JP4640030B2 - Bookbinding apparatus and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a bookbinding apparatus for producing a booklet by covering the back and front and back surfaces of a sheet bundle with a cover sheet, and in particular, includes a bookbinding apparatus that can be connected to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a printer. The present invention relates to an image forming system.

  As the bookbinding process, a staple binding process and a gluing bookbinding process are known for a single sheet bundle in which printed sheets are stacked.

  As a glue binding apparatus, a glue discharge nozzle is used to discharge glue on paper, a glue wheel is installed in the glue storage box, glue is attached to the outer periphery of the rotating glue wheel, and the outer periphery of the glue wheel is brought into contact with the paper. A contact transfer device, a hot melt application device that discharges a mixture of hot melt agent (thermal adhesive) and heated compressed air from a nozzle, and a sheet bundle while heating a tape pre-applied with adhesive glue. A tape applicator for attaching to the back is known.

  For example, recent electrophotographic image forming apparatuses have high-speed performance, multi-functions, network functions, etc., and their use as printing apparatuses has been expanded by connecting large-capacity paper feeders and large-capacity stackers. Yes.

  When the image forming apparatus is used as a printing apparatus, printing to bookbinding can be performed by a single apparatus by connecting a bookbinding apparatus that binds printed matter.

In the bookbinding apparatuses described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, an image forming system in which an image forming apparatus and a miniaturized glue binding apparatus are connected is proposed.
JP 2004-209869 A JP 2004-209870 A

  However, the gluing bookbinding apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 may cause a shift in the relative position between the sheet bundle and the cover sheet due to a shift in the cover position when moving the cover exterior means. .

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a bookbinding apparatus that solves the above-described problems and improves the bookbinding apparatus to improve the finished quality of bookbinding, and an image forming system including the bookbinding apparatus.

  The above object is solved by the following bookbinding apparatus and image forming system of the present invention.

( 1 ) The bookbinding apparatus of the present invention is a bookbinding apparatus that performs bookbinding processing on a bundle of sheets with a cover. The cover exterior means for placing the cover, and the cover exterior means at a contact position where the cover contacts the sheet bundle. A first driving means for moving the cover, a cover holding member for holding the cover placed on the cover covering means, a second driving means for operating the cover holding member, and the cover covering means at the contact position Or a detecting means for detecting that it has reached the vicinity thereof, and a control means for controlling the first driving means and the second driving means, wherein the control means is configured such that the cover cover exterior means is the first driving means. The cover holding member holds the cover by the second driving means while moving to or near the contact position, and the second driving means holds the first cover based on the detection result of the detection means or the time measurement result from the start of movement. 2WD It is characterized in that to release the holding of the cover by the cover holding member by means.

(2) bookbinding apparatus of the present invention, Oite in (1), said cover holding member is used, the number and rollers rotatably supported on the distal end of the swingably supported arm member and said arm member Then, the roller presses the cover sheet placed on the cover sheet exterior means by swinging the arm member.

( 3 ) In the bookbinding apparatus of the present invention, in (1) or (2) , the cover holding member has a driving roller disposed on the cover covering means and a roller that can contact and separate from the driving roller. The cover sheet introduced into the cover cover exterior means is sandwiched and conveyed.

( 4 ) The bookbinding apparatus of the present invention has a glue applying means for applying glue to the back part of the sheet bundle in any one of (1) to ( 3 ), and the back part of the sheet bundle to which glue has been applied. It is characterized in that the cover is attached in contact with the cover.

( 5 ) The image forming system of the present invention binds the image forming apparatus main body having the image forming means and the paper transporting means, and the paper unloaded from the image forming apparatus main body to any one of (1) to ( 4 ). The bookbinding apparatus according to the item is provided.

  The following effects can be obtained by the bookbinding apparatus and the image forming system of the present invention.

  (1) Since the cover is held by the cover holding member while the cover is moving at or near the contact position where the cover is in contact with the sheet bundle, the position of the cover that occurs during the movement of the cover is not detected. It can be prevented. Further, when the cover cover means reaches the contact position where the cover sheet and the sheet bundle come into contact or in the vicinity thereof, the holding of the cover sheet is released, so that subsequent case binding processing is not hindered.

  (2) While the cover exterior means moves to or near the contact position where the cover comes into contact with the sheet bundle by the first drive means, the cover holding member holds the cover and the contact position where the cover comes into contact with the sheet bundle or When it reaches the vicinity, the cover holding member releases the cover, preventing the cover from being displaced during the movement of the cover exterior means, preventing the relative position of the sheet bundle and the cover from shifting, and high quality. A booklet can be produced.

  (3) Because the rotatable roller supported on the tip of the swingable arm member presses the cover sheet placed on the cover sheet exterior means, the cover sheet can be reliably held without being damaged.

  (4) The cover holding member presses and conveys the cover sheet placed on the cover cover means by means of a roller rotatably supported at the tip of the arm member and a driving roller disposed on the cover cover means. Thus, the cover sheet introduced into the cover sheet exterior means is reliably conveyed and sent to a predetermined position. Therefore, the cover holding member that is swingably disposed on the cover cover means has both a cover holding function when the cover cover means is moved and a cover transport function, and the mechanism is simplified and operates. Is stable.

  (5) Since the case binding process is performed by gluing, a high-quality booklet with a good appearance can be produced.

  (6) With the image forming system provided with the bookbinding apparatus of the present invention, the paper bundle unloaded from the image forming apparatus main body is accurately aligned and the booklet is automatically bound continuously. It is possible to process.

  Next, a bookbinding apparatus of the present invention and an image forming system including the bookbinding apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Image forming system]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus A, a bookbinding apparatus B, and a paper discharge apparatus C. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the image forming system.

[Image forming apparatus]
The image forming apparatus A includes an image forming unit in which a charging unit 2, an image exposure unit 3, a developing unit 4, a transfer unit 5 </ b> A, a charge eliminating unit 5 </ b> B, and a cleaning unit 6 are arranged around a rotating image carrier 1. The image forming means uniformly charges the surface of the image carrier 1 by the charging means 2 and then performs exposure scanning based on the image data read from the document by the laser beam of the image exposure means 3 to form a latent image. Then, the latent image is reversely developed by the developing means 4 to form a toner image on the surface of the image carrier 1.

  The paper S fed from the paper storage unit 7A is sent to the transfer position. The toner image is transferred onto the paper S by the transfer means 5A at the transfer position. Thereafter, the charge on the back surface of the sheet S is erased by the charge eliminating unit 5B, separated from the image carrier 1, conveyed by the conveying unit 7B, heated and fixed by the fixing unit 8, and discharged from the sheet discharge roller 7C.

  When image formation is performed on both sides of the sheet S, the sheet S heated and fixed by the fixing unit 8 is branched from the normal sheet discharge path by the conveyance path switching unit 7D, and is switched back in the reverse conveyance unit 7E. After the reversal, it passes through the image forming unit again, forms an image on the back surface of the paper S, and is discharged from the paper discharge roller 7C to the outside of the apparatus via the fixing unit 8. The paper S discharged from the paper discharge roller 7C is sent to the bookbinding apparatus B.

  The developer remaining on the surface of the image carrier 1 after image processing is removed by the cleaning unit 6 to prepare for the next image formation.

[Bookbinding device]
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the sheet conveyance path of the bookbinding apparatus B according to the present invention.

  The bookbinding apparatus B includes a sheet introduction unit 10, a sheet discharge unit 20, a sheet bundle storage unit 30, a sheet bundle conveyance unit 40, a glue application unit 50, a cover sheet supply unit 60, a cover sheet cutting unit 70, a cover sheet exterior unit (case binding unit). 80, alignment means 90, and booklet discharge means 100. Each of these means is arranged in a column in a substantially vertical direction in the bookbinding apparatus main body.

<Paper introduction means 10>
The paper S introduced into the paper introduction unit 10 is nipped and conveyed by the entrance rollers 11 and 12, and is branched to either the paper discharge unit 20 or the paper bundle storage unit 30 by the conveyance path switching unit 31.

<Discharge means 20>
When the sheet conveyance is set, the conveyance path switching unit 31 blocks the conveyance path to the sheet bundle conveyance unit 40 and opens the conveyance path to the paper discharge unit 20.

  The sheet S passing through the conveyance path of the sheet discharge unit 20 is nipped by the conveyance rollers 21 and 22 and conveyed upward, and is discharged and stored on the fixed sheet discharge table 24 at the top of the apparatus by the sheet discharge roller 23. On the fixed sheet discharge table 24, the sheets S discharged from the image forming apparatus A can be directly received and a maximum of about 200 sheets can be stacked.

<Paper bundle accommodating means 30>
The sheet S branched to the left in the drawing on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction by the conveyance path switching unit 31 is sandwiched between the conveyance rollers 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 and is accommodated in a predetermined position of the sheet bundle accommodation unit 30. Stacked, a sheet bundle Sa composed of a predetermined number of sheets S is formed. The sheet bundle accommodating means 30 includes a sheet placement table 37 that is inclined, a movable sheet rear end positioning member 38, a sheet width alignment member 39 that positions the sheet width direction, and the like.

<Paper bundle conveying means 40>
The sheet bundle Sa stacked on the sheet placing table 37 of the sheet bundle accommodating means 30 is conveyed obliquely downward by an unillustrated pushing means. After that, the sheet bundle Sa is gripped by the gripping means 41 of the sheet bundle transport means 40, and is swung so that the surface (back) for applying the glue to the sheet bundle Sa is turned downward while holding the sheet bundle Sa. Stopped in position.

<Glue application means 50>
The glue application unit 50 includes a glue application member (also referred to as application roller) 51, a rotation unit 52 that rotationally drives the application roller 51, a glue container 53 that stores glue, and a back surface of the bookbinding apparatus B that supports the glue container 53. A movable body 54 that can move from the initial position on the side to the glue application position on the front side, and a moving means (not shown) that reciprocates the movable body 54.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the bookbinding apparatus B showing the glue application processing to the sheet bundle Sa, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the glue application means 50 and the gripping means 41.

  The moving body 54 of the glue applying unit 50 is moved by a driving unit (not shown) in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lower surface of the sheet bundle Sa held upright by the gripping unit 41.

  The moving body 54 starts moving from the initial position on the back side of the bookbinding apparatus B, is moved along the guide member 55, stops at a predetermined position on the front side of the bookbinding apparatus B, and then reversely drives to return to the initial position. To do.

  The application roller 51 immersed in the adhesive container 53 containing the adhesive N is rotated by the motor M0 and the rotating means 52 of the adhesive application driving means. The application roller 51 applies the glue N in the longitudinal direction of the lower surface of the sheet bundle Sa held in an upright state by the forward movement or reciprocation of the moving body 54.

<Cover Supply Unit 60>
As shown in FIG. 3, the cover sheet K accommodated in the sheet supply tray 61 of the cover sheet supply means 60 is separated and fed by the sheet supply means 62, and is sandwiched between the transport rollers 63, 64, 65 to be covered with the cover sheet exterior. It is conveyed to the means 80.

<Cover cutting means 70>
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the cover cutting means 70 and the cover exterior means 80.

  On the upper side of the cover sheet supply means 60, a cover sheet cutting means 70 is integrally formed on the right side of a cover sheet exterior means 80, which will be described later. The cover cutting means 70 cuts the length in the conveyance direction of the cover K to a predetermined length.

  The cover sheet cutting means 70 is a roller cutter unit including a rotary blade 71 and a fixed blade 72. The rotary blade 71 rotates while being in sliding contact with the fixed blade, and shears the cover K in the cover width direction. The scrap portion of the sheared cover sheet K falls and is stored in the waste box 73.

  The cutting length of the cover sheet K is a length obtained by adding the length of the back portion of the sheet bundle Sa to the length of two sheets in the traveling direction of the sheet S. When the sheet size, the number of sheets, and the sheet thickness are selected or detected in the operation unit 9 of the image forming apparatus A, the control unit sets the predetermined cutting length of the cover sheet K. The length of the cover sheet K before cutting is determined in advance corresponding to the maximum number of sheets.

<Cover cover means 80>
The cover sheet K stored in the sheet supply tray 61 of the cover sheet supply means 60 is separated and fed by the sheet supply means 62, sandwiched between the conveying rollers 63, 64, 65, and introduced into the cover sheet exterior means 80. Then, it is conveyed in the reverse direction and enters the cover cutting means 70. The cover sheet K cut to a predetermined length by the cover sheet cutting means 70 is conveyed again to the cover sheet exterior means 80.

  The cover sheet K introduced into the cover sheet exterior means 80 is transported by the transport roller 65, travels along the guide plate 87, passes through the nipping position between the transport roller 81 and the driven roller 883 that are driven to rotate, and is further driven and rotated. Passes through the nipping position between the conveying roller 82 and the driven roller 883.

  The motor M2A of the second drive means swings and drives the cover sheet holding member 88 via a drive transmission system Z1 composed of a belt and a gear train. The motor M2B of the second drive means swings and drives the cover sheet holding member 89 via a drive transmission system Z2 including a belt and a gear train.

  The cover holding member 88 is rotatably supported by a rotary shaft 881 that can be rotated by being connected to the final gear of the drive transmission system Z1, a lever 882 that is fixed to the rotary shaft 881 and can be swung, and one end of the lever 882. And a driven roller 883 as a roller.

  The cover holding member 89 is connected to the final gear of the drive transmission system Z2 and can rotate, a lever 892 fixed to the rotation shaft 891 and swingable, and rotatably supported by one end of the lever 892. And a driven roller 893 as a roller.

  When the cover sheet K enters along the guide plate 87 in the cover sheet exterior means 80, the motor M2A starts driving, swings the lever 882, and presses the transport roller 81 that rotates the driven roller 883. . At substantially the same time, the motor M2B starts to drive, swings the lever 892, and presses the driven roller 893 against the conveying roller 82 that rotates.

  The cover sheet K entering along the guide plate 87 is nipped and conveyed by the conveyance roller 81 and the driven roller 883 on the upstream side in the conveyance direction, and is subsequently nipped by the conveyance roller 82 and the driven roller 893 on the downstream side in the conveyance direction. After being conveyed, it is stopped at a predetermined position.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the raising / lowering driving of the cover cover means 80.

  The movable casing 84 of the cover sheet exterior means 80 is supported by two belts 85A arranged on the front side F and two belts 85B arranged on the back side R. The motor M1A of the first drive means rotates the belt 85A and drives the front side F of the movable casing 84 up and down from the lower limit position to the upper limit position where the case processing is performed. The motor M1B of the first driving means rotates the belt 85B and drives the back side R of the movable casing 84 up and down from the lower limit position to the upper limit position where the case processing is performed. By holding the front side F and the back side R of the moving casing 84 separately up and down, the pressing member 83 disposed on the moving casing 84 is held at the fixed position at the position where the case is processed. The sheet bundle Sa held by the means 41 can be uniformly pressed against the ground side L and the top side U of the back part of the sheet bundle Sa.

  FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the front cover exterior means 80 immediately before the upper limit position.

  The cover holding members 88 and 89 are swung by the motors M2A and M2B of the second drive means while the cover cover means 80 is moved to or near the contact position where the cover K is in contact with the sheet bundle Sa by the first drive means. The cover K is pressed and held. Thereby, the position of the cover sheet K is prevented from being shifted during the movement of the cover sheet covering means 80, and the cover sheet K is accurately attached to the glue application surface of the sheet bundle Sa.

  FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the upper limit position of the cover sheet exterior means 80.

  When the detection means PS detects that the cover sheet exterior means has reached the contact position where the cover sheet K contacts the sheet bundle Sa or its vicinity, the cover holding by the cover sheet holding members 88 and 89 is released by the motors M2A and M2B.

<Applying glue to the paper bundle>
FIG. 10A is a perspective view showing a cover sheet K placed on the movable casing 84 of the cover sheet exterior means 80 and a sheet bundle Sa stuck upright on the center of the cover sheet K. FIG. FIG. 10B is a perspective view of a booklet Sb composed of a sheet bundle Sa and a cover K.

  In these drawings, F represents the front side of the cover sheet exterior means 80, and R represents the back side. U represents the top side representing the top surface when the sheet bundle Sa and booklet Sb are upright, and L represents the ground side representing the bottom side of the sheet bundle Sa and booklet Sb.

<Bending the cover>
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the cover cover means 80 and the sheet bundle Sa showing the folding of the cover K. FIG. 11 (a) is at the start of cover folding, FIG. 11 (b) is at the middle of cover folding, FIG. ) Shows the time when the cover folding is completed, and FIG. 11D shows the time when the cover bending is released.

  FIG. 12A is a perspective view of the sheet bundle Sa with the cover sheet K affixed thereto, and FIG. 12B is a perspective view of a booklet Sb produced by folding the cover sheet K around the sheet bundle Sa.

  After the cover sheet K is bonded to the sheet bundle Sa to which the paste N is adhered, the pair of folding members 86 are driven by a driving unit (not shown) in the ascending state of the cover sheet exterior unit 80 shown in FIG. The gripping member 41 that grips the sheet bundle Sa descends. When the sheet bundle Sa descends, the cover sheet K is lowered while being sandwiched between the pair of bending members 86, and is bent from the side edge portion of the glue application surface of the sheet bundle Sa (see FIG. 11B).

  Thereafter, the pair of bending members 86 moves in the horizontal direction toward the glue application surface side of the sheet bundle Sa, presses and shapes both side surfaces of the sheet bundle Sa, and forms the booklet Sb.

<Ejection of booklet>
FIG. 13 is a front view showing the discharge process of the booklet Sb composed of the sheet bundle Sa and the cover K.

  After the cover sheet K folding process is finished, the cover cover exterior member 80 is lowered and retracted by the lowering drive of the belts 85A and 85B, and then the cover support member 106 swings to lift a part of the cover sheet K (FIG. 13A). )reference).

  The rotation of the discharge belt 101 is started by a driving means (not shown), and the sheet bundle Sa to which the cover sheet K is bonded descends, so that the lower end of the sheet bundle Sa contacts the discharge belt 101 and is slid in the transport direction by the discharge belt 101. (See FIG. 13B).

  The booklet Sb in which the cover sheet K is bonded to the sheet bundle Sa is placed on the surface of the rotating discharge belt 101, conveyed, and discharged outside the apparatus (see FIG. 13C).

<Booklet discharging means 100>
A booklet Sb having a front cover and a back cover formed by attaching a cover K to the back (opposite side of the small edge) of the sheet bundle Sa to which glue has been applied is formed on the outside of the apparatus from the discharge opening 102 by the discharge belt 101 of the booklet discharge means 100. Are discharged to the paper discharge device C.

<Discharge device C>
The booklet Sb discharged by the discharge belt 101 is placed on the lifting / lowering discharge tray 103 of the discharge device C shown in FIG. When the booklet Sb is discharged and stacked on the lifting / lowering tray 103, the lifting / lowering tray 103 is sequentially lowered by the rotating wire 104. When the elevating / discharging tray 103 reaches the bottom dead center, the booklet Sb is transferred to the transport belt 105 and is discharged out of the apparatus by the rotation of the transport belt 105.

  Note that the bookbinding apparatus B of the present invention is formed in an independent apparatus and the sheet bundle Sa processed by another image forming apparatus is loaded on the sheet bundle accommodating means 30, and then the glue application process and the cover cover exterior process are performed. It is also possible to make case binding.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus, a bookbinding apparatus, and a paper discharge apparatus. 1 is an external perspective view of an image forming system. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a paper conveyance path of the bookbinding apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a bookbinding apparatus showing a glue application process on a sheet bundle. The perspective view of an adhesive application means and a holding means. Sectional drawing of a cover cutting means and a cover exterior means. The perspective view which shows the raising / lowering drive of a cover sheet exterior means. Sectional drawing which shows just before the upper limit position of a cover exterior means. Sectional drawing which shows the upper limit position of a cover exterior means. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a cover sheet placed on a moving casing of the cover sheet exterior means, a sheet bundle stuck upright at the center of the cover sheet, and a perspective view of a booklet composed of the sheet bundle and the cover sheet. Sectional drawing of a cover outer packaging means and a sheet bundle showing folding of the cover. The perspective view of the paper bundle which stuck the cover, and the perspective view of the booklet produced by wrapping and folding the cover on the paper bundle. The front view which shows the discharge process of the booklet which consists of a sheet bundle and a cover.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Sheet introduction means 30 Sheet bundle accommodation means 40 Sheet bundle conveyance means 41 Gripping means 50 Glue application means 60 Cover sheet supply means 70 Cover sheet cutting means 80 Cover sheet exterior means (case binding means)
81, 82 Conveying roller 84 Moving casing 85A, 85B Belt 86 Bending member 87 Guide plate 88, 89 Cover sheet holding member 881, 891 Rotating shaft 882, 892 Lever 883,893 Driven roller 90 Alignment means 100 Booklet discharge means 101 Discharge belt A Image forming apparatus B Bookbinding apparatus K Cover M0, M1A, M1B, M2A, M2B Motor PS detection means Sa Sheet bundle Sb Booklet

Claims (5)

In a bookbinding device that performs case binding on a bundle of sheets with a cover,
A cover exterior means for placing the cover;
First driving means for moving the cover cover means to a contact position where the cover is in contact with the sheet bundle;
A cover holding member for holding the cover placed on the cover covering means;
Second driving means for operating the cover holding member;
Detecting means for detecting that the cover exterior means has reached the contact position or the vicinity thereof;
Control means for controlling the first drive means and the second drive means,
The control means is configured such that the cover holding member holds the cover by the second driving means while the cover covering means is moved to or near the contact position by the first driving means, The bookbinding apparatus, wherein the cover is held by the cover holding member by the second driving unit based on a detection result or a timing result from the start of movement. The cover holding member has an arm member supported to be swingable and a roller rotatably supported at a tip portion of the arm member, and the roller is moved to the cover cover exterior means by swinging the arm member. The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the placed cover is pressed. The cover holding member has a driving roller disposed on the cover covering means and a roller that can come in contact with and separate from the driving roller, and sandwiches and conveys the cover introduced into the cover covering means. The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising glue applying means for applying glue to a back part of the sheet bundle, wherein the cover is attached to the back part of the sheet bundle on which the glue is applied. The bookbinding apparatus described in 1. An image forming apparatus main body having an image forming unit and a sheet conveying unit, and a bookbinding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which binds a sheet unloaded from the image forming apparatus main body. A featured image forming system.

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