JP2017104915A - Corner cut device and image formation device comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a corner cutting device capable of cutting corners at the front and back ends of a sheet in inclined or curved shape only by entering a sheet surface and ascending with no need of providing cutting blades at the front and back of the sheet.SOLUTION: A corner cutting device 30 (corner cutting/punching unit) for cutting a corner of a sheet by entering a sheet conveyance passage conveying the sheet, from an intersection direction, comprises: cutting blade frame 58F, 58R supporting the cutting blades moving with respect to the sheet surface, receiving blade frames 59F, 59R supporting receiving blades (cut receiving blades) receiving the moving cutting blades; and driving members (conveyer belts 71F, 71R, frame driving motors 38MF, 38MR) driving the cutting blade frames and the receiving blade frames to enter the conveyance passage of the sheet. Blade shapes of the cutting blades and the receiving blades (cut receiving blades) are arranged back to back with respect to an entry direction used as a reference line.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a corner cutting device that cuts and cuts corners of a sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and various printers into an inclined or curved shape. The present invention relates to a corner cutting device capable of cutting into a curved shape and an image forming apparatus including the corner cutting device.

  In recent years, it has been widely known that predetermined sheet processing is performed on a sheet carried out from an image forming apparatus. In a sheet processing apparatus connected to an image forming apparatus, an apparatus that performs punch blade processing and binding processing is also provided.

  By the way, it is known that the corner of the sheet is easily bent, so that the corner of the tip is cut or the corner of the sheet is cut to improve the appearance of the sheet shape and give a feeling of kindness.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a sheet is sandwiched between a moving arc-shaped cutting blade and a receiving blade receiving the same, and the cutting blade is manually pushed toward the receiving blade toward the corner of the sheet. A device for cutting is shown.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-26883 discloses a paper feeding device that cuts both corners on the leading end side of a sheet conveyed from a paper storage unit for stacking paper into an inclined or curved shape by a paper cutting mechanism and then feeds the image forming apparatus. Thus, an apparatus is disclosed in which paper jamming due to paper corner breakage is reduced.

Japanese Patent No. 3627073 JP-A-6-156817

  In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the corners of the sheet are manually cut, and it takes time for the cutting process, and the cutting range is also manual, so it is not stable.

  On the other hand, although Patent Document 2 can automatically cut the corner of the sheet, it cuts only the leading end side of the sheet and cannot cut the trailing end side of the sheet. If an attempt is made to cut the trailing edge of the sheet, it may be possible to change the direction of the cutting blade or the cutting blade unit, but it is necessary to use a direction changing mechanism for the cutting blade.

  The present invention has been made based on the above problems, and is a sheet corner cut that can easily and automatically cut the angle between the leading edge and the trailing edge of a sheet that is conveyed by entering the sheet conveyance path from the crossing direction in an inclined or curved manner. It is an object to provide an apparatus.

The present invention adopts the following configuration in order to solve the above problems.
That is, a corner cutting device that enters a conveyance path of a sheet to be conveyed from an intersecting direction to cut a corner of the sheet, a cutting blade frame that supports a cutting blade that moves relative to the sheet surface, and the moving cut A receiving blade frame that supports the receiving blade that receives the blade, and a drive member that causes the cut blade frame and the receiving blade frame to enter the sheet conveyance path, and the blade shapes of the cut blade and the receiving blade are based on the entering direction. It is a corner cutting device that is back-to-back as a line.

  According to this invention, the cutting blade that cuts the corner of the sheet and the receiving blade that receives the cutting blade have a back-to-back shape with the same direction as the sheet width direction as a reference line, so without providing a cutting blade before and after the sheet, By simply moving the cutting blade with respect to the sheet surface, the leading and trailing edges of the sheet can be cut into an inclined or curved shape.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration in which a corner cut / punch unit, which is a corner cut / punch apparatus, as a part of a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention is combined with an image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration in which a corner cut / punch unit according to the present invention is combined with a tray unit and an image forming apparatus in which a lifting range is extended. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a sheet processing apparatus including the corner cut / punch unit shown in FIG. The top view which shows the principal part inside a corner cut and punch unit of FIG. 3, and a folding unit. FIG. 5 is a perspective explanatory view of the corner cut / punch unit of FIG. 4. 4 is an explanatory plan view showing the relationship between the corner cut and punch unit of FIG. 5 and the sheet. The perspective view from the cutting blade frame side of a corner cut punch machine. The perspective view from the receiving blade frame side of a corner cut punch machine. Arrangement explanatory drawing of a cutting blade, a punch blade, and an embossed portion as a support frame in which a cutting blade frame and a receiving blade frame are connected to face each other. Explanatory drawing from the punch blade side of a support frame. Explanatory drawing of a cutting blade and a punch blade. Explanatory drawing of the movement lever which moves the cutting blade and punch blade attached to the support frame. Explanatory drawing of the moving cam which moves a cutting blade, a punch blade, and an embossed part. Explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of a sheet | seat and a support frame, and shows the state which cuts the edge | corner of the sheet | seat front end by sheet carrying-in and a cutting blade. FIG. 15A shows that embossing is performed on both sides in the width direction of the sheet following FIG. 14, and FIG. 15B shows that embossing is performed on the rear side of the apparatus, and FIG. 15B shows that embossing is performed on the front side of the apparatus. Explanatory drawing which shows the state. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which cuts the corner | angular part of a sheet | seat trailing edge following FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which punches a punch hole near the rear end side of a sheet | seat following FIG. 14 to 16 show a sheet that has been subjected to corner cutting, embossing engraving, and punching by a cutting blade, a punch blade, and an embossed portion, and FIG. 18A shows corner cutting and embossing at both corners of the leading and trailing edges of the sheet. This is a punched sheet. FIG. 18B shows a sheet in which a curved cut is made by a cutting blade at the edge in the width direction at the center of the sheet. FIG. 18C shows a sheet in which a curved cut is made by a cutting blade at the edge in the width direction of the fold line when the sheet of FIG. 18A is folded in three. FIG. 19A shows another embodiment showing a modification of the arrangement of the cutting blade / punch blade / embossed portion arranged on the support frame shown in FIGS. 4 to 17, and FIG. 19 (a) shows the cutting blade / punch blade / embossed portion. The approximate center is a line in the sheet width direction. FIG. 19B shows the punch blade shifted from the cut blade and the embossed portion to the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction. FIG. 20A shows another modified example in which the cutting blade and the punch blade are arranged on one support frame different from FIG. 19, and FIG. 20A shows the punch blade shifted and arranged on the downstream side of one four-way cutting blade. FIG. 20B shows the cutting blade divided at the center and arranged so as to overlap the downstream punch blade. FIG. 15 shows another embodiment in which a part of the cutting and punching method is changed, and continues from FIG. 15 and shows a state in which punch holes are first drilled in the vicinity of the rear end side of the sheet and then the sheet is switched back to cut the corner. Figure. Explanatory drawing of the control structure in the whole structure of FIG.1 and FIG.2.

  A sheet processing apparatus B including a corner cut / punch unit 30 as a corner cut apparatus (corner cut / punch apparatus) according to the present invention and an image forming apparatus A to which the sheet processing apparatus B is attached will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the overall configuration of a sheet processing apparatus B and an image forming apparatus A including a corner cut / punch unit 30 according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the overall configuration of a combination of the sheet processing apparatus B having the corner cut / punch unit 30 according to the present invention and extending the raising / lowering range of the stacking tray 90 and the image forming apparatus A.

[Image forming apparatus A]
An image forming apparatus A shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 uses an electrophotographic system, and includes a sheet feeding unit including three-stage sheet feeding cassettes 1a, 1b, and 1c that store sheets below the image forming unit 2. When the sheet processing apparatus B is not mounted, the image reading device 20 is disposed above the image forming unit 2 as a paper discharge space. Therefore, when the sheet processing apparatus B is arranged, it is a so-called in-body type apparatus that uses the paper discharge space as shown in the figure.

The image forming unit 2 employs a tandem method using an intermediate transfer belt. That is, four color components (yellow 2Y, magenta 2M, cyan 2C, black 2BK) are used. For example, in yellow 2Y, a photosensitive drum 3a as an image carrier and a charging roller for charging the photosensitive drum 3a are used. And an exposure device 5a that uses an image signal read by the image reading device 20 as a latent image. Further, a developing device 6a that forms a latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 3a as a toner image, and a primary transfer roller 7a that primarily transfers an image on the photosensitive drum 3a formed by the developing device 6a to the intermediate transfer belt 9. It has. This configuration is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 9 for each color component. The color components remaining on the photosensitive drum 3a are collected by the photosensitive cleaner 8a and prepared for the next image formation. These are the same for the other color components as shown in FIGS.

By the way, the image on the intermediate transfer belt 9 is transferred to the sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit 1 by the secondary transfer roller 10, and this image is melted and fixed on the sheet by the fixing device 12 by the applied pressure and the amount of heat. The superimposed color components remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 9 are removed by the intermediate belt cleaner 11 and prepared for the next transfer.

The sheet formed in this way is directed to the main body discharge roller 16 by the main body relay roller 14, but when an image is formed on both sides of the sheet, the sheet once transported to the sheet processing apparatus B side by the switching gate 15 is switched. Then, the sheet is conveyed to the circulation path 17 and again sent to the image forming unit 2 to form an image on the back side of the sheet.
The sheet on which an image is formed on one or both sides of the sheet in this way is conveyed to the sheet processing apparatus B including the folding unit 31 through the main body discharge roller 16.

Note that an image reading device 20 is disposed above the paper discharge space above the image forming unit 2. Here, the original placed on the original stacker 25 is sent to the platen 21 by the original feeding device 24, and the sent original is irradiated by the scan unit 22 so that it is sequentially read by a photoelectric conversion element (for example, CCD) and shown. Accumulate images in no data store. The accumulated image is formed on the sheet by the image forming unit as described above.

[Sheet Processing Device B]
Next, the sheet processing apparatus B disposed in the paper discharge space above the image forming unit 2 in FIGS. 1 and 2 and below the image reading apparatus 20 will be described. As a part of the sheet processing apparatus B, there is provided a corner cutting apparatus or a corner cutting / punching unit 30 as a corner cutting / punching apparatus for cutting the corners of the sheet according to the present invention and punching punch holes as necessary. .

This sheet processing apparatus B guides the sheet to be switched back to form image formation on both sides of the sheet discharged from the main body discharge roller 16, and cuts the corner of the sheet while feeding it downstream, or punch holes A corner cut / punch unit 30 is provided for punching or marking with stamp or emboss.

Downstream of the corner cut / punch unit 30, a folding unit 31 that folds the sheet, for example, in three, and a binding unit 32 that temporarily places the sequentially formed image-formed sheets on the processing tray 76 and binds them as a bundle with the stapler 80. In addition, a tray unit 33 having a stacking tray 90 that stacks and moves up and down a bundle of sheets bound by the binding unit 32 and sheets discharged without being bound is disposed.

The corner cut / punch unit 30 constituting the sheet processing apparatus B also has a role as a guide unit that extends the range of the sheet processing apparatus. Further, the binding unit 32 having the corner cut / punch unit 30, the folding unit 31, and the tray unit 33 can be selectively disposed. For example, only the binding unit 32 or the corner cut / punch unit 30 is placed, It can be omitted.

By the way, in FIG. 1, the tray unit 33 having the stacking tray 90 that moves up and down has the stacking unit 32 placed in the lifting rack 100 at a position within L1a from the staple of the apparatus frame 29 of the image forming apparatus A. It is designed to move up and down. Accordingly, since the sheet processing apparatus B is disposed in the paper discharge space, the entire image forming apparatus A becomes compact. For example, the stacking tray 90 that moves up and down when only the binding unit 32 is placed in the paper discharge space is also discharged. It can be made more compact by being located in space.

On the other hand, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in this case, the moving range in which the stacking tray 90 moves up and down is the range of the L1t range up to the upper surface of the apparatus frame 29. In general, the L1t range is set to a sheet accumulation amount of about 500 to 1000 sheets. When the sheet accumulation amount is larger than this, the image forming apparatus A is stopped and the sheet placed on the accumulation tray 90 is taken out. Alternatively, the sheet processing apparatus B that can be externally attached to a completely different apparatus frame 29 is replaced.

Therefore, the stacking tray 90 includes a sheet processing apparatus B in which the extension rack 102 that can easily extend the lifting range is added to the lifting rack 100 (the lifting rail 99) so that the amount of sheets stacked on the stacking tray 90 is increased. FIG. 2 shows the image forming apparatus. By adding the extension rack 102 (extension rail 101), the accumulated amount of sheets can be increased by about 500 to 1000 sheets.

In order to arrange in this manner, the corner cut / punch unit 30 according to the present invention is prepared in two types, one having a relatively short length (L1y) in FIG. 1 and a longer one (L2y) shown in FIG. It is. That is, in order to add the extension rack 102 and move the stacking tray 90 down to the extension rack 102, first, the corner cut / punch unit 30 having a length in the conveying direction L1y in FIG. The corner cut / punch unit 30 having a length in the conveyance direction of L2y in FIG. The length L2y here is such that the distance L1a between the side surface of the binding device and the side surface of the device frame 29 in FIG. 1 is eliminated, and the lifting rack 100 and the extension rail 101 are in communication with each other.

In the following, the corner cut / punch unit 30, the folding unit 31, the binding unit 32, the tray unit 33 attached to the sheet processing apparatus B, the lifting mechanism and the lifting range of the stacking tray 90 of the tray unit 33 are extended. An outline of the extension rail including the extension rack 102 will be described.

[Corner Cut / Punch Unit 30]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a corner cut / punch unit 30 according to the present invention is disposed immediately after the main body discharge port 3. Here, the outline will be described, and details will be described in detail with reference to FIG. A switchback path 35 for guiding the sheet to be switched back by the main body relay roller 14 is provided at the upper stage of the corner cut / punch unit 30.

Below the switchback path 35, a conveyance path 37 for conveying the sheet from the main body discharge roller 16 to the downstream side is provided. Then, the sheet is moved so as to enter and retreat in the direction intersecting the conveying direction in the sheet conveying path 37, and the sheet is adjacent to the sheet immediately adjacent to the cutting blade 40 and cuts the corner of the sheet into an inclined or curved shape. A punch blade for punching punch holes is provided on the support frame 38. Further, on the opposite side of the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 across the conveying path 37, an embossed portion 44 for imparting a concavo-convex pattern to the sheet is disposed on the same support frame 38, both of which are raised and lowered with respect to the sheet surface. Is configured to move. In FIG. 3, a box type waste bin 56 for storing cut waste and punch waste is also detachably attached to the unit.

[Folding unit 31]
3 is an enlarged explanatory view of a folding unit 31, a binding unit 32, and a tray unit 33 attached to the folding unit 31 and a part of the sheet processing apparatus B of FIG. The sheet processing apparatus B of FIG. 2 is the same as that of FIG. 3 except for the expansion of the moving range of the stacking tray 90.

First, among the paths connecting from the main body discharge roller 16 to the switchback path 35 and the conveyance path 37 of the corner cut / punch unit 30, an inlet roller 45 and an outlet roller 47 are arranged in the lower folding conveyance path 43. A switching flapper 49 is provided between the inlet roller 45 and the outlet roller 47, and the switching flapper 49 performs a folding process on the substantially cylindrical folding unit 50 without conveying the sheet to the subsequent binding unit 32. ing. A folding switchback path 41 communicating with the switchback path 35 of the corner cut / punch unit 30 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is provided in the upper stage.

The substantially cylindrical fold portion 50 is a first roller that determines the winding direction of the sheet around the carry-in roller 51 that is a conveying roller of the present invention for carrying a sheet into the substantially cylindrical fold portion 50 and the substantially cylindrical fold portion. The gate 53 and the second gate 55 are selectively moved to the operating position. For example, the first gate 53 is wound in a substantially cylindrical shape around the substantially cylindrical shape forming portion 57 in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing. The substantially cylindrical shape forming portion 57 is made of a deformable sheet member, and the sheet is wound and kicked into a substantially cylindrical shape in a state where, for example, three surfaces overlap. When the shift members 60, 61 located on both sides in the state of being wound around the substantially cylindrical shape forming portion are shifted in a direction approaching each other by the link members 62, 63 shown in FIG. It becomes a flat shape. Further, the pushing portions 60e and 61e of the link members 62 and 63 also shift between the cylindrical folding rollers 64 of FIG. Thereafter, the folded sheet is obtained by pulling out the sheet wound in a flat shape by the pressure-contact rotation of the folding roller 64.

[Binding unit 32]
Next, a binding unit 32 that binds sheets conveyed from the folding unit 31 without performing the folding process in the folding unit 31 in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described. As shown well in FIG. 3, the binding unit 32 is also provided with a binding switchback path 65 communicating with the folding switchback path 41 in the upper stage, and a conveyance roller 69 on the entrance side and a discharge roller 70 on the exit side. ing. The binding switchback path 65 functions as a path for switching back to form an image on the back surface of the image forming unit 2, and a thick sheet such as a thick sheet or a sheet not suitable for binding processing is positioned above the tray unit 33 as necessary. The paper can be discharged to the escape tray 34 by the discharge roller 70. The switchback path 35, the folding switchback path 41, and the binding switchback path 65 may use the top cover of each unit as a switchback path.

  A binding conveyance path 67 that communicates with the folding conveyance path 43 of the folding unit 31 is provided below the binding switchback path 65. A binding carry-in roller 72 and a carry-out roller 74 that discharges the sheet to the processing tray 76 or the stacking tray 90 are provided on the entrance side of the binding conveyance path 67. When the sheets discharged from the carry-out roller 74 are temporarily placed on the processing tray 76 to form a bundle, the sheets discharged by the bundle discharge roller 86 that also functions as a bundle discharge are nipped counterclockwise ( The sheet is conveyed until it abuts against the reference surface 79 by rotating the scraping roller 78 that rotates in the counterclockwise direction in cooperation with this. At the same time, a pair of alignment plates 84 positioned in the sheet width direction of the processing tray 76 are brought into contact with the sheet side edges to align the sheets.

This is repeated until the number of bindings is reached, and when the number of bindings is reached, the stapler 80 is moved to a predetermined position on the moving table 82 and the binding process is performed. The sheet bundle that has been stapled by the stapler 80 at the designated location is moved to a stacking tray 90 side of a reference surface 79 (not shown), and a lower bundle discharge roller 86b is received on the discharge side of the processing tray 76, and a lift bundle discharge roller 86a is provided. The sheet bundle is discharged to the stacking tray 90 by pressure contact.

[Tray unit 33]
The sheet bundle discharged by the bundle discharge roller 86 or the next sheet is stacked by the tray unit 33 having the stacking tray 90 that moves up and down. The stacking tray 90 is moved up and down by engaging and rotating the lifting pinion 98 of the stacking tray 90 on a lifting rack 100 that forms part of a lifting rail 99 that is a moving rail described later. The lift pinion 98 is driven by a lift motor 95 located on a lift motor installation portion 94 below the stacking tray 90 via a transmission gear 97 and the like.

As described above, the stacking tray 90 shown in FIG. 3 is moved up and down because the sheet processing apparatus B including the binding unit 32 is located in the L1a cylinder from the side of the apparatus frame 29. It has become. Further, it is possible to extend the raising / lowering range of the stacking tray 90 by providing the extension rail 101 shown in FIG. 2, and the amount of sheets stacked can be increased. The extension rail 101 is attached by an extension rail attachment portion 103 that is received by the apparatus frame 29 of the image forming apparatus A and the sheet processing apparatus B.

  From now on, a corner cut / punch unit 30 constituting a part of the sheet processing apparatus B and serving as a corner cut apparatus (corner cut / punch apparatus) according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is an explanatory plan view of the corner cut / punch unit 30 disposed between the folding unit 31 and the image forming apparatus A. FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the corner cut / punch unit 30, and FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the relationship between the support frame 38 and the sheet. 7 to 13 are explanatory views of each mechanism.

In the following description, the front side is indicated by F, the rear side is indicated by R, and F and R are added to the end of the reference numerals indicating elements and configurations. For example, the support frame 38F indicates a front side support frame, and the support frame 38R indicates a rear side support frame. In addition, in order to simplify the notation of elements that are originally common on the front side or rear side, the F or R may be omitted.

[Moving the support frame 38 in the seat width direction]
Although FIG. 4 is a plan view, the corner cut / punch unit 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in this figure, the support frame 38 that supports the cutting blade 40, the punch blade 42, and the embossed portion 44 is provided as a pair facing the front side that is the front side of the apparatus and the rear side that is the back side. It has been. That is, the front-side support frame 38F supports the front-side cut blade 40F, the front-side punch blade 42F, the front-side embossed portion 44F, the front-side frame motor 38MF that moves these, and the front-side seat sensor 105F on the sheet carry-in side. ing. A front-side moving belt 71F that moves in and retracts the front-side support frame 38F in a direction intersecting the sheet conveyance direction (an approach direction) is stretched between pulleys. As shown in FIG. 5, the front side moving belt 74F is moved by the front side frame motor 38MF in the seat center direction and in the direction away from the seat center direction.

The rear side has the same configuration. The rear side support frame 38R includes a rear side cutting blade 40R, a rear side punching blade 42R, a rear side embossed portion 44R, a rear side frame motor 38MR that moves them, and a seat. The rear side seat sensor 105R is supported on the carry-in side. A rear-side moving belt 71R that moves in and retreats the rear-side support frame 38R in a direction intersecting the sheet conveyance direction (an approach direction) is stretched between pulleys. As shown in FIG. 5, the rear side moving belt 71R is moved by the rear side frame motor 38MR in the seat center direction and away from the seat center direction.

On the sheet carry-in side of the corner cut / punch unit 30, a cut portion carry-in roller 36 that takes in and conveys the sheet into the unit is rotatably driven by a carry-in roller drive motor 36 </ b> M. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the corner cut / punch unit 30 of FIG. 4. Here, the front side support frame 38F has a space between the front side cut blade frame 58F and the front side receiving blade frame 59F by the front side connecting portion 77F. It can be seen that it is configured to be connected and fixed.

A front-side sliding guide 68F is fixed to the front-side support frame 38F, and the front-side sliding guide 68F is attached to a front-side moving belt 71F spanned between a front-side moving belt pulley 73F and a front-side driven pulley 75F. It is fixed. The front-side sliding guide 68F is slid in the left and right directions in the guide lot 66, whereby the front-side moving belt 71F is reciprocated by forward and reverse rotation of the front-side frame motor 38MF, thereby supporting the front side. The frame 38F is also configured to enter and retract with respect to the seat.

On the other hand, the rear side sliding guide 68R is also fixed to the rear side support frame 38R. The rear side sliding guide 68R is attached to the rear side moving belt 71R spanned between the rear side moving belt pulley 73R and the rear side driven pulley 75R. It is fixed. The rear side sliding guide 68R is slidable in the left and right directions in the guide lot 66, so that the rear side moving belt 71R is reciprocated by forward and reverse rotation of the rear side frame motor 38MR, thereby supporting the rear side support. The frame 38R is also configured to enter and retreat with respect to the seat.

[Relationship with Support Frame 38]
Next, the relationship will be described with reference to FIG. The corner cutting, embossing, and punching of punch holes according to sheet conveyance will be described with reference to FIG.

As already described, the front side support frame 38F and the rear side support frame 38R are arranged to face each other in a direction crossing the sheet conveyance direction. The front side support frame 38 is provided with a front side seat sensor 105F for detecting the front side front edge and the front side edge of the seat.

[Seat Sensor 105 of Support Frame 38]
The front side seat sensor 105F further includes a front side seat leading and trailing end sensor 106F that detects the arrival of the sheet, and a front end detection sensor 106F that detects the arrival of the seat by moving the front side support frame 38F closer to the center of the seat according to the size in the width direction of the sheet. Two front side seat edge sensors 107F are provided which move further toward the center and detect the front side edge of the seat. The front side sheet edge sensor 107F moves closer to the center of the sheet, and the position where the front side edge of the sheet is detected coincides with the front end cut (FLC) position of the sheet. Yes. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the front end of the sheet can be formed in a convex curved shape.

  Further, the rear side support frame 38R has the same configuration except for the opposed arrangement in the moving direction, and therefore the description thereof is omitted here, but the rear side front end of the seat can be formed into a convex curved shape. . Further, whether or not the sheet is being conveyed at an inclination can also be detected by the front side sheet leading / edge sensor 106F and the rear side sheet leading / edge sensor 106R.

Thereby, for example, when the corner of the sheet reaches the front side support frame 38F first, only the front side cutting blade 40F is first operated to form the front side front end cut FLC. After the sheet is transported somewhat so that the rear corner of the sheet is positioned at the corner cut appropriate position of the rear support frame 38R, the rear cut blade 40R is operated this time. Accordingly, even if the sheet is bent (skewed) within the allowable range and conveyed, the corner cut does not shift. This operation can be achieved by the support frame 38 and the cutting blade 40 being arranged to face each other and driven independently.

  By the way, the bend (skew) of the seat is determined by judging the arrival time of the front end and the rear end of the seat. If this bend (skew) exceeds the limit of the allowable range, The apparatus may be stopped or the user may be warned that corner corner cutting is not possible.

  Also, since the cutting range of the rear end of the sheet is configured to be back-to-back with a line parallel to the advancing direction passing through the center of the cutting blade 40 with the same cutting blade 40, front side rear end cutting (FEC) Rear side rear end cut (REC) is possible. Further, the front side support frame 38F is provided with a front side punch blade 42F, and the rear side support frame 38R is provided with a rear side punch blade 42R. With this apparatus, punch holes can be punched on the rear end side of the sheet. Yes.

[Connecting portion of support frame 38]
By the way, as described above, the support frame 38 has the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 coupled and fixed at a connecting portion 77 with a predetermined space, and this connecting portion 77 is the most in the sheet width direction. Located on the outside. The area of the connecting portion in the sheet width direction is shown as a connecting area JA, and is hatched in FIG. The cutting blade 40 (front-side cutting blade 40F, rear-side cutting blade 40R) is located on the inner side in the sheet width direction (closer to the sheet width center) of this range. Further, punch blades 42 (front side punch blades 42F, rear side punch blades 42R) are positioned downstream of the connection area JA in the sheet conveying direction. Therefore, when punching a punch hole, the support frame 38 (front side support frame 38F, rear side support frame 38R) can move in the center direction of the sheet without the connecting portion colliding with the sheet.

In addition, when the front and rear end corners of the sheet in FIG. 6 are cut by the front end cutting blades 109 (109F and 109R) of the cutting blade 40 shown in FIG. 11, the front side front end cutting FLC and the rear side front end cutting are performed. Each RLC is cut. Further, when the sheet is cut by the rear end cutting blade 111 (111F, 111R), the front side rear end cut FEC and the rear side rear end cut REC are cut.

  Further, the front end cutting blade 109 (109F, 109R) and the rear end cutting blade 111 (111F, 111R) of the cutting blade 40 shown in FIG. 11 are formed in a back-to-back relationship. More specifically, the front end cutting blade 109 (109F, 109R) and the rear end cutting blade 111 (111F, 111R) are configured substantially symmetrically with respect to the center line CL of the cutting blade 40 in the sheet conveyance direction. By configuring in this way, both the corners of the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet can be cut into the illustrated curve (convex R shape). This point will be described again in the corner cutting and punching operations of the sheet.

  In this embodiment, both the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet are cut into the illustrated curve (convex R shape). However, the sheet is not only cut into an inclined or concave curve. The blade shape may be sufficient, and the point is that it can be configured to be substantially line-symmetric with the center line CL as a reference line.

From here, the structure and elements of the corner cut / punch unit 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.
7 is a perspective view from the cutting blade frame 58 side, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view from the receiving blade frame 59 side. The support frame 38 is constituted by a cutting blade frame 58 and a receiving blade frame 59, and the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 are each made of a U-shaped sheet metal member (channel member).

[Cut blade frame 58]
As shown in FIG. 7, the cutting blade 40 and the punching blade 42 are arranged on the cutting blade frame 58, and a cutting blade guide 113 and a punching blade guide 115 for guiding the raising and lowering thereof are also arranged. An emboss receiver 81 is provided as a receiver for the embossed portion 44 at a position on the inner side in the sheet width direction.

  The cutting blade frame 58 is squeezed so that the outside in the sheet width direction is narrowed, and a moving lever 120 that slides on the back side of the cutting blade frame 58 is provided at this end portion. A moving bar 117 penetrating the cutting blade 40 and the punching blade 42 is provided at the moving lever tip 122 of the moving lever 120, and the moving bar 117 slides on a moving bar guide 118 provided on the cutting blade frame 58. It has become.

The lower end of the moving lever 120 is engaged with a cylindrical moving cam 125. As the moving cam 125 rotates, the moving lever 120 moves up and down (lifts and lowers), whereby the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 move up and down toward the receiving blade frame 59 to cut the corners of the sheet and punch holes. I do. As is clear from this figure, the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade are moved up and down at the same timing by the moving lever 120, but the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade do not act on the sheet at the same time due to the relationship of the sheets. It is devised so that it may become a proper positional relationship. These will be described later together with the movement of the sheet.

[About connecting portion 77]
In addition, a connecting portion 77 that connects and connects the receiving blade frame 59 with an interval space 77a in which the sheet can be conveyed is provided at an end portion of the cutting blade frame 58 that is located outside in the sheet width direction. The connecting portion may be formed by connecting the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 with a metal block body as a spacer, or by connecting a bent sheet metal between them. The cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 may be fixedly connected to each other without displacement, and the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 may be fixed so as to pass through the receiving blade frame 59 without blur.

[About the receiving blade frame 59]
Next, the receiving blade frame 59 constituting the lower side of the support frame 38 will be described with reference to FIG. It is the perspective view which reversed the support frame 38 of FIG. The illustrated receiving blade frame 59 is provided with an embossed portion 44 for forming an unevenness on a sheet to give a mark, a cut receiving blade 145 and a punch receiving blade 147. These are arranged so as to correspond to the embossing receiver 81, the cutting blade 40, and the punching blade 42 of the cutting blade frame 58. In particular, the cutting blade 40 is inserted into the cutting receiving blade 145, and the punching blade 42 is inserted into the punch receiving blade 147. Is positioned.

  Further, the receiving blade frame 59 is provided with a cylindrical moving cam 125 for raising and lowering the embossed portion 44, the cutting blade 40, and the punch blade. The cam support shaft 126 of the moving cam 125 is supported by the receiving blade frame 59. The opposite transmission gear 127 side is also supported by the receiving blade frame 59, but is omitted in the drawing. Similar to the moving cam 125, the moving motor 130 that rotates forward and backward via the worm gear 129 is also attached to the motor mounting portion 132 of the receiving blade frame 59.

[Movement configuration of embossed portion 44]
The embossing portion 44 is supported by two embossing movement levers 134 that vertically penetrate the sheet in the sheet conveying direction. The embossing movement lever 134 is slidable by upper and lower embossing movement lever guides 136 provided on the receiving blade frame 59. The embossing movement lever 134 is provided on a rotation arm 138 that rotates about a rotation arm shaft 140 provided on the receiving blade frame 59, and the cam engagement portion 142 at the other end of the rotation arm 138 has a cylindrical movement. The cam 125 is engaged.

Therefore, when the movable cam 125 rotates, the rotating arm 138 moves up and down, and the embossed portion 44 is pressed toward the emboss receiving 81 on the cutting blade frame 58 side, so that the emboss can be marked on the sheet. The cam engaging portion 142 is engaged (fitted) with the cam groove of the moving cam 125 with a phase difference of about 90 degrees from the engaging portion 123 of the moving lever 120 described above. The relationship between the forward / reverse rotation of the moving cam 125 and the moving lever 120 and the rotating arm will be described with reference to FIG. Further, the portion of the receiving blade frame 59 located on the outer side in the sheet width direction has the cutting blade 40 and the receiving blade frame sliding portion 151 of the moving lever 120 that moves the punch blade 42 up and down, and the cutting blade frame 58. Also has a cutting blade frame sliding portion 150, and the moving lever 120 moves up and down along these.

[Arrangement of Cut Blade 40, Punch Blade 42, and Emboss 44]
FIG. 9 shows the positional relationship of the front-side support frame 38 composed of the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 described so far in a transparent plan view. The up and down arrows shown in FIG. 9 indicate the moving direction of the support frame 38, and the left arrow indicates the sheet conveying direction. According to the moving direction of the support frame 38, the moving lever 120, the moving cam 125 and the connecting portion 77, then the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 are positioned to overlap each other in the sheet conveying direction, and the embossed portion is located at the innermost side in the sheet width direction. 44 is located. In the cutting blade 40, a front end cutting blade 109 and a rear end cutting blade 111 are arranged back to back. More specifically, the front end cutting blade 109 and the rear end cutting blade 111 are configured to be substantially line symmetrical about the front side cutting center FCC passing through the cutting blade center 110. This cuts the corners of the sheet in one place.

Further, the cutting blade 40 is located on the inner side in the sheet width direction of the joint area 77 where the connecting portion 77 for fixedly connecting the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 is located, and the punch blade is located downstream of the JA. 42 is provided. Therefore, as will be described later, when punch holes are punched in the sheet with the punch blade 42, the support frame 38 is not in contact with the side edge of the sheet even if the support frame 38 is moved. Can move inward direction. In other words, if the corner portion of the sheet is between the connecting portion 77 and the punch blade 42, punch holes can be punched at an arbitrary position in the sheet width direction. In addition, although the movable lever 120 partially shown by the oblique line at the bottom of the figure is omitted in the middle, it can slide over the corners of the cutting blade frame sliding portion 150 and the receiving blade frame sliding portion 151. A guide screw 124 is attached to the main body.

[Description from each direction of the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42]
FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of the support frame 38 as viewed from the punch blade 42 side. As can be seen from this figure, the punch blade 42 and the cutting blade 40 are arranged so as to overlap in the conveying direction of the sheet. On the receiving blade frame 59, a cut receiving blade 145 and a punch receiving blade 147 for receiving them are disposed opposite to each other. The punch blade 42 and the cutting blade 40 engage with the cam groove 155 of the moving cam 125 by the engaging portion of the moving lever 120, and move up and down by forward and reverse movement of the moving cam 125. Further, the embossing portion 44 is also moved up and down by the cam engaging portion 142 of the rotating arm 138 being engaged with the moving cam 125 and the moving cam 125 rotating.

  FIG. 11 is a view of the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 of FIG. The moving lever 120 is slidable on the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 with a guide screw 124 in the moving lever sliding groove 121. Also in this figure, the cutting blade 40 is provided with a cutting area CA so as to overlap the connecting portion 77 connecting area JA, and a punch area PA that can be punched by the punch blade 42 is set at a position not overlapping the connecting area JA. Has been. Further, the cut blade 40 and the punch blade 42 are arranged so as to overlap in the sheet conveying direction as shown in FIG.

[Configuration of Cam Groove 155 of Moving Cam 125]
Next, the moving lever 120 that moves up and down the cut blade 40 and the punch blade 42 and the cylindrical moving cam 125 that moves the rotating arm 138 that moves up and down the embossed portion 44 will be described. FIG. 13 is a plan view of the cam groove 155 formed in the cylindrical moving cam 125 for explanation. In this figure, the upper side divided by arrows on the left side of the drawing shows the cut / punch groove range CP in which the cut blade 40 and the punch blade 42 are moved up and down, and the lower stage is the emboss groove range EN in which the embossed portion 44 is moved up and down. Yes.

More specifically, a cut blade / punch blade movement groove 157 with which an engagement portion 123 (double circle in the figure) of the movement lever 120 engages is provided in the cut / punch groove range CP. On the other hand, in the lower embossed groove range EN, an embossed portion moving groove 160 that engages with a cam engaging portion 142 (marked in a circle in the figure) of the rotating arm 138 is provided. The engaging portion 123 of the moving lever 120 and the cam engaging portion 142 of the rotating arm 138 are engaged with the cut / punch start position (PS / CS) and the embossed portion start position (ES) shifted by 90 degrees. ing.

[Movement of cutting blade 40 and punch blade 42]
As described above, the moving motor 130 that rotationally drives the moving cam 125 switches the drive direction between when the cut blade 40 and the punch blade 42 are moved up and down and when the embossed portion 44 is moved up and down. First, when moving the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42, the moving motor 130 is driven so as to rotate the moving cam 125 clockwise. With this rotation, the moving cam 125 rotates in the direction of the arrow from the PS / CS position shown in the figure to the PE / CE position.

With this movement, the engaging portion 123 (double circle in the figure) of the moving lever 120 moves down the cutting blade / punch blade moving region 159. As a result, the cutting blade 40 and the punching blade 42 also cut the corners of the sheet and punch holes. On the other hand, when the engaging portion 123 of the moving lever 120 is in the cutting blade / punch blade moving region 159, the embossed portion moving groove 160 that engages the cam engaging portion 142 (marked in the circle in the figure) of the rotating arm 138 is formed. The embossed portion non-moving region 161 is substantially linear, and the embossed portion 44 is in a standby state at a position where it does not contact the sheet.

[Pressing movement of the embossed portion 44]
Next, the operation of the moving cam 125 that moves the embossed portion 44 will be described. When moving the embossed portion 44, the moving motor 130 is driven so as to rotate the moving cam 125 counterclockwise. By this rotation, the moving cam 125 rotates in the arrow direction from the ES position shown in FIG. 13 to the EE position. By this movement, the cam engaging portion 142 (marked in the circle in the figure) of the rotating arm 138 descends the embossed groove range EN, whereby the embossed portion 44 is also pressed against the sheet and marks the sheet.
On the other hand, when the cam engaging portion 142 of the rotating arm 138 is in the embossed portion moving area 162, the cutting blade / punch blade moving groove 157 with which the engaging portion 123 (double circle in the figure) of the moving lever 120 engages is substantially. The cut blade / punch blade non-moving region 158 is in a straight line, and the cut blade 40 / punch blade 42 are prevented from moving up and down.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, one moving cam 125 is rotated forward and backward by one moving motor 130, whereby the cutting blade 40, the punch blade 42, and the embossed portion 44 can be selectively moved. The drive configuration is rationalized.

[Corner cut, punch, embossing procedure]
With the corner cut / punch unit 30 configured as described above, the corners of the leading and trailing edges of the sheet are corner-cut into a convex round shape, the punch hole is preceded on the trailing edge, and the sheet is embossed. 14 to 17 will be described along the sheet conveyance.

[Sheet loading and cutting edge corner]
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the corner of the sheet leading edge is cut by the sheet carrying-in and the cutting blade. This FIG. 14 is the same as FIG. 6 already described, but the sheet is carried in (from the left side by the broken line shown in the drawing), and the front side leading end cutting blade 109F is used to cut the front side leading end cut FLC and the rear side trailing end cutting blade. The rear end cutting RLC is performed on the sheet at 109R. Before the sheet is carried in, the front side support frame 38F and the rear side support frame 38R move to positions close to the sheet according to the size of the sheet. At this position, the front side sheet leading / rear end sensor 106F and the rear side sheet leading / rear end sensor 106R already described with reference to FIG. 6 wait for the sheet to be carried in, and each of the above sensors detects that the sheet is not skewed more than a predetermined amount. And stop the sheet.

After the seat stops, the front side support frame 38F and the rear side support frame 38R are further moved inward in the seat width direction, and the front side seat side edge sensor 107F and the rear side seat side edge sensor 107R detect the seat side edge, At the end of detection (falling of the sensor signal), the front support frame 38F and the rear support frame 38R are stopped. This position is such that the front-side and rear-side corners of the front end of the sheet are convexly curved, and the front-side cutting blade 40F and the rear-side cutting blade 40R are moved by the moving cam 125, and the front-side front end cutting FLC is shown on the sheet as shown in the figure. And a rear end cutting RLC. After this leading edge cut, the sheet is conveyed again.

[Grant emboss stamp]
Next, a state where embossing is performed on both sides in the width direction of the sheet will be described with reference to FIG. 15 shows two embossed states, FIG. 15 (a) shows that embossing is performed on the rear side of the apparatus, and FIG. 15 (b) is an explanatory diagram showing a state where embossing is performed on the front side of the apparatus. It is.

FIG. 15A shows a counter linked with sheet conveyance after the rear side support frame 38R detects the leading edge of the sheet subjected to the rear side leading edge cut RLC, for example, by the rear side sheet leading edge sensor 106R. Then, the sheet is stopped at an arbitrary predetermined position (front end / middle / rear end). After stopping, the moving cam 125 is rotated to press the embossed portion 44 against the sheet. In FIG. 15A, the embossed portion 44 is imprinted on the rear side of the rear seat.

It should be noted that the embossing range that can be engraved by the corner cut / punch unit 30 is from the sheet side edge to a position that is inward by Le1. If it is further inside (inward movement of Le2 or more in the figure), the sheet collides with the rear side connecting portion (spacer) 77R, so this range is set. This also applies to the front support frame 38F described below. And the sheet | seat after the stamping by this embossing part 44 is conveyed again, and is conveyed downstream.

  Next, FIG. 15B shows a counter that is interlocked with the sheet conveyance after the front edge of the sheet subjected to the front edge cut FLC is detected by, for example, the front sheet edge sensor 106F by the front support frame 38F. Is counted, and the sheet is stopped at an arbitrary predetermined position (leading edge / middle / rear edge). After stopping, the moving cam 125 is rotated to press the embossed portion 44 against the sheet. In FIG. 15A, an embossed portion 44 is imprinted near the front end of the sheet on the front side, and after completion of the imprinting, the sheet is conveyed downstream again. In this embodiment, the embossed portion 44 is engraved with the embossed portion 44 so as to form a concavo-convex pattern on the surface of the sheet. However, this is not the only case. However, it goes without saying that any mark can be added to the sheet.

[Corner cut at the rear edge of the sheet]
Next, a state in which the corner of the trailing edge of the sheet after conveyance is cut will be described with reference to FIG. The position corresponding to the rear end of the embossed sheet is detected by the front side seat leading / rear end sensor 106F of the front side support frame 38F and the rear side seat front / rear end sensor 106R of the rear side support frame 38R (seat rear end). Thereafter, a counter linked with sheet conveyance is counted, and the sheet is stopped at a position where the sheet rear end corresponds to the front side rear end cut blade 111F and the rear side rear end cut blade 111R of the cut blade 40. Thus, the front side rear end cut FEC and the rear side rear end cut REC are executed on the sheet. As shown in FIG. 16, the front-side cutting blade 40F and the rear-side cutting blade 40R are both provided on the inner side in the sheet width direction from the front-side connecting portion 77F and the rear-side connecting portion 77R. The corners on the front side and the rear side of the seat can be curved and cut without colliding. After the front-side rear end cut FEC and the rear-side rear end cut REC are executed, the sheet is conveyed again and conveyed downstream (the left side in the figure).

[Punch hole drilling and unloading to the rear edge of the sheet]
FIG. 17 is an explanatory view showing a state in which punch holes are punched by the punch blade 42 in the vicinity of the rear end side of the sheet following FIG. The position shown in this drawing is detected by the front side seat leading / rear end sensor 106F of the front side support frame 38F and the rear side seat leading / end end sensor 106R of the rear side support frame 38R described in FIG. 6 (after the seat rear end). Count and set the counter linked with the sheet transport. Further, this setting position is set so that the sheet rear end (Sheet end) is on the downstream side away from the connecting portion area JA. By setting in this way, the front side support frame 38F and the rear side support frame 38R can move inward of the sheet width (movement of the illustrated front side punch range FPL and rear side punch range RPL). In addition to this, the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 can be simultaneously moved by the same driving source as in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 in common, and the driving source is made common and rationalized. be able to. Thus, after punch holes are formed in the sheet, the sheet is conveyed again and discharged. The next sheet (broken line Next Sheet shown in the figure) is carried in along with this carry-out.

As described above, the front-side punch hole FP and the rear-side punch hole RP are formed by the front-side punch blade 42F and the rear-side punch blade 42R at arbitrary positions in the movement range of the front-side support frame 38F and the rear-side support frame 38R. be able to. Heretofore, the front side seat tip / rear end sensor 106F of the front side support frame 38F and the rear side seat tip / rear sensor 106R of the rear side support frame 38R have been shown as seat detection sensors. You may perform by the fixed sensor (for example, unit carrying-in sensor Sen1 of FIG. 4) which can detect a rear end.

[Output sheet of corner cut / punch unit 30]
FIG. 18 shows a sheet processed by the corner cutting / punching and embossing method shown in FIGS. FIG. 18 shows a sheet that has been subjected to the processes of corner cutting, embossing stamping, and punching by the cutting blade, punch blade, and embossed portion.

First, FIG. 18A shows a sheet that has been subjected to corner cutting, embossing, and punching at both corners at the front and rear ends of the sheet. That is, this sheet is provided with a front end cutting blade FLC, a rear end cutting RLC, a front embossing stamp FEM, and a rear embossing stamp REM. Further, a front side punch hole FP and a rear side punch hole RP are formed on the rear end side, and in addition, a front side rear end cut FEC and a rear side rear end cut REC are provided on the sheet rear end side. By being processed in this way, it is possible to produce a sheet that is less likely to bend at the corners of the sheet and that can be made visually friendly, and that can also generate an invoice by filing and marking.

  Next, FIG. 18B is a sheet in which the sheet shown in FIG. 18A is further curved and cut at the edge in the width direction at the center of the sheet by a cutting blade. That is, the front side edge cut FSC by the cutting blade 40 and the rear side rear edge cut RSC are cut at the front side edge of the sheet in the sheet conveying direction. This incision can be generated by cutting the front edge and the rear edge of the cutting blade 40 by moving the trailing edge cutting blade 109 and the trailing edge cutting blade 111 to the sheet. It is also a display of the position. Further, the sheet shown in this figure is provided with two front side punch holes FP and two rear side punch holes RP, and a four-hole file or the like is also possible.

  FIG. 18C shows a sheet in which a curved cut is made by a cutting blade at the edge in the width direction of the fold line when the sheet of FIG. 18A is folded in three. That is, the front side edge FSC of the sheet in the sheet conveyance direction is cut into two front side edge cuts FSC and two rear side edge cuts RSC at the rear side. This side edge cut is the same as in FIG. Also, three punch holes (one on the front punch hole FP and two on the rear punch hole RP) are punched. Thus, the corner cut / punch unit 30 of this embodiment can perform various sheet processings with a compact mechanism.

[Other Embodiments of Cutting Blades 1 and 2]
FIGS. 19 and 20 to be described below show another embodiment showing a modification of the arrangement of the cutting blades / punch blades / embossed portions arranged on the support frame shown in FIGS. 4 to 17.
First, as another embodiment 1, FIG. 19A shows the front support frame 170 in which the approximate centers of the cutting blade 172, the punch blade 173, and the embossed portion 174 are aligned in the sheet width direction. The rear side has the same configuration. This is a cutting blade and punch blade that have been moved up and down at the same timing with a common drive, but the cutting blade 172, the punch blade 173, and the embossed portion 174 are not particularly illustrated, Each is driven independently. The connection area JA of the connection portion (spacer) 171 is set at a position that does not hinder the movement of the punch blade 173 in the sheet width direction. Even with this configuration, corner cutting, punching of holes and embossing can be performed.

As another embodiment 2, FIG. 19B shows a punch blade 178 that is shifted downstream from the cut blade 177 in the sheet conveying direction. This and the embossed portion 179 are driven independently, and the connecting area JA of the connecting portion (spacer) 176 is set at a position that does not hinder the movement of the punch blade 178 in the sheet width direction. Even with this configuration, corner cutting, punching of holes and embossing can be performed.

[Other Embodiments 3 and 4 of Cutting Blade]
Up to now, as shown in FIG. 6, the support frames 38 are provided as a pair facing each other in the sheet width direction (direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction) like the front side support frame 38F and the rear side support frame 38R. FIG. 20 shows another modified example in which the cutting blade 182 and the punch blade 183 are arranged on one support frame 180 and moved in the entire range in the sheet width direction (arrow direction in the drawing). Is. The cut blade 182 is fixedly connected by a connecting portion (spacer) 181 having a connecting area JA above the figure. According to this, since one support frame 180 moves in the sheet width direction, the processing speed is reduced, but the corner cut / punch mechanism can be simplified.

That is, FIG. 20A shows another embodiment 3 in which the punch blade 183 is shifted and arranged downstream of the four-side cut blade 182. That is, the cutting blades 182 have cutting blades at the four corners, respectively, whereby the front side front end cutting blade FLC, the front side rear end cut FEC, the rear side front end cut RLC, and the rear side rear end cut REC can be formed on the sheet. Further, since the punch blade 183 is also provided so as to be displaced, punch holes can be drilled at arbitrary positions on the sheet.

Next, FIG. 20 (b) shows the cutting blade divided into two at the center of the cutting blade 187 and the cutting blade 188 by one support frame 185, and arranged so as to overlap with the downstream punch blade 189. . This is also independent of drive. On the other hand, the front side front end cut FLC, the front side rear end cut FEC, the rear side front end cut RLC, and the rear side rear end cut REC are cut back to back in the same manner as before, more specifically, The cutting blades are set in a substantially line-symmetric relationship with the center line in the moving direction of the support frame 185 as a reference line. Similarly, the punch blade 189 does not overlap with the connection range JA of the connecting portion (spacer) 186, so that punch holes can be drilled at arbitrary positions in the sheet width direction.

[Other Embodiments of Cut / Punch Method]
FIG. 21 shows another embodiment in which a part of the cutting and punching method is changed. Following FIG. 15, a punch hole is first drilled in the vicinity of the rear end side of the sheet, and then the sheet is switched back to cut the angle. It is explanatory drawing which shows. In the cutting / punching method shown in FIGS. 14 to 17, the sheet is always conveyed downstream, but what is shown in FIG. 21 is the punch blade 42 </ b> F and the punch blade first after the embossing in FIG. 15. 42R punch holes are punched (front side punch hole FP and rear side punch hole RP are punched). At this time, if punching of the punch hole is performed after correcting the skew by bringing the sheet into contact with the left side surface of the front side connecting portion 77F and the rear side connecting portion 77R in the drawing at the rear end, The position accuracy is improved.

Thereafter, the support frame 38 is temporarily retracted in the seat width direction. Thereafter, the sheet that has undergone one-end punch processing is switched back, and both corners on the rear end side of the sheet are aligned with the front-side rear end cutting blade 111F and the rear-side rear end cutting blade 111R. After confirming this alignment, the front side cutting blade 40F and the rear side cutting blade 40R are moved to the sheet surface to cut corners. The cut blade 40 sheet is discharged. At this time, if the switchback of the sheet is confirmed by a sensor, the position accuracy of the corner cut is further improved.

[Description of control configuration]
A system control configuration of the image forming apparatus A including the sheet processing apparatus B including the corner cut / punch unit 30 as the corner cut / punch apparatus described above will be described with reference to a block diagram of FIG. The image forming apparatus system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is configured to perform sheet processing of a sheet processing apparatus B including an image forming control unit 200 of the image forming apparatus A, a corner cut / punch unit 30, a folding unit 31, a binding unit 32, and a tray unit 33. A control unit 205 (control CPU) is provided. The image formation control unit 200 includes a paper feed control unit 202 and an input unit 203. From the control panel 204 provided in the input unit 203, a “print mode”, “corner cut mode”, “sheet side edge cut mode”, “punch mode”, “emboss mode”, “sheet folding mode”, “sheet binding mode”, etc., which will be described later. In addition, the sheet processing mode combining these is set.

  The sheet processing control unit 205 is a control CPU that operates the sheet processing apparatus B in accordance with the specified sheet processing mode. The sheet processing control unit 205 includes a ROM 206 that stores an operation program and a RAM 207 that stores control data. The sheet processing control unit 205 includes, for example, a unit carry-in sensor Sen1 that detects a sheet conveyed near the cut-in carry-in roller 36, as shown in FIG. A unit carry-out sensor Sen2 for detecting the discharge of the sheet is connected near the exit of the cut / punch unit 30. Further, a front side seat leading / ending edge sensor 106F provided on the front side support frame 38F for detecting the leading and trailing ends of the seat and a front side seat side edge sensor 107F for detecting the side edge of the seat on the front side are connected. Similarly, a rear side seat leading / rear end sensor 106R and a rear side seat side edge sensor 107R are also connected to the rear side support frame 38R. Alternatively, although not shown, a paper level sensor for detecting the paper level in order to detect the sheet stacking amount on the stacking tray 90 is connected, and signals from various sensor input units 208 are input.

    Next, the sheet processing control unit 205 includes a sheet conveyance control unit 210 that controls sheet conveyance of each of the corner cut / punch unit 30, the folding unit 31, the binding unit 32, and the tray unit 33. Further, the sheet processing control unit 205 is a corner cut / punch control unit 211 that controls the corner cut / punch unit 30 to perform double-sided cutting of the sheet leading and trailing edges, sheet side edge cutting, punch hole leading, and embossed marking. The sheet folding control unit 212 that controls the sheet to be folded, the processing tray control unit 213 that controls the alignment plate 84 when the binding unit 32 is placed on the processing tray 76 for binding, and the processing A stapler control unit 214 that controls the stapler 80 that performs the binding process on the sheet bundle placed on the tray 76, and controls the stacking tray 90 according to the stacking amount of sheets that have been subjected to various sheet processes and sheets that are not to be processed. The stacking tray lifting / lowering control unit 215 is provided.

  In particular, the corner cut / punch control unit 211 (control unit) for controlling the corner cut / punch unit 30 according to the present invention is also connected to the above-described sheet conveyance control unit 210. The drive of the carry-in roller drive motor 36M is controlled. The corner cut / punch control unit 211 similarly moves the front side frame motor 38MF for driving the front side support frame 38F to advance and retreat in the width direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction and the rear side support frame 38R. The rear side frame motor 38MR is controlled. As a result, the support frame 38 is moved to a position close to the sheet width in accordance with the sheet size, and the sheet is stopped waiting for the carry-in of the sheet. After the stop, the support frame 38 is moved again inward in the seat width direction (closer to the center), and the entrance operation of the support frame 38 is stopped by detecting the side edge of the seat.

The corner cut / punch control unit 211 moves the front cut blade 40F, the front punch blade 42F, and the front embossed portion arranged on the front support frame 38F so as to move up and down with respect to the sheet surface. The front side (cam) moving motor 130MF for driving the side moving cam 125 and the rear side (cam) moving motor 130MR for driving the rear side in the same manner also control forward / reverse rotation / stop. The rotation control of the front side (cam) moving motor 130MF and the rear side (cam) moving motor 130MR is performed by driving the moving cam 125 with the contents shown in FIG. 13 to cut sheet corners, punch holes, and emboss. Engrave. These operations are performed in accordance with the processing steps shown in FIG. 14 to FIG. 17 and the other processing steps shown in FIG.
Further, the sheet processing control unit 205 includes a stacking tray lifting / lowering control unit 215 that controls the lifting motor 95 based on a detection signal from the paper level sensor, although not specifically illustrated.

[Sheet Processing Mode]
The sheet processing control unit 205 of the present embodiment configured as described above causes the sheet processing apparatus B to, for example, (1) “print mode”, (2) “corner cut mode”, and (3) “sheet side edge cut mode”. ”, (4)“ Punch mode ”, (5)“ Emboss mode ”, (6)“ Sheet folding mode ”, (7)“ Sheet binding mode ”, etc. Hereinafter, this processing mode will be described.

(1) “Printout mode”
An image-formed sheet is received from the main body discharge roller 16 of the image forming apparatus A, and this sheet is transferred to the stacking tray 90 by the bundle discharge roller 86 via the cut portion carry-in roller 36, the binding carry-in roller 72, and the carry-out roller 74. House one by one.

(2) "Corner cut mode"
In response to the sheet size information from the image forming apparatus A, the support frame 38 is positioned in the vicinity of the sheet side edge (for example, in FIG. 6, the front side sheet leading edge sensor 106F detects the leading edge of the loaded sheet, but the front side sheet side edge The sensor 107F moves to a position where no sheet is detected, and receives the image-formed sheet from the main body discharge roller 16. After detecting the leading edge of the sheet, the support frame 38 is cut at the corner of the sheet to be curved (for example, the position at which the support frame 38 is stopped when the front-side sheet side edge sensor 107F in FIG. 6 is turned from ON to OFF). The cutting blade 40 is moved downward to cut the leading end side of the sheet, and the front side leading end cut FLC and the rear side leading end cut RLC shown in FIGS. 6 and 14 are formed on the sheet. Similarly, the front side rear end cut FEC and the rear side rear end cut REC shown in FIGS. 6 and 16 are formed on the sheet rear end side. In this way, in this corner cut mode, the sheet is cut in a curved or inclined manner from one corner to four corners. The sheet with the four corners cut by this corner cut mode is shown in FIG.

(3) “Sheet edge cut mode”
In response to the sheet size information from the image forming apparatus A, the support frame 38 is positioned in the vicinity of the sheet side edge (for example, in FIG. 6, the front side sheet leading edge sensor 106F detects the leading edge of the loaded sheet, but the front side sheet side edge The sensor 107F moves to a position where no sheet is detected, and receives the image-formed sheet from the main body discharge roller 16. After detecting the leading edge of the sheet, the sheet is conveyed to the downstream side corresponding to the folding position within a predetermined range, and the support frame 38 is stopped. Thereafter, when the cutting blade 40 is moved downward, a front side edge cut FSC and a rear side edge cut RSC are formed on the sheet. By executing this sheet side edge cut mode, the sheet is subjected to side edge cut in the middle of the conveying direction in FIG. 18A and side edge cut at a position corresponding to the tri-fold position in FIG. 18B. Can be processed.

(4) “Punch mode”
When the image-formed sheet is received from the main body discharge roller 16 of the image forming apparatus A and the rear end of the sheet passes through the connection area JA, which is the range of the connection portion 77 of the support frame 38, the front support frame 38F and the rear The side support frame 38R is moved inward in the sheet width direction (center direction) and stopped at an arbitrary position for punch holes. Thereafter, the front side punch blade 42F and the rear side punch blade 42R are lowered to the sheet surface, and a front side punch hole FP and a rear side punch hole RP are formed in the vicinity of the rear end of the sheet. By executing this punch mode, punch holes can be formed at arbitrary positions such as 2 holes in FIG. 18 (a), 4 holes in FIG. 18 (b), and 3 holes in FIG. 18 (C).

(5) “Emboss mode”
In response to the sheet size information from the image forming apparatus A, the support frame 38 is positioned in the vicinity of the sheet side edge (for example, in FIG. 6, the front side sheet leading edge sensor 106F detects the leading edge of the loaded sheet, but the front side sheet side edge The sensor 107F moves to a position where no sheet is detected, and receives the image-formed sheet from the main body discharge roller 16. After detecting the leading edge of the sheet, the position where marking is performed with the embossed marking stops. Further, the support frame 38 is positioned in the embossable area Le1 shown in FIG. 15 also in the sheet width direction. Thereafter, the embossed portion 44 is pressed against the sheet surface to give an embossed mark between the embossed receiver 81. By executing this emboss mode, as shown in FIG. 18, a sheet provided with a front-side embossed stamp FEM and a rear-side embossed stamp REM is generated. It should be noted that not only the embossed stamp but also the red mark by the stamp may be given, and any mark can be given as long as it can be given to the sheet.

(6) “Sheet folding mode”
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the sheet from the conveyance path 37 of the corner cut / punch unit 30 is conveyed to the substantially cylindrical folding portion 50 of the folding unit 31, and simple sheet folding is performed. The folded sheet is discharged to the front side of the apparatus that intersects the sheet conveyance direction.

(7) “Sheet binding mode”
The sheets formed with images from the main body discharge roller 16 are temporarily placed on the processing tray 76 of the binding unit 32 via the corner cut / punch unit 30 and the folding unit 31 to form a bundle. After binding, the sheets are stacked on the stacking tray 90.

According to the form for carrying out this invention demonstrated above, there exist the following effects.
1. A corner cutting device (corner cut / punch unit 30) that cuts a corner of a sheet by entering the conveyance path 37 of the conveyed sheet from an intersecting direction, and supports a cutting blade 40 that moves relative to the sheet surface. A blade frame 58, a receiving blade frame 59 that supports the receiving blade (cut receiving blade 145) that receives the moving cutting blade, and a driving member that causes the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 to enter the sheet conveyance path. (Moving belt 71, frame drive motor 38M), and the cutting shape of the cutting blade 40 and the receiving blade (cut receiving blade 145) is a back-to-back shape with the approach direction as a reference line (FIG. 9 FCC line) Device.
According to this, the cutting blade that cuts the corner of the sheet and the receiving blade that receives the cutting blade have a back-to-back shape with the same direction as the sheet width direction as a reference line. It is possible to provide a corner cutting device that cuts the corners of the front and rear ends of the sheet into an inclined or curved shape by simply moving up and down.

2. The cutting blade and the receiving blade are formed in a shape that cuts the corner of the sheet into an inclined or circular arc, and is formed as a substantially axisymmetric blade shape with the approach direction as a reference line (FCC line in FIG. 9). The corner cut device according to 1 above.
According to this, since an inclined or arcuate blade is a substantially line target, a corner cutting device that cuts the corners of the front and rear ends of the sheet into an inclined or curved shape by simply moving (up and down) with respect to the sheet surface Can be provided.

3. There is a connecting portion 77 that is provided with the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 that are individually provided as a support frame 38, and this connecting portion intersects the sheet conveying direction with the cutting blade and the receiving blade. 3. The corner cutting device according to 2 above, which is disposed on the outer side.
According to this, since the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 are connected on the outer side in the sheet width direction, the cutting blade and the receiving blade are prevented from being displaced, and the connecting portion becomes an obstacle to this cutting. No.

4. The corner cutting device according to 3 above, wherein the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 of the support frame 38 are individually connected to each other by setting a space (77a) therebetween.
According to this, since the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 are connected at a specified interval, the sheet can be smoothly carried in between the frames.

5. The corner cutting device according to 4 above, wherein the support frames 38 are provided so as to face each other in a direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction, and are provided so as to be able to enter and retreat into the sheet conveying path. It is.
According to this, since the support frame 38 (having a cut blade and a cut receiving blade) is provided as a pair in the sheet width direction, the moving range of the support frame 38 is shortened, and the processing time can be shortened.

6. A corner cutting device that cuts a corner of a sheet by entering the conveyance path of the conveyed sheet from the crossing direction, and a cutting blade frame 58 that supports a cutting blade 40 that moves relative to the sheet surface, and this movement A receiving blade frame 59 for supporting a receiving blade (cut receiving blade 145) for receiving the cutting blade, a connecting portion 77 for fixing the cutting blade frame and the receiving blade frame with a space therebetween to form a support frame 38, and The cutting blade and the receiving blade have a shape that cuts the corner of the sheet into an inclined or circular arc, is formed as a substantially axisymmetric blade shape with the entry direction as a reference line (FCC line in FIG. 9), and a corner that cuts the corner at the front and rear ends of the sheet It is a cutting device.
According to this, since the inclined or arcuate blade is substantially a line object without providing a cutting blade before and after the sheet, the front end of the sheet and A corner cutting device that cuts the corner of the rear end into an inclined or curved shape can be provided.

7. The corner cutting device according to 6 above, wherein the support frame 38 having the cutting blade 40 and the receiving blade (cut receiving blade 145) is disposed as a pair so as to be able to advance and retreat at positions facing each other in the approach direction.
According to this, since the support frame 38 (having a cut blade and a cut receiving blade) is provided as a pair in the sheet width direction, the moving range of the support frame 38 is shortened, and the processing time can be shortened.

8. The pair of support frames 38 (front-side support frame 38F, rear-side support frame 38R) are cut blade drive units (moving lever-120, moving cam 125, moving motor 130) that move the cutting blade 40 to the seat surface. 8) The corner cutting device according to the above 7, wherein each of the corner cutting devices is provided.
According to this, since each support frame 38 which becomes a pair has the cutting blade drive part which drives a cutting blade, a cutting blade can be driven easily.

9. The pair of support frames 38 is the corner cut device according to 8 described above, which includes driving units (moving belt 71, frame driving motor 38M) that move independently so as to be able to advance and retreat in the approach direction.
According to this, since the sheet can be moved in the sheet width direction, the sheet can be easily aligned with the corner, and various sheet widths can be accommodated.

10. An image forming unit 2 that forms an image on a sheet, a corner cutting device (corner cut / punch unit 30) that cuts a corner of the sheet from the image forming unit, and the corner cutting device is any one of the above 1 to 9. An image forming apparatus having the above-described configuration.
According to this, an image forming apparatus having the effects described in the above items can be provided.

11. A reading unit (image reading device 20) that reads an image of a document above the image forming unit 2 and a sheet discharge space between the reading unit and the image forming unit. 11. The image forming apparatus as described in 10 above, wherein the corner cut device (corner cut / punch unit 30) is disposed.
According to this, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus equipped with a corner cutting device that exhibits the effects 1 to 9 that are also applied to a so-called in-body type.

  In the description of the effects in the above-described embodiment, for each part of the present embodiment, the corresponding members of each component in the claims are indicated in parentheses, or a reference numeral is attached and the relationship between them is shown. Was clarified.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the present invention, and all technical matters included in the technical idea described in the claims are described in the present invention. The subject of the invention. The embodiments described so far show preferred examples, but those skilled in the art will realize various alternatives, modifications, variations, and improvements from the contents disclosed in this specification. These are included in the technical scope described in the appended claims.

A Image forming apparatus B Sheet processing apparatus 30 Corner cut / punch unit (corner cut apparatus)
31 Folding unit 32 Binding unit 33 Tray unit 37 Transport path 38 Support frame 40 Cutting blade 42 Punch blade 44 Embossed portion 58 Cut blade frame 59 Receiving blade frame 71 Moving belt 77 Connecting portion 77a Spacing space 109 Tip cutting blade 110 Cutting blade center 111 Rear end cutting blade 120 Moving lever 125 Moving cam 130 Moving motor 138 Rotating arm 145 Cut receiving blade 147 Punch receiving blade 155 Cam groove 210 Sheet conveyance control unit 211 Corner cut / punch control unit (control unit)
JA Connection area CA Cutting blade area PA Punch blade area FLC Front end cut RLC Rear end cut FEC Front rear end cut REC Rear rear end cut FEM Front side embossed stamp REM Rear side embossed stamp FSC Front side edge cut RSC Rear Side edge cut

Claims (11)

A corner cutting device that enters the conveyance path of a sheet to be conveyed from an intersecting direction and cuts corners of the sheet,
A cutting blade frame that supports a cutting blade that moves relative to the sheet surface;
A receiving blade frame that supports the receiving blade that receives the moving cutting blade;
A driving member for allowing the cutting blade frame and the receiving blade frame to enter the sheet conveyance path;
A corner cutting apparatus, wherein the cutting blade and the receiving blade have a back-to-back shape with the approach direction as a reference line. 2. The corner according to claim 1, wherein the cutting blade and the receiving blade are formed in a shape that cuts the corner of the sheet into an inclined or circular arc, and is formed as a substantially line-symmetrical blade shape with the entry direction as a reference line. Cutting equipment. The cutting blade frame and the receiving blade frame are connected to each other to have a connecting portion serving as a support frame, and the connecting portion is disposed outside the cutting blade and the receiving blade in a direction crossing the sheet conveying direction. The corner cutting device according to claim 2, wherein the corner cutting device is provided. The corner cutting device according to claim 3, wherein the cutting blade frame and the receiving frame of the support frame are individually connected to each other by setting a distance therebetween. 5. The corner cutting device according to claim 4, wherein the support frames are provided so as to face each other in a direction crossing the sheet conveying direction, and each of the supporting frames is provided so as to be able to enter and retreat into the sheet conveying path. A corner cutting device that enters the conveyance path of a sheet to be conveyed from an intersecting direction and cuts corners of the sheet,
A cutting blade frame that supports a cutting blade that moves relative to the sheet surface;
A receiving blade frame that supports the receiving blade that receives the moving cutting blade;
A connecting portion that fixes the cut blade frame and the receiving blade frame with a space therebetween to form a support frame;
The cutting blade and the receiving blade have a shape that cuts the corner of the sheet into an inclined or circular arc, is formed as a substantially axisymmetric blade shape with respect to the entry direction, and cuts the corners of the leading and trailing edges of the sheet Cutting equipment. The corner cutting device according to claim 6, wherein the support frame having the cutting blade and the receiving blade is disposed as a pair so as to be able to advance and retreat at positions facing each other in the approach direction. 8. The corner cutting device according to claim 7, wherein each of the pair of support frames includes a cutting blade driving unit that moves the cutting blade to the sheet surface. 9. The corner cut device according to claim 8, wherein the paired support frames include drive units that move independently so as to be able to advance and retreat in the approach direction. An image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet;
A corner cutting device for cutting the corner of the sheet from the image forming unit;
An image forming apparatus, wherein the corner cutting device has the structure according to any one of claims 1 to 9. A reading unit that reads an image of a document above the image forming unit;
A sheet discharge space is provided between the reading unit and the image forming unit,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the corner cutting device is disposed in the sheet discharge space.

Images