JP2018167976A - Sheet processing device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image forming system capable of reducing downtime of a device without restricting a punching function.SOLUTION: An image forming device comprises a stacker that includes a shift unit for adjusting a processing position of a transported sheet in a width direction orthogonal to a transportation direction of the sheet. When a punch position cannot be adjusted by a finisher, a positional relation between the punch position and the position of the sheet in the width direction is adjusted by shifting the sheet in the width direction by the shift unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

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

  Accepts a sheet carried out from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile, and performs processing such as punching processing (punching processing), stapling processing (needle binding), folding, bookbinding, sorting, alignment, and stacking. Sheet processing apparatuses have been put into practical use. Also, in some models of image forming apparatuses, such a sheet processing apparatus is built in or connected as a purchase option (so-called option).

  The sheet processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-228561 is disposed at the subsequent stage of the image forming apparatus, and is provided with a punch unit (perforating means) in the sheet conveyance path received from the image forming apparatus. This sheet processing apparatus is provided with a processing tray for performing stapling processing (needle binding). The sheets punched by the punching means are continuously discharged and stacked on the discharge tray, or the sheets punched by the punch unit are stacked. Staple processing is also possible. The punch unit performs centering of the sheet and the punching position by moving a pair of punching members (punch) with respect to the conveyed sheet in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction using the detection result of the lateral registration sensor. Yes. Thus, punching can be performed at the center position of the sheet without performing alignment processing for each sheet. The lateral registration sensor is a sensor for detecting the position or displacement of the sheet in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-194557

  However, in the prior art, the problem is that the processing position cannot be adjusted when an abnormality occurs in the means for adjusting the processing position such as the means for moving the post-processing means such as perforation in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction. was there. In such a case, the use of a post-processing function such as a punch is uniformly restricted, and the system capability is reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems existing in the prior art, and is capable of effectively adjusting the processing position even when an abnormality occurs in the adjustment of the processing position of the post-processing means. An object is to provide an apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example and has the following configuration.

Processing means for performing processing by adjusting the processing position to a predetermined position for the conveyed sheet;
An adjustment unit configured to adjust the position of the sheet upstream of the processing unit in the conveyance direction of the sheet when the processing unit cannot adjust the processing position to the predetermined position. Processing equipment.

  According to the present invention, even when an abnormality occurs in the adjustment of the processing position of the post-processing means, there is an effect that the processing position can be adjusted effectively.

1 is a front view of an image forming apparatus to which a sheet processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment is connected. It is the expanded sectional view which looked at the stacker from the front. It is a block diagram of the control system of a stacker. It is a top view of the shift unit of a stacker. It is the expanded sectional view which looked at the finisher from the front. It is a block diagram of a control system of the finisher. It is a top view of the punch unit of the finisher. 2 is a block diagram of a control system of the image forming system. FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the paper information generation process of this Embodiment. It is a figure explaining punch position shift amount acquisition of this Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement which correct | amends the punch position shift of this Embodiment with an upstream apparatus. It is an illustration figure of the screen containing the content notified to the user of this Embodiment.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a front view of an image forming apparatus to which a sheet processing apparatus according to this embodiment is connected. The image forming system E of the present embodiment includes, for example, an image forming apparatus main body A that is an image forming unit, and a stacker B and a finisher C that are sheet processing apparatuses. However, the sheet processing apparatus may be of any type and the number connected is not limited. The image forming unit of the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus main body A of the present embodiment, and may be implemented by a facsimile, a printer, various printing machines, or the like. Further, the sheet processing apparatus of the present embodiment may be connected to a printing apparatus other than the image forming apparatus main body A shown in FIG. Further, the image forming apparatus main body A may be incorporated in an inseparable manner.

<Image forming apparatus body>
The image forming apparatus main body A optically reads a document automatically fed from an automatic document feeder 1 provided on the upper portion by an optical unit 2, converts a read signal into a digital signal, and forms an image signal or image data as an image. The image is transmitted to the section 3 and the original image is copied on a sheet P such as plain paper or overhead projector (OHP) paper.

  In the lower part of the image forming apparatus main body A, a plurality of cassettes 4 storing sheets P of various sizes are provided. The sheet P in the cassette 4 is fed into the image forming unit 3 by the feeding roller 5. At this time, a latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 3b of the image forming unit 3 by irradiating a laser beam modulated based on image information read by the optical unit 2 from the light irradiation unit 3a.

  The latent image on the photosensitive drum 3 b is developed with toner, becomes a toner image, and is transferred to the sheet P sent to the image forming unit 3. Thereafter, the sheet P is conveyed to the fixing unit 6 and heat and pressure are applied to fix the toner image.

  In the case of single-sided printing in which an image is formed on only one side of the sheet P, the sheet P that has passed through the fixing unit 6 is immediately sent from the image forming apparatus main body A to the stacker B. However, in the case of double-sided printing in which images are formed on both sides of the sheet P, the sheet P on which an image is formed on one side by the above processing operation is switched back and returned to the retransmission path 7, and again, the image forming unit 3 and an image is also formed on the other surface. The sheet P on which images are formed on both sides is finally sent from the image forming apparatus main body A to the stacker B. The sheet P can be supplied not only from the cassette 4 but also from the multi-tray 8.

<Stacker>
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the stacker B as viewed from the front. The stacker B is controlled by a stacker control unit 703 (see FIG. 3), and the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus main body A on the upstream side is carried into the stacker B by the entrance roller pair 401, and the transport roller pair 402 (402a). ˜402d) to the top tray switching flapper 403.

  A lateral registration detection sensor unit 710 is disposed on the downstream side of the inlet roller pair 401. The lateral registration detection sensor unit 710 can be moved in the sheet width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction by a lateral registration detection sensor moving motor 714 (see FIG. 3). The lateral registration detection sensor unit 710 moves and detects at least one end in the sheet width direction of the conveyed sheet (that is, at least one side along the conveyance direction). Thus, for example, position detection in the width direction of the sheet can be performed. Hereinafter, the end portion of the sheet in the sheet width direction is simply referred to as an end portion of the sheet. From the detection result of the edge of the sheet, the stacker control unit 703 can detect the lateral shift amount of the sheet. The lateral registration detection sensor unit 710 can be constituted by, for example, an optical sensor or a microswitch that is a pair of a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit. This is merely an example, and the lateral registration detection sensor unit 710 may be any unit as long as it can detect the edge of the sheet, and the configuration thereof is not limited.

  A shift conveyance roller pair 450 and 451 is sequentially arranged downstream of the lateral registration detection sensor unit 710. The shift conveyance roller pairs 450 and 451 are movable in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction by a lateral registration movement motor 713 (see FIG. 3), and constitute a shift unit 470.

  The shift unit 470 corrects the lateral deviation of the sheet based on the lateral deviation amount of the sheet and conveys the sheet while shifting the sheet to a predetermined position in the width direction. The sheet conveyed to the stacker B by the entrance roller pair 401 is detected by the lateral registration detection sensor unit 710, and further, the stacker control unit 703 detects the amount of lateral deviation based on the detected position of the sheet end. Is calculated. After the transported sheet reaches the shift transport roller pair 450, 451, the shift of the shift transport roller pair 450, 451 is shifted based on the calculated lateral shift amount, and the lateral shift correction is performed and the sheet is moved in the width direction. It is conveyed while shifting to a predetermined position. Both the lateral registration detection sensor moving motor 714 and the lateral registration moving motor 713 use pulse motors, and the amount of movement of the drive target can be obtained from the number of pulses. The sheet that has passed through the shift unit 470 is further conveyed by conveyance roller pairs 402a, 402b, 304c, and 402d (collectively referred to as conveyance rollers 402) provided in the conveyance path.

  The stacker control unit 703 determines whether the sheet discharge destination is the top tray 406. If the sheet discharge destination is the top tray 406, the top tray switching flapper 403 is driven by the flapper solenoid 720 (see FIG. 3). . In that case, the sheet is guided to the pair of conveying rollers 404 a and 404 b and discharged and stacked on the top tray 406 by the top tray discharge roller 405. If the discharge destination is not the top tray 406, it is determined whether the sheet discharge destination is a stacker tray 412a, 412b or a downstream sheet processing apparatus. When the discharge destination is the stacker tray 412a or 412b, the sheet conveyed by the conveying roller pair 402 is selectively discharged to the stacker trays 412a and 412b by the conveying roller pair 407 and the stacker tray discharge roller 410 and stacked. Will be.

  When the sheet is conveyed to the downstream sheet processing apparatus other than the stacker trays 412 a and 412 b, the stacker outlet switching flapper 408 is driven by the outlet switching solenoid 721. Then, the sheet conveyed by the conveying roller pair 402 is conveyed by the conveying roller pair 407, guided to the stacker exit roller pair 409, and then conveyed to the downstream sheet processing apparatus.

<Block diagram of stacker control unit>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the stacker control unit 703 of the stacker B and peripheral devices. The CPU 700 includes a ROM 701, a RAM 702, and the like. The ROM 701 is a read-only storage element in which various programs and data for performing sheet processing are written. The RAM 702 is a storage element that can be written to and erased. The RAM 702 holds a program read from the ROM 701, and process data and calculation results generated in the course of sheet processing are written and erased as needed.

  The CPU 700 performs serial communication with the image forming apparatus main body A, and exchanges various signals for operating the image forming apparatus main body A and the stacker B in cooperation with each other and sheet information such as the sheet size. When the user selects a required sheet processing mode in order to use the image forming system E through the operation display device 10 (see FIG. 1) provided in the image forming apparatus main body A, the image forming apparatus main body A is set. Processing information and sheet information are transmitted to the CPU 700 of the stacker B. Further, the CPU 700 performs serial communication with the finisher C, and exchanges various signals for operating the finisher C and the stacker B in cooperation with each other and sheet information such as the sheet size.

  The sheet conveyance control unit 704 drives the inlet conveyance motor 719, the flapper solenoid 720, and the outlet switching solenoid 721 to convey the sheet to each processing unit. A tray control unit 705 controls the stacker tray lifting / lowering motor 715 to sort sheets. The shift control unit 706 controls the lateral registration detection sensor unit 710, the shift conveyance motor 712, the lateral registration movement motor 713, and the lateral registration detection sensor movement motor 714 to perform sheet shift processing. Further, the shift control unit 706 can detect that the lateral registration detection sensor unit 710 is in the standby position (home position) by the lateral registration detection home position (HP) sensor 711.

<Shift unit>
FIG. 4 is a top view of the shift unit 470 of the stacker B as viewed from above. In FIG. 4, the shift unit 470 includes a frame 508, shift conveyance roller pairs 450 and 451, a shift conveyance motor 712, a drive belt 209, a drive belt 213, a lateral registration movement motor 713, and the like.

  The frame 508 of the shift unit 470 is supported by slide bushes 205a, 205b, 205c, and 205d that are movable on slide rails 246 and 247 fixed to the stacker B. As a result, the frame 508 of the shift unit 470 can reciprocate in the direction of arrow J along the slide rails 246 and 247. The arrow J direction is a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction (arrow C direction) and is the sheet width direction.

  A shift conveyance motor 712 and a pair of shift conveyance rollers 450 and 451 are provided on the frame 508 of the shift unit 470. The shift transport motor 712 rotates the shift transport roller pair 450 via the drive belt 209. Further, the shift conveyance roller pair 450 rotates the shift conveyance roller pair 451 via the drive belt 213.

  When a signal for moving the frame 508 of the shift unit 470 is issued from the stacker control unit 703, the lateral registration movement motor 713 rotates and circulates the drive belt 211. The driving belt 211 is connected to the frame 508 of the shift unit 470 by a connecting member 212. For this reason, the frame 508 of the shift unit 470 is moved in the direction of arrow J by the circulating drive belt 211. The movement of the frame 508 of the shift unit 470 in the direction of the arrow J is performed when the shift conveyance roller pair 450 and 451 holds the sheet P. Thus, the shift unit 470 can move the sheet in the width direction of the sheet.

  In this example, the lateral registration detection sensor unit 710 is configured as an optical sensor including a pair of LEDs and a phototransistor, and a plurality of detections for functioning as a side end detection unit that detects a side end. The elements, in this example, three lateral registration detection sensors 710a, 710b, and 710c are arranged along the sheet width direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction. The lateral registration detection sensor unit 710 is moved in the direction of arrow E and the opposite direction by the driving force of the lateral registration detection sensor moving motor 714. The direction of arrow E is the same as the direction of arrow J. The lateral registration detection sensor unit 710 detects a sheet end (side end) in the sheet width direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction by moving in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction. The lateral registration detection sensor unit 710 has a flag in the front direction in the sheet width direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction in the stacker B, and the flag is detected by the lateral registration detection HP sensor 711. If the lateral registration sensor unit 710 is moved in the sheet width direction and at least one of the three lateral registration detection sensors 710a, 710b, and 710c is switched from a state where no sheet is detected to a state where it is detected (or vice versa). It can be determined that the position of the sensor where the detection signal is switched in this way corresponds to the position where the side edge of the sheet is positioned. Alternatively, it can be determined that there is a sheet-side end portion between two sensors indicating two different detection states (sheet detection and non-detection).

<Finisher>
FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the finisher C as viewed from the front. The finisher C is controlled by the drive control unit 111, takes a sheet discharged from the stacker B, sorts the aligned sheets, discharges the sheets with a stapler, stapling a plurality of sheets with a stapler, binding a sheet into a booklet, At least one sheet process such as a punching process for punching a sheet is performed. Therefore, the finisher C includes a processing unit 132 that performs sort processing and stapling processing, a folding device 139 that performs bookbinding processing, a punch unit 40 (perforation unit 40) that performs punching processing, and the like.

  The finisher C is provided with an inlet roller pair 137 that guides a sheet discharged from the stacker B and a sheet having punch holes formed by a punch unit 40 described later to the inside of the finisher C. Downstream of the entrance roller pair 137 in the conveyance direction, a guide member 122 is provided for guiding the sheet to the conveyance path PS6 during bookbinding processing and to the conveyance path PS5 during processing other than bookbinding processing.

  The sheet guided to the conveyance path PS5 by the guide member 122 is conveyed to the buffer unit 124 by the inlet roller pair 121 and is conveyed onto the processing tray (intermediate tray) 129 by the intermediate conveyance roller pair 126. At this time, the sheet is once transported downstream by a predetermined amount of forward rotation of the discharge transport roller pair 127 located downstream of the intermediate transport roller pair 126 and then transported upstream by reverse rotation to be aligned in the processing tray 129. The

  A plurality of sheets stacked on the processing tray 129 are discharged from the discharge unit 36 to the discharge tray 128 (128a or 128b) as a sheet bundle when the stapling process is unnecessary. When the stapling process is necessary, the sheet bundle is stapled by the first stapler 166 and discharged from the discharge unit 36 to the discharge tray 128 (128a or 128b).

  The respective discharge trays 128a and 128b are moved up and down by an upper tray motor 109a and a lower tray motor 109b arranged in the discharge tray. The discharge trays 128a and 128b descend as the number of stacked sheets increases, so that the stacked sheets do not block the discharge unit 36 where the sheets are discharged.

  The folding device 139 is a device that performs a bookbinding process, and includes a second stapler 138 arranged in the sheet width direction, a pair of folding rollers 139a for folding a sheet bundle, a protruding member 139b, and the like.

  The sheet guided to the conveyance path PS6 by the guide member 122 is stored in the storage guide 140, and is received and stacked by the positioning member 141 whose tip (lower end) is movable up and down. After the sheets are sequentially stacked on the storage guide 140, the central portion in the sheet conveyance direction is bound by the second stapler 138. Thereafter, the positioning member 141 is lowered to a position where the bound portion of the sheet bundle faces the tip of the protruding member 139b. When the bound portion of the sheet bundle is opposed, the protruding member 139b protrudes the bound portion of the sheet bundle and pushes the sheet bundle into the nip of the folding roller pair 139a. The pair of folding rollers 139a is rotated, bent while conveying the sheet bundle, and discharged to the saddle discharge tray 150. This completes the bookbinding process.

  The punch unit 40 is a unit that performs punching processing on the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus main body A. The perforation position is adjusted by the sensor unit 41 provided integrally on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction.

<Block diagram of finisher>
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the drive control unit 111 of the finisher C and peripheral devices. The CPU 100 includes a ROM 101, a RAM 102, and the like. The ROM 101 is a read-only storage element in which various programs and data for performing sheet processing are written. The RAM 102 is a writable and erasable storage element. The RAM 102 stores a program read from the ROM 101, and process data and calculation results generated during sheet processing are written and erased as needed.

  The CPU 100 performs serial communication with the image forming apparatus main body A, and exchanges various signals for operating the image forming apparatus main body A and the finisher C in cooperation and sheet information such as the sheet size. When the user selects a required sheet processing mode in order to use the image forming system E through the operation display device 10 provided in the image forming apparatus main body A, the image forming apparatus main body A displays the set processing information and sheet information. Is transmitted to the CPU 100 of the finisher C. Further, the CPU 100 performs serial communication with the stacker B, and exchanges various signals for operating the stacker B and the finisher C in cooperation with each other and sheet information such as the sheet size.

  The sheet transport unit 15 drives the transport motor 112 to transport the sheet to each processing unit. The tray control unit 11 controls the upper tray motor 109a and the lower tray motor 109b to sort sheets. The staple control unit 12 controls the first stapler 166 and the second stapler 138, and performs a binding process on the sheet bundle. The folding control unit 13 controls the folding device 139 to perform bookbinding processing. The punch control unit 14 receives information from the sensor unit 41, detects the position and length of the sheet, drives the lateral registration motor 42, aligns the punch unit 40 in the sheet width direction, and drives the punch motor 40k. By doing so, a punch hole is made in the sheet. Further, the punch control unit 14 can detect that the punch unit 40 is in the standby position (home position) by the lateral register home sensor 43.

<Punch unit>
FIG. 7 is a top view of the punch unit 40 of the finisher C as viewed from above. As shown in FIG. 7, the punch unit 40 is integrally provided with a sensor unit 41. The sensor unit 41 is fixed in the Z direction (sheet width direction) of the punch unit 40, and includes a front and rear end detection sensor 41a that detects optical transmission and light shielding, and a plurality of detections for detecting the positions of the side end portions. The device, in this example, has lateral registration sensors 41b, 41c, 41d, and 41e. In the present embodiment, the lateral registration sensors 41b, 41c, 41d, and 41e have light receiving elements arranged at the side end positions of the sheets P of B5, A4, B5R, and A4R, and are perpendicular to the sheet surface (Y direction). ), The sheet P discharged from the image forming apparatus main body A is passed, and the size of the sheet P is detected.

  The leading and trailing edge detection sensor 41a detects the leading edge and trailing edge of the sheet P, and determines the operation timing of the punch unit 40 and the sheet conveyance stop timing (punching position).

  The rack unit 40j provided in the punch unit 40 and the pinion gear 42a attached to the output shaft of the lateral registration motor 42 are engaged, whereby the punch unit 40 can be slid in the Z direction by the rotation of the lateral registration motor 42. . The punching position in the Z direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction (X direction) can be determined by moving the punch unit 40 by a distance corresponding to the sheet size.

  After the punching process is completed, the punch unit 40 is slid upward in FIG. 7 and stopped when the flag 40h attached to the rack portion 40j blocks the lateral registration home sensor 43. If the horizontal registration home sensor 43 continues to detect that the punch unit 40 is at the home position regardless of the operation timing of the punch unit 40, it is determined that the punch horizontal registration detection is abnormal.

<Block diagram of image forming system>
Next, a control configuration of the entire image forming system including a controller that controls the entire image forming system E will be described. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the image forming system of FIG. In FIG. 8, the image forming system E includes a controller CPU circuit unit 900 as a control unit. The controller CPU circuit unit 900 includes a CPU 901, a ROM 902, and a RAM 903. A CPU 901 is a CPU that performs basic control of the entire image forming system E, and is connected to a ROM 902 in which a control program is written and a RAM 903 for processing by a data bus (not shown). The CPU 901 is communicably connected to the control units 911, 921, 922, 904, 931, 941, 111, and 703, and comprehensively controls them by a control program stored in the ROM 902. The control units include a document feeding device control unit 911, a document reading device control unit 921, an image signal control unit 922, an external I / F 904, a printer control unit 931, an operation display device control unit 941, a finisher control unit 111, and A stacker control unit 703 is exemplified. The RAM 903 temporarily stores control data and is used as a work area for arithmetic processing associated with control.

  The stacker control unit 703 is mounted on the stacker B, and performs drive control of the entire stacker B by exchanging information with the controller CPU circuit unit 900. The finisher control unit 111 is mounted on the finisher C, and performs drive control of the entire finisher C by exchanging information with the controller CPU circuit unit 900.

<Paper information generation processing>
Next, the paper information generation process executed after the punch job setting process in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12. FIG. FIG. 9A is a flowchart of the CPU 901 for explaining the paper information generation process executed after the punch job setting process according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9B is a table showing the relationship between each device of the image forming system and the lateral registration shiftable amount.

  The flowchart in FIG. 9A shows the operation of the CPU 901 from when a punch job is set by the user and after the punch job is started until paper information to be notified to the downstream apparatus (stacker B, finisher C) is generated. It is. In this example, the adjustment function of the processing position in the sheet width direction, that is, the punch position, by the punch unit of the finisher C cannot be used at all, or the correction amount is limited, that is, the adjustment function is not normal. That is, the punch position cannot be corrected by adjusting the position of the punch unit.

  When the paper information generation process is started, the CPU 901 generates paper information of a sheet corresponding to the set job (S101). In the paper information, sheet size, punch hole position information, and the like are set. The paper information is generated based on job information including settings related to a print job, for example. For example, in the case of a copy job, the job information includes information such as sheet size and punch designation set by the operation unit. For example, in the case of a print job, it includes information such as sheet size and punch designation set by a computer (not shown). In this example, it is assumed that the paper information includes a punch designation. Next, the CPU 901 adds information indicating no conveyance shift to the paper information in order to notify the downstream apparatus that there is no conveyance shift (S102). The downstream device is, for example, a stacker B or a finisher C that is located downstream of the image forming apparatus main body A. Further, the conveyance shift is a shift in the width direction of the sheet performed by a shift unit 470 provided in the conveyance path, for example. In step S102, the default value of the transport shift amount is set to 0, that is, “no transport shift”. Further, in order to notify the downstream apparatus of punch lateral registration detection permission, information indicating punch lateral registration detection permission is added to the paper information (S103). The punch lateral registration detection is, for example, detection of a deviation amount in which the punch position is displaced in the sheet width direction (direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction). Further, in order to notify the downstream device that punch is present, information indicating the presence of punch is added to the paper information (S104). Next, the sheet information of the sheet is notified to the downstream apparatus (S106), and the sheet is discharged to the downstream apparatus (S107). The stacker B and the finisher C, which are downstream apparatuses, perform a shift operation and a punch operation based on the paper information by the stacker control unit 703 and the finisher control unit 111, respectively. If the job includes printing and post-processing of a plurality of sheets, each sheet is processed according to the paper information. For example, the stacker B shifts the sheet according to the conveyance shift setting, and the finisher C performs punch processing according to the punch setting.

  Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the sheet is the final sheet of the job (S107). As a result of the determination, if the sheet is the last sheet (YES in S107), it is determined whether or not the most downstream apparatus has discharged the sheet (S108). If the most downstream apparatus has not completed discharging the sheet, it waits (NO in S108). When the most downstream apparatus discharges the final sheet (YES in S108), it is determined whether or not a lateral registration detection abnormality has occurred (S109). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S107 that the sheet is not the last sheet, that is, a sheet in the middle of a job (NO in S107), it is determined whether or not a lateral registration detection abnormality has occurred (S109). The CPU 901 determines whether or not a lateral registration detection abnormality has occurred based on a notification from the finisher control unit 111. That is, the lateral registration detection abnormality determined here may be a detection result by the lateral registration sensors 41b to 41e of the finisher C. The punch unit 40 is positioned at a punch position corresponding to the sheet size by lateral registration sensors 41 b to 41 e provided in the sensor unit 41. Therefore, for example, when the sheet is not detected by a sensor that should detect the sheet, or when the sheet is detected by a sensor that should not detect the sheet, the punch position is shifted in the width direction of the sheet. It can be judged. For example, this shift can be detected as a lateral registration detection abnormality.

  Next, when there is no punch lateral registration detection abnormality (NO in S109), it is determined whether or not the job is finished (S110). When the job is finished (YES in S110), the CPU 901 finishes this process. If the job has not ended (NO in S110), the process returns to step S101 to generate paper information for the next sheet.

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S109 is that there is a punch lateral registration detection abnormality (YES in S109), the job is stopped (S111). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the upstream device of the finisher C has a lateral registration shift function (S112). The presence / absence of the lateral registration shift function may be determined based on, for example, the configuration information of the apparatus, or may be determined based on the model of the apparatus. The lateral register shift function upstream of the finisher C is provided by a shift unit 470, for example. If there is no horizontal registration shift function (NO in S112), the CPU 901 notifies the user or the like by displaying an error on the display screen of the operation display device 10 (S126), and the CPU 901 ends this process. FIG. 12A is a diagram showing the error notification display screen displayed in step S126. On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S112 is that there is a lateral registration shift function (YES in S112), the CPU 901 notifies punch position deviation on the display screen of the operation display device 10 (S123). FIG. 12B is a diagram showing a display screen of a notification of punch position deviation. In order to acquire the punch position deviation amount, it includes contents for prompting the user to read the punched sheet discharged from the finisher C by the scanner. When the user presses the start of reading, the CPU 901 instructs the document reading device control unit 921 to read the punched sheet by the scanner, and waits until the reading of the scanner is completed (NO in S114). When reading is completed by the scanner (YES in S114), the punch position deviation amount is calculated (S115). In order to calculate the punch position deviation amount, the CPU 901 acquires an image read by the scanner from the document reading device control unit 921.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the punch position deviation amount acquisition. An image read by an image reading unit such as a scanner is subjected to image processing to distinguish between a sheet and a punch hole. The distance A from the edge of the sheet to the center on the sheet, that is, the sheet center, and the distance B from the edge of the sheet to the punch center are calculated by image processing. The punch center is an intermediate position between the two punch holes. In addition, whether the punch center is shifted to the back side or the near side with respect to the sheet center is also acquired. For this purpose, the front and back of the sheet set in the scanner is discriminated. The front and back of the sheet may be designated on the screen of FIG. 12B and may be assumed to be set as designated. Alternatively, in the case of single-sided printing, if the read image is blank, it may be determined that the sheet is set with the front side facing up. In this case, on the contrary, if the read image is not blank, it can be determined that the sheet is set with the back side up. Further, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the punch hole is made, for example, along the front side in the transport direction. Thus, the sheet conveyance direction can be determined from the distance between the punch hole and the sheet side. The direction and amount of deviation can be determined from the scanned image in consideration of the front and back of the sheet thus determined and the sides close to the punch holes. FIG. 10 illustrates a state in which the punch center is displaced to the back side. The punch position deviation amount is a distance from the sheet center to the punch center, and can be obtained by the following formula (Formula 1).
Punch position deviation amount = | A−B | (Expression 1).

  Next, the CPU 901 determines whether or not the punch position deviation can be corrected by the upstream device (S116). FIG. 9B is a table showing the amount of maximum lateral shift (MAX) between the punch upstream device and the upstream device. For example, if the punch position deviation amount is 20 mm on the far side in FIG. 10, the CPU 901 determines that the punch position deviation can be corrected by the shift unit 470 of the stacker B based on the table of FIG. As a result of the determination in step S116, if the punch position deviation cannot be corrected by the upstream device (NO in S116), the CPU 901 notifies an error on the display screen of the operation display device 10 (S126), and the CPU 901 ends this processing. . On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S116 is that punch position deviation can be corrected by finisher C or its upstream device (YES in S116), CPU 901 notifies an alarm on the display screen of operation display device 10 (S127). FIG. 12C is a diagram showing a display screen for alarm notification. Next, it is determined whether or not the job is to be canceled (S118), and when the user presses the cancel key to cancel the job (YES in S118), the CPU 901 ends this processing.

  On the other hand, if the user does not cancel the job (NO in S118), the paper information of the sheet in which the punch position deviation has occurred is generated (S119). Next, the CPU 901 adds information to the paper information in order to notify the downstream device that there is a conveyance shift (S120). In addition to the paper information, information on the designation of the unit to be shifted, the shift direction, and the shift amount is added for correcting the deviation. In the present embodiment, the punch position deviation direction is set as the shift direction, and the punch position deviation amount is set as the shift amount. Further, for example, a stacker B is set as a unit for correcting the deviation. Next, information is added to the paper information in order to notify the downstream apparatus that punch lateral registration detection is prohibited (S121). This information prohibits the operation of the punch lateral registration detection function. Next, information is added to the paper information in order to notify the downstream device that there is a punch (S122). Next, the sheet information of the sheet is notified to the downstream apparatus (S123), and the sheet is discharged to the downstream apparatus (S124). It is determined whether or not the job has ended (S125), and if the job has ended (YES in S125), the CPU 901 ends this processing. If the job has not ended (NO in S125), the process returns to step S119 to generate paper information for the next sheet.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of correcting the punch position deviation by the upstream device. The sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus main body is shifted by the shift unit 470 of the stacker B by the punch position deviation amount. After that, the punch lateral registration detection function of the finisher shows the operation of punching the punch with the operation prohibited. Accordingly, it is possible to correct a deviation that cannot be corrected by adjusting the punch position.

  According to this embodiment, even if an abnormality has occurred in the lateral registration detection function of the punch, the punch function is limited by changing the sheet position in the width direction by the shift conveyance function of the sheet processing apparatus connected to the upstream side. The downtime of the apparatus can be reduced without any problems.

  Note that a fixed value as shown in FIG. 9B or a currently correctable maximum value may be used as the lateral registration shiftable amount used in step S116 in FIG. . The maximum value that can be corrected currently indicates a room that can be further corrected when the positional deviation in the width direction of the sheet has already been corrected for purposes other than the correction of the punch positional deviation. For example, even if the maximum value is 30 mm with respect to the direction A, the amount that can be corrected is 20 mm with respect to the direction A if the correction has already been performed with 10 mm in the direction A. If the maximum value that can also be shifted in the opposite direction B is 30 mm, if the correction in the direction A is 10 mm, the upper limit of the correction amount in the direction B increases to 40 mm. In this way, a value obtained by subtracting the already corrected deviation amount from the maximum deviation amount that can be corrected in a certain direction becomes the currently correctable deviation amount. By expressing the direction of the shift that can be corrected and the direction of the bonded shift by a sign (positive or negative), it can be shown that a decrease in the room for correction to one side increases the room for correction to the other side. In this case, it is necessary to store the direction and amount of punch position deviation correction that has been performed.

  According to the image forming system of the embodiment described above, even when the function for adjusting the position of the punch unit cannot be used or restricted, it is possible to reduce the downtime of the apparatus without restricting the punch function. There is an effect that becomes possible.

(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which a deviation between the sheet center and the punch center is detected by reading the punched sheet with a scanner. Not limited to this, the position of the sheet center is detected before the sheet is conveyed to the punch unit, and when an abnormality occurs in the punch unit, the sheet is shifted so that the sheet center matches the punch center. Also, the present invention can be applied. For this purpose, for example, in the flow of FIG. 9, steps S113 to S114 are not executed, and the amount of positional deviation is calculated from the position of the punch center detected on the conveyance path in step S115. In this way, it is not necessary to scan the punched sheet again. Thereby, in addition to the effect of the said embodiment, an operation | work is simplified. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent human error such as an error in the placement direction of the sheet to be scanned and a deviation in the placement position, and the correction accuracy can be improved. In such a configuration, the deviation between the punch position and the sheet position can be estimated by detecting one side along the conveyance direction of the conveyed sheet, that is, the side edge position. Since the sheet size can be specified from the job information, the sheet center can be determined from the sheet size and the detected side edge position. Since the position of the punch unit 40 can be determined from the amount of movement, the distance from the position of the sheet side end to the punch center can be specified. As a result, the deviation between the sheet center and the punch center can be specified.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the punching process (punch process) is shown as a post process that requires position correction in the sheet width direction, but the invention described in the embodiment can be applied to other post processes. For example, the present invention can also be applied to stapling processing.

  In the above embodiment, the position in the sheet width direction is adjusted from the shift unit provided in the stacker. On the other hand, the image forming apparatus main body A may also have a lateral registration adjustment function. For this purpose, for example, the sheet bundle before being sent out to the conveyance path is configured to be movable in the sheet width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction together with the sheet bundle. As an example, the position may be adjustable by pressing the sheet bundle in at least one of the sheet width directions. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which provided the shift function in the punch unit, and you may comprise it combining each said embodiment.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the punch unit is moved by driving the lateral registration motor to adjust the punching position. However, the punch unit is fixed, and a shift unit that shifts the sheet to the punching position is provided. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the sheet is shifted by the upstream shift unit when an abnormality occurs in the shift portion.

A image forming apparatus main body, B stacker, C finisher, E image forming apparatus, 10 operation display device, 40 punch unit, 41 sensor unit, 41b to 41e lateral registration sensor, 100 CPU, 470 shift unit, 700 CPU, 710 lateral registration detection Sensor unit, 710a to 710c lateral register detection sensor

Claims (19)

Processing means for performing processing by adjusting the processing position to a predetermined position for the conveyed sheet;
An adjustment unit that adjusts the position of the sheet upstream of the processing unit in the conveyance direction of the sheet when the processing unit cannot adjust the processing position to the predetermined position. Processing equipment. The processing unit includes a processing unit that performs processing on a sheet, and a moving unit that moves the processing unit,
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit is moved by the moving unit to adjust the processing position to the predetermined position. The processing means further comprises position detection means for detecting a position in the width direction of the sheet,
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processing position is adjusted by the moving unit based on a detection result of the position detecting unit.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the position of the sheet is adjusted by the adjustment unit when an abnormality occurs in the position detection unit and the processing position cannot be adjusted.   5. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the processing unit cannot be adjusted because of an abnormality in the moving unit, the position of the sheet is adjusted by the adjusting unit. . The processing means includes sheet moving means for moving the sheet to the processing position,
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of the sheet is adjusted by the sheet moving unit. The processing means further comprises position detection means for detecting a position in the width direction of the sheet,
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the position of the sheet is adjusted by the sheet moving unit based on a detection result of the position detection unit.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the position of the sheet is adjusted by the adjustment unit when an abnormality occurs in the position detection unit and the position of the sheet cannot be adjusted.   9. The sheet processing according to claim 6, wherein the position of the sheet is adjusted by the adjusting unit when an abnormality occurs in the moving unit and the position of the sheet cannot be adjusted. apparatus.   10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment unit adjusts the position of the sheet by a shift unit provided upstream of the processing unit in the sheet conveyance direction. 11. Sheet processing equipment.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the shift unit is capable of adjusting a position of the sheet while conveying the sheet. A displacement detecting means for detecting a displacement between the center of the processing position by the processing means and the center in the sheet conveyance direction;
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment unit adjusts the position of the sheet so as to correct the deviation detected by the deviation detection unit.   The deviation detection unit includes an image reading unit that reads an image on a sheet, reads the image of the sheet processed by the processing unit by the image reading unit, and detects the deviation based on the read image. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 12. A side edge detecting means for detecting a side edge position of the sheet being conveyed;
The side edge detection unit detects a shift in the conveyance direction of the sheet based on the side edge position of the sheet detected by the side edge detection unit and the processing position by the processing unit. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment unit adjusts the position of the sheet by moving the sheet in a width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the sheet.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting unit adjusts the position of the sheet before being conveyed in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the sheet. Determining means for determining whether or not the sheet whose position is adjusted by the adjusting means is adjustable;
In the case where it is determined by the determination means that the sheet is not adjustable, a notification means for performing notification to that effect;
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit includes a punching unit that punches the sheet. Image forming means for forming an image on a sheet;
19. An image forming apparatus comprising: the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, which processes a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming unit.

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