JP2016135704A - Sheet processing device and image formation device equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet processing device which, in order to reduce decrease of loading amount because a bent sheet bundle opens at loading, easily performs a pressurizing process for pressurizing a bent loop during a sheet movement process and a process with no pressurization.SOLUTION: A sheet processing device includes a relay roller 48 for transporting a bent sheet that has been bent to cause a loop, a gripper member 51 for transporting the bent sheet in a direction across the transportation direction of the relay roller 48, a presser roller for pressurizing the loop of the bent sheet being transported by the gripper member 51 along thickness direction, a device frame in which the presser rollers are arranged in a plurality of numbers for attachment from an upper stream side to a lower stream side in the crossing direction so that a mutual interval in line direction becomes narrower stepwise, and a control unit for controlling the relay roller 48 and the gripper member 51, in which, the control unit can change a succession position of the bent sheet from the relay roller 48 to the gripper member 51.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 21

Description

  The present invention is an apparatus that folds sheets that are sequentially transported from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, and collects and bundles the sheets. More specifically, the folded sheet bundle is pressed and discharged. The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus that performs processing that prevents a folded sheet from being opened later.

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a processing apparatus that aligns sheets conveyed from an image forming apparatus and folds them into a staple or booklet is widely known. Some of these processing apparatuses are saddle-stitched with a staple or an adhesive in the middle of a sheet and folded into a booklet shape. In such an apparatus, a sheet bundle of about 2 or 3 to 30 sheets is folded in two, but the folded loop portion that has been subjected to the folding process opens after discharge, and the amount of folded sheet bundles is increased. It was running out.
For this reason, a process is widely known in which a sheet bundle is pressed again from the front and back of a loop of a folded sheet that has been folded once.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus that moves along a folding loop of a double-folded sheet while pressing with a roller from above and below the folding loop. Further, in this apparatus, a flat roller that presses the rear position slightly from the front side of the folding loop position is also moved by being clamped by the upper and lower rollers. In other words, this device unitizes the roller that presses from the top and bottom of the sheet fold loop and the flat roller that presses from the front position of the fold loop so that it moves along the sheet fold loop. Can be flattened, and the wrinkles and breakage of the folding loop non-part due to the difference in gripping force can be reduced.

  Further, in the same document, as a device of the second embodiment, as well shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the pair of folding loops is sandwiched between the upper and lower sides of a flat roller pressed from the front of the folding loop. Also shown is a unit in which a pinching roller is moved along a folding loop of a sheet bundle. In this configuration, the back folding portion is flattened by moving from one outer side to the inner side in the width direction of the sheet bundle in a state where the pressing roller is clamped and passing the other end.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an apparatus including a pair of press rollers that press a folding loop of a folded sheet bundle from the sheet thickness direction, and a moving unit that reciprocates the pair of press rollers in the sheet width direction. . This device is further configured to move the pair of presser rollers to a position where they are separated from each other and a position where they are pressed against each other, and when the sheet is additionally folded, the pair of presser rollers are separated from the end of the sheet. Move inward and press inside to press the crease (loop part) of the sheet. Then, after releasing one end of the sheet, the pressure is released and separated, and when moving again, the sheet is passed through the end in a separated state, then pressed from the inside, and then released to the other end. A processing unit is shown. In other words, pressing of the folding loop of the sheet bundle starts from the inner side in the sheet width direction and passes through the sheet end.

Japanese Patent No. 4217640 JP 2014-76903 A

  The above-described apparatuses that perform additional folding on a folded sheet bundle carried out from an image forming apparatus or the like have the following problems.

  First, in Patent Document 1, a pair of rollers in pressure contact with each other is moved along a folding loop in pressure contact. Even if this movement reciprocates a plurality of diffraction loops, the pair of rollers presses the same position, and the folding positions only overlap on a straight line. For this reason, after pressing, the sheet bundle opens and spreads, and the stackability of the folded sheet bundle cannot be improved so much.

In Patent Document 2, a pair of press rollers are separated from each other in a standby position outside the sheet width, and in this separated state, the rollers are pressed against each other after being positioned inside the folding loop of the sheet bundle. In this way, additional folding has begun. Therefore, when the sheet passes through the end portion in the width direction of the sheet, the sheet passes away from the sheet, so that it is possible to reduce the tearing and pressing damage to the end portion. However, the apparatus shown in Patent Document 2 also presses the pressing roller against the sheet folding loop only by repeating the pressing at the same position with the same pressing force, so that the additional folding in this case only overlaps in a straight line. After pressing, the sheet bundle opens and spreads, and it is difficult to improve the stackability of the folded sheet bundle.
Further, in both of the devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when pressing the loop portion of the sheet, it is necessary to always stop the sheet while the presser roller moves the sheet width, and the sheet pressing process is relatively long. It took time.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problem, and when pressing for additional folding on the folding loop of a folded sheet, the same position of the folding loop is not stacked and pressed. The position of the first and next presses differed in the thickness direction of the fold loop, and the last fold line was made based on the idea of turning the folded sheet inward in the thickness direction when it was last pressed. is there.
According to this, in the pressing from the thickness direction of the first sheet folding loop, the sheet is moved in the width direction while the pressing member is separated to press the folding loop to perform initial folding. In the next pressing operation, the spacing between the pressing members is narrowed, and the sheet is moved in the width direction so that a new loop different from the initial position is formed. As a result, the fold loop is folded in stages at different positions so as to face inward in the sheet thickness direction.
Accordingly, the folding of the sheet bundle is directed in the closing direction, and the sheet bundle is less likely to be opened after the folding is completed. Further, since the step folding is performed in the process of discharging and discharging the sheet, the stop of the sheet bundle is minimized, and further, it is possible to easily select whether to perform the step folding.
As a result, the amount of folded sheet bundles can be increased, and the processing time can be shortened by minimizing sheet stoppage. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet processing apparatus that can be selected even when stage folding is not performed and an image forming apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus.

The present invention adopts the following configuration in order to solve the above problems.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a first conveying member that conveys a folded sheet that is bent and has a loop, and a second conveying member that conveys the folded sheet in a direction crossing the conveying direction of the first conveying member. And a plurality of rows of pressing members that press the loop of the folded sheet conveyed by the second conveying member from the thickness direction, and the pressing members in the cross direction so that the interval between them becomes narrower stepwise in the row direction. An apparatus frame that is arranged and attached in order from the upstream side to the downstream side, and a control unit that controls the first conveyance member and the second conveyance member, and the control unit is connected to the first conveyance member. It is a sheet processing apparatus that can change the position at which a folded sheet is handed over to a second conveying member.
According to this, folding is performed at different positions, and the folded sheet bundle is less likely to open during stacking, and stacking performance is improved. Further, since this stepwise folding is executed in the course of conveyance in the sheet crossing direction, the processing time can be shortened as compared with the case where the sheet is stopped. Furthermore, whether or not to perform stepwise folding can be selected depending on the takeover position.

The invention according to claim 2 conveys the folded sheet in a direction that intersects the conveying direction of the apparatus frame, the first conveying member that conveys the folded folded folded sheet, and the first conveying member. The second conveying member, a pair of pressing members that press the folding loop from the direction of the loop thickness of the folded sheet conveyed by the second conveying member, and the pair of pressing members are stepwise spaced from each other in the row direction A control unit for controlling the first transport member and the second transport member, and a support unit attached to the apparatus frame that supports the plurality of rows arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side in the cross direction so as to be narrower. The control unit can select whether or not to press the folding loop with the support unit according to the position at which the folded sheet is handed over from the first conveying member to the second conveying member. Is that the sheet processing apparatus.
According to this, since the folding loop of the folded sheet is passed through the support unit attached to the apparatus unit while supporting the pressing member that presses stepwise from the thickness direction of the loop, the folding position is different and the closing direction is different. A fold is formed. As a result, the folded sheet bundle is less likely to open during stacking, and stacking performance is improved. Further, since this stepwise folding is executed in the course of conveyance in the sheet crossing direction, the processing time can be shortened as compared with the case where the sheet is stopped. Furthermore, whether or not to perform the above-described stepwise folding can be selected depending on the takeover position of the two conveying members.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the folding loop passes through the support unit and is pressed by a presser roller, the control unit is configured to move the first conveying member to a position where the folding loop overlaps the side of the support unit. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sheet processing apparatus transfers the sheet to the second conveying member.
According to this, the step folding can be performed by performing the takeover conveyance in the crossing direction of the folded sheet at the position overlapping the side of the support unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the folding loop discharges paper without passing through the support unit, the control unit performs the second transport at an upstream position where the first transport member does not reach the side of the support unit. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the member is handed over.
According to this, it is possible to discharge the sheet without performing stepwise folding by performing the takeover conveyance in the crossing direction of the folded sheet at the upstream position where it does not overlap the side of the support unit.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the first conveying member has a pressure contact position where the folded sheet can be moved by nipping the folded sheet, and a release position which releases the pressure contact of the folded sheet and allows the folded sheet to move. The sheet processing according to claim 4, wherein when the folded sheet is conveyed by the second conveying member in a direction crossing the conveying direction of the first conveying member, the first conveying member is shifted to a release position. Device.
According to this, since the nip of the sheet bundle of the upstream conveyance member is released when the folded sheet conveyance direction is changed to the intersecting direction, the takeover conveyance in the intersecting direction can be performed smoothly.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the first conveying member includes at least a pair of bundle conveying rollers, and the bundle conveying rollers can be pressed against each other at the pressure contact position to be movable, and the bundle conveying at the release position. The rollers are separated from each other to release the pressure contact of the folded sheet, and the second conveying member is formed of a gripper member that grips and pulls the side portion of the sheet from the sheet thickness direction, and the gripper member can be moved to the apparatus frame. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:
According to this, since the conveyance before the change in the crossing direction is performed by the bundle conveyance roller that is in contact with the folded sheet and the conveyance in the crossing direction is performed by the gripper member that grips the side of the sheet, it is possible to reliably carry over the sheet. .

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus frame, a bundle conveying roller that conveys a folded sheet that has been bent to generate a loop, and conveys the folded sheet in a direction intersecting a conveying direction of the bundle conveying roller. A gripper member that grips and conveys the side, a pair of rotatable press rollers that press the folding loop from the thickness direction of the folded sheet conveyed by the gripper member, and the pair of press rollers in the row direction A plurality of support units attached to the apparatus frame that are arranged and supported from the upstream side to the downstream side in the intersecting direction so that the mutual interval in the step is gradually reduced, and the control for controlling the bundle conveying roller and the gripper member The control unit is configured to support the sequential pressing by the plurality of rows of presser rollers in the support unit during the conveyance process by the gripper member. Sheet processing that selects whether the unit and the folding loop are conveyed by the bundle conveyance roller to the position where they overlap and are taken over by the gripper, or the folding loop is stopped at the upstream position where the folding loop does not overlap the support unit and taken over by the gripper Device.
According to this, the folding loop of the folded sheet is changed to a direction crossing the conveyance direction, and the inside of the support unit attached to the apparatus unit is supported by supporting the pressing member that presses stepwise from the thickness direction of the folding loop. Since it was passed in the conveying process in the direction, the folding position is different and a fold is formed in the closing direction. As a result, the folded sheet bundle is less likely to open during stacking, and stacking performance is improved. Further, since this stepwise folding is executed in the process of conveying the sheets in the crossing direction, the processing time can be shortened compared to the case where the sheet is stopped. Furthermore, whether or not to perform the above-described stepwise folding can be selected depending on the takeover position of the two conveying members.

The invention according to claim 8 is the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the presser roller is provided with at least three rows of presser rollers having different intervals.
According to this, since it consists of three rows of pressing rollers whose mutual intervals are narrowed stepwise, stepwise folding can be performed on the folding loop passing therethrough.

The invention according to claim 9 is the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein at least the press rollers in the last row in the moving direction among the press rollers arranged in the plurality of rows are elastically urged to each other.
According to this, since the press rollers in the last row are elastically biased to each other, it is possible to firmly press the folding loop from a small number to a large number.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, and a sheet processing device that performs a predetermined sheet processing on a sheet from the image forming unit, the sheet processing device is the above-described first aspect. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 9.
According to this, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus having the effects described so far in the invention of each claim.

The present invention provides the following effects by having the above-described solving means.
In other words, folding is performed at different positions, and the folded sheet bundle is less likely to open during stacking, and stacking performance is improved. Further, since this stepwise folding is executed in the course of conveyance in the sheet crossing direction, the processing time can be shortened as compared with the case where the sheet is stopped. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus that can select whether to perform stepwise folding depending on the takeover position.

It is explanatory drawing which showed the whole structure which combined the image forming apparatus and the sheet processing apparatus which equipped the stage folding unit concerning this invention internally. 1 is an overall explanatory view of a sheet processing apparatus equipped with a stage folding unit according to the present invention. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of folding processing of a folding roller in the sheet processing apparatus. It is a figure explaining the mechanism of the relay roller which conveys the folding sheet from the folding roller of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining a gripper moving mechanism for pulling a sheet on which a support unit supporting a sheet pressing roller and a loop are formed. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a positional relationship between a gripper and a second paper discharge tray at a gripping position of the stage folding unit in FIG. 2. In FIG. 6, the gripper moves to a discharge position where the sheet bundle is discharged to the second discharge tray by changing the conveying direction of the sheet bundle from the folding roller to the crossing direction. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the gripper shown in FIG. 7, in which FIG. 8 (a) is a perspective view showing a released state, and FIG. 8 (b) is a mechanism for explaining the released state of FIG. 8 (a). FIG. 8C is a diagram for explaining a state in which the sheet bundle is gripped. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a state in which support units supporting a plurality of press rollers whose intervals are gradually reduced along the moving direction of the sheet bundle are provided on the apparatus frame when viewed from the sheet carry-in side. FIG. 10 is a front view of the support unit of FIG. 9 viewed from the sheet carry-in side. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the stage folding unit shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and an explanation that the gripper is waiting to move the sheet bundle formed with the folding loop transferred by the folding roller and the relay roller in the orthogonal direction. FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an operation subsequent to FIG. 11 in which the gripper grips the conveyed sheet bundle. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an operation following FIG. 12 in which the gripper grips the sheet bundle and starts drawing into the support unit that supports the presser roller. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an operation subsequent to FIG. 13 in which the gripper grips the sheet bundle and the loop portion passes through the support unit to execute the step folding. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an operation following FIG. 14 in which the gripper grips the sheet bundle and the loop portion has finished passing through the support unit. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an operation subsequent to FIG. 15, illustrating a state in which gripping is released in order to discharge the sheet bundle that has been released and staged folded and discharged to the second discharge tray after the gripper movement is completed. It is the figure which made transparent the apparatus frame of the support unit which supports the press roller attached to the apparatus frame on description, and is explanatory drawing which shows the state in which the loop part of a folded sheet is located in the support unit side. FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram subsequent to FIG. 17 showing a state in which the stepped folding is executed to the middle in the width direction by the plurality of rows of press rollers having different intervals in the folding loop portion. It is explanatory drawing following FIG. 18 which shows the state by which the folding loop part passed the support unit and the step folding was completed. FIGS. 11 to 16 and FIGS. 17 to 19 are explanatory diagrams of a sheet booklet that is folded in stages and formed with a plurality of fold lines. FIG. 20 (a) shows the pressing by the first upper presser roller and the first lower presser roller. It is a figure which shows the state made. FIG. 20B is a diagram illustrating a state in which the second upper presser roller and the second lower presser roller are pressed. FIG. 20C is a diagram illustrating a state in which the final third upper presser roller and the third lower presser roller are pressed. FIG. 20D is a diagram showing a booklet that has been subjected to these stepwise folds. FIG. 21A is a plan view illustrating a state in which a folded sheet having a folded loop is moved by a gripper in a direction intersecting with a folding roller and a relay roller, and FIG. 21A is a state in which the folded loop portion passes through the support unit. It is explanatory drawing which shows. FIG. 21B is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the folded loop portion has moved in the crossing direction before the support unit without passing through the support unit. FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a case where the step folding step folding is executed with each of a large number of sheets equal to or larger than the predetermined number and a small number of sheets less than the predetermined number in FIG. 21 and a case of discharging without performing the step folding. It is a flowchart figure following FIG. It is a flowchart figure following FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a control configuration of the sheet processing apparatus of FIG. 2.

  The present invention will be described in detail below based on the illustrated embodiment. The image forming system shown in FIG. 1 includes an image forming apparatus A and a sheet processing apparatus B, and a stage folding unit 50 is incorporated in the sheet processing apparatus B.

[Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus]
The image forming apparatus A shown in FIG. 1 sends a sheet from the paper feeding unit 1 to the image forming unit 2, prints the sheet on the image forming unit 2, and then carries the sheet out from the main body discharge port 3. The sheet feeding unit 1 stores sheets of a plurality of sizes in sheet feeding cassettes 1 a and 1 b, and separates designated sheets one by one and feeds them to the image forming unit 2. The image forming unit 2 includes, for example, an electrostatic drum 4, a print head (laser light emitting device) 5 and a developing device 6 arranged around the electrostatic drum 4, a transfer charger 7, and a fixing device 8. An electrostatic latent image is formed by the light emitting device 5, toner is adhered to the developing device 6, an image is transferred onto the sheet by the transfer charger 7, and heat fixing is performed by the fixing device 8. The sheets on which images are formed in this way are sequentially carried out from the main body discharge port 3. 9 is a circulation path, and the sheet printed on the front side from the fixing device 8 is turned upside down through the main body switchback path 10 and then fed again to the image forming unit 2 to print on the back side of the sheet. This is the path for duplex printing. The sheet printed on both sides in this way is turned upside down by the main body switchback path 10 and then carried out from the main body discharge port 3.

  11 is an image reading apparatus, which scans an original sheet set on a platen 12 with a scan unit 13 and electrically reads it with a photoelectric conversion element 14 through a reflection mirror and a condenser lens. This image data is digitally processed by the image processing unit, for example, and then transferred to the data storage unit 17 to send an image signal to the laser emitter 5. 15 is a document feeder, which is a feeder device that feeds a document sheet stored in the document stacker 16 to the platen 12.

  The image forming apparatus A having the above configuration is provided with a control unit (controller), and image forming conditions such as sheet size designation, color / monochrome printing designation, number of copies designation, single-sided / double-sided printing designation, enlargement / reduction from the control panel 18. Printout conditions such as print designation are set. On the other hand, image data read by the scan unit 13 or image data transferred from an external network is stored in the data storage unit 17 in the image forming apparatus A, and the image data is transferred from the data storage unit to the buffer memory. Data signals are sequentially transferred from the buffer memory 19 to the laser emitter 5.

[Configuration of sheet processing apparatus]
A sheet processing apparatus B connected to the image forming apparatus A includes a first discharge tray 21 and a second discharge tray 22 in a casing 20 as shown in FIG. A sheet carry-in path P1 having 23 is provided.
The sheet carry-in path P <b> 1 is configured by a substantially horizontal straight path in the casing 20. A first switchback conveyance path SP1 and a second switchback conveyance path SP2 that branch from the sheet carry-in path P1 and transfer the sheet in the reverse direction are arranged. The first switchback conveying path SP1 is branched from the sheet downstream path and the second switchback conveying path SP2 is branched from the sheet carry-in path P1 on the upstream side, and the both conveying paths are spaced apart from each other.

  In such a path configuration, the carry-in roller 24 and the paper discharge roller 25 are arranged in the sheet carry-in path P1. The paper discharge roller 25 can be rotated forward and backward. Further, a path switching piece (not shown) for guiding the sheet to the second switchback transport path SP2 is disposed in the sheet carry-in path P1, and is connected to an operating means such as a solenoid. In the sheet carry-in path P <b> 1, a single-sheet punching unit 28 for punching sheets one by one, for example, one by one is provided on the downstream side of the carry-in roller 24.

[Configuration of the first switchback transport path SP1]
As shown in FIG. 2, the first switchback transport path SP1 is configured as follows. A sheet discharge roller 25 is provided at the exit end of the sheet carry-in path P1, and a processing tray 29 for stacking and supporting the sheets of the sheet discharge roller 25 is provided. Above the processing tray 29, a forward / reverse roller 30 is disposed so as to be movable up and down between a position in contact with the sheet on the tray and a separated standby position. When the forward / reverse roller 30 is connected and a sheet enters the processing tray 29, the sheet rotates in the clockwise direction in the figure, and after the trailing edge of the sheet is discharged from the discharge roller 25 and enters the tray, the sheet rotates counterclockwise. Controlled to rotate. Accordingly, the first switchback transport path SP1 is formed on the processing tray 29. At the rear end of the processing tray 29 in the paper discharge direction, an end face binding stapling device 33 is disposed. The stapling device 33 staples at one or a plurality of positions on the trailing edge of the sheet bundle stacked on the processing tray 29. The bound sheet bundle is discharged from the first discharge tray 21.

[Configuration of second switchback transport path]
The configuration of the second switchback conveyance path SP2 branched from the sheet carry-in path P1 will be described. The second switchback conveyance path SP2 is a conveyance path that guides the sheet that is reversely switched from the normal rotation to the switchback conveyance in a state where the sheet is nipped by the paper discharge roller 25 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, this conveyance path is arranged substantially vertically in the casing 20, and a conveyance roller 36 is arranged at the path entrance, and an outlet conveyance roller 37 is arranged at the path exit. Further, a stacker unit 35 constituting a second processing tray for aligning and temporarily collecting sheets fed from the transport path is provided on the downstream side of the second switchback transport path SP2. The illustrated stacker unit 35 is constituted by a conveyance guide for transferring a sheet. A saddle stitch stapler 40 and a folding roller 45 are arranged in the stacker portion 35. Hereinafter, these configurations will be sequentially described.

[Stacker configuration]
The stacker unit 35 is formed of a guide member that guides sheet conveyance, and is configured to stack and store sheets on the guide. The illustrated stacker unit 35 is connected to the second switchback transport path SP <b> 2 and is disposed substantially vertically in the center of the casing 20. As a result, the apparatus is made compact and compact. The stacker portion 35 is formed in a length shape that accommodates the maximum size sheet therein, and in particular, the illustrated stacker is curved so as to protrude toward the side where the saddle stitching stapler 40 and the folding rollers 45 (45a, 45b) described later are disposed. Or it is comprised in the bent shape.

  On the rear end side in the transport direction of the stacker unit 35, a switchback entry path 35a that overlaps the outlet end of the second switchback transport path SP2 is connected. This is performed by overlapping the leading edge of the loaded (successive) sheet sent from the exit conveying roller 37 of the second switchback conveying path SP2 and the trailing edge of the stacked (preceding) sheet supported by the stacker unit 35. This is to secure the page order of the sheets to be processed. Further, the stacker unit 35 is provided with a leading end regulating member (hereinafter referred to as a stopper 38) as a stopper unit for regulating the leading end of the sheet in the carrying-in direction on the downstream side of the guide, and the stopper 38 moves along the stacker unit 35. It is supported by a guide rail or the like, and is configured to move to a position where the sheet is carried into the stacker unit 35 by a shift means (not shown), a position where the sheet is bound in the middle of the stacking direction, and a position where the folding roller 45 folds. Further, an alignment member 39 for aligning sheets is provided in the middle of the transport direction of the stacker unit 35, and alignment is performed by pressing the side edge every time a sheet is loaded.

[Description of saddle stitching stapler]
Next, the saddle stitching stapler 40 positioned above the stacker unit 35 includes a driver unit 41 that drives the staple needle into the sheet bundle and a clincher unit 42 that bends the leg portions of the staple needle that are driven in a direction facing each other. Each unit is configured to be opposed to each other with the stacker portion 35 interposed therebetween, and binds the sheet at a binding position shown in the figure X, which is usually a half of the sheet length. In addition, this saddle stitch stapler may use a metal needle as a staple needle for binding a sheet bundle, and may be bound by putting a paper-made needle made of paper or a crimp or cut not using the needle into the sheet.

[Description of folding roller]
Next, the configuration of the folding roller 45 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, a folding roller 45 that folds the sheet bundle and a folding blade 46 that inserts the sheet bundle at the nip position of the folding roller 45 are disposed at the folding position Y arranged on the downstream side of the saddle stitching stapler 40 described above. Is provided. Referring to FIG. 3, the folding roller 45 includes an upper pressure roller 45a and a lower pressure roller 45b that are in pressure contact with each other. The upper pressure roller 45a and the lower pressure roller 45b are formed to be slightly longer than the maximum sheet width. . The folding rollers 45 are urged toward each other by a compression spring (not shown). The pair of folding rollers 45 are formed of a material having a relatively large friction coefficient such as a rubber roller.

A folding blade 46 that intrudes toward the pressing position of the folding roller 45 is disposed so as to advance and retreat. The folding blade 46 moves so as to push the binding position into the folding roller 45 after the sheet bundle is saddle-stitched by the saddle stitching stapler 40, and the folding roller 45 is pressed and rotated in conjunction with this operation. Fold the binding sheet into two. In the middle of this, the folding blade 46 returns to the original position to prepare for the next sheet bundle. The moving position of the folding blade is shown in FIG. 2 as the folding position Y, and this position coincides with the position X where the sheets are bound by the binding needle.

Here, a folding process procedure of stacked or bundled sheet bundles will be described with reference to FIG. The sheet is locked by the stopper 38 to form a bundle, and the stopper 38 is raised and the saddle stitching stapler 40 performs a binding process at a middle position in the sheet conveyance direction. After the binding process, this time the bound sheet bundle is lowered and the stopper 38 is stopped so that the sheet binding position becomes the folding position. This state is shown in FIG. This position is stopped so as to coincide with the pressure contact positions of the upper pressure contact roller 45a and the lower pressure contact roller 45b of the folding roller 45. Thereafter, the upper pressure roller 45a and the lower pressure roller are rotated in the same direction by a drive motor (not shown), and the folding blade 46 moves so as to be pushed into the pressure position. This state is shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the upper pressing roller 45a and the lower pressing roller 45b continue to rotate in the same direction, and the folding blade 46 temporarily stops before the pressing position. This time, the folding blade 46 moves and retracts in the original return direction. Thereafter, when the upper pressure roller 45a and the lower pressure roller 45b continue to rotate in the same direction, the folded sheet bundle BS is folded in a fixed loop BL as shown in FIG. The sheet bundle includes a folding loop tip BL1 that becomes a fold projected by the folding blade 46, an upper loop BL2 that swells upward around this, a lower loop BL3 that swells downward, and a loop that presses the sheet so as to maintain the loop. A base end BL4 is formed, and temporarily stops in this state.

By the way, the reason why the loop is generated at the fold is that the sheet bundle itself exerts a force to open outward at the fold position. Therefore, as the number of folded sheet bundles BS increases, the force of opening and spreading increases, and if the sheets are discharged as they are, the sheet bundle will be opened. Folding is done in stages.
The folding roller 45 measures the distance between the shafts of the upper pressure contact roller 45a and the lower pressure contact roller 45b that are pressed against each other in a state in which the sheets are not folded and a state in which the folded sheet bundle BS is folded. It may also be used to detect the thickness.

[Description of stage folding unit]
From here, the step folding unit 50 which becomes a part of the sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention for preventing the folded folded sheet bundle BS from being opened will be described.
The step-folding unit 50 is disposed on the downstream side of the folding roller 45 described above as shown in FIG. A sheet bundle detection sensor (SEN 3) 44 that detects the folded sheet bundle BS sent by the folding roller 45 with the folding loop side as the head is provided at the entrance of the stage folding unit 50. On the downstream side, a relay roller 48 is positioned as a first conveying member (bundle conveying roller) that can separate and contact each other to convey the folded sheet further downstream. A guide plate 52 including an upper guide plate 52a and a lower guide plate 52b for guiding the conveyance of the folded sheet bundle BS is provided on the downstream side of the relay roller 48. The stage folding unit 50 has a folded sheet bundle conveyance path BP.

Further, a gripper member 51 as a second conveying member capable of gripping the folded sheet bundle BS from its thickness direction is located on the side of the guide plate 52. The gripper member 51 conveys the folded sheet bundle BS conveyed by the relay roller 48 in the front direction in the figure, which is a direction intersecting with the conveying direction of the folded sheet bundle BS. A support unit 56 having a pressing roller 70 that performs a folding process in a stepwise manner on the folded sheet that is pulled and conveyed by the gripper member 51 is located on the side of the position that is the end point of the folded sheet bundle BS by the relay roller 48. positioned. A second discharge tray 22 for collecting the processed folded sheet bundle BS is provided on the downstream side of the support unit 56.
Hereinafter, the mechanism and operation of the support unit 56 that supports the relay roller 48, the gripper member 51, and the presser roller 70 will be described individually.

[Description of relay roller (first conveying member / bundle conveying roller)]
The relay roller 48 that conveys the folded sheet bundle BS having the folding loop from the folding roller 45 to the downstream side will be described with reference to FIG. The relay roller 48 includes a relay upper roller 48a disposed above the folded sheet bundle in the thickness direction and a relay lower roller 48b disposed on the lower surface side. In this embodiment, three relay rollers 48 are disposed in the sheet width direction. (See FIG. 21). The relay roller 48 is driven and rotated by a bundle transfer motor 163. The relay upper roller 48a is driven via timing belts 156 and 159, and the relay lower roller 48b is driven via a timing belt 167. The relay upper roller 48a and the relay lower roller 48b are set to move at a constant speed.
Further, the relay upper roller 48a can be separated from and contacted with the relay lower roller 48b, and a pressure contact position where the folded sheet bundle BS can be nipped and conveyed, and the folded sheet bundle BS separated from the folded sheet bundle BS. It is possible to move to the pressure release position that allows the gripper member 51 to move, and the relay rollers can be separated from each other.

  The movement of the relay upper roller 48 a is attached to a support lever 158 that is rotatably supported by the drive shaft 160. The drive shaft 160 is provided with a swing lever 155 configured integrally with the drive shaft 160, and a pressing spring 157 is disposed between the front end side of the swing lever 155 and the support lever 158. . The drive shaft 160 can be rotated by a swing motor 153. Accordingly, when the swing motor 153 is driven and the drive shaft 160 is rotated counterclockwise in the drawing, the relay upper roller 48a moves in a direction to press the folded sheet bundle BS against the relay lower roller 48b. When the swing motor 153 is further driven, the swing lever 155 compresses the pressing spring 157, and the relay upper roller 48a biases the folded sheet bundle BS with a stronger biasing force by this compression.

  When the relay upper roller 48a is separated from the relay lower roller 48b, the swing motor 153 is driven in the direction in which the drive shaft 160 rotates clockwise in the figure. Then, the swing lever 155 is also rotated in the clockwise direction, and the support lever 158 locked to the pressing spring 157 is also moved in the same direction, so that the relay upper roller 48a is lifted to a separated position separated from the folded sheet bundle BS. When the relay upper roller 48a is positioned in this state, the restraint of the folded sheet bundle BS is released, and it can be moved in the crossing direction by a gripper member 51 which is a second conveying member described later. The position of the rocking lever 155 is detected by a rocking position sensor (SEN5) 151 for detecting the position and positioning is performed.

Note that the relay roller 48 has a d1 position for feeding the distance d1 from the sheet bundle detection sensor (SEN3) 44 in which the leading end of the folded sheet bundle BS is detected by the sheet bundle leading end detection sensor (SEN4) 129, and β1 minutes more than this. This is sent to the d2 position on the upstream side, and the d3 position downstream by β2 from the d2 position, which is set by the feed amount of the bundle transfer motor 163. Depending on the change of the takeover position, the case of performing the step folding on the small number of sheets and the number of the sheets in the folding loop and the case of not performing the step folding are selected. These will be described later with reference to FIG.
[Gripper member arrangement and mechanism]

Next, according to FIGS. 5 to 8, a folding loop is given by the folding roller 45, the folded sheet bundle BS conveyed by the relay roller 48 is gripped from the sheet thickness direction leaving the folding loop, and the relay roller 48. The arrangement relationship and the mechanism of the gripper member 51 which is the second conveying means for conveying in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction will be described.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining a moving mechanism of the gripper member 51 that pulls the folded sheet bundle BS formed with the support unit 56 for supporting the presser roller 70 and the loop in the direction intersecting the conveying direction of the relay roller 48.
A rear frame 53a and a front frame 53c in front of the device are attached to the device frame 55, and a middle frame 53b is attached between them. On the rear frame 53a side, a guide plate 52 including an upper guide plate 52a and a lower guide plate 52b for guiding the folded sheet bundle is located.

The gripper member 51 leaves the folded sheet loop so that the folded sheet bundle having the folded loop sent by the relay roller 48 moves in the direction intersecting the conveying direction by the relay roller 48 (left direction in FIG. 5). Hold the back slightly. The gripper member 51 is attached with a gear frame 179 that supports a gripper opening / closing cam 200 that grips or releases the folded sheet bundle BS, a gripper opening / closing motor 181 that drives the gripper opening / closing cam 200, and the like.
The gripper member 51 is slidably supported by the front guide rail 57 and the rear guide rail 58 that are positioned above the second discharge tray. The gripper member 51 is pulled and returned by the movement of a moving belt 65 stretched between a right pulley 63 and a left pulley 64 provided individually in the apparatus. As will be described later on the left pulley 64 side, a gripper member moving motor 69, a motor output gear 67 attached to the output shaft of this motor, and a transmission gear 66 are attached to a motor gear unit 68 to drive the left pulley 64. Rotate. Therefore, these constitute a moving member for the folded sheet bundle.
In the moving process in which the gripper member 51 grips the sheet and pulls the folded sheet bundle BS above the second sheet discharge tray, a pressing roller 70 that presses the leading end loop portion of the folded sheet bundle from above and below in the loop thickness direction. A support unit 56 to be supported is fixed to the apparatus frame 55.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a cross section of the gripper in the gripping position of FIG. This position is a position where the gripper frame 175 of the gripper member 51 is detected by a gripper unit home position sensor (SEN6) 176 attached to the apparatus frame 55. The gripper member 51 is configured such that an upper gripper 171 that is pressed from above the folded sheet bundle BS and a lower gripper 173 that is pressed from below are opened and closed by an opening and closing cam 200. In the released state of FIG. 6, the folded sheet bundle BS having the folding loop conveyed by the relay roller 48 is waiting to be carried in.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining that the gripper member 51 is at a release position where the gripper member 51 releases the grip and releases the folded sheet bundle BS to the second paper discharge tray 22. When the gripper member 51 holding the sheet bundle BS moves to the illustrated position, the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173 are released, and the sheet bundle BS is discharged to the second paper discharge tray. Note that the second discharge tray 22 is provided with a bundle discharge sensor (SEN8) 204, and whether or not the gripper member 51 has fallen to the second discharge tray 22 and is the second discharge tray 22 full? Confirm whether or not.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the gripper member 51 shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 8 (a) is a perspective view showing a released state, and FIG. 8 (b) is a diagram showing the released state of FIG. 8 (a). FIG. 8C is a mechanism diagram for explaining a state of gripping the sheet bundle.
First, in FIG. 8A, the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173 that can be opened and closed to hold the folded sheet bundle are rotatably attached to the arm shaft 188 of the arm frame 177. The arm shaft 188 is provided with a coil spring 189 having one end locked to the arm frame 177 and the other end locked to the upper gripper 171. Another coil spring 189 is similarly attached to the lower gripper 173. The coil spring 189 normally biases the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173 in the closing direction.
A gear frame 179 is provided on the side of the arm frame 177, and the drive transmission is transmitted to the gear frame 179 via the motor output shaft 183 to the gripper opening / closing motor 181 and the gripper transmission gear 185. Further, drive transmission is transmitted from the gripper portion transmission gear 185 to the opening / closing cam 200 via the cam gear 187. The arm frame 177 and the gear frame 179 constitute a gripper frame 175.

  FIG. 8B shows an open state in which the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173 are released by the opening / closing cam 200 against the elastic force of the coil spring 189. In this state, the open / close detection sensor (SEN 7) 186 detects that the lower gripper rear end 195 side is in the released state. From this state, when the gripper opening / closing motor 181 is driven to rotate the cam shaft 203 in the clockwise direction in the figure, the opening / closing cam 200 provided on the cam shaft 203 also rotates in the same direction. By the rotation of the opening / closing cam 200, the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173 are urged by the coil spring 189 in a direction approaching each other.

FIG. 8C shows a state in which the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173 are not locked by the opening / closing cam 200 and the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173 are urged exclusively by the elastic force of the coil spring 189. Yes. In this state, the folded sheet bundle BS is gripped from the side portion side, and the folded sheet bundle BS is pulled in the crossing direction.
Further, a press upper rubber 191 is attached to the tip of the upper gripper 171 and a press lower rubber 193 is also attached to the tip of the lower gripper 173, and measures are taken to prevent slipping and slipping from the gripped sheet. When the gripper member 51 releases and releases the folded sheet BS, the gripper member 51 is rotated clockwise so as to move from the state shown in FIG. 8C to the position shown in FIG. 8B. Just do it.

[Description of support unit]
Next, the support unit 56 that supports the pressing roller 70 that presses the folded loop portion of the folded sheet bundle BS pulled by the gripper member 51 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. The support unit 56 is provided in a paper discharge path in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction by the relay roller 48 and is individually provided as a unit on the apparatus frame 55 as shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view as seen from the second paper discharge tray 22 side, and FIG. 10 is a front view of the support unit 56. The support unit 56 includes a unit base plate 62a constituting the back side of the unit, a front upper base plate 62b and a front lower base plate 62c which are divided into upper and lower portions, and a front unit side plate 95 and a succeeding unit side plate 96 on the sides. The upper and lower sides are surrounded by a unit top plate 59a and a unit bottom plate 59b. The leading unit side plate 95 is provided with a leading side plate opening 97 that is relatively large, and the trailing unit side plate is provided with a trailing side plate opening 98 that is set narrower than the leading side plate opening. These openings are designed to allow a smooth intrusion when the sheet fold is moved between the support units 56.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the inside of the support unit 56 is arranged in a plurality of rows from the preceding unit side plate 95 side to the following unit side plate 96. In this embodiment, the presser roller comprises three rows. There are 70 pairs. These presser rollers 70 have different intervals between the rollers for each row. That is, the first lower presser roller 72 is disposed at a position spaced apart from the first upper presser roller 71 at a substantially equal position with the sheet crease position at the center in the first row of rollers. Each of the rollers has a first upper presser roller shaft 78a and a first lower presser roller shaft 78b, and these shafts are supported by a first upper presser roller bracket 86a and a first lower presser roller bracket 86b. The first upper presser roller bracket 86a is supported by the unit top plate 59a so that it can be raised and lowered, and the first lower presser roller bracket 86b is supported by the unit bottom plate 59b so that it can be raised and lowered.

Further, a first upper presser roller pressing spring 91a for biasing both in the separating direction is interposed between the first upper presser roller bracket 86a and the unit top plate 59a, and the first lower presser roller bracket 86b and the unit bottom plate are interposed. A similar first lower presser roller pressing spring 91b is also interposed between 59b and 59b. As a result, the first upper presser roller 71 and the first lower presser roller 72 are constantly applied with a biasing force. On the other hand, the unit base plate 62a and the front upper base plate 62b for supporting the first upper presser roller shaft 78a are provided with first upper presser roller shaft long holes 82a, respectively.

Accordingly, the urging force of the first upper presser roller pressing spring 91a is regulated by the first upper presser roller shaft long hole 82a. Further, the urging force of the first lower presser roller pressing spring 91b is also restricted by the first lower presser roller shaft elongated hole 82b, and the upward movement of the first lower presser roller 72 is also restricted. As a result, as well shown in FIG. 10, the distance L1 between the first upper pressing roller 71 and the first lower pressing roller 72 is always kept constant. In this embodiment, L1 is set to about 14 millimeters. Further, the first upper presser roller pressing spring 91a and the first lower presser roller pressing spring 91b are set so that a load of approximately 4.0 kilograms is applied in a state where both rollers are in contact with each other.

The second row roller pair has the same configuration as the first row roller as can be seen from FIGS. 9 and 10.
That is, the second row presser roller 73 is arranged at a position spaced apart from the second upper presser roller 73 by a predetermined distance from the second upper presser roller 73. Each of the rollers has a second upper presser roller shaft 79a and a second lower presser roller shaft 79b, and these shafts are supported by a second upper presser roller bracket 87a and a second lower presser roller bracket 87b. The second upper presser roller bracket 87a is supported by the unit top plate 59a so that it can be raised and lowered, and the second lower presser roller bracket 87b is supported by the unit bottom plate 59b so that it can be raised and lowered.

Further, a second upper presser roller pressing spring 92a for biasing both in the separating direction is interposed between the second upper presser roller bracket 87a and the unit top plate 59a, and the second lower presser roller bracket 87b and the unit bottom plate are interposed. A second lower pressing roller pressing spring 92b is also interposed between the second pressing roller 92b and 59b.
As a result, the second upper presser roller 73 and the second lower presser roller 74 are constantly biased in the direction of approaching. On the other hand, the unit base plate 62a that supports the second upper presser roller shaft 79a and the front upper base plate 62b are provided with second upper presser roller shaft long holes 83a, respectively. Accordingly, the urging force of the second upper presser roller pressing spring 92a is restricted by the second upper presser roller shaft elongated hole 83a, and the downward movement of the second upper presser roller 73 is also restricted.

Further, the urging force of the second lower pressing roller pressing spring 92b is also restricted by the second lower pressing roller shaft elongated hole 83b, and the upward movement of the second lower pressing roller 74 is also restricted. Thus, as well shown in FIG. 10, the distance L2 between the rollers of the second upper presser roller 73 and the second lower presser roller 74 is always kept constant. In this embodiment, L2 is set to about 7 millimeters. Further, the second upper presser roller pressing spring 92a and the second lower presser roller pressing spring 92b are set so that a load of approximately 4.0 kilograms is applied when both rollers are in contact with each other.

Further, as can be seen from FIGS. 9 and 10, the roller pair in the third row has the same configuration as the roller in the first row and the second row. It is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 7, the first upper presser roller 71 and the first lower presser roller 72 in the first row have predetermined intervals L1 (approximately 14 millimeters in this embodiment), and the second upper presser roller 73 and the second lower presser roller 73 in the second row. Similarly to the lower presser roller 74, a predetermined distance L2 (approximately 7 millimeters in this embodiment) is provided. This is because the first upper presser roller shaft long hole 82a, the first lower presser roller shaft long hole 82b, the second upper presser roller shaft long hole 83a, and the second lower presser roller shaft long hole 83b are separated as spacing control members. I am letting. Accordingly, the positions of the rollers are regulated so as not to be narrower than a predetermined value.

However, the third upper presser roller 75 and the third lower presser roller 76 in the third row are elastically biased so that they can always be pressed against each other. In this case, the third upper presser roller shaft elongated hole 84a and the third lower presser roller shaft elongated hole 84b are set so that the roller interval L3 = 0. The third upper presser roller pressing spring 93a and the third lower presser roller pressing spring 93b are set so that a load of approximately 4.0 kilograms is applied at the roller contact position. Thus, the folds of the folded sheet bundle BS are subjected to stepwise folding while a load exceeding 4 kilograms is applied to both sides.

  Further, the third upper presser roller 75 and the third lower presser roller 76 in the third row are described in FIG. 9 and the circular double-dotted line in FIG. The second region R2 (hereinafter referred to as region R2) of the upper roller small diameter portion 75b and the lower roller small diameter portion 76b facing each other with a slight gap between the portion 75a and the first region R1 (hereinafter referred to as region R1) of the lower roller large diameter portion 76a. Is set adjacent to the upstream side from the upstream side in the sheet bundle conveying direction. This stepped roller is integrally formed and rotated as shown in the figure. The reason for this stepped roller is that if there is a gap when the end of the moving sheet bundle enters between the third upper pressing roller 75 and the third lower pressing roller 76, the impact can be reduced. Because.

As described above, the first upper presser roller 71, the second upper presser roller 73, and the third upper presser roller 75 as the pressing members of the sheet bundle of the present invention are provided at positions facing each other (opposite positions). The first lower presser roller 72, the second lower presser roller 74, and the third lower presser roller 76 are supported by a plurality of arrangements (multi-row arrangement / three-row arrangement in this embodiment) on the support unit 56 that is unitized as one unit. The device frame 55 is individually provided. These presser rollers 70 are rotatable in the moving direction. Then, the folded sheet bundle is moved by pulling the gripper member 51 in the direction of the crease in order from the first presser roller 71 which is the first row having a wide interval and the second lower presser roller 72 facing the first presser roller 71 to the final row. In the second upper presser roller 73 and the second lower presser roller 74 that are in front (second row in this embodiment), the distance between the rollers becomes narrower.

Then, in the region R1 of the large diameter part of the third upper presser roller 75 and the third lower presser roller 76 in the third row (last) which is the final row in the moving direction, the sheet fold is pressed from both sides with a spring force of 4 kilograms. While pressing. In this way, the press rollers 70 are arranged in a plurality of rows so that the intervals become narrow in order in the sheet moving direction.
That is, in this embodiment, the three roller rows arranged and supported by one unit narrow the interval step by step, and press the folded sheet bundle BS while pressing from both sides along the sheet fold line. Stepwise folding is applied in the process of moving the bundle. Further, stepwise folding of the folding loop is sequentially performed by pressing from the front and back in the folding loop thickness direction (toward the center of the loop position) with the approximate center between the rollers as the pressing position.

[Gripper member movement and operation explanation]
Hereafter, the movement / operation of the gripper member 51 for moving the folding loop of the folded sheet bundle BS to the support unit 56 in the step folding unit 50 and performing stepwise pressing will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, FIG. 11 is an explanatory view waiting in a state in which a gripper member is opened in order to move the folded sheet bundle BS formed with the folded loop transferred by the folding roller 45 and the relay roller 48 in the orthogonal direction. . In this state, the opening / closing cam 200 stands, and the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173 are opened against the coil spring 189. During this open state, the folded sheet bundle BS is conveyed with the folding loop as the head.

Next, in FIG. 12, the folding loop is stopped at the position closest to the apparatus frame 55, and this time, a slightly upstream position where the folding loop is partially left is gripped by the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173. In this gripping, the opening / closing cam 200 moves sideways, and the side of the folded sheet bundle BS is gripped by the elastic force of the coil spring 189.
FIG. 13 is a diagram in which driving of the gripper member moving motor 69 is started, and the folded sheet bundle BS is started to be pulled by the gripper member 51 in the direction of the second paper discharge tray 22 (arrow direction in the drawing). As shown in FIG. 13, the leading end loop portion of the folded sheet bundle BS starts to be carried into the support unit 56 that supports the presser roller 70.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram in which the gripper member 51 continues to move on the second paper discharge tray 22 while holding the further folded sheet bundle BS. In this state, the loop portion of the folded sheet bundle BS passes between the third upper presser roller and the third lower presser roller that have regions where the support units 56 are in pressure contact with each other. Since this movement is performed in the process of transporting to the second sheet discharge tray 22, even when the pressing roller 70 is being pressed, the folded sheet bundle BS can be performed without stopping.

FIG. 15 shows a state in which the gripper member 51 further proceeds to the left in the figure while holding the folded sheet bundle BS, and the loop portion of the folded sheet bundle has also passed between the pressing rollers 70 of the support unit 56. When this position is reached, the folding loop portion is stepped by three rows of pressing rollers 70. This point will be described later.
In FIG. 16, the opening / closing cam 200 is raised by the gripper opening / closing motor 181 while moving further toward the left side of the drawing. As a result, the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173 are released. When this release is performed, the sheet bundle BS that has been folded in stages as shown in the drawing is discharged and dropped onto the second discharge tray 22.

  The discharge to the second discharge tray 22 can be detected by turning on / off the bundle discharge sensor (SEN8) 204. Also, when this cannot be detected after the gripper member 51 is released, the opening / closing cam 200 is rotated, the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173 are opened and closed, and the discharge is confirmed by vibrating. Even if this operation is performed, if the sheet is not turned ON / OFF, the sheet bundle is caught or an error is displayed as full.

[Explanation of stage folding process]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 17 to 19, a state in which the stage folding is performed on the loop portion of the folded sheet bundle BS pulled by the gripper member 51 will be described. In these drawings, for the sake of explanation, the device frame 55 on which the support unit 56 is individually provided is made transparent, and the engagement relationship between the device frame 55 and the pressing roller 70 of the support unit 56 and the folded loop is shown. In addition, a pressing state to the folding loop in which the folding line is formed by the pressing roller 70 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, when the folding loop of the folded sheet bundle BS reaches a predetermined size (in this embodiment, the vertical direction of the loop is, for example, approximately 22 millimeters), the folding roller 45 and the relay roller 48 are stopped, and the folded sheet bundle is stopped. Is gripped by the gripper member 51 and moved in a direction intersecting with the transporting direction so far. By this movement, the folded loop portion of the folded sheet bundle passes through the support unit 56. A state in which the movement in the crossing direction is started is shown in FIG. 17 and shows a state immediately before the insertion into the support unit 56 is started. This state corresponds to the slightly previous state of FIG. 13 described above.

Next, FIG. 18 shows a state where the gripper member 51 is further moved onto the second sheet discharge tray 22 while holding the folded sheet bundle BS. This state corresponds to the state of FIG. 14 described above.
The first upper presser roller 71 and the first lower presser roller 72 as pressing members for the folded sheet bundle BS are arranged in the thickness direction of the folded sheet bundle BS (vertical direction intersecting the folded sheet bundle BS conveying direction at the fold line). ), The folded sheet bundle is moved along the crease direction (sheet width direction) at a position where a loop is generated by the folding roller 45, and a plurality of creases are made.

That is, the interval between the first upper presser roller 71 and the first lower presser roller 72 in the first stage is slightly narrower than the folding loop (in this embodiment, approximately 14 mm with respect to the loop height of 22 mm). The first crease is made by moving along the crease provided by the folding roller 45. This is the first fold line 100 indicated by the solid line arrow in FIG. 20A, and in FIG. 20D, the fold sheet bundle BS appears as a first fold line 100 as a thin line. This is because the portion pressed by the first upper presser roller 71 and the first lower presser roller 72 receives a concentrated load at the portion that becomes a folding loop as shown in FIG. This is because the first folding line 100 appears due to the movement of the sheet bundle in the width direction between the first upper pressing roller 71 and the first lower pressing roller 72.

Next, in the second stage, the distance between the second upper presser roller 73 and the second lower presser roller 74 as a sheet bundle pressing member is slightly narrower than the loop formed by pressing in the first stage (in this embodiment, And is moved along the crease formed by the folding roller 45 to make a second stage crease. This is the second fold line 101 indicated by the solid line arrow located on the back side of the first fold line 100 shown in FIG. 20B, and in FIG. It appears as a two-fold line 101. This also causes the portion pressed by the second upper presser roller 73 and the second lower presser roller 74 to buckle and bend into the sheet bundle due to the concentrated load, and the second upper presser roller 73 and the second presser roller 73 This is because the second fold line 101 appears due to the movement of the sheet bundle in the width direction with the lower presser roller 74.

As the final stage, the third upper presser roller 75 and the third lower presser roller 76 as the sheet bundle pressing members are pressed by the elastic force of the third upper presser roller pressing spring 93a and the third lower presser roller pressing spring 93b. ing. In the last row, the third upper presser roller 75 and the third lower presser roller 76 are not spaced apart from each other as in the first stage and the second stage. (The regulation interval in this embodiment is a pressure contact state of 0 mm with a large-diameter roller). Accordingly, the pressing at the last row is performed by pressing the position of the pressed thickness of the folded sheet bundle BS by the third upper pressing roller 75 and the third lower pressing roller 76, and the folding loop moves. The folds of the press rollers 70 in the final row are the final fold lines 102 indicated by the solid line arrows in FIG. 20C in the folded sheet bundle BS, and in FIG. 20D, the folds are final in a relatively dark line in the folded sheet bundle BS. It appears as a fold line 102.
Note that an end fold 103 is formed at the end in the width direction of the folded sheet bundle BS when the folding roller 45 and the pressing roller 70 are pressed onto the sheet. The portion pressed by the third upper presser roller 75 and the third lower presser roller 76 in the substantially press-contact state appears as a final fold line 102 in which the fold is strengthened.

  As described above, the press rollers 70 are buckled at different intervals so that creases are formed sequentially, whereby the first fold line 100, which is a thin line at the first stage, and the thin line at the second stage. The closing direction of the folded sheet bundle BS (passes the fold line) at each line position of the second folding line 101 and the final folding line 102 which is a relatively dark line generated according to the thickness of the folded sheet bundle BS on the last row. When the folding direction toward the line in the conveying direction is directed, it is possible to prevent the folded sheet bundle BS from being opened even after being discharged, and the alignment and stacking properties from being lowered.

[Explanation of the last row of stepped rollers]
Here, a description will be given of a configuration in which the third upper presser roller 75 located in the last row of the support unit 56 and the third lower presser roller 76 facing the third upper presser roller 76 which are also touched in FIGS. 9 and 10 are stepped rollers. .
This is because, when the sheet enters with the third upper presser roller 75 and the third lower presser roller 76 facing the third upper presser roller 75 pressed against the widthwise end of the folded sheet bundle BS, the sheet end having a relatively large number of sheets has a large thickness. In this case, the third upper presser roller 75 and the third lower presser roller 76 facing the third upper presser roller 75 come into contact with the end of the sheet to be in a collision state, and the end of the sheet is damaged or damaged. Alternatively, if the impact of the collision is large, the position of the folded sheet bundle BS held by the folding roller 45 or the relay roller 48 may be shifted or detached.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the third upper presser roller 75 in the last row is configured by an upper roller large diameter portion 75a and an upper roller small diameter portion 75b connected to the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction as surrounded by a two-dot broken line in FIG. The third lower presser roller 76 includes a lower roller large diameter portion 76a and a lower roller small diameter portion 76b. These are set as a region R1 where the upper roller large diameter portion 75a and the lower roller large diameter portion 76a are in pressure contact, and a region R2 between the upper roller small diameter portion 75b and the lower roller small diameter portion 76b facing each other with a slight gap therebetween. Has been. The upper presser roller 75 and the lower presser roller 76 are integrally formed as stepped rollers.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 10, since the region R1 of the upper roller large diameter portion 75a and the lower roller large diameter portion 76a is in pressure contact with each other, L3 is 0, and the upper roller small diameter portion 75b and the lower roller small diameter The region R2 of the portion 76b is set to L4, which is about 2 millimeters in this embodiment. Although this L4 depends on the number and thickness of sheets to be handled, it may be in the range of about 2 to 4 millimeters. This is a relatively large number of sheets. In this embodiment, when the number of sheets exceeds 15 sheets (30 sheets folded over about 3 millimeters), the folds of the sheet are formed by the upper roller small diameter part 75b and the lower roller small diameter part 76b. When the number of sheets is small, in this embodiment, 15 or less so as to be located in the region R2, the region in the region R1 of the upper roller large diameter portion 75a and the lower roller large diameter portion 76a that are in pressure contact with each other. The crease is positioned at By doing in this way, a thick edge part with many sheets can be easily ridden, and the damage given to a sheet edge part can be decreased.

[Description of overall layout and folding sheet area setting]
Next, an overall arrangement in which the folded sheet bundle BS having a folded loop is moved by the gripper member 51 in a direction intersecting with the folding roller 45 and the relay roller 48 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the folded sheet bundle BS is positioned in the region R1 of the upper roller large-diameter portion 75a and the lower roller large-diameter portion 76a in pressure contact with each other or the upper roller small-diameter portion 75b and the lower A mechanism for selecting whether the roller small-diameter portion 76b is positioned in the range of the region R2 where there is an opposing gap, or whether to discharge directly to the second paper discharge tray 22 without performing these stepwise folding will be described.

As described with reference to FIG. 4, FIG. 21A is a plan view for explaining the movement of the folded sheet bundle BS from the folding roller 45 in the intersecting direction. A part of the sheet bundle accumulated in the stacker unit 35 by the folding roller 45 is conveyed while being formed into a folded sheet bundle BS having a folding loop. The loop tip BL1 is detected by a sheet bundle detection sensor (SEN3) 44 located immediately after the folding roller. Thereafter, the folded sheet bundle BS is sandwiched and conveyed downstream by a relay roller 48 that can be pressed against and separated from the folded sheet bundle BS. When the sheet bundle detection sensor (SEN3) 44 conveys d1 minutes, the conveyance is stopped. The stop position is also detected by the sheet bundle leading edge detection sensor (SEN4) 129. Further, at the side of the stop position is a position where the presser roller 70 is disposed, and further corresponds to the region R1 of the upper roller large diameter portion 75a and the lower roller large diameter portion 76a. This position is a case where the number of folded sheets of the folded sheet bundle BS is small, and in this embodiment, 15 sheets.
Further, this arrangement indicates that the support unit 56 is provided on the sheet side portion at the end of the folded sheet bundle BS conveyed by d1 in the sheet conveying direction by the relay roller 48.

The gripper member 51 already described with reference to FIGS. 6, 8, and 12 grips the sheet side portion that has been stopped as described above, and pulls in the crossing direction in the left direction in the figure (the orthogonal direction in this embodiment) to take over and move. . In this moving process, the folding loop BL on the tip side is pressed by the pressing roller 70 supported by the support unit 56 as shown by the broken lines in the figure, and as described above, the upper roller large diameter portion 75a and the lower roller large diameter Step folding is performed through the region R1 of the part 76a.

Further, when the step folding is not performed in the folding loop, it is β1 upstream from the position d1 fed by the distance d1 by the relay roller 48, and the position d2 (the position conveyed by the distance d2 from the sheet bundle detection sensor (SEN3) 44). That is, it takes over to the gripper member 51 at an upstream position that does not reach the side of the support unit. By taking over at this position, the support unit 56 is not located at the side position of the folded loop of the folded sheet bundle BS, so that it is discharged to the second paper discharge tray without being subjected to the stepwise folding process. By performing this discharge, the gripper member 51 can be moved at high speed, and the overall processing speed can be increased.

  On the other hand, even if there are a large number of folded sheet bundles BS (in the present embodiment, when the number of folded sheets exceeds 15), when performing stepwise folding, a position d3 that is β2 minutes downstream from the position d2 above. (The position conveyed by d3 from the sheet bundle detection sensor (SEN3) 44) is sent and taken over. In this position, the pressing roller 70 corresponds to the pressing position of a large number of sheets, which is a region R2 sandwiched between the upper roller small diameter portion 75b of the third upper pressing roller 75 and the lower roller small diameter portion 76b of the third lower pressing roller 76. Yes. In the case of a large number of sheets, the small diameter part is pressed when the final stage, which is the final stage of the folded sheet bundle, is in a completely pressed state, and the impact when the sheet bundle enters is large, and the folded sheet bundle is bent. This is to prevent the gripper member 51 from being detached.

Further, when the folded sheet bundle moves in the crossing direction of the second discharge tray by the gripper member 51, the relay upper roller 48a and the relay lower roller 48b of the relay roller 48 are separated as described with reference to FIG. Therefore, the gripper member 51 does not resist the movement of the folded sheet bundle. When the gripper member 51 is moved, the pressure contact force may be considerably reduced without separating the relay roller.
As described above, in the present embodiment, by making it possible to change the takeover position (gripping position) of the gripper member 51 from the relay roller 48, it is possible to perform a step folding from a small number to a large number of sheets, or a step folding. It is possible to select easily when not executing.

Next, with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 22 to 23, a large number of sheets exceeding the predetermined number shown in FIG. 21, a small number of sheets less than the predetermined number, and the case where the step folding is not executed will be described according to each step (S).
Before describing each step (S), each processing mode designated to the control panel 18 as a sheet processing condition will be described here. That is, (1) “print-out mode” in which a sheet on which an image has been formed is stored in the first paper discharge tray 21. (2) “Staple binding mode” in which the sheets from the main body discharge port 3 are aligned in a bundle and are stored in the first discharge tray 21 after being bound by the end face binding stapler 33. (3) From the main body discharge port 3. The sheets are aligned in a bundle by the stacker unit 35, which is the second processing tray, the middle of the sheet bundle is bound by the saddle stitch stapler 40, folded into a booklet, and stored in the second sheet discharge tray 22. "Saddle stitch folding mode". (4) There is a “gradual folding mode” in which a fold loop of a sheet bundle that is saddle-stitched and folded into a booklet is folded in stages and stored in the second discharge tray 22. Further, the “step folding mode” is divided into a thin sheet bundle (15 sheets or less in this embodiment) and a thick sheet bundle (more than 15 sheets in this embodiment).

First, when it is designated in the “gradual folding mode” on the control panel 18 whether or not staged folding is to be executed, the mode shifts to the staged folding mode. If not specified, the above-mentioned “saddle stitch folding mode” in which the stage folding is not executed and only the saddle stitching is discharged to the second discharge tray (S301). When the “stage folding mode” is designated, the sheet bundle is folded in half by a folding roller 45 and a folding blade 46 and reaches a stage folding unit 50 having a relay roller 48. In this process, the number of folded sheets is 15 ( It is determined whether the number of folded sheets is 30 or less or exceeds 15 (S302). In this case, a large number and a small number may be distinguished not by the number but by the thickness. Although not specifically shown, these determinations are set based on the measurement of the interval when the upper pressure roller 45a and the lower pressure roller 45b of the folding roller 45 fold the sheet bundle and the number information of the sheet bundle from the image forming apparatus A. do it. Hereinafter, the case of a small number of sheet bundles and the case of a large number of sheets will be described separately.

[For decimal]
When the number of folded sheet bundles BS is 15 or less, the folding motor 126 that rotates the folding roller 45 is driven to rotate (S303). The sheet bundle detection sensor (SEN3) 44 immediately after the driving rotation folding roller 45 detects the leading edge of the folded sheet (S304). A predetermined time after this detection, the swing motor 153 shown in FIG. 4 is driven and stopped so that the folded sheet bundle BS is pressed by the relay upper roller 48a of the relay roller 48 (S305). As a result, the sheet bundle is nipped by the relay roller 48, and at the same time, the bundle transfer motor 163 is rotated to convey the sheet bundle downstream. (S306). As described above, it is confirmed whether or not the conveyance has moved the longest d1 minutes since it was detected by the sheet bundle detection sensor (SEN3) 44 (S307). This movement is performed by detecting the movement amounts of the folding roller 45 and the relay roller 48. Further, here, it is also confirmed whether or not the sheet bundle leading end detection sensor (SEN4) 129 has detected the leading end of the folded loop (S308). This confirmation is a sheet bundle having the longest conveyance distance d1 and a relatively thin sheet bundle and may be bent in the middle. Therefore, the reliability is improved by detecting the amount of roller conveyance and the actual leading edge of the folded sheet. . When the sheet bundle leading end detection sensor (SEN4) 129 detects the sheet bundle, the folding motor 126 that drives the folding roller 45 and the bundle transfer motor 163 that drives the relay roller 48 are stopped (S309).

Next, a description will be given with reference to FIG. When the folding motor 126 and the bundle transfer motor 163 are stopped, the driving of the gripper opening / closing motor 181 shown in FIG. 8 is started (S310). As shown in FIG. 8B and FIG. 8C, when the open / close detection sensor (SEN7) 186 that detects the lower end 195 of the lower gripper is turned from ON to OFF, and the time after the OFF becomes a predetermined time. Then, it is determined that the opening / closing cam 200 is in the state shown in FIG. 8C (S311). In this state, as already described with reference to FIG. 8, the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173 have a slightly upstream side of the seat with a part of the folding loop by the two coil springs 189 wound around the arm shaft 188. By grasping the bundle BS side portion, the gripper member 51 can start towing.

In this state, the swing motor 153 is reversely rotated so as to release the sheet pressing of the relay roller 48 shown in FIG. 4 (S313). As a result, the relay upper roller 48a moves in a direction away from the sheet bundle BS (upward in the drawing). This movement is continued until the swing lever 155 is detected by the swing position sensor (SEN5) 151 (S314). When this detection is performed, the drive of the swing motor 153 is stopped (S315). In this state, the relay roller 48 is completely separated from the folded sheet bundle BS and does not hinder movement by the gripper member 51. Thereafter, driving of the gripper member moving motor 69 is started so as to move the gripper member 51 in the direction of the second paper discharge tray 22 as shown in FIG. 5, for example (S316). When the gripper member moving motor 69 is driven for a predetermined time, the folded sheet bundle BS is moved above the second sheet discharge tray by the gripper member 51. This movement is performed by determining the elapse of a predetermined time after the gripper frame 175 is detached from the clipper home position sensor (SEN6) shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 and turned from ON to OFF (S317). When the gripper member 51 reaches the release position for discharging the folded sheet bundle BS of FIG. 7, the gripper opening / closing motor 181 is now driven (S318). By this driving, the gripper member 51 is in the state shown in FIG. 8B, and the folded sheet bundle is discharged to the second discharge tray.

The subsequent process will be described with reference to FIG. Referring also to FIG. 8, when the gripper opening / closing detection sensor (SEN7) 486 is turned on (S319), the gripper opening / closing motor 181 is stopped because the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173 are released (S320). When this opening / closing is completed, the driving of the gripper member moving motor 69 is stopped. As a result, the gripper member 51 stops moving on the second paper discharge tray 22 (S321). Thereafter, it is confirmed that the bundle discharge sensor (SEN8) 204 provided on the second paper discharge tray 22 has been turned OFF → ON → OFF. This means that the folded sheet bundle BS is discharged to the second discharge tray 22 as shown in FIG. If this confirmation is not made and the bundle discharge sensor (SEN8) 204 remains in the ON state from OFF to ON, it is determined that some kind of catch has occurred in the folded sheet bundle BS (S322).

When this state occurs, the drive of the gripper opening / closing motor 181 is turned ON / OFF (S323). With this operation, if the bundle discharge sensor (SEN8) 204 changes from OFF to ON to OFF, the operation proceeds to the next step as normal. When the bundle discharge sensor (SEN8) 204 is still not turned off, an error display is performed although not particularly shown. Note that the gripper opening / closing motor 181 is appropriately turned ON / OFF once or twice, and then the state of the bundle discharge sensor (SEN8) 204 is detected and transferred to the second discharge tray 22. Has been confirmed. If the folded sheet bundle BS is vibrated by the gripper member 51 and the catch is eliminated by such setting, errors can be reduced. If the second paper discharge tray 22 is discharged normally, it is determined whether there is a next sheet bundle (S324). If there is processing for the next sheet bundle, the process returns to 1A in FIG. 22 and the operations described so far are repeated.

[In the case of many sheets]
Next, a process when there are a large number of folded sheet bundles will be described. Since the processing for a large number of sheets is almost the same as the processing for a small number of sheets described so far, only the differences will be described. As shown in FIG. 22, the difference is that it has been confirmed whether or not it has moved d3 minutes, which is the longest after d1 minutes since it was detected by the sheet bundle detection sensor (SEN3) 44 (S355). In the case of a small number of sheets, it was confirmed whether or not the sheet bundle leading end detection sensor (SEN4) 129 detected the leading end of the folding loop. However, since this is a relatively thick folded sheet bundle, this detection was omitted. It is. Of course, it may be detected by adding a sensor at the position of d3 without omitting this omission. Since the other processes are the same, description thereof is omitted here.

[When staged folding is not performed]
Even when performing the saddle stitch folding mode without performing the stage folding described so far,
As shown in FIG. 22, the difference is that it is confirmed whether or not the shortest d2 is moved from the time when it is detected by the sheet bundle detection sensor (SEN3) 44 (S404). In the case of a small number of sheets, it was confirmed whether or not the sheet bundle leading edge detection sensor (SEN4) 129 detected the leading edge of the folding loop, but here the detection is omitted because the transport distance is relatively short. . Here, a sensor may be added and detected at the position d2 without omitting this. Others perform the same processing as the above-described step folding, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.
As described above, when the conveyance direction is changed to the front direction intersecting with the feeding direction of the folding roller 45 and the relay roller 48, the takeover position to the gripper member 51 is set to a d1 position where a small number of stages are folded, a large number of sheets Desired sheet processing can be performed by setting the position corresponding to the d3 position where the step folding is performed and the d3 position where the sheet is discharged without performing the step folding.

[Description of control configuration]
The control configuration of the sheet processing apparatus B including the above-described stage folding unit 50 and the image forming apparatus A including the sheet processing apparatus will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. An image forming apparatus control unit 110 including the image forming unit 2 inputs a desired process from an input unit 111 provided on the control panel 18. This input controls the sheet processing apparatus control unit 115 as a control unit of the sheet processing apparatus B by the mode setting means.
As already described, the sheet processing apparatus B of the present embodiment has a “print-out mode”, a “staple binding mode”, a “saddle binding bundle folding mode”, and a “stage folding mode”. Further, the “stage folding mode” is divided into a thin sheet bundle (15 sheets or less in this embodiment) stage folding and a thick sheet bundle (more than 15 sheets in this embodiment) stage folding. It is supposed to work.

  The sheet processing apparatus B includes a sheet processing apparatus control unit 115 that can be operated in the designated mode, a ROM that stores an operation program, and a RAM that stores control data. The sheet processing apparatus control unit 115 includes a sheet conveyance control unit 116 that controls sheet conveyance in the apparatus, and a single sheet punching control unit 117 that performs a pressing process on each sheet by the single sheet punching unit 28. A processing tray control unit 118 that performs sheet stacking control on the processing tray 29 and an end surface binding control unit 119 that binds the end surface side of the sheets stacked as a sheet bundle on the processing tray 29 and discharges them after binding.

When performing saddle stitching or folding in the vicinity of half the sheet conveyance direction of the sheet bundle, the stacker unit control unit 120 that stacks the sheet bundle on the sheet stacker unit 35 is controlled. The stacker unit control unit 120 generates a sheet bundle by aligning with a stopper 38 and an alignment member 39 that regulate the leading edge of the sheet that is carried into the stacker unit 35 one by one. Further, the saddle stitch control unit 121 for controlling the saddle stitching stapler so as to drive the staples and the like in the middle of the sheet bundle and the saddle stitched sheet bundle are pushed into the folding roller 45 by the folding blade 46 so as to perform the middle folding. A sheet folding control unit 122 to be controlled is provided. The sheet folding control unit 122 controls a folding motor 126 that drives the folding roller 45.

The sheet bundle BS having a folding loop is conveyed downstream by the relay roller 48 by the folding roller 45, and this conveyance control is controlled by the folded sheet movement control unit 123. The folded sheet movement control unit includes a sheet bundle detection sensor (SEN3) 44 that detects a folded sheet bundle immediately after the folding roller 45, a sheet bundle leading end detection sensor (SEN4) 129 that detects an end point of the folded sheet bundle BS, and a relay roller. A swing position sensor (SEN5) 151 that detects the position of the relay upper roller 48a on the swing side of 48, and although not specifically shown, detects the amount of rotation of the relay roller 48 in cooperation with the folding roller 45. And connected to a sensor for detecting the amount of movement of the folded sheet bundle. Further, according to the inputs of these sensors, the folded sheet movement control unit 123 controls the driving of the swing motor 153 that presses and separates the relay roller 48 and the bundle transfer motor 163 that moves the relay roller.

A gripper unit 51 is used to convey the folded sheet bundle BS conveyed by the relay roller 48 in a direction crossing the conveying direction of the relay roller 48 (in this embodiment, a direction orthogonal to the front). Control is performed by the control unit 124. Further, the folded sheet bundle BS is pulled so that the loop portion passes between the press rollers 70 having different intervals in the row direction by the takeover position to the gripper member 51, and has already been described with reference to FIGS. 17 to 19 and FIG. Perform stage folding.
Therefore, the gripper unit control unit 124 determines whether or not the gripper unit home position sensor (SEN6) 176 that detects that the gripper member 51 is at the home position, and the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 173 of the gripper member 51 are open. Open / close detection sensor (SEN7) 186, and a bundle discharge sensor (SEN8) 204 that detects whether or not the discharge from the gripper member 51 to the second discharge tray 22 is completed. .
On the other hand, on the output side of the gripper unit control unit 124, the gripper member moving motor 69 that moves the gripper member 51 in the direction intersecting the transport direction so far, the upper gripper 171 and the lower gripper 171 of the gripper member 51. A gripper opening / closing motor 181 that rotates the opening / closing cam 200 so as to move the gripper 173 to a closed gripping position and an open releasing position is connected.
The sheet processing apparatus control unit 115 as the control unit of the above embodiment is planned to be installed inside the sheet processing apparatus B, but it may be installed in the image forming unit 2 or installed outside these. Also good.

The control of each takeover position of a sheet bundle of a thin sheet bundle and a thick sheet bundle, which are executed in a case where step folding is further performed on a folded sheet, which is particularly relevant to the present invention, has been described in the description of the mechanism, FIGS. 16 and the flowcharts of FIG. 22 and FIG. 24, the explanation is omitted here. However, the step folding is performed on the support unit 56 as shown in FIG. To pass the loop portion of the folded sheet bundle BS.

  According to the embodiment described above, the folded sheet bundle BS conveyed by the relay roller 48 is pulled by the gripper member 51, and the loop portion is supported by the support unit in the conveying process from the upstream side to the downstream side in the intersecting direction. 56. As a result, the pressing roller 70 first presses the loop portion of the folded sheet bundle at a relatively wide interval, and then presses the creases at the next row at the next narrow interval. In the final row pressing, a small number of relatively thin folded sheet bundles BS are pressed in a pressure contact state between the upper roller large diameter portion 75a and the lower roller large diameter portion 76a (region R1). A large number of relatively thick folded sheet bundles BS are pressed with a gap between the upper roller small-diameter portion 75b and the lower roller small-diameter portion 76b each having a smaller α-segment diameter than the roller large-diameter portion (region R2). If comprised in this way, a comparatively thick edge part can be easily inserted between rollers, and the damage given to a sheet edge part can be decreased. Further, since the loop portion is pressed during the discharging process in the crossing direction, the step folding can be executed without stopping the sheet.

A Image forming apparatus B Sheet processing apparatus X Binding position Y Folding position BS Folded sheet bundle BL Folded sheet bundle loop BL1 Folded sheet bundle loop tip (fold)
R1 Large diameter portion region R2 Small diameter portion region 35 Stacker portion 40 Saddle stitching stapler 44 Sheet bundle detection sensor (SEN3)
45 Folding roller 46 Folding blade 48 Relay roller (first conveying member / bundle conveying roller)
50-stage folding unit 51 Gripper member (second conveying member)
55 Device frame 56 Support unit 57 Front guide rail 58 Rear guide rail 65 Moving belt 69 Gripper member moving motor 70 Pressing roller (pressing member)
71 First upper presser roller 72 First lower presser roller 73 Second upper presser roller 74 Second lower presser roller 75 Third upper presser roller 75a Upper roller large diameter portion 75b Upper roller small diameter portion 76 Third lower presser roller 76a Lower roller Large diameter portion 76b Lower roller small diameter portion 77 Presser roller shaft 78a First upper presser roller shaft 78b First lower presser roller shaft 79a Second upper presser roller shaft 79b Second lower presser roller shaft 80a Third upper presser roller shaft 80b Third Lower presser roller shaft 81 Roller shaft long hole 82a First upper presser roller shaft long hole 82b First lower presser roller shaft long hole 83a Second upper presser roller shaft long hole 83b Second lower presser roller shaft long hole 84a Third upper presser Roller shaft slot 84b Third lower presser roller shaft slot 85 Presser roller bracket 86a First upper presser roller bracket 86b First lower presser roller bracket 87a Second upper presser Roller bracket 87b Second lower presser roller bracket 88a Third upper presser roller bracket 88b Third lower presser roller bracket 90 Presser roller pressing spring 91a First upper presser roller pressing spring 91b First lower presser roller pressing spring 92a Second upper presser roller Pressing spring 92b Second lower pressing roller pressing spring 93a Third upper pressing roller pressing spring 93b Third lower pressing roller pressing spring 95 Leading unit side plate 96 Trailing unit side plate 97 Leading side plate opening 98 Trailing side plate opening 100 First folding line 101 Second fold line 102 Final fold line 103 End fold line 115 Sheet processing apparatus control unit (control unit)
122 Sheet folding control unit 123 Fold sheet movement control unit
124 Gripper unit controller 126 Folding motor 129 Sheet bundle tip detection sensor (SEN4)
151 Swing position sensor (SEN5)
153 Swing motor 163 Bundle transfer motor 171 Upper gripper 173 Lower gripper 176 Gripper unit home position sensor (SEN6)
181 Gripper open / close motor 186 Open / close detection sensor (SEN7)
200 Opening / closing cam 204 Bundle discharge sensor (SEN8)

Claims (10)

A first conveying member that conveys a folded sheet that has been bent to generate a loop;
A second conveying member that conveys the folded sheet in a direction crossing the conveying direction of the first conveying member;
A plurality of rows of pressing members that press the loop of the folded sheet conveyed by the second conveying member from the thickness direction;
An apparatus frame in which the pressing members are arranged and attached in order from the upstream side in the crossing direction to the downstream side so that the interval between the pressing members is gradually reduced in the row direction;
A control unit for controlling the first transport member and the second transport member;
The sheet processing apparatus, wherein the control unit can change a position where the folded sheet is handed over from the first conveying member to the second conveying member. A device frame;
A first conveying member that conveys a folded sheet that has been bent to generate a loop;
A second conveying member that conveys the folded sheet in a direction that intersects the conveying direction of the first conveying member;
A pair of pressing members that press the folding loop from the loop thickness direction of the folded sheet conveyed by the second conveying member;
A support unit attached to the device frame for supporting the pair of pressing members by arranging a plurality of rows from the upstream side in the cross direction to the downstream side so that the mutual interval in the row direction is gradually reduced; and
A control unit for controlling the first transport member and the second transport member;
The control unit can select whether or not to press the folding loop with the support unit according to a position where the folded sheet is handed over from the first conveying member to the second conveying member. A sheet processing apparatus. When the folding loop passes through the support unit and is pressed by the pressing member, the control unit transports the first folding member to a position where the folding loop overlaps a side portion of the support unit. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sheet processing apparatus takes over the second conveying member. In the case where the folding loop discharges paper without passing through the support unit, the control unit takes over the second transport member at the upstream position where the first transport member does not reach the side of the support unit. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is characterized. The first conveying member has a pressure contact position where the folded sheet can be moved by nipping, and a release position which releases the pressure contact of the folded sheet and allows the folded sheet to move. 5. The sheet according to claim 4, wherein when the folded sheet is conveyed by a member in a direction intersecting a conveying direction of the first conveying member, the first conveying member is shifted to a release position. Processing equipment. The first conveying member includes at least a pair of bundle conveying rollers. The bundle conveying roller is movable while pressing the folded sheet at the pressure contact position, and the bundle conveying roller is separated from the folded sheet at the release position. And the second conveying member includes a gripper member that grips and pulls the side portion of the folded sheet from the sheet thickness direction, and the gripper member can be moved to the apparatus frame. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 5. A device frame;
A bundle conveying roller that conveys the folded sheet of the folded sheet that has been folded to generate a loop,
A gripper member that grips and conveys the folded sheet side in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the bundle conveying roller;
A pair of rotatable press rollers that press the fold loop from the fold loop thickness direction of the fold sheet conveyed by the gripper member;
A support unit attached to the apparatus frame for supporting the pair of press rollers by arranging a plurality of rows from the upstream side to the downstream side in the cross direction so that the mutual interval in the row direction is gradually reduced; and
A control unit for controlling the bundle conveying roller and the gripper member;
The control unit sequentially presses the plurality of rows of the pressing rollers in the support unit during the transfer process by the gripper member, so that the support unit and the folding loop are transported by the bundle transport roller to the position where the gripper member overlaps. 2. A sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet processing apparatus selects whether to take over by the member or to stop the folding loop at the upstream position where the folding loop does not overlap the support unit and to take over by the gripper member. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the press roller is provided with at least three rows of press rollers having different intervals. 9. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein among the press rollers arranged in the plurality of rows, at least the press rollers in the last row in the moving direction are elastically biased with each other. An image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet;
A sheet processing apparatus that performs predetermined sheet processing on a sheet from the image forming unit, and the sheet processing apparatus includes the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9. An image forming apparatus.