JP3444460B2 - Paper punch - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet punching device for punching a sheet such as a copy sheet, and in particular,
The present invention relates to a sheet punching device suitable for use in a sheet post-processing device of an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when binding sheets output from a copying machine to a file binder, the sheets output from the copying machine are punched using a separately prepared electric or manual punching device. Open. However, since this punching device requires manpower and the paper output from the copying machine must be moved to another place, there is a problem that the work efficiency is low.

As means for solving such a problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 61-94180 and 63-30007 are available.
No. 0, JP-A-3-190696, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 64
As disclosed in JP-A-49850 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 64-52695, as a post-processing device for a copying machine,
It is known to provide a paper punching device that automatically punches the copied paper.

The sheet punching device used in the pre-processing apparatus and the post-processing apparatus in the conventional image forming apparatus is configured to punch a predetermined number of holes in the leading edge portion or the trailing edge portion of the sheet.

On the other hand, at the time of punching a sheet, a predetermined number of holes (only two holes or only three holes) are provided at the leading end portion or the trailing end portion of the sheet due to the convenience of file binding work after punching.
Not only that, but in order to increase the variation in the number of holes, there is a demand for easy use of two holes or three holes as needed.

Further, it has become common to equip a sorter of a copying machine or the like with a stapling function so that a bundle of sheets after collation is automatically bound, and in addition to this stapling function, a punching function is provided. There is also a request to have. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-162 has responded to such a request.
There is a device described in Japanese Patent No. 919. In the apparatus described in the publication, a drive source of a punching device for independently forming punch holes is provided separately from a drive source of a transporting device for transporting a sheet to meet the above request.

[0007]

However, since the conventional sheet punching device is a dedicated device for a predetermined number of holes, such as for two holes or three holes, it can meet the above-mentioned requirements. There was a problem that I could not.

Further, in a so-called front registration image forming apparatus in which the reference position for aligning the positions of the paper is at the front end as viewed from the user side, the side end of the paper is irrespective of the size of the paper. Is abutted to the reference position on the front side,
The center position of the paper differs depending on the size of the paper. Normally, the punch holes are punched symmetrically with respect to the center of the paper in the width direction.Therefore, in the image forming apparatus of the front register, the positions to be punched differ depending on the size of the paper.Therefore, move the punching device according to the paper size. However, there is a problem that not only the control becomes complicated, but also the device becomes large.

Further, in order to perform the punching process, it is necessary to temporarily stop the paper, but if the processing time is long, it is necessary to secure a sufficient space between the papers in order to secure the processing time. There is also a problem that the printing speed of the device cannot be increased sufficiently.

When the punching function is provided in addition to the stapling function, a driving source for the punching device for independently forming punch holes is provided separately from the driving source for the feeding device for feeding the sheet. Since it has to be provided, there is a problem that the structure becomes complicated and the control becomes complicated, resulting in an increase in manufacturing cost.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet punching device capable of punching a desired number of holes as needed. Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet punching device capable of punching in a short time. It is another object of the present invention to provide a sheet punching device capable of punching symmetrically with respect to the widthwise center of a sheet with a simple mechanism even in the image forming apparatus of the front register. Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet punching device capable of improving its function without significantly increasing the cost.

[0012]

According to the present invention, there is provided a paper punching device arranged in the middle of a paper carrying path for carrying out a punching process on a paper being carried, and a plurality of first punching devices arranged at a first interval. A first piercing mechanism section comprising one piercing blade, a second piercing mechanism section comprising a plurality of second piercing blades arranged at a second interval different from the first interval, and the first Drive source provided in common for the punching mechanism section and the second punching mechanism section, and the driving force from the driving source is selectively applied to the first punching blade or the second punching blade. And a power transmission mechanism for transmitting the power to the vehicle.

In the present invention, the respective punching mechanism portions for performing different kinds of punching processes, for example, the 2-hole punching process and the 3-hole punching process, are driven by the drive source provided in common. By selectively transmitting the power from the drive source to each of the punching mechanism units, the punching process is performed with a desired number of holes.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the entire image forming system to which the present invention is applied. In this embodiment, a punching device having a variation of the number of holes of 2 and 3 is built in the post-processing device of the image forming apparatus.

In FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 scans a sheet storage section 1a having a plurality of trays for storing sheets and an original placed on a platen glass 1b including a lamp, a mirror, a lens and the like. A document scanning unit 1c for reading by
An electrophotographic image forming unit 1d that forms a toner image on a photoconductor based on the reflected light from the document and transfers the toner image onto the paper supplied from the paper storage unit 1a, and a toner image transferred onto the paper. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a fixing unit 1e for fixing and a control panel 14 provided on the image forming apparatus 1.

An automatic document feeder 2 is provided above the image forming apparatus 1 to feed the originals one by one to a predetermined position on the platen glass 1b of the original scanning unit 1c.

Further, on the side surface of the image forming apparatus 1, there is arranged a post-processing apparatus 3 for performing post-processing such as collation processing, stapling processing, punching processing, etc. on the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus 1. .

When the start of copying is instructed from the control panel 14, the document set in the automatic document feeder 2 is fed onto the platen glass 1b, and the platen glass 1a is fed.
The upper original is scanned by the original scanning unit 1c. In the electrophotographic image forming section 1d, a toner image is formed on the photoconductor by the well-known charging, exposing and developing processes. This toner image is transferred onto the paper conveyed from the paper storage unit 1a, and a toner image corresponding to the image of the original is formed on the paper. The toner image is fixed on the sheet in the fixing unit 1e, and the sheet after the fixing is sent to the post-processing device 3.

The paper fed into the post-processing device 3 is
It is sorted by the switching gate 8 into either the stack tray 4 or the sort bin tray 5.

In the case of discharging to the stack tray 4, the copy sheet (indicated by reference numeral 6) is guided to the stack tray 4 side by the switching gate 8, and the sheet conveying roller 10 and the discharging roller 9 are provided.
Is discharged to the stack tray 4.

When the punching process or the stapling process is set from the control panel 14, the copy sheet (indicated by reference numeral 7) is guided to the sort bin tray 5 side by the switching gate 8.

A paper punching device 12 is disposed in the middle of the path to the sort bin tray 5 side, and the copy paper (denoted by reference numeral 7) is temporarily stopped by the paper transport roller 10.
The paper is perforated. Details of the sheet punching device 12 will be described later. When the punching process is completed, the copy sheet is again conveyed by the sheet conveying roller 10 and is sequentially discharged and stored to the sort bin tray 5 side by the discharging roller 11.

After the completion of storage, the stapling device 13 arranged on the sort bin tray 5 side sequentially performs stapling processing on the copy sheets stored in each bin of the sort bin tray.

In the above construction, even if the copy sheets are already stored in the sort bin tray 5, the next copy mode can be continuously accepted. Here, when the stapling process is set on the copy sheet previously stored and the stapling process is set by the control panel 14, the punching process is automatically set, and the display section of the control panel 14 is also set. A message indicating that the punching process will be executed is displayed.

Next, the details of the sheet punching device 12 will be described.

2 is a front view of the sheet punching device, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sheet punching device, FIG. 4 is a side view of the sheet punching device, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a cam portion of the sheet punching device, and FIG.

The sheet punching device 13 comprises a first punching mechanism section for punching two holes in the sheet and a second punching mechanism section for punching three holes. The first punching mechanism unit drives the 2-hole punching blade 15a and the 2-hole punching blade 15a.
The cam 16a for holes and the punching blade 15a for 2 holes are provided with the cam 1 for 2 holes.
And a compression spring 17a that urges in the 6a direction. The second punching mechanism section includes a 3-hole punching blade 15b, a 3-hole cam 16b for driving the 3-hole punching blade 15b, and 3
A compression spring 17b for urging the hole punching blade 15b toward the three-hole cam 16b is provided. The 2-hole punching blades 15a and the 3-hole punching blades 15b are arranged corresponding to the punching positions of the sheet.

2 hole punching blade 15a and 3 hole punching blade 15
As shown in FIG. 5, b passes through a chute frame 20 including an upper chute 18 and a lower chute 19 and is slidable in the vertical direction. The upper chute 18 and the lower chute 19 are formed with through holes 21 and 22 corresponding to the diameters of the two-hole punching blade 15a and the three-hole punching blade 15b, respectively. Blade 15a,
It constitutes a receiving blade for 15b. Further, the upper chute 18 is provided with a punching blade guide member 23 for guiding the receiving blades 15a and 15b. The paper passes between the upper chute 18 and the lower chute 19 in the direction of arrow A, and when the paper is in a stationary state, the punching blades 15a, 1
The punching process is performed by projecting 5b through the sheet conveying surface.

The two-hole cam 16a and the three-hole cam 16b
Are attached to a common cam shaft 24. The 2-hole cam 16a and the 3-hole cam 16b each have a substantially oval shape. As shown in FIG. 5, the shapes of the two-hole cam 16a and the three-hole cam 16b are the same, but the mounting positions on the cam shaft 24 are different by 180 degrees. That is, the phase with respect to the rotation of the cam shaft 24 is different by 180 degrees.

The cam shaft 24 is rotatably supported by a bearing member 25 provided on the upper chute 18. A pulley 26 is attached to one end of the cam shaft 24,
The rotation of the drive motor 27 is transmitted to the pulley 26 via a timing belt 28. In this embodiment, as the drive motor 27, a DC motor or a pulse motor capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation is used.

At one end of the cam shaft 24, the cam shaft 24
A light shielding plate 29 is attached so as to protrude from the center of the in the radial direction. The cam home sensor 30 and the cam position sensor 31 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the cam shaft 24, and when the light shielding plate 29 faces the cam home sensor 30 or the cam position sensor 31, the cam home sensor 30 or the cam position sensor 31. Turns on.

Further, a paper sensor 32 for detecting the entrance of paper is provided on the paper entrance side of the chute frame 20.

FIG. 7 is a principle block diagram of an electric circuit for controlling the operation of the sheet punching device 12.

The control panel 14 is the paper punching device 1.
This is for inputting various instructions including setting of the operation mode 2 to the copying machine, and displaying the input information and the operating state of the copying machine. From the control panel 14, an instruction as to whether or not to operate the paper punching device 12 in the post-processing device 3, that is, whether to set the punch mode, and whether to operate the paper punching device 12 in the 2-hole mode or the 2-hole mode Input an instruction to operate in the mode, an instruction to set the paper discharge mode to the non-sort mode, the sorter mode, or the stack mode.

The signal from the control panel 14 is supplied to the microprocessor 33 together with the input signals from the cam home sensor 30, the cam position sensor 31, the paper sensor 32 and the like. Information about whether the punch mode is set, information about the two-hole mode or the three-hole mode, information about the sheet ejection mode, and the like are stored in the RAM or the like in the microprocessor 33.

The microprocessor 33 controls the start and stop of rotation and the rotation direction of the punch motor 27 through the punch motor control circuit 34 in accordance with these input signals, and also through the paper transport motor control circuit 35. And controls the paper transport motor 36. The paper transport motor 36 rotationally drives the rollers 9, 10, 11 and the like.

Next, the operation of the above-described sheet punching device 12 will be described.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart for explaining the basic operation of the sheet punching device 12.

In the initial state, the two-hole cam 16a and the three-hole cam 16b are in a horizontal state as shown in FIG. 5, and the light shielding plate 29 is in a position facing the cam home sensor 30. To do.

First, it is judged whether or not the punching mode is set for the post-processing device 3 (step 10).
1) If the punch mode is not set, the sheets are sequentially stacked in the stack tray 4 in the non-sort mode in accordance with the set paper discharge mode, and the bins of the saw bin tray 5 are sorted in the order of pages. After the processing in the sort mode for discharging and the stack mode for collectively discharging the sheets of the same page in each bin of the saw bin tray 5 (step 102), the processing ends.

When the punch mode is set,
It is determined whether or not the cam home sensor 30 is turned on (step 103). If the cam home sensor 30 is not turned on, the motor 27 is rotated until the cam home sensor 30 is turned on (step 104).

Next, it is determined whether the mode is the 2-hole mode or the 3-hole mode (step 105). If the 2-hole mode is selected, the rotation direction of the motor 27 is counterclockwise (CC
W) is set (step 106), and the two-hole punching process is performed on the first sheet (step 107).

Details of the two-hole punching process will be described below.

When the paper is sent to the paper punching device 12, it is detected by the paper sensor 32, and when the paper is sent to a predetermined position, the paper stops. When the trailing edge of the sheet is detected by the sheet sensor 32, the conveyance of the sheet is stopped after a predetermined time after the trailing edge of the sheet is detected, and when the leading edge of the sheet is detected by the sheet sensor 32, the sheet is detected. The conveyance of the sheet is stopped after a predetermined time corresponding to the sheet size has passed since the front edge of the sheet was detected.

In the initial state, the 2-hole cam 16a is in the state shown in FIG. 9 (b1), and the 3-hole cam 16b is in the state shown in FIG. 9 (a1). That is, 2 hole cam 1
Since both 6a and 3 hole cam 16b are in contact with the 2 hole drilling blade 15a and 3 hole drilling blade 15b in their minor diameter portions, 2 hole drilling blade 15a and 3 hole drilling blade 15 are provided.
b is in a state of being retracted from the paper conveyance surface of the chute frame 20. Further, the light shielding plate 29 is located at a position facing the cam home sensor 30, as shown in FIG.

If the number of holes for the paper is two, the motor 2
7 is a counterclockwise direction (CCW) in FIGS. 4 to 6 and 9.
When the cam shaft 24 is rotated 90 degrees, the shading plate 29 attached to the cam shaft 24 is first moved downward from the position of the cam home sensor 30 and is rotated by 90 degrees.
As shown in (b2), since the long diameter portion of the 2-hole cam 16a presses the 2-hole punching blade 15a, the 2-hole punching blade 15
a penetrates the sheet conveying surface of the chute frame 20, and two holes are formed in the sheet. At this time, punching blade 15 for 3 holes
As shown in FIG. 9 (a2), b is in contact with the short-diameter portion of the 3-hole cam 16b, so that the 3-hole punching blade 15b remains retracted from the paper conveying surface of the chute frame 20. is there. When the cam shaft 24 is further rotated and the cam position sensor 31 is turned on by the light shielding plate 29, the motor 27 is stopped. That is, the camshaft 24 is 180 degrees from the original angle.
Rotate counterclockwise. 2-hole drilling blade 15a at this time
And the state of the perforating blade 15b for 3 holes is shown in FIGS.
3).

As described above, in the two-hole punching process, the long diameter portion of the three-hole cam 16b moves in the region above the cam shaft 24, and the long diameter portion of the two-hole cam 16a falls below the cam shaft 24. To move in the area. Therefore, the 2-hole punching blade 15a performs the punching process on the sheet, and the 3-hole punching blade 15b does not perform the punching process.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 8, the description will be continued.

When the two-hole punching process for the first sheet is completed (step 107), it is judged whether or not there is a succeeding sheet (step 108). If there is no succeeding sheet, the process ends. If there is a succeeding sheet, it is determined whether the sheet is an odd number sheet (step 109), and if it is determined that the sheet is an even number sheet (for example, the second sheet), the motor 27 causes the clock to go out. The rotation (CW) is set (step 110), and the two-hole punching process is performed similarly to step 107 (step 111), but this time when the cam home sensor 30 is turned on by the light shielding plate 29, the motor 27 is stopped, afterwards. Return to step 108. Step 109
If it is determined that the sheet is an odd-numbered sheet, the motor 27 is set counterclockwise, and the same process as the two-hole punching process is performed on the first sheet in step 111.

The above-described control is repeated for each sheet, and the two-hole punching process is sequentially performed.

If it is determined in step 105 that the three-hole mode is selected, the motor 27 is set clockwise (step 113) and the three-hole punching process is performed on the first sheet (step 114). .

During the 3-hole punching process, the 2-hole cam 16a
Since the three-hole cam 16b rotates clockwise (CW) from the state shown in FIGS. 9 (b1) and (a1), as can be imagined from FIG. Since the punching blade 15b for 3 holes is pressed, the punching blade 1 for 3 holes 1
5b penetrates the sheet conveying surface of the chute frame 20, and three holes are formed in the sheet. At this time, 2 hole drilling blade 1
Since 5a is in contact with the short diameter portion of the 2-hole cam 16a, the 2-hole punching blade 15a remains retracted from the sheet conveying surface of the chute frame 20. The cam shaft 24 further rotates, and the light shield plate 29 causes the cam position sensor 31
When turns on, the motor 27 stops. That is, the cam shaft 24 rotates 180 degrees clockwise from the original angle.

As described above, in the three-hole punching process, the long-diameter portion of the three-hole cam 16b moves in a region below the cam shaft 24, and the long-diameter portion of the two-hole cam 16a is above the cam shaft 24. To move in the area. Therefore, the 3-hole punching blade 15b performs the punching process on the sheet, and the 2-hole punching blade 15a does not perform the punching process.

Next, it is judged whether or not there is a succeeding sheet (step 115), and if there is no succeeding sheet, the process is ended. If there is a succeeding sheet, it is determined whether the sheet is an odd number sheet (step 116), and if it is determined that the sheet is an even number sheet (for example, the second sheet), the motor 27 is turned off. Clockwise (CCW) is set (step 117), and the three-hole punching process is performed as in step 114 (step 118).
Thus, when the cam home sensor 30 is turned on, the motor 27 is stopped and the process returns to step 115. If it is determined in step 116 that the paper is an odd number of sheets, the motor 27 is set clockwise, and in step 119, the same processing as the three-hole punching process for the first sheet is performed.

As described above, in the case of 3 holes, the rotation direction of the motor for the first sheet is different from that in the case of 2 holes,
Clockwise. After that, the counterclockwise rotation and the clockwise rotation are repeated based on the signals from the cam home sensor 30 and the cam position sensor.

The series of punching processes will be described with reference to the positional relationship among the light shielding plate 29, the cam home sensor 30, and the cam position sensor 31, as shown in FIG. That is, in the 2-hole punching process, the shading plate 29 moves only in the shaded section P2 (downward 180 degrees) of the cam home sensor 30 and the cam position sensor 31, and in the 3-hole punching process, the shading plate 29 does not move. A section P3 (upper side 1) between the cam home sensor 30 and the cam position sensor 31
Move only 80 degrees).

As described above, in both the 2-hole punching process and the 3-hole punching process, the punching can be performed by half rotation of the cam. Therefore, the processing time is longer than that of the paper punching device which performs the punching process by rotating the cam once. It will be halved.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, a reversible motor is used as the driving motor for punching, but in the second embodiment, a motor that rotates in one direction and an electromagnetic clutch are used in combination.

FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view showing a drive mechanism of a sheet punching device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The same first punching mechanism section for punching two holes and the second punching mechanism section for punching three holes are the same as those in the first embodiment.

A first gear 39 is attached to a rotary shaft 38 of a drive motor 37 that rotates in one direction, and a second gear 40 is provided so as to mesh with the first gear 39. The second gear 40 is attached to the shaft 42 via a first electromagnetic clutch 41. A third gear 43 is attached to the shaft 42 coaxially with the second gear 40, and the fourth gear 4 is engaged with the third gear 43.
4 are provided. Further, a fifth gear 45 is provided so as to mesh with the second gear 40. The fifth gear 45 is connected to the cam shaft 47 via the second electromagnetic clutch 46.
(Corresponding to the cam shaft 24 of the first embodiment). A sixth gear 48 that meshes with the fourth gear 44 is attached to the cam shaft 47.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned drive mechanism will be described. However, the motor 37 is assumed to rotate clockwise (CW) when viewed from the direction of arrow A.

Now, when the first electromagnetic clutch 41 is turned off and the second electromagnetic clutch 46 is turned on, the second gear 40
12 is free to rotate with respect to the shaft 42.
As shown in (a), the second gear 40 is rotated counterclockwise (C
CW), and the fifth gear 45 rotates clockwise (CW). At this time, since the second electromagnetic clutch 46 is on, the rotation of the fifth gear 45 is transmitted to the cam shaft 47 via the second electromagnetic clutch 46, and the cam shaft 47 also rotates clockwise (CW). Rotate.

Next, when the first electromagnetic clutch 41 is turned on and the second electromagnetic clutch 46 is turned off, the second gear 40
12 is transmitted to the shaft 42 through the first electromagnetic clutch 41, the third gear 43 rotates counterclockwise (CCW), and the fourth gear 44 rotates, as shown in FIG. It rotates clockwise (CW) and the sixth gear 48 rotates counterclockwise (CW).
CW). Therefore, the cam shaft 47 also rotates counterclockwise (CCW). At this time, the second electromagnetic clutch 4
6 is off, so the camshaft 47 and the fifth gear 4
5 are rotatable in mutually opposite directions.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the rotation direction of the cam shaft 47 can be reversed by alternately turning on and off the first electromagnetic clutch 41 and the second electromagnetic clutch 46. Therefore, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to perform a desired number of holes for punching.

In the above embodiment, the case where the respective punching mechanism portions for performing the two-hole punching process and the three-hole punching process are selectively operated has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Not a thing.

FIG. 13 is a front view showing a sheet punching device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The members corresponding to those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, two 2
In addition to the hole punching blade 15a, two two-hole adding punching blades 15
c and one 3-hole-adding perforating blade 15d are provided. Also, corresponding to the punching blades 15a, 15c, 15d,
Cams 16a, 16c, 16d, compression springs 17a, 17
c and 17d are provided.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the cam portion of the sheet punching device, and FIG. 15 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the cam sensor.

The cams are attached to the cam shaft 24 at different angles. For example, camshaft 2
The mounting angle of each cam with respect to 4 is 0 ° when the two-hole cam 16a is viewed counterclockwise with the home position set to 0 °,
2 hole addition cam 16c is about 290 °, 3 hole addition cam 1
6d is about 200 °. However, it is not limited to this angle.

In addition to the home cam sensor 30 for detecting 0 °, a sensor 31a for detecting 180 °, a sensor 31c for detecting 230 °, and a sensor 280 ° for detecting 230 ° are provided near the cam shaft 24.
A sensor 31d for detection is arranged. These sensors 30, 31a, 31c, 31d are supplied to the microprocessor 33 (see FIG. 7) and the control panel 1
The rotation angle of the cam shaft 24 is controlled based on the instruction from the controller 4.

Now, assuming that the cam shaft 24 rotates counterclockwise from 0 ° to 180 °, the two-hole cam 16a causes two
The hole punching blade 15a is pressed to punch two holes in the sheet.

Further, the cam shaft 24 is 180 ° to 230 °.
When it is rotated up to 2
The hole addition punching blade 15c is pressed to punch two more holes in the sheet, and a total of four holes are punched.

Further, the cam shaft 24 is moved from 230 ° to 280 °.
When it is rotated up to 3 times, this time it is 3 by the 3 hole addition cam 16d.
The hole addition punching blade 15d is pressed to punch one more hole in the sheet, and a total of five holes are punched.

As described above, by controlling the rotation angle of the cam shaft 24, a desired number of holes can be drilled.

Further, in the image forming apparatus of the front cash register, the punching blades corresponding to the sheets of each size are arranged symmetrically with respect to the widthwise center of the sheets of each size, and the punching blades corresponding to the sheets of each size have different phases. By driving with the cam of
It is possible to punch at an appropriate position regardless of the size of the paper without moving the punching device itself.

Next, an embodiment in which the above-described sheet punching device and sheet transport mechanism are driven by using a common drive source will be described. FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the drive mechanism and the paper transport mechanism of the paper punching device. The same members as those shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. However, the structure of the paper punching device 12a shown in FIG. 16 is slightly different from the structure of the paper punching device 12 shown in FIG.

The rotation of the pulley 52 attached to the rotating shaft of the first drive motor 51 is transmitted to the large diameter pulley 54 via the belt 53. A small-diameter pulley 55 is coaxially attached to the large-diameter pulley 54, and the belt 56 is rotationally driven by the small-diameter pulley 55. Belt 5
Reference numeral 6 denotes a small diameter pulley 55, a pulley 57 fixed to the drive shaft of the discharge roller 9, a pulley 58 fixed to the drive shaft of the paper transport roller 10a, an intermediate pulley 59, the paper transport roller 1
0b and a pulley 61 fixed to the drive shaft of the paper transport roller 10c, and is wound around a pulley 61 fixed to the drive shaft of the paper transport roller 10c. The first drive motor 51 drives the discharge roller 9 and the paper transport roller 10a, 10b. 10c are commonly driven to rotate. In the present embodiment, for example, a DC motor is used as the first drive motor 51.

Further, a gear 62 is coaxially fixed to the drive shaft of the paper carrying roller 10c.
Is transmitted to the drive gear 64 of the sheet punching device 12a via the intermediate gear 63.

The pulley 66 attached to the rotary shaft of the second drive motor 65, the intermediate pulleys 67 and 68, the pulley 69 fixed to the drive shaft of the sheet conveying roller 10d, the intermediate pulley 70, and the discharge roller 11. A belt 72 is wound around a pulley 71 fixed to the drive shaft,
By the second drive motor 65, the paper transport roller 10d and the discharge roller 11 are commonly driven to rotate. In the present embodiment, a pulse motor whose speed control is easy is used as the second drive motor 65.

Next, details of the sheet punching device 12a will be described.

FIG. 17 is a front view of the paper punching device, FIG. 18 is a plan view of the paper punching device, FIG. 19 is a bottom view of the paper punching device, FIG. 20 is a side view of the paper punching device, and FIG. It is sectional drawing of a cam part.

As shown in FIG. 21, the paper punching device 12a.
Is a punching blade 81 and a cam 82 for driving the punching blade 81.
And a compression spring 83 for urging the punching blade 81 toward the cam 82.
It has and. Each punching blade 81 is arranged corresponding to the punching position of the sheet.

The piercing blade 81 penetrates through a chute frame 86 composed of an upper chute 84 and a lower chute 85, and is slidable in the vertical direction in the range of the scroak S. In addition, 81 shows the punching blade in the pressed down state.
For the upper chute 84 and the lower chute 85, the boring blade 8
A through hole 87 corresponding to the diameter of 1 is formed, and the periphery of the lower through hole 87 constitutes a receiving blade for the punching blade 81. Further, the upper chute 84 is provided with a punching blade guide member 88 for guiding the punching blade 81.
The sheet 7 passes between the upper chute 84 and the lower chute 85 in the direction of the arrow A, and when the sheet is in a stationary state, the punching blade 81 penetrates the sheet conveying surface to be projected, thereby performing the punching process. Be seen.

The cam 82 has a substantially oval shape and is attached to the cam shaft 89.

The cam shaft 89 is rotatably supported by a bearing member 90 provided on the upper chute 84. A drive gear 64 is connected to one end of the cam shaft 89 via a spring clutch 91. In this drive gear 64,
The rotation of the first drive motor 51 causes the pulley 52 and the belt 5 to rotate.
3, the pulleys 54 and 55, the belt 56, the pulley 61, the gear 62, and the intermediate gear 63.

At one end of the cam shaft 89, the cam shaft 89
A light shielding plate 92 having a slit (not shown) formed in the radial direction from the center of the is shown. A photo sensor 93 for detecting the position of the slit is arranged with the light blocking plate 92 sandwiched therebetween, and the light blocking plate 92 and the photo sensor 93 constitute a cam position sensor 94.

In the present embodiment, the spring clutch 91 is attached to the cam shaft 89 to engage the gear 91.
a, a hook lever 91b that engages with the gear 91a, and a solenoid 91 that drives the hook lever 91b
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any power connection / disconnection means can be used.

A paper sensor 95 for detecting the passage of paper is provided on the paper entrance side of the chute frame 86. For example, the paper sensor 95 is turned on when paper is present, and is turned off when paper is not present.

FIG. 22 is a principle block diagram of an electric circuit for controlling the operation of the sheet punching device 12a. The members corresponding to those in FIG. 7 are designated by the same reference numerals.

The control panel 14 is the paper punching device 1.
It is for inputting various instructions including setting of the operation mode of 2a to the copying machine, and displaying the input information and the operating state of the copying machine. From the control panel 14, various instructions including instructions as to whether to operate the sheet punching device 12a in the post-processing device 3, that is, whether to set the punch mode, are input.

The signal from the control panel 14 is supplied to the microprocessor 33 together with the input signals from the cam position sensor 94, the paper sensor 95 and the like.

The microprocessor 33 controls the first drive motor 51 via the motor control circuit 96 in accordance with these input signals and outputs the second drive motor 51 via the motor control circuit 97.
The drive motor 65 is controlled to control the solenoid 91c via the clutch control circuit 98. When the solenoid 91c is turned on, the hook lever 91b is disengaged and the driving force is transmitted. Next, the operation of the above-described sheet punching device 12a will be described. However, here, the punching mode is set for the post-processing apparatus 3, and the post-processing apparatus 3 operates according to the punching mode.

Further, FIG. 23 is a timing chart showing the timings of sheet conveyance and punching processing in the post-processing apparatus 3. In the figure, (a) shows the sheet punching device 12
The output of the paper sensor 95 disposed at the inlet of a, the output of the paper sensor 95a disposed at the discharge side end of the paper punching device 12a, (b) is applied to the second drive motor 65. The frequency of the drive pulse, (d) is the drive signal for the drilling solenoid.

In the initial state, the sheet punching device 12a
It is assumed that the cam 82 is in the horizontal position, that is, the home position, as shown in FIG. Also,
Before the sheet is conveyed from the copying machine main body 1 to the post-processing device 3, the first drive motor 51 and the second drive motor 6
It is assumed that 5 is rotationally driven at a constant speed.

The paper carried into the post-processing device 3 is the first paper.
Is conveyed along the sheet conveying path by the sheet conveying rollers 10b and 10c which are rotationally driven by the driving motor 51 of FIG. 1, the leading edge of the sheet passes through the sheet punching device 12a, and is further rotationally driven by the second driving motor 65. It is carried by the paper carrying roller 10.

When the paper is detected by the paper sensor 95 (see FIG. 23A), the rotation of the second drive motor 65 is stopped after a certain period of time (see FIG. 23C). As a result, the position of the trailing edge of the sheet to be punched faces the sheet punching device 12a.

When the conveyance of the paper is stopped, the solenoid 9
1c is turned on, the hook lever 91b is disengaged, and the first
Drive gear 6 which is rotationally driven by the drive motor 51 of
The rotation of 4 is transmitted to the cam shaft 89. As a result, the cam shaft 89 starts rotating, and as shown in FIG.
Rotates in the direction of arrow B, the punching blade 81 is pressed downward,
The perforating blade 81 penetrates the sheet conveying surface of the chute frame 86 to make a hole in the sheet. When the cam position sensor 94 detects that the cam shaft 89 makes one rotation within a certain period of time and returns to the original position, it is considered that the boring operation is normally completed, and the rotation of the second drive motor 65 is stopped. After restarting at a high speed (see FIG. 23 (c)), after a certain time, the drive motor 65 is normally rotated, the sheet is conveyed by the sheet conveying roller 10d and the discharge roller 11, and is discharged to the sort bin tray.

Next, an embodiment of a sheet punching device capable of manually adjusting the punching position according to the type of sheet registration will be described.

FIG. 24 is a plan view showing a sheet punching device which can be manually moved in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction. The figure (a) shows before movement, and the figure (b) shows after movement.
The members corresponding to those of the sheet punching device shown in FIG. 18 are designated by the same reference numerals.

The basic structure is the same as that of the paper punching device shown in FIG. 18, except that the paper punching device 101 is perpendicular to the fixed frames 102a and 102b of the main body of the post-processing device with respect to the paper transport direction. They are different in that they are mounted so as to be movable, and that a drive mechanism that can transmit a driving force to the paper punching device is provided even when the paper punching device 101 is moved.

Fixed frame 1 arranged to face each other
A guide rod 103 extending in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction is attached between 02a and 102b. On the other hand, on the side surface of the frame of the sheet punching device 101,
A sliding member 104 that slidably engages with the guide rod 103 is attached. Further, the paper punching device 10
A sheet punching device side fixing member 106 having a long hole 105 along the extension direction of the guide rod 103 is provided at one end of the one frame. On the other hand, the fixed frame 102a
A fixed frame side fixing member 108 provided with a mounting hole 107 for mounting the sheet punching device side fixing member 106 in a positionally adjustable manner is provided on the paper. A fixing screw (not shown) is screwed into the mounting hole 107 of the fixing frame side fixing member 108 through the long hole 105 of the sheet punching device side fixing member 106 to fix the fixing frames 102a and 102b.
The position of the sheet punching device 101 with respect to is fixed. A cam shaft 89 is provided at the other end of the sheet punching device 101.
Intermediate gear 63 and drive gear 64 for transmitting rotational force to
Is provided. In this embodiment, the intermediate gear 63
The width of the gear 62a that meshes with is wide enough to cover the movement range of the sheet punching device 101.

Next, the relationship between the registration mode of the sheet discharged to the post-processing apparatus, that is, the positioning mode and the position of the sheet punching device 101 will be described.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the registration mode and the position of the sheet discharged to the post-processing apparatus. Figure 25
(A) shows the position of the sheet in the case of the center register, and the center position in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction is always the image forming apparatus main body 1 regardless of the size of the sheet.
It coincides with the registration position RC of 09. In addition, FIG.
(B) shows the position of the paper in the case of the side register,
Regardless of the size of the paper, one side edge position in the direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction always coincides with the registration position RS. In addition, is it the center cash register? Alternatively, whether it is a side register is peculiar to the main body of the image forming apparatus, but the present invention provides a paper punching apparatus applicable to the main body of the image forming apparatus adopting the positioning mode of Tochira. is there.

When the registration mode of the main body of the image forming apparatus to which the post-processing apparatus is connected is the center registration, the center line in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction at this time,
That is, it is assumed that the position of the sheet punching device 101 is set so that the punch holes are punched at positions symmetrical with respect to the center registration position. Paper punching device 10 at this time
The state 1 is shown in FIG. In addition, FIG. 26A shows a sheet in which punch holes are punched at this time.

Next, the processing when the registration mode of the image forming apparatus main body is the side registration will be described. In the case of the side register, one side end position in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction is aligned with the register position RS, so that the position of the sheet punching device 101 remains as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 26B, punch holes are punched in the sheet at positions asymmetric with respect to the center line of the sheet. Therefore, in this case, the screw (not shown) screwed into the mounting hole 107 of the sheet punching device 101 shown in FIG.
Is moved in the direction of arrow X as shown in FIG.
After that, a screw (not shown) is tightened and the paper punching device 101
Fix the position of. This is the state. By performing the punching process, it is possible to punch holes in the sheet at positions symmetrical with respect to the center line of the sheet, as shown in FIG.

Next, an embodiment of a sheet punching device capable of automatically adjusting the punching position according to the type of sheet registration will be described.

FIG. 27 is a plan view showing a sheet punching device which is automatically movable in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction. The figure (a) shows before movement, and the figure (b) shows after movement.
The members corresponding to those of the sheet punching device shown in FIG. 24 are designated by the same reference numerals.

The basic structure is the same as that of the paper punching device shown in FIG. 24, except that a drive mechanism for moving the paper punching device 101 in a direction perpendicular to the paper conveying direction is provided.

A motor 111 for moving a punching device having a pulley 110 fixed to its rotary shaft is attached to one fixed frame 102a, and a freely rotating pulley 112 is attached to the other fixed frame 102b.
A power transmission belt 113 is wound around the pulley 110 and the pulley 112. On the other hand, a driven member 114 is attached to the side surface of the frame of the sheet punching device 101, and the tip of the driven member 114 is connected to the power transmission belt 113.

Further, the driven member 114 has a holding member 11
The actuator 116 is attached via 5. On the other hand, the fixed frame 102c is provided with two position sensors 117 and 118 at positions facing the actuator 116. These position sensors 117 and 118 are, for example, of the photo interrupter type, and the actuator 116 uses the position sensor 11 as a sensor.
An output is generated when 7 or 118 is crossed.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram of a control system of the paper punching device shown in FIG. The parts corresponding to those in the block diagram shown in FIG. 22 are designated by the same reference numerals.

The outputs of the position sensors 117 and 118 are supplied to the microprocessor 33 together with the outputs of the cam position sensor 94 and the paper sensor 95. Further, the microprocessor 33 controls the punching device moving motor 111 via the motor control circuit 119.

The microprocessor 33 is provided on the side of the post-processing device 3 and includes the communication circuit 120 and the communication line 1.
21 and the communication circuit 122, and is connected to the microprocessor 123 on the image forming apparatus 1 side. To the microprocessor 123, various sensors 124 for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 1, various driving mechanisms 125, and the control panel 14 are connected. Various instructions for the image forming apparatus 1 are input from the control panel 14, and also instructions for the post-processing apparatus 3 are input.
The instruction to the post-processing apparatus 3 is transmitted to the post-processing apparatus 3 side via the communication line 121, and the information indicating the operating state of the post-processing apparatus 3 is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 1 side via the communication line 121. It

Next, the position control of the sheet punching device in the post-processing device 3 will be described. FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing the operation of automatically adjusting the punching position according to the type of registration of the sheets.

First, the upper side of the registration mode of the image forming apparatus 1 is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 1 by the communication between the image forming apparatus 1 and the post-processing apparatus 3, and the registration mode is discriminated based on this information (step 201). ), If it is the center register, it is determined whether or not the sensor 117 is on (step 202). If it is on, the sheet punching device 101 moves to the center register shown in FIG. Since it means that it is in a suitable position, the process is ended as it is. If the sensor 117 is off in step 202, the punching device moving motor 111 is rotated via the motor control circuit 119 to move the sheet punching device 101 in the direction opposite to the arrow X (step 203), and the sensor 11
When 7 is turned on (step 203), the movement of the sheet punching device 101 is stopped. As a result, the sheet punching device 101 is moved to a position suitable for the center register shown in FIG.

It is not the center cash register at step 201,
That is, when it is determined that the side register is present, it is determined whether or not the sensor 118 is on (step 2
06), if it is on, the sheet punching device 101
Since it is located at a position suitable for the side register shown in FIG. 27 (b), the processing is ended as it is. If the sensor 118 is off in step 206, the punching device moving motor 111 is rotated via the motor control circuit 119 to move the sheet punching device 101 in the direction of arrow X (step 207), and the sensor 118 is activated. When it is turned on (step 208), the movement of the sheet punching device 101 is stopped. As a result, the sheet punching device 101 is shown in FIG.
It is moved to a position suitable for the side register shown in (b).

[0118]

According to the present invention, each punching mechanism section for performing punching processes of different types driven by a common driving source, for example, two-hole punching process and three-hole punching process, is selectively used. Since it can be operated, the punching process can be performed with a desired number or positions of holes as necessary.

Further, since the sheet conveying mechanism section and the punching mechanism section are driven by using the common drive source, the structure is simplified.

Since the punching position can be adjusted according to the type of registration of the sheets, the punch hole can always be punched at the optimum position.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an entire image forming system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a sheet punching device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a sheet punching device.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the sheet punching device.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a cam portion of the sheet punching device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the cam sensor.

FIG. 7 is a principle block diagram for controlling the operation of the sheet punching device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a basic operation of the sheet punching device.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a two-hole punching process.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship among a light shielding plate, a cam home sensor, and a cam position sensor.

FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view showing a drive mechanism of a paper punching device according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the drive mechanism.

FIG. 13 is a front view showing a paper punching device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of a cam portion of the sheet punching device.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the cam sensor.

FIG. 16 is a schematic sectional view showing a drive mechanism and a paper transport mechanism of the paper punching device.

FIG. 17 is a front view of the sheet punching device.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of the sheet punching device.

FIG. 19 is a bottom view of the sheet punching device.

FIG. 20 is a side view of the sheet punching device.

FIG. 21 is a sectional view of a cam portion of the sheet punching device.

FIG. 22 is a principle block diagram of an electric circuit for controlling the operation of the sheet punching device.

FIG. 23 is a timing chart showing the timing of sheet conveyance and punching processing in the post-processing apparatus.

FIG. 24 is a plan view showing a sheet punching device that can be manually moved in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the registration mode and the position of the sheet discharged to the post-processing apparatus.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the position of the sheet punching device and the punch holes of the sheet.

FIG. 27 is a plan view showing a sheet punching device that can automatically move in a direction orthogonal to the sheet transport direction.

28 is a block diagram of a control system of the paper punching device shown in FIG. 27.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing an operation of automatically adjusting the punching position according to the type of registration of sheets.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus, 1a ... Paper accommodation section, 1b ... Platen glass, 1c ... Platen glass, 1d ... Electrophotographic image forming section, 1e ... Fixing section, 2 ... Automatic document feeder, 3 ... Post-processing apparatus, 4 ... Stack tray, 5 ... sort bin tray,
6, 7 ... Copy paper, 8 ... Switching gate, 9 ... Stacked paper discharge roller, 10, 10a to 10d ... Paper transport roller,
11 ... Ejection roller, 12 and 12a ... Paper punching device, 13
... Staple device, 14 ... Control panel, 15a
... 2-hole punching blade, 15b ... 3-hole punching blade, 15c ... 2-hole adding punching blade, 15d ... 3-hole adding punching blade, 16a ... 2
Hole cam, 16b ... 3-hole cam, 16c ... 2-hole addition cam, 16d ... 3-hole addition cam, 17a to 17d ... Compression spring, 18 ... Upper chute, 19 ... Lower chute, 20 ...
Chute frame 21, 22 ... Through hole, 23 ... Drilling blade guide member, 24 ... Cam shaft, 25 ... Bearing member, 26 ... Pulley, 27 ... Drive motor, 28 ... Timing belt, 2
9 ... Shading plate, 30 ... Cam home sensor, 31 ... Cam position sensor, 31a, 31c, 31d ... Sensor, 32
... paper sensor, 33 ... microprocessor, 34 ... punch motor control circuit, 35 ... paper transport motor control circuit, 3
6 ... Paper transport motor, 37 ... Drive motor, 38 ... Rotation shaft, 39 ... First gear, 40 ... Second gear, 41 ... First
Electromagnetic clutch, 42 ... Shaft, 43 ... Third gear, 44 ...
Fourth gear, 45 ... Fifth gear, 46 ... Second electromagnetic clutch, 47 ... Cam shaft, 48 ... Sixth gear, 51 ... First drive motor, 52 ... Pulley, 53 ... Belt, 54 ... Large diameter pulley, 55 ... Small diameter pulley, 56 ... Belt, 57 ... Pulley, 58 ... Pulley, 59 ... Intermediate pulley, 60 ... Pulley,
61 ... Pulley, 62 ... Gear, 63 ... Intermediate gear, 64 ... Drive gear, 65 ... Second drive motor, 66 ... Pulley, 6
7, 68 ... Intermediate pulley, 69 ... Pulley, 70 ... Intermediate pulley, 71 ... Pulley, 72 ... Belt, 81 ... Drilling blade, 82
... Cam, 83 ... Compression spring, 84 ... Upper chute, 85 ...
Lower chute, 86 ... Chute frame, 87 ... Through hole, 88 ... Drilling blade guide member, 89 ... Cam shaft, 90 ... Bearing member, 91 ... Spring clutch, 91a ... Locking gear, 91b ... Hook lever, 91c ... Solenoid , 92
... Light-shielding plate, 93 ... Photo sensor, 94 ... Cam position sensor, 95 ... Paper sensor, 96 ... Motor control circuit, 9
7 ... Motor control circuit, 98 ... Clutch control circuit, 101
... Paper punching device, 102 ... Fixed frame, 103 ... Guide rod, 104 ... Sliding member, 105 ... Long hole, 106 ... Paper punching device side fixing member, 107 ... Mounting hole, 108 ... Fixed frame side fixing member, 109 ... Image forming apparatus main body, 11
0 ... pulley, 111 ... motor for moving punching device, 112 ...
Pulley, 113 ... Power transmission belt, 114 ... Driven member, 115 ... Holding member, 116 ... Actuator, 11
7,118 Position sensor ... 119 ... Motor control circuit, 1
20 ... Communication circuit, 121 ... Communication line, 122 ... Communication circuit, 123 ... Microprocessor, 124 ... Various sensors, 125 ... Various drive mechanisms

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-5-162919 (JP, A) JP-A-5-186134 (JP, A) JP-A-3-49897 (JP, A) JP-A-3-190696 (JP , A) JP-A-3-248894 (JP, A) JP-A-8-324874 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 37/04 G03G 15/00 534

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet punching device, which is disposed in the middle of a sheet transporting path and performs a punching process on a sheet being transported, comprising a plurality of first punching blades arranged at a first interval. A second perforation mechanism section comprising a plurality of second perforation blades arranged at a second spacing different from the first spacing, the first perforation mechanism section and the second perforation mechanism section. And a power transmission mechanism that selectively transmits the driving force from the driving source to the first punching blade or the second punching blade. A paper punching device characterized by being provided. 2. The first perforation blade and the second perforation blade linearly move in a direction perpendicular to a surface of a sheet, and the power transmission mechanism is rotationally driven by the drive source. A first cam and a second cam arranged on the same rotation axis, the first cam driving the first punching blade and the second cam driving the second punching blade. 2. The sheet punching device according to claim 1, wherein the phase of the first cam and the phase of the second cam are different from each other. 3. The drive source is a motor capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation, and is a motor which is reciprocally rotated within a range of different rotation angles according to the type of the punching blade to be driven. The sheet punching device according to claim 2, wherein the sheet punching device is a sheet punching device. 4. The drive source selectively outputs the motor that rotates in one direction, the power transmission mechanism that converts the rotation of the motor into the rotation in the opposite direction, and the rotation in the opposite direction. 3. The sheet punching device according to claim 2, further comprising a power selection mechanism that operates. 5. A plurality of position sensors for respectively detecting rotational positions of the plurality of cams having different phases, and a rotation control device for controlling rotation of the rotary shaft according to outputs of the plurality of position sensors. The sheet punching device according to claim 2, wherein