JP2018199245A - Binding unit, sheet processing device, and image forming apparatus having these - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a binding unit which is easy to handle while arranging, in the same frame, a pressure tooth for pressure-bonding sheets, a water reservoir part for adding water, and a refill pump part for refilling water into the water reservoir part.SOLUTION: A binding unit 60 which pressure-bonds and binds sheets after adding water to the sheets to be placed includes: a pair of pressure teeth (a pressure tooth and a receiving tooth 130) for sandwiching and meshing the placed sheets; a water reservoir part for holding water to be added to the sheet on a rear face opposite to one side to which the pressure teeth meshes; a pressurization member (pressurization piston) for adding water in the water reservoir part to a position where the sheets are meshed; and a refill pump part 150 for refilling water into the water reservoir part, where the refill pump part is disposed in the same frame (outer frame 120) adjacent to the pressure teeth and the water reservoir part disposed on a rear face of the pressure teeth.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a binding unit that performs a binding process on a sheet, a sheet processing apparatus, and an image forming apparatus including the binding unit. The present invention relates to a unit or a sheet processing apparatus.

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a laser beam printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine of these, a sheet on which an image is formed is transported and placed on a processing tray, and a binding process is performed on a placed sheet bundle. There is a sheet processing apparatus having a unit.

In such an apparatus, what binds | bonds sheets by crimping | bonding sheets is known, without using a metal needle | hook as a binding member from a viewpoint of labor saving or environmental protection. In this so-called crimping binding, a pressure tooth in which a pair of projections and depressions meshes with each other on an overlapping sheet is applied with weight, and the fibers of the sheet are entangled and bound.

In this crimping binding, sheets can be bound without using a needle. However, when the number of sheets is several, crimping and bonding are possible. Teeth) became difficult to mesh and the fastening force was weakened.

In order to strengthen this fastening force, in Patent Document 1, a sheet bundle is used when pressure bonding is performed with an upper mold (upper pressure teeth) formed with triangular irregularities and a lower mold (lower pressure teeth) meshing therewith. After applying a lump of water to the surface, the pressure bonding is performed (FIG. 1 of the same document 1). This is a sheet made of paper material that is water soaked to loosen the fibers so that the fibers are easily entangled with each other, thereby strengthening the bonding force.

In patent document 2, before the sheet | seat which consists of paper is crimped | bonded together, it adds water so that the fiber of a sheet | seat may be easily entangled. This apparatus supplies moisture along the sheet ridges during conveyance of the sheet, and can supply moisture to each sheet to be conveyed (FIG. 3 of the same document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-228561 performs water pressure bonding on a binding region of a sheet to perform pressure binding, and uses an ink jet head that discharges water from a nozzle hole as a water addition mechanism (FIG. 10 of the same document). In addition, the same document shows that the amount of water added is changed to change the pressure bonding strength.

Further, in Patent Document 4, the water is added in order to prevent the point that the portion that does not perform crimping binding becomes twisted and the finish is deteriorated when moisture is supplied along the sheet ridges as in Patent Document 2. The masking is performed to limit the pressure and the pressure bonding is performed (particularly, FIG. 10 of the same document).

Japanese Patent No. 3481300 Japanese Patent No. 3502204 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-201432 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-13930

  However, the thing of patent document 1 forms a lump of water on the sheet surface by surface tension through one water hole of a pressure tooth from a water tank. It is spaced apart through the tube and is not easy to handle, and it is also difficult to move the pressure teeth along the edge of the sheet.

Further, in Patent Document 2, water is applied to each sheet by a cloth-like belt, and the place to be hydrated and the pressure teeth are provided at different positions, It has the same problem as above. Also, water was applied outside the area to be crimped.

On the other hand, in patent document 3, the inkjet head is utilized in the range for performing crimping binding. Therefore, in these, it is necessary for the ink jet head for applying water to the sheet to move to or retract from the sheet bundle, and the configuration becomes complicated.

In Patent Document 4, masking is performed in order to limit the range of water addition, and water is added by ink jetting, followed by pressure bonding. However, as in Patent Document 3, the ink jet head moves to the sheet bundle or retracts. It is necessary to do. In addition, the masking is not shown to be attached to the pressure teeth.

 In view of this, the present invention provides a binding unit that is easy to handle by arranging a pressure tooth for crimping a sheet, a water reservoir for hydration, and a water replenishment pump for replenishing the water reservoir in the same frame. This is the issue.

In order to solve the above problems, the disclosure herein has the following configuration.
A binding unit that presses and binds to a sheet to be placed, and then binds and binds with the pair of pressure teeth, and a back surface on the side where the one pressure tooth meshes. A water reservoir for holding water to be added to the sheet, a pressure member for adding water in the water reservoir to a position where the sheet is engaged, a water replenishment pump unit for replenishing water to the water reservoir, The water replenishing pump portion is disposed in the same frame adjacent to the pressure tooth and the water reservoir portion disposed on the back surface of the pressure tooth.
In the present invention, the sheet refers to a thin material in which moisture penetrates and fibers are loosened, and water refers to a liquid having the same properties as water.

  Since the pressure tooth and the water reservoir for water addition and the water replenishment pump for replenishing the water reservoir are arranged in the same frame of the same binding unit, it is easy to handle and a compact binding unit can be provided.

1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overall configuration in which an image forming apparatus and a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention are combined. 1 is an overall explanatory diagram of a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Plane explanatory drawing of a processing tray and a binding unit. FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the binding unit, FIG. 4A is a back side, and FIG. 4B is a front side. FIG. 5A is a side view of the binding unit, FIG. 5A is a rear side, and FIG. 5B is a front side. FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a water pressure unit of the binding unit, FIG. 6A is a side view, and FIG. FIGS. 7A and 7B are cross-sectional explanatory views of a hydrostatic pressure unit of the binding unit, in which FIG. 7A is a front view and FIG. FIGS. 8A and 8B are perspective views of a compressed state of a hydrostatic pressure unit of the binding unit, in which FIG. 8A is slightly upward and FIG. FIG. 8A is a front sectional view and FIG. 8B is a side sectional view of a compression unit of a water pressure unit of the binding unit. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing of a water supplement pump unit. The disassembled perspective view of the water supplement piston part of a water supplement pump unit. Expansive explanatory drawing of the water supplement piston part of a water supplement pump unit. The expansion explanatory view of the water discharge state of a water replenishment piston part. FIG. 14A is a state explanatory view from the front side where the binding unit crimps without adding water, FIG. 14A is an initial state of sheet reception, FIG. 14B is a state of pressure contact with the sheet, and FIG. Illustration. FIG. 15A is a state explanatory view from the rear side where the binding unit crimps without adding water, FIG. 15A is an initial state of sheet reception, FIG. 15B is a state of pressure contact with the sheet, and FIG. Illustration. FIG. 16A is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram in which the binding unit crimps without adding water, FIG. 16A is an initial view of receiving a sheet, FIG. 16B is a press-contacting sheet, and FIG. FIG. 17A is a state explanatory view from the front side where the binding unit hydrolyzes and press-bonds, FIG. 17A is an initial state of sheet reception, FIG. 17B is a pressure contact with the sheet, and FIG. Figure. FIG. 18A is a state explanatory view from the rear side where the binding unit hydrolyzes and press-bonds. FIG. 18A shows the initial state of sheet reception, FIG. 18B shows the state of pressure contact with the sheet, and FIG. Figure. FIG. 19A is an explanatory diagram of a cross section where the binding unit is hydrolyzed and pressure-bonded. FIG. 19A is an initial view of receiving a sheet, FIG. 19B is a pressure-contacting sheet, and FIG. FIG. 20 (a) is a plan explanatory view of the pressure tooth, FIG. 20 (b) is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the pressure tooth and the receiver tooth, and FIG. (C) is bottom explanatory drawing of a pressure tooth. It is a figure explaining the meshing state of a pressurization tooth and a receiving tooth, and the inside of a dashed-two dotted line circle is expansion explanatory drawing. Explanatory drawing of the position of the sheet | seat clamped by a pressure tooth support part and a receiving-tooth support part. FIG. 23A is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the positions of the sheets held between the pressure tooth support portion and the receiving tooth support portion, and FIG. FIG. 23 (b) and FIG. 23 (c) are explanatory diagrams showing a problem. FIG. 24A is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the number of sheets placed on the processing tray, the pressure teeth, and water, FIG. 24A is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the pressure teeth and the number of sheets, and FIG. 24B is a diagram for each additional sheet. FIG. FIG. 24B is an explanatory diagram in which water is added to each additional sheet and crimped in the final (added number). FIG. 24C is an explanatory diagram for performing water addition and pressure bonding at the final (added number) of additional sheets. Explanatory drawing of the state which removes a water supplement pump unit from a binding unit. The block diagram of the apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. The figure which added the needle binding unit in the figure (modification 1) which shows the modification of FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a modification of FIG. 20, in which the position of the water supply hole of the pressurization tooth and the shape of the receiving tooth are changed (modification 2). FIG. 28A shows the water supply hole in the peak portion of the pressurization tooth. Arranged figure. FIG. 28B is a diagram in which the receiving holes of the receiving teeth are formed as prisms. FIG. 28 (c) is a view in which the communication holes of the receiving teeth are received at the peak portions. FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram (modified example 3) with an expansion tank that expands the capacity of the replenishing tank in FIG. 10, in which FIG. 29 (a) increases the water capacity and FIG. 29 (b) illustrates the capacity decreased.

[Image forming apparatus]
The image forming apparatus A shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The illustrated image forming apparatus A includes an image forming main body apparatus A1 and a sheet processing apparatus (finisher) B. Among these, the image forming main body device A1 shows an electrostatic printing mechanism, and is composed of a reading device A2 and a document conveying device A3. The apparatus housing 1 of the image forming main body apparatus A1 includes a paper feeding unit 2, an image forming unit 3, a paper discharge unit 4, and a data processing unit 5.

  The sheet feeding unit 2 includes cassette mechanisms 2a to 2c that store sheets of a plurality of sizes for image formation. A sheet having a size specified by the image forming control unit 200 via the sheet feeding control unit 202 is fed to the sheet feeding path 6. To go out. For this reason, a plurality of cassettes 2a to 2c are detachably disposed in the apparatus housing 1, and each cassette has a built-in separation mechanism for separating the internal sheets one by one and a sheet feeding mechanism for feeding out the sheets. The paper feed path 6 is provided with a transport roller 7 for feeding sheets supplied from the plurality of cassettes 2a to 2c to the downstream side, and a registration roller pair 8 for aligning the leading edges of the sheets at the path end. .

  Note that a large-capacity cassette 2d and a manual feed tray 2e are connected to the paper feed path 6 described above, and the large-capacity cassette 2d is composed of an optional unit that stores a large amount of sheets to be consumed. The special sheet such as a cardboard sheet, a coating sheet, and a film sheet, which are difficult to separate and feed, can be supplied.

  The image forming unit 3 shows an electrostatic printing mechanism as an example, and includes a photosensitive member 9 (drum, belt), a light emitter 10 that emits an optical beam to the photosensitive member, a developing device 11 (developer), and a cleaner (not used). Is disposed around the rotating photoreceptor. The illustrated one shows a monochrome printing mechanism, in which a latent image is optically formed on the photosensitive member 9 by a light emitter, and toner ink is attached to the latent image by a developing device 11.

  A sheet is fed from the paper feed path 6 to the image forming unit 3 in accordance with the timing of image formation on the photosensitive member 9, and the image is transferred onto the sheet by the transfer charger 12. ) Fix at 13. A paper discharge roller 15 and a main body paper discharge port 16 are disposed in the paper discharge path 14, and convey the sheet to a sheet processing apparatus B described later.

  The above-described reading device A2 includes a platen 17 on which a document is placed, optical carriages 18 and 19 that reciprocate along the platen, a light source mounted thereon, and reflected light from the document on the platen as a photoelectric conversion member. 20 is composed of a reduction optical system (a combination of a mirror and a lens) guided to 20.

  Further, the reading device A2 is provided with a traveling platen 21 as a second platen on the side of the platen 17 described above. The travel platen 21 reads an image of the sheet document sent from the document conveying device A3 with the optical carriages 18 and 19 and the photoelectric conversion member 20 described above. The photoelectric conversion member 20 electrically transfers the photoelectrically converted image data to the image forming unit 3.

  The document transport device A3 includes a document transport path 23 that guides a sheet document sent from the document feed tray 22 to the travel platen 21, and a document discharge tray 24 that stores a document read on the travel platen 21. Has been.

  By the way, the image forming main unit A1 is not limited to the above-described mechanism, and can employ a printing mechanism such as an offset printing mechanism, an inkjet printing mechanism, and an ink ribbon transfer printing mechanism (thermal transfer ribbon printing, sublimation ribbon printing, etc.).

[Sheet Processing Device]
The sheet processing apparatus B is an apparatus that receives and processes a sheet conveyed from the main body discharge port 16 of the image forming main body apparatus A1 from the entrance 36, and is called a so-called finisher. This sheet processing apparatus B includes (1) printout mode, (2) jog sorting mode, (3) binding processing mode, (4) bookbinding (saddle stitching) processing mode, and (5) manual binding. It has a mode. These modes will be described later.

  The sheet processing apparatus B does not have to include all the processing modes described above, and may be appropriately configured according to the apparatus specifications (design specifications). However, in the sheet processing apparatus B disclosed herein, the sheet processing apparatus B is bound from the front and back of the sheet end. (End face) binding portion B1 is performed, saddle stitching portion B2 that performs binding in the middle of the sheet conveyance direction, and escape portion B3 that performs sorting and the like without performing binding processing. In the present invention, in the case of sheet binding processing or the like, a description will be given assuming that a mounting / stacking configuration in which a sheet is once transported to a reference position and placed in a aligned manner is necessary.

  FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the sheet processing apparatus B. The sheet processing apparatus B includes a sheet entrance 36 connected to the main body discharge port 16 of the image forming apparatus A. From the entrance 36, an entrance sensor 38 for detecting the sheet and a punch unit 40 for punching punch holes at the end of the sheet as necessary are arranged. A punch dust box is detachably attached to the processing apparatus frame 30 below the punch unit 40. Behind the punch unit 40, a carry-in roller 41 and a carry roller 48 for carrying the sheet downstream are provided.

The sheet transported by the carry-in roller 41 is conveyed to the processing tray 58 side through a substantially linear transport path 43, branching upward from the transport path 43, the escape path 33, and the junction 45 of the transport path 43. A saddle stitch path 65 for guiding the switchback sheet passing therethrough is provided. The path switching of whether the sheet fed by the carry-in roller 41 is sent to the escape path 33 or the saddle stitch path 65 is performed by a first gate 42 and a second gate 44 provided in the middle of the transport path 43.

[Escape part]
The sheets conveyed substantially linearly on the conveyance path 43 are once stacked on the processing tray 58 or directly stacked on the stacking tray 34 as a single sheet or a bundle from the discharge port 54. On the other hand, the sheets sent from the conveyance path 43 to the upper escape path 33 are collected on the escape tray 32. When stacking the escape tray 32, although not shown in the drawing, the final discharge roller can be moved for each specified number of sheets when discharging the sheet in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the transport path 43. Thereby, the sorting jog for sorting sheets can be performed, and here, the escape portion B3 is configured.

[Saddle Stitch]
Further, a sheet sensor 39 that detects the trailing edge of the sheet is provided in the conveyance path 43. After being detected by the sheet sensor 39, the conveying roller 48 is reversed to feed the sheet to the branching roller 64. The branching roller 64 feeds the sheet along the saddle stitching path 65 and accumulates the sheet on the stacker portion 72 that is slightly inclined in order to perform saddle stitching. The bundle of sheets accumulated here is positioned in the middle of the sheet conveying direction at the binding position of the saddle stitching unit 66 by the upward movement of the saddle stitching sheet stopper 74.

A bundle of sheets positioned in the middle in the conveyance direction is bound by the saddle stitching unit 66 located in the saddle stitching portion B2. The bundle of bound sheets is slightly folded at the folding position by the folding blade 70 and the folding roller 68 at the folding position. A bundle of sheets folded by the folding roller 68 is discharged from a bundle discharge roller 76 to a bundle stacker 78 and is accumulated as a saddle stitched book. As described above, the escape portion B3 is located on the upper side of the transport path 43, and the saddle stitch portion B3 is located on the lower side.

[End binding (processing tray and its surroundings)]
Next, the end surface binding portion B <b> 2 includes a processing tray and a (hydrocompression bonding) binding unit 60. Here, in order to process the sheet sent from the conveyance path 43 to the conveyance roller 48, a processing tray 58 on which the sheet is temporarily placed is disposed with a step from the conveyance roller 48 outlet. At the exit of the transport roller 48, a dropping guide 46 for positioning the sheet onto the mounting surface of the processing tray 58 at the same time when the sheet is unloaded from the transport roller 48 is located. On the downstream side, a return paddle 51 having a hook-shaped elastic piece for transferring the sheet within the processing tray 58 (switchback) is located.

A paper discharge roller 52 is located on the return paddle 51 on the stacking tray 34 side. The paper discharge roller 52 includes a paper discharge upper roller 52a that rotates and a paper discharge lower roller 52b on the fixed side. The paper discharge roller 52 feeds the sheet fed from the transport roller 48 to the nip, nips the first sheet stored in the processing tray 58 and switches back, or the sheet placed on the processing tray 58. Is sent to the stacking tray 34. Further, the sheet discharge roller 52 disclosed herein is configured such that the sheet discharge upper roller 52a rotates in the same direction as the return paddle 51 so that the sheet can be backed up in the processing tray 58 at the time of switchback conveyance.

As shown in FIG. 3, an alignment plate 59 that moves in the width direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction every time the sheet is carried out from the conveying roller 48 is provided on the processing tray 58 on which the sheet is placed. The aligning plate 59 is moved by the aligning plate motor 59M so as to sandwich the sheet on both sides in the sheet width direction. As a result, the alignment plates 59 are moved in the direction in which the interval is narrowed to align the sheets in the width direction. The processing tray 58 is inclined downward from the paper discharge port 54, and a reference stopper 62 is disposed at the end of the processing tray 58 so as to abut the sheet that is switched back and conveyed by the return paddle 51 described above.

In FIG. 2, a carry-in guide 57 for guiding the sheet to be switched back is provided between the return paddle 51 and the reference stopper 62. The carry-in guide 57 hangs down on the lower shaft of the conveyance roller 48 by its own weight so as to freely rotate and guides the conveyance of the sheet to be conveyed in the switchback. Further, a return belt 61 for further feeding the sheet sent by the return paddle 51 to the reference stopper 62 is disposed. A binding unit 60 is disposed at the end of the sheet stacked as a bundle on the reference stopper 62.

By the way, the binding unit 60 shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 2 employs crimp binding that binds sheets by pressing with pressure teeth without using a metal staple, and further, water is applied to the sheet during crimping. It is possible to perform so-called hydro-compression binding, which is performed by adding water. In the present invention, the sheet refers to a thin material in which moisture penetrates and fibers are loosened, and water refers to a liquid having the same properties as water. The hydrocompression binding will be described in detail in FIG.

The above-described binding unit 60 capable of hydro-compression binding is not particularly illustrated in the sheet width direction (between the front and rear of the apparatus), but is moved by a binding unit moving motor so that the corner position and end of the sheet bundle are moved. A plurality of positions can be bound near the center of the section. In the example of FIG. 3, the rear side corner 60 (R) on the side to be placed with respect to the operator of the sheet processing apparatus B, the two locations 60 (2) along the ridge in the width direction of the sheet, and the apparatus It moves to the front side corner 60 (F) on the operator side.

Further, the binding unit 60 disclosed herein has a manual binding position for binding the sheet bundle inserted from the apparatus frame 30 bundle manual insertion port. This manual binding position is the same position as a position for supplying water to the replenishing tank 174, which will be described later, and a home position position for starting the initial position of the binding unit 60.

When the binding of the sheet bundle in the binding unit 60 is completed, the sheet bundle bound with the reference stopper 62 is pushed out to the middle of the processing tray 58 by the reference stopper 62. Thereafter, during the push-out movement, the sheet discharge upper roller 52a is lowered and the sheet bundle bound together with the sheet discharge lower roller 52b is nipped and discharged from the sheet discharge outlet 54 toward the stacking tray 34.

  A stacking tray 34 for collecting a single sheet or a bundle of bound sheets is provided below the paper discharge port 54. In this stacking tray 34, in order to keep the upper surface height position of the stacked sheets constant, when the sheet upper surface is detected and a certain amount of sheets are stacked, the stacking tray motor 34M is driven, and the stacking tray 34 is stacked. The position of the upper surface of the sheet is always constant from the paper discharge port 54.

[(Hydro-compression) binding unit]
From here, the binding unit 60 which adds water to the binding position of the sheet according to the present invention and then press-bonds will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of the (hydrocompression bonding) binding unit 60. FIG. 4A is a rear side, and FIG. 4B is a front side. FIG. 5 is a side view of the binding unit 60, FIG. 5A is a view from the rear side of the sheet processing apparatus, and FIG. 5B is a view from the front side.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the binding unit 60 includes a hydropressurizing unit 80 having a pressurizing tooth 82 for raising and lowering one of the pressurizing teeth while adding water to the sheet, and a receiving tooth unit having a receiving tooth 130. 126 and a water replenishing pump unit (water replenishing pump unit) 150 for adding water to the seat. One (upper) pressure tooth 82 constituting the pair of pressure teeth is surrounded by an elastic member 92 made of a rubber plate or the like and provided on the pressure tooth support portion 84.

Further, a receiving tooth 130 serving as the other (lower) pressing tooth is supported by a receiving tooth support portion 128 to form a receiving tooth portion 126. A sheet (bundle) placed on the processing tray 58 is sandwiched between the pressure tooth 82 and the receiving tooth 130.

As shown in FIG. 5 (b), a cylindrical cylinder 90 constituting a water reservoir 88 for holding water to be added to the sheet is disposed on the back surface side of the pressure tooth 82, and above that is disposed later. A cylinder guide 108 is positioned on the outer side in the circumferential direction of the pressurizing piston 104 to be described. The pressurizing piston 104 and the cylinder 90 constitute a pressurizing member (hydrating member) of water to be hydrated.

The receiving teeth 130 are supported by the receiving teeth support portion 128 below, and the receiving teeth support portion 128 also supports the lower surface of the sheet. In addition, a drain tray 133 that receives residual water that has been added to the sheet is disposed below the supporter support portion 128.

Further, as can be seen from FIG. 5A, the water replenishment pump unit 150 serving as a water replenishment pump unit for replenishing water to the water reservoir 88 adjacent to the rear side of the pressure teeth 82 and the receiving teeth 130 is bound. It is accommodated in the outer frame 120 of the unit 60. The rehydration pump unit 150 will also be described later, and includes a replenishment piston portion 154 that supplies water to the water reservoir 88, a replenishment head portion 156 that moves the replenishment piston portion 154, and a replenishment tank 174 that stores the water to be replenished. The replenishing tank unit 152 is configured. In FIG. 4A, a pump holding cover 192 that covers the replenishing tank 174 is visible.

  By the way, on the left and right sides of the cylinder 90 constituting the water reservoir 88, there are a pressure tooth support part 84 for supporting the pressure tooth 82 and the elastic member (rubber plate) 92, and a pressure plate 102 for moving the pressure tooth 82 up and down. A compression spring 96 is disposed between them.

[Up and down movement of presser plate]
The above-mentioned presser plate 102 is driven by a drive motor (binding motor 60M) disposed in a space defined by the receiving tooth support portion 128 and the outer frame 120. The drive from the binding motor 60M to the presser plate 102 is configured as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 5A, the rear outer frame 120 has an intermediate gear 138 to a motor output shaft gear 136 provided on the output shaft of the binding motor 60M as a drive motor. Are engaged.

The rotation of the intermediate gear 138 is transmitted to the cam gear 140 that rotates the moving cam 145 and the pinion gear 142 that moves the support rack 144 that moves to a position that does not support the water replenishment tank bottom 175. The pinion gear 142 includes a pinion gear 142a that receives the transmission from the intermediate gear 138 and rotates together with the shaft, and a pinion gear 142b that transmits to the support rack 144 via a one-way clutch 147 between the rotation shaft and the pinion gear 142a. Accordingly, whether or not to move the support rack 144 is selected according to the rotation direction of the drive motor 60, and the water replenishment piston portion 154 is operated only when necessary. This point will be described later.

  The moving cams 145 are disposed on both the front side and the rear side of the outer frame 120. The rotating arm 134 that moves in this way is also attached to both sides so as to rotate by an arm fulcrum 146 attached to the outer frame 120. The rotating arm 134 is maintained in a state in which the arm rear end 143 is always in contact with the moving cam 145 by a return spring 149 stretched between the outer frame 120.

On the other hand, the upper moving pin 110 of the presser plate 102 of the presser plate 102 is inserted into the arm front end slit 148 on the front end side of the rotating arm 134. Therefore, when the moving cam 145 rotates, the turning arm 134 also moves up and down on the tip side thereof, and moves up and down the presser plate 102. Note that the upper moving pin 110 and the lower moving pin 112 are inserted into the guide slit 124 of the outer frame 120 on the front side (pressure tooth 82 side) of the presser plate 102.

The rear guide pins 116 are also inserted into the guide slits 124 of the outer frame 120 on the rear side of the presser plate 102 (the water replenishing pump unit 150 side). Since the upward moving pin 110 is also inserted into the arm tip slit 148 of the rotating arm 134, the presser plate 102 is moved up and down by the rotating arm 134 of the rotating arm 134. Therefore, the presser plate 102 and the rotating arm 134 constitute a moving member.

[Hydro-pressurization part]
The pressing plate 102 moves up and down the hydropressurizing unit 80, which will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the hydrostatic pressure unit 80 of the binding unit, FIG. 6 (a) is a side view, and FIG. 6 (b) is a perspective view from slightly above. Moreover, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the hydropressurizing part, FIG. 7 (a) shows the front, and FIG. 7 (b) shows the side.

The hydropressurizing unit 80 includes a presser plate 102, a pressurizing tooth support 84, and a compression spring 96 interposed therebetween. On the side of the pressure tooth support portion 84 that contacts the sheet, an elastic member 92 made of a pressure tooth 82 and a rubber plate surrounding the pressure tooth 82 is provided. On the back side of the pressure tooth 82 (the pressure tooth back side), a cylindrical cylinder 90 formed integrally with the pressure tooth support portion 84 and a guide bar 94 around which the compression spring 96 is wound are cylinders. 90 on both sides. The leading end of the guide bar 94 is always inserted through the guide hole 114 of the presser plate 102.

As shown in FIG. 7, the cylinder 90 is formed with a water reservoir 88 that holds water that is about ３ in the height direction to be added to the sheet. The cylinder 90 is notched with a replenishment port 98 for receiving water from a replenishment pump unit 150 described later. In the illustrated case, a pressure tooth 82 is also formed integrally, and a water supply hole (water supply pipe) 86 is opened in the pressure tooth 82 so that water in the water reservoir 88 can be added to the sheet.

Above the cylinder 90 is a pressure piston 104 that is inserted into the cylinder 90 to pressurize the water in the water reservoir 88 and pressurize and move from the water supply hole of the pressure tooth 82. Yes. The pressure piston 104 is fixedly attached to the presser plate 102 at its upper end. A piston packing 106 is wound around the circumference of the portion where the pressure piston 104 is inserted into the cylinder 90. Although the piston packing 106 of FIG. 7 is wound around one place, the pressure at the time of hydration may be increased if the number is two or more.

The presser plate 102 is provided with a cylinder guide 108 that moves to the outside of the cylinder 90 so that the insertion of the pressurizing piston 104 and the hydration operation of pressurizing water can be performed smoothly. Further, the holding plate 102 is provided with a guide hole 114, an upper moving pin 110 and a lower moving pin 112 to be inserted into the guide slit 124 of the outer frame 120, and a rear guide pin 116. Of these, the upper moving pin 110 is slightly longer outward than the other pins so that it can be inserted into the arm tip slit 148 of the rotating arm 134 that rotates outside the outer frame 120.

(Hydro-pressurized part in the compressed state)
FIGS. 8 and 9 show a state where the water pressurizing unit 80 configured as described above is compressed by the rotating arm 134. FIG. 8A is a perspective view from above, and FIG. 8B is a perspective view from below. The operation of the rotating arm 134 to be in the compressed state will be described later with reference to FIGS.

In this compression state diagram, the presser plate 102 is in contact with the receiving tooth support portion 128 by the rotating arm 134, the compression spring 96 wound around the guide bar 94 is compressed, and the guide bar 94 is compressed by the presser plate 102. The guide hole 114 protrudes. FIG. 8B is a view of this state as viewed from the tooth support portion 128 side. The periphery of the pressurizing tooth 82 provided with the water supply hole (water supply pipe) 86 is an elastic member 92 made of a rubber plate or the like. Enclosed in First, after the pressure tooth support portion 84 is pressed against the sheet bundle, the water in the water reservoir portion 88 is hydrated by the pressure piston 104. This is to prevent the water from spreading.

  FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the hydropressurizing section 80, FIG. 9A is a front cross-sectional view in a direction crossing the cylinder 90 and the guide bar 94, and FIG. 9B intersects FIG. 9A. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view across a cylinder 90 in the direction. In these drawings, the water held in the water reservoir 88 in the cylinder 90 is added to the sheet by the pressurizing piston 104 through the water supply holes (water supply pipes) 86 of the pressurizing teeth 82 and is added in this state. Further, the pressure piston 104 receives and presses the force of the presser plate 102 so that the sheet is engaged with the receiving teeth 130 to press the sheet.

  The cylinder 90 is formed so that the inner diameter becomes narrower as the pressurizing piston 104 moves from above. As described above, about 1/3 of the height of the cylinder 90 holds water to be added to the sheet. A reservoir 88 is formed. From this position, the water reservoir 88 of the water reservoir 88 is pressurized and hydrated by the pressure piston 104. On the upper side, the water discharged from the replenishing pump unit 150 and replenished is received from the replenishing port 98 into the water reservoir 88, and the next operation of the pressurizing piston 104 is awaited. Therefore, the amount of water once added to the sheet is approximately the amount retained in the water reservoir 88.

[Replenishment pump part]
Next, the water replenishment pump unit 150 that is a water replenishment pump unit for replenishing water to the water reservoir 88 through the replenishment port 98 will be described with reference to FIGS. As already described with reference to FIG. 4, the water replenishment pump unit 150 is mounted on the inner frame 120 of the binding unit 60 in the same manner as the pressure tooth support portion 84 and the receiving tooth portion 126. Therefore, it is not necessary to scoop a pipe for replenishing water from the outside of the binding unit 60 as before, handling is easy, and the apparatus is compact.

  Therefore, the refill water pump unit 150 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 10 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the water replenishment pump unit 150. FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the water replenishing piston portion 154, which is an important component of the water replenishing pump unit 150. FIG. 11 is an enlarged explanatory view of the water replenishing piston portion 154, and FIG. is there.

  First, as shown in FIG. 10, the water replenishing pump unit 150 includes a water replenishing head unit 156 that is pressed by the holding plate 102 and moves up and down, and a water replenishing piston that temporarily holds water and discharges water to the water replenishing head unit 156. And a water replenishing tank portion 152 for storing water to be replenished in the water replenishing piston portion 154. The water discharged from the water replenishing piston portion 154 by the up-and-down movement of the water replenishing head portion 156 is stored in the water replenishing joint portion 158 whose protruding port extends from the water replenishing head portion 156 to the replenishing port 98 of the water pressurizing portion 80. Water is replenished to the portion 88.

  In the water replenishing tank unit 152, a moving plate 176 that moves as water decreases every time water is discharged to the water replenishing joint unit 158 can be moved up and down by a water replenishing piston unit 154 described with reference to FIGS. It has become. In addition, an air hole 178 that allows the movement plate 176 to move is provided in the water replenishment tank bottom 175 of the water replenishment tank unit 152.

[Replenishment piston part]
Next, referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the water replenishing piston portion 154 that discharges water to the water refilling head portion 156 will be described. The water replenishing piston portion 154 is provided with a tank cap 172 that is screwed to the water replenishing tank portion 152 and a water replenishing cylinder 167 that is fixed to the tank cap 172 and temporarily holds the water in the water replenishing tank portion 152. A sealing seal 171 is provided between the tank cap 172 and the water replenishing tank 174 of the water replenishing tank unit 152. The tank cap 172 is supported in the binding unit 60 by being fitted into a curved portion (FIG. 6 and FIG. 8) below the replenishment port 98 of the pressure tooth support portion 84.

Further, the replenishing cylinder 167 is provided with an upper piston 162 that moves in the same manner as the replenishing head portion 156 moves up and down. An upper spring 169 is wound around the upper piston 162, and a pump valve 165 around which the upper spring 169 is similarly wound is disposed. In the pump valve 165, a lower piston 163 around which a lower spring 170 is wound is positioned between the lower part of the water refilling cylinder 167. In the circumferential direction of the upper piston 162, there is provided a lower piston protrusion 164 that is pressed against the pump valve 165 and sealed. The lower piston protrusion 164 is sealed by the lower spring 170.

  A ball valve 166 that takes in water from the water replenishing tank 174 and seals the water refilling cylinder 167 is provided at the lower end of the water refilling cylinder 167. The ball valve 166 is positioned at the lower end of the water refilling cylinder 167 when the internal pressure inside the water refilling cylinder 167 increases. When the internal pressure is reduced, the ball valve 166 moves slightly upward to take in water from the water refilling tank 174.

[Replenishment operation]
As shown in FIG. 13, when the water refill head unit 156 is lowered by the pressing of the presser plate 102, the upper piston 162 is also lowered. The upper spring 169 wound by this lowering is also pushed, and the pump valve 165 is pushed. Due to the lowering of the pump valve 165, the ball valve 166 closes the lower end, so that the internal pressure of the water refilling cylinder 167 increases.

When the internal pressure of the water refilling cylinder 167 exceeds a certain value, the upper spring 169 wound around the water refilling cylinder 167 and the upper piston 162 is contracted by this internal pressure, so that there is a gap between the pump valve 165 and the lower piston protrusion 164. Occurs. From this gap, water in the water replenishing cylinder 167 is discharged from the water replenishing joint portion 158 of the water replenishing head portion 156 to the water reservoir 88 through the pump valve 165, the upper part of the lower piston 163, and the upper piston 162 as indicated by arrows in FIG. The When the water in the supplementary water tank 174 decreases, the moving plate 176 rises due to the decompression of the supplementary water tank 174 so that the liquid level in the supplementary water tank 174 is always constant.

In this way, the water in the water replenishing tank 174 is replenished to the replenishment port 98 of the water pressurizing unit 80 through the water replenishing joint unit 158 each time the pressing plate 102 is pressed. The mechanism of the water replenishment pump unit 150 shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 is described in detail in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-240286 with a similar mechanism device shown.

  Next, in the binding unit 60, the crimping and binding operation of the sheet bundle placed on the processing tray 58 in the binding unit 60 will be described. In the case where the binding unit 60 is crimped with a pair of pressure teeth (the pressure teeth 82 and the receiving teeth 130) without being hydrolyzed (without water-bonding), the binding unit 60 is hydrolyzed at the position to be crimped. In the case of pressure bonding (hydrocompression binding), it can be selectively executed.

[Pressure binding without water]
First, from FIG. 14 to FIG. 16, an operation of binding without pressing the pressure contact range by the pressure tooth 82 is shown. 14 is a state explanatory view from the front side of the binding unit 60, FIG. 15 is a state explanatory view from the rear side, and FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional explanatory view. In any of these drawings, the pressure tooth support portion 84 (pressure tooth 82) is separated from the sheet, (b) is pressed against the sheet, (c) is the sheet without being added. The state where it is crimped is shown.

  First, FIG. 14A, FIG. 15A, and FIG. 16A show the initial stage of sheet reception, and the sheet is placed on the processing tray 58, and the sheet is placed on the pressing teeth 82 and the receiving teeth of the binding unit 60. 130 and is placed on the receiving tooth support 128. 14 and 15 omit the sheets, and FIG. 16 shows a state in which the sheets are stacked. When a specified number of sheets are stacked on the receiving tooth support portion 128 including the receiving teeth 130, the driving of the binding motor 60M is started.

In this case, since there is no waterless binding, the binding motor 60M is driven in a direction in which the moving cam 145 rotates clockwise on the front side and counterclockwise on the rear side (counterclockwise drive motor in FIG. 15). As a result, the protruding side of the moving cam 145 moves in a direction to push down the tip of the rotating arm 134. On the other hand, the pinion gear 142 (pinion gear 142b) that engages with the intermediate gear 138 does not move the support rack 144 due to the action of the one-way clutch 147, and remains in that position.

Next, in the states of FIGS. 14B, 15B, and 16B, the presser plate 102 is lowered, and the pressing tooth support portion 84 having the pressing teeth 82 is brought into close contact with the sheet. When the presser plate 102 is pressed in this state, the pressing tooth support 84 is pressed against the sheet by the compression spring 96 interposed between the pressing teeth support 84. The pressure tooth support portion 84 is provided with an elastic member (rubber plate) 92 surrounding it on the pressure tooth 82 side, and press-contact is made so that no gap is formed between the pressure tooth 82 and the sheet surface. The disclosed apparatus is set so that a force of 70 kgf to 100 kgf acts on the seat.

  Next, in the state of FIGS. 14C, 15C, and 16C, the rotary arm 134 is further moved by the moving cam 145 while the pressure tooth support portion 84 is in close contact with the sheet. The presser plate 10 is lowered. Then, the pressure piston 104 is inserted into the cylinder 90 and directly presses the pressure tooth support portion 84, and the sheet is pressed by the pressure teeth 82. In this case, the pressure is applied from 500 kgf to 700 kgf, and in the apparatus disclosed herein, the voltage applied to the binding motor 60M is controlled so as to be 600 kgf to generate the applied pressure. The adjustment of the output torque of the binding motor 60M is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-1992234 and the like, and is not described here.

  By the way, the water replenishment pump unit 150 supports the water replenishment head portion 156 and the water replenishment tank bottom portion 175 with the rack 144 and presses the water replenishment head portion 156 to replenish the water reservoir 88 with water from the water replenishment piston portion 154. It is like that. However, as shown in FIG. 16 (c), since the support rack 144 is not positioned at the water replenishment tank bottom 175, the water replenishment pump unit 150 itself is also lowered and the water replenishment piston portion 154 is not operated.

As a result, water is not discharged from the replenishing piston portion 154, the water is not replenished in the water reservoir portion 88, and the water remains empty, and the pressure teeth 82 are pressed against the sheet and the sheet bundle is crimped without water addition. As already described, this is because the pinion gear 142 (pinion gear 142b) is not moved but remains in its position due to the action of the one-way clutch 147. Note that the apparatus disclosed here performs waterless crimping with up to five sheets on the processing tray 58 as a predetermined number. The reason for this set number will be described later.

[Hydration (hydration pressure) binding]
From here to FIG. 17 to FIG. 19, description will be given of an operation of performing hydrocompression binding in which water is added to the press-bonding range before pressurization by the pressure teeth 82 and then bound. 17 is a state explanatory view from the front side of the binding unit 60, FIG. 18 is a state explanatory view from the rear side, and FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the hydrocompression binding. In any of these drawings, the pressure tooth support portion 84 (pressure tooth 82) is separated from the sheet, (b) is pressed against the sheet, (c) is added to the sheet and is crimped. Shows the state.

17 (a), 18 (a), and 19 (a) show the initial stage of sheet reception. The sheets are placed on the processing tray 58, and the sheets are placed on the pressing teeth 82 and the receiving teeth 130 of the binding unit 60. In between, it is mounted on the receiving-tooth support part 128. 17 and 18 omit the sheets, and FIG. 19 shows a state in which the sheets are stacked. When a specified number of sheets are stacked on the receiving tooth support portion 128 including the receiving teeth 130, the driving of the binding motor 60M is started. In this case, since the rotation direction of the binding motor 60M performs water addition, the binding motor 60M rotates in a direction opposite to the direction of pressure bonding without adding water illustrated in FIGS. Further, the number of sheets to be placed is more than 5, and the disclosure here shows 8 sheets.

  That is, this time, since binding is performed with water, the binding motor 60M is driven in a direction in which the moving cam 145 rotates counterclockwise on the front side and clockwise on the rear side (clockwise driving motor in FIG. 18). Since the moving cam 145 has a symmetrical shape with the rotation position as the center, the side from which the moving cam 145 protrudes also moves in the direction in which the tip of the rotating arm 134 is pushed down. On the other hand, the pinion gear 142 (pinion gear 142b) that engages with the intermediate gear 138 starts to move in the direction in which the water replenishment tank bottom 175 is supported by the support rack 144 by the action of the one-way clutch 147.

  Here, the one-way clutch 147 interposed between the pinion gear 142 (pinion gear 142b) and the shaft is engaged with the support rack 144 by rotation of the binding motor 60M in one direction (clockwise rotation in FIG. 18). It moves to the position which supports the water replenishment tank bottom 175. By this movement, the water replenishment tank bottom 175 is fixed, and when the water replenishment head 156 is pressed by the presser plate 102, the water replenishment piston 154 is actuated, and the water in the water replenishment tank 174 is replenished to the water reservoir 88 via the water replenishment joint 158. Can supply. As shown in FIG. 19, a rack return spring 139 is interposed between the support rack 144 and the outer frame 120 to return the engagement to the original position when the shaft is reversed.

  Subsequently, in FIG. 17B, FIG. 18B, and FIG. 19B, the presser plate 102 is lowered, and the pressure tooth support portion 84 having the pressure teeth 82 is brought into close contact with the sheet. When the presser plate 102 is pressed in this state, the pressing tooth support 84 is pressed against the sheet by the compression spring 96 interposed between the pressing teeth support 84. The pressure tooth support portion 84 is provided with an elastic member (rubber plate) 92 surrounding it on the pressure tooth 82 side, and press-contact is made so that no gap is formed between the pressure tooth 82 and the sheet surface. The disclosed apparatus is set so that a force of 70 kgf to 100 kgf acts on the seat. At this stage, water is retained in the water reservoir 88 by the operation of the water replenishing piston portion 154, but the pressure piston 104 has not reached the position where it is pressurized with the cylinder 90, so No water is added.

  Next, in the state of FIGS. 14C, 15C, and 16C, the rotary arm 134 is further moved by the moving cam 145 while the pressure tooth support portion 84 is in close contact with the sheet. The presser plate 102 is lowered. Then, the pressurizing piston 104 is inserted into the cylinder 90 and the water in the water reservoir 88 is added to the sheet from the pressurizing tooth 82 water supply hole (water supply pipe) 86. Even after the addition of water is completed, the presser plate 102 moves in the direction in which the sheet is pressed by the moving cam 145, whereby the pressure piston 104 receives the pressure tooth 82 and presses it toward the tooth 130 to press the sheet. The crimping at this time is weaker than the crimping force without adding water and can be crimped at 300 kgf to 400 kgf. In the apparatus disclosed here, the voltage to the binding motor 60M is controlled to 350 kgf to generate pressure. I am letting.

  As already described, the water replenishment pump unit 150 supports the water from the water replenishing piston portion 154 by pressing the water replenishing head portion 156 by holding the water replenishing head portion 156 and the water replenishing tank bottom portion 175 with the rack 144 therebetween. The reservoir 88 is replenished. That is, as well shown in FIGS. 19 (b) to 19 (c), the supporting rack 144 is located on the bottom of the supplementary water tank 175, and the supplementary water pump unit 150 is fixed. As a result, water is discharged from the water replenishing piston portion 154, and water is replenished to the water reservoir portion 88. In addition, the apparatus disclosed here performs eight sheets on the processing tray 58 with water and pressure binding.

[Pressurized teeth and receiving teeth of hydro-pressurized part]
From here, FIG. 20 demonstrates the pressurization tooth | gear 82 and the receiving tooth 130 of the water pressurization part 80, FIG. 21 demonstrates these meshing states and the position of the water supply hole (water supply pipe) 86. FIG. First, FIG. 20A is a plan view of the pressure teeth. As described above, the cylinder 90 that holds water to be added to the sheet is provided on the back surface side that meshes with the sheet of the pressure teeth 82. Is provided. This cylinder 90 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a part cut off, and the pressure piston 104 pressurizes and hydrates water (the water pool portion 88 range) and the insertion guide of the pressure piston 104 is larger in diameter than this. And a water replenishing port 118 for receiving water from the water replenishing pump unit 150.

  FIG. 20B is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of the two-dot chain line pressing tooth 82 and the receiving tooth portion 126 of FIG. As is apparent from this drawing, the pressure tooth support portion 84 is formed by integrally forming the pressure teeth 82, the back surface side cylinder 90, and the guide bar 94. This ensures strength and ease of assembly. A drainage tray that temporarily holds a receiving tooth 130 (receiving tooth portion 126) that meshes with the pressing tooth 82 and a remaining water (residual water) underneath it at a position facing the pressing tooth support portion 84. 133 is provided.

  In addition, water supply holes (water supply pipes) 86 for allowing water in the water reservoir 88 to be added to the sheet are formed at a plurality of locations in the inclined portion of the pressure tooth 82. Further, the receiving teeth 130 are also provided with communication holes 132 to the outside through which the air at the time of pressing the sheet by the pressure tooth support portion 84 and the residual water at the time of water addition are passed through the inclined portion. In addition, the capacity | capacitance which the communication hole 132 passes is formed larger than the water supply hole (water supply pipe) 86, and it forms so that air and residual water drainage may be performed efficiently.

  FIG. 20C is a view of the pressure tooth support portion 84 as viewed from the bottom surface on the pressure tooth 82 side, and an elastic member 92 made of a rubber material surrounding the pressure tooth 82 is attached to the pressure tooth support portion 84. It is attached. Thereby, in the process of pressing the pressure tooth support portion 84 against the sheet by the compression spring 96, the gap around the pressure tooth 82 is eliminated, and the spread of water that has been added outside the pressurizing and pressing area is reduced.

[Arrangement of water supply holes (water supply pipes) and communication holes]
Next, FIG. 21 describes the water supply hole (water supply pipe) 86 formed in the pressure tooth 82 touched in FIG. 20 and the communication hole 132 formed in the receiving tooth 130 to the outside (drainage tray 133). This figure is enlarged to explain the pressure teeth 82 and the receiving teeth 130. The pressure receiving teeth 82 mesh with the receiving teeth 130 to form irregularities in the sheet bundle and entangle the fibers. It consists of the peak part 82a which protrudes in 130, the trough part 82b which is dented, and the inclined part 82c binding which forms these. Similarly, the receiving teeth 130 are also a receiving ridge portion 130a, a receiving trough portion 130b, and a receiving inclined portion 130c.

  Then, water from the water reservoir 88 in the cylinder 90 is discharged from a water supply hole (water supply pipe) 86 formed in the pressure tooth 82 by pressing of the pressure piston 104. In that case, it arrange | positions so that water may discharge from several places of the inclination part 82c like illustration. With this arrangement, when the pressing teeth 82 and the receiving teeth 130 mesh so as to form irregularities on the sheet as shown in a two-dot chain line in FIG. 21, the inclined portion 82c and the inclined inclined portion 130c are the fibers (paper) of the sheet. In the case of (2), it was confirmed that the cellulose fiber) was dissolved (reciprocal arrow in the figure).

However, when water is added to the inclined position where the fibers are loosened, the water easily permeates, and subsequent further pressurization easily causes entanglement of the fibers and so-called hydrogen bonding. Accordingly, in the present disclosure, a water supply hole (water supply pipe) 86 for adding water to the inclined portion 82c of the pressure tooth 82 is disposed. In addition, as described above, the receiving inclined portion 130c of the receiving tooth 130 is provided with the communication hole 132 having a capacity larger than that of the water supply hole (water supply pipe) 86 so that air and residual water can be easily removed. .

[Pressurized tooth support and receiving tooth support]
Next, FIG. 22 and FIG. 23 devise the relationship between the position of the pressure tooth support portion 84 and the receiving tooth support portion 128 and the position of the sheet that is sandwiched and pressed between them. To do. FIG. 22 shows the sheet position in the case where the crimping is performed at the corner of the sheet on the front side of the processing tray 58 already described in FIG. In the apparatus disclosed herein, when the corner portion of the sheet is pressure-bonded, a pressure-tooth support portion 84 that pressure-bonds the sheet together with the pressure tooth 82 and a counter-tooth that supports the counter-tooth 130 that meshes with the pressure tooth 82. The seat is regulated so that the support portion 128 is outside the corner portion of the seat by L3. At the same time, the water is pressed from the position where the water entered the center of gravity of the sheet for L2 is not added (the water from the water does not permeate) from the position where the water added from the pressure tooth 82 penetrates.

  FIG. 23 (a) shows a cross-sectional view of the above content taken along line Sc in FIG. According to this, the sheet is supported by the pressure teeth 82 and the receiving teeth 130, with the hydration region L1 being substantially in the center, L3 minutes outside the corner of the sheet, and L2 minutes from the hydration region on the center of gravity of the sheet. It presses with the part 84 and the receiving inclination part 130c.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 23 (b), the hydrolyzed range L2 enters the sheet pressing range by L2 toward the center of gravity of the sheet. For this reason, the fiber of the sheet has been unwound from the water, and a problem has arisen that it becomes easy to break at the position of the center of gravity of the sheet from the pressure tooth 82. Further, if left unpressed, the wrinkled area will wrinkle on the sheet surface and the appearance will not be good. Therefore, it becomes difficult to break by pressing beyond the water range as shown in FIG.

  Moreover, in FIG.23 (c), the hydration area | region L1 is larger than the area | region L4 which presses a sheet | seat, and also the corner | angular part has protruded for L5 outside from the press position. In this case, since the portion that is not pressed is also hydrated, the position of the corner portion tends to fall apart vertically. For this reason, if it is a form of Fig.23 (a) which presses an edge part within the range of the pressurization tooth support part 84 and the receiving-tooth support part 128, a hydration position will also be pressed and it will not fall apart but it will improve appearance.

  In the above description, the front side of the processing tray 58 described with reference to FIG. 3 is shown. However, the same applies to the rear side as long as it exceeds the corner of the sheet and is pressed closer to the sheet center of gravity than the addition position. Needless to say, the effect is achieved.

Here, in the case of crimping without adding the water described in FIGS. 14 to 19, and the predetermined number of sheets and the number of sheets to be pressed and added as the basis of separation when performing the hydro-bonding binding to press-bond by adding water in FIG. explain.

FIG. 24A is a diagram for explaining the relationship between a predetermined number of pressure teeth and a sheet, and the upper side is a pressure tooth 82 as a pair of pressure teeth, and the lower side schematically shows a receiving tooth 130. As shown in this figure, the unevenness of the sheet is formed by the height difference lh of the meshing teeth, in other words, the distance between the top of the peak portion 82a and the bottom of the valley portion 82b. Usually, the height is about 0.4 mm to 0.6 mm, and the meshing of the pressurization tooth 82 receiving tooth 130 disclosed herein is set to 0.5 mm.

On the other hand, a sheet used as a normal copy paper is 68 g / square meter paper, and the thickness lp is about 0.1 mm. Accordingly, five sheets are appropriate for forming irregularities on the sheet, and if this is exceeded, the pressure between the sheets becomes weak. Accordingly, the predetermined number of sheets to be crimped without adding water with the hydro-bonding binding unit 60 disclosed herein is set to five, and when the number exceeding this is closed, the hydro-bonding binding is used in which the paper fibers of the sheet are once released and then crimped. doing. However, if the height difference between the above teeth is 0.6 mm, the predetermined number is 6, and if the height difference is 0.4 mm, the predetermined number is 4.

From FIG. 24 (b) to FIG. 24 (d), additional sheets are placed on the processing tray 58 in excess of the above-mentioned predetermined number (here, 5 sheets) (here, a total of 8 sheets with 3 additional sheets). In the case of sheet), the pattern of the water and pressure bonding of the water and pressure bonding will be described. In the figure, the wavy line indicates a state where the pressure tooth 82 is pressing, and the partially added straight line indicates a sheet that is hydrated.

[Add water and crimp each additional number]
First, in FIG. 24 (b), water is replenished in the water reservoir 88 on the back surface of the pressurizing tooth 82 and pressurized by the pressurizing tooth 82 for three additional sheets exceeding five. It should be noted that when the predetermined number of five sheets is reached, the pressure teeth 82 may be pressurized once, but the apparatus disclosed here does not perform this and repeats the addition and pressurization for each additional sheet. By doing in this way, the sheet | seat exceeding the predetermined number can be crimped and bound. As described above, whether the water is added or not is changed according to the rotation direction of the binding motor 60M.

[Add water every additional number, pressurize at the end (fixed number)]
Next, in FIG. 24 (c), for 3 additional sheets exceeding 5 sheets, only the water is added from the water reservoir 88 for each additional sheet, and the final sheet is subjected to water addition and pressure binding by the pressure teeth 82. Do. In addition, when the predetermined number of sheets reaches five, no pressure is applied in the same manner as described above, and the addition is repeated for each additional sheet. By doing in this way, the sheet | seat exceeding the predetermined number can be crimped and bound. Note that only water is set in the rotation direction and rotation range of the binding motor 60M. It is also possible to perform pressurization with a certain additional number by adding only water every additional number.

[Hydration and pressurization at the end of the additional number (a certain number of additional sheets)]
Finally, FIG. 24 (d) shows that the water in the water reservoir 88 is hydrated and added by the pressure teeth 82 at the stage of the final sheet that is 8 sheets where 3 additional sheets exceeding 5 sheets are placed. Pressure is also executed. Since the apparatus disclosed here pressurizes the water in the water reservoir 88 with a considerable pressure of the pressurizing piston 104, the water easily penetrates into the bundled sheets.

By doing in this way, the sheet | seat exceeding the predetermined number can be crimped and bound. Note that when the predetermined number of five sheets is reached, the pressure teeth 82 may be pressed once. However, the apparatus disclosed here does not do this, but adds and pressurizes the additional final sheet. In addition, when there are many sheets up to the final number of sheets, water addition and pressurization may be performed with a certain number of additional sheets.

[Removal of supplementary water pump unit]
FIG. 25 shows a state where the water replenishment pump unit 150 is removed from the binding unit 60. As shown in this figure, the replenishment pump unit 150 is taken out from the pump holding cover 192 by rotating the bottom frame 194 downward with the frame rotation shaft 196 provided on the outer frame 120 of the binding unit 60 as a fulcrum. It is composed. By this removal, the tank cap 172 is removed from the replenishing water tank 174 to replenish water. In this figure, the bottom frame 194 is configured to rotate downward. However, the water retaining pump unit 150 may be removed in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure by sliding the pump holding cover 192 so that it can be opened.

[Description of control configuration]
The control configuration of the image forming apparatus A disclosed here will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The image forming apparatus A shown in FIG. 1 includes an image forming control unit 200 of the image forming main body apparatus A1 and a sheet processing control unit 205 (control CPU) of the sheet processing apparatus B. The image formation control unit 200 includes a paper feed control unit 202 and an input unit 203. From the control panel 26 provided in the input unit 203, (1) printout mode, (2) jog sorting mode, (3) binding processing mode, (4) bookbinding (saddle stitching) processing mode, Further, (5) Manual binding mode is set. Each of these modes will be described later.

  The sheet processing control unit 205 is a control CPU that operates the sheet processing apparatus B in accordance with the specified sheet processing mode. The sheet processing control unit 205 includes a ROM 207 that stores an operation program and a RAM 206 that stores control data. The sheet processing control unit 205 acquires detection information from various sensor input units 220.

[Various sensor inputs]
The various sensor input unit 220 includes an entrance sensor 38 for detecting the carry-in of an image-formed sheet from the image forming main body apparatus A1, and detects the leading and trailing edges of the sheet to manage main various motor drives. A sheet sensor 39 for detecting a sheet jam or the like is located downstream of the entrance sensor 38. The processing tray 58 is provided with a processing tray empty sensor 58S that detects whether or not a sheet is placed. A stacking tray position sensor 34S is provided for detecting the sheet surface of the stacking tray 34 that accumulates the sheets discharged by the paper discharge roller 52 while gradually descending. In addition to this, there are sensors for detecting the positions of the punch unit 40 and the binding unit 60, detecting the operation of the saddle stitching unit 66, and the description thereof is omitted here.

[Output section of various motors]
The sheet processing control unit 205 is provided with a conveyance control unit 210 that conveys a sheet. The conveyance control unit 210 controls a carry-in roller motor 41M for carrying a sheet and a carry roller motor 48M for carrying the sheet to the processing tray 58.

In addition, a punch control unit 211 is provided for punching the trailing edge of the sheet carried by the carry-in roller 41. This punch control unit 211 controls a punch motor for punching at a specified position in the width direction of the sheet. Further, the next processing tray control unit 212 tray has an aligning plate motor 59M that moves an aligning plate 59 that aligns the sheets conveyed to the processing tray 58 from both sides in the sheet width direction.

  The next-stage binding control unit 213 controls the binding motor 60M described so far and the binding unit moving motor 60SM that moves the binding unit 60 to a designated position in the sheet width direction, thereby binding two places or corners. Try to bind. The bound sheet bundle is discharged to the stacking tray 34 by a bundle moving belt and a discharge roller 52 although not particularly shown.

At this time, the stacking tray motor 34M is controlled by the tray lifting / lowering control unit 214 based on the detection of the stacking tray position sensor 34S so that the position of the upper surface of the sheet with respect to the sheet discharge port 54 is always constant. Although the stacker control unit 215 and the folding / discharging control unit 217 are provided for bookbinding (saddle stitching) processing, the description thereof is omitted because it is not directly related to the disclosure here.

[Description of sheet processing mode]
The sheet processing apparatus B is an apparatus that receives and processes a sheet conveyed from the sheet discharge outlet 16 of the image forming main body apparatus A1 from the entrance 36. The sheet processing apparatus B includes (1) a print-out mode for stacking and storing image-formed sheets, (2) a jog sorting mode for storing image-formed sheets separately, and (3) an image-formed sheet. A binding processing mode in which the sheets are stacked and bound, (4) a bookbinding (saddle stitching) processing mode in which the sheets on which the image is formed are aligned and bound, and then folded to finish bookbinding. 5) It has a manual binding mode in which the sheet bundle inserted into the bundle manual feed slit 35 is bound each time.

In the above-described binding processing mode and the manual binding mode, there are also a water-binding mode in which water is added to the binding position and a water-less binding mode in which water is bound without adding water, but in the apparatus disclosed herein, Information on the number of binding sheets from the main body of the image forming apparatus is acquired to set the hydrocompression binding or the non-addition binding mode.

A determination unit that determines whether the number of sheets to be bound is less than or equal to the predetermined number or exceeds the predetermined number is determined from the hydro-compression binding control unit 213, the sheet processing control unit (control CPU) 205, or the image formation control unit. You may get Furthermore, it goes without saying that these modes may be switched by measuring a bundle of sheets to be pressed between the pressing teeth 82 and the receiving teeth 130 by a known method and replacing them with the number of sheets.

  From here, the modification of the form different from the previous embodiment is demonstrated. Modification 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 27, Modification 2 with reference to FIG. 28, and Modification 3 with reference to FIG. In each of these modified examples, the same reference numerals are given to the components similar to those described above.

[Modification 1 Combined use with staple binding unit 60SP]
FIG. 27 shows a modification of FIG. 3, which is a combination of a hydrocompression binding unit 60 and a needle binding unit 60SP having a known mechanism, and manually binding a sheet bundle manually fed with a sheet angle on the front side. Is performed by the hydrocompression binding unit 60. In this case, the manual feed is inserted into the processing tray 58. The alignment plate 59 is guided and guided at the manual insertion position, and the leading end of the sheet bundle moves the reference stopper 62 to the position indicated by the broken line in the drawing to execute the hydrocompression binding. To do. By doing so, it becomes an environment-friendly device such as in the case of several manual bindings.

[Modification 2 Change of water supply hole (water supply pipe) position]
In FIG. 28, in particular, in FIGS. 20 and 21, the positions of a plurality of water supply holes (water supply pipes) 86 that are arranged on the inclined portion 82 c of the pressurizing tooth 82 and that can be added are changed. In FIG. 28A, a water supply hole (water supply pipe) 86 is arranged for each of the plurality of peak portions 82 a of the pressure tooth 82. In this way, water can be effectively added to the binding position. Further, the receiving teeth 130 are also provided with a communication hole 132 to the outside in the receiving valley portion 130b, and perform air venting and drainage of residual water.

Further, in FIG. 28 (b), the water supply holes (water supply pipes) 86 are provided in the plurality of crests 82a of the pressurization tooth 82 in the same manner as described above, but the communication hole 132 of the receiving tooth 130 is greatly cut away. The shape is approximately square. This effectively removes air and drains residual water.

Further, in FIG. 28C, the water supply holes (water supply pipes) 86 are provided in the plurality of peak portions 82a of the pressurizing tooth 82 in the same manner as described above, but the communication holes are formed in the receiving peak portion 130a of the receiving teeth 130. 132 is provided. As a result, the accuracy of the engagement is increased and the pressure-bonding force is increased, and the air can be removed and the remaining water can be drained.

[Modification 3 Installation of expansion tank]
FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram in which an expansion tank 184 that expands the capacity of the water replenishing tank 174 of the water replenishing tank unit 152 in FIG. 10 is added. FIG. 29A shows a state in which the expansion tank 184 is substantially filled with water. FIG. 29B is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the water capacity is reduced.

As shown here, the connection pipe 180 of the replenishing tank 174 and the expansion pipe 186 of the expansion tank 184 are connected by a connection portion 190. As a result, when the water capacity of the replenishing tank 174 decreases, water can be supplied through the connecting pipe 180 and the expansion pipe 186.

The connection pipe 180 is provided with a tank manual valve 182 for stopping and releasing water, and the expansion pipe 186 is provided with a similar expansion tank manual valve 188. As a result, the expansion tank 184 can be taken out of the replenishing tank 174 and replenished with water as necessary.

In addition, a bellows part 183 is provided at the entrance of the connecting pipe 180 attached to the bottom of the water replenishing tank 174 so that the water replenishing pump unit 150 can be moved up and down, and the operation of the water replenishing piston part 154 in the binding unit 60 is performed. Is possible. The expansion tank 184 is also provided with a moving plate 176 that moves due to a decrease in capacity, and the upper lid 179 is also provided with the air hole 178 described so far. As described above, according to the third modification, water can be added many times without increasing the size of the refill water pump unit 150 itself. Further, an operation such as removing the expansion tank 184 and replenishing it with water becomes easy.

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

A Image forming apparatus
A1 Image forming main unit
A2 reader
A3 Document feeder
B Sheet processing device (Fnisher)
B1 (end face) binding part
B2 saddle stitching
B3 Escape part
60 (Hydro-compression bonding) Binding unit 60M Binding motor 60SP Needle binding unit
62 Reference stopper
80 Water pressurizing part
82 Pressurized teeth
82a (Pressurized tooth) Peak portion 82b (Pressurized tooth) Valley portion 82c (Pressurized tooth) Inclined portion 84 Pressurized tooth support portion 86 Water supply hole (water supply pipe)
88 Reservoir 90 Cylinder 92 Elastic member (rubber plate)
94 Guide bar 96 Compression spring 98 Replenishment port 102 Presser plate 104 Pressure piston 106 Piston packing 108 Cylinder guide 118 Water replenishment port 120 Outer frame 126 Receiving tooth part 128 Receiving tooth support part 130 Receiving tooth (opposite pressure tooth)
130a Receiving mountain portion 130b Receiving trough portion 130c Receiving inclined portion 132 Communication hole 133 Drain tray 134 Rotating arm 136 Motor output shaft gear 138 Intermediate gear 139 Rack return spring 140 Cam gear 141 Tank support portion 142 Pinion gear (two layers)
143 Arm rear end 144 Support rack 145 Moving cam 146 Arm fulcrum 147 One-way clutch 149 Return spring 150 Water supply pump unit (water supply pump part)
152 Water replenishment tank portion 154 Water replenishment piston portion 156 Water replenishment head portion 158 Water replenishment joint portion 162 Upper piston 163 Lower piston 164 Lower piston protrusion 165 Pump valve 166 Ball valve 167 Water replenishment cylinder 169 Upper spring 170 Lower spring 171 Sealing 172 Tank cap 174 Water replenishment tank 175 Water replenishment tank bottom 176 Moving plate 178 Air hole 184 Expansion tank 205 Sheet processing control unit (control CPU)
213 (Hydro-compression bonding) Binding controller

Claims (12)

It is a binding unit that binds by pressing after water is added to the placed sheet,
A pair of pressure teeth that mesh between the placed sheets; and
A water reservoir for holding water to be added to the sheet on the back side of the side where these one pressure teeth mesh,
A pressure member for adding water to the position where the sheet is engaged,
A water replenishment pump portion for replenishing water in the water reservoir portion;
The binding unit, wherein the water replenishment pump unit is disposed in the same frame adjacent to the pressure tooth and the water reservoir disposed on the back surface of the pressure tooth.   The water replenishment pump unit includes a water replenishing tank unit that stores water to be replenished, a water replenishing piston unit that supplies water from there, a water replenishing head unit that moves the water replenishing piston unit, and a water reserving unit on the back surface of the pressure tooth The binding unit according to claim 1, wherein the binding unit includes a water replenishing joint portion. The said water reservoir part consists of a cylindrical cylinder arrange | positioned at this pressurization tooth back surface, and the said pressurization member consists of a pressurization piston which inserts into this cylinder and pressurizes. Binding unit. The binding unit according to claim 3, wherein a moving member that moves the pressurizing piston and the water replenishing head is provided, and the moving member is driven by the same drive motor to move.   The moving member includes a presser plate that moves the pressurizing piston and the water replenishment head unit with the drive motor, and a rotating arm that rotates about a rotation fulcrum provided in the frame. The binding unit according to claim 4, wherein the presser plate is moved by the rotating arm, and the pressurizing piston and the water replenishment head portion are pressed by the presser plate. The binding unit according to claim 5, wherein a drainage tray that receives residual water that has been added to the sheet from the water reservoir portion is disposed on the back surface of the other pressure tooth that meshes with the one pressure tooth. . A processing tray for placing sheets to be conveyed;
A sheet processing apparatus comprising the binding unit according to claim 1, which binds sheets placed on the processing tray. A sheet processing apparatus having a binding unit that crimps and binds after placing water on a placed sheet,
A processing tray for placing sheets;
A binding unit movable in the width direction along the edge of the sheet placed on the processing tray,
This binding unit is in the same frame,
A pair of pressure teeth that mesh with each other across the sheet;
A water reservoir for holding water to be added to the sheet on the back side of the side where these one pressure teeth mesh,
A pressure member for adding water to the position where the sheet is engaged,
A sheet processing apparatus, wherein a water replenishment pump unit that is disposed adjacent to the pressure teeth and the water reservoir and replenishes water in the water reservoir is disposed.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the supplementary water pump unit is configured to be detachable from the binding unit on a rear side of the pair of pressure teeth.   The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the binding unit is movable on a front side of the sheet processing apparatus to a position where the sheet is manually inserted and then pressed. The position at which the manually inserted sheet of the binding unit can be crimped includes a position where the water replenishment pump unit is attached and detached and a home position position where the binding unit moves in the sheet width direction. Sheet processing equipment. An image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet;
12. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the sheet formed by the image forming unit is processed.

Images