JP2018188238A - Post-processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a prost-processing device capable of preventing interference between a width adjusting cursor and a hitting member.SOLUTION: A post-processing device includes a processing tray 32 for receiving a sheet to be post-processed, a hitting unit 5 having a hitting member 50 for hitting the sheet, and a pair of width adjusting cursors 33 for aligning the side end surface in the width direction of the sheet. A control unit that controls driving sources of the hitting member 50 and the width adjusting cursors 33 causes, if the paper size is less than a predetermined specific size, the hitting member 50 to perform a sheet hitting operation and then executes a first control for causing the width adjusting cursors 33 to perform a sheet width adjustment operation. On the other hand, if the paper size is not less than the predetermined specific size, the control unit executes a second control for causing the sheet hitting operation and the sheet width adjustment operation to operate concurrently.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to a post-processing apparatus that performs predetermined post-processing on a sheet on which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art A post-processing device is known that performs post-processing such as stapling on paper before discharging the paper after image formation onto a stacking tray. The post-processing device includes a processing tray for receiving paper, and performs a predetermined post-processing in a state where a plurality of sheets to be post-processed are arranged at predetermined positions on the processing tray. Before this post-processing, the sheet hitting operation is performed by hitting the sheet with a hitting member arranged on the processing tray in order to place the sheet in the processing tray, and the pair of width alignment cursors provided on the processing tray A sheet width adjusting operation for adjusting the width of the side end surfaces in the width direction of the sheet is performed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-225371 A

  The hitting member also functions to correct the paper curl by pressing the paper toward the processing tray. For example, a paper on which an image is formed by an ink jet method has a large paper curl after the image is formed. Therefore, it is desirable to increase the size of the hitting member. However, when the size of the hitting member is increased, interference between the width alignment cursor and the hitting member may occur.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a post-processing apparatus that can prevent interference between a width alignment cursor and a hitting member.

  A post-processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is disposed below a transport path for transporting paper in a predetermined transport direction, and receives a processing tray that receives paper to be post-processed, and a paper positioned on the processing tray. A tapping unit including a tapping member that taps in a direction toward the processing tray, a pair of width alignment cursors for adjusting the width of the side end surfaces in the width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the paper on the processing tray, A post-processing unit that performs predetermined post-processing on a sheet placed at a predetermined position, a first drive source that drives the hitting member, a second drive source that drives the width alignment cursor, and the first drive And a controller that controls the operation of the second drive source, and the controller controls the first drive source when the size of the paper in the width direction is less than a predetermined size. Make it work After executing the sheet hitting by the hitting member, the first control is performed to operate the second drive source to execute the sheet width alignment by the width alignment cursor, and the size of the sheet in the width direction is the specified size. When this is the case, the second control is performed in which the first driving source and the second driving source are simultaneously operated to simultaneously execute the sheet hitting and the sheet width adjustment.

  According to this post-processing apparatus, the execution mode of the paper hitting and the paper width adjustment is changed depending on the size of the paper to be post-processed. When the paper is less than the specified size, the range of movement of the width alignment cursor in the width direction becomes large, and a situation in which interference with the hitting member is likely to occur. In this case, the control unit performs the first control, and prevents the interference between the hitting member operation and the width alignment cursor operation by performing the operations at different timings. On the other hand, when the paper is larger than the specified size, the range of movement of the width alignment cursor in the width direction becomes relatively small, and interference with the hitting member hardly occurs. In this case, the control unit performs the second control, and simultaneously performs the operation of the hitting member and the operation of the width alignment cursor, thereby improving the post-processing productivity.

  In the post-processing apparatus, the hitting unit includes a shaft member arranged to extend in the width direction above the processing tray, and the hitting member attached to one end side and the other end side of the shaft member. The one movement range of the pair of width alignment cursors overlaps the operable range of the hitting member on the one end side, and the other operation range of the pair of width alignment cursors and the hitting member on the other end side It is desirable that the operable range overlap.

  According to this post-processing apparatus, since the operable ranges of the cursors on the one end side and the other end side and the pair of width alignment cursors overlap, interference between the two can occur. However, the interference can be prevented by executing the first and second controls.

  In the post-processing apparatus, the striking member can be changed in posture between a striking posture that rotates around the axis of the shaft member and approaches the processing tray, and a retracting posture that separates from the processing tray. The pair of width alignment cursors are movable in a direction toward and away from each other in the width direction, and in the first control, the control unit moves the tapping member for the sheet tapping in the first control. It is desirable that after the strike position is taken and then the attitude is changed to the retracted position, the paper width adjustment is executed by the pair of width adjustment cursors.

  According to the post-processing device, in the first control, the hitting member is in the retracted position when the pair of width alignment cursors are operated. Therefore, the interference between the two can be reliably prevented.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the post-processing apparatus which can prevent interference with a width alignment cursor and a hitting member can be provided.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an image forming apparatus including a post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a main part of the post-processing apparatus. FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the sheet aligning unit provided in the post-processing apparatus. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sheet aligning unit, and shows a state where the hitting unit is in a retracted posture. FIG. 5 is a sectional side view of the sheet aligning unit, showing the state where the hitting unit is in the retracted posture. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the sheet aligning unit, and shows a state where the tapping unit is in a tapping posture. FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of the paper aligning unit, and shows a state where the tapping unit is in a tapping posture. FIG. 8 is a side view for explaining the operation of pulling the paper into the processing tray. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the alignment operation when the post-processed paper is a small-size paper. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining the alignment operation when the post-processed paper is a large-size paper. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the post-processing apparatus. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the post-processing apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows an image forming apparatus 1 including a post-processing apparatus 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a main body housing 11 that houses an apparatus main body portion that forms an image on a sheet, and a post-processing housing 12 that houses a post-processing apparatus 2 that performs predetermined post-processing on the sheet after image formation. I have.

  In the main body housing 11, for example, various devices for performing image formation by an electrophotographic method or various devices for performing image formation by an ink jet method are arranged. In the former case, an image forming unit including a photosensitive drum, a charger, a developing device, an exposure device and the like, a fixing device, a toner container, and the like are arranged in the main body housing 11. In the latter case, a recording unit including an inkjet head, a drying unit, an ink tank, and the like are disposed in the main body housing 11.

[Overall configuration of post-processing equipment]
The post-processing device 2 accommodated in the post-processing housing 12 performs a predetermined post-processing on the sheet or the sheet bundle that has been subjected to the image forming process in the main body housing 11. The post-processing includes, for example, a punching process for punching a binding hole in a sheet, a stapling process for placing staples on a sheet bundle, an intermediate folding process for folding a sheet, a width adjusting operation for adjusting the width of a side of a sheet bundle, and a predetermined number of sheets. For example, alignment processing for performing a shift operation for shifting the paper discharge position in units. FIG. 1 shows a portion of a post-processing unit 3 that includes an alignment unit 30 that performs the alignment process and a stapler 31 (post-processing unit) that performs the stapling process. The description of the folding device that performs the folding process is omitted.

  The post-processing device 2 includes a paper transport path C (transport path) for transporting paper fed from the main body housing 11 to the post-processing housing 12 via the post-processing unit 3 (predetermined transport direction), and post-processing. And a stacking tray 24 serving as a final discharge place of the subsequent sheet or the sheet that has been post-processed. In the paper conveyance path C, a carry-in roller pair 21, a first discharge roller pair 22, and a second discharge roller pair 23 are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the paper conveyance direction.

  The carry-in roller pair 21 is a paper conveyance roller pair that is disposed in the vicinity of the wall surface facing the main body housing 11 in the post-processing housing 12 and draws the paper after image formation into the post-processing housing 12. The first discharge roller pair 22 is a paper transport roller pair that is disposed on the upstream side of the post-processing unit 3 and feeds the paper to the post-processing unit 3. The second discharge roller pair 23 is disposed on the downstream side of the post-processing unit 3, that is, in the paper transport path C, and is a paper transport roller pair that discharges paper to the stacking tray 24. The stacking tray 24 is a tray that is movable in the vertical direction, and stacks sheets that are transported along the sheet transport path C.

  The configuration of the post-processing unit 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 is a side sectional view of the post-processing unit 3, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sheet aligning unit 30, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sheet aligning unit 30. The first discharge roller pair 22 includes a driving roller 222 to which a driving force is applied from the transport driving motor 26 (FIG. 11) and a driven roller 221 that is driven to rotate as the driving roller 222 rotates. The driving roller 222 and the driven roller 221 are in contact with each other with a predetermined nip pressure to form a first nip portion 22N that nips and conveys the paper.

  The second discharge roller pair 23 includes a driving roller 231 to which a driving force is applied from the transport driving motor 26 (FIG. 11), and a driven roller 232 that is driven to rotate as the driving roller 231 rotates. The driving roller 231 and the driven roller 232 are in contact with each other with a predetermined nip pressure to form a second nip portion 23N that nips and conveys the sheet. The second nip portion 23N is released at the time of sheet alignment processing. In order to execute this release, the post-processing device 2 includes a nip release mechanism 25. The nip release mechanism 25 includes an arm that supports the roller shaft of the driven roller 232, a gear mechanism for swinging the arm in the vertical direction, a drive source (nip release drive unit 251 in FIG. 11), and the like. It is possible to lift the 232 to release the second nip portion 23N. FIG. 2 shows a state where the second nip portion 23N is released.

  The sheet aligning unit 30 includes a processing tray 32, a pair of width alignment cursors 33 and a receiving plate 34 assembled to the processing tray 32, and a paddle unit 4 and a hitting unit 5 disposed above the processing tray 32. . The paper alignment unit 30 is provided with a paper sensor 35 and a pull-in detection sensor 36.

  The processing tray 32 is a tray that is disposed upstream of the stacking tray 24 in the sheet conveyance direction and receives sheets to be post-processed. The processing tray 32 is the highest at the downstream end 321 side in the sheet conveyance direction, and is inclined so as to gradually descend toward the upstream end 322 side. The downstream end 321 of the processing tray 32 is positioned in the vicinity of the second discharge roller pair 23, and the upstream end 322 is positioned below the first discharge roller pair 22. As a result, the processing tray 32 is positioned below the sheet conveyance path connecting the first and second nip portions 22N and 23N. The paper once stored in the processing tray 32 and subjected to post-processing is discharged to the stacking tray 24 by the second discharge roller pair 23 in which the second nip portion 23N is restored.

  The width alignment cursors 33 are provided as a pair on one end side and the other end side in the width direction of the sheet received in the processing tray 32 (direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction) (FIGS. 3 and 4). The sheet abuts against the side end face to correct the skew of the sheet, adjust the width of the sheet bundle, and perform the alignment operation. The pair of width alignment cursors 33 move along the guide portions provided on the processing tray 32 in synchronization with each other in the width direction and in the direction away from each other.

  The receiving plate 34 is a U-shaped member attached to the upstream end 322 of the processing tray 32, in other words, attached to the lowest position of the inclined processing tray 32. The U-shaped opening of the receiving plate 34 is directed toward the downstream end 321 and receives the upstream end (rear end) in the conveyance direction of the sheet falling along the slope of the processing tray 32. The state in which the rear end abuts on the receiving plate 34 and the side edges are supported by the pair of width alignment cursors 33 is a state in which the staple processing (predetermined post-processing) is performed on the processing tray 32 by the stapler 31. It is in a state of being arranged at a predetermined position.

  The paper sensor 35 is a sensor that optically detects paper, and is disposed immediately upstream of the first discharge roller pair 22. The paper sensor 35 detects that the paper transported through the paper transport path C has passed through the first nip portion 22N, that is, the paper is ready to drop onto the processing tray 32.

  The pull-in detection sensor 36 is a sensor that optically detects paper, and is disposed in the vicinity of the receiving plate 34. The pull-in detection sensor 36 detects that the trailing edge of the sheet received in the processing tray 32 has been pulled to the receiving plate 34, that is, that the sheet has been pulled into a predetermined position when the stapling process is performed.

  The paddle unit 4 is provided for feeding the paper received in the processing tray 32 toward the upstream end 322 and bringing the rear end of the paper into contact with the receiving plate 34. That is, the paddle unit 4 serves to send out the paper conveyed along the paper conveyance path C to the downstream side in the conveyance direction in a direction opposite to the conveyance direction and to draw the paper to a predetermined position on the processing tray 32. The paddle unit 4 includes a rotating shaft 41 and a paddle blade 42 attached to the rotating shaft 41.

  The rotating shaft 41 is a shaft extending linearly in the width direction, and is disposed above the processing tray 32 with a predetermined distance. The rotation shaft 41 is supported so as to be rotatable about the axis, and is rotated by a first drive motor 46. The paddle blade 42 is a sheet-like member, and rotates integrally when the rotation shaft 41 rotates around the axis. At this time, the leading end of the paddle blade 42 is in contact with the sheet on the processing tray 32, and the sheet is pulled toward the upstream end 322 by the rotation of the rotation shaft 41. As shown in FIG. 3, two paddle blades 42 are attached in the vicinity of the center of the rotating shaft 41 in the axial direction so as to be separated from each other.

  The hitting unit 5 hits the vicinity of the rear end of the sheet that has passed through the first nip portion 22N, and forcibly drops the sheet onto the processing tray 32. The tapping unit 5 includes a tapping member 50 that tapping a sheet located on the processing tray 32 in a direction toward the processing tray 32. This tapping operation is performed at the timing when the rear end of the sheet in the conveyance direction has passed through the first nip portion 22N. In addition, after the paper has dropped onto the processing tray 32, the tapping member 50 presses the paper on the processing tray 32 and corrects the curl of the paper. The configuration of the hitting unit 5 will be further described later.

  The stapler 31 performs a stapling process for placing staples on a sheet bundle composed of a plurality of sheets. The stapling process here is a process for so-called end binding, in which staples are placed at corners or ends of a sheet bundle. The stapler 31 performs the stapling process on the sheet placed on the processing tray 32 until the trailing edge of the sheet comes into contact with the receiving plate 34, that is, on the sheet placed at a predetermined position on the processing tray 32.

[Details of hitting unit]
FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the sheet aligning unit 30 shown in FIG. The hitting unit 5 includes the hitting member 50 described above and a swing shaft 52 (shaft member) to which the hitting member 50 is attached. The hitting member 50 is generally a flat plate member that is rectangular in a top view. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. An example is shown in which hitting members 50 are arranged so as to be adjacent to the outside in the axial direction of the unit 4. The striking member 50 has a large size from the shaft end of the rotating shaft 41 to the position where the paddle unit 4 is disposed in the width direction. A proximal end portion 51, which is near the downstream end of the hitting member 50, is disposed in the vicinity of the second discharge roller pair 23.

  The swing shaft 52 is disposed at a position downstream of the rotation shaft 41 in the sheet conveyance direction, and is disposed so as to extend in the width direction above the processing tray 32, similarly to the rotation shaft 41. In the base end portion 51, the hitting member 50 is attached to the swing shaft 52. That is, the two hitting members 50 are attached to the one end side and the other end side of the swing shaft 52 in a cantilever state. As a result, the hitting member 50 can swing around the swing shaft 52 (can swing up and down).

  This swinging operation is realized by an eccentric cam 45 attached to the rotating shaft 41. The back surface of the hitting member 50 is in contact with the circumferential surface of the eccentric cam 45 with an urging force. When the eccentric cam 45 is rotated by the rotation of the rotating shaft 41, the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion of the eccentric cam 45 are in contact with the hitting member 50 alternately. Therefore, when the eccentric cam 45 rotates once, the upstream end side of the hitting member 50 swings up and down around the swing shaft 52.

  By rotating around the swing shaft 52, the hitting member 50 can be changed in posture between a hitting posture approaching the processing tray 32 and a retracting posture separating from the processing tray. 4 and 5 show the hitting member 50 in the retracted position. In this retracted posture, the small diameter portion of the eccentric cam 45 is in contact with the back surface of the tapping member 50, so that the tapping member 50 rotates upward around the axis of the swing shaft 52 by the biasing force and The part 53 is in a lifted state. In this case, the hitting member 50 does not hinder the conveyance of the sheet from the first nip portion 22N to the second nip portion 23N (see FIG. 2).

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the sheet aligning unit 30, in which the tapping member 50 is in the tapping posture, and FIG. 7 is a side sectional view thereof. In this striking posture, the large-diameter portion of the eccentric cam 45 contacts the back surface of the striking member 50, so that the striking member 50 is pushed down against the biasing force. Therefore, the hitting member 50 is rotated downward around the axis of the swing shaft 52, and the tip end portion 53 is brought close to the processing tray 32. That is, the hitting member 50 is also tilted so as to be substantially parallel to the tilt of the processing tray 32.

  In this tapping position, the tapping member 50 protrudes from the sheet conveyance path from the first nip portion 22N to the second nip portion 23N. Therefore, if the position of the tapping member 50 is changed from the retracted position to the tapping position at the timing when the rear end of the sheet passes through the first nip portion 22N, the rear end of the sheet is tapped and dropped to the processing tray 32. be able to. Further, in the hitting posture, the processing tray 32 and the hitting member 50 approach each other in a substantially parallel state. Therefore, when the paper dropped onto the processing tray 32 is curled, the curled paper by the hitting member 50 is used. The curl can be corrected by pressing.

[Operation of post-processing unit]
FIG. 8 is a side view for explaining the operation of the post-processing unit 3, particularly the operation of drawing the paper into the processing tray 32. The image-formed paper S is taken into the post-processing housing 12 from the main body housing 11 by the carry-in roller pair 21 and sent out to the paper conveyance path C (see FIG. 1). Further, the sheet S is conveyed toward the stacking tray 24 by the first discharge roller pair 22 and the second discharge roller pair 23. When the paper S is a paper that is not subjected to post-processing, the paper S is discharged to the stacking tray 24 as it is.

  When the sheet S is the first sheet to be post-processed, conveyance of the sheet S toward the stacking tray 24 by the first and second discharge roller pairs 22 and 23 is executed. Then, at the timing when the paper sensor 35 shifts from the paper detection state to the non-detection state, that is, at the timing when the trailing edge SE of the paper S passes through the first nip portion 22N of the first discharge roller pair 22, the second discharge roller. The driving roller 222 of the pair 23 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the hitting unit 5 is operated. By this operation, the paper S is struck and falls to the processing tray 32, and the paper S is further drawn into the processing tray 32 by the second discharge roller pair 23. When the trailing edge SE of the sheet S reaches the receiving plate 34, the driven roller 232 is lifted upward by the operation of the nip releasing mechanism 25, and the second nip portion 23N is released.

  In the case where the sheet S is the second and subsequent sheets to be post-processed, the second nip portion 23N is released by the nip releasing mechanism 25. Then, at the timing when the trailing edge SE of the sheet S passes through the first nip portion 22N of the first discharge roller pair 22, the rotating shaft 41 is rotated by the first drive motor 46, and the tapping member 50 is pressed by the eccentric cam 45. The hitting member 50 hits the rear end SE of the paper S from top to bottom. By these operations, as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 8, the sheet S (t1) is dropped onto the processing tray 32 at this time. Note that the trailing edge SE of the sheet S (t1) is in a state of being separated from the position (predetermined position) of the receiving plate 34.

  Subsequently, the pair of width alignment cursors 33 is operated, that is, the cursor 33 is brought into contact with the side end surface of the paper S (t1), and the skew correction of the paper S (t1) is performed. Thereafter, the width alignment cursor 33 is temporarily retracted, while the paddle unit 4 performs the drawing operation of the sheet S (t1). Specifically, the rotating shaft 41 is rotated, and the paddle blade 42 rotates around the axis of the rotating shaft 41 (rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 8), so that the sheet S (t1) is opposite to the sheet conveying direction. To send. At this time, since the rotation shaft 41 rotates, the hitting member 50 also swings due to the action of the eccentric cam 45. Thereby, the curl of the paper S (t1) is corrected. Depending on the size of the paper S, the operation of the width alignment cursor 33 may be omitted during the pull-in operation.

  By this pulling-in operation, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 8, the sheet S (t2) is carried to a position where the rear end SE abuts on the receiving plate 34. This position is a position where the paper S (t2) enters the staple driving unit of the stapler 31. The paddle blade 42 rotates for a predetermined time according to the paper size, or until the trailing edge SE is confirmed to have reached the position of the receiving plate 34 by the pull-in detection sensor 36.

  During the paper pulling operation and the paper tapping operation, the width adjusting operation (alignment operation) of the paper S (t1) to the paper S (t2) by the pair of width adjusting cursors 33 is executed at the same time, or the paper width adjusting is performed after the paper is retracted. Whether to execute the operation is determined by the size of the paper S in the width direction. That is, when the width alignment cursor 33 and the hitting member 50 do not interfere with each other, they are operated simultaneously, and when they interfere, the operation of the hitting member 50 is preceded. This will be described in detail later.

  The same operation is performed for the second and subsequent sheets. For example, if the setting for performing the stapling process is performed on ten sheets, the above-described hitting operation is sequentially performed on the second to tenth sheets S in the same manner as the first sheet S. The pulling-in operation and the width adjusting operation are executed. At this time, the second nip portion 23N is maintained in a released state. When the stacking of a predetermined number of sheets is completed, the stapler 31 executes the stapling process on the sheet bundle. Thereafter, the second nip portion 23N is restored, and the drive roller 231 is driven to discharge the stapled sheet bundle to the stacking tray 24.

[Relationship between width alignment cursor and striking member]
As described above, the tapping member 50 not only strikes the sheet S immediately after passing through the first nip portion 22N and drops it to the processing tray 32, but also presses the sheet S toward the processing tray 32 to correct the sheet curl. Also fulfills the function to do. For example, when an image is formed on the paper S by the inkjet method in the main body housing 11, the curl of the paper S after the image formation becomes large. For this reason, it is desirable to correct the curl by increasing the size of the hitting member 50. Also in this embodiment, the large-sized hitting member 50 having an axial length extending from the axially outer side of the paddle unit 4 to the vicinity of the axial end of the rotating shaft 41 is illustrated. However, when the size of the hitting member 50 is increased, interference between the width alignment cursor 33 and the hitting member 50 becomes a problem.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the alignment operation when the post-processed paper is the small-size paper SA. In FIG. 9, a sheet SA having a sheet width of about ３ of the width direction size of the processing tray 32 is shown in a state where the rear end SE is in contact with the receiving plate 34. The two left and right tapping members 50 provided in the tapping unit 5 overlap with the vicinity of the left side and the right side of the paper SA in the vertical direction, respectively, and can take the paper SA by taking a tapping posture.

  The pair of width alignment cursors 33 moves in a direction approaching each other in the paper width direction and a direction separating from each other. When the hitting member 50 is in the retracted position, the cursor 33 is positioned below the hitting member 50 and the two do not interfere with each other. However, when the hitting member 50 is in the hitting posture, when the cursor 33 enters the operation area of the hitting member 50, both interfere with each other. That is, one and the other operation ranges of the pair of width alignment cursors 33 overlap with one and the other operable ranges of the hitting member 50.

  In the case of a small-size sheet SA, the left cursor 33 (one cursor) in FIG. 9 is in contact with the left end surface of the sheet SA, and the right cursor 33 (the other cursor) is in contact with the right end surface of the sheet SA. Move each one. When viewed from above, the left hitting member 50 (one end hitting member) exists on the flow line of the left cursor 33, and the right hitting member 50 (other end) exists on the flow line of the right cursor 33. Side tapping member). For this reason, when the left and right hitting members 50 rotate around the swing shaft 52 and take the hitting posture, they interfere with the left and right cursors 33, respectively. Therefore, when a small-size sheet SA is loaded on the processing tray 32, the sheet hitting operation by the hitting member 50 and the sheet width adjusting operation by the pair of width adjusting cursors 33 cannot be executed simultaneously.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining the alignment operation when the post-processed paper is a large-size paper SB. In FIG. 10, a sheet SB having a sheet width that is slightly smaller than the size in the width direction of the processing tray 32 is shown in a state where the rear end SE is in contact with the receiving plate 34. The two left and right tapping members 50 overlap each other in the vertical direction near the left side and near the right side of the paper SB, respectively, and can take the paper SB by taking a tapping posture. The left and right end surfaces of the sheet SB are positioned outside the side end surfaces 54 on the outer sides in the axial direction of the left and right tapping members 50, respectively.

  Also in this case, the left cursor 33 in FIG. 10 moves so as to contact the left end surface of the sheet SB and the right cursor 33 contacts the right end surface of the sheet SB. However, the hitting member 50 does not exist on the flow line in the case of the large size paper SB. That is, since the side end surface 54 on the outer side in the axial direction of each tapping member 50 is located on the outer side in the axial direction with respect to the left and right end surfaces of the paper SB, it is not necessary to move to the position where the tapping member 50 exists.

  For this reason, even if the left and right tapping members 50 take the tapping posture, the left and right cursors 33 can execute the sheet width adjusting operation without interfering with each other. Therefore, when a large-size sheet SB is mounted on the processing tray 32, the sheet hitting operation by the hitting member 50 and the sheet width adjusting operation by the pair of width adjusting cursors 33 can be executed simultaneously. Thereby, the productivity in the post-processing unit 3 can be improved.

  In view of the above, in the present embodiment, the mode is switched between a mode in which the paper hitting operation and the paper width adjusting operation are simultaneously executed, and a mode in which these operations are sequentially executed in accordance with the size of the paper S to be post-processed. That is, when the size in the width direction of the paper S is less than a predetermined size, a paper size smaller than the size between the side end surfaces 54 of the left and right tapping members 50 in the example of FIGS. (FIG. 9), after the paper hitting operation by the hitting member 50 is executed, the paper width adjusting operation by the width adjusting cursor 33 is executed (first control). On the other hand, when the size in the width direction of the sheet S is equal to or larger than the specified size, that is, when the sheet size is larger than the size between the side end surfaces 54 of the left and right tapping members 50 (FIG. 10), the sheet tapping operation and The sheet width adjusting operation is executed simultaneously (second control).

[Electrical configuration of post-processing equipment]
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the post-processing device 2. In addition to the first drive motor 46 (first drive source), the stapler 31, the paper sensor 35, and the pull-in detection sensor 36 described above, the post-processing device 2 includes a second drive motor 47 (second drive source), a conveyance drive. A motor 26, a nip release driving unit 251 and a control unit 6 are provided. The description of the configuration described above is omitted here.

  The first drive motor 46 is a drive source that drives the paddle unit 4 and the hitting unit 5 (the hitting member 50). The second drive motor 47 is a drive source for driving the pair of width alignment cursors 33 in a direction toward and away from each other. The conveyance drive motor 26 is a drive source that rotationally drives the drive roller 222 of the first discharge roller pair 22 and the drive roller 231 of the second discharge roller pair 23. The nip release drive unit 251 is a drive source for executing the drive operation of the nip release mechanism 25, that is, the release operation and the restoring operation of the second nip portion 23N.

  The control unit 6 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls the operation of each unit of the post-processing device 2 including the first and second drive motors 46 and 47, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores a control program, and a CPU. RAM (Random Access Memory) used as a work area. The control unit 6 functions to include an alignment control unit 61, a conveyance control unit 65, and a nip release control unit 66 when the CPU executes a control program stored in the ROM.

  The alignment control unit 61 controls the operation of each unit of the sheet alignment unit 30 to execute processing such as drawing the sheet S into the processing tray 32 and alignment. The matching control unit 61 functionally includes a pull-in control unit 62, a width matching control unit 63, and a determination unit 64.

  The pull-in control unit 62 controls the rotation of the paddle unit 4 (paddle blade 42) and the swinging operation of the hitting member 50 of the hitting unit 5 by controlling the driving of the first drive motor 46 that drives the rotary shaft 41 to rotate. (Paper tapping operation) is controlled. The width alignment control unit 63 controls the width alignment operation performed on the paper S by the width alignment cursor 33 by controlling the driving of the second drive motor 47 that rotationally drives a pinion gear or the like that moves the width alignment cursor 33.

  The determination unit 64 acquires attribute data including the paper size of the paper S to be post-processed from the main body housing 11 side, and sequentially executes the paper width adjusting operation by the width adjusting cursor 33 following the paper hitting operation by the hitting member 50. It is determined which of the first control to be executed or the second control to execute the paper hitting operation and the paper width adjusting operation simultaneously.

  As described above with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, when the size of the paper S is less than a predetermined size, the hitting member 50 and the width alignment cursor 33 overlap with each other and interfere with each other. The determination unit 64 determines to execute the first control. On the other hand, when the size of the paper S is equal to or larger than the specified size, the hitting member 50 and the width alignment cursor 33 do not overlap with each other and do not interfere with each other, so the determination unit 64 determines to execute the second control. To do. In the first control, the pull-in control unit 62 causes the hitting member 50 to take the hitting posture for the paper hitting operation, and then changes the posture of the hitting member 50 to the retracted posture. 63 causes the pair of width alignment cursors 33 to execute the paper width alignment operation.

  The conveyance control unit 65 controls the driving of the conveyance drive motor 26, thereby controlling the rotation and stopping of the drive rollers 222 and 231 of the first and second discharge roller pairs 22 and 23.

  The nip release control unit 66 controls the driving of the nip release drive unit 251 to release and restore the second nip part 23N at a predetermined timing. For example, when a stapling process is performed on a bundle of sheets made up of a predetermined number of sheets S, the nip release control unit 66 releases the nip by the nip release drive unit 251 after the first sheet S is drawn into the processing tray 32. The mechanism 25 is operated to release the second nip portion 23N. The nip release controller 66 restores the second nip portion 23N when the second and subsequent sheets of paper S are drawn into the processing tray 32 and the stapling process is performed, and then when the sheet bundle is discharged to the stacking tray 24. Let

[Operation flow of post-processing equipment]
Next, an example of staple processing executed by the post-processing device 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 12 mainly describes the sheet hitting operation by the hitting member 50 and the sheet width adjusting operation by the width adjusting cursor 33, and other operations performed by the sheet aligning unit 30 are simplified. Or omitted.

  The control unit 6 determines whether there is a paper discharge instruction for carrying the paper S into the post-processing device 2 (step S1). If there is no discharge instruction (NO in step S1), the control unit 6 stands by. When the paper discharge instruction exists (YES in step S1), the conveyance control unit 65 starts the operation of the conveyance drive motor 26 at a predetermined timing. As a result, the sheet S is received from the main body housing 11 into the post-processing housing 12, and is moved into the sheet conveyance path C by the carry-in roller pair 21 and the first and second discharge roller pairs 22 and 23 that are rotationally driven by the conveyance drive motor 26. The paper S is transported along.

  Next, the control unit 6 confirms whether or not the paper discharge instruction is a paper discharge instruction accompanied by execution of post-processing (staple processing) (step S3). When the post-processing is not performed (NO in step S3), the conveyance of the sheet S by the first and second discharge roller pairs 22 and 23 is continued, and the sheet S is discharged to the stacking tray 24 (step S4).

  When there is a post-processing execution instruction (YES in step S3), the determination unit 64 acquires attribute information including the size of the paper S from the main body housing 11 side (step S5). At this time, the operation period of the paddle unit 4, that is, the rotation time of the rotating shaft 41 by the first drive motor 46 is set based on the attribute information.

  Next, the conveyance control unit 65 determines whether the trailing edge SE of the sheet S has passed through the first nip portion 22N of the first discharge roller pair 22 based on the detection result of the sheet sensor 35 (step S6). . When the passage is not detected (NO in step S6), the rotational driving of the first and second discharge roller pairs 22 and 23 is continued. On the other hand, if the passage is detected (YES in step S6), if the sheet S is the first sheet to be post-processed, the conveyance control unit 63 drives the second discharge roller pair 23 to rotate in the reverse direction. At the same time, the paddle control unit 61 drives the paddle drive motor 46 to cause the hitting unit 5 to hit the trailing edge SE of the paper S. The sheet S is drawn into the processing tray 32 by the reverse rotation of the second discharge roller pair 23. Thereafter, the nip release controller 66 releases the second nip portion 23N of the second discharge roller pair 23 (step S7). When the sheet S is the second and subsequent sheets of post-processed sheets, the second nip portion 23N is released from the beginning.

  Subsequently, based on the attribute information of the paper S, the determination unit 64 executes the paper hitting operation by the hitting member 50 and the paper width adjusting operation by the width adjusting cursor 33 in synchronization (the second control described above). It is determined whether to execute asynchronously (the above-described first control) (step S8). When the post-processed paper S is a small-size paper SA as shown in FIG. 9, the hitting member 50 and the width alignment cursor 33 interfere with each other, so that the determination unit 64 determines “asynchronous”.

  In this case, the pull-in control unit 62 starts driving the first drive motor 46 and rotates the rotating shaft 41 of the paddle unit 4 (step S9). As a result, the tapping member 50 strikes the trailing edge SE of the paper S, and the paper S is dropped into the processing tray 32. Further, the sheet S is pulled in by the paddle blade 42 of the paddle unit 4. While the drive of the first drive motor 46 continues, in addition to the pull-in operation of the paper S by the paddle unit 4, the pressing operation (curl correction operation) of the paper S by the tapping unit 5 is performed. Note that after the first paper hitting operation by the hitting member 50, the rotation of the rotary shaft 41 is temporarily stopped, and the skew correction operation of the paper S by the pair of width alignment cursors 33 is executed. The paper retraction operation and the paper hitting operation may be performed in earnest by resuming the rotation.

  Subsequently, at the timing when the trailing edge SE of the sheet S is confirmed to have arrived at the receiving plate 34 by the pull-in detection sensor 36 or at the timing when the rotation time of the rotary shaft 41 set previously has elapsed, the pull-in control unit 62. Stops the first drive motor 46. At the same time, the width adjustment control unit 63 starts to drive the second drive motor 47 to execute the paper width alignment operation by the width alignment cursor 33 on the paper S drawn into the processing tray 32 (step S10). When the predetermined routine for paper width adjustment is completed, the width adjustment control unit 63 stops the second drive motor 47 (step S11).

  On the other hand, when the post-processed paper S is a large-size paper SB as shown in FIG. 10 in step S8, the hitting member 50 and the width alignment cursor 33 do not interfere with each other. Is determined. In this case, the pull-in control unit 62 starts driving the first drive motor 46, and the width matching control unit 63 starts driving the second drive motor 47 (step S12). Then, the first and second drive motors 46 and 47 are stopped at a predetermined timing. The first and second drive motors 46 and 47 do not have to be stopped simultaneously. For example, only the first drive motor 46 may be stopped when the pull-in detection sensor 36 detects the rear end SE. .

  After step S11 or S13, it is confirmed whether or not all the sheets S to be post-processed are accommodated in the processing tray 32, that is, whether or not there is a next sheet S to be drawn into the processing tray 32 next. (Step S14). When the next sheet exists (YES in step S14), the driving roller 222 is driven, and the process returns to step S6 and the same process is repeated.

  When the next sheet does not exist (NO in step S14), the control unit 6 operates the stapler 31 to execute a staple process for placing staples on the bundle of sheets aligned on the processing tray 32 (step S15). After stapling, the nip release controller 66 restores the second nip 23N (step S16). Then, the conveyance control unit 65 drives the drive roller 231 of the second discharge roller pair 23 to discharge the stapled sheet bundle to the stacking tray 24 (step S17).

  As described above, according to the post-processing device 2 of the present embodiment, the execution mode of the paper hitting operation and the paper width adjusting operation is changed according to the size of the paper S to be post-processed. In the case of the small-sized sheet SA, the movement range in the width direction of the width alignment cursor 33 is increased, and interference with the hitting member 50 occurs. In this case, the control unit 6 performs the first control, and executes the sheet hitting operation by the hitting member 50 and the sheet width adjusting operation by the width adjusting cursor 33 at different timings. Therefore, interference between the two can be prevented. On the other hand, in the case of a large-sized sheet SB, the movement range of the width alignment cursor 33 in the width direction becomes relatively small, and interference with the hitting member 50 does not occur. In this case, the control unit 6 performs the second control, and simultaneously executes the sheet hitting operation and the sheet width adjusting operation. Thereby, productivity of post-processing can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Post-processing apparatus 22 1st discharge roller pair 23 2nd discharge roller pair 3 Post-processing unit 30 Paper alignment unit 31 Stapler (post-processing part)
32 processing tray 33 width alignment cursor 34 backing plate 4 paddle unit 46 first drive motor (first drive source)
47 Second drive motor (second drive source)
5 Strike unit 50 Strike member 52 Swing shaft (shaft member)
6 Control unit 61 Matching control unit (control unit)
C Paper transport path (transport path)
S Paper SA Small paper (paper smaller than the specified size)
SB large size paper (paper larger than specified size)

Claims (3)

A processing tray disposed below a transport path for transporting paper in a predetermined transport direction and receiving paper to be post-processed;
A tapping unit including a tapping member for tapping a sheet located on the processing tray in a direction toward the processing tray;
On the processing tray, a pair of width alignment cursors for adjusting the width of the side end surface in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the paper;
A post-processing unit that performs a predetermined post-processing on a sheet placed at a predetermined position on the processing tray;
A first drive source for driving the hitting member;
A second drive source for driving the width alignment cursor;
A controller that controls operations of the first drive source and the second drive source,
The controller is
When the size of the sheet in the width direction is less than a predetermined size, the first drive source is operated to perform sheet hitting by the hitting member, and then the second drive source is operated. Performing a first control to execute paper width alignment by the width alignment cursor;
When the size of the sheet in the width direction is equal to or larger than the specified size, the second control is performed such that the first driving source and the second driving source are simultaneously operated to simultaneously perform the sheet hitting and the sheet width adjustment. Perform post-processing equipment. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The hitting unit includes a shaft member arranged to extend in the width direction above the processing tray, and the hitting member attached to one end side and the other end side of the shaft member,
One operating range of the pair of width alignment cursors overlaps the operable range of the hitting member on the one end side,
A post-processing device in which the other operation range of the pair of width alignment cursors overlaps with the operable range of the hitting member on the other end side. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The striking member can be changed in posture between a striking posture of rotating around the axis of the shaft member and approaching the processing tray and a retracting posture of separating from the processing tray,
The pair of width alignment cursors are movable in a direction toward and away from each other in the width direction,
In the first control, the control unit causes the hitting member to take the hitting posture for hitting the paper, and then changes the posture to the retracted posture, and then sets the paper width to the pair of width alignment cursors. A post-processing device that performs matching.

Images