JP2849914B2 - Paper folding device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet folding device used to fold a sheet.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art A paper folding device that folds paper such as copy paper, recording paper, and printing paper discharged from an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and a printing machine is known.

FIG. 7 shows one prior art example, in which a sheet 2 discharged from an image forming apparatus 1 enters a folding apparatus 3 and passes through a sheet conveying roller pair 4 on an entrance side to form a pair of sheets. It passes between the folding rollers 5 and 6.

Next, the leading end of the sheet contacts the stopper member 19, and the sheet is temporarily stopped. However, since the sheet is continuously fed by the folding rollers 5 and 6, the sheet is caused to be slacked downward in the figure in combination with the guiding action by the guide plate 25 as shown in FIG. The portion is held between the folding rollers 6 and 7 forming a pair in the lateral direction. When the sheet 2 passes between the folding rollers 6 and 7, the sheet 2 is folded in two as shown in FIG. 9, and is discharged downward after the folding is completed. And
As shown in FIG. 10, a sheet folded in two sheets is obtained.

In the case of two-folding, the printing is finished in this state. In the case of the so-called "Z-folding", the sheet is folded as follows. First, after the first-stage folding step shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the bent portion 2A is brought into contact with the stopper member 20 as shown in FIG. Next, as the sheet is fed, the leading edge of the sheet advances upward, and as shown in FIG.
Together with the second bent portion 2B, the sheet is clamped between the rollers 7, 8, and thereafter, the sheet in a Z-folded state as shown by a broken line is discharged.

Thus, when the stopper member 20 is closed as shown in FIG. 12, Z-folding is performed, and when the stopper member 20 is opened as shown in FIG. 9, two-folding is performed. is there. In FIG. 7, the stopper member 19 is also openable and closable together with the stopper member 20. When the folding is not performed, the stopper member 19 is open and the sheet passes through the discharge roller pair 17 as it is. The paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 18.

In the two-fold mode, the paper is fed to the intermediate transport roller pair
3, 14 and the discharge tray 18 from the discharge roller pair 16
Is discharged. In the case of the Z-fold mode, the sheet passes through the intermediate transport roller pair 15 and is discharged from the discharge roller pair 16 to the discharge tray 18.

FIG. 13 shows a conventional example of a sheet folding apparatus that performs seven-folding. Reference numerals 5 to 12 are folding rollers, and reference numerals 19 to 24 are stopper members for determining a folding position.

When the sheet is discharged to the right in the figure through the space between the folding rollers 7 and 8, the sheet is folded as shown in FIG. 14 (A). On the other hand, when the paper is discharged from the final-stage folding rollers 11 and 12, the sheet is folded in seven as shown in FIG.

According to this example, it is impossible to fold as shown in FIG. 14 (C), and the part indicated by a is necessarily folded as shown by the broken line. This is because, as shown in FIG. 16, the leading end of the sheet is positioned above the bent portion 2B, and is held by the rollers 7, 8. On the other hand, the folding as shown in FIG. 14 (B) is possible. This is because both the rollers 7, 8 are positioned while the leading edge of the sheet is positioned in a state in which
It is because it is added. In FIG. 14 (C), the protruding portion indicated by a is used for displaying a drawing number, a name, and the like when the sheet is a drawing, for example, on the surface indicated by b.

In the example shown in FIG. 15, the slack portion of the paper is
A knife edge 26 driven to move up and down is used in order to make it easy to hold the paper folding device between them, and a paper folding device having such a configuration has been used conventionally.

In the above-described conventional example, the sheet is folded using a set of rollers (three rollers) and a stopper member that basically form an L-shape. The number of combinations of rollers and the number of stopper members increase. Further, as the number of folds increases, the thickness of the sheet increases, so that the rotational load of the rollers when passing between the folding rollers increases.

Further, when the folded size of the paper becomes large, the stopper member is disposed at a position away from the folding roller, so that the entire apparatus becomes bulky,
When the number of times of folding increases, the number of stopper members is required.

Further, in the case of using the knife edge 26 (FIG. 15), not only the lifting / lowering drive means is required, but also the lifting / lowering timing must be set in a subtle manner.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet folding apparatus which eliminates the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks and can easily and surely fold a sheet at an arbitrary position with a simple configuration.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides at least a pair of rollers that are driven in synchronization with each other along a paper transport path, and engages each of the pair of rollers by rotating the pair of rollers. A concave groove and a projection are provided for forming a fold in the direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction with respect to the paper, and the leading end of the transported paper is located upstream of the pair of rollers in the paper transport direction. Providing a paper detection means for detecting, and providing a counter to start counting when the leading edge of the paper is detected by the paper detection means, disposed between the pair of rollers and its driving source,
The control is switched between an ON state in which the rotation from the drive source is transmitted to the pair of rollers and an OFF state in which the rotation from the drive source is not transmitted to the pair of rollers, and the counted number is counted after the counter starts counting. A paper folding device is provided, which is provided with a clutch that is controlled to switch from an off state to an on state when a predetermined value is reached.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, a paper folding device 32 of the present embodiment is connected to an image forming device 31. First, the sheet 2 discharged from the image forming apparatus 31 is held by the sheet conveying roller pair 33 on the entrance side of the sheet folding apparatus 32. Along at least a pair of rollers, in the example shown, two pairs of rollers 34, 35; 36, 37 are provided along the sheet transport path between the sheet transport roller pair 33 and the sheet discharge roller pair 38.

In FIG. 2, the roller 34 has a knife edge-like projection member 3 having a thickness of about 0.05 to 0.2 mm at one place on the circumference.
Part of 4A is embedded, and the other part protrudes from its peripheral surface. Hereinafter, this portion is referred to as a “projection”. This is provided in parallel with the axial direction of the roller and over the entire width in the longitudinal direction of the roller.

It is to be noted that if the tip of the projection 34A is formed in an acute edge shape and the tip edge thereof is flat or slightly R-shaped, it is effective in forming a fold on a sheet as described later. It is.

On the other hand, the roller 35 has a groove width that engages with the protrusion 34A.
A concave groove 35B of about 0.1 to 0.5 mm is provided, and the concave groove 35B is chamfered in an R-shape on the entrance side, and the groove at the back is flat. The next pair of rollers 36 and 37 are also provided with a concave groove 36B and a protrusion 37A, respectively. In this example, the method of providing the concave groove and the protrusion is opposite to that of the rollers 34 and 35. The concave grooves provided on the rollers 35 and 36 are basically set to a thickness of two sheets and a groove width in consideration of a clearance between the protrusions and the protrusions.

In this manner, each of the pair of rollers 34, 35; 36, 37 has a rotation of the pair of rollers, as described later,
Grooves 35B, 36B and projections 3 for engaging each other to make a crease in the paper 2 in a direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction.
4A and 37A are provided respectively.

On the other hand, on the upstream side of the pair of rollers 34 and 35 in the paper transport direction, a paper detection unit including a paper detection sensor 40 for detecting the leading end of the paper 2 being transported is provided.

Each roller is rotatably driven by a drive motor 41 serving as a drive source of the present apparatus. For example, motor 41
Is rotated, the pulley 48 is rotated via the transmission member 42,
The rollers 34 and 35 are driven via the clutch 52 and the gears 54 and 55, respectively. At this time, the rollers 34 and 35 are driven synchronously with each other because the gears 54 and 55 are interposed therebetween. Other rollers 36,3
7 is driven in the same manner, but the sheet transport roller pair 33 and the sheet discharge roller pair 38 are directly driven and rotated by the drive member 42 without passing through a clutch or a gear. 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 49, 50 in FIG.
This is a pulley around which the transmission member 42 is wound.

The clutch 52 is disposed between the pair of rollers 34, 35 and the drive motor 41, and is connected to, for example, the lower roller 35 of the two rollers 34, 35. Specifically, FIG. It is configured as shown in FIG. The clutch 52 includes, for example, a spring clutch 60, and a solenoid 58, an engagement lever 59, and the like are combined with the clutch.

Here, in FIG. 2, when the leading edge of the sheet 2 is detected by the sheet detection sensor 40, a counter (not shown) starts counting. When the counter reaches a predetermined count number, the counter shown in FIG. Are excited. Then, the engagement lever 59 is pulled toward the solenoid 58, and the tip claw portion 59a is disengaged from the concave portion 60a of the spring clutch 60. Then, the spring clutch 60 transmits the rotation of the pulley 48 to the roller 35. The state of the clutch at this time is the ON state.

The solenoid 58 is turned off after the claw 59a comes off, and thereafter the claw 59a is engaged with the recess 60a again, the clutch is switched to the off state, and the rotation of the rollers 34, 35 is stopped. Since only one recess 60a is provided in the spring clutch 60, the rollers 34 and 35 make one rotation and stop.

While the rollers 34 and 35 make one rotation with each other, the projections 34A shown in FIG. 3 engage with the concave grooves 35B. At this time, the paper 2 is creased as shown in FIG. . At this time, a downward fold 2a is formed as shown in FIG. 6 (A).

Next, the first fold 2a is formed by the rollers 36 and 37 shown in FIG.
, The clutch 53 is turned on based on the detection of the leading edge of the paper by the paper detection sensor 40, and the rollers 36 and 37 make one rotation. During this time, the mutual movement between the protrusion 37A and the concave groove 36B occurs. Due to the engagement, an upward fold 2b is formed as shown in FIG. 6 (A).

If you have only two folds, the paper will be
At 18 (FIG. 1), it is in a three-folded state.
When the folds are continuously formed, the sheets are successively folded on the sheet discharge tray 18 as shown in FIG.
From this point of view, in the case of folding in two, one set of rollers for creasing may be used, and only one rotation is required for the rollers.

After detecting the leading edge of the paper, the clutches 52 and 53 (first
By programming in advance as to when to turn on the drawing (FIG.), The position to be creased can be freely selected.

For example, a fold can be formed at any position from the leading edge of the sheet, and folds thereafter can be freely selected in exactly the same manner. For example, it can be folded as shown in FIG. 6 (B), or can be folded as shown in FIG. 14 (C) which could not be done conventionally. By operating only the rollers 34 and 35, for example, it is possible to make a fold only in the same direction, and it is also possible to fold as shown in FIG. 6 (C). Further, depending on whether the fold is started by the rollers 34 and 35 or by the rollers 36 and 37, the sheet can be freely folded first from the front side or from the back side. This is not possible with the prior art.

As described above, the illustrated sheet folding apparatus is provided with the counter which starts counting when the leading end of the sheet 2 is detected by the sheet detecting means.
Are disposed between the pair of rollers 34, 35; 36, 37 and the drive motor 41 as a drive source thereof, and transmit ON rotation from the drive source to the pair of rollers 34, 35; 36, 37. The state and the rotation from the drive source are controlled to be switched to an off state in which the rotation from the drive source is not transmitted to the pair of rollers 34, 35; 36, 37, and the count number is set to a predetermined value after the counter starts counting. Is reached, the switching from the off state to the on state is controlled.

Also, in this example, the sheet feed speed and the rollers 34, 35 and
It is the same as the linear velocity of 6,37. In addition, since these rollers are arranged via the gears 54 and 55 and the gears 56 and 57, synchronous rotation is realized, and it is possible to prevent variations in the fold position, or
It can be significantly reduced. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, paper transport means such as a paper transport roller pair 33 and a paper discharge roller pair 38 are provided before and after the roller for forming the fold, and the paper is fed so as to pinch the paper. Further, it is possible to prevent the paper from slipping and to further prevent the fold position from being varied.

After all, in the present example, the positions of the folds can be freely selected and the folds can be formed at equal intervals as well as at equal intervals.

Further, unlike the conventional example, since the sheet does not stop, a folding apparatus capable of further shortening the sheet folding time can be provided. Also, in the conventional example, since the sheet is folded and passed between the folding rollers,
Although the rotational load of the roller increases, such a load can be further reduced in the present example.

In addition, rollers 34 and 35 and rollers 36 and 37
By arranging them at right angles to each other, or by preparing a plurality of folding devices 32 and arranging them at right angles, for example, a large-size sheet in row A, A, It is also possible to fold up to the size of column 4.

Further, in the sheet folding apparatus of this embodiment, since many folding rollers and stopper members as in the conventional example are unnecessary, the apparatus itself can be made more compact.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, it is possible to reliably fold a sheet at a desired position with a very simple configuration. In addition, the rotational load of the roller can be further reduced because of the fold, so that the driving load can be reduced and the apparatus itself can be further downsized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a driving configuration of a creased roller and the like, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a view for explaining how a fold is formed, FIG. 4 is a view showing a state at the time of the fold, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the clutch, and FIG. FIG. 7B is a diagram showing an example of a folding mode of a sheet, FIG. 7C is a diagram showing another folding mode of a sheet, FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional example, FIG. Ninth
FIG. 10 is a view for explaining that the sheet is folded in two in the conventional example, FIG. 10 is a view showing the folding mode, and FIGS. 11 and 12 are diagrams showing how to fold the sheet in the conventional example in the case of Z-folding. FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of another conventional example, and FIGS. 14 (A) to (C) are diagrams each showing an example of a conventional paper folding mode.
FIG. 15 is a schematic configuration diagram of still another conventional example, and FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining an example where folding is impossible in the conventional example. 2. Paper, 32 Paper folding device 34, 35, 36, 37 Roller, 34A, 37A Projection 35B, 36B Groove, 52, 53 Clutch

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] At least one pair of rollers driven in synchronization with each other is provided along a sheet transport path, and each of the pair of rollers engages with each other by rotation of the pair of rollers to form a sheet with respect to the sheet. A groove and a projection for forming a fold in a direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction, and a paper detection device for detecting the leading edge of the paper being transported upstream of the pair of rollers in the paper transport direction. Means, a counter which starts counting when the leading edge of the sheet is detected by the sheet detecting means, is disposed between the pair of rollers and its drive source, and rotates a pair of rollers from the drive source. A control is performed to switch between an ON state in which the rotation is transmitted to the rollers and an OFF state in which the rotation from the driving source is not transmitted to the pair of rollers, and the count number is predetermined after the counter starts counting. When reached, the sheet folding apparatus characterized in that a clutch which is switched controlled from the OFF state until then to the ON state.