JP2772635B2 - Bookbinding device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a bookbinding apparatus, and more particularly, to a bookbinding apparatus which stacks copies discharged from a copying machine and binds them by a stapler (trade name) or the like. (Prior Art) As is well known, when a set of originals composed of a plurality of sheets is copied by a copying machine, a completed copy (hereinafter, referred to as a copy) is manually placed at one corner or at one of two corners.
The three places may be stapled using a stapler such as a stapler (product name). By the way, recently, as part of office automation, a recycle-type automatic document feeder (RADF) is being used, in which a set of documents is automatically fed onto the contact glass of the copier. One exposure is performed for each document feed, and the document is fed by circulating the required number of times and the copier continuously outputs a required number of copies of a series of copies, so-called copies. Is done. Therefore, if a simple bookbinding machine that can automatically bind one set of copies that are continuously discharged with a stapler is connected to the copy discharge port of the copying machine, the labor required for bookbinding is reduced. The speed of bookbinding is increased, which is convenient. Therefore, as an example of such a bookbinding apparatus, there is an apparatus shown in FIG. That is, the bookbinding apparatus 100 is arranged adjacent to the copying machine main body 200 such that the reception port 101 is connected to the copy discharge port 201 of the copying machine main body 200. Inside the apparatus 100, guides 2 and 3 are provided subsequent to the copy receiving port 101, receiving rollers 4 and 5 are provided along the guides 2 and 3, and the tray 6 which is lowered forward in the copy discharge direction. Is provided. A pair of side guide plates 7 and 8 are provided on the side of the tray 6 so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the copy, and at the very end of the tray 6, in other words, near the lowermost position. An end stopper 9 which enters the tray 6 only when stapling a copy is provided, and a stapler 10 is fixed near both sides of the end stopper 9. In such a bookbinding apparatus 100, copying introduced in page order from the copying machine main body 200 to the reception port 101 is performed by a guide.
Guided by the guides 2 and 3 on the tray 6 and stapled by the stapler 10 with the side end and the end aligned by the side guide plate 7 and the end stopper 9 (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 60-180897). Gazette). By the way, in the bookbinding apparatus having the above-described structure, the stapler 10 is fixedly provided in the apparatus, and therefore, when binding a set of copies, it is necessary to move the copy to the position of the stapler 10. As a result, the stapling position is limited irrespective of the size and the traveling direction of the copy. Further, in the case of small-size copying, there is a possibility that sufficient movement to the position corresponding to the stapler may not be performed or alignment may be insufficient. This has a greater effect depending on whether the discharge state of the copy is the center reference or the end face reference. (Purpose) It is an object of the present invention to move a guide fence according to whether a copy discharged from a copying machine is discharged based on a center or an end face, and then stapling the bookbinding apparatus. There is to get. (Structure) In order to achieve this object, the present invention relates to a bookbinding apparatus in which a stapler binds a plurality of stacked copies ejected from an ejection section of a copying machine, and a discharge direction of the copy from the ejection section. A guide fence that is arranged so that at least a part thereof faces the side edge parallel to the movable member, is movable in a direction that comes into contact with and separates from the side edge, and guides the copied matter discharged from the discharge unit to be aligned, A guide fence drive unit for moving the guide fence, a stapler movable in a direction along an edge perpendicular to the discharge direction of the copy, and a stapler drive unit for moving the stapler; The group of copies output from the copier is output on the basis of data sent from the copying machine, indicating whether the output is output based on the center or the end face. The stapler drives the stapler at the predetermined position after the stapler driving unit moves the guide fence and the stapler driving unit moves the stapler to the predetermined position. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11. FIG. 1 is a view for explaining the overall configuration of a bookbinding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The receiving port 1001 is connected to the copy discharge port 2001 of the printer 2000, and is arranged adjacent to the copying machine 2000. Inside the bookbinding apparatus 1000, a copy conveyance path A is formed by a pair of guide plates 15 and 16 extending from the reception port 1001. A plurality of rollers 17 are arranged. A discharge port for discharging non-stapled copies is provided at a position opposite to the reception port 1001 in the transport path A.
1002 is provided.
Are provided on the wall of the bookbinding apparatus 1000. On the other hand, the vicinity of the discharge port 1002 in the transport path A branches downward in the figure, and a swingable pawl 19 connected to driving means (not shown) is provided at the branch position. The transport path B branched from the transport path A is a pair of guide plates 20.
a, 20b, and a plurality of pairs of transport rollers 21 are provided at key points of the transport rollers 21 so as to oppose each other with the transport path B interposed therebetween. In the vicinity of the end of the transport path B, a tray 22 is disposed at a copy storage position, which is an intermediary stack portion parallel to the transport path A for storing a copy. The tray 22 is provided with a stopper 22a that is upright at the leading end of the copy and stops the leading end of the copy. In the vicinity of the stopper 22a of the tray 22, as will be described later, a pair of staplers 23 movable in the width direction of the copy is provided.
(In the present embodiment, the stapler 23 is a pair, but may be one.) In the lower part of the tray 22, a transport belt 24 to which a single member 24a which abuts on the copy front end is fixed is located. ing. The transport belt 24 includes a plurality of rollers 25, 26, 27
And the flat part moves in the copy discharge direction (the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure). On the other hand, in the transport path A described above, a punch 28 for forming a string binding hole for copying is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat in the transport path A. A swingable locking piece 29 for stopping the copy front end is arranged. A swingable support arm 30 is provided above the tray 22.
A feeding member 30 with a roller 31 attached to the tip of a is arranged,
The output port 103 is located on the copy output port 1003 side of the tray 22.
A copy receiver 32 communicating with 03 is fixed to a wall of the bookbinding apparatus 1000. In the vicinity of the copy receiving port 1001 in the transport path A, in front of the punch 28, in the vicinity of the discharge ports 1002, 1003, and in the transport path B, in front of the tray 22, switches S1, which are activated by the passage of a copy, are provided. S2, S3, S4, and S5 are provided, respectively, and the actuators enter the copy conveyance path. The switch S6 is located in front of the pair of staplers 23 in the moving direction of the transport belt 24 and corresponds to the one member 24a. The switch S6 is operated by the one-piece member 24a. At the time of the operation, the switch S6 stops the transport belt 24 and places the belt 24 at the starting position. On the other hand, guide fences 34 to be described later are arranged on both sides of the tray 22, which is the above-mentioned intermediate stacking section. That is, the tray 22 corresponding to the copy storage position
, The pair of staplers 23 are, as shown in FIG.
Corresponds to the leading edge of the copy, and a pair of guide fences
Reference numeral 34 denotes a side edge in the width direction, which is one of the edges of the copy, that is, a side edge parallel to the copy conveyance direction, and is provided so that at least a part thereof faces the side edge. The pair of staplers 23 are configured to be movable in the width direction of the copy, that is, along the leading edge of the copy, in conjunction with a stepping motor as stapler driving means (not shown), and the pair of guide fences 34 are also not shown. In conjunction with a stepping motor as a guide fence driving means, the guide fence can be moved in the width direction of the copy, that is, in the direction approaching or separating from the side edge parallel to the copy transport direction. The above-described guide fences 34 are configured by a pair of combinations, but the movements thereof are performed both independently or independently. The stepping motor described above, as shown in FIG.
It is driven by a driver 35 connected to a microcomputer 33 that forms a control unit of the bookbinding apparatus. That is, the microcomputer 33 is connected to the control CPU of the copying machine 1000, and is connected to the above-described switches via an interface (not shown). The microcomputer 33 has a control CP for the copying machine 2000.
The data is serially transferred from U, and the contents of the data include the staple position, the number of staples, the size of the copy, and the discharge state (center reference, end face reference) with respect to the copy discharged from the copying machine 2000. . The microcomputer to which such data was transferred
33 drives a stepping motor in accordance with the data, and a pair of stapler 23 and a pair of guide fences 34
As appropriate for copying. Since the present embodiment has the above-described structure, the operation will be described below with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. That is, in FIG. 7, when the power of the bookbinding apparatus 1000 is turned on, it is determined whether or not the pair of guide fences 34 is at the home position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. It is determined whether or not the pair of staplers 23 is at the home position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. In this embodiment, the control CP of the copying machine 2000 is used.
The operation of the bookbinding apparatus is performed based on the instruction of U, and as shown in FIG. 8, it is determined whether or not the copy ejected from the copying machine 2000 requires a punch. Insert the locking piece 29 in A and punch
28 to make a copy for string binding, and to determine whether this copy is a single sheet that does not require staples or a set of copies that require staples, Perform switching. In the case of a single copy, the copy passing through the transport path A is discharged to the copy receiver 18, and in the case of a set of copies, after confirming that the final copy has been stocked by the tray 22, Is stapled by the selected stapler 23. After this, the copy is
The retracted position of 30 causes the tray 22 to be in a discharge position, and is moved by the one member 24a along with the movement of the conveyor belt 24 to be ejected to the copy receiver 32, and the conveyor belt 24 is operated by operating the switch S6. It is in the starting position. When the copy requiring staples is ejected from the copying machine 2000, the microcomputer 33 operates by transferring data relating to the copy by the control CPU of the copying machine 2000. That is, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), the microcomputer 33 checks in step ST1 in FIG. 9 whether the data from the control CPU of the copying machine 2000 is a copy of the central reference. If there is, the copy size is checked in steps ST2 and ST3, and A3
Assuming the plate size, the stepping motor is driven to adjust the pair of guide fences 34 to the width of the size, and the stepping motor is driven to adjust the positions of the pair of staplers 23 to the width of the size. Accordingly, when the copies are stacked on the tray 22, the guide fence guides the side edges parallel to the transport direction by the guide fence and aligns the copies, and binds the copies at the aligned positions. In this case, in the embodiment, each of the staplers 23 corresponds to a respective home position of the guide fence 34.
Then, it is checked in step ST4 whether the staple position by the stapler 23 is a single stop at the left or right,
In response to the stop, the stapler flag is set to steps ST5 and ST.
The stapler 23 is set to "1" and the selected stapler 23 is operated to perform stapling at the stapling position indicated by the symbol S in FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (B). If the stapling position is not at either the left or right, it is determined that the stapling is at two points, and the stepping motor is driven to move the pair of staplers 23 continuously to two locations at the center, and selection is made at each location. The both staplers 23 thus operated are operated to perform stapling as shown in FIG. 4 (C). On the other hand, if the size is not A3 version, step ST3
, The staple position is determined and set in the same manner (the contents of the flowchart indicated by reference numeral C in the figure are executed). When the data from the control CPU of the copying machine 2000 is based on the end face, as shown in FIG. 5B, the microcomputer 33 checks the copy size in steps ST10 and ST11 in FIG. Now, assuming that the size is A3, a stepping motor is driven to move one of the guide fences 34 and one of the staplers 23 in accordance with the size of the guide fences. Is shown.). Then, as in the case of FIG. 9, the stapling position is checked, and the stapler 23 is operated after the stapler 23 is associated with the stapling position. As described above, in the microcomputer 33, the pair of guide fences 34 and the pair of staplers 23 are selectively provided in accordance with the size and discharge state of the copy discharged from the copying machine 2000, and the staple position and the number of staples. Is controlled. FIG. 11 is a timing chart showing the operation timings of the switches, the selected stapler, and the members interposed in the transport path. (Effects) As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the discharge of the copying machine is performed according to whether the copy discharged from the copying machine is discharged based on the center reference or the end face reference. Since the guide fence having the function of guiding the copies discharged from the copy unit is moved, the guide fence can be used in common with a copying machine that discharges the copies based on any standard. It is possible to provide a bookbinding apparatus which can bind the sheets after they have been discharged according to the standard by aligning them with the guide fence.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view for explaining the overall configuration of a bookbinding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing one embodiment of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system used in the example, FIG. 4 is a plan view of a copy showing one operation of the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a copy discharge mode applied to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 7 to 10 are flowcharts showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11 is a timing chart of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is sectional drawing of a bookbinding apparatus. 23: stapler, 34: guide fence, 33: microcomputer, 1000: bookbinding device, 2000: copying machine.

   ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page       (56) References JP-A-59-22797 (JP, A)                 JP-A-61-174064 (JP, A)                 JP-A-60-141591 (JP, A)                 JP-A-62-288003 (JP, A)                 JP-A-57-120952 (JP, A)                 JP-A-60-260965 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] In a bookbinding apparatus in which a stapler binds a plurality of stacked copies discharged from a discharge unit of a copying machine, a stapler binds at least a part of the copy to a side edge parallel to a discharge direction of the copy from the discharge unit. A guide fence that is arranged and is movable in a direction that comes into contact with and separates from the side edge, and guides the copies discharged from the discharge unit to be aligned; a guide fence driving unit that moves the guide fence; A stapler movable in a direction along an edge perpendicular to the discharge direction of the object; and a stapler driving means for moving the stapler, wherein a group of copies discharged from the discharge unit is discharged on a central basis. The guide fence driving means moves the guide fence based on the data sent from the copier, whether the paper is ejected or discharged based on the end face. After the stapler driving means moves the stapler into position, the bookbinding apparatus the stapler and performing a binding work in the predetermined position. 2. 2. The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stapler is arranged at a copy accommodation position where the guide fence is arranged.