JP2022146844A - Sheet processing device, and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique of accurately aligning a sheet bundle according to a sheet processing device that bundles and binds a plurality of sheets on which images are formed.SOLUTION: A sheet processing device comprises a conveying part for conveying sheets in a conveyance direction; a tray for stacking a plurality of the sheets as sheet bundles conveyed by the conveying part; a sheet regulation member for regulating a position in a conveyance direction of the sheet bundles stacked on the tray by coming into contact with an end potion of the sheet bundles on a downstream side in the conveyance direction; a pressing member for pressing the sheet bundles stacked on the tray via movement in a width direction of the sheet bundles; and a binding part for binding the sheet bundles stacked on the tray. The pressing member is provided so as to surround the binding part, as viewed from the width direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

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

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming system is known that includes an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet and a sheet processing apparatus that processes the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus. A representative example of processing by a sheet processing apparatus is binding processing in which a plurality of sheets on which images are formed are bundled and bound.

A sheet processing apparatus that performs a binding process includes, for example, a tray for stacking a sheet bundle, a binding unit for binding the sheet bundle stacked on the tray, and a sheet regulation member for regulating the position of the sheet bundle stacked on the tray. and a pressing member that presses the sheet bundle from the thickness direction on the upstream side of the binding portion in the sheet conveying direction (see Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example).

However, in particular, a sheet on which an image is formed by an ink jet method may warp (curl) at the edges in the width direction as the ink dries. Therefore, if the sheet bundle is pressed only on the upstream side in the conveying direction from the binding portion, there is a problem that the sheet bundle cannot be aligned with high accuracy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for aligning a bundle of sheets with high accuracy in a sheet processing apparatus that bundles and binds a plurality of sheets on which images are formed. and

In order to solve the above-described problems, one aspect of the present invention provides a conveying unit that conveys sheets in a conveying direction, a tray that stacks a plurality of sheets conveyed by the conveying unit as a sheet bundle, and a tray downstream in the conveying direction. a sheet regulating member for regulating the position of the sheet bundle stacked on the tray in the conveying direction by contacting an end portion of the sheet bundle on the side of the sheet bundle; and a binding portion for binding the sheet bundle stacked on the tray, wherein the pressing member surrounds the binding portion when viewed from the thickness direction. is provided.

According to the present invention, in a sheet processing apparatus that bundles and binds a plurality of sheets on which images are formed, it is possible to align the sheet bundle with high accuracy.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming system; FIG. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming system; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the staple tray, jogger fence, rear end fence, and pressing member; It is an expansion perspective view of a rear-end fence and a press member. Sectional drawing orthogonal to the width direction of a rear-end fence and a press member. The top view of a rear-end fence and a press member. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which two downstream ends of a bundle of sheets are bound; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the left end of a bundle of sheets is bound; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the right end of the sheet bundle is obliquely bound;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a sheet processing apparatus 300 (sheet processing apparatus) as an embodiment of a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention, and a sheet P (sheet) that is a sheet-like medium after image formation is supplied to the sheet processing apparatus 300. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming system 600 including an image forming apparatus 200; FIG.

Note that the image forming system 600 including the image forming apparatus 200 and the sheet processing apparatus 300 is not limited to an image forming unit that forms an image on the sheet P and a folding process that folds the sheet P on which the image is formed. The present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus provided with means.

[Schematic Configuration of Image Forming System 600]
The image forming method of the image forming apparatus 200 constituting the image forming system 600 according to this embodiment is not limited. For example, the image forming apparatus 200 includes an image processing circuit, a liquid ejection head that ejects liquid, and a transport device that transports paper P to the liquid ejection head. An ink-jet image forming unit can be used. Alternatively, an electrophotographic method including an image processing circuit, a photoreceptor, an optical writing device, a developing device, a transfer device and a fixing device can be used. A thermal transfer type image forming unit can also be used.

The image processing circuit converts image data read by a scanner unit when the image forming apparatus 200 is a copier or image data input from an external information processing apparatus such as a personal computer into image data suitable for image forming processing. Convert. Then, the converted image data is output to the image forming unit.

In the case where the image forming apparatus 200 includes an inkjet image forming unit, the timing at which the liquid ejection head ejects ink droplets is determined based on the image data input from the image processing circuit. Conveyance is controlled, and ink droplets are ejected at a predetermined timing to adhere to the paper P to form an image.

When the image forming apparatus 200 includes an electrophotographic image forming unit, the optical writing device performs optical writing on the photoreceptor based on the image signal output from the image processing circuit to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor. do. Then, the developing device develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor by optical writing with toner, and the transfer device transfers the toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor visualized by the developing device onto the paper P. . Thereafter, the toner image transferred onto the paper P is fixed on the paper P by the fixing device.

The paper P on which the toner image has been fixed by the image forming device 200 is sent to the paper processing device 300, and the paper processing device 300 performs desired post-processing.

[Schematic Configuration of Paper Processing Device 300]
Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a sheet processing apparatus 300 as a sheet processing apparatus is attached to the side of the image forming apparatus 200, and the sheet P discharged from the image forming apparatus 200 is guided to the sheet processing apparatus 300. be killed.

In the sheet processing apparatus 300, a control program executed by a control unit composed of hardware such as a CPU and memory elements controls the operation of various members in the sheet processing apparatus 300, and executes predetermined post-processing. configured as possible. Note that FIG. 1 does not show a control unit including the sheet processing apparatus 300 . The controller may be provided in each of the image forming apparatus 200 and the sheet processing apparatus 300, or may be provided in either one of them so as to control the entire image forming system 600. .

A sheet P transported from the image forming apparatus 200 to the sheet processing apparatus 300 passes through the inlet transport path A and is transported inside. A punching unit 311 as a post-processing unit that executes punching processing is arranged in the inlet conveying path A. As shown in FIG. Note that when the punching process is not performed, the paper P simply passes through the inlet conveying path A and is conveyed to the downstream side. When other post-processing is not performed, the first branch claw 312 is put in a state of guiding the paper P to the upper transport path B as shown in FIG. As a result, the paper P is discharged to the proof tray 313 .

Further, when performing “end binding processing” in which the edges of the paper P are aligned and bound, the state of the first branch claw 312 shown in FIG. Then, the second branch claw 314 is brought into a state of guiding the paper P from the intermediate conveying path C to the staple tray 323 as shown in FIG. When a plurality of sheets P are carried in in this state, it is possible to guide a predetermined number of sheets P to the staple tray 323 (tray) and perform the binding process.

Then, the edges of a bundle of sheets Pb (sheet bundle) formed by stacking a predetermined number of sheets of paper P on the staple tray 323 are aligned, and edge binding is performed by the edge binding stapling unit 321 (stitching section) to bind. The stack of sheets Pb is ejected onto the ejection tray 324 .

Further, when center-folding or saddle-stitching and center-folding are to be performed, the first branch claw 312 is switched from the state shown in FIG. 1 and the second branch claw 314 is set to the state shown in FIG. invite. Then, when the rear end of the sheet P in the transport direction passes through the second branching claw 314, the second branching claw 314 is switched to reverse the intermediate conveying roller 325. As shown in FIG. Then, the sheet P is conveyed to the saddle stitching processing unit 400 via the lower conveying path D. FIG.

The above configuration will be described in more detail below. The inlet conveying path A is upstream of the upper conveying path B, the intermediate conveying path C, and the lower conveying path D and is common to each of them. In the entrance conveying path A, an entrance sensor 315 for detecting paper P received from the image forming apparatus 200, an entrance roller 316 downstream thereof, a punching unit 311, and a first branch claw 312 and a second branch claw 314 downstream thereof are sequentially arranged. be done.

The first branch claw 312 is biased in a certain direction by an elastic member such as a spring. When post-processing such as binding processing is not executed, the first branch claw 312 is held in a state of guiding the paper P to the upper transport path B as shown in FIG. When the solenoid for driving the first branching claw 312 is turned on, and a driving force is applied in the direction against the bias of the spring to rotate, the first branching claw 312 guides the paper P toward the intermediate conveying path C. be in a state to Therefore, when the solenoid is OFF, the paper P is sorted to the upper transport path B, and when the solenoid is ON, the paper P is sorted to the intermediate transport path C. The paper P distributed to the upper transport path B is discharged to the proof tray 313 by the proof intermediate rollers 317 and the proof discharge rollers 318 .

Similarly to the first branching claw 312, the second branching claw 314 is also urged in a certain direction by an elastic member such as a spring. Normally, as shown in FIG. to the staple tray 323. When the paper P is to be discharged without being bound, it is discharged to the paper discharge tray 324 .

At this time, the paper P sent to the intermediate conveying path C is moved in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction by the shift discharge roller 326 which is configured to move by a certain amount in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the paper P by the driving means. are stacked on the discharge tray 324 while being displaced by a certain amount. The shift amount of the shift discharge roller 326 is determined based on sheet detection information detected by the entrance sensor 315, size information of the sheet P, and the like.

When the bundle of sheets Pb is to be edge-stitched, the sheet P conveyed to the intermediate conveying roller 325 is brought into contact with the staple tray 323 by the pendulum movement of the tapping roller 327 that aligns the sheet P, and is then shifted in the sheet conveying direction by the return roller. The sheet is transported in the direction opposite to the direction of the transport, and the trailing edge is abutted against the trailing edge fences 330a and 330b as sheet regulating members to align the position in the transport direction. The inlet roller 316, the intermediate conveying roller 325, the shift discharge roller 326, and the roller 327 are an example of the conveying section.

In the following description, of the transport direction of the paper P transported by the rollers 327, the side supplied to the staple tray 323 is referred to as the "downstream side of the transport direction", and the side discharged from the staple tray 323 is referred to as the "transport side. "upstream side of the direction". Also, the direction parallel to the surface of the bundle of sheets Pb stacked on the staple tray 323 and perpendicular to the transport direction is referred to as "the width direction of the bundle of sheets Pb (or the staple tray 323)". Further, the direction orthogonal to the transport direction and the width direction is referred to as "thickness direction of sheet bundle Pb".

Jogger fences 328 a and 328 b are arranged on the staple tray 323 to align the positions of the sheets P in the width direction. A staple tray paper sensor 329 for detecting the presence or absence of paper P on the staple tray 323 is arranged below the staple tray 323 . In addition, at the downstream end (the downstream end in the transport direction of the paper P) serving as the binding position 322 of the paper P stacked on the staple tray 323, the end of the paper bundle Pb formed from a plurality of papers P An edge binding stapling unit 321 for performing binding processing is provided.

Furthermore, the sheet bundle Pb stacked on the staple tray 323 is pressed by pressing plates 331a and 331b (pressing members). The pressing plates 331a and 331b press the sheet bundle Pb stacked on the staple tray 323 from the thickness direction of the sheet bundle Pb.

The jogger fences 328a and 328b are arranged at both ends in the width direction of the staple tray 323, and slide toward and away from each other. The jogger fences 328a and 328b abut the stack of sheets Pb stacked on the staple tray 323 in the width direction, thereby regulating the position of the stack of sheets Pb in the width direction. The rear end fences 330a and 330b regulate the position of the sheet stack Pb in the transport direction by contacting the downstream end in the transport direction. The pressing plates 331a and 331b press the sheet bundle Pb from the thickness direction. Details of the rear end fences 330a and 330b and the pressing plates 331a and 331b will be described later with reference to FIGS.

The edge binding stapling unit 321 binds the bundle of sheets Pb aligned by the jogger fences 328a and 328b, the trailing edge fences 330a and 330b, and the pressing plates 331a and 331b. The edge binding stapling unit 321 may bind the sheet bundle Pb using staples, or may bind the sheet bundle Pb without using staples. Also, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the end-stitching stapling unit 321 is configured to be movable in the width direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the end-stitching stapling unit 321 is configured to be rotatable around a rotation axis extending in the thickness direction. Since the specific configuration of the end-stitching stapling unit 321 is already known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[Schematic Configuration of Saddle Stitching Unit 400]
When saddle-stitching and center-folding are performed, the sheet P guided to the lower conveying path D by the intermediate conveying roller 325 and the second branch claw 314 is arranged downward by the switchback conveying roller 341 and the moving roller 342. to the saddle stitching processing unit 400.

The saddle stitching unit 400 is provided with a rear end fence 410 that can move in the sheet P transport direction. The sheet P is conveyed until the leading edge of the sheet P contacts the trailing edge fence 410 . At this time, according to the sheet size information (the size information of the sheet P in the transport direction) from the image forming apparatus 200, the trailing edge fence 410 is moved so that the saddle stitching process and the center folding process are performed at the target position. , change the abutment position of the leading edge of the paper P, and wait at a predetermined position.

By repeating the above conveying operation for a plurality of sheets P, the positions of the edges of the sheets P in contact with the trailing edge fence 410 are aligned, and the edges of the sheet bundle Pb are aligned. As a result, the aligning operation of the sheet bundle Pb in the conveying direction is completed in a state where the center folding position (folding position) for the sheet bundle Pb is also at a predetermined position.

Next, the saddle stitching jogger fence 420 aligns the stack of sheets Pb in the width direction, completing the alignment operation in the width direction of the stack of sheets.

After that, at this standby position, the binding position corresponding to the central portion of the sheet bundle Pb (corresponding to the later folding position) is moved to the position of the saddle stitching stapler 430, the stitcher is driven, and the clincher is moved. By performing the binding process, the sheet bundle Pb is saddle-stitched.

The saddle-stitched bundle of sheets Pb is transported to a position where the saddle-stitching position faces the folding blade 440 as the rear end fence 410 moves downward. The folding blade 440 moves in the nip direction of the folding roller pair 450, contacts the bundle of sheets Pb in the vicinity of the staples of the bundle of sheets Pb from a substantially perpendicular direction, and pushes the bundle of sheets Pb toward the nip side.

The bundle of sheets Pb is pushed by the folding blade 440 as a pushing member, guided to the nip of the pair of folding rollers 450, and pushed into the nip of the pair of folding rollers 450 that have been rotated in advance. The folding roller pair 450 presses the sheet bundle Pb pushed into the nip and conveys it in the discharge direction. By this pressurizing and conveying operation, the center of the bundle of sheets Pb is folded to form a bundle of sheets Pb that is simply bound.

After that, the bundle of sheets Pb subjected to simple bookbinding is discharged to the saddle-stitching tray 344 by the saddle-stitching paper discharge rollers 460 .

When only center-folding the bundle of sheets Pb, the saddle stitching process described above is not performed. is kept on standby in advance. Then, the edges of a plurality of sheets P conveyed through the lower conveying path D are aligned in the conveying direction, the sheets are aligned in the width direction by the saddle stitching jogger fence 420, and then the folding blade 440 is used to align the sheets. Perform folding.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the image forming system 600. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming system 600 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 102, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 103, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 104, and an I/F 105. It has a configuration connected via a common bus 109 . CPU 101 , RAM 102 , ROM 103 , and HDD 104 constitute controller 100 that controls the operation of image forming system 600 .

A CPU 101 is a computing unit and controls the operation of the entire image forming system 600 . The RAM 102 is a volatile storage medium from which information can be read and written at high speed, and is used as a working area when the CPU 101 processes information. The ROM 103 is a read-only non-volatile storage medium and stores programs such as firmware. The HDD 104 is a non-volatile storage medium that allows reading and writing of information and has a large storage capacity, and stores an OS (Operating System), various control programs, application programs, and the like.

The image forming system 600 processes a control program stored in the ROM 103 , an information processing program (application program) loaded from a storage medium such as the HDD 104 to the RAM 102 , and the like using the computing function of the CPU 101 . The processing constitutes a software control section including various functional modules of image forming system 600 . A combination of the software control unit configured in this way and the hardware resources installed in image forming system 600 configures a functional block that realizes the functions of image forming system 600 .

The I/F 105 is an interface that connects the image forming apparatus 200 and the sheet processing apparatus 300 to the common bus 109 . That is, the controller 100 controls the image forming apparatus 200 and the sheet processing apparatus 300 through the I/F 105. FIG. More specifically, the controller 100 forms an image on a sheet by controlling the image forming apparatus 200 and supplies the sheet with the image formed thereon to the sheet processing apparatus 300 . Further, the controller 100 binds sheets on which images are formed by the image forming apparatus 200 by controlling the sheet processing apparatus 300 .

2 illustrates an example in which the image forming apparatus 200 and the sheet processing apparatus 300 are controlled by the common controller 100, the controller controlling the image forming apparatus 200 and the controller controlling the sheet processing apparatus 300 may be provided independently. The image forming apparatus 200 and the sheet processing apparatus 300 may operate in conjunction with each other by the two controllers transmitting and receiving information.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of staple tray 323, jogger fences 328a and 328b, rear end fences 330a and 330b, and pressing plates 331a and 331b. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the rear end fence 330a and the pressing plate 331a. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the width direction of the rear end fence 330a and the pressing plate 331a. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the rear end fence 330a and the pressing plate 331a. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which two downstream ends of the bundle of sheets Pb are bound. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which the left end of the bundle of sheets Pb is bound. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state in which the right end of the sheet bundle Pb is obliquely bound.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rear end fences 330a and 330b and the pressing plates 331a and 331b are arranged downstream of the staple tray 323 in the conveying direction. Further, the rear end fence 330a and the pressing plate 331a, and the rear end fence 330b and the pressing plate 331b are integrally formed. Furthermore, the trailing edge fence 330a and the pressing plate 331a, and the trailing edge fence 330b and the pressing plate 331b are arranged on one side and the other side in the width direction of the stack of sheets Pb with respect to the center in the width direction of the stack of sheets Pb. It is

The rear end fence 330a and the pressing plate 331a, and the rear end fence 330b and the pressing plate 331b are configured to be independently movable in the width direction. Note that the rear end fence 330a and the pressing plate 331a and the rear end fence 330b and the pressing plate 331b have the same basic structure except that their positions in the width direction are reversed. and the pressing plate 331a will be described in detail.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rear end fence 330a includes a first fence 21 (first restricting member) and a second fence 22 (second restricting member). Further, the pressing plate 331a includes a first pressing plate 23 (first pressing member) and a second pressing plate 24 (second pressing member). The first pressing plate 23 is supported by the first fence 21 via a support shaft 25 . Also, the second pressing plate 24 is supported by the second fence 22 via spindles 26 and 27 . Further, the first pressing plate 23 and the second pressing plate 24 are biased toward the bundle of sheets Pb stacked on the staple tray 323 by a coil spring 28 (biasing member) externally fitted on each of the support shafts 25 to 27. It is

The first fence 21 has an I-shaped outer shape when viewed in the thickness direction. The first fence 21 is composed of a bottom wall 21a, a top wall 21b, and a back wall 21c. The bottom wall 21a and the top wall 21b are opposed to each other with a predetermined gap in the thickness direction. The inner wall 21c connects the downstream ends of the bottom wall 21a and the top wall 21b. A guide groove 21d extending in the thickness direction is formed in the inner wall 21c. Further, the support shaft 25 is supported by the bottom wall 21a and the top wall 21b and extends in the thickness direction.

The second fence 22 has an L-shaped outer shape when viewed in the thickness direction. The second fence 22 is composed of a bottom wall 22a, a top wall 22b, and a back wall 22c. The bottom wall 22a and the top wall 22b are opposed to each other with a predetermined gap in the thickness direction. The inner wall 22c connects the downstream ends of the bottom wall 22a and the top wall 22b. A guide groove 22d extending in the thickness direction is formed in the inner wall 22c. Further, the support shafts 26 and 27 are supported by the bottom wall 22a and the top wall 22b at positions spaced apart in the width direction and extend in the thickness direction.

Further, the frame integrally formed with the second fence 22 is provided with a staple unit contact portion 30 . The stapling unit abutting portion 30 is a portion that abuts on the body frame of the end-stitching stapling unit 321 when the end-stitching stapling unit 321 moves as shown in FIGS. Therefore, when the end-stitching stapling unit 321 moves toward the right side in the width direction of FIG. The fence 330a moves together toward the right side in the width direction of FIG.

A torsion spring 31 is provided between the rear end fence 330 a and the body frame of the staple tray 323 . The torsion spring 31 acts to urge the rear end fence 330a to the home position shown in FIG. Therefore, when the end-stitching stapling unit 321 moves from the right side to the left side in the width direction of FIG. 4, the rear end fence 330a moves to the home position shown in FIG.

Like the first fence 21, the first pressing plate 23 has an I-shaped outer shape when viewed in the thickness direction. The first pressing plate 23 is configured to be movable in the thickness direction along the support shaft 25 and the guide groove 21d. Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, when no sheets are stacked on the staple tray 323, the first pressing plate 23 is brought into contact with the bottom wall 21a by the biasing force of the coil spring . On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the bundle of sheets Pb is stacked on the staple tray 323, the first pressing plate 23 moves toward the top wall 21b against the biasing force of the coil spring 28. , presses the stack of sheets Pb toward the bottom wall 21a.

The first pressing plate 23 is composed of a pressing portion 23a and a guide portion 23b. The pressing portion 23a is arranged downstream of the guide portion 23b in the transport direction and is a portion parallel to the bottom wall 21a. The guide portion 23b is arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction from the pressing portion 23a and is inclined in a direction away from the sheet bundle Pb stacked on the staple tray 323 toward the upstream side in the transport direction.

Like the second fence 22, the second pressing plate 24 has an L-shaped outer shape when viewed in the thickness direction. The second pressing plate 24 is configured to be movable in the thickness direction along the support shafts 26 and 27 and the guide groove 22d. The second pressing plate 24 is composed of a pressing portion 24a and a guide portion 24b. Since the configuration and function of the second pressing plate 24 are common to those of the first pressing plate 23, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

A plurality of sheets guided to the staple tray 323 by the rollers 327 are guided by the guide portions 23b, 23b and enter between the bottom walls 21a, 22a and the pressing portions 23a, 24a. Further, the downstream end of the stack of sheets Pb abuts against the back walls 21c and 22c, and its position in the transport direction is regulated. Further, the stack of sheets Pb stacked on the staple tray 323 is nipped between the bottom walls 21a and 22a and the pressing portions 23a and 24a, thereby preventing the stack of sheets Pb from rising in the thickness direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the second fence 22 is configured to be rotatable around a support shaft 29 (rotational axis) extending in the thickness direction. That is, the second fence 22 is configured to be rotatable between the contact posture shown in FIG. 6(A) and the inclined posture shown in FIG. 6(B). In addition, the second pressing plate 24 rotates together with the second fence 22 between the contact posture and the inclined posture.

The contact posture is a posture in which the back wall 22c is perpendicular to the transport direction. That is, the second fence 22 and the second pressing plate 24 assume the contact posture when aligning the position of the sheet stack Pb in the transport direction. The tilted posture is a posture rotated by a predetermined angle (for example, 45°) from the contact posture. More specifically, the inclined posture is a posture in which the widthwise central portion side is displaced downstream in the transport direction and the widthwise end portion side is displaced upstream in the transport direction compared to the contact posture. That is, after the second fence 22 and the second pressing plate 24 are aligned in the conveying direction of the sheet bundle Pb, their postures are changed to the inclined postures in accordance with the binding position 322 of the sheet bundle Pb.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a case where the downstream end of the sheet bundle Pb is bound at two locations. As shown in FIG. 7, the edge-stitching stapling unit 321 is movable in the width direction (from the position indicated by the solid line to the position indicated by the dotted line) at a position facing the downstream end of the bundle of sheets Pb stacked on the staple tray 323. It is configured. Then, the edge binding stapling unit 321 binds the sheet bundle Pb in the area surrounded by the trailing edge fence 330a and the pressing plate 331a, or in the area surrounded by the trailing edge fence 330b and the pressing plate 331b. In other words, the pressing plates 331 a and 331 b are provided so as to surround the end-binding stapling unit 321 . More specifically, the first pressing plate 23 presses the bundle of sheets Pb stacked on the staple tray 323 against the bottom wall 21a on one side in the width direction of the edge-stitching stapling unit 321 . In addition, the second pressing plate 24 presses the bundle of sheets Pb stacked on the staple tray 323 against the bottom wall 22a on the other side in the width direction of the end-stitching stapling unit 321 and on the upstream side of the end-stitching stapling unit 321 in the transport direction. do.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a case where one-point binding is performed at the left end of the downstream end of the sheet bundle Pb. As shown in FIG. 8, by moving the trailing edge fence 330b, the pressing plate 331b, and the end binding stapling unit 321 in the width direction, it is possible to bind an arbitrary position of the left end in the width direction of the bundle of sheets Pb. The rear end fence 330a, the pressing plate 331a, and the end binding stapling unit 321 can also perform the same operation.

Further, FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a case where the corner of the downstream end of the sheet bundle Pb is obliquely bound. As shown in FIG. 9, when the trailing edge fence 330a, the pressing plate 331a, and the end-stitching stapling unit 321 are moved to the right end in the width direction, and then the end-stitching stapling unit 321 is rotated counterclockwise by 45°, Since the staple unit abutment portion 30 provided on the body frame of the rear end fence 330a and the body frame of the end-stitching staple unit 321 are in contact with each other, the rear end fence 330a and the pressing plate 331a are also centered on the support shaft 29. to rotate counterclockwise. After the rotation operation of the end-stitching stapling unit 321 is completed, the stapling section of the end-stitching stapling unit 321 is actuated to obliquely stap the corner of the sheet bundle Pb. As described above, since the trailing edge fence 330a and the pressing plate 331a rotate together with the rotation of the end-stitching stapling unit 321, the alignment accuracy of the sheet bundle Pb before the rotation of the end-stitching stapling unit 321 is maintained. can do. Note that the trailing edge fence 330b, the pressing plate 331b, and the edge binding stapling unit 321 can perform similar operations.

According to the above embodiment, for example, the following operational effects are obtained.

According to the above-described embodiment, the end-stitching stapling unit 321 can appropriately press the binding position 322 by pressing the stack of sheets Pb so as to surround the end-stitching stapling unit 321 with the pressing plates 331a and 331b. As a result, it is possible to accurately align the sheet bundle Pb that curls due to drying of the ink or the like. As a result, the bundle of sheets Pb with aligned downstream ends can be bound by the edge binding stapling unit 321 . The pressing plates 331a and 331b do not need to surround the entire periphery of the edge-stitching stapling unit 321, but if they surround the edge-stitching stapling unit 321 in as wide a range as possible, the effects described above become more pronounced.

It should be noted that "surrounding the end-stitching stapling unit 321" is not limited to the fact that the periphery of the end-stitching stapling unit 321 is continuously surrounded, and as shown in FIG. There may be a gap between the pressing plates 24 . The gap between the first pressing plate 23 and the second pressing plate 24 is appropriately set, for example, within a range in which the binding position 322 of the sheet bundle Pb supported by the staple tray 323 does not curl or remain waviness.

Moreover, each of the pressing plates 331a and 331b is not limited to being composed of two parts, the first pressing plate 23 and the second pressing plate 24, and may be one part or three or more parts. The same applies to the rear end fences 330a and 330b. For example, the sheet processing apparatus 300 may omit the first pressing plate 23 and press at least two sides of the rectangular end-binding stapling unit 321 with the second pressing plate 24 . However, the sheet processing apparatus 300 preferably presses three sides of the edge binding stapling unit 321 with the first pressing plate 23 and the second pressing plate 24 .

When pressing the range corresponding to the three sides of the edge-stitching stapling unit 321, the portions of the first pressing plate 23 and the second pressing plate 24 extending in the transport direction of the paper P (in other words, the edge-stitching stapling unit 321 7) desirably extend from the binding position 322 by the edge binding stapling unit 321 to the downstream side in the transport direction of the paper P, as shown in FIG.

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, by configuring the second pressing plate 24 to be rotatable around the support shaft 29, as shown in FIG. , the bundle of sheets Pb can be pressed so as to surround the edge-stitching stapling unit 321 .

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the trailing end fence 330a and the pressing plate 331a, and the trailing end fence 330b and the pressing plate 331b are independently movable in the width direction. Even when the binding position 322 is moved in the width direction, the bundle of sheets Pb can be pressed so as to surround the edge binding stapling unit 321 .

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, by providing the guide portions 23b and 24b in the first pressing plate 23 and the second pressing plate 24, the sheets guided to the staple tray 323 by the rollers 327 are guided to the bottom walls 21a and 22a. and the pressing portions 23a and 24a.

Furthermore, the sheet processing apparatus 300 according to the above-described embodiment has a particularly advantageous effect when processing sheets supplied from the inkjet image forming apparatus 200 . However, the sheet processing apparatus 300 is not limited to the inkjet type image forming apparatus 200, and is an image forming apparatus that includes a device that applies liquid (for example, pretreatment liquid) to a sheet, or a device that applies heat to a sheet to dry it. Application to system 600 also provides advantageous effects.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the technical scope of the present invention. All of are covered by the present invention. Although the above embodiment shows a preferred example, a person skilled in the art can realize various modifications from the disclosed contents. Such modifications are also included in the technical scope described in the claims.

21: First fence (first sheet restricting member)
21a, 22a: Bottom walls 21b, 22b: Top walls 21c, 22c: Back walls 21d, 22d: Guide groove 22: Second fence (second sheet restricting member)
23: first pressing plates 23a, 24a: pressing portions 23b, 24b: guide portion 24: second pressing plates 25, 26, 27, 29: support shaft 28: coil spring 100: controller 101: CPU
102: RAM
103: ROM
104: HDD
105: I/F
109: common bus 200: image forming device 300: paper processing device (sheet processing device)
311 : punching unit 312 : first branching claw 313 : proof tray 314 : second branching claw 315 : entrance sensor 316 : entrance roller 317 : intermediate proof roller 318 : proof discharge roller 321 : edge binding stapling unit 322 binding position 323 : Staple tray (tray)
324: Discharge tray 325: Intermediate conveying roller 326: Shift discharge roller 327: Rollers 328a, 328b: Jogger fence 329: Staple tray paper existence sensors 330a, 330b: Rear end fence (sheet regulation member)
331a, 331b: pressing plate (pressing member)
341 : Switchback conveying roller 342 : Moving roller 344 : Saddle stitching tray 400 : Processing unit 410 : Rear end fence 420 : Jogger fence 430 : Stapler 440 : Folding blade 450 : Folding roller pair 460 : Paper discharge roller 600 : Image forming system

JP 2013-86881 A Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-218900

Claims (7)

a conveying unit that conveys the sheet in the conveying direction;
a tray for stacking a plurality of sheets conveyed by the conveying unit as a sheet bundle;
a sheet regulating member that abuts on an end portion of the sheet bundle on the downstream side in the conveying direction to regulate the position of the sheet bundle stacked on the tray in the conveying direction;
a pressing member that presses the sheet bundle stacked on the tray by moving in the thickness direction of the sheet bundle;
a binding unit that binds the sheet bundle stacked on the tray;
The sheet processing apparatus, wherein the pressing member is provided so as to surround the binding portion when viewed from the thickness direction. The pressing member is
an I-shaped first pressing member that presses the sheet bundle on one side in the width direction of the sheet bundle from the binding portion;
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an L-shaped second pressing member that presses the sheet bundle on the other side in the width direction from the binding portion and on the upstream side in the conveying direction from the binding portion. sheet processing equipment. 3. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second pressing member is rotatable about a rotation axis extending in the thickness direction. The sheet regulating member is configured to be movable in the width direction of the sheet bundle,
4. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member is supported by the sheet regulating member and moves in the width direction together with the sheet regulating member. The sheet regulating member and the pressing member are arranged on one side and the other side in the width direction with respect to the center in the width direction,
5. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the sheet regulating member and the pressing member on one side and the other side in the width direction are independently movable in the width direction. 6. The end portion of the pressing member on the upstream side in the conveying direction is inclined in a direction away from the sheet bundle toward the upstream side in the conveying direction. The sheet processing apparatus according to . an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet;
7. An image forming system, comprising: a sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, which processes a plurality of sheets on which images are formed by said image forming apparatus.

Images