JP4348278B2 - Paper processing apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a sheet processing apparatus that performs processing such as alignment, sorting, binding, punching, folding, etc., on a sheet (recording sheet), for example, a bookbinding apparatus, a cutting apparatus, or a bind that operates offline with a copier, a printer, or the like. The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus including a sheet bundle conveyance of the apparatus, and an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a complex machine including the sheet processing apparatus integrally or separately.

  2. Description of the Related Art Various types of paper post-processing devices have been provided that automatically perform processing such as sorting / punching / stipling on paper discharged from image forming apparatuses such as copiers and printers. In addition to one-end binding on the end face and binding in several parallel positions, a sheet having a saddle-stitching function for binding a plurality of locations along a center line that bisects the paper, and a center-folding function for folding the center portion and then binding. The need for post-processing equipment is increasing. Therefore, for example, an invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known as a space-saving paper post-processing apparatus having a saddle stitch bookbinding function.

The present invention provides a sheet processing apparatus such as collation / sorting / punch / end face binding / saddle binding with high productivity when performing a half-folding process while minimizing the installation area of the apparatus. Therefore, the installation position of the lower paper discharge roller that discharges the paper after being folded in the middle is protruded to the side from the installation position of the shift paper discharge roller that discharges the paper to the shift tray without increasing the installation area of the paper post-processing device. A space for storing a mechanism for folding the sheet bundle is secured on the upstream side of the lower discharge roller.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-073022

  As described above, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, a folding mechanism is arranged on the back side of the staple tray aiming at multi-function / space-saving of the sheet post-processing apparatus, and the sheet alignment and binding processes are performed in the staple tray section. The bound sheet bundle is turned and conveyed to the folding mechanism.

  However, in the above-described prior art, the strength of the sheet bundle and the thickness of the sheet bundle when the sheet bundle bound at one end face along the edge of the sheet and the sheet bundle bound at several parallel positions are discharged to the upper discharge tray. Or, the leading edge of the sheet bundle is caught at the transfer section between the path changing means that is pressed in one direction by the biasing means such as a spring and the paper guide located immediately downstream thereof due to the influence of curl, etc. Or there may be a problem that the tip end part is broken.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object of the present invention is to ensure that the sheet processing apparatus having the path changing unit as described above is reliably discharged to the sheet discharge tray without causing jamming or ear folding. It is to be able to discharge a sheet bundle.

In order to achieve the object, the first means includes a staple tray for temporarily storing paper and performing alignment / binding processing of recording paper, and a binding process for the paper bundle stored in the staple tray. The first path for conveying the sheet bundle in the first direction along the guide plate from the downstream end of the staple tray, and the sheet bundle in the second direction from the downstream end of the staple tray. In a sheet processing apparatus having a second path and a path changing unit that changes a conveyance path to one of the first and second paths, the path changing unit is adjacent to the guide plate and is a guide. located in the sheet bundle conveyance direction upstream side of the plate, the sheet bundle includes the first path or the guide member for guiding said second path, said guide member, when the sheet acceptance to the staple tray , The guide plate The end of the guide member on the side of the guide member on the downstream side in the sheet bundle conveyance direction is located at the first position where the protrusion amount to the sheet conveyance path side is the smallest, and from the staple tray to the first sheet When the sheet bundle is discharged to one path, the sheet is located at a second position where the protruding amount is larger than the first position .

The second means is characterized in that, in the first means, the second position is set at a position where the protrusion amount decreases as the size of the paper stored in the staple tray becomes longer. .

As a third means, in the first or second means, the second position is set to a position where the protrusion amount increases as the number of sheets to be stored in the staple tray increases. It is characterized by.

According to a fourth means, in any one of the first to third means, the second position is set to a position where the protrusion amount increases as the number of binding positions of the paper stored in the staple tray increases. It is characterized by being.

A fifth means is any one of the first to fourth means, wherein the second position is set to a position where the protrusion amount increases as the thickness of the paper stored in the staple tray increases. It is characterized by.

  The sixth means is characterized in that the image forming apparatus is provided with the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth means as one body or separately.

  In the embodiment described later, the staple tray is discharged to the staple processing tray F, the stapler is discharged to the end-bound stapler S1, and the first path is discharged from between the discharge roller 56 and the branch guide plate 54 through the transfer path C. The second path is the conveyance path to the tray 202, the first path is the conveyance path from the discharge roller 56, the branch guide plate 54, and the movable guide 55 to the half-fold processing tray G, and the first direction is staple. The path changing means is driven by the bundle branching drive motor 161 and this bundle branching motor 161 in the direction from the processing tray F toward the conveyance path C, the second direction from the staple processing tray F to the center folding processing tray G, and the path changing means. Means for making the standby position different from the mechanism corresponding to the bundle branch drive motor 161, the mechanism driven by this, and the CPU 360, respectively. The paper here includes a sheet-like recording medium, that is, a general recording sheet.

  According to the present invention, the standby position of the path changing unit is made different between when the paper is received into the staple tray and when the paper is discharged from the first path to the paper discharge tray. In the paper processing apparatus having a path changing means that is only pressed in one direction by the urging means and a paper guide section that is located immediately downstream of the path changing means, it is possible to reliably discharge the paper without causing jamming or folding of the ears. A sheet bundle can be discharged.

  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, a sheet post-processing device PD is attached to a side portion of the image forming apparatus PR, and a sheet (recording medium) discharged from the image forming apparatus PR is guided to the sheet post-processing device PD. The sheet passes through a conveyance path A having post-processing means (in this embodiment, a punch unit 100 as a punching means) for post-processing one sheet, and then to the conveyance path B and the shift tray 202 which are led to the upper tray 201. The branching claw 15 and the branching claw 16 are configured to distribute to a conveyance path C that leads to a conveyance path D that leads to a conveyance path C that leads to a processing tray F (hereinafter also referred to as a staple tray) that performs alignment and stapling. The tray surface 66 on which the sheets of the staple processing tray F are stacked is inclined so that the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the sheets discharged from the staple discharge roller 11 described later is upward, and the inclination angle is in the direction of gravity. On the other hand, the angle is set to a minimum angle that does not interfere with a later-described middle folding plate 74 on the lower side of the inclined surface and its driving mechanism and a mechanism such as the end surface binding stapler S1.

  The paper guided to the staple processing tray F through the transport paths A and D and aligned and stapled by the staple processing tray is transported to the shift tray 202 by the branch guide plate 54 and the movable guide 55 which are deflecting means. The sheet is configured to be distributed to a path C, a processing tray G that performs folding or the like (hereinafter also referred to as a middle folding processing tray). Led to. Further, a branching claw 17 is disposed in the conveyance path D, and is held in the state shown in the figure by a low load spring (not shown). After the paper trailing edge passes through this, the conveyance rollers 9, 10 and the staple discharge roller 11 is configured such that at least the conveying roller 9 is reversed to guide the trailing edge of the sheet to the sheet accommodating portion E so that the sheet is retained and conveyed while being overlapped with the next sheet. By repeating this operation, it is possible to convey two or more sheets in a superimposed manner.

  In the conveyance path A common to the 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), and when the solenoid (not shown) is turned on, the branch claw 15 rotates upward and the branch claw 16 rotates downward. The paper is distributed to the conveyance path B, the conveyance path C, and the conveyance 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) is performed on the paper. S2), paper sorting (shift tray 202), center folding (folding plate 74, folding rollers 81, 82), and the like can be performed.

  In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus PR performs optical writing on an image forming medium such as a photosensitive drum based on the input image data to form a latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum, and the formed latent image is displayed. This is an image forming apparatus using a so-called electrophotographic process in which toner is developed, transferred to a recording medium such as paper, fixed, and discharged, and the image forming apparatus using the electrophotographic process itself is well known, so the details here Description and illustration of this configuration are omitted. In this embodiment, an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process is illustrated. However, a system using a known image forming apparatus such as an inkjet or a printing machine and a printing machine (printer) may also be used. Needless to say.

  Since the present invention relates to sheet bundle deflection (path changing means) at the time of saddle stitching, description will be given of stapling, sheet bundle deflection (path changing means), and other parts such as punching, sorting, paper discharge tray section, etc. Description is omitted.

<Staple processing tray>
The configuration of the processing tray F that performs sheet alignment and stapling will be described.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part showing the configuration of the processing tray F that performs sheet alignment and stapling processing. In the drawing, the sheets guided to the processing tray F by the staple discharge roller 11 are sequentially stacked on the tray surface 66. In this case, alignment in the vertical direction (paper conveyance direction) is performed by the tapping roller 12 for each sheet, and alignment in the horizontal direction (paper width direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction) is performed by the jogger fence 53. Thereafter, the end-face stitching stapler S1 is driven by a stapling signal from the control means 350 between job breaks, that is, between the last sheet of the sheet bundle and 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 having the discharge claw 52a, and is discharged to the shift tray 202 set at the receiving position.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the home position of the discharge claw 52a is detected by a discharge belt HP sensor 311. This discharge belt HP sensor 311 is turned on / off by a discharge claw 52a provided on the discharge belt 52. Turn off. Two discharge claws 52a are arranged at opposing positions on the outer periphery of the discharge belt 52, and the sheet bundle accommodated in the processing tray F is moved and conveyed alternately. Further, if necessary, the discharge belt 52 is reversely rotated, and the sheet bundle accommodated in the processing tray F on the back surface of the discharge claw 52a 'opposite to the discharge claw 52a waiting to move the sheet bundle. The tips in the transport direction may be aligned.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the discharge belt 52 driven by the discharge motor 157 has a discharge belt 52 and its drive pulley arranged at the center of alignment in the paper width direction and symmetrically with the discharge roller 56. The peripheral speed of the discharge roller 56 is set to be faster than the peripheral speed of the discharge belt 52.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the tapping roller 12, which is an aligning means in the sheet conveying direction, is swung around the fulcrum 12a and is given a pendulum movement by the SOL 170, and acts intermittently on the sheet fed to the processing tray F to move the sheet back. It strikes against the end fence 51. The tapping roller 12 rotates counterclockwise, and the tapping roller motor 156, which is a rotation drive source, is independent of other conveyance drives. A jogger fence 53, which is an alignment means in a direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction, is driven through a timing belt by a jogger motor 158 capable of forward and reverse rotation, and reciprocates in the paper width direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the end-face stitching stapler S1 is driven via a timing belt by a forward / reversely movable stapler moving motor 159, and binds a predetermined position of the sheet edge portion in the sheet width direction (direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction). Move to. A stapler movement HP sensor 312 for detecting the home position of the end face binding stapler S1 is provided at one end of the moving range, and the binding position in the paper width direction is the amount of movement of the end face binding stapler S1 from the home position. Controlled by

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the saddle stitching stapler S2 has a distance from the rear end fence 51 to the needle striking position of the saddle stitching stapler S2 that is equal to or longer than a half of the conveyance direction length of the maximum sheet size that can be saddle stitched. The two are arranged symmetrically with respect to the alignment center in the paper width direction and fixed to the stay 63. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the number is two for simplification, but may be three or more. The saddle stitching stapler S2 includes a needle portion, and is divided into two units, a stitcher (driver) unit for driving out the needle and a clincher unit for bending the needle, and the stitcher unit S21 is arranged on the conveyance path D side of the processing tray F. Has been placed. In the figure, reference numeral 64a is a front side plate, 64b is a rear side plate, reference numerals 53a and 53b are jogger fences for aligning sheets in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction, and reference numerals 51a and 51b are rear end fences for aligning sheets in the sheet conveying direction. It is. The rear end fences 51a and 51b are supported on the rear end (lower end) side of the processing tray F by a rear end fence guide shaft 66 so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction, and are provided between the rear end fences 51a and 51b. The rear end fence return spring 67 elastically biases both in the direction of approaching each other. As a result, the rear end fences 51a and 51b are returned to the home position when moved. Reference numeral 310 denotes a paper presence / absence sensor that detects the presence / absence of paper on the staple processing tray F.

  The sheet bundle deflection mechanism includes a branch guide plate 54 and a movable guide 55 as shown in the enlarged views of the staple processing tray F and the middle folding processing tray G in FIGS. The branch guide plate 54 is provided so as to be swingable in the vertical direction around the fulcrum 54a as shown in the operation explanatory diagrams of FIGS. 6 to 8, and a rotatable pressure roller 57 is provided on the downstream side thereof, and a spring 58 is provided. The pressure is applied to the discharge roller 56 side. Further, the position of the branch guide plate 54 is defined by the contact position with the cam surface 61 a of the cam 61 that rotates by obtaining a driving force from the bundle branch drive motor 161.

The movable guide 55 is rotatably supported on the rotation shaft of the discharge roller 56, and the movable guide 55 is provided with a link arm 60 that is rotatably connected. The link arm 60 side plate 64a shown in FIG. 4, fitted in the shaft and the elongated hole 60 b fixed to 64b, thereby turning range of the movable guide 55 is regulated. Further, it is held at the position shown in FIG. Furthermore, the Rinkupi down which is fixed to the link arm 60 by the cam surface 61b of the cam 61 to rotate to give the drive from the bundle sort drive motor 161 is pushed, the movable guide 55 which is connected rotates upward. The bundle branch guide HP sensor 315 detects the home position of the cam 61 by detecting the shielding portion 61 c of the cam 61. As a result, the cam 61 counts the drive pulses of the bundle branching drive motor 161 with the home position as a reference , and the stop position is controlled.

  FIG. 6 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, and shows a state in which a path for discharging to the shift tray is formed in the end face binding mode. . At this time, the guide surface 55a of the movable guide 55 has a function of guiding the paper.

  In FIG. 7, as the cam 61 rotates, the movable guide 55 rotates in the clockwise direction (upward), and the branch guide plate 54 rotates in the counterclockwise direction (downward) in the drawing around the fulcrum 54a. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the state which the roller 57 contacts the discharge | release roller 56 side and is pressurizing.

8 by rotating a predetermined amount the cam 61 from the state of FIG. 7, the variable movement guide 55 is rotated upward, the state in which a position for forming a path that leads directly from the processing tray F to the processing tray G It is operation | movement explanatory drawing shown. FIG. 4 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, the drive guide is provided individually so that the movement timing and stop position can be controlled according to the paper size and the number of sheets to be bound. Also good.

<Control device>
As shown in FIG. 14, the control means 350 is composed of a microcomputer having a CPU 360, an I / O interface 370, and the like. Is input to the CPU 360 via the I / O interface 370.

  The CPU 360, based on the input signal, a tray lifting motor for the shift tray 202, a discharge guide plate opening / closing motor for opening / closing the opening / closing guide plate, a shift motor for moving the shift tray 202, a tapping roller motor for driving the tapping roller 12, Each solenoid such as the hitting SOL 170, a transport motor that drives each transport roller, a paper discharge motor that drives each paper discharge roller, a discharge motor 157 that drives the discharge belt 52, a stapler moving motor 159 that moves the end surface binding stapler S1, an end surface An oblique motor that rotates the binding stapler S1 obliquely, a jogger motor 158 that moves the jogger fence 53, a bundle branch drive motor 161 that rotates the branch guide plate 54 and the movable guide 55, and a bundle that drives a transport roller that transports the bundle. Transport motor, moving rear end fence 73 Rear end fence moving motor for folding plate drive motor moves the folding plate 74, controls the driving of such folding roller drive motor 4 for driving the folding rollers 81. 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 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. In addition, the program data is downloaded from a server via a network or from a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or SD card to a storage medium such as a hard disk device (not shown) via a recording medium driving device instead of or in addition to the ROM. It can also be used after being rolled or upgraded.

<Operation>
Hereinafter, the operation of the sheet post-processing apparatus according to this embodiment executed by the CPU 360 will be described.
In the present embodiment, the non-stipple mode a in which the paper is discharged to the upper tray 201 through the transport path A and the transport path B, and the non-stipple mode b in which the paper is discharged to the shift tray 202 through the transport path A transport path C. And sort and stack modes that are discharged to the shift tray 202 through the transport path A and the transport path C, and are aligned and bound in the processing tray F through the transport path A and the transport path D, and pass through the transport path C to the shift tray 202. The stapled mode (end face binding mode) to be discharged and alignment and center binding are performed on the processing tray F via the transport path A and the transport path D, and further center folding is performed on the processing tray G and the lower tray 203 passes through the transport path H. The saddle-stitched binding mode and the saddle-stitched binding mode will be described here.

《End face stitching staple mode》
When the staple mode is selected, as shown in FIG. 2, the jogger fence 53 moves from the home position and stands by at a standby position that is 7 mm away from the width of the paper discharged to the processing tray F. When the sheet is conveyed by the staple discharge roller 11 and the rear end of the sheet passes through the staple discharge sensor 305 provided immediately before the staple discharge roller 11, the jogger fence 53 moves inward by 5 mm from the standby position. Stop. Further, the staple paper discharge sensor 305 detects the trailing edge of the sheet when the trailing edge of the sheet passes, and a signal indicating the detection of the trailing edge is input to the CPU 360 (see FIG. 14).

  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 when this signal is received, and turns on the SOL 170 after transmitting a predetermined pulse. The tapping roller 12 is driven by a tapping roller motor 156 and performs a pendulum movement by turning ON / OFF the tapping SOL 170. When the tapping roller 171 is turned on, the tapping roller 12 is tapped to return downward (upstream in the sheet conveying direction). Make a paper alignment. At that time, each time a sheet of paper stored in the processing tray F passes the entrance sensor 101 or the staple paper discharge sensor 305, a detection signal is input to the CPU 360 and the number of sheets is counted.

  After the SOL 170 is turned off and the predetermined time has elapsed, the jogger fence 53 is further moved inward by 2.6 mm by the jogger motor 158, and is temporarily stopped to finish the horizontal alignment. The jogger fence 53 then moves outward 7.6 mm, returns to the standby position, and waits for the next sheet. This operation is performed up to the last page. After that, it moves again 7 mm inward and stops, and prepares for a stippling operation by pressing both side edges of the sheet bundle.

  Further, after a predetermined time, the end-face stitching stapler S1 is actuated by a not-shown staple motor, and the binding process is performed. At this time, if two or more bindings are designated, after one binding process is completed, the staple movement motor 159 is driven to move the end-face binding stapler S1 to the appropriate position along the rear edge of the sheet. The second stitching process is performed. Further, when the third and subsequent locations are designated, the binding processing is further performed by moving to an appropriate position.

  Simultaneously with the timing at which this binding process is performed, the branch guide plate 54 as the path changing means operates to determine the position of the discharge guide surface of the binding bundle.

  The gap between the standby position (guide position) of the branch guide plate 54 and the shift guide plate 31 positioned downstream thereof is small, the number of binding bundles to be discharged is large, and the back is strong (thick paper and curl are large). In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the leading end of the sheet bundle comes into contact with a force larger than that of the spring 58 that presses the branch guide plate 54, and pushes up the branch guide plate 54, thereby causing the shift guide plate 31 and It will be caught in the gap of this, and JAM and ear breakage will occur. Therefore, control is performed to change the position of the branch guide plate 54 when paper is received and when the bundle is discharged. In this embodiment, when the bundle is released, the distance (gap) a between the front end portion of the branch guide plate 54 and the shift guide plate 31 is set to any of a = 2 to 5 mm as shown in FIG. Set to. Note that when paper is received, a = 1 mm is set, and this position is the home of the branch guide plate 54.

  Here, when the paper is received, a = 1 mm is set. If a = 5 mm is set from the time of paper reception, the inclination of the branch guide plate 54 with respect to the paper conveyance direction becomes steep, and the guide plate 54 of the paper bundle is received at the time of paper reception. This is because the leading edge is suppressed and the leading edge of the paper may be folded. In order to prevent such folding of the leading edge of the paper, a = 1 mm which is substantially parallel to the paper when the paper is received. Conversely, if a is smaller than 1 mm, the leading edge of the sheet may enter between the branch guide plate 54 and the shift guide plate 31 as in FIG.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, the branch guide plate 54 is rotated to control the gap a with the shift guide plate 31. An example is shown below.

(1) Divide by paper size Generally, the longer paper length is more likely to break when it receives some resistance at the tip (weakness), so if B4 or more, a = 2 mm (FIG. 13), A4T In the following cases, a = 4 mm (FIG. 11).

(2) Divide by the number of binding sheets The greater the number of binding sheets, the thicker the binding bundle becomes and the lower the stiffness. Therefore, when the number of binding sheets is 30 or less, a = 2 mm (FIG. 13), and when the number of binding sheets is 31 or more, a = 4 mm (FIG. 11).

(3) Separate by binding mode After binding sheets as in this embodiment, when the rear end of the binding bundle is discharged upward by the discharge claw 52a attached to the discharge belt 52, in the case of single-point binding Since the bundle tip is separated from the bound location, the waist as a bundle is weakened. As the number of binding locations increases, the handling at the tip of the bundle becomes smaller and the waist as a bundle becomes stronger. Therefore, a = 2 mm (Fig. 13) for single location binding, a = 5mm for multiple location binding (Fig. 10). ).

(4) Divide by Paper Passing Mode Since the paper mode of the paper to be bound is plain paper and the thickness of the binding bundle varies depending on the type of the thick paper mode, a = 3 mm in the normal paper mode (FIG. 12) In the thick paper mode, a = 4 mm (FIG. 11). If there is a mode such as a thin paper mode or a coated paper mode depending on the image forming apparatus main body to be mounted, a may be set for each mode.

(5) Divide by combinations of conditions For example, when the value of a is set as described above, the value of a is the largest among the conditions in the case of a job of A3-30 sheet binding, 2-position binding, and plain paper mode. Prioritize conditions. In this case, a = 5 mm (FIG. 10) is set with priority given to the condition in the two-point binding mode.

  In the present embodiment, four values of 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, and 5 mm are set as the value of a, but may be an arbitrary value that is further subdivided.

  When the binding process is completed, the discharge motor 157 is driven, and the discharge belt 52 is driven. At this time, the paper discharge motor 157 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. At this time, the jogger fence 53 is controlled to be different depending 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 detection by the paper presence sensor 310 or the discharge belt HP sensor 311, the jogger fence 53 is retracted 2 mm after a predetermined pulse, 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 moves further to the outside by 5 mm and returns to the standby position 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.

The processing procedure at this time is shown in the flowchart of FIG.
In this processing procedure, first, the branch guide plate 54 is put on standby (step S101), a sheet is received, and alignment processing is executed (step S102). Next, preparation for the stapling operation is started (step S103), whether the paper size is B4 or more (step S104), whether the number of bindings is 30 sheets or less (steps S105, S115), or one-point binding (steps S106, S116, S119). It is checked whether the mode is the plain paper mode (steps S107, S117, S120, S122).

  If the paper size is B4 or more, the gap a = 2 mm, if 4 or less, the gap a = 4 mm, if the binding number is 30 or less, the gap a = 3 mm, if more than 30, the gap a = 5 mm, gap a = 2 mm for single-point binding, gap a = 5 mm for single-point binding, gap a = 3 mm for plain paper mode, gap a = 4 mm for non-plain paper mode In the case of a combination of steps S104, S105, S106, and S107, the maximum gap a set in (1) to (4) is set (steps S108, S118, S121, S123, and S124). . Then, the discharge motor 157 is turned on (step S109), the discharge belt 52 is driven, the upper paper discharge motor 152 is turned on (step S110), and the discharge claw 52a that moves integrally with the discharge belt 52 is placed at a predetermined position. When it reaches (step S111), the path changing means, that is, the branch guide plate 54 is moved to the home position (position where the path is most opened) (step S112), the discharge motor 157 is turned off (step S113), and the upper paper discharge motor. 152 is turned off (step S114) and the process returns.

<Saddle stitch binding mode>
The paper sorted by the branch claw 15 and the branch claw 16 from the conveyance path A is guided to the conveyance path D, and is discharged to the processing tray F by the conveyance roller 7, the conveyance roller 9, the conveyance roller 10, and the staple paper discharge roller 11. FIG. 16 shows an enlarged view of the staple processing tray F and the center folding processing tray G. In the processing tray F, the sheets sequentially discharged by the staple discharge roller 11 are aligned in the same manner as in the edge-bound staple mode, and the same operation is performed until just before the staple (see FIG. 17). Reference numeral 8 denotes a rotation guide, and reference numeral 17 denotes a switching claw. Then, the sheet bundle is conveyed to the position (saddle stitching position) in FIG. The transport distance at this time is determined by the detection information obtained by detecting the rear end surface of the sheet bundle to be transported by the end surface detection sensor 310a. Further, the end surface detection sensors 310a, 310b, and 310c also serve as means for detecting paper presence / absence information in the staple processing tray F during the initial operation of the apparatus.

The sheet bundle conveyed to the saddle stitching position is bound by the saddle stitching stapler S2. The sheet bundle bound at the position of FIG. 19 is conveyed downstream by the discharge claw 52a. During this conveyance, the leading end surface of the sheet is detected by the end surface detection sensor 310c and further conveyed by a predetermined amount, and then the cam 61 is rotated by a predetermined amount to change the path changing means to the state shown in FIG. Transport to G. Thereafter, when the rear end surface of the sheet bundle being conveyed is detected by the end surface detection sensor 310c, the cam 61 is rotated by a predetermined amount so that the path changing means is in the state shown in FIG. Prepare for acceptance. At this time, the sheet bundle is conveyed to the half-fold processing tray G by the upper bundle conveying roller 71 and the lower bundle conveying roller 72, but without stopping the rotation of the discharge roller 56, the upper bundle conveying roller 71 and the lower bundle conveying roller 72. The paper is rotated so as to be at the same speed as that of the sheet, and the turn conveyance of the sheet bundle is assisted. After the trailing edge of the sheet bundle has completely passed through the sheet deflecting section, the cam 61 is rotated to rotate the movable guide 55 downward to return to the HP state shown in FIG. 6 in preparation for receiving the next sheet.

  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, as shown in FIG. 20, 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 stopped to guide the lower end face. It is conveyed to the movable rear end fence 73. After that, as shown in FIG. 21, the sheet bundle abutted against the movable rear end fence 73 is released from the pressurization of the lower bundle conveying roller 72. Then, as shown in FIG. 22, the vicinity of the stitched 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. The folding roller 81 that has been rotated in advance folds the center of the sheet bundle by conveying the sheet bundle under pressure.

  As shown in FIG. 23, the folded sheet bundle is strengthened by the second folding roller 82, and is discharged to the lower tray 203 by the lower discharge roller 83. At this time, when the trailing edge of the sheet bundle is detected by the folding part passage sensor 323, the folding plate 74 movable trailing edge fence 73 returns to the home position, and the pressurization of the lower bundle conveying roller 72 is restored to prepare for the next sheet. . 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.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the standby position of the branch guide plate (path changing unit) 54 is determined when the sheet is stored in the staple processing tray F and when the sheet is discharged to the discharge tray 202 after performing the binding process. Therefore, when the bundle of sheets subjected to the binding process is discharged to the paper discharge tray 202, the leading end is caught on the shift guide plate 31 immediately downstream of the branching guide plate 54 to cause a jam, or the leading end is an ear. It is possible to prevent breakage.

  Further, since the standby position of the branch guide plate 54 is varied depending on the size of the paper stored in the staple processing tray F, the leading end of the branch guide plate 54 is released when the bundle of paper sheets subjected to the binding process is discharged to the paper discharge tray 202. It is possible to prevent the jamming of the shift guide plate 31 immediately downstream of 54 and jamming of the front end portion or the bending of the ear portion.

  In addition, since the standby position of the branch guide plate 54 is varied depending on the number of sheets stored in the staple processing tray F, the leading end of the branch guide plate 54 is guided when the bundle of sheets subjected to the binding process is discharged to the discharge tray 202. It can be prevented that the shift guide plate 31 is caught immediately downstream of the plate 54 to cause jamming or the tip end portion to be bent.

  In addition, since the standby position of the branch guide plate 54 is varied depending on the binding mode for the sheets stored in the staple processing tray F, the leading end is branched when the bundle of sheets subjected to the binding process is discharged to the discharge tray 202. It is possible to prevent the jamming of the shift guide plate 31 immediately downstream of the guide plate 54 and the occurrence of a jam at the front end portion.

  Further, since the standby position of the branch guide plate 54 varies depending on the paper mode of the paper stored in the staple processing tray F, the leading end of the branch guide plate 54 is ejected to the paper discharge tray when the bundle of paper sheets subjected to the binding process is discharged to the paper discharge tray. It is possible to prevent the jamming of the shift guide plate 31 immediately downstream of 54 and jamming of the front end portion or the bending of the ear portion.

  In addition, the optimum position is set by changing the standby position of the branch guide plate according to the combination of the paper size, the number of sheets to be bound, the binding mode, and the paper mode. Therefore, when the bundle of sheets subjected to the binding process is discharged to the discharge tray It is possible to prevent the front end portion from being caught by the shift guide plate 31 immediately downstream of the branching guide plate 54 and causing jamming or the front end portion from being bent in the ear.

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. It is a principal part perspective view which shows the structure of the process tray F which performs a paper alignment and a staple process. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a relationship between a staple processing tray and a discharge claw for carrying out paper from the staple processing tray. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a staple processing tray of the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of an end binding stapler. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of a branch guide plate and a movable guide when a cam is located in a home position. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the state which a branching guide plate rotates centering | focusing on a fulcrum by the rotation of a cam, and the pressurizing roller contacts the discharge roller side and is pressurizing. FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory view showing a state in which a path that guides the movable guide from the staple processing tray to the half-fold processing tray is formed by the branch guide plate and the movable guide by further rotating the cam. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the stand-by position (guide position) of a branch guide plate, and the shift guide plate located in the downstream part. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows a state when the gap of the standby position (guide position) of a branch guide plate and the shift guide plate located in the downstream part is 5 mm. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows a state when the gap of the standby position (guide position) of a branch guide plate and the shift guide plate located in the downstream part is 4 mm. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows a state when the gap of the standby position (guide position) of a branch guide plate and the shift guide plate located in the downstream part is 3 mm. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows a state when the gap of the standby position (guide position) of a branch guide plate and the shift guide plate located in the downstream part is 2 mm. It is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the paper post-processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure which controls the operation | movement at the time of edge binding mode. It is an enlarged view of a staple processing tray and a half-fold processing tray part according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state of a stack of sheets stacked on a staple processing tray in the saddle stitch binding mode. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state when the sheets are stacked on the staple processing tray and are saddle-stitched in the saddle stitch binding mode. FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an initial state in which a sheet bundle that is saddle-stitched on a staple processing tray is deflected by a sheet bundle deflection mechanism in the saddle stitching bookbinding mode. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state when a sheet bundle that is saddle-stitched in a staple processing tray is deflected by a sheet bundle deflection mechanism and sent to a half-folding processing tray in the saddle stitch binding mode. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state when a sheet bundle is positioned at a center folding position on the center folding processing tray in the saddle stitch binding mode. FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state when a middle folding operation of a sheet bundle is started by operating a middle folding plate in a middle folding processing tray in the saddle stitching bookbinding mode. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state when a sheet bundle is folded from a middle folding processing tray by a middle folding roller and discharged in a saddle stitch binding mode.

Explanation of symbols

52 discharge belt 52a discharge claw 54 branch guide plate 55 movable guide 56 discharge roller 157 discharge motor 161 bundle branch drive motor 310 rear end detection sensor 310a, 310b, 310c end surface detection sensor 350 control device 360 CPU
370 I / O
F Staple processing tray G Middle folding processing tray PD Paper post-processing device PR Image forming device S1 End-face stitching stapler S2 Saddle-stitching stapler F Stapling tray

Claims (6)

A staple tray for temporarily storing paper and performing recording sheet alignment / binding processing;
A stapler for performing a binding process on a bundle of sheets stored in the staple tray;
A first path for conveying the sheet bundle in the first direction along the guide plate from the downstream end of the staple tray;
A second path for conveying the sheet bundle in the second direction from the downstream end of the staple tray;
Route changing means for changing the transport path to one of the first and second routes;
In a paper processing apparatus having
The path changing unit includes a guide member that is adjacent to the guide plate and is located upstream of the guide plate in the sheet bundle conveyance direction and guides the sheet bundle to the first path or the second path.
When the sheet is received in the staple tray, the guide member faces the sheet conveyance path side at the end on the downstream side in the sheet bundle conveyance direction of the surface of the guide member that guides the sheet bundle from the guide plate. It is located at the first position where the projection amount is the smallest, and is located at the second position where the projection amount is larger than the first position when the sheet bundle is discharged from the staple tray to the first path. A paper processing apparatus. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second position is set to a position where the protrusion amount decreases as the size of the sheet stored in the staple tray increases . 3. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second position is set to a position where the protrusion amount increases as the number of sheets to be stored in the staple tray increases . 4. The second position according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second position is set to a position where the protrusion amount increases as the number of sheets to be stored in the staple tray increases. The paper processing apparatus according to 1. The said 2nd position is set to the position where the said protrusion amount becomes large, so that the thickness of the paper accommodated in the said staple tray is thick. The paper processing apparatus as described.   An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 integrally or separately.

Images