JP4012014B2 - Sheet processing apparatus, post-processing apparatus for image formation including the sheet processing apparatus, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus, an image forming post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus, and an image forming apparatus. More specifically, the sheet processing apparatus aligns sheets to be fed and performs processing such as end face binding or saddle stitching. Sheet processing apparatus, post-image forming apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus that performs post-image processing on a transferred sheet, and copying for forming a toner image by an electrophotographic method The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus such as a printer, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine of these.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional sheet processing apparatus, an image forming post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus, and an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile apparatus that form a toner image by an electrophotographic method. A sheet processing apparatus that performs processing, or a toner image forming unit such as a copying machine or a printer. Various post-processing apparatuses for image formation that automatically perform the above are widely known.
In recent years, with respect to the quality of each function, needs have been diversified and advanced, and in particular, the needs for the alignment accuracy and alignment state of bound sheets have become extremely high. However, when the aligned sheet bundle is moved to the binding position, the sheet bundle is bent due to the weight of the sheet bundle, and the alignment state is disturbed. It was. As a countermeasure, there has been proposed a sheet bundle alignment tray dedicated to the number of sheets to be bound. In this configuration, end-face binding and saddle-stitching with different maximum binding numbers are configured as independent units, and the saddle-stitching tray is configured to prevent the sheet from being bent by reducing the stacking width as much as possible ( (See Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 07-2416, etc.). However, this not only makes the apparatus complicated or large, but also has a disadvantage in terms of cost.
Therefore, it is also known to share the saddle stitch alignment tray and the end face alignment alignment tray (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-206629). In this case, since the stacking width needs to be adjusted for end face binding with a large number of sheets to be bound, the above-described problems cannot be solved.
[0003]
Therefore, it has been proposed by the inventor of the same applicant to suppress the bending by using an alignment member in the sheet conveyance direction. However, in this case, a new problem can be considered as follows. For example, this alignment member has a relatively large conveying force because it pushes the sheet downward. Since the sheet is pressed by this member, if the pressing force is too strong, the sheet bundle is changed and bent. In other words, it is very difficult to balance the conveying force required for sheet alignment and the resistance force when the sheet bundle is transferred to the binding position, and the stopped roller is rubbed. Is also expensive.
Therefore, as a countermeasure against the above problem, a measure of adding a member for holding the sheet stored in the staple tray side can be considered, but since the mechanism of the staple tray is originally complicated, the apparatus is further complicated, There is a problem of high costs.
Further, the image forming apparatus includes a recording sheet alignment tray that sequentially stacks and aligns recording sheet sheets on which images are recorded by the image forming apparatus, and a post-processing unit that performs post-processing such as saddle stitching on the recording sheet bundle. The recording paper post-processing apparatus is a surface of the recording paper aligning tray that is attached to a jogger fence provided on the recording paper aligning tray by stacking and aligning the aligned recording paper bundle on the recording paper aligning tray. When post-processing work such as saddle stitching is performed, the post-processing work should be performed accurately and stably even if the recording paper is bent or curled. It is also publicly known (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-19268).
[0004]
However, such a configuration complicates the configuration in the recording paper alignment tray having a relatively small space and closes the space formed between the pair of jogger fences. In addition, the configuration of the jogger fence that performs the jogging operation to align the recording paper bundle is complicated.
Therefore, the conventional sheet processing apparatus, and the image forming post-processing apparatus and image forming apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus perform a binding process by moving a bundle of aligned sheets of sheets to a binding position. The bundle of sheets is bent due to its own weight or curl, and it is difficult to perform the binding process accurately at a predetermined position due to disordered alignment. In addition, the problem is that the configuration is complicated and large, the jam removal performance is lowered, and the cost is increased.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve such problems. In other words, the occurrence of bending or the like of a bundle of aligned sheets is regulated, the binding process is easily performed at an accurate position, the configuration is simple, the size is small, the jam removal property is not lowered, and the cost is high. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet processing apparatus that performs stable and stable binding processing, and an image forming post-processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus that include the sheet processing apparatus.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  To achieve the above objective,First meansPerforms a pendulum motion with an alignment binding processing tray that aligns sheets that are loaded and aligns and performs binding processing in a sheet processing apparatus that aligns the loaded sheets and performs processing such as edge binding or saddle stitching Accordingly, the conveying direction aligning means for aligning the sheets carried into the aligning and binding processing tray in the conveying direction, the binding processing means for performing the binding process on the bundle of sheets aligned by the conveying direction aligning means, and the binding A sheet bundle pressing means for swinging the sheet bundle bound by the processing means from the standby position to the operating position and pressing the sheet bundle from the thickness direction of the sheet bundle;The sheet bundle pressing means is arranged coaxially with the conveying direction alignment means.thingSpecialIt is a sign.
  The second means is the first means in which a plurality of the sheet bundle pressing means are arranged coaxially with the conveying direction aligning means.thingSpecialIt is a sign.
  The third means is the first or second means, wherein the sheet bundle pressing means comprises a pressing roller that is rotatably held.thingSpecialIt is a sign.
  According to a fourth means, in the third means, the pressing roller held rotatably is held swingably on the drive shaft of the conveying direction alignment means via the pressing arm.thingSpecialIt is a sign.
  In the fifth means, in any one of the first to fourth means, the sheet bundle pressing means drives the swing by a pressing solenoid.thingSpecialIt is a sign.
  A sixth means is the fifth means, wherein the pressing solenoid drives the sheet bundle pressing means to swing through the buffer member.thingSpecialIt is a sign.
  A seventh means is the sixth means, wherein the buffer member is a spring member.thingSpecialIt is a sign.
  According to an eighth means, in any one of the first to seventh means, the sheet bundle pressing means swings from the standby position to the operating position at least before the binding process is performed by the binding processing means. The bundle is pressed from the thickness direction.
The ninth means is characterized in that, in the eighth means, the sheet bundle pressing means swings from the operating position to the standby position after passing the sheet bundle.
A tenth means is a post-processing apparatus for image formation that performs post-image processing on a transferred sheet to be transferred, after conveying the transferred sheet on which a toner image to be transferred is formed. The sheet processing apparatus according to the first to ninth means for aligning the processing conveyance path and the sheet conveyed and carried in the post-processing conveyance path to perform processing such as end face binding or saddle stitching, and the sheet processing The apparatus includes a sheet discharge unit that discharges a bundle of sheets of a transfer target on which a toner image after binding processing is formed by the apparatus from the sheet processing apparatus.
An eleventh means is characterized in that, in the tenth means, the sheet discharge means is composed of an endless belt-shaped discharge belt held rotatably.
A twelfth means is characterized in that, in the eleventh means, the discharge belt comprises a discharge claw for moving and conveying a bundle of sheets of a transfer medium on which the toner image after binding processing is formed on the outer periphery. To do.
A thirteenth means is characterized in that, in the twelfth means, a plurality of the discharge claws are arranged on the outer periphery of the discharge belt.
A fourteenth means is characterized in that, in the thirteenth means, the plurality of discharge claws are arranged at positions facing each other on the outer periphery of the discharge belt.
According to a fifteenth aspect, in the post-processing apparatus for image formation according to any one of the tenth to fourteenth means, the binding processing is performed by the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth means. A folding device that performs a folding process on the bundle of sheets is provided.
The sixteenth means is an image forming apparatus for forming a toner image by an electrophotographic method, a toner image forming means for forming a toner image on a sheet of a transfer material, and a sheet discharged from the toner image forming means and carried in And a sheet processing apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth means for performing processing such as end face binding or saddle stitching.
[0010]
[Action]
  A sheet processing apparatus configured as described above, an image forming post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus, and an image forming apparatus include:First meansIn the transporting direction aligning means for aligning the sheets fed into the alignment binding processing tray that aligns the sheets that are loaded and stacked and performs the binding process, and aligns the sheets in the transporting direction by performing a pendulum motion. A bundle of sheets bound by a binding processing unit that performs a binding process on a bundle of aligned sheets,Arranged coaxially with the conveying direction alignment meansBy the sheet bundle pressing means, the sheet is swung from the standby position to the operating position and pressed from the thickness direction of the sheet bundle.
  Second meansIn the transporting direction aligning means for aligning the sheets fed into the alignment binding processing tray that aligns the sheets that are loaded and stacked and performs the binding process, and aligns the sheets in the transporting direction by performing a pendulum motion. A bundle of sheets bound by a binding processing unit that performs a binding process on a bundle of aligned sheets,Multiple units arranged on the same axis as the conveying direction alignment meansThe sheet bundle pressing means swings from the standby position to the operating position and presses it from the thickness direction of the sheet bundle..
[0013]
  Third meansIn the transporting direction aligning means for aligning the sheets fed into the alignment binding processing tray that aligns the sheets that are loaded and stacked and performs the binding process, and aligns the sheets in the transporting direction by performing a pendulum motion. The bundle of sheets to be bound by the binding processing means that performs the binding process on the aligned bundle of sheets is swung from the standby position to the operating position by the pressing roller that is rotatably held by the sheet bundle pressing means. Press down from the thickness direction.
  Fourth meansIn the transporting direction aligning means for aligning the sheets fed into the alignment binding processing tray that aligns the sheets that are loaded and stacked and performs the binding process, and aligns the sheets in the transporting direction by performing a pendulum motion. A bundle of sheets to be bound by the binding processing means for performing the binding process on the aligned sheet bundle is rotatably held by the drive shaft of the conveying direction alignment means via the pressing arm of the sheet bundle pressing means. The pressed roller is swung from the standby position to the operating position and pressed from the thickness direction of the sheet bundle.
  5th meansIn the transporting direction aligning means for aligning the sheets fed into the alignment binding processing tray that aligns the sheets that are loaded and stacked and performs the binding process, and aligns the sheets in the transporting direction by performing a pendulum motion. The sheet bundle bound by the binding processing means for binding the aligned sheet bundle is swung from the standby position to the operating position by the sheet bundle pressing means that is driven to swing by a pressing solenoid. Press down from the thickness direction.
  Sixth meansIn the transporting direction aligning means for aligning the sheets fed into the alignment binding processing tray that aligns the sheets that are loaded and stacked and performs the binding process, and aligns the sheets in the transporting direction by performing a pendulum motion. The sheet bundle bound by the binding processing means that performs the binding process on the aligned sheet bundle is swung from the standby position to the operating position by the sheet bundle pressing means that is driven to swing by the pressing solenoid via the buffer member. The sheet is pressed from the thickness direction of the sheet bundle.
  Seventh meansIn the transporting direction aligning means for aligning the sheets fed into the alignment binding processing tray that aligns the sheets that are loaded and stacked and performs the binding process, and aligns the sheets in the transporting direction by performing a pendulum motion. The bundle of sheets to be bound by the binding processing means for performing the binding process on the aligned bundle of sheets is moved from the standby position to the operating position by the sheet bundle pressing means that drives the swing by the pressing solenoid via the spring member of the buffer member. Swing and press from the thickness direction of the bundle of sheets.
[0014]
  Eighth meansIn the transporting direction aligning means for aligning the sheets fed into the alignment binding processing tray that aligns the sheets that are loaded and stacked and performs the binding process, and aligns the sheets in the transporting direction by performing a pendulum motion. The sheet bundle bound by the binding processing unit that performs the binding process on the aligned bundle of sheets is swung from the standby position to the operating position by the sheet bundle pressing unit at least before the binding processing unit performs the binding process. Press from the thickness direction of the bundle.
  Ninth meansIn the transporting direction aligning means for aligning the sheets fed into the alignment binding processing tray that aligns the sheets that are loaded and stacked and performs the binding process, and aligns the sheets in the transporting direction by performing a pendulum motion. The sheet bundle bound by the binding processing unit that performs the binding process on the aligned bundle of sheets is swung from the standby position to the operating position by the sheet bundle pressing unit at least before the binding processing unit performs the binding process. The sheet bundle pressing means is configured to swing from the operating position to the standby position after the sheet bundle has passed.
  Tenth meansIn the above, the sheet that is conveyed and conveyed in the post-processing conveyance path that conveys the sheet of the transfer medium on which the toner image to be conveyed is formed is aligned and subjected to processing such as end face binding or saddle stitching.First1 to9thEitherRelated to the meansA sheet bundle of the transfer target on which the toner image after the binding process is formed by the sheet processing apparatus is discharged from the sheet processing apparatus by the sheet discharge unit.
  Eleventh meansIn the above, the sheet that is conveyed and conveyed in the post-processing conveyance path that conveys the sheet of the transfer medium on which the toner image to be conveyed is formed is aligned and subjected to processing such as end face binding or saddle stitching.First1 to9thEitherRelated to the meansA sheet bundle on the transfer body on which the toner image after the binding process is formed by the sheet processing apparatus is discharged from the sheet processing apparatus by an endless belt-shaped discharge belt that is rotatably held by the sheet discharge unit. To.
[0015]
  12th meansIn the above, the sheet that is conveyed and conveyed in the post-processing conveyance path that conveys the sheet of the transfer medium on which the toner image to be conveyed is formed is aligned and subjected to processing such as end face binding or saddle stitching.First1 to9thEitherRelated to the meansA toner image after binding processing is formed on an endless belt-shaped outer periphery of a sheet discharge unit that is rotatably held by a sheet bundle on which a toner image after binding processing is formed by a sheet processing apparatus. The sheet bundle of the transferred material is discharged from the sheet processing apparatus by a discharge belt including a discharge claw for moving and conveying the sheet bundle.
  Thirteenth meansIn the above, the sheet that is conveyed and conveyed in the post-processing conveyance path that conveys the sheet of the transfer medium on which the toner image to be conveyed is formed is aligned and subjected to processing such as end face binding or saddle stitching.First1 to9thEitherRelated to the meansAfter the binding process in which a plurality of sheets of the transfer target sheet on which the toner image after the binding process is formed by the sheet processing apparatus are arranged on an endless belt-shaped outer periphery held rotatably by the sheet discharge unit The sheet is transferred from the sheet processing apparatus by a discharge belt including a discharge claw that moves and conveys a bundle of sheets of the transfer target on which the toner image is formed.
  14th meansIn the above, the sheet that is conveyed and conveyed in the post-processing conveyance path that conveys the sheet of the transfer medium on which the toner image to be conveyed is formed is aligned and subjected to processing such as end face binding or saddle stitching.First1 to9thEitherRelated to the meansA plurality of sheets of transfer target sheets on which toner images after binding processing are formed by a sheet processing apparatus are arranged at opposing positions on the outer periphery of an endless belt shape that is rotatably held by a sheet discharge unit. The sheet is transferred from the sheet processing apparatus by a discharge belt including a discharge claw that moves and conveys a bundle of transfer target sheets on which the toner image after the binding process is formed.
  15th meansIn the above, the sheet that is conveyed and conveyed in the post-processing conveyance path that conveys the sheet of the transfer medium on which the toner image to be conveyed is formed is aligned and subjected to processing such as end face binding or saddle stitching.First1 to9thEitherRelated to the meansThe sheet bundle of the transfer target on which the toner image after the binding process is formed by the sheet processing apparatus is discharged from the sheet processing apparatus by the sheet discharge unit, and the folding process is performed by the folding apparatus.
  Sixteenth meansIn the above, a bundle of sheets discharged from the toner image forming means for forming a toner image on the sheet of the transfer medium and carriedFirst1 to9thEitherRelated to the meansThe sheet processing apparatus aligns and performs processing such as end face binding or saddle stitching.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the sheet processing apparatus 0 that performs processing such as end-face binding or saddle-stitching by aligning the loaded sheets is a sheet (S) that is loaded and accumulated from the direction indicated by the arrow (A). ) Are aligned and the binding process tray 1 that performs the binding process, and the arrow (B) of the sheet (S) that is carried in the pendulum movement of the sheet (S) that is carried into the alignment binding process tray 1 are illustrated in FIG. ) Of the binding processing means 3 for performing binding processing on the bundle of sheets (S) aligned with the hitting roller 2a of the transport direction alignment means 2 and the hitting roller 2a of the transport direction alignment means 2 A stand-by position (see FIG. 1) is a bundle of the saddle stitching stapler 3a, the end face stitching stapler 3b, and the sheet (S) bound by the saddle stitching stapler 3a of the binding processing means 3 or the end face stitching stapler 3b. Made from A pressing roller 4a of a sheet bundle pressing means 4 that swings to a position (see FIG. 2) in the direction indicated by an arrow (C) and presses the sheet (S) bundle from the thickness direction in the direction indicated by the arrow (D). It regulates the occurrence of bending (T) of the bundle of sheets (S) to be aligned, reduces the conveyance resistance, and is easily subjected to binding processing at an accurate position without being contaminated by slip. The structure is simple and small, and jam removal is not degraded, and high-quality and stable binding processing is performed at low cost.
The pressing roller 4a of the sheet bundle pressing means 4 swings from the standby position to the operating position at least before the binding processing means 3 performs the binding process to press the sheet (S) bundle from the thickness direction. Since the swing of the bundle of S) is swung from the operating position to the standby position, the occurrence of bending of the bundle of sheets aligned at an appropriate timing is regulated or the regulation is released.
The alignment binding processing tray 1 is disposed so as to be inclined so that the downstream side in the loading direction of the sheet (S) in the direction of the arrow (A) shown in the figure is located on the lower side. The pressing roller 4a suppresses the bending of the gravity caused by pressing the bundle of sheets (S), and alignment is easily performed.
[0017]
3 is a perspective view of FIGS. 1 and 2 as viewed from the right side, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views showing the operation of the conveying direction aligning means and the like. In each figure, the sheet processing apparatus 0 is fixed to the apparatus main body 0a. A bearing 5a and a bearing 5b are fitted to the bracket 5 thus formed.
The hitting arm 2c of the conveying direction aligning means 2 has a bearing 2c.₁And bearing 2c₂Is fitted.
These bearings 5a, 5b and 2c₁, Bearing 2c₂Is passed through the drive shaft 2 b of the conveying direction alignment means 2, so that the hitting arm 2 c can swing with respect to the drive shaft 2 b and the bracket 5.
The drive shaft 2b is connected to a drive pulley 2b.₁Is fitted and the rotational drive source 2b₂More drive pulley 2b₁And timing belt 2b₃Rotational driving force is transmitted via the rotation.
The hitting arm 2c has a shaft 2c.₃The tapping roller 2a is rotatably supported.
The hitting roller 2a and pulley 2b₄In the timing belt 2b₅Is suspended, and the rotational driving force of the drive shaft 2b is transmitted to the tapping roller 2a so as to be rotatable.
The hitting arm 2c is normally stopped at a standby position by a spring (not shown) (see FIG. 4), and is automatically shown in a simple configuration by turning on the hitting solenoid (SOL) 2d. And swings to the operating position (see FIG. 6).
At this time, the hitting roller 2a is rotated by the rotational driving force described above, and with a simple configuration, the sheet (S) is hit and the end faces are brought into contact with each other, and the carried sheet (S) is conveyed. Directional alignment is easily and reliably performed.
[0018]
A pressing arm 4b of the sheet bundle pressing means 4 is fitted to a bearing 5a and a boss portion of the bearing 5b, and is rotatable relative to the drive shaft 2b and the bracket 5.
A shaft 4e is crimped on the pressing arm 4b, and the pressing roller 4a is supported so as to be rotatable about the shaft 4e.
The pressing arm 4b is normally stopped at a standby position by a spring (not shown) in the same manner as the hitting arm 2c (see FIG. 4), and the pressing solenoid (SOL) 4c is turned on (ON) to simplify the pressing arm 4b. The configuration automatically swings from the standby position in the direction of the arrow (F) shown in the drawing to the operating position, thereby restricting the occurrence of bending or the like of the bundle of sheets (S) to be aligned (see FIG. 5).
At this time, the pressing roller 4a rotatably supported by the sheet bundle pressing means 4 has the sheet (S) loaded and stacked in the alignment binding processing tray 1 as shown in FIG. Even if it is bent, the drive shaft 2b is also used coaxially with the hitting roller 2a of the transport direction aligning means 2, so that the structure is simple and low-cost without being contaminated as shown in FIG. It is possible to change to a normal stack state by restricting the deflection.
The pressing solenoid (SOL) 4c is a spring member 4d of the buffer member 4d.₁Since the pressing roller 4a of the sheet bundle pressing means 4 is driven to swing through the sheet bundle pressing means 4, the operating position of the pressing roller 4a of the sheet bundle pressing means 4 is adjusted to the alignment binding processing tray 1. It operates with a simple configuration up to a position separated by a predetermined distance.
This distance is preferably slightly larger than the maximum number of sheets (S) or the number of sheets (S) to be bound.
Although not shown in the drawing, a part of the pressing arm 4b rotates in the notch of the bracket 5 and abuts against the notch of the rubber member of the buffer member 4d so that the swinging is restricted and the sound is silenced at the same time. good.
In addition, although not shown, the pressing roller 4a is arranged coaxially with the hitting roller 2a so as to suppress and regulate the bending of the plurality of positions of the bundle of sheets (S) and change to a normal stack state. can do.
[0019]
FIG. 7 is an overall configuration diagram of a post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, a post-processing apparatus 10 that performs processing after image formation on a sheet (S) to be transferred is carried in. Includes a perforation conveyance path 11a, an upper tray conveyance path 11b, a shift tray conveyance path 11c, an alignment binding conveyance path 11d of a post-processing conveyance path 11 that conveys a transferred object (S) on which a toner image to be carried is formed, The perforated conveyance path 11a, the upper tray conveyance path 11b, the shift tray conveyance path 11c, and the alignment binding conveyance path 11d of the post-processing conveyance path 11 are punctured on the transfer target (S) on which the toner image is formed. The sheet processing apparatus 0 according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the punch unit of the punching apparatus 10a and the transferred object to be transferred (S) are aligned to perform processing such as end face binding or saddle stitching, Binding with sheet processing device 0 An endless belt-shaped discharge belt 12a that is rotatably held by a sheet discharge means 12 that discharges a bundle of transferred objects (S) on which a processed toner image is formed from the sheet processing apparatus 0 with a simple configuration; A discharge claw 12b that moves and conveys a bundle of transferred bodies (S) on which a toner image after binding processing is formed on the outer periphery of the discharge belt 12a, and is discharged by the discharge belt 12a and the discharge claw 12b. 17 includes a folding device 13 that performs a folding process on a bundle of sheets (S) that has been subjected to the binding process by the sheet processing apparatus 0 according to any one of 17, and the like. The occurrence of bending of the bundle of sheets (S) with which the body is aligned is regulated, the binding process is easily performed at an accurate position, and the configuration is simple, small, and without reducing the jam removal performance. High quality and stable binding at a low cost It is.
The post-processing device 10 is attached to the side portion of the image forming apparatus 20 as shown in the figure, and the transferred object (S) after toner image formation discharged from the discharge roller pair 21o of the image forming apparatus 20 is formed. Guided to the sheet processing apparatus 0.
The transferred object (S) to be transferred passes through the perforation transport path 11a having the punch unit of the perforating apparatus 10a for perforating, and the upper tray transport path 11b leading to the upper tray 10b and the shift tray transport path leading to the shift tray 10c. 11c, the alignment and binding conveyance leading to the alignment closing processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0 for performing the saddle stitching or end surface closing by the saddle stitching stepper 3a or the end surface binding stepler 3b. It is comprised so that it may distribute to the path | route 11d by the branch nail | claw 14 and the branch claw 15. FIG.
[0020]
The transferred object (S) subjected to alignment and binding processing in the alignment closing processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0 is guided to the shift tray 10c by the branch guide plate 12c and the movable guide 12d of the sheet discharge means 12. The transfer target (S) that is configured to be distributed to the shift tray conveyance path 11c and the folding device 13 that performs folding processing is guided to the lower tray 10d.
Further, the branching claw 11d is placed in the alignment binding conveyance path 11d.₁Is held in the state shown in the figure by a low-load spring (not shown), and after the rear end of the transfer object (S) has passed through this, the transport roller 11d₂, Conveying roller 11d₃, Staple discharge roller 11d₄Among these, at least the transport roller 11d₂Is reversed so that the trailing edge is guided and retained in the sheet storage portion 10e, and can be conveyed while being overlapped with the next sheet (S).
By repeating this operation, it is possible to convey two or more transferred bodies (S) in a superimposed manner.
Upper tray conveyance path 11b leading to the upper tray 10b, shift tray conveyance path 11c leading to the shift tray 10c, alignment, and saddle stitching stapler 3a of the binding processing means 3, or saddle stitching with the end face stitching stapler 3b, or end face closing A common perforation conveyance path 11 a upstream of the alignment binding conveyance path 11 d that leads to the alignment closing processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0 that performs, for example, an inlet for detecting a transfer target (S) received from the image forming apparatus 20. Sensor 11a₁, Downstream of the entrance roller 11a₂, Punching device 10a, transport roller 11a₃The branch claw 14 and the branch claw 15 are sequentially arranged.
The branch claw 14 and the branch claw 15 are held in the state shown in the figure by a spring (not shown). When the solenoid (not shown) is turned on, the branch claw 14 is moved upward and the branch claw 14 is moved upward. By rotating 15 downward, the transfer body (S) is distributed to the upper tray transport path 11b, the shift tray transport path 11c, and the alignment binding transport path 11d.
When the transfer object (S) is guided to the upper tray conveyance path 11b, the branch claw 14 is in the state shown in the figure, the solenoid (not shown) is turned off (OFF), and the transfer object (S) is guided to the shift tray conveyance path 11c. When the solenoid (not shown) is turned on from the state shown in the figure, the branch claw 14 is rotated upward and below the branch claw 15 to be transferred to the alignment binding conveyance path 11d. In the case of guiding S), the branch claw 15 is turned off in the state shown in the figure, and the branch claw 14 is turned upward by turning on the solenoid (not shown) from the state shown in the figure. It will be in the state.
The sheet stacking device 16 included in the post-processing device 10 including the sheet processing device 0 includes a driving roller 16a of the shift discharge roller 16a.₁And driven roller 16a₂And a return roller 16b, a sheet surface detection sensor 16c, a shift tray 10c, an elevating mechanism 16d (see FIGS. 8 to 10), a shift mechanism 16e (see FIGS. 11 to 13), and the like.
[0021]
8 to 10, the return roller 16b (see FIGS. 8 and 9) is the drive roller 16a of the shift discharge roller 16a.₁And the driven roller 16a₂This is a sponge roller that comes into contact with the transfer target (S) discharged from (refer to FIG. 7) and abuts the rear end of the transfer target (S) against an unillustrated end fence.
The return roller 16b (see FIGS. 8 and 9) is connected to the drive roller 16a of the shift discharge roller 16a.₁And the driven roller 16a₂It rotates with the rotational force (see FIG. 7).
Near the return roller 16b (see FIGS. 8 and 9), there is a shift tray raising limit switch 16d.₁When the shift tray 10c is raised and the return roller 16b (see FIGS. 8 and 9) is pushed up in the direction of the arrow (G), the shift tray ascent limit switch 16d.₁Is turned on (ON) and the tray lifting motor 16d₂Stops. This prevents overrun of the shift tray 10c.
In the vicinity of the return roller 16b (see FIGS. 8 and 9), as shown in FIG. 7, as a sheet surface position detecting means for detecting the sheet surface position of the transfer body (S) of the shift tray 10c. The sheet surface detection sensor 16c is provided (see FIG. 7).
The sheet surface detection sensor 16c includes a sheet surface detection lever 16c.₁And sheet surface detection sensor (for staple) 16c₂And sheet surface detection sensor (for non-stipple) 16c₃(See FIG. 10).
[0022]
The paper surface detection lever 16c shown in FIG.₁The shaft portion 16c₁₁And a contact portion 16c that contacts the upper surface of the rear end of the transfer object (S) loaded on the shift tray 10c.₁₂And fan-shaped shielding part 16c₁₃have.
The sheet surface detection sensor (for staple) 16c located above₂Is mainly used for stipple discharge control, and the sheet surface detection sensor (for non-stipple) 16c.₃Is mainly used for shift emission control.
The shielding part 16c₁₃When it is blocked by the sheet surface detection sensor (for staple) 16c₂, And the sheet surface detection sensor (for non-stipple) 16c₃Is turned on.
Accordingly, the shift tray 10c is raised and the sheet surface detection lever 16c is moved.₁The contact portion 16c of₁₂Is rotated upward in the direction of the arrow (H) shown in the drawing, the sheet surface detection sensor (for staple) 16c₂Is turned off (OFF) and further rotated, the sheet surface detection sensor (for non-stipple) 16c₃Turns on.
The sheet surface detection sensor (for stippling) 16c indicates that the load amount of the transfer object (S) has reached a predetermined height.₂, And the sheet surface detection sensor (for non-stipple) 16c₃Is detected, the shift tray 10c is lowered by a predetermined amount. Thereby, the sheet surface position of the transfer target (S) of the shift tray 10c is kept substantially constant.
As shown in FIG. 8, the lifting mechanism 16d of the shift tray 10c moves the shift tray 10c to the drive shaft 16d.₃Is moved up and down by being driven by the drive unit.
The drive shaft 16d₃And driven shaft 16d₄Between the timing pulley 16d₅Via the timing belt 16d₆Is hung with tension.
Timing belt 16d₆A substrate 16d that supports the shift tray 10c₇The unit including the shift tray 10c is suspended so as to be able to move up and down.
[0023]
The tray lifting / lowering motor 16d capable of forward / reverse rotation as a drive source for moving the shift tray 10c in the vertical direction of the arrow (I) shown in FIG.₂The power generated by the worm gear 16d₈Via the drive shaft 16d₃Gear train 16d fixed to₉Is transmitted to the final gear.
On the way, the worm gear 16d₈Therefore, the shift tray 10c can be held at a fixed position, and an accidental drop accident of the shift tray 10c can be prevented.
The substrate 16d of the shift tray 10c₇The shielding plate 16d₁₀Are formed integrally, and below the fullness detection sensor 16d for detecting the full load of the stacked transfer target (S).₁₁And lower limit sensor 16d for detecting the lower limit position₁₂Is disposed and the shielding plate 16d₁₀16d full detection sensor₁₁And lower limit sensor 16d₁₂Are turned on (ON) and off (OFF).
Full detection sensor 16d₁₁And the lower limit sensor 16d.₁₂Is a photosensor, and the shielding plate 16d₁₀It is turned on (ON) when it is blocked by.
In FIG. 8, the drive roller 16a of the shift discharge roller 16a.₁And the driven roller 16a₂Is omitted.
[0024]
11 to 13, the shift mechanism 16 e of the shift tray 10 c includes a shift motor 16 e as illustrated in FIG. 11.₁Shift cam 16e₂Rotate.
Shift cam 16e₂The pin 16e is positioned at a certain distance from the rotation axis center.₃Is standing and pin 16e above₃And an end fence 16e that guides the rear end of the transfer object (S) loaded on the shift tray 10c and is fitted in a direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the transfer object (S).₄Long hole part 16e₄₁Is fitted.
Shift cam 16e₂By rotating the pin 16e.₃The end fence 16e fitted with₄Moves in the direction perpendicular to the discharge direction of the transfer target (S) in the direction indicated by the arrow (J), and the shift tray 10c also moves in the direction indicated by the arrow (K).
The shift tray 10c stops at two positions, the front and back, and the stop position is determined by the shift sensor 16e.₅Detected by the shift motor 16e.₁Is turned on (ON) and off (OFF).
[0025]
In FIG. 14, the shift discharge roller 16a is the drive roller 16a.₁And the driven roller 16a₂The driven roller 16a₂Is supported upstream of the transfer body (S) in the discharge direction, and is rotatably supported by a free end of a discharge opening / closing guide plate 16f that is rotatably provided in the vertical direction of the arrow (L) shown in the figure. Yes.
The driven roller 16a₂Is driven by its own weight or urging force.₁The transfer body (S) is in contact with both the drive rollers 16a.₁And the driven roller 16a₂It is sandwiched between and discharged.
When the bundle of the transfer target bodies (S) subjected to the binding process is discharged, the discharge opening / closing guide plate 16f is rotated upward and returned at a predetermined timing, which is the shift discharge sensor. 16a₃It is determined based on the detection signal.
The stop position is the paper discharge opening / closing guide plate sensor 16f.₁The discharge opening / closing guide plate motor 16f.₂It is driven by.
[0026]
15 to 21, the alignment closing processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0 that performs the saddle stitching and end surface closing processing by the saddle stitching stepper 3 a and the end surface binding stepler 3 b of the binding processing unit 3 is shown in FIG. The staple discharge roller 11d₄The to-be-transferred bodies (S) guided by the above are sequentially stacked (see FIGS. 15 and 16).
In this case, for each transfer object (S), the hitting roller 2a performs vertical alignment in the direction of the arrow (M) in the figure, which is the conveyance direction of the transfer object (S).
The jogger fence 6 performs horizontal alignment in the illustrated arrow (N) direction, which is the width direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the transfer object (S).
In accordance with a binding signal from the control means 17 between a job break, that is, between the last sheet (S) of the bundle of transferred bodies (S) and the first sheet (S) of the next transferred body (S). The end-face stitching stapler 3b is driven and a binding process is performed.
At this time, the pressing roller 4a of the sheet bundle pressing means 4 swings the bundle of transfer objects (S) from the standby position to the operating position and presses the transfer object (S) from the thickness direction of the bundle of transfer objects (S). Regulating the occurrence of bending (T) of the bundle of transferred bodies (S) to be aligned, and binding processing is easily performed at an accurate position without staining, and the configuration is simple, small, and jam removal is easy. A low-cost, high-quality and stable binding process is performed without lowering the image quality.
[0027]
The bundle of transferred objects (S) subjected to the binding process is immediately released from the discharge claw 12b of the discharge claw 12b of the discharge unit 12.₁And release claw 12b₂The drive roller 16a of the shift discharge roller 16a by the discharge belt 12a having₁And the driven roller 16a₂To the shift tray 10c set at the receiving position (see FIGS. 17 and 18).
As shown in FIG. 18, the discharge claw 12b has a discharge belt HP sensor 12a.₁The home position is detected by the discharge belt HP sensor 12a.₁Is the discharge claw 12b of the discharge claw 12b provided on the discharge belt 12a.₁And the release claw 12b₂To turn it on (OFF).
On the outer periphery of the discharge belt 12a, there are two discharge claws 12b at opposite positions.₁And the release claw 12b₂Are arranged and alternately move and convey a bundle of transfer target bodies (S) accommodated in the alignment binding processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0.
Further, if necessary, the discharge belt 12a is rotated in the reverse direction, and the discharge claw 12b waiting to move the bundle of transferred members (S) from now on.₁And the discharge claw 12b on the opposite side₂The front end in the transport direction of the bundle of transfer bodies (S) accommodated in the alignment binding processing tray 1 may be aligned on the rear surface of the sheet.
On the drive shaft 12f of the discharge belt 12a driven by the discharge motor 12e, the discharge belt 12a and its drive pulley 12g are arranged at the alignment center in the width direction of the transfer object (S), and the discharge is symmetrically performed. A roller 12h is disposed and fixed, and the peripheral speed of the discharge roller 12h is set to be faster than the peripheral speed of the discharge belt 12a (see FIG. 19).
[0028]
As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the hitting roller 2a has the rotational drive source 2b.₂Is rotated counterclockwise by the motor No. 2 and is given a pendulum motion by the hitting solenoid (SOL) 2d around the fulcrum of the drive shaft 2b, and is fed to the alignment binding processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0. The transferred body (S) is abutted against the rear end fence 1a by acting intermittently on the transferred body (S).
The jogger fence 6 is driven via a timing belt 6b by a jogger motor 6a capable of forward and reverse rotation, and reciprocates in the width direction of the transfer object (S) (see FIG. 15).
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 19, the saddle stitching stapler 3a of the binding processing means 3 is a maximum sheet that can be saddle-stitched at a distance from the rear end fence 1a to the needle striking position of the saddle stitching stapler 3a. (S) are arranged so as to be at least a distance corresponding to half the length in the conveyance direction of the size, and two are arranged symmetrically with respect to the alignment center in the width direction of the transfer object (S) and fixed to the stay 12i. Yes.
As shown in FIG. 20, the end surface binding stapler 3b of the binding processing means 3 is a stapler moving motor 3b capable of forward and reverse rotation.₁By timing belt 3b₂And is moved in the width direction of the transferred body (S) in order to bind a predetermined position of the end of the transferred body (S).
At one end of the moving range, a stapler movement HP sensor 3b that detects the home position of the end-face stitching stapler 3b of the binding processing means 3 is provided.₃The binding position in the width direction of the transfer object (S) is controlled by the amount of movement of the end face binding stapler 3b of the binding processing means 3 from the home position.
Further, as shown in FIG. 21, the end face binding stapler 3b of the binding processing means 3 is an oblique motor 3b.₄By this, it rotates in the diagonal direction.
[0029]
22 to 24, the branch guide plate 12c serving as a deflecting / releasing means for the bundle of transferred bodies (S) is a fulcrum 12c.₁The pressurizing roller 12c is provided so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction of the arrow (O) shown in the figure, and is rotatable on the downstream side.₂Spring 12c₃Thus, the discharge roller 12h is pressurized.
The branch guide plate 12c is positioned at the bundle branch drive motor 12c.₄Rotating cam 12c with more drive₅Cam surface 12c₅₁It is determined by contacting with.
The movable guide 12d as a deflecting means for the bundle of transferred bodies (S) is rotatably supported by the drive shaft 12f of the discharge roller 12h, and is a link that is rotatably connected to the movable guide 12d. Arm 12d₁Is provided.
Link arm 12d₁Is a shaft 12d fixed to the side plate 10f shown in FIG.₂And slot 12d₃Thus, the rotation range of the movable guide 12d is restricted.
Spring 12d₄Is held downward at the position shown in FIG.
Further, the bundle branch drive motor 12c₄The cam 12c that rotates by obtaining more drive₅The cam surface 12c₅₁The link arm 12d₁When the is pushed, the movable guide 12d connected is rotated upward.
The cam 12c₅Is a bundle branching guide HP sensor 12d₅The shielding part 12d₆To obtain the home position, and the bundle branch drive motor 12c.₄The stop position is controlled by the drive pulse.
FIG. 22 shows the cam 12c.₅Indicates the positional relationship between the branch guide plate 12c and the movable guide 12d at the home position.
Guide surface 12d of the movable guide 12d₇Is the drive roller 16a of the shift discharge roller 16a.₁And the driven roller 16a₂And a function of guiding the transferred object (S).
FIG. 23 shows the cam 12c.₅Rotates, the branch guide plate 12c rotates downward, and the pressure roller 12c₂Indicates that the discharge roller 12h is pressed.
FIG. 24 shows the cam 12c.₅However, by further rotating, the movable guide 12d rotates upward, and a path leading from the alignment binding processing tray 1 to the folding device 13 is formed by the branch guide plate 12c and the movable guide 12d. It shows that.
FIG. 19 shows the positional relationship in the depth direction. In the post-processing apparatus 10, the branch guide plate 12 c and the movable guide 12 d are operated by one drive motor. However, a separate drive motor is provided, and the movement timing is determined according to the size of the transfer target (S) and the number of sheets to be bound. Alternatively, the stop position may be configured to be controllable.
[0030]
25 and 26, the folding plate 13a in the folding device 13 is supported by fitting the elongated holes 13c to the two shafts 13b standing on the front and rear side plates 10f, and the shaft portion 13d. And the long hole 13f of the link arm 13e is fitted, and the link arm 13e swings around the fulcrum 13g, so that the folding plate 13a reciprocates left and right in the direction of the arrow (P) shown in the figure. To do.
The long hole portion 13h of the link arm 13e and the shaft portion 13j of the folding plate driving cam 13i are fitted, and the link arm 13e swings by the rotational movement of the folding plate driving cam 13i.
The folding plate driving cam 13i is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow (Q) by a folding plate driving motor 13k.
The stop position is a half-moon shaped shield 13i.₁Are detected by the folding plate HP sensor 13l.
In FIG. 25, the folding plate 13a indicates a home position that is completely retracted from the receiving area (S) of the folding processing conveyance path 13m or the sheet (S) bundle storage area.
When the folding plate drive cam 13i is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow (Q), the folding plate 13a is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow (R), and the transferred body (S) of the folding processing conveyance path 13m, Or it protrudes in the accommodation area | region of the bundle | flux of a sheet | seat (S).
[0031]
In FIG. 26, the transfer object (S) or the center of the bundle of sheets (S) in the folding processing conveyance path 13m is positioned above the folding roller 13n of the pair of folding rollers 13n.₁And 13n below the folding roller₂The position pushed into the nip part formed by is shown.
When the folding plate drive cam 13i is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow (Q), the folding plate 13a moves in the direction indicated by the arrow (S), and the transfer target (S) in the folding processing conveyance path 13m, Alternatively, the sheet is retracted from the storage area of the bundle of sheets (S).
As shown in FIG. 7, the post-processing apparatus 10 includes (1) a non-stipple mode (a) in which the punching transport path 11a is discharged to the upper tray 10b through the upper tray transport path 11b, and (2) the above Non-stipple mode (b) discharged from the perforation transport path 11a through the shift tray transport path 11c to the shift tray 10c, (3) discharged from the perforation transport path 11a through the shift tray transport path 11c to the shift tray 10c. In this case, the transfer tray 10c swings in the direction orthogonal to the discharge direction every time the section is separated, and the transfer target (S) discharged is sorted, the stack mode, and (4) the perforation. Alignment and binding are performed on the alignment binding processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0 from the conveyance path 11a through the alignment binding conveyance path 11d, and the sheet passes through the shift tray conveyance path 11c. And (5) alignment and saddle stitching are performed on the alignment binding processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0 from the punching conveyance path 11a through the alignment binding conveyance path 11d. Further, the sheet is discharged in accordance with each post-processing mode of the saddle stitch binding mode in which the sheet is folded in the folding processing conveyance path 13m and discharged from the discharge roller 13o to the lower tray 10d.
[0032]
(1) In the non-stipple mode (a), the transfer medium (S) distributed from the perforating conveyance path 11a by the branching claw 14 is guided to the upper tray conveyance path 11b and is conveyed to the conveyance roller 11b.₁And upper discharge roller 11b₂Is discharged to the upper tray 10b.
The upper discharge roller 11b₂The upper discharge sensor 11b that is disposed in the vicinity of the printer and detects the discharge of the transfer object (S).₃To monitor the discharge status.
(2) In the non-stipple mode (b), the transfer medium (S) distributed by the branching claw 14 and the branching claw 15 from the perforation transport path 11a is guided and transported to the shift tray transport path 11c. Roller 11c₁And the drive roller 16a of the shift discharge roller 16a₁And the driven roller 16a₂Is discharged to the shift tray 10c.
Further, the drive roller 16a of the shift discharge roller 16a.₁And the driven roller 16a₂Shift discharge sensor 16a that is disposed in the vicinity of the printer and detects discharge of the transfer target (S).₃To monitor the discharge status.
[0033]
(3) The sorting and stacking mode operations are the same as in (2) non-stipple mode (b).
At that time, the transfer target (S) discharged by the shift tray 10c swinging in the direction orthogonal to the discharge direction for each section is sorted.
(4) In the operation in the staple mode, the transfer target (S) distributed by the branching claw 14 and the branching claw 15 from the perforating conveyance path 11a is guided to the alignment binding conveyance path 11d, and the conveyance roller 11d₅The transport roller 11d₂The transport roller 11d₃The staple discharge roller 11d₄As a result, the sheet is discharged to the alignment binding processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0.
In the alignment binding processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0, the staple discharge roller 11d.₄When the transferred objects (S) sequentially discharged by the above are aligned and a predetermined number of sheets are reached, the end surface binding stapler 3b of the binding processing unit 3 performs the binding process.
Thereafter, the bundle of bound transfer objects (S) is the release claw 12b of the release claw 12b.₁Or the release claw 12b₂The drive roller 16a of the shift discharge roller 16a is conveyed downstream by₁And the driven roller 16a₂Is discharged to the shift tray 10c.
Further, the drive roller 16a of the shift discharge roller 16a.₁And the driven roller 16a₂Shift discharge sensor 16a that is disposed in the vicinity of the sheet and detects the discharge of the bundle of transferred objects (S).₃To monitor the discharge status.
When the staple mode is selected, the operation of the sheet processing apparatus 0 in the staple mode in the staple mode is as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, and the jogger fence 6 moves from the home position. The apparatus waits at a standby position that is 7 mm away from the width of the transfer target (S) discharged to the alignment binding processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0.
The transferred body (S) is the staple discharge roller 11d.₄The rear end of the transfer object (S) is the staple discharge sensor 11d.₆The jogger fence 6 moves inward by 5 mm from the standby position and stops.
The staple discharge sensor 11d₆Is detected at the time when the rear end of the transfer object (S) passes, and the signal is input to the CPU 17a of the control means 17.
[0034]
The CPU 17a of the control means 17 starts the staple discharge roller 11d from the time of reception of this signal.₄Stipple transport motor 11d₄₁The number of pulses transmitted from the counter is counted, and after the predetermined pulse is transmitted, the hitting solenoid (SOL) 2d is turned on.
The hitting roller 2a performs a pendulum movement by turning on (ON) and off (OFF) the hitting solenoid (SOL) 2d.
When the hitting solenoid (SOL) 2d is turned on, the hitting roller 2a hits the transferred object (S) and returns downward, and hits the rear end fence 1a to align the transferred objects (S). Do.
At this time, the transfer target (S) accommodated in the alignment binding processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0 is the inlet sensor 11a.₁Or the staple discharge sensor 11d.₆Is passed to the CPU 17a of the control means 17, and the number of transferred members (S) is counted.
After a predetermined time has elapsed since the hitting solenoid (SOL) 2d is turned off, the jogger fence 6 is further moved inward by 2.6 mm by the jogger motor 6a, temporarily stopped, and the horizontal alignment is completed. To do.
The jogger fence 6 then moves outward by 7.6 mm, returns to the standby position, and waits for the next transfer object (S). This operation is performed up to the last page.
After that, it moves again 7 mm inward and stops, and prepares for a stippling operation by pressing both side ends of the bundle of transferred bodies (S).
Thereafter, after a predetermined time, the end surface binding stapler 3b of the binding processing means 3 is operated by a staple motor (not shown), and the binding processing is performed.
At this time, if two or more bindings are specified, the staple movement motor 3b is processed after the binding processing at one location is completed.₁Is driven (see FIG. 20), the end-face stitching stapler 3b is moved to an appropriate position along the rear end of the transfer body (S), and the second binding process is performed. If the third and subsequent locations are specified, this is repeated.
[0035]
When the binding process is completed, the discharge motor 12e is driven, and the discharge belt 12a is driven (see FIG. 17).
At this time, the discharge claw 12b of the discharge claw 12b₁Or the release claw 12b₂The drive roller 16a of the shift discharge roller 16a is adapted to receive the bundle of transfer objects (S) lifted by₁And the driven roller 16a₂Begins to rotate.
At this time, the jogger fence 6 is controlled so as to differ depending on the size of the transfer object (S) and the number of sheets to be bound.
For example, when the number of sheets to be bound is less than the set number or smaller than the set size, the discharge claw 12b of the discharge claw 12b is pressed by the jogger fence 6 while holding the bundle of transfer bodies (S).₁Or the release claw 12b₂Thus, the rear end of the bundle of transfer objects (S) is hooked and conveyed.
And the sheet presence sensor 11d₇(See FIG. 7 and FIG. 16) or discharge belt HP sensor 11d₈After a predetermined pulse from the detection (see FIG. 7), the jogger fence 6 is retracted by 2 mm, and the restriction of the transferred object (S) by the jogger fence 6 is released.
The predetermined pulse is generated by the discharge claw 12b of the discharge claw 12b.₁Or the release claw 12b₂Is set between the contact with the rear end of the transfer object (S) and the end of the jogger fence 6.
If the number of sheets to be bound is larger than the set number or larger than the set size, the jogger fence 6 is retracted 2 mm in advance and discharged.
In any case, when the bundle of transferred bodies (S) passes through the jogger fence 6, the jogger fence 6 moves further outward by 5 mm and returns to the standby position, and the next transferred body (S). Prepare for.
The restraining force can be adjusted by the distance of the jogger fence 6 with respect to the transfer object (S).
(5) In the saddle stitch bookbinding mode, the transfer object (S) distributed by the branching claw 14 and the branching claw 15 from the perforation conveyance path 11a is guided to the alignment binding conveyance path 11d, and the conveyance Roller 11d₅The transport roller 11d₂The transport roller 11d₃The staple discharge roller 11d₄As a result, the sheet is discharged to the alignment binding processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0.
[0036]
27 to 34, in the alignment binding processing tray 1 of the sheet processing apparatus 0, as in the (4) stipple mode, the stipple discharge roller 11d.₄The transferred objects (S) sequentially discharged are aligned and the same operation is performed until immediately before binding (see FIGS. 27 and 28).
Thereafter, by turning on the pressing solenoid (SOL) 4c (not shown), the pressing arm 4b swings the pressing roller 4a from the standby position to the operating position, so that a bundle of transferred objects (S) is obtained. Is pressed from the thickness direction to restrict and prevent the bending (T) of the bundle of transfer target bodies (S).
Then, the bundle of the transfer object (S) is the release claw 12b of the release claw 12b.₁Is carried downstream by a predetermined distance set for each size of the transfer object (S), and the center thereof is subjected to saddle stitching processing by the saddle stitching stapler 3a (see FIG. 29).
At the position shown in FIG. 30, the bundle of transferred objects (S) subjected to saddle stitching is the release claw 12b of the release claw 12b.₁Thus, the sheet is transported downstream by a predetermined distance set for each size of the transfer object (S), and is temporarily stopped. This transport distance is managed by the drive pulse of the discharge motor 12e (see FIGS. 17 and 19).
After that, the tip of the bundle of transferred bodies (S) is the discharge roller 12h and the pressure roller 12c.₂The folding guide conveying path of the folding device 13 is formed by the branch guide plate 12c that is sandwiched between the movable guide 12d and the movable guide 12d that rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow (U). The discharge claw 12b of the discharge claw 12b is again passed through the route led to 13m.₁And is conveyed downstream by the discharge roller 12h.
[0037]
The discharge roller 12h is provided on the drive shaft 12f of the discharge belt 12a and is driven in synchronization with the discharge belt 12a (see FIG. 30).
After the transferred body (S) passes, the pressing solenoid (SOL) 4c (not shown) is turned off to turn the pressing roller 4a from the operating position to the standby position by the pressing arm 4b.
Then, the bundle of the transfer target bodies (S) is 13 m above the conveyance roller of the folding processing conveyance path 13 m of the folding device 13.₁And 13m below the transport roller₂Thus, the movable rear end fence 13m that has been moved from the home position to a position corresponding to the size of the transfer object (S) in advance and stopped to guide the lower end face₃It is conveyed to.
At this time, the discharge claw 12b of the discharge claw 12b₁Is another discharge claw 12b arranged at a position facing the outer periphery of the discharge belt 12a.₂Stops at the position where it reaches the vicinity of the rear end fence 1a, the branch guide plate 12c and the movable guide 12d return to the home position and prepare for the next transfer target (S) (see FIG. 31).
The movable rear end fence 13m of the folding processing conveyance path 13m of the folding device 13₃The bundle of transferred objects (S) that is abutted against the sheet is 13 m below the conveying roller.₂Is released (see FIG. 32).
Thereafter, the vicinity of the needle portion subjected to the saddle stitching process of the bundle of transfer bodies (S) is pushed by the folding plate 13a in a substantially right angle direction, and the upper folding roller 13n of the pair of folding rollers 13n.₁And 13n below the folding roller₂To the nip formed by
13n above the folding roller of the pair of folding rollers 13n that has been rotated in advance.₁And 13n below the folding roller₂Folds the center of the bundle of transferred bodies (S) by carrying the pressure-conveyed bundle of transferred bodies (S) (see FIG. 33).
[0038]
13n above the folding roller of the pair of folding rollers 13n₁And 13n below the folding roller₂The front end of the bundle of transferred bodies (S) that has been subjected to the folding process is the other pair of folding rollers 13p and the other upper roller 13p.₁And other folding rollers 13p₂At this point of time, the upper part of the pair of folding rollers 13n is above the folding roller 13n.₁And 13n below the folding roller₂And the other pair of folding rollers 13p above the other folding rollers 13p.₁And 13p below the other folding rollers₂Is stopped and then transported again after a predetermined time.
Further, the predetermined time can be changed depending on the number and size of the transfer target (S), and if the number is large, there is a lot of time until the bundle of the next part enters the folding part. By adding the time to the predetermined time, the crease is further strengthened by effectively applying pressure without reducing the productivity of the folding device 13 in the post-processing device 10.
Further, within the predetermined time, the other pair of folding rollers 13p above the other folding rollers 13p.₁And 13p below the other folding rollers₂The other pair of folding rollers 13p above the other folding rollers 13p is measured so that the leading end of the bundle of transferred members (S) does not come out from the nip portion having a width of several millimeters.₁And 13p below the other folding rollers₂By rotating forward and reverse, the crease is given and the crease is further strengthened.
The bundle of transferred bodies (S) that has been creased by the crease is transported through the transport path 13q by the above-described operation, and is discharged to the lower tray 10d by the discharge roller 13o. ing.
At this time, the rear end of the bundle of transferred bodies (S) is the folding portion passage sensor 13q.₁The folding plate 13a and the movable rear end fence 13m.₃Returns to the home position, 13m below the transport roller₂Is restored to prepare for the next transfer target (S).
If the next job is the same paper size (S) and the same number of sheets (S), the movable rear end fence 13m₃May wait at that position (see FIG. 34).
[0039]
In FIG. 35, the control means 17 is a microcomputer having the CPU 17a, an I / O interface 17b, etc., and each switch of the operation unit 21q of the image forming apparatus 20 and the sheet surface detection sensor 16c. A signal from each sensor (SW) is input to the CPU 17a via the I / O interface 17b.
Based on the input signal, the CPU 17a performs the tray lifting / lowering motor 16d for the shift tray 10c.₂The discharge opening / closing guide plate opening / closing motor 16f for opening / closing the discharge opening / closing guide plate 16f.₂, A shift motor 16e for moving the shift tray 10c₁The rotational drive source 2b for driving the hitting roller 2a₂Motors, the solenoids such as the hitting solenoid (SOL) 2d and the pressing solenoid (SOL) 4c, the conveyance motors that drive the conveyance rollers, the paper discharge motors that drive the discharge rollers, and the drive that drives the discharge belt 12a. Discharge motor 12e, the stapler moving motor 3b for moving the end face binding stapler 3b₁The oblique motor 3b that rotates the end-face stitching stapler 3b obliquely₄The jogger motor 6a that moves the jogger fence 6, the branch guide plate 12c, and the bundle branch drive motor 12c that rotates the movable guide 12d.₄The movable rear end fence 13m₃A movable rear end fence moving motor (not shown) for moving the folding plate, the folding plate driving motor 13k for moving the folding plate 13a, and the upper folding roller 13n of the pair of folding rollers 13n.₁And the folding roller 13n₂The driving of a pair of folding roller driving motors (not shown) for driving the motor is controlled.
The staple discharge roller 11d₄Stipple transport motor 11d₄₁The pulse signal is input to the CPU 17a and counted, and the hitting solenoid (SOL) 2d, the pressing solenoid (SOL) 4c, the jogger motor 6a and the like are controlled in accordance with the count.
[0040]
In FIG. 36, the non-stipple mode (a) operation in the post-processing apparatus 10 including the sheet processing apparatus 0 is executed by the control unit 17 as follows (see FIG. 7).
When the transfer object (S) is brought into the state of being carried in from the image forming apparatus 20 side, it starts and the entrance roller 11a of the perforation conveyance path 11a is started.₂And the conveying roller 11a₃The transport roller 11b in the upper tray transport path 11b₁And upper discharge roller 11b₂Starts to rotate (step 101), and the inlet sensor 11a₁Is determined to be ON (step 102), and the inlet sensor 11a is determined.₁Is turned off (step 103), and the upper discharge sensor 11b₃ON (ON) is determined (step 104), and the upper discharge sensor 11b₃Is turned off (step 105), the passage of the transfer object (S) is confirmed, the final transfer object (S) passes (step 106), and when a predetermined time elapses, The entrance roller 11a of the perforation transport path 11a₂And the conveying roller 11a₃The transport roller 11b in the upper tray transport path 11b₁And upper discharge roller 11b₂Is stopped (step 107), and the process ends at the end.
As a result, all the transfer target (S) carried in from the image forming apparatus 20 side is discharged and stacked on the upper tray 10b without binding.
As shown in the figure, the punching device 10a is connected to the entrance roller 11a.₂And the conveying roller 11a₃In the meantime, the perforating apparatus 10a can also make a hole.
[0041]
In FIG. 37, the operation of the non-stipple mode (b) in the post-processing apparatus 10 including the sheet processing apparatus 0 is executed by the control unit 17 as follows (see FIG. 7).
When the transfer object (S) is brought into the state of being carried in from the image forming apparatus 20 side, it starts and the entrance roller 11a of the perforation conveyance path 11a is started.₂And the conveying roller 11a₃The transport roller 11c in the shift tray transport path 11c₁And the shift discharge roller 16a each start to rotate (step 201), and the solenoid that drives the branch claw 14 and the branch claw 15 is turned on to turn the branch claw 14 counterclockwise. The branch claw 15 is rotated clockwise (step 202), and the inlet sensor 11a₁Is determined to be ON (step 203), and the inlet sensor 11a is determined.₁Is turned off (step 204), and the shift discharge sensor 16a is determined.₃Is turned on (step 205), and the shift discharge sensor 16a₃Is turned off (step 206), the passage of the transferred object (S) that has been carried in is confirmed, and the final transferred object (S) passes (step 207). When time elapses, the entrance roller 11a of the perforation conveyance path 11a.₂And the conveying roller 11a₃The transport roller 11c in the shift tray transport path 11c₁Then, the rotation of the shift discharge roller 16a is stopped (step 208), the solenoid that drives the branch claw 14 and the branch claw 15 is turned off (step 209), and the process ends at the end.
As a result, all the transfer target (S) carried in from the image forming apparatus 20 side is discharged and stacked without binding to the shift tray 10c.
As shown in the figure, the punching device 10a is connected to the entrance roller 11a.₂And the conveying roller 11a₃In the meantime, the perforating apparatus 10a can also make a hole.
[0042]
In FIG. 38, the sort and stack mode operations described above in the post-processing apparatus 10 including the sheet processing apparatus 0 are executed by the control unit 17 as follows (see FIG. 7).
When the transfer object (S) is brought into the state of being carried in from the image forming apparatus 20 side, it starts and the entrance roller 11a of the perforation conveyance path 11a is started.₂And the conveying roller 11a₃The transport roller 11c in the shift tray transport path 11c₁And the shift discharge roller 16a start to rotate (step 301), and the solenoid that drives the branch claw 14 and the branch claw 15 is turned on to turn the branch claw 14 counterclockwise. The branch claws 15 are respectively rotated clockwise (step 302), and the inlet sensor 11a₁Is determined (step 303), and the inlet sensor 11a is determined.₁Is turned off (step 304), and the shift discharge sensor 16a is determined.₃Is turned on (step 305), and the shift discharge sensor 16a₃It is determined whether the transferred object (S) that has passed through is the first transferred object (S) of the part (step 306), and the transferred object (S) is the transferred object (S) at the beginning of the part. If there is not, the shift tray 10c has already been moved, so that it is discharged as it is (step 310), and if the transfer object (S) is the transfer object (S) at the head of the part, the shift motor 16e.₁Is turned on (step 307) and the shift sensor 16e is turned on.₅Until the shift tray 10c is detected and turned on (ON), the shift tray 10c is moved in a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the transfer medium (S) (step 308), and the shift sensor 16e is moved.₅Is detected by the shift tray 10c.₁Is turned off (step 309), and the transfer object (S) is discharged to the shift tray 10c, and the shift discharge sensor 16a is discharged.₃Is turned off (step 310), and whether or not the transferred body (S) is the final transferred body (S) is determined (step 311), and the final transferred body (S). If there is not, the process from step (303) is repeated for the next transfer object (S), and if it is the final transfer object (S), the final transfer object (S) passes through the predetermined transfer object (S). When the time has elapsed, the entrance roller 11a of the perforation transport path 11a₂And the conveying roller 11a₃The transport roller 11c in the shift tray transport path 11c₁The rotation of the shift discharge roller 16a is stopped (step 312), the solenoid that drives the branch claw 14 and the branch claw 15 is turned off (step 313), and the process ends.
As a result, all the transfer target (S) carried in from the image forming apparatus 20 side is discharged without being bound to the shift tray 10c, sorted and stacked.
As shown in the figure, the punching device 10a is connected to the entrance roller 11a.₂And the conveying roller 11a₃In the meantime, the perforated device 10a can sort and stack the transferred objects (S) having holes formed therein.
[0043]
39 and 41, the operation of the above-described stipple mode in the post-processing apparatus 10 including the sheet processing apparatus 0 is executed by the control unit 17 as follows (see FIG. 7).
When the transfer object (S) is brought into the state of being carried in from the image forming apparatus 20 side, it starts and the entrance roller 11a of the perforation conveyance path 11a is started.₂And the conveying roller 11a₃The transport roller 11d of the alignment binding transport path 11d₅The transport roller 11d₂The transport roller 11d₃The staple discharge roller 11d₄Each of the hitting rollers 2a of the alignment binding processing tray 1 starts to rotate (step 401), and a solenoid for driving the branch claw 14 is turned on (ON) to turn the branch claw 14 counterclockwise. (Step 402), and then the end face binding stapler 3b is moved to the staple movement HP sensor 3b.₃After detecting and detecting the home position, the stapler moving motor 3b₁Is driven to move the end-face stitching stapler 3b to the binding position (step 403), and the home position of the discharge belt 12a is also set to the discharge belt HP sensor 11d.₈After detecting the position and confirming the position, the discharge motor 12e is driven to move the discharge belt 12a to the standby position (step 404). The jogger fence 6 is also positioned at the home position by the jogger fence HP sensor. Is detected (step 405), the branch guide plate 12c and the movable guide 12d are moved to the home position (step 406), and the inlet sensor 11a is moved.₁Is turned on (step 407) and the inlet sensor 11a is determined.₁Is turned off (step 408), and the stipple discharge sensor 11d is determined.₆Is determined to be ON (step 409), and the shift discharge sensor 16a₃Is turned off (step 410), the shift discharge sensor 16a₃Is OFF (OFF), the transferred object (S) is discharged to the alignment binding processing tray 1 and the transferred object (S) is present, so that the hitting solenoid (SOL) 2d is turned on for a predetermined time. (ON), the tapping roller 2a is turned on (ON) for a predetermined time, brought into contact with the transfer object (S), urged toward the rear end fence 1a, and the rear end of the transfer object (S) (Step 411), and then the jogger motor 6a is driven to move the jogger fluence 6 inward by a predetermined amount so that the width direction of the transfer object (S), the transfer object (S) After performing the aligning operation in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction, it is returned to the standby position (step 412), whereby the transfer body (S) fed to the alignment binding processing tray 1 is vertically and horizontally, the transfer body (S). The direction perpendicular to the direction parallel to the transport direction is aligned. Then, the operations from (Step 407) to (Step 413) are repeated for each sheet, and when the final transferred object (S) of the part is obtained (Step 413), the jogger fluence 6 is moved inward by a predetermined amount. In this state, the end surface of the transfer body (S) is not displaced (step 414), and in this state, the end surface binding stapler 3b is turned on (ON) and the end surface closing is turned on (ON) (step 415). . On the other hand, the shift tray 10c is lowered by a predetermined amount to secure a discharge space (step 416), and the shift discharge motor is driven to start the rotation of the shift discharge roller 16a (step 417). The discharge motor 12e is turned on (ON), the discharge belt 12a is rotated by a predetermined amount, and the bundle of bound transfer bodies (S) is pushed up in the direction of the shift tray conveyance path 11c to transfer the transfer object ( The bundle S) is sandwiched between the nip portions of the shift discharge roller 16a, and the discharge operation to the shift tray 10c is performed (step 418), and the shift discharge sensor 16a.₃Is turned on (step 419), and the bundle of transferred objects (S) is transferred to the shift discharge sensor 16a.₃To the position of the shift discharge sensor 16a₃Is turned off (OFF), and the bundle of transferred bodies (S) is shifted to the shift discharge sensor 16a.₃(Step 420), the bundle of transfer members (S) is in a state where the discharge operation to the shift tray 10c is completed by the shift discharge roller 16a. The jogger fence 6 is also moved to the standby position (step 422), and the shift discharge roller 16a is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed (step 423). 10c is moved up to the receiving position of the transfer body (S) (step 424), and this rising position is the uppermost position of the bundle of transfer bodies (S) stacked on the shift tray 10c by the sheet surface detection sensor 16c. This is controlled by detecting the upper surface of the transfer object (S), and a series of these operations are repeated until the final part of the job (step 4). 5) Then, when the final portion of the bundle of transferred bodies (S) is reached, the end-face stitching stapler 3b is moved to the home position (step 426), and the discharge belt 12a is also moved to the home position (step 427). The jogger fence 6 is also moved to the home position (step 428), and the entrance roller 11a of the perforation conveyance path 11a.₂And the conveying roller 11a₃The transport roller 11d of the alignment binding transport path 11d₅The transport roller 11d₂The transport roller 11d₃The staple discharge roller 11d₄Each of the hitting rollers 2a of the alignment binding processing tray 1 stops rotating (step 429), the solenoid that drives the branch claw 14 is turned off (step 430), and the process ends.
As a result, the transfer target (S) carried in from the image forming apparatus 20 side is bound by the alignment binding processing tray 1, discharged onto the shift tray 10c and stacked.
In this case as well, as shown in the figure, the punching device 10a is connected to the inlet roller 11a.₂And the conveying roller 11a₃In the meantime, the perforating apparatus 10a can bind the transferred body (S) to which the hole has been punched.
[0044]
42 to 44, the operation of the saddle stitch binding mode in the post-processing apparatus 10 including the sheet processing apparatus 0 is executed by the control unit 17 as follows (see FIG. 7).
When the transfer object (S) is brought into the state of being carried in from the image forming apparatus 20 side, it starts and the entrance roller 11a of the perforation conveyance path 11a is started.₂And the conveying roller 11a₃The transport roller 11d of the alignment binding transport path 11d₅The transport roller 11d₂The transport roller 11d₃The staple discharge roller 11d₄Each of the hitting rollers 2a of the alignment binding processing tray 1 starts to rotate (step 501), and a solenoid for driving the branch claw 14 is turned on to turn the branch claw 14 counterclockwise. (Step 502), and then the home position of the discharge belt 12a is also set to the discharge belt HP sensor 12a.₁After detecting the position and confirming the position, the discharge motor 12e is driven to move the discharge belt 12a to the standby position (step 503). The jogger fence 6 is also positioned at the home position by the jogger fence HP sensor. Is detected (step 504), the branch guide plate 12c and the movable guide 12d are moved to the home position (step 505), and the inlet sensor 11a is moved.₁Is turned on (step 506), and the inlet sensor 11a is determined.₁Is turned off (step 507), and the staple discharge sensor 11d is₆Is determined to be on (step 508), and the shift discharge sensor 16a₃Is turned off (step 509), and the transfer object (S) is ejected to the alignment binding processing tray 1 and the transfer object (S) exists, so that the hitting solenoid (SOL) 2d is turned on (ON) for a predetermined time, the hitting roller 2a is turned on (ON) for a predetermined time, brought into contact with the transfer target (S), and urged toward the rear end fence 1a to transfer the transfer target ( S) Align the rear ends (step 510), and then drive the jogger motor 6a to move the jogger fluence 6 inward by a predetermined amount, so that the width direction of the transfer object (S), transfer target After the alignment operation in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the body (S) is performed, it is returned to the standby position (step 511), whereby the transfer body (S) fed to the alignment binding processing tray 1 is vertically and horizontally covered. Direction parallel to transfer direction of transfer body (S) The directions perpendicular to each other are aligned, and the operations from (Step 506) to (Step 512) are repeated for each sheet. When the final transferred object (S) of the part is obtained (Step 512), the pressing solenoid (SOL) 4c is turned on (ON), the pressing roller 4a rotatably supported by the sheet bundle pressing means 4 swings from the standby position to the operating position (step 513), and the jogger fence 6 is moved inward by a predetermined amount. (Step 514), and in this state, the discharge motor 12e is turned on to turn the discharge belt 12a by a predetermined amount. (Step 515), the bundle of transfer objects (S) is raised to the binding position of the saddle stitching stapler 3a, and the saddle stitching is performed at the center of the bundle of transfer objects (S). The stapler 3a is turned on (ON), and saddle stitching is performed (step 516), and then the branch guide plate 12c and the movable guide 12d are displaced by a predetermined amount to the folding processing conveyance path 13m of the folding device 13. A path is formed (step 517), and 13m above the conveying roller of the folding processing conveying path 13m of the folding device 13 is formed.₁And 13m below the transport roller₂(Step 518), the movable rear end fain 13m provided in the folding processing conveyance path 13m.₃After detecting the home position, the movable rear end fins 13m₃Is moved to the standby position (step 519), and when the receiving system of the bundle of transfer bodies (S) in the folding processing conveyance path 13m is thus prepared, the discharge belt 12a is further moved by a predetermined amount. (Step 520), the discharge roller 12h and the pressure roller 12c.₂And the bundle of transferred objects (S) is conveyed to the folding processing conveyance path 13m side, and the tip of the bundle of transferred objects (S) reaches the arrival sensor 13m.₄(Step 521), and when the sheet is conveyed for a predetermined distance, it is 13m above the conveying roller of the folding processing conveying path 13m.₁And 13m below the transport roller₂Is stopped (step 522), 13 m below the conveying roller.₂Is released (step 523), and then the folding operation by the folding plate 13a is started (step 524). The pair of folding rollers 13n, the other pair of folding rollers 13p, and the discharge roller 13o starts to rotate (step 525), and then the folded portion passage sensor 13q₁Is determined to be on (ON) due to the passage of the bundle of transferred objects (S) folded in half (step 526), and the folding portion passage sensor 13q is determined.₁Is determined to be off (OFF) due to the passage of the bundle of transferred objects (S) folded in half (step 527), and thus the passage of the bundle of transferred objects (S) is monitored. In the above-described operation, the crease strengthening operation described above is performed, and 13 m below the conveying roller.₂(Step 528), the folding plate 13a is moved to the home position (step 529), the branch guide plate 12c and the movable guide 12d are moved to the home position (step 530), and The pressing solenoid (SOL) 4c is turned off, and the pressing roller 4a, which is rotatably supported by the sheet bundle pressing means 4, swings from the operating position to the standby position (step 531). Lower discharge sensor 13q₂(Step 532), and the lower discharge sensor 13q is determined.₂To determine the OFF (OFF) due to the passage of the bundle of transfer objects (S) (step 533), and the lower discharge sensor 13q.₂, The pair of folding rollers 13n, the other pair of folding rollers 13p, and the discharge roller 13o are further rotated for a predetermined time. Thereafter, it is stopped (step 534), then the discharge belt 12a is moved to the standby position (step 535), the jogger fluence 6 is moved to the standby position (step 536), and the final job It is determined whether or not it is a part to be transferred (S) (step 537), and if it is not the last part to be transferred (S) in the job, the process returns to (step 506) and the subsequent processing is repeated to complete the final job. The transfer belt 12a is moved to the home position (step 538), and the jogger fluence 6 is moved to the home position (step 5). 9), the inlet roller 11a of the boring conveying path 11a₂And the conveying roller 11a₃The transport roller 11d of the alignment binding transport path 11d₅The transport roller 11d₂The transport roller 11d₃The staple discharge roller 11d₄The rotation of the hitting roller 2a of the alignment binding processing tray 1 is stopped (step 540), the branch solenoid of the branch claw 14 is turned off (OFF) (step 541), all are returned to the initial state, and the end End the process.
As a result, the transferred object (S) carried in from the image forming apparatus 20 side is subjected to saddle stitching processing in the alignment binding processing tray 1, and is subjected to center folding processing in the folding device 13 to the lower tray 10d. Then, the intermediate transfer object (S) is discharged and stacked.
[0045]
45 to 47, the image forming apparatus 20 including the sheet processing apparatus 0 supplies the toner image forming unit 21 for forming an image and the transfer sheet (S) to be transferred to the toner image forming unit 21. A sheet feeding device 22, a scanner 23 for reading a formed image, an ARDF 24, and the like are included.
The post-processing device 10 including the sheet processing device 0 has a post-image forming processing function that also performs stapling processing, punching processing, and the like on the transfer sheet (S) to be transferred. Attached to the side of the image forming apparatus 20 and formed with an image on the toner image forming means 21, the transferred sheet (S) of the transferred body (S) is punched, end-stitched with staple binding, Post-processing such as binding is performed.
Incidentally, the flow of the transfer sheet on the general transfer target (S) is as shown in the drawing from the sheet feeding device 22 to the toner image forming means 21 to the post-processing device 10 (sheet processing device 0) (FIG. 45). See).
The image forming apparatus 20 is the same as the copier type in the case of a printer type system that does not include the scanner 23 for reading a formed image and the ARDF 24 (see FIG. 46). .
The toner image forming means 21 of the image forming apparatus 20 that forms a toner image by an electrophotographic method includes an intermediate transfer belt 21a or a photosensitive belt that is a belt-shaped image carrier 21b, and the intermediate transfer belt 21a, Alternatively, the transfer means 21c or the transfer means for transferring the toner image formed on the photosensitive belt, which is the belt-shaped image carrier 21b, to the transfer sheet (S) or the intermediate transfer belt 21a. 21d and the transfer means 21c, or the intermediate transfer belt 21a that is rotationally carried into the nip portion of the transfer means 21d, or the arrow (V) of the photosensitive belt that is the belt-shaped image carrier 21b. ) And the intermediate transfer belt 21a or the photosensitive member that is the belt-shaped image carrier 21b while maintaining the rotation carrying direction in an invariable state. A tension roller 21e disposed on the upstream side in the direction of rotation and loading in the direction of the arrow (W) shown in FIG. 21j, a fixing device 21k, a driving roller 21l, a cleaning counter roller 21m, a registration roller 21n, the paper discharge roller pair 21o, the operation unit 21q, a photoconductor cleaning device 21r, and the like (see FIG. 47).
[0046]
The photosensitive belt, which is the belt-shaped image carrier 21b, is a transfer roller 21d.₁21d facing transfer roller₂And a photosensitive belt as a latent image carrier that is wound around and suspended from a plurality of support rollers such as the tension roller 21f.
The photosensitive belt, which is the belt-shaped image carrier 21b, is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow (V) in the figure, and around the charger 21g, the optical writing unit 21h, and the developing means 21i. 4 sets of black developing device 21i₁, Cyan developing device 21i₂, Magenta developing device 21i₃Yellow developing device 21i₄The intermediate transfer belt 21a, the photoreceptor cleaning device 21r, and the like are disposed.
An organic photosensitive layer is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor belt, which is the belt-shaped image carrier 21b.
When the toner image forming unit 21 executes an image forming operation, a high voltage is applied to the charger 21g by turning on an image forming operation switch (not shown) of the operation unit 21q. The photosensitive belt, which is the belt-shaped image carrier 21b, is uniformly charged.
In an image signal processing unit (not shown), color image information, for example, a color image signal sent from an external computer is converted into an optical writing signal and sent to the optical writing unit 21h.
In the optical writing unit 21h, a laser as a light source is controlled based on the optical writing signal, and black, black, cyan, and the like are transmitted via a polygon mirror, an f / θ lens, a reflection mirror, and the like. Optical writing corresponding to the image signals of magenta and yellow is performed, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive belt which is the belt-shaped image carrier 21b.
[0047]
The electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor belt, which is the belt-shaped image carrier 21b, has four sets of the black developing devices 21i of the developing means 21i each having toner of each color.₁The cyan developing device 21i₂The magenta developing device 21i₃The yellow developing device 21i₄Is developed for each color.
Thus, a toner image is formed for each color on the photosensitive belt, which is the belt-shaped image carrier 21b.
At the contact portion between the photosensitive belt, which is the belt-shaped image carrier 21b, and the intermediate transfer belt 21a, a charge having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied to the intermediate transfer belt 21a. The toner image formed on the photosensitive belt, which is the belt-shaped image carrier 21b, is transferred.
By repeating this toner image formation and transfer operation four times, a four-color superimposed color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 21a.
The color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 21a is transferred as a secondary transfer member onto the transfer sheet (S) transferred from the paper feeding device 22 by the conveying roller 21j and the registration roller pair 21n. The transfer roller 21c having a simple structure of the transfer means 21c.₁And counter transfer roller 21c₂Is transcribed by.
The transfer sheet (S) to which the color toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 21k, and after the color toner image is melted and fixed, the sheet processing device 0 is provided from the paper discharge roller pair 21o. Then, the paper is discharged and carried into the post-processing device 10 and processing after image formation such as saddle stitching and folding is performed and stored as necessary.
The intermediate transfer belt 21a is a belt made of a urethane-based elastic member, and each of the drive rollers 21l, the cleaning counter roller 21m, and the transfer roller 21c of the transfer means 21c.₁Counter transfer roller 21c facing₂It is suspended by the tension roller 21e and the like and is rotated in the direction of the arrow (V) shown in the figure.
Except for the tension roller 21e, the drive rollers 21l, the cleaning counter roller 21m, and the transfer roller 21c of the transfer means 21c.₁Counter transfer roller 21c facing₂Are fixed with respect to the frame of the intermediate transfer unit, and the tension on the intermediate transfer belt 21a is suspended by the tension roller 21e.
Accordingly, the occurrence of bending of the bundle of sheets (S) to be matched with the transfer target on which the toner image is formed is regulated, and the binding process is easily performed at an accurate position without being stained, and the configuration is simple. It is possible to provide the image forming apparatus 20 including the sheet processing apparatus 0 that is small in size and does not deteriorate the jam removal performance and that performs high-quality and stable binding processing at low cost.
[0048]
【The invention's effect】
  Since the present invention is configured as described above,,By controlling the occurrence of bending of the bundle of sheets to be joined, the binding process is easily performed at the correct position, and the structure is simple, small in size, low in jam quality and low in quality. Sheet processing apparatus capable of performing stable binding processingAlso, an image forming post-processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state of a sheet processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another state of the sheet processing apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory view for explaining a main part of a sheet processing apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a state of another main part of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating another state of another main part of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining another state of the other main part of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a post-processing apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a main part of a post-processing apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged view for explaining another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is an enlarged view for explaining another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a state of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating another state of the other main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a state of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view illustrating another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is an enlarged view for explaining another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 17 is a perspective view illustrating another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 18 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 20 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 21 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 22 is an enlarged view for explaining a state of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 23 is an enlarged view for explaining another state of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 24 is an enlarged view for explaining another state of the other main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 25 is an enlarged view for explaining a state of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 26 is an enlarged view for explaining another state of the other main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another state of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another state of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another state of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another state of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another state of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another state of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 35 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 36 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 37 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 38 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 39 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 40 is a flowchart for explaining another operation of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 41 is a flowchart for explaining another operation of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 42 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 43 is a flowchart for explaining another operation of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 44 is a flowchart for explaining another operation of another main part of the post-processing apparatus including the folding device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an outline of an image forming apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 46 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an outline of an image forming apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 47 is an enlarged explanatory diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
0 Sheet processing device, 0a Device body
1 Alignment binding processing tray, 1a Rear end fence
2 Transport direction alignment means, 2a tapping roller, 2b drive shaft, 2b₁  Drive pulley, 2b₂  Rotation drive source, 2b₃  Timing belt, 2b₄  Pulley, 2b₅  Timing belt, 2c strike arm, 2c₁  Bearing, 2c₂  Bearing, 2c₃  Shaft, 2d strike solenoid (SOL)
3 Binding processing means, 3a Saddle stitch stapler, 3b End face stitch stapler, 3b₁  Stapler moving motor, 3b₂  Timing belt, 3b₃  Stapler movement HP sensor, 3b₄  Oblique motor
4 Sheet bundle pressing means, 4a pressing roller, 4b pressing arm, 4c pressing solenoid (SOL), 4d cushioning member, 4d₁  Spring member, 4e shaft
5 Bracket, 5a bearing, 5b bearing
6 Jogger fence, 6a Jogger motor, 6b Timing belt
10 Post-processing device, 10a Punching device, 10b Upper tray, 10c Shift tray, 10d Lower tray, 10e Sheet storage unit, 10f Side plate
11 Post-processing conveyance path, 11a Perforation conveyance path, 11a₁  Inlet sensor, 11a₂  Inlet roller, 11a₃  Transport roller, 11b Upper tray transport path, 11b₁  Conveyance roller, 11b₂  Upper discharge roller, 11b₃  Upper discharge sensor, 11c Shift tray conveyance path, 11c₁  Conveying roller, 11d Alignment closed conveying path, 11d₁  Branch claw, 11d₂  Conveyance roller, 11d₃  Conveyance roller, 11d₄  Staple discharge roller, 11d₄₁  Staple transport motor, 11d₅  Conveyance roller, 11d₆  Steple discharge sensor, 11d₇  Sheet presence sensor, 11d₈  Release belt HP sensor
12 sheet discharge means, 12a discharge belt, 12a₁  Release belt HP sensor, 12b Release claw, 12b₁  Release claw, 12b₂  Release claw, 12c Branch guide plate, 12c₁  Fulcrum, 12c₂  Pressure roller, 12c₃  Spring, 12c₄  Bundle branch drive motor, 12c₅  Cam, 12c₅₁  Cam surface, 12d Movable guide, 12d₁  Link arm, 12d₂  Shaft, 12d₃  Long hole, 12d₄  Spring, 12d₅  Bundle branch guide HP sensor, 12d₆  Shielding part, 12d₇  Guide surface, 12e discharge motor, 12f drive shaft, 12g drive pulley, 12h discharge roller, 12i stay
13 folding device, 13a folding plate, 13b shaft, 13c long hole, 13d shaft, 13e link arm, 13f long hole, 13g fulcrum, 13h long hole, 13i folding plate drive cam, 13i₁  Shielding part, 13j shaft part, 13k folding plate drive motor, 13l folding plate HP sensor, 13m folding processing conveyance path, 13m₁  13m above the transport roller₂  13m below the transport roller₃  Movable rear end fence, 13m₄  Arrival sensor, 13n pair of folding rollers, 13n₁  13n on folding roller₂  Below the folding roller, 13o discharge roller, 13p Another pair of folding rollers, 13p₁  On other folding rollers, 13p₂  Below other folding rollers, 13q transport path, 13q₁  Folding section passage sensor, 13q₂  Bottom discharge sensor
14 branch nails
15 branch claws
16 Sheet stacking device, 16a Shift discharge roller, 16a₁  Drive roller, 16a₂  Driven roller, 16a₃  Shift discharge sensor, 16b return roller, 16c sheet surface detection sensor, 16c₁  Seat surface detection lever, 16c₁₁  Shaft part, 16c₁₂  Contact part, 16c₁₃  Shielding part, 16c₂  Sheet surface detection sensor (for staple), 16c₃  Sheet surface detection sensor (for non-stipple), 16d lifting mechanism, 16d₁  Ascent limit switch, 16d₂  Tray lifting motor, 16d₃  Drive shaft, 16d₄  Driven shaft, 16d₅  Timing pulley, 16d₆  Timing belt, 16d₇  Substrate, 16d₈  Worm gear, 16d₉  Gear train, 16d₁₀  Shield plate, 16d₁₁  Full detection sensor, 16d₁₂  Lower limit detection sensor, 16e shift mechanism, 16e₁  Shift motor, 16e₂  Shift cam, 16e₃  Pin, 16e₄  End fence, 16e₄₁  Long hole part, 16e₅  Shift sensor, 16f discharge open / close guide plate, 16f₁  Discharge open / close guide plate sensor, 16f₂  Discharge opening / closing guide plate motor
17 control means, 17a control means, 17b I / O interface
20 Image forming apparatus
21 toner image forming means, 21a intermediate transfer belt, 21b belt-shaped image carrier, 21c transfer means, 21c₁  Transfer roller, 21c₂  Counter transfer roller, 21d Transfer means, 21d₁  Transfer roller, 21d₂  Opposing transfer roller, 21e tension roller, 21f tension roller,
21g charger,
21h Optical writing unit,
21i developing means, 21i₁  Black developing device, 21i₂  Cyan developing device, 21i₃  Magenta developing device, 21i₄  Yellow developing device, 21j conveying roller, 21k fixing device, 21l driving roller, 21m cleaning counter roller, 21n registration roller pair, 21o discharge roller pair, 21q operation unit, 21r photoconductor cleaning device
22 Paper feeder
23 Scanner
24 ARDF

Claims (16)

In a sheet processing apparatus that performs processing such as edge binding or saddle stitching by aligning a sheet to be carried in,
An alignment binding processing tray for aligning sheets that are loaded and stacked and performing binding processing;
A conveyance direction alignment means for aligning a sheet carried into the alignment binding processing tray in the conveyance direction by performing a pendulum movement;
A binding processing unit that performs a binding process on a bundle of sheets aligned by the conveyance direction alignment unit;
A sheet bundle pressing means for swinging the sheet bundle to be bound by the binding processing means from the standby position to the operating position and pressing the sheet bundle from the thickness direction of the sheet bundle;
With
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet bundle pressing unit is disposed coaxially with the conveying direction alignment unit . The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the sheet bundle pressing means are arranged coaxially with the conveying direction alignment means . In the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet bundle pressing means includes a pressing roller that is rotatably held . In the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3,
The sheet processing apparatus , wherein the pressing roller that is rotatably held is swingably held on a drive shaft of a conveyance direction alignment unit via a pressing arm . In the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet bundle pressing means is driven to swing by a pressing solenoid . The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
The sheet processing apparatus , wherein the pressing solenoid drives swinging of the sheet bundle pressing means via a buffer member . The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 6 ,
The sheet processing apparatus , wherein the buffer member is a spring member . The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The sheet processing apparatus , wherein the sheet bundle pressing unit swings from a standby position to an operating position at least before the binding processing unit performs the binding process, and presses the sheet bundle from the thickness direction . The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet bundle pressing means swings from the operating position to the standby position after the sheet bundle has passed . In a post-processing device for image formation that performs processing after image formation on a sheet of a transferred material to be transferred,
A post-processing conveyance path for conveying a sheet of a transfer target on which a toner image to be carried is formed;
A sheet processing apparatus according to any one of the claims 1 to 9 to align the sheet to be conveyed is conveyed by the post-treatment transport path subjected to processing such as the side-stitching or saddle stitching,
Sheet discharge means for discharging from the sheet processing apparatus a bundle of sheets of a transfer target on which a toner image after binding processing is formed by the sheet processing apparatus;
Image forming post-processing apparatus having a sheet processing apparatus characterized by comprising a. The image forming post-processing device according to claim 10 ,
A post-processing apparatus for image formation comprising a sheet processing apparatus, wherein the sheet discharge means comprises an endless belt-shaped discharge belt held rotatably . The post-processing apparatus for image formation according to claim 11,
The discharge belt is post-image formation having a sheet processing apparatus characterized by comprising a bundle of sheets of the transfer material the toner image has been formed after the binding process on the outer periphery of the release pawl to move the transport Equipment . In the post-processing apparatus of the image forming mounting serial to claim 1 2,
A post-processing apparatus for image formation comprising a sheet processing apparatus , wherein a plurality of the discharge claws are arranged on the outer periphery of the discharge belt . The post-processing apparatus for image formation according to claim 13.
The image forming post-processing apparatus having a sheet processing apparatus, wherein the plurality of discharge claws are arranged at positions facing each other on the outer periphery of the discharge belt . The post-processing apparatus for image formation according to any one of claims 10 to 14,
The sheet processing apparatus characterized by comprising a folding device performs folding processing on the bundle of sheets subjected to the process of binding a sheet processing apparatus according to any one of the claims 1 to 9 A post-processing apparatus for image formation . In an image forming apparatus for forming a toner image by an electrophotographic method,
Toner image forming means for forming a toner image on a sheet of a transfer material;
The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the sheet discharged from the toner image forming unit and carried in are aligned to perform processing such as end face binding or saddle stitching. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet processing apparatus .

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