JP2023120871A - Sheet material processor and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a sheet material processor that is allowed to prevent jamming of a sheet material, has preferable alignment accuracy of the sheet material and allowed to reduce damages to the sheet material.SOLUTION: A sheet material processor 133 comprises a sheet-material loading unit 125, aligning means and a bonding unit 126. The bonding unit has an adhesive providing sub-unit 203 that gives adhesive 250 onto a sheet material and a bonding auxiliary sub-unit 215 that is allowed to prevent an adhesion of adhesive onto another sheet material and press a surface of the sheet material. The bonding auxiliary sub-unit is allowed to move between an operable position to perform at least one of pressing a sheet material and preventing the adhesion of adhesive and a standby position not to perform both of pressing the sheet material and preventing the adhesion of adhesive. The adhesive providing sub-unit gives the adhesive to the next sheet material after the bonding auxiliary sub-unit moves from the standby position to the operable position, performs at least one of pressing the sheet material and preventing the adhesion of adhesive in the operable position and returns from the operable position to the standby position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

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

2. Description of the Related Art Techniques for binding sheets using staples, techniques for binding sheets using a pressure bonding mechanism, and sheet material processing apparatuses and image forming apparatuses for binding sheets using an adhesive are known.

For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a configuration in which a set of sheets are bundled with an adhesive so that they are not separated from each other. According to Patent Document 1, it is possible to reduce the number of times a receiver searches for and confirms paper sheets and prevent paper loss with a facsimile machine.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200000 discloses that the number of areas to be glued is increased as the number of sheets increases. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200000 describes that it is possible to prevent the glued portion of the bound sheet bundle from becoming thicker than the other portions due to the thickness of the glue itself.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200001 discloses that a staple-less binding device is provided upstream of a conveying path between a paper processing device using staples and a paper discharge position. According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200010, manual sorting can be eliminated by binding bundles of different numbers of sheets in groups.

However, in the prior art, it is still not sufficient to prevent jamming of sheet materials, to improve the alignment accuracy of sheet materials, and to reduce damage to sheet materials, and further improvement is required.

In the conventional technique, when binding several sheet materials, the sheet materials may be bound out of alignment, and it is necessary to ensure alignment accuracy. Further, in the conventional technique, when the next sheet material is conveyed after applying the adhesive, the next sheet material sometimes comes in contact with (sticks to) the adhesive during the conveying process. When the next sheet material comes into contact with the adhesive, it becomes a resistance when the sheet material moves, and there is a concern that the sheet material will jam or damage the sheet material. Jamming of sheet materials and damage to sheet materials occur more frequently depending on the sheet form (especially back curl), and it is also required to be able to sufficiently cope with the sheet form. In addition, when the adhesive is applied, the bonding machine rises (retracts) so as to flip up the next sheet material, so there is concern that the sheet material may be damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a sheet material processing apparatus that is capable of preventing sheet materials from clogging, aligning the sheet materials with high precision, and reducing damage to the sheet materials, in the technique of performing adhesive processing on the sheet materials using an adhesive. intended to

In order to solve the above-described problems, the sheet material processing apparatus of the present invention includes a sheet material stacking unit for stacking sheet materials, an aligning unit for aligning the conveyed sheet materials conveyed to the sheet material stacking unit, and a sheet material stacking unit. a bonding unit that performs bonding processing on a sheet material, wherein the bonding unit applies an adhesive to at least a part of the sheet material on one surface of the sheet material. At least part of the adhesive applied to the sheet material can be covered to prevent the adhesive from adhering to other sheet materials stacked on the sheet material, and the surface of the sheet material at least a part of the adhesion assisting part can be positioned on the sheet material lamination part, and the sheet material can be pressed and adhered. It is possible to shift to an operating position in which at least one of adhesion prevention of the adhesive is performed, and a standby position in which neither pressing of the sheet material nor adhesion prevention of the adhesive is performed, and moves from the standby position to the operating position, performs at least one of pressing the sheet material and preventing adhesion of the adhesive at the operating position, and after returning from the operating position to the standby position, the next sheet material characterized by applying an adhesive to the

According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet material processing apparatus capable of preventing sheet materials from clogging, aligning the sheet materials with high accuracy, and reducing damage to the sheet materials, in the technique of performing adhesive processing on the sheet materials using an adhesive. can provide.

1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of an image forming apparatus of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a sheet processing apparatus of the present invention; FIG. 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams for explaining an example of a first adhesion-assisting unit having an adhesion-assisting part; FIG. (A) is an example of a standby position, and (B) is an example of an operating position. 7A to 7C are schematic diagrams (A) to (C) for explaining an example of a second adhesion assisting unit having an adhesive application section; (A) is a schematic plan view, (B) is a schematic view showing an example of a standby position, and (C) is a schematic view showing an example of an operating position. 1A and 1B are a schematic diagram (A) and an enlarged schematic diagram of a main part for explaining an example of the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, and are diagrams showing an example in which the adhesion assisting section is at a standby position; FIG. 6A and 6B are a schematic diagram (A) and an enlarged schematic diagram of a main part for explaining an example of the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, and are diagrams showing an example when the adhesion assisting section moves from FIG. 5 to an operating position; FIG. 3A to 3D are schematic diagrams for explaining an example of an adhesion assisting part; FIG. 7A and 7B are a schematic diagram (A) and an enlarged schematic diagram of a main part for explaining an example of the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, and are diagrams showing an example when the adhesion assisting section returns to the standby position from FIG. 6. FIG. 9A and 9B are a schematic diagram (A) and an enlarged schematic diagram of a main part for explaining an example of the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, and are diagrams showing an example when the adhesive applying section moves from FIG. 8 to an operating position; FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram (A) and an enlarged schematic diagram of a main part for explaining an example of the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, and is a diagram showing an example when the adhesive applying section returns to the standby position from FIG. 9. FIG. 7A and 7B are schematic diagrams for explaining another example of the adhesion assisting part; FIG. 7A and 7B are schematic diagrams for explaining another example of the adhesion assisting part; FIG. FIG. 10A is a schematic plan view (A) and an enlarged schematic view of a main part for explaining another example of the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, and is a diagram showing an example of a case in which stapling means is provided. FIG. 10A is a schematic diagram (A) and an enlarged schematic diagram of a main part for explaining another example of the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, and shows an example of a case where adhesive is applied while the adhesion assisting section is in the operating position; It is a diagram.

A sheet material processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown below, and can be changed within the scope of those skilled in the art, such as other embodiments, additions, modifications, deletions, etc. is also included in the scope of the present invention as long as the functions and effects of the present invention are exhibited.

The sheet material processing apparatus of the present invention includes a sheet material stacking section for stacking sheet materials, alignment means for aligning the conveyed sheet materials conveyed to the sheet material stacking section, and an adhesion unit for performing adhesion processing on the sheet materials. , wherein the adhesive unit includes an adhesive applying section that applies adhesive to at least a portion of the sheet material on one side of the sheet material; an adhesion assisting part capable of covering at least part of the adhesive applied to prevent the adhesive from adhering to other sheet materials stacked on the sheet material, and capable of pressing the surface of the sheet material; , wherein at least part of the adhesion assisting portion can be positioned on the sheet material lamination portion, and at least one of pressing the sheet material and preventing adhesion of the adhesive is performed. It is possible to shift to an operating position for performing one of the above and a standby position for not performing both pressing of the sheet material and prevention of adhesion of the adhesive. position, at least one of pressing the sheet material and preventing adhesion of the adhesive at the operating position, and applying adhesive to the next sheet material after returning from the operating position to the standby position. Characterized by

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an image forming apparatus according to this embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment includes the sheet material processing device 133 of this embodiment. Further, as illustrated, the image forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment includes, for example, an image forming section 130, an automatic document feeder 131, and a relay unit 132. FIG.

Although FIG. 1 shows an example of an image forming apparatus, it may also be an example of a copying system. Further, the present invention can provide an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a digital multifunction machine having these functions in combination. Since the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes the sheet material processing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to prevent jamming of the sheet materials, improve the alignment accuracy of the sheet materials, and reduce damage to the sheet materials. be done.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the sheet material processing device 133 of this embodiment.
The conveying route of the sheet material processing device 133 includes, for example, an introduction route 101, an upper conveying route 110, and a lower conveying route 120. As shown in FIG. The introduction path 101 receives the image-formed sheet material discharged from the image forming section 130 . Arrows in the drawing schematically indicate the conveying direction of the sheet material.

An upper conveying path 110 and a lower conveying path 120 are two paths branching from the introduction path 101 . The upper transport path 110 is a path to the proof tray 111 , and the lower transport path 120 is a path to the shift tray 121 .

An entrance roller 102 is arranged in the introduction path 101 . A sheet punching means 200 is arranged downstream of the entrance roller 102, and the sheet material can be punched by the sheet punching means 200. As shown in FIG. A conveying roller 103 is arranged downstream of the sheet punching means 200 , and a branch claw 104 is arranged downstream of the conveying roller 103 .

The branch claw 104 is positioned at a branching portion at the terminal end of the introduction path 101 and sorts the conveying path of the sheet material into the upper conveying path 110 or the lower conveying path 120 by rotating. Sheet materials sorted to the upper transport path 110 are discharged to the proof tray 111 arranged at the most downstream side.

The sheet materials sorted into the lower conveying path 120 are discharged to the most downstream shift tray 121 by the conveying rollers 122 and the sheet discharging rollers 123 during straight conveying, and are sequentially stacked. The conveying roller 122 has a shift mechanism, and the driving means shifts the sheet material by a certain amount by moving the conveying roller 122 by a certain amount in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction while the sheet material is being conveyed. As a result, it is possible to select whether to perform straight transport or to perform transport in the direction of the staple tray 125 described below.

Sheet materials sorted into the lower transport path 120 can be transported in the direction of the staple tray 125 instead of straight transport. During stapling, the sheet material is conveyed to a staple tray 125 (sheet material stacking portion) arranged downstream of the conveying roller 122 . A bonding unit 126 is arranged at the end of the staple tray 125 . The adhesion unit 126 can move forward and backward in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet material, for example.

The sheet material conveyed to the lower conveying path 120 drops onto the staple tray 125 when the trailing edge of the sheet material passes through the conveying rollers 122 . The sheet material that has fallen onto the staple tray 125 is conveyed to the position of the adhesion unit 126 . Next, the adhesion unit 126 performs adhesion processing on the sheet material. As a result, the sheet materials are bound into a bundle, and the bundle of sheet materials is discharged onto the shift tray 121 by the discharge rollers 123 .

Note that the location of the sheet material to be subjected to the adhesion treatment is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected, and examples thereof include the lower edge portion of the sheet material. The adhesion unit 126 applies an adhesive to the sheet material and performs a process of binding the sheet material (which may also be referred to as stapling process). Staples may or may not be stapled.

A filler 124 is provided on the shift tray 121 . The filler 124 is provided, for example, in the vicinity of the upper portion of the paper ejection port, and is rotatably arranged at a position near the center of the sheet materials (or a bundle of sheet materials) stacked on the shift tray 121 . The tip of the filler 124 contacts the upper surface of the sheet material on the shift tray 121 . By providing the filler 124, the height of the shift tray 121 can be controlled, for example, as follows.

At the base of the filler 124, although not shown here, an upper surface detection sensor is arranged. The upper surface detection sensor detects the height of the tip of the filler 124 and detects the height of the upper surface of the sheet materials stacked on the shift tray 121 . As the number of sheets stacked on the shift tray 121 increases, the height of the sheets increases. When the height of the sheet material reaches a predetermined height, the upper surface detection sensor is turned on, and the control unit controls the driving means for vertically moving the shift tray 121 to lower the shift tray 121 . When the shift tray 121 descends and the upper surface detection sensor is turned off, the descent of the shift tray 121 is stopped.

By adjusting the height of the shift tray 121 as described above, the distance from the nipping portion of the discharge roller 123 to the sheet stacking portion of the shift tray 121 can be kept constant. As a result, the contact angle between the sheet material discharged from the discharge roller 123 and the shift tray 121 can be made constant, and the alignment quality of the sheet materials stacked on the shift tray 121 can be stabilized. Also, by adjusting the height of the shift tray 121, the number of stacked sheets can be increased.

The shift tray 121 is repeatedly raised and lowered, and when the shift tray 121 reaches a specified tray full height, the sheet processing apparatus outputs a stop signal to the control unit, and the image forming operation is stopped.

The sheet material processing apparatus of this embodiment includes a sheet material stacking unit (for example, the staple tray 125 described above) that stacks sheet materials, an aligning unit that aligns the sheet materials conveyed to the sheet material stacking unit, and a and a bonding unit 126 that performs a bonding process.
The adhesive unit 126 includes an adhesive application unit that applies adhesive to at least a portion of the sheet material on one side of the sheet material, and an adhesive application unit that covers at least a portion of the adhesive applied to the sheet material and applies the adhesive to the sheet material. and an adhesion assisting part capable of preventing the adhesive from adhering to other sheet materials stacked on the sheet material and capable of pressing the surface of the sheet material.
At least a portion of the adhesion aid may be positioned on the sheet material stack. Further, the adhesion assisting section can shift between an operating position in which at least one of pressing the sheet material and preventing adhesion of the adhesive is performed, and a standby position in which neither pressing of the sheet material nor prevention of adhesion of the adhesive is performed. is.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of the adhesion assisting part in this embodiment. FIG. 3A is an example of the standby position, and FIG. 3B is an example of the operating position.

In this embodiment, a configuration in which the first adhesion assisting unit 230 has the adhesion assisting portion 215 will be described as an example. The sheet material processing apparatus 133 of this embodiment includes a sheet material stacking section (shift tray 121 ) and an adhesion unit 126 , and the adhesion unit 126 has an adhesive application section 203 and an adhesion auxiliary section 215 . Therefore, it can be said that the adhesion unit 126 in this embodiment has the first adhesion auxiliary unit 230 and the first adhesion auxiliary unit 230 has the adhesion auxiliary part 215 . The first adhesion-assisting unit 230 has the adhesion-assisting part 215 and further has other members.

In the first adhesion assisting unit 230 shown in FIG. 3A, the pulley of the drive motor 218 and the cam gear 213 are in mesh with each other, and the cam gear 213 and the cam portion 217 are in contact with each other. The cam portion 217 is provided on the adhesion assisting portion 215 and can move the adhesion assisting portion 215 via the shaft 216 . When the driving motor 218 rotates, the adhesion assisting portion 215 rotates around the shaft 216 as a fulcrum.

The driving motor 218 uses, for example, a stepping motor, and performs pulse control so that the adhesion assisting section 215 moves to the designated position on the sheet material. As a result, the adhesion assisting part 215 rotates in the direction of covering the adhesion part (where the adhesive is applied) of the sheet material, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3B, for example.

When the sheet material is completely conveyed, the adhesion assisting section 215 returns from the operating position shown in FIG. 3B, for example, to the standby position shown in FIG. 3A.
As will be described later, the first adhesion assisting unit 230 can also perform pulse control so that it can operate to a specified position in both the sheet material conveying direction and the direction orthogonal to the sheet material conveying direction. is. In this case, it is also possible to freely set the position where the adhesion assisting portion 215 covers the adhesion portion of the sheet material.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of the adhesive applying section in this embodiment. FIG. 4A is a top view of the configuration including the adhesive application portion 203, and FIGS. 4B and 4C are side views of FIG. 4A. It is a side view. FIG. 4B is an example of the standby position, and FIG. 4C is an example of the operating position.

In this embodiment, a configuration in which the second adhesion assisting unit 233 has the adhesive application section 203 will be described as an example. Therefore, it can be said that the adhesion unit 126 in this embodiment has the second auxiliary adhesion unit 233 and the second adhesion auxiliary unit 233 has the adhesive application part 203 . Supplementally, the adhesion unit 126 in this embodiment has a first adhesion-assisting unit 230 and a second adhesion-assisting unit 233 , the first adhesion-assisting unit 230 has the adhesion-assisting part 215 , and the second adhesion-assisting unit 233 has the adhesive applying portion 203 . The second adhesion assisting unit 233 has the adhesive application section 203 and further has other members.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the adhesive application section 203 in this embodiment is fixed to a holding plate 232 , and the holding plate 232 is provided with a rack 205 . A drive motor 207 is fixed to the frame 234 , the drive motor 207 meshes with a pulley 206 via a belt, and the pulley 206 meshes with the rack 205 .
Note that the frame 234 shown in FIG. 4A is schematically illustrated in a transparent manner so that the inside of the frame 234 can be illustrated.

The drive motor 207 is, for example, a stepping motor, and can move the adhesive applying section 203 to a specified position along the drive shaft 204 by pulse control. By operating the adhesive application unit 203 to a designated position, the adhesive application unit 203 can move to the sheet material and apply the adhesive. For example, in FIG. 4C, the adhesive applying unit 203 moves in the direction of the arrow from the state of FIG. 4B, thereby applying the adhesive 250 to the sheet material. When the application of the adhesive 250 is completed, the adhesive application unit 203 returns to the standby position shown in FIG. 4B.

In the above description, FIG. 4C is described as a diagram representing the operating position, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be referred to as an adhesive application position or the like. Further, the adhesive 250 illustrated in FIGS. 4B and 4C is shown schematically, and the adhesive used in the present embodiment is not particularly limited, even if it is solid. It may be in liquid form. Further, the adhesive may be, for example, an adhesive paste, or may be, for example, a double-sided tape.

In the example shown in FIG. 4A, the second adhesion assisting unit 233 is fixed to the belt 212 and the belt 211 is engaged with the pulley 210 fixed to the frame 231 . The opposite side of the frame 231 is similarly fixed to a frame and a pulley (not shown), and the pulley (not shown) meshes with the belt 211 . Members such as the belts 211 and 212 and pulleys may or may not be included in the second adhesion assisting unit 233 .

The pulley 210 is meshed with a drive motor (not shown), and by performing pulse control, the position of the second adhesion assisting unit 233, particularly the adhesive applying section 203, can be controlled. This drive motor can move the adhesive application unit 203 in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction, and can freely set the position to apply the adhesive.

Further, in the example shown in FIG. 4A, the rack 209 is fixed to the frame 231 and the rack 209 holds the drive motor 208 . The drive motor 208 meshes with a pinion gear (not shown). A stepping motor, for example, is used as the driving motor 208, and pulse control is performed so that the second adhesion assisting unit 233 can operate to a specified position in the sheet conveying direction. As a result, the position of the second adhesion assisting unit 233, especially the adhesive application section 203, can be freely set in the sheet conveying direction.

FIG. 5 is another schematic side view for explaining the sheet material processing device 133 of this embodiment. FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram for explaining an example in which the first adhesion assisting unit 230 and the second adhesion assisting unit 233 are mounted on the sheet material processing device 133, and FIG. It is the principal part expansion schematic in a of (A).

FIG. 5A shows an example of the standby state (standby position), in which the first adhesion assisting unit 230 and the second adhesion assisting unit 233 are in the standby state. Therefore, the adhesion assisting portion 215 is in a state of being shifted to the standby position, which is a position where it does not press the sheet material 201 and does not prevent adhesion of the adhesive 250 .

FIG. 5A shows a state in which sheet materials 201a and 201b are stacked on the staple tray 125 (sheet material stacking portion) and the next sheet material 201c is being conveyed. It should be noted that stacking may also be referred to as stacking.

An adhesive 250 is applied by the adhesive applying unit 203 to the surface of the uppermost sheet material 201b among the stacked sheet materials (see also FIG. 5B). The conveyed sheet material 201c comes into contact with (sticks to) the applied adhesive 250 and becomes a resistance, causing clogging of the sheet material and damage to the sheet material. Depending on the form of the sheet material (especially back curl), the occurrence frequency increases. Therefore, in this embodiment, the following processing of FIG. 6 is performed after the processing of FIG.

FIG. 6(A) is a schematic side view showing an example when the standby position is shifted to the operating position in the example shown in FIG. FIG. 6(B) is an enlarged schematic view of a main part in a of FIG. 6(A). The state of the standby position may be referred to as the standby state, and the state of the operating position may be referred to as the operating state.

FIG. 6A shows an example of the same movement as the example shown in FIG. 3, and as described above, the adhesion assisting section 215 of the first adhesion assisting unit 230 rotates at the operating position. As a result, at least a portion of the adhesive 250 applied to the surface of the uppermost sheet material 201 b among the stacked sheet materials is covered with the adhesion assisting portion 215 . As a result, the conveyed sheet material 201c does not come into contact with the adhesive 250 applied to the sheet material 201b, so jamming of the sheet material and damage to the sheet material can be prevented. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the adhesive applied to the sheet material 201b from adhering to the other sheet material 201c stacked on the sheet material 201b.

In addition, in the present embodiment, since the portion of the applied adhesive (adhering portion) is covered with the adhesion assisting portion 215, it is possible to prevent clogging of the sheet material even when the form of the sheet material is likely to cause clogging of the sheet material. can be prevented. For example, it is possible to prevent the adhesive from coming into contact with a sheet material having an uneven edge, such as a back-curled sheet material. In addition, it can be said that back curl has occurred in FIG.

In FIG. 6A, the adhesion aid 215 appears to be in contact with the adhesive 250, but in the example shown here, the adhesion aid 215 and the adhesive 250 are not in contact. As will be described later with reference to FIGS. 7(C) and 7(D), the adhesion assisting portion 215 in this embodiment preferably has a shape that covers at least part of the circumference and upper portion of the applied adhesive. In this way, the adhesion-assisting part 215 covers the part to which the adhesive 250 is applied (also referred to as the adhesion part), so that the adhesion-assisting part 215 does not come into contact with the adhesive 250 . In order to express this, in FIG. 6B, the adhesive 250 applied to the sheet material 201b is indicated by a dashed line.

Further, the adhesion assisting portion 215 can press the surface of the sheet material, and the operation of the adhesion assisting portion 215 covering the adhesion portion also serves to press the sheet material. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the adhesion assisting portion 215 presses against the sheet material 201b. As a result, the binding force of the adhesive 250 interposed between the sheet materials 201a and 201b can be increased, and the sheet materials can be adhered well.
The adhesion assisting part 215 may only cover the adhesive without pressing the sheet material at the operating position, but it is preferable to press the sheet material at the operating position. When the adhesion assisting portion 215 presses at the operating position, it leads to an increase in binding strength of the adhesive in which the pressing is interposed. When the adhesion assisting section 215 does not press, the adhesive application section 203 may also press the sheet material. Even if the adhesion assisting part 215 does not press the sheet material at the operating position, it is preferable to cover the adhesive adhered to the sheet material at the operating position.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, the adhesion assisting portion 215 does not contact the adhesive 250, but contacts the sheet material 201b. In this way, the adhesion assisting part 215 can prevent the adhesive applied to the sheet material from adhering to other sheet materials stacked on the sheet material, and can press the surface of the sheet material. is.

After performing the process of FIG. 5, the process of FIG. 6 is performed, and so on. It is preferred to move forward into the operating position. As a result, the applied adhesive can be prevented from coming into contact with the next sheet material, and clogging of the sheet material can be prevented.

The number of times the adhesion assisting part 215 presses one sheet material is not particularly limited, but it is preferable that the adhesion assisting part 215 presses one sheet material a plurality of times. By pressing multiple times, the binding strength of the adhesive interposed between the sheet materials can be further increased.

The sheet material processing apparatus 133 of this embodiment has an aligning unit that aligns the sheet materials conveyed to the staple tray 125 (sheet material stacking portion). By having the aligning means, it is possible to prevent the adhesion position of the sheet material from being deviated and the failure of the adhesion to be performed satisfactorily. The matching means is not limited and can be selected as appropriate. For example, the aligning means has a sheet material stopping portion provided on the end portion side of the sheet material stacking portion, and the sheet material is aligned by abutting the end portion of the conveyed sheet material against the sheet material stopping portion. can be made With such a configuration, the sheet materials can be aligned with a simple configuration.

For example, the reference fence 236 can be used as the sheet material stop portion. The reference fence 236 is provided on the end portion side of the staple tray 125 and is provided on the end portion in the conveying direction of the sheet material. When the sheet material conveyed to the staple tray 125 collides with the reference fence 236, the positions of the leading edges of the sheet material can be aligned.

In order to do so, it is preferable to tilt the staple tray 125 from the horizontal as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, for example. In this case, after the sheet material that has passed through the conveying roller 122 falls onto the staple tray 125 , it can be conveyed on the staple tray 125 and collide with the reference fence 236 . As a result, the positions of the leading ends of the sheet materials can be aligned. A member such as a conveying roller may be used for conveying on the staple tray 125, or such a member may not be used.

As shown in FIG. 6, the timing at which the adhesion assisting part 215 returns to the standby position after the adhesion assisting part 215 presses the sheet material at the operating position is not limited and can be selected as appropriate. For example, when the edge of the sheet material 201c hits the reference fence 236 from the state shown in FIG. In other words, it is preferable that the adhesion assisting section 215 returns to the standby position when the edge of the conveyed sheet material hits the sheet material stopping section while it is at the operating position. In this case, time can be shortened.

In the above description, it is described that the adhesion assisting section 215 returns to the standby position, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The shape of the adhesion assisting portion 215 is not limited and can be changed as appropriate. A diagram for explaining an example of the adhesion assisting portion 215 is shown in FIG. 7A to 7C are other views of the adhesion assisting portion 215 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG.

7(A) is a side view of the adhesion assisting portion 215, FIG. 7(B) is a view when viewed from direction b in FIG. 7(A), and FIG. 7(C) is FIG. 7(B). 3 is a diagram schematically showing the position of the bonding portion in FIG. FIG. 7(D) is a schematic perspective view of the main part, omitting the cam part 217 side. The adhesion assisting part 215 preferably has a shape for scooping up the sheet material as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, for example. If it is shaped to scoop up the sheet material, it becomes easier to receive the sheet material, and damage to the sheet material can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 7, the adhesion assisting portion 215 has an inclined surface 215a on the tip side when the side of the sheet material conveyance source is the tip side in a side view (FIG. 7A, FIG. 6, etc.). It is more preferable that the slope 215a scoops up the sheet material being conveyed when it is in the operating position (for example, FIG. 6). In this case, the sheet material conveyed to the sheet material stacking portion can be easily received, and damage to the sheet material can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 7, reference numeral 235 designates the point at which the adhesion aid 215 moves to its operative position and contacts the sheet material. As shown in FIG. 7C, the adhesion assisting portion 215 in this embodiment has a shape that covers at least part of the periphery of the applied adhesive (adhesive portion 251) when it contacts the sheet material at the operating position. be. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the adhesion assisting portion 215 from coming into contact with the adhesive, thereby preventing displacement of the adhesion position of the sheet material.

Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the adhesion assisting portion 215 preferably has a shape that covers the upper portion of the applied adhesive. Thereby, it is possible to further prevent the sheet material to which the adhesive is not applied from coming into contact with the adhesive.

Considering the above, it is preferable that the adhesion assisting part 215, when moved to the operating position, covers at least a part of the periphery and upper part of the applied adhesive and presses the stacked sheet material. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the adhesive applied to the stacked sheet materials 201b from coming into contact with the next sheet material 201c regardless of the form of the next sheet material 201c. Therefore, clogging, damage, etc. of the sheet material can be further suppressed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which the operating position shown in FIG. 6 has returned to the standby position. Similar to FIG. 6, FIG. 8(A) is a schematic side view showing an example of the standby position, and FIG. 8(B) is an enlarged schematic view of a main part in a of FIG. 8(A). As shown in FIG. 8, according to the present embodiment, after applying the adhesive 250 to the sheet material 201b, the next sheet material 201c can be stacked without causing problems such as sheet material jamming.

When returning from the operating position shown in FIG. 6 to the standby position shown in FIG. 8, the adhesion assisting section 215 rotates to lift the edge of the sheet material 201c. However, in this embodiment, the area of the portion to which the adhesive is applied (bonding portion) is small, so the length of the adhesion assisting portion 215, in other words, the portion covering the bonding portion does not need to be large (long). Therefore, when the adhesion assisting unit 215 returns to the standby position, the sheet material 201c is lifted to a small height, and even when the adhesion assisting unit 215 returns to the standby position, the stacking state of the sheet materials is not disturbed or disturbed. can be made smaller. Therefore, there is no influence on the adhesiveness of the sheet materials and the alignment accuracy of the sheet materials, or the influence can be reduced.

Next, an example in which the adhesive applying unit 203 applies the adhesive will be described.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of a process of transferring from the standby position shown in FIG. 8 to the operating position and applying adhesive. Similar to FIG. 8, FIG. 9(A) is a schematic side view showing an example of the operating position, and FIG. 9(B) is an enlarged schematic view of a main part in a of FIG. 9(A).

As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, after the sheet material 201c is conveyed, the adhesive application unit 203 moves in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, and the adhesive application unit 203 moves the sheet material 201c. An adhesive 250 is applied to the . Here, for example, it is described that the adhesive applying section 203 moves to the operating position, but in addition to this, it may be said that the second adhesion assisting unit 233 moves to the operating position. Also, the operating position for applying the adhesive may be referred to as an adhesive application position or the like.

In the present embodiment, the adhesive applying section 203 moves from the standby position to the operating position, presses the surface of the sheet material at the operating position, and returns to the standby position from the operating position. , to apply adhesive to the next sheet material. The flow of this series of processes is, for example, in the order of FIGS. By doing so, jamming of the sheet material can be prevented regardless of the shape of the next sheet material, and damage to the sheet material can be reduced.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example when the operating position shown in FIG. 9 is shifted to the standby position. Similar to FIG. 9, FIG. 10(A) is a schematic side view showing an example of the standby position, and FIG. 10(B) is an enlarged schematic view of a main part in a of FIG. 10(A).

As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, after the adhesive applying unit 203 applies the adhesive 250 to the sheet material 201c, the adhesive applying unit 203 moves in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, Return to standby position. Similar to the above, the adhesive applying section 203 may return to the standby position, and the second adhesion assisting unit 233 may return to the standby position. After performing the processing of FIG. 10, for example, the processing of FIG. 6 is performed.

In this embodiment, each time the sheet material 201 is conveyed to the staple tray 125, the processes shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 are repeated. The first auxiliary adhesion unit 230 and the second auxiliary adhesion unit 233 are configured separately, and neither of them flips up the sheet material 201, so that the sheet material 201 can be prevented from being damaged. Further, since the sheet material 201 is not flipped up, the sheet material 201 can be adhered without disturbing the stacking state.

In this embodiment, it is preferable that the adhesion assisting unit 215 also presses the final sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit, and the adhesive application unit 203 does not apply adhesive to the final sheet material. . The final sheet material to be stacked on the sheet material stacking section is also pressed by the adhesion assisting portion 215, so that the final sheet material can be reliably bonded. In addition, by not applying adhesive to the final sheet material, it is possible to prevent unnecessary application of adhesive. It is possible to prevent the bundle of the sheets from being glued together.

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the adhesive is used for the bonding process, there is no need to use needles, and the obtained bundle of sheet materials can be directly shredded. Further, in the present embodiment, clogging of the sheet materials can be suppressed, and the alignment accuracy of the sheet materials can be improved, so that the number of sheet materials to be subjected to the bonding process can be increased.

Further, according to the mode of applying the adhesive in the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress damage to the sheet materials without lowering the alignment accuracy of the sheet materials. For example, in the prior art, when the adhesive is applied, the bonding machine rises so as to flip up the sheet material to apply the adhesive. was damaged. If the stacking state of the sheet materials is disturbed, it is difficult for the sheet materials to be aligned, and for example, some sheet materials protrude from the file during filing. According to this embodiment, a bundle of sheet materials with good quality can be obtained.

Next, another example of the adhesion assisting portion 215 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG.
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining another example of the adhesion assisting portion 215. In this example of the adhesion assisting portion 215, the part that contacts the sheet material is an elastic body. FIG. 11(A) is a schematic side view of the adhesion assisting portion 215 of this example, and FIG. 11(B) is a schematic plan view when viewed from direction b in FIG. 11(A).

As shown in FIG. 11, by forming an elastic body 237 at a portion that contacts the sheet material, the load applied to the surface of the sheet material can be reduced, and damage to the sheet material can be prevented. The elastic body 237 is not particularly limited, and a known elastic body such as rubber can be used.

In the above description, the portion that contacts the sheet material is the elastic body 237, but other expressions are possible. For example, an elastic body 237 may be provided on the surface of the adhesion assisting portion 215 that contacts and presses the surface of the sheet material.

Also in the example shown in FIG. 11, it is preferable that the adhesion assisting portion 215 has a slope 215a on the tip side, and has a shape that scoops up the conveyed sheet material with the slope 215a when it is in the operating position. is illustrated as By doing so, the above effect, for example, the effect that the sheet material can be received smoothly and easily can be obtained.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining still another example of the adhesion assisting portion 215. In this example of the adhesion assisting portion 215, the inclined surface 215a on the tip side is made of a resin sheet 238. As shown in FIG. FIG. 12(A) is a schematic side view of the adhesion assisting portion 215 of this example, and FIG. 12(B) is a schematic plan view when viewed from direction b in FIG. 12(A).

In the example shown in FIG. 12, the adhesion assisting portion 215 has a slope 215a on the tip end side, and has a shape for scooping up the conveyed sheet material with the slope 215a when it is in the operating position. As shown in FIG. 12, the inclined surface 215a on the tip side of the adhesion assisting portion 215 is composed of a resin sheet 238. As shown in FIG. As a result, it is possible to easily receive the sheet material smoothly with an inexpensive structure, and to reduce damage to the sheet material. The resin sheet 238 is not particularly limited, and known resins can be used.

The sheet material processing apparatus of the present embodiment may include stapling means that performs a process of binding sheet materials without using an adhesive. In the present embodiment, the process of binding the sheet materials without using an adhesive may be performed by binding the sheet materials using staples or by binding the sheet materials without using staples. When the stapling means is provided, the sheet material processing apparatus of the present embodiment can select whether to perform the bonding process by the bonding unit or to perform the sheet material binding process by the stapling means.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a sheet material processing apparatus provided with stapling means. FIG. 13(A) is a schematic view of the entire main part of the sheet material processing apparatus of this example as viewed from above, and FIG. 13(B) is an enlarged schematic view of the main part of FIG. 13(A). Note that the stapling means may be called a stapler or the like.

In FIG. 13, the sheet processing apparatus of this example is shown to include a gluing unit 126 and stapling means 260 . The gluing unit 126 and stapling means 260 are fixed to the rotating plate 219 . The moving plate 220 supports the rotating plate 219 so that the rotating plate 219 can rotate. A belt 224 is fixed to the moving plate 220 , and the belt 224 meshes with pulleys 225 provided on two pairs of frames 226 .

The pulley 225 is driven by a drive motor (not shown) to freely move the moving plate 220 in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the sheet material 201 (arrow in FIG. 13A). Is possible. A stepping motor, for example, can be used as this drive motor, and it is possible to freely move the moving plate 220 to a specified position by pulse control.

By making the moving plate 220 moveable, the adhesive application area can be increased at an arbitrary position, and the binding force can be improved. To increase the application area, for example, there is a method of increasing the width of application of the adhesive in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the sheet material. Further, by increasing the application area of the adhesive in this way, it is possible to obtain a good binding force even when the sheet material is, for example, cardboard.

A pulley 239 is fixed to the rotating plate 219 . A drive motor 222 is fixed to the moving plate 220 , and the drive motor 222 is meshed with a pulley 239 via a belt 221 . A stepping motor, for example, can be used as the drive motor 222, and pulse control can rotate the adhesion unit 126 and the stapling means 260 to predetermined positions. By controlling the rotation, the adhesion unit 126 and the stapling means 260 can change the positions of pressing the sheet material, applying adhesive, and binding the sheet material, and can change the positions of these processes. can be processed.

Further, by rotating the bonding unit 126 and the stapling means 260 with the driving motor 222, it is possible to select whether to perform the bonding process by the bonding unit 126 or to perform the sheet material binding process by the stapling means 260. FIG. As a processing method for the sheet material 201, a processing of bundling with an adhesive, a processing of binding by the stapling means 260, or the like can be selected, and the processing method can be selected according to the purpose of use of the user.

Further, in the present embodiment, in the processing by the stapling means 260, it is possible to perform the stapling processing (binding processing) after the adhesive is applied by the bonding unit 126. FIG. In this case, when stapling a large number of sheet materials, binding deviation can be suppressed, and alignment accuracy can be improved.

A rack 228 is fixed to the frame 226, and the rack 228 meshes with a pinion gear (not shown). A pinion gear is provided on the drive motor 227, for example. A stepping motor, for example, can be used as the driving motor 227, and the frame 226 can be moved in the conveying direction of the sheet material by pulse control. As a result, the adhesive unit 126 and the stapling means 260 can be moved in the sheet conveying direction, and it is also possible to freely set the position to apply the adhesive, the position to perform the stapling process, and the like.

By making the frame 226 movable, it is possible to increase the application area of the adhesive at an arbitrary position and improve the binding force. In order to increase the application area, for example, a method of increasing the width of application of the adhesive with respect to the conveying direction of the sheet material can be used. Further, by increasing the application area of the adhesive in this way, it is possible to obtain a good binding force even when the sheet material is, for example, cardboard.

In this embodiment, as described with reference to FIGS. 4, 13, etc., the bonding unit 126 is arranged to be perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet material is conveyed to the sheet material stacking unit (staple tray 125) (the conveying direction of the sheet material). It is preferable to be able to move in the direction to By doing so, the adhesive can be applied to an arbitrary position on the sheet material, and the area to which the adhesive is applied can be increased at an arbitrary position, so that the binding force can be further improved. Further, in this embodiment, as described above, it is preferable that the adhesive unit 126 is movable in the conveying direction of the sheet material. You can get the same effect as In addition, it becomes possible to use it according to the purpose of the user.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the stapling means 260 is provided, the stapling means 260 is preferably movable in the sheet conveying direction, and preferably movable perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction. By doing so, the stapling process can be performed at any position, and the user's purpose of use can be achieved.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. A description of the same items as in the above embodiment is omitted. The configurations applicable in the above embodiments are also applicable in this embodiment.

In the example described in the above embodiment, when the adhesive is applied, the process shown in FIG. 6 is performed, and then the process shown in FIG. 8 is performed. That is, the adhesive is applied after the adhesion assisting portion 215 returns to the standby position. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the adhesive may be applied before the adhesion assisting portion 215 returns to the standby position as in this embodiment.

The sheet material processing apparatus of this embodiment includes a sheet material stacking unit for stacking sheet materials, an aligning unit for aligning the sheet materials conveyed to the sheet material stacking unit, an adhesion unit for performing adhesion processing on the sheet materials, , wherein the adhesion unit includes an adhesive application section that applies adhesive to at least a portion of the sheet material on one surface of the sheet material; and an adhesive applied to the sheet material. an adhesion assisting part capable of covering at least part of the adhesive to prevent the adhesive from adhering to other sheet materials stacked on the sheet material, and capable of pressing the surface of the sheet material; At least part of the adhesion assisting portion can be positioned on the sheet material lamination portion, and at least one of pressing the sheet material and preventing adhesion of the adhesive is performed. and a standby position in which both pressing of the sheet material and prevention of adhesion of the adhesive are performed. After performing at least one of pressing the sheet material and preventing adhesion of the adhesive at the operating position, applying adhesive to the next sheet material before returning from the operating position to the standby position. Characterized by

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram for explaining the processing of the sheet material processing apparatus of this embodiment. 14A and 14B are diagrams for explaining the processing after FIG. 6, FIG. 14A is a schematic side view, and FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram; FIG.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the adhesive 250 is applied to the next sheet material 201c before the adhesion assisting portion 215 returns from the operating position to the standby position. In other words, the adhesive is applied by the adhesive applying section 203 while the next sheet material 201 c is placed on the adhesion assisting section 215 .

The timing at which the adhesion assisting portion 215 returns to the standby position can be selected as appropriate. For example, after pressing the sheet material at the operating position, the adhesion assisting section 215 returns to the standby position after the next sheet material is conveyed and the adhesive application section 203 applies adhesive to the next sheet material. It is preferable to In this case, it is possible to prevent the adhesion assisting portion 215 from colliding with the adhesive applying portion 203 .

In this embodiment, it is possible to shorten the time until the application of the adhesive is completed. In this embodiment, for example, after the adhesive is applied to the sheet material 201c by the adhesive applying unit 203, when the adhesive applying unit 203 starts returning to the standby position, the adhesion assisting unit 215 also starts returning to the standby position. . As a result, the time until the application of the adhesive is completed can be shortened.

As described above, the configuration described in the above embodiment can be applied to this embodiment. For example, the configuration of the adhesion assisting section 215, the adhesive application section 203, the stapling means 260, and the like, and the preferred configuration can be applied. Also in this embodiment, the adhesion assisting unit 215 also presses the final sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking unit, and the adhesive application unit 203 does not apply adhesive to the final sheet material. is preferred. In this case, in this embodiment, after pressing the sheet material immediately before the final sheet material, the adhesion assisting unit 215 returns to the standby position, and after the final sheet material is conveyed, the final sheet material is pressed. conduct. Therefore, the two sheet materials are continuously pressed.

100 Image forming device 125 Staple tray 126 Adhesive unit 130 Image forming unit 133 Sheet processing devices 201, 201a, 201b, 201c Sheet material 203 Adhesive applying unit 215 Adhesive assist unit 230 First adhesive assist unit 233 Second adhesive assist unit 236 Reference fence 250 adhesive 251 adhesive portion 260 staple means

JP-A-1-303270 JP 2015-063394 A JP 2014-105066 A

Claims (14)

a sheet material stacking unit for stacking sheet materials;
aligning means for aligning the sheet materials conveyed to the sheet material stacking unit;
A sheet material processing apparatus comprising: a bonding unit that performs bonding processing on a sheet material,
The adhesive unit includes an adhesive application section that applies adhesive to at least a portion of the sheet material on one side of the sheet material, and an adhesive that covers at least a portion of the adhesive applied to the sheet material and the adhesive and an adhesion assisting part capable of preventing adhesion to other sheet materials stacked on the sheet material and capable of pressing the surface of the sheet material,
At least part of the adhesion assisting part can be positioned on the sheet material lamination part, and the operation position is such that at least one of pressing the sheet material and preventing adhesion of the adhesive is performed. and a standby position where neither pressing of the sheet material nor prevention of adhesion of the adhesive is performed,
The adhesive application unit moves from the standby position to the operating position, performs at least one of pressing the sheet material and preventing adhesion of the adhesive at the operating position, and moves from the operating position to the standby position. A sheet material processing apparatus characterized by applying adhesive to the next sheet material after returning to a position. 2. The sheet according to claim 1, wherein the adhesion assisting part moves to the operating position before the adhesive applied to the sheet material adheres to another sheet material stacked on the sheet material. material handling equipment. a sheet material stacking unit for stacking sheet materials;
aligning means for aligning the sheet materials conveyed to the sheet material stacking unit;
A sheet material processing apparatus comprising: a bonding unit that performs bonding processing on a sheet material,
The adhesive unit includes an adhesive application section that applies adhesive to at least a portion of the sheet material on one side of the sheet material, and an adhesive that covers at least a portion of the adhesive applied to the sheet material and the adhesive and an adhesion assisting part capable of preventing adhesion to other sheet materials stacked on the sheet material and capable of pressing the surface of the sheet material,
At least part of the adhesion assisting part can be positioned on the sheet material lamination part, and the operation position is such that at least one of pressing the sheet material and preventing adhesion of the adhesive is performed. and a standby position where neither pressing of the sheet material nor prevention of adhesion of the adhesive is performed,
The adhesive applying section moves from the standby position to the operating position and presses the sheet material and/or prevents adhesion of the adhesive at the operating position. A sheet material processing apparatus, wherein an adhesive is applied to the next sheet material before returning to the standby position. After pressing the sheet material at the operating position, the adhesion assisting section returns to the standby position after the next sheet material is conveyed and the adhesive application section applies adhesive to the next sheet material. The sheet material processing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized by: 5. The adhesion assisting part, when moved to the operating position, covers at least a part of the periphery and upper part of the applied adhesive, and presses the stacked sheet materials. The sheet material processing apparatus according to any one of . The sheet material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the adhesion assisting section presses one sheet material a plurality of times. The adhesion assisting section also presses the final sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking section,
The sheet material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the adhesive applying section does not apply adhesive to the final sheet material. The sheet material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a portion of the adhesion assisting portion that contacts the sheet material is an elastic body. The adhesion assisting part has a slope on the leading end side when the side of the conveying source of the sheet material is defined as the leading end side in a side view, and scoops up the sheet material conveyed at the operating position on the slope. The sheet material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it has a shape. 10. The sheet material processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the inclined surface on the leading end side is made of a resin sheet. The sheet material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the adhesion unit is movable in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the sheet material is conveyed to the sheet material stacking section. Equipped with stapling means for performing a process of binding sheet materials without using an adhesive,
The sheet material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein it is possible to select whether to perform the bonding process by the bonding unit or to perform the sheet material binding process by the stapling means. The aligning means has a sheet material stop portion provided on an end side of the sheet material stacking portion,
13. The sheet material processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material is aligned by abutting an end portion of the conveyed sheet material against the sheet material stopper. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

Images