JP2017177299A - Perforation system, sheet processing device, and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To speed up perforation processing with particularly multi-holes and a narrow pitch in a perforation system for punching punch holes on a sheet to be conveyed.SOLUTION: A perforation system 100 comprises: two perforation devices 1, 2 each having one punch member 31 for punching a sheet while being reciprocated by a drive motor 55; a frame structure 101; and a sheet conveyance mechanism 102. Both perforation devices are supported by movable attachment members 5, 6 of an attachment unit 3 fixed to the frame structure so as to reciprocate in a sheet conveying direction. The sheet conveyance mechanism comprises a conveyance motor 121 for driving a conveyance roller pair for conveying the sheet in the sheet conveying direction. Each drive motor is controlled based on the rotation amount of the conveyance motor so that punch holes by each punch member are alternately formed on the sheet in the sheet conveying direction on the same straight line.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a punching system for automatically punching files or other punch holes in various sheet-like workpieces such as paper sheets, plastic sheets, metal sheets, cloth sheets, etc. The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the system.

  Conventionally, it is mounted on image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printing machines, facsimile machines, post-processing apparatuses, bookbinding apparatuses, etc., and a binding hole for, for example, a file is formed in a sheet such as a paper sheet carried out from these apparatuses. A punching device is used to do this. In recent years, high-speed processing of sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus or the like has progressed, and in response to this, the punching device is also required to increase the speed and efficiency of the punching processing.

  For example, there is known a perforating apparatus that perforates a plurality of punch holes in a sheet by reciprocating a plurality of punch members having a perforating blade at the tip in a perforating direction with a drive motor (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ). According to Patent Document 1, it is possible to form punch holes of different numbers and arrangements by selecting all or some of the plurality of punch members included in the punching device and performing a punching operation.

  In addition, the punch and die are transported at the same speed as the sheet in order to eliminate punch holes or sheet breakage, hole quality degradation, or paper jam caused by being caught on the periphery when the punch member is pulled out of the punch hole. However, a perforating apparatus for perforating is known (for example, see Patent Document 2). In the punching device of Patent Document 2, a plurality of punch holes are formed along the side of a moving sheet by continuously operating one punching unit having a punch and a die.

JP 2012-86290 A JP 2013-43224 A

  Conventionally, various specifications are provided for the number of holes, hole pitch, hole diameter, arrangement, and the like for file binding holes. For example, in the Japanese JIS standard, the hole pitch of 2 holes is 80mm ± 0.5mm (JIS S6401), and the hole pitch of multi holes is 9.5mm ± 1.0mm, and the distance from the paper edge to the hole center is 6. 5 mm ± 0.5 mm (JIS Z8303). In foreign countries, Europe 2 holes / 4 holes have the same hole pitch of 80 mm as in Japan, North America 2 holes / 3 holes have a hole pitch of 70 mm and 108 mm, and Northern Europe 4 holes have a hole pitch of 21 mm, 70 mm.

  Accordingly, it is desirable to be able to cope with various standard and non-standard perforation patterns, in particular, a multi-hole perforation pattern, and to similarly speed up the perforation process in such various perforation patterns. However, in the punching device disclosed in Patent Document 1, carrying-in, punching, and unloading of sheets are performed as separate operations, and the sheet must be held in a stopped state during the punching process. For this reason, there is a limit to speeding up the drilling process. Furthermore, since the number and arrangement of punch members are limited, it is not possible to cope with various perforation patterns, particularly multi-holes.

  The punching device of Patent Document 2 is the same as other various conventional devices, and in one punching operation, the punch is pushed down from the home position by the start of the punching motor, and is pushed up to the original position after punching the sheet and stopped. The time to do is fixed substantially constant. For this reason, when trying to reduce the hole pitch with a multi-hole perforation pattern, the sheet conveyance speed, that is, the perforation processing speed is reduced. On the contrary, when the sheet conveying speed is increased, the hole pitch of the punch holes that can be formed is increased, so that the range of the punching pattern that can speed up the punching process is narrowed. In particular, it is difficult to speed up the multi-hole drilling process.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide various hole pitches, particularly a large number of holes, in a punching system capable of punching a plurality of punch holes while conveying a sheet. The purpose is to speed up the drilling process of the pitch between the holes.

In order to achieve the above object, the drilling system of the present invention provides
A plurality of punch members each having a perforating blade at one end in the axial direction and reciprocating in the axial direction to punch holes in a sheet conveyed in a predetermined conveying direction;
A support portion for supporting each punch member individually so as to be able to move together with the sheet in a predetermined conveying direction by engagement of each peripheral surface and a peripheral edge of a punch hole formed by the punch member;
The plurality of punch members are arranged so that punch holes can be formed on the same straight line along a predetermined conveying direction.

  By arranging a plurality of punch members in this way, each punch member can be perforated alternately to punch holes at different positions on the sheet, so that all punches can be formed with a single punch member. As compared with the case of forming a hole, the hole pitch on the actual sheet can be reduced, and the punching operation time can be substantially shortened until the next punch hole is formed. Therefore, by moving the punch member together with the sheet in a predetermined conveyance direction, it is possible to form a high-quality punch hole and further increase the speed of the punching process and improve productivity.

  In one embodiment, the apparatus further includes a plurality of drive motors that reciprocate each punch member in the axial direction, and a control unit that individually controls the plurality of drive motors, and is continuous along a predetermined conveyance direction. The control unit controls each drive motor so that the same number of punch holes as the plurality of punch members are formed by each punch member. Thereby, a plurality of punch holes can be formed at a minimum equal pitch, which is particularly advantageous when a multi-hole punch hole exceeding the number of punching devices is formed.

In another embodiment, the image forming apparatus further includes a sensor that detects the leading edge of the sheet to be conveyed at a sheet punching position by the punch member on the most upstream side in a predetermined conveying direction, and the control unit starts detecting the leading edge of the sheet by the sensor. As described above, the drive of each drive motor is controlled. As a result, the positions of the other punch holes can be controlled with high accuracy based on the punch holes that are formed first in the most upstream direction along the predetermined conveying direction.
be able to.

  In a certain embodiment, the control unit further includes a sheet conveyance unit including a conveyance roller pair that sandwiches the sheet from above and below in order to convey the sheet in a predetermined conveyance direction, and a conveyance motor that drives the conveyance roller pair. Starting from the detection of the leading edge of the sheet by the sensor, the drive of each drive motor is controlled based on the rotation amount of the transport motor. The punching operation and the punching position of each punch member can be controlled with higher accuracy.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet processing apparatus that includes the above-described punching system of the present invention, speeds up the punching process, and improves productivity. Here, the sheet processing apparatus includes all types of sheet processing apparatuses that perform sheet punching processing, such as a post-processing apparatus and a bookbinding apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus provided with the above-described punching system or sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, which speeds up the punching processing of a sheet after image formation and has improved productivity. Is done.

1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a drilling system according to the present invention. Sectional drawing of the drilling system in the II-II line of FIG. The perspective view which shows the punching apparatus and attachment unit of FIG. The front view of a punching apparatus. The top view of a punching device. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the perforation part of a perforation apparatus. The perspective view which shows a sheet | seat press part and a perforation part. The block diagram which shows the control structure of the drilling system of FIG. (A) A figure and (b) figure are the fragmentary sectional side views and the top view of a punch member which show the operation state of a punching system in which a punch member is in a top dead center position. (A) Drawing and (b) figure are the fragmentary sectional side views and the top view of a punch member which show the operation state of the punching system in which the blade edge of the punch member fell to the sheet upper surface position. FIGS. 5A and 5B are a partial cross-sectional side view and a top view of the punch member showing an operation state of the punching system in which the punch member has reached the bottom dead center position. FIGS. 5A and 5B are a partial cross-sectional side view and a top view of the punch member showing an operation state of the punching system in which the cutting edge of the punch member is raised to the upper surface position of the sheet in the returning process. FIGS. 5A and 5B are a partial cross-sectional side view and a top view of the punch member showing an operation state of the punching system in which the punch member returns to the top dead center position. (A)-(d) figure is a schematic side view explaining the process in which a punch hole is continuously punched by the 1st, 2nd punch member in the conveyed sheet | seat. (E)-(h) figure is a schematic side view explaining the process in which a punch hole is continuously punched by the 1st, 2nd punch member in the conveyed sheet | seat. (I)-(l) figure is a schematic side view explaining the process in which a punch hole is continuously punched with the 1st, 2nd punch member in the conveyed sheet | seat. The schematic explanatory drawing of the process of drilling 30 holes of equal pitches. Schematic explanatory diagram of the process of drilling four Scandinavian holes.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a drilling system of the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The punching system of this embodiment is incorporated in a main body device such as an image forming apparatus or a post-processing device, for example, and forms a binding hole for a file while conveying a sheet such as a paper sheet carried from the image forming apparatus. It is used to do. In particular, the punching system is suitable for punching a plurality of punch holes in one sheet, such as a file binding hole.

  1 and 2 show the overall configuration of a drilling system 100 which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The perforating system 100 includes two perforating apparatuses 1 and 2 arranged along the sheet conveying direction A, a frame structure 101 to which the both perforating apparatuses are attached, and a sheet conveying mechanism 102 for conveying the sheet S. The sheet conveying mechanism 102 extends from the upstream side to the downstream side of the punching devices 1 and 2 along the sheet conveying direction A, and is provided on an upper guide plate 103 and a lower guide plate 104 that are arranged to face each other. Between the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate, a guide path 105 of the sheet S having a certain slight gap is defined.

  On the upper and lower guide plates 103, 104, a pair of upper and lower carry rollers 106, 107 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the sheet conveyance direction A on the upstream side immediately in the sheet conveyance direction A of the upstream punching device 1. Has been placed. Furthermore, four pairs of upper and lower pairs of carry-out rollers 108 and 109 are arranged symmetrically on the downstream side of the downstream side punching device 2 in the sheet conveying direction A. In particular, the pair of carry-out rollers 108a and 109a arranged at the end on the punching device side is arranged on the same straight line on the downstream side along the sheet conveying direction A with respect to the punching position of the downstream punching device 2. Yes.

  Each pair of carry-in rollers is rotatably supported by carry-in roller shafts 110 and 111 that traverse the upper and lower guide plates 103 and 104 in the left-right direction, that is, the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction A. Similarly, each pair of carry-out rollers is rotatably supported by carry-out roller shafts 112 and 113 that traverse the upper and lower guide plates in the left-right direction.

  The upper carry-in roller shaft 110 and the carry-out roller shaft 112 are urged at a predetermined pressure toward the lower carry-in roller shaft 111 and the carry-out roller shaft 113 by compression coil springs 114 and 115, respectively. Thereby, the outer peripheral surfaces of the upper carry-in roller 106 and the carry-out roller 108 press the corresponding outer peripheral surfaces of the lower carry-in roller 107 and the carry-out roller 109 with the predetermined pressure, respectively. By this pressing force, each of the carry-in and carry-out roller pairs sandwiches the sheet S in the guide path 105 from above and below through windows opened on the upper and lower guide plates 103 and 104, respectively, and the carry-in roller shaft and the carry-out roller shaft. Is conveyed in the sheet conveyance direction A.

  The lower carry-in roller shaft 111 and the carry-out roller shaft 113 are connected to each other at their opposite ends 111a and 113a by a belt transmission mechanism including pulleys 116 and 117 and a belt 118. Similarly, the end 111b of the carry-in roller shaft 111 on the punching device side is connected to one end of an output shaft (not shown) of the transport motor 121 by a belt transmission mechanism including a pulley 119 and a belt 120. Accordingly, when the transport motor is rotated, the lower carry-in roller shaft 111 and the carry-out roller shaft 113 are rotationally driven in the sheet carrying direction, and the upper carry-in roller pressed against the lower carry-in roller 107 and the carry-out roller 109. Similarly, 106 and the carry-out roller 108 rotate in the sheet conveyance direction.

  At the other end of the output shaft of the transport motor 121, for example, an optical transmission type encoder is provided. By counting the pulse signal output by the conveyance motor encoder, the rotation amount of the conveyance motor 121 is detected, and the conveyance amount of the sheet S can be calculated by converting the rotation amount with a coefficient obtained in advance from a test result or the like. it can.

  The upper guide plate 103 is provided with first and second sheet sensors 123 and 124 for detecting the leading edge of the sheet conveyed along the guide path 105. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first sheet sensor 123 is disposed slightly upstream of the carry-in roller shaft 111 in the sheet conveyance direction. The second sheet sensor 124 is disposed at the same position as the punching position of the upstream punching apparatus 1 in the sheet conveying direction and on the inner side in the left-right direction from the punching apparatus 1.

  The punching apparatuses 1 and 2 are attached to the frame structure 101 using the attachment unit 3 shown in FIG. The attachment unit 3 includes a lower support portion 4 fixed to the frame structure 101, and upper movable attachment members 5 and 6 that are movable with respect to the support portion. One horizontal guide rod 7 is installed on the upper side of the support member 4 on the back side in the figure, and one horizontal guide rail 8 extending in parallel with the guide rod is provided on the front side in the figure. ing. Stoppers 9a and 9b are provided at both ends of the guide rod 7 in the axial direction.

  The movable mounting members 5 and 6 have the same shape, size and structure, and the guide rod 7 is slidably inserted in one of the side portions 5a and 6a (back side in the figure) in the axial direction thereof. Slide parts 10 and 11 project horizontally outward from the side parts 5b and 6b on the opposite side (near side in the figure) of the movable mounting member, respectively, along the guide rail 8 on the flat upper surface thereof. Are slidably arranged. Thereby, each movable attachment member 5 and 6 can move linearly separately along the sheet conveying direction between the stoppers 9a and 9b along the guide rod 7 and the guide rail 8, respectively. The lower end edges of the side portions 5b and 6b of the movable mounting members 5 and 6 are bent horizontally outward and are arranged immediately below the guide rail 8 to prevent the movable mounting members from coming off upward. .

  Two compression coil springs 12 and 13 are fitted on the guide rod 7 along the axial direction. The compression coil spring 12 on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction has a downstream end locked by a locking portion 7a provided substantially at the center in the axial direction of the guide rod 7, and an upstream end is movable on the upstream side. The movable attachment member 5 is always urged upstream by engaging with the downstream side portion of the attachment member 5. Thereby, the movable attachment member 5 is hold | maintained in the state by which the upstream side part was stopped by the stopper 9a.

  Similarly, the downstream end of the compression coil spring 13 on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction is locked to the downstream stopper 9 b of the guide rod 7, and the upstream end is on the downstream side of the movable mounting member 6. The movable mounting member 6 is always urged upstream by engaging with the downstream side portion. Accordingly, the movable mounting member 6 is held in a state where the upstream side portion is stopped by a stopping portion (not shown) on the guide rod 7 provided slightly downstream from the locking portion 7a. .

  In FIG. 3, two mounting screws 14, 15 inserted from the back side of the movable mounting members 5, 6 protrude vertically upward on the upper surfaces of the movable mounting members 5, 6. The perforating apparatuses 1 and 2 are fixed to the corresponding movable mounting members 5 and 6 by screwing mounting screws 14 and 15 into mounting holes (not shown) provided on their lower surfaces. At that time, the plurality of protrusions formed on the lower surfaces of the drilling devices 1 and 2 are fitted into the corresponding positioning holes on the upper surfaces of the movable mounting members 5 and 6, so that the drilling devices 1 and 2 can be mounted with high positional accuracy. Mounted on the unit 3.

  The attachment unit 3 is attached to the frame structure 101 so that the guide rod 7 and the guide rail 8 are parallel to the sheet conveying direction A. Accordingly, the upstream side punching device 1 and the downstream side punching device 2 are disposed so as to be separately movable along the sheet conveying direction A on the same straight line.

  Since the perforating apparatuses 1 and 2 have the same structure, the configuration of one (upstream side) perforating apparatus 1 will be described below. 4 to 6 show the entire configuration of the perforation apparatus 1. The punching device 1 includes a punching unit 21, a drive unit 22, and a frame 23. The frame 23 includes a lower frame 24 for guiding a sheet to be punched and for mounting the punching device 1 to the mounting unit 3, and an upper frame 25 for assembling the punching unit 21 and the drive unit 22. .

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lower frame 14 is formed of a substantially rectangular flat plate member, and its upper surface defines a horizontal and flat sheet support surface 24a for supporting a sheet S that is a workpiece to be perforated. To do. The upper frame 25 has a lower plate 26 disposed so as to face the seat support surface 24a with a certain slight gap. A slight gap between the sheet support surface 24a and the lower plate 26 defines a sheet passage 27 for allowing the sheet S to pass through the punching position. The lower frame 24 and the lower plate 26 of the upper frame 25 are integrally coupled with an end portion on the opposite side to the seat passage 27 with a spacer plate interposed therebetween.

  The sheet support surface 24 a is disposed so as to be substantially flush with the upper surface of the lower guide plate 104 of the sheet conveying mechanism 102. The sheet path 27 is provided at substantially the same height as the guide path 105 of the sheet conveying mechanism 102. Thereby, the sheet conveyed through the guide path 105 can smoothly pass on the sheet support surface 24 a of the punching device 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the upper frame 25 is provided with a perforated portion 21 on the seat passage 27 side and a drive portion 22 on the opposite side. The upper frame 25 is bent vertically upward from the end of the lower plate 26 opposite to the driving portion 22 and vertically bent from the upstream end of the lower plate 26. It further includes a side plate 29 and an upper plate 30 that is bent inwardly at the upper end of the side plate 29 in parallel with the lower plate 26, that is, horizontally to form a U-shape as a whole.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the perforated portion 21 includes a circular rod-shaped punch member 31 that extends in the vertical direction and has a substantially constant diameter over the entire length. The punch member 31 has a cylindrical drilling blade 32 formed at the lower end thereof. The perforating blade 32 is formed so as to cut out the cylindrical peripheral edge of the punch member 31 in a V shape when viewed from the side direction, that is, to define a V-shaped notch at each of the opposing side surface positions of the cylindrical peripheral edge. Is formed. The punch member 31 has two diametrical through holes 33 and 34 formed in an upper part and a lower part, and a relatively narrow circumferential groove 35 is recessed over the entire circumference near the center in the axial direction. Yes.

  Circular through holes 36 and 37 are formed in the lower plate 26 and the upper plate 29 of the upper frame 25 at positions corresponding to the vertical direction, respectively. An upper end portion of the punch member 31 is inserted into the upper through hole 37 and a lower end portion thereof is inserted into the lower through hole 36 so as to be rotatable and slidable in the axial direction. A circular die hole 38 for punching the sheet S by the punching blade 32 is provided in the lower frame 24 at a position corresponding to the through hole 36 of the lower plate 26 in the vertical direction.

  The punch member 31 is externally provided with a cam member 41 made of a cylindrical cam concentrically therewith. The cam member 41 can be composed of a substantially cylindrical upper cam half 41a and a lower cam half 41b. The upper cam half body 41a and the lower cam half body 41b are assembled so as to be pivotable integrally in the circumferential direction by fitting each other vertically.

  An upper cam surface 42a is formed on the lower surface of the upper cam half 41a so as to be continuous over the entire circumference along the outer peripheral edge thereof. A lower cam surface 42b is formed on the upper surface of the lower cam half body 41b so as to be continuous over the entire circumference along the outer peripheral edge thereof. By integrating the two cam halves 41a and 41b as described above, an endless cam groove 43 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cam member 41 in the circumferential direction as will be described later.

  On the side plate 28, cam pins 44 project horizontally toward the outer peripheral surface of the cam member 41. The cam pin 44 is disposed so as to fit into the cam groove 43 and engage with the upper cam surface 42a and / or the lower cam surface 42b.

  On the lower surface of the cam member 41 (lower cam half 41b), a narrow groove 45 having a predetermined depth extending in the diameter direction from the periphery of the shaft hole through which the punch member 31 is inserted is formed. On the upper surface of the cam member 41 (upper cam half 41a), a step 46 having a predetermined width and depth is provided along the periphery of the shaft hole through which the punch member is inserted.

  The narrow groove 45 on the lower surface of the cam member 41 is fitted with both end portions of the connecting pin 47 inserted through the lower through hole 44 of the punch member 21 and projecting from both ends of the through hole. A rubber ring 48, for example, is fitted into the step 46 on the upper surface of the cam member 41, and an E ring 49 is fitted into the circumferential groove 35 of the punch member 31 immediately above. Thus, the cam member 41 is integrally attached to the punch member 31 in the axial direction and the circumferential direction.

  A sensor flag member 51 is integrally fixed to the upper surface of the cam member 41 as a position detecting member for a position sensor described later. The sensor flag member 51 is formed of a fan-shaped light shielding plate having a fixed width and extending horizontally outward in the radial direction around the axis of the punch member 31.

  A driven gear 52 is concentrically mounted on the punch member 31 at an upper end portion that protrudes upward from the through hole 37 of the upper plate 29. The driven gear 52 is a worm wheel or helical gear that meshes with a worm or screw gear on the drive side, as will be described later. On the upper surface of the driven gear 52, a narrow groove 53 having a predetermined depth extending in the diameter direction from the periphery of the shaft hole through which the punch member 31 is inserted is formed.

  The narrow groove 45 on the lower surface of the cam member 41 is fitted with both end portions of the connecting pin 54 inserted through the upper through hole 33 of the punch member 31 and projecting from both ends of the through hole. The both end portions of the connecting pin 54 are disposed in the narrow groove 45 so as not to move in the rotational direction of the cam member 41 and to slide in the axial direction of the cam member. The driven gear 52 is supported with its lower surface in sliding contact with the upper surface of the upper plate 29. Thereby, the driven gear 52 is held so as to be integrally rotatable in the circumferential direction with respect to the punch member 31 and relatively movable in the axial direction.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the upper frame 25 is provided with a sheet pressing portion 70 for pressing the sheet S in the sheet passage 27 against the sheet support surface 24 a on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction of the punching portion 21. . The sheet pressing portion 70 includes a leaf spring member 71 obtained by bending a thin metal plate made of a spring material such as spring steel into a V shape. The leaf spring member 71 has the bent portion 74 in the seat with the upper surface of the upper spring plate portion 72 facing the lower surface of the cam member 41 and the lower surface of the lower spring plate portion 73 facing the seat support surface 24a. It arrange | positions toward the upstream of a conveyance direction.

  The sheet pressing portion 70 further includes a swing arm 75 for supporting the leaf spring member 71 and a fixture 76 fixed to the side plate 29 of the upper frame 25. The swing arm 75 protrudes laterally from both side edges of the upper spring plate portion 72, and a plate portion extending beyond the bent portion toward the bent portion 74 along the both side edges is bent at a right angle upward. And is pivotally supported by the fixture at the end on the bent portion side so as to swing up and down. Accordingly, the leaf spring member 71 is supported on the side plate 29 of the upper frame 25 so as to be able to swing up and down between the cam member 41 and the seat support surface 24a.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the upper spring plate portion 72 has a distal end bent slightly downward to form a cam receiving portion 77 for contacting the lower surface of the cam member 41. The lower spring plate portion 73 is bent slightly upward from the vicinity of the middle portion thereof to form a sheet presser 78 for pressing the sheet S in the sheet passage 27 against the sheet support surface 24a.

  The sheet presser 78 is formed in a Y shape with the tip opening toward the downstream side, and the punch member 31 can penetrate through the opening 78a without touching the periphery of the opening. Yes. The sheet presser 78 abuts on a sheet portion formed by or formed around the punch hole by the punch member 31. The front end of the sheet presser 78 is bent slightly upward so as to come into contact with the upper surface of the sheet without being caught.

  When the cam receiving portion 77 is pushed down to the lower surface of the cam member 41 and the distance between the upper spring plate portion 72 and the lower spring plate portion 73 is reduced, the plate spring member 71 exerts a biasing force, and the sheet presser 78 is The sheet S is pressed against the sheet support surface 24a. The pressing force applied to the upper surface of the sheet S from the sheet presser 78 is increased or decreased depending on the displacement amount of the leaf spring member 71 caused by the cam receiving portion 77 being pushed down to the lower surface of the cam member 41, that is, the axial displacement amount of the lower surface of the cam member. To do.

  The drive unit 22 includes a drive motor 55 for rotating the punch member 31. The upper frame 25 has a side plate 56 disposed opposite to the side plate 28 on the opposite side of the perforated portion 21. The drive motor 55 is mounted horizontally on the side plate 56 with its output shaft 57 protruding horizontally toward the perforated portion 21.

  A driving gear 58 is attached to the tip of the output shaft 57. The drive gear 58 meshes with an intermediate gear 60 that is rotatably mounted integrally on a horizontal rotating rod 59 that is rotatably supported between the side plate 56 and the side plate 28. A worm 61 is formed on the rotating rod 59 and meshes with the driven gear 52. Thereby, the rotation of the drive motor 55 can be transmitted to the punch member 31, and the punch member can be decelerated and rotated.

  The drive motor 55 is provided with an encoder 62 for detecting the amount of rotation. The drive motor encoder 62 is optically transmissive, and includes a code wheel 63 that is mounted on the opposite end of the output shaft 57 so as to be integrally rotatable, and a light projecting unit 64 and a light receiving unit 65 that are arranged to face each other across the code wheel. And have. Thereby, the rotation of the drive motor 55 can be controlled with higher accuracy in relation to the position of the sheet S with respect to the punching device 1, for example.

  In the upper frame 25, a position sensor 66 for detecting the rotational position of the punch member 31 is attached to an extension 67 of the side plate 56 on the side opposite to the rotating rod 59. The position sensor 66 is a transmissive photosensor, and includes a rectangular box-shaped light projecting unit 68 and a light receiving unit 69 that project toward the punch member 31. The light projecting unit 68 and the light receiving unit 69 are arranged so as to face each other with a predetermined gap therebetween so that the sensor flag member 51 that rotates horizontally can pass through the gap. The position sensor 66 is turned off when light passes from the light projecting unit 68 to the light receiving unit 69, and is turned on when light is blocked by the sensor flag member 51.

  The position sensor 66 is not limited to the transmissive photosensor of the present embodiment described above. If a detector that rotates integrally with the punch member 31 such as the sensor flag member 51 is used, various known sensors such as a reflective photo sensor, a magnetic sensor, and an ultrasonic sensor may be used. it can.

  FIG. 8 schematically shows a control configuration of the drilling system 100 of the present embodiment. The punching system 100 further includes a control unit 80 for controlling the punching operation of the sheet by the punching apparatuses 1 and 2 and the sheet transport by the sheet transport mechanism 102. The control unit 80 includes a CPU 81 that controls drive voltages applied to the drive motor 55 and the conveyance motor 121, a memory 82 that stores information and data necessary for punching processing, sheet conveyance, and control thereof, and a timer 83. Prepare. In the present embodiment, the control unit 80 is provided in a main body device such as an image forming apparatus or a post-processing apparatus in which the punching system 100 is incorporated. In another embodiment, the control unit 80 can be provided in the drilling system 100 itself.

The control unit 80 includes drive motor drive circuits 85 ₁ and 85 ₂ and a transport motor drive, which are connected between the drive motors 55 ₁ and 55 ₂ and the transport motor 121 of the punching apparatuses 1 and ₂ and a common power supply 84, respectively. The circuit 86 is connected. Each of the drive motor drive circuits is provided with a short circuit having a suitable resistance between the terminals of the drive motors 55 ₁ and 55 ₂ . The control unit 80 can quickly stop the rotation of the corresponding drive motor by connecting each short circuit.

The control unit 80 includes drive motor encoders 62 ₁ and 62 ₂ and position sensors 66 ₁ and 66 ₂ of the punching apparatuses 1 and ₂ , the transport motor encoder of the sheet transport mechanism 102, and the first and second sheet sensors 123 and 124. Is connected. The control unit 80 determines the rotational positions of the drive motors and the conveyance motor 121 of the punching apparatuses 1 and 2 based on the outputs of the encoders, and the punches of the punching apparatuses 1 and 2 based on the outputs of the position sensors. Based on the output of the sheet sensor, the leading end position of the conveyed sheet can be detected based on the operation position of the member.

  Further, an input unit 88 provided in the main body device is connected to the control unit 80. The user can input information and / or data necessary for performing the drilling process by the drilling system 100 into the control unit 80 via the input unit 88 in advance. The control unit 80 stores information and data input by the user or sent from the main body side in the memory 82 as necessary, and retrieves the information and data from the memory to control punching processing and sheet conveyance.

  In general, the number of binding holes formed in a file sheet and the hole pitch (or position) are standardized for each sheet size. Therefore, when forming standard binding holes in a standard size sheet, it is possible to calculate the punching operation start position of the punch member for each binding hole, that is, punch hole in advance for each sheet size, and convert it into a table value. It is. Such table values can be stored in the memory 82 of the control unit 80 in advance.

  Further, when the control unit 80 determines that the sheet size, the number of punch holes, and the hole pitch (or position) are out of specification from the information and / or data sent from the input unit 88 and the main body side, the punching operation is started. Previously, the punching operation start position of each punch hole can be calculated from the time lag from the start of the drive motor 55 to the start of punching of the sheet by the punch member 31 and the sheet conveyance speed. Similarly, the calculated punching operation start position of each punch hole can be stored in advance in the memory 82 of the control unit 80.

  Next, a series of operations for punching holes in the sheet S moving at a predetermined conveyance speed by the punching system 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. Since the punching operations of the punching devices 1 and 2 are exactly the same, only one (upstream) punching device 1 will be described in FIGS.

  9 (a) and 9 (b), the punching device 1 is located at the most upstream home position where the movable mounting member 5 of the mounting unit 3 is moved by the stopper 9a in the range of movement on the guide rod 7. ing. The punch member 31 and the cam member 41 are at the top dead center position that is the uppermost position in the axial direction, and the punching blade 32 stands by in the through hole 36 of the lower plate 26. At this time, the perforating apparatus 2 is located at the most upstream home position where the movable mounting member 6 is stopped by the stopping portion within the moving range on the guide rod 7.

  In this standby state, when the sheet S reaches the punching operation start position set in advance in the sheet conveyance direction, the control unit 80 operates the drive motor 55 to start the punching operation. As a result, the punch member 31 descends along the axial direction from the top dead center position together with the cam member 41 while rotating clockwise in FIG. 9B according to the profile of the cam groove 43.

  FIGS. 10A and 10B show a state in which the punch member 31 and the cam member 41 are lowered, and the leading end of the punching blade 32 reaches the lower end position of the sheet passage 27, that is, the upper surface of the sheet S. From this state, punching of the sheet S substantially starts when the punch member 31 further descends.

  In FIG. 10A, the cam receiving portion 77 is pushed down by the cam member 41, and the sheet S is pressed against the sheet supporting surface 24 a by the sheet pressing 78 with a relatively large pressing force. As a result, the sheet S immediately before punching is not displaced up and down in the sheet passage 27, so that the position of the sheet in the axial direction is always fixed and maintained at a constant timing at the desired punch hole punching position of the sheet. You can start drilling.

  Further, a frictional force generated by the pressing force from the sheet presser 78 is generated between the sheet presser 78 and the sheet support surface 24 a and the upper and lower surfaces of the sheet S. On the other hand, when the punching blade 32 starts to punch the sheet S, the peripheral surface on the upstream side of the punch member 31 is engaged with the peripheral edge of the punch hole just punched, and the punch member is moved downstream from the peripheral edge of the punch hole. Acting force is generated in the direction of pushing to the side. At substantially the same time, the frictional force generated between the upper and lower surfaces of the sheet S and the sheet presser 78 and the sheet support surface 24a acts to pull the punching device 1 in the sheet conveying direction A.

  With the force acting from the sheet S, the punching device 1 punches a punch hole while moving downstream at the same speed as the sheet against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 12. At this time, the force required to move the punching device 1 integrally with the sheet includes the area near the punch hole of the sheet S that is held between the sheet pressing surface 78 and the sheet support surface 24a, and the punch hole. The periphery is shared. Thereby, since the reaction force which a punch hole periphery receives from a punch member outer peripheral surface is reduced, possibility that a punch hole periphery will be damaged will be eliminated or reduced significantly. Further, since the punching device 1 does not require separate driving means and control means for moving together with the sheet S, it is easy to reduce the size.

  11A and 11B, the punch member 31 and the cam member 41 are lowered to the bottom dead center position, the punching blade 32 enters the lowest position in the die hole 38, and a punch hole is formed in the sheet S. Shows the state. After this, the drive motor 55 continues to rotate, and the punch member 31 ascends in the axial direction from the bottom dead center position while rotating, and then detaches upward from the punch hole and penetrates the lower plate 26. A return process for returning to the standby position in the hole 34 is started.

  As described above, the punching device 1 and the punching device 2 have the same structure and are arranged on the same straight line along the sheet conveying direction. Therefore, the punch hole drilled by the punching device 1 and the punch hole drilled by the punching device 2 are formed on the same line along the sheet conveying direction on the sheet.

  When the punch member 31 reaches the bottom dead center position, the pressing force from the leaf spring member 71 to the sheet S, and thus the frictional force between the sheet S, the sheet presser 78, and the sheet support surface 24a is maximized. Until the punch member 31 is completely removed from the punch hole, the punching device 1 is configured to apply the acting force from the punch hole periphery to the punch member outer peripheral surface, and between the sheet pressing and sheet support surfaces and the sheets S. The frictional force keeps moving together with the sheet S.

  Also in the returning process, the sheet S is pressed against the sheet support surface 24a by the leaf spring member 71 until the tip of the punching blade 32 reaches the upper surface of the sheet from the bottom dead center position (FIGS. 12A and 12B). ing. Thereby, the punch member 31 can be detached from the punch hole in a very short time. Therefore, even when the sheet S is conveyed at a high speed, the possibility that the edge of the punching blade 32 touches the periphery of the punching blade 32 when it comes out of the punched hole or deteriorates the quality of the punched hole is eliminated or greatly reduced. The

  Further, a sufficient pressing force similar to that in the punching process is applied to the sheet S from the leaf spring member 71 until at least the tip of the punching blade 32 reaches the upper surface of the sheet from the bottom dead center position. Therefore, the frictional force necessary for moving the punching device 1 can be generated between the sheet presser and the sheet support surface.

  At the same time that the punch member 31 is detached from the punch hole, the control unit 80 cuts off the power supply from the power source 84 to the drive motor 55 in the drive motor drive circuit 85 and connects the short circuit to rotate the drive motor. Braking. By controlling the drive of the drive motor 55 in this way, the time during which the punch member 31 is engaged with the punch hole of the sheet S can be minimized. As a result, the possibility of damage to the punch holes and the deterioration of quality due to the cutting edge of the punching blade 32 is more reliably eliminated or further reduced.

  Until the drive motor 55 stops completely from the start of braking, the punch member 31 continues to rise in the axial direction at a reduced speed due to inertial rotation of the drive motor. As shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, the punch member 31 reaches the top dead center position, stops at a predetermined position together with the drive motor 55, and enters a standby state in preparation for the next drilling operation.

  When the punch member 31 is detached from the punch hole and the engagement between the outer peripheral surface and the punch hole periphery is released, the punching device 1 quickly moves horizontally by the urging force of the compression coil spring 12, and Returned to home position. Since the time for the punch member 31 to leave the punch hole is very short, the punching device can be automatically returned to the home position more quickly. On the other hand, the sheet S continues to move along the sheet conveyance direction A at a predetermined conveyance speed.

  In the punching system 100, the punch member 31 of each punching device 1 and 2 punches one punch hole by reciprocating between the standby position and the bottom dead center position in the axial direction after the drive motor 55 is activated. The drilling operation time required for returning to the standby position and stopping is T (seconds). Here, if the sheet conveying speed of the sheet conveying mechanism 102 is set to Vs (mm / sec), the minimum hole pitch Dmin of punch holes that can be punctured by a single punching device is Vs · T (mm). Become.

  Therefore, if the sheet conveyance speed Vs is decreased, the minimum hole pitch Pmin is reduced to reduce the punch hole pitch, and the number of punch holes that can be punched on one sheet is increased to increase the number of holes. Can be achieved. On the other hand, the punching processing speed is lowered due to the decrease in the sheet conveying speed Vs, so that the productivity is lowered.

  On the other hand, when the hole pitch of the punch holes to be punched in the sheet is set to D (mm), the maximum sheet conveyance speed Vsmax is D / T (mm / second). Accordingly, the hole pitch P must be increased in order to increase the sheet conveyance speed Vs to increase the punching process and improve the productivity. In that case, it becomes impossible to increase the pitch of punch holes and increase the number of holes.

  According to the present embodiment, punch holes are punched by the two punching devices 1 and 2 so that punch holes are alternately formed along the sheet conveyance direction, so that the punch holes have a narrow pitch and a large number of holes. And speeding up the drilling process can be realized at the same time. 14 to 16 show that the punching system 100 is used to continuously form a large number of punch holes in the conveyed sheet S at an equal pitch that is ½ of the minimum hole pitch Dmin when punching with a single punching device. The process of perforation processing to be formed is shown.

14 to 16, in the punching apparatuses ₁ and ₂ , the punching positions P1 and P2 by the punch members 31 ₁ and 312 are separated by a distance L = 3Dmin in the sheet conveying direction. In FIG. 14A, when the first sensor 123 detects the leading edge Ef of the sheet S conveyed through the guide path 105, the control unit 80 starts measuring time by the timer 83 from that time t 0. When the sheet S is conveyed by the pair of carry-in rollers 106 and 107 and the predetermined first hole drilling operation start time t1 is reached from time t0, the control unit 80 performs upstream punching device (hereinafter referred to as first punching device) 1. start of the drive motor 55 _1, the upstream side of the punch member (hereinafter referred to as the first punch member) to start 31 ₁ of the drilling operation (Fig. 14 (b)).

In FIG. 14C, when the second sensor 124 detects the leading edge Ef of the sheet S, the control unit 80 starts counting pulse signals output from the conveyance motor encoder of the conveyance motor 121. Sheet S is further conveyed by carrying roller pairs 106 and 107, first the first hole H11 by punching member 31 ₁ is formed in preset perforated predetermined position (FIG. 14 (d)).

In FIG. 15 (e), after perforation of the first hole, the first punch member 31 ₁ returns to the standby position, the control unit 80 reverses the driving motor 55 of the _first perforating apparatus 1, the 1 to start the punching operation of the second hole by the punch member 31 _1. The sheet S, the position of the minimum hole pitch Dmin from the first hole H11 in the sheet conveyance direction upstream side, the second hole H12 is drilled by the first punch member 31 ₁ (FIG. 15 (f)).

Similarly, when the first punch member 31 ₁ is that second drilled holes back to the standby position, the control unit 80, a driving motor 55 ₁ is rotated forward, the third hole of the first punch member 31 ₁ The drilling operation is started (FIG. 15 (g)). The sheet S, the position of the minimum hole pitch Dmin from the second hole H12 in the sheet conveyance direction upstream side, and the third hole H13 is drilled by the first punch member 31 ₁ (FIG. 15 (h)).

Furthermore, the control unit 80, the first punch member 31 ₁ drilled the second hole returns to the standby position, by reversing the driving motor 55 _1, the fourth hole of the punching operation by the first punch member 31 ₁ Is started (FIG. 16I). The sheet S, Similarly, the position of the minimum hole pitch Dmin from the third hole H13 in the sheet conveyance direction upstream side, and the fourth hole H14 is drilled by the first punch member 31 ₁ (FIG. 16 (j)) . The first hole H11 of the sheet S, perforating apparatus downstream (hereinafter referred to as a second punching device) matches the second punch member 31 ₂ by puncturing positions P2.

When the sheet S is further conveyed and the number of output pulses of the conveyance motor encoder counted from the detection of the sheet leading edge Ef by the second sheet sensor 124 reaches a predetermined value in FIG. perforating apparatus downstream (hereinafter, the second called perforating unit) 2 start drive motor 55 _2, downstream of the punch member (hereinafter, referred to as a second punch member) 31 and starts the _second punching operation. The sheet S, the first hole H11 of the first punch member 31 ₁ in the sheet conveyance direction and the center position between the second hole H12, the first hole H21 is drilled by the second punch member 31 ₂ (FIG. 16 (L)).

Control unit 80, similarly to the case of the first perforating apparatus 1, the ₂ second punch member 31 which drilled the first hole returns to the standby position, by reversing the driving motor 55 _2, the second punch member 31 ₂ by starting the drilling operation of the second bore. Second second hole punch member 31 ₂ is bored from the first second hole H12 of the punch member 31 ₁ to the center position between the third hole H13 in the sheet conveying direction of the sheet S. Similarly, the second third hole punch member 31 ₂ is bored with the first punch member 31 ₁ of the third hole H13 to the center position between the fourth hole H14 in the sheet conveying direction of the sheet S.

Control unit 80, even after perforation of the fourth hole H14, in parallel with the drilling process by the second punching device 2 described above, it controls the driving motor 55 of the _first perforating apparatus 1 continuously number to the sheet S Continue drilling with a minimum hole pitch. By continuously thus the drilling operation by the punching operation and the second punch member 31 ₂ by the first punch member 31 ₁ in parallel, the sheet S, the first punch member 31 ₁ of the punch holes and the second punch and punch holes in the member 31 ₂ is continuously alternately, is formed in a narrow regular pitch of Dmin / 2.

  FIG. 17 schematically shows a process of punching 30 binding holes in the sheet S at a predetermined equal pitch in accordance with the processing processes of FIGS. In the drawing, the sheet S is shifted in the right direction in the drawing so that it can be compared with the movement in the sheet conveying direction A so that the sheet side sides where the binding holes are formed are shown in parallel.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the sheet S is preceded by the first punching device 1, and a total of fifteen binding holes Hb1 are continuously punched at an equal pitch D1 from the sheet leading end side. The second punching device 2 has a total of fifteen binding holes Hb2 from the front end side of the sheet after the first punching device 1 punches the fourth hole. After the position and the last binding hole Hb1 by the first punching device, drilling is continuously performed at the same equal pitch D1. As a result, 30 binding holes are formed in the sheet S at a sandwiching pitch of D0 = D1 / 2.

  Actually, since each of the punching apparatuses 1 and 2 punches at a predetermined hole pitch D1, the sheet conveyance speed is Vs0 = D1 · T. Therefore, the punching processing speed is doubled compared with the sheet conveying speed Vs1 = D0 · T when a single punching apparatus punches 30 holes at an equal pitch D0, so the productivity is also doubled. To improve.

  FIG. 18 schematically shows a process in which the so-called “north four holes” binding holes are punched in the sheet S at a predetermined hole pitch (d1 = 21 mm, d2 = 70 mm). Similarly to FIG. 17, the sheet S is shifted in the right direction in the drawing so that the sheet side sides where the binding holes are formed can be compared with the movement in the sheet conveyance direction A, and is shown in parallel. .

In the sheet S, the first punching device 1 precedes the first hole Hb11 at a predetermined position. When the first punching device 1 punches the first hole Hb11, when the control unit 80 detects that the first sheet sensor 123 detects the leading edge of the sheet S and the predetermined punching operation start time has elapsed, the drive motor 55 ₁ of the first punching device. It is executed by starting up. The second punching device 2 punches the first hole Hb21 at the position of the first hole pitch d1 downstream from the first hole Hb11 of the first punching device 1 in the sheet conveying direction. When the control unit 80 counts a predetermined number of output pulses of the transport motor encoder from the detection of the leading edge of the sheet S by the second sheet sensor 124, the first hole Hb21 is punched by the second punching device 2. It is performed by activating the drive motor 55 _2.

Next, the first punching device 1 punches the second hole Hb12 at the position of the total distance of the first hole pitch d1 and the second hole pitch d2 upstream from the first hole Hb11 in the sheet conveying direction. The second punching device 2 has a first hole pitch d1 from the second hole Hb12 of the first punching device 1 to the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction, ie, from the first hole Hb21 to the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction. The second hole Hb22 is drilled at the position of the total distance of the second hole pitch d2. In the drilling of the second hole Hb12 and the second hole Hb22, the control unit 80 controls the drive motors 55 ₁ and 55 _{2 of} the first and second punching apparatuses 1 and 2 based on the number of output pulses from the transport motor encoder. It is executed by starting up.

  In any case, the interval between the first hole Hb11, the first hole Hb21 and the second hole Hb12, and the second hole Hb22 is adjusted to the minimum hole pitch of each of the drilling devices 1 and 2, that is, the drilling of each of the drilling devices. By adjusting to the operation time T, the sheet conveying speed can be increased as compared with the case of punching with a single punching device. As a result, it is possible to increase the productivity by increasing the speed of the drilling process for four Scandinavian holes.

  The present invention is similarly applied to a punching system including three or more punching devices as long as the punching devices are provided so that punch holes can be punched on the same straight line in the sheet conveying direction. can do. In this case, the punching by each punching device is performed by the control unit so that the same number of punching holes as the plurality of punching devices are formed by punching devices formed one by one by each punching device. Control the drive motor of each drilling device.

  For example. Assuming that the number of punching devices is m (m: positive integer) and the number of punch holes formed in the sheet is n (n: positive integer, n> m), any m pieces that are continuous along the sheet conveyance direction A punch hole is also comprised from the punch hole which m perforation apparatuses form one each. As a result, if the punching operation time required for a single punching device to punch a single punch hole is T, the punching operation time of punch holes formed at a constant pitch on the sheet is substantially reduced to 1 / m. As a result, the sheet conveying speed is substantially increased by m times. Therefore, the perforation process can be speeded up and productivity can be improved.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated in relation to preferred embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In the technical scope, it can implement by adding various change or deformation | transformation. Needless to say. For example, as long as the punching apparatus includes a punch member that reciprocates in the vertical direction with respect to a horizontally conveyed sheet, various configurations other than the above-described embodiment can be applied. Further, the punching system of the present invention can be applied not only to an image forming apparatus and a subsequent processing apparatus but also to any sheet or paper processing apparatus having a function of punching punched holes in a conveyed sheet.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 Drilling apparatus 2 Frame 3 Mounting unit 4 Supporting part 5,6 Movable mounting member 21 Perforating part 22 Drive part 23 Frame 24 Lower frame 24a Sheet support surface 25 Upper frame 27 Sheet path 31 Punch member 31 Punching blade 41 Cam member 43 cam groove 44 cam pin 51 sensor flag member 55 drive motor 62 encoder 66 position sensor 70 sheet pressing unit 80 control unit 100 punching system 101 frame structure 102 sheet conveying mechanism 103 upper guide plate 104 lower guide plate 105 guide paths 106 and 107 Rollers 108 and 109 Unloading roller 121 Conveyance motors 123 and 124 Sheet sensor

Claims (6)

A plurality of punch members each having a perforating blade at one end in the axial direction and reciprocating in the axial direction to punch holes in a sheet conveyed in a predetermined conveying direction;
A support portion for individually supporting each punch member so that the punch member can move together with the sheet in the predetermined conveying direction by engagement between a peripheral surface of the punch member and a peripheral edge of the punch hole formed by the punch member; With
The punching system, wherein the plurality of punch members are disposed so that the punch holes can be punched on the same straight line along the predetermined conveying direction. A plurality of drive motors for reciprocating each punch member in the axial direction;
A controller that individually controls the plurality of drive motors;
The control unit controls each of the drive motors so that the same number of the punch holes as the plurality of punch members continuous along a predetermined conveyance direction are formed by the punch members. The drilling system described.   The sensor further comprises a sensor for detecting the leading edge of the sheet being conveyed at a sheet punching position by the punch member located on the most upstream side in the predetermined conveying direction, and the control unit starts from detection of the sheet leading edge by the sensor. The drilling system according to claim 1, wherein the drive of each of the drive motors is controlled.   A sheet conveyance unit including a conveyance roller pair that sandwiches the sheet from above and below to convey the sheet in the predetermined conveyance direction; and a conveyance motor that drives the conveyance roller pair, and the control unit includes the sensor The punching system according to claim 3, wherein the driving of each of the driving motors is controlled based on the rotation amount of the conveying motor, starting from the detection of the leading edge of the sheet.   A sheet processing apparatus comprising the punching system according to claim 1.   An image forming apparatus comprising the punching system according to claim 1 or the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 5.

Images