JP3581790B2 - Post-processing equipment with punched paper - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a punched sheet post-processing apparatus which is mounted on an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, and a printing machine, and includes a punching unit for punching a sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus. Things.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A paper post-processing device mounted on an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile, and a printing machine performs post-processing of paper discharged from the image forming apparatus. In addition, stack processing for stacking sheets on a paper discharge tray, stapling processing for binding sheets of a predetermined number of sheets, and stacking the sheets on a paper discharge tray, and punching processing using punching means for punching sheets are performed. Conventionally, in order to perform a punching process, the punching device includes a punch and a die that can be rotated in synchronization with each other, and a driving device that rotates the punch and the die, and the punch and the die are rotated by the driving device. 2. Description of the Related Art A punched sheet post-processing apparatus employing a so-called rotary punch method for punching a conveyed sheet is known.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, although the conventional sheet post-processing apparatus with a punch includes a sensor for detecting the rotational position (home position) of the punch or the die, when a punch error including a detection error due to a failure of the sensor occurs, Since the punch and the die were not managed to detect where they were rotated, the transport path downstream of the paper transport direction, where the rotary punch was mounted, was prohibited. However, there is a problem that the entire system cannot be used, and other jobs such as stack processing and stapling processing that do not perform punch processing cannot be used.
[0004]
Therefore, an object of the invention according to claims 1 to 4 of the present invention is to allow a punch and a die to convey a sheet when a punch abnormality including a detection abnormality due to a sensor failure or the like occurs (does not disturb the sheet conveyance). An object of the present invention is to provide a punched sheet post-processing apparatus which can shorten the time during which the system is stopped by controlling the driving means so as to stop at the stop position, and which is easy to use.
[0005]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above objects, the driving means is constituted by a stepping motor, and the second detecting means is constituted by a pulse counting means for counting a driving pulse to the stepping motor. Another object of the present invention is to provide a punched sheet post-processing apparatus capable of simplifying a control configuration and controlling a rotation position and a stop position and speed control with certainty and high accuracy.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a punching unit including a rotatable punch and a die for punching a sheet, and a driving unit for rotating the punching unit. In a sheet post-processing apparatus with a punch for punching a sheet conveyed by rotating the punching means, a first detecting means for detecting a rotation position of the punch or the die, and the detection by the first detecting means, A second detecting means for detecting a rotational position of the punch or the die, and when a punch abnormality including a detection abnormality of the first detecting means has occurred, the punch and the die detect the sheet based on an output signal from the second detecting means. And a drive control means for controlling the drive means so as to stop at a stop position at which the conveyance is permitted.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus with a punch according to the first aspect, the detection abnormality is that it is not detected that the punch or the die makes one rotation within a predetermined time. I am taking it.
[0008]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus with a punch according to the first or second aspect, the drive control unit prohibits a punching operation after the stop of the drive unit due to the occurrence of the punch abnormality. , Is adopted.
[0009]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus with a punch according to the first, second or third aspect, the stop position is a rotation position substantially opposite to a rotation position when punching a sheet. I am taking it.
[0010]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus with a punch according to the first, second, third, or fourth aspect, the driving unit includes a stepping motor, and the second detecting unit includes a driving pulse to the stepping motor. And a pulse counting means for counting the number of pulses.
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes an image forming apparatus including, for example, a copying machine. Reference numeral 200 denotes a post-processing apparatus with a punch attached to the side of the image forming apparatus 100. An entrance sensor 36, a rotary punch unit (perforation device) 121, an entrance roller 1, and two branch claws 8a are provided around the entrance of the sheet transport path 2R of the punched sheet post-processing apparatus 200, which is a connection part with the image forming apparatus 100. , 8b are provided respectively.
[0012]
The entrance sensor 36 detects the leading end and the trailing end of the discharged and conveyed sheet. Each of the branching claws 8a and 8b is provided with a solenoid and a spring (not shown) to separate a sheet of paper toward the discharge tray 12, a sheet of paper toward the proof tray 14, and a sheet of paper toward the stapling device 11. Each is driven to divide.
[0013]
The sort / stack transport path 12R from the paper transport path 2R to the paper discharge tray 12 includes an upper transport roller 2 composed of a pair of rollers, a paper discharge sensor 38 for detecting paper, a drive roller 3a and a driven roller 3b. A discharge roller 3, a moving roller 7 for moving the paper to one side, a paper surface detecting lever 13 which moves up and down by the loaded paper, and paper surface detection sensors 32 and 33 for detecting the height of the loaded paper are arranged, respectively. The driven roller 3b of the discharge roller 3 is normally in contact with the driving roller 3a in a state where the driven roller 3a is pressed by its own weight or an urging force of a spring or the like, and a sheet or a stapled sheet bundle is opposed to the pressing force. The paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 12.
[0014]
A plurality of transport rollers including a pair of rollers are disposed on the transport path 14R extending from the paper transport path 2R to the proof tray 14. The proof tray 14 stores interrupt sheets from a facsimile, a printer, or the like during a job such as copying.
[0015]
A staple transport path 11R from the paper transport path 2R to the stapling apparatus 11 includes staples including transport rollers 4a, 4b, and 4c each including a pair of rollers, a paper discharge sensor (not shown), and a brush-shaped paper feed roller 6. Units 15 are arranged respectively. The lower transport rollers 4a, 4b, 4c are driven by a transport motor (not shown).
[0016]
The staple unit 15 includes a staple tray (not shown) to which each component is attached and the staple device 11. The staple device 11 is provided below the staple tray. On the staple tray, a jogger fence 9 for aligning sheets, a return roller 5, and a discharge belt 10 for discharging a sheet bundle bound behind the jogger fence 9 are arranged. Reference numeral 10a denotes a discharge claw fixed to the discharge belt 10 for locking the rear end of the sheet bundle Pa bound by the stapling device 11.
[0017]
The jogger fence 9 is moved in the width direction of the sheet by a jogger belt (not shown) by a jogger motor (not shown), and the return roller 5 is moved by a return solenoid (not shown) into and out of contact with the surface of the sheet. It is configured to Below the jogger fence 9, a rear end fence 19 is provided for abutting the rear end of the sheet.
[0018]
The staple device 11 is driven by a staple moving motor (not shown) via a staple belt (not shown), and moves toward the near side and the far side (lateral direction) in a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. The trailing end of the sheet bundle bound by the stapling device 11 is locked by a discharge claw 10a fixed to the discharge belt 10, and is guided by the guide plate 20 by rotation of the discharge belt 10 driven by a discharge motor (not shown). While being discharged to the discharge tray 12.
Since the configuration of the staple unit 15 is not the gist of the present invention, further detailed description will be omitted.
[0019]
The discharge tray 12 is suspended by a vertical lift belt (not shown). The vertical lift belt is driven by a vertical motor (not shown) via a gear train including a worm gear and a timing belt, and is raised or lowered by forward or reverse rotation of the vertical motor. Further, the paper discharge tray 12 is appropriately moved in the left-right direction by a shift motor (not shown).
[0020]
The home position and the height at the time of movement of the paper discharge tray 12 are detected by the paper surface detection lever 13 and the paper surface detection sensors 32 and 33 that are pivotally supported in the up and down direction. When the sheet bundle becomes full, this is detected by a lower limit sensor (not shown). When the paper discharge tray 12 is lifted and the shifting roller 7 is pushed up by the paper discharge tray 12, an upper limit switch (not shown) is turned off, and the vertical motor stops rotating. Is prevented from being damaged due to overrun.
[0021]
Next, the structure around the rotary punch unit 121 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the rotary punch unit 121 includes a punching unit including a punch 123 and a die 124 that can rotate together to punch the sheet P, and a driving unit that rotates the punch 123 and the die 124 as illustrated in FIG. Stepping motor 130 as means, a rotation transmitting mechanism for transmitting the rotational driving force of stepping motor 130 to punch 123 and die 124, respectively, and home position as first detecting means for detecting the rotational position (home position) of punch 123. And a sensor 128. 2 and 3, for simplification of the drawings, illustration of the branch claws 8a and 8b is omitted, and the paper transport path 2R is shown in a simplified manner.
In the example of the first embodiment, since the stepping motor 130 is used as a driving unit for rotating the punch 123 and the die 124, the rotation position and the speed can be easily and reliably and accurately controlled with a simple control configuration. It can be carried out.
[0022]
The punch 123 is housed in a punch housing 122 attached to a side plate (not shown) of the rotary punch unit 121. The punch 123 is fixed to a punch shaft 123A rotatably supported by the side plate at a position to be punched in a direction perpendicular to the sheet of FIG. 2, that is, in a width direction of the sheet P orthogonal to the sheet conveying path 2R. A plurality (for example, two or three) are attached at intervals.
[0023]
The dice 124 is arranged to face the punch 123 with the paper transport path 2R interposed therebetween, and is housed in a dice housing 125 attached to the side plate. The die 124 has a cylindrical shape and is mounted on a die shaft 124A rotatably supported by the side plate. A plurality of (for example, two or three) holes 124a are formed on the outer peripheral wall of the die 124 at predetermined intervals corresponding to the rotational positions of the punches 123. 2 to 4, the size of the hole 124 a of the die 124 is exaggerated somewhat larger than the outer diameter of the tip blade of the punch 123.
[0024]
The rotation transmission mechanism is substantially the same as the mechanism shown in FIG. 2 of JP-A-6-278095, for example, and includes a punch gear (not shown) attached to one end of a punch shaft 123A, and a punch gear. And a die gear (not shown) attached to one end of a die shaft 124A that meshes with the die shaft 124A. The output shaft 130a of the stepping motor 130 is attached to the center of one end of the punch gear. By having such a rotation transmission mechanism, the punch 123 and the die 124 are rotated in opposite directions in the arrow rotation direction b and the arrow rotation direction a as shown in FIG. Direction.
[0025]
The home position sensor 128 is a transmission type photo sensor having a light emitting element and a light receiving element. The punch 123 occupies a home position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in cooperation with a slit disk 129 described later. It has a function to detect the rotating position. A slit disk 129 having a slit 129a that is selectively engaged with the optical path of the home position sensor 128 is attached to the output shaft 130a of the stepping motor 130.
[0026]
A collection box 126 is disposed below the die housing 125 to collect a scrap 127 of the paper P punched by the rotation of the punch 123 and the die 124. The scrap 127 of the sheet P perforated (punched) by the rotation of the punch 123 and the die 124 falls through the hole 124a of the die 124, and furthermore, a double-sided tapered guide (not shown) formed on the die 124. ), Falls from the inside of the dice 124 to the outside of the dice housing 125, and is collected and collected in the collection box 126.
[0027]
Next, a control configuration of a main part of the post-processing apparatus 200 with a punch will be described with reference to FIG. In the block diagram shown in FIG. 6, for simplicity of description, only the control configuration relating to the punch processing system is described, and the control configuration relating to other sort / stack processing and the stapling processing system, or the image forming prime 100 side. A system for transmitting and receiving to and from the control device is omitted.
[0028]
Output signals from the home position sensor 128 and the entrance sensor 36 are input to the CPU 50 as a central processing unit via the sensor input circuit 51. The CPU 50 transmits a command signal to the stepping motor 130 via the drive circuit 52 in accordance with the input signal, and controls the command signal. The CPU 50 has a function as a second detection unit that detects the rotational position of the punch 123 separately from the detection by the home position sensor 128. In this case, the second detecting means includes a pulse counting means for counting a driving pulse to the stepping motor 130, and a clock pulse generating circuit built in the CPU 50 plays a role. Further, the CPU 50 includes a timer for measuring time.
[0029]
The CPU 50 causes the punch 123 and the dice 124 to stop at a stop position at which the conveyance of the sheet P is allowed, based on an output signal from the pulse counting means, when a punch abnormality including a detection abnormality of the home position sensor 128 occurs. It has a function as drive control means for controlling the stepping motor 130. Then, the CPU 50 also has a function of prohibiting the punching operation after the driving of the stepping motor 130 is stopped due to the occurrence of the punch abnormality.
[0030]
The detection abnormality of the home position sensor 128 includes a failure of the sensor 128 itself, and also includes a case where it is not detected that the punch 123 (or the die 124) has made one rotation within a predetermined time. Therefore, in the punch abnormality including the detection abnormality, when the punch 123 and the die 124 do not normally rotate once due to a failure of the stepping motor 130 or the like, or when the punch operation time is longer than a predetermined time due to an overload at the time of punching. There are some cases like this.
[0031]
Next, the operation of the punched sheet post-processing apparatus 200 will be described. The operation when the sort mode or stack mode, which is a non-staple mode in which staple processing is not performed, and the staple mode in which staple processing is performed, are not described for the above-described reason, and the punch mode in which punch processing is performed is selected. The operation in the case where the operation is performed will be described.
[0032]
First, a case where a normal punch is performed will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sheet P discharged from the image forming apparatus 100 passes through the entrance sensor 36 and is conveyed to the rotary punch unit 121. At this time, when a certain time elapses after the rear end of the paper P passes through the entrance sensor 36, the stepping motor 130 is operated, and the die 124 and the punch 123 are rotated in the arrow rotation directions a and b in FIG. You. While the paper P is being transported in the paper transport direction X in the paper transport path 2R between the punch 123 and the die 124 of the rotary punch unit 121, the punch 123 and the die 124 rotate (see FIG. 4A). When the hole 124a of the die 124 and the punch 123 are engaged (see FIG. 4B), the punch is punched. The detailed operation at the time of punching is as shown in FIGS. 5 (a), 5 (b) and 5 (c), in which the leading edge of the punch 123 quickly cuts into the conveyed paper P and pushes it out. It is a thing to cut. As described above, after a predetermined time has passed after the trailing end of the sheet P has passed the entrance sensor 36, the punch 123 and the die 124 rotate and mesh with each other, thereby punching a predetermined position in the width direction of the sheet P. , And punching can be performed at a predetermined position in the paper transport direction X for any size of paper P regardless of the paper size.
[0033]
In addition, the time from when the sheet P passes through the entrance sensor 36 to when the punch 123 and the die 124 start rotating can be set arbitrarily, whereby any position of the sheet P in the sheet transport direction X can be set. It becomes possible to punch.
[0034]
Then, as shown in FIG. 4C, the punch 123 and the die 124, which have finished punching holes in the paper P, are further rotated, and both stop at a predetermined position. In this way, the scrap 127 of the paper P punched by the punch 123 and the die 124 falls into the hole 124a of the die 124, and further from the inside of the die 124 to the outside of the die housing 125 by the double-sided tapered guide portion of the die 124. It falls and then falls into the collection box 126 to be collected and collected.
[0035]
The sheet P normally punched by the rotary punch unit 121 is moved in the direction of the discharge tray 12, the sheet in the direction of the proof tray 14, and stapled by the operation of the branch claws 8 a and 8 b. The sheet is appropriately divided into a sheet going in the direction of the apparatus 11 and necessary and appropriate processing is performed.
[0036]
Next, a punch operation including a case where a punch abnormality has occurred will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.
First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the rotary punch unit 121 can be used. If the rotary punch unit 121 can be used, the process proceeds to step S2 and punch processing starts. At this time, the punch 123 (and the dice 124) occupy the home position. Then, after the paper P discharged from the image forming apparatus 100 passes through the entrance sensor 36 and the rear end of the paper P passes through the entrance sensor 36 and passes for a certain period of time, the stepping motor 130 is operated, so that the punch 123 And the die 124 start rotating.
[0037]
The CPU 50 starts counting the driving pulses for operating the stepping motor 130 at the start of the operation of the perforating means, and the number of pulses required when the punch 123 (and the dice 124) makes one revolution in advance is calculated based on the counted number. The following determination is made while simultaneously detecting the home position detected by the position sensor 128. That is, in step S4, when the home position sensor 128 has no failure or the above-described punch abnormality and the home position sensor 128 detects that the punch 123 has made one rotation within a predetermined time, the process proceeds to step S5. The CPU 50 determines that the above-described normal punching operation has been performed, and stops driving the stepping motor 130 ("normal punching is finished" in the flowchart of FIG. 7).
[0038]
On the other hand, in step S4, the CPU 50 counts the number of pulses (the X pulse is described in the flowchart of FIG. 7) that the punch 123 (and the dice 124) previously determined apparently make one rotation. If the home position sensor 128 does not change even if the home position sensor 128 is detected, that is, if the home position is not detected by the home position sensor 128, it is determined that the punching operation is abnormal (punch abnormal) (step S7), and the process proceeds to step S7. Proceeding to S8, the stepping motor 130 is rotationally driven by the Y pulse to stop the motor 130. When the sheet P flows downstream in the sheet conveyance direction X, the Y pulse is stopped beforehand so that the punch 123 stops at a rotation position where the punch 123 does not interfere, that is, stops within a range of −90 degrees from the home position of the punch 123. Set it.
[0039]
Here, the position where the punch 123 is stopped within a range of −90 degrees from the home position is a rotation position at the time of punching the sheet P (the punch rotation shown in FIGS. 4B and 5B). 2), that is, the position where the tip blade of the punch 123 occupies almost immediately above in FIG.
[0040]
Thereafter, since it is determined that the punching operation is abnormal, the control is switched to prohibit the punching operation so that the punching operation is not performed at all even if the punch is connected (see step S10). In other words, the CPU 50 controls the stepping motor 130 to prohibit the punching operation after the stop of the stepping motor 130 due to the occurrence of the punch abnormality. Next, the process proceeds to step S11, and an appropriate warning is displayed. This warning is displayed by, for example, an appropriate display on the liquid crystal screen of the operation panel or by sounding a buzzer or the like, thereby performing a serviceman call or the like. This is effective for holding the punch 123, the die 124 and the stepping motor 130 as they are, and for accurately positioning the punch 123 and the die 124 in the initial state by the service person.
[0041]
The drive unit is not limited to the above-described stepping motor 130, and may be another control drive motor such as a DC motor, for example, as long as the above-described advantages may be desired.
[0042]
In the above-described first embodiment, the drive pulse for operating the stepping motor 130 is counted as the second detection unit, and the rotational position of the punch 123 is viewed based on the number of pulses. Instead, a position detecting means such as a photo encoder or the like for detecting a change in the rotational position of the motor may be attached to each of the driving motors as driving means for rotating the punch 123 and the die 124, or by using two or more sensors. The change in the home position or the rotation position of the punch 123 may be observed.
[0043]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, when a punch abnormality including a detection abnormality of the first detection unit occurs, the punch and the die are set on the paper based on the output signal from the second detection unit. Drive control means for controlling the drive means so as to stop at a stop position that allows the transfer of the punch, even if a punch abnormality including a detection abnormality of the first detection means occurs, the cutting edge of the punch In addition, since the driving means is controlled so as to stop at a stop position where the dies allow the paper to be conveyed (does not interfere with the conveyance of the paper), the time required for system downtime can be reduced, and an easy-to-use punched paper post-processing device can be manufactured at a low cost. Can be provided.
[0044]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of each of the above-mentioned inventions, the driving means comprises a stepping motor, and the second detecting means comprises a pulse counter for counting driving pulses to the stepping motor. In addition, the control structure is simplified, and the control of the rotational position and the stop position and the speed control can be easily, reliably, and accurately performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sheet post-processing apparatus with a punch showing a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional front view of a periphery of a rotary punch unit provided in the post-processing apparatus for a sheet with punches shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional front view of a main part around a rotary punch unit in FIG. 2;
FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are front cross-sectional views of main parts showing transition states of punching operations of a punch and a die of a rotary punch unit.
5 (a), (b), and (c) are operation diagrams of the main parts, which are enlarged in detail before and after the operation of FIG. 4 (b), showing a transition state of the sheet punching operation. It is a front view of the principal part shown.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of a main part of the sheet post-processing apparatus with punches according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a punching process according to the first embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
36 entrance sensor 50 CPU as drive control means
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Image forming apparatus 121 Rotary punch unit 123 Punch 124 Dice 128 Home position sensor 130 as first detecting means Stepping motor 200 as driving means 200 Punched paper post-processing device P Paper

Claims (5)

A punch for punching a sheet conveyed by rotating the punching means by the driving means, the punch having a punching means comprising a rotatable punch and a die for punching a sheet, and a driving means for rotating the punching means; In the attached paper post-processing device,
First detecting means for detecting the rotational position of the punch or die,
Second detection means for detecting the rotational position of the punch or the die separately from the detection by the first detection means,
When a punch abnormality including a detection abnormality of the first detection unit occurs, the driving unit is controlled based on an output signal from the second detection unit so that the punch and the die stop at a stop position at which sheet conveyance is allowed. Drive control means,
A post-processing apparatus for a sheet with a punch, comprising: The post-processing apparatus with a punch according to claim 1,
The post-processing apparatus with a punched sheet according to claim 1, wherein the detection abnormality is that it is not detected that the punch or the die makes one rotation within a predetermined time. 3. The post-processing device with punched paper according to claim 1, wherein
The post-processing apparatus for a punched sheet, wherein the drive control unit prohibits a punching operation after the stop of the drive unit when the punch abnormality occurs. 4. A post-processing apparatus for a punched sheet according to claim 1, 2 or 3,
The post-processing device with a punched sheet, wherein the stop position is a rotation position substantially opposite to a rotation position when punching a sheet. 5. The post-processing apparatus for a punched sheet according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4,
The sheet post-processing apparatus with punches, wherein the driving means comprises a stepping motor, and the second detecting means comprises pulse counting means for counting a driving pulse to the stepping motor.

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