JP2860053B2 - Continuous paper folding device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a continuous paper folding apparatus for folding continuous paper discharged from a printing apparatus or the like along a perforation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Continuous paper (hereinafter referred to as paper) is folded at perforations formed at regular intervals in the paper feed direction. For example, an electrophotographic printing apparatus is used for such paper. When the printing process is performed by the heat treatment, the perforation folding habit is lost by the heat fixing process,
Simply dropping the paper discharged from the printing apparatus by its own weight makes it difficult to store the paper folded.

[0003] In view of such a background, a continuous paper folding apparatus (A) which restores a folding habit and stores it by forcibly folding the paper discharged from the printing apparatus according to the perforation using a pair of left and right rotating blades. Hereinafter, a folding device has been proposed by the present applicant (Japanese Patent Application No. 6-15816).

FIGS. 9 to 13 are side views of such a folding device. A drive shaft 10 rotated by a motor (not shown) is provided in parallel with the perforation of the paper P, and the drive shaft 10
Strip-shaped first folding blades 20 extending in parallel to
a and the second folding blade 20b are attached at a predetermined angle to the axis of the drive shaft 10. Similarly, a first folding blade 21a and a second folding blade 2
Attach 1b. At the tip of the first folding blade 20a, a folding habit is formed as a concave receiving portion that is opened along a long side parallel to the driving shaft 10 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the rotating shaft of the driving shaft 10. The forming part 22 is formed by the pressing piece 22a and the pressing piece 22b. Similarly, with respect to the other first folding blade 21a, the pressing pieces 23a and 23b whose surfaces form a predetermined angle form the folding habit forming portion 23 which is a concave receiving portion.
G1 and G2 are paper guides for guiding the paper P.

When the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 rotate synchronously, the tip of the second folding blade 21b is
Into the folding habit forming portion 22 of the folding blade 20a,
In addition, the tip of the second folding blade 20b enters the fold forming portion 23 of the first folding blade 21a.

[0006] As shown in FIGS.
When the perforation M corresponding to the valley fold of the sheet P enters between the driven shaft 11 and the driven shaft 11, the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 are rotated in the directions of arrows A3 and A4 in synchronization.

[0007] Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the perforation M is moved to the second folding blade 2 with the rotation of the folding blade.
1b is pressed toward the bottom of the concave receiving portion of the fold forming portion 22, and then the pressing pieces 22a,
The tip of the second folding blade 21b is sandwiched between the tip of the second folding blade 21b and pressed, that is, pressed.

[0008] As shown in FIG.
When the rotation position reaches 0 degrees, the fold forming portion 22 and the tip of the second folding blade 21b come closest to each other.
The maximum pressing force is applied to the perforation M of the sheet P, and a valley fold is formed. At this time, a sufficient pressing force is applied to the sheet P, so that the folding habit can be surely formed regardless of the thickness of the sheet.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, when the folding blade is rotated, the paper P is released from the state of being pinched by the folding habit forming portion 22 and the folding blade 21b, and the arrow P
Conveyed in the direction.

Next, as shown in FIG. 13, the folding blades are kept open until the folding blade rotates to 180 degrees and the next perforation (mountain fold) of the sheet P is conveyed.

The mountain folding operation is performed by sandwiching the sheet P between the folding habit forming portion 23 on the driven shaft 11 side and the second folding blade 20b of the drive shaft 10, and is substantially the same as the valley folding operation described above. Operation.

The pressing pieces 22a and 22b and the pressing pieces 23a and 23b constituting the fold forming portions 22 and 23 are made of a material capable of elastically supporting the sheet P when a pressing force is applied thereto, for example, a spring. It is preferable to use a thin metal plate having the property. As a result, even if the sheet P to be folded is a thick sheet having strong stiffness, the pressing piece having the spring property is opened outward and deformed, thereby elastically absorbing the stiffness (elastic force) of the sheet. As a result, the fold can be smoothly formed on the sheet, and an excessive load (overload) is prevented from being applied to the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11.

[0013]

However, in the above-described conventional apparatus, the stiffness due to the thickness of the sheet to be folded is limited by the pressing pieces of the above-mentioned folding habit forming portions 22 and 23. If the limit of the elastic absorption by the shaft is exceeded, the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 are overloaded via the first folding blades 20a and 21a, so that the drive shaft 1
0 and the rotation of the driven shaft 11 may be stopped, and the folding operation may not be possible. For this reason, the thickness of the foldable paper has been limited. The present invention has been made based on such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a continuous sheet folding apparatus capable of smoothly folding a sheet even when the sheet to be folded is a thick sheet and reliably folding the sheet. Is to provide.

[0014]

A continuous paper folding apparatus according to the present invention comprises a first folding habit forming means and a second folding habit forming means provided on both of two rotating shafts provided in parallel with each other. Each time the perforation of the continuous paper arrives between the two rotating shafts, the two rotating shafts are rotated in synchronization with each other, so that the first and second rotating shafts face each other.
In which the continuous paper is pinched by the folding habit forming means and the second folding habit forming means so that the folding habit of valley fold and mountain fold is formed alternately at the perforation of the continuous paper, and the first paper is folded. At least one of the habit forming means and the second habit forming means is attached to the rotating shaft via a buffer means, and the buffer means is at least one of the first and second habit forming means. It is characterized in that one of them is supported so that it can be displaced in a direction to withdraw from the sheet according to the force received when the sheet presses the sheet.

The buffering means has an arm and an urging member. The arm holds the folding habit forming means and is rotatably supported by a fulcrum fixed to a rotating shaft. The arm may be constantly biased in a direction in which the fold forming means held by the arm approaches the other fold forming means opposed thereto.

[0016] The buffer means may be constituted by an elastic member for elastically holding the fold forming means.

In this specification, the folding habit forming means includes a folding habit forming portion having a strip-shaped folding blade and a concave receiving portion, and the shape of the concave receiving portion is as follows.
Includes U-shaped, U-shaped, V-shaped, or any other concave shape. The urging member for urging the arm includes a tension coil spring, a compression coil spring, a leaf spring, and the like. In the case where the cushioning means is constituted by an elastic member which elastically holds the folding habit forming means, the elastic member includes a compression coil spring, a leaf spring, rubber, elastic synthetic resin, or the like.

[0018]

The folding habit forming means is supported by the buffer means so that it can be displaced in the direction of retreating from the continuous paper in accordance with the force which it receives when pressing the continuous paper. As the continuous paper becomes thicker and stiffer, the amount of displacement of the folding habit forming means in the retreating direction increases. The retraction of the fold forming means in accordance with the thickness of the sheet reduces the load on the rotating shaft generated when the sheet squeezes the sheet. Therefore, even if the continuous sheet to be folded is thick, the rotating shaft The folding operation can be performed smoothly without hindering the rotation of.

[0019]

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the continuous paper folding apparatus according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 7 are operation explanatory diagrams for explaining the operation in the embodiment. 1 to 7
, The same or corresponding members as in FIGS. 9 to 13 showing the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

A drive shaft 10 and a driven shaft 1 constituting a rotary shaft
Numerals 1 are provided so as to rotate in synchronization with the direction of arrow A. Folding blades 30a and 30b formed of strip-like thin plates indicated by hatching are attached to the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 along fixing axes thereof by fixing means such as screws. The folding blade 3
The second folding habit forming means 200 is constituted by Oa and 30b.

Further, the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11
Fold forming portions 32a, 32b indicated by hatching are provided via arms 34a, 34b described later so as to form a predetermined angle with the folding blades 30a, 30b.

Each of the fold forming portions 32a and 32b has a concave receiving portion opened in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the driving shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11, for example, has a substantially U-shaped cross section. Side walls 38 are formed vertically from both long sides of the bottom wall 36 formed along the axis.

In a space surrounded by the bottom wall 36 and both side walls 38 of the fold forming portions 32a and 32b, the opposing folding blades 30 are rotated as the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 rotate.
The tips of a and 30b can enter. In addition, the first curl forming means 100 is constituted by the curl forming portions 32a and 32b.

The support members 40a and 40b provided on the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 support the arms 34a and 34b having a substantially U-shape so as to be rotatable about a fulcrum 35 at the center. I have.

One end of each of the arms 34a and 34b is fixed to the above-mentioned fold forming portions 32a and 32b. Arm 3
Between the other end portions of the supporting members 4a and 34b and the supporting members 40a and 40b, for example, biasing members 42a and 42b such as coil springs are provided.
Is stretched, and the arm 34a,
34b is always urged | biased in the arrow B direction.

The rotation of the arms 34a and 34b in the direction of the arrow B is performed as shown by the solid line in FIG.
341b is regulated by contacting bent pieces 401a and 401b formed on support members 40a and 40b.

The rotation of the arms 34a, 34b in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow B is caused by the bottom wall 36 of the fold forming portions 32a, 32b being driven by the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft, as indicated by the two-dot chain line in the drawing. 11 are fixed to the folding blades 30a, 30
It is regulated by contacting a part of b.

That is, the arms 34a and 34b are normally urged in the direction of arrow B by the urging members 40a and 40b and are held at the standard position indicated by the solid line. When a pressing force exceeding the urging force of the urging members 40a, 40b acts on the arm 32a, the arms 34a, 34b and the fold forming portions 32a, 3b.
2b is rotated (displaced) to the retracted position indicated by the two-dot chain line. The arms 34a and 34b and the urging members 42a,
42b constitute the buffer means 300.

When the arms 34a and 34b are at the standard position, the angle formed by a straight line connecting the tips of the folding blades 30a and 30b and the upper edges of both side walls 38 of the folding habit forming portions 32a and 32b (FIG. Hereinafter, the sheet folding angle is changed depending on the positional relationship between the fold forming portions 32a and 32b and the leading ends of the folding blades 30a and 30b.
The paper folding angle θ is minimum (θ = θmin) when the folding habit forming units 32a and 32b are at the standard position, and is maximum (θ = θmax) when the folding habit forming units 32a and 32b are at the retracted position. That is, the sheet folding angle θ changes from θmin to θmax in accordance with the amount of displacement of the folding habit forming portions 32a and 32b.

Next, the operation of the folding apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6 show that the rotation angles of the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 are 0 degree and 6 degrees, respectively.
The states at 0, 90, 120, and 180 degrees are shown. FIG. 7 shows a state where the folding habit forming portion 32a is in the retracted position with the rotation angles of the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 being 90 degrees. 2 to 7 are partially omitted to simplify the drawings.

First, the folding operation when the sheet to be folded is thin will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, folding blades 30a and 30b and folding habit forming portions 32a and 32b
Are separated from each other, and at the valley fold start position where the paper P can enter between the two shafts 10 and 11, the perforation M corresponding to the valley fold of the paper P enters between the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11. When it comes, the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 are each rotated in the direction of arrow A.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, as the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 rotate, the perforation M is moved by the tip of the folding blade 30b to the bottom of the concave receiving portion of the folding habit forming portion 32a. , And then clamped between the upper edge of the side wall 38.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 are at the 90-degree rotational position, the folding habit forming portion 32a and the folding blade 30b come closest to each other, so that the maximum pressing force is reduced. A valley fold is formed over the perforation M of the sheet P. In this case, since the sheet P is thin, even if the sheet P is pinched by the folding habit forming portion 32a and the folding blade 30b, the folding habit forming portion 32a does not
The standard position is maintained without receiving a pressing force greater than the urging force of the urging member 42a.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, when the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 rotate, the sheet P
The sheet is released from the state of being pinched by the folding blade 2a and the folding blade 30b, and is conveyed in the direction of arrow F.

FIG. 6 shows a fold position at which a fold, which is the next fold operation, is started, and the rotation angle of the fold blade is 180 degrees. Until the next perforation (mountain fold) of the sheet P is conveyed, the open state is maintained between the folding blades 30a and 30b and the kinking forming portions 32a and 32b.

The mountain folding operation is performed by pressing the sheet P between the folding habit forming portion 32b on the driven shaft 11 side and the folding blade 30a, and is substantially the same as the above-described valley folding operation.

Next, the folding operation when the sheet P is thick and strong will be described. Figure 1 mentioned above
3 and FIGS. 5 and 6 are substantially the same as the above-described operations, but the operation state corresponding to FIG. 4 changes as shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, when the thick paper P is pinched between the fold forming portion 32a and the folding blade 30b, the fold forming portion 32a is applied to the fold forming portion 32a by the elastic force of the sheet P. A pressing force greater than the urging force of the urging member 42a acts. As a result, the fold forming portion 32a is displaced from the standard position indicated by the solid line to the retracted position indicated by the two-dot chain line.
That is, the folding habit forming section 32a is moved in a direction away from the folding blade 30b facing the direction, that is, in a direction to retreat from the sheet P. At this time, the sheet folding angle θ with respect to the perforation M is θmax shown in FIG. As a result, the load applied to the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 by the paper P is reduced, so that the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11
The folding operation is smoothly performed without hindering the rotation. In the above description, only the displacement of the fold forming portion 32a has been described, but the same goes for the fold forming portion 32b.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the fold forming means 32a, 32b (the first fold forming means 10)
0) is an arm 34 that is displaced in a direction to retract from the paper P in accordance with the force received when the paper P is pinched.
a, 34b and the urging members 42a, 42b (the buffer means 30).
0). For this reason, as the paper P becomes thicker and stiffer, the fold forming means 32a,
The amount of displacement of 32b in the evacuation direction increases. The first folding habit forming means 100 retracts in accordance with the thickness of the sheet P, so that the rotating shafts 10 and 1 generated when the sheet P is pinched.
Since the load applied to 1 is reduced, the rotation of the rotating shafts 10 and 11 is not hindered even if the sheet P to be folded is thick. As a result, the folding operation is performed smoothly, and the sheet P is reliably folded.

In practice, the kinking forming portions 32a, 3
2b is not only displaced to either the standard position or the retracted position, but is continuously displaced according to the thickness of the sheet (hip strength), and the value of the sheet folding angle θ is also θmin.
From θman to θman. That is, as the sheet P becomes thinner to thicker, the fold forming portion 32
a, 32b in the retreating direction and the sheet folding angle θ increase. For this reason, the fold forming portions 32a, 32b
Can be appropriately displaced (evacuated) in accordance with the thickness (strength of the waist) of the sheet P.

The range of the sheet folding angle θ may be appropriately set in accordance with the thickness (strength) of the sheet to be folded, but in order to reduce the load on the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11, It is preferable to make the sheet folding angle θ as large as possible.

The retracting direction of the fold forming portions 32a and 32b is preferably perpendicular to the sheet P and linear.
This is preferable because the sheet folding angle θ at the time of evacuation can be easily increased, and thus the load on the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 can be easily reduced. Therefore, the folding habit forming section 32
The buffering means 300 may be configured so that the retracting directions of the a and 32b are perpendicular to the sheet P and in a linear direction.

Also, as in the present embodiment, the fold forming portion 3
When 2a and 32b move in an arc around the fulcrum 35, the direction of the arc is perpendicular to the sheet P, and the curvature of the arc is large (close to a straight line). ), The position of the fulcrum 35 and the arm 34
a, 34b, the folding habit forming portion 32
It is preferable to retract the a and 32b as linearly as possible.

In this embodiment, the tension coil springs are used as the urging members 42a and 42b for urging the arms 34a and 34b. However, a compression coil spring, a leaf spring or the like may be used instead. Of course.

The shape of the fold forming portions 32a and 32b may be U-shaped, V-shaped, or any other concave shape in addition to the U-shaped cross section.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing another embodiment.
Contrary to FIG. 1, folding blades 30a and 30b (second folding habit forming means 200) are attached to rotating shafts 10 and 11 via buffer means 300 and provided so as to be displaceable in the retracting direction. I have. Even with this configuration, the load applied to the rotating shafts 10 and 11 at the time of pressing the paper P can be reduced by the same operation as described above.

Further, the first fold forming portion 100 and the second
May be attached to the drive shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11 via the buffering means 300.

The first and second folding habit forming means 100 and 200 and the rotating shafts (drive shaft and driven shaft) 1
The buffer means 300 interposed between 0 and 11 includes:
In addition to the above-described embodiment, an elastic member may be used which contracts and is displaced to the retracted position by the pressing force of the pinched paper P by the elastic force, and expands and returns to the standard position by releasing the pressing force. . As the elastic member, a compression coil spring, a leaf spring, rubber, synthetic resin having elasticity, or the like can be used.

Further, at least one of the first fold forming means 100 and the second fold forming means 200 may be formed integrally with the buffer means 300 by an elastic member such as rubber or synthetic resin. For example, at least one of the folding blades 30a and 30b and the folding habit forming portions 32a and 32b in FIG. 1 is formed by the elastic member and directly fixed to the driving shaft 10 and the driven shaft 11. In this case, when the elastic member is deformed when the paper P is pinched, the folding blades 30a and 30b and the folding habit forming portions 32a and 3 are formed.
2b is retracted from the sheet P. In this case, at least one of the first folding habit forming means 100 and the second folding habit forming means 200
And the arms 34a,
34b and the urging members 42a and 42b become unnecessary.

[0050]

As described above in detail, according to the continuous paper folding apparatus of the present invention, even if the paper to be folded is thick, the first and second folding habit forming means are provided. Is displaced in the direction of retreating from the sheet, so that the rotating shaft is not overloaded, so that the folding operation can be performed smoothly and the sheet can be reliably folded.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a continuous sheet folding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the conventional device.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the conventional device.

FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the conventional device.

FIG. 12 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the conventional device.

FIG. 13 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P Continuous paper (paper) 10 Drive shaft (rotary shaft) 11 Follower shaft (rotary shaft) 100 First fold forming unit 32a, 32b fold forming unit 200 Second fold forming unit 30a, 30b Folding blade 300 Buffer Means 34a, 34b Arm 42a, 42b Urging Member

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A first folding habit forming means and a second folding habit forming means are provided on both of two rotating shafts provided in parallel with each other, and a perforation of continuous paper reaches between the two rotating shafts. Each time, the two rotating shafts are synchronously rotated, and the continuous paper is pressed by the first and second folding habit forming means facing each other, whereby the continuous paper is pressed. In the continuous paper folding apparatus for folding and forming the folds of the valley fold and the mountain fold alternately at the perforation, at least one of the first fold formation unit and the second fold formation unit includes a buffer unit. The cushioning means is configured to receive at least one of the first fold forming means and the second fold forming means when the nip presses the continuous sheet. According to the continuous It is supported so as to be displaceable in the direction of retreat from, the folding device of the continuous paper, wherein. 2. The cushioning means has an arm and a biasing member, and the arm holds the folding habit forming means and is rotatably supported by a fulcrum fixed to a rotating shaft. The urging member always urges the arm in a direction in which the folding habit forming means held by the arm approaches the other folding habit forming means opposed thereto. Continuous paper folding device. 3. The continuous sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the buffer means is constituted by an elastic member for elastically holding the folding habit forming means.