 determines whether or not there is a curl setting at the end of the saddle stitch booklet (step S107), and the curl setting is performed. If there is (step S107: NO), the process proceeds to step S102.

On the other hand, if the curl setting is not present (step S107: YES), the sheet processing control unit 505 determines to execute the retraction operation of the moving rod 332 before the saddle stitch booklet has completely moved upward (step S107). S108: Determination step), that is, set to retract in a state where the moving rod 332 is in contact with the saddle stitch booklet, and the process proceeds to step S109 described later.
As shown in FIG. 9, the state in which the moving saddle 332 is in contact with the saddle-stitched booklet is a position where the fore edge of the saddle-stitched booklet is a predetermined distance below the Z-direction position (L1) of the upper end of the moving saddle 332. This is a state located at (L2).

  Next, the paper processing control unit 505 controls the paper transport mechanism 330 and transports the saddle stitch booklet to the clamp unit 340 by the moving rod 332 (step S109).

  Next, the paper processing control unit 505 holds the saddle stitch booklet by the clamp unit 340 (step S110).

Next, the sheet processing control unit 505 determines whether or not the retraction timing of the moving rod 332 has been reached (step S111).
Specifically, it is determined whether or not a predetermined evacuation timing has been reached based on the determination made in step S102 or step S108.

  Then, until the evacuation timing is reached (step S111: NO), the process of step S111 is repeated. When the evacuation timing is reached (step S111: YES), the sheet processing control unit 505 controls the sheet conveyance mechanism 330 to move. The evacuation operation of the kite 332 is executed (step S112: evacuation operation execution step), and this process is terminated.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the timing change process of the subsequent paper process.
Such timing change processing is executed by control of the sheet processing control unit 505 according to a command output from the central control unit 502.

  First, the paper processing control unit 505 determines whether or not the setting for executing the paper processing (that is, the cutting process by the cutting unit 350 and the fore edge holding process by the fore edge holding unit 360) for the fore edge portion of the saddle stitch booklet is made. If it is determined (step S201) and the setting is not made (step S201: NO), the process proceeds to step S209 described later.

  On the other hand, when the setting is made (step S201: YES), the sheet processing control unit 505 determines whether or not the setting for starting the retraction of the moving rod 332 is made before the saddle stitch booklet has completely moved upward. (That is, whether or not the setting in step S108 has been made) is determined (step S202).

  If the setting in step S108 has not been made (step S202: NO), the paper processing control unit 505 sets the timing of paper processing as a preset timing (step S203).

  On the other hand, when the setting in step S108 has been made (step S202: YES), the sheet processing control unit 505 determines whether or not the length of the sheet formed by the saddle stitch booklet is a predetermined value (for example, 297 mm) or more. If it is determined (step S204) and the length is not equal to or greater than the predetermined value (step S204: NO), the process proceeds to step S203.

  On the other hand, if the length is greater than or equal to the predetermined value (step S204: YES), the sheet processing control unit 505 determines whether the number of saddle-stitched booklets is equal to or less than a predetermined number (for example, 30) (step S204). If it is not less than the predetermined number (step S205: NO), the process proceeds to step S203.

  On the other hand, if it is equal to or smaller than the predetermined number (step S205: YES), the paper processing control unit 505 determines whether the basis weight of the paper on which the saddle stitch booklet is formed is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value (for example, 160 g) (step). S206) If the basis weight is not equal to or less than the predetermined value (step S206: NO), the process proceeds to step S203.

On the other hand, if the basis weight is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value (step S206: YES), the paper processing control unit 505 changes the paper processing timing to be delayed from the set timing (step S207).
This control takes into account the case where the saddle-stitched booklet is swung left and right by the retracting operation while the moving rod 332 is in contact with the saddle-stitched booklet, and the timing of the retracting operation is set to the time when the swing is reduced. In addition, the timing of sheet processing by the cutting unit 350 and the fore edge holding unit 360 is delayed.

Next, the paper processing control unit 505 determines whether or not the paper processing timing has been reached (step S208).
Specifically, it is determined whether or not a predetermined paper processing timing has been reached based on the setting made in step S203 or step S207.

  The processing in step S208 is repeated until the paper processing timing is reached (step S208: NO). When the paper processing timing is reached (step S208: YES), the paper processing control unit 505 performs post-processing (cutting unit). The cutting process by 350 and / or the fore edge holding process by the fore edge holding unit 360) is executed (step S209), and this process is terminated.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the saddle-stitched booklet is hooked and supported from below, and the transporting part (the pedestal part 331 and the base part 331) that transports the moving saddle 332 that supports the saddle-stitched booklet. A first drive unit 331a), a clamp unit 340 that holds the vicinity of the fold portion of the saddle-stitched booklet supported by the moving rod 332 conveyed by the conveying unit and lifts it from the moving rod 332; A sheet processing control unit 505 that performs a retreat operation for controlling the transport unit and returning the moving rod 332 to the initial position after lifting the saddle stitch booklet. Either an execution timing when the moving rod 332 contacts the saddle-stitched booklet during the retracting operation or an execution timing when the moving rod 332 does not contact the saddle-stitched booklet during the retracting operation is determined.
Therefore, for each saddle-stitched booklet, the retracting operation of the moving rod 332 is executed at a timing according to the paper conditions of the saddle-stitched booklet. Therefore, in the case of a saddle-stitched booklet having low rigidity (hard to be damaged), the clamp unit Before the 340 finishes moving completely upward, the retracting operation of the moving rod 332 is executed, and in the case of a highly rigid (easy to be damaged) saddle stitch booklet, after the clamp part 340 has completely moved upward, Since the retracting operation of the moving rod 332 can be executed, the saddle stitch booklet can be conveyed without excessively reducing productivity while suppressing the saddle stitch booklet from being damaged.
That is, productivity can be improved without degrading the quality of the saddle stitch booklet.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the sheet processing control unit 505 is further provided with a sheet processing unit (a cutting unit 350 and a fore edge holding unit 360) that performs predetermined sheet processing on the saddle-stitched booklet lifted by the clamp unit 340. In the execution timing when the moving rod 332 contacts the saddle stitch booklet during the retracting operation, execution of the sheet processing by the sheet processing unit is delayed compared to the execution timing when the moving rod 332 does not contact the saddle stitched booklet during the retracting operation.
For this reason, subsequent paper processing can be performed at a suitable timing in consideration of the influence on the saddle stitch booklet by the retreat operation.
Specifically, even when the saddle-stitched booklet is swung left and right by the retracting operation while the moving rod 332 is in contact with the saddle-stitched booklet, the cutting unit 350 is synchronized with the execution timing of the retracting operation. In addition, since the timing of paper processing by the fore edge holding unit 360 can be delayed, it is possible to prevent deterioration in processing accuracy due to the saddle stitch booklet being swung left and right.

  In the above embodiment, as an example of the paper conditions, the timing of the evacuation operation is determined by the number of bundles of the saddle stitch booklet, the basis weight, the paper type, the paper length, the printing rate, and the presence / absence of the booklet curl setting. As described above, only the sheet conditions that the user determines to be important items may be used as the sheet conditions. That is, it is sufficient that at least one item is selected as the paper condition.

Further, the paper conditions may be set in more detail for each item.
For example, regarding the printing rate, only the printing rate in the area near the edge of the saddle stitch booklet may be considered. According to such a configuration, only the easily damaged area of the saddle-stitched booklet is considered, so that the retracting operation of the pedestal portion 331 can be executed at a more appropriate timing.

  Further, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the image type (photograph, color, monochrome) is considered as the paper type. Specifically, if the image type is a photograph or a color, the setting of S102 can be determined. According to such a configuration, the quality can be set with priority according to the image type of the saddle stitch booklet.

In the above embodiment, according to the distance from the lower end portion of the clamp portion 340 to the fore edge portion of the saddle stitch booklet when the clamp portion 340 lifts the saddle stitch booklet, that is, according to the size of the paper, It is also preferable to adjust the execution timing of the retracting operation of the base portion 331 in detail.
According to such a configuration, the retracting operation of the pedestal portion 331 can be executed at a more appropriate timing according to the size of the saddle stitch booklet.

Further, the user may select and set the execution timing of the retracting operation of the pedestal unit 331. In this case, the operation display unit 501 as a setting unit arbitrarily sets the execution timing of the retracting operation of the pedestal unit 331 in advance by the user, and the sheet processing control unit 505 executes the retracting operation according to the setting.
With such a configuration, it is possible for the user to arbitrarily set a case where importance is placed on productivity and a case where importance is placed on scratch suppression.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming system 501 Operation display part 502 Central control part 503 Image formation control part 505 Paper processing control part (control part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image forming apparatus 300 Paper processing apparatus 310 Middle folding part 320 Saddle binding part 330 Paper conveyance mechanism S Support plate U Movement unit 331 Base part (conveyance part)
331a First driving unit (conveying unit)
332 Moving rod (support)
332a Detection part 332b Retraction part 333 First pressing part 333a Standing part 333b Movable part 334 Second pressing part 340 Clamping part (holding part)
350 Cutting section (paper processing section)
360 fore edge holding part (paper processing part)
370 discharge section

Claims (7)

A support part for hooking a mountain-shaped sheet with a crease part formed in the center part and supporting it from below;
A transport unit that transports the support unit in a state of supporting paper;
A holding unit that holds the vicinity of the fold portion of the paper supported by the support unit conveyed by the conveyance unit and lifts it from the support unit;
A control unit that performs a retreat operation of controlling the transport unit and returning the support unit to an initial position after lifting the sheet from the support unit by the holding unit;
With
The control unit determines, according to a sheet condition, either an execution timing at which the support unit contacts the sheet during the retraction operation or an execution timing at which the support unit does not contact the sheet during the retraction operation. Paper processing device. A paper processing unit that performs predetermined paper processing on the paper lifted by the holding unit;
The control unit executes the sheet processing by the sheet processing unit in the execution timing when the support unit contacts the sheet during the retraction operation than in the execution timing when the support unit does not contact the sheet during the retraction operation. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is delayed.   The paper processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the paper processing unit is a cutting unit that cuts a front edge of the paper or a front edge holding unit that holds a front edge of the paper.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit that allows a user to select and set an execution timing of the retreat operation of the transport unit.   The control unit adjusts execution timing of the retracting operation of the transport unit according to a distance from a lower end of the holding unit to a fore edge of the sheet in a state where the holding unit lifts the sheet. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on paper;
A sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which performs predetermined sheet processing on a sheet connected to the image forming apparatus and on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus.
An image forming system comprising: A support part for hooking a mountain-shaped sheet with a crease part formed in the center part and supporting it from below;
A transport unit that transports the support unit in a state of supporting paper;
A holding unit that holds the vicinity of the fold portion of the paper supported by the support unit conveyed by the conveyance unit and lifts it from the support unit;
A control unit that performs a retreat operation of controlling the transport unit and returning the support unit to an initial position after lifting the sheet from the support unit by the holding unit;
In the paper processing method by the paper processing apparatus provided with
A determination step of determining, by the control unit, either an execution timing at which the support unit contacts the paper during the retraction operation or an execution timing at which the support unit does not contact the paper during the retraction operation according to a paper condition. When,
A retreat operation execution step in which the retreat operation is executed at the execution timing determined by the determination step by the control unit controlling the transport unit;
A paper processing method characterized by comprising:

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