JP2023006013A - Sheet processing device and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable alignment processing by accurately conveying even curled sheets to alignment members.SOLUTION: A sheet processing device includes: a guide part 200d having a guide edge 200e on a downstream side of guide means in a sheet conveyance direction and on a downstream side of a projection member in a projection direction, and inclined from the guide edge along the conveyance direction toward a return direction of the projection member; a first regulation part 200a connected to the guide part and regulating one surface of a sheet guided to a storage part by the guide means; a second regulation part 200b regulating the other side; and a third regulation part 200c regulating a width direction of the sheet, wherein a pair of alignment members 200 are provided for positioning and aligning the sheet stored in the storage part in the width direction by moving in the width direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 37

Description

The present invention relates to, for example, a sheet processing apparatus for folding sheets sent from an image forming apparatus and an image forming system having the same.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a sheet folding device that performs a predetermined folding process on one or more sheets stored in a predetermined storage portion. In such a sheet folding apparatus, before folding a sheet conveyed in a predetermined conveying direction and stored in a storage portion, the aligning member movable in the sheet width direction is used to fold both ends of the sheet in the width direction. Alignment processing is applied to adjust the position.

When aligning the sheets, the sheets are conveyed to a predetermined storage section, and the aligning member is operated with respect to the sheets stored in this storage section to execute the alignment process. At this time, the guide member guides the sheet so that the sheet is reliably conveyed to the storage unit. When it is transported, it may enter the gap between the guide member and the alignment member and buckle.

For this reason, conventionally, the guide member and the aligning member are arranged so as to partially overlap each other so that the gap does not occur in the sheet conveying direction (Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-16607

However, when the guide member and the aligning member are arranged so as to overlap in the sheet conveying direction as described above, even a curled sheet may enter between the guide member and the aligning member because there is no gap between them. There is no risk of buckling, but if the aligning member is moved in the sheet width direction during sheet alignment processing, the aligning member may rub against the guide member. There is a risk that powder or the like generated by wear and abrasion will remain in the device and cause sheet contamination.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems, and to provide a sheet processing apparatus capable of accurately conveying even a curled sheet to an aligning member and aligning the sheet, and the sheet processing apparatus. and an image forming system.

A representative configuration according to the present invention for achieving the above object is to form a conveying means for conveying a sheet in a predetermined conveying direction and a guide space for guiding the sheet conveyed by the conveying means. a conveying guide pair including a first conveying guide and a second conveying guide arranged to face the first conveying guide in a predetermined direction; and the first stacking guide disposed at a predetermined distance from the first conveying guide downstream in the conveying direction from the first conveying guide so as to form a storage space for supporting and storing the first stacking a storage unit including a second stacking guide arranged to face the guide in a predetermined direction; a moving unit for moving the sheets stored in the storage unit upstream in the transport direction; and the transport direction. in a direction intersecting with the second conveying guide and in a returning direction, which is the reverse direction thereof, so that the sheet moved by the moving means can be moved in the projecting direction. and a pair of rotating bodies arranged downstream of the first stacking guide in the direction of protrusion, and holding the sheet protruded by the protrusion member at a nip portion and rotating the sheet to fold the sheet. a guide means provided between the pair of transport guides and the storage portion in the transport direction for guiding the sheet transported by the transport means from the guide space to the storage space; arranged downstream in the conveying direction, having a guide edge on the downstream side of the guide means in the conveying direction and downstream in the projecting direction, and extending from the guide edge along the conveying direction in the returning direction of the projecting member a first restricting portion that is continuous with the guide portion in the conveying direction and restricts one surface of the sheet guided to the storage portion by the guide means; a second regulating portion for regulating the other side of the sheet guided to the storage portion; and a pair of aligning members for positioning and aligning the sheets stored in the storage unit in the width direction by at least one moving in the width direction. It is characterized by

According to the present invention, it is possible to convey and align the sheet to the aligning member without buckling the sheet.

1 is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of an image forming system according to the present embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of a sheet processing apparatus in an image forming system; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a folding device of the sheet processing device; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the sheet processing apparatus; (a) and (b) are cross-sectional explanatory diagrams of an operation of folding a sheet into three. (a) and (b) are cross-sectional explanatory diagrams of an operation of folding a sheet into three. (a) and (b) are cross-sectional explanatory diagrams of an operation of folding a sheet into three. (a) and (b) are cross-sectional explanatory diagrams of an operation of folding a sheet into three. (a) and (b) are cross-sectional explanatory diagrams of an operation of folding a sheet into three. (a) and (b) are cross-sectional explanatory diagrams of an operation of folding a sheet into three. (a) and (b) are cross-sectional explanatory diagrams of an operation of folding a sheet into three. FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the sheet processing apparatus; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the arrangement of a pair of folding rollers, a folding blade, and a pressing guide member; (a), (b), and (c) diagrams for explaining the operation of the pressing guide member (a) and (b) are sectional explanatory views of the operation of the folding blade and the blade guide member. (a) and (b) are sectional explanatory views of the operation of the folding blade and the blade guide member. (a) and (b) are sectional explanatory views of the operation of the folding blade and the blade guide member. (a) and (b) are sectional explanatory views of the operation of the folding blade and the blade guide member. (a) and (b) are sectional explanatory views of the operation of the folding blade and the blade guide member. FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of a folding operation in the sheet processing apparatus; 5 is a flowchart of folding operation in the sheet processing apparatus; 5 is a flowchart of folding operation in the sheet processing apparatus; 4 is a perspective view of a blade guide member; FIG. (a), (b), and (c) are top explanatory views of the operation of the folding blade and the blade guide member. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing of the operation|movement of a folding blade and a blade guide member. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing of the operation|movement of a folding blade and a blade guide member. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing of the operation|movement of a folding blade and a blade guide member. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing of the operation|movement of a folding blade and a blade guide member. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing of the operation|movement of a folding blade and a blade guide member. (a) and (b) are sectional explanatory views of a deflection guide member. (a) and (b) are sectional explanatory views of a deflection guide member. (a) and (b) are sectional explanatory views of a deflection guide member. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the sheet processing apparatus; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a driving configuration of the alignment member; (a), (b), and (c) are explanatory diagrams of a sheet alignment operation. (a) and (b) are explanatory diagrams of a sheet alignment operation. (a) is a partial perspective view of the alignment member, and (b) is a partial front view of the alignment member. (a) is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the sheet hits the regulating edge, and (b) is an explanatory diagram of the state in which the sheet hits the guide edge. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for guiding a sheet in contact with a regulating edge; FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of guiding a sheet in contact with the guide edge; (a) and (b) are explanatory views of an alignment member whose guide edge is not inclined.

Next, a sheet processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention and an image forming system having the same will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows the overall configuration of an image forming system equipped with a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in the figure, the image forming system 100 includes an image forming apparatus A and a sheet processing apparatus B provided side by side.

<Overall Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus>
The image forming apparatus A is composed of an image forming unit A1, a scanner unit A2 and a feeder unit A3. The image forming unit A1 includes a paper feeding section 2, an image forming section 3, a paper discharging section 4, and a data processing section 5 inside an apparatus housing 1. As shown in FIG.

The paper feeding unit 2 is composed of a plurality of cassette mechanisms 2a, 2b, and 2c for accommodating image forming sheets of different sizes, and feeds sheets of a size designated by a main control unit (not shown) to a paper feeding path 2f. Each of the cassette mechanisms 2a, 2b, and 2c is installed detachably from the paper feeding unit 2, and incorporates a separating mechanism for separating sheets one by one and a paper feeding mechanism for feeding out the sheets. The paper feed path 2f is provided with transport rollers for feeding the sheets supplied from the cassette mechanisms 2a, 2b, and 2c to the downstream side, and a pair of registration rollers for aligning the leading edges of the sheets at the end of the path. ing.

A large-capacity cassette 2d and a manual feed tray 2e are connected to the paper feed path 2f. The large-capacity cassette 2d is composed of an option unit that stores sheets of a size that are consumed in large quantities. The manual feed tray 2e is configured to be able to supply special sheets such as thick paper sheets, coating sheets, and film sheets that are difficult to separate and feed.

The image forming unit 3 is configured using an electrophotographic method in this embodiment, and includes a rotating photosensitive drum 3a, a light emitting device 3b for emitting an optical beam, a developing device 3c, and a cleaner ( not shown). The illustrated one is a monochrome printing mechanism, in which a photosensitive drum 3a whose circumferential surface is uniformly charged is irradiated with light according to an image signal from a light emitting device 3b to optically form a latent image, which is then developed. A toner image is formed by depositing toner with the device 3c.

The sheet is sent to the image forming section 3 from the paper feed path 2f in synchronization with the timing of image formation on the photosensitive drum 3a, and the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 3a is transferred onto the sheet by applying a transfer bias from the transfer charger 3d. to be transcribed. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is heated and pressurized when passing through the fixing device 6 to fix the toner image, discharged from the discharge port 4b by the discharge roller 4a, and sent to the sheet processing apparatus B, which will be described later. be transported.

The scanner unit A2 includes a platen 7a on which an image original is placed, a carriage 7b that reciprocates along the platen 7a, photoelectric conversion means 7c, and photoelectric conversion of light reflected from the original on the platen 7a by the carriage 7b. and a reducing optical system 7d guiding to means 7c. The photoelectric conversion means 7c photoelectrically converts the optical output from the reduction optical system 7d into image data, and outputs the image data to the image forming section 3 as an electric signal.

The scanner unit A2 also has a traveling platen 7e for reading the sheet fed from the feeder unit A3. The feeder unit A3 has a paper feed tray 8a for stacking document sheets, a paper feed path 8b for guiding the document sheets fed from the paper feed tray 8a to the traveling platen 7e, and stores the document sheets passing through the traveling platen 7e. It is composed of the discharge tray 8c. A document sheet from the paper feed tray 8a is read by the carriage 7b and the reduction optical system 7d when passing the traveling platen 7e.

<Overall Configuration of Sheet Processing Apparatus>
Next, the overall configuration of the sheet processing apparatus B for post-processing sheets sent from the image forming apparatus A will be described.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the sheet processing apparatus B according to this embodiment. The sheet processing apparatus B includes an apparatus housing 11 provided with a loading port 10 for introducing sheets from the image forming apparatus A. As shown in FIG. The apparatus housing 11 is arranged in alignment with the housing 1 of the image forming apparatus A so that the inlet 10 communicates with the sheet discharge outlet 4b of the image forming apparatus A. As shown in FIG.

The sheet processing apparatus B includes a sheet carry-in path 12 that conveys sheets introduced from a carry-in port 10, and a first sheet discharge path 13a, a second sheet discharge path 13b, and a third sheet discharge path branched from the sheet carry-in path 12. 13c, first path switching means 14a, and second path switching means 14b. The first path switching means 14a and the second path switching means 14b are each composed of a flapper guide for changing the transport direction of the sheet transported on the sheet carry-in path 12. As shown in FIG.

The first path switching means 14a is in a mode in which a driving means (not shown) guides the sheet from the carry-in port 10 in the direction of the first discharge path 13a that conveys the sheet in the horizontal direction and the second discharge path 13b that conveys it downward. , and a mode for guiding the sheet to the third sheet discharge path 13c that conveys the sheet upward. The first paper discharge path 13a and the second paper discharge path 13b can reverse the conveying direction of the sheet once introduced to the first paper discharge path 13a and switch back and convey it to the second paper discharge path 13b. It communicates like

The second path switching means 14b is arranged on the downstream side of the first path switching means 14a with respect to the conveying direction of the sheet conveyed through the sheet carry-in path 12. As shown in FIG. The second path switching means 14b has a mode in which a sheet passing through the first path switching means 14a is introduced into the first discharge path 13a by a driving means (not shown), and a mode in which the sheet once introduced into the first discharge path 13a is switched. is switched back to the second discharge path 13b.

The sheet processing apparatus B includes a first processing section B1, a second processing section B2, and a third processing section B3 that perform different post-processing. Further, a punch unit 15 for punching holes in the sheet that has been carried in is arranged in the sheet carrying-in path 12 .

The first processing unit B1 accumulates and collates a plurality of sheets discharged from the discharge port 16a at the downstream end of the first discharge path 13a with respect to the conveying direction of the sheets conveyed on the sheet carry-in path 12. It is a binding processing unit that performs binding processing and discharges onto a stacking tray 16 b provided outside the device housing 11 . The first processing section B1 also includes a sheet conveying device 16c that conveys sheets or a sheet bundle, and a binding processing unit 16d that binds the sheet bundle. A discharge roller pair 16e is provided at the downstream end of the first discharge path 13a to discharge the sheet from the discharge port 16a and to switch back and convey the sheet from the first discharge path 13a to the second discharge path 13b. It is

The second processing section B2 is a folding processing section that folds a plurality of sheets that are switchback-conveyed from the second discharge path 13b into a sheet bundle, binds the sheet bundle, and then folds the sheet bundle. As will be described later, the second processing section B2 includes a folding processing device F that folds a sheet or a bundle of sheets carried in, and a folding processing device F that folds a sheet conveyed to the second discharge path 13b along the sheet conveying direction. A binding processing unit 17a is provided immediately upstream of the apparatus F to bind the sheet bundle. The folded sheet bundle is discharged onto a stacking tray 17c provided outside the apparatus housing 11 by a discharge roller 17b.

The third processing section B3 divides the sheets sent from the third discharge path 13c into a group in which the sheets are stacked with a predetermined amount of offset in the sheet width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and a group in which the sheets are stacked without being offset. Perform jog sorting. The jog-sorted sheets are discharged to a stacking tray 18 provided outside the device housing 11, and offset sheet bundles and non-offset sheet bundles are stacked.

FIG. 3 schematically shows the overall configuration of the second processing section B2. As described above, the second processing section B2 includes the folding processing device F that folds in two the sheet bundle that has been conveyed from the second sheet discharge path 13b and has been stacked and collated, and the sheet bundle that has not yet been folded. and a binding unit 17a for binding. The illustrated binding processing unit 17a is a stapler device that binds a sheet bundle by driving staples.

A sheet conveying path 20 is connected to the second discharge path 13b in order to carry the sheet into the folding device F. As shown in FIG. With respect to the conveying direction of the sheet conveyed to the sheet stacking tray 21 from the second discharge path 13b, the sheet stacking tray 21 forming a part of the sheet conveying path 20 performs folding processing on the downstream side of the sheet conveying path 20. It is provided for positioning and stacking sheets. Immediately upstream of the sheet stacking tray 21, the binding processing unit 17a and its staple receiving portion 17d are provided at opposite positions with the sheet conveying path 20 interposed therebetween.

On one side of the sheet stacking tray 21, a pair of folding rollers 22 as a pair of folding rollers are arranged so as to face one side of the sheet or sheet bundle stacked on the sheet stacking tray. The folding roller pair 22 is composed of a pair of folding rollers 22a and 22b whose roller surfaces are brought into pressure contact with each other, and a nip portion 22c, which is a pressure contact portion, is arranged facing the sheet stacking tray 21. As shown in FIG. The folding rollers 22a and 22b have substantially equal intervals with respect to the sheet stacking tray 21 on the upstream side and the downstream side along the transport direction of the sheet carried from the upper upstream side to the lower downstream side on the sheet stacking tray 21. are arranged side by side. In the present invention, the rotating portion of the pair of folding rotating members is not limited to the folding rollers 22a and 22b of the present embodiment, and can be configured by a rotating belt or the like. Further, the folding roller pair 22 can be configured by continuously arranging a plurality of folding rollers (rotating bodies) in series along the axial direction of each of the folding rollers 22a and 22b.

As shown in FIG. 3, each of the folding rollers 22a and 22b of the folding roller pair 22 of the present embodiment has a circumferential surface with a constant radius R1 around the rotation axis of the rotation shafts 22a1 and 22b1. It has first roller surfaces 22a2 and 22b2 and second roller surfaces 22a3 and 22b3 whose distance from the rotation axis of the rotation shaft is smaller than the radius R1 of the first roller surface. The first roller surfaces 22a2 and 22b2 are made of a rubber material or the like having a relatively high coefficient of friction, like normal roller surfaces. On the other hand, the second roller surfaces 22a3 and 22b3 are made of a plastic resin material or the like whose coefficient of friction is smaller than that of the first roller surfaces 22a2 and 22b2.

The rotating shafts 22a1 and 22b1 of the folding rollers 22a and 22b are rotationally driven by a common driving means such as a driving motor. Thereby, the rotational positions of the first roller surfaces 22a2, 22b2 and the second roller surfaces 22a3, 22b3 can always be synchronized with each other.

A folding blade 23 as a protruding member is arranged on the opposite side of the folding roller pair 22 with the sheet stacking tray 21 interposed therebetween. The folding blade 23 is carried by the blade carrier 24 with its tip facing the nip portion 22 c of the folding roller pair 22 . The blade carrier 24 is traversed substantially perpendicularly across the sheet stacking tray 21 by a moving means composed of a cam member or the like, that is, crosses the conveying direction of the sheet conveyed from the second discharge path 13b to the sheet stacking tray 21. It is provided so that it can run in the direction.

3, i.e., in the axial direction of the folding roller, on both sides of the blade carrier 24, cam members 25 each comprising a pair of mirror-symmetrical eccentric cams (only one of them is shown in the figure). are provided at opposing positions. The cam member 25 is rotated around a rotating shaft 25a provided at an eccentric position thereof by driving means such as a driving motor. A cam groove 25b is formed in the cam member 25 along its outer peripheral edge.

The blade carrier 24 is provided with a cam pin 24c as a cam follower, which is slidably fitted into the cam groove 25b.

The blade carrier 24 reciprocates toward or away from the sheet stacking tray 21 when the cam member 25 is rotated by the drive motor. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the leading edge of the folding blade 23 is nipped between the initial position where it does not enter the sheet conveying path formed by the sheet stacking tray 21 and the nip portion 22c of the pair of folding rollers 22. The folding blade 23 can be linearly moved back and forth between the maximum protruding position and along the protruding path connecting the two positions.

At the lower end of the sheet stacking tray 21, a regulating stopper 26 (moving means) is arranged to abut and regulate the leading edge of the conveyed sheet in the conveying direction. The regulation stopper 26 (moving means) is provided to be movable up and down along the sheet stacking tray 21 by a sheet lifting mechanism 27 .

The sheet lifting mechanism 27 of the present embodiment is configured so that the tip of the folding blade 23 on the back side of the sheet stacking tray 21 does not enter the sheet conveying path formed by the sheet stacking tray 21 , which is the initial position of the blade carrier 24 . and a pair of pulleys 27a and 27b arranged near the upper and lower ends along the sheet stacking tray 21, and a transmission belt 27c wound around the two pulleys. . The regulation stopper 26 (moving means) is fixed on the transmission belt 27c. By rotating the pulley 27a or 27b on the drive side by a driving means such as a driving motor, the regulation stopper 26 (moving means) moves up and down between the lower end position shown in FIG. A sheet or sheet bundle can be moved along the sheet stacking tray 21 .

The folding device F of this embodiment further includes a sheet side alignment mechanism for aligning and aligning the side edges of the sheets carried into the sheet stacking tray 21 . As shown in FIG. 4, this sheet side aligning mechanism includes a pair of sheet side aligning members 200 and 200, which are arranged mirror-symmetrically on both sides of the sheet stacking tray 21 in the sheet width direction (direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction). has 200. 4 is a schematic plan view of the folding device F viewed from above. The sheet side aligning members 200, 200 are movably held so as to move toward and away from each other in the sheet width direction. By moving the sheet side aligning members 200, 200, the sheet is aligned in the width direction with respect to the sheet conveyed to the sheet stacking tray 21 and the leading end of which hits the regulation stopper 26 (moving means). be.

Further, the aligning members 200, 200 of the present embodiment are provided with guide portions so that even a curled sheet can be guided. The configuration of the aligning member having this guide portion will be described later in detail.

<Inner tri-fold processing>
The sheet processing apparatus B of the present embodiment can fold the sheet conveyed by the folding processing apparatus F onto the sheet stacking tray 21 serving as the sheet conveying path into three inwards. The in-three-folding process means that when a sheet is folded in two by the first folding process, and then the second folding process is performed on the sheet at a position different from the first folding position, the folding process is performed by the first folding process. In this process, one end of the folded sheet is folded into the inner side of the folded sheet by the second folding process to fold the sheet in three. 5 to 11, a schematic operation of the fold processing apparatus F according to the present embodiment when performing the inner three-fold processing will be described. 5 to 11 are cross-sectional schematic diagrams showing the movement of each part along the flow of the sheet S when the inward three-folding process is executed.

The sheet stacking tray 21 of this embodiment is formed to be tilted with respect to the vertical direction, and the sheet S is guided by a guide surface 21a forming the sheet stacking tray 21 on one side thereof, and the sheet leading edge S1 is placed downward. The sheet is transported so that the trailing edge S2 faces upward, and the leading edge of the sheet hits the regulation stopper 26 (moving means) and stops (FIG. 5A). At this time, the position of the regulation stopper 26 (moving means) is arranged so that the first folding position of the sheet S against which the leading end S1 of the sheet abuts is the position facing the folding blade 23 . The folding blade 23 is arranged at a position to project the sheet S toward the folding roller pair 22 from the side of the guide surface 21 a of the sheet stacking tray 21 . In other words, the guide surface 21a of the sheet stacking tray 21 and the pair of folding rollers 22 are arranged at corresponding positions with the sheet S interposed therebetween.

In this state, after the position in the sheet width direction is aligned by the above-described sheet side alignment members 200 , 200 , the folding blade 23 is operated to fold the sheet S in two, and the folded portion is nipped by the folding roller pair 22 . It sticks out to the portion 22c (FIG. 5(b)). In synchronism with the thrusting operation of the folding blade 23, the pair of folding rollers 22 and the discharge roller 17b are driven to rotate forward, and the sheet S is drawn into the pair of folding rollers 22 and the discharge roller 17b. As a result, the sheet S is pressed by the nip portion of the folding roller pair 22 and subjected to the first folding process (FIG. 6A).

Next, in order to perform the second folding process, the sheet conveyance is stopped when the trailing edge S2 of the sheet that has undergone the first folding process reaches a predetermined position (FIG. 6B). And the discharge roller 17b is reversely driven to execute the switchback conveying process. The trailing edge S2 of the sheet becomes an edge portion (hereinafter referred to as a "folding edge portion") that is folded inside the sheet that is folded in the second folding process when the sheet is folded in three. Then, when the switchback conveying process is performed, the folded end portion S2 is pressed downward (toward the sheet stacking tray 21 where the sheet leading edge S1 is located) by the L-shaped pressing guide member 30 (FIG. 7A), In addition, the pressing guide member 30 again guides the sheet S conveyed in the direction in which the regulation stopper 26 (moving means) of the sheet stacking tray 21 is arranged (FIG. 7B). The configuration and operation of this pressing guide member 30 will be described later in detail.

When the leading edge of the sheet S reaches the regulating stopper 26 (moving means) previously moved to the sheet receiving position by switchback conveyance (FIG. 8A), the pressing guide member 30 is returned to the retracted position, and then the reverse conveyance guide is performed. 8(b)), and the regulation stopper 26 (moving means) is moved to a position where the second folding position faces the folding blade 23 (FIG. 9(a)). After the movement is completed, the pressing guide member 30 is moved to a guide position parallel to the guide surface 21a of the sheet stacking tray 21 (FIG. 9B).

Next, the folding blade 23 is operated again to push the sheet S into the nip portion 22c of the folding roller pair 22 (FIG. 10(a)). At this time, a blade guide member 40, which is a protruding guide member arranged above the folding blade 23, protrudes so that the folded edge S2 of the sheet is guided to be pushed into the nip portion 22c (FIG. 10(b)). )). The configuration and operation of this blade guide member 40 will also be described in detail later.

The sheet S sent to the pair of folding rollers 22 by the protrusion of the folding blade 23 is subjected to a second folding process by passing through the nip portion 22c (FIG. 11(a)), and the sheet S folded in three is folded inward. It is discharged by the discharge roller 17b (FIG. 11(b)).

<Press guide member>
Next, the pressing guide member 30, which is the pressing member described above, will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 14. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the folding device F with the pressure guide member 30 exposed, and FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the relationship between the rotation trajectory of the pressure guide member 30 and other members. 14A and 14B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the pressing guide member 30. FIG.

(Shape of pressing guide member)
The pressing guide member 30 presses the folding end S2 of the sheet downward and guides the sheet to be conveyed to the sheet stacking tray 21 when the sheet that has undergone the first folding process is conveyed by switchback. is. In other words, the pressing guide member 30 changes the orientation of the folded edge S2 of the sheet to the direction of the leading edge S1 of the sheet on the sheet stacking tray 21 when switchback-conveying the sheet that has undergone the first folding process. It is also a redirection member that

As shown in FIG. 12 (and see FIG. 4), the pressing guide member 30 sandwiches the sheet S guided by the guide surface 21a of the sheet stacking tray 21 and is located on the side opposite to the side on which the folding roller pair 22 is arranged. are placed in In the present embodiment, three of them are attached to the rotating shaft 31, which is a support member arranged in the seat width direction, side by side at substantially equal intervals. The two on both sides are arranged at positions where they can come into contact with both ends of the sheet S conveyed on the sheet stacking tray 21, and the central one is arranged at a position where they can come into contact with the conveyed sheet at substantially the center in the width direction. It is

The pressing guide member 30 is movable by moving means. In this embodiment, the rotating shaft 31 is connected to the pressing guide motor 33 via a drive transmission member 32 such as a drive belt, and the rotating shaft 31 is rotated by the driving of the pressing guide motor 33, and integrated therewith. Generally, three pressing guide members 30 are configured to be rotatable.

As shown in FIG. 13, the pressing guide member 30 includes a rotating portion 30a that can rotate about a rotating shaft 31, and a guide portion 30b that serves as a first guide surface for guiding the sheet S conveyed in a switchback manner. , and a guide portion 30b connected continuously to the rotating portion 30a at a substantially right angle. A pressing portion 30c that presses the sheet S is formed between the rotating portion 30a and the guide portion 30b, that is, the L-shaped corner portion that is the tip of the rotating portion 30a.

The pressing guide member 30 is provided so as to form a notch in the guide surface 21a and be exposed therefrom. When the sheet S is carried into the sheet stacking tray 21, it is retracted to the retracted position (see FIG. 5A). When in this retracted position, the rotating portion 30a is provided so as to be substantially flush with the guide surface 21a. Therefore, the rotating portion 30 a functions as a part of the guide surface 21 a and acts as a guide surface (second guide surface) for guiding the sheets carried into the sheet stacking tray 21 . When the pressure guide member 30 is at the retracted position, the guide portion 30b is prevented from protruding from the guide surface 21a. Therefore, the accommodation space for the pressure guide member 30 can be reduced in the retracted state.

(Rotating center position)
As shown in FIG. 13, the rotation shaft 31 serving as the rotation center of the pressing guide member 30 of the present embodiment is positioned closer to the nip line L1 that connects the nip portion 22c of the folding roller pair 22 and the tip of the folding blade 23. , is arranged on the upstream side in the conveying direction in which the sheet S is carried into the sheet stacking tray 21, and is arranged on the side opposite to the side on which the folding roller pair 22 is arranged with the guide surface 21a of the sheet stacking tray 21 interposed therebetween. It is Further, the rotating shaft 31 of the present embodiment is the folding roller arranged upstream of the nip line L1 in the sheet conveying direction of the folding rollers 22a and 22b, that is, the folding roller closer to the rotating shaft 31 22a is arranged downstream of the axis L2 parallel to the nip line L1 in the conveying direction.

The rotating portion 30a is set so as to rotate in a direction in which the pressing portion 30c presses the sheet S to the switchback conveying side.

Therefore, when the sheet S that has undergone the first folding process is switchback-conveyed, as shown in FIG. , the pressing portion 30c presses down the folded end portion S2 of the sheet from above the folded end portion S2. As a result, the folded end portion S2 is guided downstream (downward) in the sheet conveying direction in which the sheet S is received by the sheet stacking tray 21 before the sheet stacking tray 21 is subjected to the first folding process while being switchback-conveyed. be. In other words, the pressing portion 30c changes the orientation of the folded end portion S2 of the sheet to the direction in which the leading edge S1 of the sheet on the sheet stacking tray 21 is located. After changing the orientation of the folded edge S2, the pressing guide member 30 remains at that position to convey the sheet S received on the sheet stacking tray 21 before performing the first folding process on the folded edge S2. It can be guided to the downstream side of the direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14(c), when the pressing portion 30c rotates to the guide position where the pressing portion 30c rotates to the position of the guide surface 21a, the pressing portion 30c comes into contact with the sheet and then pushes the folded edge S2 of the sheet into the nip portion. The sheet stacking tray 21 is guided in the direction in which the regulation stopper 26 (moving means) of the sheet stacking tray 21 is arranged. Therefore, even if the folded edge S2 of the sheet is curled upward, the sheet is reliably conveyed downward without advancing upward on the sheet stacking tray 21 .

(Rotating area of rotating part)
As shown in FIG. 13, the length of the rotating portion 30a of the pressing guide member 30 of the present embodiment, that is, the length from the rotating shaft 31, which is the fulcrum of rotation, to the pressing portion 30c is equal to the length of the two folding rollers 22a. , 22b, it is set to be longer than the shortest distance to the first roller surface 22a2 of the folding roller 22a on the side closer to the rotation shaft 31 and shorter than the shortest distance to the second roller surface 22a3.

As described above, even if the length of the rotating portion 30a is set to be longer than the shortest distance to the first roller surface 22a2, the folding roller pair 22 does not reach the second roller surfaces 22a3 and 22b3 when the sheet is switched back. By stopping so as to face the rotating portion 30a, there is no interference with the folding roller pair 22 even when the rotating portion 30a is rotated. Further, since the rotating portion 30a can be set longer than the shortest distance to the first roller surface 22a2, which is the large-diameter portion of the folding roller 22a, the pressing portion 30c is closer to the nip portion 22c with respect to the sheet conveyed switchback. Since the sheet is pressed at a closer position, the sheet is guided to the sheet stacking tray 21 more reliably.

When the rotating portion 30a is lengthened, the rotating shaft 31 must be arranged away from the folding blade 23 in the sheet conveying direction in order to prevent the rotated pressing guide member 30 from interfering with the folding blade 23. I have to. As a result, the rotating shaft 31 must be arranged at a position away from the folding roller pair 22 as well. In this regard, in the present embodiment, as described above, the rotating shaft 31 is arranged between the nip line L1 and the rotation axis L2 in the sheet conveying direction. The position at which the pressing portion 30c presses the sheet that is conveyed in the switchback can be brought closer to the nip portion 22c without increasing the length of .

Here, as the folding roller pair, in addition to using different diameter rollers having the first roller surfaces 22a2 and 22b2 and the second roller surfaces 22a3 and 22b3 with different diameters as in the present embodiment, a roller pair with a constant roller diameter may be used. It is possible to use it, but in that case, the length of the rotating portion 30a must be shorter than the shortest distance to the outer circumference of the folding roller on the side closer to the rotating shaft.

Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the pressing guide member 30 of the present embodiment has a shape in which the guide portion 30b is located inside the rotation locus L3 of the rotation portion 30a and does not protrude outside the region. As a result, the guide portion 30b does not interfere with the folding roller pair 22 even when the long rotating portion 30a is rotated as described above.

When the sheet that has undergone the first folding process as described above is conveyed in a switchback manner, it is returned to the sheet stacking tray 21 while being guided by the pressing guide member 30 . After the sheet abuts against the regulating stopper 26 (moving means) and the switchback conveyance is completed, the pressing guide member 30 is returned to the retracted position. At this time, the rotating portion 30a serving as the second guide surface of the pressing guide member 30 protrudes a little further toward the sheet conveying path than the guide surface 21a so as to guide the sheet S conveyed on the sheet stacking tray 21 in the opposite direction. It is moved to the reverse transport guide position (see FIG. 8(b)).

After the pressing guide member 30 moves to the reverse transport guide position, the regulation stopper 26 (moving means) is lifted and the sheet is reverse transported so that the second folding position faces the folding blade 23 . At this time, since the sheet S is guided by the rotating portion 30a of the pressing guide member 30, the sheet S is conveyed without being caught by the notch for attaching the pressing guide member formed in the guide surface 21a (see FIG. 9A). ).

<Blade guide member>
After the second folding position of the sheet that has been switchback-conveyed as described above moves to a position facing the folding blade 23, the pressing guide member 30 is moved to the retracted position, and the folding blade 23 is operated to perform the second fold. fold operation. At this time, the blade guide member 40 provided above the folding blade 23 guides the folded edge S2 of the sheet (see FIG. 10B).

Next, the configuration and operation of the blade guide member 40 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 15 to 19. FIG. 15A and 15B are diagrams for explaining the rotation of the blade guide member 40, and FIGS. 16 to 19 are diagrams showing the operations of the folding blade 23 and the blade guide member 40 when the sheet is folded for the second time. is.

(Structure of blade guide member)
The blade guide member 40 moves in the projecting direction of the folding blade 23 when performing the second folding process on the sheet S, and moves the folding blade 23 along the fold side of the sheet formed by the first folding process. The end portion, ie, the sheet folding end portion S2 is guided in the projecting direction to the nip portion 22c of the folding roller pair 22. As shown in FIG. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 15, the blade guide member 40 has a contact portion 40a that contacts the rear end of the sheet, and a fitting hole portion having a partial notch at one end of the contact portion 40a. 40b is formed, and this fitting hole portion 40b is rotatably fitted to the shaft portion 40f formed in the base portion 40e. An arm portion 40c is integrally provided at the other end of the contact portion 40a, and an engaging projection 40d is formed at the end of the arm portion 40c. The engaging protrusion 40d is slidably engaged with an elongated hole 50 formed in the frame of the sheet processing apparatus B. As shown in FIG. The elongated hole 50 is formed substantially parallel to the guide surface 21 a of the sheet stacking tray 21 in the vicinity of the upper portion of the blade carrier 24 .

The base portion 40e is attached to the blade carrier 24 so as to be slidable in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the blade carrier 24. As shown in FIG. A tension spring 51 is attached between a locking portion 40e1 formed on the base portion 40e and a locking portion 24a formed on the blade carrier 24. As shown in FIG.

The blade carrier 24 is provided with a pressing protrusion 24b capable of contacting and pressing against the base portion 40e. The pressing protrusion 24b is rotatably provided on the blade carrier 24 and is urged counterclockwise in FIG. 15 by a coil spring 52 attached to a rotating shaft. As a result, when the blade carrier 24 moves in the blade projecting direction, the pressing projection 24b abuts against the base portion 40e to press the base portion 40e, and the blade guide member 40 moves integrally with the blade carrier 24. As shown in FIG. The coil spring 52 provided on the pressing protrusion 24b acts as a so-called torque limiter, and rotates clockwise when a predetermined clockwise force is applied to the pressing protrusion 24b. there is

(Angle change of the contact portion with respect to the moving direction of the folding blade)
15(a), when the blade carrier 24 is at the home position, the contact portion 40a of the blade guide member 40 is pulled by the tension spring 51 so that the pressing guide member 30 rotates. It is in a position in contact with the rotating shaft 31 that serves as a fulcrum. This state is the home position of the blade guide member 40 . At this time, the abutting portion 40a stands up so as to be substantially flush with the guide surface 21a. When the blade carrier 24 moves in the blade projecting direction from the home position, the blade guide member 40 is pressed by the pressing protrusion 24b and moves together with the blade carrier 24, and as shown in FIG. The abutting portion 40 e 2 erected at the rear end of the portion 40 e is moved until it abuts against the rotating shaft 31 .

As described above, when the blade guide member 40 moves in the blade projecting direction, the engaging protrusion 40d is guided by the long hole 50 and slides downward, and the contact portion 40a rotates about the shaft portion 40f. The shaft portion 40f is provided at one end of the contact portion 40a closer to the folding blade 23. As shown in FIG. The one end refers to a region between the center of the contact portion 40 a and the end closer to the folding blade 23 . In other words, the shaft portion 40f is provided in any region closer to the folding blade 23 than the center of the contact portion 40a. Therefore, in the state shown in FIG. 15A where the blade guide member 40 is at the home position, the contact portion 40a is substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the blade carrier 24, that is, the moving direction of the folding blade 23, and is in an upright state. . As the blade carrier 24 moves in the direction in which the folding blade 23 protrudes, as shown in FIG. In other words, the folding blade 23 rotates so as to fall toward the upstream side in the projecting direction. direction upstream). As described above, one end of the contact portion 40a is configured to be rotatable about the shaft portion, and the end portion of the arm portion 40c extending from the other end of the contact portion 40a extends into the long hole 50. , the angle of the blade guide member 40 can be changed in conjunction with the movement of the blade guide member 40 without providing a special driving means.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15A, a protrusion 40f1 is formed on the shaft portion 40f that serves as the rotation shaft of the contact portion 40a. On the other hand, the notch formed in the fitting hole portion 40b to be fitted with the shaft portion 40f is formed wider than the width of the protrusion 40f1, and the blade guide member 40 is rotatable within the range of the notch. .

In the above configuration, when the blade carrier 24 moves to the home position, the base portion 40e is pulled by the tension spring 51. At this time, the cutout surface of the fitting hole portion 40b abuts on the protrusion 40f1 and the abutment portion 40a. further rotation is restricted. Therefore, further movement of the blade guide member 40 is restricted while the contact portion 40a is in contact with the rotating shaft 31, and the contact portion 40a maintains the upright state at the home position.

Further, in the blade guide member 40 of the present embodiment, the contact portion 40a and the arm portion 40c are composed of linear members when viewed in cross section, and the arm portion 40c has a predetermined angle with respect to the contact portion 40a. formed. As a result, even when the blade guide member 40 is at the home position, the engaging protrusion 40d of the arm portion 40c is provided even when the contact portion 40a is substantially flush with the guide surface 21a. The side end is located farther from the guide surface 21a on the side opposite to the side on which the folding roller pair 22 is located. That is, the folding blade 23 is located on the side of the guide surface 21a in the direction in which the folding blade 23 is returned from the nip portion 22c side to the home position. Therefore, the elongated hole 50 with which the engaging protrusion 40d engages can be arranged away from the guide surface 21a on the side opposite to the folding roller pair 22, and arranged at a position where it does not interfere with the guide surface 21a. can. Therefore, when the blade guide member 40 is at the home position, the contact portion 40a can be configured to function as a guide portion for the sheet conveyed on the sheet stacking tray 21. FIG.

(Operation of Folding Blade and Blade Guide Member)
Next, the operation of the blade guide member 40 when the folding blade 23 is operated to fold the sheet for the second time will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 to 19. FIG.

FIG. 16(a) shows the state where the blade carrier 24 is at the home position, and at this time the blade guide member 40 is also at the home position. In the following description, the direction in which the blade carrier 24 projects the folding blade 23 from the position of the home position to the nip portion 22c of the folding roller pair 22 is the "extrusion direction", and the direction in which the folding blade 23 is returned from the nip portion 22c side to the home position. It is called "return direction".

When it is at the home position, the tip of the folding blade 23 is on the same plane as the guide surface 21a or on the returning direction side of the guide surface 21a (first position), and is separated from the sheet S on the sheet stacking tray 21. ing. Therefore, the sheet conveyed on the sheet stacking tray 21 while being guided by the guide surface 21a will not be caught by the leading edge of the blade. Even when the tip of the folding blade 23 protrudes toward the folding roller 22 from the guide surface 21a, the tip of the blade does not convey the sheet unless a sheet conveyed to the sheet stacking tray 21 by another guide member is caught by the tip of the blade. Since it can be said that the vehicle is withdrawn from the road, this state may be set as the first position. When the blade guide member 40 is at the home position, the contact portion 40a of the blade guide member 40 is in contact with the rotating shaft 31. As shown in FIG. At this time, the pressing protrusion 24b is separated from the base portion 40e.

Next, in order to project the folding blade 23, when the cam drive motor is driven, the cam member 25 rotates to move the blade carrier 24 in the projecting direction. Then, the pressing protrusion 24b comes into contact with the base portion 40e, and the blade guide member 40 moves integrally with the blade carrier 24 and the folding blade 23 in the projecting direction (FIG. 16(b)). At this time, the tip of the folding blade 23 is configured to protrude further in the protrusion direction than the tip of the blade guide member 40 .

When the blade carrier 24 moves further in the projecting direction, the tip of the folding blade protrudes by a predetermined amount, and as shown in FIG. , the tip of the folding blade 23 contacts the sheet S stopped on the sheet stacking tray 21 (second position). At this time, since the tip of the folding blade 23 protrudes further than the blade guide member 40 as described above, the folding blade 23 comes into contact with the folding position of the sheet S before the blade guide member 40 does. For this reason, due to the protrusion of the folding blade 23, the leading edge of the folding blade facing the folding position of the sheet is accurately brought into contact with the folding position without deviation from the folding position of the sheet, and the folding process is executed at the accurate folding position.

Even if the tip of the folding blade does not necessarily protrude from the blade guide member 40, if the tip of the folding blade is positioned at the same position as the blade guide member 40 in the direction of protrusion, the tip of the folding blade can be prevented from being misaligned with the folding position of the sheet. can be suppressed.

When the blade carrier 24 moves in the projecting direction in the above state, the folding blade 23 projects the second folding position of the sheet S toward the nip portion 22 c of the folding roller pair 22 . At the same time, the contact portion 40a of the blade guide member 40 contacts the folded edge S2 of the first folded sheet and guides the folded edge S2 to the nip portion 22c (see FIG. 3). 17(b)).

As described above, since the blade guide member 40 guides the folded edge S2 of the sheet to the nip portion 22c, the folded edge S2 of the sheet moves toward the nip portion 22c without being turned over. Also, when approaching the nip portion 22c, the protruding blade guide member 40 may interfere with the outer circumferences of the folding rollers 22a and 22b. At this time, as the blade guide member 40 of this embodiment moves in the projecting direction as described above, the angle of the contact portion 40a with respect to the projecting direction changes to an acute angle (from the state in FIG. 17(a) to the state in FIG. 17( change to the state of b)). Therefore, the contact portion 40a can enter closer to the nip portion 22c, and the folded end portion S2 of the sheet can be reliably guided to the nip portion.

When the blade carrier 24 moves further in the projecting direction and the abutting portion 40e2 comes into contact with the rotating shaft 31 as shown in FIG. 17(b), the blade guide member 40 is restricted from moving further in the projecting direction. . Note that when the blade guide member 40 moves most in the projecting direction, the tip of the blade guide member 40 (the end on the side of the pair of folding rollers 22 with respect to the projecting direction) is positioned at the sheet loading tray of the folding rollers 22a and 22b. It protrudes toward the nip portion 22c from the tangent line (of the two folding rollers 22a and 22b) connecting the outer peripheries on the 21 side. On the other hand, when the blade carrier 24 is pushed out in the projecting direction by the rotation of the cam member 25, as shown in FIG. It rotates clockwise against the urging force and slips under the base portion 40e. As a result, the pressing projection 24b no longer presses the blade guide member 40, and while the blade guide member 40 remains stationary, only the folding blade 23 moves in the projecting direction, and the tip of the blade protrudes to the maximum to push the sheet S into the nip portion 22c. move to a position (third position) where it protrudes toward At this time, the tip of the folding blade 23 projects farther than the tip of the contact portion 40 a of the blade guide member 40 . That is, the distance from the tip of the blade to the tip of the contact portion at the third position is greater than the distance from the tip of the blade to the tip of the contact portion at the second position. As a result, the sheet is reliably pulled into the nip portion 22c of the folding roller pair 22 while being folded at the second folding position, and the leading edge S1 of the sheet is also pulled into the nip portion 22c to be folded in three. Become.

When the folding blade 23 protrudes the sheet, that is, when a large load is applied to the blade guide member 40 in the returning direction while the tip of the folding blade is moving from the second position to the third position, for example, a plurality of sheets In the case where the sheets are folded in a state of being stacked and the rigidity of the sheets is high, a large load is applied to the blade guide member 40 during the folding process. In this case, when a load exceeding a certain level is applied, the blade guide member 40 moves against the folding blade 23 against the frictional force of the pressing protrusion 24b which is pressed against the bottom surface of the base portion 40e by the biasing force of the coil spring 52. It is relatively movable in the return direction. As a result, the blade guide member 40 is not damaged when a large load is applied to the blade guide member 40 during the sheet folding process.

When the cam member 25 rotates after the leading edge of the folding blade reaches the third position, the blade carrier 24 moves in the return direction together with the folding blade 23 (FIG. 18(b)). At this time, as described above, the pressing projection 24b is in pressure contact with the base portion 40e of the blade guide member 40 by the biasing force of the coil spring 52, so that the friction between the pressing projection 24b and the bottom surface of the base portion 40e causes the blade to move. The guide member 40 also moves integrally with the blade carrier 24, i.e. simultaneously with the folding blade 23, in the returning direction.

When the cam member 25 further rotates and the blade carrier 24 moves in the return direction, the contact portion 40a of the blade guide member 40 contacts the rotating shaft 31, and the blade guide member 40 returns to the home position. Further movement of the blade guide member 40 in the return direction is restricted (FIG. 19(a)). When the cam member 25 rotates further, only the folding blade 23 moves in the return direction and returns to the home position while the blade guide member 40 does not move (FIG. 19(b)).

As described above, when the blade carrier 24 moves in the return direction, the folding blade 23 and the blade guide member 40 simultaneously move in the return direction, and the blade guide member 40 causes the blade carrier 24 and the folding blade 23 to return to their home positions. Return to home position before. That is, the blade guide member 40 retreats earlier than the folding blade 23 from the sheet pulled in by the folding roller pair 22 and the discharge roller 17b. Therefore, the conveying load of the blade guide member 40 on the sheet S drawn by the discharge roller 17b or the like is reduced.

(Layout relationship between blade guide member and pressing guide member)
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, which is a schematic plan view of the folding device F, two blade guide members 40 are arranged at predetermined positions in the sheet width direction. The folding blade 23 of the present embodiment has six projecting tip portions 23a at approximately equal intervals in the sheet width direction on the projecting side. When the pushing end portion 23a pushes the sheet, the sheet is pushed out to the nip portion 22c of the folding roller pair 22, and the folding process is executed. The blade guide member 40 is arranged above the tip end portion 23a1 of the six tip end portions 23a, that is, on the upstream side in the carrying direction of the sheet carried into the sheet stacking tray 21. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the sheet S pushed out by the folding blade 23 is guided by the blade guide members 40 at the folded ends S2 on both sides in the width direction.

The blade guide member 40 is desirably arranged above all of the six piercing tip portions 23a (23a1) in order to guide the folded end portion S2 of the sheet to the nip portion 22c. Then, the number of parts will increase. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as described above, the blade guide members 40 are arranged at the positions of the two thrust end portions 23a1 formed at both end portions in the sheet width direction, so that the number of parts can be reduced. . Since the folded end portion S2 of the sheet pushed out by the folding blade 23 in the second folding process is more likely to be turned over in the vicinity of the end portion than in the center portion in the sheet width direction, this portion is nipped by the blade guide member 40. By guiding in the direction, the turning-up can be effectively prevented.

Note that the two blade guide members 40 are not positioned at both ends in the sheet width direction of the sheet of the minimum width that can be conveyed to the sheet stacking tray 21, but above the tip end portion 23a1 which is formed slightly closer to the center. are placed. This is because it is more effective to thrust the sheet slightly closer to the center than to the widthwise end of the sheet when thrusting the sheet with the thrusting tip 23a, and the blade guide member 40 corresponds to the position of the thrusting tip 23a1. This is because the

With respect to the position of the blade guide member 40, the pressing guide member 30 of the present embodiment is arranged outside the two blade guide members 40 in the sheet width direction. Specifically, the two pressing guide members 30 are arranged at intervals substantially equal to the width of the minimum size sheet that can be processed by the folding device F, and when folding the minimum size sheet, the width of the sheet is reduced. It is placed at a position where both ends can be pressed and guided. In this embodiment, in addition to the two pressing guide members 30 capable of pressing and guiding both ends of the sheet, a pressing guide member 30 capable of pressing and guiding the center in the width direction of the sheet is provided. Three pressing guide members 30 are provided. More specifically, the minimum size sheet that can be processed by the folding device F in this embodiment is A4, and the width of a general A4 size sheet in the lateral direction is 210 mm. Two pressing guide members 30 capable of pressing and guiding both ends in the width direction of the sheet are formed to have a length of 18 mm in the width direction of the sheet. The length of the straight line is 226 mm, which is longer than the width of the A4 size sheet, and the ends of the A4 size sheet in the width direction extend 10 mm on each side of the pressing guide member 30 near the center in the width direction. . The maximum size sheet that can be processed by the folding device F is A3, and the width of a general A3 size sheet in the width direction is 297 mm. By setting the length obtained by connecting the outer ends of two pressing guide members 30 that can press and guide both ends of the sheet in the width direction with a straight line longer than the width of the minimum size sheet, the maximum size sheet can be obtained. It is possible to give the guide effect also to the end of the .

When feedback-conveying a sheet that has undergone the first folding process, the pressing guide member 30 presses the folding end S2 of the sheet and guides it back to the sheet stacking tray 21 as described above. It is effective to prevent turning-up by pressing and guiding both ends in the direction. Therefore, the two pressing guide members 30 are arranged outside the blade guide member 40 in the sheet width direction. In the present embodiment, the pressure guide members 30 arranged on both sides in the sheet width direction are arranged at intervals substantially equal to the width of the minimum size sheet, and the blade guide members 40 are positioned inside the width of the minimum size sheet. are also spaced at short intervals.

In addition, in this embodiment, the thrust tip portions 23 a 2 are arranged outside the pressing guide member 30 . The poke tip 23a2 is for preventing wrinkles from occurring in the sheet when poked in the sheet width direction, and is arranged inside the both ends of the sheet of the maximum size (sheet to be handled). is determined to be only the minimum size described above, there is no particular need to provide it). In other words, it is desirable to arrange the pressing guide member 30 and the blade guide member 40 according to the minimum size of the sheet, but the thrust tip 23a2 may be separately arranged outside the pressing guide member 30 if necessary. In other words, the blade guide member 40 is arranged inside the two pressure guide members 30 in the sheet width direction, and the thrusting tip portion 23a1 is arranged corresponding to the position of the blade guide member 40, and the two pressure guide members A thrust tip portion 23a2 may be further arranged on the outer side of 30 according to the size of the sheet to be handled.

Further, when the difference between the minimum size and the maximum size handled by the device is large, the blade guide member 40 corresponding to the minimum size, the thrust tip portion 23a1 provided with the blade guide member 40, the two pressing guide members 30, and the maximum A blade guide member 40 corresponding to the size, a thrust tip portion 23a2 provided with the blade guide member 40, and two pressing guide members 30 may be provided. In the present embodiment, two tip end portions 23a1 provided with the blade guide member 40 are provided across the center of the sheet S, but one tip end portion 23a1 and one blade guide member are provided. 40.

In the present embodiment, the pressing guide member 30 is arranged between the thrust tip portions 23a1 and 23a2 so as not to interfere with the thrust tip portions 23a1 and 23a2 when the pressing guide member 30 moves to the guide position. It is Therefore, each member can be arranged in a space-saving manner.

<Drive control>
Next, the control configuration of the drive system when folding the sheet will be described. As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 20, the control unit 60 controls the folding roller motor 61 that drives and rotates the folding roller pair 22 and the discharge roller 17b that drives and rotates the discharge roller 17b in accordance with the procedures of the flowcharts shown in FIGS. The motor 62 controls the drive of the regulation stopper motor 63 that operates the sheet lifting mechanism 27 for raising and lowering the regulation stopper 26 (moving means). Similarly, the control unit 60 drives and controls the cam motor 64 that drives the cam member 25 for operating the blade carrier 24 and the pressing guide motor 33 that rotates the pressing guide member 30 .

21 and 22, the sheet S is conveyed to the sheet stacking tray 21, the leading edge of the sheet hits the regulation stopper 26 (moving means) stopped at a predetermined position, and the first folding position is the position facing the folding blade 23. 10 is a flowchart showing a drive control procedure when executing folding processing from a state of .

When the folding process is executed, the cam motor 64 is driven to move the blade carrier 24 in the projecting direction, and the folding blade 23 contacts the first folding position of the sheet S and projects to the nip portion 22c (S1). At the same time, the folding roller motor 61 and the discharge roller motor 62 are driven to rotate the folding roller pair 22 and the discharge roller 17b forward (S2). Each motor is a pulse motor, and when the motor is driven, the number of driving pulses is counted.

When the cam member 25 rotates, the folding blade 23 protrudes the first folding portion of the sheet S to the nip portion 22c of the folding roller pair 22 by a predetermined amount. and return (S3).

The sheet S projected into the nip portion 22c of the folding roller pair 22 by the protrusion of the folding blade 23 is folded while being nipped and transported by the folding roller pair 22, and together with the folding roller pair 22, constitutes the sheet transporting means. It is conveyed by the discharging roller 17b. When the sheet is nipped and conveyed by the discharge roller 17b (S4), the folding roller motor 61 stops when the second roller surfaces 22a3 and 22b3 of the folding rollers 22a and 22b face each other (S4 and S5). As a result, the folding roller pair 22 no longer nips the sheet, and the sheet is conveyed by the discharge roller 17b. At this time, the sheet is conveyed by the discharge roller 17b while being guided by the second roller surfaces 22a3 and 22b3 having a small coefficient of friction. In this embodiment, whether the sheet is conveyed to the discharge roller 17b or whether the second roller surfaces 22a3 and 22b3 of the folding roller pair 22 face each other is determined by the pulse count of the motor. The sheet S may be detected by a sensor, and the driving of the motor may be controlled according to the detection result.

Then, when the position of the folded edge S2 of the conveyed sheet S reaches the predetermined area (S7), the drive of the discharge roller motor 62 is stopped to stop the sheet conveying (S8). This predetermined area is an area between the folded end portion S2 of the sheet and the guide surface 21a of the sheet stacking tray 21 and the rotation locus L3 of the pressing guide member 30 (see FIG. 14A). By stopping the sheet so that the folding end portion S2 is within the area, when the pressing guide member 30 is rotated, the pressing portion 30c can reliably press the sheet S in the switchback conveying direction ( 14(b)), and furthermore, the folded end S2 that is conveyed switchback can be guided by the guide portion 30b (see FIG. 14(c)).

After the folding end portion S2 of the sheet S is stopped in the region, the pressing guide motor 33 is driven to move the guide portion 30b of the pressing guide member 30 to a position where the sheet S to be switchback-conveyed can be guided (FIG. 14 ( The pressing guide member 30 is rotated so as to reach the position shown in c) (S9). Further, along with the rotation of the pressing guide member 30, the regulating stopper motor 63 is driven to move the regulating stopper 26 (moving means) to a position where it can receive the sheet S to be switchback-conveyed.

After the pressing guide member 30 rotates as described above, the discharge roller motor 62 and the folding roller motor 61 are reversely driven (S10). As a result, the discharge roller 17b and the pair of folding rollers 22 rotate in the reverse direction, and the sheet S is conveyed in a switchback manner. At this time, since the sheet is guided by the pressing guide member 30 as described above, the sheet is switchback-conveyed in the direction in which the regulating stopper 26 (moving means) of the sheet stacking tray 21 is arranged without any conveyance failure. be done.

The discharge roller motor 62 and the folding roller motor 61 are driven to switch back convey the sheet S, and the sheet S that has passed through the nip portion 22c of the folding roller pair 22 falls until it contacts the regulation stopper 26 (moving means) and is switched. When the back transportation is completed (S11), the driving of the discharge roller motor 62 and folding roller motor 61 is stopped (S12). Here, the completion of the switchback conveyance of the sheet S may be determined by counting the number of driving pulses of the discharge roller motor 62 and the folding roller motor 61 and conveying the sheet S by a predetermined amount.

Next, the pressing guide motor 33 is driven to return the pressing guide member 30 to the retracted position. At this time, the speed at which the pressure guide member 30 is returned from the guide position (see FIG. 14(c)) to the retracted position (see FIG. 14(a)) is faster than when the pressure guide member 30 is moved from the retracted position to the guide position. set to fast speed. When the pressing guide member 30 is moved from the retracted position to the guide position, it is rotated at a reduced speed in order to press and turn the stopped sheet S for switchback conveying, whereas it is rotated at the guide position. When moving from to the retracted position, the timing of executing the next operation can be advanced by returning quickly.

Then, after the pressing guide member 30 is moved to the reverse conveyance guide position (see FIG. 9A) (S13), the regulation stopper motor 63 is driven so that the second folding position of the sheet S faces the folding blade 23. It is moved to the position (S14). In this state, the cam motor 64, folding roller motor 61, and discharge roller motor 62 are driven to perform the second folding operation (S15-S17).

In this embodiment, motors for driving each member are separately provided, but it is also possible to drive each member by using a common motor and switching driving by means of a clutch or the like.

<Modification>
In the above-described embodiment, when the folding blade 23 and the blade guide member 40 are moved relative to each other, the engagement projection 40d of the blade guide member 40 slides through the elongated hole 50 to form a contact portion with the base portion 40e. An example in which the angle of 40a is changed is shown. However, the angle of the contact portion 40a with respect to the base portion 40e may be fixed so as not to change without providing the link mechanism. Even in this way, the folding blade 23 is configured to be relatively movable with respect to the blade guide member 40, and even after the movement of the blade guide member 40 is stopped at the time of protrusion, the folding blade 23 is protruded to hold the sheet at the nip portion 22c. The sheet can be reliably protruded to the nip portion 22 c without causing the blade guide member 40 to interfere with the folding roller pair 22 . Further, the configuration can be simplified by not providing an angle changing mechanism.

In the above-described embodiment, the folding rollers 22a and 22b are rollers having circular outer peripheral first roller surfaces 22a2 and 22b2 with a constant outer diameter and second roller surfaces 22a3 and 22b3 with smaller outer diameters. A configured example is shown. However, the folding rollers 22a and 22b may be configured by rollers having a constant outer diameter, such as circular rubber rollers. In this case, while the sheet is passing through the pair of folding rollers, the sheet is always nipped by the nip portion of the pair of folding rollers, so the sheet conveying amount can be controlled by the rotation of the pair of folding rollers. Therefore, when the folding end portion of the sheet is stopped at a predetermined position (see FIG. 7A), it can be controlled by the driving amount of the folding roller.

In the above-described embodiment, the folding blade 23 and the blade guide member 40 start moving in the returning direction at the same time when the tip of the folding blade is at the third position. However, for example, the folding blade 23 and the blade guide member 40 are configured to be operated by separate drive systems, and in the movement in the return direction, the folding blade 23 starts moving first, and the blade guide member 40 begins to move later. You may make it start the movement in a return direction.

Even when the leading edge of the folding blade protrudes to the third position and the sheet folding portion is nipped by the pair of folding rollers 22, the folding end portion S2 is not yet nipped by the nip portion 22c (see FIG. 18A). Nipped late. Even in that case, by returning the blade guide member 40 later than the folding blade 23 as described above, the folding end S2 is guided by the blade guide member 40 even if the folding blade 23 starts moving in the returning direction. In addition, it is reliably pulled into the nip portion 22c.

In the above-described embodiment, the amount of conveying the sheet and the amount of rotation of the pressing guide member 30 are controlled by counting the number of pulses of the motor. Alternatively, a photosensor for detecting the pressure guide member 30 is provided, and the sensor detects that the sheet has been conveyed to a predetermined position or that the pressure guide member 30 has been rotated to a predetermined angle, thereby conveying the sheet, or It may be configured to control the rotation of the pressing guide member.

In the above-described embodiment, the regulation stopper 26 (moving means) is arranged at the lower end of the sheet stacking tray 21 to regulate the tip of the conveyed sheet in the conveying direction by contacting the regulation stopper 26 (moving means). Means) is provided so as to be able to move up and down along the sheet stacking tray 21 by means of the sheet lifting mechanism 27 . In another embodiment, roller pairs for conveying sheets may be arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction with the folding blade 23 and the folding roller pair 22 of the sheet stacking tray 21 interposed therebetween. In this case, when the sheet S that has been subjected to the first folding process is conveyed in a switchback manner, the folding blade 23 and the pair of folding rollers 22 of the sheet stacking tray 21 are sandwiched between the upstream side and the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction. can also be returned to

23 to 29 show modifications of the blade guide member 40 and blade carrier 24 (blade guide member 140 and blade carrier 124). The function of the blade guide member 140 is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, and members common to those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted. FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing a state in which the blade guide member 140 has moved in the projecting direction. Although the pressing guide member 30 is provided on the right side of the blade guide member 140 in FIG. 23, its illustration is omitted for the sake of convenience.

The blade guide member 140 is composed of a contact portion 140a, an arm portion 140c, an engaging projection 140d, a locking portion 140e, a pivot 140f, a pressed portion 140g, and a locking projection 140h. The contact portion 140a is a member that contacts and guides the sheet. One end of the contact portion 140a is provided with a pivot point 140f, and the other end is formed by an arm portion 140c and a frame of the sheet processing apparatus B. An engaging projection 140d slidably engaged with the elongated hole 50 and an engaging portion 124a formed on the frame of the sheet processing apparatus B are engaged to stretch the tension spring 151. A stop portion 140e is provided. The tension spring 151 urges the blade guide member 140 upward in FIG. In FIG. 25, a pressed portion 140g is provided on the back side of the abutting portion 140a (upstream side in the projecting direction) with which a pressing protrusion 124b1, which will be described later, abuts. The contact portion 140a is configured to rotate clockwise in FIG. 25 about the rotation fulcrum 140f by being pushed out. In other words, as shown in FIG. 25, the abutting portion 140a is in a standing posture substantially perpendicular to the folding blade 23a, and as shown in FIG. It is configured so that the angle can be changed so as to tilt toward the upstream side in the projecting direction around the pivot point 140f. The locking protrusion 140h bent from the pivot 140f serves as a stopper for preventing the pressed portion 140g from coming off the pressing protrusion 124b1 when the pressing protrusion 124b1 presses the pressed portion 140g. is.

The blade carrier 124 holds the folding blade 23 and the slide rail 124c, and is configured to be integrally movable in the projecting direction and the returning direction by the cam 25 (similar to the above-described embodiment). The slide rail 124c holds the pressing member 124b slidably in the projecting direction and the returning direction. The pressing member 124b includes a pressing projection 124b1 formed at the downstream end in the projecting direction of the pressing member 124b, a locking portion 124b2 formed at the upstream end in the projecting direction and locked by the spring 124e, and a pressing projection 124b1. and a contact portion 124d formed between the locking portion 124b2.

FIG. 24 is a top view of the blade guide member 140 and the blade carrier 124. FIG. FIG. 24(a) shows the state where the blade carrier 124 is at the home position (the thrusting tip 23a1 is at the first position), and FIG. 24C shows a state in which the blade carrier 124 moves further in the projecting direction and the thrusting tip 23a1 protrudes to the maximum to project the sheet S into the nip portion 22c (the thrusting tip 23a1 is at the second position). The portion 23a1 indicates the third position).

The blade carrier 124 is provided with a locking portion 124f to which one end of a spring 124e is attached. The other end of the spring 124e is attached to the engaging portion 124b2 of the pressing member 124b, and the pressing member 124b is biased in the projecting direction (downward in FIG. 24) on the slide rail 124c by the spring 124e.

Referring now to FIG. 25, the pressing member 124b and the slide rail 124c are provided with protrusions 124b3 and 124c1, respectively. The engagement of the projection 124b3 and the projection 124c1 restricts the movement of the pressing member 124b in the projecting direction even if the spring 124e urges the pressing member 124b in the projecting direction at the home position. When the blade carrier 124 moves in the projecting direction in this state, the slide rail 124c moves in the projecting direction, and the protrusion 124c1 provided on the slide rail 124c also moves in the projecting direction. As the protrusion 124c1 moves, the pressing member 124b biased by the spring 124e also moves in the projecting direction at the same time.

By moving the pressing member 124b in the projecting direction from the state shown in FIG. 25, the pressing protrusion 124b1 presses the pressed portion 140g of the blade guide member 140 to move the contact portion 140a of the blade guide member 140 in the projecting direction. . At this time, the blade guide member 140 rotates clockwise about the rotation fulcrum 140f while the engaging protrusion 140d slides downward in the elongated hole 50 against the biasing force of the tension spring 151. .

When the blade carrier 124 moves to the state shown in FIG. 26 (the thrusting tip 23a1 is at the second position), the contacting portion 124d of the pressing member 124b abuts against the rotating shaft 31 of the pressing guide member 30, and the pressing member 124b protrudes. movement is restricted. As a result, even if the pressing member 124b is urged in the projecting direction by the spring 124e, it cannot move further in the projecting direction. At this position, the contact portion 140a of the blade guide member 140 guides the sheet toward the folding roller pair 22 side, and the thrust tip portion 23a contacts the sheet to fold the sheet and push the sheet toward the roller pair side.

Further, when the blade carrier 124 moves in the projecting direction, the state shown in FIG. 27 is obtained. In FIG. 27, while the blade guide member 140 is stopped at the position shown in FIG. 26, only the blade carrier 124, the folding blade 23 (thrusting tip 23a) and the slide rail 124c move in the projecting direction, and the thrusting tip 23a1 protrudes to the maximum. to move the sheet S to the position (third position) where the sheet S protrudes into the nip portion 22c. At this time, the tip end portion 23 a 1 of the folding blade 23 protrudes more than the tip end of the contact portion 140 a of the blade guide member 140 . That is, the distance from the tip of the blade to the tip of the contact portion at the third position is greater than the distance from the tip of the blade to the tip of the contact portion at the second position. As a result, the sheet is reliably pulled into the nip portion 22c of the folding roller pair 22 while being folded at the second folding position, and the leading edge S1 of the sheet is also pulled into the nip portion 22c to be folded in three. Become.

The blade carrier 124 then moves in the return direction. At this time as well, the pressing member 124b is stopped at the position shown in FIG. FIG. 28 shows a state in which the thrust tip 23a1 has returned to the second position. Here, the protrusion 124c1 provided on the slide rail 124c engages with the protrusion 124b3 provided on the pressing member 124b. When the blade carrier 124 is further moved in the return direction in this state, the slide rail 124c and the pressing member 124b simultaneously move in the return direction while resisting the biasing force of the spring 124e. When the pressing member 124b moves in the return direction from the position shown in FIG. The angle is changed to the standing posture shown in FIG.

When the folding blade 23 protrudes the sheet, that is, when a large load is applied to the blade guide member 140 in the returning direction while the protruding tip portion 23a1 is moving from the second position to the third position, for example, a plurality of In the case where the sheet is folded in a state where the sheets are stacked and the rigidity of the sheet is high, a large load is applied to the blade guide member 140 during the folding process. In this case, the blade guide member 140 can move in the returning direction relative to the folding blade 23 against the spring 124e when a load above a certain level is applied. As described above, the blade guide member 140 is biased in the projecting direction by the spring 124e via the pressing member 124b. 140 is configured to be movable in the returning direction along the slide rail 124c. This prevents the blade guide member 140 from being damaged when a large load is applied to the blade guide member 140 during the sheet folding process.

<Deflection guide>
30 to 33 are diagrams for explaining the deflection guide 170 provided between the folding roller 22a and the guide surface 21a of the sheet stacking tray 21. FIG. The deflection guide 170 has a flexible guide member 170 a (such as Mylar) that contacts and guides the sheet S, and one end of the guide member 170 a is fixed to a bracket 172 . The bracket 172 has an engaging piece 171 projecting toward the folding roller 22a, and this engaging piece 171 is positioned by engaging with the engaging portion 22d (see FIG. 33) of the folding roller 22a. The engaging portion 22d of the folding roller 22a has a first roller surface 22a2 having a constant radius R1 around the rotation axis of the rotation shaft 22a1, and a radius of the first roller surface 22a2 having a distance from the rotation axis of the rotation shaft. and a second roller surface 22a3 smaller than R1. By rotating the folding roller 22a with the engaging piece 171 engaged with the engaging portion 22d, the bracket 172 holding the guide member 170a can rotate about the rotating shaft 173. there is The surface of the engaging portion 22d with which the engaging piece 171 engages is made of a plastic resin material or the like having a small coefficient of friction.

In this embodiment, the guide member 170a is provided with a guide area capable of guiding the conveyed sheet S. The lower end of the guide area in FIG. call. If the bracket 172 can also guide the sheet S, the sheet guide area of the bracket 172 is also considered part of the guide member 170a, and the second end 170a2 is the upper end of the bracket 172 in the guide area.

Further, in the present embodiment, the space sandwiched between the first transport guide member 181 and the second transport guide member 182 that constitute the sheet transport path 20 is called a guide space 180, and the first stacking guide that forms the sheet stacking tray 21 is called a guide space 180. A space sandwiched between the member 184 and the second stacking guide member 185 is called a storage space 183 .

FIG. 30 shows a state in which the engagement piece 171 is engaged with the first roller surface 22a2 and the guide member 170a is positioned at the first guide position, and the sheet S is directed from the guide space 180 to the storage space 183 (this direction is (referred to as the first conveying direction). FIG. 31 shows a state in which the engagement piece 171 is engaged with the second roller surface 22a3 and the guide member 170a is positioned at the second guide position, and the sheet S (in this figure, the sheet S that has been folded once) is accommodated. It shows how the sheet is conveyed from the space 183 toward the guide space 180 (this direction is called the second conveying direction).

FIG. 32(a) shows a state in which the guide member 170a is positioned at the first guide position, and FIG. 32(b) shows a state in which the guide member 170a is positioned at the second guide position. A dashed-dotted line 186 in the drawing indicates a transport guide end portion 181a, which is the downstream end portion of the first transport guide member 181 in the first transport direction, and a stacking guide end portion, which is the downstream end portion of the first stacking guide member 184 in the second transport direction. It is a line (hereinafter referred to as a virtual line 186) connecting the end portion 184a.

As shown in FIG. 32A, when the guide member 170a is positioned at the first guide position, the first end portion 170a1 of the guide member 170a extends from the imaginary line 186 in the thickness direction of the conveyed sheet S. It is positioned on the opposite side (the guide surface 21a side) of the folding roller 22a. The second end portion 170a2 is positioned closer to the folding roller 22a than the imaginary line 186 in the thickness direction of the sheet S. As shown in FIG. As a result, when the sheet S is conveyed in the first conveying direction as shown in FIGS. 30A and 30B, the leading edge of the sheet S (the downstream end in the first conveying direction) is moved from the guide space 180 to the storage space. 183 can guide you.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 32B, when the guide member 170a is positioned at the second guide position, the first end 170a1 of the guide member 170a is thicker than the imaginary line 186. It is positioned on the folding roller 22a side in the direction. The second end portion 170a2 is positioned on the opposite side (the guide surface 21a side) of the folding roller 22a in the thickness direction of the sheet S relative to the imaginary line 186. As shown in FIG. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 31A and 31B, when the sheet S is conveyed in the second conveying direction, the leading edge of the sheet S (the downstream end portion in the second conveying direction) is moved from the storage space 183 to the guide space. 180 can guide you.

As shown in FIG. 33, a plurality of guide members 170a are provided in the width direction of the sheet S. As shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the two guide members 170a are arranged on both sides of the center of the sheet width inside the sheet width of the minimum size in the sheet width direction. Broken lines in FIG. 33 indicate the folding rollers 22a and 22b, and the engaging piece 171 is provided at a position corresponding to the engaging portion 22d of the folding roller 22a. Further, the guide member 170a is arranged at a position corresponding to the inner two thrusting tip portions 23a among the six thrusting tip portions 23a, 23a1, and 23a2.

The guide member 170a guides the sheet S not only when the sheet S is conveyed in the first conveying direction and the second conveying direction, but also when the folding blade 23 is pushed out. As described above, FIG. 25 shows a state in which the folding position of the sheet S is positioned at a position facing the folding blade 23 when the folding process is performed. In FIG. 25, the guide member 170a is positioned at the first guide position.

When the folding blade 23 is moved in the projecting direction in this state, the position of the sheet S is stabilized between the guide member 170a and the abutment portion 140a of the blade guide member 140, thereby suppressing positional deviation of the sheet during folding processing. can be done. As described above, since the guide member 170a is made of flexible Mylar or the like, the guide member 170a guides the sheet S in a state of bending in the projecting direction when the sheet S comes into contact with the guide member 170a.

When the tip end portion 23a1 of the folding blade 23 pushes the sheet S into the nip portion 22c of the folding roller pair 22 and then rotates the folding roller pair 22 by a predetermined amount, the engaging piece 171 is engaged with the second roller surface 22a3. The guide member 170a is positioned at the second guide position (see FIG. 28). This is because if the guide portion 170a continues to urge the sheet S in the return direction even after the folding end portion S2 of the sheet S is folded into the nip portion 22c, the conveying load of the sheet S by the folding roller pair 22 increases. Therefore, when the folding position of the sheet S reaches the nip portion 22c of the folding roller pair 22 and the folding process by the folding roller pair 22 is started, the guide portion 170a is moved to the second guide position to direct the sheet S toward the nip portion 22c. This is because it is desirable to guide

As described above, the guide member 170a of the deflection guide 170 is positioned at the first guide position when conveying the sheet S in the first conveying direction (sheet conveying for receiving the sheet S on the sheet stacking tray 21). When conveying the sheet S in the second conveying direction by guiding it from the guide space 180 to the storage space 183 (when conveying the sheet S received on the sheet stacking tray 21 to the binding processing unit 17a, or when conveying the sheet S for the first time). In order to fold the sheet S for the second time after the folding process is completed, the sheet S is positioned at the second guide position and the sheet S is placed in the storage space 183. to the guiding space 180.

When the folding process is performed, until the folding blade 23 pushes the sheet S into the nip portion 22c of the folding roller pair 22, the guide member 170a is positioned at the first guide position to guide the sheet S so that the folding position does not shift. After the folding position of the sheet S reaches the nip portion 22c, it is positioned at the second guide position to guide the sheet S to the nip portion 22c while reducing the conveying load.

In this embodiment, in order to move the guide member 170a between the first guide position and the second guide position, the engaging piece 171 is brought into contact with the peripheral surface (engaging portion 22d) of the folding roller 22a having a different diameter. Although the guide member 170a is moved by moving the guide member 170a, it may be moved by using another driving source. Also, although the guide member 170a is arranged between the folding roller 22a and the guide surface 21a, it may be arranged between the folding roller 22b and the guide surface 21a, or may be arranged on both sides. .

Further, in this embodiment, the first guide position of the guide member 170a during sheet conveyance and the first guide position of the guide member 170a during folding processing are the same, but they need to be exactly the same. can be changed as appropriate. Further, it goes without saying that the second position can also be appropriately changed in the same manner.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the sheet S is folded twice to be folded in three, but only one folding process (the first folding process of the in-three fold, or the folding process in half) is performed. (folding process)), if the blade guide members 40 and 140 described above are provided, the sheet S can be properly guided during the folding process.

<Aligning member>
Next, the aligning member 200 that aligns the sheets accommodated in the sheet stacking tray 21 in the sheet width direction will be described.

The aligning members 200 of this embodiment are arranged mirror symmetrically on both sides in the sheet width direction as described above, and are slidable in the sheet width direction by the aligning member driving means 80 as shown in FIG. Specifically, a rack portion 80a is attached to each alignment member 200, and this rack portion 80a meshes with a common pinion gear 80b. Therefore, by driving the pinion motor 80c drivingly connected to the pinion gear 80b forward and backward, the opposing aligning members 200, 200 having a U-shaped cross section are slid mirror-symmetrically according to the sheet width.

Regarding the sheet alignment operation by the alignment members 200, 200, before the sheet is conveyed to the sheet stacking tray 21, as shown in FIG. in the standby position. Then, when the sheet is conveyed to the sheet stacking tray 21, as shown in FIG. 35(b), the alignment members 200, 200 move to the sheet receiving position for receiving the conveyed sheet. At this sheet receiving position, as shown in FIG. 35(c), the spacing between the two aligning members 200, 200 is slightly wider than the width of the sheet, and the aligning member 200 has a U-shaped edge in the width direction of the sheet. , 200. After the sheets are accommodated in the sheet stacking tray 21 with the aligning members 200, 200 at the sheet receiving position, the aligning members 200, 200 come into contact with both ends of the sheet in the width direction, as shown in FIG. 36(a). to align the edges in the sheet width direction with the center reference. After that, as shown in FIG. 36(b), the aligning members 200, 200 are moved to the standby position to complete the sheet aligning operation.

The aligning member 200 of the present embodiment is configured in such a shape that even if the conveyed sheet is curled, it can be guided into the space of the aligning member without buckling. Here, the shape of the alignment member 200 according to this embodiment will be described.

Since the two aligning members 200 arranged on both sides in the seat width direction are mirror-symmetrical, only one of the aligning members 200 is shown in FIG. 37 below. 37(a) is a partial perspective view of the alignment member 200, and FIG. 37(b) is a front view of the upper portion of the alignment member. Further, in the following description, the "inner side in the sheet width direction" is the side where the two aligning members 200 approach each other, and the "outer side in the sheet width direction" is the side where the two aligning members 200 are separated from each other.

As shown in FIG. 37A, the aligning member 200 includes a first regulating portion 200a for regulating one side surface of the sheet guided by the deflection guide 170 and conveyed to the sheet stacking tray 21, and the first regulating portion 200a. a second regulating portion 200b which is arranged substantially parallel to the portion 200a with a predetermined interval and which regulates the other side surface of the conveyed sheet; and a third regulating portion 200c for regulating the edge portion of the sheet stored in the sheet stacking tray 21 in the sheet width direction along the surface of the sheet conveyed to the sheet stacking tray 21. ing. The two aligning members 200, 200 are arranged so that the open sides of the U-shape face each other. Note that the first restricting portion 200a is positioned downstream in the projecting direction of the folding blade 23 from the second restricting portion 200b. The alignment member 200 is slightly separated from the deflection guide 170 in the sheet conveying direction. That is, the deflection guide 170 and the alignment member 200 are not arranged at overlapping positions in the sheet conveying direction. Therefore, even if the aligning member 200 moves in the sheet width direction, the aligning member 200 does not rub against the deflection guide 170 .

A guide portion 200d is formed inside in the sheet width direction at the upper end (upstream end in the first conveying direction) of the first restricting portion 200a. The guide portion 200d is formed so as to be inclined from the upper end in the returning direction of the folding blade 23 (the direction of the second restricting portion 200b) along the first conveying direction. A guide edge 200e, which is the upper edge of the guide portion 200d, is formed so as to incline downward from the inside toward the outside in the width direction of the sheet along the first conveying direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 37(b), the sheet width direction inner end portion of the guide portion 200d is formed so as to protrude further inward in the width direction than the sheet width direction inner end portion of the first restricting portion 200a. .

As described above, the guide portion 200d is formed at the upper end of the first restricting portion 200a and on the inner side in the seat width direction. A regulating edge 200f that slopes downward from the inner side to the outer side in the width direction along the first conveying direction is formed on the upper edge portion other than where the is formed.

The angle of inclination of the guiding edge 200e and the regulating edge 200f in this embodiment, that is, the angle θ1 formed by the straight line of the guiding edge 200e with respect to the sheet width direction is 40 degrees as shown in FIG. 37(b). , and the angle .theta.2 formed by the straight line of the regulating edge 200f with respect to the sheet width direction is 42 degrees.

Next, a case where a curled sheet is conveyed while the aligning member 200 configured as described above is at the sheet receiving position shown in FIG. 35(c) will be described.

A sheet on which an image has been formed by an image forming apparatus may curl due to heating or the like when the sheet passes through a fixing device, for example. At this time, there are curls formed along the sheet conveying direction (toy curls) and curls formed only at the corners of the sheet (corner curls) on both sides in the sheet width direction. It is generally formed at the ends. The range and position in which the curling occurs differs somewhat depending on the image forming apparatus.

As a result, the curled sheet is conveyed so that the end portion in the sheet width direction hits the regulation edge 200f as shown in FIG. It may be transported so that it hits the When the curled sheet is conveyed so as to hit the regulating edge 200f, as shown in FIG. It is guided between the first restricting portion 200a and the second restricting portion 200b (hereinafter referred to as "alignment transfer space").

On the other hand, when the curled sheet is conveyed so as to hit the guide edge 200e, as shown in FIG. The curled portion is guided along the slope of 200f so as to be widened, and guided to the alignment conveying space.

As described above, even if a sheet having curled edges in the sheet width direction is conveyed, the upper end of the guide portion 200d protrudes from the first restricting portion 200a to the side opposite to the second restricting portion 200b. Therefore, the curled sheet can be guided to the aligning and conveying space, and further can be guided to the aligning and conveying space along the inclination of the guiding edge 200e and the regulating edge 200f.

Further, in this embodiment, the inclination angle of the guide edge 200e (hereinafter referred to as "guide angle") θ1 (39.8 degrees) and the inclination angle of the regulation edge 200f (hereinafter referred to as "regulation angle") θ2 ( 42 degrees) are substantially the same (the guiding angle and the regulating angle may be set to the same angle), and the straight line of the guiding edge 200e and the straight line of the regulating edge 200f are substantially parallel, so that the curled sheet is guided. When it collides with the edge 200e, it is smoothly transferred from the guide edge 200e to the regulation edge 200f and guided to the alignment guide space.

The guide angle .theta.1 and the regulation angle .theta.2 are preferably set to 30 degrees or more and 70 degrees or less in order to guide a curled sheet having a basis weight of 250 g to 52 g to the alignment guide space. If the angle is smaller than 30 degrees, the leading edge of the curled sheet is likely to buckle when conveyed in a state of hitting the guide edge 200e and the regulation edge 200f. On the other hand, if the angle is larger than 70 degrees , the area in which the curled sheet can be guided by the guiding edge 200e and the regulating edge 200f becomes narrow in the sheet width direction.

Also, in the present embodiment, the guide angle θ1 and the restriction angle θ2 are substantially the same angle, but one angle may be set larger. For example, when using an apparatus in which the leading edge of a sheet curled due to the characteristics of the image forming apparatus tends to hit the regulating edge 200f as shown in FIG. do. As a result, the sheet that hits the regulating edge 200f is guided to the alignment guide space more smoothly than when it hits the guide edge 200e. Conversely, when the apparatus is used in which the leading edge of the curled sheet tends to hit the guide edge 200e as shown in FIG. As a result, the sheet that hits the guide edge 200e is more smoothly guided to the alignment guide space.

In addition, the guide portion 200d of the present embodiment is formed so that the sheet width direction inner end portion protrudes inward in the width direction from the sheet width direction inner end portion of the first restricting portion 200a (see FIG. 37 ( b)), the guide edge 200e can be formed long without widening the first restricting portion 200a. That is, in order to lengthen the guide edge 200e, it is not necessary to widen the first restricting portion 200a accordingly. Therefore, the curled sheet can be reliably corrected by the guiding edge 200e and the regulating edge 200f without enlarging the apparatus.

As described above, in the aligning member 200 of the present embodiment, even if the deflection guide 170 and the aligning member 200 do not overlap in the sheet transport direction, the curled sheet is not buckled and the aligning transport space is formed. can guide you to

Note that the guide edge 200e of the guide portion 200d in the above-described embodiment is formed so as to be inclined downward from the inside to the outside in the width direction of the sheet along the first conveying direction. It does not necessarily have to be inclined. For example, as shown in FIG. 41, while the regulation angle of the regulation edge 200f is set to 60 degrees, the guide edge 200e, which is the upper edge of the guide portion 200d, is set parallel to the sheet width direction, that is, the guide angle is set to 0 degrees. It may be set. As described above, the upper end of the guide portion 200d protrudes from the first restricting portion 200a to the side opposite to the side on which the second restricting portion 200b is located. , and the sheet can be guided to the alignment conveying space along the inclination of the regulating edge 200f.

Furthermore, although not shown, the guide edge 200e of the guide portion 200d may be formed so as to be inclined downward from the outside toward the inside in the width direction of the sheet along the first conveying direction. With this configuration as well, the sheet is guided to the aligning and conveying space while holding the curl, so that it is possible to prevent the leading edge of the curled sheet from buckling.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the deflection guide 170 is provided immediately before the alignment member 200 in the sheet transport direction so that the sheet is reliably transported from the guide space 180 to the storage space 183 and transported to the alignment member 200 . rice field. The deflection guide 170 has a guide angle so that the sheet conveying direction can be deflected when conveying the sheet from the guide space 180 to the storage space 183 and when conveying the sheet from the storage space 183 to the guide space 180. An example configured to be changeable is shown. However, the deflecting guide may be a fixed guide without changing the angle and may guide the sheet from the guide space 180 to the storage space 183 and lead it to the alignment member 200 .

A... Image forming apparatus B... Sheet processing apparatus F... Folding apparatus S... Sheet 21... Sheet stacking tray 21a... Guide surface 22... Folding roller pair 23... Folding blade 24... Blade carrier 26... Regulating stopper 30... Pressing guide member 40 ... blade guide member 80 ... aligning member driving means 100 ... image forming system 170 ... deflection guide 200 ... aligning member 200a ... first restricting section 200b ... second restricting section 200c ... third restricting section 200d ... guide section 200e ... guide edge 200f ... regulation edge

Claims (12)

a conveying means for conveying the sheet in a predetermined conveying direction;
A first conveying guide and a second conveying guide arranged opposite to the first conveying guide in a predetermined direction are provided to form a guide space between each other for guiding the sheet conveyed by the conveying means. a transport guide pair comprising
In order to form a storage space for supporting and storing one or more sheets transported through the guide space, a predetermined space is provided from the first transport guide downstream in the transport direction from the first transport guide. a storage unit comprising a first loading guide arranged in a row and a second loading guide arranged opposite to the first loading guide in a predetermined direction;
moving means for moving the sheet stored in the storage unit to the upstream side in the transport direction;
In a direction intersecting the conveying direction, the sheet moved by the moving means is configured to be movable in a projecting direction from the second conveying guide side to the first conveying guide side and in a return direction which is the reverse direction thereof. a projecting member that projects in the projecting direction;
a pair of rotating bodies arranged downstream of the first stacking guide in the direction of protrusion, and performing folding processing on the sheet by nipping and rotating the sheet protruded by the protruding member at the nip portion;
guide means provided between the pair of transport guides and the storage section in the transport direction for guiding the sheet transported by the transport means from the guide space to the storage space;
It is arranged downstream of the guide means in the conveying direction, has a guiding edge on the downstream side of the guiding means in the conveying direction and on the downstream side in the projecting direction, and projects from the guiding edge along the conveying direction. a guide portion inclined in the returning direction of the member; a first restricting portion that is connected to the guide portion in the conveying direction and restricts one surface of the sheet guided to the storage portion by the guide means; a second regulating portion for regulating the other surface of the sheet guided to the storage portion by the guide means; a pair of aligning members for regulating the sheets stored in the storage section, at least one of which moves in the width direction to position and align the sheets stored in the storage section in the width direction; When,
A sheet processing apparatus comprising: The guide means are
It has a first edge on the downstream side in the conveying direction and a second edge on the upstream side in the conveying direction, and is provided between the pair of conveying guides and the storage section in the conveying direction, and the sheet is transported by the conveying means. a first posture in which the second end is located downstream of the first end in the projecting direction and guides the sheet to the storage space when the sheet is conveyed from the guide space toward the storage space; When the sheet is moved from the storage space toward the guide space by the moving means, the first end is located downstream of the second end in the projecting direction to guide the sheet. 2. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is movable between a second posture in which the sheet is guided into the space. The first restricting portion is configured to be wider than the guide portion in the width direction, is provided on the upstream side in the transport direction of a portion exceeding the guide portion in the width direction, and extends along the transport direction. 3. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a regulating edge inclined in the width direction. 4. The sheet processing according to claim 3, wherein the regulating edge is inclined from the inner side to the outer side in the width direction of the sheet guided to the storage portion by the guide means along the conveying direction. Device. 5. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide edge is inclined in the width direction along the conveying direction. 6. The sheet processing according to claim 5, wherein the guide edge is inclined from the inner side to the outer side in the width direction of the sheet guided to the storage portion by the guide means along the conveying direction. Device. 7. The regulating edge and the guiding edge according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the regulating edge and the guiding edge are inclined at an angle of 30 degrees or more and 70 degrees or less with respect to the width direction. sheet processing equipment. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the guide edge and the regulation edge are formed substantially parallel to each other. 8. A sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein an angle of said regulating edge with respect to said width direction is larger than an angle of said guide edge with respect to said width direction. 8. A sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein an angle of said guide edge with respect to said width direction is larger than an angle of said regulation edge with respect to said width direction. The seat according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the guide portion protrudes inward in the width direction from an inner end portion in the width direction of the first restricting portion. processing equipment. an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet;
The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, which folds a sheet sent from the image forming apparatus;
image forming system.

Images