JP4582643B2 - Bookbinding apparatus and bookbinding system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a bookbinding apparatus for binding and binding sheets and a bookbinding system including such a bookbinding apparatus.

In general, in a bookbinding apparatus, a plurality of sheets are stacked in a bundle to form a sheet bundle, and then an adhesive is applied to one edge of the sheet bundle and an adhesive is applied. A cover is bonded to the edge (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In addition, the bookbinding apparatus usually includes a cutting unit that cuts the edge of the sheet bundle and trims it to a predetermined size, and a storage unit that stores the bound sheet bundle in an accumulated state.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-194564

  By the way, when a cover sheet is attached to the sheet bundle with an adhesive, if the cover sheet conveyance direction width is narrower than the sheet bundle conveyance direction width (width along the conveyance direction) (for example, a sheet having an incorrect conveyance direction width). In the case of bookbinding using a bundle and a cover sheet), the adhesive applied to the sheet bundle adheres to the constituent members constituting the bookbinding mechanism. In such a case, the adhesive adhering to the component member not only stains the subsequent bookbinding sheet, but also the adhesive is difficult to peel off from the component member, and it takes time and effort for cleaning, and the working efficiency deteriorates. Further, the apparatus may not operate due to the adhesive adhered to the bookbinding mechanism.

  For this reason, the operator must pay sufficient attention to the width of the sheet bundle and the cover in the conveying direction, but an unfamiliar operator performs an incorrect operation and attaches adhesive to the components of the bookbinding mechanism. It is possible that the situation will end up. In particular, when a bookbinding apparatus is installed in a general office in combination with a composite digital image forming apparatus using a network environment that has become the mainstream in recent years, there is a case where there is no dedicated person for bookbinding processing. In many cases, the above problem frequently occurs when an operator unfamiliar with unspecified bookbinding using a network environment performs bookbinding.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a current situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-use bookbinding apparatus and bookbinding system that allow an unskilled worker to perform bookbinding processing without hindrance. In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a bookbinding apparatus and a bookbinding system that can prevent adhesives from adhering to the constituent members of the bookbinding mechanism.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1 controls an adhesive application means for applying an adhesive to the edges of a plurality of sheets aligned in a bundle, and an adhesive application range. and control means for, and bookbinding unit for adhesive bookbinding of adhering the cover to the sheet stack that has been applied, wherein the control means, when the width of the cover is greater than the width of the sheet bundle, the sheet When the adhesive application range is controlled so that the adhesive application range for the bundle is the entire width of the sheet bundle, and the cover width is smaller than the sheet bundle width, the adhesive application range for the sheet bundle the and controlling the application range of the adhesive to the inside width of the cover.

According to the bookbinding apparatus described in claim 1, when the width of the cover is larger than the width of the sheet bundle, the adhesive is applied so that the application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle is the entire width of the sheet bundle. If the width of the cover is smaller than the width of the sheet bundle , the adhesive application range is controlled so that the adhesive application range for the sheet bundle is within the width of the cover. It is possible to prevent a situation in which the adhesive applied to the bundle does not stick out at the time of bookbinding and adheres to the constituent members constituting the bookbinding mechanism. Therefore, even an unskilled worker can perform the bookbinding process without any trouble, and the usability is very good.

  In the above configuration, the application range of the adhesive may be controlled based on the information on the width in the conveyance direction of the sheet bundle and the cover. In this case, information on the conveyance direction width of the sheet bundle and the conveyance direction width of the cover sheet may be supplied to the bookbinding apparatus from another external apparatus (for example, an image forming apparatus) that supplies the sheet. Of course, it is also conceivable to provide a sheet width detecting means for detecting the width in the sheet conveying direction in the bookbinding apparatus.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the bookbinding apparatus described in the first aspect sets the width of the sheet bundle to a predetermined cutting width by cutting at least one edge of the sheet bundle. A cutting unit is further provided, and the control unit sets an application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle to be equal to or larger than the cutting width.

  According to the bookbinding apparatus described in claim 2, the same function and effect as those of the bookbinding apparatus described in claim 1 can be obtained, and a desired bonding area can be secured even after cutting, and the bookbinding accuracy can be secured. Can be increased.

Furthermore, the onset Ming is to provide a bookbinding system including control means for controlling the application range of the characteristic adhesive application means and adhesives described above.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it is an easy-to-use bookbinding apparatus and bookbinding system which can perform a bookbinding process without trouble for an unfamiliar operator, and prevents adhesion of adhesive to components constituting the bookbinding mechanism. A bookbinding apparatus and a bookbinding system that can be provided can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a bookbinding system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention that includes a copier A as an example of an image forming apparatus (image forming unit), a bookbinding apparatus B, and a post-processing apparatus C. Yes. Note that the image forming apparatus includes a copying machine, a printer, a printing machine, a composite machine of these, a composite digital image forming apparatus using a network environment, and the like. The bookbinding apparatus B receives a plurality of sheets on which images are formed from the copying machine A, accumulates the received sheets in a bundle to form a sheet bundle, and binds the sheet bundle. Further, the post-processing apparatus C has a paper discharge tray 35, and receives a plurality of sheets on which images are formed from the copying machine A through the bookbinding apparatus B, and forms a sheet bundle to perform stapling (binding). Post-processing). Note that the copier A and the bookbinding apparatus B can be used alone.

  As shown in the figure, an image forming unit 3 is provided in the apparatus main body 2 of the copying machine A, and an image is formed on a sheet such as plain paper or an OHP sheet by the image forming unit 3. Specifically, a document feeder 5 is mounted on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 2, and a document automatically fed from the document feeder 5 is optically read by the optical reading means 7, and the read information thereof is read. Is transmitted to the image forming unit 3 as a digital signal. In the image forming unit 3, the surface of the photosensitive drum 15 is irradiated with the laser light L from the light irradiation unit 13 based on the digital signal, whereby an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the document is generated on the surface of the photosensitive drum 15. Formed. Subsequently, toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent image from the developing device 8 disposed around the photosensitive drum 15 by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 15, and the electrostatic latent image is visualized. The visualized toner image is then transferred to the sheet S sent to the transfer unit 14 at a predetermined timing. Note that the sheets S on which the images are transferred are fed one by one from the sheet cassette 9 mounted on the lower part of the apparatus main body 2 to the transfer unit 14 by the conveying roller 10. Of course, feeding from the multi-tray 12 is also possible.

  The sheet S on which the toner image is transferred by the transfer unit 14 is then conveyed to the fixing device 6 where the toner image is permanently fixed by applying heat and pressure. When the single-side mode is set in the apparatus main body 2, the sheet S that has passed through the fixing device 6 is sent to the bookbinding apparatus B. On the other hand, when the double-sided recording mode is set in the apparatus main body 2, the sheet S on which an image is formed on one side passes through the fixing device 6, and is first conveyed to the reconveying path 18 by switchback. Then, the sheet is conveyed again to the image forming unit 3 to form an image on the back surface, and then sent to the bookbinding apparatus B.

  Note that the apparatus main body 2 allows the bookbinding apparatus B to change a sheet path and a finish cutting size (cutting sheet) so that the conveyance path in the bookbinding apparatus B can be switched in advance before the sheet S is sent to the bookbinding apparatus B. A signal such as the width (cutting width) of the sheet bundle S1 (described later)) is sent.

  The bookbinding apparatus B includes a conveyance aligning unit 21 that conveys and aligns sheets S, an adhesive application unit 22 that forms one exemplary form of an adhesive application unit, and a cutting unit that forms one exemplary form of a cutting unit. 23 and a control means (to be described later) for controlling the application range of the adhesive by the adhesive application unit 22, and in addition to the normal discharge mode, an adhesive bookbinding mode and a cutting mode can be selected. Yes. The cutting in the cutting mode can be performed in three directions other than the adhesive surface of the sheet bundle S1 described later.

  The conveyance alignment unit 21 includes a first conveyance path T1 that conveys the sheet S that has been carried in from the apparatus main body 2, and second and third conveyance paths T2 and T3 that branch from the first conveyance path T1 into two branches. I have. The first transport path T1 is provided with a pair of carry-in rollers 25. On the downstream side of the pair of carry-in rollers 25, a transport path is formed at a branch portion between the second transport path T2 and the third transport path T3. A switching flapper 27 is provided for switching between the two.

  In such a form of the conveyance path, when the normal discharge mode is selected on the apparatus main body 2 side, the sheet S carried into the bookbinding apparatus B from the apparatus main body 2 through the first conveyance path T1 is changed over to the switching flapper 27. To the third transport path T3 and discharged to the paper output tray 35 of the post-processing apparatus C through a plurality of transport roller pairs 29 provided in the third transport path T3 (if necessary) Then, after post-processing such as stapling, the paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 35). On the other hand, when the bookbinding mode is selected on the apparatus main body 2 side, the sheet S is guided to the second transport path T2 by the switching flapper 27 and bonded via the adhesive application unit 22 and the cutting unit 23. After being bound (for example, binding by gluing), it is discharged to the storage unit 34.

  Further, a stacking unit 42 that forms a matching area of the transport matching unit 21 and forms one exemplary form of the stacking unit is provided downstream of the second transport path T2. The stacking section 42 includes a receiving section 42a that receives the sheets S, and a stack of a predetermined number of sheets S is inclined by the receiving section 42a to form one sheet bundle S1. In this case, the receiving portion 42a can be slid in the stacking direction of the sheets S (the thickness direction of the sheet bundle S1) by a slide mechanism (not shown), and is fixed at an arbitrary slide position by a rack (not shown), for example. Yes. In addition, the stacking unit 42 is provided with a pressing arm 52 that presses the sheet S against the receiving unit 42a so as to be rotatable about the rotation shaft 52a.

  Further, when a predetermined sheet bundle S1 is formed thereon, the receiving portion 42a remains in the first position as shown by arrows a and b in the obliquely oriented sheet receiving posture. After being moved downward by a predetermined distance toward P1, it is positioned at the second position P2 by being moved by a predetermined distance in a direction (diagonally downward) perpendicular to the moving direction. Such movement of the receiving portion 42a is performed by a moving mechanism not shown in detail.

  In the second position P2, grippers (conveying means) 55a and 55b for holding the end portion of the sheet bundle S1 stacked on the receiving portion 42a are provided. These grippers 55a and 55b rotate the held sheet bundle S1 as indicated by an arrow c in FIG. 1 so as to be oriented in a substantially vertical direction (stand in a substantially vertical direction) and maintain the substantially vertical state. As it is (with one edge of the sheet bundle S1 (an edge to which an adhesive described later is applied) down), the sheet bundle S1 is moved downward toward the adhesive application unit 22. Specifically, these grippers 55a and 55b can move between a holding position where the sheet bundle S1 is held at the second position P2 and a delivery position where the sheet bundle S1 is delivered to the cutting device 23. . The grippers 55a and 55b can move between a closed position where the sheet bundle S1 is sandwiched from both sides and an open position where the sandwiched state of the sheet bundle S1 is released.

  Next, a case where the sheets S are stacked by the stacking unit 42 having the above configuration to form the sheet bundle S1 will be described.

  First, when the bookbinding mode is selected on the apparatus main body 2 side, the sheet S discharged from the apparatus main body 2 is transferred from the first conveyance path T1 to the second conveyance path via the carry-in roller pair 25 and the switching flapper 27. After being guided to T2, it is guided to the stacking unit 42.

  The sheets S guided to the stacking unit 42 are sequentially stacked on the receiving unit 42a. In this case, each time one sheet S is placed on the receiving portion 42a, the pressing arm 52 rotates about the rotation shaft 52a and presses the sheet S against the receiving portion 42a. At that time, the alignment of the width in the transport direction is performed by the alignment plate 50. The alignment plate 50 is movable in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the sheet S, and can be moved according to the sheet size by a drive system (not shown). The alignment plate 50 performs an alignment operation based on a sheet size signal sent from the apparatus main body 2 every time the sheet S is placed.

  Further, the pressing force by the pressing arm 52 eliminates the gap between the sheets S, forms an appropriate sheet bundle S1, and slides the receiving portion 42a together with the sheet bundle S1. The slide position of the receiving portion 42a is held by the rack mechanism, so that a stacking space for the next sheet S is secured. That is, the pressing arm 52 slides the receiving portion 42a as the number of sheets S stacked on the stacking portion 42 increases (according to the thickness of the sheet bundle S1), thereby forming the sheet bundle S1 having good alignment. Contribute to.

  As described above, when the sheets S are sequentially fed to the stacking unit 42 and a predetermined number of sheets S are stacked (a sheet bundle S1 having a predetermined thickness is formed), the receiving unit 42a The moving mechanism moves to the second position P2 via the first position P1. At the second position P2, the sheet bundle S1 on the receiving portion 42a is held by the grippers 55a and 55b waiting at the open position, and then rotated and directed in the vertical direction. It is moved toward the adhesive application part 22 as it is. At this time, the grippers 55a and 55b are provided with a thickness detection means (not shown) for detecting the thickness of the sheet bundle S1, and the thickness is detected when the sheet bundle S1 is held. In this embodiment, a slide resistance is used as the thickness detecting means, but other methods may be used as long as the means can detect the thickness of the sheet bundle S1 proportionally. When a slide resistance is used as the thickness detecting means, the slide resistance is provided in the gripper 55b and operates in conjunction with the movement of the gripper 55b, and when the sheet bundle S1 is held by the grippers 55a and 55b, the slide resistance Based on the signal, the thickness of the sheet bundle S1 is detected. In addition, the adhesive application part 22 is provided between the 2nd position P2 and the cover bonding part 60 (one illustrative form of bookbinding means) mentioned later provided in the downstream of the 3rd conveyance path T3. Yes.

  The adhesive application unit 22 holds an adhesive (for example, glue) and applies the held adhesive to the edge of the sheet bundle S1, and the adhesive unit 66 to the edge of the sheet bundle S1. And a moving mechanism for moving along. The bonding unit 66 includes, for example, an aluminum container (adhesive container) 66a that contains an adhesive and opens upward, and an application roller 66b as a rotating body that is rotatably supported by the container 66a. Yes. In this case, the application roller 66b is made of, for example, heat-resistant rubber, contacts the adhesive in the container 66a and holds it on the surface, and rotates the adhesive held on the surface of the sheet bundle S1 while rotating itself. Apply to the edge.

  In addition, such an adhesive unit 66 includes an application region (region in which the container 66a is located in FIG. 1) for applying an adhesive to the sheet bundle S1 and a conveyance path (substantially vertical) of the sheet bundle S1 by the moving mechanism. The standby position for retreating from the transport path) and preparing for the coating process, and the replenishment position for receiving the replenishment of the adhesive (the adhesive is replenished through the opening of the container 66a), ie, the position facing the adhesive replenishing device Can move between.

  Next, a case where an adhesive is applied by the adhesive application unit 22 to the edge of the sheet bundle S1 sent by the grippers 55a and 55b will be described.

  First, as described above, the sheet bundle S1 sandwiched and lowered by the grippers 55a and 55b is positioned in a substantially vertical state at a predetermined position on the application region in the movement path of the bonding unit 66. In this case, the distance between the edge of the sheet bundle S1 and the application roller 66b is adjusted according to the thickness of the sheet bundle S1.

  In this way, when the sheet bundle S1 is positioned at a predetermined position on the application area, the adhesive unit 66 that has been waiting at the standby position is moved to a predetermined position in the application area (see FIG. 1). ). At this time, the adhesive unit 66 is positioned in the home position position (see FIG. 10) detected by the home position sensor HP in the application direction, and then moved to a predetermined starting position P3 for starting application (see FIGS. 6 and 6). 7). In this case, the starting position P3 is calculated based on the signal (a signal accompanied by sheet size information relating to the sheet size, finishing cutting size, etc.) sent from the apparatus main body 2 to the bookbinding apparatus B. Specifically, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8, based on the sheet size information (step S1), the conveyance direction width h of the cover sheet S2 and the conveyance direction width H of the sheet bundle S1 are calculated (step S2). ) And the conveyance direction width h (see also FIGS. 6 and 7) of the cover sheet S2 and the conveyance direction width H (see also FIGS. 6 and 7) of the sheet bundle S1 are compared (step S3) (note that the cover sheet) The conveyance direction of S2 is a direction orthogonal to the sheet bundle conveyance direction and the movement direction of the adhesive unit 66, as indicated by arrows in FIGS. When the cover sheet conveyance direction width h is larger than the sheet bundle S1 conveyance direction width H (h> H), the adhesive is applied over the entire region of the sheet bundle S1 conveyance direction width H. That is, the adhesive application range is determined to be H (step S4), and as shown in FIG. 6, the starting position P3 is set to the position of the edge of the sheet bundle S1. On the other hand, when the conveyance direction width h of the cover sheet S2 is smaller than the conveyance direction width H of the sheet bundle S1 (h <H), only a part of the conveyance direction width H of the sheet bundle S1 is, in this embodiment, the cover sheet S2. The adhesive is applied only over the region of the sheet bundle S1 corresponding to the conveyance direction width h. That is, the adhesive application range is determined to be h (step S5), and as shown in FIG. 7, the starting position P3 is set to a predetermined midway position in the width direction of the sheet bundle S1. In any case, the application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle S1 is set to be within the adhesion width of the cover sheet S2 (in the present embodiment, always within the adhesion width of the cover sheet S2), The adhesive application range for the sheet bundle S1 is set to be equal to or greater than the cutting width. The control of the adhesive application range as described above is performed by the control means described above.

  When the bonding unit 66 moves to the starting position P3, the sheet bundle S1 held between the grippers 55a and 55b is pressed against the bonding unit 66. Thereafter, the adhesive unit 66 is moved with respect to the sheet bundle S1 from the starting position P3 toward the predetermined folding position P4 in a state where the application roller 66b is rotated forward and is in contact with the edge of the sheet bundle S1. The Thereby, the adhesive is uniformly applied to the edge of the sheet bundle S1 by the application roller 66b carrying the adhesive in the container 66a on the surface.

  When the adhesion unit 66 reaches the folding position P4, the forward rotation of the application roller 66b is stopped, and the movement of the adhesion unit 66 is also stopped. From this point, the adhesive unit 66 starts to move from the turn-back position P4 toward the starting position P3 with the application roller 66b rotated in the reverse direction. Then, when the bonding unit 66 reaches the starting position P3 again, the reverse rotation of the application roller 66b is stopped, and the movement of the bonding unit 66 is also stopped. Then, after the above-described reciprocation is performed twice, for example, the adhesive application operation is completed.

  When the application of the adhesive to the edge of the sheet bundle S1 is completed, the sheet bundle S1 sandwiched between the grippers 55a and 55b is temporarily moved away from the adhesion unit 66, and the adhesion unit 66 is moved to the standby position or the replenishment position. And the conveyance path of the sheet bundle S1 is secured. Thereafter, the sheet bundle S1 held by the grippers 55a and 55b is lowered to the cover sheet bonding portion 60 through the substantially vertical conveyance path (in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the bonding unit 66).

  Next, the control for performing the above operation will be described with reference to the schematic configuration diagram and block diagram of the adhesive application unit in FIGS. 10 and 11.

  The apparatus main body 2 and the bookbinding apparatus B each have CPUs 300 and 400 exemplified as control means of this embodiment, and communicate with each other through a communication line. In the present embodiment, the CPU as the control unit is configured in each of the above-described apparatuses. However, the CPU may be separately provided to configure the bookbinding system, or either the apparatus main body 2 or the bookbinding apparatus B. The CPU may control the entire bookbinding system. The CPU 400 of the bookbinding apparatus B includes a moving motor M1 for moving the adhesive unit 66 in the application direction (application region), and a lift motor for moving the sheet bundle S1 sandwiched between the grippers 55a and 55b in the vertical direction in the figure. M2, a coating roller motor M3 for rotating the coating roller 66b, a home position sensor HP for detecting the home position of the adhesive unit 66, and the like are electrically connected. The CPU 400 of the bookbinding apparatus B stores therein a control program corresponding to the control procedure shown in FIG. 8, a control program corresponding to a series of operations of the present embodiment, and the like. Further, the CPU 400 of the bookbinding apparatus B first sends the sheet size information S1 and S2 from the CPU 300 of the apparatus main body 2 to the bookbinding apparatus B and calculates the adhesive application range by the CPU 400 of the bookbinding apparatus B. Is moved from the home position HP to the starting position P3, the moving motor M1 rotates by the number of pulses calculated. When the adhesion unit 66 moves to the starting position 3 in this way, the lift motor M2 for raising and lowering the grippers 55a and 55b is next driven, and the sheet bundle S1 is stopped and excited while being pressed against the adhesion unit 66. Keep. In this state, the motor M1 and the application roller motor M3 are activated, and the adhesive unit 66 moves to the folding position P4 while applying the adhesive to the edge of the sheet bundle S1. When the adhesion unit 66 reaches the folding position P4, the moving motor M1 and the application roller motor M3 are stopped. Next, the elevating motor M2 rotates by a predetermined amount to vary the interval between the sheet bundle S1 and the application roller 66b. In this operation, in order to increase the strength of the bound sheet bundle S1 in the spread state, it is necessary to increase the strength of the back portion, and the strength of the back portion changes depending on the thickness to which the adhesive is applied. It is to make it. When the elevating motor M2 is stopped and re-excited to maintain the position, the moving motor M1 and the coating roller motor M3 are activated again, and the adhesive unit 66 moves from the folding position P4 to the starting position P3, and the adhesive is fed to the sheet bundle. Apply to the edge of S1. When the adhesion unit 66 reaches the starting position P3 and the movement motor M1 and the application roller motor M3 are stopped, the elevating motor M2 is activated and the sheet bundle S1 is raised, and then the adhesion unit 66 is detected until the home position HP is detected. When the movement motor M1 is rotated to detect the home position HP, the movement motor M1 stops.

  Further, until the adhesive is applied to the edge of the sheet bundle S1 in this way, the cover sheet S2 has already been conveyed to the cover sheet bonding portion 60 and is on standby. In this case, the cover sheet S2 is fed out from a cover sheet storage unit (not shown) in which the cover sheet S2 is stored by the cover sheet supply means and sent to the cover sheet bonding section 60, or is created on the apparatus main body 2 side and then the cover sheet from the apparatus body 2 It is sent to the bonding part 60. When the cover sheet S2 is sent from the apparatus main body 2 side to the cover sheet bonding portion 60, the cover sheet S2 is conveyed from the first conveyance path T1 to the third conveyance path T3 via the switching flapper 27, and the sheet bundle S1 is substantially vertical. Is transported to a predetermined position of the cover sheet adhering portion 60 across the proper transport path. When the rear end of the cover sheet S2 is transported through the switching flapper 27, the transport roller pairs 29 temporarily stop transporting. Then, cover sheet positioning members 70 (70a, 70b) provided for each sheet size protrude as shown in FIG. 9 (see also FIG. 1), and in this state, a plurality of transport roller pairs 29 and cover sheet transport roller pairs 71 are provided. Transports the cover sheet S2 until it hits the cover sheet positioning members 70a and 70b in the direction opposite to the conventional transport direction. As a result, the cover sheet S2 is positioned by abutting the image writing reference side against the cover sheet positioning members 70a and 70b. That is, in actuality, as described in the double-sided recording mode, the cover sheet S2 on which the image is formed on the front surface is conveyed reversely by the apparatus body 2, so that the image writing reference side of the cover sheet S2 is The side comes into contact with the cover sheet positioning members 70a and 70b. Then, the edge of the sheet bundle S1 to which the adhesive is applied is pressed against the positioned cover sheet S2 in the vertical direction from above by the grippers 55a and 55b. Further, in this state, the sheet bundle S1 is further moved vertically downward by the grippers 55a and 55b while the cover sheet S2 is adhered to the edge thereof by the adhesive, and is a slide positioned below the cover sheet bonding portion 60. It is pressed against a free abutment plate 59. Thereafter, the cover sheet and the sheet bundle S1 are pressed from both sides by a slidable back folded plate in a state of being abutted against the abutting plate 59. Thereby, a fold according to the thickness of the sheet bundle S1 is formed on the cover. At this time, if the application range of the adhesive applied to the sheet bundle S1 is larger than the conveyance direction width h of the cover sheet S2, the adhesive adheres to the abutting plate or the back folded plate. Such a situation does not occur because the adhesive application range is controlled.

  Next, after the abutting plate 59 slides outward to form the sheet bundle S1 conveyance path, the grippers 55a and 55b hold the sheet bundle S1 to which the cover is bonded while holding the sheet cutting portion 23 below. Hand over to

  Next, the cutting unit 23 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  2 and 3, reference numeral 113 denotes an inlet conveyance roller, 120 denotes a cutting unit, 121 denotes a rotary table, 122 denotes a rotatable gripper for sandwiching and fixing the sheet bundle S1 on the rotary table 121, and 122a denotes the gripper 122 to the rotary table 121. A gripper drive mechanism 122 for pressing the gripper 122, a gripper moving mechanism 122 for freely moving the gripper 122 in the direction of the cutting unit 120, and a gripper frame 122 c for holding the gripper 122. The cutting unit 120 includes a cutting blade 120a, a movable presser plate 120b that presses the end of the sheet bundle S1 during cutting, a fixed presser plate 120c, and a presser plate moving mechanism that drives them.

  When the sheet bundle S1 to which the cover sheet is bonded is delivered to the cutting unit 23 by the grippers 55a and 55b, the conveyance movement mechanism 116 is activated to rotate the inlet conveyance roller 113, and the sheet bundle S1 is vertically moved toward the cutting blade 120a. Conveyed in the direction. In this case, the entrance conveying roller 113 is driven by the roller opening / closing moving mechanism 114 to sandwich the sheet bundle S1.

  Next, the sheet bundle S1 discharged from the entrance conveyance roller 113 falls to the cutting blade 120a due to its own weight, and is cut in a substantially vertical state while being supported by the guide plate 119 that forms a substantially vertical conveyance path. It is pressed against the blade 120a and positioned.

  When the sheet bundle S1 is thus positioned, the gripper moving mechanism 122a drives the gripper 122, and the sheet bundle S1 is sandwiched and fixed between the gripper 122 and the rotary table 121.

  Next, the cutting blade 120a moves to a predetermined position and waits to form a gap necessary for the rotation and movement of the sheet bundle S1 based on the thickness information of the sheet bundle S1. When the rotary table 121 and the gripper 122 are driven via the gripper moving mechanism 122a and the rotary mechanism 121a, the sheet bundle S1 held between the rotary table 121 and the gripper 122 has an edge to which the cover is bonded. From the state in which the back surface S1a is directed downward, the top edge S1b, the fore edge part S1c, and the ground part S1d, which are the other edges, are rotated and moved to positions where they can be cut by the cutting blade 120a. 4A shows a state in which the sheet bundle S1 is rotated and moved to a position where the top S1b is cut by the cutting blade 120a. FIG. 4B shows a state where the ground portion S1d is the cutting blade. FIG. 4C illustrates a state in which the sheet bundle S1 is rotated and moved to a position where the sheet edge S1c is cut by the cutting blade 120a. Indicates the state.

  When cutting any of the edges S1b, S1c, S1d, the sheet bundle S1 sandwiched between the rotary table 121 and the gripper 122 is fixed at the cutting position, and the cutting unit 120 is controlled by the control means (not shown). Cut. Specifically, when the presser plate moving mechanism is driven by the control means, the movable presser plate 120b is moved, and the edge side of the sheet bundle S1 to be cut is moved by the movable presser plate 120b and the fixed presser plate 120c. It is pressed (see FIG. 5A). Then, the cutting edge 120a is moved in a horizontal plane so as to draw an arc, whereby the edges are aligned (see FIG. 5B). At this time, the cut waste 127 falls by its own weight and is stored in the waste box 126 by the flapper 125. Specifically, when the cutting is started, the flapper 125 is rotated to a waste receiving position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 5B by a control means (not shown), and falls by its own weight along with the cutting. The coming cutting waste 127 is stored in the waste box 126 by the guidance of the flapper 125. Such efficient recovery of the cutting waste 127 can be realized by transporting and cutting the sheet bundle S1 through a vertical transport path. The flapper 125 is returned to the original position (the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5A; the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 5B) every time the cutting of one sheet bundle S1 is completed. It is.

  When one edge is cut, the presser plate 120b and the cutting blade 120a are again positioned at predetermined positions to form a gap necessary for the rotation and movement of the sheet bundle S1 based on the thickness information of the sheet bundle S1. Move to wait. Then, the rotary table 121 and the gripper 122 are driven again via the gripper moving mechanism 122b and the rotary mechanism 121a, and the sheet bundle S1 held between the rotary table 121 and the gripper 122 has an edge to be cut next. It is rotated (rotated 180 °) and moved to a position where it can be cut by the cutting blade 120a.

  When the cutting of the three edges is completed as described above, the rotating mechanism 121a is driven to return the rotating table 121 to the original position, and the gripper moving mechanism 122b is driven to rotate with the gripper 122. The sheet bundle S1 held between the tables 121 is conveyed to the storage unit 34 via the discharge roller 123. In this case, the sheet bundle S1 discharged by the discharge roller 123 is pushed into the storage portion 34 by the flapper 125 and is stacked and stored in an upright position with the edge S1a coated with the adhesive facing down. The

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the adhesive application range is controlled so that the adhesive application range on the sheet bundle S1 is always within the adhesion width of the cover sheet S2. It is possible to prevent the applied adhesive from adhering to the components constituting the bookbinding mechanism. Therefore, even an unskilled worker can perform the bookbinding process without any trouble, and the usability is very good.

  In the present embodiment, the application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle S1 is set to be equal to or greater than the cutting width (the width of the sheet bundle S1 after cutting). Therefore, a desired adhesion region can be secured even after cutting, and bookbinding accuracy can be improved.

  The present invention can be applied to any bookbinding apparatus that forms a booklet by forming a sheet bundle and various systems incorporating such a bookbinding apparatus.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a bookbinding system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the cutting part of the bookbinding apparatus which comprises the bookbinding system of FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the cutting part in FIG. 2. It is a perspective view which shows the cutting procedure by a cutting blade in steps. (A) shows the state of the cutting part and the flapper before cutting, and (b) shows the state of the cutting part and the flapper at the time of cutting, respectively. It is the schematic which shows the state by which the adhesion | attachment unit was located in the adhesion | attachment starting point position set when the width | variety of a cover is larger than the width | variety of a sheet | seat bundle. It is the schematic which shows the state by which the adhesion | attachment unit was located in the adhesion | attachment starting point position set when the width | variety of a cover is smaller than the width | variety of a sheet | seat bundle. It is a control flowchart of an adhesive application range. It is the schematic which shows the positioning mechanism of a cover. It is a schematic block diagram of an adhesive application part. It is a block diagram explaining the adhesive application control of the bookbinding system.

Explanation of symbols

22 Adhesive application part (adhesive application means)
23 Cutting part (cutting means)
42 Stacking unit (stacking means)
60 Cover Page Adhesion (Bookbinding Means)
300,400 CPU (control means)
A Copying machine (image forming device; image forming unit)
B Bookbinding device S1 Sheet bundle

Claims (9)

An adhesive application means for applying an adhesive to the edges of a plurality of sheets aligned in a bundle;
Control means for controlling the application range of the adhesive;
Bookbinding means for binding a cover sheet to the sheet bundle to which the adhesive is applied;
With
The control means includes
When the width of the cover is larger than the width of the sheet bundle, the adhesive application range is controlled so that the application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle is the entire width of the sheet bundle,
If the width of the cover is smaller than the width of the sheet bundle, the application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle to the inside width of the cover, for controlling the application range of the adhesive,
A bookbinding apparatus characterized by that. By cutting at least one edge of the sheet bundle, the cutting means for setting the width of the sheet bundle in a predetermined cutting width, further comprising,
The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets an application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle to be equal to or larger than the cutting width. An adhesive application means for applying an adhesive to the edges of a plurality of sheets aligned in a bundle;
Control means for controlling the application range of the adhesive;
A bookbinding means for binding a cover sheet to the sheet bundle to which the adhesive is applied;
Cutting means for setting the width of the sheet bundle to a predetermined cutting width by cutting at least one edge of the sheet bundle;
The control means controls the application range of the adhesive so that the application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle is within the width of the cover, and sets the application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle to be equal to or greater than the cutting width. A bookbinding apparatus characterized by that. An image forming apparatus for forming an image;
A bookbinding system comprising: a bookbinding device that receives a plurality of sheets on which images are formed from the image forming apparatus, stacks the received sheets in a bundle to form a sheet bundle, and binds the sheet bundle ,
The bookbinding apparatus includes:
Stacking means for stacking a plurality of sheets in a bundle to form a sheet bundle;
An adhesive application means for applying an adhesive to the edge of the sheet bundle;
Control means for controlling the application range of the adhesive;
Bookbinding means for binding a cover sheet to the sheet bundle to which the adhesive is applied;
With
The control means includes
When the width of the cover is larger than the width of the sheet bundle, the application range of the adhesive is controlled so that the application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle is the entire width of the sheet bundle,
If the width of the cover is smaller than the width of the sheet bundle, the application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle to fit within the width of the cover, for controlling the application range of the adhesive,
A bookbinding system characterized by that. The bookbinding apparatus further includes a cutting unit that sets the width of the sheet bundle to a predetermined cutting width by cutting at least one edge of the sheet bundle.
The bookbinding system according to claim 4 , wherein the control unit sets an application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle to be equal to or greater than the cutting width. An image forming apparatus for forming an image;
A bookbinding system comprising: a plurality of sheets on which images are formed from the image forming apparatus; and a bookbinding apparatus that stacks the received sheets in a bundle to form a sheet bundle and binds the sheet bundle. ,
The bookbinding apparatus includes:
Stacking means for stacking a plurality of sheets in a bundle to form a sheet bundle;
An adhesive application means for applying an adhesive to the edge of the sheet bundle;
Control means for controlling the application range of the adhesive;
A bookbinding means for binding a cover sheet to the sheet bundle to which the adhesive is applied;
Cutting means for setting the width of the sheet bundle to a predetermined cutting width by cutting at least one edge of the sheet bundle;
The control means controls the adhesive application range so that the adhesive application range for the sheet bundle is within the width of the cover, and sets the adhesive application range for the sheet bundle to be equal to or greater than the cutting width. A bookbinding system characterized by An image forming unit for forming an image;
A stacking unit configured to receive a plurality of sheets on which images are formed from the image forming unit and stack the received sheets in a bundle to form a sheet bundle;
An adhesive application means for applying an adhesive to the edge of the sheet bundle;
Control means for controlling the application range of the adhesive;
Bookbinding means for binding a cover sheet to the sheet bundle to which the adhesive is applied;
With
The control means includes
When the width of the cover is larger than the width of the sheet bundle, the application range of the adhesive is controlled so that the application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle is the entire width of the sheet bundle,
If the width of the cover is smaller than the width of the sheet bundle, the application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle to fit within the width of the cover, for controlling the application range of the adhesive,
A bookbinding system characterized by that. A cutting unit that sets the width of the sheet bundle to a predetermined cutting width by cutting at least one edge of the sheet bundle;
The bookbinding system according to claim 7 , wherein the control unit sets an application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle to be equal to or greater than the cutting width. An image forming unit for forming an image;
A stacking unit configured to receive a plurality of sheets on which images are formed from the image forming unit and stack the received sheets in a bundle to form a sheet bundle;
An adhesive application means for applying an adhesive to the edge of the sheet bundle;
Control means for controlling the application range of the adhesive;
A bookbinding means for binding a cover sheet to the sheet bundle to which the adhesive is applied;
Cutting means for setting the width of the sheet bundle to a predetermined cutting width by cutting at least one edge of the sheet bundle,
The control means controls the application range of the adhesive so that the application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle is within the width of the cover, and sets the application range of the adhesive to the sheet bundle to be equal to or greater than the cutting width. A bookbinding system characterized by that.

Images