JP4858028B2 - Sheet processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet post-processing device capable of binding and folding the sheets on which images are formed, reduced in size, and excellent in sheet alignment and a sheet processing device using the sheet post-processing device. <P>SOLUTION: This sheet post-processing device comprises a sheet aligning tray 4 installed to be tilted upward along the sheet feeding direction within a perpendicularly projected area of the device body 1 of the sheet processing device and capable of temporarily loading multiple sheets; a saddle-stitching means 5 for stitching at least the center part of a sheet bundle aligned with reference to one end edge of the sheets on the sheet aligning tray 4; and a folding means 6 installed to be adjacent to the device body 1 in the area exceeding the perpendicularly projected area of the device body 1 of the sheet processing device and at least capable of folding and discharging downward the sheet bundle aligned on the sheet aligning tray 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus using the sheet post-processing device used for the sheet processing apparatus such as a copying machine and a printer (image forming apparatus).

In recent years, with the progress of on-demand publishing and the like, it has become popular to add a sheet post-processing device such as a finisher that performs a saddle stitching function and a punching function to the subsequent stage of the image forming apparatus (sheet processing apparatus). .
Among these, in order to produce a book-like printed product, saddle stitching and center folding are actively performed. In such an image forming apparatus (sheet processing apparatus), when a sheet alignment tray (compile tray) is provided in the apparatus main body, a folding knife (butting plate) for folding the sheet bundle in the middle is provided in the apparatus main body. Then, the height in the vertical direction is required including the discharge route of the folded sheet bundle. As such a contrivance, Patent Document 1 discloses a contrivance in which a compile tray is provided horizontally and the vertical height is reduced.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-154080 (first embodiment, FIG. 1)

  However, in the above configuration, since the folding apparatus is installed in the apparatus main body, the occupied area in the height direction of the apparatus main body increases with respect to the vertical movement of the folding knife, and the apparatus height is increased to some extent. It is necessary to set, and it becomes a difficulty in miniaturization of the apparatus itself. Further, since the folding knife is arranged adjacent to the upstream side of the compilation tray, the compilation tray needs to be set in a substantially horizontal direction, and the sheet bundle loaded on the compilation tray is a sheet of tamper / paddle. The rear end reference is difficult to achieve due to frictional resistance between sheets, and it may be difficult to obtain sufficient sheet alignment.

The present invention is intended to solve such technical problems, and is a sheet using a sheet post-processing apparatus that is small and capable of binding and folding a sheet on which an image is formed and has good sheet alignment. A processing apparatus is provided.

That is, the invention includes an apparatus body having therein an image that can be formed by the image forming section on the sheet, and and read image capable of reading original image device is provided above the apparatus main body, the image according to claim 1 A sheet post-processing apparatus that performs post-processing on a sheet on which an image has been formed by the forming unit, and a target that is provided between the apparatus main body and the image reading apparatus and on which the sheet post-processing apparatus is detachably mounted. The sheet post-processing apparatus mounted on the mounted section is provided so as to be inclined upward along the sheet conveying direction within the vertical projection plane of the apparatus main body. of sheets and the sheet align tray capable temporarily stacked and stored, the device pairs in the sheet bundle aligned on the basis of the one edge of each sheet and on the sheet align tray provided on the vertical projection plane of the body A binding unit in for binding at least a central portion, the apparatus main body and downwardly folded in the middle, at least with respect to sheet bundle aligned by and sheet align tray provided also beyond the region of one of the vertical projection plane of the image reading apparatus A folding means that can be discharged to the upstream side, and the folding means is configured to move upstream and downstream in the sheet conveyance direction and forward and reverse rotation on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction. A pair of rotating members having a downstream rotating member configured to be capable of folding the sheet bundle by nipping the sheet bundle therebetween, and facing a nip area of the pair of rotating members A folding member provided above the nip region and capable of moving downward toward the nip region, and the downstream rotating member across the conveying direction of the sheet among the paired rotating members And the upstream rotating member discharges and conveys the sheet to the downstream side in the conveying direction together with the downstream rotating member under the condition that the upstream rotating member is separated from the downstream rotating member, and the upstream rotating member rotates the downstream side. under the conditions in contact with a member which is a sheet processing apparatus you, comprising a positive reverse rotatable discharge member for conveying back the sheet to the upstream side with the downstream rotary member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the sheet processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the edge binding means for binding the end of the sheet bundle aligned by the sheet alignment tray is saddle-stitched in the vertical projection plane of the apparatus main body. It is characterized in that it is provided upstream of the means in the sheet conveying direction .

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size of the sheet post-processing apparatus as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided, and the sheet alignment is also improved.
According to the second aspect of the invention, edge binding processing and saddle stitching processing can be performed as post-processing on the sheet as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided, and the rear end of the sheet when performing the binding processing The standard becomes easier .

First, an outline of an embodiment model to which the present invention is applied will be described.
Outline of Embodiment Model FIG. 1A shows an outline of a sheet processing apparatus (image forming apparatus) provided with a sheet post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment model related to the present invention. b) shows an outline of a sheet processing apparatus provided with an image reading apparatus.
In the figure, the sheet processing apparatus is provided with a sheet post-processing apparatus 3 that performs post-processing on the sheet on which the image is formed, on the upper part of the apparatus main body 1 having the image forming unit 2 that forms an image on the sheet. An image reading device 8 for reading a document image is provided on the upper part.

Here, a typical model of the sheet post-processing apparatus 3 is detachably provided on the upper part of the apparatus main body 1 of the sheet processing apparatus having the image forming section 2 capable of forming an image on the sheet. Is a sheet post-processing apparatus 3 that performs post-processing on the sheet on which the sheet is formed, and is provided so as to incline upward along the sheet conveying direction in the vertical projection plane of the apparatus main body 1 of the sheet processing apparatus. A sheet alignment tray 4 on which a plurality of sheets can be temporarily stacked and accommodated, and a vertical alignment plane of the apparatus main body 1 of the sheet processing apparatus, and one end edge of each sheet on the sheet alignment tray 4 as a reference. a binding means 5 in which binds at least a central portion with respect to sheet bundle aligned Te, and provided in any area even greater than the vertical projection plane of the apparatus main body 1 and an image reading apparatus 8 of the sheet processing apparatus the sheet And folded in the middle, at least with respect to sheet bundle aligned by engagement tray 4 and a folding capable of discharging means 6 downwardly.

Here, in the model of the present embodiment, the sheet bundle that is saddle-stitched using the folding unit 6 may be folded, or only the folding process by the folding unit 6 is performed without binding. There is no problem. Further, the folding position is not limited as long as it can be folded in the middle, and it is possible to perform folding at other portions.
Then, in this embodiment the model, since the folding means 6 is to be discharged and folded sheet bundle is provided in a region exceeding any of the vertical projection plane of the apparatus main body 1 and an image reading apparatus 8 downward The sheet post-processing apparatus 3 can be downsized, and for example, can be easily mounted on the apparatus main body 1. Further, by providing the sheet alignment tray 4 so as to incline upward along the sheet conveyance direction, it is possible to use the action of gravity when aligning the sheet bundle, and it is easy to align the sheets. This is effective when matching with the rear end reference.

  Further, as the sheet post-processing apparatus 3, the end binding means 7 that binds the vicinity of the edge of the sheet bundle aligned by the sheet alignment tray 4 is formed in the vertical projection plane of the apparatus main body 1 of the sheet processing apparatus. More preferably, it is provided on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction. In this case, the sheet alignment tray 4 is provided obliquely, and the end binding means 7 is disposed on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction of the saddle stitching means 5. In addition, both the saddle stitching process and the saddle stitching process can be easily performed, and the trailing edge reference of the sheet can be easily performed.

In particular, since the folding means 6 folds the sheet bundle and discharges it downward, it is possible to reduce the area occupied by the folding means 6, particularly in the horizontal plane, so that further miniaturization can be realized. At the same time, it is possible to suppress the extra deformation of the folded booklet sheet bundle.
The folding means 6 of the present invention includes an upstream rotating member configured to be movable at the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction and a downstream rotating member configured to be able to rotate forward and backward on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction. A pair of rotating members 6a that fold the sheet bundle by nipping the sheet bundle between them, and above the nip region so as to oppose the nip region of the pair of rotating members 6a. a folding member 6b can be advanced downwardly and toward the nip region provided, disposed opposite to the downstream side rotary member across the conveying direction of the sheet of the rotating member 6a of the pair configuration, the upstream-side rotary member The sheet is discharged and conveyed to the downstream side in the conveyance direction together with the downstream rotation member under a condition where the sheet is separated from the downstream rotation member, and the sheet is conveyed together with the downstream rotation member under a condition where the upstream rotation member is in contact with the downstream rotation member. direction It has a forward and reverse rotatable discharge member for conveying back to the flow side. According to this, since one of the rotating members 6a also serves as a discharge member, the number of members can be reduced, and a cost reduction effect is exhibited. The rotating member 6a may be any form regardless of whether it is a roll-shaped member or a belt-shaped member, but a roll-shaped member is preferable from the viewpoint of simplifying the apparatus configuration.

The compact includes an image forming section 2 images can be formed on the sheet and the apparatus main body 1 for processing a sheet, on top of the apparatus main body 1, by providing the detachable sheet post-processing apparatus 3 described above It is also possible to realize the sheet processing apparatus. Note that the image forming method of the image forming unit 2 in such a sheet processing apparatus is not particularly limited, and for example, an electrophotographic method, an ink jet recording method, or the like is applied. Further, the sheet post-processing apparatus 3 is not made detachable, and for example, the sheet post-processing apparatus 3 may be fixedly arranged on the sheet processing apparatus.
Furthermore, by providing an image reading apparatus 8 capable of reading a document image upward of the apparatus main body 1, it becomes possible to expand the variations of the sheet processing apparatus.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a sheet processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, the sheet processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes an apparatus main body 10 having an image forming unit 20 as an image forming unit capable of forming a color image, and an image reading unit for reading a document above the apparatus main body 10. An apparatus 11 is disposed, and an original feeding apparatus 12 for feeding an original to the image reading apparatus 11 is disposed above the apparatus 11, while a sheet feeding cassette 14 that supplies a sheet as a recording material is disposed below the apparatus main body 10. A paper feeding unit 13 that accommodates the paper is provided. Further, a finisher 40 as a sheet post-processing device that performs post-processing on a sheet on which an image is formed in the apparatus main body 10 with the image reading apparatus 11 is provided above the image forming unit 20 of the apparatus main body 10. It has been provided.

  The image forming unit 20 used in the present embodiment employs, for example, an electrophotographic system, and includes four colors of yellow (Y color), magenta (M color), cyan (C color), and black (K color). The color image forming unit 21 (21 a to 21 d) has a so-called tandem configuration in which the intermediate transfer belt 30 is arranged in parallel. Therefore, the toner images of the respective colors formed by the respective image forming units 21 (21a to 21d) are sequentially primary-transferred and multiplexed on the intermediate transfer belt 30, and the multiplexed toner images are secondary-transfer device 35. Are collectively transferred onto the sheet conveyed from the paper feed cassette 14 and guided to the fixing device 37. The color arrangement of the four-color image forming units 21 is not limited to this order, and may be in other orders.

  The image forming unit 21 (21a to 21d) in the present embodiment is charged with a photosensitive drum 22 that forms and holds toner images of each color component, and a charger 23 such as a charging roll that charges the photosensitive drum 22. The laser exposure unit 24 for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 22, the developing unit 25 for visualizing the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 22, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 22 as an intermediate transfer belt 30. For example, a primary transfer unit 26 including a primary transfer roll for primary transfer and a drum cleaner 27 for cleaning residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 22 are configured. In this embodiment, the laser exposure unit 24 exposes the entire four-color image forming units 21 (21a to 21d) with one laser exposure unit 24. Further, as long as an electrostatic latent image can be formed, not only the laser exposure device 24 but also an exposure device using LEDs, for example, may be used.

  On the other hand, the intermediate transfer belt 30 is stretched around a plurality of stretching rolls 31 to 34, and is circulated and conveyed using, for example, the stretching roll 31 as a driving roll. For example, a secondary transfer device 35 including a secondary transfer roll is provided. The tension roll 34 is opposed to the backup roll. Further, a belt cleaner 36 for removing residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 30 is disposed at a position facing the tension roll 31 of the intermediate transfer belt 30.

The sheet conveying system from the sheet feeding cassette 14 in the apparatus main body 10 is as follows. The sheet fed from the sheet feeding cassette 14 is conveyed downstream by the sheet feeding mechanism 15, and the conveyed sheet is positioned and regulated by the registration roll 16, and then the downstream sheet is conveyed at a predetermined timing. It is transported to the secondary transfer site (position of the secondary transfer unit 35). Then, the toner images multiplexed on the intermediate transfer belt 30 are collectively transferred onto the sheet by the secondary transfer unit 35. The toner images collectively transferred onto the sheet are fixed by the fixing device 37 and then conveyed to the finisher 40 side via the conveyance roll 17 and the discharge roll 18.
Further, in the present embodiment, the second discharge roll 19 that discharges the sheet in a direction different from the discharge roll 18 side is provided between the fixing device 37 and the transport roll 17, thereby completing the fixing. The sheet can be discharged to the discharge tray 10a side which is different from the finisher 40 side. Reference numeral 28 (28a to 28d) in the apparatus main body 10 is a toner replenishment bottle for each of the four colors. Toner is appropriately supplied from these toner replenishment bottles 28 to the developing device 25 of the image forming unit 21 for each color. It has become so.

The finisher 40 according to the present embodiment is disposed on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction of the end-binding stapler 50 that performs end-binding of the sheet bundle from the discharge roll 18 side on the apparatus main body 10 side, and can stack and store sheets. A compiling tray (sheet alignment tray) 60 and a saddle stitching stapler 70 for performing saddle stitching of a bundle of sheets are further provided on the downstream side, both of which are perpendicular to each other between the apparatus main body 10 and the image reading apparatus 11. Arranged in the projection plane. The finisher 40 further includes a folding device 80 that can fold the sheet bundle further downstream in the sheet conveying direction and discharge the sheet bundle downward, or can discharge the sheet bundle to the stacker 45 that can move up and down without folding the sheet. Is provided. In particular, the folding device 80 is provided in the vicinity of the ends of the vertical projection surfaces of the apparatus main body 10 and the image reading device 11 and beyond the vertical projection surface.
A booklet stacker 46 is provided below the folding device 80. The booklet stacker 46 is a part of the casing of the finisher 40. Reference numeral 44 in the figure denotes a paddle that guides the sheet on the compilation tray 60 toward the end-stitching stapler 50 and makes it easy to perform the sheet trailing edge reference at the finisher 40.

FIG. 3 schematically shows the finisher 40 of the present embodiment. A sheet conveyance path (shown by a one-dot chain line in the drawing) in the finisher 40 is as follows along the sheet conveyance direction. A conveying member is provided as appropriate. A transport roll 42 (42a) capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions for enabling the sheet to be transported back and forward on the compile tray 60 on the downstream side of the transport roll 41 on the inlet side and in the vicinity of the downstream end of the compile tray 60. 42b), and the upper roll 42a is moved at a predetermined timing by a solenoid 421 so that the conveyance rolls 42 can be separated from each other.
Further, a conveyance roll 43 is provided on the downstream side of the saddle stitching stapler 70 via a predetermined interval, and a sheet bundle or a sheet can be conveyed to a folding device 80 on the downstream side of the conveyance roll 43.

As shown in FIG. 4, the end binding stapler 50 in the present embodiment has an upper staple member 51 and a lower staple member 55 arranged so as to sandwich the upper and lower sides of the sheet bundle stacked on the compilation tray 60. In the end binding stapler 50 of the present embodiment, the lower staple member 55 provided with the stitcher member 56 for arranging the means for driving the staple needle is slid along the guide bar 58 (58a, 58b) for guidance. Therefore, a belt member 69 for driving the lower staple member 55 is provided.
On the other hand, a clincher member 52 is disposed on the upper staple member 51 located at the upper portion of the sheet to bend and stop the leading end portion of the staple needle, and a guide bar 54 (54a) for guiding the upper staple member 51 is provided. , 54b) and is driven by a belt member 68.
Further, the upper staple member 51 and the lower staple member 55 are respectively provided with guide plates 53 and 57 for guiding the sheet bundle between them, which is good for the sheet bundle on which the rear end reference is made on the compilation tray 60. It is made to perform the guide action.

  A driving device 61 is arranged to slide the upper staple member 51 and the lower staple member 55 along the respective guide bars 54, 58, and the rotation of the motor 62 is applied to the rotation shaft 63 via the gear train. It is to be transmitted. A pulley 65 is disposed on the rotating shaft 63 via a clutch 64, and the belt member 68 is driven via the pulley 65 to move the upper staple member 51. On the other hand, a pulley 67 is provided below the rotary shaft 63 via a clutch 66, and the belt member 69 is driven by the pulley 67 so that the lower staple member 55 can move integrally with the upper staple member 51. It has become. Then, by configuring the motor 62 with, for example, a stepping motor capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions, the upper staple member 51 and the lower staple member 55 are moved by a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction to be positioned at the binding position of the sheet bundle. Thus, the binding operation using the staple needle can be performed.

  In the present embodiment, the compile tray 60 has an inclined surface that rises downstream in the sheet conveying direction in order to supply the end-bound stapler 50 with a sheet bundle that is well aligned with respect to the trailing edge. FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram showing this, and the first sheet (shown by a solid line in the figure) toward the compile tray 60 that is appropriately inclined (for example, an inclination of about 30 to 35 degrees is preferable). ) Is nipped by the conveying roll 42. After that, the transport roll 42 rotates reversely at a predetermined timing, and the first sheet nipped by the transport roll 42 is accommodated on the end binding stapler 50 side. Then, when the nip of the transport roll 42 is released (the roll 42a is separated from the roll 42b), the first sheet performs the trailing edge reference of the sheet with respect to a reference fence (not shown) by the action of the paddle 44. While aligning. Next, when the second sheet (indicated by the broken line in the figure) is conveyed, the first sheet is similarly aligned with the reference fence using the first sheet as a guide. At this time, the side edge positions of the sheets are aligned by a tamper not shown.

In the present embodiment, since the compile tray 60 is arranged at a predetermined angle, when the sheets are aligned, the gravity action of the sheets themselves can be used, and the consistency as a sheet bundle is improved. It is supposed to be. If this angle is too small, the action of gravity cannot be used. On the other hand, if this angle is too large, excessive curling, wrinkles, etc. will occur on the sheet during sheet alignment.
Here, assuming that the compilation tray 60 is substantially horizontal as shown in FIG. 5B, both the first sheet and the second sheet are conveyed back to the end binding stapler 50 side. In this case, the conveyance resistance between the compile tray 60 and the sheets or between the sheets increases, and there is a possibility that excessive curling, wrinkles, etc. may be caused without performing a good return operation.
In the present embodiment, since the compile tray 60 is inclined at a predetermined angle, the sheets are aligned well.

  On the other hand, the saddle stitching stapler 70 is different from the edge stitching stapler 50 in that the number of sheets of the target sheet bundle is small. This is because the sheet bundle that is saddle-stitched by the saddle-stitching stapler 70 is often folded in a booklet form, and it is difficult to increase the number of sheets in the sheet bundle when performing the middle folding. Because it is easy. Therefore, the small stitcher member 71 and the clincher member 72 are arranged to face each other so as to sandwich the sheet conveyance path (see FIG. 3).

  The saddle stitching stapler 70 moves the sheet bundle once aligned on the compile tray 60 by a predetermined amount by the conveying roll 42, and at a position where the stitcher member 71 and the clincher member 72 face each other at a substantially central position (in the sheet conveying direction). A substantially central position along the line) is bound. The saddle stitching stapler 70 may be configured such that the stitcher member 71 and the clincher member 72 move along the width direction of the sheet and bind at a desired position, for example, at a predetermined position. It is also possible to bind a plurality of binding locations at the same time so that binding can be performed at the same time.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the folding device 80 according to the present embodiment includes a folding roll 81 (81a, 81b) configured by a pair of roll-shaped members provided on the lower side along the sheet conveyance path, A discharge roll 82 is provided so as to face the downstream roll 81a among the folding rolls 81 and discharge the sheet bundle or sheets together with the roll 81a to the stacker 45 (see FIG. 2) side without folding. The upstream roll 81b of the folding rolls 81 is provided with, for example, a solenoid 811 so that the roll 81b can be appropriately separated from the other roll 81a.

Further, the folding device 80 is provided to be spaced upward from the sheet conveyance path so as to face the nip area of the folding roll 81, and can appropriately advance to the nip area side of the folding roll 81 across the sheet conveyance path. A folding knife 83 is provided. The folding knife 83 is provided with an advancing / retracting mechanism 90, which will be described later, so that the folding knife 83 can be moved back and forth to form a booklet-like sheet bundle.
Further, in the present embodiment, a feeding roll for feeding a sheet bundle folded in a booklet shape by the folding roll 81 and the folding knife 83 to the booklet stacker 46 (see FIG. 2) substantially vertically below the folding roll 81. 84 and 85 are provided.

  The advance / retreat mechanism 90 of the folding knife 83 is as shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 91 is a guide guide provided on both sides of the folding knife 83 to guide the forward / backward movement (protrusion and retraction) of the folding knife 83, and the folding knife 83 guided by the guide guide 91 is advanced / retreated. Cranks 92 are provided on both sides of the folding knife 83 so as to be rotatable. Furthermore, a crank rotation shaft 93 that rotates the crank 92, a drive motor 94 that applies a driving force to the crank rotation shaft 93, and an encoder 95 that is provided on the crank rotation shaft 93 and detects the forward / backward movement of the folding knife 83. (In this example, a part of the cutout is provided), and the sensor 96 is configured to detect the rotation of the encoder 95 and control the operation of the drive motor 94.

By operating the advance / retreat mechanism 90 having such a configuration, the folding knife 83 performs an advance / retreat operation as shown in FIGS.
Normally, as shown in FIG. 7A, the folding knife 83 is stored in the guide guide 91 while the crank 92 is folded. Here, when the crank 92 starts to rotate, the apparent length of the folded crank 92 increases as shown in (b), and the folding knife 83 projects from the guide guide 91 in the direction of the straight arrow in the figure. To come. When the crank 92 further rotates, the folding knife 83 reaches the maximum protruding amount from the guide guide 91 as shown in FIG. When the crank 92 is further rotated, the crank 92 is folded as shown in (d) to (e), and the folding knife 83 is housed in the guide guide 91 on the contrary.

  As described above, the folding device 80 needs to greatly advance and retract the folding knife 83 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the sheet conveyance path. For this reason, a certain height is required. Further, in the folding device 80, as shown in FIG. 3, a conveying roll (corresponding to the feeding rolls 84 and 85 in this example) is located below the folding roll 81 (in the direction in which the folded sheet bundle is conveyed). The sheet roll that has been folded by the folding roll 81 is further sufficiently folded by the conveying roll, so that a booklet-shaped sheet bundle can be formed. This means that a certain distance is required between the folding direction in the folding device 80 and the direction in which the folded sheet bundle is conveyed. In other words, when the folding device 80 is arranged, a certain height in the vertical direction is required, which means that the dimension in the height direction of the finisher 40 tends to increase.

The operation of the sheet processing apparatus having such a configuration will be described.
First, when a toner image by the image forming unit 20 is collectively transferred onto a sheet supplied from the paper feed cassette 14, the toner image is fixed by a fixing device 37. Here, when post-processing by the finisher 40 is not required for this sheet, the sheet after fixing is discharged onto a discharge tray 10a different from the finisher 40 side.
Next, when post-processing by the finisher 40 is performed on the sheet that has been fixed, the sheet that has passed through the fixing device 37 is conveyed to the finisher 40 via the conveyance roll 17 and the discharge roll 18.

  Here, when the sheet bundle subjected to the end binding process after the end binding process in the finisher 40 is discharged to the stacker 45 as it is, the following process is performed. The sheets on which the images have been formed are sequentially fed onto the compilation tray 60, and a plurality of sheets are aligned on the basis of the trailing edge to form a sheet bundle. The edge binding process is performed on the sheet bundle by the edge binding stapler 50, and the sheet bundle subjected to the edge binding is discharged onto the stacker 45 as it is. At this time, since the folding device 80 performs a simple discharge function, the transportability of the sheet bundle is not impaired.

  On the other hand, when producing a booklet that is saddle-stitched by the finisher 40, a predetermined number of sheets are stacked on the compile tray 60, and the trailing end of the sheet is used as a reference for alignment. After the aligned sheet bundle is subjected to a binding process (saddle stitching process) at a predetermined position of the sheet bundle by the saddle stitching stapler 70, the bound sheet bundle is conveyed to the downstream folding device 80 as it is. The In the folding device 80, as shown in FIG. 3, the nip region of the transport roll 43 adjacent to the inlet side of the folding device 80 and the nip region of the discharge roller 82 on the outlet side of the folding device 80 (specifically, this discharge roller). The sheet bundle conveyed to a predetermined position in the nip area of one of the folding rolls 81 and the other of the folding rolls 81 is moved to the predetermined position at the predetermined timing, and the other 81b of the folding roll 81 is moved to the nip area of the folding roll 81. When the folding knife 83 advances into the sheet bundle and the discharge roll 82 starts the reverse operation, the sheet bundle that is saddle-stitched and folded is conveyed downward with the folding position at the top in a booklet state. The At this time, the sheet bundle that has been folded by the folding roll 81 passes through the feed rolls 84 and 85 as it is, and is sufficiently folded and discharged to the booklet stacker 46 (see FIG. 2) as it is.

In the sheet processing apparatus as described above, in the present embodiment, the saddle stitching stapler 70 in the finisher 40 is provided in the vertical projection plane of the apparatus main body 10, and the folding apparatus 80 is the vertical projection plane of the apparatus main body 10. Since it is provided in a region exceeding the inside, the vertical height of the folding device 80 is not directly applied to the apparatus main body 10, and it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the entire sheet processing apparatus.
Further, in the present embodiment, the folded sheet bundle in the folding device 80 can be discharged as it is, and the possibility of extra deformation being added to the booklet-like sheet bundle is small. Furthermore, by using a part of the folding roll 81 of the folding device 80 as a discharge roll, the member cost can be reduced.

If the folding device 80 is provided above the device main body 10 for such a configuration, the size of the device is likely to increase as shown in the following comparative embodiment.
◎ Comparison 1
FIG. 8 shows an outline of the sheet processing apparatus when the requirements of the present case are not provided. In this sheet processing apparatus, an image forming unit 110 is disposed at a substantially central portion in the apparatus main body 100, and two-stage sheet feeding cassettes 101 and 102 are provided below the image forming unit 110, while an end binding stapler is provided above the image forming unit 110. 120, a folding device 130, and a saddle stitch stapler 140 are arranged. An image reading unit 103 is provided above the apparatus main body 100.
The image forming unit 110 multiplexes the toner image created by the rotary developing unit 112 on the photosensitive member 111 on the intermediate transfer belt 113 to form a color image, and conveys the color image from the sheet feeding cassettes 101 and 102. The transferred color image is fixed by a fixing device 114.
The fixed sheets are stacked on the compile tray 121 via the buffer path 115 to form a sheet bundle, and are subjected to edge binding processing by the edge binding stapler 120, and are discharged from the discharge roll 122 to the stacker 123 as they are, or compiled. After the sheet bundle aligned on the tray 121 is subjected to saddle stitching processing by the saddle stitching stapler 140, the folding device 130 performs folding processing and the sheet bundle is discharged to the booklet stacker 131 as it is. Further, it is possible to discharge directly from the discharge roll 122 to the stacker 123 without performing these processes. In the figure, reference numeral 124 denotes a tamper paddle for aligning sheets on the compilation tray 121.

  According to such a configuration, the height of the folding device 130 in the vertical direction is required to some extent, and the distance from the image forming unit 110 to the image reading unit 103 needs to be increased to some extent, and the overall sheet processing apparatus is large. Will lead to Further, since the folding device 130 is accommodated in the apparatus main body 100, it is necessary to switch the sheet bundle folded by the folding device 130 from a substantially vertical direction to a substantially horizontal direction. Since the sheet bundle greatly changes the traveling direction, excessive deformation is easily added to the booklet-like sheet bundle. In this comparative embodiment, since the compile tray 121 is installed substantially horizontally, there is a possibility that the sheet alignment on the compile tray 121 is not satisfactorily performed.

◎ Comparison 2
FIG. 9 shows an outline of another sheet processing apparatus when the requirements of the present case are not provided. This image forming apparatus has a configuration in which an image forming unit 210 is disposed at a substantially central portion in the apparatus main body 200, a paper feed cassette 201 is provided below the image forming unit 210, and a finisher 220 is mounted above the image forming unit 210. It has become. An image reading unit 211 connected to the apparatus main body 200 is provided above the finisher 220.
The finisher 220 includes a first conveyance path 221 that conveys a sheet discharged from the apparatus main body 200 side, and a puncher 222 that is provided on the downstream side of the first conveyance path 221 and performs punching processing at a predetermined position of the sheet. A folding unit 223 provided on the downstream side of the puncher 222 to pre-crease the sheet, an end binding stapler 224 for binding the end of the sheet bundle on the downstream side of the folding unit 223, and a downstream side from the end binding stapler 224 A compile tray 225 is provided.
Further, in the downstream direction of the compilation tray 225, a saddle stitching stapler 226 that performs the saddle stitching process of the sheet is provided, and the sheet that has been post-processed to the stacker 228 via the discharge roll 227 on the downstream side of the saddle stitching stapler 226 is provided. It is supposed to be discharged. Note that reference numeral 229 denotes a stacker that discharges and stores a sheet bundle that has undergone edge binding without performing saddle stitching, for example.

  In the sheet processing apparatus having such a configuration, the folding unit 223 performs pre-crease, but assuming that the folding unit 223 is configured to fold and discharge the sheet bundle, it is sufficient as in the first comparative example. Height is required. Therefore, it is necessary to make the height higher than that shown in FIG. 9, and the size of the sheet processing apparatus is easily increased. Further, in order to discharge the folded sheet bundle in the form of a booklet, it is necessary to provide a path for switching the discharge path from the substantially vertical direction to the substantially horizontal direction. In this case, excessive deformation is caused in the booklet-like sheet bundle. There is also a risk of joining.

(A) shows the outline | summary of the sheet processing apparatus relevant to this invention, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the sheet processing apparatus concerning this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the sheet processing apparatus of embodiment to which this invention was applied. It is explanatory drawing which shows the finisher of embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the end binding stapler of embodiment. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the sheet alignment method of embodiment, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows a comparative example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the advancing / retreating mechanism of the folding knife of this Embodiment. (A)-(e) is a schematic diagram which shows the advancing / retreating movement of a folding knife. It is explanatory drawing which shows the sheet processing apparatus of the form 1 of a comparison. It is explanatory drawing which shows the sheet processing apparatus of the form 2 of a comparison.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Apparatus main body, 2 ... Image forming part, 3 ... Sheet post-processing apparatus, 4 ... Sheet alignment tray, 5 ... Saddle binding means, 6 ... Folding means, 6a ... Rotating member, 6b ... Folding member, 7 ... End binding means , 8 ... Image reading device

Claims (2)

A device body having therein an image that can be formed by the image forming section on the sheet,
An image reading apparatus provided above the apparatus body and capable of reading a document image;
A sheet post-processing apparatus that performs post-processing on a sheet on which an image is formed in the image forming unit ;
A mounted portion provided between the apparatus main body and the image reading apparatus and to which the sheet post-processing apparatus is detachably mounted ;
The sheet post-processing device mounted on the mounted portion is
And and a plurality of sheets temporarily stacked can accommodate sheet align tray is provided so as to be inclined upward along the sheet conveying direction by the vertical projection plane of the device body,
A saddle stitching means for binding at least a central portion of a sheet bundle provided in the vertical projection plane of the apparatus main body and aligned on the sheet alignment tray with reference to one end edge of each sheet;
Comprising a folding means which can be discharged downwardly folded in the middle, at least with respect to sheet bundle aligned by and sheet align tray is provided in a region exceeding any of the vertical projection plane of the device body and the image reading apparatus And
The folding means is
An upstream rotating member configured to be movable on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction and a downstream rotating member configured to be rotatable in the forward and reverse directions on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction. A pair of rotating members configured to fold the sheet bundle by nipping the sheet bundle;
A folding member provided above the nip region so as to face the nip region of the rotating member of the pair structure and capable of advancing downward toward the nip region;
Among the pair of rotating members, the downstream rotating member is provided so as to face the downstream rotating member across the sheet conveyance direction, and the upstream rotating member is separated from the downstream rotating member. The sheet is discharged and conveyed to the downstream side in the conveyance direction, and can rotate forward and backward to return and convey the sheet to the upstream side in the conveyance direction together with the downstream rotation member under the condition that the upstream rotation member is in contact with the downstream rotation member. sheet processing apparatus according to claim Rukoto that Yusuke and discharging member. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1,
Further, the sheet processing, characterized in that a end binding means for binding the ends of the sheet bundle aligned in the sheet align tray in the sheet conveyance direction upstream side of the saddle stitch means by said apparatus main body of the vertical projection plane Equipment .

Images