JP4101256B2 - Bookbinding apparatus and image forming apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention belongs to a post-processing apparatus of an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a printing machine, and a copying machine, and stacks sheets printed by the image forming apparatus on a tray and aligns them in a bundle in order of pages. The present invention relates to a bookbinding apparatus in a bookbinding system for binding and binding into a booklet and an image forming apparatus using the bookbinding apparatus.

  In general, this type of device is used as a terminal device for image forming apparatuses such as printers and printing machines, and stacks image-formed sheets on a page, aligns them in a booklet shape, and then glues the end surfaces of the sheets to bind them to a cover sheet. Widely used as a system. In particular, as on-demand printing such as electronic publishing recently, at the same time as printing of predetermined information, this is automatically bound and mounted, and then the sheet edge is cut and finished into a predetermined booklet simultaneously with post-processing The system to execute is heavily used.

  As such a system, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes a system for automatically booklet finishing a sheet output from an image forming apparatus. In this document, a sheet output from an image forming apparatus is received from a paper discharge port, guided to a paper discharge path, stacked and stored in a tray provided below the paper discharge path, and collected on the tray. The horizontally oriented sheet bundle is turned 90 degrees and guided to the gluing device in the vertical attitude to perform the gluing process. Then, the glued sheet bundle is folded and bonded together with the cover sheet supplied from the inserter provided in the paper discharge path. When the end surface of the sheet bundle after bonding, which is not glued, is cut and trimmed, it is finished in a booklet shape and stacked in a storage stacker.

  As described above, in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the path for conveying the sheet bundle and the path for feeding the cover sheet need to intersect with a cross, and the sheet bundle and the cover sheet are substantially omitted at the intersection. In general, they are joined in an inverted T shape, and then drawn out below the path so as to fold the cover sheet to the front and back surfaces of the sheet bundle. Then, the sheet bundle is applied with glue on the edge of the sheet bundle on the front side reaching the intersection.

  Conventionally, it is known that the sheet is conveyed by grip conveying means for gripping the sheet bundle, and various mechanisms have been proposed. A typical mechanism is to incorporate an openable / closable clamp member that engages the front and back of the sheet bundle into the unit, and this unit is equipped with an actuator such as a drive motor that opens and closes the clamp member, and then guides the unit along the path. It is guided to reciprocate freely on rails.

JP 2004-209869 A

  As described above, when the sheet bundle is transported in the vertical posture by the grip conveyance means, the gripping force is determined by the size of the clamp member and the clamp pressure, and the bundle posture is inclined during the conveyance process, or the sheet is dropped. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to increase the area of the clamp member and to increase the clamp pressure. However, the sheet bundle has a small size such as JISB6 size to a large size sheet such as JISA3 size. In some cases, the clamping area is limited, and in order to increase the clamping pressure, there is a problem in increasing the size and power consumption of driving sources such as motors and actuators.

  Therefore, the present invention does not tilt or vary the sheet bundle when the sheet bundle is transferred by the clamp member, and the sheet bundle is skewed and skewed when the cover sheet is joined to the edge of the sheet bundle, The main object of the present invention is to provide a bookbinding apparatus that does not cause wrinkles and that can perform a bookbinding process such as folding after joining the cover sheets without failing the appearance.

The present invention employs the following configuration in order to solve the above problems.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a first path for transporting a sheet bundle in a substantially vertical direction, a second path for intersecting the first path and a cover sheet in a substantially horizontal direction, and the intersection are provided. A grip conveying means that has a joining stage for joining the cover sheet and the sheet bundle, is disposed upstream of the joining stage, and grips and transports the sheet bundle along the first path, and the joining stage. And a folding and conveying means that folds the cover sheet and the sheet bundle and carries them out.

  The grip conveying means includes an openable / closable clamp member that sandwiches and holds the sheet bundle, and a clamp control means that opens and closes the clamp member. The clamp control means is configured so that the position at which the clamp member grips the sheet bundle when the sheet bundle is joined to the cover sheet at the joining stage and when the joined sheet bundle is transferred to the folding conveying means is different. Make it.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the back-up member that backs up and supports the cover sheet in the second path and joins the lower edge of the sheet bundle in a substantially inverted T shape to the joining stage. The backup member is disposed in the first path so as to freely advance and retract.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the backup stage supports the cover sheet in the second path as a backup on the joining stage and joins the lower edge of the sheet bundle in a substantially inverted T shape. A member and a back folding means for joining the cover sheet supported by the backup member to the side edge shoulder portion of the sheet bundle to form a back portion are provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first to third aspects, the grip conveying means includes the clamp member, guide means for reciprocating the clamp member along the first path, and the guide. Driving means for reciprocating the grip conveying means along the means. The driving means includes a joining operation in which the sheet bundle reaches the joining stage and joins the cover sheet, and after the joining operation, a reversing operation in which the sheet is reversed and the clamp member is switched back from the joining stage, After the retreating operation, a transfer operation is performed in which the lower edge of the sheet bundle passes through the joining stage and is delivered to the folding and conveying means.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the fourth aspect, the clamp control means is configured such that the clamp member grips a lower edge of the sheet bundle during the joining operation, and the clamp member is a sheet bundle during the transfer operation. The clamp member is controlled so as to grip the central portion.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the fourth aspect, the backup member is configured to retract from the first path to the outside of the path after the backward movement operation of the grip conveying means and before the transfer operation. .

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first to sixth aspects, the second path is configured by upper and lower transport guides that are vertically opposed to each other at a predetermined interval. The cover sheet is divided into left and right sections before and after the conveying direction. The left and right upper transport guides are supported by a transport guide shift means so as to be able to approach and separate from each other about the joining stage and to be able to widen the distance from the lower transport guide, and the transport guide shift means includes the sheet When the bundle is transferred from the joining stage to the sheet folding and conveying means, the left and right upper conveying guides are moved away from each other and away from the lower conveying guide.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first to seventh aspects, the sheet folding and conveying means includes a pair of folding rollers disposed on the downstream side of the joining stage, and the folding roller is fed from the joining stage. The cover sheet is folded and carried out on the front and back sides of the sheet bundle.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a first path for transporting a sheet bundle in a substantially vertical direction, a second path for crossing the first path and a cover sheet in a substantially horizontal direction, and the intersection are provided. A gripping stage for joining the cover sheet and the sheet bundle, and grip transport means for gripping and transporting the sheet bundle along the first path disposed upstream of the joint stage, Glue applying means for applying glue to the lower edge of the sheet end supported by the means, a backup member that is disposed in the first path so as to be able to advance and retreat, and that backs up and supports the cover sheet on the joining stage, and the joining stage And a folding and conveying means that folds the cover sheet and the sheet bundle and carries them out. When the backup member is retracted from the first path to the outside of the path, the grip conveying means is moved backward to separate the lower edge of the sheet bundle from the backup member by a predetermined distance.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the ninth aspect, the second path is configured by upper and lower transport guides that are vertically opposed to each other at a predetermined interval, and the upper transport guide is transported around the joining stage. It is divided into left and right sections. The left and right upper conveyance guides are supported by a conveyance guide shift unit so as to be movable toward and away from the bonding stage and to be separated from the lower conveyance guide. The conveyance guide shift unit folds and conveys the sheet bundle from the bonding stage. When transported to the means, the left and right upper transport guides are moved away from each other and away from the lower transport guide.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, a stacking unit that stacks sheets from the image forming unit in a bundle, and a sheet bundle that is stacked in a booklet by the stacking unit are bound. An image forming apparatus including a bookbinding apparatus, wherein the bookbinding apparatus includes the bookbinding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

  In the present invention, the grip conveying means is composed of a clamp member that holds the sheet bundle with the sheet bundle interposed therebetween and a clamp control means that controls opening and closing thereof, and the clamp control means is joined to the lower end edge of the sheet bundle and the cover sheet by a joining stage. When the sheet bundle and the cover sheet are joined, the clamp member is different in the position where the clamp member grips the sheet bundle depending on when the sheet bundle is transferred to the folding conveying means. By clamping near the side edge, there are no problems such as the sheet bundle being scattered or skewed and skewed. Further, when transferring the sheet bundle to the folding conveying means after joining, it is possible to reliably transfer the sheet bundle to the downstream conveying means by gripping the central portion of the sheet.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on a bookbinding apparatus using the illustrated invention.
FIG. 1A is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of a bookbinding system using the present invention, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram of the main part thereof. FIG. 2 is an overall explanatory diagram of the stacking tray unit, and FIG. 6 is an overall explanatory diagram of the bundle transport mechanism. FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of a main part of the cover sheet transport mechanism, and FIG. 26 is an operation explanatory diagram of the glue application unit.

  The bookbinding system shown in FIG. 1 includes an image printing unit A that sequentially prints sheets, an inserter unit B that inserts a cover sheet into a sheet carry-out path from the image printing unit A, and a sheet from the image printing unit A. Stacking tray unit C stacked in page order, bundle transport mechanism unit D for transferring a sheet bundle from the stacking tray unit C to the pasting unit, pasting unit E for pasting processing at the pasting unit, and sheets after pasting A binding unit that binds the bundle and the cover sheet, a trimming unit that cuts a bookbinding sheet from the bookbinding unit, and a storage stack unit that stores a final booklet sheet. The functions and characteristics of these constituent units will be described below.

"Image printing unit"
Built into a system such as a computer or word processor, a series of documents are printed on a sheet and carried out from a paper discharge port. Laser printers, ink jet printers, and other printing means can be employed, and there is no particular feature in the illustrated embodiment, and various known printing and other image forming apparatus configurations can be employed.

"Inserter unit"
The sheet unloaded from the above-described image printing unit is unloaded toward a stacking tray unit described later for bookbinding processing. The inserter unit supplies a cover sheet to the paper discharge path. Therefore, the hopper is configured to include a hopper that supplies a cover sheet, a separation mechanism that feeds the sheets one by one from the hopper, and a conveyance mechanism that conveys the sheet to the paper discharge path. The illustrated embodiment does not have a particularly characteristic configuration, and a known inserter configuration can be employed.

"Stacking tray unit"
The stacking tray unit stacks sheets, which are sequentially carried out from the paper discharge port of the image printing unit, in the order of the pages, and arranges them in a bundle. For this reason, it is arranged below the paper discharge port and is constituted by a tray means for sequentially stacking sheets. The tray means has a trailing edge regulating member that abuts and regulates the edge of the sheet, an auxiliary conveying means such as a forward / reverse roller for feeding the sheet to the trailing edge regulating member, and a lateral reference side or center in the width direction of the sheet. Alignment means is provided for bringing the reference widths together.

  In view of this, the apparatus of the illustrated embodiment firstly is configured such that a part of the tray (movable tray) can be expanded and contracted in the conveying direction, and the position for supporting the leading edge of the sheet by the length direction signal of the sheet is set in the front-rear direction. It is characterized by changing. This makes it possible to adjust the position of the seating curved portion of the seat at the same time as supporting the seat stably and without misalignment regardless of the length size of the sheet, and to align the seat to an accurate position. Become.

  Second, the tray has a function of conveying the sheet bundle toward the stacking position and the processing position of the next process. Specifically, it is possible to move up and down freely between the stacking position for stacking sheets and the unloading position for unloading sheets to the next process, thereby simplifying the sheet bundle transport mechanism and miniaturizing the apparatus.

"Bundle transport mechanism unit"
The bundle transport mechanism unit adjusts the sheets stacked in a bundle by the above-described stacking tray unit into a correct posture by the aligning unit, and transports the sheets to the post-processing position of the next process. This bundle conveyance is swung to a substantially vertical posture for post-processing such as gluing from a substantially horizontal tray and is transferred to a post-processing position. The apparatus of the illustrated embodiment is characterized in that the sheet bundle is transported from the stacking tray to the post-processing position of the next process by the first grip transporting means and the second grip transporting means.

  At the same time, the tray means moves down to a lower sheet carry-out position at a predetermined distance from the stacking position where the sheets are stacked in cooperation with the first grip conveying means, and then the second grip conveying means. The sheet bundle is transferred to the sheet. Therefore, the second grip conveying means rotates the sheet bundle by a predetermined angle and transfers it to the post-processing position in a substantially vertical posture. At this time, the tray means is lowered downward by a predetermined amount and is moved to the second grip conveying means. After delivery, it is not necessary to place a paper discharge path above the device more than necessary to secure the area for turning the sheet (sheet turning trajectory) for turning the grip conveying means, and the device layout can be made compact. It is.

  Further, the apparatus of the illustrated embodiment is provided with a regulating member that regulates the processing edge of the sheet bundle against the post-processing position when the second grip conveying means transfers the sheet bundle to the post-processing position. The processing edge of the sheet bundle is abutted against the member, and the posture of the sheet bundle is aligned with the reference position for post-processing. As a result, even if a positional deviation occurs in the sheet bundle posture in the course of conveying the sheet bundle, the posture is corrected by the processing unit and correct post-processing is possible.

"Glue unit"
The gluing unit applies an adhesive such as glue to the sheet edge corresponding to the back of the bundle of sheets stacked in a bundle. In this case, the posture of the sheet bundle is required to be an inverted posture in the vertical direction. The apparatus of the illustrated embodiment is characterized in that the glue tray of the gluing unit E can be retracted laterally from the movement path of the sheet bundle, and the sheet bundle after gluing is sent along a straight path. Yes. In addition, a reference member for restricting the processing edge of the sheet bundle to be abutted is disposed in a state in which the pasting unit is retracted, thereby eliminating the need for complicatedly configuring the sheet bundle conveyance path. At the same time, the gluing unit is a compact gluing unit that has a roller that applies adhesive glue to the processing end (back) of the sheet bundle and a tray that supplies glue to this roller in a small size and the tray moves with the roller. We are trying to make it.

"Binding unit"
The binding unit unit positions and joins the glued sheet bundle to the center portion of the cover sheet fed from the above-described inserter, and folds the cover sheet and wraps the sheet bundle in this state. Accordingly, the above-mentioned pasting unit retracts from the sheet bundle conveyance path, and feeds the cover sheet from a path substantially orthogonal to the path. At the center of the sheet, the glued end surfaces of the sheet bundles in a vertical posture are abutted along the center line to join the two in an inverted T shape, and thereafter folded by a folding roller so as to wrap the sheet bundle with a cover sheet. The apparatus of the illustrated embodiment is characterized in that a back-up member and a back folding block are provided for pressing the cover sheet and the inner sheet bundle cleanly on the back cover part and the shoulder part.

"Trimming unit"
The trimming unit completes the bookbinding by cutting the sheet edge other than the glued back portion of the above-described sheet bundle. For this reason, the sheet bundle is pivotally held by the grip means, and the side edges are sequentially cut by the cutter member. There is no configuration characteristic in the illustrated embodiment, and a known cutting mechanism can be employed.

"Storage stack unit"
A sheet bundle bound in a booklet shape as described above is stored and stacked. It should be noted that the illustrated embodiment does not have a particularly characteristic configuration, and a known stack device can be employed.

Hereinafter, the configuration of each unit will be described.
"Image printing unit A"
As shown in FIG. 1, the image printing unit A includes a printing drum 101 such as an electrostatic drum, a paper feed cassette 102 that supplies a sheet to the printing drum 101, and a printing head such as a laser that forms an image on the printing drum 101. 103, a developing device 104, and a fixing device 105. Then, the sheet is supplied from the sheet feeding cassette 102 to the sheet feeding path 106. A printing drum 101 is disposed in the paper feed path 106, and a latent image is formed on the printing drum 101 by the print head 103, and toner ink is adhered to the developing unit 104. Then, the toner image formed on the printing drum 101 is transferred onto a sheet, fixed by the fixing device 105, and then discharged from the paper discharge port 107.

  Reference numeral 108 denotes a duplex path in which a sheet on which an image is printed on one side by a reversing path is reversed and guided to the printing drum 101 and printed on the back side of the sheet. Reference numeral 109 denotes a large-capacity cassette, which is a unit that supplies a large amount of general-purpose sheets. The sheet hopper 110 is moved up and down according to the remaining amount of sheets. Reference numeral 120 denotes a document supply device. When the original document is document (document) data, the document is set on a stacker, sequentially supplied one by one to the reading unit, and the original image is photoelectrically converted to perform the above-described print head. The data storage unit 103 supplies the data. On the other hand, the data storage unit is connected to an external device whose original is electronic data such as a computer and a word processor, and is supplied with document data from these processors. Although the illustrated image printing unit A is a laser printer, the present invention is not limited to this, and various printing methods such as an ink jet printer, silk printing, and offset printing can be employed.

"Inserter unit B"
Sheets on which images have been formed are sequentially carried out to the paper discharge port 107 of the image printing unit A, and normally a paper discharge stacker is prepared at the paper discharge port 107. In the present invention, a sheet carry-in path 501 as a bookbinding apparatus, which will be described later, is connected to the paper discharge port 107, and the inserter unit B is attached to the sheet carry-in path 501. The inserter unit B has one or more stages for stacking sheets, the illustrated one is a two-stage stack tray 201, a pickup means 202 for separating the sheets on the stack tray 201 one by one, and a pickup from the pickup means 202. The sheet feeding path 203 guides the sheet to the sheet carry-in path 501.

  The sheets set on the stack tray 201 are supplied to the sheet carry-in path 501 between the sheets that are sequentially carried out from the paper discharge port 107 of the image printing unit A. That is, after a series of sheets are formed from the image printing unit A and carried out, the sheets are supplied from the stack tray 201 after the final sheet. Therefore, a special sheet such as a thick sheet or a coated sheet is prepared as a cover sheet in the stack tray 201, and the sheet on the stack tray 201 is carried into the sheet carry-in path 501 by a control signal from a bookbinding apparatus described later. The two stack trays 201 are provided so that different types of cover sheets can be prepared in advance in the stacker, and the cover sheets are supplied from one selected stacker.

"Stacking tray unit C"
As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet carry-in path 501 includes a path that crosses the center of the apparatus, and a discharge stacker unit 502 is connected to the front end of the path, so that the sheet from the image printing unit A is not bound. Is guided to and stored in the paper discharge stacker unit 502.

  Therefore, above the sheet carry-in path 501, a stacking tray unit C that stacks a series of image-formed sheets in a bundle, and a stack transport mechanism unit that transports the sheets from the stacking tray unit C to the position of the gluing unit E. D is arranged. The sheet carry-in path 501 is provided with a paper discharge path 301 that branches upward from the apparatus. The paper discharge path 301 is configured to discharge the sheet in a substantially horizontal position above the sheet carry-in path 501, and the paper feed roller 302. A sheet sensor 303 and the like are arranged.

  A predetermined step is formed in the paper discharge port 304 of the paper discharge path 301, and a tray unit 305 is provided below the step to stack and support the sheets from the paper discharge port 304. Although the tray means 305 may be fixed to the apparatus frame F, the illustrated one has the following configuration.

  First, the tray unit 305 is configured to stack a predetermined sheet and then move in the direction of the processing position of the next process together with the bundled sheet. The illustrated one is configured to be movable up and down between a stacking position for stacking sheets (hereinafter referred to as an ascending position) and a lowering position (hereinafter referred to as a descending position) below the stacking position by a predetermined amount. The tray means 305 is configured to be movable in this manner in order to convey the stacked sheet bundle without disturbing the collapsed state and to make the conveyance mechanism compact. Therefore, the tray means 305 is preferably as small and light as possible. In the illustrated example, the length of the tray member is shorter than the length of the sheet in the conveyance direction so that the leading end of the sheet hangs outside the tray.

  Next, the tray unit 305 is provided with an alignment unit 314 to be described later, and aligns and aligns the width direction of the sheet (front and back direction in FIG. 1). During this alignment, the sheet is bent so as to bend in the conveyance direction. There is a need. For this reason, the tray means 305 includes a fixed support portion 305a and a movable support portion 305b, and the movable support portion 305b is provided with a drive motor M1 that moves the movable support portion 305b to the optimum position according to the sheet size. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the tray means 305 is attached to the apparatus frame F so as to be movable up and down. The tray means 305 includes a fixed support portion 305a and a movable support portion 305b, and is configured as a plate member 306. A plate member 306 is disposed below the sheet discharge outlet 304. A fixed support portion 305a for placing and supporting the sheet is formed on the upstream side (sheet rear end side) in the sheet discharge direction on the plate member 306. Is provided with a stepped portion 307 (see FIG. 3), a lever-like movable support plate is disposed on the stepped portion 307, and a movable support portion 305b is formed by this movable support plate. A comb-like slit groove 308 is formed on the plate member 306, and a protrusion 308b formed on the movable support portion 305b is fitted into the groove, and the slit groove 308 and the protrusion 308b connect the movable support portion 305b. It is configured to be movable forward and backward in the paper discharge direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the movable support portion 305b is formed by meshing a rack 309 provided on the back side of the plate member 306 (the back side of the sheet supporting surface) and a pinion 310 provided on the tray member 306. A drive motor M1 is connected to 310.

  In other words, the movable support portion 305b is slidably supported along the paper discharge direction by the fixed support portion 305a, and the movable support portion 305b is moved in the paper discharge direction by the driving means including the rack 309, the pinion 310, and the drive motor M1. It is free.

  The tray means 305 having the above configuration is inclined at least on the fixed support portion 305a side as shown in the drawing, and the tray means 305 is provided with a first restricting means 311 for abutting and restricting the rear end of the sheet. The first restricting means 311 may be provided with a protruding wall integrally on the tray, but the illustrated one is configured to be movable so that the tray is moved up and down. In order to prevent this, the tray member is constituted by a regulating member 311 having an inverted L-shaped cross section separated from the tray member.

  A guide member 312 for guiding a sheet from the sheet discharge outlet 304 is provided above the tray member. The guide member 312 is positioned above the paper discharge port 304 so that the sheet from the paper discharge port is carried out along the tray so that the sheet is not scattered. It is composed of a plate-like member that guides the sheet when it is transferred to the first restricting means 311.

  A guide member 312 made of a plate-shaped member having an appropriate shape is supported at the base end by a rotating shaft 313, and a stepping motor (not shown) is connected to the rotating shaft 313. The guide member 312 is retracted above the tray by step control of the motor. The movement is controlled between the position where the sheet is positioned, the position where the sheet is guided from the sheet discharge port onto the tray, and the position where the sheet on the tray is guided to the first restricting means 311.

  A forward / reverse roller 113 is disposed on the downstream side of the guide member 312 so as to be movable up and down. The forward / reverse roller 113 rotates in the paper discharge direction (forward rotation direction) at a position where the sheet entering the tray (fixed support portion) comes into contact with the tray (fixed support portion) from the paper discharge port 304 as auxiliary conveyance means, and the rear end of the sheet is the paper discharge port 304. After the expected time of separation from the sheet, the sheet is rotated in the reverse direction (reverse direction) and the sheet leading edge is transferred toward the first restricting means 311. Therefore, the forward / reverse roller 113 is pivotally supported by a swingable arm member (bracket) and connected to a forward / reverse motor. The arm member is configured to retract above the tray retracted from the sheet in the rotational direction of the motor via a one-way clutch or the like.

  The tray unit 305 is provided with an alignment unit 314 and a pressing unit 320 that regulate the width of the sheet side. The aligning unit 314 includes a pair of left and right aligning members 315a and 315b that position the side edge of the sheet orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction at a reference position. There are two types of structures: one that moves the left and right alignment members toward the sheet center by the same amount as the center reference, and one that fixes one alignment member and moves the opposite alignment member by a predetermined amount as the one-side reference. Since it is known and its structure is well known, its outline is summarized.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the pair of left and right alignment members 315a, 315b are slidably supported by a shaft fixed to the apparatus frame F, and are formed by a fixed support portion 305a and a movable support portion 305b constituting the tray means 305. It is arranged at the boundary. At this time, the sheet is arranged such that the leading end of the sheet hits the outside of the tray from the movable support portion 305b and hangs down, the sheet is curved as a whole, and the left and right alignment members 315a and 315b are positioned in the curved portion. Therefore, the pair of alignment members 315a and 315b are provided with racks 316a and 316b, and the pinion of the motor M2a and the pinion of the motor M2b are connected to each other. The motor M2 is composed of a stepping motor, and the alignment members 315a and 315b are moved toward and away from each other by the same amount with reference to the sheet center by rotating in the opposite direction. The motor M2 moves the alignment members 315a and 315b to a preset start position according to the sheet width size.

  Further, a sheet pressing unit 320 is disposed on the tray unit 305. The sheet pressing means (hereinafter referred to as pressing means) 320 presses the leading edge of the sheet that has entered the tray to force the bending of the sheet by the movable support portion 305b, and at the same time the sheet aligned by the alignment means 304 is misaligned. It works not to cause.

  Normally, the pressing means 320 may be formed of a weight piece that hangs down in a trap shape above the tray. However, the illustrated pressing means 320 is configured so that the movable support portion 305b moves in accordance with the sheet size. The member 320 is also configured to move according to the sheet size.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of guide shafts 321 are attached to the apparatus frame F along the sheet discharge direction, and a slide member 322 is slidably fitted to and supported by the guide shaft 321. A plurality of pressing pieces 323 are appropriately arranged on the member 322 so as to press the sheet on the tray. Although the drive mechanism of the slide member 322 is not shown, a rack is provided on the slide member 322 side, and a drive motor fixed on the rack side may be directly connected to the rack via a pinion. Further, a structure in which a pair of pulleys, wires, belts, and the like provided on the apparatus frame are suspended and the slide member 322 is fixed to the wires or belts may be employed.

  The tray means 305 is provided with wing-shaped auxiliary trays 305c on the left and right sides of the fixed support portion 305a, and supports sheet sides (both side edges) protruding outward from the fixed support portion 305a. This is because the fixed support portion 305a constituting the tray means 305 is configured to be smaller (narrower) than the sheet width size so that the sheet ear protrudes to the outside of the tray so that the grip means described later can grip the ear. It is to do.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the tray means 305 has a pair of left and right wing-shaped auxiliary trays 305c arranged on the rear end side in the paper discharge direction of the fixed support portion 305a and a movable support portion 305b on the front end side as shown in the figure. The auxiliary tray 305c and the movable support portion 305b support the entire length in the width direction, and the fixed support portion 305a supports a part of the center.

"Bundle transport mechanism unit"
Sheets on which images are formed are sequentially stacked on the tray unit 305 from the sheet discharge path 301 and are aligned at predetermined positions on the tray by the first regulating unit 311 and the pair of left and right alignment members 315a and 315b. Therefore, the sheet bundle on the tray is carried out to the subsequent post-processing position.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the tray means 305 is moved from a raised position where sheets are stacked to a carry-out position lowered by a predetermined amount. The elevator structure of the tray means 305 will be described.

  The fixed support portion 305a constituting the tray means 305 is composed of a plate member 306 as shown in FIG. 6, and a lever-shaped movable support portion 305b is attached to the fixed support portion 305a so as to be movable in the direction of arrow discharge. The auxiliary tray 305c has a bracket 330 fixed to the back surface (back surface) of the fixed support portion. A shaft 331 is rotatably supported by the bracket 330, and the auxiliary tray 305c is integrally attached to the shaft 331. . A sector gear 338 is fixed to the other end of the shaft 331.

  The fixed support portion (hereinafter referred to as a tray set 332) configured as described above is slidably fitted and supported on the apparatus frame F by a pair of left and right guide shafts 333. Accordingly, the tray set 332 is supported by the apparatus frame F so as to be slidable in the vertical direction of FIG. Therefore, a lifting motor M3 is attached to the apparatus frame F, and a drive gear 335 is connected to the tip of the drive shaft 334. The drive gear 335 is engaged with a rack 336 attached to the tray set 332.

  Accordingly, when the elevating motor M3 is rotated, the drive gear 335 is rotated, the rack 336 is moved upward or downward, and the tray set 332 is raised or lowered. At the position shown in the figure, the tray set 332 is moved downward by the clockwise rotation of the drive gear 335 and moved upward by the counterclockwise rotation. Further, the apparatus frame F is provided with a pair of racks 337, which are meshed with the sector gear 338, and rotate the shaft 331 in conjunction with the vertical movement of the tray set 332 to rotate the auxiliary tray 305c. .

  When the tray set 332 is lowered from the illustrated posture, the sector gear 338 is rotated in the clockwise direction, and the auxiliary tray 305c is rotated in the clockwise direction so as to be separated from the stacked sheets. Although not shown, limit switches are arranged at the upper limit position and the lowered position in the tray set 332, respectively, and a position signal is transmitted to the control unit of the drive motor M3.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the raised position of the tray set 332 is set to a position where sheets are stacked from the paper discharge path 301, and the lower limit position is set to a carry-out position where a sheet bundle on the tray is delivered to grip conveying means described later. . In the figure, reference numeral 337 denotes a spring. Therefore, grip conveying means (hereinafter referred to as first grip conveying means) 401 that grips the sheet bundle on the tray simultaneously with the lowering of the tray set 332 to the carry-out position is provided.

  The first grip conveying means 401 has the following configuration so that the auxiliary tray 305c moves to the retracted position described above so as to hold the sheet bundle edge portion at the position of the auxiliary tray 305c and then grips both side edges of the sheet. I have. As shown in FIG. 2, horizontal guide rails 408 shown in the figure are opposed to the left and right side frames F1 and F2 constituting the apparatus frame F.

  A guide rail 408 is disposed at a position facing left and right, and a side frame 409 is fitted and supported along the guide rail 408 so as to be movable. The side frame 409 has a frame structure in which the left and right frames and the bottom frame are integrated, and is entirely supported so as to be movable in the left and right directions in FIG. A movable frame 410 that moves up and down in the vertical direction is guided and supported on the side frame frame 409 so as to be movable in the vertical direction in the figure. A rack 411 is integrally formed on the movable frame 410. The rack 411 is meshed with a drive motor M8 fixed to the side frame 409. Therefore, the side frame 409 is attached to the apparatus frames F1 and F2 so as to be movable by the horizontal guide rail 408.

  The side frame 409 has a drive motor M9 mounted on the frame 409 and a pinion 411 (see FIG. 18) connected to the frame 409 meshed with a rack 412 arranged in parallel to the guide rails 408 on the apparatus frames F1 and F2, and driven. The side frame 409 moves in the horizontal direction along the guide rail 408 by the rotation of the motor M9. A movable frame 410 is attached to the side frame frame 409 so as to be movable in the vertical direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 2), and is moved in the vertical direction by a drive motor M8 provided on the side frame frame 409.

  Therefore, a pair of left and right clamp support frames 402 is attached to the movable frame 410, and an upper clamper 403 and a lower clamper 404 are attached to the clamp support frame 402. First, the left and right clamp support frames 402 are supported by the movable frame 410 so as to be movable in the left-right direction in FIG. 2, and the left and right support frames 402 are moved toward and away from each other by a rack 413, a pinion 414, and a drive motor M 10 connected to the pinion. It is like that. Since the structure is well known, although not shown, the left and right clamp support frames 402 are slidably guided and supported by guide rails on a bottom plate of a movable frame configured in a chassis shape, for example, and a rack 413 is mounted on the clamp support frame 402. The rack 413 is connected to the pinion 414 provided on the movable frame 410 and the drive motor M10. At this time, the left and right clamp support frames 402 mesh with each other so as to move in the opposite direction with respect to the rotation of the pinion 414.

  An upper and lower clamper is attached to each clamp support frame 402. The upper clamper 403 has an elastic pad such as rubber integrally attached to the clamp support frame 402 and is configured to be movable up and down so that the sheet bundle on the tray set 332 is engaged and separated by the drive motor M8 of the movable frame 410. Is done.

  On the other hand, the lower clamper 404 is attached to a plunger 405 slidably attached to the clamp support frame 402, and is composed of an elastic pad such as rubber. The plunger 405 has a built-in elastic spring, is attached to the clamp support frame 402 so as to be movable in the vertical direction in the figure, and is integrally provided with a rack 406. A pinion 407 meshes with the rack 406, and a drive motor M4 is connected to the pinion 407 via a transmission shaft 415. Note that a pinion 407 is fitted to the transmission shaft 415 so as to be movable in the axial direction, and the pinion 407 is also moved along the transmission shaft 415 when the clamp support frame 402 is moved in the left-right direction in FIG.

  Therefore, by controlling the drive motor M10 to move the left and right support frames 402 close and apart, the upper and lower clampers move to a position where they engage with the sheet ears on the tray set 332, and rotate the drive motor M8. Thus, the upper clamper 403 is engaged with the upper surface of the sheet bundle, and the lower clamper 404 is engaged with the lower surface of the sheet bundle by rotating the drive motor M4. Further, the upper and lower clampers rotate the drive motor M9 while gripping the sheet bundle to horizontally move the sheet bundle in the right direction in FIG.

  In this way, the tray set 332 moves and descends from the stacking position (up position) to the unloading position (down position). At the same time, the first grip transport unit 401 transfers the sheet bundle on the tray between the upper clamper 403 and the lower clamper 404. In the gripped state, it is lowered together with the tray set 332. At this unloading position, the sheet bundle is handed over from the first grip conveying means 401 to the second grip conveying means 420.

  The second grip conveying means 420 rotates the sheet bundle received from the first grip conveying means 401 in a substantially horizontal posture by 90 degrees and deflects it to a vertical posture, and then moves to the processing position of the next process. For this reason, the second grip conveying means 420 is provided on the left and right side frames F1 and F2 of the apparatus frame at a position adjacent to the tray set 322 as shown in FIG. 7, and comprises a main clamper 421 and a sub clamper 422. The main clamper 421 is composed of an upper clamper 421a and a lower clamper 421b so as to hold the entire length of the edge of the sheet bundle sent out from the tray set 322, and the sub clamper 422 guides the sheet bundle to the main clamper 421, and at the same time The upper and lower clampers 422a and 422b are configured to hold the central portion of the bundle and are rotatably supported by the main clamper 421.

  Therefore, the main clamper 421 and the sub clamper 422 are attached to the apparatus frames F1 and F2 so as to be rotatable, and after rotating the sheet bundle, the main clamper 421 and the sub clamper 422 are deflected to a vertical posture. FIG. 8 shows a unit structure of the second grip conveying means 420. The left and right side frames 423a and 423b are rotatably attached to the apparatus frames F1 and F2 by the rotation shaft 424, and the sector gears 425 are integrated with the left and right side frames. It is fixed to. On the other hand, a rotation motor M5 and a pinion 426 connected to the rotation motor M5 are engaged with the fan-shaped gear 425 in the apparatus frames F1 and F2, and the left and right side frames rotate around the rotation shaft 424 by the rotation of the motor M5. 427 shown in the figure is a return spring.

  The left and right side frames 423a and 423b are provided with a pair of left and right guide rails 428 in the vertical direction in FIG. 8, and a movable side frame 429 is slidably fitted to the guide rails 428. A main clamper 421 and a sub clamper 422 are attached to the movable side frame 429. The fixed clamper 421a constituting the main clamper 421 is fixed to the left and right movable side frames 429, and the movable clamper 421b is attached to a rod 431 fitted to the bearing 430. A rack 432 is provided on the rod 431, and a pinion 433 connected to the drive motor M6 is engaged therewith.

  8 and 9, the movable side frame 429 is notched along the broken line. However, this is for illustration purposes only. Actually, the illustrated rack 434 is integrally formed, and the rack 434 has a fixed side frame. A pinion 435 of the drive motor M7 attached to 423 is meshed. Therefore, the movable side frame 429 of the clamper unit rotatably attached to the apparatus frame F by the fixed side frame 423 is movable in the vertical direction in the figure by the drive motor M7, and the fixed clamper 421a and the movable clamper 421b are connected to the side frame 429. Installed.

  FIG. 8 shows the structure of the main clamper 421, FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the main part, and FIG. 10A is an explanatory view showing a state in which the sheet bundle in the horizontal direction is received from the first grip conveying means 401 with the arrow direction upward. FIG. 10B is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the sheet bundle is rotated 90 degrees around the rotation shaft 424 with the arrow direction upward and the sheet bundle is deflected to a vertical posture.

  Next, the configuration of the sub clamper 422 will be described. In the state where the sheet bundle is received from the first grip conveying means 401 shown in FIG. 10A, the lower sub-clamper 422a is attached to the fixed clamper 421a, and the upper sub-clamper 422b is attached to the movable clamper 421b as follows. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the sub clamper 422a has a guide plate shape for guiding the sheet bundle from the first grip conveying means 401 to the main clamper 421 and is configured to simultaneously hold the central portion of the sheet bundle. The upper and lower sub clampers have the same mounting structure, and the upper sub clamper 422b shown will be described. A bracket 450 is attached to the movable clamper 421b. An upper clamper 422b is attached to a shaft 451 supported by the bracket 450 via a mounting seat 452, and the lower clamper 422a is also rotatable about the fixed clamper 421a. Installed.

  An accumulating spring 453 is interposed between the mounting shaft 451 and the mounting seat 452, and as shown in FIG. 12, springs 454 and 455 for holding the posture of the sub clamper 422b around the shaft 451 as shown in the figure. It is provided. Therefore, the sub clamper 422b is maintained in the illustrated posture by the springs 454 and 455 positioned on the left and right sides of the shaft 451, and a lock claw 456 is further provided.

  The lock claw 456 is provided on the sub clamper 422b side and is configured to be freely engageable with and disengageable from an engagement groove 457 formed on the bracket 450 on the main clamper 421b side. The sub clamper 422 rotates around the shaft 451 in the engaged state. Stop. Reference numeral 458 denotes a detection sensor in a clamped state.

  Therefore, when the main clamper 421 is moved in the direction in which the movable clamper 421b grips the sheet bundle by the drive motor M6, the sub clampers 422a and 422b approach each other and engage with the sheet bundle. After sandwiching the sheet bundle, the main clamper 421 approaches further while accumulating power in the energy storage spring 453. At this time, the lock release piece 459 releases the lock claw 456. As a result, the lock claw 456 is disengaged from the engagement groove 457, and the sub clampers 422a and 422b are rotatable about the shaft 451. At the same time, the main clamper 421 holds the sheet bundle.

  That is, in the illustrated embodiment, the sub clampers 422a and 422b are rotatably attached to the main clamper 421, and at the same time, the sub clampers 422a and 422b have a function of a guide plate for guiding the sheet bundle to the main clamper 421. The sub clampers 422a and 422b are prevented from rotating by the lock claw until they are clamped by the main clamper 421, and the sub clamper 422a is configured to be rotatable after being clamped by the main clamper 421. The sub clamper 422a is made rotatable so as to correct the biased posture of the sheet east described later in the next process.

  In addition, the main clamper 421 and the sub clampers 422a and 422b are clamped by the main clamper 421 without causing the individual driving means to clamp the main clamper 421 and the sub clampers 422a and 422b. For this purpose, the sub clampers 422a and 422b are attached to the main clamper 421 which can be moved toward and away from each other via the accumulating spring 453, and the sub clampers 422a and 422b nip the sheet bundle by the approaching operation of the main clamper 421. After the nip, the main clamper 421 holds the sheet bundle while storing energy by the action of the energy storing spring 453.

  On the contrary, in the release operation, the main clamper 421 is first detached from the sheet bundle, and then the sub clampers 422a and 422b are detached from the sheet bundle. When the main clamper 421 releases the sheet bundle and the sub clampers 422a and 422b hold the sheet bundle, the sheet bundle is rotatable about the shaft 451 together with the sub clampers 422a and 422b. Further, when the main clamper 421 holds the sheet bundle simultaneously with the sub clampers 422a and 422b, the sheet bundle is maintained in its posture without rotating. Further, the main clamper 421 includes a positioning member 436 shown in FIG. 7 as a protrusion integral with a member constituting the clamper, and the structure thereof will be described together with the operation.

  FIG. 15 shows the operating state, (a) and (e) show the same mode, (b) and (f), (c) and (g), and (d) and (h) show the same mode. Show. (A) and (e) are states in which the sheet is delivered from the first grip conveying means 401 to the main clamper 421 and the sub clamper 422, and the movable clamper 421b is operated by the drive motor M6 to grip the sheet bundle S. A case where the sheet bundle S is held slightly tilted is shown.

  In this state (a), the sheet bundle S is held by both the main clamper 421 and the sub clamper 422, and the sheet bundle received from the first grip conveying means 401 in a substantially horizontal orientation is turned by approximately 90 degrees and deflected to a vertical orientation. State.

  Next, (b) and (f) are states in which the drive motor M6 is driven to bring each clamper into a second gripping state that is slightly loosened from the first gripping position. At this time, the main clamper 421 is removed from the sheet bundle. The disengagement position, the sub clamper 422, is in the operating position where the sheet bundle is gripped. Accordingly, the sheet bundle S is separated from the main clamper 421, is supported by the springs 454 and 455, and is close to the lower processing position by its own weight.

  Next, (c) and (g) show a state where the drive motor M7 (see FIG. 8) is driven to transfer the sheet bundle to the processing position. At this time, a reference member 437 is provided at the processing position to restrict the end edge of the sheet bundle. Therefore, the inclination posture of the sheet bundle S is corrected in a state where the processing edge is abutted against the reference member 437. Further, in the main clamper 421, the drive motor M7 is stopped in a state where the positioning member 436 is in contact with the reference member 437. The drive motor M7 can be controlled by detecting a state in which the main clamper 421 has abutted against the reference member 437 with a sensor and stopping the motor with the signal.

  Next, (d) and (h) are states in which the sheet bundle S and the main clamper 421 are in contact with the reference member. At this time, the drive motor M6 is rotated in the holding direction so that the movable clamper holds the sheet bundle. . Therefore, in this state (d), the sheet bundle is securely gripped by the main clamper 421 and the sub clamper 422 and the posture is maintained. Next, the drive motor M7 is rotationally driven in the opposite direction to move the sheet bundle upward, returning to the state of (a), and preparing for the next process.

  Next, the operation of each unit will be described based on the state diagrams shown in S1 to S11 of FIG. S1 shows a state in which the sheets are conveyed from the paper discharge path 107 to the tray unit 305 and stacked in a bundle. First, the job signal of the bookbinding system is obtained, and the inserter unit B recognizes the size of the sheet to be carried out. This sheet size recognition is performed by receiving a size signal of an image-formed sheet from the image printing unit A, or by detecting a size detection sensor in the sheet discharge path 107 and detecting it by this sensor, or from the operation panel. Either method is used to input the paper size. Then, the size is identified based on the length in the sheet discharge direction, and the drive motor M1 is controlled to move the movable support portion 305b to a predetermined position and stop at that position. Similarly, the pressing piece 323 controls a drive motor (not shown) to move the pressing piece 323 to a predetermined position.

  The movable support portion 305b and the pressing piece 323 have a sheet shape in which the leading end of the sheet hangs outside the tray and is curved, and the aligning means 314 reliably performs the operation of shifting the sheet, and at the same time, the rotating shaft 313 moves the leading end of the sheet. It is set in advance at a position where the operation of transferring to the first restricting member 311 can be surely executed.

  Therefore, the sheet S is carried out from the sheet feeding path 203. At this time, the guide member 312 is positioned above the sheet discharge port 304 to guide the sheet to the fixed support portion 305a, and the rotating shaft 313 waits above the tray and waits for the alignment member 315a. 315b stands by on the outer side in the width direction of the sheet. When the sheet enters the tray in the state of S2, the rotating shaft 313 first descends to a position in contact with the sheet on the tray and rotates clockwise to assist the entry of the sheet. When the trailing edge of the sheet enters the tray in the state of S3, the rotary shaft 313 moves up, and the guide member 312 moves to a position for guiding the sheet along the tray shown in the drawing.

  Next, the rotating shaft 313 is lowered to a position in contact with the sheet on the tray in the state of S4, the rotating shaft 313 is rotated counterclockwise, and the sheet rear end (right end in the drawing) is moved toward the first restricting means, The guide member 312 guides this. After the expected time when the leading end of the sheet reaches the first restricting means in the state shown in S5 in the figure, the rotary shaft 313 stops, and in the state in S6, the guide member 312 is first retracted above the tray, and then in the state in S7, the rotary shaft 313. Evacuates upward.

  In this state, the sheet is placed in a free state except that it is supported by the fixed support portion 305 a and the movable support portion 305 b of the tray and pressed by the pressing piece 323. In the state of S7 shown in the figure, the left and right alignment members 315a and 315b are engaged with the sheet side edge of S9 from the standby position of S8 by the drive motors M2a and M2b, and move the sheet closer to the center line. The alignment members 315a and 315b move in the direction of the arrow from the state in which the sheet of S10 is shifted and return to the standby position of S11.

  By repeating the operations of S1 to S11 shown in the figure, the sheets are stacked and stacked on the tray means from the paper discharge port 304. At this time, the bundle-like sheets are individually stacked with their rear ends being regulated by the first regulating member 311 and the right and left sides being regulated by the left and right alignment members 315a and 315b. In this way, a series of sheets are accumulated in the order of pages, the end signal is received from the image printing unit A, and the accumulation process is completed.

  Next, the inserter unit B carries out the sheet bundle to the next process by the bundle conveyance mechanism unit. T1 to T4 in FIG. 17 show the operation of the first grip conveying unit 401, and the left and right upper clampers 403 and lower clampers 404 located at both end portions of the sheet on the tray unit 305 are positioned so as to fit the sheet size. And moved by the rack 413. Next, the clamper 403 located on the upper surface of the sheet is moved to the state of T2 by the drive motor and contacts the upper surface of the sheet in the state of T3. At the same time, the drive motor M4 moves upward on the rack 406, raises the clamper 404 located on the lower surface of the sheet, and contacts the lower surface of the sheet. At this time, the tray set 332 is lowered by the drive motor M3, and the auxiliary tray 305c is moved to a position retracted from the sheet by the action of the fan-shaped gear 338 so that it does not interfere with the gripping operation of the clamper 404.

  Next, T5 to T8 in FIG. 17 show the raising / lowering operation of the tray set 332, T5 shows a state in which sheets are stacked and stored, the tray set 332 is in the raised position, and T6 is in the lowered position and the sheet bundle carry-out position. When the rotating shaft 334 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 6 by the rotation of the drive motor M3, the tray set 332 is moved down from the raised position (T5 state) to the unloading position (T6 state). In conjunction with the lowering of the tray group, the wing-shaped auxiliary tray 305c rotates clockwise in FIG. 6 by the rotation of the sector gear 338 and moves to a position away from the sheet bundle. After the movement of the auxiliary tray 305c, the first grip conveying means 401 performs the above-described operations T1 to T4, grips the sheet bundle, and then synchronizes with the tray set 332 by the rotation of the driving motor M1. Then, the vehicle descends from the T5 position (ascending position) to the T6 position (unloading position).

  At the position T6, the second grip conveying means 420 is composed of a main clamper 421 and a sub clamper 422 and is on standby. The first grip conveying means 401 moves from the T6 position in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and conveys the sheet bundle on the tray set 332 toward the second grip conveying means 420. The first grip conveying means 401 is moved by a drive motor M 1 that is guided by the channel-shaped guide rail 402 along the guide rail 408 and meshes with the rack 434.

  Next, the first grip conveying means 401 stops in the state T7 when the sheet bundle is unloaded from the tray set 332, and the tray set 332 starts to rise toward the raised position by the reverse rotation of the drive motor M3. At the same time, the second grip conveying means 420 rotates the drive motor M6 (see FIG. 10A) and moves the movable clamper 421b to the opposing fixed clamper 421a side.

  Then, as shown at T8, the tray set 332 returns to the raised position, the sheet bundle is gripped by the second grip conveying means 420, and the first grip conveying means 401 starts the returning operation in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure. In this returning operation, the lower clamper 404 descends from the sheet surface (T10 state) from the state of FIG. T9 in which the sheet bundle is gripped simultaneously with the second grip conveying means 420 (T10 state), and then the upper clamper rises to the state of T11. To move to the initial state of T12.

  Simultaneously with the releasing operation of each clamper, the first grip conveying means 401 returns from the state of FIG. T8 to the state of T13 in the horizontal direction and then returns to the state of T14 in the vertical direction.

  In parallel with the returning operation of the first grip transport means 401, the second grip transport means 420 rotates the drive motor M5 in the clockwise direction in the state of FIG. Then, the second grip conveying means 420 turns the sheet bundle from the state T13 (horizontal posture) to the vertical posture T14. A reference member 437 is provided at a post-processing position where the sheet edge is glued in a state of T15 in which the sheet bundle is swung in a vertical posture.

  Accordingly, the drive motor M6 of the second grip conveying means 420 is rotated in the grip releasing direction to deliver the movable clamper 421b from the fixed clamper 421a. To release the movable clamper 421b, the main clamper 421 is separated from the sheet bundle, and the sub clampers 422a and 422b hold the sheet bundle. Then, in the state of T6, the sheet bundle is gripped by the sub clampers 422a and 422b with the main clamper 421 not engaged, and slightly falls under the action of the springs 454 and 455 described in FIG.

  Next, the drive motor M7 is rotated to lower the movable side frame 429 shown in FIG. 9 by a predetermined amount. When the second grip conveying means 420 is lowered to the state of T17, the sheet bundle hits the reference member 437. The sheet bundle abutted against the reference member 437 while being gripped by the sub-clampers 422a and 422b is corrected in inclination such as skew because the sub-clampers 422a and 422b are configured to be rotatable by the shaft 451. After the skew correction, the second grip conveying means 420 rotates the drive motor M6 in the grip direction and grips the sheet bundle with the main clamper 421. By the operation of the main clamper 421, the sheet bundle is held in its posture without rotating.

"Glue unit"
As shown in FIG. 1, the gluing unit E is disposed in a substantially vertical path (hereinafter referred to as a first path) 100 through which the above-described second grip conveying means 420 transports a sheet bundle. Then, the pasting unit E applies glue to the lower edge S2 of the sheet bundle gripped by the second grip conveying means 420. The gluing unit E includes a glue tray 61 that contains glue, a glue roll 62 that is rotatably attached to the tray, a drive motor M11 that rotationally drives the glue roll 62, and the tray 61 along the sheet bundle. And M12 that reciprocates.

  FIG. 20 shows a conceptual diagram thereof. The glue tray 61 is formed to have a short length (dimension) with respect to the lower end edge S1 of the sheet bundle S, and the sheet lower end edge S1 together with the glue roll 62 attached thereto. It is configured to be movable along. Alternatively, the glue tray 61 may be configured in a tray shape that is larger than the length of the lower end edge S1 of the sheet bundle, and only the glue roll 62 may move in the left-right direction in FIG. Accordingly, in the illustrated example, the glue roll 62 constitutes a glue applying member for applying glue to the sheet bundle, and this roll is made of a porous material, impregnates the glue, and forms a layer of glue around the roll.

  FIG. 19 shows a structure in which the gluing unit E and the cover sheet conveyance mechanism described later are unitized, and is detachably incorporated in the apparatus of FIG. The first path conveys the sheet bundle in the XX direction shown in the figure, and the second path conveys the cover sheet in the direction indicated by the arrow in the YY direction shown in the figure. The glue tray 61 is disposed above the joining stage 150 of the sheet bundle and the cover sheet, is guided to move along a guide rail (rod) 66, and is connected to the drive motor M11 via a timing belt 65 parallel to the rail. It is. Accordingly, the glue unit E can be reciprocated by the drive motor M11 along the lower end edge S1 of the sheet bundle S held by the second grip conveying means 420 and held at that position.

  On the other hand, the sheet bundle S is configured such that the movable side frame 429, to which the main clamper 421 and the sub clamper 422 (hereinafter simply referred to as a clamp member 420) are attached, is guided by the guide rail 428 and is movable in the vertical direction as described above. The movable side frame 429 is connected to the drive motor M7 via a rack 434 and a pinion 435. (See FIGS. 9 and 10B) And as described above, the clamp member 420 that grips the sheet bundle by the forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor M7 is controlled to be movable in the vertical direction in FIG.

  With this configuration, a method for applying glue to the sheet bundle S by the glue unit E will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 26 shows a plane of the sheet lower end edge S1 which is the glue application end face of the sheet bundle S and the glue unit E, and the glue tray 61 constituting the glue unit is reciprocally movable along the guide rail 66 by the drive motor M11. (A) shows the forward path and (b) shows the return path.

  The gluing method will be described with reference to FIG. 27. In the illustrated gluing method, the gluing roll 62 (gluing application member) reciprocates the lower edge S1 of the sheet bundle. In the forward path, the surface of the roll is pressed against the sheet bundle and the glue is soaked between the sheets of the edge S1. Thereafter, on the return path, uniform gluing is formed on the sheet edge S1 with a small gap (gap) formed between the roll surface of the glue roll and the sheet edge S1. The procedure moves the glue unit E from the home position (solid line) to the sheet edge (U1). This movement to the sheet edge determines the distance of the sheet edge from the home position according to the upper size of the sheet.

  Next, the clamp member 421 is driven by the drive motor M7 to descend a predetermined amount from the standby position (U1) (U3). The movement amount of the clamp member is configured by the drive motor M7 as a stepping motor, and the movement amount is controlled by pulse control of the motor from the initial position (home position) of the clamp member 420. In particular, in the forward path of the gluing unit E, the lower edge S1 of the sheet bundle and the surface (outer peripheral surface) of the glue roll 62 are in pressure contact with each other. That is, the clamp member 420 is lowered to the position where the lower edge S1 of the sheet bundle overlaps the glue roll 62 fixed to the glue tray slidably supported by the guide rail 66.

  This amount of overlap is set by the pressure contact force between the sheet edge S2 and the glue roll, and the pressure contact force between the two is set according to the situation where the sheet edge is deformed and broken and the glue penetrates between the sheets. Further, in the illustrated example, the overlap amount in the forward path of the gluing unit E is set in advance, but the overlap amount may be varied depending on the thickness of the sheet bundle. In this case, the overlap is greater as the sheet bundle is thicker. Increase the amount, that is, increase the pressure. The detection of the sheet bundle thickness will be described later.

  In such a positional relationship between the sheet bundle and the glue roll, the glue roll 62 is moved from one end (right end) of the sheet bundle to the other end in the state of U3. At this time, the glue roll 62 rotates in the direction of the arrow shown. When the glue roll 62 reaches the other end (left end) of the sheet bundle in the state of U4, the glue roll 62 and the glue unit E are stopped. Therefore, the clamp member 420 of the second grip conveying means is raised and returned to the home position (see U5). Next, the driving roller M7 is rotated again, and the clamp member 420 is moved down to a position where a small gap (gap) is formed between the sheet lower edge S1 and the glue roll 62. The amount of movement is controlled by pulse control of the drive motor as before. The gap between the lower edge S1 of the sheet and the surface of the glue roll 62 is such that the raised layer of glue formed on the surface of the glue roll is in contact with the edge S1, and the amount of glue adhering to the sheet side is experimentally measured. And set to the optimum value. After setting this condition, the glue roll 62 is moved back to the U6 state.

  In this way, when the glue application operation is performed to allow glue to penetrate between the bundle-like sheets, and after this application operation, the gap is formed between the sheet edge and the glue roll, the bundle operation is performed. In the sheet-like sheet, a glue layer having a uniform thickness is formed on the bundled end face at the same time between the sheets. In this case, excessive glue may adhere to the left and right edge portions of the edge of the sheet bundle, and the edge processing may be necessary.

  U7 indicates the edge processing, and after gluing in the forward path and the return path, the gluing unit E is returned to the edge portion to remove the excess glue layer. Reduce the glue layer at the edge with a knife edge roll. Next, the gluing unit E is moved to the other end side (see U8), and the excess glue on the other end side is removed. With the above operation, the glue application is completed, and the glue unit E moves to the home position (in the state of U11 and U12) and similarly holds the sheet bundle. The clamp member 320 also returns to the home position.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the glue application operation in the return path of the gluing unit E has been described for the case where a small gap is formed in a state where the sheet bundle lower end edge S1 and the glue roll surface are not in contact with each other. You may set to a weak contact pressure by the contact pressure of both in an outward path in the state which contacted S1 and the glue roll surface. Also in this case, the pasting unit E allows glue to penetrate between the sheets in the forward path, and forms a substantially uniform glue surface layer on the end face (back part) of the sheet bundle in the return path.

"Cover sheet transport mechanism"
In the system of FIG. 1, the sheet carry-in path 501 is connected to the paper feed path 203 of the inserter unit B, and the paper discharge path 301 of the stacking tray unit C is connected. A cover sheet transfer path (hereinafter referred to as a second path) 200 is connected to the sheet carry-in path 501 via a path switching piece 201 to guide the cover sheet from the inserter B to the second path 200. The second path 200 intersects the first path 100 so as to be orthogonal to each other, and the sheet bundle from the first path and the cover sheet from the second path are joined in an inverted T shape.

  The second path 200 includes an upper transport guide 63 and a lower transport guide 64 that are vertically opposed to each other at a predetermined interval. The upper transport guide 63 is connected to the first upper transport guide 63a on the right side at the intersection with the first path. The left upper conveyance guide 63b is divided into left and right second upper conveyance guides 63b, and the left and right conveyance guides are individually opened and closed. A joining stage 150 is formed as an intersecting space at the intersection between the first path 100 and the second path 200, and the sheet bundle and the cover sheet are joined in a substantially inverted T shape at this stage.

  Therefore, in the second path, the first aligning unit 130 for aligning the sheet feeding direction of the cover sheet, the second aligning unit 135 for aligning the cover sheet in the orthogonal direction of sheet feeding, and the first and second An offset transfer means 140 for transferring the cover sheet aligned by the alignment means 130 and 135 to the joining stage 150 is disposed. In the second path, the first and second aligning means are arranged on the upstream side of the joining stage 150 to align the cover sheet in the conveyance direction and in the direction orthogonal thereto, and the aligned cover sheet is transferred to the offset transfer means. At 140, the cover sheet is set on the joining stage by accurately feeding a predetermined distance. The first aligning means 130 and the second aligning means 135 shown in the figure share both in the following one unit mechanism.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, an alignment unit 75 shown in FIG. 24 is provided at a branch point between the paper discharge path 301 and the second path 200. The aligning unit 75 includes a stopper member 72 shown in FIG. 23 and a step wall 72a for locking the sheet end, and has a positional relationship as shown in the drawing direction of the cover sheet (arrow shown). As shown in FIG. 23, the upper paper guide 72b is integrally attached, and the alignment unit 75 is attached to the fixed frame 76 so as to be movable in the left-right direction in the figure.

  That is, the fixed frame 76 is provided with a guide rail (not shown), and the alignment unit 75 is movably fitted to the rail. The fixed frame 76 is provided with a stepping motor M12 capable of forward and reverse rotation, and the motor M12 and the alignment unit 75 are connected. 79 in the figure shows a transmission belt and 78 in the figure. The transmission belt 79 and the alignment unit 75 are fixed by a fixing member 80. Accordingly, by driving the drive motor M12, the alignment unit 75 can move in the horizontal direction in the figure. The illustrated LS is a limit sensor.

  Accordingly, a plurality of stoppers 72 are provided as shown in FIG. 24 and are configured to be rotatable by a shaft 72b. At the illustrated position, the cover sheet is nipped and held between the step portion 75a of the aligning unit 75 and the shaft 72b is rotated in the clockwise direction in the drawing. , The stopper 72 rises to lock the sheet edge together with the step wall 72a. The illustrated SOL is the operating solenoid. This stopper 72 is arranged in the sheet carry-in path, and when the operating solenoid SOL is turned off to be in the lying posture, the cover sheet is guided to the second path, and then, when the operating solenoid SOL is turned on to be in the standing position, the stopper 72 is switched back. Stop by hitting the back cover sheet. Further, when the cover sheet is abutted and stopped, when the standing state is changed to the lying state, the sheet edge is nipped.

  A reverse roller 68 is provided in the second path on the downstream side of the alignment unit. The roller 68 is disposed so as to be movable up and down to a position where it is engaged with the cover sheet and retracted and disengaged, and is attached to a swingable support arm 92. A driving motor M13 is connected to the roller 68 so as to transfer the cover sheet in the direction opposite to the feeding direction. This drive motor M13 is connected to the base end portion of the support arm 92 via a spring clutch so as to move to a position where the support arm 92 is raised and retracted from the seat by forward rotation, and the support arm 92 by reverse rotation thereof. Is lowered to a position where it engages with the sheet, and the roller 68 is reversely rotated. Reference numeral 93 denotes the transmission belt. S71 in the drawing is a sensor for detecting the leading edge of the sheet, and obtains a timing signal for controlling the drive motor M13 to switch back the sheet.

  In the second path, as shown in FIG. 19A, a plurality of, as shown, two rows of conveyance rollers 69 are arranged on the first upper conveyance guide 63a, and conveyance rollers (on the upstream side of the alignment unit 75) An inlet roller) 70 is disposed. This conveyance roller 69 constitutes an offset transfer means described later, and conveys a predetermined amount of sheets aligned by the alignment unit 75.

  The structure will be described together with the operation. FIG. 25 shows the operation state diagram. As shown at U1, the front end of the cover sheet (hereinafter simply referred to as a sheet) that has entered the second path is detected by the sensor S71, and is fed by the transport roller 70 and the transport roller 69. At this time, the cover sheet is entered with the stopper 72 of the aligning unit lying down, and the reverse roller 68 is placed in a state of being retracted from the path. After a delay time in which the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the alignment unit 75 with a signal from the sensor S71, the conveying roller 70 and the conveying roller 69 are retracted from the sheet (U3). The retracting structure of the transport rollers 69 and 70 will be described later.

  Accordingly, the reverse rotation roller 68 is lowered to a position where it engages with the sheet (U4), and all the conveying rollers that engage with the sheet are simultaneously retracted upward from the sheet (U5). Then, the reverse rotation roller 68 is driven to move the sheet in the direction opposite to the sheet feeding direction. At this time, the stopper 72 is raised by the operating solenoid SOL. Then, the rear end of the sheet is locked by the stopper 72, and immediately after that, the reverse rotation roller 68 is stopped and simultaneously separated from the sheet. The stop timing of the reverse rotation roller 68 is calculated from the signal that the sensor S71 has detected the trailing edge of the sheet (U6).

  Therefore, the power supply of the operating solenoid SOL is turned off to return the stopper 72 to the initial posture (U7). Then, the rear end of the sheet is nipped between the step portion (plate) 75 a of the alignment unit 75 and the stopper 72. When the drive motor M12 is started in this state, the alignment unit 75 moves in a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction, and the sheet nipped by the stopper 72 also moves simultaneously.

  As shown in FIG. 25C, a plurality of sensors S94 and S95 are arranged on the fixed frame 76 that movably supports the alignment unit 75 in the direction perpendicular to the paper feed. Then, for example, as shown in FIG. 25D, when the sensor is OFF (U14), the alignment unit 75 is moved so as to move the sheet in the sensor direction. Is determined (U15). When the sensor is ON (U16), the alignment unit 75 is moved in the opposite direction, and the lateral position of the sheet is determined by moving a predetermined amount from when the sheet side edge passes the sensor and is turned OFF. .

  After indexing (aligning) the position of the sheet in the direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction, the conveying rollers 69 and 70 are lowered to a position where they are engaged with the sheet (U9), and then all the conveying rollers are engaged with the sheet. Then, only the reverse rotation roller 68 is placed at a position retracted from the sheet (U10). Therefore, the operation solenoid SOL is turned on again to rotate the stopper in the upright direction, and then the transport roller 69 is driven to rotate (U11). Then, the sheet is conveyed downstream through the second path 200, and the stopper 72 returns to the initial lying posture and prepares thereafter.

  Therefore, the lifting mechanism for the conveying rollers 70 and 69 will be described. These rollers are controlled to be in a state of contacting and conveying the sheet as described above and in a non-operating state away from the sheet, but the conveying roller 69 is connected to the upper conveying guide 63 as shown in FIG. Both sides are supported by a support stay 82 provided. This support stay 82 is attached to a plurality of swing arms 83 provided on the apparatus frame, and is provided with a transport guide and a transport roller by swing arms provided at least two positions in the front and rear directions in the sheet transport direction on each of the left and right side frames of the apparatus frame. Is supported so as to move up and down substantially in parallel.

  Therefore, the swing arm 83 is connected to a transmission gear 85a in which the shaft support gear 85 is connected to the drive motor M14, and the lift position of the transport guide and transport roller can be controlled by the rotation of the motor. The drive motor M14 controls the angle of the swing arm 83 in two stages, such as a non-operation position where the conveyance roller is slightly retracted from the sheet, and a position where the upper conveyance guide is largely opened from the lower conveyance guide. Reference numeral 84 denotes a return spring of the swing arm. A transport roller 69b having the same structure as the transport roller 69 is attached to the above-mentioned second transport guide 63b by a support stay 82b, and this support stay is supported by a swing arm 83b so as to be able to make money. However, the swing arm 83b located on the left side (downstream side) of the joining stage is configured to rotate and rotate in the opposite direction to the swing arm 83a located on the right side, and the drive motor M15 moves the arm. It is designed to rotate.

  The transport roller 69 configured as described above is connected to the drive motor M13 and controlled by the control CPU. Although not shown, the control CPU executes a second aligning operation for shifting the cover sheet positioned by the stopper 72 in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction, and after that, the drive motor M14 is activated to start the conveying roller 69. Is lowered to an operating position in contact with the sheet, and then the drive motor M13 is activated to convey the cover sheet toward the bonding stage 150 by a predetermined amount.

  The control of the conveying roller 69 is as follows. First, the control CPU determines the conveying amount at which the center of the sheet coincides with the center of the joining stage from the size of the cover sheet (length in the conveying direction) and the thickness of the sheet bundle sent from the first path 100. Based on the result, the number of steps of the drive motor M13 constituted by the stepping motor is determined, and the power supply pulse is supplied. In this case, either the case where the feed amount is calculated only from the sheet length size or the case where the feed amount is calculated from the sheet length size and the thickness of the sheet bundle from the first path is selected.

  The former does not require detection of the thickness of the sheet bundle and it is easy to calculate the feed amount. However, if the thickness of the sheet bundle is different, there is a problem in that the edges of the cover sheet and the sheet bundle become uneven when the sheets are folded. Suitable for equipment specifications with uniform thickness. Further, the latter may have the same irregularity depending on the detection accuracy of the sheet bundle, but is suitable for apparatus specifications that require bookbinding with various thicknesses. For detecting the thickness of the sheet bundle, for example, the sheet bundle thickness detecting method for adjusting the contact pressure at the time of gluing can be applied. The transport roller 69 and its control means (for example, the control CPU described above) constitute an offset transfer means.

"Mechanism of joining sheet bundle and cover sheet"
A joining stage 150 is formed at the intersection of the first path 100 and the second path 200, and the sheet bundle from the first path and the cover sheet from the second path are joined in an inverted T shape at this joining stage. . First, in the first path 100, the sheet bundle held by the second grip conveying means 420 is glued to the lower edge by the glue application unit E, and the glue tray 61 is retracted out of the path (see U12 described above). At the same time, a cover sheet is set on the joining stage 150 in the second path 200 (see U12 described above).

  The structure and operation of joining the sheet bundle and the cover sheet will be described simultaneously with reference to FIG. The sheet bundle and the cover sheet are set in the state shown in W1 in the drawing, and the sheet bundle is supported by the second grip conveying means 420. 437 in the figure is the above-described reference member, 63a is a first upper transport guide, and 63b is a second upper transport guide. The joining stage 150 is provided with a backup member 151 that supports the back surface of the cover sheet CS and a back folding block 155. The structure of the backup member 151 and the back folding block 155 will be described later.

  Therefore, when the drive motor M15 is rotated to open the second lower transport guide 64 to the state shown in W2 in the drawing, the reference member 437 is retracted from the first path together with the guide. Therefore, the sheet bundle is transferred downstream by driving the drive motor M7 with the second grip conveying means (hereinafter described as the main clamper 421). Then, the cover sheet CS and the sheet bundle S are joined in the state of W3 in the figure, and at this time, the backup member 151 supports the back surface of the cover sheet. A gap is formed between the backup member 151 and the lower conveyance guide, and the back folding block 155 enters the gap.

  Next, the first upper transport guide 63a is separated from the lower transport guide 64a in the same manner as the second transport guide. In the state of W4, the upper side of the cover sheet CS is opened and becomes free. The cover sheet is folded so that the cover sheet is free and the back folding block 155 is in the state of W5. The back folding block 155 is configured to be openable and closable so as to press the shoulder portion of the sheet bundle from the position of W4 spaced apart from each other by a pair of left and right blocks, and press-shapes the back portion of the booklet processing together with the backup member 151.

  Next, the back folding block 155 is returned to the source position from the shoulder of the sheet bundle (W6), and then the main clamper 421 is released from the sheet bundle S (W7). After the release, the main clamper 421 is retracted to the upstream side of the first path (W8), and the sheet is gripped by the main clamper 421 again (W9). Therefore, the main clamper 421 grips the lower edge of the sheet bundle during the operation of joining the sheet bundle (the above-described operation from W1 to W5), and thereafter grips the central portion of the sheet bundle. The reason why the lower edge portion of the sheet bundle is gripped during the joining operation is to prevent the sheet bundle from being broken by the press pressure acting at the time of joining.

  Next, after the main clamper 421 changes the gripping position of the sheet bundle, the main clamper 421 is backed and the cover sheet is pulled away from the backup member 151 (W10). The retracting operation of the clamper is performed by the pulse control of the driving motor M7 described above. After the cover sheet CS is separated, the backup member 151 is retracted from the first path to the state of W11.

  On the other hand, a folding conveyance means is provided in the first path on the downstream side of the joining stage 150, and the illustrated one is constituted by a pair of folding rolls 160, and the pair of rolls are configured to be able to press and separate from each other, A pressure contact spring (not shown) is used for pressure contact and an operation solenoid is used for separation. Therefore, the folding roll 160 is separated (W12), and the main clamper 421 is lowered downstream along the first path (W13). The position of the sheet bundle is detected by a sensor, and the folding roll 160 is brought into a pressure contact state (W14). Next, the main clamper 421 is released from the sheet bundle (W15), the folding roll 160 is rotated in the carrying-out direction, and the sheet bundle is carried out (W16). With the above structure and its operation, the sheet bundle and the cover sheet are joined to each other in a booklet shape and folded, and the returning operation of each component will be described.

  W17 is a signal indicating that the rear end of the sheet bundle has passed through the joining stage 150 by the return operation of the main clamper 421, and the second grip conveying means 420 including the main clamper 421 has a posture of 90. The angle is converted to return to the posture for receiving the subsequent sheet bundle. At the same time, the first and second upper conveyance guides also return to the original position for conveying the subsequent cover sheet.

  W18 and W19 indicate a state in which the folding roll 16 returns to the separated state from the pressure contact state, and W20 indicates a state in which the backup member 151 and the back folding block 155 return to the original positions. The bundle of sheets bound in a booklet shape is sent from a folding roll serving as a folding means to the trimming unit, where the edges in three directions excluding the glue binding edge are cut and stored in the storage stack tray.

It is a block diagram of the bookbinding system concerning this invention, and is explanatory drawing which shows the whole structure of an apparatus. It is a block diagram of the bookbinding system concerning this invention, and is principal part explanatory drawing of the apparatus of Fig.1 (a). The perspective view which shows the structure of a 1st grip conveyance means. It is drive explanatory drawing of a tray means, and is a perspective view from the back side of an apparatus. The perspective view which shows the structure of a matching means. FIG. 3 is an overall view of a stacking tray unit. Explanatory drawing of the raising / lowering mechanism of a tray. FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of a sheet stacking apparatus in the apparatus of FIG. The block diagram of a bundle conveyance mechanism part unit. The principal part enlarged view of the apparatus of FIG. The perspective view of the apparatus which showed the whole view of the bundle conveyance mechanism part unit, and was seen from the horizontal direction. The perspective view which shows the whole figure of a bundle conveyance mechanism part unit, and shows the state after rotation of a grip conveyance means. The perspective view which shows the structure of a 2nd grip conveyance means. Explanatory drawing of the apparatus of FIG. The principal part perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. The fragmentary perspective view of a grip conveyance means. (A) thru | or (d) is a posture correction operation | movement figure of a grip conveyance means. (E) thru | or (h) is a posture correction operation | movement figure of a grip conveyance means. S1 to S3 show the sheet stacking operation of the apparatus of FIG. S4 to S7 show the sheet stacking operation of the apparatus of FIG. S8 thru | or S9 are operation | movement explanatory drawings of an alignment member. S10 to S11 are operation explanatory views of the alignment member. The operation state figure of a grip conveyance mechanism. The operation state figure of a grip conveyance mechanism. The operation state figure of a grip conveyance mechanism. The operation state figure of a grip conveyance mechanism. The operation state figure of a grip conveyance mechanism. FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 2. It is a block diagram of the cover sheet conveyance unit of the apparatus of Fig.1 (a), and shows the whole perspective view. It is a block diagram of the cover sheet conveyance unit of the apparatus of Fig.1 (a), and shows the elements on larger scale. FIG. 20 is an overall perspective view showing the cover sheet transport mechanism of FIG. FIG. 20 is a partially enlarged view showing the cover sheet conveying mechanism of FIG. FIG. 21 is a partial explanatory view showing the back side of the apparatus of FIG. The assembly unit of the alignment portion of the apparatus of FIG. FIG. 23 is a partial explanatory diagram of the apparatus of FIG. 22. FIG. 23 is a partial explanatory diagram of the apparatus of FIG. 22. Explanatory drawing which shows the conveyance state of the cover sheet of the unit of Fig.19 (a). Explanatory drawing which shows the conveyance state of the cover sheet of the unit of Fig.19 (a). Explanatory drawing which shows the conveyance state of the cover sheet of the unit of Fig.19 (a). Explanatory drawing which shows the conveyance state of the cover sheet of the unit of Fig.19 (a). It is explanatory drawing of the paste application | coating state in the apparatus of Fig.19 (a), (a) shows a forward movement, (b) shows a backward movement. Explanatory drawing of the paste application | coating state in the apparatus of Fig.19 (a). Explanatory drawing of the paste application | coating state in the apparatus of Fig.19 (a). Explanatory drawing of the paste application | coating state in the apparatus of Fig.19 (a). FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet bundle and a cover sheet are folded in the apparatus illustrated in FIG. FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet bundle and a cover sheet are folded in the apparatus illustrated in FIG. FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet bundle and a cover sheet are folded in the apparatus illustrated in FIG. FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet bundle and a cover sheet are folded in the apparatus illustrated in FIG. FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet bundle and a cover sheet are folded in the apparatus illustrated in FIG. FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet bundle and a cover sheet are folded in the apparatus illustrated in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

100 First path 200 Second path 305 Tray means 305a Fixed support part 305b Movable support part 305c Auxiliary tray 311 First restriction means 314 Alignment means 315a, 315b Alignment member 320 Press means 323 Press piece 332 Tray set 401 First grip conveyance Means 403 Upper clamp 404 Lower clamp 409 Side frame frame 420 Second grip conveying means 421 Main clamper 421a Fixed clamper 421b Movable clamper 422 Sub clamper 423a, 423b Side frame 424 Rotating shaft 425 Fan gear 459 Unlocking piece M2a, M2b Stepping motor M3 Lifting Motor M5 slewing motor

Claims (11)

A first path for transporting the sheet bundle in a substantially vertical direction;
A second path that intersects the first path and transports the cover sheet in a substantially horizontal direction;
A joining stage for joining the cover sheet and the sheet bundle provided at the intersection;
Grip conveying means arranged on the upstream side of the joining stage for gripping and transferring the sheet bundle along the first path;
A folding conveyance means arranged on the downstream side of the joining stage for folding and carrying out the cover sheet and the sheet bundle;
The grip conveying means is composed of an openable and closable clamp member that sandwiches and holds the sheet bundle, and a clamp control means that opens and closes the clamp member.
The clamp control means is configured so that the position at which the clamp member grips the sheet bundle when the sheet bundle is joined to the cover sheet at the joining stage and when the joined sheet bundle is transferred to the folding conveying means is different. A bookbinding apparatus characterized by   The joining stage is provided with a backup member that backs up and supports the cover sheet in the second path and joins the lower edge of the sheet bundle in a substantially inverted T shape, and the backup member is connected to the first path. The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bookbinding apparatus is disposed so as to freely advance and retract.   The joining stage includes a backup member that backs up and supports the cover sheet in the second path and joins the lower edge of the sheet bundle in a substantially inverted T shape, and a cover sheet supported by the backup member. 2. The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising back folding means for forming a back portion by joining to a side edge shoulder portion of the sheet bundle. The grip conveying means is
The clamp member;
Guide means for guiding the clamp member to reciprocate along the first path;
Drive means for reciprocating the grip conveying means along the guide means,
This drive means
A joining operation in which a sheet bundle reaches the joining stage and joins the cover sheet;
After this joining operation, reverse operation to reverse and switch back the clamp member from the joining stage,
4. The transfer operation according to claim 1, wherein after the retreating operation, a lower end edge of the sheet bundle passes through the joining stage and is transferred to the folding conveying unit. 5. Bookbinding equipment. The clamp control means is configured such that the clamp member grips a lower edge of the sheet bundle during the joining operation,
The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the clamp member is controlled so that the clamp member grips a central portion of the sheet bundle during the transfer operation.   5. The bookbinding according to claim 4, wherein the backup member is configured to retract from the first path to the outside of the path after the backward movement operation of the grip transport unit and before the transfer operation. apparatus. The second path is composed of upper and lower conveying guides that are vertically opposed to each other at a predetermined interval, and the upper conveying guide is divided into left and right sections around the joining stage in the conveying direction of the cover sheet,
The left and right upper transport guides are supported by a transport guide shift means so as to be able to approach and separate from each other around the joining stage and expand the distance from the lower transport guide,
The conveyance guide shift unit moves the left and right upper conveyance guides in a direction away from each other and in a direction away from the lower conveyance guide when the sheet bundle is transferred from the joining stage to the folding conveyance unit. The bookbinding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   The folding conveying means is composed of a pair of folding rollers arranged on the downstream side of the joining stage, and the folding rollers fold the cover sheet to the front and back of the sheet bundle sent from the joining stage and carry it out. The bookbinding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that A first path for transporting the sheet bundle in a substantially vertical direction;
A second path that intersects the first path and transports the cover sheet in a substantially horizontal direction;
A joining stage for joining the cover sheet and the sheet bundle provided at the intersection;
Grip conveying means arranged on the upstream side of the joining stage for gripping and transferring the sheet bundle along the first path;
Glue applying means for applying glue to the lower edge of the sheet end supported by the grip conveying means;
A backup member that is disposed in the first path so as to freely move back and forth, and supports the cover sheet on the joining stage as a backup;
A folding conveyance means arranged on the downstream side of the joining stage for folding and carrying out the cover sheet and the sheet bundle;
When retracting the backup member from the first path out of the path,
The bookbinding apparatus, wherein the grip conveying means is moved backward to separate the lower edge of the sheet bundle from the backup member by a predetermined distance. The second path is composed of upper and lower transport guides that are vertically opposed to each other at a predetermined interval, and the upper transport guide is configured by dividing the front and rear in the transport direction around the joining stage,
The left and right upper transport guides are supported by the transport guide shift means so as to be able to approach and separate around the joining stage and to be separated from the lower transport guide.
The conveyance guide shift means moves the left and right upper conveyance guides away from each other and away from the lower conveyance guide when the sheet bundle is transferred from the joining stage to the folding conveyance means. Item 10. The apparatus according to Item 9. Image forming means for forming an image on a sheet;
A stacking unit that stacks sheets from the image forming unit in a bundle;
11. A bookbinding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising: an image forming apparatus including a bookbinding apparatus that performs bookbinding of sheet bundles collected in a booklet form by the stacking unit. An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images