JP2021095266A - Binding device and image formation system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a binding device capable of certainly binding a curled sheet bundle without requiring a special member.SOLUTION: Sheets conveyed by conveying means are accumulated on a processing tray to form a sheet bundle, and, by binding means, binding processing is applied on a predetermined binding position of a first end edge along a width direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the accumulated sheet bundle. In this case, when recognizing a curled position generated at the first end edge in the width direction of the sheet, curl recognition means makes the binding means wait at a waiting position except the curled position recognized by the curl recognition means before the conveying means accumulates the sheets on the processing tray, and moves the binding means to the binding position after the sheet bundle is formed on the processing tray.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 19

Description

The present invention relates to a binding device that performs a binding process on a bundle of sheets, a copying machine provided with the binding device, a printer, a facsimile, and an image forming device of a multifunction device thereof.

In an image forming system such as a copier or a printer, sheets carried out from the image forming apparatus are aligned and integrated, and the binding process is performed by the binding apparatus. In the apparatus for binding the sheet bundle, the image-formed sheets are bundled and stored on the processing tray, and then the binding process is performed.

However, in the image forming apparatus, since the image is formed by adhering ink, toner, or the like on the sheet, curling or the like is likely to occur particularly at the edge of the sheet or the like. Then, when the sheet with the curled end is conveyed to the processing tray and loaded, the binding device sandwiches the end of the sheet bundle between the openings and performs the binding process, so that the end is completely inserted into the opening. There will be a problem that the binding process cannot be performed or some sheets are not bound.

Therefore, conventionally, there has been known a binding device in which a pressing member is used to align the curled portion of the sheet in a pressed state and then perform the binding process (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-86881

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, a pressing member, a mechanism for operating the pressing member, a control device for controlling the mechanism, and a drive source thereof are required to correct the curl. In addition, there is a problem that the quality of the sheet, which is the product of the image formation, is adversely affected, such as the pressing marks being formed on the sea on which the image is formed by the pressing member.

In view of the problems of the apparatus according to the prior art, the present invention bundles curled sheets into one aligned sheet bundle without requiring a special member, and reliably binds the curled sheets to the sheet bundle. It is an object of the present invention to provide a binding device which can be applied.

In order to solve the above problems, the sheet binding device according to the present invention includes a transport means for transporting sheets in a predetermined transport direction, a processing tray for accumulating the sheets transported by the transport means to form a sheet bundle, and a processing tray. A binding means for performing a binding process at a predetermined binding position of the first edge along a width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the sheet bundles accumulated on the processing tray, and the binding means on the processing tray. A moving means for moving along the first edge between the second edge of the sheet bundle formed in the sheet bundle along the transport direction and the third edge facing the second edge. The curl recognizing means recognizes the curl position generated at the first edge in the width direction, and the curl recognizing means recognizes the binding means before the transporting means accumulates the sheets in the processing tray. It is provided with a control means for controlling the moving means so as to move the binding means to the binding position after the sheet bundle is formed in the processing tray by waiting at a standby position other than the curl position.

At this time, the binding means includes an opening for receiving the first edge of the sheet bundle for performing the binding process, and the binding means is in the standby position when moving to the binding position. The size of the opening is made smaller than usual. As a result, when moving to the binding position, the narrowed opening moves to the binding position while correcting the curl of the sheet, and the curl is suppressed.

In one of the embodiments of the present invention, there is a basis weight recognizing means for recognizing the basis weight of the sheet, and the control means has a basis weight of the sheet recognized by the basis weight recognition means of a predetermined value or more. When the basis weight of the sheet recognized by the basis weight recognizing means is less than a predetermined value, the moving speed when moving the binding means from the standby position to the binding position is slower than in the case of the above. Control the means of transportation. As a result, it can be determined that the thin sheet having a small basis weight has curled, and in this case, by slowing down the moving speed of the moving means, the curl can be reliably suppressed and the binding process can be performed.

Further, in another example of the embodiment of the present invention, there is an image formation recognition means for recognizing whether an image is formed on one side of the sheet or an image is formed on both sides of the sheet, and the image formation recognition means. Recognizes that an image is formed on one side of the sheet, the curl recognizing means recognizes the curl position.

Further, in another example of the embodiment of the present invention, there is an image density recognizing means for recognizing the image density of the image formed on the sheet, and the image density recognizing means is formed on the sheet. When it is recognized that the image density of is equal to or higher than a predetermined amount, the curl recognizing means recognizes the curl position.

Further, in another example of the embodiment of the present invention, the water content recognizing means for recognizing the water content of the sheet is provided, and the water content recognizing means recognizes that the water content of the sheet is equal to or less than a predetermined amount. In the case, the curl recognition means recognizes the curl position.

According to the present invention, by setting the standby position of the binding means to a position avoiding the curl portion of the sheet, an action of preventing interference between the sheet and the opening of the binding means without adding a new member for correcting the curl. It can be effective.

An explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of the image forming system according to the present invention is shown. The perspective explanatory view of the whole structure of the post-processing apparatus in the image formation system of FIG. 1 is shown. A side sectional view (front side of the device) of the device of FIG. 2 is shown. It is explanatory drawing of the seat loading mechanism in the apparatus of FIG. 2, (a) shows the state which a paddle rotating body is in a standby position, and (b) shows the state which is in an engaging position. An explanatory diagram showing the arrangement relationship between each area and the matching position in the apparatus of FIG. 2 is shown. The configuration explanatory view of the side matching means in the apparatus of FIG. 2 is shown. An explanatory diagram of the moving mechanism of the binding means is shown. An explanatory diagram showing the binding position of the binding means is shown. An explanatory diagram of multi-binding of the binding means and left corner binding is shown. It shows the state of the binding means at the binding position, (a) shows the state of the corner binding position, (b) shows the state of the needle loading position, and (c) shows the state of the manual binding position. It is explanatory drawing of the sheet bundle unloading mechanism in the apparatus of FIG. 2, (a) shows the standby state, (b) shows the takeover transfer state, (c) shows the structure of the 2nd transfer member, (d) Indicates the state of being discharged to the stack tray. It is explanatory drawing of the drive structure of the sheet bundle carry-out mechanism, (a) shows the enlarged view of the main part, (b) shows the start state of a motor, and (c) shows the state figure after rotation by a predetermined angle. (A) to (d) show explanatory views of the sheet bundle binding processing method. (A) is a configuration explanatory diagram of the binding means, and (b) is a configuration explanatory diagram of the needleless binding means. The configuration explanatory diagram of the stack tray in the apparatus of FIG. 2 is shown. An explanatory diagram of a control configuration in the apparatus of FIG. 1 is shown. The flowchart at the time of performing the binding process is shown. An explanatory diagram of the positional relationship between the processing tray and the binding means as viewed from the downstream side in the sheet transport direction is shown. It is a view seen from the downstream side in the sheet transport direction, (a) is a state in which the binding means moves from the HP to the binding standby position, (b) is a state in which the sheet is received in the binding standby position, and (c) is a binding standby. Each explanatory diagram in the state where the binding means is moving from the position to the binding position is shown. A table showing the relationship between the moving speeds of the binding means according to the basis weight is shown. A schematic explanatory diagram of a specific example of the curl recognition means is shown.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention relates to a sheet bundle binding processing mechanism that binds a sheet bundle that has been image-formed and is aligned and accumulated in an image forming system or the like described later.

The image forming system shown in FIG. 1 is composed of an image forming unit A, an image reading unit C, and a post-processing unit B. Then, the original image is read by the image reading unit C, and the image forming unit A forms an image on the sheet based on the image data. Then, the image-formed sheets are aligned and accumulated by the post-processing unit B (sheet bundling processing device; the same applies hereinafter), subjected to the binding processing, and stored in the stack tray 25 on the downstream side.

The post-processing unit B, which will be described later, is built as a unit in the paper ejection space (stack tray space) 15 formed in the housing of the image forming unit A, and the image forming sheet sent to the paper ejection port 16 is placed on the processing tray. It shows an inner finisher structure provided with a post-processing mechanism for aligning and accumulating, binding processing, and then storing in a stack tray 25 arranged on the downstream side. The present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to configure the image forming unit A, the image reading unit C, and the post-processing unit B in an independent stand-alone structure, and to systematize the devices by connecting them with a network cable.

[Sheet binding processing device (post-processing unit)]
As shown in the perspective configuration of FIG. 2 and the cross-sectional configuration of the post-processing unit B in FIG. 3, the device housing 20, the sheet carry-in path 22 arranged in the housing, and the downstream of the path discharge port 23 are shown. It is composed of a processing tray 24 arranged on the side and a stack tray 25 arranged on the downstream side thereof.

The processing tray 24 is provided with a sheet loading means 35 for loading sheets, a sheet regulating means 40 for accumulating the loading sheets in a bundle, and a matching means 45. Along with this, the processing tray 24 is provided with a binding means 26 (first binding means) for staple binding the sheet bundle and a needleless binding means 27 (second binding means) for binding the sheet bundle without a needle. The binding means 26 includes a binding opening 26k, and a bundle of sheets is inserted into the binding opening 26k to perform staple binding. Each configuration will be described in detail below.

[Device housing]
The device housing 20 is composed of a device frame 20a and an exterior casing 20b, and the device frame is composed of a frame structure that supports each mechanical unit (path mechanism, tray mechanism, transport mechanism, etc.) described later.

A binding mechanism, a transport mechanism, a tray mechanism, and a drive mechanism are arranged on a pair of left and right side frame frames (not shown) facing each other, and have a monocoque structure integrated with an outer casing 20b. The outer casing 20b is composed of a monocoque structure in which the left and right side frame frames 20c and 20d and a stay frame (bottom frame frame 20e described later) connecting both side frame frames are integrated by molding with resin or the like, and a part thereof (device). The front side) is exposed so that it can be operated from the outside.

That is, the outer periphery of the frame frame is covered with the outer casing 20b, and is incorporated in the paper ejection space 15 of the image forming unit A described later. In that state, the outer case on the front side of the device is exposed so that it can be operated from the outside.

The front side of the exterior casing 20b is equipped with a staple needle cartridge mounting opening 28, a manual feed set portion 29, and a manual operation button 30 (a switch having a built-in indicator lamp), which will be described later. In the exterior casing 20b, the length dimension Lx in the paper ejection direction and the length dimension Ly in the paper ejection orthogonal direction are set based on the maximum size sheet, and are smaller than the paper ejection space 15 of the image forming unit A described later. Is set to.

[Sheet carry-in route (paper discharge route)]
As shown in FIG. 3, the above-mentioned device housing 20 is provided with a sheet carry-in route 22 (hereinafter referred to as “paper discharge route”) having a carry-in entrance 21 and a paper discharge port 23, and receives the sheet from the horizontal direction and is substantially horizontal. It is configured to be conveyed in the direction and carried out from the paper ejection port 23.

The paper ejection path 22 is formed of an appropriate paper guide (plate) 22a, and has a built-in feeder mechanism for transporting the sheet. This feeder mechanism is composed of a pair of transport rollers at predetermined intervals according to the path length, and the carry-in roller pair 31 is arranged in the vicinity of the carry-in inlet 21 and the paper discharge roller pair 32 is arranged in the vicinity of the paper discharge port 23 as transport means. ing. Further, a sheet sensor Se1 for detecting the front end and / or the rear end of the sheet is arranged in the paper ejection path 22.

The paper ejection path 22 is formed by a substantially horizontal straight path so as to cross the device housing 20. This is to avoid stressing the seat in the curved path, and the path is formed with the linearity allowed by the equipment layout. The above-mentioned carry-in roller pair 31 and paper discharge roller pair 32 are connected to the same drive motor M1 (hereinafter referred to as a transport motor), and transport the sheet at the same peripheral speed.

[Processing tray]
Explaining according to FIG. 3, a processing tray 24 is arranged on the paper ejection port 23 of the paper ejection path 22 so as to form a step d on the downstream side thereof. Since the processing tray 24 stacks the sheets sent from the paper ejection port 23 upward and accumulates them in a bundle, the processing tray 24 includes a paper mounting surface 24a that supports at least a part of the sheets. A structure (bridge support structure) is adopted in which the front end side of the sheet is supported by the stack tray 25, which will be described later, and the rear end side of the sheet is supported by the processing tray 24. This reduces the tray size.

The processing tray 24 collects the sheets sent from the paper ejection port 23 in a bundle shape, aligns the sheets with a predetermined posture, performs a binding process, and carries out the processed sheet bundle to the stack tray 25 on the downstream side. It is configured in. Therefore, the processing tray 24 incorporates a "seat loading mechanism 35", a "sheet matching mechanism 45", a "binding processing mechanism 26, 27", and a "sheet bundle unloading mechanism 60".

[Sheet loading mechanism (sheet loading means)]
A processing tray 24 is arranged in the above-mentioned paper ejection port 23 so as to form a step d. A sheet carrying means 35 that smoothly conveys the sheet in the correct posture on the processing tray is required. The sheet loading means 35 (friction rotating body) is composed of a paddle rotating body 36 that moves up and down, and when the rear end of the sheet is carried out onto the tray from the paper ejection port 23, the paddle rotating body 36 ejects the sheet in the opposite direction (FIG. 3 Transfer to the right direction) and abut against the sheet edge regulating means 40 described later for alignment (positioning).

For this reason, the output port 23 is provided with an elevating arm 37 rotatably supported by a support shaft 37x on the device frame 20a, and the paddle rotating body 36 is rotatably supported by the tip of the elevating arm. There is. The support shaft 37x is equipped with a pulley (not shown), and the above-mentioned transfer motor M1 is connected to this pulley.

At the same time, an elevating motor M3 (hereinafter referred to as a paddle elevating motor) is connected to the elevating arm 37 via a spring clutch (torque limiter), and as shown in FIG. 4, the elevating arm 37 is moved to the upper standby position Wp by the rotation of the motor. It is configured to move up and down between the lower operating position (seat engaging position) Ap.

Here, the spring clutch raises the elevating arm 37 from the operating position Ap to the standby position Wp by one-way rotation of the paddle elevating motor M3, and after hitting a locking stopper (not shown), stands by at that standby position. Further, the spring clutch is relaxed by the rotation of the paddle elevating motor M3 in the opposite direction, and the elevating arm 37 descends from the standby position Wp to the lower operating position Ap by its own weight and engages with the uppermost sheet on the processing tray.

As shown in FIG. 5, the paddle rotating bodies 36 are arranged symmetrically in pairs with respect to the seat center (center reference Sx) at a predetermined distance. In addition, a total of three paddle rotating bodies may be arranged on the seat center and both sides thereof, or one paddle rotating body may be arranged on the seat center.

Further, the paddle rotating body 36 is composed of a flexible rotating body such as a rubber plate-shaped member and a plastic blade member. In addition to the paddle rotating body, the sheet carrying means 35 can be composed of a friction rotating member such as a roller body or a belt body.
Further, the rear end of the sheet shows a mechanism for lowering the paddle rotating body 36 from the upper standby position Wp to the lower operating position Ap after being carried out from the paper ejection port 23, but the following elevating mechanism can also be adopted. Is.

In the elevating mechanism different from the drawing, for example, when the tip of the sheet is carried out from the paper ejection port 23, the friction rotating body is lowered from the standby position to the operating position and at the same time rotated in the paper ejection direction, and the rear end of the sheet is the paper ejection port. At the timing of carrying out from 23, this rotating body rotates in the reverse direction in the direction opposite to the paper ejection. As a result, the sheet carried out from the paper ejection port 23 can be transferred to a predetermined position on the processing tray 24 at high speed and without skewing.

[Scraping rotating body (scraping transport means)]
When the sheet is conveyed to a predetermined position on the processing tray 24 by the sheet loading mechanism 35 (paddle rotating body) arranged in the paper ejection port 23, the sheet tip is moved to the downstream side due to the influence of a curled sheet, a skewed sheet, or the like. A scraping transport means 33 for guiding to the regulation stopper 40 of the above is required.

Below the paper ejection roller pair 32, a scraping rotating body (scraping transporting means) 33 that applies a feeding force to the regulating member side of the top sheet of the sheet loaded on the upstream side of the sheet edge regulating stopper 40, which will be described later, is provided. Have been placed. The ring-shaped belt member 34 (hereinafter referred to as “scraping belt”) is arranged above the tip of the processing tray 24, and the scraping belt 34 engages with the uppermost sheet on the paper mounting surface and is seated on the regulating member side. Rotates in the direction of transporting.

For this reason, the scraping belt 34 is made of a flexible material such as rubber, is made of a belt material with high frictional force (such as a knurled belt), and is idle with a rotating shaft 34x connected to a drive motor (common with the transport motor M1). A nip is supported between the shaft 34y and the shaft 34y. Then, the rotational force in the counterclockwise direction of FIG. 3 is applied from the rotation shaft 34x. At the same time, the scraping belt 34 abuts against the regulation stopper 40 on the downstream side while pressing the tip of the sheet carried in along the uppermost sheet loaded on the processing tray.

The scraping belt 34 is configured to move up and down above the top sheet on the tray by a belt shift motor M5 (hereinafter referred to as a knurled elevating motor) (the elevating mechanism thereof is omitted). Then, at the timing when the tip of the seat enters between the surface of the belt and the uppermost seat, the scraping belt 34 descends and engages with the carry-in seat. Further, the scraping belt 34 controls the knurled elevating motor M5 so as to be separated from the uppermost sheet and stand by upward when being transferred from the processing tray 24 to the stack tray 25 on the downstream side by the sheet bundle unloading means 60 described later.

[Sheet alignment mechanism]
A sheet matching mechanism 45 for positioning the carried-in sheet at a predetermined position (processing position) is arranged on the processing tray 24. The sheet alignment mechanism 45 has a "sheet edge regulating means 40" that regulates the position of the output direction end surface (either the front end surface or the rear end surface) of the sheet sent from the output port 23 and the sheet discharge direction (sheet side direction). ) Is aligned with the width of the "side matching means 45". Hereinafter, they will be described in this order.

[Sheet edge regulation means]
The sheet edge regulating means 40 is composed of a rear edge regulating member 41 that abuts and regulates the trailing edge in the paper ejection direction. The rear end regulating member 41 includes a regulating surface 41a that abuts and regulates the rear end edge of the sheet carried in along the paper loading surface 24a on the processing tray in the paper ejection direction, and is fed by the above-mentioned scraping transport means 33. The trailing edge of the sheet to be used is abutted and stopped.

When the rear end regulating member 41 is multi-stitched by the binding means 26 described later, the binding means moves along the rear end of the sheet (in the direction orthogonal to the paper ejection). Either (1) adopt a mechanism for entering and retreating the rear end regulating member into the moving path (movement locus) of the binding means 26 so as not to interfere with the movement of the unit, or (2) integrally with the binding means 26. A mechanism for moving the position is adopted, or (3) the rear end regulating member is composed of, for example, a channel-shaped bent piece inside the binding space composed of the head of the binding means 26 and the anvil.

The rear end regulating member 41 is composed of a plate-shaped bending member having a U-shaped cross section (channel shape) arranged in the binding space of the binding means 26. Then, the first member 41A is arranged in the seat center with the minimum size sheet as a reference, and the second and third members 41B and 41C are arranged on the left and right at a distance from the first member 41A (see FIG. 5). This enables the binding means 26 to move in the sheet width direction.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, a plurality of rear end regulating members 41 made of channel-shaped bent pieces are fixed to the processing tray 24 (the tip of the member is fixed to the back wall of the tray with screws). There is. A regulation surface 41a is formed on each of the rear end regulation members 41, and an inclined surface 41b for guiding the seat end to the regulation surface is continuously provided at the bent tip portion thereof.

[Side alignment means]
The processing tray 24 is provided with a matching means 45 (hereinafter referred to as “side matching member”) for positioning the sheet abutting on the rear end regulating member 41 in the paper ejection orthogonal direction (sheet width direction).

The structure of the side matching member 45 differs depending on whether sheets of different sizes are aligned on the processing tray based on the center reference or one side reference. In the apparatus shown in FIG. 5, sheets of different sizes are ejected from the paper ejection port 23 based on the center reference, and the sheets are aligned on the processing tray based on the center reference. Then, the sheet bundles aligned in a bundle shape based on the center reference are bound by offsetting a predetermined amount of sheet bundles to the binding positions Ma1 and Ma2 in the matching posture when multi-binding and in the left-right direction when binding left and right corners. The binding means 26 binds the positions Cp1 and Cp2.

Therefore, the matching means 45 projects side matching members 46 (46F, 46R) having a regulation surface 46x that protrudes upward from the paper mounting surface 24a of the processing tray and engages with the side edge of the sheet so as to face each other in pairs on the left and right sides. Place in. Then, the pair of left and right side matching members 46 are arranged on the processing tray 24 so as to be reciprocating with a predetermined stroke. This stroke is set by the size difference between the maximum size sheet and the minimum size sheet and the offset amount for moving the position (offset transfer) of the sheet bundle after matching in either the left or right direction. That is, the moving strokes of the left and right side matching members 46F and 46R are set by the moving amount for matching different size sheets and the offset amount of the sheet bundle after matching.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the side matching member 46 is composed of a right side matching member 46F (device front side) and a left side matching member 46R (device rear side), and both side matching members 46 have a seat side. The regulation surface 46x that engages with the end is supported by the tray member so as to move in the approaching direction or the separating direction from each other. The processing tray 24 is provided with a slit groove 24x penetrating the front and back surfaces, and a side matching member 46 having a regulation surface 46x that engages with the seat side edge is slidably fitted to the upper surface of the tray from the slit.

The side matching members 46F and 46R are slidably supported by a plurality of guide rollers 49 (which may be rail members) on the back side of the tray, and the rack 47 is integrally formed. Matching motors M6 and M7 are connected to the left and right racks 47 via pinions 48. The left and right matching motors M6 and M7 are composed of stepping motors, and position detection of the left and right side matching members 46F and 46R is performed by a position sensor (not shown), and each regulating member can be placed in either the left or right direction based on the detected value. It is configured so that the position can be moved by the specified movement amount.

It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which each side matching member 46F, 46R is fixed to a timing belt and the belt is connected to a motor that reciprocates left and right by a pulley without using a rack-pinion mechanism.

In such a configuration, the control means 75, which will be described later, causes the left and right side matching members 46 to stand by at a predetermined standby position (sheet width size + α position) based on the sheet size information provided by the image forming unit A or the like. .. In this state, the sheet is carried onto the processing tray, and the matching operation is started at the timing when the sheet edge abuts on the sheet edge regulating member 41.

In this matching operation, the left and right matching motors M6 and M7 are rotated by the same amount in opposite directions (approaching directions). Then, the sheets carried into the processing tray 24 are positioned with reference to the seat center and stacked in a bundle. By repeating the loading operation and the matching operation of the sheets, the sheets are aligned and accumulated in a bundle on the processing tray. At this time, sheets of different sizes are positioned with reference to the center.

The sheets stacked on the processing tray based on the center in this way can be bound at a plurality of places at predetermined intervals (multi-binding processing) at the trailing edge (or tip edge) of the sheet in that posture. Further, when the sheet corner is bound, one side of the left and right side matching members 46F and 46R is moved to a position where the sheet side edge coincides with the designated binding position and is stopped.

Then, the side matching member on the opposite side is moved in the approaching direction. The amount of movement in the approaching direction is calculated according to the sheet size. As a result, the sheets carried onto the processing tray 24 are aligned so that the right edge matches the binding position when the right corner is bound, and the left edge matches the binding position when the left corner is bound. ..

When the sheet bundle aligned at a predetermined position on the processing tray as described above is offset and moved for the "eco-binding process" described later,
(1) In a state where the matching member on the front side in the moving direction is retracted to a position away from the planned offset position, the matching member on the rear side in the moving direction is moved in a preset amount transfer orthogonal direction.
(2) The drive control of either moving the left and right matching members by the same amount in the transport orthogonal direction is adopted.

Position sensors (not shown) such as a position sensor and an encode sensor are arranged on the left and right side matching members 46F and 46R and their matching motors M6 and M7 to detect the position of the side matching members 46. ing. Further, the matching motors M6 and M7 are configured by a stepping motor, the home position of the side matching member 46 is detected by a position sensor (not shown), and the motor is PWM-controlled to align the left and right sides with a relatively simple control configuration. The members 46F and 46R can be controlled.

[Sheet bundle unloading mechanism]
The sheet bundle unloading mechanism (sheet bundle unloading means 60) will be described with reference to the description in FIG. The processing tray 24 is provided with a sheet bundle unloading mechanism for carrying out the sheet bundles bound by the first and second binding means 26 and 27 to the stack tray 25 on the downstream side. In the processing tray 24 described with reference to FIG. 5, the first seat rear end regulating members 41A are arranged in the seat center Sx, and the second and third seat rear end regulating members 41B and 41C are arranged on the left and right sides of the processing tray 24. ing. Then, the sheet bundle locked to the regulating member 41 is bound by the binding means 26 (27) and then carried out to the stack tray 25 on the downstream side.

Therefore, the sheet bundle unloading means 60 is arranged on the processing tray 24 along the paper loading surface 24a. The sheet bundle unloading means 60 is composed of a first transport member 60A and a second transport member 60B, the first section L1 on the processing tray is the first transport member 60A, and the second section L2 is the second transport member 60B. Relay transport with.

In this way, by taking over and transporting the sheets by the first transport member 60A and the second transport member 60B, the mechanism of each transport member can be made to have a different structure. The member that conveys the sheet bundle from substantially the same start point as the sheet rear end regulating means 40 is composed of a member with less fluctuation (long support member), and the member that drops the sheet bundle onto the stack tray 25 at the end of the transfer is a member. , Must be small (to run on a loop trail).

Here, the first transport member 60A is composed of a first carry-out member 61 formed of a bent piece having a cross-sectional channel shape, and the member includes a locking surface 61a for locking the rear end surface of the sheet bundle, and the locking surface 61a. A paper surface pressing member 62 (elastic film member; mylar piece) for pressing the upper surface of the sheet locked to the surface is provided. As shown in the figure, the first transport member 60A is composed of a channel-shaped bent piece, so that when it is fixed to the carrier member 65a (belt) described later, it hardly shakes and travels integrally with the belt. Then, the rear end of the sheet bundle is moved (delivered) in the transport direction. Then, the first transport member 60A reciprocates the stroke Str1 on a substantially linear locus without traveling on a curved loop locus as described later.

The second transport member 60B is composed of a claw-shaped second carry-out member 63, and is provided with a locking surface 63a for locking the rear end surface of the sheet bundle and a paper surface pressing member 64 for pressing the upper surface of the sheet bundle. .. The paper surface pressing member 64 is pivotally supported by the second carry-out member 63 and is provided with a paper surface pressing surface 64a, and the paper surface pressing surface is provided with an urging spring 64b so as to press the upper surface of the sheet bundle. Being urged.

Further, as shown in the drawing, the paper surface pressing surface 64a is composed of an inclined surface inclined in the traveling direction, and when it moves in the direction of arrow in FIG. 11B, it engages with the rear end of the sheet at a sandwiching angle γ. At this time, the paper surface pressing surface 64a is deformed upward (counterclockwise in the same figure) in the direction of the arrow against the urging spring 64b. Then, as shown in FIG. 11C, the paper surface pressing surface 64a presses the upper surface of the sheet bundle toward the paper mounting surface side by the action of the urging spring 64b.

The first carry-out member 61 configured as described above is the first carrier member 65a, and the second carry-out member 63 is the second carrier member 65b, which reciprocates from the base end portion of the paper mounting surface 24a to the outlet end portion. To do. Therefore, the drive pulleys 66a and 66b and the driven pulleys 66c are arranged on the paper mounting surface 24a at positions separated by the transport stroke. Figures 66d and 66e are idle pulleys.

A first carrier member 65a (toothed belt) is bridged between the drive pulley 66a and the driven pulley 66c, and a second carrier member 65b (toothed belt) is an idle pulley between the drive pulley 66b and the driven pulley 66c. It is bridged via 66d and 66e. A drive motor M4 is connected to the drive pulleys 66a and 66b, and the first drive is transmitted so that the rotation of the motor is low to the first carrier member 65a and the drive is transmitted to the second carrier member 65b at high speed. The pulley 65a is formed to have a small diameter, and the second drive pulley 65b is formed to have a large diameter.

That is, the first transport member 60A is connected to the common drive motor M4 via a reduction mechanism (belt-pulley, gear connection, etc.) so that the first transport member 60A travels at a low speed and the second transport member 60B travels at a high speed. At the same time, the second drive pulley 66b has a built-in cam mechanism having the following structure for delaying drive transmission. This is because, as will be described later, the moving stroke Str1 of the first transport member 60A and the moving stroke Str2 of the second transport member 60B are different, and the standby position of each member is adjusted.

The cam mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the rotation of the rotation shaft 67x of the drive motor M4 is transmitted to the drive pulley 66a of the first carrier member (first belt) 65a via the transmission belt. Therefore, the forward / reverse rotation of the drive motor M4 is directly transmitted to the first belt 65a, and the forward rotation causes the first belt 65a to travel in the seat bundle carry-out direction, and the reverse rotation causes the first belt 65a to travel in the return direction.

Further, the rotation of the rotation shaft 67x of the drive motor M4 is connected to the drive pulley 66b of the second carrier member (second belt) 65b via a transmission belt. The rotation of the rotating shaft 67x is connected to the drive pulley 66b via a transmission cam (protruding cam 67a and recessed cam 67b), and this connection delays the rotation of the rotating shaft 67x of the drive motor by a predetermined angle and rotates to the drive pulley 66b. It is designed to be transmitted.

FIG. 12B shows the activated state of the motor rotating shaft 67x, and FIG. 12C shows the state after rotating by a predetermined angle. As shown in the figure, a protruding cam 67a is integrally formed on the motor rotating shaft 67x, and a recessed cam 67b that engages with the protruding cam 67a is formed on the drive pulley 66b. A play angle (η) is formed so that the protruding cam 67a and the recessed cam 67b do not engage within a predetermined angle range but engage after rotating by a predetermined angle.

That is, in FIG. 12B showing when the motor rotation shaft 67x is started, the protruding cam 67a rotating in the counterclockwise direction has a play angle η formed between the protruding cam 67a and the recessed cam 67b. In the state shown in FIG. (C), the drive is transmitted to the recessed cam 67b, and the drive pulley 66b starts rotating.

This means that when the drive motor M4 is rotated in the reverse direction to return the second belt 65b, the second belt 65b starts traveling with a predetermined angle (distance) delay with respect to the first belt 65a, and is predetermined. Return to the position delayed by a distance.

Therefore, the second transport member 60B fixed to the second belt 65b starts driving with a delay of a predetermined time with respect to the first transport member 60A fixed to the first belt 65a, and is placed at a position delayed by a predetermined time. It will return. Therefore, the standby position of the second transport member 60B can be changed with respect to the rotation timing of the drive motor M4. This makes it possible to adjust the position of the second transport member 60B when it is made to stand by on the back side (bottom portion) of the processing tray 24.

With the above configuration, the first transport member 60A reciprocates in a linear locus in the first stroke Str1 from the rear end regulation position of the processing tray 24, and the first section Tr1 is set in this stroke, and the second The transport member 60B reciprocates from the first section Tr1 to the outlet end of the processing tray 24 in a semi-looped locus in the second stroke Str2, and the second section Tr2 is set in this stroke.

Then, the first transport member 60A moves from the seat rear end regulation position to the downstream side (from FIGS. 11A to 11B) at a speed V1 by one-way rotation of the drive motor M4, and the seat bundle is moved by the locking surface 61a. Push the rear end to transfer. A predetermined time delay from the first transport member 60A, the second transport member 60B protrudes from the standby position (FIG. 11 (a)) on the back side of the processing tray onto the paper mounting surface and follows the first transport member 60A. It travels in the same direction at a speed of V2. At this time, since the speed V1 <V2 is set, the sheet bundle on the processing tray is taken over from the first transport member 60A to the second transport member 60B.

FIG. 11B shows a takeover transfer state, and the sheet bundle traveling at the speed V1 is overtaken by the second transfer member 60B traveling at the speed V2. That is, after passing the first section Tr1, the first transport member 60A is overtaken by the second transport member 60B, the second transport member 60B engages with the rear end surface of the sheet, and transports the second section Tr2 to the downstream side.

Then, when the second transport member 60B hits the sheet bundle traveling at the speed V1 at a high speed at the takeover point, the paper surface pressing member 64 presses the upper surface of the sheet bundle with the paper surface pressing surface 64a to press the carrier member (belt) 65a. While holding the rear end of the sheet bundle so as to nip with (65b), the sheet is carried out toward the stack tray 25.

[Binding processing method (binding position)]
As described above, the sheets sent to the carry-in port 21 of the paper ejection path 22 are aligned and accumulated on the processing tray, and are positioned (aligned) at the positions and postures preset by the sheet edge regulating member 40 and the side matching member 46. Will be done. Therefore, this sheet bundle is bound and carried out to the stack tray 25 on the downstream side. The binding processing method in this case will be described.

The processing tray 24 is provided with "first binding means 26 for staple binding of sheet bundles" and "second binding means 27 for binding sheet bundles without needles" as binding processing methods. The control means 75, which will be described later, has a first feature that the sheet bundle is bound to the downstream side after being bound by the first and second selected binding means 26 (27). This is because bookbinding that does not easily come off when the sheet bundle is bound with a staple is possible, but depending on the application of the user, the convenience of easily separating the bound sheet bundle may be required. In addition, since metal needles are a problem when cutting used sheet bundles with a shredder, recycling used paper, etc., it is possible to select and use "with needles" or "without needles" binding means. Because.

Further, apart from a series of post-processing operations in which the sheets are carried in from the sheet carry-in route (paper discharge route) 22 and then the sheets are aligned and accumulated, and then the binding process is performed, the sheets created outside the device (outside the system) are bound (hereinafter The second feature is (referred to as "manual staple processing").

Therefore, a manual setting portion 29 for setting the sheet bundle from the outside is arranged on the outer casing 20b, the manual setting surface 29a for setting the sheet bundle is formed on the casing, and the above-mentioned binding means 26 is used on the processing tray 24. It is configured to move from the sheet loading area Ar to the manual feed area Fr.

Each binding processing method will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10. "Multi-binding position Ma1, Ma2" that binds multiple parts of the sheet with staples, "Corner binding position Cp1, Cp2" that binds the sheet corners, and "Manual binding position" that binds the manually set sheet. "Mp" and "needleless binding position Ep" for binding the sheet corner without needles are set. The positional relationship of each binding position will be described.

The binding processing method will be described with reference to FIG. "Multi-binding position Ma1, Ma2" that binds multiple parts of the sheet with staples, "Corner binding position Cp1, Cp2" that binds the sheet corners, and "Manual binding position Mp" that binds the manually set sheet. ", And the" needleless binding position Ep "that binds the sheet corner without needles is set. The positional relationship of each binding position will be described.

[Multi-binding]
As shown in FIG. 5, in the multi-binding process, the edge (rear edge) of the sheet bundle (hereinafter referred to as “matching sheet bundle”) positioned on the processing tray 24 by the sheet edge regulating member 41 and the side matching member 46 is performed. Is bound. In FIG. 9, binding positions Ma1 and Ma2 for binding two locations at intervals are set. The binding means 26, which will be described later, moves from the home position HP to the binding position Ma1 and then to the binding position Ma2 in this order to perform binding processing. The multi-binding position Ma is not limited to two locations, and may be bound to three locations or more. FIG. 13A shows a multi-bound state.

[Corner binding]
The corner binding process is performed at two locations on the left and right, the right corner binding position Cp1 for binding the right corner of the matching sheet bundle accumulated in the processing tray 24 and the left corner binding position Cp2 for binding the left corner of the matching sheet bundle. The binding position is set. In this case, the staple needle is tilted by a predetermined angle (about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees) for binding. (The binding means 26 described later is mounted on the device frame so that the entire unit is tilted by a predetermined angle at this position.) FIGS. 13 (b) and 13 (c) show the corner bound state.

The case where either the left or right side of the sheet bundle is selected for the binding process and the case where the staple needle is tilted by a predetermined angle for the binding process are shown. Not limited to this, a configuration in which corner binding is performed on either the left or right side, or a configuration in which the staple needle is bound parallel to the edge of the sheet without tilting can be adopted.

[Manual binding]
The manual binding position Mp is arranged on the manual setting surface 29a formed on the exterior casing 20b (a part of the device housing) described later. The manual setting surface 29a is arranged (parallel arrangement) at a height position forming substantially the same plane as the paper mounting surface 24a of the processing tray, and is adjacent to the paper mounting surface 24a via the side frame 20c. ..

The paper mounting surface 24a and the manual setting surface 29a of the processing tray both support the sheet in a substantially horizontal posture and are arranged at substantially the same height position. FIG. 13D shows a manually bound state.

That is, in FIG. 5, the manual setting surface 29a is arranged on the right side and the paper mounting surface 24a is arranged on the left side via the side frame frame 20c. The manual binding position Mp is arranged on the same straight line as the above-mentioned multi-binding position Ma arranged on the paper mounting surface. This is because both binding positions are bound by the common binding means 26. Therefore, the processing tray 24 has a sheet loading area Ar, a manual feed area Fr on the front side of the device, and an eco-binding area Rr described later on the rear side of the device.

[Needleless binding position]
The needleless binding position Ep (hereinafter referred to as “eco-binding position”) is arranged so as to perform binding processing on the side edge portion (corner portion) of the sheet as shown in FIG. The eco-binding position Ep is arranged at a position where one edge portion of the sheet bundle in the paper ejection direction is bound, and the eco-binding position Ep is bound at an angle position inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the sheet. The eco-binding position Ep is arranged in the eco-binding area Rr away from the sheet carry-in area Ar of the processing tray 24 on the rear side of the apparatus.

[Relationship between each binding position]
The multi-binding positions Ma1 and Ma2 are arranged in (inside) the carry-out area Ar of the sheets carried into the processing tray 24 from the paper ejection port 23. Further, the corner binding positions Cp1 and Cp2 are arranged outside the sheet carry-in area Ar at a reference position (side alignment reference) separated by a predetermined distance from the sheet ejection reference Sx (center reference) to either the right or the left. ing. As shown in FIG. 6, the right corner binding position Cp1 is located outside the side edge of the maximum size sheet (to be bound) and is biased to the right by a predetermined amount (δ1) from the sheet side edge, and is bound to the left corner. The position Cp2 is arranged at a position biased to the left by a predetermined amount (δ2) from the side edge of the seat. The amount of both biases is set to the same distance (δ1 = δ2).

The multi-binding positions Ma1 and Ma2 and the manual binding position Mp are arranged on substantially straight lines. Further, the corner binding positions Cp1 and Cp2 are set to tilt angles (for example, 45 degree angle positions) that are symmetrical with respect to the paper ejection reference Sx.

The manual binding position Mp is located outside the seat carry-in area Ar and is located in the manual feed area Fr of the device front side Fr, and the eco-binding position Ep is outside the sheet carry-in area Ar and is located outside the device rear side Re eco-binding area. It is located in Rr.

Further, the manual binding position Mp is arranged at a position offset by a predetermined amount (Of1) from the right corner binding position of the processing tray, and the eco-binding position Ep is offset by a predetermined amount (Of2) from the left corner binding position of the processing tray 24. It is placed in position.

In this way, the multi-binding position Mp is set based on the carry-out standard (center reference) of the processing tray for loading the sheet, the corner binding position Cp is set based on the maximum size sheet, and the device is further set from the left and right corner binding positions. By setting the manual binding position Mp at the position where the predetermined amount offset Of1 is set on the front side and setting the eco-binding position Ep at the position where the predetermined amount offset Off2 is set on the rear side of the device, the seat movements do not interfere with each other and are orderly. Can be arranged.

Explaining the sheet movement in each binding process, in the case of the multi-binding process, the sheet is carried into the processing tray based on the center reference (which may be one-sided reference), and is aligned and bound in that state. After the binding process, it is carried out to the downstream side in that position. At the time of corner binding, the sheet is aligned with the specified side alignment position and bound. After the binding process, it is carried out to the downstream side in that position. Further, in the eco-binding process, the sheets carried on the processing tray are accumulated in a bundle and then offset Off2 by a predetermined amount on the rear side of the apparatus, and the sheets are bound after the offset is moved. After the binding process, a predetermined amount (for example, a shift amount equal to or smaller than the offset Of2) is offset toward the seat center side, and then the sheet is carried out to the downstream side.

In manual binding, the operator sets the sheet on the manual feed set surface separated from the processing tray 24 by a predetermined amount offset Of1 from the alignment reference located on the front side. As a result, a plurality of binding processes are distributed in the direction orthogonal to the transfer of the sheet setting position, and the binding process is executed, so that the processing speed is fast and the processing with less sheet jam is possible.

In the eco-binding process, the control means 75, which will be described later, sets the binding position Ep by offsetting the sheet from the rear end reference position by a predetermined amount in the paper ejection direction. This is to avoid interference between the binding means 26 and the needleless binding means 27 for binding the left corner of the sheet. Therefore, if the needleless binding means 27 is mounted on the device frame 20 so as to be movable between the binding position and the retracted position retracted from the binding position 26 in the same manner as the binding means 26, it is not necessary to offset Of3 in the paper ejection direction.

Here, the device front side Fr refers to the front side of the exterior casing 20b that is set at the time of device design and the operator executes various operations. Normally, a control panel, a seat cassette mounting cover (door), or an opening / closing cover for replenishing the needles of the binding means is arranged on the front side of the device. Further, the device rear side Re means, for example, the side facing the wall surface of the building when the device is installed (installation condition in which there is a wall on the back surface in the design).

In this way, the manual binding position Mp is arranged on the front side Fr of the device and the eco binding position Ep is arranged on the rear side Re of the device outside the area based on the sheet carry-in area Ar. At this time, the distance Ofx between the standard of the sheet carry-in area Ar (sheet carry-in standard Sx) and the manual binding position Mp is longer than the distance Ofy between the carry-in standard Sx and the eco-binding position Ep (remote position; Ofx> Ofy). It is set to.

In this way, the manual binding position Mp is set at a position far away from the sheet carry-in standard (Sx) of the processing tray 24, and the eco-binding position Ep is set at a close position near the carry-in standard because the manual binding position Mp is set from the outside. This is for the convenience that when the sheet bundle is set, the operation is easy because it is separated from the processing tray 24. At the same time, the eco-binding position Ep was set to a position closer (closer) to the carry-in reference Sx by reducing the amount of movement when offset-moving the sheets (matching sheet bundle) carried on the processing tray to the binding position. This is for speedy (improvement of productability) binding processing.

[Movement mechanism of binding means]
The binding means 26 (first binding processing means) is equipped with a needle cartridge 39, a staple head 26b, and an anvil member 26c on the unit frame 26a (referred to as the first unit frame), although the structure thereof will be described later. The unit 26 is supported by the device frame 20a so as to reciprocate along the sheet end surface of the processing tray 24 with a predetermined stroke. The support structure will be described below.

FIG. 7 shows a frontal configuration in which the binding means 26 is attached to the device frame 20, and FIG. 8 shows a planar configuration thereof. 9 and 10 show partial explanatory views of the guide rail mechanism for guiding the binding means.

As shown in FIG. 7, chassis frames 20e (hereinafter referred to as “bottom frame frames”) are arranged on the left and right side frame frames 20c and 20d constituting the device frame 20a. The binding means 26 is movably mounted on the bottom frame 20e with a predetermined stroke. A traveling guide rail 42 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “guide rail”) and a slide cam 43 are arranged on the bottom frame frame 20e. A traveling rail surface 42x is formed on the guide rail, and a traveling cam surface 43x is formed on the slide cam 43. The traveling rail surface 42x and the traveling cam surface 43x cooperate with each other to bind means 26 (hereinafter, “moving unit” in this section”. ) Is supported so that it can reciprocate with a predetermined stroke, and at the same time, its angular posture is controlled.

The traveling guide rail 42 and the slide cam 43 are formed with a rail surface 42x and a cam surface 43x so as to reciprocate within the moving range (seat loading area, manual feeding area, and eco-binding area) SL of the moving unit (FIG. 8). reference). The traveling guide rail 42 is composed of a rail member having a stroke SL along the rear end regulating member 41 of the processing tray 24, and is composed of an opening groove formed in the bottom frame frame 20e. A traveling rail surface 42x is formed on the opening edge, and the traveling rail surface is arranged in the same straight line as the rear end regulating member 41 of the processing tray and in a parallel relationship with each other. Further, the slide cam 43 is arranged at a distance from the traveling rail surface, and is composed of a groove cam formed on the bottom frame frame 20e. A traveling cam surface 43x is formed on this groove cam.

The moving unit 26 (binding means) is fixed to a traveling belt 44 connected to a drive motor (traveling motor) M11. The traveling belt 44 is wound around a pair of pulleys pivotally supported by the device frame 20e, and a drive motor is connected to one of the pulleys. Therefore, the binding means 26 reciprocates with the stroke SL by the forward and reverse rotation of the traveling motor M11.

The traveling rail surface and the traveling cam surface are parallel to each other with parallel spacing portions (span G1) 43a and 43b, narrow swing spacing portions (span G2) 43c and 43d, and even narrower spacing swing spacing portions (span G3). ) An interval is formed at 43e. Then, the relationship is configured as span G1> span G2> span G3. In the span G1, the unit is in a posture parallel to the rear edge of the seat, in the span G2, the unit is in a tilted posture to the left or right, and in the span G3, the swing angle is changed so that the unit is in a further tilted posture.

The traveling guide rail 42 is not limited to the opening groove structure, and a guide rod, a protruding rib, and various other structures can be adopted. Further, the slide cam 43 is not limited to the groove cam, and any shape can be adopted as long as it is provided with a cam surface that guides the moving unit 26 in a predetermined stroke direction, such as a protrusion rib member.

The moving unit 26 is engaged with the traveling guide rail 42 and the slide cam 43 as follows. As shown in FIG. 7, the moving unit 26 includes a first rolling roller 50 (rail fitting member) that engages with the traveling rail surface 42x and a second rolling roller 51 (a second rolling roller 51 (rail fitting member) that engages with the traveling cam surface 43x. A cam follower member) is provided. At the same time, the moving unit 26 has a sliding roller 52 (ball-shaped sliding rollers 52a and 52b are formed at two positions) that engage with the support surface of the bottom frame frame 20e. Further, the moving unit is formed with a guide roller 53 that engages with the bottom surface of the bottom frame portion frame to prevent the moving unit 26 from floating from the bottom frame.

From the above configuration, the moving unit 26 is movably supported by the bottom frame frame 20e by the sliding rollers 52a and 52b and the guide rollers 53. At the same time, the first rolling roller 50 travels on the traveling rail surface 42x, and the second rolling roller 52 travels along the traveling cam surface 43x while traveling along the rail surface 42x and the cam surface 43x.

Therefore, the distance between the rail surface 42x and the cam surface 43x is formed at the illustrated position 43a in which the parallel spacing portion (span G1) faces the above-mentioned multi-binding position Ma1Ma2 and the illustrated position 43b facing the manual binding position Mp. .. In this span G1, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 10C, the moving unit 26 is held in a posture orthogonal to the seat edge without swinging. Therefore, at the multi-binding position and the manual binding position, the sheet bundle is bound with a staple needle parallel to the edge of the sheet.

The distance between the rail surface 42x and the cam surface 43x is formed so that the swing interval (span G2) is the illustrated position 43e facing the right corner binding position and the illustrated position 43d facing the left corner binding position. .. Then, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 10A, the moving unit is held in a right tilt angle posture (for example, right 45 degree tilt) and a left tilt angle posture (for example, left 45 degree tilt). Has been done.

Further, the distance between the rail surface 42x and the cam surface 43x is formed at the illustrated position 43c in which the swing interval (span G3) faces the position for loading the needle. The spans G3 are formed at intervals shorter than the spans G2, and in this state, the moving unit 26 is held in a right tilt angle posture (for example, 60 degree tilt) as shown in FIG. 10 (b). The angle of the moving unit 26 is changed at the needle loading position in order to match the unit posture in the angle direction in which the needle cartridge 39 is mounted on the unit, and the angle is set in relation to the opening / closing cover arranged in the outer casing.

When the angular posture of the moving unit is deflected by the traveling rail surface 42x and the traveling cam surface 43x, a second traveling cam surface is provided or a stopper cam surface is provided to shorten the moving length. It is preferable to deflect the angle in cooperation with the compact layout.

The illustrated stopper cam surface will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, the side frame frame 20e has a stopper that engages with a part of the moving unit (sliding roller 52a) in order to change the unit posture at the right corner binding position Cp1 on the front side of the device and the manual binding position Mp. The surfaces 43y and 43z are arranged at the positions shown in the drawing. As a result, it is necessary to correct the inclination of the unit that is inclined at the needle loading position at the manual binding position Mp, but changing the angle only on the cam surface and the rail surface described above makes the moving stroke redundant.

Therefore, when the moving unit is locked by the stopper surface 43y and advanced to the manual binding side, the unit returns from the tilted state to the original state. Further, when the unit is returned from the manual binding position in the opposite direction, the stopper surface 43z (forcibly) tilts the unit toward the corner binding position.

[Binding means]
The binding means 26 is already widely known as a device for binding with staples. An example thereof will be described with reference to FIG. 14 (a). The binding means 26 is configured as a unit separately from the sheet binding processing device B (post-processing device). A box-shaped unit frame 26a, a drive cam 26d oscillatingly supported by the frame, and a drive motor M8 that rotates the drive cam 26d are mounted on the frame.

The staple head 26b and the anvil member 26c are arranged on the drive cam 26d so as to face each other at the binding position, and the staple head is attached to the drive cam by an urging spring (not shown) from the upper standby position to the lower staple position (anvil member). Moves up and down. A needle cartridge 39 is detachably attached to the unit frame.

A straight blank needle is housed in the needle cartridge 39, and the needle is supplied to the head 26b by the needle feed mechanism. The head portion 26b contains a former member that bends a straight needle in a U shape and a screwdriver that press-fits the bent needle into a sheet bundle. With such a configuration, the drive motor M8 rotates the drive cam 26d and stores it in the urging spring. Then, when the rotation angle reaches a predetermined angle, the head portion 26b vigorously descends toward the anvil member 26c. In this operation, the staple needle is bent into a U shape and then inserted into the sheet bundle with a screwdriver. The tip is bent by the anvil member 26c and stapled.

Further, a needle feed mechanism is built in between the needle cartridge 39 and the staple head 26b, and a sensor (empty sensor) for detecting the absence of a needle is arranged in the needle feed portion. Alternatively, a cartridge sensor (not shown) for detecting whether or not the needle cartridge 39 is inserted is arranged on the unit frame 26a.

The needle cartridge 39 employs a structure in which staple needles connected in a band shape to a box-shaped cartridge are stacked and stored in a stacked manner, and a structure in which the staple needles are stored in a roll shape.

Further, the unit frame 26a is provided with a circuit for controlling each of the above-mentioned sensors and a circuit board for controlling the drive motor M8, and emits a warning signal when the needle cartridge 39 is not housed or when the staple needle is empty. It has become. In addition, this staple control circuit controls the drive motor so that the staple operation is executed by the staple needle signal, and when the staple head moves from the standby position to the anvil position and returns to the standby position again, an "operation end signal" is obtained. Is configured to send.

[Needleless binding means]
The configuration of the needleless binding means 27 will be described with reference to FIG. 14 (b). The press binder mechanism includes a folding binding mechanism (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-256008) in which several sheets are bound by forming a notch opening in the binding portion and folding one side thereof, and the press binder mechanism is free to press and separate from each other. A press binding mechanism is known in which uneven surfaces are formed on the pressure surfaces 27b and 27c to crimp and deform the sheet bundle to bind the sheet bundles.

FIG. 14B shows the needleless binding means 27, in which the movable frame member 27d is swingably supported on the base frame member 27a, and both frames swing so as to be pressure-contacted and separated by the support shaft 27x. A follower roller 27f is arranged on the movable frame member 27b, and a drive cam 27e arranged on the base frame 27a is engaged with the follower roller.

A drive motor M9 arranged on the base frame member 27a is connected to the drive cam 27e via a reduction mechanism, the drive cam 27e rotates due to the rotation of the motor, and the movable frame member 27d is shaken by the cam surface (eccentric cam). It is configured to move.

The lower pressing surface 27c is arranged on the base frame member 27a, and the upper pressing surface 27b is arranged on the movable frame member 27d at positions facing each other. An urging spring (not shown) is arranged between the base frame member 27a and the movable frame member 27d, and the pressing surfaces are urged in a direction in which they are separated from each other.

As shown in the enlarged view in FIG. 14B, the upper pressurizing surface 27b and the lower pressurizing surface 27c are formed with protrusions on one side and recessed grooves compatible with the protrusions on the other side. The protrusions and recessed grooves are formed in a ridge (rib) shape having a predetermined length. Therefore, the sheet bundle sandwiched between the upper pressure surface 27b and the lower pressure surface 27c is deformed into a corrugated sheet shape and comes into close contact with each other. A position sensor (not shown) is arranged on the base frame member 27a (unit frame), and is configured to detect whether the upper and lower pressurizing surfaces 27b and 27c are in the pressurizing position or the separated position.

[Stack tray]
The configuration of the stack tray 25 will be described with reference to FIG. The stack tray 25 is arranged on the downstream side of the processing tray 24, and loads and stores a bundle of sheets accumulated in the processing tray. A tray elevating mechanism is provided so as to sequentially lower the stack tray 25 according to the load capacity of the stack tray 25. The loading surface (top sheet height) of this tray is controlled to a height position that is substantially flush with the paper loading surface of the processing tray. Further, the loaded sheet is inclined at an angle at which the rear end edge in the paper ejection direction abuts on the tray matching surface 53 (standing surface) due to its own weight.

When the specific configuration is moved, the elevating rail 54 is fixed to the device frame 20a up and down in the loading direction, and the tray base 25x is slidably fitted to the elevating rail by a slide roller 55 or the like. At the same time, a rack 25r is integrally formed on the tray substrate 25x in the elevating direction, and a drive pinion 56 axially supported by the apparatus frame is meshed with the rack. A lift motor M10 is connected to the drive pinion 56 via a worm gear 57 and a worm wheel 58.

Therefore, when the elevating motor M10 is forward-reversed, the rack 25r connected to the drive pinion 56 moves up and down above and below the device frame. With this configuration, the tray substrate 25x moves up and down in a cantilevered state. As the tray elevating mechanism, a rack and pinion mechanism, a pulley suspension belt mechanism, or the like can be adopted.

A stack tray 25 is integrally attached to the tray base 25x, and is configured to load and store sheets on the loading surface 25a. Further, the device frame is formed with tray matching surfaces 20f that support the trailing edge of the seats above and below the loading direction of the seats, and the tray matching surfaces are formed by the outer casing.

Further, the stack tray 25 integrally attached to the tray substrate 25x is formed so as to be inclined in the illustrated angle direction, and the angle is set (for example, 20 to 60 degrees) so that the rear end abuts on the tray matching surface 20f due to the weight of the sheet. ) Has been done.

[Sheet holding mechanism]
The stack tray 25 is provided with a paper pressing mechanism 53 that presses the stacked top sheets. The paper pressing mechanism includes an elastic pressing member 53a that presses the uppermost sheet, a shaft support member 53b that rotatably supports the elastic pressing member on the device frame 20a, and a drive that rotates the shaft support member in a predetermined angle direction. It is composed of a motor M2 and its transmission mechanism. The drive motor M2 is driven and connected by using the drive motor of the sheet bundle unloading mechanism as a drive source, and when the sheet bundle is loaded (loaded) into the stack tray 25, the elastic pressing member 53a retracts to the outside of the tray and the seat bundle is retracted. After the rear end is stored on the top sheet of the stack tray 25, it rotates counterclockwise as shown from the standby position and engages with the top sheet to press it.

Further, the elastic pressing member 53a retracts from the paper surface of the uppermost sheet on the stack tray 25 to a retracted position by the initial rotation operation of the drive motor M2 that carries out the sheet bundle on the processing tray toward the stack tray 25.

[Level sensor]
A level sensor for detecting the paper surface height of the top sheet is arranged on the stack tray 25, and the winding motor described above is rotated by the detection signal of the level sensor to raise and raise the tray paper mounting surface 25a. Various types of this level sensor mechanism are known, but whether or not the sheet exists at the height position by irradiating the detection light above the tray from the tray matching surface 20f of the apparatus frame and detecting the reflected light. A detection method is used to detect the light.

[Loaded sheet amount sensor]
Similar to the level sensor, the stack tray 25 is provided with a sensor that detects that the sheet has been removed from the tray. Although the structure is not described in detail, for example, whether or not a sheet exists on the loading surface by providing a sensor lever that rotates integrally with the above-mentioned paper holding elastic pressing member 53 and submitting this sensor lever by a sensor element. Is detected.

Then, when the height position of the sensor lever is different (changed) before and after the sheet bundle is carried out, the control means 75 stops the paper ejection operation or raises the tray to a predetermined position, for example. It should be noted that such an operation is an abnormal operation, and is a problem that occurs when the user carelessly takes out the sheet from the stack tray 25 while the device is in operation. Further, a lower limit position is arranged on the stack tray 25 so that the tray does not descend abnormally, and a limit sensor Se3 for detecting the tray is arranged at this lower limit position.

[Image formation system]
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming unit A is composed of a paper feeding unit 1, an image forming unit 2, a paper ejection unit 3, and a signal processing unit (not shown), and is built in the device housing 4. The paper feed unit 1 is composed of a cassette 5 for storing sheets, is composed of a plurality of cassettes 5a, 5b, and 5c, and is configured to be capable of storing sheets of different sizes. Each of the cassettes 5a to 5c has a built-in paper feed roller 6 for feeding out the sheets and a separation means (separation claw, separation roller, etc .; not shown) for separating the sheets one by one.

Further, the paper feeding unit 1 is provided with a paper feeding path 7, and the sheets are fed from each cassette 5 to the image forming unit 2. A resist roller pair 8 is provided at the path end of the paper feed path 7, and the sheets sent from each cassette 5 are aligned at the tip and wait until the sheet is fed according to the image formation timing of the image forming unit 2.

As described above, the paper feed unit 1 is composed of a plurality of cassettes according to the device specifications, and is configured to feed the sheet of the size selected by the control unit to the image forming unit 2 on the downstream side. Each of the cassettes 5 is detachably attached to the device housing 4 so that the seat can be replenished.

As the image forming unit 2, various image forming mechanisms for forming an image on the sheet can be adopted. The electrostatic image forming mechanism is shown. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of drums 9a to 9d composed of photoconductors (photoconductors) are arranged in the device housing 4 according to the color components.

A light emitter (laser head or the like) 10 and a developer 11 are arranged on the drums 9a, 9b, 9c, and 9d. Then, a latent image (electrostatic image) is formed on each of the drums 9a to 9d by the light emitter 10, and the toner ink is adhered by the developer 11. The ink image adhered to each drum is transferred to the transfer belt 12 for each color component and image-synthesized.

The transferred image formed on the belt is transferred to the sheet sent from the paper feeding unit 1 by the charger 13, fixed by the fixing device (heating roller) 14, and then sent to the paper ejection unit 3.

The paper ejection unit 3 is composed of a paper ejection port 16 for carrying out the sheet to the paper ejection space 15 formed in the device housing 4, and a paper ejection path 17 for guiding the sheet from the image forming unit 2 to the paper ejection port. There is. A duplex path 18, which will be described later, is continuously provided in the paper ejection unit 3, so that the sheet on which the image is formed on the surface is inverted and fed to the image forming unit 2 again.

The duplex path 18 flips the sheet image-formed on the front surface side of the image-forming unit 2 and retransmits it to the image-forming unit 2. Then, after the image forming unit 2 forms an image on the back surface side, the image is carried out from the paper ejection port 16. Therefore, the duplex path 18 is composed of a switchback pass that reverses the transport direction and returns the sheet sent from the image forming unit 2 to the apparatus, and a U-turn pass 18a that reverses the sheet returned to the apparatus. ing. In the illustrated device, this switchback path is formed in the paper ejection path 22 of the post-processing unit C, which will be described later.

[Image reading unit]
The image reading unit C includes a platen 19a and a reading carriage 19b that reciprocates along the platen. The platen 19a is made of transparent glass and is composed of a still image reading surface for scanning a still image by moving the reading carriage 19b and a traveling image reading surface for reading a document image traveling at a predetermined speed.

The reading carriage 19b includes a light source lamp, a reflecting mirror that changes the reflected light from the document, and a photoelectric conversion element (not shown). The photoelectric conversion element is composed of line sensors arranged in the document width direction (main scanning direction) on the platen, and the scanning carriage 19b reciprocates in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the line sensor to read the document image in line order. It has become.

Further, an automatic document feeding unit D for traveling the document at a predetermined speed is mounted above the traveling image reading surface of the platen 19a. The document automatic feeding unit D is composed of a feeder mechanism that feeds the document sheets set on the paper feed tray one by one to the platen 19a, reads the image, and then stores the document sheet in the paper output tray.

[Explanation of control configuration]
The control configuration of the image forming system described above will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The image forming system shown in FIG. 16 includes a control unit 70 of the image forming unit A (hereinafter referred to as “main body control unit”) and a binding processing control unit 75 of a post-processing unit B (sheet binding processing device; the same applies hereinafter). There is. The main body control unit 70 includes a print control unit 71, a paper feed control unit 72, and an input unit 73 (control panel).

Then, the "image formation mode" and the "post-processing mode" are set from the input unit 73 (control panel). The image formation mode sets mode settings such as color / monochrome printing and double-sided / single-sided printing, and image formation conditions such as sheet size, sheet quality, number of printouts, and enlarged / reduced printing. Further, the "post-processing mode" is set to, for example, "printout mode", "staple binding processing mode", "eco-binding processing mode", "jog sorting mode" and the like.

A "manual binding mode" is provided, and in this mode, the sheet bundle binding processing operation is executed offline separately from the main body control unit 70 of the image forming unit A.

Further, the main body control unit 70 transfers data such as a post-processing mode, the number of sheets, the number of copies information, and the paper thickness information of the sheet for forming an image to the binding processing control unit 75. At the same time, the main body control unit 70 transfers the job end signal to the binding processing control unit 75 each time the image formation is completed.

Explaining the post-processing mode described above, in the “printout mode”, the sheets from the paper ejection port 23 are accommodated in the stack tray 25 via the processing tray 24 without binding processing. In this case, the sheets are stacked on the processing tray 24 and accumulated, and the accumulated sheet bundle is carried out to the stack tray 25 by the jog end signal from the main body control unit 70.

In the above-mentioned "staple binding processing mode (second paper ejection mode)", the sheets from the paper ejection port 23 are collected on the processing tray and aligned, and the sheet bundle is bound and then stored in the stack tray 25. In this case, as a general rule, the sheet to be image-formed is designated by the operator as a sheet having the same paper thickness and the same size. This staple binding processing mode is specified by selecting one of "multi-binding", "right corner binding", and "left corner binding". Each binding position is as described above.

The above-mentioned "jog sorting mode" is divided into a group in which the sheets image-formed by the image forming unit A are offset and accumulated on the processing tray and a group in which the sheets are accumulated without offset, and the stack tray 25 is alternately arranged. Offset sheet bundles and non-offset sheet bundles are stacked. In particular, an offset area (see FIG. 5) is provided on the front side of the device, and the sheets carried out from the paper ejection port 23 in the center reference Sx are collected on the processing tray in that posture, and are similarly carried out in the center reference Sx. The sheets are divided into groups that are offset by a predetermined amount on the front side Fr of the device and are accumulated.

The reason why the offset area is arranged on the front side Fr of the device in this way is to secure a work area for manual binding processing, needle cartridge replacement processing, and the like on the front side of the device. Further, this offset area is set to a dimension (about several centimeters) for dividing the sheet bundle.

[Manual binding mode]
The outer casing 20b is provided on the front side of the device with a manual feed set portion 29 for setting a bundle of sheets to be bound by the operator. A sensor for detecting the set sheet bundle is arranged on the set surface 29a of the manual feed setting unit 29, and the binding processing control unit 75, which will be described later, moves the binding means 26 to the manual binding position by a signal from this sensor. To do. Then, when the operator presses the operation switch 30, the binding process is executed.

Therefore, in this manual binding mode, the binding processing control unit 75 and the main body control unit 70 are controlled offline. However, when the manual binding mode and the staple binding mode are executed at the same time, the mode is set so that one of them has priority.

[Binding processing control unit]
The binding processing control unit 75 operates the post-processing unit C according to the post-processing mode set by the image formation control unit 70. The binding processing control unit 75 (hereinafter referred to as a control means) is composed of a control CPU. The ROM 76 and the RAM 77 are connected to the control means 75, and the paper ejection operation described later is executed by the control program stored in the ROM 76 and the control data stored in the RAM 77. Therefore, the control means 75 is connected to the drive circuits of all the drive motors described above, and each motor is controlled to start, stop, and forward / reverse.

[Post-processing operation explanation]
The operating state of the binding process will be described below with reference to FIG.

When the job is started, the image forming unit A is notified of the job information from the post-processing unit B. 18 and 19 are views showing the positional relationship between the processing tray 24 and the binding means 26 as viewed from the downstream side in the sheet transport direction. When the job information from the image forming unit A is "binding", when the sheet is curled, the control means 75 travels so that the traveling belt 44 is driven to move the binding means 26 in the width direction of the sheet. Drives the motor M11.

Therefore, the traveling belt 44 has the binding means 26 between the second edge along the transport direction of the sheet bundle accumulated on the processing tray 24 and the third edge facing the second edge. Is a means of transportation that moves along the first edge.

As shown in FIG. 18, in order to prevent the curled portion of the sheet from interfering with the opening 26K of the binding means 26, it is determined whether or not the sheet is curled (F1). Whether or not the sheet is curled is determined by receiving the curl information directly from the image forming unit A or by directly detecting the curl information by the post-processing unit B.

As a method for the post-processing unit B to directly detect the curl of the sheet, at least two distance measuring sensors for measuring the distance to the paper surface of the sheet facing the paper surface of the sheet passing through the transport path of the sheet are used. One or more can be arranged to detect the curl and curl range of the seat, that is, the curl position, from the difference in distance measured by both sensors.

More specifically in FIG. 21, the curl recognizing means 100 is reflected from the light emitting means PD1 that irradiates the paper surface of the sheet SH that is nipped and conveyed by the rollers R1 and R2 with spot light, and the paper surface of the sheet SH. It is composed of a light receiving means PD2 that receives reflected light and a curl state determination unit (CPU) that detects the amount of curl by capturing the amount of displacement of the sheet SH from the reference position on the paper surface from the output data of the light receiving means PD2.

In the light receiving means PD2, the curl state determining unit detects the curl position of the sheet by the change in the output caused by the spot light of the light emitting means PD1 shifting the irradiation position of the reflected light depending on the vertical position of the paper surface of the sheet SH. In the case shown, the seat SH has its end curled upward.

Further, the pressure detection sensor can be arranged in the direction orthogonal to the sheet transport direction on the sheet transport path, and the force with which the sheet presses the pressure detection sensor can be measured to detect the curl position of the sheet.

Further, as a method of determining the curl of the sheet other than directly detecting the curl amount, the control means 75 has the presence or absence of curl from the basis weight, the water content, the image density, and the printed surface information of the sheet received from the image forming unit A. Can be judged.

In order to determine from the basis weight of the sheet, the control means 75 includes a basis weight recognizing means for determining the presence or absence of curl by determining whether or not the received basis weight is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. When the basis weight recognizing means recognizes that the basis weight is small, the curl recognition means 100 recognizes the curl position.

In order to determine from the water content of the sheet, the control means 75 includes a water content recognizing means for determining the presence or absence of curl by determining whether the water content of the received sheet is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. .. When the water content recognizing means recognizes that the water content is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, the curl recognizing means 100 recognizes the curl position.

To determine from the image density of the sheet, the control means 75 includes an image density recognizing means for determining the presence or absence of curl by determining whether the received image density is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. When the image density recognizing means recognizes that the image density is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, the curl recognizing means 100 recognizes the curl position.

The control means 75 includes an image forming recognition means for determining that no curl has occurred on the sheet when it recognizes that the print surface has both sides from the received print surface information. When the image formation recognizing means recognizes that an image is formed on one side of the sheet, the curl recognizing means 100 recognizes the curl position.

The control means can determine the presence or absence of curl from one piece of information such as the basis weight, the amount of water content, the image density, and the printed surface information of the sheet, or with all the information or a combination of several pieces of information. Each of the above threshold values is set based on the data obtained by investigating the relationship between the sheet and each parameter in advance.

When the curl information from the image forming unit A or the post-processing unit B directly recognizes that the post-processing unit B does not generate curl by the above-mentioned detection method, the binding means 26 is moved to the binding position (F3). ).

When it is determined that curl has occurred, the binding means 26 is moved to the binding standby position instead of the binding position (F2). As shown in FIG. 19A, the binding means 26 is moved from the home position HP to the binding standby position (Cp3) outside the range (curl detection range) of the curled portion of the sheet detected by the sheet. The binding means 26 completes the movement to the binding position or the binding standby position by the time the sheet is conveyed to the processing tray 24.

After the movement is completed, as shown in FIG. 19B, the sheets are accumulated in the processing tray 24 at the binding standby position (F4). When the number of sheets on the processing tray 24 is reached by repeating the accumulation of sheets until the number of sheets is reached (F5), the current position of the binding means 26 is confirmed (F6). Then, when it is in the binding position, the binding process is performed (F11), and when it is in the binding standby position, the moving speed of the binding means is acquired (F7). As shown in FIG. 20, the moving speed is tabulated in advance for each basis weight, and the smaller the basis weight (thin paper sheet), the slower the moving speed.

After that, as shown in FIG. 19 (c), the control means 75 controls the drive motor M8 to narrow the interval of the opening 26K of the binding means 26 (F8), and the binding means 26 is placed at the binding position (Cp2). Move to (F9). Therefore, the binding means 26 becomes narrower when moving the dimension of the opening that receives the first edge of the sheet bundle to the binding position in order to perform the binding process, by making it smaller than in the standby position. The opening 26K moves to the binding position while correcting the curl of the sheet, which has the effect of suppressing the curl.

Therefore, when moving the binding means 26 to the binding position (Cp2), based on the table shown in FIG. 20, by slowing down the moving speed in the case of a sheet with a thin paper thickness, curling is surely suppressed and the binding process is performed. It can be performed.

After the movement is completed, a matching operation is performed on the sheet bundle on the processing tray 24 (F10), and a binding process is performed (F11). After that, the bound sheet bundle is discharged to the stack tray 25 by the sheet bundle discharging means.

24 Processing tray 26 Binding means 26K Binding means Opening 31 Carry-in roller pair (transport means)
32 Paper ejection roller pair (transportation means)
44 Traveling belt (means of transportation)
75 Binding processing control unit (control means)
100 curl recognition means

Claims (7)

A transport means for transporting the sheet in a predetermined transport direction, and
A processing tray that collects the sheets transported by the transport means to form a sheet bundle, and
A binding means for performing a binding process at a predetermined binding position of the first edge along a width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the sheet bundles accumulated on the processing tray.
The first end is between the second edge of the sheet bundle formed on the processing tray along the transport direction and the third edge facing the second edge. A means of transportation that moves along the edge,
A curl recognizing means for recognizing a curl position generated at the first edge in the width direction,
Before the transport means accumulates the sheets in the processing tray, the binding means is made to stand by at a standby position other than the curl position recognized by the curl recognition means, and after the sheet bundle is formed in the processing tray, the sheet bundle is formed. A control means for controlling the moving means to move the binding means to the binding position, and
Binding device equipped with. The binding means includes an opening for receiving the first edge of the sheet bundle for performing the binding process, and the binding means moves to the binding position as compared to the standby position. The binding device according to claim 1, wherein the size of the opening is reduced. The control means has a basis weight recognizing means for recognizing the basis weight of the sheet, and the control means is recognized by the basis weight recognition means when the basis weight of the sheet recognized by the basis weight recognition means is equal to or more than a predetermined value. According to claim 1 or 2, when the basis weight of the sheet is less than a predetermined value, the moving means is controlled in order to slow down the moving speed when the binding means is moved from the standby position to the binding position. The binding device described. When it has an image formation recognizing means for recognizing whether an image is formed on one side of the sheet or an image is formed on both sides of the sheet, and the image formation recognizing means recognizes that an image is formed on one side of the sheet. The binding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the curl recognizing means recognizes the curl position. When the image density recognizing means for recognizing the image density of the image formed on the sheet is provided and the image density recognizing means recognizes that the image density of the image formed on the sheet is equal to or more than a predetermined amount. The binding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the curl recognizing means recognizes the curl position. When the water amount recognizing means for recognizing the water content of the sheet is provided and the water content recognizing means recognizes that the water content of the sheet is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the curl recognizing means recognizes the curl position. The binding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. An image forming device that forms an image on a sheet,
The binding device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and the binding device.
Image formation system including.

Images