JP4681405B2 - Sheet post-processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus such as a finisher provided in a rear stage of an MFP main body.

  2. Description of the Related Art A sheet post-processing device such as a finisher that staples a plurality of sheets (for example, copy sheets) printed by an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) is known. The sheet post-processing apparatus includes a first sheet conveyance path, a second sheet conveyance path, and a processing tray that staples the sheets. The second sheet conveyance path has a longer path than the first sheet conveyance path.

When the sheet on which the stapling process has been performed first is on the processing tray, the succeeding other sheet is guided to the second sheet conveyance path to delay the arrival of the other sheet. A sheet post-processing apparatus having a structure that absorbs a difference in processing speed is known (for example, see Patent Document 1 below).
Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-99070

  The conventional sheet post-processing apparatus has a problem that the apparatus becomes large because the path of the conveyance path is lengthened. In addition, since the apparatus has a plurality of transport paths, there is a problem that the apparatus structure becomes complicated.

  In order to cope with the above-mentioned drawbacks, it has been considered to arrange a standby tray divided in the width direction above the processing tray. In this apparatus, subsequent sheets sent during the stapling process are stacked on the standby tray, and after the stapled sheet bundle is discharged from the processing tray to the discharge tray, the standby tray is opened. At the same time, the sheet on the standby tray is struck downward with a paddle to forcibly drop the sheet onto the processing tray.

  However, depending on the type of sheet (the size and thickness of the sheet) and the print pattern, the sheet on the standby tray may be loosened or may be deformed such as curling, which may deteriorate the sheet placement state on the standby tray. is there. For this reason, simply opening the tray member and hitting it with a paddle sometimes makes it difficult to stabilize and drop the sheet, and there is room for improvement in this respect.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet post-processing apparatus capable of reducing the size by reducing the conveyance path.

The sheet post-processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a processing tray for aligning sheets in the width direction and the vertical direction to form a sheet bundle, and a pair of tray members disposed in the width direction above the processing tray. The tray members are movable in the width direction, and these tray members have a first position for placing the sheets on the tray members and the sheets on the tray members on the processing tray. A standby tray that moves over a second position where the tray member is dropped, a tray drive mechanism that moves the tray member to the first position and the second position in synchronization with each other, and a digital copying machine that is printed a supply port for receiving the sheets discharged from the discharge port of the copying machine, is located the conveyance path for conveying the sheet, supplying the sheet supplied to the supply port on the standby tray A roller mechanism that taps the rear end of the sheet downward when the pair of tray members move from the first position toward the second position, and in the vicinity of the roller mechanism. When the sheet is supplied from the roller mechanism onto the standby tray, the sheet is rotated and raised while in contact with the sheet, and the sheet is rotated and lowered when the sheet is supplied onto the standby tray. And an assist arm that suppresses the trailing edge of the sheet from floating from the standby tray when the member moves from the first position toward the second position.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the roller mechanism includes a transport roller that is rotationally driven, and a pinch roller that is provided above the transport roller so that the rotation center of the assist arm is the pinch. It is arranged near the rotation center of the roller. The assist arm can also serve as a guide member that guides a sheet supplied from the roller mechanism onto the standby tray toward the front portion of the standby tray along the upper surface of the standby tray.

  According to the present invention, since the standby tray is provided, the sheet conveyance path can be shortened, and the apparatus can be downsized. In addition, the assist arm can suppress the sheet on the standby tray from being loosened or deformed, the sheet is placed on the standby tray, and the sheet is dropped from the standby tray to the processing tray. In this case, the posture of the seat can be stabilized.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a Multi Function Peripheral (hereinafter simply referred to as MFP) 10. The MFP 10 includes a sheet post-processing apparatus 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention, a digital copying machine 100 to which the sheet post-processing apparatus 11 is connected, and the like. The digital copying machine 100 is an example of the MFP main body referred to in the present invention.

  The digital copying machine 100 includes a housing 112 that forms an outer shell of the apparatus, and a document placement table 112 a made of a transparent glass plate on the upper surface of the housing 112. An automatic document feeder 114 (hereinafter simply referred to as ADF 114) is provided on the document table 112a so as to be opened and closed. The ADF 114 operates to automatically send the document D to a predetermined position on the document placement table 112a.

  For example, after setting the document D on the paper feed tray 114a of the ADF 114 and setting the presence / absence of stapling processing, the stapling method, the number of copies, the paper size, etc., when the copy start switch is pressed, The documents D are automatically fed one by one to the document reading position on the document table 112a, and are automatically discharged at an appropriate timing after the document is read.

  Inside the housing 112, a scanner unit 116, a printer unit 118, cassettes 121, 122, and 123 that store copy paper P (hereinafter simply referred to as paper P), which is an example of a sheet, are disposed. A large-capacity feeder 124 that accommodates a large amount of paper P of the same size and a manual feed tray 125 are attached to the right wall of the housing 112 in FIG. A sheet post-processing device 11 to be described later is connected to the left wall of the housing 112 in FIG.

  The scanner unit 116 illuminates and scans the document D fed to the document reading position on the document placement table 112a by the ADF 114, reads the reflected light, performs photoelectric conversion, and acquires image information of the document D.

  The printer unit 118 operates the laser device 118a based on the image information read by the scanner unit 116, and forms an electrostatic latent image based on the image information on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 118b. The printer unit 118 supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 118b via the developing device 118c to make it visible, and transfers the toner image onto the paper P by the transfer charger 118d. At this time, the paper P is fed from any of the cassettes 121, 122, 123, the large capacity feeder 124, and the manual feed tray 125.

  Further, the printer unit 118 supplies the paper P to which the toner image has been transferred to the fixing device 118e, heats and melts the toner image to fix it on the paper P, and discharges it to the sheet post-processing device 11 through the discharge port 120. The paper P discharged through the discharge port 120 corresponds to the sheet of the present invention.

The sheet post-processing apparatus 11 will be described below.
The sheet post-processing apparatus 11 is provided adjacent to a digital copying machine 100 that is an example of an MFP main body. The sheet post-processing apparatus 11 collects and arranges the sheets P that have been printed by the digital copying machine 100 in units of copies, and applies post-processing such as stapling to form a sheet bundle P ′ (shown in FIG. 6). Is formed. The stapling process is a process for arranging and binding one end of a plurality of stacked sheets P.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the sheet post-processing apparatus 11 includes a casing 12, an upper discharge tray 13 a mounted on the casing 12, and a lower discharge tray 13 b. . These paper discharge trays 13a and 13b can hold post-processed sheets P and sheet bundles P 'which will be described later. The housing 12 is provided with a supply port 16 for receiving the paper P printed from the digital copying machine 100 and a discharge port 17 through which the post-processed paper bundle P ′ is discharged.

  A post-processing unit 21 that post-processes the paper P, a transport unit 22 that supplies the paper P to the post-processing unit 21, and an active drop provided between the post-processing unit 21 and the transport unit 22 inside the housing 12. Means 23 and the like are accommodated. These means 21, 22, and 23 are controlled by a control means 24 (shown in FIG. 5) having a computer function including a microprocessor, a memory, and the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the post-processing means 21 includes a processing tray 25, an alignment mechanism 26, a stapler 28, conveyance rollers 30 a and 30 b and the like. The processing tray 25 is inclined so that the rear end thereof, that is, the side close to the stapler 28 is lowered. In other words, the processing tray 25 is arranged in an inclined posture so that the front portion faces obliquely upward.

  The alignment mechanism 26 has a function of forming a sheet bundle P ′ by aligning a plurality of sheets P on the processing tray 25 in the width direction and the vertical direction. The alignment mechanism 26 aligns the sheets P on the processing tray 25 in the width direction and the vertical direction perpendicular to the width direction, and forms a sheet bundle P ′ composed of a predetermined number of sheets P. The stapler 28 performs a stapling process on the sheet bundle P ′ held on the processing tray 25 as necessary.

  Belts (not shown) are wound around the conveyance rollers 30a and 30b, and the conveyance rollers 30a and 30b can be rotated in synchronization in the same direction by a motor (not shown). At the center in the width direction of the processing tray 25, a discharge mechanism 38 (shown in FIG. 8) for transporting the post-processed sheet bundle P ′ toward the discharge tray 13a is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the transport unit 22 includes a transport path 34 for the paper P, an inlet roller pair 35 disposed in the vicinity of the supply port 16 on the upstream side of the transport path 34, and a transport path 34. An exit roller pair 36 is provided on the downstream side. The exit roller pair 36 is an example of a roller mechanism referred to in the present invention.

  The inlet roller pair 35 includes an upper roller 35a and a lower roller 35b. The exit roller pair 36, which is an example of a roller mechanism, includes a transport roller 36a that is a lower drive roller, and an upper pinch roller 36b. A sensor 37 that detects the end of the paper P is provided in the conveyance path 34.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the active drop means 23 includes a standby tray 40 disposed above the processing tray 25, a tray drive mechanism 41 (shown in FIG. 4), a paddle mechanism 42, and an assist arm 43. And a roller member 44 positioned at the front portion of the standby tray 40.

  The standby tray 40 includes a pair of tray members 45 that are divided into two in the width direction (the width direction of the paper P). Each tray member 45 is disposed above and separately from the processing tray 25. Each tray member 45 can be moved in the width direction of the processing tray 25 by the tray driving mechanism 41 in synchronization with each other in the opposite direction.

  That is, the tray driving mechanism 41 has a first position (called a closed position) where the paper P is placed on the standby tray 40 and a second position where the paper P on the standby tray 40 is dropped onto the processing tray 25. (Referred to as an open position) has a function of moving the pair of tray members 45 in synchronization with each other in the width direction of the paper P. As shown in FIG. 4, the tray drive mechanism 41 includes a rack 50 provided at the rear end of the tray member 45, a pinion gear 51 that drives the rack 50, a motor 52 that rotates the pinion gear 51, and the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the paddle mechanism 42 includes a sheet receiving seat 57 that rotates around a first shaft 53, a short paddle 58 made of rubber, and a long paddle 59 made of rubber. . The short paddle 58 corresponds to the paddle member referred to in the present invention. The sheet receiving portion 57, the short paddle 58, and the long paddle 59 are all attached to the first shaft 53. As shown in FIG. 4, the rear end portion of the sheet P is placed on the sheet receiving seat 57.

  The short paddle 58 is centered on the first shaft 53 as shown in FIG. 9 when the tray member 45 of the standby tray 40 is moved from the first position (closed position) to the second position (open position). And the rear end of the paper P is struck downward. The long paddle 59 has a function of rubbing the paper P on the processing tray 25 toward the stapler 28 as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, the assist arm 43 is arranged at, for example, four locations in the axial direction of the second shaft 65. Each of these assist arms 43 is pivotable in the vertical direction about the second shaft 65, and in a free state where no external force is applied, the tip 43 a of the assist arm 43 is moved to the processing tray 25 by the weight of the assist arm 43. It hangs diagonally forward.

  When the paper P is supplied from the exit roller pair 36 onto the standby tray 40, the assist arm 43 is rotated and raised while being in contact with the paper P. The number and position of the assist arms 43 are selected as necessary. For example, it may be one wide assist arm that extends in the axial direction of the second shaft 65, or two or more narrow assist arms may be provided in the axial direction of the second shaft 65.

  The assist arms 43 prevent the paper P on the standby tray 40 from being loosened or curled by rotating and dropping due to its own weight after the paper P is supplied from the exit roller pair 36 onto the standby tray 40. It has a function to do. Further, the assist arm 43 causes the rear end portion of the sheet P to be lifted from the standby tray 40 when the tray member 45 moves from the first position (closed position) toward the second position (open position). It has a function to suppress.

  Further, the assist arm 43 is configured so that the paper P supplied from the exit roller pair 36 onto the standby tray 40 moves along the standby tray 40 toward the front of the standby tray 40, that is, toward the roller member 44. It also functions to guide P.

  As shown in FIG. 6 and the like, the second shaft 65 that is the rotation center of the assist arm 43 is preferably located on the same axis as the rotation center of the pinch roller 36 b of the exit roller pair 36. In short, it is only necessary that the rotation center of the assist arm 43 be disposed in the vicinity of the exit roller pair 36, particularly in the vicinity of the rotation center of the pinch roller 36b.

  The roller member 44 can be driven to rotate by a rotating mechanism (not shown) and can be moved in the vertical direction by an elevating mechanism. The roller member 44 is used when the paper P is supplied from the exit roller pair 36 onto the standby tray 40 (FIG. 7) or when the paper P is dropped from the standby tray 40 onto the processing tray 25 (FIG. 9). It is raised by the lifting mechanism. Further, when the paper P that does not need to be post-processed (paper P that does not need to be dropped on the processing tray 25) is discharged from the standby tray 40 to the discharge port 17, the roller member 44 is rotated by the rotation mechanism, The paper P is conveyed from the standby tray 40 toward the discharge port 17.

  The operation of the sheet post-processing apparatus 11 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  The control means 24 shown in FIG. 5 includes, for example, a CPU 71, a ROM 72, a RAM 73, an IOC (input output controller: input / output control device) 74, and an internal bus 75 for connecting them. The IOC 74 is connected to the stapler 28, the inlet roller pair 35, the outlet roller pair 36, the sensor 37, the tray driving mechanism 41, the paddle mechanism 42, the roller member 44, and the like via a plurality of drivers (not shown). The control means 24 also receives the position information of the paper P detected by the sensor 37 and the like, and information such as the size and number of the paper P from the digital copying machine 100 which is the MFP body.

  FIG. 6 shows a state in which the first sheet P is on the standby tray 40 and the second sheet P is supplied to the standby tray 40. The second sheet P moves on the conveyance path 34 toward the exit roller pair 36 while operating the sensor 37 in the middle of the conveyance path 34. At this time, the tray member 45 of the standby tray 40 is in the first position (closed position) so that the paper P can be placed on the standby tray 40.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the pair of left and right tray members 45 support both ends of the paper P in the width direction. Further, the sheet receiving seat 57 of the paddle mechanism 42 supports the vicinity of the center in the width direction of the rear end portion of the sheet P. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, on the processing tray 25, a predetermined number of sheets P previously supplied onto the processing tray 25 are aligned in the width direction and the vertical direction by the alignment mechanism 26, and the sheet bundle P 'Is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 7, on the standby tray 40, the second sheet P is supplied from the exit roller pair 36 onto the standby tray 40 while pushing up the assist arm 43. When the trailing edge of the sheet P passes the sensor 37, the sensor 37 sends a signal indicating that the trailing edge of the sheet P has passed to the control means 24. On the other hand, on the processing tray 25, a stapling process is performed on the sheet bundle P ′ aligned by the alignment mechanism 26 as necessary.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in a state where two sheets P are stacked on the standby tray 40, the assist arm 43 is rotated and lowered with respect to the sheet P on the standby tray 40 by its own weight. The assist arm 43 prevents the rear portion of the paper P from curling or loosening regardless of the type of the paper P or the print pattern. While these two sheets P are stacked on the standby tray 40, the preceding sheet bundle P ′ is conveyed by the discharge mechanism 38 toward the sheet discharge tray 13a.

  After that, when the tray driving mechanism 41 (shown in FIG. 4) is operated, the tray member 45 of the standby tray 40 is moved from the first position (closed position) to the second position (open position). The paddle mechanism 42 rotates. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the sheet receiving seat 57 rotates around the second shaft 65 and does not support the rear end of the sheet P, and the short paddle 58 and the long paddle 59 also rotate in the same direction.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, two sheets of paper P fall from the pair of tray members 45 toward the processing tray 25 by their own weight, and the short paddle 58 strikes the upper surface of the rear end portion of the sheet P. Thus, the fall of the paper P is assisted. Thus, the two sheets P are forcibly dropped onto the processing tray 25. When the paper P falls from the standby tray 40, the assist arm 43 prevents the paper P from floating from the standby tray 40, so that the paper P can stably fall toward the processing tray 25. .

  As shown in FIG. 10, the paper P dropped on the processing tray 25 is sent in the direction of the stapler 28. Since the processing tray 25 is inclined so that the rear end portion (side closer to the stapler 28) is lowered, the sheet P that has fallen on the processing tray 25 performs an operation in which the rear end portion slides down toward the stapler 28. Further, the lower sheet P on the processing tray 25 is transported in the direction of the stapler 28 by the rotation of the transport rollers 30a and 30b. The upper sheet P on the processing tray 25 is promoted to move toward the stapler 28 by the scraping operation of the long paddle 59 of the paddle mechanism 42.

  After the two sheets P are placed on the processing tray 25 as described above, the succeeding sheet P is processed from the exit roller pair 36 while the standby tray 40 is maintained at the second position (open position). Sequentially supplied to the tray 25. That is, the paper P coming out of the exit roller pair 36 is guided to the processing tray 25 without getting on the standby tray 40. These sheets P are sequentially stacked on the sheet P that is on the processing tray 25 in advance. Further, the alignment mechanism 26 aligns the paper P in the width direction and the vertical direction, and forms a paper bundle P ′ (shown in FIG. 6).

  As shown in FIG. 6, after a sheet bundle P ′ composed of a predetermined number of sheets P is formed on the processing tray 25, the stapler 28 performs a stapling process as necessary. As shown in FIG. 8, the sheet bundle P ′ is discharged by the discharge mechanism 38 to the discharge tray 13a through the discharge port 17.

  As described above, during the post-processing (for example, stapling) of the sheet bundle P ′ on the processing tray 25, the subsequent two sheets P can be kept on the standby tray 40. That is, since the arrival of the paper P on the processing tray 25 can be delayed, the time required for the post-processing of the sheet bundle P ′ can be secured, and the post-processing can be performed without any problem.

  When it is not necessary to delay the arrival of the paper P to the processing tray 25 as in the case where the stapling process is not performed, the standby tray is used when the first paper P comes out of the exit roller pair 36. 40 can be set to the second position (open position), and the paper P coming out of the exit roller pair 36 can be immediately dropped onto the processing tray 25.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by providing the standby tray 40, it is possible to shorten the conveyance path of the sheet P, and it is possible to configure the sheet post-processing apparatus 11 in a small size. In addition, the stability of the paper P on the standby tray 40 can be ensured by the assist arm 43.

  That is, the assist arm 43 can prevent the paper P on the standby tray 40 from slackening or curling or the like from being affected by the type (size or thickness) of the paper P or the printing pattern. The loading state of the paper P is improved. Further, when the paper P is dropped from the standby tray 40 onto the processing tray 25, the assist arm 43 can stabilize the posture of the paper P. The assist arm 43 can be rotated and lowered toward the sheet on the standby tray 40 by its own weight, so that the structure is simple without requiring a drive mechanism.

  The assist arm 43 also exhibits a guide function for guiding the paper P supplied from the exit roller pair 36 onto the standby tray 40 toward the roller member 44 along the standby tray 40. There is no need to provide a mechanism, and there is an advantage that the number of parts can be reduced.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a sheet post-processing apparatus and an MFP main body according to an embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view of the sheet | seat post-processing apparatus shown by FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of active drop means of the sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2. The top view which shows typically the active drop means of the sheet | seat post-processing apparatus shown by FIG. The block diagram which shows the control means of the sheet | seat post-processing apparatus shown by FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in the middle of supplying a second sheet to a standby tray in the sheet post-processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 in a state in which a rear end of a second sheet has passed a sensor. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a second sheet has been supplied to a standby tray in the sheet post-processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a sheet is dropped from a standby tray to a processing tray in the sheet post-processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a sheet is supplied onto a processing tray in the sheet post-processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols

  P ... paper, P '... paper bundle, 11 ... sheet post-processing device, 25 ... processing tray, 28 ... stapler, 36 ... exit roller pair (roller mechanism), 40 ... stand-by tray, 41 ... tray drive mechanism, 43 ... assist Arm, 45 ... tray member, 58 ... short paddle (paddle member).

Claims (3)

A processing tray for aligning the sheets in the width direction and the longitudinal direction to form a sheet bundle;
There is a pair of tray members arranged in the width direction above the processing tray, and the tray members are movable in the width direction, and these tray members place the sheet on the tray member. A standby tray that moves across a first position to place and a second position to drop the sheet on the tray member onto the processing tray;
A tray drive mechanism for moving the tray members to the first position and the second position in synchronization with each other;
A supply port for receiving sheets printed by the digital copying machine and discharged from the discharge port of the digital copying machine;
A roller mechanism that is arranged in a conveyance path for conveying the sheet and supplies the sheet supplied to the supply port onto the standby tray;
A paddle member that taps the rear end portion of the sheet downward when the pair of tray members move from the first position toward the second position;
It is arranged in the vicinity of the roller mechanism, and when the sheet is supplied from the roller mechanism onto the standby tray, the sheet is rotated and lifted in contact with the sheet, and is rotated in a state where the sheet is supplied onto the standby tray. An assist arm that moves down and suppresses the trailing edge of the sheet from floating from the standby tray when the tray member moves from the first position toward the second position;
A sheet post-processing apparatus comprising:   The roller mechanism includes a conveyance roller that is rotationally driven and a pinch roller that is provided to face the conveyance roller, and the rotation center of the assist arm is disposed in the vicinity of the rotation center of the pinch roller. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet post-processing apparatus is provided.   2. The assist arm also serves as a guide member that guides a sheet supplied from the roller mechanism onto the standby tray toward the front portion of the standby tray along the upper surface of the standby tray. Or the sheet post-processing apparatus according to 2.

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