JP4076321B2 - Paper processing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process such as sorting and stacking on sheets that are attached to or integrally provided with an image forming apparatus and are discharged from a main body of the image forming apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the paper processing apparatus, it is necessary to align the sheets in order to perform various processes, and the alignment of the sheets is performed in two directions, that is, the sheet conveyance direction and the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction. In the alignment operation in the sheet conveyance direction, for example, the sheet is generally aligned by returning to the rear side in the sheet conveyance direction by using gravity, for example, by bringing the trailing edge of the sheet into contact with a so-called trailing edge fence. For example, a jogger fence is used in the aligning operation in the direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction, and when the rear end of the paper is aligned as described above, the paper is brought into contact with the paper from the direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction and pushed from both sides to align. It is common to do so.
[0003]
The jogger fence is supported by, for example, two shafts, and the staple tray on which the paper is loaded and the jogger fence are not brought into contact with each other in order to avoid the occurrence of malfunction and failure due to frictional force. Yes.
[0004]
However, considering the cost reduction, the smaller the number of parts, the better. Therefore, it is also known that the number of the shafts is one. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-139258 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-345490. The described invention is known. In these inventions, the jogger fence is pivotally supported by one shaft, and the jogger fence is reciprocated along this shaft to perform the sheet aligning operation.
[0005]
In JP-A-10-139258, a jogger fence is supported by a single shaft, and the staple tray and the jogger fence are made of the same material. That is, the conventional jogger fence is supported by two shafts so that the jogger fence and the staple tray do not contact each other. However, in this conventional technology, the jogger fence is supported by a single shaft for cost reduction. The rotation is controlled by the staple tray surface and the jogger fence facing it.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the invention described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-139258, the jogger fence is supported by a single shaft as described above. Therefore, in order to restrict the rotation, the jogger fence comes into contact with the opposing staple tray surface. The jogger fence reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction in order to align the paper bundle. In this case, if the jogger fence and the staple tray are made of the same material (for example, styrene resin), wear occurs at the sliding portion between the jogger fence and the staple tray during jogging operation by the jogger.
[0007]
If the number of sheets to be stacked temporarily is small or small, the load applied between the jogger fence and the staple tray is small and has no effect, but if the number of sheets is large and large, the wear is large. As a result, the staple tray surface may become concave due to dirt or wear, and the paper may be caught and jammed. For example, if the paper size is A4 or smaller and the number of sheets to be bound is 30 or less as the staple specification, the dust is minor and does not cause a problem. However, the staple specification is 30 sheets for the paper size A3 and 50 sheets for the A4. In this case, the load when rubbing is large, and the wear is also increased. If the wear increases, a concave portion is formed on the surface of the staple tray 41, and the paper may be caught and jam may occur.
[0008]
The jogger reciprocates in the width direction to align the paper bundle. The jogger fence is driven by a stepping motor that has a simple configuration and is easy to position. The stepping motor is fixed to the staple tray via a bracket. The motor is driven linearly by a timing belt or the like, and a jogger fence supported by the timing belt is fixed.
[0009]
In this case, the jogger fence is in contact with the staple tray, but there is some rotation play. Then, the minute vibration at the time of driving the stepping motor propagates to the jogger fence via the timing belt, and abnormal sound (chatter noise) is generated from the jogger fence due to the speaker effect.
[0010]
The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation of the prior art, and its purpose is to process paper that does not cause problems such as wear and jam while forming a jogger fence and a staple tray with a low-cost resin material. To provide an apparatus.
[0011]
Another object of the present invention is to provide a paper processing apparatus that can prevent the generation of abnormal noise.
[0012]
In order to configure the jogger fence and the staple tray at a low cost, it is advantageous to use a resin material from the viewpoint of reducing the number of parts. In that case, a resin material having an antistatic function is desired in order to prevent problems caused by static electricity during the stacking of sheets. Considering these, if the jogger fence and the staple tray are made of the same resin material, the sliding portions of the jogger fence and the staple tray are likely to be worn during operation of the jogger.
[0013]
If the number of sheets to be stacked temporarily is small or small, the load applied between the jogger fence and the staple tray is small, and there is no significant effect. Contamination or wear may cause a recess in the staple tray surface, causing paper jams and jamming.
[0014]
Accordingly, it is a further object of the present invention to provide a sheet processing apparatus that can prevent the staple tray from being worn by a jogger operation and can be configured at low cost.
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sheet processing apparatus including a tray that receives a conveyed sheet and an aligning unit that performs an alignment operation on the tray in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the received sheet. Further, an elastic member is provided in a sliding portion where the aligning means and the tray slide, and the aligning means and the portion where the tray slides are elastically slidably contacted.
[0018]
In this case, the elastic member may be made of a material different from that of the tray. The elastic member may be integrated with the aligning means.
[0019]
The aligning means can be configured to be reciprocally supported by a single shaft. In that case, it may be provided to the center of gravity of the one on the axis aligning means. When it is provided at the position of the center of gravity, it is preferable because the upper and lower ends of the aligning means are in contact with the tray evenly and the load is dispersed .
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0021]
<First Embodiment>
1 to 8 are diagrams for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing the overall configuration of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example in which sliding members are provided at both ends of the jogger fence, and FIG. 4 is an example in which sliding members are provided at sliding portions of the staple tray. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example in which a shaft is provided at the center of gravity of the jogger fence, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example in which a sliding member is provided at the lower end of the jogger fence, and FIG. 7 is a jogger in FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example in which a sliding member is provided at a sliding portion with the jogger fence on the lower side of the staple tray.
[0022]
In FIG. 1, the sheet processing apparatus 1 is attached to a side portion of the image forming apparatus 100 and receives an image-formed sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 100. The sheet processing apparatus 1 includes a proof tray 3, a mass discharge tray 5 that moves up and down, a staple tray 41, and jogger fences 20 and 21. The sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 100 is transferred to the blue tray 3. The deflection claw 2 for switching the conveyance direction to any one of the conveyance path A to be guided and the large-volume discharge tray 5 for performing mass stacking and the conveyance path B to be guided to the staple tray 41 for performing stapling, and to the large-volume discharge tray 5 A deflection claw 4 for switching the conveyance direction is provided to one of the conveyance path C that leads and the conveyance path D that leads to the staple tray 41 that performs stapling. The stapled sheets are finally stacked on the large volume discharge tray 5 located on the most downstream side. On the upstream side of the deflection claw 2, a conveyance roller that receives the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus 100 is provided, and an entrance sensor S1 is provided immediately before the conveyance roller, and a sheet of paper conveyed by the entrance sensor S1 is provided. A leading edge and a trailing edge are detected. The deflection claw 2 is driven by a solenoid and a spring (not shown).
[0023]
In the conveyance path A for the proof tray, a paper discharge roller 7 and a driven roller 8 driven by the paper discharge roller 7 are arranged. The paper discharged from the image forming apparatus 100 is guided to the proof tray 3, and the proof tray 3 Paper is ejected up. Further, on the conveyance path B, a conveyance roller 9 and a driven roller 10 driven by the conveyance roller 9 are arranged. In the conveyance path C leading to the mass discharge tray 5, a shift roller 11 for sorting, a driven roller 12 driven by the shift roller 11, a discharge roller 13, and a driven roller 14 driven by the discharge roller 13 are provided. ing.
[0024]
In the conveyance path D reaching the staple tray 41, a plurality of conveyance rollers 14, 15, and 16 and driven rollers 17, 18, and 19 that are respectively driven by these rollers are provided, and the sheets are fed to the staple unit E by these rollers. Led. The staple unit E includes the above-described jogger fences 20 and 21 for aligning the paper in the horizontal direction, the return rollers 22 and the rear end fences 23 and 24 for aligning the vertical direction of the paper, and the size and binding position of the paper. In addition, the staple 25 includes a staple 25 that can move in the lateral direction, a discharge claw 26 for pushing the stapled bundle of sheets to the mass discharge tray 5, and a discharge belt 27 to which the discharge claw 26 is attached. In addition, the paper surface detection sensor S2 is arranged so that the height of the mass discharge tray 5 can be lowered and raised in accordance with the discharged amount (height of stacked sheets).
[0025]
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the jogger fences 20 and 21 are configured at a low cost. A reciprocating movement is performed along one shaft 47. When supported by one shaft 47, it rotates around this shaft 47, so that the rotation is restricted by the staple tray 41 in order to restrict this rotation. That is, the jogger fences 20 and 21 are brought into contact with the surface of the staple tray 41 facing the jogger fences 20 and 21 to restrict the rotation.
[0026]
Both the jogger fences 20 and 21 and the staple tray 41 use styrene resin as in the above-described conventional example. When the same material is used for the sliding member, wear occurs as described above. In this embodiment, the sliding member 48 is attached to the upper and lower ends of the jogger fence 20 as shown in FIG. Similarly, the fence 21 is configured to slide with the staple tray 41. As the sliding member 48, for example, polyacetal or high density polyethylene having a low friction coefficient is used.
[0027]
Further, instead of attaching the sliding member 48 to the jogger fences 20, 21, a sliding member 49 may be provided at the sliding portion of the staple tray 41 on the jogger fences 20, 21 as shown in FIG. 4. Also in this case, the material of the sliding member 49 is preferably polyacetal or high-density polyethylene. That is, sliding members 48 and 49 made of different materials are provided on either the staple tray 41 or the sliding portions of the jogger fences 20 and 21. Even when the stable tray 41 and the jogger fences 20 and 21 were rubbed with each other while intentionally applying a strong load in such a configuration, no wear was observed. In addition, as a different-material sliding member, what has a small friction coefficient other than the said polyacetal and a high density polyethylene can be used.
[0028]
In such a configuration, if the position of the shaft with respect to the jogger fences 20 and 21 is arranged at the center of gravity in the state set to the angle of the staple tray 41, the staple tray 41 is evenly distributed between the upper and lower ends of the jogger fences 20 and 21. This is preferable because the load is dispersed. Further, the jogger fences 20 and 21 (FIG. 5) and the staple tray 41 itself may be made of different materials. Furthermore, as shown in the perspective view of the jogger fence 20 and the support shaft 47 showing the mounting position of the sliding member in FIG. 6, the sectional view in FIG. 7, and the perspective view of the staple tray 41 and the jogger fences 20 and 21 in FIG. The position where the jogger fences 20 and 21 are pivotally supported is offset upward from the center of gravity of the jogger fences 20 and 21, and the position where the jogger fences 20 and 21 and the staple 41 slide is limited to the lower side. If these sliding members 48 and 49 are attached, the number of sliding members to be used can be further reduced. Thereby, the staple tray 41 and the jogger fences 20 and 21 can be configured at a lower cost.
[0029]
<Second Embodiment>
FIGS. 9 to 13 are diagrams for explaining the sheet processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. The overall configuration of the sheet processing apparatus is the same as that of the first embodiment with reference to FIG. Omitted.
[0030]
As shown in FIG. 9, in the present embodiment, the jogger fences 20 and 21 are configured at a low cost. Therefore, the jogger fences 20 and 21 are pivotally supported by a single shaft 47 fixed to the stable tray 41, and in the sheet conveying direction. It is possible to move vertically. A stepping motor 51 having a simple configuration and easy positioning is used as a driving source for the jogger fences 20 and 21 in the direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction. As shown in FIG. 10, the stepping motor 51 is fixed to the staple tray 41 via a bracket 52, and the rotational drive of the motor 51 is converted into linear drive by the timing belt 53, and the timing belt 53 is opposed to the opposite side. The jogger fences 20 and 21 are fixed. Since the jogger fences 20 and 21 are supported by one shaft as described above, the jogger fences 20 and 21 come into contact with the stable tray 41 with some backlash as shown in FIG. Therefore, in the first embodiment described above, the sliding member 48 is provided corresponding to the contact position.
[0031]
However, even if the sliding member 48 is provided, the sliding member 48 and the staple tray 41 are not always in contact with each other in a uniform state. The jogger fences 20 and 21 may propagate to the jogger fences 20 and 21, and the jogger fences 20 and 21 may generate abnormal noise (chattering noise) due to the speaker effect. Therefore, an elastic member 50 for eliminating rattling of the staple tray 41 is attached to the front and rear ends in the transport direction, which are sliding portions of the jogger fences 20 and 21 with the stable tray 41. This state is shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. FIG. 11 is a view of the staple tray 41 as viewed from the direction facing the sheet conveyance direction, and FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the elastic member 50. As can be seen from FIG. 11, in the example of FIG. 11, the elastic member 50 includes a base portion 50a and an elastic portion 50b formed in a cantilever shape. The base portion 50a is attached to the jogger fences 20 and 21, and the elastic portion 50b. Slides on the staple tray 41.
[0032]
The elastic member 50 can be configured integrally with the jogger fences 20 and 21 as shown in FIG. 13 instead of being configured separately from the jogger fences 20 and 21 as shown in FIGS. The elastic member 50 is formed in a cantilever shape in FIGS. 11 to 13. However, the elastic member 50 may be supported at both ends, or the member itself may be elastic and functionally elastic. What is necessary is just to slidably contact with or slide on the staple tray 41.
[0033]
The jogger fences 20 and 21 and the stable tray 41 are both made of styrene resin in order to reduce the cost. The jogger fences 20 and 21 reciprocate each time one sheet is stacked on the staple tray 41. At that time, the contact portion between the jogger fences 20 and 21 and the stable tray 41 is rubbed. The staple tray 41 rubs against the ends of the jogger fences 20 and 21 and wears. If the number of sheets to be temporarily stacked is small or small, the load applied between the jogger fence and stable tray is small and has no effect, but if the number of sheets is large and large, the load is large and wear increases. End up. If the wear increases, a concave portion is formed on the surface of the stable tray 41, and the paper may be caught and jammed. In order to prevent the wear, the elastic member 50 is preferably made of a different material from the staple tray 41. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the low friction and low wear polyacetal resin described as the material of the sliding members 48 and 49 of the first embodiment is used.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the part on which the aligning means and the tray slide are configured to slide with different materials, so that the sliding part is worn or the paper is soiled by wear powder. The paper does not get jammed due to the concave portion caused by wear.
[0035]
Further, according to the present invention, the sliding portion made of a different material may be provided with a sliding member provided on one of the aligning means or the tray. Therefore, the aligning means and the tray are made of the same kind of low-cost material. Even if configured, no wear or jam occurs.
[0036]
Further, according to the present invention, since the sliding member is formed of a material having a lower coefficient of friction than the sliding counterpart member, there is no paper jam caused by wear or wear.
[0037]
Further, according to the present invention, since the elastic member is provided in the sliding portion where the aligning means and the tray slide, the aligning means presses the tray, and the vibration transmitted from the drive source during the sheet aligning operation to the aligning means. Can be suppressed, and the occurrence of abnormal noise can be suppressed.
[0038]
Further, according to the present invention, since the elastic member is made of a different material from the tray, it is possible to prevent the elastic member from being worn.
[0039]
Further, according to the present invention, since the elastic member is formed integrally with the aligning means, the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be reduced at a low cost.
[0040]
Further, according to the present invention, the aligning means is supported by a single shaft so as to be reciprocally movable, so that it can be configured at a lower cost than the conventional example that is supported by two shafts.
[0041]
Further, according to the present invention, since one shaft is provided at the center of gravity position of the aligning means, the aligning means abuts the tray evenly at the upper end and the lower end, the load is dispersed, and the operation is preferable. .
[0042]
Further, according to the present invention, one shaft is provided above the position of the center of gravity of the aligning means, and a sliding member made of a different material is provided only on the aligning means below the shaft and the sliding portion of the tray. Therefore, it is only necessary to provide a sliding member made of a different material only in the aligning means below the shaft and the sliding portion of the tray, and it can be configured at a lower cost.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a sheet processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the staple unit of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example in which sliding members are provided at both ends of a jogger fence.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example in which a sliding member is provided at a sliding portion of the staple tray.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example in which a shaft is provided at the position of the center of gravity of the jogger fence.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example in which a sliding member is provided at the lower end of the jogger fence.
7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the jogger fence of FIG. 7 is attached to a staple tray.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example in which a sliding member is provided at a sliding portion with a jogger fence on the lower side of the staple tray.
FIG. 9 is a front view showing an entire stable tray unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a side view showing the entire staple tray unit of FIG. 9. FIG.
11 is a diagram of the entire staple tray unit of FIG. 9 as viewed from the paper transport direction.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the shape of an elastic member according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a modified example of the second embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a conventional problem.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper processing apparatus 20, 21 Jogger fence 41 Staple tray 47 Shafts 48, 49 Sliding member 50 Elastic member

Claims (1)

In a paper processing apparatus comprising a tray that receives conveyed paper and an aligning unit that performs an aligning operation on the tray in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the received paper,
The aligning unit includes a sheet stacking unit on which sheets are stacked and a sheet aligning unit that aligns the end of the sheet, and the leading and trailing ends of the sheet stacking unit in the sheet transport direction slide with the tray. Each sliding part is provided with an elastic member,
The aligning means includes a single shaft provided at the center of gravity of the aligning means between the elastic member provided at the leading end and the elastic member provided at the trailing end. A sheet processing apparatus supported so as to be capable of reciprocating in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction.

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