JP2023008445A - Medium processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To solve the problem that it is necessary to prepare an interleaving sheet separately from a recording sheet when the interleaving sheet is used for clarifying the boundary between sheet bundles, but it is troublesome for a user; and that it leads to the cost increase of the device because it is necessary to dispose a feeding mechanism used only for the interleaving sheet.SOLUTION: A medium processing device comprises deformation processing means for deforming a received medium, and control means for controlling the deformation processing means for applying the deformation processing to a medium which is the boundary between the medium bundles. Thus, the boundary between the medium bundles is clarified by the medium subjected to the deformation processing, the boundary between the medium bundles can be clarified without using the special interleaving sheet, the convenience of the user is improved, and the cost increase of the device can be suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a medium processing apparatus that processes media.

In a recording apparatus typified by a printer, interleaving paper is sometimes used so that the unit of a bundle of sheets can be distinguished. For example, in the printer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200011, slip sheets are conveyed from a specified paper feed tray for slip sheets in a non-copying manner, and the slip sheets are inserted between bundles of sheets. The interleaving paper used is larger than the size of copy paper. Alternatively, interleaving paper having the same size as the copy paper may be used, in which case the position of the interleaving paper is shifted. By using interleaving paper in this way, the boundaries of the paper stack are clarified.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-048408

If the interleaving paper is used to clarify the boundaries of the paper bundle, it is necessary to prepare the interleaving paper separately from the recording paper, which complicates the preparation for the user. In addition, since it is necessary to provide a feeding mechanism dedicated to interleaving paper, the cost of the apparatus is increased.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the medium processing apparatus of the present invention includes deformation processing means for performing deformation processing for deforming a received medium, and control means for controlling the deformation processing means, and the boundary of the medium bundle is defined as a boundary of the medium bundle. and a control means for applying the deformation processing by the deformation processing means to the medium.

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a liquid ejection device; FIG. The figure which looked at a part of end binding mechanism from +X direction. The figure which looked at a part of end binding mechanism from -V direction. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a medium on which deformation processing has been performed by an edge binding mechanism; 4A and 4B illustrate the operation of the edge binding mechanism when media are placed on the support tray; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the operation of the end binding mechanism when performing deformation processing on a medium; 4 is a flowchart showing control of the recording unit by the control section; 4 is a flowchart showing control of the end binding mechanism by the control unit; The figure which shows the example of an environment table. 4 is a table showing the relationship between recording duty and cursor movement amount; The figure which looked at a part of end binding mechanism which concerns on other embodiment from the X direction. The figure which shows the structure of a preliminary|backup process means. The figure which shows other embodiment of a deformation|transformation processing means. The figure which shows other embodiment of a deformation|transformation processing means.

The present invention will be briefly described below.
A medium processing apparatus according to a first aspect includes deformation processing means for performing a deformation process for deforming a received medium, and control means for controlling the deformation processing means, wherein the medium serving as a boundary of a medium bundle is: and control means for performing the deformation processing by the deformation processing means.

According to this aspect, the medium processing device includes deformation processing means for performing deformation processing for deforming a received medium, and control means for controlling the deformation processing means. Since the apparatus is provided with a control means for performing the deformation processing by the deformation processing means, the medium subjected to the deformation processing clarifies the boundary of the medium bundle. As a result, it is possible to clarify the boundary of the medium stack without using a special interleaving paper, thereby improving the user's convenience and suppressing an increase in the cost of the apparatus.

According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, a support tray that supports a medium, a transport section that transports the medium so as to drop the medium onto the support tray, and a medium that has dropped onto the support tray is transferred to the transport section. and a trailing edge aligning section positioned in the medium transporting direction by the transport paddles, the trailing edge of the media stack on the support tray being aligned. a rear end aligning section, a post-processing section that performs post-processing on the medium bundle supported by the support tray, a first direction that is a direction in which the medium bundle supported by the support tray advances toward a side edge, and the side. a side edge aligning part movable in a second direction away from the edge, the side edge aligning part moving in the first direction to align the side edges; The side edge aligning section constitutes the deformation processing means, the control means controls the transport paddle and the side edge aligning section, and the medium is pressed toward the support tray by the transport paddle. By moving the side edge aligning portion in the first direction, as the deformation processing, an area including the side edge of the medium is folded along the medium conveying direction by the conveying paddles.

According to this aspect, in the configuration in which post-processing is performed on the medium bundle supported by the support tray, the transport paddle and the side edge aligning section, which are the configuration for performing the post-processing, also serve as the deformation processing means. Therefore, by constructing the deformation processing means using existing components, it is possible to suppress an increase in the size and cost of the apparatus.

According to a third aspect, in the second aspect, a preliminary process of folding an area including a side edge of the medium along the medium transport direction by the transport paddles is performed before the transforming process is performed by the transforming means. A processing means is provided.

According to this aspect, since the preliminary processing means for performing preliminary processing of folding the area including the side edge of the medium along the medium transport direction by the transport paddles before the deformation processing is performed by the deformation processing means, By preliminarily shaping the medium, the medium is more reliably deformed when the deformation process is performed, and the deformation process can be performed more appropriately and reliably.

In a fourth aspect based on the third aspect, the pretreatment means comprises a pair of rollers, and one of the rollers of the pair of rollers has a plurality of depressions formed along the circumferential direction along the rotation axis direction. and the pretreatment is formed by the other roller of the roller pair entering the recess.
According to this aspect, the preliminary processing can be performed with a simple configuration.

According to a fifth aspect, in any one of the second to fourth aspects, a recording unit that performs recording on the medium is provided upstream of the conveying unit in the medium conveying path, and the control means controls the side edge of the medium. It is characterized in that the degree of deformation when the medium is deformed by the deformation processing is adjusted according to the recording density of the area containing the medium.

As the rigidity of the medium increases, the medium tends to be difficult to deform. According to this aspect, the control means adjusts the degree of deformation when the medium is deformed by the deformation process according to the recording density of the area including the side edges of the medium. Accordingly, the medium can be appropriately deformed. Further, when deforming the area including the side edge of the medium, the recording density of the area including the side edge of the medium is referred to, so that the medium can be appropriately deformed.

According to a sixth aspect, in any one of the second to fourth aspects, a recording unit that performs recording on the medium is provided upstream of the conveying unit in the medium conveying path, and the control means causes the recording unit to: It is characterized in that identification information can be recorded in an area including side edges of the medium.
When the area including the side edge of the medium is folded along the transport direction, the folded area can be visually recognized from the side. Therefore, by recording the identification information in the area including the side edge of the medium by the recording unit, the identification of the medium bundle can be improved. Note that the identification information includes, for example, a user name and a character string that simply indicates the contents of the recorded matter.

In a seventh aspect based on the first aspect, the deformation processing means is composed of a pair of rollers that nip the medium, and one or both of the rollers of the pair of rollers are rollers having a plurality of protrusions on their surfaces. A convex portion is formed on the surface of the medium as the deformation processing by the protrusion portion.
According to this aspect, since the projecting portion forms a convex portion on the surface of the medium as the deformation processing, the deformation processing means can be obtained with a simple configuration.

In an eighth aspect based on the first aspect, the deformation processing means is composed of a pair of rollers that nip the medium, and one roller of the pair of rollers rotates around a depression formed along the circumferential direction. A plurality of rollers are provided along the direction, and the other roller of the pair of rollers is provided so as to enter the recess, and the recess folds the medium along the transport direction as the deformation process. .
According to this aspect, since the medium is folded along the transport direction as the deformation processing by the depression, the deformation processing means can be obtained with a simple configuration.

In a ninth aspect based on the first aspect, the deformation processing means comprises a pair of rollers that nip the medium, and at least one of the pair of rollers has a depression formed along the direction of the rotation axis. A plurality of rollers are provided along the circumferential direction, and the medium is folded along the rotation axis direction as the deformation processing by the depressions.
According to this aspect, since the medium is folded along the rotation axis direction as the deformation process by the depression along the rotation axis direction, the deformation processing means can be obtained with a simple configuration.

According to a tenth aspect, in any one of the seventh to ninth aspects, a recording unit for recording on the medium is provided upstream of the deformation processing unit in the medium transport path, and the control unit causes the recording unit to , the identification information can be recorded in an area including the side edge of the medium.
When the deformation process is performed on the medium, the surface of the medium becomes uneven, so the surface of the medium may be visible from the side. Therefore, by recording the identification information in the area including the side edge of the medium by the recording unit, the identification of the medium bundle can be improved. Note that the identification information includes, for example, a user name and a character string that simply indicates the contents of the recorded matter.

According to an eleventh aspect, in any one of the seventh to ninth aspects, a recording unit that performs recording on the medium is provided upstream of the deformation processing means in the medium transport path, and the control means controls the recording density of the medium. The degree of deformation when the medium is deformed by the deformation processing is adjusted according to the above.

As the rigidity of the medium increases, the medium tends to be difficult to deform. According to this aspect, the control means adjusts the degree of deformation when the medium is deformed by the deformation process according to the recording density of the medium. can be transformed.

A twelfth aspect is any one of the first to eleventh aspects, further comprising a temperature/humidity detection unit that detects temperature and humidity, wherein the control means responds to the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature/humidity detection unit. and adjusting the degree of deformation when the medium is deformed by the deformation processing.

The stiffness of the medium depends on temperature and humidity, and the higher the stiffness of the medium, the less likely it is to deform. According to this aspect, the control means adjusts the degree of deformation when the medium is deformed by the deformation process according to the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature and humidity detection unit. The medium can be appropriately deformed according to the perceived rigidity of the medium.

The present invention will be specifically described below.
The XYZ coordinate system shown in each figure is an orthogonal coordinate system, in which the X-axis direction indicates the device depth direction, the Y-axis direction indicates the device width direction, and the Z-axis direction indicates the device height direction. . FIG. 1 shows the device configuration and the medium transport path when the liquid ejection device 1 is viewed from the +X direction.

A liquid ejection apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a medium processing apparatus, and includes a recording unit 2, an intermediate unit 3, and a post-processing unit 5 in order from right to left in FIG. Note that the liquid ejecting apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes the recording unit 2, the intermediate unit 3, and the post-processing unit 5, which are configured as independent apparatuses, and are connected to each other to form the liquid ejecting apparatus 1. are doing. Therefore, the liquid ejection apparatus according to this embodiment can also be called a liquid ejection system, a recording system, or a post-processing system.

The recording unit 2 is a unit that performs recording on a conveyed medium. The intermediate unit 3 receives the medium after recording from the recording unit 2 and delivers it to the post-processing unit 5, and has a function of reversing the medium and a function of accelerating the drying of the medium.
The post-processing unit 5 is provided with an edge binding mechanism 43 for binding the ends of a bundle of media. End binding processing is an example of post-processing performed on a medium after recording.
Each unit will be further described below.

The recording unit 2 is configured as a multi-function device including a printer section 10 for recording on a medium typified by recording paper, and a scanner section 11 which is an example of an image reading device. In this embodiment, the printer unit 10 is configured as a so-called ink jet printer that performs recording by ejecting ink, which is an example of recording liquid, onto a medium.

A cassette housing section 14 having a plurality of medium housing cassettes 12 is provided in the lower portion of the printer section 10 . The medium S housed in the medium housing cassette 12 is sent to the recording/conveying path R1 through the feeding path R0, and the recording section 29 performs recording. The recording unit 29 according to the present embodiment is a liquid ejection head provided with liquid ejection nozzles (not shown) so as to cover the entire width of the medium along the X-axis direction. It is configured as a liquid ejection head capable of recording over the entire width of the medium without movement.
After recording by the recording unit 29, the medium is sent to the switchback route R2, then to the reversing route R3, and then to the recording transport route R1 again in the case of double-sided recording.

A medium on which recording has been performed only on the first side or a medium on which recording has been performed on both the first and second sides is sent to either a face-down discharge route R4 or a face-up discharge route R5. The medium sent to the face-down ejection path R4 is ejected to the post-recording ejection tray 13 provided above the recording section 29. FIG. The medium sent to the face-up discharge route R5 is transferred to the intermediate unit 3.
As described above, after the first surface of the medium passes through the position facing the recording unit 29, the printer unit 10 reverses the medium so that the second surface opposite to the first surface faces the recording unit 29. of media reversal paths. This medium reversing route is composed of a switchback route R2 and a reversing route R3 in this embodiment.

The recording unit 2 is provided with a control section 27 that controls various operations in the recording unit 2 . The liquid ejecting apparatus 1 is configured such that the recording unit 2, the intermediate unit 3, and the post-processing unit 5 are mechanically and electrically connected to each other so that the medium can be conveyed from the recording unit 2 to the post-processing unit 5. there is The control section 27 can control various operations in the intermediate unit 3 and post-processing unit 5 in addition to the recording unit 2 . In particular, the control unit 27 controls all operations of movable parts that constitute the end binding mechanism 43, which will be described later.
Although the control section 27 is provided in the recording unit 2 in this embodiment, it may be provided in the post-processing unit 5, for example.

The recording unit 2 includes an operation unit 28, and is configured so that various settings and execution commands regarding various processes in the recording unit 2, the intermediate unit 3, and the post-processing unit 5 can be input from the operation unit 28. ing. Further, the operation unit 28 is provided with a display panel (not shown), and is configured so that various information can be displayed on this display panel.
When an external computer (not shown) is connected to the liquid ejecting apparatus 1, the external computer can perform various settings and execution commands similar to the various settings and execution commands performed by the operation unit 28. .

Next, the intermediate unit 3 will be explained. The intermediate unit 3 shown in FIG. 1 passes media received from the recording unit 2 to the post-processing unit 5 . The medium conveyed through the face-up discharge route R5 of the recording unit 2 is received by the intermediate unit 3 via the receiving route 30 and conveyed toward the post-processing unit 5. FIG.

In the intermediate unit 3, there are two transport paths for transporting the medium. The first transport route is a route from the receiving route 30 to the merging route 33 via the first switchback route 31 indicated by the dashed line in FIG. The second route is a route from the receiving route 30 to a merging route 33 via a second switchback route 32 indicated by a chain double-dashed line in FIG.
The first switchback path 31 is a path for switching back the medium in the direction of arrow A2 after receiving the medium in the direction of arrow A1. The second switchback path 32 is a path for switching back the medium in the direction of arrow B2 after receiving the medium in the direction of arrow B1.

The receiving path 30 branches into a first switchback path 31 and a second switchback path 32 at a branching portion 35 . The branching unit 35 is provided with a flap (not shown) for switching the destination of the medium between the first switchback path 31 and the second switchback path 32 .
Also, the first switchback path 31 and the second switchback path 32 are merged at the junction 36 . Therefore, regardless of whether the medium is sent from the receiving path 30 to the first switchback path 31 or the second switchback path 32, the medium can be delivered to the post-processing unit 5 via the common junction path 33.

The intermediate unit 3 receives the medium in the receiving path 30 with the recording surface closest to the recording unit 2 facing upward, but the medium is bent and reversed in the merging path 33 so that the recording surface closest to the recording surface faces downward. Become.
Therefore, the medium with the most recent recording surface facing downward is transferred from the intermediate unit 3 to the first transport path 42 of the post-processing unit 5 .
One or more roller pairs (not shown) are arranged in each of the receiving path 30, the first switchback path 31, the second switchback path 32, and the merging path 33, as an example of means for conveying the medium. ing.

In the recording unit 2, when recording is continuously performed on a plurality of media, the media entering the intermediate unit 3 are conveyed through the first switchback route 31, the second switchback route 32, and the like. alternately sent to As a result, the medium transport throughput in the intermediate unit 3 can be increased.

Also, in the case of a configuration in which ink is ejected onto a medium for printing, as in the printing unit 2 of the present embodiment, the medium may be wet when post-processing is performed by the post-processing unit 5 . In this case, there is a possibility that the recording surface may be rubbed or the media may be misaligned.
By transferring the medium after recording from the recording unit 2 to the post-processing unit 5 via the intermediate unit 3, the transportation time until the medium after recording is sent to the post-processing unit 5 is lengthened, and the post-processing unit 5 The medium can be made drier by the time it reaches .

Next, the post-processing unit 5 will be described. The post-processing unit 5 shown in FIG. 1 has a receiving section 40 that receives the medium from the intermediate unit 3 below in the -Y direction. A medium conveyed through the junction path 33 of the intermediate unit 3 enters the post-processing unit 5 from the receiving section 40 and is transferred to the first conveying path 42 . The medium sent from the intermediate unit 3 enters the first transport path 42 from the receiving section 40 of the post-processing unit 5 with the nearest recording surface facing downward.

The post-processing unit 5 includes a punching mechanism section 41 that punches the medium received from the receiving section 40 . The punching mechanism part 41 is provided at a position near the receiving part 40 on the first transport path 42 through which the medium received by the post-processing unit 5 passes, and can perform the punching process upstream of the first transport path 42. It is configured.

The post-processing unit 5 also includes an end-stitching mechanism 43 that performs end-stitching processing on media received from the receiving section 40 .
The edge binding mechanism 43 is a component that performs an edge binding process for binding an edge of a medium, such as a corner on one side of the medium or a side on one side of the medium. End binding processing is an example of post-processing performed on media on which recording has been performed. The end binding mechanism 43 is configured with a stapler 44 as an example. The stapler 44 is an example of a post-processing section that performs post-processing on the medium bundle P supported by the support tray 45 .

The edge binding mechanism 43 includes a support tray 45 for supporting media. The media are stacked on the support tray 45 with their rear ends aligned in the transport direction. After a predetermined number of media are stacked on the support tray 45 , the trailing edge of the media stack P can be end-stitched by the stapler 44 .

The medium bundle P processed by the stapler 44 is discharged outside the post-processing unit 5 from the first discharge section 49 by discharge means (not shown) and placed on the first tray 48 .
A second transport path 46 branches off from the first branch portion D<b>1 of the first transport path 42 . A flap (not shown) for switching the destination of the medium between the end binding mechanism 43 and the second transport path 46 is provided in the first branch portion D1.

An upper tray 47 is provided above the post-processing unit 5 . The second transport path 46 continues from the first branch portion D<b>1 to the second ejection section 50 , and the medium transported along the second transport path 46 is ejected from the second ejection section 50 to the upper tray 47 . In other words, the media received from the receiving section 40 can be discharged to the upper tray 47 without going through the end binding mechanism 43 .

Next, the end binding mechanism 43 will be further described with reference to FIG. 2 and subsequent figures. Note that the stapler 44, which is an example of the post-processing unit, is omitted from FIG. 2 onward. 2 and subsequent figures, the V-axis direction is the direction along the upper surface of the support tray 45, the -V direction is the medium transport direction by the transport paddles 70, and the +V direction is the end-stitched medium bundle P (see FIG. 1). ) is discharged to the first tray 48 . The W direction is the normal direction to the upper surface of the support tray 45 .

The end binding mechanism 43 includes a transport roller pair 65 that is an example of a transport unit that transports the medium so as to drop the medium onto the support tray 45 . The medium transported in the +Y direction along the transport guide 64 is transported (discharged) toward the support tray 45 by the transport roller pair 65 .
The conveying roller pair 65 includes an upper roller 66 driven by a motor (not shown) and a lower roller 67 driven to rotate. It goes without saying that the lower roller 67 may be driven by a motor and the upper roller 66 may be driven to rotate.

A transport paddle 70 is provided above the support tray 45 in the +Y direction with respect to the transport roller pair 65 . The transport paddle 70 transports the medium dropped onto the support tray 45 in a direction (−V direction) containing a component opposite to the medium transport direction (+Y direction) by the transport roller pair 65 .

The transport paddle 70 includes a rotating shaft 71 driven by a motor (not shown) and a plurality of blades 72 provided along the outer circumference of the rotating shaft 71 . The blade 72 is made of an elastic material such as rubber and is elastically deformable. The blades 72 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center position Xc of the support tray 45 in the X-axis direction, as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 2, a trailing edge aligning portion 73 is provided in the medium transport direction (−V direction) by the transport paddle 70 . The medium receives a feeding force from the transport paddle 70, and the edge in the -V direction abuts against the trailing edge aligning portion 73 and is aligned. In the following description, the edge of the medium in the -V direction will be referred to as the rear edge of the medium.

A first cursor 75 and a second cursor 76 are provided on the support tray 45 as shown in FIG. A first cursor 75 and a second cursor 76 are defined in the first direction, which is the direction in which the medium supported by the support tray 45 advances toward the side edge in the X-axis direction, and the second direction, which is the direction away from the side edge of the medium. It is an example of a side end aligning portion that can move in and directions. The trailing edge aligning unit aligns the side edges of the medium stack P by moving in the first direction. Hereinafter, the side edge of the medium means the edge of the medium in the X-axis direction.

More specifically, for the first cursor 75, the advancing direction with respect to the side edge of the medium, that is, the first direction is the +X direction, and the direction away from the side edge of the medium, that is, the second direction is the -X direction. Also, for the second cursor 76, the direction toward the side edge of the medium, that is, the first direction is the -X direction, and the direction away from the side edge of the medium, that is, the second direction is the +X direction.

Power to move in the X-axis direction is transmitted to the first cursor 75 and the second cursor 76 by a driving mechanism (not shown). The first cursor 75 and the second cursor 76 are arranged such that when one moves in the first direction, the other also moves in the first direction, and when one moves in the second direction, the other also moves in the second direction. , the driving force is transmitted by the rack and pinion mechanism.

The first cursor 75 and the second cursor 76 are arranged at positions where the distance between them in the X-axis direction becomes larger than the width dimension of the medium when the medium is discharged to the support tray 45 by the transport roller pair 65 . (state in FIG. 3). When the support tray 45 receives the medium, the controller 27 positions the first cursor 75 and the second cursor 76 as described above based on the paper size information. After the trailing edge of the medium is abutted against the trailing edge aligning portion 73 by the transport paddle 70, the first cursor 75 and the second cursor 76 move in the first direction, thereby aligning the side edges of the medium bundle P. be.

The amount of movement of the first cursor 75 and the second cursor 76 in the first direction when aligning the side edges of the medium bundle P is such that the distance between the first cursor 75 and the second cursor 76 matches the width dimension of the medium. or the distance between the first cursor 75 and the second cursor 76 is set to be slightly smaller than the dimension in the width direction of the medium.
However, the amount of movement when the first cursor 75 and the second cursor 76 move toward the side edge of the medium is different when the side edge of the medium stack P is aligned and when only the first page medium is supported on the support tray 45. It will be different if it is. This will be explained later.

The upper diagram in FIG. 5 shows how the first page medium P1 is ejected toward the support tray 45 by the transport roller pair 65 . In this state, the transport paddle 70 is phase-adjusted so that the blade 72 does not touch the medium P1. Then, when the medium P1 is ejected onto the support tray 45, the transport paddle 70 starts to rotate counterclockwise in the figure, and as shown in the lower figure of FIG. Hit 73. After that, the first cursor 75 and the second cursor 76 move toward the side edges of the medium P1.

Here, the amount of movement of the first cursor 75 and the second cursor 76 when moving toward the side edge of the medium is the case of aligning the side edge of the medium bundle P as described above and the case of aligning the first page on the support tray 45 as described above. When only the medium P1 is supported, that is, when deformation processing is performed, the situation is different.
This will be explained below.

FIG. 4 schematically shows the state of the medium bundle P processed by the end binding mechanism 43 according to this embodiment. The medium bundle P is composed of a medium P1 of the first page and mediums P1, P2, . . . of the second and subsequent pages. As an example, FIG. 4 shows a case where the medium bundle P is composed of a first page medium P1, a second page medium P2, a third page medium P3, and a fourth page medium P4. .

The first page of the medium P1 is subjected to deformation processing by the end binding mechanism 43, and by this deformation processing, as an example, a folded portion Pc along the V-axis direction is formed at the end portion in the X-axis direction. This deformation processing is not performed for the medium after the second page.
As a result, the medium serving as the boundary of the medium stack P, that is, the medium P1 of the first page functions as an interleaving paper. Therefore, the boundary of the medium stack P can be clearly defined without using a special interleaving paper, thereby improving the user's convenience and suppressing an increase in the cost of the apparatus.
Note that the fold line of the fold portion Pc does not have to be clearly visible, and may function as a boundary of the medium bundle.
Further, when the deformation processing is performed on the medium P1 of the first page in this way, the end binding processing by the stapler 44 (see FIG. 1) may be performed or not performed.

Control performed by the control unit 27 in relation to the transformation process will be described below with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. FIG. 7 shows the control contents of the recording unit 2 of the control unit 27. When recording on a medium, the control unit 27 determines whether the medium to be recorded is the first page of the medium bundle ( step S101). If the medium to be printed is the first page of the medium bundle (Yes in step S101), it is determined whether or not to perform deformation processing (step S102). Whether or not to execute the transformation process described with reference to FIG. 4 in this embodiment can be selected by user setting. If the transformation process is set to "yes" (Yes in step S102), the process proceeds to step S103.
If No in step S101 or step S102, the process proceeds to normal recording (step S104). Normal recording is recording in which identification information, which will be described later, is not recorded.

The identification information is information recorded in an area corresponding to the outside of the folded portion Pc formed by the deformation process, as indicated by symbol Sa in FIG. The identification information Sa is recorded at a position where the user can visually recognize from the side of the medium bundle P even when a plurality of medium bundles P are stacked. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the identification information Sa is recorded outside (in the +X direction) of the folded portion Pc formed at the end of the medium P1 in the +X direction.

The identification information Sa includes, for example, a user name, a character string that simply indicates the content of the recorded matter, and the like. The identification information Sa can be set by a user via an application program running on a computer (not shown) connected to the liquid ejecting apparatus 1 . Alternatively, the identification information Sa can be set by the user via the operation section 28 provided in the liquid ejecting apparatus 1 .
If the setting is to record the identification information Sa (Yes in step S103), recording is performed along with the recording of the identification information Sa (step S105). If the setting is not to record the identification information Sa (No in step S103), normal recording is performed (step S104).

Next, control of the end binding mechanism 43 by the controller 27 will be described with reference to FIG.
If the received medium needs to be deformed (Yes in step S201), the control unit 27 acquires paper type information (step S202). The paper type information is information relating to the rigidity of the medium, such as plain paper and special paper. Paper type information can be acquired via a printer driver that operates in a computer (not shown) connected to the liquid ejection apparatus 1 . Alternatively, the paper type information can be acquired based on the paper type information set by the user via the operation unit 28 provided in the liquid ejection apparatus 1 .

Next, the control unit 27 acquires recording surface information (step S203). The recording surface information is information as to whether recording is performed only on one side of the medium or whether recording is performed on both sides of the medium.
Furthermore, the control unit 27 acquires the print duty (step S204). The print duty is the ratio of the number of dots actually formed to the maximum number of dots that can be formed in a predetermined area, and is an example of print density. The predetermined area for calculating the print duty may be the entire area of the print surface, or may be a partial area of the print surface. Here, as an example, the print duty of the area including the side edge of the medium, that is, the area where the deformation process is actually performed is adopted. The area including the side edge of the medium is specifically the area X1 shown in FIGS. However, the recording duty is not limited to this, and a value for the entire recording surface may be adopted.

Next, the control unit 27 acquires the current temperature and humidity (step S205). The temperature and humidity are acquired by a temperature/humidity detector 51 (see FIG. 1) provided inside the post-processing unit 5 .
Then, based on the acquired paper type information, recording surface information, recording duty, temperature, and humidity, the control unit 27 acquires the cursor movement amount from the environment table (step S206), and performs transformation processing based on it (step S207). .

The transformation process is performed as shown in FIG. The upper diagram in FIG. 6 shows the state before the movement of the first cursor 75 and the second cursor 76 (before the transformation process), and only the medium P1 of the first page is placed on the support tray 45. . In this state, a gap is secured between the −X direction side edge of the medium P1 and the first cursor 75 and between the +X direction side edge of the medium P1 and the second cursor 76 . Also, the blade 72 of the transport paddle 70 is separated from the medium P1.

As deformation processing from this state, first, the transport paddle 70 is rotated and the blade 72 presses the medium P1 against the support tray 45 . After that, the first cursor 75 and the second cursor 76 are moved in the first direction, that is, the direction of advancing to the side edge of the medium P1. The amount of movement of each cursor at this time is such that the distance between the cursors after movement is smaller than the width of the medium P1. A folded portion Pc is formed in the area and the end area in the -X direction. The smaller the amount of movement of each cursor, the smaller the degree of deformation of the medium P1. Conversely, the larger the amount of movement of each cursor, the greater the degree of deformation of the medium P1.
Thus, in this embodiment, the transport paddle 70, the first cursor 75, and the second cursor 76 constitute the deformation processing means 69 that deforms the medium P1.

Then, the control unit 27 acquires the amount of movement of each cursor when performing the transformation process from the environment table (step S206 in FIG. 8).
FIG. 9 shows an example of the environment table. An environment table is prepared for each paper type, and further prepared for each of single-sided printing and double-sided printing, and stored as data in a storage unit (not shown) provided in the control unit 27 .

In the environment table shown in FIG. 9, the horizontal axis is the temperature T, and the temperature increases toward the right. As an example, the temperature T is divided into three ranges, specifically a range of T1≦T<T2, a range of T2≦T<T3, and a range of T3≦T<T4.
The vertical axis is the humidity Q, and the humidity increases toward the top. Humidity Q is, for example, divided into three ranges, specifically set to Q1≦Q<Q2, Q2≦Q<Q3, and Q3≦Q<Q4.
The temperature and humidity areas are divided as described above. In the example of FIG. 9, area SA, area SB, area SC, area SD, area SE, area SF, area SG, area SH and region SJ are formed. For example, the top right region SC is hotter and more humid than the bottom left region SG.
A cursor movement amount table is set as shown in FIG. 10 for each set temperature and humidity region.

The cursor movement amount is the amount of movement of each cursor when moving from the state shown in the upper diagram of FIG. The amount of cursor movement increases as the recording duty M increases. Note that when printing is performed on both sides of the medium, the print duty M in FIG. Of the recording duties of the surfaces, whichever is higher may be adopted. Also, since the area H1 (FIGS. 4 and 6) is provided in the +X direction and the -X direction, when determining the print duty of one side of the medium, the print duty of the area H1 in the +X direction and the print duty in the -X direction The average value of the print duties of the area H1 may be used, or the higher one may be used.
Since the amount of cursor movement, that is, the degree of deformation when deforming the medium is adjusted as described above, the medium can be appropriately deformed according to the conditions.

Note that even if the print duty is the same, the amount of cursor movement is set to be smaller in areas of higher temperature and humidity. Also, even if the print duty is the same, the amount of cursor movement is set to be smaller in the case of double-sided printing than in the case of single-sided printing. Also, even if the print duty is the same, the amount of cursor movement is set based on the paper type information such that the lower the rigidity, the smaller the amount of cursor movement.

As described above, the liquid ejection apparatus 1, which is an example of a medium processing apparatus, includes the deformation processing means 69 that performs deformation processing for deforming a received medium, and the control means that controls the deformation processing means 69. A control unit 27 for performing a deformation process by a deformation processing means 69 on the medium P1, which is the boundary of P, is provided.
As a result, the medium P1 subjected to the deformation process clarifies the boundary of the medium bundle P, and the boundary of the medium bundle P can be clarified without using a special interleaving paper. cost increase can be suppressed.
It should be noted that the medium processing device provided with the deformation processing means 69 does not necessarily have to have a recording function, and for example, the post-processing unit 5 according to this embodiment may be used as the medium processing device.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, in the configuration in which post-processing is performed on the medium bundle P supported by the support tray 45, the transport paddle 70, the first cursor 75, and the second cursor 76 constitute the deformation processing means 69. By constructing the deformation processing means 69 using the components of , it is possible to suppress an increase in the size and cost of the device.

The liquid ejecting apparatus 1 also includes a recording unit 29 that performs recording on the medium upstream of the transport roller pair 65 as the transport unit in the medium transport path. That is, the degree of deformation when the medium is deformed by deformation processing is adjusted according to the recording density. For example, when the rigidity of the medium increases, the medium tends to be difficult to deform. Since the adjustment is performed, the medium can be appropriately deformed according to the printing duty, that is, the rigidity of the medium. Further, when deforming the area including the side edge of the medium, the medium can be appropriately deformed because the print duty of the area including the side edge of the medium is referred to.

In addition, the control unit 27 can record the identification information Sa (FIG. 4) in the area including the side edge of the medium by the recording unit 29, so that when the area including the side edge of the medium is folded along the transport direction, The identification information Sa recorded in the folded area can be visually recognized from the side, and the identifiability of the medium bundle P can be improved.

Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. The embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 differs from the above-described embodiment in that preliminary processing is performed prior to deformation processing by the deformation processing means 69 so that the medium can be easily deformed.
As shown in FIG. 11, downstream of the transport roller pair 65, a pretreatment roller pair 80 is provided as a pretreatment means. The pretreatment roller pair 80 comprises an upper roller 81 and a lower roller 82 . The lower roller 82 is provided so as to be displaceable in the Z-axis direction, that is, it is provided so as to advance and retreat with respect to the upper roller 81 .

As shown in FIG. 12, the upper roller 81 has a plurality of recesses 81a formed along the circumferential direction along the rotational axis direction. A plurality of lower rollers 82 are provided at intervals along the rotation axis direction of the rotation shaft 82a. The lower roller 82 is provided at a position facing the recess 81a and enters the recess 81a.

The rotation shaft 82a is displaceable along the Z-axis direction by a guide member (not shown), and both ends thereof are pressed toward the upper roller 81 by coil springs 83 . Thereby, the lower roller 82 is pressed toward the upper roller 81 .
The spring length of the coil spring 83 is adjustable by an eccentric cam 85 . The eccentric cam 85 is rotatable around the cam shaft 84 and adjusts the spring length of the coil spring 83 by rotating. This adjusts the pressing force when the lower roller 82 is pressed against the upper roller 81 .

By such a pretreatment roller pair 80, folds are formed on the medium P1 as indicated by symbol d. The crease d is a crease along the medium conveying direction. By forming the crease d on the medium P1 in this manner, that is, by performing the curling, the medium P1 is more reliably deformed when the medium P1 is subjected to the deformation processing by the deformation processing means 69, and the deformation processing is performed more appropriately. can be performed smoothly and reliably. Note that the crease d does not have to be clearly visible, and it is sufficient if it functions as a habit and facilitates the subsequent deformation processing.

The pretreatment means is composed of a pair of pretreatment rollers 80. Of the pair of pretreatment rollers 80, an upper roller 81 is a roller having a depression 81a formed along the circumferential direction, and a lower roller 82 enters the depression 81a. As a result, the preliminary processing, that is, the folding line d is formed on the medium P1, so that the preliminary processing can be performed with a simple configuration.

When conveying the medium P1 to be deformed, that is, the first page of the medium, the spring force of the coil spring 83 is maximized to reliably form the crease d. It is preferred to minimize the spring force of 83 so that crease d is not formed or crease d is small.
Also, as described with reference to FIG. 9, it is also preferable to adjust the spring force of the coil spring 83 based on paper type information, recording surface information, recording duty, temperature, and humidity. Specifically, when the stiffness of the medium is high, the crease d can be appropriately formed by increasing the spring force of the coil spring 83 compared to when the stiffness is relatively low.
In the present embodiment, the pretreatment roller pair 80 is configured separately from the transport roller pair 65, but the transport roller pair 65 may also be configured to serve as pretreatment means. That is, the upper roller of the conveying roller pair 65 may be composed of the upper roller 81 and the lower roller of the conveying roller pair 65 may be composed of the lower roller 82 .

Next, another embodiment of the deformation processing means will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. FIG.
In the embodiment described above, the medium P1 is deformed by the transport paddle 70, the first cursor 75, and the second cursor 76, but in the embodiment described below, the transport roller pair 65 is a roller pair according to another embodiment, It is characterized in that the medium P1 is deformed by using the pair of rollers as deformation processing means. FIG. 13 shows a first embodiment of the deformation roller pair, and FIG. 14 shows a second embodiment of the deformation roller pair.

FIG. 13(c) shows a deformation roller pair 90 used as a substitute for the transport roller pair 65 described above. The medium is nipped with the deformation roller 92 and conveyed. The lower deformation roller 92 is driven by a motor (not shown), and the upper deformation roller 91 is driven to rotate. However, the rollers to be driven may be reversed, or both rollers may be driven by a motor.
Note that the upper deformation roller 91 and the lower deformation roller 92 have the same shape, and the upper deformation roller 91 will be described below as an example.

13(a) is a view of the upper deformation roller 91 viewed from the X-axis direction, and FIG. 13(b) is a view of the upper deformation roller 91 viewed from the Y-axis direction. As illustrated, the upper deformation roller 91 has a plurality of protrusions 91a on its surface. The upper deformation roller 91 and the lower deformation roller 92 are provided with their phases adjusted so that the projections 91a of the rollers do not interfere with each other.
By nipping the medium between the upper deformation roller 91 and the lower deformation roller 92, convex portions are formed on the medium as indicated by Pd as deformation processing.

With such a configuration, the deformation processing means can be obtained with a simple configuration. At least one of the upper deformation roller 91 and the lower deformation roller 92 is provided to be movable forward and backward with respect to the other roller in the same manner as the lower roller 82 described with reference to FIG. 12, and nips the medium. It is also preferable to make the nip force at the time adjustable. At this time, it is also preferable to adjust the nip force based on paper type information, recording surface information, recording duty, temperature, and humidity, as with the lower roller 82 described with reference to FIG. Specifically, when the rigidity of the medium is high, the deformation process can be appropriately performed by increasing the nip force compared to when the rigidity is relatively low.
Moreover, in this embodiment, the same roller is used for the upper deformation roller 91 and the lower deformation roller 92 . However, one roller may be a roller having a plurality of protrusions 91a, and the other roller may be a roller whose outer peripheral surface is formed of an elastic material, such as a sponge roller. As a result, the protrusions Pd can be formed on the medium.

Next, FIG. 14(c) shows a deformation roller pair 87 used as an alternative to the transport roller pair 65 described above. , and the lower deformation roller 89 to nip and convey the medium. The lower deformation roller 89 is driven by a motor (not shown), and the upper deformation roller 88 is driven to rotate. However, the driven rollers may be reversed, or both rollers may be driven by a motor.
Note that the upper deformation roller 88 and the lower deformation roller 89 have the same shape, and the upper deformation roller 88 will be described below as an example.

14(a) is a view of the upper deformation roller 88 viewed from the X-axis direction, and FIG. 14(b) is a view of the upper deformation roller 88 viewed from the Y-axis direction. As illustrated, the upper deformation roller 88 has a plurality of recesses 88a formed along the rotation axis direction along the circumferential direction. In other words, it can be said that the upper deformation roller 88 has a plurality of projections formed along the circumferential direction. The phases of the upper deformation roller 88 and the lower deformation roller 89 are adjusted so that the protrusions of the upper deformation roller 88 enter the depressions 88 a of the lower deformation roller 89 .
By nipping the medium between the upper deformation roller 88 and the lower deformation roller 89, a folded portion along the rotational axis direction is formed in the medium as indicated by reference symbol Pe as a deformation process.

With such a configuration, the deformation processing means can be obtained with a simple configuration. At least one of the upper deformation roller 88 and the lower deformation roller 89 is provided to be movable forward and backward with respect to the other roller in the same manner as the lower roller 82 described with reference to FIG. 12, and nips the medium. It is also preferable to make the nip force at the time adjustable. At this time, it is also preferable to adjust the nip force based on paper type information, recording surface information, recording duty, temperature, and humidity, as with the lower roller 82 described with reference to FIG. Specifically, when the rigidity of the medium is high, the deformation process can be appropriately performed by increasing the nip force compared to when the rigidity is relatively low.
Further, in this embodiment, the same roller is used for the upper deformation roller 88 and the lower deformation roller 89 . However, one roller may be a roller having a plurality of depressions 88a, and the other roller may be a roller whose outer peripheral surface is formed of an elastic material, such as a sponge roller. Thereby, the folded portion Pe can be formed in the medium.

Furthermore, as another embodiment (third embodiment) of the deformation roller pair, in addition to the embodiments shown in FIGS. It is also possible to use a roller having a plurality of depressions formed along the direction of the rotation axis, and the other roller to be a roller that enters the depressions. That is, the pretreatment roller pair 80 shown in FIG. 12 may be used as the deformation treatment means.

Also, in the first, second, and third embodiments of the deformation roller pair described above, paper type information, recording surface information, recording duty, temperature, and humidity are used in the same manner as described with reference to FIGS. It is also preferable to adjust the degree of deformation when deforming the medium based on the above.

Also in the first, second, and third embodiments of the deformation roller pair described above, the recording unit 29 records the identification information Sa in an area including the side edge of the medium, as described with reference to FIG. You can According to the first, second, and third embodiments of the deformation roller pair described above, the surface of the medium becomes uneven by performing the deformation process on the medium, and the surface of the medium can be identified from the side in some cases. be. Thereby, the identifiability of the medium bundle P can be improved.

Further, the deformation roller pair described above may be provided in the recording unit 2 instead of being provided in the post-processing unit 5 . Specifically, it is preferable to provide a deformed roller pair at the exit of the face-down discharge route R4. In this case, the recording unit 2 serves as a medium processing device having deformation processing means.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims, which are also included in the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Liquid ejection apparatus 2... Recording unit 3... Intermediate unit 5... Post-processing unit 10... Printer part 11... Scanner part 12... Medium accommodation cassette 13... Ejection tray after recording 14... Cassette accommodation part , 27...control unit, 28...operation unit, 29...recording unit, 30...receiving path, 31...first switchback path, 32...second switchback path, 33...merge path, 35...branch part, 36...merge Part, 40... Receiving part, 41... Punching mechanism part, 42... First conveying path,
43 End binding mechanism 44 Stapler 45 Support tray 46 Second conveying path 47 Upper tray 48 First tray 49 First discharge section 50 Second discharge section 51 Temperature Humidity detector 64 Conveyance guide 65 Conveyance roller pair 66 Upper roller 67 Lower roller 69 Deformation means 70 Conveyance paddle 71 Rotary shaft 72 Blade 73 Rear end alignment Part, 75... First cursor, 76... Second cursor, 80... Pretreatment roller pair, 81... Upper roller, 81a... Recess, 82... Lower roller, 82a... Rotation shaft, 83... Coil spring, 84... Cam shaft, 85... Eccentric cam, 87... Deformation roller pair, 88... Upper deformation roller, 88a... Recess, 89... Lower deformation roller, 90... Deformation roller pair, 91... Upper deformation roller, 91a... Protrusion, 92... Lower deformation roller,
D1 First branching portion R0 Feeding path R1 Recording transport path R2 Switchback path R3 Reversing path R4 Face-down discharge path R5 Face-up discharge path P Media bundle P1 , P2, P3, P4... medium, Pc... folded portion, Pd... convex portion, Pe... folded portion, Sa... identification information

Claims (12)

deformation processing means for performing deformation processing for deforming the received medium;
Control means for controlling the deformation processing means, the control means for performing the deformation processing by the deformation processing means on a medium serving as a boundary of a bundle of media;
A media handling device with a 2. The media handling apparatus of claim 1, wherein a support tray for supporting media;
a transport unit that transports the medium so as to drop the medium onto the support tray;
a transport paddle for transporting the medium dropped onto the support tray in a direction including a direction component opposite to the medium transport direction by the transport unit;
a trailing edge aligning portion positioned in the medium transport direction by the transport paddles, the trailing edge aligning portion aligning the trailing edge of the medium bundle on the support tray;
a post-processing unit that performs post-processing on the medium bundle supported by the support tray;
A side edge aligning portion that is movable in a first direction that is a direction that advances toward a side edge of the medium bundle supported by the support tray and a second direction that is a direction that separates from the side edge, a side edge aligning part that aligns the side edges by moving in one direction;
The conveying paddle and the side edge aligning section constitute the deformation processing means,
The control means controls the transport paddle and the side edge alignment section, and moves the side edge alignment section in the first direction while the medium is pressed toward the support tray by the transport paddle, folding a region including a side edge of the medium along the direction in which the medium is transported by the transport paddle as the deformation process;
A media processing device characterized by: 3. A medium processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a preliminary process of folding an area including a side edge of the medium along the medium transport direction by the transport paddles is performed before the transforming process is performed by the transforming means. have the means
A media processing device characterized by: 4. The media handling apparatus of claim 3, wherein said pretreatment means comprises a pair of rollers,
One roller of the roller pair is a roller having a plurality of depressions formed along the circumferential direction along the rotation axis direction,
The preliminary treatment is performed by the other roller of the roller pair entering the recess,
A media processing device characterized by: 5. The medium processing device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising a recording unit for recording on the medium upstream of the conveying unit in the medium conveying path,
The control means adjusts the degree of deformation when the medium is deformed by the deformation process according to the recording density of the area including the side edge of the medium.
A media processing device characterized by: 5. The medium processing device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising a recording unit for recording on the medium upstream of the conveying unit in the medium conveying path,
The control means is capable of recording identification information in an area including a side edge of the medium by the recording unit.
A media processing device characterized by: 2. The media processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said deformation processing means comprises a pair of rollers for nipping the medium,
One or both rollers of the roller pair are rollers having a plurality of protrusions on the surface,
Forming a protrusion on the surface of the medium as the deformation process by the protrusion,
A media processing device characterized by: 2. The media processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said deformation processing means comprises a pair of rollers for nipping the medium,
One roller of the roller pair is a roller provided with a plurality of depressions formed along the circumferential direction along the rotation axis direction,
The other roller of the roller pair is provided so as to enter the recess,
Folding the medium along the transport direction as the deformation process by the depression,
A media processing device characterized by: 2. The media processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said deformation processing means comprises a pair of rollers for nipping the medium,
At least one roller of the roller pair is a roller having a plurality of depressions formed along the rotation axis direction along the circumferential direction,
Folding the medium along the rotation axis direction as the deformation process by the depression,
A media processing device characterized by: 10. The medium processing device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, further comprising a recording unit for recording on the medium upstream of the deformation processing means in the medium transport path,
The control means is capable of recording identification information in an area including a side edge of the medium by the recording unit.
A media processing device characterized by: 10. The medium processing device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, further comprising a recording unit for recording on the medium upstream of the deformation processing means in the medium transport path,
The control means adjusts the degree of deformation when the medium is deformed by the deformation process according to the recording density of the medium.
A media processing device characterized by: The media processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, comprising a temperature and humidity detection unit that detects temperature and humidity,
The control means adjusts the degree of deformation when the medium is deformed by the deformation process according to the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature/humidity detection unit.
A media processing device characterized by:

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