JP4839735B2 - Paper stacking apparatus, bookbinding apparatus, and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet stacking apparatus that stacks sheets to create a bundle of sheets, a bookbinding apparatus having such a sheet stacking apparatus, and an image forming system having such a bookbinding apparatus.

  Since an electrophotographic image forming apparatus has high-speed performance, its use as a light printing apparatus that performs a relatively small number of copies is expanding.

  When the image forming apparatus is used as a printing apparatus, it is possible to perform printing to bookbinding with a single apparatus by combining it with a bookbinding apparatus for bookbinding.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-133867 proposes a bookbinding apparatus that is miniaturized so that the image forming apparatus and the printing apparatus can be combined.

  In the bookbinding apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, a sheet on which an image is formed in the image forming apparatus is stacked on a sheet stacking unit having an inclined sheet stacking surface to form a bundle of sheets constituting a book, and the bundle is bound. Then, the bundle is rotated in a vertical state, and an adhesive is applied and a cover is joined to the bundle set in the vertical state to create a book.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses that a brush roller is provided to face the paper stacking unit in order to suppress the sheet floating in the inclined paper stacking unit.
JP 2004-209869 A JP-A-10-297815

  In the method of stacking sheets on an inclined sheet stacking surface and creating a bundle of sheets, the sheets are stacked on the sheet stacking unit using gravity, so that the sheets are automatically aligned in the transport direction at the stacking stage. Therefore, the sheet alignment has an advantage that a bundle of sheets aligned in the conveyance direction and the conveyance width direction can be created only by providing an alignment unit in the conveyance width direction.

  However, when stacking sheets in an inclined stacking unit as in Patent Document 1, the sheet may be curled and carried into the stacking unit depending on the paper quality, environment, the nature of the image formed on the sheet, and the like. In such a case, there is a problem in that the consistency of the sheets in the stacking unit is not good, and the sheets that make up the created book are not uniform and the quality of the book is not good, and Patent Document 1 solves such a problem. Absent.

  Further, Patent Document 2 proposes suppressing curling of the accumulated paper, but when a brush roller is used, the force for correcting the curl is weak and insufficient to prevent curling and undulation.

  As described above, paper curl occurs under various conditions, but especially when the amount of ink forming an image is large as in color printing, paper curl is likely to occur. To correct curl, it is necessary to hold the paper with a certain amount of force. However, with the conventional technology, the force to correct curl is small, the alignment of the paper that makes up the book is sufficient, and high-quality books are required. It is difficult to create. In particular, when creating a book, it is necessary to align the sheet with high accuracy, but it has been difficult to satisfy this condition with the conventional alignment technique.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem in a paper stacking apparatus used in a small bookbinding apparatus.

The object is achieved by the following invention.
1.
Paper stacking unit,
A paper pressing means that is movable between a pressing position and a retreating position, and has a pressing member that presses the paper accumulated in the paper accumulating unit, and a driving means that moves the pressing member to the pressing position and the retreating position; ,
Having control means,
Wherein,
Controls the operation of the paper pressing means so that the pressing member each time the sheet of Jo Tokoro number of sheets are stacked from the retreat position is moved to the pressing position, the sheet of the set number of sheets in said sheet stacking portion Stop collecting paper at the accumulated stage ,
When the difference between the integral multiple of the predetermined number of sheets and the set number of sheets is less than the predetermined number of sheets, the sheet pressing unit presses the sheet with less than the predetermined number of sheets, and the set A paper stacking apparatus, which finishes stacking a number of sheets .
2 .
A height detecting unit configured to detect a height of the paper accumulated in the paper accumulating unit, and the control unit detects that the height of the accumulated paper is equal to or higher than a predetermined value by the height detecting unit; 2. The sheet accumulating apparatus according to 1 , wherein the sheet pressing unit is operated when the sheet is pressed.
3 .
3. The sheet according to 1 or 2 , further comprising a sheet supply unit that is disposed upstream of the sheet stacking unit and stacks a plurality of sheets and then supplies the plurality of sheets to the sheet stacking unit. Integrated device.
4 .
4. The paper stacking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising a paper pressing member that performs a pressing operation each time paper is supplied to the paper stacking unit.
5 .
5. The bookbinding apparatus according to any one of 1 to 4 , further comprising means for binding a bundle of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit and joining a cover sheet.
6 .
An image forming system comprising: an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet; and the bookbinding apparatus described in 5 above.

According to the first to sixth aspects of the invention, the end face of the sheet bundle formed when a plurality of sheets are stacked is a flat surface, and a sheet bundle in which the sheets are sufficiently aligned is created.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the sheet pressing that suppresses the lifting of the sheet is performed at the stage where a plurality of sheets are accumulated, the sheet lifting is effectively suppressed, and the consistency of the sheet is further improved. And sufficient paper alignment in various environments.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, good sheet alignment is performed without being influenced by the difference in thickness, curl, and the degree of slamming.

The invention of claim 5, with a suitable small to bind to the image forming apparatus, bookbinding apparatus Ru are realized to create a high-quality book.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, an image forming system that consistently performs printing to bookbinding and creates a high-quality book is realized.

Although the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment.
<Image forming system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an entire image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming system includes an image forming apparatus A and a bookbinding apparatus B. After forming an image on a sheet in the image forming apparatus A, a sheet bundle is created in the bookbinding apparatus, and the sheet bundle is bound and processed. It is a system that performs up to bookbinding through a consistent process.

  The image forming apparatus A forms an image on a sheet by an electrophotographic method, and includes an image forming unit A1, a document conveying device A2, an image reading unit A3, and a communication unit A4.

  In the image forming unit A1, a charging device 2, an exposure device 3, a developing device 4, a transfer device 5A, a separating device 5B, and a cleaning device 6 are arranged around the drum-shaped photoconductor 1, and these electrophotographic process devices are used. Charging, exposure, development, and transfer are performed to form a toner image on the photoreceptor 1, and an image is formed on the sheet S1.

  The paper S1 is stored in three paper feed trays 7A. The paper S1 is fed one by one from these paper feed trays 7A, and the toner image on the photoreceptor 1 is transferred to the paper S1 by the transfer device 5A. Is done.

  The toner image transferred to the sheet S1 passes through the fixing device 8 and is fixed. The fixed sheet S1 is discharged from the discharge roller 7C or conveyed to the refeed path 7E.

  In face-down paper discharge in single-sided printing, face-up paper discharge in single-sided printing, or surface image formation in double-sided image formation, the switching gate 7D switches and guides the paper S1. That is, in face-up paper discharge, the switching gate 7D advances the paper S1 straight. In face-down paper discharge and double-sided image formation, the switching gate 7D guides the paper S1 downward.

  In face-down paper discharge, the paper S1 is guided downward, then switched back and conveyed upward, and discharged from the paper discharge roller 7C.

  In the double-sided image formation, the sheet S1 is guided downward, and after reversing the front and back by switchback, the sheet S1 is re-fed to the transfer unit where the transfer device 5A is arranged through the refeed path 7E, and the back image is transferred. .

  The document transport device A2 transports documents one by one to the reading position. The image reading unit A3 reads an image of the document conveyed by the document conveying device A2 or the document placed on the document table 9, and generates an image signal. The communication unit A4 communicates with the network device and generates an image signal in response to an image formation command transmitted from the network.

  The bookbinding apparatus B is an apparatus that forms a book by bundling a plurality of sheets fed from the image forming apparatus A and forming a book by joining a cover sheet to the sheet bundle. In the following description, a sheet on which an image is formed in the image forming apparatus A and supplied to the bookbinding apparatus B is referred to as a sheet S1, a cover sheet is referred to as a cover sheet S2, and a book in which a cover sheet is bonded to the sheet is referred to as a book S3. To tell.

  The bookbinding apparatus B serves as a supply unit that supplies the sheet S1 discharged from the image forming apparatus A to the sheet discharge tray 20 or the sheet reversing unit 40, the sheet discharge tray 20, and the sheet stacking unit 50. A sheet reversing unit 40, a sheet stacking unit 50 for stacking sheets S1 fed one by one or several sheets, a coating unit 60, a cover storing unit 80 for storing a cover S2, a cover supporting unit 90 for supporting the cover, and a main discharge Part 100.

  The sheet S1 discharged from the image forming apparatus A is discharged to the discharge tray 20 through the discharge path 12 by the switching gate 11 provided in the transfer unit 10 or is transferred to the sheet reversing unit 40. The sheet S1 is discharged to the discharge tray 20 when the bookbinding processing mode is not set.

  In the bookbinding mode, the paper S1 is transported to the paper reversing unit 40 through the transport path 13, and after being switched back in the paper reversing unit 40, is transported to the paper stacking unit 50. In the sheet stacking unit 50, a set number of sheets S1 are stacked, and the sheet stacking unit 50 rotates when the set number of sheets is stacked to hold the bundle of sheets S1 in a substantially vertical state.

  An adhesive is applied to the lower surface of the bundle of sheets S1 held by the sheet stacking unit 50 in the vertical state by the applying unit 60.

  The cover sheet S2 comes into contact with and adheres to the bundle of sheets S1 coated with the adhesive.

The book S3 created by bonding the cover sheet S2 to the bundle of sheets S1 is discharged to the book discharge unit 100.
<Bookbinding device>
Hereinafter, each part of the bookbinding apparatus will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the bookbinding apparatus B.

The sheet S1 conveyed through the conveying path 13 is conveyed by the carry-in roller 14, and after passing through the conveyance roller 401 and ascending the reverse guide plate 402 having an inclined support surface for supporting and guiding the sheet S1, the conveyance roller 401 rotates. The sheet S1 is conveyed downward. An alignment member 403 aligns the sheet S1 on the reverse guide plate 402, and reciprocates in the conveyance width direction by driving a motor (not shown). Reference numeral 404 denotes a stopper used when stacking a plurality of sheets S1 on the sheet reversing unit 40, and can be set to a solid line retracted position and a dotted line sheet receiving position. At the retracted position of the solid line, the sheet S1 is not stacked on the reverse guide plate 402, and the sheet S1 is stacked on the reverse guide plate 402 when at the dotted line sheet receiving position. The aligning member 403 operates when stacking the sheets on the reverse guide plate 402 and aligns the sheets in the conveyance width direction. The reverse guide plate 402 and the stopper 404 constitute a buffer paper stacking unit that stacks the paper S1 in the previous stage of stacking the paper S1 on the paper stacking unit 50. The sheet S1 transported downward falls on the sheet stacking unit 50 and is collected. The sheet stacking unit 50 includes a support plate 502 and a receiving plate 506 having an inclined stacking surface, and the sheet S1 descending the sheet reversing unit 40 is supported in an inclined state by the support plate 502 and the receiving plate 506.
The sheets S1 sequentially discharged from the image forming apparatus A are stacked on the sheet stacking unit 50, and a bundle of sheets S1 is formed. The number of sheets S1 forming the bundle is set in a setting unit (not shown). Reference numeral 504 denotes a pressing member that suppresses the lifting of the stacked sheets S1 and moves up and down to hold the sheets S1. An alignment member 505 aligns the side edges of the paper.

  When the set number of sheets S1 are stacked, the pressing member 503 is operated to hold and hold the bundle of sheets S1 between the support plate 502 and the pressing member 503.

  In a state where the bundle of sheets S1 is held, the sheet stacking unit 50 rotates about the shaft 501 to change the bundle of sheets S1 from the inclined state to the vertical state (see FIG. 12).

  FIG. 3 shows a process of holding a bundle of sheets S1 in a vertical state on the sheet stacking unit 50 and applying an adhesive.

  Prior to the coating step, the holding of the sheet by the pressing member 503 that constitutes a clamping unit that clamps the sheet S1 with the support plate 502 will be described.

  The pressing member 503 moves by driving the motor M4, presses the bundle of sheets S1, detects an increase in driving torque due to the pressing, and stops, whereby the bundle of sheets S1 is strengthened by the support plate 502 and the pressing member 503. Retained. As described above, the support plate 502 and the pressing member 503 constitute a sheet bundle supporting unit that supports the bundle of sheets S1. The stop position of the pressing member 503 is detected by the encoder 509 and stored in the storage device of the position detection unit 511.

  At the stage where the bundle of sheets S1 is held, the receiving plate 506 is rotated by 90 ° by the motor (motor M7 in FIG. 10) and retracted as shown in FIG.

  In the state of FIG. 3B, the lower surface SA (the lower surface in FIG. 3) of the bundle of sheets S <b> 1 is separated from the application roller 62 as illustrated in FIG.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (d), the application means 60 in which the hot melt adhesive 63 is accommodated rises by driving the motor M2, and the hot melt adhesive layer on the peripheral surface of the application roller 62 becomes the sheet S1. The application means 60 moves in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 3 to apply the adhesive 63 to the lower surface SA of the bundle of sheets S1. The adhesive 63 is housed in a solid form in the adhesive container 66, heated by the heater 64, melted, and supplied to the coating means 60 (see FIG. 4). The coating means 60 has a container for storing the adhesive 63 and a coating roller 62, and moves in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIGS.

  FIG. 4 will be used to explain the application stage of FIG. 3 (d) from the pre-application stage of FIG. 3 (c).

  At the start of bookbinding, the application means 60 is at the right end position (first position) as the home position, as shown in FIG. The home position of the coating means 60 is the right end position shown in FIG. 4A and moves to the left from the home position at the start of the bookbinding process, but the movement from this home position to the left end position (second position) This is performed by driving a belt 67 (second moving means) driven by a motor M3, and is accumulated in the sheet accumulating unit 50 by a sheet sensor SE2 provided immediately downstream of the reverse guide plate 402 (shown in FIG. 2). This is performed based on a signal that detects the passage of the leading edge of the last sheet S1 of the sheet S1. In the process in which the application unit 60 moves to the left end position, the application roller 62 is separated from the lower surface SA of the bundle of sheets S1.

  Then, at the stage of FIG. 4B in which the application unit 60 moves from the left end position toward the right end position, the application roller 62 is raised by the drive of the motor M2 and comes into contact with the lower surface SA of the paper S1 to remove the adhesive 63. Apply. The start of the coating process in FIG. 4B is timing-controlled so as to start coating when the bundle of sheets S1 is set in a vertical coatable state, looking at a temporary stop after cutting the cover sheet. The

  By such timing control, the operation of each part is continuously executed, and the bookbinding processing effect is performed with high efficiency.

  After the coating means 60 moves to the home position, the cover sheet S2 is joined.

  FIG. 5 shows the joining process of the cover sheet S2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cover sheet S2 is stored in a sheet feed tray 801 of a cover sheet storage unit 80 provided at the lower part of the bookbinding apparatus B, and is conveyed by a feed roller 82, so that the front end of the cover sheet S2 reaches a predetermined position. When the cover sheet S2 is subjected to an amount of switchback conveyance based on the sheet size information and the bundle thickness information of the sheet S1 stored in the position detecting unit 511, the cutter 81 serving as a cutting unit is used. Thus, the cover sheet S2 is cut. As a result, the length corresponding to the sheet size and the thickness of the sheet bundle is expressed and S2 is cut. The cut cover sheet S2 advances again to the left in the figure by switchback conveyance, and is then placed on the cover sheet support unit 901 in a horizontal state. The cover support means 901 indicated by a chain line is composed of a plurality of members such as pressing members 91 and 92 and cams 93 and 94 for driving the pressing members 91 and 92.

  The cutter 81 cuts the cover sheet S2 to a length based on the information on the size of the cover sheet S2, the size information on the sheet S1, and the information on the thickness of the bundle of sheets S1 stored in the position detection unit 511. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7, the spread-side end portions S1E and S2E of the sheet S1 and the cover sheet S2 in the book S3 are aligned. Further, the chips of the cover sheet S2 are accommodated in the waste container 82.

  FIG. 5A shows a state where the application of the adhesive 63 is completed. In the state of FIG. 5A, the cover sheet support means 901 supports the cover sheet S2 at a lower position away from the lower surface of the bundle of sheets S1, as shown in FIG.

  Next, the cover supporting means 901 is driven and raised by belts 99A and 99B (first moving means, shown in FIG. 2) to be in the state shown in FIG. 5B, and the cover S2 is moved to the bottom surface SA of the bundle of sheets S1, That is, it is brought into contact with the adhesive application surface. The cover sheet pressing members 95, 96, and 97 are raised and lowered together with the cover sheet supporting unit 901. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the cover supporting means 901 is raised, the cover pressing members 95, 96, and 97 hold the cover S1 from above, and hold the cover S2 in a flat state.

  The cover sheet supporting means 901 is further raised by several mm from the position shown in FIG. The position raised several mm is the position shown in FIG. After rising, the pressing members 91 and 92 as bending means press the cover S2 from the left and right sides, add corners to the boundary between the back cover and the front cover and the boundary between the back cover and the back cover, and the cover S2 to the sheet S1. Adhering to each other, a book is formed.

  The joining process of the cover sheet S2 shown in FIG. 5 is started immediately after the coating means 60 returns to the home position in FIG. Therefore, since the joining process of the cover sheet S2 is started immediately after the application of the adhesive 63 is completed, the applied adhesive 63 is prevented from drying before joining, and poor adhesion due to drying is prevented. That is, when the adhesive 63 is applied to the lower surface SA of the bundle of sheets S1 in the process in which the application unit 60 moves from the first position to the second position, the application unit 60 is again applied after application due to space problems. Since it is necessary to join the cover sheet S2 after returning to the first position, it takes time from application to joining, and in addition to the problem of drying of the adhesive, the time required for the joining process becomes long.

  The cover support means 901 is raised and lowered as shown in FIG. 5 by belts 99A and 99B driven by a motor (not shown), and the movement of the pressing members 91 and 92 in the left and right directions is a motor (not shown). ) Are driven by cams 93 and 94 (the cam shape is shown in FIG. 8). However, in addition to the structure in which the pressing members 91 and 92 are moved by a cam, other mechanisms such as a structure in which a rack is provided on the pressing member and the pinion is engaged with the rack can be used.

  Further, the belts 98A and 98B are in the positions indicated by the solid lines in FIG. 8 which is a top view of the cover support means 901 in the state where the cover support means 901 shown in FIG. 2 is at the home position, and support the cover S2. However, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, when the cover supporting means 901 is raised and lowered, the cover supporting means 901 moves to the retracted position indicated by the chain line in FIG. 8, and covers S2 and the cover supporting means 901. Forms a space for ascending and descending.

  The processing of the cover sheet S2 after joining the cover sheet S2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  When the joining of the cover sheet S2 is completed, as shown in FIG. 6, the cover sheet supporting means 901 is driven and dropped by the belts 99A and 99B, and returns to the home position.

  In the return step of FIG. 6 in which the cover sheet supporting means 901 returns to the home position, as shown by the arrows, the cover sheet pressing members 95 to 97 rotate about their support shafts to be in a substantially vertical state. At the stage of returning, the display pressing members 95 to 97 rotate again to change from the vertical state to the horizontal state.

  Subsequently, the pressing member 503 moves to the retracted position, and the pressing members 91 and 92 release the pressing. As a result, the book S3 including the bundle of sheets S1 and the cover sheet S2 falls on the cover sheet support unit 901. FIG. 9A shows a state in which the book S3 is thus supported by the cover sheet supporting unit 901 and the cover sheet pressing members 95 to 97 are positioned under the cover sheet S2.

  In the state shown in FIG. 9A, the belts 98A and 98B start moving as indicated by arrows, and the sheet pressing members 95 to 97 rotate to push up the cover sheet S2. The book S3 is conveyed leftward by the belts 98A and 98B, but the upper portion is prevented from moving by the paper pressing members 96 and 97, so that it falls to the right as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C. By lying down on the belts 98A and 98B and further transported, the cover sheet S2 is pressed by the cover sheet pressing members 96 and 97 and is brought into close contact with the sheet S1 as shown in FIG. 9C.

  The book S3 is conveyed by the belts 98A and 98B and is discharged to the book discharge unit 100 in FIG.

  The sheet discharge table 101 is moved up and down by belt driving, the sheet discharge table 101 on which the book S3 is placed is lowered, the book S3 is transferred to the belt 102, and the book S3 is conveyed by the belt 102 and discharged from the bookbinding apparatus B. The

  Note that the sheet stacking unit 50 is set to the inclined state illustrated in FIG. 2 when the sheet stacking unit 50 is in the state illustrated in FIG. 9A, that is, with the operation of moving the pressing member 503 to the retracted position. Is done.

  In the stage shown in FIG. 3A, that is, in the period from when the paper stacking unit 50 rotates from the tilted state to the vertical state, through the stage of FIG. 9A until the vertical state returns to the tilted state. As described above, the application of the adhesive and the bonding of the cover sheet S2 are performed by the application unit 60. During this period, the sheet S1 is continuously carried into the bookbinding apparatus B, whereby the bookbinding apparatus B is changed to the image forming apparatus. When used in combination with A, work efficiency can be increased.

In order to realize such an improvement in work efficiency, the sheet S1 carried into the bookbinding apparatus B from the image forming apparatus A is accumulated in the sheet reversing unit 40 during the period in which the adhesive is applied and the cover is bonded. Is done. That is, the stopper 404 is set at the dotted line position, a plurality of sheets S1 are stacked on the reverse guide plate 402 and aligned by the alignment member 403, and then the sheet stacking unit 50 is returned to the inclined state of FIG. The sheet S1 collected on the guide plate 402 is conveyed to the sheet collecting unit 50.
<Paper Inversion Unit 40>
The accumulation of sheets in the bookbinding process described above will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the paper reversing unit 40 and the paper stacking unit 50 that stacks the paper supplied from the paper reversing unit 40, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the paper pressing unit.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each component of the sheet reversing unit 40 provided at an inclination in the bookbinding apparatus B is attached to a reversing part frame 400 provided fixed to the bookbinding apparatus B.

  The driven roller of the conveying roller 401 composed of a pair of driving roller and driven roller is attached to a free end of a rotatable lever 401A, and is a cam (not shown) and a cam (rotated by the action of a compression spring SP2). (Not shown in the figure), the drive roller contacts and separates. Specifically, when the sheet S1 is conveyed by the carry-in roller 14 and travels in the upper left direction in FIG. 10, the roller pair is separated, and immediately after the sheet S1 leaves the carry-in roller 14, the roller pair comes into contact. The pair of rollers is contacted and separated by timing control so that the sheet S1 is nipped and conveyed in the lower right direction, and further, the leading edge of the sheet S1 passes through the conveyance roller 401 and is separated immediately before reaching the conveyance roller 405. Such timing control is performed based on a sheet trailing edge detection signal by a sensor SE1 provided in the vicinity of the carry-in roller 14.

  Similarly, the conveying rollers 405 and 406 include a driving roller and a driven roller, and the driven roller is pressed against and separated from the driving roller by driving of a driving unit such as a solenoid.

  The position of the conveyance roller 405 is fixed, but the conveyance roller 406 moves between a position indicated by a solid line and a position indicated by a one-dot chain line, and is set to a position corresponding to the paper size.

  A movable member 408 guided and fixed by a fixed guide rod 409 includes a guide plate 420 having an inclined support surface for supporting and guiding the paper S1, a support arm (not shown) of the transport roller 406, and the paper stacking unit 50. An alignment member 430 for aligning the sheets S1 collected on the sheet is fixed, and these constitute an integral moving unit.

  The moving unit moves according to the paper size information, and corresponds to the paper size according to the paper size setting operation in the operation unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus A or the paper size designation information included in the image formation request from the external device. Move to position. That is, the large size paper is set to the upper left position in FIG. 10, and the small size paper is set to the lower right position.

  The operation of the sheet reversing unit 40 is as follows.

  The sheets S1 discharged one by one from the image forming apparatus A travel on the reverse guide plate 402 having a support surface inclined by the carry-in roller 14 in the upper left direction in FIG. During this travel of the sheet S1, the roller pair of the transport roller 401 is in an open state, and the sheet S1 travels between the pair of rollers constituting the transport roller 401.

  The passage of the trailing edge of the sheet S1 at the carry-in roller 14 is detected by the sensor SE1, and the pair of rollers of the conveying roller 401 comes into contact with and rotates by the trailing edge detection signal of the sensor SE1 to convey the sheet S1 in the lower right direction in FIG. To do. Accordingly, the sheet S1 reverses the traveling direction immediately after passing through the carry-in roller 14, and travels on the reverse guide plate 402 in the lower right direction.

  The conveyance rollers 405 and 406 are in contact with each other during conveyance of the sheet S1, and convey the sheet S1 from the conveyance roller 401 and convey it to the sheet stacking unit 50. The transport rollers 405 and 406 are driven by the motor M5 and rotate to transport the paper S1 to the paper stacking unit 50.

  The above operations are repeated to stack the sheets S1 on the sheet stacking unit 50.

  The operation described above is the operation of the paper reversing unit 40 when the loaded paper S1 is transported to the paper stacking unit 50 without being stacked in the paper reversing unit 40, and the paper S1 is stacked in the paper stacking unit. However, the sheet reversing unit 40 has a mode of stacking a plurality of sheets S1 and conveying the stacked sheets S1 to the sheet stacking unit 50. In this accumulation mode, as described above, the bookbinding process including application of adhesive to the bundle of sheets S1, bonding of the cover sheet S2, and discharge of the book S3 is being performed, and the sheet accumulation unit 50 receives the sheet S1. This is performed on the sheet S1 carried into the sheet reversing unit 40 while the sheet cannot be used.

  Next, sheet conveyance accompanied by accumulation in the sheet reversing unit 40 will be described.

  In the accumulation mode, the sheet S1 is transported by the carry-in roller 14 and transported in the lower right direction in FIG. 10 by the transport roller 401, but is stopped by the stopper 404 set at the position of the one-dot chain line. In the accumulation mode, the conveyance rollers 405 and 406 are separated and do not convey the sheet until the accumulation of the sheet in the sheet reversing unit 40 is completed.

  Each time the sheet S1 is carried onto the sheet guide plate 402, the alignment members 403A and 403B are operated to align the sheet S1 in the conveyance width direction.

  When the sheet processing on the downstream side from the sheet stacking unit 50 is completed and the sheet stacking unit 50 can accept the sheet, the bundle of sheets S1 stacked in the sheet reversing unit 40 is conveyed to the sheet stacking unit 50. Is called. That is, upon receipt of a paper accepting signal from the paper stacking unit 50, the stopper 404 is retracted to the position of the solid line, and the transport rollers 405 and 406 are moved from the position of the alternate long and short dash line to the position of the solid line, so Hold it. After the nipping, the transport rollers 405 and 406 transport the bundle of sheets S1 to the sheet stacking unit 50.

  The sheet reversing unit 40 is inclined as shown in the figure, and has a gravitational action, and the bundle of sheets S1 is reliably conveyed to the sheet stacking unit by the conveying force of the conveying rollers 405 and 506. Due to the action of gravity and the conveying action of the conveying rollers 405 and 406, the sheet reversing unit 40 performs conveyance in a state where the alignment process is maintained.

  In the process of creating a book, the sheet stacking unit 50 is shown in FIG. 3 when the set number of sheets S1 is supplied to the sheet stacking unit 50 without stacking the sheets S1 in the sheet reversing 40 and stacked. The sheet supply to the sheet stacking unit 50 is stopped and the sheet S1 is stacked on the sheet reversing unit 40.

  When the binding process of the sheet bundle and the joining of the cover sheet S2 are completed, the sheet stacking unit 50 returns to the inclined state shown in FIGS. 2 and 10, and the sheet S1 can be received. The sheet bundle is conveyed through the sheet stacking unit 50. Further, the sheet stacking unit 50 supplies the sheet S1 to the sheet stacking unit 50 without stacking the sheets in the sheet reversing unit 40, and when the set number of sheets are stacked in the sheet stacking unit 50, the sheet stacking unit 50 is Rotate to state.

As described above, without stacking the sheets S1 on the sheet reversing unit 40, the mode for supplying sheets to the sheet stacking unit 50 and the stacking for conveying the sheet bundle to the sheet stacking unit 50 after stacking the sheets S1 on the sheet reversing unit 40 By repeating the mode, a plurality of sheet bundles are created and a plurality of books are created.
<Paper Stacking Unit 50>
The components of the paper stacking unit 50 are attached to the stacking unit frame 500 fixed to the bookbinding apparatus B.

  In stacking the sheets S1, a support plate 502 that forms an inclined stacking surface, a pressing member 503 that is disposed to face the support plate 502 and sandwiches and presses the sheet bundle with the support plate 502, and receives the supplied sheet S1. The stopper 506, the paper pressing member 504, and the like form a rotating unit that rotates about the shaft 501.

  That is, the rotating unit is rotated by the motor M6 through the worm G1, the gear G2, and the fan-shaped gear G3, and is set to the inclined state shown in FIG. 10 and the vertical state shown in FIG.

  The pressing member 503 is provided at the front end of the rack plate 507, and is driven by a motor M7 as a driving unit via a gear G4 to move in a direction perpendicular to the paper support surface of the support plate 502, and the bundle of paper S1 is moved. The pressing position and the retreat position away from the bundle of sheets S1 are set. The pressing member 503 and the motor M7 constitute sheet pressing means for pressing the bundle of the sheets S1 and eliminating the lifting.

  Four sheet pressing members 504 for pressing the sheet S1 on the support plate 502 are provided in parallel in the transport width direction, and are connected to a rotating arm 5046 having a base fixed to a shaft 5045 by hole / pin connection.

  The rod 5048 that supports the sheet pressing member 504 is guided by the guide block 5047 and moves substantially linearly as indicated by the arrow by the rotation of the rotary arm 5046.

  The shaft 5045 to which the rotating arm 5046 is fixed is driven by the motor M6 via the links 5043 and 5044 and rotates by a certain angle.

  In this way, the sheet pressing member 504 is driven by the solenoid SL, and moves and accumulates as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 11, that is, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the support surface of the support plate 502 in FIG. Press and hold down.

  Next, FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a control system in addition to FIG. 10, and FIG. 14 is a timing chart of operations of the paper reversing unit 40 and the paper stacking unit 50, in addition to FIG. 10. Explanation will be made with reference to FIG.

  In the state shown in FIG. 10, the paper S1 is supplied from the paper reversing unit 40 to the paper stacking unit 50. Each time the paper is supplied, the alignment member 505 moves back and forth in the transport width direction to align the paper. The control means CR drives the solenoid SL for each paper feed to cause the paper pressing member 504 to press the paper S1. The control means CR also drives the pressing member 503 by the motor M7 to press the sheet S1 when a predetermined number (for example, 50 sheets) is carried into the sheet stacking unit 50 based on the information of the sheet counter CT. The lifting of the bundle of sheets S1 is suppressed. When the pressing member 503 returns to the retracted position, the next sheet S1 is carried into the sheet stacking unit 50.

  By repeating such an operation, a set number of sheets are stacked on the sheet stacking unit 50.

  The supplied paper S1 may be curled due to paper quality, environment, or formed image.

  In particular, curl is likely to occur on a sheet S1 having a large amount of toner forming an image, such as a color image. Even with such a curled sheet S1, the sheet S1 is pressed by the pressing member 503 with a strong force driven by a motor, thereby suppressing the lifting of the sheet S1 and creating a sheet bundle with well-aligned ends.

  Note that the sheet pressing operation mechanism by the pressing member 503 increases the pressing force, while the pressing operation may be performed beyond the sheet feeding interval. In such a case, a plurality of sheets are stacked on the sheet reversing section 40 using the sheet stacking function in the sheet reversing section 40 described above, and then the plurality of sheets S1 are stacked on the sheet stacking section. It is also possible to configure to carry in to 50.

  By repeatedly carrying the paper S1 onto the support plate 502, aligning by the alignment member 505, and pressing the paper by the pressing member 503, the paper S1 is stacked on the stacking unit 50, and when the set number of sheets S1 are stacked, the pressing is performed. The member 503 is lowered by driving the motor M7 to firmly hold the sheet bundle, and then the stopper 506 is rotated by the driving of the motor (not shown) to move to the retracted position.

  Thereafter, the rotation unit of the sheet stacking unit 50 including the support plate 502 is rotated by driving the motor M6, and the sheet bundle is held in a vertical state as shown in FIG. In the state of FIG. 12, the sheet bundle is sandwiched and held between the support plate 502 and the pressing member 503.

  The control means CR performs a sheet pressing operation for every predetermined number of sheets, and when the set number of sheets S1 are stacked on the sheet stacking section 50, the stacking section 50 is set so that the sheet bundle is in the vertical state shown in FIG. If the difference between the integral multiple of the predetermined number of sheets and the set number of sheets is less than the predetermined number of sheets, the step of less than the predetermined number of sheets S1 less than the last predetermined number of sheets is set. Thus, the pressing member 503 is moved to the pressing position to press the bundle of sheets S1 to hold the sheet bundle, and control to shift to the state of FIG.

  FIG. 14 is a timing chart of operations in the sheet reversing unit 40 and the sheet stacking unit 50.

  The sheets s1 to sn are carried into the sheet reversing unit 40 at equal time intervals.

  Then, the paper s1... Is carried from the paper reversing unit 40 to the paper stacking unit 50 up to the set number of sheets at equal time intervals, and when the set number of sheets is stacked in the paper stacking unit 50, the motor M5 is stopped and the paper is loaded. Stops.

  When the paper is fed from the paper reversing unit 40 to the paper stacking unit 50, the motor M7 is actuated for every predetermined number of sheets, such as r1, r2, and r3, and the pressure member 503 is actuated to press the paper to lift the paper. Hold down. If the predetermined number, which is the operation cycle of the pressing member 503, is not reached from the pressing operation r2 to the set number, the pressing operation of the pressing member 503 is performed as indicated by r3 even if the predetermined number is not reached. To hold a bundle of sheets S1.

  When the set number of sheets are accumulated, the motor M6 is activated to rotate the sheet accumulating section 50 as indicated by u1, and the sheet accumulating section 50 is shifted from the state shown in FIG. 10 to FIG.

  Stopping loading into the paper stacking unit 50 (stopping the motor 5) and rotation of the rotating unit of the paper stacking unit 50 (starting of the motor M6) when stacking the set number of sheets are provided immediately downstream of the transport roller 406. This is performed based on the sheet trailing edge detection signal from the sensor SE2.

  Thereafter, the motor M6 is activated to rotate the paper stacking unit 50 as indicated by u2 to return the paper stacking unit 50 to the state shown in FIG. 10, and the motor M5 is activated to transfer a plurality of sheets of paper q1 to the sheet. The paper is loaded from the reversing unit 40 into the paper stacking unit 50.

  When the number of stacked sheets in the stacking unit 60 after the previous pressing r1 becomes equal to or more than a predetermined number due to the supply of the plurality of sheets S1, the pressing member 503 is operated as indicated by r2 immediately after the plurality of sheets are loaded. Hold down the paper. By repeating these operations, sheet bundles are created one after another.

  FIG. 15 is a timing chart in an example in which sheets are stacked on the sheet reversing unit 40 during the operation of the pressing member 503 when the time required for the sheet pressing operation by the pressing member 504 is longer than the paper feeding interval.

  In this example, immediately after the operation of the pressing members r1, r2, and r3, a plurality of sheets t1, t2, and t3 stacked in the sheet reversing unit 40 are carried into the sheet stacking unit 50.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram of another example of the control system, and FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the arrangement of sensors for detecting the height of the sheet bundle.

  In FIG. 17, SE3 is composed of a photosensor element having a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion provided at both ends of the support plate 502, and when the height of the bundle of sheets S1 accumulated on the support plate 502 becomes a predetermined value or more. This is a sensor that outputs a detection signal.

  The control means CR drives the motor M7 based on the signal of the sensor SE3 when the height of the bundle of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking section 50 exceeds a predetermined value, and operates the pressing member 503 to suppress the lifting of the sheet. .

  The examples shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 have the advantage that the paper can be satisfactorily aligned even when the number of sheets is large and the height of the accumulated paper is large even when the paper has a large degree of curl.

1 is a diagram illustrating an entire image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is front sectional drawing of the bookbinding apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the application | coating process of an adhesive agent. It is a figure which shows the movement of an application means. It is a figure which shows the process of joining a cover sheet to a paper. It is a figure which shows the process of joining a cover sheet to a paper. It is a side view of a book. It is a top view of a cover sheet support means. It is a figure explaining the process of the cover after joining. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet reversing unit and a sheet stacking unit. It is a perspective view which shows a pressing means. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet reversing unit and a sheet stacking unit that hold a sheet bundle vertically. It is a block diagram of an example of a control system that controls a paper stacking unit. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a timing chart of operations of a sheet reversing unit and a sheet stacking unit. It is a figure which shows the other example of the timing chart of the operation | movement of a paper inversion part and a paper stacking part. It is another block diagram of the control system which controls a paper stacking unit. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the sensor which detects the accumulated height of a paper.

Explanation of symbols

A Image forming apparatus B Bookbinding apparatus 40 Paper reversing section 50 Paper stacking section 60 Application means 401 Reverse guide plate 406 Conveying roller 503 Pressing member 507 Alignment member M5, M6, M7 Motor

Claims (6)

Paper stacking unit,
A paper pressing means that is movable between a pressing position and a retreating position, and has a pressing member that presses the paper accumulated in the paper accumulating unit, and a driving means that moves the pressing member to the pressing position and the retreating position; ,
Having control means,
Wherein,
Controls the operation of the paper pressing means so that the pressing member each time the sheet of Jo Tokoro number of sheets are stacked from the retreat position is moved to the pressing position, the sheet of the set number of sheets in said sheet stacking portion Stop collecting paper at the accumulated stage ,
When the difference between the integral multiple of the predetermined number of sheets and the set number of sheets is less than the predetermined number of sheets, the sheet pressing unit presses the sheet with less than the predetermined number of sheets, and the set A paper stacking apparatus, which finishes stacking a number of sheets . A height detecting unit configured to detect a height of the paper accumulated in the paper accumulating unit, and the control unit detects that the height of the accumulated paper is equal to or higher than a predetermined value by the height detecting unit; when it is, the sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that operating the paper pressing means. 3. The sheet supply unit according to claim 1, further comprising a sheet supply unit that is disposed upstream of the sheet stacking unit and that stacks a plurality of sheets and then supplies the plurality of sheets to the sheet stacking unit. Paper stacking device. Wherein each time the sheet is fed to the sheet stacking portion, the sheet stacking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it has a paper pressing member a pressing operation. Billing sheet stacking apparatus according to any one of claim 1-4, wherein the treated stitching the bundle of sheets that are stacked in the sheet stacking section, the bookbinding apparatus comprising means for joining the cover. An image forming system comprising: an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet; and the bookbinding apparatus according to claim 5 .

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