JP4238193B2 - Paper folding apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, paper - sheet folding apparatus that performs folding (sheet-like recording medium, for example paper),及 Beauty copying machine having the sheet folding equipment, printers, an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, some sheet processing apparatuses that perform a predetermined process on a sheet-like recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a sheet) such as a sheet have a function of performing saddle stitch binding as one of the predetermined processes.

In a sheet processing apparatus having this function, a binding portion of a sheet bundle bound at the center is pushed out by a folding plate in a substantially vertical direction as folding means for saddle stitch binding, and is passed through a pair of folding rollers provided in the moving direction. A crease is made and the sheet bundle is half-folded.

In such saddle stitching, it is very important that the folding position by the folding roller exactly matches the binding position and that the folding position is not shifted obliquely, which is also a strong demand of the user.

Therefore, in order to realize such a request, Patent Document 1 discloses that the width direction 2 after aligning the sheet bundle.
An invention is disclosed in which after binding is performed at a location, the leading end of the folding plate is hooked on the binding needle and pushed into the folding roller nip. In Patent Document 2, in order to determine the folding position,
An invention is disclosed in which a stopper is provided in the transport direction and an alignment mechanism that is movable in the width direction is provided.
JP 2001-206629 A JP 2002-167120 A

However, in the configuration of the present invention, since the position where the fold is not shifted obliquely is set theoretically, the fold may be shifted during a realistic operation. This occurs because the paper cut into the standard size is misaligned and is not an accurate rectangle.

The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable a user to easily adjust a crease shift that occurs during actual use.

In order to achieve the object, the first means includes a sheet conveying means for conveying the sheet or the sheet bundle along the sheet conveying path, and is movable in the sheet or sheet bundle conveying direction, A support means for supporting a sheet or a bundle of sheets, a folding plate disposed so as to be able to advance and retreat in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveyance path, and disposed in the advancing direction of the folding plate and pushed into the nip by the folding plate. a pair of folding rollers fold the sheet or sheet bundle, the sheet folding apparatus having an angle changing means, for changing the relative angle between any end face and the fold of the sheet or sheet bundle, said support means and said A support surface for supporting an end portion orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the sheet or sheet bundle, and the angle adjusting means comprises a screw mechanism for rotating the support surface about a rotation fulcrum, The holding surface is supported by a sheet conveyance guide plate that forms the sheet conveyance path so as to be rotatable about the rotation fulcrum, and the rotation fulcrum is in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction of the sheet conveyance guide plate. It is characterized by being arranged almost in the center .

  The second means is characterized in that in the first means, there is provided measuring means for measuring the amount of inclination of the trailing edge of the sheet with respect to the leading edge of the folded sheet.

  The third means is characterized in that, in the second means, the measuring means is located downstream of the folding roller and includes a sensor for detecting the position of the fold.

  The fourth means is characterized in that in the second or third means, there is provided a display means for displaying the amount of inclination measured by the measuring means.

The fifth means is characterized in that in the first to fourth means, there is provided drive means for rotating the screw portion of the screw mechanism.

The sixth means is characterized in that, in the fifth means, control means for controlling driving of the driving means is provided.

The seventh means is characterized in that in the sixth means, there is provided input means for inputting the amount of rotation of the screw portion by the drive means controlled by the control means.

The eighth means is characterized in that, in the seventh means, the control means drives the drive means based on the rotation amount inputted from the input means, and corrects the inclination of the support means.

Ninth means is any one of the second to fourth means, wherein the support means has a support surface that supports an end portion orthogonal to the transport direction of the paper or the paper bundle, and the angle adjusting means is the A driving unit that rotationally drives a screw portion of a screw mechanism that rotates the support surface; and a control unit that controls the driving unit. The control unit is based on the amount of inclination measured by the measuring unit. And the inclination of the support means is corrected.

  The fourteenth means is characterized in that the image forming apparatus includes the sheet folding apparatus according to any one of the first to twelfth means.

  In the embodiment described later, the sheet conveying path is on the folding center tray (on the bundle conveying guide plate, lower 92, 91), the sheet conveying means is on the bundle conveying rollers, lower 71, 72, and the supporting means is movable. In the end fence 73 or the side fences 510 and 511, the angle adjusting means is the base 501, the rotation fulcrum 501a, the adjusting screw 503, the screw portion 503a, and the compression spring 504, and the screw mechanism is the adjusting screw 503 and the screw portions 503a and 550a. The drive means corresponds to the adjustment gear 550 and the adjustment motor 555, the measurement means corresponds to the light reflection sensor 323 and the CPU 360, the control means corresponds to the CPU 360, and the input means corresponds to the operation screen.

According to the present invention, it is possible for a user without special knowledge to easily perform an accurate angle adjustment with respect to a crease shift that occurs during actual use.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Overall configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of an image forming system including a sheet post-processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus as a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. Part of the device is shown.

In FIG. 1, the sheet post-processing apparatus PD is attached to the side of the image forming apparatus PR.
The recording medium discharged from the image forming apparatus PR, here, the sheet, is guided to the sheet post-processing apparatus PD. The sheet passes through a conveyance path A having post-processing means for performing post-processing on one sheet (in this embodiment, a punch unit 100 as a punching means), and is conveyed to the upper tray 201.
The branching claw 15 and the branching claw 16 are configured to distribute to the conveyance path C leading to the shift tray 202 and the conveyance path D leading to the processing tray F (hereinafter also referred to as a staple processing tray) that performs alignment, stapling, and the like. Yes.

A sheet guided to the staple processing tray F through the transport paths A and D and subjected to alignment, stippling, and the like in the staple processing tray is a branching guide plate 54 and a movable guide 55 which are deflection means.
Accordingly, the sheet that is configured to be distributed to the conveyance path C leading to the shift tray 202 and the processing tray G that performs folding or the like (hereinafter also referred to as a middle folding processing tray) It is guided to the lower tray 203 through the conveyance path H. Further, a branching claw 17 is disposed in the conveyance path D, and is held in a state shown in the figure by a low load spring (not shown). After the rear end of the sheet passes through the conveyance path 9, the conveyance rollers 9, 10 and the staple discharge roller 11, at least the transport roller 9 is reversed, the rear end of the paper is guided to the paper storage E by the pre-stack roller 8, and after being retained, it is configured to be transported in superposition with the next paper. . By repeating this operation, it is possible to convey two or more sheets in a superimposed manner.

In a common conveyance path A upstream of the conveyance path B, the conveyance path C, and the conveyance path D, an inlet sensor 301 that detects a sheet received from the image forming apparatus, an inlet roller 1, a punch unit 100, and a punch downstream thereof. The waste hopper 101, the conveying roller 2, the branching claw 15 and the branching claw 16 are sequentially arranged. The branch claw 15 and the branch claw 16 are held in the state shown in FIG. 1 by a spring (not shown). By turning on a solenoid (not shown), the branch claw 15 is moved upward.
The paper 6 is rotated downward to distribute the paper to the transport path B, the transport path C, and the transport path D.

When guiding the paper to the conveyance path B, the branching claw 15 is in the state of FIG. 1 and the solenoid is OFF. When guiding the paper to the conveyance path C, the branching claw 15 is turned on by turning on the solenoid from the state of FIG. When the paper is guided to the transport path D, the branch claw 16 is in the state of FIG. 1, the solenoid is OFF, and the branch claw 15 is in the state of FIG. By turning on the solenoid, the solenoid is turned upward.

In this paper post-processing apparatus, punching (punching unit 100), paper alignment + edge binding (jogger fence 53, edge binding stapler S1), paper alignment + saddle stitching (jogger fence 53, saddle stitching stapler) for the paper. S2), paper sorting (shift tray 202),
Each process such as the middle folding (folding plate 74, folding roller 81) can be performed.

<Shift tray section>
The shift tray paper discharge unit I located at the most downstream portion of the paper post-processing device PD includes a shift paper discharge roller 6, a return roller 13, a paper surface detection sensor 330, a shift tray 202, and a shift mechanism shown in FIG. J and a shift tray lifting mechanism K shown in FIG. Note that FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part showing details of the shift mechanism J, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of the shift tray lifting mechanism K.

1 and 3, reference numeral 13 denotes a sponge return roller for contacting the paper discharged from the shift paper discharge roller 6 and aligning the rear end of the paper against the end fence 32 shown in FIG. 2. . The return roller 13 is rotated by the rotational force of the shift paper discharge roller 6. A tray rise limit switch 333 is provided in the vicinity of the return roller 13.
When the shift tray 202 is raised and the return roller 13 is pushed up, the tray raising limit switch 333 is turned on and the tray lifting / lowering motor 168 is stopped. As a result, shift tray 2
02 overrun is prevented. Further, in the vicinity of the return roller 13, as shown in FIG.
A paper surface detection sensor 330 is provided as a paper surface position detecting means for detecting the paper surface position of the paper or paper bundle discharged on the shift tray 202.

Although not shown in detail in FIG. 1, the paper surface detection sensor 330 includes the paper surface detection lever 30 shown in FIG. 3, a paper surface detection sensor (for stippling) 330a, and a paper surface detection sensor (for non-stipple) 330b. Yes. The paper surface detection lever 30 is provided so as to be rotatable about the shaft portion of the lever, and is in contact with the upper surface of the rear end of the paper loaded on the shift tray 202.
a and a fan-shaped shielding part 30b. A paper surface detection sensor (for stippling) 330a located above is mainly used for staple discharge control, and a paper surface detection sensor (for non-stipple).
330b is mainly used for shift discharge control.

In the present embodiment, the paper surface detection sensor (for stipple) 330a and the paper surface detection sensor (for non-stipple) 330b are turned on when blocked by the shielding portion 30b. Therefore, when the shift tray 202 is raised and the contact portion 30a of the paper surface detection lever 30 is rotated upward, the paper surface detection sensor (for stippling) 330a is turned off, and when further rotated, the paper surface detection sensor (for non-stipple) 330b is turned on. To do. When it is detected by the paper surface detection sensor (for stippling) 330a and the paper surface detection sensor (for non-stipple) 330b that the sheet stacking amount has reached a predetermined height, the shift tray 202 moves to the tray lifting / lowering motor 168.
Is lowered by a predetermined amount. Thereby, the paper surface position of the shift tray 202 is kept substantially constant.

≪Shift tray lifting mechanism≫
The lifting mechanism for the shift tray 202 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 3, the shift tray 202 moves up and down when the drive shaft 21 is driven by the drive unit L. A timing belt 23 is stretched between the drive shaft 21 and the driven shaft 22 via a timing pulley, and a side plate 24 that supports the shift tray 202 is fixed to the timing belt 23. With this configuration, the unit including the shift tray 202 is suspended from the timing belt 23 so as to be able to move up and down.

The drive unit L is composed of a tray lifting / lowering motor 168 and a worm gear 25, and the power generated by the tray lifting / lowering motor 168 capable of forward / reverse rotation as a driving source is a gear train fixed to the driving shaft 21 via the worm gear 25. The shift gear 202 is moved in the vertical direction by being transmitted to the final gear. Since the power transmission system is via the worm gear 25, the shift tray 202 can be held at a fixed position, and this gear configuration can prevent an accidental drop accident of the shift tray 202 and the like.

A shielding plate 24a is integrally formed on the side plate 24 of the shift tray 202, and a fullness detection sensor 334 for detecting the full load of stacked sheets and a lower limit sensor 335 for detecting a lower limit position are disposed below the shielding plate 24a. The full detection sensor 334 and the lower limit sensor 335 are turned on by
It is supposed to be turned off. The fullness detection sensor 334 and the lower limit sensor 335 are photosensors, and are turned on when blocked by the shielding plate 24a. In FIG. 3, the shift paper discharge roller 6 is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the swing mechanism of the shift tray 202 includes a shift motor 169 and a shift cam 31. By rotating the shift cam 31 using the shift motor 169 as a drive source, the shift tray 202 can eject paper. Reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the direction. The shift cam 31 is provided with a pin 31a at a position away from the rotation axis center by a certain amount.
The other end of “a” is loosely fitted in the long hole portion 32 b of the engagement member 32 a of the end fence 32. The engaging member 32a is fixed to the back surface of the end fence 32 (the surface on which the shift tray 202 is not located) and reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the paper discharge direction according to the rotational position of the pin 31a of the shift cam 31. As a result, the shift tray 202 also moves in a direction perpendicular to the paper discharge direction. The shift tray 202 stops at two positions on the front side and the back side in FIG. 1 (corresponding to an enlarged view of the shift cam 31 in FIG. 2), and the stop control detects the notch of the shift cam 31 by the shift sensor 336. Based on the detection signal, the shift motor 169 is turned ON and OF
This is done by performing F control.

On the front side of the end fence 32, a guide protrusion 32c for the shift tray 202 is provided, and the rear end portion of the shift tray 202 is loosely fitted to the protrusion 32c so as to freely move up and down. 202 is supported by the end fence 32 so that it can move up and down and can reciprocate in a direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction. The end fence 32 has a function of guiding the trailing edge of the loaded paper on the shift tray 202 and aligning the trailing edges.

≪Paper output section≫
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the structure of the paper discharge section to the shift tray 202. FIG.

1 and 4, the shift paper discharge roller 6 has a drive roller 6a and a driven roller 6b. The driven roller 6b is supported on the upstream side in the paper discharge direction, and is provided with an open / close guide plate 33 that can swing up and down. It is rotatably supported at the free end of the. The driven roller 6b abuts on the driving roller 6a by its own weight or urging force, and the paper is nipped between the rollers 6a and 6b and discharged. When the bound sheet bundle is discharged, the open / close guide plate 33 is pulled upward,
It is returned at a predetermined timing, and this timing is the shift paper discharge sensor 30.
3 is determined based on the detection signal 3. The stop position is determined based on the detection signal of the paper discharge guide plate opening / closing sensor 331 and is driven by the paper discharge guide plate opening / closing motor 167. The discharge guide plate opening / closing motor 167 is driven and controlled by turning on / off a discharge guide plate opening / closing limit switch 332.

≪Stipple processing tray≫
The configuration of the staple processing tray F that performs the staple processing will be described in detail.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the staple processing tray F viewed from a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying surface, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the staple processing tray F and its driving mechanism, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the sheet bundle discharging mechanism. It is. First, as shown in FIG. 6, the sheets guided to the staple processing tray F by the staple discharge roller 11 are sequentially stacked on the staple processing tray F. in this case,
For each sheet, the hitting roller 12 aligns in the vertical direction (paper conveyance direction), and the jogger fence 5
3, alignment in the horizontal direction (direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction—also referred to as the sheet width direction) is performed. The end-face stitching stapler S1 is driven by a staple signal from the control device (see FIG. 18) between the end of the job, that is, from the last sheet of the sheet bundle to the first sheet of the next sheet bundle, and the binding process is performed. The sheet bundle subjected to the binding process is immediately sent to the shift paper discharge roller 6 by the discharge belt 52 with the discharge claw 52a protruding, and is discharged to the shift tray 202 set at the receiving position.

≪Paper release mechanism≫
As shown in FIG. 7, the home position of the discharge claw 52a is detected by a discharge belt HP sensor 311. The discharge belt HP sensor 311 is turned on by a discharge claw 52a provided on the discharge belt 52.・ Turn it off. Two discharge claws 52a and 52a 'are arranged on the outer periphery of the discharge belt 52 so as to face each other, and the sheet bundles stored in the staple processing tray F are alternately moved and conveyed. Further, if necessary, the discharge belt 52 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the sheet bundle stored in the staple processing tray F on the back side of the discharge claw 52a and the discharge claw 52a 'on the opposite side waiting to move the sheet bundle. It is also possible to align the tips in the transport direction. Therefore, the discharge claws 52a and 52a ′ also function as a means for aligning the sheet bundle in the sheet conveyance direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the discharge belt 52 driven by the discharge motor 157 has a discharge belt 52 and its drive pulley 62 arranged at the alignment center in the paper width direction with respect to the drive pulley 62. The discharge roller 56 is arranged and fixed symmetrically. Further, the peripheral speed of these discharge rollers 56 is set to be higher than the peripheral speed of the discharge belt 52.

≪Processing mechanism≫
As shown in FIG. 6, the hitting roller 12 hits a SOL (solenoid) 17 around a fulcrum 12a.
The pendulum motion is given by 0 and acts intermittently on the paper fed to the staple processing tray F to hit the paper against the rear end fence 51. The hitting roller 12 rotates counterclockwise.

The jogger fence 53 is driven via a timing belt by a jogger motor 158 capable of forward and reverse rotation, and reciprocates in the paper width direction.

As can be seen from the perspective view of the stapler S1 shown in FIG. 8 together with the moving mechanism, the end-face stitching stapler S1 is driven via a timing belt by a forward / reversely movable stapler moving motor 159 to bind a predetermined position at the end of the sheet. Move in the paper width direction. At one end of the moving range, a stapler moving HP for detecting the home position of the end-face stitching stapler S1 is provided.
A sensor 312 is provided, and the binding position in the paper width direction is controlled by the movement amount of the end face binding stapler S1 from the home position. As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 9, the end-face stitching stapler S <b> 1 is configured so that the needle driving angle can be changed parallel to or obliquely to the paper edge.
Furthermore, only the binding mechanism portion of the stapler S1 is rotated obliquely at a predetermined angle at the home position, so that the staples can be easily replaced. Stipura S1
Is rotated obliquely by the oblique motor 160, and when the needle replacement position sensor 313 detects that a predetermined oblique angle or the needle replacement position has been reached, the oblique motor 160 is rotated.
Stops. When the diagonal strike is finished or the needle exchange is finished, the original position is rotated to prepare for the next staple.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the saddle stitching stapler S2 is a distance in which the distance from the rear end fence 51 to the needle striking position of the saddle stitching stapler S2 corresponds to half of the conveyance direction length of the maximum sheet size that can be saddle stitched. The two are arranged as described above, and two are arranged symmetrically with respect to the alignment center in the paper width direction, and are fixed to the stay 63. Since the saddle stitching stapler S2 itself is a known configuration, a detailed description thereof will be omitted here. However, when performing saddle stitching, the jogger fence 53 aligns the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction and strikes the trailing edge fence 51. After the conveyance direction of the sheet is aligned by the roller 5, the discharge belt 52 is driven and the trailing end of the sheet bundle is lifted by the discharge claws 52a and 52a ′, and the sheet bundle is moved to the binding position of the saddle stitching stapler S2 in the conveyance direction of the sheet bundle. The central portion is positioned, and the operation stops at this position to execute the binding operation. Then, the bound sheet bundle is conveyed to the middle folding processing tray G side and folded in half. Details will be described later.

In the figure, reference numeral 64a denotes a front side plate, 64b denotes a rear side plate, and reference numeral 310 denotes a paper presence / absence sensor that detects the presence / absence of paper on the staple processing tray F.

≪Paper bundle deflection mechanism≫
The sheet bundle that has undergone saddle stitching in the staple processing tray F is folded in the middle of the sheet. This middle folding is performed in the middle folding processing tray G. For this purpose, it is necessary to transport the bound paper bundle to the middle folding processing tray G. In this embodiment, a sheet bundle deflecting unit is provided on the most downstream side in the conveyance direction of the staple processing tray F, and conveys the sheet bundle to the middle folding processing tray G side.

The sheet bundle deflection mechanism includes a branch guide plate 54 and a movable guide 55 as shown in enlarged views of the staple processing tray F and the middle folding processing tray G in FIGS. Branch guide plate 5
As shown in the operation explanatory diagrams of FIGS. 10 to 12, reference numeral 4 is provided so as to be swingable in the vertical direction around the fulcrum 54a, and a rotatable pressure roller 57 is provided on the downstream side thereof. Pressure is applied to the 56 side. The branch guide plate 54 is positioned at the bundle branch drive motor 1.
61 is defined by a contact position with the cam surface 61 a of the cam 61 that rotates by obtaining a driving force from 61.

The movable guide 55 is swingably supported by the rotation shaft of the discharge roller 56, and is linked to one end of the movable guide 55 (the end opposite to the branch guide plate 54) by a connecting portion 60a. 60 is provided. In the link arm 60, a shaft fixed to the front side plate 64a shown in FIG. 5 is loosely fitted in the long hole portion 60b, whereby the swing range of the movable guide 55 is restricted. Further, it is held at the position shown in FIG. Further, when the link arm 60 is pushed by the cam surface 61b of the cam 61 that rotates by obtaining drive from the bundle branching drive motor 161, the connected movable guide 55 rotates upward. The bundle branching guide HP sensor 315 detects the shield 61c of the cam 61 and detects the home position of the cam 61. Accordingly, the cam 61 controls the stop position by counting the drive pulses of the bundle branching drive motor 161 with the home position as a reference.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view showing the positional relationship between the branch guide plate 54 and the movable guide 55 when the cam 61 is located at the home position. The guide surface 55 a of the movable guide 55 has a function of guiding the paper in the path to the shift paper discharge roller 6.

In FIG. 11, as the cam 61 rotates, the branch guide plate 54 rotates counterclockwise (downward) in the drawing around the fulcrum 54a, and the pressure roller 57 contacts and presses the discharge roller 56 side. It is an operation explanatory view showing the state.

In FIG. 12, when the cam 61 further rotates, the movable guide 55 rotates in the clockwise direction (upward) in the figure, and the path leading from the staple processing tray F to the half-fold processing tray G is guided along the branch guide plate 54 and the movable guide. FIG. FIG. 5 shows the positional relationship in the depth direction.

In this embodiment, the branch guide plate 54 and the movable guide 55 are operated by a single drive motor. However, each drive motor is provided so that the movement timing and stop position can be controlled according to the paper size and the number of sheets to be bound. You may do it.

<Folding processing tray>
The middle folding processing tray G is a bundle installed along the bundle conveyance guide plate, the lower 92, 91, and the bundle conveyance guide plate upper 92 that are installed substantially vertically from the outer periphery of the discharge roller 56 on the movable guide 55 side. On the conveying rollers (pair), lower 71, 72, on the bundle conveying guide plate, folding rollers (pair) 81 provided adjacent to the lower 92, 91, a conveying path H extending horizontally from the nip to the folding rollers 81, A lower paper discharge roller 83 provided on the most downstream side of the conveying path H, a folding plate 74 provided so as to be able to reciprocate in a horizontal direction with respect to the nip of the folding roller 81, and a lower bundle conveying guide plate 91 A movable rear end fence 73 protruding into the conveyance path, a moving mechanism for moving the movable rear end fence 73 up and down, and provided downstream of the bundle conveyance roller 72 in the sheet bundle conveyance direction and upstream from the folding position. Bundle reach 321, a movable rear end fence HP sensor 322 for detecting the home position of the movable rear end fence 73, and a folded portion passage sensor 323 for detecting a sheet bundle passing through the transport path H. .

The folding plate 74 has a function of reciprocating in the horizontal direction with respect to the nip of the folding roller 81 as described above, folding the sheet bundle and pushing it into the nip of the folding roller 81. The moving mechanism of the folding plate 74 is shown in FIGS.

The folding plate 74 has a long hole portion 7 on each of two shafts 64c standing on the front and rear side plates 64a and 64b.
4a is supported by loosely fitting, and further, a shaft portion 74 erected from the folding plate 74
b is loosely fitted in the long hole 76b of the link arm 76, and the link arm 76 swings around the fulcrum 76a, whereby the folding plate 74 reciprocates left and right in FIGS.

That is, the shaft portion 75b of the folding plate driving cam 75 is loosely fitted in the long hole portion 76c of the link arm 76, and the link arm 76 swings due to the rotational movement of the folding plate driving cam 75. 15, the folding plate 74 reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the upper and lower bundle conveyance guide plates 91 and 92.

The folding plate driving cam 75 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 13 by the folding plate driving motor 166. The stop position is determined by detecting both end portions of the half-moon shaped shielding portion 75a by the folding plate HP sensor 325.

FIG. 13 shows the home position position completely retracted from the sheet bundle accommodation area of the processing tray G. When the folding plate drive cam 75 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the folding plate 74 moves in the direction of the arrow and protrudes into the sheet bundle accommodation area of the processing tray G. FIG. 14 shows a position where the center of the sheet bundle of the processing tray G is pushed into the nip of the folding roller 81. When the folding plate drive cam 75 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the folding plate 74 moves in the direction of the arrow and retracts from the sheet bundle accommodation area of the processing tray G.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the sheet folding is performed by folding the sheet bundle. However, the present invention can be applied to the case of folding one sheet. In this case, saddle stitching is not required for only one sheet, so when one sheet is discharged, the sheet is fed to the middle folding processing tray G side, folded by the folding plate 74 and the folding roller, and discharged to the lower tray 203. Make paper.

《Crease angle adjustment mechanism》
The sheet is folded in half by the folding plate 74, but the crease may be shifted during a realistic operation as described above. This arises from the fact that the paper cut to a standard size is also misaligned and is not an exact rectangle. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a crease angle adjustment mechanism (hereinafter simply referred to as an adjustment mechanism) that adjusts the fold angle of the sheet bundle is provided in order to cope with such a shift. FIG. 16 shows a first example of the adjusting mechanism. FIG. 16 (a) is a front view of the sheet post-processing apparatus as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 16 (b) is a side view of FIG. 16 (a). is there. In these drawings, the movable rear end fence 73 having a support surface for supporting and aligning the sheet bundle conveyed along the lower 92 and 91 on the bundle conveyance guide plate can be moved up and down by the rear end fence moving motor 163. It is provided to support the sheet bundle at two points. The movable rear end fence 73 and the rear end fence moving motor 163 are attached to a base 501, and the base 501 is rotatably supported on the bundle conveyance guide plate lower 91 around a rotation fulcrum 501a. An adjustment screw 503 and a compression spring 504 (right side in the figure) are provided at the lower end of the base. The adjusting screw 503 is connected to the base 501 by a screw portion 503a through a compression spring 504 from the outside of the front side plate. The compression spring 504 always applies an elastic force for rotating the base 501 to the rear side plate. When the adjustment screw 503 is rotated to the right, the base 501 can be pulled in by the screw portion 503a and turned to the front side plate. On the other hand, when the adjustment screw 503 is rotated counterclockwise, the screw is loosened, and the compression spring 504 causes the base 501 to rotate toward the rear plate.

  Therefore, the base 501 includes a fold of the sheet bundle supported by the movable rear end fence 73 and an end surface in the conveyance direction of the sheet bundle, in other words, an end surface of the sheet bundle (paper) supported at the two points by the movable rear end fence 73. Is adjusted by the adjusting screw 503 so that the angle α is 0 degrees (parallel), and then fixed to the front and rear side plates by the set screw 505 by the base fixing portion 501b. If necessary, a cam or the like may be used for easy adjustment. Note that the angle formed by the end face parallel to the sheet conveyance direction and the crease may be adjusted to 90 °.

  A second example of the adjusting mechanism is shown in FIG. FIG. 17A is a front view seen from the front side of the sheet post-processing apparatus, and FIG. 17B is a side view of FIG. The second example is provided with side fences 510 and 511 that perform an alignment operation in a direction parallel to the sheet conveyance direction of the sheet bundle as compared to the first example. In this second example, a movable rear end fence 73 having a support surface that supports the sheet bundle in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, a rear end fence moving motor 163 that drives the movable rear end fence 73, a direction parallel to the transport direction ( A side fence fence front 510 having a holding surface for holding a sheet bundle in the width direction, a side fence rear 511, and a side fence moving motor 515 for driving both side fences 510 and 511 are attached to the base 501, and the base 501 is rotated. It is rotatably supported by the bundle conveyance guide plate lower 91 around the moving fulcrum 501a. In this second example, the movable rear end fence 73 supports the sheet bundle at one point, and holds both sides at the front and rear 510 and 511 at the side fence. The other parts are configured in the same way as in the first example.

  In this second example, the adjustment screw 503 is adjusted so that the angle α formed between the parallel end surface of the sheet bundle in the sheet conveyance direction and the crease is 90 degrees, and then the set screw 505 is fixed to the front and rear side plates by the base fixing portion 501b. It becomes the composition which is fixed with. In this example, the movable rear end fence 74 is supported at one point, so that the angle is seen on the side fences 510 and 511 side.

  Further, during the folding operation, the folding plate 74 comes into contact with the folding roller 81 after a predetermined time has elapsed after starting to contact the sheet bundle supported by the side fences 510 and 511 and the rear end fence 73. Before the sheet bundle supporting operation by the side fences 510 and 511 is stopped, the sheet fence is moved to a position retracted by a certain amount.

  In the first and second examples, the base 501 is rotated. However, since the final object of the present invention is to adjust the angle α formed by the sheet bundle and the fold, the movable rear end fence 73 is used. Alternatively, the position of each of the side fences 500 and 501 may be adjusted individually so that the angle α can be 0 ° or 90 °. The angle adjustment is normally performed by folding the sheet and checking the folded state of the discharged sheet or sheet bundle. The adjustment amount of the adjustment screw 503 is provided at the front plate 64a portion where the adjustment screw 503 is provided. Is provided so that the amount of change in the angle α of the sheet or sheet bundle relative to the fold line can be determined by the user by the amount of rotation of the adjusting screw 503.

  FIG. 18 is a main part configuration diagram showing another example of a screw mechanism for adjusting the rotational position of the base 501 of the first example and the second example. In this example, an adjustment gear 550 and an adjustment motor 555 are provided instead of the adjustment screw 503 in FIGS. 16 and 17, and the adjustment gear 550 is driven by the adjustment motor 555 and is provided coaxially (concentrically) with the adjustment gear 550. The screw portion 550a is rotated to adjust the angle in the same manner as the adjusting screw 503 described above. That is, since the rotation amount of the screw and the rotation amount of the base 501 are substantially constant, if a pulse motor is used as the adjustment motor 555, the rotation amount per pulse is determined, and the adjustment of the angle α formed by the sheet bundle and the crease is made. Can be easily performed only by motor control. Further, since it can be electrically controlled, if the adjustment amount can be input from a screen such as an operation panel, the adjustment operation can be easily performed only by operating the operation panel.

  When the angle is adjusted, the length from the home position of the movable rear end fence 74 to the crease changes. Therefore, when the adjustment amount is input to adjust this, the CPU 360 moves the movable rear end fence 73. The distance from the home position to the crease is calculated, the angle is adjusted, and at the same time the position of the movable rear end fence 74 (vertical position) is also adjusted, so that the middle folding can be accurately performed at the center of the paper. The fence 74 is moved. As a result, it is possible to accurately correct the misalignment between the folds and the misalignment position.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the configuration of a sheet folding inclination detecting means for measuring the amount of inclination of the sheet trailing edge with respect to the sheet leading edge, and an automatic inclination adjusting means. FIG. 19A is a plan view in the vicinity of the folding roller, and FIG. b) is a front view. As shown in these drawings, four light reflection sensors 323 are arranged in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction as detection means for detecting the inclination of the folded sheet on the downstream side of the folding roller 81 in the sheet conveying direction. The sheet length is measured during conveyance, and the inclination of the trailing edge with respect to the leading edge of the sheet bundle can be calculated. The calculation is performed by a CPU 350, which will be described later. If the inclination of the trailing edge of the sheet with respect to the leading edge of the sheet can be calculated in this way, the information can be displayed on a display means such as an operation panel or a display panel (not shown). The user can recognize the amount of misalignment of the fold without measuring the sheet folded by the folding plate 74 and the folding roller 81.

  In this embodiment, two light reflection sensors 323 are provided at both ends of the A3 length (A3T) and two at both ends of the A4 length (A4T). Thus, at least A3 portrait paper and A4 portrait paper can be surely dealt with. However, the number and position of the light reflection sensors 323 can be appropriately set according to specifications. It is also possible to set the pair of light reflection sensors so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction in accordance with the paper size, and stop the measurement at an optimal position for measurement. In addition, a light transmission sensor can be used instead of the light reflection sensor.

  In the example shown in FIG. 19, when the above-described screw mechanism for adjusting the rotational position of the base 501 shown in FIG. 18 is used, the inclination can be automatically corrected. That is, an adjustment gear 550 and an adjustment motor 555 are provided instead of the adjustment screw 503 of the base 501, and the adjustment gear 550 is driven by the adjustment motor 555, and a screw portion 550a provided coaxially (concentrically) with the adjustment gear 550 is provided. The angle is adjusted in the same manner as the adjusting screw 503 described above. As described above, since the rotation amount of the screw and the rotation amount of the base 501 are substantially constant, if a pulse motor is used as the adjustment motor 555, the rotation amount per pulse is determined, and the angle α formed between the sheet bundle and the fold line is determined. Adjustment is possible only by motor control. Accordingly, when combined with the sheet inclination detection means shown in FIG. 19, the adjustment motor 555 is set so that the CPU 350 automatically corrects the shift amount based on the shift amount of the fold detected using the light reflection sensor 323. Accordingly, the angle α can be automatically adjusted with high accuracy without the user recognizing the inclination or the inclination adjustment of the sheet.

<Control device>
As shown in FIG. 20, the control device 350 includes a CPU 360, an I / O interface 37.
Each of the switches on the control panel of the image forming apparatus PR main body, the inlet sensor 301, the upper discharge sensor 302, and the shift discharge sensor 30.
3, pre-stack sensor 304, staple discharge sensor 305, paper presence sensor 310, discharge belt home position sensor 311 and staple movement home position sensor 312
, Stapler oblique home position sensor 313, jogger fence home position sensor, bundle branch guide home position sensor 315, bundle arrival sensor 321, movable rear end fence home position sensor 322, folding section passage sensor 323, folded plate home position sensor 325, paper surface Signals from sensors such as the detection sensors 330, 330 a, 330 b, the paper discharge guide plate opening / closing sensor 331, and the folding detection sensor 601 (fourth embodiment described later) are input to the CPU 360 via the I / O interface 370. .

Based on the input signal, the CPU 360 includes a tray lifting / lowering motor 168 for the shift tray 202, a discharge guide plate opening / closing motor 167 for opening / closing the opening / closing guide plate, and the shift tray 202.
A shift motor 169 that moves the roller, a tapping roller motor (not shown) that drives the tapping roller 12, each solenoid such as a tapping SOL 170, a conveying motor that drives each conveying roller, a discharging motor that drives each discharging roller, and a discharge belt 52 A discharge motor 157 for rotating, a stapler moving motor 159 for moving the end-face stitching stapler S1, an oblique motor 160 for obliquely rotating the end-face stitching stapler S1, a jogger motor 158 for moving the jogger fence 53, the branch guide plate 54, and the movable guide 55. A bundle branching drive motor 161 that moves, a bundle conveyance motor (not shown) that drives a conveyance roller that conveys the bundle, a rear end fence movement motor (not shown) that moves the movable rear end fence 73, and a folding plate drive motor that moves the folding plate 74 16
6. Controls the driving of the folding roller drive motor 164 that drives the folding rollers 81a and 81b, the folding release drive motor 700 (second embodiment described later), and the like. A pulse signal of a not-shown staple conveyance motor that drives the staple discharge roller is input to the CPU 360 and counted, and the hitting SOL 170 and the jogger motor 158 are controlled according to this count.

The folding roller drive motor is a stepping motor and is controlled directly from the CPU 360 via a motor driver or indirectly via an I / O 370 and a motor driver.

The punch unit 100 also performs drilling according to instructions from the CPU 360 by controlling the clutch and the motor.

The sheet post-processing device PD is controlled by the CPU 360 executing a program written in a ROM (not shown) while using a RAM (not shown) as a work area.

<Operation>
Hereinafter, the operation of the sheet post-processing apparatus according to this embodiment executed by the CPU 360 will be described.

≪Operation according to processing mode≫
In the present embodiment, the following discharge mode is adopted according to the post-processing mode.

1) Non-stipple mode A
2) Non-stipple mode B
3) Sort, stack mode 4) Stipple mode 5) Saddle-stitch bookbinding mode Each mode will be described below.

1) Non-stipple mode A:
In this mode, the sheet is discharged from the conveyance path A through the conveyance path B to the upper tray 201 without binding. In this mode, the branching claw 15 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1, and the conveyance path B side is opened. The processing procedure at this time is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

In this mode, when the operation starts and the sheet is brought into the state from the image forming apparatus PR side, the entrance roller 1 and the transport roller 2 of the transport path A of the sheet post-processing apparatus PD, the transport roller 3 of the transport path B, and Each of the upper paper discharge rollers 4 starts to rotate (step S101). Then, the entrance sensor 301 is turned on / off (steps S102 and S103) and the upper paper discharge sensor 302 is turned on.
ON / OFF (steps S104, S105) is checked to confirm the passage of the paper, the final paper passes (step S106), and when a predetermined time elapses, the rollers, that is, the entrance roller 1 and the transport roller 2 Then, the rotation of the transport roller 3 and the upper paper discharge roller 4 is stopped (step S107). As a result, all of the sheets carried in from the image forming apparatus are transferred to the upper tray 20.
The paper is discharged without being bound to 1, and stacked. In this embodiment, the punch unit 100
Is provided between the entrance roller 1 and the transport roller 2, so that the punch unit 100 is in between.
Can also be drilled.

2) Non-stipple mode B:
In this mode, the shift tray 20 passes from the conveyance path A through the conveyance path C without binding sheets.
This is a mode for discharging to 2. In this mode, the branch claw 15 rotates counterclockwise and the branch claw 16 rotates clockwise, and the conveyance path C is opened. The processing procedure at this time is shown in FIG.
2 is a flowchart.

In this mode, when the operation starts and the sheet is brought in from the image forming apparatus PR side, the entrance roller 1 and the transport roller 2 of the transport path A of the sheet post-processing apparatus PD, the transport roller 5 of the transport path C, and Each of the shift paper discharge rollers 6 starts to rotate (step S201). Then, the solenoid that drives the branch claws 15 and 16 is turned on (step S202), and the branch claws 15 are rotated counterclockwise and the branch claws 16 are rotated clockwise. Next, the entrance sensor 301 is turned on / off (steps S203 and S204), and the shift paper discharge sensor 303 is turned on.
OFF (steps S205 and S206) is checked to confirm the passage of the loaded paper.

When the final sheet passes (step S207) and a predetermined time elapses, each roller,
That is, the rotation of the entrance roller 1, the transport roller 2, the transport roller 5, and the shift paper discharge roller 6 is stopped (step S208), and the solenoid that drives the branch claws 15 and 16 is turned off (step S208).
Step S209). As a result, all the sheets carried in from the image forming apparatus PR are discharged and stacked on the shift tray 202 without being bound. In this embodiment, since the punch unit 100 is provided between the entrance roller 1 and the transport roller 2, the punch unit 100 can also make a hole between them.

3) Sort, stack mode:
In this mode, the sheet is discharged from the conveyance path A to the shift tray 202 via the conveyance path C. At this time, the shift tray 202 is swung in a direction orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction at every section separation, In this mode, the sheets discharged onto the shift tray 202 are sorted. In this mode,
As in the non-stipple mode B, the branching claw 15 rotates counterclockwise and the branching claw 16 rotates clockwise, and the conveyance path C is opened. The processing procedure at this time is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

In this mode, when the operation starts and the sheet is brought in from the image forming apparatus PR side, the entrance roller 1 and the transport roller 2 of the transport path A of the sheet post-processing apparatus PD, the transport roller 5 of the transport path C, and Each of the shift paper discharge rollers 6 starts to rotate (step S301). Then, the solenoid that drives the branch claws 15 and 16 is turned on (step S302), and the branch claws 15 are rotated counterclockwise and the branch claws 16 are rotated clockwise. Then, the entrance sensor 301 is turned on / off (steps S303 and S304) and the shift paper discharge sensor 303 is turned on (
Step S305) is checked.

As a result of this check, if the paper that has passed through the shift paper discharge sensor 303 is the first paper in the set (step S306-Y), the shift motor 169 is turned on (step S307), and the shift sensor 336 detects the shift tray 202. The shift tray 202 is moved in the direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction (steps S308 and S309). Then, the sheet is discharged to the shift tray 202, the shift sheet discharge sensor 303 is turned off, and the sheet is shifted to the shift sheet discharge sensor 3.
When the passage of 03 is confirmed (step S310), it is checked whether or not the sheet is the final sheet (step S311). If it is not the final sheet, it is the first sheet in this case, so if it is not one sheet, the process returns to step S303 and the subsequent processing is repeated. If the section is composed of one sheet, the process of step S312 is executed. To do.

On the other hand, if the paper that has passed through the shift paper discharge sensor 303 in step S306 is not the first paper in the copy, the shift tray 202 has already moved, and the paper is discharged as it is (step S31).
0), it is checked whether the discharged paper is the final paper (step S311). If it is not the final sheet, the processing from step S303 is repeated on the next sheet. If it is the final sheet (step S311-Y), each roller,
That is, the rotation of the entrance roller 1, the transport roller 2, the transport roller 5, and the shift paper discharge roller 6 is stopped (step S312), and the solenoid that drives the branch claws 15 and 16 is turned off (step S312).
Step S313). As a result, all the sheets carried in from the image forming apparatus are discharged onto the shift tray 202 without being bound, sorted, and stacked. In this case as well, the sheets punched by the punch unit 100 can be sorted and stacked.

4) Stipple mode:
In this mode, the sheet is transported to the staple processing tray F through the transport path A and the transport path D, and after alignment and binding processing is performed by the staple processing tray F, the shift tray 2 passes through the transport path C.
This is a mode for discharging to 02. In this mode, both the branch claw 15 and the branch claw 16 rotate counterclockwise, and the path from the transport path A to D is opened. The processing procedure at this time is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

In this mode, when the operation starts and the sheet is brought in from the image forming apparatus side PR, the entrance roller 1 and the transport roller 2 of the transport path A of the sheet post-processing apparatus PD, the transport roller 7 of the transport path D, 9, 10 and the staple discharge roller 11 and the hitting roller 12 of the staple processing tray F start to rotate (step S401). Then, the solenoid that drives the branch claw 15 is turned on (step S402), and the branch claw 15 is rotated counterclockwise.

Next, the end-face stitching stapler S1 is detected by the stapler movement HP sensor 312, and after confirming the home position, the stapler movement motor 159 is driven to end-face stitching stapler S.
1 is moved to the binding position (step S403). The home position of the discharge belt 52 is also detected by the discharge belt HP sensor 311, and after confirming the position, the discharge motor 157 is detected.
Is driven to move the discharge belt 52 to the standby position (step S404). Further, the jogger fence 53 is also moved to the standby position after the home position position is detected by the jogger fence HP sensor (step S405). Further, the branch guide plate 54 and the movable guide 55
Is moved to the home position (step S406).

If the entrance sensor 301 is turned on / off (steps S407 and S408), the staple paper discharge sensor 305 is turned on (step S409), and the shift paper discharge sensor 303 is turned off (step S410), paper is loaded on the staple processing tray F. Since the sheet is discharged and the sheet is present, the tapping solenoid 170 is turned on for a predetermined time, the tapping solenoid 12 is brought into contact with the sheet, and is urged toward the rear end fence 51 to align the rear end of the sheet (step S411). . Next, the jogger motor 158 is driven to move the jogger fence 53 inward by a predetermined amount to perform the alignment operation in the paper width direction (direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction), and then return to the standby position (step S412). . As a result, the vertical and horizontal directions of paper fed to the staple processing tray F (the direction perpendicular to the direction parallel to the transport direction) are aligned. These operations from step S407 to step S413 are repeated for each sheet, and when the final sheet of the copy is obtained (step S413).
-Y), the jogger fence 53 is moved inward by a predetermined amount so that the end face of the paper does not shift (
In step S414, in this state, the end face binding stapler S1 is turned on to execute end face binding (step S415).

On the other hand, the shift tray 202 is lowered by a predetermined amount (step S416) to secure a paper discharge space, and the shift paper discharge motor 6 is driven to start the rotation of the shift paper discharge roller 6 (step S4).
17) Further, the discharge motor 157 is turned on to rotate the discharge belt 52 by a predetermined amount (step S418), and the bound sheet bundle is pushed up in the conveyance path C direction. As a result, the sheet bundle is sandwiched between the nips of the shift sheet discharge roller 6 and the sheet discharge operation to the shift tray 202 is performed. Then, the shift sheet discharge sensor 303 is turned on (step S419), and the sheet bundle is detected by the sensor 303.
When the shift paper discharge sensor 303 is turned off and it is confirmed that the paper bundle has passed the sensor 303 position (step S420), the paper bundle is discharged to the shift tray by the shift paper discharge roller 6. Is completed, the discharge belt 52 and the jogger fence 53 are moved to the standby position (steps S421 and S422), and the rotation of the shift paper discharge roller 6 is stopped after a predetermined time (step S423), and the shift is performed. The tray 202 is raised to the paper receiving position (step S424). This rising position is controlled by detecting the upper surface of the uppermost sheet of the stack of sheets stacked on the shift tray 202 by the paper surface detection sensor 330. These series of operations are repeated until the final part of the job (step S425).

In the final part, the end-face stitching stapler S1, the discharge belt 52, and the jogger fence 53 are moved to their home positions (steps S426, S427, and S428).
), The rotation of the entrance roller 1, the transport rollers 2, 7, 9, 10, the staple discharge roller 11 and the tapping roller 12 is stopped (step S429), and the branch solenoid of the branch claw 15 is turned off (step S430). Return to the initial state and finish the process.

In this way, the sheets carried in from the image forming apparatus are bound by the staple processing tray F, discharged onto the shift tray 202, and stacked. In this case as well, the binding processing of the paper punched by the punch unit 100 is possible.

  The operation of the stipple processing tray F in the stipple mode will be described in more detail.

When the stipple mode is selected, as shown in FIG. 6, the jogger fence 53 moves from the home position and waits at a standby position that is 7 mm away from the sheet width discharged to the staple processing tray F (step S405). . When the paper is conveyed by the staple paper discharge roller 11 and the trailing edge of the paper passes through the staple paper discharge sensor 305 (step S409),
The jogger fence 53 moves inward by 5 mm from the standby position and stops.

Further, the staple paper discharge sensor 305 detects that when the trailing edge of the paper passes, and the signal is C
Input to the PU 360. The CPU 360 counts the number of pulses transmitted from a not-shown staple transport motor that drives the staple paper discharge roller 11 from the time of receiving this signal, and hits the SOL 170 after transmitting a predetermined pulse (step S412). The tapping roller 12 performs a pendulum motion by turning on and off the tapping SOL 170. When the tapping roller 12 is on, the tapping roller 12 strikes the paper and returns it to the lower side, and abuts against the rear end fence 51 to align the paper. At this time, every time a sheet stored in the staple processing tray F passes the entrance sensor 301 or the staple discharge sensor 305, the signal is input to the CPU 360, and the number of sheets is counted.

After a lapse of a predetermined time after the beating SOL 170 is turned off, the jogger fence 53 is further moved inward by 2.6 mm by the jogger motor 158, temporarily stops, and the horizontal alignment is finished. The jogger fence 53 then moves outward by 7.6 mm, returns to the standby position, and waits for the next sheet (step S412). This operation is performed up to the last page (step S413). After that, it moves again inward by 7 mm and stops (step S414), and both sides of the sheet bundle are pressed to prepare for the stapling operation. Thereafter, after a predetermined time, the end face binding stapler S1 is actuated by a staple motor (not shown), and the binding process is performed (step S415). If two or more bindings are designated at this time, after one binding process is completed, the staple movement motor 159 is driven, and the end face binding stapler S1 is moved to an appropriate position along the rear edge of the sheet. The second stitching process is performed. If the third and subsequent locations are specified, this is repeated.

When the binding process is completed, the discharge motor 157 is driven and the discharge belt 52 is driven (
Step S418). At this time, the paper discharge motor is also driven, and the shift paper discharge roller 6 starts to rotate so as to accept the sheet bundle lifted by the discharge claw 52a (step S417).

At this time, the jogger fence 53 is controlled differently based on the paper size and the number of sheets to be bound. For example, when the number of sheets to be bound is less than the set number or smaller than the set size, the trailing edge of the sheet bundle is hooked and conveyed by the discharge claw 52a while the sheet bundle is pressed by the jogger fence 53.

Then, after a predetermined pulse from the detection by the paper presence sensor 310 or the discharge belt HP sensor 311, the jogger fence 53 is retracted by 2 mm, and the restriction on the paper by the jogger fence 53 is released. This predetermined pulse is set after the discharge claw 52a comes into contact with the rear end of the paper and passes through the front end of the jogger fence 53.

When the number of sheets to be bound is larger than the set number or larger than the set size, the jogger fence 53 is retracted in advance by 2 mm and discharged. In any case, when the sheet bundle passes through the jogger fence 53, the jogger fence 53 further moves outward by 5 mm and returns to the standby position (step S422) to prepare for the next sheet. It is also possible to adjust the binding force according to the distance of the jogger fence 53 to the paper.

5) Saddle stitch binding mode:
In this mode, the sheet is conveyed to the staple processing tray F through the conveyance path A and the conveyance path D, and after alignment and center binding are performed in the staple processing tray F, the sheet is further folded in the middle folding processing tray G and then folded in half. In this mode, the sheet bundle is discharged to the lower tray 203 through the conveyance path H. In this mode, both the branch claw 15 and the branch claw 16 rotate counterclockwise, and the path from the transport path A to D is opened. Further, the branch guide plate 54 and the movable guide plate 55 are closed as shown in FIG. 28 to be described later, and the sheet bundle is guided to the middle folding processing tray G, and the middle folding is performed. The processing procedure at this time is shown in the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 25 shows a processing procedure based on the operation of the basic folding plate, and the operation of the components around the folding plate including the pressure release link is omitted. As will be described later, FIGS. 26 to 33 show operations corresponding to the processing of the flowchart of FIG.

5-1) Processing Procedure In this mode, when the operation starts and the sheet is brought into the state from the image forming apparatus PR side, the entrance roller 1 and the conveying roller 2 of the conveying path A of the sheet post-processing apparatus PD, the conveying path The transport rollers 7, 9, 10 of D, the staple discharge roller 11, and the hitting roller 12 of the staple processing tray F start to rotate (step S501). Then, the solenoid for driving the branch claw 15 is turned on (step S502), and the branch claw 15 is rotated counterclockwise.

Next, the home position of the discharge belt 52 is also detected by the discharge belt HP sensor 311,
After confirming the position, the discharge motor 157 is driven to move the discharge belt 52 to the standby position, and the jogger fence 53 also detects the home position by the jogger fence HP sensor, and then to the standby position, and further to the branch guide plate 54 and the movable guide 55 are respectively moved to the home position (steps S503, S504, and S505).

If the entrance sensor 301 is turned on / off (steps S506 and S507), the staple paper discharge sensor 305 is turned on (step S508), and the shift paper discharge sensor 303 is turned off (step S509), paper is loaded on the staple processing tray F. Since the sheet is ejected and the sheet is present, the tapping solenoid 170 is turned on for a predetermined time, the tapping solenoid 12 is brought into contact with the sheet, and is urged toward the rear end fence 51 to align the rear end of the sheet (step S510). . Next, by driving the jogger motor 158, the jogger fence 53 is moved inward by a predetermined amount to perform the aligning operation in the paper width direction (direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction), and then returned to the standby position (step S511). . As a result, the vertical and horizontal directions of paper fed to the staple processing tray F (the direction perpendicular to the direction parallel to the transport direction) are aligned.

These operations from step S506 to step S512 are repeated for each sheet, and when the final sheet of the copy is obtained (step S512-Y), the jogger fence 53 is moved inward by a predetermined amount so that the end face of the sheet does not shift (step S513). In this state, the discharge motor 157 is driven to rotate the discharge belt 52 by a predetermined amount (step S514), and the sheet bundle is raised to the binding position of the saddle stitching stapler S2. Thereafter, the saddle stitching stapler S2 is turned on at the center of the sheet bundle to perform saddle stitching (step S515). Next, the branch guide plate 54 and the movable guide 55
Is displaced by a predetermined amount to form a path toward the middle folding processing tray G (step S516),
The rotation of the lower and upper 71 and 72 on the bundle conveying roller of the center folding processing tray G is started (step S51).
7) After detecting the home position of the movable rear end fence 73 provided in the middle folding processing tray G, the movable rear end fence 73 is moved to the standby position (step S518).

In this way, when the sheet bundle receiving system of the middle folding processing tray G is prepared, the discharge belt 52 is further rotated by a predetermined amount, and the leading edge of the sheet bundle is held between the discharge roller 56 and the pressure roller 57, and then the middle The sheet bundle is conveyed to the folding processing tray G side (step S519). When the leading edge of the sheet reaches the bundle arrival sensor 321 position (step S520), the folding roller 81 is reversed so that the sheet is conveyed downward without being folded at the Q portion shown in FIG. Thereafter, the folding roller 81 is stopped when a certain period of time has elapsed when it is considered that the leading edge of the sheet has completely passed through the Q portion.

When the predetermined distance has been conveyed, the rotation of the lower and upper 71 and 72 on the bundle conveying roller is stopped (step S521), and the pressurized state of the lower bundle conveying roller 72 is released (step S522). Next, the folding operation by the folding plate 74 is started (step S523), and the rotation of the folding roller 81 and the lower paper discharge roller 83 is started (step S524). Then, the passage of the folded sheet bundle is monitored by the folding section passage sensor 323, and when the leading end of the sheet bundle passes through the position of the folding section passage sensor 323 (step S525-Y), the folding plate 74 is moved to the home position. (Step S526). When the bundle arrival sensor 321 is turned off (step S527-Y), the lower bundle conveying roller 72 is pressurized (step S528), and the branch guide plate 54 and the movable guide plate 55 are moved to the home position (step S529).

In this state, the passage of the sheet bundle is monitored by the folding portion passage sensor 323 (step S530).
) When the trailing edge of the sheet bundle passes through the folding portion passage sensor 323 (step S530-Y), the folding roller 81 and the lower discharge roller 83 are further rotated for a predetermined time and then stopped (step S).
531). Next, the discharge belt 52 and the jogger fence 53 are moved to the standby position (steps S532 and S533). Then, it is checked whether or not it is the final part of the job (step S534). If it is not the final part of the job, the process returns to step S506 and the subsequent processing is repeated, and if it is the final part, the discharge belt 52 and the jogger fence 53 are set to the home position. (Steps S535, S536), the rotation of the entrance roller 1, the transport rollers 2, 7, 9, 10, the staple discharge roller 11 and the tapping roller 12 is stopped (step S537), and the branch solenoid of the branch claw 15 is turned off. It is turned off (step S538), and everything is returned to the initial state, and the process ends.

In this way, the sheets carried in from the image forming apparatus are saddle-stitched in the staple processing tray F, folded in the middle folding processing tray G, and then the sheet bundle folded in the lower tray 203 is discharged. To load.

5-2) Operation FIGS. 26 to 33 are operation explanatory views showing operations in the saddle stitch binding mode. In these drawings, for the sake of simplicity, the pressure mechanism and pressure release associated with the pair of folding rollers 81a and 81b are shown. The mechanism is omitted. In the saddle stitching bookbinding mode, the paper sorted from the conveyance path A by the branching claw 15 and the branching claw 16 is guided to the conveyance path D by the conveyance roller pair 7 and 9.10, and the conveyance roller 7 conveyance roller 9 conveyance roller 10 staple discharge. The paper is discharged to the processing tray F by the paper roller 11. In the processing tray F, the sheets sequentially discharged by the discharge rollers 11 are aligned (FIG. 26). Thereafter, the sheet bundle is conveyed downstream by a predetermined distance set for each sheet size by the discharge claw 52a, and the center thereof is bound by the saddle stitching stapler S2 (FIG. 27). The bound sheet bundle is the discharge claw 52.
a is conveyed downstream by a predetermined distance set for each sheet size, the leading end of the sheet bundle is sandwiched between the discharge roller 56 and the pressure roller 57, and the branch guide plate 54 and the movable guide 55 are rotated. The path to the processing tray G is again conveyed downstream by the discharge claw 52a and the discharge roller 56 (FIGS. 28 and 29). The discharge roller 56 is provided on the drive shaft of the discharge belt 52 and is driven in synchronization with the discharge belt 52. Then, the sheet bundle is moved from the home position to a position corresponding to the sheet size in advance by the upper bundle conveying roller 71 and the lower bundle conveying roller 72, and is stopped so as to guide the lower end surface. Up to 73. At this time, the discharge claw 52a stops at the position where another discharge claw 52a 'disposed at a position facing the outer periphery of the discharge belt 52 reaches the vicinity of the rear end fence 51, and the branch guide plate 54 and the movable guide 55 returns to the home position and prepares for the next sheet.

The sheet bundle abutted against the movable rear end fence 73 is released from the pressurization of the lower bundle conveying roller 72 (FIG. 30). Thereafter, the vicinity of the bound needle portion is pushed by the folding plate 74 in a substantially right-angle direction and guided to the nip of the opposing folding roller 81 (FIG. 31). The pair of folding rollers 81a and 81b, which have been rotated in advance, folds the center of the sheet bundle by conveying the sheet bundle under pressure.

The front end of the folded sheet bundle enters the nip portion of the lower conveying roller 83 (FIG. 32). At this point, the folding roller 81 and the lower paper discharge roller 83 stop rotating, and are ready for the next sheet bundle. On the other hand, the lower conveyance roller 83 discharges the folded sheet bundle to the lower discharge tray 203 side (FIG. 33). If the next job is the same sheet size and the same number of sheets, the movable rear end fence 73 may stand by at that position. The movable rear end fence can be moved up and down by a motor (not shown) between both pulleys by a timing belt stretched between a pair of pulleys.

As described above, the folding mechanism according to the present embodiment includes the crease angle adjusting means that can change the relative angle between the side end surface of the sheet bundle and the crease, so that it is cut into a standard size that is not an accurate rectangle. The user can easily adjust the angle with respect to the crease misalignment when the folding operation is performed on the paper that has been folded.

In addition, since the user can easily adjust the angle, it is possible to meet the user's strong demand for correction of crease misalignment.

In addition, since a surface for supporting or holding the sheet bundle is provided in the transport direction and the width direction, and the relative angle between an arbitrary end surface of the sheet bundle and the fold line can be changed, a plurality of unbound sheets Even a bundle can be folded well.

The adjustment screw 503 has a screw portion 503a, and the rotation amount of the screw and the rotation amount of the base 501 are substantially constant. Therefore, if the angle between the sheet bundle and the crease per rotation of the screw is known, the screw The amount of rotation of the base 501 can be easily set from the amount of rotation. For example, the pitch of the screw and the base 5 so that the displacement angle β of the base 501 per one rotation of the screw is 1 °.
If a turning radius of 01 is set and described so as to be understood by the user or the like, the user can easily and accurately adjust the angle between the end face of the sheet bundle and the fold.

Further, if the adjustment gear 550 provided with the screw portion 550a coaxially is driven by the adjustment motor 555 to rotate the base 501, and the pulse motor is used as the adjustment motor 555, the rotation amount per pulse is increased. The angle α between the sheet bundle and the crease can be easily adjusted by electrical control. At this time, if the adjustment amount can be input from an operation screen such as an operation panel, the angle can be easily adjusted only by an input operation from the operation screen, and even a user who does not have knowledge of the device can easily and accurately adjust the angle. Can do.

  In addition, the amount of inclination of the sheet trailing edge with respect to the sheet leading edge is measured and the amount of inclination is displayed, so the crease misalignment when folding is performed on paper that has been cut to a standard size that is not an exact rectangle. However, it can be easily adjusted by the user.

  Furthermore, since the adjustment motor 555 is automatically driven based on the amount of inclination to correct the inclination, a highly accurate folding device can be provided without bothering the user.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of an image processing system including a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus mainly showing a sheet post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the perspective view which expanded the principal part which shows the detail of the shift mechanism of this embodiment. It is the perspective view which expanded the principal part of the shift tray raising / lowering mechanism of this embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the paper discharge part to the shift tray of this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the staple processing tray according to the present embodiment as viewed from a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance surface. It is a perspective view which shows the staple processing tray of this embodiment, and its drive mechanism. It is a perspective view which shows the discharge | release mechanism of the sheet | seat bundle of this embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the end surface binding stapler of this embodiment with a moving mechanism. It is a perspective view which shows the diagonal rotation mechanism of the end surface binding stapler in FIG. FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram of the sheet bundle deflection mechanism of the present embodiment and shows a state when a sheet or a sheet bundle is discharged to a shift tray. FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram of the sheet bundle deflecting mechanism of the present embodiment, showing a state where the branch guide plate is rotated to the discharge roller side from the state of FIG. 10. FIG. 12 is an operation explanatory diagram of the sheet bundle deflecting mechanism of the present embodiment, showing a state in which the movable guide is rotated to the branch guide plate side from the state of FIG. 11 and a path for deflecting the sheet bundle is formed on the center folding processing tray side. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the moving mechanism of the folding plate of this embodiment, and shows the state before entering into a middle folding operation | movement. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the moving mechanism of the folding plate of this embodiment, and shows the state when returning to an initial position after middle folding. It is a figure which shows the detail of the staple processing tray and middle folding processing tray of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of the angle adjustment mechanism of the middle folding process tray of FIG. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of the angle adjustment mechanism of the middle folding processing tray of FIG. It is a figure which shows the other example of the adjustment screw of FIG.16 and FIG.15. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a sheet folding inclination detecting unit that measures an inclination amount of a sheet trailing end with respect to a sheet leading end and an automatic inclination adjusting unit. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a control circuit of an embodiment together with an image forming apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of non-staple mode A of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of non-staple mode B of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of sort and stack mode of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in a stipple mode of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the saddle stitch bookbinding mode of the paper processing apparatus of this embodiment. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a sheet bundle alignment operation in a staple processing tray of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a saddle stitching operation of a bundle of sheets in a staple processing tray of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when a sheet bundle is transferred from a staple processing tray to a half-fold processing tray of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when a sheet bundle is transferred from a staple processing tray to a half-fold processing tray of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when a sheet bundle is transferred from a staple processing tray to a center folding processing tray of the sheet processing apparatus according to the present embodiment and center folding is started. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view showing an operation when the folding plate pushes the sheet bundle into the nip of the folding roller in the middle folding tray of the sheet processing apparatus of the embodiment. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when a sheet bundle is folded by a folding roller in the middle folding processing tray of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when a sheet bundle is folded by a folding roller and discharged in the middle folding processing tray of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

73 Movable rear end fence 74 Folding plate 81 Folding roller 91 Lower bundle conveying guide plate 92 Upper bundle conveying guide plate 323 Light reflection sensor 350 Controller 360 CPU
370 I / O
501 Base 501a Rotation start point 501b Fixing part 503 Adjustment screw 503a, 550a Screw part 504 Compression spring 505 Set screw 510,511 Side fence 550 Adjustment gear 555 Adjustment motor F Staple processing tray G Middle folding processing tray PD Paper post-processing device PR Image Forming equipment

Claims (10)

A paper transport means for transporting a paper or a bundle of paper along a paper transport path;
A support means which is movable in the paper or paper bundle conveyance direction and supports the paper or paper bundle in the paper conveyance path;
A folding plate disposed so as to be able to advance and retract in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveyance path;
A pair of folding rollers that are disposed in the advancing direction of the folding plate and fold the paper or paper bundle pushed into the nip by the folding plate;
An angle changing means for changing a relative angle between an arbitrary end face of the paper or the paper bundle and the crease;
In a paper folding apparatus having
The support means includes a support surface that supports an end portion orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the sheet or sheet bundle,
The angle adjusting means comprises a screw mechanism for rotating the support surface about a rotation fulcrum,
The support surface is supported by a sheet conveyance guide plate that forms the sheet conveyance path so as to be rotatable about the rotation fulcrum,
The sheet folding device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation fulcrum is disposed at a substantially center in a direction orthogonal to a sheet conveyance direction of the sheet conveyance guide plate .   2. The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising measuring means for measuring an inclination amount of the trailing edge of the sheet with respect to the leading edge of the folded sheet.   3. The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the measuring unit includes a sensor that is positioned downstream of the folding roller and detects a position of the fold.   4. The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising display means for displaying the amount of inclination measured by the measuring means. The sheet folding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising driving means for rotating a screw portion of the screw mechanism . 6. The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a control unit that controls driving of the driving unit. The paper folding apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising an input unit configured to input a rotation amount of the screw portion to the control unit . 8. The paper folding apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the control unit drives the driving unit based on the rotation amount input from the input unit to correct the inclination of the support unit . The support means has a support surface that supports an end portion orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the sheet or sheet bundle, and the angle adjustment means is a drive means that rotationally drives a screw portion of a screw mechanism that rotates the support surface; Control means for controlling the drive means, wherein the control means drives the drive means based on the amount of inclination measured by the measurement means to correct the inclination of the support means. Item 5. The sheet folding device according to any one of Items 2 to 4. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet folding device according to claim 1 .

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