JP4712588B2 - Paper transport device, paper post-processing device, and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper transport device, a paper post-processing device, and an image forming apparatus. The present invention relates to a processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

  Paper for transporting paper in image forming apparatuses represented by multifunction machines, printers, facsimile machines, etc., and paper pre-processing devices and paper post-processing devices installed in large image forming apparatuses such as multifunction machines A transport device is incorporated.

  Among such paper transport devices, when using a device utilizing a nip pressure such as a pair of rubber rollers to deliver a paper image-formed by an ink jet printer to a post-processing device or the like, particularly in a high-speed machine, the image surface Since the ink may not be completely dry, a problem that the surface of the paper becomes dirty occurs. This problem may occur not only in an ink jet printer but also in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a laser printer, particularly in a high speed machine.

  In order to solve such a problem, a sheet conveying apparatus that adsorbs a sheet to a belt and conveys the sheet is generally used. For example, in Patent Document 1, a print sheet that passes at least a position immediately below an ink jet print head is sucked to a sheet conveyance surface so that the print area of the print sheet is not limited and good printing can be performed in the entire area. A technique for providing a sheet suction means is disclosed. This sheet suction means is composed of a suction box and a suction fan constituting the sheet transport surface, and a plurality of suction holes are provided on the upper surface of the suction box.

  Further, Patent Document 2 includes a belt having a large number of small holes, a suction box and a suction fan for sucking the conveyance surface side of the printing paper of the belt, Discloses a belt conveyance mechanism that conveys the printing paper by moving the belt while sucking the printing paper using the opposite side as a contact surface.

Conventional paper transport devices using a belt with a suction function such as Patent Documents 1 and 2 as described above decompress the inside of the housing of the belt unit by suction using a suction motor, and suck the paper onto the belt. It is transported by.
JP 2002-103705 A JP 2002-356259 A

  However, the above-described method requires a driving source such as a suction motor for adsorbing the paper to the belt, and thus the cost and size of the unit cannot be avoided.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a paper transport device capable of transporting paper while sucking without separately providing a suction drive source. And

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an endless belt having an intake hole, a roller that supports and rotates the endless belt, a rotational drive component that rotates the roller, and the endless belt that rotates the roller. The paper transport device includes a housing that holds the housing as much as possible and a suction member that depressurizes the inside of the housing, and transports the paper with the endless belt while being sucked from the suction hole by the suction member. The rotation drive component is used as a drive source for the suction member, and a speed change mechanism is provided that varies the ratio between the rotation speed of the suction member and the rotation speed of the roller. The paper transport device is characterized in that the adsorbing force of the member can be adjusted .

A second aspect of the present invention is a paper post-processing apparatus provided with the paper conveying device of the first aspect .

The invention of claim 3 is an image forming apparatus having a sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1.

  According to the present invention, in the paper transport device, it is possible to transport the paper while suctioning without separately providing a suction drive source.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of an image forming apparatus provided with a paper conveying apparatus according to the present invention. In the image forming apparatus such as a multifunction machine illustrated in FIG. 1, the sheet transport apparatus 1 receives the sheet P discharged from the image forming apparatus main body 2 and passes it to the sheet post-processing apparatus 3 side. In FIG. 1, the sheet conveying apparatus 1 is provided between the image forming apparatus main body 2 and the sheet post-processing apparatus 3, and the sheet conveying apparatus 1 is emphasized. 2 and the paper post-processing device 3 are adjacent to each other, and the paper transport device 1 is disposed in any one of them.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus and the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the present invention include the sheet conveying apparatus 1 according to various embodiments to be described later, and the sheet conveying apparatus 1 is used for conveying the sheet. The paper transport device 1 according to the present invention is particularly suitable for paper transport while the ink is not dry or toner is not fixed, paper transport during duplex printing, and the like. In such a case, it is preferable to provide at such a paper transport position.

  Hereinafter, each embodiment of the sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7. However, as described above, the installation destination of the sheet conveying apparatus is not limited to the installation place shown in FIG. However, the present invention can be applied to any place where it is necessary to transport the sheet while sucking the sheet.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a configuration example of a sheet conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view of the sheet conveying apparatus of FIG. Is a top view and FIG. 3B is a side view.

  2 and 3 includes an endless belt 11 having a plurality of air intake holes H, rotatable rollers 12 and 16 that stretch and support the endless belt 11, and rollers 12. A rotation drive component 13 such as a motor that rotates the motor, a housing 10 that holds the rollers 12 and 16 so that the endless belt 11 can rotate, and a suction member 14 that decompresses the inside of the housing 10. For the sake of explanation, an example in which the rotational drive component 13 and the like are provided outside the housing 10 is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and other embodiments may be configured to be housed in the housing 10. It may be adopted.

  Here, the endless belt 11 is a transport belt for transporting the paper P, and is preferably two as illustrated in view of cost and transportability of the paper P, but one or three or more. It is good. As described above, at least one or more perforated endless belt 11 (hereinafter referred to as a conveyance belt) is fitted to the sheet conveyance device 1 so as to be stretched around the rotatable rollers 12 and 16. Yes. Moreover, what is necessary is just to determine suitably in view of the attraction | suction force by the attraction | suction member 14, the object (paper P) to convey, etc. regardless of the shape and number of the suction holes H.

  The rollers 12 and 16 are rotatably supported by the housing 10 on the rotating shafts 12a and 16a. Although the rotational drive component 13 is described as being connected to the roller 12 and rotationally driving the roller 12, the roller 16 side may be rotationally driven.

  Further, the housing 10 has cutout portions 10 b and 10 c, from which one side of the conveyor belt 11 is exposed to the outer surface of the housing 10. The housing 10 is surrounded by as few gaps as possible, for example, by making the cutout portions 10b and 10c as small as possible, and a suction member 14 is provided on a side surface thereof.

  The suction member 14 does not need to depressurize the entire inner region of the housing 10 and only needs to suck at least an area in which the transport belt 11 of the housing 10 flows. In the housing 10, a suction port 10 a is provided in an area through which the transport belt 11 passes, and the suction force by the suction member 14 is transmitted to the suction hole H formed on the transport belt 11 through the suction port 10 a. Then, it is applied to the paper P conveyed on the conveying belt 11. The suction port 10a may be opened by the width of the transport belt 11, but it is preferable that the suction port 10a be opened at least at a portion through which the vent hole H passes due to the rotation of the transport belt 11. Further, it is assumed that the suction port 10a and the conveyor belt 11 have a slight gap.

  As a main feature of the present invention, a rotation drive component 13 that rotates the roller 12 is used as a drive source of the suction member 14. The suction member 14 includes, for example, a suction fan 14a and its rotating shaft 14b, and a suction box. The suction member 14 includes a timing belt 14c that is stretched and supported by the rotation shaft 13a of the rotation drive component 13 and the rotation shaft 14b of the suction fan 14a in order to use the rotation drive component 13 as a drive source. An exhaust port for exhaust is opened at the attachment position of the suction box of the suction member 14 and the suction fan 14 a of the housing 10, and the exhaust by the suction fan 14 a flows to the outside of the housing 10.

  On the other hand, the rotary shaft 13a of the rotary drive component 13 and the rotary shaft 12a of the roller 12 are stretched and supported by a timing belt 13b, whereby the driving force of the rotary drive component 13 is transmitted to the roller 12, and the above-mentioned In this way, the roller can rotate. As described above, in the paper transport apparatus 1, the transport belt 11 and the suction member 14 are both connected to the rotation drive component 13 and the timing belts 13b and 14c, and are rotated by one drive source. The housing 10 is provided with a storage box 15 so as to cover the rotation shaft 13a.

  Further, the rotation shaft 13a of the rotary drive component 13 may be directly connected to the rotation shaft 12a of the roller 12 to form a straight line. For example, the rotary shaft 13a and the rotary shaft 12a may be connected to each other, or may be formed from a single component. When such a transmission method is adopted, not only can the rotational driving force be transmitted to the rotating shaft 14a of the suction fan 14a via the timing belt 14b but also the timing belt 13b need not be provided.

  With the configuration as described above, the sheet conveying apparatus 1 exhausts the air in the casing 10 to the outside by the rotation of the suction member 14 using the driving source of the conveying belt 11 as the driving source, and depressurizes the casing 10. The sheet P is sucked and transported by the transport belt 11 while being sucked from the suction hole H.

  As described above, according to the sheet conveying apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to use a suction fan using a drive source such as a motor for rotating the conveying belt 11 using the fact that there is no problem even if suction and conveying are simultaneously operated. By rotating and sucking 14a, it becomes unnecessary to add a drive source such as a motor for suction. Since a suction motor for adsorbing the sheet to the transport belt 11 is not required, the cost can be reduced and the size of the unit can be suppressed.

  FIG. 4 is a top view schematically showing a part of a configuration example of a sheet conveying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. The paper conveying apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 4 illustrates only the differences from the embodiment described in FIG.

  The sheet conveying apparatus 1 of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 has the suction member 14 attached directly to the rotation shaft 13a of the rotation drive component 13 in the apparatus described in FIG. That is, it can be said that the rotation shaft 13 a of the rotation drive component 13 is connected to the rotation shaft 14 b of the suction fan 14 a or is formed of one component, and the suction member 14 is disposed integrally with the rotation drive component 13. The storage box 15 is provided between the suction box and the rotary drive component 13, and an exhaust port for discharging the exhaust by the suction fan 14 a is provided on the side surface.

  As described above, according to the paper transport device 1 according to the present embodiment, the suction member 14 is integrally formed coaxially with the rotation driving component 13 for rotating the transport belt 11, thereby reducing the cost of the suction mechanism. This makes it possible to reduce the size of the unit.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams schematically illustrating a configuration example of a sheet conveying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 5A is a top view and FIG. 5B is a part of FIG. FIG.

  The sheet conveying apparatus 1 of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 is the same as the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 3 except that a suction member 14 (here, a suction fan 14a) is disposed at the end of the rotating shaft 12a of the roller 12. As a result, the timing belt 14 c is also unnecessary, and the suction fan 14 a rotates as the roller 12 rotates. An exhaust port 14d is opened around the support portion that rotatably supports the rotary shaft 12a on the housing 10, and air can be exhausted therefrom.

  In FIG. 5, in order to improve exhaust efficiency, suction fans 14 a are provided at both ends of the rotating shaft 12 a of the roller 12 and both ends of the rotating shaft 16 a of the roller 16, and an exhaust port 14 d is opened in each support portion. An example is shown.

  Further, the sheet conveying apparatus 1 of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 can be applied to the apparatus described in FIG. Although a specific example is not shown, the timing belt 13b is omitted in FIG. 5 and the rotation shaft 12a of the roller 12 is directly attached to the rotation shaft 12a of the roller 12, or the rotation shaft 12a and the rotation shaft 13a are the same. It becomes.

  As described above, according to the paper transport device 1 according to the present embodiment, by providing the suction member 14 (suction fan 14a) in the housing 10, an increase in size of the suction mechanism can be suppressed, and the rotation shaft of the roller 12 can be suppressed. Since the suction mechanism is provided in 12a, the unit can be prevented from being enlarged.

  FIG. 6 is a top view schematically showing a part of a configuration example of a sheet conveying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. The sheet conveying apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 6 illustrates only the differences from the embodiment described in FIG.

  The sheet conveying apparatus 1 of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 is the apparatus described with reference to FIG. This rotational speed change mechanism includes, for example, a gear 17a, a clutch 17b, and a clutch 17c.

  Two gears are attached to the rotation shaft 13 a of the rotation drive component 13. One gear is for transmitting drive to the rotating shaft 12a of the roller 12 via the timing belt 13b. By keeping the rotation speed (synonymous with the rotation speed) of the rotational drive component 13 constant, the rotation speed of the roller 12 is also constant.

  On the other hand, clutches 17b and 17c having different diameters are connected to both sides of the other gear 17a. The clutch 17 b is attached to the rotating shaft 14 b of the suction member 14. Further, a gear is attached to the shaft to which the clutch 17c is attached, so that driving can be transmitted to the gear of the rotating shaft 14b of the suction member 14 through the timing belt 14c.

  By alternately controlling ON / OFF of the clutches 17b and 17c, the drive is transmitted to the rotating shaft 14b of the suction member 14 only through one of the clutches. In this way, the strength of the suction force can be controlled by controlling one rotation drive component 13 and the clutches 17b and 17c.

  Although described as an improved example of the embodiment described in FIG. 3, (I) as an improved example of the embodiment described in FIG. 4 and (II) as an improved example of the embodiment described in FIG. it can. In the case of (I), the suction member 14 is directly driven to rotate by the rotation shaft 13 a of the rotation drive component 13, and the rotation speed change mechanism may change the ratio of the rotation speed of the roller 12 to the rotation speed of the suction member 14. In the case of (II) above, the ratio of the rotational speed of one suction member 14 to the rotational speed of the roller 12 is the same, but by providing a plurality of suction fans 14a as shown in FIG. The ratio of the rotational speed of the roller 12 to the rotational speed of the suction member 14 may be varied depending on the number. Furthermore, a configuration may be employed in which the roller 12 is directly driven to rotate by the rotation shaft 13a of the rotation drive component 13, and the rotation speed change mechanism changes the ratio of the rotation speed of the suction member 14 to the rotation speed of the roller 12.

  As described above, according to the paper transport device 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to vary the suction force between the paper and the transport belt 11 with respect to the transport speed of the roller 12 by attaching the speed change mechanism. Therefore, when a strong suction force is required, the number of rotations of the suction fan 14a can be increased by switching to the other clutch without changing the rotation speed of the rotary drive component 13, so that stable paper conveyance can be realized. . That is, the suction force between the paper P and the transport belt 11 can be increased without affecting the transport speed of the paper P.

  7A and 7B are diagrams schematically illustrating a configuration example of a sheet conveying device according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 7A is a top view and FIG. 7B is a part of FIG. 7A. FIG.

  The sheet conveying apparatus 1 of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7 is provided with an exhaust path 18 for applying the exhaust by the suction member 14 to the rotation drive component 13 in the apparatus of the embodiment described in FIG. The exhaust path 18 has a structure (L-shaped in the illustrated example) that applies exhaust from the suction member 14 to the rotation drive component 13, and dissipates heat generated by the rotation drive component 13. Note that the outlet of the exhaust passage 18 and the rotary drive component 13 may be separated from each other so that the exhaust flows to the outside.

  Although described as an improvement example of the embodiment described in FIG. 3, (III) As an improvement example of the embodiment described in FIG. 4, (IV) As an improvement example of the embodiment described in FIG. V) It can also be adopted as an improved example of the embodiment described in FIG. In the case of the above (III), the storage box 15 itself becomes this exhaust path by forming the contact surface between the storage box 15 and the rotational drive component 13 thin or with a hole. In the case of the above (IV), an exhaust path 18 having one or more of the exhaust ports bored on the housing 10 in the vicinity of the suction fan 14a as an inlet and the rotary drive component 13 side as an outlet may be provided. In the case of (V), the storage box 15 itself can be used as the exhaust path 18 as in (III).

  As described above, according to the sheet conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment, since the exhaust (exhaust air) by the suction member 14 is configured to be applied to the rotation drive component 13, it is possible to suppress the heat generation of the rotation drive component 13. Become. As a result, a higher current can be supplied to the rotary drive component 13 to convey a high-load paper, and the rotary drive component 13 can be driven for a long time.

  As another embodiment of the present invention, although not shown in the drawings, in each of the above-described embodiments, by providing an exhaust passage for applying exhaust to the paper transport surface of the transport belt 11, the suction force of the paper is increased. Can do. The exhaust path may be provided as described with reference to FIG. 7, and the discharge port only needs to face the sheet conveyance surface of the conveyance belt 11. In addition, it can be used in combination with the embodiment described in FIG. 7 by branching the exhaust path on the outlet side. Further, in the present embodiment, a form in which the vent hole H is not provided on the transport belt 11 can also be adopted. The paper P is pressed against the transport belt 11 while being blown from the exhaust path by the suction member 14, and the paper P is transported by the transport belt 11. It is good to carry.

  FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration example of a paper transport apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 schematically shows another configuration example of the paper transport apparatus of FIG. FIG.

  The sheet conveying apparatus 1 according to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 is configured such that the suction member 14 is disposed on the lower side of the conveying belt 11 in each of the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. Actually, in order to enable such an arrangement, the rotation shaft 13a of the rotary drive component 13 and the rotation shaft of the suction member 24 (suction fan 24a) are directly or directly provided with one or more shafts. It can be realized by combining them. And the exhaust port should just be provided in the housing | casing 10 which hits the downward direction and side surface of the suction fan 24a. The same applies to the case where this embodiment is applied to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 7, and the rotation drive component 13 may be appropriately attached to the lower side of the housing 10.

  The suction member 24 illustrated in FIG. 8 includes a suction fan 24a and its rotating shaft 22, and the suction fan 24a is disposed below the belt unit. On the other hand, the rotary shaft 13a of the rotary drive component 13 is connected to the shaft 21 by a timing belt 13b so as to be able to transmit rotation. The shaft 21 is provided with a worm 21a, and a worm wheel 22a provided on the rotary shaft 22 is disposed at a position where the worm 21a meshes with the worm 21a. As a result, after the drive is transmitted from the rotational drive component 13 to the shaft 21 by the timing belt 13b, the rotational drive is transmitted to the rotary shaft 22 of the suction fan 24a through the worm wheel 22a by meshing with the worm 21a of the shaft 21. Is done.

  The suction member 34 illustrated in FIG. 9 is basically the same as that shown in FIG. 8, but the tip of the shaft 31 is provided with a bevel gear 31 a and is engaged with the bevel gear 31 a at the end of the rotating shaft 32. The difference is that the provided bevel gear 32a is arranged. As a result, after the drive is transmitted from the rotary drive component 13 to the shaft 31 by the timing belt 13b, it is rotated from the bevel gear 31a of the shaft 31 to the rotary shaft 32 of the suction fan 34a via the bevel gear 32a. Drive is transmitted.

  As described above, according to the paper conveyance device 1 according to the present embodiment, since the suction member 24 (suction fan 24a) is disposed below the conveyance belt 11, there is no variation in the suction force, and better paper suction is achieved. It becomes possible.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus including a sheet conveying device according to the present invention. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a configuration example of a paper transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view of the sheet conveying device of FIG. 2 as viewed from the other direction. FIG. 6 is a top view schematically showing a part of a configuration example of a sheet conveying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows schematically the structural example of the paper conveying apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a top view schematically showing a part of a configuration example of a sheet conveying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows schematically the structural example of the paper conveying apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a configuration example of a sheet conveying device according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically illustrating another configuration example of the paper conveying apparatus in FIG. 8.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Paper conveying apparatus, 2 ... Image forming apparatus, 3 ... Paper post-processing apparatus, 10 ... Housing | casing, 11 ... Endless belt (conveying belt), 12, 16 ... Roller, 12a, 16a ... Roller rotating shaft, 13 Rotational drive component, 13a Rotational shaft of rotational drive component, 13b, 14c ... Timing belt, 14,24 ... Suction member, 14a, 24a ... Suction fan, 14b, 22,32 ... Rotary shaft of suction fan, 14d ... Exhaust Mouth, 15 ... storage box, 17a ... gear, 17b, 17c ... clutch, 18 ... exhaust path, 21, 31 ... shaft, 21a ... worm, 22a ... worm wheel, 31a, 32a ... bevel gear.

Claims (3)

An endless belt having an air intake hole, a roller that stretches and supports the endless belt, a rotation driving component that rotates the roller, and a housing that holds the roller so that the endless belt can rotate. A sheet conveying device that conveys a sheet with the endless belt while being sucked from the suction hole by the suction member, and a suction member that decompresses the inside of the housing
As the drive source of the suction member, using the rotational drive component ,
A paper transport device comprising a speed change mechanism that varies a ratio between the rotation speed of the suction member and the rotation speed of the roller, and the suction force of the suction member can be adjusted with respect to the transport speed of the roller. . A sheet post-processing apparatus comprising the sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 . An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet conveying device according to claim 1 .

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